Investment

https://www.youtube.com/embed/wx0X0mVfha0?si=Kcz6BIyoURU1IZbK

After an exciting week in AEW action, All Elite Wrestling returns to the Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ this Wednesday night with a jam-packed episode of DYNAMITE! Beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, fans will see Ricky Starks & Big Bill defend their AEW World Tag Team Championship against the #1 Ranked duo of Darby Allin & Sting, just as the #1 Ranked Swerve Strickland and #2 Ranked Adam Page fight for a shot at Samoa Joe’s AEW World Championship at REVOLUTION 2024! Plus, Red Velvet will fight AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm in an Eliminator Bout, Konosuke Takeshita steps up to fight Chris Jericho on behalf of The Don Callis Family, and The BCC battles the CMLL unit in Trios competition!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hxnzKrrPTeY?si=sD3HGD4vtgspKt0l

REVOLUTION 2024 is a month out, and the pieces are falling into place for what will certainly be one of the most memorable nights in professional wrestling history! Part of that history-building will take place this Wednesday on DYNAMITE starting at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans! Before showtime, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s various social media platforms, for highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, COLLISION, as well as the newest CONTROL CENTER, and more! Then join us Saturday night in Henderson, NV where AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy will defend his title against “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii!

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match…

Big Bill & Ricky Starks(c) vs. Darby Allin & Sting

https://www.youtube.com/embed/gNUS7PkEu_Y?si=JtKxBJRnoU_WQd6C

Together they are 14-0 in tag team competition, a streak that first began at REVOLUTION 2021 when Darby Allin and Sting defeated Team Taz in a Street Fight. That night it was Ricky Starks and Brian Cage officially fighting under the FTW banner, but let’s be honest, every member of the group got involved in that situation to try and shut down Sting’s return to professional wrestling, but they failed. 

Fast forward almost three years, the landscape is very different for Ricky Starks, the ally standing at his side hasn’t been a Team Taz member for quite some time, nor has the championship around his waist been the FTW Title. Instead stands Big Bill, one of the most impressive specimens in professional wrestling, and man that Starks proudly says is not his friend, just his championship tag team partner, and Bill will claim the same. They don’t know much about each other’s personal lives, Starks was even shocked when he learned who Bill is involved with, but that like of a personal relationship hasn’t prevented them from gelling into quite the impressive duo. They utterly decimated FTR to win the titles in the first place, survived a wild Ladder Match to retain the belts, and put down the tandem of Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara in a Street Fight. They’ve been dominant because of their skills inside the ring, and how they compliment each other, not necessarily because they are best friends.

On the other side of this fight are Sting and Darby Allin; two men who, despite their difference in age and experience, have formed a formidable bond both personally and professionally. Ever since Sting first came to the AEW fold at WINTER IS COMING 2020, he and Darby have been thick as thieves, partners always, but giving space when needed, and quite unstoppable. No active tag team is even close  to their 14-match win streak, and no individual is even close to Sting’s 27-match win streak. There’s is a bond built on respect, built on friendship earned, something that runs deeper than that of Starks and Big Bill, but also makes them care about the other in a way the defending champions do not. 

Beyond the bond of holding titles together, it doesn’t seem likely Bill and Ricky care about the well-being of one another, whereas “The Icon” and the former 2-Time TNT Champion have that investment in one another. This Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, with the AEW World Tag Team Championship on the line, we will all see which approach to tag team competition wins out. Will Big Bill and Ricky Starks add the first loss to Sting’s AEW resume as he heads towards his last dance at REVOLUTION 2024? Or will Sting and Darby Allin, a man “The Icon” calls the best partner he’s ever had, add one last championship to Sting’s trophy case before his legendary career is over?

Winner earns REVOLUTION 2024 World Title Match: 

(#1)Swerve Strickland VS. (#2) Adam Page

https://www.youtube.com/embed/V1Tdpd-NHkE?si=eu8_gppIS8eUpVrL

It is a fact that the record books show Swerve Strickland has beaten “Hangman” Adam Page twice in the last four months; once at WRESTLEDREAM 2023 in a traditional singles contest, and then again at FULL GEAR 2023 in that infamous Texas Death match. However, what the numbers on a piece of paper don’t show is that both victories came about as a result of Prince Nana and The Mogul Embassy lending The Boss a helping hand. In the former, it was absolutely a case of cheating when Swerve used Nana’s crown to knock Hangman across the skull, but in the latter, when both Nana and Brian Cage got involved, it was at least in the purview of Texas Death Match rules. Still, neither victory came about as a result of Swerve working alone, neither win can be credited to Strickland alone, and that is the point Hangman Page aims to prove on Wednesday night!

That point of pride isn’t the only thing on the line come DYNAMITE though, with Swerve sitting atop the newest rankings, and Hangman at number two, this fight is also to see who will challenge Samoa Joe at REVOLUTION 2024 live on pay-per-view! Page is on a mission to regain the title he lost at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2022, while Swerve aims to become champions for the first time, as well as make history as the first African-American AEW World Champion!

Which of these two warriors, both deserving of the opportunity, will win this rubber match and move on to face AEW World Champion Samoa Joe next month? Can Swerve live up to the challenge to do it by himself this time around? Or will that lack of Mogul Embassy assistance be all Hangman needs to get his first AEW World Championship opportunity since Jon Moxley knocked him out back in October 2022?

Trios Battle…

Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, & Jon Moxley) vs. Hechicero, Mascara Dorada, & Volador Jr.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/t6nVrx24Nng?si=M53dpcEDr0GNJTJl

It began with Jon Moxley getting into it with the CMLL contingent during his fight with Jeff Hardy, and the assault they perpetrated on the former 3-Time AEW World Champion after his victory. It continued with Bryan Danielson’s hard-fought victory over Hechicero last Saturday night on COLLISION, a win that pushed Danielson to his limits as much as any match he’s experienced during his AEW tenure. It demonstrated to the AEW faithful the kind of threat that Hechicero is on his own, just as the CMLL contingent’s victory on RAMPAGE the night prior showed how good they are as a unit.

Well this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, they are going to be pushed to their limits as a trio when they face The Blackpool Combat Club of Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Jon Moxley! This will be the very first time Hechicero, Mascara Dorado, and Volador Jr. unite as a trio, just as it will be the first time Bryan, Claudio, and Mox will fight as a trio, and what a first-time outing it will be for each!

Moxley made mention about gang warfare several weeks ago in relation to his fights with Shane Taylor Promotions, and how it was avoided in that situation, but it looks like it’s upon him and The BCC now with these luchadors representing CMLL! With Danielson’s victory on Saturday, The BCC are up a victory over CMLL, will the luchadors even that score in Phoenix? 

Running The Callis Family Gauntlet…

Chris Jericho vs. Konosuke Takeshita

https://www.youtube.com/embed/smbJ1FzzlwI?si=aYvLqGvh_baNWbmR&start=120

Chris Jericho is essentially running a gauntlet match against The Don Callis Family, though he may not be battling them one after another on the same day, he is still in the midst of having to fight each one. The original AEW World Champion managed to best ROH World Television Champion Kyle Fletcher in his first battle with the Family, but the road isn’t even close to done yet because this Wednesday night Jericho will face “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita!

Back in November, at DDT Pro Wrestling’s ULTIMATE PARTY 2023, Jericho traveled to Japan to defeat Takeshita on his home turf, and in their four other meetings as foes, it has been Jericho’s team that has come out on top three of those times! The in-ring momentum is certainly on the side of Chris Jericho, but aside from Sammy Guevara, is there anyone on the side of “Le Champion”? He had the assistance, temporarily, of Sting and Darby Allin, but they’re engaged in their own battle in Phoenix, so is there anyone to counteract the supreme numbers advantage held by The Don Callis Family? Will Jericho’s quest to take down each man surrounding Don Callis be cut off at the knees this Wednesday night, or will he get one step closer with a victory over “The Alpha”?

Eliminator Match…

AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm vs. Red Velvet

***DEONNA PURRAZZO ON COMMENTARY***

https://www.youtube.com/embed/TH_paMQOF3A?si=VOickSlRSz7LlBfW

AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm is officially on the road to REVOLUTION 2024 for a championship fight with “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo! After having her state of mind questioned by Purrazzo, and her abilities inside the ring placed in doubt, Toni Storm requested what she called “a public workout” this week on DYNAMITE. The reality, whether she realizes it or not, is that Toni Storm will be entering into an Eliminator Bout against one of the most capable competitors in the AEW locker room: Red Velvet! Red has been chasing an AEW championship for almost as long as she’s been part of the company, and though she’s come up short on several occasions, as well as tangled with injury stalling her momentum, none of it has stopped Red Velvet from perpetually pursuing her goals!

If she can pull off a victory this Wednesday night in Phoenix, Red Velvet will earn herself a future championship match, but she’s got some history to overcome. Nine times the AEW Women’s World Champion has competed in an Eliminator Match, and nine times the champion has been victorious, with the champion in question being Toni Storm in four of those bouts. Can Red Velvet be the first woman to win an Eliminator bout, as well as the first challenger since Eddie Kingston & Penta El Zero Miedo to win an Eliminator contest in any division?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/dBg63mEl3Hg?si=gkxq7RasEK-uFC-R&start=120

This Wednesday night, All Elite Wrestling returns to Phoenix, AZ and the Footprint Center with one of the most stacked editions of DYNAMITE yet! Starting at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, Darby Allin & Sting will challenge Big Bill & Ricky Starks for the AEW World Tag Team Championship, while Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page battle for an AEW World Championship opportunity at REVOLUTION 2024! AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm will face Red Velvet in an Eliminator Bout, Chris Jericho continues his fight against The Don Callis Family when he meets Takeshita in singles competition, and The BCC takes on the CMLL contingent in Trios battle!

All that and more comes your way this week on DYNAMITE, so before the show gets underway, make a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW’s assorted social media platforms, for highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the newest edition of the CONTROL CENTER!  Then come on down to Henderson, NV and The Dollar Loan Center this Saturday for an all-new edition of COLLISION!