AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Sept. 18
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of AEW Dynamite on September 18.
With All Out officially done, the All Elite Wrestling roster is preparing for Grand Slam and WrestleDream.
This week's show continued the buildup for those events. Here's a look at what was advertised:
- The Elite vs. Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita
- The Beast Mortos vs. Ricochet
- Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
- Queen Aminata and Yuka Sakazaki vs. Mariah May and Serena Deeb
Let's take a look at everything that happened on Wednesday's show.
Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy
Cassidy's music kicked off Dynamite as he made his way to the ring to take on Jericho.
Mark Briscoe and Kyle O'Reilly squared off with Big Bill and Bryan Keith as OC and Jericho began to fight. All six men brawled, but nobody touched the two in the match except for them.
Cassidy almost won early with an Orange Punch that scored a near-fall. He had control until Jericho countered a dropkick into a Liontamer.
Even though the veteran had a size and experience advantage, it never felt like he was dominating. He and OC had a competitive fight that allowed both men to have sequences in the driver's seat.
They ended up going through the timekeeper's table before the first break to get a "Holy s--t" chant going.
While this bout was enjoyable at moments and included some good spots, it was also a bit clunky in places. Jericho and Cassidy's chemistry seemed to increase as time went on, but it wasn't as good as their previous encounter.
Even with interference from his cronies, Jericho suffered the loss when OC knocked him out with a roll of quarters.
Result: Cassidy defeated Jericho
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Jericho's yellowish leather jacket was more subdued than his usual ring coat.
- It was weird how the four men fighting at ringside just kind of disappeared.
- Jericho almost botched a tilt-a-whirl powerslam but was able to recover and hit it.
Hook Squash; Aminata and Sakazaki vs. Deeb and May
Hook had a squash match against a heavily tattooed local talent named JD Ink.
Roderick Strong watched on commentary as Hook easily won.
Result: Hook defeated Ink
Grade: Incomplete
The next match combined two feuds when May and Deeb teamed up to take on their respective current rivals, Aminata and Sakazaki.
The heels quickly took control and isolated Aminata from her partner. As the match progressed through the break, Sakazaki got a hot tag and went on what can only be described as an adorable rampage.
Once Aminata recovered, she helped deliver some German suplexes.
The match was going fine until May caused an intentional disqualification by using the title belt as a weapon. She whipped Sakazaki with it to add insult to injury.
This bout was decent, but the ending fell flat.
Result: Aminata and Sakazaki won by DQ
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- BCC gave a promo directed at Wheeler Yuta, who was shown still being in a weird headspace.
- The Patriarchy delivered a promo about wanting singles titles.
- Taz critiquing suplexes on commentary is always fun.
- Sakazaki is great at knowing when to pose for the camera.
The Beast Mortos vs. Ricochet
Jon Moxley, Marina Shafir and Claudio Castagnoli were coming through the crowd when Private Party attacked them.
Shafir helped her teammates get the upper hand, and BCC left Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy down and out. Moxley crushed Zay's hand with a hammer before Darby Allin arrived for a faceoff. Allin stood tall but BCC weren't intimidated.
The next match saw Ricochet take on The Beast Mortos in a battle of two very different styles of high-flying offense.
Ricochet seems to float when he jumps while Mortos likes throwing his entire body at his opponent. They blended their styles together seamlessly to put on a fun encounter.
This show had been uneven at best up to this point, but this match woke up the crowd and got everyone cheering for every big spot they landed.
After some close two-counts from both men, Ricochet scored a predictable but hard-fought win.
Result: Ricochet defeated Mortos
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- The Nigel McGuinness video package had some technical difficulties getting going.
- The hammer spot was done well. It looked convincing.
- It sounded like the announcer said Mortos was 202 pounds, which is definitely not correct.
- Ricochet probably flips more times a week than the average person does in a lifetime.
The Elite vs. Ospreay, Takeshita and Fletcher
"Hangman" Adam Page gave an interview with Tony Schiavone and almost attacked him before Jeff Jarrett showed up to make the save.
The main event saw Kazuchika Okada, Matthew and Nicholas Jackson take on Fletcher, Ospreay and Takeshita. Nick and Fletcher started for their teams and had a fast-paced exchange.
Okada and Ospreay ended up in the ring together earlier than expected, but Takeshita was a little upset when Billy Goat didn't tag him in.
Both teams had some great multi-man spots sprinkled into the match, but Ospreay and Takeshita stood out the most for their performances.
The show went into overtime to make this more than 20 minutes, so everyone had time to shine. After a couple of false finishes, Fletcher pinned Nick to get the win.
Result: Fletcher, Ospreay and Takeshita defeated The Elite
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Ricochet confirmed he will face Ospreay for the international title on October 2.
- When Okada shoved Ospreay, it looked like the Englishman's head legit smacked Takeshita in the mouth.
- Fletcher and Juice Robinson make the same noise when they slam somebody.
- The Bucks' Risky Business looked really good.