AEW Dynamite Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Before Worlds End

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of the Christmas Day episode of AEW Dynamite.

With Worlds End coming up this weekend, the Continental Classic is nearing its end. That means this week's show was stacked with five matches from the gold and blue leagues to finish out the brackets.

Here is a look at what AEW advertised for Wednesday's show:

• Darby Allin vs. Ricochet
• Shelton Benjamin vs. Kazuchika Okada
• Will Ospreay vs. Brody King
• Daniel Garcia vs. Kyle Fletcher
• Komander vs. Claudio Castagnoli
• Toni Storm vs. Taya Valkyrie

Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's Dynamite.

The action got started right away as Ospreay made his way to the ring to take on King in their C2 matchup.

King is known for being a powerhouse but that doesn't mean he isn't quick on his feet. He did an excellent job keeping up with Ospreay's quick pace in this bout.

Even with Billy Goat being a favorite in this tournament, they did a good job making it look like King was the likely winner in this bout. He came across as a dominant force that Ospreay had a hard time overcoming.

Unfortunately for King, he came up short in this encounter. Ospreay scored the win to earn three more points. This match started at a high level and never dipped for a second. The only thing that would have made it better would have been more of it.

Result: Ospreay defeated King

Grade: A-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Ospreay has a good surprised facial expression. When King countered his Irish whip, the look on his face was great. 
• The Hammerstein Ballroom's unique setup makes it an interesting TV venue. 
• King's high-angle back body drop looked great. 
• The crowd was on its feet for the final couple of minutes. 

Ricochet added another first-time encounter to his AEW resume when he stepped into the ring with Allin for the final C2 match for both men.

The AEW crowd has officially turned in Ricochet and greeted him with jeers during his entrance. He was firmly in control as the match went to a break, so it didn't seem to bother him.

As usual, Allin was the underdog in this situation, but he wasn't giving up as much size as he usually does to most opponents, so it didn't feel like a David vs. Goliath kind of fight.

The 20-minute time limit came into play for only the second time in this tournament. Had Allin won, the Gold League would have ended in a four-way tie with these two, Ospreay and Castagnoli.

Earning one point ensured Ricochet secured a spot in the Gold League finals. As Allin was leaving, he gave Komander some advice as he was heading to the ring.

Result: Draw

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Ricochet has embraced his heel side well. He knows how to antagonize people and get under their skin. 
• Taz and Excalibur had a weird moment on commentary but they moved past it quickly. 
• During one of the many two-counts, it was clear Allin allowed Ricochet to roll out of the pin instead of Ricochet looking like he kicked out on his own. It's always unfortunate when that is obvious. 
• The 630 senton Ricochet used to put Allin through a table looked awesome. 

The third C2 match of the night featured Castagnoli taking on Komander. Whenever the Swiss Superman fights a luchador, the match follows a similar pattern.

Castagnoli used his power to throw Komander around while also playing a good base for the luchador's high-flying arsenal.

In a surprising outcome, Komander picked up one of the biggest wins of his career and the only three points he earned in the C2.

He resorted to using some brass knuckles that were hidden under the ring to get the win, so The Death Riders attacked him as soon as the match was over. Jay White and Orange Cassidy tried to help but were taken down by Jon Moxley.

Adam Page came out and Mox found himself surrounded by his enemies. All three men hit their finishers on the AEW champion to end the segment.

Result: Komander defeated

Grade: B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• Komander being able to use his agility to apply submissions in unique ways makes him stand out from other luchadors in AEW. 
• The announcers seemed a little too confident that Allin told Komander about the hidden brass knuckles. 

Okada and Benjamin started with a hesitant handshake before locking up in the C2 Blue League match.

They took their time and started with a slower pace than the three matches we saw before this. Okada is known for taking his time, but this seemed even slower than usual.

Once they picked up the pace, this turned into a pretty hard-hitting affair. Benjamin has been working on his striking game and you could see the payoff in this bout.

After a great back-and-forth exchange at the end, Okada nailed the Rainmaker for the pin and the win, which guaranteed Okada a spot in the semifinals.

Result: Okada defeated Benjamin

Grade: B

Notable Moments and Observations

• Excalibur was really losing his voice by this point in the show. 
• Benjamin is one of the few people who makes an Irish whip look believable. 
• It was cool to see the crowd get behind Benjamin and cheer him over Okada. 

Storm was out first for her match against Valkyrie, who had Deonna Purrazzo by her side for backup.

Valkyrie took control and tried to embarrass Storm as Purrazzo, Storm's former best friend, watched from ringside.

This match lasted through a break, but it didn't go for very long once we returned. Storm scored the win with an inside cradle to surprise Valkyrie.

This was a decent match but fell a bit short of expectations given the reputations of both women. It's possible a few more minutes would have helped.

Result: Storm defeated Valkyrie

Grade: C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Storm has taken this amnesia gimmick and run with it. She is doing a good job with little details. 
• Purrazzo's leather jacket looked like it was a size or two too big. 

The main event of this week's show was also the final match in the C2 Blue League with Fletcher taking on Garcia.

Both of these guys are at similar points in their careers and have similar levels of experience, so even though Fletcher had a noticeable size advantage, it felt like a pretty even matchup.

This was a fun and physical bout that made Garcia look like a tough underdog against Fletcher's more dominant character.

After a hard-fought battle, Fletcher picked up the victory with a brainbuster on the top turnbuckle.

Result: Fletcher defeated Garcia

Grade: B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• If Garcia had won, he would have forced a three-way tie with Fletcher and Mark Briscoe. It would have been an interesting way to end the Blue League. 
• Fletcher has been giving off young Randy Orton vibes recently. 
• Garcia is one of the best at using counters when you don't expect them. The way he applied the guillotine was perfect. 
• Garcia's kick out after a brainbuster was as close as it gets. 

Ospreay came out to confront his former friend and future opponent in the semifinals at Worlds End on Saturday. The show ended with a backstage promo from Mox hyping his world title match on Saturday.

AEW did something smart with this week's show. It knew the audience would be smaller due to the holiday, so it packed the show with matches instead of trying to feature a ton of last-minute storyline developments before the PPV.

Most of what we saw this week is worth checking out, but Ospreay and King had the best match of the night by a small margin.

Worlds End has a stacked lineup and could end 2024 on a high note for AEW, but sticking the landing will depend on whether the right booking decisions are made.

Grade: B