CONTAINS SPOILERS AEW COLLISION & BATTLE OF THE BELTS X was broadcast live from the Truist Arena in Highland Heights, KY! It’s Saturday night and you know what that means! Saturday night’s alright for fighting!<a href="https://biggoldbelt.com/reviews/bmf-black-mafia-family-season-3-episode-7-recap-review-get-em-home/">…</a><p><a class="more-link" href="https://biggoldbelt.com/reviews/bmf-black-mafia-family-season-3-episode-7-recap-review-get-em-home/">Continue reading →</a></p>…
All Elite Wrestling presents a thrilling lineup with COLLISION and BATTLE OF THE BELTS X this Saturday on TNT. Featured matches include Toni Storm vs. AZM in an Eliminator Match, Blackpool Combat Club vs. Don Callis Family in tag action, and Roderick Strong vs. Rocky Romero. Champions Athena and HOOK defend their titles against Red Velvet and Shane Taylor, respectively. With DYNASTY 2024 approaching, the stakes are high for all competitors. Fans can catch up on the latest AEW action online before Wednesday’s DYNAMITE in Indianapolis.
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, WV!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
AEW World Title Eliminator Match!
AEW World Champion Samoa Joe vs. “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes!
As Samoa Joe was making his entrance, Swerve Strickland ambushed the champ on the ramp! They brawled onto the arena floor. Swerve speared Samoa Joe through a table that Samoa Joe had propped against a guardrail. Security pushed Swerve back to the locker room. Samoa Joe eventually staggered to his feet and seemed to pursue Swerve.
Renee Paquette was backstage outside Orange Cassidy’s locker room.
Renee said that Orange would have a match on Rampage this Friday, and she was assured by Orange that he’d be addressing the heartless actions of Trent Beretta.
TNT Championship Match!
“The Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland (c.)
vs.
Penta El Zero Miedo (with Alex Abrahantes)!
Penta speared Copeland and then stuck him with a diving double foot stomp for a near fall.
“Shock and awe right out of the box, trying to win the TNT Title,” said Taz.
Penta El Zero Miedo hit Copeland with a clothesline, knocking Copeland to the arena floor. Copeland got back in the ring and Penta greeted him with a chop to Copeland’s chest. Copeland rallied back with flying head scissors. Copeland and Penta El Zero Miedo both had the same idea, fighting fire with fire, clubbing each other with lariats and then high boots.
Penta El Zero Miedo had Copeland rocked after a sling blade. Penta flipped over the top rope with a dive onto Copeland. Back in the ring, Copeland found an opening, planting Penta face first on the mat.
Copeland applied a modified sharpshooter onto Penta El Zero Miedo, but Penta made the crawl to the bottom rope, forcing the ref to break the hold. Penta stunned Copeland with a stalling dropkick. Copeland secured the cross face on Penta, wrenching back, but once again Penta reached the ropes.
Copeland was looking for a Death Valley Driver on the apron, but Penta escaped. Penta charged at Copeland but Copeland power slammed Penta onto the apron! Copeland tried to spear Penta but inadvertently speared Alex Abrahantes. Penta got to his feet and clocked Copeland with a thrust kick.
Penta El Zero Miedo drilled Copeland with an avalanche Code Red! Penta jumped off the middle rope, but Copeland countered with a spear and pinned Penta El Zero Miedo!
After the match, the arena lights went out. The lights came back on, and TBS Champion Julia Hart was standing in front of Copeland. The House of Black’s Brody King blindsided Copeland and began to kick and stomp him. Brody smashed Copeland with a running boot. Brody applied a rear naked choke on Copeland.
Willow Nightingale sprinted to the ring and began to ground and pound Julia. Brody pulled Julia out of harm’s way. Copeland got back to his feet and decked Brody, forcing him out of the ring! Brody and Julia retreated, while Brody barked at Copeland.
Renee Paquette was backstage with ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe and “Mad King” Eddie Kingston!
TNT Champion Adam Copeland, Willow Nightingale, and Stokely Hathaway interrupted Renee’s interview.
Copeland said he wanted to make sure Briscoe and Kingston were good for their trios match against the House of Black at Dynasty. Briscoe and Kingston assured Copeland they were ready.
Stokely: “What about next week on Dynamite, you put that TNT Championship on the line against Willow Nightingale!”
Willow: “No, no, that’s not what we were saying Stokely. Brody, I saw you beating up on Adam. Julia, you tried to get me with the mist, but not this time. So Dynamite next week, what do you say we team up Adam?”
Copeland: “I’ve got an idea. Before Dynasty, before the three of us, the Rated Chicken Hawks, I just made that up, before we take out the House of Black, Willow, what do you say, me and you against Julia and Brody, next week on Dynamite?”
Willow: “Yeah!”
The Young Bucks—Nicholas & Matthew Jackson—were in their dressing room to present backstage footage from ALL IN: London 2023!
Matthew told Nicholas to set it up with a little context.
Nicholas said AEW has a massive pay-per-view coming up on April 21st, AEW Dynasty. Taking place at Dynasty will be the finals of the tag team tournament, featuring FTR against the Young Bucks. Nicholas said the last time they wrestled FTR was at All In, and he still has some wounds that haven’t healed.
Matthew said right before the match there was an incident backstage involving two individuals, “the first being the scapegoat in this entire situation, Jack Perry.” Nicholas interrupted Matthew and said the other individual “tried to make this entire show about himself. As a matter of fact, this individual happens to be good friends with FTR. Which got me thinking maybe FTR were the masterminds behind this entire thing.” Matthew said the incident threw them off their game and FTR’s win should come with an asterisk in the history books.
Nicholas said at Dynasty they weren’t shaking hands with FTR and called them pricks. “Be ready,” said Nicholas.
FTR—Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood—came out to the ring!
Cash: “Why are we showing this? What are you two hoping to accomplish other than having a built-in excuse as to why you lost at Wembley. I am sick and tired of hearing about this and talking about this. Everybody back there, us, we are ready to move on and put this in the past. But instead, we’re showing videos from eight months ago because the Bucks can’t let go that they lost to FTR. At Dynasty, we have to beat you. It’s not for legacy or history, it’s because I’m sick of you!”
Dax: “So that’s our bosses. Every interview they have they let us all know that without them, hundreds of people would be out of a job and without them AEW probably wouldn’t exist. The scary thing is I don’t necessarily disagree with them. Without the Young Bucks I might still be shaving Cash’s back.
“But because of the Young Bucks, we have something that makes them sick. We have eclipsed them as the absolute best tag team on this planet. And at one time the Bucks cared about AEW, but somewhere along the way, whether it was greed or jealously, you guys lost that. And now three other letters have taken over. The only thing you care about is what’s best for the EVPs. So, if it takes my last breath, on our backs, we will continue to build this place. We are building it for the future of all professional wrestlers. We are building this for every person who spends their hard earned money on one ticket to get lost in our drama and our action. We are doing this for you.
“And if the Young Bucks don’t want to be part of that AEW, grab your ball, go home, we got this. This ain’t about Wembley. This is about AEW, a company I love, an industry I love. But more importantly this is about the AEW World Tag Team Championships. Two teams walk in, one team walks out as the first ever three time AEW World Tag Team Champions. Young Bucks, you may have built this foundation, but we will put the roof on top of this house, just to blow it right off. Top guys out!”
Renee Paquette interview “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay!
Ospreay: “I’ve been thinking about this all week. There’s this rumor going around that I’m afraid of the grind. I’ll be honest with you, I have no idea where this conversation has come from. I travel every single week from the US to the UK and back and I’m delivering some of the best professional wrestling matches this world has ever seen. And normally I wouldn’t take the bait, but since the guy who said it is only in the position he’s in because he was grinding on the boss’s daughter, you are in no position to tell me what the grind is all about because you have no idea what I fight for. So let this be a painful little jab back that you do not throw stones at an assassin with a machine gun.
“Now Bryan, you said I’m stronger and faster than you, which I am. And you said the only way you have a chance at beating me is if you can ground me, but healthier and younger and better men than you have tried and failed. But Bryan Danielson, you are a living legend in this game, and I cannot say I am the best wrestler in the world until I pin you at Dynasty. This is AEW where the best wrestle! It’s my time, Mr. Danielson, to show every single person what I’m about and why I’m the ace of AEW! Bryan Danielson, you find out Sunday, April 21st, why my name is Will Ospreay, and I am on another level!”
Trios Match!
“Lionheart” Chris Jericho, FTW Champion HOOK, & Katsuyori Shibata
vs.
Shane Taylor Promotions— “The Guv’nor” Anthony Ogogo, Lee Moriarty, & Shane Taylor!
Jericho hit Moriarty with a shoulder block and then a lionsault for a near fall. Jericho battered Lee with short clotheslines in the corner. Jericho sent Moriarty for a ride with a hurracanrana off the top turnbuckle.
Shibata tagged in and mauled Moriarty with a forearm and then a round kick to the spine. Shane Taylor entered the match and Hook asked to be tagged in, so Shibata obliged. Taylor clubbed Hook with a lariat. Hook fired back with a German Suplex to Taylor!
Shibata tagged in and cracked Lee with a high boot in the corner. Shibata chopped down Lee and then decimated Lee with a running dropkick in the corner. Shibata went for a running kick to Lee, but Lee dodged it. Shibata inadvertently caught Jericho with the kick.
Shibata tried to tag out to Hook, but Jericho pulled Hook off the apron to prevent the tag. Jericho asked Hook what Shibata’s problem was. Hook and Jericho argued outside the ring, trying to sort things out. Shibata locked Lee in a sleeper. Shane Taylor ran in and clubbed Shibata with his right hand, and Lee grabbed the pin on Shibata!
“The argument between Chris Jericho and Hook left the door open for Shane Taylor to land that big right hand and put him out, setting him up for Lee Moriarty,” said Excalibur.
Tempers were flaring and Hook told Jericho to leave!
AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. Christiano Argento!
Okada leveled Argento with a big elbow strike. Okada wasn’t even breaking a sweat. Okada smashed Argento with a dropkick and then the rainmaker to score the pin!
Okada: “Hey Pac, I accept your challenge! I’ll see you at Dynasty.”
“The Bastard” Pac’s music began to play. Pac walked onto the stage and paced back and forth, staring at Okada! Pac walked to the ring to confront Okada, but the Bucks ran out and hit Pac from behind. The Elite triple teamed Pac. The Bucks nailed Pac with superkicks. FTR sprinted into the ring and cleaned house on the Bucks! FTR wanted to hit the Shatter Machine on Matthew, but Okada jumped back into the ring with a steel chair and whacked FTR with chair shots!
The Bucks blasted FTR with superkicks and then the EVP Trigger! Okada cracked Pac in the side of the head with a steel chair!
Backstage we heard from the ROH Six-Man Champions the Bang Bang Gang!
They ran down a list of their recent accomplishments, including “Switchblade” Jay White putting a beating on Billy Gunn. Jay White said he wanted another match on Rampage, but he wanted the Gunns to find him someone besides Billy.
Up Next: AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm hosted a Charleston Championship Champagne Toast for Thunder Rosa!
Renee Paquette was on the ramp and introduced Thunder Rosa first. Renee then welcomed Toni Storm “Toni Storm, the floor is yours, toast away,” said Renee.
Storm threw a glass of champagne into Thunder Rosa’s eyes! Storm cracked Thunder Rosa in the head with a silver tray. Storm smeared Thunder Rosa’s face paint. Deonna Purrazzo ran out to the aid of Thunder Rosa, but Thunder Rosa pushed Deonna away! Deonna stormed off!
Mariah May vs. Anna Jay!
Anna ducked a shot from Mariah and fired back with a chop to Mariah. The two exchanged overhand chops in the center of the ring. Anna nailed Mariah with a neck breaker. Mariah headbutted Anna Jay.
Mariah May scored with a dropkick. Anna dodged a hip attack and rallied back with forearms. Anna charged at Mariah and clobbered her with a kick in the corner. Mariah retaliated with a running hip attack. Mariah rolled up Anna and pinned her!
After the match, Anna applied the Queen Slayer, not taking the loss lightly. Mina Shirakawa from Stardom sprinted to the ring, having the back of her former partner in Japan, Mariah May. Anna Jay retreated to the back. Mina brought in two glasses of champagne, gave some to Mariah, and then kissed Mariah.
Alex Marvez was backstage with “The CEO” Mercedes Moné!
Mercedes: “Double or Nothing! Five years ago, history was made when AEW had their first pay-per-view there. And I’m a history maker. And I decided to make history yet again when I head to Vegas to be the TBS Champion because Moné changes everything.”
Marvez asked if Mercedes would rather face Julia Hart or Willow Nightingale, but before Mercedes could respond, the lights went out! Someone attacked Mercedes in the dark!
Main Event Time! AEW World Title Eliminator Match!
AEW World Champion Samoa Joe vs. “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes!
Samoa Joe and Dustin Rhodes traded strikes. Samoa Joe whipped Dustin into the guardrail. Joe jabbed Dustin, but Dustin fired back with a lariat. Dustin Rhodes was taking the fight to the champion. Samoa Joe headbutted Dustin.
Samoa Joe rammed Dustin into the steel ring post! Dustin Rhodes was busted wide open! Samoa Joe bludgeoned Dustin with more strikes in the ring. Dustin turned things around with a powerslam!
Dustin Rhodes walloped Samoa Joe with a Code Red for a near fall. Dustin went for a running bulldog, but Samoa Joe countered with a lariat. Dustin Rhodes grabbed the World title and brought it into the ring. Dustin wanted to use it on Samoa Joe, but ref Paul Turner warned Dustin not to use it. Dustin put the championship belt down. Dustin nailed Samoa Joe with the Cross Rhodes for a two-count!
Dustin Rhodes charged at Samoa Joe, but Joe wiped out Dustin with an STO! Samoa Joe grabbed a steel chain out of the corner and wrapped it around his fist. It was the chain that previously belonged to Swerve Strickland. Ref Paul Turner removed the chain from the ring. As the ref was handing the chain to an AEW ring crew member, his back was turned, and Samoa Joe seized the opportunity to bash the championship belt into Dustin’s head! Samoa Joe covered a knocked out Dustin and pinned him!
Samoa Joe applied a sleeper to Dustin after the match, trying to send a message to Swerve Strickland. Swerve appeared out of nowhere and cracked Joe with the House Call kick! Swerve Strickland grabbed the steel chain and drilled Joe with a chain-wrapped fist!
The locker room emptied and kept both wrestlers apart! Prince Nana handed Swerve Strickland the AEW World Championship, and Swerve held it up, while Joe looked on, seething!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET!
Don’t miss AEW Collision & Battle of the Belts X live on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Truist Arena in Highland Heights, KY!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!
After this past Wednesday, the paper is signed (in blood), sealed, and delivered for our AEW World Championship match at DYNASTY 2024 in St. Louis on April 21st, and we also know that The Young Bucks will be competing in the AEW World Tag Team Title Tournament Finals against the winner of FTR and Top Flight. In addition, we learned that AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm will have to face Thunder Rosain a title fight on that pay-per-view extravaganza, and we bore witness to Will Ospreay surviving Powerhouse Hobbs as his April 21st bout with Bryan Danielson draws near!
This Friday the action continues, first with ROH's SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2024 starting at 8pm ET/7pm CT, and then we continue our loaded week of events with an all-new RAMPAGE at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT! We've got a very intriguing first-time for AEW match between “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, “The Professor” Serena Deeb in action as she continues to climb the rankings, AEW International Champion Roderick Strong in action, and a big Final Four Elimination bout pitting Action Andretti, Bryan Keith, Daniel Garcia, and Komander against one another!
Before the action gets underway, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel , as well as AEW's assorted social media platforms, to see highlights from Wednesday night's DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER! Then be sure to tune into TNT this Saturday night beginning at 11:30p ET/10:30p CT for a loaded COLLISION featuring FTR versus Top Flight in the second Semi-Final bout of the AEW World Tag Title Tournament!
A CHALLENGE ISSUED…
“The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels vs. Malakai Black
After seeing Malakai Black confront Adam Copeland after his Cope Open TNT Championship Match against Matt Cardona, “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels elected to make a challenge of his own to the master of The House of Black. This may be the first singles match in All Elite Wrestling between the two men, but it is not their first match against one another. In fact it was only four months ago that Malakai and Buddy Matthews topped Daniels and Matt Sydal in tag team action, but two years prior to that, on a Northeast Wrestling event in Poughkeepsie, NY, Malakai actually bested “The Fallen Angel” in singles competition.
So not only is this Friday night on RAMPAGE an opportunity for Daniels to test the mettle of Malakai in a head-to-head bout, it's also a chance to even the score with Black for that bout January 2022 meeting, and perhaps to catch the attention of the TNT Champion as well. After all, it was very clear from what happened on COLLISION that Malakai Black has eyes on Adam Copeland and that title, so if “The Fallen Angel” can get one over on Malakai this Friday, perhaps he can also work himself into a position to challenge for Copeland's hard-earned TNT Championship!
FINAL FOUR ELIMINATION BOUT…
Action Andretti vs. “Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith vs. Daniel Garcia vs. Komander
This is going to be a wild one Friday night as AEW offers up a little March madness of its own in the form of a Four Way Elimination bout featuring a quartet of the best young athletes in All Elite Wrestling! It's a combination of hard-hitting striking, tough as nails grappling, high-flying maneuvers, and good old fashioned wrestling when Andretti, Keith, Garcia, and Komander lock-up on RAMPAGE! A bit of an outlier for AEW multi-man bouts, this one is being fought under Elimination Rules rather than first pinfall, meaning there is no urgency in breaking up every pinfall that takes place because it behooves each man to let another get eliminated from the fray.
There are quite a few interesting dynamics at play in this Final Four Elimination as well, ones that could factor into how the game is played and how alliances may be formed to help whittle it down to two men. Take Komander and Bryan Keith, they have served as tag partners both in ROH, as well as in AEW on several occasions, and both were involved in the Elimination Survival of the Fittest contest at ROH's FINAL BATTLE 2023 event last December. Komander has been on opposite sides of several Trios matches against Action Andretti, while this will be the only time he's shared a ring with Daniel Garcia outside of Battle Royal situations. Speaking of Garcia, he was actually beaten by Action Andretti in January 2023, but this will mark the first time he's ever been inside a ring with “The Bounty Hunter” in any fashion.
So with all those little threads wrapping these men together, who will be the one to survive the Final Four and be the last one standing to cut the proverbial net?
SINGLES MATCH…
(5)Serena Deeb vs. Trish Adora
“The Professor of Professional Wrestling” Serena Deeb has defeated Lady Frost, Robyn Renegade, and Queen Aminata since returning to in-ring competition on the January 27th edition of COLLISION, with each victory in service of accomplishing a goal that eluded her prior to her 15-month absence: an AEW Championship. Those victories earned Deeb the number five spot in the March 27th Rankings update, but that spot isn't good enough, that spot isn't what “The Professor” came back for, she wants the spot Thunder Rosa occupies, she wants what Thunder Rosawon on Wednesday night, and Serena Deeb will break apart every woman in the AEW locker room in order to get there.
The work towards that goal continues this Friday night on RAMPAGE when Serena meets The Infantry's Trish Adora in their very first singles match! Like so many other young competitors, it feels like Adora is on the cusp of breaking through to that next level as an athlete, that she is just missing one little thing that enables her to get those big wins that get her noticed, get her into the rankings, and get her into conversations about championship fights. While Trish may have looked great in her 2024 fights with Mariah May and Riho, and while she may have given Julia Hart a run for her money in a TBS Championship match, the reality is Adora was only in that title fight because Julia made it an Open House Challenge. Trish Adora was not in a championship situation because of a stellar win percentage, or because she'd won a contender's bout, she was there because she was one with enough guts to enter The House of Black and fight its Queen on her terms.
Saying all that is no discount to Trish's abilities inside the ring, in fact it's meant as a credit to the fire in her belly, but also to illustrate that she has to find that element that makes her a contender because she earned her way into that spot with wins, by beating top competition, and showing that she's got what it takes to wear an AEW Championship around her waist. Facing “The Professor of Professional Wrestling” is a big step in the right direction, there are few women who can give Trish Adora that on-the-job learning experience like Serena Deeb, and if Adora can find a way to victory, it will be because she earned it the hard way.
So will Trish Adora be the next woman Serena Deeb steps on the climb up the rankings, or will she be the first woman in 2024 to put Deeb down for a three count?
ELIMINATOR MATCH…
AEW International Champion Roderick Strong vs. London Lightning
Last week in Quebec City, it was “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard who stepped up to the International Title Eliminator Challenge and faced Roderick Strong in a one-on-one contest, or at least on paper it was a one-on-one contest, with Matt Taven and Mike Bennett lurking at ringside the reality was more like a three-on-one situation. That numbers advantage directly led to Menard's defeat at Roderick's hands, and could've ended in a much worse assault had Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta not been on the spot to run The Undisputed Kingdom off.
Well this week on RAMPAGE, another individual is stepping up to the International Challenge in hopes of earning himself a title opportunity against “The Messiah of the Backbreaker”, a young man by the name of London Lightning. London is taking a huge leap in accepting this Eliminator Match, he's a kid with barely a year of experience under his belt, coming off a pair of losses in Ring of Honor to Lee Johnson and Evil Uno, but who is brave enough to take this unbelievable opportunity to score an AEW International Championship match!
There's no doubt Roderick has every conceivable advantage here, but any given night a match can wildly swing in unexpected directions, and that is what London Lightning is hoping to experience this Friday on RAMPAGE! If he can earn himself an International Championship match by beating Roderick Strong, it'll be an upset rivaling Action Andretti's over Chris Jericho, and a situation that immediately puts London Lightning's name in headlines!
This jam-packed week of AEW/ROH action continue Friday night on TNT beginning at 10pm ET/9pm CT with an all-new RAMPAGE featuring four tremendous contests! AEW International Champion Roderick Strong will be in action, as well “The Professor” Serena Deeb, and we kick the night off with “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels taking on The House of Black's Malakai Black in singles competition! As if that wasn't enough, there's also the Final Four Elimination contest where Action Andretti, Bryan Keith, Daniel Garcia, and Komander do battle to see who the last man standing will be!
Prior to bell time, make a point to check out the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW's numerous social media outlets, to watch highlights from this past Wednesday's edition of DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER! And don't forget, this Saturday night COLLISION gets underway at 11:30p ET/10:30p CT on TNT with a stacked card highlighted by LionHOOK versus Shane Taylor Promotions and the second Semi-Final Match in the AEW World Tag Title Tournament!
This Wednesday night, DYNAMITE hails from Worcester, MA and the DCU Center and we will witness AEW World Champion Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland sign their DYNASTY 2024 contract, The Young Bucks face Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta in the Semi-Finals of the World Tag Title Tournament, Thunder Rosa and Mariah May vie for the next shot at Toni Storm's AEW Women's World Champions, and The Don Callis Family continues to test itself with Will Ospreay facing Powerhouse Hobbs! All that and more comes to you this Wednesday night live on TNT starting at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, but don't forget to drop by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW's various social media platforms, for highlights from last week's episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the latest CONTROL CENTER!
Then join Ring of Honor's Philadelphia homecoming this Friday night for SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2024 (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-event/roh-supercard-of-honor-2024), live from the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University, and available exclusively on Honor Club (www.watchroh.com)! Eddie Kingston faces Mark Briscoe with the ROH World Championship at stake, ROH Women's World Champion Athena puts her title on the line against 3-Time AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida, the first-ever ROH Women's World TV Champion will be crowned when Billie Starkz faces Queen Aminata, Stardom will be in the house, and so much more coming your way this Friday night in Philly!
AEW World Tag Team Title Tournament Semi Final…
The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) vs. Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta
After escaping their Quarter-Final match against Private Party with a suspect victory, The Young Bucks made sure to be on the spot at the first opportunity to take a shot at Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta ahead of their Semi-Final encounter. Leave it to Matthew and Nicholas to take those two Best Friends lending a hand to another individual, in this case “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard, and turning it into something terrible with their underhanded tactics.
Thankfully Orange and Trent don't have to wait long to even the score with The EVPs since this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE features their Semi-Final contest in the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament! Now Trent Beretta is extremely familiar with fighting The Young Bucks, between AEW, ROH, NJPW, and PWG, they've fought countless times, but OC has only ever met Matthew and Nicholas in tag team action one time, and that was with HOOK serving as his tag team partner. This is a rather unfamiliar experience for the former 2-Time AEW International Champion, but that's part-and-parcel of being a professional wrestler, one won't always have experience with your foes, but that just means learning as you go, and that feels like a situation where Orange Cassidy can thrive.
History shows how strong a team The Young Bucks are, and recent history shows how low they will stoop to come out on top, but recent history also shows how strong a duo Trent and OC have quickly become, unbeaten in five straight matches, and coming into this tournament arguably with more momentum than any other pair. Can this Best Friends pairing continue to roll that momentum forward into a spot in the tournament final at DYNASTY 2024, or will The Young Bucks continue to dig down into new depths in order to get their much-coveted third AEW World Tag Team Championship reign?
Sign On The Dotted Line…
Last week on DYNAMITE, with his victory of Konosuke Takeshita, Swerve Strickland cemented himself as the challenger at DYNASTY 2024 for ROH World Champion Samoa Joe. It's the position Swerve has been fighting for ever since ALL IN: LONDON, that he went through vicious clashes with Hangman Page to acquire (including that unforgettable Texas Death match), and now has finally earned without having to worry about a third party as he did at REVOLUTION 2024.
This Wednesday night in Worcester, Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe make their April 21st championship fight official when they sign their names on the contract, but professional wrestling contract signings are notorious for turning into chaos. Just look at the last time Swerve was involved in one of them, and how he got stabbed in the hand with the very pen Hangman used to sign the deal! Will this contract signing see a similar breakdown in decorum, or will professionalism actually be the rule of the night with Samoa Joe and Swerve?
One-On-One…
(1)Thunder Rosa vs. (2)Mariah May
Intruder Alert…
AEW World Trios Champion Billy Gunn vs. ROH World Six-Man Champion Jay White
It wasn't all that long ago that a Gunn family reunion could be looked at as a joyous occasion; after months and months of Billy, Austin, and Colten being at odds with one another, the union of the Bang Bang Scissor Gang seemed like a way for fences to be mended, for a father and his sons to become a family once again.
Well that idea went to hell the moment The Bang Bang Gang decided that assaulting Darby Allin, that putting him on the shelf for an undetermined amount of time, was more important than keeping their six-man power group together. Perhaps it was a group destined for failure from jump street, given the egos and attitudes involved, but if there's life there is hope, and there's nothing wrong with hoping for the most favorable outcome.
Unfortunately that's not what The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass got for their time, for the willingness to trust the Bang Bang Gang, in fact Daddy Ass got a home invasion for his hopes of long-term reconciliation with his sons, so as a consequence of that, Billy Gunn has got a beating in mind for “Switchblade” Jay White!
Gunn doesn't often dabble in singles matches at this point in his career, preferring to ride in trios action with Max Caster and Anthony Bowens, but he's got decades worth of experience in that role to pull from when it comes to teaching Jay White a lesson in respect and humility! This is just the beginning of what is sure to be several heated battles between these two dominating trios…
A Battle Of Will(s)…
Powerhouse Hobbs vs. (4)Will Ospreay
For better or worse, Don continues to pit members of his family against one another inside the squared circle under the belief that the only way to get better is to fight the best, and that since his family is the best, they just have to fight one another to get better. While there may be some merit to Callis' thinking, we've already witnessed tension within the ranks with Ospreay fighting ROH World TV Champion Kyle Fletcher on DYNAMITE and Takeshita at REVOLUTION 2024, and now he's signed up to facing the monster of The DC Family, the strongest man in all of All Elite Wrestling, Powerhouse Hobbs!
Ospreay's schedule since fully devoting his time to AEW has been rather mad; in addition to those two matches, he's heading into this fight with Hobbs after just having faced Katsuyori Shibata last Wednesday on DYNAMITE and he's got the impending bout with Bryan Danielson at DYNASTY 2024! That's just the in-ring portion of his last couple weeks, it says nothing of his travel schedule back-and-forth between the UK, Canada, and the United States. That being said, Ospreay does have some experience with demanding travel schedules from his time in NJPW and weeks consisting of, as an example, five matches in seven days.
Ospreay's been through it, but fighting a foe like Powerhouse Hobbs is such a unique endeavor; the former TNT Champion possesses such a rare combination of power and speed, as well as strength and agility, plus a sheer ruthlessness to back it all up, that makes him one of the most dangerous men in All Elite Wrestling. He's a man who can throw around any individual in the company like they are rag dolls, just look at how he treated Paul Wight in the Like a Dragon Gaiden Street Fight last November, and while it takes a tremendous feat of strength to even rock Hobbs much less get him off his feet.
They may both be part of The Don Callis Family, but that doesn't mean Ospreay or Hobbs are going to take it easy on one another, in fact it seems the hope from Callis is that the exact opposite be true. He wants to see his men go to war with one another, to sharpen each other's iron so to speak, and to get one another at the peak of their game. Well, he will certainly get that this Wednesday night when Will Ospreay clashes with Powerhouse Hobbs as we continue down the road to DYNASTY 2024!
JERICHO CALLS OUT HOOK!
After falling to FTW Champion HOOK in singles competition two weeks ago, “Lionheart” Chris Jericho extended the offer to essentially serve as a mentor for the young man. Jericho himself pointed out he's never been a trainer, never ran a wrestling school, never been a manager, but yet he was willing to try to be those things for “The Cold-Hearted, Handsome Devil”. Now HOOK may be young, both in life and in terms of time as an active competitor, but he's not a stupid human being, as HOOK said, he knows who Jericho is. He knows the leader of the Inner Circle who caused Sammy Guevara to walk away from the group, and who tossed aside Ortiz and Santana as soon as they questioned how Jericho operated. He knows the Jericho who built his own Appreciation Society, but was ultimately abandoned by all of those associates because of his behavior as their leader. HOOK knows “The Ocho” and “Le Champion”, but what Chris seems to want to show him is the “Lionheart”, a man of integrity and worth who actually cares about the future of AEW, who knows it's bigger than just Chris Jericho, and who actually wants to see it grow beyond Chris Jericho.
So what is it that Jericho intends to call out HOOK for this week on DYNAMITE? Is it for a public workout? A training match? A lesson in technique? There are a great many lessons that a man with the tenure of the original AEW World Champion can teach to a young competitor like the FTW Champion, but what will that be this Wednesday night?
This Wednesday night, DYNAMITE hails from Worcester, MA and the DCU Center and we will witness AEW World Champion Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland sign their DYNASTY 2024 contract, The Young Bucks face Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta in the Semi-Finals of the World Tag Title Tournament, Thunder Rosa and Mariah May vie for the next shot at Toni Storm's AEW Women's World Champions, and The Don Callis Family continues to test itself with Will Ospreay facing Powerhouse Hobbs! All that and more comes to you this Wednesday night live on TNT starting at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, but don't forget to drop by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW's various social media platforms, for highlights from last week's episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the latest CONTROL CENTER!
Then, this Friday night, Ring of Honor returns home to Philadelphia for SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2024, available exclusively on Honor Club, and featuring ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston battling Mark Briscoe, ROH Women's World Champion Athena and 3-Time AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida locking horns, Billie Starkz and Queen Aminata going one-on-one to determine the first-ever ROH Women's World TV Champion, Kyle Fletcher defending the ROH World TV Title against Lee Johnson, the women of Stardom coming to blow the roof of Liacouras Center, and plenty more in store for ROH's homecoming!
Fala Chen Interview by Big Gold Belt Media-Synopsis:The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of “Godzilla vs. Kong” with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome…
Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK!
Your broadcast team was Excalibur, “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard and Tony Schiavone.
It’s Friday night and you know what that means!
This…is…Rampage!
3-Way Trios Match!
Action Andretti & Top Flight—Dante & Darius Martin
vs.
“The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith, Komander, & Penta El Zero Miedo
vs.
Matt Sydal & Private Party—Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen!
Sydal used a side headlock takedown on Action Andretti. Action fired back with a dropkick, taking Sydal off his feet. Bryan Keith tagged in and booted Darius Martin in the face. Private Party utilized tandem offense on Keith.
Penta El Zero Miedo entered the fray. Dante Martin grabbed a blind tag from Kassidy and then the match broke down with all three teams brawling. Komander paired off with Dante in the ring and took him down with head scissors. Komander hit Dante with an arm drag off the ropes. Penta jumped in and connected with a Sling Blade on Dante.
Bryan Keith nailed Action with a neck breaker. Action used a handspring elbow and rocked both members of Private Party! Keith blasted Darius with a running boot, sending Darius spilling out to the arena floor. Komander locked up Sydal in a flying surfboard on the apron. Sydal escaped and crushed Komander with a meteora! Penta El Zero Miedo was right there to grab Sydal and impale him on the apron with the Fear Factor!
Private Party attempted the Gin & Juice on Penta, but Penta countered with a Destroyer on Kassidy! Keith headbutted Quen, knocking him off the top turnbuckle to the arena floor. Komander flew out of the ring with a tornillo and landed on the pile of wrestlers outside the ring! Penta El Zero Miedo spiked Sydal with the Fear Factor and pinned him!
Renee Paquette was backstage with Saraya and Harley Cameron!
Saraya: I don’t give a s—t about Ruby Soho!”
Harley: “Saraya, breathe with me. Feel better?”
Saraya: “So I have some business I have to talk to you about, Renee. You know how my family is like this big family wrestling royalty in the UK? Well, I have a special announcement I have to make. My brother, Zodiac Zack Knight has just become All Elite! Baby brother, come in here! Yeah, he’s scary, and this could have been yours, Ruby! I was going to set you up with him! You messed it up to go with someone greasy and slimy.”
Harley: “Look at him! He’s hot! Your whole family is hot!”
Saraya: “Anyway, things are about to get really spicy around here, Renee.”
AEW EVPs The Young Bucks—Matthew & Nicholas Jackson
vs. Jonny Lyons & Cappuccino Jones!
Nick pummeled Lyons with strikes to the back. Matt tagged in and hit Lyons with a running forearm. Cappuccino grabbed a tag and ate a kick from Matt. Matt battered Cappuccino to the mat, shutting him down. Matt planted Jones with a DDT. Nick knocked Jones’ block off with a lariat. The Bucks spiked Jones with the Tony Khan Driver, then Matt pinned Jones!
After the match, the Bucks invited Tony Schiavone into the ring.
Nick: “We’re not going to attack you, Tony. More than a week ago you interviewed us in this ring. I swear to God I tripped on my shoe and accidentally knocked you down. I just wanted to clear the air and apologize to you right here. I am so sorry.”
Matt: “And to show you how sorry we are, we went and got you this $25 Amazon gift card. We love you. We are sorry. That’s not the only thing we’re sorry about. We’re also sorry that we can’t get Darby Allin and Sting’s bloodstains out of our $5000 white suits.
“There are a couple things we’re not going to be too sorry about, Tony. The first thing is going to be beating the hell out of Darby Allin at Revolution for all the trash he talked about us publicly on television. And the thing we’re going to be least apologetic about will be when we take Sting, and we pin him to the mat, and we say goodbye and we say farewell to one of the most legendary careers of all time.
“Stinger, you can call us Father Time. Because just like Father Time, we’re undefeated. And just like Father Time, we’re coming for you.”
In the next segment, Tony Schiavone interviewed Sammy Guevara in the ring!
Sammy: “Last week I got in the ring with my childhood hero, Jeff Hardy. But on the other hand, I’m mad, Will Hobbs put me through a table. Will Hobbs, I always said you had endless potential. But alone. You don’t need Don Callis sucking the life out of your career. But it is too late because I am mad. So enough talking. Get your ass out here now!”
Don Callis walked down the ramp!
Callis: “You’re back at work after nursing the child? The only thing you’ve done of note in the past six months is reproduce and you shouldn’t be proud of that. Dogs do it. Even these people can do it. You used to be a great athlete, Sammy. You used to be a guy I wanted in the Don Callis Family. Now you’ve become like so many. You’ve become weak.”
Powerhouse Hobbs jumped in the ring to ambush Sammy, but Sammy dodged Hobbs and drilled him with a thrust kick! Sammy flew over the top rope and wiped out Hobbs on the arena floor! Sammy smashed a steel chair into the spine of Hobbs! Sammy tried to hoist up Hobbs for the GTH, but Hobbs countered with a spinebuster! Hobbs hit a second spinebuster! Hobbs crushed Sammy with the World’s Most Dangerous Slam!
“The message has been sent and Hobbs will not rest until Sammy is done!” said Excalibur.
Skye Blue was backstage with some strong words!
Blue: “I had that match won if it wasn’t for some sad excuse of a man. I had that match won and I deserved it.”
TBS Champion Julia Hart walked up to Skye to comfort her.
Julia: “Skye, it’s okay. We shall get our comeuppance. And while getting our revenge, I shall dig three graves. One for Willow, one for Statlander, and one for Stokely. Now who do you want first?”
Skye: “I want whoever is going to step up and fight me!”
Mariah May vs. Anna Jay!
Mariah May went for a dropkick but Anna side stepped it and followed up with a neck breaker. Mariah fired back with overhand chops. Mariah rocked Anna with a knee strike! Anna countered the May Day with the Queen Slayer, but Mariah backed up into the corner, escaping the hold.
Mariah sent Anna soaring with a handstand hurracanrana out of the corner! Anna dodged a hip attack from Mariah. Anna nailed Mariah with a back breaker for a near fall. Anna applied the Queen Slayer, but Mariah hit Anna’s arm! Mariah annihilated Anna with the May Day in the center of the ring and pinned Anna!
Renee Paquette was backstage with Ruby Soho and Angelo Parker, who just returned from their date!
Ruby: “I think the date went really well!”
Parker: “It was incredible. I had a great time with you, Ruby.”
Ruby: “Saraya, you said you didn’t care about me. Here’s the reality of the situation. For the last year, you’ve told me that I needed you. But you needed me. You are sad and unhappy without me. But when you start talking about Angelo, we have a problem. I said I needed space from you. And in that space, I think I found something real in Angelo. Why don’t we invite everyone out next week, bring the crew, and we’ll shove this done your throat.”
Parker: “You’re very hot when you’re mad, by the way. Let’s go grab a drink.”
Roderick Strong (with ROH World Tag Champs Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)
vs. Jake Hager!
Strong booted Hager in the jaw. Hager hurled Strong halfway across the ring! Roddy dodged a charging Hager. Roddy battered Hager to the mat. Hager retaliated with a running lariat for a near fall.
Strong planted Hager with a suplex. Taven and Bennett were about to chase Hornsby, the Drillers’ mascot, when International Champion Orange Cassidy came out to even up the odds! Orange pulled out Hager’s purple bucket hat and tossed it to him! Hager put the hat on and walloped Strong with running clotheslines. Hager followed up with a belly-to-belly suplex. Hager splashed Roddy with the Hager Bomb for a near fall.
The numbers advantage was too much for Orange as Taven and Bennett got the upper hand on him. Back in the ring, Roddy connected with a jawbreaker on Hager. Jake Hager planted Roddy with the Doctor Bomb for a two-count. Hager applied the ankle lock, but Taven was distracted by Bennett and Taven, who jumped on the ring apron! Roderick Strong drilled Hager with a jumping knee strike right on the jaw. Hager crumbled and Strong won via pinfall!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, MO featuring:
-Thunder Rosa in action!
-FTR vs. Shane Taylor & Lee Moriarty!
-Serena Deeb vs. Kiera Hogan
-Bang Bang Scissor Gang in Trios competition!
– “The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith vs. Malakai Black!
– “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Jun Akiyama!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Propst Arena at Von Braun Center in Huntsville, AL featuring:
This Friday night RAMPAGE hails from The BOK Center in Tulsa, OK, and we are back at our traditional start time of 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, and there is quite an exciting night of combat lined up for the AEW faithful! In the aftermath of his No DQ fight with Jeff Hardy last week, we will hear from “The Spanish God” Sammy Guevara, plus Mariah May locks up with Anna Jay, The Young Bucks will apparently be in action to prepare for REVOLUTION 2024’s fight with Darby Allin and Sting, Roddy takes on Oklahoma’s own Jake Hager, and let’s not forget the wild 3-Way Trios going down in Tulsa!
Before the night begins, drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s various social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
ONE-ON-ONE…
Roderick Strong vs. Jake Hager
In one of the more unexpected moments of one competitor coming to another’s rescue, this past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE it was Jake Hager who arrived on the scene to help AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy as he once more fell victim to a Undisputed Kingdom assault. Without Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, or Rocky Romero anywhere in the vicinity to lend a hand, it seemed OC was destined to be battered by Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett, but with AEW being in his home state, Hager took it upon himself to do the right thing.
It may have been the first time since arriving in AEW that Hager actually did the right thing, but late is better than never, and it couldn’t have come at a more crucial time for Orange Cassidy, insuring he remained intact for his REVOLUTION 2024 championship defense against Roddy. But apparently good deeds do not come without consequence, and this Friday night on RAMPAGE Jake Hager faces his consequences in the form of a singles match with Roderick!
This will mark the first time these two men have ever gone one-on-one inside a wrestling ring, and just the second time they’ve even been in the same match in their entire careers. It’s liable to be a hard-hitting affair, but one that will likely see Matt Taven and Mike Bennett stalking around ringside. Can Hager counteract their presence at ringside? Will OC return the favor Hager did for him by attempting to neutralize The UK members? Tune in Friday night to find out how this one goes down!
SINGLES MATCH…
Mariah May vs. Anna Jay
Anna Jay is coming off a hard-fought loss to Queen Aminata last week on RAMPAGE, one that ended with a show of respect between the two women, a sign of appreciation for the fight they gave one another, and Anna’s recognition of Aminata finally scoring her first singles victory in All Elite Wrestling.
Unfortunately Anna Jay isn’t likely to see that same sort of respect this Friday night, regardless of how the match goes, because her opponent is Toni Storm’s biggest fan: Mariah May! Mariah remains rather desperate to get Toni Storm’s attention on her actual in-ring work rather than just on her slavish fan-girl devotion to the AEW Women’s World Champion, but there always seems to be a reason for Storm to not partake in viewing Mariah’s bouts.
That makes this an interesting bout to watch unfold as Anna Jay really needs a win to not only get back on track, but to also push towards joining the rankings. Mariah, on the other hand, has occupied the number five spot for the first two weeks of the reborn rankings, and a victory would not only keep her there, but also possibly boost her up towards the top spot. That is an interesting situation in itself, the idea of Mariah in the top spot, but one that can wait until after REVOLUTION 2024 to see where the AEW Women’s World Championship rests.
3-WAY TRIOS MATCH…
Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) vs. Bryan Keith, Komander, & Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Matt Sydal & Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)
With the rankings back, one segment of AEW that was never part of their original incarnation was the Trios Division. So while The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass sit atop the division as champions, there are plenty of men who want to ascend to the status of contender, who want that opportunity to score an AEW championship, and those willing to create their own trio could be in a prime spot to take over the rankings!
That’s what we have here this Friday night on RAMPAGE when these three trios, two of which are uniting for the first time, come together in what is sure to be a wild, high-flying affair! Action Andretti and Top Flight are obviously the most experienced unit in this contest, with victories over Isiah Kassidy (as he teamed with The Hardys), Penta and Komander (as they united with El Hijo del Vikingo), and the CHAOS trio of OC, Trent, and Rocky Romero. That being said, their foes in this Three Way are also quite experienced in their own ways, and then there’s the recent history between Private Party and Top Flight that plays into this dynamic as well. Which trio will rise to occasion on Friday night, and perhaps make enough of an impact to crack the rankings? Whichever trio it may be, all three are going to have their work cut out for them trying to score a win among the inevitable chaos!
The BOK Center in Tulsa, OK hosts this Friday night’s edition of RAMPAGE and we are back at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, with a wild Three-Way Trios match pitting Andretti & Top Flight versus Sydal & Private Party versus Bryan Keith, Penta, and Komander! Plus, Anna Jay battles Mariah May, The EVPs Matthew and Nicholas Jackson will apparently be in action, and Roderick Strong will tackle Oklahoma’s own Jake Hager! We will also hear from Sammy Guevara following his No Disqualification battle with Jeff Hardy, and more!
Before bell time, swing on by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s assorted social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus the latest CONTROL CENTER!
This Wednesday night, for the very first time, AEW brings DYNAMITE to Tulsa, OK and the BOK Center! With REVOLUTION 2024 eleven days away, every fights matters as we barrel towards the Greensboro Coliseum, and do we have some serious bouts set for AEW’s flagship! Representing The Blackpool Combat Club, Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli will go to battle with Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler of FTR! Plus AEW World Champion Samoa Joe forms an uneasy alliance with Swerve Strickland, one of the men he will fight on March 3rd, as well as “The Machine” Brian Cage, to take on the other challenger for REVOLUTION 2024 “Hangman” Adam Page, and his partners FTW Champion HOOK and the legendary Rob Van Dam! In addition, we will see both AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm as well as her pay-per-view opponent Deonna Purrazzo compete, and so much more!!!
DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans; just make a point to drop by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s assorted social media platforms, for highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, COLLISION, as well as the latest CONTROL CENTER! Then join us this Saturday night in Springfield, MO for an brand-new COLLISION where Bryan Danielson will battle Jun Akiyama, and we will see both Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb in action!
A FIGHT…
Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood)
DYNAMITE February 9, 2022; Jon Moxley scores a tag team victory over FTR
RAMPAGE, September 9, 2022; Claudio Castagnoli defeats Dax Harwood in a ROH World Championship match
FINAL BATTLE 2023, December 15, 2023; FTR and Mark Briscoe defeat The BCC of Claudio, Jon Moxley, and Bryan Danielson in a nearly 30 minute fight that AEW/ROH GM Tony Khan had to make a Fight Without Honor
DYNAMITE, February 14, 2024: Jon Moxley defeats Dax Harwood
Suffice to say that the bell-to-bell history between these to members of The Blackpool Combat Club and FTR tilts in favor of The BCC, but this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE will mark the very first time Moxley and Castagnoli have faced Cash and Dax in tag team competition. FTR is world-renowned for their prowess as tag team competitors, their 10 reigns with 7 different championships are testament to that, not to mention the fact they held the AAA, IWGP, and ROH World Tag Title simultaneously for six months. This BCC combination, while 10-1 in tag team competition and ranked #2 as of the 2/10/24, does not have that pedigree together, though there is plenty of tag team experience in each individuals back catalog.
Claudio, alongside Chris Hero, holds status as the 2nd longest reigning World Tag Team Champions in Ring of Honor history, while his resume boasts a total of 19 reigns as a tag champion across his career and Moxley carries nine different tag team championship reigns across his time spent in professional wrestling. That is certainly a great deal of experience in the tag ranks, but unlike FTR, none of that championship experience came together, in fact Claudio and Mox had very little experience working as a duo prior to Castagnoli’s entry into The BCC.
That being said, Moxley and Claudio are two of the best individual combatants on the planet today, so pooling their forces does make for quite the formidable team, and that kind of skill does help compensate for their lack of experience in tag team competition. Big Bill and Ricky Starks proved, at FTR’s expense actually, that a lack of experience working together doesn’t automatically put a team at a disadvantage. Those two barely knew each other’s names yet brought an end to Cash and Dax’s second reign as champions, and performed quite impressively as a tandem during their reign atop the division.
So don’t discount The BCC duo because of that advantage FTR holds over them, in fact the one thing that may work against Moxley and Claudio this time around is the one thing that usually gives them an edge over their foes. Their capacity for violence, their willingness to use Cash and Dax to send a message to everyone else in professional wrestling, that may be the thing that comes back and bites them in the end. Now Claudio and Moxley are dealing with two very angry men who want nothing more than to choke out The BCC and do them the way FTR got done. Cash and Dax are out for blood with designs on leaving The Blackpool Combat Club laying in a pool of their own Wednesday night.
PREPARATIONS..
Deonna Purrazzo vs. ???
AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm vs. ????
As these two women, former friends once as close as sisters, prepare for their impending AEW Women’s World Championship match at REVOLUTION 2024, each will be in combat this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE. This has been an interesting back-and-forth between Toni Storm and Deonna Purrazzo ever since “The Virtuosa” questioned Storm’s abilities as she’s spun out into this “Timeless” persona. It seems to have become something of a driving force for Storm, proving she is still as good bell-to-bell as the version of Toni Storm that Purrazzo has challenged to actually come out and play on Sunday night March 3rd. Storm fought Red Velvet and Queen Aminata just three days apart from one another after having refrained from in-ring combat for nearly 40 days following her victory over Riho at WORLDS END, and made it a point to create “Wet Ink” in order to show Deonna just how over their past relationship she is.
Deonna’s response, embedded above, was quite succinct, with her in-ring record also speaking volumes with victories over Taya Valkyrie, Red Velvet, Kiera Hogan, and Anna Jay, putting “The Virtuosa” at the number one position in two consecutive rankings. This Wednesday, as they did on the 2/10 COLLISION, it looks the two women will play “can you top this” once again as each will be in singles competition on DYNAMITE! With their championship fight a little over a week away, neither woman can afford to lose a bout, not just because of how it could affect the rankings, but also because of the psychological ramifications of fumbling the ball so close to the end zone…
TRIOS COMBAT…
AEW World Champion Samoa Joe, Brian Cage, & Swerve Strickland vs. FTW Champion HOOK, Adam Page, & Rob Van Dam
Some people could look at the situation before Samoa Joe and assume he’s a man behind the proverbial eight ball; those people clearly don’t know the AEW World Champion all that well. He is a man who smashed his way through every competitor Ring of Honor through at him during his 645 day reign as World Champion between March 2003 and December 2004. He is a man who took the label of longest reigning ROH World TV Champion from Jay Lethal, and carried it for 574 days, only relinquishing the championship to focus his pursuits on the AEW World Title now resting on his shoulder. Keep that mind: no one beat Samoa Joe, he willing turned over that championship to replace it with another. The odds don’t matter to Joe, be it one challenger or two, he should never be the one considered behind the eight ball or the underdog in the situation, Joe is always the man running the table, and should always be considered the odds-on favorite.
Even in this awkward situation where he’s paired with one of his challengers, as well as his challenger’s ally, Joe should be considered in control of the situation. It doesn’t matter that his other REVOLUTION 2024 is on the opposing team, or that Hangman has found two familiar faces as his partners. FTW Champion HOOK may have given Joe a good fight a few weeks ago, and completely bewildered the wrestling world when he kicked from a Muscle Buster just after the one count, but the bottom line is he still lost decisively. As for Rob Van Dam, it’s been over 11 years since he and Joe last faced one-on-one, and that October 2012 night Joe beat RVD, then in their final meeting a few months later, a tag team affair with Chris Daniels as his partner, Joe was again victorious.
Suffice to say Samoa Joe has every reason to be confident about this fight, and can rest assured that his partners, or at least one of them, has designs on something other than the championship Joe carries:
With that in mind, knowing Brian Cage is intent on neutralizing HOOK from this situation, Joe can focus on the other two men standing across the ring from him, and hopefully not have to worry about Swerve taking advantage of the situation to get a leg up on Joe before the title fight. Perhaps Hangman and Swerve will neutralize each other in this situation, leaving Joe with only one man to worry about in Rob Van Dam. There are a lot of variables at play here, ones that affect both this trios affair, as well as the AEW World Championship bout scheduled for REVOLUTION 2024, and the outcome of this fight is going to make quite the interesting fuel to the fire that is burning around Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland, and “Hangman” Adam Page!
REVOLUTION 2024 is less than two weeks out and that means every moment counts on the road to Greensboro, NC! This Wednesday marks another stop on that journey as AEW comes to Tulsa and the BOK Center for the first time! We’ve got The BCC in action versus FTR, a huge Trios match involving the AEW World Champion and his two REVOLUTION ’24 challengers, both the AEW Women’s World Champion and her PPV challenger in action, as well as a great deal more!!!
DYNAMITE gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s various social media platforms, for highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, COLLISION, as well as the newest CONTROL CENTER! Then join us in Springfield, MO on Saturday for an all-new COLLISION featuring Bryan Danielson versus Jun Akiyama, as well as Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb in action!
Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, TX!
Your broadcast team was Excalibur, “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard and Tony Schiavone.
It’s Friday night and you know what that means!
This…is…Rampage!
No Disqualification Match!
Jeff Hardy (with Matt Hardy) vs. Sammy Guevara!
Jeff taunted Sammy, slapping him in the face. Sammy fired back with a slap of his own, refusing to back down.
“We’ve seen Jeff’s behavior change the past few weeks,” said Excalibur.
Jeff Hardy pulled a ladder out from beneath the ring, but Sammy dropkicked it into Jeff’s face! Jeff whipped Sammy into the guardrail. Jeff flew off the apron and wiped out Sammy on the floor!
Sammy connected with a knee strike on the apron. Sammy nailed Jeff with a thrust kick. Sammy followed up with a foot stomp on the apron! Jeff lunged at Sammy with a dropkick. Jeff moved the steel ring steps. Jeff charged, launched off the ring steps, and crushed Sammy against the barricade.
Jeff threw a steel chair at Sammy’s head. Jeff began to climb the ladder in the middle of the ring. Sammy met Jeff on the opposite side of the ladder. The two exchanged blows, perched on the ladder. Jeff stunned Sammy with a Twist of Fate off the ladder for a near fall!
Matt Hardy set up another table at ringside, along with a massive ladder. Jeff propped up Sammy on the table. Jeff began to climb the ladder, but Sammy got up and clubbed Jeff, preventing Jeff from ascending any higher. Sammy put Jeff’s head between a steel chair and then blasted Jeff with a cutter off the ropes! Sammy placed Jeff on the table at ringside. Sammy climbed the ladder all the way to the top! Sammy crashed down onto Jeff with a senton from the top of the massive ladder!
Sammy hit a shooting star press on Jeff Hardy. Jeff countered by raising his knees into Sammy’s ribcage, but Sammy’s knee smacked into Jeff’s face on the landing! Sammy reversed a Twist of Fate and scored the pin fall victory after the GTH!
Powerhouse Hobbs jumped in the ring after the match, ambushing Sammy from behind with a spinebuster! Don Callis was clapping on from ringside. Powerhouse Hobbs squashed Sammy with the World’s Most Dangerous Slam!
Renee Paquette was backstage with “The Machine” Brian Cage and Prince Nana, talking with him ahead of his huge match next Wednesday on Dynamite when he teams with Swerve Strickland and AEW World Champion Samoa Joe to take on FTW Champ HOOK, Rob Van Dam, and “Hangman” Adam Page!
Cage: “I got something to say. It doesn’t matter who are partners are. Hook, I’m going to be real with you. You don’t belong here. You come in here as some fad flavor of the month. And the fact that I go out there and they cheer you, it pisses me off. This is what I love. This is what I want to do. Everyone cheering for you when they should be cheering for me. I’m what a real wrestler looks like. I’m sick of taking a back seat to you. Next Wednesday you’re getting your ass beat!”
Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli were backstage!
Moxley: “You know what they say: you can’t fix stupid, but you can choke it. FTR—they are the standard bearer, they are the benchmark of great tag team wrestling. You don’t think we know tag team wrestling? You don’t think we are every bit the artists when it comes to tag team wrestling that you are?
Claudio: “We don’t walk around calling ourselves Top Guys. We don’t have to. We get results. We don’t play this. We are this.”
Renee Paquette interviewed Ruby Soho backstage!
Renee asked what she was expecting tonight now that Angelo Parker requested some time with her. Before Ruby could answer, Saraya and Harley Cameron walked onto the set.
Saraya: “I forgive you by the way.
Harley: “You know what? I forgive you too.”
Ruby: “You forgive me? Here’s the thing. I’m not sorry. I’ve known this whole time, every bad thing that has happened to me lately, you’ve been behind. I’m hoping maybe it was because you were doing what you thought was best for me. But I’m a grown woman. I know what’s best for me. And what’s best for me is space. Especially from you.”
Ruby walked off.
Saraya: “It’s time to really end that.”
Dustin Rhodes & The Von Erichs—Ross & Marshall
vs. Hitt, Shimbashi, & Romero Crews!
Dustin locked up with Hitt. Dustin nailed Hitt with a stiff strike. Ross tagged in and landed a dropkick on Hitt. Dustin came in and destroyed Crews with the Cross Rhodes. Ross and Marshall locked on the claws on Shimbashi and Hitt and Dustin finished Crews with the Final Reckoning for the pin!
Renee Paquette was backstage with AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm, Luther the Butler, and Mariah May!
Toni put Mariah in an arm bar! Toni: “Is this what you want Deonna No body likes a drama queen Deonna, so piss off!”
Anna Jay vs. Queen Aminata!
Aminata took down Anna with a side headlock. Anna Jay walloped Queen with a backstabber for a near fall. They traded chops but Queen Aminata wiped out Anna with a snap suplex. She followed up with a running PK to Anna Jay!
Anna Jay dodged a hip attack. Aminata avoided a kick and then annihilated Anna Jay with a boot slide for a two-count! Aminata countered the Queen Slayer with a jaw breaker! Queen Aminata headbutted Anna Jay in the abdomen as Anna Jay charged in. Queen Aminata scored the pin on Anna Jay!
Renee Paquette was backstage with Stokely Hathaway, Kris Statlander, and Willow Nightingale!
Renee asked Willow if she was happy with her victory over Skye Blue. Willow freaked out and questioned Stokely’s involvement in the match.
Kris: “This might have been my fault. We should have had a team meeting. I’ll make sure this won’t happen again. We’ll try this one more time.”
Willow: “Okay, Stokely, you’re going to shake on it?
Kris forced Stokely to shake Willow’s hand. “So, we’re all good here, right?” Kris asked.
Willow and Stokely nodded yes.
Next Renee Paquette interviewed Ruby Soho and “Cool Hand” Angelo Parker!
Angelo: “I know this is kind of a weird place, but I wanted to start off by saying Happy Valentine’s Day. Ruby, you have me feeling things that I don’t even know how to wrap my head around. I slipped you a note because I thought I lost you after what happened a few weeks ago with Harley, and you smashed the cake in my face. It was the only way I could get to you. Then I saw what you did last week on Rampage with Saraya, so I’m just going to go for broke and…”
Ruby: “Do you want to have a drink with me? I can’t tonight because I have a red eye. But how about next week?”
Angelo: “Yeah, yeah.”
Ruby: “Pick me up next Wednesday night, Cool Hand.”
The Bang Bang Scissor Gang—AEW World Trios Champs Daddy Ass & The Acclaimed—Anthony Bowens & Max Caster and ROH World Six-Man Champions Bullet Club Gold—Jay White & Austin & Colten Gunn
vs.
Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Satnam Singh, and Dark Order—Alex Reynolds & John Silver!
Lethal and White locked up first. Lethal used a side headlock takeover. Jeff Jarrett hit Jay White in the back with a knee when White ran into the ropes. Evil Uno tagged in, and Jay White served up stiff chops to Uno’s chest.
Colten grabbed a tag and splashed Evil Uno in the corner. Colten followed up with a dropkick. Caster held Evil Uno while Bowens nailed Evil Uno with the Scissor Me Timbers! Satnam Singh tagged in and hurled Austin Gunn across the ring!
Daddy Ass tagged in and cleaned house on the opposition! Billy bashed Reynolds with the Fame-Asser! Silver hit a flurry of offense on Bowens. Satnam tried for a double choke slam on the Acclaimed, but Colten launched off Austin and drilled Satnam with a flying forearm. Colten blasted Lethal with the Colt .45! Jeff Jarrett jumped in and stunned Colten with the Stroke!
Jay White entered the fray and walloped Jeff Jarrett with the Blade Runner! Alex Reynolds shoved Daddy Ass into Jay White and then rolled up Daddy Ass for a near fall. Daddy and Austin rocked Reynolds with the 3:10 to Yuma and then Daddy Ass scored the pin!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK!
This Friday RAMPAGE comes your way from the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, TX, beginning this week at a special start time of 7pm ET/6pm CT on TNT, and is staked up with a quartet of tremendous match-ups! REVOLUTION 2024 is coming on fast and with that in mind, the wrestlers of AEW are fighting to earn their way onto that pay-per-view extravaganza! Jeff Hardy meets Sammy Guevara for the first time with the fight contested as a No Disqualification match, Queen Aminata goes head-to-head with Anna Jay, The Bang Bang Scissor Gang will be in action for the first-time as an six-man entity, and Dustin Rhodes welcomes Marshall and Ross Von Erich back to AEW for a Trios bout!
Before the night gets underway, drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s various social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
NO DISQUALIFICATION…
Jeff Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara
All is not right in the world of The Hardys; part of it is the downward slide both Matt and Jeff have been on that began in 2023, and part of it is how they’ve responded to these losing efforts; that is to say poorly. Moxley, Darby, and Swerve all witnessed Jeff’s poor responses first-hand, but perhaps that will finally turn around for the death-defying veteran this Friday night on RAMPAGE when he faces Sammy Guevara for the very first time!
Now brother Matt and Sammy have plenty of history here in All Elite Wrestling, history that nearly ended the careers of both men at various times, so if there’s anyone to give Jeff Hardy advice on how to take this fight, it is most certainly his brother. Then there is the x-factor of this match, the stipulation that could sway it in either man’s favor, the fact that this is a No Disqualification contest where everything is legal!
This is a situation where we have seen Jeff Hardy thrive for years, the world of tables and ladders and chairs and the assorted weaponry stashed under the ring, but the AEW faithful have also witnessed Sammy Guevara commit spectacular acts when ladders are involved, when chairs are in the mix, and when tables are set-up to be destroyed. This first-time fight between Jeff Hardy and “The Spanish God” will be a sight to witness this Friday night on RAMPAGE, but what version of Jeff will we see if the bout doesn’t go his way?
ONE-ON-ONE…
Anna Jay vs. Queen Aminata
It’s been said before and repeated ad nauseam; Queen Aminata has been one of the most impressive women in All Elite Wrestling through these first six weeks of 2024. Her fights with Mariah May, Thunder Rosa, Serena Deeb, and Toni Storm have been superb, hard-hitting fights that demonstrated Aminata’s willingness to throw down against the best AEW has to offer without backing down.
Unfortunately, as impressive as the young woman has looked in each of those bouts, she has not scored a single victory in those bouts, and looking good in defeat is only going to get one so far. Yet Aminata perseveres, and continues to take enter the ring show-after-show, including this Friday night on RAMPAGE where she takes on the ever-improving Anna Jay!
With the drama of Ruby Soho and Angelo Parker behind her, Anna Jay is free to focus on what’s important, and that’s building her own resume up to the levels of title contention! Several weeks ago, Anna scored an impressive when over the aforementioned “Runaway”, and aims to continue building that momentum at the expense of the Queen!
THE BANG BANG SCISSOR GANG!
AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) & Daddy Ass
and ROH World Six-Man Champions BULLET CLUB GOLD (Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, & Jay White)
vs.
Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, & John Silver) & Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett,& Satnam Singh
Well these two forces came together in the new year, and though it doesn’t seem like a good fit given the history and the combustible elements within, thus far The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass have gelled quite well with BULLET CLUB GOLD! It seems that Daddy Ass and The Gunns have mended fences over their familial issues, ones that stemmed from Billy choosing The Acclaimed over his own kids in the first place! Then, of course, there is the fact that Austin and Colten dethroned Caster and Bowens as AEW World Tag Champions just about a year ago; suffice to say there is plenty of baggage wrapped up in this union, but yet they’ve found a way to make it work outside the ring.
But what about inside the squared circle? Can these six men make it work as a unit once the bell rings and they’ve got to tag one another, sync up as partners, and actually rely on one another for assistance? We will find out this Friday night on RAMPAGE when The Bang Bang Scissor Gang unites for the very first time!
ALSO FEATURING:
-Dustin Rhodes & The Von Erichs in action!
-We will hear from Ruby Soho & Cool Hand Ang!
Austin, TX and the H-E-B Center welcome back RAMPAGE this Friday night, and we’re starting early at 7pm ET/6pm CT on TNT, and we’ve got The Bang Bang Scissor Gang in action for the first time as a six-man unit! Plus, Anna Jay faces Queen Aminata, Dustin Rhodes brings The Von Erichs back to AEW for Trios action, and Sammy Guevara faces Jeff Hardy for the first-time ever in a No Disqualification fight!!!
Before the night gets underway, drop on by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s other social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the latest CONTROL CENTER!
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, TX!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
FTR’s Dax Harwood vs. Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley!
Moxley flipped off Dax, trying to get under Harwood’s skin. Moxley put his hands behind his back and invited Dax to hit him. Dax blasted Mox with stiff strikes and chops. Moxley hammered the jaw of Harwood with forearms. Moxley bit the side of Dax’s head.
Moxley applied a bulldog choke on Dax. Dax countered with a roll-up, but Mox kicked out quickly. Moxley kicked Dax with the heel of his boot, kicking upward at Harwood. Moxley whipped Dax into the barricade. Moxley catapulted Dax into the steel ring post!
Dax and Mox slugged it out back in the ring. After one last volley from each man landing flush on the jaw, they both fell to the mat. The fight moved to the top turnbuckle and Dax superplexed Moxley!
“A car crash in the center of the ring!” said Excalibur.
“Tough landing for both of them but Mox got the worst of it,” replied Taz.
Moxley changed levels, kicking Harwood in the leg and striking him in the head. Harwood dodged an arm bar attempt and countered with a sharpshooter on Moxley!
Justin Roberts announced that five minutes remained in the match.
Moxley escaped and back body drop Harwood. Dax fired back, spiking Mox with a piledriver for a near fall!
The fan chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Moxley rocked Dax with a cutter and then curb stomped him. Moxley nailed Dax with a piledriver, but Dax kicked out at the two-count! Dax countered a Paradigm Shift with a brain buster for a near fall! Justin Roberts announced there were two minutes remaining. Dax jumped off the top turnbuckle, but Mox countered with a rear naked choke and Dax tapped out!
Moxley wouldn’t release the hold! Cash Wheeler sprinted down, jumped in the ring and began to pummel Moxley. Claudio Castagnoli jumped into the ring and leveled Cash! Moxley put Dax in another sleeper while Claudio wrenched back on Cash Wheeler.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Don Callis, Takeshita, and Powerhouse Hobbs!
Callis said they’re a victim of their own success because no one wants to wrestle Takeshita or Hobbs and the Revolution pay-per-view is coming up. Callis said he looked within the family and put together a match: “The Alpha” Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay!
“The best part about this is the Don Callis Family wins and after Revolution you’ll all be talking about the Don Callis Family and the match of the decade!”
The Undisputed Kingdom’s Wardlow vs. Barrett Brown!
Adam Cole joined the commentary team for this match.
Wardlow hoisted up Brown onto the turnbuckle and then dropped Brown right into Wardlow’s own knee. Wardlow began posing and flexing, admiring himself on the big screen. Wardlow power bombed Brown and pinned him!
Footage aired from earlier in the day of EVPs the Young Bucks landing in a private jet, still wearing their white suits that were stained with the blood of Sting and Darby Allin!
“The Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland vs. Daniel Garcia!
Matt Menard joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Copeland missed a splash and Garcia rolled up Copeland for a near fall. Garcia brought Copeland down with a drop toehold. Garcia danced and stomped on both of Copeland’s knees. Garcia hammered Copeland’s head with elbows. Garcia jumped off the turnbuckles, but Copeland caught him and countered with a shoulder breaker.
Copeland baited Garcia into the corner and then wrenched on Garcia’s arm over the top rope. Garcia swept out Copeland’s legs. Garcia yanked Copeland down with a dragon screw leg whip! Garcia backed Copeland into the corner and stomped him down! Garcia connected with a running boot. Garcia worked on Copeland’s leg with another dragon screw. Garcia applied an STF on Copeland in the middle of the ring. Copeland countered into a front headlock.
Copeland met Garcia on the top turnbuckle and rocked Garcia with an avalanche Impaler! Copeland went for the spear, but Garcia kicked Copeland in the head! Garcia jackknifed Copeland for a near fall. Copeland escaped and hung on to Garcia, putting Garcia in a cross face submission!
The Patriarchy—Nick Wayne and Killswitch—jumped into the ring and began to beat down Copeland and Garcia. The match was thrown out. TNT Champion Christian Cage and Shayna Wayne walked down to the ring.
“Christian ordered that because he doesn’t want to face either of these men!” said Tony Schiavone.
Christian Cage pulled a chair from beneath the ring, but Matt Menard saw enough, got up and threated to whack Christian with his own chair! Killswitch ambushed Matt Menard from behind!
“Extinction from Killswitch! Daddy Magic never saw it coming!” said Excalibur.
Killswitch choke slammed Daniel Garcia in the ring! Nick Wayne and Killswitch set Garcia onto a chair, positioning him for a con-chair-to. Adam Copeland jumped into the ring with a chair of his own and cleaned house on the Patriarchy! Christian Cage and Adam Copeland swung their chairs at one another, but Christian dropped his chair upon impact! Christian Cage was down in the corner, begging off Adam Copeland, when Shayna Blazer snuck up from behind and hit Copeland with a low blow!
Nick Wayne rocked Copeland with the Wayne’s World! Killswitch hit Cope in the back of the neck with the Extinction! Christian Cage blasted Copeland with a con-chair-to!
“That was just disgusting,” said Taz.
AEW World Champion Samoa Joe came to ring ahead of his 3-Way Battle at AEW Revolution on March 3rd ring with “Hangman” Adam Page & Swerve Strickland!
Samoa Joe: “My name is Samoa Joe and I stand here proudly your AEW World Champion. But tonight, I come here with the spirit of apology. When I became champion, I reenacted a ranking system to insure that only the very best victims were served up in front of me to destroy.
“Everything was going so well until last week when Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland battled tooth and nail for thirty minutes to a draw. The AEW Championship Committee took a page out of the Texas playbook and made my match bigger and dumber. We reward mediocrity around here. Instead of telling these pretenders they don’t belong in a ring with me, at Revolution I find myself in a three-way match.
“Obviously a crime has been committed against me and now there must be repercussions. You send your two bright stars in the ring with me, and I guarantee I’m hurting one if not both of them. They may walk in, but I guarantee they will both limp out. Because I am Samoa Joe, I stand here the AEW World Champion, and there is nothing anything can do about that.”
Swerve Strickland’s music began to play! Swerve walked down to the ring with Prince Nana.
Swerve: “Joe, when we started this whole thing, like I said it wasn’t supposed to be personal. But as we get closer to Revolution and you run your mouth, I can’t help but feel it’s become personal. When you became World Champion, you said the new champion protocol, you show up with your reputation and you show up with your resumé. You also said hunger is what defines the great. Well, if you look at me, I’m on my way to becoming one of the greatest of all time.
“No one outhustles me. No one outworks me. And no one out grinds me. So, check my résumé. 15 years I’ve been grinding so maybe one day someone will say Swerve you’ll go down as one of the greatest. And this year I proved that. Today is that day. I’ve gone toe to toe with former world champions and some of the best legends that AEW has to offer. And the same result every time. I’m the one left standing. At Revolution, nothing changes! Except for one difference, is the fact that I will be holding that championship above my head.”
Hangman Adam Page walked down to the ring!
Page: “Hold on, hold on! First, I want to set the record straight about last week’s match—I wasn’t mad. When you’re writing your Dynamite reports, don’t say I was mad. Last week was horses—t! Because I signed a contract for a match to determine the number one contender for the World championship. And the winner of that match became the number one contender. And he couldn’t do it. Swerve had 30 minutes and he couldn’t do it.
“So, if it were up to me, Joe, at Revolution, the match would be between two men who value and respect that championship for everything it stands for. But unfortunately, I don’t make the matches and it looks like Swerve, you have been added to this match. Swerve I’m going to need to look you in the eyes and hear this. After everything that you have done to me, you don’t deserve one second of my time. You don’t deserve for me to give you five more minutes because you couldn’t get the job done. And you, Swerve, you don’t deserve to be in this championship match!”
Samoa Joe: “This walking domestic dispute ends tonight! As far as you’re both concerned, I’m Samoa Joe, and come Revolution, I’m whipping both your asses!”
Up next: AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm had the world premiere of her newest film, Wet Ink!
“What do you do when you can’t change the past? You kill it!” said Storm, as she had a dagger tattooed through the bird tattoo that she once shared with “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo!
Renee Paquette was backstage to get Deonna Purrazzo’s reaction!
Deonna: “Renee, Toni Storm talks too much. So, I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Toni, I’m going to break your arm!”
AEW EVPs Nicholas and Matthew Jackson—The Young Bucks, pulled up to the arena in a stretch limo!
The Young Bucks—Matthew & Nicholas Jackson
vs.
Top Flight—Dante & Darius Martin!
Dante used an arm drag on Nick. Matt tagged in and gave a condescending fist bump to Dante. Dante and Darius battered Matt back and forth with strikes. Top Flight tried for sliding dropkicks but the Bucks dodged them.
Back in the ring, Top Flight concentrated on the arms of Matt Jackson. Matt shut down Darius and Dante after Nick got involved with a cheap shot. Darius kicked Matt in the back of the head with a guillotine like kick.
Dante tagged in and connected with a big springboard crossbody press on Matt for a near fall! Top Flight hit stereo sunset flips on the Bucks for a near fall. Matt caught Dante with a DDT! Top Flight got back in control and Darius launched off Dante and spiked Matt with a DDT! Nick broke up the pin attempt, but Dante drove him hard into the barricade with a tope! Darius nailed Matt with a Spanish Fly for a near fall!
Nick interfered to help Matt, and Matt put his foot on the ropes for leverage while trying to pin Darius. The ref saw Matt cheating and stopped him. As the ref was admonishing Nick (and Nick was using the opportunity to distract the ref), Matt kicked Darius between the legs! The Bucks smashed Darius with the EVP Trigger and pinned him!
Tony Schiavone interviewed the Bucks after the match.
Matt said they were undefeated this year, which makes them the top unbeatable team in AEW, in his opinion. “After beating a team like that, I think it’s safe to say we’re number one contenders!”
Matt said Tony Schiavone was under breach of contract by publicly disparaging the AEW EVPs. “That’s unprofessional. That is bush league, and you know it Tony,” said Matthew.
“That’s a $1000 fine! Do you have a problem with that? You heard me!” said Nick, as he shoved Tony, knocking him to the mat.
Matthew apologized saying his brother was a bit of a hot head. They offered to help Tony up but were really putting him in position for the EVP Trigger. Darby Allin sprinted to the ring with Sting’s baseball bat and the Bucks retreated!
Darby: “Young Bucks, remind everyone what was the original mission statement of AEW! It was to change the world! You know when I was homeless and AEW first started, and I begged for a job. Yet you saw nothing in me, and I had to sit by and watch all your s—t friends get hired! And thank God at the time there was an EVP here with a sense of brains, and I’m not talking about Kenny Omega!
“You did a little interview last year why you re-signed with AEW. You said you re-signed because the travel schedule was light, the money was good, it was no longer about changing the world. The mission statement was dead. I thought this was All Elite Wrestling, but it looks like this is All Friendship Wrestling. Think about the first episode of Dynamite. Darby Allin wasn’t on it. You know who was? Brandon Cutler! What the—?
“You guys want to be Sting’s final match. I don’t think you guys understand what you guys got yourselves into. You’re talking about a man who’s got nothing left to lose. It’s showtime!”
“The match has been made for Revolution, March 3rd, Sting’s last match, when he and Darby Allin put the AEW World Tag Team titles against the line against the Young Bucks!”
Renee Paquette was backstage with the Bang Bang Scissor Gang!
Jay White: “What’s the goal for the Bang Bang Scissor Gang? We’re running smoothly. We have new merch. We still have yet to test our cohesiveness in the ring.”
Daddy Ass: “What about this Friday we have a twelve-man match on Friday?”
Anthony Bowens said it was a great idea!
Willow Nightingale (with Kris Statlander & Stokely Hathaway) vs. Skye Blue (with TBS Champion Julia Hart)!
Blue blasted Willow with a shotgun dropkick. Willow did a cartwheel and scooped up Skye and body slammed her. Willow sent Skye Blue to the outside with a pounce!
Skye Blue connected with a thrust kick, but Willow walloped Blue with a lariat! Willow used a hip attack in the corner. Willow nailed Blue with a spinebuster for a near fall! Willow avoided a kick from Blue and sent Blue spilling to the floor with a pounce!
Willow set up Skye on the top turnbuckle. Skye escaped and power bombed Willow off the top rope for a near fall! Skye rocked Willow with the Code Blue, but Stokely jumped on the apron to distract the referee! Willow clobbered Skye Blue with the Doctor Bomb and scored the pin, thanks to the big assist from Stokely!
Main Event! Texas Death Match!
AEW International Champion “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy
vs.
ROH World Tag Champion Matt Taven!
The only way to win is by knockout or submission.
Taven chopped Orange in the corner. Taven knocked down Orange with a beautiful dropkick. Taven planted Orange with a Blue Thunder Bomb!
Cassidy whipped Taven into the guardrail. Orange baited Taven in and booted Taven in the jaw. They began to brawl into the crowd. Taven launched an elbow drop off the stage and landed on Orange who was on a table!
Taven propped up the partially broken table against the stage. Taven suplexed Orange against the table, breaking it in half! Orange’s head was busted open. Taven obliterated Orange with a running knee strike on the ramp!
Taven tossed Orange back into the ring. Taven spiked Orange with a DDT! Orange got to his feet before the 10-count. Taven pulled another table out from beneath the ring and propped it up against the broadcast booth. Cassidy jumped out at Taven with a tope!
Taven jumped off the turnbuckles and connected with a kick to Orange. Taven smashed into Orange with a dropkick. Taven ran and jumped over the top rope like a missile at Orange Cassidy, but Orange moved, and Taven went crashing through the table!
“What the hell did we just see?!” said Tony Schiavone.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Orange pulled a heart-shaped box of chocolates from under the ring. It had a tag that read: “To: OC, From Chuckie T. XOXO”. Orange opened the box, and it was filled with thumb tacks! Orange poured the thumbtacks onto the canvass. Taven shoved Orange from the turnbuckles right on top of the thumbtacks! Taven attempted to land a frog splash onto Orange, but Orange rolled out of the way and Taven landed right on top of the thumbtacks! Orange DDT’ed Taven into the thumbtacks!
Orange pulled a steel chain from beneath the ring. Mike Bennett ran down to the ring and smashed another heart-shaped box across the head of Cassidy! Bennett filled the ring with steel chairs. Trent walked down the ramp with a steel pipe! Trent swung the pipe right at Bennett’s head and it bashed into a steel chair, colliding into Bennett’s head! Taven hurled a steel chair at Trent’s head! Taven planted Trent face first into a steel chair! Orange was there, though, and drilled Taven with the Orange Punch! Orange planted Taven with a Beach Break on a chair on top of the tacks!
“There’s blood everywhere! My God!” said Schiavone.
Taven ripped at the pockets of Orange’s jeans. Orange wrapped the chain around his fist and smashed Taven with the Orange Punch! Roderick Strong ran to the ring and rocked Trent with a jumping knee strike! Trent had jumped in the way to protect Orange!
“Trent took the bullet for Orange,” said Excalibur.
Orange chucked Roddy out of the ring! Taven couldn’t get to his feet before the ref counted to 10 and Orange won via knockout!
“Orange is lucky to have a friend like Trent,” said Excalibur.
“Yes, he is. Trent took the bullet for Orange. What a Texas Death Match! That was nuts,” replied Taz.
“That’s one of the craziest we’ve ever seen,” added Tony Schiavone.
**Special programming note: This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at the special start time of 7/6c on TNT featuring:
-Queen Aminata vs. Anna Jay!
-No DQ Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the BOK Center in Tulsa, OK!
Tonight’s AEW COLLISION was broadcast live from The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, NV!
It’s Saturday night and you know what that means! Saturday night’s alright for fighting!
Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly and Tony Schiavone were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley
vs.
CMLL’s Esfinge & Star Jr.
Moxley took down Star Jr with a side headlock. Moxley grabbed Star’s hair. Star escaped and put Mox in a submission until Claudio came in and broke up the hold with a boot to Star. Moxley swung at Star, but Star ducked it and smacked Moxley in the mush. Star and Esfinge were about to go for stereo topes, but the BCC walked away. Esfinge and Star pumped the brakes.
Claudio tagged in and hurled Esfinge with the Giant Swing! Moxley grabbed a tag but so did Star Jr. Star shoved Claudio into Moxley. Star jumped off the top rope and took down both Moxley and Claudio. Esfinge and Star jumped out of the ring with a tope and a tope con hiro onto both members of the Blackpool Combat Club.
Star tried for a springboard, but Claudio countered with a European Uppercut. Moxley whipped Esfinge into the steel guardrail. Esfinge clocked Claudio with a thrust kick and then hit a monkey flip on Moxley. Esfinge tried to apply an Indian Death Lock pinning combo on Moxley, but Claudio jumped in to break up the pin. Star wiped out Moxley with a running lariat and then followed up with a tornillo on Claudio!
Moxley nearly decapitated Esfinge with a King Kong lariat for a near fall. Moxley ate a kick and then a risking knee strike from Moxley. Claudio gorilla press slammed Star right into a cutter from Moxley!
Claudio smashed Esfinge with the Ricola Bomb! Moxley put Star in an arm submission and forced him to tap out!
Moxley: “Gracias, amigos. You take that message back to CMLL in Mexico, or anywhere else in the world, and you tell any team that if they want to step up, they get stepped on!”
FTR—Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler—came down to the ring!
FTR had a stare down with BCC! It quickly escalated and the two teams traded fists!
“It did not take long for the fisticuffs to fly here,” said Tony Schiavone.
The locker room emptied as wrestlers and security guards tried to separate the BCC and FTR and contain them!
Daniel Garcia vs. Shane Taylor Promotion’s Shane Taylor (with Lee Moriarty)!
Matt Menard accompanied Garcia and then joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Taylor was throwing haymakers, but Garcia dodged them. Taylor knocked down Garcia with a shoulder block. Garcia came back with a dragon screw leg whip on Taylor. Shane Taylor shoved Garcia out of the ring with his leg. Taylor rammed Garcia into the ring apron and then whipped Garcia into the front row guardrail.
Garcia got out of the way of Taylor’s leg drop. Garcia dropkicked Taylor in the legs and then stomped him in the corner. Taylor retaliated with a pop up powerbomb and then a nasty right hand for a near fall.
Garcia escaped a package piledriver when Taylor’s leg gave out. Garcia locked on a kneebar, and Taylor tapped!
“Five in a row on Collision for Daniel Garcia,” said Tony Schiavone.
Lexy Nair interviewed Continental Champion Eddie Kingston backstage!
Kingston: “First off, Young Bucks, what you did on Dynamite was disgusting. You stole Sting and Darby’s thunder. Just like you Bryan Danielson. When you stole the thunder from Bryan Keith. That kind finally got a contract, and you took away his moment to get under his skin. Well, you did, and now I’m going to challenge you to a match at Revolution.
“Me and you, one on one, but I’m going to add a little stipulation. At the end of this match, after I beat you, you’re going to have to shake my hand. Because I know you don’t respect me. So now after I beat you again, you have to shake my hand and act like you respect me. And I know, and I pray, that that legit eats you up inside.”
“The Machine” Brian Cage (with Prince Nana) vs. The Outrunners—Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum!
“Chance”, the mascot of the Vegas Golden Knights, was ringside cheering on the Outrunners.
Brian Cage hit a German release suplex on Truth. He double suplexed the Outrunners. Cage stepped on the head of Turbo and Turbo submitted!
Chance did the Swerve dance with Prince Nana after the match. Brian Cage clubbed Chance from behind!
FTW Champion HOOK’s music began to play!
HOOK and Cage brawled on the ramp! The fight continued all the way to the back!
Lexy Nair was backstage with the Undisputed Kingdom and Tomohiro Ishii!
Taven: “I have a bone to pick with this goofy melvin right here. I used to be in Chaos and then one day I get knee surgery and no emails, no texts, no nothing from you Ishii!”
Roderick: “Ishii! None of that matters. The only thing that matters is if you win tonight, March 3rd at Revolution, I’m coming to beat you for the AEW International Title, and I’ve been waiting eight long years for this rematch. And I can’t wait to break you. So good luck.”
Tony Schiavone was in the ring to interview “The Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland!
Schiavone: “4-0 in the Cope Open, I want to tell you this, as far as top contenders are concerned, as we know, at Revolution Samoa Joe has the two top contenders to deal with in that three-way match. You’re number three, which means you have your pick. We have the International Championship, we have a TNT Championship. What’s going through the mind of the Rated R Superstar right now?”
Copeland: “First off, if I had been at Dynamite, that wouldn’t have happened to Sting and Darby. So, Nicholas, Matthew, that’s a warning. Now you talked about the other championships that I can challenge for. There’s Christian Cage. There’s that TNT Championship that I won and had ripped out of my hands. So, I think you know where I’m leaning.”
Daniel Garcia’s music began to play, and Garcia came down to the ring.
Garcia: “Adam it sounds to me like you think you deserve a shot at the TNT title because you’ve been getting a lot of wins. And I could not agree with you more. I believe that championship opportunities should be rewarded through wins. But you’re not the only person that’s been picking up a lot of wins. Somebody else right in front of you has been on a hot streak. And I don’t mean any disrespect, but last week when I beat the Patriarchy, I looked at Christian Cage and saw that championship, and I thought maybe, just maybe I deserve a shot at the TNT title. The thing about me is I’ll fight through that line a million times over if it means I get to hold championship gold in AEW.”
Copeland: “Okay, and I can respect that. And you didn’t beat the Patriarchy by yourself. FTR helped you. But the FTR boys speak highly of you. And that’s enough for me. I respect you. But Daniel, if you’re saying you want a shot at the TNT Championship, I want a shot at the TNT Championship, I’ve got a proposal. Wednesday, Dynamite, you and I fight each other and the last man standing fights Christian. What do you say?”
Garcia: “I accept.”
Copeland: “Now I know you had a match tonight and that’s the only reason I’m not taking your face off right now. But make no mistake about it, you’re now threatening to take food off my family’s table, and that does not work for me. So, I am going to beat your ass next week.”
Renee Paquette was backstage with Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander, and Stokely Hathaway!
Renee said she thought the addition of Stokely was working out for them, especially after their win last night against the Outcasts.
Stokely had words for Skye Blue and Julia Hart and said that there were only two bad asses that he knows in the AEW Women’s Division, and that’s the former TBS champion Kris Statlander and the first ever New Japan Strong Women’s champion Willow Nightingale.
Willow said that she thought Skye would have been right there with them, but Skye chose a different path. Willow said that she and Skye had done a lot together, but they still hadn’t fought one another.
Mark Briscoe vs. The House of Black’s Brody King (with TBS Champion Julia Hart)!
Mark chopped away at Brody, but Brody hoisted up Mark and threw him half way across the ring. Brody blasted Briscoe with a cannonball in the corner. Brody followed up with a running senton for a near fall.
Brody King battered Mark in the corner with a stiff chop and then a boot. Briscoe pulled Brody out of the ring. Mark jumped off the apron and nailed Brody with a neck breaker. Mark used a steel chair and launched himself off it to land on Brody with a tope con hiro!
Mark tried to pull a table out from beneath the ring, but the ref stopped him, admonishing Mark. Mark went for a plancha, but Brody caught him and slammed him onto a steel chair. Back in the ring, Brody planted Briscoe with a Bossman slam for a two-count.
Briscoe kicked Brody in the head, knocking Brody to the floor. Mark climbed to the top turnbuckle and connecting with a twisting moonsault, landing on his feet! Brody blocked a Death Valley Driver and then leveled Briscoe with a lariat!
Mark Briscoe climbed to the top, but Julia Hart jumped on the apron to distract Briscoe. Brody shoved Briscoe and sent Briscoe flying, crashing onto the table on the arena floor! Brody drilled Briscoe with a Gonzo Bomb and pinned Briscoe!
Brody held Mark back while Julia Hart hit Briscoe with a spike on the forehead! Mark was busted wide open!
“The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith was backstage with some strong words!
Keith: “It’s no secret that I’m all about my payday. So, when I came here to AEW, I’m looking to climb the ranks and collect my bounty, whether you’re good, bad, or ugly, you stand across the ring from me, you’d better be ready to pay up, sucker.”
“The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kiera Hogan!
Deonna Purrazzo yanked at Hogan’s arm. Kiera fired back with a hip attack. Deonna dodged a charging Kiera. Deonna went back to working on Kiera’s arm. Deonna drilled Hogan with a backstabber for a near fall.
Hogan caught Deonna with a thrust kick. Deonna blocked a piledriver attempt. Deonna applied the Venus De Milo and Hogan had to submit verbally!
AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm (with Mariah May & Luther the Butler) vs. Queen Aminata!
Toni had a headlock on Aminata. The Queen fought out of it and taunted Toni. Storm took down Queen Aminata with a Thesz Press. Toni Storm applied a full nelson. Toni Storm kicked Queen Aminata right in the face. Toni charged at Queen Aminata, but Aminata cradled Toni for a near fall!
Queen Aminata walloped Toni with a snap suplex. Toni spiked Aminata with a DDT but the challenger kicked out at the two-count. Queen Aminata retaliated with an Air Raid Crash for a near fall on the champ! “Timeless” Toni cracked Queen Aminata with a hip attack and then crunched Aminata with a piledriver for the pinfall victory!
Toni Storm: “Mister Schiavone, I know what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But we’re in Henderson so stop looking at me like that. Darling, did you see that? Another fantastic technical show of brilliance. This week on Dynamite I will be releasing a brand new film!”
Main Event Time! AEW International Championship Match!
“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy (c.) vs. “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii!
Ishii knocked Orange to the floor with a shoulder tackle. Ishii waffled Orange with chops to the chest!
“Orange Cassidy was freshly squeezed,” said Nigel.
Orange came back with a Stun Dog Millionaire and then a twisting DDT! Orange flew out of the ring with a tope suicida to Ishii. Orange spiked Ishii with another DDT for a two-count!
Orange jumped off the top rope and planted Ishii with a diving DDT! Orange stomped Ishii in the corner. Orange connected with a shotgun dropkick, but Ishii popped back up and pounced Orange!
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Ishii blasted Cassidy with an avalanche brain buster and covered Orange for a near fall! Orange fired up but collapsed to the mat. Orange got up and went for the Beach Break, but Ishii reversed it and countered with a powerbomb! Ishii went for a sliding lariat, but Orange dodged it and cradled Ishii for a near fall.
Ishii headbutted Orange but Orange caught Ishii with an Orange Punch! Orange drilled Ishii with a Beach Break, but Ishii lifted his shoulder in the nick of time! Ishii nailed Orange with a dragon suplex. Ishii hit the sliding lariat, but Orange kicked out!
Ishii attempted the vertical brain buster, but Orange escaped! Orange decked Ishii with the Orange Punch! Ishii wouldn’t go down! Orange tried for another Orange Punch, but Ishii blocked it! Orange rolled up Ishii in a small package and pinned Ishii!
The Undisputed Kingdom surrounded the ring after the match! Taven and Bennett spiked Orange with a stuffed piledriver! Ishii sprinted back to the ring and the Undisputed Kingdom retreated! Trent came down with a steel chair as reinforcement!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, TX!
Coming off a red-hot RAMPAGE and a history-making DYNAMITE, this Saturday night All Elite Wrestling comes to Henderson, NV and the Dollar Loan Center for a stacked edition of COLLISION! After their fight on Wednesday, and the locker room clearing situation that erupted afterward, The Blackpool Combat Club of Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley will take on CMLL’s Esfinge and Star Jr. in tag team action! Plus, AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm is in action once again, this time against the hard-striking Queen Aminata, Mark Briscoe takes on The House of Black’s Brody King, and Deonna Purrazzo will be in a fight with Kiera Hogan!
The night begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and the AEW faithful can get prepared for the action-packed evening by visiting the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s other social media platforms, for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
Orange Cassidy(c) vs. “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii
Despite his date with Roderick Strong on March 3rd, Orange Cassidy still plans to be a fighting champion on the road to REVOLUTION 2024, willing to take on any competitor, be it friend or foe, enemy or ally. That’s why this Saturday night on COLLISION, the AEW International Champion will take on one of his CHAOS allies in “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii!
This seems to be a bit of an issue for Trent Beretta, though he hasn’t outright said it, but it’s not as if OC didn’t give Beretta an opportunity during his first International Championship reign, it’s not as if Ishii is the first friend Orange has fought over the title, Rocky Romero had one too. In fact, in the eyes of Cassidy, it seems like giving “The Stone Pitbull” a title shot is the right thing to do because of the times he’s been there for OC and The Best Friends.
It’s difficult to say is the toughest challenge of Orange Cassidy’s second reign as champion, after all he went to battle with Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley in his first month, but Ishii is certainly one of the toughest of either run with the International Title, certainly one of the hardest hitting who will not hesitate to blister Cassidy the way he blistered Chris Jericho in their ROH World Championship bout back on Thanksgiving Eve 2022. Cassidy is going to have to fight for every inch in this meeting on Saturday, and do his best to avoid a striking situation as Ishii’s hands are like stone. If nothing else, getting hit by those hands will at least prepare Cassidy for what it feels like to get chopped by Roderick Strong…
ONE-ON-ONE…
AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Queen Aminata
Queen Aminata has had numerous opportunities over the past several weeks to fight the best AEW has to offer, the likes of Thunder Rosa, Mariah May, Serena Deeb, and Willow Nightingale to name a few, and though she’s looked impressive in each, Aminata has yet to secure victory in AEW singles competition. Seventeen singles losses since her April 2021 debut, six of those in 2024, and no matter how much you may hear commentary and fans sing your praises, and discuss your strong suits in the ring, it becomes frustrating to be so close to breaking through.
But that doesn’t mean stop, that doesn’t mean lay down and die, that means keep fighting until there is no fight left in your body, keep fighting until you break through to that next level, keep fighting until you’re standing on top of that mountain and prove all that praise was well-deserved. That is the path of Queen Aminata at this point, that is her struggle, and this Saturday night she has the biggest opportunity of her AEW career because it will be AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm standing across the ring.
This may not be a championship bout or even an Eliminator fight, but it is still a match with the World Champion and that means a victory will garner headlines, earn respect, and prove Queen Aminata belongs among the elite. Toni has her focus on Deonna Purrazzo at the moment, and their impending championship fight at REVOLUTION 2024, meaning she may be ripe for the picking by another foe, meaning this could be Aminata’s opportunity to rise up the ranks with a quickness. Can she finally get the “W” that’s eluded her in AEW thus far?
SINGLES MATCH…
(#1) Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kiera Hogan
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander; if Toni Storm is going to be in action against a top tier opponent to stay tuned up for REVOLUTION 2024, than so too will Deonna Purrazzo! That is why Saturday night on COLLISION, “The Virtuosa” will go one-on-one with “The Girl on Fire” Kiera Hogan for the first time since October 2016!
They’ve fought in a handful of matches since that victory by Deonna, four way and three ways and multi-woman affairs, but nothing one-on-one until this evening in Nevada. Though her championship challenge is set for March 3rd on pay-per-view, each time “The Virtuosa” steps into the ring, she is putting her title opportunity at risk, as well as that #1 spot in the rankings. If she loses to someone like Kiera Hogan who, though a supremely talented a competitor she may be, is not a ranked combatant, will it play against Deonna’s championship opportunity? Or does it simply serve to slide Hogan into a better position for the aftermath of REVOLUTION 204 should Purrazzo defeat Toni Storm?
However it plays out, Toni Storm better keep as close an eye on this one as Deonna will keep on Storm’s Saturday night fight!
TAG TEAM BATTLE…
Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley) vs. Esfinge & Star. Jr
Esfinge is the current Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champion, Star Jr. is a former CMLL World Trios Champion with Volador Jr. and Atlantis Jr., and together they make their in-ring debut for All Elite Wrestling on Saturday night! In what appears to be their first tag team bout (though they are quite versed in trios competition together) these two CMLL representatives will take on two of AEW’s best in Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley!
Coming off a RAMPAGE where Mistico was victorious over Matt Sydal, but a DYNAMITE where The BCC defeated Hechicero, Mascara Dorada & Volador Jr., this fight marks the latest in the ever-escalating battle between The Blackpool Combat Club specifically, AEW as a whole, and the CMLL contingent.
Thus far, with Danielson’s victory over Hechicero as well as the aforementioned win on DYNAMITE, The BCC hold dominance over the luchadors from CMLL, and this will be an interesting test as you’ve got a BCC duo that’s 9-1 as a team versus a first-time tag pairing, though Star Jr. and Esfinge’s experience as trios allies may prove a boon for this bout.
Can the CMLL duo score their units first victory over The Blackpool Combat Club, and prove themselves equals to “the elite of the elite”, as Moxley referred to his unit? Or will this be The BCC continue to prove why they are the most dominating force in professional wrestling today?
SINGLES MATCH…
Mark Briscoe vs. The House of Black’s Brody King
Mark Briscoe had every intention of being there for FTR against The House of Black, and he was more than willing to step inside that Steel Cage in Daniel Garcia’s stead after the assault perpetrated on Garcia put his status in doubt. The House of Black had different idea though, and made sure the 13-time former ROH World Tag Champion was taken out of the equation before anyone set foot inside the cage.
But if The House thought that would be the end of Mark Briscoe in their life, well they’ve got another thing coming, and Brody King absolutely should’ve known better. See Mark and Brody are no stranger to each other, from Ring of Honor to GCW to the NWA, these two men have gone into battle in tag team situations, as well as trios, and have fought over several different championships. They’ve taken the measure of one another with partners at their side, and as a result of all that, Brody King should’ve known Mark Briscoe wasn’t just going to fade away; he should’ve know a fight was coming, and coming fast.
That fight is here this Saturday night on COLLISION when Mark Briscoe and Brody King lock up in their very first one-on-one match! Each man went through it in the Continental Classic, and now they step back into singles competition as Mark aims to bring the battle right to The House’s front door!
Daniel Garcia wants that TNT Championship, and even though he got the victory in the trios match last week, he’s going to need to build up his resume to get a shot at Christian Cage, and that begins this Saturday night on COLLISION with a fight against Shane Taylor!
Taylor, along with Lee Moriarty, are primed to ascend up the AEW ladder and take the respect they feel they’re owed. We all saw it with the fight they gave The Blackpool Combat Club, and Shane Taylor will throw those same blows at Daniel Garcia in their impending one-on-one battle! It’s a huge opportunity for both men to assert themselves in the singles ranks, a realm in which both previously had championship success under the ROH banner, but neither have managed to be a title holder in All Elite Wrestling as of yet.
Who will step up in the ranks on COLLISION, and who will be left frustrated in defeat?
This Saturday night, All Elite Wrestling brings some Saturday night fighting to Henderson, NV and the Dollar Loan Center! We’ve got The BCC fighting CMLL, “Timeless” taking on Queen Aminata, Orange Cassidy defending his AEW International Championship against CHAOS mate Tomohiro Ishii, Kiera Hogan fights Deonna Purrazzo, Mark Briscoe meets Brody King in singles competition, and more!
The night gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and the AEW faithful can get prepared for the action-packed evening by visiting the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s other social media platforms, for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ!
Your broadcast team was Excalibur, “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard and Tony Schiavone.
It’s Friday night and you know what that means!
This…is…Rampage!
Trios Match!
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero, & Trent Beretta
vs.
Undisputed Kingdom—ROH World Tag Champions Matt Taven & Mike Bennett, and Roderick Strong (with Adam Cole & Wardlow)!
Best Friends charged at the Undisputed Kingdom as the Undisputed Kingdom made their entrance. They were furious over Undisputed Kingdom for injuring Chuck Taylor.
Bennett booted Trent in the face. Trent jumped on Bennett, squashing him with double knees to the sternum. Taven tagged in and Rocky and Trent rocked Taven with stereo knee strikes. Trent followed up with a sliding knee for a near fall.
Roderick grabbed a blind tag, but Trent tossed Roddy with a German Suplex. Roddy pulled Trent off the turnbuckles and nailed Trent with a backbreaker. Taven and Bennett double teamed Trent in their corner.
“Great tag team continuity by Taven and Bennett,” said Excalibur.
Orange tagged in and cleaned house on Taven and Bennett. Orange planted Taven with a DDT and smashed Bennett with a Stun Dog Millionaire. Bennett blindsided Orange with a spinebuster. Cassidy connected with a thrust kick on Taven. Orange was looking for the Orange Punch, but Taven knocked Orange’s block off with a kick of his own!
Roderick Strong distracted the ref while Bennett blasted Orange with a low blow. Taven jumped off the top turnbuckle while Bennett held Orange and they pulped Orange with a stuffed piledriver.
Rocky was the legal man now, and he took flight, rocketing out of the ring and wiping out Bennett and Taven with a tope suicida. Rocky rocked Bennett with the Sliced Bread! Taven cut off Rocky’s flurry with a boot to the midsection. Romero took Taven down to the mat with a hurracanrana.
Rocky smashed Taven and Bennett with the Forever Clotheslines. Roddy came in with a blindside knee and then decimated Rocky with the End of Heartache backbreaker. Taven covered Rocky and scored the pin!
The Undisputed Kingdom set up chairs in the ring and Roddy planted Rocky right onto the chairs with the End of Heartache! Trent and Orange chased the Undisputed Kingdom out of the ring.
“Adding insult to injury, that was completely uncalled for by Roderick Strong,” said Excalibur.
The Young Bucks—Nicholas & Matthew Jackson vs. Mondo Rox & Robbie Lit!
Matthew seized on Robbie Lit, stomping him in the corner. Matthew bulldozed Robbie with a lariat. Nicholas tagged in and the Bucks used a backbreaker-neck breaker combo on Robbie.
Mondo got a tag and Nicholas kicked Mondo with a low blow as Matthew was distracting the referee. The Young Bucks smashed Mondo with the EVP Trigger and Matthew pinned Mondo!
Nicholas: “I am so tired of the disrespect that each and every one of you fans show us. I heard a heckler in the front row calling us by the wrong name. It’s time to show your EVPs a little more respect! Call us by our God-given names of Nicholas and Matthew Jackson!”
Matthew: “I apologize my brother is a bit of a hothead. Listen! Listen! The reason we’re out here in the first place is to say congratulations to AEW’s new Tag Team Champions Darby Allin and Sting! Incredible match! You’re putting your blood, sweat and tears on the line. You’ll be great champions but there is one caveat. I got an email, an injury report from Doc Sampson and apparently both Darb and Sting are a little bit banged up coming out of their big win. So, we just wanted to say we’re thinking about you guys, we’re praying for you guys, and we hope you’re ok.
“However, boys I want to make one thing clear. Our objective is to get our tag team titles back! And you may be looking at us and saying, ‘Oh, but you’re EVPs and you’re going to politic to do whatever it takes to do that!’ No, no, no. We’re going to play by the rules, climb up the rankings, and have competitive matches just like we did tonight on Rampage! We will get ranked, we will be number one contenders, and we will get our belts! And we’ll continue to climb up those rankings on Wednesday when you see Nicholas and Matthew Jackson, your EVPs in tag team action! We love you guys so much! Let’s have a killer show!”
“Tony Khan has just informed me that on Wednesday night on Dynamite Nicholas and Matthew will have some top flight competition when they face Dante and Darius Martin!” said Excalibur.
CMLL’s Mistico (with Esfinge & Star Jr.) vs. Matt Sydal!
Sydal and Mistico chain wrestled to start the match, exchanging a flurry of offense and going move for move with one another. Mistico hit Sydal with a tope suicida. Sydal jumped back in the ring and caught off Mistico’s momentum with a kick.
Matt Sydal placed Mistico in a bow and arrow submission. Sydal followed up with a senton splash. Mistico caught Sydal off guard with a crossbody press.
“This has been a back and forth battle,” said Excalibur.
Sydal caught Mistico in the face with a jumping knee strike. Sydal landed an Air Raid Crash for a near fall on Mistico. Mistico tried for a moonsault press but Sydal got the boots up, countering it! Sydal charged Mistico but Mistico walloped Sydal with a powerslam! Mistico hit a Spanish Fly on Sydal off the top rope and pinned Sydal!
“That was a desperation move by Mistico but man, it worked!” said Tony Schiavone.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Prince Nana and “The Machine” Brian Cage!
Brian Cage: “HOOK thinks he can hit me in the back with a chair and get away with it like a hit-and-run? Not today! I’m looking for HOOK. Where is he? Coincidentally, he’s not here. Of course he’s not here. He doesn’t want to feel the rage of Cage on Rampage.”
Prince Nana: “You know what? I think HOOK is at home reading a book because that’s what he needs to do instead of running around town hitting people with chairs in the back. Prince Nana knows how that feels. It happened to me on Wednesday, Renee.”
Cage: “Big deal, HOOK, you beat two guys the other night. I could beat two guys any day of the week. I could do that tomorrow. As a matter of fact, let’s do that on Collision. Any two sloppy Joes in the locker room that want to face me, come on down.”
The Outcasts—Ruby Soho & Saraya (with Harley Cameron)!
As Ruby was making her entrance on the ramp, she noticed there was a note scribbled on a piece of paper that was inside the pocket of her leather jacket.
Stokely Hathaway joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Kris took down Saraya with a side headlock. Statlander hit a dropkick. Willow and Ruby came in for their respective teams and Willow rocked Ruby with a Russian Leg Sweep. Willow followed up with a fisherman’s suplex. Statlander shoulder tackled Ruby, slammed her, and followed up with a sliding lariat.
Willow splashed Ruby in the corner. Willow climbed to the top turnbuckle. Harley grabbed Willow’s ankle and then Saraya shoved Ruby to the mat! Statlander tagged in and took Ruby off her feet with a powerslam.
Ruby and Saraya double teamed Statlander. Willow charged in to make the save but Saraya grabbed her and shoved her through the ropes. Saraya cracked Kris with a running knee strike and went for the cover, but Willow broke it up just in time.
Statlander clubbed Saraya with a discus lariat. Ruby rocked Statlander with the No Future kick! Ruby held Willow and Saraya went to strike Willow, but Willow escaped, forcing Saraya to inadvertently strike Ruby! Willow walloped Saraya and Ruby with a double clothesline.
Saraya and Kris traded forearms in the center of the ring. Statlander blasted Saraya with a massive roundhouse kick. Statlander planted Saraya with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall! Saraya caught Kris off guard with a jawbreaker. Saraya went for the tag, but Ruby refused, turning her back and jumping off the apron, leaving Saraya in the lurch.
“Tony, I wonder if that note that Ruby was reading had anything to do with this?”
Harley grabbed Ruby and tried to stop Ruby from walking away. Ruby turned around and decked Harley!
“Ruby Soho finally standing up for herself to Saraya,” said Excalibur.
Willow power bombed a shocked Saraya and pinned her!
After the match Stokely celebrated with both Kris and Willow!
Skye Blue appeared in the aisle, smirked, and waved at Kris and Willow. The arena lights went dark!
“What is going on here?” wondered Excalibur.
The lights came back on, and TBS Champion Julia Hart was standing beside Skye Blue! They were staring at Willow and Kris, taunting them as Julia held up her title.
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, NV featuring:
-AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy vs. Tomohiro Ishii!
– “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo vs. Kiera Hogan!
-We’ll hear from the “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland!
AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Queen Aminata!
-BCC’s Jon Moxley & Claudio Castagnoli vs. CMLL’s Esfinge & Star Jr.!
& Much, much more!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, TX!
Eddie Kingston (c.) vs. “Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith!
Keith and Kingston traded shots, with Eddie rocking Keith with knees to the face. Both tried for suplexes but neither man budged. Kevin Kelly informed us that Bryan Keith just returned from a tour in Japan.
Keith stunned Kingston with a mule kick. Kingston was clutching his jaw. Outside the ring, Keith whipped Kingston into the barricade, with Kingston’s right arm and shoulder taking the brunt of it.
“Bryan Keith is starting to show he’s got the goods,” said Kevin.
“Giving Eddie one hell of a fight,” replied Schiavone.
Keith headbutted Kingston, knocking Kingston off the turnbuckles and sending Kingston tumbling to the arena floor. Kingston got back up on the apron, but Keith connected with a pump kick. Keith followed up with a cannonball senton.
Kingston fired back with an exploder suplex. Keith hit one of his own and then rocked Kingston with a Liger Bomb for a near fall.
“Eddie Kingston is in trouble. You can see it on his face,” said Schiavone.
Eddie blasted Keith with a backfist and then a suplex for a two-count. Kingston blistered Keith’s chest with rapid fire chops. Eddie applied a sleeper and then spiked Keith with a DDT for a near fall. Eddie smashed Keith with the spinning back fist and pinned Bryan Keith!
Tony Schiavone entered the ring to interview Kingston.
Kingston: “Go talk to Bounty Hunter, not me.”
Tony Schiavone: “Starting tonight Bryan Keith is All Elite!”
Kingston hugged Keith.
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson’s music hit! Danielson made his way to the ring, and Nigel said Danielson was trying to steal Keith’s thunder. Kevin Kelly said Danielson was trying to provoke Kingston. Danielson held up Bryan Keith’s arm, congratulating him on joining the AEW roster.
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. CMLL’s Hechicero!
“Hechicero is the greatest technical wrestler to come out of Mexico in the last 20 years,” said Nigel.
Hechicero grappled Danielson to the mat. Both men were looking for leg locks. Danielson put Hechicero in a surfboard submission, but Hechicero escaped. Hechicero rolled Bryan around in a surfboard, but Danielson got to the ropes to force the ref to break the hold.
“Danielson looks frustrated,” said Kevin Kelly.
Danielson swatted Hechicero in the thigh with a leg kick. Danielson was stunned by a guillotine leg drop. Hechicero caught Danielson in a rear naked choke, but Danielson grabbed the bottom rope. Hechicero chopped at Danielson’s chest. Hechicero was one step ahead and cracked Danielson with a jumping knee strike in the corner.
“Put this dragon to sleep!” said Nigel.
Danielson knocked Hechicero off the top rope with a headbutt. Danielson went for a diving headbutt, but Hechicero countered, tying up Danielson in a pretzel and cradling Danielson for a near fall.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Hechicero jumped over the top rope with a tope, crashing onto Danielson on the arena floor! Back in the ring, Bryan hit a double underhook suplex. Danielson applied the LeBell Lock. Hechicero escaped and locked up Danielson, but Danielson inched his way to the ropes.
Danielson found his mark with round kicks to Hechicero’s chest. Hechicero picked up Bryan with a spinning hammerlock into a back breaker! Danielson took down Hechicero with a dragon screw leg whip. Hechicero cradled Danielson but Danielson reversed it and pinned Hechicero!
Hechicero attacked Danielson after the match! BCC’s Claudio Castagnoli sprinted to the ring and forced Hechicero to retreat!
FTW Champion HOOK vs. The Outrunners—Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum!
Hook used a judo throw but was poked in the eyes when the ref was distracted. The Outrunners double teamed Hook. Hook double clotheslined them and sent them flying with overhead suplexes. Hook applied the Redrum to Truth and forced him to tap right out!
“It takes a lot of guts to fight two men,” said Nigel.
Tony Schiavone interviewed Mark Briscoe!
Mark: “I told FTR I’d be there for them last week. I came out to the aid of my blood brothers FTR and my good friend Danny Garcia. That’s what we do. I wasn’t five feet onto that stage when the House of Black threw me off like a sack of taters. But fast forward and it was FTR, Garcia and Briscoe with their hands held high. You knock us down and we get back up.
“After 20 years of being one half of the baddest tag team on the planet, now all of a sudden, I’m flying solo. Everything didn’t go my way, but that’s alright. You shoot me, you’d better kill me. We fight until we can’t fight no more!”
The arena lights went dark!
The House of Black appeared on the giant screen!
Malakai Black: “Well Mark, that’s beautiful. That’s really touching. You like magic tricks? I love magic tricks. I specifically like the one where the magician makes people disappear. Because that is what we intend to do to you and everything you just spoke about. We are going to eradicate you from the history of professional wrestling, and it’ll happen just like this.”
Malakai Black snapped his fingers and the House of Black disappeared from the screen. The lights in the arena turned back on and Mark Briscoe was alone in the ring.
Malakai Black: “See, it’s that easy.”
“Mind games from the House of Black,” said Nigel.
Queen Aminata vs. “The Professor” Serena Deeb!
Deeb grappled Aminata to the mat, showing off why she is a technical tyrant. Deeb applied a half crab, but Queen Aminata reached the ropes. Queen hit a snap suplex on Serena Deeb. Serena Deeb used a guillotine neck breaker. Deeb disoriented Aminata and brought her down with a back slide. Aminata cracked Deeb with a head butt and then a hip attack.
Deeb dodged a running knee strike from Queen Aminata. Deeb wrapped Aminata’s legs around the ring post and applied the figure four. Deeb applied the Serenity Lock and Aminata tapped out!
Out next: The #1 Contender for the AEW World Championship—Swerve Strickland with Prince Nana!
Swerve: “Hey Tony Schiavone, you know it’s Black History Month, right? I’m noble enough to show appreciation to all the people who paved the way for me to talk to you tonight. People like Ron Simmons. Kofi Kingston. How about Athena, what up sis? And very soon we’re going to add another name to that list. Who’s house? This Wednesday I’ve got an opportunity to become AEW World Champion.
“Now about Hangman Page, this is a man that’s in my way of my quest of becoming great. He has left scars on my body. He has shed my blood. This is a man I’ve beaten twice now. You know what they say, third time is a charge. But when I put him behind him, I become black history, and then I move on to Samoa Joe and I become AEW World Champion.
“Nana, you understand Mogul Embassy is family and it is business? Trust me, I want you there right by my side. No interferences. Because there’s going to be no more excuses. Is that right, Hangman Page? I’ll see you Wednesday. Who’s house?”
Red Velvet vs. Vertvixen!
Red Velvet took down Vertvixen with a leg lariat. Red Velvet planted Vertvixen with a bulldog. She blasted Vertvixen with body shots. Red Velvet smashed Vertvixen with a running knee strike, and then after stirring it up, she pinned Vertvixen.
Trios Match!
The Patriarchy—TNT Champion Christian Cage, Killswitch, & Nick Wayne
vs.
Daniel Garcia & FTR—Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood!
“Daddy Magic” Matt Menard joined commentary for this match.
Dax cracked Nick Wayne with a stiff chop. Christian Cage tagged in, but Dax grabbed an inside cradle for a near fall. Nick Wayne tagged back in and slapped Dax in the face! Garcia wanted in so Dax tagged him.
Garcia hit Wayne with two shoulder tackles. Nick Wayne slapped Garcia in the face and taunted him by dancing. Nick Wayne charged at Garcia, but Garcia chucked Wayne over the top rope. Christian Cage entered the fray again and took some of the steam out of Garcia’s momentum. Christian Cage worked over Garcia in the corner. Garcia fought out of the corner and went for a sunset flip. Christian escaped and went for a diving headbutt, but Garcia rolled out of the way.
Cash Wheeler tagged in and cleaned house on the Patriarchy. FTR knocked down Killswitch with the high-low, but Killswitch wasn’t the legal man. Nick Wayne climbed to the top rope, but Dax met him up there. Dax superplexed Nick Wayne!
Killswitch came in and back body dropped Dax. Killswitch choke slammed Dax after interference from Christian Cage. Chrisitan went for the killswitch, but he and Dax collided heads, both men falling to the mat. Christian tagged out to Nick Wayne, and Daniel Garcia tagged in.
Garcia tossed Wayne with a suplex. Garcia stomped Wayne in the corner and then pummeled him with strikes. Garcia opened up the ropes so Cash could fly out with a tope suicida on Killswitch! Garcia rocked Nick Wayne with a brain buster for a near fall!
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Nick Wayne hit a fisherman’s suplex for a two-count on Garcia. Daniel Garcia answered with a big swinging neck breaker for a near fall. Garcia climbed to the top, but Christian knocked him down, right into a Wayne’s World!
Cash jumped in and powerslammed Nick Wayne! Killswitch was there to choke slam Cash! Garcia rammed Killswitch into the steel ring post. Garcia turned around and was flattened by a spear from TNT champ Christian Cage! Dax got back in the ring and applied the sharpshooter on Christian. Nick Wayne jumped off the turnbuckles and drilled Dax with the Wayne’s World cutter.
“Party time for the Patriarchy,” said Nigel.
Nick Wayne attempted to go for the spear, like father like son, but Garcia countered it with a jackknife pin and scored the victory!
“That’s two weeks in a row,” said Daddy Magic.
Garcia started at Christian Cage, who was standing outside the ring. Garcia taunted Christian Cage by doing his dance. Christian Cage eyed Daniel Garcia with a sour look on his face.
“I think it’s a look of concern from Christian Cage. Daniel Garcia may have staked a claim for a title shot at Christian Cage,” said Tony Schiavone.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ featuring:
-Trios Match: The Stars of CMLL vs. Blackpool Combat Club!
-AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match: Toni Storm (c.) vs. Red Velvet!
-Chris Jericho vs. Konosuke Takeshita!
-AEW World Tag Championship Tornado Match: Ricky Starks & Big Bill (c.) vs. Sting & Darby Allin!
-Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Adam Page: Winner Gets a Shot at the AEW World Championship at Revolution!
RAMPAGE was wild night, especially with that main event win from the CMLL contingent, and All Elite Wrestling keeps the action going this Saturday night on COLLISION! Emanating from the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, TX, COLLISION will feature Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston battling a man who has made quite an impact on AEW and ROH over the last two months, “The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith! And speaking of that CMLL contingent, ahead of their trios match on DYNAMITE, Hechicero will be in action against Blackpool Combat Club representative “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, plus Serena Deeb takes on Queen Aminata, The Patriarchy battles FTR & Daniel Garcia, and more!!!
The night gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and the AEW faithful can get prepared for the action-packed evening by visiting the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s other social media platforms, for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
A TECHNICIAN’S DREAM…
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Hechicero
He is in the top three for longest reigning NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Champions, reigned as CMLL World Heavyweight Champions for 409 days, and spent 245 days atop the CMLL Trios division alongside Los Infernales partners Eufora and Mephisto. He is Hechicero, and for twenty three years he has been competing inside the squared circle, primarily in Mexico, but he has competed in the United States for PWG, was part of the original ROH World Six-Man Championship tournament in 2016, and has stepped into the rings of New Japan Pro Wrestling during his career as well. He is known as “The Mad Scientist of CMLL”, “The Alchemist of the Ring”, and “The Man who was born to Wrestle”, and in facing Hechicero, “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson is going to have his work cut out for him!
Stylistically, this is a sublime pairing, pitting two of the greatest technical wizards of the day against one another, but so too are both men capable of throwing down in a fight when the situation calls, the brazen assault Jon Moxley is proof enough of that.
The world knows Bryan Danielson is winding down his in-ring career, declaring 2024 to be his last full-time year of competition, but we also know he isn’t going out with a whimper. For Bryan this last year is a search for the best fights, the toughest competition, and opponents he never had the opportunity to fight over the years, perhaps even that personal dream match he has with CMLL’s Blue Panther. This battle with Hechicero qualifies as all of the above, with fans getting a glimpse at what he brings to the table just last night on RAMPAGE, and no doubt Danielson was paying close attention to that because, regardless of who wins here, The Blackpool Combat Club has a date with the CMLL contingent this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE!
ONE-ON-ONE…
Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston vs. “Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith
Ever since ROH’s FINAL BATTLE 2023 event, “The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith has been building his reputation with the AEW faithful, as well as within the locker room. Orange Cassidy gave him an opportunity to fight for the International Championship on COLLISION: WINTER IS COMING 2023 based on his Survival of the Fittest 2023 performance, Keith competed in a Four Way for a shot at the Continental Crown on the first DYNAMITE of 2024, and less than a week ago, returned from his first trip to Japan where he fought for DDT Pro Wrestling, getting the opportunity to compete in historic Korauken Hall!
After eleven years busting his tail competing everywhere he could, it seems “The Bounty Hunter” is finally getting the eyes of the wrestling world upon him thanks to hard work, grit, and determination, and that is something the Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston can appreciate. That is why this Saturday night on COLLISION, though the championships are not at stake, “The Mad King” will step into the ring with the Bryan Keith for their first-ever meeting, and test the mettle of “The Bounty Hunter”! Should Bryan Keith defeat the Continental Crown Champion, it will no doubt boost his profile and the look he gets when it comes time for the next set of rankings to be reviewed.
Can Bryan Keith knock the crown off Kingston’s head this Saturday night? Or will Eddie notch his eight consecutive singles victory on COLLISION?
It was a long, hard road back to the ring for “The Professor of Professional Wrestling” but Serena Deeb managed to overcome every bit of adversity thrown her way outside of the ring, so she could step back into the squared circle, and get back to showing the world why she is unquestionably one of the greatest competitors to ever lace up the proverbial boots. Robyn Renegade experienced it last Saturday night, and this week on COLLISION it will be the red-hot Queen Aminata who tests herself against the purveyor of Deeb’s Dojo!
Aminata had an excellent effort against Willow Nightingale on RAMPAGE last night, albeit a losing one, but today is another day and this is another fight, another chance to prove she deserves to dance with the best in the business, to be labeled as an Elite right alongside her contemporaries. Deeb is going to be tested by this fight, she’s going to get hit and get hit hard at that, just look at Aminata’s fights with Thunder, Willow, Shida, and others to see her willingness to throw hands. Will this be Queen Aminata’s night to finally score that big victory, the one that breaks her through to the next level? She was so close on Friday, can this fight be the one that makes her?
TRIOS MATCH…
The Patriarchy (TNT Champion Christian Cage, Killswitch, & Nick Wayne) vs.
Daniel Garcia and FTR cannot possibly be feeling 100%, and we are not talking the general sub-100 that comes from being a professional fighter, we are talking the kind of pain that comes from taking part in a brutal Steel Cage Match against three of the nastiest fighters in All Elite Wrestling. We are talking the pain of being assaulted before the match even starts, and then pushing yourself through that feeling to get back in the fight alongside your friends. That’s what Daniel Garcia had to do last Saturday night when he was left laying backstage prior to the Cage Match, making his status for the fight questionable, but yet he pushed through it, and when they ended up the last two men in the cage, he went toe-to-toe with Malakai Black, and won the match for his trio!
Despite that, despite the aching Garcia, Cash Wheeler, and Dax Harwood have to be feeling deep into their bones, they are stepping back into the fight, and it is with good reason. When the rankings were released on January 31st, FTR and Garcia discovered they were the fourth ranked unit in the Trios Division, meaning a championship opportunity could be within their reach after a few more victories! So back to the grind they go, right back into the fray, and they are doing so against a trio that, while loaded with talent, has only fought together on one other occasion: The Patriarchy of TNT Champion Christian Cage, Nick Wayne, and Killswitch.
We know Adam Copeland is gunning for another shot at Cage, and the TNT Championship, but he’s willing to put in the work with these Cope Open Challenges to get there, but Christian Cage has other business to focus on, business such as building his Patriarchy up into viable trios contenders, and avoiding another fight with his former best friend at all costs. With Nick Wayne and Killswitch at his side, and Mother Wayne ringside, Christian Cage’s “family” is a very dangerous unit, and considering what Garcia and FTR went through in the steel cage, The Patriarchy may find themselves an easier fight than had this gone down two weeks ago. That’s not to say it will be easy, not by any means where these three are concerned, just that FTR & Garcia battered and bruised, potentially making them a little easier for The Patriarchy to take advantage of come COLLISION!
This Saturday night, All Elite Wrestling brings the action to the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, TX with an all-new COLLISION featuring Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston fighting “The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith,The BCC’s own Bryan Danielson taking on CMLL representative Hechicero ahead of their Trios clash on DYNAMITE, The Patriarchy battling Daniel Garcia & FTR, and Serena Deeb taking on Queen Aminata!
The night gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and the AEW faithful can get prepared for the action-packed evening by visiting the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s other social media platforms, for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, LA!
Your broadcast team was Excalibur and Tony Schiavone.
It’s Friday night and you know what that means!
This…is…Rampage!
Top Flight—Dante & Darius Martin (with Action Andretti)
vs.
Private Party—Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen!
“Both teams have an abundance of confidence and think they’re the best. You know what? Why not think it,” said Tony Schiavone.
Top Flight used tandem offense on Marq Quen. They isolated Quen in their corner. Darius swept out Quen’s leg and Dante hit Quen with a DDT, demonstrating beautiful combo offense. Quen pulled a dropkick out of midair and then tagged in Isiah.
Isiah rocked Darius with a stunner. Quen came in and drove Darius face first with a stomp. Quen rolled up Darius, holding the ropes, but Andretti caught him red handed and alerted the referee. Darius rocked Zay with a Pele kick and then tagged out to Dante.
Dante connected with a big cross body press on Zay for a near fall. Zay fought his way out of Top Flight’s technical prowess and planted Dante with the Silly String! Quen connected with a shooting star press on Dante, but Darius jumped in to break up the pin attempt. Dante stunned Quen with a thrust kick and then spiked him down on the mat, scoring the pin!
“I would love to see a rubber match between these two teams,” said Excalibur.
Top Flight extended their hands as a sign of good sportsmanship, but Private Party didn’t want any part of it.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Sammy Guevara!
Sammy: “Losing always sucks, but this loss against the tag champs in that Street Fight with Jericho feels different. We were this close to finally becoming the AEW World Tag Team champions, titles we’ve been chasing since 2019. Maybe this loss stings a little bit more because it’s not just about me anymore. I have a little girl at home that depends on me to go to work to provide a better future for her.
“So those championships don’t just represent the best, they represent a better life. And Will Hobbs and the Don Callis Family took that away from me! My wife! My family! So now this is personal. I’m medically cleared now, but I’m not going to wait for a match. Will Hobbs, I hope you’re watching. You don’t know where, you don’t know when, but I’m coming for you.”
Sonjay Dutt was backstage with Jeff and Karen Jarrett, and Satnam Singh!
Sonjay: “Jay is late as always. Jeff, you think he wants us to really work out?”
Jeff: “Sonjay, I’m a two-time hall of famer. I damn sure ain’t getting in the ring today.”
Jay Lethal walked into the room.
Lethal: “All right, I made it. I’ve got some great drills I want to go over in the ring. Hey, why are you still in your suit, Sonjay?”
Sonjay: “I’m not working out, but Karen has her workout clothes on.”
Karen: “I’m not working out, but I narrowed down the team names and I put up a photoshoot for next week.”
Lethal: “Fine. Satnam, are we working out or not?”
Satnam: “Jay, I’m undefeated. You need to work out. You lost all your matches.”
Lethal: “Fine, no practice today.”
Jeff: “Jay, that’s the problem! I’m sick of it. You’re the problem of the team, and your problem is you’re too damn nice. What brought us together is that we were both ruthless SOBs. That’s what we gotta get back to. I’m running the meeting next week. I’ll tell you boys where and when.”
AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Match!
“Absolute” Ricky Starks & Big Bill (c.)
vs.
The Dark Order—Alex Reynolds & John Silver!
Darby Allin joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Silver and Reynolds got the jump on Starks and Bill. Evil Uno grabbed Big Bill’s leg from outside the ring. Silver power bombed Starks onto Reynolds’ knees for a near fall. Big Bill tagged in and bulldozed the Dark Order with a double clothesline.
Big Bill pummeled Reynolds with stiff shots. Evil Uno distracted Big Bill. Reynolds pushed Bill to the outside and followed up with a tope suicida, but Big Bill intercepted him. Silver rammed into Bill with a cannonball senton.
Back in the ring, Big Bill spiked Reynolds with the Bossman slam. Starks grabbed a tag and clubbed Reynolds with forearms and then body slammed him. Ricky splashed Reynolds in the corner with a flying elbow. Starks was looking for a spear, but Evil Uno tripped him up. Starks got out of the ring and speared Evil Uno on the arena floor!
Silver peppered Starks with kicks. Starks rallied back with the roshambo and pinned Silver! Darby stared at Starks from the broadcast booth. Big Bill screamed at Darby, taunting him ahead of their match this Wednesday on Dynamite.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Powerhouse Hobbs and Don Callis!
Don Callis: “I feel sick to my stomach because I’m tired of hearing about Sammy’s family. Congratulations. You’re medically cleared, but you’re obviously not mentally cleared. Because if you were, you’d know that you’re not hunting Will Hobbs, Will Hobbs is hunting you.”
Powerhouse Hobbs: “You see, Sammy, I know exactly what I took away from you and Chris Jericho. But what you don’t realize is I always have a family. I have three mouths at home that depend on their daddy. You think this is the first time in my life that someone tried to hunt me? Check my track record, dawg, you’d just better hope I don’t see you first.”
Willow flattened out Queen Aminata with a big shoulder tackle. Aminata cradled Willow but Willow kicked out at one. Willow scoop slammed Aminata. Willow dropkicked Aminata from the turnbuckles.
Queen Aminata swept out the legs of Willow as Willow was looking for a senton from the apron. Aminata headbutted Willow and followed up with a German Suplex. Aminata went for a hip attack, but Willow dodged it. Willow cannonballed Aminata and drilled her with a Death Valley Driver for a near fall. Willow hit the doctor bomb and pinned Queen Aminata!
Renee Paquette was backstage with The Best Friends—AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta, Rocky Romero, & Chuck Taylor!
Orange: “I knew if I asked for this time that Roddy and his friends would come in and interrupt us. So, they’re probably going to do that in 3…2…1.”
Trent: “What if they don’t show up?”
Orange: “I didn’t think of that.”
Roderick Strong: “Orange!”
Roderick Strong interrupted the interview, and he had Adam Cole and the Undisputed Kingdom in tow.
Orange: “Roddy, I was looking for you because everyone knows you and I are going to fight each other March 3rd at Revolution for my International Championship. But you and your friends keep doing things that are making my friends really angry. So why don’t all of you guys get with all of us and then we fight each other?”
Adam Cole: “That’s a great idea. I’d recommend a four on four but ol’ Chuckie T is too injured to compete! So instead, I’m going to recommend a three on three. I’m talking about my best bud Roderick Strong, and Mike Bennett and Matt Taven against you Rocky Romero, you Trent, and you Orange.”
Roddy: “I love that idea. And how about we do it on Rampage next week?”
Renee Paquette was backstage with Willow Nightingale, Kris Statlander, and Stokely Hathaway!
They were interrupted by Saraya, Harley Cameron, and Ruby Soho.
Stokely: “Hey, last time I checked this was Rampage, not Dawson’s Creek.”
Saraya: “I don’t know what that means.”
Willow: “This was my time.”
Stokely: “Listen, if anyone is going to make fun of Willow, it’s going to be me.”
Willow: “Really, you mean that? Listen, Ruby, you’re insulting us, you’re taking up our time. If that’s what you want to do, we can settle this in the ring. Next week! So, we’ll see you there!”
Main Event Time! CMLL’s Hechicero, Mascara Dorada, Mistico, & Volador Jr.
vs.
“Cool Hand” Angelo Parker, “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard, “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, & Matt Sydal!
Sydal and Dorada began for their respective teams. Sydal took him down with a hurracanrana. Volador tagged in, but Matt Menard whipped him into the ropes. Volador connected with a thrust kick.
Mistico and Daniels entered the ring. Mistico nailed Daniels with a big handspring elbow. Mistico kicked Daniels in the corner. Hechicero dropkicked Daniels. Volador planted Daniels with a lung blower. Dorada hit a running shooting star press on Daniels.
Daniels planted Dorada with a heel trip and tagged out to Parker. Menard, Parker, and Sydal triple teamed Dorada with a flurry of offense. Sydal punished Dorada with a bow and arrow submission hold.
Hechicero grabbed a tag and dropped Daniels with a running lariat. Hechicero locked on a sleeper on Daniels in the ropes. Hechicero blasted Daniels with a springboard forearm. Daniels retaliated with a flatliner. Things broke down as both teams entered and began to brawl! Volador took out Parker with a tope! Mistico jumped from the top and crashed onto Daddy Magic! Dorado wiped out Sydal with a tornillo into an arm drag. Dorado dived over the top and wiped out the pile!
Back in the ring, Daniels was looking for the Angel’s Wings on Hechicero, but Hechicero countered with a back drop. Hechicero followed up with a rising knee strike in the corner. Herchicero cradled Daniels and pinned him!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, TX featuring:
-Queen Aminata vs. Serena Deeb!
-Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston vs. “Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith!
-Trios Match: TNT Champ Christian Cage & The Patriarchy vs. FTR & Daniel Garcia!
– “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Hechicero!
-And so much more!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ featuring:
-Trios Match: The Stars of CMLL vs. Blackpool Combat Club!
-AEW Women’s World Championship Eliminator Match: Toni Storm (c.) vs. Red Velvet!
-Chris Jericho vs. Konosuke Takeshita!
-AEW World Tag Championship Tornado Match: Ricky Starks & Big Bill (c.) vs. Sting & Darby Allin!
-Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Adam Page: Winner Gets a Shot at the AEW World Championship at Revolution!
This Friday’s edition of RAMPAGE comes to you from New Orleans and the UNO Lakefront Arena, beginning at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, and includes some monumental match-ups! In your main event, the quartet from CMLL will take on the four men who assisted Jon Moxley on Wednesday night, and Willow Nightingale will throwdown with Queen Aminata! Plus, we will hear from AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy and The Best Friends, witness a rematch between Private Party and Top Flight, and see AEW World Tag Team Champions Big Bill and Ricky Starks take on The Dark Order in an Eliminator match!
Before the show begins, drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s various social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
CMLL VS. AEW…
Hechicero, Mascara Dorada, Mistico, & Volador Jr. vs. Angelo Parker, Christopher Daniels, Matt Menard, & Matt Sydal
When the announcement was made that four competitors from the CMLL promotion in Mexico would be appearing for All Elite Wrestling, the excitement level was through the roof. Mistico stoked those fires back in October with this 2/3 Falls bout against Rocky Romero, and the additions of Hechicero, Mascara Dorada, and Volador Jr, only amplified AEW fans’ desire to see their brand of professional wrestling injected into All Elite Wrestling.
Well on Wednesday night those four men certainly injected their presence right into the top of AEW by assaulting Jon Moxley following his victory over Jeff Hardy! Without the rest of The Blackpool Combat Club in the house, one would’ve thought Mox was a man on an island, but perhaps due to the amount of respect he’s built over the years, a most unlikely assortment of men from the AEW locker room hit the ring to stand by his side. Christopher Daniels, Matt Sydal, Angelo Parker, and Matt Menard all stepped up in defense of Moxley, as well as AEW, in the face of this assault by the CMLL quartet!
Well this Friday night, in the main event of RAMPAGE, those four AEW stalwarts will have another opportunity to stand tall for the land they love when they fight all four Luchadors in an eight-man tag! This comes less than twenty-four hours before Hechicero battles Bryan Danielson on COLLISION, and is sure to be a wild ride for the fans experiencing it in-person, as well as those watching on TNT! What will this CMLL contingent bring to the table, and will the AEW quartet be prepared?
ELIMINATOR MATCH…
AEW World Tag Team Champions Big Bill & Ricky Starks vs. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver)
Big Bill and Ricky Starks have a major challenge on their plate next Wednesday night when AEW returns to Phoenix and the Footprint Center for DYNAMITE. It’s not just that they’ll be defending their AEW World Tag Team Championship, it’s that they will be defending them against the unbeaten tandem of Darby Allin and Sting! There’s an irony in the fact that Sting and Darby began their alliance fighting Ricky Starks, and that they could win their first championship together by beating him as well, but that’s something “Absolute” will have to put out of his mind for the time being as this Friday on RAMPAGE, they’ve got potential challengers gunning for them!
The Dark Order of Alex Reynolds and John Silver have been on a bit of a tag team roll lately; they’ve won six straight tag team bouts dating back to November 1st, are 3-0 in 2024, and that record has landed them the number two position in the Tag Team rankings released Wednesday night! In addition, it has earned Silver and Reynolds this Eliminator contest where they could potentially score a championship match with Big Bill and Ricky Starks! The Dark Order has strong momentum heading into this one, but so do the champions, the only difference is Alex and John have nothing else to focus on while Bill and Ricky have Sting and Darby looking over their shoulders and lingering on their brain!
Can that be the key to The Dark Order earning themselves their first AEW Tag Team Championship match in over two years?
ONE-ON-ONE…
Willow Nightingale vs. Queen Aminata
It’s been over two years since these two women last met inside the squared circle, but this Friday night on RAMPAGE, Willow Nightingale and Queen Aminata will lock-up in the first AEW meeting! On September 11, 2021 it was Willow who walked out of the match with the victory, but with how both have grown as competitors in the time since, it’s going to be very intriguing to see how this one plays out. Queen Aminata, though failing to score any victories, has impressed fans and pundits alike with her fights against Thunder Rosa, Mariah May, Hikaru Shida, and Kris Statlander over recent weeks, proving herself to be on the cusp of breaking through to that next level. She hits hard, and she can take the return fire, and that alone will take her right to the brink, but to truly become next level, Aminata has to start picking up the wins.
Now with all the drama going on between Kris Statlander, Willow, and Stokely Hathaway (or should that be drama created by Stokely), this may be the most opportune time to score a marquee victory for Queen Aminata. If Willow is distracted by that business, especially with both Stat and Stoke coming ringside with her, then Aminata will certainly score her first major victory in All Elite Wrestling.
TAG TEAM GRUDGE MATCH…
Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) vs. Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)
Several weeks ago, when DYNAMITE swung through North Charleston, SC, Private Party scored a huge tag team victory over Top Flight in the former’s first match since December 2, 2022. It was a tremendous fight, one that showcased the skills of both young teams, and Private Party looked exceptional despite Marq Quen’s long road to recovery stalling their tag team momentum. Unfortunately, after being unable to put down the Martin brothers for a three count, Marq resorted to a rope-assisted pinfall in order to get the victory, somewhat dampening the overall feel of the contest, and what should’ve been a comeback to celebrate.
That’s not wholely accurate, Private Party has certainly been celebrating the victory like it was perfectly legit, like Marq didn’t mean to hook the ropes for leverage, and he and Isiah are certainly walking around like they proved themselves the better team. Well this Friday night on RAMPAGE, Private Party will have a chance to show once and for all who is the best between these two young teams because Top Flight is getting their rematch! Not only that, but this time Action Andretti has promised to be at ringside to make sure there are no more shenanigans from Isiah or Marq that cost Top Flight the bout!
On Wednesday night we saw The Undisputed Kingdom’s Wardlow decimate Komander, the latest ally of AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy to be targeted by The UK, and as if that wasn’t enough, Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett were primed to continue assaulting the man after the bout. Thankfully Rocky Romero, Trent Beretta, and Orange Cassidy were on-the-spot to prevent any further damage from being inflicted on Komander, but rather than fight with them, The Undisputed Kingdom elected to leave the ring.
OC knows that Roderick Strong is trying to drag their potential fight out to REVOLUTION 2024, likely to see “Freshly Squeezed” get worn out the way he was before Jon Moxley ended the last International Championship reign, but Cassidy has made it clear he’s got no intention of stopping his way of doing business. That being said, this Friday night on RAMPAGE, we will hear from Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, and Trent Beretta about this situation!
The UNO Lakefront Arena in The Big Easy is where the fights go down this Friday night on RAMPAGE, and it gets underway at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans! We will hear from AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy and The Best Friends, as well as witness four of CMLL’s best take on four of AEW’s best, Willow and Queen Aminata go head-to-head, and The Dark Order attempt to earn a shot at the AEW World Tag Titles in an Eliminator fight with the champs! To top it all off, two of AEW’s most impressive young teams will dance again when Top Flight goes a second round with Private Party!
Before the night gets underway, be sure to drop by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s other social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the latest CONTROL CENTER!
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from the UNO Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, LA!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
Jeff Hardy vs. Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley!
CMLL’s Mistico, Hechicero, Mascara Dorada 2.0, and Volador Jr. were watching from ringside.
Moxley backed Hardy into the corner and pounded him with strikes. Hardy jumped off the apron and landed on Moxley. Hardy choked Moxley with Hardy’s towel. Excalibur notified us that the rules would be relaxed for this match.
Moxley drove Hardy down with a tope suicida! Moxley dumped Hardy onto the guardrail and then knocked Hardy down with a clothesline. Moxley stomped on Hardy’s hand. Moxley walloped Hardy in the chest with round kicks. Jeff Hardy back dropped Moxley.
Jon Moxley whipped Hardy hard into the turnbuckles. He followed up by catapulting Jeff’s throat into the bottom rope. Moxley hurled Hardy into the barricade right in front of the luchadores. Hardy reversed another throw, this time whipping Moxley into, and over, the barricade. The luchadores shoved Moxley, and Mox flipped them off.
Jeff Hardy threw a steel chair into Moxley’s face. Hardy jumped off the steel ring steps but Moxley anticipated it and slugged Hardy in the face. Moxley took Excalibur’s pen, put it threw Jeff’s earlobe, and then twisted it. Hardy had enough and hit Moxley with a dropkick.
Hardy connected with the Manhattan Drop. Moxley retaliated, spiking Hardy with a piledriver for a near fall. Hardy nailed Mox with a Twist of Fate on the apron. Hardy climbed to the top and flipped onto Moxley for a two-count. Hardy climbed up again, but Moxley met him up there, raking Hardy’s back. Moxley superplexed Hardy.
Hardy and Moxley traded strikes in the center of the ring. Moxley escaped a Twist of Fate and countered with a cutter. Hardy escaped the Paradigm Shift and countered with a Russian Leg Sweep. Hardy hit Mox with a stunner and then a Twist of Fate! Jeff climbed to the top turnbuckle and went for the Swanton, but Mox moved out of the way. Jeff crashed and burned. Moxley applied a choke hold and put Jeff Hardy to sleep! Mox won via ref stoppage!
Moxley offered his hand to Jeff Hardy, but Jeff Hardy flipped off Moxley.
“I did not expect that out of Jeff Hardy,” said Taz.
The CMLL wrestlers jumped the barricade and got into the ring! Moxley tried to fend them off, but the odds were too great. The BCC weren’t in the building tonight, so this was a 4-on-1 beatdown! The locker room cleared out, forcing the luchadores to exit the ring!
Dealer’s Choice Match!
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Toa Liona!
Page was swinging with big right hands. Toa cracked Page in the ribs with a knee strike. Hangman connected with a sliding lariat on Toa, right on target. Hangman jumped off the turnbuckles and delivered two lariats to Toa, but Toa shrugged them off. Toa flattened Hangman with a diving crossbody off the apron and onto the arena floor.
Toa pounced on Page with a running shoulder block. The force sent Page over the top rope and crashing onto the floor. Toa had Page in the Tree of Woe and then followed up with a diving headbutt, smashing him like he was a human missile. Hangman smashed Toa with a tope suicida.
Hangman hit a big cross body press on Toa for a near fall. Hangman tried for the Dead Eye, but Toa was too much weight, and he smothered Page. Toa rocked Page with a thrust kick in the jaw for a near fall. Hangman blocked the Raw Mana and then swung for the fences with a lariat. Page got Toa up and drilled him with the Dead Eye! Toa got right back up and clobbered Page with a headbutt! This time Toa hit the Raw Mana, but Page kicked out at the two-count!
Toa connected with a running senton on the apron. Toa went for a moonsault off the apron, but Page dodged it. Page climbed to the top turnbuckle and hit his own moonsault on Toa! Page attempted the Buckshot Lariat, Toa ducked it and hoisted Hangman for a Samoan Drop! Page held on, cradled Toa, and scored the pin!
“I was just informed by Tony Khan that after Dynamite tonight, the rankings will be revealed!” said Excalibur.
Toa charged at Hangman, but Hangman ducked, sending Toa spilling to the floor.
Footage was shown from earlier in the day of EVPs Nicholas and Matthew Jackson—The Young Bucks—arriving at the arena in their chauffeured limo!
A production assistant handed them the show format, accidentally calling them Nick and Matt. Nicholas scolded the PA, and told him to refer to them as Nicholas and Matthew. Nicholas also said the PA would be fined because of that slip up!
Up next: Wardlow (with the Undisputed Kingdom) vs. Komander (with Alex Abrahantes)!
Adam Cole joined commentary for this match.
Wardlow flung Komander to the mat as Komander tried for a collar and elbow tie up.
“That’s raw power,” said Adam Cole.
Komander fired back with a pair of dropkicks. Wardlow popped up Wardlow and power slammed him! Wardlow threw Komander across the ring, the force spinning Komander like a propeller.
Komander walked the ropes and dropkicked Wardlow, creating an opening for himself. Komander hit the Phoenix Splash for a near fall. Wardlow power bombed Komander and pinned him!
Roderick Strong: “Komander! You should have taken the deal that I offered you on Saturday. But now you’re going to pay the price!”
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends stormed down to the ring to even up the odds!
The fans chanted “Freshly Squeezed! Freshly Squeezed!”
Roderick Strong: “Shut up! Hey, thanks for coming out here. See ya later.”
Tony Schiavone had a sit down interview with Sting and Darby Allin, and AEW World Tag Team Champions “Absolute” Ricky Starks and Bill Big ahead of their title match next week on Dynamite!
Starks: “I just thought it’d be appropriate for both of you to talk to us since this is about respect now. I wanted to take this time out to personally tell you Sting, not to forget that this journey in AEW started with me, Sting.”
Sting: “What did I do? You didn’t tell me what I did?”
Starks: “Well, you had your first win here over me. And that does not sit right.”
Darby: “You want to talk about respect? That’s what this is about, right? You’re saying you respect the Icon?”
Starks: “Absolutely.”
Darby: “That’s a load of crap. This is a stepping stone for you Ricky. You don’t respect Sting. I don’t think you respect anyone. This man’s career is not a stepping stone!”
Starks: “You’re the one who had to attach yourself to someone like Sting! The point I am making is next week, two things are going to happen, and I want you to know. I am going to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championships, me and Big Bill are going to be the AEW World Tag Team Champions. And secondly, I’m going to get my lick back on you. The chip on my shoulder? Guess what? It ends next week. I am going to make sure you don’t even make it to your retirement. Darby, you on the other hand, I have no respect for you. There is no space in my body for respect for you. Who are you?”
Big Bill: I’m hearing a lot of talking out of Sting and Darby. You two run your mouths. All you two have done is brag about how you’re going to go into Revolution without ever mentioning us. You have done what everyone else here has done, you’ve overlooked us. Next Wednesday you two represent everybody else here. And we’re going to take out all of our frustrations on you two.”
Sting: “Ricky I guess I’ll start out with you. You said I was the first one that got face to face with you. I kind of admired something about you in those days because you were the only one in those days who had balls to get in my face and talk some smack. And as far as respect goes, you have to earn that, Ricky. And you, Big Bill, I have faced many big men before in the ring. The only difference between you and them is they were killers. I’m not so sure about you yet.”
Darby: “Alright Ricky, I’m just going to end it here. Look, I respect you, I respect what you do in this ring, but every time you point the finger at somebody else, there’s only one person to blame, and that’s you.”
Starks threw his drink into Darby’s face!
Starks: “Hit me!”
Sting: “I’ve always hated talk. Darby will hit you…in Phoenix. Oh, and I will too.”
ROH World Television Champion Kyle Fletcher (with Don Callis & Powerhouse Hobbs)
vs.
Chris Jericho!
Things broke down immediately with Jericho and Fletcher pummeling one another with stiff shots. Fletcher planted Jericho with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall! Jericho connected with a dropkick off the turnbuckles.
Jericho charged after Don Callis outside the ring. Fletcher caught up with Jericho and blindsided Jericho. Fletcher kicked Jericho in the spine. Fletcher climbed to the top turnbuckle, but Jericho met him up there! Jericho sent Fletcher down hard with a hurracanrana!
Hobbs distracted the ref while Don Callis swept out Jericho’s leg. Fletcher stomped on Jericho. Chris Jericho was sent flying with a half and half suplex from Fletcher. Kyle Fletcher blasted Jericho with a brain buster for a near fall!
Jericho dropped a double sledge from the top. Jericho drove Fletcher face first into the mat. Jericho was looking for a lionsault, but Hobbs cracked Jericho while the ref was distracted by Callis!
“They caught Jericho right in the middle of one of his favorite moves,” said Schiavone.
Jericho countered a piledriver, sweeping out Fletcher’s legs and putting on the Walls of Jericho! Fletcher lunged for the ropes, grabbed them, and forced the ref to break the hold. Fletcher stunned Jericho with a thrust kick.
Jericho smashed Fletcher with a Code Breaker out of nowhere! Jericho climbed to the top turnbuckle, but Fletcher blasted Jericho with a kick. Fletcher planted Jericho with a brain buster on the corner for a near fall.
Fletcher kicked Jericho in the back of the head and followed up with a thrust kick. Fletcher ducked the Judas Effect! Fletcher rocked Jericho with a rolling roundhouse kick! Fletcher rocketed outside the ring with a tope suicida, but Jericho countered with the Judas Effect! Powerhouse Hobbs charged at Jericho, but Jericho side stepped him, sending Hobbs into the steel ring steps!
Jericho rolled Fletcher back into the ring. Jericho climbed to the top turnbuckle and nearly decapitated Fletcher with a Judas Effect off the top! Jericho covered Fletcher and pinned him!
“Jericho earned that win,” said Schiavone.
“Boy, did he ever. But I want to point out that it took two Judas Effects to put down Kyle Fletcher,” added Excalibur.
After the match, “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita, the man that will face Jericho on next week’s Dynamite, walked onto the ramp and stared at Jericho!
Out next: Ring of Honor World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Bullet Club Gold— “Switchblade” Jay White, and The Gunns—Austin and Colten…along with AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass—The Bang Bang Scissor Gang!
Jay White: “Whoa, whoa, whoa! I love your guys’ thing. I’m a big fan of scissoring. But don’t forget we have our own thing, too. Guns up!”
Max Caster: “Yo! Yo! Yo! Listen! You’re looking at the six men who have dominated trios wrestling for years. But it’s not just the six of us. There is somebody missing. Bowens, get Cardblade!”
Colten said they fired Cardblade a long time ago. “Austin, get the Juiceboard!”
Austin: “If you’re not down with the Bang Bang Scissor Gang, then we’ve got…”
Daddy Ass grabbed the microphone from Austin’s hands.
Daddy Ass: “I am literally standing right here.”
Austin: “Dad, this is kinda my thing.”
Daddy Ass: “Well it was my thing first. Shall we some him how to do it? So, if you’re not down with the Bang Bang Scissor Gang, we got two words for ya! Guns up!”
Taya Valkyrie (with Johnny TV) vs. “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo!
AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm was on commentary for this match. She was accompanied by Luther the Butler and Mariah May.
Taya grabbed a handful of Deonna hair and pushed her back into the turnbuckles. Deonna pulled Taya to the mat with a wristlock. Johnny TV distracted Deonna while Taya speared Deonna on the ramp!
Back in the ring, Deonna connected with two lariats and a knee lift. Deonna blasted Taya with a pump kick. Taya fired back with a sliding lariat. Deonna smashed Taya with a sliding dropkick. Deonna grabbed Taya and whipped her into Toni!
Deonna smacked Taya with a pump kick. Deonna put Taya into a submission while staring at Toni Storm and forced Taya to tap out!”
“For the first time all night, Toni Storm with nothing to say, but perhaps a statement victory by Deonna Purrazzo,” said Excalibur.
Renee Paquette was backstage with Darby Allin!
Renee: “I would love to talk to you about your admiration for the Young Bucks.”
Darby: “Excuse me?”
Matthew and Nicholas Jackson showed up wearing headsets. They said it was a great question and Darby should answer it. They told Renee she deserved a raise, clearly having put her up to it.
Darby: “Did you tell her to say that?”
Matthew: “We love you Darb. You’re an AEW Original. ‘Change the world.’ You fit that quote. Young. Hot. Star. Just like us. I just have one thing I’m a little perturbed about. Why are you letting a 65-year old blood sucking leech take more money from you, out of your pocket. I mean, save some for the rest of us, am I right, Darb? Once Sting is gone, I have a really good idea for a new gimmick. Why don’t the three of us get together and become a new, hot trio?”
Nicholas: “All jokes aside, Darby, we’ve been back for a month now and you’re ducking, you’re dodging us, you’re being unprofessional. You got a problem with us or what?”
Darby: “No offense but there’s only one thing on my mind and that’s the AEW World Tag Team Championships.”
Matthew: “Is that right? I guess we’re going to have to get his attention a different way.”
Main Event Time! Dealer’s Choice Match!
Swerve Strickland vs. Rob Van Dam!
AEW World Champion Samoa Joe joined the broadcast booth for this match.
The fans chanted “RVD! RVD! RVD!”
Page appeared on the screen before the match and told Swerve that not only did Page get to pick the opponent, but he also got to pick the match. “So tonight, Swerve, you’re wrestling RVD not in a normal match but in a hardcore match. Goodluck.”
RVD hurled a steel chair at Swerve! RVD whipped Swerve into the guardrail. RVD followed up with a leg lariat! And then RVD blasted Swerve with a round kick. RVD smashed Swerve with a leg drop on the apron!
The fans chanted “You still got it! You still got it!”
RVD hoisted Swerve onto the barricade and then rocked him with a leg drop off the apron! Back in the ring, Swerve rammed RVD into a steel chair that was propped between the turnbuckles. Rob used a reversal and sent Swerve into the chair. RVD followed up with Rolling Thunder.
RVD dropkicked a chair into Swerve’s face, crushing Swerve in the corner. Swerve countered a monkey flip and power bombed RVD onto a steel chair for a near fall. RVD deposited Swerve on the top rope. RVD climbed to the top turnbuckle. Out of nowhere, Brian Cage jumped up onto the apron and shoved RVD to the mat!
FTW Champion HOOK sprinted to the ring with a steel chair in hand!
HOOK waffled Cage in the back with a steel chair! HOOK and Cage brawled ringside as RVD watched on. Swerve snuck up behind RVD, but RVD reversed Swerve’s grasp and nailed him with a kick. Swerve dodged the Rolling Thunder and planted RVD for a near fall.
Swerve set up a steel chair outside the ring. Swerve backed Van Dam into the chair with a kick. Swerve wrecked RVD with a stomp from the apron onto the steel chair! The back of RVD’s head hit the ring steps. Swerve climbed to the top rope, but RVD threw a chair at Swerve, sending Swerve crashing off the top rope and down through a table on the arena floor!
RVD sandwiched Swerve between two steel chairs. RVD attempted the five-star frog splash, but Swerve dodged it! Swerve smacked RVD with the House Call Kick, while RVD was holding a steel chair! The chair went right on target against RVD’s head! Swerve covered RVD but RVD kicked out at two! Swerve went to the top rope, but RVD met Swerve up there. Swerve shoved RVD’s face into the turnbuckle, knocking RVD to the mat! RVD flipped off Swerve, but nonetheless, Swerve crushed RVD with the Swerve Stomp and pinned Van Dam!
Hangman Page marched down to the ring with a microphone!
Adam Page: “Congratulations you evil bastard! Swerve later tonight the rankings for the AEW World Championship come out and despite my best efforts, we are both undefeated. So, I can only assume that we are both at the top of that list. And you said that you wanted Samoa Joe. You said you wanted the AEW World Championship. I need you to look in my eyes. I will never let that happen! Swerve I am the next World champion. Not you!”
Swerve: “You still just don’t get it. I’ve beaten you twice now! I got nothing to prove! Not to you, not to anyone else. You just can’t beat me!”
Adam Page: “You keep saying that because I think you believe if you say it enough it’ll be true. The two times we fought, you didn’t beat me. It took all of the Mogul Embassy. Swerve, I know that man to man, when it counts, you can’t lace my boots.”
Swerve: “You know what? You must want suffering or something. But I’ll give you what you want. Me and you! One more time! This is the third time and after that we are done! After I move past you, all I care about is that AEW World Championship!”
Excalibur announced that Tony Khan just made it official! Next week on Dynamite! Swerve Strickland vs. “Hangman” Adam Page. The winner gets a shot at the AEW World Championship at Revolution!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT featuring:
-Top Flight vs. Private Party!
-AEW World Tag Champs “Absolute” Ricky Starks & Big Bill vs. Dark Order!
-Willow Nightingale vs. Queen Aminata!
-We’ll hear from AEW International Champ Orange Cassidy & Best Friends!
– CMLL’s Mistico, Hechicero, Mascara Dorada 2.0, & Volador Jr
vs. Christopher Daniels, Matt Sydal, Angelo Parker, & Matt Menard!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, TX featuring:
-Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston vs. “Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith!
– “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Hechicero!
-And so much more!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ featuring:
-Trios Match: The Stars of CMLL vs. Blackpool Combat Club!
-Chris Jericho vs. Konosuke Takeshita!
-AEW World Tag Championship Match: Ricky Starks & Big Bill (c.) vs. Sting & Darby Allin!
-Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Adam Page: Winner Gets a Shot at the AEW World Championship at Revolution!
