Welcome to POST Wrestling’s live coverage of this week’s AEW Dynamite! Keep an eye on this article throughout the evening for the latest news and updates regarding tonight’s show. Make sure to hit the refresh button in your browser to see the latest update!
Results
- MJF def. Rush (AEW World Championship) (No Count Outs) (18:35) (Recommended)
- Mark Briscoe def. Lio Rush (9:12)
- Andrade El Idolo def. ??? (0:39)
- Kevin Knight def. Speedball Mike Bailey (TNT Championship) (12:54)
- Mercedes Moné def. Alex Windsor (Women’s Owen Hart Tournament Quarter-Final) (12:25)
Still to come
- Will Ospreay vs. Mark Davis (Men’s Owen Hart Tournament Semi-Final)
MJF turns back Rush in World Title showdown
This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, live from the Segel Center in Richmond, Virginia, opened with a backstage interview of Rush, who will be facing MJF for the title in tonight’s main event. When asked how he feels about the matchup, Rush said that he will “die” in the ring if that’s what it takes to win. The end of his promo was cut off by MJF himself, who approached Rush and slapped him. “If you’re the bull, that makes me the matador!” MJF said before a pull-apart brawl between these two ended the segment.
After a rundown of the card, we went backstage where Rush was getting interviewed again. Andrade El Idolo approached Rush and told him to win for the Luchadors. “Do it for anyone who says we can’t be world champions,” he said.
We then went to the arena, where, surprisingly, the world title matchup between Rush and MJF will actually be the one that gets the action started tonight. I saw a mention from someone that maybe AEW wanted to get this match out before the tip-off for the NBA Finals, which is likely to command most of the viewership of the night. That seems plausible. In a last-minute alteration to the lineup, AEW upgraded this title bout to a “No countout” showdown.
MJF came out wearing a matador costume, holding a red flag traditionally used to dupe a bull. MJF’s disrespect carried into the match, as a striking exchange in the first minute of the bout included the champ spitting in Rush’s face, then gouging his eyes.
Rush sent MJF out of the ring early and scored a tope to the floor. Rush pulled a camera cable out from under the ring and used it to choke MJF. He came charging at MJF for a dropkick near a barricade, but MJF got out of the way then delivered a dropkick which sent the challenger face-first into a propped-up chair. MJF dumped Rush into the timekeeper’s area then posed for the Virginia crowd.
MJF tried to kick Rush into the timekeeper’s area for a second time, but Rush instead scored a back body drop, sending MJF through the timekeeper’s table. Back in the ring, Rush ripped off a top turnbuckle from one of the ring’s corners.
Rush tried for his Bull’s Horns dropkick in a corner of the ring, but MJF got out of the way. Moments later, a referee distraction spot allowed MJF to intentionally ram Rush’s head into the exposed turnbuckle. Rush started to bleed from the head by this point. Rush was able to return the favor a minute later with a similar referee distraction in the corner.
Rush started to pick up some momentum, getting a near fall after a German Suplex and knee strike. A hurricanrana from Rush was countered by MJF into a backbreaker for a two-count. MJF applied his Salt of the Earth arm submission, which Rush escaped by searching for a roll-up pin.
The fight went to the ring apron, where a Heatseeker from MJF was dodged by Rush, who dropped the champ with a headbutt. The challenger followed this up with a straightjacket piledriver just before the show went to commercials.
There was some chatter on the broadcast about Rush starting to deal with a left shoulder issue during this match, potentially dislocating it. Rush connected with his Bull’s Horns dropkick in the corner, but MJF survived by putting an arm on the bottom rope with just milliseconds to spare in a pin count.
Rush tried for yet another straightjacket piledriver, but his left arm injury caused him to drop MJF before he could pick him up. Rush tried for a Bull’s Horns at ringside, but MJF got out of the way. Instead, Rush took a nasty tumble after kicking a barricade. MJF picked up Rush and connected with a tombstone piledriver onto the piece of barricade that was broken off from the failed Bull’s Horns.
Back in the ring, Rush avoided another Heatseeker. The challenger slowly crawled to the top rope and tried for a high-risk dropkick, but MJF side-stepped the move. MJF was quick to put Rush into a crossface right after. A defiant Rush flicked out his tongue at MJF and flipped off the champ, but then passed out moments later, causing the referee to call the bout after 18 minutes. Rush went out on his shield, and MJF continued his third run as AEW World Champion.
This was a stellar opener. It feels like Rush hadn’t been given an opportunity to put on a “big” match before this, and he absolutely delivered when given the chance. It’s wild that we’re getting pay-per-view quality world title matches on a nearly weekly basis, even after Darby Allin’s run has ended.
MJF tried to continue his attack on Rush after the bell, but Mark Briscoe and many other Conglomeration members (including Tomohiro Ishii, who is back on AEW programming) caused him to retreat. I assume the Briscoe title shot is sometime in the coming weeks.
Mark Briscoe isn’t taking his focus off MJF
Mark Briscoe remained in the ring after the segment, as he was set to face “Blackheart” Lio Rush one-on-one in the next bout. Rush was doing his usual weird wackyness early on, including whispering a message into Briscoe’s ear. Briscoe had the advantage as the show went to a break, scoring a blockbuster off the apron and to the floor.
Rush got back into the match as the broadcast returned, hitting a springboard stunner at one point. Briscoe peeled Rush off the top rope for a huge slam to the mat for a near fall. Briscoe seemingly couldn’t get a J-Driller, but was able to connect with his own version of Okada’s Rainmaker instead. A second J-Driller attempt was countered by Rush into a roll-up attempt.
Briscoe blocked a second springboard stunner attempt, then connected with the Cut-Throat Driver for the pinfall victory in nine minutes.
Briscoe got on the mic afterwards and cut a promo on AEW World Champion MJF. Briscoe recounted how his brother and tag partnert, Jay, passed away “at the blink of an eye” in 2023. Days later, he made his AEW debut.
“I got all this grief, this anger, this rage, that I gotta push down inside me,” Briscoe said about that time in his life. He said that joining The Conglomeration filled a void in his life, bringing back a joy to wrestling he had missed for some time.
“And then, Max, we crossed paths. And week by week, slowly but surely, with every bulls*** sentence that came out your mouth, that anger and that rage, it came back to the surface, and beyond that! Because I’ve never felt the hatred you made me feel, Max. I’ve never hated a man like I’ve hated you!”
Briscoe said that, while he was satisfied when he caused MJF to briefly go on hiatus after beating him at All Out last year, the anger returned when he came back.
“You say you’re the best? Prove it, Max! You brought me to this place of darkness I’ve never been, man. I feel demons on me. Well ain’t that appropriate, devil.”
Briscoe finished the promo by saying that the devil loses in the end. Really incredible work from him on the mic. I’m excited to their rematch, whenever it happens.
Thekla declares war
Thekla emerged from the crowd with a microphone to cut a promo. Thekla said that she promised herself if a STARDOM wrestler returned to AEW, she would make sure to burn the company down. With Forbidden Door around the corner, Thekla wanted to give a warning shot to anyone from the Joshi brand who is thinking of coming over and challenging for her world title.
“I am not declaring war on STARDOM. I am declaring death to STARDOM,” she said.
Thekla climbed a ladder so she could spit on the stage’s LED display for Forbidden Door, which had a STARDOM logo on it. The lore here makes it a fun storyline. The crowd didn’t seem interested.
Backstage, Jon Moxley told Will Ospreay that he’s a completely different person than when he faced Mark Davis and lost. “This person has never faced Mark Davis,” Moxley said.
Andrade earns win, Don Callis makes announcement
We had a standby bout of sorts next, as Andrade El Idolo faced off with a local enhancement talent. They said his name, but it was hard to hear. Whoever it was, he was dropped with a Spinning Back Elbow then a DM for the finish in 39 seconds. Since this match wasn’t expected to go long, Andrade did his usual mid-match selfie with a woman before the bell sounded.
Andrade got on the mic afterward and made it clear that he wants a shot at the AEW World Championship. This promo was surprisingly cut off by Andrade’s boss, Don Callis, as well as the recently returned Jake Doyle.
Callis used Andrade’s spotlight to announce something completely unrelated: TNT Champion Kevin Knight has joined the Don Callis Family! Andrade didn’t seem happy that Callis stole his moment here.
DCF’s Kevin Knight retains against former tag partner
Just moments after it was announced that Kevin Knight had joined the Don Callis Family, he put his TNT Championship on the line against former JetSpeed tag partner Speedball Mike Bailey.
Bailey connected with a springboard Corkscrew to the outside early on. Back in the ring, a shooting star press was avoided by Knight. The champ gave Bailey a nasty dropkick as the show went to a break.
A DDT attempt from Bailey was countered into a suplex from Knight as the show returned. Knight got a two-count after a hard lariat. Knight leaped into the air for what was an attempted lariat, but Bailey caught him with a spinning back kick – this looked incredible.
It looked like they were about to recreate the Ricochet/Logan Paul Rumble mid-air spot, but Knight did a fake-out to avoid the collision. Bailey tried for his Triangle Moonsault, but was shoved over the top rope and out of the ring by Knight instead. Knight followed Bailey to the ringside area with a huge springboard lariat moments later.
The fight returned to the ring, where Bailey scored their standing Ultimo Weapon. The Time Adventure kick was hit and Bailey was about to score an Ultimo Weapon out of the corner, but Knight countered into a huge hurricanrana off the top rope. Knight hit a backbreaker for a near fall.
Another springboard lariat from Knight was countered by Bailey into a roll-up, which caused a two-count. Bailey hit a spinning back kick, then started to set up for a Flamingo Driver. It was at this point that Jake Doyle distracted the referee, allowing Don Callis to knock Bailey off-balance to prevent the finisher from being scored.
Knight scored a gigantic powerbomb off the top rope (they overshot this move a little, and honestly, it looked kind of terrifying how Bailey hit the mat). Knight then connected with a huge Uranage for the pinfall win in just under 13 minutes. The Jet retains. Scary finish and the interference was a little lame, but otherwise these two put together a fun showcase.
Backstage, The Dogs were seen sipping on Colt 40s for “Five Second Brews,” mocking Cope & Cage’s Five Second Pose. This was interrupted by the Young Bucks, who said that they believe The Dogs aren’t next in line for Cope & Cage’s tag titles. The Bucks called out The Dogs for a #1 contenders match. “The #1 contenders will wrestle when we feel like it,” David Finlay said.
The latest – 9:46 p.m. ET: Mercedes Moné returns, advances in Owen Hart Cup
Renee Paquette asked MJF, who was in a bathtub following his title win, what he thought of Mark Briscoe’s callout. “Color me awfully shocked that that hick Mark Briscoe wants a shot at glory,” he said. “No match for you, you bumpkin.”
Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Women’s Quarter-Final action was up next. Alex Windsor was originally scheduled to face Willow Nightingale in the opening round, but was instead given a “Wild Card” opponent after Nightingale withdrew due to injury. Who did that Wild Card end up being? Mercedes Moné! Back on AEW programming for the first time since New Year’s Eve, when she dropped the TBS title, Moné now has world title aspirations.
This was a trilogy match. Commentary noted that Windsor scored the win in their last meeting, taking the RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championship off Moné in December.
Moné had control as the show went to a break, hitting a meteora off the apron and to the floor. Windsor started to gain some steam as the show came back, hitting a Blockbuster to the floor as part of a run of moves.
Moné tried for a Three Amigos in the ring, but Windsor countered the third suplex into a Made in Japan for a near fall. The fight went to the top rope, where Moné scored a massive meteora for a two-count.
Moné connected with a Sunset Flip Powerbomb into a set of turnbuckles. Moné tried for a meteora in the corner, but Windsor got out of the way. The women went back and forth with roll-up pin attempts, none of which were able to get the job done.
Moné wobbled Windsor with a knee strike, connected with a backstabber, then transitioned into her Statement Maker submission for the victory in 12 minutes. Moné, who held onto the choke for an extra 10 seconds for good measure, is back in the win column for the first time in a long time. A solid return performance for her here.
