AEW Dynamite: Konosuke Takeshita clinches

AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash airs a pre-recorded show for Christmas Eve.

Sully Khan

AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash Christmas Eve.

Tonight’s show is prerecorded but I did my best to avoid spoilers (aside from the Continental Classic semifinals match-ups).

Happy holidays!

Justin Roberts is in the ring to introduce the first match.

1. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy (2-0-1) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (2-1-0) in the Continental Classic Blue League

The two stare each other down to start as the crowd chants “A E Dub!” and then “F*@# Don Callis!” Cassidy goes for an early roll up but Takeshita kicks out and then uses a strong base to fight out of a few pinfall attempts.

An early Crucifix pin almost goes Cassidy’s way and the broadcast team is unsure if that was three or not. Takeshita takes advantage, pummeling Cassidy outside the ring as he uses the barricade to his advantage.

Back in the ring, Takeshita furthers punishment. Cassidy fights out of a suplex attempt and bounces Takeshita’s head off the corner turnbuckles. He hits a DDT over the ropes and then another. Two on the cover.

Cassidy takes control with a number of kicks in the corner and then dodges a lariat attempt. The hands go in the pockets. Takeshita doesn’t budge off a drop kick. The second one moves him back slightly. The third one drops him. He comes right back with a Blue Thunder Bomb.

Takeshita goes for Raging Fire off the ropes but Cassidy hits a Stundog Millionaire in a solid counter. A massive DDT on the floor drops Takeshita but he could right back with a cover attempt in the ring.

Takeshita hits a wheelbarrow into a German Suplex. Cassidy hits two Orange Punches but Takeshita kicks out of the cover at two. Cassidy lines up another but Takeshita counters with a knee to the face. Cassidy hits a Beach Break on the outside of the ropes.

Cassidy catches Takeshita on the barricade and hits another Orange Punch. He goes for a count out but Takeshita gets back just in time. Cassidy tries two covers. Takeshita comes back with Raging Fire and Cassidy stays down.

Winner: Konosuke Takeshita (3-1-0) beats “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy (2-0-2) for three points and clinches a semi-final spot.

Gabe Kidd cuts a recorded promo, recalling the rivalry he’s built with Darby Allin this past year. He begs Allin for a match at Worlds End.

The Gunns cut a promo about FTR. They call them out for a Street Fight at Worlds End.

2. Roderick Strong (0-0-3) vs. Mascara Dorada (1-0-2) in the Continental Classic Blue League

Strong starts with an arm hold but Dorada reverses it. The two grapple, both going for Single Legs. Dorada gets in but Strong comes back and drops Dorada. The two break and stare each other down. Technical-heavy start.

Dorada goes for a head-scissors and then a juji gatame on the mat. Strong reverses. Dorada goes for an alternate Surfboard. Strong has to kick out quickly. Strong gets sent to the outside and Dorada follows him but gets dropped on the apron.

Strong rocks him with a knee as Dorada comes off the ropes. Dorada goes to the top rope and uses his speed, sending Strong out of the ring again.

Senton Atomico but Strong kicks out of the cover. He kicks Dorada’s face a couple of times out of the corner. He plants him with a Maverick Turn and Dorada comes back with a couple of covers but Strong kicks out! Strong goes for End of Heartache but Dorada counters. He goes to the ropes and hits a Shooting Star Press! Covers for the win.

Winner: Mascara Dorada (2-0-2) beats Roderick Strong (0-0-4) for three points in the Continental Classic Blue League.

Renee Paquette welcomes AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander and her Worlds End challenger Jamie Hayter onto the entrance ramp. The two shakes hands.

Paquette asks about getting hit by Hayter in the UK. Statlander says she knows what it’s like to have everything ripped out of your hands. Statlander lost it all, too. But she wasn’t going to cry about it. She focused on who she deserved to be. “Fear me for what I have become.” She says she’s getting better every day. Hayter has beaten her before but Statlander says she’s got to prove it at Worlds End.

Hayter says she has plenty to add. She goes for her lariat but Statlander blocks it. Words and glances are exchanged as refs separate them.

3. MJF vs. Dustin Waller

MJF pounces immediately. It’s been 95 days since his last AEW match at All Out in Toronto but you wouldn’t be able to tell. He hasn’t lost a step.

Hammerlock, DDT. Salt of the Earth. Quick and easy.

Winner: MJF wins via submission.

He grabs a mic. The crowd chants “Happy Hanukkah!” As he’s about to speak, “Hangman” Adam Page’s music hits and he’s in the crowd, sporting the chain.

“WHOSE HOUSE?” Swerve Strickland’s music hits right after and he’s in a different spot in the crowd. MJF looks rattled, understandably so.

Page says the “no physicality” contract got left in England and is not applicable tonight at the Hammerstein. Page calls out MJF’s lowly promo tactics, daring him to say something while movie producers and directors are watching.

Page and Strickland head towards the ring. Page says MJF’s going to get his ass beat. The Opps and the dojo come out. Page and Strickland almost hit each other.

Samoa Joe is backstage. He says he only sees the hatred between Page and Strickland, who almost hit each other. Joe is coming for his three opponents one by one. MJF tries a sneak attack but gets rocked by Page. Strickland hits a House Call. Page wraps the chain around MJF’s neck. Strickland says MJF actually likes the fans. Strickland says MJF’s ego is fed by the attention. He says MJF’s traits combine to make him more of a Diddy that Strickland will ever be. He calls attention the The Pinnacle, saying all those people were victims of MJF’s bullshit.

Strickland says he makes his friends and enemies better. “I will see you at Worlds End, b&*%#!” Mic drop.

Renee Paquette is backstage with the AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions the Babes of Wrath. They pump each other up and then call out Mercedes Mone and Athena, their Worlds End opponents.

4. Ricochet (with Gates of Agony) vs. Bandido for the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring

The bell rings and the two circle each other a bit before a grapple. Ricochet goes to the ropes, getting Bandido to step off of him. Ricochet goes for an early Crucifix cover but Bandido kicks out.

Ricochet steps out of the ring and the crowd boos. He gets back in and Bandido drops him. Both string together counters but Ricochet stops Bandido from doing the Macarena.

He does it himself and then gets slapped on his bald head.

Ricochet reverses and lands a solid chop to Bandido’s chest. Bandido picks him up over his head and drops him out of the ring. Ricochet comes back, taking control after a commercial break. Bandido counters what could have been a Three Amigos outside on the ropes, dropping Ricochet on the floor. Both are down.

Both get back in the ring at the five-count and Ricochet lands a stiff elbow and follows with a kick and another hit, dropping Bandido. Bandido kicks out of the cover. Bandido almost runs into ref Aubrey Edwards. Ricochet hits a Vertigo but no pressure on Bandido’s left shoulder allows him to kick out.

Ricochet loads up the Spirit Gun but misses. He lands a couple of kicks. Bandido counters and hits a poisonrana! Ricochet counters the Twente One Plex but Bandido kicks out. Bandido catches Ricochet and sits down with a stiff Liger Bomb, teasing Styles Clash. Ricochet kicks out at two.

Bandido hits a huge thrust kick and hits an X knee. Twente One Plex but Gates of Agony interfere. Ricochet loads up the Spirit Gun but Bandido counters and takes it!

Winner: Bandido wins the AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring.

Ricochet goes for a beat down but Brody King comes out for the save.

Backstage, Lexi Nair is with Darby Allin. He’s medically cleared to wrestle. Alllin says he’s got bigger things to worry about than Gabe Kidd but he attacks Allin from behind. The screen goes dark for a few seconds as Allin gets beat down. It’s the stairwell the Death Riders sent Allin down. Kidd drags Allin up and gut-punches him. A kkick sends Allin down the stairs again. “Better things to worry about than Gabe Kidd?”

5. “The Problem” Marina Shafir vs. Mina Shirakawa

Earlier, Shirakawa made “Timeless” Toni Storm promise she wouldn’t interfere in the match. Storm accepted.

Shirakawa takes control early. She drops Shafir’s knee, taking out the judoka’s base. A bold but very smart strategy in this first-time match-up. Shirakawa hits a big drop kick off of the top rope. Shafir kicks out of the cover.

Shafir fights back, catching a kick and drives Shirakawa down to the mat.

Shirakawa gets another cover but Shafir kicks out in time. The two exchange chops before Shirakawa hits a solid kick. Casa Dora. She goes for a Figure Four in the center of the ring. Shafir is defiant, saying she won’t tap. She snaps Shirakawa’s fingers but Shirakawa goes for it. Shafir hits Mother’s Milk!

Winner: “The Problem” Marina Shafir wins via submission.

About to leave the ring. Shafir comes back in and cinches in Mother’s Milk again. Shirakawa is out and Storm’s music hits. She runs to the ring but Shafir drops her with a single kick.

Backstage after their latest match the other night, Lexi Nair is with The Elite. The Young Bucks aren’t going to be medically cleared for a while. Kenny Omega says he has a chance to take care of a solo quest. Take a guess what that is!

Jon Moxley narrates a video package about the Continental Classic. He wants everyone to know that, regardless of what happens, he left it all out there.

6. “Jungle” Jack Perry (1-0-2) vs. “The Bastard” PAC (2-0-1) in the Continental Classic Gold League

The two take a moment as the bell rings. A grapple tie-up leads to Perry up against the ropes. PAC takes control of Perry’s arm and drops him. Perry gets back up and reverses. PAC goes to the mat but Perry counters. PAC bounces off the ropes but Perry lands a two-legged kick. Perry takes control of the mat game early. PAC lands a kick.

PAC ends up outside the ring and avoids a tope suicida. Perry hits a Bulldog out of nowhere.

He then connects with a tope suicida! Perry drops the elbow off the ropes but PAC kicks out at barely even one. PAC hits a Snap Suplex outside the ring in this first-ever match-up.

Back from the final commercial break, PAC has control thanks to a Missile Drop Kick. PAC loads up but Perry lands a kick to the jaw. If Perry loses this match, he is eliminated, but he’s out to prove up to the task. PAC gets dropped with a German Suplex out of the corner. Perry’s ankle is bothering him still but he was able to pull off the move. He hits a running, flying DDT but PAC again kicks out of the cover.

PAC hits a Belly-to-Belly Suplex. Perry’s ankle hits the rope and his head hits the mat at a bad angle. On the top rope, Perry gets sent with an Avalanche Belly-to-Belly Suplex. Perry miraculously kicks out somehow.

PAC sends Perry into the corner and lands a thrust kick. Perry comes back with one of his own and a reverse huricanrana. He hits a Comebacker Lariat but PAC kicks out at two.

Perry lines up the knee but PAC catches it. PAC gets dropped with a Back Suplex and hits a knee strike. PAC counters into the Brutalizer! Perry rolls and gets his toe on the bottom rope.

PAC runs the ropes and drops Perry. Perry counters but gets two on the cover. Perry bites PAC’s fingers so he can’t lock in the submission. Roll through on the Casa Dora. Perry keeps PAC down!

Winner: “Jungle” Jack Perry (2-0-2) beats “The Bastard” PAC (2-0-2) for three points in the Continental Classic Gold League.

Santa Saurus comes out with milk and cookies!

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