AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From May 22
AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From May 220 of 7
Konosuke Takeshita and Matt Sydal.AEW
Welcome to Bleacher Report’s live coverage of AEW Dynamite on May 22.
We are just days away from Double or Nothing, but there was still some booking decisions to be made heading into the pay-per-view, including who will face Chris Jericho for the FTW title.
Here is a look at what All Elite Wrestling advertised for this week’s show:
Hook vs. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bryan KeithMalakai Black vs. Kyle O’ReillyMatt Sydal vs. Konosuke TakeshitaBryan Danielson vs. Satnam SinghToni Storm and Mariah May vs. Saraya and Harley CameronOrange Cassidy and Will Ospreay vs. Trent Beretta and Roderick StrongLet’s take a look at what happened during Wednesday’s go-home Dynamite before Double or Nothing.
Orange Cassidy and Will Ospreay vs. Trent Beretta and Roderick Strong1 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
After an opening video package that also featured clips from the Furiosa movie, Cassidy and Ospreay came out for their tag match against Beretta and Strong.
Don Callis was on commentary and indicated that both Opreay and OC were allies of his, but the latter has yet to make any clear indication he even knows who Callis is.
As soon as the bell rang, Cassidy hopped off the apron and went after Beretta while The Aerial Assassin traded shots with Strong in the ring.
What unfolded here was an energetic and chaotic match. All four men put in a lot of effort to make this a solid opening contest, and the commentary team did a great job addressing the storylines and some past interactions between men who found themselves as partners.
Wardlow showed up and took out Ospreay, paving the way for Strong to pin OC for the win. The beatdown of Ospreay continued by The Undisputed Era while Beretta kept going after Cassidy on the ramp. The Aerial Assassin was busted open as Cassidy was choked out.
Result: Beretta and Strong defeated Cassidy and Ospreay
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
As usual, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven were at ringside with Strong. The suicide dive sequence early in the match was great. Beretta has a really good Spear. He takes care of his opponent but still makes it look brutal. Hook vs. Bryan Keith vs. Katsuyori Shibata2 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
The Bang Bang Gang came out for a promo and was met by the reunited Death Triangle. Penta, Rey Fenix and Pac rushed the ring and attacked Jay White, Austin and Colten Gunn.
Next up was the Triple Threat match to determine Jericho’s challenger for the FTW title at Double or Nothing. Jericho and Big Bill were on commentary to watch the action.
Keith was cornered first by Hook and Shibata, but when they had a brief staredown, The Bounty Hunter took both of them down.
A lot of Triple Threat matches end up being a series of one-on-one exchanges while they take turns selling, but all three competitors were heavily involved from start to finish. It helped make this more entertaining than the average three-way.
Keith ended up tapping out to Shibata and Hook at the same time, so Hook and Shibata were both declared the winner, which means Jericho will fight both men on Sunday.
Result: Hook and Shibata defeated Keith
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Sonjay Dutt was a bit wilder than usual during a backstage segment with the Bucks.Death Triangle vs. The Bang Bang Gang for the trios titles was added to the Double or Nothing card.All three men hitting suplexes one after the other was a fun moment. Shibata used the less traditional way to apply the Figure Four. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Matt Sydal; Swerve Strickland vs. Nick Wayne3 of 7
Dynamite. AEW
After a couple of video packages, Takeshita made his way out to take on Sydal, who did not have a televised entrance.
This bout was already predictable, but giving Sydal the enhancement-talent entrance made it even more obvious.
Sydal got in a bit of offense, but this was a glorified squash. Big Take picked up an easy win.
Result: Takeshita defeated Sydal
Grade: Incomplete
AEW world champion Swerve Strickland was up next as he took on one of his rivals from the past year, Nick Wayne.
They had a bloody match on the indie scene last year, and Swerve attacked Wayne during a previous feud, so there was no love lost.
Once the champ finally got his hands on Wayne, he whipped him with his belt, which probably should have caused a disqualification.
These two know each other well, so they weren’t holding back. We saw some stiff strikes and big bumps without either man taking any unnecessary risks before the PPV.
Even though this was fun, it wasn’t exactly competitive most of the time. Swerve put on a dominant performance before getting the win, which makes sense before a title match.
Christian Cage and Swerve ended up fighting outside the arena after the match. The No. 1 contender narrowly escaped a brutal chair shot and ran away.
Result: Strickland defeated Wayne
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
The sneaker commercial from the Bucks was only funny because of Kazuchika Okada. Tony Schiavone complaining about having to see Callis again was funny. You can see significant growth since Wayne joined the roster. He was already good, but he has improved so much. The 18-year-old has also added some muscle, which helps make him more believable as a threat. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Malakai Black4 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
Black was out first for his match against O’Reilly. He had Adam Copeland’s wedding ring with him and treated it like a prize he’d won.
Both of these men incorporate a lot of kickboxing techniques into their wrestling, so they were treating this almost like a shoot fight as they got started.
The way they worked helped set this apart from everything else on the show. Despite the entire bout being even, Black was able to get the victory with his patented spinning kick.
This was one of the best matches of the night because it felt so unique and gave two great performers a chance to shine in their own style.
After some flickering lights, tons of blood dropped from the rafters onto Black. Copeland addressed him from the big screen and told him to be careful what he wishes for.
Result: Black defeated O’Reilly
Grade: B+
Notable Moments and Observations
It was weird seeing Black without any eye makeup. The spot where both men went for a knee to the gut at the same time was timed well.KOR is one of the best at making every strike look real. Black is good too, but O’Reilly is a step above most in that department. Toni Storm and Mariah May vs. Saraya and Harley Cameron5 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
Saraya and Cameron, known collectively as The Outcasts according to the announcer, took on May and Storm in the penultimate match of the night.
May and Cameron started for their teams and the former standout Stardom talent overpowered the ex-QTV correspondent to take control.
This bout had a steady pace, and they made sure to sell a lot of the big moves instead of trying to pack in as many as possible.
Even though she took the most damage, Cameron stood out here. She has looked better with each match she has and knows how to sell for her opponents well.
The crowd gave them some “This is awesome” chants as all four women fought in the ring. Timeless Toni got the pin for her team, but her celebration was short-lived. Deeb showed up and took out Storm, May and Luther with a chair and her high heel.
Result: Storm and May defeated Saraya and Cameron
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
Storm’s gear was closer to her old attire than anything she has worn in months, but it still had a classic look to it. Unsurprisingly, Saraya’s jumping jack taunt got a reaction from the crowd. Bryan Danielson vs. Satnam Singh6 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
The main event of this week’s show was one of the biggest David vs. Goliath matches we have seen in AEW.
Danielson faced a giant when he stepped into the ring with Singh, who had his whole posse at ringside.
The American Dragon started off strong with a series of kicks, but he was quickly overpowered and brought out of the ring. Dutt tried to set up the announce table for Singh, but Danielson recovered and began to build some momentum.
Singh is still early in his career and limited by his size, but Danielson can get a good match out of almost anybody, so this was more enjoyable than some may have expected.
Danielson used Singh’s team distracting the ref to his advantage for a low blow, but the big man brushed it off without much trouble.
Once Singh was in the Lebell Lock, Singh’s allies attacked to cause a disqualification. The Bucks eventually came out and gave Singh some money before attacking Danielson themselves.
Darby Allin arrived and made the save with a flamethrower. Yes, you read that right.
Result: Danielson defeated Singh by DQ
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
The image of Danielson standing in front of Singh really showed the size disparity. Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal haven’t been on AEW TV much recently but were at ringside for this. Singh no-selling Danielson’s kicks and hitting a big chop was a good sequence. Singh punching through the guitar ruled. The Final Word7 of 7
Dynamite.AEW
This week’s Double or Nothing go-home Dynamite addressed most of the feuds that will make up the PPV card, but there were only a couple of notable matches and moments.
KOR vs. Black was the best bell-to-bell performance we saw, but the most intriguing thing we saw all night was what came after it was over.
Copeland dumping blood all over Black like he was one of the mean girls in Carrie was quite the scene and got people on social media excited for some possible Brood references in the near future.
Sunday’s PPV has some potential bangers on the card, so we should be in for a fun weekend of graps.
Grade: C+
