It was a big night on AEW Dynamite as two championships were up for grabs, with Scorpio Sky defending against Wardlow, and Britt Baker defending against Thunder Rosa inside a steel cage. Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley took on Wheeler Yuta and Chuck Taylor, The Hardys faced Private Party, and we heard from the Jericho Appreciation Society for the first time. Up first, Adam Cole and reDRagon squared off against “Hangman” Adam Page, Jungle Boy, and Luchasaurus.
Quick Results
Adam Cole & reDRagon defeated “Hangman” Adam Page, Jungle Boy, and Luchasaurus via pinfall. ****
Bryan Danielson & Jon Moxley defeated Wheeler Yuta & Chuck Taylor via submission. ***½
Scorpio Sky defeated Wardlow via pinfall. ***
The Hardys defeated Private Party via pinfall. ***
Thunder Rosa defeated Dr. Britt Baker via pinfall. ****
The Matches
Trios Tag Team Match: Adam Cole & reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) vs “Hangman” Adam Page, & Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus
I’ve been excited for this one since it was made official last week, and it didn’t disappoint. Jungle Boy and Adam Cole started things off, but it didn’t get going until Luchasaurus got involved. He tagged in and took everyone out, but as soon as he got out of the ring, Bobby Fish was there to trip him up and wear him down. reDRagon worked together, using a variety of strikes to pin him to the corner. The big man fought out and tagged in Hangman who exploded. He hit a fallaway slam on Fish, dived over the ropes onto O’Reilly and Cole, hit a Tope Suicida on Fish, then ran back round to attack O’Reilly and Cole once again. He hit a pop-up powerbomb on Fish as Jungle Boy launched into the air to hit a Tope Con Hilo on Cole and reDRagon. Hangman, Jungle Boy, and Luchasaurus hit a triple moonsault which looked amazing. With the referee distracted, Cole hit an Enzuigiri on Jungle Boy which allowed reDRagon to gain some momentum. Luchasaurus managed to tag in and decimate reDRagon. Cole ran in as Luchasaurus hit him with a superkick, then chokeslammed reDRagon and flattened them with a standing moonsault. The champs went for a Doomsday Device, but O’Reilly escaped as Jungle Boy leapt into a superkick from Cole. Hangman and Cole came face to face and traded strikes. Cole hit a couple of pump kicks as Hangman landed Deadeye. Jungle Boy connected with a Double Doomsday Device on O’Reilly and Cole, but Fish broke up the pin. reDRagon wiped out Jungle Boy as Cole connected with the Boom to pick up the victory. It’s always great to see a PPV-worthy match kick off the show. This feud between Hangman and Cole is far from over.
Bryan Danielson & Jon Moxley vs Best Friends (Wheeler Yuta & Chuck Taylor) W/ Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta, & Danhausen
William Regal joined commentary as Moxley and Danielson went straight after Best Friends the moment the bell went. Yuta got dropped by a hanging suplex as Danielson landed some big kicks. Taylor tagged in after Yuta got a bit of offence. Taylor locked in a single leg crab on Danielson, but Mox tagged and booted him off his partner. Danielson sent Taylor into the guard rail and threw him back into the ring where the beating continued. Danielson put Taylor into the Indian Death Lock as Mox came in to hit a superplex. He landed a piledriver after beating Taylor down in the corner. Danielson went for a running knee, but Taylor moved out of the way. Yuta tagged in and hit a step-up Enzuigiri and a running knee, followed by a bridged German suplex. The momentum didn’t last long as Mox hit a cutter and a flying clothesline as Danielson held Yuta. Mox hit a Paradigm Shift on Taylor outside the ring as Danielson launched a barrage of kicks. Yuta took them and got to his feet, but Mox floored him with a Saito suplex. Danielson stomped on Yuta repeatedly as Mox locked in the bulldog choke to make him tap. These guys are phenomenal together and I can’t imagine anyone defeating them. Regal headed to the ring after the match as Yuta pulled away from Best Friends and headed back towards the winners. He held his hand out to Regal who slapped him across the face. Yuta squared up to Regal as Danielson and Moxley stood next to him. It looks as though Best Friends are imploding this week. First the Statlander promo, and now Yuta looks to be after tutelage from Regal and company.
TNT Championship Match: Wardlow vs Scorpio Sky (C) W/ Dan Lambert, Page Van Zant, & Austin Vanderford)
Wardlow threw Sky into the air, but the champ landed some blows and bit his forehead. Wardlow got angry and beat the hell out of Sky, then followed him out of the ring. Van Zant and Vanderford stood up to Wardlow who grabbed Vanderford and nearly powerbombed him until Sky attacked him. Back in the ring, he wore down Wardlow with various strikes, but the Wardog fought back and landed a belly-to-belly suplex. Wardlow almost hit a powerbomb, but Sky got out, only to eat a one-arm chokeslam. Wardlow hit three powerbombs until Lambert got on the apron. Wardlow went for a powerbomb outside the ring, but Shawn Spears appeared on the ramp. From out of nowhere, MJF pushed Wardlow into the ring post. He climbed back in the ring as Sky rolled him up to retain the title. MJF got in the ring with Spears. Wardlow fought out and then went after MJF. He was about to powerbomb him as Spears hit him with the chair. Vanderford put him in a chokehold. Spears smashed the chair over Wardlow’s head as MJF paid off Dan Lambert. MJF then hit Wardlow with the diamond ring as he stood over him. Why would you anger Wardlow, MJF? Things are about to get very interesting, that’s for sure.
Private Party (Mark Quen & Isiah Kassidy) vs The Hardys (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy)
Oh, boy. The Hardys are back together and they haven’t dropped a beat. They showed off some classic Hardy Boyz double team manoeuvres in the early stages. Private Party pulled Matt into the ring post as the referee was distracted. Kassidy threw Matt into the guard rails on both sides of the ring whilst talking trash to the camera. Quen tagged in and drove his boot into Matt’s head at ringside. Back in the ring, Quen stomped down Matt and mocked him by yelling “delete” as he smashed his head into the turnbuckle and Kassidy’s boot. Private Party continued to mock The Hardys with every move. Quen landed a Tope Con Hilo on Matt and went for the pin back in the ring, but only got a two-count. Private Party continued to beat down Matt until Matt clotheslined Kassidy. Jeff finally tagged in and went after Kassidy. He hit a front-face sit-down powerbomb, as Matt connected with two Side Effects on Kassidy and Quen. Jeff connected with a splash off the turnbuckle, but only got a two-count. They both hit Twist of Fates as Jeff nailed a Swanton Bomb on Kassidy for the win. After the match, Andrade El Idolo walked out with Jose, The Bunny, The Butcher, and The Blade. The ring was surrounded as Darby Allin and Sting walked out to level things out. How cool is it seeing those four stood in the ring together?
AEW Women’s World Championship Steel Cage Match: Thunder Rosa vs Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (C)
Baker tried to climb the cage straight away, but Rosa refused to let her go. It didn’t take long for Baker to get busted open, and Rosa took advantage by jabbing at the open wound and raking her head across the cage. Baker was able to throw Rosa into the cage which caused her to bleed as well. Baker punched Rosa in the face, then drove her knees into her chest. She stomped Rosa down in the corner and sent her flying into the cage. This wasn’t a wrestling match, this was a fight. Baker landed a butterfly suplex, but Rosa kicked out. She went outside and threw a load of chairs into the ring. Before she could use any, Rosa clotheslined her, picked up a chair, and smashed her with one. Rosa hit a stunner, clothesline, double knee strike, and dropkick in the corner. Baker went for a superkick but hit the referee by mistake. Rosa hit the Fire Thunder Driver, but there was no ref to count. Rosa put a chair on Baker’s chest, but the champ got up and hit Rosa with it multiple times. Baker stacked up a load of chairs in the corner and landed an avalanche Air Raid Crash on them. Aubrey Edwards ran in, but Rosa kicked out. Thank God. They traded blows on their knees. Baker set up eight chairs on top of each other. Rosa was able to smash Baker into the cage as the champ fell back through the abomination of chairs, but Rosa could only get a two-count. Baker grabbed a bag of thumbtacks and hit Rosa with them, then poured them out in the ring. Baker hit a back body drop on Rosa who landed on them. She went for Lockjaw, but Rosa bit her hand and hit a powerbomb on top of the tacks. Rosa landed the Fire Thunder Driver on top of the tacks to become the new AEW Women’s World Champion. It’s about damn time. I’m ecstatic for her. She’s an amazing competitor, and you could see how much it meant to her. Not going to lie, I shed a tear for her. What a moment. What a night. Dustin Rhodes came out at the end to give Rosa a big hug.
The Promos
Tony Schiavone was backstage with Keith Lee, Ricky Starks, and Powerhouse Hobbs. Starks acknowledged their attack on Lee last week on Rampage and said he better not turn up again. Lee shrugged it off and mocked Starks for when he knocked him to the mat like a “little b*tch.”
.@starkmanjones & @TrueWillieHobbs give a stiff warning to @realkeithlee about showing up this Friday on #AEWRampage when #Limitless goes one-on-one against #Acclaimed's @PlatinumMax.
Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite: #StPatricksDaySlam on TBS! pic.twitter.com/dJJH2jZsjm
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 17, 2022
A video aired that featured Kris Statlander taking off her make-up interspersed with clips of her getting beaten up and losing matches. I think we’re getting a very different side of Statlander soon.
Is @callmekrisstat trying to send a message after #AEWRevolution #BuyIn loss against @LegitLeyla?
Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite: #StPatricksDaySlam on TBS! pic.twitter.com/x1ICnvdy5T
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 17, 2022
Schiavone talked to FTR about firing Tully Blanchard. Wheeler said Tully lost focus and as a result, he lost his job. Harwood started to speak as The Young Bucks walked in. Matt said they should fire their stylists and barbers. He said they could hire the best there is, but it wouldn’t matter because they would always be second best. Hang on, he said, “the best there is.” Bret Hart to AEW confirmed. Well, maybe not, but the case is becoming even more convincing by the week.
After #FTR fired @TullyBFTR last week, @youngbucks are convinced @CashWheelerFTR & @DaxFTR will only ever be "The Second Best Tag Team in #AEW".
Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite: #StPatricksDaySlam on TBS pic.twitter.com/H0PzxWI9kZ
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 17, 2022
The Acclaimed were backstage talking about Keith Lee as Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs walked in. Starks told Caster to put Lee down on Rampage. “Swerve” Shane Strickland interrupted at the end and said Starks didn’t seem to like people coming in and stealing the spotlight.
Who's house?! Everyone seems confused except @swerveconfident!
Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite: #StPatricksDaySlam on TBS! pic.twitter.com/buzVBGNCdM
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 17, 2022
The Jericho Appreciation Society walked out as Matt Lee said the fans loved that song (referring to Judas), and it was Jericho who allows them to love it. If it was up to Lee, there would be no song, no nothing, but that is why Jericho is a better man than him. Parker said Jericho deserves to be praised and idolised, not for his contributions in this industry, but as a human being. Jericho said the Earth has been around for billions of years, but the fans get to live in his era. He talked about giving fans five-star matches and building companies including AEW. Jericho then said that despite all that, fans still didn’t appreciate him, the roster didn’t, and neither did the Inner Circle. He then talked trash about Eddie Kingston and said the Jericho Appreciation Society did appreciate him, and that’s why they were formed. Jericho then said he was a sports entertainer as the fans booed him hard. Garcia grabbed the mic said if Jericho was going to stand there and call himself a sports entertainer, then he will too. Jericho brought up Garcia’s car accident in Buffalo and how he paid for his recovery. He called 2point0 a bad made-up name from bad creative, and now they’d use their real names, “Daddy Mack” Matt Minard, and “Cool Hand” Angelo Parker. He said they appreciated him because he put them on Talk is Jericho to give them the spotlight. Jericho turned his attention to Hager, who said that he saved his life in Dubai. Hager said they were the JAS and they beat up pro wrestlers. He ended the promo by saying you should remember this date as the era of the sports entertainer. I am not a fan of this direction for Jericho, but I’ll give it a chance. The whole sports entertainer angle is a clear dig at WWE. I’m all for friendly competition, but it feels like this is a bit much.
We got a video package featuring Hikaru Shida and Serena Deeb’s longstanding feud.
.@serenadeeb welcomes @shidahikaru back with "open arms" vowing to end Shida's career.
Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite: #StPatricksDaySlam on TBS pic.twitter.com/gaEIrxvpWU
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 17, 2022
Mark Sterling and Jade Cargill were backstage with Alex Marvez. Sterling interrupted Marvez and brought up the lucky number thirty competitor who would get to face Cargill. My fingers are crossed for Athena, fka Ember Moon, or Toni Storm.
Who in the #AEW Women's Locker Room will be next to step in the ring attempting to break @Jade_Cargill's (29-0) winning streak?!
Watch #AEWDynamite: #StPatricksDaySlam LIVE on TBS right now! pic.twitter.com/HpBRGSbqDg
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 17, 2022
Red Velvet was being interviewed by Tony Schiavone who said she would put a stop to Leyla Hirsch on Rampage.
.@Thee_Red_Velvet plans on putting a stop to a woman she knows very well @LegitLeyla this FRIDAY at #AEWRampage!
Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite: #StPatricksDaySlam on TBS! pic.twitter.com/PZfny4bULr
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) March 17, 2022
Match of the Night: Britt Baker vs Thunder Rosa
Best in Show: Thunder Rosa
Overall Rating: ****
All pictures and videos courtesy of AEW