Bryan Danielson Defeats Kazuchika Okada to Retain AEW World Title During 10/2 Dynamite

AEW brought a historic show on October 2, and that included one incredible main event. Bryan Danielson challenged Kazuchika Okada and the two threw down in Pittsburgh in a big way.

Tony Khan has already praised October 2, 2024, as one of the biggest days in AEW history. Not only did they unveil a new television deal, but tonight will see the company celebrate their 5-Year Anniversary special of AEW Dynamite.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of AEW Dynamite, an AEW World Championship match will feature AEW World Champion “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson facing off against The Elite’s AEW Continental Champion “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada. Notably, the AEW Continental Championship will only be at stake for the first 20 minutes of the match. This stipulation is interesting, and that’s why people like MJF mocked it.

This match got started with only a few minutes left before the top of the hour, but AEW was afforded a long overrun for this week’s show. As with every one of Bryan Danielson’s AEW World Title matches, this was very important because he said that he will retire when he drops the title.

The Pittsburgh crowd was more than ready for this match, as they were on full alert for every moment that Okada and Danielson shared in the ring.

They teased Okada losing his title to Danielson, even with Bryan nailing a Psycho Knee with under a minute left before the 20 minutes expired. Then Okada rolled to the outside of the ring as that time expired.

Okada fired back when Danielson went to get him as he nailed a piledriver on the outside. They continued through the commercial break, and then they came back just in time to see Bryan Danielson stomping on Okada. Then he nailed a Rainmaker, but was unable to make the pin.

They continued on and Claudio showed up at ringside to watch the match as Okada took control of the match. Then Pac showed up as well. Danielson then pulled off a quick backslide pin and won the match.

This was a fast finish, and it’s unclear who Pac and Claudio were trying to intimidate. That being said, this match ended with Bryan Danielson on top. Suddenly, Okada nailed Danielson with a Rainmaker before he gave Claudio the finger and he left. This gave Claudio and Pac a chance to get in the ring to pick the pieces off Bryan Danielson as he sold the Rainmaker in the ring. Pac and Claudio held Bryan as Jon Moxley jumped the barricade and got in the ring.

Then Jon Moxley grabbed the microphone and told Bryan Danielson that he’s fighting for something way bigger than him. He said, “if any of this was about me, I’d put you out of your misery years ago.”

Suddenly, Wheeler Yuta ran down with a hammer to run the heels off. Then Moxley and Yuta had a faceoff in the ring before they had a bit of a brawl to conclude the show. That set up Claudio and Pac against Wheeler Yuta and Bryan Danielson next week during AEW Title Tuesday.