**CONTAINS SPOILERS**
Tonight’s special 4th Anniversary episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, CA!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
Renee Paquette interviewed Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega backstage!
Adam Copeland interrupted and shook Jericho’s hand, saying it was good to see him. He introduced himself to Kenny Omega and said it was good to meet him. Kenny said Copeland had kept him on the edge of his seat the other night during the WrestleDream pay-per-view.
AEW International Championship Match!
The Lucha Bros’ Rey Fenix (c.) (with Alex Abrahantes & Penta El Zero Miedo)
vs.
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion The Young Bucks’ Nick Jackson (with Matt Jackson)!
Rey Fenix and Nick Jackson traded and countered a flurry of offense. Rey Fenix rolled out to the edge of the ring, checking on his injured back. Nick tried to powerbomb Rey onto the floor, but Rey Fenix countered with an arm drag off the post and onto the arena floor. Nick stood up clutching his back.
Nick took down Fenix with a hurracanrana off the guardrail. Nick nailed Fenix with a backstabber in the ring. Rey Fenix kicked Nick Jackson’s leg out from beneath him, with Nick landing on the crown of his head on the ring apron!
Fenix connected with a thrust kick, but Nick answered with two superkicks of his own. Both men had the same idea, Fenix with a strike, Nick with a round kick, and they knocked one another down. Fenix got a near fall with a hurracanrana. Nick blasted Fenix with a cutter on the arena floor!
Nick planted Rey with a facebuster for a two-count! Nick rocked Rey with a roundhouse kick. Nick drilled Fenix with an avalanche cutter but somehow Fenix was able to kick out! The fans erupted in applause!
Nick had Fenix rattled after a poison rana and then a destroyer, but Fenix kicked out at two! Nick nearly took off Fenix’s head with a running knee strike. Nick smashed Fenix with a BTE Trigger to the back of the head for a near fall!
Rey Fenix rallied back with a punt kick to the side of Nick’s head. Fenix used a frog splash on Nick Jackson for a near fall. Nick rolled up Rey Fenix, but Fenix countered with a roll-up of his own and pinned Nick Jackson!
“A tip of the cap to both men,” said Tony Schiavone.
Footage was shown from earlier in the day with Adam Cole visiting Roderick Strong’s house.
Roddy was there with the Kingdom. Roddy was rolling around in a wheelchair and had a scooter for Cole as a present. “I couldn’t be the only one on wheels,” said Roddy. They did laps in the house while the Kingdom watched on. Roddy said he had an emergency and wanted Cole to move some furniture for him. Again, the Kingdom simply watched as Cole did all the work.
Wardlow vs. Griff Garrison!
Wardlow charged Griff when the bell rang! Wardlow stomped Garrison in the corner. Wardlow powerbombed Griff! He hit Griff with a second powerbomb, and then a third! Wardlow powerbombed Garrison a fourth time! Griff was hearing the notes of the powerbomb symphony! After five consecutive powerbombs, the ref stopped the match and awarded the match to the returning Wardlow!
Renee Paquette interviewed Don Callis and Takeshita backstage.
Don Callis: “AEW has been shaken to its foundation by Sammy pinning Chris Jericho at WrestleDream. So much so, the crack AEW medical staff has deemed Sammy unable to perform. At the recommendation of Will Ospreay, I have requested Kyle Fletcher to be the partner of the ‘Alpha’ Takeshita tonight. I’m going to win this war, no matter what it takes.”
AEW Trios Championship Match!
The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass (c.)
vs.
The Butcher, The Blade, & Kip Sabian (with Penelope Ford)!
Butch dropped a leg on the chest of Caster. Kip Sabian moonsaulted onto the Acclaimed, wiping them out on the arena floor.
Bowens cleaned house on Sabian, the Butcher and Blade. Bowens dropped the Scissor Me Timbers on Blade. After tandem offense, Bowens pinned Sabian!
“Hard fought victory right there by the Acclaimed but they pulled it off,” said Taz.
Up next: We heard from Juice Robison and The Gunns after last week’s mysterious attack on “Switchblade” Jay White!
Austin Gunn: “Who’s ready for story time with the Bang Bang Gang? We came out to address the one they call ‘the devil.”
Colten Gunn: “You mean the people’s scumbag? Max, the reason you jumped Jay is because you’re scared. You know you’re about to suffocate when you breathe with the ‘Switchblade.’”
Juice: “MJF, get your ass out here! You’ve got some explaining to do! If you’re a man, you’ll come out here and face us like one. But you’re not a man, are you?”
AEW World Champion MJF’s music hit!
MJF: “Cut my music! It appears the devil has arrived in Stockton! And we’ve got an interesting trio here making a lot of accusations. We’ve got the assboys. And then we’ve got their best friend, Juice Robinson, aka talentless taint.
“Just call me mystic Max, I have a premonition that we’re going to have a dueling chant of ‘Ass Boys’ and ‘Talentless taint’. Stockton, I’m magic. Isn’t that nuts! It’s our four year anniversary of Dynamite, so I thought I’d list some of my highlights. I whipped Cody Rhodes with a belt. I threw Chris Jericho off a cage. And I almost got us kicked off TV when I called my boss Tony Khan a mark!
“I know for a fact that I didn’t attack your boy, Jay White. But if you don’t want to talk it out like gentlemen…I’ve got an idea. How about right here, right now, we have ourselves a Stockton Street Fight!”
MJF went to the ring and Bullet Club Gold backed out. “Switchblade” Jay White ambushed MJF from behind with the Blade Runner!
Jay White left with the AEW World Title belt!
“Switchblade” Jay White: “Max, I don’t know what type of caliber athlete you’re used to dealing with, but I’m a cut above. You got the best of me last week, but you’re not fooling anybody. We’re not buying what you’re selling. We use our brains. We know the real MJF. We know that MJF is a pathetic, dirty liar, a slimy gutless coward. And we need a truly elite champion. And you are not him, MJF.
“But hey, I’m a fair man. You want to prove me wrong. Put it all on the line at Full Gear! MJF versus ‘Switchblade’ Jay White for the AEW World Championship. You can try to prove me wrong, and you will fail. But don’t worry, I’ll lead by example tonight, and I’m taking this belt. And I’ve got two words for you: guns up!”
MJF: “Nah, you want me at Full Gear? Well, I’ve got two words for you: you’re on!”
Renee Paquette was backstage with FTW Champion HOOK and Orange Cassidy!
Orange: Hook is a great champion because he has a great championship.”
Hook: “It should be you next week against Rey Fenix instead of Mox.”
Orange: “Whatever.”
The Golden Jets—Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega
vs.
The Don Callis Family’s Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher!
Don Callis joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Takeshita hit Jericho with a shoulder block. Jericho got back up to his feet and traded strikes with Takeshita. Jericho fired back with a shoulder block of his own.
Omega tagged in and he and Jericho hit tandem offense on Takeshita. They double suplexed Takeshita. Takeshita blasted Jericho with the Takeshita-line.
Jericho drilled Kyle with a lionsault! Omega tagged in and Omega dished out Polish Hammers to the opposition. Omega hoisted up Takeshita, vaulted off his chest, and nailed Fletcher with a backstabber.
Fletcher sent Omega flying with a half and half suplex. Fletcher rocked Jericho with a thrust kick. Takeshita and Fletcher used a Blue Thunder-Michinoku Driver combo on Omega and Jericho.
Kenny planted Kyle with a snap dragon suplex. Jericho tagged in and dazed Fletcher with a running clothesline. Jericho sent Fletcher flying with a hurracanrana. Takeshita laid out Jericho with a lariat. Omega cracked Takeshita with a jumping knee strike. Fletcher fired back with a thrust kick to Omega and followed up with a brainbuster!
The fans chanted “A-E-W! A-E-W! A-E-W!”
Jericho and Fletcher had the same idea—going for lariats—and they knocked one another down. Omega tagged in and powerbombed Fletcher. He followed up with a knee strike to Kyle for a near fall. Omega got wiped out with a leg lariat from Fletcher. Jericho rattled Fletcher with the Code Breaker and Omega was there to finish off Fletcher with the One-Winged Angel, pinning Fletcher!
Powerhouse Hobbs ambushed Jericho and Omega after the match! He knocked them both down with lariats. Don Callis was smiling. Hobbs smashed Jericho with a spinebuster! Hobbs whipped Omega into the guardrail. Hobbs hurled Omega over the timekeeper’s table, over the barricade, and onto a row of chairs. Hobbs punished Omega out on the arena floor. Hobbs slammed a guardrail onto Omega. Hobbs trapped Omega’s throat in the guardrail.
Back in the ring, Don Callis taped Omega by the wrists to the top rope. Takeshita dropkicked Jericho out of the ring. Hobbs whacked Jericho with the chair, as Jericho was trying to take the bullet for Omega.
Hobbs was about to waffle Omega with the chair, but Don Callis asked for the chair. Callis smacked the chair over Omega’s head!
“Look at the dent left in that chair,” said Excalibur.
Renee Paquette was in the trainer’s room with AEW World Champion MJF!
Renee asked how MJF was doing.
MJF: “It’d be an easier pill to swallow if Adam was here.”
Max Caster snuck up behind MJF and MJF freaked out and told Caster to leave. “Stop stalking me!” MJF said he was going to call Adam Cole. The call went to voicemail.
“Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Skye Blue!
Toni hit Skye with a short arm lariat. Toni Storm whipped Skye across the ring by the hair! Skye fired back with a dropkick. Skye slugged Storm with a forearm. Toni sent Skye crashing to the floor with a hip attack.
Skye Blue was relentless with elbow strikes to Toni Storm. Skye connected with a high roundhouse and then a big cross body press for a near fall. Toni rattled Skye with a powerbomb.
Toni sent Skye flying with a German Suplex. Storm cracked Skye with the hip attack and finished her off with the Storm Zero for the pin!
Renee Paquette was backstage with Stokely Hathaway!
Hathaway said this Friday on Rampage there would be a four way match to determine the next challenger for Eddie Kingston’s ROH World Championship!
The Rated-R Superstar Adam Copeland made his Dynamite debut!
Tony Schiavone was in the ring and asked everyone to welcome to Dynamite— “The Rated-R Superstar” Adam Copeland!
Adam Copeland: “Tony, I grew up and your voice was the soundtrack to my childhood. So, to stand in the ring with you is a pretty big deal for me.
“I came out here to talk to you all. Let’s rewind back to 2011, I’m told I can never do this again. But guys, we’re in 2023 and I am standing in an AEW ring! There’s quite a few reasons why I came here. There’s one major one but I’ll get to that last.
“I’m pretty sure the AEW World Championship would look good around my waist. Check it out, we’re talking first ever matches. Adam Copeland versus Jon Moxley, Adam Copeland versus Kenny Omega, versus Miro, versus Powerhouse Hobbs, versus Juice Robinson. So those are all amazing reasons to be here, to challenge myself 31 years into my career.
“And I’ve already said this before, and this’ll be the last time I say it. The main reason I decided to come to AEW is I sat with my family. I asked my daughter Lyric, ‘Should I retire?’ She said, ‘You should go have fun with Uncle Jay.’
“So, I’ll call him what you all call him—Christian Cage. And I’d like him to come out here so I can tell him the real reason why I’m here. C’mon Jay.
TNT Champion Christian Cage came down to the ring!
Adam Copeland: “For 40 years we’ve been best friends. But it was this industry that made us realize we’d be best friends for life. And I know what you’re thinking. Why did I do those things at WrestleDream to Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus? And even though I know that about you, I still love you. That’s never gonna go away. But I saw you standing over Sting. A guy whose poster you took to the barber and put it on the mirror so she could give you the same haircut.
“And I see you standing over Sting. A man who has entertained people for four decades. My wife’s parents couldn’t speak English, but they loved Sting. I know that Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne are going to drop you like a bad habit as soon as they’ve sucked all the information from your brain.
“You’re so egotistical that you can’t see it. But Jay, it’s time. For the first time since 2011, for the first time properly in over 20 years, it’s time for you and me to team together again. To face a team like FTR. To face a team like the Young Bucks. To show an entire generation of fans why we are inarguably one of the greatest tag teams of all time! So, I am out here, hat in hand, and I am asking you, let’s do it. Let’s end our careers together as a team. Let’s show them all what we can do.”
Christian Cage hugged Adam Copeland.
Christian Cage: “Go to hell!”
Christian Cage walked out of the ring, leaving Adam Copeland behind.
Christian Cage: “Just a quick reminder of what you’ll be up against this Tuesday, live on Dynamite.”
Luchasaurus walked onto the ramp, with Nick Wayne by his side. They all stared at Adam Copeland!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
***Special night*** Catch AEW DYNAMITE: Title Tuesday on TBS next Tuesday live at 8/7ct from the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, MO!
***Special start time*** Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 7/6c from the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City, UT!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!