AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Feb. 5

The Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta was host to the February 5 edition of Dynamite, highlighted by a massive first-time clash in All Elite Wrestling.

Swerve Strickland and Ricochet have run into each other time and again since the latter debuted for AEW, but this week will finally see them clash in the ring. Who would pick up the win?

Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher challenged the newly christened Hounds of Hell, Brody King and Buddy Matthews. Could The Don Callis Family pick up momentum before Grand Slam Australia on Feb. 15?

Don Callis also pitted Will Ospreay against a member of his group, but he would name the member. Could this be a new name who would do serious damage to The Aerial Assassin?

"Timeless" Toni Storm did not need to play a role in a big match with Queen Aminata. Mariah May joined commentary for this clash.

Top stars promised to appear live including "Hangman" Adam Page, MJF, The Hurt Syndicate and Rated FTR.

This was a show promising big moments and explosive encounters between top names in AEW.

Renee Paquette tried to get words from Jay White in the parking lot. The Death Riders arrived followed quickly by Rated FTR, starting the show with a brawl.

The fight headed to the ring, ending with the faces on top. Cope again challenged Jon Moxley to an AEW World Championship match at Revolution. The champion declined.

The Switchblade set up a different challenge for Grand Slam: Cope and White vs. Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli in a Brisbane Brawl. The Death Riders accepted that contest.

While Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay vs. The Don Callis Family was a better show-opening brawl a few weeks back, this is still a strong format to kick off an AEW event.

Rated FTR is the strongest alliance to confront The Death Riders to date, allowing Cope to come off as a real threat to Moxley, even if he shouldn't win the world title.

The most interesting element in this story is The Switchblade. He has an uneasy alliance with Rated FTR, needing numbers while he waits for The Gunns and Juice Robinson to recover.

He could either use this alliance to get his own shot at Moxley after Revolution, or this could lead to The Switchblade turning on The Rated R Superstar when the time is right.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Marina Shafir picked up Paquette and carried her away from the chaos in the parking lot.
• The Atlanta crowd was hot from jump, especially behind Cope.

Don Callis announced the new member of The Don Callis Family, Mark Davis, to the shock of Will Ospreay.

Callis tried to cost The Aerial Assassin the match multiple times, but a Hidden Blade sealed the victory.

Kenny Omega came out to talk to the Atlanta crowd and promised victory when he and Ospreay fight Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita at Grand Slam.

This was a solid match executed in the most awkward manner possible. The Don Callis Family vs. Ospreay and Omega storyline was moving smoothly and simply before this latest twist.

If Davis made his debut by joining Aussie Open, it would have made sense. If AEW had teased a contractual issue over the past few weeks for him, it would have made sense.

Instead, the 34-year-old Australian contested Callis for weeks without any repercussions and then disappeared from television before returning in this spot.

This could all turn out to make Davis a bigger star much like Fletcher got a major boost from his story with Callis, but the execution in this moment will still look bad in hindsight.

Even the aftermath was awkward as Davis disappeared right after his loss, turning all the focus to Callis, Fletcher and Takeshita. Hopefully, there will be more Fletcher and Davis interactions coming out of this.

Result

Ospreay def. Davis by pinfall.

Grade

D+

Notable Moments

• Callis explained that he held the right to Davis' contract and had the rights to book him however he wanted.
• Omega told Davis afterward that he needed to contest whatever contractual obligation Callis held over him because he would only suffer from this alliance.
• Wild pyro went off after Omega hit the "Bang!" to the genuine shock of The Cleaner.

Standing beside Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin, MVP delivered a clear warning and invitation to the tag team division.

The Gunns arrived to call their shot. The Hurt Syndicate accepted the challenge for next week, followed by throwing out the "Ass Boys" name. Austin and Colten Gunn gladly accepted the old nickname.

This was a big spot for the return of The Gunns, allowing them to instantly work off one of a top fresh stable.

This does mean Austin and Colten will lose their return match next week, but it also means they are not going to have to work their way up with filler matches.

The Gunns can give the champions a strong first title defense and get right back into the swing of things in the tag team division.

This also give The Gunns something to do while Jay White is caught up in The Death Riders drama. Hopefully, Bullet Club Gold will reform in time, though.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Even MVP seemed taken aback by how loud the "We Hurt People" chant was.
• The crowd was less enthused by MVP saying The Hurt Syndicate needed to leave quickly to hop on a jet to the Super Bowl.
• Lashley and Benjamin sold their frustration with the interruption on their faces but left all the mic work for the night to MVP.
• MVP said The Hurt Syndicate was showing respect to Billy Gunn by not choking out The Gunns right away.

The Hounds of Hell had The Don Callis Family on the back foot thanks to their cohesion, but Kazuchika Okada's music hit to distract Buddy Matthews and turn the tide.

Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher got Brody King alone and hit him with an assisted brainbuster to barely win.

When all else fails, just let great wrestlers wrestle. This was a phenomenal match that made The Hounds of Hell, especially King, look like monsters despite the loss.

It took every trick in the book by The Don Callis Family to survive a match that AEW could run back again at any time with the same incredible result.

Fletcher and Takeshita built some necessary momentum ahead of their potential match of the year with Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega.

Result

Takeshita and Fletcher def. Hounds of Hell by pinfall.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• AEW confirmed Okada vs. Matthews at Grand Slam for the Continental Championship.
• King smashed The Don Callis Family with a pair of running crossbodies into the barricade.
• Mercedes Moné interrupted Harley Cameron outside her locker room and refused to fight her.

Max Caster interrupted "Hangman" Adam Page's interview with Renee Paquette and began chasing him around the back.

In the ring, MJF mocked Jeff Jarrett again only for Caster to run out on his time, followed by The Cowboy. Hangman kept his focus on Caster, but the first interruption frustrated MJF.

As The Salt of the Earth tried to refocus, Dustin Rhodes arrived to call out MJF's low road insults. MJF tried every insult until bringing up Cody Rhodes set off Dustin.

Officials broke up the fighting, but The Salt of the Earth kicked his rival between the legs.

This is exactly what AEW likely hoped to deliver with MJF vs. Jeff Jarrett. Dustin had the crowd eating out of his hand by the end, selling why he needed to say his piece to The Salt of the Earth.

MJF sold multiple big matches to come over the course of 10 minutes, emphasizing his value in a way fans have not often seen in several months.

MJF vs. Jarrett may eventually happen, but it's hard to get excited about that match when both Dustin and Hangman have made more compelling cases to feud with The Salt of the Earth.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• Page refused to admit to Young that he was actually apologetic about what he did to either Swerve Strickland or Christopher Daniels.
• MJF nearly hit Daniels on his way out of the ring before mocking him about his retirement.
• Samoa Joe and Hook took out Nick Wayne and Kip Sabian in Christian Cage's locker room in a message to The Patriarch.

Justin Roberts announced "Timeless" Toni Storm was playing the role of "The Glamour" Mariah May for the night, coming out in May's gear and eerily similar mannerisms.

Queen Aminata got caught up in the antics of Storm throughout, allowing The Timeless One to take the win with a Mayday.

Afterward, Renee Paquette tried to get comments from Storm, but she only wanted to speak as the women's world champion. May cut her off before stomping away, frustrated with the mockery.

From an in-ring perspective, this was far from Storm's best, but the gimmick combined with May's live commentary reaction made everything work.

While May may not have been happy on air, Storm made May look fantastic by selling how tough it was for her to work the champion's fast-paced, hard-hitting style.

This was the kind of segment that only these women could have pulled off, further emphasizing Storm vs. May is the greatest feud the AEW women's division has ever delivered.

Result

Storm def. Aminata by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• May joined commentary, but she was not amused by Storm's antics.
• Serena Deeb watched the action closely backstage.
• Storm's weave fell apart throughout the match, leaving an absolute mess in her hair by the end.
• Aminata hit "Timeless" taunts throughout the contest, drawing more ire from May, who considered the whole match to be a joke.
• Storm hit May's top rope headscissors takedown into a shotgun dropkick and then went for the Mayday, but Aminata fought it off.
• In the first live New York Minute, Chris Jericho offered a $200,000 bounty on Bandido to Bryan Keith for Collision. Powerhouse Hobbs returned, followed by The Outrunners, starting a brawl that ended with Hobbs and Big Bill's fight breaking the feed.
• After a break, security finally got The Learning Tree ejected from the arena.

Ricochet blasted Swerve Strickland with a steel chair during his entrance.

The Mogul still demanded the bell rang but was stuck fighting from behind.

Ricochet countered a second Swerve Stomp with a defensive chop that landed between the legs of The Mogul. The low blow set up a Spirit Gun that won it for The One and Only.

Afterward, Prince Nana tried to check on Swerve, but Ricochet blasted him and stole his robe to stand tall in style.

If there was any doubt how much this match meant to these men, they dispelled it quickly to deliver one of the best bouts of the new year.

Patience was a virtue in selling this match, finding the hottest crowd and the best moment of this rivalry for their first true clash.

On paper, this might have looked like an athletic battle, but the story demanded a more physical style that both brought to this contest.

There were some explosive sequences down the stretch, but it always felt like every move was meant to hurt the opponent. Swerve dragged Ricochet into his playground.

The finish protected The Mogul without diminishing The One and Only, who picked up another important early victory on his road to the top of AEW.

Result

Ricochet def. Swerve by pinfall.

Grade

A+

Notable Moments

• Ricochet hit Vertigo right after the bell to nearly pick up a quick win.
• Swerve powerbombed Ricochet on the barricade and then catapulted Ricochet's throat into the exposed steel connector for the bottom turnbuckle.
• Swerve hit a House Call into the Swerve Stomp for a shocking near-fall.
• Ricochet hit a springboard 450 splash then Shooting Star Press for a near-fall.

Some rocky early storytelling (Mark Davis' arrival in The Don Callis Family) did not tell the full story of the night as Dynamite delivered time and again throughout the rest of the show.

Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet and Kyle Fletcher-Konosuke Takeshita vs. Hounds of Hell are likely to stand among the best Dynamite matches all year.

Moreover, they all left plenty of the table for more action to come, especially with The Mogul vs. The One and Only.

Toni Storm continues to deliver classic moments on her way to a rematch with Mariah May.

MJF successfully course-corrected this week with the help of Dustin Rhodes, and "Hangman" Adam Page's rocky road to redemption continues.

Even The Learning Tree and The Death Riders angles delivered hot brawls that played to an Atlanta crowd that was electric throughout the night.

This was a spectacular night of Dynamite all around, setting the stage for what is certain to be a Grand Slam to remember.

Overall Grade: A-