Jeff Hardy Returns! The Elite Vs. BCC Heats Up! & Sting!
James Rogers 
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AEW went into Milwaukee with more buzz than they've had in months. They've been on a streak of great television, and the announcement of All In at Wembley Stadium has the entire wrestling world talking.
AEW continued their run of solid episodes with a card that featured an incredible opener, two title matches, hot angles, and the surprise return of Jeff Hardy. Here are your winners and losers from the April 12th installment of AEW Dynamite.
RELATED: If CM Punk Is Coming Back To AEW, All In Is The Place To Do It
Winner: Darby Allin Vs. Swerve Strickland
They were rivals on the independent circuit. Tonight, two of AEW's hottest young stars delivered a banger of an opening match. Darby Allin came at Swerve with as much aggression as we've seen from him in a long time. At the sound of the bell, Darby hit Strickland with a stunner, a cannonball topé suicida, and a top rope dive - all in about thirty seconds.
Swerve adjusted to Darby's rapid-fire offense and implemented his own brutality. After an extended heat sequence that featured a brutal double stomp from the apron to the floor, Darby found a way to get back into the match.
The two wrestlers had a dramatic exchange of extraordinary maneuvers. Darby hit a couple of coffin drops, but one was countered into a beautiful German suplex. Swerve nailed Darby in the face with his leaping kicks.
After Prince Nana and Brian Cage were ejected from ringside, Swerve found a way to hit another double stomp on Darby inside the ring. 1 - 2 - somehow, Darby kicked out. Swerve went to get a steel chair, but Allin kicked it out of his hand. When Strickland returned to the ring, he was met with a Code Red, followed by a Last Supper pinning combination for the win. This was an excellent opening match.
Winner: MJF, Darby Allin, & Sting In A War Of Words
Once again, the AEW World Champion didn't give his fellow pillar much time to celebrate the victory. MJF reminded Darby of his victory over him, where he used a headlock takeover to pin Allin to the mat. Of course, MJF failed to mention the Diamond Ring shot that occurred just before that headlock takeover.
Darby Allin attacked MJF's morals. "Morals kill careers," the champ responded. MJF said that his legacy was more important than morals. He claimed his legacy would be "MJF: the greatest of all time!" Then, he predicted Darby's legacy, "Sting's b*tch!"
That sparked The Icon's music! Sting strode to the ring and cut a great promo. He teased that his career was coming to a close, but Darby's was just getting started! After taking some great shots at Friedman, including a line about "Cody daycare," Sting concluded that Darby would become the AEW World Champion.
Winner: Hobbs & Wardlow Rivalry Gets Some Much-Needed Heat
We saw a clip of Powerhouse Hobbs arriving at the arena with a fresh new ride gifted to him by QT Marshall. He looked like a boss coming to work.
And work he did. Hobbs made quick, brutal work of Silas Young. In less than a minute, the TNT Champion pinned Young to retain his title. But, as Hobbs, Marshall, and Aaron Solo walked to the back, we saw Wardlow appear on the Titantron.
In a tried and true pro wrestling segment, Wardlow destroyed Hobbs' car. Wardlow used a bat, a stanchion, and finally, a forklift to completely wreck the beautiful ride.
From there, Wardlow came to the ring and brawled with Hobbs. Security was able to separate the two behemoths. Unfortunately, Will and QT left their friend Aaron Solo behind. Solo ate an insane powerbomb off of the stage and through a table.
Winner: Orange Cassidy Vs. Buddy Matthews
Orange Cassidy came into the title match with an injured hand, which he suffered from the attacks by The House of Black.
Much to Buddy Matthews' surprise, Cassidy came out guns-a-blazing! He hit a spinning hurricanrana and used some of his patented mind games. In a flash, Cassidy hit Buddy with a pitch-perfect Orange Punch. Unfortunately, the punch did more damage to the champion than to the challenger. As the doctor checked Cassidy's injury, Matthews recovered and stepped directly on the hand.
Cassidy was in a fight for his life. The champion ate everything that Matthews delivered, and even when he could fight back, he quickly favored his hand. Somehow, Cassidy hit the challenger with three inventive DDTs in a row. Even more impressive was the fact that Buddy kicked out!
Buddy Matthews kicked out of yet another Orange Punch, but he couldn't escape the mousetrap pinning combination. Cassidy retained the AEW International Championship in a tremendous match.
Undecided: Jeff Hardy Returns
Ethan Page and Matt Hardy had a confusing dialogue meant to explain how Hardy and Isaiah Cassidy could regain control of their contracts. The storyline is contrived, and this promo didn't do much to clear up the confusion.
Hardy and Isaiah were attacked from behind by Big Bill and Lee Moriarty. Hook tried to make the save, but the numbers game was too much.
Then - The Hardy Boyz music hit! Jeff Hardy came through the curtain to a massive ovation. He sprinted to the ring and cleaned house. Jeff hit a Swanton Bomb on Moriarty. Jeff and Matt Hardy hugged in the middle of the ring in an exhilarating moment.
However, getting too excited about another Jeff Hardy return is challenging, considering how often he's done a surprise reunion. It's also hard to ignore Jeff's history and how many times he's put himself and others in danger with his drug and alcohol abuse.
We can hope that this time we get a happy ending. But only time will tell.
Winner: Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks Return To Attack BCC
Kenny Omega cut a pre-recorded promo. He sent a message to the Blackpool Combat Club. "I'm not gonna go blood for blood. It's gonna be much worse."
The remaining Elite members, Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa, would attempt to defend their faction's honor against Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli. Brandon and Michael fought valiantly but found themselves a bloody mess. Cutler was knocked unconscious, and the referee stopped the match.
As the BCC continued the assault, Battle Cry erupted from the speakers. The crowd came unglued for Kenny Omega as he appeared through the curtain. He called out Jon Moxley.
Surprise! The Young Bucks came from the crowd and hit the BCC with a series of super kicks. The Elite outsmarted the Blackpool Combat Club. Kenny Omega was primed to drive a screwdriver into Moxley's skull, much like they did to Hangman Adam Page last week. Claudio pulled Moxley out of the ring in the nick of time.
Winner: Swerve Spoils Keith Lee's Match Against Chris Jericho
It's easy to forget just how loaded the AEW roster is. Sometimes we're reminded when we get matches like this; Chris Jericho versus Keith Lee. Two upper-card superstars who seemingly have nothing to do with each other but could put on a solid match. That's precisely what they did.
The battle was slow and methodical, a much different pace than every other match we saw on the night.
It became clear why the match was booked by the end. It added another layer in two separate storylines; Swerve Strickland interfered and cost his former tag team partner the match. After Jericho won, Adam Cole's music hit. He came to the ring to support his friend, Keith Lee, much like Jericho did with Daniel Garcia after Garcia lost to Adam Cole.
Full Match Results & Noteworthy Moments:
Darby Allin def. Swerve Strickland via pinfall. |
MJF had a tremendous promo battle with Darby Allin and Sting. |
Powerhouse Hobbs def. Silas Young via pinfall to retain the TNT Championship. |
Wardlow destroyed Hobbs' new car! Hobbs and Wardlow brawled. |
Jay White & Juice Robinson cut a promo introducing Bullet Club Gold. |
Orange Cassidy def. Buddy Matthews via pinfall to retain the AEW International Championship. |
Another vignette teased the return of Christian Cage & Luchasaurus. |
Jeff Hardy returned to save Matt Hardy & Isiah Cassidy as The Firm attacked them. |
Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli def. Brandon Cutler & Michael Nakazawa via TKO. |
Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks returned to attack The BCC. |
Toni Storm & Ruby Soho def. Skye Blue & Riho via pinfall. |
Chris Jericho def. Keith Lee via pinfall after Swerve Strickland interfered. |
Adam Cole came out to support Keith Lee. |
