3/20/24 AEW Dynamite Recap

The show opens with shots of Adam Copeland, Christian Cage, and Kazuchika Okada arriving to the arena earlier today. The opening credits roll. Excalibur and Taz are on commentary from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, while Tony Schiavone is in the ring.

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Schiavone introduces Mercedes Mone. Mone says during her time injured and away, she missed everything about wrestling and then says she is so glad to be in AEW. Mone says ten months ago, she suffered a near career-ending injury in a match against Willow Nightingale. Mone says some people might not know exactly who she is, so she put a video together to introduce herself. A video narrated by Renee Paquette then airs.

Mone says she was rocking and rolling all over the world, but then it was all taken away from her. Mone says she knew she had to come back and the comeback had to be in AEW as the CEO. Mone says she is not in AEW to lead a women’s evolution, because she has done that before, but she is in AEW to lead a women’s global revolution. Mone says Julia Hart and Skye Blue must not have heard her last week when she said she had unfinished business with Nightingale, and anyone who messes with her will go bankrupt. The lights go out in the arena, and when they come back on Hart is smiling at Mone from the ramp. Blue tries to attack Mone from behind, but Mone gets the better of both Blue and Hart.

Blue and Hart grab chairs from under the ring, but Nightingale and Kris Statlander rush the ring with chairs of their own to back Blue and Hart away. The lights go out again, and when they come back on Blue and Hart are gone. Nightingale stands behind Mone with the chair raised, but Mone turns around and Nightingale drops it. Mone asks Nightingale if she was going to hit her and leaves the ring after Nightingale doesn’t answer her.

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Earlier today, Alex Marvez interviewed Kazuchika Okada, who was with The Young Bucks. Nicholas applauds Marvez for showing the proper respect, but then tells him to show even more by speaking in Japanese. Matthew speaks in Japanese for Okada, and then compliments him. Matthew says Okada can get it done tonight and will be Okada’s personal match producers. Okada says he is coming for Eddie Kingston’s title.

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Match #1 – AEW Continental Championship Match: Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada
They lock up and Kingston backs Okada into the ropes. Okada turns it around, but Kingston delivers body shots and takes Okada down. Kingston delivers chops and kicks, and then drops him with a clothesline. Okada rolls to the floor, but Kingston chases him around the ring. Okada gets back in and catches Kingston with a shot. Okada delivers an elbow strike and applies a side-headlock, but Kingston sends him off the ropes. Okada goes for a shoulder tackle, but Kingston drops him with one of his own. Okada rolls to the floor again, but Kingston follows him. Okada catches Kingston with a kick to the midsection and drops him with a DDT as we see The Young Bucks watching the match with Tony Khan backstage. Okada gets Kingston back into the ring and drops him with a neck-breaker. Okada stands on Kingston’s chest for the cover, but Kingston gets out of it at the one count. Okada applies a straitjacket hold, but Okada drops him with a shot and follows with a dropkick as the show heads to a commercial.
Back from the break, Okada delivers a few kicks to Kingston’s face. Kingston comes back with chops, but Okada delivers a knee strike and a shot to Kingston’s neck. Okada applies an abdominal stretch, but Kingston counters with an overhead throw. Kingston clotheslines and chops Okada in the corner and follows with a German suplex. Kingston delivers a sliding elbow strike and goes for the cover, but Okada kicks out at two. Kingston delivers a few kicks to the face and follows with a few chops. Kingston runs the ropes, but Okada comes back with a dropkick. Okada delivers a neck-breaker on his knee and goes for the cover, but Kingston kicks out at two. Okada follows with a scoop slam and goes up top. Okada goes for an elbow drop, but Kingston dodges and delivers the Uraken for a two count. They exchange shots as they fight to their feet, and then Kingston drops Okada with a hard chop.
Okada comes back with an elbow strike, but Kingston delivers a few more chops. Okada comes back and goes for the Rainmaker, but Kingston partially blocks it. Okada charges into the corner, but Kingston kicks him in the face and drops him with a clothesline. Kingston goes for a suplex, but Okada grabs the referee and then gouges Kingston’s eyes. Kingston comes back with an enzuigiri and goes for the Uraken, but Okada ducks and slams Kingston down. Okada delivers the Rainmaker and gets the pin fall.
Winner and new AEW Continental Champion: Kazuchika Okada
-After the match, The Bucks celebrate backstage as Okada celebrates in the ring. PAC’s music hits, and he comes to the stage and stares down Okada.

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Renee Paquette interviews Swerve Strickland. Strickland says his intention is always the AEW World Championship, and says Samoa Joe tried to embarrass him two weeks ago by choking him out. Strickland says he also has a history of choking people out. Strickland says he has been inspired by Mike Tyson recently and issues an open challenge to anyone in the back for later tonight.

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Renee interviews Nightingale and Statlander, who say tonight will be the end of their feud with Blue and Hart after the Street Fight on Rampage later tonight. Mone walks up, and Statlander thanks her for having Nightingale’s back. They show respect for each other, and Mone thanks Statlander for having her back tonight. Statlander leaves, and then Nightingale tries to talk to Mone. Mone tells her that she has done enough and walks away. Stokely Hathaway asks Nightingale why she is even worried about her and reminder her that she broke her ankle. Nightingale just walks away from him.

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Match #2 – Singles Match: Chris Jericho vs. Hook
They lock up and Hook drops Jericho with a side suplex. Jericho grabs his head as the referee checks on him, but finally makes it back to his feet. Hook delivers shots into the corner, but Jericho comes back with a few chops. Hook delivers a T-bone suplex and goes for the cover, but Jericho kicks out at two. Hook follows with right hands and slams Jericho into the corner. Hook follows with more shots and sends Jericho across, but Jericho catches him with a few elbow strikes. Jericho chops Hook in the corner and sends him across, but Hook comes back with a trio of German suplexes as the show heads to a commercial.
Back from the break, Hook drops Jericho with more German suplexes. Jericho finally blocks one and rolls through. Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho, but Hook counters with punches and kicks him away. Jericho drops Hook with a kick to the face and follows with a pair of shoulder tackles. Jericho goes for a double sledge from the top, but Hook ducks under and drops him with another suplex. Hook follows with a clothesline, but Jericho kicks him in the face again. Jericho hits the Lionsault and goes for the cover, but Hook kicks out at two. Jericho throws Hook into the corner and follows with a kick to the face. Jericho chops Hook and puts him up top. Jericho delivers a series of right hands, but Hook blocks the last one and applies Redrum on the top rope. Jericho drops down and breaks the hold, and then delivers elbow strikes. Jericho goes for the Walls, but Hook fights him off and rolls through for the pin fall.
Winner: Hook
-After the match, Jericho and Hook share a fist bump before Jericho leaves the ring.

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Adam Cole cuts a promo. Cole says he hates the feeling of being disappointed, but Wardlow disappointed him last week. Cole says Wardlow challenged Samoa Joe for the AEW World Championship, but he failed. Cole says he should be the AEW World Champion right now, but Wardlow’s new job is to make sure they keep the gold that they have in the group. Cole says he wants Wardlow to reach his full potential, and then tells him to not screw it up.

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Renee stops Jericho backstage and asks if Hook earned his respect. Jericho says Hook lived up to what he was hoping for and says Hook showed him something that he hasn’t seen in a long time. Jericho says Hook has his respect and says he will have a proposition for Hook next week on Dynamite.

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Schiavone is in the ring, and he introduces Will Ospreay. Ospreay says he watched Bryan Danielson’s match against Katsuyori Shibata on Collision and says it was a great match, but he wants to talk about what Danielson said later on about Ospreay not being able to fill his shoes. Ospreay says Danielson’s shoes are too small for him, because he eclipsed what Danielson did in Japan. Ospreay says he wrestled Shibata seven years ago and Shibata beat the piss out of him. Ospreay says it has been a long seven years and he has a point to prove now. Ospreay challenges Shibata to a match on Dynamite next week, and it is quickly made official.

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The video package for the feud between Adam Copeland and Christian Cage airs.

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Match #3 – Tag Team Match: Deonna Purrazzo and Thunder Rosa vs. Mariah May and Toni Storm (w/Luther)
All four women brawl from the start, and then Rosa and Storm fall to the floor. The bell rings as May and Purrazzo are in the ring, and Purrazzo delivers a few shots and kicks May in the face. Rosa and Storm brawl on the outside as Purrazzo goes for the cover, but May kicks out. May slams Purrazzo down by her hair and follows with a dropkick. Storm tags in, but Purrazzo drops both of them with a clothesline. Rosa kicks Storm in the corner and tags in. Rosa knocks May to the floor, and then delivers a clothesline to Storm in the corner. Rosa follows with a chop and follows with a back elbow. Rosa delivers a sliding clothesline and goes for the cover, but Storm kicks out. Rosa trips Storm into the ropes and sits down onto Storm in the ropes. Luther distracts Rosa, and Storm sends her to the floor with a shot as the show heads to a commercial.
Back from the break, Rosa kicks May and Storm away in the corner and drops them with a double cross-body. Purrazzo tags in and drops May with a clothesline and follows with a kick and a knee lift. Purrazzo drops May with a leg-sweep and delivers another kick to the face for a two count. Purrazzo goes for the Venus De Milo, but May backs her into the ropes, Rosa tags in, but Storm comes in as well. Storm gets sent back out, and then May drops Purrazzo with a headbutt. Rosa delivers a shot to May, and then Storm throws Rosa into the corner. Storm delivers the hip attack and goes for Storm Zero, but Rosa rolls through and gets the pin fall.
Winners: Deonna Purrazzo and Thunder Rosa
-After the match, Purrazzo is not happy with Rosa as Storm, May, and Luther back up the ramp.

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Match #4 – Singles Match: Swerve Strickland (w/Prince Nana) vs. The Butcher
Strickland delivers a headbutt and follows with shots in the corner. Strickland stomps Butcher down, and then delivers Snake Eyes in the corner. Strickland takes Butcher down with a shot, and then delivers an uppercut in the corner. Strickland follows with a diving uppercut, but Butcher comes back with an elbow strike. Butcher slams Strickland’s shoulder into the turnbuckle, and then delivers a quick kick. Butcher delivers a back-breaker and follows with a few right hands. Strickland comes back with a few kicks to Butcher’s head and follows with a right hand. Strickland runs the ropes, but Butcher drops him with a clothesline. Strickland comes right back with a double stomp and delivers the House Call. Strickland delivers the Swerve Stomp, and then locks in a short-arm scissor hold and Butcher taps out.
Winner: Swerve Strickland
-After the match, Strickland grabs a microphone. Strickland says before he met Samoa Joe, he respected him, but now he really can’t stand him. Strickland says he is close to hating Joe, and says he thinks every day about wrapping his chain around Joe’s neck and choking him out. Strickland says he will take out Joe’s security one by one and week by week until Joe gives him exactly what he wants. Joe’s music hits, and he comes to ringside.
Joe says logic should dictate that he ignore Strickland since he already beat him, but that can’t be done. Joe says Strickland still believes that the impossible is possible and the problem with that is that the people start to believe similar things. Joe says that’s all good until someone like him shows up, smacks them in the face, and takes everything they have. Joe says he will deal with it by giving Strickland exactly what he wants, but then Don Callis interrupts.
Callis says Strickland thinks he can just book himself into a World title match, and then says Strickland and Konosuke Takeshita have the same amount of wins. Callis says Takeshita is undefeated outside of the Family, and then says maybe Strickland and Takeshita should mix it up. Callis says AEW is the Don Callis Family house, and then Strickland says if he had more time he’s burn the Callis Family tree to a crisp. Strickland says he accepts Callis’s challenge to face Takeshita, and then says he is coming for Joe. Strickland vs. Takeshita is made official for next week.

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Match #5 – AEW TNT Championship – “I Quit” Match: Christian Cage (c) vs. Adam Copeland
Cage delivers right hands into the corner, but Copeland comes back and slams him into the opposite corner. Copeland sets up for the Spear, but Cage ducks to the floor. Copeland follows with a dropkick through the ropes, and then they brawl into the crowd. Copeland puts Cage into one of the hockey penalty boxes, and then puts a Boston Bruins jersey onto Cage. Copeland puts a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey on himself, and they exchange shots in the penalty box. Copeland follows Cage up the stairs and slams him into a guardrail as the show heads to a commercial.
Back from the break, Cage and Copeland are back at ringside. Copeland props a ladder against the apron and delivers a right hand to Cage. Copeland lays the ladder between the timekeeper’s area and the announcers’ table, and then delivers right hands to Cage on the ladder. Copeland delivers a reverse neck-breaker on the ladder, and then gets Cage and the ladder into the ring. Copeland sets the ladder up inverted and puts it in the corner. Copeland slams Cage down onto the ladder, but Cage doesn’t quit. Copeland slams Cage into the ring post and grabs a table from under the ring. Copeland props the table against the barricade and puts Cage by it. Copeland goes for a Spear, but Cage leapfrogs him and slams him into the ring post. Cage moves the ring steps and goes up top. Cage dives onto Copeland, who is busted open, and they crash through the table, but Copeland does not quit.
Cage gets Copeland back into the ring and wedges the ladder in the ropes. Cage catapults Copeland into the ladder, but Copeland doesn’t quit. Cage goes for a frogsplash, but Copeland dodges it and locks in a cross-face submission. Cage doesn’t quit and gouges Copeland’s eyes. Both men back into the ropes and collide as they both go for Spears, and the show heads to a commercial break.
Back from the break, Copeland throws Cage off the stage, but Cage doesn’t quit. Copeland grabs a hockey goal and drops Cage throat-first onto it. Copeland hits Cage with a hockey stick and gets him back to ringside. Shayna Wayne runs up behind Copeland and low-blows him with the hockey stick. Cage takes the stick, but Copeland doesn’t quit. Cage breaks the stick over Copeland’s back and gets him back into the ring. Cage beats Copeland down with the stick and chokes him with it, but Copeland doesn’t quit. Cage grabs a barbed wire chair and sets Copeland up for a Con-chair-to. Copeland dodges it and tries to hit Cage with the barbed wire chair. Cage kicks him in the midsection and goes for the Killswitch on the chair, but Copeland gets free. Copeland hits Cage in the throat with the stick and then applies a cross-face with the stick.
Copeland takes the drawstring out of his tights and wraps it around Cage’s throat in another cross-face. Killswitch and Nick Wayne hit the ring and attack Copeland. Shayna slaps Copeland in the face, and then Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard rush the ring to make the save for Copeland. Copeland drops Killswitch with the Impaler on the barbed wire chair, and then the ladder gets set up in the ring. Copeland dives onto Killswitch and Nick Wayne on the outside, and then Garcia gives Copeland a pair of handcuffs. Copeland cuffs Nick to one corner and Menard and Garcia do the same to Killswitch on the other. They all surround Shayna, but she runs out of the ring and they all go after Cage. Menard and Parker deliver shots, and Copeland drops him with a Spear. They cuff Cage to a corner and Copeland grabs his spike weapon from under the ring. Copeland delivers a low-blow to Cage, but Cage doesn’t quit.
Copeland delivers a series of low-blows now, but Cage still doesn’t quit. Copeland grabs the spike weapon out of the container and delivers a low-blow to Cage with it. Cage doesn’t quit, and then Copeland goes to hit him in the head with it, but Cage quits.
Winner and new AEW TNT Champion: Adam Copeland

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Announced for next Wednesday’s Dynamite:
-AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament – Quarterfinal Match: Private Party vs. The Young Bucks
-Katsuyori Shibata vs. Will Ospreay
-Konosuke Takeshita vs. Swerve Strickland
-Chris Jericho has a proposition for Hook