AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights for August 5

An AEW World Championship match headlined a blockbuster episode of Dynamite on Wednesday as Jon Moxley defended his title against the man who tag-teamed with him just a week ago, Darby Allin.

That match headlined a show that also featured an enormous tag team match and a special in-ring debate featuring a mystery moderator.

Who emerged from the shadows to oversee the verbal confrontation between Orange Cassidy and Chris Jericho? Did Moxley successfully defend his title, thus cashing his ticket to All Out on September 5 and a date with MJF?

We found out the answers to those questions this week on the TNT Network.

Previously announced for Wednesday's TNT broadcast:

• AEW World Championship match: Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin
• 12-Man Tag Team match: Hangman Page, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and FTR vs. The Dark Order
• Cody and Matt Cardona vs. John Silver and Alex Reynolds
• Debate: Orange Cassidy vs. Chris Jericho (with a mystery moderator)

The most intriguing match announced for this week's show was the huge 12-man tag team, if only because there were so many moving pieces involved.

Would Omega be able to coexist with FTR after Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler had repeatedly disrespected him, and furthermore, would his tag team partner Hangman Page be quick to side with the newest team in AEW if all hell broke loose?

What about Colt Cabana and his still unsteady relationship with The Dark Order? Would it strengthen or dissipate this week?

A 12-Man Tag Team match pitting The Young Bucks, FTR and AEW Tag Team champions Kenny Omega and Hangman Page against The Dark Order's Colt Cabana, Brodie Lee, Stu Grayson, Evil Uno, 5 and 9 kicked off this week's show.

A hot start by The Elite and FTR came to a screeching halt, courtesy of a big superkick by Lee that stunned Omega and led to isolation from his tag team partners. A tag to Dax Harwood turned the tide back in the babyfaces' favor.

The action continued, back-and-forth, neither man gaining a considerable advantage. As expected, The Elite showed the best tag team chemistry, the group's history of partnering together evident. At one point, FTR delivered the Demolition Decapitation to Grayson, but Harwood appeared to injure his knee.

The ringside trainer, Cash Wheeler and Hangman Page helped Harwood to the back, leaving their teammates to fend for themselves against the driven and determined Dark Order unit. The commentary team shined a light on the peculiar actions of Page, questioning why he wouldn't allow Wheeler to accompany Harwood on his own.

Cabana delivered a big splash at one point and nearly scored the pinfall victory over Matt Jackson. Matt fended off the onslaught of his competition, dropped 5 with a cutter and inched closer to his partners. Uno, though, pulled Nick to the floor and delivered a belly-to-belly that took him out of the equation.

Page returned just in time to receive the hot tag from Matt and exploded into the match, laying waste to any and everyone around him. His run came to a crashing halt when Lee exploded through the ropes with a tope suicida and wiped him out on the floor.

Cabana tagged in and nearly earned the win over Page, but Omega broke up the fall. The 450 splash/corner cannonball by Grayson and Uno failed to put Page down for the count, too. The Bucks returned to the match and uncorked a series of superkicks, including one to Lee, right into a snapdragon by Omega.

Lee recovered, delivered a big clothesline and scored the win for his team.

     

Result

The Dark Order defeated FTR and The Elite

    

Grade

A

    

Analysis

There was a ton happening here, but all of it hit big-time.

The injury to Harwood took FTR out of the equation and essentially spared him and Wheeler defeat. It also continued to plant the seeds for Page to join them and, potentially, Cody and Arn Anderson in a new faction in AEW. Throw in the constant distrust between Page and Omega, and you have a layered story on the babyface side of things.

Over on The Dark Order side, you had Lee letting his minions do the work for him and then set the table for Cabana to score the win in an attempt to keep up his recruitment to the faction. When that did not happen, he took matters into his own hands, capitalized on a miscommunication spot and earned a major, major breakthrough victory for The Dark Order.

A fantastic way to kick off the night's show and proof that AEW's tag team division is hitting on all cylinders right now.

Santana and Ortiz of The Inner Circle sought to return to the AEW Tag Team Championship picture as they battled former No. 1 contenders Best Friends in a special grudge match.

Trent scored a near-fall for himself and partner Chuck Taylor with a bridging Northern Lights suplex on Santana early. Heading into the break, Trent and Taylor delivered stereo clotheslines and then followed with a tornado DDT to Ortiz before engaging in the fan-favorite hug.

During the break, the babyfaces continued their roll until Santana grounded Trent and applied a single-leg Boston Crab. Back from the commercial, Trent looked to fight back, but Santana sent him crashing into the guardrail.

After several moments of a focused attack on his back, Trent created separation and tagged Taylor into the match.

Taylor hoisted Trent onto his shoulders, and in an electric chair spot, Best Friends brought Ortiz crashing to the mat with a superplex. Later, as it appeared Santana and Ortiz were setting up for the Street Sweeper, Taylor blasted the former and Trent scored a roll-up for the win.

    

Result

Best Friends defeated Santana and Ortiz

    

Grade

B

   

Analysis

This was a really good, solid tag team match with strong psychology and a surprising outcome.

Trent and Chuckie T have been the breakout stars of the tag division this year and continued their roll with this win. Whether they have any chance of actually winning the tag titles with the wealth of talent elsewhere in the division remains to be seen, but they figure to hang around the title picture for the foreseeable future.

Somewhat surprising is the continued inconsistency with Santana and Ortiz's booking. They have fallen off considerably since February, a point made by Jim Ross on commentary prior to the match. Why, and whether they can rebuild momentum for themselves, is the question they must answer going forward.

Moments after MJF took the Dynamite audience on a tour of his campaign headquarters, Matt Hardy took to the ring for a promo.

He said the fans what him to focus on being himself, the "unkillable" one, so he would. He put over Private Party as a young tag team reminiscent of him and his brother and then recapped his issues with Sammy Guevara.

The Spanish God attempted a sneak attack, but Hardy caught him and they threw fists.

A brawl ensued, culminating with Hardy pummeling Guevara and slamming him through the timekeeper's table. He retrieved a full-size table and set up for the Twist of Fate. Guevara sent him into the steel post and laid his opponent out on a table. He threw a chair at him, busting Hardy's head open with one of the legs.

Guevara launched himself off the stage, driving Hardy through the table and leaving him a bloodied mess to close out the segment.

     

Grade

A

    

Analysis

This had an appropriate amount of intensity and a great high spot from Guevara.

Hardy catching the chair leg to the face was scary, as was the aftermath, but it added to the viciousness of Guevara's attack.

In just a few short weeks, AEW has made Hardy vs. Guevara one of the most intriguing and anticipated feuds, with eyes on All Out on September 5 for the culmination of their program. Hopefully, they can continue the hot streak because this is as interesting as Hardy has been since the advent of the Broken character way back in Impact Wrestling.

MJF as the insufferable politician, pushing himself as a better option for AEW as its champion, has been superbly executed so far. The visit to his headquarters, where he was a total dictator and chauvinist, only makes him that much more unlikable as he prepares for the biggest match of his young career.

One week after making his AEW debut, Matt Cardona teamed with TNT champion Cody to battle The Dark Order's John Silver and Alex Reynolds.

Cardona and Cody rolled early, but a miscalculation on the champion's part left him nursing a rib injury while isolated from his partner. Silver and Reynolds picked away at Cody, hoping to cut the ring off from him and pick up the win without having to deal with Cardona.

The Dark Order tandem's control of the match continued throughout the break as Cody struggled to break free of their grasp.

Silver teed off on Cody with a barrage of kicks before The American Nightmare flattened him with a snap powerslam.

Cardona finally received the hot tag and unloaded on the competition in what was his first in-ring action since his release from WWE in April. He downed Reynolds with a double under-hook powerbomb for two. With Cody hurt, Dark Order momentarily regained the upper hand.

Silver and Cody fell over the top rope and to the arena floor, leaving Cardo to deliver Radio Silence on Reynolds for the win.

    

Result

Cardona and Cody defeated The Dark Order

    

Grade

B-

   

Analysis

This was a solid if unspectacular match that did what it set out to do: spotlight Cardona in his first match with the company.

What it did that was not necessarily expected was put over Silver and Reynolds in a big spot. The underutilized team looked fantastic, in many ways better than its opponents. Silver and Reynolds were crisp, showed some above-average in-ring chemistry and really stood out in a match that definitely intended to be about the opposition.

Cardona has always been a solid worker without much of an opportunity to prove himself in a sustained high-profile role. That appears to be on its way to changing, and that is a very good thing for the performer and his fans.

Scorpio Sky approached Cody after the match and insinuated that he would be challenging for the TNT Championship next. That is a great booking decision and one that should result in a great match between one of the company's EVPs and one of its breakthrough stars of year one.

Eric Bischoff returned to TNT for the first time in 20 years as the special moderator of the debate between "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy and "The Demo God" Chris Jericho.

Bischoff asked the first question: Why do Jericho and Cassidy hate each other?

Jericho criticized Cassidy's attire, to which the king of sloth style responded by clipping on a black tie. Le Champion called Cassidy a "ginger jackass" and blasted him for being a disrespectful joke of a wrestler.

Next question: Who is the better wrestler and who is the bigger star?

Jericho ran down his accomplishments before, again, taking a shot at the way Cassidy looks and presents himself.

Question No. 3: What are your thoughts on global sea level rising?

Jericho refused to answer, but Cassidy rolled out an informative statement on the issue.

Question No. 4: Why is Orange Cassidy so popular?

Jericho said he is a reflection of the smart marks at home and reminded his opponent that when he loses on next week's show, he will owe him $7,000 for his orange juice-stained jacket. No response from Cassidy.

Question No. 5: Why does this rematch mean so much to the both of you?

Cassidy interrupted Jericho, telling him to shut up. "You scheduled a debate against a guy who doesn't talk. You're trying to embarrass me. I'm not embarrassed. I don't care. I do care about the match next week. It's the biggest match of my career, but it's also the biggest of yours." He continued: "What happens if Jericho loses to the guy who puts his hands in his pockets?"

Cassidy took off his sunglasses. "I want you to look into the eyes of the man who will embarrass you next week." He declared he will beat Jericho next week.

Bischoff declared Cassidy the winner, prompting Jericho to sic Jake Hager on Freshly Squeezed. Hager sent Cassidy right into the Judas Effect, leveling him. Best Friends made the save, chasing Jericho and his muscle out of the arena.

     

Result

Cassidy defeated Jericho

    

Grade

A

   

Analysis

Cassidy doesn't talk, but when he did, it sure as hell made an impact.

The global warming topic was a fun insight into the mindset of Cassidy, but the go-home promo he cut on Jericho was fantastic. It set the stage, told the story and gave fans who might be unfamiliar with the story the lowdown on the characters at play here.

Bischoff was great in his role, Jericho hit every note just right and the result was a promo segment that was exponentially better than expected.

Next week's match will be damn special if Cassidy and Jericho can build on everything that has come before it.

In order to get her much-desired match with Dr. Britt Baker, Big Swole would have to take on an opponent of her rival's choice. That opponent: "Reba," known to literally everyone but Baker as former TNA Knockout Rebel.

The right-hand woman of Baker struggled to rediscover her in-ring skills, succumbing to Dirty Dancing as Swole rolled to victory.

    

Result

Swole defeated Rebel

    

Grade

C-

   

Analysis

Here is why this didn't work: The commentary team, Taz in particular, spent the match reminding fans that Rebel had over 100 matches under her belt and that she was no stranger to the in-ring game. That completely contradicted what happened in the ring, as Rebel acted as though she had no idea what she was doing en route to a one-sided loss.

That disconnected story hurt this one a bunch, something that has not been said of anything involving Swole or Baker in recent months.

An intense, physical start to the AEW Championship match between Jon Moxley and Darby Allin saw the champion manhandle the face-painted enigma, bloodying his mouth and driving his elbow into Allin's chest.

The challenger answered with an arm drag off the top rope and a dropkick but ate the steel post heading into the break, leaving the champion standing tall.

During the break, Moxley wore Allin down in the ring, working a single-leg Boston Crab before floating over into a Regal Stretch, undoubtedly an ode to the man who had a major influence on him during his time in WWE developmental. Allin answered by flipping his opponent the bird, almost stunning the champion with his brashness.

Allin caught Moxley and speared him through the ropes. A sliding tope suicida through the bottom ropes wiped out Mox. Allin targeted the right hand of Moxley, taking away his striking advantage, and launched himself off the top rope with a plancha.

Allin followed up with a Code Red for a near-fall.

Moments later, Wardlow appeared, hopping up on the apron in an attempt to distract the official. MJF rolled into the ring, blasted Moxley with the AEW title and escaped. Allin, unaware of what happened, launched himself off the top rope with a Coffin Drop, but the champion kicked out.

His face painted with the crimson of his own blood following the belt shot, Moxley struggled to regain his fighting form as Allin attacked from all angles. Another Coffin Drop proved ill-advised, though, as Moxley caught him and looked to put him to sleep with a choke. Allin again flipped him off, and Moxley delivered a piledriver.

Moxley, frustrated, reluctantly delivered the Paradigm Shift for the win.

    

Result

Moxley defeated Allin

    

Grade

A

     

Analysis

This was infinitely better than their first match.

Allin was the relentless challenger, showing the type of resiliency reserved for the industry's best heroes. He frustrated Moxley throughout the match, driving the champion to demand that his challenger "stay down" or "tap when I tell you to tap."

That did not happen, leaving Moxley with no other option than to deliver the very same Paradigm Shift that nearly broke Allin's neck the last time they clashed.

The storytelling here elevated the match's overall quality, though the in-ring action itself was equally as strong.

MJF interfering in an attempt to choose the man he would challenge at All Out was totally in character, especially for someone who has already spoken so much trash on Moxley as it is.

Everything about this worked, making it one of the better main events in recent weeks.