AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from November 3

The journey to AEW Full Gear on November 13 continued Wednesday night on TNT with a blockbuster main event pitting "The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes against Andrade El Idolo, the latest in the TBS Women's Championship Tournament and the AAA Tag Team Championships at stake.

Would Rhodes vanquish El Idolo, all while battling recent negative fan reaction and an incredibly personal rivalry with Malakai Black?

Did Anna Jay or Jamie Hayter move one step closer to making history as the inaugural TBS champion?

Was FTR able to defeat the debuting duo of Samuray Del Sol and Aerostar?

The answers to those questions and more played out in another explosive episode of Dynamite.

• Cody Rhodes vs. Andrade El Idolo
• TBS Women's Championship Tournament match: Anna Jay vs. Jamie Hayter
• Alan Angels vs. AEW World champion Kenny Omega
• AAA Tag Team Championship match: Samuray Del Sol and Aerostar vs. FTR (c)

AEW world champion Kenny Omega kicked off this week's show, making his way to the ring for a showdown with The Dark Order's Alan Angels. The first time the competitors did battle, Angels nearly scored a massive upset and earned himself a contract with AEW in the process.

Omega withstood an early onslaught of Angels and slowed the pace, picking his opponent apart with an arsenal that included a nasty kick to the ribs. Angels fought back, wiping Omega out with a tope suicida through the middle rope. A springboard moonsault wiped the world champ out on the floor, and a diving crossbody back inside earned Angels a two-count.

Omega regained the upper hand, but an arrogant pin attempt had announcers questioning if it would prove costly.

It did not. The champion uncorked multiple V-Triggers and scored the pinfall victory.

After the match, Omega cut a brief promo claiming he can take away Angels' career, just like he gave it to him by way of their match in April 2020. Before he could deliver a One-Winged Angel onto a chair, Hangman Page made the save, narrowly missing a Buckshot Lariat as Omega escaped to the sanctuary of the floor.

Result

Omega defeated Angels

Grade

C+

Analysis

Just like he did a year-and-a-half ago, Angels impressed against Omega, this time in a shorter and more compact match. The crowd was into the possibility of him scoring the upset, and the resulting heat improved the overall quality of the contest.

The outcome was what it should have been, obviously, but using the smallest member of The Dark Order as a babyface in peril for Hangman to come to the aid of was a nice touch.

The crowd is overwhelmingly into Page, and the moment he defeats Omega to win the title—and he better—will be unforgettable because of the emotion put forth by the AEW faithful.

CM Punk made his way to the ring to address the AEW faithful.

First, he addressed Jon Moxley, who will be entering an inpatient alcohol treatment program, as announced by Tony Khan late Tuesday night. After showing respect to the former world champion, he implored anyone who needs help to reach out and ask for it.

Then, he turned his attention to Eddie Kingston, who interrupted an interview Punk was in the middle of conducting last week. Irritated, annoyed and pissed off about it, he challenged Kingston to meet him one-on-one next week in St. Louis.

Grade

A

Analysis

Fans will always love Punk because he is the most relatable storyteller in the business.

The Mox stuff was beyond classy and a message to anyone within earshot. That was real, significant beyond the squared circle. Segueing into the Kinston promo, explaining why he has beef with him and challenging him to a match next week was just super effective work from a master.

There are some who will question the way that he has been utilized since his arrival, but when he can sit in the middle of the ring and deliver a promo like he did tonight, showing respect to one of the faces of the company during a tough time and putting over a feud, he is absolutely invaluable.

A backstage promo by The SuperKliq's Adam Cole and The Young Bucks turned into a wild, chaotic melee when Christian Cage, Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy took the fight to the trio. Spilling into the arena, it culminated with Cage delivering a con-chair-to to Cole, leaving him writhing in pain to close out the brawl.

After a quick break, Samuray del Sol and Aerostar made their AEW debuts, challenging FTR's Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler for the AAA Tag Team Championships.

A quick start by the newcomers came to a screeching halt as the champions dominated Aerostar during the break. A brief moment of separation allowed Aerostar to make the tag and the babyfaces to spark an energetic, high-flying comeback.

The challengers scored a near-fall off stereo roll-ups, but moments later, it was Wheeler who benefited from interference by Harwood and reversed a roll-up by Aerostar for the win.

Result

C+

Analysis

The brawl that saw Christian and Jurassic Express get the best of The SuperKliq was fun, sure, but the two teams are going to need something more than a basic trios match to bring this feud to an end. Especially when the heels have already beaten their foes in a straight six-man tag not all that long ago. Falls Count Anywhere or any other No Disqualification stipulation would be greatly appreciated, if only to give the presumptive Full Gear contest higher stakes and a sense of finality.

The tag match was very obviously a clash of styles, with Aerostar appearing a step off at times, but Harwood and Wheeler are so good that they can typically get an above-average match out of anyone. This was a nice taste of lucha and a test for the champions as they inevitably head to Mexico to defend their straps.

The Inner Circle made its way to the ring to reveal which members of American Top Team it would face at Full Gear in the Minneapolis Street Fight. Before it could, Dan Lambert, The Men of the Year, Junior Dos Santos and Co. made their way to the entrance ramp. After another anger-filled rant from Lambert, Jake Hager chose Dos Santos as the first opponent. Ortiz selected Andrei Arlovski.

After a promo from Paige VanZant in which she declared her desire to be the fifth member of the heel team, Jericho selected Lambert to join his guys in the match.

Grade

D

Analysis

This...was not a great segment. At all.

It tried to be edgy but wasn't. It tried to be funny, but it wasn't.

Worst of all, it didn't make anyone want to see Inner Circle vs. American Top Team any more than they did entering the show.

The positive? VanZant is a star, and AEW should be looking to do whatever it can to get her under contract because she has the presence and confidence needed to stand out in pro wrestling. Any in-ring ability would come with training.

The TBS Women's Championship Tournament continued in the night's next match as The Dark Order's Anna Jay battled Jamie Hayter, who was accompanied to the ring by Rebel and AEW women's champion Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.

Hayter dominated the action throughout the commercial break, but Jay fought her way into the match, repeatedly looking for her Queenslayer submission. Sensing things were getting away from their associate, Rebel distracted the official while Baker struck Jay from behind.

Hayter delivered a short lariat for the win before joining her fellow heels in a beatdown of Jay. Tay Conti made the save, unloading on the heels before hammering away at Baker. Thunder Rosa made the save, chasing off the heels to close out the segment.

Result

Hayter defeated Jay

Grade

C

Analysis

Too much of this match occurred during the commercial break. Sure, there is the picture-in-picture, but the fact that things wrapped up so quickly coming out of the timeout really hurt the significance of this one. Considering it was a title tournament match, that is a major disappointment.

Hayter winning and setting up a match with Thunder Rosa was a nice surprise given the screen time allotted to Jay in recent weeks. That match, in the next round of the tournament, should be an improvement over this one, if given time.

The post-match was fine, but as fun as it has been to watch Conti's evolution in recent months, it has never once felt like she could actually beat Baker at Full Gear. Nothing here changed that sentiment.

MJF made his presence felt, making his way to the ring to address Darby Allin, who had been perched in the audience throughout the night. His promo asserted that he and Allin are pillars, just two totally different people. He reminded fans that he has yet to be beaten in the middle of the ring and claimed he could beat Allin with a headlock takeover.

Allin vowed to beat MJF in a wrestling match at Full Gear and then came through the audience to attack his foe. Sting fended off Shawn Spears, both of whom became involved in the segment, while Allin brawled with MJF in the crowd.

The scar-wearing heel bailed out and headed through the crowd to avoid further pain and punishment, talking trash with Allin on his way out.

Grade

B+

Analysis

MJF has been the best heel and among the top promos in wrestling for a while now, but this feud has really allowed him to showcase that to the entire world and prove it without a shadow of a doubt. This was just more of the same for the excellent young performer.

The talk of pillars and being different than the other young guys in the company was spot-on. As great as Jungle Boy has been, and as dynamic as Sammy Guevara continues to be, MJF and Allin have been genuine main event competitors consistently since day one. They've worked with the tippy-top guys regularly and would not surprise anyone were they to win the AEW world title tomorrow.

And therein lies the greatness of MJF's promos: As infuriating as they may be to fans who hate him and love his opponents, there is an edge of truth to them. That is what makes him so damn insufferable.

The brawl was great, Allin looks every bit as good as MJF and their match on November 13 very well could steal the entire show. That is a hell of a testament to the performers involved and those putting this program together.

The much-anticipated showdown between Cody Rhodes and Andrade El Idolo started relatively equally before the latter sent The American Nightmare crashing to the floor ahead of the commercial break.

Rhodes mounted a comeback, but El Idolo cut him off. A series of jabs and the Bionic Elbow by Rhodes appeared to earn him back control of the match, but Andrade took a page out of his future father-in-law Ric Flair's book, applying a Figure Four.

Rhodes countered the hold, forcing the break. When it appeared as though Andrade's associate Jose would get involved, Arn Anderson rocked him at ringside. As Rhodes attempted a tope suicida, he flew straight into a shot to the face by FTR, who had hidden under the ring.

El Idolo finished Cody with the hammerlock DDT for the win.

After the match, as the announcers reminded us of the business relationship between Andrade and The Pinnacle, the heels attempted to beat Rhodes down until The Lucha Bros made the save. They cleared out the heels and stood tall to close the segment.

Result

Andrade defeated Rhodes

Grade

B

Analysis

The match was very good, as many probably expected it to be.

The throwbacks to Dusty Rhodes vs. Flair were excellent and made sense given who the competitors are and who their (extended) families are.

Andrade going over was the absolute right call. The fans, more divided than they have been for Cody in recent weeks, would have completely rejected the outcome otherwise. El Idolo doesn't have the connection with AEW fans that he needs to excel at the next level. He needs quality wins against guys like Rhodes, even if it comes via underhanded methods, to help build his credibility and legitimacy.

He got one here and built his heel presence as a result. As a businessman willing to shell out money to anyone willing to help him get what he wants, he has potential. Like a modern-day Million Dollar Man, if you will.

Lucha Bros vs. FTR will be awesome, and this was a nice bit of business after the match to hype that Full Gear title match.

Orange Cassidy's early mind games in his AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament match against Miro may have benefited him momentarily, but a belly-to-belly overhead suplex on the floor left him on the defensive throughout the commercial break.

A red-hot comeback after, including a tornado DDT and a dive that sent Miro crashing through the timekeeper's table, had the outcome in doubt momentarily. A Beach Break added further drama to the match as the babyface earned a hot two-count.

Cassidy's ill-fated attempt at the Orange Punch led to Miro turning him inside out and then applying Game Over for the submission victory.

After the match, Bryan Danielson made his way to the ring, coming face-to-face with The Redeemer to add hype to their tournament final in 10 nights. Miro refused a handshake as the show headed off the air.

Result

Miro defeated Cassidy

Grade

C+

Analysis

This was exactly what it needed to be. Miro all but demolished Cassidy, who showed that great babyface fire by hitting offense in spurts but failing to string anything together to really knock off his opponent. In the end, it was the driven and determined Miro who earned the win and set up a date with Danielson at Full Gear.

That match should be extraordinary.

Miro has been his best in AEW, while Danielson is the best wrestler in the world. Those two fighting for a coveted title opportunity, in front of a hot crowd, should be magical. That is, if Miro can hang with Bryan in what will be the greatest test of his in-ring abilities to date.