AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from May 17
On the road to Double or Nothing, All Elite Wrestling stopped at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas for a episode of Dynamite aimed at advancing stories, providing explanations and, hopefully, officially announcing some matches for its upcoming pay-per-view.
Along the way, Don Callis addressed the fans following his shocking betrayal of Kenny Omega last week, Chris Jericho battled Roderick Strong in a Falls Count Anywhere match, and The Outcasts looked to avenge their embarrassment at the hands of Hikaru Shida.
Find out what went down, who built momentum en route to Las Vegas and what segments and matches graded the highest with this recap of Wednesday's broadcast.
Match Card
1 of 10Announced in advance for Wednesday's episode were:
- Falls Count Anywhere match: Roderick Strong vs. Chris Jericho
- Trios match: Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Hikaru Shida vs. The Outcasts (Ruby Soho, Saraya and Toni Storm)
- "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry vs. Rush
- Ricky Starks vs. Jay White
- Sammy Guevara in action
- Don Callis promo
Christian Cage and Luchasaurus Laid Out Wardlow
2 of 10
Just when we thought the signs pointed toward TNT champion Wardlow defending against Luchasaurus at Double or Nothing, AEW threw us a curveball as Christian Cage revealed his intentions to challenge for the title.
Then, he proceeded to leave The War Dog lying, slowing the path of rage Wardlow was on with a low blow and then working with Luchasaurus to drive him through a ladder before a Killswitch ended the assault.
This was a short-but-sweet five-minute promo segment that highlighted the TNT Championship program and got some heat on the heels after weeks of them backing down in the face of Wardlow's fury.
Whether it was the right call to kick off the show with what is very much a midcard program is another conversation, but this was a solid and effective use of the first few minutes of Dynamite.
Grade
B
Top Moments
- "Here I am. Put on that tiny little jacket, bring your ass out here and spit in my face," Wardlow told Cage, daring Captain Charisma to make good on his promise from a week ago.
- Wardlow nearly delivered the powerbomb to Cage, but a low blow halted his momentum and allowed the heels to beat him down.
- Luchasaurus sent Wardlow into a ladder, bending it underneath him. Cage followed up with the Killswitch, driving the TNT champion face-first into the weapon.
Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy vs. Lee Moriarty and Big Bill
3 of 10
The in-ring portion of the night's action kicked off with AEW international champion Orange Cassidy teaming with Darby Allin to battle Lee Moriarty and Big Bill in tag team match.
There was a lot to like about this, including the underrated work of Moriarty, Bill knowing exactly what he is as the giant power guy, Allin's frenetic pace and Cassidy fighting from underneath while selling the toll his recent title defenses have taken on him.
Unfortunately, it made no sense whatsoever.
A rematch from the House Rules live events last weekend, it was a collection of four guys with no background thrown out to have a good match with little or no reason.
Allin is just over a week from the biggest match of his career, but he's here competing in a thrown-together bout with a guy in Cassidy who he has never teamed with on TV?
It was entirely random and served no purpose other than to get the babyfaces on screen.
Result
Allin and Cassidy defeated Moriarty and Big Bill
Grade
B
Top Moments
- Excalibur mentioned on commentary that The Firm is no more following their Deletion match against The Hardys on last week's Rampage.
- Cassidy sold his back spasms as he continued to tell the story of a champion being repeatedly worn down by constant title defenses.
Sammy Guevara vs. Exodus Prime
4 of 10
Ahead of his AEW World Championship opportunity on May 28 in Las Vegas, Sammy Guevara squashed Exodus Prime, making short order of him with the Go To Hell.
After the match, he cut an impassioned promo about the opportunity that awaits him at Double or Nothing.
Interestingly enough, Guevara was in full-on babyface mode. He played up the idea that he was the hometown hero Wednesday night in Texas and admitted his shortcomings, which he rightly said the wrestling world has seen play out every week on TV.
It was interesting in that he has consistently been a heel only to now be presented as a babyface, perhaps to stack the table against MJF as the lone villain in the main event of Double or Nothing.
That might work in the mind of AEW president Tony Khan, but it would be nice to have some sort of build to such a change in attitude before booking it and hoping the audience will go along with it.
Result
Guevara defeated Prime
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- After Guevara's victory, FTR jumped Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt. The AEW world tag team champions punished their rivals ahead of Double or Nothing.
- Karen Jarrett debuted, delivering a low blow and allowing her husband and his cronies to leave Dash Harwood and Cash Wheeler lying following stereo guitar shots.
Hikaru Shida and Britt Baker vs. The Outcasts (Toni Storm and Ruby Soho)
5 of 10
The rivalry between The Outcasts and the AEW Originals continued this week, with Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida squaring off with Ruby Soho and Toni Storm.
The action-packed match saw Saraya interfere on behalf of the heels on more than one occasion, with her last efforts netting them the victory as she distracted the official long enough for Soho to spray Baker in the eyes with paint to set up the finish.
Jamie Hayter and Saraya were both originally scheduled for the bout, but an injury to the former necessitated a change. It did not hurt things, though, as this was a fun contest that got the heels back on the winning side after being outsmarted a week ago.
With Double or Nothing on the horizon, we have yet to find out exactly what the plans are for those involved in this match, but hopefully they involve the conclusion of this feud.
As solid as this match was, it's time to move on and give the women something fresh to do.
Result
The Outcasts defeated Baker and Shida
Grade
B
Top Moments
- Shida wore matching red, blue and black gear, symbolizing her alliance with Baker.
- The announce team revealed AEW world women's champion Jamie Hayter suffered an injury at the hands of The Outcasts and could not compete in the originally slated trios match.
- Saraya got some cheap shots in on Baker at ringside but told the referee that The Doctor tried to hit her, drawing the ire of the commentators.
- Soho passed Storm a can of spray paint, and she sprayed Baker in the eyes before delivering Storm Zero for the win.
Tony Khan Announces Collision; Roderick Strong vs. Chris Jericho
6 of 10
Prior to the next match, Tony Khan announced the June 17 debut of AEW Collision before revealing yet another announcement next week for its location.
With Adam Cole and the Jericho Appreciation Society barred from the building, Roderick Strong squared off with Chris Jericho in a Falls Count Anywhere match Wednesday night.
It was a bout that exercised the rights and rules of the stipulation, with Strong and Jericho fighting all over the building. The crowd following the battle chanted "Y2J," unaware that was approximately 25 monikers ago.
Eventually, things spilled outside, where Adam Cole waited for Jericho and attacked him, setting up Strong's victory.
The match was very reminiscent of hardcore matches during the Attitude Era of WWE. Some might make the argument it was genius or there were layers to it, but it was really just a good, old-fashioned brawl around the arena that existed solely to get to the Cole moment.
The reveal of the babyface was fantastic, and the outcome was the right one. Love the match style or not, it did what it set out to and the result was a successful one.
Result
Strong defeated Jericho
Grade
B-
Top Moments
- Strong tried to score a pin in the stands, and Jericho responded by suplexing him through a table in the arena concourse.
- The fight spilled into a stairwell and a Mister Softy stand.
- As they battled outside the arena, Cole appeared and leveled Jericho him with the Boom. Strong finished him from there with a big knee to score his first win in AEW.
'Jungle Boy' Jack Perry vs. Rush
7 of 10
Rush spent the majority of his match with "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry on the offensive, bloodying him early and dominating the action through the commercial break and back again.
Unfortunately, his determination to score a victory and punish one of the three top contenders to MJF's AEW World Championship along the way proved detrimental as Perry capitalized on an opening and scored the win, with a handful of tights to boot.
A post-match beatdown by Rush, Preston Vance and Jose led Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara to make the save, most likely setting up some sort of tag team match for next week's show.
Keep an eye on Perry in the coming weeks. It was uncharacteristic for him to resort to cheating to score the victory here, and it will be interesting to see if that is something that continues in the coming weeks, perhaps foreshadowing a heel turn for the popular underdog babyface.
Otherwise, this was the third instance of "hype" for the Double or Nothing main event that was relatively uninspired, which is not something you want en route to one of the biggest PPVs of the year.
Result
Perry defeated Rush
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Rush bloodied Perry entering the break, setting the stage for Jungle Boy to have to fight from underneath.
- Perry rolled his ultra-aggressive opponent up and held the tights for the win.
- After the match, Rush, Preston Vance and Jose attacked Jungle Boy until Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara made the save. The three challengers to MJF's world title stared each other down to end the segment.
Ricky Starks vs. 'Switchblade' Jay White
8 of 10
The rivalry between "Absolute" Ricky Starks and "Switchblade" Jay White culminated Wednesday in the main event of Dynamite.
Hometown hero Starks overcame repeated attempts at interference from Juice Robinson at ringside and appeared to be poised to fight his way right into a come-from-behind victory.
However, more interference led to the introduction of a steel chair, which Starks utilized on Robinson and White, costing him the victory via disqualification.
It mattered not as Absolute took a seat and taunted his Bullet Club enemies from the squared circle.
The match was solid and featured great fire from Starks, but it felt like the first chapter in a story with more to tell. The action was perfectly acceptable, but the booking suggests there is more to come.
Unfortunately, AEW has already blown through the tag team match and the Starks-White singles bout, leaving the endgame in question.
Result
White defeated Starks via disqualification
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- Late in the match, Robinson tripped Starks up, seemingly setting him up for Blade Runner.
- Starks escaped, delivered a Spear and appeared to have White beaten, but Robinson again got involved. He attempted to use a chair, but Absolute took it away and blasted both him and White with it, drawing a disqualification.
Don Callis Speaks and Blackpool Combat Club Attacks
9 of 10
Don Callis joined Tony Schiavone in the ring for a show-closing promo, but he barely had time to take credit for Kenny Omega's success before The Cleaner made his way into the arena. A beatdown by the Blackpool Combat Club ensued before The Young Bucks arrived.
From there, "Hangman" Adam Page returned, joining his Elite teammates in clearing the heels from the squared circle and announcing Anarchy in the Arena for Double or Nothing to close out the show.
This was super rushed, further evidence of the layout of the show being too packed with middling content and the important stuff suffering as a result.
Still, Page's return drew a big pop, as did the announcement of the match for the PPV. It would have been nice to get a less generic explanation out of Callis before the segment descended into chaos, but there will be time for that later, apparently.
For now, this was a mostly successful show-closing segment, if only because we finally have another main event quality match for the second-biggest PPV of the year, as well as the return of a former world champion in Page to accentuate it.
Grade
B
Top Moments
- Callis took credit for creating Omega in a brief promo.
- "We...we are The Elite!" Moxley exclaimed after Blackpool Combat Club laid out Omega.
- The Young Bucks and the returning Page joined Omega on the ramp, ready to go to battle with his Elite partners.
Overall Grade
10 of 10
There was something off about this week's Dynamite from the moment Tony Khan went with the Wardlow promo segment to kick things off.
The randomness of the Cassidy-Allin tag team bout that followed, the overstuffing of matches and segments into the two-hour window and an abbreviated show-closing segment did not help matters.
Perhaps with the announcement of Collision earlier in the day, Khan was busier than usual, resulting in the show being less focused than usual, but whatever Wednesday's broadcast was, it did not feel like the penultimate episode of Dynamite before the staple event that is Double or Nothing.
But kudos to Baker, Shida, Storm and Soho for a really fun tag match, Moriarty for maximizing his minutes, Cassidy for being AEW's MVP in 2023, and the cameraman behind the super-cool visual of Cole appearing behind Jericho during the Falls Count Anywhere match.
Overall Grade: C+
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