AEW Dynamite Preview for July 26, 2023

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After Boston’s legendary TD Garden experienced Blood & Guts last week, All Elite Wrestling returns to Albany, NY and MVP Arena for first time since September 2022, and with it comes a huge edition of DYNAMITE! The Blackpool Combat Club, The Best Friends, and The Lucha Brothers will meet in a Three Way Tag Team showdown, while Orange Cassidy defends his AEW International Championship for the 27th time against AR Fox! Plus, we will hear from AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole, “The Bastard” PAC will be in action against Gravity, and Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D answers the challenge of Taya Valkyrie!

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DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, and with so much on tap for Wednesday, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to catch up on highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and several other intriguing uploads this week!

AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Orange Cassidy(c) vs. AR Fox

It has been twelve and a half years since the last time AR Fox and Orange Cassidy went one-on-one, a show that also featured a young Adam Cole in action, as well as The Briscoes, and included a main event between Jon Moxley and Brodie Lee.

In the time since that South Philly bout on the corner of Swanson and Ritner, both men have grown tremendously as competitors, but it’s only in the last year (almost to the date) that AR Fox has come under the spotlight of All Elite Wrestling. During DARK: ELEVATION on July 25, 2022, Fox would make his debut in a Trios bout, but it wasn’t until he aligned with Top Flight, that Fox began to make traction. He would get a shot at Samoa Joe’s TNT Championship, win the $300K Three Kings Trios Battle Royale along with Top Flight, and challenge The Elite for the World Trios Championship as a result. That match was so close that Fox and the Martin brothers would get an immediate rematch with The Elite, and even though the result was the same, the world knew that AR Fox was here to fight.

Floating between AEW and ROH competition, Fox challenged Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH World Championship, as well as took multiple stabs at The Mogul Embassy’s ROH World Six Man Championship titles, and even challenged Zack Sabre Jr. for the NJPW World Television Championship. Though he has yet to claim a championship in either company, AR Fox has manged to catch the attention of a great many competitors, and his victory over Shane Taylor on the ZERO HOUR this past Friday was a great example of why! It may have been that extra motivation knowing he had an International Championship Match waiting in the wings this Wednesday night, but regardless of the reason, it was one of the most impressive victories of AR Fox’s AEW/ROH career, and just what he needed heading into Albany.

This may be the perfect time for Fox to get this International Champion opportunity; after scoring that count out victory over Lance Archer at BATTLE OF THE BELTS VII, OC now stands as the most successful champion in AEW’s history with 26 defenses, but his body has paid the price for the successful reign. He may be beaten up, battered, and bruised, with a damaged right hand, but Orange Cassidy is not broken yet, and until that day comes, he will continue to take on any individual who steps up to challenge for the championship around his waist.

Will AR Fox be the man to end this historic run by repeating the results of the January 7, 2011 match? Or can Orange Cassidy find a way to make it 27 successful AEW International Championship defenses at Fox’s expense?

ONE-ON-ONE…

“The Bastard” PAC vs. Gravity

There is no forgetting what “The Bastard” PAC did over the course of last week. First he betrayed The Blackpool Combat Club’s trust inside Blood & Guts, walking out on the unit midway through the fight, leaving them at a numbers disadvantage, and beginning their downfall to The Golden Elite.

Coming out of that, PAC was challenged to meet Claudio Castagnoli at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023 (https://www.watchroh.com/details/28325?playlist_id=27) in a match that was equal parts vengeance and ROH World Championship match. Although “The Bastard” lost in his return to ROH competition after 16 years away, he absolutely brutalized Claudio along the way, each man fighting with everything they had left in their bodies after surviving Blood & Guts just two days prior.

Unlike PAC, there was a man who had a victorious night at DBD ’23 right in the opening match of the pay-per-view, and that was the Luchador known as Gravity! Brother of former ROH World Champion Bandido, Gravity defeated Komander in the first PPV match of the night last Friday, leaving a huge impression on the fans in New Jersey, as well as those watching worldwide on Bleacher Report (https://www.ringofhonor.com/howtowatch), through Honor Club, or any of the numerous ways to catch the event!

Yes, “The Bastard” was once known as “The Man Gravity Forgot” but there is no way either man will forget the other after the final bell rings Wednesday night in Albany! After last Friday, PAC is likely to be in a foul mood while Gravity is surely riding high off his victory, their respective emotional states, combined with the skills each brings to the ring, just might make this the must-see clash of DYNAMITE!

THREE WAY TAG MATCH…

Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta)

vs.

Blackpool Combat Club (ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley)

vs.

Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix)

Speaking of DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023, spinning directly out of Death Triangle’s actions in Trenton towards both The Best Friends and The BCC, DYNAMITE will play host to a rare Three Way Tag Match bringing The Lucha Brothers in direct competition with the other teams they infuriated last Friday!

Now there is plenty of history wrapped up in this match beyond just what happened at DBD ’23 last Friday; The Best Friends and Lucha Brothers have been at each other’s throats essentially since DYNAMITE first debuted, even fighting on the first episode of DARK that aired on YouTube, and the Lucha Brothers first fight after adopting the Death Triangle name was actually against Chuck and Trent on the March 18, 2020 edition of DYNAMITE. More recently Death Triangle engaged in a pair of Trios battles with Best Friends and Orange Cassidy with the AEW World Trios Championship at stake, with both bouts won by PAC and The Luchas.

The BCC and Best Friends have a binding tie in the form of one Wheeler Yuta; the youngest member of The Blackpool Combat Club actually left Chuck, Trent, and Orange to train under the tutelage of The BCC, and that is a choice that has never sat well with The Best Friends, especially Trent, who never took to Yuta in the first place. Regardless of their feelings towards The BCC, Mox and company have had Best Friends number whenever the bell rings. Be it trios, tags, or even singles, the members of BCC have owned Chuck and Trent at every turn, most recently when Claudio dominated Chuck in a ROH World Championship Proving Ground match.

As for the Luchas and BCC, Rey Fenix recently lost to Claudio Castagnoli in a Double Jeopardy match in which the winner got a shot at the loser’s championship. That loss by Rey would result in Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta getting a ROH World Tag Team Championship shot, but that would be as unsuccessful for them as the singles was for Rey Fenix. Mox has a little history with The Luchas, many moons ago he even defended the AEW World Championship against Penta El Zero Miedo, but the recent history between The BCC and The Luchas also shows Mox, Claudio, and Yuta putting down Bandido, Fenix, and Penta in trios action.

So with all those interpersonal dynamics piled on top of what happened at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023, as well as what The Lucha Brothers ally PAC did at Blood & Guts, how wild is this fray going to get?

GRUDGE MATCH…

Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland

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Two singles match won by Darby Allin, an Eight-Man Tag won by Darby’s team, and the Blind Eliminator Tag Team match won by Darby and Orange Cassidy; that has been the match history of Darby Allin and Swerve Strickland here in All Elite Wrestling, saying nothing of their shared history dating back to 2018, and this past Friday on RAMPAGE, another chapter was added to their story.

As the last two men standing in the Royal Rampage, Swerve and Darby fought it out for that TNT Championship match at ALL OUT 2023 (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-event/aew-all-out-2023), and no matter how Swerve and his Mogul Embassy associates tried to make it happen, Strickland would not be the one to come out victorious.

But this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE in Albany, Swerve will have another opportunity to get some revenge on Darby, not only for last Friday, but also for everything that’s taken place in their shared AEW history. The former 2-Time TNT Champion may have eliminated Swerve to win that championship fight on 9/3, but Darby’s got a long road to survive before he returns to the United Center for the title fight. Perhaps Swerve will put an early end to Allin’s championship hunt, or perhaps Darby will continue his AEW success against Strickland and begin to build his momentum towards ALL OUT 2023!

SINGLES MATCH…

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D vs. Taya Valkyrie

After experiencing some hometown love in Calgary when she faced Toni Storm at BATTLE OF THE BELTS VII, Taya Valkyrie returned to The States, specifically New Jersey, for a COLLISION bout with fan favorite Skye Blue. Back in the U.S.A, Taya experienced the same response from the fans she’d been receiving for quite a few months now, and that suited her just fine when she defeated Skye.

It’s also what prompted Taya to call out Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D for this first-time match on DYNAMITE! The former AEW Women’s World Champion is coming into this fight having scored a victory over her own last Wednesday night, and it’s certainly no coincidence Valkyrie took a small “homegrown talent” dig at Skye Blue in the process of her challenge. After all, Baker is the homegrown talent for the Women’s Division and a victory over here would be a massive boon for Taya’s AEW career, especially after suffering so many high-profile losses.

For Baker, this one will be about reminding everyone why she calls herself the face of the Women’s Division, and letting Taya know just how she came to earn that moniker. There are few women who represent AEW with as much heart as the Good Doctor, and now Taya can find out why first-hand!

BETTER THAN YOU BAY BAY…

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As a result of winning the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament, Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF are set for a AEW World Tag Team Championship bout with FTR on Saturday night’s COLLISION event in Hartford, CT. It’s clear from their words last Saturday night that Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood still harbor some bad blood as it relates to MJF from their time spent together in The Pinnacle. Those hard feelings seem to be transferring onto Adam Cole as well, and FTR not exactly appreciating how Cole & Friedman have conducted their business together.

This Wednesday night, just a couple days before their championship collision on COLLISION, we will hear from the AEW World Champion and Adam Cole in response to FTR’s words, and about that title fight on the horizon! Neither of these two men are ever short on words, and given the MJF/FTR history, the AEW World Champion will probably have even more to say than usual!

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This Wednesday, All Elite Wrestling is back in Albany, NY at MVP Arena for first time since September 2022, and DYNAMITE is stacked! The Blackpool Combat Club, The Best Friends, and The Lucha Brothers will fight in a Three Way Tag Team showdown as Orange Cassidy defends the AEW International Championship against AR Fox! The rivalry between Darby Allin and Swerve continues to grow, while “The Bastard” PAC takes on Gravity, and Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D fights Taya Valkyrie! DYNAMITE kicks off at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, and be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to catch up on highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and several other exciting uploads this week!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/TsCx37Cquvo?start=210Article source: allelitewrestling.com