Last week eight men began a journey towards the AEW World Title with the kick-off of the World Title Eliminator Tournament. At the end of the night, it would be Kenny Omega, Rey Fenix, Adam Page, and Wardlow who claimed victories in their respective matches and advanced to the semi-final bouts tonight on DYNAMITE. For one of those men, things would unfortunately change, but more on that later…
In addition, fans witnessed The Young Bucks claim the World Tag Team Title match at FULL GEAR 2020, while Eddie Kingston was officially declared Jon Moxley’s opponent for that pay-per-view event with the World Title on the line in an I QUIT MATCH! And we had quite an interesting experience with Le Dinner Debonair between Chris Jericho and MJF…
This week the Semi-Final matches of the tournament will go down, The Mad King will be in action, the TNT Title is up for grabs in a Lumberjack match, and the future of The Inner Circle will be debated in a Town Hall! It kicks off at 8pm EST/7pm CST on TNT, and will be available on AEWPlus.com for our International audience as well!
And make sure you hit our official YouTube account (Click Here) for a huge episode of AEW Dark before DYNAMITE hits the airwaves!
WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL MATCH…
Kenny Omega vs. Penta El Zero M
The Rebirth of “The Cleaner”; that is how last Wednesday night is being looked at by the eyes of the wrestling world when it comes to Kenny Omega. After a last minute switch in opponent from Joey Janela to Sonny Kiss due to COVID-related precautions, Omega took down Sonny in less than thirty seconds, marking the fastest victory of Kenny’s AEW career thus far, and advancing him to the semi-finals this week on DYNAMITE. For the statistic-minded, it is also one of just ten matches in company history to clock in at under a minute.
The opposite side of the bracket told a far different story as The Lucha Brothers, Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero M, faced off in a Quarter-Final Match with the winner moving on to face Omega in the Semi-Finals. The siblings beat the tar out of one another for nearly fifteen grueling minutes before Fenix was able to string together the right moves and put Penta’s shoulders down for a three count. It set-up a rematch, one year in the making, of the bout where Kenny defeated Fenix to become the AAA Mega Champion. Unfortunately for Rey Fenix, as a result of the war with his brother, that opportunity to not only even the score with Kenny but also get closer to the AEW World Title would have to wait…
So it is now different rematch that will take place on Wednesday night; just over two years since their lone singles collision, Kenny Omega and Penta El Zero M will go one-on-one in the Semi-Finals of this tournament! In September of 2018 it was Omega who went all in to pick up the victory over Penta, so will history repeat itself in this unexpected return bout? Or will Penta El Zero M make the most of this surprise second chance and advance to the finals of this tournament at FULL GEAR 2020 on November 7th?
And it will it be Hangman Adam Page who awaits the victor, or Wardlow standing across the ring that night?
WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL MATCH…
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. “The War Dog” Wardlow
Hangman Adam Page was the final man to punch his ticket to the Semi-Finals when he beat Colt Cabana last week on DYNAMITE, and he looked great in victory. For the eleven minutes he was inside that ring, it seemed like all of Page’s troubles melted away and he was laser focused on advancing in this tournament. Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, the World Tag Team Titles, even the demon in the bottle, it all faded away to the peripheries and the only thing that mattered was moving on and moving forward in the World Title Eliminator. A Buckshot Lariat sealed the deal and, just like his former championship partner, Page moved on to this battle with Wardlow, and one step closer towards a possible “ALL OUT 2019” redemption.
For “The War Dog”, it took eight minutes and change for him to put down Jungle Boy in order to advance to this Semi-Final match-up with Hangman Page. It not only notched Wardlow his ninth victory in AEW, but it also marked the first real step in doing something exclusively for himself. This isn’t about Maxwell Jacob Friedman, it is not about that man’s grudges with Cody or Moxley or whomever, it was a win for Wardlow, only for Wardlow, making the taste of the victory that much sweeter.
Just look to the “Road To…” video package at the top of this page that highlights just how intense “The War Dog” trains on the daily, and while the gym is not the same as the ring, it certainly indicates a healthier use of his downtime than we generally witness Page experience. He is certainly living life in the “stay ready” instead of “getting ready”, and that is something Adam Page needs to be prepared for to the best of his ability.
But one thing of interest to note, looking at the video footage from this week’s “BEING THE ELITE” (Watch Here) and “ROAD TO DYNAMITE”(Watch Here), there is no Page drinking his troubles away, throwing pumpkins or whatever out of the back of a truck, lamenting the troubles he has brought upon himself. What that means is up for interpretation but considering how much of that Adam Page we have seen on video, it could very well mean he has found that aforementioned focus beyond the bell-to-bell action.
TNT TITLE LUMBERJACK MATCH…
“The American Nightmare” Cody (c) vs. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy
As was stated on commentary last week, if the initial TNT Title match between Cody and Orange Cassidy had a twenty minute and one second time limit, “Freshly Squeezed” would have been crowned the new champion and brought the second reign of “The American Nightmare” to a very early end.
But that’s not the reality in which that TNT Title bout took place; in this reality there was a 20 minute time limit for the bout and in that time OC was unable to defeat the champion and claim the title as his own. To that matter, neither was Cody able to defeat his challenger, but that isn’t what is required of the champion really. It may sting Cody’s pride that he couldn’t retain his title in a more decisive fashion, and although Marsellus Wallace may have something to say about pride in this situation, at least Cody is still the TNT Champion heading into this Wednesday night.
But because of that draw, AEW officials were quick to sign a rematch between champion and challenger, and added a twist to the circumstances, instituting a Lumberjack Match stipulation for this second fight between Orange Cassidy and Cody. For any unaware, those stipulations place a mass of wrestlers around the ring to insure the competitors remain inside the squared circle and make the two wrestlers fair game if they end up outside the confines of the ropes.
This could be a make-or-break stipulation depending on who lines the floor around the ring, especially given the involvement we witnessed from the members of The Dark Order two weeks ago in that traditional title bout. For one example, there is no doubt that Mr. Brodie Lee’s motley crew would love to take any shots they can at Cody on behalf of their leader.
So how will the stipulations change the game plan of either man (perhaps we should just say Cody since the idea of OC having a game plan going into any bout seems rather…unlikely)? Does the pressure of the rematch, in the aftermath of a time limit draw, place extra pressure on the champ from either the outside or from his own inner voice? The last time we saw Cody go to a draw, with Darby Allin back at “FYTER FEST 2019”, he would rebound to victory in their inevitable rematch, but that was a return that took place months later, and there was no championship in the picture. Similar circumstances yes, but no, not an identical situation.
And speaking of Darby Allin, as we learned two weeks ago, he eagerly awaits the results of this contest since it will be he who challenges the winner at FULL GEAR 2020 for the TNT Title. Will it be Cody who retains or Cassidy, in his third shot at this championship, who claims? Tune in Wednesday night to find out!
THE WORLD TITLE IN HIS SIGHTS…
“Mad King” Eddie Kingston vs. Matt Sydal
As we learned last week, Eddie Kingston will challenge AEW World Champion Jon Moxley for the title at FULL GEAR 2020 in an I QUIT MATCH. It marks Kingston as the second man in AEW’s history to get two World Title opportunities, the first being Darby Allin who has challenged both World Champions albeit unsuccessfully, and the first man to get two shots at the same World Champion. To say Eddie has talked his way into this title opportunity would be an understatement, but it would also be underselling the fact Kingston was not pinned by Jon Moxley nor did he give up in their first World Title match on September 23rd. “The Mad King” has made a great cause for why he deserves that upcoming title opportunity, and will receive his due on November 7th. But that is not now…
Now is another man who has proven over a world-traveled twenty year career that not only does he deserve opportunity, but he is one to make the most out of every one presented. That man is Mike Sydal, and he rolls into this fight with a three and one record since his AEW debut at ALL OUT 2020 in the Casino Battle Royale. It is one tremendous opportunity to go head up with the top contender to the AEW World Title so close to said championship bout, and Sydal will certainly aim to leave an impression on Kingston as well as the AEW fans worldwide.
In a strange coincidence of stars aligning, Wednesday night will mark fifteen years to the day since the one-and-only time Eddie Kingston and Matt Sydal met in a singles match. While that fight ended in a no contest somewhere in Muscatine, Iowa, it’s doubtful the same result will come to pass in Jacksonville, Florida come DYNAMITE.
What is not in doubt is the fact both Kingston and Sydal will come to fight in a bout critical to the future of their respective AEW careers. Can Eddie continue to build momentum as he heads towards 11/7 or will it be Sydal who steals Kingston’s thunder to stack up his own resume? We shall see this Wednesday night…
NWA WORLD WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH…
Serena Deeb (c) vs. “Legit” Leyla Hirsch
Last night, while “Legit” Leyla Hirsch made her All Elite Wrestling debut in a non-title loss against Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida, another championship familiar to AEW fans underwent a change. While Hirsch was making a sensational first impression against Shida in Florida, the NWA World Women’s Title was being contested in California between two faces who became quite familiar to the AEW audience these last few months: Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb.
It too was a hard-fought contest, but it would be Deeb who topped Rosa to bring an end to a 277 day title reign that included an NWA Title defense on the September 16th DYNAMITE, and three more defenses prior to this loss to Serena. Rosa proved a tremendous champion during a chaotic time in the world, and showed the AEW faithful on several occasions the kind of fight she brought to the table.
But now it is time for Serena Deeb to pick up where Rosa left off, and she begins her championship journey on DYNAMITE, 24 hours after becoming the 39th champion, against the aforementioned Leyla Hirsch!
With three years under her belt as a professional wrestler, and four years as an amateur before that, the ultra-tough grappler has acquired an experience beyond her years. Starting off in the Northeastern United States, Leyla branched out across the country, as well as into Canada, Germany for WXW, Japan with Stardom, and Hirsch has fought inside the squared circle with many of the women who make up the AEW roster including Penelope Ford, and Kris Statlander, plus even a few of the men like Alex Reynolds and John Silver.
It is going to be a stern test for the newly crowned NWA World Women’s Champion, a tremendous opportunity for “Legit” Leyla Hirsch, and it goes down Wednesday night on DYNAMITE!
A TOWN HALL DISCUSSION…
Last week’s Le Dinner Debonair with Chris Jericho and MJF proved to be quite an interesting and unique moment in the history of AEW DYNAMITE. Suffice it to say, no one expected what took place before our eyes, and that may continue to be the case this week when The Inner Circle and MJF engage in a Town Hall Discussion.
The topic at hand continues to be the future of The Inner Circle, and if Maxwell Jacob Friedman will be a part of their path moving forward here in All Elite Wrestling. Chris Jericho appears to be rather on board with the idea, definitely more so than his IC compatriots, but the intent this Wednesday night is to get a general consensus on if the self-labeled “Ratings Ruler” deserves a seat at the Inner Circle table. Which way will the vote swing?
All of that action is coming your way Wednesday night when DYNAMITE returns to TNT at 8pm EST/7pm CST, and onto AEWPlus.com for our International audience. We also expect to get an update on the condition of Matt Jackson following FTR’s attack on The Young Bucks after they claimed the World Tag Team Title match for FULL GEAR 2020. The journey to our next pay-per-view extravaganza is in full swing, and that means things are going to keep escalating until it all explodes on November 7th!
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