This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite emanates from the Utilita Arena Cardiff in Cardiff, Wales. Mercedes Mone and Britt Baker sign their AEW All In match contract. Toni Storm defends the AEW Women’s Championship against Saraya. Kazuchika Okada defends the AEW Continental Championship against Claudio Castagnoli. MJF and Will Ospreay come face to face ahead of AEW All In, as do Swerve Strickland and Bryan Danielson.
We break it all down in this week’s AEW Dynamite recap!
Mercedes Mone & Britt Baker AEW All In Contract Signing
Tony Schiavone reminds both competitors that they agreed to no physicality. Mone says she will make Baker tap out and it will prove to everyone that she is the future, and Baker is the past. Baker retorts by saying that before there was a CEO, there was a DMD. Mone says Baker is her biggest fan and that she is her dream match. Mone questions if Baker is all in on wrestling, since she got a degree to fall back in. Mone says Baker will never have the guts to go all in, and she will lose this Sunday.
Baker says she has the heart, the guts, and the balls. Baker says Mone was one of four, while Baker is one of one. Baker calls herself the baddest b*tch on the block. Baker says she did admire Mone, and that she walked so girls like Baker could run. Baker feels Mone made a difference, but that person doesn’t exist anymore because Mone is now an arrogant person who cares more about her legacy than inspiring future role models like Baker. Baker doesn’t know where the old Mone went, but she hopes she returns, so Baker can say she beat the old Mone at All In.
Baker says she isn’t going to hit Mone, and instead clocks Kamille. Baker jumps onto Kamille, with Mone trapped beneath. Baker then poses with the TBS Championship.
Chris Jericho vs. Tommy Billington
Before the match, Jericho asks what right Billington has to use the Dynamite Kid name, other than for the fact that Dynamite Kid was his uncle. Jericho vows that tonight will just be a preview of what he’ll do to Hook at AEW All In.
In the match’s closing moments, Billington lays out Jericho with a Tombstone piledriver. Billington then goes up top and takes out Bryan Keith at ringside. Big Bill attempts to plow down Billington at ringside, but Billington side steps just in time. Billington then looks for a diving headbutt, but Jericho catches him in a codebreaker on the way down for a win.
Winner: Chris Jericho
Post-match, Jericho says if Hook was here tonight, he’d take him out branch by branch. Hook then appears to confront Jericho, but instead finds himself on the receiving end of a chokeslam from Big Bill.
AEW Women’s Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Saraya (w/ Harley Cameron)
Storm and Saraya trade pinfall attempts early on. Saraya then delivers a series of knees to Storm in between the ropes. Harley Cameron then levels Storm at ringside, paving the way for Saraya to then take her out with a cannonball.
Back from break, Storm looks for a Storm Zero, but Saraya counters into a Night Cap. Storm and Saraya then go up top, with Storm on the receiving end of a powerbomb. Saraya attempts a pinfall, but Storm gets her arm to the rope to break the count. Cameron distracts the referee and Storm kisses her. Saraya inadvertently takes down Cameron with an elbow. Storm hits the Storm Zero for the win.
Winner (And Still): Toni Storm
After the match, Mariah May attacks Storm with a shoe and kisses her forehead.
Will Ospreay & MJF Meet Face-To-Face
Security surrounds the ring for the MJF and Will Ospreay faceoff. Ospreay recalls his journey to AEW, where he used to work in church halls, bingo halls, and bars. Ospreay says Sunday at AEW All In is about cleaning up the mess that MJF made. MJF says jam packed arenas have chanted his name twice as loud as Ospreay’s. MJF says he came back from injury early because he was begged by “top brass” in AEW and Warner Bros Discovery to clean up Ospreay’s mess.
Ospreay says AEW President Tony Khan called him last year because the company “couldn’t rely” on their AEW World Champion at the time, referring to MJF. Ospreay says he wants to restore the feeling in pro wrestling, and proclaims that he is the feeling.
MJF says he doesn’t care about catering to the fans, he only cares about winning. MJF says he actually believed when Khan said the company would be safe in Ospreay’s hands. MJF then asks Ospreay who he is. MJF says everyone knows and loves him. MJF then asks Ospreay who told him he was the best in the world. Ospreay then points to the fans. MJF says the fans know nothing about professional wrestling. While Ospreay is the feeling, MJF proclaims himself to be “the facts.” MJF points out some facts, such as being the longest reigning AEW World Champion ever, and also being the best wrestler in the world. MJF says the Tiger Driver is the last bullet in the chamber for Ospreay to beat him, but Ospreay is too afraid to use it.
Ospreay says facts can’t be rewritten, but you can change how people feel. Ospreay tells MJF to go to the UK, Japan, and America, and many fans will say he is the best wrestler in the world. Ospreay says that is why he can’t lose at AEW All In, and can’t lose in front of his family. MJF says the people loved him until Ospreay showed up in AEW.
MJF says he got to spend time with Ospreay’s wife and his stepson prior to the show. MJF has one more fact with Ospreay — the next kid his wife has, won’t be his either. Ospreay then asks Tony Schiavone how much he will be fined if he hits MJF. Schiavone confirms the fine to be £100,000. Ospreay says the fine is worth it, and clocks MJF in the head. Security separate Ospreay and MJF, but MJF sneaks through and nails Ospreay with his diamond ring. MJF lays out Ospreay with a brainbuster and counts an imaginary pinfall. MJF then looks for a Tiger Driver, but before he can, security pulls him off of Ospreay.
Backstage, “Hangman” Adam Page says he will run through anyone that stands in his way in the upcoming AEW Casino Gauntlet. Evil Uno informs Page that he too is in the Casino Gauntlet, prompting Page to hit him with a chair from behind.
AEW Continental Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Okada and Castagnoli battled back and forth a 20-minute time limit draw. As the clock winded down, Castagnoli took Okada for a swing, to which Okada responded with a dropkick. Castagnoli hits a springboard uppercut. Okada responds back again with a neckbreaker. Okada and Castagnoli then trade strikes in the center of the ring. Okada lays out Castagnoli with a backslide, but Castagnoli kicked out. Castagnoli delivers an uppercut and stomp to Okada and goes for a pin of his own, but Okada kicks out. Time then expires.
Time Limit Draw
After the match, The Young Bucks ask if the crowd want another five minutes added to the match. The crowd erupts with a yes, but Matt Jackson denies them the opportunity. Matt then asks Castagnoli to leave the ring, or else The Elite will remove him themselves. Darby Allin and FTR appear for their tag team match against The Elite. Before the bell rings, the eight men begin to brawl, with Okada and Castagnoli heading up the ramp toward the back.
Darby Allin & FTR vs Jack Perry & The Young Bucks
Dax Harwood and Jack Perry start off the action in the ring, but it’s not long before The Bucks and FTR continue their brawl in the ring. The Bucks wipe out FTR with suicide dives, but Allin then takes them out with a dive of his own. The Young Bucks double team Allin in response.
Back from break, Harwood delivers a series of German suplexes to Perry. Harwood and Cash Wheeler then look for a Shatter Machine, but Perry and the Young Bucks intercede. Perry flips Wheeler onto his shoulders for a pinfall attempt. Wheeler kicks out. FTR and Allin trap The Elite into submission holds, prompting The Elite to try walking out of the match. A dive from Harwood prevents that. Matt Jackson takes a superplex from Harwood, a frog splash from Wheeler, and a Coffin Drop from Allin.
Winners: Darby Allin & FTR
Post-match, The Acclaimed emerge. Max Caster vows to bring the AEW Tag Team Championships back to The Acclaimed at AEW All In. Anthony Bowens says The Acclaimed have nothing left to prove after they’ve already beaten both The Young Bucks and FTR. Bowens says they will continue to fight until they once again become tag team champions in AEW. Billy Gunn says if they’re not down with that, they’ve only got two words for them.
Backstage, Bryan Danielson tells a bloodied Will Ospreay to “do it,” presumably referring to hitting a Tiger Driver on MJF at All In.
Swerve Strickland & Bryan Danielson Come Face-To-Face
Nigel McGuinness introduces AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland. McGuinness acknowledges Danielson’s physical condition and asks Strickland how it feels heading into All In as the overwhelming favorite. Strickland goes down the list of all the competitors he’s beat over the last year, including Adam Page, Samoa Joe, Jay White, and Christian Cage. McGuinness points out that Strickland has yet to beat Danielson. Strickland says he appreciates the legend of Danielson, and that they both hail from Washington, but he feels disrespected because Danielson keeps saying he’s ready for retirement. Strickland believes that is a slap in the face to him as the AEW World Champion.
Strickland ensures that Danielson will never wrestle again, regardless of his retirement. Strickland reiterates that if Danielson tries to wrestle after losing at All In, he will be there to beat him down. Strickland then begins to bring up Danielson’s family.
Danielson rushes out and lays out Strickland with a running knee. Danielson said he knows who he is; he’s the best f***ng wrestler in the world, and he has been for the last 20 years. Danielson says for the fans, for his peers, and for his family, he will leave his soul in the ring at AEW All In. Danielson says the only question left is if he can beat Swerve Strickland for the AEW Championship. The crowd chants “yes” in response as Dynamite goes off the air.