Our AEW Dynamite results for tonight include Jon Moxley facing Darby Allin, the Young Bucks defending the AEW World Tag Team Championship against Will Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher, and Mariah May defending the AEW Women’s World Championship against Yuka Sakazaki. Plus, Roderick Strong will challenge HOOK for the FTW Championship, and Prince Nana will provide an update on Swerve Strickland. Elsewhere on the show, Bryan Danielson will face Nigel McGuinness.
AEW Dynamite Card
The announced card is as follows:
- Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
- Darby Allin’s AEW World Title Shot: Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley
- AEW World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (Nicholas & Matthew Jackson) (c) vs. Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher
- AEW Women’s World Championship: Mariah May (c) vs. Yuka Sakazaki
- Prince Nana provides update on Swerve Strickland
- FTW Championship: HOOK (c) vs. Roderick Strong
AEW Dynamite Results
Nigel McGuinness comes to the ring as the broadcasters welcome viewers.
Bryan Danielson Battles Nigel McGuinness
Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson
Danielson’s music plays, but he doesn’t come out. McGuinness calls him a coward and demands to be declared the winner. He says that Danielson should be stripped of the world title. The referee starts counting. “The Final Countdown” plays, and Bryan Danielson comes to the ring, so the match begins as scheduled.
Danielson and McGuinness feel each other out early on. Danielson gains an advantage and kicks McGuinness. They battle for positioning. Danielson rocks McGuinness with an open hand to the face, and Nigel gives him one right back. They trade uppercuts. Danielson kicks McGuinness low, and he grabs his groin as if it was a low blow. He takes McGuinness to the mat, and they roll back and forth. Danielson traps McGuinness in the LeBell Lock, but McGuinness reaches the ropes. McGuinness sends Danielson to the outside. He slams Danielson arm-first into the barricade and the steps.
McGuinness continues to target the arm. Back in the ring, McGuinness grounds Danielson. Danielson rallies with some kicks. He evades the Tower of London and hits the running knee. Danielson kicks McGuinness, who catches the champion with a kick of his own. McGuinness drives Danielson head-first into the mat with a clubbing blow. McGuinness levels Danielson with a lariat. He hits ripcord lariat for a two-count. McGuinness hits Danielson with some hammer and anvil elbows. He gets a two-count with a Tower of London.
McGuinness wrenches Danielson’s arm. Danielson rolls through and drills McGuiness with some elbow strikes.
Danielson and McGuinness trade blows. McGuinness gets a two-count with a clothesline. He traps McGuinness in the LeBell Lock, and McGuinness taps out.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Christian Cage comes out and teases cashing in his contract for a world title match. He’s about to sign the contract, but Kip Sabian comes out and steals his pen. Cage chases Sabian backstage, where PAC and Claudio Castagnoli are shown.
Grade: B+
It would have been impossible for the match to live up to the hype, given the history involved. However, it was the best fans could have hoped for, especially considering it was the first time McGuinness had a standard match since 2011. There were plenty of callbacks to their classic battles in ROH, and McGuinness looked like he had not lost a step. The unnecessary uncertainty about whether Danielson would be cleared was more of a distraction than anything, but the match itself delivered. The post-match angle with Christian Cage teased Danielson’s future as well.
HOOK Defends FTW Title
FTW Championship: HOOK (c) vs. Roderick Strong (with Mike Bennett & Matt Taven)
HOOK and Strong battle for positioning early on. Strong heads to the outside to regroup, and HOOK takes the fight to him. HOOK evades a shot from a kendo stick and hits Strong, Taven, and Bennett with it. He hits Strong with a Russian Legsweep into the barricade. HOOK suplexes Bennett and clotheslines Taven. Strong slams HOOK into the ring post. In the ring, Strong grounds HOOK.
HOOK rallies and tosses Strong. He gets a two-count with a suplex. Taven gives Strong a chair. Strong sends HOOK head-first into a chair and hits a knee in the corner. He slams HOOK for a two-count. HOOK throws Strong onto a chair. Strong hits a gutbuster onto a chair and gets a two-count with a kick. HOOK traps Strong in the Redrum and makes him tap out.
Winner and still FTW Champion: HOOK
Strong shakes HOOK’s hand in a display of sportsmanship. Tony Schiavone interviews HOOK after the match. HOOK says all good things must come to an end, and he announces that the FTW Championship was officially retired. He hands the title to Taz, and they hug.
Grade: B
The match was fairly typical compared to HOOK’s other championship defenses. HOOK looked strong as he fended off Taven and Bennett. The chair spots, especially the gut-buster, were effective. HOOK’s win itself was solid, given Strong’s track record. The main story here is HOOK retiring the title. The sight of HOOK handing the title to Taz and embracing him was emotional. It would have been more effective if the last defense had come after a substantial feud. Still, it was a special way to retire the title.
The Young Bucks Defend AEW Tag Titles
AEW World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) vs. Will Ospreay & Kyle Fletcher
The Young Bucks take control early on. Ospreay and Fletcher double-team Nicholas. They dive onto the Young Bucks at ringside. The Young Bucks gain the upper hand again. They ground Fletcher and keep him isolated. Ospreay tags in and rallies with a flurry of offense. The Young Bucks double-team Ospreay. Ospreay evades an EVP Trigger and hits a double Os-cutter. Fletcher takes the Bucks down with a double clothesline.
Ospreay flies in with a splash. He nails Matthew Jackson with a Hidden Blade. Fletcher and Matthew trade blows. The Young Bucks rally and hit Fletcher with the TK Driver on the apron. They continue to ground Fletcher and isolate him. Fletcher and Ospreay fire up and hit a double Styles Clash. Ospreay hits Matthew with the Hidden Blade and the Storm Breaker, but Nicholas breaks it up. Fletcher keeps rolling, but the Bucks double-team. Nicholas superkicks him. Ospreay catches Nicholas with a cutter. Ospreay and Fletcher hit the TK Driver for a two-count.
Fletcher dives onto Matthew at ringside. Don Callis gives Fletcher a screwdriver. Ospreay stops Fletcher from using it and argues with Callis. Matthew Jackson hits Ospreay with a title belt.
Nicholas hits Fletcher with a title, and Matthew gets a two-count. The Bucks superkick Fletcher and hit the EVP Trigger.
Grade: B+
Any match with Ospreay and the Young Bucks was practically guaranteed to be good. Fletcher certainly held his own here. Ospreay and Fletcher had a few good near-falls, but the outcome was never really in doubt. The shenanigans with the belt shots and Callis were predictable, but they protected both Ospreay and Fletcher. AEW has plenty of tag teams, so it’s hard not to question the decision to give a thrown-together team this high-profile match.
Winners and Still AEW World Tag Team Champions: The Young Bucks
Backstage, The Conglomeration is standing by with Rocky Romero. Orange Cassidy hands Romero a Conglomeration shirt and invites him to conglomerate. Mark Briscoe is wearing a Dem Boyz shirt and says The Conglomeration will give the Learning Tree a Jay Briscoe-style beating on Collision.
Prince Nana Provides An Update
Prince Nana comes to the stage to give an update on Swerve Strickland, who has been absent since AEW All Out. He says that, mentally, nothing can stop Strickland, but he was not medically cleared to compete. MVP comes out and interrupts Nana. He agrees with Nana’s comment that Strickland is the most dangerous talent in AEW.
MVP praises Strickland and highlights his title reign. He also brings up Strickland’s loss and says that the fact that Adam Page was still walking around was a failure by Strickland’s management. MVP tells Nana to let Strickland know to tell him when he’s ready to be taken seriously. He gives Nana his business card and says he’ll be ready to talk business.
Grade: B+
Nana’s update in itself was brief. With AEW WrestleDream right around the corner, Strickland at least making an appearance feels like a lock, given his ties to the Pacific Northwest. MVP’s debut was a fun surprise, and the possibility of him working with Strickland is intriguing. He made some valid points about Strickland losing the title and suffering a major loss to Page. It’ll be compelling to see how Strickland reacts and, presumably, how this leads to Bobby Lashley and others.
Yuka Sakazaki Challenges Mariah May
AEW Women’s World Championship: Mariah May (c) vs. Yuka Sakazaki
Sakazaki dives onto May during her entrance. In the ring, Sakazaki and May trade slaps. They head to the outside, and May rocks Sakazaki with a dropkick. She gets the challenger back in the ring. May controls the action and grounds Sakazaki. She blasts her with another dropkick. Sakazaki counters Mayday and gets a two-count with a pin attempt. Sakazaki gets another two-count. She rolls May around the ring and gets another two-count as she gains the upper hand.
May gets a two-count with a German suplex. Sakazaki catches May with a kick and slams her with a Northern Lights Bomb. May gets her knees up on a springboard splash. May drills her with a knee and hits Storm Zero for the win.
Winner and still AEW Women’s World Champion: Mariah May
May is about to attack Sakazaki, but Willow Nightingale comes out. Mina Shirakawa comes to the stage, May attacks Willow from behind. May embraces Shirakawa, who doesn’t look pleased by May’s actions.
Grade: C+
The match was fairly standard. As with the tag title match, the outcome was never in doubt. It was a good showing for both May and Sakazaki, but the bout suffered from the predictabe outcome. The Shirakawa angle was a bit off, as Mina had already said that she was coming, whereas it was played off like a surprise. Shirakawa has voiced her uncertainty about how she feels regarding May betraying Toni Storm, and this reunion felt like the beginning of a new chapter of that story.
Jon Moxley Battles Darby Allin
Darby Alli’s World Title Shot: Jon Moxley (with Marina Shafir) vs. Darby Allin
Allin charges Moxley and eats a boot to the face. Moxley takes the fight to Allin in the corner. He controls the action and grounds Allin. Moxley slams Allin onto the ropes and targets his leg. He stomps on Allin’s leg. Moxley sends Allin flying out of the ring. Allin crotches Moxley on the ring apron and dropkicks him. Allin traps Moxley’s arm in the ring post. He hits a Coffin Drop to the outside.
Shafir distracts Allin, and Moxley slams him on the apron. Shafir attacks Allin when the referee isn’t looking. Moxley spikes Allin with a piledriver. He maintains the advantage and levels Allin with a lariat. Allin rallied and takes Moxley down with a dropkick. Moxley responds with a dropkick of his own. Allin traps Moxley in an arm-bar, but Moxley powers his way out of it. Marina Shafir rips up the protective covering on the floor. Moxley slams Allin onto the bare floor and tosses him onto the steel steps. Allin keeps fighting and gets a two-count.
Moxley counters the Coffin Drop into a sleeper hold, but Allin reaches the ropes. Moxley slams his way out of it with an avalanche Death Rider.
Winner and new #1 Contender For AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley
A hooded man runs in and reveals himself as Bryan Danielson. He attacks Moxley and chokes him with a necktie. PAC, Claudio Castagnoli, and Shafir make the save. Private Party and Komander get involved as they help Danielson. Moxley and his group leave.
Danielson tells Moxley that he declares war, and he will defend the world title against him at AEW WrestleDream.
Grade: A-
No complaints here with the match itself. Allin always puts his body on the line, and tonight was no exception. He took a lot of punishment, and he refused to stay down. Allin dished plenty out as well. This easily could have been on a pay-per-view, as it was one of the best matches of the night. Shafir’s interference helped protect Allin in defeat. Allin earning a world title shot only to lose it is questionable in hindsight. Danielson choking Moxley was a hot finish, as was his declaration of war. This feud is quickly heating up heading into WrestleDream.
AEW Dynamite Review
Grade: B+
Given the hype that always surrounds Grand Slam, it felt like this year’s show fell short of the bar. The main matches delivered, but aside from MVP’s debut, the show was missing the “wow” factor. The opening bout between Danielson and McGuiness was the high point of the show, and the main event recaptured some of the energy. However, AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam was a bit of a let down. Collision has a stacked card as well, and it has the chance to at least equal Dynamite from a quality stand point. Tonight’s show planted some seeds and set up the world title match for AEW WrestleDream, which promises to be a buzzworthy match.
