AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 6
Tag team wrestling took center stage Wednesday night on TBS as AEW presented an episode of Dynamite headlined by the hotly anticipated rematch between two of the top tag teams in the world in The Young Bucks and FTR.
Elsewhere, The Hardys continued their feud with Andrade Family Office as they squared off with The Butcher and The Blade in a Tables Match.
What else went down and what happened when the company presented the latest in the Owen Hart Foundation men's and womens' tournaments?
Find out now with this recap of the April 6 broadcast.
Christian Cage vs. Adam Cole
Whether 28 or 48, Christian Cage remains the smoothest professional wrestler in the business, something that was on full display Wednesday night as he battled Adam Cole in the night's opening contest.
The pay-per-view-quality match was a great way to kick off the show in front of a red-hot Boston crowd. The sequences were great and the psychology was strong.
Cole hooking the rope with his leg to counteract an attempted Killswitch, then poking the eyes and following up with a Boom (no kneepad this time) for the win made for a great finish that put over his in-ring awareness and ability to cheat like hell and go undetected.
It would be nice to see Cole win one of these matches clean, without having to resort to underhanded tactics, but it is a major aspect of his character right now. He is a traditional heel who talks a big game and has to cheat to secure victories. There will be no such thing as cheating next Friday in Texas when he challenges Hangman Page for the AEW world title in a Texas Deathmatch.
Grade
B
Top Moments
- Cole spit at Cage, attempting to sucker him into chasing him, only for Captain Charisma to see it coming and cut him off with a big right hand on the floor.
- Cage leapfrogged the ring post only to crash and burn on the arena floor as Cole retained control of the bout.
- Cole failing to put Cage away with The Boom and Excalibur claiming it was because he did not lower the kneepad, just like he failed to do against Page at Revolution, was a great callout by the play-by-play commentator.
- Page challenged Cole next Friday night on Rampage...in a Texas Deathmatch. Cole sold it perfectly, both dismayed and concerned. "If I were you, I would get my affairs in order," Page told his top contender to hammer home the seriousness of the hell Cole is about to enter.
Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament Match: Samoa Joe vs. Max Caster
Fun was not on the agenda for Samoa Joe, who was unimpressed by Max Caster's pre-match rap and wasted little time showing him.
Joe obliterated The Acclaimed's mic man, defeating him in short order with the Muscle Buster, the first man to qualify for the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament.
After the match, Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt appeared on the video screen and vowed to have a present for Joe next week in New Orleans.
A strong introduction to the dominant force that is Joe, this was still little more than a glorified squash and cannot be graded much higher as a result.
Grade
C
Top Moments
- "When we beat them in the ratings, he was their champ," Caster rapped about Joe's time as NXT champion.
- Joe's pissed-off reaction to Caster's backhand strike was great and gave way to the finish.
Captain Shawn Dean vs. Shawn Spears
Fun was not on the agenda for Samoa Joe, who was unimpressed by Max Caster's pre-match rap and wasted little time showing him.
Joe obliterated The Acclaimed's mic man, defeating him in short order with the Muscle Buster, the first man to qualify for the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament.
After the match, Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt appeared on the video screen and vowed to have a present for Joe next week in New Orleans.
A strong introduction to the dominant force that is Joe, this was still little more than a glorified squash and cannot be graded much higher as a result.
Grade
C
Top Moments
- "When we beat them in the ratings, he was their champ," Caster rapped about Joe's time as NXT champion.
- Joe's pissed-off reaction to Caster's backhand strike was great and gave way to the finish.
Kingston, Santana and Ortiz Speak; Jade Cargill Promo; Tables Match
Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz brawled with the Jericho Appreciation Society, chasing them out of the arena. The trio of babyfaces called out their foes for a six-man tag team match next week in New Orleans. As always, an entertaining promo brimming with conviction.
You knew the Tables Match between The Hardys and The Butcher and The Blade was doomed early when Jeff failed to actually go through a table in what was meant to be his elimination from the match. Butcher's departure came in a better spot as Matt drove him through the table with a Side Effect.
A match best described as "not great" saw Jeff take a big bump via Swanton bomb off the top of a ladder, driving Blade through the table for the win, it was a gimmick bout that existed for the sake of highlighting The Hardys. The problem, though, is that Matt and Jeff cannot (and should not) be relied on to take the big bumps and high risks every week. This is not 2000; their bump cards are full.
They are talented enough at this point in their careers to have great matches against young teams without having to endure these risks every week. Especially when the match is not particularly good, nor memorable.
Grade
C
Top Moments
- “We’re gonna beat your ass old school like Junkyard Dog and Butch Reed style," Kingston promised, while flexing his wrestling historian muscles.
- Jade Cargill cut a promo and said she was tired of former MMA fighters popping up in her ring in what was a great line and reflective of Marina Shafir and Paige VanZant's recent arrivals.
- "This is a bowling-shoe-ugly Tables Match," Jim Ross said, a phrase that is typically code for "not good."
Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament: Hikaru Shida vs. Julia Hart
A more aggressive, no-nonsense Julia Hart than we have seen to this point reared her head Wednesday night as she attacked Hikaru Shida before the opening bell of their Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament qualifying match.
Despite a very game performance from Hart, Shida scored the win with her Falcon Arrow finisher.
Hart looked as good as she has to this point, having the opportunity at a rare extended showing on Dynamite. She worked heel, a role she has yet to find herself in on AEW television to this point. While there is still room to grow there, she hung in there with an accomplished competitor in Shida and did not look out of place.
The match itself was perfectly acceptable wrestling, even if it lacked the crowd heat you would hope for given the tournament qualifier status.
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Hart sending The Varsity Blonds to the back was the latest hint at her turn toward the dark side. The black makeup peeking out from her eyepatch further hinted at her descent and potential association with The House of Black.
- Serena Deeb returned, confronting Shida in a tense staredown after the match and reminding everyone that yes, the feud is continuing and The Professor is still hanging around despite a considerable lack of TV time.
AAA and ROH Tag Team Championship Match: FTR vs. The Young Bucks
Expectations were high as FTR and The Young Bucks took to the squared circle for their second-ever meeting, a dream match in the main event of this week's Dynamite.
The two teams exceeded them.
A superbly wrestled match completely unlike their first encounter, this highlighted just how extraordinary the Ring of Honor and AAA tag team champions are as babyfaces. The crowd in Boston was completely into everything Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler did tonight, culminating with them delivering a vicious BTE Trigger to Matt Jackson, planting kisses on his cheek ala the Bucks and Adam Cole, and finishing him off with the Big Rig.
Every spot built to the next, the intensity increasing with each one, before the false finish with Wheeler's foot on the rope and the actual one moments later.
FTR has now delivered two consecutive Match of the Year candidates: Friday night at ROH Supercard of Honor against the Briscoe Brothers and here, against the Bucks. They are the hottest team in the sport and are thriving in a role they never really had the opportunity to explore to this point: fiery babyfaces.
It is working, as the Boston crowd proved when it exploded for the finish. Harwood and Wheeler are making the most of this newfound push, unwilling to let themselves fall back into the rut they were in just two months ago and wrestling fans everywhere are better for it.
FTR-Bucks III is going to be magical, but hopefully, AEW holds off on it so that the match-up does not become stale and still means something when the two best teams in the world come together.
Grade
A+
Top Moments
- Matt mocked his opponents' favorite wrestler, Bret Hart, and drew heel heat in the process.
- The crowd ERUPTED for Dax Harwood's hot tag and he repaid them with some great babyface fire.
- Harwood faking out Matt during an exchange of rights and lefts, then dropping him with a piledriver was a great spot.
- Nick Jackson interrupting the Power Plex by FTR and delivering a hurricanrana to Wheeler was fantastic and popped the crowd.
- A low blow by Matt to Wheeler drew great heat but was also indicative of the Bucks' willingness to forego sportsmanship and competition in the name of cheating to win.
- Rick Knox actually opened his eyes and saw something for once, that being Wheeler's foot on the bottom rope, thus negating the Bucks' victory.
- FTR kissing Matt as a knock on their trademark spot with Cole was an effective way to mock their rivals.