AEW Dynamite Live Coverage - March 27th, 2024

[LionDen]

AEW Dynamite

We kick off with the usual AEW Dynamite theme song and intro video and then we shoot inside the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, where fireworks and pyro erupts as Excalibur welcomes us to this week's show.

Will Ospreay vs. Katsuyori Shibata

After that, we hear the sounds of Will Ospreay's theme music. The crowd roars as "The Aerial Assassin" emerges and heads down to the ring for our first match of the evening. His music dies down and he awaits the arrival of his opponent.

The theme for Katsuyori Shibata hits next and out comes the Japanese legend with his trademark red towel around his neck. He heads to the ring to a decent response from the Quebec crowd as split-screen highlights of Ospreay-Shibata I from seven years ago, which Shibata won, are shown.

Now the bell sounds and immediately the crowd erupts with another loud roar in clear anticipation of what they are about to see. Ospreay already has that level of expectations from the AEW fan base after only a handful of appearances with the company since joining as a full-time star.

Ospreay and Shibata start things off slow, doing a lot of clinch grappling and mat-based attacks, with reversals and counters galore. Shibata goes for his kick-finisher, which he used to defeat Ospreay seven years ago, but Ospreay avoids it well. Ospreay lands a beautiful drop kick for the first big pop of the match.

From there, Ospreay pummels Shibata in the corner with vicious forearms. He backs up and leaps in with a diving stomp/kick to the grill of the Japanese legend. Shibata rolls out to the floor to re-group, but Ospreay slingshots himself over the top-rope for a splash at ringside.

On the apron, Shibata blasts Ospreay with a running boot to the face with heavy momentum, which launches "The Aerial Assassin" out to the floor, where he receives a painful landing. Shibata follows up with some big shots to Ospreay on the floor and then rolls back into the ring where he sits cross-legged like CM Punk.

A loud "Let's go Ospreay!" chant breaks out as Shibata works over the leg of Ospreay, focusing his attack on the lower limb of the high-flyer. Ospreay starts to fight back with big chops, but Shibata hits a backdrop suplex that dumps Ospreay on his dome. On that note, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break.

When we return, we see some wild back-and-forth action, with both guys having their moments in the offensive lead. In the end, Ospreay hits an Os-cutter, a Tiger Driver '91 and then one more big move for good measure to pick up the victory in an excellent opening contest.

Winner: Will Ospreay

AEW World Tag-Team Championship Tournament: The Young Bucks vs. Private Party

After the match, we see Ospreay and Shibata share a moment of mutual respect while the crowd shows them both a ton of love. From there, the commentators bring up Ospreay's match at the upcoming AEW Dynasty 2024 pay-per-view on April 21. A video package airs for the Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson match.

When that wraps up, we shoot backstage where Renee Paquette is standing by with The Young Bucks. They do their cheesey AEW EVP routine, commenting on Paquette's job performance on the spot, etc.

Ultimately, they vow that they will not let lightning strike twice with Private Party, as they lost to them in the first Dynamite ever and refuse to do the same when they meet tonight in the AEW Tag-Team Championship Tournament. The Young Bucks head off after telling Paquette to smile more. We head to another commercial break on that note.

As we settle back in from the break, we see Kazuchika Okada pulling up in a fancy car. He steps out in a suit with his newly won AEW Continental Championship over his shoulder. Back inside the arena, the theme for The Young Bucks hits and out comes Nick and Matt Jackson for our next match of the evening.

Private Party's theme hits next and out comes Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy. They settle in the ring and the bell sounds to get this AEW World Tag-Team Championship Tournament match off-and-running. We see double backslides by Private Party for a two count coming out of the gate. Double superkicks by Private Party and The Bucks head to the outside. Stereo suicide dives not and Private Party are in control momentarily.

Matt throws Quen over the front row. Silly String over the guardrail by Private Party! Nicholas and Quen are both standing on the guardrail, and Nicholas hits a super Falcon Arrow to the floor! The Bucks want a count out win as we go to commercial. Matthew with a body slam to Quen and a senton from the apron by Nicholas.

The Young Bucks are in control now, making quick tags. Catapult into an enziguiri by the Bucks but Kassidy pushes Nicholas off the top. Kassidy in now with a cutter over the top rope to Nicholas. Pump kick off the apron to Nicholas, enziugiri to Matthew, and an Asai Moonsault to Nicholas. Springboard crossbody by Kassidy gets two. Matthew blocks a Twist of Fate and Nicholas trips Kassidy from the outside. Doomsday Sliced Bread by The Bucks is next, but Quen breaks up the pin before the count of three.

Quen gets the tag after pulling Kassidy to his corner, but The Bucks quickly take advantage of a hurt Quen. German suplex by Nicholas. Another German suplex, this time on the apron! TK Driver attempt but Quen rolls up Matthews for two. Gin & Juice by Private Party out of nowhere. Nicholas rolls out of the ring, though. More Bang for Your Buck by Private Party. Nicholas barely breaks up the pin.

We finally work our way to the finish of this one, which sees Nicholas grab the ring bell. The referee pulls it out of his hands, allowing Matthew to low blow Kassidy. Quen hits Matthew with the bell behind the ref’s back for a two count, as Matthew gets his foot on the rope just in time. Quen misses a 630 splash and lands hard on the way down. An EVP Trigger by the Bucks looks slightly botched, but still gets them the win to advance in the tourney.

Winners and ADVANCING in the AEW World Tag-Team Championship Tournament: The Young Bucks

TBS Women's Championship Eliminator: Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander vs. Anna Jay vs. Skye Blue

Backstage, "CEO" Mercedes Mone shows up in a fancy car with a fur coat on as we head to another commercial break. When we return, we see Chris Jericho and HOOK for a backstage interview. Jericho tells HOOK how much potential he sees in him and offers his advice and help if he wants it.

HOOK says he does because he's Chris Jericho. He says he also knows that ... he's Chris Jericho, so he's gonna watch out for Chris Jericho-type stuff. With Jericho understanding that, the two dap it up and the LionHOOK duo is born.

Inside the arena, Mercedes Mone's theme hits and out comes "The CEO" to join the gang on the call for special guest commentary of our next match of the evening, which will feature Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander vs. Anna Jay vs. Skye Blue in a four-way TBS Women's Championship eliminator, to see who will challenge Julia Hart next for the title.

The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. After some basic early action, a spinning hook kick by Jay sends Blue onto Statlander on the floor. DDT by Blue to Willow but she rolls to the ropes. Sliding lariat by Statlander gets a two on Jay. Shoulder block by Statlander but Blue pulls her outside. Blue eyes up Mone on commentary but Willow blasts her with a pounce out of nowhere.

Hard chops by Statlander to everyone on the outside but Blue fights back with some right hands. Body slam by Willow to Jay on the floor. Back inside the ring Blue DDT’s Statlander but Willow is there for the big spinebuster. Complete Shot by Anna to Willow and everyone is down. Four-way fist-fight in the center of the ring now. High kick by Statlander to Jay and a leg-trapped Michinoku Driver.

A superplex by Anna Jay takes Statlander to the mat! Willow breaks up the pin with a senton and Blue rolls her up for two. Code Blue after a superkick by Blue! Powerbomb-lungblower by Stalander! Ushigaroshi by Jay on to Blue AND Statlander! Two count. Shotgun dropkick by Willow to Jay! Statlander and Willow now stand face-to-face.

Blue is here and throws Willow into Statlander. Death Valley Driver by Willow to Blue on the apron! Stokely looks happy at ringside. Inside the ring, Jay rolls Statlander up for two. Jay sends Statlander to the outside with a big boot but Willow follows up with a power bomb to pick up the pin fall victory. With the win, Willow advances to challenge Julia Hart for the TBS Women's Title at AEW Dynasty 2024.

After the match wraps up, we see the TBS Women's Champion Julia Hart appear and blast Willow Nightingale from behind with a cheap shot with the title belt. She locks eyes with Mercedes Mone as the post-match scene wraps up on that note.

Winner and ADVANCING to TBS Women's Title Match: Willow Nightingale

AEW World Tag-Team Championship Tournament: Best Friends vs. The Undisputed Kingdom

Backstage, Renee Paquette is standing by with "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes. Rhodes, who is 3-1 in 2024, says he’s started this year off with a bang, and everyone on the roster is very talented. Nothing is different in Rhodes life, and he’s still as passionate as he’s ever been. The Butcher shows up and challenges him to a fight for Friday's AEW Rampage. The bout is set.

From there, we shoot to a quick black-and-white segment with AEW Women's Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm joining TCM's Ben Mankiewicz. She tells him her catchphrase, "Chin up, t*ts out and watch for the shoe ..." before throwing her heel at him and walking off as we head to another commercial break.

Back from the break, we see The Best Friends team of Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta head to the ring for our second of two AEW World Tag-Team Championship Tournament bouts. After they settle into the ring, the theme hits for their opponents and out comes The Undisputed Kingdom duo of Matt Taven and Mike Bennett, accompanied by AEW International Champion Roderick Strong.

The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Cassidy blasts Strong in the face with a right hand and the Best Friends-ish attack early. Suicide dive by Trent and a diving pockethands by Cassidy on the floor. Back in the ring and Bennett takes control of Trent in the corner but Trent responds with a pair of back suplexes. Taven backs Bennett up to the corner and the UK make some hot tags.

We see a meteora by Trent but a superkick by Taven follows. A piledriver by Bennett on the apron! Long two count. Bennett holds Trent as Taven hits a dropkick of the top. Quick tags have Trent in trouble throughout the commercial break.

When we return live from the break, Trent catches a diving Taven with a big Saito suplex and both men are down. Trent is too hurt to get the tag, so Bennett catapults him into an enziguiri and a senton from the outside in by Taven. Two count. Spinebuster by Bennett and a Lionsault by Taven but Trent gets the knees up. Cassidy gets the tag! Diving crossbody to Bennett and one for Taven.

A satellite DDT is countered by a Stundog Millionaire from Cassidy. Just the Tip by Taven out of nowhere. Proton Pack by UK gets two. Spike Piledriver attempt but Trent pushes Taven off the top. Trent tries a piledriver byt Taven superkicks him. Tornado DDT by Trent and a Satellite DDT by Cassidy. Running knee by Trent and then a near Best Friends hug is broken up by Roderick Strong, who lays out an injured Chuck.

A suicide dive by Cassidy to Strong and then a Jackknife cover by Trent as Chuck Taylor throws Taven off the top for the 1-2-3. With the win, The Best Friends duo advance in the ongoing AEW World Tag-Team Championship Tournament. After the match, we head to another commercial break.

Winners and ADVANCING in the AEW World Tag-Team Championship Tournament: Best Friends

Swerve Strickland vs. Konosuke Takeshita

It's main event time!

But first, we shoot backstage to Renee Paquette, who is standing by with Kyle O'Reilly. He talks about his recent comeback match and appears ready to get back in the ring for his sophomore efforts as part of his latest "#AllElite" run. After this wraps up, we head into a video package promoting Adam Copeland's "Cope Open" TNT title defense on Saturday's AEW Collision.

We head to a pre-match commercial break as it's time for our final match of the evening. When we return, the theme for Swerve Strickland hits and out comes The Mogul Embassy leader accompanied by Prince Nana. He heads to the ring for our main event of the evening, where for the second week in a row, "The Alpha" from The Don Callis Family will close the show.

The theme for Konosuke Takeshita hits and out he comes for this high stakes match, as the winner will take on Samoa Joe for the AEW World Championship at the upcoming AEW Dynasty 2024 pay-per-view. Additionally, Tony Khan has confirmed that whoever wins will be ranked number one in the new rankings that will be released after tonight's show goes off the air.

Don Callis joins the gang on special guest commentary for this match, which gets officially off-and-running now as the bell sounds. After some basic back-and-forth action early on, we see Swerve start to pick things up a bit and take over. As Takeshita slows down his momentum and takes control of the action, with Samoa Joe shown watching backstage on a monitor, we head into a mid-match commercial break.

As we settle back in from the break, we hear a loud "Who's House? / Swerve's House!" chant from the crowd, while Takeshita continues to follow up on the offensive lead he earned after connecting with a vicious brain-buster. Swerve starts to fight back into competitive form, trading shots with "The Alpha," before ultimately throwing him out to the floor.

Swerve goes for a high spot from the ring to the floor, but he has a very awkward landing and seems to be hurt as a result. He's well enough to continue, as he connects with a top-rope flying cross body for a pin attempt, which only gets him a one count from Takeshita, who kicks out almost instantly. Takeshita blasts Swerve with a knockout shot that has Swerve seeing stars.

Takeshita enjoys another few moments in the offensive driver's seat, but then Strickland comes back to life and takes over again. He heads to the top-rope and connects with a huge sky dive high spot for a close near fall. The fans break out into a loud "This is Awesome!" chant as the two fight on. Takeshita hits a reverse hurricanrana and then a sunset bomb for a close near fall attempt of his own.

After some more back-and-forth action, including Swerve hitting a top-rope Swerve Stomp off the top-rope onto Takeshita on the hard part of the ring apron, we see things come to an end after Swerve hits another Stomp on the way down in mid-air during a pop-up power bomb attempt by Takeshita. This time he gets the pin fall victory and with the win, he gets the AEW Championship shot.

Samoa Joe reacts to the outcome backstage with Renee Paquette and tells him he's not ready for him, and will realize that when they sign on the dotted line next Wednesday night. Back live inside the arena, we see Swerve celebrating the big win as Excalibur thanks us for tuning in and reminds us to watch AEW Rampage and AEW Collision this Friday and Saturday night. That's how this week's show goes off the air.

Winner and ADVANCING to AEW World Championship Match: Swerve Strickland

[LionDen]

Yep, another Dynamite. lol