AEW Dynamite Weekly for 3/18/20 (Broken Matt Hardy)

By
Guest Blogger

The show opens with Cody in the ring, inside in an empty arena, discussing recent events. He calls out Matt Jackson and Hangman Page for allowing their anger towards each other to cloud their judgment when they should work together. He calls out Kenny Omega and challenges him to once again be the competitor he was in NJPW. Will Matt Hardy reveal himself as the Exalted One tonight on AEW Dynamite? This is AEW Dynamite Weekly for 3/18/20.

Nick Jackson and Kenny Omega come out. Omega discusses the uncertainty of the future, but says if it all ends, he wants to go out as The Elite. Nick says that Matt is out of action indefinitely and asks where Hangman is. Page comes out to the stage with a drink and Nick asks him if he’ll stand with them tonight and at Blood and Guts. Hangman raises his glass, gives a nod, and leaves. Omega says the show must go on and calls for the lights to be turned on and the show to start.

We get a recap video showing the rivalry between Death Triangle and Best Friends & Orange Cassidy.

Tony Schiavone interviews MJF at ringside who lets him know he’ll be sitting front row and watching the matches. Tony asks MJF if he and Shawn Spears are gambling on the matches. MJF takes offense to this before asking Schiavone if he wants in on the action. We go to the ring where Brandi Rhodes is reliving her WWE days and serving as the ring announcer.

AEW Dynamite Weekly for 3/18/20
Best Friends vs Lucha Bros

Orange Cassidy is out with Best Friends and joins the commentary team. The bell rings and MJF is louder than most WWE crowds. Trent and Fenix lock up in the corner, then exchange chops and elbows, before Fenix takes him down with some intense kicks. Fenix hits the ropes and Trent hits a jumping double knee before tagging in Chuckie T. They hit a double shoulder block to take down Fenix. Chuck goes for a pin but only a two count. Trent tags back in and they hit a double suplex for another two count. Cut to Orange Cassidy at the table and he looks to be asleep. Chuck is back in and at this point, he and Trent are taking turns beating down Fenix and going for pin attempts.

Fenix turns the tables and fights back. Trent throws Fenix into his corner where Pentagon gets a tag. They take out Chuck on the other corner before hitting a double superkick on Trent. Pentagon maintains control and we see MJF and Spears enjoying wine in the front row. Fenix tags back in and they hit a rolling slam combo on Trent, then Fenix hits a superkick on Chuck in the corner. Pentagon sees Joey Janela sitting in the front row and confronts him. All four competitors are now outside the ring and battling each other as they cut to commercial on AEW Dynamite Weekly for 3/18/20.

Back from commercial and Fenix gets a near fall on Trent before he tags in Pentagon. Cassidy still looks to be asleep at the table. Trent tries to fight back and hits a tornado DDT. He tags in Chuck who fights off the Lucha Bros. They go for their usual hug, but the ref stops them and reminds them of social distancing, so they bump elbows before Pentagon hits them from behind. Lucha Bros go to attack Best Friends on the outside and OC finally awakens and gets their attention. Chuck attacks them outside the ring allowing Cassidy to hit a dive from the stage.

Back in the ring, Best Friends go for a double team maneuver for the win but can’t get the three count. The referee is distracted by Fenix and Chuck fighting on the top rope, allowing Pentagon to kick Trent below the belt. Chuck gets dropped from the top rope, allowing Fenix and Pentagon to hit the package piledriver/stomp combo for the win.

Winner: Lucha Bros

Tony talks to Best Friends after the match and they challenge Lucha Bros to a street fight in the actual streets next week.

AEW Dynamite Weekly for 3/18/20
Penelope Ford w/Kip Sabian vs Riho vs Kris Statlander vs Hikaru Shida

Penelope immediately goes after Riho and tosses her from the ring, then turns around where Kris and Hikaru try for a double suplex, but Ford gets out of it. Kris and Hikaru hit the ropes and Sabian trips them and pulls them out. Penelope goes outside where Riho dives on all of them. The fight goes back into the ring where Hikaru pokes Statlander in the eye and goes for a roll-up but only gets a two count.

Riho and Penelope hit a suplex on Shida before battling back and forth. Riho takes out Kip on the outside with a baseball slide. Penelope hits a springboard elbow in the corner on Riho and tries to go for a pin with Kip’s help, but the ref puts a stop to it. Statlander and Shida re-enter the ring and all four women are fighting one another. Statlander slams Riho onto Shida, then Ford hits a reverse hurricarana on Statlander to take her out of the ring. Shida hits a Falcon Arrow on Ford for a two count, then a running knee to the back of the head for a three count and the win.

Winner: Hikaru Shida

Tony Schiavone interviews Colt Cabana at ringside. Cabana talks about Kip Sabian interfering in the match and Sabian tries to start a fight with him. Colt slaps him and reminds him he can wrestle too.

Back from the commercial and Tony Schiavone stops Jon Moxley in the parking lot. We find out that Mox is not medically cleared to be in the arena tonight due to his injuries.

AEW Dynamite Weekly for 3/18/20
The Butcher and The Blade vs Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus)

MJF seems to be making a deal with The Butcher and The Blade on the outside. The match starts with Jungle Boy and The Blade. Blade attacks Jungle Boy in the corner before Jungle Boy reverses into a pin attempt. Both men proceed to battle back and forth. Blade attempts to go for a tag, but Jungle Boy stops him and gets him into his corner for a tag. Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy take down Blade and Jungle Boy is tagged back in. Blade and Butcher are outside the ring by MJF. Jungle Boy goes for a dive but they catch him toss him into the rail. Back in the ring and The Butcher is tagged in.

He continues to beat down Jungle Boy on his side of the ring. Jungle Boy tries to fight back when The Blade is tagged in, but The Butcher chops him down as they cut to commercial.

Jungle Boy is still getting beaten down by The Butcher and The Blade in the corner when they return from commercial. Blade hits a spinning backbreaker on Jungle Boy for a two count. Jungle Boy is able to hit a clothesline and goes for the tag, but Blade is back up and stops him. The Blade tosses Jungle Boy outside the ring where The Butcher slams him into the ring apron and throws him back in the ring. The Blade gets a two count on Jungle Boy before trying to trap Jungle Boy in their corner. Jungle Boy fights back and is able to jump from the top rope across the ring for a tag.

Luchasaurus is in and takes out his opponents, even hitting a moonsault to The Butcher on the outside. The Blade and Jungle Boy end up on the outside while Luchasaurus takes out The Butcher with a sidekick. The Blade is back in and they double team Luchasaurus.

MJF shouts at The Butcher and The Blade to hit their finisher. They hit their move, but the delay in listening to MJF allows Jungle Boy to get back in the ring to break up the pin attempt before he and Luchasaurus regain control. They toss The Blade outside the ring then hit their finisher on The Butcher. Jungle Boy goes for a dive on The Blade on the outside, but The Blade is still on the ground so Jungle Boy hops out of the ring while Luchasaurus gets the pin.

Winner: Jurassic Express

AEW Dynamite Weekly for 3/18/20
The Exalted One Arrives

The Dark Order comes out to the ring as Dynamite returns from the break. Evil Uno reiterates his promise of the arrival of the Exalted One. He says that he is near, he is near. Christopher Daniels is in the crowd and yells for him to stop and he gets in the ring with Frankie Kazarian. Daniels is on the mic now says that Evil Uno is just wasting everyone’s time and there is no Exalted One. A video comes up on the screen with a person in a long, hooded jacket saying he is the Exalted One. The voice is distorted, and he says he is coming. The voice becomes less and less distorted. He pulls his hood back as the voice becomes clear…..

THE EXALTED ONE IS BRODIE LEE!!!

The video ends and Brodie Lee (fka Luke Harper in WWE) is standing behind Daniels and Kazarian. The Dark Order attacks them just before they cut to commercial.

Tony Schiavone is ringside and asks Lance Archer why he’s here in AEW, but Jake The Snake speaks on his behalf. Jake says he and Archer are there for Cody, they are tired of being ignored, and they will get his attention. We now get a vignette of sorts with Archer beating up some backyard wrestlers in a makeshift ring in some backwoods area. This, along with Jake Roberts sitting in a rocking chair, has a very Wyatt Family feel to it.

Before the main event, we find out that Matt Jackson will not be in the Blood & Guts match so The Elite will be shorthanded. This match will determine which team has the advantage next week in the Blood & Guts match.

AEW Dynamite Weekly for 3/18/20
The Elite (Cody, Hangman Page, & Nick Jackson) w/Kenny Omega vs The Inner Circle (Jake Hager, Santana & Ortiz) w/Sammy Guevara

The Inner Circle is out before the break, but when the show returns from break, Chris Jericho comes out on his own. Sammy Guevara grabs a mic and begins to sing along with MJF to Jericho’s theme song. If this is what we have to look forward to the next few weeks with no audience, I’m all for it. Jericho is now on commentary and calls attention to Arn Anderson’s Waffle House menu as he comes out with Cody. Take note WWE, this is how you do a show with no crowd.

Cody and Santana start off the match, but MJF distracts Cody with his heckling from the crowd, allowing Santana to attack from behind. Cody manages to reverse the attack into a power slam before getting hit in the stomach. Ortiz tags in and goes for a suplex, but Cody reverses it. Cody and Nick Jackson take turns tagging in and attacking Ortiz. Hangman runs in and hits Ortiz too.

Santana gets a tag in with the chaos going on. Nick backs up into his corner to prepare to hit Santana, but Page tags himself in. Santana attacks Page, but Hangman reverses the attack with a clothesline and a fallaway slam into a bridge pin attempt for a two count. Hangman tags in Cody and Santana tosses him to the outside where ends up in a double team attack from Santana and Ortiz. They toss Cody back in the ring where Hager begins his attack as they cut to commercial.

Hager has Cody up in the air for a suplex when the show returns. He tags Ortiz in and he grabs Cody in the suplex position before dropping him. Cody rolls outside and Ortiz proceeds to throw him into the rails. Jackson attacks Ortiz but Hager runs over and attacks Jackson. Hager tosses Cody back in the ring and Santana is now the legal man. Santana puts Cody in a submission hold then goes for a pin. Cody tries to fight back but Santana gets him in a leg lock and tags in Hager.

Jake does his best to keep Cody from making a tag while wearing him out. He gets Cody back to his corner and tags in Ortiz who continues to try to wear down Cody. Ortiz and Santana trade tags while wearing down Cody, but he manages to hit a Cross Rhodes on Ortiz. Hager manages to get a tag before Cody can make it to his corner and stops him. Santana jumps in and attacks Page and Jackson in their corner as they go to final commercial break

Return from commercial and Hager goes for a splash in the corner on Cody, but Cody gets his leg up to stop him. Cody makes the tag to Hangman while Hager tags in Santana. Page cleans house, hits a dive on Hager on the outside then attacks Santana in the ring. Cody hits a dive on Ortiz on the outside and throws him into MJF. Wardlow grabs Cody by the neck and Arn hits Wardlow. Back in the ring, Nick calls for Page to help him hit the Meltzer Driver finisher on Santana. Hangman goes for the springboard but Hager grabs him and pulls him from the ring apron as Santana rolls up Jackson for the win.

Winners: Inner Circle

After the match, Jericho grabs a mic and reminds The Elite they are still down a man next week. He mocks them and says the Inner Circle never have problems like The Elite. As Jericho and Guevara start hitting on Brandi Rhodes at ringside, we hear a buzzing noise as a very familiar drone flies into the ring. Nick Jackson gets on the mic tells Jericho he is wrong about one thing, The Elite are not down a man, because they called up a friend who will join them next week. Piano music starts to play as the camera pans to the rafters and we see the brilliance that is…

BROKEN MATT HARDY! WONDERFUL!!!

 

A most wonderful debut as All Elite Wrestling has now become All Delete Wrestling with the arrival of Matt Hardy. The arrival of Matt Hardy was largely tied to being the exalted one. With this latest development, Matt Hardy has revealed himself as a friend that is coming in as an aid to Matt Jackson. What match possibilities do you think Matt Hardy will be a part of? Will this version of Matt Hardy have zenith separated from his body? Can this Matt Hardy reawaken the dormant character that has rested since his return? Is this the start of a return to the Hardy Compound led by Matt? Check back in next week to see what Matt Hardy does on AEW Dynamite.

Matt Hardy AEW AEW Dynamite Weekly for 3/18/20
Photo / AEW

Originally written by Matt Jacobi

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR