As the battle with the Blackpool Combat Club continues, Kenny Omega teamed with Konosuke Takeshita to face The Butcher and The Blade Wednesday night on AEW Dynamite, with the always-scheming Don Callis by his side.

That match headlined a broadcast that also featured the finale of the No. 1 Contender's Tournament to crown the next challenger to MJF's AEW World Championship, Jade Cargill's latest defense of the TBS Championship, and the latest in the burgeoning Adam Cole-Chris Jericho feud.

What went down in the top feuds and stories and what did it mean for the build to Double or Nothing on May 28?

Find out with the recap of the episode, complete with grades and analysis for all of the night's action.

Match Card

Announced in advance for Wednesday's show were:

• No. 1 Contender's Tournament: Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
• AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. Bandido
• TBS Championship: Taya Valkyrie vs. Jade Cargill
  
• Kenny Omega and Konosuke Takeshita vs. The Butcher and The Blade
• Dax Harwood vs. Jeff Jarrett
• Wardlow and Adam Cole promos
  

AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy vs. Bandido

Orange Cassidy successfully defended his AEW International Championship to kick off Wednesday's show, knocking off Bandido with a stunning Orange Punch and Beach Break.

The match continued Cassidy's strong run as international champion, which has seen him net more successful title defenses in his AEW career than anyone bar Jade Cargill.

For a guy often considered a comedy act, he has been the workhorse for All Elite Wrestling in 2023, defending his title weekly against a slate of different wrestlers with different styles and backgrounds.

The result is always the same: A banger of a match.

You don't necessarily have to like Cassidy or his shtick, but there is no denying he is putting in the work and delivering quality performances to justify his place as champion.

This was more of the same. Now, it will be up to Tony Khan to have some sort of endgame in place for the eventual end of his reign because there will come a time when fans tire of seeing the babyface win all of his matches.

He must avoid that, for the sake of Cassidy and the connection he has had with the fans from day one, if nothing else.

Result

Cassidy defeated Bandido to retain

Grade

B

Top Moments

• Bandido dropped Cassidy across the guardrail to establish himself as the heel of the match, even as he still looked for the adulation of the audience.
• The challenger hoisted Cassidy up with one arm and brought him down with a gorilla press slam. He then added an Eddie Guerrero-inspired frog splash for two.
• Bandido popped Freshly Squeezed up into the air and the champ came down with Orange Punch and added Beach Break for the successful title defense.
• Backstage, Adam Cole told Renee Paquette that he will be calling Chris Jericho out later Wednesday night following The Ocho's despicable acts a week ago.

Dax Harwood vs. Jeff Jarrett

By hook or by crook, Jeff Jarrett set himself and Jay Lethal up for a future AEW World Tag Team Championship opportunity by way of his victory over Dax Harwood Wednesday night.

Sure, it involved Sonjay Dutt, but the heels emerged victorious to necessitate the continuation of the feud and what is likely to be a title encounter at Double or Nothing on May 28.

Jarrett was great here, hanging right there with Harwood and never once looking like he was too old to keep up with a guy in his prime. The Hall of Famer, 55, is a rare breed of worker who is as effective and relevant four decades into his career as he was early on.

Given the array of talent involved, the PPV match will likely be very good, not unlike what we got in this singles match.

Props to Taz for the "Ticonderoga Jones" nickname for Dutt, given the loudmouthed villain's love for a No. 2 pencil.

Result

Jarrett defeated Harwood

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Referee Aubrey Edwards ordered Satnam Singh, Lethal and Dutt to the back before they even stepped onto the stage. Cash Wheeler did not accompany Harwood, ensuring the match would be one-on-one.
• Dutt returned to the ringside area from nowhere, distracted Harwood and led him on a foot chase directly into the Stroke by Jarrett for the win.
• Tony Khan announced the return of the Owen Hart Cup, with matches to take place in Canada and at Forbidden Door. The finale will take place in Calgary, Alberta in July.

Wardlow in Action

One week after regaining the TNT Championship and acquiring the managerial services of Arn Anderson, Wardlow steamrolled an unnamed opponent while looking like the unstoppable force he was entering last year's Double or Nothing.

He is not nearly there, but this was a step in the right direction, as was the introduction of Anderson as his mouthpiece.

Wardlow has his own natural charisma and his promos are far from bad, but Anderson gives him the credibility he needed after several questionable booking decisions.

Christian Cage and Luchasaurus are an intriguing new set of rivals for The War Dog, but one has to question whether Wardlow or his masked contender can really afford a loss at this point.

Result

Wardlow defeated an unnamed opponent

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Anderson told a successful Wardlow to take a shower and have a beer.
• Cage and Luchasaurus backed down rather than joining Wardlow and Anderson in the ring.
• Backstage, Jon Moxley leveled RJ City and threatened that there are scars to be left Wednesday night. 

Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara

For a moment Wednesday night, it appeared MJF was set to defend the AEW World Championship against Sammy Guevara following The Spanish God's hi jinx-filled victory over Darby Allin.

Then, after interacting with Tony Khan over his headsets, Tony Schiavone revealed that a tag team match pitting Guevara and MJF against Allin and "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry next week would determine whether the heels would compete for the top prize in the company or if all four pillars of AEW would compete for the gold in Las Vegas.

The match next week will likely provide the contest we expected from the moment the four stars shared the ring for the first time after Revolution. With that said, one has to wonder if this was really the best story that could have been told.

Everything from the last two weeks felt oddly unnecessary; a stop-gap to make up for the fact that there was no better creative on the table for what should prove to be a definitive match in AEW history.

In that regard, it is disappointing.

If there is any collection of talent that can overcome so-so booking, it is the four competitors poised to do battle on May 28. That is if Perry and Allin score the win on next week's show.

Result

Guevara defeated Allin via disqualification

Grade

B-

Top Moments

• MJF joined the commentary team for the match, where he repeatedly took shots at Tony Schiavone by calling him a "blubbering old man." 
• "You seriously expect Sammy Guevara to take a dive at Double or Nothing?" Excalibur asked MJF. "Yes, because otherwise, the check will not clear," the champion responded.
• "Daddy wrestles when daddy wants to wrestle," MJF said in response to a one-liner about his limited in-ring schedule.
• Tay Melo provided a distraction that allowed Guevara to catch Allin with a Spanish Fly off the top rope.
• Guevara delivered a 630 senton that drove Allin through a table on the arena floor.
• MJF gave Allin his skateboard, and referee Paul Turner caught him with it, drawing the disqualification. Justin Roberts announced Guevara the winner.

Adam Cole Called Chris Jericho; Roderick Strong Debuted

Last week, Chris Jericho perpetrated a setup that culminated with Britt Baker being brutally beaten by The Outcasts while her boyfriend, Adam Cole, watched while handcuffed to the bottom rope,

Cole called out The Ocho this week, but Jericho sent his cronies in the Jericho Appreciation Society to beat down his prospective Double or Nothing opponent. Orange Cassidy made the save, alongside Bandido, but they fell to the numbers disadvantage.

Roderick Strong made his AEW debut, coming to the aid of his former Undisputed Era teammate and clearing the heels to the back.

Strong is a great professional wrestler with a loaded resume, full of championships and accomplishments. The history between him and Cole likely made him an appealing "get" for Tony Khan.

With that said, outside of the immediate impact of his arrival, one has to wonder what the long-term plan is for him. He will always fit in with Ring of Honor given his wealth of history with that brand, and his real-life wife, Marina Shafir, is already in AEW, so it makes sense that he would join her in the promotion.

Might the roster be too bloated to achieve much more than he did during his time in NXT, though?

Time will tell, but it was still nice to see Strong back on national television and in a meaningful position for the time being.

Grade

B

Top Moments

• Jericho sending Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, Matt Menard and Angelo Parker to the ring to do his dirty work is such great heel manipulation. He knew Cole would be looking to beat him up, so he stayed away and sent his more expendable teammates to catch the revenge whuppin'. 
• Strong was fired up as he took the fight to the heels, the energy and emotion of the moment and the crowd's response for his appearance fueling him.

TBS Championship: Taya Valkyrie vs. Jade Cargill

Jade Cargill scored another successful title defense, extending her win streak to 56 in a row, but not without controversy.

Challenger Taya Valkyrie's inability to use her Road to Valhalla finisher ultimately did her in as Cargill capitalized on the confusion by scoring a tainted, tights-assisted roll-up for the win.

The crowd was relatively unresponsive to this one in comparison to the night's other matches, likely because the build to it happened primarily on Rampage, and the audience had yet to have any real reason to get behind the babyface in her quest to dethrone the seemingly unconquerable champion.

The stipulation regarding her finisher was fine and has worked for other matches in the past but even then, something like Sweet Chin Music at Survivor Series 2007 was a more established finisher with the WWE audience than Valkyrie's is to the AEW fans.

The post-match happenings suggest the issues between champion and challenger are not finished, but Tony Khan is really going to have to work to get fans invested in the program because it feels and is treated like a second- or third-level one at this point.

Cargill has worked too hard to develop her skills and elevate her star, and Valkyrie is too much of a veteran, and both have earned better than that.

Result

Cargill defeated Valkyrie to retain

Grade

C

Top Moments

• Valkyrie fought her way back into the match with the Blue Thunder Bomb after Cargill dominated early on.
• The challenger set Cargill up for Road to Valhalla, but both "Smart" Mark Sterling and referee Aubrey Edwards reminded her that she could not utilize that maneuver. The champion capitalized on the distraction and scored a roll-up, while holding the tights, for the win.
• After the match, Valkyrie threatened to deliver her finisher to Edwards, but the referee's locker room emptied and they helped calm down the challenger.
• Backstage, Jamie Hayter told The Outcasts that the only way their issues would be over is if the heels send her and Baker to the morgue.

Kenny Omega and Konosuke Takeshita vs. The Butcher and The Blade

Kenny Omega and Konosuke Takeshita proved they could coexist as a team in this week's main event, overcoming the focused attack of The Butcher and The Blade to score a hard-fought victory.

Their celebration would be short-lived, though, as Bryan Danielson first sought to manipulate the situation by recruiting Takeshita and then orchestrated a vicious beatdown on Omega.

The Young Bucks tried to even the odds but a momentary distraction in the form of a conflicted Takeshita allowed the heels to jump back on top and eventually leave the young Japanese competitor bloodied courtesy of a screwdriver.

We are inching closer to a showdown between The Elite and Blackpool Combat Club, but after the events of Wednesday night's show, it appears there will be questions to answer for Takeshita.

Did any of what Danielson said about him being a real professional wrestler surrounded by amateurs sink in? Might the damage done to him serve as a wake-up call? Maybe he stays true to The Elite, standing by them in a battle with BCC at Double or Nothing.

Whatever the case, this did a solid job of introducing the young star into the storyline and creating questions about where his allegiances lie.

Add in Don Callis and his overzealousness to get Omega and Co. to accept the 27-year-old Takeshita, and you have a more layered storyline than it initially appeared.

Result

Omega and Takeshita defeated Butcher and Blade

Grade

B

Top Moments

• "The problem with The Elite is that they rest on their past laurels," Danielson said before questioning why Omega and The Young Bucks have not targeted AEW world champion MJF and AEW world tag team champions FTR since returning.
• Kip Sabian tripped up Omega at ringside, Penelope Ford stepped in harm's way to prevent an attack on her husband, and Butcher wiped out the former world champion to stand tall.
• Takeshita benefited from the hot tag, feeding off the crowd's energy and shining as he took the fight to the heels. 
• Omega and Takeshita delivered the piledrive knee to The Butcher for the win.
• "I see one professional wrestler in the ring who got the pin and one amateur who looks exhausted," Danielson said of the victors, insinuating Omega is the latter.
• The Bucks made the save following a beatdown from the heels.
• Danielson attempted to recruit Takeshita, manipulating him into stopping a screwdriver attack by Omega on Moxley. Later, when the youngster decided not to join the heels, he found himself on the receiving end of the weapon.