AEW Dynamite Maximum Carnage Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights

The Andrew J Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio hosted a packed edition of Dynamite on January 15, with the special title Maximum Carnage.

Jon Moxley put his World Championship on the line against Powerhouse Hobbs, who was on a mission to ascend to the top of All Elite Wrestling.

For the first time, the women's division competed in a Casino Gauntlet with an opportunity at the Women's World Championship on the line. Kris Statlander earned the right to start the match, but anyone could show up in this match.

Kenny Omega made his long-awaited AEW in-ring debut against Brian Cage, hoping to take The Don Callis Family down a peg.

Private Party and Mark Briscoe hoped to stop the momentum of The Hurt Syndicate, facing Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin and a debuting MVP.

Hook finally got his hands on Christian Cage. Ricochet spoke for the first time live since his brutal attack on Swerve Strickland.

This was set to be a special show with huge stakes for the future of the company.

Brian Cage had Kenny Omega on the ropes until he connected on a series of knee strikes. A final V-Trigger and One Winged Angel picked up the win.

Don Callis sent Lance Archer and Kyle Fletcher at Omega again after the result, and Will Ospreay came out to make the save. Konosuke Takeshita arrived to stack the odds and take out both men.

Omega's AEW return in week two was a rousing success. He had a great match with Cage, which allowed The Machine to look dangerous without diminishing The Cleaner.

The aftermath, including the return of Takeshita, sold the threat that The Don Callis Family presents to Omega and Ospreay, who will need more help in this fight.

Before that, though, the expectation for Omega and Ospreay to team up against Fletcher and Takeshita is sky-high. The Cleaner is clearly ready to go for a massive start to 2025.

Result

Omega def. Cage by pinfall.

Grade

A-

Notable Moments

• AEW aired a hype video for the night, particularly hyping Jon Moxley vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, Omega's return match, and the Women's Casino Gauntlet.
• Taz returned to commentary, followed by Callis. Taz put over Callis's work to elevate his former Team Taz member to new heights.
  
• While a smaller venue for Dynamite, the Andrew J Brandt Music Center looked great on TV, and the camera shots of the venue made this feel special.
• Cage power bombed Omega from the ramp into the ring, followed by an F5 as Callis high-fived Archer.
• Omega caught Cage with a powerbomb off the top rope, followed by a big knee strike to the shoulder for a near-fall.
  

Ricochet was frustrated with the crowd booing and "Swerve's House" chants when he tried to speak. He said a "picture is worth 1,000 words" and threw up a picture of the aftermath of his attack on Swerve Strickland.

Prince Nana blasted The One and Only with a steel chair followed by The Mogul stalking Ricochet all the way out of the arena.

This was an excellent follow-up to Ricochet's attack, delaying Swerve's true revenge while building excitement for when Ricochet and Swerve will be in the same ring together again.

Ricochet played up the fan response a bit much, but he has clearly established himself as one of AEW's best pure heels, garnering real heat all on his own.

On top of that, he and Swerve have some of the strongest heat amongst any rivals in AEW right now.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• The Learning Tree presented a New York Minute, explaining the tenuous alliance with The Death Riders.
• Mercedes Moné presented a day in her life: showing her media work and training.
  

After MVP got Mark Briscoe out of the way, Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley threw around Private Party, ending with a Spear to Isiah Kassidy and superkick to Marq Quen for the win.

The in-ring quality level in AEW is so high that fine tag team matches like this stand out poorly. While Lashley and Benjamin looked great throwing around Private Party, most of this was too basic.

In particular, the chemistry was off. Hopefully, Private Party and The Hurt Syndicate will get more chances to find their synergy together before the World Tag Team Championship bout.

While the reason Lashley and Benjamin received a tag title shot is now clear, these teams still need to tell a greater story. That should be the priority in the coming weeks.

Result

The Hurt Syndicate def. Private Party and Briscoe by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• MVP delivered a hype promo ahead of his in-ring AEW debut, reminding fans that he is a wrestler and a manager.
• MVP was heavily involved in the early action, clearly looking to show what he could still do before his more explosive partners got rolling.
  

MJF interrupted Jeff Jarrett to question why The Last Outlaw turned him down. He tried to anger Jarrett without success, but he found a worthy match on the mic in going low.

The Salt of the Earth turned the focus on the late Owen Hart, and Jarrett finally snapped, brawling with MJF until officials got involved.

We are in 2025. Going after someone by calling his wife, mother or girlfriend promiscuous is completely unnecessary and ineffective. These were schoolyard jabs veiled as real insults.

Calling out Karen Jarrett's history with Kurt Angle has been done to death, but at least she's somewhat involved in this story unlike MJF's mother and Alicia Atout, who cannot defend themselves as they are not active performers.

The insults about the actual wrestling legacy of these men worked much better anyway. Jarrett had a chance to call out MJF's history of bad behavior in AEW to really get under his skin.

Outside of that, this just went way too long. Jarrett did not deliver a single effective line while MJF was about 20-80 in his effective verbal jabs.

In concept, this was a good idea, showing that Jarrett could match MJF's dirtiest heel tactics, but the only memorable moment in this was when The Salt of the Earth got under his new rivals' skin with the Owen insult.

Grade

F

Notable Moments

• MJF called Jarrett the "wrestling Grim Reaper" and taunted Jarrett about his recovering alcoholism. He also threatened to seduce Karen after he got Jarrett out of the way. Nothing phased The Last Outlaw.
• Jarrett told The Salt of the Earth that he had done everything MJF had done before him and better.
• The Last Outlaw threw out his own insults back, going after MJF's family upbringing and his mother's call girl history. MJF was clearly phased.
• MJF used Karen as a shield to get away from an angry Jarrett.
  
• Rated FTR got a vignette, highlighting their friendship.

Hook overcame the best shots of Christian Cage and locked him in the Redrum. Kip Sabian and Nick Wayne interrupted to cause a disqualification.

The Patriarchy tried to take out The Handsome Devil after the result, but Samoa Joe arrived to clear the ring with Katsuyori Shibata.

After months of build, Christian vs. Hook was a fine match, though it certainly showed the limitations of The Handsome Devil at this stage of his career.

Even with all the build-up, it is odd for Christian, who is supposed to be the next AEW world champion, to basically lose to Hook one-on-one with so much help at ringside.

The ending segment saved the day, particularly the much-needed return of The Samoan Submission Machine. He and Shibata fully focused on this patriarchal story and should deliver much stronger matches in early 2025.

Result

Hook def. Christian by DQ.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• Christian tried to convince Hook to join him during the match but got suplexed for his trouble.
• Taz admitted he was struggling to stay professional as he rooted for Hook.
• Hook kicked out of the frog splash then the Spear.
• Shibata tried to stop the interference of The Patriarchy but took a Killswitch on the floor.
  
• AEW hyped a packed Collision including Hangman Adam Page vs. Christopher Daniels in Texas Death and Kazuchika Okada defending against Tomohiro Ishii.
• In pre-taped promos, The Undisputed Kingdom challenged Jay White and Daniel Garcia, while The Switchblade focused on Wheeler Yuta.

The entry order for this match was:

1. Kris Statlander
2. Jamie Hayter
3. Megan Bayne (shocking Dynamite debut)
4. Julia Hart
5. Willow Nightingale
6. Toni Storm
7. Harley Cameron
   

Cameron tried to exploit her vulnerable competition, but Hart misted her. Storm slipped in with a small package to pin Hart and earn a Women's World Championship opportunity at Grand Slam Australia.

The expected result came about to sell Grand Slam Australia. Storm is the biggest star in AEW to have grown up in Australia, and she can main event the show with Mariah May.

They will have a tough order to live up to their fantastic match at All In, but this sequel has a much different dynamic, with Storm in a brand new role.

The Casino Gauntlet remains a money concept to highlight so many wrestlers, and the women delivered in the spotlight.

This could have gone longer and utilized more of the roster, but hopefully, the women will be in line for more Casino Gauntlet matches in 2025. They would need a few to catch up with the men.

One of the coolest moments in this match was Bayne's arrival. Hopefully, this is a sign that she has signed with AEW and will be used regularly going forward.

Result

Storm won the Women's Casino Gauntlet to earn a World Championship opportunity at Grand Slam Australia.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• May joined commentary to talk up her competition but also mock them at the same time.
• May sold her fear of the debuting Bayne based on her Stardom history.
• Hart taunted Hayter out of the ring to start a brawl.
• Willow and Kris double-suplexed Bayne, remembering old times, but they did not stay on the same page. Willow Pounced Kris out of the ring.
• May played into Storm's gimmick, stating she had never fought this "rookie".
  

Powerhouse Hobbs was too much for Jon Moxley throughout this match, but The Death Riders made the save time and again. Finally, a Paradigm Shift and Bulldog Choke sealed it for Moxley.

Afterward, The Death Rider targeted and stomped on the surgically repaired knee of Hobbs using a steel chair. Rated FTR was late to make the save.

While the result was never in doubt, Hobbs brought the fight to Moxley throughout this contest. The amount of help the champion needed to survive Hobbs sold the big man as a threat.

Sometimes, that is all that a main event needs to deliver, but The Death Riders have clearly set up Hobbs as a longer-term rival for the group with the post-match attack.

This removes the big man from the Don Callis Family story for good while establishing a fresh, popular face to support the fight against the Death Riders.

Hopefully, this is part of getting this world title angle back on track. Singles matches of this quality will help every time in AEW though, so more title defenses should be a priority.

Result

Moxley def. Hobbs by knockout to retain the World Championship.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• The Death Riders surrounded the ring before the bell to distract Hobbs, allowing Moxley to get in the first shots.
• Hobbs tried to bite the earring of Moxley off his ear to a resounding chant of cheering disgust from the fans. The champion began gushing blood from the ear.
• Moxley struggled to get the Paradigm Shift on Hobbs, who countered into a World's Most Dangerous Slam for a near-fall.
• Wheeler Yuta caught Hobbs with a Busaiku Knee outside then Shafir caught him with the briefcase in the ring.
  

This was on track early to be an all-star effort from AEW, but a lull in the middle almost derailed the night.

Kenny Omega's return match was great followed by a strong follow-up for Ricochet and Swerve Strickland.

The Hurt Syndicate match and Christian Cage vs. Hook were fine but did not quite click the way you would expect. They did their job of selling more exciting stories to come, though, especially Samoa Joe's return.

The real downer for the night was MJF and Jeff Jarrett. Taking up time that could have gone to the Women's Casino Gauntlet, they added an unnecessary overlong coda to last week's encounter.

The final two matches brought back the feeling, though, as Toni Storm punched her ticket to the Grand Slam, and Powerhouse Hobbs delivered one of his best matches to date.

Maximum Carnage could have been a tighter show, but it was still overall a success.

Overall Grade: B-