AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from June 14

Adam Cole and MJF are on a collision course for an AEW World Championship match, and the former had the opportunity to earn a shot at the self-proclaimed “Devil” when they clashed in an eliminator bout Wednesday.

The showdown headlined an episode of AEW Dynamite that also featured the latest in the rivalry between The Elite and Blackpool Combat Club, an AEW World Women’s Championship match and the latest title defense by TNT champion Wardlow.

Find out what went down with this recap of the show, airing live from the birthplace of Dynamite: the Capital One Center in Washington, D.C.

Announced in advance for Wednesday’s show:

• AEW World Championship Eliminator match: Adam Cole vs. MJF
• TNT Championship: Wardlow (c) vs. Jake Hager
• AEW World Women’s Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Skye Blue
• Trios match: “Hangman” Adam Page and The Young Bucks vs. Blackpool Combat Club
• Trios match: Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy and Keith Lee vs. Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland and Gates of Agony)
• The return of Sammy Guevara

Adam Cole had 30 minutes to defeat MJF and earn himself a shot at the AEW World Championship.

He fell short by one second as the clock ran out and his title aspirations were seemingly dashed. MJF, ever the cowardly heel, pulled out every underhanded method he had in an attempt to thwart the opposition, but it was his ability to stall that played into his favor.

When challenged to five more minutes by Cole, he slithered out of the ring like the snake he is, a classic villain who knows what to do and when to do it to elicit the desired reaction.

Cole appeared to injure his arm in the middle of the bout and continued nursing it, so it will be interesting to see if he is injured or just hurt. If it is the latter, expect us to somehow get to Cole vs. MJF in time for Forbidden Door or All In, at the latest.

Things got a bit clunky down the stretch as the competitors attempted to drag things out to hit the time limit, but this was still a strong match and the crowd was red-hot throughout, so this was an easy thumbs-up.

Result

Cole and MJF fought to a time-limit draw

Grade

B

Top Moments

• MJF mocked Shawn Michaels’ trademark stance and Sweet Chin Music tuneup, eluding to obvious comparisons between HBK and his star pupil in NXT, Cole. 
• The champion delivered a tombstone piledriver on the ring apron.
• MJF delivered a top-rope elbow drop from the ring to Cole and through the timekeeper’s table at ringside. The babyface immediately nursed his left arm, which appeared to become swollen and discolored over the course of the contest.
• The heel delivered a low blow in plain view of the referee, but there was no disqualification. He attempted to use the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but referee Bryce Remsburg caught him. That set up Cole for the Panama Sunrise and the Boom, only for the match to end in a 30-minute time-limit draw.

Will Sammy Guevara stand on his own or continue to rely on the Jericho Appreciation Society for support?

It was the question at the heart of the promo segment featuring The Spanish God Wednesday night when Darby Allin attempted to convince him to be his own man rather a crony for Chris Jericho.

Guevara talked back to The Ocho when he appeared and looked for an apology. Sting arrived on the scene, and a tag team match pitting Allin and The Icon against Guevara and Jericho was, seemingly, made for next week’s show.

The stuff with Guevara standing up for himself in the face of Jericho was great and should plant the seeds for the student to lash out at the teacher. First, though, the competitors will have to coexist if they hope to overcome Allin and Sting if, and when, they finally clash.

If the reactions Wednesday are any indication, however, getting fans to give up on booing Guevara and fully embrace him may be an uphill battle.

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• “I have to make some changes here in AEW,” Guevara said.
• “Are you going to stand on your own two feet or live in the shadow of the JAS?” Allin asked The Spanish God.
• “You call yourself The Wizard, right? I’ll tell you what…the magic is gone,” Allin told Jericho.
• Sting and Jericho stared each other down, with the former countering the latter’s “Floyd” baseball bat with his own and seemingly setting up a tag team match for next week’s show in the process.

AEW international champion Orange Cassidy, Keith Lee, Sting and Allin battled Swerve Strickland, “The Machine” Brian Cage, Toa Liona and Kaun in a big 8-Man Tag Team Match.

The match was pure, unadulterated fun with fast-paced action that highlighted all involved.

Strickland has issues with Cassidy, Lee and a long history with Allin, so that mutual disdain for Swerve at least brought the babyfaces together sensibly.

Sting can credibly beat anyone and did so here, seemingly building some momentum ahead of whatever awaits him and Allin against the JAS.

Good, fun stuff from all involved that does not have to be remembered beyond this show.

Result

Allin, Sting, Cassidy and Lee defeated Mogul Embassy

Grade

B

Top Moments

• The heels worked together to set up and deliver an electric chair double stomp spot to Lee that Cassidy and Allin just narrowly broke up.

Wardlow defended the TNT Championship against Jake Hager in a match with no build, background or heat to speak of.

The bout, which was better than expected thanks to the crowd’s support of The War Dog, saw the champion retain with his trademark powerbombs.

This was less about the in-ring action and more about the post-match as Christian Cage and Luchasaurus revealed a bloodied Arn Anderson, the victim of a beatdown at the hands of the heels as Captain Charisma and his masked muscle attempted to eliminate Wardlow’s greatest support system.

The feud is cold and nothing we saw here changes that.

Result

Wardlow defeated Hager to retain

Grade

C

Top Moments

• Hager attacked Wardlow during his entrance, taking the fight to The War Dog before the bell.
• Wardlow drilled Hager with consecutive powerbombs for the win.
• Backstage, Renee Paquette informed MJF that he will battle Hiroshi Tanahashi at Forbidden Door. He reminded the interviewer he has no-showed Tony Khan bookings before and said he will not be facing The Ace on June 25 in Toronto.

Sky Blue is the future of the women’s division in AEW, and she had a breakout performance Wednesday against women’s champion Toni Storm, who was accompanied by Ruby Soho.

Saraya was noticeably absent and replaced by a cardboard cutout, as the commentary team came up with the “wouldn’t be seen in a town like this” excuse.

Proving she can hang with a strong in-ring performer while still hitting all the important booking spots, including spraying the Aussie in the face with her own paint, Blue showcased the improvement that comes with this type of opportunity.

The incessant cheating on the part of The Outcasts, followed swiftly by a babyface save, is a tired formula, though. Why not have Willow Nightingale at ringside with Blue for the entire match when she knows firsthand how badly the heels cheat their way to victory?

It works initially, but when it’s the fallback for the creative forces, it becomes tiresome. That was certainly the case here.

Storm and Soho are great, though, so they manage to get the most they can out of the booking, so there’s that.

Result

Storm defeated Blue to retain

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Before the match, Zack Sabre Jr. confronted Orange Cassidy about an AEW international championship shot, only to be interrupted by Daniel Garcia. The segment devolved and a tag team match for next week pitting Sabre and Garcia against Cassidy and Ring of Honor Pure champion Katsuyori Shibata.
• The heels spray-painted Blue’s mom at ringside.
• Blue fought fire with fire, spraying Storm in the face and rocking her with a side kick that earned only a two-count.
• The challenger kicked out of Storm Zero but succumbed to the cloverleaf as the champion retained.
• NJPW Strong women’s champion Nightingale made the save for her friend as the heels beat Blue down.

The Young Bucks and “Hangman” Adam Page defeated Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli in Wednesday’s main event when Page pinned Yuta following the Buckshot Lariat.

The match wrote the latest chapter in the rivalry between the factions, but what came after it overshadowed anything that happened between the ropes.

First was the return of Eddie Kingston, who sparred with Castagnoli ahead of an upcoming Ring of Honor title match. Then came the arrival of Konosuke Takeshita, the return of Kenny Omega and a surprise appearance from Will Ospreay.

The latter led to a solid show-closing beatdown that put heat on one of the marquee bouts of the Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 25.

With that said, so much happened in the span of five minutes that it was almost impossible for any of it to sink in. Kingston’s return, which should have meant more given the equity he has built up with fans, was immediately eclipsed; and Takeshita, a top heel at this point, was tossed aside in favor of Ospreay.

This is the danger of throwing too much into one segment and not letting it breathe.

Some will argue it was an action-packed finale that will help AEW build momentum entering its most significant period since the summer of 2021, but not allowing important developments to take the spotlight they need instantly diminishes them.

With that said, the match was the typically good stuff we have come to expect from The Elite and Bryan Danielson was great on commentary.

Result

The Elite defeated Blackpool Combat Club

Grade

A

Top Moments

• A frustrated Danielson watched from the commentary position, with Yuta’s latest defeat taxing his patience.
• Kingston returned, cleared Castagnoli from the ring, and came face-to-face with best friend Moxley. He helped his buddy by pulling Matt Jackson off of him.
• Takeshita rushed the ring and attacked the babyfaces before Omega arrived and brawled with the newly heel associate of Don Callis.
• Ospreay attacked Omega, laying him out and standing tall to close out the show.

A lot happened on this show.

Cole and MJF had a strong 30-minute draw at the top; Sammy Guevara looks set to leave the Jericho Appreciation Society; Wardlow and Luchasaurus are about to clash over the TNT title; and Willow Nightingale has again put herself in the path of The Outcasts as the booking of the women’s division goes in circles.

And that was all before the main event segment that packed way too much into a small window.

Tony Khan has a tendency to do this, throwing entirely too many matches and angles into any given show and, as a result, glossing over important developments.

Yes, there is Forbidden Door on June 25. Yes, AEW presents its first episode of Collision this Saturday on TNT. Yes, All In is on the horizon and the company must start booking toward that event.

That much in a short period of time is destined to create booking overload. It’s on Khan and his creative team to decide what needs to happen and when rather than throwing it all out there at once and hoping the audience can digest it all.

Wednesday’s show was good and had a lot to love, but Khan must walk a fine line moving forward in terms of accentuating what needs to be highlighted and backing off of angles and segments that can wait a week or two.

Overall Grade: B