Results
- Tommaso Ciampa def. Jericho (13:46)
- Kyle Fletcher def. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW International Championship) (16:47) (Recommended)
- Will Ospreay & Jon Moxley def. JD Drake & Anthony Henry (8:32)
- Willow Nightingale def. Athena, Maya World, Skye Blue, Mina Shirakawa, Rina, Julia Hart & Thunder Rosa (Casino Gauntlet Match) (AEW Women’s World Championship #1 Contenders Match) (18:24)
- Kenny Omega def. MJF (AEW World Championship) (24:06) (Recommended)
Ciampa uses Beach theme for win against Jericho
This week’s special Beach Break edition of AEW Dynamite, live from the BayCare Sound in Clearwater, Florida, opened with an interview backstage featuring one-half of tonight’s main event, Kenny Omega. Renee Paquette asked Omega his thoughts on his high-stakes match tonight against MJF, where he will either leave with the world title or never be able to challenge for the belt again. Omega said his best work has come when his “back is against the wall,” like he finds himself tonight.
“If I go out, if this is truly it … MJF, I’d be willing to extend my hand, shake yours, and congratulate you on a job well done. But trust me, it’s not going to be easy,” he said. Omega put this match in perspective: This match isn’t just for the AEW world title, it’s for a main event spot at Wembley Stadium later this year.
We then went to the live venue, a rare outdoor edition of Dynamite, which looked great! It was set to be a hot night for fans and performers alike – a quick Google told me that it’s a scorching 88 degrees Fahrenheit there tonight. The first match of the night was a long-awaited grudge match between Tommaso Ciampa and Chris Jericho.
Ciampa decided that, instead of meeting Jericho in the ring, he’d try to jump him on the stage. He hid just around the corner from the entrance, but “El Champion” was thinking one step ahead of him. Jericho emerged from the crowd and ran up to the ramp, where he got the head start against Ciampa!
The fight went over to AEW’s Beach Break-themed stage setup, where Jericho suplexed Ciampa onto an outdoor chair while Fozzy’s “Judas” continued to play. The match eventually made its way to the ring and got started.
Ciampa escaped a Walls of Jericho early by rolling to the outside, but Jericho followed him to the ground with a huge top-rope dive. Ciampa caught Jericho coming through the ropes for a DDT, putting him in control of the match for the first time.
Jericho battled back with a nasty Death Valley Driver onto the ring apron a minute later. Ciampa delivered an even more brutal move just a moment later, dropping Jericho face-first onto the top of a steel staircase. It was at this point that Jericho started to sport a cut near the forehead.
Ciampa got a near fall after the show returned from the break, coming off the middle rope with an Air Raid Crash. Jericho started to finally mount a comeback a minute later when he connected with a hurricanrana out of the corner. He followed up with a brainbuster which gave him a two-count.
Ciampa brought a bucket full of sand into the ring. Just as he was about to use it as a weapon, Jericho dropped him with a Codebreaker. A Lionsault was dodged by Ciampa, who then scored a pair of running knee strikes. This wasn’t enough to take down Jericho yet.
Ciampa peeled down a kneepad and set up for yet another huge strike. But, Jericho caught the knee and transitioned into a Walls of Jericho. After distracting the referee, forcing her to throw away the bucket he brought into the ring, Ciampa tossed sand in the eyes of Jericho to escape the hold. Ciampa then scored another knee strike to win via pinfall in 13 minutes.
Listen: A limited Jericho won’t be match of the night on a stacked card like this. But, was this a solid opener, one where he really worked hard to make it work? I think so. And the cheap cheating win definitely helped build up Ciampa’s heel persona, which only debuted (in AEW) with this rivalry.
Ciampa attacked Jericho after the bell with a chair shot to the head. Thankfully, security stopped him from possibly killing Jericho with a drill.
A video package showcased Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor getting into a huge bar fight together. Maybe they got carried away after England’s win over Mexico a few days back. Anyway, the Brawling Birds are back together.
Ospreay, MJF trade blows
Will Ospreay was asked backstage who he wants to see win in the main event. He hopes that Kenny Omega will pull through so he can face his rival once again at All In. This interview was crashed by MJF, who tried to stir the pot by making fun of Ospreay’s ties to Jon Moxley, mocking that he doesn’t have the world title, and more. MJF said he’s a “star,” while Ospreay and Omega are just “good rasslers.”
Ospreay said MJF isn’t the best, but instead a “beggar.” “All you want is to be part of the conversation. When in reality, until you do it on your own, until you ditch all those antics? You aren’t part of the conversation, and you never will be.”
MJF spat in Ospreay’s face, causing a brawl between these two to break out. Unlike the security on Monday night, the staff backstage were quick to break this one up. They have a main event to protect!
Kyle Fletcher dethrones former ally Konosuke Takeshita
The first of two huge title matchups was next, as AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita went up against former friend and ex-Don Callis Family teammate Kyle Fletcher. Much like tonight’s main event, this was a pay-per-view quality bout being given away for free on TV.
Takeshita dropped Fletcher at ringside with a huge dive over the top rope as the show went into a break. Just before the show returned, the champ connected with a superplex out of the corner. Takeshita tried to come leaping off the ropes for a huge clothesline, but instead ate a superkick from Fletcher. Moments later, Takeshita reversed a move from Fletcher into a huge Blue Thunder Bomb.
The fight went to the apron, where another Blue Thunder Bomb was stopped by Fletcher. The Aussie scored a thrust kick, but a brainbuster was countered into a tombstone piledriver from Takeshita, which he transitioned into a huge, devastating wheelbarrow suplex.
Back in the ring, Fletcher got an incredibly close two-count after hitting a Michinoku Driver. Takeshita came charging off the ropes with a lariat. A long series of reversals in the corner ended with Takeshita scoring a powerbomb.
Don Callis got up from his spot at commentary and poked Takeshita in the leg, briefly distracting him. Capitalizing on this, Fletcher scored a running head kick in the corner, but then a follow-up brainbuster was countered into a Raging Fire from Takeshita! A slight hesitation from Takeshita, who sold damage to his right arm, gave Fletcher the time to break a follow-up pin attempt.
Fletcher escaped a backslide from Takeshita, hit a thrust kick to his head and arm, then a Teardrop Brainbuster. Surprisingly, Takeshita kicked out at two! Fletcher landed a running head kick in the corner then a brainbuster which dropped Takeshita’s head onto the top turnbuckle. That awesome-looking spot was finally enough to beat Takeshita in 16 minutes, making Fletcher the new AEW International Champion.
This was a really fun match. I was worried early on that they wouldn’t be able to kick it up a gear and elevate this match above the usual standard. But those final few minutes turned it into the banger we expected.
Andrade crashes family meeting
After a commercial break, Mick Foley came to the ring for an interview with the new champ. Tony Schiavone informed us that this was Foley’s first appearance on TBS since 1994.
After being asked about the match by Foley, Fletcher cut a great promo about how Takeshita was only ever riding his coattails and that they were never actually friends. Callis got in the face of Foley, accusing him of trying to steal the spotlight with this interview. Foley threatened to kick Callis’ ass (Foley is clearly still adjusting to the different rules & ethics that apply in a broadcaster role as opposed to a wrestler).
Callis brushed off this threat, then brought out TNT Champion Kevin Knight. The TNT champ tossed some shade in the way of Fletcher, saying he was due to bring gold to the family. He also said he’s due for an AEW title shot and plans to get it after “Maxwell Jacob Fraudman” and Kenny Omega face off tonight.
This Family meeting was interrupted by Andrade El Idolo, who left Callis’ faction at Forbidden Door. He said that, since Callis promised him a title shot but never got him one, he’s going to take a title from the group.
Callis offered Andrade a match against Jake Doyle. If he beats Doyle, he’ll get a shot at Mark Davis and his AEW National Championship.
I was waiting for Andrade to say “I actually want one of the better titles, like the TNT or International belt,” but instead he asked Callis “How you know?”
Andrade was chased backstage by a few Callis goons. The Callis members ran into Darby Allin backstage. They grabbed his skateboard, which suddenly exploded. They accused Andrade of being responsible for the explosion. Andrade, who was holding a huge explosion button, once again said, “How you know?” as the segment came to a close.
Moxley & Ospreay pick up tag win
The newest Death Rider, Will Ospreay, was in tag action next with Jon Moxley. They were matched with JD Drake and Anthony Henry of The Workhorsemen, who weren’t given an entrance.
Moxley got a hot tag late in the match. In the middle of an exchange, he went to ringside to get hyped up by Marina Shafir. Ospreay got back into the ring and gave Drake a Styles Clash as Moxley delivered a piledriver to Henry. Moxley connected with a Paradigm Shift to Drake, then Ospreay hit the Hidden Blade to seal the deal at eight minutes. Surprised this match went as long as it did, honestly.
We saw a pre-taped promo from Hikaru Shida, who said that TBS stands for “The Best [is] Shida” now that she has won the brand’s title.
Willow Nightingale returns, earns title shot against Thekla
The opponent for AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla at this year’s Redemption pay-per-view was determined next through a casino gauntlet match. A casino gauntlet match, as we have become accustomed to, is a bout where wrestlers come out one-by-one, Rumble style, until one wins via pinfall or submission. The champ Thekla, as well as her All In opponent, Mercedes Moné, were watching this one from ringside.
As determined through last week’s episode of Collision, the first and second-place entrants in the match were Athena and Maya World. Knowing that they just had a few moments before a third entrant would join the bout, World and Athena worked a wild pace to get this one started.
Next was Skye Blue, who brought a kendo stick into the ring with her. Athena completely dumped Blue back-first into a steel staircase with a powerslam before the show went to a break. STARDOM talent Rina, who was in a qualifier match for this last week, appeared as entrant #5 (her showing on Collision was awesome, so I was jazzed to see her here).
Julia Hart entered at #6 and brought the top of a trash can with her. Hart and Blue started causing havoc at ringside, attacking security guards and announcer Justin Roberts. Thunder Rosa took out the Sisters of Sin when she got into the match, giving Hart a Samoan Drop onto the lid of a trash can.
Athena got a near fall after giving Shirakawa an O-Face, but numerous women broke up the pin attempt. In at number eight was, surprisingly, Willow Nightingale, in the mix for the first time since she relinquished the TBS Championship due to injury.
Nightingale went on a run including spinebusters and a double clothesline to the Sisters of Sin. She took out three women at ringside with a cannonball off the ring apron. Nightingale gave Athena a powerbomb onto the ring apron and a Death Valley Driver onto the floor.
Back in the ring, Nightingale gave Hart the Babe with the Powerbomb for the pinfall victory in 18 minutes. It’ll be Thekla vs. Nightingale in Montreal!
This was an okay match (Casino Gauntlets can have a lot of downtime, and while this one had some fun moments, at 18 minutes it felt long). But Nightingale vs. Thekla is a great idea for the next PPV. If Nightingale wins, that sets up the trilogy between Moné and her, which feels like a huge showdown.
There was a hectic brawl after the match. Thekla attacked Nightingale, Divine Dominion showed up and attacked the Sisters of Sin, then Moné got into the ring and attacked Thekla as the segment came to an end.
A video package confirmed that Jack Perry has re-signed with AEW. It was reported recently that his last deal was up.
Mike Bailey called out Mark Davis for his AEW National Championship for Saturday’s Collision.
Kenny Omega regains the AEW World Championship, finally scores win over MJF
The main event of the night saw Kenny Omega challenge AEW World Champion MJF. Omega was either going to reclaim the top AEW belt or lose and never be able to challenge again.
An early One-Winged Angel attempt from Omega was avoided by MJF, who caused them both to go spilling over the top rope and to the floor. The fight went into the crowd, where Omega tossed MJF through numerous rows of seats.
Back in the ring, MJF put a referee in between them, a brief pause which allowed him to catch Omega off guard and regain control of the match. A Heatseeker was stopped by Omega, but the champ scored a slingshot cutter immediately after for a two-count.
They went to the stage of the venue, where Omega scored a moonsault off the top of a lifeguard chair. Omega came flying over the top rope with a huge dive to ringside, connected with a running bulldog back in the ring then a neckbreaker.
A V-Trigger against the ropes was reversed by MJF, who gave Omega a drop-toehold into the middle rope. MJF battled back, powerbombing Omega onto a knee, then connecting with a small-package piledriver for a near fall.
MJF tried for a piledriver off the ring apron and through the commentary desk (the desk was much closer than usual due to the unique setup of this venue). Omega escaped the piledriver and instead kicked MJF off the apron, sending him crashing through the table, which satisfyingly shattered under his pressure. Omega had the upper hand as the show went to its final break.
The fight returned to the apron as the show came back. A One-Winged Angel was once again avoided by MJF, who bit Omega’s head. Omega gave MJF his You Can’t Escape slam onto the floor. He attempted a moonsault off the barricade, but MJF but up his knees to counter the move. MJF picked up Omega and gave him a tombstone piledriver onto a chair set up at ringside.
MJF tried for a Heatseeker, but a knee injury caused him to give up on the move. Omega scored a V-Trigger, but a follow-up One-Winged Angel still couldn’t be completed. Omega transitioned into a German Suplex and scored a V-Trigger in the corner.
Omega brought MJF to the top rope and tried for an avalanche V-Trigger, but MJF reversed it into a gigantic Poisonrana! MJF followed up with a Heatseeker. It looked like this would be it, but Omega just barely kicked out in time! The crowd exploded after this kickout.
MJF grabbed his AEW title and brought it into the ring. Referee Bryce Remsburg took the belt away, giving MJF the time to whip out his Dynamite Diamond Ring. Will Ospreay suddenly emerged on the stage and took the ring from him.
Omega grabbed the AEW world title and was about to hit MJF in the head with it. He decided he was above such tactics, tossing the title aside. MJF gave Omega a low blow, then bashed him in the head with the title. But Omega kicked out at one!
Omega powered up, gave MJF a trio of V-Triggers, then finally lifted him up for the One-Winged Angel for the pinfall win in 24 minutes. Omega is your new AEW World Champion.
What a match this was. This felt like a PPV main event going into it, and it delivered like one in the end. Omega winning was the obvious choice, but some of the late moves in this one made you believe that maybe MJF was somehow going to win. In the end, Omega is the champ, setting up a gigantic match against Will Ospreay at Wembley Stadium. The right booking move and one hell of a performance to come from it.
Final thoughts
This will be remembered as one of the most noteworthy events of Dynamite this year. Between Omega winning the world title, Kyle Fletcher beating Konosuke Takeshita, and Willow Nightingale returning, this was quite a strong two-hour program.
