AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 19

Following a shocking arrival and subsequent beatdown of Ricky Starks two weeks ago, Jay White returned to the squared circle Wednesday night on AEW Dynamite to battle Komander.

The former IWGP heavyweight champion's debut match for the company headlined a broadcast that also saw the latest chapter in the rivalry between Wardlow and Powerhouse Hobbs over the latter's TNT Championship, and The Elite address the AEW fans following their attack on Blackpool Combat Club last week.

Find out what went down in all of those segments, as well as if Britt Baker was able to silence The Outcasts in her hometown, with this recap of the show at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.

Announced in advance for Wednesday's show are:

• TNT Championship: Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (c)
  
• Komander vs. Jay White
• The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn vs. Matt Menard, Angelo Parker and Jake Hager
• Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho and Toni Storm
• FTR promo
• The Elite promo
• Chris Jericho and Adam Cole face-to-face
  

The pillars of AEW collided at the top of the show, as Jack Perry, Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara opened the show as part of an in-ring promo segment.

Again hurling insults at each other that touched on real tension between them, the entire feud seems to be built around who can shoot hardest with the most personal of insults.

Some quality zingers gave way to AEW world champion MJF interrupting and revealing a tournament involving the three potential challengers. Allin was randomly selected to enjoy a bye, while Guevara and Perry were announced for the night's main event.

This was fine but it felt very much like a "been there, done that" segment with a questionable booking decision to boot. After all, if everything to this point has been centered around the four pillars, why break it up and go with one challenger?

Book the Four-Way and let the young guys steal the show.

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• "Sammy, of all of the pillars, I've known you the longest and, oddly enough, I like you the most," Allin told Guevara.
• "You were handpicked because you're part of this California clique," Allin told Perry, claiming Jungle Boy worked less hard than everyone else. 
• "You're only here because you didn't make it as a skateboarder," Perry responded.
• "Both of you were handpicked to be here. The golden boys of AEW!" Guevara said of Perry and MJF.
• "You win the TNT title, I win the TNT title. You jump off of something high, I jump off of something higher. Now it's your turn to sit back and watch me become the AEW world champion," Guevara told Allin.
• "Good thing I don't care what you think given you think Britt Baker is talented," MJF taunted the Pittsburgh crowd about their hometown star.

Britt Baker returned to her hometown and teamed with AEW world women's champion Jamie Hayter to defeat The Outcasts' Ruby Soho and Toni Storm in the night's first in-ring action.

The babyfaces overcame interference from Saraya at ringside, the heels isolating Hayter and a potential injury suffered by the titleholder to score the win when Baker tapped out Soho with the Lockjaw.

The match was action-packed and the crowd was red-hot for The Doctor.

There is an argument to be made that The Outcasts really should not have lost and that there was more heat to be had in them beating Baker in her hometown, but that is splitting hairs.

Hayter being taken out of the arena and missing out on the post-match celebration with Baker was conspicuous, and one can only hope she did not legitimately hurt her shoulder in the steel stairs spot.

Result

Baker and Hayter defeated Soho and Storm

Grade

B

Top Moments

• Saraya taunted, then spraypainted, Baker's mom at ringside prior to the match.
• Baker received a huge hometown pop for her entrance.
• Saraya blasted Baker with the AEW Women's Championship, Storm delivered Storm Zero, but the babyface still kicked out.
• Baker delivered the Panama Sunrise to Soho for another close near-fall. 
• Hayter was sent shoulder-first into the ring steps and audibly let out an "ouch, ouch, ouch" before being helped from the ringside area by the medical staff. 
• Backstage, Wardlow revealed he had sought the guidance of Arn Anderson for his match with Powerhouse Hobbs later Wednesday night.

The Elite hit the ring to address the fans in Pittsburgh, one week after returning to deal a beatdown to the Blackpool Combat Club.

Kenny Omega had little to say on behalf of himself and The Young Bucks, instead inviting their rivals to fight them. A sneak attack by the heels failed to earn them the upper hand, despite a distraction by Bryan Danielson, but they eventually downed the babyfaces and threatened a screwdriver attack on Omega.

Don Callis, who had run away cowardly moments earlier, returned with Konosuke Takeshita, who joined Omega in clearing the ring.

Takeshita helps even the odds, and we have seen Callis openly recruiting him in the past. It at least makes sense that he would be involved and that Omega would be hesitant to trust him right away given how close-knit The Elite are.

Not to mention what has to be mounting questions about Callis' intentions.

This is clearly leading to a huge eight-man tag at Double or Nothing, especially if Matt Jackson can battle through his torn biceps injury, and that is probably the right call. Something about the feud feels a step off and not everything has been super-enthralling to this point.

Still, the finale in Las Vegas will probably be great. It would just be nice to have something resembling a story rather than a series of spots, winks, nudges and repetitive BCC beatdowns to tie it all together.

Grade

B-

Top Moments

• "I don't really have much to say. The purpose of us being out here is an invitation. Blackpool Combat Club, I want to see you in this ring and I want to settle this once and for all," Omega said.
• "Talk about amateurs. You guys have interview time and the first thing out of your mouth is, 'I don't have much to say?'" Bryan Danielson.
  

The only person unaware that Powerhouse Hobbs is money is Tony Khan.

Through his ups and downs as a booker, the AEW president has had one consistent flaw: His inability to recognize Hobbs' star potential and how to use him in a way that maximizes it.

Wednesday, his TNT Championship "reign" ended after 41 days as Wardlow overcame interference from Harley Cameron and QT Marshall to capture the title as cleanly and definitively as possible.

Hobbs was never really the champion and hardly benefited from the brief run. Making matters worse was the fact that he was cast aside in favor of the returning Luchasaurus after the match.

An incredible talent with the look and presence of a top star of the future, Hobbs has been woefully underserved by the creative forces in AEW. And if Khan and Co. aren't careful, it will be more and more difficult to rebuild him when the time comes to elevate him on the card.

Wardlow winning the title would mean more if there was a proven track record of successful booking behind either of his first two runs.

As far as Luchasaurus goes, reintroducing him just to beat him would seem to be the wrong call.

Result

Wardlow defeated Hobbs

Grade

C

Top Moments

• Cameron is now part of the heel group, joining QT Marshall in accompanying Hobbs to the ring. Arn Anderson joined Wardlow at ringside.
• Cameron distracted the referee and Marshall laid out Wardlow, but Hobbs only earned a two-count. 
• The Wardaddy delivered consecutive powerbombs to score the win and his third TNT Championship.
• Christian Cage and Luchasaurus interrupted the celebrations, standing tall on the entrance ramp as if to announce that the masked big man is next in line for a title opportunity.

The jaw-dropping offense of Komander was on full display as he battled the newest acquisition for AEW, Jay White, but it was the former IWGP heavyweight champion who left the greatest impression by scoring a win over his innovative masked opponent.

A post-match brawl between Juice Robinson and Shawn Spears gave way to Ricky Starks hitting the ring and clearing the heels out, a measure of revenge following a beatdown that left him lying two weeks earlier.

Meanwhile, the match was very good and really highlighted the babyface, but it was essentially secondary to everything that proceeded it. The interjection of Spears into the story was an interesting, if unnecessary, development, but Starks returning to get a measure of revenge made sense.

Is this leading to a tag team match in the coming weeks or at Double or Nothing? The money match would seemingly be Starks vs. White, but given other developments on Wednesday's show, very little is as it seems.

Result

White defeated Komander

Grade

B

Top Moments

• Spears was shown watching the match, just five days after popping back up on AEW television on Rampage.
• After White cut him off on several occasions, Komander walked the ropes and wiped Switchblade out on the floor.
• After the match, Robinson attacked Spears on the floor. The numbers game proved too much and the heels beat down The Chairman until Starks made the save.

What started as a rather so-so program escalated quickly Wednesday night with a red-hot segment that reestablished Chris Jericho as a dangerous and despicable heel while giving Adam Cole all the motivation he needs to dig deep and unleash a new side of himself.

Jericho warned Cole that he wanted nothing to do with the former world champion, then made good on his promise by handcuffing him to the ropes and forcing him to watch as The Outcasts beat down his girlfriend, Britt Baker, before Saraya used a kendo stick on her.

There are several different directions this can go from here.

Does AEW opt to do a Jericho-Cole match at Double or Nothing or does it incorporate Baker and Saraya into a mixed tag team match? Either would be worthy of the pay-per-view setting, but given Baker has been present from the beginning, the latter option would make sense.

Regardless, this was the shot of adrenaline that the feud needed to really feel like a program befitting the star power involved.

The followup, and how Cole responds, will decide if the feud can build on this because he should have a copious amount of kickass awaiting Jericho and his lackeys.

Grade

A

Top Moments

• "I want to say that, from the bottom of my heart, I have absolutely zero respect for you," Jericho told Cole.
• "You don't want to meet me. You don't want to know me. You don't want anything to do with me."
• Baker hit the ring and slapped Jericho, only for The Outcasts to appear from underneath the ring and attack her. 
• Jericho handcuffed Cole and handed a kendo stick to Saraya, who blasted Baker with it to the dismay of her hometown fans. Cole pleaded with Jericho to make it stop.

The Acclaimed and "Daddy Ass" Billy Gunn defeated Jericho Appreciation Society's "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard, "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker and Jake Hager, evading being forced to join the heel faction in the process.

The match featured perfectly acceptable wrestling and the babyfaces picked up the win, which was the right call.

However, the question now is where one of the hottest acts in the company goes from here.

Anthony Bowens and Max Caster came from nowhere to captivate the fans, win the tag team titles and then drop them to the Gunns. Since then, everything has felt like a stopgap.

The feud with the JAS would appear to be over at this point. That is probably for the best but with no other program cued up for the babyfaces, one has to wonder if it would behoove them to work with Parker, Menard and Hager leading into Double or Nothing.

Result

The Acclaimed and Gunn defeated Menard, Parker and Hager

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• The heels attacked before the bell, getting the match off to a hot start.
• Parker used his comb on Bowens, but the babyface kicked out at two.
• Gunn, now apparently going by just "Daddy Ass," broke the comb and set up the finish.

When faced with the opportunity to prove himself with a victory over Jack Perry or take the easy way out by accepting a bribe from MJF and, by proxy, his help in the tournament to crown a new No. 1 contender, Sammy Guevara took the easy way out.

An energetic match between The Spanish God and Jungle Boy ended via count-out following interference from the AEW world champion. The heels celebrated to close out the show, but it was apparent from the reaction of the fans that they were not angry at the bad guys but were, instead, unamused by the cheap finish.

AEW has prided itself on avoiding cop-outs like those, and to see it play out in a match that was billed as being such a high-stakes encounter hardly felt like the right time to go there.

If the Four-Way at Double or Nothing is still the endgame—and the shenanigans here suggest that will be the case—it was imperative not to book a loss for either potential challenger.

So, why go there?

Every sign pointed to the Four-Way anyway, fans were ready to see it and the explanation for its existence made just enough sense. There was no reason to get too cute with a half-hearted, convoluted tournament just to have the Four-Way match revealed anyway.

Sometimes bookers attempt to get ahead of the audience and, in the process, get too smart. That was definitely the case here.

Even with the questionable booking decision, the match itself was good enough up to the finish to earn a relatively solid grade, but this is the sort of corner a booker should not find themselves in.

Result

Guevara defeated Perry via count-out

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Tay Conti accompanied Guevara onto the stage, a reminder that she does still exist for those fans who do not watch AEW All Access.
• Perry launched himself from the middle rope and into a destroyer, turning Guevara inside out but only garnering a two-count.
• Perry trapped Guevara in a weakly applied Snare Trap, hurting the overall drama of what should have been a big moment in the match.
• Guevara dropkicked Perry off the ropes, launching him several feet and into the guardrail.
• MJF laid out Perry at ringside with the Dynamite diamond ring and returned to the crowd just in time for referee Bryce Remsburg to count the babyface out.