AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Post Worlds End 2024
AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Post Worlds End 20240 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
Welcome to Bleacher Report’s live coverage of AEW Dynamite: Fight For The Fallen on January 1.
Not only is this the first show of the new year, but it was also the post-Worlds End episode, so there was a lot of PPV fallout to cover.
Here’s a look at what AEW advertised for Wednesday’s show:
Rated FTR vs. Death RidersJamie Hayter vs. Julia HartThe Hurt Syndicate vs. The AcclaimedAdam Page vs. Orange CassidyJeff Jarrett makes an announcement about his careerLet’s take a look at everything that happened on this week’s special New Year’s Day episode of AEW Dynamite.
Orange Cassidy vs. Adam Page1 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
The first episode of Dynamite on Max opened up with The Pointer Sisters’ “I’m So Excited” playing over a special video package. After Excalibur ran down the card, we got some post-PPV comments from Jon Moxley.
The first bout saw two of Mox’s opponents from Saturday do battle as Page and Cassidy squared off in the first match of 2025. They traded several counters but neither man could land a shot during the initial exchange.
You could tell these two know each other very well by how they worked together. They have never had a singles match before this show, but they had enough chemistry to make it look like knew everything each other would do.
While it was a fun and fast-paced exchange of counters at times, it also felt like this match lacked the level of intensity it needed to have. Not only is Hangman permanently angry, but OC should be pissed off that neither of them was able to take down Moxley.
It didn’t feel like they had the kind of animosity we are supposed to believe they have for each other until after the commercial break. Surprisingly, the match ended clean with Hangman hitting a Buckshot Lariat. There was no interference from The Death Riders and no cheating from either man, but once it was over, Page kept attacking OC.
Result: Page defeated Cassidy
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Moxley spoke about destroying the AEW title, which makes us think a new design could be on the way. Hangman no-selling OC’s punches and then laying him out with one shot was a cool visual. Cassidy doesn’t do as much gimmicky stuff these days and it’s helped him be taken more seriously by some fans. It also make it stand out more when he pulls one of his old tactics out like slowly rolling away so someone can’t hit a move they were setting up.The Acclaimed vs. Hurt Syndicate2 of 7
Dynamite. AEW
Max Caster and Anthony Bowens looked divided during a backstage promo before their match against Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley.
While The Acclaimed argued over who would start, Lashley decided to just lay out both men to get the match started. He tossed Bowens out of the ring and began dismantling Caster.
After Bowens had taken control, Caster tagged himself in, which upset his partner enough to drop down from the apron and watch from the aisle. Lashley cut Caster in two with a Spear before applying the Hurt Lock for the win.
As a match, this wasn’t much of anything. It was short and mostly one-sided, but it was an important part of the story being told with The Acclaimed, so it made sense even if it wasn’t the most exciting thing on the show.
Result: Hurt Syndicate defeated The Acclaimed
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Caster didn’t do a rap on his way to the ring because he said he didn’t want to get in trouble and was focused on the match tonight. Bowens was doing a good job selling when Benjamin was tossing him around at ringside. Jamie Hayter vs. Julia Hart3 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
Two women who have been on a collision course for several weeks finally stepped into the ring together with Hart faced Hayter in her return match.
Hart yanked Hayter down by her hair a few times, but Jamir kept kipping up and looking her right in the face to show she was not going to be intimidated.
You could see Hart looking a bit hesitant early in the match, which is to be expected. She had a long hiatus due to an injury and is still young, so shaking off ring rust is uncharted territory for her. Thankfully, Hayter is good enough to help mask some of that.
Julia tried to bring an arrow into the ring but Aubrey Edwards saw it and took it away. That minor distraction allowed Hart to spit mist into Hayter’s eyes and get the win.
This match had some highlights but definitely showed how time off can affect someone when they first return.
Result: Hart defeated Hayter
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
Hart’s entrance was awesome. They went all out on her ring jacket and hat, too. The hip toss from Hayter looked weird, but not because of her. It looked like Hart rotated later than she needed to. The ring rust may need to be shaken off a bit. Hayter stood up with Hart on her back like it was no big deal. Most wrestlers can pick each other up, but few can make it look as easy as she did. Swerve Strickland vs. Roderick Strong vs. Jay White4 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
Mercedes Mone came out and presented a video package to put herself over before she spoke about WrestleDynasty and her match against MIna Shirakawa.
The next match was a triple threat to determine who would get the first spot in the next Casino Gauntlet match. Swerve Strickland, Jay White and Roderick Strong were all vying for that spot.
Swerve found himself taking on both men at first when Strong and White worked together, but it didn’t stop the former world champion from taking control.
When you take three guys at the top of their game and put them in the ring, odds are good that you are going to get a great performance and that is exactly what happened here.
Each man brought something different to the ring, but they blended their styles together to create an entertaining match that had the crowd cheering and chanting almost the whole time.
Ricochet showed up in the crowd and hit Swerve in the head with a pair of scissors in his hand, which was perfectly legal in a triple threat situation. It didn’t really matter since White won by pinning Strong with the Blade Runner.
Ricochet proceeded to take on Prince Nana and kept attacking Strickland with the scissors, causing him to bleed quite a bit from his head. Ricochet’s white shirt was covered in blood stains by the time Adam Cole showed up to drive him away.
Result: White defeated Swerve and Strong
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
Dax Harwood was shown giving a couple of checks for $25,000 for hurricane relief in Asheville where the show was taking place. Swerve is a special talent. He has the physical and charisma parts of this business down. The crowd loves him and for good reason. White doing Prince Nana’s dance at him was hilarious. Powerhouse Hobbs Squash5 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
Jeff Jarrett came out with a pair of his boots in his hands looking like he was going to retire. He talked for a little while about his life and career in this business. Then he said he wasn’t going to ride off into the sunset yet, so he announced that he had re-signed with AEW for what will be his last wrestling contract.
Next up was a handicap match with Powerhouse Hobbs taking on Jon Cruz and another local talent. This was a one-sided fight that ended in about two minutes with Hobbs getting the win.
Result: Hobbs won
Grade: Incomplete
Rated FTR vs. Death Riders6 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
The main event for this week’s show saw Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta take on Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood and Adam Copeland in a trios bout.
Harwood and Yuta started for their teams with a fast-paced and hard-hitting exchange that immediately set the tone for this match. There was no friendly competition here.
Copeland and Castagnoli took their turns next and went back and forth until Claudio was hip-tossed out of the ring. Marina Shafir sent Copeland into the ring post as the show cut to a break.
The big showdown occurred during the final segment when Moxley and Copeland were in the ring together for the first time. Obviously, a lot of these guys have history from their time in WWE, but Mox and Cope seemed like they had a grudge to settle.
White showed up and hit Yuta with a Blade Runner while the ref was distracted, and that allowed Copeland to avoid a piledriver through the announce table and send Moxley through the barricade with a Spear.
The match ended with FTR hitting Yuta with a Shatter Machine before The Rated-R Superstar hit a Spear to finish him off. The last few minutes of this were full of chaos, but it was the good kind.
Result: Rated FTR defeated Death Riders
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
Big Bill and Bryan Keith had a backstage segment with Rated FTR that led to them agreeing to a match. We know that it’s supposed to be the world title in the briefcase, but where are the trios belts?Copeland was introduced as “Rated R Superstar Cope” instead of his full name. The way Claudio threw Cash out of the ring was nasty. The Final Word7 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
The first episode of Dynamite that was simulcast on TBS and Max went off without a hitch. Not only were there no glitches or hiccups, but there was a new level of polish to the show.
The lighting seemed brighter, there were new camera angles being used, and it felt like there was a sharper quality to the audio and picture. The only downside to watching on Max was a complete lack of picture-in-picture during the breaks.
While this was a solid episode of Dynamite, it wasn’t flawless. A couple of matches fell short of what we expect to see on AEW’s flagship show, but there were two that stood out for being good.
The triple threat match won by White and the main event trios bout were both entertaining in different ways and helped advance their respective storylines.
The Death Riders losing this match was predictable, as was Yuta taking the pin, but the endgame appears to be a world title bout between Copeland and Moxley. With Christian Cage still lurking with a contract for a title shot and MJF declaring his intention to regain the belt, the world title scene is getting very crowded.
Grade: B
