https://www.youtube.com/embed/b3HoVeYWL70
WINTER IS COMING enters its third year this Wednesday night with All Elite Wrestling’s return to Garland, TX and what a history it brings! In 2020, AEW saw the debut of “The Icon” Sting here in AEW, and bore witness to Kenny Omega ending the first World Championship reign of Jon Moxley. 2021, which took place right here in Garland, was host to Bryan Danielson challenging “Hangman” Adam Page for the AEW World Championship and the two going to an epic 60-Minute Draw. It was also the night MJF won the Dynamite Diamond Ring for the third straight year, defeating Dante Martin in a one-on-one collision, ironically enough with some help from Ricky Starks.
Now AEW returns to Garland, TX on Wednesday night for another jam-packed edition of DYNAMITE, the third annual WINTER IS COMING event, headlined by the World Championship match between MJF and “Absolute” Ricky Starks that will also see the Dynamite Diamond Ring at stake! Plus the Best of 7 Series between The Elite and Death Triangle continues with Game 4 as The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega try to even the series, and Ruby Soho comes for revenge against Tay Melo after being put on the shelf by The J.A.S. member at ALL OUT 2022!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/i7Nai6qKAVI
Make sure you visit the official AEW YouTube page to get ready for the week by watching the latest editions of AEW DARK, AEW DARK: ELEVATION, ROAD TO, and THE CONTROL CENTER with Tony Schiavone, as well as highlights from previous episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, to get ready for this week’s action!
AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP/DYNAMITE DIAMOND RING MATCH…
MJF(c) vs. “Absolute” Ricky Starks
https://www.youtube.com/embed/8T2zTsmUAYg
Following his victory in the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale last week, “Absolute” Ricky Starks verbally dissected MJF on DYNAMITE, the rare instance where Max was left rather speechless after Ricky delivered his sermon, leaving the AEW World Champion with but one retort: kicking Ricky in the nether regions. Starks still pulled it together though, and speared Friedman straight out of his loafers when Max tried to strike Ricky with the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Starks was the man left standing, in pain for sure, but still standing, while MJF lay on the mat looking up at Ricky holding the Triple B.
There’s this feeling that came with the words Ricky shared with the AEW faithful, that he dumped on to Max, and it is a feeling that has to be earned. It’s the feeling that comes when people have witnessed a person earn what they’ve have, when fans have watched someone claw their way to the top, and don’t expect it to all to be handed to them. It’s a feeling of respect, hard-fought and hard-earned, and that is what “Absolute” Ricky Starks now has from the AEW fans around the world. They witnessed him come into AEW in response to Cody Rhodes’ TNT Championship Open Challenge, and saw him join Team Taz where he’d fight with Darby Allin and Sting. Fans watched Starks land on his neck, nearly ending a promising young career, and come back from that injury to reign as the longest-running FTW Champion in history. They watched Starks’ pain when HOOK dethroned him in a matter of minutes, and felt Ricky’s heartbreak when Powerhouse Hobbs betrayed him just moments after that FTW Championship loss to “The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil”.
MJF may have returned to AEW at ALL OUT 2022 following his self-imposed, selfish, self-serving hiatus to find he was greeted with cheers and applause, but they weren’t earned, not the same way Ricky had earned his. Fans were entertained by what MJF had to say and how he presented himself, but the bottom line was that none of it was about the fans, it was only about Max doing what Max needed to do to get where Max wanted to be. In the world of MJF, everything and everyone is a tool to be used, and whether that be The Firm, the AEW fans, or William Regal, ultimately it is all about what best serves the Maxwell Jacob Friedman agenda.
So this Wednesday night, with both the AEW World Championship and the Dynamite Diamond Ring at stake, MJF has to meet Ricky Starks in the middle of the ring, and for the first-time since he came back to AEW, he has to do it all by himself. There’s no Firm to help him climb the ladder of success, there’s no Regal to give him the key to victory, there is just Maxwell Jacob Friedman fighting all by his lonesome, and in the last two marquee matches where he had to do that, REVOLUTION 2022 and DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2022, MJF ended up on the losing end of the fight.
Which of these two men will carry All Elite Wrestling into 2023, and into Seattle, Los Angeles, and Portland? Who will carry the AEW World Championship into San Antonio and Denver the last two weeks of 2022? Will it be “The Devil Himself” or “Absolute”? We will find out this Wednesday night when AEW returns to the Curtis Cullwell Center for WINTER IS COMING 2022!
MATCH 4: BEST OF 7 SERIES…
(2)Death Triangle (PAC, Penta El Zero Miedo, & Rey Fenix)
vs.
(1)The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/hMDJ4dOJ-d8
Two weeks ago in Indianapolis, The Elite managed to stave off a 3-0 deficit in their Best of 7 Series with AEW World Trios Champions Death Triangle. After dropping the first two bouts, in no small part due to the use of a hammer by PAC and Penta El Zero Miedo, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega turned the tables on the championship trio when Matt Jackson got his knees up into the injured face of PAC as “The Bastard” tried a Black Arrow, and cradled him for the victory.
With The Elite having notched a win in this series, there will be at least one more match that follows this, taking place at DYNAMITE: HOLIDAY BASH 2022 in San Antonio next Wednesday night, but the outcome of this week’s fight will determine the gravity of that battle. Should Death Triangle win in Garland, The Elite will head into San Antonio down 3-1, putting Kenny, Matt, and Nick in a must-win situation. But should they prove the better trio for the second bout in a row, should they even the score at two victories a piece, well then things get very interesting as the final bout could take place in the Denver area at DYNAMITE: NEW YEAR’S SMASH 2022.
But all of that depends on how this Wednesday night in Garland goes for the six men involved, so until that final bell rings, everything else is just speculation on what might be the future for this Best of 7 Series. With three matches under the belts thus far, none have gone down in the same fashion, as both units have been adjusting their game plans as they go. That ability to evolve match-to-match may be the most important part of being the winning team when all is said-and-done with this series!
GRUDGE MATCH…
Ruby Soho vs. Tay Melo
https://www.youtube.com/embed/8X_zU_gYaek
Ruby Soho has not seen in-ring competition since ALL OUT 2022 when Tay Melo shattered her nose, forcing the competitor to undergo surgery to repair the damage, and putting her on the shelf for these last three months. While AEW was aware that Ruby was recovering well from the procedure, until she emerged on November 30th’s edition of DYNAMITE to help Willow Nightingale as she was assaulted by Melo and Anna Jay A.S., it was uncertain just how ready she was to return to competition. Clearly, based on that physicality, Ruby is ready to get back into the fight and get herself a measure of revenge against Tay Melo. That opportunity comes her way this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE: WINTER IS COMING 2022 when Ruby Soho and Tay Melo collide in a one-on-one grudge match! Ruby has had her arm broken and her face shattered by Melo, but now it is time for “The Runaway” to return the favor!
With three months off to heal-up from the injuries inflicted by Melo, as well as the bumps and bruises from general competition, Ruby is likely feeling as good as ever, and ready to get into the fight in Garland! Will Ruby also have to contend with the interference of Anna Jay A.S. or the rest of the J.A.S. as she aims to even this score? Or will Soho actually get the one-on-one bout she craves to dish out the revenge that is so deserved?
THE HOUSE’S JUDGEMENT…
The House of Black has spoken, and this week on DYNAMITE: WINTER IS COMING 2022 someone is going to suffer the sentence that has been laid out by Malakai Black, Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Julia Hart. Their verdict is war, their sentence is execution, and in Garland, people will suffer at the hands of The House. Judgment has been passed, and all of AEW will suffer…
JERICHO IN ACTION…
Last Saturday afternoon at ROH’s FINAL BATTLE 2022 event, “The Ocho” Chris Jericho lost that eighth World Championship to Claudio Castagnoli when he found himself unable to escape The Swiss Superman’s Giant Swing, and was forced to tap out while still spinning through the air. Unable to escape, and just moments away from expelling the contents of his stomach all across the ROH ring, Jericho gave up the ghost and Castagnoli become a 2-Time ROH World Champion.
In the aftermath of that defeat, Chris Jericho will be in action this Wednesday night at WINTER IS COMING 2022, his first singles match on DYNAMITE in three months without the ROH World Championship at stake. The last time he fought on AEW’s flagship without said title on the line was when Bryan Danielson defeated him during the Grand Slam Tournament of Champions in Albany, NY, so it will be quite intriguing to see what version of Jericho shows up in Garland on Wednesday night. It is a Jericho looking to rebound from that loss? One intending to just pretend like it never happened and that his ROH World Championship reign was a figment of imagination? Whatever the case may be for the former AEW World Champion, this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE is crucial in finding out where Jericho goes from here!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/pgT-2B8Rr_I
“Absolute” Ricky Starks gets his shot at the AEW World Championship AND the Dynamite Diamond Ring when he faces Maxwell Jacob Friedman, The Elite aims to even the score with Death Triangle in the Best of 7 series, and former ROH World Champion Chris Jericho will be in action when AEW returns to Garland, TX this Wednesday night! Plus, Ruby Soho is back in action for some revenge against Tay Melo, The House of Black is looking to level their judgment against someone,
DYNAMITE comes your way live on TBS starting at 8pm ET/7pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international audiences, and be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for the best place to get up to speed with the latest action from DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as recent editions of AEW DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, and ROAD TO!
https://youtu.be/LrWoyecULtgArticle source: allelitewrestling.com