AEW Dynamite results, highlights (Nov. 13): Jon Moxley's takeover continues and Full Gear fleshes out

With Full Gear just 10 days away, Wednesday's episode of “AEW Dynamite” added some clarity on what matches will take place at the pay-per-view, and it did so at a smooth pace that flew by like Darby Allin leaping from a balcony. Yes, that’s a thing that happened because of course Allin’s doing something utterly insane on a mundane Wednesday.

Oh, God, what did Darby Allin do now?

Tonight, he leapt from a balcony onto his enemies, which is actually pretty tame for him.

Prior to Allin’s dive, Moxley and the Death Riders were continuing their “takeover,” which consisted of a fine two-and-a-half minute speech during which he detailed how badly he’s going to kick Orange Cassidy’s ass (very badly, just to be clear), only to be interrupted by Orange Cassidy, who basically said, “I’m going to out-wrestle you,” before vowing to beat up Moxley’s boy, Wheeler Yuta, next week on "Dynamite."

That’s not much of a takeover and it only got less takeovery when Moxley and the Death Riders were exiting, only to get jumped by Allin which you saw above, when he dropped from the balcony and landed on their noggins with the impact of a cartoon anvil.

Did Darby Allin do anything else?

Ah, yes, let’s go straight to Episode 2 of What Did Darby Do? In this installment he continued a relentless pursuit of Moxley and the Death Riders backstage, only to be thrown into a steel door by Claudio Castagnoli.

As for the rest of the show, while nobody else was giving their skull and bones a stress test like Darby, there was a lot happening, and the way in which it was presented leads me straight to handing out some digital hardware.

👑 The Uncrowned Dynamite MVP 👑

Tonight’s transitions were smooth — a flow between matches and segments so seamless that you might expect to see “Executive Producer: Lee Fitting” at the end of it. Above is one example, as Konosuke Takeshita beat the mess out of Roderick Strong immediately after his win over Lance Archer that solidified his spot in a match with MJF at Full Gear, only to be interrupted by Adam Cole.

But wait, there’s more. Cole came down and had a lil’ pre-match brawl with Takeshita, hitting his traditional entrance “BOOM” in the process. Excellent stuff.

However, not all transitions can be smooth, like the passage from being an all-time great to stepping out of the spotlight.

Anyway, there was a Yapping Tree Chris Jericho-led segment that you can check out below.

While the promo is fine and I actually chuckled during the last 15 seconds, it still means a Jericho versus Tomohiro Ishii match is coming once again, though I’m not sure who wants it? The real battle here might be keeping eyes on a 2024 Chris Jericho match vs. scrolling through your phone.

In other news, Brody King and Malakai Black make an imposing pairing and they scored a win over Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler, which means they advance to the four-way World Tag Team Championship match at Full Gear, almost certain to be a banger.

As we wind down, let’s look at those who put the W in AEW tonight.

👍 Dynamite WINNERS 👍

1. Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher had a stellar confrontational segment, but the highlight was Ospreay throwing a screwdriver with the utmost precision. It’s up there with Mr. Perfect’s towel throw and Roman Reigns’ mic catch in the smooth moments in wrestling history Hall of Fame.

2. Christian Cage and Adam Page beat Jay White & Juice Robinson in a solid outing for all parties. No complaints, no notes.

3. Swerve Strickland and Lio Rush also put on a show and the stuff brewing between Strickland and the Hurt Syndicate continues to heat up. All of this adds to the appeal of next Saturday’s match between Strickland and Lashley, who frankly each could benefit from a big win over the other.

👎 Dynamite LOSERS 👎

Honestly, this was a strong showing and nobody was a loser, though Swerve did mislabel Bridgeport as Stamford and he received an earful for the blunder. But hey, if that’s the worst thing that happens on your otherwise smooth program, let Connecticut cry about it and accept our shiny 👑 8.5/10 Crowns. 👑