Why Shelton Benjamin’s Botched Superkick “Finish” Fell Apart on AEW Dynamite

The confusing botched finish between Shelton Benjamin and “Speedball” Mike Bailey on AEW Dynamite finally has an explanation—and it turns out the whole thing came down to a split‑second miscommunication.

Fans noticed something was off during the November 19 episode when Benjamin drilled Bailey with a monster superkick that sent “Speedball” flipping backward like he got shot out of a cannon. Benjamin immediately covered him, the referee started counting… and then suddenly stopped, even though Bailey never moved. The match awkwardly continued for another sequence before hitting a more traditional finish.

Now Bryan Alvarez has revealed exactly what happened, and it clears up every rumor floating around According to Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live, Benjamin tried to call an audible on the spot. He thought the superkick—and Bailey’s insane sell—looked so perfect that it should have ended the match right then and there. The problem? The referee didn’t hear the call.

“As it turns out, everybody is fine. The finish was going to be a superkick… Shelton hits this kick, and Speedball takes this incredible full‑flip bump and it looks like he’s dead. So Shelton decides it ain’t going to get better than that. He calls the audible — this is the finish. Apparently the ref didn’t hear him, and so the ref stops the count because that wasn’t actually supposed to be the finish.”

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Alvarez added that Bailey wasn’t hurt at all—he was simply doing his job and staying down because he believed the match was continuing.

“You can’t say it’s Speedball’s fault, he just laid there like he was supposed to. It was a miscommunication… There was no injury involved.”

Because the referee aborted the count, Benjamin and Bailey had to keep going, eventually wrapping things up properly with a German suplex, knee strike, and another superkick—this time with everyone on the same page. The match still sent Benjamin into the Casino Gauntlet Match at Full Gear, but the botch became the moment everyone talked about afterward.

Sometimes wrestling magic happens on accident… and sometimes accidents just get caught on live TV.

What do you think—did Shelton make the right call trying to end the match, or should he have stuck to the planned finish? Drop your thoughts below and tell us how you would’ve handled it.