12/29/21 AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash Recap

The opening credits roll. Excalibur and Tony Schiavone are on commentary, and they are joined by the returning Jim Ross, from Jacksonville, Florida.

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Match #1 – Ten-Man Tag Team Match: Christian Cage, Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus), and The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix) (w/Alex Abrahantes) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood), Matt Hardy, and Private Party (Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) (w/Jora Johl, The Blade, and Tully Blanchard)
Cage and Wheeler start the match with a lock-up. They go to the mat, but neither man gains the advantage. They lock up again, and Wheeler goes behind with a waist-lock. Wheeler takes Cage to the mat and applies a front chancery. Cage gets free, but Wheeler takes him down with a wrist-lock take-down. Cage comes back with a kick to the face and goes for the Killswitch, but Wheeler shoves him away. Cage takes Wheeler to the corner and delivers a series of rights, and delivers a few to Harwood as well. Jungle Boy comes in and takes Wheeler down and goes for the cover, but Wheeler kicks out and tags in Harwood. They lock up and Harwood backs Jungle Boy into the corner. Jungle Boy turns it around and delivers a few chops, but Harwood comes back with an uppercut. Jungle Boy fires back with elbows and chops, but Harwood drops him with a shoulder tackle. Jungle Boy comes back with a back elbow shot, and Harwood gets shots from all the faces in the corner. Cage tags in, but Harwood delivers an uppercut. Cage comes back with a kick to the face and sends Harwood into the ropes.
Cage stands on Harwood’s back and slaps him across the face. Cage drapes Harwood over the ropes and tags Jungle Boy back in. Jungle Boy locks in the Snare Trap, but Wheeler breaks it up. Kassidy tags in, but Jungle Boy takes him down. Fenix tags in, and he Penta double-team Kassidy as Jungle Boy takes out Quen. Jungle Boy tags backs in, but Kassidy slams him to the mat by his hair. Quen tags in and Private Party try to double-team Jungle Boy, but he sends Kassidy to the floor. Hardy tags in and drops Jungle Boy with the Side Effect and goes for the cover, but Jungle Boy kicks out. Hardy slams Jungle Boy’s head into the turnbuckle a few times, and Wheeler connects with a cheap shot as well and then tags in. Blanchard delivers a shot of his own, and then the heels make quick tags and keep Jungle Boy grounded on their side of the ring. Hardy tags back in and applies a sleeper hold, but Jungle Boy fights back with elbow shots. Jungle Boy drops Hardy with a comeback lariat and tags in Penta. Quen tags in, but Penta drops Private Party with Slingblades and tags in Fenix. Lucha Brothers double-kick Harwood and Penta drops FTR with an assisted double-DDT.
Fenix splashes onto Quen and goes for the cover, but Quen kicks out. Kassidy comes back and Quen drops Fenix with a DDT. Harwood tags in and drops a leg onto Fenix. Harwood follows with an elbow drop and goes for the cover, but Fenix kicks out. Harwood slams Fenix to the mat and goes for the cover again, but Fenix kicks out once more. Harwood puts Fenix up top and delivers a chop. Harwood climbs as well, but Fenix sends him back to the mat. Wheeler comes in, but Fenix drops FTR with a double moonsault press. Luchasaurus tags in and drops FTR with a double shoulder tackle. Luchasaurus drops Hardy to the floor and slams Kassidy to the mat. He takes out Quen as well, and takes FTR to the corner and delivers right hands. Luchasaurus delivers corner clotheslines and kicks to the heels and then sends Private Party to the floor. Luchasaurus drops Harwood with a clothesline and Wheeler with the Tail Whip Kick. Luchasaurus chokeslams Harwood and Penta tags himself in. Penta delivers a Backstabber and goes for the cover, but Harwood kicks out. Everyone gets in the ring and starts brawling, and then Hardy sends Luchasaurus into the ring post. Fenix and Jungle Boy dive onto everyone on the floor, and then Penta kicks Harwood in the midsection.
Cage tags in, and he and Penta have words. FTR shove Penta into Cage, and then drop Cage with the Big Rig and get the pin fall.
Winners: FTR, Matt Hardy, and Private Party

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Match #2 – Trios Tag Team Match: 2point0 (Jeff Parker and Matt Lee) and Daniel Garcia vs. Eddie Kingston, Ortiz, and Santana
Kingston and Lee start the match. Lee delivers a few shots, but Kingston comes back with a knee to the midsection and a suplex. Kingston goes after Garcia, but 2point0 and Garcia triple-team him on the floor. Santana and Ortiz make the save, and then Kingston and Lee get back into the ring. Lee delivers another shot and tags in Parker. Parker delivers right hands in the corner, but Kingston drops him with a modified Alabama Slam. Kingston hooks Parker’s mouth and tags in Ortiz. Ortiz applies a side-headlock and drops him with an arm-drag. Parker comes back with an ankle pick, and follows with a shot to Ortiz. Ortiz comes back with a leg lariat and goes for the cover, but Parker kicks out. Santana tags in, and he and Ortiz double-team Parker. Santana delivers a clothesline and Garcia tags in. Garcia kicks Santana in the midsection, but Santana takes him to the corner and delivers a kick to the face. Santana delivers Three Amigos and follows with a chop to the corner. Kingston grabs Garcia and bites his head. Santana and Ortiz double-team Garcia and slam him to the mat. Ortiz, now the legal man, goes for the cover, but Garcia kicks out.
Ortiz works over Garcia, but Lee makes a blind tag and pulls Ortiz to the outside. Garcia and Lee double-team Ortiz and get him back into the ring. Lee chokes Ortiz with his knee and slams him into the corner. Parker tags in and 2point0 double-team Ortiz as the show heads to a commercial.
Back from the break, Garcia and Ortiz are in the ring. Ortiz delivers a dropkick and chaos ensues. The ring gets cleared and Garcia rolls up Santana with a handful of tights and gets the pin fall.
Winners: 2point0 and Daniel Garcia
-After the match, 2point0 grab Santana, and Garcia lays him out with the ring bell. Chris Jericho’s music hits, and he runs out with the baseball bat and clears the ring. Kingston checks on Santana and Jericho checks on Ortiz. Kingston and Jericho get face-to-face and argue for a bit before Ortiz gets in between them.

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MJF is backstage with Shawn Spears and Wardlow. MJF says he is going to talk about unsafe working conditions. He brings up Sting throwing him on his head last week and says if he worked for a more professional company, things like that wouldn’t happen. He says they can address that during the Bidding War of 2024. He says CM Punk avoided him the entire match last week, and then turns his attention to Wardlow. He says Wardlow needs to focus on beating more people so he can qualify for the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match, and then relinquish the title shot to him after he wins it. Wardlow asks what he is talking about, and then Smart Mark Sterling walks in and reads Wardlow’s contract that he has with MJF. MJF says he is going to start getting some wins next week so that he can become both the AEW TNT Champion and AEW World Champion.

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Tony Schiavone is with The Lucha Brothers, but Christian Cage and Jurassic Express interrupt. Cage challenges them to defend the titles against Jurassic Express next week, and Penta insults Cage and tells Jungle Boy if he is going to be the future, he should let go of the past.

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Match #3 – Singles Match: Wardlow (w/Shawn Spears) vs. Colin Delaney
Wardlow drops Delaney with a clothesline, and follows with a power bomb. Wardlow delivers another power bomb, and then a third. Wardlow delivers a fourth power bomb and stands on Delaney’s chest for the pin fall.
Winner: Wardlow

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Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, and The Young Bucks are backstage. Cole says they are going to be the best group in professional wrestling history, but the Bucks say O’Reilly hasn’t even said hello to them yet. He says hello, and then they talk about Fish. Fish says he wants to talk to Cole, but the Bucks say he can say it in front of them. Cole calms everyone down, and the Bucks and Fish leave. O’Reilly says he knows Fish has his back tonight, and he will find out of Cole does, too.

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Dan Lambert is in the ring with Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky. He says he thought it would be cool to come to AEW as a fan, but there is nothing cool about Cody Rhodes and his entourage. He insults Arn Anderson for being with Rhodes and says he used to be a Horseman, but now he is just a whore. He brings up Brandi and says every Brandi he has ever known has been a stripper. He says they can make stripper jokes, but they will get old quickly, just like Brandi over the last couple of years. Lambert insults Cody some more, and Brandi comes out. She called him a less-talented version of Paul Heyman, and Lambert says he prefers Jim Cornette. He says the sound of her voice makes him wish Chris Jericho was stapling his balls to the inside of his leg again. Brandi asks Lambert when the last time he got beat up by a woman without paying for it was. Lambert says he is black belt, and Brandi says she is a black bitch, and they gear up to fight. Dustin Rhodes comes out to get in the middle, but Page lays Rhodes out with a cheap shot. Lambert and the Men of the Year leave the ring as Brandi checks on Dustin.

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The video package for the upcoming rematch between Adam Page and Bryan Danielson airs.

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Match #4 – AEW TBS Championship Tournament – Semifinal Match: Jade Cargill (w/Smart Mark Sterling) vs. Thunder Rosa
Rosa delivers a low dropkick and Cargill goes to the floor. Rosa goes for a dive, but Sterling gets in the way. Rosa takes him out with a rolling senton from the apron, but Cargill attacks her from behind. Rosa fires back with body shots and knee strikes. Rosa stops the referee’s count and delivers more shots to Cargill on the floor. Rosa comes off the apron, but Cargill catches her and delivers a back-breaker. Cargill goes for a clothesline, but Rosa ducks under and kicks Cargill’s knee. Rosa continues to work over Cargill’s knee and drapes it over the barricade. Rosa delivers another shot to Cargill’s knee and slams her into the apron. Cargill comes back and slams Rosa into the barricade and breaks the referee’s count. Cargill slams Rosa into the ring post and rolls her back into the ring. Rosa comes back and they exchange shots. Rosa drapes Cargill over the ropes, but Cargill comes back with a pump kick to drop Rosa to the mat as the show heads to a commercial.
Back from the break, Rosa charges at Cargill in the corner and delivers a few shots. Rosa delivers corner clothesline and drops her to the mat. Rosa delivers a running dropkick and works over Cargill’s knee. Rosa delivers a few elbow drops to Cargill’s knee and runs the ropes, but Cargill catches her and drops her with a Samoan Drop. Cargill delivers a knee to the face and delivers a triple back-breaker over her shoulder. Rosa comes back with a knee-breaker and locks in the Figure Four. Cargill makes it to the ropes and Sterling gives her a drink of water. Sterling gets on the apron, and Cargill sends Rosa into the turnbuckle. Someone breaks a piece of equipment over Rosa’s head and Cargill drops her with Jaded and gets the pin fall.
Winner: Jade Cargill
-Cargill will meet Ruby Soho in the finals next week. After the match, Rosa attacks Cargill, but the hooded figure gets into the ring and beats down Rosa with Cargill. The hooded figure reveals herself to be Mercedes Martinez and they continue to beat down Rosa. Ruby Soho rushes the ring with a lead pipe and Cargill and Martinez leave the ring.

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Footage of the brewing feud between Kris Statlander and Leyla Hirsch airs.

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The video package for the upcoming AEW Women’s World Championship Match between Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. and Riho airs. The match will take place on Saturday, January 8, 2022 at Battle of the Belts.

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CM Punk makes his way to the ring. Punk welcomes JR back to the booth and says Daly’s Place makes him think of Brodie Lee. He says the tribute show for his friend made him want to come here. He then brings up MJF and calls him a troll. He says MJF talks big online, but he won’t say anything to anyone’s face. Punk says MJF said he is done with him, and he is fine with that. Punk says he teamed with Sting and Darby Allin, and they beat MJF and FTR. Punk says he is looking toward bigger and better things and says he wants to be champion, too. Punk takes a shot at Tim Tebow’s time in Jacksonville by saying MJF is a bigger waste of Khan money than Tebow as a Jacksonville Jaguar and says MJF learned the hard way that no one can touch him on the ring or on the mic, and says if MJF is also on a quest for gold, he is sure he will see him in the ring again. Punk says it would sure be a shame if someone messed with MJF’s quest.

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Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks cut a promo. Starks welcomes JR back and says now Taz can focus on making Hook an ever bigger star. Starks brings up Dante Martin and says his momentum has stalled since he got with Lio Rush. Starks brings up Hobbs destroying Martin the last time they met, and Hobbs asks Martin if he really wants round two.

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The video package for the ongoing feud between Hiraku Shida and Serena Deeb airs.

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Tony Schiavone is in the ring with Brian Pillman Jr. Pillman says his brother, Griff Garrison, walked right into the House of Black last week. He says Malakai Black tried to end Garrison’s career last week. but he can’t remember much because his memory is black. He says he woke up in the ring next to the person he was trying to protect, and congratulates Black on his cheap shot. He says it won’t happen again and says it is his turn to visit the House of Black. Pillman says you only get one life, and he isn’t giving Black his. He says Black will see an all new Brian Pillman Jr. next week. The lights go out and Black appears on the ramp. He points at Pillman and the lights go out. They come back on, and Black is gone.

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Announced for this Friday’s Rampage:
-AEW TNT Championship Match: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Ethan Page
-Tag Team Street Fight: Anna Jay and Tay Conti vs. Penelope Ford and The Bunny
-Anthony Bowens vs. Darby Allin
-An edition of Technique by Taz look at Hook’s Redrum submission

Announced for next Wednesday’s Dynamite on TBS:
-AEW World Championship Match: Adam Page (c) vs. Bryan Danielson
-AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: The Lucha Brothers (c) vs. Jurassic Express
-AEW TBS Championship Tournament – Final Match: Jade Cargill vs. Ruby Soho
-Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Malakai Black

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Match #5 – Trios Tag Team Match: Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta) and Orange Cassidy
Taylor and O’Reilly start the match. They exchange shots and Beretta tags in. Beretta and O’Reilly exchange chops and kicks, and Beretta delivers a forearm shot. O’Reilly kicks Beretta in the chest, and then both men kick each other in the face. Fish and Cassidy tag in and Cassidy delivers his devastating kicks. Cassidy dodges a kick from Fish and rolls him up for two. Cassidy dodges Fish and puts his hands in his pockets, but Cole drops Cassidy with a forearm shot. Cassidy comes back and tags in Taylor, and Best Friends triple-team Cole in the corner. Fish and O’Reilly get in the ring, but Best Friends send them to the floor as well. Best Friends go for the hug, but Cole, Fish, and O’Reilly get back into the ring and beat them down. Taylor delivers a right hand to Fish and Cole, but O’Reilly takes Taylor down with a dragon screw in the ropes. Cole sends Taylor to the floor as the show heads to a commercial.
Back from the break, Taylor slams O’Reilly into the barricade and gets back into the ring. Taylor gets back into the ring, but Cole slams him to the mat. Cole goes for the cover, but Taylor kicks out. Cassidy is laid out with a superkick and Taylor sends Cole to the floor. O’Reilly made a blind tags, and takes Taylor out as Beretta tags in. Beretta drops O’Reilly with a half-and-half suplex and delivers a back elbow in the corner. Beretta drops O’Reilly with a DDT and goes for the cover, but O’Reilly kicks out. O’Reilly comes back as Cole kicks Beretta in the head. Fish tags in as O’Reilly knocks Taylor back to the floor. reDRagon double-team Beretta and they drop him with a neck-breaker combination. Fish goes for the cover, but Beretta kicks out. Beretta comes back with a double stomp to Fish, and Cassidy and O’Reilly tag in. Cassidy drops O’Reilly with a cross-body, and drops Fish with a dive on the floor. Cassidy delivers Stundog Millionaire to Cole, but Fish comes back and reDRagon double-team Cassidy with a suplex. O’Reilly goes for the cover, but Cassidy kicks out. Cole tags in and delivers a superkick to Cassidy. reDRagon delivers the Hi-Low and Cole goes for the cover, but Taylor breaks it up.
Fish drapes Beretta over the top rope, but Taylor lays Fish out with a thrust kick. Cole delivers a superkick to Taylor and goes for Panama Sunrise, but Taylor counters with a back body drop. Taylor takes out reDRagon with a flip from the stage, and the Beretta spears Cole on the ramp. Beretta tosses Cole back into the ring and Cassidy drops Cole with a diving DDT. Cassidy goes for the cover, but Cole kicks out. Taylor and Beretta drop Cole with pile drivers and then Cassidy hits Beach Break. Cassidy goes for the cover, but reDRagon breaks it up. O’Reilly tags in and kicks Cassidy in the face a few times, but Cassidy blocks the last one. O’Reilly delivers a knee strike and follows with a forearm. O’Reilly goes for another kick, but Cassidy dodges and O’Reilly kicks Cole in the face. Cassidy rolls up O’Reilly for two, and then Taylor and Beretta come in and drop O’Reilly with the Soul Food/half-and-half combination. They hug and Brandon Cutler comes to the ring. Best Friends drop him with right hands, and then the Young Bucks come in and deliver superkicks to Best Friends. reDRagon get in the ring and drop Taylor with Chasing the Dragon and O’Reilly gets the pin fall.
Winners: Adam Cole and reDRagon
-After the match, Cole goes to the ramp with the Bucks and Cutler as reDRagon look on from the ring. reDRagon and the Bucks exchange words as Cole looks on and talks to the Bucks as the show comes to a close.