AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from November 2
The road to Full Gear rolled through Baltimore on Wednesday night with the latest episode of AEW Dynamite, headlined by an in-ring appearance from world champion Jon Moxley as he battled The Firm's Lee Moriarty.
That hard-hitting contest was joined by the latest attempt by Chris Jericho to diminish the legacy of Ring of Honor, a three-way battle for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship and a sitdown interview featuring Saraya and Britt Baker.
Darby Allin vs. Jay Lethal
Jay Lethal attacked Darby Allin a week ago, trapping him under a garage door and applying a Figure Four that injured the ribs of the former TNT champion.
A vengeful Allin wasted little time taking the fight to Lethal early on Wednesday night, brawling with him in the aisle.
An athletic contest saw Allin do what he typically does: Fight back from underneath while showing considerable resiliency and guts along the way. Interference by a fake Sting allowed Lethal to deliver his Lethal Injection finisher and score the win.
Cue the revelation of the faker as Cole Karter of The Factory, the return of the real Sting and the All Elite Wrestling debut of Jeff Jarrett, who cut a scathing promo on the company and took credit for it and its success on behalf of his family.
This was...straight out of 2000 WCW/early TNA.
Fake Sting, illogical surprises for the sake of surprises, and Jarrett collecting a paycheck from another major promoter made this angle look more like something from the turn of the century than what you expect out of AEW.
With that said, Jarrett is great and can make just about anything work, as was the case here. He cut his promo with conviction and elevated the quality of this whole thing.
A good match and an above-average promo helped, but the booking—like much of AEW here in 2022—left much to be desired.
Result
Lethal pinned Allin
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Allin countered the Lethal Injection into a sleeper.
- Official Bryce Remsburg ejected Lethal and Satnam Singh from ringside, only for someone perceived to be Sting blasting Allin with a bat to the ribs to set up the finish.
- Karter revealed himself to be under the Sting get-up, only for the real Icon to hit the ring and make the save.
- Jarrett appeared and laid out Sting with a guitar shot, then cut a scathing promo in which he took credit on behalf of his family for all that AEW is and has become.
AEW World Championship Eliminator: Jon Moxley vs. Lee Moriarty
The Firm left AEW world champion Jon Moxley lying a week ago, and Lee Moriarty had the chance to continue the faction's dominance of the top dog in a World Championship Elimination match on Wednesday.
The talented young wrestler controlled the contest throughout the break, but the double-tough Moxley overcame the impressive technical skill of his opponent and tapped him out.
There was no time to celebrate, though, as Ethan Page attacked before standing tall alongside Moriarty and manager Stokely Hathaway to close out the segment.
The match was good but would have been even more enjoyable had Moriarty had anything remotely close to momentum on his side entering it. He had no chance of winning and the fans knew it, which hurt the heat, as proved by the mid-match distraction caused by the arrival of Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens taking the attention away from the combatants between the ropes.
It looks like Page is up next for Moxley as the television program with The Firm continues en route to a showdown with MJF at Full Gear on November 19. It should be a good match if nothing else.
Result
Moxley defeated Moriarty
Grade
B-
Top Moments
- Ethan Page joined the commentary team and reminded Excalibur and Co. that Moxley never beat him either, instead winning via referee stoppage, just as he did against Adam Page last week.
- Renee Paquette sat down with Saraya, but the advertised Britt Baker was conspicuously absent. The second-generation star refused to say if she was cleared to return, claiming there was one doctor she wanted to consult yet.
Daddy Ass Birthday Bash
The Acclaimed celebrated "Daddy Ass" Billy Gunn's birthday in Baltimore with an in-ring segment that was amusing but served as little more than an excuse to bring Anthony Bowens, Max Caster and FTR's Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler together for a championship match tease.
The Gunn Club got involved, FTR made the save and the staredown commenced.
There wasn't much to this, but The Acclaimed are entertaining and the crowd appeared to have fun with it, so there was that.
Absent without any explanation? Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee, the No. 1 contenders to the tag titles.
Grade
B
Top Moments
- The Acclaimed revealed new foam scissor fingers merchandise.
- Anthony Bowens cracked a joke about his guests not making it to the show because "They were mad that (Gunn) didn't go to the reunion," a reference to the D-Generation X reunion that closed out Raw two weeks ago.
- FTR teased challenging The Acclaimed for the AEW Tag Team Championship.
ROH World Championship: Chris Jericho vs. Colt Cabana
Much was made about the former Ring of Honor champion who would step up to challenge Chris Jericho for the promotion's world title.
That person? Colt Cabana.
The Ocho and his challenger had a perfectly acceptable match in which the outcome was never in dispute. Cabana was fine, Jericho delivered the Codebreaker and retained the title, and the crowd went...mild.
Things picked up moments later with the brawl between the Jericho Appreciation Society and Blackpool Combat Club on the stage, but even that felt lackluster based on the fact that we have seen the two factions feud for over half a year at this point.
Why is every Jericho program in this company the longest ever, far outlasting its usefulness and limping to a conclusion rather than settling when it should have?
These two factions seemingly settled their differences at Blood and Guts in June. And if that is not the case, why even book that match in the first place? This is what happens when there is no clear creative direction.
Result
Jericho retained over Cabana
Grade
C
Top Moments
- Jericho claimed he could kick Lamar Jackson's ass, drawing a loud reaction from the crowd and a classic camera shot of the 2019 NFL MVP biting his nails. Totally coincidental but still a money shot.
- Backstage, PAC attempted to convince Rey Fenix to use the timekeeper's hammer in his three-way match against Orange Cassidy and Luchasaurus for the All-Atlantic Championship, planting the seeds for continued dissension among the Death Triangle teammates.
AEW All-Atlantic Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. Luchasaurus vs. Rey Fenix
The totally unbothered AEW All-Atlantic champion Orange Cassidy defended his title against Rey Fenix and Luchasaurus in a much-needed match/segment that was not designed to take a shot at either WWE or CM Punk.
The dinosaur-masked big man dominated the action entering the break, bowling over his smaller opponents while Christian Cage watched on approvingly from the commentary position.
An appearance from Jack Perry led to the downfall of Luchasaurus and left Cassidy to battle Fenix, who he leveled with the Orange Punch for the pinfall victory. After the match, PAC attacked Freshly Squeezed, only for New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Shibata to make the save.
Accompanied by Rocky Romero and Best Friends, he made his way to the ring, pointed at Cassidy and signed the open contract for a title shot this Friday on Rampage.
There was way too much going on here, and it badly distracted from the match and its quality.
Perry attacking Luchasaurus was great, but there was no real interaction between Cassidy and Fenix, just a rush to the finish. The post-match stuff, with Shibata chasing off PAC, only to challenge the man he just saved for the All-Atlantic title, made little sense.
Like most of this show, there were too many moving parts and it was too overly complicated for its own good, and the result was an underwhelming match featuring at least two guys who have been synonymous with strong ring work of late.
But hey, the Shibata deal probably made some of the NJPW fans happy so there's that, right?
Result
Cassidy defeated Fenix and Luchasaurus to retain
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Cassidy and Fenix mounted a comeback, but Luchasaurus halted their momentum and chokeslammed the latter through the timekeeper's table.
- On the apron, Luchasaurus attempted a chokeslam on the stage, only for Jungle Boy to attack with a steel chair. Cage attempted to cut him off, only to be chased out of the arena. The babyface delivered a crossbody to his former partner through a table.
- Backstage, Rick Ross promised to make Swerve Strickland the hottest recording artist in the world while Keith Lee appeared unenthused by his partner's split focus.
TBS Championship: Jade Cargill vs. Marina Shafir
Despite not having possession of her TBS Championship, Jade Cargill still defended against Marina Shafir Wednesday night while Nyla Rose, playing dress up with said title, joined Vickie Guerrero on the stage for live commentary of the action.
The match was about as good as one expected, which is to say it wasn't.
Shafir may be trying hard but she is not ready to be in this position, and AEW is doing her a great disservice every week by exposing her weaknesses like this.
Cargill won despite Rose's distraction, Kiera Hogan failed to snatch the title away from Rose, and the segment ended not with a bang but a whimper.
Like this entire show, there were a lot of bells and whistles here but nothing really happened. There was no escalation of the rivalry or any real development. It was a match featuring people in a feud, one person won and the thing ended abruptly.
And...onto the next one.
Result
Cargill defeated Shafir
Grade
D
Top Moments
- Cargill's pump kick is still impressive, if nothing else.
ROH Television Championship: Samoa Joe vs. Brian Cage
The battle between Samoa Joe and The Embassy continued in the night's main event as the ROH Television champion defended against "The Machine" Brian Cage.
A physical match saw Cage get some solid offense in before Joe caught him with the Coquina Clutch and scored the submission win.
After the match, The Gates of Agony attacked, drawing TNT champion Wardlow out for the save. Instead of the babyfaces standing tall, Powerhouse Hobbs returned and laid The War Dog out to close the show.
It made sense that Tony Khan actively attempted to highlight Ring of Honor in a city that had become synonymous with the brand before he bought it, but this wasn't the most electric way to end the show.
Joe and Cage delivered a quality heavyweight clash, but everything after it only served to highlight issues with the current product.
The Embassy are a faction that have not been defined enough for people to care, meaning Cage was not over enough as the heel challenger and The Gates of Agony continue to come across as just two guys doing generic heel stuff.
Hobbs popping back up as a potential challenger to Wardlow is a welcome creative decision, but everything else about this felt flatter than one would expect from a show taking place in a historic wrestling city like Baltimore.
Result
Joe defeated Cage to retain
Grade
B-
Top Moments
- Hobbs' spinebuster to Warlow was an impressive spot and an emphatic announcement by Powerhouse that he is coming for the TNT Championship. That match should be, to quote Jim Ross, a "slobberknocker."