AEW Dynamite 8/27 Results: Is There Drama With The Death Riders & New ‘Cash-In’ Rules

Fan reaction is the one constant gauge that has existed in wrestling since before the territory days and right up to today’s social media era; it will always let you know what is working and what is not. In the case of FTR, the visceral heat from the fans as they simply walked to the ring in tonight’s opening segment.

They complained about not winning the titles on Sunday as “Brodito” took the upset victory, and the titles off of The Hurt Syndicate, but they blamed veteran referee of 27 years, Paul Turner, for allowing the ‘illegal man’ to gain the winning pinfall. Dax demanded Turner overturn his decision, and when he refused, Stokely Hathaway stoked the fires by calling Paul an “idiot” before shoving him.

Turner pushed back despite FTR attempting to intimidate, and that is when Cope’s music hit. The crowd and FTR were both focused on the entry, where Cope was all alone and constantly looking back as if he expected Christian Cage to be by his side—the story of Cope and Cage teaming back up with a twist on their historic team.

Cope is still ‘our good guy,’ but Cage is not ‘Mr. Charismatic’ (so to speak), in fact, Cage continued his ‘fathering the world’ schtick with FTR tonight. Cope announced that the tag team match is official for All Out, where they will face FTR in front of their countrymen in Canada. The heat is perfect, so is the location, but it will be up to Cage and Cope to continue their clever inner narrative as they build off a brand-new team between long-time partners.

Now, the question will be whether the big payoff comes at All Out and, for one night only, we get the return of their classic gimmick—it will certainly be a moment for those Canadians with ‘the benefit of flash photography.’

Mercedes Mone All Her Bucks In A Row

Mercedes Mone ’s segment began with Rene in the ring interviewing the TBS champ in front of a table lined up with all of her title belts. She reminisced on Ultimo Dragon’s 10-title belt reign, and at nine herself, Mone claimed she was going to ‘shatter his record.’

Alex Winsor was brought up in the segment following her terrific showing in the 4-way at Forbidden Door, and despite losing, she visibly had Mone tapping—something Mone refuted when it was brought up and will likely launch a short feud.

Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia

This was a classic mauler vs wrestler matchup, but we were never going to get a straight-up match with Wheeler Yuta and Shafir ringside—though Danny Magic would eventually try to keep the odds as even as he could for his ‘forever friend’ in Garcia. Mox and the gang helped to ‘write off’ Ospreay with a brutal beatdown on Sunday after the faces of Allin, Tanahashi, Omega, Ibushi, and aforementioned Ospreay defeated the heel team led by Mox in the unsanctioned “Lights Out” match.

Mox was on defense throughout the match, showing the wear and tear of the brutal cage match, but the former AEW world champion got his ‘pound of flesh’ when he used a fork to rip a hole in Darby’s earlobe. Garcia played the underdog well when he had to—going as far as to utilize the help of a fan to get up off the floor to make it to the ring in time to break the count.

Garcia had Mox in a single leg ‘Boston Crab’ for the second time and scored a very close near-fall, but Mox was able to dig in his own bag and pull off a clunky but effective small package for the pinfall victory. After the match, Yuta grabbed the mic and, speaking for Mox, declined Darby’s challenge to the leader of The Death Ridders.

Darby Allin vs. Claudio Castagnoli—Falls Count Anywhere Match

They did not start in the ring, but they eventually made their way to it as Darby got the jump on Claudio as he made his way to the curtain. The spots were rough and the weapons were immediate, but it wasn’t until they got into the ring that the biggest spot of the night occurred.

Claudio, one of the strongest wrestlers in the industry pound for pound, hoisted Darby over his head (Warrior style) and launched him over the ropes and onto the commentator’s desk—absolutely exploding in the process. After a powerbomb through the table from Claudio, you did not think Darby would survive this match, let alone win.

However, Darby would hit the “Coffin Drop” twice for the win over Claudio to send the show home. After the match, Gabe Kidd came down to suplex Darby with Mox and co. behind him. Darby managed to escape the beating, but Kidd’s reactions and frustrations seen at the end of the show could be the beginning of some friction between him and the rest of the faction.

Yuta—Hook Lined And Sink ‘em

We came back from break only to see Yuta still in the ring, bashing the people of Philly and the venue itself as he reminisced about being on the ring crew as a teenager in the same building. The lights cut off, and a single “H” was spotlighted on the venue wall, signifying the return of Hook, who proceeded to beat down Yuta and thus launching their likely program for All Out.

Don Calis Fam International

Don Callis said he was “Hechicero” when he attempted to announce the members of his stable in action tonight. After a poor Spanish showing, Hechicero and the rest of the Don Callis Family, with the newly returned Wardlow ‘not in pads’, took on Brody King & Bandido (Brodido), and Jetspeed. The tension between Okada and Takeshita continued as that subplot brewed on, but this was a blink and you’ll miss it type of match.

Josh Alexander picked up the win over Mike Bailey, but there was just so much talent in the match that the lack of storyline was glaringly obvious.

Hangman Adam Page And MJF Comment On The New “Cash-in” Rules

Tony Khan announced on Sunday’s post-show that from now on, any cash-ins must be made a week in advance. Typically, cash-in storylines are based on the opportunistic nature of the spontaneous cash-in itself, but Khan admitted that the logistics of it make zero sense as they are—and he is right.

Now, MJF, for example, who still holds his cash-in contract despite losing to the champ on Sunday, expressed his displeasure with the new rule because it takes the advantage away from him, but the plot has been lost on the idea of cash-ins for some time; this rule feels more ‘realistic.’

MJF was not in the building tonight, so instead, the Don Callis family put a beating on Hangman as the faction attempts to take it off of him, but Omega came out (in jeans and a fresh shave) to assist the champ, which prompted JetSpeed to help even the odds.

Other Tidbits/In-Ring Action

AEW Trios Title Match

The Opps(c) defeated Ricochet and The Gates of Agony to successfully retain their titles. The match fell in a difficult crunch time situation, but it was all to build on a feud between The Hurt Syndicate and The Gates of Agony, who brawled to the back as the show cut to commercial.

Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford vs. Statlander & Harley Cameron

It was a very physical match that ended with Statlander tapping Ford, which led to a post-match showdown between the two. They had feuded during the ‘Zero Hour’ of Forbidden Door, and now it looks like the program has real legs.

Mark Briscoe challenged Kyle Fletcher for his AEW TNT title with his newborn baby in hand in a prerecorded promo from the Briscoe compound.