Winners, News And Notes Amid Cody Rhodes’ Departure

AEW Dynamite, the first broadcast since the shocking departure of Cody Rhodes, advertised Chris Jericho and Jake Hager vs. Santana and Ortiz, Mercedes Martinez vs. Thunder Rosa, Wardlow vs. Max Caster in a Face of the Revolution Qualifying Match, Bryan Danielson vs. Lee Moriarty and Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara for the TNT Championship.

AEW will move forward in something of a new era with its first broadcast without one of its founding members in Cody Rhodes. Rhodes immediately became a top star in AEW after launching the promotion alongside EVPs The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega and President Tony Khan. After working without a contract for two months, Rhodes and AEW parted ways, and the former three-time TNT champion appears destined to join WWE any day now. Former AEW Chief Branding Officer Brandi Rhodes will reportedly not be joining him in WWE.

Last week’s broadcast of AEW Dynamite garnered 1.129 million viewers for the hype of a surprise debut, which turned out to be Keith Lee.

• February 9, 2022—1.129 million
• February 2, 2022—954,000
• January 26, 2022—1.100 million
• January 19, 2022—1.032 million
• January 12, 2022—969,000

• AEW Dynamite Venue: Nashville Municipal Auditorium (Nashville, Tenn.)
• AEW Tickets Distributed: 4,393
• AEW Tickets Available: 1,057

Cody Rhodes, Steve Austin to Swing Momentum from AEW to WWE (Pro Wrestling Bits)

AEW Dynamite YouTube Viewership Last Wednesday: 7,344,030 (Up from 5,074,470)

• Most-Viewed: CM Punk and Jon Moxley vs. FTR (2,399,867 views)
• Least-Viewed: Serena Deeb Five-Minute Challenge (83,926 views)
• Median Viewership: 406,466 views

AEW Dynamite Results | February 16, 2022

CM Punk Kicks off Rampage

CM Punk giving MJF credit for two wins over him in Chicago was a very magnanimous babyface move.

CM Punk cut an excellent promo on why he wants a Dog Collar Match against MJF, evoking MJF’s “Piper in Portland” line and even revealing the already viral photo of Punk and a young MJF.

The first Cody Rhodes reference came when Tony Schiavone noted that the last Dog Collar match was between Rhodes and Mister Brodie Lee.

Bryan Danielson def. Lee Moriarty

Some of the submissions and holds in this match had to be seen to be believed.

Lee Moriarty is due for a win over Bryan Danielson. He stepped up in a big way in this match and had huge crowd support.

Similar to Dante Martin, Lee Moriarty supported the black-owned Big Baller Brand, wearing “BBB” knee pads.

This was one of Bryan Danielson’s best matches and also doubled as Moriarty’s coming-out party.

Jon Moxley cut an epic promo after this match, telling Bryan Danielson “he doesn’t stand with anybody until he bleeds with them first.”

Wardlow def. Max Caster—Face of the Revolution Qualifying Match

On its Wikipedia page, Max Caster and Wardlow are both listed as combatants for the AEW Face of the Revolution Ladder Match, yet here they are in a qualifying match.

Max Caster’s freestyle was great, but I was really hoping he had bars for Cody Rhodes.

Adam Cole and Hangman Adam Page Come Face to Face

For this entire segment, there was a sign that read “Adam Cole has a Dad Bod.”

Cole received a ton of heat for rudely dismissing Tony Schiavone from his ring.

Cole astutely pointed out Hangman Page’s sketchy history with friends, something Cole has in common with the AEW champion. In the end, both their friends (reDRagon and the Dark Order) came to their aid.

10 beating up AEW security looked so fake.

Santana and Ortiz def. Chris Jericho and Jake Hager

This feud happened because Chris Jericho kept stealing the spotlight, so Santana and Ortiz decided to side with Eddie Kingston, who stole the spotlight from Santana after the biggest win of his career.

Santana really has an outside shot at becoming a singles star in AEW if they give him the chance.

Thunder Rosa def. Mercedes Martinez—No Disqualification Match

Britt Baker received some advice from Martin Kove of “Cobra Kai” who was given no introduction during his segment with Baker. For a second, I thought it was Dave Meltzer.

Mercedes Martinez tried a fisherman’s suplex through a table propped up against the apron, only for the two to slide down the table in one of the least-painful table spot you’ll ever see.

As was teased earlier on, Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter and Rebel attacked Mercedes Martinez for failing to defeat Thunder Rosa.

Sammy Guevara def. Darby Allin—TNT Championship

Jim Ross finally asked the million-dollar question when he wondered aloud why Sammy Guevara continues to carry around two belts.

This match was not as good as their instant classic at AEW Revolution 2020, but it picked up steam before outside interference from Andrade.