AEW Dynamite Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from July 30

In the final week of All Elite Wrestling's residency at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, the July 30 edition of Dynamite promised a huge show main-evented by a massive world title clash.

"Hangman" Adam Page set the challenge last week, accepted by Jon Moxley, for a one-on-one AEW Men's World Championship match with all talent banned from ringside. Would The Cowboy survive his first title defense?

The World Tag Team Championships Eliminator Tournament continued as The Young Bucks clashed with The Outrunners. Could Matt and Nick Jackson get back on track or suffer a major upset loss?

"Timeless" Toni Storm and Alex Windsor teamed up to take on Athena and Billie Starkz while The Forever Champion continued to tease calling for her world title shot.

Mark Briscoe and Ricochet reignited their recent rivalry in singles action, as Briscoe looked to continue his momentum and get revenge against The One and Only.

Christian Cage returned to address his enemies and potential friends. MJF also appeared...with obvious interest in the main event title match.

What would AEW deliver in the ring while also pushing toward Forbidden Door on August 24?

World Tag Team Title Eliminator Tournament: The Young Bucks vs. The Outrunners

Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum fought their hearts out to try to pick up the upset, but The Young Bucks managed to seal the win with a TK Driver.

Kazuchika Okada arrived to celebrate the win with Matt and Nick Jackson. They tried to stomp on The Outrunners, but Swerve Strickland made the save and cleared the ring.

From the presentation of The Young Bucks to start the night to all of the wild action, this was a top-notch opener.

This was as good as The Outrunners' matches with FTR, particularly in showcasing that Floyd and Magnum can keep up with the best teams in the world.

This new gimmick for the Bucks is working so well in revitalizing their image. Their lack of support is pushing them to work faster and harder than they ever have on TV.

It made sense for Matt and Nick Jackson to win here, likely pushing them all the way to the finals against FTR.

It did not hurt The Outrunners, though, as they ended the segment standing tall and showed once again they can work with the best.

Result

The Young Bucks def. The Outrunners by pinfall to advance in the World Tag Team Championships Elimination Tournament.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

- The Young Bucks got a jobber entrance and were only listed as "Talent Name" on their entrance graphic. This led to a "Jobber" chant aimed at them.

- In a pre-tape, the Bucks complained about the disrespect, even stating the $200,000 The Outrunners won on Collision came out of their salary.

- Nick Jackson broke up the Outrunners' handshake with a superkick.

- The Young Bucks fought out of the Total Recall and began a Superkick Party, but Turbo bounced back with a double clothesline on both men.

The Matriarchy Lays Out Christian Cage

Tony Schiavone interviewed Christian Cage, who admitted he was an "a--hole" but had gained some feelings in his jaded state.

He called out Adam Copeland for trying to sell that The Patriarch had done any worse than him on the road to the mountaintop. He then disowned Nick Wayne and Kip Sabian.

Led by a distraction from Mother Wayne, Wayne and Sabian attacked Christian and smashed his head between two steel chairs.

The Patriarch perfectly articulated why he is the same man he has always been while setting a path toward a face turn and a reunion with The Rated-R Superstar.

The promo could have been trimmed in length, and his comments toward Mother Wayne did not land clean. Still, the goal was accomplished.

The visual of The Matriarchy standing tall over Christian was especially effective and will land well in the future video package for Christian and Cope vs. Wayne and Sabian.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

- Christian got particularly annoyed with certain members of the audience, repeatedly reminding them he was conducting his business.

- He made his best point in calling out all Cope had done and said to get to the top of the business, questioning whether Christian was actually worse.

- Backed up by FTR, Stokely Hathaway announced Cope was banned for the week while FTR would fight the Bang Bang Gang on Collision.

- Backstage, MJF tried to clear up his issues with The Hurt Syndicate, but Shelton Benjamin said he was also done with The Salt of the Earth.

AEW Men's World Championship: 'Hangman' Adam Page (c) vs. Jon Moxley

Jon Moxley tried to destroy "Hangman" Adam Page throughout this match, but The Cowboy would not stay down against anything.

Even with everyone banned from ringside, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta and Marina Shafir got involved until Darby Allin dived onto them from a balcony.

This set the stage for Hangman to hit a Buckshot Lariat, Dead Eye and another Buckshot to seal the win and retain his AEW Men's World Championship.

The Cowboy and The Death Rider have always had great chemistry, and that was clear throughout this physical war that was worked in a completely different style to All In.

This match was light on blood but heavy on physical strikes. They kept a strong pace over 25 minutes, selling the growing toll on their bodies without losing the crowd.

Both men focused on knockout blows, delivering brutal head shots particularly with piledrivers. These two looked like equals, but Hangman wanted it just a bit more.

The interference at the end was unnecessary, even to set up Allin's balcony dive. The stipulation was clear, and the only real way to honor it would be to follow up by firing Shafir for ignoring the ban.

Obviously, it would not be a permanent dismissal but could serve as a blow to The Death Riders that they cannot easily walk off.

The right man won, and it was the only answer AEW could deliver in this moment. This was all about definitively stating The Cowboy is the man in the company.

He can move on from The Death Riders while Allin and eventually a returning Will Ospreay keep the fight rolling.

Result

"Hangman" Adam Page def. Jon Moxley by pinfall to retain the AEW Men's World Championship.

Grade

A-

Notable Moments

- This match starting before the second hour even started was a shock as this was set up as the main event, but it did guarantee their time.

- Security was set at each corner around the ring to watch for interference.

- Moxley delivered a brutal piledriver on the steel steps to send the match to commercial break.

- The Death Rider tried another piledriver later on the announce table. Instead, Hangman hit him with a Dead Eye on the table.

- The Cowboy teased pulling out the Bryan Danielson arm-trap stomps, but Mox rolled through. Hangman transitioned into a Lebell Lock.

- A second successful piledriver on the apron and a Gotch-style piledriver in the ring nearly won it for Mox.

- After Mox knocked down the ref, Castagnoli and Yuta distracted security for Shafir to throw in the AEW World Championship. Mox countered the Buckshot Lariat with a title shot, but The Cowboy kicked out of the pin.

'Timeless' Toni Storm and Alex Windsor vs. Athena and Billie Starkz

Athena and Billie Starkz overwhelmed "Timeless" Toni Storm and Alex Windsor throughout this match, working with strong tag team synergy.

When Storm got the late hot tag, The Forever Champion slipped in a blind tag and caught The Timeless One with an O Face to win.

It is rare to see Storm pinned in an AEW ring, especially in the last year. She has looked unstoppable against so many opponents.

On this night, though, she looked outmatched. Athena and Starkz were faster and harder hitting than she could handle, setting up a massive moment for The Forever Champion.

Hopefully, getting this win on Dynamite does not preclude Athena also capturing the AEW Women's World Championship in the near future.

She is the best option on the entire roster to dethrone Storm, setting the stage for her to lose the ROH Women's World Championship and focus on leading the next era of the AEW women's division.

AEW has moved quickly to elevate Windsor, and she has not disappointed in these big spots. She and Athena continue to deliver clean and hard-hitting back-and-forth action.

She may step behind Mina Shirakawa when she returns from injury, but Windsor has proved she needs to be a regular competitor in AEW going forward.

Result

Athena and Starkz def. Storm and Windsor by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

- Windsor came out to a fresh theme, smartly pivoting from her generic first theme.

- Athena and Starkz took over the action by outmaneuvering their opponents, isolating Windsor after a catapult/spinebuster combination.

- Windsor caught Athena with a discus clothesline, but Starkz broke up the pin attempt with a Swanton.

- After the win, The Minion threw Windsor into the barricade while Athena warned Storm it was only a matter of time before she won gold.

Mark Briscoe vs. Ricochet

Ricochet found himself fighting a different Mark Briscoe than in their past rivalry, rolling over him and The Gates of Agony no matter what they threw at him.

Brody King and Bandido arrived late to clear out Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona, setting the stage for The Chicken to seal the win with a Jay Driller.

Afterward, Briscoe called out MJF. The Salt of the Earth said he would fight The Chicken next week on Dynamite. He attacked Briscoe from behind until Adam Page arrived to help send the heel running.

When Ricochet defeated Briscoe in their gory Ambulance match, it looked like The One and Only was set to go for gold while Briscoe would fall back into the midcard scene.

Instead, the opposite has happened, leading all the way to The Chicken working like the favorite against The One and Only in their latest singles clash.

While this did not need to be the headliner on a loaded card, it was the second time Briscoe has worked this position in the past two weeks. AEW is positioning him as a main event act.

This was a good one but driven more by the emotion of Briscoe's resilience than the pure action. No matter how much GOA got involved, it never felt like Mark was losing this.

While AEW did not fully confirm it, MJF vs. Briscoe looks like a No. 1 Contender's match for the AEW Men's World Championship.

It could go either way, and it is intriguing that Briscoe feels like he could genuinely be the next man up to challenge The Cowboy.

Result

Briscoe def. Ricochet by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

- Backed by GOA, Ricochet mocked Briscoe backstage before their match.

- Hangman shut down MJF and told him he would need to beat Briscoe to earn a world title opportunity.

- Kaun and Liona did not come out with Ricochet but did arrive as a distraction at the mid point.

- The Chicken warned that he would feel no remorse after killing MJF, worried he would not see his brother in Heaven after he did.

Overall Show

This was a night of great action. "Hangman" Adam Page vs. Jon Moxley and The Young Bucks vs. The Outrunners were the obvious standouts.

"Timeless" Toni Storm and Alexa Windsor vs. Athena and Billie Starkz was also great TV action, delivering the biggest moment of success for The Forever Champion in this rivalry so far.

While the story of the night justified the main event position, Mark Briscoe vs. Ricochet was not able to live up to the rest of the show.

This made the structure of the entire night feel off. It might have been best to open with the world title match and let the tag team tournament bout main-event.

This would have put less pressure of Briscoe and Ricochet to live up to the rest of the show and allowed them to tease why next week's main event will be great.

This was still a strong edition of Dynamite overall, though, and it delivered some of the best AEW TV action in a while. The structure of the night just stopped it from standing as a true show of the year.

The stories for Forbidden Door are developing slowly and steadily, though it would be nice to see more NJPW and CMLL representation soon for what is meant to be a joint event.

Overall Grade: B+