https://www.youtube.com/embed/iHozZCzobW8
For the first time since February 19th of 2020, AEW welcomes fans back to Georgia as we debut in the Gas South Arena in Duluth (Buy Tickets)! Last week, between DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, was quite an intense one for the All Elite locker room. Bryan Danielson continued his hunt towards the AEW World Title by literally kicking the teeth out of Colt Cabana’s head on Wednesday, while Eddie Kingston and Daniel Garcia beat the tar out of one another on Friday night.
Cody Rhodes got dropped by Andrade El Idolo in vicious fashion, Riho earned herself a Women’s World Title Match, Thunder Rosa advanced in the TBS Title Tournament, and CM Punk engaged in a wild verbal sparring session with MJF!
All of that has led to this Wednesday night’s adventures in Duluth, and the stacked card for the fans in attendance and those watching at home! Cody and Andrade collide in an Atlanta Street Fight, the last Quarter-Final match in the TBS Title tournament goes down between two fan favorites, Atlanta’s own Alan Angels steps up to “The American Dragon”, and CM Punk is set to test himself against Lee Moriarty!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/kNH9uj4dhSc
It all begins at 8pm EST/7pm CST on TNT, and at AEWPlus.com for our international audience, but prior to that be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to watch the latest episodes of DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, and ROAD TO, plus follow the official Twitter for breaking news, highlights from events AS THEY HAPPEN, the latest rankings and more!
ATLANTA STREET FIGHT
“The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes vs. Andrade El Idolo
https://www.youtube.com/embed/aI-Z6CLoPuw
As mentioned above, AEW has not been in front of the Georgia fans since February 2020 and on that Atlanta night, we all witnessed Cody Rhodes fly off the top of a Steel Cage in order to defeat Wardlow. It was a moment impossible to forget, the sort of indelible memory upon which wrestling fandoms are built, and a tremendous punctuation on “The American Nightmare” coming home to Georgia. The fans roared in response to Rhodes’ victory, the kind of hard-earned standing ovation that comes from fans acknowledging the fight they just witnessed one of their favorites survive, and the risk he took to win.
Fast forward 21 months and Cody is on the verge of another Georgia homecoming this Wednesday night when he meets Andrade El Idolo in an Atlanta Street Fight. Rhodes has proven time and again that he is quite comfortable in these wild, unpredictable match situations, but it will be the first time AEW has seen Andrade in such a manner. Their first battle on November 3rd saw Andrade pick up the victory, and while Cody and PAC picked up the FULL GEAR 2021 victory, any revelry was short-lived as Rhodes and Death Triangle were bested in 8-Man action last Wednesday.
Taking nothing away from the amazing action that took place in their sixteen minute fight, but one of the most intriguing aspects of that match was how the Chicago crowd took to Rhodes, treating him with a mix of boos as well as cheers, even throwing his signature weight belt back into the ring, and even a great number of them actually rallying behind the moment in the video embedded above when El Idolo dropped Rhodes skull-first onto the concrete.
It is going to be quite an interesting moment to see how Cody is received when he steps out onto the stage for this homecoming Street Fight opposite Andrade. Will he be embraced by the Georgia faithful? And, however he is greeted, can Rhodes drown out that cacophony and focus on his foe? Under these rules, or lack thereof, “The American Nightmare” can ill afford to let anything distract him lest Andrade continue as his ally Malakai Black did and defeat Rhodes in their first two meetings!
TBS WOMEN’S TITLE TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…
Kris Statlander vs. Ruby Soho
***WINNER FACES NYLA ROSE IN SEMI-FINALS***
https://www.youtube.com/embed/OnHFayKthjA
What an exciting match-up between two fan favorites as each aims toward advancing in the TBS Women’s Title Tournament! Each was stifled by Dr. Britt Baker recently in bids to become AEW Women’s World Champion, although to be fair the entourage certainly played a part in the Good Doctor surviving their challenges, and now each is focused on being the first TBS Women’s Champion!
While Statlander earned a bye in the first round due to her spot in the rankings, Ruby Soho had to defeat Penelope Ford last month in the opening match of the entire tournament. The difference between that match for “The Runaway” and this contest is night-and-day; the first round match was one in which Ruby had to worry about Ford’s partner The Bunny getting involved and Ford likely trying to cut corners to get a win. This fight is one about professional wrestling, it is about proving who is the better woman, and about who wants the TBS Women’s Title more. Each will likely have fans in their corner, rallying behind either Kris and Ruby to advance, and in the end regardless of which woman wins, the loser will likely show support for the victor.
As for the spoils waiting for said victor, that would be a Semi-Final fight with “The Native Beast” Nyla Rose!
ONE-ON-ONE…
Bryan Danielson vs. Alan “5” Angels
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Okio8VEsCqU
For the second consecutive week, “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson lived up to his promise to kick in the head of every Dark Order member until he gets his hard-earned World Title match with “Hangman” Adam Page. The first time out it was Evil Uno who felt the wrath of Danielson when DYNAMITE came to Page’s home state of Virginia and with AEW’s return to the Windy City, it would be Colt Cabana who Bryan earmarked as his next victim.
As two men quite familiar with one another as both friend and foe, Bryan and Colt were each quite ready for the fight, but on that night in the Wintrust Arena, Dragon upped his viciousness and stomped the teeth right out of Cabana’s mouth. Two Dark Order members up, two DO members put down, and with AEW coming to Georgia this week, Danielson already had his eyes on the next battle:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZIQofjKuAG4
On behalf of The Dark Order, as well as Georgia, it is Alan “5” Angels who has stepped up to the challenge! Angels is no stranger to these underdog situations, just look at his two bouts with Kenny Omega as proof of that, and would love to play the spoiler in Danielson’s title hunt. Between the home state energy, The Dark Order motivations, and his own desire to step up to that next level, Alan has plenty of reasons to crave this victory on Wednesday night.
Will Bryan Danielson continue kicking heads in until there is nothing left in his wake but broken Dark Order members? Can Alan Angels show the world just how strongly he has evolved and pull off the biggest upset in AEW’s history? Tune in to TNT or AEWPlus.com to find out!!!
A TEST…
CM Punk vs. Lee Moriarty
https://www.youtube.com/embed/SPAAKVDDEUU
Last week on DYNAMITE, CM Punk thought he was entering the ring to battle QT Marshall with the head of The Factory looking to ruin Punk’s Chicago homecoming. And while “The Best In The World” would eventually get to that fight, he first found himself engaged in an epic verbal battle with Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
The complete, must-see interaction can be viewed in the video embedded above, but suffice to say that neither man pulled any punches in what they chose to express. One of Max’s main points was Punk seemed to be struggling to get his victories, escaping by the skin of his teeth to his hand raised, and that maybe Punk just did not have it anymore. Maybe Punk, after his seven years away, just couldn’t keep up with the talent in AEW and after seven matches, the cracks were finally starting to show.
Perhaps MJF is right, but if he had listened to the words Punk spoke back at RAMPAGE: THE FIRST DANCE, he would realize that finding out is just one of the reasons “The Best In The World” came back to wrestling in the first place! From the beginning, Punk said he wanted to test himself, he wanted to find out if he could still go with the newest generation of wrestlers, he wanted to find out if he still had that nebulous concept of “it”. Well this week the self-evaluation continues for Punk:
Lee Moriarty, having recently slid under the learning tree of Matt Sydal, is one of the hottest prospects in all of professional wrestling, and his addition to the AEW locker room was a huge boon. He looked quite impressive against Bobby Fish on the RAMPAGE: BUY-IN last month, excelled in he and Sydal’s tag encounter with Lio Rush and Dante Martin as well as in his singles bouts with Dante, Joey Janela, and Daniel Garcia. Moriarty has demonstrated that he has all the tools to be a top player in All Elite Wrestling, and is going to give CM Punk a run for his money this Wednesday night. It is the biggest moment in Lee’s AEW career, possibly even his career as a whole, and could be a huge breakout night for the innovate of TaigaStyle!
AN UNDEFEATED COLLISION…
Gunn Club (Billy & Colten) (9-0) vs. Sting & Darby Allin (4-0)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/-eKmNuQOuos
In recent weeks, The Gunn family became increasingly fed up with being overlooked despite their impressive records in both tag team and trios matches. Be it Billy and Austin, Billy and Colten, Colten and Austin, or all three, their record is quite possibly the most impressive in AEW in terms of wins and losses. Colten himself is 35-0 since he debuted just over a year ago! He and his father are 9-0 as a team, the three Gunn’s are 20-0 in All Elite Wrestling! However one looks at it, Colten Gunn has to carry the longest winning streak in AEW, but this Wednesday night in Georgia, it may all come to an end!
On DYNAMITE, after the last several weeks of escalating hostilities that included Darby Allin pinning Billy Gunn, The Gunn Club will battle Sting and Darby, and one team is going to pick up their first loss! Will it be the painted pair who continues into December without an “L” on their record, or will the familial bond of The Gunn’s be the key to victory?
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Lee Moriarty looks to score his biggest win against CM Punk! One tag team will get its first loss! Cody comes home looking for revenge! One woman will get closer to the TBS Title! And Alan “5” Angels aims to upset Danielson! DYNAMITE kicks off at 8pm EST/7pm CST on TNT, also at AEWPlus.com for our international audience, and you can prepare for the action by visiting the official AEW YouTube channel for the latest episodes of DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, and ROAD TO! And be sure to follow the official AEW Twitter for breaking news, events highlights AS THEY HAPPEN, the latest rankings and more!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ova_dREL4O4 Article source: allelitewrestling.com