This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite emanates from Fresno, California! We break it all down in this week’s Dynamite recap.
Will Ospreay vs. Blake Christian
Ospreay and Blake lock up. Blake runs over Ospreay with a shoulder tackle, but Ospreay jumps right back up. Ospreay delivers a nasty chop to Blake. He follows with a hurricanrana. Blake answers with a splash on the floor. Ospreay connects with a high boot and leap to the floor. Blake dumps Ospreay over the barricade. Ospreay fires back with a right hand and leaping elbow. Blake spikes Ospreay with a DDT. Ospreay and Blake trade strikes. Blake spikes Ospreay with another DDT on the floor before hitting a 450 Splash. Blake follows with a cutter for a near fall.
Blake lines up for a Hidden Blade, but Ospreay sees it coming. Ospreay hits his Hidden Blade for the twin.
Winner: Will Ospreay
After the match, Ospreay says he doesn’t need a weapon to snatch someone’s neck. He can do it with his bare hands. The Death Riders’ music hits. Jon Moxley appears in the crowd. Ospreay ignites a brawl with Moxley that trails into the ring. Pac charges to the ring and knocks Ospreay down with a boot. Pac cinches in the Brutalizer on Ospreay. AEW officials rip Pac off of Ospreay. Ospreay eventually recovers and brawls with Pac into the backstage area.
Juice Robinson & Ace Austin vs. Death Riders (Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta)
Juice splashes Yuta in the corner, then lays in right hands. Ace follows with more right hands. Ace and Juice deliver a hip toss to Yuta. Juice follows with a senton. Yuta gouges Juice’s eyes, then tags in Moxley. Moxley and Juice trade chops. Ace dropkicks Moxley, then rocks Yuta with a knee strike. Ace wipes out Moxley with a dive to the outside. Yuta rams Ace into the steel steps.
Back from break, Juice nails Yuta with a forearm, strike, then a powerbomb for a near fall. Ace tags in and descends off the top rope. Yuta sees him coming and gets his knees up. Moxley tags in and eats a knee from Ace. Yuta levels Ace with a running knee. Moxley plants Juice with a cutter. Yuta wipes him out with a dive through the ropes next. Moxley hits the Death Rider on Ace for the win.
Winners: Death Riders
Coffin Match: Gabe Kidd vs. Darby Allin
Allin wheels Kidd out to the ring as he lay on top of a road case. Allin then sits a motionless Kidd on a chair and straps him into a straight jacket. Kidd nails Allin with a low blow, then rams him into the steel steps. Kidd bites Allin’s forehead. Kidd slams the coffin lid onto Allin’s hand.
Back from break, Allin delivers a pair of Coffin Drops. He drags Kidd across the ring, then sweeps Kidd off his feet. Allin dives through the ropes, causing Kidd to fall back into the coffin, with the lid closing at the same time.
Winner: Darby Allin
After the match, Allin says he’s coming for AEW World Champion MJF.
We Hear From Swerve Strickland
Prince Nana introduces Swerve Strickland. Strickland sits in a chair inside the ring, equip with a microphone. Strickland says he and Brody King went to war at Revolution. Strickland adds that the only true way there is a war is with power. Strickland says he wasn’t satisfied in his win because the power in AEW still lies elsewhere. He says sometimes power is more important than championships.
Strickland says he’s dealt with power in other promotions before. He recalls The Young Bucks interfering in his world title match last year. Without it, he believes he’d be a two-time world champ. Strickland says he is number one contender now, but asks what it means without power to protect that position. Strickland claims that Kenny Omega doesn’t have leverage in this situation, so it doesn’t make sense for Strickland to beat him again. Strickland says he is interested in Omega’s power, though. Strickland wants Omega’s power and promises to block out anyone else that thinks they can get it. Strickland agrees to a rematch with Omega, but only if Omega puts his EVP status on the line.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Mark Davis
Bailey blasts Davis with a high kick, then a series of kicks in the corner. Davis answers with a shoulder tackle and slam. He follows with a senton, then knocks down Bailey with a chop. Bailey delivers a dropkick. He lands a running shooting star press for a one count. He then wipes out Davis with a triangle moonsault to the floor.
Back from break, Davis runs over Bailey with a lariat. He drops Bailey with a piledriver for a near fall. Davis kicks Bailey. Bailey reverses a piledriver into a roll-up for a two count. Bailey lands a pair of jumping knees to Davis’ mid-section. Bailey follows with a spinning heel kick and Ultima Weapon for the win.
Winner: Mike Bailey
Backstage, Toni Storm is attacked by Marina Shafir. Mina Shirakawa steps up in Storm’s place to face Shafir.
No Holds Barred: Mina Shirakawa vs. Marina Shafir
Shirakawa heads to the ring a barbed wire bat. She swings it at Shafir, but Shafir ducks. Shafir slams Shirakawa to the mat. Shirakawa dropkicks Shafir, then lands a running knee strike. Shirakawa fires off kicks to Shafir’s back. Shirakawa retrieves a bucket of champagne. Shafir slams Shirakawa to the mat again.
Back from break, Shirakawa slaps Shafir, then dropkicks her. Shirakawa grabs a chair, but Shafir kicks it away. Shirakawa plants Shafir on the chair with a hurricanrana. Shirakawa goes up top and descends with a missile dropkick. Shirakawa slams the chair over Shafir’s back. Shirakawa leaps off the top rope with a sling blade for a near fall. Shafir cinches in the Mother’s Milk. Shirakawa escapes, only to get nailed by Shafir’s heel. Shafir retrieves a table and sets it up. Shafir slams Shirakawa through the table. The action returns to the ring, with Shirakawa grabbing a champagne bottle. She cracks it over Shafir’s head, then lands a spinning back fist. Shirakawa follows with a Storm Zero for the win.
Winner: Mina Shirakawa
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) and Jack Perry vs. Don Callis Family (Kazuchika Okada, Trent Beretta, & Rocky Romero)
Okada and Perry lock up. Perry takes down Okada with a hurricanrana and dropkick. Matt and Nick pull Beretta and Romero to the outside. They and Perry fire off strikes on Okada. Matt and Nick deliver a sunset flip-German suplex combo on Beretta. Perry wipes out all three opponents with a moonsault to the floor.
Back from break, Romero and Beretta drop Matt with a jumping knee-driver combo. Perry breaks up the pinfall attempt that follows. DCF prepare to piledrive Matt, Nick, and Perry, but instead get bitten in the bits. Nick and Matt blast Okada with superkicks. They follow with a triple superkick to Romero. Matt and Nick blast Romero with a BTE Trigger. Perry charges in with a running knee for the win.
Winners: Jack Perry & The Young Bucks
After the match, Nick and Matt grab mics. Nick says he and Matt blew their tag title opportunity at Revolution. Nick admits that FTR were the better team then. Matt says he couldn’t look at anyone after because he was embarrassed. Matt then recalls his father cheering them up. Matt says he and Nick know who they are, and if it means working their way back to the top, there won’t be a team that can’t stop them. Adam Copeland and Christian Cage meet them in the ring.
Copeland says they respect Matt and Nick. He praises their match against FTR. Copeland says he can relate to Matt and Nick too because FTR also attacked his family, Beth Phoenix. Copeland says he realized that he needed to get back to AEW to rectify the situation. Copeland wants to take the thing most important to FTR, the AEW Tag Team Championships. Copeland reveals that he and Cage will challenge FTR at AEW Dynasty. Cage says the situation is personal for him too because winning the titles means more money and proving that they are the best tag team. FTR come out to the stage with Stokely Hathaway. FTR head to the ring, only to get superkicked and speared. Cage also nails Cash Wheeler with a low blow. Matt and Nick leave the ring while Copeland and Cage hold the tag titles.