By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW Dynamite (Episode 246)
Fairfax, Virginia at EagleBank Arena
Aired live June 19, 2024 on TBS
[Hour One] MJF made his entrance while the broadcast team of Excalibur, Taz, and Tony Schiavone checked in on commentary. Ring announcer Justin Roberts delivered the introductions for the opening match. Rush made his entrance…
1. MJF vs. Rush. The match was billed as airing without commercial breaks. Both men met in the middle of the ring and traded forearm and elbow strikes. MJF held the ropes when Rush dropped down. MJF strutted over Rush, then turned around and ate a chop. MJF spat on his hand and returned the favor.
Rush put his arms behind his back. MJF wound up and played to the crowd, then poked Rush’s eyes. Rush dropped MJF with a headbutt and then put the boots to him. MJF bled from the mouth. Rush backdropped MJF. When he went for another, MJF used a sunset flip to get a near fall. When both men stood up, Rush blasted MJF and knocked him down.
An “MJF” chant broke out. Rush teased hitting his finisher and then stopped and struck a pose. MJF shot up and jumped on Rush and threw punches at him. Rush got up and double stomped MJF’s abdomen. Rush shot MJF into the ropes and hit him with a German Suplex and a knee strike, which led to a two count.
Rush went for Bull’s Horns, but MJF moved out of the corner. MJF and Rush traded two counts and then MJF executed a hammerlock DDT for a near fall. Rush stuffed a piledriver, but MJF hit the move on the second try and had Rush pinned, but Rush grabbed the hand of referee Paul Turner to prevent him from making the third count.
MJF charged Rush, who performed an overhead belly-to-belly suplex into a corner of the ring. There were dueling chants for both wrestlers. MJF went for a punch off the middle rope, but he slipped and Rush punched him in midair. Rush used a piledriver to get a near fall.
Rush waited for MJF to stand up and then knocked him to ringside with a punch. Rush followed to the floor and ran MJF into the barricade four times. Rush slammed the back of MJF’s head into the barricade and then threw punches at him. Rush looked into a camera and said, “This is your guy?”
Rush pulled a chair out from underneath the ring. The referee warned him against using it, so he tossed the chair inside the ring. The referee cleared the chair from the ring while Rush pulled a cable out from underneath the ring and whipped MJ with it. Rush grabbed a fan sign and tore it to pieces.
MJF was seated on a chair against the barricade. Rush charged and was tripped face first onto the chair. MJF got Rush on the apron and set up for a move, but Rush stuffed it and ended up performing an overhead belly-to-belly suplex from the apron to the floor. Taz said it was a brutal landing that MJF will be feeling in twenty years.
Back inside the ring, Rush set up for his finisher, but MJF stood up and clotheslined him. MJF ducked a clothesline and put Rush down with a spinebuster. MJF slammed Rush’s head on the top turnbuckle and then threw ten punches at him while the fans counted along.
MJF bit the forehead of Rush. MJF hit the Heat Seeker Piledriver and then followed up with a brainbuster and scored the pin…
MJF defeated Rush in 14:20.
After the match, Brian Cage, Toa Liona, Bishop Kaun, and Hechicero appeared on the big screen. Cage said MJF would face Hechicero at Forbidden Door. Hechicero delivered a promo in Spanish and then Liona yelled into the camera. Excalibur said the match would not be official until Christopher Daniels and/or Tony Khan sign off on it…
Powell’s POV: A strong opening match. I thought there was a chance this would be more of an angle than a match or the finish would create the need for a rematch. Rather, MJF went over strong and decisively following a good back and forth battle. Hechicero had a gem of a match with Danielson and will likely have another good one with MJF, but it’s hard to be excited about the match for any other reason than quality given that Hechicero doesn’t feel like he’s on MJF’s level in AEW.
Highlights aired of Jack Perry beating Dustin Rhodes to qualify for the ladder match for the vacant TNT Title at Forbidden Door… Excalibur hyped the eight-man tag match for later in the show…
Renee Paquette interviewed Mark Briscoe, Orange Cassidy, Kyle O’Reilly, and Dante Martin in the backstage area. Briscoe recalled delivering a promo last week and then losing a match. He said the word of the day is vengeance, then he said the word of the day is redemption. Jack Perry walked onto the set, looked at the babyfaces, and walked away. Cassidy gave Paquette a bracelet from his wrist.. [C]
Will Ospreay made his entrance. AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland and a dancing Prince Nana made their entrance and joined Ospreay inside the ring. Ospreay recalled snatching Swerve’s title belt the last time they were in the ring together.
Ospreay also recalled Swerve saying he can’t carry the weight of both worlds. Ospreay said he’s the same man who held three different championships from three different continents at the same time. Ospreay said Swerve will find out that he’s the best wrestler in the world.
Swerve boasted that he is the best wrestler in the world. Swerve said he and Ospreay took different career paths over the last five years and now they will meet in the Forbidden Door main event. Swerve recalled how Ospreay beat Kenny Omega, then asked if he would call Don Callis. Ospreay said he didn’t need Callis or the Don Callis Family.
Don Callis, Trent Beretta, Konosuke Takeshita, and Kyle Fletcher were shown watching on a backstage television and looked upset by Opsreay’s comment. Ospreay asked Swerve what would happen if the kill shot he promised everyone was centimeters off. Ospreay spoke about the various moves he could use to beat Swerve and said that Swerve would wake up the next morning without the AEW World Championship.
Ospreay said if he uses the Tiger Driver 91, Swerve won’t leave the building alive and told him to be thankful. Swerve mocked Ospreay for doing online videos in which he danced with Shota Umino and Mercedes Mone. Swerve said he has no friends. He asked who Ospreay will be if he breaks his leg or whether the people will still love him if the breaks his arm.
Swerve said that Ospreay could do the same to him, but he’d still be the mogul and spoke about being a businessman, a podcaster and an actor. Swerve said the business will consume Ospreay. Swerve told Ospreay that he has to sacrifice and then sacrifice more to get where he’s at. Swerve said Ospreay would have to sacrifice the love of his wife and son. Swerve said he didn’t think Ospreay was ready to do that.
Ospreay told Swerve not to mention his son again. Ospreay told Swerve not to make it personal. Nana stepped in and said this wasn’t the place or time. He told them both to save everything they have for when they meet for the AEW World Championship at Forbidden Door. Nana asked the crowd whose house. “My house,” Ospreay said before leaving the ring.
Swerve called for Ospreay’s music to stop and then asked him what would happen if he wanted to make it personal. Swerve told Ospreay to give his love to Al and Harry (Ospreay’s wife and son). Ospreay rushed back into the ring and went face to face with Swerve. Both men jawed at one another and then Swerve’s entrance theme played…
Powell’s POV: Yes, please do make it personal. This was a good verbal exchange that left me even more excited about their match than I was going in. I sure hope they are not foreshadowing a bad finish involving Callis Family interference.
Backstage, Don Callis told Trent Beretta, Konosuke Takeshita, and Kyle Fletcher not to worry because he knows Ospreay better than he knows himself. Beretta and Takeshita walked away with Callis while Fletcher stayed on the set for a couple extra seconds… [C]
Entrances for the “all-star eight-man tag” match took place…
2. Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Orange Cassidy, and Dante Martin vs. Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, Zack Sabre Jr., and Roderick Strong (w/Matt Taven, Mike Bennett). Excalibur noted that Don Callis was conspicuous by his absence. Cassidy and Sabre were going to start, but they were cut off by Fletcher and Briscoe. Fletcher sent Briscoe to the floor and hit him with a suicide dive. O’Reilly hit Fletcher with a flying knee from the apron. O’Reilly put Strong in a kneebar over the middle rope.
Briscoe set up a chair and ran the ropes, but Takeshita cut him off with a big boot. Sabre put Martin a hold over the ropes. Briscoe launched off the chair onto Fletcher on the floor. Martin sent Takeshita to ringside with a huracanrana and then performed a double jump into a springboard Swanton onto his opponents on the floor heading into a picture-in-picture break. [C]
Strong and Takeshita traded shoves after Strong tagged himself into the match. O’Reilly threw kicks at both men. Bennett grabbed the leg of O’Reilly while the referee was distracted, allowing Strong to perform a backbreaker on O’Reilly. A short time later, Takeshita performed a powerbomb on Martin off the middle rope and had him beat, but the pin was broken up. A “this is awesome” chant broke out heading into another PIP break. [C]
Briscoe put Takeshita down with a Death Valley Driver. Briscoe’s teammates all took turns hitting top rope moves on Takeshita. Cassidy had Takeshita beat, but Fletcher broke up the pin. Takeshita came back with a big boot on Cassidy in the heel corner. Sabre tagged in and went for joint manipulation, but Briscoe suplexed him.
After a series of rapid fire spots, Cassidy hit Takeshita with Stundog Millionaire. O’Reilly hit Takeshita with strikes and then Martin followed up with a top rope move. Briscoe hit Takeshita with a Blockbuster from the apron to the floor. In the ring, Sabre stuffed a Stundog Millionaire and rolled into his European Clutch that was broken up.
Strong set up Cassidy for a running knee, but O’Reilly shoved Cassidy out of the way and took the knee for the team. Cassidy hit Strong with the Orange Punch and then pinned him…
Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Orange Cassidy, and Dante Martin defeated Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita, Zack Sabre Jr., and Roderick Strong in 16:40.
After the match, Martin went to the stage and was hit from behind by Jack Perry, who headed to the back when Briscoe ran to the stage. Takeshita hit Briscoe from behind and they fought to the back. Cassidy and Sabre went face-to-face inside the ring. Cassidy put his hands in his pockets while Sabre exited the ring…
Powell’s POV: A crowd pleasing eight-man spot-fest that previewed some upcoming matches.
[Hour Two] A Mercedes Mone video package aired. She thanked Stephanie Vaquer for sending her buddy Xeuxis to warm her up. Mone capped off the video for saying there’s a price to pay when you mess with her…
Rush was shown upset inside his locker room. Don Calls entered the room and spoke to Rush in Spanish about an opportunity…
Entrances aired for the eliminator tag team match. Roberts delivered an over the top introductions for The Young Bucks. Max Caster rapped while he and Anthony Bowens headed to the ring. Caster’s mic was cut before he could say much.
Kazuchika Okada was shown on the big screen. Okada said he hit the wrong button and was so sorry. The Bucks went to ringside and fought with Caster and Bowens before the bell…
3. AEW Tag Team Champions “The Young Bucks” Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson vs. “The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens in an eliminator match. The match started once a member from each team was inside the ring. Caster and Bowens hit Scissor Me Timbers on Nicholas.
A short time later, Caster went for a corner splash on Matthew, who moved, causing Caster to tumble to ringside where Nicholas worked him over heading into a PIP break. [C] Bowens took a hot tag coming out of the break while the broadcast team pointed out that his left quad was wrapped. Bowens sold the bad leg after performing a move. Matthew drilled Bowens with a superkick and covered him for a two count.
The Bucks isolated Bowens and set him up for the EVP Trigger, but he blocked the move by catching both of their legs. Bowens threw shots at both opponents, but Nicholas caught him with a kick. The Bucks pumped up their shoes and then hit Bowens with a double superkick. Matthew went for the pin, but Caster broke it up.
Nicholas went up top. Bowens shoved Matthew into the corner, which knocked Nicholas down. Matthew low blowed Bowens. The Bucks hit Bowens with an EVP Trigger and had him beat, but Caster broke up the pin. Nicholas dove onto Caster at ringside and tossed him over the barricade.
The Bucks performed a Blockbuster and powerbomb combo move on Bowens, who kicked out when Nicholas went for the pin. Matthew got one of the tag title belts and went to hit Bowens, who ducked. Matthew stopped short of hitting the referee. Bowens cleared Nicholas from the ring and hit The Arrival on Matthew. Caster followed with a top rope elbow drop and then Bowens pinned Matthew.
“The Acclaimed” Max Caster and Anthony Bowens defeated AEW Tag Team Champions “The Young Bucks” Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson in 10:20 in an eliminator match.
Billy Gunn ran out afterward to celebrate with The Acclaimed…
Powell’s POV: After all the predictable eliminator matches we’ve seen over the years with champions retaining, the champions finally lost an eliminator match and yet somehow also felt predictable. I was hoping that the absence of Billy Gunn during the match meant that The Acclaimed were moving on from him but no such luck.
Samoa Joe and Hook spoke about living in New York. Joe said he wouldn’t talk about having the best anything New York because then everyone wants to live there and it drives up the rent. Joe and Hook entered The Premier Athletes were ready to attack, but no one was inside the room.
Joe found a note from Mark Sterling that said he expected this type of barbarism from them. Sterling’s note included a challenge for Joe and Hook to face his associates in a three-on-three match. Katsuyori Shibata was apparently holding the camera, as his phone translator could be heard saying he would “smash these goofy bitches”…
Mariah May hosted the AEW Women’s Championship match contract signing in the middle of the ring. Mina Shirakawa was introduced first. May introduced Toni Storm, who made her entrance with Luther. May said it’s been difficult for her and she knows they need to find out who the better woman is. May said she loves them both.
Shirakawa took the mic from May and told her to shut up. Shirakawa said Storm became soft and weak since becoming a star in AEW. Shirakawa said everyone wants her and nobody wants Storm. Shirakawa said she would take Storm’s title and her girl. Shirakawa signed the contract.
Storm told Shirakawa that if she raised her voice to May again, she would “slap your bloody tits off, love,” Storm told Shirakawa the buffet is wide open so she should grab a bowl and line up. Storm delivered her tits out catchphrase and then signed the contract. May said the match was official. Shirakawa took the mic and told May she must choose between her and Storm.
Saraya interrupted over the house mic and headed to the ring with Harley Cameron. Saraya said she didn’t come alone. Anna Jay appeared at ringside and pulled Shirakawa to floor before running her into the ring post. Cameron and Jay set up the contract signing table in the corner.
Saraya set up for a move on May, but Storm returned and attacked the heels with her shoe. Storm suplexed Saraya. Storm went for a hip attack on Saraya, who rolled out of the ring, causing Storm to crash through the table. May and Shirakawa were shown watching from the stage… [C]
A video package aired on Claudio Castagnoli vs. Pac with comments from Castagnoli…
A graphic listed the brackets for the men’s Owen Hart Cup tournament: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Pac and Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi on one side of the bracket, and Rey Fenix vs. Jey White and Jeff Jarrett vs. a wild card on the other…
A graphic listed the brackets for the women’s Owen Hart Cup tournament: Willow Nightingale vs. Serena Deeb and Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander on one side of the bracket, and Deonna Purrazzo vs. Hikaru Shida and Mariah May vs. Saraya on the other…
Powell’s POV: The usual AEW tournaments with some good entrants and first-round matches, yet they continue to take the safe approach by never going with the best of the best. Why?
4. Kris Statlander (w/Stokely Hathaway) vs. Nyla Rose in an Owen Hart Cup tournament match. Both entrances were televised. Statlander knocked Rose off the apron heading into an early PIP break. [C] Statlander performed a Fameasser style move for a near fall.
Rose avoided a 450 splash. Rose hit Statlander with an elbow and covered her for a two count. Rose went up top, but Statlander cut her off and hit her with a running kick. Statlander followed up with a tombstone piledriver and scored the pin…
Kris Statlander defeated Nyla Rose in 7:50 to advance to the semifinals of the Owen Hart Cup tournament.
The updated brackets showed that Statlander will face the winner of Willow Nightingale vs. Serena Deeb. Hathaway delivered an in-ring promo and said that if Willow lays a hand on him or Statlander, she’ll end up in the same cell as Justin Timberlake.
Willow appeared on the big screen and said that when she wins her opening round match, there will be no more hiding for Statlander. A graphic listed Willow vs. Deeb in the first-round match for Friday’s AEW Rampage…
Powell’s POV: I suspect there are a lot of women would be thrilled to end up in the same cell as Justin Timberlake.
Renee Paquette interviewed “Private Party” Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen in the backstage area. Chris Jericho, Big Bill, and Bryan Keith showed up. Jericho conceded that they got the better of him last week, but he had a lesson for them. Jericho spoke about not taking piledrivers in Mexico. Bill said they would be watching Private Party’s match on Friday. Keith told Private Party that they better respect Jericho…
Daniel Garcia made his entrance while his opponent was already inside the ring…
5. Daniel Garcia vs. Rhett Titus. Matt Menard sat in on commentary. Titus went right at Garcia and mocked his dance while Excalibur said Titus is a former ROH TV Champion. Garcia came back and hit his finisher for the win…
Daniel Garcia beat Rhett Titus in 1:00.
After the match, Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona attacked Menard. Brian Cage and Hechicero walked out via the stage and then all four heels attacked Garcia.
MJF’s entrance theme played and he ran to the ring and tackled Hechicero. Cage pulled MJF off, but MJF bit Cage’s head. Cage ducked a double clothesline from Kaun and Liona, begged off, and low-blowed both men. MJF finally fell victim to the numbers advantage and was locked in a submission hold by Hechicero.
Will Ospreay’s entrance theme played and he rushed to the ring. Ospreay and MJF cleared the ring and then turned and went face to face, which drew a holy shit chant from the crowd. MJF left the ring and then Ospreay helped Garcia to his feet… [C]
Powell’s POV: A simple showcase win for Garcia followed by an unexpected angle involving Ospreay and MJF. Hechicero getting the better of MJF briefly wasn’t nearly enough to make me excited about their likely match.
Will Ospreay was walking backstage when Renee Paquette asked him what happened with MJF. Ospreay said he didn’t care about MJF and was trying to help Garcia. Brian Cage made a bunch of commotion while being held back by three security guards. They set up a match for Saturday’s AEW Collision… Entrances for the main event took place…
6. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Pac in an Owen Hart Cup tournament match. Bryan Danielson was on commentary for the main event. A graphic listed MJF for the July 6 edition of AEW Collision in Memphis. Excalibur announced that Danielson’s tournament match with Shingo Takagi will be held at Forbidden Door. Castagnoli popped up Pac at ringside and hit him with an uppercut on the way down going into a PIP break. [C]
[Overrun] Schiavone let viewers know the show was in the overrun, which is really nice reminder for viewers who want to watch another show at the top of the hour (seriously, why do they do this every week?). Pac sent Castagnoli to the floor and hit him with an Asai moonsault. Back in the ring, Pac performed a springboard elbow drop for a two count.
Castagnoli popped right up from a German suplex, but then Pac put him down with a series of strikes. Pac went for a shooting star press, but he landed on his feet when Castagnoli moved. Castagnoli caught Pac with an uppercut and covered him for a near fall.
Castagnoli performed the giant swing. Pac came back with a submission hold. Castagnoli escaped and applied Sharpshooter. Pac nearly reached the ropes, but Castgnoli gave up the hold and transitioned into a crossface. Pac rolled onto Castagnoli to force him to break the hold. Pac used an inside cradle to get a two count and then they went back and forth with a series of pins that concluded with Pac getting the pin…
Pac defeated Claudio Castagnoli in 11:10 to advance to the Owen Hart Cup tournament semifinals.
Bryan Danielson acted shocked by the outcome. Castagnoli sat dejected in the ring and then got to his feet and declined to shake hands.
The following matches were listed for Friday’s Rampage: Willow Nightingale vs. Serena Deeb in an Owen Hart Cup tournament match, Lio Rush vs. Action Andretti in a qualifier for the ladder match for the vacant TNT Title, and “Private Party” Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen vs. Metalik and Komander.
The following matches were listed for Saturday’s AEW Collision: Chris Jericho and Big Bill vs. “Private Party” Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen, Will Ospreay vs. Brian Cage for the AEW International Championship, AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Ultimo Guerrero in an eliminator match
The following matches were listed for next week’s AEW Dynamite: Toni Storm, Mariah May, and Mina Shirakawa vs. Saraya, Anna Jay, and Harley Cameron, Jay White vs. Rey Fenix in an Owen Hart Cup tournament match, and Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay vs. “Gates of Agony” Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun…
Powell’s POV: The expected strong match that felt slightly out of place in the main event. They are both amazing wrestlers and I really hoped they would become major players in AEW, but they just haven’t been with any consistency. Is Castagnoli declining to shake hands with Pac a repeat of his feud with Eddie Kingston?
Overall, the show peaked with the opening match and the confrontation between Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay, but there were still some quality segments during the remainder of the show. I will have a lot more to say about this episode during my weekly same night audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of Dynamite by grading the show below.
MJF is wrestling Demolition Subtitles at Forbidden Door?
“It must be made official by Christopher Daniels or Tony Khan!” – Excalibur doing his part to make sure they reach the weekly quota for mentioning the boss by name.
When the highlight of the show is Shorter Shane Douglas vs Dimestore Escobar, it’s a bad night.
Of the things I caught the only truly good one was Mark Briscoe’s promo.
Paul Turner can’t get a chair safely out of a ring (even with Rush sliding it 95% of the way out of the ring) in less than 15 minutes. How about just leaving the rope schtick out of it in the interest of not blatantly insulting your audience?
Just finished grumbling about that in my audio review. That was awful.
Was I seeing things, or did Rush pat MJF on the head during the final pin?
He absolutely did. No idea what that was about but it was blatant on screen.