AEW Dynamite Grades and Reactions for March 6, 2024

Swerve’s Promise and Matt Taven and Mike Bennett Vs. Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe

To kick off the first Dynamite after Revolution, Swerve Strickland came out to the arena for an interview with Tony Schiavone. Strickland showed frustration, as he failed to capture the AEW World Championship from Samoa Joe last Sunday. Not backing down, Strickland still vowed to eventually take down Joe for the world title.

Immediately following his promise to defeat the champion, Samoa Joe’s music hit as he entered the arena and addressed a disappointed Swerve Strickland. Waving his championship in Strickland’s face, Joe taunted and teased after a successful title defense at Revolution. Swerve had no patience. He noticed Joe was dressed to fight, as was he. Strickland challenged Joe to a title match right then and there, but the undisputed kingdom would not allow Strickland to get another shot at the title just yet.

Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Wardlow, Matt Taven and Mike Bennett made their way to the top of the ramp to remind Joe that he’s only champion because they let it happen. They additionally told Strickland to get to the back of the line; as Wardlow had one an 8-man scramble at Revolution to earn an opportunity at Samoa Joe’s AEW World Championship. This led to Adam Cole proposing a match next week between ROH Champions Taven and Bennet Vs. Swerve and Joe. Tony Khan overruled Cole’s decision and made the match for tonight instead.

The match didn’t last all that long and ended with quite a predictable pinfall from Strickland. After Strickland picked up the victory, Joe snuck up behind him and put him to sleep, sending a message to a hungry Wardlow who was eyeing Joe from the top of the ramp. Moments later, it was made official that Samoa Joe would defend his title next week at Big Business in Boston against Wardlow.

Grade: B

Hook (c) Vs. Brian Cage (FTW Championship) (Street Fight)

Between both his reigns as FTW Champion, Hook has held his title for over five hundred days. His opponent, however, was no cakewalk. Cage has struggled to find his footing in the company as of late. The FTW championship is something that Cage could use to elevate his career after not being used on TV very productively recently.

Hook put on a great match against Cage and eventually got the victory and retained his title. Unfortunately, the Mogul Embassy attacked Hook in defense of an empty-handed Brian Cage. Many people just turned a blind eye and let Hook take a beating, But Chris Jericho was not one of those people on this night. Jericho runs to the ring with a bat, saving Hook from a three-on-one ambush, potentially setting up a tag match in the future.

Grade: B+

Killswitch Vs. Daddy Magic

This match ended almost as soon as it started. Killswitch took very little time to make a waste of Daddy Magic. It was yet another squash match on Dynamite but the match was not the point, It’s the return after that the audience lost their minds. After Garcia is laid out by the patriarchy following Killswitch’s victory against Daddy Magic, Adam Copeland appears from behind and takes out Killswitch with a chair. He then chases Christian Cage out of the arena. After Cage flees, Copeland challenges Cage for the TNT Championship for a third time. This time, in an “I Quit Match.” Tony Khan then made the match official in Toronto on Dynamite on March 20th. 

The Young Bucks make an announcement 

Matthew and Nicholas Jackson had two “big announcements” to make tonight. The first announcement was to officially exclude Adam Page and Kenny Omega from The Elite. The crowd booed, as Omega had been out for quite some time. Not long after, Eddie Kingston came out to take a stand against the tyrannical EVPs. Eddie didn’t have much of a choice, as the Bucks attacked him unfairly. Suddenly, Kazuchika Okada comes out to seemingly aid Eddy, but we are all deceived. Okada turns on Eddy to join The Young Bucks as the newest member of the Elite. 

Now that the Bucks are seemingly rebuilding the Elite, one may wonder who else may join in the future. There are many heels in the company that would serve this new version of the Elite well. However, With so many heel factions already, The Bucks will have to pick some really big names in order to stand out on Dynamite.

Grade: B+

Riho Vs. Kris Statlander 

Statlander competes on Dynamite once again after being absent for some time until just recently. Statlander dominates early on in the match, as many would expect. Statlander has always been capable of putting on an exciting match and is quite possibly one of the best women’s wrestlers AEW has on the Roster. Riho hasn’t been seen on Dynamite once but puts on a good performance against Statlander.

To some people’s surprise, Riho gets the upper hand on Statlander and ends up winning the match with a cheap roll-up. While Riho won, Willow Nightingale saw this as a challenge. It was soon made official for Boston next week. Many anticipate that this is where we will see the AEW debut of Boston’s own, Mercedes Moné (FKA Sasha Banks.) Mercedes has been dropping hints of a Big Business debut as the event draws closer, and given that this is the only confirmed women’s match on the Big Business card, It’s very likely that we’ll be getting this debut during Nightingale Vs. Riho next week in Boston, MA.

Grade: C+

Jay White Confronts Darby Allin

Darby Allin has just finished up an iconic tag team run with the Icon known as Sting. Now that this chapter in his career has ended, it’s time to look forward as a singles competitor. With that, his first singles match without Sting will be against Switchblade Jay White next week at Big Business. Darby talks about how much he has accomplished in the past five years. As he vacates his AEW tag team title, he looks to both his match next week and to his journey up Mount Everest following. 

Suddenly, Jay White shows up to the ring and tells Darby he doesn’t care about his Victory and tag run with Sting. He only cares about getting his hands on Darby next week. With the Gunn's brother behind him, he reminds Darby Allin that he’s nothing without Sting. He warns Allin that this match doesn’t need to happen next week, but Allin says he wants to fight. He also implores White to come alone if he’s the fighter he says he is. A solid one-promo build to a match that will probably be an absolute thriller.

Grade: B

Kyle Fletcher Vs. Will Ospreay

After his first PPV match as a full-time AEW roster member at Revolution, Ospreay wrestled another member within the Don Calis Family in the ROH Television Champion, Kyle Fletcher. Don Callus would again join commentary, as both competitors are members of his stable. Ospreay has been big news since joining AEW full-time. Ospreay doesn’t hold back in this main event. Even fresh off a pay-per-view match against Takeshita, the newest member of the Roster shows no fatigue in his performance. 

Ospreay and Fletcher put on a great match, resulting in a predictable win for Ospreay. Even though this was an impressive victory, It wasn’t as big as what came next. Brian Danielson made his way to the ring and stood across from Ospreay. As the show goes off the air, the sign for AEW Destiny PPV next week pops up in the background, foreshadowing when exactly this dream match will take place.

Grade: B