AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from March 29
The Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis played host to another stacked episode of AEW Dynamite Wednesday, headlined by IWGP U.S. heavyweight champion Kenny Omega defending against New Japan Pro-Wrestling export Jeff Cobb.
The show also featured an AEW International Championship defense by Orange Cassidy, trios action featuring Jon Moxley, and the latest in the battle between the AEW Originals and the self-proclaimed Outcasts.
What went down, and how does it affect the road to All Elite Wrestling's next pay-per-view, Double or Nothing, on May 29?
Find out with this recap of the TBS broadcast.
Match Card
1 of 7Announced in advance of Wednesday's show:
- IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Jeff Cobb
- AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. The Butcher
- Dalton Castle and The Boys vs. The Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta)
- Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia
- "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry vs. Matt Hardy
- Willow Nightingale vs. Ruby Soho
Matt Hardy vs. 'Jungle Boy' Jack Perry
2 of 7
As he seeks a shot at the AEW World Heavyweight Championship held by MJF, "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry battled Matt Hardy in the opening contest of Dynamite.
Hardy benefited from interference from Firm teammate Ethan Page and seized control of the bout throughout the commercial. Late, as All Ego attempted to get involved, FTW champion Hook made the save and fended him off.
Perry recovered and scored the win, but his celebration was cut short as MJF hit the ring.
A heated verbal confrontation ensued, ending with a brawl that saw the titleholder escape to the floor and then the back, as the babyface stood tall to close the segment.
The match with Hardy featured perfectly acceptable wrestling, and the injection of the Hook vs. Page feud into it at least made sense given The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil's history of teaming with Perry.
The post-match promo was solid, with MJF doing most of the heavy lifting and Perry getting in his lines when necessary. Jungle Boy is still not a strong enough talker to go word-for-word with MJF, but it's a welcome sight to see him have the opportunity to spar with the world champion.
Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara watching backstage adds further credence to the idea that a Four-Way for the world title is on the horizon, presumably at Double or Nothing.
Result
Perry defeated Hardy
Grade
B
Top Moments
- The pop Hardy receives from fans is still very impressive given his run with the company. The "Delete" chants and teases of his "Broken" persona are still over.
- Perry outwrestled Hardy early and set to take off through the ropes at him but Page cut him off, providing the veteran competitor a moment to recover and deliver a Side Effect to Perry on the floor.
- Hook made his way to ringside and fought Page off, only for Hardy to attempt to hold him back. The result? Page accidentally rocked the future Hall of Famer with a hard right hand.
- "My job's a joke, dude. I barely sweat, I barely wrestle, I make fun of these idiots, I hop on a private jet and head back to the most magical place in the world, Long Island, New York," MJF told Perry.
- "For the first time in my career, I felt like I had met my equal in this ring," MJF said of his first match with Perry at Double or Nothing in 2020.
- "If my road to the top of the mountain is more difficult than yours, so be it," Perry said.
- MJF introduced Perry's girlfriend, Anna Jay, to the promo and earned a kicking from Jungle Boy, narrowly escaping before too much damage was done.
- Backstage, Don Callis told Kenny Omega he would apologize to "Hangman" Adam Page for the misunderstanding at the end of last week's show.
Dalton Castle and The Boys vs. Blackpool Combat Club
3 of 7
Blackpool Combat Club's Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta attacked Dalton Castle and The Boys (Brandon and Brent Tate) during their entrance.
Inside the squared circle, the heel trio made short work of the Ring of Honor stars, with Castagnoli pinning Brandon for the uncontested win.
Afterward, they simply hopped the guardrail and left the arena.
This was...something.
It had no reason to exist beyond further establishing the gang mentality of Blackpool Combat Club and the fact that they are heels. Worse, it essentially killed whatever credibility Castle and The Boys had as part of any Tony Khan-owned promotion.
The post-match attack on Hangman Page by the heel faction was far more effective and the fact that it interrupted Don Callis' apology not only escalates things between them and The Elite but also ensures Callis never fully said sorry for his actions a week ago.
That entire seconds-long interaction did more to benefit the ongoing story than the wholly unnecessary squash.
Result
Blackpool Combat Club defeated Castle and The Boys
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- A video package recapped the Jericho Appreciation Society taking The Acclaimed out on the town in an attempt to persuade them to join the faction. Anthony Bowens and Max Caster promised an answer Wednesday night.
- A video package aired explaining who Jeff Cobb is and why he is challenging Kenny Omega for the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. There is still an argument to be made against bringing outsiders into the company where there is plenty of untapped talent under contract. But if they have to happen, this is what should accompany those one-off appearances.
- Callis bled as he and Page laid backstage, selling the effects of BCC's beatdown.
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IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega vs. Jeff Cobb
4 of 7
Kenny Omega overcame injuries suffered in last week's match with El Hijo del Vikingo and the pre-match attack on Don Callis by Moxley, Castagnoli and Yuta to successfully defend his IWGP US Heavyweight Championship against a game Jeff Cobb.
The match was good, with a strong performance by Cobb that was aided by Taz's efforts on commentary and some great selling by Omega. With that said, the babyface spent the entire match selling his ribs, including a failed attempt at a One-Winged Angel.
Moments later, Omega not only powered his challenger up but also walked around the ring with him. It flew in the face of the story they had established to that point and was a very disappointing conclusion to what had been a quality bout.
The post-match, which saw Bryan Danielson rush to the aid of Omega as he found himself encircled by Blackpool Combat Club, was great.
Danielson told his stablemates off, saying this is not what BCC was formed for. Then, he launched himself at Omega, wiping him out with the running knee before applying the LeBell Lock and leaving him lying.
The swerve would seem to set up a showdown between The Elite plus Hangman Page and the heels. Maybe it takes place in Blood and Guts, a specialty match AEW likes to visit every year.
Whatever the case, Danielson's return was a welcome one and answered the question: What did he mean when he said he was going "home?"
Result
Omega defeated Cobb
Grade
B
Top Moments
- Backstage, Tony Schiavone informed Omega that Callis had been attacked by Blackpool Combat Club. "I'm very angry," Omega said.
- Taz did a fantastic job of putting over Cobb's legitimacy, including pointing out that he was an Olympic wrestler in 2004 for Guam.
- Omega entered the arena to his NJPW theme, "Devil's Sky," giving the match the feel of that promotion with one of its titles at stake.
- Cobb cut the champ down with a dropkick from out of nowhere.
- The challenger answered his opponent's snapdragon suplex with a lariat that turned him inside out. "I've been hit by the late, great Bam Bam Bigelow and I'm still feeling it, I promise," Taz said, putting the strike over.
- Cobb mocked Omega and then delivered a V-Trigger. He tried for the One-Winged Angel, but the champ fought out.
AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. The Butcher
5 of 7
The Butcher gave Orange Cassidy one of the toughest challenges to his AEW International Championship to date, but the well-timed arrival of backup in the form of Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor allowed Freshly Squeezed to overcome interference from The Blade to retain.
Perhaps it was the overbooking, with the repeated interference attempts by Blade, but this wasn't nearly as good as some of Cassidy's recent defenses.
It is a bummer, too, because we see so little of The Butcher and The Blade on television that it would be nice for their opportunities to result in good TV.
Instead, this was messy and never really found its groove en route to the obvious outcome.
Result
Cassidy pinned Butcher
Grade
C
Top Moments
- The Butcher and The Blade attacked Cassidy before the bell. The latter threatened to utilize a crowbar to attack Freshly Squeezed, but he was kicked out by referee Stephon Smith.
- Butcher slammed Cassidy into the guardrails at ringside as the show headed to the break.
- Blade finally snuck his way back to ringside and used the crowbar on Cassidy.
- Best Friends arrived at ringside and Beretta used the crowbar on The Butcher, setting up the finish.
- A pre-taped promo from TBS champion Jade Cargill claimed Taya Valkyrie is a problem and she will solve her.
Willow Nightingale vs. Ruby Soho
6 of 7
Former partners turned rivals did battle as Willow Nightingale squared off with The Outcasts' Ruby Soho, who was accompanied to the squared circle by Saraya and Toni Storm.
Nightingale overcame concentrated offense from Soho, and interference from her teammates, to mount a comeback. She overpowered her rival, and even when the heel delivered consecutive finishers, managed to kick out in a sign of resilience and defiance.
A cheap roll-up from Soho, with her feet on the ropes and assisted by Storm, ultimately resulted in a tainted victory.
The heels attempted another of their beatdowns before Riho and Skye Blue made the save. AEW world women's champion Jamie Hayter chased them off to close the segment.
The match put Nightingale over as a threat before the heels had to resort to cheating to secure the win. It was effective in that regard, and Nightingale is so good as the plucky babyface.
The post-match was more of the same, with a fantastic missed lariat from Hayter that was timed perfectly and exhibited the fury with which the champ was about to land it.
Her match with Riho next week, which will likely feature interference from The Outcasts, should be excellent.
Result
Soho pinned Nightingale
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Nightingale fought out of a headscissors attempt and planted Soho with a sidewalk slam.
- Saraya hopped on the apron and unloaded on Nightingale with a barrage of knees behind the official's back.
- The babyface delivered a big spinebuster for a close two-count as she mounted a comeback.
Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia
7 of 7
For the first time in nine months, Adam Cole returned to the squared circle Wednesday night, doing battle with Daniel Garcia, who was eager to prove he was more than just a lackey for the Jericho Appreciation Society.
Garcia dominated the action, not hesitating as he targeted the head of an opponent who was returning after a lengthy recovery from concussion.
A resilient Cole fought back, though, and rocked him with the Boom for the pinfall victory.
As streamers exploded at ringside and Britt Baker made her way to the ring to celebrate with her real-life partner, it happened.
You know exactly what "it" is if you have paid even a modicum of attention to AEW television since its inception.
Chris Jericho made his way to the ring to help Garcia out of the ring, stopping a few times to look over his shoulder at the victorious Cole but never confronting him.
Jericho can recognize when someone is getting hot or an angle is building steam and find his way into the mix. It's not necessarily a bad thing, either. He's a wily veteran, knows when he sees something he likes and wants to be involved with it.
Cole is it and one would assume after Wednesday's show that he and Jericho will clash at Double or Nothing. If nothing else, it is a star-studded match that will help bolster that card.
Result
Cole defeated Garcia
Grade
B
Top Moments
- "He knows this match is about the return of Adam Cole and he's thinking, 'Hey, I'm not anyone's doormat,'" Taz said on commentary.
- Fans chanted "You're a wrestler" at Garcia, flying in the face of his sports-entertainer label.
- Cole sold the back of his head after the bell, and referee Bryce Remsburg checked on him.
- Jericho made his way to the ring and retrieved Garcia while the commentary team mentioned the fact that he refused to make eye contact with Cole. He hesitated on his way up the ramp but then made his way backstage.
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