Statlander gives Moxley an answer, and Wrestledream gets an I Quit match

Sept. 24’s All Out Toronto fallout episode of Dynamite was main evented by Kris Statlander’s first defense of the AEW Women’s World title. Stat’s match against Mina Shirakawa seemed extremely unlikely to produce a title change, so there were a couple things that could make the match make sense as the last of the night from Pittsburgh:

1. Shirakawa’s friend-with-benefits Toni Storm, who Stat shockingly took the title from at this past Saturday’s PPV, crashing the party to start a one-on-one program with the new champ. Or,
2. A major development or resolution to the champ’s long-running angle with Death Riders, in which Jon Moxley began mentoring Statlander, sometimes in person, sometimes via her old friend Wheeler Yuta and Mox’s right-hand-woman Marina Shafir.

Shirakawa expressed concern for a missing Storm in her promo hyping the match. But in a backstage scene with her sidekick Harley Cameron and Renee Paquette, Stat teased it would be the second option, responding to Paquette’s question about the Death Riders by repeating a phrase Renee’s husband said to her recently…

After Statlander retained as expected in the main — using a seatbelt pin that Yuta’s apparently been whispering to her about it. It looked like darkness had claimed another hero when the Riders surrounded the ring and Stat embraced Wheeler… and with our beloved Harley in the ring to have her heart broken, and maybe get attacked.

But the champ took out Yuta instead, then flipped off Mox while she headed for the hills!

But wait! There was more!

While Mox processed that, Darby Allin’s music hit. After losing a coffin match to the chief Death Rider at All Out Allin set Mox on fire. So instead of descending from the rafters like he has been doing since returning, this time he brought his flamethrower.

That backed the whole Riders crew down (and got a little too close the folks in the front seats for us in the Cageside “offices”). And that allowed Darby to throw out a challenge that should finish his feud with Mox… an I Quit match at WrestleDream on Oct. 18.

In the meantime, Tony Khan booked Allin & Stat against Mox & Shafir in mixed tag action for next Wednesday’s Sixth Anniversary edition of Dynamite.

Get complete results from tonight’s show in our live blog here.