AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from Nov. 1
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Credit: All Elite Wrestling
A monster eight-man tag team match headlined Wednesday's AEW Dynamite as world champion MJF teamed with three partners of his choosing to battle Bullet Club Gold's "Switchblade" Jay White, Juice Robinson and The Gunns.
That bout headlined a show that also featured the latest title defenses by international champion Orange Cassidy and AEW world women's champion Hikaru Shida, as well as building toward Full Gear on November 18.
What went down, who emerged victorious and how did each segment of the show grade out?
Find out with this recap of the latest episode of All Elite Wrestling's flagship show.
Match Card
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- AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli
- AEW World Women's Championship: Hikaru Shida vs. Willow Nightingale
- Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega vs. "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker and "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard
- Eight-man tag team match: Bullet Club Gold vs. MJF and three partners of his choosing
- "Hangman" Adam Page and The Young Bucks vs. Brian Cage and Gates of Agony
- Tony Khan's important announcement
Announced in advance of Wednesday's show were:
AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli
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- Castagnoli dominated early. It was nice to see after a recent stretch in which he spent too much time as one of the secondary guys for the Blackpool Combat Club.
- Referee Bryce Remsburg booted Hook and Wheeler Yuta from ringside in hopes of ensuring the contest remained one-on-one.
- Castagnoli using his unreal power to carry Cassidy up the steps and onto the ring apron while in a vertical suplex was extraordinary.
- The end played off of the finish to Saturday's tag team match, where Castagnoli popped Cassidy up and rocked him with an uppercut. Here, Freshly Squeezed countered, blocking with his feet, then taking him over with a hurricanrana for the pinfall. A great touch.
- Backstage, MJF attempted to recruit Kenny Omega for Wednesday night's main event, but Chris Jericho slammed the door in his face. Then, Wardlow grabbed him and vowed to take everything from him when he least expected it.
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Dynamite kicked off with a strong match for the AEW International Championship that saw Orange Cassidy successfully defend against Claudio Castagnoli.
Freshly Squeezed overcame an aggressive and physically dominant performance by Castagnoli, who overwhelmed the champion with his power advantage.
As he has done so often, the titleholder proved his resiliency, absorbing everything thrown at him and countering an attempted pop-up uppercut with a headscissors takeover for the win.
The defeat is devastating for Castagnoli, who has lost more than he has won of late and risks falling into the pack despite being one of the best wrestlers on the roster.
For Cassidy, it continued a story of resilience and underrated toughness that has dominated his past year.
A post-match beatdown by Jon Moxley and backstage challenge all but confirmed the two will run back their All Out main event at Full Gear.
Result
Cassidy defeated Castagnoli to retain
Grade
A
Top Moments and Takeaways
Hangman Page and The Young Bucks vs. Brian Cage and Gates of Agony
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- Excalibur and Taz wisely explained Prince Nana's absence at ringside by reminding fans he broke into Page's home a week ago and thought better of being around him.
- Strickland interrupted Page's late-match surge and stole his focus. Hangman took off after Swerve and Nana, leaving the Bucks to go it alone against the heels.
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Brian Cage of Mogul Embassy, Toa Linoa and Kaun battled Ring of Honor world trios champions Hangman Page and The Young Bucks in the night's next bout.
Late in the bout, Page tagged in and appeared to be a man driven by revenge. A distraction by Swerve Strickland drove him away from the ring and left The Young Bucks to endure the punishment of a three-on-two disadvantage.
Mogul Embassy made short work of the outmatched babyfaces and pinned Nick Jackson to score the win and regain the championship.
An infuriated Matt Jackson tore the ringside area apart, while Excalibur explained away the frustration of Strickland's actions toward Page.
Maybe it was the result of Swerve being the best heel in the company. Perhaps, though, it was the result of the latest career disappointment in a series of them. Could we be seeing the beginnings of a Young Bucks heel turn?
Result
Mogul Embassy defeated The Elite to win the titles
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
Adam Copeland Promo
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- Copeland shouted out Tony Schiavone for wearing "all of the hats" that he does behind the scenes in a nice nod to one of the unsung heroes of the company.
- Cage, Luchasaurus and Wayne interrupted. "Louisville, shut your damn mouths while I conduct business," Cage said.
- Tony Khan made his latest "important" announcement:
- And the crowd went...mild.
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Christian Cage, Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne interrupted an in-ring promo from Adam Copeland, with the TNT champion vowing to break the neck of his former friend.
For a moment, it looked like he may succeed before Sting and Darby Allin hit the ring to make the save.
The Rated R Superstar ultimately obliterated Cage with a Spear and offered to partner Sting and Allin at Full Gear. He stared the heels down to close things out.
This was a predictable segment that delivered the outcome most expected, with Copeland joining his fellow babyfaces for Full Gear and setting up a showdown between him and Cage.
The predictability is not necessarily a bad thing because it delivered a logical development and set up a big PPV showdown. That match, with the moving pieces involved and a crowd that will be eager to see Copeland and Cage's long history writing its latest chapter, is a worthy main event on any card.
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega vs. Angelo Parker and Matt Menard
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- The heels used the baseball bat on Jericho's face but were unable to keep him down for three.
- Another wild swing of the bat by Parker was met by the Judas Effect as Jericho scored the win for his team.
- Callis challenged Jericho and Omega to a Street Fight in Ontario, California in two weeks on Dynamite. Omega offered up Kota Ibushi as a partner and Jericho produced Paul Wight.
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Don Callis, Konosuke Takesh*ta, Kyle Fletcher and Powerhouse Hobbs joined the commentary team, hoping to get a bird's eye view of Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega's latest outing as a tag team against "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard and "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker.
The babyfaces withstood everything their opponents threw at them, including a shot to the head with a baseball bat, and scored the win off Judas Effect from Jericho to Parker.
The match was secondary to the announcement that followed, with the revelation of a Street Fight in two weeks that will pit The Don Callis Family (Takesh*ta, Fletcher, Hobbs and Sammy Guevara) against Omega, Jericho, Kota Ibushi and Paul Wight.
Yes, we are about to see another 50-something star on AEW television when there is a roster full of bright, young and exciting names. The booking decision makes sense within the context of the story at play—Jericho having a friend bigger than Hobbs—but is it really necessary?
Wight is a legend and a future Hall of Famer who deserves the acclaim, but is anyone clamoring for his return to AEW TV at this point?
At least a Street Fight will allow him to mask any weaknesses he may have at this point, though the idea of The Callis Family potentially losing to the mismatched team of babyfaces feels like a booking disaster.
Result
Jericho and Omega defeated Parker and Menard
Grade
C+
Top Moments and Takeaways
AEW World Women's Championship: Hikaru Shida vs. Willow Nightingale
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- Backstage, Matt Jackson took exception to Kenny Omega partnering with Chris Jericho of late and lashed out at him.
- The commentary team reminded viewers that Nightingale is the 2023 Owen Hart Memorial Women's Tournament winner, something that is easy to forget given the manner in which she has been booked since then.
- Nightingale kicked out of an avalanche Falcon Arrow, and Shida returned the favor by kicking out of a Death Valley Driver in two dramatic near-falls.
- Storm interrupted the post-match celebration of Shida, who attacked her all the way to the back. Seconds later, Julia Hart returned and offered Nightingale her hand. Blue stood between the two and proceeded to spray blue mist in the face of Hart to send her scurrying.
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Hikaru Shida successfully retained her AEW World Women's Championship by defeating Willow Nightingale in a hard-fought match that proved dramatic down the stretch.
After the bout, we saw the latest from Toni Storm, who was chased to the back by the champion, as well as Skye Blue spraying blue mist in the face of the returning Julia Hart.
First, the match.
Shida and Nightingale delivered a fun contest, but the outcome was never in question and that is a problem. At some point, Willow needs to win one of these matches before fans lose confidence in her ever winning a big one.
Sure, AEW can turn that into a storyline at some point, but it feels like the fans' sentiment for that moment to happen has already worn off to an extent.
The stuff with Storm continues to be great, even in small doses like this.
The post-match involving Nightingale, Blue and Hart was equally solid as it gives the women's division a secondary program fans can invest in instead of everything centering around titles.
Result
Shida defeated Nightingale to retain the title
Grade
B
Top Moments and Takeaways
Eight-Man Tag Team Main Event
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- MJF hit the ring in a pink scarf, a "Scissor Me" shirt and pink tights to match his teammates. Reluctantly, of course.
- The champ repeatedly refused to scissor his partners, building gradually to the payoff later in the match.
- The heels breaking up the four-way scissor was a great spot, and that is not a sentence I ever envisioned writing.
- MJF's hot tag might be the best in wrestling right now, or at least second to Cody Rhodes' in WWE.
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
The hunt for three partners left MJF beaten down and discouraged, and he eventually chose the one trio that repeatedly offered up their services to his dismay: The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass.
That foursome battled Bullet Club Gold's Jay White, Juice Robinson and The Gunns in the night's main event.
An action-packed bout culminated with a hot tag to MJF late, an energetic barrage by the AEW world champion, and an emphatic Blade Runner and pinfall victory for White.
The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass fended off Robinson and The Gunns, leaving White to tease a shot at the AEW title. Instead, Max Caster threw himself in harm's way and took the blow for MJF before the heels escaped up the ramp.
White taking the pin as decisively as he did was a nice change of pace, MJF does not lose often so beating him means something. Switchblade may not feel like he has a chance to win, especially with the revelation that AEW Worlds End will take place on December 30 in Long Island, but this goes a long way in building belief that he might.
The stuff with Caster proving himself to MJF, then the four-way scissor at the end of the broadcast, was further evidence of the champion's growth and evolution since forming his friendship with Adam Cole.
He is more willing to accept others, which he wouldn't have done four months ago. It is deliberate storytelling that hopefully has a payoff worthy of the time invested in it.
Result
Bullet Club Gold defeated MJF, The Acclaimed, and Daddy Ass
Grade
B+
Top Moments and Takeaways
Overall Grade
8 of 8
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
There was a lot to like about Wednesday's show.
The MJF stuff is great because he is a great performer. Orange Cassidy and Claudio Castagnoli had the night's best match, and the intensification of the rivalry between Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland made for quality TV.
Even the introduction of more than one ongoing storyline in the women's division, via a segment that seamlessly intertwined them, was a welcome addition to a show that is all too often quick to push that roster aside.
For all the good there was, though, AEW continues to stray further away from the company that made fans fall in love with it in the first place. The feel is off, the median age of the stars on the broadcasts grows with every passing week, and it feels like there is no long-term direction creatively (with the possible exception of the MJF stuff).
Perhaps the focus should be on that instead of important announcements that could have been emails.
As a whole, the show was good enough to earn a solid grade. Moving forward, though, Tony Khan and Co. must ask themselves what they want AEW to be, because in its current state, the answer has never been less apparent.
Grade: C+
