Posted on 12/25/125 by Bob Magee
AEW Dynamite on 34th Street on TBS and HBO Max came your way
from New York City, as we were thrilled to be back in the
legendary Hammerstein Ballroom for the second straight year
for Christmas!
We saw IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita
become the first person to clinch a spot in the Continental
Classic Semifinals with his victory over Orange Cassidy in
the Blue League. Also in the Blue League, Máscara Dorada
kept his hopes alive by beating Roderick Strong. And with
“Jungle” Jack Perry’s win over PAC in the main event, we’ll
head into the final night of league action with a six-way
tie in the Gold League!
MJF had a triumphant return to action, but he paid the
consequences for his pointed words towards his Worlds End
opponents by getting a beatdown both verbally and physically
from “Hangman” Adam Page and Swerve Strickland.
The ROH World Champion, Bandido, defeated AEW National
Champion Ricochet to win the Dynamite Diamond Ring and earn
a guaranteed shot at the AEW World Championship on January
14 in Phoenix at AEW Dynamite Maximum Carnage.
Plus, AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander and Jamie
Hayer came face-to-face during an interview that nearly came
to blows, and Marina Shafir beat Mina Shirakawa, then
dropped Toni Storm. Also, Gabe Kidd threw Darby Allin down a
flight of stairs!
Here's everything that happened on AEW Dynamite on 34th
Street in New York City on Christmas Eve, including your
full results and match recaps.
Continental Classic Blue League: IWGP World Heavyweight
Champion “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita (10 points) def.
Orange Cassidy (6 points)
A merry Christmas Eve began with a showdown of two of AEW’s
best in front of a festive Hammerstein Ballroom. At the
bell, Cassidy threw his glasses at Takeshita, who went to
pick them up, so Cassidy rolled him up for a two count, and
this one nearly ended quickly! Takeshita sent Cassidy to the
corner, but Cassidy avoided Takeshita and executed a
hurricanrana into another nearfall. Cassidy captured
Takeshita in another pinning predicament and was a hundredth
of a second away from giving Takeshita his first loss! An
angry Takeshita chopped Cassidy and hit a big boot to knock
Cassidy to the outside.
Takeshita chased after and punished Cassidy on the outside
with a clear focus on Cassidy’s injured back. They returned
to the ring, where Takeshita continued the assault on
Cassidy’s back. Cassidy turned things around by running
Takeshita up and down the apron into the turnbuckles. He
followed with a pair of DDTs and then hit multiple series of
punches with Takeshita down in the corner. Cassidy put his
hands in his pockets and angered Takeshita with devastating
kicks to the shins. Cassidy needed three dropkicks to put
Takeshita down, but Takeshita came roaring back with a Blue
Thunder Bomb! Takeshita worked over Cassidy on the outside
and kept the attack on the lower back going in the ring.
Cassidy hit a PK to a downed Takeshita to get back in it,
but then found himself in the corner with Takeshita looking
for a super Raging Fire. However, Cassidy was able to
reverse it into a second-rope Stundog Millionaire! Takeshita
bailed to the floor, so Cassidy followed with a dive into a
DDT on the outside! Cassidy threw Takeshita back in, only to
walk into a giant boot by Takeshita that got a nearfall!
Takeshita was bleeding from the mouth and was clearly
furious! Multiple reversals between the two saw Cassidy get
a two-count before Takeshita caught him with a devastating
wheelbarrow suplex. Cassidy got up and missed an Orange
Punch, which allowed Takeshita to hit a big forearm strike,
so Cassidy came back with an Orange Punch that connected on
the second attempt!
The two fought on the apron, where Cassidy hit a Beach Break
on the corner of the ring! As the referee counted both men
on the outside, Takeshita tried to shove Cassidy into the
guard rail to beat the count, but he missed a running boot,
and Cassidy knocked him into the crowd! Cassidy returned to
the ring and seemed to have a countout victory in hand, but
Takeshita dove in at the last possible moment to keep the
match alive. Cassidy was ready for Takeshita and got a pair
of nearfalls, but The Alpha stopped an Orange Punch to go
for Raging Fire, which Cassidy was able to reverse into
another two-count. Takeshita picked Cassidy off the mat to
hit Raging Fire for the pinfall victory. Takeshita has 10
points and is the first man to clinch a spot in the
Continental Classic Semifinals on Saturday at AEW Worlds
End!
Gabe Kidd Has Darby Allin and Revenge on His Mind
Kidd sat on the exact steps that the Death Riders tossed
Darby Allin down last year, as we saw highlights of the
dangerous lengths both Kidd and Allin have gone to in an
effort to destroy each other. Kidd said he can see the world
crashing down around Allin and begged for him at Worlds End!
Bang Bang Gang Wants FTR in a Chicago Street Fight!
Bang Bang Gang gave praise to FTR, saying that no one
disagrees that they’re one of the best tag teams to ever do
it, but said they weren’t the best tag team when they faced
off in Manchester for the AEW World Tag Team Titles last
week. There was confusion, and the referee caught a foot on
the ropes that might or might not have happened before the
three count, so Juice Robinson said they should get rid of
all the ropes and all the rules. They challenged FTR to a
Street Fight in Chicago!
Continental Classic Blue League: Máscara Dorada (6 points)
def. Roderick Strong (0 points)
Strong is mathematically eliminated, while Dorada needs to
win to stay alive. Dorada escaped Strong’s attempts to keep
him grounded by turning Strong’s mat work into offense of
his own. Dorada started to get into more of his high-flying
offense with a kick to the side of Strong’s head, followed
by an arm drag to send Strong to the outside. Dorada fired
up the crowd for a dive, but Strong moved. Dorada chased
after only for Strong to scoop him up into a backbreaker on
the apron! Now, Strong had the full advantage and put all
his focus on Dorada’s back for the next several minutes.
Dorada got back into the match by engaging Strong in a
strike battle and staying a step ahead of him by leaping to
the top rope and coming off for an armdrag. Dorada took
Strong over with a headscissors to the outside and followed
him out to hit an armdrag off the apron. Dorada threw Strong
back in and was on the money with a senton bomb from the
top, but it only got a two. Dorada went back to the top, but
this time, Strong moved, and Dorada landed on his feet.
Strong hit a pair of big boots and then dumped Dorada neck-
first on the top turnbuckle before following with a running
boot and a face-first slam to the mat. Dorada battled out of
that pin attempt to kick out at two, so Strong stayed on him
with a Sick Kick that got another two-count.
Dorada escaped a double-underhook to catch Strong with a
hurricanrana to get a near-fall. Strong hit a uranage
backbreaker across his knee and called for the end. He
lifted Dorada for End of Heartache, but Dorada escaped and
then kicked Strong in the side of the jaw. With Strong down,
Dorada went to the top and nailed a shooting star press to
get the win and three significant points. He stays alive in
the Blue League with six points while Strong remains
winless.
AEW Earns Many Year-End Accolades from Sports Illustrated
Among the many year-end awards given out by Sports
Illustrated, AEW took home both Female and Male Wrestler of
the Year thanks to Mercedes Moné and “Hangman” Adam Page.
FTR won Tag Team of the Year, and “The Protostar” Kyle
Fletcher was named Breakout Wrestler of the Year. And Will
Ospreay won Best in the Ring! AEW also took home Show of the
Year for Double or Nothing, as well as “Timeless” Toni Storm
winning Best on the Mic and “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Jon
Moxley earning Rivalry of the Year honors. With all those
honors, it shouldn’t be a surprise that AEW won Promotion of
the Year! Thanks to Sports Illustrated and our great AEW
fans!
AEW Women’s World Champion Kris Statlander & Jamie Hayter
Face-to-Face Interview
Standing on top of the ramp, Renee Paquette introduced
Statlander and her challenger, Hayter, for this face-to-face
interview. Statlander and Hayter did shake hands before
Paquette began. However, that pot was stirred immediately
when Paquette asked Statlander how she felt about giving
Hayter this opportunity, only for Hayter to take out
Statlander and pose with her AEW Women’s World Championship
last week on Collision Holiday Bash. Statlander said she
gave Hayter this shot because she knows what it’s like to be
at the top and lose it all. She lost friends, her knees were
shredded, but she came back and won the AEW Women’s World
Championship. She doesn’t want Hayter to dwell on the past.
Statlander made it clear, “So don’t pity me for what I’ve
been through. Fear me for what I’ve become!”
While Statlander knows Hayter said she’ll be bringing
someone different to Worlds End, Statlander knew that
sounded familiar because that’s what she’s become. Hayter
may have beaten her before, but that was before Statlander
became the Cosmic Killer. She told Hayter to prove to her
and the world that she deserved to reclaim her throne.
Paquette asked Hayter if she had anything to add. Hayter
said, “Oh, I have plenty of things to add.” And with that,
she tried to throw a lariat, only for Statlander to catch
it. Hayter said, “Just remember, mate, the last time I hit
you with this, you didn’t get back up!”
Referees got between the two before they could come into any
further contact.
MJF def. Dustin Waller, Taken Out by Hangman and Swerve
MJF took Waller down at the bell and rained down punches on
him with an undeniable intensity. He followed with a back
elbow and then took his time running his crotch into
Waller’s face. Waller chopped MJF, so MJF slapped him to the
mat and captured him in a hammerlock DDT before locking on
Salt of the Earth for a speedy tap-out victory.
MJF grabbed the mic, but before he was able to speak, we
heard the music of “Hangman” Adam Page, who appeared on the
balcony! Then Swerve’s music hit, and he was in a different
part of the balcony with Prince Nana! Page reminded MJF of
the contractual agreement that they couldn’t touch, which
was left in Manchester, so he dared MJF to make another
lowbrow, misogynistic joke because he knows the casting
directors and people he works with in Hollywood would love
to hear them. Page and Swerve started to make their way to
the ring, with Page reminding MJF that he beat him twice
this year. And no matter what MJF says tonight, he’s getting
his ass beat!
The Opps Dojo ran out to go after Swerve and Hangman, but
they took care of them and had MJF surrounded until MJF
ducked, and they almost took out each other with chains!
Then we heard Samoa Joe, who was in the back, say that he
put together that training exercise to show who Swerve and
Page truly are. Joe said he’ll be coming for all of them and
will end their hopes and dreams at Worlds End. MJF tried to
sneak in from behind on Swerve, but he ducked, and Page
nailed MJF with a fist wrapped in a chain. Swerve nailed a
House Call on MJF, so Page wrapped the chain around MJF’s
neck, as Swerve took the mic.
He said he wanted to tell everyone something that MJF
doesn’t want you to know. MJF doesn’t hate all of you. In
fact, he likes all of you and every place they go because he
lives off your likes and adulation, which feeds his ego.
Swerve said MJF is the toxic combination of being a terrible
person with power. He made MJF stay awake, as MJF was fading
in the choke of the chain. Then, he reminded MJF of everyone
who fell victim to being alongside him, including The
Pinnacle, Wardlow, and Adam Cole. Swerve makes everyone
around him better, and will always be better than MJF as an
actor, wrestler, and husband. Whose House?
AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions The Babes of Wrath are
Ready for Their First Defense
Renee Paquette was with Willow Nightingale and Harley
Cameron ahead of their AEW Women’s World Tag Team
Championship match at Worlds End against TBS Champion
Mercedes Moné and ROH Women’s World Champion Athena. But
first, they’ll face Maya World and Hyan on Christmas
Collision, as Cameron said they like “the cut of their jib.”
Cameron and Nightingale hyped each other up and even had
Paquette join in to end the interview!
Dynamite Diamond Ring Final: ROH World Champion Bandido def.
AEW National Champion Ricochet, Earns AEW World Title Shot
at Maximum Carnage
While Ricochet was backed up by Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun of
The Demand, Bandido came out alone, although he was wearing
the mask, chain, and ring jacket of his partner, Brody King.
Ricochet messed with the crowd instead of paying attention
to Bandido, as they were clearly in favor of the ROH World
Champion. Bandido took Ricochet down for a brief moment and
tried to do the Macarena, so Ricochet nailed him and tried
to send him over the top. Ricochet tried to dance, so
Bandido slapped him in the back of the head! Bandido ate a
chop and then sent Ricochet over the top onto the corner of
the apron with a one-handed press slam! He performed the
Macarena to celebrate! Unfortunately, that celebration gave
Ricochet time to recover, so when Bandido went out to chase
him, Ricochet was ready and sent Bandido back-first into the
steps! Ricochet threw Bandido back in to continue to work on
Bandido’s back.
Bandido tried to fight back, but Ricochet kept cutting him
off. Ricochet hit a Northern Lights suplex, a vertical
suplex, and then a third on the apron. On the floor, Bandido
reversed Ricochet into a suplex of his own! Back in the
ring, the two traded near-falls until Ricochet pulled
Bandido’s hair into Vertigo, but a sloppy cover only got him
a two. Ricochet missed a Spirit Gun, but nailed a kick and
tried for a Benadriller only for Bandido to turn into a
Poisonrana! Ricochet flipped out of a 21 Plex attempt and
sat on top of Bandido to get another two-count! Bandido
popped Ricochet out of a hurricanrana attempt into a Liger
Bomb, but Ricochet kicked out! Bandido missed a frog splash,
only to come back with a massive thrust kick. Bandido nailed
the X Knee and tried for the 21 Plex, but Kaun held Ricochet
as the referee was distracted by Liona. Ricochet took that
chance to hit a mule kick low blow, but when he went for a
Spirit Gun, Bandido reversed the momentum into a pin for the
three count! Ricochet immediately attacked after the bell,
only for King to run out to save his partner!
King presented Bandido with the Dynamite Diamond Ring, as
he’ll now await the winner of this Saturday’s 4-Way AEW
World Championship match to see who he’ll challenge for the
AEW World Title at Dynamite Maximum Carnage on January 14!
Darby Allin Thrown Down Familiar Steps by Gabe Kidd!
Somewhere in the bowels of the building, Lexy Nair caught up
with Darby Allin and congratulated him for being medically
cleared. As Allin spoke to Nair about Gabe Kidd’s challenge
earlier in the night, we could see Gabe Kidd coming down the
stairs behind him. Allin said he had bigger things to worry
about than Gabe Kidd. As he said that, Kidd attacked, and
the camera went out, but we could hear the attack. When the
camera came back, Kidd dragged Allin to the top of the
stairs, where he had been thrown down a year ago. Kidd
yelled at Allin about having bigger things to worry about
and threw him down the stairs!
Marina Shafir def. Mina Shirakawa
Before the match, we saw Shirakawa tell “Timeless” Toni
Storm to stay in the back because she needed to fight for
Storm tonight. Shirakawa came out hot out of the gate with
strikes in the corner, followed by a focused attack on
Shafir’s knee. Shirakawa hit a tornillo splash from the
outside in, but only got a one count. Shirakawa stayed on
the move and knocked Shafir down with a dropkick from the
top! Shafir fought through it and slammed Mina to the mat to
swing the match in her favor!
Shirakawa was in trouble for several minutes until she was
able to hit a Slingblade from the top rope! That got her a
two-count, so the two got into a strike battle, which
Shirakawa won and locked in the figure four! Shafir escaped
by snapping Shirakawa’s fingers, so Shirakawa came back with
an uraken, though with her injured fingers, it didn’t have
its full effect. Shafir shook it off and locked in Mother’s
Milk, and Shirakawa passed out immediately. The win wasn’t
enough for Shafir, so she locked in Mother’s Milk again,
which brought out Storm to make the save. Shafir was waiting
and knocked out Storm with one swift kick that dropped Storm
on top of Shirakawa. Shafir flipped off the crowd as she
exited, following the damage she did to Timeless Love
Bombs.
The Elite are Reunited, but the Young Bucks are Injured
After last week’s million-dollar win at Holiday Bash, Lexy
Nair caught up with Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks to ask
about the rumor that Matt and Nick Jackson are injured and
won’t be cleared for some time. Matt said it was bittersweet
because they got the money, but they won’t be cleared for
the rest of the year. Omega said while they are out and rest
up, he needs to take care of something by himself that he
should have done a long time ago.
Continental Classic Gold League: “Jungle” Jack Perry (6
points) def. PAC (6 points)
Our main event was a first-time matchup between these two
Day 1 AEW wrestlers, and both men were wrestling for the
first time in the Hammerstein Ballroom. Renee Paquette
delivered her match report from ringside, including a quote
from PAC, who said he was going to hit Perry so hard, he’d
wake up back in a loincloth.
Perry tried to outwrestle PAC at the outset, and it worked
until PAC bailed to the outside. Perry followed with a
baseball slide into a bulldog on the floor. Perry
immediately clobbered PAC with a dive and threw him back
into the ring so that he could come off the top with an
elbow to a standing PAC. That got him a one count, so Perry
went to the opposite corner, but PAC bailed to the floor.
Perry went after him, so PAC snatched him with a snap suplex
on the ground. Perry’s ankle injury was clearly bothering
him. PAC tried to inflict as much punishment as possible on
the outside before throwing Perry back in so he could come
off the top with a dropkick. That got PAC a two-count, so he
stayed on the offensive only for Perry to cut him off with a
superkick!
The two traded blows until Perry hit a suplex. Perry fought
out of the corner and then ran up the turnbuckles to hit a
German suplex! Perry nailed a running, flying DDT for
another near-fall, although his ankle was still a problem.
Perry went for his patented running knee strike, but PAC was
ready for him and booted Perry in the face. Perry charged at
PAC, so he threw Perry over his head into the turnbuckles
head over heels at the 10-minute mark!
PAC put Perry on the top rope for an avalanche belly-to-
belly suplex! PAC was slow to get to Perry for the pin
attempt, so Perry was able to kick out to stay alive. PAC
taunted the beaten Perry in the corner, but Perry booted his
way out. He chased PAC into the other corner, but got a boot
of his own. PAC jumped over Perry and connected with a
thrust kick. Perry stopped the charging PAC with a superkick
and a poisonrana! PAC stepped out of Perry's path to send
him into the ropes, but Perry came back with a massive
clothesline for another near-fall! PAC caught a running
knee, and the two traded kicks until Perry hit a back
suplex. He nailed the running knee on PAC, but when he lay
on PAC for the cover, PAC turned it into the Brutalizer.
Perry escaped by getting to the ropes, only for PAC to get a
head of steam for a big clothesline. PAC tried to get the
Brutalizer on again, so Perry reversed it into a near-fall.
PAC went back to the Brutalizer, but Perry bit his way out!
PAC brought Perry up to his feet, but Perry leapt into a
cazadora pin to get the victory! Perry moves to six points,
and we have a six-way tie between all the competitors in the
Gold League heading into the final night of league matches
tomorrow on Christmas Collision! Santa Luchasaurus brought
out some cookies and milk for Perry to celebrate with the
crowd! Merry Christmas Eve, and we’ll see you tomorrow night
right back in New York City!
Catch AEW Christmas Collision on a special night and time of
Thursday, 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on TNT and HBO Max back in the
Hammerstein Ballroom!
And remember… We are AEW—Where The Best Wrestle!