AEW Dynamite live results: World title match, ‘huge announcement’
The AEW World Championship will be on the line in a Texas Deathmatch on tonight’s Dynamite, plus president Tony Khan has promised a “huge announcement” and free agent signing on the show.
“Hangman” Adam Page defends the AEW World title against Lance Archer in a Texas Deathmatch. Page has had two title defenses since defeating Kenny Omega for the belt at Full Gear in November, both against Bryan Danielson.
Tony Khan’s “huge announcement” and free agent signing will take on Isiah Kassidy in a Face of the Revolution ladder match qualifier on tonight’s show.
The TBS Championship will be on the line, with Jade Cargill defending her title against the debuting AQA.
A five minute rookie challenge with Serena Deeb has been announced.
Chris Jericho has called for an Inner Circle team meeting on the show.
After defeating CM Punk on last week’s episode, MJF will speak on tonight’s Dynamite.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Show Report —
There was a Burberry patterned “red carpet” for the opening segment. The show started with Wardlow walking out carrying cardboard cutouts of MJF, one of which showed him choking out CM Punk. He set them up in the ring and gave Justin Roberts the instructions to bring out FTR and Tully Blanchard. Shawn Spears was next.
MJF was brought out with a wacky extended introduction. He was perched on a palanquin like royalty, with men carrying him out flanked by women, one of whom he made out with upon entering the ring.
He started by saying that last week he made it clear he’s the best wrestler on the planet. When he beat Punk, it made MJF emotional — so much so that he leaned over after his victory and told Punk “You suck.” He sounded like he was about to credit Wardlow for some help, but he thanked Spears instead. Spears said he got MJF a gift: a new “better than the best in the world” shirt that can be bought immediately.
Now, MJF is setting his sights on the AEW World Championship. However, Punk interrupted, saying MJF’s win in Chicago is “about as suspect as his spray tan.” Today, Punk’s got some friends: Darby Allin and Sting, bats in hand. Punk wants a rematch: not with MJF, but with Wardlow. He offered Wardlow a chance to leave MJF behind, infuriating MJF.
Dax said he wants a rematch, and Punk agreed to run back the six-man tag from a few weeks ago. MJF agreed, but on the condition that Punk has to find a partner and defeat FTR — but he can’t team with Allin and Sting. In the meantime, Wardlow’s got a match up next.
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Andrade El Idolo was backstage with Sting and Darby Allin. He knows Allin works for Sting, but Sting told Andrade to speak to Allin face to face. Allin said he’s got better things to do, like become the next TNT Champion. Andrade came back by saying he was the next champ.
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Wardlow (w/ Shawn Spears) defeated The Blade
Blade chopped down Wardlow from behind before the bell. Wardlow immediately popped up and took him down with repeated suplexes. He drove Blade’s back into the ring post ahead of a commercial. Once back, Wardlow shrugged off some chops but ran into a couple knee strikes. He caught a third and turned it into a powerbomb, commencing the Powerbomb Symphony (powerbomb count: 4) for the win.
– After the match, Spears whacked Blade with the chair.
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A Penta El Zero M video package aired. Narrated by Alex Abrahantes, it repeatedly called out Malakai Black.
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Inner Circle Team Meeting
Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and Jake Hager came out to “Judas” wearing “Inner Circle Original” vests. Jericho said he hadn’t seen Santana and Ortiz all day, but then they interrupted and came out with new music.
Jericho asked Santana and Ortiz to explain not tagging him in a couple weeks ago, calling it “disrespectful.” Santana said that Jericho only cares about himself, and the Inner Circle has only served Jericho’s interests. Any time they go after the tag titles, it gets shut down so they can back up Jericho. “The days of us playing second fiddle are over and done with.” The only thing that kept them going was the fans — and if it wasn’t for Ortiz, Santana would have dropped Jericho a long time ago.
Santana reminds Jericho of Eddie Guerrero, but he’s making a mistake turning to Eddie Kingston. Jericho’s an influencer, and since Santana and Ortiz came to AEW, they’ve challenged for championships and main-evented pay-per-views. They already challenged for the AEW tag titles, but they failed, and Jericho could kick them out if he wanted. “Maybe I invited the wrong two members of LAX to join.”
Guevara stopped Santana from attacking Jericho, but Jericho told Guevara to shut up. Guevara said this bickering isn’t going to help him accomplish his goals. “I’ve quit this group before, and unless you guys can figure it out, I’ll quit it again.” He left the Inner Circle vest in the ring and walked off.
Ortiz said Kingston was one of his brothers in arms. Where they come from, they deal with their problems with their fists, and next week Santana and Ortiz vs. Jericho and Hager will settle it. Jericho said after they smack their faces around, they’ll have an attitude adjustment.
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Roppongi Vice were backstage, and they will face the Young Bucks this Friday on Rampage. The Bucks walked up and wanted a fight right now, but Adam Cole attacked Roppongi Vice from behind and the Bucks hit the BTE Trigger on Rocky Romero.
Bullet Club leader SWITCHBLADE JAY WHITE of New Japan Pro Wrestling then walked up and sent Trent into a truck.
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Face of the Revolution Qualifier: Keith Lee defeated Isiah Kassidy (w/ Matt Hardy & Marq Quen)
What a debut! Lee was the mystery man — he is #AllElite, as they say. He was immediately greeted by loud “Bask in his Glory” chants.
Kassidy had enough of the reception for Lee and was sent corner to corner with a ridiculous biel for his trouble. Lee followed it up with an athletic leapfrog/drop down combo into a crossbody. A slingshot crossbody was next. Kassidy hit a dropkick but was Pounced out of the ring in response. Hardy had enough, and he walked out on Kassidy and Quen.
Quen grabbed Lee’s boot, allowing Kassidy to hit a cutter over the top rope followed by a tornillo dive. Lee swatted away a strike combination and hit Ground Zero for the win.
– After the match, Private Party took Lee out with some tandem offense, but Lee caught both of them individually on dives and powerbombed Quen onto Kassidy and then the apron.
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A video promo recapped the Britt Baker/Thunder Rosa/Mercedes Martinez feud. Next week, Rosa will face Martinez in a No Disqualification match.
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CM Punk & Jon Moxley defeated FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (w/ Tully Blanchard)
Moxley was Punk’s mystery partner. This was a fantastic television tag match — FTR are so much better when they perform with urgency and intensity instead of the “real tag team wrestling” style. Punk is the best babyface in wrestling, and some of the near falls in this one were nail-biting.
Punk and Dax wrestled around to start before the latter tagged in Cash, but Cash couldn’t establish an advantage either. Moxley then entered the match. He and Punk worked together until a brief distraction from Cash allowed FTR to take control. They targeted and dismantled Punk’s left leg.
Punk eventually reached Moxley for another tag, and Moxley took out both of FTR, concluding the run of offense with a double DDT. He thought about a suicide dive but was tripped up. Punk hit a springboard lariat and wanted a dive, but FTR caught him; Moxley used that to land a tope suicida on everyone ahead of the break.
During commercial, FTR put Moxley through the timekeeper’s table. He made it back in the ring at the count of nine. FTR kept up the aggression with frequent tags and double teams, isolating Moxley until he fought out with an atomic drop on Dax and a backdrop suplex on Cash. FTR took out Punk to prevent Moxley from making the tag, then hit a double team leg drop for a near fall.
Moxley fired up with a big lariat out of the corner, reaching Punk for the hot tag. Punk hit the rising knee bulldog combo, then tagged in Moxley, who got Dax in the electric chair. Punk then climbed the ropes and hit a Doomsday Device. Moxley took out Cash with a plancha as Punk covered for a good near fall.
Out on the floor, Cash hit a swinging DDT before grabbing the ring bell. Punk rolled up Dax, but the kickout forced Punk into a ring bell shot for an awesome near fall. Punk went for the GTS, but FTR turned it into the Big Rig, forcing Moxley to break up the pin. That was the first survival of the Big Rig in AEW history.
Punk and Moxley both teased their finishers, but FTR fought out. They went for the stuff piledriver, but Moxley broke it up. Punk rolled through a crossbody into the Anaconda Vice and Cash tapped frantically, but the official was distracted. Tully entered the ring and distracted Punk, but Punk hit him with the GTS. Cash rolled Punk up with the tights for another close near fall.
Moxley and Punk both hit the simultaneous GTS and Paradigm Shift for the win.
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A.Q.A cut a promo before the match. She was trained by Booker T, and said Dynamite was the best place to prove herself.
TBS Championship: Jade Cargill (c) (w/ Mark Sterling) defeated A.Q.A
A.Q.A is the former Zayda Ramier in WWE/NXT, and she made her debut in this match. The Shooting Star Press was great, but Jade matches continue to be a struggle.
Jade slammed the challenger right away. A.Q.A went for a keylock, but Jade powered up with a one-armed slam and kipped up. A.Q.A came back with a dropkick, but Jade took her down with an elbow strike on the floor ahead of the commercial.
Once back, A.Q.A fired up with some strikes and something resembling a sling blade. She floated over into a DDT, then climbed the ropes and hit a nice Shooting Star Press for two. She climbed again, but Jade stood up and propped A.Q.A in another corner. Jade caught a crossbody and hit a slam followed by Jaded for the win.
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The Young Bucks and Adam Cole were backstage. The Bucks are going to beat Roppongi Vice and set their sights on the tag titles. Cole said Jay White would be in their corner. The Bucks were uncertain about it, but Cole said when you’re Bullet Club, you’re Bullet Club for life.
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Deeb said she didn’t think there was another woman in the back who could keep up with her.
The Professor’s Five Minute Rookie Challenge Serena Deeb defeated Katie Arquette
Arquette has wrestled only once in AEW before — on Dark about half a year ago.
Deeb uppercutted Arquette in the corner and taunted her before hitting a neckbreaker. She then locked on an omoplata single-leg crab to win in just about a minute.
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AEW Rampage (2/11) lineup:
- Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice
- Bryan Danielson promo
- Hook vs. Blake Li
- Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. Robyn Renegade
- AEW Tag Team Championships: Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus (c) vs. The Gunn Club
AEW Dynamite (2/16) lineup:
- Chris Jericho & Jake Hager vs. Santana & Ortiz
- No Disqualification: Thunder Rosa vs. Mercedes Martinez
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AEW World Championship Texas Deathmatch: Hangman Page (c) defeated Lance Archer
This was an absolutely brutal and bloody main event that completely lived up to the stipulation. Page hasn’t missed as champ.
There are no disqualifications, and the only way to win is via knockout or submission.
Just as Archer was about to make his entrance, the cameras cut backstage as the fight had already started. Archer wanted to chokeslam Page off the stage, but Page came back with a belt shot and sent Archer through the glass in the entranceway, busting him open. Page went for the Buckshot Lariat and hit it, but Archer rolled to the floor. Page hit a plancha on the outside, but Archer whacked him over the head with a trash can lid on a dive.
Dan Lambert came out and unscrewed the top rope. Jake “The Snake” Roberts came out and got involved as well, helping Archer. Archer wanted a chokeslam on the floor, but Page popped up onto a railing and hit a moonsault. They made their way back to the ring, where Archer continued to dismantle the ring ropes.
Page was busted open over his eye, bleeding a lot. There were tables set up at ringside, and they jockeyed for position on the apron. Page tried to boot Archer through the tables, but Archer countered and sent Page into the turnbuckle. Jake then hit the short-armed clothesline. He called for the DDT, but Archer stopped him, allowing Page to hit a DDT of his own.
Back in the ring, Page whacked Archer with kendo sticks to no effect. Archer caught a kendo stick shot and chokeslammed Page through a trash can. He then grabbed a fork and stabbed Page with it before landing his cannonball senton to the floor.
Archer tossed a half-dozen chairs into the ring before pulling out a chair with barbed wire on one side. He propped up the steel steps and then hit the Blackout on Page onto them in an insane spot. He wanted a powerbomb in the ring, but Page managed to grab the barbed wire on the chair and deliver rolling elbow strikes with his wire-wrapped forearm. A German suplex was next.
Page then vaulted over the official to hit a Buckshot Lariat, sending Archer crashing through two tables to the floor. Page made it back up at the count of nine, but Archer stayed down as Page retained.
– After the match, Adam Cole came out and picked up the belt before putting it on Page, making his intentions clear.