AEW Dynamite Results (8/16): Hardy Vs. Jarrett Death Match, Cassidy Faces Yuta
This is Wrestling INC.'s live coverage of "AEW Dynamite" for August 16, 2023!
Tonight's show will see the first-ever Texas Chainsaw Massacre death match between two veterans of the roster in Jeff Hardy and Jeff Jarrett as AEW promotes the upcoming video game, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
Orange Cassidy will once again be defending his International Championship as he aims to continue his impressive reign as champion. Tonight he will collide against former Best Friends stablemate Wheeler Yuta, which will continue the issues Cassidy has been having with the Blackpool Combat Club, who could influence this.
The Young Bucks will continue to try and build momentum ahead of All In as they compete against former AEW World Tag Team Champions, The Gunns.
A match with definitive All In implications will see Dr. Britt Baker face The Bunny, with the winner cementing their place at Wembley Stadium in the AEW Women's World Championship match, which already features Hikaru Shida, Saraya, and Toni Storm.
Kenny Omega is also set for a sit-down interview with Jim Ross as he promises to discuss his future plans, which could give fans a glimpse at what he could be doing at the upcoming All In event.
Nick Wayne is also going to be returning to action on this show, fresh from the brutal beatdown he received at the hands of AR Fox and Swerve Strickland. He will team up with his mentor, Darby Allin to compete against the Gates Of Agony.
Finally, after being left alone in the ring by every single member of the Jericho Appreciation Society last week, Chris Jericho will reveal whether or not he is joining the Don Callis Family.
Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Wheeler Yuta (AEW International Championship Match)
Orange Cassidy aims for Orange Punch immediately, but Wheeler Yta is able to block it as they then trade arm drags until Yuta connects with a big chop. The two then go back and forth with forearm strikes until Yuta hits a suplex, but Cassidy fires back with one of his own, and then both men go down after they each look for a big boot at the same time. Cassidy then begins showcasing aggression to attack Yuta until the Blackpool Combat Club member throws the champion out of the ring and follows it with a suicide dive.
Yuta then aims to suplex Cassidy outside the ring, but he takes too long and Cassidy hits the move himself. However, Cassidy isn't able to remain in control as Yuta hits a piledriver on the ramp. Yuta then looks to mock Cassidy with his hands in his tights as he slowly kicks him back down to the ring, but as soon as they get back in Cassidy busts out a Beach Break.
The challenger fights back by stomping on the hand of Cassidy as he tries to nulify his Orange Punch finisher. He bites the fingers and then stomps away on the hand yet again, but Cassidy manages to send his challenger out of the ring as he then dives out of the ring and drives Yuta into the barricade. However, Cassidy's hand causes him to climb the top turnbuckle slowly and that allows Yuta to meet him and then hit a superplex.
Cassidy then attempts a reversal but he lands on his knee which gives way, but he does manage to connect with a Michinoku Driver and then a PK. Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli then arrive, and that leads to Cassidy hitting the Paradigm Shift and then the Orange Punch, yet Yuta then counters with a pinfall cover which almost gets him the win. Yuta aims for a submission but that is reversed as Cassidy holds him down for a pinfall win.
Winner (and still AEW International Champion): Orange Cassidy
Post-match the BCC jump Cassidy until Best Friends arrive and the brawl between the groups begins. The Lucha Brothers then arrive and they get involved in the brawl as well and then Eddie Kingston arrives and he begins attacking Castagnoli as all hell breaks loose. Kingston then gets on the microphone and says, Wembley Stadium, All In. It's them vs. BCC and whoever they can find in a Stadium Stampede.
Chris Jericho Makes His Decision
Jim Ross is then shown interviewing Kenny Omega at Daily's Place. Omega recalls his relationship with Don Callis and how Callis stopped him from having friends and gave him vitamins to focus on his sport. He tries to remember that version of Callis. He says you can't choose family. He's trying to find reasons to not make his existence all about revenge, he wants to move on.
Omega says he has the power to giveth and taketh away as the God of Pro Wrestling. Callis then turns up, but Jay White and Juice Robinson then appear and jump Omega. They begin attacking him as Konosuke Takeshita appears and joins in on the beatdown. Adam Page is then shown outside the hospital and he says if you're going to start a beatdown you need to finish it. He says at All In Omega will have Page and Kota Ibushi by his side.
Chris Jericho and Don Callis then head to the ring, and Jericho admits that he has been thinking about changing his ways after last week. He says he doesn't join factions, he creates them. After last week he knows the answer about if he wants to be part of the Don Callis family...Yes. When they walked out on him he decided to be more selfish, get back to his roots, and allign with someone who is just as low as him.
The two of them then hug things out in the ring. Jericho then asks what the covered painting is in the ring, but Callis doesn't want him to see it. However, Jericho unveils it and it's a painting of Callis holding Jericho's head. Callis claims that the artist screwed this up, but Jericho tells him to shut up as he knows Callis is lying. Callis admits he did think Jericho would say no, because of his massive ego and that's why he doesn't deserve to be part of the Don Callis Family.
Jericho points out three years ago he wasn't in the business and nobody cared, thanks to him Callis is back in and still nobody cares. He then shoves Callis into the corner until Takeshita hits the ring to jump him. Jericho fights back but then gets attacked by Will Ospreay, who nails him with a chair shot to the head. The two men then hold up Jericho as Callis smashes the painting onto him until Sammy Guevara chases them away.
A video is then shown of Jack Perry who claims next week, he will retire the FTW Championship.
Darby Allin & Nick Wayne vs. Gates Of Agony
Gates Of Agony jump Darby Allin and Nick Wayne before the match during their entrance, getting a headstart on proceedings as they dominate the two smaller wrestlers around the ringside area. Wayne gets launched back-first into the barricade as the tag team continues to isolate him once the match begins. The duo continues the attack of Wayne tagging in and out frequently, dropping Wayne with a double Chokeslam.
Wayne then avoids the two men and forces them to collide with each other which allows Allin to tag in. He begins clearing house and gets an assist from Wayne, but it doesn't take long for Gates Of Agony to regain control. They hit a double team that forces Wayne to break up the pinfall. Gates Of Agony misses wildly with splash attempts in the corner though, and Wayne then sends Toa Liona to the floor.
He heads back into the ring to nail Bishop Kaun with Wayne's World as Allin connects with the Coffin Drop while Wayne moonsaults to the outside.
Winners: Darby Allin & Nick Wayne
Sting then appears backstage and says AR Fox needs eyes in the back of his head because they have a coffin match coming up at Wembley Stadium and he loves it. He says he has a leading man for his movie and he shows that he has Prince Nana, and it is show time.
Let's Hear From Adam Cole & MJF
MJF and Adam Cole are then shown at an Outback Steakhouse as MJF wants to get in the mind of the enemy...Aussie Open. Cole then gets "Crocodile Dundee" for them to watch, but MJF then shows him some footage of kangaroos fighting. He says that is how they beat Aussie Open, with a kangaroo kick. They then end up Double Clothslining someone backstage and then Tony Khan calls them into his office and screams at them. MJF says he is going to regret that, but then when Khan appears again he acts nicely.
The two then appear inside the ring as they encourage fans to get into Wembley Stadium for the Zero Hour to see them become ROH World Tag Team Champions. Cole admits nine months ago he'd cry thinking he couldn't wrestle again, and now he's main eventing Wembley Stadium for the AEW World Championship with one of his best friends. He says the match is so important for his legacy, as he's been at the top of every promotion he's ever worked for and broke records, and this match solidifies his legacy in AEW...winning the match.
Cole says he loves MJF, but he needs to win this match, and he is telling MJF as his friend, when the bell rings he'll do everything and anything to win the title. MJF says that was great, but his is better. He says when he first got into the sport he was handed a piece of paper to write down two dream opponents, and he wrote Cody Rhodes and Adam Cole. In 2018 he put 90,000 miles on his new truck to bust his ass on the indies.
He then got told about All In, and he shot his shot to be on it and DM'd Rhodes. He then got a response and Rhodes told him he was All In and he got to open a PPV he had no right being on, and he turned some heads, one of which was Khan's. He then got offered a deal, and he says without All In there is no MJF. He says he grew up in front of the fans and became one of the best.
MJF says it means a lot to him to headline this show, but it doesn't mean everything. The only thing that means everything to him is his title and if Cole thinks he will lay down he's out of his mind. A win in Wembley will make him legendary, and he is going to because nobody is on the level of the devil. The men fist bump, but then Aussie Open hit the ring and jump them, but the challengers turn things arounda nd send the champions running away.
Jeff Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett (Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match)
Chris Jericho is shown backstage and he says the match with Will Ospreay would've happened before if it wasn't for the pandemic. But now it will happen at Wembley Stadium, and he challenges Ospeay and he promises to make him bleed.
Jeff Hardy makes his entrance and then heads into the bleachers where there is a wall of weapons, and Jeff Jarrett then jumps him with Karen Jarrett. Hardy turns things around only for Satnam Singh to appear, but he gets attacked by Ethan Page, Brother Zay and Matt Hardy. Matt then pours blood all over the Jarrett's as Singh then gets launched into the section behind all of the seats.
The Jarrett's then scramble back in that area as well in the dark with just some red lighting, but Jay Lethal then turns up to help out and the three of them look to scramble away. They reach a door only for Sonjay Dutt to appear with a bat and the two groups then begin brawling backstage until they reach the top of the ramp. Hardy's crew come out on top as Jarrett gets beaten down by all of them inside the ring as Jeff Swanton Bomb's Jarrett throuh a table, but Lethal breaks the pinfall attempt.
The other members of the group all then begin to brawl until Karen hits Matt with a low blow. However, Jeff stops Jarrett from using a guitar and he nails him with the move only for Leatherface to then turn up as he ends up chasing Karen away. Yet back inside the ring, Lethal nails Hardy with a hammer as Singh then Chokeslams him to help Jarrett.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett
Britt Baker vs. The Bunny
The women shake hands to start but then immediately begin shoving each other as Britt Baker goes for a schoolgirl pinfall attempt, but The Bunny gets out and then connects with a few kicks of her own. Bunny attacks the mid-section of Baker before nailing a running knee strike, yet she misses with a clothesline and is taken down via a neck breaker.
Baker goes for the Stomp but misses and a distraction from Penelope Ford allows The Bunny to regain control. She aims to take Baker Down The Rabbit Hole, but the former champion blocks that only to be stretched on the ropes with Bunny using a head scissors submission before running and diving onto Baker in the corner. The heels smartly distract the referee which allows Ford to pull Baker down onto the second rope to inflict further damage.
Bunny focuses on the eyes of Baker as she then dumps her to the floor for Ford to attack her. Baker attempts to fight back and she hits the double underhook, but Bunny kicks out. She tries to put her glove on but Ford takes it, opening a chance for The Bunny, yet Baker superkicks her and then Stomps Bunny into the ground.
Winner (Progressing to All In): Britt Baker
The Acclaimed then get into the ring for a match but beforehand, the House Of Black appear and jump them. Brody King uses a chain to add further damage as they then take Billy Gunn's boot.
The Gunns vs. The Young Bucks
The Young Bucks opt to attack The Gunns as they make their entrance and things kickstart with a brawl between the two former AEW World Tag Team Champions. The match then officially starts and it's the veteran team that controls the pace early on, hitting a double dropkick. It sends The Gunns out of the ring and Nick Jackson dives out of the ring to take both men out.
The Gunns manage to get control though, isolating Matt Jackson inside the ring while making frequent tags between them. Matt tries to tag out but The Gunns don't let him with Colten Gunn nailing a dropkick as he then sends Nick off the ring apron. However, both The Gunns miss wildly in the corner and then collide with each other to create an opening as Matt leaps over them and tags in his brother.
Nick hits a huge crossbody on them as Austin Gunn eats a huge superkick and then a running kick to Colten. Nick then dives back into the ring and plants Austin headfirst onto the mat before diving out to Colten. The Young Bucks then fire up inside the ring, but Austin avoids the BTE Trigger as Colten dives in and saves him. He then tags in but eats a kick from Nick, yet The Gunns then hit a double team to plant Matt which leads to Nick diving from the top turnbuckle to break up the pinning attempt.
The Gunns then look to cheat to secure a win, but Nick nails Austin with a kick to the head to stop him helping his brother. However, Matt then goes for a roll-up of his own and Nick shows them how to cheat by holding his arm to ensure they can't kick out.
Winners: The Young Bucks
After the match, Jay White and Juice Robinson attack The Young Bucks until FTR hit the ring and the All In opponents work together to clear house as they then stare each other down.