AEW Dynamite Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights From March 25
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of AEW Dynamite on March 25.
AEW Dynasty is coming up quick on April 12, so most of what we see over the next couple of weeks will be designed to help build the pay-per-view.
Here's a look at what All Elite Wrestling advertised for Wednesday's show:
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's Dynamite.
Swerve Strickland vs. Kenny Omega
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Last time in action: Swerve Strickland defeated Brody King (Revolution); Kenny Omega lost to Strickland (Dynamite, Feb. 18)
This week's Dynamite opened with what was arguably the most anticipated match on the card. Kenny Omega was out first for his rematch against Swerve Strickland.
Swerve had a smile on his face as he and Omega circled each other before locking up. He took control and had The Cleaner on defense right away.
Once the fight spilled out of the ring, Omega was able to gain the upper hand by slamming his opponent's head into anything with a hard surface.
They didn't bother trying to pace themselves and ease into things, which made the fight feel more competitive. Even though this was only the second time these two have worked together, they displayed some great chemistry.
Starting the show with two of AEW's top stars duking it out was a great decision. They lived up to the hype and delivered a memorable performance that will definitely lead to a third encounter at some point. Other than one spot that didn't go as planned, this was good from start to finish.
They hit their best shots, but neither man could keep the other down for the three-count until Omega hit the One-Winged Angel for the pin.
Result: Omega defeated Strickland
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
The Death Riders vs. SkyFlight
2 of 8Last time in action: Death Riders defeated Bang Bang Gang (Dynamite, March 18), SkyFlight defeated GYV (ROH, March 22)
The next bout was a mixed trios match with Jon Moxley, Daniel Garcia and Marina Shafir taking on Zayda Steel, Dante and Darius Martin.
The Death Riders attacked SkyFlight as soon as the referee called for the bell. Once things had settled, it was Shafir and Steel who started as the legal competitors.
While the match was competitive and allowed all six competitors to shine, the outcome was as predictable as it gets. The Death Riders were not about to lose to a team that has been mostly relegated to ROH in recent months.
It seemed like the crowd was most excited every time Steel and Shafir locked horns, so that may be a singles match AEW wants to revisit in the future.
Garcia got the win for his team by pinning Darius.
Result: Death Riders defeated SkyFlight
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
Mike Bailey vs. Rocky Romero
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Last time in action: Mike Bailey defeated Mark Davis (Dynamite, March 18), RPG Vice defeated TDMK (ROH, March 22)
One-third of the trios champions was in action this week when Mike Bailey took on Rocky Romero in a singles match. Neither man had anyone from their group in their corner, so it felt like a fair fight.
Romero got in the first few shots, but Speedball quickly gained the upper hand and sent him out of the ring for a moonsault.
This was a pretty quick match that ended with Bailey getting a clean win. If these two had more time, they could have stolen the show. They just didn't have enough to make this stand out.
Result: Bailey defeated Romero
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
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MJF Celebrates
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MJF came out to brag about beating Adam Page at Revolution, preventing him from ever challenging for the men's world title again.
He laid it on thick and played up his heel persona a lot during this promo. He said nobody deserves to be the champion more than he does, which led to Omega coming out to confront him.
He said MJF may have been better than a 60-80% Omega, but now he is back to being 100 percent and he is coming for the title.
With only a couple of weeks until Dynasty, it was smart to put Omega and MJF in the ring as quickly as possible to begin the buildup. This was a decent segment, but it was relatively simple, too.
Grade: B-
The Conglomeration vs. The Dogs
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Last time in action: The Conglomeration defeated The Dogs (Dynamite, Feb. 18)
Clark Connors and David Finlay took on Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong in the next match. The Dogs have made a good impression in AEW so far, but they lost to Cassidy and Tomohiro Ishii last month, so they were looking for some payback.
This was a physical match with a fast pace from the jump. All four men looked like they had something to prove and worked hard to make this entertaining.
Finlay and Connors were the more aggressive duo, but some of that can be chalked up to OC's lazy style. Strong picked up the slack whenever he was in the ring.
Strong looked especially good in this match. He is one of the most underrated guys in AEW, so it's always nice when he gets a chance to show off.
The Dogs were able to pick up the win with a double-team finisher to cap off a high-energy fight.
Result: The Dogs defeated The Conglomeration
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
Thekla vs. Mina Shirakawa
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Last time in action: Thekla defeated Kris Statlander (Revolution), Mina Shirakawa defeated Marina Shafir (Dynamite, March 18)
This week's penultimate match saw Thekla defend the women's world title against Mina Shirakawa.
They talked some trash before Mina started unloading on the champion and throwing her across the ring by her hair.
The challenger was all over the champion and had the upper hand as the show went into a commercial break, but Thekla wasn't going down without a fight.
The Toxic Spider hit a double stomp to the back of Shirakawa to take control. She ended up using a knuckleduster to hit Shirakawa while the ref wasn't paying attention to get the win.
This was a solid match, but it would have been nice if they had a little more time. It felt like they were just getting going when it came to a close.
Result: Thekla defeated Shirakawa
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Rush vs. Darby Allin
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Last time in action: LFI won a six-man tag match (Collision, March 21), Darby Allin defeated Gabe Kidd (Dynamite, March 18)
This week's main event saw LFI's Rush take on Darby Allin. The match didn't get started until close to the end of the second hour, so the show was obviously going to go into overtime.
While Allin was posing in the corner, Rush attacked him from behind to get an early advantage and kickstart the match.
As expected, this was physical from the get-go. Rush is one of the hardest hitters in AEW, and nobody takes a bump quite like Allin, so they went from 0-100 immediately.
After an exciting back-and-forth fight, Allin got the pin with a jackknife cover.
Result: Allin defeated Rush
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
The Final Word
8 of 8Right after Allin won the match, The Don Callis Family came out and attacked him. Andrade looked like he disapproved of what was happening.
This week's Dynamite was a strong showing, which was good because last week's episode was a bit lackluster.
Omega and Strickland had the best match of the night, but Allin and Rush gave them a run for their money in the main event.
Grade: B+
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