Our AEW Dynamite results for tonight include the continuation of the Continental Classic, as Shelton Benjamin will face Kyle Fletcher, and Brody King will face Claudio Castagnoli. Plus, the show will feature the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal, and Jay White will face PAC. Additionally, Swerve Strickland will face Max Caster, and Anna Jay will face Penelope Ford.
AEW Dynamite Card
The announced card is as follows:
- AEW Continental Classic Gold League Match: Brody King vs. Claudio Castagnoli
- AEW Continental Classic Blue League Match: Shelton Benjamin vs. Kyle Fletcher
- Jay White vs. PAC
- Max Caster vs. Swerve Strickland
- Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal
- Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford
- Jamie Hayter to speak
AEW Dynamite Results
The show opens with a video package highlighting the AEW Continental Classic.
AEW Continental Classic Blue League Match: Shelton Benjamin vs. Kyle Fletcher
Benjamin and Fletcher feel each other out early on. Benjamin gains the upper hand. Fletcher takes control, but Benjamin fires back, sending Fletcher to the outside. The match is a stalemate, and they reset before they square off. They continue to battle for positioning. both competitors go crashing over the ropes and down to the floor. They brawl at ringside, and Benjamin takes control.
Back in the ring, Fletcher grounds Benjamin. They trade blows, and Benjamin sends Fletcher to the outside. Benjamin takes the advantage. Fletcher responds with a clothesline. He slams Benjamin for a two-count. Benjamin answers with a kick and gets a two-count with a powerbomb. Fletcher rocks Benjamin with a kick and gets a two-count with a diving elbow drop. Benjamin dumps him with a suplex. Benjamin drills Fletcher with a knee strike. Fletcher stacks Benjamin up and grabs the ropes to clinch the win.
Winner: Kyle Fletcher
Grade: B+
This was a good showing for both guys. The match was tough to call, as Fletcher has been built up well, and Benjamin has been protected since he joined AEW. Fletcher picking up the win continued his momentum, while Benjamin may have more of an edge now following this loss.
A video recaps the Continental Classic action on AEW Collision.
HOOK Speaks
HOOK comes to the ring and responds to Nick Wayne’s challenge for Hammerstein. He says he would rather fight Wayne’s “father” Christian Cage and leave him in worse shape than what they did to Taz. Christian Cage and Mother Wayne come to the stage. Nick Wayne and Kip Sabian attack HOOK from behind. HOOK gains the upper hand, and Cage attacks him from behind. Cage, Nick Wayne, and Kip Sabian gang up on HOOK. Nick Wayne smashes HOOK’s arm with a Con-Chair-To.
Grade: B
This storyline keeps going back and forth, in some ways, and it seems like they’re stalling so they can drag out the HOOK/Christian Cage match until AEW Worlds End. Seeing HOOK, the son of Taz, compete in the Hammerstein Ballroom will be cool for AEW fans, and depending on Taz’s recovery from knee surgery, it could be a great occasion for his return.
TBS Champion Mercedes Moné is asked about Kamille getting attacked, and Mercedes says that Kamille quit, so she’s not liable anymore. She responds to Anna Jay targeting her title and says she will be watching that match closely. Mercedes says there’s always a price to pay when you mess with Moné.
MVP scolds Shelton Benjamin backstage, saying that he loves him, but he was disappointed by his performance. Benjamin attacks a bystander, and MVP and Bobby Lashley join in when security guards get involved.
Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal
The order of elimination is as follows:
- Evil Uno (Mark Davis)
- Dante Martin and Darius Martin (Action Andretti and Lio Rush)
- Mark Davis (Brian Cage and Lance Archer)
- Action Andretti (Kyle O’Reilly)
- Lio Rush (Rocky Romero & Kyle O’Reilly)
- Rocky Romero (Brian Cage & Lance Archer)
- The Butcher (Adam Cole)
- Brian Cage (Adam Cole)
- Lance Archer (Kyle O’Reilly)
Winners: Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly
Grade: B
The outcome was very predictable, as all roads have led to Cole eventually getting a match with MJF. As with HOOK and Cage, this feud has felt intentionally drawn out, as it has been clear that Worlds End is the intended destination. Cole and O’Reilly winning was the obvious outcome, and it was the best one, given the field of competitors. Other participants were effectively highlighted here, and the match teased Lio Rish and Action Andretti breaking off on their own, as they eliminated Top Flight, so it was worthwhile from that perspective as well.
In a vignette, Julia Hart targets Jamie Hayter and says that Hayter had a comeback, and now it was her turn.
Backstage, Billy Gunn explains that he and Anthony Bowens have been trying to talk Max Caster out of facing Swerve Strickland. Bowens changes his mind and tells Caster to go prove that he’s the best because he has been saying so. Bowens refuses to join in the huddle, and he’s clearly frustrated.
Swerve Strickland Faces Max Caster
Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana) vs. Max Caster
Strickland attacks Caster during his pre-match rap and slams him into the barricade multiple times. He dumps Caster with a German suplex and clotheslines him over the ropes. Caster gains the upper hand and hits a springboard dropkick.
Strickland answers with a House Call and nails him with another. Strickland blasts Caster with a third House Call for the win.
Winner: Swerve Strickland
Strickland celebrates and adds an exclamation point to the win by hitting Caster with a Swerve Stomp. Looking into the camera, Strickland says the rest of 2024 will belong to him. He says, “Lashley, this isn’t over yet.”
Grade: B+
AEW often has a habit of making matches more competitive than they need to be, so the winner doesn’t look as impressive, even though they had to work to earn the victory. That wasn’t the case here. Strickland basically wiped the floor with Caster and made a statement. Given his status as a former world champion, he should have no trouble beating Caster, so this was the best approach.
In a taped video, MJF responds to Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly winning the battle royal. He looks back on his past with Cole and blames Cole for Roderick Strong getting hurt. MJF also blames Cole for Jon Moxley’s reign of terror. He says he is sick of Cole pretending that he’s the hero when he’s actually the villain. MJF says he knows that Cole can’t beat O’Reilly, and that will be proven next week.
Jay White Battles PAC
Jay White vs. PAC (with Wheeler Yuta)
White takes the fight to PAC. He sends PAC to the outside, and PAC talks to Wheeler Yuta at ringside. White dumps PAC onto the apron, sending him onto the floor. He again slams PAC onto the apron. Yuta attacks White when the referee isn’t looking. PAC slams White into the barricade. PAC maintains the advantage and grounds White. White rallies and suplexes PAC into the corner.
White spikes PAC with a DDT. He slams PAC with a Uranage. PAC catches White with a kick. White goes for the Blade Runner, but PAC counters. They go back and forth and trade counters. White suplexes PAC. PAC locks in the Brutalizer while White is still standing, but White reaches the ropes. Yuta nails White with a running knee at ringside. White hits the Blade Runner out of nowhere for the win.
Winner: Jay White
Yuta goes to attack White, and White drops him with a Blade Runner. Marina Shafir distracts White, and Jon Moxley attacks him from behind. Moxley drops White with a Paradigm Shift. “Hangman” Adam Page comes out and stares down Moxley. A hooded man attacks Moxley, and he reveals himself to be Orange Cassidy. Cassidy continues to brawl with Moxley.
The brawl continues, and Cassidy fights off Yuta and PAC. Cassidy hits Moxley with an Orange Punch. White drops Moxley with a Blade Runner. Page hits Moxley with a Buckshot Lariat. Christian Cage comes to the stage and looks on.
Grade: A
The match was hard-hitting and competitive, and while White’s victory felt like a given, the other factors involved made this one more unpredictable. The real story was the post-match angle. The uneasy alliance between White and Page continues to evolve, and Cassidy’s addition into the situation is a welcome boost. It looks like AEW is gearing up for a four-way title match at AWEW Worlds End, which would be be Moxley’s toughest test yet.
Backstage, Jamie Hayter responds to Julia Hart and calls her out for a face-to-face confrontation. She says her return had nothing to do with Hart. Hayter says the International Women’s Cup means a lot to her, and she wants to go all the way. She says she’ll find Hart and leave her knocked out.
Chris Jericho appears in a news show-like segment and hypes up ROH Final Battle, as well as AEW’s other Hammerstein Ballroom shows. He also hypes up AEW All In: Texas. Jericho brings up his match at ROH Final Battle and says he will have more information live on ROH on HonorClub on Thursday.
A vignette teases the return of an outlaw, who is referred to as “The Most Wanted Man.” A “Most Wanted” poster shows Bandido.
Anna Jay Takes On Penelope Ford
Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford
Jay and Ford battle it out early on. Ford gains the upper hand with a knee drop. She slams Jay into the steps. Ford continues to control the action. She slams Jay into the ring post. Back in the ring, Ford grounds Jay. Jay rallies with a flurry of offense and gets a two-count with a neckbreaker. She drills Ford with a kick. Jay goes for the Queen Slayer, but Ford escapes. Ford gets a two-count with a Stunner. Jay dodges a moonsault and hits a running dropkick.
Ford hits a dropkick of her own. Ford argues with the referee, and Jay slams Penelope to the mat to score the win.
Winner: Anna Jay
After the match, Anna Jay calls out Mercedes Moné. Moné comes out and says that Jay needed to come back in ten years when she’d actually done something in the business if she wanted a title shot. Jay slaps Moné. Moné leaves, saying that they will do this on her time, and Jay stands tall.
Grade: B
As is often the case with matches like this, the outcome was never in doubt. The history between Jay and Ford helped lessen the redundancy of that pattern here, but it was still obvious. Jay already challenging for a title so soon after she failed to beat Mariah May for the AEW Women’s World Championship isn’t ideal, as a fresh contender could have been built up instead. Still, Jay will benefit from being in the ring with a talent like Moné.
In an interview, AEW Women’s World Champion Mariah May is asked about her match against Mina Shirakawa next week. May says that giving Mina a title shot was a kind gesture, and she would make her work every second they were in the ring together. She says they would sip Champagne when it was all said and done.
May says women’s wrestling was dead and buried. Shirakawa interrupts, handing May a bottle and telling her to do it to her face. Shirakawa tells May to make her work at Winter is Coming.
Brody King Faces Claudio Castagnoli
AEW Continental Classic Gold League: Brody King vs. Claudio Castagnoli
King and Castagnoli trade blows early on. King drops Claudio with a stiff shot and overpowers him. Castagnoli hits King with some strikes and targets his arm. King slams Castagnoli and hits a senton. King hits Castagnoli with some strikes, but Castagnoli trips him and stomps on him. Castagnoli slams King’s arm into the ring post. He slams King’s arm on the apron. Castagnoli maintains the advantage. Castagnoli rallies. He continues to target King’s arm, but King slams him.
Castagnoli drils King with a lariat. Castagnoli slams King and continues to ground him. King levels him with a lariat. The two competitors go back and forth. King crushes Claudio with a splash. He drills Claudio with an elbow strike. King hits Castagnoli with stiff blows. He sends Castagnoli crashing to the mat with a superplex. Castagnoli catches King with a piledriver. They brawl at ringside. Castagnoli sends King over the barricade with an uppercut. Castagnoli hits King below the belt and hits a Neutralizer for the win.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Castagnoli celebrates after the match.
Grade: A
This was a different kind of match for both Castagnoli and King. They typically overpower their opponents, and their strength becomes the story of the match against someone smaller. Here, it was a clash of two powerhouses, so they duked it out, and they both had to be in a vulnerable position at points. It was a fun change of pace, and Castagnoli cheating to win helped protect King.
AEW Dynamite Grade: B+
As is often the case in Continental Classic season, the tournament matches carried the show. PAC vs. White was superb as well, and the post-match angle there was a boost as well. MJF’s promo and Mariah May’s interviews were well-done, and Strickland scoring a dominant win was a welcome departure from what we’ve come to expect. The show lost some momentum with the battle royal and the TBS Championship feud-building, but a strong closing match got it back on the right track.
