AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Aug. 7
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of AEW Dynamite on August 7.
AEW All In is right around the corner, but All Elite Wrestling had plenty to keep this week's show interesting, too.
Here is a look at what was advertised for Wednesday's episode:
- Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Jarrett
- Bryan Keith vs. Katsuyori Shibata
- MJF vs. Kyle Fletcher
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Wednesday's show.
Kyle Fletcher vs. MJF
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The show opened with MJF making his way to the ring for his American title eliminator match against Fletcher.
The champ immediately rolled out of the ring to play some mind games, but Fletcher didn't seem fazed. In fact, he took control as soon as his opponent got back into the ring.
The former ROH TV champion soon found himself dealing with some of MJF's trademark dirty tactics, so he eventually ended up on defense with his arm the focus of his rival's attacks.
The former world champion called his opponent a wannabe Will Ospreay, so Fletcher used his one good arm to unload on him. Don Callis gave him a screwdriver behind the ref's back, but Fletcher refused and left an opening for MJF to hit a low blow followed by a Kangaroo Kick and a brainbuster for the win.
These are two of AEW's best and both are still younger than 30. What we saw here was two men who are way ahead of the curve casually putting on a great performance. They weren't even trying their hardest and this is still one of the best bouts you will see all week.
After it was over, MJF knocked out the ref with the belt while Ospreay tried to run to the ring from backstage.
MJF knocked out Fletcher with his diamond ring and kept beating on him to bust him open until Ospreay chased him away.
Result: MJF defeated Fletcher
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
- MJF's shoulderbreaker was about as well-executed as it gets. Fletcher did a good job staying upright.
- Biting someone is one of those heel moves that only makes sense for some villains. It's not something MJF needs to do to get heat.
- The way Fletcher sold some of his bumps was awesome. The cradle DDT MJF hit looked especially good.
- MJF's kickout after a piledriver is about as close as it gets.
Mariah May vs. Viva Van
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Mariah May had a match this week against Viva Van, who has been wrestling since 2019 and worked for several promotions.
May drilled her with a headbutt to immediately take Van down and gain control. What could have been a squash ended up lasting through a commercial break, so Van had an opportunity to get in some offense.
This was a solid performance, but it was never about making Van look good; it was about making May look like a dangerous competitor as she prepares to face Toni Storm.
She hit a running knee followed by Mayday, but she decided to finish her opponent with Storm Zero to add insult to injury.
May was handed a gift: A photo of her and Toni with "Die Mariah Die" written on the back. Storm rushed her from out of nowhere, but officials prevented her from using the shoe on her former muse.
Result: May defeated Van
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- May's headbutt looked great from the angle we saw it.
- The Glamour did a weird thing during the break where she was lying down and writhing around on the mat.
- The way Storm has managed to seamlessly change her character again has been fun to see.
Bryan Keith vs. Katsuyori Shibata
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The Bounty Hunter and The Wrestler did battle this week when Keith took on Shibata, who is an ally of Samoa Joe and Hook during their feud with Chris Jericho and The Learning Tree group.
Keith attacked Shibata while he was distracted by the ref and kept the upper hand for some time. He dominated Shibata until the show cut to a break.
The former ROH pure champion was beginning to show signs of life as we returned. He absorbed all of Keith's strikes and laid him out with one forearm.
He took control and was able to make The Bad Apple tap out with an armbar. The Learning Tree attacked him until Hook's music hit and he made the save. He took out Big Bill and sent Jericho retreating.
The match we got from Keith and Shibata was a decent contest with a few good moments, but the majority of it took place during a break, so it was hard to get too invested in the action. Hook's return got a nice pop.
Result: Shibata defeated Keith
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Jericho having his own entrance for a match he's not even in was a good heel move.
- Keith's pants are so funny for some reason.
- Shibata isn't very big, but he is somehow convincing when he no-sells. It goes to show how big of a factor aura is.
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Orange Cassidy and FTR vs. Rush, Roderick Strong and The Beast Mortos
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Orange Cassidy teamed up with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler to take on the team that beat The Conglomeration last week: Roderick Strong, The Beast Mortos and Rush.
Strong started for his team and found himself being double-teamed by OC and FTR. It wasn't until after the break that the heels began to take over.
With six competitors to follow, there was a lot going on, but they did a good job of making it easy to keep track of everything.
The Kingdom interfered from the crowd while the ref was distracted and took out Harwood, so it was more like a 3-on-2 handicap match during the break.
The babyfaces made a comeback, and both teams started pulling out all the stops. FTR were able to hit their finisher on Rush to pick up a win, much to the dismay of Don Callis.
The Acclaimed showed up, and what looked like it would be a promo exchange turned into a brawl with security trying to keep everyone apart.
This was a fun trios match with some highlight-reel moments for all six men. It had the right mix of chaos and smooth action.
Result: FTR and OC defeated Rush, Strong and Mortos
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Adam Page gave a brief interview promising to have his revenge on Swerve Strickland. Then we saw a sit-down interview with Jim Ross and Swerve.
- OC's tornado DDT to Strong was great, but the one he hit on Mortos was even better because he did three revolutions.
- OC watching the brawl without a care in the world was funny.
Kamille Handicap Match
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Kamille was given an exhibition handicap match against two local talents this week.
This was simply a glorified squash to help establish The Brickhouse's dominance.
Kamille scored an easy win after a handful of power moves.
Britt Baker appeared on the big screen to give a promo directed at Mercedes Moné.
Result: Kamille
Grade: Incomplete
Jeff Jarrett vs. Bryan Danielson
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This week's main event was the match that was set up last week between Jeff Jarrett and Bryan Danielson. The special guest commentator for this No DQ bout was Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat,
Double J attacked Danielson with his guitar during his entrance. He said he wanted to make sure The American Dragon was ready for All In, so he decided to test him by showing us the rulebreaker who has won several world titles instead of the mentor he was trying to be.
They fought into the crowd and out onto the concourse area. A few different objects were used as weapons such as a garbage bin and a Red Bull can.
They battled back down the stairs toward the ring during the picture-in-picture portion of the match. This was also when Danielson began to regain some composure.
With a little help from a chair, The American Dragon hit a Busaiko Knee for the win. Both men's allies showed up to check on them once it was over. Danielson showed Jarrett some respect and posed with him and Steamboat before Swerve showed up to crash the party.
With Danielson being capable of a lot more than Double J at this point in his career, it was smart to make this a hardcore match with a lot of weapon spots instead of trying to make it a technical clinic. It led to a much better performance.
Result: Danielson defeated Jarrett
Grade: B
Notable Moments
- AEW hyped the match throughout the show with a couple of videos.
- Danielson sold a low blow from Jarrett almost too realistically. Did he forget his cup?
- Steamboat's mic should have been turned up a notch or two.
- There was a little hiccup when Jarrett tried to hit The Stroke.
- Double J was busted open right at the end of the match.
The Final Word
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This week's Dynamite was almost entirely devoted to building the card and feuds for All In, and that was the right decision.
We saw several storylines addressed such as Strickland vs. Danielson, MJF vs. Ospreay, Storm vs. May, FTR vs. Acclaimed, Hook vs. Jericho and Baker vs. Moné.
As far as the action was concerned, the trios bout and main event were good, but it was MJF and Fletcher who stole the show.
They put on a fantastic performance and kept MJF's feud with Ospreay in the spotlight. If you only go out of your way to see one thing from this show, make it this.
Grade: B
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