Winners, News And Notes On May 11, 2022

AEW Dynamite on Long Island advertised Long Island’s own MJF in a contract signing with Wardlow, CM Punk vs. John Silver, a Jericho Appreciation Society victory speech and Danhausen vs. Tony Nese. Dynamite also advertised Owen Hart Foundation tournament action with Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter, Adam Cole vs. Dax Harwood and Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy.

MJF stayed true to his “final boss” booking during his contract signing with Wardlow. MJF mandated that Wardlow must take 10 chair shots from Shawn Spears. If he succeeds, he must then face Spears in a Steel Cage Match. Should Wardlow be victorious inside the steel cage, he’ll get a one-on-one match against MJF at AEW Double or Nothing.

Last week’s broadcast of AEW Dynamite was way down with 833,000 viewers for a show main evented by Deonna Purrazzo and Mercedes Martinez for the Undisputed ROH Women’s Championship

• April 27, 2022—921,000
• April 20, 2022—930,000
• April 13, 2022—977,000
• April 6, 2022—989,000
• March 30, 2022—979,000

• AEW Dynamite Venue: UBS Arena (Long Island, N.Y.)
• AEW Tickets Distributed: 7,949
• AEW Tickets Available: 971

Roman Reigns Leaving for Hollywood? (Pro Wrestling Bits)

AEW Dynamite YouTube Viewership Last Wednesday: 3,543,878 (Down from 3,777,423)

• Most-Viewed: MJF reveals W. Morrissey as Wardlow’s opponent (934,371 views)
• Least-Viewed: Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb Promo (119,209 views)
• Median Viewership: 291,145 views

AEW Dynamite Results | May 11, 2022

Adam Cole def. Dax Harwood—Owen Hart Foundation Tournament

Dax Harwood ran back his Bret Hart tribute gear in a match destined to have “masturbatory” Bret Hart tribute spots.

This was your garden-variety, good and technically sound professional wrestling match with no buildup or storyline behind these two athletes, though that aspect is due to this being a tournament match.

These fans really got behind Dax Harwood to win this match. They popped huge when Dax locked in the Sharpshooter, but booed heavily when Adam Cole locked it in and, shockingly, Harwood tapped out to it.

CM Punk def. John Silver

CM Punk had his music cut short during his entrance, just so he could hear the UBS Arena boo him vociferously over the hometown hero John Silver. All this despite Punk trying to kiss up to the arena by wearing an Islanders jersey and gear.

Once the match began, however, fans went back and forth with Punk/Silver chants.

At one point, the camera cut to a shot of Hangman Adam Page on commentary, and he looked like he was legitimately enjoying this match.

CM Punk won this match with a Buckshot Lariat, and needless to say Hangman Adam Page was none too pleased. This crowd wasn’t pleased either as Punk was forced to lean into a heel role, even during his post-match promo with Page.

Danhausen def. Tony Nese

If Mark Sterling can get over Tony Nese as a top heel, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame immediately.

Hook was the second of three AEW stars from Long Island on this show, and it showed by the reaction.

Hook finally shook Danhausen’s hand and this crowd went nuts for it. Danhausen looked more shocked than anybody.

MJF vs. Wardlow Contract Signing

MJF hilariously put together a Dark Side of the Ring vignette.

The only thing MJF’s Dark Side of the Ring vignette was missing is an interview with Jim Ross that was taken out of context.

MJF sarcastically requested that this crowd not boo Wardlow out of the building, and that’s exactly what they did.

MJF made sure to name-drop Cody Rhodes and 2024, where he even mentioned that “the guy in the back” hates that.

If Wardlow loses to MJF at Double or Nothing, he will never be able to sign a contract anywhere.

Ever the final boss, MJF stipulated that Wardlow must take 10 chair shots from Shawn Spears before having a Steel Cage Match against him. Wardlow has never won a Steel Cage Match (0-2), and that is guaranteed to change against Spears.

Ricky Starks def. Jungle Boy—FTW Championship

Not only is this an FTW Championship match (whatever that means), but Jungle Boy seems to be in the midst of a losing streak storyline as part of an eventual feud against Christian. Starks should be the clear favorite.

Starks won this match after Shane Swerve Strickland accidentally distracted the referee.

Jericho Appreciation Society Victory Speech

This was a victory speech mainly because of the podium.

This featured a confrontation with The Blackpool Combat Club, which is the BCC’s first real feud.

I was surprised that they didn’t let Eddie Kingston’s music play for what would have been a massive pop. Instead, Kingston just unceremoniously joined his allies and brawled with the JAS.

Toni Storm def. Jamie Hayter

Toni Storm getting an elusive pin over Britt Baker on Rampage was essentially a spoiler for this match.

Between AEW being unable to consistently build women characters and this match going head-to-head with a scintillating finish to Game 5 of Bucks vs. Celtics (go Bucks!), this was projecting to be the lowest-rated segment of Dynamite.

Jeff Hardy def. Darby Allin

Darby Allin started this match on fast forward with Darby immediately going for a bottom-rope dive.

Darby Allin took a big dive when he performed a Swanton Bomb from the top of a 20-foot ladder. He landed partly onto Jeff Hardy and mostly on the steel chairs.

The final minute of this anything goes match was insane, with one bump after another on a hard platform of some sort.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Jeff Hardy win this match with a rollup. As the only wrestler in this tournament who has had a match against Owen Hart, he deserves to at least go to the finals.