Tonight on AEW Dynamite, the qualifying matches for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament will continue. Plus, HOOK will make his Dynamite in-ring debut, Dustin Rhodes will face CM Punk, and Darby Allin will battle Andrade El Idolo in a coffin match.
AEW Dynamite
April 20, 2022
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
CM Punk vs. Dustin Rhodes
Punk and Rhodes shake hands and proceed to feel each other out. The match is a stalemate after an arm drag and a hip toss from Punk and Rhodes, respectively. “The Second City Saint” takes Rhodes to the mat, but “The Natural” continues to hold his own. Rhodes snaps Punk’s arm on the ropes and targets it. Punk dodges a crossbody, sending Rhodes crashing to the mat and out to the floor. Back in the ring, Punk hones in on Rhodes’ leg and grounds “The Natural.” Punk repeatedly attacks the leg, but Rhodes rallies and sends him to the outside. The former world champion kicks Rhodes’ leg, forcing him to land hard on the apron. Rhodes sends Punk into the ring-post and takes control with a flurry of offense.
He punches “The Best in the World” in the corner, but he hurts his leg when he jumps down. Rhodes gets a two-count with a Code Red. He counters the GTS and gets a two-count with a power slam. Punk goes back to the leg with the chop block and locks in the Figure-Four, but Rhodes reverses it. Rhodes hits the Crossrhodes and a piledriver for a near fall. Punk kicks him in the head and goes for the GTS, but he couldn’t fully lift him. Punk them stacks Rhodes up for the three count.
Winner: CM Punk
Punk and Rhodes embrace after the match in a clear sign of respect. They shake hands again, and Rhodes raises Punk’s hand. Once Punk starts walking up the ramp, AEW World Champion Hangman Page comes out and stares him down.
The show then plays a clip from earlier today; “Smart” Mark Sterling tells Wardlow he will be escorted to his “closet” when he arrives every week, and he’ll have to wear handcuffs wherever he goes in the building. Sterling delivers a message from MJF, who says “Eat pig….” Wardlow says, “Oink oink” and walks with the security.
Blackpool Combat Club vs. Dante Martin, Lee Moriarty, and Brock Anderson
BCC takes the fight to their opponents right away. Danielson tags in and lights up Martin with some kicks. Martin showcases his athleticism and takes Danielson and Moxley down with dropkicks. Anderson tags in and floors Moxley with a clothesline. Moxley suplexes Anderson and dumps him on the ropes. Yuta slams Anderson into the steel steps, and BCC continues to isolate him. Moxley slams him again, and BCC keeps dissecting the young star. Danielson blasts him with a kick, and Moxley keeps Anderson grounded.
Anderson plants Moxley with a spinebuster. Moriarty takes in and takes control with a flurry of offense. He takes Danielson down with a springboard forearm. Danielson and Moriarty trade blows. Moriarty takes Danielson down with a suplex. Martin soars with a dive to the outside onto Moxley. Moxley counters a springboard maneuver from Martin and goes for the bulldog choke. The BCC brutalizes their opponents with some nasty strikes. Moxley pins Martin with the Paradigm Shift.
Winners: Blackpool Combat Club
Backstage, Adam Cole, the Young Bucks, and reDRagon try to regroup. O’Reilly says they need to turn things around, and he vowed to do his part by qualifying for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Cole says they’re unstoppable together, and he tells the Young Bucks that their old friends are gone, but he and reDRagon are still here. He issues an open challenge for an Undisputed Elite ten-man tag team bout next week. In doing so, he hopes to get them all back on the same page.
In a video promo, Samoa Joe and Jay Lethal discuss Satnam Singh’s destructive debut and their showdown at Battle of the Belts II. Sonjay Dutt says Singh will carry on his greatness as an Indian wrestler. Singh says Joe’s time is coming.
Tony Khan comes out to make his huge announcement. The president of New Japan Pro-Wrestling comes to the stage and shakes Khan’s hand. Adam Cole interrupts and says he’s the one who should make the announcement. Cole announces that he’ll be facing Tomohiro Ishii in an Owen Hart Foundation Tournament qualifying match this week on AEW Rampage. He says that at the United Center on June 26, AEW and NJPW will team up to present the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
Jay White then comes to the stage and says he single-handedly sold out the show the last time NJPW teamed up for a show like this. He says this isn’t about NJPW or AEW; it’s about the Undisputed Elite and the Bullet Club.
Backstage, TBS Champion Jade Cargill talks about her title match this week. Kiera Hogan and Red Velvet will be in the “Baddie” section. She then tells her opponent, Marina Shafir, that she’ll see her on Friday.
Wardlow vs. The Butcher
MJF cuts a pre-match promo where he bashes Pittsburgh sports and calls Wardlow a “nobody.” He says that Wardlow must enter without any music, and he does. He’s still handcuffed until he gets to the ring. Wardlow and The Butcher trade blows, and the latter bites his opponents. Some headbutts in the corner give The Butcher the upper hand, but Wardlow fires back with a shoulder block. The fight spills to the outside, and The Butcher drives Wardlow into the barricade. Back in the ring, The Butcher powerbombs Wardlow, but the powerhouse kicks out at one. Wardlow powerbombs The Butcher four times for the victory.
Winner: Wardlow
After the match, the security guards cuff Wardlow again and escort him away.
Backstage, Eddie Kingston previews his match with Daniel Garcia on AEW Rampage. He tells Chris Jericho to watch closely; everything he does to Garcia, he’s going to do to Jericho, too. Kingston says by the time he’s done, Garcia’s family won’t recognize him.
Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Qualifying Match: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jungle Boy
O’Reilly and Jungle Boy feel each other out. Jungle Boy showcases his fast-paced offense. O’Reilly gains the upper hand with his technical expertise and a knee strike. He suplexes Jungle Boy twice and slams him to the mat. O’Reilly drives Jungle Boy into the corner and takes him down. He grounds the fan-favorite and wrenches him in an abdominal stretch. He shifts gears and locks in an armbar. Jungle Boy rallies and dumps O’Reilly to the outside. He follows his opponent by diving onto him. Jungle Boy floors O’Reilly with a lariat. O’Reilly hits a Dragon Screw inside the ropes, but Jungle Boy drops him with a rope-assisted DDT.
Jungle Boy suplexes O’Reilly over his head and into the turnbuckle. O’Reilly drills Jungle Boy with some kicks, but he eats a superkick. Jungle Boy gets a two-fall with a pin attempt. O’Reilly traps Jungle Boy in an ankle lock, but the fan-favorite reverses it into the Snare Trap. O’Reilly hits a superplex, but Jungle Boy holds on for a pin attempt. O’Reilly hits a diving knee strike for the win.
Winner: Kyle O’Reilly
Backstage, MJF says The Butcher didn’t get the job done, but there’s plenty of money where that came from. He says a snake can take anybody down because all it takes is one bite. He turns to Jake Roberts and hands him an envelope, full of money. Roberts starts hyping up the match, but Lance Archer shows up and says he just wants to fight Wardlow.
HOOK vs. Anthony Henry
Tony Nese and “Smart” Mark Sterling are at ringside to watch HOOK’s Dynamite in-ring debut. HOOK quickly takes Henry down and wrenches his leg. He drills Henry with stiff strikes in the corner, slams him, and throws him to the mat. HOOK drills Henry with a lariat and blasts him with some shots to the head. Danhausen shows up, trying to curse HOOK, but “The Handsome Devil” makes Henry tap out to the Redrum.
Winner: HOOK
After the match, Danhausen says if HOOK doesn’t want to be cursed by Danhausen, then he’ll fight him instead. HOOK walks away without saying anything.
Backstage, Frankie Kazarian gets interrupted by Scorpio Sky, who tells his former tag team partner that none of his success would be possible without him. Sky asks Kazarian to wait to challenge for the TNT Championship because he wants to do it himself. Once he wins the gold, he’ll give Kazarian the first shot. Kazarian says he’ll always have Sky’s back.
A video package recaps Thunder Rosa’s win over Nyla Rose at AEW Battle of the Belts II. She vows to keep proving that she’s one of the best in the world. With one defense behind her, she says it’s time to go “double or nothing.”
TNT Champion Sammy Guevara, alongside Tay Conti, is in the ring. He kisses Conti and says he loves her. Guevara says he loves the fans, and he’ll give them his everything. Plenty of fans boo him, and he wonders why; he asks if it’s because his girlfriend is hotter than theirs. If that’s the case, they can “be mad.” Scorpio Sky, alongside Ethan Page and Dan Lambert, interrupts and says Guevara turned his back on his fans. Ethan Page says nobody in the building came to see Guevara. Lambert chimes in by telling Guevara that youth is wasted on him and calling him a “high school douchebag.” He tells Guevara to give Sky his rematch; if he doesn’t, he’ll have Men of the Year give Guevara the kind of “pounding your girlfriend can only dream about.” They agree to the title match in exchange for the mixed tag team bout between Paige VanZant/Sky and Guevara/Conti. The title bout will be a ladder match.
House of Black cuts a menacing promo; Malakai Black says the House is owed a debt, and next week, “the sun dies.”
Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Qualifying Match: Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. Danielle Kamela
Baker enters with some Pittsburgh Steelers players, much to the fans’ delight. Kamela takes Baker to the mat, but the former champion gains the upper hand. Baker suplexes Kamela, but the newcomer slams Baker into the turnbuckle and continues to control the bout. Kamella is practically dominating the match, and she drops Baker with a kick. She uses a Terrible Towel as a weapon, but Baker rallies with an elbow strike. She takes Kamela down with a Slingblade and blasts her with a superkick. A spinning neck breaker gives Baker even more momentum. She stomps Kamela and makes her tap out with the Lockjaw using a Steelers glove.
Winner: Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.
In a post-match promo, Baker says the women’s division is a mess without her. She makes fun of Ruby Soho for being a “runaway” and says Jamie Hayter will make her want to leave this company, too. She then says that Jade Cargill called Pittsburgh ugly. Baker says she’s the badest bitch on the block and the future Owen Hart Foundation Tournament winner.
A video package recaps Serena Deeb’s feud with Hikaru Shida; they’ll face off in a street fight next week.
Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo
An early distraction from The Blade throws Allin off his game. Marq Quen attacks Allin, and the bout turns into a three-on-one beatdown. Andrade slams Allin into the barricade. Sting shows up out of nowhere in the crowd and runs off Quen and The Blade. The brawl spills up into the depths of the arena. Quen blasts Sting with a chair, but “The Icon” no-sells it. Sting dives off a balcony onto everybody. Allin and Andrade return to the rimg. Andrade continues to control the match, but Allin rallies. He goes for the Coffin Drop, but Andrade counters it into a German Suplex. Andrade tries to put Allin in the coffin; the inside of the lid is covered in thumbtacks.
“El Idolo” lifts Allin, carries him, and slams him onto the ramp. He then tosses Allin onto some steel grating on the stage. Allin drops Andrade with a stunner and knocks him into the coffin with a suicide dive. He stuffs Andrade into the coffin, but Jose the assistant stops him from closing the lid. Allin slams Jose onto the tacks and slams the tack-studded lid onto Andrade for the win.
Winner: Darby Allin
The Hardys show up and do the “Delete” taunt before they applaud Allin.