This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite emanates from Rio Rancho, New Mexico! Adam Page and Will Ospreay meet ahead of Double or Nothing. MJF signs with The Hurt Syndicate. Mina Shirakawa takes on Julia Hart. The Young Bucks and Jon Moxley team up, and more.
Let’s break it all down in this week’s AEW Dynamite recap!
We Hear From Adam Page & Will Ospreay
Tony Schiavone introduces Adam Page and Will Ospreay to the ring. Ospreay says he will not get physical tonight. Ospreay then asks Page if he still drinks. Ospreay then brings two beers into the ring, handing one of them to Page. He toasts a cheers to Page, though Page is unamused. Ospreay says the people don’t know what’s at stake for them at Double or Nothing. Ospreay points out that whoever wins has the responsibility of taking back the AEW World Championship. Ospreay wants to wear the title with proud and show it to the world. Ospreay says he also wants to bring to his home country of England at Forbidden Door. Ospreay also wants his stepson to look at him as the world champion. Ospreay says he wants it a little more than Page.
Page says the difference between he and Ospreay will be apparent at Double or Nothing. Page says there is no greater prize than the AEW World Championship. Page says the title could be a professional accomplishment for Ospreay. Meanwhile, Page claims this is personal for him. Page says he doesn’t want the opportunity, he needs it. Page says he has wasted the last two years. Page says his son felt disappointed in him, and he needs to change that. Page says he needs his wife to look at him with pride too. Page says he needs it for himself too so he can know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Page says he needs to prove Ospreay wrong too when he said it was too little too late.
Ospreay asks Page what his plan is. Ospreay is showing up and doing his best at Double or Nothing. Sometimes, Ospreay’s best isn’t good enough, but at least he left everything he had in the ring and earned the respect of the audience. Page asks if that would be enough for Jon Moxley. Ospreay says he doesn’t know, but Page knows. Ospreay says if he beats Page, he knows he can beat Moxley. Ospreay says Page he used to be pure hearted dude, but he’s also a badass. Ospreay says before Page writes him off to remember that Ospreay has beaten MJF, Kazuchika Okada, and many other top talents. Ospreay says if it’s Page challenging Moxley, that he will watch his back. Ospreay hopes Page would do the same in the reverse situation. Ospreay raises his beer bottle, then drinks it. Page drinks his beer as well.
Jon Moxley & The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) (w/Marina Shafir) vs. Swerve Strickland & The Opps (Powerhouse Hobbs & Samoa Joe)
Moxley and Joe trade strikes. Hobbs and Matt tag in. Hobbs takes Matt down with a clothesline. Nick catches Hobbs with a kick. Matt then launches Nick into Hobbs with a dropkick. Strickland tags in and delivers a backbreaker to Nick, then drops him with a suplex. All six men begin brawling. Hobbs prevents Moxley from diving through the ropes. Moxley gouges Hobbs’ eyes. He then dives onto him on the outside. Matt and Nick rocks Joe with a suplex. Strickland nails Nick with a flatliner. Joe dives onto Matt, Nick, and Moxley.
Back from break, Strickland nails Nick with a backbreaker on the outside. Matt then rocks him with a superkick. Moxley knocks Joe and Hobbs off the apron. Strickland delivers a back body drop. Matt, Moxley, and Nick triple team Strickland. Matt crossbodys Joe on the outside. Matt and Nick hit Risky Business on Strickland. Matt covers Strickland, but Hobbs breaks it up.
Back from another break, Moxley spikes Strickland with a piledriver for a near fall. Moxley then locks in a crossface. Strickland escapes and headbutts Moxley. Matt and Joe tag in. Joe knocks down all three of his opponents. Joe powerslams Matt for a two count. Strickland tags back in. He and Joe take turns attacking Matt in the corner, Hobbs lands a splash on Matt. Moxley and Nick break up his pinfall on Matt. Joe runs over both Matt and Nick. Strickland nails Moxley with a House Call. He then stomps on Nick on the outside floor. Hobbs nails Matt and Nick with spinebusters. Moxley rocks Hobbs with a cutter. Joe sends Moxley over the top rope. Matt and Nick superkick Joe, then land a superplex on Hobbs. Matt and Nick miss the EVP Trigger. Joe locks Nick in the Coquina Clutch while Strickland pins Matt for the win.
Winners: Swerve Strickland, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Samoa Joe
After the match, all the Death Riders attack Hobbs, Strickland, and Joe. Katsuyori Shibata returns and tries to even the odds, only to take a low blow from Marina Shafir. Willow Nightingale runs down and beats down Shafir. Kenny Omega then runs down and takes down Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli with Snap Dragons. He then levels Nick. Omega follows up with a V-Trigger to Matt. Strickland pulls out a table. Omega tries to send Matt crashing through the table, but Claudio pulls Matt to safety. Joe says his crew is coming after The Elite and Death Riders tonight.
Backstage, MJF and The Hurt Syndicate prepare for the former’s contract signing later tonight. MJF shows off his new suit. Mark Sterling appears as MJF’s lawyer.
MJF Signs With The Hurt Syndicate
MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and Bobby Lashley come out to the ring for MJF’s contract signing. MVP welcomes MJF to the ring. MVP says no one cares about Albuquerque. MJF then points to Mark Sterling to explain the legal proceedings. MJF signs the contract. Benjamin and MVP do as well. Lashley is hesitant to do so, but ultimately does. MJF says this is the greatest moment of his life. Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara emerge on the stage. MJF says they have no right interrupting the Hurt Syndicate. Rhodes says MJF barely wrestles and has no work ethic. Rhodes says he hates MJF’s guts too. Rhodes has respect for MVP, but advises him to keep an eye on MJF. Rhodes says he and Sammy are day one guys in AEW.
Rhodes says he and Sammy want more tag gold, and will have an opportunity to claim it at Double or Nothing. Rhodes dares Benjamin and Lashley to hurt him right now. Rhodes says there is nothing they can do that others haven’t done before though. Rhodes says they can’t touch their work ethic. Rhodes says he’d bet on himself and Sammy at Double or Nothing.
Ricochet vs. Anthony Bowens (w/ Billy Gunn)
Bowens chops Ricochet in the corner. He then sends Ricochet over the top rope and to the outside. Ricochet taunts Gunn at ringside. Bowens slams Ricochet into the barricade. Gunn and Bowens make the scissoring gesture. The action returns to the ring, with Bowens rocking Ricochet with an enziguri. Ricochet pushes Bowens into the ring post, then sweeps his feet off the barricade.
Back from break. Bowens drops Ricochet to the mat and covers him for a two count. He and Ricochet then trade strikes. Bowens slams Ricochet to the mat, then nails him in the back. As the referee isn’t looking, Ricochet nails Bowens with scissors. He follows up with a Spirit Gun for the win.
Winner: Ricochet
After the match, Mark Briscoe rolls out a stretcher and hits Ricochet with it. Briscoe then fires off right hands. He places Ricochet on the stretcher and lays in more punches. Briscoe climbs the top rope and looks for a frog splash, but Ricochet rolls out of the way before he can.
Backstage, Stokely Hathaway says we are seeing the greatest tag team alive today, FTR. Stokely says FTR want to look Nigel McGuinness and Daniel Garcia in the eye before they sign a contract for a tag match. Stokely says they will meet face to face on AEW Collision tomorrow night.
We Hear From Jamie Hayter & Mercedes Mone
Renee Paquette introduces Jamie Hayter and Mercedes Mone. Hayter says she hates when people look straight past her. Hayter says she will always crawl her way back and fight again and again. Hayter says she never had people doing her dirty work like Mone nor walked around all cocky. Hayter reiterates that she is a fighter. She also says everyone watching her molded her into that. Hayter says the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament means a lot to her. She says this is about not being forgotten. Hayter says her back is against the wall, but she will still lace up her boots and hit hard.
Paquette asks Mone if she is afraid that Hayter could be the first to beat her in singles competition in AEW. Mone says Hayter thinks she has Mone all figured out, but she doesn’t. Mone calls herself the Beyonce of wrestling. Mone says she isn’t looking past Hayter, but rather through her. Mone vows to go to All In and become the AEW Women’s Championship. Mone says right now she is the greatest TBS Champion and undefeated in singles matches. Mone says she got this success but hard work and dedication. Mone says it is more than just winning, it is about leaving her legacy. Mone wants Hayter to bring her best. Mone says Double or Nothing will mark the end of Hayter’s chapter.
Hayter points out that Mone lost one of her title belts. Hayter says Mone is destined to lose everything. Mone leaps at Hayter and takes her down. Hayter responds with a Hayterade. AEW Women’s Champion emerges on the stage, then heads down to the commentary desk for the main event.
Mina Shirakawa vs. Julia Hart
Shirakawa and Hart lock up. Hart targets Shirakawa’s arm. Shirakawa levels Hart with a knee to her throat. Shirakawa then rocks her with a right hand and a basement dropkick. Shirakawa sweeps Hart off her feet. She then stares at Storm. Hart strikes Shirakawa from behind, then whips her into the side of the ring. Hart chops Shirakawa.
Back from break, Hart locks in a submission hold against the ropes. Shirakawa kicks Hart in return. Hart drops Shirakawa on her back. Shirakawa dropkicks Hart in the back of her knees. Hart rolls up Shirakawa for a two count. Shirakawa connects with a rolling elbow and a backfist. Hart rolls up Shirakawa for another two count. Shirakawa reverses and pins Hart.
Winner: Mina Shirakawa
After the match, Hart attacks Shirakawa from behind. Shirakawa fights back and locks in a Figure Four submission. Skye Blue runs down and saves Hart. Blue lays in right hands on Shirakawa. Storm enters the ring and pulls Blue off of Shirakawa. Storm then clocks Hart. Shirakawa follows up with a back fist to Hart. Shirakawa holds up the AEW Women’s Championship. She and Storm then fight over it. Shirakawa drops Storm then wraps her leg around the ring post. Shirakawa locks in the Figure Four before referees prompt her to release it.
Backstage, Samoa Joe and Powerhouse Hobbs attack Maty and Nick Jackson. The Death Riders fight back, but Strickland and Omega even the odds. The two sides brawl. Omega chokes Nick against the ropes with a chain. Strickland and Moxley fight on the outside. Matt and Nick level Omega with the EVP Trigger. Omega pushes Matt into Nick. Hobbs slams a chair over Claudio’s back. Nightingale punches Shafir. Omega and Strickland hit a House Call and V-Trigger on Matt and Nick. Gabe Kidd strikes Joe with the briefcase from behind. Matt and Nick send Strickland and Omega crashing through tables.