AEW Dynamite Live Coverage - May 1st, 2024
https://i.imgur.com/h7grLlQ.jpeg
AEW Dynamite
This week, Kenny Omega returns to AEW in his hometown of Winnipeg. Chris Jericho defends his title against Katsuyori Shibata in a FTW Championship match. Rated R Superstar Adam Copeland defends his TNT Championship against a member of House of Black. AEW World Champ Swerve Strickland finds out who his Double or Nothing opponent will be. Plus, Mariah May faces the Professor Serena Deeb.
:aew:
– This week's show begins with a live shot of AEW President Tony Khan sitting in his Jacksonville Jaguars offices, where he informs us he will be running tonight's show because he has not been cleared to travel.
He talks about tonight being the AEW return of Kenny Omega in his hometown of Winnipeg. As he continues to talk, the production starts glitching out and then we see The Young Bucks sitting in the control room inside the Canadian Life Centre in Winnipeg.
They talk about how Khan's feed has dropped and explain that due to their founders clause in their contracts, their jobs are secure in AEW. On top of that, their deals say that if Khan is unable to run the show for any reason, they are legally in charge.
They say with that in mind, they are running things tonight. They tell a production assistant to hit the new opening for AEW Dynamite. A new opening video that only features The Young Bucks, Jack Perry and Kazuchika Okada.
The music playing for the video also has a lyric that says "cry me a river" as we see a shot of the back of Perry's leather jacket from a recent NJPW show that says, "Cry me a river," the same line that led to his backstage fight with CM Punk in London.
– Inside the arena, the theme for Swerve Strickland hits and out comes Prince Nana doing his goofy-ass(ed) but always entertaining dance, as the AEW World Champion emerges and the two head to the ring to kick off this week's show.
Swerve talks about how what The Young Bucks did to Tony Khan last week was a "b*tch move," prompting The Young Bucks to cut-in live from backstage on the big screen. The Young Bucks tell Swerve he seems a bit arrogant since winning the big one, as the first thing he did was use profanity on the air after becoming AEW World Champion.
They say that will be a fine. They then reveal his opponent for his title defense at AEW Double Or Nothing. The theme for Christian Cage hits and out comes the Canadian legend. He settles in the ring and stares Swerve down as fans chant "Christian! Christian!"
Christian ends up sucker-punching Swerve and attacking him. Swerve fights back, but Killswitch ends up taking he and Nana out. Christian follows up by hitting his Killswitch finisher on Swerve on the AEW World Championship belt.
They pick up Nana and feed him to Nick Wayne, who connects with his Wayne's World finisher on him. Christian gets on the mic and says something Swerve should know about him is that he never forgets. He talks about how not too long ago, he broke into "his son" Nick Wayne's gym and savagely assaulted him.
He says he also hasn't forgotten that once upon a time the two were a tag-team at the biggest show in the history of this business, and "you lost" and embarrassed me. He says he's been waiting for the right time to make him pay for that, and with him being AEW World Champion, he feels now is the best time to do that.
He gets personal and brings up Swerve saying he was so focused and dedicated on achieving his dreams, that his kid barely knows him. He says he's gonna become a father for his kid that the kid can look up to. He tells him the pain has just begun and yanks a dreadlock out of his head to end the segment.
TNT Championship (Cope Open Challenge): Adam Copeland vs. Buddy Matthews
A video message from The House of Black airs to hype the TNT Championship match that one of the members will be having against reigning title-holder Adam Copeland tonight. They say Copeland will find out which one of them it will be the same time the world does. After this wraps up, we return back inside the arena.
Adam Copeland's theme hits and out comes "The Rated-R Superstar" for his latest "Cope Open Challenge" defense of his TNT Championship. He gets a big pop from his home country crowd in Canada and settles in the ring. The lights go out and we hear a message from his opponent taunting him.
The music starts playing as Copeland looks around. Out comes Buddy Matthews to answer the challenge. After some early back-and-forth action, we see Matthews settle into the early offensive lead. With Copeland on the floor at ringside trying to recover, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the bout continues.
When we return from the break, we see Matthews drop Copeland with a draping DDT off the ropes. Matthews stomps Copeland down in the corner and follows with a snap-mare and a kick to the back. Matthews applies a rear choke, but Copeland fights to his feet and backs Matthews into the corner. Matthews keeps the hold applied, but Copeland finally gets free.
Copeland slams Matthews down and then they both go up top and exchange shots, and then both fall to the floor. They both get back into the ring at the nine count and exchange shots. Copeland goes for the Impaler, but Matthews gets free and delivers an elbow strike. Copeland comes back with an elbow strike of his own, and then both men collide with cross-bodies.
The referee calls for the doctor as Matthews begins bleeding from his mouth, and the show heads to a commercial with the commentators putting their serious voices on. During the picture-in-picture break a few times we see Matthews on the mat with the ref checking on him again. When we return, however the crowd is roaring and the match is still going. Copeland ends up hitting a Spear for the win.
After the match, "The Rated-R Superstar" isn't satisfied, so he pounds away at a still grounded Matthews after getting the win. Copeland rolls out to the floor and grabs two steel chairs. The commentators say the mist in his eyes recently has made him crazy. He lays one chair under Matthews' head and grabs the other.
Before he can hit the con-chair-to, the lights go out. When they come back on, Malakai Black is standing next to Copeland. He calmly tells him, "Do it." Matthews leans up from the ground and tells Copeland to hit him. As Copeland raises the chair above his head, the lights go out again. When they come back on this time, both Matthews and Malakai are nowhere to be found. We head to another break with Joe-Kassidy coming up next.
Winner and STILL TNT Champion: Adam Copeland
Samoa Joe vs. Isiah Kassidy
As we settle back in from the break, we hear Samoa Joe's theme music. Out comes the former AEW World Champion for our next match of the evening. The Private Party theme hits next and out comes Isiah Kassidy. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one.
Kassidy goes to the corner and puts Joe’s towel around his neck while dancing. Joe grabs the towel and backs Kassidy into the corner, but Kassidy rakes his eyes. Kassidy comes off the ropes, but Joe throws him down to the mat. Joe delivers right hands into the corner, and then follows with rapid body shots to send Kassidy to the floor.
Joe goes through the ropes, but Kassidy gets back into the ring. Joe gets on the apron, but Kassidy catches him with a springboard kick. Kassidy goes for a dive over the ropes, but Joe walks away and Kassidy crashes to the floor. Joe gets Kassidy back into the ring, but Kassidy comes back with a throat punch. Kassidy delivers a dropkick and follows with right hands in the corner.
Kassidy goes for a monkey flip, but Joe holds on and delivers a right hand. Joe delivers the Muscle Buster and gets the pin fall. After this match wraps up, we see a message from Skye Blue. She calls Willow Nightingale a fraud and is only the champion because of Stokely Hathaway. Blue challenges Nightingale to a title match later tonight on AEW Rampage.
Winner: Samoa Joe
– "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy makes his way to the ring. Cassidy says he hates this, because he thought Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta would get everything out of their systems after the Parking Lot Fight and that they’d be back in the ring as Best Friends.
Cassidy says that isn’t going to happen, because he has been told Taylor will never wrestle again after what Beretta did to him after the Parking Lot Fight. Cassidy begins to call out Beretta, but Beretta interrupts him.
Beretta says it’s shocking that Cassidy is trying to make everything about him again, and Cassidy charges at him. Security holds Cassidy back as Beretta says it is Cassidy’s fault that Taylor’s career is over.
Kris Statlander finally calms Cassidy down, and then Don Callis comes out and whispers in Cassidy’s ear. Cassidy leaves with Callis as Statlander yells at Beretta.
– We shoot backstage, where Renee Paquette is standing by with The Young Bucks. Paquette interviews the AEW EVP duo from The Elite. Matthew says they don’t really have time for this because they are looking for an old friend.
Matthew asks if she has seen him, but he says no, and then Nicholas says they have taken too much TV time and it’s time for Jack Perry to get some. The Bucks leave, and Renee asks Perry about what he did last week.
Perry says everyone has to sacrifice eventually, and thanks to Tony Khan’s sacrifice AEW is entering a new era under The Elite. That's how the brief backstage segment wraps up.
FTW Championship Match: "The Learning Tree" Chris Jericho (C) vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Back inside the Canadian Life Centre, we get ready for our next match of the evening, which features the FTW Championship on-the-line. Reigning champion "The Learning Tree" Chris Jericho makes his way out, as does his opponent, "The Wrestler" Katsuyori Shibata.
The bell sounds and off we go with this FTW Championship match, which is being contested under FTW rules, which means anything goes. Jericho takes Shibata down, but Shibata comes right back and applies a rear headlock to Jericho to take him down.
Jericho gets to his feet, but Shibata backs him into the ropes. They exchange chops and Jericho takes Shibata down again. Jericho connects with the Lionsault and goes for the cover, but Shibata kicks out at one. Jericho grabs a trash can lid and hits Shibata in the head with it.
After that, Jericho dumps a bag of hockey pucks in the ring, but Shibata slams him down onto them instead. Shibata follows with a suplex to Jericho on the pucks, and then stomps his back. Shibata chops Jericho a few times, and then Jericho comes back with chops of his own.
Shibata and Jericho continue to exchange chops back-and-forth as we head into a mid-match commercial break as this wild title tilt continues. As we return, we see Shibata chop Jericho into the corner. Shibata backs away and charges, but Jericho throws a puck at him and takes him down.
Jericho applies the Walls of Jericho, but Shibata counters into a Figure Four. Jericho throws a puck and hits Shibata in the face with it, and then grabs a trash can, and two kendo sticks from under the ring. Jericho puts the trash can over Shibata’s head and hits it with the kendo stick repeatedly.
Shibata gets to his feet as Jericho continues to hit the trash can with the kendo stick. Shibata backs Jericho into the corner and delivers headbutts with the trash can still over his head. Shibata kicks Jericho down into the corner and follows with a dropkick into the trash can and Jericho.
Shibata goes for the cover, but Jericho kicks out. Shibata gives one of the kendo sticks to Jericho, and they sit down in the ring. They hit each other with the kendo sticks and Shibata takes advantage. Shibata slams Jericho onto the pucks and grabs a table from under the ring.
Shibata props the table in the corner and chops Jericho into it. Shibata backs away and charges, but Jericho counters with a Codebreaker for a two count. Jericho goes for the Judas Effect, but Shibata counters into a rear choke. Shibata delivers an overhand chop and sets the table up in the ring.
Big Bill rushes the ring and drops Shibata with a boot to the face. Bill chokeslams Shibata through the table and leaves the ring. Jericho crawls over and gets the pin fall. After the match, Big Bill tells Jericho that he told him he deserves to be in "The Learning Tree," to which Jericho nods.
Winner and STILL FTW Champion: "The Learning Tree" Chris Jericho
– Backstage, we see Renee Paquette standing by with Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway. Nightingale apologizes for losing her cool last week and accepts Skye Blue's challenge for a TBS Women's Championship match tonight on AEW Rampage.
As they continue talking, Stokely Hathaway talks negatively about The Young Bucks and Jack Perry attacking Tony Khan last week. They say because of that, there's no one he can go to with his problems, and also isn't happy they did it before pay day on Friday.
We hear a message from Paquette, who informs Stokely and Statlander that they are banned from ringside for Nightingale's title defense against Skye Blue on Rampage. Stokely flips out as they walk off. On that note, we shift gears and head into another commercial break.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. "The Machine" Brian Cage
We return inside the Canadian Life Centre, Claudio Castagnoli makes his way to the ring for our next match of the evening, a split-screen interview with him from earlier today airs.
The theme for his opponent hits and out comes "The Machine" Brian Cage. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Cage starts off well, but Castagnoli hits a back-breaker to slow down his momentum.
Announced for next week's episode of AEW Dynamite on Wednesday, May 8, 2024 is Adam Copeland vs. Brody King of The House of Black for the TNT Championship, as well as a grudge match between Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta.
Cage takes over after hitting his impressive power-up-and-over the ring post super-plex on Castagnoli. On that note, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the action continues. When we return, Cage delivers a thrust kick and follows with the Area Code Shot.
Cage delivers a discus lariat and goes for the cover, but Castagnoli kicks out. Castagnoli comes back with a springboard uppercut and follows with a series of uppercuts in the corner. They exchange kicks to the face, and then Castagnoli delivers another uppercut and follows with a thrust kick.
Castagnoli also delivers an Area Code Shot and follows with a discus lariat of his own for a two count. Cage comes back with a hard shot and gets a two count, but Castagnoli comes off the ropes and delivers a pop-up uppercut for a two count of his own.
Castagnoli delivers the Giant Swing with nine rotations, and then applies the Sharpshooter. Cage goes for the ropes, but Castagnoli pulls him back and Cage taps out. Castagnoli gets the win and we head to another commercial break.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Mariah May vs. Serena Deeb
When we return from the break, Renee Paquette is backstage with Rocky Romero. She asks him who he is siding with in next week's Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta showdown. Romero says he is staying out of it.
He talks about his goal of capturing gold in AEW and then challenges Kyle O'Reilly for a match on tonight's special live episode of AEW Rampage that follows Dynamite. Back inside the arena, the theme for Mariah May hits and out she comes accompanied by "Timeless" Toni Storm.
The theme for her opponent hits and out comes "The Professor" Serena Deeb. The bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Deeb starts off in the lead. She ties up May like a pretzel with her ass up in the air, unable to move. Deeb drop kicks her.
May starts to take over control of the action as we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as this one continues. When we return, we see May almost get the win with Storm's Hip Attack and her own May Day knee, but Deeb hangs on.
She locks May in a single leg Boston crab and Storm throws in the towel. With the win, Deeb is now the challenger for Storm's AEW Women's World Championship at AEW Double Or Nothing 2024.
Winner and NEW No. 1 Contender: Serena Deeb
– After a quick backstage interview where Renee Paquette asks if Adam Copeland is okay after seeming out of it following his match tonight. He talks about his TNT title match next week against Brody King and then Kyle O'Reilly comes in and sings Copeland's praises.
– Back inside the Canadian Life Centre, we get "The Dapper Yapper" Justin Roberts' long, drawn out, dramatic ring introduction for "The Cleaner" Kenny Omega. Out he comes in a suit with sunglasses on getting a huge response from his home crowd in Winnipeg.
Omega settles in the ring and the fans chant "Welcome home! Welcome home!" He says they aren't making this easy. He says he's not good at this. He's not good at talking about injuries, sickness and weakness. He talks about being diagnosed with diverticulitis.
He says the doctor told him he almost died. He says he was told he would have to get what is inside of him out of him. The doctor told him it could take six months, nine months, a year, or maybe the rest of your life. He says if he doesn't, it'll be like a ticking time bomb where any force to his stomach could kill him.
"The Cleaner" says since that day, he can't lie, he had to stop watching. He had to stop watching because his hands would shake. His voice breaks as he says for the first time in his life he felt pathetic and like a coward. He says he felt like this whole thing was for him to come out and say he's got to retire, but then he turned AEW on and finally watched again.
Kenny says he watched AEW Dynasty and saw Swerve become AEW Champion. He says he saw Bryan Danielson and Will Ospreay have one of the best matches he's ever seen in his life. He says he thought he felt normal again but then he noticed his hands shaking even worse. He says then he came out here tonight and he heard the fans chants and cheers.
He says he realized he was withdrawling. He says he needs to get back in this ring. He says already he's been forgotten in the conversation for who is the best pro wrestler in the world. He says so he made a promise to himself. He's gonna make the same promise to all of us. He says he's not gonna stop until he exhausts every option. If there's a 5% chance or even a 1% chance, he's got to come back.
Omega then talks about two other punks. He brings up Matthew and Nicholas Jackson. He says they aren't the only EVPs in AEW. They forgot he's also an EVP of AEW. He says they can kick him out of The Elite, but they can't kick him out of AEW. The theme for Kazuchika Okada hits and out comes "The Rainmaker" from The Elite.
As he heads to the ring, Dynamite wraps up and Excalibur tells us it's time to transition to Rampage. Omega tells Okada they had a rivalry once. He says give him a few months and they'll share the ring again. He asks him what he thinks. Okada says, "I'm sorry, Kenny ... I'M the 'Best Bout Machine' now." With that said, Jack Perry knocks out Omega with a cheap shot from behind.
He grabs a chair and Okada is taken out of the ring. He goes after Jack Perry and knees him in the gut over and over again as the commentators remind us any blunt-force trauma to his stomach could literally kill him. Omega tears his button-up shirt open and does the gun gesture to him. He hits the ropes but Okada trips him up from the floor and Perry blasts him in the gut with a steel chair.
The Young Bucks make their way out from the back looking confused. They enter the ring and tell Okada and Perry to relax. They act like the two went too far, but then Omega starts crawling up their bodies and puts himself in the EVP Trigger position.
Matthew and Nicholas drill him with the EVP Trigger and then FTR's theme hits and out comes Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler to run them off. The Dynamite portion of tonight's double-header wraps up on that note. Excalibur tells us to stay tuned for AEW Rampage, which starts live now.
