AEW Dynamite Results (3/23/22): CM Punk Faces Dax Harwood, Adam Cole Takes On Jay Lethal + More!

Welcome to Fightful.com’s live coverage & discussion for AEW Dynamite (3/23/22)!

We’ll be bringing you full, fight-by-fight results of every match on the card.

— The show begins and our commentary team of Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and Excalibur welcome us to tonight’s show which emanates from Austin (Cedar Park), Texas. CM Punk’s music hits and it’s time for our opening contest of the evening.

CM Punk vs. Dax Harwood (with Cash Wheeler)

— They lock-up to start. Dax sends Punk to the corner, Punk counters and grates Dax’s face across the top turnbuckle but referee Bryce Remsburg forces the break. Dax tosses Punk right back to the corner, Punk shoves him back, Dax wallops Punk with a running shoulder-block, Punk takes Dax down with an arm-drag and works over Dax’s left arm. Dax powers back to his feet, sends Punk to the corner and unloads chops and forearms to Punk’s chest. Punk tosses Dax into opposite corner, Punk with a slam and goes back to working over Dax’s arm. Dax, back to his feet, knocks Punk down with a running clothesline, then a slam and a leg-drop before going for the cover but Punk lifts the shoulders after a quick one-count. Dax rips at Punk’s face, then lands an elbow before planting Punk with a slam and goes for another cover but Punk’s able to kick out. Dax applies a head-lock, Punk tosses him to the ropes, locks-in a head-lock of his own but Dax counters with a back-slam. Dax tosses Punk to the corner, lands a chop to the chest and Dax starts yelling at Austin and Colten Gunn, who’re seated on the outside. Punk uses the distraction and clocks Dax with a forearm but Dax slams him right back to the mat. Dax goes up top and looks for a diving head-butt but Punk slides out of the way as the crowd reigns down ‘CM PUNK! CM PUNK! CM PUNK!’ chants. The pair trade strikes, Punk gets the better of the exchange and nails Dax with a lateral-press before going for the cover but Dax kicks out. Punk with a leg-drop, then goes up top, Dax follows him up, lands a pair of chops to the chest but Punk sends Dax to the canvas with a toss. Punk looks around to the crowd, stands on the top turnbuckle and looks for the elbow drop but Dax rushes back up and trips Punk off his perch. Dax plants Punk with a super-plex and goes right back up top and hits the diving head-butt then goes for the cover but Punk kicks out at two-and-a-half. Dax looks for a suplex, Punk blocks and both men spill to the outside with an over the top rope suplex. Both men struggle to their feet but both end up beating the 10-count. Punk goes up top and nails Dax with a diving cross-body then goes for the cover but Dax kicks out. Punk immediately rolls into the Anaconda Vice, Dax rolls out but gets sent head-first into the bottom turnbuckle, they roll around, trading roll-up pin attempts, Dax locks one in but Punk kicks out at two. Punk goes for a running knee, Dax catches it and counters into a sling-shot power-bomb then goes for the cover but Punk lifts the shoulders after a count of two! Punk kicks Dax in the chest then lands a running knee and lifts Dax for the GTS but Dax lands on his feet, locks-in the sharpshooter but Punk rolls out and transitions into the Anaconda Vice and Dax taps out! What an opener!

Winner – CM Punk

— After the match, we see a photo of Chris Jericho and a young John Silver at a WWE meet-and-greet from years back. We then see Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager and 2point0 of The Jericho Appreciate Society backstage. Jericho says that was a heartwarming picture and it’s such a feel-good story of a 12-year old John Silver meeting his hero Chris Jericho and now in 2022, he gets to be in a match with ‘The Influencer’. Jericho says Silver just being in the ring with Chris Jericho puts you on a different level, but not HIS level. Jericho says he’s going to take Silver to school and says it ‘ain’t gonna be pretty’. Daniel Garcia says a professional wrestler could never step into the ring with a sports entertainer, like himself. Jericho says they’re going to future endeavor Silver and Reynolds just like they did to the ‘traitors’ Santana & Ortiz and the ‘piece of trash’ Eddie Kingston. Hager said Santana, Ortiz & Kingston wouldn’t dare show their faces around there anymore, Jericho says The Jericho Appreciation Society is sports entertainment. Sting makes his way to the ring and it’s time for some tag-team action.

Sting, Darby Allin & The Hardys (Matt & Jeff Hardy) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) and The Butcher & The Blade (with Andrade El Idolo, Jose The Assistant & Bunny) — Eight-Man Texas Tornado Tag Team Match

— Darby dives through the ropes and takes out Butcher, Sting goes up top and lays everyone else out. Everyone pairs off, Butcher and Darby brawl, Matt and Jeff go at it with Private Party and Sting works over Blade. The brawl continues, Sting nails Kassidy with a Stinger Splash, Butcher and Blade double-team Darby throughout the crowd but Jeff evens the numbers alongside Darby and attacks Blade in the crowd. Andrade makes his way to the crowd and lays out Darby and Butcher starts swinging Darby back and forth on the railings and then fires him down a flight of stairs and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Matt tries to launch Kassidy off the stage but Marq makes the save. Private Party nail Matt with a double-slam off the stage and all three men are out. In the arena’s corridors, Jeff, Sting and Darby are brawling with Butcher and Blade. Jeff sets up a MASSIVE ladder, climbs to the top, gets on a ledge on a wall and crushes Butcher and Blade with a swanton bomb through a pair of tables. Back inside the arena, Private Party drags Matt to the ring, Sting makes his way back to the ringside area and saves Matt from being pinned. Sting checks on Matt, Isiah hits Sting with a chair, Sting no-sells it, pounds in his chest and hits both Isiah and Marq with matching Stinger Splashes in opposite corners. Sting goes for one more but Isiah avoids, Private Party set up Sting for Gin & Juice, Sting catches Isiah in a choke, Matt sets Marq up and they each hit their respective finishers for the 1-2-3 and the win!

Winners – Sting, Darby Allin & The Hardys

— Backstage, Tony Schiavone’s with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR. Cash says Dax just put on a show and wrestled from the heart. Cash calls out Gunn Club and says Austin and Colten leach off of their dad Billy’s respect in the business. Dax says he and Cash are the best tag team in the world and says they’ll face them next Wednesday night on Dynamite. Commentary runs down the rest of tonight’s card, it’s announced that Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson will face The Varsity Blonds next and we head to a commercial break.

Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson (with William Regal) vs. The Varsity Blonds (Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison) (with Julia Hart)

— All four men brawl to start, Moxley tosses Garrison into the barricade. Danielson and Pillman are the legal competitors to start. Danielson tosses Pillman to the corner and makes the tag to Moxley, who wallops Pillman in the chest. Pillman staves off Moxley long enough to make the tag to Garrison, who nails Moxley with a corner splash. Moxley powers back with a slam, makes the tag to Danielson, who clocks Garrison with an elbow and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Danielson’s working over Pillman, then makes the tag to Moxley, they hit a double-team move, Moxley goes for the cover, Garrison makes the save, sends Dnaielson to the outside and makes the tag to Pillman, who gets clocked with a running knee by a returning Danielson, Moxley hits the Paradigm Shift on Pillman, Moxley unloads elbows on Garrison, Danielson drills Pillman with stomps to the chest, Danielson locks in the Labell Lock, Moxley locks in a submission on Garrison and both Pillman [the legal man] and Garrison both tap!

Winners – Jon Moxley & Bryan Danielson

— After the match, Moxley says he’s fought against the best of the best but the only man’s opinion he cares about is William Regal. Moxley said Regal’s respect wasn’t easily earned but through blood, sweat, and broken bones, he’s earned the ‘Blackpool Seal of Approval’. Moxley calls Danielson the perfect wrestler and tells anyone who thinks they can hang with them, to come prove it. Moxley, Danielson and Regal head out, it’s announced that we’ll hear from MJF next and we go to a commercial break.

— Back from the break and MJF makes his way down to the ring alongside Shawn Spears. MJF mocks Wardlow for losing his TNT Championship match against Scorpio Sky, last week but says he’ll get to him in a minute and focuses his attention on CM Punk. MJF says they both know and the ‘white trash bucks’ of Austin, Texas all know that Punk cheated to win at Revolution. MJF says he doesn’t know when and he doesn’t know where but they’ll have a rematch and when it happens, he’ll hand Punk the most embarrassing loss of his career. MJF says their feud won’t be over until he attends Punk’s funeral and pisses on his grave. MJF calls the crowd inbreds and says the ‘Wardog’ is now a pig, because he’s money hungry and if it wasn’t for him [MJF] nobody would know who he is. MJF says thanks to him, Wardlow now has a roof over he and his mother’s heads. MJF asks Wardlow how he has the audacity to not thank him then ask out of his contract. MJF says Wardlow signed a deal with the devil and the contract is iron-clad. MJF says he’s going to make Wardlow’s life a living hell. MJF says he’ll put Wardlow on a cross just like Jesus and if he sees so fit, he’ll kick Wardlow’s ‘stank’ mother of his house, because he owns him [Wardlow]. Wardlow makes his way down to the ring and takes out security, who were surrounding the ring. Security finally restrains Wardlow, MJF says Wardlow doesn’t work for AEW, he works for MJF and MJF doesn’t want Wardlow around anymore, which means he’s trespassing. MJF tells Wardlow not to worry because he’ll keep paying him, but he’ll pay him to stay home until everyone forgets he even existed and he goes back to being ‘an absolute nobody’. MJF tells Wardlow to ‘have fun in the mud, pig,’ and tells security to take him away. MJF says he wants to squash some rumors and says The Pinnacle isn’t over and starting next week with FTR in action, they’re about to move up in the company. Spears says when you’re in The Pinnacle, you’re always on top. MJF drops the mic, kisses his Dynamite Diamond Ring and exits.

— We see Wheeler Yuta, Trent, Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy backstage with Tony Schiavone. Tony asks Wheeler about what happened last week between he, William Regal, Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson. Wheeler begins to speak but Trent interrupts and says he never liked Wheeler. Trent says Chuck and Cassidy trained him and let him sleep on their couch and asks Wheeler if the way he’s going to repay them is by joining William Regal’s ‘tough guy club’. Trent says he’s done with Wheeler and Wheeler tells Trent he loves Chuck and Cassidy to death but he’s never liked Trent. Wheeler says he’s not trying to be the best friend that he can be…he wants to be the best wrestler that he can be. Wheeler cuts, Schiavone kicks it back to the ring and out comes Adam Cole ahead of his match against Jay Lethal, which is next.

Adam Cole vs. Jay Lethal

— The pair lock-up to start. Cole backs Lethal up to the corner and unloads some kicks as the crowd chants pours in the ‘let’s go Lethal, let’s go Cole!’ chants. Lethal sends Cole to the opposite corner and lays him out with a kick. Cole comes back with a kick and a forearm to the chin, then another that drops Lethal. Cole gets a toss countered into an arm-drag by Lethal, who goes for the cover but Cole kicks out. Lethal applies a waist-lock and drops Cole with a knee to the back and a front-DDT. Cole rolls to the apron to recover, Lethal goes for a spring-board drop-kick, Cole ducks, Coke celebrates, Lethal hits a drop-kick that sends Cole to the outside and Lethal nails Cole with back-to-back dives through the ropes, Cole avoids a third attempt but Lethal ends up hitting another dive anyway! Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish of reDRagon make their way to the entrance ramp and Lethal stares them down as we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and Cole and Lethal trade-off pin attempts, neither can hold each other down, Lethal locks-in a figure-four leg-lock, Cole slides tk the ropes and forces a break from referee Paul Turner. reDRagon make their way down to the ring and distract Lethal, Cole with the roll-up, grabs the tights but Lethal kicks out. Cole lands a super-kick, goes for The Boom but Lethal counters into a cutter, spring-boards himself off the ropes and looks for Lethal Injection, Cole meets him with a super-kick, goes to the middle rope and plants Lethal with the Panama Sunrise, goes for the cover but Lethal kicks out at two-and-a-half! Cole lifts Lethal to his knees, goes for The Boom, rolls up Cole, reDRagon distracts, Lethal goes for Lethal Injection, Cole low-blows him whilst the referee is distracted and Cole hits The Boom for the three-count!

Winner – Adam Cole

— After the match, Cole grabs a microphone and says nobody deserves the AEW World Championship more than him. Cole says Adam ‘Hangman’ Page stole the win from him at Revolution. Cole says when he pinned Jungle Boy in their tag-team match, last week, he stared into Page’s eyes and saw fear, because according to Cole, Page knows Cole is the rightful AEW World Champion. Cole says he brings the fight and Page is a coward and doesn’t have the guts to come face him man-to-man. Page’s music this and out comes the AEW World Champion. Page rushes the ring, drops his title and stares Cole, O’Reilly and Fish down. Page takes off his pants belt and whips Cole and O’Reilly, Cole low-blows Page and the beat-down begins. Cole grabs the AEW World Championship and Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Christian Cage rush the ring to even the odds but Cole, O’Reilly and Fish retreat, Cole still has the AEW Title and commentary announces that on this Friday’s edition of AEW Rampage where Lance Archer will face Dustin Rhodes. We see a video package hyping up the aforementioned match for this Friday night and we head to a commercial break.

— Back from the break and former TNT Champion Sammy Guevara is in the ring alongside Tay Conti. Sammy says that his body pays for all of the work he does but it’s worth it. Tay grabs the mic and calls out Paige VanZant but Dan Lambert makes his way out with Ethan Page and TNT Champion Scorpio Sky. Lambert says it’s been proven that Sammy can’t touch Scorpio Sky and puts over American Top Team as well as Page. Sky and Page laugh and exit, Lambert kisses the TNT Title and says Sammy can kiss his title goodbye. Sammy says he knows he and Tay live rent-free in Lambert’s head but knowing what he and Tay did on top of the belt, they’re now also living in Lambert’s mouth. Lambert throws the title and freaks out as we see a promo for Swerve Strickland vs. Ricky Starks which will go down this Friday night on Rampage.

Red Velvet vs. Leyla Hirsch

— Velvet and Hirsch brawl on the outside before the bell sounds. Velvet slams Hirsch into the barricade before finally making their way into the ring. Velvet hits Final Slice but Hirsch rolls out of the ring to avoid a pin. Hirsch sneaks in the turnbuckle hook, referee Bryce Remsburg sees it and takes it away from Hirsch but Hirsch uses the opportunity to retrieve another hook from her tights and she clocks Velvet with it and gets the three-count!

Winner – Leyla Hirsch

— After the match, Hirsch locks-in an arm-bar on Velvet but Kris Statlander rushes down and makes the save as we cut backstage where TBS Champion Jade Cargill is with Mark Sterling alongside Tony Schiavone. Cargill makes her party preparations ahead of the 30-0 start to her career and tells Schiavone to ‘cut the sh*t’.

— Tony Schiavone makes his way to the entrance ramp and out comes NEW AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa. Vickie Guerrero interrupts and makes a pretty…questionable racial comment about Rosa and Nyla Rose attacks Rosa from behind.

Jericho Appreciation Society (Chris Jericho & Daniel Garcia) (with Jake Hager & 2point0) vs. Dark Order (John Silver & Alex Reynolds) (with Evil Uno, Stu Grayson & Colt Cabana)

— Jericho and Silver start this one off and Silver attacks Jericho right as the bell sounds. Silver makes the tag to Reynolds and they drill Jericho with a double drop-kick. Hager, 2point0, Uno, Grayson and Cabana all brawl at ringside and referee Aubrey Edwards ejects them all from ringside and we head to a commercial break. Back from the break and