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The day after American Independence Day, All Elite Wrestling will be coming to the world live from Edmonton, AB, Canada and Rogers Place with the latest edition of DYNAMITE! With the Men’s Semi-Finals set for the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, the final match in the Women’s Quarter-Finals is set to take place this Wednesday, plus the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament will get underway with the winner earning a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship currently held by FTR! Plus, Kenny Omega looks for some Anarchy In The Arena redemption when he faces Wheeler Yuta, the man who pinned him at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023, in singles competition! Plus, we will hear from 3-Time AEW World Champion Jon Moxley after the events of last week, and so much more on tap as AEW’s Summer Canadian Tour continues!
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The night 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 beforehand to catch-up on highlights from last week’s episodes DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and more!
BLIND ELIMINATOR TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin
vs.
Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland
One duo is undefeated in tag team competition this year, 7-0 since March including bouts against Big Bill & Lee Moriarty, The Butcher & The Blade, as well as QT Marshall & Powerhouse Hobbs, and features the reigning AEW International Champion.
The other duo are former AEW World Tag Team Champions, a team with a record of 15-4 and 3 title defenses, but who haven’t been partners since December 2022 after a violent falling out preceded by months of barely getting along, questioning one another, and rarely being on the same page.
Where do you put your money on this one? Because while the easy money says Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy, the big win comes from going all in on Swerve In Our Glory, despite their shortcomings as a team. In fact, it may just be those issues that make them a good bet to run this tournament; each man wants to be a champion again, and they know they are capable of pulling it off together, if they can keep it focused on the victory. Problem is, Swerve has no issues relying on The Mogul Embassy to lend a helping hand whereas “Limitless” is going to want to do this the right way, and above the board.
So what’s it worth to Swerve In Our Glory to become the top contenders? What is Keith Lee willing to stomach in order to run the table in this Blind Eliminator Tournament? Will he let The Mogul Embassy do that they do, or will he stand up for what he believes is the right way to do business? Fans know they can be champions together, but they also have seen what Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin can do as a tag team over these last several months. One pair is damaged goods as a team, the other just has damage thanks to the physically grueling schedules they keep, especially that of the AEW International Champion.
This match, along with the pairing of Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF, is the kind of chaotic pairing that can result from these Blind draws; the question is if the teams can find harmony in their chaos?
BLIND ELIMINATOR TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…
AEW World Champion MJF & Adam Cole in action!
This is going to be something; Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF uniting in the Blind Eliminator Tag Tournament in hopes of earning a future AEW World Tag Team Championship bout. Clearly Max is working overtime to make it appear he’s got the best interests of his team in mind, but that was immediately questionable when he tried to put Cole in a match with Tom Lawlor at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023. Unfortunately for MJF, he didn’t get to see his erstwhile partner get into that fight as a bout of illness prevented Cole from competing in Toronto that night, but the intent was pretty clear. Petty vengeance after Cole had the audacity to question Max’s courage in the face of his reluctance to fight Tanahashi for the AEW World Championship.
Now, after MJF having had to fight his heart out against Ethan Page on last Saturday’s edition of COLLISION in an impromptu World Title fight, these two men have to work together in their Quarter-Final match in this tournament. No disrespect to whoever they may face in Edmonton, but the biggest challenge facing this odd couple is obviously one another, and their ability to co-exist long enough to win a match.
Can they do it, and if they can, what does that bode for the rest of the field in this tournament full of mystery? Cole and MJF on the same page, even if just from bell-to-bell, is a scary thought for other teams in this tournament, as well as whoever may be holding the AEW World Tag Team Championship when the time comes.
OWEN HART FOUNDATION WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL MATCH…
Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D vs. The Outcasts’ Ruby Soho
https://www.youtube.com/embed/0CV9SplqRP8?start=115
Unfortunately an illness prevented this bout from taking place last week, and having the Semi-Finals of the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament already set in stone, but rather than having a sick Dr. Britt Baker step into the fight for a less than ideal match-up, now the AEW faithful will get a fight with two women ready for the fight.
That didn’t stop Ruby Soho from running off at the mouth about the Good Doctor, about their history dating back to 2021’s DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM, and their bout in the finals of last year’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Ultimately, as much as this contest is about fighting to advance to the Semi-Finals of this tournament, it’s also about where Baker and Soho have gone over the course of this last year. It’s about Soho turning her back on the fans of All Elite Wrestling, the woman of the AEW locker room who had supported her and called her friend, and choosing to embrace The Outcasts of Toni Storm and Saraya instead.
It’s about Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D actually trying to live up to what it means to be The Pillar, actually accepting what her self-proclaimed position as face of Women’s Division means, and doing it not because it sounds good, but because she actually believes in taking on that responsibility. All it took was the Women’s Division worth being questioned by The Outcasts, it being threatened by Soho, Storm, and Saraya, for the Good Doctor to step into this role for reason’s beyond ego fulfillment.
This is about the tournament, and about the future of the Women’s Division; who will advance in the field, and who will advance in this back-and-forth struggle over the future of AEW’s women’s division? If there was ever a time for Britt to truly become The Pillar, this is it!
ONE-ON-ONE…
Kenny Omega vs. The BCC’s Wheeler Yuta
At DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023, Wheeler Yuta scored the biggest victory of his wrestling career when he pinned Kenny Omega’s shoulders to the mat to bring Anarchy In The Arena to an end. Yes there was some assistance from Konosuke Takeshita, but it was well within the context of the match’s rules, or rather utter lack of them, to create the situation that allowed the only 2-Time ROH Pure Champion to score the victory for The Blackpool Combat Club.
This Wednesday night, it is time for a reckoning as Kenny Omega is back in singles competition on DYNAMITE for the first-time since his Steel Cage Match with Jon Moxley back in May, and just his fifth of the year in AEW. It will also mark The Cleaner’s first match back after his barnburner at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023 with Will Ospreay, a match many pundits are tapping as the best of the year to date, a label that any bouts over the next five months are going to have a tough time trying to wrest away from that championship contest.
Suffice to say that fight put Omega through a physical hell, not the least of which was that nasty Tiger Driver ’91 that saw Ospreay drop Kenny as ruthlessly as has ever been done to the former AEW World Champion, and that has to leave some doubt as to Kenny’s physical condition heading into this fight. He’s had some time to recover, but a grueling contest like theirs does not fade quickly, especially when he’s facing a foe like Yuta who may have competed at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023 himself, but saw a far less physically taxing fight.
Yuta is fresher, of that there is no doubt, but Omega has had years of experience bouncing back from these situations and straight into another fight. Add in the Blood & Guts challenge issued by Moxley, and this fight has taken on a whole new layer beyond just the loss at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023. This is about advantage, psychological and physical, heading towards TD Garden, and The Elite trying to find their way to a dominance over The Blackpool Combat Club.
Can Yuta show that Anarchy In The Arena was not a fluke, that he could’ve gotten that pinfall without Takeshita’s involvement? Or will Omega use Wheeler as a tool to remind everyone, once again, why he’s the Best Bout Machine, The Cleaner, and the God of Pro Wrestling?
MOXLEY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY…
Blood and Guts; when Jon Moxley uttered those words in reference to AEW’s event at Boston’s TD Garden arena (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-event/aew-dynamite%2Frampage%3A-boston) on July 19th, it changed the whole game between The Blackpool Combat Club, The Elite, and their respective associates. This wasn’t a challenge being made from underneath, a desperate attempt to get revenge after being beaten and battered by their foes, in fact it has rather been the complete opposite. It was The BCC who left Anarchy In The Arena as the dominant force, Yuta stabbing Kenny in the head with a screwdriver after Takeshita’s assault in order to secure the victory, and the events of last Wednesday night certainly saw The BCC standing tall over The Elite and Eddie Kingston.
Sure, it was The Elite and Eddie who won the fight at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, but it wasn’t a member of The Elite or Kingston who actually won the match for their team, but rather Tomohiro Ishii who topped Yuta last Sunday. The situation was somewhat rectified by Mox’s victory over “The Stone Pitbull” on Wednesday, and then the absolute carnage unleashed by The BCC after The Elite’s bout with The Dark Order really drove it home. The Blackpool Combat Club own The Elite, and whether or not either party wants to face it, they also own Eddie Kingston as well. And that’s the painful reality of this situation; Kingston will clearly take a bullet for Mox, no one hurts Mox but Eddie is essentially the mantra, but the former 3-Time AEW World Champion clearly does not see the dynamic the same. He’s had no problem sitting by and watching his BCC brethren assault Eddie, he hasn’t thrown himself in front of a European Uppercut they way Kingston did a pair of superkicks, and it’s doubtful Mox would either at this point.
Perhaps that is what we will hear Mox address this Wednesday night in Edmonton when he takes the microphone, perhaps he will talk about Eddie and their friendship (or lack thereof) in light of the issues between The BCC and The Elite, and this new Blood & Guts wrinkle. A year ago in Detroit, Kingston stood by The BCC’s side atop the Blood & Guts cage, burying his feelings about Claudio, in order to help Moxley in their war against The Jericho Appreciation Society.
What a difference a year makes…
JERICHO SPEAKS…
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That’s twice now, twice that Sting’s team has defeated Chris Jericho’s team, and unlike at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, this time it was “The Ocho” himself who tapped out to The Icon’s Scorpion Deathlock. Chris Jericho can’t say it was Minoru Suzuki who got beat by Naito, he can’t claim it was Sammy Guevara who got pinned, he has to look at the tape and accept the fact that Sting defeated him directly. Knowing Jericho, there will likely be excuses aplenty and blame tossed everywhere but in his own direction, and that is likely what he will be addressing when he addressed the AEW faithful this Wednesday night in Edmonton.
During his entire AEW tenure Jericho has never been one to accept defeat gracefully, he proved that with the FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023 Media Scrum after the event, so how will he take it this time when there is no doubt, no question, no excuses, for the fact he got beat? Tune in Wednesday night to find out!
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AEW’s Canadian Summer Tour continues this Wednesday when All Elite Wrestling debuts at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB for a tremendous edition of DYNAMITE! The Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament gets underway with Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin uniting to face the combustible reunion of Swerve In Our Glory, plus AEW World Champion MJF and his partner Adam Cole will compete in their Quarter-Final bout! Plus, the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Quarter-Finals wrap up with Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D and Ruby Soho colliding, Wheeler Yuta facing Kenny Omega, and we will hear from Jon Moxley!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/iH50orppReg?start=115
The night begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel before doors to catch DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION highlights, as well as this week’s edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and much more!
Article source: allelitewrestling.com