AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from February 23
The road to Revolution rolled through Bridgeport, Connecticut Wednesday as AEW hit the TBS airwaves with an episode of Dynamite that featured a blockbuster tag team match, a TBS Championship defense, a high-stakes battle royal and the latest from Bryan Danielson.
Who emerged with momentum on their side ahead of the March 6 pay-per-view extravaganza?
Find out with this recap of this week's explosive broadcast.
Tag Team Battle Royal
Teams involved: Gunn Club, FTR, Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish, 2point0, The Young Bucks, The Butcher and The Blade, Best Friends, Santana and Ortiz, Private Party and The Dark Order (John Silver and Alex Reynolds)
AEW's top tag teams battled for the right to advance to Revolution on Sunday, March 6 and challenge Jurassic Express for the tag team titles.
One of the early noteworthy happenings saw Matt Hardy walk out on Private Party, enhancing the schism that has existed within the Hardy Family Office of late.
Santana dumped both members of 2point0, FTR dumped the Bucks' Nick Jackson, and Red Dragon's O'Reilly and Fish teed off on Trent Berreta of Best Friends. Beretta recovered and clotheslined Fish to the floor.
Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Christian Cage watched from the ramp as Silver dumped Cash Wheeler, leaving individual members six different teams remaining. Matt Jackson and O'Reilly eliminated Santana and Beretta, putting an end to their championship aspirations.
With Jackson, O'Reilly, Silver and Dax Harwood left, the crowd came alive with chants of "Johnny Hungee," obviously favoring the jacked-up underdog of The Dark Order.
The previously eliminated Fish assisted O'Reilly in eliminating Harwood.
Jackson and O'Reilly double-teamed Silver, dumping him to the floor. O'Reilly quickly betrayed Jackson, sending him to the floor and punching both he and Fish's ticket to Revolution.
After the match, AEW world champion Hangman Page hit the ring, laying into the victors in retaliation for their sneak attack on him a week ago. The Bucks walked out, refusing to help O'Reilly and Fish. Adam Cole hit the ring and quickly found himself in peril. His buddies saved him while the Bucks watched on, Silver sent O'Reilly back into the ring to eat a Buckshot Lariat.
Result
Red Dragon won
Grade
B
Analysis
Once the match came down to six or so teams, this improved exponentially.
The action was better, the interactions were crisper and the storytelling possibilities opened up. The biggest takeaway was the current dissension between Red Dragon and the Young Bucks, a relationship that is nonexistent without Adam Cole bridging the gap between them.
The moment O'Reilly had the opportunity to stab Matt in the back and win the match for his own benefit, he did. The Bucks reacted by ignoring the ass-whooping Page unleashed following the bout. It was small character work that will be called back later on when the Bucks find themselves on opposite sides from Cole and Red Dragon in a war for dominance.
Page's promo on Cole after clearing the ring was great stuff, even if it is unlikely to have any long-term effect on the storyline. The AEW champ is a great babyface promo and it was on full display here.
MJF's Sympathetic (Maybe?) Journey to Revolution
MJF hit the ring to a chorus of boos and proceeded to cut a promo in which he expressed his love for professional wrestling and AEW. He recalled a childhood of learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and being bullied by his own teammates on his high school football team.
He said there was one person he looked up to: CM Punk.
He recalled training and watching tapes in his journey to be a wrestler. He blamed Punk for leaving him high and dry when he needed him most. He vowed never to quit on some young kid that looks up to him like Punk did to him.
He swore he would not quit, no matter how badly he was beaten with the steel chain in their Dog Collar match at Revolution.
Punk made his way to the ring and asked MJF if his promo was real. The response? A walkout that drew boos from a skeptical audience.
Grade
A
Analysis
This is more extraordinary promo work from MJF, whose time spent cutting promos in front of a mirror in the same vein as Punk clearly paid off.
The only negative is that MJF is clearly a vile, vindictive, unlikable bad guy and has been treated as such for so long that there is no reason to believe anything he says. There is consistently a dark cloud of an impending beatdown awaiting anyone who is suckered into his trap and that was the case here.
The question is where this is heading?
Is Punk going to allow himself to fall prey to the inevitable or will he shake off the obvious mind games and deliver the beating we all fully expect him to dish out on March 6?
We will find out sooner rather than later.
Death Triangle vs. The Knights of the Black Throne
The Knights of the Black Throne’s Malakai Black and Brody King made their way to the squared circle for a showdown with Pac and Penta El Zero Miedo. Now Penta Oscuro, he entered with a heaping helping of theatricality, rising from the beyond after Black sprayed him with black mist during their last encounter.
Death Triangle started hot, wiping Black and King out but the heels assumed control of the bout heading into the commercial break. They continued to set the tone, overwhelming the opposition and proving that fancy entrances could not negate the fury of King.
Until Oscuro and Pac took the big man out of the equation.
Penta scored the pinfall victory over Black in what had to be considered an upset. After the match, King overwhelmed the victors, slamming the masked luchador and threatening to damage him with a shovel. The lights went off and when they came back on, Buddy Matthews made his AEW debut.
Black begged off, remembering who it was that left him with a damaged right eye. Matthews obliterated Pac, then Penta while King wiped out security detail. At the urging of Black, Matthews drove Penta face-first into a steel chair and stood, the latest member of the suddenly stronger House of Black.
Result
Death Triangle defeated The Knights of the Black Throne
Grade
B+
Analysis
There is definitely an argument to be made that Black should not be eating pinfalls in meaningless tag team matches that will be but a footnote in a larger story later. He is the leader of The House of Black and should be protected as such. With that said, in a moment of weakness, he still prevailed, thanks to the arrival of Buddy Matthews.
Having Black beg off to the extent that he did was a great touch, fully aware of why his right eye is damaged and discolored to the extent that it is. Murphy choosing the devil he knows rather than going it alone in a new land is an intriguing choice. Black’s explanation for the relationship should make for intriguing television.
Kudos to Tony Khan for continuing to present King like a world-beater. He looks like a badass, works like one and the creative has backed it up to this point.
Chris Jericho and Eddie Kingston Face-to-Face
The tension between Chris Jericho and Eddie Kingston spilled over in a vocal back and forth that saw The Demo God run down Kingston as a jobber while propping himself up, recalling his many main events and world titles.
Kingston responded, saying he’s been real his entire career and isn’t about cutting guys legs out from underneath them. His blood does not pump Kool-Aid. It’s stronger than that and Jericho is not ready for that. He wants a fight.
Jericho claimed Kingston is afraid of achieving success and that he cannot win the big one. If he does, if Kingston beats Jericho, he will look him in the eye, shake his hand and declare his respect for the beloved babyface.
Kingston told his rival to bring the Jericho that was the first world champion, that turned WCW upside down and pissed off Levesque (Triple H) in WWE.
Le Champion reiterated that Kingston cannot win the big one and walked out.
Grade
A+
Analysis
This was expert promo work from two of the best talkers of this era.
Jericho was a smarmy ass while Kingston spoke the realism and conviction that has made him so incredibly beloved by the AEW.
Their match is going to be as emotionally intense as anything on the Revolution card and what they lack in dives and raw athleticism, they will make up for with storytelling capabilities the youngest, flashiest stars only wish they could replicate.
The only thing that could be better? The promos that precede it.
Face of the Revolution Ladder Match Qualifier
Fresh off a narrow loss to world title No. 1 contender Adam Cole, The Dark Order’s Pres10 Vance looked to cash his ticket to the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match. To do so, he would have to defeat FTW world champion “Absolute” Ricky Starks, who was accompanied to the ring by the massive Powerhouse Hobbs.
Starks controlled the action through the picture-in-picture commercial break, only for Vance to apply his trademark Full Nelson. Starks tried to fight out so Vance leveled him with a discus clothesline.
An alert Starks grabbed at the mask, halting his momentum and delivered a spear for the win.
Result
Starks defeated Vance
Grade
C
Analysis
There was nothing inherently wrong with this one but it never felt like Vance had much of a chance of winning this one.
Sure, he controlled late but Starks outsmarted him for the win in a match that was rather one-dimensional.
The victory gives Team Taz two entries into the upcoming ladder match. Considering the beef already qualified for the match in the aforementioned Hobbs, Keith Lee and Wardlow, it was time to add a smaller competitor who can bump for them.
Starks is that guy, but he’s resilient and cunning enough to win despite his lack of size.
TBS Championship Match: Jade Cargill vs. The Bunny
The phenomenal TBS champion Jade Cargill, 27-0 thus far in AEW, defended her title against The Bunny Wednesday night.
Cargill showcased her unrivaled athleticism early but Bunny fought back and worked her over during the commercial break. She continued to keep the champion off-guard, to the surprise of the commentary team, but a spinebuster by Cargill turned the tide back in her favor.
Matt Hardy, leader of Hardy Family Office, threw brass knuckles to Bunny. Cargill used the TBS title, introduced by Smart Mark Sterling, before both managers were eliminated.
Bunny rolled Cargill up for two then rocked her with a superkick. Cargill answered, countering Down the Rabbit Hole with Jaded for the win and successful title defense.
After the match, Tay Conti emerged from the locker room as the next challenger for the TBS Championship. When she found herself beaten down by the heels, Anna Jay rushed the ring with a steel chair and chased them off.
Result
Cargill defeated Bunny
Grade
C+
Analysis
This was a fun way to work around the heel vs. heel nature of the match, with Hardy and Sterling getting involved, only to be tossed from ringside and give way to the end of the bout.
Cargill looked impressive, as she does every time she takes to the ring, and Bunny’s experience helped guide her to one of her better television matches.
The introduction of Tay Conti to the title picture is an interesting choice since her television presence has been limited of late, but she is a breakout star for the company and one of the more pleasant surprises of 2021. Whether she is experienced and good enough yet to get a PPV quality match out of Cargill is the question.
Expect a tag match pitting Cargill and Bunny against TayJay at some point in the near future.
Bryan Danielson vs. Daniel Garcia
In this week’s main event, Bryan Danielson squared off with one of the men he claimed should stand side-by-side with him and Jon Moxley, Daniel Garcia.
Mat wrestling dominated early as Danielson grounded and punished his young opponent, highlighting why he is considered by many to be the best wrestler in the world. An alert Garcia neutralized his opponent’s ability to outwrestle him him by wrapping his right leg around the ring post and seizing control of the bout during the timeout. He added a dragon screw leg whip to further damage The American Dragon’s knee.
Danielson fought through the pain and delivered a tiger suplex, then floated over into Cattle Mutilation. Garcia avoided tapping out before transitioning into an ankle lock. With their hands interlocked, the opponents unlocked forearms, punishing each other.
Danielson countered another dragon screw and stomped on the face of his opponent. The triangle sleeper followed and Garcia passed out.
The victor asked if Garcia was violent enough. 2point0’s Matt Lee and Jeff Parker attacked Danielson until Jon Moxley made the save, chasing the heels off. Garcia teased using a steel chair but Danielson stopped him and dropped him with a Paradigm Shift.
Danielson, chair in hand, challenged Moxley to a match at Revolution. “Don’t be surprised if you’re the only person bleeding,” he said before coming face-to-face with the former world champion.
Result
Danielson defeated Garcia
Grade
B+
Analysis
A fantastic pro wrestling match headlined this show, with Danielson and Garcia beating the ever-loving hell out of each other. So good was it that this could have gone another 10 or so minutes and only gotten better from there. It was certainly hurt by time constraints, as the whole segment was, but it still managed to live up to lofty expectations.
The Danielson-Moxley match at Revolution is going to be fantastic, a physical battle between two guys whose long-term story plans will hinge on what happens in the hotly anticipated encounter.
A scenario in which they combat 2point0 and Garcia along the way should not be counted out as the heel trio provides quality competition for the Mega Powers-esque tandem.