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Two championship bouts and a heated grudge match were the key ingredients for tonight's episode of AEW Dynamite. Fans were also treated to a wild Texas Tornado Tag Match, new developments in the AEW title picture, and a big announcement regarding the first-ever main event for AEW Collision.Here are your winners and losers for the June 7th installment of AEW Dynamite.
WINNER: Orange Cassidy Vs. Swerve Strickland
Both champion and challenger emptied the tank in this thrilling title match. Swerve Strickland clearly did his homework on Orange Cassidy. Early in the match, Swerve had an answer or a counter for all of Cassidy's calling cards.
Swerve also showed grit as he battled through two devastating DDTs; one off of the apron and another diving DDT from the top rope. Miraculously, the challenger was able to kick out of that combination. More surprising was Swerve surviving an Orange Punch and a Beach Break. Cassidy's two finishers still weren't enough to put Swerve away.
Orange himself showed resilience as he survived a brain-buster on the outside, The House Call super kick, and Swerve's double stomp from the top rope.
The crowd was on the hook for every maneuver, unsure of which way this seesaw match would go. The two men exchanged pinfall attempts. Swerve pulled Cassidy's tights to gain some leverage on a pinfall attempt, but he may have pulled too hard. The momentum pulled the champion on top of Strickland. Orange gave Swerve a taste of his own medicine by yanking the tights for the 1-2-3!
Somehow, someway, Orange Cassidy was victorious for his twenty-fourth AEW International Title defense.
WINNER: BCC Vs. Chaos
The BCC have been dominating their trios matches as of late. On this night, they were doing most of the selling.
Chaos (Best Friends and Rocky Romero) wisely attacked the BCC prior to the bell. The babyface trio clung to their advantage for most of the match, executing a high-speed, high-impact offense. Chaos looked excellent. Unfortunately, it takes more than excellence to top the Blackpool Combat Club.
Their momentum came to a screeching halt when Trent went for a diving moonsault and ate one of Claudio's uppercuts in midair. Meanwhile, Wheeler Yuta laid in four dozen elbows to Chuck Taylor as Romero tapped out to Moxley's bulldog choke.
WINNER: MJF & Adam Cole Promo Battle
Adam Cole strode to the ring after AEW Champion MJF claimed that there was no more competition left in the company. As he's done before, Friedman put over his would-be opponent. He summarized Cole's storied career and accomplishments. Then came the burns.
MJF said that Adam Cole hasn't been the same since coming to AEW. He attacked Cole's physique. Maxwell even name-dropped Vince McMahon, reminding Adam and the fans that Vince didn't think Cole was "main-event material."
"I think Vince was right!" Max exclaimed.
Cole had a few zingers of his own up his sleeve. In response to the attack on his physique, he challenged MJF to go into the locker room and take a piss test (yikes)!
Then, he broached what has been a sore subject for Maxwell Jacob Friedman throughout many of his rivalries; respect! Cole promised MJF that nobody in the locker room respected him.
Then came the real slap in the face, "You won't fight me because I'm better than you, and they know it." Cole said as he pointed to the fans. This statement lit MJF's fuse. The champion took the bait and agreed to fight Adam Cole. A world title eliminator match will take place next week on Dynamite.
MID: Texas Tornado Tag Match
Two members of La Faccion Ingobernable battled Jungle Boy and Hook in a Texas Tornado match. On the surface, the bout seemed like wild, harmless fun to pop the crowd -- perhaps harmless isn't the right word, as there were several dangerous bumps and a bloody mess left in the ring.
The level of violence and angst in this match felt like it deserved a better build; better than a single week. The eight-minute sprint of mayhem may have been better served on a show that had less of a dense card.
That being said, the wrestlers worked their asses off and did an excellent job of popping the crowd. Table spots, blood, and high-flying maneuvers were just a taste of the action. Jungle Boy tapped out Dralístico for the victory.
WINNER: AEW Collision's First Main Event Announced
Dear, Tony Khan, we have to stop meeting like this. Hopefully, this is the end of the "Tony Khan's Announcement" streak. If it is, we ended with a good one; the main event for the first-ever Collision show will be CM Punk and FTR versus Samoa Joe and Bullet Club Gold (Jay White and Juice Robinson).
This is a tremendous main event. It's loaded with star power. It features a current feud that's heating up and a legacy rivalry that fans have been salivating to revisit. We can only hope that it lives up to the expectations.
WINNER: Kris Statlander Retains TBS Championship
TBS Champion Kris Statlander continues to look better as she's come back from her ACL injury. This week she faced Anna Jay A.S., who may have delivered her best singles match in a very long time.
Anna did enough to make the match dramatic, even though the result was never in doubt. The challenger locked in The Queen Slayer sleeper hold, but the champion countered it with a stiff snap mare. Anna eventually found herself on the receiving end of a Tombstone piledriver. That was enough for Kris to get the victory and retain her title.
Once again, Taya Valkyrie watched the match backstage, eyeing what she believes should be hers.
LOSER: Jay White Vs. Ricky Starks
These two extremely talented men met a few weeks ago. Just as that match was getting good, we were handed a screwy (and, dare I say, sh*tty) finish.
The sequel did little to correct the mistake from the first go-around. Ricky Starks and Jay White slowly built toward a pretty good match. Granted, fans in the know could smell a screwy finish coming just by looking at the clock. The bout was just finding its traction and pulling in the audience when - boom! A ref bump.
Ricky Starks hit his Roshambo finisher to pin Jay White, but the referee was down and out. Enter The Gunns, Austin and Colten. They hit Ricky Starks with a 3:10 To Yuma. White pulled Ricky up for a Blade Runner just as the ref regained consciousness. 1-2-3!
It wasn't the worst finish we've ever seen. It wasn't even that bad of a main event. However, it feels like both Starks and White deserve better. Much better.
Full Match Results & Noteworthy Moments:
Orange Cassidy def. Swerve Strickland via pinfall to retain the AEW International Championship. (15:45) |
Mogul Embassy jumped Cassidy. Sting and Darby Allin made the save. |
An epic hype video promoted Danielson versus Okada at Forbidden Door. |
BCC (Moxley, Claudio, & Yuta) def. Chaos (Best Friends & Rocky Romero) via submission. (8:14) |
The Young Bucks & Hangman Page challenged the BCC to a trios match next week. |
A video package highlighted the rivalry between Omega and Ospreay. |
MJF and Adam Cole had a heated promo exchange. |
Jungle Boy & Hook def. Preston Vance & Dralístico via submission in a Texas Tornado Tag Match. (8:56) |
Tony Khan announced the first main event for AEW Collision. |
Konoske Takeshita def. Damon Ace via pinfall. (1:29) |
Don Callis cut another heel promo, claiming he'd cut out Omega and The Elite like cancer. |
Christian Cage & Luchasaurus attacked Brock Anderson backstage. |
Kris Statlander def. Anna Jay.A.S. via pinfall to retain the AEW TBS Championship. (8:25) |
Jay White def. Ricky Starks via pinfall. (13:32) |
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