Results by Matt Boone of Rajah.com
February 2, 2022
Chicago, IL – Wintrust Arena
Commentary: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone & Excalibur
Quick Match Results
- Jon Moxley defeated Wheeler Yuta via Paradigm Shift
- Malakai Black & Brody King defeated Pac & Penta El Zero Miedo via Dante’s Inferno on Penta after Black spit mist in his eyes
- Nyla Rose defeated Ruby Soho via Beast Bomb
- MJF defeated CM Punk via punching him with the Dynamite diamond ring after a distraction by Wardlow
Jon Moxley vs. Wheeler Yuta
From there, we hear the familiar sounds of the theme song for Jon Moxley. “Wild Thing” plays as he heads down to the ring. He settles into the ring after receiving a huge ovation from the Chi-Town fans and then his music fades down.
Now we hear the equally familiar tune of The Best Friends theme song. Orange Cassidy heads out along with Danhausen, and the two walk the man who will be facing Mox tonight to the ring — Wheeler Yuta.
With both men in the ring, the bell sounds and we’re off-and-running. The crowd gets loud again as these two start going at it. We hear a ton of chants for Danhausen as he stands at ringside, leading to the commentators bringing up him being an “internet darling.”
Mox starts to take over control of the offense and after taking it to Yuta for a bit, he rolls out to the floor and notices Cassidy. He stares down the “Freshly Squeezed” one, which leads to him being vulnrable to a tope suicida through the ropes from Yuta. Yuta hits a follow-up drop kick on the floor and then brings Mox into the ring and heads to the top-rope.
Yuta looks for a high spot off the top but Mox shoves him aside as he comes flying down. From there he takes back over control of the offense. He hits a double biceps pose to the crowd and the fans start breaking out in a “let’s go Moxley!” chant. The two trade chops and Mox ends up chopping Yuta out through the ropes and on the floor.
After recovering for a bit, Yuta heads back into the ring but walks right into a stiff piledriver from Mox. Mox goes for the cover but only gets two. Mox locks Yuta in the STF submission on the mat now and cranks back with all he’s got. We see some more back-and-forth action as Cassidy leads the fans into showing some love for Yuta, which rallies him back into competitive form.
The two trade some shots and then we see Mox take Yuta down with a vengeance on the hard part of the ring apron. As the action spills to the floor, Yuta comes flying out onto Mox. We see replays of the spot and then the action resumes back inside the ring. Mox ends up catching Yuta with an RKO out of nowhere and goes for a Paradigm Shift follow-up, however Yuta avoids it and starts to take over.
Yuta leads the offensive dance for a moment or two but then Mox starts trading punches with him and he ultimately takes over. Mox turns Yuta inside-out with a King Kong-lariat and then blasts him with some hammer and anvil elbows. He follows that up with a Paradigm Shift that hits this time and scores the pin fall victory. Great opening match here on this week’s show.
Winner: Jon Moxley
In-Ring: Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson
Once the match wraps up, we see Mox celebrating in the ring when once again we learn that Bryan Danielson is keeping a close eye on him and his matches since his return to AEW. He comes to the ring this time and the fans go nuts as the two square off face-to-face.
Finally, Danielson breaks the silence by asking the crowd in Chicago if they would like to see them fight. It’s a unanimous “Yes” from the capacity crowd in the Wintrust Arena and then Danielson continues by giving his stamp of approval in terms of Mox being the best AEW World Champion of all-time. He says if he had a little support, he’d probably still be the AEW World Champion.
Danielson says that’s why he figured out that he and Mox shouldn’t be fighting against each other — they should be fighting together. The fans like that idea as well, as a loud “Yes! Yes!” chant breaks out. He goes on to be overly critical of AEW’s champions, saying there’s no reason a cowboy should be the world champion, nor should a dinosaur be a tag-team champion or a man that has his main contribution to society being that he creates vlogs representing the company as the TNT Champion.
He goes on to talk about how they should fight together and that the two could take some real talents and brought them under their wings. He says someone like Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia or Lee Moriarty. He criticizes Orange Cassidy, Team 2point0 and Matt Sydal in the process. He talks about how he and Mox should train the future of professional wrestling — together. He says even if the fans don’t like Danielson, they like what he’s talking about right now.
Mox is seen on camera surveying the crowd reactions a bit as he continues to listen. Danielson says he doesn’t need an answer right now, he just wants Mox to think about the possibilities. He says to think about the greatness that the two of them could create, and the legacy that Mox wants to leave. Danielson then extends his hand for a handshake and Mox looks around at the fans. Danielson says he knows that is a lot of pressure, so he tells Mox, “So, why don’t ya think about it …” and walks off.
“Wild Thing” plays again to end the post-match scene following the opener and then we shoot to a vignette hyping the CM Punk vs. MJF showdown tonight in Punk’s hometown of Chicago. After the Punk-MJF video package wraps up, we head to a commercial break.
In-Ring: Brandi Rhodes, Dan Lambert, Paige VanZant
We return from the break to see Brandi Rhodes in the ring. She talks for a moment but then is quickly interrupted by Dan Lambert, who comes out with The Men of the Year — “All Ego” Brandi Rhodes and Scorpio Sky. He’s critical of her for believing her own bullsh*t and then mocks her for thinking Cody Rhodes earned his spot, and that her EVP title is actually a real one. He also points out her fake boob job. Ouch.
Brandi responds by looking at Ethan Page and asking him why he’s laughing. She says everyone knows the only reason AEW hired him was to get closer to Josh Alexander. Brandi then addresses Lambert’s MMA gym — American Top Team. She talks about some of the accolades of the gym, which Lambert smiles and acknowledges but is then cut off by the entire crowd in Chicago chanting “shut the f*ck up” at her. She asks if they’re done, which isn’t going to do her any favors in winning the crowd over.
She tries to continue her promo but again the fans break out in a thunderous “shut the f*ck up” chant. She then says she’ll continue and talk over them and goes on to criticize him for one of his top fighters being knocked out by Jake Paul. She tries to mock Amanda Nunes as well but again the fans boo.
Dan gives Brandi credit for having looks and a quick wit but then says it’s time for her whole family to turn heel. He also mocks her for getting all of her opportunities by being face-down. Brandi then smacks Dan across the mouth. He says he thought she was in a fighting mood. He says he’s got a few more things he wants to say before he goes down in a glorious ball of “cancel culture,” which elicits a laugh from everyone in Chi-Town.
From there, he turns to look at the entrance way, where we see women’s MMA star Paige Van Zant making her way down to the ring. She enters the ring and she and Brandi immediately start going at it until literally the entire AEW women’s locker room runs out to the ring to break them up and hold them back. Some music plays and Paige exits the ring and walks to the back while smiling and taunting Brandi.
Backstage: Andrade El Idolo, Matt Hardy, AHFO
Tensions rise in the newly formed #AHFO but Matthardybrand offers @IsiahKassidy to face TNT Champion @sammyguevara this FRIDAY on #AEWRampage!
Tune in to #AEWDynamite LIVE on @tbsnetwork NOW! pic.twitter.com/1sPJCqgyXz
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) February 3, 2022
Excalibur sends things backstage where we see Matt Hardy with Private Party and other members of The Hardy Family Office. He tells Private Party he’s disappointed in them losing in their attempt to capture the AEW Tag-Team titles last week. He then brings up Sammy Guevara’s open challenge for the TNT title and says he wants that belt.
Up walks Andrade El Idolo who is also critical of the HFO guys coming up short last week. Hardy says he knows and that’s why Isiah Kassidy is gonna kick Sammy Guevara’s ass on Rampage. Andrade makes some demands and then Hardy grabs Kassidy by the face and tells him to get the job done on Rampage and not to let him down.
Malakai Black & Brody King vs. PAC & Penta El Zero Miedo
We return inside the Wintrust Arena where the lights go out. When they come back on, The House Of Black duo of Malakai Black and Brody King make their dark and ominous ring entrance as we prepare for our next match of the evening, which will be a tag-team contest.
The House of Black duo settle inside the squared circle and their theme music dies down. From there, the familiar sounds of The Lucha Bros’ theme music plays and out comes Penta El Zero Miedo. He awaits the entrance of his partner for this one, and when the next theme hits, out comes “The Bastard” PAC.
Alex Abrahantes leads out a semi-blinded PAC, who makes his way down to the ring while holding onto Alex’s shoulder and wearing a cloth over both of his eyes. The commentators bring up PAC’s issues after his last interaction with Malakai. Both teams are in the ring now and it’s time to get this one off-and-running.
From there, PAC decides he’s going to start the match off despite being unable to see out of either eye. Malakai doesn’t seem to want to mix it up with him, and seems to prefer Penta starting, but he’s not going to get his way. Instead, while blinded, PAC starts to go to work on Malakai, and is actually doing incredibly well for someone with zero eyes to guide him as he flies around the ring.
PAC beats down Malakai and then sends him out to the floor. He then looks out at the crowd and removes the cover over his eyes and makes a big smile. The commentators explain that it was all a mind game from “The Bastard” to Malakai, and it’s working thus far. Penta enters the ring now as well, and the two hit the ropes on opposite sides before each diving out to Malakai and Brody on the floor.
Back in the ring, PAC and Penta hit a big double-team spot on Malakai and then Penta, not the legal man in the match, goes for the cover. Malakai kicks out at two but Penta continues to work him over as the fans chant his name. Penta tags PAC back in and the Death Triangle duo continue to control the offensive lead in this one. Out of nowhere, we see Brody King hit the ring and blast PAC with a massive sledge shot from behind.
On that note, he tags in and along with Malakai, hits a big double-team spot on PAC as Excalibur talks us into a mid-match, picture-in-picture commercial break. When we return from the break we see The House of Black duo is still in control of the action, dominating PAC and keeping him isolated on their half of the ring. Excalibur informs us that Brody was in complete control throughout the break.
Finally, PAC makes it to his corner and gets the tag to Penta. The Lucha Bro takes the hot tag and comes into the ring like a man possessed as he takes out both Malakai and Brody by himself. In comes PAC for a big baseball slide-style drop kick to follow-up on Penta’s offensive dominance. He settles on the ring apron and watches as Penta continues to dominate the action, taking it to Malakai as he controls the crowd in the palm of his hands.
PAC ends up making a blind tag, ironically enough, which Malakai doesn’t notice. He goes to work on Malakai, but then eats a rising knee attack from the leader of The House of Black. Black follows up with a wide variety of additional kicks and then hits a sliding knee strike for a close near fall. All hell breaks loose as all four guys end up in the ring.
The end result is Brody King dominating and beating down anything that moves until Penta knocks him to the floor and hits a big springboard dive to splash on the big man on the floor. He hits the ring, builds up a full head of steam and then launches himself out onto Brody for another splash that brings the crowd to its’ feet. Back in the ring we see PAC timing a big thrust kick that blasts Malakai.
He tags in Penta, who heads to the top-rope and looks for the Fear Factor, but Brody ends up knocking him down. As the referee deals with that, Malakai sprays the black mist into Penta’s eyes. This leads to him tagging in Brody and hitting Dante’s Inferno for the pin fall victory.
Winners: Malakai Black & Brody King
Backstage: Adam Cole
We shoot backstage to Adam Cole, who demands Brandon Cutler to “turn the damn camera on.” The “Cutler Cam” segment features Cole complaining about people saying he lost to Orange Cassidy, noting his record is still undefeated in AEW.
Cole says he’ll slap the next person who brings up the “Freshly Squeezed” one in the mouth. He says soon everyone will see what his next plans are and then tells Cutler to turn the camera off. After this, we head to another commercial break.
Nyla Rose vs. Ruby Soho
We return from the commercial break and out comes Nyla Rose accompanied by Vickie Guerrero for our next match of the evening, which will take place in the AEW women’s division. She settles into the ring and then her music fades down.
The familiar sounds of “Ruby Soho” plays as Ruby Soho makes her way out. The camera shot switches to show the singer of Rancid, the band who performs the aforementioned tune, seated in the front row. Soho makes her way over to him and the two hug.
Soho hits the ring like a woman possessed and the fight is on right out of the gate as she takes it to Rose. She beats Rose down and goes for a big spot, but Rose moves. Soho ends up following it up with another one and this time she connects. She continues to control the offense until walking into a back-elbow from Rose that slows her down and shifts the offensive momentum into Rose’s favor.
Rose dominates the action for a bit and we hear Vickie enjoying every minute of it as she can be heard in the background screeching and squealing with joy. Rose gets Soho in the corner and beats her down, putting the boots to her. The camera shot closes in on Vickie at ringside laughing in her trademark shrill manner.
Nyla continues to work over Soho and the crowd starts to try and rally Soho back into competitive form with a loud “Let’s go Ruby!” chant. She tries firing up but Rose cuts her off and plants her into the mat with a death valley driver for a close near fall. She isolates the arm of Soho and cranks back on the limb as Excalibur talks us into a mid-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we see Rose is still dominating the offense. She has Soho on the ring apron outside of the ring ropes and is looking for a pile driver or power bomb. Soho ends up escaping and fighting back.She hoists Rose up and lifts her overhead. She then hops off the apron and lets Rose crash and burn on the hard part of the ring apron. Soho sells her back being hurt after lifting the much heavier Rose.
We see Soho being approached by Vickie, who provides just enough of a distraction that Rose recovers and attacks Soho from behind, planting her on the mat at ringside. She takes her in the ring and looks for the Beast Bomb but Soho escapes and counters with the No Future. She goes for the cover but is too close to the ropes and Vickie pulls Rose’s foot under the bottom rope, which forces the ref to stop before the count of three.
Soho notices this and after the ref tries restraining her, she pushes past her and goes out after Vickie. Unfortunately, with her back turned to the ring, Rose grabs Soho by the hair and brings her back into the ring with a vicious neck-breaker. Once in the ring, Soho fights back into competitive form and takes Rose up to the top-rope. She looks for a hurricanrana but Rose stops her.
Ruby fights her way out of a Beast Bomb off the top from Rose and then goes for a kick from the mat. She ends up missing and Rose hits a senton to the spine of Soho. She hoists her up after that and follows up with a Beast Bomb for the pin fall victory.
Winner: Nyla Rose
Backstage: The Gunn Club, Jungle Boy
The #GunnClub (@RealBillyGunn, @theaustingunn & @coltengunn) throws @boy_myth_legend out in the literal cold in a 3-on-1 assault!
Tune in NOW to #AEWDynamite LIVE from Chicago on @tbsnetwork! pic.twitter.com/Bv6z4hTCij
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) February 3, 2022
After the match, Excalibur informs us that The Gunn Club has gotten hold of a camera man and has him in the back for something, which we shoot back to watch. As the camera shot switches to the backstage area, we see Billy, Austin and Colten Gunn approaching Jungle Boy.
They mock and taunt the AEW World Tag-Team Champion, who is by himself. Jungle Boy tries to fight his way out of the scenario but it immediately backfires. Billy Gunn asks if he’s stupid as his sons begin a beatdown on the Jurassic Express member. They take him outside, beat him down some more and leave him laying in the snow. They walk off and are out of frame by the time Luchasaurus and Christian Cage arrive on the scene to try and help out.
We head to a commercial break after this as we see a split-screen shot of CM Punk stretching and MJF working with Wardlow in preparation for their highly-anticipated showdown later in the show.
In-Ring: Hangman Page, Dan Lambert, Jake Roberts, Lance Archer
When we return from the break, the AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page makes his way to the ring and he begins talking about his ongoing issues with “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer. He wastes no time in calling him out, saying they can settle their issues right now and don’t need to wait for their Texas Death Match on next week’s show.
Instead, out comes Dan Lambert and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Dan mocks Page for being a fake cowboy and mocks Cleveland for canceling their indians. Page tries firing back but is cut off by Jake Roberts. Roberts asks if Page is having bad dreams or something, noting he’s heard that he’s changed as of late.
Finally, out comes Archer, who takes the mic and says he’ll just settle this right now. Page tells him to bring it on and as Archer nears the ring, Page shows off some “Cowboy sh*t” by flying through the ropes and splashing onto Archer. Archer ends up beating him down, however, and slams him with his Blackout Slam finisher on the ring steps. He vows to finish off Page next week in the Death Match.
Backstage: Chris Jericho
.@IAmJericho sends a clear message that attendance is mandatory for #InnerCircle‘s team meeting NEXT WEEK on #AEWDynamite & @Santana_Proud & @Ortiz_Powerful better be there.
Tune in NOW to #AEW Dynamite LIVE on @TBSNetwork pic.twitter.com/4Orl6dlMpT
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) February 3, 2022
Now we shoot backstage where we hear a word from Chris Jericho. He talks about being embarrassed by the actions of Santana & Ortiz in their AEW Trios match on last week’s show. He asks if Eddie Kingston has some kind of control over them.
He says no one has more influence in AEW than “Le Champion.” He demands a full Inner Circle team meeting next week on Dynamite — live in the ring. He says attendance is mandatory and tells Santana & Ortiz they better be there.
Once the Jericho segment wraps up, we shoot to the commentary desk where Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and Excalibur run down some confirmed matches for this Friday’s edition of Rampage and next Wednesday night’s installment of Dynamite.
Next Shows
Coming up this Friday, the #FTW Championship will be on the line as Champion @starkmanjones will face @TheLethalJay at #AEWRampage 10/9c on @TNTDrama! pic.twitter.com/6kAzHb4vi5
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) February 3, 2022
Friday’s Rampage:
- Adam Cole vs. Evil Uno
- FTW Championship: Ricky Starks (c) vs. Jay Lethal
- Mercedes Martinez vs. Thunder Rosa
- TNT Championship: Sammy Guevara (c) vs. Isiah Kassidy
Next Wednesday’s Dynamite:
- AEW World Championship Texas Death Match: Hangman Page (c) vs. Lance Archer
- Inner Circle team meeting
MJF vs. CM Punk
It’s main event time here on AEW Dynamite in the “Windy City,” as we return inside the Wintrust Arena where the familiar sounds of MJF’s theme hits. Out comes Maxwell Jacob Friedman for our highly-anticipated headline bout of the evening, where he is scheduled to square off against CM Punk in the hometown of “The Best in the World” himself.
MJF settles into the ring to a loud chorus of boos from the fans in Punk’s hometown of Chicago. He kneels down and does the Roddy Piper mocking Jimmy Snuka gesture as the boos inside the Wintrust Arena grow even louder. On that note, we head to a pre-match commercial break. It’s main event time next when we return.
As we settle back in from the break, we hear the familiar sounds of “Cult of Personality” from Living Colour as the roof in the Wintrust Arena nearly blows off the building. Out comes the hometown hero as the fans noise grows even louder. He combs the faux dirt on the entrance stage and then proclaims it is, in fact, “clobbering time!” The fans go even more nuts.
Punk makes his way to the ring as the fans sing along with his theme song. He settles into the ring and his music dies down. Our main event is about to get underway, folks!
The formal pre-match ring introductions are done now and it’s time to get this one started. We see MJF hit Punk with a cheap shot from behind the referee and now we’re officially off-and-running. Punk is on the defensive coming out of the gate, as MJF goes to work on him with punches in the corner. This doesn’t last for long, however, as Punk ends up taking over control of the offense.
Now the intensity and pace of the action picks up as Punk works MJF over. He has him near the ropes and begins drilling him with shots. MJF bounces through the ropes on each shot, and Punk grabs his legs to pull him back into the ring like a see-saw going up-and-down. The action continues and spills out to the ringside area on the floor. The two fight over the ringside barricade and up through the crowd.
After mixing it up in the crowd for a bit, we see Punk and MJF brawl back down to the ringside area. Punk takes the offensive lead and brings the action back into the ring. He scoops MJF up and slams him with a body slam, which as he noted several weeks ago on guest commentary, is very basic — but for a reason, because it’s very effective. After hitting a few, the fans chant “one more time” at him and he obliges, slamming Friedman down one final time.
Punk heads to the top-rope with designs on landing a flying elbow smash, but MJF rolls out of the way, prompting a ton of boos from the fans in Chi-Town. Punk charges at MJF and looks to spear him in the corner, but MJF moves and Punk goes flying through the ropes and crashing into the steel ring post. He crashes and burns on the ground outside of the ring and sells his arm. MJF heads out after him and jumps and stands on the hurt limb of “The Best in the World.”
While MJF continues to establish himself in the offensive lead in this main event, we hear Excalibur talk us into a mid-match, picture-in-picture commercial break as the action continues. When we return from the break, we see Punk fight back into competitive form and ultimately takes over control of the offense. The action spills out to the floor after Punk body slams MJF on the hard part of the ring apron outside of the ring ropes.
Once on the floor, Punk lets a fan blast MJF with a chop as he holds the arms of The Pinnacle leader. Back in the ring, MJF takes advantage of some heel tactics to shift the offense back in his favor. He goes to work on Punk in the corner and then gets Punk to come after him while he is leaning out of the ropes, so the ref starts reading Punk the riot act.
This leads to MJF taking advantage of the situation by using a foreign object to choke Punk. The ref doesn’t see it when he turns around and MJF uses the tape to continue choking out “The Best in the World.” Punk starts to fight himself out of the hold but MJF squeezes away at the tape wrapped around Punk’s throat even harder. Punk slowly fades and crumbles to the mat. MJF slaps a body triangle around his waist so he can’t escape and Punk ends up getting choked out. The ref checks Punk’s arm once — it fails. He checks it a second time — it falls again. He checks it a third and final time and — it falls yet again.
We hear boos fill the Wintrust Arena as MJF’s theme plays and he begins celebrating his victory. As he does, the tape accidentally falls out of his grasp and lands on the ring mat in front of him. The ref notices it and this leads to the match being restarted. Punk immediately rolls MJF up for a pin fall attempt, however MJF kicks out before the count of three. Regardless, Punk has the momentum now and he goes to work on MJF like a man possessed.
Punk gets MJF in the corner and climbs up for the ten punch spot while the fans count along as each shot lands. He ends up going all the way up to the 20s with his rapid-fire punches. He goes for the cover again, but again we see MJF avoid being finished off. Punk grabs the legs of Friedman and looks for a submission of some kind, but MJF kicks Punk off of him. Punk goes sailing through the ropes and crashes hard on the floor at ringside. On that note, Excalibur talks us into another mid-match commercial break as the main event of the evening continues.
As we settle back in from the break, we see the action still in progress and it’s an even fight once again. Punk ends up taking it to MJF on the floor at ringside. He builds up a head of steam and looks for a topa suicida on the floor, however he lands awkwardly on his knee, and as the instant replay shows, it folded underneath him as he came down on top of MJF. Back in the ring, Punk goes for a submission on MJF. From there, he goes to hoist MJF up, but his leg ends up giving out on him due to the aforementioned injury spot from his dive to the floor. Punk remains in control of the action on the mat.
The fans break out in a super loud “This is awesome!” chant as Punk controls the offensive lead in this on. MJF ends up countering Punk’s mat control and locking him in a standing ankle lock. Punk kicks himself free and sells his leg, limping as he gets back up. The announcers talk about how Punk’s leg is going to give him problems with his GTS finisher. The two begin trading punches in the middle of the ring and the fans react loud for each shot that Punk lands. MJF goes for a kick to the gut of Punk, however Punk catches it. MJF uses a simple thumb to the eyes to regain control of the match. After that, we see Punk hit an incredible reverse hurricanrana.
Both guys are down as the fans are still going nuts from the aforementioned spot. The commentators talk us through an instant replay of the reverse hurricanrana from Punk and then we return live as Punk tries to stand up, only for his leg to give out on him again. He crumbles down and then struggles to get back to his feet. He goes to pick up MJF but yet again his leg gives out and he collapses on the mat. MJF is selling his neck as a result of some of the action earlier in the match. MJF looks to slap the Salt of the Earth Fujiwara arm-bar on Punk but Punk avoids it. MJF screams out again loudly, grabbing his neck in pain once more.
MJF still manages to kick Punk and get him down on the mat. Again he tries to isolate the arm of Punk. Punk avoids the Salt of the Earth but MJF ends up hitting a pump-handle slam for a close near fall. The fans nearly blow the roof off with a loud chant, prompting JR on commentary to talk about his love for the fans of AEW. Meanwhile, we head to yet another mid-match commercial break as this epic main event continues. We settle back in from the break a few minutes later to find MJF in firm control of the offense as he arrogantly stands over Punk and puts some torque on the injured left leg of Punk.
The fans try and rally Punk back into the fight, and it works enough that Punk escapes MJF’s grasp and goes for a roll-up out of nowhere. MJF ends up kicking out at two but Punk follows that up by nearly taking Friedman’s head off with a big shot. From there Punk limps over to MJF and goes to work on him in the corner. MJF bites his way free, which we see close-up on-camera as we hear Punk scream out in pain as MJF’s teeth clamp down on the fingers of “The Best in the World.” MJF takes Punk up to the top-rope and follows up after him, only for Punk to bite MJF on the face to free himself.
He hooks MJF’s arms on the top-rope and leaps off with an insane super-Pepsi Plunge that lights the Chicago crowd on fire. They break out into a thunderous “Holy sh*t!” chant as JR talks on commentary about how he hasn’t seen Punk use that move in over a decade. Excalibur points out that Punk landed hard on his left leg and is looking worse for the wears as a result. MJF is also hurt and he rolls out to the floor to give himself a minute to recoup. Punk stumbles out after him and rolls him back into the ring. When he follows in after him, he walks right into a boot to the gut from MJF. MJF then looks for a Tombstone piledriver, however Punk reverses and looks to hit one of his own. MJF counters that and rolls Punk up, but Punk kicks out at two.
Punk ends up blasting MJF with a roundhouse kick and decks The Pinnacle leader. He climbs up to the top-rope after that and leaps off with his Randy Savage-like flying elbow smash. He goes for the immediate follow-up pin attempt and gets as close to three as one can get without winning a match, as MJF kicks out at two and three-quarters. The fans “ooh!” and “ahh!” and then break out into a huge “AEW! AEW!” chant. Punk gets the fans to make even more noise, leading them into a loud pop as he stalks MJF and waits for him to get up. Instead, MJF rolls out to the floor and as Punk gets ready to go out after him, we see in the background of the camera shot that Wardlow is making his way out of the entrance tunnel.
Wardlow heads down the entrance ramp as Punk locks eyes with him. Punk heads out to the ringside area and Wardlow gets up close to him, right in his face. The two stare each other down but ultimately, Wardlow voluntarily backs off and lets Punk continue doing his thing. Punk isn’t sure of what to make of this and still keeps a close eye on him as he re-enters the ring. As Punk keeps his attention on Wardlow, the referee starts to talk to Wardlow, presumably telling him to leave the ringside area. While this is going on, MJF sneaks the Dynamite Diamond Ring onto his hand. When Punk turns around, MJF drills him with a cheap shot with the ring and goes for the cover. 1-2-3. MJF pulls off the victory.
Winner: MJF
The crowd boos and we see Wardlow shaking his head in disappointment as MJF celebrates his victory. The commentators talk us through several key highlights of the match and then we see in one of the final replays that it actually was, in fact, Wardlow who snuck the Dynamite Diamond Ring to MJF behind the referees back. The commentators also admit to not seeing this as it went down live. Wardlow enters the ring and MJF sneakily gets the ring out of his possession and back into the hands of Wardlow. MJF taunts the Chi-Town fans as the commentators wrap up this week’s show. That’s how this one goes off the air, folks.