Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE: Grand Slam was broadcast live from Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, NY!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
Title vs. Title Match!
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli (with Wheeler Yuta)
vs.
NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston!
Ian Riccaboni joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Claudio rushed at Eddie and booted him in the face. They traded chops and forearms. The fight spilled outside of the ring! Eddie whipped Claudio into the steel guardrail. Eddie headbutted Claudio but Claudio fired back with a lariat.
Back in the ring Claudio gut wrenched Eddie nearly into a doctor bomb, planting him hard on the mat. Eddie German suplexed Claudio. Eddie tried for a backfist, but Claudio countered with the crown of his head. Claudio back suplexed Eddie Kingston onto the ramp!
Claudio clotheslined Eddie over the top rope and back into the ring. Claudio double stomped down onto the left arm of Claudio. Eddie moved out of the way of Claudio’s diving headbutt.
Claudio battered Eddie in the corner turnbuckles. Claudio nailed Eddie with a TKO for a near fall. Claudio blasted Eddie with boots to the face. Kingston baited Claudio in and nailed Claudio with two suplexes for a two-count. Eddie fired off a straight right to Claudio’s jaw, knocking Claudio to his knees. Claudio answered with a right hand of his own.
Claudio staggered Eddie with European uppercuts. Claudio headbutted Eddie and followed up with a short arm lariat. Claudio went for the ricola bomb, but Eddie reversed it for a near fall. Claudio hit the ricola bomb, but Eddie kicked out at the two-count!
“This crowd coming unglued in support of their own Eddie Kingston,” said Excalibur.
Eddie clocked Claudio with three back fists and followed up with a Northern Lights Bomb for a near fall on Claudio. Kingston fired off another backfist and then powerbombed Claudio for the pinfall victory!
And new Ring of Honor World Champion Eddie Kingston!
Claudio extended his hand and Eddie accepted. The Code of Honor was adhered to.
“It’s a great moment in the long history of Dynamite,” said Tony Schiavone.
Footage was shown from earlier of the Kingdom watching over an ‘injured’ Roderick Strong in a hospital bed.
Adam Cole came to visit.
“Where have you been?” asked Matt Taven.
Cole said he got there as fast as he could.
Cole: “I’m glad you’re doing okay, but I have to go. Max has a huge match against Samoa Joe.”
Roderick Strong: “Just go. Just friggin’ go.”
Renee Paquette was backstage with Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus!
Christian Cage: “Rampage: Grand Slam, we are going to walk through Sting and Darby Allin. And Darby I am ready to move on. I am bored with you. I have a little proposition for you Darby. This Saturday on Collision how about you step in the ring for a three-way match for the TNT Championship against me and Luchasaurus. If you want this shot, Darby, then Sting isn’t allowed at ringside.”
Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara (with Monteasy)!
Monteasy rapped Sammy to the ring. Sammy was wearing a light up vest, an homage to Chris Jericho when he faced Shawn Michaels 21 years ago.
Sammy and Jericho exchanged chops right out of the gate. Jericho tripped and Sammy seized the moment with a corkscrew dropkick. Jericho hoisted up Sammy with an underhook and then hit a backbreaker. Sammy fired back with a corkscrew tornillo over the top rope onto Jericho on the arena floor.
Jericho countered a GTH attempt with the Codebreaker. Jericho suplexed Sammy off the apron and down onto the arena floor! Back in the ring Sammy lured in Jericho for a Spanish Fly for a near fall. Jericho retaliated with two nasty lariats.
Sammy grabbed Jericho and smashed his face with the Code Breaker for a two-count! Sammy charged at Jericho, knocking Jericho off the apron and onto the front of the announcer’s desk. Sammy jumped off the top rope with a moonsault onto Jericho. Sammy connected with a cutter.
“Both of these men have gone through a lot in a short amount of time,” said Tony Schiavone.
Jericho countered the GTH with the Walls! Sammy twisted his hips and escaped. Sammy cracked Chris with a rising knee strike. Sammy and Jericho jockeyed for position on the top turnbuckle. Sammy got the upper hand with a cutter off the top rope!
Sammy attempted a top rope lionsault, but Jericho countered by raising his knees. Jericho hit a running bulldog on Sammy. Jericho nailed Sammy with the lionsault for a near fall. Sammy caught Jericho with a GTH! Sammy went for the shooting star press, but Jericho countered with the Code Breaker and scored the win!
Jericho and Sammy hugged after the match. Sammy kicked Jericho with a low blow!
“What have you done, Sammy?” asked Excalibur.
Don Callis walked down the ramp and into the ring! Don Callis patted Sammy on the shoulder and the two men left the ring together.
Earlier in the day MJF pulled up to the arena in his exotic sports car with Adam Cole!
MJF had strong words for Samoa Joe. Adam Cole’s phone rang and when he answered, it was Roderick Strong. Cole told Strong to calm down and walked away from MJF to console Roddy.
Renee Paquette tried to interview Sammy Guevara and Don Callis backstage!
Don said all would be revealed this Friday on Rampage.
Daniel Garcia got in Sammy’s face, but Callis insisted they walk away.
AEW International Championship Match!
Jon Moxley (c.) vs. Rey Fenix!
Fenix met Moxley on the ramp and they began to brawl before the bell even rang. Fenix jumped off the ramp, over the cameraman, and onto Moxley on the arena floor!
Moxley rocked Rey Fenix with a forearm and then stomped him face first into the mat. Moxley grounded and pounded Rey Fenix. Moxley tossed Rey Fenix over the barricade. Moxley drilled Rey Fenix with a draping DDT onto the arena floor!
“Fenix is in a world of hurt right now from Mox,” said Taz.
Rey Fenix caught Mox flush in the face with a kick and then followed up with a cutter. Rey Fenix frog splashed Moxley for a near fall! Rey Fenix charged at Moxley, but Moxley wiped him out with a King Kong Lariat!
Fenix propped Moxley onto the steel barricade, draping him over it. Rey Fenix jumped off the top rope and landed on Moxley with a leg drop to the back of the head! Back in the ring Moxley regained momentum with a Gotch style piledriver. But Rey retaliated with a diving double foot stomp for a two-count.
Moxley curb stomped Rey Fenix on the stage ramp! Moxley spiked Rey Fenix with a piledriver for a two-count. Rey Fenix hit Moxley with a senton atomico and then a piledriver. Fenix hit a second piledriver and pinned Moxley!
And new AEW International Champion Rey Fenix!
AEW Women’s World Championship Match!
Saraya (c.) (with Ruby Soho) vs. Toni Storm!
Saraya slapped Toni in the face. Toni Storm smiled and chopped at Saraya. After a distraction from Ruby, Saraya capitalized with a thrust kick to Toni.
Toni swept out the leg of Saraya. As the ref was distracted, Toni Storm cracked Saraya in the head with a high heel shoe for a near fall!
Toni Storm pulled off the bottom turnbuckle pad. Toni had a can of spray paint, but Ruby grabbed it out of Toni’s hands and tossed it to Saraya. Saraya sprayed it in Toni’s eyes and went for the pin after a DDT, but Toni kicked out. Saraya grabbed Toni to ram her head into the exposed turnbuckle, but Saraya didn’t have the heart to do it.
Toni Storm grabbed Saraya, kissed her on the mouth, and then spiked her with the Storm Zero for a two-count! Saraya dodged the Hip Attack and nailed Toni with the Knight Cap, grabbing the pinfall victory!
Main Event Time!
AEW World Championship Match!
MJF (c.) vs. ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe!
The fans chanted “He’s our scumbag! He’s our scumbag!”
MJF thumbed Samoa Joe in the eye. MJF jumped on the back of Samoa Joe, but Joe shrugged him to the mat. Tony Schiavone pointed out that Adam Cole was not ringside for Adam Cole’s match, despite Adam Cole promising MJF he’d be there for him tonight.
Samoa Joe began to work over MJF’s neck. MJF thumbed Samoa Joe in the eyes again. Joe ran MJF over with a boot to the head. Samoa Joe attempted the muscle buster, but MJF escaped. MJF staggered Samoa Joe with three short arm lariats. MJF went for a fourth, but Samoa Joe swung for the fences and nearly decapitated MJF with a lariat.
Samoa Joe headbutted MJF but MJF fired up and raked Samoa Joe’s back! MJF hammered Samoa Joe with punches to the head. MJF bit down on Samoa Joe’s forehead. MJF connected with the kangaroo kick!
MJF ran for a tope, but Samoa Joe countered with a kick. Samoa Joe spiked MJF with a Death Valley Driver on the apron!
“That’ll change your career, man,” said Taz.
Samoa Joe pulled a table out from beneath the ring. Samoa Joe pulled MJF out of the ring and planted him through the table!
“Samoa Joe can feel the AEW World Championship in his grasp,” said Excalibur.
Samoa Joe pulled the padding off the floor, exposing the concrete beneath it. Samoa Joe was looking for a piledriver, but MJF bit him. MJF attempted a piledriver, but he had to let go because his injured neck began to spasm. Samoa Joe stuck MJF with a piledriver on the exposed concrete!
Samoa Joe told MJF to give up, but MJF spat at Samoa Joe. MJF pulled out a Liger Bomb out of nowhere on Samoa Joe for a near fall!
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Samoa Joe and MJF traded strikes in the center of the ring. Samoa Joe applied a sleeper. MJF pulled the ref in close and while the ref was distracted, MJF kicked back with a low blow to Samoa Joe. MJF pulled out the Dynamite Diamond Ring from his trunks.
MJF was about to clock Samoa Joe with the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but Samoa Joe pulled the ref in front of him, and the ref spotted the illegal object! As ref Paul Turner threw the diamond ring to the outside, Samoa Joe kicked MJF with a low blow!
Samoa Joe nailed MJF with the muscle buster but somehow MJF kicked out at the two-count! Samoa Joe applied a sleeper. Adam Cole sprinted down to the ring and tried to motivate MJF! MJF got to his feet! MJF applied the sleeper on Samoa Joe, but Joe shoved MJF into the corner. Adam Cole jumped onto the ring apron. Samoa Joe tried to take a swing at Adam Cole. As Samoa Joe and the ref had their backs turned, MJF used his wrist tape around Samoa Joe’s neck! MJF choked out Samoa Joe and the ref stopped the match, with MJF retaining! MJF dropped the evidence and Adam Cole quickly picked it up and hid it in his pocket.
Samoa Joe got to his feet, and he shoved Adam Cole. MJF jumped in between them, acting as a human shield. Samoa Joe offered his hand to MJF. Samoa Joe shook MJF’s hand, giving the devil his due.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from 1stBank Center in Broomfield, CO!
This Friday tune in to a stacked two-hour episode of AEW RAMPAGE: Grand Slam beginning at 10pm ET on TNT featuring:
The night is upon us; for the third consecutive year, All Elite Wrestling descends upon the historic Arthur Ashe Stadium for GRAND SLAM, and with it comes two hours of the greatest professional wrestling in the world live on DYNAMITE this Wednesday! After winning the Grand Slam Eliminator Tournament, ROH World TV Champ Samoa Joe will challenge MJF for the AEW World Championship while Toni Storm takes on her former Outcasts’ ally Saraya with the AEW Women’s World Championship on the line!
Plus, the long-standing grudge between Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston comes to the forefront when both men put their respective championships on the line in a title versus title fight, and two long-time friends collide for the first-time when Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara lock horns! And in his fourth championship fight in seventeen days, Jon Moxley will meet Rey Fenix in an International Championship fight!
DYNAMITE gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to check in on the official AEW YouTube channel and watch the highlights from last week’s action during DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the CONTROL CENTER, and more!
In the span of five days from 9/8 to 9/13, the ROH World Television Champion conquered three of the toughest competitors in All Elite Wrestling on path through the Grand Slam World Championship Eliminator Tournament. It began with Jeff Hardy on the 9/8 edition of RAMPAGE, continued with Penta El Zero Miedo the following night on COLLISION, and culminated in a 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament rematch with Roderick Strong. Nearly thirty-five minutes of battle was what it took to get Samoa Joe to the precipice of the AEW World Championship, now he just has to complete the mission by taking Maxwell Jacob Friedman down this Wednesday night at DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023.
For Joe, this is an issue that became more than just the desire to be AEW World Champion after MJF chose to attack Joe at ALL OUT 2023 following the ROH World TV Champion giving him a little shove as they crossed paths between matches. Given that MJF was coming out of a ROH World Tag Team Championship defense with a hurt neck, perhaps attacking the guy whose primary moves consist of either choking a man out or dropping them on their head with a Muscle Buster may not have been the brightest idea, but for Max it was about the insult of that moment, as well as an insult buried in their history.
As MJF tells it, and as video shows it, one day many years ago, long before Maxwell Jacob Freidman was a name on anyone’s lips, Samoa Joe showed him the kind of disregard that can often befall a rookie when engaging with their seniors. For Joe it was a moment he likely forgot about until MJF began to make his name thus leading the internet to incessantly share the clip, especially once Joe and Max came to share the same space here in AEW. But for MJF, much like his interactions with William Regal many years ago, it was not something that ever left his head space, and in truth something that helped to motivate Max to the heights he’s reached today. It’s pretty clear by now that MJF has had a career fueled by a mix of anger, self-loathing, a need for retribution, and false bravado.
In fact, it would be reasonable to say that it’s only through this friendship with Adam Cole that MJF has found a semblance of motivation based on more than just those things, based on discovering actual self-worth, and an appreciation for those who have supported him despite his massive shortcomings as a decent human being. So the fact that Joe chose to attack Adam Cole as his last statement to MJF prior to this fight, well that is something sure to push Maxwell back into his darkest places, deep into the devil inside, and to add those actions to the ones Samoa Joe committed in 2016 to further motivate his desire to smash the Samoan monster.
There’s just one problem: MJF’s neck, and that it represents a huge target for a man as merciless as the ROH World Television Champion. He will look to suplex Max on that weakened neck until MJF looks like a bobblehead, Joe will look to wrap his arms around that stem and squeeze it until no breath remains in the lungs of Maxwell Jacob Friedman, and he will aim to hoist Max from the top rope, his neck flush against Joe’s shoulder, and to drop the AEW World Champion down with a Muscle Buster to end the misery. Be it the Choke, the Muscle Buster, his signature Island Driver, a massive lariat, or even his underrated Brainbuster, Samoa Joe has a million ways to grind that injured neck of MJF’s to dust.
MJF is going to have to dip into every dirty trick he has in his book to survive this fight with the AEW World Championship still in his possession. Max’s devil will have to come out in all its wretched glory, and even then, it may not be enough to stop Samoa Joe from claiming his first AEW championship title. Just as was the case when he claimed the Ring of Honor Title on March 2003, it would be appropriate if Joe’s first AEW championship was the AEW World Championship, and at this point, in his condition, there may not be anything Max can do to stop Joe’s ascension.
This is a journey that has encompassed the last two decades in the lives of Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston, a journey that started during the dawning days of their wrestling careers, and with their first time sharing the ring somewhere in Indiana back in October 2004. They trained together, lived together, fought together, and most importantly, fought each other both inside the ring and out. From their first singles match back in January 2006, through eleven bouts across five different wrestling promotions, up to March 13, 2011, the scales tipped heavily in favor of Claudio with nine wins to Kingston’s two.
One of those bouts was a Respect Match where, upon losing, Eddie was supposed to tell Claudio he respected him, but instead Kingston told the man he did not respect him, and then leveled him with a spinning backfist. As Claudio lay there unconscious, Kingston’s last words to him as he left the ring were “I know you”, and later that night Double C proved Eddie right when he betrayed the entire promotion they were working for at the time, but this is why several weeks ago, Claudio claimed Kingston still owed him a handshake.
There certainly wasn’t going to be respect shown after what ended up being their last one-on-one bout for twelve years, not after the match ended with Claudio beating Eddie thanks to a chain-assisted European Uppercut, and then proceeding to whip him with a belt. Sadly for Kingston, there was a chance to rectify the situation as Claudio departed for “the land of make-believe” as Eddie called it, and did so in a fashion that only served to further infuriate “The Mad King”.
Thus when Claudio came to All Elite Wrestling to join The Blackpool Combat Club, making him an immediate ally of Kingston’s in the second Blood & Guts Cage Match, it infuriated Eddie and it was only due to his relationship with Jon Moxley that Eddie played nice throughout the bout. Still, the hate burned strong, the kind of hate that not time nor distance can quell, the kind of hate that follows both men wherever they go, even to ROH’s SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023 event where Kingston failed once more to defeat Claudio when the ROH World Championship was at stake.
It was a fight Kingston took injured, an injury that kept him on the shelf for three months, but the hate brought him back for FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023 and even united him with The Elite, men he despises but strange bedfellows and all that, to defeat The Blackpool Combat Club. Just like that, the war with Claudio picked up right where it left off, just as it had after a dozen years apart, and now it has brought them to this point, on Eddie Kingston’s home turf, in front of his family and loved ones, where he will put his NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship on the line against the ROH World Championship of Claudio Castagnoli. Two titles are on the line, but after two decades, this is a fight that means so much more than words can encapsulate, they can only hope to convey a fragment of what it all means.
Will this be the end? Can there ever be an end with hate that runs this deep, with disrespect this ingrained in their dynamic, and bonds shattered so completely? Are Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli destined for mutually assured destruction, or will Arthur Ashe Stadium finally be the place where their demons are exorcised?
Speaking of demons, just what has possessed Toni Storm in the weeks since she lost the AEW Women’s World Championship to Hikaru Shida, and had her psyche further fractured by the actions of her fellow Outcasts? Since their formation, it’s always been a lingering question of what may happen should multiple members of The Outcasts find themselves in contention for the AEW Women’s World Champions, and while Saraya, Ruby Soho, and Toni Storm all insisted that things would be fine between them, the reality reared its ugly head as ALL IN: LONDON drew closer.
Then that night, when both Saraya and Toni Storm were in the title match aiming to end Shida’s second reign as champion, it became clear as crystal just what mattered most, and that was getting the championship title around the waist of Saraya. It didn’t matter that Toni striking Saraya’s mother was completely accidental, a fight still broke out between the two Outcasts, and it didn’t matter that Ruby had done nothing in that moment but try to quell the situation, she still got laid out by Toni for her efforts, and it all ultimately led to Saraya pinning Toni to claim the AEW Women’s World Championship.
And then the wheels fell off, though The Outcasts seemed to keep it together for a few days prior to ALL OUT 2023, but that was clearly not the case as Toni Storm cost Ruby Soho the TBS Championship, or rather it be said, prevented Soho from cheating to defeat Kris Statlander, and instead made sure the playing field was a bit more level. That choice made it clear that Toni Storm was an Outcast no more, and her winning the Four Way Eliminator Match to earn this championship fight absolutely solidifies Toni’s excommunication from the group.
But what has Toni become in the last several weeks? She’s clearly not in the same head space she was prior DYNAMITE #200 when she lost the belt to Shida, but just what is this space Toni occupies now? Is this all a mind game? Is it something Saraya and Ruby Soho can even prepare for heading into GRAND SLAM 2023 for the champ’s first title defense? One has to figure that no one knows Saraya like Ruby and Toni, but do Ruby and Saraya know this Toni Storm? After working so hard to come back from a career-ending injury, and having the fans embrace her a year ago at GRAND SLAM 2022 only to turn their backs on what she brought to the table, walking out of Arthur Ashe still champion is essential to Saraya. Can Toni Storm crush that dream and become the first 3-Time AEW Women’s World Champion? Or will Saraya find a way to not only top her old friend, but also rub it in the face of all those who turned away from her since last year?
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
Jon Moxley(c) vs. Rey Fenix
This Wednesday night, in a first-ever match-up, Jon Moxley will defend his AEW International Champion against one-half of the Lucha Brothers, a former AEW & ROH World Tag Team Champion, the incomparable Rey Fenix! As much as this is about the title, it’s also about revenge for Rey Fenix for what went down on the 8/9/23 edition of DYNAMITE between The Blackpool Combat Club and The Lucha Brothers, what was done to his brother in that match, and the injury that kept Fenix from competing in Stadium Stampede at ALL IN: LONDON.
Fenix has never held a singles championship in AEW, though he’s challenged Kenny Omega for the World Title, Hobbs for the TNT Title, Orange Cassidy for the All-Atlantic prior to its leveling up, even taking part in the Blackjack Battle Royale for the International Title at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023, but has yet to achieve that singles success to rival his tag team accolades.
So right here, this fight with Jon Moxley, it’s a chance to kill those two proverbial birds, Fenix can get his revenge for that Mox and The BCC did to him and his brother and claim his first AEW singles championship at the same time! Though Fenix prefers his competition honorable, he’s shown in the past a willingness to get down and dirty, even spilling blood in a fight with his own brother several years ago, so Moxley best be prepared for a man as willing to go there as he.
It is clear the defending International Champion intends to keep the same pace as the man he dethroned, likely aiming to surpass the lofty standard set by Orange Cassidy during his reign, but just like it did with “Freshly Squeezed”, eventually it will catch up to Moxley, the question is whether it will be sooner or later, and just who the man will be to lay him low? Will it be Rey Fenix this Wednesday night at GRAND SLAM 2023? Tune into TNT starting at 8pm ET/7pm CT to find out!
With a history dating back to the very first episode of DYNAMITE, looping from The Inner Circle to The Jericho Appreciation Society, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara have been through a great deal together, most of it standing side-by-side. They went through the introduction of concepts like Stadium Stampede and Blood & Guts together, competed for the AEW World Trios Championship and were early challengers to the AEW World Tag Team Championship together, and even fought each other over the ROH World Championship at FULL GEAR 2022.
Though Sammy walked away from Jericho and The Inner Circle when it was needed for his own well-being, he came back to the fold when The Jericho Appreciation Society was born, and even spoke of his allegiance to “The DemoGod” when all the others in The J.A.S. abandoned the man for how they felt he took them for granted.
But even with the closest of friends, between the dearest of partners, there comes a time when not all is right, and when even brothers come to blows. That is what is about to happen this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE when, for the first time, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara collide in singles competition! Though they’ve expressed their desire to unite and pursue tag team success, their egos, and pershaps even some ill will for recent events, has made it difficult for the two men to stay on the same page, even in victory. Perhaps Jericho feels that Sammy is more underling than equal, perhaps Guevara feels the student has surpassed the teacher, whatever the case may be, these two brothers came to the conclusion that the only way past their issues is to confront them with violence done unto each other.
So like a pair of Cain’s without an Abel in sight, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara will lock horns inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, and we shall see if either survives to pursue their supposed tag team aspirations!
DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel and catch up on highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, OH!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
AEW International Championship Match!
Jon Moxley (c.) vs. Big Bill (with “Absolute” Ricky Starks)!
Moxley used some round kicks to try to topple Big Bill. Bill blasted the champ with a massive right hand. Big Bill followed up with overhand chops. Big Bill was taking the fight right to Moxley and manhandling him.
Moxley fired off two clotheslines, but Bill booted Mox in the head, knocking him out of the ring. Ricky Starks kicked Moxley outside the ring. Moxley reversed an Irish whip and sent Big Bill into the steel ring steps.
Big Bill sent Jon Moxley over the timekeeper’s table. Moxley was busted wide open! Back in the ring, Moxley regained momentum and dug his fingers into Big Bill’s flesh! Moxley superplexed Big Bill.
Big Bill hit the Bossman Slam on Jon Moxley for a near fall. Moxley and Big Bill traded shots in the center of the ring. Moxley countered a boot with a King Kong lariat for a two-count. Moxley punished Big Bill with the hammer and anvil elbow strikes. Moxley planted Big Bill with a cutter, but Big Bill rolled out of the ring. Moxley climbed to the top rope, but Ricky shoved Mox as the ref was checking on Big Bill.
Bryan Danielson sprinted to the ring and peppered Ricky Starks with right hands, evening up the odds! Starks whipped Danielson into the ring steps. Big Bill chokeslammed Big Bill for a near fall on Moxley.
“Mox is losing a lot of blood right now. It looks like a crime scene,” said Taz.
Big Bill tried to hoist up Moxley with a chokeslam, but Moxley countered with a submission hold and forced Big Bill to tap out!
After the match Ricky Starks and Big Bill tried to continue their attack. ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli ran down to help his BCC teammates. Starks was furious with these developments. Starks and Big Bill retreated.
It was announced that Moxley will put his title on the line next week on Dynamite against Rey Fenix!
Renee Paquette was backstage with Roderick Strong and the Kingdom!
Adam Cole interrupted the interview and said Strong wrestling Samoa Joe was a horrible idea.
Strong: “You’re only worried about Max. And you should be because after I beat Joe, I’m going to beat MJF next week. Because I am a wrestling legend!”
Tony Schiavone was in the ring soDon Callis and Konosuke Takeshita could reveal their next target!
Callis: “We just beat Kenny Omega twice in one week. Show some respect! We’ve been celebrating. I’ve learned a lot from Takeshita about Japanese culture. When you’re the top wrestler in a promotion, they call you the Ace. He’s better than Okada. Better than Inoki. When you beat Kenny Omega once, they call you the Ace. When you beat Omega twice in seven days, they call you the Alpha!
“Henceforth you will all refer to Takeshita as the Alpha. I never had the empathy thing. Because when you’re the Alpha, you don’t feel anything, you take. Kenny, beating you twice isn’t enough for us. We broke your body. Now we’re going to break your heart.
“I promise to reveal through our creation who the next target of the Alpha will be, and Kenny, this one is going to kill you. The next target is none other than the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kota Ibushi!
“And Kenny, I want you to know right now, we’re not just going to beat Ibushi, we’re going to butcher him. We’re going to burn him. And I’m going to love the fact that while we’re spilling his blood in the ring, you’re going to be at home helpless, watching like the pathetic cuck that you are.”
Alex Marvez was backstage with the BCC!
Danielson: “We love it when things escalate. So, here’s a challenge. This Saturday at Collision, Ricky Starks, Big Bill, you two against me and Claudio Castagnoli!”
Rey Fenix entered the fray and began to shout at Moxley, but Alex Abrahantes and the refs held him back. Meanwhile, Eddie Kingston laughed in Claudio’s face and said, “One more week!”
Renee Paquette was backstage with FTW Champion HOOK!
Orange Cassidy interrupted!
Orange: “I was walking around and saw Hook all mad about something. What do you have to be mad about?”
Hook: “You were a great champion.”
Orange: “Thanks, you are too!”
They fist-bumped and Orange said he was still so tired.
Women’s World Title Eliminator Four Way Match!
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose vs. Toni Storm!
The winner will face AEW Women’s Champion Saraya next week at Grand Slam.
Nyle Rose plowed into Baker and Shida with double clotheslines. Toni Storm shoved Shida into Britt Baker, with Baker tumbling out of the ring. Shida followed up with a crossbody onto the women on the arena floor!
Shida nailed Baker with a brain buster. Baker was looking for a thrust kick on Shida, but Shida turned around and Baker stopped herself. Nyla Rose chokeslammed Britt Baker. Shida cracked Nyla with the Katana Kick. As Shida was going for the cover, Britt Baker blasted Shida with a thrust kick. Toni Storm saw the opening, rolled up Britt Baker, and pinned her, stealing the victory!
Renee Paquette was backstage with AEW Women’s Champion Saraya and Ruby Soho!
Saraya: “Congrats, Toni, you did it and you did it without us. But Toni lost everything to me. She lost her top spot, and she lost her mind. She’s crazy. But she’s also going to lose the match against me at Grand Slam and then she’ll be left with nothing!”
Up Next: Le Sex Gods— “The Ocho” Chris Jericho and “The Spanish God” Sammy Guevara had their face to face!
Jericho and Guevara will be wrestling each other next week on Dynamite: Grand Slam.
Jericho: “Next week, right here on Dynamite at Grand Slam in New York City, it’s Le Sex Gods going one on one, Jericho versus Guevara, for the first time ever. Lots of history between us. We’ve been together since the first episode of Dynamite.”
Jericho introduced a highlight package showing all the pivotal moments from Le Sex Gods’ history over the past four years.
“That was beautiful,” said Taz.
Sammy: “Chris, I have a confession. I still don’t know the lyrics to ‘Judas.’”
Jericho: “I saw a kid on one of the NWA pay-per-view prelim matches and I was blown away and told Tony Khan, we need to sign this kid Sammy. I knew he had what it took to be a big star and I wanted him to be with me so I could help him out as much as I possibly could.
“Over the years I’ve watched Sammy grow from a boy to a man. I’ve seen him win titles, get married, and now your wife is ready to give birth to a baby girl. I’m really proud of all you’ve accomplished over the past four years.”
Sammy: “I know the typical wrestling thing is to talk trash, but I don’t want to do that. I want to come out here before one of the biggest matches of my career and say thank you. Thank you for changing my life and for changing the lives of so many people in the back. Without Chris Jericho there is no AEW.
“But truthfully Chris, I didn’t come to this company to just be your sidekick. I want to become world champion. I want them to look at me the way they look at Mox or the way they look at you. I don’t want to be in your shadow, so that’s why I need to beat you next week.”
Jericho: “You were never brought in to be Chris Jericho’s side kick. You were brought in to be a main event player and you are getting closer and closer every week. And that’s why I told you that you have to do it on your own. Next week you have that opportunity. You have to beat me to get to the next level. But if you’re going to beat Chris Jericho, you’re going to have to be the best Sammy Guevara ever if you’re going to have a chance to beat me. But I don’t think you’re ready to beat me yet.”
Sammy: “And there it is. It’s whatever Jericho wants. So next week I’m going to beat you as this man, not the 2018 me at the NWA pay-per-view, but this Sammy is going to beat you, we’re going to shake hands, and we’re going to win some tag team titles.”
Jericho: “Let me make something perfectly clear, Sammy. Next week I’m going to give you the match of your life. And I’m not going to go easy on you. I’m going to beat the living hell out of you. And I expect the exact same thing from you.”
Sammy: “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Excalibur: “I think we might have a battle for the ages next week.”
Taz: “Sammy is a pro, and he knows what’s at stake.”
Clips were shown from after Dynamite last week with Renee Paquette interviewing MJF!
MJF was told he wasn’t cleared to wrestle until Grand Slam.
MJF: “There are two talents I want to make it to the finals because I hate their guts: Roddy Strong, if you make it through this tournament, I will rip your head off. You’re a manipulative person. Samoa Joe, you think I’m afraid of you? Nah. You might not realize this, but this New York Pitbull has got a lot of bite. If you wrestle me, I’m going to choke you out!
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. “The Machine” Brian Cage (with Prince Nana)!
Cage clocked Page with an elbow strike. Page retaliated with two big boots to Brian Cage. Hangman hit a lariat off the turnbuckles to the Machine. Hangman went over the top rope, but Brian Cage intercepted him. Page reversed a powerbomb with a hurracanrana, sending Brian Cage into the steel ring post!
Brian Cage nearly decapitated Page with a lariat. Page sent Cage into the ropes after a hurracanrana. Page hit the area code shot on Cage.
Swerve Strickland’s music hit, and Swerve walked out onto the ramp!
Cage took advantage of the distraction and hurled Cage from the ring apron on the outside to the inside of the ring with a German Suplex! Brian Cage powerslammed Page and followed up with a moonsault, but Hangman dodged it.
Hangman rocked Brian Cage with a lariat, the momentum carrying both men over the top rope and onto the floor. Hangman jumped off the top rope and Cage caught him again. Adam Page countered with a crucifix bomb.
Hangman climbed to the top turnbuckle and hit Cage with a moonsault on the arena floor! Hangman followed up with a big crossbody press for a near fall on the Machine. Brian Cage dazed Page with a German Suplex.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Hangman swept out Cage’s legs. Hangman attempted the Buckshot Lariat, but Cage countered, but Page fired back with a Deadeye in the center of the ring, scoring the pin!
“Hell of a match by these two men,” said Taz.
“If Swerve was mad before, he has to be pissed off now,” added Excalibur.
“Well, he poked the bear,” added Taz.
Hangman Page: “What passion, what drive, just oozing out of your body as you brood on top of the ramp as you watched me kick Cage’s ass. Last week you said you wanted my spot, but you sent Cage out. Last week I thought you had some balls but tonight I’m pretty sure you’re just keeping them stowed away in Prince Nana’s Burger King crown.”
Swerve: “What up, turd? Them sound like fighting words to me, Hangman. You think this’ll be solved tonight? We do this when I say, where I say. And it just so happens I chose the great state that birthed Swerve Strickland. October 1st, in the City of Seatle, WrestleDream. Me and you, Hangman. But I’m going to make sure you don’t get comfortable by the time you get there, isn’t that right Brian Cage?”
Brian Cage ambushed “Hangman” Adam Page from behind! The Young Bucks jumped into the ring and superkicked the Machine! The Bucks served up superkicks for Prince Nana as well!
Renee Paquette was backstage with Daniel Garcia!
Garcia: “I thought you came here to talk about me but you’re asking about Sammy or Jericho. Why don’t we talk about the career of Garcia”
Don Callis interrupted!
Callis: “The Don Callis family is going to create a Utopian Meritocracy—”
Garcia got in Callis’ face and did his dance, and then walked off!
Callis: “Wow, that’s money! Renee, that’s money!”
Don Callis chased after Daniel Garcia, grinning ear to ear.
Darby Allin & Nick Wayne
vs.
Matt Menard & Angelo Parker (with Jake Hager and Anna Jay)!
As the match started, Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus walked onto the ramp and then joined the broadcast booth.
Christian Cage said Nick Wayne needed a better mentor than Darby Allin.
Nick Wayne clipped Matt Menard with an enziguri. Jake Hager grabbed Darby from outside the ring. Matt Menard powerbombed Nick Wayne.
Darby tagged in and nailed Menard and Parker with the Coffin Splash! He followed up with a dropkick in the corner on both men. Darby connected with a Code Red on Parker for a near fall.
“Darby has issues with the back from that Coffin Match, you can tell,” said Taz.
Nick grabbed a blind tag and walloped Parker with Wayne’s World. Matt Menard pulled Parker out of the pinning predicament. Darby flew off the apron with a senton on Menard. Darby hit the Coffin Drop on Parker and pinned him!
Christian Cage stood up, saying he was getting tired of these guys.
Christian Cage: “Very impressive victory. Nick Wayne, after I went home last week, I was scrolling through your mom’s Instagram account. Your mom doesn’t post enough bikini pics. But don’t worry. I sent her a special request on the side.
“There’s still a lot of talk about Darby and Sting’s win in London, and as the Franchise here, it’s embarrassing. Now I just want to remind everyone I did not take the loss for that match, and I didn’t have my regular partner with me. So, I propose next week, Darby Allin and Sting against me and Luchasaurus. If you’ve got the balls, I’ll see you in New York City!”
Main Event Time!
Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Finals!
ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe vs. Roderick Strong (with The Kingdom)!
Samoa Joe applied a wrist lock and then headbutted Roddy’s hands, trying to neutralize Roddy’s infamous chops. Roderick Strong was wiped out with a shoulder tackle from Samoa Joe. Joe followed up with jabs in the corner, breaking down Strong in the corner.
Roddy rallied back with a quick kick to Samoa Joe’s face. Strong connected with a dropkick. Strong cranked on Joe’s neck. Samoa Joe nailed Roddy with the Manhattan Drop and followed up with a senton.
Samoa Joe powerslammed Roderick Strong for a near fall. Roddy escaped a powerbomb and staggered Joe with a shoulder tackle. Roddy blasted Joe with a knee strike underneath the jaw. Samoa Joe planted Strong with a uranage! Samoa Joe was looking for the Muscle Buster, but Mike Bennett jumped on the apron to distract Samoa Joe. Roderick Strong stunned Samoa Joe with the Sick Kick for a near fall.
“What a battle here,” said Taz.
Samoa Joe battered Roderick Strong out of the air and then applied the submission, forcing Roderick Strong to tap out!
Samoa Joe will be facing AEW World Champion MJF next week on Dynamite: Grand Slam!
Samoa Joe: “Oh Max! It seems my little prophecy has come true and next week, I go to your backyard and I’m coming for you. Because I’m going to beat you down and take everything you have kid. Everything.”
Adam Cole came down to the ring. Roderick fell to the mat, clutching his neck. The Kingdom told Adam Cole that this was his fault.
Excalibur questioned whether or not Roderick Strong was really injured or if this was a ruse.
The medical staff placed Roderick Strong on a backboard and stretchered him to the back. The Kingdom told Adam Cole not to follow them or Roderick to the back. Samoa Joe struck from behind, blindsiding Adam Cole and choking him out!
“I’m going to take everything from you, Max!” said Samoa Joe.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE: Grand Slam on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, NY!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, PA!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
This Wednesday night All Elite Wrestling returns to Cincinnati’s Heritage Bank Center for a brand new DYNAMITE that will continue to give form to GRAND SLAM 2023 on September 20th! The Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Finals are going down between Roderick Strong and Samoa Joe, Hangman Page will go one-on-one with “The Machine” Brian Cage for a third time in their careers, Le Sex Gods will be in the building to discuss their collision at Arthur Ashe, and Jon Moxley returns home to defend his AEW International Championship against Big Bill!
DYNAMITE get underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to check in on the official AEW YouTube channel and watch the highlights from last week’s action during DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the CONTROL CENTER, and more!
GRAND SLAM WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT FINALS…
ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe vs. Roderick Strong
This is where Samoa Joe and Roderick Strong have spent the last week fighting to get to: the precipice of an AEW World Championship match, a first for either man, taking place at GRAND SLAM 2023 on September 20th. There is just one last step to take on this road, a matter of either Roderick Strong defeating a man he’s only beaten once in their eight singles matches, or Samoa Joe once more beating a man he only lost to once back in January 2005.
Both Joe and Roderick have plenty of motivation pushing them towards victory, Roderick’s well-documented issues with Adam Cole’s friendship with MJF and Joe’s issues with the disrespect thrown his way by the AEW World Champion, but for both men that’s putting the cart before the horse. There’s a fight taking place this Wednesday night in Cincinnati that takes precedent, and while 87.5% of their fights have gone Joe’s way, Strong may have deeper reasons to fight than he ever has before, even when it was the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament that was at stake.
This is about the AEW World Title, ultimately that is the most primary reason to fight, but it’s also about broken trust and shattered friendships, it’s about respect and disrespect, and it’s about Roddy shaking the monkey off his back to finally defeat Samoa Joe, but if that neck is actually as hurt as Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett have claimed, than “Mr. ROH” is just one Choke or Muscle Buster away from ending up back on the shelf.
WOMEN’S WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR FOUR WAY…
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose vs. Toni Storm
Take four former AEW Women’s World Champions, all with plenty of history binding them to one another, and throw them in the ring together to see what happens. Add in the additional factor of a World Championship match being at stake, and this is an explosive formula worthy of DYNAMITE. Baker beat Shida for her first championship, Shida beat Nyla Rose for her first and Toni Storm for her second, Toni Storm won a Four Way that included Britt and Shida to claim her first shot, and then there is the whole issue of The Outcasts and what they’ve been aiming for with the AEW originals since they first united. Now Nyla Rose may have been left alone in that Outcasts mission, most likely out of fear, but reclaiming the Women’s World Championship is something that’s always been part of Nyla’s own personal mission.
Speaking of The Outcasts though, it is abundantly clear that Toni Storm is on the outs with Ruby Soho and AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya, especially since she insured Ruby couldn’t cheat to beat Kris Statlander at ALL OUT 2023. So add in that drama, on top of that mixed in with these four women, and this is quite the intriguing bout set for this Wednesday night.
Which of these four champions will get their chance to reclaim the gold they once lost, or in the case of Toni and Shida twice-lost? Will Britt get to face down Saraya in the same venue where the AEW Women’s World Champion made her AEW debut, the woman who beat her at FULL GEAR 2022? Will Toni Storm end up in a fight with the woman who pinned her at ALL IN: LONDON to claim the title? Or will we see first-time fights in Hikaru Shida or Nyla Rose?
As he heads home to Cincinnati for his 3rd AEW International Championship defense in a week, Jon Moxley has to be feeling the effects of not only the two previous bouts, as well as the match at ALL OUT 2023 where he beat Orange Cassidy, but also the attack perpetrated by Big Bill on COLLISION while Ricky Starks choked the life out of Bryan Danielson with a BCC shirt just a few feet away.
This is the third year in a row that Cincinnati has welcomed AEW, the second at the Heritage Bank Center, and each year has presented Jon Moxley with a huge undertaking, but one in which he has proven victorious. The first year he fought Minoru Suzuki and walked away the winner after eight of the hardest-hitting minutes AEW has seen, while the second hosted an AEW World Championship defense as Hangman Page challenged Mox, with the challenger ultimately ending up on a stretcher after a vicious King Kong Lariat knocked Hangman out.
This year, with a new championship around his waist, Moxley comes home to face the indomitable threat of Big Bill, a man who laid out the International Champion with a single big boot last Saturday night. Now this isn’t their first engagement in singles competition, that took place in June 2019, but it is their first one-on-one encounter in All Elite Wrestling, having only met in a tag match during the HOUSE RULES: TROY event, some 75 miles north on I-75, back in March.
Moxley is hellbent on surpassing Orange Cassidy’s legacy as the best International Champion of all-time, which means defending the title more times than any champions in AEW history across all divisions, as well as holding it for more than 327 days (20 days shy of all three of Mox’s World Championship reigns combined). So that’s why Mox is on his third defense in a week, coming into it having won nine straight singles matches, and with an 11-3 record on the year in those ranks that includes a Steel Cage Match win over Kenny Omega.
As for Big Bill, most of his AEW competition has been in tag team and multi-man competition, but as a singles he’s run a 4-3 record on the year, including an International Championship loss to Orange Cassidy, and three wins in his last five bouts. Though he’s one of the most imposing figures on the AEW roster, Bill hasn’t tasted championship success yet in AEW, though he also united with Brian Cage to challenge FTR for the AEW World Tag Team Championship just over a month ago. Given his dominating presence, his strength and stature, it seems an inevitability that Big Bill will hold a title in All Elite Wrestling before too long.
Will that success come to Big Bill this Wednesday night in Cincinnati, or will Jon Moxley go three in a row in his hometown, as well as three in a row with International Championship defenses? Will Ricky Starks be the kind of presence in Big Bill’s matches the way Bill is in his? And if so, will there be any BCC at ringside to balance the scales? Tune into DYNAMITE this Wednesday night to see if we have a new AEW International Champion by night’s end!
As mentioned above, the last time All Elite Wrestling was in Cincinnati Hangman Page did not leave the arena on his own two feet, instead finding himself carted out on a stretcher and hoisted into an ambulance after a Jon Moxley lariat knocked him unconscious. Though Hangman would recover shortly thereafter, the fact that his last time in town ended the way it did had to be scratching at his brain as this event drew closer.
Well now the former AEW World Champion has an opportunity to redeem himself before the Cincy crowd when he enters into battle with ROH World Six-Man Champion Brian Cage for their third singles fight! Back in the spring of 2021, before AEW returned to a touring schedule, “The Machine” shocked everyone, including Hangman, when he beat Page on the April 28th edition of DYNAMITE. The loss came at a time when many fans felt Hangman was on the path to dethroning AEW World Champion Kenny Omega months before he actually did so at FULL GEAR 2021.
Hangman would rebound from that loss a month later at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2021, beating Brian Cage in a twelve minute slobber knocker, and evening the score. Though the two would meet one last time in a tag match on the subsequent DYNAMITE, a match won by Hangman and Dark Order’s Ten it should be noted, they never had that rubber match to truly decide who was the better man.
Not until now at least; though Hangman was out there to address his victory in the Over Budget Charity Battle Royal, his presence in the ring last week turned into a confrontation with Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana, and ultimately an assault perpetrated by “The Machine”. So with that in mind, as well as the history between Page and his assailant, the rubber match between Page and Cage has been set for this Wednesday night in Cincinnati! Will this be a repeat of Hangman’s last trip to town, or can the former World Champion shake that monkey off his back and score a second victory over “The Machine”? The presence of The Mogul Embassy is all but certain, the only question is just how much of an impact they will have on this contest!
CALLIS’ REVELATION…
So what’s next for Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita, the man that Callis has proclaimed as the “New God of Professional Wrestling”? Don has already stated, despite steering Takeshita towards two pinfall victories over Omega, and assisting in Will Ospreay’s victory over him at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, that he’s not done utterly dissecting the life of Omega and anyone who supports him.
So what does that mean, and how does it pertain to this revelation Callis has promised for this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE? Who is their next target in this mission to bleed Kenny Omega dry?
One of The Elite seems the obvious choice, the most accessible targets possible, and it wouldn’t be improbable for Don Callis to throw his lot in with someone like Prince Nana to have his Mogul Embassy do the dirty work on Hangman. After all, he did it with BULLET CLUB GOLD and Kenny, but that’s just a bit of speculation about where Callis will attack next. Thankfully the guessing game doesn’t need last long and Don Callis will tell us himself in Cincinnati…
It is official that Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara, men who’ve been bonded since the very first episode of DYNAMITE back in 2019, who’ve fought together as members of The Inner Circle and The Jericho Appreciation Society, and who’ve been in Stadium Stampedes and Blood & Guts together, that they will go one-on-one at GRAND SLAM 2023 for the very first time.
Now they fought one another in a Four Way for the ROH World Championship at FULL GEAR 2022, and they’ve been on opposite sides of a few tag matches over the years, but they’ve never just straight up fought each other in a singles match. September 20th will change all that, but before we get to Arthur Ashe, these two men will both be on-hand in Cincinnati to address what is about to happen. Though this was presented as a way for the two men to get past their problems, and move onto being tag team championship challengers, there’s more than a little bit of ego at play, so it should be quite interesting to see what thoughts Jericho and Guevara have to share!
Come Wednesday night All Elite Wrestling brings to you the absolute best professional wrestling on the planet, this time emanating from the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, OH and it will shape the face of both the GRAND SLAM 2023 World Title match as well as the Women’s World Championship bout! Plus, Hangman Page and “The Machine” collide for a third time, Le Sex Gods will be in the house with words before their singles bout, plus hometown hero Jon Moxley returns to defend his AEW International Championship against Big Bill!
DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel and catch up on highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
This Saturday night, AEW returns to Cleveland, OH for a night of COLLISION at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse! With two Grand Slam World Championship Eliminator Tournament Semi-Finals on tap, as well as a TBS Open Challenge, an International Champion defense pitting Jon Moxley against Action Andretti, BC GOLD, and more, this is quite the loaded edition of Saturday night’s premier wrestling program!
Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!
Yourbroadcast team was Excalibur, “The Ocho” Chris Jericho, and Tony Schiavone!
It’s Friday night and you know what that means!
Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarter-Final Match!
Jay Lethal vs. Penta El Zero Miedo!
Lethal and Penta began shoving one another. Penta escaped a wristlock. Penta El Zero Miedo connected with a thrust kick. They traded chops. Penta hit a double foot stomp on Jay Lethal.
Jeff Jarrett swiped at Penta’s foot from the outside, but Penta outsmarted him. Penta jumped over the top rope, but Satnam Singh caught him and smashed him into the ring post as the ref was distracted by Jeff Jarrett. Karen Jarrett tied the back of Penta’s mask onto the ropes. The ref saw it and ejected Lethal’s entire squad from ringside. Lethal stomped on Penta while the ref tried untying him.
Penta El Zero Miedo dropped Lethal with two sling blades. Penta crushed Lethal with a tope con hiro! Penta squashed Lethal with another foot stomp for a near fall. Lethal fired back with a Lethal Combination for a two-count.
Jay Lethal pulled Penta’s mask off! Penta immediately covered his face. Lethal tried to grab the guitar that Jeff Jarrett left behind, but Alex Abrahantes pulled it away from Lethal. Penta rocked Lethal with a backstabber and then spiked Lethal with the Fear Factor for the pin fall victory!
Sammy Guevara came out with a microphone with words for Chris Jericho!
Sammy: “You’re pissing me off and I want to punch you in the face.”
Jericho: “It’s funny you say that. I want to punch you in the face, too.”
Sammy: “I want to punch you right now.”
Jericho: “Let’s be honest here. We’re obviously getting on each other’s nerves and that’s okay because we’re brothers. We’re on our way to becoming AEW World Tag Team Champions but we still can’t seem to get over this little bit of animosity. We need to get this out of our system. Do you agree?”
Sammy: “I agree.”
Jericho: “So why don’t we have a match against each other. That way we can get all this crap out of our system.”
Sammy: “Now the question is where do you want to do that?”
Jericho: “How about one of the biggest shows in AEW history? New York City. Grand Slam.”
Sammy: “Hell yeah, let’s do it.”
Trios Match!
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., Hikaru Shida, & Skye Blue
vs.
Anna Jay, Taya Valkyrie, & The Bunny (with Penelope Ford)!
Skye rolled up Bunny for a near fall early on. Taya tagged in and blasted Skye with a forearm and then a chop. Sky hit Taya with a thrust kick and tagged in Shida.
Shida cleaned house and peppered Anna Jay with elbow strikes. Bunny tagged in but Skye Blue ran in to make the save. Taya speared Skye. Britt grabbed a tag and dropped the Bunny with a thrust kick. Baker suplexed Anna Jay. Shida and Britt inadvertently collided. Baker applied the Lock Jaw and forced the Bunny to tap out!
Baker tried to explain herself to Shida after the match, but Shida walked off.
The Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson
vs.
Angelo Parker & Matt Menard (with Jake Hager)!
Nick and Matt used tandem offense on Parker and then on Menard, coming out of the gates hot. Matt hit a neck breaker on Parker and then Nick took down Daddy Magic.
Parker thumbed Matt Jackson in the eyes. Matt rocked Parker with a series of Northern Lights suplexes.
“Great strength,” said Tony Schiavone.
Matt Menard tagged in and suplexed Matt Jackson. The fans were taunting Jake Hager, chanting “Where’s your hat? Where’s your hat?”
Parker and Menard double teamed Matt Jackson. Parker got a near fall on Matt Jackson after a snap suplex. Nick Jackson tagged in and wiped out both opponents with a double crossbody press. The Bucks dished out a superkick party! They cracked Matt with the BTE Trigger and Nick grabbed the pin!
“A return to form for the Young Bucks, potentially building up some momentum in the tag team division,” said Excalibur.
Main Event Time!
Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarter-Final Match!
ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy!
Hardy hit Samoa Joe with a basement dropkick. He followed up with a diving lariat to take Joe down. Samoa Joe gouged Jeff’s eyes and then connected with jabs.
Jeff Hardy stunned Samoa Joe with a jawbreaker. Jeff attempted a running cross body, but Samoa Joe side stepped it. Samoa Joe sent Jeff Hardy crashing to the floor with a sliding dropkick.
Samoa Joe softened up Jeff Hardy in the corner with body shots. Jeff jumped off the top rope with Whisper in the Wind, throwing his entire body at Samoa Joe.
“A desperation move but it worked,” said Tony Schiavone.
Jeff Hardy hit a Manhattan Drop on Samoa Joe. Jeff dropped an elbow for a near fall on Samoa Joe. Jeff Hardy went for the Twist of Fate, but Samoa Joe had it anticipated. Samoa Joe locked Jeff Hardy in the submission Clutch and put Jeff to sleep!
“Samoa Joe is one step closer to MJF,” said Excalibur.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, OH!
Don’t miss AEW Collision live on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH featuring:
-We’ll hear from AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya & Ruby Soho!
– Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Semifinal Match: Roderick Strong vs. Darby Allin!
-We’ll hear from AEW World Trios Champions the Acclaimed & Daddy Ass!
-Bullet Club Gold will be in action!
-We’ll hear from “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson!
-AEW International Championship Open Challenge Match: Jon Moxley (c.) vs. Action Andretti!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
This past Wednesday on DYNAMITE the stage for GRAND SLAM 2023 began to take shape as the Grand Slam World Championship Eliminator Tournament began! The winner of said tournament will advance to Arthur Ashe on September 20th to challenge MJF for the AEW World Championship, and on Wednesday night both Darby Allin and Roderick Strong took one step closer to the prize. In addition, we learned there will be a Women’s Four Way Eliminator Match to determine Saraya’s challengers that night involving former champions Toni Storm, Dr. Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, and Nyla Rose.
This Friday night on RAMPAGE we will find out the other two men advancing to the Semi-Finals in the tournament as Samoa Joe takes on a familiar foe in Jeff Hardy, and Jay Lethal meets Penta El Zero Miedo! Plus, The Young Bucks will be in tag team action after two disappointing nights between ALL IN: LONDON and ALL OUT 2023, and a Women’s Trios battle goes down involving six of the best AEW has to offer! The matches begins at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so visit the official AEW YouTube channel ahead of time for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
GRAND SLAM WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…
ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy
From Universal Studios in Orlando to Abu Dhabi and Allentown, PA to Manchester, UK, Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy have locked horns some 70+ times over the course of the last 18 years, even in Indianapolis, albeit a different venue that where RAMPAGE emanates from this Friday night. Thirty-two of those bouts have been one-on-one fights, and the balance of the victories tips heavily in favor of Hardy, though their last singles encounter that took place in March 2019 did swing Joe’s way.
This Friday night, as part of the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament, this storied rivalry will add a new chapter to its story, the first said chapter taking place in All Elite Wrestling, and at stake is the AEW World Championship bout awaiting the winner of the whole field. We’ve already seen Roderick Strong and Darby Allin advance to the Semi-Finals taking place this Saturday on COLLISION in Cleveland, now it’s a question of who will be the other two men to advance. One of those bouts will take place between Joe and Hardy, and the question is whether or not the ROH World Television Champion can buck his history with Jeff and actually defeat the man, or if Jeff Hardy will continue to dominate this rivalry in yet another promotion.
GRAND SLAM WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…
Jay Lethal vs. Penta El Zero Miedo
The other Quarter-Final match in this tournament runs quite contrary to that of Joe/Hardy; rather than a continuation of a rivalry that has crossed promotions for more than a decade, it is instead a first time singles match! While Jay Lethal and Penta El Zero Miedo have met previously in Battle Royales here in AEW, as well as in a non-AEW Three Way that included Matt Taven and took place one day shy of a year ago, they’ve never met in singles competition prior to this Friday night!
It’s a huge opportunity for both individuals, especially for Lethal given that he’s never challenged for the AEW World Championship, but to the victor of this comes the right to fight either Jay Lethal or Samoa Joe. Given the history between Joe and Lethal, one can imagine Lethal rooting for Hardy to win that bout, but he best stay focused on his own fight rather than worry about the outcome of the other.
Which of these warriors will move one step closer to that Grand Slam spotlight?
Though they’ve managed to persevere through it, Dr. Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida have a history that primarily has them on opposite sides of a fight. Yet ever since the emergence of The Outcasts as a threat to the rest of the Women’s Division, these two AEW stalwarts have found common ground, even if if has occasionally resulted in some crucial miscommunications. Still, they persevere, and this Friday night on RAMPAGE they will do so once again, welcoming Skye Blue to the party for the first time, to form a trio for battle against another first-time unit of Anna Jay, Taya Valkyrie, and The Bunny!
With Britt and Shida both set for the Four Way Eliminator on Wednesday night’s DYNAMITE, and plenty of past issues swirling about between the women involved here, this one has the potential to be a powder keg between two brand-new trios!
TAG TEAM ACTION…
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Angelo Parker & Matt Menard
The Young Bucks have had a rather frustrating couple weeks: they lost to FTR at ALL IN: LONDON in front of the biggest crowd in AEW’s history, not only giving Cash and Dax the advantage in their trilogy of bouts, but failing to capture the AEW World Tag Team Championship for a third time. Then, a week later at ALL OUT 2023, they and FTR, working as a quartet, fell to BULLET CLUB GOLD; not the best week in Young Buck history, but a new one has dawned, meaning a new chance to make up for those losses and get back on track.
That begins with a fight against former J.A.S. members Angelo Parker and Matt Menard, two men the brothers Jackson haven’t clashed with in over ten years, and who are also looking to get their ship upright after the upheaval of the Jericho Appreciation Society. So will it be the former 2-Time AEW World Tag Champs who get back on track, or Parker and Menard who score a RAMPAGE victory? Tune in Friday night to see which team rises up!
On RAMPAGE this Friday night, we will see who else advances to the Semi-Finals in the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator tournament when Samoa Joe fights Jeff Hardy, and Jay Lethal battles Penta El Zero Miedo! Plus, The Young Bucks take on Matt Menard and Angelo Parker, while Dr. Britt Baker, Shida, and Skye Blue take on Taya Valkyrie, Anna Jay, and The Bunny in Trios action! The night begins at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so visit the official AEW YouTube channel ahead of time for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy came out to kick off the show!
“One of the greatest champions of all time in All Elite Wrestling, but after All Out, a former champion,” said Excalibur.
The fans chanted “Thank you Orange! Thank you Orange!”
Orange Cassidy: “Hey. Thank you. So, they told me to stay home. But I was like, nah, I’m not gonna do that. Championship or no championship, I will be here, every single week. Because I am ‘Freshly Squeezed’ Orange Cassidy, and I do not have a catchphrase.”
As Orange Cassidy was leaving the ring, out came the new AEW International Champion…Jon Moxley, and ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli! Orange stood on the ramp and watched as Moxley entered the ring.
AEW International Championship Open Challenge Match!
Jon Moxley (c.) vs. AR Fox (with Darby Allin)!
Fox dodged a lariat from Moxley, but Mox was there to chop away at Fox in the corner. Fox connected with a springboard dropkick. Fox flew over the top rope and wiped out Moxley on the floor!
Fox DDT’ed Moxley for a near fall. Moxley whipped AR Fox into the steel barricade. Fox rallied back with a thrust kick to the champ. Fox blasted Moxley with a cutter for a near fall.
Darby Allin and Nick Wayne were backstage watching the match on a monitor.
AR Fox vaulted off the ring post with a moonsault onto Moxley. Fox hit Mox with a 450 splash for a two-count. Moxley captured Fox and nailed him with hammer and anvil elbows. Moxley followed up with the King Kong Lariat and then the Death Rider to score the pin on AR Fox.
Darby Allin checked on AR Fox after the match. Nick Wayne was watching from the back when he was approached by Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus.
Christian Cage told Nick Wayne that if he wanted a true mentor, Nick should be looking at him. “And say hi to your mom for me,” said Christian Cage.
TBS Championship Open Challenge Match!
Kris Statlander (c.) vs. Emi Sakura!
Sakura tried to surprise the champion with a quick roll-up. She followed up with a Tiger Driver on Statlander. Emi drove Statlander to the arena floor with a running crossbody press. Outside the ring, Emi nailed Kris with a crossbody press against the steel ring steps!
Back in the ring Emi stunned the champ with a lariat. Both women collided in the center of the ring with dueling lariats.
“Both women same idea and both women go down,” said Excalibur.
Statlander was brought back down with a swinging neck breaker and then a nasty vertical back breaker from Emi Sakura. Statlander connected with a discus lariat. Statlander smashed Emi with Wednesday Night Fever and pinned Emi!
Roderick Strong was backstage with The Kingdom—Matt Taven and Mike Bennett.
Strong: “Wrestling gave me an opportunity to be something I was not. No one was judging me for what my parents were not doing. Professional wrestling is not just a business to me. It is my everything. But Adam Cole already knew that. I grew up alone and I’m going to win this Grand Slam Tournament alone!”
Le Sex Gods—Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara
vs.
Aussie Open—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis!
Don Callis joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Davis and Jericho started things with a collar and elbow tie up. Jericho chopped at Davis, but Davis returned fire. Sammy tagged in and Jericho and Sammy took Davis down with a double shoulder tackle.
Mark Davis did a cartwheel and then hit a double clothesline on Jericho and Sammy. Kyle Fletcher tagged in, and body slammed Sammy. Sammy hit Kyle with a corkscrew dropkick. Jericho tagged in and he and Sammy nailed Kyle with a delayed vertical suplex.
Davis and Fletcher smashed Jericho with stereo forearm smashes. Sammy came in with a cutter on Davis. Jericho fired back with a Code Breaker on Fletcher. Jericho connected with a dropkick off the turnbuckles. Sammy rocketed over the top with a tornillo onto Aussie Open on the arena floor!
Jericho went over the top rope but inadvertently landed on Sammy. Aussie Open made the dash around the ring with Jericho and Sammy and bashed them with the Collider. Aussie Open nailed Jericho with the Aussie Arrow with Davis grabbing a near fall on Jericho.
Jericho swept out the legs of Fletcher and tried for the Walls, but Fletcher escaped. Fletcher spiked Jericho with a brainbuster for a near fall.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Jericho charged at Fletcher, but Fletcher ducked, and Jericho inadvertently hit Sammy. Jericho cracked Fletcher with the Judas Effect and pinned him!
After the match, Sammy shoved Jericho. Jericho shoved back. AEW security had to separate the two men. Sammy walked out on Jericho.
“Sammy wants nothing to do with Jericho at this point in time,” said Excalibur.
“I’m sure they can patch it up,” replied Taz.
“The cracks in their relationship widening,” added Excalibur.
Renee Paquette interviewed Don Callis and Takeshita backstage!
Don Callis: “We made history and beat Kenny Omega twice in seven days. We’re going to have a celebration next week as well as the unveiling of our next target!”
Out Next: One-half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions and AEW World Champion MJF!
MJF: “I got a question, who’s your daddy? As you know, this past Sunday, Adam Cole and I successfully defended our ROH World Tag Team Championships. And that mark Tony Khan says I have to wrestle again on September 20th. That’s Grand Slam. That’s the Devil’s Den. MJF is coming back to New York, New York. And whoever wins that Grand Slam Tournament is going to find out the hard way that no one is on the level of the devil.
“But there is one person that needs to be taught a lesson, and that…”
ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe came down to the ring!
Samoa Joe: “Now pardon the interruption champ, but I was in the back, and I heard a little piss and vinegar in your voice, and I wanted to get a front row for what was about to be said. What seems to be the problem, kid?”
MJF: “Kid? Joe, this must be really embarrassing for you. You must have confused my entrance for an ice cream truck.”
Samoa Joe: “That’s good. But to be quite honest, the last time I had anything to do with an ice cream truck, I was busy being the biggest star of the company’s other network. No, Max, I am here out of genuine concern. So, what’s the problem, kid?”
MJF: “That’s kid twice. You called me kid twice. You know what’s funny about me, Joseph? I’m pretty creative myself. Hey everybody look, it’s Pillsbury Joeboy. No, wait, that’s Samoa Dough.”
Samoa Joe: “Oh, jokes and venom. Now Max it seems that you’re having a hard time comprehending what is going on. So, I’m going to ask you again, Max, what is your problem, kid?”
MJF: “You call me kid one more time I’m going to knock your teeth down your throat! Time out, time out. That’s how you want me to react. Yeah, because you want to skip the line. I’m sorry, there’s a whole tournament if you want to wrestle the champion.
“To coin a phrase from my bro, who’s ready for story time with MJF? Back when I was 19 years old, I had a tryout with the WWE. I knocked it out of the park because I’m that damned good. I was pulled aside by William Regal, and we know the story. He said he would have signed me, but I was too young. He blew me off.
“And we all know how that story ended. I knocked his British ass packing and I sent him back to NXT where he belongs. And funny enough Joe, if you play your cards right, you’re next. Later on, that evening I was informed I would get to be security to walk a wrestling legend down the aisle. I was going to meet the great Samoa Joe.
“But what did you do, Joe? You decided to take a 19-year old kid who was just trying to do his job and you shoved me into a brick wall and you laughed. And let’s be honest Joe. I know why you did that. I know how scumbags think because I’m their scumbag.”
The fans chanted “He’s our scumbag! He’s our scumbag!”
MJF: “You did it because I was a kid, and you could get away with it. I’m not a kid anymore. I’m full grown and I am the AEW World Champion. I am the best wrestler on God’s green earth, and I headlined the most historic pay-per-view of all time, and I am MJF! So, Joey, if I were you, I’d stay out of my way or else I am going to kill you. And do you want to know why Joe? Because my name is MJF, and I am better than you and you know it!”
Samoa Joe: “That was a point beautifully made except there is one problem with it. I didn’t think of you as a kid when I pushed you. You know what I thought about you? I didn’t think you were a kid, Max, I thought you were a little bitch.”
MJF slapped Samoa Joe!
Samoa Joe: “Now this is you trying to provoke me. I’m not going to take your bait. I’m going to go through that tournament and beat everyone in it and then I’m going to come for you. Until then, champ, have a nice day.”
As MJF was walking through the ropes, Samoa Joe kicked the ropes and then stomped on MJF. Samoa Joe held up the AEW World Title until MJF kicked Samoa Joe between the legs! MJF charged at Samoa Joe, but Samoa Joe spiked him! Samoa Joe was looking to hit the Muscle Buster, but Adam Cole sprinted to the ring to even up the odds! Samoa Joe left the ring laughing.
Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarter-Final Match!
Trent Beretta (with Chuck Taylor) vs. Roderick Strong (with The Kingdom)!
Strong grappled Trent to the ground. Strong applied a front face lock. Strong hit a shoulder tackle but Beretta came back with a knee strike. Roderick Strong cracked Trent with a back breaker.
Trent launched off the top roe with a DDT on Strong, targeting the neck. Strong shoved Trent into the ring post. Strong planted Trent on the edge of the ring!
Roderick rocked Trent with the Sick Kick right on target! Trent used a hurracanrana off the top rope for a near fall on Roddy. Trent followed up with a half and half suplex. Trent spiked Strong with a piledriver, but Roddy got his boot on the rope to stop the ref’s count.
Strong cracked Trent with a knee strike and then finished him off with the End of Heartache, scoring the pin on Trent!
Renee Paquette was backstage to interview Toni Storm, and she asked Toni about the can of spray paint!
Toni: “It was such a blur. We must look forward. Renee, you are so nosey. You just poke. Next week I’ll be doing a sneak peek into my life.”
Tony Schiavone interviewed “Hangman” Adam Page in the ring!
Page: “I got a call Saturday night that there’d be a battle royal with the winner getting to donate $50,000 to the charity of their choice. So, I booked a flight, and I won the match and I got to donate money to teachers.
“I wanted to look forward. We’ve got a few months left in 2023 and I wanted to talk about what I wanted to do with the rest of—”
Prince Nana and Swerve Strickland interrupted, walking down to the ring!
Prince Nana: “Tony, you’ve done enough so far. Goodnight, my friend. Ladies and gentlemen, show some respect for Swerve Strickland.”
Swerve: “Being in a coffin for almost two weeks you get some clarity. You get some clarity. The first person that I thought of as soon as I got out was you, Hangman. Charity? Really? What are you some kind of mascot for AEW? You’re doing charity for Chicago Elementary System for children that are just going to flunk out anyway. And you weren’t on the main card at All Out competing for any championships.
“When All Elite started up, you were the cornerstone of this company. You were handpicked to be the franchise player and look what you’ve done. Former AEW World Tag Team Champion to former AEW World Champion. And now I’m looking at you on preshows. Or you lost your spot. Or you don’t even want it anymore.
“You got a whole new contract extension, so you’ve been eating good. Yeah, it’s been showing. You don’t have singles matches or promos on Dynamite anymore. You don’t even have title matches anymore. You took a backseat to the Elite.
“You’ve been handed a silver platter. If I would have gotten the opportunities that you got a year ago, I’d be the first AEW World Champion by now. So, I’ll leave you with this. Option A., ride off into the sunset. Move out of the way and let me take that slot that you don’t want. Or option B., you man up, you cowboy up to get that confidence, show these people what cowboy s—t is all about!
“Or we could this and you could fight me for that spot but forewarning, I have no regard for anybody. You choose to do this with me, I will walk you like a dog. Either way, I’m coming for that spot that you act like you don’t even want.”
Page: “If you want a match with me you go to the back and you get it. But I’m done with this s—t right now.”
Swerve: “It’s a shame that your wife and kid got to see their husband and father walk away from more responsibilities.”
Page returned to the ring and got in Swerve’s face! “The Machine” Brian Cage ambushed Page and nailed him with the Drill Claw!
“Like it or not, a phenomenal set up,” said Taz.
Main Event Time!
Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarter-Final Match!
Darby Allin vs. Nick Wayne!
Darby and Nick shook hands before the match began.
Darby and Nick traded pin fall attempts. Darby grabbed a side headlock. Darby went for a tope suicida, but Nick dodged it, sending Darby crashing into the steel guardrail!
Nick Wayne superplexed Darby and followed up with a fisherman’s buster for a near fall. Nick tried for a frog splash, but Darby raised his knees! Darby blasted Nick with a shotgun dropkick. Darby locked on a figure four leg lock. Nick Wayne reversed it, but Darby grabbed the ropes.
Nick and Darby collided with double crossbodies, knocking one another to the mat.
“Sternum to sternum, that’s tough full speed,” said Taz.
Darby and Nick traded strikes in the center of the ring. Darby asked for a microphone.
Darby: “You hit like an 18 year old. Hit me like you really want to win this!”
Darby put his hands behind his back and invited Nick to hit him. Nick nailed Darby with a thrust kick!
Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus walked onto the ramp and joined the broadcast booth.
Nick flipped over the top rope and landed on Darby. Nick whipped Darby into the steel guardrail. Nick hit a frog splash off the ring post and down onto Darby on the arena floor! Nick followed up with the Wayne’s World for a near fall.
Nick Wayne attempted a Wayne’s World off the top rope, but Darby held on, knocking Nick to the mat. Darby was contemplating the Coffin Drop but had second thoughts. Nick applied the Last Supper for a near fall on Darby.
Darby stunned Nick with the Code Red for a two-count. Darby grabbed Nick’s arms and stomped the back of Nick’s head, knocking out Nick! Darby advances in the tournament!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, OH!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c!
ALL OUT 2023 is in the books, and GRAND SLAM 2023 is right around the corner, and in-between All Elite Wrestling has some exciting stops along the way! This Wednesday night, we return to Indianapolis, IN and the Farmer’s Coliseum!
After seeing the Jericho Appreciation Society crumble around him, and dropping the match at ALL IN: LONDON to Will Ospreay, Chris Jericho has chosen to reunite with Sammy Guevara and bring Le Sex Gods into the tag team championship hunt! Plus, Hangman Page has some thoughts to share after winning the Over Budget Charity Battle Royale on the ALL OUT 2023: ZERO HOUR, AEW World Champion/ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF has something to say to ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe after their interaction on Sunday night, and the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament begins!
DYNAMITE kicks off at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel and catch up on highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as ALL IN: LONDON, ALL OUT 2023, plus the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
GRAND SLAM WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…
Over the next several weeks, eight men will compete in the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament to determine MJF’s challenger for DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023 on September 20th; we learned last week that Roderick Strong, despite his still healing neck, would be cleared to participate in this tournament, and he has promised to do what Adam Cole could not, that being defeat MJF to claim the championship. Before that can happen though, Strong has to actually win the tournament, and that means three opponents all trying to stop Roddy from achieving his goals as they strive to achieve their own.
The first of those opponents, and possibly the last of them, is one with whom Roderick Strong is quite familiar, though it’s been eight years since their last collision, and his name is Trent Beretta! First meeting in singles competition back in 2013 in the hallowed halls of Reseda, Strong and Beretta have fought in one-on-one bouts on three occasions and Roderick holds the advantage 2-1. Now those three bouts are not their only meetings over the last ten years, in fact when looked at on the whole, in their five bouts as opponent, it’s Beretta who holds the advantage 3-2.
Now they actually did team up one time in February 2014 and, sheer coincidence, one of the two men they faced happened to be the future “Hangman” Adam Page. Sadly the Roddy/Trent team was not a successful one, lasting just that one match, and they would resume a life as foes, albeit a brief one. Well this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, Roderick and Trent will reignite that old rivalry, if only for a night, as each pursues their goal of facing Maxwell Jacob Friedman at Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 20th! For Trent this is just about proving to himself, and the world, he is a premiere fighter both as a singles and a tag with Chuck Taylor, but for Roddy this is far more personal. The end of this road means fighting a man who Roderick believes destroyed his friendship with Adam Cole, who Roddy sees as usurping his position as Adam’s best friend, and the opportunity to get him in the ring is too good to pass up. There may be a long road to travel to get there, but the benefits are worth the work in the mind of Strong who would likely do anything to lay his chops into the flesh of Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
So can Roderick, fighting with this injured neck, rise to the occasion and continue on the path to GRAND SLAM 2023? Or will Trent Beretta stifle Strong at the starting line, leaving “Mr. ROH” further frustrated, and further away from his aspiration of showing up Adam Cole? And, the question should be asked, where does The Kingdom of Mike Bennett and Matt Taven fit into this scenario?
GRAND SLAM WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…
It’s been a rough couple weeks for Darby Allin; he was battered in London during the tag team Coffin Match, he and Sting walking out the victors, but the former 2-Time TNT Champion saying as a result he is in more pain than he’s ever experienced in his life. Given everything we’ve seen Allin put himself through since joining AEW, that is saying a considerable amount, and that’s just from what happened at ALL IN: LONDON. Factor in this past Sunday, the fact that Darby is still a 2-Time TNT Champion rather than the reigning 3-Time, and all the hurt put on him by Luchasaurus, and then maybe one can garner an idea about where Darby Allin is at coming into this match.
And that’s just the physical side of things; mentally, he’s likely a bit out of sorts as well, especially given the tension between Nick Wayne and himself stemming from Darby’s willingness to forgive AR Fox’s transgressions. It’s hard to blame young Mister Wayne, after all Fox did participate in The Mogul Embassy’s assault on his late father’s training facility and on Nick himself. Fox did leave Nick laying in his own blood, and who knows if Fox would’ve ever been apologetic for his actions if Swerve Strickland and The Mogul Embassy hadn’t evicted him from their unit.
Suffice it to say when Darby accepted Fox’s apology, it did not sit well with Nick Wayne, but despite that fact, Nick was still there when Darby needed him both in England and in Chicago this past Sunday night, though it almost cost Wayne dearly at Christian Cage’s hands. So with both men, particularly Darby, still recovering from all this trauma, they will engage in the first one-on-one bout of their career! The winner of this will advance one step closer towards challenging MJF for the AEW World Championship at GRAND SLAM 2023 on September 20th, so there is a great deal at stake in this battle of mentor and protege.
Will the wounds of the last several weeks catch up with Darby and leave him vulnerable to young Mr. Wayne, or will Darby’s experience with fighting battered allow him to survive this bout and fight another day?
TAG TEAM BOUT…
Le Sex Gods (Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
From the beginning of DYNAMITE, Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho have been part of each other’s lives, initially as The Inner Circle and later with The Jericho Appreciation Society, they have been bonded through thick and thin. Through Stadium Stampedes and Blood & Guts cages, they’ve been there for one another at nearly every turn since Jericho first brought “The Spanish God” under his tutelage.
Yes there has been separation, Guevara was the first man to walk away from The Inner Circle ahead of The J.A.S. being formed and they had their issues over the ROH World Championship, but when it’s come down to brass tacks, Sammy has always stuck by Jericho. As the entire J.A.S. walked away from “The Ocho” in the midst of his indecision regarding Don Callis, it was only Guevara who continued to show support for Jericho, and it continues to be Sammy by his side when all others have abandoned the original AEW World Champion.
So with this reunited duo setting their sights on the tag team division, it is very clear former ROH World Tag Team Champions Aussie Open have their issues with Le Sex Gods. Part of that may be due to Jericho’s issues with their United Empire cohort Will Ospreay, part of that may just be a warning of what’s in store for Jericho and Guevara if they choose to seriously compete in the tag team ranks. With a 6-5 record in those ranks since AEW’s inception, Le Sex Gods are just 1-1 in 2023 with their last tag bout being a loss to Darby Allin & Sting on June 28th. In other words, they’ve got a long way to go to be in contention for FTR’s AEW World Tag Team Championship titles, but if that’s the goal, may as well start with one of the baddest teams in All Elite Wrestling!
MJF IS NOT HAPPY…
Sunday night in Chicago was a great night if you entered the United Center as a champion; in four of the five championship bouts, it was the defending champion who retained, and that trend started with the ROH World Tag Team Champions Adam Cole & MJF, collectively dubbed Better Than You Bay Bay. Their fight against The Dark Order took its toll on both men, particularly MJF when Alex Reynolds dug up some of the old Dark Order nastiness and drove a steel chair into Max’s neck. Now that neck had been banged up in London during the course of his World Title defense against his own partner, and Alex took advantage of the referee’s distraction to deliver the weapon-assisted blow.
The situation forced Adam Cole to fly solo for quite some time, but eventually the AEW World Champion dragged himself back into the fray, and the defending ROH World Tag Champs found a way to defeat The Dark Order. MJF’s choice to return to the fight only served to exacerbate his injured neck, leading to AEW’s medical staff attending to the man for quite some time after the match, long enough that the next match had to send its competitors to the ring. Unfortunately for MJF, the first man to the ring was ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe, and in a moment hearkening back to Brooklyn circa 2016, Joe shoved Maxwell out of his way, and continued to the ring with a satisfied smile on his face.
Max wasn’t having it, but given his debilitated condition, there was little his body was going to let him do, and thus he ended up with Joe’s arms around his throat. Not the greatest moment for the AEW World Champion, but he wasn’t about to take Samoa Joe’s disrespect lightly regardless of the condition he was in after retaining the ROH World Tag Titles.
So this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, the AEW World Champion will be in the arena live and apparently with the intent to address what happened with Samoa Joe. As Joe’s inches towards Jay Lethal’s record as the longest-reigning ROH World TV Champ of all-time, does it seem the best idea for an injured MJF to confront the man?
HANGMAN FOR CHARITY…
During the ZERO HOUR on Sunday night, former AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page managed to survive a fight with nineteen other men to win the Over Budget Charity Battle Royal. For the victor of that fray would go a donation in their name of $50,000 to a charity of their choice. Hangman chose the Chicago Public Education Fund to receive the money, rather unsurprising given his own history as a teacher, but now that that victory is in the rear view, it’s time for Page to talk about his future.
With that in mind, the AEW faithful will hear from Hangman this Wednesday night; what he will have to say, where his head is at, we will all find out together live on TBS when DYNAMITE kicks off at 8pm ET!
This Wednesday night All Elite Wrestling returns to Indianapolis and the Farmer’s Coliseum for an all-new DYNAMITE, and the beginning of the road to GRAND SLAM 2023! The Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament kicks off with two Quarter-Final matches, AEW World Champion MJF will be on-hand live to address ALL OUT 2023’s engagement with Samoa Joe, Hangman Page will be in the house, and Le Sex Gods will be in action against Aussie Open!
DYNAMITE begins kicks off at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to check in on the official AEW YouTube channel and see highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as ALL IN: LONDON and ALL OUT 2023, and so much more!
AEW presented All Out 2023 live from the United Center in Chicago, IL!
It’s Sunday and you know what that means!
The Zero Hour portion of the show kicked off! Your announce team for Zero Hour was Excalibur, Kevin Kelly, and Nigel McGuinness.
The Over Budget Charity Battle Royale!
The winner earns $50K to give to the charity of their choice!
Tony Nese began the match by doing pushups. He was quickly eliminated. Serpentico was swarmed by Menard, Hager, Garcia, and Parker. They quickly tossed him out. Aussie Open knocked Shawn Spears out with stereo thrust kicks.
Brian Cage powerbombed Komander and then the Mogul Embassy hurled Komander over the top. The Boys eliminated Angelo Parker, and then Cage clocked Dalton Castle with a discus lariat, sending Castle to the floor. Garcia threw Action Andretti over the top rope. Best Friends blasted Brian Cage with a double chokeslam. “Hangman” Adam Page knocked Bishop Kaun to the floor with a clothesline. Scorpio Sky threw Jake Hager out.
Trent and Page worked in tandem to eliminate Mark Davis. Sky flung Garcia over the top. The Mogul Embassy worked together to take out Scorpio Sky. Fletcher knocked out Andretti with a leg lariat. Trent planted Kyle Fletcher with a half and half suplex on the apron, sending Kyle to the arena floor. Cage chucked out Trent. The final three entrants were Toa, Cage, and Page.
Page scored with a Buckshot Lariat to Toa and then sent him over the top. Cage clobbered Page with a neck breaker. Cage and Page battled on the ring apron. Adam Page nailed Brian Cage with the Deadeye and won the match!
Trios Match!
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena, Diamante, & Mercedes Martinez
vs.
Hikaru Shida, Skye Blue, & Willow Nightingale!
Skye Blue jumped off the top turnbuckle and landed on the opposition. Diamante hit a neck breaker on Skye Blue and then tagged out to Mercedes. Diamante and Mercedes used tandem offense on Blue.
Athena grabbed Blue, preventing her from making the tag. Athena powerbombed Skye Blue for a two-count. Willow grabbed a tag and clobbered Athena with a lariat and then a splash in the corner. Diamante ate a Falcon Arrow from Shida. Martinez dumped Skye with a Spider German Suplex. Athena smashed Willow with the O-Face. Shida, not impressed, entered the ring and shoved Athena. Shida and Athena traded strikes. Shida dropped Athena with a strike. Willow pounced Athena outside the ring! Skye Blue pinned Diamante after hitting the Code Blue!
AEW World Trios Championship Match!
The Acclaimed (c.)—Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, & Daddy Ass (with Dennis Rodman)
vs.
Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, & Satnam Singh (with Sonjay Dutt & Karen Jarrett)!
Daddy Ass said he had his own referee and called out Aubrey Edwards to the ring. Bowens dropped the Scissor Me Timbers on Jeff Jarrett. Lethal tagged in and stomped a mudhole in Caster in the corner.
Bowens clipped Lethal with a series of thrust kicks. Billy Gunn tagged in and cleaned house until running into a massive boot from Satnam Singh! As Aubrey was ejecting Karen from ringside, Dennis Rodman smashed Jeff Jarrett’s guitar over the head of Satnam! Bowens hit the Mic Drop on Lethal and pinned him!
The pay-per-view portion of All Out kicked off with…
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match!
Better Than You BayBay—AEW World Champion MJF & Adam Cole (c.)
vs.
Dark Order—Alex Reynolds & John Silver (with Evil Uno)!
The fans were chanting “Double Clothesline! Double Clothesline!”
Reynolds pulled Silver out of the ring before Cole and MJF could hit the double clothesline. MJF and Reynolds shook hands and then MJF thumbed him in the eyes. MJF got his neck banged up and the Dark Order blindsided MJF when Reynolds hit MJF with a chair to the base of the neck. Ref Paul Turner didn’t see it. Doc Sampson examined MJF on the arena floor.
“It appears they’ve taken MJF out of the equation,” said Excalibur.
Dark Order had Adam Cole to themselves and used their tandem offense on him. Cole went for the Panama Sunrise on Silver, but Silver avoided it. Silver lit up Cole with vicious kicks and followed up with a fisherman’s buster for a near fall.
Dark Order smashed Cole with a double clothesline. Silver grabbed one of the tag titles while Evil Uno distracted the ref. It didn’t matter as Cole served up superkicks in a last ditch effort.
MJF came back to the ring, holding his neck. He fought through adversity to assist his best friend, Adam Cole. MJF chomped on Reynolds’ forehead. MJF clobbered Dark Order with the kangaroo kick! Better Than You BayBay hit the double clothesline on Reynolds and Cole scored the pin!
ROH World Television Championship Match!
Samoa Joe (c.) vs. Shane Taylor!
As Samoa Joe was making his entrance, he shoved MJF (who was still making his way to the back after his match)! MJF sprinted back to the ring and began to brawl with Samoa Joe! Joe locked MJF in a guillotine choke until AEW security separated the two men!
Shane Taylor dropped Samoa Joe after some stiff shots. Joe pulled Shane out of the ring and began to chop away at him. They slugged it out ringside. Back in the ring, Shane Taylor splashed Samoa Joe for a near fall.
Samoa Joe cracked Taylor with an elbow suicida. Joe used a Manhattan Drop and followed it up with a running senton. Joe jabbed away at Shane Taylor, but Taylor countered with a short arm clothesline.
“This isn’t boxing but it has a big fight feel,” said Kevin Kelly.
Shane Taylor rocked Samoa Joe with a hanging stunner! Taylor splashed Samoa Joe off the middle rope for a near fall on the champ. Taylor crumbled after a lariat from Samoa Joe! Taylor rallied back with body shots. Samoa Joe overwhelmed Taylor with knee strikes and then locked on the submission to force Taylor to tap!
TNT Championship Match!
Luchasaurus (c.) (with Christian Cage)
vs.
Darby Allin (with Nick Wayne)!
Jim Ross joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Darby charged right at Luchasaurus, swarming the champ. Luchasaurus whipped Darby into the steel guardrail. The champ swung Darby into the metal ring steps. Darby was busted open. Christian Cage ordered Luchasaurus to maim Darby.
Luchasaurus put the steps on Darby’s back and then walked up them, putting all of his weight on Darby. Nick Wayne lifted the steps off Darby, but the damage had been done already. Back in the ring, Luchasaurus hit Darby with a huge overhand chop. Luchasaurus headbutted Darby on the chin.
“Damn. It’s getting ugly. It’s getting uncomfortable,” said Jim Ross.
Somehow Darby mustered the strength to do a somersault off the top turnbuckle onto Luchasaurus on the arena floor! Back in the ring, Darby hit a crucifix bomb for a near fall! The fans rallied behind Darby. Luchasaurus caught Darby and suplexed him!
Christian Cage wanted Nick Wayne to toss in the towel. Darby rocketed out of the ring with a tope to Christian! Darby smashed Luchasaurus with an avalanche Code Red for a very near fall! Christian Cage whacked Nick Wayne with a chair. Darby saw it and got distracted. Luchasaurus seized the moment and hit Darby with two tombstones and then a lariat to the back of the head, more than enough to score the pin!
“Wow! Impressive victory for Luchasaurus,” said Jim Ross.
Christian Cage got in the ring, setting Darby up for a con-chair-to. Luchasaurus held Nick Wayne back. The locker room ran down to intervene and stop Christian Cage.
“Darby Allin dodged a hell of a bullet,” said Jim Ross.
“My heart was in my throat,” added Excalibur.
“This looks like a crime scene,” said Nigel.
“The Redeemer” Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs!
They locked horns right out of the gate! Both men refusing to yield ground. Miro shoved Hobbs to the mat and then ripped off his shirt. Hobbs was beaten down in the corner. Hobbs steamrolled Miro with a shoulder block.
“Two big meaty men slapping meat and this match has lived up to those expectations,” said Excalibur.
Miro used his quickness to hit Hobbs with a leg lariat.
Hobbs hurled Miro with a belly to belly suplex, sending the Redeemer for a ride.
The fans chanted “Slap that meat! Slap that meat!”
Miro and Hobbs exchanged strikes in the center of the ring. Miro knocked Hobbs down after several lariats. Miro superplexed Hobbs! Powerhouse Hobbs dodged a kick and then powerslammed Miro!
Miro nailed Hobbs with a thrust kick for a two-count. Miro stomped Hobbs’ lower back. Miro applied the Game Over submission. Hobbs escaped, rising up and squashing Miro into the corner. Hobbs blasted Miro with a spinebuster for a near fall! Miro answered with a spinebuster of his own! Miro locked in Game Over for a second time and Hobbs tapped out!
“Hobbs ran out of options,” said Jim Ross.
“One of the best big man matches I’ve ever seen. And the fans are giving this a standing ovation,” replied Nigel.
Hobbs and Miro shook hands after the match. Miro turned to walk away, and Hobbs blindsided the Redeemer. Hobbs grounded and pounded Miro.
Miro’s wife ran to the ring and cracked Hobbs with a steel chair! Hobbs was distracted and Miro grabbed the chair and smashed it into Hobbs’ head! Miro walked away, without embracing his wife.
TBS Championship Match!
Kris Statlander (c.) vs. Ruby Soho (with AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya)!
Kris cracked Ruby with a running knee strike. Kris whipped Ruby into the guardrail. Ruby rallied back, ramming Statlander’s head into the guardrail. Saraya hammered Kris with shots behind the ref’s back.
Kris nailed Ruby with a back breaker. She followed up with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Kris walloped Ruby with an avalanche powerslam for a near fall! Ruby nailed Kris with a poison rana, a DDT, and then a low hurracanrana for a two-count! Ruby smashed Kris with the No Future Kick and then Destination Unknown for a near fall.
Saraya distracted the ref while Ruby grabbed a can of spray paint. Toni Storm crawled out from beneath the ring and took the can away! Statlander spiked Ruby with the Sunday Night Fever and pinned Ruby Soho!
No Disqualification Strap Match!
“Absolute” Ricky Starks vs. “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson!
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Starks attacked Danielson before the match began. Starks whipped Danielson with his weight belt! Starks targeted Bryan’s head and hit him with the buckle of the belt, busting Bryan Danielson wide open!
Starks stomped on Danielson’s head, sandwiching it on the steel ring steps. Starks used the strap around Danielson’s throat. Starks whipped Danielson with the strap.
“This is my house!” said Ricky Starks.
Danielson headbutted Starks and fired off round kicks. Starks walloped Bryan on the side of the head with the strap! Danielson rallied back and whipped Starks on the back over and over again! Danielson knocked Starks to the floor with a sliding dropkick. Bryan was going to jump out of the ring, but Starks countered by clocking him with the strap. Danielson pulled on the slack of the strap and pulled Starks headfirst into the steel ring post!
Danielson charged at Starks, but Starks turned Bryan inside out with a lariat! Bryan and Ricky nailed each other with the strap. Big Bill came down to the ring and jumped on the apron! Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat pulled Big Bill down to the floor! Danielson jumped off the turnbuckles and wiped out Starks and Big Bill!
Back in the ring, Starks speared Danielson for a near fall. Starks grounded and pounded Danielson. Danielson got to his feet and nailed Starks with the charging knee strike!
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Danielson stomped on Starks. Danielson applied the Le Bell Lock! Danielson took the strap and wrapped it around Starks’ throat, pulled back, and Starks lost consciousness!
“Bryan Danielson returns from injury and defeats Ricky Starks,” said Excalibur.
“Starks made a statement in defeat. He refused to quit no matter what Bryan Danielson did to him,” replied Nigel.
NJPW STRONG Open Weight Champion Eddie Kingston
& ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata
vs.
Blackpool Combat Club—ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta!
Taz joined the commentary team for this match.
Shibata cracked Yuta with Kawada style kicks. Claudio tagged in and blasted Shibata with a European uppercut. Claudio dodged the PK from Shibata.
Eddie Kingston tagged in, and Claudio tagged out to Wheeler Yuta. Kingston charged out of the ring at Claudio, and they exchanged shots. Yuta blindsided Eddie with a tope. Eddie used a butterfly suplex on Wheeler in the ring.
Claudio tagged in and stomped on Kingston’s chest. Yuta tagged in and Eddie took him down with an STO leg sweep. Shibata grabbed a tag and rocked Claudio with rapid fire elbows in the corner. Shibata ran across the ring and dropkicked Claudio in the corner. Claudio escaped an arm bar with a powerbomb. Claudio and Wheeler hit the fastball special on Shibata for a near fall.
Shibata knocked Yuta off his feet with a spinning backfist. Shibata had Yuta in an inverted leg lock and then put Claudio in an ankle lock. Eddie tagged in and DDT’ed Yuta. Kingston charged in with a lariat in the corner on Yuta. Kingston threw Yuta with an exploder suplex. Claudio came in on Kingston’s blindside and kicked him in the head.
Shibata hit Yuta with a pump kick and Eddie hit a side suplex on Yuta. Claudio jumped into the ring and exchanged uppercuts with Shibata. Claudio whipped Shibata into the guardrail. Yuta German Suplexed Kingston for a near fall.
Claudio took down Kingston with a short arm lariat. Claudio used hammer and anvil strikes and followed up with the Neutralizer for a near fall on Kingston! Eddie knocked down Claudio with a spinning backfist. Kingston rocked Claudio with a Northern Lights Bomb but Yuta jumped in to break up the pin attempt. Claudio wrecked Kingston with a European Uppercut and pinned a stunned Kingston.
“The Cleaner” Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita!
Takeshita hit a dropkick on Omega. Takeshita followed up with a high angle back drop driver! Outside the ring, Omega used a moonsault off the barricade onto Takeshita.
Omega jumped at Takeshita with a springboard dropkick and followed up with the face dunk. Omega applied an Indian Death Lock on Takeshita.
Outside the ring, Takeshita spiked Omega with a brainbuster on the floor! Takeshita distracted ref Paul Turner while Don Callis piled chairs onto Omega’s injured midsection. Takeshita splashed Kenny with a senton. Takeshita wiped out Omega with a Blue Thunder Bomb in the ring.
Takeshita dropped Omega with a forearm shiver. Takeshita attempted a senton, but Omega countered by raising his knees. Omega smacked Takeshita with Polish hammers. Takeshita charged at Omega with a jumping knee, Omega moved, and the momentum sent Takeshita spilling out of the ring. Omega took flight with the Terminator Dive!
Omega blasted Takeshita with a missile dropkick! Omega followed up with a snap dragon suplex. Omega stuck Takeshita on the back of his neck with a second snap dragon suplex. Omega spiked Takeshita with a reverse hurracanrana for a near fall.
Takeshita dodged a V Trigger, but Omega scored with the second attempt. Takeshita swung for the fences with a lariat to Omega. Kenny powerbombed Takeshita and then cracked him with a knee strike! Bang! Omega connected with a V Trigger! Takeshita countered the One Winged Angel! Takeshita got a near fall with a deadweight German Suplex on Omega.
Omega hoisted up Takeshita and began climbing up the turnbuckles, carrying the weight of Takeshita. Omega was looking for an avalanche One Winged Angel, but Takeshita escaped. Takeshita rocked Omega with an avalanche Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall on Omega!
“Man, I don’t know. This Kenny Omega is made out of something special,” said Taz.
Takeshita scored with a powerdrive knee right on target. Takeshita distracted the ref while Callis tried to spike Omega with a screwdriver. Omega dodged it. Omega nailed Takeshita with a V Trigger. Omega lifted up Takeshita for the One Winged Angel. Takeshita had the screwdriver, but ref Paul Turner saw it and pulled it away. Takeshita removed his knee pad and decimated Omega with a knee strike, and then pinned Kenny Omega!
“We just found out what Kenny Omega’s limit is,” said Nigel.
Eight-Man Tag!
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR—Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood & The Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson
vs.
Bullet Club Gold—Austin & Colten Gunn, “Switchblade” Jay White, & Juice Robinson!
Colten and Cash chain wrestled. Austin got a blind tag and tripped up Cash Wheeler. Cash sent Austin flying with a hurracanrana. Matt Jackson tagged himself in. The Bucks hit tandem offense on Austin. Dax Harwood tagged himself in.
Dax and Jay White locked up. Jay White chopped Dax. Juice Robinson and Jay White worked over Dax in their corner of the ring. Cash Wheeler grabbed a tag and FTR double teamed Jay White.
Juice jabbed at Cash Wheeler. Juice gouged at Cash’s eyes. All eight men were in the ring and began brawling! FTR and the Bucks hit quadruple atomic drops and then quadruple sharpshooters!
Dax dodged a cannonball from Juice Robinson. Matt Jackson smoked Juice with a superkick. The Bucks used a classic combo on Jay White.
“Superkick party in Chicago,” said Nigel.
The fans chanted “Young Bucks! Young Bucks!”
Matt and Cash dished out superkicks. Matt and Dax stuffed Austin with a spiked piledriver. Dax superplexed Austin and Cash, Matt, and Nick all hit high risk moves off the top turnbuckles on Austin. Dax and Austin rattled each other with double clotheslines.
The fans chanted “A-E-W! A-E-W!”
Dax and Jay traded chops. Dax walloped Jay with a short arm lariat. Juice saved Jay from the Shatter Machine. Nick and Dax hit the Shatter Machine! Matt and Dax grabbed Jay and bashed him with the BTE Trigger! Colten made the save, breaking up the pin attempt. Jay White hit the Blade Runner on Cash and Austin was there to pin him!
Main Event Time!
AEW International Championship Match!
“Freshley Squeezed” Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley!
Cassidy was playing mind games, not looking at challenger Jon Moxley. Orange went to put his hands in his pockets and Mox decked him! Moxley stalked Cassidy, giving him no time to breathe. Moxley bit the head of Orange Cassidy.
Cassidy fired back with a shotgun dropkick. Mox suplexed Orange and Orange immediately clutched his neck. Moxley sent Cassidy flying with a second suplex. Orange connected with a diving crossbody press but Mox rolled through and stomped on Orange’s head.
Orange flew at Mox with an elbow suicida. Moxley countered a DDT, turning Orange inside out. Moxley took his boots to Orange’s head again. Moxley mauled Cassidy, whipping him into the steel ring post. Cassidy was split open. Moxley bit Orange’s forehead.
“Orange Cassidy is gushing,” said Nigel.
“There is a pool of blood at our feet,” added Excalibur.
Moxley spiked Orange with a stalling piledriver for a near fall. Moxley battered Orange with clubbing shots. Orange dug his nails into Moxley’s back and then hit Moxley’s head! Orange cracked Mox with a diving DDT and then a second DDT!
Cassidy rocked Mox with the PK. He followed up with the Orange Punch for a near fall! Mox countered the Beach Break with a Gotch Style piledriver! Mox locked in the bulldog choke. Mox transitioned to an arm bar. Mox put Orange in the Le Bell Lock. Moxley transitioned to the bulldog choke, but Orange forced the ref break by reaching the ropes with his foot.
Moxley pulled the protective padding off the floor, exposing the concrete. Moxley tried for a piledriver, but Orange countered with a Beach Break on the floor! Orange dropkicked Moxley’s head into the steps!
Orange cracked Moxley with two straight Orange Punches! Orange went for a third, but Moxley countered with a cutter! Orange hit another Orange Punch and then speared Moxley for a near fall! Moxley nearly decapitated Orange with two King Kong lariats! Moxley smashed Orange with the Death Rider for a near fall!
Orange flipped off Moxley. Jon Moxley grabbed Orange and spiked him with a high angle Death Rider and pinned Cassidy!
And new AEW International Champion…Jon Moxley!
Missed what the entire wrestling world is buzzing about? Order the replay of the historic AEW All Out 2023! It’s available on all traditional cable and satellite providers in the United States and Canada, Bleacher Report, Fite International, PPV.COM, and more! See AEW All Out 2023 for yourself!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
Just seven days after the biggest night in All Elite Wrestling history, we are right back at it with our second pay-per-view offering in a week! ALL OUT has been at the heart of AEW since 2019 when Chris Jericho defeated Hangman Page to become the first AEW World Champion, and it has provided a lion’s share of memorable matches and moments every year since! The Chicagoland area has been home to this event every year save one, and 2023 will be no different, but for the very first time, ALL OUT will emanate from the United Center!
If you can’t be there in-person, click here for details on all the ways you can watch the pay-per-view event live no matter where you are in the world! Also be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the latest edition of CONTROL CENTER, highlights from ALL IN: LONDON, and more to get you up to speed for ALL OUT 2023!
AEW International Championship Match…
Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Jon Moxley
This past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, after Orange Cassidy bested Penta El Zero Miedo in his 31st International Championship defense, he was confronted by the next man scheduled to challenge for the title regardless of who won Wednesday night’s fight, former 3-Time AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
Three years ago this would’ve seemed a largely lopsided fight, but in the time since Orange Cassidy fought his first AEW singles match at REVOLUTION 2020, coincidentally at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago as well as the same night Moxley won his first AEW World Championship, he has proven to be in a class all his own. There was never any question that Jon Moxley was at the top of the heap in All Elite Wrestling, he pretty much heralded that himself with how he arrived on the scene at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2019, but Orange Cassidy has been questioned, doubted, bullied, and tested at every step of his AEW career.
It didn’t matter how he performed in that first fight with PAC, that he beat Chris Jericho in two straight matches, that he beat Adam Cole in a Lights Out Match, or that he took Will Ospreay to his limits at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2022, he was still doubted. But since the October 12, 2022 edition of DYNAMITE where he defeated “The Bastard” to claim the AEW International Championship, Orange Cassidy has done nothing but proven himself as one of the elite competitors in pro wrestling. His first two title defenses took place in Three Way bouts, he took on “The Wrestler” Katsuyori Shibata in his next, and from that point on, it has been a matter of fighting everyone who stepped up to the plate. Daniel Garcia, Wheeler Yuta, Big Bill, Jeff Jarrett, and Jay Lethal; they all fell before “Freshly Squeezed” and at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 he really showed the world where he stood as champion when he took on 20 challengers simultaneously in the Blackjack Battle Royale. As a result of that many simultaneous challengers in Vegas, as Cassidy heads into this fight with Moxley, he has defended the AEW International Championship 31 times against 41 different men, and been champion for 326 days. He’s defended his title more times than any champion in AEW’s entire history across all divisions, and sits behind Jade Cargill’s 508-day TBS Title reign, Hikaru Shida 372-day AEW Woman’s World Championship reign, and Kenny Omega’s 346-day AEW World Championship run in terms of duration as champ.
And if that’s wasn’t enough to make the entire wrestling world stand-up and recognize the greatness of “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy, perhaps it should be noted that at 121 overall victories, he’s got more wins than any man in All Elite Wrestling, topping Jon Moxley’s 118 overall wins, though Mox does surpass OC as a singles competitor, holding 75 victories to Cassidy’s 68.
As if that wasn’t enough, Cassidy also has the longest active singles win streak in AEW with thirty-one consecutive victories, eclipsing Moxley’s run of 25 from 11/13/19-12/2/20 and HOOK’s from 12/10/21-7/19/23. All that put together, it could be argued that Orange Cassidy is the absolute best in All Elite Wrestling, that he is the measuring stick for the company, and that he is the one everyone else should be looking to as their litmus test.
Jon Moxley clearly is not a man who sees that to be the case, and after their engagement the last several weeks, including Stadium Stampede at ALL IN: LONDON, he aims to put OC to the test this Sunday at ALL OUT 2023! Mox aims to put Cassidy through the wringer in the process of proving that it is he and The Blackpool Combat Club who run AEW, and given the AEW career path that has brought both men here, this may be one of the most important pay-per-view matches in AEW’s history. It is also a night Jon Moxley could make history as the first AEW World Champion to capture another AEW singles championship!
OC has already made history during his International Championship reign, it started with being the man to level the belt up from the All-Atlantic to the International Championship, and has continued with each title defense he survives. But eventually the rigorous schedule Orange has kept will catch up to him, but will that point come this Sunday at the United Center? If there is anyone likely to push OC past that point, it is Jon Moxley, and if the defending champion can’t find an even deeper level to his reservoir of strength, he’s in for a rough night and most likely the end of his historic championship reign.
As much as Christian Cage may claim otherwise, as much as he would rather have the fans believe an alternative truth, the reality is that Luchasaurus is the TNT Champion, not Christian Cage. Cage may carry the belt around, may consistently refer to the belt as “his” TNT Title, but it was Luchasaurus who won the belt from Wardlow, it’s been the former AEW World Tag Champion who’s defended it since that victory over “The War Dog”, and it will be Luchasaurus who faces former 2-Time TNT Champion Darby Allin this Sunday night at ALL OUT 2023!
But what condition is the challenger in? Like so many others at ALL IN: LONDON, Darby went through tremendous physical punishment, but the x-factor of the coffin elevated his to a whole other level. He was slammed on the metal lid, went for a Coffin Drop on Swerve while Strickland was draped across the top only for Allin to find no one home when he crashed down, he was battered and bruised, but ultimately victorious, though it also came at the expense of young Nick Wayne. Wayne, seeking to balance the scales of the bout, ended up being taken away by The Right Hand of Destruction, but that wasn’t the end of the story.
This week on COLLISION we heard Nick Wayne speak on Darby Allin’s actions pertaining to AR Fox, leading Darby out to the ring to publicly discuss the issue, but even that was interrupted by Christian Cage, who proceeded to say horrid things about Wayne’s mother, and of course promised destruction would rain down upon Allin’s head in his TNT Championship fight with Luchasaurus. Of course it wouldn’t have been Cage if he didn’t, yet again, imply he was the actual TNT Champion, but of course it won’t be he who steps into the ring to face Darby Allin, it will be the former AEW World Tag Team Champion.
Can Darby overcome the size of Luchasaurus, the numbers game that will be played by Christian Cage, and the injuries he sustained at ALL IN: LONDON’s Casket Match? If so, he will become the second man after Sammy Guevara to achieve 3-Time TNT Champion status, but if he cannot, and Cage has his way, will there be anything left of Darby to dust off and try again?
Forty-two days, in the span of 42 days between 3/8/23 and 4/19/23 Powerhouse Hobbs managed to defeat Wardlow to claim the TNT Championship, defend it five times, and then lose it right back to Wardlow. It was not the way Hobbs anticipating his championship reign going when he won the belt, and after it ended, he spent some time on the House Rules loop getting back on track, leading to a five match win streak, including a smashing victory over Powerhouse Hobbs in the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Quarter-Finals.
Unfortunately he ran into a familiar foe named Ricky Starks in the Semi-Finals, and “Absolute” would best his former Team Taz partner en route to winning the entire tournament shortly thereafter. Again, not the way Hobbs wanted his COLLISION career to go, but he rebounded and has since won six consecutive bouts, including an eight-second victory last night in Chicago.
As impressive as that streak may be, as rapidly as Hobbs has dispatched those foes, perhaps the most impressive thing Hobbs has done is have the gumption to call out “The Redeemer” Miro for a fight! A former TNT Champion himself, Miro is one of the most intimidating men in all of professional wrestling, and to call him out for a fight is to court pain and punishment. Thus he is also the supreme test for a men looking to redeem himself for the key losses he’s experienced in 2023.
Will Hobbs live to regret his choice to goad Miro into battle? Will he be humbled before “The Redeemer”, or will Hobbs instead find that redemption he’s looking for?
The challenge was made by Ruby Soho, a woman that Kris Statlander has yet to defeat, and it appears a challenge born out of this Outcasts frustration at having never won a championship during the last 13 years. Just in All Elite Wrestling, after making her debut at ALL OUT 2021 by winning the Women’s Casino Battle Royale, she was frustrated in her first World Championship match at GRAND SLAM 2021 against Dr. Britt Baker, and sadly that would not be the last time Ruby’s dreams were dashed. A month later, in the inaugural TBS Championship Tournament, Soho would make it past Penelope Ford, Kris Statlander, and Nyla Rose but end up stifled in the finals by Jade Cargill, having to watch her claim status as the first TBS Champion. Even the AAA Mixed Tag Title alluded her and Ortiz at ALL OUT 2022 when they faced Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo on the ZERO HOUR, and finally at REVOLUTION 2023, in a Three Way where she and Saraya challenged AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter, Ruby was again turned away. The frustration is understandable, she is unquestionably one of the best wrestlers competing today, but has repeatedly failed to achieve the trophies that cement that fact in the history books.
That being said, it’s not as if Kris Statlander has had the easiest road to the status she now holds. Injuries have slowed her professional growth on multiple occasions since she first came to All Elite Wrestling, even her first AEW championship bout at REVOLUTION 2020 was tainted as Stat fought Nyla Rose with a debilitating flu that had kept her on bed rest for several days leading up to that night in Chicago. Even in the COUNTDOWN TO ALL OUT Statlander shared about her feelings as champion, a rather open look at the thoughts spinning around in her head despite defending her title eight times in the last 100 days on DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and on the HOUSE RULES tour. She has been a fighting champion from the moment she beat Jade Cargill at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023, and yet doubt still creeps.
It’s not an easy road for champion or challenger, both are driven to be the best, both have had their frustrations and setbacks, but only one has taken those challenges and used them to make herself a better version of who she was. Statlander has gotten tougher, she’s gotten stronger, and it’s led her to the status as TBS Champion whereas Ruby Soho has thrown her lot in with The Outcasts which in turn led her to watching both Saraya and Toni Storm become champions, although Toni’s current situation makes one question whether or not becoming a champion was worth the ramifications of losing it.
This Sunday, when Kris Statlander and Ruby Soho meet in their third singles match, it’s clear there is a bit more than the TBS Championship on the line for each woman. Pride, ego, legacy; they are all wrapped up in this fight between two of today’s best, but only one can walk away as champion while they other will have to find a way to handle with the disappointment and frustration…
Kenny Omega has been betrayed by Don Callis on so many levels since that Cage Match against Jon Moxley back in May, and yet this Sunday night at ALL OUT 2023 he will still come to fight in the face of that sting. Whether it was Callis throwing his support behind Will Ospreay at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, ripping Takeshita away from his growing alliance with The Elite, or signing up with BULLET CLUB GOLD, the man who was once akin to Omega’s uncle has done anything he can to wreck the former AEW World Champion’s life.
This all stems from some sense of ownership Callis has over Kenny’s career, some belief he is entitled to the credit though it is Omega who did the heavy-lifting of actually getting in the ring for the fight. Uncle Don may have shown a young Kenny the ropes, but it was Omega who did the work and earned monikers like “Best Bout Machine” and “The God of Pro Wrestling”. It was Kenny in the ring with Okada for their four matches that, over the course of three-plus hours, firmly established both men as the best in the world. It was Kenny in the ring with Chris Jericho at WRESTLE KINGDOM 12 and DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2019 not Don Callis, and point of fact, the only actual accomplishment in Kenny’s career that Callis could take some credit for would be Omega defeating Jon Moxley to become the AEW World Champion. It’s undeniable that “The Invisible Hand” played a part in assisting Kenny’s championship challenge, but it’s certainly possible that it was Don whispering in Kenny’s ear that he needed his Uncle’s help to achieve that success.
That loyalty is simultaneously both Kenny’s biggest positive and negative, especially since his return to action in August 2022 after taking 10 months to recover from a litany of injuries collected over his wrestling career. Despite Callis’ entire oeuvre being a stark contrast to where The Elite stood as people in the fall of 2022, Omega kept Don by his side and Callis clearly bristled at the fact Kenny was not on the same page as he when it came to how to conduct business. Omega’s loyalty was that strong, his love for everything Uncle Don had been to him and his family was that strong, and yet Callis clearly grew unhappy with the fact he was no longer the primary voice in Kenny’s ear as he’d been during Omega’s championship reign.
All that anger and disappointment led Callis to betraying Kenny inside that Steel Cage, allowing Jon Moxley to get some revenge for Omega’s equally shady victories several years prior, and has taken us all down this path to ALL OUT 2023. It led Callis to put Takeshita inside the Blood & Guts Cage, and to pull him away from the fight when things weren’t looking promising for The Blackpool Combat Club, it led to the BC GOLD attack on Kenny when he sat down to talk to Jim Ross in Jacksonville, and now has Takeshita fighting Omega on Sunday night.
The relationship between Omega and Takeshita dates back to the earliest years of the latter’s career, so far back that Kenny was the opponent for the fifth match on record in Takeshita’s career, the first of their thirteen encounters in DDT Pro Wrestling between 9/30/12 and 10/26/14, all which posted them as opponents. It wasn’t until Takeshita first came to AEW in April 2021 that the two men fought as partners, and when he became a regular part of the roster one year later, it looked as if Takeshita would ride alongside The Elite as he pursued the growth of his own career.
Then Don Callis got in his ear, promising the sky, and turned Konosuke against those who’d supported him, leading to Takeshita’s impact on Omega’s face during Anarchy in the Arena at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023, and now here we are, four months later, with the two men colliding in their first AEW singles match, and their first head-to-head in a decade. It should be noted, though they were over a decade ago during Takeshita’s early days as a wrestler, Omega is 2-0 in their singles matches, but obviously Takeshita has grown exponentially since that time.
So should Takeshita fail in this singles match, will this be the end of Don Callis’ pursuit of Omega’s end? If Kenny walks away with the victory, will Uncle Don give up this mission to end his nephew, or is Kenny stuck in this infinite loop of Don Callis throwing everything at Omega just hoping he breaks until the weight of it all? And what is the future if Takeshita pins Omega as he did at ALL IN: LONDON? That is the kind of victory that potentially bolsters Takeshita up into championship contention, but what would it mean for Kenny Omega’s immediate future? The ramifications for this one will be felt for some time by all parties involved, but just looking at it as a fight, this one could possibly steal the show at ALL OUT 2023!
After defeating Aussie Open at ALL IN: LONDON to become the new Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions, Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF were informed they’d have to defend their championship against the winner of a Tag Team Battle Royale at ALL OUT 2023. So, in typical MJF fashion, he took the week off to recover from his UK journey while Adam Cole came to work only to be confronted by Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett, including Roddy throwing his name in the hat for the Grand Slam Tournament of Champions and telling Cole he would do what Adam couldn’t: beat MJF.
While that is indeed a concern for Cole, the more immediate matter is the match this Sunday with the winners of the aforementioned Battle Royale: The Dark Order of Alex Reynolds and John Silver! Though they have been part of AEW since the earliest days of DYNAMITE, the pair have only challenged one time for the AEW World Tag Team titles, during the reign of Jurassic Express, and they were unsuccessful in that endeavor. Since coming into the ROH fold back in April, the duo has been embroiled in their own violent affair with The Righteous, one that culminated with victory in the first-ever Trios Fight Without Honor at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023. But none of that matters to MJF who, having some experience with both Alex Reynolds and John Silver early in his career, doesn’t have a bit of respect for either man.
Well Dark Order is quite the motivated, driven duo, one whose bond runs far deep than just the last couple months of this year, and they aim to break this championship drought on Sunday night!
Adam Cole and Maxwell Jacob Friedman have proven themselves to be a strong tag team duo, with a genuine bond that defies all logic and reason, but they are facing a team who’ve been together for over a decade, and who have a whole lot to prove to themselves and the world. Adam Cole and MJF are in for a fight, and they will have to pull out every Double Clothesline, Kangaroo Kick, and any other offense to keep these ROH World Tag Team Titles around their waists.
ROH World Television Championship Match…
Samoa Joe(c) vs. Shane Taylor
The history of Samoa Joe in Ring of Honor has been well-documented; for 645 days he reigned as ROH World Champion, elevating the title from a regional one to World Championship status, and engaging in legendary fights that proved influential to the modern wrestling scene. Even after that reign ended at FINAL BATTLE 2004, Joe remained integral to the workings of ROH, claiming the ROH Pure Championship from Jay Lethal at MANHATTAN MAYHEM, and keeping that for 112 days until he was dethroned by Nigel McGuinness. Even then, his influence on both ROH and pro wrestling at large was felt as he engaged in one of the hardest-hitting, most memorable bouts in modern wrestling history when he fought the legendary Kenta Kobashi at JOE VS. KOBASHI, and even after Joe first parted ways with ROH in March 2007, his presence loomed large over every individual who held the ROH World Championship in his wake. All World Champions were compared to Joe and his legacy, and every big man who ever entered into ROH competition was sized up against Samoa Joe’s shadow as well.
That was the world into which Shane Taylor entered when he first joined Ring of Honor in November 2014 at GLORY BY HONOR XIII, and though he reigned as a dominating ROH World TV Champion for 218 days, and a ROH World Six Man Champion for 295 days, the comparisons to Samoa Joe never ceased, but Taylor never had a chance to tackle those comparisons head-on until now.
When Samoa Joe re-entered the ROH landscape at SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2022, the fanbase was excited at the prospects of all that could be, speculating on if Joe would pursue the ROH World Championship he lost, or who he may want to lock horns with inside the squared circle. It turned out his first mission was to claim a championship that he had no opportunity to hold during his original ROH tenure simply because it did not exist until 2010, the ROH World Television Championship.
Shortly after his arrival, Joe dethroned Minoru Suzuki to claim the title, and 508 days later, he is still standing tall as the champion with 13 successful defenses to his reign! This makes Joe the second longest reigning TV champion of all time, behind Jay Lethal, and put him just above Shane Taylor on the list of successful defenses, a list Jay Lethal is also at the top of, having retained the belt on 36 occasions during his 567 days.
So it shall be this Sunday night in Chicago that two of Ring of Honor’s most dominant forces, two of the most imposing competitors in professional wrestling today, will engage in combat for the very first time, a right Taylor earned with victories over Serpentico, Christopher Daniels, and Gravity in an Eliminator Tournament. This is a fight about the championship, about legacy, and about who will be the dominant force moving forward, and for Shane Taylor, with a visit to his hometown of Cleveland looming next Saturday, it’s absolutely about being able to go home a champion!
NO DISQUALIFICATION STRAP MATCH…
“Absolute” Ricky Starks vs. “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson
Well Ricky Starks certainly did not anticipate getting the match he’s got to face on Sunday night at ALL OUT 2023, he was looking to fight a 70 year old “Dragon” in a Strap Match, but instead he got a date with a different Dragon, an “American Dragon”. This came as a shock to the AEW faithful in Chicago, as well as those watching at home, as no one was aware Danielson was cleared for competition following his injury in the Kazuchika Okada match at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023.
To his credit, Starks recognized the mistake he had made, and essentially told the world “if this is the bed I made, than I’m going to make myself comfortable”. After all, it’s a huge opportunity for the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament winner, the chance to spoil Danielson’s return to action almost two years to the date since his AEW debut at ALL OUT 2021, and continue to rise up towards the championship status he craves.
Will Sunday night be Ricky Starks night, or will it be the night “The American Dragon” roars?
Tag Team Battle…
NJPW STRONG Open Weight Champion Eddie Kingston & ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata
vs.
Blackpool Combat Club (ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta)
The bad blood between Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli has kept these two men bonded across many, many years, and even years wrestling in drastically different spheres did nothing to lessen the feelings of disdain. It’s spread from AEW to Ring of Honor and back again, putting Kingston inside Blood & Guts alongside The Golden Elite, putting him on the same side of Stadium Stampede as The Best Friends and Penta El Zero Miedo, and even putting him at odds with a man who was like a brother: Jon Moxley.
It’s been story of Eddie and his strange bedfellows, doing whatever he needs to do in order to get to Claudio, uniting with whoever has motivates that align with his, and hoping it leads to ending Castagnoli. This Sunday night in Chicago that means uniting with ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata to face the ROH World Champion and the man Shibata dethroned to claim that Ring of Honor title, the only 2-Time Pure Champion in ROH history, Wheeler Yuta!
The sad reality is that the animosity between Claudio and Kingston will probably never be satiated as long as both men are breathing. It’s shattered promotional boundaries, it’s bled across years and years, and sustained itself even when both men were on opposite sides of the wrestling world. Given that these men were once friends, roommates even, it’s a shame it’s gotten to this point, but that familiarity has bred contempt like none other. Is this a case of mutually assured destruction? Can either survive their own hate?
Eight-Man Fight…
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) and The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
vs.
BULLET CLUB GOLD (Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, Jay White, & Juice Robinson)
It may come as a shock in 2023, but in 2020 The Young Bucks and FTR actually united on two occasions ahead of their first clash at FULL GEAR 2020. Neither ended up as positive moments for the four men, they lost both the eight and ten man tags in which they participated, and as history as shown, they’ve since fought it out in three landmark bouts. The first won by The Young Bucks at FULL GEAR 2020, the second by FTR on the April 6, 2022 edition of DYNAMITE, and the third also by FTR at ALL IN: LONDON just a week ago. Though the brothers Jackson walked away from the match without shaking the hands of Dax and Cash, a common foe had brought them together once again this Sunday night at ALL O UT 2023.
BULLET CLUB GOLD has been a thorn in the side of FTR since the inception of COLLISION, and have also inserted themselves in Elite business time and again, including Kenny uniting with Ibushi and Hangman Page in a losing effort to Jay White, Juice Robinson, and Takeshita at ALL IN: LONDON. Now all the worlds collide as FTR and The Young Bucks try to put aside their differences to fight BC GOLD live on pay-per-view! Is it possible? Or will BC GOLD celebrate in the Windy City tonight!
ALL OUT 2023: ZERO HOUR…
-AEW World Trios Championship Match: The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens, Daddy Ass, & Max Caster)(c) vs. Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, & Satnam Singh
-ROH Women’s World Champion Athena, Diamante, & Mercedes Martinez vs. Hikaru Shida, Skye Blue, and Willow Nightingale
-Over Budget Charity Battle Royale: Winner gives $50K to the charity of their choice
ALL OUT 2023 emanates from the United Center in Chicago, IL this Sunday night, and live on pay-per-view beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT! Make a point to check out the official AEW YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFN4JkGP_bVhAdBsoV9xftA/videos) to get up to date with highlights from the lastest episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the CONTROL CENTER, highlights from ALL IN: LONDON, and more to get you ready for ALL OUT 2023!
Tonight’s AEW COLLISION was broadcast live from the United Center in Chicago, IL
Nigel McGuinness and Kevin Kelly were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Saturday night and you know what that means! Saturday night’s alright for fighting!
Tony Schiavone kicked off the show in the ring, introducing “Absolute” Ricky Starks, who had Big Bill with him!
Ricky Starks: “Well, here we are again, huh? I find myself back at square one. It seems that every time I climb up the hill I get dragged back down. But I get better. I am so tired of having to start over. But I do it because I show up and I show out and I deliver every single time.
“No matter how many people try to suck the life out of me, it doesn’t work. You cannot put a lid on a boiling pot because I will overflow. I am tired and sick of having to start over. Bill, I want you to know something. You are a hell of a dude, for real. I’m telling you from my heart, I believe in you. And I believe in myself.
“I’m so angry and I want to cry but I’m a man about it. And I will do what I need to do. You know it’s funny. I sat at home and watched All In, one of the biggest wrestling pay-per-view shows of all time on my couch. There wasn’t time for me? Because I got suspended for whipping Ricky Steamboat. And that is why I’m challenging Ricky Steamboat to a strap match at All Out.
“I am not letting a moment pass me by tomorrow night. That is why I’m calling my shot. So, I want an answer from the Dragon right now.”
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat walked to the ring with a vengeful look!
Steamboat: “Let me say something. What happened to you and me, Ricky, you took a couple of cheap shots on me, and I went down. I hear on social media that Ricky Starks wants to have a strap match with the Dragon. No disqualification. You talk a good game. You can perform in the ring when you want to. But I have a contract. I got a hold of AEW legal, let’s do it old school with a dragon. Let’s make sure the pen talks and not the mouth.”
Steamboat handed a contract to Tony Schiavone and told him to show Starks.
Steamboat: “Sign it!”
Starks put his signature on the contract.
Steamboat said they know him as the Dragon. But, he said, “They also know this guy.”
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson came out to the ring!
“My God, Ricky Starks what have you signed?” asked Kevin Kelly.
Bryan Danielson signed the contract!
Starks: “It’s supposed to be Steamboat.”
Danielson: “It says ‘The Dragon’ on the contract.”
“Looks like we’ve got ourselves a No DQ Strap Match for All Out,” said Tony Schiavone.
Starks: “Well, if this is the bed that I lay in, I’m going to make sure I’m real comfortable.”
Steamboat: “We just wanted to make sure you got what you wanted. You got your strap match!”
Danielson smiled at Starks across the ring.
Jon Moxley was backstage with words for Orange Cassidy!
Moxley: “Be the rock upon which the waves crash and eventually even the raging seas fall still around you. Or in other words, be Orange Cassidy, International Champion, the player that no one can checkmate. These idiots who call him a cosplayer wrestler, okay, in that case, who did they beat?
“When you’ve been doing this as long as I have been at this level, there’s always another bigger show, you wrestle the greats, the Chris Jerichos, the Bryan Danielsons, sometimes you win, sometimes they win. But there’s always another opportunity.
“This is a chance that only comes once in a lifetime because Orange Cassidy is on the run of a lifetime. I can smell BS from a mile away and I know the real thing when I see it. And Orange Cassidy looks like the real thing to me. And tomorrow we’ll find out.
“I am a technician of the highest order. My specialty, I’m going to target your soul, your heart, your guts, your endurance, your will to survive. A lot of these guys think they want to be wrestlers, but they don’t really want to be great wrestlers. Orange Cassidy, when it gets hard, and it’s really gonna get hard, will you look for a way out? I hope not. A lot of people believe in you Orange Cassidy. This Sunday at All Out, don’t disappoint us.”
AEW World Trios Championship Match!
The Acclaimed (c.) vs. Daddy Magic, Cool Hand Ang, & Daniel Garcia (with Jake Hager)!
Angelo Parker ate some right hands from Anthony Bowens. Garcia tagged in, as did Daddy Ass. Garcia cracked Billy Gunn with a chop across the chest. Billy Gunn and Bowens dropped double elbows on Garcia. Garcia put the Dragon Tamer on Bowens after some help from Parker and Menard. Billy Gunn broke up the hold.
Max Caster tagged in and cleaned house on the opposition. Caster connected with a cross body press on Garcia for a near fall. Garcia fired back with a uranage. Menard grabbed a tag and collided with Caster. Billy Gunn tagged in and smacked Menard with the Fame Asser. Caster soared down with the Mic Drop and pinned Menard!
Lexy Nair was backstage interviewing the Dark Order ahead of their ROH World Tag Team Title match against champs Adam Cole and MJF tomorrow at All Out!
John Silver: “Adam Cole used to be our best friend, but you threw it away to team with MJF?!”
Alex Reynolds: “And speaking of MJF, not a lot of people know this, but I actually trained MJF to become a pro wrestler. And I told him that if he wanted to succeed, he’d have to do whatever it took. And he did and I’m proud of him. But only one of us took that advice. But the Dark Order needs those titles more than you. Tomorrow night we do whatever it takes to beat you, because we have to!”
Tony Schiavone interviewed Ricky Starks backstage!
Starks: “Here’s the deal. Once again, every obstacle they throw in my way I knock it out of the park. Bryan Danielson, tomorrow night I’m going to show you why I am exactly what I say I am, and that is ‘Absolute’ Ricky Starks!”
Aussie Open—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis
vs.
Nick Wayne & Komander (with Alex Abrahantes)!
Davis charged at Nick Wayne. Davis whipped Wayne into the turnbuckles. Fletcher tagged in but Wayne knocked Kyle down with a European Uppercut. Komander and Nick Wayne hit Kyle with a double dropkick.
Mark Davis tagged in, but Komander stretched him in the Octopus submission. Davis escaped and tagged Fletcher. Aussie Open used their tandem offense on Komander to take control of the match.
Nick Wayne frog splashed Fletcher for a near fall. Fletcher nailed Wayne with a half and half suplex. Davis spiked Komander with a piledriver. Aussie Open crushed Wayne with the Coriolis and pinned him!
“Color me impressed,” said Nigel.
Tony Schiavone interviewed Nick Wayne in the ring after the match.
Nick Wayne: “I’m frustrated. I lost the match. But what I’m more frustrated about is why Darby Allin forgave AR Fox for what he did to me.”
Darby Allin walked onto the ramp.
Darby: “Nick, stop, just stop. Please stop. I’m going to explain why I forgave AR Fox. I’ve known Nick since he’s been eight years old. His father trained me. I’m going to explain why I forgave AR Fox. You know what happened between your father and me. You were there. There was a time I didn’t talk to your father, your mother, or you for three years.
“I got into a big fight with him, and I burnt that bridge. And before I could make things right, he passed away. And I have to live with that every single day, Nick. I wish I could have made things right. AR Fox is one of my trainers as well. And I refuse to live with the hate. I had to let it go. And that’s why I forgave him so fast. So please find it in your heart to forgive him.
“This Sunday at All Out I am fighting for the TNT Championship. It’d be an honor if you were in my corner for that match.”
Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus walked onto the ramp!
Christian Cage: “Nick Wayne. It was rude of me last week to speak so much about your father when I forgot to ask what your mom’s name is. Now I couldn’t help but notice her sitting at ringside. I know she’s not here tonight, so it was a missed opportunity on my part. So perhaps I should just slide into her DM’s and see if maybe we can change that.
“Now speaking of your parents, Nick, did I hear you right Darby? You didn’t speak to his parents for three years? So, let me get this straight, Darby, Nick Wayne is your personal pity project? You’re using him to justify that you’re actually a decent human being? Maybe you should take after me because I don’t pretend to be something that I’m not.
“Now in case where we’re at, Darby. We’re in Chicago. And these people can smell a loser a mile away. And you, my friend, are a loser in life and that will never change. Nick, if I can give you any advice it’s this. Carry a towel with you tomorrow to ringside because you’re going to need to throw that into the ring to stop this match. It’s going to be a massacre at the hands of not just my monster, but the most complete big man in the business today. And when it’s all said and done, I, we will be standing at the top of the mountain as the face of TNT, now and forever.”
Wheeler Yuta and ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli were backstage!
Claudio: “Congratulations Eddie. You beat Wheeler Yuta. You came back from Japan, and you beat the youngest member of the Blackpool Combat Club.”
Claudio smashed Yuta with a European Uppercut.
Claudio: “But I have a newsflash for you. We beat Wheeler every day of the week. You know what the difference is? Wheeler gets back up. He doesn’t stay down and moan like you do Eddie. Eddie, I thought Japan would change you. I was wrong. Eddie, I thought I couldn’t lose any more respect for you. But you proved me wrong.”
Lexy Nair interviewed AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya and Ruby Soho backstage!
Saraya: “I’m awesome. I won in front of 81,000 at Wembley but now I’m stuck in Chicago.”
Ruby: “Kris Statlander has never beaten me in the entire time I’ve been in AEW. And don’t worry about the Outcasts. We’re going to bring not one, but two titles back to the Outcasts. And Toni will be fine. Tonight, we’re going to drop the homegrowns like we’ve done the past few months.”
Tony Schiavone brought NBA Hall of Famer “The Worm” Dennis Rodman out to the ring!
Schiavone asked Rodzilla what he was doing here in AEW. Before Rodman could answer, Jeff Jarrett’s music began to play!
Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, and Jay Lethal came to the ring!
Jeff Jarrett: “The reality is we all have something in common. Satnam Singh is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Jay Lethal, you’ve been a champion since day one. Dennis, you have too! Sonjay Dutt, wherever he goes, he strives for world peace. And Dennis, so do you. And I can’t forget Karen. She looks great in a dress and so do you!
“But all kidding aside, Dennis when it gets right down to it, I was a leader, and you were an integral part of one of the greatest factions of all time. And it was too sweet. And we used to say it was for life. You want to run with the bulls Why don’t you join this family?”
Rodman: “Chicago, it’s a great day to be in Chicago. It’s my first time here in 13 years. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be here but I’m loving the fact you guys are loving AEW!”
Jeff Jarrett: “Don’t make me put Satnam on your ass. I want an answer and I want it now.”
Rodman: “When I was playing basketball, Shaq was as big at Satnam, and I whipped his ass.”
Sonjay told the rest of his crew to get out of the ring so he could talk to Rodman alone.
Sonjay: “Let’s talk, Dennis. Now that these guys are out of here, there’s no funny business involved. So, what do you say?”
Rodman threw Sonjay to the mat! The Acclaimed came out with Billy Gunn!
Bowens: “Hey, double jackass, if you want a fight, how about you three get your asses in the ring right now and fight the Acclaimed?”
Billy Gunn: “There is no way Daddy Ass is wrestling twice in one night. But I’ll tell you this. We have nothing to do tomorrow. So, All Out tomorrow, we’ll put the Trios Titles on the line tomorrow with Dennis Rodman in our corner.”
Trios Match!
The Outcasts vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., Hikaru Shida, & TBS Champ Kris Statlander!
Statlander shoved Toni Storm to the mat. Kris caught Toni and slammed her. Britt Baker tagged in and walloped Toni with a sling blade.
Shida tagged in, as did Ruby. Saraya and Ruby double teamed Shida. Statlander tagged in and cleaned house on the Outcasts. Statlander nailed Saraya with a running knee strike. Statlander powerslammed Saraya. Britt and Ruby exchanged strikes in the center of the ring. Britt blasted Ruby with a neck breaker. As the ref was distracted, Saraya sprayed Baker in the eyes with paint and Ruby pinned Baker.
Powerhouse Hobbs vs. GPA!
Hobbs nailed GPA with a spinebuster and then pinned him!
“The Redeemer” Miro came out to the ring!
Hobbs and Miro brawled in the ring, and then on the arena floor! They’ll face each other tomorrow at All Out!
Main Event Time!
AEW World Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood (with Cash Wheeler)
vs.
“Switchblade” Jay White (with Bullet Club Gold)!
Jim Ross joined the broadcast booth for the main event.
Jay White had Dax in a headlock. Dax escaped and chopped away at Switchblade. White retreated to the floor when Dax was looking for a submission.
Switchblade suplexed Dax into the turnbuckles. Jay White stomped a mudhole into Dax. Switchblade DDT’ed Dax for a near fall.
Harwood knocked down Jay White with a short arm clothesline. Dax superplexed Jay White!
“Jay White is in agony,” said Kevin Kelly.
Dax went for the diving headbutt, but Jay White dodged it. Dax followed up with a German Suplex and then a brainbuster for a two-count. Jay used a dragon screw leg whip on Dax. He followed up with a suplex to Dax. Jay rocked Dax with a Death Valley Driver for a near fall.
Dax stuffed Jay with a piledriver for a near fall! Jay planted Dax with a uranage. Jay followed up with a sleeper suplex. Jay went for the Blade Runner, but Dax countered with a slingshot powerbomb for a near fall. Dax put Jay White in the Sharpshooter, but Jay White grabbed the ropes. Bullet Club Gold pulled Jay out of the ring, realizing he was in trouble. Dax got out of the ring and Jay White shocked him with a Sling Blade on the arena floor! Back in the ring, Jay White clocked Dax with a Blade Runner and pinned him.
After the match, Bullet Club Gold surrounded Cash Wheeler! The Young Bucks sprinted to the ring and chased off Bullet Club Gold! The Young Bucks offered their hands to FTR, but FTR walked away.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!
This Sunday order AEW All Out 2023 from the United Center in Chicago, IL, live on pay-per-view at 8PM ET/5PM PT!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from the NOW Arena in Chicago, IL!
Yourbroadcast team was Excalibur, “The Ocho” Chris Jericho, and Tony Schiavone!
It’s Friday night and know what that means!
ROH Tag Team Battle Royale!
The winners face ROH World Tag Team Champions MJF & Adam Cole at All Out this Sunday.
Teams included:
-Dark Order’s John Silver & Alex Reynolds
-Aussie Open
-Best Friends
-Action Andretti & Darius Martin
-The Outrunners
-The Butcher & The Blade
-Gates of Agony’s Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona
-The Hardys—Matt & Jeff
-The Righteous
-Ryan Nemeth & Peter Avalon!
Butcher blasted the Outrunners with a double clothesline. Aussie Open were on the floor, waiting for things to clear out a bit before entering the match.
Vincent nailed Matt and Jeff Hardy with punches to the head. Aussie Open were softening up the competitors on the outside of the ring, pulling Bishop Kaun out and whipping him into the guardrail. Trent tossed Peter Avalon over the top.
Kyle Fletcher dropkicked Toa Liona, eliminating him from the match. Dutch hurled Butcher over the top rope. Vincent pulled Matt Hardy out of the ring, and then the Dark Order eliminated Jeff Hardy.
Fletcher and Davis sandwiched Chuck Taylor with double clotheslines and then threw him out of the ring. Trent, John Silver, and Aussie Open were the last four remaining in the match. Trent tried to fight off both members of Aussie Open, but they cracked him with double forearms. Trent hit a half and half suplex on Davis. Trent pulled Davis over the top. John Silver blindsided Trent and eliminated him!
“Dark Order with a huge opportunity,” said Excalibur.
After the match, Aussie Open approached the broadcast booth and trash talked Jericho. They attacked Jericho. Sammy Guevara came out with the baseball bat, evening up the odds. Aussie Open retreated.
Nick Wayne & AAA Mega Champion El Hijo Del Vikingo
vs.
Kip Sabian & Gringo Loco!
Gringo Loco and Vikingo chain wrestled, countering one another’s flurry of offense. Nick Wayne tagged in, as did Kip Sabian.
Nick Wayne nailed Kip with a flying European uppercut. Penelope Ford jumped on the apron to distract the ref. Kip hit a moonsault to Nick Wayne on the arena floor.
Kip crashed into Nick in the corner with a cannonball. Gringo Loco tried for a moonsault but Nick Wayne countered with his knees. Vikingo tagged in and caught Kip in the face with a corkscrew kick. Vikingo rocked Gringo Loco with an avalanche poison rana! Nick nailed Kip with Wayne’s World! Vikingo used the 630 senton on Gringo Loco and scored the pin!
“I’ve never seen anybody like El Hijo Del Vikingo in my life,” said Tony Schiavone.
Bryan Keith vs. “Hangman” Adam Page!
Hangman booted Bryan in the face. Page charged at Bryan in the corner and then chopped away at him. Bryan Keith turned things around with a suplex throw to Page.
Page sent Keith across the ring with a fallaway slam. Keith clipped Page with a kick, but Hangman fired back with a Buckshot Lariat. Hangman grabbed the victory with a pin.
Strong: “This is between me and Adam. Adam knows what he did. If you don’t know that that is, I can’t help you. I don’t appreciate the fact that you’re questioning me like I’m on trial, Renee. Let’s go, fellas. Why don’t you ask Adam about him, since you’re so concerned.”
Roderick Strong walked away with the Kingdom!
Main Event Time!
Skye Blue & Willow Nightingale
vs.
Taya Valkyrie & Anna Jay!
Willow grabbed in inside cradle on Taya for a near fall. Willow suplexed Taya and then splashed her in the corner. Skye Blue tagged in and cracked Taya with an elbow strike.
Taya nailed Willow with the backstabber after Anna distracted Willow from the apron. Skye tagged in and blasted Anna with a shotgun dropkick. Anna blocked a thrust kick. Skye connected with a diving cross body to Anna for a near fall.
Skye rocked Anna with a knee strike for a two count. Willow walloped Taya with a spinebuster. Taya speared Skye Blue. Willow fired back with a pounce to Taya!
Anna inadvertently hit Taya with a thrust kick. Skye wasted no time and used the Code Blue to pin Anna Jay. Taya blindsided Skye, not taking the loss easily. Willow chased Taya out of the ring.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!
Don’t miss AEW Collision live on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the United Center in Chicago, IL, featuring:
-AEW World Trios Championship Match: The Acclaimed (c.) vs. Daddy Magic, Cool Hand Ang, & Daniel Garcia!
-Trios Match: The Outcasts vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., Hikaru Shida, & TBS Champ Kris Statlander!
-AEW World Tag Team Champ Dax Harwood vs. “Switchblade” Jay White!
– “Absolute” Ricky Starks challenges Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat to a Strap Match at All Out!
-NBA Hall of Famer “The Worm” Dennis Rodman returns to the United Center!
This Sunday order AEW All Out 2023 from the United Center in Chicago, IL, live on pay-per-view at 8PM ET/5PM PT!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from NOW Arena in Chicago, IL!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
Jon Moxley vs. Komander (with Alex Abrahantes)!
Moxley wiped out Komander with a big boot as the bell rang. Moxley jabbed and chopped at Komander in the corner turnbuckles. Komander fired back with head scissors. He jumped off the top rope and connected with a high cross body press to Moxley on the arena floor.
“He caught all of Moxley,” said Taz.
Back in the ring, Moxley dug his nails into Komander, clawing at his back. Komander missed a Cancun Tornado, as Moxley moved out of the way. Komander countered a powerbomb with a facebuster to Mox.
Komander nailed Moxley with clotheslines, but Moxley didn’t budge. Finally, Komander connected with a dropkick to the inside of Moxley’s knee and then DDT’ed him. Komander cracked Mox with a lung blower for a near fall.
Komander walked the ropes and jumped off with a 450 but Mox countered by raising his knees. Mox spiked Komander with a piledriver for a near fall. Moxley pounded Komander with the hammer and anvil elbows and then applied the rear naked choke, forcing Komander to tap out!
Footage was shown from backstage at All In! AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR were talking with the Young Bucks when Bullet Club Gold interrupted.
And it was announced that Tony Khan made it official!
This Sunday at All Out, it’ll be an 8-Man Tag Match!
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR & the Young Bucks vs. Bullet Club Gold!
Renee Paquette interviewed Toni Storm backstage!
Storm: “Don’t get me wrong. I’ve very happy for Saraya but she went completely off script and now I have no title, no friends. Ruby hates me. Wimbley went tits up! I can’t trust anyone. I can’t Saraya. I can’t trust Ruby!”
Chris Jericho came out to the ring alone!
Jericho: “I will never forget the show at Wembley, but there is something I would like to forget. And that is how I treated my brother, Sammy Guevara, after the match. Sammy if you’re back there, please come out now.”
Sammy Guevara walked down to the ring.
Jericho: “I know I pushed you after my match. I was frustrated after losing to Will Ospreay. I should have never taken it out on you. I didn’t know if you did everything on your end to help me, but watching back, I saw what you did. We all lie, cheat, and steal here, and you did that, and I want to apologize for not thinking you did everything you could have done.”
Sammy: “I told you Chris, I always have your back, and a little push isn’t going to break us up.”
Jericho: “I’m still replaying the Ospreay match in my head, questioning what I could have done to win it. Maybe you could have hit him harder with the baseball bat.”
Sammy: “When I was watching it, Chris, I thought in my head, maybe if you hit him a little harder with the Judas Effect, maybe you could have gotten it done. Maybe.”
Jericho: “Sometimes when I ask you to do something, it doesn’t turn out like I envisioned it. That’s all.”
Sammy: “Maybe if I wasn’t so worried about having your back, maybe I could have wrestled at Wembley.”
Jericho: “Maybe if you continue to follow my advice, then maybe next year you will wrestle on that show next year at Wembley Stadium.”
Sammy: “I’ll follow that advice and maybe I won’t lose next year at Wembley Stadium like you did.”
Sammy threw his microphone down and had a stare down with Chris Jericho.
Jericho: “Hold on. Let’s not say something that we’re going to regret later. We’ve been together since day one here in AEW. So, let’s get back to what we do best. Let’s reunite Le Sex Gods. Next week let’s start on the road to becoming the AEW World Tag Team Champions.”
Sammy and Jericho hugged and smiled.
NJPW Strong Openweight Championship Match!
Eddie Kingston (c.) vs. BCC’s Wheeler Yuta!
Kingston and Yuta locked up. Yuta slapped Kingston. Yuta began to work over Kingston’s taped up elbow. Moxley and Claudio were watching the match on a monitor backstage.
Kingston used an exploder suplex on Yuta for a near fall. Yuta blocked the spinning back fist and fired back with a German Suplex for a two-count on Eddie.
Kingston chopped Yuta until Yuta blocked one. Yuta nailed Eddie with repeated elbows. Kingston came back with a half and half suplex. Eddie rocked Yuta with two spinning backfists and pinned Yuta!
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli walked to the ring and helped Yuta to his feet. Claudio didn’t look at Kingston once, showing a complete lack of respect.
Footage was shown from backstage after the main event of All In: London. Adam Cole and MJF were talking. MJF said Tony Khan informed him that there’d be a battle royal on Rampage to determine who will face Adam Cole and MJF for the ROH World Tag Team Titles at All Out this Sunday in Chicago. MJF also said there was going to be a tournament kicking off next week to decide who gets to face MJF for the Triple B at Dynamite: Grand Slam on September 20th. But first, MJF was going to have a week off to spend some time in Paris.
Adam Cole: “If anyone’s earned a week off, champ, it’s you. I love ya, man.”
Renee Paquette was interviewing Sammy Guevara backstage when Don Callis interrupted!
Callis: “It’s hard being Jericho’s friend, isn’t it? Don’t you find it challenging having to deal with a sociopath like that?”
Sammy: “Stop talking, I know what you’re up to. I have a family. I didn’t leave my family to come to Chicago to come talk to you. So, get lost!”
ROH World Tag Team Champion Adam Cole came out to the ring!
Adam Cole: “I lost in the main event at Wembley, and that hurt, but I know at some point I’ll get another shot for the AEW World Title. Now concerning my good friend, MJF, his neck is pretty banged up. But I promise you this Sunday at All Out live in Chicago, MJF is going to be ready to go.”
Roderick Strong came to the ring with the Kingdom! “Adam!” yelled Strong.
Strong: “So you care more about the fact that Max’s neck is bad than you care about my neck? Is my neck health not important to you?”
Cole: “This is getting absurd.”
Mike Bennett: “Let me take you back 2010, Ring of Honor. It’s a 21 year old Adam Cole versus a 25 year old Mike Bennett. We got each other signed to Ring of Honor that night and I felt like we were bonded for life. You were at my wedding, man. You hosted my bachelor party the night before.
“We picked each other up during our worst moments and celebrated during our best moments. But you forgot what we meant to you.”
Matt Taven: “Shut your mouth, Cole. This is just who you are. You needed us. You needed the Kingdom to take over Ring of Honor and once you did you jumped ship to join the Bullet Club. Then you went to Florida and surrounded yourself with all our friends. And now you want to come here and say you’re a changed man? You’re a liar. You’re still the same leech. When you look at pictures of the past, do you ignore all the people around you? Because I think you believe you’re standing there alone. Because that’s the only person you care about.”
Cole: “You know for a fact that that’s not true. If I made you feel that way, I am so sorry. We were all close at one point. But the three of you need to accept that not only is Max my friend, but he’s also my best friend.”
Strong: “I can’t accept that. I’m entering that Grand Slam Tournament and I’m going to do what you can’t do. I’m going to beat MJF and become the new AEW World Champion and I’m going to do that with my real friends in the Kingdom by my side.”
Cole: “You know your neck is not in good shape.”
Strong: “Oh, Cole is pretending to care about me. I don’t need a neck that’s 100 percent to win. Bad neck or not, I’m going to break everyone’s back and win that tournament because I am a wrestling legend!”
Baker bludgeoned Sakura with forearms and then took her down with a sling blade. Shafir distracted the ref while Nyla hit Baker with a knee.
Rose, Shafir, and Sakura employed quick tags to work over Baker in their corner, isolating her. Statlander grabbed a tag and cleaned house, hammering Shafir. Statlander slammed Shafir onto the mat from off her shoulders. Baker inadvertently connected with a thrust kick to Shida. Nyla chokeslammed Baker.
Statlander climbed to the top and jumped onto the pile of opponents on the arena floor! Kris nailed Shafir with the Wednesday Night Fever tombstone piledriver and pinned Shafir. After the match, Ruby Soho jumped into the ring, ambushed Kris, and leveled her with the No Future kick! Ruby walked away with Statlander’s TBS championship!
It was announced that Shane Taylor will be facing Samoa Joe for the Ring of Honor World TV Championship this Sunday at All Out!
The AEW World Trios Champions the Acclaimed and Daddy Ass came out to the ring!
Daddy Ass: “Chicago, I have some really good news I’d like to share with you. Daddy Ass is back. Last Sunday was a really good day for us. At Wembley, we became Trios Champions.”
Max Caster: “80,000 people witnessed us capture the Trios titles. But we thought it was fitting that we come back to this crowd in Chicago and promise that we will lift these titles with pride as we dominate the trios division. I wanted to start with a ribbon cutting ceremony.”
Anthony Bowens: “There is a new era in the trios division and this is our house now. Chicago, welcome to the House of Ass. And in this house, we wear pink, which is why Billy, if you take a look at these titles, these are kind of dull. So, Max and I have a little surprise for you.”
Bowens and Caster revealed brand new custom AEW World Trios Championship belts with a hot pink leather strap.
Bowens: “Saturday night, live on Collision, we’re going to defend the Trios Titles!”
Main Event Time!
AEW International Championship Match!
Orange Cassidy (c.) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo (with Alex Abrahantes)!
The winner faces Jon Moxley this Sunday at All Out on pay-per-view.
Orange and Penta had a stale mate early in the match, each countering one another’s moves. Orange tried for a tope, but Penta caught him, and press slammed him into the steel barricade!
Cassidy finally connected with a tope suicida. Cassidy went for the Orange Punch, but Penta countered with a thrust kick. Penta flipped over the top rope and crashed right down onto Orange’s hand!
Orange countered a suplex with a Stun Dog Millionaire and then a DDT on Penta for a near fall. Penta punted Orange in the ribs. Penta followed up with a backstabber for a two-count on the champ.
Penta chopped down the champ with thrust kicks, and continued the assault on Orange’s right arm, looking to neutralize the threat of the Orange Punch. Orange and Penta traded Canadian Destroyers!
“What the hell are we watching? My God! It’s amazing,” said Tony Schiavone.
Penta blasted Orange with the Made in Japan for a near fall!
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Orange nailed Penta with the Beach Break for a near fall. Orange went for the punch, but Penta countered with a thrust kick to Orange’s hand. Cassidy ate a thrust kick on the apron. Penta smashed Orange with the Made in Japan on the ring apron! Somehow Orange kicked out of the pin attempt at the last possible moment.
Penta stomped on Orange’s right arm. Penta pulled back on Orange’s arm. Penta crushed Orange with the Fear Factor for a near fall. Orange held on, cradled Penta, and pinned him!
“Penta was stunned that Orange Cassidy was able to kick out of the Fear Factory and Orange took that moment to score the victory,” said Excalibur.
Orange: “I don’t usually like to talk but yet here we are. I am so tired. My body hurts. And every single time I have a title defense, the backpack gets a little heavier. But I’m here. I’m wrestling. I’m defending the International Championship because this means everything to me. This is what AEW is. It’s about putting a person that was told, ‘You’ll never do anything,’ I’m the champion.
“And I will continue to defend my championship for as long as I want and there is nothing anyone can do to take it from me. Jon Moxley, you’d better bring more than a fork. Because I am ‘Freshly Squeezed’ Orange Cassidy and I do not have a catch phrase.”
Moxley stormed down to the ring! Moxley shoved Orange and Orange slapped Moxley! Moxley flipped off Orange and walked away.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c!
Coming off of the biggest night in All Elite Wrestling history, when over 80,000 fans in Wembley Stadium witnessed ALL IN: LONDON, AEW is right back on the road to pay-per-view! ALL OUT 2023 is this Sunday night, and though a few key bouts are on the books, there is so much to be determined and that begins this Wednesday at the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, home of last year’s ALL OUT event, as well as so many other key nights in AEW history! We know both the TBS Championship and the TNT Championship will be on the line, we know Miro will collide with Powerhouse Hobbs, and that Kenny Omega will face Konosuke Takeshita, but what else will come to be? Just a few days removed from a vicious Stadium Stampede, Orange Cassidy will defend his AEW International Championship against Penta El Zero Miedo, and to the winner goes the spoils of fighting Jon Moxley on Sunday night!
From the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, DYNAMITE comes to the world beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to get caught up on highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as ALL IN: LONDON, plus the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and more!
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo
It’s been over two years since the last time these to men clashed in singles competition, but with a championship spot at ALL OUT 2023 on the line, and Orange Cassidy requesting a title match for Wednesday even after what went down at ALL IN: LONDON, “Freshly Squeezed” and Penta El Zero Miedo will meet once again!
Now the sheer fact these two men coexisted as allies for the last several weeks was rather surprising, after all The Death Triangle was essentially born at the expense of The Best Friends, and Cassidy has had his own share of problems with Penta’s ally PAC over the years, but in the face of a shared foe, that being The Blackpool Combat Club, several unlikely allies came together at Wembley Stadium. Not only did they come together, but OC, Penta, Eddie Kingston, Chuck Taylor, and Trent Beretta were victorious over Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Ortiz, Mike Santana, and ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli. That win came when Orange drilled Claudio with an Orange Punch, a glass covered Orange Punch it should be noted, but the fight absolutely took a toll on every man involved.
And yet here we are, with two of the men who went through hell on Sunday night, facing each other with not just the AEW International Championship at stake, but also a spot at ALL OUT 2023 hanging in the balance as the winner of this will meet 3-Time AEW World Champion Jon Moxley with the title at stake!
Every man in the Stadium Stampeded experienced their own personal hell at ALL IN: LONDON, but Orange Cassidy’s body has been through it ten-fold over the course of his championship reign. He has taken on every challenge, he has requested fights when none were scheduled, and gone beyond just title defenses into Trios Championship challenges, multi-man fights, and all of it has worn the man down. Just look at how Orange collapsed following that pin on Claudio; it’s hard not to question if he has anything left for this fight, much less a PPV bout with Jon Moxley provided he survives the wrath of Penta
And as for the former AEW World Tag Team & World Trios Champion, he would love to score his first singles championship in All Elite Wrestling, and get another shot at Moxley after their Three Way with Trent Beretta at the beginning of August, not to mention their AEW World Championship fight from October of last year. This bout is intriguing enough due to its ramifications for ALL OUT 2023, but add in the question of what condition both men are in after Stadium Stampede, and it gets even more so! Do not take your eyes off this fight Wednesday night because you know Jon Moxley’s eyes are going to be locked on it as well!
AND NEW…ISH
Last Sunday night in London was a mixed bag for Adam Cole; he and new best friend MJF were successful in capturing the ROH World Tag Team Championship from Aussie Open, but Adam was less so later in the night when failed to defeat that same bro-chacho in their AEW World Championship bout. Despite both Cole and MJF sinking a bit into the depths in their attempts to best the other, their bond managed to survive the battle, and the night actually ended with a hug between the two.
Again…mixed; so how does Cole rebound from the a night that started so high but ended so low? We will find out this Wednesday on DYNAMITE when Adam Cole will be live and in-person to talk about ALL IN: LONDON and what is next!
Straight from 80,000+ at Wembley Stadium for ALL IN: LONDON to the NOW Arena in the Chicago suburbs, DYNAMITE kicks off the home stretch to ALL OUT 2023! With two championship matches already set, plus two huge singles matches, Orange Cassidy will defend his AEW International Championship against Penta El Zero Miedo do see who fights Jon Moxley on Sunday night, and we will see what else falls into place with AEW World Champion & ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF, his championship partner Adam Cole, the brand new AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya, and the other men & women who comprise a roster of the best professional wrestlers on the planet today!
DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so drop by the official AEW YouTube channel to get caught up on highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and more!
AEW presented All In: London live from Wembley Stadium today!
It’s Sunday and you know what that means!
The Zero Hour portion of the show kicked off! Your announce team for Zero Hour was Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, & Taz!
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match!
Aussie Open (c.)—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis
vs.
Better Than You BayBay—AEW World Champion MJF & Adam Cole!
Aussie Open blindsided Cole and MJF at the start of the match. They bashed Cole and MJF with the collider outside the ring!
Davis planted MJF and splashed him for a two count. Fletcher whipped Cole into the steel guardrail. MJF was looking for the kangaroo kick, but Davis clipped him from behind. Cole made the tag and kicked Davis in the jaw, and then dished one out to Fletcher.
Fletcher charged at Cole and Cole superkicked him. MJF and Cole went for the double clothesline, but Davis pulled Fletcher out of the ring. Aussie Open pulled out Cole and swarmed him before MJF could do his dive. Aussie Open nailed MJF with the Aussie Arrow for a near fall.
MJF connected with the kangaroo kick on Aussie Open! MJF and Cole hit the double clothesline on Kyle Fletcher and Cole pinned Fletcher!
Your new ROH World Tag Team Champions…Better Than You BayBay!
Seven-Time Women’s World Champion Mercedes Mone was shown watching the action in the stadium seats!
Jim Ross joined the broadcast booth for the second half of Zero Hour!
FTW Championship Match!
Jack Perry (c.) vs. HOOK!
Jack Perry arrived in a limo. Jack Perry exited the vehicle and stood on the roof, holding up his FTW Championship. Hook walked up the ramp and the two began to brawl! Hook hurled Jack Perry across the hood of the vehicle. Hook sent Jack Perry hard into the open door of the limo. Jack Perry suplexed Hook on top of the car!
Jack Perry channeled RVD and used a Rolling Thunder on Hook on the hood of the car. Hook planted Perry with a fisherman buster suplex onto the front windshield! Jack Perry fired back with a draping DDT on Hook. Jack Perry teased going Coast-to-Coast but then gave the packed stadium the double middle fingers instead.
Perry crunched Hook with three German Suplexes. Hook rallied back with a German Suplex of his own for a near fall. He hit a second German on Perry! Hook T-boned Perry into the turnbuckles! Perry nailed Hook with a Tiger Driver for a two-count. Hook dodged a moonsault. Hook bashed Perry with a trashcan on the skull. Hook locked in Red Rum and forced Jack Perry to tap out!
Your new FTW Champion…HOOK!
Nigel McGuinness joined the broadcast booth for the next match.
The broadcast team to start the pay-per-view portion of the event was Excalibur, Jim Ross, and Nigel McGuinness.
“Real World Championship” Match!
CM Punk (c.) vs. Samoa Joe!
Samoa Joe and CM Punk locked up, with Joe muscling Punk into the turnbuckles. Punk smiled as he put Joe in a headlock. Samoa Joe slid out of the ring and chopped at Punk. Back in the ring, Samoa Joe rattled CM Punk with chops and a headbutt.
CM Punk dumped Samoa Joe on his head with a hurracanrana. CM Punk tried for a dive over the top rope, but Samoa Joe moved, with Punk crashing onto the arena floor. Punk tried for a hurracanrana, but Samoa Joe caught him and swung him through the bottom of the broadcast table. Punk was busted wide open! Samoa Joe targeted the laceration with jabs.
Samoa Joe clocked CM Punk with a high boot and then sat out with a senton splash for a near fall. CM Punk got in an instinctive headshot, dropping Samoa Joe with a roundhouse kick. CM Punk hit a leg drop on Samoa Joe, but Joe kicked out at the one-count. Samoa Joe powerslammed CM Punk. Samoa Joe countered an incoming knee strike with a powerbomb. Joe transitioned into an STF on Punk. CM Punk escaped and collapsed Joe with a roundhouse kick.
CM Punk paid homage to Terry Funk with a spinning toe hold on Samoa Joe. CM Punk attempted the rising knee strike again, but Samoa Joe countered with the STJoe! Samoa Joe was looking for an avalanche brainbuster, but Punk chomped down on Joe’s head. CM Punk nailed Samoa Joe with the Pepsi Plunge and pinned him!
Trios Match!
The Golden Elite—Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, & Kota Ibushi
vs.
Bullet Club Gold—Juice Robinson, Jay White—& Konosuke Takeshita (with Don Callis)!
Don Callis joined the broadcast booth for this match. The Gunns were ringside with Bullet Club Gold.
Omega and Hangman ping ponged Juice with chops! Ibushi tagged in and Juice immediately tagged out to Jay White. Ibushi tried for a roundhouse kick, but Jay ducked it. Jay smashed Ibushi with forearms, but Ibushi didn’t budge. Ibushi blasted Switchblade with a hard kick.
Takeshita entered the fray, but Omega took him down with a hurracanrana. Omega wiped out Takeshita and Jay White with the Terminator Dive!
Ibushi and Takeshita squared off and exchanged forearms. Takeshita clocked Omega with the Takeshita line! Hangman grabbed a tag and Page cleaned house on Juice and Switchblade. Hangman hit Jay White with a dive from the top rope for a near fall. Jay White escaped a Dead Eye attempt. Ibushi tagged in and nailed White with a standing moonsault press.
Ibushi, Omega, and Page triple teamed Jay White. Ibushi planted Jay White with a German Suplex for a near fall. Jay White rallied back, spiking Ibushi with a uranage. Omega and Takeshita tagged in for their respective teams. Omega dished out snapdragon suplexes all around. Takeshita was there to wallop Omega with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall!
Omega cracked Takeshita with a poison rana! Hangman was looking for the Buckshot Lariat, but the Gunns jumped up on the apron. Page knocked them to the floor and then took them out with a moonsault. Page went for the Buckshot Lariat on Takeshita but Jay White shoved Takeshita out of the way. Switchblade sent Page flying with a half and half suplex. Ibushi rocked Jay White with a running knee strike.
Juice Robinson scored with a leg lariat on Ibushi, but Omega was there to facepalm and dunk Juice onto the mat. Takeshita decimated Ibushi with a jumping knee strike!
“Ibushi is in dire straits,” said Jim Ross.
Hangman hit Takeshita with a blindside Buckshot Lariat! Jay White was trying for a Blade Runner on Omega, but Omega escaped and countered with a massive knee strike. Omega cracked Juice with a knee strike! Omega connected with a V Trigger on Jay White! Out of nowhere, Takeshita rolled up Omega and pinned him!
“Did you see that?! We just changed the world,” said Don Callis.
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match!
FTR (c.)—Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood
vs.
The Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson!
The Young Bucks’ attire was an homage to Freddie Mercury.
There were dueling chants for “Let’s go Young Bucks! F-T-R!”
Nick Jackson scoop slammed Cash Wheeler. Cash answered with a slam of his own onto Matt Jackson. FTR employed quick tags, but the Bucks had a similar strategy. The Bucks sent FTR over the top rope and down onto the arena floor with stereo clotheslines. Nick connected with a corkscrew over the top onto FTR!
“The Bucks have found their groove,” said Jim Ross.
Nick Jackson stuck Cash with a senton for a near fall. Matt Jackson dropped an elbow on Cash, ala Bret Hart. Cash tried to tag out to Dax but Matt superkicked Dax, preventing the tag. Matt DDT’ed Cash. Nick Jackson springboarded but Cash fended it off with a forearm.
Dax grabbed a tag and suplexed Nick onto Matt Jackson. Dax nailed Matt with three German Suplexes. Matt answered with his locomotion Northern Lights. Matt used a stalling Northern Lights Suplex on Dax for a two-count. Dax answered with a German of his own!
“This is an outstanding match,” said Jim Ross.
Dax applied a sharpshooter to Matt. Cash put Nick in a sharpshooter on the apron! FTR spiked Nick with a piledriver, with Cash getting a near fall. Matt saved Nick from the Shatter Machine! The Bucks blasted Dax with superkicks! The Bucks spiked Dax with a piledriver, and Nick scored a near fall.
Dax dodged the BTE Trigger and then Cash speared Nick through the ropes! FTR nailed Matt with the FTR Trigger and followed up with the Shatter Machine! Matt kicked out at the two-count!
Cash attempted a springboard 450 but Matt moved out of the way! He superkicked Cash and scored a near fall! The Bucks hit Cash with the BTE Trigger, but Dax broke up the pin attempt that followed. The Bucks smacked Dax with a Shatter Machine! The Bucks rocked Cash with a second BTE Trigger, but Cash kicked out of the pin attempt!
Wembley chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
The Young Bucks were thinking Meltzer Driver, but FTR countered with the Shatter Machine on Nick, with Cash pinned Nick!
FTR offered their hands as a sign of respect to the Young Bucks, but the Young Bucks turned away and left the ring.
Stadium Stampede Match!
Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta & Mike Santana and Ortiz
vs.
Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo, Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor!
Tony Schiavone joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Kingston charged straight for Claudio! Both teams paired off and brawled around the ring! Santana and Ortiz and the Best Friends traded strikes in the ring.
Moxley used a branding iron on his opponents! Penta smacked Santana and Ortiz with a steel chair! Penta dropped both of them with sling blades!
Moxley planted Penta with a cutter. He followed up with a Paradigm Shift on Penta. Moxley pulled out skewers, but Penta whacked Mox with a steel chair! Penta spiked the skewers in Moxley’s head and followed up with the Made in Japan!
Claudio and Kingston brawled throughout the concourse! Mike Santana powerbombed Penta onto two steel chairs in the ring! Moxley mauled Orange Cassidy with a fork! Orange was busted wide open! Moxley planted Orange with a brainbuster onto a steel chair! Moxley raked a barb wire board onto Trent’s face.
Ortiz cracked Trent with a kendo stick that was wrapped in barb wire. Kingston jabbed Wheeler with an umbrella in the mouth. Santana and Ortiz powerbombed Trent onto a ladder in the corner. Moxley sent Trent flying onto a plank covered in barb wire. Ortiz splashed Trent for a near fall.
Moxley spiked Trent with a piledriver onto the ring steps! Ortiz continued to attack Orange with a fork to the head!
A white minivan pulled up. It was Trent’s mom Sue! Mox kissed her and Trent began smashing the BCC with trays of Sue’s cookies! Music began to rumble, and Penta Oscuro came out through the entrance!
“Penta looking for revenge for what was done to his brother!” said Excalibur.
Penta and Santana traded stiff shots on top of the ladder and then the ladder collapsed under their combined weight. Penta went back up and smashed Santana with a sunset powerbomb through two tables!
Orange and the Best Friends swarmed Wheeler Yuta in the ring. Ortiz punished Chuck Taylor with baking sheet shots. Yuta pulled out a screwdriver and charged at Chuck Taylor, but Taylor dodged the attack. Chuck planted Wheeler with the Awful Waffle, but Claudio jumped into the ring and broke up the pin. Moxley rocketed out of the ring, through the ropes and straight at Chuck Taylor!
Claudio grabbed Orange Cassidy and put him in the Giant Swing! Trent superplexed Ortiz off the top turnbuckle and through tables on the arena floor! Cassidy clocked Claudio with three Orange Punches for a near fall! Orange wrapped tape around his fist, broke a bottle into a bucket, and then placed his fist in there. Orange pulled out his taped fist and it was covered in broken glass! Moxley dropped Orange with his right hand before Orange could do any damage to Claudio.
Orange DDT’ed Mox into the broken glass! Claudio hoisted up Orange and pulped him with a European Uppercut!
Eddie Kingston marched to the ring with a steel chair wrapped in barbed wire, like Terry Funk, battering anyone in his path! Kingston smacked Claudio repeatedly with the chair! Moxley pulled the chair out of Kingston’s hands, and they had a bloody stare down! Moxley was looking for the Paradigm Shift, but Kingston countered with a spinning backfist. Kingston tackled Moxley through a table. Orange connected with a broken glass Orange Punch to Claudio and pinned him!
“Holy smokes he won it!” said Tony Schiavone.
AEW Women’s World Championship Match!
Hikaru Shida (c.) vs. Saraya vs. Toni Storm vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.!
Saraya made her entrance with her family and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” playing!
Toni Storm walked to the ring with “God Save the Queen” echoing throughout Wembley.
Saraya and Storm worked in tandem to powerbomb Shida. Baker hit a neck breaker on Saraya for a near fall. Toni smashed Baker with a hip attack in the corner. Saraya and Toni began to argue as they both went to cover Baker for the pin attempt.
“Things are breaking down before our eyes,” said Excalibur.
Shida stacked the Outcasts in the corner and then charged at them with a running knee strike. Shida suplexed Saraya into Toni Storm. Baker walloped Storm with the sling blade. Saraya blindsided Baker with a thrust kick.
Saraya’s mom was in the front row and held back Baker while Storm chopped Baker. Storm charged at Baker, but Baker dodged her, and Storm inadvertently collided with Saraya’s mom! Saraya clubbed Toni with her forearm. Toni answered in kind! Toni Storm stripped off the bottom turnbuckle pad and propped Saraya against it. Storm was setting her up for the hip attack when Ruby Soho sprinted to the ring, trying to restore some order between her fellow Outcasts.
Ruby pleaded with Storm, but Storm knocked her down! Saraya got up and connected with a thrust kick to Toni Storm. Shida rocked Saraya with a missile dropkick. Baker dropped Shida with a swinging neck breaker.
“So many moving parts,” said Excalibur.
Saraya tied up Storm in a submission, but Baker was there to curb stomp Storm! Shida hammered Baker with strikes. Shida hoisted up Baker and planted her with the Falcon Arrow on Saraya! Shida crushed Saraya with a meteora for a near fall.
Shida walloped Saraya with the Katana Kick, but Baker broke up the pin attempt. Baker was trying to apply the Lock Jaw on Shida. Saraya grabbed a can of paint and sprayed it into Toni Storm’s eyes! Saraya spiked Storm with the Knightcap and pinned her!
Your new AEW Women’s World Champion…Saraya!
Coffin Match!
Darby Allin & Sting
vs.
Swerve Strickland & Christian Cage (with TNT Champion Luchasaurus)!
Sting and Christian Cage had a stare down, but Swerve attacked Sting from behind. Sting knocked down Swerve with a lariat. Darby opened the coffin and pulled out a jacket covered in thumbtacks. Sting had a cricket bat! Sting cracked Prince Nana with the cricket bat! Then he hit Swerve with it. Sting and Darby put on thumb tack jackets! Sting and Darby used Stinger Splashes and Coffin Splashes on Swerve and Prince Nana in the corner!
Swerve speared Sting and Christian speared Darby! Christian used wrist tape and tied up Darby’s arms behind his back. Swerve drove the cricket bat into Sting’s throat. Darby dodged and spear from Christian and followed up with a moonsault with his wrists still taped behind his back! Darby connected with a cannonball dive to Swerve outside the ring!
Sting spinebustered Swerve onto the coffin! Christian Cage blindsided Sting and rammed him into the steel ring steps. Christian attempted the con-chair-to on Darby, but Darby escaped. Darby blasted Christian with a shotgun dropkick. Swerve grabbed Darby but Darby countered with an over the top stunner on the apron. Sting jumped off the apron and splashed Swerve, who was on top of a table on the arena floor! Sting went back up and dropped an elbow, this time pushing Swerve right through the table, splitting it in half!
Darby jumped off the top turnbuckle and dropkicked Christian Cage, who was propped up on a chair on the arena floor! Darby and Sting propped up the coffin against the ring and tried to slam the lid shut on Christian, but Christian pushed the lid back to prevent it from closing. Luchasaurus hit Sting and Darby from behind, saving Christian Cage. Luchasaurus threw Darby like a lawn dart against the coffin! Nick Wayne ran down and hit Luchasaurus in the back with a skateboard!
Luchasaurus dropped Nick Wayne with a headbutt. Luchasaurus choke slammed Nick Wayne onto the skateboard! Luchasaurus picked up Nick Wayne and carried him on his shoulders to the back.
Darby went for a Coffin Splash off the top turnbuckle and down onto Swerve who was on top of the coffin, but Swerve moved!
“It was a Coffin Flop for Darby Allin!” said Excalibur.
Sting splashed Christian and Swerve in the ring. Sting put the Scorpion Death lock on Christian. Swerve cracked Sting in the back with a steel chair.
“That just pissed him off!” said Excalibur.
Christian Cage used a baseball bat to low blow Sting! Swerve jumped off the top rope and hit the double stomp on Sting! The coffin was placed into the ring. Swerve shoved Sting into the coffin. Swerve tossed the bat into the coffin, wanting to bury Sting and the bat together. Swerve tried to shut the coffin lid, but Sting used the baseball bat to prevent the lid from closing.
Swerve bodyslammed Sting on top of the coffin. Swerve went for a 450 splash onto Sting on the coffin, but Sting rolled out of the way! Darby gouged Christian Cage in the eyes. Sting nailed Swerve with a Scorpion Death Drop on top of the coffin! Darby smashed Swerve with the Coffin Drop…onto the lid of the coffin and slid the coffin lid shut on Swerve!
Chris Jericho (with Sammy Guevara) vs. IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay (with Don Callis)!
Fozzy played Jericho to the ring, as Jericho sang “Judas”!
Jericho took down Will with a shoulder tackle. Ospreay dropkicked Jericho. Ospreay followed up with Sky Twister Press to Jericho on the floor!
Ospreay and Jericho exchanged forearms. Jericho caught Ospreay flush in the face with a springboard dropkick. Jericho followed up with a sliding baseball dropkick. Jericho rocked Will with a German Suplex on the ring apron!
Ospreay rallied back with a corkscrew kick to Jericho. He followed up with a standing shooting star press to Jericho for a near fall. Jericho had a lot left in the tank, though, and took down Will with a hurracanrana off the top rope.
The lionsault was countered by Ospreay. Ospreay followed up with a shooting star press onto Jericho, who was draped across the ropes. Jericho came back with a Code Breaker on the Aerial Assassin.
Will blocked the Judas Effect and countered with a hook kick to Jericho. Will spiked Jericho with the Os-cutter for a near fall. Jericho countered the Storm Breaker and put Will in the Walls of Jericho! Don Callis jumped on the ring apron. While the ref was dealing with Don, Sammy hit Will in the head with Jericho’s bat!
Jericho charged at Will, but Will countered with a Spanish Fly for a two-count. Jericho stunned Will with the Code Breaker. Jericho hit Will with an Os-cutter! Jericho nailed Will with a low blow and then cracked him with the Judas Effect for a near fall! Ospreay clocked Jericho with a combination Judas Effect/Hidden Blade. Will followed up with the Storm Breaker for a near fall on Jericho!
“Chris Jericho refusing to quit!” said Nigel.
Will rocked Jericho with the Hidden Blade. Will nailed Jericho with a second Storm Breaker and pinned Jericho!
After the match, Sammy helped up Jericho. A dejected Jericho pushed Sammy away.
Nigel McGuinness was in the ring with a microphone!
“London, England, what a moment! What a night. 81,035 fans! Tonight, we made a new world record in pro wrestling paid attendance!”
House Rules Match!
AEW World Trios Championship Match!
House of Black (c.)—Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, & Brody King
vs.
The Acclaimed—Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, & Badd Ass Billy Gunn!
The stipulation was No Holds Barred.
Buddy Matthews flew over the top rope and wiped out both members of the Acclaimed. Brody King hit a tope on the Acclaimed. Julia Hart entered the ring, but Billy Gunn and Max held her down while Anthony Bowens dropped the Scissor Me Timbers!
Brody charged at Billy, but Billy dodged him, sending Brody crashing into the steel guardrail. Malakai and Matthews double teamed Billy but Billy took them down with stiff shots. He splashed them in the corner.
Bowens planted Malakai with the Arrival. Buddy prevented the Mic Drop, shoving Caster. Buddy dropped the meteora on Caster. The House of Black swarmed Bowens in the corner with the three headed hydra.
Brody wrapped a steel chain around his fist and went to crack Bowens with it. Bowens escaped Malakai’s grasp and Brody accidentally hit Malakai! The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn each hit fame-assers on Buddy. Billy went for the pin, but Julia Hart pulled referee Aubrey Edwards out of the ring, preventing her from making the count.
Malakai rocked Billy with the End kick, but Billy kicked out! Bowens smashed Brody with the Arrival and Caster followed up with the Mic Drop. Billy hit the Fame Asser, and the Acclaimed followed up with a second Arrival and Mic Drop, covering Brody for the pin!
New AEW Trios Champions…The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn!
Main Event Time!
AEW World Championship Match!
MJF (c.) vs. Adam Cole!
The match began with two friends taking in the moment, displaying good sportsmanship, but it quickly broke down. Cole stomped MJF in the corner after pulling ref Bryce Remsburg in MJF’s path.
Cole grabbed a handful of MJF’s hair and yanked him to the mat. MJF responded in kind.
“MJF is upset with his best friend,” said Excalibur.
Cole attacked with a thrust kick. “We may be friends but I’m better than you,” said Adam Cole.
Cole ripped MJF’s t-shirt off him. MJF blocked a superkick and scoop slammed Cole. MJF whipped Cole into the turnbuckles.
“That was a terrible landing on multiple levels,” said Excalibur.
MJF hit a dive through the ropes onto Cole! MJF and Cole traded pinfall attempts, neither man with the clear advantage. Cole stunned MJF with a pump kick. MJF powerbombed Cole onto his outstretched knee!
MJF was looking for the Panama Sunset but Cole superkicked MJF. Cole nailed MJF with the heat seeker! Cole whipped MJF into the steel ring steps. Cole drilled MJF with a sheer drop brainbuster on the steel ring steps!
“Is Cole concerned about his friend or concerned about MJF being counted out?” asked Nigel.
Cole was about to hit the Panama Sunrise, but MJF couldn’t get to his feet and stumbled out of the ring. MJF dismantled the top of the broadcast booth. MJF was going to tombstone Cole on top of the booth, but MJF put him down, unable to put his friend through the table. Instead, Cole spiked MJF with a tombstone on top of the broadcast table!
Cole rolled MJF back into the ring, but MJF kicked out at the two-count! MJF thumbed Cole in the eye. MJF nailed Cole with a rolling elbow strike. Cole fired back with a Canadian Destroyer, but Max retaliated with a last ditch kick.
“Both men down flat, exhausted, from physical punishment from each other,” said Taz.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
The champion and challenger called for the double clothesline! They ran into each other with clotheslines, falling on top of each other! The ref counted to three and it was declared a draw!
“A double pin! It’s a draw!,” said Excalibur.
Ring Announcer Justin Roberts announced the match was a draw.
Adam Cole grabbed a microphone and said, “No freakin’ way! Max, five more minutes!”
MJF replied, “No. Five minutes isn’t enough, Adam. We’re going until we’ve got a winner in Wembley!”
MJF blocked a superkick from Cole, but then Cole thumbed MJF in the eyes. Cole charged at MJF and MJF ducked, with Adam Cole inadvertently running into the referee and knocking him down!
“Bryce Remsburg just got decked!” said Excalibur.
“He got popped inadvertently there,” replied Taz.
MJF sat up with a big grin on his face!
“It’s playtime now for Max with the referee down,” said Taz.
MJF grabbed a steel chair and threw it to Adam Cole. Cole threw it back. Neither wanted it. Max placed the chair around his head to make it look like Cole hit him with it. The ref got to his feet and questioned Cole. MJF rolled up Cole for a near fall. MJF followed up with a thrust kick! MJF drilled Cole with the heat seeker! Cole kicked out at two!
Cole nailed MJF with a straitjacket German Suplex on the apron! Cole spiked MJF with a Panama Sunrise off the apron and onto the floor! Cole rolled MJF into the ring, but MJF kicked out at two!
Cole was setting up MJF for another Panama Sunrise. MJF pulled the ref into Cole’s way, and Cole inadvertently hit the ref with the Panama Sunrise! MJF pulled the Dynamite Diamond Ring out of his trunks. MJF was on the verge of tears, torn, not sure what to do! He pulled the ring off and put it back in his trunks. Out of nowhere, Roderick Strong jumped in the ring behind MJF!
Roderick Strong kicked MJF between the legs! Cole climbed back up and drilled MJF with the Panama Sunrise. Cole dropped his kneepad and lowered the boom with the knee strike. The ref was still out. The ref finally crawled over and started to make the count. MJF kicked out at two!
“Wembley Stadium is on its feet!” said Excalibur.
Roderick Strong threw the AEW World Title into the ring and told Cole to use it on MJF! “Do it, Adam! I’m your best friend!” screamed Roderick.
Cole picked up the title and then threw it out of the ring. Roderick Strong walked out on Adam Cole! MJF cradled Adam Cole and pinned him!
Still AEW World Champion…MJF!
After the match, MJF said it was okay and that the people still loved Cole. MJF brought the ROH World Tag Team Titles into the ring and handed one to Cole, but Cole threw it down!
“I get it. You never cared about me! You only cared about the belt. You’re a fake!” said MJF.
MJF picked up the AEW World Championship and tossed it at Adam Cole. MJF told Cole to get it over with, turning his back to Cole. Adam Cole picked up the title. Roderick Strong jumped on the apron and ordered Adam Cole to hit MJF with it! Adam Cole was tempted but threw the belt down. MJF and Adam Cole hugged it out!
The Kingdom held back Roderick Strong as MJF and Adam Cole celebrated in the ring.
Excalibur announced that AEW will be returning to Wembley on Sunday, August 25th, 2024!
Missed what the entire wrestling world is buzzing about? Order the replay of the historic AEW All In: London! It’s available on all traditional cable and satellite providers in the United States and Canada, Bleacher Report, Fite International, PPV.COM, and more! See AEW All In: London for yourself!
Catch all the fall out on AEW DYNAMITE on TBS this Wednesday live at 8/7ct from NOW Arena in Chicago, IL!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
This Sunday, All Elite Wrestling comes to London for the most important event in AEW history since the first DOUBLE OR NOTHING in 2019, and the largest event in All Elite history! In front over 80,000 people at Wembley Stadium, and before a worldwide pay-per-view audience, AEW presents ALL IN: LONDON on Bleacher Report, traditional cable & satellite providers in the United States and Canada, FITE INTERNATIONAL, PPV.COM, and more!
With seven championship matches between the PPV proper and the ZERO HOUR, as well as the return of Stadium Stampede, AEW’s first Tag Team Coffin Match, a Generational Dream Bout, and so much more! The pay-per-view action begins at 6pm BST/1pm EST, with the ZERO HOUR kicking off at 12pm ET/9am PT, featuring an ROH World Tag Team Championship match pitting Aussie Open against Adam Cole & MJF, as well as a FTW Championship Match between Jack Perry and HOOK!
It all began on June 7th in Colorado Springs when Adam Cole and MJF were face-to-face on DYNAMITE, and by the end of the conversation Cole embarrassed the AEW World Champion into a match. It may not have been a championship bout, but on June 14th in Washington, DC, when AEW returned to where DYNAMITE first began in 2019, Cole and MJF met in an Eliminator fight, meaning if Cole beat the champion, he would earn a future title match.
Unfortunately for Cole, despite giving Max a taste of his own medicine by using the AEW World Championship belt as a weapon, and MJF him with both The Boom and The Panama Sunrise, the time limit expired and Cole was left empty handed. He hadn’t earned a future title match, and there was certainly no way MJF was going to gift him one just because they had a good fight. That was certainly not something in Max’s nature, not at that point two months ago, but then something happened, something called the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament. With a future AEW World Tag Team Championship opportunity awaiting the victors, random names were drawn to create tag teams who would then populate the brackets for an eight-team tournament.
Cole and MJF would be the first team put together for the tournament, and while it seemed inevitable they would implode under the weight of their recent history, the exact opposite actually happened. Not only did they did defeat Matt Menard & The Butcher and Big Bill & Brian Cage en route to the finals, they actually managed to win the whole tournament by beating Daniel Garcia and Sammy Guevara! On top of that, much to the chagrin of Cole’s long-time friend Roderick Strong, Adam and Maxwell actually developed the most unlikely friendship. The two men could not be more different from each other, and yet through their tournament time, their loss to FTR in the AEW World Tag Team Championship bout, and their unique bonding activities away from the ring, these two competitors have actually found mutual respect and even a brotherly love. The most shocking thing to come out of all of this isn’t MJF and Cole becoming friends, it’s that Maxwell Jacob Friedman has actually come to embrace the fans cheering his name and proudly calling themselves his devil worshipers, he’s even been seen slapping hands and hugging children. Given the road MJF has traveled his entire AEW career, if not his entire professional wrestling life, this is the most shocking part of the path to ALL IN: LONDON. Oh, and the fact that MJF actually stuck to the promise he laid out to Cole prior to that FTR bout, that MJF would give Adam Cole an AEW World Championship fight regardless of the championship bout outcome.
Clearly they did not walk away from the bout as new AEW World Tag Team Champions, but in a move that was a true shock, as well as an indicator that perhaps MJF was genuine in his friendship with Cole, the title fight was set for ALL IN: LONDON! What has been most intriguing since that bout was set was seeing if the friendship would implode under the shadow of the AEW World Championship fight, but instead it has seemed to grow stronger, although both Cole and MJF have had their moments when they’ve nearly snuck one on the other man, but has had the side effect of apparently decimating the friendship between Roderick Strong and Adam Cole in the process, driving Strong towards The Kingdom, who experienced their own issues with Cole many years ago in Ring of Honor.
It’s wild to think that mere hours after Adam Cole and the AEW World Champion unite on the ZERO HOUR in an attempt to dethrone Aussie Open as ROH World Tag Team Champions that they will then face one another for the most coveted prize in professional wrestling today.
It will be quite fascinating to see how the outcome of that ZERO HOUR bout factors into the main event of ALL IN: LONDON. Will Adam Cole and MJF enter as the new ROH World Tag Team Champions, or will they enter into the biggest match of their careers as beaten men? Will it be a tag team bout that breaks the bond they’ve built over the last couple months, or one that strengthens the ties enough to survive however the World Championship fight plays out? And just who will walk into Chicago, mere days after this, as the reigning champion looking towards whatever ALL OUT 2023 may have in store for him?
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
The date was November 7th and the event FULL GEAR 2020; it was huge night for several reasons, one being that it was the most people watching AEW in-person since the Pandemic changed our world, but also that it was the night one of pro wrestling’s dream matches finally became reality. After years of debate over who was the better team, The Young Bucks and FTR finally clashed, and with the AEW World Tag Team Championship titles at stake. That night it would be The Young Bucks who walked away victorious, capturing the AEW Tag Titles for the very first time, and at least on that night, staking their claim as the top team in professional wrestling today.
It would be quite some time before we saw Cash, Dax, Matt, and Nick collide in a tag team bout, seventeen months to be precise, and on that night in Boston, with both the ROH World Tag Titles and the AAA Tag Titles at stake, it would be FTR who left Agganis Arena with the win, and both sets of championship titles.
So when FTR finally reclaimed the AEW World Tag Team Championship, defeating The Gunns in April of this year, the speculation began about when fans might get to see a rubber match between these two duos. That speculation came to an end on August 5th when, after defeating Big Bill & Brian Cage in a championship bout, FTR challenged The Young Bucks to a fight at Wembley Stadium! The biggest tag team championship bout for the biggest event in All Elite Wrestling history; it made perfect sense, and The Young Bucks would agree just a few nights later!
So on this grand stage, in front of more than 80,000 of the AEW faithful, and with countless more watching around the world, will we see the heart and soul of All Elite Wrestling become 3-Time AEW World Tag Team Champions or will it Billion Star FTR who lays claim to the best tag team moniker while also retaining their championship titles?
AEW Women’s World Championship Four Way Match
Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Saraya vs. Toni Storm vs. Dr. Britt Baker DMD
What a tangled web this AEW Women’s World Championship bout has become after last Friday night’s tag team bout on RAMPAGE. Defending Champion Shida and Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D teamed up to take on The Outcasts Saraya and Toni Storm in a preview of the Four Way taking place on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.
While there was certainly hope with all four women that this would be an opportunity to get a last minute advantage, and though that is what happened for The Outcasts, it also created a whole mess of tension between all four competitors. The history between Shida and Baker, the one where the latter ended the former’s historic first title reign, seemed to have been set aside as they united against the threat of The Outcasts, but when a blinded Shida decked her own partner, inadvertently setting Britt up to be beaten by Saraya, it was not the best way to put the former foes on the same page against The Outcasts during Sunday’s event. Prior to that moment, it seemed possible that Shida and the Good Doctor could at least unite to insure neither Outcast left Wembley with the Women’s World Championship, but after that blow on Friday, compiled with their history over AEW’s existence, it seems highly unlikely they will find common ground.
That being said, it seemed like a given that The Outcasts would have common ground in the mission to dethrone Shida, and while that may be the case, the way Saraya and Toni Storm left things on Friday night, it seems there could be something rotten in the locker room of The Outcasts. Toni aims to be the first 3-Time champion, while Saraya hopes to not only win her first championship in AEW, but also her first championship in nine years, and those two goals are clearly in conflict. So the question on Sunday will be, if it comes down to either Saraya or Toni Storm getting the victory and the title, will the other allow that to happen? And if there is some dissension in the ranks of The Outcasts, will that provide the opening either Hikaru Shida or Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D need to have their hand raised in victory before 80,000 strong?
Stadium Stampede Match
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta), Eddie Kingston, AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy & Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Blackpool Combat Club (ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta), Santana & Ortiz
It’s been a couple years since Stadium Stampede has reared its head in All Elite Wrestling, since DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2021 to be precise, but this Sunday at Wembley Stadium, before the largest crowd in AEW history, one of the most unpredictable matches in company history makes its return! But it’s not just the match making its return, it’s also several of the competitors returning to action after time away, and some of the strangest bedfellows imaginable!
First off, who would’ve ever thought Eddie Kingston would be standing side-by-side with Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, and AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy? On top of that, who would’ve thought that, given how toxic their AEW relationship was in past, that the Lucha Brothers would once again stand beside Eddie Kingston, or that Penta and Fenix would unite with The Best Friends given their own violent history as foes?
And could anyone possibly have predicated that two of Eddie Kingston’s oldest friends, two men who spent a great deal of time trying to end Jon Moxley’s career early in AEW’s history, would side up with The Blackpool Combat Club against Eddie in this Stadium Stampede? But then again, the last time we saw Ortiz in All Elite Wrestling, he and Kingston had a massive falling out as a result of House of Black machinations, and they were throwing down with one another. That may have been six months ago, but it was a wound never healed, much less addressed, and it appears this is just one chicken that’s come home to roost for Kingston. The other comes in the form of Santana, a man who has been on the shelf since June 2022’s Blood & Guts match in Detroit recovering from injury, a match he was in at the request of Kingston, and a man who it seems Kingston forgot about in the aftermath of that war.
It’s clear that Kingston’s hatred for Claudio Castagnoli is what’s driving this for him, but for the rest of his group, it’s about what The Blackpool Combat Club has done to them over the last several weeks. The Best Friends and Orange Cassidy have been repeatedly assaulted, look at the Parking Lot Fight from RAMPAGE for a microcosm of what this dynamic has looked like The BCC lost Blood & Guts to The Golden Elite six weeks ago. It feels as if that loss, and how it came to pass, has spiraled Mox, Claudio, and Yuta into a flurry of violence, and The Luchas and Best Friends have been the targets for assorted reasons. The connection to “The Bastard” PAC put a crosshairs on Penta and Fenix, leading to Rey being eliminated from even competing in this match this past Wednesday on DYNAMITE, while Yuta’s connection to The Best Friends, as well as events from ROH’s DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023 PPV event, led them into this fracas.
And now it will all explode in utterly unpredictable fashion this Sunday at ALL IN: LONDON! How much frustration must Santana have pent-up after over a year away from the fight? How much does Ortiz want to punch Kingston in the mouth for how they left things? For that matter, how much violence do all these men want to inflict upon one another for everything that’s happened over the last several weeks, as well as for everything that’s tied these men together in various fashion both here in All Elite Wrestling, and in their lives before entering into AEW? This will be officially sanctioned chaos, and it is coming to Wembley Stadium this Sunday!
AEW World Trios Championship Match
The House Of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black) (w/Julia Hart) (c) vs. The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) & Billy Gunn
The House of Black couldn’t leave well-enough alone; the AEW World Trios Champions had twice-defeated The Acclaimed in championship fights, and even driven Billy Gunn into retirement, thinking he didn’t have it as a competitor any more, and was better off hanging up his boots in front of the entire world as he sat in the middle of the ring.
But that wasn’t enough for Malakai Black, Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Julia Hart; perhaps it was the insistence from Max and Anthony that they still believed, with Billy, they were the best trio in All Elite Wrestling. Perhaps they needed to send a message to The Acclaimed of what would happen if they ever came near The House again, and perhaps the disposal of Billy’s boots into the trash bin was part of the message of what would happen should they come knocking on The House’s door once again.
Instead, what The House got was a very angry Max Caster and Anthony Bowens who didn’t care about the numbers, and still wanted a fight with the World Trios Champions knowing they would be, no pun intended, outgunned. So when The Acclaimed’s music hit, as Brody King was preparing to level Anthony Bowens with the same chain used to bloody Max Caster, it was a shock to the former AEW World Tag Team Champions that their friend and mentor was on the spot to not just disperse The House of Black, but to also make a challenge for this match set to take place at Wembley Stadium!
So with The Acclaimed reunited at full strength, this past Saturday on COLLISION the trio decided to share one last verse with their foes before heading into battle at ALL IN: LONDON:
Will The House of Black make a clean sweep of The Acclaimed in this, their third championship fight, and once again prove that it is they who are the most dominant trio in All Elite Wrestling? Or will The Acclaimed take the lessons learned from their previous outings, add that to the renewed confidence demonstrated by Billy Gunn, and turn it into championship success?
“Real” AEW World Championship Match
CM Punk (c) vs. Samoa Joe
ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe was a happy man on Saturday night, if only for a brief moment, because he knew that come Sunday at ALL IN: LONDON he would be getting the fight he’d been wanting ever since CM Punk defeated him during the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. At first Joe was indignant that Punk didn’t even bother responding to the challenge, which led to Joe removing Punk from the equation when he and FTR challenge The House of Black for the AEW World Trios Championship.
Punk’s response came in the form of a little deception, entering the ring to fight Joe under the guise of Golden Vampire, and laying the ROH World TV Champion low with a GTS before accepting the challenge for this fight at Wembley Stadium. Samoa Joe and CM Punk fighting in England feels appropriate for a number of reasons, one being that their last singles match prior to AEW took place 100 miles away in Conventry back in March 2005, and another being that over 80,000 fans will experience the next chapter in this landmark feud for modern wrestling history. The Trilogy, as it is known to Ring of Honor fans, defined independent wrestling for the 2000’s and beyond, shaped an entire generation of wrestlers who came along afterwards, and helped to save Ring of Honor during one of its most tumultuous times.
As if the heated rivalry between these two warriors wasn’t enough, add in the factor of Punk’s Championship belt, and this is escalated to a whole new level. Whereas the match during The Owen still carried some of the respect built between the two over the years prior, what has led Punk and Joe to this next chapter in their story has been utterly devoid of it. And that calm, peaceful Samoa Joe that sat down on Saturday to do commentary during the main event, that all went out the window when CM Punk chose to apply Joe’s signature choke to Brian Cage in order to win the match. Suffice to say that was the trigger moment that led to the utter chaos that capped off COLLISION, but will it be what ends the night on Sunday for Punk? Will he fall victim to Joe’s choke as he did so many years ago at ROH’s ALL STAR EXTRAGANZA II event, or it will the ROH World TV Champion be put to sleep like he was just a week ago?
Dream Match…
Chris Jericho vs. IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay
This heated up rather quickly; something that began as Don Callis playing his games with people’s lives rapidly turned into a situation in which his games are an afterthought to the hostilities between Chris Jericho and Will Ospreay that exploded during their contract signing this past Wednesday on DYNAMITE.
As Ospreay laid out everything he was fighting for this Sunday at Wembley Stadium, Chris Jericho took credit for the mere fact that the IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion was in that position in the first place. “The Ocho” brought up a five year old phone call as being the reason Ospreay transformed into the wrestler he is today rather than ending up in a wheelchair, and though “The Aerial Assassin” may not have known that was a possibility, Jericho also said he and Will would’ve collided two years ago if not for the pandemic disrupting the plan.
So although Don Callis may have orchestrated the moment in which Ospreay leveled Jericho from behind, this has become about something bigger than Callis stabbing Jericho in the back despite the original AEW World Champion being willing to join the family. This is a generational dream match, two of the greatest competing today, coming from drastically different places in their careers, but both wanting to be known as the absolute best wrestler walking the planet today, and there is no bigger stage to to fight it out than in front of 80,000+ fans inside the biggest venue England has to offer! Ospreay is heading into this after a tremendous showing during NJPW’s G1 Climax Tournament, and after defeating Shingo Takagi at RevPro just 24 hours before ALL IN: LONDON is set to begin. Conversely Jericho heads into this having watched his Appreciation Society, save Sammy Guevara, dissolved right in front of him all because he couldn’t make the choice between Don Callis and The J.A.S. It was only after he’d lost everything that Jericho gave Callis a “yes”, and the fact that Callis anticipated a “no” is what set this ball rolling.
Jericho has made it clear this is the most important match of his life, perhaps more so because of all he’s lost in the last several weeks, and this is the most important event on which he’s ever fought. For Ospreay the same is true, he wants to add Jericho’s name to the list that includes Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, David Finlay, and Shingo Takagi as some of the men he’s beaten in the last two months. For Will it’s about supporting a family, it’s about doing it in his home country on the biggest stage AEW has ever had, and doing it at the expense of a certified legend who still competes at the highest levels.
Of course Don Callis lurks at the shadows around this match, of course he wants to make sure Jericho doesn’t not walk out of Wembley with a win, the words “your head on a platter” were what he spoke regarding what he offered Ospreay to come fight Jericho, and while he did his best to screw Kenny Omega at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, will Callis be there to try to do it to Jericho this Sunday in London?
Trios Match…
BULLET CLUB GOLD (Jay White & Juice Robinson) & Konosuke Takeshita (w/Don Callis) vs. The Golden Elite (Adam Page, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi)
It seems Don Callis will sign up with anyone he can to make Kenny Omega’s life a living hell. First he threw in his lot with The Blackpool Combat Club ahead of Blood & Guts, only to pull Konosuke Takeshita from the fray when things started to get hairy for The BCC after “The Bastard” PAC bailed on them. Callis, and Takeshita for that matter, are lucky The BCC have been occupied with other matters and vengeance hasn’t swung their way for that abandonment.
Now it seems Callis has thrown his favor the way of BULLET CLUB GOLD as they assaulted Kenny Omega while he was in the midst of an interview with Jim Ross. It’s clear this is where they all felt safe accosting Omega, during a situation where there was not a soul available to help him, and yet they still did so with a distinct numbers advantage that “The Cleaner” could not possible have overcome.
And perhaps BC GOLD thought they’d face little repercussion as The Young Bucks would be wrapped up in their own dealings with FTR, Cash and Dax being other people with some BC GOLD bad blood, but thankfully the former AEW World Champion has friends beyond the brothers Jackson.
So it will be this Sunday night that, for the very first time, The Golden Lovers and Hangman Page compete in Trios action to take on another nascent trio in Jay White, Juice Robinson, and Konosuke Takeshita! It’s clear Don Callis is on a revenge trip when it comes to Kenny, will aim any gun he can at the man he once considered family, and will fire any bullets he finds at the former AEW World Champion. This week it’s BULLET CLUB GOLD, but should Kenny, Hangman, and Kota Ibushi turn away this attack, what will Callis throw at Omega next? What will Kenny have to do in order to shut Don Callis down for good?
BULLET CLUB GOLD is supremely confident riding into London, just listen to how they address the situation in the video embedded above, and are utterly convinced their Bang Bang Gang are the dominant force in All Elite Wrestling, but if they can shut down Omega, Ibushi, and Hangman at Wembley, they may be right!
Tag Team Coffin Match…
Christian Cage & Swerve Strickland vs. Darby Allin & Sting
Originally the challenge to this Tag Team Coffin Match was made to AR Fox and Swerve Strickland, but as was seen this past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, following their tag team loss to Darby Allin and Nick Wayne, Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana fired Fox from The Mogul Embassy, leaving Brian Cage to deliver the killing blow.
This brought out Darby, Nick, and Sting back to run off The Mogul Embassy, despite Fox’s betrayal of the men, which in turn brought Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus out as well. The arrival of Cage and the actual TNT Champion led to the announcement that it would be Christian Cage, rather than AR Fox, who would travel to Wembley Stadium for the Tag Team Coffin Match!
It looks like all of Darby Allin’s enemies are lining up against him for this fight as his issues with Christian and Luchasaurus, set to take center stage at ALL OUT 2023 where Darby will fight Luchasaurus for the TNT Championship, merge with those involving Swerve Strickland, and explode in AEW’s first ever Tag Team Coffin Match! Given that it’s Luchasaurus who will actually do the heavy lifting in Chicago, and not Christian Cage, there’s a great deal of concern about what condition Darby will be in for September 3rd at The United Center, but ultimately he and Sting have to focus on one fight at a time, and it’s a fight that’s been part of Darby’s AEW career for quite some time now. For a detailed look at how we got here, check out this history package, but suffice to say that Darby and Swerve have history that predates All Elite Wrestling, and it’s only gotten uglier in the time that both men have been part of the company.
With 80,000-plus cheering them on, Darby Allin and Sting come to Wembley this Saturday not to praise Christian and Swerve, but to lock them inside a coffin and take the first step towards clearing the table. Part one happens in Wembley when the coffin lid is closed on Christian and Swerve, part two takes place in Chicago when Darby Allin becomes a 3-Time TNT Champion; at least that’s their hope.
ZERO HOUR…
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match…
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) (c) vs. Adam Cole & MJF
Suffice to say that the main event of ALL IN: LONDON is going to be greatly affected by the events of the ZERO HOUR beginning at 12pm ET/9am PT on AEW’s official YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@AEW/featured). Adam Cole, having never won the ROH World Tag Team Championship, and MJF, having never competed in anything involving Ring of Honor, will challenge the defending ROH World Tag Team Champs Aussie Open ahead of their fight over the AEW World Championship later in the night!
Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, after capturing the titles at ROH’s DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023 pay-per-view event, have successfully defended the championship on four occasions, including this past Wednesday on DYNAMITE against The Hardys. They are on quite the roll since their July title victory, but face incredibly tough competition in MJF and Cole who, although relatively new to tag team competition, were victorious in the Blind Eliminator Tag Tournament, and gave FTR a tremendous fight in the AEW World Tag Team Championship loss a few weeks back. Amazingly enough, even with their AEW World Title fight on the horizon, Cole and Friedman have managed to keep their new-found friendship intact. Both men seem intent on maintaining the friendship, despite the protestations of Cole’s long-time friend Roderick Strong, the seeming impossibility that MJF can be trusted at all, and the championship fight coming just a few hours after this tag team title bout.
Can Aussie Open use the circumstances of the evening to their advantage and retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles? Or will the bromance of Cole and MJF lead to success as a team just before the biggest fight of both men’s careers? And if the match plays out in the favor of Aussie Open, how will that affect the AEW World Championship Match, as well as the relationship between championship and challenger? In the history of the ZERO HOUR/BUY-IN, this is the most important match that’s ever taken place, but will it be Aussie Open or MJF/Cole who history remembers as the victor?
Jack Perry may have entered into the Gas South Arena on Saturday night with the intention of smashing the FTW Championship to bits, but “The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil” HOOK had other plans for his former friend, and they didn’t include seeing the championship his father created left in the history books with Perry’s face plastered as its final champion.
The chaos that was the final COLLISION before ALL IN: LONDON would culminate in a crazy brawl involving fighters all slated to compete at Wembley Stadium, but it was Jack Perry who snuck in the back door, having nothing to do with the 10-Man Tag main event, and attacked his challenger. It started when Jack betrayed HOOK at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, was followed by Perry running from the then-FTW Champion for weeks, before finally having to answer for his betrayal inside the squared circle. Surprisingly Jack handed HOOK his first loss that night in Boston, and even bested Rob Van Dam several weeks ago in Columbus, but HOOK wasn’t going to standby for long given Perry’s threats of what he would do after beating RVD.
Jack Perry can’t run from this one, not even when he’s in London some 5,500 miles away from his Los Angeles home, even there HOOK will be waiting, and retribution will be waiting with him!
This Sunday the biggest event in AEW history goes down at Wembley Stadium when All Elite Wrestling presents ALL IN: LONDON in front of more than 80,000 fans in London, and before a worldwide audience on Bleacher Report, traditional cable & satellite providers in the United States and Canada, FITE INTERNATIONAL, PPV.COM, and more!
From Adam Cole challenging MJF for the AEW World Championship to the return of Stadium Stampede, from AEW’s first Tag Team Coffin Match to a loaded AEW Woman’s World Championship Four Way, and from a Dream Bout pitting Chris Jericho against Will Osprey to FTR/Young Bucks Round Three, and so much more, this is a loaded event from top-to-bottom! The pay-per-view action starts at 6pm BST/1pm EST, with the ZERO HOUR getting underway at 12pm ET/9am PT, and includes the ROH World Tag Team Championship match between Aussie Open and Adam Cole/MJF, plus a FTW Championship Grudge Match between Jack Perry and HOOK!
Whether you’re there in-person or watching on PPV, you are all a part of history that would not have been possible without the support of the AEW faithful around the world!
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE: Fyter Fest was broadcast live from Gas South Arena in Duluth, GA!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
The show opened with a graphic paying tribute to Terry Funk: 1944-2023.
Trios Match!
The Elite—Kenny Omega, & The Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson
vs.
Juice Robinson & The Gunns—Austin & Colten!
The Elite charged up the ramp and attacked Bullet Club Gold, wasting no time! Juice Robinson decked ref Rick Knox. The Bucks superkicked Juice Robinson. Jay White, who wasn’t even in the match, began to stomp Matt Jackson.
The Gunns blasted Nick Jackson with the 3:10 to Yuma! Matt superkicked the Gunns. Jay White planted Matt and then Kenny Omega ran in. Omega nailed Colten with a snapdragon. Austin was looking for a fameasser, but Kenny blocked it. Kenny blasted Jay White with a V-Trigger! Kenny went for another V-Trigger, but Takeshita ran in and rocked Kenny with a lariat.
“This match has been thrown out,” said Excalibur.
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR—Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler—ran out to even up the odds for the Elite. Back in the ring, Takeshita battered Kenny with elbow strikes. Kenny fired back with a knee strike. Kenny lifted Takeshita for the one-winged angel, but Takeshita escaped Kenny’s grasp and ran out of the ring.
Renee Paquette spoke with AEW World Champion MJF backstage!
MJF: “If there’s one thing I know about myself, it’s that I can’t get enough of people chanting my name. When it’s time for the main event at All In: London, I want you to cheer me on. Let’s make this this loudest chant in the history of professional sports.
“The old me would have BS’ed you and said there was no pressure, but main eventing this Sunday, I feel an immense amount of pressure. This is the biggest event in the history of professional wrestling, bar none. None of this happens without my own talent, without all the fans, and not without all the people who have paved the road for professional wrestling prior.
“I’m about to be the biggest headliner in the history of professional wrestling and that’s insane. Think about all the people that came before me: Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino, Dusty Rhodes, John Cena, the Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H, Undertaker, the list goes on and on. I am standing on the shoulders of giants. And on Sunday, August 27th, if I win, I might become a giant myself. So yeah, there’s a lot of pressure but frankly it’s a pressure I’m ready for.
“Look, this is all really new for me. I’ve never had a genuine friend before in my entire life. That’s not me trying to work you guys. That’s real. Adam Cole has made me a better person in a really short amount of time. He taught me I can trust, and I can let my guard down. Frankly, Adam’s not just my friend, he’s my brother. Yeah, brothers fight, but at the end of the day, brothers hug it out. And we always hug it out.
“And I understand why you guys would have reservations about trusting me. I’m far from perfect. Think about the worst thing you’ve done in your life…I’ve probably done that twice. However, I’ve been vulnerable for the first time in my life. And I’m asking you people to go on this journey with me. Be vulnerable with me and I promise you, you will be rewarded. And that’s the first promise in my life that I intend to keep. Because I’m not just a scumbag, I’m your scumbag.”
Jon Moxley vs. Rey Fenix (with Alex Abrahantes)!
Mox and Fenix traded chops. Mox ducked a kick. Rey Fenix connected with a dropkick on target. Rey Fenix followed up with a tope suicida, and then a second tope to Moxley.
Moxley tore at Rey Fenix’s mask. Moxley curb stomped Rey Fenix on the arena floor. Moxley drove the flat of his boot against the face of Rey Fenix.
Rey Fenix stunned Moxley with a kick to the back of the head. Moxley charged and scored with a lariat to Fenix. Moxley captured Rey Fenix’s arms and then began to stomp Fenix.
Rey Fenix scored with a kick to Moxley. Fenix was looking for a cutter, but Mox caught him. Fenix escaped and stomped Moxley, and then followed up with the cutter for a near fall.
Rey Fenix walloped Moxley with a frog splash for a near fall! Moxley countered a fireman’s carry with elbows to Fenix. Moxley tried for the Death Rider, but Fenix countered with a cradle for a near fall. Fenix jumped off the ropes, but Moxley countered with a big antiair uppercut.
Rey Fenix connected with a thrust kick. Moxley dug his fingers into Rey Fenix’s back. Moxley bit the face of Rey Fenix. Moxley nailed Fenix with an avalanche Death Rider for a near fall! Moxley applied the sleeper, trapping Rey Fenix, and forcing Fenix to sleep.
Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli jumped into the ring with crowbars! Penta El Zero Miedo and Eddie Kingston tried to come out to make the save, but Ortiz, holding the madball, got in between them and the ring!
Santana made his return! He charged right at Penta El Zero Miedo. Rey Fenix got whacked by a crowbar in the side of the head by the BCC!
“Mike Santana making his return! Ortiz making his return!” said Excalibur.
Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, and Trent came down the ramp!
“The Best Friends now coming down,” said Tony Schiavone.
Doc Sampson had to get in the ring to check on Rey Fenix.
“I think Fenix is in bad shape here. He got cracked in the side of the head with the crowbar,” said Taz.
Rey Fenix was carried out on a stretcher and then loaded into an ambulance.
Backstage, Renee Paquette attempted to interview Eddie Kingston.
Kingston: “You saw what your husband did?! You want me to fix it? Yeah, I’m gonna fix it at Wembley, watch!”
Earlier in the day, Renee Paquette interviewed Sammy Guevara!
Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, and Daniel Garcia interrupted Sammy before Sammy could get a word out.
Menard: “Sammy, what are you doing? You realize Jericho accepted the offer? He said yes. And the only reason things went south was because of that stupid painting. Don Callis is exactly who we thought he was!”
Sammy: “Yeah, but Chris isn’t who you think he is. I’ve known him since day one of Dynamite. We’ve had our ups, we’ve had our downs, and yeah, I don’t agree with everything he does, but he’s blinded by friendship. He’s known Callis for 30 years. When your friends are in the wrong, that’s when you need to be there for them even more. I told Chris I’m always going to have his back, and I meant that.”
Angelo Parker: “Sammy, understand this, as your friends, we’re trying to make sure you don’t make that same mistake of being blinded by friendship. You see the trend here? It’s always Sammy who’s there for his friend. But when it comes down to it Sammy, is your friend going to be there for you? It’s just something to think about.”
Garcia stared at Sammy and then walked away without saying anything.
Up next: The Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay All In: London Contract Signing!
Tony Schiavone was in the ring with security.
Will Ospreay walked to the ring with Don Callis.
Chris Jericho came to the ring with Sammy Guevara.
Don Callis: “Everybody wants to know why I did what I did last week, Chris. It’s real simple. The reason I did what I did can be summed up in four words. Will By God Ospreay! Because I realize the only thing better for me than having Chris Jericho in the Don Callis family was if I could play a part in ending the career of the greatest of all time.
“And I had to make an offer to this kid that no one else could. You know what I offered him? Your head on a platter at Wembley. So yeah, I threw away 34 years of friendship, I chose money and power over our friendship. I chose writing history rather than watching it and I chose Will Ospreay over you.
“So, Chris, on a serious note, a couple years ago you nearly died in England. Well Chris, this Sunday at Wembley, I’m going to be in Will Ospreay’s corner to make sure that that job gets done to you once and for all.”
Will Ospreay: “Chris, are you actually taking this match seriously or is this some type of vanity project to get your band to play at Wembley Stadium? Do you understand what Wembley Stadium is? It is the biggest venue in the entire U.K. This match is going to change by life, bruv. The day before I wrestle Chris Jericho, I’m doing an indie. I’m trying to put as much money together to put my kid through school. This match changes my life, bruv.
“After this, after I beat you in wrestling’s biggest event, I’m going to be the only man to say I’ve beaten Kenny Omega, Okada, and Chris Jericho in two months. And that goes very well in six months’ time, because my contract comes up from New Japan Pro-Wrestling. And who is going to pay millions of dollars for Will Ospreay? Because I know I’m the best wrestler. I’m better than the Elite. I’m better than Danielson. I’m better than Punk. I’m better than you!
“All your championships, your legacy, I respect it all mate, but all it is is rocket fuel for me and my future.”
Will Ospreay signed the contract.
Chris Jericho: “Let’s talk about your future, Will. No, let’s talk about your present. And congratulations to all the things you’ve accomplished in the last six months. But I don’t think you’d have accomplished those things if it wasn’t for me. Because five years ago when the entire wrestling world was all predicting you were going to be in a wheelchair before you were 30 years old, like your hero the Dynamite Kid, because you were so reckless, I called you.
“I got your number, and I told you to tone it down because if you didn’t, you’d never have the longevity of Chris Jericho and you would never be what I’d knew you’d be before anybody else, which is one of the top stars in this business.
“And hey, you listened to me, Will, and now here we are, Wembley Stadium, Jericho versus Ospreay. And you didn’t have to attack me from behind last week to get this match, Will, because this match has been in the works for years. This match was supposed to happen in 2021 at the Tokyo Dome before the lockdown, but there’s no lockdown now. This is Wembley. This is the biggest show in pro wrestling history, which means it’s the biggest show of my career. Almost 33 years, don’t tell me this is a vanity project for me. This is bigger than any WrestleMania, this is bigger than any Tokyo Dome, this is bigger than anything!
“This match means more to me than it does to anybody else. Because you’re coming at this from the bottom. I’m coming at it from the top of the effin’ mountain with everyone trying to knock me off.
“Every hater on social media is trying to predict my demise. So that means I have to be the best Chris Jericho that I’ve ever been to beat you Will Ospreay. But in return, you have to be the best Will Ospreay you’ve ever been to beat me.”
Chris Jericho signed the contract.
Jericho: “So prove it to me Ospreay. Prove it to your family at Wembley sitting in the front row. Your mother, your father, you missus, your four year old stepson that you’ve got to put through school. Prove it to them in front of 80,000 of your countrymen that you can beat Chris Jericho. And don’t make me regret the fact that I picked up the phone and called you five years ago. And don’t make me forget that I kept you from being in a wheelchair—”
Will Ospreay slapped the microphone out of Jericho’s hand! Jericho slapped Will Ospreay in the face! Security had to keep Jericho and Ospreay separated.
Renee Paquette spoke with Adam Cole backstage!
Adam Cole: “It’s so bizarre, never in a million years would you think a guy like Adam Cole and MJF would not only get along but become best friends. I think the world of him professionally. He’s an absolutely amazing professional wrestler. We’ve had a ton of fun together.
“But the thing I appreciate the most about MJF is he helped me find myself again. When I came back from my injury, my confidence was at an all time low. This relationship that I’ve formed with Max, he’s reminded me who the real Adam Cole is. And I’ll love him forever for that.
“When I got into pro wrestling, I never got into it with the intention of being a wrestler. I got in with the intention of being the best pro wrestler. I’ve won world championships all over the globe, but the AEW World Championship solidifies you as the best pro wrestler on the planet. This match is everything. I don’t want to win the match. I need to win the match. And I will.
“I don’t understand how people find it so hard to process that two people can be friends. Is it that hard? Is it that hard? I’m gonna say this one time and one time only. There are no issues with me and Max. None! Thank you, Renee!”
Tornado Tag Team Match!
Mogul Embassy’s Swerve Strickland & AR Fox (with Prince Nana)
vs.
Darby Allin & Nick Wayne!
Swerve threw Darby hard into the barricade. AR Fox nailed Nick Wayne with a German suplex off the top rope. AR Fox hit an implosion senton to the outside on Nick Wayne and Darby Allin!
Nick Wayne’s mother was in the front row.
Swerve spiked Nick on the apron. Nick Wayne jumped off the turnbuckle and blasted Swerve and Fox with a double cutter on the arena floor!
“Double Wayne’s World on the outside!” said Excalibur.
Darby nailed Swerve and Fox with a Coffin Drop from the turnbuckle to the arena floor!
Nick Wayne tried for Wayne’s World again, but Fox and Swerve countered with a brutal neck breaker! Darby came over the top with a stunner to Fox and then rocketed to the outside like a missile to Swerve!
Swerve crushed Darby on the arena floor with a Swerve Stomp from off the apron! Swerve booted Nick in the face. Fox hit a corkscrew brainbuster on Nick Wayne, but Nick kicked out at two! Fox did it again, but Nick Wayne kicked out again! Swerve kicked Nick in the back of the head…Nick kicked out of the pin attempt again!
“He has great resilience,” said Taz.
Swerve and Fox hit double pump kicks in the corner on Nick Wayne. Fox went for the 450 splash but Nick Wayne rolled out of the way! Nick Wayne cradled Fox and pinned him while Darby held back Swerve!
Swerve: “This is so disappointing. And by disappointing, I mean you Fox. How come every time you get the opportunity of a lifetime, you blow it! I tried. Why are you such a loser Fox? Little did you know this was a test for you. This was all a test. You can’t be an 18-year-old child Nick Wayne, who I wiped the floor with. I can’t trust you Fox. I can’t trust you in this match. I damn sure can’t trust you in front of 80,000 people at Wembley.”
Prince Nana: “On behalf of the Mogul Embassy, AR Fox you are fired!”
“The Machine” Brian Cage jumped into the ring from out of nowhere and rocked Fox with a spinning lariat. Cage planted Fox with the Drill Claw.
Darby Allin and Nick Wayne came back down to the ring, but this time they brought Sting with them! The Mogul Embassy retreated, leaving behind AR Fox.
Darby: “AR Fox, I wouldn’t be here today without you. You changed my life. You took me in when I was homeless. And no matter what you did to me, I’m always going to credit you for helping me make it here. Take my hand. I love you, man.”
Darby Allin and AR Fox hugged.
Darby: “Swerve, you’re stupider than I thought. 80,000 people in London, this Sunday, what are you going to do? Who do you got?”
Swerve and Prince Nana were standing beside Brian Cage and laughing. Christian Cage and the TNT Champion Luchasaurus walked out.
Christian Cage: “You guys shouldn’t be so surprised. The true greats are always two steps ahead, ain’t that right, Stinger? Darby, Sting, are you going to introduce me to your little friend? I think I know who this guy is. I heard a lot about you, Nick Wayne. It’s nice to meet you in person finally. I heard about your story. And I understand you have a father, and your father is dead.
“I also understand that your father was a professional wrestler. Well, I’ve never heard of your father, Buddy Wayne before, so he must not have been very good. The good news for you, Nick, is because your father was such a talentless hack, you don’t have a lot to live up to. And if I were you, I’d still clear of Wembley Stadium this Sunday, because I’d hate for you to have déjà vu and watch that coffin door close on someone you love for the second time in your life.
“But hey Nick, if you play your cards right, kid, I’ll be there to mentor you when it’s all over. Because we all know that every fatherless child needs a true mentor and there’s no better mentor than the TNT Champion!”
“Reminder that the TNT Champion is Luchasaurus and not Christian Cage,” said Excalibur.
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR—Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler had a face-to-face interview with the Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson!
Cash: “We need to know once and for all, and same for you guys I’m sure, who is better—FTR or the Young Bucks. No excuses.”
Renee: “Each team has one apiece. We’re now going into the rubber match for the championship in front of 80,000+ fans in a packed Wembley Stadium. Does this feel like the biggest match in your career?”
Matt Jackson: “Yeah, when we first did All In all those years ago, it seemed impossible to do 10,000 in an arena. And now here we are 8 times over. Biggest match of our career…understatement of the century.”
Nick Jackson: “I feel like Matt and I are made men. We don’t need to win this match. These guys need to beat us for their legacy to be cemented on the top. I feel strongly about that too.”
Dax: “This goes far beyond business. This is personal to us. It’s about the AEW World Tag Team Championships. But I think it goes far beyond the AEW World Tag Team Championships. And I’ve said it to the point where it annoys me. The legacy. FTR’s legacy. And the only tag team that stands in our legacy is the Young Bucks. And on Monday morning I don’t want to wake up to explain to my family that I lost.”
Matt Jackson: “I’d love to remind you, how do you feed your daughter? Do you remember we brought you here? We were the reason you have jobs here. You want to talk about legacy? I hate to do this, and I know this just got awkward, but this is the truth. One day when this is all said and done, and we decide to hang up our sneakers and say that’s it, you know what people are going to say about the Young Bucks? ‘The Young Bucks…let’s finally give them their damn flowers. That’s the best damn tag team that has ever competed in pro wrestling.’
“And do you know what they’re going to say about you? They’re not going to say it. They’re going to whisper it. They’re going to say, ‘And those guys, those are the guys the Young Bucks named on their YouTube show.’ And that’s the truth.” Dax: “You guys had to jump on our name, and on our popularity and insult us, because you wanted to be on our level. There ain’t no way. But here’s the thing. 80,000 people, we will make you guys. Every time you get a chance you say you’re the foundation. Well, we’re the foundation here now.”
Matt Jackson: “We’ll see you at Wembley.”
Skye Blue vs. The Outcasts’ Ruby Soho!
Ruby dumped Skye to the outside. Skye swept out Ruby’s leg on the apron. Skye connected with a thrust kick and then whipped Ruby into the guardrail.
Ruby chopped at Skye in the corner. Ruby gouged Skye’s eyes. Sky rocked Ruby with a jumping knee strike. Skye jumped off the apron and hit Ruby with a diving crossbody press.
Skye jumped off the top rope with another diving crossbody for a near fall on Ruby. Skye planted Ruby with a spinning neck breaker. Skye Blue nailed Ruby with Skye Fall for a two-count!
Ruby countered the Code Blue attempt. Ruby cracked Skye with the No Future kick! Ruby spiked Skye with the Destination Unknown and then pinned her!
Renee Paquette was backstage with Roderick Strong and The Kingdom!
Strong: “At the end of the night at All In, we’re going to find out who the real MJF is and we’re going to find out who the real Adam Cole is.”
The Acclaimed—Max Caster and Anthony Bowens came to the ring!
Bowens: “No more games! We’re still standing! House of Black, get your asses to this ring right now! Let’s fight!”
The arena went black as the lights switched off!
The AEW World Trios Champs—The House of Black—walked down the ramp with Julia Hart!
The House of Black surrounded the Acclaimed, who were standing in the ring outnumbered. Both teams began to brawl, 3 on 2! The Acclaimed were outnumbered and were being pummeled by the House of Black.
Daddy Ass stormed to the ring and the House of Black retreated!
Daddy Ass: “Hold on just one second! You wanted my attention, well, now you’ve got it. So let me try to explain to you kind of what you’ve done. A couple of weeks ago after you beat me for the second time, I sat right there, unlaced my boots, and I did the two hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my entire life. Walk out on Max and Anthony and leave behind a really good career. And I was okay with that but then last week you jumped Max and Anthony.
“You busted Max open. You hurt one of my kids. But that wasn’t good enough. Then you took my boots, and you destroyed them. You tried to tear down a legacy that has taken me 32 years to build. I’ve done stuff in this business that will go down in wrestling history. I am a hall of famer and you just pissed all over it.
“So, for that, for that, one more time, it’s all or nothing, All In, Wembley Stadium in front of 80,000 people. Look in my eyes. I take everything from you. Because at All In it’s the House of Black against the Acclaimed and well, unfortunately that fun loving Daddy Ass can’t make the trip. But there is a guy I thought we’d never see again. And I guarantee you never wish you saw him either because there’s a bad ass coming to London and his name is Billy Gunn!”
Main Event Time!
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match!
Aussie Open—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis (c.)
vs.
The Hardys—Matt & Jeff Hardy!
Aussie Open came in hot, charging right at the Hardys. Matt and Jeff began to fire back.
The fans chanted “Let’s go Hardys! Let’s go Hardys!”
Jeff launched off Matt’s back and splashed Mark Davis in the corner. Jeff did it again, this time to Kyle Fletcher!
The Hardys hit clotheslines on Aussie Open, sending the champs over the top rope and spilling to the arena floor.
Jeff Hardy jumped off the top turnbuckle and wiped out Aussie Open. Matt back body dropped Kyle Fletcher. Matt DDT’ed Davis and then hit the Side Effect on Fletcher for a near fall. Matt dropped an elbow across the base of Fletcher’s neck.
Matt superplexed Fletcher and then Jeff splashed Fletcher for a near fall. Davis was there to break up the pin attempt. Fletcher powerbombed Matt Hardy. Davis muscled up Jeff Hardy and then planted him right into a kick by Fletcher! Aussie Open double teamed Jeff with the Aussie Arrow and pinned Jeff!
“Hey man, you get a win over the Hardys, that’s impressive,” said Taz.
Kyle Fletcher: “Wembley Stadium, there will be no double clothesline. There will be no kangaroo kick. And Aussie Open will still be your Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions, baybay!”
The fans erupted as AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole headed to the ring shoulder to shoulder. They faced off with Aussie Open and had a stare down. Things broke down and MJF and Cole brawled with Aussie Open. Aussie Open beat down Cole and MJF. Aussie Open were going for the double clothesline on Adam Cole until MJF jumped on Davis’ back. Adam Cole wiped out Fletcher with a pump kick, and then he served up a pump kick to Davis!
MJF and Cole called for the double clothesline! Davis bailed out of the ring, though. MJF was about to go for the kangaroo kick on Fletcher when Davis hit MJF from behind! Cole wiped out Davis with a superkick! Fletcher charged at Cole, but MJF saved him by clocking Fletcher with a back elbow. MJF held Fletcher back for Adam Cole to superkick Fletcher. Fletcher escaped and Adam Cole almost inadvertently superkicked MJF, but MJF caught the kick with his hands and blocked it.
MJF held up his AEW World Championship Title. Adam Cole offered his hand, but MJF pushed past him. MJF pulled out his Dynamite diamond ring and put it on his finger. He turned around, but then removed it and put it back in his pocket. MJF called for Cole and then they hugged!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from NOW Arena in Chicago, IL!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c!
Be a part of history! This Sunday order All In: London from Wembley Stadium, live on pay-per-view at 6pm BST / 1pm ET! Zero Hour begins at 5pm BST / Noon ET / 9am PT!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE: Fight for The Fallen was broadcast from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN!
Yourbroadcast team was Excalibur and Tony Schiavone!
Kicking off tonight’s show:Rey Fenix vs. Komander!
There was a bit of a stalemate in the early goings after some excellent chain wrestling.
“Komander with the early lead on points,” said Excalibur.
Fenix ran the top rope and tried for a punt kick, but Komander dodged it. Komander countered with a hurracanrana and then a tope. Excalibur noted that Fenix was an idol of young Komander’s.
Rey Fenix smashed Komander with a big diving stomp for a near fall. Fenix blasted Komander with a sliding thrust kick.
“Rey Fenix in the driver’s seat,” said Excalibur, as the momentum quickly shifted.
It turned into a slug fest. Fenix and Komander punished one another with stiff chops. Komander spiked Fenix with a hurracanrana for a two-count.
“I don’t see how Rey Fenix got out of that one,” said Schiavone.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Komander hit a lung blower on Rey Fenix for a near fall. Rey Fenix nailed Komander with a cutter as Komander. Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli were watching on a monitor backstage.
Rey Fenix performed the tight rope walk into a punt on Komander! Komander came out of nowhere with a crucifix bomb! Komander connected with a hook kick. Fenix came around with a hook kick of his own, and both men were knocked to the mat.
Komander shoved Rey Fenix off the top rope and followed up with a Canadian destroyer! Komander hit the shooting star press after walking the ropes, good for a near fall on Rey Fenix. Komander went for the 450 splash but Fenix dodged it.
“What a battle we are witnessing tonight,” said Excalibur.
“This is what AEW is all about,” added Tony Schiavone.
Rey Fenix planted Komander with a muscle buster in the center of the ring and pinned him!
Renee Paquette interviewed Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. backstage!
Baker: “Renee, I was in the first All In five years ago. I was in the female four way. Then I was the first female signed to All Elite Wrestling. I helped lay brick by brick the foundation that is this women’s division. I can’t think of a better full circle moment than to win for the second time the AEW Women’s World Championship at Wembley.”
ROH World Tag Team Champions Aussie Open—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis
vs.
Brother Zay & “All Ego” Ethan Page!
Aussie Open ambushed Page and Zay at the start of the match. Aussie Open hit tandem offense on Brother Zay. Brother Zay took down Fletcher with an arm drag. Zay kicked Davis in the head and tagged out to Ethan Page.
Brother Zay flipped off the top turnbuckle and wiped out Aussie Open on the arena floor! Page powerslammed Fletcher in the ring. Aussie Open sandwiched Page and Zay, ramming them into one another.
Page nailed Fletcher with a brainbuster and then tagged to Brother Zay. He took the fight to Fletcher. Zay connected with a springboard cross body press to Fletcher for a near fall.
“When Brother Zay is in the ring everybody has a good time except his opponents,” said Tony Schiavone.
Fletcher cracked Brother Zay with a thrust kick after Zay missed a swanton. Aussie Open neutralized Ethan Page with stereo thrust kicks. Aussie Open connected with double lariats on Brother Zay and then Davis pinned Zay after they hit the Coriolis.
Davis: “Next Sunday at Wembley Stadium, Aussie Open proves they’re the best!”
Fletcher: “MJF and Adam Cole, you’ll never hit a kangaroo kick in your lives!”
The Righteous—Vincent, Dutch, and Grayson, have their sights set on AEW!
The Hardys were watching from the Hardy Compound, and they issued a challenge to Aussie Open for next week on Dynamite: Fyter Fest!
Sammy Guevara vs. Jon Cruz!
Sammy backflipped over Cruz and took down Cruz with a corkscrew dropkick. Sammy flipped over the top rope and crashed onto Cruz on the arena floor, making it look easy.
“Sammy may be the smoothest wrestler in AEW,” said Tony Schiavone.
Sammy cracked Cruz with a knee strike and then finished him off with the GTH, more than enough for the pinfall victory on Cruz.
Main Event Time!
AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue
vs.
The Outcasts’ Ruby Soho & Toni Storm (with Saraya)!
Skye Blue hammered Ruby with forearms. Skye cracked Ruby with a knee strike. Toni Storm tagged in and she and Ruby stomped Skye in the corner.
The Outcasts double teamed Skye Blue. Toni Storm sent Skye soaring to the floor with a hip attack. Shida tagged in and took the fight to Storm and Soho. Shida hoisted up Ruby and then planted her hard on the mat. Shida caught Ruby with the question mark kick. Skye came in but Ruby planted her with the Saito Suplex.
Shida connected with a knee strike to Ruby. Skye tagged in and followed up with the Code Blue on Ruby. While the ref was trying to separate Toni and Shida in the corner, Saraya slid a can of spray paint into the ring for Ruby Soho. Ruby sprayed Skye Blue in the eyes! Toni rammed into Skye in the corner with the hip attack!
“Skye couldn’t see it coming,” said Excalibur.
Toni Storm covered Skye for the pin, but Shida broke it up!
“Shida keeping her team alive in this match,” said Excalibur.
Shida tagged in and she and Toni Storm traded forearms, a prelude to All In: London. Shida ran into the ropes, but Saraya grabbed her by the boot. Shida turned around and Toni Storm was there with a vicious high kick to the champ.
The Outcasts had Shida up for a powerbomb, but Skye Blue jumped into the ring and rocked Storm with a thrust kick. Shida countered the No Future kick from Ruby Soho with a jackknife and pinned Soho!
The Outcasts mugged Skye Blue after the match. Saraya blindsided Saraya! Dr. Britt Baker sprinted to the ring and began to brawl with Toni Storm! Shida and Saraya slugged it out. Security ran down to try to separate the four women!
“I say stay out of their way and let them go for it,” said Tony Schiavone.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE: Fyter Fest on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Gas South Arena in Duluth, GA!
Don’t miss AEW Collision: Fight For The Fallen on Saturday live on TNT at 8/7c from the Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
This past Wednesday on DYNAMITE, more matches for ALL IN: LONDON coalesced into being with a Stadium Stampede, Jericho and Ospreay, Kenny Omega challenging BULLET CLUB GOLD to a Trios match, and Dr. Britt Baker locking in her spot in the AEW Women’s World Championship Four Way! Tensions also increased between AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole ahead of their loaded trip to London, and Sting had a rather…interesting…meeting with Prince Nana in conjunction with Darby Allin and Nick Wayne defeating The Gates of Agony.
With Wembley barely a week away, this Friday night’s edition of RAMPAGE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2023 features ROH World Tag Champions Aussie Open are in action against Brother Zay and “All Ego” Ethan Page, Skye Blue and AEW Women’s World Champion Shida in tag team action against The Outcasts, and Rey Fenix battling Komander! Plus, we will hear from Dr. Britt Baker after that win over The Bunny punched her ticket to ALL IN: LONDON! The night begins at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so visit the official AEW YouTube channel ahead of time for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
ALL IN: LONDON PREVIEW…
AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho & Toni Storm
Two of the women involved in this tag team fracas will be part of the Four Way fight for the AEW Women’s World Championship at ALL IN: LONDON. Obviously Hikaru Shida, after defeating Anna Jay last week, heads into that night in Wembley as the defending champion while Toni Storm, as the one deposed by Shida, gets her rematch in the form of this Four Way bout. Now Ruby Soho was not involved in this title picture situation, but the third Outcast, the one who brought the band together in the first place, Saraya, she’s the one responsible for knocking Skye Blue out of the championship running last week on RAMPAGE.
So this Friday night, in somewhat of a preview of what’s to come in London, Shida and Skye will team up to battle Storm and Soho, with some hope of gaining an advantage over the others on their minds! At this point, there is plenty of animosity between all the women involved in this tag team bout, but will we also see Saraya stick her nose into this fight? It seems inevitable that where one Outcast goes, the other two are sure to follow, so where there’s two, there will also likely be three, and that third will probably try to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong.
Shida and Skye, especially Skye, are quite familiar with the games played by The Outcasts, and as such should be quite prepared for them, but if the former AEW Women’s World Champion, her tag partner, and their third woman on the outside do manage to pull a fast one, it won’t be the best way for Shida to head into her London excursion.
For morale reasons, as well as for momentum, Shida and Storm both need this victory prior to AEW heading into the biggest night in company history, and all four women involved in the actual match are talented enough to make this an event fight. It may all come down to that x-factor known as Saraya…
Twice during ROH ON HONOR CLUB Komander has partnered with The Lucha Brothers and El Hijo Del Vikingo in Eight-Man Tag Team competition, and on both occasions they proved victorious, but this Friday night on RAMPAGE, the two Lucha sensations will not be partners, but rather foes, and what an exciting match-up that is on paper!
Rey Fenix has demonstrated in a multitude of matches just how talented he is in singles competition, and the times he has flown solo have led to some of the most exciting bouts in AEW or ROH history. Just look to his bouts this year against Gravity, Gringo Loco, Claudio Castagnoli, and Powerhouse Hobbs as examples of what Fenix brings to the table in singles competition. Win or lose, Fenix is one of the most thrilling competitors to watch in action no matter who he steps into the ring with for a fight!
Now Komander, having just picked up his first AEW singles victory over Kip Sabian, has also been impressive in his outings against foes like Chris Jericho, Gravity, El Hijo del Vikingo, and also Claudio Castagnoli. He is reminiscent of Rey Fenix, but with his own high-flying twist on the style, thought not as tested in the sheer violence that the former AEW World Tag Team and World Trios Champion has experienced during his AEW tenure.
So the thought of these two mixing it up as opponents is salivating, and they will no doubt push each to their limits. This is the kind of match a young Luchador like Komander dreams about, and his dream is about to come true on Friday night, but will it also be a dream that ends in victory? Or will the experience of Rey Fenix win out in the end? Do not miss out on this one!
TAG TEAM BOUT…
ROH World Tag Team Champions Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Davis)
Both of these teams had some business to attend to on Wednesday night during DYNAMITE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2023, but only one of those teams left covered in blood, after a match that saw a chainsaw wielding maniac emerge at ringside, and was one of the most chaotic scenes ever witnessed on AEW television. The match may have been between Jeff Hardy and Jeff Jarrett but everyone associated with those two men, including Zay and “All Ego”, got involved in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match (https://www.txchainsawgame.com/hub).
As for Aussie Open, they got into it with AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole ahead of their ZERO HOUR championship bout, but were the ones left ducking away from the situation, and apparently MJF’s Kangaroo Kick at the end of the scuffle. Now, as Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis prepare for the biggest night in AEW’s history, they’ve got to take on Zay and Ethan Page, two men certainly not pleased with how their Wednesday night went either.
Can the ROH World Tag Champions stay ahead on top heading into Wembley Stadium, or will this Hardy Party duo upset their apple cart?
On Wednesday night, in their first singles match, Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D topped The Bunny to earn her spot at ALL IN: LONDON and the AEW Women’s World Championship Four Way! What this now means for Baker is an opportunity to reclaim the belt she lost to Thunder Rosa at DYNAMITE: ST. PATRICK’S DAY SLAM 2022, and potentially from the woman she first beat at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2021 to claim it in the first place. Why potentially? Because Britt doesn’t have to beat Shida directly to claim the prize, she could also put down either Saraya or Toni Storm to become a 2-Time Champion, and etch her name in the history books next to Storm and Shida. What will the Good Doctor have to say about the opportunity coming at Wembley? Tune in Friday night to hear what she has to say!
This Friday night on RAMPAGE, as ALL IN: LONDON nears, AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida teams with Skye Blue to fight The Outcasts, Dr. Britt Baker talks after her victory over The Bunny, the ROH World Tag Team Champions fight Ethan Page and Brother Zay, and Rey Fenix takes on Komander! The fights begin at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
