AEW Dynamite: Martinez unifies titles, Fenix & Hardy qualify, title match added to PPV

Originally published at AEW Dynamite: Martinez unifies titles, Fenix & Hardy qualify, title match added to PPV - POST Wrestling | WWE NXT AEW NJPW UFC Podcasts, News, Reviews

AEW Dynamite

May 4th, 2022

By: John Siino

Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena in Baltimore, MD

Commentary: Jim Ross, Excalibur & Tony Schiavone

The Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Qualifier: Jeff Hardy (w/ Matt Hardy) vs. Bobby Fish (w/ Kyle O’Reilly)

Adam Cole joined commentary for this match, which is Jeff Hardy’s first singles match in AEW. Hardy starts with a hip toss for the first pin attempt before putting on a chin lock as the crowd is torn. Fish comes back, keeping Hardy in the corner with punches and kicks before hitting a dragon screw and a sliding lariat for a two. Fish tries a senton off the ropes, but Hardy rolls to the outside where Fish follows him and dragon screws him into the barricade. Fish gets into Matt Hardy’s face as we see Darby Allin and Sting in the rafters as we go to picture-in-picture.

When we come back Hardy stops Fish with a jawbreaker before Fish comes back with kicks. Hardy hits a Manhattan Drop and a double leg drop followed by a leg drop and elbow drop for a two count. Cole starts screaming for Fish to get up as Hardy goes to the top rope. Fish does get up and kicks Hardy down and hits an avalanche Falcon Arrow for a two count but holds on to the leg for a heel hook, but Jeff is able to grab the rope. Hardy is able to hit the back of Fish’s head with a dive off the top rope and goes back up and hits the Swanton Bomb for the pin and the win.

Winner: Jeff Hardy by pinfall at 10:11, to advance

As The Hardy’s are celebrating, The Young Bucks make their way down to the ring and get in their faces before helping Bobby Fish up.

The Scars Tell The Story

We go to William Regal who cuts a promo after the scars telling your story. If you give people a knife, 99 percent of the people will stab you in the back but the Blackpool Combat Club won’t and they will do it to your face as you will look in the mirror and look at the scars they gave you as Excalibur tells viewers on commentary that Wheeler Yuta was announced for the Best of the Super Juniors in NJPW.

Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta & Jon Moxley) vs. AFO (The Butcher, The Blade & Angelico)

William Regal joins commentary yet again as the BCC is in action. Before Moxley can make his way into the ring, he gets attacked by The Butcher as the AFO attacks before the bell rings, before Blade and Danielson officially start the match. Danielson takes out Angelico in the corner before Yuta tags in as Regal is on one tonight calling Excalibur ‘The Man in the Mask’ and referring to Angelico as ‘Anjelico’. The Butcher and Yuta go at it before Yuta takes Angelico off the apron, but Blade trips up Yuta as Butcher hits a cross body and they go to picture-in-picture.

When we come back Yuta takes Butcher down with a German Suplex before Moxley gets the hot tag and takes Blade outside with a clothesline and tosses him into the table and the steel steps. When they go back inside Moxley hits a cutter, and starts biting on Butcher who tries to interfere. Angelico tags in, and tries some kicks but gets taken down hard with a lariat as Danielson tags in and hits a missile dropkick. Danielson goes to stomp Angelico’s face in as Moxley and Yuta come in and keep Butcher and Blade down with elbows. Danielson locks in a triangle choke hold as Angelico taps out.

Winners: Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Wheeler Yuta & Jon Moxley) by submission at 7:43

Spicy Challenge

Tony Schiavone is backstage with Ricky Starks and Powerhouse Hobbs where he mentions them challenging for the tag team championship. Jurassic Express and Christian Cage interrupt and Jungle Boy says the match sounds like fun but says Starks sounds like a ‘spicy guy’ so before they get a tag title shot, how about Starks giving Jungle Boy an FTW title shot. Cage says Starks has fake shades on and calls his title nothing either, as Starks agrees and says next week he will show Jungle Boy what an absolute man is.

Wardlow vs. W. Morrissey

Wardlow comes out with security and handcuffs and no music followed by MJF and Shawn Spears. MJF tells the crowd to shut their mouths for Wardlow and he will watch the match in the back as he can’t stand these fans here before introducing his mystery opponent for Wardlow in ‘the Big Dub, William Morrissey’ as W. Morrissey from IMPACT Wrestling comes out to a pretty good reaction as we see Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh sitting ringside. The crowd starts getting behind Wardlow as he tackles Morrissey into the corner and challenges him in the middle of the ring. Morrissey comes back with big clubs to the back before hitting a splash in the corner, but Wardlow comes right back with shoulder tackles in the opposite corner. Morrissey leapfrogs Wardlow and hits a big boot as MJF and Spears are seen cheering in the back. As they start fighting on the outside, we get a ‘we want nZo/no, we don’t’ chant that Morrissey brushes off and flips off the crowd. Morrissey sends Wardlow into the ring post and starts slamming him face first into the apron before sending him back inside. They go back and forth before Morrissey hits a Bossman Slam for a two count. Morrissey places Wardlow on the top rope, but Wardlow elbows his way off and hits a moonsault, landing on his feet in the process. Wardlow hits one powerbomb and goes for the pin and the win.

Winner: Wardlow by pinfall at 5:31

Security comes in and tries to handcuff Wardlow, but he ends up fighting them off and takes them all down and out of the ring. MJF and Spears send more security down to the ring which Wardlow takes all out. Wardlow grabs one of them and powerbombs him onto the other dozen or so on the outside. Wardlow gets on the mic and says he isn’t going to stop and it doesn’t matter how big they are, he won’t stop until he gets his hands on MJF and he releases Wardlow from his contract. The crowd starts chanting ‘Wardlow is going to kill you’, before MJF says they will have a ‘little match’ and if Wardlow wins he will let Wardlow out of his contract before asking the people if they want to see them fight. MJF says it’s on, but he’s got a couple of conditions which he will give in a contract signing and it won’t happen in a dump like this town but next week on Long Island.

5:30 on Friday!

Tony Schiavone is backstage with Dr. Britt Baker DMD, Jamie Hayter, Ruby Soho, and Toni Storm and says they will open up Rampage and it’s the first time ever ladies will open up Rampage. Baker makes fun of Storm and Soho having matching clothes and calls herself ‘The History Maker’. Soho says she can’t listen to Baker anymore and Storm can’t wait to get her hands on Baker. They are counting down the minutes until 5:30 on Friday and they aren’t going anywhere. Schiavone tries to get in between as they are yelling at each other.

The Fight of Your Life

Tony Schiavone is in the ring (I hope he gets paid by the steps) before introducing ‘Hangman’ Adam Page to the ring. Schiavone asks Page what he thinks about CM Punk’s challenge for Double or Nothing. Page says it would be really easy to say how much he loves and respects Punk and how he is looking forward to shaking his hand in this ring and standing in front of him at Double or Nothing and looking forward to having a classic. It would be real easy, but that’s not going to happen as the crowd boos a little. At Double or Nothing, there won’t be a handshake, a masturbatory Bret Hart tribute match as he’s going to destroy CM Punk. Page points out a fan in the crowd with a Punk shirt on and says after he’s done with him that fan will run and burn that shirt. Page says Punk isn’t here tonight as he’s probably off filming another TV show and Punk asked for a fight, so it’ll be the fight of his life.

Where’s My Red Carpet?

We hear that Konosuke Takeshita will debut on Rampage this Friday before we go to Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh in the back who ask where their red carpet is as Lethal says their animosity with him isn’t their fault but AEW’s but he can’t wait to prove it to them and challenges Takeshita on Friday and says he will get his red carpet whether you like it or not.

Chris Jericho (w/ Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard & Angelo Parker) vs. Santana (w/ Ortiz)

Chris Jericho is announced as The Wizard, as Santana takes him out with a suicide dive before the match starts and they start brawling on the outside. Jericho grabs a camera, but Santana flips him off and says not today. As Excalibur is plugging the upcoming Pharma Bro vs. Wu-Tang Clan special coming to TNT, Jim Ross says ‘That will be phenomenal!’, as he’s probably a huge fan of the Ol’ Dirty Bastard. They finally get into the ring to start the match, before the rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society tries to get involved and they go picture-in-picture.

When we come back, Santana hits the Three Amigos on Jericho before going up for the Frog Splash, but Jericho stops him before getting pushed off and Santana does land the frog splash for the two-count. Jericho is able to reverse out and put on the Walls of Jericho, but Santana crawls over and grabs the rope to break it up. Santana rolls away and hits a rolling cutter for a two-count. Ortiz helps Santana by taking away the bat from the Jericho Appreciation Society as Santana hits a lariat for a two count. Santana comes back with a cannonball senton in the corner as Ortiz takes out Menard off the apron and hits him with the bat. As Aubrey Edwards is distracted, Jericho hits a low blow followed by the Judas Effect for the pin and the win.

Winner: Chris Jericho by pinfall at 9:06

After the match, the J.A.S. attacks Santana and Ortiz and ask ‘Where is Eddie??’

After the match, the J.A.S. attacks Santana and Ortiz and asks ‘Where is Eddie??’

We go to Samoa Joe and he asks Jay Lethal if he’s brave enough and says he’s coming for him on Rampage this Friday.

Scissor Time

We go to The Gunn Club who bump into The Acclaimed and say they talked to their dad and got them gifts. The Acclaimed opened them up and its scissors which they say are the key to their heart as they all start scissoring each other with their fingers.

Join the Dark Side

We go to the Varsity Blonds and Julia Hart in the ring where Brian Pillman Jr. says he stands there as a humble man and brings up their encounter with the House of Black and that leads to the poisoning of the mind of Julia Hart. Pillman quotes what John Harbaugh said to his father when he coached him as they cut to him in the crowd but says he lost sight of that quote and they lost their enthusiasm. Today he says he is enthusiastic and challenges the House of Black to a fight. The lights go out as House of Black make their way to the ring.

The House of Black surrounds Pillman and Griff Garrison as Julia Hart is in the corner. They attack the Blonds as Buddy Matthews lawn darts Pillman into Garrison in the corner before Brody King hits a cannonball. Malakai Black gets in Julia Hart’s face before they hand her a chair. Julia goes to raise it up but doesn’t hit Garrison. Malakai rips off her eyepatch and starts yelling at her. The Death Triangle comes out for the save as House of Black leaves. This segment didn’t come off well whatsoever, but at least it ties in between the Star Wars marathon on TBS tonight. May the Force be with you, Julia.

The Baddies

We go Mark Sterling and The Baddies backstage where Sterling says Jade Cargill is undefeated and still the TBS Champion. They talk about their recent accolades and Red Velvet says she’s going to win the whole Owen Hart Foundation Tournament before Kiera Hogan ends the segment.

The Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Qualifier: Rey Fenix (w/ Alex Abrahantes) vs. Dante Martin

Right away they take it to the outside with Fenix having the upper hand before we go to picture-in-picture where Dante hits Fenix with a great-looking suicide dive.

When we come back, Fenix hits a kick, places Martin on the ropes, and hits like a reverse Spanish Fly for a two-count, which looked fantastic as the crowd is finally waking back up with this match. Martin comes back, as they start flipping off the ropes until they get to the top where Martin kicks Fenix off and hits a cross body for a two count. They fight on the apron, where Fenix catches Martin with a kick, flips off the ropes, and tries a powerbomb, but turns it into a pop-up cutter. Fenix tries his driver, but Martin turns it into a two-count, hits a superkick, and goes to the top rope. Fenix meets him there, hits a Spanish Fly that Martin blocks, and they land on their feet in which Martin hits a poison rana, goes right back to the ropes, and tries the Nose Dive. Fenix moves out of the way, catches Martin, and hits a piledriver for the pin and the win. A fantastic match-up that was hard to keep up with.

Winner: Rey Fenix by pinfall at 9:40, to advance

The Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Bracket

  • Rey Fenix vs. Kyle O’Reilly
  • Samoa Joe vs. Joker
  • Jeff Hardy vs. Darby Allin
  • Adam Cole vs. Dax Harwood

We go to Darby Allin and Sting, who say when Allin faces Jeff Hardy, it’ll be a special night.

The Best Women’s Wrestler

Thunder Rosa comes out and says she has a story to tell that’s with good guys and bad guys, successes and failures. Today she stands in front of you as the undisputed AEW Women’s Champion. She fought hard to defend this against Nyla Rose in Texas and when she first came here she had no expectations, just wanted to elevate women’s wrestling. She carried a heavy weight for a long time and with hard work, she became who she is today. The division that some continue to criticize and she is the top competitor and just wants to wrestle with the most experienced. She transitions into another story where she said before she was Thunder Rosa she would drive 8 hours in California to see one wrestler only and called out the number one contender in Serena Deeb. Deeb comes out and says it’s been a long time and she’s watched Rosa scratch and claw her way up and the best women’s wrestler in the world needs to be champion in herself. Rosa says that’s her and Deeb says Rosa being the champion only suggests she’s the best, but everybody here knows that Deeb is at another level and in a class all on her own and it’s about time that she has the championship to show that. Deeb places a bet that Rosa is about to have the shortest women’s reign in AEW history because at Double or Nothing she’s taking Rosa’s championship.

Rampage Line-Up

  • Dr. Britt Baker DMD & Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm & Ruby Soho
  • Konosuke Takeshita vs. Jay Lethal
  • Hook vs. JD Drake
  • The Owen Hart Foundation Qualifier: Yuka Sakazaki vs. Riho

Dynamite Line-Up

  • The Owen Hart Foundation Tournament: Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy
  • The Owen Hart Foundation Tournament: Adam Cole vs. Dax Harwood
  • MJF & Wardlow Contract Signing
  • FTW Championship: Ricky Starks vs. Jungle Boy
  • CM Punk vs. John Silver

ROH Women’s Championship: Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. Mercedes Martinez (interim)

Bobby Cruise does the introductions as the match starts with about ten minutes left on the show. It starts a bit slow with the crowd being a bit quiet for this one. Deonna right away goes after the arm as they go picture-in-picture.

When we come back, they both crawl into the ring and start exchanging strikes, before Mercedes hits a backdrop and lands elbows and a boot in the corner followed by a low drop kick for a two count. Deonna comes back with a moonsault and gets a two count herself. Mercedes hits a running knee strike and a fisherman buster for a two count. Mercedes comes back with an elbow strike, as Deonna comes back and gets a two count. Deonna tries an armbar, but Mercedes gets out and they hit a double clothesline. Mercedes grabs Deonna off the top rope, drops her and hits a curb stomp, before putting on the Romero Special into the Dragon Sleeper as Deonna taps out.

Winner: Mercedes Martinez by submission at 10:33, to become Undisputed ROH Women’s Champion