https://www.youtube.com/embed/K39Ydjjcr64?si=uoRCSUWCXF2TIRV_

This Saturday night, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT, All Elite Wrestling presents the biggest edition of COLLISION thus far as AEW World Champion MJF puts his title on the line against former champion Kenny Omega in their very first meeting inside the squared circle! But it’s more than just the championship at stake, with 343 days as champion to his reign, MJF is just four days away from breaking Omega’s 346 day record as longest reigning champion of all-time. This is history in the making, but it’s not all that’s going down on Saturday night! Abadon will challenge Hikaru Shida for the AEW Women’s World Championship, Jay White will take on AR Fox, and The House of Black are back in action after all the damage they caused a week ago!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/BGr0kaLSExY?si=18FCnOAuiy3tGw7H&start=415

COLLISION is coming to you this Saturday night on TNT, beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT, so before the night begins swing over to the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!

AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

MJF(c) vs. Kenny Omega

https://www.youtube.com/embed/wl2_9Gokt7M?si=7w1VQvwUdAEkbDY9

343 days; for 343 days Maxwell Jacob Friedman has reigned over All Elite Wrestling as the World Champion, just three weeks shy of completing a full year as the top guy in the company, and three days away from breaking the current record of 346 days held by Kenny Omega. That record, and MJF’s egotistical need to be viewed as the greatest champion of all-time, is why these men are heading for a collision on COLLISION this Saturday night!

It wasn’t Kenny Omega who came seeking Maxwell Jacob Friedman, it wasn’t Kenny who first broached the subject when they two men hadn’t so much as shared the same room over the past four years much less the same ring, it was MJF who sought out Kenny. It was MJF who whispered “13 days” into Kenny’s ear, as if to rub it in Omega’s face that he was going to break the record, and perhaps even thinking Kenny would do nothing about it.

If that was MJF’s thought, well he was dead wrong, because Omega stepped onto the stage following MJF’s fight with Juice Robinson this past Wednesday, and laid the challenge on the table. Would MJF be the kind of champion who would risk it all, knowing he’s got a title fight with Jay White already lined up at FULL GEAR 2023, and give Omega an opportunity to defend his streak? MJF may be a scumbag, but he’s also got an ego that would not allow the moment to pass him by, that wouldn’t let the opportunity to cement himself as the greatest AEW World Champion just slip away. If Max hadn’t accepted the challenge, when Wednesday morning came and he woke up as the longest reigning AEW World Champion in history, he would know there’s an asterisk because he didn’t fight Kenny Omega.

Once MJF made the choice to whisper into Kenny Omega’s ear, he made the choice to take on a fight with Kenny Omega, and risk seeing his title reign end before the 346-day streak was broken. In confronting Kenny, MJF added yet another target on his back, joining those already placed there by Jay White, The Gunns, Juice Robinson, Samoa Joe, and Wardlow. The World Champion is always the most wanted man in any sport, but MJF may have more on this plate than he can possibly eat, and that was before “The Cleaner” was heaped on there as well.

This is the biggest match in COLLISION’s short history, one of the biggest in All Elite Wrestling history, and it is happening on TNT this Saturday night! For the very first time, Kenny Omega and MJF, the AEW World Championship on the line, Omega’s 346-day record at stake, and it’s going down at the Mohegan Sun! History will be made if MJF survives this title fight, with but one World Championship record let to chase, that being the nine successful title defenses Jon Moxley accomplished during his first reign. An Omega victory would make eight for MJF, but regardless of who walks out of Connecticut as AEW World Champion, “Switchblade” Jay White will be waiting at the KIA Forum come FULL GEAR 2023!

AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Abadon

https://www.youtube.com/embed/7E6suZ6N2_E?si=j4n8s9ttCB1_c3eX

This past Friday night on RAMPAGE Abadon made her return to AEW competition for the first time since June 14th, and did so against some pretty stiff competition with seriously high stakes. Abadon, Willow Nightingale, Skye Blue, and Anna Jay went to battle with a shot at Hikaru Shida on the line, and when the final bell rang, it was Abadon who scored the victory! Luckily for both women, they don’t have to wait long for the championship fight because it is going down this Saturday night live on COLLISION!

This won’t be the first dance for Abadon and Shida, as a matter of fact their very first battle on the March 10, 2020 edition of AEW DARK was also Abadon’s first match in All Elite Wrestling. Unfortunately for her, Abadon’s first match also took place just days before the world shut down, and it would be several months before “The Living Dead Girl” returned to the AEW stage. When she did, Abadon would win six straight matches, positioning herself for a championship opportunity, and thus a rematch with Hikaru Shida with much greater stakes than their first encounter.

Abadon was unsuccessful in this second attempt at conquering Shida, and at claiming her first AEW championship, but it clearly served as a motivational tool because the woman would rack up 18 consecutive victories en route to facing Dr. Britt Baker in a bloody Trick or Treat match. Though Baker was the champion at the time, the title was not on the line, but given how hard the two women fought, one would never have known.

That fight with Baker was the last time Abadon competed on AEW TV before this past Friday, her fights largely taking place on DARK or DARK: ELEVATION, but now she is back in the mix, healed up and hungry, with the opportunity to be champion once more at her feet. It just feels appropriate that it is once again Hikaru Shida who will stand across the ring from Abadon this Saturday given their connection, and the fact that she is the only woman in AEW to hold two victories over Abadon.

Will this night be different than their previous encounters? Can Abadon take everything she’s learned since their last encounter in January of 2021 and put it together to end the 3rd championship reign of Hikaru Shida The pressure is on Abadon in this Fright Night Fight, will she unleash the monster on Shida

ONE-ON-ONE…

AR Fox vs. “Switchblade” Jay White

After the night the Bang Bang Gang had on Wednesday, with Juice being beaten but The Gunns getting their ROH World Tag Team Championship match at FULL GEAR 2023, it’s time for Jay White to step into the ring and fight on Saturday night! His opponent on this explosive edition of COLLISION will be a man in need of finding himself once again, someone who has been out of action since early September, the high-flying AR Fox!

Fox was last seen on the receiving end of a Jon Moxley beating on the September 6th edition of DYNAMITE, his first match after being excommunicated from The Mogul Embassy, and an opportunity to right his ship by winning the International Championship. Unfortunately Fox did not claim the title, leaving him without a championship, and with a great deal of doubt hanging over his head. Darby Allin seemed willing to forgive Fox’s transgressions, Nick Wayne less so, and perhaps that feeds into why Nick chose TNT Champion Christian Cage over his relationship with Darby.

Now that he’s back in action, it’s time for AR Fox to prove he deserves that forgiveness from Darby, and that he’s willing to do the work rather than take another Mogul Embassy type shortcut. Taking on the next challenger to the AEW World Champion is a tremendous way to begin that quest, and a victory over “King Switch” would be a huge boon to Fox’s career moving forward.

Jay White will obviously have one eye on the Omega/MJF match as it shapes White’s FULL GEAR 2023 future; will that distraction give Fox the opening he needs to score the upset victory?

THE HOUSE OF BLACK IN ACTION!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/VFoeiLUKzFY?si=EHhYic6Y9DQO6_5i&start=415

A week ago The House of Black returned to AEW in full force, laying waste to Bryan Danielson after his fight with Andrade El Idolo, taking out FTR before they could even finish their tag team fight, and coming after the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club following their championship loss to Big Bill and Ricky Starks. The chaos that resulted brought Jon Moxley back to the fight for the first time since his AEW International Championship loss to Rey Fenix, and left Ricky Starks laid out by the combined efforts of FTR and BCC.

This Saturday on COLLISION, The House of Black will be back in trios action, but no doubt the men they assaulted a week ago will have a close eye on the situation, and have to have some form of retribution in mind!

This Saturday night AEW returns to the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT for the biggest episode of COLLISION to date with Kenny Omega challenging MJF for the AEW World Championship, Shida defending her AEW Women’s World Championship against Abadon, Jay White in action against AR Fox, The House of Black, and more! Prior to the night getting started, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Krcoz00WgVI?si=_ELsftS9TtAwOwwS

The night is upon us; for the third consecutive year, All Elite Wrestling descends upon the historic Arthur Ashe Stadium for GRAND SLAM, and with it comes two hours of the greatest professional wrestling in the world live on DYNAMITE this Wednesday! After winning the Grand Slam Eliminator Tournament, ROH World TV Champ Samoa Joe will challenge MJF for the AEW World Championship while Toni Storm takes on her former Outcasts’ ally Saraya with the AEW Women’s World Championship on the line!

Plus, the long-standing grudge between Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston comes to the forefront when both men put their respective championships on the line in a title versus title fight, and two long-time friends collide for the first-time when Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara lock horns! And in his fourth championship fight in seventeen days, Jon Moxley will meet Rey Fenix in an International Championship fight!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/WrX8VoFCEkg?si=gByaLBlLVmx4LymP

DYNAMITE gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to check in on the official AEW YouTube channel and watch the highlights from last week’s action during DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the CONTROL CENTER, and more!

AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

MJF(c) vs. ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe

https://www.youtube.com/embed/b06LD-IYgSQ?si=w8psb5FxoBfqPvKS&start=237

In the span of five days from 9/8 to 9/13, the ROH World Television Champion conquered three of the toughest competitors in All Elite Wrestling on path through the Grand Slam World Championship Eliminator Tournament. It began with Jeff Hardy on the 9/8 edition of RAMPAGE, continued with Penta El Zero Miedo the following night on COLLISION, and culminated in a 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament rematch with Roderick Strong. Nearly thirty-five minutes of battle was what it took to get Samoa Joe to the precipice of the AEW World Championship, now he just has to complete the mission by taking Maxwell Jacob Friedman down this Wednesday night at DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023.

For Joe, this is an issue that became more than just the desire to be AEW World Champion after MJF chose to attack Joe at ALL OUT 2023 following the ROH World TV Champion giving him a little shove as they crossed paths between matches. Given that MJF was coming out of a ROH World Tag Team Championship defense with a hurt neck, perhaps attacking the guy whose primary moves consist of either choking a man out or dropping them on their head with a Muscle Buster may not have been the brightest idea, but for Max it was about the insult of that moment, as well as an insult buried in their history.

As MJF tells it, and as video shows it, one day many years ago, long before Maxwell Jacob Freidman was a name on anyone’s lips, Samoa Joe showed him the kind of disregard that can often befall a rookie when engaging with their seniors. For Joe it was a moment he likely forgot about until MJF began to make his name thus leading the internet to incessantly share the clip, especially once Joe and Max came to share the same space here in AEW. But for MJF, much like his interactions with William Regal many years ago, it was not something that ever left his head space, and in truth something that helped to motivate Max to the heights he’s reached today. It’s pretty clear by now that MJF has had a career fueled by a mix of anger, self-loathing, a need for retribution, and false bravado.

In fact, it would be reasonable to say that it’s only through this friendship with Adam Cole that MJF has found a semblance of motivation based on more than just those things, based on discovering actual self-worth, and an appreciation for those who have supported him despite his massive shortcomings as a decent human being. So the fact that Joe chose to attack Adam Cole as his last statement to MJF prior to this fight, well that is something sure to push Maxwell back into his darkest places, deep into the devil inside, and to add those actions to the ones Samoa Joe committed in 2016 to further motivate his desire to smash the Samoan monster.

There’s just one problem: MJF’s neck, and that it represents a huge target for a man as merciless as the ROH World Television Champion. He will look to suplex Max on that weakened neck until MJF looks like a bobblehead, Joe will look to wrap his arms around that stem and squeeze it until no breath remains in the lungs of Maxwell Jacob Friedman, and he will aim to hoist Max from the top rope, his neck flush against Joe’s shoulder, and to drop the AEW World Champion down with a Muscle Buster to end the misery. Be it the Choke, the Muscle Buster, his signature Island Driver, a massive lariat, or even his underrated Brainbuster, Samoa Joe has a million ways to grind that injured neck of MJF’s to dust.

MJF is going to have to dip into every dirty trick he has in his book to survive this fight with the AEW World Championship still in his possession. Max’s devil will have to come out in all its wretched glory, and even then, it may not be enough to stop Samoa Joe from claiming his first AEW championship title. Just as was the case when he claimed the Ring of Honor Title on March 2003, it would be appropriate if Joe’s first AEW championship was the AEW World Championship, and at this point, in his condition, there may not be anything Max can do to stop Joe’s ascension.

TITLE VS. TITLE…

ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs.

NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston

https://www.youtube.com/embed/jzamizcxVu8?si=Q0f1r7in6hNcn3Da

This is a journey that has encompassed the last two decades in the lives of Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston, a journey that started during the dawning days of their wrestling careers, and with their first time sharing the ring somewhere in Indiana back in October 2004. They trained together, lived together, fought together, and most importantly, fought each other both inside the ring and out. From their first singles match back in January 2006, through eleven bouts across five different wrestling promotions, up to March 13, 2011, the scales tipped heavily in favor of Claudio with nine wins to Kingston’s two.

One of those bouts was a Respect Match where, upon losing, Eddie was supposed to tell Claudio he respected him, but instead Kingston told the man he did not respect him, and then leveled him with a spinning backfist. As Claudio lay there unconscious, Kingston’s last words to him as he left the ring were “I know you”, and later that night Double C proved Eddie right when he betrayed the entire promotion they were working for at the time, but this is why several weeks ago, Claudio claimed Kingston still owed him a handshake.

There certainly wasn’t going to be respect shown after what ended up being their last one-on-one bout for twelve years, not after the match ended with Claudio beating Eddie thanks to a chain-assisted European Uppercut, and then proceeding to whip him with a belt. Sadly for Kingston, there was a chance to rectify the situation as Claudio departed for “the land of make-believe” as Eddie called it, and did so in a fashion that only served to further infuriate “The Mad King”.

Thus when Claudio came to All Elite Wrestling to join The Blackpool Combat Club, making him an immediate ally of Kingston’s in the second Blood & Guts Cage Match, it infuriated Eddie and it was only due to his relationship with Jon Moxley that Eddie played nice throughout the bout. Still, the hate burned strong, the kind of hate that not time nor distance can quell, the kind of hate that follows both men wherever they go, even to ROH’s SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023 event where Kingston failed once more to defeat Claudio when the ROH World Championship was at stake.

It was a fight Kingston took injured, an injury that kept him on the shelf for three months, but the hate brought him back for FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023 and even united him with The Elite, men he despises but strange bedfellows and all that, to defeat The Blackpool Combat Club. Just like that, the war with Claudio picked up right where it left off, just as it had after a dozen years apart, and now it has brought them to this point, on Eddie Kingston’s home turf, in front of his family and loved ones, where he will put his NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship on the line against the ROH World Championship of Claudio Castagnoli. Two titles are on the line, but after two decades, this is a fight that means so much more than words can encapsulate, they can only hope to convey a fragment of what it all means.

Will this be the end? Can there ever be an end with hate that runs this deep, with disrespect this ingrained in their dynamic, and bonds shattered so completely? Are Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli destined for mutually assured destruction, or will Arthur Ashe Stadium finally be the place where their demons are exorcised?

AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Saraya(c) vs. Toni Storm

https://www.youtube.com/embed/0uZ6toXepEE?si=Yhm1xBttW-UtMkRW

Speaking of demons, just what has possessed Toni Storm in the weeks since she lost the AEW Women’s World Championship to Hikaru Shida, and had her psyche further fractured by the actions of her fellow Outcasts? Since their formation, it’s always been a lingering question of what may happen should multiple members of The Outcasts find themselves in contention for the AEW Women’s World Champions, and while Saraya, Ruby Soho, and Toni Storm all insisted that things would be fine between them, the reality reared its ugly head as ALL IN: LONDON drew closer.

Then that night, when both Saraya and Toni Storm were in the title match aiming to end Shida’s second reign as champion, it became clear as crystal just what mattered most, and that was getting the championship title around the waist of Saraya. It didn’t matter that Toni striking Saraya’s mother was completely accidental, a fight still broke out between the two Outcasts, and it didn’t matter that Ruby had done nothing in that moment but try to quell the situation, she still got laid out by Toni for her efforts, and it all ultimately led to Saraya pinning Toni to claim the AEW Women’s World Championship.

And then the wheels fell off, though The Outcasts seemed to keep it together for a few days prior to ALL OUT 2023, but that was clearly not the case as Toni Storm cost Ruby Soho the TBS Championship, or rather it be said, prevented Soho from cheating to defeat Kris Statlander, and instead made sure the playing field was a bit more level. That choice made it clear that Toni Storm was an Outcast no more, and her winning the Four Way Eliminator Match to earn this championship fight absolutely solidifies Toni’s excommunication from the group.

But what has Toni become in the last several weeks? She’s clearly not in the same head space she was prior DYNAMITE #200 when she lost the belt to Shida, but just what is this space Toni occupies now? Is this all a mind game? Is it something Saraya and Ruby Soho can even prepare for heading into GRAND SLAM 2023 for the champ’s first title defense? One has to figure that no one knows Saraya like Ruby and Toni, but do Ruby and Saraya know this Toni Storm? After working so hard to come back from a career-ending injury, and having the fans embrace her a year ago at GRAND SLAM 2022 only to turn their backs on what she brought to the table, walking out of Arthur Ashe still champion is essential to Saraya. Can Toni Storm crush that dream and become the first 3-Time AEW Women’s World Champion? Or will Saraya find a way to not only top her old friend, but also rub it in the face of all those who turned away from her since last year?

AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Jon Moxley(c) vs. Rey Fenix

This Wednesday night, in a first-ever match-up, Jon Moxley will defend his AEW International Champion against one-half of the Lucha Brothers, a former AEW & ROH World Tag Team Champion, the incomparable Rey Fenix! As much as this is about the title, it’s also about revenge for Rey Fenix for what went down on the 8/9/23 edition of DYNAMITE between The Blackpool Combat Club and The Lucha Brothers, what was done to his brother in that match, and the injury that kept Fenix from competing in Stadium Stampede at ALL IN: LONDON.

Fenix has never held a singles championship in AEW, though he’s challenged Kenny Omega for the World Title, Hobbs for the TNT Title, Orange Cassidy for the All-Atlantic prior to its leveling up, even taking part in the Blackjack Battle Royale for the International Title at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023, but has yet to achieve that singles success to rival his tag team accolades.

So right here, this fight with Jon Moxley, it’s a chance to kill those two proverbial birds, Fenix can get his revenge for that Mox and The BCC did to him and his brother and claim his first AEW singles championship at the same time! Though Fenix prefers his competition honorable, he’s shown in the past a willingness to get down and dirty, even spilling blood in a fight with his own brother several years ago, so Moxley best be prepared for a man as willing to go there as he.

It is clear the defending International Champion intends to keep the same pace as the man he dethroned, likely aiming to surpass the lofty standard set by Orange Cassidy during his reign, but just like it did with “Freshly Squeezed”, eventually it will catch up to Moxley, the question is whether it will be sooner or later, and just who the man will be to lay him low? Will it be Rey Fenix this Wednesday night at GRAND SLAM 2023? Tune into TNT starting at 8pm ET/7pm CT to find out!

ONE-ON-ONE…

Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara

https://www.youtube.com/embed/lvPQY-8xU7s?si=3WLD6dZfifFB7uu-

With a history dating back to the very first episode of DYNAMITE, looping from The Inner Circle to The Jericho Appreciation Society, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara have been through a great deal together, most of it standing side-by-side. They went through the introduction of concepts like Stadium Stampede and Blood & Guts together, competed for the AEW World Trios Championship and were early challengers to the AEW World Tag Team Championship together, and even fought each other over the ROH World Championship at FULL GEAR 2022.

Though Sammy walked away from Jericho and The Inner Circle when it was needed for his own well-being, he came back to the fold when The Jericho Appreciation Society was born, and even spoke of his allegiance to “The DemoGod” when all the others in The J.A.S. abandoned the man for how they felt he took them for granted.

But even with the closest of friends, between the dearest of partners, there comes a time when not all is right, and when even brothers come to blows. That is what is about to happen this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE when, for the first time, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara collide in singles competition! Though they’ve expressed their desire to unite and pursue tag team success, their egos, and pershaps even some ill will for recent events, has made it difficult for the two men to stay on the same page, even in victory. Perhaps Jericho feels that Sammy is more underling than equal, perhaps Guevara feels the student has surpassed the teacher, whatever the case may be, these two brothers came to the conclusion that the only way past their issues is to confront them with violence done unto each other.

So like a pair of Cain’s without an Abel in sight, Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara will lock horns inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, and we shall see if either survives to pursue their supposed tag team aspirations!

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

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MXMI9rkCRUo?si=lBlbpBl5TbAS2h9C

This Sunday, All Elite Wrestling comes to London for the most important event in AEW history since the first DOUBLE OR NOTHING in 2019, and the largest event in All Elite history! In front over 80,000 people at Wembley Stadium, and before a worldwide pay-per-view audience, AEW presents ALL IN: LONDON on Bleacher Report, traditional cable & satellite providers in the United States and Canada, FITE INTERNATIONAL, PPV.COM, and more!

With seven championship matches between the PPV proper and the ZERO HOUR, as well as the return of Stadium Stampede, AEW’s first Tag Team Coffin Match, a Generational Dream Bout, and so much more! The pay-per-view action begins at 6pm BST/1pm EST, with the ZERO HOUR kicking off at 12pm ET/9am PT, featuring an ROH World Tag Team Championship match pitting Aussie Open against Adam Cole & MJF, as well as a FTW Championship Match between Jack Perry and HOOK!

AEW World Championship Match

MJF (c) vs. Adam Cole

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ukWjq30GTfo?si=Ise4k3lqyTQPnIEl

It all began on June 7th in Colorado Springs when Adam Cole and MJF were face-to-face on DYNAMITE, and by the end of the conversation Cole embarrassed the AEW World Champion into a match. It may not have been a championship bout, but on June 14th in Washington, DC, when AEW returned to where DYNAMITE first began in 2019, Cole and MJF met in an Eliminator fight, meaning if Cole beat the champion, he would earn a future title match.

Unfortunately for Cole, despite giving Max a taste of his own medicine by using the AEW World Championship belt as a weapon, and MJF him with both The Boom and The Panama Sunrise, the time limit expired and Cole was left empty handed. He hadn’t earned a future title match, and there was certainly no way MJF was going to gift him one just because they had a good fight. That was certainly not something in Max’s nature, not at that point two months ago, but then something happened, something called the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament. With a future AEW World Tag Team Championship opportunity awaiting the victors, random names were drawn to create tag teams who would then populate the brackets for an eight-team tournament.

Cole and MJF would be the first team put together for the tournament, and while it seemed inevitable they would implode under the weight of their recent history, the exact opposite actually happened. Not only did they did defeat Matt Menard & The Butcher and Big Bill & Brian Cage en route to the finals, they actually managed to win the whole tournament by beating Daniel Garcia and Sammy Guevara! On top of that, much to the chagrin of Cole’s long-time friend Roderick Strong, Adam and Maxwell actually developed the most unlikely friendship. The two men could not be more different from each other, and yet through their tournament time, their loss to FTR in the AEW World Tag Team Championship bout, and their unique bonding activities away from the ring, these two competitors have actually found mutual respect and even a brotherly love. The most shocking thing to come out of all of this isn’t MJF and Cole becoming friends, it’s that Maxwell Jacob Friedman has actually come to embrace the fans cheering his name and proudly calling themselves his devil worshipers, he’s even been seen slapping hands and hugging children. Given the road MJF has traveled his entire AEW career, if not his entire professional wrestling life, this is the most shocking part of the path to ALL IN: LONDON. Oh, and the fact that MJF actually stuck to the promise he laid out to Cole prior to that FTR bout, that MJF would give Adam Cole an AEW World Championship fight regardless of the championship bout outcome.

Clearly they did not walk away from the bout as new AEW World Tag Team Champions, but in a move that was a true shock, as well as an indicator that perhaps MJF was genuine in his friendship with Cole, the title fight was set for ALL IN: LONDON! What has been most intriguing since that bout was set was seeing if the friendship would implode under the shadow of the AEW World Championship fight, but instead it has seemed to grow stronger, although both Cole and MJF have had their moments when they’ve nearly snuck one on the other man, but has had the side effect of apparently decimating the friendship between Roderick Strong and Adam Cole in the process, driving Strong towards The Kingdom, who experienced their own issues with Cole many years ago in Ring of Honor.

It’s wild to think that mere hours after Adam Cole and the AEW World Champion unite on the ZERO HOUR in an attempt to dethrone Aussie Open as ROH World Tag Team Champions that they will then face one another for the most coveted prize in professional wrestling today.

It will be quite fascinating to see how the outcome of that ZERO HOUR bout factors into the main event of ALL IN: LONDON. Will Adam Cole and MJF enter as the new ROH World Tag Team Champions, or will they enter into the biggest match of their careers as beaten men? Will it be a tag team bout that breaks the bond they’ve built over the last couple months, or one that strengthens the ties enough to survive however the World Championship fight plays out? And just who will walk into Chicago, mere days after this, as the reigning champion looking towards whatever ALL OUT 2023 may have in store for him?

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match

FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/PwU1GB0MqC8?si=pXN3u2a5rtgRNpkO

The date was November 7th and the event FULL GEAR 2020; it was huge night for several reasons, one being that it was the most people watching AEW in-person since the Pandemic changed our world, but also that it was the night one of pro wrestling’s dream matches finally became reality. After years of debate over who was the better team, The Young Bucks and FTR finally clashed, and with the AEW World Tag Team Championship titles at stake. That night it would be The Young Bucks who walked away victorious, capturing the AEW Tag Titles for the very first time, and at least on that night, staking their claim as the top team in professional wrestling today.

It would be quite some time before we saw Cash, Dax, Matt, and Nick collide in a tag team bout, seventeen months to be precise, and on that night in Boston, with both the ROH World Tag Titles and the AAA Tag Titles at stake, it would be FTR who left Agganis Arena with the win, and both sets of championship titles.

So when FTR finally reclaimed the AEW World Tag Team Championship, defeating The Gunns in April of this year, the speculation began about when fans might get to see a rubber match between these two duos. That speculation came to an end on August 5th when, after defeating Big Bill & Brian Cage in a championship bout, FTR challenged The Young Bucks to a fight at Wembley Stadium! The biggest tag team championship bout for the biggest event in All Elite Wrestling history; it made perfect sense, and The Young Bucks would agree just a few nights later!

So on this grand stage, in front of more than 80,000 of the AEW faithful, and with countless more watching around the world, will we see the heart and soul of All Elite Wrestling become 3-Time AEW World Tag Team Champions or will it Billion Star FTR who lays claim to the best tag team moniker while also retaining their championship titles?

AEW Women’s World Championship Four Way Match

Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Saraya vs. Toni Storm vs. Dr. Britt Baker DMD

https://www.youtube.com/embed/_GHd4I6U5z8?si=K91BGPTxBarYdgNv

What a tangled web this AEW Women’s World Championship bout has become after last Friday night’s tag team bout on RAMPAGE. Defending Champion Shida and Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D teamed up to take on The Outcasts Saraya and Toni Storm in a preview of the Four Way taking place on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.

While there was certainly hope with all four women that this would be an opportunity to get a last minute advantage, and though that is what happened for The Outcasts, it also created a whole mess of tension between all four competitors. The history between Shida and Baker, the one where the latter ended the former’s historic first title reign, seemed to have been set aside as they united against the threat of The Outcasts, but when a blinded Shida decked her own partner, inadvertently setting Britt up to be beaten by Saraya, it was not the best way to put the former foes on the same page against The Outcasts during Sunday’s event. Prior to that moment, it seemed possible that Shida and the Good Doctor could at least unite to insure neither Outcast left Wembley with the Women’s World Championship, but after that blow on Friday, compiled with their history over AEW’s existence, it seems highly unlikely they will find common ground.

That being said, it seemed like a given that The Outcasts would have common ground in the mission to dethrone Shida, and while that may be the case, the way Saraya and Toni Storm left things on Friday night, it seems there could be something rotten in the locker room of The Outcasts. Toni aims to be the first 3-Time champion, while Saraya hopes to not only win her first championship in AEW, but also her first championship in nine years, and those two goals are clearly in conflict. So the question on Sunday will be, if it comes down to either Saraya or Toni Storm getting the victory and the title, will the other allow that to happen? And if there is some dissension in the ranks of The Outcasts, will that provide the opening either Hikaru Shida or Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D need to have their hand raised in victory before 80,000 strong?

Stadium Stampede Match

Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta), Eddie Kingston, AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy & Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Blackpool Combat Club (ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta), Santana & Ortiz

https://www.youtube.com/embed/UgcrZHMw350?si=_MuHEeKDZtu1qVun

It’s been a couple years since Stadium Stampede has reared its head in All Elite Wrestling, since DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2021 to be precise, but this Sunday at Wembley Stadium, before the largest crowd in AEW history, one of the most unpredictable matches in company history makes its return! But it’s not just the match making its return, it’s also several of the competitors returning to action after time away, and some of the strangest bedfellows imaginable!

First off, who would’ve ever thought Eddie Kingston would be standing side-by-side with Chuck Taylor, Trent Beretta, and AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy? On top of that, who would’ve thought that, given how toxic their AEW relationship was in past, that the Lucha Brothers would once again stand beside Eddie Kingston, or that Penta and Fenix would unite with The Best Friends given their own violent history as foes?

And could anyone possibly have predicated that two of Eddie Kingston’s oldest friends, two men who spent a great deal of time trying to end Jon Moxley’s career early in AEW’s history, would side up with The Blackpool Combat Club against Eddie in this Stadium Stampede? But then again, the last time we saw Ortiz in All Elite Wrestling, he and Kingston had a massive falling out as a result of House of Black machinations, and they were throwing down with one another. That may have been six months ago, but it was a wound never healed, much less addressed, and it appears this is just one chicken that’s come home to roost for Kingston. The other comes in the form of Santana, a man who has been on the shelf since June 2022’s Blood & Guts match in Detroit recovering from injury, a match he was in at the request of Kingston, and a man who it seems Kingston forgot about in the aftermath of that war.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/f0wHdnABVpw?si=9uD7gN_wHnobLX4w&start=182

It’s clear that Kingston’s hatred for Claudio Castagnoli is what’s driving this for him, but for the rest of his group, it’s about what The Blackpool Combat Club has done to them over the last several weeks. The Best Friends and Orange Cassidy have been repeatedly assaulted, look at the Parking Lot Fight from RAMPAGE for a microcosm of what this dynamic has looked like The BCC lost Blood & Guts to The Golden Elite six weeks ago. It feels as if that loss, and how it came to pass, has spiraled Mox, Claudio, and Yuta into a flurry of violence, and The Luchas and Best Friends have been the targets for assorted reasons. The connection to “The Bastard” PAC put a crosshairs on Penta and Fenix, leading to Rey being eliminated from even competing in this match this past Wednesday on DYNAMITE, while Yuta’s connection to The Best Friends, as well as events from ROH’s DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023 PPV event, led them into this fracas.

And now it will all explode in utterly unpredictable fashion this Sunday at ALL IN: LONDON! How much frustration must Santana have pent-up after over a year away from the fight? How much does Ortiz want to punch Kingston in the mouth for how they left things? For that matter, how much violence do all these men want to inflict upon one another for everything that’s happened over the last several weeks, as well as for everything that’s tied these men together in various fashion both here in All Elite Wrestling, and in their lives before entering into AEW? This will be officially sanctioned chaos, and it is coming to Wembley Stadium this Sunday!

AEW World Trios Championship Match

The House Of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black) (w/Julia Hart) (c) vs. The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) & Billy Gunn

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ju4LUUn-0nY?si=4M3b4Eb4SQTZDIu-

The House of Black couldn’t leave well-enough alone; the AEW World Trios Champions had twice-defeated The Acclaimed in championship fights, and even driven Billy Gunn into retirement, thinking he didn’t have it as a competitor any more, and was better off hanging up his boots in front of the entire world as he sat in the middle of the ring.

But that wasn’t enough for Malakai Black, Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Julia Hart; perhaps it was the insistence from Max and Anthony that they still believed, with Billy, they were the best trio in All Elite Wrestling. Perhaps they needed to send a message to The Acclaimed of what would happen if they ever came near The House again, and perhaps the disposal of Billy’s boots into the trash bin was part of the message of what would happen should they come knocking on The House’s door once again.

Instead, what The House got was a very angry Max Caster and Anthony Bowens who didn’t care about the numbers, and still wanted a fight with the World Trios Champions knowing they would be, no pun intended, outgunned. So when The Acclaimed’s music hit, as Brody King was preparing to level Anthony Bowens with the same chain used to bloody Max Caster, it was a shock to the former AEW World Tag Team Champions that their friend and mentor was on the spot to not just disperse The House of Black, but to also make a challenge for this match set to take place at Wembley Stadium!

So with The Acclaimed reunited at full strength, this past Saturday on COLLISION the trio decided to share one last verse with their foes before heading into battle at ALL IN: LONDON:

Will The House of Black make a clean sweep of The Acclaimed in this, their third championship fight, and once again prove that it is they who are the most dominant trio in All Elite Wrestling? Or will The Acclaimed take the lessons learned from their previous outings, add that to the renewed confidence demonstrated by Billy Gunn, and turn it into championship success?

“Real” AEW World Championship Match

CM Punk (c) vs. Samoa Joe

ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe was a happy man on Saturday night, if only for a brief moment, because he knew that come Sunday at ALL IN: LONDON he would be getting the fight he’d been wanting ever since CM Punk defeated him during the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. At first Joe was indignant that Punk didn’t even bother responding to the challenge, which led to Joe removing Punk from the equation when he and FTR challenge The House of Black for the AEW World Trios Championship.

Punk’s response came in the form of a little deception, entering the ring to fight Joe under the guise of Golden Vampire, and laying the ROH World TV Champion low with a GTS before accepting the challenge for this fight at Wembley Stadium. Samoa Joe and CM Punk fighting in England feels appropriate for a number of reasons, one being that their last singles match prior to AEW took place 100 miles away in Conventry back in March 2005, and another being that over 80,000 fans will experience the next chapter in this landmark feud for modern wrestling history. The Trilogy, as it is known to Ring of Honor fans, defined independent wrestling for the 2000’s and beyond, shaped an entire generation of wrestlers who came along afterwards, and helped to save Ring of Honor during one of its most tumultuous times.

As if the heated rivalry between these two warriors wasn’t enough, add in the factor of Punk’s Championship belt, and this is escalated to a whole new level. Whereas the match during The Owen still carried some of the respect built between the two over the years prior, what has led Punk and Joe to this next chapter in their story has been utterly devoid of it. And that calm, peaceful Samoa Joe that sat down on Saturday to do commentary during the main event, that all went out the window when CM Punk chose to apply Joe’s signature choke to Brian Cage in order to win the match. Suffice to say that was the trigger moment that led to the utter chaos that capped off COLLISION, but will it be what ends the night on Sunday for Punk? Will he fall victim to Joe’s choke as he did so many years ago at ROH’s ALL STAR EXTRAGANZA II event, or it will the ROH World TV Champion be put to sleep like he was just a week ago?

Dream Match…

Chris Jericho vs. IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay

https://www.youtube.com/embed/J1BvtyO3adc?si=7cSwRhw5m2Ln2QVM

This heated up rather quickly; something that began as Don Callis playing his games with people’s lives rapidly turned into a situation in which his games are an afterthought to the hostilities between Chris Jericho and Will Ospreay that exploded during their contract signing this past Wednesday on DYNAMITE.

As Ospreay laid out everything he was fighting for this Sunday at Wembley Stadium, Chris Jericho took credit for the mere fact that the IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion was in that position in the first place. “The Ocho” brought up a five year old phone call as being the reason Ospreay transformed into the wrestler he is today rather than ending up in a wheelchair, and though “The Aerial Assassin” may not have known that was a possibility, Jericho also said he and Will would’ve collided two years ago if not for the pandemic disrupting the plan.

So although Don Callis may have orchestrated the moment in which Ospreay leveled Jericho from behind, this has become about something bigger than Callis stabbing Jericho in the back despite the original AEW World Champion being willing to join the family. This is a generational dream match, two of the greatest competing today, coming from drastically different places in their careers, but both wanting to be known as the absolute best wrestler walking the planet today, and there is no bigger stage to to fight it out than in front of 80,000+ fans inside the biggest venue England has to offer! Ospreay is heading into this after a tremendous showing during NJPW’s G1 Climax Tournament, and after defeating Shingo Takagi at RevPro just 24 hours before ALL IN: LONDON is set to begin. Conversely Jericho heads into this having watched his Appreciation Society, save Sammy Guevara, dissolved right in front of him all because he couldn’t make the choice between Don Callis and The J.A.S. It was only after he’d lost everything that Jericho gave Callis a “yes”, and the fact that Callis anticipated a “no” is what set this ball rolling.

Jericho has made it clear this is the most important match of his life, perhaps more so because of all he’s lost in the last several weeks, and this is the most important event on which he’s ever fought. For Ospreay the same is true, he wants to add Jericho’s name to the list that includes Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, David Finlay, and Shingo Takagi as some of the men he’s beaten in the last two months. For Will it’s about supporting a family, it’s about doing it in his home country on the biggest stage AEW has ever had, and doing it at the expense of a certified legend who still competes at the highest levels.

Of course Don Callis lurks at the shadows around this match, of course he wants to make sure Jericho doesn’t not walk out of Wembley with a win, the words “your head on a platter” were what he spoke regarding what he offered Ospreay to come fight Jericho, and while he did his best to screw Kenny Omega at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, will Callis be there to try to do it to Jericho this Sunday in London?

Trios Match…

BULLET CLUB GOLD (Jay White & Juice Robinson) & Konosuke Takeshita (w/Don Callis) vs. The Golden Elite (Adam Page, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi)

It seems Don Callis will sign up with anyone he can to make Kenny Omega’s life a living hell. First he threw in his lot with The Blackpool Combat Club ahead of Blood & Guts, only to pull Konosuke Takeshita from the fray when things started to get hairy for The BCC after “The Bastard” PAC bailed on them. Callis, and Takeshita for that matter, are lucky The BCC have been occupied with other matters and vengeance hasn’t swung their way for that abandonment.

Now it seems Callis has thrown his favor the way of BULLET CLUB GOLD as they assaulted Kenny Omega while he was in the midst of an interview with Jim Ross. It’s clear this is where they all felt safe accosting Omega, during a situation where there was not a soul available to help him, and yet they still did so with a distinct numbers advantage that “The Cleaner” could not possible have overcome.

And perhaps BC GOLD thought they’d face little repercussion as The Young Bucks would be wrapped up in their own dealings with FTR, Cash and Dax being other people with some BC GOLD bad blood, but thankfully the former AEW World Champion has friends beyond the brothers Jackson.

So it will be this Sunday night that, for the very first time, The Golden Lovers and Hangman Page compete in Trios action to take on another nascent trio in Jay White, Juice Robinson, and Konosuke Takeshita! It’s clear Don Callis is on a revenge trip when it comes to Kenny, will aim any gun he can at the man he once considered family, and will fire any bullets he finds at the former AEW World Champion. This week it’s BULLET CLUB GOLD, but should Kenny, Hangman, and Kota Ibushi turn away this attack, what will Callis throw at Omega next? What will Kenny have to do in order to shut Don Callis down for good?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/I5YtAHLH0Ws?si=azkVR2RNhjxtsL0d&start=182

BULLET CLUB GOLD is supremely confident riding into London, just listen to how they address the situation in the video embedded above, and are utterly convinced their Bang Bang Gang are the dominant force in All Elite Wrestling, but if they can shut down Omega, Ibushi, and Hangman at Wembley, they may be right!

Tag Team Coffin Match…

Christian Cage & Swerve Strickland vs. Darby Allin & Sting

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xy2vJhgvw5U?si=uiEB_06Ysrb-36sx

Originally the challenge to this Tag Team Coffin Match was made to AR Fox and Swerve Strickland, but as was seen this past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, following their tag team loss to Darby Allin and Nick Wayne, Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana fired Fox from The Mogul Embassy, leaving Brian Cage to deliver the killing blow.

This brought out Darby, Nick, and Sting back to run off The Mogul Embassy, despite Fox’s betrayal of the men, which in turn brought Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus out as well. The arrival of Cage and the actual TNT Champion led to the announcement that it would be Christian Cage, rather than AR Fox, who would travel to Wembley Stadium for the Tag Team Coffin Match!

It looks like all of Darby Allin’s enemies are lining up against him for this fight as his issues with Christian and Luchasaurus, set to take center stage at ALL OUT 2023 where Darby will fight Luchasaurus for the TNT Championship, merge with those involving Swerve Strickland, and explode in AEW’s first ever Tag Team Coffin Match! Given that it’s Luchasaurus who will actually do the heavy lifting in Chicago, and not Christian Cage, there’s a great deal of concern about what condition Darby will be in for September 3rd at The United Center, but ultimately he and Sting have to focus on one fight at a time, and it’s a fight that’s been part of Darby’s AEW career for quite some time now. For a detailed look at how we got here, check out this history package, but suffice to say that Darby and Swerve have history that predates All Elite Wrestling, and it’s only gotten uglier in the time that both men have been part of the company.

With 80,000-plus cheering them on, Darby Allin and Sting come to Wembley this Saturday not to praise Christian and Swerve, but to lock them inside a coffin and take the first step towards clearing the table. Part one happens in Wembley when the coffin lid is closed on Christian and Swerve, part two takes place in Chicago when Darby Allin becomes a 3-Time TNT Champion; at least that’s their hope.

ZERO HOUR…

ROH World Tag Team Championship Match…

Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) (c) vs. Adam Cole & MJF

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nbee1jno31E?si=mSkeBRWK-5XJpoH6

Suffice to say that the main event of ALL IN: LONDON is going to be greatly affected by the events of the ZERO HOUR beginning at 12pm ET/9am PT on AEW’s official YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@AEW/featured). Adam Cole, having never won the ROH World Tag Team Championship, and MJF, having never competed in anything involving Ring of Honor, will challenge the defending ROH World Tag Team Champs Aussie Open ahead of their fight over the AEW World Championship later in the night!

Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, after capturing the titles at ROH’s DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023 pay-per-view event, have successfully defended the championship on four occasions, including this past Wednesday on DYNAMITE against The Hardys. They are on quite the roll since their July title victory, but face incredibly tough competition in MJF and Cole who, although relatively new to tag team competition, were victorious in the Blind Eliminator Tag Tournament, and gave FTR a tremendous fight in the AEW World Tag Team Championship loss a few weeks back. Amazingly enough, even with their AEW World Title fight on the horizon, Cole and Friedman have managed to keep their new-found friendship intact. Both men seem intent on maintaining the friendship, despite the protestations of Cole’s long-time friend Roderick Strong, the seeming impossibility that MJF can be trusted at all, and the championship fight coming just a few hours after this tag team title bout.

Can Aussie Open use the circumstances of the evening to their advantage and retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles? Or will the bromance of Cole and MJF lead to success as a team just before the biggest fight of both men’s careers? And if the match plays out in the favor of Aussie Open, how will that affect the AEW World Championship Match, as well as the relationship between championship and challenger? In the history of the ZERO HOUR/BUY-IN, this is the most important match that’s ever taken place, but will it be Aussie Open or MJF/Cole who history remembers as the victor?

FTW Title Match…

Jack Perry (c) vs. Hook

https://www.youtube.com/embed/uD_CVFcegqk?si=EliWlL7kfaAlKRad

Jack Perry may have entered into the Gas South Arena on Saturday night with the intention of smashing the FTW Championship to bits, but “The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil” HOOK had other plans for his former friend, and they didn’t include seeing the championship his father created left in the history books with Perry’s face plastered as its final champion.

The chaos that was the final COLLISION before ALL IN: LONDON would culminate in a crazy brawl involving fighters all slated to compete at Wembley Stadium, but it was Jack Perry who snuck in the back door, having nothing to do with the 10-Man Tag main event, and attacked his challenger. It started when Jack betrayed HOOK at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, was followed by Perry running from the then-FTW Champion for weeks, before finally having to answer for his betrayal inside the squared circle. Surprisingly Jack handed HOOK his first loss that night in Boston, and even bested Rob Van Dam several weeks ago in Columbus, but HOOK wasn’t going to standby for long given Perry’s threats of what he would do after beating RVD.

Jack Perry can’t run from this one, not even when he’s in London some 5,500 miles away from his Los Angeles home, even there HOOK will be waiting, and retribution will be waiting with him!

This Sunday the biggest event in AEW history goes down at Wembley Stadium when All Elite Wrestling presents ALL IN: LONDON in front of more than 80,000 fans in London, and before a worldwide audience on Bleacher Report, traditional cable & satellite providers in the United States and Canada, FITE INTERNATIONAL, PPV.COM, and more!

From Adam Cole challenging MJF for the AEW World Championship to the return of Stadium Stampede, from AEW’s first Tag Team Coffin Match to a loaded AEW Woman’s World Championship Four Way, and from a Dream Bout pitting Chris Jericho against Will Osprey to FTR/Young Bucks Round Three, and so much more, this is a loaded event from top-to-bottom! The pay-per-view action starts at 6pm BST/1pm EST, with the ZERO HOUR getting underway at 12pm ET/9am PT, and includes the ROH World Tag Team Championship match between Aussie Open and Adam Cole/MJF, plus a FTW Championship Grudge Match between Jack Perry and HOOK!

Whether you’re there in-person or watching on PPV, you are all a part of history that would not have been possible without the support of the AEW faithful around the world!

Retribution review by Big Gold Belt Media-Synopsis:Liam Neeson stars in Retribution, an immersive ticking clock thriller that straps audiences in for a high-octane ride of redemption and revenge. When a mysterious caller puts a bomb under…

Director Nimrod Antal Interview by Big Gold Belt Media-Synopsis:Liam Neeson stars in Retribution, an immersive ticking clock thriller that straps audiences in for a high-octane ride of redemption and revenge. When a mysterious caller puts a…