The points portion of the Gold League came to a conclusion this past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, and surprisingly, the finals will be a Three Way between Jon Moxley, Jay White, and Swerve Strickland! That takes place next week in Orlando, as will the Blue League Finals once they are set in San Antonio this Saturday! We also saw Riho earn the right to face “Timeless” Toni Storm at WORLDS END for the AEW Women’s World Championship, and the mystery of The Devil’s identity continued as they issued a challenge for the ROH World Tag Titles to MJF and Samoa Joe!
This Friday night RAMPAGE is coming from Oklahoma City and gets underway at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, and features quite an array of bouts! AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy puts his title on the line against CHAOS ally Rocky Romero, The Kingdom clash with The Hardys, Skye Blue will be in action, and AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo clashes with Black Taurus in a rematch of their amazing FINAL BATTLE 2023 title bout! Before the show starts, swing by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s various social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Rocky Romero
Well it certainly did not seem like Rocky Romero intended to challenge his own friend for a title, but his innocent usage of the world “international” seemed to indicate otherwise to reigning AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, and now we have ourselves a championship fight this Friday night on RAMPAGE!
For two years now, Rocky Romero has been both friend and ally to OC, their mutual connection in Trent Beretta effectively making Cassidy and Chuck Taylor members of CHAOS, and as partners in several trios and multi-man matches, they’ve been quite successful together! But this is the first time the two men have ever stood on opposite sides of the ring, and though Romero may not have intended to end up in this situation, that doesn’t mean he’s going to let a championship opportunity slip away! Having recently had his CMLL Historic Welterweight Championship reign ended by Mascara Dorada, Rocky is hungry to put gold back around his waist, it’s just unfortunate that it might have to be at the expense of his own friend’s title run. Still, it’s not the first time Orange has been in that position, he did fight Trent Beretta over the International Championship during his first reign and their relationship survived the fray, no doubt the same will be true for that of Cassidy and Romero…
TAG TEAM BOUT…
The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. The Hardys (Jeff & Matt)
2023 has been a rather frustrating year for The Hardys; the multi-time championship duo have won just one tag team bout, a non-televised Three Way with The Butcher & The Blade and Angelo Parker & Matt Menard, but have yet to get a televised victory in 2023 with just one more week to go. They’ve had some success in Trios and Multi-Man matches, but the thing that has always been their bread and butter has eluded them this year.
It what could be their last chance this year to get back on track, Matt and Jeff will go head-to-head with The Kingdom of Matt Taven and Mike Bennett this Friday night on RAMPAGE! There’s plenty of history between The Kingdom and Matt Hardy, Matt was actually one of the founding fathers of the group in Ring of Honor back in 2014, but this will be their first traditional tag team clash here in All Elite Wrestling! Back in September, as part of RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023, both teams took part in the ROH World Tag Title #1 Contender’s match won by The Righteous, but that’s been their only interaction here. May 2022 saw the two teams collide outside of AEW, a bout won by The Hardys, and until this Friday night, it’s their only fight!
So will this be the chance for The Hardys to get it together, or will The Kingdom add another win to their five consecutive victories?
AAA MEGA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Black Taurus
At FINAL BATTLE 2023, El Hijo del Vikingo successfully defended his AAA Mega Championship against Black Taurus in one of the most amazing spectacles to ever take place inside a ROH ring, and given the 20+ year history of the company, that’s saying quite a lot!
This Friday night on RAMPAGE, in the main event of the evening, Black Taurus will have a second chance at dethroning Vikingo and ending this epic reign as it draws closer to breaking Kenny Omega’s 765-day record. This bout comes just 24 hours after Vikingo and Komander competed in tag team action during ROH ON HONOR CLUB, and his fourth match in just one week for AEW/ROH. For as amazing an athlete as El Hijo del Vikingo is, eventually even the greatest runs come to an end, and taking into consideration how often the man competes, it is amazing he’s continued to reign for as long as he has! Will this Friday night be the end of the road for Vikingo, or will he find another way to put down Taurus like he did at FINAL BATTLE 2023?
Much to the shock of the AEW faithful, Skye Blue has apparently sided with TBS Champion Julia Hart in opposition to “The Living Dead Girl” Abadon. Everyone knew that Skye had been somewhat changed by her previous encounters with the Princess of the Black Throne, that her exposure to Hart’s mist fundamentally shifted something within the young woman, but Skye’s previous actions seemed to indicate that she remained on the side of the angels.
Last week, as seen in the video above, that all fell to the wayside when Skye interrupted Abadon’s attack on Hart not to join in on the situation, but rather to turn the tables on Abadon at the side of the TBS Champion. This Saturday on COLLISION, Skye and Hart will have to face the wrath of Abadon and the returning Thunder Rosa, but Friday night, Skye will be in singles action as she prepares for whatever war may come to San Antonio!
RAMPAGE is coming to you from the home of the Oklahoma City Thunder this Friday night beginning at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, and features AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defending his title against Rocky Romero, El Hijo del Vikingo putting his AAA Mega Championship on the line in a FINAL BATTLE 2023 rematch with Black Taurus, Skye Blue in action, and The Kingdom taking on The Hardys! Prior to the start of the show, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s assorted social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
For the first time in AEW history, All Elite Wrestling heads to Oklahoma and the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City! With WORLDS END just ten days away, the last bouts of the Continental Classic Gold League will go down Wednesday night, setting up the Finals in Orlando next Wednesday on DYNAMITE!
Jon Moxley versus Jay White, Swerve Strickland versus RUSH, and Jay Lethal versus Mark Briscoe are all on tap for this Wednesday with the potential for some intriguing results to be explored shortly. Suffice to say, while Jon Moxley may not be as comfortable as his twelve points would make it seem. In addition, Roderick Strong goes one-on-one with Komander, Saraya faces Riho for the right to challenge Toni Storm on the line, and we will hear from both AEW World Champion MJF and his WORLDS END challenger Samoa Joe!
DYNAMITE gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s various social media platforms, to catch highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the newest CONTROL CENTER, and don’t forget to check out one of the best professional wrestling events of the year FINAL BATTLE 2023 over at ROH Honor Club (www.watchroh.com)!
For the last week, Moxley has been on top of the Continental Classic’s Gold League with 12 points, but as soon as the night begins on Wednesday, there’s the possibility that he will not get any higher and could even end up sharing the top spot depending on how RUSH/Swerve plays out. It’s a sure thing that Jon Moxley will end up in the Finals of the Gold League next week in Orlando, it’s just a matter of what things will look like once the former 3-TIME AEW World Champion gets there. The man who could stop Moxley from being the undisputed points king of the Gold League is none other than “Switchblade” Jay White!
Now White has managed, on his own merit and without BULLET CLUB GOLD involvement, to bounce back from his loss to Swerve Strickland and win his last two tournament bouts to net a total of nine points. Those wins have put him on the precipice of tying up the top spot with Moxley at twelve points, all “Switchblade” has to do is repeat the performance he had against Moxley in their 2019 G1 Climax bout for New Japan. That night, in the first and last singles match between the two prior to this Wednesday, it was White who took home the victory en route to his loss in the tournament finals against Kota Ibushi, and helped stifle Moxley’s strong push towards winning the B Block that year.
Will this Wednesday be a repeat of that outcome with a “Switchblade” Jay White victory? Or will we see Moxley run the table, net 15 points, and head to Orlando to meet one of the several possibilities that await him in the Gold League Finals? What are those possibilities? Read on to see how this half of the Continental Classic could play out…
Swerve Strickland(9) vs. RUSH(6)
Undaunted; that is what Swerve Strickland appears to be following his loss to Jon Moxley last week, a loss that kept him from claiming the position as points leader in the Gold League, at least for the time being. Strickland seems to garner motivation from loses such as that one, loses he can learn from to become a better competitor, loses that push him to improve and come back stronger. When that loss comes against one of the best in the game, well there is a great deal to take away form it but it call comes down to if a competitor is capable of seeing their flaws and getting better, or if they’re only capable of placing blame elsewhere. In this instance, Swerve seems completely capable of seeing where he went wrong to insure he doesn’t make the same mistake when he and Moxley meet again, and the possibility is very real they could fight against next week in the Gold League Finals.
The match of it breaks down like this: Moxley is at the top of the field with 12 points but both Jay White and Swerve Strickland could move up to into a tie with the former 3-Time AEW World Champion, and “Switchblade” would be doing so at the expense of Moxley. Should Moxley lose to Jay White, and Swerve beat RUSH, then we have ourselves a three-way tie at the top with each man sporting 12 points. Should Moxley win, he is the undisputed points winner of the Gold League and it’s just a matter of whether Swerve or RUSH wins this fight. See RUSH saved himself last week with that victory over Jay Lethal, staying alive for another week, but entirely dependent on how others perform in these last matches to make it to the second spot in the finals, and even then he won’t be alone.
As stated, a Moxley win nets 15 and makes him the king of the Gold League in terms of points, whereas a “Switchblade” victory ties them up at 12. Should Swerve win to get 12, he’s either tied with Jay White at 12 or there’s a three way tie at 12, but if RUSH wins to bump to 9 points, then both he and Swerve sit at 9 with the potential that Jay White could also end up at 9, creating a three way tie for the second spot in the Gold League Finals. Either that or, worst case scenario for the two men in this match, White wins and RUSH wins, tying “Switchblade” up with Moxley at 12 points, and insuring a rematch between the two in the Finals. That’s just scratching the surface of what could happen without looking at the possibility of draws in either match!
There are a multitude of ways this could go down, but nothing will be for sure until the final bell rings on the last Continental Classic match of the night! The only thing we know for certain at this moment is that neither of the men involved in the third Continental Classic bout of the night will be a factor in the Gold League Finals…
Mark Briscoe(0) vs. Jay Lethal(0)
Here we have two men with, on paper, nothing left to fight for in the Continental Classic. They both lost their previous four matches, have scored zero points despite their best efforts, and yet in the face of what could be a depressing, heartbreaking situation leading either man to throw in the towel, Jay Lethal and Mark Briscoe have found something to fight for: honor.
The history of these two men dates back twenty years to the formative days of each man’s career, and even saw The Briscoes face the Special K duo of Lethal (then Hydro) and Deranged as part of a Gauntlet Match for the ROH Tag Team Titles at GLORY BY HONOR II in 2003. The two would have their first singles match of record at GATEWAY TO HONOR 2011, a Proving Ground match during Lethal’s 1st ROH World TV Title reign, and would go one-on-one several more times in ROH, with Lethal getting the victory in all but one situation, and only because that one time ended in a No Contest.
In AEW they’ve had one match, back on the January 25th edition of DYNAMITE, a bout to honor the late Jay Briscoe, and one of the most emotional matches ever presented on AEW television. Mark finally got a victory over Jay Lethal on that night, and as sweet as that may have been, ultimately the fight was about honoring the memory of our fallen brother more than about who actually won the contest.
Though they’ve had their issues, primarily stemming from Lethal’s choice to associate with The Jarretts, Sonjay Dutt, and Satnam Singh, Jay Lethal and Mark Briscoe are still bonded, through shared history, through the fights they’ve had together, and through their experiences with Ring of Honor. There’s something unique to those men and women who came through the ROH ranks during the first twenty years, especially those who were there in 2002 when The Murphy Rec Center in Philly was the home of honor. Mark and Jay are two such competitors, and it seems they found their reason to fight this Wednesday night by looking back to that history, focusing on those letters, and putting Honor before everything else.
ONE-ON-ONE…
Roderick Strong vs. Komander
Roderick Strong is clearly just picking fights now that he’s decided to get back into active competition; he did it with Action Andretti and now he’s doing it with Komander, a man who did nothing more than have the audacity to show up and show out at both FINAL BATTLE 2023 (www.watchroh.com) and on last week’s RAMPAGE. Komander may not have been on the winning end of either Survival of the Fittest 2023 or that epic Trios Match, but he absolutely showed he’s got the tools to be a top tier player in AEW or ROH, as well as add more titles to a mantle already holding the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship.
So it will be this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE that Roderick Strong and Komander go head-to-head in their first meeting, and there’s little doubt that The Kingdom will be close at hand. Wherever Roderick goes, so too do Matt Taven and Mike Bennett, and Komander might want to bring some back-up of his own to even the odds lest he fall victim to a piledriver and a…groin…punch from Bennett to soften him up for Roddy!
WORLDS END OR BUST…
Riho vs. Saraya
***WINNER FACES AEW WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPION TONI STORM AT WORLDS END***
When she last stepped onto the AEW stage Riho back in April, it was with the dual purpose of fighting for the AEW Women’s World Championship held at the time by Jamie Hayter and in defense of the AEW Women’s locker room in the face of The Outcasts. Unfortunately the former AEW Women’s World Champion failed in both missions, losing to Hayter on the April 5th edition of DYNAMITE, and being decimated by The Outcasts one week later following a tag match loss to Ruby and Toni Storm.
So it came as no surprise that, upon her return to the fold, Riho’s first order of business was last week’s match with Ruby Soho, a match that ended in Riho’s favor, and now this week it continues with a bout against Saraya. Not only is it a fight with the Outcast member, but it is also one upon which the future of the AEW Women’s World Championship hangs!
See to the winner of this contest on Wednesday night go the spoils of fighting “Timeless” Toni Storm at WORLDS END with the AEW Women’s World Championship at stake! So there is still the possibility for Riho to achieve one of the goals she first set for herself last Spring; as for the other one, well The Outcasts did a grand job of imploding all by themselves, starting with Toni Storm being blackballed from their stage, and continuing with this separation of Saraya and Soho:
So that will be the question this Wednesday won’t it? Can Saraya pull off this all-important victory by herself, without Ruby Soho in her corner, or has she pulled Anna Jay into her corner based on their mutual issues with the entire Cool Hand Ang/Ruby situation? After all, Anna was Saraya’s side a week ago when she interrupted Parker and Menard’s words before their tag match in Montreal…
When last we saw AEW World & ROH World Tag Champion MJF, he was face down on the concrete after apparently being struck in the head with a beer bottle. The conclusion was made by Samoa Joe that the presence of the beer bottle meant Hangman Page was responsible, and the confrontation earlier in the night between the former AEW World Champion and the current further reinforced Joe’s beliefs.
Well the last time we saw Samoa Joe, he was standing face-to-face with that former World Champion and telling Page straight up that he knows Hangman was responsible for the attack on Max and thus, presumably, was also the man behind the devil’s mask that’d been stolen from MJF’s bags weeks ago.
At the end of the night last Wednesday, fans all witnessed Hangman end up another victim of The Devil’s masked men, this time in the parking lot outside the arena, and essentially eradicating any notion that Page was still a suspect. After all, if it’s possible to believe Hangman staged his own assault, than one must accept the possibility that MJF staged his own, or Jay White staged his, or that even The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn stage theirs. Occam’s Razor would suggest removing any victim of The Devil or his ilk from suspicion, and looking elsewhere for suspects.
So perhaps this Wednesday night, when we hear from both champion and challenger, we will all get fresh illumination on the subject. Perhaps MJF saw something or heard something during his attack that points a finger in the right direction, any clue would help unravel this tangled web, and perhaps allow MJF to focus solely on this impeding fight with Samoa Joe.
DYNAMITE debuts in Oklahoma City, OK this Wednesday night Paycom Center and we’ve got the three final bouts in Continental Classic: Gold League on tap! Jay White and Jon Moxley, the winless Mark Briscoe versus the winless Jay Lethal, and RUSH fighting Swerve! Plus former ROH Women’s World Champion Riho battles Saraya for the right to move on to a WORLDS END championship fight with Toni Storm, Roderick Strong will be in action against Komander, and we will hear from both AEW World/ROH World Tag Champion MJF and Samoa Joe!
The bouts begin at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, just be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for all the highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as this week’s CONTROL CENTER!
All Elite Wrestling returns to Garland, TX and our home for the last four years at the Curtis Culwell Center! It’s the first time COLLISION has emanated from this great venue, and with WORLDS END fast approaching, that means more Continental Classic action in the Blue League! We saw Brody King take his first loss in the tournament on DYNAMITE, falling to Andrade El Idolo in each man’s third League bout, and boosting El Idolo up to the top spot with 9 points.
This week the Blue League continues with Claudio Castagnoli taking on Andrade, ROH World & NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston fighting an old rival in Daniel Garcia, and Bryan Danielson facing the immense challenge of Brody King! The bouts begin at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and the best way to get ready is to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s other social media platforms, for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as events from last week’s COLLISION, the latest CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
CONTINENTAL CLASSIC: BLUE LEAGUE…
Standings
Andrade El Idolo (9)
Brody King (6)
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson (6)
Claudio Castagnoli (3)
ROH World Champion/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston (3)
Daniel Garcia (0)
Daniel Garcia (0) vs. Eddie Kingston (3)
The Continental Classic is getting down to the wire, we’ve passed the halfway point, and unfortunately for Daniel Garcia there is no way for him to win the Blue League on points, nor even come in second in order to battle it out with the points leader for that spot in the Continental Classic Finals at WORLDS END. All Garcia can do now is play spoiler to those with hope in their hearts, and with enough points to potentially get them to the Blue League Finals.
One of those men who has to hold onto hope right now is Eddie Kingston, an opponent Garcia has battled many times over the last two years, because after dropping his first two Blue League bouts, Kingston finally scored his first three points last week over Claudio Castagnoli.
But with Bryan Danielson, as well as Brody King, at six points and Andrade El Idolo at nine points, Kingston finds himself with two must-win bouts left in the league, and also dependent on the failings of others. Save the possibility of a draw, either Danielson or King will walk out of Saturday with nine points to their name, and Kingston has lost to both of them already. With the other bout pitting Castagnoli against Andrade, either Claudio walks with six or Andrade with 12, the latter result puts that top spot in the league totally out of Kingston’s reach, with only a hope of second place to hold onto.
Now this is where things get very interesting, the possibility of ties and what draws could potentially do to shake up the entire Blue League, but the bottom line for the ROH World/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion is that he must defeat Daniel Garcia to have hope, he must defeat Andrade El Idolo in his next match to have hope, otherwise Kingston’s gamble with his two championship titles will have failed.
But is it a failure to risk it all in order to achieve something greater? Is that willingness to fail actually what makes a person great? Is it brave or foolhardy for an athlete to look at their future and be willing to gamble everything at the risk of walking away with nothing? Only at the end of this road will Eddie Kingston be able to answer that question for himself…
Bryan Danielson (6) vs. Brody King (6)
In his first two matches in the Continental Classic, Brody King showed the world just how dangerous an individual he can be. Generally competing in tags and trios with his fellow House of Black devotees, Brody took it to Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli with a fierceness. That first match with Kingston kind of shook up the competition as many thought Eddie, as the ROH World and NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion, would come into the tournament strong. Instead Brody dropped “The Mad King”, and moved onto Claudio Castagnoli, who was coming off a strong win on Daniel Gacris. Just as he did with Kingston, Brody King handed Castagnoli his first loss in the tournament, shocking the world once more with his dominance in singles competition, and with eyes on his third bout against Andrade El Idolo.
But Brody’s power and capacity for violence were no match for Andrade’s cunning as El Idolo took advantage of an exposed turnbuckle, cracked Brody’s head against the steel, and ended up with the victory of The House’s behemoth. Every man coming into this tournament did so knowing loss was a possibility, if not an inevitability, so King will take the defeat as a lesson and move forward with no excuses into his last two fights. For better or worse, Brody King has to meet former multi-time World Champion and Blackpool Combat Club member Bryan Danielson in his next fight.
Bryan has been through a bit of hell during 2023; from the litany of injuries sustained after REVOLUTION 2023’s Iron Man Match with MJF to his broken arm from FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023 against Okada to the fractured orbital bone suffered at the hands of both Okada and Orange Cassidy, the body of “The American Dragon” has gone through the ring.
And yet he never stops, Bryan Danielson never yields, and that is why he is a part of this tournament in spite of how much his body has endured. It seems with Danielson that no matter what his body may feel, his mind is strong, his will is iron, and his drive to compete is inevitable. That’s why he went through three Continental Classic matches in a week against Eddie Kingston, Daniel Garcia, and Andrade El Idolo. The first two were victories for Dragon, hard-fought, still victories nonetheless, but then came Andrade and his willingness to do something that the other two competitors did not: attack the eye.
With a relentless aggression, Andrade went after Danielson’s eye to the point that many wondered if Dragon would even be able to fight the match through to its end, but anyone who questioned that clearly doesn’t know the heart of Bryan. He fought through to the bitter end, taking the pain and punishment Andrade dished out, never stopping his fight, but ultimately succumbing. So now that the man who many thought would run the table with a perfect bracket has tasted defeat, what is his road to the finals? What is Brody King’s?
Obviously for both victory here is the goal, putting the winner at nine points in the Blue League, and potentially tied with Andrade El Idolo depending on how his battle with Claudio sways. If that’s the case, it comes down to the final match of the League for each, for Bryan that is actually fellow BCC member Claudio Castagnoli while for Brody King it is Daniel Garcia, someone who holds a victory over Brody from earlier this year. Win or lose, both men are still in the fight to win the Continental Classic, but whoever walks out of this with hand raised will be just a bit more comfortable in their position…that is if anyone is in position to walk away from this fight. Add in the fact that Bryan Danielson had a Fight Without Honor war last night at ROH’s FINAL BATTLE 2023 that ended with Mark Briscoe dropping “The American Dragon” with a Jay Driller to win the match, and it’s really questionable how Danielson is even capable of walking into this one, much less expecting to walk out the winner!
Claudio Castagnoli (3) vs. Andrade El Idolo (9)
Though some may have questioned whether or not Andrade El Idolo was wise to take on CJ Perry for his management, it’s hard to question the results as El Idolo is undefeated thus far, with victories over Daniel Garcia, Bryan Danielson, and Brody King just this past Wednesday on DYNAMITE. In each case Andrade has looked strong, dominant even, and as evidenced in both the Danielson and Brody King matches, willing to do anything it takes to secure that victory. In Bryan’s case it meant attacking that eye injury, and in King’s making use of the exposed turnbuckle, either way it ended with points for Andrade, enough to put him at the top of Blue League with just two matches left.
As for Claudio, he had a great first outing against Daniel Garcia to score his three points, but then ran into the brick wall of Brody King, and stumbled once more in his DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023 rematch with Eddie Kingston. The latter likely stung greater than the former given the ill will between Kingston and Castagnoli, but the Brody loss is still a loss and Castagnoli finds himself in the same hole as Kingston.
Claudio’s path to possibly make the cut for League Finals means defeating Andrade and, in his final match, his own Blackpool Combat Club brother Bryan Danielson. Even that would only net him nine points, leaving The Swiss Superman also dependent on the outcome of other matches in order to be one of the last two men standing for the Gold League Finals in Orlando on December 27th. Andrade is obviously in the Gold League driver’s seat, but he could end up fighting for that second place spot if he drops this match and his final bout with Eddie Kingston. No one in this Blue League should let themselves get too comfortable…especially considering four of these six men fought at ROH’s FINAL BATTLE 2023 event last night. All but Andrade El Idolo and Brody King went through a fight, so it will be very intriguing to see how those may effect these three bouts!
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy(c) vs. “The Bounty Hunter” Bryan Keith
Last night at FINAL BATTLE 2023, Bryan Keith came into ROH for the very first time with nothing more than an opportunity to qualify for the ROH World Television Championship Survival of the Fittest Elimination bout. “All” Kieth had to do was beat Jack Cartwheel on the ZERO HOUR to get there.
Well he did that, and in the span of the seven minutes that fight lasted, Bryan also won over the ROH faithful in Garland, TX. Then “The Bounty Hunter” stepped into the Survival of the Fittest Finals and hung in there for seventeen minutes, eliminating Lee Moriarty in the process before Kyle Fletcher took him out, and Bryan Keth solidified himself as a force to be reckoned with anywhere he goes.
Obviously someone took notice because Orange Cassidy, the 2-Time AEW International Champion, actually stepped up to “The Bounty Hunter” and offered him an opportunity to challenge for the title this Saturday night on COLLISION! Now Orange is coming into this off a fight of his own, teaming up with The Von Erichs on RAMPAGE to beat Cool Hand Ang, Daddy Magic, and Jake Hager, but that took far less a toll on the champion than FINAL BATTLE 2023 did to his challenger!
Can Bryan Keith upset the defending champion this Saturday night in Garland, and continue to show the world what he brings to the table inside that squared circle? Will OC’s own challenge backfire on him come COLLISION?
All Elite Wrestling has called Garland, TX and the Curtis Culwell Center home since 2019, and for the first time we are bringing COLLISION action to town! The Blue League tournament action heads into its fourth round with Castagnoli versus Andrade, Kingston battling Garcia, and Danielson tackling King! COLLISION begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and to get prepared for it all, drop by the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from this week’s editions of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as events from the last COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
DYNAMITE was absolutely action-packed this past Wednesday with three Gold League bouts, one Blue League contest, and several other exciting bouts as AEW heads towards WORLDS END on December 30th! Jon Moxley took the top spot in the Gold League with 12 points after his victory over Swerve Strickland, while Rush added three more points to his total after beating Jay Lethal, and Jay White also scored another trio of points after topping Mark Briscoe. Meanwhile, in the Blue, Brody King fell to Andrade El Idolo to put the latter competitor on top of that bracket with every man now having competed in three bouts.
We also learned that The Golden Jets will take on AEW World Tag Champions Big Bill and Ricky Starks at WORLDS END, fans witnessed Adam Page have a heated confrontation with Samoa Joe and then best Roderick Strong in the opening match of the night, only to be laid out in the parking lot during the closing moments of DYNAMITE.
This Friday night RAMPAGE hails from Arlington, TX and begins at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, and features an intriguing collection of matches! AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy teams with The Von Erich’s to take on Daddy Magic, Cool Hand Ang, and Jaker Hager in Trios action while Anna Jay and Red Velvet go head-to-head for the first time since 2020! Plus, The Don Callis Family will be in tag team action and, in the main event, Top Flight and Action Andretti will finally lock up with Penta, Vikingo, and Komander in their much anticipated Trios bout!! Before the show begins, make a point to drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s various social media platforms, to get up to speed with highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
TRIOS MATCH…
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy & The Von Erichs (Marshall & Ross) vs. Angelo Parker, Jake Hager, & Matt Menard
The history of the Von Erichs in Texas is well known to wrestling fans around the world, and the newest generation of the fabled grappling family is set to make their first in-ring appearance for All Elite Wrestling this Friday night on RAMPAGE!
The issues between AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy and the former J.A.S. members have been growing for several weeks, in fact it was only a couple weeks ago that he teamed with HOOK, Danhausen, and Trent Beretta to defeat Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, and The Dark Order, and on the Thanksgiving Eve DYNAMITE that he, Shibata, and HOOK bested Daddy Magic, Cool Hand Ang, and Jake Hager.
But like a bad penny, they keep turning up in OC’s life, and this time the AEW International Champion is bringing some hometown help from Ross and Marshall Von Erich! The sons of Kevin Von Erich, Ross and Marshall have been competing for eleven years, learning from their father as well as the legendary Harley Race, and spending time in the Pro Wrestling NOAH Dojo under Naomichi Marufuji. They are multi-time tag champions over the course of their career, certainly experienced competitors, and strong partners for “Freshly Squeezed” in this Trios bout.
But not being one of OC’s regular partners like Trent Beretta, Danhausen, Chuck Taylor, or even HOOK, how will they gel on this first outing? Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, and Jake Hager have been together virtually every week of their life for the last year and a half, but their current situations have not led to a great deal of success for any of the men. Can they take advantage of the inexperience of Orange Cassidy’s trio to get back on track?
ONE-ON-ONE…
Anna Jay vs. Red Velvet
It has been over three years since the last time Anna Jay and Red Velvet locked up as foes. That night, the September 1, 2020 edition of AEW DARK, it was Anna Jay who scored the victory and the two women would not share the ring again until last year on the 2/21/22 edition of DARK: ELEVATION, only that night it would be as partners in a Trios match, scoring victory alongside Tay Melo.
This Friday night on RAMPAGE, these two women, each looking to get their career back on the right track, will lock up in a rematch of that 2020 bout! Anna Jay is trying to focus on her career while dealing with her friends problems, Red Velvet is freshly returned from a long injury layoff and trying to get back in the mix, that makes this a must-win bout for both!
TRIOS MATCH…
Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin) vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo, Komander, & Penta El Zero Miedo
This one stems from a challenge made by Penta El Zero Miedo, his way of welcoming Dante Martin back to the fight it seems, and perhaps a reminder that The Lucha Brothers were responsible for the gruesome injury he suffered at SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023. Top Flight and Action Andretti were more than willing to accept the challenge, and fans will be the ones lucky enough to experience it this Friday night on RAMPAGE!
Just look at the six competitors involved in this battle and one can predict the kind of insanity coming to TNT with this Trios bout! This is a “blink and you’ll miss it” kind of battle featuring six of the best high-flyers in professional wrestling today, and the kind of action you can only get with All Elite Wrestling!
ALSO FEATURING:
-The Don Callis Family of Kyle Fletcher & Powerhouse Hobbs!
RAMPAGE comes your way from Arlington, TX this Friday night starting at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, and will bring the legendary Von Erich family to AEW where Ross and Marshall will united with AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy for Trios action against Daddy Magic, Cool Hand Ang, and Jaker Hager! We will also see The Don Callis Family in tag team action, Red Velvet take on Anna Jay, and, the trio of Top Flight and Action Andretti fighting with Penta El Zero Miedo, El Hijo del Vikingo, and Komander in a highly anticipated Trios bout!!
Prior to the start of the show, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s assorted social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
Winter is coming to Arlington, TX this Wednesday night when All Elite Wrestling debuts at College Park Center! All roads lead to Long Island for WORLDS END on December 30th, but the way there is increasingly fraught with peril for everyone in the Continental Classic, as well as AEW World Champion MJF, his scheduled challenger Samoa Joe, and anyone else around the champ!
Three more matches in the Gold League will go down on Wednesday night with Rush facing Jay Lethal, Mark Briscoe battling Jay White, and the two unbeatens, Jon Moxley and Swerve Strickland, putting that on the line in their first-ever meeting! Plus Ruby Soho takes on the returning Riho, Roderick Strong gets back in action with a fight against “Hangman” Adam Page, and we will hear from the #1 Contender to MJF’s AEW World Championship, Samoa Joe! DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, so drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s various social media platforms, to watch highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the newest CONTROL CENTER!
One would be hard-pressed to find a man on a bigger role right now than Jon Moxley, he’s won 13 of his last 15 singles matches, including that Steel Cage Match with Kenny Omega and being the one to end Orange Cassidy’s historic first AEW International Championship reign. His two losses were quite painful to be honest, losing that same championship to Rey Fenix and failing to reclaim it from “Freshly Squeezed” in their rematch, but Mox has rebounded spectacularly with this three victories in the Continental Classic: Gold League thus far. RUSH, Mark Briscoe, and Jay Lethal have all fallen at the hands of the 3-Time AEW World Champion and even though we’ve all heard it from the horse’s mouth just how he is hurting, Mox is going to keep fighting until there’s no breath left in his lungs.
Swerve is also on quite a roll of his own, winning nine of his last ten singles bouts, the loss in that situation coming at the hands of Bryan Danielson and there is absolutely no shame in losing to “The American Dragon”. Now Strickland might put that loss squarely on the shoulders of Hangman Page, but the reality is that all the former AEW World Champion did was prevent Swerve from cheating to win. Now the nature of this tournament removed the Prince Nana factor from the equation, but rather than be a hindrance, it has instead allowed Swerve to prove just how good he is without the assistance of The Mogul Embassy. Victories over Mark Briscoe, Jay White, and Jay Lethal have bolstered Swerve already massive go, but also demonstrated that he’s got the ability to be truly great on his own. And now it will be put to the test this Wednesday night when the only unbeaten men in the Gold League go head-to-head for the very first time!
Swerve Strickland and Jon Moxley are both on the precipice of winning the Gold League, the only man that can possibly match them is Jay White, but he requires a lot of pieces to fall into place in order to make that happen, not the least of which is beating Moxley in their final League match. That’s a story for another week though, and another fight, this one will either set a definitive top dog in the Gold League with a three point victory, or leave things all tied up with a one point draw. One will have twelve points, or both will have ten, those are the only two ways this can go, and all eyes will be watching to see how it plays out.
Rush (3) vs. Jay Lethal (0)
With just three points to his name, “El Toro Blanco” is one of three men in this tournament on the outside looking in; mathematically speaking, there is no way for the head of La Faccion Ingobernable to move to the front of the line save both Jon Moxley and Swerve Strickland forfeiting their last two matches. Even if two current leaders of the field went to a draw in their bout this Wednesday, and Moxley lost in his last bout to Jay White while RUSH beat Swerve in theirs, the best he could hope for is nine points to their ten. Still, stranger things have happened, and “El Toro Blanco” is fighting with the hope that one of those things takes place between now and the finals of the Gold League!
As for Jay Lethal, the “Franchise of ROH”, he has taken his zero point total very hard, and there was obviously not a whole lot for Jeff Jarrett or Sonjay Dutt to say about the matter. So while Lethal is eliminated from any possibility of winning this tournament, he can still score some sort of moral victory by winning at least one of his remaining battles, and in the case of Rush, he can do it with a win over a man he’s never beaten in RUSH. Their only singles encounter, a ROH World Championship match at the 19TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW in March 2021 ended with a RUSH victory, their one Four Corner Survival ended with neither as the victor, and their Eight-Man Tag ended with LFI having the upper hand.
Coincidentally, before any of their matches against one another, there was a period of time in 2019 where the two men actually fought side-by-side, and even challenged for the ROH World Six-Man Titles together with Jeff Cobb. Yet now they stand as foes once again, Lethal’s first chance to redeem that 2021 championship defeat, and his second-to-last opportunity to put any points on the board before the Continental Classic comes to a close. Will Lethal be able to overcome his disappointing run so far, or will this be another night that drives him further towards the edge?
Jay White (6) vs. Mark Briscoe (0)
One month ago, just ten days before “Switchblade” Jay White fought MJF at FULL GEAR 2023 for the AEW World Championship, he went one-on-one with Mark Briscoe for the very first time. Now the two had some history dating back to Jay’s NJPW excursion spent with Ring of Honor, and even fought in a tag team affair as recently as June 2022, but that evening was their first singles bout, and after fourteen minutes, it went the way of Jay White. That sent “King Switch” to his championship match on a high note, not one that led to him claiming the title as his own, but a loss that has perhaps served to stoke White’s fires with this Continental Classic.
With two victories under his belt, and two matches still to go, the possibility exists that Jay White could actually end up in a tie for the Gold League crown. He just needs to win out in this match, as well as in his final bout with Jon Moxley, and hope that, regardless of the Swerve/Moxley outcome, Strickland also blows his final match in the tournament against RUSH. The situation is possible, but it all hinges on “Switchblade” beating Mark Briscoe.
So knowing he’s completely eliminated from the tournament, what does Mark Briscoe stand to gain from these last two matches with Jay White and Jay Lethal? Well right here, with this “Switchblade” rematch, Mark has the opportunity to redeem his loss a month ago, and play spoiler for any hopes the head of BULLET CLUB GOLD has at winning the Gold League. If White loses this Wednesday night, all hope he had of snaking into a tie for the top spot will be so much dust in the wind thanks to the 13-Time ROH World Tag Team Champion! Can Mark do that? Can he find it within himself to score a win even though nothing is a stake save personal redemption? If there’s anyone in this tournament who has that heart, it’s Mark Briscoe!
CONTINENTAL CLASSIC: BLUE LEAGUE…
Standings
Brody King (6)
Andrade El Idolo (6)
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson (6)
Claudio Castagnoli (3)
ROH World Champion/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston (3)
Daniel Garcia (0)
Andrade El Idolo (6) vs. Brody King (6)
This Wednesday night the Blue League of the Continental Classic will come to DYNAMITE for the first time, and with it comes a battle of the two top men in standings! On paper there may be a three tie between Brody King, Andrade El Idolo, and Bryan Danielson, but the reality is that Bryan’s six points are the result of three matches in the Blue League while King and El Idolo have had just two thus far. That changes on Wednesday night when those two warriors collide in their third Blue League match, the halfway point of the tournament, and a rematch of their June 24th COLLISION bout that ended with a DQ victory for Andrade El Idolo after Buddy Matthews interfered on Brody’s behalf.
That will not be the case on Wednesday since, as we all know by now, outside interference in the Continental Classic will not be tolerated, a rule that thankfully has been obeyed by all parties involved thus far. That leaves the powerhouse of The House to deal with the man who had him dead to rights back in June when Buddy’s involvement was the only thing that saved Brody from tapping to the Figure Eight. Will DYNAMITE see Andrade finish the job that was so rudely interrupted at the beginning of the Summer, or will Brody King continue his monstrous run through the Blue League competition to ascend to the top of the mountain with nine points?
Hangman hasn’t stepped into the ring since his unforgettable Texas Death match against Swerve Strickland, a fight he lost, but will forever be etched onto Adam’s soul as one of the most life changing he’s ever had. Where does he go now? It seems his mission is to insure Swerve never achieves his own championship dreams, but now there’s also a little bit of MJF in the mix because, quite frankly, the AEW World Champion is seeing the devil in everyone…
Roderick Strong, since being (questionably) injured by Samoa Joe in the Grand Slam Eliminator Tournament finals back in September, has only fought twice, both just about a month ago, and spent most of his time being wheeled around by The Kingdom while yelling quite unnecessarily. One of those matches, the fight with Action Andretti, saw Strong land rather painfully on that neck that he’s been nursing for three months, giving him further excuses to not fight, but it looks like Roddy is finally putting himself back in the mix!
There’s a rich history between Roderick Strong and Adam Page, one dating back to the earliest years of Hangman’s career, and even saw Page serve as Roddy’s young boy in Ring of Honor when Strong was part of a group known as The Decade. It has been nine years since their last one-on-one fight, ROH’s FINAL BATTLE 2014 event to be exact, and seven-plus years since they last shared at ring at ROH/NJPW GLOBAL WARS 2016. So much has changed for both men, especially for Hangman whose stock has risen so much from those young boy days to that of a former AEW World and World Tag Team champion.
This Wednesday night their paths merge once more as each forges ahead with their careers into the great unknown. Is their future the AEW World Champion? Is it something else neither has found yet? Page still has Swerve in his focus, Roderick is still rather obsessive where it comes to anything around Adam Cole, but is that all there is for them?
When we last saw Riho inside an AEW ring it was as another victim of The Outcasts, when they were a united trio, after they’d already beaten her and Skye Blue in a tag team bout. Following the match, Riho was assaulted, spray painted, and dropped with a Triple Powerbomb, never getting a chance to even the score with her assailants.
This past week on DYNAMITE though, after Toni Storm’s victory over Skye Blue, Riho returned to the AEW stage and went straight for the AEW Women’s World Champion! Though Toni may longer have an affiliation with The Outcasts, she was still part of the scenario that put Riho out of AEW action, and the fact Toni’s the reigning champion furthers the incentive for Riho to target her first.
But that doesn’t mean the other women involved are in store for their own comeuppance as well, and that begins this Wednesday night in Arlington when Riho goes one-on-one with Ruby Soho! It’s the first time these two warriors have gone to battle since Ruby eliminated Riho from the 2022 Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament, given Riho even more incentive to even the score with this Outcast! Will Riho manage to do that this Wednesday night, or will Ruby have Saraya at her side to tip the scales?
Samoa Joe had promised to keep Maxwell Jacob Friedman intact heading into their AEW World Championship bout, but it’s hard to do that when the champion is doing nothing to keep himself safe. He’s already banged up from his title fight against Jay White at FULL GEAR 2023, but that hasn’t stopped MJF from continuing to pursue a fight at every opportunity, especially where this Devil and his masked men are concerned.
That’s what led to Samoa Joe standing in the ring waiting for the arrival of his temporary partner, saw him stuck in the ring while a group of masked men surrounded it, and then just as abruptly left all by himself to watch a video of MJF laid out, apparently with bottle smashed across his head based on the wreckage left around him.
So where is Samoa Joe’s head at after all that, knowing he’s only a couple weeks away from WORLDS END, and MJF constantly in jeopardy of not being up for the fight? We will hear from the most dangerous man in professional wrestling this Wednesday in Arlington!
THE GOLDEN JETS…
Coming off a hard-fought victory over “All Ego” Ethan Page, Kenny Omega was laid out by Big Bill and left for dead on the COLLISION stage, a message to Omega and Chris Jericho as they sit with a guaranteed AEW World Tag Team Championship match in their pocket. Both Jericho and Omega have paid physical prices for earning that shot, though Omega may have paid a more personal one given that it came at the cost of beating his supposed best friends at FULL GEAR 2023, and this week on DYNAMITE we will hear from the #1 Contender’s regarding Ricky Starks and Big Bill! Will this be the day they call their shot, and name the site of their title match?
DYNAMITE debuts in Arlington, TX this Wednesday night at the College Park Center featuring three more bouts in the Gold League of the Continental Classic! We’ve got a battle of the 9-Pointers in Swerve Strickland and Jon Moxley, the winless Mark Briscoe fighting Jay White, and Rush taking on Jay Lethal as the latter tries to stay in contention! In addition, former ROH Women’s World Champion Riho returns to action against Ruby Soho, Roderick Strong is back in the fight opposite Hangman Page, and Samoa Joe will be in the house after watching his WORLDS END foe get laid out apparently by AEW’s Devil.
The bouts begin at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, just be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for all the highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as this week’s CONTROL CENTER!
As we reach the halfway point, things are heating up with the Continental Classic in both the Gold and Blue League with both Mark Briscoe and Jay Lethal eliminated from victory in the Gold, Daniel Garcia (depending greatly on Saturday night) stands on the precipice of suffering the same fate in the Blue following his loss on RAMPAGE, and Eddie Kingston could end up in the same position depending on his COLLISION contest! We are heading full speed toward WORLDS END on December 30th, but there’s a lot of story to be told before All Elite Wrestling gets onto Long Island, and Montreal plays host to the next chapter!
In a clash of Canadians, “All Ego” Ethan Page goes head-to-head with Kenny Omega in their first-ever contest, Willie Mack steps up to defend his friend AR Fox against Wardlow, an old rivalry renews between Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Martinez, and the Blue League continues with Claudio versus Kingston and Danielson versus Andrade! The night begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and to best get prepared for it, visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s other social media platforms, to catch highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as events from last week’s COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
CONTINENTAL CLASSIC: BLUE LEAGUE
Standings
Brody King (6)
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson (6)
Claudio Castagnoli (3)
Andrade El Idolo (3)
ROH World Champion/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston (0)
Daniel Garcia (0)
ROH World Champion/NJPW STRONG Eddie Kingston (0) vs. Claudio Castagnoli (3)
The history between these two men is well-documented; former training partners, as well as former roommates, whose bad blood blossomed long ago and spilled all over the independent wrestling landscape in the years before Castagnoli left that landscape to ply his trade elsewhere. It was never laid to rest, never settled, and the truth was, even after Eddie Kingston finally defeated Claudio Castagnoli at GRAND SLAM 2023 to win the ROH World Championship, that animosity wasn’t going to fade away even if the two men planned on never fighting each other again.
Unfortunately for Kingston and Castagnoli, their plan to never have to fight one another again became impossible as soon as the brackets were set for the Continental Classic and both were positioned in the Blue League. That made a conflict inevitable, whereas if they’d been kept in separate leagues then the finals would’ve been their only possible meeting place. Instead this Saturday night on COLLISION, in their third tournament matches, the ROH World & NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion will fight the man he dethroned for the former, only this time no title will be at stake, rather three points in the league and the potential for Kingston to be mathematically eliminated from tournament victory. That loss would be a blow more devastating than any other he’s experienced thus far because not only would it mean Kingston is out of contention in the Continental Classic, it also means that he has effectively lost both the ROH World Championship and the NJPW STRONG Openweight Title.
He may have the championship sobriquet attached to his name until December 29th, but if Kingston is eliminated from this tournament before WORLDS END, its a meaningless distinction and he’ll only have himself to blame for putting both titles into the mix to create this modern North American Triple Crown! Can Kingston ward off elimination with a second consecutive victory over Claudio Castagnoli? Or will “The Swiss Superman” bounce back from his loss to Brody King with yet another victory over “The Mad King”?
Bryan Danielson (6) vs. Andrade El Idolo (3)
The last time these two men met in combat was on the October 21st edition of COLLISION, and also the last singles match Bryan Danielson had before the orbital bone injuries he sustained just four days later in that DYNAMITE tag team bout against Okada and Orange Cassidy. It took nearly 19 minutes of fierce battle, but “The American Dragon” managed to topple Andrade on that night to emerge the victor. Now this Continental Classic tournament has given Andrade an opportunity to even their score…
It’s common knowledge that Bryan Danielson comes into this fight still healing from that eye injury, but it didn’t stop him from defeating Eddie Kingston last week in Bryan’s first tournament bout, it didn’t stop him from beating Daniel Garcia on RAMPAGE less than 24 hours ago, and it isn’t going to prevent Danielson from giving it his all against Andrade either. Much like how Danielson had to be wary of Kingston’s spinning back fist when it came to protecting the eye, this time around he needs to be cognizant of that deadly spinning back elbow Andrade employs to knock his opponents senseless. If that connects, not only could it mean the end of Danielson’s bid for three more points, it could mark the end of his participation in this tournament as a whole thanks to another re-fractured orbital bone…
A CANADIAN CHALLENGE…
“The Cleaner” Kenny Omega vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page
For the very first time in their careers, “All Ego” Ethan Page and “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega will go one-on-one after Ethan challenged AEW’s only Triple Crown winner to see who was the better Canadian! Back in June, when AEW came to Hamilton, Ontario for the first time, Ethan stepped up to give AEW World Champion MJF a run for his money in an impromptu title bout, and now he’s making another stand in the Great White North by calling out one of the most influential athletes of this generation!
Omega has had a rough 2023, losing four of his last six singles matches beginning with the night Don Callis stabbed him in the head inside a Steel Cage, and constantly being on the wrong end of an assault from Callis’ Family, but he’s now won three straight in tag team and multi-man affairs, including beating his own best friends The Young Bucks to steal their guaranteed AEW World Tag Title match while apparently sending them off to lick their wounds.
In Montreal, will Omega continue to get himself back on track or will it be Ethan Page’s time to step up to the plate and knock it out of the park?
FOR A FRIEND…
Wardlow vs. Willie Mack
Willie Mack and AR Fox have ties that run deep, back some ten years to shows in Mexico, even include the two men reigning as champions together as part of a trio back in 2015, and those ties have led Wardlow to putting himself in the path of “The War Dog”! For Wardlow, the path ends at MJF’s grave, but the AEW World Champion has a whole lot on his plate and his former bodyguard is going to have to get in the queue. Until then, every one who slows Wardlow down from getting to his goal is going to suffer, and he intends to make Willie Mack the next victim!
TIME FOR A FIGHT…
Mercedes Martinez vs. Willow Nightingale
Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Martinez have a rivalry that has spanned a half-decade, crossed across multiple companies, and across the United States. It began in 2018 in the Berwyn Eagles Club and picked back up in 2022 at ROH’s SUPERCARD OF HONOR event when the two competed for the Interim ROH Women’s World Championship. Both those singles matches were won by Martinez, as was their first AEW bout, a tag team match on COLLISION in August where Martinez and Diamante topped Willow and Kris Statlander. A Trios bout on the ZERO HOUR of ALL OUT 2023 finally saw Nightingale, with Hikaru Shida and Skye Blue as her partners, get that first victory over Mercedes who had ROH Women’s World Champion Athena and Diamante as her allies, and she would score another win over Martinez in a tag match for the Kitsune Women’s Wrestling promotion a few weeks later.
But nothing has brought an end to this rivalry, and the insistence of Mercedes and Diamante to engage with the woman Willow calls friends has kept them in each other’s lives as well. So it comes to blows once again this Saturday night on COLLISION in the third singles match between Nightingale and Martinez! After scoring the last two victories in their rivalry, can Nightingale finally get her first one-on-one win over Mercedes Martinez?
The Blue League tournament action continues, Mercedes Martinez and Willow Nightingale clash, Wardlow goes into battle with Willie Mack, and in a first-ever battle, Ethan Page meets Kenny Omega! COLLISION gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and to get prepared for it all, drop by the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from this week’s editions of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as events from the last COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
This past Wednesday on DYNAMITE the AEW faithful in Montreal, and those watching worldwide, witnessed the Gold League reach its halfway point, putting Jay Lethal and Mark Briscoe on the cusp of elimination while both Moxley and Swerve Strickland shot for their ninth points. While the last two men achieved their goal of nine points, the first two sadly found themselves on the outside looking in with two matches in the tournament still to go. Moxley did it at Rush’s expense, Swerve did it a Jay Briscoe’s, and Jay White gained his 6th point by knocking Lethal out of contention.
In addition, AEW World/ROH World Tag Champion MJF was laid out, apparently with a broken bottle, while Samoa Joe stood in the ring awaiting their tag bout against The Devil’s Masked Men, Toni Storm retained her AEW Women’s World Championship over Skye Blue only to be confronted by Riho, and TNT Champion Christian Cage managed to defend his title over Adam Copeland in no small part due to the involvement of Shayna Wayne.
This Friday night RAMPAGE comes to you from Montreal starting at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, and features a Continental Classic match in the Blue League between Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia, Abadon in action against The Infantry’s Trish Adora, and The Don Callis Family in Tag Team action, plus we will see AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, with Danhausen in his corner, in action against Angelico stemming from ROH ON HONOR CLUB Thursday night! Beforehand, be sure to drop by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s assorted social media platforms, before showtime to up to speed with highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and this latest CONTROL CENTER!
Last Saturday night Bryan Danielson, with one eye concealed due to his orbital bone injury, defeated ROH World/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston in The American Dragon’s first Continental Classic bout. It was hard-hitting, draining, pushed Danielson to his limit, and yet here he less than a week later competing in his second Blue League bout, with his third scheduled for COLLISION opposite Andrade El Idolo!
And just who will “The American Dragon” face this Friday night on RAMPAGE? Why it’s the man who dubbed himself “The Dragon Slayer” after beating Bryan back on the July 27, 2022 edition of DYNAMITE. Danielson might hold the overall advantage over Daniel Garcia in their series of matches, including a 2 of 3 Falls victory on the 8/17/22 edition of DYNAMITE, but the man once called “Red Death” knows what it feels like to be the ROH Hall of Famer.
Garcia is coming into this fight without a point to his name in the Continental Classic, just two painful losses to Andrade El Idolo and Claudio Castagnoli, and certainly considered the dark horse of the Blue League. He still has Brody King, he still has Eddie Kingston, but this Friday night he must remain focused on Bryan Danielson and take the rest of this tournament one fight at a time. Garcia needs to get on the board with this match, his halfway point of the tourney as the first man to compete in his third bout, otherwise he could end up in the same position as Jay Lethal and Mark Briscoe.
But if Daniel Garcia can find a way to another victory over Bryan Danielson, this one without the helping hand of Jake Hager, it may very well be the launching point he needs to rebound from those two painful losses and run the table the rest of the way to a nine point showing! Playing spoiler to Bryan Danielson’s pursuit of Blue League superiority is a tremendous resume builder, and if Garcia can be that guy, Kingston and King better take notice and be prepared.
On the other hand, if it’s Danielson who comes out with the victory, he better hope it’s a fast victory with minimal damage to his person because less than 24 hours later, “The American Dragon” will be right back in Continental Classic action with a fight against Andrade El Idolo! For someone who’s freshly back from injury, is it wise taking two fights of this caliber in just one day’s time?
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy (w/ Danhausen) vs. Angelico (w/ Serpentico)
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy and Danhausen were just trying to do the right thing by Christopher Daniels, help someone out when their foe was taking advantage of a numbers situation, and that has now brought the champ into direct conflict with The Spanish Announce Project this Friday night on RAMPAGE!
Though not endeavoring into quite the hectic schedule he kept with his first International Championship reign, Orange Cassidy still aims to defend his title against anyone brave enough to step up to the challenge, and it looks like Angelico will be the next individual to try “Freshly Squeezed”!
This encounter will mark their third since the inception of All Elite Wrestling, with OC taking the victories in 2020 and 2021, but their first with a championship on the line. Will Angelico be able to parlay his unique pro wrestling style, with maybe a little help from Serpentico, to his first AEW championship title? Or will Orange Cassidy continue the success he experienced in his first International Title reign?
TAG TEAM BOUT…
The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita & Powerhouse Hobbs)
As witnessed last week, Don Callis’ Family is on a roll and this Friday night on RAMPAGE they aim to continue elevating their dominant presence inside the squared circle. This weekend they will do so in a tag team encounter when Powerhouse Hobbs and Konosuke Takeshita, two of the most powerful men in All Elite Wrestling, unite for the first time to create a team that could be the most terrifying in the locker room.
Their foes on RAMPAGE will be former ROH Tag Team Champions Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal who, though their reign took place some 17 years ago, have set their sights on finding that magic once again. They’ve been frustrated thus far, losing four consecutive bouts in AEW, but with careers as rich as theirs and 53 years of combined experience in the mat wars, Daniels and Sydal are not about to lay down and give up. They want to face the best competition, the hungry young faces looking to take the top places in the game, and one would be hard-pressed to find two hungrier individuals than Takeshita and Hobbs!
The TBS Championship is clearly on the mind of “The Living Dead Girl” Abadon, but it is just as evident that reigning champion Julia Hart is not the least bit spooked by what Abadon brings to the table. That makes the potential of an Abadon/Julia Hart showdown quite intriguing, two people who live in the shadows and darkness, but before that potentiality becomes reality, Abadon will be in action this Friday night on RAMPAGE against The Infantry’s Trish Adora.
Adora has been building her name on Ring of Honor each week, and now she aims to bring that to the AEW stage as well, but with one of the most fearsome entities in the Women’s Division standing across the ring from her, can Adora rise above any fears and put “The Living Dead Girl” back in the ground?
RAMPAGE comes to you at 10pm ET/9pm CT from Montreal’s Bell Centre this Friday night on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, and it is one stacked event! Sadly Don Callis’ “Family” will be in action to spoil the party, but thankfully the Continental Classic will continue with Blue League action between Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia! Plus, Orange Cassidy will defend his AEW International Championship against Angelico after their encounter following ROH ON HONOR CLUB, and Abadon will be in action! Before the show begins, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s assorted social media platforms, to get up to speed with highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and this latest CONTROL CENTER!
Last week on DYNAMITE the AEW faithful bore witness to the next round of Gold League bouts in the Continental Classic, including Jon Moxley and Swerve Strickland raising their point total to six as “El Toro Blanco” Rush scored his first three, leaving Jay White with three, while Jay Lethal, as well as Mark Briscoe, have zero to their name. In addition, AEW World Champion MJF was challenged by the devil-masked individual to unite with Samoa Joe for a tag team bout, and Toni Storm was informed she’d be putting AEW Women’s World Championship on the line in Montreal!
This Wednesday night, as AEW brings DYNAMITE to the Bell Centre in Montrealfor the very first time, we will see the next three bouts in the Gold League, as well as two huge championship matches! Swerve battles Mark Briscoe, Jon Moxley takes on Rush, and Jay Lethal goes head-to-head with Jay White as some jockey for the top spot while others attempt to stave off mathematical elimination! “Timeless” Toni Storm will put her championship on the line for the first time in this third reign as she faces one of her most persistent foes in Skye Blue, and, in the face of 40-plus years of friendship, TNT Champion Christian Cage will face “The Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland!
DYNAMITE kicks off 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 catch up on highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as this week’s CONTROL CENTER!
AEW TNT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
“The Patriach” Christian Cage(c) vs. “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland
It has been more than thirteen years since the last time Christian Cage and Adam Copeland stood across the ring from one another waiting for the first bell to ring that signifies the start of their one-on-one clash. The site of that fight was the Air Canada Center in Toronto, and it came to a conclusion with an Adam Copeland victory, just as it had sixteen other times over their twenty-six singles bouts on record. Though the two men would find their way back to a partnership for a handful of matches in 2011, the neck injuries that should’ve ended Adam’s career, and actually kept him out of the ring for nine years, ended their tag team bond.
Despite Copeland grinding through a grueling recovery, struggling and fighting to get back into the ring in January 2020, the two life-long friends only stood in the ring during a match one more time prior to WRESTLEDREAM in Seattle, and somewhat ironically that was a one night only affair as Christian Cage was forced to step away from in-ring activity in 2014 due to his own medical concerns, and not resuming his in-ring career until that first match for AEW on March 31, 2021.
So in addition to the friendship that begun some 40 years ago, in addition to all the wars they’d fought together as friends, as partners, and even as foes, Adam and Christian were also bonded by the pain of nearly losing their dream as a result of their bodies betraying them. But so too were they bonded by overcoming all odds and fighting their way back to making that dream a reality when there was no rationale reason for either man to still be competing, much less doing so at the highest of levels they are still doing at this point in their careers.
And yet here they are, despite all that connective tissue, standing as far apart as they have ever been with an seemingly insurmountable gap between their desires for AEW. Copeland came here with the dream of standing side-by-side with his best friend and finishing out their careers showing the world why they’ve long been considered one of the best tag teams of their generation, why they were such a game-changing force in tag team wrestling, and just being able to enjoy everything they’d worked so hard to accomplish.
Christian, on the other hand, came to AEW to get as much distance as possible between he and Adam and to establish himself as far away from any notion of the team they used to be once upon a time. He came to be his own individual, and Copeland coming to AEW only served, in Cage’s mind, to cast that shadow over his accomplishments since REVOLUTION 2021, not that great deal of Christian’s accomplishments deserves accolades. He betrayed Jack Perry and Luchasaurus, then turned Luchasaurus on Perry and made the former World Tag Champion into his lapdog, and even though he helped lead Luchasaurus to the TNT Championship, he didn’t even the man to hold his own championship while simultaneously claiming himself as the true TNT Champion. Then, when the opportunity came, Cage robbed Luchasaurus of the TNT Championship to officially make it his own.
He turned Nick Wayne against Darby Allin, as well as his own mother, humiliated Luchasaurus, robbed him of his name, rechristened the man Killswitch as an homage to himself, and threatened to break the neck of his supposed best friend after Adam Copeland came to AEW with a hopeful reunion in his mind. Christian disrespected Copeland’s family, a family that Adam considered him a part of, and has sacrificed both Killswitch and “The Prodigy” Nick Wayne in order to save his own skin. The fact that Christian Cage is proud of those accomplishments goes to show just what kind of man he’s devolved into since his arrival in AEW, it just took Sting shaking some sense into him for Adam Copeland to realize just who his supposed best friend truly was at heart.
So now this Wednesday night in Montreal, they will fight, and Christian’s prized TNT Championship will be on the line! Interestingly enough, though Copeland leads Cage in victories in their one-on-one collisions, it is Cage who has a razor thin edge when titles at stake. Nineteen times on record they’ve fought one-on-one over a championship, ten of those have been won by Christian Cage, but the last four by Copeland, although it has been a dozen years since the last of those championship contests.
While these men may be more familiar with each other than anyone else in AEW could hope to be, neither is dealing with the same man with whom they captured seven tag team titles together. Each has been changed by their experiences, experiences that should’ve brought them closer together than ever, but instead have seen them driven further apart than ever before. If there was ever any hope for this friendship to find a place of healing, it will likely be dashed Wednesday night on DYNAMITE. Some bridges can’t be rebuilt after the fire, some sins are not forgivable…
AEW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
“Timeless” Toni Storm(c) vs. Skye Blue
While “Timeless” Toni Storm may still be basking in the glow of becoming a 3-Time AEW Women’s World Champion, apparently recovering from Hollywood parties and hobnobbing with stars, the rest of the division has had their eye on being the first challenger to her throne, and it looks like Storm will have to deal with a familiar foe for her first defense!
Skye Blue has been a consistent thorn in the side of Toni Storm since the beginning of 2023, and there’s not a woman in AEW the defending champion has faced more in one-on-one matches. Five times they have gone head-to-head inside the squared circle, two of those in championship matches, and all five have gone in favor of Toni Storm. Even the Four Way Title match at HOUSE RULES: HUNTSVILLE over the summer, a bout that also involved Anna Jay and Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D, came to an end with Storm pinning Sky. In fact, in the nine total fights these woman have been involved in, Toni holds a 7-2 lead on her challenger, with both of Skye’s victories coming in tag team bouts, though neither conclusion saw Skye pin Toni to get the victory.
The last fight between the two woman went down two months ago on DYNAMITE, and once again it was Skye who fell in defeat, but her transformation over the last several months may be the key to Skye finally claiming, not just a victory over Toni Storm, but also her first AEW Women’s World Championship! Will fans see another Storm/Blue sequel laid out by “The Timeless One”, or will Skye Blue rewrite the script for a whole new take on their franchise? Tune in Wednesday night to see who claims the crown as best lead in the AEW Women’s Division! And just announced as a special guest:
One is a man riding high with two consecutive victories and six points to his Continental Classic tally while the other is a man who has twice tasted defeated, meaning zero points on his record for this tournament. The former is Swerve Strickland, the latter Mark Briscoe, and this Wednesday night in Montreal, they will meet in their first-ever singles match and for just the second time in their careers!
That one previous clash between these two men took place a lifetime ago, and a continent away, when Shane Strickland teamed up with the late Ryan Smile at RevPro’s SUMMER SIZZLER 2017 event in a losing effort against Jay & Mark Briscoe. So much has changed for both these men in the six years since, especially for Mark as he forges forward into the world of singles wrestling after the tragic loss of brother Jay back on January 17th of this year.
Singles wrestling isn’t a foreign concept for Mark, after all he has been in the game for 23 years, years that including some hellacious singles matches against his own brother for one, but doing singles work exclusively, now that is uncharted territory for “The Sussex County Chicken” and perhaps why he is taking the losses as good as he can. Mark knows competing in this tournament isn’t the easiest path, that he’s faced with five of the best in the world in this Gold League, but that doesn’t mean he’ll back down or fold up shop. It’s motivation to get better, to keep pushing, and to continue fighting on for the Briscoe name.
Between Mox and Rush, Mark has already thrown down with two of the heaviest hitters in the Gold League, and now he’s got the red-hot Swerve on his plate who proved unquestionably with that Texas Death Match that he’s got the same grit as Mark’s previous two opponents. Getting those first three points out of this one is going to be a grind for Chicken, but that’s what he does and Swerve best not underestimate as he pursues nine points. After all, Mark is a cornered animal now, a loss here mathematically eliminates him from the competition, and you know what they say about cornered animals…
Jon Moxley (6) vs. Rush (3)
This one is going to hurt, and going to hurt both men involved even more than they are already hurting. We all heard it straight from Moxley himself in the interview embedded above, he is aching and sore and sick and tired, but sick and tired of being sick and tired but fighting is what he does, what he knows, and it’s Moxley’s way through the pain wracking his body.
Similarly, the AEW faithful witnessed Rush gut out a victory over Mark Briscoe last week despite clearly going through some intense leg pain throughout the contest. For a minute it seemed as if the doctor might stop the match, but “El Toro Blanco” fought to his feet, threw down with Mark, and found the way to his first three points in the Continental Classic.
Now these two hard-hitting forces will collide in a rematch of their AEW Interim World Title Match that took place at FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2022 on July 27th, as well as the Texas Tornado Tag from the 2/15/23 DYNAMITE that saw The BCC of Mox and Claudio defeat Rush and Preston Vance. Everyone knows the kind of fight these to men bring to the table, and how each seems to feed off getting hit by their foes, but as this tournament gets deeper, as their bodies break down further, and WORLDS END gets closer, will their strategies change? A win for Rush will tie him up with Mox at three points, one for the former 3-Time AEW World Champion could potentially put him at the top of the heap with nine depending on how Swerve’s fight plays out. Every win is crucial, but this week marks the halfway point, and no one can afford to take an “L”…
Jay Lethal (0) vs. Jay White (3)
This is one part Continental Collision contest and one part rubber match as, over the course of their careers, Jay Lethal and Jay White each hold a singles victory over the other. For Lethal, his victory over the future “Switchblade” came at ROH’s GLOBAL WARS 2017, NIGHT 2 event during Jay’s stateside excursion from the New Japan Dojo. There were other bouts involving the two, eight-mans and Three Way’s and Four Corner Survivals, even a trios bout in Korakuen Hall, but that October 13th fight in Pittsburgh was their lone singles until “King Switch” came calling five years later.
From December 2021 through April 2022, Jay White held what he called “The U.S. of Jay Open Challenge Series” during NJPW STRONG broadcasts, a five match series where he first battled Swerve, as well as Christopher Daniels, Chris Sabin, and “Speedball” Mike Bailey. In the second match of the series Jay Lethal answered the call, and on 2/19/22, fell before “Switchblade”.
That bring us to this Wednesday night, the halfway point of the Continental Classic with two matches in the rear view mirror and two waiting down the road, but only one of these two men is on the scoreboard. With a shady victory over Rush, but a loss to Swerve, “Switchblade” Jay White sits with three points while Lethal, following losses to Moxley and Swerve, has a zero beside his name.
So not only are these men fighting for the next three points, they are also fighting for dominance in their series of matches, and in the case of Jay Lethal, desperation to get on the board at all. Should Lethal lose again here, and if Moxley and/or Swerve win, well “The Franchise of ROH” will mathematically be eliminated from winning the bracket.
WHAT IS MJF THINKING…
AEW World & ROH World Tag Champion MJF and Samoa Joe
Given his physical condition, the face that he’s got to fight Samoa Joe at WORLDS END in twenty-four days, and that he’s still carrying the ROH World Tag Team Titles on behalf of himself and Adam Cole, is it wise for MJF to enter into a fight this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, especially when he has no idea who whose foes actually are?
And what good is Samoa Joe’s promise to keep MJF intact for their fight on December 30th if the AEW World Champion isn’t taking care of himself? Perhaps that’s why Maxwell feels emboldened to take up this tag team fight against an unknown entity, perhaps he’s just lost the ability to use his common sense, whatever the case, this is certainly not the same MJF who spent most of his AEW career avoiding the fight as much as possible. After all, this is the guy who skated by with just six matches in 2019, two of those being Battle Royales, and may see more ring time this year than in the last two combined! Now MJF is running towards the fight, his physical health be damned, and it may fall on Samoa Joe to protect the man from himself if the former AEW World TV Champion hopes to actually see their scheduled World Title Fight in a few weeks.
If not underneath the guise of The Devil, will we all see who’s under the black masks this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE? Or will that be a mystery that continues to haunt Maxwell Jacob Friedman as struggles to keep the AEW World Champion in his grasp?
DYNAMITE comes to Montreal’s Bell Centrefor the very first time, and with it comes two massive championship fights, as well as the next three fights in the Gold League! We will see Swerve Strickland take on Mark Briscoe, Jon Moxley throw down with Rush, and Jay Lethal fight Jay White, plus “Timeless” Toni Storm defends her AEW Women’s World Championship against Skye Blue! And in one of the most anticipated fights in All Elite Wrestling, TNT Champion Christian Cage will fig “The Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland with his coveted title on the line!
The night begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, so drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel for all the highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as this week’s CONTROL CENTER!
Between an action packed edition of RAMPAGE Friday night, and the Gold League bouts that went down Wednesday during DYNAMITE, this has already been quite the exciting week for All Elite Wrestling! Add in impending TNT Championship clash between Christian Cage and Adam Copeland now set for Montreal at the Bell Centre, and it would be a satisfying week in AEW action if it ended now.
But thankfully it isn’t over yet, because this Saturday night, when AEW makes their Erie, PA debut at the Erie Insurance Arena, the Continental Classic continues with action in the Blue Blue, including the first bouts for Bryan Danielson and Andrade El Idolo as they take on ROH World/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston and Daniel Garcia respectively! Plus, in a battle of unbeatens, Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli will lock up with The House of Black’s Brody King after the former scored a huge victory over Kingston last week.
The Blue League tournament action gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and to get prepared for it all, visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s other social media platforms, to catch highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as events from last week’s COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
CONTINENTAL CLASSIC TOURNAMENT: BLUE LEAGUE…
The BCC’s “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson(0) vs. ROH World/NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston(0)
This may very well be the most intriguing match-up taking place on Saturday night; Eddie Kingston is coming off a loss to Brody King last week in their first tournament bouts, while “The American Dragon” is coming into this one having suffered a fractured orbital bone just over a month ago. The loss to Brody was certainly a rough pill to swallow, not because King is a lesser opponent in any way, but because of the fact Kingston put both his ROH World Championship and NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship into the mix for the winner of the Continental Classic. It is not a good first step for the reigning champion to lose out the gate, but from watching his post-match interview, Kingston is trying to be a better version of himself than he would have been in the past. He knows his flaws, he publicly acknowledges them, and is telling the world he will not follow that path to self-destruction again.
Bryan Danielson, on the other hand, is clearly full of piss and vinegar, coming in as confident as ever despite his injury costing him the last month of his career. It’s the first injury that’s kept Bryan out, hopefully his last, and certainly not the first time his eye was the problem. Credit for that goes back to 2007’s series of matches with former ROH World & GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima, particularly ROH’s MANHATTAN MAYHEM II event. Yet as he did then, Danielson is determined to fight on, taking whatever precautions he is required by medical staff, but still game for the fight to come each and every night. Best be wary though when he’s fighting a man like Kingston whose signature is a spinning back fist liable to crack that orbital bone into powder if it connects; yet Danielson seems to see the ROH World Champion as the same individual he first one-on-one with in Taylor, MI back in 2010. Despite everything Eddie has accomplished in the last 13 years, Bryan Danielson clearly does not respect the man, that much Bryan made clear when he joined commentary on Wednesday night.
And while Bryan may also hold an AEW win from RAMPAGE #12 when both entered the 2021 World Title Eliminator Tournament, that does not mean he’s fighting an Eddie with the same mindset he had then. Danielson know faces a man who has achieved his dreams, he’s fought in NJPW’s G1 Climax, he’s claimed two championship titles this year, and he knows the responsibility on his shoulders as a result. Eddie, despite “Mad” being part of his sobriquet, is not crazy or unhinged or out of control, he knew the risks when he threw his titles into the mix, and after feeling the sting of loss a week ago, he’s not about to fall deeper into that hole.
If he does, eventually he won’t be able to climb out, and that’s not just a statement on his points total…
The House of Black’s Brody King(3) vs. The BCC’s Claudio Castagnoli(3)
The two victors from last week’s Blue League bouts are set to meet in singles competition this Saturday night for the very first time! Never a tag, never a trios, certainly not a one-on-one, this will mark the first time The House of Black’s Brody King and the Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli ever share the ring, and that is an exciting prospect!
Not only are there implications for their respective units, the issues raised between The House and The BCC that began when Malakai attacked Bryan Danielson weeks ago, but it also means one man in the Blue League is going to hit six points while, potentially, two individuals remain at zero and two others gain their first three points.
On paper this is a battle of two of the biggest men in AEW, but they are not big in the same way; where Claudio is strength, muscle, and finesse, Brody King is power, size, and brutish. Claudio is schooled in various disciplines of professional wrestling from his years traveling the globe while King is akin to a Bruiser Brody ripped into the 21st Century, and unleashed upon hapless foes. Yet within that brutish offense, is a speed unexpected from a man looking like Brody King, a true “don’t judge a book” situation for professional wrestling, though the same could’ve been said for Claudio prior to his BCC entry. Most assumed him a devotee of a more pure approach to the fight, but his time with Mox and company has shown how adept “The Swiss Superman” is at violence.
In this battle of The House versus The BCC, for leadership in the Blue League, who will fold?
Andrade El Idolo(0) vs. Daniel Garcia(0)
It was only a few weeks ago that Daniel Garcia and Andrade El Idolo had their first right as CJ Perry watched on from ringside, but now that the Continental Classic has begun, their rematch has a much greater wrinkle than the management of Perry. Both Andrade and Garcia enter into this fight with zero points to their name, but in the case of the former, that’s because it is also his first fight in the Blue League whereas the latter fell to Claudio Castagnoli a week ago.
As heard from Garcia’s own mouth, the young man is struggling with that loss and how it makes him feel. The word “loser” kept falling off his tongue as he spoke, and though he did lose, that does not make Garcia a loser. Eddie Kingston lost, Jay White lost, Jay Lethal and Mark Briscoe have lost twice, given how many fights a man goes through in this tournament, losing is nearly unavoidable but it seems as if that is weighing on Daniel Garcia’s mind. It’s similar to Eddie’s struggle, but perhaps the experience difference is allowing Kingston to push through while Garcia seems on the precipice of getting stuck in that mindset.
If he allows that to become the case, Andrade El Idolo will run all over Daniel Garcia this Saturday on COLLISION and earn his first three points in the Continental Classic, but if the man once called “Red Death” can find the confidence he had before entering the fray, before the losses to MJF, Miro, and Andrade dampened his fighting spirit, he will be deadly. The man who once slayed “The American Dragon” could become the man who raises AEW’s Triple Crown comes WORLDS END (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-event/aew-worlds-end) or he could be the man who ends the Continental Classic with a goose egg next to his name…
ONE-ON-ONE…
Abadon vs. Kiera Hogan
It’s been a little over a month since Abadon clashed with Hikaru Shida in that memorable “Fright Night Fight” over the AEW Women’s World Championship, and this Saturday night “The Living Dead Girl” is back in action on COLLISION!
Her opponent this evening is one which she’s never competed against before, “The Girl on Fire” Kiera Hogan! It’s also been a couple months since Hogan has been inside the AEW ring, though she’s done well for herself with ROH ON HONOR CLUB, and is looking to make an impact to get into the title hunt.
It’s a battle of two athletes looking to break through to that next level and earn their first championship here in All Elite Wrestling. Add up those wins and soon that opportunity will come…
This Saturday night All Elite Wrestling makes their Erie, PA debut at the Erie Insurance Arena with three huge Continental Classic: Blue League match-ups, featuring a clash of three-pointers in Claudio Castagnoli and Brody King, as well as two men in Bryan Danielson and Andrade El Idolo fighting in their first tourney bout. The former will take on Eddie Kingston while the latter meets Daniel Garcia in a rematch of their recent COLLISION confrontation.
The Blue League tournament action gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TNT, and to get prepared for it all, drop by the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from this week’s editions of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as events from the last COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
Wednesday night was a wild on at the Target Center as the Gold League in the Continental Classic resumed action with three huge matches! Opening the night, Jon Moxley defeated Jay Lethal to mark himself the first competitor with six points in the league while Lethal continued without a point to his name. Then, fighting through tremendous pain, “El Toro Blanco” Rush managed to score his first 3 points over Mark Briscoe, leaving “The Sussex County Chicken” in the same boat as Jay Lethal. Finally, in the main event, Jay White and Swerve Strickland battled it out to see who would join Moxley with six point status, with the head of The Mogul Embassy notching the victory!
In addition, fans witnessed a tense confrontation between TNT Champion Christian Cage and Adam Copeland that has led to a championship bout next week in Montreal, saw Julia Hart retain her TBS Championship over Emi Sakura, and heard AEW World Champion MJF, whether Samoa Joe likes it or not, accept a challenge from The Devil!
Things are back to normal this Friday night as RAMPAGE begins at its regularly scheduled 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans. Drop by the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s assorted social media platforms, before showtime to up to speed with highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and this latest CONTROL CENTER!
EIGHT MAN ACTION…
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, FTW Champion HOOK, Danhausen, & Trent Beretta vs. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & Evil Uno), Angelo Parker, & Matt Menard
This one is stacked! Last week we saw Danhausen return to the AEW stage to lend a hand to his friends and now he’s jumping right into the fray this Friday night on RAMPAGE alongside them! Orange Cassidy, HOOK, and Trent Beretta welcome Danhausen to the fight as they take on a very unlikely quartet in The Dark Order’s Evil Uno and Alex Reynolds who are joined by Angelo Parker and Matt Menard!
The Dark Order have had issues with Parker and Menard dating back at least two years so it will be quite intriguing to see how they work together despite those past problems, just as it will be interesting to see if the tensions between Parker and Menard swirling around the former’s…interest…in Ruby Soho interfere in their ability to function as a team. Oh, and what about that hat?
TRIOS BOUT…
Hikaru Shida, Kris Statlander, & Skye Blue vs. Anna Jay and The Outcasts (Ruby Soho & Saraya)
Just last week, on the Thanksgiving Eve edition of DYNAMITE, we witnessed Skye Blue take advantage of the Angelo Parker distraction and pin Anna Jay while Ruby Soho was otherwise occupied. To say all of this has been a major annoyance to Saraya and Matt Menard would be an understatement, and it has certainly cost all parties victories since it first began some weeks ago. The fact that Saraya is now going to play nice with Anna Jay, perhaps because Anna’s also the one for her group trying to keep focused, is not going to sit well with Ruby either, but that’s a bit of the case for both sides of this Trios contest.
Ever since Skye Blue was misted by Julia Hart, with the subsequent transformation that has stemmed from it, she and Kris Statlander have been at odds. They haven’t come to blows, save for the TBS Championship victory Stat holds over Skye, but they are certainly not the friends they were six months ago. That leaves Hikaru Shida as the woman whose responsibility it will be to keep her partners on the same page, and not let their personal issues get in the way of winning this fight. For at least five of the six women involved this is about getting back into championship contention, for Ruby Soho, well one can only speculate if her head is on business or more personal matters, but both trios are capable of great things if they can stay on a unified front. Will that be the case this Friday night on RAMPAGE, or will one teams problems sink this opportunity?
A MOGUL TRYOUT…
ROH World Six-Man Champion Brian Cage & The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake) vs. El Hijo del Vikingo, Komander, & Penta El Zero Miedo
With The Gates of Agony embroiled in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s 2023 World Tag League that lasts until December 10th, The Mogul Embassy is down a few soldiers, and Brian Cage is out his ROH World Six-Man Championship partners. For Prince Nana that means recruitment season is upon us, and it begins (possibly also ends) with The Workhorsemen of JD Drake and Anthony Henry getting their opportunity to impress!
Unfortunately for this newborn trio, they’ve got their handful with another rather nascent unit in the form of Lucha Libre’s finest: former ROH World Tag & AEW World Tag Champion Penta El Zero Miedo, AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo, and AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Komander! Now these three men have worked together before, but as a quartet with Rey Fenix on several ROH ON HONOR CLUB events, and they’ve also fought as foes on several occasions, though always for the competition rather than any animosity.
With the Lucha contingent clearly looking ahead towards Top Flight and Action Andretti, will they be focused on the task at hand? Or will fans see two new men join The Mogul Embassy should JD Drake and Anthony Henry impress the Prince?
ALSO FEATURING:
-The Don Callis Family in action!
-“The Icon” Sting & “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair!!
-And more!!!
RAMPAGE returns to its regularly scheduled 10pm ET/9pm CT time slot on TNT this Friday night, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, and it is loaded with multi-man action all night long! Eight man tags, a huge Women’s Trios bout, The Mogul Embassy giving The Workhorsemen a tryout, and unfortunately Don Callis leading his “Family” into action! Be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s assorted social media platforms, before showtime to up to speed with highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and this latest CONTROL CENTER!
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!
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..
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)
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 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!
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?
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!
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!
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!
FULL GEAR 2023 saw two new champions crowned with Julia Hart claiming the TBS Championship from Kris Statlander, albeit by pinning Skye Blue, and Toni Storm kicking off her third reign as AEW Women’s World Champion at Hikaru Shida’s expense, as well as MJF, against all odds, officially completing one full year as AEW World Champion! Now with WORLDS END just over a month away on Long Island, all eyes turn towards AEW’s Thanksgiving Eve tradition and our return to Chicago for DYNAMITE!
This year the focus falls on the kick-off of the Continental Classic, AEW’s first-ever Round Robin Tournament, with some seriously high stakes thanks to Eddie Kingston putting both the ROH World Championship and NJPW STRONG Openweight Title 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!
Earlier today, in the above embedded video, AEW/ROH President Tony Khan, along with Tony Schiavone and ROH World Champion/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion, announced the field of 12 for the Continental Classic Tournament! There are two groups, Blue and Gold, with six competitors each, competing in a Round Robin Style Tournament that begins Wednesday night in Chicago, and will continue until the finals at WORLDS END on December 30th!
Already quite the intriguing situation with Bryan Danielson, Mark Briscoe, and Andrade El Idolo putting their names into the hat prior to the Selection Special, with a competitive fire burning strong in his heart, Eddie Kingston further amplified the prestige of the tournament by putting both the ROH World Champion and NJPW STRONG Championship at stake thus, along with the AEW Continental Championship, creating a new Triple Crown Championship awaiting the winner of this tournament.
Now as for the rules of this tournament, matches will be contested with a 20 minute time limit, there will be no seconds allowed at ringside, and outside interference will not be tolerated, which may throw a monkey wrench in how many of the competitors generally handle their business. In addition, the scoring system for the Continental Classic will be very straight forward and simple, with points being awarded as follows: 3 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. Here is how the two groups break down:
Blue Group
Andrade El Idolo
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson
Brody King
Claudio Castagnoli
Daniel Garcia
ROH World Champion/NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston
Gold Group
Jay Lethal
Jay White
Jon Moxley
Mark Briscoe
Rus
Swerve Strickland
The first matches of the tournament will go down at Wintrust Arena as part of AEW’s Thanksgiving Eve tradition, and continue Saturday night in Pittsburgh!
THE GOLD GROUP…
Swerve Strickland vs. Jay Lethal
One of the most intriguing aspects of the Continental Classic Tournament is going to be the opportunity to see several first-time matches, and three of them are going down this Wednesday night with the opening bouts of AEW’s first-ever Round -style Robin Tournament!
Coming off a brutal, bloody Texas Death Match victory over Hangman Page at FULL GEAR 2023, Swerve Strickland will be in action for his first bout of the Continental Classic this Wednesday night in Chicago. Though there is not way he’s feeling anywhere near 100%, Swerve will have to find a way to be at the top of his game because his opponent in this first night of action will be “The Franchise of ROH”, a former 2-Time ROH World Champion and the second-longest reigning ROH World TV Champion in history thanks to Samoa Joe’s recent run, Jay Lethal! Lethal is no doubt coming into this bout far healthier than Swerve, and that may make the crucial difference in this contest, but another game changer for both these individuals, given how each generally approaches their matches, is that ban on seconds and outside interference. How many times have fans seen Jeff Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, and Karen Jarrett play a deciding factor in Jay Lethal’s matches? On how many instances have The Gates of Agony, Brian Cage, or Prince Nana been involved in swaying Swerve Strickland’s matches? With this tournament, none of that will fly, leaving these two stellar athletes to rely solely on their skill inside the squared circle? Which of these men will notch their first points in the Continental Classic?
LFI’s Rush vs. BULLET CLUB GOLD’s Jay White
Just like Swerve, both “El Toro Blanco” Rush and “Switchblade” Jay White went through their own bit of hell at FULL GEAR 2023. In the case of Rush, it was the Four Team Ladder match for the AEW World Tag Titles and the punishment that sort of bout entails while for Jay White it was his bid for the AEW World Championship against MJF, although he and BC GOLD did their best to make sure it wasn’t MJF defending The Triple B.
While neither man was victorious in their efforts to become a champion in All Elite Wrestling, a new road to that goal begins this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE with the opening bouts in the Continental Classic. Another first-time bout, this head-to-head fight between the leaders of LFI and BC GOLD may be the show stealer given the skills of each involved, but as with the Lethal/Swerve bout, this is another contest between two men who often rely on their respective units to help determine the outcomes of a bout.
But unlike most outings with these two, there will be no Jose the Assistant, Preston Vance, or Dralistico at Rush’s side to interfere, nor a Juice Robinson, Austin Gunn, or Colten Gunn in Jay White’s corner to stick their nose in the business at hand. This continental classic is about putting the focus on the wrestling, and the fight between the two individuals vying for points, not the assorted seconds, managers, and stablemates polluting the competition with shenanigans.
With those elements removed, this is a bout between two elite level competitors and it will be quite intriguing to see who nets the three points in their first Continental Classic clash!
The BCC’s Jon Moxley vs. Mark Briscoe
Now this is going to be a fight between two men who love to throwdown inside the squared circle, and unlike the other two first-time bouts, this first-timer does not involve a competitor reliant on interference, managers, or seconds. Both Jon Moxley and Mark Briscoe are men who want the victory on their own merit, they want the win on their own skills, and not because someone else lent a hand.
For Mark Briscoe, a 13-time ROH World Tag Team Champion with his late brother Jay, this tournament is an opportunity to not only firmly stake his status in the singles division but also to claim the first singles championship (or rather championships) of his entire career! He’s challenged for the ROH World Title and the ROH World Television Championship several times during his twenty-plus years in ROH, but never captured those, nor any other singles title, and if he comes out of this tournament on top, he could claim three in one shot! He just may have the most difficult first match of the tournament by fighting Jon Moxley!
A 3-Time AEW World Champion, a former International Champion, and former 2-Time IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Champion, just to name a few of his accolades, Moxley is certainly a favorite to win this tournament and add three more championship to his name with the Triple Crown of the ROH World, NJPW STRONG Openweight, and AEW Continental Championships. With three members in the field, The Blackpool Combat Club are absolutely odds-on favorites to bring a tournament victory to their camp, and Jon Moxley is the first of the three to shoot for the three points.
These are two of the most unpredictable men in all of professional wrestling, and it is going to be a wild night when the two of them meet inside the squared circle for the very first time!
TONI STORM’S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH…
Last Saturday night at FULL GEAR 2023, fans witnessed as Toni Storm dethroned Hikaru Shida to reclaim the AEW Women’s World Championship for the third time. It was a fitting end to Storm’s Hollywood Homecoming, at least for her, and she did share some words with the AEW cameras following the bout:
Unfortunately, for those who had hoped she’d join the FULL GEAR Media Scrum following the conclusion of the pay-per-view, that would not be the case as Toni had other commitments to attend, but she very kindly gave Tony Khan a letter explaining her absence, one which RJ City was kind enough to provide for everyone to read:
Storm’s lack of appearing during the Media Scrum simply meant her adoring public just had to wait until this Wednesday night in Chicago, during AEW’s DYNAMITE Thanksgiving Eve tradition, to hear her Championship Acceptance Speech! Who will she thank? Who will she be wearing? Will the band have to play her off stage if she goes on too long? Tune into TBS this Wednesday night to hear what will surely be the most unforgettable acceptance speech in championship history from “Timeless” Toni Storm!
RECHRISTENING?
After falling to Darby Allin, Sting, and Adam Copeland at FULL GEAR 2023, TNT Champion Christian Cage has stated that this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, he is going to rechristen Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus.
So rechristen simply means “to rename” or “to change the name of”, which means Christian Cage has the intention of changing the names of his Patriarchy followers. What could he possibly hope to gain from this? And what names could he possibly choose for Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne?
On the heels of FULL GEAR 2023 AEW’s first-ever Round Robin Tournament, the Continental Classic, gets underway and will run from Wednesday night in Chicago through WORLDS END on December 30th. Tonight will see Mark Briscoe versus Jon Moxley, Swerve versus Lethal, and Rush/Switchblade kick off the tournament, with more to come this weekend in Pittsburgh, and it kicks off at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS! International fans can catch the action at AEWPlus.com, and everyone needs to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s other 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!
This is it, the last stop before FULL GEAR 2023, and it’s going to be a loaded FOUR hours of action on TNT! All Elite Wrestling is coming to you live with the first of two nights from the Fabulous KIA Forum for back-to-back-to-back COLLISION, RAMPAGE, and COUNTDOWN TO FULL GEAR! This past Wednesday’s edition of DYNAMITE was wild, topped off with the LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN Street Fight and MJF being decimated by BULLET CLUB GOLD, and Friday night promises to be more of that vibe!
Friday night begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT with a COLLISION featuring Miro battling Daniel Garcia, the Women’s World and TBS Champions teaming up against The Outcasts, and Dax Harwood battling Rush on the eve of their PPV World Tag Team Title challenge! Then we roll straight into RAMPAGE where “Timeless” Toni Storm goes head-to-head with Emi Sakura, and after the events of DYNAMITE, we will hear from both AEW World Champion MJF and his FULL GEAR challenger Jay White! So before the night begins swing over to the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
COLLISION
REDEMPTION;WHETHER IT’S WANTED OR NOT…
“The Redeemer” Miro vs. Daniel Garcia
Daniel Garcia is at a bit of a crossroads after losing to AEW World Champion MJF on DYNAMITE; for the first time in a long time Garcia referred to himself as a professional wrestler, a huge step towards becoming the man fans wanted him to be when “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson extended a hand, but he is still associated with Angelo Parker, Matt Menard, Jake Hager, and Anna Jay. Daniel’s bond with his former J.A.S. allies appears to be holding Garcia back from being the man he strives to be, an amalgam of the professional wrestling and the sports entertainer, but he’s got to set that all aside and focus on being just one thing this Friday night: a survivor. That’s because on COLLISION Daniel Garcia will step into the ring with “The Redeemer” Miro for a one-on-one bout, a situation that may make Garcia regret every doing this towards CJ Perry:
Action Andretti learned the hard way about approaching CJ, so did Ryan Nemeth, and it seems inevitable that Andrade El Idolo and Miro will clash now that CJ Perry has taken Andrade on as her first client. Will Daniel Garcia suffer the same fate as Nemeth and Action, or will he somehow find a way to survive Miro’s redemption?
As FTR and LFI prepare for their shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship this Saturday during FULL GEAR 2023, both are being haunted by the members of the fourth team challenging Big Bill and Ricky Starks for the gold, that being The House of Black. Malakai Black and Brody King, oft referred to as The Kings of The Black Throne, will join Dax, Cash, Rush, and Dralistico in a Four Way title fight this Saturday, a situation that does not play in favor of the defending champions, but before that comes to fruition, Rush and Dax The Axe will go to war against one another for their first-ever singles match!
These are two of the hardest hitting fighters on the AEW roster, two very proud men who are at the top of their game right now, and want to head into Saturday with the edge a victory here will bring. As always, fighting so close to a title bout is an inherent risk, but one both Dax and Rush are willing to take in order to have that psychological advantage over one of the other men in the bout. Dax will have to have eyes in the back of his head, and Cash at his side, not only to balance out the LFI numbers advantage but also to keep eyes open for The House and the defending champions.
Regardless of which competitor wins this bout, both of them are going to feel it afterwards, but at least the fans watching at the KIA Forum, live on TNT, and around the world will be winners knowing they witnessed a good fight.
The night before the AEW Women’s World Champion and the TBS Champion defend their respective belts at FULL GEAR 2023, they will be in tag team action against a pair of women looking to find their footing in AEW once again. After losing the Women’s World Championship back to Hikaru Shida, and Ruby failing to claim either title after receiving shots at each in the past few months, The Outcasts are a bit out of the loop, and could certainly use a victory here to get back into a championship picture. Surely scoring a pinfall on either Kris Statlander or Hikaru Shida would go a long way towards putting the victor into contention, just as being put down by one of the champions could harm the losers future championship hopes.
The Outcasts are certainly a dangerous entity when focused on the task at hand, but the question that encircles Ruby Soho is whether or not her head will be elsewhere during the fight. Can she set aside the distraction of Angelo Parker, and of gifts like the flowers that certainly cost her a match? This is a huge opportunity for Soho and Saraya, potentially a detrimental one for the champions who have to fight twenty-four hours later, so will The Outcasts rise to the occasion? Or will the championship duo use this bout as their tune-up for what Saturday night will bring?
RAMPAGE
A TUNE-UP YOU SAY…
“Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Emi Sakura
After meeting former Goddess of Stardom Champion Mariah May for the very first time, and being rather dismissive of the woman who’s clearly a big fan and inspired by her own career journey, Toni Storm directed Luther to contact Tony Khan and get her a “tune-up match” for Friday night; a little something to get Toni ready for her AEW Women’s World Championship fight at FULL GEAR 2023.
It’s doubtful that Toni anticipated this tune-up would be against a woman who gave her some of the hardest hitting minutes she’s had in All Elite Wrestling to date! Though both bouts have been losses for Emi Sakura, the two fights between her and Toni Storm have been some of the most physical the Women’s Division has seen, particularly their Women’s World Title Eliminator bout on the 10/11/22 edition of DARK.
Toni Storm should be thankful that her shot at the Women’s World Title is not at stake in this so-called “tune-up” because she is certainly in for another tough night stepping back into the ring with Emi Sakura! Is this the wisest move for The Timeless One, or was she anticipating a far easier opponent standing across the ring this Friday night?
On Wednesday night, AEW World Champion MJF stood alone in the middle of the ring, knowing anyone in the locker room who honestly supported him was not there, knowing the offer of help from Samoa Joe was contingent on giving him a championship match, and he let BULLET CLUB GOLD know that though he was afraid of a great many things, he wasn’t going to back down from any fight.
That refusal to just lay down and die unfortunately led to Maxwell Jacob Friedman being left for dead by Jay White and his ilk, not exactly the way the champion wanted to head into FULL GEAR 2023 this Saturday night, but at least there was some moral victory to be had for this man who’d been so amoral for most of his adult life.
This Friday night during RAMPAGE, twenty-four hours before they are scheduled to clash with the AEW World Championship at stake, both MJF and “Switchblade” Jay White will sit-down with Renee Paquette to discuss their mutual looming fate. This is not a joint interview, that’s certainly not something that could be done safely after what happened on DYNAMITE, but rather both men talking with Renee on their own.
What will champion and challenger have to say on the eve of their greatest night together? After all that has gone down between MJF, Jay White, BULLET CLUB GOLD, The Devil-Masked individual, the gang of black-clad thugs doing their dirty work, and the Triple B thievery, what will each man have to share about this pay-per-view clash?
Friday night is loaded with three hours of AEW action getting underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT beginning with COLLISION! This edition pits Miro against Daniel Garcia, Shida and Statlander against Saraya and Soho, and FTR’s Dax Harwood fighting LFI’s Rush just 24 hours before they take part in an AEW World Tag Team Championship fray! Then it’s time for a RAMPAGE where Emi Sakura will answer “Timeless” Toni Storm’s call for a “tune-up match, though fighting Sakura is hardly that, plus after what happened on Wednesday night, both the AEW World Champion MJF and “Switchblade” Jay White will sitdown with Renee Paquette! Before the night gets started, drop by the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episode of DYNAMITE, as well as all the moments leading up to FULL GEAR 2023, as well as the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, then stick around after RAMPAGE for the COUNTDOWN TO FULL GEAR 2023 special that follows!
With FULL GEAR 2023 coming to the world this Saturday night live on pay-per-view, All Elite Wrestling is heading into the home stretch! It begins this Wednesday night in Ontario, CA at the Toyota Arena with a jam-packed edition of AEW’s flagship program! From the LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN Street Fight pitting Omega/Jericho/Ibushi/Wight against Brian Cage and The Don Callis Family to the TBS Championship Eliminator Match to the AEW World Champion speaking his mind, the AEW faithful are in store for a wild ride.
The night begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, so make a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to get caught up on the action with highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as this week’s CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN STREET FIGHT…
Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, & Paul Wight vs.
Brian Cage & The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, & Powerhouse Hobbs)
The next four days are set to be some of the most crucial in the life of both Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho, and that begins with this LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN Street Fight on DYNAMITE! As Don Callis has continued to amass a family around him, so too has he persisted on making life hellish for both Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho, two men who’ve been a part of his life for many years, but who he decided somewhere along the way were albatrosses around his neck. He’s stabbed them in the back, quite literally in the case of Omega though that was in the head, turned their allies into enemies, and emboldened their enemies to do unnecessary levels of harm.
But what Don didn’t count on was that the torment heaped upon Jericho and Omega would actually bring the former enemies together; after all these were two men who absolutely destroyed each other at WRESTLE KINGDOM 12 inside the Tokyo Dome, who blistered one another at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2019, and who were on opposite sides of AEW’s first definitive rivalry between The Inner Circle and The Elite.
Their union, dubbed The Golden Jets by Jericho, has experienced victory over The Gates of Agony, over Kyle Fletcher and Takeshita, and over Jericho’s former allies Angelo Parker and Matt Menard. They did suffer a trios loss at WRESTLE DREAM to Takeshita, Will Ospreay, and Sammy Guevara, with Kota Ibushi working as their third, but nothing has brought an end to this situation. Not Callis bringing Powerhouse Hobbs into the fold to utterly decimate Chris Jericho, not the addition of Paul Wight to the situation, nor Prince Nana selling the services of Brian Cage to Don Callis to bolster his Family’s side for this Street Fight.
Nothing has satisfied Don Callis’ need to inflict pain and violence on his former friends and all those who support them, and perhaps nothing will, but that’s not going to stop The Golden Jets, Paul Wight, and Kota Ibushi from trying to end it. Can this Street Fight be that ending? Can it be the night that Chris and Kenny finally find a way to purge their lives of the Don Callis poison? And if they do, even if they don’t, what will they be coming into this Saturday’s fight against The Young Bucks at FULL GEAR 2023?
TAG TEAM GRUDGE MATCH…
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy & FTW Champion HOOK vs.
Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta)
Ahead of their FULL GEAR 2023 International Championship rematch, Orange Cassidy and Jon Moxley are set to clash in a tag team battle. While Moxley has turned to his Blackpool Combat Club brother Wheeler Yuta for his partner this Wednesday night, the 2-Time International Champion has looked to one of his more newly acquired allies in FTW Champion HOOK!
As a team HOOK and OC only have one previous outing, that Four Way tag at WRESTLEDREAM, and although they were not the winning team, neither were they the team that got pinned by The Young Bucks. Conversely Mox and Yuta are 1-0 in their only outing as a team, but they are a pair that train together, that bleed together, that share the same mindset and mentality when it comes to competition. The BCC are, in many ways, of one mind in their approach to professional wrestling, and that makes them a very dangerous entity.
Then there are all the other factors that play into this match; Jon Moxley’s ALL OUT 2023 victory over Orange Cassidy that ended his International Championship reign, Cassidy’s victory over Rey Fenix that brought him his second reign after Mox fell to Rey shortly after ALL OUT, and that shoulder bump delivered from “Freshly Squeezed” to Mox that turned their story into something a bit uglier.
So the question is coming out of this tag match, regardless of who wins, what will be left of Moxley and Cassidy come FULL GEAR 2023 on Saturday night? Will they tear each other to pieces on DYNAMITE in an attempt to gain the last minute advantage? How will Yuta and HOOK factor into this outcome, and will that evolve into a rivalry all its own? Tune into TBS this Wednesday night to watch the explosion!
TBS TITLE ELIMINATOR BOUT…
Red Velvet vs. Skye Blue
***WINNER MOVES ONTO TBS TITLE MATCH AT FULL GEAR***
The hunt for the TBS Championship is heating up with Kris Statlander set to defend at FULL GEAR 2023 in a Three Way bout! After her victory over Willow Nightingale on COLLISION, Julia Hart has earned her spot in the title fight with the third participant in the championship match to be determined this Wednesday night in Ontario!
With Red Velvet having topped Ruby Soho on last Friday night’s edition of RAMPAGE, and Skye Blue beating Marina Shafir the week prior, these two will now lock-up to determine the second woman challenging Kris Statlander on Saturday! In all six of their fights, five of which took place in All Elite Wrestling, Red Velvet has been victorious with the count being twice in singles matches, three times in trios, and once in a tag, but the last of those was ten months ago, and Skye Blue has changed quite a bit since that encounter.
The darkness of Julia Hart has seeped into Skye Blue, and although it didn’t bring her fully into the embrace of The House of Black, it has brought out a darker side to Skye, one that stands in direct contrast to the women she’s called friends, namely Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander. As for Red Velvet, she is freshly back from the injured list after nine months recovering, and just two bouts into this comeback. The first of her fights ended in a loss to, of all people, Julia Hart, while the second was that aforementioned victory over Ruby Soho, and that victory has helped land Red in this position. Before her injury, acquiring the TBS Championship was a goal of Red Velvet’s and now she’s on the precipice of having another opportunity to do just that.
Will the history dominated by Red Velvet continue to play out in that fashion, or will this tilt towards the darkness lead Skye Blue to her first victory over Red Velvet?
A RIVALRY REVISTED WITH A TWIST…
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs.
Penta El Zero Miedo & Komander (w/ Alex Abrahantes)
The last time AEW was in Ontario, CA at the Toyota Arena, The Young Bucks took on The Lucha Brothers in another chapter of their legendary rivalry, and that night it was the brothers Jackson who took home the winner’s share of the purse. That fight was also the last time the two teams clashed in a traditional tag, although they were each part of the Four Way #1 Contender’s bout at WRESTLEDREAM, a bout that ended with Penta pinned after eating a BTE Trigger.
This Wednesday night All Elite Wrestling is back in Ontario, essentially Matt and Nick’s home court, and while a rematch between the two brother duos was potentially on the table, with Rey Fenix still not cleared for competition it is the high-flying luchador Komander who will step up in Fenix’s stead! This contest will mark the first time Komander and The Young Bucks have shared the ring together, tilting an advantage towards he and Penta because at least that half of The Lucha Bros can inform Komander of what to expect. Penta has done it all against the Bucks: been inside a Steel Cage, fought them in Escalera de la Muerte twice, had traditional tag bouts, Trios contests, and even battled Matt in a Four Way fight just over a month ago on DYNAMITE.
Aside from perhaps Hangman and Kenny Omega, there is no one in the AEW locker room who knows The Young Bucks like The Lucha Brothers do, thus it falls on Penta El Zero Miedo to convey this knowledge to Komander, so the two can parlay it into victory just before The Young Buck’s FULL GEAR 2023 date with The Golden Jets. The only other time Komander and Penta have been teammates took place on a September 29th event in Laredo, TX as Komander stepped up in Fenix’s stead there as well, and though they were not victorious, they showed great promise as a duo. That promise is going to have to become something more though if they hope to topple The Young Bucks, especially with everything Matt and Nick have on the line come Saturday night in Los Angeles!
A week ago, after watching Jay White defeat Mark Briscoe in a fight with that FULL GEAR 2023 championship title opportunity hanging in the balance, AEW World Champion MJF snuck into the ring from behind BULLET CLUB GOLD with every intention of getting his Triple B belt back. One-by-one Max knocked them on their butts, leaving only himself and Jay White standing, but when MJF slid the Dynamite Diamond Ring on his finger, “Switchblade” bailed on the fight.
As The Bang Bang Gang listened from the stage, MJF get a lot off his chest about their upcoming match at the fabulous Forum, but as Max finished the lights went out, the big screen clicked on, and the AEW faithful witnessed The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass laid out by a foursome of of black-clad assailants. The assault got particularly nasty when Anthony Bowens was tossed through a window and into an office nearby; not one of the four attackers sported that Devil mask commonly associated with MJF, but that masked visage did pop on the screen before the fade to black, sending Max racing to the back to check on his recently acquired allies.
As MJF stood in the carnage, Samoa Joe walked onto the scene to reinforce his previous message to Max that the AEW World Champ needed back-up he could count on, before walking off with a chuckle. Not that long ago, when Jay White was the one assaulted, it was reasonably assumed that MJF was the one in the mask and lying that the property had been stolen from his locker room. Given that this most recent incident took place at the expense of MJF allies, with the man himself standing in the ring as it happened, it is obviously not Maxwell Jacob Friedman sporting the mask again, but perhaps we will learn something new this Wednesday night when MJF speaks to the incident on DYNAMITE!
AEW returns to the Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA for the final DYNAMITE before FULL GEAR 2023! We’ve got The Young Bucks versus Penta & Komander on tap, as well as a potentially violent explosion between the teams of Mox/Yuta and Cassidy/HOOK, and Skye Blue fighting Red Velvet with a TBS Championship opportunity at stake! We will also hear from AEW World Champion MJF as he responds to the attack on the AEW World Trios Champions, and who can forget the LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN Street Fight! The action gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, and at AEWPlus.com for international fans, so be sure to drop in on 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!
After an impactful RAMPAGE Friday night in Oakland, All Elite Wrestling is right back at it this Saturday with a tremendous edition of COLLISION also emanating from The Oakland Arena! Friday we saw AEW World Tag Champ Ricky Starks conquer Preston Vance, albeit with a little help from his partner Big Bill, which brought Rush to the rescue. Plus, Ruby Soho got a surprise gift during the midst of her match with Red Velvet, a gift that very well may have cost her the match, and is clearly creating some issue within The Outcast members and the former J.A.S. To top it all off, FTR were victorious in a must-see classic against two of AAA’s finest champions in El Hijo Del Vikingo and Komander!
Now on Saturday night, we’ve got a huge Trios match pitting two nascent units against one another: The Righteous and Lance Archer clash with Adam Copeland, Darby Allin, and Sting as the latter trio prepare for their FULL GEAR 2023 battle! COLLISION is coming to you this Saturday night on TNT, beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT, so before the night begins swing over to the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
TRIOS BOUT…
Adam Copeland, Darby Allin, & Sting vs.
The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent) and “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer
In a week’s time, the trio of Darby Allin, Sting, and Adam Copeland will lock horns at FULL GEAR 2023 with TNT Champion Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and young Nick Wayne. Though that bout is rife with history, some of it dating back decades, this trios match taking place on Saturday night has history just over a week old.
Last Saturday night, after Darby found a way to best “The Murderhawk Monster”, Jake “The Snake” Roberts brought out The Righteous of Dutch and Vincent as his newest pieces of “artillery”, leaving Darby distracted and vulnerable for Archer to drop him with a Blackout. Still, ever resilient, Darby bounced back on Wednesday night to team with Sting for a victory over The Outrunners, looking battered and bruised but still quite game.
Still, between everything he’s gone through since Christian Cage’s merciless assault at WRESTLEDREAM 2003, particularly the fight with Lance Archer last week, Darby has to be feeling perpetual pain throughout his body. That doesn’t mean he’s going to stop the fight, after all Darby has friends to rely on, friends to count on, and friends to fight alongside both this Saturday night on COLLISION and next Saturday at FULL GEAR 2023 as well!
This Saturday will give everyone a taste of what this Copeland/Allin/Sting trio looks like in action, but so too will it give the world a look at the devastation that the Dutch/Vincent/Archer/Roberts quartet can unleash upon the world! Come to think of it, given the Jake Roberts and Sting dynamic involved here as well, this is a battle with roots thirty-plus years old, roots that ironically first grew in the Jacksonville Coliseum down in Florida…
ONE-ON-ONE…
Daniel Garcia vs. Andrade El Idolo
He’s been frustrated by the last several months of not getting to demonstrate his full potential, but last Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, when Daniel Garcia had the opportunity to fight MJF for the AEW World Championship, he finally got a chance to be the professional wrestler that fans have wanted to see for quite some time. The sports entertainer died, making way for one of the best technical wrestlers in the game today, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to bring Garcia the AEW World Title.
But Garcia isn’t crying over spilled milk; he allowed himself that privilege in the immediate aftermath of the loss to MJF, but clearly Daniel is ready to get right back on the horse and ride it straight into the toughest fights he can find.
So for this first foray back into the fray Garcia has picked himself quite the challenge; one of the hardest-hitting men in AEW, one of the most complete professional wrestlers competing today, none other than Andrade El Idolo! Andrade is coming off a classic fight with Bryan Danielson, albeit one he lost, and certainly looking to redeem himself from that defeat, but so too is he coming into the fight with the specter of CJ Perry hanging over his head.
Andrade has promised to answer Perry’s offer of managerial services, but will that pull the attention of “The Redeemer” Miro as it did when Ryan Nemeth and Action Andretti tried to acquire CJ’s services over the last few weeks?
IS HE CLEARED?
Roderick Strong vs. Darius Martin
Lexy Nair asked a perfectly reasonable question; is Roderick Strong even cleared to compete in All Elite Wrestling?After all, he’s been wearing this neck brace for a ridiculous amount of time and though the last nights have seen Roddy miraculously rip off the brace to do some damage to The Kingdom’s foes, he still wants to claim injury as much as possible.
Yet, when The Kingdom were confronted by Darius Martin and Action Andretti, it wasn’t Matt Taven and Mike Bennett who jumped up to fight foes who’d previously bested The Kingdom, but rather Roddy Strong who put himself out there for the fight!
Apparently, neck brace or not, this fight is going to take place on Saturday night’s COLLISION, Strong’s first bit of combat since his September 13th fight with Samoa Joe! Is Roderick Strong up for the task, or will Darius rise up and prove himself the better man?
The future of the TBS Championship hangs in the balance of this of this rematch from the September 27th edition of DYNAMITE! Their last fight took place just a few days after Julia assaulted, and misted, Willow prior to COLLISION on the 24th, and then when Willow Nightingale and Julia Hart collided on AEW’s flagship, it was The House of Black member who scored the victory with her impressive moonsault.
Unlike Skye Blue, Willow Nightingale was not changed by her exposure to Julia’s poison, but that doesn’t mean the former NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion doesn’t want revenge for all that’s been done to her and her friends. The fact that a future TBS Championship match hangs in the balance is icing on the cake, the cherry on the sundae, the prize awaiting the winner of this one-on-one fight!
Will Julia Hart get her rematch with Kris Statlander and put the fight with Willow to rest on Saturday night? Or will it be Nightingale who gets another shot at the TBS Championship, another opportunity to finally score that AEW championship victory that’s alluded her thus far?
TAG TEAM ACTION…
LFI (Dralistico & Rush) vs. The Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake)
It’s very clear that many forces are amassing to challenge Big Bill and Ricky Starks for the AEW World Tag Team Championships, and despite the loss Preston Vance sustained at the hands of “Absolute” Ricky Starks on Friday night’s RAMPAGE, La Faccion Ingobernable are chief among those potential challengers. Whether it’s Rush and Vance, Rush and Dralistico, or Dralistico and Vance, LFI has designs on the titles, and nothing is going to stop these paragons of violence from getting what they desire.
With that in mind, the Dralistico/Rush pairing will be in tag team action against The Workhorsemen, a duo who had their brush with greatness several months ago the night they almost eked out a World Tag Team Championship victory over FTR. JD Drake and Anthony Henry have been craving that feeling ever since, and hope to get near to it once again by scoring a victory over LFI this Saturday night on COLLISION!
ALSO FEATURING:
-POWERHOUSE HOBBS IN ACTION!
-DALTON CASTLE VS. NICK WAYNE!!
-AND MORE!!!
Before the evening gets underway, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
For the first time, All Elite Wrestling is coming to Oakland, CAand bringing a live edition of RAMPAGE with it! With a week to go until FULL GEAR 2023, The Oakland Arena will be rocking with all the athletes of AEW jockeying for superiority before that pay-per-view extravaganza, including a huge tag match pitting former 2-Time AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR against AAA Mega Champion El Hijo Del Vikingo and AAA World Cruiserweight/World Tag Champion Komander! Plus those in attendance on Friday night will get to see COLLISION one day early, featuring another big tag team bout with La Faccion Ingobernable’s RUSH and Dralistico, as well as Edge, Sting, and Darby Allin putting in Trios work against The Righteous and Lance Archer!
Live action begins at at 10pm ET/9pm CT live on TNT, and at AEWPlus.com for international fans, but if you’ll be in attendance in Oakland, the party begins at 6:30pm PT! Before the night begins, make sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, as well as this week’s CONTROL CENTER, and much more!
TAG TEAM BATTLE…
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs. AAA Mega Champion El Hijo Del Vikingo & AAA World Cruiserweight/World Tag Champion Komander
It was just over a month ago that FTR were enjoying their second reign as AEW World Tag Team Champions, a goal finally accomplished after fighting since FULL GEAR 2020 to reclaim the titles they lost to The Young Bucks. Over the span of 185 days, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood had toppled The Gunns, BULLET CLUB GOLD in an epic 2/3 Falls Match, Jarrett and Lethal, Better Than You BayBay, Big Bill and Brian Cage, The Young Bucks at ALL IN: LONDON, Aussie Open at WRESTLEDREAM, all en route to matching the record of nine successful title defenses held by both The Young Bucks in their first reign, as well as by Kenny Omega/Hangman Page during theirs.
The along came Big Bill and Ricky Starks, in just their second match as a team, to smash their way through FTR and end that run in just under five minutes. It was a beating unlike any Cash and Dax had taken since coming to AEW in 2020, one that kept them out of action for a few weeks as they recovered, only to be waylaid in their return to competition by The House of Black. FTR would however be back in the ring last week as part of a wild eight-man tag pitting Cash, Dax, Preston Vance and Rush against The Gates of Agony and the AEW World Tag Champions. Despite the rather uneasy alliance of FTR and LFI, that foursome did manage to secure the victory, only for LFI to bail and for FTR to get attacked by The House once more. The surprising arrival of Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta brought that to an abrupt end though, creating another rather unusual alliance between FTR and the BCC in the face of that common enemy.
But this week FTR will be right back in the mix as they take on two of Lucha Libre’s finest athletes, both champions in their own right with the AAA promotion, the team of Komander and El Hijo Del Vikingo! Now as a result of their rivalry with The Lucha Brothers, Dax and Cash have had some experience fighting competitors versed in the Lucha style, but as superb as Penta and Fenix are, they’re approach is quite different than Vikingo and Komander, and FTR is going to be in for a wild ride this Friday night!
Can Dax and Cash overcome? Will they need eyes in the back of their heads where The House of Black is concerned? Or will we see the two AAA champions reign supreme over the former 2-Time AEW Tag Champs?
JERICHO TALKS DRAGON GAIDEN…
Ahead of the LIKE A DRAGON GAIDEN STREET FIGHT going down on Wednesday night’s DYNAMITE, we will hear from Chris Jericho on RAMPAGE on Friday night! What will “The Ocho” have to say before he goes to war with The Don Callis Family? Tune into TNT to find out!
RAMPAGE begins at at 10pm ET/9pm CT live on TNT, and at AEWPlus.com for international fans, but if you plan to be at the Oakland Arenafor the action, the night gets underway at 6:30pm PT! Prior to the fights, drop into the official AEW YouTube channel to catch highlights from Wednesday’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, this week’s CONTROL CENTER, and much more!
