AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights Ahead of All Out

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

On the heels of a historic All In pay-per-view from Wembley Stadium in London, All Elite Wrestling returned Wednesday for its latest episode of Dynamite, with considerable uncertainty surrounding the show.

With little announced in advance of the broadcast, what did the company have in store for fans, just days before its second pay-per-view in as many weekends, All Out?

Find out with this recap of the August 30 show at the NOW Arena in Chicago.

Announced in advance of the August 30 broadcast were:

• AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo
• Adam Cole promo
  

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Following Tony Khan's announcement that extenuating circumstances had resulted in changes to the night's card, Jon Moxley kicked off the show against high-flying luchador Komander.

For a guy involved in a bloody, violent Stadium Stampede match at All In, Moxley showed no signs of being worse for wear as he defeated Komander in an unspectacular match that did nothing for the babyface but added another win to the former world champion's resume ahead of All Out and a shot at the AEW International Championship.

It would have been nice to see the Blackpool Combat Club member struggle, at least selling the punishment he endured in London. Instead, he bulldozed his way through the opposition, with his tough guy persona intact.

Backstage, a (scripted) confrontation between Bullet Club Gold, FTR and The Young Bucks led to the announcement of a big eight-man tag team match at Sunday's All Out.

Result

Moxley defeated Komander

Grade

C

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The rope walk 450 splash failed miserably as Komander ate the knees of Mox to the midsection. The former world champion rocked him with a lariat and added a spike piledriver.
  
• Moxley transitioned from the rear naked choke into an armbar for the win. "Easy money, baby!" he said.

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Backstage, Renee Paquette attempted to speak with Toni Storm, who said she could not trust anyone or anything before hurling her shoes in the interviewer's direction.

Storm might be the best character in AEW over the last month, and this was further evidence of it. She has found a character she can immerse herself in, and the results have been spectacular.

In the arena, Chris Jericho hit the ring following his loss to Will Ospreay at All In.

An apology to Sammy Guevara for shoving him away after the defeat gave way to a back and forth of personal jabs before they apparently resolved their issues and vowed to chase the AEW World Tag Team Championship, starting next week.

No follow-up to the Don Callis storyline. No mention of the frustration that the commentary team was quick to point out following his defeat to The Aerial Assassin. Instead, Jericho essentially manipulated Guevara to stay on his side so he could chase a title.

The Jericho-Guevara stuff is good and, in a perfect world, will further elevate one of the most talented young guys on the roster, but it would have been nice to see either of the other stories resolved in any meaningful way.

There is time to accomplish that, but it feels like it is destined to be lost in the shuffle.

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• "I can't trust Saraya," Storm said, further suggesting The Outcasts are on the brink of splitting up, a creative choice that would be long overdue.
• "That number is a shoot, baby," Jericho said after reciting the All In attendance figures.
• Jericho apologized to Guevara but quickly insinuated that The Spanish God did not hit Ospreay hard enough with Floyd the baseball bat.
• Jericho pitched a reunion of Le Sex Gods and the pursuit of the AEW World Tag Team Championship, beginning next week. Guevara accepted, again goaded into remaining loyal to a guy who clearly does not value him beyond his own personal gain.

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Unlike Moxley in the night's opener, both NJPW Strong Openweight champion Eddie Kingston and challenger Wheeler Yuta looked like guys who had endured pain and suffering in the Stadium Stampede match at All In.

Kingston, though, managed to fight through the agony and successfully retain his title in a good, physical match.

The gutsy babyface rocked Yuta with two massive back fists and then stared a hole through Claudio Castagnoli who grabbed hold of an unconscious Yuta and left the arena, insinuating that the career-long issues between them are far from over.

A good match, with the slightest hint of more to come between The Mad King and Swiss Superman, this was the first real in-ring "hit" of the night.

Result

Kingston defeated Yuta

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Kingston does something that Terry Funk and Mick Foley always excelled at: Creating fan sentiment through the selling of an injury and everything that comes with it. The facial expressions, the body language; it's easy to invest in him and his performance because of the way he conveys his pain to the audience.
• Kingston rocked Yuta with consecutive spinning back fists for the win.

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Adam Cole may have gained one friend in MJF, but he has lost three others in Roderick Strong, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett.

Strong and The Kingdom confronted Cole in an in-ring promo, taking exception to his newfound friendship with the AEW world champion and what they consider to be his abandonment of them.

The Messiah of the Backbreaker has never been a particularly great talker, but he was great here as the whining friend.

The revelation that he will enter the Grand Slam Tournament and challenge MJF for the world title is a nice booking call that adds that story thread to what will likely be an event full of good matches.

Don't be surprised if Taven and Bennett win the Battle Royal on Friday's Rampage and then challenge Cole and MJF for the Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship at All Out.

That may seem like a predictable outcome, but predictable is hardly a bad thing for the sake of this story.

Update: The Kingdom is not officially entered into the Battle Royal on Rampage. Aussie Open is, which means Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis likely win their ROH tag titles back.

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• "Is my neck health not important to you?" a hilariously read line from Strong. 
• Taven accused Cole of jumping to the Bullet Club to make merchandise money and surrounding himself with their friends in NXT.
• "Max is not only my friend, damn it, he's my best friend," Cole said.
• Strong claimed he is entering the Grand Slam Tournament and beating MJF for the world title with Taven and Bennett by his side: "I'm breaking everyone's back and winning that tournament because I'm a wrestling legend!"

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

TBS champion Kris Statlander, Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida battled Nyla Rose, Emi Sakura and Marina Shafir in a trios match that felt random but did advance two stories: Mounting tension between Shida and Baker, and Statlander's feud with top contender and All Out opponent Ruby Soho.

The action was solid here, and it's always nice to see Rose and Sakura on television.

Furthermore, if the intention is to run with Baker vs. Shida, there are worse options for the women's division given their credibility and stature within AEW.

It would have been nice to see the heels put over a little stronger as there was never really any doubt the babyfaces would win, but a good match with some time and story advancement is better than what we get out of the booking of the AEW women's division most weeks.

Result

Statlander, Baker and Shida defeated Rose, Sakura and Shafir

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• How has AEW not found more for Rose, Sakura and Shafir to do? 
• Baker inadvertently rocked Shida with a superkick, the second time this week that The Good Doctor has wiped out the former women's champion.
• Statlander earned the win for her team by pinning Shafir but, as the champion was distracted by Baker and Shida arguing, Soho attacked from out of nowhere and stood tall with the TBS title.
• A match between Ring of Honor TV champion Samoa Joe and Shane Taylor was announced for All Out. 

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

The Acclaimed defeated House of Black at All In and celebrated by cutting a ribbon and introducing new trios titles, complete with a hot pink strap.

That was it. That was the entire purpose of the segment.

Yes, Anthony Bowens, Max Caster and Billy Gunn are super over and bring the crowd to its feet, but surely there was a better use of the television time than what we got here?

Furthermore, we are no closer to a valid explanation as to why House of Black were beaten just as they were rolling along.

Grade

D

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Bowens introduced new trios belts, with a scissor closure. You read that right.
• It feels like the trios titles were taken off the House of Black just to introduce new belts, sacrificing their momentum in the process.

Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Orange Cassidy successfully defended the AEW International Championship Wednesday night after absorbing everything Penta El Zero Miedo threw at him.

Freshly Squeezed eventually caught his opponent off-guard and scored a roll-up win to ensure his spot in what appears to be the main event of All Out.

Cassidy will defend his title against Jon Moxley by way of the win over Penta, a match that has been teased for weeks.

That match will have the tall task of headlining a show in Chicago that lacks star power and stakes at the moment, but it should have enough heat to elevate it.

Wednesday's bout with Penta was strong and saw Cassidy continue to portray a battered, beaten champion who does just enough to escape each title defense with his reign intact.

Cassidy spoke at length for the first time after the fight, and the gravity of the moment helped put over the upcoming title defense against Moxley.

Result

Cassidy defeated Penta to retain

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Penta launched Cassidy into the guardrail, but the landing was anything but smooth.
• Cassidy put his hand in his pocket to avoid his arm being snapped in an armbar by Penta in a clever move.
• The exchange of Canadian Destroyers without any real selling of the maneuvers is super disappointing. It is one of the most visibly stunning moves in wrestling and it means next to nothing at this point. A flipping piledriver means nothing. 
• The challenger delivered a Fear Factor, but Cassidy kicked out. Stunned, Penta fell to a crucifix roll-up as Freshly Squeezed retained his title.
• "I'm the champion and I will continue to defend my championship for as long as I want and there's nothing anyone can do to take it from me. Jon Moxley, you better bring more than just a fork because I will always be the international champion because I'm 'Freshly Squeezed' Orange Cassidy and I do not have a catchphrase."

AEW had its work cut out Wednesday night, not only to follow up a monumental night of action at All In, but also to quickly booking a card for All Out pay-per-view that already felt like an afterthought.

The results were varied.

The company announced matches for Sunday but never really made the PPV feel like destination viewing.

On paper, the card has a few obvious highlights (Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita, for example), but lacks the sense of urgency that AEW PPVs typically have.

Of course, there were several factors that adversely affected Wednesday's show, but it may be worth rethinking the idea of holding a PPV one week after an exhausting show in London next year.

The main event of this week's Dynamite was strong, we saw a physical outing from Eddie Kingston and Wheeler Yuta, and there was some actual storyline development in the women's division. So, this one gets a solid grade if nothing else.

Grade: B