The playing field of All Elite Wrestling is constantly shifting, and last week fans witnessed quite a few moments that serve as example. After weeks of Matt Hardy pushing and prodding Private Party, the duo finally crossed the line by first cheating to win their match, and then assaulting Top Flight and Matt Sydal following their win. Hangman Page broke the hearts of The Inner Circle by, as politely as possible, declining the offer to join their ranks.
Peter Avalon surprised the world in his bout against Cody, in part thanks to Jade Cargill, while Nick Camoroto had a great showing with former World Champion Jon Moxley. The dynamics of the Young Bucks/Good Brothers/Kenny Omega took some interesting turns while Don Callis took his lumps, and The Inner Circle’s official tag team was determined!
This week, that team of Chris Jericho and MJF takes the stage, the Good Brothers and Young Bucks have an in-ring reunion, Cody Rhodes addresses Shaquille O’Neal, Kingston and Archer finally lock horns, we will hear from TNT Champion Darby Allin, Sting, and Jon Moxley about their upcoming fights, and more!
An all-new DYNAMITE kicks off at 8pm EST/7pm CST on TNT, or on AEWPlus.com for our International audience! Of course, be sure to head to the official AEW YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/AEW/videos) for the full Elite Experience, including AEW DARK, THE ROAD TO DYNAMITE, Pre- & Post-Game shows, and more!!
Also prior to DYNAMITE, at 7pm EST head on over to BRLive (Watch Here) for the AEW Dynamite Awards!!! Virtual award presenters include Shaquille O’Neal, Bert Kreischer, Chael Sonnen, and Danielle Fishel Karp as they present the awards for BIGGEST SURPRISE, BREAKOUT STAR MALE & FEMALE, BIGGEST WTF MOMENT, HARDEST MOMENT TO CLEAN UP, LOL AWARD, and more!!!
BROTHERS?
AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE YOUNG BUCKS (MATT & NICK JACKSON) & IMPACT WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE GOOD BROTHERS (KARL ANDERSON & LUKE GALLOWS)
VS.
THE DARK ORDER (ALEX REYNOLDS, EVIL UNO, JOHN SILVER, & STU GRAYSON)
“They’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here after they screwed The Young Bucks! They screwed AEW”
Those were the words of Chris Jericho as he sat in on DYNAMITE commentary a few weeks ago when the IMPACT Wrestling Tag Team Champions Gallows and Anderson stood inside an AEW ring, alongside AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, and laid a vicious beating on former champion Jon Moxley. It was a shock to the system seeing those two men inside Daily’s Place, and possibly an even greater shock seeing The Young Bucks choose the side of their former Club brothers against AEW roster members, like The Varsity Blondes, who were trying to assist Moxley.
But factor in a history between Karl Anderson and the brothers Jackson that dates back to 2006, plus all the time spent together in Japan away from family and the familiar comforts of home, it becomes less shocking that Matt and Nick chose to not only help their long time running buddies, but also join in on a certain infamous hand gesture.
It felt like, as the saying goes, the band was back together and that the roster of All Elite Wrestling was in for very rough times ahead! Yet one week later, on the January 13th DYNAMITE, when it appeared The Elite of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks would reunite for a six-man tag (their first time since August) the bonds did not seem quite so strong. While Matt and Nick were waiting for their entrance to follow that of the AEW World Champion, Anderson and Gallows emerged to team up with Kenny! To say that the AEW World Tag Team Champions felt bamboozled would be an understatement, but Omega and The Good Brothers all insisted it was not arranged with their knowledge, essentially laying it in the lap of Don Callis.
Well, as can be seen in the video embedded right above, Matt and Nick made sure Callis suffered for his sins, leaving a little souvenir of their visit across his face. For his sake, hopefully “The Invisible Hand” learned a lesson and won’t think about deceiving The Young Bucks again, especially this week, as the tag team champions of AEW and IMPACT unite to compete on DYNAMITE!
For the first time since January 23rd of 2016, almost five years to the day in fact, The Young Bucks and The Good Brothers will unite to compete against another club, rather a family, looking to rebound after experiencing a heartbreaking night one week ago. Last Wednesday, after picking up a win in four-on-four competition and weeks of “will he, won’t he”, Hangman Page finally told The Dark Order that he was NOT joining the unit. It was a soul crushing blow to Silver, Reynolds, Uno, and the rest of the group, but this week the Dark Order aims to recover from that injury with a victory over the two top teams in their respective companies.
Although there is more history between The Young Bucks and Good Brothers, the recent history of that quartet is clearly problematic. From whatever Jericho meant when he said Anderson and Gallows screwed AEW and The Young Bucks, to the events two weeks ago in that six-man tag, to the general influence Don Callis has, this is a very untenable situation. Considering The Dark Order, despite the assorted inner bickering between members, is on the same page when it comes to big picture items. They function far more like a family than The Young Bucks and Good Brothers could hope to right now, and that unity may be the game changing factor in this eight-man tag team battle.
Tune in Wednesday night to see just how these tumultuous circumstances play out!
CODY AND SHAQ DIESEL…
This situation has been escalating for quite some time now, or more specifically, the words and actions of Jade Cargill have been escalating the situation. Ever since she elected to steal the stage from Cody Rhodes the DYNAMITE after FULL GEAR 2020, on behalf of herself and NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, she has been a constant thorn in the side of the Rhodes Family. From verbally berating Cody on that night, as well as when he appeared on THE WAITING ROOM WITH DR. BRITT BAKER, to assaulting Brandi and injuring her arm, Jade has insisted upon the Rhodes family.
As for Shaquille himself, he graced AEW television with his presence (Watch Here) back on December 9th, in a face-to-face sit-down with Brandi Rhodes that Tony Schiavone did his best to moderate. Suffice to say that Shaq came out of the conversation all wet and looking like quite the overgrown…let’s go with jerk.
Despite that rather humiliating experience, or perhaps as a direct result of it, Jade has become increasingly hostile towards Cody, the aforementioned WAITING ROOM (Watch Here) as example, and anyone around him, such as Red Velvet. At times it even feels as if Jade is trying to see how far she can push “The American Nightmare” to perhaps provoke Cody to lash out at her. The woman certainly has no fear about stepping into his face, dressing him down on international television, trying to cost him matches as with the Peter Avalon bout, assaulting his wife and their friends, and believing she can do so with impunity. Perhaps it is knowing there’s a seven foot monster of a man out there who has her back.
Well this week on DYNAMITE, the man who has been the target of all this animosity, the two-time for TNT Champion, “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes will address Shaq Diesel himself! The multi-time NBA Champion has expressed interest in fighting Cody in the past, but were those just words? If Cody steps out on Wednesday night and offers Shaquille out, will the man answer for himself? It is with great anticipation we await the words of the Nightmare Family’s patriarch…
VIOLENCE INCARNATE…
“THE MAD KING” EDDIE KINGSTON VS. “THE MURDERHAWK MONSTER” LANCE ARCHER
After months of anticipation, months of Eddie Kingston crying about how he was not eliminated by Lance Archer at the ALL OUT 2020 Casino Battle Royale, months of doing his best to avoid actually fighting “The Murderhawk Monster” straight up, “The Mad King” must now pay the piper.
We have seen these two warriors collide in a pair of six man tags, each holding a victory over the other, but neither having directly tasted the deciding fall. At least in the case of the December 30th bout, Kingston did end up on the receiving end of a beating by both Archer and Jake “The Snake” Roberts!
Still, that one taste of vengeance does not quench the thirst Archer has in his belly, nor does it sate the desire for violence. That will come this Wednesday night when Kingston stands across the ring from “The Murderhawk Monster” and apparently this cheese will stand alone. As seen in the “ROAD TO…” video embedded at the top of this article, Kingston has promised to leave his family in the back, to truly make this a one-on-one fight, and he has called out Archer to do the same with Jake Roberts.
It is a gutsy move from Eddie, questioning the bravery of a man like Archer, but if there is any man on the AEW roster who can match Lance’s capacity for violence, it is Kingston. There is a difference though when it comes to how these two men approach the violence, and it is contrary to words Eddie himself has uttered. Kingston has said repeatedly that he does not game plan or strategize, he just fights, but his career path since entering AEW betrays those statements. With how he played on the sympathies of the wrestling world to help secure a contract, how he spun out the Lucha Brothers against each other, the way he manipulated his way into TWO World Title matches with Jon Moxley; it is all indicative of a man rather Machiavellian in nature. To assume Eddie has no plan behind this whole “leave the family in the back” challenge would be a mistake.
Archer, on the other hand, is not a planner or schemer but more akin to a force of nature unleashing wanton destruction on the things in his path. The game plan is fists to the face, the only scheme is Every Body Dies, and it is only Jake Roberts who has any ability to direct the rage of Lance Archer. If anything, Kingston may need to be more concerned if “The Snake” is not at ringside to wrangle in his foe.
It is certainly going to be an explosive affair worthy of the DYNAMITE name this Wednesday night on TNT!
ONE-ON-ONE…
“HANGMAN” ADAM PAGE VS. RYAN NEMETH
Last week, putting an end to the “will he or won’t he” question that had been surrounding him for months, Hangman Page finally gave The Dark Order his decision. It was a heartfelt “I Can’t” that actually expressed gratitude and appreciation for the fun Adam had with The Dark Order, but nonetheless ended with Page going his own way.
This new path, separate from The Dark Order or The Elite, begins on Wednesday night when the former World Tag Team Champion goes into singles competition. His opponent is a very hungry man named Ryan Nemeth who may be familiar to many wrestling fans for his work elsewhere over the last several years, as well as his strong resemblance to a certain brother who also wrestles. Nemeth’s own words tell his story in the “ROAD TO…” video embedded at the top of the article, and to the drive he has to prove himself worthy of All Elite Wrestling.
Well, Nemeth has certainly pulled a hell of a hand for his first outing inside an AEW ring having to square off with Adam Page. It’s an even greater task when faced with the fact Nemeth is competing in his first match since September 2018, and even though he has clearly kept himself in fantastic condition, as well as kept his ear to the ground with professional wrestling while diving into the deep waters of Hollywood, it is a tremendous undertaking to square off with Hangman for his return to action. In the face of this competition though, one thing Nemeth does not lack is confidence in himself, his worth, or his abilities, and that goes a long way when stepping in-between the ropes; a fighter must believe in themselves first, a lesson that Hangman Page has had to learn himself over the last year and a half that finally seems to be sinking into his thick skull.
HANDCUFFED…
JUNGLE BOY VS. DAX HARWOOD
***CASH WHEELER & TULLY BLANCHARD WILL BE HANDCUFFED TO LUCHASAURUS***
Pretty much since the day FTR entered into All Elite Wrestling, they have made their displeasure with the mere existence of Jurassic Express well known. If a derogatory term exists that can be used from one wrestler to another, Cash Wheeler, Dax Harwood, and Tully Blanchard have thrown them all at Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus, and Marko Stunt. The former World Tag Team Champions unapologetically look down upon JurEx for how they look physically, how they wrestle, and how they present themselves.
The thing is, on the two occasions FTR and Jurassic Express have squared off inside the squared circle, whether it was Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus or Jungle and Marko Stunt, Cash and Dax didn’t exactly play it straight to pick up their two victories. The first time out back in September, the newly crowned champions refused to put the belts on the line in their DYNAMITE bout with Jungle and Lucha, but still had to bend the rules to be able to defeat JurEx.
Fast forward to January, and the now former World Tag Team champions FTR find themselves set to square off with Jurassic Express once again. Having never stopped throwing barbs at the trio, Cash, Dax, and Tully once again used their verbal taunts to try to gain an advantage over their opposition. This time they pushed Marko Stunt hard, and baited him to pulling Luchasaurus from the rematch and putting himself into the match instead. It was a clear ploy by FTR to get the man they viewed as the weak link into the bout, but when it was game time, Marko stepped up to the plate big time. It was only the interference of Tully Blanchard, shoving Stunt into a ring post, that turned the tide into FTR’s favor and let them hit The Big Rig on “Mr. Fun Size”.
And that brings us to this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE when Jungle Boy gets Dax Harwood into the ring for one-on-one competition! It’s a bit of an historic night for the men of FTR as January 27th will mark the first time either member has competed in singles competition since debuting in AEW last May. It is also the night both Cash Wheeler and Tully Blanchard will find themselves cuffed to JurEx’s resident dinosaur Luchasaurus!
With the outside interference removed as a possibility, it is time for Dax to either put up or shut up in this one-on-one contest between two tag team specialists. The difference between Dax and Jack Perry though is that the latter has his fair share of singles outings in AEW, as well his experiences prior to the inception of All Elite Wrestling. Dax, on the flip side, has not competed in a one-on-one match since August of 2018, and the world of tag wrestling is clearly a whole different ball game.
No one else to rely on, no hand waiting to be tagged to help out or give you a breather, just you all by yourself with only your own skills to win the day. In this case, for Dax, there will also be no hands on the outside waiting to get involved to help the man get that win.
Who will represent for their team?
REVOLUTION LOOMS…
Following last week’s DYNAMITE, Sting and the TNT Champion Darby Allin have agreed to meet Team Taz’s Brian Cage and Ricky Starks in a Street Fight. It will go down at the 2021 REVOLUTION pay-per-view on March 7th and will mark the first time Sting enters into competition under the All Elite Wrestling banner. It is an exceptional way to make a debut for the wrestling legend, but if any man can take it on it would be Sting, and with a relentless force like the TNT Champion at his side, Taz’s army is certainly in-store for a fight unlike any other they have experienced.
This Wednesday night on TNT we will hear from the face-painted duo as they barrel towards the Street Fight going down in just over five week’s time! Before they know it, Darby and Sting will be staring down Cage and Starks in an actual match so the road to REVOLUTION begins now!
TAG TEAM ACTION…
INNER CIRCLE (CHRIS JERICHO & MJF W/ WARDLOW) VS. VARSITY BLONDS (BRIAN PILLMAN JR & GRIFF GARRISON)
Last week, Chris Jericho and MJF defeated their fellow Inner Circle teammates in a three way tag to secure the official blessing of the unit as THE tag team moving forward. It may not sit well with Proud-N-Powerful, Sammy Guevara, or Jake Hager, but those are the rules they all collectively agreed to going into the three way tag match and as such, they will each abide by the agreement.
So for Chris Jericho and MJF, the former’s third partner since The Inner Circle was born last October, the road to the World Tag Team Titles begins this Wednesday night on Dynamite! The Varsity Blonds are the lucky team that drew the right to face this Inner Circle pairing, and perhaps it is apropos that this new future for Jericho involves a little bit of his past.
As detailed in the “ROAD TO…” video at the top of the article, Jericho and the late Brian Pillman, despite the bare minimum of interaction, each planted their roots in the Hart Family Dungeon, but that isn’t where the binds end. The ties between Jericho and Pillman Jr. run a little deeper than just that seeing as how Lance Storm, the former tag team partner of Chris Jericho, served as Pillman’s trainer at the start of his wrestling career.
So now, with one of the biggest opportunities of their young tag team career on tap for Wednesday night, The Varsity Blonds could derail the goals of Jericho and MJF before their train has too traveled far from the station. Will Brian and Griff elevate their game on DYNAMITE, or will it be this Inner Circle duo who continues their pursuit of championship gold? And can Jericho commit to one partner long enough to make that dream a reality?
PREPARATION…
DR. BRITT BAKER, D.M.D (W/ REBA) VS. SHANNA
With both women coming off wins on AEW DARK this past Tuesday night, Baker and Shanna are looking to continue that momentum on DYNAMITE this Wednesday. For Shanna, it is a chance to continue getting back into the groove after COVID-related travel restrictions forced her out of AEW competition for way too long. After this week, Shanna has racked up five straight wins since returning to action on the December 1st edition of DARK with her sights set on Hikaru Shida’s AEW Women’s World Title. A victory over a perennial championship contender like Baker would go a long way towards solidifying Shanna’s spot in those rankings.
As for the good doctor, she is looking towards a highly anticipated fight with Thunder Rosa on February 3rd during the loaded BEACH BREAK edition of DYNAMITE, and definitely needs a victory here going into that confrontation. To be frank, Britt also needs the ring time to get ready for that fight, as her focus has seemingly been on THE WAITING ROOM moreso than on actual in-ring competition. In the time Shanna has racked up her five victories, Baker has competed in two singles matches and, no disrespect to Brooke Havok, one was against a woman in her first ever wrestling match. Baker needs the kind of competition Shanna represents, the fight she will bring on DYNAMITE, in order to be ready for the one Thunder Rosa has in store for her on February 3rd.
With all that about Thunder Rosa being said, the Role Model better not make the mistake of overlooking her opponent this week lest she find herself the sixth straight victory in Shanna’s record book.
MOXLEY SPEAKS…
In one week’s time, in the main event of February 3rd’s DYNAMITE: BEACH BREAK, the former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will unite with two-thirds of The Death Triangle, PAC and Rey Fenix, and go to war with Kenny Omega, the man who took his title, and the IMPACT World Tag Team Champions Anderson and Gallows. This Wednesday night, we will hear from Mox as it pertains to this match and you seeing how it’s his first chance to officially get hands on Omega since their title fight, fans can bet Jon will have some strong words for his upcoming foes!
Before you tune into TNT at 8pm EST/7pm CST to catch DYNAMITE, be sure to watch the tremendous action from Tuesday night’s AEW DARK! Featuring Britt Baker and Shanna in action, as well as Proud-N-Powerful, Abadon, SCU, Powerhouse Hobbs, and many more! Also prior to DYNAMITE, at 7pm EST head on over to BRLive (Watch Here) for the AEW Dynamite Awards!!! With people like Shaquille O’Neal, Bert Kreischer, Chael Sonnen, and Danielle Fishel Karp among the virtual award presenters, who will win the awards for BIGGEST SURPRISE, BREAKOUT STAR MALE & FEMALE, BIGGEST WTF MOMENT, and more???
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