Dynamite: A Wild, Wild, Wednesday

Adam Bazzana

AEW Dynamite new logo April 6, 2024

As Boris would say, Greetings and salutations! Dynamite has a new look (as you can see in the picture above) and today’s show was action-packed, as we had Hook defending his FTW championship against Brian Cage, Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe fighting together as a tag team, we heard from Darby Allin, saw Will Ospreay back in action against RoH World TV Champion Kyle Fletcher, and much more! Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Swerve and Samoa Joe vs RoH Tag Team Champions Matt Taven and Mike Bennett

What started off as Swerve coming out to hype the crowd up and try to get another shot at Samoa Joe and the AEW World Heavyweight Championship belt ended with Swerve and Joe having to be tag partners and take on RoH Tage Team Champions and members of the Undisputed Kingdom Matt Tavern and Mike Bennett. Swerve made a promise to fans that he would win the belt off of Samoa Joe, which led to Joe coming out to the ring and reminding Swerve who the real champion was. After Swerve suggested he and Joe go at it right there for the title, Adam Cole came rolling out with the Undisputed Kingdom, claiming Wardlow was the one who would be wearing the belt soon enough. Back and forth between the Kingdom and Swerve and Joe led to Cole saying the two should take on Tavern and Bennett next week, to which Swerve said it could happen right there, tonight. After Cole tried denying it, Tony Schiavone pipped up and let them know that Tony Khan wanted the match to happen right now. And so it began. Joe started in the ring against Taven, and looked to be off to a good start after stunning him, and then stunning Bennett with right hands. However, the tides quickly changed for Joe and soon he was stuck in the corner, as Taven and Bennett launched a relentless, tag-in tag-out attack on Joe. Eventually, Joe fought his way out of it and after hitting Taven with some chops, caught him as he was rushing to Joe in the corner and slammed him down on the mat. Swerve then reached out and slapped Joe on the back to tag himself into the match, and instantly started beating up on Taven and Bennett. After getting Bennett with a diving elbow uppercut, Swerve went to the top ropes, where Taven tried to intervene but was pushed away. Swerve then landed a stomp on Bennett, and then hit Taven with both a house call and a JML driver to finish him off.

Winners: Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe

After the match had finished, Wardlow came walking out towards the ring. As Swerve was focused on taunting Wardlow, he didn’t notice Samoa Joe come from behind him, and he sunk in a Coquina Clutch. Once Swerve was out, Joe stood with a foot on his back, with the title held high so everyone could see who the AEW World Champion is.

We then saw Hook speaking with Renee Paquette backstage, but before Hook was able to answer her question, Chris Jericho interrupted and stated that he now had respect for Hook after sharing the ring with him on Sunday, and congratulated him on being the “real deal.”

We then got a glimpse of EVP’S Matthew and Nicholas Jackson, who said they had two major announcements for the fans…just later on.

FTW Champion Hook vs Brian Cage

It was a brutal and entertaining match between the two men, with action non-stop throughout. Almost immediately after the match had begun, Cage hit Hook with two massive suplexes, and after Hook rolled out of the ring, Cage got to work grabbing a steel chair from underneath the ring. He then jumped back in the ring, and while searching for Hook (who at this point had been crawling around the ring so Cage could not see him), was hit in the face with a huge cloud from a fire extinguisher that Hook had found under the ring. After grabbing the lid from a trash can, Hook hit Cage with it three times, until Cage was able to get his bearings and put Hook into the steel steps ringside. after trying to fly off the steps and catch Cage by surprise, Hook was instead caught mid-air and slammed back down on the ground. Hook then side-steps Cage who ends up running right through the barricade and into the crowd. Cage eventually got Hook to the entrance ramp, where he picked him up and slammed him down on his back right on the ramp. He then grabbed a steel barricade from the crowd and positioned it on the ropes in the ring. After throwing Hook into the barricades outside the ring twice more, Cage grabbed a kendo stick and the lidless trash can and threw them into the ring as well. Cage then hit Hook with a microphone he got from the announce table area, and threw Hook back into the ring, bringing yet another steel chair in with him. He tries to powerslam Hook onto the chair, but Hook reverses and instead plants Cage’s head on the steel chair with a DDT. Hook uses this momentum to get Cage with a T-Bone suplex, hits Cage over the head with the trash can, and finally hits a suplex into the barricade that Cage had brought in earlier, causing Cage to bend the metal. Cage kicks out at two, and after being reversing the cross faces he was receiving, Cage hits Hook with a powerbomb, followed by an F’n5 onto the steel chair that was still in the ring. Cage then returned to his favorite place, underneath the ring, this time to grab a bag of thumbtacks. After dumping them on the ground Cage attempted to slam Hook down onto them, only for Hook to reverse and try to lock in Redrum. After Cage gets Hook off his back, Hook picked up the Kendo stick and hit Cage twice in the back with it, allowing him to suplex Cage right onto the tacks. Hook then hits some crossfaces and locks Redrum in once again. In an effort to loosen Hook’s grip, Cage throws himself backwards, meaning Hook landed on all the tacks in the ring. Hook did not let that faze him however, and kept his grip tight which lead to him getting the victory by choking Cage out.

Winner: Hook (c)

After the match was over, the Gates of Agony came out to beat up on Hook. After they had landed a few shots none other than Chris Jericho, who had just earlier admitted his respect for Hook, came flying out to the ring with a baseball bat in hand to save the day.

Renee was backstage once again, this time with Best Friends Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta. Cassidy said that he now wants a new championship belt to put in his backpack, and it was revealed that due to Taylor’s injury, it would be Cassidy and Beretta fighting in the tournament for the Tag Team belts, and that their first tag team action would come during Friday nights Rampage.

Killswitch vs Daddy Magic

The third match of the night saw the hulking Killswitch take on Daddy Magic, who was very eager to get their match started. Right as he entered the ring, Daddy Magic made a beeline for Killswitch and started hitting him with emphatic right hands. When Killswitch made a recovery and went to set up a chokeslam on him, Daddy Magic bit his hand to keep it from happening. This allowed Daddy Magic to get some hits on him in the corner, as well as a few clotheslines on Killswitch, but ultimately Killswitch caught him and hit him with a massive chokeslam. Christian Cage was on commentary for the match, and even if you don’t like the man you must admit he is funny, saying if they took off Excalibur’s mask he would be even uglier than Tony Schiavone. Killswitch then hit Daddy Magic with a massive Samoan Spike to the back of the head, followed by another one propelled by Killswitch using the ropes to gain even more momentum. After that, he pinned Daddy Magic and walked away with what was seemingly a very easy victory for him (save some bitemarks on his hand).

Winner: Killswitch

After being declared the winner of the match, Killswitch was not satisfied and continued to lay the beat down on Daddy Magic. Then, Danny Garcia came rushing into the ring to defend Daddy Magic, and was able to hold off Killswitch until Nick Wayne came and distracted him, leading to him getting a boot in the face from Killswitch. Wayne then hit Garcia with a Wayne’s World, and the Patriarchy then retreated, leaving Garcia laying flat on his back in the ring. As they were going up the ramp however, Adam Copeland came from out of nowhere and attacked Killswitch and Wayne, leaving only him, Cage, and Mother Wayne. After an unsuccessful attempt at a lowblow from Mother Wayne, which Copeland caught between his legs, Cage sprinted away, jumping the barricade and running through the crowd. Copeland chased him all the way outside the arena, where Cage stole a car and drove off, barely escaping. Copeland then turned to the camera and announced that their feud needed to “end where it started” and challenged Cage to an I Quit match for his title when Dynamite is in Toronto on March 20th.

Kyle O’Reilly then joined Renee backstage for a chat about how he had thought he was never going to wrestle again after being away from wrestling for two years, and that getting his second chance and feeling the love from all the fans has made him grateful. He then expressed that he has nothing but love and respect for the Undisputed Kingdom, but he is unsure which path to take his second time around, whether it be with friends or on his own.

EVP’s Matthew and Nicholas Jackson speak…finally

After being teased earlier on in the show, EVP’s Matthew and Nicholas Jackson finally made their way out to the ring to make their announcement. After declaring that Sting and Darby Allin had cheated in order to win the match Sunday, they made the claim that they will be remembered as the ones who ended Sting’s career for good. After announcing that they would be in the Tag Team tournament, they got down to business, namely cleaning house. They suspended (without pay may I add) Hangman Adam Page from the Elite due to his attacking of AEW officials at Revolution, and then fired Kenny Omega from the Elite because he had seemingly “disappeared off the face of the earth.” As they are preparing to make big announcement number two, Eddie Kingston made his way out to the ring to pick a beef with them. After some heated words, Kingston got into it with them, which lead to him being set-up to receive a EVP Trigger. Right as they were about to hit it, yet another interruption happened, with Kazuchika Okada coming down to the ring. It looked as if Kingston had gotten some help, but once Kingston’s back was turned to him Okada hit him with a brutal clothesline, which lead to the EVP’s making their second big announcement: Okada is the newest member of the Elite.

Kris Statlander vs Riho

Another action filled match saw Kris Statlander take on former AEW Women’s World Champion Riho. The match seemed to be a commercial for how strong Statlander is, as she hit Riho with two big vertical suplexes, seeming to hold Riho in the air for 20 seconds the second time around. Statlander also caught Riho’s attempt to hit her with a cross body, and lifted her above her shoulders to send her face first back down to the mat. Statlander then hit Riho with a succession of backbreakers, holding Riho over her knee and trying to snap her in half after she was done in an attempt to drain all energy from her. Riho turned the tides soon after though, countering Statlander with a back stomp followed by a dropkick, followed by some elbow strikes in the corner. Riho then went for a Northern Lights Suplex, but Statlander was able to kick out at two. Riho then tried going to the top rope, but Statlander moved out of the way in time, and once she was back up she hit Riho with 3 big clotheslines. After connecting with a Tijeras, Riho hit Statlander with a Tiger Feint Kick. Immediately going for a cross body after the kick connected, Riho was caught mid-air by Statlander, but quickly reverses and hits Statlander with a Dragon Suplex, which she kicks out of as well. Statlander then ducked out of the way of a running knee from Riho and powerbombed her, but it was Riho’s turn to kick out this time. While Riho was recovering on the matt, Statlander’s manager Stokely Hathaway slipped a chain into the ring for her to use and began distracting the referee. After picking it up and thinking for a second, Statlander threw the chain out of the ring and began hitting Riho with german suplex’s. After countering the third suplex, Riho rolls through and rolled up Statlander in the process, who is unable to kick out.

Winner: Riho

Toni Storm, Moriah May and Luther then joined Renee backstage, where Storm announced that it was award season, and she would be giving out her very first Toni Award this weekend. She then showed Moriah May that she made her merch, in the form of a t-shirt for May now for sale (though Storm did say she would be taking a cut from all sales of it).

Before getting back to the action, we saw Stokely Hathaway alongside Willow Nightingale (and Renee of course), and he expressed he wished that Statlander would accept help from those who “love her most.” Nightingale spoke about how her match next week with Riho was something she could win, and was a good test as Riho was a former AEW Women’s Champion and Nightingale’s sights are set on Julia Hart and the TBS championship.

Darby Allin Speaks

We then had Darby Allin come out to address the crowd, walking to the ring with Sting’s bat in one hand and their Tag Team belt in the other. Schiavone then asked him what it’s going to be like without Sting. Allin said it won’t be easy, and spoke about how he went from being homeless five years ago, to being able to part of Sting’s last match and how he wanted to stop at nothing to make sure Sting’s career ended with the respect that he deserved. He also said that he was going to climb Mount Everest on March 27th, and that there’s no guarantee he’ll come back from the climb alive, so he took time to thanks fans and AEW and said if his match at Big Business is his last ever, he will make sure he does what he always does, go out there and fight for his life. He then said that Sting was irreplaceable as a Tag Team partner and lay down his belt in the ring in response to Schiavone asking if he was going to find a new partner and continue to defend the Tag Team belt. Right after he lay the belt down, Jay White came out to the ring accompanied by The Gunns. White called Allin stupid for jumping off the ladder into the glass pane Sunday, leaving Sting to fight two versus one. He also said he didn’t care about Sting’s last match or how fans felt about it. After calling Allin a “lost puppy” without Sting, White said that Allin should just not fight him at all because he will come out of their fight will a little bit more than some “little scratches” on his back, and that no one would think less of Allin if he chose not to get in the ring, saying he could come and hang out in the back, and that they’ve already come up with a nickname for him, “Darby Scissorhands.” Allin responded by asking what White had done in AEW, and that if he was as good as he thought he was, he would come to their fight alone. Then, when it looks like White and The Gunns are going to pounce, Allin sticks Sting’s bat right in the throat of White, pushing him and The Gunns away.

We then saw Julia Hart call out Willow Nightingale for forgetting who she was, and she issued an ope house for Friday night Rampage for those who need reminding of who the TBS champion is.

Then, we saw the whole House of Black call out Mark Briscoe, saying their history with the Briscoe brothers has left both sides with scars, and that they’d make sure the pain Mark felt in his chest would be felt all over his body as well. It then cuts to Briscoe backstage with Renee, as he claims he fears no man or evil as he has walked through fire and flames and danced with devil himself, and declares he wants an Atlanta Streetfight against them, saying he will take them all on. Jay Lethal then comes in and offers to join Briscoe, alongside Jeff Jarret in the match.

Will Ospreay vs RoH World Television Champion Kyle Fletcher

They often say save the best for last, and tonight’s card certainly did just that. With Ospreay part of a brutal match this past Sunday against Konosuke Takeshita, it was uncertain if he even could wrestle tonight, getting medical clearance for the match just 24 hours ago. That did not stop Ospreay one bit however, as he was his high intensity high flying self. The beginning of the match was counter after counter, as each man seemed to know exactly how to roll and move their bodies to keep their opponent from getting the upper hand. Ospreay as able to get Fletcher with some good shots early, leading to him hitting a big chop. Fletcher then sent Ospreay flying into the turnbuckles, which looked to have injured Ospreay. Ospreay is helped up by Fletcher, and they get back at it with Ospreay getting Fletcher in the corner and getting up on the ropes for some big right hands. Then Ospreay tries sending Fletcher across the ring into the other corner, but Fletcher counters, gets up on the ropes and starts landing some rights of his own. After getting Ospreay to his knees and kicking him in the face, Fletcher sends him into the ropes for a clothesline. Fletcher pins, and Ospreay manages to kick out. The two then square off centre ring and trade blows and Ospreay eventually sends Fletcher out of the ring, and then jumping over the ropes to hit him with a Pescado. After picking Fletcher up and bringing him back into the ring, Fletcher stuns Ospreay by landing a backbreaker on him, followed by a kick to the face once again. After hitting a suplex he goes for the cover, but Ospreay manages to kick out once again. Once back up again, the pair squared up in centre ring once more, this time for a good ol’ fashion chop off. Ospreay knocks Fletcher to his knees with a particularly hard chop, and once Fletcher was up again Ospreay put his hands behind his back for Fletcher to have a chop, who seizes the opportunity and hits Ospreay with a vicious superkick. Ospreay gets his bearings about him and responds with an elbow and a superkick of his own, then trying to set up the OsCutter. Fletcher counters however, and has Ospreay in position for a Styles Clash until Ospreay flips up and reverses the move into a DDT. Ospreay then goes for a Hidden Blade, which Fletcher dodges without even turning around, and picks Ospreay up to send him into the second turnbuckle with a Snake Eyes. The two then find themselves both on the apron, and after hitting a superkick, Ospreay hits Fletcher with an Apron OsCutter, which temporarily leaves both wrestlers on the ground recovering. After Fletcher barley makes it back in before being counted out, Ospreay hits him with a powerbomb and pins him, but Fletcher kicks out of just in time. As the men are on their knees in the middle of the ring they are still fighting, exchanging elbows and eventually rising to their feet (while still trading elbows). Ospreay hits another kick, and tries going into the ropes but Fletcher follows and hits him with a superkick of his own as Ospreay comes bouncing back. They then counter each other’s attempts to set up Tombstones, and Ospreay eventually ends the cycle by landing a Poisonrana. Then, with both men on the top rope Fletcher attempts to hit Ospreay with a superplex, but Ospreay lands on his feet, and hits Fletcher with another powerbomb, which is kicked out of (again). Ospreay is then caught by Fletcher who slams him down to the mat with what looked to be a flapjack or a reverse bulldog and tries to pin, with Ospreay kicking out at two. Fletcher wastes no time, hitting Ospreay with a Celtic Cross, but Ospreay once again won’t go down and kicks out at two. After leading both of them to the corner and up the ropes, Fletcher is caught by Ospreay who sets up and lands a Cheeky Nandos Kick followed by a top rope Poisonrana on him, and finally lands the Hidden Blade against Fletcher. Amazingly, Fletcher refuses to be beaten as well, and kicks out. Fletcher does manage to land another headkick on Ospreay, but it was futile as Ospreay hit an OsCutter just afterwards, which Fletcher once again kicked out from. Ospreay then retreated to the corner, and while facing him, and still on his knees recovering from the OsCutter, Fletcher eggs on Ospreay to hit him with another Hidden Blade, which finally does the trick.

Winner: Will Ospreay

After the match, Ospreay and Fletcher recover and shake hands in the middle of the ring, and suddenly the American Dragon Bryan Danielson comes out to the ring and stands across from Ospreay, smiling and circling him as the broadcast goes dark.

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