AEW Dynamite recap for October 2, 2019: Dawn of a revolution

Eliminating The Elite

And just like that, the first episode of Dynamite reached it’s main event as The Elite were set to take on Chris Jericho and the duo of Santana and Ortiz.

Jericho teased getting into it with Omega but heelishly tags out. Omega and Santana start running the ropes and showing off their patented maneuvers with Omega quickly gaining the upper hand. Omega then dispatches Ortiz and starts in on Jericho who quickly catches him in The Walls of Jericho but is superkicked by both Bucks for his troubles.

The Bucks both dive to the outside, but as Omega looks to follow them, Jon Moxley emerges from behind him with one of his hands in the shape of a gun aimed at the back of Omega’s head. Omega hears the crowd erupt and somehow knows it’s Moxley and as he slowly turns around Moxley attacks him. The two brawl into the crowd and into the VIP area on the arena floor. Omega, in haze of fists, finds a janitor bucket and a mop and strikes Moxley with it while sweeping the floor in the manner that his old persona, The Cleaner, would do. Moxley then gained the upper hand as he hammered fists and elbows into Omega’s face and hit a Paradigm Shift, a/k/a The Death Rider, onto a glass table.

That’s the last we see of those two as the camera cuts back to the ring where The Bucks are down a man in their six-man tag match. The former LAX run all over the Bucks as Jericho slides in for a classic Lionsault but is countered. Matt Jackson hits an impressive trio of northern lights suplexes and tags in his brother, Nick, who runs wild on all his opponents. The Bucks look to finish the match but Jericho catches Nick with a Codebreaker and then a Judas Effect on Matt for the win.

The heels aren’t done beating down The Bucks, though, so Cody runs out to help his Elite brothers. Cody fends off the baddies until Sammy Guevara rolls in and low blows Cody. This brings out Cody’s brother Dustin who clears the ring only to be blindsided by … JAKE HAGER!?

Hager then puts Dustin through a table as Cody watches on helplessly. The heels stand tall over the downed Elite to end the first episode of Dynamite.

Wow — that was a lot. Omega and Moxley just kicked their feud up a notch and it felt magical. The moment Moxley slid in was the most electric moment on the entire broadcast. Full Gear isn’t ready for the war these two men are going to have.

Jake Hager, meanwhile, was rumored to show up but most fans had forgotten that by the time the main event was underway so his run in was a literal blindside. Hager looked like a million bucks and if he continues this MMA juggernaut persona then he could very likely go very far in AEW. The Elite being laid out at the end of the broadcast was a nice surprise as it got over how dominant the heels the company has amassed are. Are these villains going to work together as a stable moving forward? Fans will have to tune in next week to find out.

AEW Dynamite Week 1 was a superb show with a lot to be happy about and very little to complain about. Hopefully the “new league” continues with a fiery episode next week. Until then, fans will just have to enjoy the fact that for the first time in two decades, there is a new force to be reckoned with in mainstream professional wrestling.