AEW Dynamite Live Coverage - May 18th, 2022

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AEW Dynamite

This week on DYNAMITE on TBS, it's Wild Card Wednesday! Who will be the mystery opponents? Plus, the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Semi-finals begin with Adam Cole vs Jeff Hardy!


:aew:

– The show kicks off with the usual video package and theme song. From there, we shoot inside the arena where Jim Ross welcomes us to the show.

Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarter-Final: Samoa Joe vs. “The Joker”

Samoa Joe’s opponent is none other than…Johnny Elite! As is par for the course with this man, it’s another second name for the former WWE Superstar, who is best known as John Morrison. The two men look to lock up, but Samoa Joe immediately takes a few shots, including a huge chop to his opponent.

Johnny Elite comes back with an ankle pick, taking Joe down to the mat, as the ROH TV Champion gets to the ropes. Elite looks for a few kicks, but Joe quickly nails a few of his own, and then delivers another big chop. Elite responds well with some punches, and a huge kick of his own, but Joe then charges through his rival.

Elite manages to drop Joe once again with a kick to the face, and he then does a cartwheel into a clothesline. That sends Joe to the outside, and Johnny follows up by flipping off the top rope to take Joe down again. Johnny sends Joe into the barricades a couple of times, but Joe responds with one of his own with real force.

Back inside the ring, Elite looks to charge into the corner, but Joe is ready and waiting with an STO, which gets a near fall. Johnny tries to get back into the match, but instead, Samoa Joe runs into him, spinning Elite in mid-air with his contact. Joe hits an inverted atomic drop, a big boot, and then a huge senton, but once again Elite kicks out.

Johnny tries to lift Joe up onto his back, but he doesn’t have enough, so the ROH star just drops him with a massive chop. Joe then looks for the Muscle Buster, but Elite reverses and then drops Joe down himself. He follows that with a 450 Splash, but he doesn’t quite get all of it, and Joe kicks out.

Elite then nails a knee strike, and he aims for Starship Pain, but Joe gets the knees up. He immediately rushes Johnny to the corner with a series of slaps, and punches, following it with the Muscle Buster for the win to progress.

Winner: Samoa Joe

As soon as the match is over, Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal jump Samoa Joe, with Satnam Singh holding him so his partners can attack him with a steel pipe. In the end, the Best Friends hit the ring to make the save.

– Backstage it is revealed that Jeff Hardy is medically cleared to compete tonight. The Young Bucks then appear and tell him they know it’s tough on his body, they want him to take the night off. If he doesn’t, Adam Cole will beat him. Matt says his brother will be fine, because he’s a real Hardy, not a Hardy cosplayer. Matt says if they get involved tonight, they won’t be the only Undisputed Elite members getting their ass whipped.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Hangman Page

Konosuke Takeshita wastes no time charging in with a big boot, as he immediately trades punches with the champion. Hangman Page turns things around quickly, launching his opponent out of the ring as he then dives over the top rope to take him down. Page sends him back into the ring, but then takes too long as Konosuke launches himself over the ropes to wipe him out.

Back inside the squared circle, Takeshita tries to leap over the rope, but Page pushes him down. He then gets onto the ring apron and delivers a big chop to his opponent. Hangman then gets rocked with an elbow, but as Takeshita charges at him, Hangman uses that momentum to lift him up, and drop him to the ring apron.

The champion follows it up with a picture-perfect moonsault from the top turnbuckle. Back inside the ring Adam hits a Death Valley Driver, but that only produces a near fall. His opponent follows up with a Blue Thunder Bomb, but Page kicks out, only for Takeshita to then dive over the ropes to wipe out Page again.

Konosuke hits a Helluva Kick, but as he runs back to do it again, Page is already there to hit the same move. Both men then trade German suplexes, and then they hit a double clothesline, and they are down. When they get to their feet the two men trade punches, but Page then hits the piledriver, which is still not enough!

Page misses with the Buckshot Lariat, and he then rocks the champion with an elbow strike into a huge powerbomb, as Page scrambles to get out. He follows that up with a huge knee strike, but Page kicks out once again. Takeshita connects with a huge German suplex, and as he looks for a bridged pin, he immediately pulls away due to being in pain.

He looks for a running knee, and while Page blocks it, he eats an elbow. Takeshita then aims for a diving lariat, but Hangman catches him in mid-air with a big forearm. He then sets up his opponent on the top rope, but Takeshita sends him off. Page lands on his feet, comes in with a clothesline, and then the Buckshot Lariat. But he’s not done…Hangman hits the GTS as he stares down CM Punk.

Winner: Hangman Page

– After the match CM Punk ad Hangman Page stare each other down on the ramp as the crowd chants for CM Punk. The champion then barges past him, making his way to the back.

Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee vs. The Workhorsemen

JD Drake tries to chop Keith Lee to start, but he is immediately made to pay when the Limitless One responds with one of his own. Swerve Strickland tags in, but Anthony Henry catches him with a few kicks of his own. Swerve backs him into the corner, and he then leaps up and hits a back kick.

Strickland then leaps from the top rope to hit a dropkick to Henry, following it with a flat liner. JD then chargers in, but as Swerve avoids him, Lee tags in, diving onto him. He then lifts Henry up for a powerbomb, and Strickland hits a stomp combination from the top rope.

Winners: Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland

– Keith Lee says that with that victory, they have become a top-five ranked tag team. But before he can continue, Powerhouse Hobbs makes his way out with Ricky Starks. The FTW Champion calls Lee Rex from Toy Story, and says they’re two selfish jabronis. He says they deserve the title shot since he beat Jungle Boy.

Swerve mocks the outfit that Starks is wearing, and then the Tag Team Champions make their presence known. Christian Cage says he wishes Ricky was smart enough to know when to shut up. He also mocks Ricky’s clothing, and says he gets it, Starks thinks he is ready for a real championship.

He says they’re the best, and they are going to challenge them, as he sets up a threeway for the AEW Tag Team Championships at Double Or Nothing. He then comes up with another idea, and he wants Jungle Boy to get his win back over Starks, and the man who cost him the match. This sets up Jungle Boy v Starks v Swerve next week.

– Tony Schiavone is backstage with Red Velvet and Kris Statlander. Red says things are different now, so on Friday, she hopes Kris brings everything. Statlander agrees, they have both changed, and she is taking this opportunity to the top, and it is strictly business. Jade Cargill then says i’s funny that Velvet tricked the alien girl into thinking they were friends.

– Time for Wardlow to take 10 lashings. MJF appears, and says he is looking at a bunch of dumb, fat hicks. He reminds Wardlow if he touches him, the match is off, so when he gets into the ring MJF spits on him. He then delivers his first whip, and Wardlow just starts laughing. The second one leads to no flinching from Wardlow either.

MJF gets frustrated, so he unloads a flurry of strikes until Shawn Spears pulls him back, with Wardlow still not being bothered. Spears then hits two, and that gets a slight reaction from him, as he tells MJF he’s got one whip left. MJF looks to hit one more, but instead, he hits a low blow.

The handcuffed Wardlow then just gets beaten down by MJF and Spears by the belt. MJF then puts on the Dynamite Diamond ring, and he nails him in the face. Spears then connects with a C4, and MJF pins him as they prepare for next week.

– Trent is backstage and says that Roppongi Vice is back full time. Rocky Romero wants the ROH, AEW, and IWGP Tag Team Titles, so Trent lays down the challenge to FTR.

Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Quarter-Final: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Rey Fenix

Kyle O’Reilly starts out by bringing Rey Fenix to the ground, looking to show his wrestling skills. The two men then trade kicks and chops in the ring. Fenix tries to go to the top turnbuckle, but Kyle puts a stop to it, pulling him down. But Rey is too quick, he wriggles out and springboards with a dropkick.

Rey follows up by launching himself out of the ring, which sends Kyle into the barricade. But as he dives from the top turnbuckle, Kyle catches him into a sleeper, yet Fenix gets the ropes. The two men head out of the ring, with O’Reilly sending Rey into the steel ring post, following it with a big kick, but Fenix replies in the same way, throwing Kyle into the post.

The fight continues outside the ring, with Kyle sitting Rey down on a chair as he charges in with a dropkick. Back inside the ring and O’Reilly keeps focusing on the arm, grinding down his opponent. The Death Triangle star fights back with big chops, but as he then tries to hang on to the ropes, his arm gives way.

Kyle tries to attack him, but Fenix responds well, leaping to the top rope to nail a kick to the face. The two men then trade some huge kicks, but as Fenix then tries to jump from the ropes, Kyle catches him and connects with several butterfly suplexes. Both men then go for more strikes, and slaps, and that leads to them both being down for a double count.

O’Reilly looks for a wrist lock, but Rey fights back, and while Kyle continues his attack, Rey pops up again to take him down. He then walks the top rope to hit a hurricanrana to the floor, but as he dives back in for a cutter, Kyle catches him with a submission. Rey focuses on trying to block that, but that allows O’Reilly to smartly catch him out with a pinfall.

Winner: Kyle O’Reilly

– We head to the ring for a face off between William Regal and Chris Jericho.

William Regal is out first with Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Eddie Kingston, and Santana & Ortiz. This is followed by the Jericho Society, but Danny Magic gets on the ring and cuts off the sing-a-long. Jericho points out that last week they cheered them getting attacked. He says of course the attack was created by William Regal.

Jericho says it’s good to see him, as he thought he’d be dead by now. Jericho says Regal could have been one of the greatest, and he should have been a World Champion, but instead, he ended up as a world-class addict. He points out William has been fired everywhere he’s been, until he got here via his proteges.

Chris says Santana and Ortiz are too stupid to know that everything they have is down to him. Chris once again tells Eddie that if his girl needs any help, she can give him a call. The attention turns to Bryan Danielson, who he calls a nerd, if he stays with this group long enough, William Regal will shove whiskey down his throat until he has to join the program with Moxley. Jericho then advises Regal to go home, and if he doesn’t, he will throw a fireball in his face because he’s a wizard. Or, maybe he will piss in his tea again.

Regal says he has had to listen to that whiney voice ever since he met Jericho. He says Jericho hit a few home truths there, but one thing has kept him going, which is that every time he was on a show with Chris, he would go to Jericho’s bag, and get his toothbrush, and stick it up his bottom.

Daniel Garcia then says that is disgusting, but Regal says he did it to him last week. Jericho says they obviously want a fight, and at Double Or Nothing, they challenge them to a stadium … but Moxley says no, he’s not doing that s--t. Stadium Stampede was a different time and place, but this time it should be done live and in living color. Moxley says it’s them five vs. them, gang warfare, gang rules, madness until they’re all bleeding like stuffed pigs.

Moxley says the sport they love vs. a bunch of stupid bullsh*t. Jericho says they’re a well-oiled machine, yet they have issues. He points out the issues the problems that people in their group have against each other. Kingston says he doesn’t care about buys or ratings, he tells them to come in the ring and fight. But Jericho says forget it, and they leave. Kingston then looks to chase them, but Bryan stops him, and they argue.

– Backstage Dante Martin and Matt Sydal talk about how Blackpool Combat Club don’t need to wait for a fight, they’ll give them it on Friday.

Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Quarter-Final: Britt Baker vs. “The Joker”

Britt Baker’s opponent is none other than…Maki Itoh! The former tag team partners hug, and Britt tells her to lay down for the pin. Itoh does that, but she then tries to catch her with an inside cradle. Itoh then flips her off, but Britt avoids the falling headbutt. Baker then gets things going with a sling blade, but Maki kicks out.

She continues the attack, focusing on the jaw and wearing it down as much as possible. Baker launches Itoh across the ring, but she only gets a near fall as Maki responds with a suplex of her own. Britt then sends her headfirst into the top turnbuckle to no effect. She fires up by headbutting the turnbuckle repeatedly and then headbutts Britt herself.

Maki aims for the diving headbutt again, and Britt moves but Itoh puts on the breaks and then hits it again. Baker responds quickly with a thrust kick, and then the Lock Jaw to progress.

Winner: Britt Baker

– Toni Storm then makes her way out, and the two women have a staredown.

– Tony Schiavone is in the ring, and he promotes next week’s three-year anniversary show. Serena Deeb then appears and says she is sick of hearing him talk. She heard that he said she couldn’t beat Thunder Rosa, and that made him an idiot. Deeb said Dustin Rhodes also had a lot to say last week, and she calls him out as well.

She says of course the crowd would cheer the poster boy of failure. Deeb claims that he’s just as much of an idiot as Tony. She respected Dusty, she says he knows all the dues that she had to pay, and how hard it was to be a woman in that era. She put breast implants into her body to satisfy old perverts, she saved her head and got no respect. So she wants to know why he said she can’t beat Thunder Rosa.

Deeb claims he doesn’t have the balls to answer her, and when she beats Rosa, Dustin will respect him, and she slaps him. Rosa then charges in for a fight, but Dustin stops her. She accidentally hits him, and as he is selling, Deeb nails the champion with her own title belt.

Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Semi-Final: Adam Cole vs. Jeff Hardy

As Jeff Hardy makes his way to the ring, Adam Cole jumps him from behind to start this one in control. But when the match begins, it is the WWE veteran who takes over. He instantly drops Cole to the mat, and then dives from the ring apron to continue his attack. However, Cole turns things around, sending Jeff to the stairs.

Cole continues his attack in the corner, and then pushes him down to the rope. He nails a neck breaker, but Jeff manages to kick out to keep the fight going. Hardy quickly responds to the beat down with a pinfall attempt, but it’s not enough to catch him out. The two men trade punches until Adam hits the enziguri.

When they get back up, Jeff manages to drop Cole down to the mat, gaining some control, but as Jeff looks to dive from the top rope, Cole connects with a superkick in mid-air. Hardy gets the ropes to stop the pinfall though. Hardy then nails a stunner, and he then heads to the top rope, but he misses with the Swanton Bomb, and Cole hits the Boom.

Winner: Adam Cole

After the match, the Hardy Boyz talk trash with Adam Cole, as The Young Bucks then appear. While the tag team is distracted, Cole takes them out from behind, which allows a three-on-one beatdown. But Sting and Darby Allin level things up until Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly appear. They take down Darby, but Sting puts up a fight until it becomes too much.

They then wrap Sting’s leg in a chair, and O’Reilly dives down on it from the top rope to snap the chair as the show goes off the air.