By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 242)
Bakersfield, California at Mechanics Bank Arena
Aired live May 22, 2024 on TBS
[Hour One] Dynamite opened with a video that combined AEW and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga footage… Excalibur, Taz, and Tony Schiavone were on commentary, and Justin Roberts was the ring announcer… Entrances for the opening match took place…
1. Will Ospreay and Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta and Roderick Strong (w/Matt Taven, Mike Bennett). Don Callis sat in on commentary and said Cassidy checks all the boxes to be a member of the Don Callis Family. Graphics for the upcoming matches and segments were displayed in a lower corner of the screen. The heel duo got the better of Ospreay and Cassidy heading into a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Cassidy dropped Beretta with a DDT and followed up with another on Strong. Cassidy covered Strong, but Beretta pushed Ospreay into them to break up the pin. A “this is awesome” chant broke out. Taven and Bennett bickered with the referee, which allowed Callis to stand up and grabbed Cassidy’s leg to stop Strong from hitting his finisher.
Cassidy hit Stundog Millionaire on Strong and then Ospreay followed up with an OsCutter. Strong grabbed the referee while Taven and Bennett ran in. Ospreay cleared Taven and Bennett from the ring and then hit them with a flip dive.
Wardlow ran out and clotheslined Ospreay from behind on the entrance ramp. In the ring, Strong avoided a Superman Punch from Cassidy, who was hit by a Beretta knee strike. Strong performed his backbreaker finisher on Cassidy and then pinned him.
Trent Beretta and Roderick Strong defeated Will Ospreay and Orange Cassidy in 13:00.
After the match, Taven and Bennett held Ospreay while Strong hit him with the AEW International Title belt. Ospreay bled from the forehead. Meanwhile, Beretta put Cassidy in a submission hold at ringside. Strong jawed at Ospreay and then hit him with a backbreaker and left him lying…
Powell’s POV: A well worked opening match that put heat on the heels heading into the two singles matches involving these four wrestlers.
Backstage, “The Young Bucks” Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson stood with security guards and handed them pages with Darby Allin’s photo that said he was not allowed in the building. After the security guards left, Sonjay Dutt showed up and said Satnam Singh would destroy Bryan Danielson. Matthew said it’s cool if Singh beats Danielson, but he implied it would be better if he hurt Danielson. Dutt said as long as the money was in the envelope…
Excalibur said Darby Allin is in the show’s host city even though he’s banned from the building…
Bullet Club Gold members Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn made their entrance for an in-ring promo. White boasted about the group holding the Unified Trios Titles. White listed the ways that Pac crossed them and said they gave him exactly what he asked for when he said he wanted to feel.
Pac appeared on the big screen and said Bullet Club Gold warmed him up a little bit. Pac said he provoked them, but three-on-one isn’t exactly fair. Pac said he wanted to introduce them to his amigos.
“Death Triangle” Pac, Penta El Zero Miedo, and Rey Fenix appeared on the stage along with Alex Abrahantes. The wrestlers headed to the ring and fought with Bullet Club Gold. The Death Triangle trio cleared White and the Gunns from the ring. Pac challenged Bullet Club Gold to put their titles on the line at AEW Double Or Nothing…
Excalibur hyped the three-way match for a shot at the FTW Title for after the break.. [C] Excalibur plugged the movie sponsor and then Chris Jericho and Big Bill made their entrance followed by the entrants in the next match…
2. Hook vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bryan Keith for a shot at the FTW Title at AEW Double Or Nothing. Chris Jericho sat in on commentary for the match. All three wrestlers were down heading into an early PIP break. [C] Late in the match, Shibata put Keith in a leg lock submission hold while Hook applied Redrum. Keith tapped out and both Hook and Shibata were named the winners.
Hook and Katsuyori Shibata defeated Bryan Keith via simultaneous submission in 6:30.
After the match, Jericho said the double submission finish would make his job a little harder, but que sira sira. He said he was proud of Hook and Shibata. Jericho said they would have the first ever three-way for the FTW Title. Jericho said he wouldn’t lose to anyone ever. Schiavone said Tony Khan texted him to make the match official…
Powell’s POV: It’s good to know that Tony Khan’s character has recovered from his neck injury enough that he’s now able to text. I can only assume that he couldn’t text before because he allowed the Young Bucks to run the show for weeks after they cut his video feed. It was obvious that Keith was in the match to lose, but the double submission finish was weak. There was a similar finish on NXT last night and they both felt contrived. I’m still not sure what to make of Jericho. While his character comes off as insincere, he never cracks and shows that he’s a phony. In this case, he showed no sign of being bothered by having to defend the title against two men, which one would expect a character like his to do.
A video package aired on Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Mone… [C] An ad aired with the Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada for the new Bucks’ Reebok shoes…
A brief video aired with Jon Moxley talking about facing Konosuke Takeshita at Double Or Nothing… Takeshita and Callis made their entrance while Matt Sydal was already inside the ring…
3. Konosuke Takeshita (w/Don Callis) vs. Matt Sydal. Callis stood at ringside rather than sitting in on commentary again. Sydal caught Takeshita with a kick and a DDT, but Takeshita came right back with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Callis told Takeshita to end the match. Takeshita dropped Sydal with a forearm strike and then pinned him…
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Matt Sydal in 2:00.
After the match, Takeshita offered Sydal his hand, which Sydal accepted. Takeshita pulled Sydal into a suplex and then put the boots to him.
Jon Moxley’s entrance music played. The IWGP Heavyweight Champion showed up next to the broadcast table and entered the ring with a microphone. Moxley knocked Takeshita down with a microphone, then told him that he would see him at Double Or Nothing…
Powell’s POV: A good spotlight match for Takeshita, but whatever good was done was erased when Moxley punked him with the microphone shot. Perhaps this means Takeshita is going to win the eliminator match on Sunday?
The Young Bucks walked through the backstage area and handed out their Darby Allin fliers. They came across Swerve Strickland, who crumpled up a flier and told them to hit his music because he was up next. Swerve made his entrance and had a bandaid over his right eyebrow. Schiavone said Swerve needed four stitches as a result of Nick Wayne hitting him with a framed photo last week (they also showed the footage). Wayne made his entrance wearing a “Christian Is My Father” t-shirt…
4. AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland vs. Nick Wayne in a non-title match. Wayne was not accompanied by his usual allies.
[Hour Two] Swerve removed his belt and whipped Wayne with it at ringside. The crowd chanted “one more time” and then Swerve obliged. Wayne came back with a nice DDT on the floor heading into a PIP break. [C]
With Wayne on the floor, Swerve jumped from the apron and hit him with a double stomp. Back in the ring, Swerve went for a top rope double stomp, but Wayne kicked him and then rolled him up for a two count. Wayne dodged a charging Swerve in the corner and then rolled him up and used the ropes for leverage while getting a two count.
Wayne hit a Code Red for another two count. Swerve rallied with a powerslam. Swerve held Wayne’s head and told him he was sorry before hitting him with a House Call kick and pinning him.
AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland defeated Nick Wayne in 8:55 non-title match.
After the match, Killswitch attacked Swerve from behind and then Christian Cage entered the ring while Shayna Wayne checked on her son from the floor. Swerve cleared Killswitch from the ring and then chased Christian to ringside. Swerve hit Killswitch with a House Call kick and chased Christian backstage.
The camera followed Christian as he exited the building. Christian pulled a man out of the driver’s seat of an SUV. A cocky Christian waved goodbye to Swerve and tried to make his exit, but another SUV driven by Prince Nana blocked his path.
Swerve pulled Christian out of the vehicle and worked him over. Christian climbed on top of the SUV and then Swerve joined him and DDT’d him. Nana handed a chair to Swerve. Christian avoided having the chair slammed on his head… [C]
Powell’s POV: A good segment with Swerve getting a measure of revenge on Christian while still saving plenty for the pay-per-view. It feels like Nick Wayne’s character should be more of a chickenshit heel than he is given his look, his role with Christian, and with his mother being part of his act.
Malakai Black made his entrance. Kyle O’Reilly’s entrance followed to a flat crowd response…
5. Malakai Black vs. Kyle O’Reilly. Black caught O’Reilly going for a kick and then hit him with a knee strike to the head that sent O’Reilly to the floor going into a PIP break. [C] O’Reilly performed a German suplex and then followed up with a rolling elbow strike that led to a two count. There were “this is awesome” chants.
O’Reilly went for a crossarm breaker that Black blocked, leading O’Reilly to transition into an ankle lock. Black came back with a brainbuster for a close near fall. The wrestlers traded strikes and then Black dropped O’Reilly with a spin kick and pinned him.
Malakai Black defeated Kyle O’Reilly in 10:15.
As Black stood in the ring, red lighting flickered and there was synth music. The lights returned to normal and then Black was hit with a bloodbath from above.
Adam Copeland was shown dressed in black on the big screen. Copeland smiled and told Black to be careful what he wishes for. Copeland laughed and told Black that he would see him soon. Excalibur said it looked like there was a crime scene inside the ring…
Powell’s POV: A good match, though it’s an odd choice to have Black work such a competitive match heading into a barbed wire cage match. I’m surprised they didn’t have him work with someone he could destroy in quick and violent fashion. The bloodbath added to this oddly being a rare go-home week show that is making the babyfaces look strong as opposed to the traditional approach of putting heat on the heels.
A video package recapped The Elite roughing up FTR on AEW Collision, followed by Bryan Danielson saying FTR would not be able to appear on tonight’s Dynamite… Excalibur ran through the Double Or Nothing lineup…
Powell’s POV: A well paced run through of the pay-per-view matches as opposed to Excalibur being forced to go into auctioneer mode.
Excalibur narrated highlights from Collision of the segment involving Toni Storm and Serena Deeb…
AEW Women’s Champion Toni Storm and Mariah May made their entrance with Luther. Storm was wrapped in the flag she took from Serena Deeb on Collision, but she had her gear on underneath. Saraya and Harley Cameron made their entrance with Zak Knight…
6. Toni Storm and Mariah May (w/Luther) vs. Saraya and Harley Cameron (w/Zak Knight). Luther played cheerleader by banging on the mat early on. After the initial exchange involving May and Cameron, Saraya tagged in and called for Storm to do the same.
Storm got the better of Saraya and then tagged in May. Storm picked up her partner and slammed her on top of Saraya. Storm tagged in again and May was unable to slam her, so Storm slammed May onto Saraya, then covered Saraya for a two count.
May hit Saraya with a knee strike. Referee Aubrey Edwards checked on Saraya, then acted like she couldn’t hear commotion about a foot behind her when Cameron ran in and attacked Storm. Saraya headbutted May before a PIP break. [C]
Excalibur announced that there will be a Casino Gauntlet match to determine who will challenge the AEW World Champion at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
A “this is awesome” chant broke out while all four wrestlers were in the ring. Saraya and Cameron performed sunset bombs from the ropes, which led to Cameron getting a two count on Storm. Moments later, Storm and May both caught Saraya and Cameron by the leg. They both released their legs and kissed them.
Storm hit Storm Zero on Saraya, who rolled to the floor. May hit a May Day on Cameron. Storm followed up with Storm Zero on Cameron and then pinned her…
Toni Storm and Mariah May beat Saraya and Harley Cameron in 9:10.
After the match, May and Luther held Deeb’s flag in front of Storm, who acted like she was going to undo her top. Deeb entered the ring and hit Luther and May with a chair. Deeb put Storm down with a headbutt. The crowd booed. Deeb pulled a high heel out of her jacket pocket and slammed it over Storm’s head. Deeb sat on a chair that was placed over Storm and then put her in a half crab. Storm tapped while referees jawed at Deeb, who eventually released the hold and headed to the back with her flag…
Powell’s POV: The crowd was into the action and Storm and May worked as babyfaces during the match, while Deeb was the heel in the post match angle. It’s a quick change from Deeb telling her sympathetic story about suffering seizures recently, but it’s the right move because Deeb wasn’t connecting as a babyface and the fans cheer Storm. By the way, kudos to the ring crew for cleaning up the bloodbath mess quickly. Perhaps that explains why Excalibur didn’t have to speed read while running through the pay-per-view card earlier.
Backstage, Jay White, Austin Gunn, and Colten Gunn spoke on the interview set. Colten said that if Death Triangle wants a title shot, they have to earn it. Colten spoke about facing the Lucha Bros…
Excalibur announced Bullet Club Gold vs. Death Triangle for Double Or Nothing. He said the match was non-title now, but that may change before Sunday night…
Entrances for the main event took place…
7. Bryan Danielson vs. Satnam Singh (w/Jeff Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal). Singh was dominant to start. Dutt tried to remove the top piece of the broadcast table, but he made the entire table collapse. The crowd chanted “you f—ed up” while Singh walked over with the intention of chokeslamming Danielson. Oops.
A short time later, Danielson hit Singh with a running knee strike. He backed up and went for another, but Singh grabbed him by the throat. Danielson fought free and threw a series of kicks at Danielson. Singh called for more and then chopped Danielson’s chest.
Singh hoisted up Danielson, who hit him with elbow strikes to the head, which put him down on the mat. Danielson applied a LeBell Lock. Lethal and Jarrett attacked Danielson for the disqualification finish.
Bryan Danielson defeated Satnam Singh by DQ in 5:00.
The broadcast team explained that it wasn’t about winning for Singh, it was about him and his crew cashing in on the bounty that The Elite put on Danielson’ head. Danielson got the better of Jarrett and Lethal. Dutt hit Danielson from behind. Danielson tried to hit Dutt with Jarrett’s guitar, but Dutt moved and then Singh punched the guitar. The heels worked over Danielson.
[Overrun] “The Young Bucks” Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson made their entrance and brought an envelope filled with cash for the other heels, who then left the ring. The Bucks set up for a TK Driver, but Danielson moved and pulled their knees together.
Kazuchika Okada’s entrance grabbed the attention of Danielson. Jack Perry entered the ring behind Danielson and attacked him. Okada entered the ring and hit Danielson with a Rainmaker clothesline. The Bucks brought Danielson to the stage. Okada pulled a covering off a table below the stage.
The big screen showed a car arriving at the building. Darby Allin exited the vehicle and bumped fists with driver Tony Khan. Allin had what looked like a gun at first glance. Allin entered the building and walked onto the stage with the weapon, which turned out to be a flamethrower. The Elite backed away. Danielson tossed Nicholas off the stage and through the table below. Schiavone said the ban on Allin was lifted by Tony Khan. Allin and Danielson played to the crowd on the stage to wrap up the show…
Powell’s POV: Say what you will about Allin showing up at the venue with a flamethrower, but it’s the first time I actually understood when wrestlers didn’t follow through with a planned attack because of something they saw on the big screen. The live crowd ate it up. I guess this means Allin is good to go for Sunday.
Overall, a focused show that delivered quality hype for various pay-per-view matches. This was a busy show, but I’ll take it after sitting through a bunch of predictable matches and little more during Saturday’s three-hour block of Collision and Rampage. Speaking of those weekend shows, there was an ad for Collision, but they didn’t do anything else to promote those shows unless I missed something. I will be back later tonight with my weekly same night audio review of Dynamite for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of Dynamite by grading the show below.
Join me for my live review of AEW Double Or Nothing on Sunday.
For a company thats supposed to be “anti-wwe”….they sure do enjoy doing WWE type things.
I’m sure the 700000 or less who watched this fiasco loved it. The snowman is desperate. Real sports feel my ass
Appreciate your style of live review. Pretty much just read these instead of watching the shows. You keep it close to fact with opinion kept to a minimum. Usually can’t tell how bad or good something is so i still get a surprise when i do hunt down certain clips. Thanks Jason.
Thank you, Chris. I appreciate the kind words.
2300 people isn’t a crowd.
The same people chanting are the ones who already bought the PPV and that number keeps dwindling.
The owner of the company just drove someone to the show with a flamethrower.
I really do hope WBD tells these idiots to take a hike.
I don’t watch aew because it’s not really my thing, but their existence is good for the industry. You’ve been asked this a hundred times by now, but why watch something that you so clearly hate? No one has a gun to your head. Go do something better with your time.
But that’s just it. I don’t think these people have anything better to do with their time
If WBD told AEW to take a hike, what would you do on Wednesdays? Take out your anger and frustration on the kids in your trailer park?
Last night was the first time in a month I caught any of the show live, and it was just the last 10 minutes. Like everyone else on Earth, I rarely watch at all other than some “highlight” clips.
Gee, imagine seeing you here, making negative comments after clicking on a link about a product you don’t like.
You get more and more hilarious per your total lack of a life every week! Thanks!
It’s almost like being a daily visitor of a website for over a decade that you constantly bitch about.
Didn’t AEW just have a storyline where a bounty was on someone’s head, but they still worked 5 minute matches, rather than destroy the person?
Ospreay is with Callous, who never accompanies him to the ring, or do interviews with him, or is seen with the rest of the group?
?
Callous as a deranged manager acting like he signed Ospreay makes more sense.
They needed a talking segment angle to balance out the endless beatdowns. The table issue was beyond bush league.
Another “AEW results” column where any postive comment about a match HAS to include something with a negative slant.
But we are imagining that….
No, you are ignoring that I do the same for WWWE and TNA. If you’re unsatisfied, please find another website, Angry Mike. But at least you post here and stopped sending me and the staff your psycho wrestling manifesto emails.