Kenny Omega Returns On August 17, 2022

Kenny Omega made his return to AEW in what was widely considered the worst-kept secret in professional wrestling. Omega joined The Young Bucks in the first round of the AEW Trios Championship Tournament in their first round matchup against La Faction Ingobernable

Omega’s return has been speculated ever since the start of the AEW Trios Tournament, as AEW President Tony Khan previously noted he would not introduce the titles until Omega’s return. The Young Bucks were initially turned down by Hangman Adam Page, who advised them to find a tag team partner who has never betrayed them. After heavy teases of Kenny Omega on Being the Elite, AEW took a page from the CM Punk playbook by advertising Omega’s return with veiled references rather than direct mentions.

AEW Dynamite advertised Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia in a Two out of Three Falls match, and a main event of The Young Bucks and a mystery opponent (Kenny Omega) vs. Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee and RUSH.

Last week’s broadcast of AEW Dynamite garnered 972,000.

AEW Dynamite Results

• Bryan Danielson def. Daniel Garcia | Two out of Three Falls
• The Gunn Club def. Varsity Blonds
• Toni Storm def. Kilynn King
• The Elite vs. RUSH, Dragon Lee and Andrade El Idolo

AEW Dynamite Ratings

• August 10, 2022 | 972,000
• August 3, 2022 | 938,000
• July 27, 2022 | 976,000
• July 20, 2022 | 910,000
• July 13, 2022 | 942,000
• July 6, 2022 | 970,000

• AEW Dynamite Venue: Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center (West Virginia)
• AEW Tickets Distributed: 4,143
• AEW Tickets Available: 489

AEW Dynamite Highlights | August 17, 2022

CM Punk and Jon Moxley Brawl

In a bizarre worked-shoot-style start, CM Punk called out Hangman Adam Page in his home state. Page did not show up, and Punk promptly called Page “coward s—t,” and demanded an apology for God knows what.

As expected, given their respective origin stories, this was a buffet of WWE references, each of which popped these AEW fans like Pavlovian dogs.

CM Punk made references to John Cena, The Shield, Eddie Guerrero and Kofi Kingston, while Moxley mocked Punk for “running out of money.”

CM Punk and Jon Moxley did a great job building realistic tension before exploding into a not-so-realistic brawl.

Later on in the night, Jon Moxley returned (he jumped Tony Nese) and called CM Punk out for another brawl. Punk obliged.

Bryan Danielson def. Daniel Garcia

Bryan Danielson lost the first fall via submission (he passed out) and he bled. If Daniel Garcia wins this two-out-of-three falls match, he’s a made man.

Garcia and Danielson seemed to be having their most heated exchange during the picture-in-picture break.

After Garcia’s loss, Daniel Garcia saved Bryan Danielson from a Chris Jericho beatdown. Then tension was teased between Jericho and Garcia, as fans chanted “you’re a wrestler!” at Garcia. Garcia was clearly more over coming out of this match, despite losing.

Backstage, guest timekeeper told Daniel Garcia that if he needs a mentor…Bryan Danielson (not Steamboat) was the man for the job.

Varsity Blonds Turn on Billy Gunn

The Gunn Club beat The Varsity Blonds within seconds.

The Gunn Club attacking Billy Gunn was described by Jim Ross as “goddamn pathetic.”

Fans really wanted to see the “Daddy Ass” Billy Gunn scissor with The Acclaimed.

Christian Cage and Jungle Boy Brawl

Poor Jungle Boy was tortured by “what” chants and was clearly thrown off by them.

Jungle Boy opened by lamenting how he hasn’t got the opportunity to punch Christian Cage. Then Christian got in the ring and spoke for several minutes before Jungle Boy finally struck him.

Moments after telling Jungle Boy he loved him, as an attempt to get out of a match at All Out, Christian Cage screamed “I hate you” at Jungle Boy during their brawl.

Toni Storm def. Kilynn King

Women’s wrestling in AEW struggles on a weekly basis when it comes to quarter-hour viewership. A match between Toni Storm and relative unknown Kilynn King—with no storyline to speak of—was a strong candidate to be the least-viewed segment of this show.

The official name for Toni Storm’s butt bump is “sweet checks music.”

Penelope Ford will return this Friday night on Rampage to take on Athen in what will certainly be a loss for Ford.

AEW shockingly announced CM Punk would take on Jon Moxley for the AEW Undisputed World Championship next week on Dynamite.

Kenny Omega Returns

I was just as happy to see Don Callis alongside a returning Kenny Omega, who received his “Justin Roberts” entrance filled with accolades.

Omega started the match with his left arm in a shoulder brace and also wore a compression shirt. Omega wrestling in a compression shirt and his arm in a brace either means he’s not all the way ready to come back, or he wants you to think he’s not all the way ready until he makes that hot tag.

At 38, Kenny Omega might have become the youngest wrestler in history to receive “You Still Got It” chants.

To further play up the fact that he’s not all the way back, Omega “slipped” while trying to deliver his patented tope con hilo. Dragon Lee delivered the maneuver instead, as he dove onto Kenny Omega and right into the crowd.

The finish came when Omega delivered the One Winged Angel, almost in slow motion. Overall, it was a successful return, but one where Omega is playing up the storyline of not being 100%.

Andrade attacked Dragon Lee following the loss. AEW rushed off the air, and Of course Dragon Lee’s mask came off.