AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights Before Revolution

The March 5 edition of AEW Dynamite hailed from the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California as the last stop before Revolution.

Cope looked to take out the final member of The Death Riders in his way, battling Wheeler Yuta one-on-one ahead of his AEW World Championship match against Jon Moxley on Sunday.

Swerve Strickland and Ricochet officially signed the contract for their No. 1 contender clash. The former also teamed with Brody King against The One and Only and Kazuchika Okada.

Kris Statlander and Thunder Rosa paired up to exact revenge on the dangerous alliance of Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford.

Will Ospreay, Powerhouse Hobbs, Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe worked together to fight Lance Archer, Brian Cage, Mark Davis and Brian Keith.

This night was also certain to feature the final build for a massive card at Revolution. Who would make a lasting statement before the pay-per-view?

Tony Schiavone oversaw the contract signing, bringing out both Swerve Strickland and Ricochet.

The One and Only mocked The Mogul, who kept telling him to sign the contract.

Once Ricochet signed, Swerve promised to put an end to him. The One and Only tried to sneak-attack his rival with scissors, but The Mogul pulled out his own pair and stabbed Ricochet.

This back-and-forth covered familiar ground between these two men, throwing out the expected lines throughout.

While Ricochet spoke with confidence, he mostly said the same things he has for weeks. Swerve delivered more effective threats, but he also stumbled on his words in moments.

Was this contract signing necessary? Likely not, but All Elite Wrestling wanted to feature this angle clearly as one of the top stories going into Revolution.

In that regard, it was a solid outing, but it would have been nice to hear both men hit higher or get more personal in selling their history.

The hot crowd certainly helped, reacting loudly in support of Swerve and against Ricochet. Hopefully, this audience travels to Los Angeles for Revolution.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

—The show started with MJF in the streets of Sacramento, challenging "Hangman" Adam Page to come fight him.

—Ricochet said Prince Nana's robe was getting some "upgrades." Nana nearly attacked The One and Only for that comment.

—Swerve finally got under Ricochet's skin by mentioning his "ring announcer wife."

While the power of Brian Cage, Lance Archer, Mark Davis and Bryan Keith was tough to match, the babyface team picked up the pace until they could not be stopped.

Powerhouse Hobbs, Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe cleared out the ring, and Will Ospreay hit an Oscutter into a Hidden Blade on Keith for the win.

Afterward, Davis choked out The Aerial Assassin while Archer and Cage chokeslamed Hobbs on the steel steps. Kyle Fletcher arrived to beat down Ospreay and send him through a steel chair with a brainbuster.

Unsurprisingly, AEW delivered on the eight-man tag team match ahead of the PPV. The action was wild and properly featured everyone.

Ospreay got the win as expected, though Hobbs felt like the centerpiece of the contest. Recently, his speed and power combination has made him look like a main event act in the making.

The post-match beatdown ran a bit long, but AEW clearly wanted to sell how much the upcoming steel cage match means. Ospreay will walk in vulnerable but hopefully get a solo shot at his primary rival.

This was by far the best angle for Davis so far as a member of The Don Callis Family. He was brutal in the ring but is struggling with how far he can go for the sake of a heinous man.

Hopefully, this is a sign that the story is growing clearer for Davis in the future. He can shine with the spotlight of Callis and Co. trying to hold him down.

Since The Bad Apple took the pin again, it seems likely this will be the end of The Learning Tree's association with The Don Callis Family.

Result

Ospreay, Hobbs, Cassidy and Briscoe def. Cage, Archer, Davis and Keith by pinfall.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

—Callis joined commentary to talk up his men. He also made clear how much he dislikes Briscoe.

—Callis stomped out Cassidy with the referee distracted, much to the frustration of the crowd.

—The heel team traded off Cassidy in a vertical suplex until Davis planted him. They then tasked Keith to get OC up for another, but Freshly Squeezed suplexed Keith instead.

—Hobbs ran over the heels, ending with an avalanche with Cassidy on his back. OC then jumped onto the field outside.

—Davis tried to speak sense to Fletcher but was instead berated by his former tag partner. Davis was then forced to blast Ospreay with a steel chair.

—AEW aired a video highlighting the new Amazon Prime partnership for PPVs.

Cope showed surprising respect to Wheeler Yuta before and after the match.

Fighting through Yuta's best technical offense, Cope hit a Spear to win.

The Rated R Superstar shook Yuta's hand afterward, leaving him confused. Jon Moxley got in his last Death Riders' face, but Yuta shoulder-checked him and walked away.

The AEW world champion headed to the back and found a camera. He cut a passionate promo, warning Cope that he was even more dangerous on his own.

When Yuta is given a spotlight in the ring, he typically shines. He and Cope clicked in an unexpected way, technically strong over personally intense.

After weeks of beating down The Death Riders, it was a genuine surprise to see Cope show respect to Yuta, which seemed to wake up the 28-year-old phenom.

This was a clever twist that sold why the face is in the right in this story. In Yuta, he saw not a loyal ally but a brainwashed victim.

Moxley's promo was the clearest and most pointed throughout this whole rivalry, setting a clear warning that he must back up in brutal fashion at Revolution.

Result

Cope def. Yuta by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

—Yuta made his entrance all the way from outside the arena, showing the unique look of the auditorium.

—Cope worked technically from the start, pushing Yuta away from the violent style The Death Riders demand.

—Yuta threw out the Cattle Mutilation that he learned from Bryan Danielson.

—Kenny Omega delivered a final warning to Konosuke Takeshita in a hype package for their Revolution match.

Renee Paquette found MJF outside for an interview that was interrupted by "Hangman" Adam Page nearly running over The Salt of the Earth.

The Cowboy ran MJF back into the arena where he attacked a man disguised as his rival. The Salt of the Earth then attacked and beat down Hangman.

When MJF threatened to light Hangman on fire, a mass of security arrived to take The Salt of the Earth away as he screamed: "Let me prove my point."

If there was any doubt which angle is hottest on the road to Revolution, MJF and Hangman proved it definitively and almost literally.

This was the best possible follow-up for this feud, playing on the promises made in promos of previous weeks.

It wasn't a long segment, but fans will remember a deranged MJF threatening to light his opponent on fire for a long time to come.

The biggest question left unanswered is whether Hangman and MJF can have a normal wrestling match after the intensity rising so high in this feud early.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

—MJF revealed a "MJF did nothing wrong" shirt before he pulled out the lighter fluid from under the ring.

—A grainy film showed The Outrunners training ahead of their match with The Hurt Syndicate at Revolution.

—Director Ash Avildsen talked up his new movie, Queen of the Ring, before Toni Storm arrived to sell her involvement in the film.

Penelope Ford and Megan Bayne took time to find their chemistry, but they looked unstoppable once they were rolling.

Ford took out Kris Statlander on the outside before Bayne planted Rosa with a sit-out F5 for the win.

If there was any doubt AEW is committed to building Bayne as the destroyer of the women's division, she dominated two former women's champions throughout this contest.

Even with a few intentional miscues to sell that Ford might cost them, Bayne remains undefeated, and she pulled out some of her most impressive offense yet.

Result

Bayne and Ford def. Statlander and Rosa by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

—Bayne caught Rosa diving off the top rope and dumped her onto Statlander outside. She then threw Ford out onto both women.

—Ford accidentally kicked Bayne in the corner and then took a running corner dropkick from Rosa, who launched off Statlander's back.

—Backstage, Renee Paquette interviewed Mercedes Moné, who delivered a promise to defeat Momo Watanabe once again at Revolution.

Jay White hit the Switchblade on Max Caster right after the bell to win.

Afterward, he promised to celebrate with new AEW world champion Cope at Revolution.

This was barely a segment, let alone a match, but it continued to show how well Caster has found his footing in this obnoxious new role.

It also gave White a clean opportunity to deliver his thoughts on the AEW World Championship match at the Crypto.com Arena in L.A. on Sunday.

Something is going to happen at the end of that match, and the easy betting money would be White turning on Cope. However, it is not the only option with Christian Cage also lurking.

Result

White def. Caster by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

—Caster tried to get a new chant going before the match: "Let's go, Max! You're the best wrestler alive!" It didn't go well.

—Renee Paquette tried to facilitate a sit-down interview between Toni Storm and Mariah May. May spat in Storm's face while the champion confidently declared she would end The Glamour. This was fantastic.

While Swerve Strickland and Brody King looked dangerous together, Ricochet and Kazuchika Okada pulled off the final trick.

The Rainmaker introduced his Continental Championship to the ring, and Ricochet blasted Swerve with it to win.

Pairing up Swerve and King sounded odd on paper, but they not only delivered as expected but also showed some unique tag team chemistry.

Some of this may be preparation and history beyond AEW, but it also speaks to King's ability to adapt to his partners as well as his opponents. He was the glue for the House of Black for a reason.

Ricochet and Okada fit together more for personality than in-ring chemistry, but they played their roles well against their beloved opponents.

As expected, the best pairing in this match was Swerve and Ricochet. The two have so much in-ring chemistry, and they are going to go wild at Revolution.

The result does make Swerve vs. Ricochet feel a bit more predictable as it is hard to imagine the former losing to the latter for a third straight time at Revolution.

It will still be a great match, though, as will Okada vs. King, who were less centralized throughout this match but sold why The Rainmaker will struggle against King.

Result

Ricochet and Okada def. Swerve and King by pinfall

Grade

B

Notable Moments

—Okada and Ricochet took a cheap shot at Swerve together. King responded by going right at The Rainmaker, knocking him off the apron.

—King launched Swerve into Ricochet and the barricade with such force that the feed briefly cut out.

—King stacked up Okada and Ricochet on his shoulders to set up a double Stomp from Swerve on both.

—The Mogul hit the Swerve Stomp on Ricochet, but Okada dived onto the pile to break it up. King then went after The Rainmaker.

As a hype vehicle for Revolution, Wednesday's Dynamite was solid if unspectacular. However, the pure in-ring action was consistently strong across the night.

The eight-man tag team match was a delight. Megan Bayne showed out in a major way in the women's tag. The main event was a strong preview for two important PPV matches.

This may just come down to AEW's confidence in the strength of the Revolution card, which is truly stacked.

Cope delivered with Wheeler Yuta and set the stage for what should be a physical and intense battle against Jon Moxley.

"Hangman" Adam Page and MJF have delivered each week to sell their match as must-see.

Mariah May and Toni Storm deserved more spotlight, but their sit-down interview was the best mic work of the night by a wide margin.

Swerve Strickland and Ricochet are better at telling their story in the ring than on the mic at this stage, and they will deliver at Revolution.

Collision will need to do the rest of the work in hyping Revolution. For now, Dynamite gave a solid preview with key questions left hanging on what AEW has in store.

Overall Grade: B-