Date: 12/30	5:00 PM
Views: 342

Ian Clark's "RIP Brodie Lee" AEW Dynamite on TNT Live Recap at 8 PM ET

Dynamite begins with the entire roster and most of the office on the entrance ramp. There's a 10-bell salute to Brodie Lee. Many roster members are visibly in tears.

Jon Moxley says that he can't come up with anything new to say about Brodie Lee, but that's the comforting part, knowing everyone loved Brodie so much that it's already all been said. He talks about Brodie's love for his children. He says that he hopes tonight inspires people to enjoy their lives more.

Match One: Matt Hardy and Private Party vs. Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks and Colt Cabana

Dark Order get a huge pop.

Kassidy and Colt start off, Kassidy wrenches an arm, reversed, Kassidy with a whip, Colt with a suplex, blocked, punch instead, Quen in, Colt with a leg sweep, Nick in, Bucks whip Quen into a Colt clothesline, Hardy runs in, Bucks and Colt with various double team offense, series of suicide dives to all three opponents, Colt with an Asai moonsault to all three opponents, Quen and Nick back into the ring, Nick with kicks in the corner, Hardy with a clothesline from the apron, tags in, stands on his neck, whip, sleeper, snapmare, punches Colt, Nick misses an avalanche, but hits an elbow, Matt (Jackson) in, double team kicks, aided dropkick, hip toss to a running in Quen, kicks for both members of Private Party, Matt with punches to Quen, Hardy trips Matt, Matt responds with punches, discus clothesline, Quen with a suicide dive to Matt, rolls him into the ring, mounted punches, suplex for two, toss to the corner, Kassidy in, stomps in the corner, Hardy in, shoulder tackles in the corner, punch, whip to the corner, punch, Quen in, stomp to the gut, dropkick, cover for two, toss into Kassidy's boot, Kassidy in, Manhattan Drop/enziguri combo, back suplex for two, Hardy in, top rope elbow drop for two, front facelock, whip to the corner, Kassidy in, clothesline in the corner, Quen with a clothesline, Hardy goes for one, Matt with a boot, Quen with a clothesline, Hardy goes for a clothesline, Matt counters with a boot, top rope crossbody for two, Hardy with a Side Effect for two, Nick and Colt punch Hardy, Matt (Jackson) with a Twist of Fate, Colt in, Kassidy in, Colt with a springboard moonsault to both members of Private Party, punches for both members of PP, hurricanrana to Quen, leaping ass attack to Kassidy for two, goes to tag in Nick, Hardy pulls him off the apron, Colt goes for a discus lariat, reversed into a crucifix, Hardy with a punch, Kassidy rolls up for two, Quen in, dropkick for two, Hardy with a body slam, Quen goes up top, as does Kassidy, Bucks crotch both of them, Nick with a superkick to Hardy, super hurricanrana to Quen, tags in, clothesline to Quen, another, goes off the ropes, Hardy with a trip, tosses Colt across the barricade, Nick kicks Hardy in the face, shoulder tackle to Quen, springboard facebuster, suicide dive to Hardy, goes up top, Kassidy follows, Nick shoves him off, Gin and Juice, Hardy with a Twist of Fate, both members of Private Party with a senton, then shooting star for two as Matt breaks the count, Private Party beat down the Bucks, Hardy grabs a chair, Quen refuses it, Nick with a punch, Colt in, punches Hardy, elbows Quen, tosses Kassidy to the apron, Quen with a punch, Gin and Juice, reversed into a Chicago Skyline to Kassidy and an Indietaker to Quen, Colt with a Superman cover for three.

Winners: Colt Cabana and The Young Bucks

The Acclaimed come out and say they're about to deliver a diss rap on Dark Order, SCU come out and beat them down before Colt hits the Bionic Elbow, and Colt and the Bucks throw up a Dark Order sign.

Darby Allin says that he was really excited to face Brodie from the moment he met him when he debuted with AEW. He says that Brodie had no ego, he wanted to help everyone.

Match Two: Evil Uno, Stu Greyson and Lance Archer vs. Butcher, Blade and Eddie Kingston

Jake Roberts gives his blessing for Archer to be part of Dark Order tonight. Archer is dressed in Luke Harper gear.

Eddie: "Cut the music! Brodie! I love you, I miss you, this is for you! But now that all that niceness is out of the way, The Dark Order is nothing without him, and we're going to prove it tonight, you cowards!"

Uno and Kingston start off, Uno with a punch, a full brawl breaks out, Dark Order team wind up with Eddie to themselves, beat him down, Stu becomes legal, knee, off the ropes, Anna grabs his leg, brawl breaks out again, Eddie tosses Stu to the corner, elbow, clothesline, Butcher in, avalanche, Blade in, snap powerslam for two, chop, another, whip, reversed, Jake with a trip, Uno drops Blade across the top rope, Stu with a body slam, Archer in, punches in the corner, stomps, Uno in, rakes Blade's chest, whip to the corner, clothesline, snapmare, goes up top, senton for one, whip, reversed, Blade with a crossbody, Eddie in, punch, toss to the floor, Jay with a kick, Butcher rolls Uno into the ring, toss to the corner, Blade in, punch, punch in the corner, trading punches, Butcher in, chop, another, throw down, stomp, punch, Eddie in, suplex for two, Uno with a chop, slap, trading slaps, Uno gets the better of it, half and half suplex, Blade in, Archer in, cleans house, ripcord uranage to Blade, chokeslam, blocked, Blade with a boot, Archer with a slap, running elbow in the corner, punch, Old School into a top rope moonsault, punch to Butcher, trading boots, Butcher with a slap, Archer with a Punch, Stu in, Dark Order with a Magic Killer flapjack, Archer with a frog splash for two as the opposing team breaks the count, elevated kick combo, Eddie Kingston with a DDT for two, Stu kicks his way out of the corner, Archer in, avalanche, Blackout to Blade, blocked by Kingston, Archer tosses Kingston to the floor, clothesline, Stu with a bicycle kick to Butcher, Codebreaker through the ropes, Fatality to Blade for three.

Winners: Stu Greyson, Evil Uno and Lance Archer

The winners beat down Eddie Kingston after the bell, and Jake Roberts hits a ripcord lariat.

They show a video package of Brodie Lee the family man, narrated by Dax Harwood, Arn Anderson, Colt Cabana, and someone from the production crew who I don't recognize but who is struggling to contain his emotion.

Match Three: Hangman Page, John Silver and Alex Reynolds vs. Inner Circle (MJF and Proud & Powerful)

Dark Order open by throwing papers at their opponents.

Page and MJF start off, MJF with a boot to the gut, whip, reversed, Page throws papers at MJF too, Ortiz in, Silver in, shoulder tackle, tilt a whirl arm drag, whip to the corner, Ortiz floats over, backbreaker, Santana in, springboard crossbody, bicycle kick, whip, reversed, Silver with an elbow, Reynolds in, sunset flip for one, spinning elbow for one, whip to the corner, reversed, Reynolds with an elbow, Santana with a kick, neckbreaker in the ropes, Three Amigos, Ortiz tags in to make the third a double team suplex for two, MJF in, top rope double foot stomp to the arm for one, Ortiz in, punch to the gut, punches Silver, front facelock to Reynolds, Page with an elbow drop, Reynolds with a back body drop, Page comes in, cleans house, fallaway slam to MJF, suicide dive to Ortiz, mutual clothesline with MJF, but then hits a clothesline all to himself, Buckshot Lariat, MJF dodges, bails, Proud and Powerful slingshot Page into an MJF cutter for two, Ortiz in, chop, Page with a chop, Ortiz with a chop, double team whip, senton, Santana with a senton, cover for two, MJF in, suplex, blocked, punches, hits a delayed vertical for two, trading punches, body slam, Santana in, standing shooting star for two, trading punches, Ortiz in, beat down, MJF in, top rope double axe handle, Page with chops, MJF with a knee, body slam, top rope double axe handle, blocked with a dropkick, Ortiz in, Silver in, cleans house, tosses Santana into Ortiz in the corner, whips Ortiz, Ortiz presses him to the apron, shoulder tackle, goes up top, Silver with a kick, clears his opponents on the floor, goes up top, top rope crossbody for two, Ortiz goes for a hurricanrana, reversed into a powerbomb, Santana with a rolling cutter, Reynolds kicks him, Ortiz with a spinebuster, Page with a clothesline, MJF tosses Page into the corner, Silver with a monkey flip into a destroyer, suicide dive to Santana, MJF drops his head off the top rope, Heat Seeker, Ortiz with a powerbomb, Santana with a kick to the face for two as Reynolds breaks the count, Wardlow climbs in the ring, hits Reynolds with a clothesline while the ref isn't looking, ERICK ROWAN RUNS OUT AND BEATS DOWN WARDLOW! Dark Order with a double team beatdown to Ortiz, Page with a Buckshot Lariat, MJF breaks the count, taunts Brodie Lee Jr., pulls his mask off, Brodie Lee Jr. hits him with a kendo stick, Page with a suicide dive to MJF, Silver hits Ortiz with a discus clothesline for three.

Winners: Dark Order and Hangman Page

Dark Order celebrate with Rowan as they all fight back tears. Page joins them.

Eddie Kingston reminisces about all the times he and Brodie would rib each other backstage. He tells Brodie's children that he loved them dearly, and that, as long as they never forget him, a small part of him won't be gone.

Match Four: Anna Jay and Tay Conti vs. Dr. Britt Baker and Penelope Ford

Anna and Britt start off, lockup, break, lockup, jockeying for position, Anna with a side headlock, Britt with a snapmare for one, hammerlock, Anna with an arm wrench, side headlock, shoulder tackle, Britt with a whip, Anna goes to lock in the Queenslayer, blocked, Ford in, Anna with an STO, whip to the corner, Tay in, whips Anna for a clothesline, Tay with a snapmare for two, Ford with a forearm, Tay with elbows, three judo takedowns, back elbow for two, Ford with a German for two, Britt in, knees, suplex, knees, Rebel limply beats down Tay in the floor, Britt with knees for two, Ford in, punch, knee choke, cover for two, stomps to the face, Tay with a rollup for one, Ford with a kick, toss to the corner, punches, Britt in, suplex, straightjacket hold, Ford in, stomps in the corner, forearm, fireman's carry, into a gut breaker for two, Tay with a kick, mutual bicycle kick, double tag, Anna with clotheslines, kick to the ankle, neckbreaker, running hip attack in the corner, Ford attacks from behind, Tay with a sort of Black Hole Slam to Ford, Britt with a Slingblade to Tay, fisherman neckbreaker, blocked with a kick, Anna is overcome with emotion, Britt tackles her from behind, fisherman neckbreaker for two, forearms, whip to the corner, reversed, Ford in, Baker with an STO into the turnbuckle, Ford with a neckbreaker for two, springboard, reversed into the Queenslayer, Tay tackles Baker to the floor, pulls Rebel off the apron to block interference, Ford taps.

Winners: Anna Jay and Tay Conti

Dark Order's female contingent celebrate. Tony Schiavone comes in to interview Britt Baker at her behest.

"I am sick of the conspiracy around here! That whole match? Conspiracy. I didn't lose, it was rigged. Tay Conti? Rigged. Anna Jay? Rigged. In fact, the whole thing was kind of a... big rig."

She winks before Thunder Rosa attacks Britt Baker until they're pulled apart.

Chris Jericho talks about his 27 matches with Brodie Lee, including one in Jeddah. He talks about seeing what he thought was a sticker on the ceiling of his room, until Brodie told him it was the arrow that pointed to Mecca. He describes Brodie as a giant, and a genius, and a master prankster.

Main Event: Team Taz vs. Cody Rhodes, Orange Cassidy and 10

Cody and Hobbs start off, Hobbs with a shoulder tackle, Starks in, trading chops in the corner, Starks with a shoulder tackle, Cody with a drop-down punch, arm wrench, 10 in, Starks with a punch, 10 with a shoulder tackle, German suplex, Hobbs in, Cassidy in, Hobbs challenges to a test of strength, Cassidy makes like he's going to accept, but then shoves his hands in his pockets, facetious shoulder tackle, Hobbs shoves him down, he kips up, limp roundhouse kicks, ducks a clothesline, misses an Orange Punch, tilt a whirl front facelock, reversed into a powerslam, Hobbs with a knee, stands on Cassidy's head, Cage in, stomp, fallaway slam, whip to the corner, Starks in, leaping stomp, another, body slam for two, knee drop to the back, body slam, Cage in, stomps, toss to the corner, European uppercut, toss to the corner, Hobbs in, punch to the gut, delayed vertical, Cage in, delayed vertical, Starks in, delayed vertical, reversed into a chinlock, Cassidy with a body slam, boot, another, Cody in, clothesline, another, whip, reversed, Cody floats over, powerslam for two, Cage with a knee, Starks with a clothesline, 10 in, clothesline, another, clears the corner, fallaway slam into a powerslam, Brodie Lee powerbomb, big boot to Hobbs, whip to Starks, misses a big boot, Starks with a spear for two as Cassidy breaks the count up, Beach Break, reversed into Roshambo, reversed into a DDT, Hobbs tackles Cassidy, elbows Cody, Cody with a superkick, superkick to Cage, reversed into a knee, Flatliner, powerbomb, blocked by a big boot from 10, clothesline to hte back of the head, Starks with a Tornado DDT for two, Taz grabs a chair, Arn Anderson meets him with a chair, Orange Punch to Starks, Crossrhodes to Starks, 10 with a spinebuster to 10 for three.

Winners: 10, Orange Cassidy and Cody Rhodes

Orange Cassidy does a half-assed Dark Order salute.

Hook leads Team Taz to a post-match attack, the lights go out, Darby Allin starts walking through the crowd, the lights go out again, and Darby is joined by Sting. They march to the ring together as Team Taz rtreat to the stage. Allin has Brodie Lee's name all over his half-paint.

After a commercial, Cody is alone in the ring. He tears up. "I... I had to write this memo the other day, and I was looking for a quote, just something that would encapsulate someone like Brodie Lee, and I found a Samuel Johnson quote, I'm probably going to butcher it, but you can judge a man's character by how he treats someone who can do him no good. We've heard all these stories the past few days of people who were positively impacted by Brodie Lee. There's never been a man in every company to have that one-on-one connection with everyone. In short, he was a beautiful man. He leaves behind a huge legacy, and tonight, I wanto to introduce you to that legacy, ladies and gentlemen, Negative One, Brodie Lee Jr.!"

Brodie Lee Jr. is led to the ring by his mother, 10, and Tony Khan. He lays his father's boots down in the ring.

Tonk Khan: "Brodie Lee Jr., Negative One, these boots are retired. Your father was the greatest TNT Champion we've ever had, all due respect. So to you, TNT Champion for life!"

He presents Brodie Jr. with the belt.

Tony Khan: "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here tonight, we're here to celebrate one of wrestling's greatest, with one of wrestling's greatest families. So we present to you our tribute to Brodie Lee!"

They show a video package covering the entirety of Brodie Lee's career, including WWE. Dynamite goes off the air.

Fuck, that was a hard one. It occurs to me that, in my just over ten years of doing recaps on this site, I've never had to do a tribute show before. I hope in the future, they're few and far between.

Brodie Lee was the epitome of "Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." I always knew he was special, but I don't think it was until I heard the news and revisited some of his best matches that I realized just what a staggering, astonishing talent he was. It's hard to figure out what part of this is the saddest, his young age, the family that is now robbed of him, the potential decade plus of brilliant work he could have had left in him, or the fact that he was clearly having fun making art for the first time in years. It may have been short-lived, but at least he was able to spend the end of his career, and his life, enjoying what he was doing again. I regard his AEW run as the best of his career, but no matter where he was, he made great wrestling matches. Whether it was Dolph Ziggler or Cody, whether it was Orange Cassidy or The Usos, or Oliver Grey and Neville, whether he was introduced as Brodie Lee or Luke Harper, when he was out there, you knew it was going to be fun. He was a man who could look stylish with an unkempt beard and dirty sleeveless shirt (that was reportedly actually always clean), and a man who could make you afraid of what would otherwise be a ridiculous looking hammer. Whether he was wielding a dog chain, or the aforementioned hammer, or a pile of papers, he made you believe it.

Rest in peace Brodie. We'll be sure to keep your memory alive.