AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from September 28

Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho made history in Queens at Dynamite Grand Slam, winning the AEW World Championship and Ring of Honor world title respectively. They wasted little time taking on high profile matchups Wednesday night as part of another jam-packed episode of Dynamite, live from Philadelphia.

Awaiting Moxley was familiar foe Juice Robinson of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Bullet Club in a championship eliminator match. For Jericho, a title defense against former ROH champ and international sensation Bandido.

Who emerged from those two big-time matches victoriously, and how did it alter the immediate future of AEW?

Find out with this recap of the September 28 broadcast.

• Ring of Honor World Championship match: Bandido vs. Chris Jericho (c)
• AEW World Championship eliminator match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Juice Robinson
• AEW Women's Championship match: Toni Storm (c) vs. Serena Deeb
  
• Jericho Appreciation Society Championship Celebration
• MJF Promo
• Saraya Promo
  

On the heels of Chris Jericho's first Ring of Honor World Championship victory a week ago at Dynamite Grand Slam, the Jericho Appreciation Society kicked off the broadcast with a special in-ring celebration.

Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, Sammy Guevara, Tay Melo, Daniel Garcia and Anna Jay-AS accompanied The Ocho (named so for his eight world title reigns) for the segment and were joined by Luigi Primo, who drew heat for his claim that the best pizza is made in New York.

Daniel Garcia cut the celebration off and began to say something he had been trying to get off his chest, but Jericho silenced him and warned him to think twice about it. Bryan Danielson interrupted the proceedings, and after some back-and-forth, Garcia again stood up for himself, challenging Jericho to team up with Guevara to meet him and Danielson.

Hesitation led to Danielson and Menard arguing and a match between them being set up for the opener.

This was not good.

It was unfocused, all over the place and featured a challenge for a match despite one-fourth of said match already being booked for a title defense later in the show. There were too many moving pieces, very few of them that mattered or added to the segment, and the result was a convoluted mess rather than something that drummed up added excitement for the show.

Grade

C-

Top Moments

• "You guys want pizza? You can't have any," Jericho said as demurely and matter-of-factly ever.
• "In just one week, more people have seen me with this belt than any other Ring of Honor champion because no one knows about Ring of Honor," Jericho said, definitely not diminishing the promotion whose name is written on the belt he now carries. 
• Danielson referred to himself as the "Heart of Professional Wrestling." That is not a bad moniker by any means, but it probably could have been more effective for a Garcia or someone without a badass nickname like "American Dragon." 

The product of the subpar opening promo, the match between Danielson and Menard took place primarily during the commercial break, with Daddy Magic surprisingly controlling the pace and dominating the action.

The American Dragon fought back and appeared poised to roll following a babyface comeback, but a DDT by Parker on the arena floor allowed Menard to resume control. The well-timed arrival of Claudio Castagnoli, a Busaiku Knee and the LeBell Lock earned Danielson the come-from-behind victory.

There is much to be said for presenting talent as credible but there is really no reason Menard controlled as much of this match as he did. Danielson is the best wrestler in the world, he is recognized as such by a large portion of the AEW audience, and having him struggle against Menard even before Parker's interference was certainly a choice.

The wrong one, but a choice nonetheless.

It was also interesting to see Castagnoli running counter-interference rather than looking to avenge his tainted loss to Jericho from a week ago.

Result

Danielson defeated Menard via submission

Grade

C

Top Moments

• Castagnoli wiped out Parker with an uppercut on the floor and carried him to the back to prevent any further interference.

Philadelphia's own Wheeler Yuta hit the ring before the scheduled MJF promo and wasted little time calling out the scarf-wearing Salt of the Earth.

MJF responded, and the budding rivals went back-and-forth verbally, not saying much of note but intensifying a rivalry that, as the Casino Ladder Match winner revealed, will culminate on next week's episode of Dynamite.

The Gunn Club stood by MJF, preventing any sort of brawl between him and Yuta as the segment came to an uneventful conclusion.

Yuta showed good passion on the mic, but MJF destroyed him verbally. There was very little about the exchange that gave the viewers at home any reason to believe the babyface stands a chance at beating the heel next week, even with the crowd-pleasing Philly lines.

The match will likely be very good, but this was just merely OK and a reminder that MJF is lightyears ahead of young Yuta as a talker and main event presence. That will change the more Yuta has opportunities on the mic and to develop his character, though, so that is the silver lining in all of this.

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• "You have about as much charisma as Joe Frazier current-day," MJF said of Yuta's personality. Or lack thereof.
• "Oh, he hit the Phillies line!" Yuta said after predicting his foe would go the cheap heat route.
• "If you don't want to fight me...I will leave you in a pool of blood on Broad Street. You may not know this, Max, but bad things happen in Philadelphia and tonight is no exception," Yuta warned.
• "I'll fight you next week in dumpy Washington, D.C.," MJF said, refusing to give Philly the match it wanted.

Juice Robinson entered Wednesday's championship eliminator against Jon Moxley ready to remind the world that he has already beaten the Death Rider in a high-profile match once before.

He did so by jumping the AEW world champion prior to the bell, slamming his head into the guardrail in the process. Unable to follow up on the assault, he found himself on the defensive as Moxley recovered and unloaded on his opponent.

Robinson recovered and targeted a laceration on Moxley, who bled (shocker!) above the left eyebrow. Every time Moxley mounted an offensive, Robinson cut him off.

Moxley fought out of the grasp of his opponent, downed him, stomped away at his face and applied an arm breaker for the submission win. Hangman Page interrupted the post-match celebration, MJF teased cashing in his title opportunity in Cincinnati, and Yuta attacked him in his skybox until security pulled him away.

The Yuta reveal was really well done, and the brawl with MJF made up for the ho-hum promo segment from moments earlier. It was the fired-up babyface beating that needed to happen to build Yuta and earn him some legitimacy ahead of a showdown with MJF.

The match that preceded it was not so great. Moxley and Robinson have had much better elsewhere. For whatever reason, this just did not hit as it was probably intended to, and the result was a letdown of a match given the guys involved.

Result

Moxley defeated Robinson

Grade

C for the match, B for the angle

Top Moments

• Prior to the match, a video package set up Darby Allin vs. Jay Lethal for Friday's Rampage.
• Moxley escaped a fireman's carry and delivered a Regal knee in an ode to mentor and fellow Blackpool Combat Club teammate, William Regal.
• For everything wrong about the previous promo segment, the reveal of Yuta behind and MJF here and the proceeding attack was well done.

Justin Roberts introduced Saraya to the Philly fans, one week after a headline-stealing debut at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

After a brief welcome promo, the second-generation star called out the women's roster. AEW Women's Champion Toni Storm, Willow Nightingale, Madison Rayne, Skye Blue and Athena answered.

Dr. Britt Baker, Rebel, Jamie Hayter and Penelope Ford interrupted.

Baker talked trash and claimed conspiracy following yet another broken nose, only to have the fans break out in a chant for Hayter.

The segment mercifully ended with Saraya announcing the scheduled match between Storm and Deeb would now be a Lumberjack Match.

Just cuz.

This was the worst promo segment on a show packed with three bad ones. Directionless, with no real rhyme, reason or conclusion, it was about as far from effective as one could imagine.

The randomness of the Lumberjack Match also felt way too much like a Vince McMahon booking call, which is ironic given Saraya mentioned that she was thankful she had a boss that actually listens to her for once.

Grade

D

Top Moments

• "So you guys missed me?" Saraya said in response to chants of "welcome back!"
• "I'm damaged but I'm not broken." 
• "I am the revolution!" 
• "AEW is officially my house." 
• "This lady is finally being utilized to her full potential," Saraya said of Storm.
• "Look at what we have here: a shiny new toy. Until you earn a little respect around here, you're just a catchphrase," Baker said to Saraya.
• "In fact, I put my neck on the line for All Elite Wrestling and unlike yours, mine can actually handle it," the good doctor said in another emphatic line.

Storm found herself on the defensive early and often, including throughout the commercial break, as The Professor worked her over with a concentrated offensive.

At ringside, Nightingale and Hayter brawled with the former chasing the latter up the ramp. With the other babyfaces keeping Baker and Co. at bay, the attention finally returned to the action inside the squared circle, where Deeb proved her abilities by surviving Storm's finisher and staying in contention.

For a moment, anyway, as Storm put the challenger away with an avalanche piledriver for the successful title defense.

The match was good, yeah, but there was still a considerable amount of time and attention paid to the women around the ring instead of those in it. That does little for either Storm or Deeb, but was a microcosm of the show as a whole in that it was unfocused despite an ample amount of potential for something great given the competitors involved.

There was ultimately no reason for this to be a specialty match, nor was there any cause for the other women to be involved. It was merely an excuse to get them on television and establish Saraya as the new, well, whatever it is she is going to be for the women's division since it was never revealed whether she would be wrestling or not.

Storm winning was the right call, and Deeb still looked great in that she survived the champion's finisher and only lost following a devastating piledriver. Still, it rang hollow considering the questionable booking around it.

Result

Storm defeated Deeb to retain

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Deeb kicked out of Storm Zero in a moment that felt unnecessary given the finish followed just moments later. 

"Absolute" Ricky Starks sought to build momentum following his win over Powerhouse Hobbs Friday on Rampage Grand Slam as he battled former Ring of Honor competitor Eli Isom.

He did that in short order, defeating his opponent with a spear, followed by the Rochambeau.

This felt more like filler than anything, save for a spotlight showing for Starks.

He has been woefully underutilized, but the win over Hobbs felt like a turning point. While there was not much to this one with Isom, it still got Starks on television and in front of the AEW fans on the A-show, something he has earned more of than he has received.

This was a step in the right direction. Now, it is up to Tony Khan and Co. to see to it that the young competitor can realize his breakout potential.

Result

Starks defeated Isom

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Kudos to Excalibur for tying ROH into this one and reminding the audience of Isom's history with that promotion.

Former Ring of Honor champion Bandido challenged Jericho for that promotion's world title in Wednesday's main event, seeking to wrest the championship away and restore respect and prestige to the gold.

He put up a considerable fight, delivering a crowd-pleasing delayed vertical suplex and an Eddie Guerrero tribute in the form of a picture-perfect frog splash. He even countered a Lionsault attempt with a sunset flip powerbomb from the middle rope.

Jericho eventually did deliver his springboard signature move and moments later applied the Walls of Jericho. Bandido answered with a moonsault fallaway slam for a near-fall that finally had the fans in Philly rallying behind him.

The desperate champion raked the eyes, spun the mask around to blind the challenger and applied the Liontamer. Jericho tapped him out for the win, much to the dismay of the fans.

This was by far the best thing on the show, and it was not remotely close. The work was snug, the spots perfectly placed and the crowd was rooting for the challenger down the stretch. Jericho continued to spit in the face of all things ROH by cheating dishonorably to retain his title, then followed it up after the match with a cheap low blow and Judas Effect to ring announcer Bobby Cruise.

This is ultimately leading to Daniel Garcia dethroning him in the name of the promotion and carrying that brand forward. While there is much to question about the idea of Jericho denouncing ROH in hopes that fans do eventually care about it enough for Garcia's win to have the desired effect, this is the highest profile that particular title has been in years.

For better or worse.

Result

Jericho submitted Bandido to retain

Grade

B+

Top Moments

• Jericho mockingly did a secret handshake with Bandido, showing the former champion little respect in a fairly humorous moment.
• Jericho stood on the top rope, looking down at his opponent, who was poised to counter him and still jumped right into a superkick.
• Bandido executed a minute-plus vertical suplex, which popped the crowd.
• Blood-red painted the white mask of the challenger as the commentary team questioned whether he may have had a broken nose underneath it.
• Bandido delivered a 21 Plex for a dramatic two-count.