Welcome to POST Wrestling’s live coverage article for tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite! Keep an eye on this page throughout the evening to see the latest news and results from tonight’s show. Make sure to hit the refresh button on your browser to see the latest version of the post.
Still to come
- MJF vs. Speedball Bailey
Results
- Jack Perry, Brody King & Kenny Omega def. Ricochet, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona (17:01)
- Will Ospreay def. PAC (17:16) (Recommended)
- Mina Shirakawa, Jamie Hayter & Alex Windsor def. Thekla, Julia Hart & Skye Blue (9:19)
Chris Jericho is back
This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, live from the CanadaLife Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, was scheduled to open with a contract signing between Kenny Omega and MJF. Tony Schiavone was in the ring to moderate the meeting, but kept having his intro get cut off by pyro. Then, suddenly, Fozzy’s “Judas” hit. This could only mean one thing: The rumors were true, Chris Jericho is back.
There were rumblings online today that tonight was the night that Jericho, who has been off TV for nearly a year, would finally return to AEW programming. In front of his home town of Winnipeg, Jericho expectedly got a decent reaction from the 4,000-or-so in attendance.
After taking in the praise from the crowd, Jericho made his comments short: “Canada! AEW! I’m home.”
Just as the Jericho segment was wrapping up, cameras cut to backstage, where we saw Will Ospreay attacking his Dynasty opponent, Jon Moxley. Wheeler Yuta tried to come to his aid but was also wiped out before AEW personnel separated Ospreay from the rest of them.
MJF takes main event booking after contract signing
The expected contract signing between MJF and Kenny Omega went forward in the next segment. Since Omega is in action later tonight, he came to the ring dressed in his gear.
Omega and MJF got the formalities out of the way immediately, both signing the contract for their Dynasty match. Omega was quick to cut off MJF from the promo he was about to begin: “Shut your mouth.”
Omega tried to humble MJF, saying that the fans don’t show up to watch him wrestle. He says that, when he was struggling with diverticulitis, the fans stood behind him because they wanted to get a better champion than MJF someday.
“Somebody needs to knock you down a peg, somebody needs to strike you down, and somebody needs to make sure you are never, ever close to that belt ever again, and I’m going to be the one that’s going to do it,” Omega said.
MJF replied by saying that Omega is aging worse than bagged Canadian milk and took a dig at his “talentless, injury-prone boyfriend Kota [Ibushi], saying that Omega is similarly a “gust of wind” away from being injured forever.
The champ claimed that Omega is aggressively chasing the AEW title nowadays because, per MJF’s scoops, his diverticulitis is in bad shape. MJF said Omega’s stomach is a “ticking time bomb,” and could explode at any moment.
MJF said people will realize at Dynasty that Omega is a false idol who would be better off dead. This comment is the part that sent Omega over the edge, causing him to flip the table between them. There was a no physicality clause for this segment, so Omega had to show some restraint.
Speedball Bailey hit the ring and held back Omega, making sure he didn’t break the clause for this meeting. Bailey got on the mic and demanded that MJF respect Omega’s status as a living legend.
“Maybe some of that ego and arrogance would go away if I kicked some sense into your head,” Bailey said before demanding a match against MJF tonight. After getting mocked by Omega, MJF accepted the match. MJF said that he will make an example of Bailey tonight.
“Tonight, you’re not wrestling just any MJF. Tonight, you’re wrestling an American hero,” MJF said for some cheap heat to end the segment.
I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Omega’s mic-work, but I thought this segment was solid all-around. Omega cut a good babyface promo, MJF perfectly portrayed his scumbag character while also casting some doubt on the challenger’s status, and we got a solid main event coming out of it. I like it.
Omega, King & Perry take down The Demand
Kenny Omega conveniently didn’t have to leave the ring for the next segment, as the first match of the night saw him team with Brody King and Jack Perry to face Ricochet and the Gates of Agony.
The fight went to ringside early on, allowing Perry to score a moonsault to the outside, landing on all three members of The Demand (and Omega, although he likely didn’t plan to hit him as well).
Back in the ring, all three babyfaces scored stereo suplexes to The Demand. Perry was isolated by Ricochet and Co. during a commercial break. He finally fought his way out of the heel corner after dropping Ricochet with a hard lariat. Omega got the hot tag and hit his “You Can’t Escape” moonsault out of the corner onto Bishop Kaun, but had the pin attempt stopped by Ricochet.
Omega gave snap-dragon suplexes to Ricochet and Kaun. He wasn’t able to initially lift up the towering Toa Liona up for one, but eventually took him down. King got into the match and gave all three Demand members a cannonball in the corner.
The Demand started to regain some momentum, including Ricochet scoring a series of tope suicidas to the outside. In the ring, Kaun set up Omega for a springboard 450 splash from Ricochet. However, that wasn’t enough to end the match.
Perry prevented a triple-team move from The Demand onto Omega. A dive to the outside from Perry was caught by the Gates of Agony, but the tag duo were knocked over after King scored a dive of his own.
Omega was about to score a dive to the outside but was cut off by Ricochet, who came flying off the ropes with a huge lariat to the former world champ. Ricochet tried for a 450 Splash off the top rope, but Omega dodged it and instead wobbled him with a knee strike. Ricochet escaped a V-Trigger then dropped Omega on his head with a beautiful Poisonrana.
The two big men of the match, King and Liona, were taken out of the equation after they both went flying over the barricade and into the timekeeper’s area. Back in the ring, Ricochet settled for another near fall to Omega after hitting a Vertigo.
Ricochet grabbed Perry’s AEW National Championship and was seemingly about to use it as a weapon, but Perry snatched the belt from him. Omega escaped a roll-up from Ricochet, caught him with the V-Trigger upon second attempt, then finished the match with a One-Winged Angel in 17 minutes.
This was a fun opener which gave Omega the chance to compete in front of his home crowd while also giving a spotlight to a midcard rivalry. While this match was long, the first half of it was in commercials, so it didn’t feel that dragged out on TV, at least.
Willow Nightingale announced that she will host an open challenge as part of tomorrow’s AEW Collision.
Will Ospreay beats PAC, but suffers Death Riders beatdown afterward
Backstage, we saw Adam Copeland & Christian Cage, both wielding steel chairs, storming into FTR’s locker room to attack them. In the locker room were RPG Vice of the Don Callis Family, who said that FTR aren’t here and will be on tomorrow’s Collision. “I guess we’ll be on Collision,” Copeland said. Copeland and Cage attacked Rocky Romero and Trent Beretta to end the segment.
The second match of the night saw Will Ospreay take on PAC. A sideline report from Renee Paquette noted that this is a rematch from All Out 2024. This was a preview match for Ospreay, trying to take down an underling of Jon Moxley before he takes him on at Dynasty later this month.
PAC attacked Ospreay during his entrance and delivered a suplex onto the ramp at ringside. They did a fake injury spot, with doctors checking on him at ringside. AEW’s medical team urged Ospreay that he can call the match, but Ospreay eventually worked back up to his feet and made it into the ring. Ospreay found himself in a fighting from behind position as the show went to commercials.
Ospreay started to get into the match after the break, coming off the top rope with a springboard forearm. He connected with his Handspring Corkscrew Kick after. PAC escaped a Cheeky Nandos Kick, but got caught by a brainbuster moments later instead.
Ospreay came off the top with a 450 Splash, but it wasn’t enough to beat “The Bastard” just yet. PAC avoided a Sunset Flip Powerbomb off the ring apron and to the floor from Ospreay, instead coming off the apron with a DDT, further targeting Ospreay’s neck.
The match went through a second break and came back with Ospreay and PAC going back-and-forth with strikes. PAC picked Ospreay off the mat for an impressive German Suplex which he bridged into a pin, but Ospreay kicked out at two.
Ospreay countered a move into a powerbomb, then followed up with a Styles Clash. He was slow to capitalize on the move with a pin attempt, which gave PAC enough time to kick out before three.
PAC tried for an avalanche Poisonrana, but Ospreay landed on his feet. A long series of counters ended with PAC turning Ospreay inside out with a hard lariat. He followed up with a tombstone driver.
PAC climbed to the top rope and connected with his Black Arrow finisher, which he transitioned into a Brutalizer submission. A long struggle in the submission from Ospreay ended with him eventually quickly transitioning it into a pin attempt, which earned him the victory in 17 minutes.
The rest of the Death Riders hit the ring afterward to attack Ospreay. After beating down the “Aerial Assassin,” they wrapped a steel chair around his neck. Jon Moxley got on the mic to mock Ospreay about the circumstance he’s in: “Did I put you here, or did you put you here? … Next time, use your head or you might lose it, permanently.”
Moxley decided to spare Ospreay this time, walking away without attacking him with the steel chair. This match between Ospreay and PAC was great; they were able to work a much longer than usual TV match, picked up and slowed down the pace, yet it didn’t feel overdone near the end. Ospreay has been in championship form ever since coming back from an injury that, for most, is career-altering.
Brawling Birds, Shirakawa earn six-woman tag victory
A six-woman tag match was next, with Thekla and the Sisters of Sin taking on the trio of Mina Shirakawa and the Brawling Birds. Shirakawa was putting up a mean face this week again, as she’s still upset about Toni Storm suffering a mystery attack last month, which has taken her out of action.
Shirakawa was kept in the ring for long, eventually setting up for a Brawling Birds hot tag. They tried for their Two Birds, One Stone finisher on Hart but were stopped by Thekla, who appeared on the ring apron with a pair of brass knuckles.
The Brawling Birds got Thekla into the ring with Two Birds, One Stone. Hayter then took out Hart with Hayterade for the pinfall win in nine minutes. A large chunk of this match was in a commercial break, I’m indifferent to it. Unfortunate that, once again this week, the women’s division has been sequestered to a filler segment. They deserve better.
The latest – 9:37 p.m. ET: Darby Allin gets Dynasty assignment
Darny Allin came to the ring for a promo in the next segment, demanding that MJF come to the ring. MJF didn’t show up; he’s presumably busy getting ready for his match, which is in like 10 minutes.
Instead, Don Callis and numerous Don Callis Family members, who have been hired guns for MJF in recent weeks, came out. Callis had a message on behalf of MJF: If Allin can beat a hand-picked member of the Don Callis Family at Dynasty, he’ll get a title shot. Callis said that “hand-picked member” was Andrade El Idolo. Andrade was surprised by this reveal, he clearly didn’t know ahead of time that this was the plan.
The family came to the ring in an attempt to take out Allin. Lance Archer tried to get into the ring but was hit in the head with Allin’s skateboard (and it looked like he might’ve actually made contact with the board here?). Brody King and Jack Perry came in for the save in this brawl, but it was a bit of an awkward exchange with Allin afterward, due to his past with them. The segment ended with Kenny Omega coming out, as he’ll be ringside for the main event.
