Tonight’s Beach Break edition of AEW Dynamite featured a host of anticpated match-ups for the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, with two men’s matches and one women’s match being decided throughout the night. It would be Bryan Danielson moving on to the final round, while Willow Nightingale would defeat her rival Kris Statlander after an attempt on Statlander’s part to cheat. The final match of the night was Jeff Jarrett vs the mystery Wild Card, who turned out to be Adam Hangman Page. Jarrett fought valiantly, but it would be Page moving to the finals, cementing the finals as Page vs Danielson, while Nightingale awaits her finals opponent.
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Pac vs. Bryan Danielson
Both Danielson and Pac went for a crossbody and collided in the center of the ring. After getting back to their feet they exchanged strikes and vicious uppercuts, though Pac got the better of Danielson with the last strike, and after being separated by a referee for a minute Pac went for a dive and knocked Pac to the floor.
Pac went for the brutalizer on Danielson but Danielson wasn’t tapping anytime soon. Pac continued to have momentum through the break, and Danielson absorbed a lot of punishment, but he was able to mount a comeback and clock Pac with a roundhouse kick to the head. They continued to trade moves until Danielson regained control and locked Pac in a submission, but Pac was able to grit through the pain the break the hold.
Danielson connected with more chops and then after an exchange of momentum, Danielson went up top but was knocked off his footing by Pac, causing significant pain to Danielson. Pac went for the superplex and got it, but Danielson was able to kick out of the pin. Pac went up top and went for the Falcon Arrow but Danielson dodged it and connected with the psycho knee. Danielson went for the pin but then Pac countered into another brutalizer. Danielson tried to reverse it and was able to almost pin Pac, and then they traded reversals again until Daneison ended up getting Pac’s shoulders to the mat just long enough for the win. Danielson moves on to the final round.
Willow Nightingale vs Kris Statlander
This fight didn’t even wait for the ring to get started, as Statlander met Nightingale on the ramp only to get thrown down the ramp by Willow. Nightingale then delivered a snap suplex to Statlander on the floor before rolling her into the ring, which actually officially started the match.
Nightingale was in complete control at this point, slamming Statlander’s head into the turnbuckle, but Statlander was able to poke Willow in the eyes and knock her down after a jump from the top rope. Statlander looked to make up for lost time and stayed aggressive, connecting with hard kicks and forearm shots to the back. During the break, Nightingale was able to get back into the match briefly, but a hard shot and submission attempt halted that momentum.
Nightingale used Statlander’s momentum to almost get a pin, but Statlander got her shoulder up in time. Nightingale came back with strikes and a powerful kick to the chest of Statlander, and the fight moved to the ring apron. Statlander tried to suplex Nightingale to the floor, but Nightingale held on and Statlander fell down hard to the floor instead. Nightingale then hit a cannonball from the ring apron and connected, and she followed up with a top rope dropkick. A quick slam led to a cover attempt, but Statlander kicked out.
Nightingale went for a powerbomb but Statalander countered and hit a big kick to the head, though Willow was able to kick out. A huge suplex followed but Nightingale was back on her feet quickly. Nightingale then joined Statlander up o the ropes and hit a powerful German Suplex, but Statlander recovered quicker than expected. A high boot led to pin attempt exchanges, and then Statlander slammed Nightingale down for a sure-fire pin but Willow still kicked out.
Stokely then put a big chain by one of the turnbuckles and she grabbed it when the referee wasn’t looking. Willow dodged in time and Statlander pulled back so she wouldn’t hit Stokely, but that let Nightingale roll up Statlander for the pin and the win. Nightingale now moves to the finals, where she will face Hikaru Shida or Mariah May.
Jeff Jarrett vs Wild Card
The wild card turned out to be Hangman Adam Page, but that didn’t phase Jarrett. Jarrett stayed aggressive and hit back with offense, but Page looked like a machine and just shook it off. Page then really started to shift into another gear, slamming Jarrett’s head into the steel steps over and over again.
Back in the ring, the two exchanged strikes and counters, and then Page and Jarrett took a painful-looking spill to the floor. Both continued to battle back in the ring but then Jarrett hit a move out of nowhere and went for a cover, but Hangman kicked out. Page then tried to set up for Deadye but Jarrett countered with Owen Hart’s trademark. Unfortunately, Page countered and hit Deadye, but he didn’t pin Jarrett.
Jarrett dodged Hangman’s move again and locked in the sharpshooter, but Page managed to drag himself to the bottom rope. Hangman seemed to then hit another level, and he delivered the finisher and got the win, defeating Jarrett and moving on to face Danielson in the finals.
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