AEW Dynamite Outcomes: Winners, Grades, Response and Highlights from Could 24
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Orange Cassidy made one other protection of the AEW Worldwide Championship on Dynamite.Credit score: All Elite Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling arrived on the MGM Grand Backyard Enviornment in Las Vegas Wednesday evening for an episode of Dynamite that set the stage for Sunday’s Double or Nothing and was headlined by one other gutsy Worldwide Championship protection by Orange Cassidy.
Freshly Squeezed battled Kyle Fletcher of Aussie Open on an evening when prime names addressed the followers one final time earlier than their high-stakes bouts on the pay-per-view (out there on B/R in the USA), and others made one final push for momentum forward of the occasion.
What went down, how did it have an effect on the construct for Double or Nothing and the way did every phase grade out? Discover out with this recap of the go-home version of Dynamite.
Match Card
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Introduced upfront for Wednesday’s present had been:
- AEW Worldwide Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle Fletcher
- AEW World Trios Championship Open Home: AR Fox, Metalik and Blake Christian
- Ring of Honor Tag Group Championship: Lucha Bros vs. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta
- Taya Valkyrie vs. Girl Frost
- Roderick Sturdy vs. Daniel Garcia
- Adam Cole and Chris Jericho contract signing
- Promos from: Ricky Starks, FTR, MJF, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara
AEW Worldwide Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. Kyle Fletcher
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Credit score: All Elite Wrestling
Orange Cassidy caught one other beating to begin Wednesday’s present as the fact of the grueling schedule he has created for himself continued to set in.
This week, New Japan Professional-Wrestling star Kyle Fletcher pummeled him, almost beating him and taking his Worldwide Championship on quite a few events within the opening contest.
As he has accomplished repeatedly, although, Cassidy seized a momentary opening and scored a come-from-behind victory that ensured he would go on to Double or Nothing and defend within the 21-Man Blackjack Battle Royal.
The match was strong however method too paying homage to final week’s bout between Jack Perry and Rush, by which the heel beat the life out of the babyface earlier than an affordable roll-up gained the match for Jungle Boy.
At the least on this occasion, Cassidy was not the highest contender to be AEW world champion. Nonetheless, it felt a bit an excessive amount of just like the story that match advised and, extra importantly, the thought of Cassidy taking the punishment he did and nonetheless kicking out of a transfer as devastating as an Avalanche Michinoku Driver was a bit a lot.
Cassidy has been nice as champion, the workhorse of AEW and one of many legit stars of the primary half of 2023 for the promotion, but it surely looks like his reign is nearing its finish, probably as quickly as Sunday evening within the Battle Royal.
After the match, Jay White and Juice Robinson beat down Ricky Starks backstage to proceed that rivalry, regardless of the announcement that “Absolute” can even compete in Sunday’s Battle Royal.
Consequence
Cassidy defeated Fletcher
Grade
C+
Prime Moments
- Fletcher rocked Cassidy with a kick and brainbuster for a two-count within the opening seconds of the match, not permitting the champion to instigate his thoughts video games.
- Cassidy delivered Seaside Break on the ground to gradual his opponent’s momentum.
- Fletcher delivered consecutive tombstone piledrivers and added an Avalanche Michinoku Driver, however Freshly Squeezed nonetheless kicked out because the commentary workforce put over his resilience.
- Fletcher tried the piledriver one too many instances, and Cassidy countered right into a roll-up for the pinfall victory and profitable title protection.
FTR Promo
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Credit score: All Elite Wrestling
The ultimate phase of the construct to the AEW World Tag Group Championship match between FTR, Jeff Jarrett and Jay Deadly noticed particular visitor referee Mark Briscoe take middle stage.
He made it clear to everybody that he’ll now not be manipulated by Dax Harwood, Money Wheeler or their heel challengers. He then obtained bodily with all of the groups earlier than angrily stomping off.
The title match is secondary to the drama surrounding Briscoe. And whereas that’s completely acceptable, it will be good to see the generational workforce of FTR be concerned in a feud that was in regards to the titles and establishing their legacies as one of the best of this technology.
They did, in any case, re-sign with AEW in an try to proceed their quest to maintain the credibility of tag workforce wrestling.
Reserving them to battle a makeshift workforce of Jarrett and Deadly, fairly than any variety of precise groups on the AEW roster, is definitely a alternative.
Grade
C+
Prime Moments
- “Greater than something, you are fortunate. Sunday, your luck runs out,” Wheeler warned the No. 1 contenders.
- “You have damaged 1,000,000 rattling guitars and you continue to cannot keep related,” Harwood advised Jarrett.
- “Final 12 months, we went to warfare with you and your brother thrice; and this time, we go to warfare for you,” Harwood advised Briscoe.
- Briscoe smacked Harwood in response to the piledriver he suffered by the hands of the blinded tag champ on final week’s present.
Open Home Match for AEW World Trios Championships
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Credit score: All Elite Wrestling
The Home dominated Wednesday evening as Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews once more scored a formidable protection of their AEW World Trios Championship by defeating AR Fox, Metalik and Blake Christian.
Although quick, the action-packed match highlighted the high-flying offense of the babyface, however the in any other case bodily dominance of the titleholders stood out.
Black, King and Matthews have been offered effectively beneath the Open Home Problem gimmick and are beating challengers convincingly. Nonetheless, one can not help however discover that the status and profile of the titles have fallen off because the former champions dropped them.
That’s unlucky, however at the very least The Home of Black is being offered and pushed just like the power of nature it ought to have been a very long time in the past.
Consequence
The Home of Black defeated Christian, Fox and Metalik
Grade
C+
Prime Moments
- Matthews stomped Fox into the mat, an ode to former teammate Seth Rollins, earlier than making use of a standing modified cloverleaf (the Prism Lure), a nod to real-life vital different Rhea Ripley.
- Black utilized a knee bar to Metalik, Matthews maintained the cloverleaf, and King choked Christian out to attain the submission victory.
The 4 Pillars Converse Forward of DoN Primary Occasion
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Credit score: All Elite Wrestling
If there’s any match on the Double or Nothing card that deserved higher construct than it has acquired, it’s the 4-Means for the AEW World Championship between the corporate’s younger pillars: MJF, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara and “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry.
Not solely has the content material of the construct been underwhelming, but it surely has additionally put the three challengers ready to verbally spar with MJF, one thing they merely can’t do. They’re combating lightsabers with stones, particularly when a motivated MJF cuts a scathing promo the likes of which he did right here.
He was enthralling, participating and introduced again to the forefront the very actual chance that he’s taking his ball and leaving AEW on the conclusion of his contract on New Yr’s Eve.
That one promo was extra intriguing than something that has gone on over the course of this feud, which is likely to be among the many greatest indictments of all inventive forward of Double or Nothing.
Fortunately, it was MJF’s promote job on the mic that elevated the grade as a result of, with out it, AEW was staring down one other “C+” on a present stuffed with them thus far.
Grade
B-
Prime Moments
- “I really feel like I need “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry to be thrown into an echo chamber so he can take heed to himself communicate and bore himself to dying,” MJF mentioned.
- “4 years later, we have now given you one of the best matches and finest moments within the historical past of this firm. We’re not simply a part of AEW, goddamn it, we’re AEW!”
- MJF reminded the followers and Tony Khan that his contract is developing: “Try to be anxious as a result of I’d simply take my ball and go dwelling.”
- “To be the face of AEW, I have to be AEW champion. This Sunday, I’ll take your AEW Championship…and I’d even do it with a headlock takeover,” Allin warned, recalling the standard maintain that MJF used to defeat the face-painted antihero of their final encounter.
- Guevara made the save for Allin after a low blow, and Perry laid MJF out on the ramp to finish the phase.
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Taya Valkyrie vs. Girl Frost
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Credit score: All Elite Wrestling
The TBS Championship feud between Jade Cargill and Taya Valkyrie limped alongside Wednesday with no actual hearth surrounding it, regardless of a wonderfully acceptable bout between the latter and the underrated Girl Frost.
There was no physicality, no promo or something even near a heat-inducing angle involving champion and challenger forward of their match Sunday evening. It was a flat phase that did not hype up the followers and actually highlighted simply how lackluster the inventive round Cargill, the TBS title and her challenger has been.
It’s massively disappointing given how a lot of a star Cargill is, how robust a challenger Valkyrie is and the potential that exists for a strong match between the 2 at Double or Nothing.
Consequence
Valkyrie defeated Frost
Grade
C
Prime Moments
- TBS champion Jade Cargill, Leila Gray and “Good” Mark Sterling watched from the highest of the ramp.
- Valkyrie despatched a message together with her Highway to Valhalla finisher, reminding Cargill that she will use the transfer Sunday at Double or Nothing, in contrast to the primary time they competed towards one another.
- Tony Khan introduced that the debut of AEW Collision on June 17 will happen in Chicago on the United Heart. Absolutely, there will probably be no rampant hypothesis over its headliners due to the placement?
Contract Signing for Adam Cole vs. Chris Jericho
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Credit score: All Elite Wrestling
Adam Cole and Chris Jericho signed the contract for his or her Unsanctioned match at Double or Nothing, and, true to type for AEW, extra reigned because the babyface revealed he had recruited ECW legend Sabu to again him up towards the Jericho Appreciation Society.
Why? Apparently, widespread sense and explanations usually are not wanted.
The phase did nothing to drum up any extra pleasure for Sunday’s match and, if something, took the eye off of the central feud and put it on the gimmicky reserving of Sabu as backup.
Regardless of the expertise concerned, the reserving of this program has been missing. The new angle involving Britt Baker looks like a lifetime in the past, to the purpose that the unsanctioned gimmick looks like one tacked on to intensify the importance of the match fairly than being the following logical step within the feud.
This did not hit the mark. The introduction of Sabu as a spot performer made little sense, and the consequence was a really disappointing phase between two guys who deserve greater than what they needed to work with Wednesday evening.
Grade
D
Prime Moments
- “AEW needs to be pleased it is a non-sanctioned match as a result of the blood won’t be on their arms, however on mine and that is simply how I prefer it,” Cole advised Jericho.
- Jericho taunted Cole by replaying footage of Baker being on the top of a kendo-stick assault as her real-life accomplice was pressured to look at whereas handcuffed to the underside rope.
Roderick Sturdy vs. Daniel Garcia
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Credit score: All Elite Wrestling
Roderick Sturdy vs. Daniel Garcia was a late addition to Wednesday’s present, an excuse to spotlight the previous NXT star on the heels of his Falls Depend Wherever win over Chris Jericho final week.
With little time for expectations to skyrocket, the competition was a pleasant little show of technical ability that noticed Sturdy choose up the win and earn momentum he’ll hope to hold on into post-Double or Nothing AEW.
Past that, there was not a lot to this one, which is unlucky as a result of with extra time and with out the breakneck tempo of a Tony Khan go-home present, it might have been a TV Match of the Yr candidate.
Consequence
Sturdy defeated Garcia
Grade
C+
Prime Moments
- Sturdy delivered Finish of Heartache for the victory.
Ring of Honor Tag Group Championship: Lucha Bros vs. Blackpool Fight Membership
9 of 10
Credit score: All Elite Wrestling
Go away it to Claudio Castagnoli to assist elevate the present.
The Swiss Superman and reigning Ring of Honor world champion teamed with Blackpool Fight Membership stablemate Wheeler Yuta to problem ROH tag champs the Lucha Bros in a improbable predominant occasion that noticed dramatic near-falls and jaw-dropping excessive spots earlier than an expectedly screwy end by which The Younger Bucks value the heels the straps.
The match itself lived as much as expectations primarily based on the expertise concerned, but it surely fell flat as the ultimate hype for the Anarchy within the Enviornment match at Double or Nothing.
Matt and Nick Jackson costing the challengers, no look from Kenny Omega or “Hangman” Adam Web page, and one other generic “blood and guts” kind promo from Jon Moxley made for a fairly boring conclusion to the present.
For a match that’s anticipated to be the promoting level of Sunday’s PPV, it deserved a stronger promote than what we obtained.
Consequence
The Lucha Bros defeated Yuta and Castagnoli
Grade
B+
Prime Moments
- “It is at all times good to be out right here with you, man within the masks,” Bryan Danielson advised Excalibur on commentary, a nod to William Regal.
- Danielson cited the teachings of Regal in Yuta’s skill to tuck his neck and keep away from critical harm regardless of an enormous piledriver by Fenix.
- The Younger Bucks appeared from beneath the ring and took out Castagnoli, leaving Yuta to fall prey to the Worry Issue because the Lucha Bros retained the ROH tag titles.
- Moxley vowed that Anarchy within the Enviornment would be the most brutal, violent match in AEW historical past, which appears unlikely contemplating that one with the exploding ring gimmick. On second thought, by no means thoughts.
Total Grade
10 of 10
Credit score: All Elite Wrestling
Double or Nothing feels just like the coldest PPV in AEW historical past.
That’s much less a criticism than an statement from somebody who has coated almost each episode of Dynamite since day one and his fair proportion of AEW PPVs.
There was a definite lack of urgency all through the construct, with rushed reserving and generally nonsensical selections besides.
All of these issues had been on show this week, with a present that felt extra like a construct to a present that’s three weeks out than a PPV 4 days away. That a few of the segments fell flatter than Tony Khan could have envisioned when he booked them didn’t assist.
Wednesday’s broadcast was disappointing, with the whole lot coming throughout simply barely off or missing the spark one hopes for from the final alternative to go away an impression forward of one of many greatest exhibits of the 12 months.
With that mentioned, Sunday’s card continues to be a formidable one that may probably generate curiosity and buys primarily based on potential alone. Chris Jericho vs. Adam Cole is a dream match for some. Anarchy within the Enviornment might not be everybody’s cup of tea, however violent chaos has turn out to be a staple of AEW.
The AEW World Championship match would be the finest a part of the complete feud because the speaking ends and 4 of essentially the most gifted younger stars steal the present with the highest prize within the firm at stake.
Followers ought to order Double or Nothing and revel in what will probably be an amazing evening of in-ring motion, as most AEW PPVs are typically.
It might simply be good if the reserving forward of the matches was extra coherent, pressing, thrilling or, in some instances, even remotely fascinating.
Grade: C
