AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 27
The most celebrated tag team in wrestling today found itself on opposite sides Wednesday on AEW Dynamite as FTR's Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler met in the final Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament qualifying match.
That dream bout headlined a show that also saw a Ladder Match for the TNT Championship between Sammy Guevara and Scorpio Sky and a loaded card from a company marching toward its banner Double or Nothing pay-per-view extravaganza.
Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament Qualifier: Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler
The crowd was at a fever pitch as Ring of Honor and AAA tag team champions FTR battled one another in the night's opener for a chance to advance in the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament.
A match as technically sound and as reverent to the Hart family as imagined, it was a fantastic bout that may not have been the five-star affair that their recent tag team matches have been but still lived up to lofty expectations.
The contest, defined by quick pin attempts, counters and reversals saw Harwood hesitate to apply a Sharpshooter to his partner, whose knee was wracked with pain. The hesitation allowed Wheeler to roll him up. Harwood, alert, countered into one of his own for the pinfall victory.
The crowd in Philadelphia was interestingly quiet at times, not because they did not care but because they appreciated everything going on inside the squared circle. They were respectful and greeted the competitors with chants of "FTR" when the time called for it.
Not a pretty, high-flying match, it was a gritty and hard-fought battle between two lovers of professional wrestling and a phenomenal start to the broadcast.
Grade
B+
Top Moments
- Harwood and Wheeler entered the arena together, partners until bell time.
- The competitors wore Hart Foundation-themed tights.
- CM Punk put over the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament on commentary by discussing the number of competitors who wanted to compete in it and Harwood and Wheeler's willingness to compete against one another to make it happen.
- An errant thumb to the eye of Wheeler intensified emotions between the two.
- Punk admitted to not liking FTR, thanks to their history and the company they keep (MJF) in a nice call back to the feud that dominated the fall and winter.
- Harwood's slingshot powerbomb is a great move and led to a quality near-fall just as chants of "FTR!" rained from the stands.
- After the match, it was revealed that Punk will challenge AEW world champion Hangman Page for the title at Double or Nothing and promised he will always bet on himself.
Trios Match: Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Factory
The Blackpool Combat Club continued its winning ways as Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson and Philly's own Wheeler Yuta defeated The Factory's QT Marshall, Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto in trios action.
A solid match, its focus was on highlighting Yuta and it did just that. The hometown hero looked outstanding as he absorbed the punishment of his opponent, then sparked the finish with an explosive hot tag late.
AEW has done an extraordinary job of building Yuta into the next breakout star, highlighting his toughness, then surrounding him with respected ring veterans. Best of all, Danielson, Moxley and William Regal have all allowed him to take center stage. Their selflessness will be the key to Yuta's long-term success.
Grade
C+
Top Moments
- The pop for Yuta was enormous, not only because Philadelphia is his hometown, but because AEW has done a fantastic job of building the young star.
- Moxley delivered a big half-and-half suplex to Marshall, who landed on the crown of his head.
- Regal put over Solo as a tough competitor, which is more than anyone else has done for him since he arrived in AEW.
- Wheeler scored the fall for his team as he continued his monumental run.
- In two backstage segments, Ruby Riott and Toni Storm confronted Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker DMD while Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs laid down a challenge to Jurassic Express for the AEW tag team titles.
Wardlow vs. Lance Archer
MJF and Shawn Spears thought they got one over on Wardlow by forcing him to the ring with no theme song. No music, no problem as The War Dog earned another impressive, physical win over a monstrous opponent.
AEW has done a magnificent job of building Wardlow into an unstoppable badass whose eventual showdown with MJF will result in one of the hottest matches on whichever card it appears. The matches with Archer and The Butcher have forced him to overcome a physical onslaught on par with his own before showcasing his unbridled power as he ultimately put them down.
Up next should probably be Spears, who figures to be the last hurdle before Wardlow finally gets his hands on his scarf-wearing charge.
Grade
B
Top Moments
- Archer threw himself over the top rope, wiping out Wardlow and security before the bell.
- Wardlow kicked out of the Blackout in a spot that effectively put over his resiliency.
- The powerbomb symphony unleashed by Wardlow on a guy of Archer's size will never not be impressive.
Jericho Appreciation Society Sits Down with Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz
The rivalry between the Jericho Appreciation Society, Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz continued this week with an in-ring face-to-face in which physicality was barred, with threats of termination for anyone who disobeyed.
A meaningless promo that did nothing to enhance the feud or propel it forward, Jericho and Kingston did more of the same, hurling insults and calling each other bitches in a manner that was eerily similar to just about every other verbal confrontation they have had to this point.
The feud feels very much like it is in a holding pattern, with little else to be said or done until Double or Nothing. That could change with the introduction of two competitors to the babyface side to help even things up but even then, it feels like the only thing left is for the two teams to go to battle on pay-per-view.
A disappointing segment given the talent involved.
Grade
C
Top Moments
- Garcia and Menard taunting the babyfaces, knowing full well that they could not retaliate physically was obnoxiously great.
- "It is five-on-three and you stupid sons of bitches aren't smart enough to realize it," Jericho told Kingston.
- Jericho's facial expressions after Kingston asked if he was prepared to put someone in the ground were great.
Philly Street Fight: Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb
Hikaru Shida and Serena Deeb wrote the latest (last?) chapter of their feud Wednesday night in a Philly Street Fight that was smartly wrestled and had some strong spots but did not enjoy the type of crowd heat one would expect, thanks to exhaustion with the feud.
Deeb repeatedly targeted the knee of her opponent and, despite a spirited comeback attempt by a revenge-driven Shida, The Professor was able to score the submission victory with the Serenity Lock.
These are two of the best wrestlers on the women's roster and absolutely should have had a hotter crowd for this blow-off match. Unfortunately, their appearances were inconsistent and the feud was only heated up on occasion. It hurt the audience's ability to invest consistently and the result was a very good match that was not accompanied nearly by the reaction that it should have been.
Hopefully, Shida and Deeb can both find greater roles for themselves moving forward because their talent is too great to be wasted on spot matches.
Grade
B
Top Moments
Shida flew off the ring apron but Deeb caught her in the knee with a steel chair to set up the heat portion of the match.
The near-fall off Shida's falcon arrow from the top rope was a great spot.
Deeb brutally slamming Shida's knee into the steel chair to set up the finish was appropriately brutal given the length of their feud.
After the commercial break, House of Black attempted to unmask Fuego del Sol, only to be fended off by the returning Rey Fenix and a reunited Death Triangle.
10-Man Tag Team Match
The dissension within The Undisputed Elite's RedDragon and The Young Bucks has seen Adam Cole at the center of two sets of friends. The former No. 1 contender sought to put the differences behind them all as he led them into a 10-Man Tag Team Match against "Big Shotty' Lee Johnson, Brock Anderson, Dante Martin and The Varsity Blonds' Griff Garrison and Brian Pillman Jr.
The match was really just an extended enhancement match that saw the heels go over, with limited offensive output by the babyfaces.
There was not meant to be, either.
The focus was on the heels, how they got along and the eventual display of solidarity that followed the win. One would assume the endgame is the return of Kenny Omega and he and the Bucks' feud with Cole, Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish. Until that happens, though, the distrust between the allies will likely rear its head both in backstage promos and in-ring action.
Grade
C
Top Moments
- The Bucks' facial expressions after the match, even as they accepted the Undisputed Elite shirts from Cole, were that of a team that does not fully trust their friend and his associates.
- Backstage, cameras caught the Jericho Appreciation Society attacking Santana and Ortiz before Jericho set off a fireball in Kingston's face, borrowing an angle from 1980s Memphis as those involved search for any way to possibly heat up a feud that is not nearly as hot as one would expect at this point.
Ladder Match for the TNT Championship: Sammy Guevara vs. Scorpio Sky
A Ladder Match for the TNT Championship between Scorpio Sky and Sammy Guevara sounded like a hell of a main event on paper.
In execution, it was an overbooked mess that saw The Spanish God take an unnecessary risk that did not pay off and appeared to adversely affect him throughout the course of the bout. If that was not bad enough, the spots involving Tay Conti and Paige VanZant may have made sense within the context of the build over the last few weeks, but it took away from the match.
Finally, the introduction of a barb wire-wrapped ladder continued AEW's penchant for overusing weaponry and gimmick matches to the point that none of them matter anymore because the audience becomes conditioned to expect them every week. Barbwire loses its impact when Hangman Page and Adam Cole use it one week to wrap up a world title feud and a colder, less-prominent feud between Guevara and Sky utilizes it two weeks later.
It is ok to applaud the effort of the talent involved and the high spots they executed, but not ignore the overbooked mess that the rest of the match was.
On top of it all, AEW has always done a fantastic job of treating titles like they are the most prestigious thing in the sport but the manner in which it has played hot potato with the TNT Championship in recent months has hurt it.
Some will argue that the competition over it is so strong that no one can hold on to it, but it also means no one can ever really establish the prestige of the title through a lengthy reign because it switches hands every few weeks.
Look back at WWE in the summers of 1999 and 2009 for just how much a title loses when it switches hands every few weeks.
For a company that usually nails main events, this was a rare miss that tried too hard to be too much rather than just letting two wrestlers wrestle.
But hey, Sky is awesome and is now a two-time TNT champion with a match against Kazarian on the horizon, so there is that to look forward to, at least.
Grade
C
Top Moments
- Guevara crashed and burned on a scary spot just prior to the final commercial break of the night and never quite looked the same.
- Tay Conti and Paige VanZant played chicken, climbing on the backs of their rivals before fighting back to the mat.
- There was a barb wire-wrapped ladder, probably because someone thought this rivalry needed it.