AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from March 4

On the heels of his AEW World Championship victory over Chris Jericho at Revolution, Jon Moxley teamed with Darby Allin to battle Jericho and Sammy Guevara in a high-profile tag team main event on Dynamite.

Elsewhere on Wednesday's broadcast, The Dark Order clashed with SCU and Colt Cabana in a huge eight-man tag, Big Swole and "The Librarian" Leva Bates sought to move up in the women's rankings, and Chuck Taylor looked to avenge Orange Cassidy's loss to PAC from Saturday night.

A red-hot Denver audience welcomed new AEW world champion Jon Moxley to the squared circle to kick off the evening's broadcast.

He warned anyone looking to test him that they would have to pry the title from his cold, dead hands in order to take it from him.

Former champion Chris Jericho appeared and was serenaded by fans to the tune of "Judas" by his band Fozzy. Clearly unhappy following the events of Saturday's pay-per-view, he said: "I don't need a damn belt to be Le Champion!"

Jericho argued that he trained to wrestle a one-eyed man and could see the entire time that Moxley is a cheat and a liar. He issued a warning to the AEW roster, claiming The Inner Circle is now a hit squad aimed at anyone in its path.

Finally, he claimed that if Moxley walked out of the arena on his own, he would take a leave of absence from the company for 60 days.

         

Grade

B

         

Analysis

This was exactly what it needed to be.

Moxley's promo was the intense "screw you" statement it needed to be, while the ever-arrogant Jericho proved so confident in his own ability to make good on his promise that he risked his own presence on a show he has become synonymous with.

There are now stakes for the rest of the show—stakes the audience can invest in. It was wise booking, even if the actual words were what we expect out of the performers.

With the heavy cloud of The Exalted One hanging over the show, The Dark Order's Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, Alex Silver and John Reynolds battled SCU's Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky and newcomer Colt Cabana.

The enigmatic heels cut the ring off, isolating Daniels from his teammates.

A hot tag to Kazarian sparked the babyface comeback. The action broke down, and Cabana scored the win for his team.

After the match, an enraged Evil Uno expressed disbelief and continued to tout the arrival of The Exalted One.

     

Result

SCU and Colt Cabana defeated The Dark Order

    

Grade

C+

        

Analysis

There was nothing inherently wrong with the match itself, but the booking was confusing.

It makes sense that AEW would want to spotlight new signing Cabana, but why book him and SCU against The Dark Order, a group you are trying to get over after several booking missteps early in its run?

Why put the heels in a position to lose at a time when they should be established as an unstoppable force? Yes, it brings about the swift retaliation of The Exalted One, but we could have gotten to that point without The Dark Order losing another match to a team that did not need the momentum boost.

It was, essentially, the 50-50 booking that kills WWE stars far too often.

Dr. Britt Baker joined the commentary team as Big Swole and "The Librarian" Leva Bates battled for the right to move into championship contention in the women's division.

The one-sided match saw Swole overcome interference from Peter Avalon to deliver Dirty Dancing and score the win.

      

Result

Big Swole defeated Bates

      

Grade

C-

        

Analysis

This was certainly a thing that happened.

Swole picked up a dominant win that will likely jump-start a push for her. She has the charisma and athleticism, but her lack of character development will likely stunt her ability to fully get over with audiences as she moves closer to a championship encounter with Nyla Rose.

On the heels of a crushing defeat at the hands of MJF at Revolution, Cody hit the ring and told the fans he was not sure he could accept the loss, especially since MJF cheated to beat him.

He called his friend-turned-enemy to the squared circle, but instead the legendary Jake "The Snake" Roberts answered.

The Hall of Famer claimed the "dark side" will encompass AEW. He will bring a client, and he will stand at ringside while that client battles Cody.

He ended the promo by citing the words of a wise man, saying never to turn your back on a man you fear or respect. With that, he turned his back on The American Nightmare and walked away.

       

Grade

B+

       

Analysis

Roberts makes everything he touches better when he is "on."

He was on here, and the result was a compelling promo that left fans wondering who the client will be and what it means for Cody.

The argument can be made that AEW probably leans on dark and brooding heel characters far too much, particularly with The Dark Order and the since-nixed Nightmare Collective, not to mention The Butcher, The Blade and The Bunny.

With the brand looking to separate itself from the bright and sunshiny WWE product, it makes sense. Hopefully the company can deliver on Roberts' threat with a star who will capture the attention of fans the same way The Snake did with his words of warning Wednesday night.

Four days after defeating Orange Cassidy in one of the most enjoyable matches of the entire pay-per-view card, "The Bastard" PAC battled Best Friends' Chuck Taylor in singles competition.

The violent, unforgiving heel seized control of the bout heading into the break, downing Taylor at ringside. He continued to assault the tag team specialist throughout the commercial break.

Back from the break, PAC continued to dominate and eventually put Taylor away with The Brutalizer.

After the match, The Lucha Bros attacked the Best Friends. With the babyfaces left on their backs, PAC grabbed the microphone and declared: "AEW, you've done this to yourself!"

       

Result

PAC defeated Taylor

    

Grade

B

       

Analysis

As a match, this was a cakewalk for PAC. It was a dominant showing from a wrestler who has to be in consideration to challenge Jon Moxley for the AEW title sooner than later. He needed this win, and he got it.

The real meat of this segment, though, was the post-match beatdown and the first real indication that The Bastard and The Lucha Bros are an allied front.

That trio, named Death Triangle, is as dangerous and talented as there is in the industry, and the idea of them plowing through the opposition is an appealing one.

Fresh off a victory over Dustin Rhodes at Revolution, Jake Hager made his AEW Dynamite television debut, battling QT Marshall of The Nightmare Family.

Hager dominated the action early, only for Marshall to mount a momentary babyface comeback. A big lariat from the undefeated MMA competitor turned his veteran opponent inside out, and a standing choke earned Hager the win.

After the match, all hell broke loose, with the Rhodes brothers hitting the ring to fend off The Inner Circle. The Young Bucks joined the fray, and "Hangman" Adam Page made the save for the babyfaces.

His issues with the Bucks reared their heads, though, leading him to exit the ring in frustration.

        

Result

Hager defeated Marshall

     

Grade

C

      

Analysis

Have you ever watched an angle or segment and thought to yourself, "This is forced?"

This felt forced, particularly the part with the Bucks interfering and Page making the save. It felt shoehorned in there in order to get that particular story screen time.

While they all had previous issues with The Inner Circle, it still felt mostly unnecessary to trot out all of those stars when Page could have confronted the Bucks backstage.

Hager looked dominant and shined here, while Jim Ross put over the idea of the former WWE man challenging Jon Moxley at some point. That would put him over as a threat in the company while giving fans a taste of a main event that did not feature Chris Jericho or a member of The Elite.

Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara sought to turn around the fortunes of The Inner Circle in this week's main event as they battled Jon Moxley and Darby Allin in a blockbuster tag team match.

As Moxley made his way to the ring through the crowd, Jake Hager, Santana and Ortiz attacked. They pummeled the world champion into the arena's concourse where the mugging continued.

Despite a ferocious comeback attempt, Moxley found himself on the receiving end of more punishment by his assailants—all while Jericho watched from the ring, happy and content with what he witnessed.

Left to fend for himself, Allin fearlessly embarked on a handicap match but quickly found himself beaten down and battered by Le Champion and The Spanish God.

In a cool spot, Allin fired off a babyface comeback after tagging himself. He cleared the heels out of the ring and delivered a Coffin Drop from the top rope that wiped The Inner Circle out on the floor. A stunner from Allin and the Coffin Drop to Guevara followed, but Jericho broke up the pin at the last second.

Back at ringside, Jericho dropped Allin with the Judas Effect in mid-flight, and Guevara scored the win.

After the match, Moxley reappeared, giving the impression he would be leaving of his own volition. Instead, The Inner Circle again established dominance, beating him down and powerbombing him from the stage, through a table.

The champion lay motionless to close out the show.

          

Result

Jericho and Guevara defeated Allin

     

Grade

B+

        

Analysis

Allin continued to look every bit the breakout babyface star of AEW with a gutsy performance that nearly saw him upset a legend and one of the brightest young competitors in the company.

This was also focused almost entirely on re-establishing The Inner Circle as the preeminent faction in AEW. For the first time in weeks, it looked like a dangerous and unstoppable force, the like of which will provide headaches for all of the company's top babyfaces.

It was needed and proved that Jericho may be more dangerous as a former champion than he was as the complacent titleholder.

Kudos to AEW for a red-hot finish.