AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From January 29

All Elite Wrestling arrived in the VBC Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama for the January 29 edition of Dynamite.

Mercedes Moné put her TBS Championship on the line against Yuka Sakazaki in what was certain to be a great match. Would The CEO keep up her undefeated streak?

Will Ospreay went one-on-one with Brian Cage while he and Kenny Omega prepared to team up against The Don Callis Family at Grand Slam: Australia.

Jeff Jarrett bet on himself by challenging Claudio Castagnoli. If The Last Outlaw could beat The Swiss Superman, he would finally get his world championship opportunity against Jon Moxley.

Jay White finally got his hands on Wheeler Yuta, hoping for revenge against the man who cost him the AEW World Championship. Could The Switchblade take another step closer to a true one-on-one world title opportunity?

This was an important night for AEW, continuing to set the stage for Grand Slam on February 15.

Will Ospreay struggled to combat the strength and conditioning of Brian Cage, especially with Lance Archer getting involved.

However, The Aerial Assassin knocked Cage into Archer and hit the Styles Clash to win.

The Don Callis Family attacked after the bell, beating down both Ospreay and Kenny Omega.

Cage delivered once again here, fighting tough with Ospreay just two weeks removed from his battle with Omega.

While the battle with The Cleaner was a little, er, cleaner, The Machine has done his job in making the most of his opportunities while highlighting his opposition.

The post-match was unnecessarily long, though. The Don Callis Family made their point within 30 seconds, but the stomping and taunting continued for another couple of minutes.

The final image of Ospreay needing to put his body in the way to protect Omega could be an interesting moment of foreshadowing for what could happen at Grand Slam.

The Cleaner is the vulnerable man in this duo and will remain the primary target of The Don Callis Family attacks until his career is under threat.

Result

Ospreay def. Cage by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Pointing to the titantron, Callis showed Ospreay a beatdown Omega backstage, after being attacked by Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher.

• Cage caught Ospreay with a superb F5, but Ospreay got his foot on the ropes. Archer knocked the foot off, but the referee caught him and stopped the count.
• Archer and Cage beat down The Aerial Assassin after the win, but The Cleaner came out to make the save. The whole Don Callis Family struck and beat down the faces.

Jeff Jarrett fought with all his veteran instincts, targeting the leg of Claudio Castagnoli.

However, a distraction from Wheeler Yuta and a Death Rider from Jon Moxley allowed The Swiss Superman to win.

After the loss, MJF arrived to knock down The Last Outlaw and then showed "respect" to Jarrett by not telling him "I told you so."

The right result was delivered with the wrong execution. Jarrett has not done nearly enough in the past year to justify Castagnoli needing the help of two men to beat him.

This was a messy contest that never found its rhythm. The technical focus of Jarrett never felt like enough for how much The Swiss Superman was selling.

However, AEW is clearly trying to make something of Jarrett's last run, so putting him over in the loss makes some sense. But it will take a lot more to convince AEW fans to buy him as a worthy world title contender.

MJF made the most of his minutes backstage and in the ring. It's still hard to get excited about him facing Jarrett when AEW is also teasing a far more interesting feud with "Hangman" Adam Page.

Result

Castagnoli def. Jarrett by pinfall.

Grade

D+

Notable Moments

• Backstage, Hangman tried to find Swerve Strickland backstage but ran into MJF instead.
• Renee Young interviewed The Salt of the Earth impromptu. He warned that Jarrett was doomed against Castagnoli.
• Yuta arrived before the break to distract Jarrett, hurting the veteran's momentum.
  
• The Swiss Superman sent The Last Outlaw for a ride with the Giant Swing followed by a Sharpshooter, but Jarrett managed to fight out.
  

AR Fox put up a serious fight against Ricochet, but a Spirit Gun and Vertigo sealed the victory for The One and Only.

Ricochet threatened to stab Fox with the golden scissors after the win, but Swerve Strickland grabbed him.

He threatened to Swerve Stomp Ricochet, but The One and Only used Fox as a shield to escape.

Ricochet does not have many matches in AEW yet, but he is already repeating contests where his opponent has no chance of winning.

While they have chemistry and history to play on, this rematch between Ricochet and Fox never truly justified itself. It was a good athletic showing, but many fresh opponents could have been in Fox's spot.

Swerve's friendship with Fox was renewed last week to sell him as a potential liability to The Mogul, but that rushed reconciliation was not enough to get the audience back behind Fox.

This was likely why the energy in this contest was lacking beyond the occasional jeers for The One and Only.

Swerve's post-match attack was more interesting than the match itself, and that could have been extended while reducing the time for the bout itself.

Even if this was the weakest segment of this rivalry to date, it kept the story moving forward, and next week's Swerve vs. Ricochet clash can be special.

Result

Ricochet def. Fox by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Renee Young advised Ricochet that Swerve could not interfere in his match with Fox or he would forfeit his match with The One and Only next week.
  
• Ricochet teased a People's Elbow that he transitioned into a standing moonsault.
• The One and Only fought out of a fireman's carry by grabbing the referee's shirt. He connected on the Recoil but only for two.
• From his home, Powerhouse Hobbs delivered a warning to Big Bill, promising to send him to hell when he is cleared to compete.
• In the New York Minute, Chris Jericho highlighted his new movie Dark Match and then laid out a challenge to The Outrunners.
  

Wheeler Yuta nearly broke the ankle of Jay White with his vicious attack, but The Switchblade managed to catch his opponent with a Blade Runner to win.

Afterward, he hit Yuta with another Blade Runner before The Death Riders arrived. Claudio Castagnoli attacked White from behind, but Rated FTR arrived to make the save.

A bout with Yuta is not a dream match on paper, but The Switchblade sold this one big over the past month. Following up by selling hard for The Death Riders' rising star was a big deal.

This was a technical showcase for Yuta, who helped fully sell White as a crowd favorite more than just about anyone before.

While "Hangman" Adam Page was a great opponent for The Switchblade, the crowd was split in their rivalry. He needed a clear heel to work off.

It helps that Yuta has gotten over genuinely as one of AEW's most disliked heels. He helps emphasize the crowd hatred with a mocking style that benefits explosive opponents.

While White was always going to win, this match accomplished exactly what it needed to. The Switchblade looked like the true next man up for Moxley once he overcame Yuta's best tricks.

It is all a matter of timing, but White's biggest moment should not be overshadowed by Adam Copeland.

Result

White def. Yuta by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• White lured Yuta into a Blade Runner by taking a while to remove his jacket, but he ducked out before he could land it.
• Yuta picked apart the ankle of White, battering his foot with the barricade. He later focused on the single-leg Boston crab to tease a submission.
• Yuta pulled out an "I have 'til five," a classic line from former mentor Bryan Danielson, when the referee told him to release his submission at three.
• Dax Harwood laid out a challenge to The Death Riders for Collision: FTR vs. Death Riders in a Mid-South Street Fight.
  

After AEW aired a recap from Collision, Mariah May arrived to respond to the return of "Timeless" Toni Storm.

She warned Storm that it did not matter what version of The Timeless One appeared at Grand Slam as she would always be better than her.

While nothing was going to live up to the moment on Collision when Storm returned to her Timeless past, May delivered a strong, confident promo to keep this feud rolling.

Enough time has passed since May dethroned Storm that it feels like anything could happen when they collide again, especially in Storm's home country of Australia.

This is once more the hottest story in the women's division by a significant margin, and AEW needs to find a way to maintain the momentum for both women after Grand Slam while adding more talent to the title scene.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• AEW aired a vignette highlighting The Gunns' road to recovery.
  
• In an interview just after their AEW Tag Team Championship win, The Hurt Syndicate promised to accept any challenge from any challenger.
• Don Callis talked up Konosuke Takeshita in a pre-taped segment.

Mercedes Moné found a tough fight against Yuka Sakazaki, but she managed to get her knees up to block the Magical Girl Splash.

She followed up with the Moné Maker for the victory.

On a night of fairly muted responses to the action, the crowd was loud and engaged in this main event. This was despite a build that was entirely non-existent.

It is far too rare for the women in AEW to main-event, and this absolutely deserved the spot. Sakazaki dealt with some minor pacing hiccups but otherwise looked a real threat to The CEO.

Moné remains the dominant champion as well as the woman most trusted to elevate her competition. Just by working with Sakazaki, she helped put over one of AEW's more underutilized stars.

What AEW needs to do next is create clear challengers for Moné. Thunder Rosa is an easy answer, but Jamie Hayter, Julia Hart, Deonna Purrazzo and others need to be featured to develop more threats to the dominant champion.

Result

Moné def. Sakazaki by pinfall to retain the TBS Championship.

Grade

A-

Notable Moments

• The Vendetta delivered a warning to Harley Cameron for costing Purrazzo her shot at the TBS Championship, challenging her for Collision.
• Even before the bell, the crowd was fully behind Sakazaki and against Moné, causing Taz to question why they hated people from Boston so much.
  
• Sakazaki knocked down The CEO with a shoulder check then pulled out a CEO dance, clearly frustrating Moné.
• Sakazaki jumped out of the Moné Maker and planted The CEO with a hammerlock Merry Go Round for a near-fall.
  

After an incredible Dynamite last week and a Collision for the ages, it would have been nice to see AEW keep that momentum. Instead, this was a down week of action.

It felt like the roster was unnecessarily limited, delivering an odd pace for the whole night.

While there were some great matches, especially Mercedes Moné vs. Yuka Sakazaki, there was a lack of energy for the action.

Jeff Jarrett continues to struggle with his TV time, and The Death Riders story was heavily represented without delivering enough real forward momentum.

Will Ospreay vs. Brian Cage was good, but the elongated post-match beatdown followed by a recap later in the night sold that AEW did not know how to fill the time despite going over its usual two hours.

The women's division delivered a strong closing stretch to the night, showcasing why Moné and Mariah May stand atop the division.

A good lesson to be learned from this would be to lean even more into the women of AEW. It has been too long since Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale and other hot names were wrestling on Dynamite.

As a whole, too much of the night came off as filler, and Collision arguably looks like a much better show on paper.

Overall Grade: C