**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s AEW COLLISION was broadcast live from the Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, PA!

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.

Continental Classic Tournament: Blue League Match!

The House of Black’s Brody King

vs.

The Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli!

Brody and Claudio, both known for their power, began the match by blasting one another with forearms. Brody hit Claudio with a lariat, not afraid to utilize the cast on his injured arm.

“I don’t know if this is for pride or what, but neither man is going down,” said Tony Schiavone.

Brody pump kicked Claudio, taking down Claudio with a big boot to the face. Claudio came back with a body slam and then knocked Brody over the top rope and to the arena floor with a clothesline. Claudio followed up with a running European Uppercut.

Claudio whipped Brody into the steel barricade. Brody charged back with a lariat and then removed the steel padding on the barricade. Brody hurled Claudio back into the exposed barricade. Back in the ring, Brody clobbered Claudio with a scoop slam and a running senton splash.

Claudio rallied back with European Uppercuts to Brody in the corner. Claudio went for the Giant Swing, but Brody pushed him away. Claudio shot back with a double foot stomp for a near fall. Claudio rocked Brody with a pop up European Uppercut!

“He lifted him a good two feet off the mat!” said Nigel.

Claudio grabbed Brody in the Giant Swing! Claudio applied a sharpshooter. Brody crawled to the ropes, forcing the ref to break the hold. Brody managed to German Suplex Claudio and followed up with a running cannonball in the corner. He covered Claudio but Claudio kicked out at one! Claudio hit a Canadian Destroyer on Brody and covered him, but Brody kicked out at one!

The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”

Brody spiked Claudio with a piledriver for a near fall! Brody leveled Claudio with a massive lariat and pinned Claudio!

“I’m wondering if it may have been that cast on the forearm shot,” said Kevin Kelly.

Abadon vs. Kiera Hogan!

Hogan hit a shotgun dropkick on Abadon. Abadon battered Hogan in the corner. They charged at Hogan, but Hogan moved and connected with a thrust kick. Kiera Hogan followed up with a dropkick for a near fall. Abadon used a sidewalk slam on Kiera Hogan. Abadon stunned Hogan with a cutter!

Kiera Hogan nailed Abadon with a neck breaker. Abadon fired back with a knee strike. They planted Hogan hard on the mat with the Black Dahlia and pinned Hogan!

The arena lights went dark. When they came back on, TBS Champion Julia Hart was in the ring, smiling at Abadon. The lights went dark again, and this time, when the arena lights turned on, Julia had vanished!

Alex Marvez interviewed Samoa Joe backstage!

Samoa Joe was interrupted by Roderick Strong and the Kingdom!

Roderick Strong: “Joe, listen, I’m willing to forgive you for trying to end my career by trying to break my neck, not once, but twice. I know you have that World title match with Max, but this is clearly a trap. Max is the devil. But listen, my best friend Adam says he likes you, and you’re a good friend of his. So, it’s his best friend that makes you my best friend by proxy. Listen, Wednesday is just a set up. His goons are going to beat the crap out of you. He’s not even here right now. He’s probably plotting exactly how they’re going to do it. Will you listen to me?”

Samoa Joe smirked and walked off.

Continental Classic Tournament: Blue League Match!

Andrade El Idolo vs. Daniel Garcia!

Matt Menard joined the broadcast booth for this match.

Andrade applied a side headlock. Garcia shoved him off, but Andrade came off the ropes with a shoulder block. Andrade hit a big cross body press on Garcia. Andrade jumped over the top with a plancha to Garcia.

Garcia used a pair of dragon screw leg whips on Andrade. Garcia rammed Andrade into the barricade. Garcia climbed to the top turnbuckle, but Andrade shoved him off the perch. Garcia tumbled hard onto the arena floor.

Garcia rallied back, tying Andrade into the Tree of Woe and then hammering on Andrade’s knee. Garcia blasted Andrade with a running dropkick and then a brain buster for a near fall! Garcia missed a lariat and Andrade countered with two suplexes. Garcia escaped a third attempt from Andrade, jumping on Andrade’s back with a sleeper. Andrade climbed to the top rope with Garcia on his back. Andrade superplexed Garcia! Andrade followed up with a series of suplexes, an homage to Eddy. Andrade finished off Garcia with the flatliner and pinned him!

“Andrade cracks the scoreboard,” said Tony Schiavone.

Willie Mack was backstage with some words for Wardlow!

Willie: “See Wardlow, I know you’ve been going through a lot of things these past few weeks. But you don’t put your hands on my friends. So, I’m going to have to reach out and touch you. So next week, we’re going to have to do the damn thing in the ring. So, pack your lunch because I’m a big boy!”

Roderick Strong came to the ring with the Kingdom—Matt Taven and Mike Bennett!

Roderick Strong: “I just wanted to say something to Samoa Joe. Listen to me dude. Everything I said back there was true. Max is the devil, and you are going to find out very soon. Those three dweebs in the ring, Matt and Mike are going to beat their ass. And I want to dedicate this to my best friend, Adam, whether he wants me to or not!”

The Kingdom—Matt Taven & Mike Bennett

vs.

The Iron Savages— “Sauce Boss” Beefcake Boulder & “Dirty Bulk” Bronson!

Boulder knocked down both members of the Kingdom with a cross body. He choke slammed Bennett on the apron. Taven cracked Bronson with a thrust kick. Boulder tried for a moonsault, but Taven rolled out of the way.

Bennett nailed Bronson with a Death Valley Driver and Taven followed up with Just the Tip of the Knee strike! They spiked Bronson with a piledriver, and Taven scored the pin. Roderick Strong jumped into the ring after the match and wiped out the manager of the Iron Savages!

Lexy Nair was backstage with “All Ego” Ethan Page!

Ethan Page: “Ever since losing to MJF in my home nation of Canada, I have had to regroup. I have gotten into the best physical condition of my life. I’ve been in Ring of Honor racking up wins. I want to be the king of Canada. But right now, that crown is sitting on someone else’s head. I want you, Kenny Omega, next week on Collision!”

Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal

vs.

House of Black’s Malakai Black & Buddy Matthews!

Sydal jumped off the top turnbuckle, but Buddy grabbed him and nailed him with an elbow. Sydal fired back with a high kick to Buddy’s head. Daniels tagged in and they exhibited great tandem offense on Buddy.

Malakai wiped out Daniels with a moonsault to the floor! Sydal tagged in and connected with a missile dropkick on Black. Malakai cracked Sydal with an elbow to the back of the head. Buddy blasted Daniels with a meteora, and Sydal had the same idea, taking down Black with a meteora of his own!

Black swept out Daniels’ legs, and then Buddy curb stomped CD! Black ended it with a high roundhouse kick to Daniels’ head and pinned Daniels!

“That kick rocked the jaw of Christopher Daniels!” said Tony Schiavone.

The arena lights went out! They came back on and FTR’s music was playing! Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler walked to the ring!

Malakai Black: “Before you both do anything, I assume that the both of you are here because you joining the House of Black. The only people that have been here for the both of you is the House of Black. I have done a lot of things, but not once have I told a lie.”

Dax Harwood went to pick up the microphone and Buddy rushed in and kicked him. Dax was curb stomped. It was all a ruse by the House of Black. Buddy held down Dax, so he was forced to watch as Malakai Black cracked Cash with a roundhouse kick!

Malakai Black: “You see not one single person is coming for you. Boy, were my predictions right last week. No one is coming for you.”

Dax flipped off Black, and then Black rocked Dax with a devastating spin kick to the head!

Renee Paquette had an exclusive Collision interview backstage with AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm!

Toni Storm: “Skye Blue, if I have any advice for you, it would be for you to walk backwards. Because the only time they have anything nice to say about you is when they are taking pictures of your bottom. You can be the first challenger for my belt!”

After a commercial break, Skye Blue responded to “Timeless” Toni Storm!

Skye Blue: “Toni, I have met you through every one of your phases, but this midlife crisis is the most pathetic one by far. But you haven’t met this Skye Blue. So, bring your little butler, bring your little blonde bimbo, and whatever 1940s crap you’ve got up that robe, because nothing is going to stop me from taking that championship.”

AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kip Sabian!

Vikingo shocked Sabian with a kick and then an arm drag off the ropes. Vikingo went for a tope, but Sabian had an answer, drilling Vikingo with a stiff kick to the face. Kip followed up with an Arabian moonsault.

Vikingo connected with a spinning kick to Kip. He followed up with a torture rack knee lift strike to Sabian. Vikingo came off the ropes with a 360 phoenix splash from the other side for a near fall on Sabian!

Sabian climbed to the top turnbuckle and jockeyed for position with Vikingo. Sabian took down Vikingo with a hurracanrana. Vikingo rallied back with a tornillo from the top and then a running knee strike! Vikingo pinned Sabian after a 630 splash!

Lexy Nair was backstage with “Limitless” Keith Lee!

Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty interrupted Keith Lee.

Shane: “I know you’re not dumb enough to look past me. Last year’s tag match didn’t solve anything for me. So, I say this year we give the people the fight they really want to see. Shane Taylor versus Keith Lee one on one at Final Battle!”

Keith Lee: “Challenge accepted. And I’ll see you later, too, Lee Moriarty.”

Lexy Nair interviewed CJ Perry!

“The Redeemer” Miro interrupted, trying to walk past CJ and into the locker room of her client, Andrade El Idolo.

CJ Perry: “Miro, you can’t go in there. I know you think bad things will happen. I need to do this. You picked your god. And now I have to prove myself. By winning this tournament, I will start to be on that path that will help me. If you want to go in there, I can’t stop you, you’re a grown man. But please, if there’s any love that you have for me, please let me do this and find my own way. And if I mean anything to you, don’t lay a hand on my client. Can you please do that?”

Miro: “My god is gone. If he was still with me, I’d be in this tournament ripping the spine out of Andrade. But I promise you I won’t lay a hand on your client. You have my word.”

Main Event Time! Continental Classic Tournament: Blue League Match!

The Blackpool Combat Club’s “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson

vs.

ROH World/NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston!

Danielson fired off a chop to Kingston’s chest. Kingston retaliated, knocking Danielson off his feet! Danielson’s view was limited as he was wearing an eye patch over his injured eye. Danielson pulled back on Kingston’s arm, driving his knee into Kingston’s back.

Danielson German Suplexed Kingston. Danielson booted Kingston in the face. Danielson slid out of the ring but Kingston back suplexed Danielson on the arena floor! Danielson headbutted Kingston and dropped Kingston with a missile dropkick.

Danielson applied the Le Bell Lock. Kingston escaped, mounted Danielson, and began to ground and pound Danielson. Kingston cracked Danielson with a spinning back fist for a near fall! Kingston grabbed a two-count on Danielson after a vertical suplex. Danielson stunned Kingston with a round kick to the top of the head.

Danielson battered Kingston with a barrage of kicks. Eddie tossed Danielson with a half and half suplex. Danielson blocked a spinning backfist and then dumped Kingston on his head with a suplex!

The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”

Danielson grabbed Kingston’s wrists and began to stomp Kingston’s head! Kingston flipped off Bryan Danielson. Bryan nailed Kingston with the running knee strike and pinned Kingston!

“Beautiful in its brutality,” said Kevin Kelly.

Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC!

And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/k0dMoHH3AjE?si=SEYLat8bJWTF71x2&start=128

Last Wednesday night the AEW faithful bore witness to the beginning of the 2023 Continental Classic with three first-time matches against six of the greatest athletes in AEW. In the Gold League, 3-Time former AEW World Champion and former International Champion Jon Moxley scored his first three points at the expense of 13-Time ROH World Tag Champion Mark Briscoe, former ROH World Champion Rush fell to former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jay White, and former AEW World Tag Champion Swerve Strickland topped ROH Grand Slam Champion Jay Lethal to get his three.

Then in the Blue League, House of Black’s Brody King beat ROH World/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion while former ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli beat former ROH Pure Champion Daniel Garcia. This Wednesday night in Minneapolis, with AEW’s return to the Target Center, the Gold League continues with three big-time singles matches, including one first-timer, and we will also hear from TNT Champion “The Patriarch” Christian Cage! And as a special bonus:

The night begins 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 assorted social media platforms, to get caught up on the action with highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and this week’s CONTROL CENTER!

CONTINENTAL CLASSIC GOLD LEAGUE:

Standings As of 11/29/23

Swerve Strickland (3)

Jay White (3)

Jon Moxley (3)

Mark Briscoe (0)

Rush (0)

Jay Lethal (0)

Mark Briscoe(0) vs. Rush (0)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/_u8ILqLTEJc?si=E9hPaCZsqujziZnq&start=128

Though both competed in Ring of Honor at the same time, though they actually worked together in CMLL, and fought one another in tags and multi-man bouts under the ROH banner, never before have “El Toro Blanco” and “The Sussex County Chicken” locked horns in a singles bout!

That all changes this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE as both men come into this fight having zero points to their name in the Continental Classic! In the case of Mark Briscoe, his loss came at the end of a hard-fought and bloody contest with Jon Moxley, one where Mark survived a nasty Paradigm Shift and came so close to scoring his first three points at the expense of the 3-Time former AEW World Champion. As for Rush, his loss also came at the end of a hard-hitting contest with “Switchblade” Jay White, but it came to an unfortunate end as a result of White’s underhanded tactics, proving he doesn’t need the rest of BULLET CLUB GOLD to find a way to cheat a victory.

This Wednesday night, in their first singles bout, one of these two men will likely lose their zero, and score their first three points of the tournament, although there’s that possibility of a draw and both leaving the Target Center with a single point..

Jon Moxley (3) vs. Jay Lethal (0)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/LohL-zvbw0Q?si=-NMDrD_FwqMovmP5&start=160

In a rematch of their 3/30/22 DYNAMITE clash, Jon Moxley and Jay Lethal will lock-up in their second bouts of the Continental Classic! Mox is coming into this fight with a strong win over Mark Briscoe, one that did not come easy, but a win nonetheless, while Lethal heads to Minneapolis with a loss to Swerve Strickland on his record for the tournament.

So for Moxley it’s an opportunity to add to his point total, possibly ramping it up to six points with a victory over Lethal, at the very least to four with a draw, while it is Lethal’s moment to actually get on the board with a victory or draw. Between he and Claudio, The Blackpool Combat Club has started off this tournament with two victories, so can Moxley continue that streak for his unit, or will he be the first BCC member to taste tournament defeat?

Swerve Strickland(3) vs. “Switchblade” Jay White (3)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/JcS9VT4O0jA?si=xKc4qyl4He-gF8sJ&start=260

This one is quite intriguing as it is the first Continental Classic bout pitting two of last week’s victors against each other. As mentioned, Jay White got his in large part due to a low blow on Rush while Swerve, coming off that brutal Texas Death match with Hangman at FULL GEAR 2023, got his over Jay Lethal in a tremendous back-and-forth.

Wednesday night the two competitors will clash in their first AEW singles bout, a rematch of a March 12, 2022 NJPW STRONG battle won by “Switchblade”, and it either ends with one man having six, or both remaining tied with four. Swerve is certainly on the bigger role coming into this following his pair of victories over Adam Page, as well as those over Lethal, AR Fox, and Penta El Zero Miedo, while Jay White came up short in his bid to become AEW World Championship prior to finding a way to steal one from “El Toro Blanco” last Wednesday night. It’s going to be a fight for six, that much is for sure, will it be the leader of BC GOLD or the head of The Mogul Embassy who gets this one?

“THE PATRIARCH RESPONDS”…

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9rHW3UA_JdM?si=UZgsTgDA7uWq6Z_2

The world heard Adam Copeland’s challenge this past Saturday on COLLISION, he wants a match with TNT Champion Christian Cage on December 6th in Montreal and Adam wants the TNT Championship on the line so he can take Cage’s most prized possession away. It’s been more than 13 years since the last time these two lifelong friends got into the ring as opponents, with a vast majority of their singles matches won by Copeland, so will Christian Cage be willing to step into that ring once more, especially if it means putting the TNT Championship up? We will find out what he has to say this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE!

TBS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Julia Hart(c) vs. Emi Sakura

https://www.youtube.com/embed/rOznO9YXvUY?si=o45BfsHDD2ZnpAdF

Just a few days ago on COLLISION Lady Frost attempted to dethrone newly crowned TBS Champion Julia Hart in a House Rules match, and she was shut down in five minutes by the viciousness of the defending champ. This Wednesday on DYNAMITE, just four days after turning back Lady Frost, Hart will once again open the doors of The House to welcome a new challenger to her dark reign.

What woman is brave enough to cross the House’s threshold this Wednesday in Minneapolis? None other than the Queen herself, Emi Sakura! The two women have only ever stood on the opposite sides once before, during a Trios match that took place exactly two years ago on the 11/29/21 edition of DARK: ELEVATION and saw Julia on the losing side of the contest.

The Black Hart of the House is an utterly transformed woman from who she was at that point, but Emi Sakura brings an experience to the table unlike any other competitor Hart has faced in her AEW tenure. Can she find a way to overcome that major disadvantage, along with whatever House Rule is concocted by The Queen? The defending champ does have a bit of home field advantage in Minnesota, but is that a balance for the decades Sakura has on her inside the squared circle?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/bWacqGq_RUs?si=8eKUXigVm5ub1EIm&start=128

AEW returns to the Target Center in Minneapolis for DYNAMITE, featuring the continuation of the Continental Classic’s Blue League with three big matches! Plus, TNT Champion Christian Cage will be in the house to address Adam Copeland’s challenge for Montreal, and so much more!

The night begins 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 assorted social media platforms, to get caught up on the action with highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and this week’s CONTROL CENTER!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Dtff41MQe0?si=sU6As6UUClunb6dH

What a week it has been in All Elite Wrestling! Starting with FULL GEAR 2023 this past Saturday, and continuing into DYNAMITE on Wednesday night, the landscape of AEW continues to be the most exciting in all of professional wrestling! We know that Samoa Joe and MJF are scheduled to collide at WORLDS END, providing MJF doesn’t end up in a situation where the belt is at risk, but in addition the culmination of the Continental Classic will go down that night in Long Island as well!

This week in Chicago, as part of AEW’s Thanksgiving Eve tradition, fans witnessed Jon Moxley, Swerve Strickland, and Jay White each score three points in the Gold League, leaving Mark Briscoe, Jay Lethal, and Rush with zero points to their names, with the first bouts in the Blue League going down in Pittsburgh this Saturday night!

This Saturday night, with three hours of action between RAMPAGE and COLLISION, the Petersen Center on the campus of Pitt will be rocking! The first bouts in the Blue League of the Continental Classic are set to go down with ROH World/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston fighting Brodie King and Claudio Castagnoli taking on Daniel Garcia during COLLISOIN. But before that, on a special Satu night edition of RAMPGE, the ROH Pure Championship will be at stake with a SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023 rematch between 2-Time champ Wheeler Yuta and the man who dethroned him, Katsuyori Shibata into the mix, and it all begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans. Be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s assorted social media platforms, to get caught up on the action with highlights from FULL GEAR 2023, as well as recent episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and this week’s CONTROL CENTER!

RAMAPAGE

ROH PURE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Katsuyori Shibata(c) vs. Blackpool Combat Club’s Wheeler Yuta

Perhaps it’s his experience as a member of the Blackpool Combat Club that has beaten any fear from the former 2-Time ROH Pure Champion, perhaps it is cockiness due to that affiliation, but whatever the reason, it is clear that Wheeler Yuta fears little. Why else would he, all by himself, step the AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, FTW Champion HOOK, and ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata ahead of their Trios match on DYNAMITE and talk trash on all three of them? There is plenty of history between Yuta and all three of these individuals; Orange served as a mentor to Yuta for much of his career before The BCC came calling while HOOK’s association with OC led to Yuta holding a pinfall victory over the FTW Champion on the November 15th DYNAMITE, and finally, it was Katsuyori Shibata who ended Yuta’s second reign as ROH Pure Champion earlier this year at SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023, a loss that Yuta has certainly not forgotten.

It seems the sting of that memory, and standing just feet away from Shibata hold the title belt, encouraged Yuta to dip his toes back into the Pure Division this past Thursday during ROH ON HONOR CLUB (www.watchroh.com), and score a victory over Shane Taylor Promotions member Lee Moriarty.

Earlier in the night, in a tremendous Pure Championship bout, Shibata retained the title over Trent Beretta, a man quite familiar to Yuta albeit the one member of the Best Friends unit who didn’t care for Wheeler’s presence, and as a result of these respective victories, this Saturday night on RAMPAGE, Wheeler Yuta will get the rematch he’s been waiting for since March 31st! With almost 240 days under his belt as champion, Shibata heads into this ninth title defense as strong as he’s ever been, and as imposing a presence as ever, and the history between these two men does not tilt in Yuta’s favor.

In addition to their SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023 fight, there was that ALL OUT 2023 tag team bout that may have been won by The Blackpool Combat Club, but Shibata’s offensive barrage actually put Yuta on concussion protocol for several weeks. So while this is primarily about the Pure Championship, and Yuta’s desire to be the only 3-time Pure Champion (he’s already the only two-timer), there’s also a whole lot of other reasons for Yuta to want this fight on Saturday evening!

The Blackpool Combat Club is woefully lacking any championships at this moment, but with Moxley’s victory in his first Continental Classic match serving as a moral booster to the unit, and Castagnoli’s fight with Garcia following shortly after Yuta’s, this could be a week that shines in the history of The BCC. The question may then be whether Yuta or Shibata will bring the violence needed to emerge from this fight as reigning Pure Champion!

ONE-ON-ONE…

Kris Statlander vs. Diamante

Coming off losing the TBS Championship to Julia Hart at FULL GEAR 2023, Kris Statlander is back in action against one of her long-time rivals, a woman she’s got history with dating back to 2018, but who she’s surprisingly never gone one-on-one with in a televised bout! Diamante and Stat had a pair of singles matches on DARK, in addition to two trios bouts, and they even clashed in a tag on COLLISION back in September, but this Saturday night will be their first televised singles match ever!

Statlander certainly holds upper hand in their rivalry, having been on the winning side for four of their five AEW bouts, but will she be there for it after watching the TBS Championship slip out of her grasp last week in Los Angeles? This may be the prime moment for Diamante to strike and score a huge victory over her rival!

COLLISION

CONTINENTAL CLASSIC TOURNAMENT…

BLUE LEAGUE

Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli vs. Daniel Garcia

They were trapped inside the Blood & Guts Cage together 17 months ago, and they fought in tags and trios over the ensuing months once Chris Jericho defeated Claudio Castagnoli to become ROH World Champion, but this Saturday night in Pittsburgh will be the first time that Claudio and Daniel Garcia fight in singles competition, and what stakes there are at hand!

This bout marks each man’s first in the Blue League of the Continental Classic, and Garcia is undoubtedly the underdog, not just in this match, but in the big picture of the entire twelve-man tournament! Though he is a former ROH Pure Champion, and the current PWG Champion, Garcia is absolutely the dark horse of the Blue League. After all this is a bracket consisting of the men involved in this match as well as Bryan Danielson, Andrade El Idolo, Eddie Kingston, and Brody King. That being said, regardless of how they came to be, Garcia’s record book shows victories over Brody and Bryan, though they are balanced by losses to Andrade and Kingston.

So the question is whether or not Garcia can find an amalgamation of his pro wrestler side and his sports entertainer side, because if he can find a balance of the two, he could evolve into the most dangerous wrestler in the whole of All Elite Wrestling. There is not doubt he is one of the most gifted wrestlers in the game today, he is also one of the most entertaining, but he’s yet to find a balance of the two that leads to consistent success.

With so much at stake in each Continental Classic match it becomes imperative that Daniel Garcia find his identity, and decide who he wants to be. Nothing dictates he has to be one or the other, but he has to figure out a balance between his best attributes if he hopes to defeat the complete package that is Claudio Castagnoli. One would be hard-pressed to find a professional wrestler more adept at every style in the game than Castagnoli, or one more powerful than the former ROH World Champion. Though there are several more matches to be fought before WORLDS END comes, that first victory is imperative to setting the town for the Continental Classic; will it be Claudio’s victory in the record books or will it belong to Daniel Garcia

ROH World/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston vs. The House of Black’s Brody King

The enhanced stakes of this tournament, the situation where the winner will walk out not only as AEW Continental Champion, but also as ROH World Champion and NJPW STRONG Champion, are a direct result of the fighting spirit that burns in the soul of Eddie Kingston. Call him “The Mad King”, call him “The Last of a Dying Breed”, whatever you call him, you have to call Eddie Kingston a fighter with a respect for professional wrestling above and beyond the call of duty. There is no reason for Eddie to put both his hard-earned championship titles at stake save for his belief that a champion should be defending their title any time they are in a prize fight.

That leads to this situation where Eddie has laid both his championship titles on the line for the ultimate winner of this Round Robin-Style Tournament, thereby creating a modern American Triple Crown Championship, and adhering the Continental Classic winner to three separate promotions. But that’s what comes at WORLDS END for the winner of the entire field, this Saturday night during COLLISOIN, Eddie Kingston will first have to deal with a man he first met in La Boom back in 2018, and first fought in Wilmington, CA one month later: The House of Black’s Brody King!

These two men had issues in All Elite Wrestling earlier this year, problems that created the fissure in the relationship between Ortiz and Kingston that ultimately put those two on opposite sides of the Stadium Stampede at ALL IN: LONDON, but seem quelled based on recent Ring of Honor activity, but the Kingston/HoB issues never put Eddie in the ring with Brody here in AEW.

That all changes this Saturday night on COLLISION when, as part of the Blue League, Eddie and Brody lock horns in singles competition for the first time in AEW, and for the first time time since an AAW title fight in December 2018. These are two men who were inspired to this trade because of their love for Puroesu, because of their love for the concept of Fighting Spirit, and though they’ve traveled very different paths to get to this point, now are engaged in a tournament that owes a great deal of inspiration to those that elevated the men Brody and Eddie love into inspirational figures.

This is going to be a hard-hitting affair, one in which bombs will be thrown from the outset, and neither man will emerge in perfect health. No matter who wins, both Brody and Eddie will know they’ve been through a battle to score their first 3 points, and they will feel the repercussions of the bout throughout the rest of the Continental Classic.

THE CHAMPIONS SPEAK…

After assaulting Chris Jericho following the FULL GEAR 2023 Media Scrum, reigning AEW World Tag Champions Ricky Starks and Big Bill will be on-hand this Saturday during COLLISION for an interview with Tony Schiavone.

With that Ladder Match victory under their belt, the duo were already riding high, but putting the boots to Jericho the way they did, and doing more damage to the arm already injured by The Young Bucks has left them even higher on the hog than they were. There’s no doubt Starks and Big Bill will have a lot of gloating to do on Saturday, but eventually they will have to answer for their attack, and given that The Golden Jets are owed a championship match, the champions’ actions may cost them the titles!

“THE RATED R SUPERSTAR” AND THE PATRIARCHY…

https://www.youtube.com/embed/XV-Ds3PTZzA?si=4TaoyiJCOdIKnqTj&start=356

This past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, fans watched in horror as Christian Cage prepared to deliver a One-Man Conchairto to Shayna Wayne. If it wasn’t for the timely intervention of Adam Copeland, one can imagine the kind of damage that would’ve been done to Nick Wayne’s seemingly-estranged mother. Unfortunately for Nick, it was young Mr. Wayne who ended up with his head sandwiched between chairs and felt the cold sting of the steel across his skull, but also unfortunate was the fact this happened right in front of Shayna.

Whether or not “The Rated R Superstar” even realized there was a distraught mother crumbled in the corner crying for a stay of execution is something only Adam can answer, and perhaps that’s what he will address this Saturday night on COLLISION!

TAG TEAM BOUT…

FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs. The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent)

FTR were within moments of claiming the AEW World Tag Team Titles at FULL GEAR 2023 but Ricky Starks played spoiler to their moment of redemption, and instead pulled down the titles to keep them around the waists of himself and Big Bill. Frustrating as that may be, it’s not the first time Cash and Dax have been on the losing end of a fight and it certainly won’t be the last, and that loss is not going to stop them from getting right back into the hunt for a third reign as champions!

The road that hopefully ends in another title opportunity begins tonight on COLLISION when FTR faces The Righteous for the very first time! Dutch and Vincent recently took up with Jake Roberts, a match certainly made in the most devilish of fires, pooling a wealth of knowledge with a bent towards wickedness that could certainly lead The Righteous towards championship success.

Will Dutch and Vincent be able to blaze that trail at the expense of FTR, or will Dax and Cash rebound from their PPV heartbreak and set their sights right back on the AEW World Tag Titles?

SINGLES BOUT…

“Limitless” Keith Lee vs. Shane Taylor Promotions’ Lee Moriarty

The issues between Shane Taylor and Keith Lee date back over a decade to the earliest days of the wrestling careers, into their time in Ring of Honor as The Pretty Boy Killers, even spilled over into the New Era of Honor with their fight at FINAL BATTLE 2022 last December, and into AEW with their Mixed Tag Team bout during the ZERO HOUR for WRESTLEDREAM 2023. Now, with Shane Taylor having recruited Lee Moriarty into his fold, it looks like Pittsburgh’s own is taking up the fight on his mentor’s behalf!

It was just a little over two years ago that Moriarty wrestled his first match for AEW, losing to Dante Martin on the August 17, 2021 edition of DARK, and his drive to become one of the best in the game led him to championship bouts with Orange Cassidy, HOOK, Wardlow, and Katsuyori Shibata, to mention a few, and caught the attention of Shane Taylor.

Stepping up this Saturday to fight Shane’s former tag partner, will Lee Moriarty come to regret his choice of partnering with STP, or will that association be the thing that bolsters the master of #TaigaStyle to the level he has been striving for since coming into AEW?

TAG TEAM BOUT…

The House of Black (Buddy Matthews & Malakai Black) vs. Gravity & Komander

FULL GEAR 2023 was not an ideal night for the men of The House of Black, though Julia Hart did bring the TBS Championship into their fold, all three of the men honoring The House were unsuccessful in their respective fights. Buddy Matthews fell to Claudio Castagnoli during the ZERO HOUR, while The Kings of the Black Throne came up short in the AEW World Tag Team Championship Ladder Match.

Thankfully for all three of them, today is a new day for a fresh fight, and while Brody King is embroiled in the Continental Classic Tournament and his opening fight with Eddie Kingston, Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews will team for the first time to take on the high-flying duo of Gravity and Komander! The Luchador duo have been sporadically tagging up for several years, though this will be there first time working as a team in All Elite Wrestling, and what a challenge they face in this House pairing!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL!

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!

Continental Classic Match—The Gold League!

Swerve Strickland vs. Jay Lethal!

Lethal clocked Swerve with a big right hand. They traded strikes on the ring apron. Lethal yanked on Swerve’s right arm. Lethal drove Swerve into the barricade after a tope suicida. Lethal followed up with a short arm lariat.

Swerve targeted the knee of Lethal with a basement dropkick. Swerve tied up Lethal’s legs and wrenched on them, putting all of his body weight on them. Swerve kicked Lethal’s leg and then chopped it!

Swerve sent Lethal flying with a German Suplex. Lethal rallied back with a shoulder breaker. They jockeyed for position on the top turnbuckle, and Swerve brought Lethal down hard with a superplex. Swerve followed up with a flatliner and then a brainbuster for a near fall on Lethal.

Jay Lethal stunned Swerve with an elbow drop from the top rope worthy of a king. Swerve avoided a dropkick and applied a stretch muffler, but Lethal grabbed the bottom rope. Lethal cracked Swerve with a pump kick. Lethal went for the Lethal Injection but Swerve countered with a dropkick. Swerve hit the House Call and then the Swerve Stomp to score the pin on Lethal. Three points for Swerve!

Renee Paquette was backstage with AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, FTW Champion HOOK, & ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata!

Wheeler Yuta interrupted Orange Cassidy and mocked him, Hook, and Shibata. Yuta told Shibata that he’d be taking his championship back!

Up next: AEW World Champion & ROH Tag Champion MJF came out with his ROH Tag Champion partner Adam Cole!

MJF: “Cut the music. Now ladies and gentlemen, it appears the devil has arrived in Chicago. After I just freshly beat an undefeated Jay White. I learned in those 30 minutes that you are truly one of the best professional wrestlers in the world. Fact. However, nobody is on the level of the devil. Chicago, I’m just gonna say what we’re all thinking: you’re looking at the greatest AEW World Champion of all time. Now none of that is possible without my brochacho for life, Mr. Cole.”

Adam Cole: “Who’s ready for story time with Adam Cole, baybay? It’s great that me and Max are still your ROH World Tag Team Champions with a little help from Samoa Joe, as well. My ankle is in really bad shape. I’ve got a long road ahead of me. But I’m going to work my ass off every single day to make sure I can get back her in AEW to do what I love to do.

“Max, I’m really worried about you. I wish for nothing more than to be here by your side, but I can’t. It feels like you’ve got the entire world gunning for you.”

MJF: “You don’t gotta worry about me, Adam. To the man behind my devil mask, I’m going to find you and the hell I send you to is going to feel like heaven.”

Someone appeared on the screen wearing the devil mask, laughing, and then the feed disappeared!

Samoa Joe’s music played and out walked Samoa Joe to the ring!

Samoa Joe: “This is a time for celebration, Max. Two massive victories over a weekend. You stand here today AEW World Champion. But you know what else happened? Earlier in the night, MJF, you went out there with Samoa Joe and defended your ROH World Tag Championship for the simple price of giving me my rematch. So, I’ve come to Chicago to ensure that honorable men honor their deals.”

MJF: “Maybe you should take a couple of steps back because you have bad breath. And secondly, I thought long and hard about our deal. And I feel I’ve come up with a reasonable mature response. My response is no!”

Samoa Joe grabbed MJF by the throat, but Adam Cole begged Samoa Joe to stop and listen to him!

Adam Cole: “Thank you! Max, you can’t do this, man. The new MJF, he’s a man of his word. I get it, Joe is a killer. Max, that’s why you are who you are. They don’t just love you because you’re a great wrestler. They love you because when MJF says something is going to happen, damnit it happens. Max, be a man of your word.”

MJF: “You know what Joe, you want to face me for this belt? You wouldn’t be the first Ring of Honor legend I’ve beaten in Chicago twice! So how about Samoa Joe versus MJF right here, right now in Chicago!”

Samoa Joe: “Absolutely not. Let’s discuss what’s really gonna happen. You’re going to get on the Internet tomorrow and complain that you weren’t 100% and it wasn’t fair. Boo Hoo. No, Max, I want the best version of you, I want the fully healed Max. So, I say by World’s End, you should be nice and chipper to get in that ring and defend that title.”

MJF: “Let me get this straight. You want to wrestle MJF at Nassau Colliseum on December 30th at World’s End? You want MJF in the main event for the World Title? Is that correct?”

Samoa Joe: “That is correct, Max.”

MJF: “You’ve got yourself a deal, Joe. But let me explain something to you. Wrestling MJF in Long Island, that’s about as bright as copping head from an alligator. But based on the way you’re looking these days, I bet you don’t have many options.”

Samoa Joe: “I understand what this is and I’m really great at picking fights too, Max. But Max all this worrying you’re doing about the devil goes away today. Because you see from now on, you’re considered my property. And people don’t touch my property unless I say so. I’m going to deliver the very best MJF to Nassau Colliseum and then I’m going to take your World Championship in front of your family and friends and everyone you know and love!”

Trios Match!

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, FTW Champion HOOK,

& ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata

vs.

“Daddy Magic” Matt Menard, “Cool Hand” Angelo Parker, & Jake Hager!

Before the match, Orange Cassidy said he had a Thanksgiving surprise. Very nice, very evil Danhausen made his return!

Hook hurled Menard overhead with judo throws. Hook sent Angelo Parker to the mat too! Hager hit Hook with a blindsided shot.

Parker clocked Hook with a running knee to the head. Hager nailed Hook with a Hager Bomb for a near fall. Hook fired back with a lariat to Angelo Parker, exploding out of the corner. Hook planted Parker with a T-bone suplex and then tagged out to Orange Cassidy.

Hager intercepted the Orange Punch from Cassidy and then planted him on the mat. Shibata tagged in and he and Hager traded forearms. Shibata pump kicked Hager. Shibata chopped down Hager in the corner. Shibata followed up with a running dropkick to Hager! Menard and Parker doubled up on Shibata. Hager went to powerbomb Shibata, but Danhausen jumped on the apron, distracting Hager with Hager’s purple hat.

Danhausen cursed Hager and Cassidy stunned Hager with a tope suicida. Shibata put the sleeper on Menard while Hook made Parker tap out with the Red Rum!

Renee Paquette was backstage with Adam Cole!

Roderick Strong and the Kingdom interrupted!

Strong: “I saw you were there on Saturday. I’m sorry I missed you. Friday, where were you? I was dropped right on my head.”

Cole: “Shut up! When are you going to get it through your thick skull that I am not your best friend anymore? Do me a favor. Back off and leave me the hell alone!”

Up next: TNT Champion Christian Cage rechristened Luchasaurus & Nick Wayne!

Christian Cage: “Now everybody knows a true champion is gracious in victory and humble in defeat. And as you all know this past Saturday at Full Gear, it didn’t exactly go as we planned. I can tell you that I did not lose that match. Nick Wayne did not lose that match. Luchasaurus lost that match! And that’s unacceptable to me.

“And I went home, and I thought, how do I get rid of this stench of losing. And it hit me like a ton of bricks. Since you’re both my children, it’s time that I recreate you both in my image. Luchasaurus, take a knee. I said take a knee. I’m not sure what you’re not understanding about this you moron. Take a knee right now!

“The name Luchasaurus to me will forever be associated with me with being a loser. I thought long and hard about your name and I came up with a name of strength. A name of toughness. A name that means certain victory. A name that has served me well throughout my career. You are my finisher. This Saturday on Collision you will have the chance to prove that you are worthy of this moniker because from here on out you will be known as Kill Switch!

“Nick Wayne, get on your feet. You don’t ever get on your knees for another person, do you understand me? You’re different, Nick. You’re special. You are my golden boy. I see things in you that I’ve never seen in another person. You are me. I love you, Nick. Nick, you are a golden boy, and you will be known as ‘the Prodigy, Nick Wayne.’”

Nick Wayne’s mother walked to the ring.

Christian Cage: “What the hell are you doing here anyway? You are a terrible mother! Maybe you love Nick unconditionally but that isn’t good enough. This kid is a prodigy. It’s a good thing that your husband is dead because Nick would have disowned his father because he knows his father was never as good of a wrestler that I am. So do me a favor and get the hell out of my ring!”

Luchasaurus stepped between Nick Wayne’s mom and Christian Cage and stared at Christian!

Christian Cage: “Get back on your knees! I didn’t stutter. Get on your knees Kill Switch!”

Christian Cage slapped Luchasaurus in the face!

Christian Cage: “Get on your knees or I’ll make you take off that mask!”

Christian shoved Luchasaurus, who inadvertently fell back against Nick Wayne’s mother, knocking her to the mat!

Nick Wayne left the ring and looked under it. Nick Wayne pulled out a steel chair and slid it into the ring. He pulled out a second chair and slid it into the ring. Shanna Wayne’s head was placed onto one of the steel chairs. Christian held up the second steel chair and handed it to Luchasaurus. “Be the Kill Switch! Be the finisher!”

Luchasaurus held up the chair and contemplated what he had just been ordered to do. Adam Copeland sprinted to the ring and speared Nick Wayne! Copeland booted Luchasaurus in the face! Copeland had the chair and looked at Christian Cage, but Luchasaurus pulled Christian out of the ring to safety. Copeland speared Nick Wayne a second time and then nailed him with the Impaler! Copeland propped Nick Wayne’s head on one of the chairs. Copeland cracked Nick Wayne with the steel chair, right in front of Nick’s mom!

Renee Paquette was backstage with Anna Jay, Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, and Jake Hager!

Matt Menard: “Renee, I don’t know what’s going on around here. Garcia with his dancing, Parker with his little girlfriend, someone tell me what’s going on!”

Hager: “And Danhausen with the hat!”

Anna Jay: “Stop, this is about me! I just want to wrestle. I am so tired of the losing, the infighting, and I don’t know if you guys are here to help me or hurt me.”

Parker’s phone rang and it was Ruby Soho calling.

Anna Jay: “Really? You’re in my corner tonight, right?”

Parker: “Anna, of course. It’s family first. You got this!”

Continental Classic Match—The Gold League!

LFI’s Rush vs. Bullet Club Gold’s “Switchblade” Jay White!

Rush and Jay White locked horns, with Rush backing Jay into the corner. Rush dropkicked Jay White and then stomped on him. Rush splashed Switchblade in the corner and followed up with a beautiful dropkick.

Rush rammed Jay White into the barricades. Rush pulled a cable out from beneath the ring. Ref Paul Turner threatened to disqualify Rush, so Rush dropped the cable. Rush wrecked Jay White with more chops to the chest.

Jay White suplexed Rush right into the turnbuckles. Rush took Jay White off his feet with a flying forearm. Rush cracked White with a massive elbow strike and followed up with a brainbuster for a near fall.

The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”

Jay White dodged a senton from Rush. Jay White nailed Rush with a brainbuster for a near fall! Jay White gouged the eye of Rush, but Rush answered with a rising knee strike. White fired back with a uranage for a two-count.

Rush escaped the Blade Runner attempt. Rush staggered White with a German Suplex. Jay White took down Rush with a dragon screw leg whip. Rush hurled Jay White with a belly-to-belly suplex into the turnbuckles. Rush went for the Bull’s Horns but White countered and tried for the Blade Runner. Rush escaped, shoving White, who inadvertently connected with the ref. As the ref had his back turned, Jay White hit Rush with a low blow and then pinned Rush after the Blade Runner! Jay White gained three points!

Footage was shown from after this past Saturday’s media scrum, with AEW World Tag Team Champs “Absolute” Ricky Starks and Big Bill attacking Chris Jericho, targeting his injured arm!

RJ City and Renee Paquette were on the ramp to present AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm with her championship!

Mariah May presented Toni with the title.

Toni Storm: “I didn’t have anything prepared. I would first like to thank Mr. Anthony Khan and the wonderful people at Warner Discovery. I would like to thank whoever trained me, and the little Toni Storms out there who want to be me. This is my spot. You will not take it. You will not make it. So, stay in school. Thank you!”

The celebration was interrupted as Skye Blue made her entrance for the next match.

Three-Way Match!

Ruby Soho (with Saraya)

vs.

Skye Blue

vs. Anna Jay (with Matt Menard & Angelo Parker)!

Parker and Ruby smiled at each other. Anna Jay rolled up Skye for a near fall. Skye took down Anna with a shoulder tackle. Ruby Soho suplexed Skye Blue, planting her on the back of her head.

Skye Blue took down both members of the opposition at once with creative offense. Anna Jay cracked Ruby with a thrust kick, after Ruby was flirting with Angelo Parker. Skye Blue connected with a diving cross body press onto Anna and Ruby.

Skye Blue rocked Ruby with two knee strikes. Skye Blue pump kicked Ruby off the ring apron, sending Ruby right into the arms of Angelo Parker! Anna Jay stunned Skye with a pump kick of her own! Before Ruby and Angelo kissed, Saraya pulled Ruby away from Angelo.

Blue escaped the Queen Slayer and followed up with a thrust kick. Skye Blue scored the pin after the cutter on Anna Jay! Saraya and Ruby argued with one another after the match.

Renee Paquette was backstage with Wardlow!

Wardlow: “The world doesn’t revolve around MJF. The downfall of the devil is going to happen on my time.”

AR Fox interrupted. “Hey man, I see what you’re doing here. Putting the blame on everybody else. I get it. I was doing the same to Darby.”

Wardlow: “Listen, I don’t need advice from anyone.”

Wardlow headbutted AR Fox and laughed.

Main Event Time!

Continental Classic Match—The Gold League!

Blackpool Combat Club’s Jon Moxley vs. Mark Briscoe!

Mox and Mark slugged it out in the center of the ring. Briscoe used his redneck kung fu, chopping Moxley in the throat. Moxley chomped down on Briscoe’s head. Briscoe nailed Moxley with a neck breaker off the apron and onto the arena floor!

Moxley smashed Mark in the mouth with a big boot! Mark was busted wide open. Moxley spiked Briscoe with a piledriver for a near fall. Briscoe tossed Mox with a suplex. Moxley applied an arm bar on Mark, but Mark got his boot on the bottom rope to force the break.

Moxley nailed Mark with the Paradigm Shift, but Mark got right up and dropkicked Moxley! Briscoe used a Death Valley Driver to set up the Froggy Bow, but Moxley kicked out at two! Moxley escaped a J Driller attempted and planted Mark with the Death Rider for a near fall!

Moxley hit Mark with a half and half suplex. Moxley curb stomped Briscoe and pinned him after a second Death Rider! Moxley earned three points!

Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN!

Special Programming note: this Saturday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 7/6c and then COLLISION at 8/7c on TNT from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA!

Your Big Gold Belt Podcast is LIVE covering the week in pro wrestling including:

-NXT moves to the CW: A look at WWE’s future TV deals as they come into focus

-Highlights of WWE Crown Jewel and a…

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s special episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from the Moda Center in Portland, OR!

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!

Tony Schiavone was backstage with AEW World Champion MJF to kick off the show!

MJF: “Congratulations Jay White, because you are not going to pin me again like you did last week!”

MJF’s phone began to vibrate, and it was Adam Cole calling.

MJF: “Adam, what’s going on?”

Adam Cole: “Hey man, I’m really worried about you man. It kills me that I can’t be there with you, but I have to tell you this as your best friend. Full Gear is coming up. This match against the Gunns and I know you really don’t want to hear this but if you want to win this match, I think you’ve gotta take Samoa Joe up on his offer.”

MJF: “Again with this? You’ve been telling me all week. It’s not happening, and I don’t need him. I can defend our titles and that’s a promise. I’m going to handle Bullet Club Gold after I handle Daniel Garcia.”

Daniel Garcia interrupted MJF by walking onto the set with Matt Menard and Angelo Parker!

Garcia: “You’re going to handle me, huh?”

MJF: “You want to have a chat? Why do you think I agreed to this World title shot tonight? Do you think it’s because of your perfect win-loss record? Nah, I don’t think so. It’s because I believe in you. It’s because I see a little bit of myself in you back when I would listen to quote-unquote veterans, trying to tell me how to run my business. I’ve proven it’s talent over tenure. So, tonight am I getting Danny Garcia the sports entertainer or am I getting the professional wrestler?”

Garcia: “Tonight, you get a professional wrestler.”

Roderick Strong and the Kingdom rolled onto the set.

Roderick Strong: “Yo, Max, I know you already know this, but I am a wrestling legend, and I could easily give you some tips, dude.”

MJF: “You know what’s funny? You were a wrestling legend. You have turned into a complete joke. Adam, I’ve gotta go wrestle. I love you.”

Roderick: “Adam, don’t you see that. That’s exactly what the devil would do, dude. He would walk away.”

Adam Cole hung up.

Roderick: “It’s time to remind everyone exactly who the hell I am!”

AEW World Championship Match!

MJF (c.) vs. Daniel Garcia (with Matt Menard & Angelo Parker)!

MJF locked up with Garcia and then taunted Garcia by doing Garcia’s dance. Garcia grappled MJF to the mat. MJF offered his hand to Garcia as a sign of sportsmanship. Garcia slapped it away and MJF thumbed Garcia in the eyes.

MJF began to work over Garcia’s arm, concentrating his offense there. Garcia fired back with a flurry of forearms and strikes. Garcia followed up with a high release German Suplex. Garcia nailed MJF with a brainbuster for a near fall.

MJF double stomped on Garcia’s elbow. MJF rocked Garcia with a shoulder breaker. MJF stunned Garcia with a DDT for a near fall.

“Garcia deserves a lot of credit kicking out of that hammer lock DDT because that was nasty,” said Taz.

Garcia dodged a Panama Sunrise from MJF and then chopped the champ down with kicks to the legs. Garcia spiked MJF with a piledriver for a near fall. Garcia locked in the Dragon Tamer! MJF countered and transitioned with the Salt of the Earth arm bar, forcing Garcia to tap out!

MJF offered his hand to Garcia as a sign of respect. Garcia reached for it, but Angelo Parker and Matt Menard pulled Garcia away.

Darby Allin & Sting vs. The Outrunners—Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum!

The Outrunners double teamed Darby in their corner of the ring. Sting tagged in and he and Darby chopped Turbo Floyd. Sting knocked Turbo over the top with a lariat. Truth pulled Darby out of the ring and whipped him into the barricade. Sting clubbed the Outrunners with lariats. Sting applied the Scorpion Death Lock and won via tap out!

Earlier in the day there was a sit-down interview between AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida & “Timeless” Toni Storm, conducted by Tony Schiavone!

Shida: “What happened to you Toni Storm? You want this title? I don’t think so. You want attention paid to your silly acting!”

Toni Storm: “You happened to me, darling. I was meant to walk into Wembley with that title, and then you happened. You don’t happen anymore. I happen. I couldn’t make history, so I became history. You may have that title, but you will never have the spotlight.”

Shida: “You know what? What will happen is what always happens. I will beat you at Full Gear.”

Toni: “Very well. There’s a saying in showbusiness. Chin up, t!ts out, and watch for the shoe!”

Shida knocked the shoe away and Shida and Toni glared at one another.

Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo (with Alex Abrahantes)!

“Hangman” Adam Page was banned from ringside for this match.

Swerve nailed Penta with a diving European uppercut. Swerve wrenched down on Penta’s fingers. Penta El Zero Miedo and Swerve traded chops. Swerve stomped on Penta’s fingers.

Penta planted Swerve with a backstabber. Swerve rolled out of the ring, Penta ran for the tope suicida, but Swerve countered with a European Uppercut. Swerve dropped Penta on the steel ring steps. Penta jumped over the top rope with a tope con hiro on Swerve!

Swerve blocked the Made in Japan. Swerve was looking for the JML Driver, but it was blocked. They knocked each other down with lariats, each man having the same idea! Penta hit two sling blades on Swerve. Penta hit a driver on Swerve for a two-count.

Penta El Zero Miedo blasted Swerve with a destroyer on the apron! Penta connected with diving foot stomps for a two-count on Swerve.

“What a match! Holy smokes,” said Tony Schiavone.

Swerve stomped Penta over the top rope, landing on Penta’s ribs! Swerve climbed to the top turnbuckle and attempted a 450 splash, but Penta dodged it. Penta snapped back on Swerve’s arm! Penta crushed Swerve with the Made in Japan but Swerve kicked out at two!

Penta punted Swerve on the arm. Penta tried for the Fear Factor, but Swerve escaped. Swerve drove Swerve down hard and then stomped on Penta’s arm. Swerve stomped, crashing down on Penta and pinning him for the victory.

After the match, Swerve began to pull at the mask of Penta El Zero Miedo, but “Hangman” Adam Page ran into the ring with a steel chair. Page chased Swerve out of the ring and waffled Swerve in the back with a steel chair!

“Hangman is like a man possessed! He’s crazy,” said Tony Schiavone.

Hangman jumped off the stage with Swerve, spiking him through a table with the Dead Eye!

Alex Marvez was backstage with Bullet Club Gold’s “Switchblade” Jay White, Juice Robinson, and the Gunns!

Jay White: “I am here with the Bang Bang Belt. We took a vacation, but I still turned in to Collision and what did I see? After I pinned MJF last week on Dynamite, he said, ‘Hey Jay, what don’t you go compare our names on some graph chart on the internet. Max, you want me to play along? I’ll indulge you. Maybe the graphs are like that because you spend all your time searching your name hoping one day, you’ll see those graphs in a way that will appease all those insecurities of yours.

“Jay White will always be better than you and everybody knows it. I am truly elite, and I will show that tonight against Mark Briscoe. MJF you just sit back, watch, and breathe.”

Renee Paquette interviewed the Golden Jets—Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega, ahead of their Dynamite match against The Don Callis Family that’ll be taking place next Wednesday.

Jericho: “I think when Don proposed this match, he didn’t think that Kota Ibushi and Paul Wight would have our backs and be our partners. You see, we’ve got some good friends.”

The Young Bucks—Matt and Nick Jackson, walked onto the set and interrupted.

Matt Jackson: “You know, we actually set up camp with the extras in the broom closet. Because there’s no space in our locker room. Chris’ bag is so big. Hey, but I like what you’re doing here. This whole tag team thing? Sweet promo. I even heard you had a really cool, new name. The Golden Jets! I bet you came up with that, huh, Chris?

“You know another cool name? I remember one. The Elite. The guys who started this whole damn place. That’s a cool name too.”

Jericho: “That’s so funny, you didn’t have Kenny’s back when Will Hobbs was beating the hell out of him a few weeks ago with a steel chair. I remember essentially it was the four of us starting AEW, who helped get this company off the ground.”

Matt Jackson: “You would say that. You would put yourself up on the pedestal with us. Because the way I remember it, we created the revolution and you just waltzed in and cashed another big check, didn’t you Chris?”

Jericho: “I want you to remember who you’re talking to here. You’re talking to Kenny F’n Omega and Chris Jericho. We’re two of the greatest to ever do this in the history of pro wrestling. So even though you might be the greatest tag team in the world, I’ll give you all the credit for that. I still think that Jericho and Omega can beat you.”

Nick Jackson: “Can beat us? There’s a big show coming up.”

Matt Jackson: “The light bulb just went off. I don’t think you guys are booked either. It’s called Full Gear. How about Kenny Omega, our best friend, and Chris Jericho, against Nick and Matt Jackson, the Young Bucks, the best damn tag team of all time. You said it yourself.”

Chris Jericho: “Well, uh, I kinda like that idea. But let’s put a little more steam on it. How about when Jericho and Omega beat the Young Bucks at Full Gear, and we will beat you, that guaranteed title shot that you’re sitting on, goes to us.”

Matt Jackson: “I like the way you’re thinking here Chris. How about when we beat you, and we will, right in the middle, clean as a whistle, how about this whole Golden Jets thing is no more. And we can start doing the Elite again, how about that Kenny?”

Kenny Omega: “Look, if this is about who is the greatest tag team of all time, it’s you. I don’t want to wrestle you guys. But if you’re asking me, do I think I can beat you? We’ve been down that road. I’ve done it before. You want to talk about Ibushi? You want to talk about Hangman? Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho can rise to the challenge. We can do it. So, if you guys really want to face us, we’ll do it. And then maybe you’ll clean up your act and then maybe you’ll start acting like real adults instead of sissy, bitchy children. I think you had to hear it from someone like me. So, see you in L.A. at Full Gear.”

Jericho: “Bucks, I’ll be happy to take you to the woodshed and beat your little spoiled brat asses. And by the way, I have my own dressing room.”

ROH World TV Championship Match!

Samoa Joe (c.) vs. “Limitless” Keith Lee!

Samoa Joe and Keith Lee locked horns like two massive bulls. Samoa Joe took a side headlock on Keith Lee. Joe gouged Keith’s eyes and then dropped him with a running shoulder block.

Keith Lee fired back with a shoulder tackle of his own. Keith Lee pounded Joe in the corner with big hooks. Samoa Joe chopped at Lee and then began to work over Lee’s body with jabs, pounding him down in the corner.

Keith Lee came back with a cross body to Samoa Joe. The champ hoisted up Keith Lee and dropped Lee with a knee breaker. Samoa Joe began to stomp Keith Lee.

Keith Lee got back up to his feet, but Samoa Joe took him down with a dragon screw leg whip. Joe followed up with a Manhattan drop. Keith Lee countered the senton with a German Suplex to Samoa Joe!

Keith Lee blocked a lariat from Samoa Joe. Keith Lee smashed Samoa Joe with a pop up powerbomb for a near fall. Samoa Joe slipped behind Keith Lee, locked in the hooks for the rear naked choke, and the ref stopped the match. Samoa Joe was awarded the match as Keith Lee faded.

Samoa Joe: “What stands before you is the greatest Ring of Honor Television Champion of all time. But I did not come here to merely be your television champion. I said hunger is what defines the greats. Well consider me officially hungry.

“As of tonight, I vacate the ROH Television Championship. Because the next gold that is going to be on my shoulder will be the AEW World Championship whether you like it or not, Max!”

AEW International Champion “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy and FTW Champion HOOK were backstage!

Orange Cassidy: “Jon Moxley, you must have lost your mind, saying that I overlooked you, that I don’t respect you. You are the only person that I have been thinking about since you left me in a pool of my own blood in Chicago after taking my International Championship. And I’m sorry that when the opportunity knocked, I didn’t pick up the piece of Rey Fenix, I picked up the pieces of the International Championship that you dropped. And now holding it, it doesn’t feel the same. Because I need to beat you. I have to beat you in order to be the International Champion that I know I am. And at Full Gear, I will beat you.”

The Gunns—Austin & Colten (with Juice Robinson)

vs.

The Bollywood Boyz!

The Gunns quickly hit the 3:10 to Yuma and won the match, right out of the gates!

Colten: “Hey Max, you are a liar. You have been lying to these people for years. You are not a generational talent. You’ve been telling sob story after sob story. That’s not what a generational talent does. Me and Austin, we were made for TV. We’ve been doing this for three years. We are former AEW Tag champs. We are about to be ROH Tag Champs because we are generational talents.”

Austin: “Max, you’re an embarrassment as a champion. For the past three months, you’ve defended the ROH Tag titles one time! Now the only friends you have left are on the other side of this guardrail. And I pray to God you pick one of them as your partner for Full Gear so we can send them on a ride on the 3:10 to Yuma. Max, Full Gear, November 18th, the ROH Titles go back in the hands of a real tag team!”

AEW World Champion and ROH Tag Team Champion MJF was watching on a monitor backstage when Samoa Joe approached him. MJF walked away.

Jon Moxley was backstage with Wheeler Yuta!

Moxley: “We heard what Orange Cassidy had to say and I knew it! I’ve been getting calls all week to let Orange off the hook. I knew that Orange knew exactly what he was doing. It’s about the laws of nature. This business is a jungle. And the BCC are a dominant pack of predators. What kind of example would I be setting for young Wheeler if I didn’t beat the piss out of you, Orange? What kind of example would you be setting for Hook? Teaching him he can just do and say what he wants, and it’ll be fine? You don’t even deserve to get to Full Gear. So, the minute we land at LAX, it’s on. Gang warfare. You and whoever you want to bring.”

Wheeler: “Hook, you might think you’re some tough guy, but I guarantee you, you crossed the wrong crew. See you in Cali, pretty boy.”

The House of Black’s Julia Hart vs. Red Velvet!

Julia shoved Red Velvet into the turnbuckles. Red Velvet rolled up Julia Hart for a pin attempt. Red Velvet used an arm drag to take down Julia Hart.

Red Velvet hammered Julia in the corner with body strikes. Red Velvet splashed Julia Hart with double knees and then a standing moonsault press for a two-count. Red Velvet pulled Julia off the top turnbuckle with an iconoclasm.

Julia stomped on the ribs of Red Velvet. Julia smashed Red Velvet with a moonsault and pinned Red Velvet! Julia locked in Heartless after the bell.

Skye Blue came down to the ring and had a stare down with Julia Hart. TBS Champion Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale walked to the ring. Willow checked on Red Velvet. Julia glanced over at Kris Statlander and then left.

RJ City was backstage to introduce the newest AEW signing…Mariah May!

Mariah May: “I’m so excited to be in AEW. I’ve wrestled all over the world. I just came from Stardom in Japan and I’m so excited to be a part of the AEW Women’s division. And I’m a big fan of your work. Toni Storm is the reason I’m here. I went to Japan because Toni went to Japan. Toni’s in AEW so I’m in AEW.”

RJ: “Maybe next week I could introduce you.”

Mariah May: “You’re going to introduce me to Toni Storm?!”

Main Event Time!

“Switchblade” Jay White (with Bullet Club Gold) vs. Mark Briscoe!

The Full Gear 2023 title shot is on the line here.

Mark Briscoe spiked Jay White with a side suplex. He followed up with a vertical suplex for a two-count on Jay White. Mark knocked Jay White out of the ring with his redneck kung fu. Mark jumped off the apron with a running elbow to Jay White on the arena floor!

Juice Robinson diverted the attention of the ref while the Gunns grabbed Mark Briscoe’s boot. Jay White dodged Mark Briscoe and planted Mark with a DDT!

Jay White pretended his knee was injured. The ref turned to check on Jay White while Bullet Club Gold stomped on Mark Briscoe outside the ring.

Mark Briscoe tried to build some momentum with a dropkick off the top rope. Mark and Jay White traded shots in the center of the ring. Mark hammered away with chops and elbow strikes. Mark Briscoe nailed Jay White with a neck breaker for a near fall.

Mark Briscoe hit a fishermen’s buster on Jay White for a two-count, Jay White just barely escaping. Jay White gouged at Mark’s eyes. Jay White connected with a dragon screw on Mark’s leg. Mark fired back with a Death Valley Driver. Mark climbed to the top for the froggy bow, smashed Jay, and covered him for a near fall!

Jay White rocked Mark Briscoe with a uranage. Jay White planted Mark with the Kiwi Crusher for a two-count! Jay White chop blocked Mark Briscoe. Mark escaped the Blade Runner with an exploder suplex. Mark walloped Jay with a lariat. Mark called for the Jay Driller, but Jay White backdropped his way out of it. Jay White targeted the neck of Mark with a sleeper suplex. Jay spiked Mark with a brainbuster.

Mark countered the Blade Runner with redneck kung fu. Jay served up with sleeper suplex and then spiked Mark! Jay White finished off Mark with the Blade Runner and pinned Mark Briscoe!

After the match, MJF snuck into the ring and cleaned house on Bullet Club Gold with the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Only Jay White was left in the ring with MJF! “Switchblade” Jay White retreated out of the ring!

MJF: “Look at me Jay White. I hope you’ve had fun playing dress up as top guy. Because pretty soon play time is almost over. Because you’ll have to get in the ring with the real World champion. With a generational talent. With MJF! When I won that title, I made a promise to myself that I was going to go down as the greatest AEW World Champion of all time or die trying. And that’s what you’ll be dealing with Jay.

“You’ll have to kill me to beat me. I’m not fighting just for me anymore. For the first time in my life, I’m fighting for everyone who has been on this journey with me since day one. I am fighting for Adam Cole. I am fighting for you watching at home. I am fighting for everyone in this arena! ‘Cause I’m not just a scumbag. I’m their scumbag! So, I got one question Jay. Full Gear, will the leader of the Bang Bang Gang, will you be able to be the first man to pull the trigger?!”

The arena lights went out! Footage played from backstage of masked men attacking the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn!

“It seems like whoever helps MJF is in harm’s way,” said Excalibur.

The footage scrambled and then a person wearing a devil mask appeared on the screen for a split second!

The lights turned back on in the arena and MJF was standing in the ring alone. MJF sprinted to the back to check on the Acclaimed!

Samoa Joe approached MJF backstage. “Looks like you’re running out of friends, champ,” said Samoa Joe, as he laughed and walked away.

Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA!

Special Programming note: This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE live at 10/9c on TNT!

Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Oakland Arena in Oakland, CA!

And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/EsV-iRW6TTk?si=S-oTV5YMUO87UXV8

Last week was another exciting one in the world of All Elite Wrestling, and it all began with AEW World Champion MJF teaming with AEW World Trios Champions Daddy Ass & The Acclaimed to take on BULLET CLUB GOLD in a wild eight-man tag! Unfortunately for the World Champ, the bout ended with Jay White pinning his shoulders to the mat, but at least it bonded the one Max with the other, and garnered the World Champ with some friends besides Adam Cole. Then on Saturday night at COLLISION, the World Trios Champs got to celebrate 69-Day in a fashion only they could, and capped off their 69th day as champions with a record-setting victory over Dalton Castle & The Boys!

We also saw FTR and LFI defeat the AEW World Tag Champions and The Gates of Agony in their own 8-Man Tag on COLLISION, watched Darby Allin and Lance Archer go to battle in a fight lost by Archer, but one in which he and Jake “The Snake” Roberts garnered new allies in The Righteous. Willow Nightingale defeated Emi Sakura, The Kingdom continued to deliver their #NeckStrong message with a “miracle” for Roderick Strong, and much more as AEW barrels towards the Fabulous Forum for FULL GEAR 2023!

AEW is returning to Portland, OR but this time it’s with DYNAMITE and marking our debut at the Moda Center, the home of the Portland Trailblazers! We’ve got MJF, with FULL GEAR 2023 getting closer, defending his AEW World Championship against Daniel Garcia as well as ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe acecpting the challenge of “Limitless” Keith Lee! Plus Swerve versus Penta, Julia Hart versus Red Velvet, and Mark Briscoe battling Jay White; the action begins at at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, and at AEWPlus.com for international fans. Be sure to drop by the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from last week’s DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as this week’s CONTROL CENTER, plus so much more!

AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

MJF(c) vs. Daniel Garcia

Prior to last Friday night’s edition of RAMPAGE, Daniel Garcia had not competed in an AEW match that wasn’t a tag, trios, or multi-man since the Four Way International Championship match at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, with his last one-on-one encounter being in a top-shelf fight with Dax Harwood only seen by those in attendance for HOUSE RULES: TUPELO on June 2, and his last televised being a loss to Roderick Strong on the May 24th edition of DYNAMITE. As a man whose AEW resume includes victories over Brody King, Ricky Starks, and Bryan Danielson, it has clearly been frustrating for the former ROH Pure Champion, and the interpersonal issues he and his friends have been experiencing since walking away from The Jericho Appreciation Society have not helped matters.

Perhaps that is why Garcia, after his victory over Trent Beretta, chose to grab the microphone and shoot his shot by challenging Maxwell Jacob Friedman to put his AEW World Championship on the line. Clearly Garcia is tired of fighting with his friends, both inside and outside the ring, and tired of feeling overlooked despite being one of the best technical wrestlers in the game today. In Daniel’s eyes this is a fight that should’ve happened a long time ago, not MJF specifically but rather a World Championship opportunity, and he just had to take it upon himself to breath it into existence.

To MJF’s credit (it still somewhat bristles to write that), despite coming off that COLLISION clash with Kenny Omega and the 8-Man bout on DYNAMITE that saw him pinned by Jay White, he still plans to face Daniel Garcia this Wednesday night and to put the AEW World Championship on the line! That means, by the end of DYNAMITE, fans could see the entire face of the FULL GEAR 2023 championship match change! We could end up with Mark Briscoe taking on MJF, or Mark Briscoe versus Daniel Garcia, as well as the possibility of Jay White versus Daniel Garcia, in addition to the scheduled White/MJF bout. There could be a shake-up on the horizon for All Elite Wrestling, but should MJF survive the night with the championship still…well…not in his possession…but at least attached to his name, then he will tie the 9-defense record set by Jon Moxley during his first reign, making FULL GEAR 2023 the night Maxwell could add “most successful” to the “longest reigning” credit in his championship bio.

Can Garcia step up to that next level of competition and conquer AEW’s own devil? Or will Maxwell Jacob Friedman survive another day as champion and be able focus his sights on the KIA Forum, Jay White, and FULL GEAR 2023? The challengers are circling all-around…

ROH WORLD TV CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Samoa Joe(c) vs. Keith Lee

When the calendar turned from Wednesday November 1st to Saturday the 2nd, Samoa Joe officially became the longest-reigning World Television Champion in Ring of Honor history, surpassing Jay Lethal’s record that had stood since October 23, 2015, and with no seeming end in sight. When Samoa Joe walks into Portland on Wednesday night, he will stand with 575 days as champion to his resume, a number that actually puts the ROH Legend just 71 days away from breaking his own 645-day record as ROH World Champion, maintaining Joe’s status as the longest-reigning champion across all titles in ROH’s nearly 22-year history only now with the Television Championship rather than the World.

Though Samoa Joe felt he’d cleared out all challengers after putting down former TV Champion Rhett Titus on the October 28th COLLISION, and has thus devoted a good deal of his focus on MJF’s AEW World Championship, there was a man willing to step up to that challenge this past Saturday night, someone with a bit of ROH experience of their own, but who has never shared the ring with Samoa Joe: “Limitless” Keith Lee!

Though he’s only made one ROH appearance in the new era of honor, that being at FINAL BATTLE 2022, Keith Lee first competed in Ring of Honor, alongside Shane Taylor, on the May 29, 2015 event known as ROAD TO BEST IN THE WORLD 2015: NIGHT 1. Though never title holders, The Pretty Boy Killers (as Keith and Shane were known) did face top teams like The Briscoes, War Machine, and the All Night Express before Keith Lee left Shane Taylor in February 2017 following UNDISPUTED LEGACY. That’s a whole other issue, one Taylor and Lee still need to sort between each other, merely brought up to show that ROH is not unfamiliar territory to Keith Lee.

That bring multiple questions to bear regarding this fight set for Wednesday’s DYNAMITE: will we see Keith Lee return to Ring of Honor as a champion? Can Samoa Joe continue his run as the “King of Television” and press own towards breaking his own championship record come January 19, 2024? Though both men have issues beyond this title fight, Joe with MJF and Keith with Shane Taylor, they will no doubt be focused on the battle at hand, a battle pitting two of the biggest behemoths in All Elite Wrestling or Ring of Honor against one another!

ONE-ON-ONE…

Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe

***FULL GEAR 2023 TITLE SHOT ON THE LINE***

Once upon a time in 2016, a young lion named Jay White left the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo and traveled to the United States on excursion. This is a common happening among the young men coming out of the NJPW Dojo, though the destination is not always the same, and in the case of Jay White it was a year-long voyage to Ring of Honor. Yes he spent time in promotions like RevPro in the UK, fought in American indies like PWG, IWC, and House of Glory, but Ring of Honor was his home until October 28, 2017.

During that time, Jay White would find allies in a group known as Search and Destroy that consisted of White, The Motor City Machine Guns, Lio Rush, and Jonathan Gresham, and with that unit would end up in a several battles with two pillars of Ring of Honor: Jay and Mark Briscoe. One of White’s earliest matches in ROH was a 20-Minute draw with Jay Briscoe, and he would first collide with the brothers from Sandy Fork on the 9/3/16 edition of ROH WRESTLING with Lio Rush at his side. Though that S&D team was unsuccessful, Jay White would find success against The Briscoes at ALL-STAR EXTRAVGANZA VIII when he, ACH, and KUSHIDA defeated Jay, Mark, and Toru Yano in the inaugural World Six-Man Title Tournament and again when he, Lio, Sabin, and Shelley bested Jay, Mark, Silas Young, and Jay Lethal in an 8-Man tag.

As the young lion in those situations, Jay White took his beatings even in victory, and it all helped him prepare for the inevitable birth of “Switchblade” that came with his return to NJPW in November 2017. Jay and Mark would clash with White on one more occasion in May 2022, after “King Switch” had ascended to the head of BULLET CLUB and brought a young man named Chris Bey into the fold, but as it was in their only other straight-up tag match, The Briscoes claimed victory over Jay White and his partner.

All that being said, with that history lesson on the relationship between Mark Briscoe and Jay White, it’s a brand new day and both men are now members of the All Elite Wrestling family. Jay White and his BULLET CLUB GOLD brethren have absconded with MJF’s AEW World Championship title belt, leaving “Switchblade” to walk around AEW and claim himself the true champion. The old saying goes “possession is 9/10ths of the law”, but it’s tantamount to “finder’s keepers, losers weepers” here with Jay White, and Mark Briscoe has decided to put his foot down on the shenanigans he’s watched unfold over the last several weeks.

That is what has led the former 13-Time ROH World Tag Champion to challenge Jay White to this fight on DYNAMITE, a fight in which White’s FULL GEAR 2023 World Championship opportunity will also be on the line! Mark Briscoe’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain with this one, and in just his second match back from injury he could be the next challenger to either MJF or Daniel Garcia. Mark will likely have to contend with the full Bang Bang Gang contingent in Jay’s corner, but perhaps someone in the back with their own BC GOLD issues will be watching Briscoe’s back.

PARA LA FAMILIA…

Swerve Strickland vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

Alex Abrahantes could not have made it more clear; this fight is about something greater than just the match itself. Much like Mark Briscoe standing up for what he sees as wrong, this challenge made to Swerve Strickland on Penta El Zero Miedo’s behalf is also about what the latter sees being done wrong by the former.

After watching what Swerve did at “Hangman” Adam Page’s home, that complete violation beyond the pale of professional wrestling, Penta was disgusted and as a man who cherishes his family, decided to do something about it. So for the first time in AEW, and for the first time since December 2018, Swerve Strickland and Penta El Zero Miedo will go one-on-one on DYNAMITE! History tilts in the favor of Strickland, three previous meetings and all won by the boss of The Mogul Embassy, but this week Penta fights with his family in mind, with Hangman’s family in mind, and that’s the kind of motivation that will push a man to some dark deeds.

Then again, Swerve seems to thrive in those dark deeds as well based on his invasions of both Nick Wayne’s and Hangman Page’s private spaces, and clearly has no issues about crossing the lines decent human beings won’t, and certainly not in the name of a professional wrestling contest. Whose darkness is going to win out in this one-on-one clash?

SINGLES MATCH…

Julia Hart vs. Red Velvet

The last time Julia Hart was inside the squared circle was a month ago at WRESTLEDREAM 2023 after Kris Statlander bested her in their TBS Championship bout. Not only was that night a championship loss for The House of Black member, it was also the loss that snapped a 28-match win streak that Julia had built since May 2, 2022. The other night when The House of Black returned to the COLLISION stage in full force, so too did Julia Hart arrive, and with them the AEW landscape shuddered.

The last time Red Velvet appeared inside an AEW ring was on the February 1st edition of DYNAMITE when she fell to Jade Cargill in their TBS Championship bout, suffering an injury in the process that has kept her out of action for the last nine months.

That marks two things these women have in common, a TBS Championship loss in their last match, and some time off following that fight. Obviously for Velvet it was a far less of a choice to remain away from the ring, where as with Hart it was more of a regrouping alongside The House.

This Wednesday night the path of these two women will intertwine once more, the first time since their bout on the July 19, 2021 edition of DARK: ELEVATION, a match won by Red Velvet on her road to fighting Dr. Britt Baker for the AEW Women’s World Championship on the very first episode of RAMPAGE.

While Velvet has never contended with this dark, twisted version of Julia Hart, neither has Hart dealt with the Red Velvet of today who learned so much from her time as a Baddie, her challenges for the TBS and Women’s World Titles, and the motivation of long-term injury recovery. What will each bring to the table this Wednesday evening, and whose eyes will be watching it go down?

TAG TEAM TUSSLE..

Darby Allin & Sting vs. The Outrunners (Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/AL-tv2XIWKk?si=poR8ke5FEWiRhekU

Ahead of their COLLISION trios bout where Adam Copeland will join Darby Allin and Sting to fight Lance Archer and The Righteous, Darby and “The Icon” will be in tag team action against a team who’s been very impressive in their AEW outings to date: The Outrunners!

The Outrunners, Truth Magnum and Turbo Floyd, have been in the ring with The Acclaimed, Butcher & Blade, The Kings of The Black Throne, Aussie Open, and The Gunns, just to name a few of their AEW opponents, and they’ve managed to impress in their losses.

This Wednesday night they’ve got a huge opportunity when they square off with Darby Allin and Sting on the home stretch of The Icon’s career! This could be the biggest night in the lives of The Outrunners, can they take advantage of the situation, particularly all the damage done to Darby by Lance Archer?

HAVE A SEAT WITH TONY, TONI, & SHIDA..

https://www.youtube.com/embed/UVOiTX_eaQc?si=jzUDbIiju8IVbFAp&start=263

Last week, following Hikaru Shida’s AEW Women’s World Championship defense against Willow Nightingale, Toni Storm made her way to the DYNAMITE stage and stole the spotlight from the champ for the third time. This time Shida had had enough, and as Storm rolled about on the stage, the 3-Time Champion came charging up the ramp, knocking down Luther, and delivering a solid knee strike to Toni’s face.

Storm went scurrying away with Shida in pursuit, but there will be no running this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE when both women, ahead of their FULL GEAR 2023 title fight, sit with Tony Schiavone for a chat! Will tempers flare up and turn this interview into a disaster not seen since THE ROOM?

AEW is back in Portland, OR this Wednesday night for DYNAMITE and our debut at the home of the Portland Trailblazers: the Moda Center! The AEW World Championship will be on the line, as well the ROH World Television Title, plus Swerve Strickland takes on Penta El Zero Miedo, Red Velvet is back in action for the first time in nine months to take on Julia Hart, Mark Briscoe and Jay White clash, and plenty more on top for AEW’s flagship! The night gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, and at AEWPlus.com for international fans so make a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to catch-up on highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as this week’s CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, KY!

Your broadcast team was Excalibur, Paul Wight, and Tony Schiavone!

It’s Friday night and you know what that means!

AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo

vs.

Penta El Zero Miedo

vs.

AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Komander!

Penta hit the Made in Japan on Vikingo, but Komander broke up the pin attempt. Vikingo flew out of the ring with a tope suicida crashing into Komander. Penta served up sling blades to Komander and El Hijo del Vikingo!

Vikingo connected with a phoenix splash onto Komander for a near fall. Penta ran in with a foot stomp to Vikingo. Penta El Zero Miedo flipped over the top rope and wiped out Vikingo and Komander. The QTV crew were watching the match on a monitor backstage.

Penta El Zero Miedo chopped Komander on the chest. Penta cracked Vikingo with a kick in the corner. Vikingo was looking for a dropkick off the ropes, but Komander countered with a powerbomb. Komander attempted a shooting star press, but Penta anticipated it and blocked it with a lung blower.

Vikingo smashed Penta with a poison rana on the ring apron! Penta rocked Komander with the Fear Factor on the edge of the ring. Penta planted Vikingo for a near fall. Vikingo fired back with a kick to Penta’s jaw. Vikingo stunned Penta with a 630 senton but Komander broke up Vikingo’s pin attempt.

Komander used an implosion phoenix splash on Vikingo. Penta grabbed Komander and nailed him with the Fear Factor on top of El Hijo del Vikingo. Penta covered Komander and grabbed the pinfall victory!

Alex Marvez was backstage with Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh!

Sonjay: “Last week I saw that Ortiz was a man down on his luck, defeated by his former best friend. So, I extended an invitation to him to the hottest group in pro wrestling today. And can you believe he said no to me! And there’s no man that knows Eddie Kingston better than Ortiz. He could have ben a big help for us guys.”

Karen Jarrett: “We don’t need him! We never needed him!”

Jeff Jarrett: “Sonjay does everything he can for this group, but the fact of the matter is you’re looking at the greatest faction in all of AEW. And we don’t need any help. And Jay Lethal is the next ROH World Champion.”

Jay Lethal: “You’re damn straight. Ortiz isn’t even a factor. Because when I cash in my ROH champion shot, it’s a one on one, it’s me against Eddie. I will be the next Ring of Honor World Champion. You can bet on that!”

They walked away and then Ortiz walked onto the set!

Ortiz: “Damn, my ears are burning. Somebody was definitely talking about me. I’ll deal with them next week, though.”

The Gunns—Austin & Colten Gunn (with Bullet Club Gold)

vs.

“Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal!

Daniels and Sydal used tandem offense on Austin Gunn. Daniels chopped at Austin. Colten clocked Daniels with a sucker punch.

Colten tagged in and grounded and pounded Daniels. Colten dropkicked Daniels. CD German Suplexed the Gunns and tagged into Sydal. Matt Sydal smashed Austin with the meteora but Colten was there to break up the pin. The Gunns hit the 3:10 to Yuma on Sydal and Austin pinned him!

Austin: “MJF, Dynamite belongs to the Bang Bang Gang. Collision belongs to the Bang Bang Gang. And now Rampage belongs to the Bang Bang Gang. And at Full Gear, November 18th, we take the ROH Tag Team Championships!”

RJ City was backstage with Danhausen!

Danhausen: “No, no, no. I made a mistake. The return is actually next week. Sorry!”

RJ City: “Well, there you have it. Next week, the return of Danhausen.”

Danhausen: “Thank you!”

Alex Marvez was backstage with Ruby Soho and Saraya!

Ruby: “Yeah, I’d say I’ve been having a rough go at it in the ring as of late. I mean, ever since Toni Storm left the Outcasts, we’ve been in a downward spiral. Saraya lost the title. And I lost my opportunity at the title. I really wish you were there for that, Saraya, I’m not going to lie to you.”

Saraya: “Ruby, shut up. Be quiet. You keep talking about Toni like she’s a big star and without her we’d be nothing, when actually it’s the other way around. And without me, you wouldn’t be on TV. I’m sorry, I feel like I’m taking this whole thing out on you. And I just want the best for you. Stick with me and you are going to be a star, kid.”

Angelo Parker walked onto the set and offered to comb Ruby’s hair. “Don’t even think about it,” she said.

Matt Menard walked onto the scene and asked Parker what happened last Wednesday night. “All you had to do was take the bat and take two years of frustration out on Chris Jericho. Smash him in the face and win the match, but you couldn’t do it. You don’t have the dog in you, that’s why you couldn’t do it. I don’t think you have the dog in you. How about it?”

Parker: “Did you ever think that maybe not everyone is as frustrated as you are? I’m gonna go be a friend to Garcia. He’s got a big match tonight.”

Marina Shafir (with Nyla Rose) vs. Skye Blue!

Skye Blue stomped on Marina’s feet, but Marina didn’t even flinch. Marina kicked Skye away. Skye Blue spiked Shafir with a DDT on the apron! Skye Blue clubbed Marina with aggressive forearm shots on the floor.

Marina planted Skye with a Judo throw for a near fall. Skye Blue fired back with a dropkick. Blue blasted Marina with a boot. Marina applied a neck crank on Blue. Skye Blue bit Marina to escape. As Marina was telling the ref, Skye Blue rolled her up for a near fall.

Skye Blue crumbled Marina with a thrust kick and then pinned her after the Code Blue!

Main Event Time!

Daniel Garcia vs. Trent Beretta!

Garcia chopped Trent. Trent charged at Daniel Garcia. Trent hit Garcia with a moonsault off the middle turnbuckle. Trent spiked Garcia on the arena floor with a brainbuster!

Trent superplexed Garcia for a near fall. Trent knocked Garcia down with a short arm lariat. Garcia backdropped Trent. Garcia punched and stomped down Beretta. Garcia charged at Trent with a double knee strike in the corner. Garcia followed up with a brainbuster for a near fall.

Trent rocked Garcia with a half and half suplex and then the Death Valley Driver for a two-count. Garcia came back with German Suplexes of his own. Trent and Garcia battered one another with elbow strikes. Trent spiked Garcia with a piledriver for a two-count!

Garcia did his dance and the blasted Trent with a piledriver. Garcia applied the cross face and Trent tapped out!

Garcia: “Man, I don’t know about y’all, but Daniel Garcia has a very good track of time. And I’ve been keeping score, alright. So, because I’m so good at keeping time, it has been six months since Daniel Garcia has had a singles match at AEW. I feel like there’s one way to jump in the line at AEW. And that is winning a title.

“I have a fetish for greed. I have a fetish for gold. That’s why I’m calling out the biggest dog…MJF! I know you got a lot of targets on your back. But I promise you there’s not a person in the back that wants that belt more than I do. So, Max if you’re up for the test to step in the ring with one of the best professional wre—, sports entertainers in the world, you know where to find me!”

Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Moda Center in Portland, OR!

Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, KS featuring:

-AEW World Trios Champs The Acclaimed’s 69 Day Championship Celebration!

-Swerve Strickland vs. AR Fox!

-Willow Nightingale vs. Emi Sakura!

-Darby Allin vs. The “MurderHawk Monster” Lance Archer!

-8-Man Tag Match: FTR, Rush, & Preston Vance

vs. AEW World Tag Champs Ricky Starks & Big Bill, & ROH 6-Man Champs Gates of Agony!

And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**
Tonight’s AEW COLLISION & Battle of the Belts VIII was broadcast live from the FedExForum in Memphis, TN!
Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly and Tony Schiavone were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Saturday night and you know what that means! Saturday night’s alright for fighting!
Dream Match!
Andrade El Idolo
vs.
Blackpool Combat Club’s “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson!
They chain wrestled to start the match, both men having a feeling out process. Bryan wrenched Andrade’s neck with a bow and arrow type submission. Andrade escaped and smiled at Danielson.
Andrade was looking for the figure four, but Danielson kicked him away. Danielson and Andrade traded chops. Bryan began switching it up with kicks to Andrade. And then a headbutt. Danielson jumped off the apron with a running knee strike to Andrade.
Andrade connected with a flying forearm. Andrade sent Danielson outside with a springboard dropkick. Andrade moonsaulted out of the ring and onto Danielson.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Andrade smashed Danielson with a split legged moonsault for a near fall. Danielson headbutted Andrade and followed up with a dropkick from the top rope. Andrade came back with a dragon screw leg whip. Andrade had Bryan in the Tree of Woe and squashed him with a double stomp from the top.
Danielson countered Andrade’s moonsault by raising his knees. He stomped on Andrade’s head and then applied the LeBell Lock. Andrade escaped and trapped Danielson in the figure four. Danielson grabbed the ropes to force the ref break. Danielson and Andrade traded cradles and pin attempts, with Danielson ultimately getting the win!
“Both men wanted the best, and they got the best. But it was Bryan Danielson who got lucky tonight with a quick rollup of Andrade El Idolo,” said Nigel.
The arena lights went dark!
They turned back on, and Malakai Black was in the center of the ring! Black knocked out Danielson with a spin kick! The BCC ran to the ring, but the lights went out again. When the lights returned, Malakai Black had vanished.
Skye Blue vs. Hollyhood Haley!
Skye Blue shoved Haley. Blue knocked Hollyhood off her feet, mounted her, and grounded and pounded her. Skye connected with a thrust kick and followed up with a running powerbomb. Skye Blue rolled up Haley and pinned her.
Bullet Club Gold’s The Gunns—Austin & Colten Gunn (with “Switchblade” Jay White)
vs.
Outrunners!
Turbo used an arm drag on Colten. Colten fired back with a stiff strike and then he stomped Turbo in the corner of the ring.
Austin tagged in and rammed the Outrunners together. The Gunns finished things off with the 3:10 to Yuma and pinned Turbo.
“Mission statement from the Gunns tonight, they want gold,” said Kevin Kelly.
After the match, the lights in the arena went dark! A man in a Devil mask was watching on from somewhere in the arena.
“Man, Jay White looks spooked,” said Kevin Kelly.
The fans chanted “MJF! MJF! MJF!”
Memphis Street Fight!
ROH World & NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston
vs.
Jeff Jarrett (with Karen Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, and Jay Lethal)!
If Jeff Jarrett wins, Jay Lethal get a Ring Of Honor World Championship Match.
Legendary Memphis announcer Dave Brown joined commentary for this match.
Jarrett swung a trash can lid at Kingston and Kingston blocked it. Kingston whacked Jeff with a kendo stick. Jarrett blasted Eddie with a cooler. Jeff rammed Eddie into the guardrail.
Kingston squeezed ketchup and mustard on Jarrett. Karen distracted Eddie and then Jay Lethal rocked Eddie with a cutter off the ramp and then through a table!
Back in the ring, Jeff cracked Eddie with a lead pipe on the leg. Jarrett went to work on Eddie’s leg and knee with a trash can! Jarrett bashed Eddie with a bar tabletop. Jarrett locked in the figure four in the center of the ring. Eddie flipped off Jeff!
Kingston reversed the figure four. Jay Lethal jumped off the top rope but Eddie rolled out of the way. Eddie chopped Lethal and Jarrett in the chest. Kingston fired off machine gun chops. Karen got in the ring and distracted Eddie, but Eddie cracked Jeff with a spinning back fist for a near fall.
Jeff Jarrett went for the Lethal Injection, but Eddie countered with a half and half. Kingston wiped out Satnam with a guitar shot. Jeff smashed Eddie with the Stroke for a near fall! Satnam choke slammed Eddie and then Jarrett hit another Stroke. Lethal connected with the Lethal Injection. Jarrett covered Eddie and pinned him.
“This is an absolute mugging,” said Nigel.
Action Andretti vs. “The Redeemer” Miro!
“Hot and flexible” CJ Perry came down to the ring before the match started, taking a ringside seat to scout things.
Miro battered Action in the corner. Andretti dropkicked Miro as Miro came rushing in. Miro clubbed Andretti with a lariat. Action came back with a jawbreaker to Miro.
Miro ate a kick from Andretti. Action rocked Miro with shots in the corner, but Miro shoved him away. Action flipped over the top rope with a tope con hiro and landed on Miro, right in front of CJ Perry on the floor.
Miro countered a cross body by planting Andretti. Miro went for the Game Over, but Action slipped out and then spiked Miro with a DDT! Action followed up with a shotgun dropkick! Action hit a springboard 450 but Miro kicked out immediately. Miro stunned Action with a thrust kick and then applied the Game Over. The ref stopped the match and awarded the victory to Miro.
Eddie Kingston was backstage getting stitched up.
Kingston: “Jay Lethal, do you know why I made you jump through hoops to earn this title shot? It’s because you call a man who’s not your blood ‘uncle.’ The Jay Lethal I knew used to love pro wrestling, until you started hanging out with Jeff Jarrett. You are not a pro wrestler anymore, Jay. You are Jeff Jarrett’s bitch. You’ve lost your way. Get your title shot. Go ahead, congrats, but you better find your way before you come at me again.”
FTR—Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler
vs.
Bad Thad Brown & Darian Bengston!
Bad Thad took advantage of Cash having his back turned but Cash came right back with a press slam.
The arena lights went out again! When the lights returned, Malakai Black was standing in the ring!
“It’s Malakai Black again!” said Tony Schiavone.
The lights went back out. This time when the lights came back on, the House of Black were standing there, and they ambushed FTR! Brody King cracked Cash with the cast on his wrist!
“The House of Black returning to Collision tonight with authority,” said Kevin Kelly.
Main Event Time!
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match!
Big Bill & “Absolute” Ricky Starks (c.)
vs.
Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta!
Jim Ross joined the broadcast team to provide his main event analysis.
Big Bill mauled Yuta with overhead chops. Wheeler fought back but after being distracted by Starks, Big Bill shoved Yuta off the apron. Starks whipped Yuta into the guardrail.
Big Bill planted Yuta with a Big Bossman slam! Bill hammered Yuta with an elbow drop. Claudio tagged in and cleaned house on Starks with European Uppercuts! Claudio clubbed Starks with lariats in the corner, shot after shot stinging Starks. Claudio dropkicked Starks after a single ax handle off the ropes.
Claudio had a full head of steam and ran around the ring and cracked Starks with a European Uppercut, and then dished out a massive uppercut to Big Bill! Claudio connected with a running lariat on Starks in the center of the ring.
Claudio put Starks in the Giant Swing! Yuta dropkicked the head of Starks. Big Bill ran in and tried to chokeslam Claudio and Yuta at the same time, but the BCC fought out of his grip. Yuta climbed to the top of Claudio’s back for the Fast Ball Special, but the House of Black ran to the ring and knocked Claudio down. Starks speared Yuta and pinned Yuta after the Rochambeau!
The House of Black circled the tag champs after the match. The House of Black triple teamed Wheeler Yuta. Danielson sprinted down but Starks and Brody stomped on him. FTR intervened, trying to even up the odds, but the House of Black had them outnumbered with the assistance of Big Bill and Ricky Starks.
Jon Moxley returned! He entered the fray, and he threw Buddy Matthews out of the ring! The FTR and the BCC teamed up, forcing the House of Black and Starks and Big Bill to retreat! Starks entered the ring again, thinking the House of Black were behind him, but they left him on his own. FTR hit Starks with the Big Rig!
“The House of Black have made their statement tonight!” said Nigel.
Battle Of The Belts VIII began…
AEW International Championship Match!
“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy (c.)
vs.
Dark Order’s John Silver (with Alex Reynolds)!
As Orange Cassidy was making his entrance, Moxley was leaving the ring. They bumped into each other on the ramp and then had to be pulled apart. Moxley had to be held back.
John Silver cracked Cassidy with kicks on the ring apron. Orange climbed to the top turnbuckle. Silver grabbed him and planed him face first across the ring apron! Back in the ring, Orange tried for a backslide, but Silver escaped. Orange came back with the Stun Dog Millionaire and then the Beach Break for a near fall!
Alex Reynolds grabbed the title belt and cracked Cassidy in the head with it. Silver rolled up Orange for a near fall. Silver nailed Orange with an airplane spin type maneuver for a two-count. Orange pulped Silver with the Orange Punch and pinned Silver!
Lexy Nair interviewed Andrade El Idolo backstage!
Andrade was interrupted by CJ Parker. She said with a little guidance, he could become the biggest wrestling star in the world.
Tony Nese (with “Smart” Mark Sterling)
vs.
ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe!
Samoa Joe jabbed at Nese. Tony Nese kicked Joe and back elbowed him. Nese went for a moonsault, but Joe stepped out of the way. Samoa Joe steamrolled right over Tony Nese! Samoa Joe finished off Tony Nese with the Muscle Buster and pinned him!
Samoa Joe: “MJF…tonight I bring you a gift, my friend. The gift of foresight and what you foresee is that I am coming for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship. Now Max, what you do with this gift is very, very important.
“You can give me what I want, or Max, I can put you in a position where you are forced to give me what I want. Because I am Samoa Joe, the one true king of television, and I will be the next AEW World Heavyweight Champion!”
TBS Championship Match!
Kris Statlander (c.) vs. Willow Nightingale!
Kris leapfrogged Willow and then knocked her down with a shoulder tackle. Outside the ring, Willow rammed Kris into the steel post. Willow followed up with a cannonball against the steel steps.
Willow cracked Kris with rapid fire headbutts. Willow hurled Kris across the ring. She caught Kris in the corner and clocked her with rapid fire lariats. Kris swept out Willow’s legs and connected with a somersault senton. Kris dazed Willow with a Saturday Night Fever Blue for a near fall.
Willow charged at Kris with a big pounce! Kris spiked Willow with a DDT for a near fall! Willow hoisted up Kris and planted her with an avalanche Death Valley Driver off the top for a two-count!
Willow choked Kris and crashed into Kris with a cannonball in the corner. Willow climbed to the top, but Kris got up and powerbombed Willow! Kris splashed Willow with a 450 and pinned Willow!
Kris offered her hand to Willow but Skye Blue ran down and told Willow to refuse. Willow thought about it and then accepted Kris’ hand. Willow walked away without Skye Blue.
Skye Blue looked disgusted as Willow walked away from her.
Lexy Nair interviewed AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy backstage!
“Jon Moxley, you got in my face. Your friends, Claudio, Bryan, they got in my face. I don’t care about Yuta. How about Bryan and Claudio meet me and Okada in Philadelphia this Wednesday on Dynamite. And then we can fight.”
Main Event Time!
AEW World Trios Championship Match!
The Acclaimed—Anthony Bowens and Max Caster, & Daddy Ass (c.)
vs.
Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, & Daniel Garcia!
Anna Jay jumped into the ring to stop Garcia from doing his dance. The ref ejected Anna Jay from the ring. Matt Menard seized the moment and blindsided Bowens.
Bowens fought back with strikes to Menard and Parker. Daddy Ass tagged in, and he and Bowens dropped a double elbow on Menard. Caster hit a double ax handle from the top rope on Menard. Garcia tagged in and put the boots to Caster.
Bowens was triple teamed in the corner. Daddy Ass tagged in and cleaned house on all three members of the competition. He scoop slammed Menard. Bowens smashed Menard with the Scissor Me Timbers.
Garcia went to do his dance, but Caster rolled him up from behind for a near fall. Garcia clotheslined Caster and then danced. Daddy Ass smashed Garcia with the Fame Asser. The Acclaimed planted Garcia and Bowens pinned him!
“He shouldn’t have danced,” said Tony Schiavone.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
Article source: allelitewrestling.com

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, TX!

Your broadcast team was Excalibur and Tony Schiavone!

It’s Friday night and you know what that means!

2/3 Falls Match!

CMLL’s World Historic Middleweight Champion, the Luchador Legend Mistico

vs.

CMLL World Historic Welterweight Champion Rocky “Azucar” Romero!

Rocky ran into Mistico with a shoulder block. Rocky hit an arm drag but Mistico used an arm drag of his own. There was a stalemate early on.

Mistico came over the top with a tornillo, taking out Rocky on the arena floor. After a Russian leg sweep, Mistico wrenched back on Rocky’s knee and forced Rocky to tap, taking the first fall.

Rocky Romero tore at Mistico’s mask, and the ref had to warn him to stop. Rocky charged Mistico and took him off his feet with his Forever Clotheslines. Mistico clubbed Rocky with elbows but Rocky snap suplexed Mistico on the apron! Rocky followed up with a tope suicida!

Rocky superplexed Mistico back into the ring for a near fall. Rocky locked in the camel clutch in the center of the ring. Rocky stomped the back of Mistico’s head. Rocky pinned Mistico after the Sliced Bread!

“One fall apiece. This match is now sudden death,” said Excalibur.

Mistico took flight, jumping over the post and crashing onto Romero on the arena floor! Mistico scoop slammed Rocky. Mistico went for a moonsault but Rocky got his boots up to defend. Rocky blasted Mistico with an avalanche sliced bread but somehow Mistico kicked out at the two-count!

Mistico rocked Romero with the Spanish Fly for a near fall. Rocky smashed Mistico with a jawbreaker. Mistico planted Rocky with a destroyer. Mistico forced Rocky to tap out after the Fujiarwa armbar.

Footage was shown from last Wednesday of Jay Lethal and ROH World Champion facing off backstage!

Lethal: “You only want that championship because it was held by your trainer Homicide. Let me put an end to this sad reign. So, I demand that I get a Ring of Honor World Title shot!”

Stokely Hathaway said he had an idea. This Saturday, it’ll be Jeff Jarrett versus Eddie Kingston, and if Jeff wins, Jay Lethal will get a shot at the ROH World Championship.

Kingston: “You don’t have to mention Homicide’s name. You think I don’t know about Memphis wrestling, Jeff? I grew up on that. I’m going to take you out and I’m going to eat you alive.”

Jarrett: “See you Saturday.”

Three Way Match!

AEW International Championship Contender Match!

Brother Zay vs. Dark Order’s John Silver vs. Kip Sabian!

The winner challenges at Battle of the Belts VIII.

Brother Zay slipped behind and nailed Kip with a neck breaker. John Silver clubbed Zay from behind. Silver stunned Sabian with a German Suplex for a near fall.

Sabian swept out Silver’s leg. Kip took flight with an Arabian moonsault to Silver. Brother Zay jumped over the top rope and took out everyone with his perfect landing. Zay connected with a Swanton Bomb on Kip for a near fall. John Silver punted Brother Zay in the head and pinned him.

John Silver will face Orange Cassidy tomorrow for the AEW International Championship.

Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta

vs.

“The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith & Exodus Prime!

Bryan booted Yuta in the face and chopped Yuta, backing him into the corner. Yuta suplexed Keith. Exodus Prime tagged in, and Yuta catapulted him into Claudio’s arms, and Claudio planted him!

Claudio put Prime in the Giant Swing! He swung Prime and Yuta dropkicked Prime in the head! They finished things off with the Fastball Special, and Yuta grabbed the pin on Prime!

Renee Paquette was backstage with Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, Jake Hager, and Anna Jay!

Menard: “It’s not about the dancing anymore. You’ve got a real problem Garcia.”

Hager: “Enough! Figure this out! I didn’t give up the hat for this!”

Anna: “Jake’s right. If you guys have any chance of winning tomorrow, then get it together right now.”

Angelo: “She’s right. If we want to win tomorrow, Matt and Garcia need to squash it.”

Menard: “I hate that dance, Garcia, but I love you. Consider it squashed.”

Garcia and Menard shook hands.

Garcia: “You are looking at your new AEW Trios Champions.”

ROH World Trios Champs The Young Bucks and “Hangman” Adam Page were backstage!

Hangman: “We haven’t forgotten about our responsibility to defend these belts.”

Nick Jackson: “Good point. And I think we should defend them on Wednesday. We’ll take on anyone! An open challenge for any trio.”

Main Event Time!

Skye Blue vs. The Outcasts’ Ruby Soho (with Saraya)!

Skye Blue peppered Ruby with shots and then grabbed a handful of hair. Ruby drove Skye down with a back heel kick. Ruby followed up with a short arm lariat. Skye connected with a thrust kick. Skye charged at Ruby, but Ruby telegraphed it and countered with an elbow.

Ruby rocked Skye, punting her in the head. Skye raked Ruby’s eyes. Skye cracked Ruby with her knee and then chop blocked Ruby. Skye hit a DDT neck breaker combo on Ruby for a near fall.

Saraya grabbed Blue’s boot. Ruby capitalized with a suplex on Skye for a two-count.

“The numbers coming back to haunt Skye Blue,” said Excalibur.

Skye Blue powerbombed Ruby out of the corner. She grounded and pounded Ruby. Skye popped Saraya with a shot! Ruby connected with the No Future Kick, but Skye managed to kick out! Skye countered the Destination Unknown with a backslide for a near fall.

Saraya swiped Skye in the head twice with the can of spray paint. Ruby rolled up Skye Blue and pinned her!

“A major assist from Saraya,” said Excalibur.

Saraya and Ruby stomped on Skye Blue after the match.

The TBS Champion Kris Statlander sprinted to the ring and evened up the odds. The Outcasts retreated. Kris offered to help Skye to her feet, but Skye bailed out, wanting no assistance from Kris Statlander.

Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA!

Don’t miss AEW Collision & Battle of the Belts VIII on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN!

And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s AEW COLLISION was broadcast live from the Huntington Center in Toledo, OH!

Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly and Tony Schiavone were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.

It’s Saturday night and you know what that means! Saturday night’s alright for fighting!

The “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland came out to the ring to kick off the show!

Adam Copeland: “This week on Dynamite, Christian Cage had a whole lot of things to say. In his deluded mind, I think he actually believes them. I had to come out here and address what he had to say…”

Christian Cage’s music began to play!

The TNT Champion walked onto the ramp with Nick Wayne, Luchasaurus, and a team of AEW security!

Christian Cage: “You gotta lot of nerve and you really proved my point. You really think you’re that special, huh? You just walk out here on Collision, my show, by the way, take up this opening segment while I’m in the main event. That doesn’t sit right with me, so I brought my security detail out here because I’m sure you’re upset with what I said. But this security is for your protection, not mine.

“I’m just going to cut to the chase here. Why don’t you nicely step out of that ring, walk back up that ramp, and hit the bricks, because you see what’s going to happen if you stick around much longer here in AEW? It’s going to be like you’re from Toledo, Ohio, because it’s like you’ll be known for nothing.

“So, get to stepping or I’ll have my security team remove you. Just like I had the BCC escorted from the arena so there won’t be any funny business tonight with Bryan Danielson. I want a straight up fight with Bryan Danielson, and I know that’s not going to happen if you’re here and they’re here. I’m going to prove what I have known all along, as the TNT Champion, I am without a doubt the best wrestler in the world.”

“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson walked down the ramp!

Danielson: “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You know, Christian Cage, I’m happy to hear that you want a fair fight because I’ve got some news for you. I’ve talked to Tony Khan and in the interest of having a fair fight, Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne have been banned from ringside.

“And now we’re going to find out between you and me, who is the better man and who deserves to be the TNT Champion!”

“Absolute” Ricky Starks and Big Bill—the AEW Tag Team Champions, walked down the ring next!

Ricky Starks: “No, no, no. I’m looking at a bunch of guys who are taking up my time, and Big Bill’s time. So, excuse me for breaking up this little bash here but I’ll be damned if I let it go any longer. And truthfully speaking, I have no respect for you Adam Copeland, I have no respect for you Bryan. But I have respect for you, Christian, the only AEW Champion who stands in this ring until, well, right now.”

Ricky Starks stepped into the ring.

Ricky Starks: “Bryan Danielson, don’t think I forgot about the things I had to do to deal with you and the BCC and all this other crap. The difference between you and me, Bryan, is I’m actually a real AEW champion. So, if you two don’t like what I said, how about you guys get with me and my friends and we can do the damn thing right now, if it’s a fight you’re looking for.”

FTR—Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood—walked to the ring next!

Cash Wheeler: “Seven days ago AEW medical gave us an option. They said we didn’t have to go out and defend the titles because we are banged up. But the show must go on, so we said we’d defend the titles. Obviously, that was the wrong choice. But that doesn’t make you, Ricky and Big Bill, the best tag team on the planet. That is reserved for FTR.

“So maybe we don’t get an immediate rematch. That’s fine. We will earn a rematch. But titles or not, you gotta now we’re coming for those necks.”

Dax Harwood: “Everybody is banged up. We all gotta work and we made a decision and last week, one night only, you were better than FTR. And I heard you and your friends wanted a fight. And Saturday night’s alright for a fight, Toledo.”

Danielson: “And speaking of that, Christian Cage, why don’t you and I do our match right now!”

Security charged at Danielson, Copeland, and FTR! Luchasaurus, Nick Wayne, and Christian Cage high tailed it out of the ring and Danielson, Copeland, and FTR cleaned house on the security!

Ring Of Honor World TV Championship Match!

Samoa Joe (c.) vs. Willie Mack!

Willie tried a shoulder block on Samoa Joe and Joe didn’t budge. Samoa Joe rammed into Willie Mack and knocked him off his feet! Samoa Joa jabbed at Willie Mack in the corner turnbuckles.

Willie Mack fired off the ropes with a leg lariat. He connected with a plancha on Samoa Joe!

Willie crushed Samoa Joe with a cannonball in the corner! Samoa Joe booted Willie and then splashed him with a running senton for a near fall.

Samoa Joe powerslammed Willie Mack for a two-count. Willie nailed Joe with a cutter in the center of the ring for a near fall. Willie climbed to the top for the 6-star frog splash, but Samoa Joe countered with a muscle buster! Samoa Joe covered Willie and pinned him!

Lexy Nair was backstage with “the hot and flexible” CJ Perry!

CJ Perry: “I would ask my future clients if they ever sat on the side and felt like someone else was getting the spotlight? If you feel that way, I know exactly how you feel. That’s the story of my life and I am here to help guide people in AEW. So, if you’re in the locker room and you want to become champion, come find the woman that helps make men.”

Action Andretti walked onto the set.

Action: “CJ, I’ve gotta say, I feel like I could really benefit from having someone like you guide and manage me. And I’m just one phone call away. And if you don’t know, now you know I’m Action Andretti.”

CJ: “Nice to meet you. Can’t wait to get a call.”

Juice Robison (with Bullet Club Gold)

vs.

“Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels!

Daniels took down Juice with an arm drag. CD applied the pressure on Juice.

Juice rocketed Daniels into the ropes, throat first. Juice charged at Daniels with a stiff elbow shot. Juice jabbed at the Fallen Angel. Juice followed up with a standing senton for a near fall. Christopher Daniels suplexed Juice and hit Juice with an STO.

Daniels smashed Juice with a high angle Death Valley Driver. Daniels tried for the Angels Wings, but Juice shoved Daniels into the turnbuckles. Juice crushed CD with a running cannonball. Juice planted Daniels and pinned him.

“The juice is loose. Juice Robinson now sets his sights on Wednesday night as part of the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale to see who will go on to face MJF for the Dynamite Diamond ring,” said Tony Schiavone.

“Jay White versus Penta El Zero Miedo as well,” added Kevin Kelly.

After the match, “Switchblade” Jay White placed a ring on Juice’s finger. The Gunns held up Christopher Daniels and Juice clocked Daniels with the lethal left hand!

Juice Robinson: “MJF, you think you’re the only man in the world who can knock a guy out with a ring on his fist? I’ve been knocking losers out like you for years with nothing on this hand. In fact, this ring right here, I got from TJ Maxx. It ain’t the ring when it comes to the Stray Bullet. It’s the left hand I got, and I don’t need anything on it. Wednesday after I win your little battle royal, I’m gonna take that ring from you Max and then we’re gonna take a trip to the local pawn shop. And we’re gonna pawn that and the Bang Bang Gang will go on a vacation.”

“Switchblade” Jay White: “Look Max, when you wonder why this is all happening to you, you have one boy to blame and that is MJF. You see, MJF, you brought this all on yourself when you jumped me from behind in your devil mask with your paid off gimp squad because we all know you have no friends.

“So now your world is falling apart, and it starts when Juice takes your precious little ring, and it culminates at Full Gear when your world crumbles for good when I am officially crowned the AEW World Heavyweight Champion! Guns up!”

A vignette aired for Dustin Rhodes!

Dustin Rhodes: “Well Houston, we have a problem! Because I am the storm. ‘The Natural’ Dustin Rhodes is coming back to Texas where he belongs. And Dustin Rhodes today, in 2023, is as good as he’s ever been. And this Wednesday, I am coming to win the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal. And then MJF, I’m coming for that diamond ring, but more importantly, a chance for a lifelong dream of mine—to become the AEW World Heavyweight Champion. My path to glory starts this Wednesday night on TBS where it all began and where legends live forever!”

Lexy Nair was backstage with Nick Wayne! Lexy informed him that this Wednesday he would have a sit down interview with Jim Ross and Nick Wayne’s mom!

Nick Wayne: “A sit down interview? With my mom? For what? The whole world wants to know what I did to Darby Allin and apparently my mom wants to know? Then I guess they can find out on Dynamite.”

Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher vs. Iron Savages’ Boulder!

Boulder shoved Fletcher to the mat. Fletcher applied a side headlock. Fletcher clubbed Boulder with forearms. Boulder press slammed Kyle Fletcher.

Fletcher rocked Boulder with a leg lariat, knocking Boulder to the arena floor. Fletcher flew over the top rope with a dive onto Boulder!

Kyle Fletcher powerbombed Boulder from the top rope. Fletcher locked on the dragon sleeper and made Boulder tap out!

“Interesting with the dragon sleeper,” said Tony Schiavone.

Renee Paquette was backstage with the AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass!

Billy Gunn: “We have been Trios Champs for 48 days!”

Max Caster: “I just hope MJF sees all the hard work we’ve been putting in.”

Billy Gunn: “We have to work on your relationship skills because they’re absolutely rotten.”

Anthony Bowens: “The Twitter stuff, it’s all a bit aggressive. We can make friends and we can help you make friends.”

Billy and Anthony coached Caster with a few pointers and told him to try them on Renee for practice. Caster asked Renee about the “Oral Sessions” and totally offended her.

Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, Daniel Garcia and Jake Hager crashed the interview.

Menard: “Real smooth, idiot.”

Parker: “MJF thinks you’re an absolute loser.”

Menard: “How about Memphis, you put those titles on the line. We’re getting a taste of the title.”

Caster: “We’ll see you in Memphis!”

TBS Championship Match!

Kris Statlander (c.) vs. Skye Blue!

Skye Blue’s demeanor has changed since Julia Hart blew mist in her eyes. Blue grabbed a handful of Kris’ hair. Skye Blue cracked Kris with a back elbow.

Skye Blue nailed Kris with a neck breaker across the ropes. Kris fired back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Blue planted Kris with a satellite DDT for a two-count.

Blue hit an avalanche powerbomb. Blue jumped off the top rope with a crossbody, but Statlander countered with a powerslam. Blue rocked Kris with thrust kicks. Statlander caught Blue with Saturday Night Fever and pinned Skye Blue!

Statlander tried to help up Skye Blue after the match. Skye Blue slapped away Kris’ hand. Willow Nightingale sprinted to the ring to try to talk some sense into Skye.

Kyle Fletcher was backstage!

Fletcher: “First off, I want to send some well wishes to Mark Davis. But saying that, Davis being out gives me an opportunity to prove that on my own two feet, I am one of the best professional wrestlers in this world. There is a man in this company that I consider to be the measuring stick. This Wednesday I am calling you out, Kenny Omega, and I will prove I am one of the best, with or without someone in my corner!”

“Limitless” Keith Lee vs. The Outrunners’ Turbo Floyd!

Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty of Shane Taylor Promotions had a vested interest, watching this match on a monitor backstage.

Keith Lee threw Floyd over his head! Lee pounced on Turbo Floyd! Keith Lee powerbombed Floyd and pinned him!

“The Redeemer” Miro was backstage with some thought provoking words…and actions!

Miro: “The last few weeks have been testing with my wife being around. But I know what’s going to happen now that she’s here. Because evil seduces you under bright lights. So now she’ll be surrounded by all the things she loves. Let this be a warning, I am willing to destroy every man to protect the one woman. This is the promise of the Redeemer!”

Miro threw Action Andretti to the ground!

Main Event Time!

TNT Championship Match!

Christian Cage (c.) vs. “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson!

Jim Ross joined the broadcast booth to provide main event analysis.

Danielson worked over Cage in a bow and arrow submission move. Danielson whipped Christian Cage into the steel barricade. Danielson followed up with a running dropkick. Danielson threw Christian Cage back into the ring and worked on Christian Cage’s knee.

Christian Cage charged at Danielson, but Danielson back dropped Cage out of the ring. Danielson sprinted at Christian Cage, looking for a tope suicida, but Christian Cage countered with a massive uppercut!

“What a smart move by the TNT Champion,” said Jim Ross.

Danielson tried to suplex Christian off the ring apron, but Christian kicked Danielson and shoved him into the ring post. Chrisitan Cage planted Danielson with a hammerlock slam on the apron, right on Danielson’s surgically repaired arm!

They jockeyed for position on the top turnbuckle. Danielson headbutted Cage, knocking him off the turnbuckles. Bryan rocked Cage with a diving headbutt. Christian Cage was busted wide open!

Danielson clobbered Christian Cage with toxic round kicks. Danielson jumped onto Christian with a tope suicida.

The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”

Christian Cage poked Danielson in the eye. Christian followed up with a frog splash for a near fall! Christian was looking for the Kill Switch, but Danielson countered with kicks to Cage’s sternum. Danielson missed a round kick and Christian planted him on his face! Christian Cage charged at Danielson, looking for the spear, but Danielson countered with a knee! Danielson blasted Christian with a stiff kick for a near fall!

Danielson captured Christian’s wrists and stomped on his head. Danielson ran towards Christian, ready to hit with his knee strike, but Christian Cage countered with a spear! Christian planted Bryan with the Kill Switch but somehow Bryan kicked out at two!

Christian ran at Danielson with another spear, but Danielson dodged it! Danielson hit the running knee on Christian Cage! Danielson covered Cage but Cage kicked out! Danielson applied the Le Bell Lock! Christian reached the ropes with his boots. Danielson pulled Christian back to the center of the ring and tried for the Le Bell Lock again, but his damaged arm wouldn’t allow him to complete the hold and lock it in.

Big Bill came to the ring and distracted the ref! Ricky Starks jumped into the ring and blasted Danielson in the head with his tag team title belt! Christian covered Danielson and pinned him!

“It took three guys to get it done,” said Jim Ross.

After the match, Luchasaurus, Nick Wayne, Big Bill, and Ricky Starks stomped and kicked Danielson! FTR rushed down to help even up the odds for Danielson! Adam Copeland hit the ring and hit anything that moved! Copeland was going toe to toe with Luchasaurus! FTR clobbered Big Bill, knocking him out of the ring! Big Bill pulled Starks out of the ring before FTR could inflict anymore punishment. Copeland booted Luchasaurus right in the face and out of the ring! Copeland speared Nick Wayne!

“You asked for it, kid, you got it,” said Tony Schiavone.

Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, TX!

And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/agb0ZK1xtG4?si=dpib56vvebzJ5MYR

All Elite Wrestling has made it abundantly clear that Saturday night’s alright for fighting, and this Saturday on COLLISION will be no different! With AEW’s debut at Toledo’s Huntington Center, there are three championship fights on tap with the TBS, the TNT, and ROH World TV Championships at stake. The first contested between Kris Statlander and Skye Blue with the second between defending champion Christian Cage and challenger Bryan Danielson, the man who defeated Swerve Strickland on DYNAMITE: TITLE TUESDAY to earn the opportunity! As for the latter, as Samoa Joe nears a championship record currently held by Jay Lethal, he welcomes the challenge of Willie Mack! These two hard-hitting big men are looking forward to throwing down in Toledo, and we know Joe also has his eye on the prize currently around MJF’s waist: the AEW World Championship!

COLLISION is back at its normal start time of 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT on TNT, so make a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!

TNT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Christian Cage(c) vs. “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson

https://www.youtube.com/embed/J2A8-uKBmio?si=UBRAusKhonnFbIkV&start=513

When last we saw Christian Cage he was trapped in Bryan Danielson’s LaBell Lock, with best friend Adam Copeland looking on, as DYNAMITE:TITLE TUESDAY faded to black. The efforts of Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne to bring harm to Adam after he bested Cage’s “Right Hand of Destruction” were ultimately for naught as a scene also involving Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, The Gates of Agony, Swerve Strickland, and Hangman Page played out until it was just Bryan, Copeland, and Christian left inside the squared circle.

Though there is clearly a level of respect between The BCC and Adam Copeland, the primary reason for Danielson’s involvement in this entire scenario is the TNT Championship. Earlier in the night, in the opening match of DYNAMITE, Bryan Danielson survived the fight with Swerve Strickland, with a little help from Hangman to prevent Swerve’s cheating, to earn this shot at the TNT Championship. Danielson, coming off victories over Swerve, Zack Sabre Jr. Ricky Starks, and Kyle Fletcher, not to mention defeating Kazuchika Okada with a broken arm, is operating on a level unlike any he has before. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that this is his last full-time year in professional wrestling that is driving him to that next echelon, perhaps it’s because he chose to share that information with the world that is really causing him to push himself harder than ever before.

Whatever the case may be, Christian Cage has to be prepared to deal with a version of Danielson unlike any with which he is familiar, and these two are rather familiar with one another. Though it’s been since February 17, 2014 that they last went one-on-one, they shared the ring here in All Elite Wrestling as friends on October 2021, and before either called AEW home, they’d been on opposite sides of the ring as far back as May 12, 2006 at Ring of Honor’s HOW WE ROLL event.

But just as this Danielson is unlike any version of the man Christian Cage has faced, so too is this TNT Champion version of Christian a far worse, far more vile, far more despicable man than “The American Dragon” has dealt with previously. Cage’s list of crimes and insults has been well documented, the official AEW YouTube Page even has a playlist detailing his despicable act, and his (ab)use of Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne has only made it even clearer how low Christian Cage will stoop to claim he is the greatest wrestler in the world.

Given that Bryan is frequently labeled with that G.O.A.T tag, Cage might consider this a battle of the greatest to do it, but that would require the TNT Champion to actually recognize anyone else as being close to his level, and the AEW faithful know that Christian gives credit to no man or woman other than himself. So on Saturday night, when COLLISION comes to Toledo for the very first time, can Bryan Danielson defy the odds and Cage’s willingness to cut any corners and finally capture his first championship in All Elite Wrestling? He was unable to do so at REVOLUTION 2023 when faced with MJF, unable to do so when he twice challenged Adam Page, and unable to do it when he fought Jon Moxley in the 2022 Grand Slam Tournament of Champions. With this being his first chance at claiming the TNT Championship, will it be the American Dragon’s night, or will Christian Cage somehow find another way to escape seeming certain demise with the TNT Title still in his possession?

ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Samoa Joe(c) vs. Willie Mack

Ten years ago; that was the one and only time Samoa Joe and Willie Mack ever shared a ring prior to this coming Saturday night, and on that November night in California’s City of Commerce, it was Samoa Joe who emerged triumphant. By that point Joe had already been a multi-time World Champion, had helped establish Ring of Honor as the most influential wrestling promotion of the 21st Century, had traversed the globe, and become one of the most feared competitors in pro wrestling. Willie Mack, six or seven years into his career at that point, was really building steam in places like PWG, APW, CWFH, and had begun to branch out beyond the West Coast in tournaments like CZW’s Best of the Best and AIW’s JT Lightning Invitational, but California would generally remain his home base.

Fast forward a decade later and the two men find themselves inside the same circles once again, competing for Ring of Honor and All Elite Wrestling, with Joe the dominant champion once again. With 549 days spent as ROH World TV Champion, Joe is just 19 days away from surpassing his former protege Jay Lethal as the longest reigning TV Champion of all-time, a feat that would give Samoa Joe that designation with two different Ring of Honor championships. While Lethal’s 36 successful defenses are likely a number that will remain forever out of reach, Joe has absolutely asserted himself with a dominance that no other Television Champion has before him.

Shane Taylor may be a close second in that regards, but the victory Samoa Joe has over him puts Joe on top of that comparison. So can Willie Mack be the one to step up to the throne and knock the King of Television off? Mack is a hard-hitting man just like the TV Champion, has no problem throwing down with fists and elbows, and it very well may be the biggest night of his wrestling career if Willie can actually be the one to end Joe’s reign. It is clear that, in addition to his duties as ROH World TV Champion, Joe still has designs on the AEW World Championship held by MJF, but before he concerns himself with Max, Joe best keep his eye on Willie Mack this Saturday night lest he find himself leaving Toledo short a championship title.

TBS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Kris Statlander(c) vs. Skye Blue

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qo-MnTn5GuY?si=88vvGx-DFY-80p3O

After defeating Emi Sakura Friday night on RAMPAGE, Skye Blue will get what she’s been chasing, a championship opportunity, this time in the form of a TBS Championship challenge against friend Kris Statlander! Though Skye has been a bit…off…since her encounter with The House of Black’s Julia Hart got her misted, it did lead to that victory, and now she’ll face Statlander for the very first time!

Despite their friendship, these two have never shared a ring with one another as friend or foe prior to Saturday night. Whether or not that is beneficial to either woman’s goal of being champion remains to be seen; neither has first-hand knowledge of each other’s capabilities making it a bit harder to prepare counters and counters-to-counters, leaving tape study as the best way to prepare for this bout, also the fact each has had barely 24 hours to game plan leaves both on something close to equal footing.

Will Statlander continue to push towards her goal of surpassing Jade Cargill as the most dominant TBS Champion in AEW history? Or will Skye Blue claim her first AEW title and begin to build her legacy?

THE RATED R SUPERSTAR HAS ARRIVED!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/PvXJ_H5VnCA?si=07F5Pb3CI2_YCiwb

Tuesday night on DYNAMITE fans witnessed Adam Copeland make his AEW in-ring debut with a victory of “The Right Hand of Destruction” Luchasaurus. While that moment was triumphant, Nick Wayne and TBS Champion Christian Cage did their best to make the remainder of the night a terrible one for “The Rated R Superstar”. Luckily Copeland had some support in the form of The Blackpool Combat Club, and even though the situation ended in chaos also involving Adam Page and The Mogul Embassy, ultimately Christian Cage ended up in Bryan Danielson’s LaBell Lock while Adam stood on and witnessed it.

This Saturday on COLLISION Adam Copeland will be back in the house to address what went down on Tuesday, and perhaps lay out what his next steps will be! Copeland made it clear that he initially came to AEW to reunite with his best friend Christian, but with the events that have gone down since his debut at WRESTLEDREAM, is that still Copeland’s goal?

ALSO FEATURING:

-AEW World Tag Team Champions Big Bill & Ricky Starks in the house!

-AAA Cruiserweight & AAA World Tag Champion Komander vs. “The Machine” Brian Cage!

COLLISION debuts in Toledo, OH at the Huntington Center this Saturday night and brings three titles fights to the dance! The ROH World TV Title is at stake between Samoa Joe and Willie Mack while Christian Cage puts his TNT Championship on the line against “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson and TBS Champion Kris Statlander defends against Skye Blue! The bouts begin at a our regular time of 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT on TNT, so make a point 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/7U3XhqMXDDA?si=BSqdeBJBGfHmrUrx

This Saturday night AEW returns to Salt Lake City’s Maverick Center for the first time since 2020, and with it comes a stacked edition of COLLISION! Not only will it feature the COLLISION debut of Adam Copeland, but there will also be two championship bouts as FTR defends their AEW Tag Team Titles against Big Bill and Ricky Starks while Eddie Kingston puts his ROH World Championship on the line against Komander! We will also see “Timeless” Toni Storm in action against Kiera Hogan, Bryan Danielson and Kyle Fletcher will go head-to-head, and so much more!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/pRiX-RUc0ZA?si=X78U_jx66ZsLfMRB&start=14

COLLISION begins at special start time of 7:00pm ET/6:00pm CT on TNT, so visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!

A SATURDAY NIGHT DEBUT!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/XzQCnL4IzzY?si=ew1OoqNZexA8RNPc&start=14

The ball began rolling at WRESTLEDREAM when Adam Copeland arrived on the AEW scene and stopped Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and their newest ally Nick Wayne from assaulting Sting and further decimating Darby Allin. The ball continued rolling this past Wednesday night when Copeland made his first appearance on DYNAMITE, AEW’s flagship program, attempting to sway Christian Cage off the path he’s traveling and instead unite with this best friend and multi-time championship partner to finish out their careers together.

Instead Adam was, in as rude a fashion as possible, told exactly what to do by Cage, and then summarily attacked by Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne, While their attempts to lay Copeland out after his DYNAMITE debut failed, he was still left rather low by his best friend’s words, but another day brings another opportunity to make things right, or at least right the wrongs, and ahead of his TITLE TUESDAY fight with Luchasaurus, Adam Copeland will have another day this Saturday night when he debuts on COLLISION!

What’s going through the man’s mind after Christian Cage’s words on Wednesday? We won’t have to wait long to find out!

SINGLES MATCH…

“Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Kiera Hogan

https://www.youtube.com/embed/JLDW8EX8B6s?si=8zkOHO6yUFBmvAhE

These last few weeks have been rather tumultuous for former 2-Time AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm and the world has watched how losing her title, compounded by losing her so-called friends in The Outcasts, has sent Toni Storm spiraling out into this woman we’ve seen RJ City try to navigate over the course of several interviews. Through the process of pouring her soul out to the cameras and to RJ, it seems Toni has found a way forward, and that way is timeless…

So after defeating Skye Blue on Wednesday night, “Timeless” Toni Storm is right back into action this Saturday night against Kiera Hogan! The two women last clashed six months ago on AEW DARK with Toni picking up the victory, will COLLISION see a rerun of that original screening or will Kiera Hogan call for a reshoot?

AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood)(c) vs. Big Bill & “Absolute” Ricky Starks

https://www.youtube.com/embed/VAQVeKb_neQ?si=9MLaQvbFmkKJbNoQ&start=228

In last week’s huge All-Star 8-Man tag, before the situation erupted into absolute chaos, “Absolute” Ricky Starks scored the deciding pinfall over Dax Harwood to bring the victory to his team. The next night at WRESTLEDREAM both sides of that outcome would end up successful in their pay-per-view endeavors, FTR defeated Aussie Open to retain their AEW World Tag Team titles while Starks topped Wheeler Yuta to get his win, but that left some unfinished business between the tag champs and the one who put those shoulders to the mat.

That is why this Saturday night on COLLISION, FTR will make their 10th defense of the championships against Big Bill and Ricky Starks, and if they can retain once again, Cash and Dax will become the most successful tag champs in AEW history! To date the record for successful defense sits at nine, a number hit by both The Young Bucks and the Hangman/Omega duo, but FTR have reached that milestone faster than either of those championship duos.

Can Starks and Big Bill stop the champions from becoming part of AEW’s record books on Saturday night, or will FTR do what they always strive do and fight through the pain they’re feeling to continue reigning atop the division? And don’t forget, whoever moves forward as champion has a Young Bucks title fight looming at some point in the future…

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Eddie Kingston(c) vs. Komander

https://www.youtube.com/embed/QrKgbCMmZXI?si=6CKbUESVytqVA7Bq

For the second time in the new Era of Honor, Komander will step up into a ROH World Championship fight in hopes of shocking the world and dethroning the reigning champ. The first time around it was Claudio Castagnoli in possession of the title, and though he gave a valiant effort on the June 30th edition of RAMPAGE, after fourteen minutes it was still “The Swiss Superman” who reigned as champ.

This time out, after winning a hard-fought Four Way over Johnny TV, Penta El Zero Miedo, and the debuting Lince Dorado, Komander will enter the ring to face Eddie Kingston with that championship at stake! Kingston is coming off a hard-hitting retention over Katsuyori Shibata at WRESTLEDREAM, but now he’s facing a drastically different sort of challenge in Komander. Shibata brought a lethal striking game to the fight when, combined with this deadly submission game, made “The Wrestler” possibly the toughest threat Kingston could’ve faced in his first defense. Now he must deal with the Lucha stylings of Komander if he hopes to build a legacy as ROH World Champion that goes down in history alongside the likes of Homicide, Xavier, Samoa Joe, and the other men who’ve built the ROH World Title into a coveted prize.

To Kingston’s benefit, his training included sitting under the learning tree of men like Skayde, running through Lucha-inspired drills, but when it comes down to it, Eddie’s always found punching a man in the face the most satisfying form of combat. Will he be able to ground Komander long enough to knock his teeth down his throat, drop him on his head, and lock in the Stretch Plum? Or will this master of the ropes soar to championship success in Ring of Honor?

ONE-ON-ONE…

“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Kyle Fletcher

https://www.youtube.com/embed/o34oZSrY2YA?si=K969GvTdX14U2Jk6

With a number one contender’s fight against Swerve Strickland set for TITLE TUESDAY, and a victory over Zack Sabre Jr. in his back pocket, Bryan Danielson heads back into competition this Saturday night on COLLISION to face Kyle Fletcher.

Fletcher, coming off a championship loss to FTR at WRESTLEDREAM, is hungry to get back on the right track, and nothing would right the course like a victory over Bryan Danielson. Though singles competition has not been his forte in AEW, he’s just 2-1 in that avenue of competition, Kyle did quite well under the ROH banner while Mark Davis was injured, competed in the 2023 New Japan Cup earlier this year, and does have a solid track record throughout his career of singles competition.

But is it enough to topple “The American Dragon”? Danielson, after that war with ZSJ as well as those with Ricky Starks, has shown the world he’s operating on a level unlike any he’s been on before, and that should scare everyone who stands across the ring from him!

COLLISION comes to Salt Lake City and the Maverik Center this Saturday night for the first time since March 2020! Two titles matches are on tap as FTR defends the AEW World Tag Team Championship and Eddie Kingston defends the ROH World Title! Plus, “Timeless” Toni Storm will be in action, and Bryan Danielson takes on Kyle Fletcher ahead of his TNT Title #1 Contender’s Match against Swerve Strickland! The night begins at a special start time of 7:00pm ET/6:00pm CT on TNT; make a point 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/5VenDXf6FLM?si=GQP5Ohl30M3mM1CP

This Sunday night, live on pay-per-view (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/watchwrestledream), All Elite Wrestling presents WRESTLEDREAM (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-event/aew-wrestledream) from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA! Headlined by the Danielson/ZSJ “Submissions in Seattle” dream match over a year in the waiting, this event is as loaded as it gets, and with AEW PPV’s that is saying quite a lot!

Six championships will be on the line, including a match with both the ROH World and NJPW STRONG Openweight at stake, plus we will see the next contender to the AEW World Tag Team Titles crowned in an all-star Four Way Tag! In addition, Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi will be joined by the unlikeliest of allies in Chris Jericho to take on The Don Callis Family, Hangman Page faces Swerve Strickland, and more!

The action begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT, with the ZERO HOUR getting underway at 7pm ET/6pm CT on the official AEW YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@AEW/videos). Before the ZERO HOUR gets underway, be sure to check out the highlights from all the week’s action to get ready for the first-ever WRESTLEDREAM event!

TNT CHAMPIONSHIP/2 OUT OF 3 FALLS MATCH: Christian Cage(c) vs. Darby Allin

https://www.youtube.com/embed/mLn5lhSr5qk?si=NlPfWEfexYq2wKYm&start=124

This is as personal as a rivalry in the AEW career of Darby Allin has gotten, and it should come as little surprise that it’s due to Christian Cage picking, poking, and prodding at any vulnerability he sees. He’s not the first man to pick at the scab of Darby’s late-uncle, but he might be the one whose gotten the most reaction from Darby out of it. He’s likely not the first man in the life of Nick Wayne to prod at the memory of his late father Buddy Wayne, but Cage has managed dig in deeper than anyone else. And he’s certainly not the first individual to manipulate others to find a way to his goals, but Christian Cage has done it so masterfully with Luchasaurus that the former TNT Champion is still standing at the side of the man who took the title from him.

It’s clear that Christian Cage is a horrible human, at his core possibly the worst man to ever set foot in an AEW ring, and that’s saying something when Don Callis is also part of the scene. This is a man who has used the deaths of loved ones as a tool against his foes, who has dismissively addressed his own children on live television, and treated everyone around him like pawns on that proverbial chessboard. He’s scum, and this Sunday night in Seattle, in front of the people who have witnessed Darby’s rise to the top from the very beginning of his career, in front of those who watched his TNT Championship triumph over Samoa Joe back in January, Christian Cage is going to get his comeuppance two times over.

In a two out of three falls match, Christian Cage will defend the TNT Championship against Darby Allin and he may well have to do so all by himself depending the outcome of the Luchasaurus/Nick Wayne match during ZERO HOUR. His Right Hand of Destruction may not be available for the assist if Nick Wayne gets his way during their fight, because even though Darby challenged Cage to leave Luchasaurus behind, it’s highly unlikely Christian will stick to his word that he doesn’t need Luchasaurus to beat Darby. Also it won’t be enough for Cage to beat Darby once, if he beats him at all, he’s got to do it twice in a single match, and given Allin’s ability to take the pain and use it as fuel, that may be an impossible task for even the lowliest of men.

Will this be the night that Christian Cage finally beats Darby Allin after losing to him twice in recent months, or will it be a triumphant night for the 2-Time TNT Champion, one where he hoists the title up for the third time, and shuts up Christian Cage for the moment?

SUBMISSIONS IN SEATTLE…

“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr.

Over a year ago at the inaugural FORBIDDEN DOOR pay-per-view, this fight was on the table, but an injury Bryan Danielson sustained during Anarchy in the Arena at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2022 forced a change to the line-up, and introduced Claudio Castagnoli into the AEW landscape.

Fast forward to September 9th’s episode of COLLISION, just a few days removed from defeating Ricky Starks in a No DQ Strap match at ALL OUT 2023, and Bryan Danielson issued the challenge to Zack Sabre Jr. to finally make their dream match a reality. It is not their first meeting, that took place in March 2008 in the United Kingdom where Bryan beat ZSJ in a 2 Out of 3 Falls match, nor is it their second as that took place in March 2009 in Germany and was won by Zack Sabre Jr., but both of those matches too place in the early years of the NJPW TV Champion’s career, before he evolved into the fight he is today.

As talented a wrestler as ZSJ was at that point, just 4 and 5 years into his career, the reality of being a wrestler is that he was still just only beginning to understand the intricacies of the game. Even Bryan’s experience, nearly double that of Zack when they first faced, was still just only beginning to elevate and even in 2009 many considered “The American Dragon” the best wrestler in the world. In the fourteen years since their clash each has grown exponentially as a competitor and as a man, and though Danielson has dealt with injuries that many considered the death knell of his in-ring career, he has rebounded back better than he ever was before, and considering the G.O.A.T moniker that was already being applied in 2015, that’s speaks volumes to just how vast a pro wrestler’s knowledge can get.

Much like Bryan, Zack Sabre Jr. has only gotten better with age, his already superb submission skills honed to a lethal edge, and with that so too has his ego grown. There is little doubt foisted about any who claim ZSJ to be the greatest technical wrestler alive, he’s shown the skills it time and again all around the world, be it as part of SUZUKI-GUN, or since he become the first, and thus far only, NJPW World TV Champion earlier this year at WRESTLE KINGDOM 17.

But there are those who also put that crown on Bryan Danielson’s head, and with “The American Dragon” telling the world that he’s in his last full-time year of competition, every wrestler worth their salt is going to want to test the man on his way out, and try to snatch the crown. What’s interesting here is that this is not a case of Zack wanting Bryan as that time draws near, but rather Bryan wanting the fight after being unable to bring the rubber match to fruition last year.

And that brings us to this “Submissions in Seattle” fight between two of best grapplers in the history of professional wrestling, not just best of today, but best of all-time, and that is an undisputed fact. After confronting each other in the aftermath of COLLISION’s All-Star 8-Man tag, what is this fight going to look like? Will ZSJ live up to his promise to end Bryan’s career in 2023? It may be a homecoming for Bryan, but is he coming home just to say goodbye?

AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood)(c) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)

One year ago, New Japan’s ROYAL QUEST II event at the Crystal Palace in London, FTR and Aussie Open went to battle with the IWGP Tag Titles hanging in the balance. For thirty-two minutes Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Kyle Fletcher, and Mark Davis battled their hearts out, leaving every bit of themselves in that ring, but when the final bell rang it was FTR, the defending champions, who walked away with the titles still in their possession. Three months later at WRESTLE KINGDOM 17 Kyle and Mark would have to watch Bishamon, the team that beat them in the 2022 World Tag League Finals, dethrone FTR, and though Aussie Open would in turn take the IWGP Tag Titles from Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI in April, as well as win the NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Titles, they would end up having to vacate bout due to Mark Davis’ injury.

Still, while Mark healed and Kyle flew solo for a bit, that loss to FTR clearly ate them up, and hearing Dax and Cash continue to proclaim themselves the greatest tag team in professional wrestling, even after losing all three of their titles between December 2022 and January 2023, didn’t help matters. The fact that FTR claimed the AEW World Tag Titles for a second time only exacerbated those feelings, and winning the ROH World Tag Titles at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023 upon Mark’s return to action didn’t prove a salve for Aussie Open either. Listening to FTR, watching them with the AEW World Tag Titles, and losing the ROH World Tag Titles to Adam Cole and MJF, well it all just threw gasoline on the fire. The match that finally blew it all up for Kyle and Mark was watching FTR engage in Open Challenges and facing teams that Aussie Open didn’t deem worthy of the opportunity they felt they’d earned many times over.

So it was set, just prior to The Workhorsemen of JD Drake and Anthony Henry getting their shot, that Aussie Open would face FTR at WRESTLEDREAM, and should Dax and Cash retain the titles in their fight with The Workhorsemen, they would be on the line in Seattle! Well here we are, the bell set to ring in just a short time, and after Saturday night’s clash on COLLISION, all four men are anxious to throw down without anyone else involved. No Blackpool Combat Club, no Starks and Big Bill, just two teams that each believe they are the greatest competing in professional wrestling today, and possibly even of all-time.

FTR wants a fight with the toughest version of Aussie Open, not the ones who may have taken an MJF and Adam Cole team lightly, but the ones who carried two sets of tag belts simultaneously last year, the ones who gave FTR the fight of their lives at ROYAL QUEST II. Conversely, Aussie Open want the belts and they want to desecrate the legacy of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood. Kyle and Mark want to desecrate the work that earned FTR those seven stars, and expose them as subpar to Aussie Open. With The Young Bucks, with The Briscoes, as heated as the fights got, for FTR there was at least some level of respect shared between the four men, but here with Aussie Open, there is no respect for the champions, only disdain.

Can Aussie Open tarnish the names of FTR and take the AEW World Tag Team Championship from their hands, or will it be Dax and Cash who continue to show why they are the best tag team in wrestling today while simultaneously building their legacy towards being known as the best team to ever do it?

ROH WORLD/NJPW STRONG OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Eddie Kingston(c) vs. ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata

Twice now Eddie Kingston and Katsuyori Shibata have shared the ring as partners, one victory and one defeat, but that defeat at ALL OUT 2023, where Eddie took his eye off the prize for a moment and fell victim to Claudio Castagnoli proved to be the final thing Kingston needed to have happen to push him over the hump. Seventeen days later, in front of his hometown fans and his family at DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023, Eddie did the one thing that has evaded him since September 2009, he beat Claudio Castagnoli, and not only did he beat the man, Eddie dethroned him as ROH World Champion.

Shockingly Claudio also shook Kingston’s hand after the match, a sign of respect for the fight they had, and hearkening back to a Respect Match they had in November of 2009, but little more than that. These are not to men who will ever be friends again, but at least they can respect the fight and acknowledge one another for their skills.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/_Z_FPQEghtA?si=XIJNb2GRf_aMBG81&start=124

That acknowledgment of skill, the recognition of a fighter, that is the reason why Eddie Kingston made the challenge to Katsuyori Shibata, the Ring of Honor Pure Champion, to meet him at WRESTLEDREAM for a championship bout. While the Pure Title will not be at stake, after Eddie retained the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship on RAMPAGE, both that and the ROH World Championship will be on the line in Seattle! This will mark the first time Shibata has challenged for either of Kingston’s championships, as well as their first-ever meeting as foes, and Kingston could would’ve been hard-pressed to find a tougher first challenger to his ROH reign than “The Wrestler”.

A lethal striker, a submission specialist, and man who loves to dish out pain, Shibata is the kind of man to absorb every one of Kingston’s blows and channel them into himself like some kind of fuel. He will not go down easily, this is a man who survived near-death and fought to return to professional wrestling after all, and Eddie will have to throw every bomb he has at the man to put him down. Should Eddie Kingston emerge from this fight with his belts intact, he will have earned it the hard way, just as he has done throughout his entire life, and the same will be said for Shibata as Kingston will rain punishment down upon him as well.

This is going to be a hard-hitting war, of that there is no doubt, and when it ends, no matter who comes out on top, there will be a show of respect and sportsmanship because that is what Ring of Honor is about at its core, and that is what both Shibata and Kingston want from pro wrestling at theirs.

AEW WORLD TAG TITLE #1 CONTENDER MATCH…

The Gunns (Austin & Colten) vs. ROH World Six-Man Champions The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) vs. FTW Champion HOOK & Orange Cassidy

https://www.youtube.com/embed/WlPnITnegr4?si=v8bK0JmYz7C5W4uX&start=124

Between the FTR/Aussie Open clash, and this Four Way fray right here, the immediate future of the AEW’s tag team division will be shaped. The former will determine which duo moves forward as champion while this bout will set another pair up as future challengers to the throne at any time of their choosing. Three of the teams, The Young Bucks, Lucha Brothers, and Gunns, are former champions, two times over in the case of the brothers Jackson, while the fourth team in this bout will mark this fight as their first outing together. HOOK and Orange Cassidy did the Mixed Trios thing at RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023, but this high stakes situation is their first actual tag team bout, putting the FTW Champion and the former International Champion in a serious underdog situation.

One thing working in their favor though is that just this past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, Orange Cassidy knocked Matt Jackson out with the Orange Punch and secured the victory in a Four Way singles match that also included Penta El Zero Miedo and Austin Gunn. That victory may be a sign of things to come, or it could simply the most experienced singles competitors of that quartet getting one over the man with the least. Either way, the world will soon found out just who the next contenders for either Aussie Open or FTR will be!

SINGLES MATCH…

ROH World Six-Man Champion “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/6cOQ4haG0Rs?si=K7kpkp7I57LdXoxg&start=124

“What’s a buckshot to a killshot?”

That was the question posited by Swerve Strickland when he and Hangman Page sat down to sign the contract for their fight this Sunday night, and by the end of their face-to-face Swerve had a piece of the answer in the form Hangman manically stabbing a pencil into his hand.

After an exchange of harsh words, after Swerve questioning Hangman in the weeks before the signing, after having the audacity to laugh in the face of the former AEW World Champion, Strickland awoke the ugliness inside Page. That ugliness in Hangman is what helped pushed him into the position he is in now, the position that Swerve Strickland covets, but before he woke up that ugliness perhaps Strickland should’ve looked at what else it did for Hangman. That ugliness pushed him to victory in Texas Death Matches with Adam Cole, Lance Archer, and Jon Moxley, the latter of which he actually made quit, something no man in All Elite Wrestling can say. It helped him survive in Blood & Guts, Anarchy in the Arena, and Stadium Stampede, and it helped him survive through some of the toughest times when Hangman Page was riding alone through the wilds of AEW.

Swerve, for as talented a performer as he is, has not ridden alone in All Elite Wrestling, not when he has had his greatest successes. His reign as champion came in the form of tag team gold, and with that came a partner in Keith Lee, a tremendous partner who helped Swerve reach new heights in AEW, but a partner that Swerve casually discarded when he found others with which surround himself. First born as The Mogul Affiliates, a merger with Prince Nana’s Embassy gave birth to The Mogul Embassy, and with that Swerve Strickland surrounded himself with, to be frank, a trio of killers in Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona.

They have insulted Swerve in many ways, a great example of that being how in their absence at Wembley it was Strickland shoved into that casket by Darby and Sting rather than Christian Cage, and done his dirty work too many times to count. Just look at the moment Swerve elected to engage in this fight with Hangman Page, it was Brian Cage who committed the physicality rather than Swerve, just as it was Cage who had to step into the ring with Hangman first. That gave “The Machine” his second loss to Hangman, and then it was Cage and The Gates of Agony who had to step up to The Elite with their ROH World Six-Man Championship on the line, and they who paid the price for this fight Swerve started when the lost said titles to The Young Bucks and Hangman.

But now Swerve has to fight for himself, and though it may be in his hometown thus creating a situation likely to make him the crowd’s chosen one that night, the crowd isn’t inside the ring throwing down with a former AEW World Tag Champion, a former AEW World Champion, and current ROH World Six-Man Champion. It is Swerve, ideally Swerve alone, who has to fight this fight, a fight he picked mind you, and who now has to elevate his game against one of the elite competitors in professional wrestling.

The world knows Swerve Strickland has the talent in the ring, and the world knows he can talk the game, but now he has to prove that the spot Hangman has earned through blood, sweat, tears, and beers, that spot is now Swerve’s House.

TRIOS GRUDGE MATCH…

Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, & Kota Ibushi vs. The Don Callis Family (“The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, & IWGP UK Champion Will Ospreay

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qdzMHOM-4p0?si=yjuSpmRKPfE5G_t4&start=124

Don Callis has done his best to decimate the lives of men he once considered family, all in the name of some imagined sleight created in his own mind, one in which Kenny Omega was an ungrateful wretch rather than an unbelievably loyal nephew and in which Don falsely believed Chris Jericho would refuse his help, thus painting that portrait that triggered their splintering, creating his own self-fulfilling prophecy.

Callis sees both men’s successes, and by proxy the success of AEW, as belonging to him rather than those two men or all the forces that have helped create All Elite Wrestling over the last four years. Don believes that without him Jericho never goes to New Japan, Kenny never goes to Japan, their WRESTLE KINGDOM 12 match in 2018 never happens, and thus AEW is never born. With all his heart and soul, Callis believes those to be facts, and on an even grander scale, he essentially wants credit for everything Kenny Omega has accomplished in his storied career.

So he has stabbed Omega in the head with a screwdriver, turned Takeshita to his side opposite The Elite, aligned himself with The BCC heading into Blood & Guts (bailing when it was no longer convenient of course), aligned with BULLET CLUB GOLD when it was beneficial, facilitated Will Ospreay coming to AEW for fights with Jericho and Omega, poisoned the well of the Jericho Appreciation Society which led to their fracturing, and finally turned Sammy Guevara against his best friend and mentor, though given their tense history it may not have taken much persuasion to pull Guevara away.

But for all his manipulation and plotting and scheming, it is highly unlikely that Don Callis ever saw Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega coming together over their mutual disdain for Don and all he’s done to their lives over the last several months. For years now Jericho and Omega have stayed as far away from each other as possible, and yet it was the only Triple Crown champion in AEW history who rushed to Jericho’s aid when “The Ocho” was at his lowest, totally alone.

To say it was shocking to both Callis and the AEW faithful would be a massive understatement, but it was likely just as shocking to Jericho to see the form his salvation took, and likely shocking to Kenny as well that he would even take up arms alongside Jericho. Only Don Callis could bring together two men with such a heated history and make them allies, but perhaps it was only Don Callis who could whisper the right words in the ears of Takeshita, Guevara, and Ospreay to get them on his side of this fight. It’s clear Don will stoop to any low in his mission to destroy Jericho and Omega, in a situation eerily similar to how he got BC GOLD to attack Kenny Omega in Jacksonville, Callis and Takeshita traveled to Tokyo in order to get at Ibushi while he was without any support.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/k5gO4Qt1BwE?si=DCgjpjTvJyQyZAqp

After Saturday night’s tag team bout it is clear that they can figure out a way to work together, as long as Nana isn’t around to distract, so this Sunday night the unlikely trio of Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Chris Jericho will have to do the same to try and end Don Callis’ family. Callis has done nothing but wreak havoc on the lives of Jericho, Omega, and now Ibushi, and used men like Takeshita, Guevara, and Ospreay as his chess pieces to do so. Whether or not this can ever end while Callis occupies the same space as those he once called family is a reasonable question, one that may be answered comes Sunday in Seattle live on pay-per-view.

TBS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

Kris Statlander(c) vs. The House of Black’s Julia Hart

https://www.youtube.com/embed/vNpp3SBiePs?si=brABVlg6KGqiyqox

28)Vertvixen

27)Willow Nightingale

26)Kiera Hogan

25)Skye Blue

24)Bambi Hall

23)No Holds Barred: Anna Jay AS

22)Kiera Hogan

21)Anna Jay AS

20)Kelsey Heather

19)Zoey Lynn

18)Devlyn Macabre

17)Leva Bates

16)Promise Braxton

15)Sahara Seven

14)Tiara James

13)Missa Kate

12)Alice Crowley

11)Arie Alexander

10)Vickie Dreamboat

9)Hayley Shadows

8)Free-Range Kara

7)LMK

6)Renee Michelle

5)Amber Nova

4)JC

3)Valentina Rossi

2)Jacey Love

1)Abby Jane

Starting with last night’s COLLISION and working backwards to DARK: ELEVATION #61 on 5/2/22, those are the women that have fallen before Julia Hart on this road to WRESTLEDREAM on Sunday night, but to truly see where this all began, one need only look a week prior to that first win, April 25th’s edition of ELEVATION, the night that Julia Hart lost to Kris Statlander in just over six minutes. A month after that loss to Statlander, Hart would align herself with The House of Black, and ever since then fans have witnessed a slow, systematic descent by Julia into a sadistic bent for punishment. Hart has come to relish the pain she inflicts on individuals, both the women in her division and the men with whom her House compatriots fight, and it has been particularly noticeable in the last several weeks as Hart’s desire to avenge her last loss became apparent.

Meanwhile, just a few months after that victory over Julia, Kris Statlander would find herself on the outside looking in, recovering from a devastating knee injury that kept her out of action for nearly a year from August 9, 2022 until her shocking reemergence at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 on May 28th of this year. That night in Vegas, not only did Stat return to AEW, but she returned to in-ring competition to dethrone Jade Cargill as TBS Champion, thereby bringing an end to Cargill’s dominating run as champion, and her record-setting unbeaten streak.

Since then Kris Statlander has been a true fighting champion, turning away 13 challenges to her reign, including a rematch with Jade and a bout with Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D, and has done nothing but prove herself as worthy of the crown. No challengers would ever be turned away by Statlander, and certainly not one being made by a woman with an undefeated streak as lengthy as that of Julia Hart’s. Julie has earned this opportunity, of that there is no doubt, but she elevated the stakes over the last several weeks with her attacks on the women Statlander calls friends, namely Willow, Skye, and Kiera.

The defending champion knows she’s not dealing with the same animal she did last time around, that The House of Black has turned Julie Hart into something, someone, far darker than ever before, and unleashed a ferocity in the woman that seems barely contained. Going into this fight Statlander has to remember to meet the woman Julia Hart is now, not the girl she was in 2022, but be aware that where Julia walks she never walks alone. Does The House always wins? Not if Kris Statlander can help it…

ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP HANDICAP MATCH…

AEW World Champion MJF(c) vs. The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent)

After winning their #1 Contender’s Match at RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023, The Righteous of Vincent and Dutch were all set to challenge MJF and Adam Cole for the ROH World Tag Team Championship titles, but fate had other plans in store. As we all found out this past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, Adam Cole is injured and won’t be cleared to compete for some time, a situation that would generally dictate the champions vacate their titles, leaving the ROH Board of Directors to decide their future. AEW World Champion MJF had other ideas though and made a promise to Adam Cole that Max would make sure the belts were waiting for him when Adam returned to action, and that he would take on The Righteous in a Handicap Match this Sunday at WRESTLEDREAM! Call it crazy brave or just down right stupid, it goes to show just how much this partnership with Cole means to MJF, and just how much these titles may actually mean to Maxwell as well. He’s not just holding them for Adam Cole’s sake, perhaps he’s taking some pride in being a tag team champion and proving he can work with someone else to great success. Unfortunately he’s now headed down a path where he’s fighting alone, but fighting for two, and doing that against Vincent and Dutch may not be the smartest idea.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/FxYW0EOkSFs?si=X8cRymYiUJXmEi43

It’s clear that The Righteous are ready for this fight, ready to dig into the mess that is the situation between MJF, Cole, Roderick, and The Kingdom, and ready to use that situation to engage in psychological warfare against the champion. In addition to their man advantage, that mental game just may be what The Righteous need to leave Seattle as the new ROH World Tag Team Champions, but should MJF find a way to escape this situation with titles in tow, is this his plan from now until the day Adam Cole is cleared? Taking on that role, along with his duties as AEW World Championship, that is a sure way to find himself with no titles to his name…

SINGLES MATCH…

Wheeler Yuta vs. “Absolute” Ricky Starks

Wheeler Yuta still has a problem with “Absolute” Ricky Starks, and this Sunday night at WRESTLEDREAM he aims to pick up right where “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson left off and kick Starks’s head right in. Whether or not picking a fight with Ricky after the hell he went through with Bryan is the smartest idea, well that remains to be seen after the final bell rings and we see whose hand is raised. Starks is not about to let this affront from Yuta go unpunished, and Yuta isn’t about to let Ricky skate with what he thought was disrespect to Bryan after their Texas Death Match. This fight between two young and hungry dogs is going to be something to see, and it will be interesting to see if that violence Bryan showed Starks in their two encounters brought that side of Ricky closer to the surface.

ZERO HOUR

-AEW World Trios Championship Match: The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass(c) vs. TMDK (Bad Dude Tito, Mikey Nichols, & Shane Haste)

-Luchasaurus vs. Nick Wayne

-Claudio Castagnoli vs. Josh Barnett

-Diamante, Lee Moriarty, Mercedes Martinez, & Shane Taylor vs. ROH Women’s World Champion Athena, Billie Starkz, Keith Lee, & Satoshi Kojima

With the ZERO HOUR getting underway at 7pm ET/6pm CT, and WRESTLEDREAM proper going live at 8pm ET/7pm CT, Sunday night is loaded with the greatest professional wrestling available anywhere on the planet! Do not miss out as All Elite Wrestling returns to pay-per-view, something no one does as consistently amazing as AEW, and especially this time around when it has been called the end of one era and the beginning of another!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/h1GEcDiWEB0?si=SLrcL2jiLwgOnT0g

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from 1stBank Center in Broomfield, CO!

Excalibur 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 International Championship Open Challenge Match!

Rey Fenix (c.) (with Alex Abrahantes) vs. Jeff Jarrett (with Karen Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, and Jay Lethal)!

Rey Fenix hit a high crossbody press to the outside onto Jarrett as Jarrett was making his entrance. Fenix followed up with a moonsault for a near fall. Jarrett DDT’ed Rey Fenix after Satnam tried distracting Fenix.

Jarrett tripped up Fenix and Fenix rolled to the outside. Jarrett ordered his posse to swarm Fenix, but ref Aubrey Edwards stopped them. Rey Fenix fired back with a double foot stomp to Jeff Jarrett for a two-count. Fenix followed up with a thrust kick, trying to fight through the pain. Fenix ran the top rope and punted Lethal. Sonjay distracted the ref while Jarrett hit Fenix with a low blow!

Jarrett spiked Rey Fenix with the Stroke but Fenix broke the count when his boot touched the bottom rope. Jarrett tried to apply the figure four, but Fenix countered with a cradle and pinned Jeff Jarrett!

Footage was shown from Long Island with AEW World Champion MJF taking Adam Cole out on a boat trip to try to cheer up Cole after his recent leg injury.

MJF: “You were on the phone with Roddy a pretty long time.”

Cole: “Yeah, I was worried about him.”

MJF: “So long that you couldn’t come up to the ring with me last week?”

Cole: “Max, you didn’t bring me out here to hit me with the Dynamite diamond ring and then throw me overboard, did you?”

MJF: “No, no,” said Max, as he was hiding the ring behind his back.

Cole: “Having more than one friend is normal.”

MJF: “Plus last time I almost got caught when I was trying to throw someone overboard.”

Footage was shown from earlier in the week of Don Callis and Takeshita hunting for Ibushi in Tokyo!

Renee Paquette was in the ring to interview Don Callis and “The Alpha” Takeshita after their actions last week!

Don Callis: “I have something to say. I am so happy that Sammy Guevara is free of the toxic influence of Chris Jericho that I wanted to bring him out here myself. Ladies and gentlemen, the newest member of the Don Callis Family…Sammy Guevara!”

Sammy Guevara walked down to the ring.

Sammy embraced Don Callis in the ring.

Don Callis: “You want to know about Tokyo now? I said that Ibushi wasn’t safe so the Alpha and I went to Tokyo. I brought my personal camera crew, and we captured it all.”

Footage was shown of Callis and Takeshita invading Ibushi’s dojo. Takeshita attacked one of Ibushi’s students. Ibushi ran in and grounded and pounded Takeshita. Callis hit Ibushi with an umbrella. Takeshita blasted Ibushi in the head with a kettle bell! Callis screamed at Ibushi saying Ibushi wasn’t safe in Tokyo or in Seattle!

Don Callis: “The Don Callis Family has never been stronger with Takeshita, Will Ospreay, and Sammy Guevara going to WrestleDream!”

Sammy: “I’m the hero. Chris Jericho is the villain! For four years he was holding me back. I was champion without him. I did pay-per-views without him. Every time I would start to fly high, he would clip my wings. He was never going to pass me the torch. Chris Jericho is selfish. It is time for me to become the champion and the star I was meant to be.”

Don Callis: “At WrestleDream we are going to take everything from Omega, Jericho, and Ibushi until there is nothing left but the tears!”

Footage was shown from after Collision last Saturday of “Absolute” Ricky Starks!

Starks said he survived against Danielson. Wheeler Yuta approached Ricky and said Ricky was all style and no substance. Yuta challenged Starks to a match on October 1st in Seattle!

It was announced that Tony Khan signed a grudge match for WrestleDream between Ricky Starks and Wheeler Yuta!

3-Way Blind Eliminator Match for an International Title Shot Next Week!

ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Nick Jackson

vs.

“The Machine” Brian Cage (with Prince Nana)

vs.

Claudio Castagnoli!

Brian Cage tossed Nick Jackson over the top rope and out of the ring! Claudio and Cage locked up for a test of strength. Claudio suplexed Cage! Brian Cage retaliated with a vertical suplex of his own.

Nick Jackson jumped back into the ring and wiped out Claudio and Cage at the same time! Nick then flew over the top rope and knocked both of them down on the arena floor! Nick displayed creative, fluid offense to clean house on both opponents!

Brian Cage planted Claudio with a German Suplex. Nick Jackson blasted Brian Cage with a bulldog. Jackson moonsaulted off the apron but Claudio caught him, and then Nick nailed him with a DDT! Nick Jackson splashed Brian Cage with a 450 for a near fall in the ring!

Claudio whipped Nick Jackson into the steel ring steps. Claudio put Brian Cage in the Giant Swing!

“It’s like he’s swinging a Volvo,” said Taz.

Brian Cage suplexed Claudio from outside the ring to the inside, while Cage was on the second rope! Nick drilled Claudio and Cage with superkicks. Claudio rammed Cage with a European Uppercut. Claudio clocked Cage with a lariat. Claudio transitioned to hammer and anvil strikes, punishing the jaw of Brian Cage. Claudio hit the Ricola Bomb on Cage. Nick springboarded with a hurracanrana onto Claudio and then landed on Cage, with Nick Jackson grabbing the pin fall victory!

Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions Adam Cole & AEW World Champion MJF came to the ring!

Adam Cole was on crutches and his left leg was completely bandaged up.

MJF: “Cut the music! Ladies and gentlemen, the devil has arrived in Colorado. Adam Cole, talk to ‘em.”

Cole: “Who’s ready for story time with Adam Cole baybay? Unfortunately, this is a sad chapter in the story. Last week I got hurt. My ankle broke in three different places, and I tore ligaments last week. I have to go get surgery. There is nothing more soul crushing than hearing this, but I will do everything in my power to get back as soon as possible.

“But me and my good friend Max are the ROH World Tag Team Champions. And because we can’t defend these titles, we will have to relinquish—”

MJF: “Whoa, whoa, whoa! I didn’t wrestle twice in one night to win these and then have to relinquish our titles to the Righteous! Let’s keep it real. You wouldn’t be hurt if I didn’t need your help at Grand Slam. I know how much those ROH World Tag Team Titles mean to you. And I want to make sure that when you come back here, and you will, these will be waiting for you. Righteous, October 1st, I’m going to defend these titles against you in a handicap match and we are going to win!”

The Kingdom rolled Roderick Strong onto the ramp in a wheelchair!

Strong: “Adam! I need you now more than ever! It’s an emergency!”

MJF: “As much as I think Roderick Strong is a simp, I learned on the boat that he is your boy. I may not like him, but I know he’s your boy. Go do what you need to do, Adam, and I’ll be waiting for you when you come back.”

Cole hugged MJF. Adam Cole got on his crutches and walked up the ramp to Roderick Strong and the Kingdom.

MJF: “Everybody give it up one more time for Adam Cole. Now we all know I’m not a big fan of—”

“Switchblade” Jay White and the Bullet Club Gold walked onto the ramp, interrupting the AEW World Champion MJF!

“Switchblade” Jay White sent the Bang Bang Gang to the back and then walked to the ring himself.

Jay White: “Shut up, Max! We’ve all heard you talk enough. Everybody would like to hear this sweet, exotic accent for a change. Don’t worry, I sent everybody to the back. You can have your one on one time with the Switchblade and revel in your moment.”

MJF: “Boy, you must be smoking some strong Colorado grass. That mid mic work ain’t gonna work with MJF. You come at the king you’d better not miss. That first shot was a little hairy. Now Jay hear me out. In my career I’ve been compared to a lot of people. They say, ‘MJF is good but he’s no blank.’ And as my star rose the names got bigger and bigger and the goal posts moved. It never bothered me until I read, ‘MJF is good but he’s no Jay White.’

“It’s become very apparent why it offends me now that I’m standing in the ring with you. I’m like filet mignon. Much like when I’m inside this ring, the show is all about MJF because no one is on the level of the devil. Because I’m a generational talent, babe.

“And then there’s you. You are very talented, however, you’ve managed to convince the fans that you are also filet mignon when in reality you are tofu. Funny thing about tofu. It takes on the flavor of whatever you want it to. But you need to add something to it in order to trick yourself into believing it has taste. And you have been given everything. You were handed the keys to one of the greatest wrestling factions of all time. However, if I pluck it all away, I am left with nothing but boring, bland, tasteless tofu.

“And now here you are, Jay, trying to hop on my plate and trying to steal some of the champ’s flavor. I see through you, Jay. You are all hype. Allow me to give you some advice from a real top guy. If I were you, I would leave this ring and I wouldn’t keep talking smack to my poors. Because if you don’t, for the rest of your career, whenever our names are mentioned in the same sentence, it’ll read as follows: ‘Sure, Jay is good, but he’s no MJF,’ because I’m better than you and you know it!”

Jay White: “That’s what I came out here for, my very own personalized authentic MJF experience. But I have to be honest with you. I’m a little bit let down. Something’s a little bit off about you these days. I don’t know if it’s the injuries, but personally I think you’re distracted by Adam Cole.

“I just don’t think they love you like they love Adam Cole. And you know this whole situation with Adam Cole, it’s kinda my fault. Let me explain. If I didn’t temporarily end Adam Cole’s career after Forbidden Door 1, you wouldn’t have developed a soft spot for him, but I guess you got him back because he broke his ankle and that was your fault. And I’m sure your neck isn’t feeling good after Samoa Joe last week. So, I think I’ve been ruining your life for a little bit now. But I’m here to ruin your life in the flesh.

“You call yourself the devil. You need to find another level to stop me from taking that title away from you. You don’t seem so elite when compared to me. I’m the catalyst of professional wrestling. And I will be a truly elite champion when I pull that title away from your carcass!

“Don’t worry, Max, you will have your fans, they will have you, and I will have the Triple B, and you can all breathe with the Switchblade, because it’s still my era. This is the Switchblade Era because you’ve gone soft, and you know it!”

MJF: “You don’t have a clue what I’m capable of so why don’t I show you!”

Jay White tried to lure MJF in with mind games and then Jay White rolled out of the ring after getting under MJF’s skin!

Ahead of their 2/3 Falls Match for the TNT Title at WrestleDream, Jim Ross had a sit down interview with Darby Allin and new TNT Champion Christian Cage!

Christian Cage: “I’ve been the TNT Champion for months now and I proved I’m far superior to Darby Allin this past Saturday when I wrestled on Collision. I will walk out of Seattle as the TNT Champion because I know in my heart, Darby, that you’re nowhere near the man I am. You’re nowhere near the wrestler I am. I asked for this 2 out of 3 match because I want to see what you can do when you actually have to wrestle.

“Is your uncle going to be in attendance? What happened to him?”

Darby: “He’s dead. You think I’m afraid of dying? You think I’m afraid of losing? You cannot beat me. I’m going to win this Sunday.”

Christian Cage: “Why don’t you bring all the family. Bring Nick, bring Nick’s mother—”

Darby: “You want me to bring Nick so you can take advantage of him. I’ll tell him not to show up. If you had the balls, you’d tell Luchasaurus not to show up.”

Christian Cage: “He needs a man! I will always be the face of TNT! Get used to it!”

Four-Way WrestleDream Preview Match!

Austin Gunn

vs.

Matt Jackson

vs.

Orange Cassidy

vs.

Penta El Zero Miedo!

Partners were banned from ringside.

Austin sent Orange hard into the barricade. Matt Jackson DDT’ed Penta El Zero Miedo. Austin rolled up Orange from behind for a near fall. Penta connected with a thrust kick to Matt Jackson. Penta blasted Orange with a thrust kick. Austin ambushed Penta! Austin dropped Orange with a big right hand shot!

Orange peppered Austin with elbow strikes. Austin countered a hip toss with a neck breaker to Orange Cassidy. Penta nailed Orange with a destroyer. Matt Jackson hit a destroyer on Penta. Orange rocked Matt with a destroyer! Orange smashed Austin with a destroyer!

“All four men are on roller skates and all four men go down!” said Excalibur.

Matt Jackson wiped out Orange with the locomotion Northern Lights suplexes. Matt followed up with a double Northern Lights to Penta and Austin!

The fans chanted “A-E-W! A-E-W!”

Penta blocked the BTE Trigger from Matt. Penta took down Austin with a sling blade. Austin smashed Orange with the fame-asser from a near fall, almost stealing a victory. All three men superkicked Austin. Penta and Matt traded kicks. Orange pulped Matt Jackson with the Orange Punch and pinned him!

“Timing is everything and Orange’s timing was perfect,” said Taz.

The House of Black’s Julia Hart (with Brody King) vs. Willow Nightingale!

Willow’s left eye was bandaged up, a result of the mist attack last week from Julia.

Willow poured on the punishment, charging at Julia Hart and hitting her with a flurry of offense. Julia jumped on Willow’s back and grabbed at the bandage over Willow’s eye.

“Willow is fighting for purpose, not just for revenge,” said Excalibur.

Willow grounded and pounded Julia Hart. Willow body slammed Julia. Julia retreated out of the ring and crawled under the ring. Julia snuck up behind Willow and chop blocked her.

Julia locked in Heartless, but Willow reached the ropes, forcing the break. Willow pounced Julia out of the corner! Willow hoisted up Julia and placed her upside down in the corner. Julia dodged the cannonball splash. Julia hit the moonsault press and pinned Willow!

Julia placed Willow in the Heartless submission after the match! TBS Champion Kris Statlander sprinted to the ring to save her friend. Julia hid behind Brody King and laughed.

It was time for the contract signing between “Hangman” Adam Page & Swerve Strickland ahead of their match at WrestleDream!

The Elite and the Mogul Embassy were banned from ringside.

Renee Paquette was in the ring to help officiate the contract signing.

Swerve and Page sat across from each other at a table in the ring.

Swerve: “Before you sign that paper, I gotta admit I’ve been impressed with the fire you’ve been showing the past few weeks. But it’s a little too late for that. We are four days out from our match. Do you understand what you’re walking into? The lion’s den. This is unlike anything you’ve ever dealt with. We are two competitors who couldn’t be more opposite from one another. You are not the wrestler I am, and I am never going to be the wrestler you are. What’s a buckshot to a kill shot?”

Hangman: “It sounds like you’re fired up for this, and good, you should be. You said a few things to me a few weeks ago that stung. And I’ve had time to think about it. For a year and a half, every day that I came to work I felt there was a little dark cloud hanging over my head that I could not get rid of. And sure, the sun would shine. I beat Jon Moxley in a Texas Death Match. I reunited with my friends in the Elite. It felt like I should have been the happiest man in the world but every time I started to smile, that little cloud came back, and it started to rain.

“And I couldn’t do anything about it. I had a little umbrella next to me and as long as God let it rain on me, I didn’t open it. But that’s over with. I weathered the storm. And I am still here! And through that downpour it washed something out of me. I don’t know if it was hope, or passion, but it washed out of me. But I recognized it, and these people deserve more of me. They deserve the best of me. And I deserve it for myself. So, Swerve that’s what you’ll get in Seattle at WrestleDream. You’ll get the best of Hangman!”

Swerve: “That was quite beautiful, but it was the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen. This isn’t a personal thing. It could have been anyone in the position that I want. Truth be told, I might have mental health problems because I make an enemy every single day. I am going to take this position from you at WrestleDream. And by the way, it rains an awful lot in Seattle.”

Hangman: “You tell me you want this spot. You’re telling me you want a main event spot? Swerve, I don’t know, we could sit here and go back and forth about whether these opportunities were handed to me, but for every opportunity I’ve had, I knocked it out of the park!

“So, Swerve, you tell me you want this spot? You’re damn right, you should want this spot. But you don’t have what it takes to fill my boots!”

Swerve slapped Hangman and then went to sign the contract! Hangman stabbed Swerve in the hand with the pen! Security had to keep the two men separated!

Backstage, camera crews filmed a gang of men dressed in black from head to toe, wearing masks, swarming “Switchblade” Jay White and attacking him! One of the attackers looked into the camera and cocked his head to the side. He was wearing a devil mask!

This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!

Catch the four year anniversary of AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, CA!

Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA!

And this Sunday, witness history live on pay-per-view and order AEW WrestleDream!

And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Fud1kWe5fA?si=PqVniMbGmXxXHOn7&start=297

DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023 was as exciting a night as it gets here in All Elite Wrestling, featuring two championships changing hands to the detriment of The Blackpool Combat Club, but also MJF overcoming all the odds to not only defeat Samoa Joe in their AEW World Championship match, but also earn a handshake from the respected (and feared) ROH World TV Champion. In addition, Saraya retained the AEW Women’s World Championship, Chris Jericho relived a piece of his own history when Sammy Guevara betrayed him to Don Callis, and now RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023 continues the excitement for two hours this Friday night!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/aai5io9JX28?si=S3pMu11TPj9McyFv&start=226

The Ring of Honor World Six-Man titles will be on the line as The Mogul Embassy, one day removed from a successful defense on Honor Club, will put the titles on the line against The Elite of Hangman Page and The Young Bucks! Plus, the AEW World Trios Championship will be at stake between The Acclaimed and The Dark Order, Mike Santana returns to action, a big Mixed Trios match is going down, and the next contenders for the ROH World Tag Titles held by Adam Cole and MJF will be determined! Also, ahead of their three way championship match on COLLISION in Grand Rapids, Darby Allin and Sting will take on Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus in tag team competition.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/DUxv24_Po6A?si=OtZC7-JCKnve1DFS&start=73

The night begins at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so be sure to check out the official AEW YouTube channel prior to RAMPAGE to catch highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!

ROH WORLD SIX-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, & Toa Liona) vs.

The Elite (Adam Page, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson

With Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland set to do battle at WRESTLEDREAM in less than two weeks time, The Elite and The Mogul Embassy will lock horns this Friday night on RAMPAGE, and the ROH World Six-Man Championship will be at stake! Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona come into this fight having held the titles since FINAL BATTLE 2022, some 286 days, and turned away nine challenges to their crowns, including one Thursday night on Honor Club (www.watchroh.com).

Now no disrespect intended to their other challengers thus far, but this is unquestionably the toughest challenge Prince Nana’s unit has faced to date, despite the long layoff in their competing as a trio. See it’s only been a few weeks since this particular Elite group reformed as a trio, but they’ve experienced success in their reunion, scoring victories over both The BCC and Dark Order, and their past resume reinforces they danger The Elite represents.

See long before The Mogul Embassy was a gleam in the eye of Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana, BULLET CLUB reigned supreme over Ring of Honor, and with that came a 201 day reign as ROH World Six-Man Champions for Hangman Page and The Young Bucks. Sixth on the all-time list, this trio racked up eight championship victories over The Kingdom, CHAOS, and SCU, just to name a few, before losing to SCU in a rematch at the 16TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW.

Now, with the Seattle collision between Hangman and Swerve looming, The Elite aim to pick up their second run with the titles at the expense of Strickland’s crew. Fans have already seen one ROH championship change hands on AEW programming this week, will they bear witness to another on RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023?

TAG TEAM CONTEST…

Darby Allin & Sting vs. TNT Champion Luchasaurus & Christian Cage

Christian Cage made the challenge for Saturday night on COLLISION, a Three Way TNT Championship bout between he, Darby Allin, and Luchasaurus, but in order to get there, he and his Right Hand of Destruction still have to through Friday night’s tag team battle against Darby Allin and “The Icon” Sting.

At ALL IN: LONDON, Darby and Sting shut down the tag team challenge of Christian and Swerve Strickland, in a Coffin Match no less, but that fight, in addition to everything he’s gone through since, has left Allin battered and bruised without giving himself time to heal up in the slightest. Christian may have gone through that battle as well, but he came out less the worse for wear, letting Swerve end up with much of that beating, and he’s got Luchasaurus on his side to throw in the way of the punishment as well.

Thankfully Darby has Sting to support him, genuine support not just the…human…shield who actually earned the TNT Championship that Christian Cage has been carrying around, and pick him up when the going gets rough, usually meaning when Darby is at the wrong end of the numbers game or his physically battered body needs a moment of rest.

Whoever comes out of RAMPAGE with the victory will have a distinct advantage heading into COLLISION in Grand Rapids, the kind of momentum that’s hard to fight, but when the numbers are essentially two-on-one in favor of the defending champion, the real one not Cage, a tag team victory may not amount to much. Still, every victory helps momentum, every victory helps psychologically, and every victory helps get Darby one step closer to bringing that TNT to his side in time for AEW’s WRESTLEDREAM return to his hometown!

WRESTLEDREAM OPPORTUNITY…

Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) vs. The Hardys (Jeff & Matt) vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent)

***WINNER EARNS ROH WORLD TAG TITLE MATCH AT WRESTLEDREAM***

WRESTLEDREAM is less than two weeks away, and with this bout here, four teams are jockeying for the right to challenge Better Than You BayBay, Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF, for the ROH World Tag Team Championship! Of the four teams in contention, The Hardys and The Kingdom can both lay claim to previous status as champions, while The Best Friends have never held a championship of any kind together, and The Righteous can only claim status as former ROH World Six-Man Champions.

All have motivation to press on to Seattle on October 1st and try to claim the throne upon which Cole and Friedman sit, but which pair will be able to see through the chaos that is this sort of affair and find their way to victory? It’s going to be a wild time in Queens with this one come Friday night; which men will come out with their eyes on the prize?

AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens, Daddy Ass, & Max Caster) vs.

The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, & John Silver)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZLHEBER-nG8?si=cxrmZc8nWtPNQDg1&start=73

Last time AEW was at Arthur Ashe Stadium for GRAND SLAM 2022, The Acclaimed captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship from Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. This year they enter that same hallowed ground as the defending World Trios Champions, and the aim to walk back out the same way they come in: titles around their waist, and surrounded by a sea of scissors.

All that Max Caster, Daddy Ass, and Anthony Bowens have to do is survive The Dark Order’s onslaught, something that Bowens proved unable to do last week when he fell to John Silver (not without some trickery from The Dark Order mind you). Alex Reynolds, Silver, and Evil Uno have proven quite the competent competitors, 8-2 on the year and 11-3 overall as a trio, with a huge victory over The Elite included in that 2023 total. But after all this time in AEW, championship success has continued to allude the group ever since Mr. Brodie Lee lost the TNT Championship back to Cody Rhodes several years ago. No tag team or singles title has found a home in The Dark Order, and this will mark The Dark Order’s second attempt to claim the titles, albeit the first for this particular unit, the only three left standing to hold up the claw.

Can The Dark Order finally find their way to being called champion? Or will Arthur Ashe Stadium continue to be Acclaimed territory as it was in 2022?

ALSO FEATURING:

-TBS Champion Kris Statlander, FTW Champion HOOK, & Orange Cassidy

vs. “Cool Hand” Angelo Parker, Anna Jay, & “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard

-Mike Santana vs. Bronson

-Skye Blue vs. The House of Black’s Julia Hart

This Friday night, on a stacked two hour edition of RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023, the AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed will defend against The Dark Order, The Elite will challenge The Mogul Embassy for the ROH World Six-Man Titles, we will see the return of Mike Santana to singles action, and a new #1 Contender for the ROH World Tag Team Titles will be set! All that and more is coming to fans this Friday night at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences! Be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel ahead of time for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE: Grand Slam was broadcast live from Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, NY!

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!

Title vs. Title Match!

ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli (with Wheeler Yuta)

vs.

NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston!

Ian Riccaboni joined the broadcast booth for this match.

Claudio rushed at Eddie and booted him in the face. They traded chops and forearms. The fight spilled outside of the ring! Eddie whipped Claudio into the steel guardrail. Eddie headbutted Claudio but Claudio fired back with a lariat.

Back in the ring Claudio gut wrenched Eddie nearly into a doctor bomb, planting him hard on the mat. Eddie German suplexed Claudio. Eddie tried for a backfist, but Claudio countered with the crown of his head. Claudio back suplexed Eddie Kingston onto the ramp!

Claudio clotheslined Eddie over the top rope and back into the ring. Claudio double stomped down onto the left arm of Claudio. Eddie moved out of the way of Claudio’s diving headbutt.

Claudio battered Eddie in the corner turnbuckles. Claudio nailed Eddie with a TKO for a near fall. Claudio blasted Eddie with boots to the face. Kingston baited Claudio in and nailed Claudio with two suplexes for a two-count. Eddie fired off a straight right to Claudio’s jaw, knocking Claudio to his knees. Claudio answered with a right hand of his own.

Claudio staggered Eddie with European uppercuts. Claudio headbutted Eddie and followed up with a short arm lariat. Claudio went for the ricola bomb, but Eddie reversed it for a near fall. Claudio hit the ricola bomb, but Eddie kicked out at the two-count!

“This crowd coming unglued in support of their own Eddie Kingston,” said Excalibur.

Eddie clocked Claudio with three back fists and followed up with a Northern Lights Bomb for a near fall on Claudio. Kingston fired off another backfist and then powerbombed Claudio for the pinfall victory!

And new Ring of Honor World Champion Eddie Kingston!

Claudio extended his hand and Eddie accepted. The Code of Honor was adhered to.

“It’s a great moment in the long history of Dynamite,” said Tony Schiavone.

Footage was shown from earlier of the Kingdom watching over an ‘injured’ Roderick Strong in a hospital bed.

Adam Cole came to visit.

“Where have you been?” asked Matt Taven.

Cole said he got there as fast as he could.

Cole: “I’m glad you’re doing okay, but I have to go. Max has a huge match against Samoa Joe.”

Roderick Strong: “Just go. Just friggin’ go.”

Renee Paquette was backstage with Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus!

Christian Cage: “Rampage: Grand Slam, we are going to walk through Sting and Darby Allin. And Darby I am ready to move on. I am bored with you. I have a little proposition for you Darby. This Saturday on Collision how about you step in the ring for a three-way match for the TNT Championship against me and Luchasaurus. If you want this shot, Darby, then Sting isn’t allowed at ringside.”

Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara (with Monteasy)!

Monteasy rapped Sammy to the ring. Sammy was wearing a light up vest, an homage to Chris Jericho when he faced Shawn Michaels 21 years ago.

Sammy and Jericho exchanged chops right out of the gate. Jericho tripped and Sammy seized the moment with a corkscrew dropkick. Jericho hoisted up Sammy with an underhook and then hit a backbreaker. Sammy fired back with a corkscrew tornillo over the top rope onto Jericho on the arena floor.

Jericho countered a GTH attempt with the Codebreaker. Jericho suplexed Sammy off the apron and down onto the arena floor! Back in the ring Sammy lured in Jericho for a Spanish Fly for a near fall. Jericho retaliated with two nasty lariats.

Sammy grabbed Jericho and smashed his face with the Code Breaker for a two-count! Sammy charged at Jericho, knocking Jericho off the apron and onto the front of the announcer’s desk. Sammy jumped off the top rope with a moonsault onto Jericho. Sammy connected with a cutter.

“Both of these men have gone through a lot in a short amount of time,” said Tony Schiavone.

Jericho countered the GTH with the Walls! Sammy twisted his hips and escaped. Sammy cracked Chris with a rising knee strike. Sammy and Jericho jockeyed for position on the top turnbuckle. Sammy got the upper hand with a cutter off the top rope!

Sammy attempted a top rope lionsault, but Jericho countered by raising his knees. Jericho hit a running bulldog on Sammy. Jericho nailed Sammy with the lionsault for a near fall. Sammy caught Jericho with a GTH! Sammy went for the shooting star press, but Jericho countered with the Code Breaker and scored the win!

Jericho and Sammy hugged after the match. Sammy kicked Jericho with a low blow!

“What have you done, Sammy?” asked Excalibur.

Don Callis walked down the ramp and into the ring! Don Callis patted Sammy on the shoulder and the two men left the ring together.

Earlier in the day MJF pulled up to the arena in his exotic sports car with Adam Cole!

MJF had strong words for Samoa Joe. Adam Cole’s phone rang and when he answered, it was Roderick Strong. Cole told Strong to calm down and walked away from MJF to console Roddy.

Renee Paquette tried to interview Sammy Guevara and Don Callis backstage!

Don said all would be revealed this Friday on Rampage.

Daniel Garcia got in Sammy’s face, but Callis insisted they walk away.

AEW International Championship Match!

Jon Moxley (c.) vs. Rey Fenix!

Fenix met Moxley on the ramp and they began to brawl before the bell even rang. Fenix jumped off the ramp, over the cameraman, and onto Moxley on the arena floor!

Moxley rocked Rey Fenix with a forearm and then stomped him face first into the mat. Moxley grounded and pounded Rey Fenix. Moxley tossed Rey Fenix over the barricade. Moxley drilled Rey Fenix with a draping DDT onto the arena floor!

“Fenix is in a world of hurt right now from Mox,” said Taz.

Rey Fenix caught Mox flush in the face with a kick and then followed up with a cutter. Rey Fenix frog splashed Moxley for a near fall! Rey Fenix charged at Moxley, but Moxley wiped him out with a King Kong Lariat!

Fenix propped Moxley onto the steel barricade, draping him over it. Rey Fenix jumped off the top rope and landed on Moxley with a leg drop to the back of the head! Back in the ring Moxley regained momentum with a Gotch style piledriver. But Rey retaliated with a diving double foot stomp for a two-count.

Moxley curb stomped Rey Fenix on the stage ramp! Moxley spiked Rey Fenix with a piledriver for a two-count. Rey Fenix hit Moxley with a senton atomico and then a piledriver. Fenix hit a second piledriver and pinned Moxley!

And new AEW International Champion Rey Fenix!

AEW Women’s World Championship Match!

Saraya (c.) (with Ruby Soho) vs. Toni Storm!

Saraya slapped Toni in the face. Toni Storm smiled and chopped at Saraya. After a distraction from Ruby, Saraya capitalized with a thrust kick to Toni.

Toni swept out the leg of Saraya. As the ref was distracted, Toni Storm cracked Saraya in the head with a high heel shoe for a near fall!

Toni Storm pulled off the bottom turnbuckle pad. Toni had a can of spray paint, but Ruby grabbed it out of Toni’s hands and tossed it to Saraya. Saraya sprayed it in Toni’s eyes and went for the pin after a DDT, but Toni kicked out. Saraya grabbed Toni to ram her head into the exposed turnbuckle, but Saraya didn’t have the heart to do it.

Toni Storm grabbed Saraya, kissed her on the mouth, and then spiked her with the Storm Zero for a two-count! Saraya dodged the Hip Attack and nailed Toni with the Knight Cap, grabbing the pinfall victory!

Main Event Time!

AEW World Championship Match!

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

The fans chanted “He’s our scumbag! He’s our scumbag!”

MJF thumbed Samoa Joe in the eye. MJF jumped on the back of Samoa Joe, but Joe shrugged him to the mat. Tony Schiavone pointed out that Adam Cole was not ringside for Adam Cole’s match, despite Adam Cole promising MJF he’d be there for him tonight.

Samoa Joe began to work over MJF’s neck. MJF thumbed Samoa Joe in the eyes again. Joe ran MJF over with a boot to the head. Samoa Joe attempted the muscle buster, but MJF escaped. MJF staggered Samoa Joe with three short arm lariats. MJF went for a fourth, but Samoa Joe swung for the fences and nearly decapitated MJF with a lariat.

Samoa Joe headbutted MJF but MJF fired up and raked Samoa Joe’s back! MJF hammered Samoa Joe with punches to the head. MJF bit down on Samoa Joe’s forehead. MJF connected with the kangaroo kick!

MJF ran for a tope, but Samoa Joe countered with a kick. Samoa Joe spiked MJF with a Death Valley Driver on the apron!

“That’ll change your career, man,” said Taz.

Samoa Joe pulled a table out from beneath the ring. Samoa Joe pulled MJF out of the ring and planted him through the table!

“Samoa Joe can feel the AEW World Championship in his grasp,” said Excalibur.

Samoa Joe pulled the padding off the floor, exposing the concrete beneath it. Samoa Joe was looking for a piledriver, but MJF bit him. MJF attempted a piledriver, but he had to let go because his injured neck began to spasm. Samoa Joe stuck MJF with a piledriver on the exposed concrete!

Samoa Joe told MJF to give up, but MJF spat at Samoa Joe. MJF pulled out a Liger Bomb out of nowhere on Samoa Joe for a near fall!

The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome! This is awesome!”

Samoa Joe and MJF traded strikes in the center of the ring. Samoa Joe applied a sleeper. MJF pulled the ref in close and while the ref was distracted, MJF kicked back with a low blow to Samoa Joe. MJF pulled out the Dynamite Diamond Ring from his trunks.

MJF was about to clock Samoa Joe with the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but Samoa Joe pulled the ref in front of him, and the ref spotted the illegal object! As ref Paul Turner threw the diamond ring to the outside, Samoa Joe kicked MJF with a low blow!

Samoa Joe nailed MJF with the muscle buster but somehow MJF kicked out at the two-count! Samoa Joe applied a sleeper. Adam Cole sprinted down to the ring and tried to motivate MJF! MJF got to his feet! MJF applied the sleeper on Samoa Joe, but Joe shoved MJF into the corner. Adam Cole jumped onto the ring apron. Samoa Joe tried to take a swing at Adam Cole. As Samoa Joe and the ref had their backs turned, MJF used his wrist tape around Samoa Joe’s neck! MJF choked out Samoa Joe and the ref stopped the match, with MJF retaining! MJF dropped the evidence and Adam Cole quickly picked it up and hid it in his pocket.

Samoa Joe got to his feet, and he shoved Adam Cole. MJF jumped in between them, acting as a human shield. Samoa Joe offered his hand to MJF. Samoa Joe shook MJF’s hand, giving the devil his due.

Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from 1stBank Center in Broomfield, CO!

This Friday tune in to a stacked two-hour episode of AEW RAMPAGE: Grand Slam beginning at 10pm ET on TNT featuring:

-Mixed Trios Match!

Orange Cassidy, FTW Champion HOOK, & TBS Champion Kris Statlander

vs.

Anna Jay, Daddy Magic, & Cool Hand Ang!

-Mike Santana in action!

-Skye Blue vs. Julia Hart!

-The Kingdom vs. The Hardys vs. The Righteous vs. Best Friends!

The winner gets an ROH World Tag Team Championship Match at Wrestledream!

-AEW World Trios Championship Match!

The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass (c.) vs. Dark Order!

-Darby Allin & Sting

vs.

Christian Cage & TNT Champ Luchasaurus!

-ROH World 6-Man Championship Match!

The Mogul Embassy (c.)

vs.

“Hangman” Adam Page & The Young Bucks!

Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI!

And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!

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!