AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 5

Amid a common rivalry with The Outcasts, AEW world women's champion Jamie Hayter and top contender Riho clashed in one of three title bouts Wednesday on Dynamite.

That match joined a high-stakes tag team title bout between The Gunns and FTR, and the latest AEW World Trios Championship defense by The House of Black, on a broadcast that continued All Elite Wrestling's build toward Double or Nothing on May 28.

Did any titles change hands, how did those matches affect the build to the upcoming Las Vegas pay-per-view, and what major announcement did AEW President Tony Khan have in store?

Find out with this recap of the April 5 edition.

Announced in advance for Wednesday's show were:

• AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR vs. The Gunns (c)
• AEW World Women's Championship: Jamie Hayter (c) vs. Riho
• "Absolute" Ricky Starks vs. Juice Robinson
• FTW Championship: Hook vs. "All Ego" Ethan Page
• AEW World Trios Championship: Orange Cassidy and Best Friends vs. The House of Black (c)
• MJF Day
• Blackpool Combat Club promo
• An important announcement from Tony Khan

The advertised match between Juice Robinson and Ricky Starks, built over several weeks of television following Revolution, never happened as "Switchblade" Jay White returned to AEW television and joined his Bullet Club brethren in beating down "Absolute."

The two-on-one occurred as fans were left stunned by the surprise appearance.

This was a great way to kick off the show, with a genuine surprise and an angle that furthers the feud between Starks, Robinson and now White.

It was a newsworthy opening to an edition of Dynamite that promised a big announcement and delivered something as significant even before Tony Khan appeared on screen.

Result

No-contest

Grade

A

Top Moments

• White's appearance distracted Starks and allowed Robinson to attack from behind, all to a thunderous ovation from fans surprised to see Switchblade.
• "The hottest free agent in professional wrestling, Jay White, has just left Ricky Starks laying," Excalibur said.

AEW international champion Orange Cassidy partnered with Best Friends' Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta to challenge Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews and Brody King for the AEW World Trios Championship.

An action-packed, fast-paced match saw the heels halt the opposition's momentum early and seize control. Back from the commercial break, the challengers mounted an offensive and appeared to be on their way to claiming the belts at one point.

However, Matthews was able to down Taylor and score the pin to secure the successful title defense.

This was the weekly party tag match, with tons of action and crowd-pleasing spots ahead of a solid finish that saw the right team go over. A match between Black and Cassidy would be a ton of fun, but if this is as far as it goes, that's fine.

The presence of La Faccion Ingobernable at ringside suggested The House of Black may find themselves presented with the challenge from them, but one has to wonder how effective it would be as both trios are heels.

Result

The House of Black defeated Best Friends and Cassidy to retain

Grade

B

Top Moments

• Beretta's mom, Sue, drove the challengers to the arena in her minivan, a staple of all big Best Friends matches.
• "That's what Cassidy does: He rents space in people's heads with the games he plays," said Taz, putting into words what the Freshly Squeezed character is all about and why it works.
• King crossbodied Taylor on the floor, driving him into the guardrail. 
• Best Friends launched Cassidy, who landed on the intended targets and wiped the champs out at ringside.
• La Faccion Ingobernable's Rush, Preston Vance and Dralistico watched closely at ringside.
• Backstage, Anna Jay of the Jericho Appreciation Society kept her eye on Julia Hart amid an intensifying rivalry.

Jamie Hayter faced the toughest challenge to her AEW World Women's Championship Wednesday night when she battled inaugural titleholder Riho.

The champion retained, overcoming the resilient and skilled challenger, but not before having to break out two Hayterades to keep her down.

The match was very strong, the latest in a string of solid performances by the champion, who has entered the conversation as one of the best workers in the company.

Riho was great, too, even if she never really felt like a threat to Hayter because of how physically dominant the champion has been over the last six months.

Thankfully, this did not end with The Outcasts rushing the ring with green paint. That was becoming a repetitive booking trope and something the women's division needed a break from.

Result

Hayter defeated Riho to retain

Grade

B+

Top Moments

• Hayter started fast, attempting a Hayterade that Riho quickly countered.
• Back from the break and Riho immediately turned the tide in her favor with a Tiger Feint Kick for two.
• The crowd launched into dueling chants, appreciating the work of both women.
• Hayter ended an exchange of right hands with a big forearm to the face that flattened her opponent. 
• Hayter just got her foot on the bottom rope to avoid defeat following a running double knee by Riho.
• The challenger kicked out of one Hayterade, but a third put her down for three.
• Backstage, Renee Paquette interviewed Ruby Soho, who laid down the gauntlet for a title shot at Hayter but put off deciding who would be the challenger.

After weeks of courting The Acclaimed, the Jericho Appreciation Society's Matt Menard, Angelo Parker and Jake Hager were seemingly dismayed to find out that a union would not happen.

Instead, the segment gave way to the promise of a match with Parker, Menard and The Acclaimed teaming up on Friday's Rampage.

Next, AEW celebrated MJF in Long Island, where he showed off his singing voice before accepting a key to the town of Oyster Bay. He then ran down his old school teacher and encouraged applause for Attention Deficit Disorder, which he said affected him in school.

Ultimately, he knocked Jack Perry, Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara, leading to Jungle Boy attacking and a brawl ensuing. Security broke the two up before Guevara interrupted, entering the arena for his scheduled match.

MJF is great. He has a habit of making the most out of everything.

With that said, this probably went on too long. Yes, it was a nice showcase for the hometown hero, but it was on the lesser end of The Salt of the Earth's mic performances over the last year.

The brawl was OK, though the negative response to it begs the question of whether it was worth adding it to the end of the segment.

MJF elevates everything, so it's still better than most, but this segment did not hit the way others have.

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• MJF sang "Pennies From Heaven," in a bit that went on too long, as Taz was quick to point out.
• Oyster Bay Supervisor Joe Saladino presented the AEW world champion with a key to the town and proclaimed April 5 to be "MJF Day."
• "Let's clap it up for ADD, huh! Who's got it?!" MJF said as fans applauded him saying he had the disorder growing up.
• MJF cut a promo on his school teacher, Mrs. Benedict, who told his class not to be like him. Now, he has the key to the town.
• Perry revealed himself to be one of the musicians with the band that had played MJF to the ring and attacked the world champion. Security and staff members appeared and separated the competitors.

Your enjoyment of Sammy Guevara and Komander is likely based on your pro wrestling preferences.

If logic, story and psychology are necessities for you, odds are you did not care much for it; if you don't mind an occasional stunt fest full of athletic high spots, this was right down your alley.

There is no denying Guevara and Komander are capable of things that others could not even fathom let alone attempt. They were on full display here, culminating with Guevara using Go To Hell to score the win.

However, it was the impassioned promo from Guevara toward MJF that stood out most.

The Spanish God promised he would never leave AEW because it has given him too much. He is not using the company to get anywhere else, and he will not sit back and watch MJF do it harm.

It was a great promo, though somewhat hampered by a heavy MJF-biased crowd, but it hammered home the passion he has for AEW and its long-term well-being.

Guevara has done some of his best work over the last month or two, and the idea of him challenging for the world title at Double or Nothing as one-fourth of a main event is very appealing.

Result

Guevara defeated Komander

Grade

B

Top Moments

• "This guy's like a high-wire act guy," Taz said of Komander and his penchant for daredevil, high-flying feats.
• Komander delivered a tightrope walking shooting star press for two.
• Darby Allin watched from the rafters.
• Guevara cut Komander with a cutter and finished him with GTH.
• Tony Schiavone joined Guevara in the ring for a promo. "Look, Tony, I just did something the world champion doesn't: wrestle," The Spanish God said.

The months-long storyline involving Matt Hardy, The Firm, and Ethan Page came to a head Wednesday night, when future Hall of Famer Hardy blasted the loudmouthed heel with the FTW title belt, allowing Hook to apply Redrum for the tapout.

The match was an afterthought, though it was interesting to see Hook used as a secondary character in the feud. Hardy and Page are due for a match, even if it also includes Isiah Kassidy and others, but it is a program that has run its course.

Backstage, new broadcast team member Nigel McGuinness joined Tony Khan for his major announcement: On August 27, the company will make its London debut at Wembley Stadium for the first-ever AEW All In.

As an announcement that a week of social media hype went into, it probably disappointed some fans. Especially since the show will take place across the Atlantic, where a large portion of the audience won't be able to attend it.

On a grander stage, it is an ambitious move. Wembley is an enormous, historic venue, and it will be interesting to see the setup and layout for what AEW is attempting to accomplish.

Until more details are released, it is unfair to comment much beyond that, other than to applaud AEW for making enough strides and believing in itself to take on a venue of that size.

According to Adam Cole, who made the actual announcement, there will also be involvement from Warner Bros. as it celebrates its 100th anniversary. That could help matters.

Result

Hook submitted Page

Grade

C- for the match

Top Moments

• Surely, Khan bringing in Cole to make the actual Wembley announcement was a troll after the last one was met with such disappointment. 

Blackpool Combat Club's Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta and Jon Moxley attacked unnamed opposition, brutalizing them and beating them.

The squash match was meaningless, but the promo from Bryan Danielson afterward served as the real meat of the segment.

He referred to the losers as "amateurs" and said BCC are the only real professionals in the company, which gives the faction much-needed motivation. No longer are they just heels running around, beating people up.

They have purpose and are waging war against The Elite, setting up a match that could headline Double or Nothing.

Danielson was great here and should be the mouthpiece for the group moving forward. The dangerous heel American Dragon is the best.

Commentating as Moxley, Yuta and Castagnoli beat down an interjecting Hangman Page was icing on the cake, and the vicious use of the screwdriver was even better.

Result

Blackpool Combat Club beat unnamed opponents

Grade

A for the whole segment

Top Moments

• Danielson said he loves his family, but he loves his Blackpool Combat Club teammates and wrestling, too. 
• The American Dragon produced a screwdriver and dug it into the face of Page before repeatedly calling him an amateur. This was really strong booking and the launching point for a battle with The Elite.
• "I think the house of AEW needs to be fixed up from all of these amateurs," Danielson said.
• "We are the only real professional wrestlers in this building tonight! Hell, after what I've seen this week, we are the only real professional wrestlers in all of damn America tonight!"

FTR are going nowhere.

Dash Harwood and Cash Wheeler ensured they will remain with the company for the foreseeable future Wednesday night by defeating The Gunns for their second AEW World Tag Team Championship.

There was a solid story at play here as Austin and Colten Gunn realized they could not beat their challengers by themselves, so they resorted to multiple attempts to get themselves disqualified. When the official would not bite, they were forced to fend for themselves.

It did not go well as Harwood and Wheeler secured their second reign as champs with stereo roll-ups.

This wasn't a particularly great match from a technical standpoint, nor was it a throwback to the old NWA-style tags that have so influenced FTR, but it was a solid showcase for The Gunns as detestable villains and a dramatic build to the fan-serving finish.

FTR sticking around AEW is probably the right call given the uncertainty in WWE after Monday's Raw. Even if Harwood and Wheeler made the decision before then, one would assume it was in the best interest of them and their families.

Hopefully, they are more consistently utilized than they were for their first two years with the company because they are immensely over and have earned the right to be major pieces of AEW's immediate and long-term future.

Result

FTR defeated The Gunns for the AEW World Tag Team Championship

Grade

B

Top Moments

• The Gunns entered to 50 Cent's "Many Men." It was a thing.
• Austin delivered a low blow, intentionally looking for a disqualification that would rob FTR of the titles and force them to leave AEW.
• Wheeler prevented referee Paul Turner from calling for the bell.
• "Don't worry about him. He's not legal," Turner told Harwood. It was refreshing to see a referee overseeing an AEW tag match actually acknowledge the rules.