AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From May 15
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of AEW Dynamite on May 15.
With Double or Nothing coming up on May 26, All Elite Wrestling is in full planning mode for the event. Only five matches have officially been announced as of Wednesday morning, so we can expect several more to be added in the next week.
Here is a look at what AEW advertised for this week's show:
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Dax Harwood (Continental Championship)
- Toni Storm vs. Harley Cameron
- The Young Bucks vs. Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal
- Hook returns
- Adam Copeland calls out Malakai Black
- Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley vs. Jeff Cobb and Kyle Fletcher
- Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Moné sign their DoN contract
Let's take a look at what happened on Wednesday's show.
Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Cobb and Kyle Fletcher
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When Moxley was making his entrance, Cobb and Fletcher attacked him. Danielson ran down and helped Mox gain the upper hand. His music continued to play as all four men brawled at ringside.
It took a few minutes but the match eventually got started in the ring with Cobb and Danielson.
Cobb is someone who only appears for AEW on occasion, so it was fun to see him mix it up with The American Dragon and the IWGP champion. Fletcher, as usual, worked well with everyone.
This may have started with chaos, but it ended up being a well-paced match that allowed them to sell without feeling rushed.
The show took place in Danielson's hometown of Seattle, so the crowd was popping for everything he did, but it was Mox who scored the pin for his team on Fletcher.
It would have made a lot more sense for Cobb to eat the pin instead of an active ROH champion, but the outcome would be the same either way.
Konosuke Takeshita showed up for a post-match attack, but Claudio Castagnoli made the save.
Result: Danielson and Moxley defeated Cobb and Fletcher
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Danielson's theme tune is as fun for background music during a fight as Moxley's.
- Opening the show with "Wild Thing" has been missed.
- We don't talk enough about how Cobb looks like he could be Rhyno's son.
- Cobb's legs were almost too big for Danielson to properly apply a Figure Four.
- Cobb's counter to Danielson's flying knee looked great.
The Bucks vs. Matt Sydal and Christopher Daniels
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Copeland came out and was immediately ambushed by Brody King and Buddy Matthews.
Malakai had Buddy take Copeland's wedding ring before Kyle O'Reilly showed up to make the save. King took him out before House of Black made its exit.
The next matchup saw Matthew and Nicholas Jackson take on Sydal and Daniels in a tag match that was booked last week after a backstage confrontation with Daniels and The Bucks.
This was a competitive fight that never felt like it favored one team more than the other even if the outcome was obvious from a mile away. As expected, The Bucks scored the win.
Nicholas and Matthew Jackson grabbed a mic and said they had bad news for Daniels. They fired him from AEW but said he would get severance for 30 days. They had security escort him out of the building.
The crowd seemed split on whether this was good or not.
Result: The Bucks defeated Sydal and Daniels
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- It's wild how underused Sydal has been in every promotion. He is one of the best high-flyers in the world and never gets booked consistently.
- Jack Perry was on commentary during the match and gave Tony Schiavone a hard time. He dumped a drink on Schiavone before leaving.
- There was an awkward moment when The Bucks missed a tag and the announcers brought attention to it, but it was minor and didn't affect anything.
Hook Squash; Swerve Strickland vs. Brian Cage
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After a couple of quick promos, Hook came out for a squash match against a local talent named Sebastian Wolf.
Hook beat him in less than a minute. He grabbed a mic and called out Chris Jericho, who came out with Big Bill by his side.
Jericho said if Hook wins a qualification match on Collision, he could earn a shot at the FTW title. Hook attacked him but Bill took him down. Katsuyori Shibata came out to make the save and clear the ring.
Result: Hook won
Grade: Incomplete
The next match was a non-title Eliminator bout between Strickland and his former Mogul Embassy teammate, Cage.
Swerve rushed out of the corner with a pair of knees, but Cage was quick to get back to his feet and keep the fight going.
The Machine had the upper hand until Strickland began focusing on his left arm. His power was somewhat neutralized, but he managed to use his good arm to continue dishing out punishment.
This bout felt like the first time Cage has had a chance to shine on his own in some time. He looked good against the champion while still selling enough to make him look good.
This quickly turned into one of the best things we saw all night and had the crowd on its feet as Swerve hit his finisher for the win.
Result: Strickland defeated Cage
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Putting Hook in squash matches is moving backward.
- Prince Nana did not come out with anyone and hasn't been seen since Strickland was attacked.
- Swerve took a bump on the barricade during the break and ended up tumbling into the crowd.
- Strickland's suplex to Cage was incredibly impressive because he did it with zero leverage.
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Toni Storm vs. Harley Cameron
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The AEW women's champion was in non-title action this week when Storm battled Cameron with Saraya, Luther and Mariah May banned from ringside.
This was billed as a grudge match, and they tried to live up to that by being more physical than usual. Serena Deeb watched from the stage with a smile as Cameron took control of the champ.
They worked hard to make this a fun encounter, and Cameron probably looked better here than she has in any of her previous bouts, but it still ended with Timeless Toni scoring the win.
Result: Storm defeated Cameron
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Swerve was attacked by Nick Wayne and Killswitch after his match. He ended up gushing blood from a wound on his head.
- Cameron looked more aggressive in this bout than we have ever seen her before.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Dax Harwood
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Willow and Mercedes met to sign the contract for their TBS title bout at Double or Nothing. The segment ended with Willow putting Mercedes through the table after she tried to attack first.
The main event of the night was the Continental Championship match between Okada and Harwood. Cash Wheeler went to the back because the rules for CC matches state nobody can interfere.
They started off with a simple lockup into some dueling takedowns and counters. They kept it basic for the first few minutes as they sized each other up, but business picked up once Okada threw Harwood into the ring post.
Okada was in firm control as the show ran over its usual end time, but Harwood began showing signs of life with a couple of German suplexes.
This was a good, hard-hitting contest, but you could see their lack of experience working together in a few spots. They were minor moments that barely stood out, so any complaints anyone could have with this performance are minimal.
The Rainmaker won by using a low blow behind the ref's back followed by his signature clothesline.
The Elite came out to attack Harwood. Danielson and Wheeler tried to help but were taken down. Darby Allin's music hit, and he attacked Perry with a skateboard.
Result: Okada defeated Harwood
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Willow did a great job with her promo. Go check out our interview with her from this week.
- Dax had one of the best beat-the-count moments we have seen in some time.
- Okada's hurricanrana looked uncomfortable for him because he had to roll back over his head instead of rotating all the way through.
The Final Word
6 of 6This week's Dynamite spent a lot of time focused on hyping the feuds for the Double or Nothing card, but it also delivered a solid two hours of wrestling.
Okada vs. Harwood and Strickland vs. Cage were major highlights, but the opening tag match and Storm vs. Cameron added a lot to the show, too.
Willow powerbombing Mercedes through a table might be the most newsworthy moment coming out of this episode next to the surprise return of Allin.
Not only did he have a broken foot, but he was also hit by a bus not too long ago. The fact that he is already cleared to compete again is wild.
All in all, this was a decent episode of Dynamite, but it would be easy to understand why some people might feel like at least half of it was underwhelming.
Grade: B-
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