AEW Dynamite Owen Hart Cup
Image Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW Dynamite Results: Review, Grades, Card For April 2

By Matt Black

Our AEW Dynamite results for tonight include the reveal of the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Cup brackets, Cope taking on Claudio Castagnoli, and Swerve Strickland teaming with Willow Nightingale to take on Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir.

AEW Dynamite Card

The announced card is as follows:

  • Swerve Strickland and Willow Nightingale vs. Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir
  • The Rated R Superstar Cope vs. Claudio Castagnoli
  • Timeless Toni Storm vs. Penelope Ford
  • The reveal of the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Cup brackets
  • The return of Will Ospreay

AEW Dynamite Results:

This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite kicks off with a mixed tornado tag matchup. The commentary team announces that the Death Riders attacked and injured Jay White before the show, and he’s now out of the Owen Hart Cup tournament.

Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir vs. Swerve Strickland and Willow Nightingale

  • The finish of the match saw Willow Nightingale hit Marina Shafir with the Babe with the Powerbomb to score the pinfall victory for her team.

Winners: Swerve Strickland and Willow Nightingale

After the match, Moxley attacks Nightingale and hits her with a Paradigm Shift.

Grade: B+

This was a fun opener, but I gotta admit I’m nervous for Sunday now. I really wanted to see Swerve Strickland win the title at Dynasty, but now I fear that’s not going to happen. Hopefully, I get proven wrong but right now I’m not feeling good about the main event of Dynasty now.

Can FTR get back on the same page?

FTR is backstage with Renee Paquette. It’s revealed that Dax Harwood was fined $10,000 for putting his hands on referee Paul Turner at Collision. Harwood says he worked it out with Tony Khan that he can give the money directly to Turner. Harwood hands Turner the check and then apologizes to Cash Wheeler for what happened on Saturday.

Dax tries to hug Cash, but Cash prevents it. Wheeler says they are brothers and they’ll be good at Dynasty, but after the pay-per-view, they need to talk. Harwood looks distraught and apologizes to Renee as Wheeler walks away.

The commentary team officially announces the brackets for the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Cup. You can check out those brackets in the embedded post below:

Timeless Toni Storm (w/ Luther) vs. Penelope Ford

  • The finish of the match saw Toni Storm hit Penelope Ford with Storm Zero to score the pinfall victory.

Winner: Timeless Toni Storm

After the match, Megan Bayne comes out on the stage and mockingly claps for Storm as they stare each other down.

Grade: B

Perfectly fine match. Nothing really to say about it. Just a nice showcase for Storm heading into her title defense this weekend.

Swerve Strickland is on the hunt for Jon Moxley

Backstage, Willow Nightingale is getting looked at by the medical team. Renee Paquette asks Swerve Strickland for an update on Willow. Swerve Strickland says Willow is strong and she’ll be okay. Strickland says he’s going to get his hands on Moxley before Dynamite is over to get revenge for Nightingale.

Does The Hurt Syndicate need MJF?

MVP and Bobby Lashley of the Hurt Syndicate come to the ring. Lashley is about to speak, but he’s interrupted by MJF. Friedman says Lashley disrespected him last week, but he’s going to let it slide because MVP is his boy and introduces himself to Lashley. MJF says he knows all about Lashley, but he’s standing on the block he’s built.

MJF says he can help Lashley and Benjamin hold onto the Tag Titles for as long as they please. Friedman says he knows The Hurt Syndicate can help him get back the AEW World Championship. MJF says him in The Hurt Syndicate is just good business. MVP whispers something into MJF’s ear. Friedman then tells Lashley he might not want MJF, but he needs him.

Bobby Lashley says out of respect for MVP he’s not going to lay him out right now. Lashley says he doesn’t like MJF, and he doesn’t trust him and says The Hurt Syndicate doesn’t need him. Lashley says until he proves himself, get out of the ring. Friedman got the hint and left the ring.

Lashley and MVP cross paths with Big Bill and Bryan Keith, who are on their way to the ring for a squash match.

Big Bill and Bryan Keith vs. Two local talents

  • The finish of the match saw Big Bill chokeslam his opponent to score the pinfall victory for his team.

Winners: Big Bill and Bryan Keith

Grade: N/A

Just a quick squash match, nothing to see here.

The Moné Wrath Train…?

Mercedes Moné is backstage with Rene Paquette. It’s announced that Mercedes will face Julia Hart in the first round of the Owen Hart Cup at Dynasty. They are interrupted by Harley Cameron who will team with Mercedes this Saturday on Collision. Harley has the puppet with her. It was a very entertaining back-and-forth. Cameron believes they should be called the Moné Wrath Train. We’ll see how they co-exist later this week on Collision.

Will Ospreay and Kevin Knight vs. Blake Christian and Lee Johnson

  • The finish of the match saw Kevin Knight hit Lee Johnson with a springboard lariat to score the pinfall victory for his team.

Winners: Will Ospreay and Kevin Knight

After the match, Tony Schiavone announces that Ospreay will face Knight in the first round of the Owen Hart Cup this Sunday at Dynasty.

Grade: A-

This match ruled. It really sucks that Jay White is sidelined, but Ospreay and Knight should deliver an excellent match this Sunday at Dynasty.

The Opps will be present at AEW Dynasty…

The Opps are backstage. Samoa Joe says they will be present at AEW Dynasty on Sunday and tease getting involved in something. They would be the perfect next challengers for the Trio’s Titles, so we’ll see if that happens.

Brody King vs. Lance Archer (w/ Don Callis)

  • The finish of the match saw Brody King hit Lance Archer with a running lariat to score the pinfall victory.

Winner: Brody King

Grade: B+

This was a fun big man match. The meat division was in full effect. It also highlights an issue I have with Tony Khan’s booking formula. They take someone like Brody King, who deserves much better than he’s gotten lately, put him in a tournament to lose in the first round, so they give him a meaningless win before the upcoming loss. It’s just the type of booking I’m not a fan of and really wish AEW would get away from it.

The Rated R Superstar Cope vs. Claudio Castagnoli

  • The finish of the match saw Cope hit Castagnoli with a low blow followed by a Spear to score the pinfall victory.

Winner: Cope

Grade: B+

Backstage, Renee Paquette tries to get an update from Swerve Strickland on Willow Nightingale, but he says he’s looking for her husband. Hangman Page confronts Swerve and tells him he promised he wouldn’t let him win the AEW World Title again. Hangman and Swerve scream things they did to each other.

When Hangman brought up the fact that he burned down Swerve’s house, Swerve admitted he deserved it. This rocked Hangman, who stormed off. Strickland is attacked by the Death Riders backstage and is dragged to the ring. Castagnoli powerbombs Strickland in a pile of glass and the Death Riders left through the crowd. Strickland gets back to his feet, looking like a man possessed as AEW Dynamite goes off the air.

AEW Dynamite Review:

I thought this was a very strong go-home show. They did a good job building some hype for Dynasty on Sunday as well as delivering some great matches. The close of the show gave me some hope that Swerve will win the title on Sunday, but I’m not overly confident. I’m really looking forward to Dynasty later this weekend.

Grade: B+

READ MORE: Dave Meltzer Addresses AEW Collision Potentially Changing Nights

What did you think of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite overall? What was your favorite match or segment? Let us know your overall thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.

Matt Black
Matt Black

Matt Black has been covering wrestling video games since WWE Warzone from Acclaim. Coverage of wrestling video games eventually lead him into the world of wrestling news. Matt is a fan of every wrestling company and enjoys the current state of the industry in 2024.

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