AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from March 30

Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly have made life a living hell for AEW world champion Hangman Page and tag team champions Jurassic Express of late and Wednesday on Dynamite, the trio known as Undisputed Elite had a title celebration.

What went down with the combustible elements at play and which side would leave the night with momentum on their side as a showdown draws near?

Darby Allin battled Andrade and the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament kicked off with the arrival of a new signee to the company's women's division.

• CM Punk vs. Max Caster
• Jon Moxley vs. Jay Lethal
• Wheeler Yuta vs. Bryan Danielson
• Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo
• FTR vs. The Gunn Club
• Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Qualifier: The Bunny vs. a new AEW acquisition

CM Punk continued his recent trend of working with tag team competitors in singles matches as he squared off with The Acclaimed's Max Caster in the night's opening match.

Caster shined, getting his fair share of offense in on Punk but in the end, it was the grizzled veteran who delivered an old-school piledriver and finished the rapper with the Anaconda Vise.

Backstage, FTR told MJF that there may be issues between him and Wardlow, but they are friends with both guys. The scarf-wearing heel reassured them all is well because when you're in The Pinnacle, you're always on top.

Grade

 B

Top Moments

• Punk laughing and grinning after Caster's pre-match rap.
• "I wondered how long it would take to get a Will Smith reference. He didn't wait too long, did he?" said Tony Schiavone in reference to said rap.
• Jim Ross criticized the AEW stars for not going for pins often enough in an interesting call.
• Punk channeled Ric Flair, flipping over the top rope but unlike the legendary competitor, actually delivering the double ax handle.
• "Before my time in AEW is over, I will be world champion!" Punk exclaimed, sending a message loudly and clearly to both Hangman Page and Adam Cole following his victory.
• The sly, cunning facial expressions from MJF foretold a villain ready to stab his closest friends in the back.

A red-hot crowd greeted Jay Lethal and Jon Moxley, representing the Blackpool Combat Club, as the two babyfaces squared off.

Lethal surprisingly controlled the pace throughout the commercial in what was a physical, hard-hitting match between two guys the fans at the University of South Carolina were eager to cheer. Moxley fought back and, despite a very game opponent, was able to secure the victory with the Paradigm Shift.

The match was fantastic. The physicality was off-the-charts. Moxley and Lethal beat the hell out of each other and managed to work in some great in-ring psychology along the way. The execution of the near-falls created high drama and had the fans on the edge of their seats. 

Most knew Moxley would win but there were more than a few moments when that outcome looked to be in doubt. That is a testament to the match the competitors were able to put together. A hell of a match and one of the best on Dynamite this year.

Grade

A

Top Moments

• Moxley played mind games with Lethal by putting his hands behind his back and daring him to lay in a forearm to the face.
• The psychology surrounding Moxley's injured knee was on-point and made for some great callbacks throughout.
• The false finish that saw Lethal counter the rear-naked choke was great and had fans thinking the former Ring of Honor champion might pull off the upset.

Austin and Colten Gunn hoped to enter tag team title contention with a win over FTR's Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler Wednesday night but beating the best tag team in the company proved to be far more difficult than they could have even imagined.

This, despite controlling a large portion of the match.

FTR fought from underneath and, despite repeated interference from Billy Gunn, Harwood and Wheeler delivered the Big Rig to score the pinfall victory.

The match itself was well-wrestled, with an elite team working with a young tandem to help them grow and evolve. The interference from Billy hurt, and the arrival of Wardlow and everything that came with it overshadowed the match to an extent.

The post-match confrontation between FTR and MJF proved The Pinnacle as we know it is falling apart at the seams, one loss here or there away from disintegrating. FTR is clearly poised for a babyface turn and the team should find incredible success in that role given the fact that fans already respect and love them.

Grade

B-

Top Moments

• MJF disingenuously rooting on FTR from the commentary position was a great touch for a heel character that clearly cares only about himself and his own best interests.
• He continued to put FTR over, desperate in his attempts to prove that everything was ok within The Pinnacle.
• FTR mocking The Smoking Gunns was a laugh-out-loud moment, especially with Billy at ringside.
• Wardlow exploding into the arena, laying out security and getting dangerously close to MJF before being cut off by more guards, was a great angle and the crowd popped huge. 

A backstage promo from the Jericho Appreciation Society gave way to an explosive brawl between the heel faction and the returning Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz. 

Fighting into the arena, the babyfaces were on top until the numbers game proved to be too much. The heels beat their rivals down, punishing them and leaving them in a heap before standing tall to the disapproval of the fans.

The eventual clash between these two teams, including whoever Kingston, Santana and Ortiz get to back them up, presumably at Double or Nothing in Las Vegas, will be a hell of a brawl. This was a great beatdown and further established the dominance of the heels.

Grade

A

Top Moments

• Jericho referring to himself as "the revolutionary force in sports entertainment" was a great dig on the old opening to WWE TV.
• Kingston's selling of the whipping he received from Jericho's belt was probably very real, but he excelled at putting over the agony of the punishment at the hands of the JAS. 
• The heat for the JAS was off the charts, proof that the new faction is working.

Wheeler Yuta remained determined to prove himself to William Regal and The Blackpool Combat Club as he squared off with Bryan Danielson in a match that took him one step closer to being the next breakout star in AEW.

The crowd in South Carolina was totally behind Yuta as he battled the best wrestler on the planet, unafraid of the challenge he presented. It was his unbridled determination that kept him in the match as long as he was. Eventually, the ferocity of Danielson proved too much but Yuta emerged stronger than he ever has been in AEW.

The young star is growing in popularity with every passing week and opportunities to have performances like this, against the masterful Danielson, will only help him get to where management believes he can go quicker.

Grade

B+

Top Moments

• William Regal took exception to the commentary team referring to Danielson as "one of" the greatest, showing the loyalty and admiration he has for The American Dragon.
• Yuta countering out of the Cattle Mutilation drew a huge ovation from the crowd.
• A defiant Yuta spit in the face of Danielson, a great visual that preceded a vicious stomping to the face by his opponent.

Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly held a championship celebration for titles they did not actually win. Hangman Page, Jurassic Express and Christian Cage interrupted and cleared the heels out of the ring before regaining their missing titles.

The segment was mostly uneventful and did not really push things forward in any measurable way. The babyfaces got revenge but we know it is only a matter of time before the heels get one over on them to bring things back to status quo. It is a feud that, to this point, is not working as well as one would have imagined, despite the reactions to the individual acts.

Next, AEW women's champion Thunder Rosa joined Tony Schiavone for a promo at the top of the stage in which she said she wants to be the face of all women's wrestling and sent a message to Nyla Rose. 

The Owen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament kicked off with The Bunny squaring off with AEW's newest signee, Toni Storm. The Aussie entered to a thunderous ovation but quickly found herself confronted with the very real challenge of a veteran opponent tired of being overlooked.

Storm shook off Bunny's offensive, including a pair of superkicks that nearly ousted her from the tourney early, to deliver Storm Zero for the pinfall victory.

The newcomer looked like a star, was treated like one and the fans reacted to her as if she was a major signing. You cannot ask for a better, more effective first appearance than that.

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Page's unexpected appearance drew a big ovation, as did Jurassic Express' appearance. 
• The look on Storm's face as the fans rained down on her with cheers was indicative of a woman overwhelmed by the positive reaction and ready to get back to wrestling at a high level.
• Storm's emotional "thank you" to the fans at ringside reflected a woman who needed that reception to remind her she was still a major player in a sport she probably lost some passion for under her previous employer.

Nobody takes a better ass-kicking than Darby Allin, something that was on display early and often in Dynamite's main event. 

The second-generation star punished Allin, brutalizing him before the match even started. Once it did, he resumed the beating, forcing Allin to muster any possible bit of fight he could if he hoped to win. Interference from Jose, The Butcher and The Blade proved to be the difference as El Idolo capitalized on the distraction and earned the biggest win of his AEW run thus far.

The match was a nice showcase for El Idolo, who had become close to an afterthought in AEW. A talented worker who was underserved by the creative in WWE, he came to the company in search of more opportunities.

It finally appears as though he has found his footing as the leader of a heel faction, feuding with top babyfaces like Allin, Sting and the Hardys, who made the save to close the show. Hopefully, he can sustain it because El Idolo is a competitor every bit as capable of hanging in top matches against top talent as any other incoming star.

Grade

B

Top Moments

• Sting left, ensuring the match would be one-on-one, a sign of an honorable and legendary babyface.
• El Idolo firing up and screaming into the camera early on was the most emotion we have seen out of the character in months.
• The pop for the Hardys never gets old. The roof blows off the place every single time, not matter how obvious it is that they will be making an appearance.