AEW Dynamite
May 24th, 2023
By: John Siino
MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV
Commentary: Excalibur, Taz & Tony Schiavone
AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Kyle Fletcher
Orange Cassidy’s back is all taped up as Kyle Fletcher goes right after him with a brain buster for a two-count to start the match. Cassidy gets whipped in the corner and kicked from the apron to the outside, where Fletcher hits him with a suicide dive. Fletcher stays in control, going to the top rope to taunt the crowd by mimicking Cassidy, but Cassidy pushes him off and hits a sloppy-looking DDT to the apron, knocking him to the outside. Cassidy hits a Beach Break on the outside, before running back inside telling the referee to start counting Fletcher out, but Fletcher gets in at the nine count. Cassidy takes over until he gets stopped by a thrust kick to the head, as Fletcher gets a two. Fletcher hits a brainbuster for another two as we head to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, Fletcher kicks Cassidy to the apron, but as Cassidy tries a cross body off the top rope gets caught into a Michinoku Driver for a two. They go back and forth reversing each other for a bit until Fletcher sends Cassidy in the corner with punches. Cassidy comes back with a brainbuster followed by lazy chops, a thrust kick, and Michonuku Driver for a two. Fletcher holds on and hits two back-to-back Tombstones for a two-count. They head to the top rope, where Fletcher turns a Tombstone into an avalanche Michonuku Driver but Cassidy still is able to kick out. Fletcher picks up Cassidy, but he turns it into a DDT. Fletcher stops an Orange Punch attempt. Fletcher tries another Tombstone, but Cassidy reverses into a roll-up while crossing the legs for the pin and the win.
Winner: Orange Cassidy by pinfall at 15:05, to retain
Too Much Fun
Renee Paquette is with Ricky Starks where they say he is in the Blackjack Battle Royal on Sunday. Starks says he’s sick and tired of getting beat up every week by Jay White and Juice Robinson, and he’s going to take matters into his own hands. Starks says he will refocus his energy on the Battle Royal, but Juice runs in and starts attacking him. As Starks fights back, Jay White attacks Starks from behind and tosses him into an equipment case. White takes a chair and smacks Starks’ back with it and says Starks thinks he’s done with Bullet Club Gold, but they say absolutely not as they are having too much fun making his life a living hell.
Driving Down That Road
We have a sit-down promo from Jack Perry who talks about the drive he made to this arena and talks about the past drives he ever had here including the first Double or Nothing and with Christian Cage right before he turned on him. Every time he makes the drive, he’s a little bit different than before but the same thing is the feeling he gets when he stands in the ring as it gives him a purpose and lets him be the man that he wants to be. That ring lets him live the life he chooses to live and on Monday morning when it comes time to drive back home, he’s going to do it as the AEW World Champion.
Blood Brothers
FTR heads to the ring where Cash Wheeler says it would be easy to call Jeff Jarrett trash or carny, but the bottom line is he outsmarted them. More importantly, tho, Jarrett has been lucky and on Sunday his luck runs out. Dax Harwood says a couple of guitars won’t keep them down and all the guitars he broke haven’t made him relevant. If Jarrett thinks the head of the tag team of the division is going to be a couple of rejects from TNA, it ain’t going to happen. After Double or Nothing he might want to call the Queen of the Mountain for job security, and he doesn’t mean Karen Jarrett, but Dixie Carter. Mark Briscoe makes his way out and Wheeler says he knows he’s mad but to not let Jarrett and them make him look stupid and FTR would go to hell and back for him. Briscoe says they are blood brothers for life but asks what was up with that piledriver from Harwood last week. Harwood says it was a mistake and tries to apologize, but Briscoe smacks him in the face instead of giving him a handshake. Wheeler separates them and tells Briscoe to not let them get in his head. Briscoe heads to the back and pushes Karen Jarrett and Sonjay Dutt off before smacking Jeff Jarrett. Jay Lethal asks for a hug, but Briscoe pushes him off and tells him he’s getting tired of this bullshit.
Shove The Offers
Renee is backstage with Sammy Guevara and says that MJF relayed the message to him that the offer still stands for Guevara to lay down and receive the money. Guevara says hell no and MJF can’t buy everything, as he isn’t for sale. His whole life people have tried him promotions and more money, but he told them they can shove their offers right up their ass as he is already living in the real world. Not only has he made it as a pro wrestler but he’s the man who will take the title from MJF.
AEW World Trios Championship Open House Match: The House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) (c) (w/ Julia Hart) vs. AR Fox, Blake Christian & Metalik
The dealer’s choice rules are one man in/one man out, without having to make a tag as Buddy Matthews & Blake Christian start the match, but quickly competitors start coming in and out of the ring until Malakai takes control over Christian as Taz complains about not having any lights to read his notes. They tried something a bit different with the lights, instead of all black it’s spread out making a funhouse-like illusion. They start diving to the outside, before Brody King gets in AR Fox’s face stopping him from diving and taking him out with a big clothesline, but gets tripped up running the ropes and sent to the outside where Christian & Metalik attack him before Fox jumps on them with a senton. Matthews dodges a 450 from Fox on the inside and hits a stomp. Matthews puts Fox in a leg lock, but the rope break can’t stop him Christian tries to stop him, but Brody stops Christian as Fox taps out.
Winners: The House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King & Buddy Matthews) by submission at 5:18, to retain
In The Storm Of Violence
We go to the Blackpool Combat Club in the back where Bryan Danielson talks about Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta winning the ROH Tag Team titles tonight and this Sunday them ending The Elite. Jon Moxley calls themselves the best in the world and when he says that his hand doesn’t shake as it’s the standard they set for themselves every single time they step in the ring. They do the job the way it’s meant to be done and there is nobody in this world better at it than them. This is the major leagues and only one thing matters, are you willing to stand in the line of fire, stand up to the plate and deliver when it counts this Sunday it’s going to count and they will deliver. In the storm of violence, they will stand tall. Ready, take aim and fire, and you will see the difference between professionals and amateurs.
The Four Pillars
MJF makes his way to the ring, not before taking Tony Schiavone’s water and tossing it back into his face. MJF says it’s funny they call this place Sin City, but when he looks around this arena he thinks they should change it to Virgin Vegas. MJF stars running down his opponents with things he feels they should do including Jack Perry stepping into an echo chamber so he could bore himself to death. MJF starts talking about how the four pillars aren’t just a part of AEW but they are AEW and brings up others having cheat codes and appeared elsewhere before. MJF says he doesn’t want to be anymore and is kind of bored here and sick of this place. He’s sick of the lack of competition and sick of the AEW fans not showing him the respect he so greatly deserves. MJF brings up how Tony Khan knows that his contract is coming up and it’s not a coincidence that he doesn’t have to be pinned to lose his belt as Tony Khan is hitting the panic button and they should be worried as he might just take his ball and go home, as it’s his ball and he earned it. He ran with the ball faster than anyone can keep up with as nobody on this roster is on the level of the devil.
Darby Allin makes his way out and says he’s lost a lot in his life but never lost his mind as he knows where is he going. Everybody told him to play it safe and he listened to those people, but it got him working at the 99-cent store cleaning toilets. He moved from Seattle to Atlanta and lived in his car and told himself he can’t leave the car until he makes it as a professional wrestler. He brings up how no other company will let him skateboard with Tony Hawk or climb Mount Everest. He says he’s not a puppet, and to become the face of AEW and says he might take the AEW World Championship with a headlock takeover, as MJF kicks him down low. Before MJF can attack him with the diamond ring, Sammy Guevara runs out and chases MJF away. As MJF is heading to the back, Jack Perry comes out and takes him out with a clothesline.
We get a quick promo from Wardlow and Arn Anderson talking about how there are four days before Wardlow takes on Christian Cage at Double or Nothing in a ladder match, as Anderson holds up the Four Horsemen symbol.
Taya Valkyrie vs. Lady Frost
Commentary brings up how Taya Valkyrie is allowed to use the Road to Valhalla this Sunday against Jade Cargill. Right away Lady Frost takes Taya down with head scissors, but Taya comes back with an arm drag and attacks Frost in the corner with kicks and hits a sliding lariat for a two. Taya continues with chops, but Frost dodges a spear in the corner and hits a high kick before getting taken out with a clothesline for a two-count. Jade, Leila Grey, and Mark Sterling make their way out to watch the match as they go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, Frost is in control and hits a twisting dive off the top rope, but Taya comes right back with a spear. Taya comes back with a stomp but starts taunting Jade instead of going for the pin. Taya follows with a backbreaker, knee strike before hitting the Road to Valhalla for the pin and the win.
Winner: Taya Valkyrie by pinfall at 7:32
The Location Of AEW Collision’s Debut
We go backstage to Tony Khan who says it’s great to be back to where everything began as he talks about the start of AEW Collision on June 17th. Tony Khan says the first episode of Collision will take place from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Pay In Blood
Alex Marvez is backstage with Adam Page and asks for his status with him, Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks. Page says he and Omega never considered themselves friends but family. And family takes them to Anarchy in the Arena this Sunday. The price they paid is too high, and this Sunday they will pay in blood.
Contract Signing and… Sabu?!?
Tony Schiavone is inside the ring for the contract signing between Adam Cole and Chris Jericho. Cole comes out with Roderick Strong as Jericho has the Jericho Appreciation Society. Schiavone says everyone has agreed to no physical contact tonight, as Cole goes and signs the contract right away. Cole says for weeks he wondered by Jericho did what he did and he couldn’t eat or sleep. Cole brings up what they did to Britt Baker and how Jericho directed traffic and calls Jericho a scumbag and a disgusting human being. Cole says Jericho did it because he thinks he is invincible and they will find out who invincible he is this Sunday when he beats the living hell out of him. The blood will be on Cole’s hands and that’s just the way he likes it and he hopes Jericho knows it’s taking all the power inside of him to not beat him within an inch of his life. Cole said on Sunday he will break both his legs, shatter his jaw and his hand, and tells Jericho to ‘sign the paper, bitch’. Jericho says he’s not a bitch as he’s not from Las Vegas, and goes to sign the paper. Jericho says before he signs he brings up how Cole’s head injury must have messed up his memory and reminds Cole what happened by showing footage of what happened. Jericho asks what kind of a man would allow the love of his life to get the crap kicked out of her, as Strong goes to hold Cole back from attacking Jericho. Jericho calls Cole a coward and says he will knock his teeth down his throat. Jericho signs the contract and says there are five of them and only two of them. Cole said he made a phone call to someone who lives here in Las Vegas and brings out Sabu as Taz says ‘I know that guy’. Sabu tosses a chair into Matt Menard’s face as the rest of JAS escapes.
We get a quick promo for Jamie Hayter and Toni Storm ahead of their match on Sunday.
Roderick Strong vs. Daniel Garcia
They head right into the next match as both men stayed after that last segment. They start the match strong with a chop exchange with Roderick Strong having the upper hand. Strong hits a backbreaker, as they go to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, Daniel Garcia is in control while doing his dances in between that Taz says reminds him of Alex Wright. They go back and forth before Garcia puts on the Dragon Tamer. Strong breaks out, hits a gut buster, and End of Heartache for the pin and the win.
Winner: Roderick Strong by pinfall at 8:40
We hear from Willow Nightingale as they show footage of her beating Mercedes Mone and winning the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship. They run down the card for AEW Double or Nothing and announce that Sabu is the special enforcer for the Adam Cole/Chris Jericho match.
ROH World Tag Team Championship: Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) (c) (w/ Alex Abrahantes) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta)
Bryan Danielson joined the commentary table and called Excalibur the ‘man in the mask’ like William Regal used to do. The bell rings with all four men in the ring going at it until Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta get sent to the outside and hit with double dives. Penta El Zero Miedo hits a top rope crossbody to them before Rey Fenix dives himself. They head back inside and all four start fighting still until it’s Penta and Claudio as Yuta holds on to Fenix’s leg. Fenix gets free but springboards into an uppercut by Claudio for a two-count as we head to picture-in-picture.
When we come back, Claudio hits the Giant Swing on Fenix as Yuta hits a dropkick on him, for a two-count from Claudio. Fenix starts attacking both in the corners before he and Penta take out Yuta with a double superkick. Claudio catches Fenix into a press slam, but Penta takes him out with a Canadian Destroyer as Fenix hits a piledriver on Yuta for a two-count. Danielson starts screaming at what Regal taught them and says The Elite isn’t doing any of that. Claudio takes out Fenix with an uppercut and launches Yuta onto Fenix, but only gets a two-count. As Alex Abrahantes is distracting the referee, the Young Bucks hold Claudio back as the Lucha Bros hit the double stomp/Fear Factor on Yuta for the pin and the win.
Winners: Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) by pinfall at 10:27, to retain
Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson run down and chase the Young Bucks out into the crowd. Moxley gets on the mic and says they can laugh and smile while they still can because this Sunday they will get plastered on the pavement of Las Vegas Boulevard. Anarchy in the Arena will be the wildest match because they won’t accept anything less, and if they think the BCC has gone too far, buckle your seatbelt as you haven’t seen anything yet.
Rampage Line-Up
- Rush, Dralistico & Preston Vance vs. The Acclaimed & Billy Gunn
- Dr. Britt Baker DMD & Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose & Marina Shafir
- Ethan Page & The Gunns in action
- Big Bill & Lee Moriarty vs. Best Friends
