AEW Dynamite results, recap, grades: The Elite deliver brutal message to Lucha Brothers and Christian Cage

The final AEW Dynamite before All Out took place on Wednesday night and most of the big names scheduled for the upcoming pay-per-view used the show to deliver some final messages. That included CM Punk, who found himself under attack before a save by upcoming opponent Darby Allin.

The show ended on a violent note as The Elite trapped Christian Cage and the Lucha Brothers in a steel cage. Cage is set to face Kenny Omega for the AEW world title at All Out while Lucha Brothers will face The Young Bucks in a cage match for the tag team titles. The title challengers all have a lot of recovering to do and just a few days to do it before their huge pay-per-view showdowns.

CBS Sports was with you all night with recaps and highlights of all the action from Now Arena in the Chicago suburbs.

What happened on AEW Dynamite?

• Santana & Ortiz def. FTR via pinfall. This was an outstanding tag team match to open the show. There was only one clunky stretch late but other than that, this was exactly what you'd expect from two of the best tag teams in the world. The loss was only the second time FTR has been defeated in tag competition in an AEW ring. Grade: B+
• CM Punk cut an in-ring promo. Punk admitted to not only being nervous ahead of his in-ring return on Sunday but "downright nervous." As Punk vowed to give the fans everything he had every time he stepped into the ring, Daniel Garcia and 2.0 ran to the ring to attack. Darby Allin and Sting ran to the ring to make the save before joining Punk in hitting their finishing moves. Punk and Allin then had a staredown in the center of the ring. Sting broke the two up before explaining that he knows the match at All Out will be "showtime." Seeing Punk get a little bit of action is exciting and it feels very clear that he and Allin already have solid chemistry as personalities, though the jury is still out on how that will translate to an actual match. Grade: B+
• MJF took part in a sit-down interview addressing Chris Jericho. MJF compared Jericho to Muhammad Ali, saying that, like Ali, Jericho was addicted to the spotlight and the fight. MJF also said that Jericho was making the same mistake as Ali and continuing to fight too far past his prime. He added that now it was MJF's job to end Jericho at All Out, become "professional wrestling's stepdad" and fill Jericho's shoes. Standard, solid promo stuff from MJF, if a bit lacking in any major excitement. Grade: B
• Orange Cassidy def. Jack Evans via pinfall. Matt Hardy attacked before the match and was thrown out of the ringside area. Cassidy picked up the win with a small package and Hardy attacked again after the match. As Best Friends ran in to make the save, the rest of HFO ran in to attack, but Jurassic Express ran in to make the save. The match was kind of a nothing contest with a finish that came during a commercial and there's still not much juice to the rivalry between Cassidy and Hardy. Grade: C+
• Chris Jericho was interviewed by Jim Ross. Jericho said that MJF doesn't have what it takes to end his career and that MJF doesn't get to be the man who takes wrestling away from him. Jericho remains one of wrestling's most consistent promos, delivering the right intensity almost every time out. Grade: B
• Powerhouse Hobbs def. Brian Cage via pinfall. Ricky Starks used the FTW championship belt to hit Cage and set up the finish. Big powerhouses doing some power wrestling, but the finish was a bit weak and these two are capable of more if given more time. Grade: C+
• Gunn Club turned on Paul Wight. Wight was called out by QT Marshall and The Factory, with the Giant coming to the ring and delivering chokeslams until the numbers game took over. Gunn Club made the save, but Billy Gunn hit Wight with a chair before a second shot to the head, leaving Wight at Marshall's mercy, with Marshall hitting a cutter. We'll need some more details on the turn to understand what's going on, but it certainly added a bit more to the feud between Wight and Marshall heading into All Out. Grade: B-
• Tay Conti def. Penelope Ford via pinfall. After the match, Anna Jay ran in to save Conti from an attack by Ford and The Bunny. Another solid match as AEW continues the process of building the women's division up, a process that is picking up considerable steam as of late. Grade: C+
• The Elite def. Lucha Brothers & Jurassic Express via pinfall. The match featured the expected level of eight-man chaos until a Meltzer Driver by The Young Bucks on Fenix ended things. Kenny Omega came to the ring after the match and directed the Elite to take out the losing teams. As Omega taunted Jungle Boy, Christian Cage ran in to hit a spear. The Elite still had the numbers advantage and quickly took care of Cage before Omega called for Don Callas to lower the cage, trapping Lucha Brothers and Cage with The Elite, who continued the attack to the end of the show. Brutal stuff from The Elite as Omega and The Bucks delivered a big message ahead of their respective matches at All Out. Combined with a fun main event, this was a solid close to the show. Grade: B+