After witnessed two championships change hands last Tuesday during DYNAMITE: TITLE TUESDAY, AEW’s flagship returns to its regular time for our debut at the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, TX!With that debut comes the 2023 Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale, the winner facing MJF for that Dynamite Diamond Ring, as well as a first-time encounter between Penta El Zero Miedo and Jay White, Kenny Omega answering Kyle Fletcher’s challenge, Toni Storm’s next blockbuster, “The Icon” Sting, and so much more!!!
This Wednesday night DYNAMITE is back in home time slot, beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans! Before the night begins, nake sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from last week’s DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the latest CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
DYNAMITE DOZEN BATTLE ROYALE…
Including: Dustin Rhodes, Juice Robinson, and more!!!
The first three years of the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale the format was such that the last two men standing would move on to a singles match the following week to determine ownership of the Dynamite Diamond Ring. 2019 Battle Royale result put MJF opposite Hangman Page in their only singles match to date, ultimately leading to Max becoming the inaugural holder of the pricey accessory. 2020’s winners would be MJF and Orange Cassidy, and that too would result in MJF retaining possession of the ring in their lone head-to-head clash. 2021’s Battle Royale took place in front of MJF’s hometown Long Island crowd, and resulted in he and Dante Martin meeting in their only one-on-one fight, as well as MJF once again keeping the ring on his finger.
2022 would be a different story though; with MJF having defeated Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at FULL GEAR a few weeks prior, it was decided that the winner of the Battle Royale would face Max at WINTER IS COMING 2022 with both the ring and the title at stake. “Absolute” Ricky Starks would last eliminate Matt Hardy and Ethan Page to earn his shot, but unfortunately he would leave the match with MJF, their only singles meeting as well, with an empty finger and an empty waist. No ring, no championship, just MJF keeping the ring for the fourth straight year as well as making his first successful championship defense.
Now here we are nearly one year later with MJF still the AEW World Champion, and that ring still adorning his finger, although it hasn’t been put to nefarious use nearly as much over the last few months as it has in the past. This Wednesday night in Rosenberg, TX, when AEW debuts at the Fort Bend Epicenter, someone will earn an opportunity to give the Dynamite Diamond Ring its first new home, and we know that both Juice Robinson and Dustin Rhodes have claimed their spot in the Battle Royale. For the latter it’s about legacy, for the former its about taking something from MJF before he defends the AEW World Championship against “King Switch” Jay White at FULL GEAR 2023. But before anyone looks to the fight with Max, they’ve got to win the Battle Royal first, and that is never an easy feat!
SINGLES MATCH…
Penta El Zero Miedo vs. “Switchblade” Jay White
Speaking of Jay White, though he will likely have an eye on the outcome of the Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale, he will have his own hands full in Texas when he meets Penta El Zero Miedo in singles combat! This first-time meeting of these two men comes as a result of Jay White and BC GOLD interrupting Renee Paquette asking Penta for an update on his brother Rey Fenix after Rey lost the AEW International Championship to Orange Cassidy.
White and company had no skin in that game, no stake in the status of Fenix, OC, or Penta, but yet there they were en masse choosing to insert their voice into the conversation and mock The Lucha Brothers for their lack of championship belts. Of course Jay White persists in his claim that he earned the Triple B rightfully belonging to Maxwell Jacob Friedman, a claim that in his heart even Jay knows is false, but it doesn’t stop him from running off at the mouth, and ending up in fights like the one he’s about to enter on Wednesday night.
Unlike Jay, Penta El Zero Miedo has earned multiple championships in All Elite Wrestling, posting status as a former AEW World Tag Team Champion with his brother, as well as a former AEW World Trios Champion with Rey and “The Bastard” PAC, but this fight will obviously not be held with anyone standing in Penta’s corner waiting for a tag. Nor will anyone be in White’s corner for a tag, but there’s a good chance the rest of the Bang Bang Gang will be there up to no good.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR…
Kyle Fletcher vs. Kenny Omega
Kyle Fletcher is a brave man, possibly foolish, but absolutely brave, and on a mission to be, in his words, “…in the conversation of the best to ever do it”. Stepping into the ring with FTR twice, Bryan Danielson twice, Chris Jericho, and Kenny Omega in the span of the week between September 30th and October 7th is certainly one way to work the mission. Calling out the only former AEW World, Tag, and Trios Champion is absolutely another way to do it, and that’s exactly what Fletcher did on COLLISION following his victory over The Iron Savage’s Boulder when he challenged Kenny Omega to a fight!
The only way to become the best is to beat the best, and the only way to make that possible is to be in the ring with them in the first place, so kudos to the former ROH World Tag Champion for his gumption, but this Wednesday night Kyle has to put his proverbial money where his mouth is and actually fight “The Cleaner” one-on-one! Unlike their previous tag team encounter where Fletcher was a last minute substitute for the injured Sammy Guevara, both men have now had several days to prepare for this contest so we shall see if that opportunity shifts the outcome either way. Fletcher no doubt will spend those days with Don Callis in his ear pointing out Kenny’s supposed flaws and weak spots, and possibly with Don, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Takeshita in his corner during the match as well.
After the beating Omega took from Hobbs two weeks ago, is he anywhere near 100% and ready for a fight? And after they were there at Omega’s side during his recovery time last week, will The Young Bucks be at his side to balance the scales?
RATED R REBUTTAL…
JIM ROSS SITS DOWN WITH NICK AND HIS MOM…
When last we saw Nick Wayne he was on the receiving end of a spear from Adam Copeland to close out COLLISION, but that may feel like a walk in the park on a crisp Autumn day compared to what’s in store for the young man this Wednesday night. For the first time since watching Nick betray Darby Wayne at WRESTLEDREAM, the AEW faithful will hear from Nick Wayne’s mother Shayna when she and her son sit-down with Jim Ross on DYNAMITE!
Given everything that Darby has meant to Nick and his family over the years, and what that family has in turn met to the former 2-Time TNT Champion, one can only imagine the disappointment Shayna feels about her son choosing Christian Cage over Darby Allin, especially given the way Christian has talked about Nick’s mother over the last several weeks!
STING RETURNS!
And speaking of that betrayal, another man victimized by Nick Wayne’s betrayal was “The Icon” Sting and it was only the timely arrival of Adam Copeland at WRESTLEDREAM that saved him from suffering a worse fate at the hands of Wayne, Christian Cage, and Luchasaurus.
Now we have not heard from Sting since that night in Seattle, but this Wednesday in Texas “The Icon” will be back in the house to address the AEW faithful! What will Sting have to say about the events that unfolded at WRESTLEDREAM, about AEW’s newest arrival Adam Copeland, and about what the future holds for him?
Last week the AEW faithful witnessed the premiere of Toni Storm’s “Lover’s Lament”, a silent feature in two acts, that wrapped up shortly after a title screen that read “Miss Storm you are needed on set” came across the screen. Coincidentally, or not, it was shortly thereafter that the former 2-Time AEW Women’s Champion entered the scene during Shida’s title fight with Saraya to chase off Ruby Soho.
This week on DYNAMITE, it appears we are all invited to the premiere of “Timeless” Toni Storm’s next cinematic masterpiece! How can she possibly follow-up “Lover’s Lament”? Tune in Wednesday night to TBS to witness the next blockbuster added to Storm’s resume!
This Wednesday night, DYNAMITE returns to its regularly scheduled start of 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, and brings to the Fort Bend Epicenterthe Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale, “Switchblade” versus Penta, Aussie Open versus Elite, “The Icon”, “Timeless” Toni, and so much more! Be sure to check out the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER to get prepared for AEW’s debut in Rosenberg, TX!
Tonight’s AEW COLLISION was broadcast live from the Huntington Center in Toledo, OH!
Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly and Tony Schiavone were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Saturday night and you know what that means! Saturday night’s alright for fighting!
The “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland came out to the ring to kick off the show!
Adam Copeland: “This week on Dynamite, Christian Cage had a whole lot of things to say. In his deluded mind, I think he actually believes them. I had to come out here and address what he had to say…”
Christian Cage’s music began to play!
The TNT Champion walked onto the ramp with Nick Wayne, Luchasaurus, and a team of AEW security!
Christian Cage: “You gotta lot of nerve and you really proved my point. You really think you’re that special, huh? You just walk out here on Collision, my show, by the way, take up this opening segment while I’m in the main event. That doesn’t sit right with me, so I brought my security detail out here because I’m sure you’re upset with what I said. But this security is for your protection, not mine.
“I’m just going to cut to the chase here. Why don’t you nicely step out of that ring, walk back up that ramp, and hit the bricks, because you see what’s going to happen if you stick around much longer here in AEW? It’s going to be like you’re from Toledo, Ohio, because it’s like you’ll be known for nothing.
“So, get to stepping or I’ll have my security team remove you. Just like I had the BCC escorted from the arena so there won’t be any funny business tonight with Bryan Danielson. I want a straight up fight with Bryan Danielson, and I know that’s not going to happen if you’re here and they’re here. I’m going to prove what I have known all along, as the TNT Champion, I am without a doubt the best wrestler in the world.”
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson walked down the ramp!
Danielson: “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You know, Christian Cage, I’m happy to hear that you want a fair fight because I’ve got some news for you. I’ve talked to Tony Khan and in the interest of having a fair fight, Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne have been banned from ringside.
“And now we’re going to find out between you and me, who is the better man and who deserves to be the TNT Champion!”
“Absolute” Ricky Starks and Big Bill—the AEW Tag Team Champions, walked down the ring next!
Ricky Starks: “No, no, no. I’m looking at a bunch of guys who are taking up my time, and Big Bill’s time. So, excuse me for breaking up this little bash here but I’ll be damned if I let it go any longer. And truthfully speaking, I have no respect for you Adam Copeland, I have no respect for you Bryan. But I have respect for you, Christian, the only AEW Champion who stands in this ring until, well, right now.”
Ricky Starks stepped into the ring.
Ricky Starks: “Bryan Danielson, don’t think I forgot about the things I had to do to deal with you and the BCC and all this other crap. The difference between you and me, Bryan, is I’m actually a real AEW champion. So, if you two don’t like what I said, how about you guys get with me and my friends and we can do the damn thing right now, if it’s a fight you’re looking for.”
FTR—Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood—walked to the ring next!
Cash Wheeler: “Seven days ago AEW medical gave us an option. They said we didn’t have to go out and defend the titles because we are banged up. But the show must go on, so we said we’d defend the titles. Obviously, that was the wrong choice. But that doesn’t make you, Ricky and Big Bill, the best tag team on the planet. That is reserved for FTR.
“So maybe we don’t get an immediate rematch. That’s fine. We will earn a rematch. But titles or not, you gotta now we’re coming for those necks.”
Dax Harwood: “Everybody is banged up. We all gotta work and we made a decision and last week, one night only, you were better than FTR. And I heard you and your friends wanted a fight. And Saturday night’s alright for a fight, Toledo.”
Danielson: “And speaking of that, Christian Cage, why don’t you and I do our match right now!”
Security charged at Danielson, Copeland, and FTR! Luchasaurus, Nick Wayne, and Christian Cage high tailed it out of the ring and Danielson, Copeland, and FTR cleaned house on the security!
Ring Of Honor World TV Championship Match!
Samoa Joe (c.) vs. Willie Mack!
Willie tried a shoulder block on Samoa Joe and Joe didn’t budge. Samoa Joe rammed into Willie Mack and knocked him off his feet! Samoa Joa jabbed at Willie Mack in the corner turnbuckles.
Willie Mack fired off the ropes with a leg lariat. He connected with a plancha on Samoa Joe!
Willie crushed Samoa Joe with a cannonball in the corner! Samoa Joe booted Willie and then splashed him with a running senton for a near fall.
Samoa Joe powerslammed Willie Mack for a two-count. Willie nailed Joe with a cutter in the center of the ring for a near fall. Willie climbed to the top for the 6-star frog splash, but Samoa Joe countered with a muscle buster! Samoa Joe covered Willie and pinned him!
Lexy Nair was backstage with “the hot and flexible” CJ Perry!
CJ Perry: “I would ask my future clients if they ever sat on the side and felt like someone else was getting the spotlight? If you feel that way, I know exactly how you feel. That’s the story of my life and I am here to help guide people in AEW. So, if you’re in the locker room and you want to become champion, come find the woman that helps make men.”
Action Andretti walked onto the set.
Action: “CJ, I’ve gotta say, I feel like I could really benefit from having someone like you guide and manage me. And I’m just one phone call away. And if you don’t know, now you know I’m Action Andretti.”
CJ: “Nice to meet you. Can’t wait to get a call.”
Juice Robison (with Bullet Club Gold)
vs.
“Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels!
Daniels took down Juice with an arm drag. CD applied the pressure on Juice.
Juice rocketed Daniels into the ropes, throat first. Juice charged at Daniels with a stiff elbow shot. Juice jabbed at the Fallen Angel. Juice followed up with a standing senton for a near fall. Christopher Daniels suplexed Juice and hit Juice with an STO.
Daniels smashed Juice with a high angle Death Valley Driver. Daniels tried for the Angels Wings, but Juice shoved Daniels into the turnbuckles. Juice crushed CD with a running cannonball. Juice planted Daniels and pinned him.
“The juice is loose. Juice Robinson now sets his sights on Wednesday night as part of the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale to see who will go on to face MJF for the Dynamite Diamond ring,” said Tony Schiavone.
“Jay White versus Penta El Zero Miedo as well,” added Kevin Kelly.
After the match, “Switchblade” Jay White placed a ring on Juice’s finger. The Gunns held up Christopher Daniels and Juice clocked Daniels with the lethal left hand!
Juice Robinson: “MJF, you think you’re the only man in the world who can knock a guy out with a ring on his fist? I’ve been knocking losers out like you for years with nothing on this hand. In fact, this ring right here, I got from TJ Maxx. It ain’t the ring when it comes to the Stray Bullet. It’s the left hand I got, and I don’t need anything on it. Wednesday after I win your little battle royal, I’m gonna take that ring from you Max and then we’re gonna take a trip to the local pawn shop. And we’re gonna pawn that and the Bang Bang Gang will go on a vacation.”
“Switchblade” Jay White: “Look Max, when you wonder why this is all happening to you, you have one boy to blame and that is MJF. You see, MJF, you brought this all on yourself when you jumped me from behind in your devil mask with your paid off gimp squad because we all know you have no friends.
“So now your world is falling apart, and it starts when Juice takes your precious little ring, and it culminates at Full Gear when your world crumbles for good when I am officially crowned the AEW World Heavyweight Champion! Guns up!”
A vignette aired for Dustin Rhodes!
Dustin Rhodes: “Well Houston, we have a problem! Because I am the storm. ‘The Natural’ Dustin Rhodes is coming back to Texas where he belongs. And Dustin Rhodes today, in 2023, is as good as he’s ever been. And this Wednesday, I am coming to win the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal. And then MJF, I’m coming for that diamond ring, but more importantly, a chance for a lifelong dream of mine—to become the AEW World Heavyweight Champion. My path to glory starts this Wednesday night on TBS where it all began and where legends live forever!”
Lexy Nair was backstage with Nick Wayne! Lexy informed him that this Wednesday he would have a sit down interview with Jim Ross and Nick Wayne’s mom!
Nick Wayne: “A sit down interview? With my mom? For what? The whole world wants to know what I did to Darby Allin and apparently my mom wants to know? Then I guess they can find out on Dynamite.”
Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher vs. Iron Savages’ Boulder!
Boulder shoved Fletcher to the mat. Fletcher applied a side headlock. Fletcher clubbed Boulder with forearms. Boulder press slammed Kyle Fletcher.
Fletcher rocked Boulder with a leg lariat, knocking Boulder to the arena floor. Fletcher flew over the top rope with a dive onto Boulder!
Kyle Fletcher powerbombed Boulder from the top rope. Fletcher locked on the dragon sleeper and made Boulder tap out!
“Interesting with the dragon sleeper,” said Tony Schiavone.
Renee Paquette was backstage with the AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass!
Billy Gunn: “We have been Trios Champs for 48 days!”
Max Caster: “I just hope MJF sees all the hard work we’ve been putting in.”
Billy Gunn: “We have to work on your relationship skills because they’re absolutely rotten.”
Anthony Bowens: “The Twitter stuff, it’s all a bit aggressive. We can make friends and we can help you make friends.”
Billy and Anthony coached Caster with a few pointers and told him to try them on Renee for practice. Caster asked Renee about the “Oral Sessions” and totally offended her.
Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, Daniel Garcia and Jake Hager crashed the interview.
Menard: “Real smooth, idiot.”
Parker: “MJF thinks you’re an absolute loser.”
Menard: “How about Memphis, you put those titles on the line. We’re getting a taste of the title.”
Caster: “We’ll see you in Memphis!”
TBS Championship Match!
Kris Statlander (c.) vs. Skye Blue!
Skye Blue’s demeanor has changed since Julia Hart blew mist in her eyes. Blue grabbed a handful of Kris’ hair. Skye Blue cracked Kris with a back elbow.
Skye Blue nailed Kris with a neck breaker across the ropes. Kris fired back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Blue planted Kris with a satellite DDT for a two-count.
Blue hit an avalanche powerbomb. Blue jumped off the top rope with a crossbody, but Statlander countered with a powerslam. Blue rocked Kris with thrust kicks. Statlander caught Blue with Saturday Night Fever and pinned Skye Blue!
Statlander tried to help up Skye Blue after the match. Skye Blue slapped away Kris’ hand. Willow Nightingale sprinted to the ring to try to talk some sense into Skye.
Kyle Fletcher was backstage!
Fletcher: “First off, I want to send some well wishes to Mark Davis. But saying that, Davis being out gives me an opportunity to prove that on my own two feet, I am one of the best professional wrestlers in this world. There is a man in this company that I consider to be the measuring stick. This Wednesday I am calling you out, Kenny Omega, and I will prove I am one of the best, with or without someone in my corner!”
“Limitless” Keith Lee vs. The Outrunners’ Turbo Floyd!
Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty of Shane Taylor Promotions had a vested interest, watching this match on a monitor backstage.
Keith Lee threw Floyd over his head! Lee pounced on Turbo Floyd! Keith Lee powerbombed Floyd and pinned him!
“The Redeemer” Miro was backstage with some thought provoking words…and actions!
Miro: “The last few weeks have been testing with my wife being around. But I know what’s going to happen now that she’s here. Because evil seduces you under bright lights. So now she’ll be surrounded by all the things she loves. Let this be a warning, I am willing to destroy every man to protect the one woman. This is the promise of the Redeemer!”
Miro threw Action Andretti to the ground!
Main Event Time!
TNT Championship Match!
Christian Cage (c.) vs. “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson!
Jim Ross joined the broadcast booth to provide main event analysis.
Danielson worked over Cage in a bow and arrow submission move. Danielson whipped Christian Cage into the steel barricade. Danielson followed up with a running dropkick. Danielson threw Christian Cage back into the ring and worked on Christian Cage’s knee.
Christian Cage charged at Danielson, but Danielson back dropped Cage out of the ring. Danielson sprinted at Christian Cage, looking for a tope suicida, but Christian Cage countered with a massive uppercut!
“What a smart move by the TNT Champion,” said Jim Ross.
Danielson tried to suplex Christian off the ring apron, but Christian kicked Danielson and shoved him into the ring post. Chrisitan Cage planted Danielson with a hammerlock slam on the apron, right on Danielson’s surgically repaired arm!
They jockeyed for position on the top turnbuckle. Danielson headbutted Cage, knocking him off the turnbuckles. Bryan rocked Cage with a diving headbutt. Christian Cage was busted wide open!
Danielson clobbered Christian Cage with toxic round kicks. Danielson jumped onto Christian with a tope suicida.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Christian Cage poked Danielson in the eye. Christian followed up with a frog splash for a near fall! Christian was looking for the Kill Switch, but Danielson countered with kicks to Cage’s sternum. Danielson missed a round kick and Christian planted him on his face! Christian Cage charged at Danielson, looking for the spear, but Danielson countered with a knee! Danielson blasted Christian with a stiff kick for a near fall!
Danielson captured Christian’s wrists and stomped on his head. Danielson ran towards Christian, ready to hit with his knee strike, but Christian Cage countered with a spear! Christian planted Bryan with the Kill Switch but somehow Bryan kicked out at two!
Christian ran at Danielson with another spear, but Danielson dodged it! Danielson hit the running knee on Christian Cage! Danielson covered Cage but Cage kicked out! Danielson applied the Le Bell Lock! Christian reached the ropes with his boots. Danielson pulled Christian back to the center of the ring and tried for the Le Bell Lock again, but his damaged arm wouldn’t allow him to complete the hold and lock it in.
Big Bill came to the ring and distracted the ref! Ricky Starks jumped into the ring and blasted Danielson in the head with his tag team title belt! Christian covered Danielson and pinned him!
“It took three guys to get it done,” said Jim Ross.
After the match, Luchasaurus, Nick Wayne, Big Bill, and Ricky Starks stomped and kicked Danielson! FTR rushed down to help even up the odds for Danielson! Adam Copeland hit the ring and hit anything that moved! Copeland was going toe to toe with Luchasaurus! FTR clobbered Big Bill, knocking him out of the ring! Big Bill pulled Starks out of the ring before FTR could inflict anymore punishment. Copeland booted Luchasaurus right in the face and out of the ring! Copeland speared Nick Wayne!
“You asked for it, kid, you got it,” said Tony Schiavone.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, TX!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
All Elite Wrestling has made it abundantly clear that Saturday night’s alright for fighting, and this Saturday on COLLISION will be no different! With AEW’s debut at Toledo’s Huntington Center, there are three championship fights on tap with the TBS, the TNT, and ROH World TV Championships at stake. The first contested between Kris Statlander and Skye Blue with the second between defending champion Christian Cage and challenger Bryan Danielson, the man who defeated Swerve Strickland on DYNAMITE: TITLE TUESDAY to earn the opportunity! As for the latter, as Samoa Joe nears a championship record currently held by Jay Lethal, he welcomes the challenge of Willie Mack! These two hard-hitting big men are looking forward to throwing down in Toledo, and we know Joe also has his eye on the prize currently around MJF’s waist: the AEW World Championship!
COLLISION is back at its normal start time of 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT on TNT, so make a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
TNT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
Christian Cage(c) vs. “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson
When last we saw Christian Cage he was trapped in Bryan Danielson’s LaBell Lock, with best friend Adam Copeland looking on, as DYNAMITE:TITLE TUESDAY faded to black. The efforts of Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne to bring harm to Adam after he bested Cage’s “Right Hand of Destruction” were ultimately for naught as a scene also involving Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, The Gates of Agony, Swerve Strickland, and Hangman Page played out until it was just Bryan, Copeland, and Christian left inside the squared circle.
Though there is clearly a level of respect between The BCC and Adam Copeland, the primary reason for Danielson’s involvement in this entire scenario is the TNT Championship. Earlier in the night, in the opening match of DYNAMITE, Bryan Danielson survived the fight with Swerve Strickland, with a little help from Hangman to prevent Swerve’s cheating, to earn this shot at the TNT Championship. Danielson, coming off victories over Swerve, Zack Sabre Jr. Ricky Starks, and Kyle Fletcher, not to mention defeating Kazuchika Okada with a broken arm, is operating on a level unlike any he has before. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that this is his last full-time year in professional wrestling that is driving him to that next echelon, perhaps it’s because he chose to share that information with the world that is really causing him to push himself harder than ever before.
Whatever the case may be, Christian Cage has to be prepared to deal with a version of Danielson unlike any with which he is familiar, and these two are rather familiar with one another. Though it’s been since February 17, 2014 that they last went one-on-one, they shared the ring here in All Elite Wrestling as friends on October 2021, and before either called AEW home, they’d been on opposite sides of the ring as far back as May 12, 2006 at Ring of Honor’s HOW WE ROLL event.
But just as this Danielson is unlike any version of the man Christian Cage has faced, so too is this TNT Champion version of Christian a far worse, far more vile, far more despicable man than “The American Dragon” has dealt with previously. Cage’s list of crimes and insults has been well documented, the official AEW YouTube Page even has a playlist detailing his despicable act, and his (ab)use of Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne has only made it even clearer how low Christian Cage will stoop to claim he is the greatest wrestler in the world.
Given that Bryan is frequently labeled with that G.O.A.T tag, Cage might consider this a battle of the greatest to do it, but that would require the TNT Champion to actually recognize anyone else as being close to his level, and the AEW faithful know that Christian gives credit to no man or woman other than himself. So on Saturday night, when COLLISION comes to Toledo for the very first time, can Bryan Danielson defy the odds and Cage’s willingness to cut any corners and finally capture his first championship in All Elite Wrestling? He was unable to do so at REVOLUTION 2023 when faced with MJF, unable to do so when he twice challenged Adam Page, and unable to do it when he fought Jon Moxley in the 2022 Grand Slam Tournament of Champions. With this being his first chance at claiming the TNT Championship, will it be the American Dragon’s night, or will Christian Cage somehow find another way to escape seeming certain demise with the TNT Title still in his possession?
ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
Samoa Joe(c) vs. Willie Mack
Ten years ago; that was the one and only time Samoa Joe and Willie Mack ever shared a ring prior to this coming Saturday night, and on that November night in California’s City of Commerce, it was Samoa Joe who emerged triumphant. By that point Joe had already been a multi-time World Champion, had helped establish Ring of Honor as the most influential wrestling promotion of the 21st Century, had traversed the globe, and become one of the most feared competitors in pro wrestling. Willie Mack, six or seven years into his career at that point, was really building steam in places like PWG, APW, CWFH, and had begun to branch out beyond the West Coast in tournaments like CZW’s Best of the Best and AIW’s JT Lightning Invitational, but California would generally remain his home base.
Fast forward a decade later and the two men find themselves inside the same circles once again, competing for Ring of Honor and All Elite Wrestling, with Joe the dominant champion once again. With 549 days spent as ROH World TV Champion, Joe is just 19 days away from surpassing his former protege Jay Lethal as the longest reigning TV Champion of all-time, a feat that would give Samoa Joe that designation with two different Ring of Honor championships. While Lethal’s 36 successful defenses are likely a number that will remain forever out of reach, Joe has absolutely asserted himself with a dominance that no other Television Champion has before him.
Shane Taylor may be a close second in that regards, but the victory Samoa Joe has over him puts Joe on top of that comparison. So can Willie Mack be the one to step up to the throne and knock the King of Television off? Mack is a hard-hitting man just like the TV Champion, has no problem throwing down with fists and elbows, and it very well may be the biggest night of his wrestling career if Willie can actually be the one to end Joe’s reign. It is clear that, in addition to his duties as ROH World TV Champion, Joe still has designs on the AEW World Championship held by MJF, but before he concerns himself with Max, Joe best keep his eye on Willie Mack this Saturday night lest he find himself leaving Toledo short a championship title.
After defeating Emi Sakura Friday night on RAMPAGE, Skye Blue will get what she’s been chasing, a championship opportunity, this time in the form of a TBS Championship challenge against friend Kris Statlander! Though Skye has been a bit…off…since her encounter with The House of Black’s Julia Hart got her misted, it did lead to that victory, and now she’ll face Statlander for the very first time!
Despite their friendship, these two have never shared a ring with one another as friend or foe prior to Saturday night. Whether or not that is beneficial to either woman’s goal of being champion remains to be seen; neither has first-hand knowledge of each other’s capabilities making it a bit harder to prepare counters and counters-to-counters, leaving tape study as the best way to prepare for this bout, also the fact each has had barely 24 hours to game plan leaves both on something close to equal footing.
Will Statlander continue to push towards her goal of surpassing Jade Cargill as the most dominant TBS Champion in AEW history? Or will Skye Blue claim her first AEW title and begin to build her legacy?
Tuesday night on DYNAMITE fans witnessed Adam Copeland make his AEW in-ring debut with a victory of “The Right Hand of Destruction” Luchasaurus. While that moment was triumphant, Nick Wayne and TBS Champion Christian Cage did their best to make the remainder of the night a terrible one for “The Rated R Superstar”. Luckily Copeland had some support in the form of The Blackpool Combat Club, and even though the situation ended in chaos also involving Adam Page and The Mogul Embassy, ultimately Christian Cage ended up in Bryan Danielson’s LaBell Lock while Adam stood on and witnessed it.
This Saturday on COLLISION Adam Copeland will be back in the house to address what went down on Tuesday, and perhaps lay out what his next steps will be! Copeland made it clear that he initially came to AEW to reunite with his best friend Christian, but with the events that have gone down since his debut at WRESTLEDREAM, is that still Copeland’s goal?
ALSO FEATURING:
-AEW World Tag Team Champions Big Bill & Ricky Starks in the house!
-AAA Cruiserweight & AAA World Tag Champion Komander vs. “The Machine” Brian Cage!
COLLISION debuts in Toledo, OH at the Huntington Center this Saturday night and brings three titles fights to the dance! The ROH World TV Title is at stake between Samoa Joe and Willie Mack while Christian Cage puts his TNT Championship on the line against “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson and TBS Champion Kris Statlander defends against Skye Blue! The bouts begin at a our regular time of 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT on TNT, so make a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
Your Big Gold Belt Podcast is back talking a busy week in wrestling including: -Who came out ahead in NXT & AEW’s Tuesday night battle? -Did MJF & Juice Robinson go too far with a...
Tonight’s special episode of AEW DYNAMITE: Title Tuesday was broadcast live from the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, MO!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Tuesday night and you know what that means!
ROH World & NJPW Strong Openweight Title Match!
Eddie Kingston (c.) vs. Minoru Suzuki!
Suzuki invited Kingston to chop him. Kingston took the straps down and he and Suzuki exchanged chops to the chest, blistering one another! Suzuki blasted Kingston with a forearm, knocking him to the mat and stunning him.
“Kingston on roller skates,” said Excalibur.
Kingston fired himself up and plastered Suzuki with a stiff chop. He followed up with rapid, machine gun style chops to Suzuki’s chest. Kingston backed Suzuki into the corner with more chops.
Backstage, Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal, and Satnam Singh were watching on the monitor.
After a Northern Lights Bomb, Kingston grabbed the pin on Suzuki and retained the title!
AEW President & CEO Tony Khan made an appearance backstage and advised that Jon Moxley hasn’t been medically cleared for tonight’s match.
FTW Champion HOOK interrupted, along with Orange Cassidy, and HOOK insisted Orange Cassidy fill in for Mox. Tony Khan agreed and made the match official between Orange Cassidy and AEW International Champion Rey Fenix!
Buy-In concluded, and AEW Dynamite: Title Tuesday kicked off with…
TNT Champion Christian Cage appearing from inside the production truck!
Christian Cage: “This is without a doubt the biggest AEW Dynamite ever, Title Tuesday. And how fitting is it that the first thing you see is Christian Cage. And there are serious implications for my title tonight, with Swerve Strickland and Bryan Danielson squaring off to determine who will face me this Saturday on Collision!
“In the main event, my right hand of destruction is going to end the run of Adam Copeland before it even gets started. But before that match, I may have to walk out and elaborate on those three words I left you hanging with last week.
“And as the face of TNT, the face of Warner Brothers Discovery, I’ve procured the first 30 minutes of Dynamite commercial free. You’re welcome. Now start this show!”
#1 Contenders Match for the TNT Championship!
The Mogul Embassy’s Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana)
vs.
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson!
There was a stalemate early on. Danielson tried for a knee bar, but Swerve escaped. Swerve slapped Danielson in the face and Danielson fired back with a slap to Swerve. After each man reversed cradles from the other, it was clear they were evenly matched.
The fans began to chant “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Danielson booted Swerve in the jaw. They traded strikes on the apron. Swerve nailed Danielson with a side slam on the corner of the ring! Danielson came up clutching his back.
Swerve powerslammed Danielson and then transitioned into a brainbuster for a near fall on the American Dragon. Swerve went for a 450 splash, but Danielson raised his knees. Danielson rocked Swerve with a jumping knee strike off the apron! Danielson dropkicked Swerve from the top turnbuckle.
Danielson clocked Swerve with repeated round kicks. Danielson charged off the ropes, but Swerve connected with a kick to the body. Swerve positioned Danielson on the corner of the ring, hanging him by the feet and legs. Swerve crashed down on Danielson with a double foot stomp!
Swerve went for another foot stomp inside the ring, but Danielson countered with a single leg crab. Danielson transitioned into a heel hook, but Swerve managed to grab the bottom rope. Danielson back suplexed Swerve from the top turnbuckle! Danielson was clutching his surgically repaired arm.
Danielson captured Swerve’s wrists and hammered the face of Swerve with kicks! Danielson applied the Le Bell Lock, but Swerve used his leg to get to the bottom rope and force the break. Danielson was setting up to charge at Swerve, running first into the turnbuckle to gather speed, but upon impact he collapsed, holding onto his midsection. Swerve capitalized with the House Call! Swerve jumped down with the Swerve Stomp on Danielson, but Danielson kicked out at two! Excalibur and Taz speculated that Danielson injured his liver.
Prince Nana distracted the ref while Swerve went to grab the crown that Nana left behind. “Hangman” Adam Page grabbed it out of Swerve’s hands! Danielson went for the running knee, but Swerve tried to counter with the JML Driver, but Danielson countered that with a cradle, but Swerve kicked out! Danielson went back to the wishing well again and smacked Swerve with the running knee strike and pinned Swerve!
This Saturday on Collision it’ll be Christian Cage defending the TNT Championship against Bryan Danielson! Swerve and Prince Nana sneered at “Hangman” Adam Page after the match.
A vignette aired for ROH Television Champion Samoa Joe!
“This Saturday at Collision I begin my road to AEW World Championship gold. I’ll show the world why I am violence manifest. Domination made flesh. Why I am the man who goes out there and takes what he wants from anybody he wants to. This Saturday at Collision I begin my ascension towards greatness.”
Powerhouse Hobbs (with Don Callis) vs. Chris Jericho!
Jericho and Hobbs slugged it out! Hobbs got the upper hand. Hobbs nailed Jericho with a spinebuster for a near fall. Hobbs grounded and pounded Jericho and then delivered a second spinebuster!
Hobbs hoisted up Jericho and drilled him with a third spinebuster. Hobbs headbutted Jericho right between the eyes. Hobbs hit another spinebuster on Jericho.
Don Callis yelled “Hurt him! Hurt him!”
Hobbs planted Jericho with another spinebuster. Jericho cradled his midsection. Jericho fought back with shoulder tackles. Jericho connected with a Code Breaker on Hobbs for a two-count. Hobbs fired back with another spinebuster.
Jericho chop blocked Hobbs. Jericho applied the Walls on Hobbs, sitting back deep. Hobbs escaped and slammed Jericho. Hobbs hammered Jericho with punches. Hobbs spiked Jericho with another slam. Hobbs put his knee on Jericho’s face and pinned him!
“I’ve never seen Jericho dominated quite like this,” said Excalibur.
“Powerhouse Hobbs just dismantled one of the greatest ever in Chris Jericho,” said Taz.
“What a victory,” replied Tony Schiavone.
“And what a recruit for the Don Callis Family,” added Excalibur.
After the match Hobbs picked up Jericho and planted him hard on the mat again!
Footage was shown from earlier in the day from Roderick Strong’s humble abode.
Roderick Strong was in his backyard with the Kingdom and Adam Cole.
Adam Cole said he’d been there nearly a week, needed to get his surgery done, but wanted to know what else Roddy wanted him to do.
Strong: “I need you to cut my grass.”
Cole mowed the lawn on one leg while the other leg was on his injury mobility scooter. They went back into the house and Cole said he thought it was weird that there was no service and no TV in the house. He wanted to see what his friend MJF was up to.
Strong: “TV is the devil. The absolute devil.”
Cole wanted to leave to get surgery but Strong said he needed just one more thing.
AEW International Championship Match!
Rey Fenix (c.) (with Alex Abrahantes) vs. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy!
Orange charged at Rey Fenix and dished out forearms. Fenix fired back with lariats. Fenix was looking for a German Suplex, but his back gave out.
Rey Fenix cracked Orange with a thrust kick. Fenix hit a frog splash for a near fall, wrestling with purpose and trying to end the match quickly.
“When you’re hurting, you want to end it quickly,” said Taz.
Outside the ring, Orange Cassidy whipped Rey Fenix into the steel guardrail. Orange rammed Rey Fenix into the steel ring post. Orange swept out Rey Fenix’s leg. Orange climbed to the top turnbuckle, but Rey Fenix hit him with a flying uppercut. Rey Fenix was looking for a muscle buster, but his back gave out. Orange countered with a diving DDT and then another DDT for a two-count on Rey Fenix!
Orange tried for the Orange Punch, but Rey Fenix countered with a thrust kick. Rey Fenix tried to charge at Orange, but his back gave out again. Orange Cassidy blasted Rey Fenix with the Beach Break for a near fall. Orange pulped Rey Fenix with the Orange Punch and after tying him up in the mousetrap, Orange Cassidy pinned Rey Fenix!
And once again AEW International Champion…Orange Cassidy!
The Best Friends, Rocky Romero, and HOOK came out to congratulate Orange Cassidy.
Wardlow vs. Matt Sydal!
Wardlow ran at Sydal and rammed him into the turnbuckles. Wardlow powerbombed Sydal. He powerbombed Sydal again. And then again! Wardlow powerbombed Sydal again and the ref stopped the match, declaring Wardlow the winner!
Renee Paquette was backstage trying to get a medical update on Chris Jericho!
Daniel Garcia came to check on Jericho. Matt Menard grabbed Garcia by the shoulder and said, “What are you doing?”
Garcia said, “I’m being a human. I’m checking on somebody that we cared about.”
Menard: “I’ve had just about enough. We’re better than this. We’re better than this now.”
Menard walked away and then Garcia followed.
Bullet Club Gold’s “Switchblade” Jay White
vs.
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion “Hangman” Adam Page!
Switchblade came out wearing the AEW World Championship Title. Bullet Club Gold rode out on big wheels.
“He stole that title from MJF,” said Taz.
Hangman flew over the top rope and landed on Jay White on the outside of the ring. Back in the ring, Jay White grabbed a chin lock on Page. They traded strikes. Jay White took down Adam Page with a dragon screw leg whip.
Hangman caught Switchblade and drilled him with a Death Valley Driver. Page sent White soaring with a fallaway slam and followed up with a standing moonsault for a near fall. Hangman powerbombed Jay White on the apron!
“That was a thud right there,” said Taz.
Jay White suplexed Adam Page into the turnbuckles. White drilled Page with a knee breaker right on the apron! Hangman came back with a blockbuster off the top rope, but Page was clutching his knee after the landing.
Jay White connected with an uranage for a near fall. Hangman dropped Jay White with a rolling elbow. Hangman was looking for the Buckshot Lariat, but Jay White countered with a dragon screw.
Hangman guillotined Jay White on the top rope. Hangman nailed Jay White with a moonsault on the arena floor. Back in the ring Jay White lured Hangman in and rocked him with a German Suplex. Jay White chop blocked Hangman. Page got to his feet and walloped Jay White with a lariat!
Hangman went for the Buckshot, but Jay White tried to counter with the Blade Runner, but Page countered with the Dead Eye! Bullet Club Gold panicked outside the ring. Page covered White but White kicked out at two!
Bullet Club Gold distracted the ref while Prince Nana crept up with his crown in his hand. Hangman saw Prince Nana and turned his attention toward him, but Jay White grabbed a handful of Page’s tights, rolled him up and pinned him!
After the match, an enraged Hangman limped up the ramp and tried to catch up with the retreating Prince Nana!
AEW World Champion MJF came out on the ramp!
MJF: “Cut my music! Look at me Jay White! You wanted the main event match, bright lights, Full Gear for the World Title, you got it, you’re welcome. Now give me back my belt! Be a man!”
Jay White: “We don’t want to hear anymore from MJF. No, no, we want to hear from J-A-Y. Your scumbag wants the Triple B, you want the Bang Bang belt? I was going to say yes until you were so rude, so the answer is no.”
MJF: “I’ll be the bigger man here. Jay, I know you because I was you. You are the guy who doesn’t give a damn about anybody else. You will use and abuse people. You and I both know you don’t care about any of those three in the Bullet Club Gold. You are using them, and I know because that is right out of the MJF playbook.
“For the first time in my life I have earned the respect of these fans. Now Jay White there are two things in this life I care about: my brother, Adam Cole, who is out right now injured. And that’s my cross to bear. And there is that title you’re holding. You call it a belt. That’s not a belt. That is my livelihood. That is my legacy. Because when you win the AEW World Title, that makes you the best wrestler in the world.
“Jay, if you weren’t surrounded by those idiots, I would have already taken back what’s mine. Jay White, I know how talented you are. I am sure someday you will join the very exclusive club of being an AEW World Champion, however, that day is not today. Do you understand me? So, I’m going to ask you to do the hard thing for once in your life. Dig deep, be a man, show some dignity to this sport, to AEW and to these fans, and give me back what you have not yet earned.”
Jay White: “You’re just coming out here and asking me to give it back to you. How is that earning it? Thank you for coming out and asking me nicely instead of jumping me from behind in your cute little devil mask.
“But you’re just asking for this. You can’t just ask for this. You must earn it. You must earn it, officially. And you have a match coming up November 18th at Full Gear. You’ll get your chance, but you’ll fail. But if you can’t be patient, you could just come down and take it.
“But something tells me with us five here, and you don’t have no friends, but if you can find three friends who can tolerate you, you come up with your four against the Bang Bang Gang, and if you win, maybe you’ll get the Bang Bang Belt back.”
Juice Robinson: “And MJF, before you leave, I heard through the grapevine that next week there is a Dynamite Diamond Dozen Battle Royale for a chance to win that stupid ring that you care about so much! So, throw my name in because I’m going to win the battle royale and I’m going to win that ring and we’re going to take away everything you love. And I’ve got a roll of quarters here with your name on it. So, after we ruin your life, I’m going to—”
MJF: “Hey! You come at me with that roll of quarters and I’m going to end your life!”
AEW Women’s World Championship Match!
Saraya (c.) vs. Hikaru Shida!
Saraya shoved at Shida. Shida turned Saraya around and battered her with forearms. Shida scored with a running knee strike.
Shida rocked Saraya with a rising knee strike outside the ring. Someone dressed all in black tried to ambush Shida. They were holding a can of spray paint. It was Ruby Soho!
Shida turned the can around and sprayed Ruby Soho in the eyes! Soho ran up the ramp, but “Timeless” Toni Storm was there, clobbering her with the shoe! Toni Storm chased Ruby Soho over the guardrail and through the fans!
Shida drilled Saraya with a jumping knee strike. Shida hammered Saraya with punches. She followed up with a missile dropkick for a near fall on Saraya.
Saraya yanked Shida by the wrist, sending Shida tumbling onto the edge of the ring! Shida stunned Saraya with a stalling German Suplex on the ring apron. She followed up with a meteora off the apron onto Saraya. Shida rammed Saraya with a running knee for a near fall.
Shida clocked Saraya with a question mark kick. Shida climbed to the top turnbuckle and Saraya countered with a thrust kick. Saraya crushed Shida with the Knight Cap for a two-count! Saraya put a can of spray paint in her waistband and grabbed the kendo stick. Ref Paul Turner saw the kendo stick and pulled it away. As the ref turned his back to toss the kendo stick out of the ring, Saraya went to her backup plan and sprayed Shida in the eyes with the can of paint! Saraya drilled Shida with a second Knight Cap, but Shida kicked out at two!
“Hikaru Shida will not be denied!” said Excalibur.
Shida planted Saraya with the Falcon Arrow. She went to cover Saraya, but Saraya countered. Shida countered that, rolling up Saraya and pinning her!
And new AEW Women’s World Champion…Hikaru Shida!
Renee Paquette was backstage with AEW World Champion MJF!
MJF: “I’m just not in the mood to be interviewed. I just want to call my boy and get some advice. Please pick up Adam.”
Adam Cole answered. MJF said he’d been trying to get ahold of Adam Cole for days.
Adam Cole apologized and said he was still helping Roderick Strong because Strong was injured.
MJF: “Adam, I need your help. I’m getting attacked left and right by Bullet Club Gold. They stole the triple B. Samoa Joe apparently wants another title shot. And Juice Robinson has opened some old wounds, dude.”
Adam Cole: “Max, can you hear me? Roddy is in the middle of nowhere.”
The phone lost reception and the line went dead.
The Acclaimed walked up to MJF. Caster said he overhead the phone call. Caster said he figured the Acclaimed could team with MJF to take on the Bang Bang Gang. MJF walked away, upset.
Daddy Ass told Caster to hold on one second. “When did you think you could just offer up our services? And what is your infatuation with MJF?” asked Daddy Ass.
Caster: “We started wrestling together. I’ve known him for 10 years. And he’s my friend. I think he needs our help. Plus, I like when he plays hard to get.”
Main Event Time!
“Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland
vs.
Luchasaurus (with TNT Champion Christian Cage)!
Before the match, Christian Cage said he is not Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne’s leader. He is their father. Christian Cage asked why Adam Copeland didn’t want to help him when he was getting held back a few years ago and Adam was being pushed to the moon. “You need me. I don’t need you! But I can’t say I blame you for being a fan, Adam. I have a lot of fans around the world. In fact, I know your wife Beth is a huge fan.”
Adam Copeland charged to the ring! Nick Wayne grabbed onto Copeland’s leg. Luchasaurus booted Copeland in the face. Luchasaurus followed up with the Extinction lariat before the bell rang!
Luchasaurus spiked Adam Copeland with a tombstone piledriver for a near fall. Christian Cage sat on the ramp, watching the match.
Luchasaurus whipped Adam Copeland into the turnbuckles. Luchasaurus body slammed Adam Copeland. Luchasaurus fired off a combination of strikes to Adam Copeland. Luchasaurus suplexed Adam Copeland.
Outside the ring, Nick Wayne shoved Adam Copeland into the ring post! Luchasaurus pulled the ring steps. He was going to plant Copeland on them. Copeland fired back with shots and then DDT’ed Luchasaurus onto the arena floor!
Copeland splashed Luchasaurus across the back! Cope connected with elbow strikes but Luchasaurus countered with a headbutt. Copeland blocked a chokeslam and rocked Luchasaurus with an Impaler DDT for a near fall!
Copeland and Luchasaurus jockeyed for position on the top turnbuckle. Cope superplexed Luchasaurus! Christian Cage walked closer to the ring and the ref was distracted. The ref turned around, ordering Christian Cage to back away. While this was happening, Nick Wayne propped up a chair between the turnbuckles. Copeland went for the spear, but Luchasaurus dodged him, sending Cope headfirst into the steel chair!
Luchasaurus choke slammed Copeland, but Copeland kicked out! Copeland avoided the Extinction from Luchasaurus. Copeland ran off the ring, jumped off the ring steps, and speared Luchasaurus on the arena floor!
Back in the ring, Cope was looking for another spear. Nick Wayne jumped onto the ring apron and distracted the ref while Christian Cage jumped on the other side of the ring. Christian Cage was going to hit Copeland with the TNT Championship, but Copeland yanked it out of Christian Cage’s hands and rammed it into Luchasaurus’ head! Copeland threw the title back to Christian Cage. Luchasaurus turned around and thought Christian Cage was the one who hit him with it! Luchasaurus turned around and Copeland speared him! Copeland covered Luchasaurus and pinned him for the victory!
After the match, Nick Wayne chop blocked Adam Copeland. Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus stomped Copeland. Danielson ran to the ring and clocked Christian. Danielson jumped into the ring and went after Nick Wayne. Luchasaurus drilled Danielson with a high boot. Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli sprinted to the ring to even up the odds. The Mogul Embassy came down and began to brawl with the Blackpool Combat Club! “Hangman” Adam Page joined the fray and he and Swerve exchanged strikes. Copeland speared Nick Wayne. Danielson applied the Le Bell Lock on Christian Cage and Cage tapped!
“Will this be the scene this Saturday on Collision at a special 7pm start time?! Christian Cage! Bryan Danielson! One on one for the TNT Championship!”
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, TX!
***Special start time at 7/6c! Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT from the Huntington Center in Toledo, OH!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
It’s been seven months since All Elite Wrestling last visited the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, MO, but we are back this Tuesday night with a special edition of DYNAMITE! TITLE TUESDAY brings to the AEW faithful a loaded edition of our flagship show with two championship matches, a collection of other must-see battles, and AEW World Champion MJF ! Plus the first 30 minutes will air commercial-free!
On a special DYNAMITE: TITLE TUESDAY, All Elite Wrestling comes to you live on TBS, beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans! Be sure to drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from last week’s DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the latest CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
Moxley’s got one victory, Fenix has another, but the latter’s is absolutely the bigger win as it led to Fenix being called the new AEW International Champion, a title he’s defended twice in twenty days despite the pain racking his body. Being a singles champion is nothing unfamiliar to Fenix, though this is his first AEW solo title, he actually began his AEW career as AAA Mega Champion, and claimed both the AAA World Cruiserweight Title and AAA Latin American Title in June of last year, saying nothing of the singles titles he claimed prior to the inception of All Elite Wrestling.
As for Moxley, well he’s the first man to claim both the AEW World Championship and the AEW International Championship, and in fact the first AEW competitor to hold two different singles titles since the company began in 2019. He was also the man who ended the historic AEW International Championship reign of Orange Cassidy which left many assuming that Mox would enjoy a reign that possibly even surpassed the standard set by “Freshly Squeezed”. The BCC member was certainly off to a good start, cramming four title defenses in 17 days, but that fourth one against Rey Fenix would bring everyone’s expectations of Mox’s title reign to a screeching halt.
Rey Fenix, a former AEW World Tag Team Champion and former AEW World Trios Champion who’d never held an AEW singles title, would bring Moxley’s International Title run to an abrupt end at GRAND SLAM 2023, and put the man on the sidelines for the last several weeks as well. The former 3-Time AEW World Champion would miss WRESTLEDREAM as an in-ring competitor, though he’d provide stellar commentary on his fellow BCC members matches, but now Moxley is cleared for a return to action and he’s gunning to become the first 2-Time AEW International Champion just as he was the first 2-Time AEW World Champion.
Will Moxley be able to get back that which was shockingly lost, or will Fenix win this rubber match and move forward as the unquestioned International Champion?
At ALL IN: LONDON Saraya won a Four Way Match to become the new AEW Women’s World Champion, ending the second reign of Hikaru Shida, and Saraya did so without actually defeating the champion in London.
Thus this Tuesday night, as part of TITLE TUESDAY, Hikaru Shida will get her chance at redemption, get her chance at regaining the title she never lost, and all she had to do to get there was defeat Ruby Soho in a singles bout. It wasn’t an easy task, not by any means, but Ruby’s failure to successfully play gatekeeper for Saraya has left the champion with no choice but to face the greatest to ever hold the title.
Though she managed to find a way to beat Toni Storm at GRAND SLAM 2023, and holds a victory over another former champion in Dr. Britt Baker from FULL GEAR 2022, Saraya enters this fight with her back against the wall. She doesn’t have Outcasts to save her in the event of an emergency, she is totally on her own, and has to fight the longest-reigning, most successful champion who’s ever held the AEW Women’s World Championship.
Can Saraya actually beat Hikaru Shida when the title is on the line, and there’s no one else to take advantage of to get the victory? We will see during DYNAMITE: TITLE TUESDAY live on TBS from the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, MO!
HEAD-TO-HEAD…
“The Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland vs. Luchasaurus (w/ Christian Cage)
Upon making his AEW debut at WRESTLEDREAM, Adam Copeland jumped straight into the fire when he chose to support Darby Allin and Sting in direct opposition to Luchasaurus, Nick Wayne, and most importantly, his best friend and reigning TNT Champion Christian Cage. Last week on DYNAMITE, when Copeland made his plea to Cage to finish their careers together and was summarily told to go f*** himself by the TNT Champion, it came as quite a shock to AEW’s newest acquisition. Perhaps what was more of a shock was how, after the cameras went off the air, Nick and Luchasaurus tried to attack Adam, only for both to be laid out with Spears from Copeland.
But that would not be the case on COLLISION, rather it would be “The Rated R Superstar” who was left battered and bruised when the cameras went off the air, he and Darby Allin victims of a two-pronged assault from Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus as Christian looked upon his works from the safety of a video wall.
But this Wednesday night there won’t be a spot of safety, not when Adam Copeland steps into the ring for his first All Elite Wrestling match, and has to do so against the behemoth Luchasaurus! Cage’s “Right Hand of Destruction” may be more interested in causing Copeland suffering than actually defeating the man, but the satisfaction Christian Cage will feel from seeing his man humiliate and defeat his best friend may be the desired result of the evening.
The TNT Champion has made it clear as crystal he does not want to partner himself up with Adam Copeland, he is not looking for the highlight video moment of their embrace; Christian Cage is on his own path as TNT Champion and as, quite frankly, the most repugnant human on the AEW roster, and that path does not include any bit of his past. But that doesn’t mean Christian Cage can avoid that past completely, and neither can his lackeys, especially not on TITLE TUESDAY when Luchasaurus is given the honor of being the first man to step into an AEW ring with Adam Copeland!
TNT CHAMPIONSHIP #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH…
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland
Swerve Strickland is riding high after defeating Hangman Page at WRESTLEDREAM just a little over a week ago; it doesn’t matter how he got to the win or how Prince Nana may have lent a helping hand, what matters it that Strickland beat Page, left him with a lame arm, and is now in a position to do the same to “The American Dragon”!
Much like Swerve, Bryan Danielson is coming off a huge October 1st win as well, defeating Zack Sabre Jr. in their fight dubbed “Submissions in Seattle”, though it didn’t exactly come down to submissions for the decision. On top of that, Bryan also has the hard-fought victories over Ricky Starks bolstering his momentum, but that man is certainly not one to rest on his laurels and past accomplishments. If so, Danielson need never set foot in the ring again because the resume he’s built since starting in 1999 has justifiably built a reputation as “The Best Wrestler in the World”.
That reputation is what makes this such an attractive match for Swerve Strickland, not to mention the additional bonus of the winner receiving a shot at Christian Cage’s TNT Championship in Toledo on this Saturday’s COLLISION. That title opportunity is huge for both men, but the chance to knock Danielson down a notch is possibly an even richer prize for The Mogul Embassy’s leader. Imagine being able to say he took down both Hangman and The American Dragon in nine days time, and then potentially add Christian Cage to that list too; it could be a very sweet Tuesday night for Swerve, one that will definitely have Prince Nana dancing in the aisles. Conversely, if this is really the final leg of Danielson’s full-time career, than championships must be captured, and the best in the business must be beat; Swerve qualifies for the latter, and Danielson has to get through him to get to the former.
This is going to be a tremendous battle, of that there is no doubt, so which one will the TNT Champion have to prepared for this coming Saturday?
Powerhouse Hobbs has only crossed paths with Chris Jericho one other time in their AEW career, as part of a tag match during the October 2021 Jericho Cruise where the original AEW World Champion and Orange Cassidy teamed up to defeating Hobbs and Ricky Starks.
Never since have their paths crossed, not until last week on DYNAMITE when Hobbs laid out Jericho and Kenny Omega following their victory over Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher. With Don Callis apparently directing the action, Hobbs absolutely destroyed Omega, though to his credit Jericho did try to put himself in the middle of the assault, only to be waylaid by the chair Hobbs was wielding.
So instead of being a savior, Jericho had to lay in a crumpled heap on the mat and hear the sound of Callis cracking a helpless Kenny across the skull with a chair. He had to watch as Callis and Powerhouse stood over him with their hands held up in triumph, helpless to do anything about it at that moment.
Well that moment has passed, and in the moment to come on Tuesday night, Chris Jericho is looking to even the score with Powerhouse Hobbs for that brazen assault! Thus it will be on TITLE TUESDAY that Hobbs and “The Ocho” go head-to-head for the very first time in their careers, and though he may be the veteran in this situation, it’s not unreasonable to say Chris Jericho is the underdog. Not only does he have to deal with the power of Hobbs, he will undoubtedly have other members of Callis’ Family making his life hell as well. After last week, who knows if Kenny Omega is in any condition to provide support to his new-found ally, and it’s very unlikely there’s another soul in AEW who is going to stick their neck out for Jericho after all he’s done since AEW’s inception.
It’s been more than five years since the last time Hangman Page and Jay White went one-on-one inside the squared circle, and though they’ve fought several times previously, and twice in AEW since, their head-to-head record tilts in favor of “Switchblade” two matches to none.
That was a different time and both men have evolved a great deal since then; today Hangman stands as a former AEW World Champion, a former AEW World Tag Team Champion, and one-third of the current ROH World Six-Man Champions. Jay White, to his credit, can claim to be the first-ever NJPW Grand Slam Champion with his standing as a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Champion, NEVER Openweight Champion, and IWGP Intercontinental Champion, plus “King Switch” is also a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. They each found their way to the top of the mountain, and now meet once more to see who is the best between the two at this moment.
“Switchblade” is already penciled in as MJF’s challenger for FULL GEAR 2023 on November 19th while “Hangman” is still recovering from a very physical, losing battle with Swerve Strickland at WRESTLEDREAM just a few weeks ago. So to say Hangman merely needs this win after that PPV loss would be a serious understatement, but so too would it be to say that about Jay White given his championship opportunity on the horizon. Both men are fighting for their history together, their present situations, and the future of their careers. Who will be the victor when this rivalry renews?
Well it’s hard to say if AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman has ever been left laying as low as he was by BULLET CLUB GOLD last week. Not only was he taken out by Jay White and his Bladerunner, but his cherished Triple B was also stolen by BC GOLD, forcing Max to listen to his FULL GEAR 2023 (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-event/aew-full-gear-2023) challenger talk as if he’s the true champion.
Well MJF will be in the house live this Tuesday night at the Cable Dahmer Arena and there’s no way he’s letting this situation go unanswered! But will the champion decide to respond with words or with violence?
TITLE TUESDAY: BUY-IN
ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP & NJPW STRONG OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP…
Coming off a successful title defense against Komander on COLLISION, Eddie Kingston is now set to defend both his ROH World Championship and NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship against the incomparable Minoru Suzuki! Though they’ve clashed a few times in tags and trios, this will mark the first singles meeting between two of the hardest-hitting men in professional wrestling today, and it goes down during the TITLE TUESDAY: BUY-IN starting at 7:30pm ET on the AEW YouTube Channel, Facebook page, and the app formerly known as Twitter! Do not miss out on this special double title bout that’s sure to be one of the most memorable in AEW to date.
With Adam Copeland’s 1st AEW match, a huge International Championship rematch between Fenix and Moxley, a Women’s World Championship fight pitting Shida against Saraya, and a slew of other must-see matches, DYNAMITE: TITLE TUESDAY gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to check out the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, all to get prepared for AEW’s return to Independence, MO!
Tonight’s AEW COLLISION was broadcast live from the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City, UT!
Nigel McGuinness and Ian Riccaboni were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Saturday night and you know what that means! Saturday night’s alright for fighting!
AEW World Tag Team Title Match!
FTR (c.)—Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler
vs.
“Absolute” Ricky Starks & Big Bill!
Starks charged FTR! He nailed Dax with a satellite DDT after bashing Dax’s shoulder into the steel ring post. Big Bill tagged in a slugged Dax with a vicious lariat, knocking Harwood over the top rope and onto the arena floor.
Doc Sampson was checking on Cash on the arena floor. Starks ordered Big Bill to attack Cash. Big Bill choke slammed Wheeler onto the announcers’ table!
Back in the ring, Dax avoided Big Bill, dodging several splash attempts. Dax had no one to tag out to. Big Bill choke slammed Harwood! Starks ordered Big Bill to hit the move again, and Big Bill choke slammed Harwood a second time. Starks said, “One more time!” Big Bill choke slammed Cash a third time! Big Bill held Harwood while Starks speared Harwood. Starks covered Harwood and pinned him!
New AEW World Tag Team Champions… “Absolute” Ricky Starks and Big Bill!
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson
vs.
Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher!
Fletcher blasted Bryan with a shoulder block. He followed up with a kick to Bryan Danielson’s bad arm.
Bryan Danielson regained momentum, applying a surfboard submission onto Fletcher. Bryan transitioned into the mount and grounded and pounded Kyle Fletcher.
Fletcher rocketed outside the ring with a tope suicida toward Danielson. Fletcher connected, but his own force carried him into the steel guardrail! Fletcher got back to his feet. Fletcher body slammed Danielson. Bryan got up and drilled Fletcher with round kicks for a near fall.
Fletcher clipped Danielson with a kick and followed up with a brainbuster for a two-count. Danielson blocked a thrust kick and applied an ankle lock on Fletcher. Danielson threw Kyle overhead with a German Suplex. Fletcher fired back with a dragon suplex on the American Dragon!
Fletcher planted Danielson with a Michinoku driver! Fletcher locked in a dragon sleeper!
“That was vicious!” said Nigel.
Fletcher put Danielson on the top rope. Fletcher hit a reverse suplex and went into the dragon sleeper again, but Danielson countered! Danielson escaped and put Fletcher in a European Clutch and pinned him!
After the match the Gates of Agony—Kaun and Toa—ambushed an exhausted Danielson and assaulted him! They wanted to soften him up ahead of his match this Tuesday against Swerve Strickland!
Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli sprinted to the ring to save their Blackpool Combat Club partner!
Bullet Club Gold—Juice Robinson, and Austin & Colten Gunn
vs.
Metalik, Gravity, & Angelico (with Serpentico)!
“Switchblade” Jay White accompanied the Bang Bang Gang, wearing the AEW World Championship around his waist.
Austin decked Gravity on the chin. Juice and Metalik tagged in for their respective teams. Metalik nailed Juice with a sling blade bulldog!
Angelico tied up Juice and Gravity jumped from the top with a double foot stomp. Colten tagged in and drove his forearms into Gravity. Juice entered the fray and jabbed at Gravity. Austin wanted in. Austin used his left handed jabs on Gravity. Colten wanted in. Gravity could barely get to his feet and then rolled up Colten with an inside cradle for a near fall.
Angelico applied a double submission to the Gunns. Juice ran in and punched Angelico right in the face! Metalik tagged in and hit a high cross body on the Gunns. He planted Austin with a hurracanrana. But the Gunns fired back with the 3:10 to Yuma. Juice planted Metalik on his head and scored the pin!
Jay White: “Guys, we’re missing somebody. Card blade! We need the whole gang! The Collision Cowboys are back on Collision together. Except this time, we didn’t come empty handed. This time we brought some gold!
“To your scumbag, MJF…Max, I told you last week, we need a truly elite champion, and I told you that’s not you. And I told you I’d lead by example. And Max, take some notes, example number one, I am here. And where are you? At home nursing your wounds? Nursing Adam Cole’s wounds? I expected you to care a little bit.
“Example two, a champion needs challengers. So ‘Hangman’ Page, you want to challenge me on Dynamite Tuesday? You haven’t earned a chance at the championship, but our match can be an eliminator match. But you will do what you do so well. You will breathe with the Switchblade. And Max, sit back and take notes because I do it better than you and everybody knows it. And if you ain’t down with that, we have two words for you: ‘Guns up!’”
AEW World Trios Championship Match!
The Acclaimed (c.)—Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, & Daddy Ass
vs.
The Iron Savages— “Sauce Boss” Beefcake Boulder, “Dirty Bulk” Bronson, & Jacked Jameson!
Bronson and Boulder double teamed Bowens. Bronson smashed him with a senton. The Iron Savages isolated Bowens.
Boulder went for a moonsault, but Bowens rolled out of the way. Caster tagged in and cleaned house on the Iron Savages, dishing out back fists and thrust kicks. Caster connected with a cross body press on Jacked Jameson for a near fall.
The Iron Savages double choke slammed Caster. Bowens came to the aid of his partner and broke up the pin attempt. Daddy Ass and Caster double suplexed Beefcake Boulder. Bowens hit Beefcake with the Scissor Me Timbers! Caster planted Jameson with the Arrival. Caster hit the Mic Drop and pinned Jameson!
Kiera Hogan vs. “Timeless” Toni Storm!
Toni handed Kiera a script and Kiera ripped it up! Hogan dodged the hip attack. Hogan hit a hip attack of her own.
Toni flung Kiera across the ring by the hair! Hogan jumped off the top with a cross body for a two count. Toni knocked Hogan out of the ring with a hip attack.
Kiera blasted Toni Storm with a missile drop kick. Kiera rammed into Toni with a hip attack and then a baseball slide for a two-count. Hogan hit a step-up leg drop on Toni Storm.
Toni Storm nailed Hogan with a German Suplex. Storm rattled Hogan with her hip attack and then finished her off with the Storm Zero, grabbing the pinfall victory on Hogan!
Renee Paquette was backstage with Ruby Soho!
Ruby: “You can clearly see that I had Shida pinned to the mat. If it wasn’t for her and her fat fingers knocking out the referee, I’d be facing my girl Saraya for the World Championship. But I’ll be cheering her on at ringside.”
Renee: “I’ve been informed that you’ve been banned from ringside.”
Ruby: “That’s fine. Saraya doesn’t need me on Tuesday to beat Shida.”
Main Event Time!
ROH World Championship Match!
Eddie Kingston (c.) vs. Komander!
Jim Ross joined the broadcast booth to provide his main event analysis.
Komander was frustrating Kingston with his lucha prowess. Kingston nailed Komander with rapid fire strikes to the chest and then an exploder suplex.
Komander used a twisting corkscrew cross body and then a standing shooting star press for a near fall. Komander ran across the edge of the ring, flipped over the ring post and landed on Kingston on the arena floor. Komander followed up with a 450 splash for a near fall on the champ!
Kingston knocked Komander from his perch on the top rope. Eddie met him up there and they jockeyed for position. Kingston headbutted Komander and then superplexed him, but Komander countered.
“That was a great act of wrestling. They’re impressing me,” said Jim Ross.
Kingson clocked Komander with a short arm lariat. Eddie was looking for the Northern Lights Suplex, but Komander countered with a DDT. Kingston rocked Komander with a spinning backfist and pinned Komander!
“He’s tougher than a two dollar steak, is Eddie Kingston,” said Jim Ross.
The “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland made his Collision debut to respond to Christian Cage!
Adam Copeland: “If you watched Dynamite on Wednesday, you know things didn’t go according to my plan. And I don’t get it. I’m really confused. The whole idea with me coming to AEW was for me to team with Christian Cage.
“I’ve got to rewind a bit. For nine years I was told I could never do this again. But I am standing here in an AEW ring through a hell of a lot of hard work and persistence. For seven years Christian Cage was told he could never do this again. And through a lot of work and persistence, he is here in AEW.
“Somewhere along the line he stopped taking my phone calls. I’ve said it before but he’s a dick. I love him and he’s been my best friend for 40 years. He’s in his Bond villain phase. I get it. So really what I’m out here for is some answers. I want to find out what is going on. I’m highly confused. So Christian, can you get out here and just tell me what’s going on since you won’t take my calls? What is up?”
TNT Champion Christian Cage appeared on the screen!
Christian Cage: “Same old Adam. You think you call the shots. As the TNT Champion, I come and go as I please. As far as your request for an answer, you’ll get it this Tuesday live on Dynamite. I’ll be there on Tuesday. The question is: are you going to make it?”
Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne walked out onto the ramp!
“This doesn’t look good for Adam Copeland whatsoever,” said Jim Ross.
Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne circled the ring. Adam Copeland booted Nick Wayne. He speared Luchasaurus.
Luchasaurus grabbed Adam Copeland and choke slammed him! Luchasaurus planted Adam Copeland with the Extinction!
“Copeland is not moving,” said Nigel.
Luchasaurus grabbed a steel chair and placed it under Adam Copeland’s head, looking for a con-chair-to!
Darby Allin jumped into the ring and swung a steel chair at Luchasaurus! Nick Wayne dropkicked Darby Allin! Luchasaurus whipped Darby into the corner turnbuckles! Luchasaurus held down Darby while Nick Wayne bashed Darby’s arm between two steel chairs!
***Special night*** Catch AEW DYNAMITE: Title Tuesday on TBS this Tuesday live at 8/7ct from the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, MO featuring:
-AEW International Championship Match—Rey Fenix (c.) vs. Jon Moxley!
– “Switchblade” Jay White vs. “Hangman” Adam Page!
-#1 Contenders Match for the TNT Championship: Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson!
-Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Chris Jericho!
-AEW Women’s World Championship Match—Saraya (c.) vs. Hikaru Shida!
– “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland vs. Luchasaurus!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
This past Wednesday night, AEW celebrated the four year anniversary of DYNAMITE, and ushered in the Rated R Era with the DYNAMITE debut of Adam Copeland! He confronted Christian Cage, attempted to reforge their long-time partnership, and was instead rebuked rather rudely. Fans also witnessed “Switchblade” Jay White challenge MJF to a title fight at FULL GEAR 2023, Roderick Strong and The Kingdom put Adam Cole to work, and AEW International Champion Rey Fenix top Nick Jackson in a title match!
This Friday the action continues with RAMPAGE, featuring a big 8-Man Tag teaming The Hardys with Best Friends to take on the former members of J.A.S, a shot at the ROH World Championship will be at stake in a Four Way bout, and TBS Champion Kris Statlander will team up with Hikaru Shida to face Marina Shafir and Nyla Rose!
The night gets underway at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so visit the official AEW YouTube channel before RAMPAGE begins to see highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, from WRESTLEDREAM, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
EIGHT MAN TAG…
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) and The Hardys (Jeff & Matt) vs. Angelo Parker, Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, & Matt Menard
As they continue to search for their path separate from Chris Jericho’s machinations, the former J.A.S. members will unite in competition this Friday against the unique team of The Best Friends and The Hardys!
One thing all eight of these men have in common is a desire to find their path forward in All Elite Wrestling, and this is the kind of fight that can help them all towards that goal. Are there championship challenges in their futures? Is it a quest for something else? All we can say is that given the eight man involved in this bout, and the presence of Anna Jay with her quartet, this is going to be one unpredictable situation! How will The Best Friends and Hardys function as a unit in their first time out? Will the former J.A.S members prove as cohesive now as they once were when that “J” was still a party of their careers? Tune in Friday night to find out!
TAG TEAM TUSSLE…
TBS Champion Kris Statlander & Hikaru Shida vs. Marina Shafir & Nyla Rose
Hikaru Shida is set to challenge Saraya for the AEW Women’s World Championship next week during DYNAMITE: TITLE TUESDAY, her shot at regaining the title she lost at ALL IN: LONDON, lost without being pinned or submitted by Saraya. But before she gets there, Shida will unite with TBS Champion Kris Statlander for the first time since 2020 to take on two of women who long to get a championship back in their camp.
Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir, the former having once held the AEW Women’s World Championship herself, would both love nothing more than to be challengers for either the TBS or AEW Women’s World Championship, and taking home a victory on Friday night would help them both get towards that goal. Pinning Statlander could set one of them up for a shot at her TBS Championship, pinning Shida would put them in a prime position should she defeat Saraya on Tuesday, and Nyla Rose would love nothing more than to get one over on the woman who ended her title reign back in 2020.
ROH WORLD TITLE SHOT ON THE LINE…
Johnny TV vs. Komander vs. Lince Dorado vs. Penta El Zero Miedo
Coming off his hard-hitting ROH World Championship defense against Katsuyori Shibata at WRESTLEDREAM, Eddie Kingston is ready to face his next challenger, and this Friday night on RAMPAGE, we will all find out just who that man will be! Four men will clash in a single fall contest, commonly referred to in ROH Land as a Four Corner Survival, and to the victor goes a bout with Eddie Kingston and a shot at his ROH World Championship.
To Eddie, both Johnny TV and Komander are unknown entities having never clashed with either in a head-to-head situation, in fact between the two he’s only set foot in the ring with Komander as part of the Face of the Revolution Ladder Match earlier this year. As for the AEW newcomer, Eddie and Lince Dorado have a great deal of history, dating back to 2007 with their shared days in CHIKARA, and Dorado actually being connected to some of the issues between Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli. Then, of course, there is all the shared history between Kingston and his best friend Penta El Zero Miedo. They’ve been allies, they’ve fought, they even challenged The Young Bucks for the AEW World Tag Titles several years ago, so it’s reasonable to say they know one another better than any other men involved in this fight.
Which man would Kingston rather face? Well the ROH World Champion will be joining the team on commentary for this fight so perhaps we will all hear it directly from the mouth of the man himself!
RAMPAGE gets started at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel prior to the show for highlights from Wednesday’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
Tonight’s special 4th Anniversary episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, CA!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
Renee Paquette interviewed Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega backstage!
Adam Copeland interrupted and shook Jericho’s hand, saying it was good to see him. He introduced himself to Kenny Omega and said it was good to meet him. Kenny said Copeland had kept him on the edge of his seat the other night during the WrestleDream pay-per-view.
AEW International Championship Match!
The Lucha Bros’ Rey Fenix (c.) (with Alex Abrahantes & Penta El Zero Miedo)
vs.
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion The Young Bucks’ Nick Jackson (with Matt Jackson)!
Rey Fenix and Nick Jackson traded and countered a flurry of offense. Rey Fenix rolled out to the edge of the ring, checking on his injured back. Nick tried to powerbomb Rey onto the floor, but Rey Fenix countered with an arm drag off the post and onto the arena floor. Nick stood up clutching his back.
Nick took down Fenix with a hurracanrana off the guardrail. Nick nailed Fenix with a backstabber in the ring. Rey Fenix kicked Nick Jackson’s leg out from beneath him, with Nick landing on the crown of his head on the ring apron!
Fenix connected with a thrust kick, but Nick answered with two superkicks of his own. Both men had the same idea, Fenix with a strike, Nick with a round kick, and they knocked one another down. Fenix got a near fall with a hurracanrana. Nick blasted Fenix with a cutter on the arena floor!
Nick planted Rey with a facebuster for a two-count! Nick rocked Rey with a roundhouse kick. Nick drilled Fenix with an avalanche cutter but somehow Fenix was able to kick out! The fans erupted in applause!
Nick had Fenix rattled after a poison rana and then a destroyer, but Fenix kicked out at two! Nick nearly took off Fenix’s head with a running knee strike. Nick smashed Fenix with a BTE Trigger to the back of the head for a near fall!
Rey Fenix rallied back with a punt kick to the side of Nick’s head. Fenix used a frog splash on Nick Jackson for a near fall. Nick rolled up Rey Fenix, but Fenix countered with a roll-up of his own and pinned Nick Jackson!
“A tip of the cap to both men,” said Tony Schiavone.
Footage was shown from earlier in the day with Adam Cole visiting Roderick Strong’s house.
Roddy was there with the Kingdom. Roddy was rolling around in a wheelchair and had a scooter for Cole as a present. “I couldn’t be the only one on wheels,” said Roddy. They did laps in the house while the Kingdom watched on. Roddy said he had an emergency and wanted Cole to move some furniture for him. Again, the Kingdom simply watched as Cole did all the work.
Wardlow vs. Griff Garrison!
Wardlow charged Griff when the bell rang! Wardlow stomped Garrison in the corner. Wardlow powerbombed Griff! He hit Griff with a second powerbomb, and then a third! Wardlow powerbombed Garrison a fourth time! Griff was hearing the notes of the powerbomb symphony! After five consecutive powerbombs, the ref stopped the match and awarded the match to the returning Wardlow!
Renee Paquette interviewed Don Callis and Takeshita backstage.
Don Callis: “AEW has been shaken to its foundation by Sammy pinning Chris Jericho at WrestleDream. So much so, the crack AEW medical staff has deemed Sammy unable to perform. At the recommendation of Will Ospreay, I have requested Kyle Fletcher to be the partner of the ‘Alpha’ Takeshita tonight. I’m going to win this war, no matter what it takes.”
AEW Trios Championship Match!
The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass (c.)
vs.
The Butcher, The Blade, & Kip Sabian (with Penelope Ford)!
Butch dropped a leg on the chest of Caster. Kip Sabian moonsaulted onto the Acclaimed, wiping them out on the arena floor.
Bowens cleaned house on Sabian, the Butcher and Blade. Bowens dropped the Scissor Me Timbers on Blade. After tandem offense, Bowens pinned Sabian!
“Hard fought victory right there by the Acclaimed but they pulled it off,” said Taz.
Up next:We heard from Juice Robison and The Gunns after last week’s mysterious attack on “Switchblade” Jay White!
Austin Gunn: “Who’s ready for story time with the Bang Bang Gang? We came out to address the one they call ‘the devil.”
Colten Gunn: “You mean the people’s scumbag? Max, the reason you jumped Jay is because you’re scared. You know you’re about to suffocate when you breathe with the ‘Switchblade.’”
Juice: “MJF, get your ass out here! You’ve got some explaining to do! If you’re a man, you’ll come out here and face us like one. But you’re not a man, are you?”
AEW World Champion MJF’s music hit!
MJF: “Cut my music! It appears the devil has arrived in Stockton! And we’ve got an interesting trio here making a lot of accusations. We’ve got the assboys. And then we’ve got their best friend, Juice Robinson, aka talentless taint.
“Just call me mystic Max, I have a premonition that we’re going to have a dueling chant of ‘Ass Boys’ and ‘Talentless taint’. Stockton, I’m magic. Isn’t that nuts! It’s our four year anniversary of Dynamite, so I thought I’d list some of my highlights. I whipped Cody Rhodes with a belt. I threw Chris Jericho off a cage. And I almost got us kicked off TV when I called my boss Tony Khan a mark!
“I know for a fact that I didn’t attack your boy, Jay White. But if you don’t want to talk it out like gentlemen…I’ve got an idea. How about right here, right now, we have ourselves a Stockton Street Fight!”
MJF went to the ring and Bullet Club Gold backed out. “Switchblade” Jay White ambushed MJF from behind with the Blade Runner!
Jay White left with the AEW World Title belt!
“Switchblade” Jay White: “Max, I don’t know what type of caliber athlete you’re used to dealing with, but I’m a cut above. You got the best of me last week, but you’re not fooling anybody. We’re not buying what you’re selling. We use our brains. We know the real MJF. We know that MJF is a pathetic, dirty liar, a slimy gutless coward. And we need a truly elite champion. And you are not him, MJF.
“But hey, I’m a fair man. You want to prove me wrong. Put it all on the line at Full Gear! MJF versus ‘Switchblade’ Jay White for the AEW World Championship. You can try to prove me wrong, and you will fail. But don’t worry, I’ll lead by example tonight, and I’m taking this belt. And I’ve got two words for you: guns up!”
MJF: “Nah, you want me at Full Gear? Well, I’ve got two words for you: you’re on!”
Renee Paquette was backstage with FTW Champion HOOK and Orange Cassidy!
Orange: Hook is a great champion because he has a great championship.”
Hook: “It should be you next week against Rey Fenix instead of Mox.”
Orange: “Whatever.”
The Golden Jets—Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega
vs.
The Don Callis Family’s Konosuke Takeshita & Kyle Fletcher!
Don Callis joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Takeshita hit Jericho with a shoulder block. Jericho got back up to his feet and traded strikes with Takeshita. Jericho fired back with a shoulder block of his own.
Omega tagged in and he and Jericho hit tandem offense on Takeshita. They double suplexed Takeshita. Takeshita blasted Jericho with the Takeshita-line.
Jericho drilled Kyle with a lionsault! Omega tagged in and Omega dished out Polish Hammers to the opposition. Omega hoisted up Takeshita, vaulted off his chest, and nailed Fletcher with a backstabber.
Fletcher sent Omega flying with a half and half suplex. Fletcher rocked Jericho with a thrust kick. Takeshita and Fletcher used a Blue Thunder-Michinoku Driver combo on Omega and Jericho.
Kenny planted Kyle with a snap dragon suplex. Jericho tagged in and dazed Fletcher with a running clothesline. Jericho sent Fletcher flying with a hurracanrana. Takeshita laid out Jericho with a lariat. Omega cracked Takeshita with a jumping knee strike. Fletcher fired back with a thrust kick to Omega and followed up with a brainbuster!
The fans chanted “A-E-W! A-E-W! A-E-W!”
Jericho and Fletcher had the same idea—going for lariats—and they knocked one another down. Omega tagged in and powerbombed Fletcher. He followed up with a knee strike to Kyle for a near fall. Omega got wiped out with a leg lariat from Fletcher. Jericho rattled Fletcher with the Code Breaker and Omega was there to finish off Fletcher with the One-Winged Angel, pinning Fletcher!
Powerhouse Hobbs ambushed Jericho and Omega after the match! He knocked them both down with lariats. Don Callis was smiling. Hobbs smashed Jericho with a spinebuster! Hobbs whipped Omega into the guardrail. Hobbs hurled Omega over the timekeeper’s table, over the barricade, and onto a row of chairs. Hobbs punished Omega out on the arena floor. Hobbs slammed a guardrail onto Omega. Hobbs trapped Omega’s throat in the guardrail.
Back in the ring, Don Callis taped Omega by the wrists to the top rope. Takeshita dropkicked Jericho out of the ring. Hobbs whacked Jericho with the chair, as Jericho was trying to take the bullet for Omega.
Hobbs was about to waffle Omega with the chair, but Don Callis asked for the chair. Callis smacked the chair over Omega’s head!
“Look at the dent left in that chair,” said Excalibur.
Renee Paquette was in the trainer’s room with AEW World Champion MJF!
Renee asked how MJF was doing.
MJF: “It’d be an easier pill to swallow if Adam was here.”
Max Caster snuck up behind MJF and MJF freaked out and told Caster to leave. “Stop stalking me!” MJF said he was going to call Adam Cole. The call went to voicemail.
“Timeless” Toni Storm vs. Skye Blue!
Toni hit Skye with a short arm lariat. Toni Storm whipped Skye across the ring by the hair! Skye fired back with a dropkick. Skye slugged Storm with a forearm. Toni sent Skye crashing to the floor with a hip attack.
Skye Blue was relentless with elbow strikes to Toni Storm. Skye connected with a high roundhouse and then a big cross body press for a near fall. Toni rattled Skye with a powerbomb.
Toni sent Skye flying with a German Suplex. Storm cracked Skye with the hip attack and finished her off with the Storm Zero for the pin!
Renee Paquette was backstage with Stokely Hathaway!
Hathaway said this Friday on Rampage there would be a four way match to determine the next challenger for Eddie Kingston’s ROH World Championship!
The Rated-R Superstar Adam Copeland made his Dynamite debut!
Tony Schiavone was in the ring and asked everyone to welcome to Dynamite— “The Rated-R Superstar” Adam Copeland!
Adam Copeland: “Tony, I grew up and your voice was the soundtrack to my childhood. So, to stand in the ring with you is a pretty big deal for me.
“I came out here to talk to you all. Let’s rewind back to 2011, I’m told I can never do this again. But guys, we’re in 2023 and I am standing in an AEW ring! There’s quite a few reasons why I came here. There’s one major one but I’ll get to that last.
“I’m pretty sure the AEW World Championship would look good around my waist. Check it out, we’re talking first ever matches. Adam Copeland versus Jon Moxley, Adam Copeland versus Kenny Omega, versus Miro, versus Powerhouse Hobbs, versus Juice Robinson. So those are all amazing reasons to be here, to challenge myself 31 years into my career.
“And I’ve already said this before, and this’ll be the last time I say it. The main reason I decided to come to AEW is I sat with my family. I asked my daughter Lyric, ‘Should I retire?’ She said, ‘You should go have fun with Uncle Jay.’
“So, I’ll call him what you all call him—Christian Cage. And I’d like him to come out here so I can tell him the real reason why I’m here. C’mon Jay.
TNT Champion Christian Cage came down to the ring!
Adam Copeland: “For 40 years we’ve been best friends. But it was this industry that made us realize we’d be best friends for life. And I know what you’re thinking. Why did I do those things at WrestleDream to Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus? And even though I know that about you, I still love you. That’s never gonna go away. But I saw you standing over Sting. A guy whose poster you took to the barber and put it on the mirror so she could give you the same haircut.
“And I see you standing over Sting. A man who has entertained people for four decades. My wife’s parents couldn’t speak English, but they loved Sting. I know that Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne are going to drop you like a bad habit as soon as they’ve sucked all the information from your brain.
“You’re so egotistical that you can’t see it. But Jay, it’s time. For the first time since 2011, for the first time properly in over 20 years, it’s time for you and me to team together again. To face a team like FTR. To face a team like the Young Bucks. To show an entire generation of fans why we are inarguably one of the greatest tag teams of all time! So, I am out here, hat in hand, and I am asking you, let’s do it. Let’s end our careers together as a team. Let’s show them all what we can do.”
Christian Cage hugged Adam Copeland.
Christian Cage: “Go to hell!”
Christian Cage walked out of the ring, leaving Adam Copeland behind.
Christian Cage: “Just a quick reminder of what you’ll be up against this Tuesday, live on Dynamite.”
Luchasaurus walked onto the ramp, with Nick Wayne by his side. They all stared at Adam Copeland!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
***Special night*** Catch AEW DYNAMITE: Title Tuesday on TBS next Tuesday live at 8/7ct from the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, MO!
***Special start time*** Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 7/6c from the Maverik Center in Salt Lake City, UT!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
AEW presented WrestleDream live from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA!
It’s Sunday and you know what that means!
The Zero Hour portion of the show kicked off!
AEW CEO and GM Tony Khan was in the ring with an opening ceremony to honor the legendary trailblazer and dreamer Antonio Inoki. Tony Khan was with some great representatives from New Japan Pro-Wrestling, including the grandsons of Antonio Inoki—Naoto Inoki and Hirota Inoki.
ICHI NI SON DA!
Your announce team for Zero Hour was Excalibur, Jim Ross, and Nigel McGuinness.
8-Person Mixed Tag Team Match!
Diamante, Lee Moriarty, Mercedes Martinez, & Shane Taylor
vs.
ROH Women’s World Champion Athena, Billie Starkz, Keith Lee, & Satoshi Kojima!
Athena ducked a kick from Diamante and then suplexed her. Athena and Billie Starkz hit tandem tope suicidas on Diamante and Martinez.
Shane Taylor charged into Keith Lee but Lee barely budged. Lee took down Taylor with a hurracanrana. Taylor walloped Keith Lee with a cheap shop. Lee Moriarty tagged in, but Keith Lee hurled him across the ring and tagged in Kojima. Kojima lit up Lee Moriarty with rapid fire chops. Kojima spiked Moriarty with a DDT for a near fall.
Athena rocked Lee Moriarty with the O-Face. Keith Lee planted Moriarty. Kojima nailed Lee Moriarty with a lariat and pinned him for the victory!
Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli (with Jon Moxley)
vs.
“The War Master” Josh Barnett!
“Josh Barnett is the most feared catch wrestler in the world today,” said Nigel.
Jon Moxley joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Barnett and Claudio grappled to the mat. Barnett went for a knee bar. Claudio spun out of it. Claudio began to connect with the hammer and anvil elbow strikes. Barnett fired back with a dragon screw leg whip.
Barnett kicked to the inside of Claudio’s leg. Claudio retaliated with European Uppercuts. They traded forearms. Barnett blasted Claudio with a spinning leg kick. Claudio grabbed the legs of Barnett and put him in the Giant Swing!
Josh Barnett threw Claudio with a double underarm suplex. Claudio transitioned from an octopus submission to a crucifix and pinned Josh Barnett!
Barnett: “Heard a lot about you, Claudio. You’re highly regarded. Hearing about it is one thing, experiencing it is another, and they’re all correct. They don’t understand how great you actually art. I promise you. Inoki-San would approve of you. I came in with no expectations and I leave with only the highest expectations for you. Tonight, I gave you a challenge, and you overcame. I’m very proud of you. However, this ain’t over. You owe me more time. And I will come, someday, some place, for that time.”
Claudio: “Anytime, anyplace.”
Luchasaurus vs. Nick Wayne!
Luchasaurus planted Nick Wayne on the back of his neck with a German Suplex. Nick Wayne’s mother was watching from the front row.
Nick Wayne connected with two thrust kicks. Luchasaurus headbutted Nick Wayne in the midsection. Luchasaurus picked up Nick Wayne and choke slammed him over the ropes and onto the ring apron!
Nick Wayne used a moonsault to take down Luchasaurus. Luchasaurus countered Wayne’s World with a nasty shot to the back of the head and pinned Nick Wayne.
AEW World Trios Championship Match!
The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass (c.)
vs.
TMDK—Bad Dude Tito, Mikey Nichols, & Shane Haste!
Max fought out of TMDK’s corner and tagged Billy Gunn into the match. Billy Gunn hit a shoulder tackle on Shane Haste. As the ref was distracted, TMDK double teamed Bowens. Bad Dude Tito sent Bowens soaring with an exploder suplex.
Bowens peppered Bad Dude Tito with elbow strikes. Tito cracked Bowens with a spinebuster. Billy Gunn tagged in and cleaned house on TMDK. Bad Dude Tito German Suplexed Billy, but Caster was there to break up the pin. Bowens smashed Bad Dude Tito with the Arrival. Max Caster hit the Mic Drop and pinned Bad Dude Tito!
The pay-per-view portion of WrestleDream kicked off with…
ROH World Tag Team Championship 2-on-1 Handicap Match!
AEW World Champion MJF (c.) vs. The Righteous—Dutch & Vincent!
“The Human Suplex Machine” Taz joined the broadcast booth.
MJF: “It appears the devil has arrived in Seattle! I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little mad about the rumors that I attacked Jay White. I had nothing to do with it. To top it off, someone went into my locker room and stole my mask out of my bag. And to make matters worse, my boy Adam Cole is hurt and isn’t here tonight.
“But it’s all good because I’m going to make sure when he comes back these ROH World Tag Titles are here waiting for him. I’m gonna hit Dutch with a body slam. And Vincent, I’m going to grab you by your dirty dreads and shove your head up Dutch’s a–!”
When the match started, the Righteous swarmed MJF and stomped a mudhole into him. Dutch connected with a rip cord lariat and Vincent followed up with a low flatliner for a near fall. MJF tried to go for a tag, his tag team instincts kicking in, but then he realized his partner Adam Cole was out with an injury.
Dutch power bombed MJF and then Vincent swooped down with the Death From Above senton for a two-count on MJF. Vincent drilled MJF with the Bossman slam. Dutch distracted the ref while Vincent grabbed the block of wood and a steel chair, intending to break MJF’s legs. MJF grabbed Vincent in the groin before Vincent could swing the chair!
Vincent rattled MJF with a pump kick. Vincent tried for a senton, but MJF sat up, dodging it in time. MJF chomped down on Vincent’s forehead. MJF body slammed Dutch!
“The slam that shook Seattle, maybe the world,” said Taz.
MJF grabbed Vincent by the hair and rammed him into Dutch’s backend. MJF followed up with a double kangaroo kick! MJF drilled Dutch with the heat seeker and pinned Dutch with his feet on the ropes!
“MJF, somehow, someway, has retained the ROH World Tag Team Titles to kick off WrestleDream,” said Excalibur.
ROH World & NJPW Strong Openweight Championship Match!
Eddie Kingston (c.) vs. ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata!
Shibata put Eddie in deep water with a knee bar. Kingston managed to crawl to the ropes, forcing the ref to break the hold. Shibata locked on the figure four in the center of the ring. Eddie grabbed the ropes, managing to escape again, but he was wearing agony on his face.
Shibata put Eddie in a bow and arrow. He transitioned to a side headlock. Kingston threw Shibata with a high angle back driver. Kingston fired off machine gun chops. Shibata rocked Eddie in the corner with a running dropkick.
It broke down into a slugfest with Shibata and Kingston exchanging strikes. Kingston nailed Shibata with an exploder. Shibata swept Kingston’s leg and drove him into the mat. Shibata applied a cobra twist. He transitioned into a ground octopus submission, and Kingston was fading. Kingston forced the rope break, grabbing the bottom rope.
Kingston walloped Shibata with a spinning backfist. Kingston drilled Shibata with a Northern Lights Bomb for a near fall! Kingston came back with another spinning backfist and then a powerbomb for the pin on Shibata!
“What a match, what a win, for Eddie Kingston! It was a war,” said Excalibur.
TBS Championship Match!
Kris Statlander (c.) vs. The House of Black’s Julia Hart (with Brody King)!
Tony Schiavone joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Statlander charged with a knee, but Julia moved out of the way. Kris plowed into Julia Hart with a shoulder tackle. Julia Hart connected with a thrust kick to Statlander. Julia pulled Kris out of the ring with a handful of hair. Statlander picked up Julia and carried her up the ring steps. Julia escaped after a distraction from Brody King and swept out Kris’ legs on the apron.
Julia whipped the TBS Champ into the steel guardrail. Julia mounted Kris and bounced her head off the mat repeatedly. Julia rammed her knee into Kris’ ribs. Julia launched herself off Kris’ back and squashed her with a senton. Out of desperation, Kris powerslammed Julia Hart.
Statlander charged into the corner with a knee to the side of Julia’s head. Statlander rattled Julia with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Julia was about to spray the mist into Kris’ eyes, but Kris slapped it right out of her mouth! Kris climbed to the top rope, but Julia met her up there and launched Kris into the ring with a spider German suplex. Julia connected with a moonsault press and went for the pin, but Kris got her boot on the ropes.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Julia applied the Heartless submission, but Kris stood up and smashed Julia with Sunday Night Fever, scoring the pinfall victory over Julia Hart!
AEW World Tag Title #1 Contender Match!
The Gunns—Austin & Colten
vs.
ROH World Six-Man Champions The Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson
vs.
The Lucha Brothers—Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix
vs.
FTW Champion HOOK & Orange Cassidy!
Nick Jackson and Rey Fenix traded forearms, then superkicks. Cassidy tagged himself in and dared tried for the Orange Punch on Rey Fenix, but Fenix countered with a thrust kick. The Gunns swarmed the Lucha Bros outside the ring, battering them with cheap shots.
Colten blocked a DDT from Orange Cassidy. The Bucks served up a pair of superkicks to the Gunns. Hook tagged in and lit up Matt Jackson with big right hands. Matt Jackson sent Hook overhead with a Northern Lights Suplex. Hook retaliated with a Northern Lights Suplex of his own. Hook sent Matt Jackson for a ride with a high crotch suplex.
Orange Cassidy and Hook double suplexed the Gunns. Orange flew out of the ring with a tope suicida on the Young Bucks. Penta entered the fray and staggered the Gunns with thrust kicks. Colten hit Penta with a blindside shot.
Penta El Zero Miedo jumped off the top rope with a double cross body press to the Gunns. Penta dropped Austin Gunn with a thrust kick. He planted Colten with the Made in Japan for a near fall.
Austin Gunn got rocked by the Orange Punch from Cassidy. Hook locked in RedRum, but Nick Jackson grabbed a tag and hit a 450 on Austin and Hook! The Bucks superkicked Hook, and then Colten Gunn. The Bucks bashed Penta with the BTE Trigger and Nick pinned Penta!
ROH World Six-Man Champion “Hangman” Adam Page
vs.
Mogul Embassy’s Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana)!
Swerve cracked Page in the face with a strike. Page sent Swerve overhead and to the mat with a fallaway slam. Hangman connected with a lariat. Hangman power bombed Swerve onto the apron and then onto the barricade.
Page soared from the ring post and crashed onto Swerve with a moonsault. Hangman followed up with a pop-up Liger Bomb for a near fall. Hangman smashed into Swerve with a tope!
Hangman went after Swerve’s injured hand. Hangman nailed Swerve with a flying forearm off the top rope. Swerve took down Page with a flatliner. Swerve rattled Hangman with a backbreaker. Swerve squashed Page with a double foot stomp and then rocked Hangman with the House Call for a very close near fall!
“Hangman Adam Page is hurt and hurt bad,” said Nigel.
Swerve was looking for a piledriver on the steel ring steps but Page countered with a Dead Eye! Page bit Swerve’s injured hand. Page went for the Buckshot Lariat, but Swerve countered with a drop toehold.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Swerve snapped back Page’s arm, hyperextending Page’s elbow. The AEW medical staff were checking on Hangman, but Swerve didn’t care, hitting the double foot stomp. Swerve drilled Page with a 450 on the injured arm!
Hangman shocked Swerve with the comeback lariat. Swerve retaliated with an arm bar. Page escaped and hammered away at Swerve’s damaged hand.
“We are in the middle of a classic!” said Nigel.
Hangman dodged the double lariat and countered with the Buckshot Lariat! Hangman was clutching his injured right arm. He covered Swerve for the pin, but Prince Nana pulled Swerve’s boot onto the bottom rope. Ref Paul Turner ejected Prince Nana from ringside.
As Prince Nana was arguing with the referee, Page went for the Buckshot Lariat, but Swerve countered by hitting him with Prince Nana’s crown! Swerve covered Page but Page kicked out at two! Swerve blasted Page with the House Call! Swerve served up a second House Call! Swerve planted Page with the JML driver and scored the pin!
Blackpool Combat Club’s Wheeler Yuta vs. “Absolute” Ricky Starks!
Jon Moxley joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Starks and Yuta chain wrestled during the early goings of the match. Starks and Yuta turned it into smashmouth wrestling, trading stiff strikes with one another. Starks suplexed Yuta.
“Wheeler isn’t going to wilt under pressure,” said Moxley.
Big Bill walked down to the ring. Starks rolled up Yuta for a two-count. Starks spiked Yuta with a DDT! Starks power bombed Yuta! Starks used the hammer and anvil elbows on Yuta, but Yuta grit his teeth and got to his feet!
Yuta shoved Starks off the apron, but Big Bill caught Starks. Yuta applied the seatbelt on Starks for a near fall. Starks speared Yuta. Starks followed up with the Rochambeau and pinned Yuta!
Starks was staring at Jon Moxley, smirking.
Dream Match!
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre, Jr.!
“This is a human game of chess, and we are going to watch a masterclass,” said Nigel.
Zack tried to work over Bryan’s arm. They exchanged submissions and Zack was looking for an arm bar. Danielson escaped and put an Indian Death Lock on Sabre. Zack escaped and went into a full mount.
“Stalemate here in the early goings,” said Excalibur.
Danielson escaped a bow and arrow from Sabre. Danielson went for a European Uppercut, but Sabre countered and then stomped on Danielson’s arm! Danielson battered Zack’s leg with a dragon screw but then Zack cranked Bryan’s neck!
Danielson had Sabre in the tree of woe and brutalized him with body shots. They jockeyed for position on the top turnbuckle. Danielson drilled Zack with an avalanche butterfly suplex. Danielson followed up with a single leg crab, but Zack reached the ropes with his boot.
Danielson nailed Sabre with stiff kicks! Danielson captured Sabre’s wrists and stomped on his head! Danielson and Sabre traded European clutches!
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Danielson applied Cattle Mutilation, but Zack countered, cranking on Danielson’s wrist. Danielson spat at Sabre and slapped him in the mouth. Sabre uppercutted the inside of Danielson’s arm.
Zack blistered Bryan with the PK kick to the inside of the arm. Danielson escaped a submission attempt from Zack by reaching the bottom rope with his boot. Danielson stopped Sabre in his tracks with a roundhouse kick. Danielson stomped Sabre’s head. Danielson nailed Sabre with a shoulder capture suplex!
“Zack is on wobbly legs,” said Moxley.
Danielson scored with the knee strike and pinned Sabre!
“What a match! What a physical war. What a hell of a match,” said Jim Ross.
“That was one of the finest displays of wrestling I’ve ever seen in my life. What an experience this was for everyone,” said Moxley.
Trios Grudge Match!
Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, & Kota Ibushi
vs.
The Don Callis Family— “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara,
& IWGP UK Champion Will Ospreay!
Jericho chopped Sammy’s chest. Sammy tagged out to Will. Jericho chopped at Will’s chest, taking Will right off his feet. Jericho and Omega used a double suplex to further punish Will.
Both teams entered the ring, and a hockey fight broke out! The ref restored order in the ring. Takeshita connected with a Takeshita-line to Omega. Ospreay tagged in and put Omega in an abdominal stretch. Omega back body dropped Ospreay. Takeshita planted Omega with a Blue Thunder Bomb!
Ibushi drilled Sammy with a high round kick and followed up with a moonsault for a near fall. Jericho dropped down on Sammy with a lionsault! Jericho was looking for the lion tamer, but Takeshita entered the ring and sent Jericho flying with a German Suplex. Takeshita walloped Ibushi and Omega with suplexes!
Omega flew over the top with a tope con hiro onto Ospreay and Takeshita. In the ring, Sammy rocked Jericho with a Spanish Fly. Sammy jumped off the top rope with a shooting star press onto Omega outside the ring!
Sammy clocked Omega with a cutter off the ropes. Ospreay power bombed Ibushi onto the back of his head. Takeshita and Ospreay hit Jericho with a pair of high boots. Sammy used a Code Breaker on Jericho. All three members of the Don Callis Family attacked Jericho. Ibushi decked Ospreay. Ibushi decked Sammy. Ibushi and Takeshita traded strikes and then Takeshita leveled Ibushi with a lariat. Ibushi fired back with a lariat of his own!
Ospreay countered Omega’s One-Winged Angel and then collided with Omega with the Sky Twister Press. Jericho was looking for the Judas Effect on Sammy. Ospreay shoved Sammy out of the way and ate the Judas Effect from Jericho for his troubles.
Jericho took down Sammy with a hurracanrana. Jericho covered Sammy but Ospreay held the ref back long enough for Sammy to gather himself. Jericho countered Sammy’s GTH and was looking for the Walls. While Will had ref Aubrey Edwards distracted, Don Callis cracked Jericho with Jericho’s baseball bat! Sammy covered Jericho and scored the pin while Takeshita held back Omega and Ibushi from making the save!
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match!
FTR (c.)—Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood
vs.
Aussie Open—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis!
Cash sent Fletcher towards the sky with a back body drop. Dax tagged in and he and Davis traded chops. Davis body slammed Dax and stuck him with a senton.
“Mark Davis wanted to make a statement there and did he ever,” said Nigel.
Dax hit a snap suplex and then a snap leg drop on Fletcher. FTR double teamed Davis with chops. Aussie Open lifted up FTR and rammed them together, smashing the spins.
Davis threw Cash into Fletcher and Fletcher power bombed Cash! Cash superplexed Fletcher from the top. Dax tagged in and jabbed at Kyle. Dax neutralized Davis and focused his firepower on Fletcher. Dax German Suplexed Fletcher and followed up with a diving headbutt but Fletcher moved out of the way.
Dax drilled Fletcher with a slingshot powerbomb for a near fall. Fletcher hoisted up Cash and Davis jumped off the top turnbuckle with a straight crescent kick to Cash! Dax superplexed Davis and Cash splashed him. Fletcher broke up the pin attempt. Aussie Open sandwiched FTR with lariats. Aussie Open smashed Cash with the Shatter Machine! They followed up with the Coriolis, but Dax ran in to break up the pin. FTR rallied back with a spiked piledriver on Davis on the apron! After a super shatter machine, Cash pinned Fletcher!
Main Event Time!
TNT Championship 2 Out of 3 Falls Match!
Christian Cage (c.) vs. Darby Allin!
Christian Cage sent Luchasaurus to the back to prove he could do it alone.
Darby used a back heel kick on Christian. Darby followed up with an arm drag. Darby held onto a side headlock. Christian Cage got to his feet and punished Darby’s chest with chops. Darby pulled Christian’s turtleneck over Christian’s head and scored the first fall with a jackknife pin.
Nick Wayne’s mother was watching from the front row.
Christian Cage stomped on Darby’s head. Darby dodged a diving headbutt. Darby surprised Christian with the Code Red for a near fall. Outside the ring, Christian whipped Darby into the steel barricade.
Christian approached Nick Wayne’s mother and she threw a drink into his face! Darby rocketed out with a Coffin Drop! Darby tried for another Coffin Drop, this time in the ring, but Christian countered by raising his knees. Christian charged at Darby, knocking him off the edge of the ring and down onto the announcers’ desk.
Christian suplexed Darby onto the steel ring steps! Christian slammed Darby off the apron, driving him into the edge of the ring steps! Darby was counted out and the second fall was awarded to Christian Cage.
While Doc Sampson and the referee were checking on Darby, Christian began tearing the padding off the ring. The medical team brought down a stretcher and placed Darby on it. Christian frog splashed Darby who was on the stretcher!
Christian Cage picked up Darby and placed him back in the ring. The pine boards were exposed. Christian nailed Darby with the Kill Switch on the exposed pine boards! Darby side stepped a spear attempt. Christian Cage applied a Scorpion Death Lock on Darby. Darby was able to crawl and reach the bottom rope, forcing the ref to break the hold.
The fans chanted “Let’s go Darby! Let’s go Darby!”
Darby gouged Christian’s eyes. Darby planted Christian with a Scorpion Death Drop. Darby nailed Christian with the Coffin Drop for a near fall! Darby went up for a second Coffin Drop, but Christian pushed him onto the turnbuckles. Christian rocked Darby with a sunset flip powerbomb on Darby. Christian tried for the spear, but Darby moved, sending Christian into the ref! Christian dropped Darby with a low blow. Christian grabbed his TNT Title, but Nick Wayne ran down and pulled it away from him!
Nick Wayne took the title and clocked Darby in the head with it!
“What the hell?” asked Taz.
“What a betrayal,” said Excalibur.
Christian Cage covered Darby and pinned him, retaining the TNT Title!
Christian Cage kissed Nick Wayne on the top of his head after the match. Christian Cage held Darby by the arms and Nick Wayne began to pummel Darby.
Sting came to the ring! Sting struck Nick Wayne and Christian Cage! Luchasaurus popped Sting in the face after Nick grabbed Sting’s leg. Christian placed a chair under Sting’s head. Christian was about to hit Sting with the con-chair-to when the arena lights turned off!
When the lights came back on, the “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland walked onto the ramp to a massive ovation!
The “Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland got in the ring and asked for the chair from Christian. Adam Copeland clobbered Nick Wayne with the chair! Copeland speared Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne! Christian Cage retreated!
Copeland shook hands with Darby and Sting in the ring!
“What an unforgettable moment!” said Excalibur.
Missed what the entire wrestling world is buzzing about? Order the replay of the historic AEW WrestleDream 2023! It’s available on all traditional cable and satellite providers in the United States and Canada, Bleacher Report, Fite International, PPV.COM, and more! See AEW WrestleDream 2023 for yourself!
Catch the four year anniversary of AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, CA!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
Six championships will be on the line, including a match with both the ROH World and NJPW STRONG Openweight at stake, plus we will see the next contender to the AEW World Tag Team Titles crowned in an all-star Four Way Tag! In addition, Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi will be joined by the unlikeliest of allies in Chris Jericho to take on The Don Callis Family, Hangman Page faces Swerve Strickland, and more!
The action begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT, with the ZERO HOUR getting underway at 7pm ET/6pm CT on the official AEW YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@AEW/videos). Before the ZERO HOUR gets underway, be sure to check out the highlights from all the week’s action to get ready for the first-ever WRESTLEDREAM event!
TNT CHAMPIONSHIP/2 OUT OF 3 FALLS MATCH: Christian Cage(c) vs. Darby Allin
This is as personal as a rivalry in the AEW career of Darby Allin has gotten, and it should come as little surprise that it’s due to Christian Cage picking, poking, and prodding at any vulnerability he sees. He’s not the first man to pick at the scab of Darby’s late-uncle, but he might be the one whose gotten the most reaction from Darby out of it. He’s likely not the first man in the life of Nick Wayne to prod at the memory of his late father Buddy Wayne, but Cage has managed dig in deeper than anyone else. And he’s certainly not the first individual to manipulate others to find a way to his goals, but Christian Cage has done it so masterfully with Luchasaurus that the former TNT Champion is still standing at the side of the man who took the title from him.
It’s clear that Christian Cage is a horrible human, at his core possibly the worst man to ever set foot in an AEW ring, and that’s saying something when Don Callis is also part of the scene. This is a man who has used the deaths of loved ones as a tool against his foes, who has dismissively addressed his own children on live television, and treated everyone around him like pawns on that proverbial chessboard. He’s scum, and this Sunday night in Seattle, in front of the people who have witnessed Darby’s rise to the top from the very beginning of his career, in front of those who watched his TNT Championship triumph over Samoa Joe back in January, Christian Cage is going to get his comeuppance two times over.
In a two out of three falls match, Christian Cage will defend the TNT Championship against Darby Allin and he may well have to do so all by himself depending the outcome of the Luchasaurus/Nick Wayne match during ZERO HOUR. His Right Hand of Destruction may not be available for the assist if Nick Wayne gets his way during their fight, because even though Darby challenged Cage to leave Luchasaurus behind, it’s highly unlikely Christian will stick to his word that he doesn’t need Luchasaurus to beat Darby. Also it won’t be enough for Cage to beat Darby once, if he beats him at all, he’s got to do it twice in a single match, and given Allin’s ability to take the pain and use it as fuel, that may be an impossible task for even the lowliest of men.
Will this be the night that Christian Cage finally beats Darby Allin after losing to him twice in recent months, or will it be a triumphant night for the 2-Time TNT Champion, one where he hoists the title up for the third time, and shuts up Christian Cage for the moment?
SUBMISSIONS IN SEATTLE…
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. NJPW TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr.
Over a year ago at the inaugural FORBIDDEN DOOR pay-per-view, this fight was on the table, but an injury Bryan Danielson sustained during Anarchy in the Arena at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2022 forced a change to the line-up, and introduced Claudio Castagnoli into the AEW landscape.
Fast forward to September 9th’s episode of COLLISION, just a few days removed from defeating Ricky Starks in a No DQ Strap match at ALL OUT 2023, and Bryan Danielson issued the challenge to Zack Sabre Jr. to finally make their dream match a reality. It is not their first meeting, that took place in March 2008 in the United Kingdom where Bryan beat ZSJ in a 2 Out of 3 Falls match, nor is it their second as that took place in March 2009 in Germany and was won by Zack Sabre Jr., but both of those matches too place in the early years of the NJPW TV Champion’s career, before he evolved into the fight he is today.
As talented a wrestler as ZSJ was at that point, just 4 and 5 years into his career, the reality of being a wrestler is that he was still just only beginning to understand the intricacies of the game. Even Bryan’s experience, nearly double that of Zack when they first faced, was still just only beginning to elevate and even in 2009 many considered “The American Dragon” the best wrestler in the world. In the fourteen years since their clash each has grown exponentially as a competitor and as a man, and though Danielson has dealt with injuries that many considered the death knell of his in-ring career, he has rebounded back better than he ever was before, and considering the G.O.A.T moniker that was already being applied in 2015, that’s speaks volumes to just how vast a pro wrestler’s knowledge can get.
Much like Bryan, Zack Sabre Jr. has only gotten better with age, his already superb submission skills honed to a lethal edge, and with that so too has his ego grown. There is little doubt foisted about any who claim ZSJ to be the greatest technical wrestler alive, he’s shown the skills it time and again all around the world, be it as part of SUZUKI-GUN, or since he become the first, and thus far only, NJPW World TV Champion earlier this year at WRESTLE KINGDOM 17.
But there are those who also put that crown on Bryan Danielson’s head, and with “The American Dragon” telling the world that he’s in his last full-time year of competition, every wrestler worth their salt is going to want to test the man on his way out, and try to snatch the crown. What’s interesting here is that this is not a case of Zack wanting Bryan as that time draws near, but rather Bryan wanting the fight after being unable to bring the rubber match to fruition last year.
And that brings us to this “Submissions in Seattle” fight between two of best grapplers in the history of professional wrestling, not just best of today, but best of all-time, and that is an undisputed fact. After confronting each other in the aftermath of COLLISION’s All-Star 8-Man tag, what is this fight going to look like? Will ZSJ live up to his promise to end Bryan’s career in 2023? It may be a homecoming for Bryan, but is he coming home just to say goodbye?
AEW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood)(c) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
One year ago, New Japan’s ROYAL QUEST II event at the Crystal Palace in London, FTR and Aussie Open went to battle with the IWGP Tag Titles hanging in the balance. For thirty-two minutes Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, Kyle Fletcher, and Mark Davis battled their hearts out, leaving every bit of themselves in that ring, but when the final bell rang it was FTR, the defending champions, who walked away with the titles still in their possession. Three months later at WRESTLE KINGDOM 17 Kyle and Mark would have to watch Bishamon, the team that beat them in the 2022 World Tag League Finals, dethrone FTR, and though Aussie Open would in turn take the IWGP Tag Titles from Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI in April, as well as win the NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Titles, they would end up having to vacate bout due to Mark Davis’ injury.
Still, while Mark healed and Kyle flew solo for a bit, that loss to FTR clearly ate them up, and hearing Dax and Cash continue to proclaim themselves the greatest tag team in professional wrestling, even after losing all three of their titles between December 2022 and January 2023, didn’t help matters. The fact that FTR claimed the AEW World Tag Titles for a second time only exacerbated those feelings, and winning the ROH World Tag Titles at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023 upon Mark’s return to action didn’t prove a salve for Aussie Open either. Listening to FTR, watching them with the AEW World Tag Titles, and losing the ROH World Tag Titles to Adam Cole and MJF, well it all just threw gasoline on the fire. The match that finally blew it all up for Kyle and Mark was watching FTR engage in Open Challenges and facing teams that Aussie Open didn’t deem worthy of the opportunity they felt they’d earned many times over.
So it was set, just prior to The Workhorsemen of JD Drake and Anthony Henry getting their shot, that Aussie Open would face FTR at WRESTLEDREAM, and should Dax and Cash retain the titles in their fight with The Workhorsemen, they would be on the line in Seattle! Well here we are, the bell set to ring in just a short time, and after Saturday night’s clash on COLLISION, all four men are anxious to throw down without anyone else involved. No Blackpool Combat Club, no Starks and Big Bill, just two teams that each believe they are the greatest competing in professional wrestling today, and possibly even of all-time.
FTR wants a fight with the toughest version of Aussie Open, not the ones who may have taken an MJF and Adam Cole team lightly, but the ones who carried two sets of tag belts simultaneously last year, the ones who gave FTR the fight of their lives at ROYAL QUEST II. Conversely, Aussie Open want the belts and they want to desecrate the legacy of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood. Kyle and Mark want to desecrate the work that earned FTR those seven stars, and expose them as subpar to Aussie Open. With The Young Bucks, with The Briscoes, as heated as the fights got, for FTR there was at least some level of respect shared between the four men, but here with Aussie Open, there is no respect for the champions, only disdain.
Can Aussie Open tarnish the names of FTR and take the AEW World Tag Team Championship from their hands, or will it be Dax and Cash who continue to show why they are the best tag team in wrestling today while simultaneously building their legacy towards being known as the best team to ever do it?
Eddie Kingston(c) vs. ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata
Twice now Eddie Kingston and Katsuyori Shibata have shared the ring as partners, one victory and one defeat, but that defeat at ALL OUT 2023, where Eddie took his eye off the prize for a moment and fell victim to Claudio Castagnoli proved to be the final thing Kingston needed to have happen to push him over the hump. Seventeen days later, in front of his hometown fans and his family at DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023, Eddie did the one thing that has evaded him since September 2009, he beat Claudio Castagnoli, and not only did he beat the man, Eddie dethroned him as ROH World Champion.
Shockingly Claudio also shook Kingston’s hand after the match, a sign of respect for the fight they had, and hearkening back to a Respect Match they had in November of 2009, but little more than that. These are not to men who will ever be friends again, but at least they can respect the fight and acknowledge one another for their skills.
That acknowledgment of skill, the recognition of a fighter, that is the reason why Eddie Kingston made the challenge to Katsuyori Shibata, the Ring of Honor Pure Champion, to meet him at WRESTLEDREAM for a championship bout. While the Pure Title will not be at stake, after Eddie retained the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship on RAMPAGE, both that and the ROH World Championship will be on the line in Seattle! This will mark the first time Shibata has challenged for either of Kingston’s championships, as well as their first-ever meeting as foes, and Kingston could would’ve been hard-pressed to find a tougher first challenger to his ROH reign than “The Wrestler”.
A lethal striker, a submission specialist, and man who loves to dish out pain, Shibata is the kind of man to absorb every one of Kingston’s blows and channel them into himself like some kind of fuel. He will not go down easily, this is a man who survived near-death and fought to return to professional wrestling after all, and Eddie will have to throw every bomb he has at the man to put him down. Should Eddie Kingston emerge from this fight with his belts intact, he will have earned it the hard way, just as he has done throughout his entire life, and the same will be said for Shibata as Kingston will rain punishment down upon him as well.
This is going to be a hard-hitting war, of that there is no doubt, and when it ends, no matter who comes out on top, there will be a show of respect and sportsmanship because that is what Ring of Honor is about at its core, and that is what both Shibata and Kingston want from pro wrestling at theirs.
AEW WORLD TAG TITLE #1 CONTENDER MATCH…
The Gunns (Austin & Colten) vs. ROH World Six-Man Champions The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) vs. FTW Champion HOOK & Orange Cassidy
Between the FTR/Aussie Open clash, and this Four Way fray right here, the immediate future of the AEW’s tag team division will be shaped. The former will determine which duo moves forward as champion while this bout will set another pair up as future challengers to the throne at any time of their choosing. Three of the teams, The Young Bucks, Lucha Brothers, and Gunns, are former champions, two times over in the case of the brothers Jackson, while the fourth team in this bout will mark this fight as their first outing together. HOOK and Orange Cassidy did the Mixed Trios thing at RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023, but this high stakes situation is their first actual tag team bout, putting the FTW Champion and the former International Champion in a serious underdog situation.
One thing working in their favor though is that just this past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, Orange Cassidy knocked Matt Jackson out with the Orange Punch and secured the victory in a Four Way singles match that also included Penta El Zero Miedo and Austin Gunn. That victory may be a sign of things to come, or it could simply the most experienced singles competitors of that quartet getting one over the man with the least. Either way, the world will soon found out just who the next contenders for either Aussie Open or FTR will be!
SINGLES MATCH…
ROH World Six-Man Champion “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana)
That was the question posited by Swerve Strickland when he and Hangman Page sat down to sign the contract for their fight this Sunday night, and by the end of their face-to-face Swerve had a piece of the answer in the form Hangman manically stabbing a pencil into his hand.
After an exchange of harsh words, after Swerve questioning Hangman in the weeks before the signing, after having the audacity to laugh in the face of the former AEW World Champion, Strickland awoke the ugliness inside Page. That ugliness in Hangman is what helped pushed him into the position he is in now, the position that Swerve Strickland covets, but before he woke up that ugliness perhaps Strickland should’ve looked at what else it did for Hangman. That ugliness pushed him to victory in Texas Death Matches with Adam Cole, Lance Archer, and Jon Moxley, the latter of which he actually made quit, something no man in All Elite Wrestling can say. It helped him survive in Blood & Guts, Anarchy in the Arena, and Stadium Stampede, and it helped him survive through some of the toughest times when Hangman Page was riding alone through the wilds of AEW.
Swerve, for as talented a performer as he is, has not ridden alone in All Elite Wrestling, not when he has had his greatest successes. His reign as champion came in the form of tag team gold, and with that came a partner in Keith Lee, a tremendous partner who helped Swerve reach new heights in AEW, but a partner that Swerve casually discarded when he found others with which surround himself. First born as The Mogul Affiliates, a merger with Prince Nana’s Embassy gave birth to The Mogul Embassy, and with that Swerve Strickland surrounded himself with, to be frank, a trio of killers in Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona.
They have insulted Swerve in many ways, a great example of that being how in their absence at Wembley it was Strickland shoved into that casket by Darby and Sting rather than Christian Cage, and done his dirty work too many times to count. Just look at the moment Swerve elected to engage in this fight with Hangman Page, it was Brian Cage who committed the physicality rather than Swerve, just as it was Cage who had to step into the ring with Hangman first. That gave “The Machine” his second loss to Hangman, and then it was Cage and The Gates of Agony who had to step up to The Elite with their ROH World Six-Man Championship on the line, and they who paid the price for this fight Swerve started when the lost said titles to The Young Bucks and Hangman.
But now Swerve has to fight for himself, and though it may be in his hometown thus creating a situation likely to make him the crowd’s chosen one that night, the crowd isn’t inside the ring throwing down with a former AEW World Tag Champion, a former AEW World Champion, and current ROH World Six-Man Champion. It is Swerve, ideally Swerve alone, who has to fight this fight, a fight he picked mind you, and who now has to elevate his game against one of the elite competitors in professional wrestling.
The world knows Swerve Strickland has the talent in the ring, and the world knows he can talk the game, but now he has to prove that the spot Hangman has earned through blood, sweat, tears, and beers, that spot is now Swerve’s House.
TRIOS GRUDGE MATCH…
Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, & Kota Ibushi vs. The Don Callis Family (“The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, & IWGP UK Champion Will Ospreay
Don Callis has done his best to decimate the lives of men he once considered family, all in the name of some imagined sleight created in his own mind, one in which Kenny Omega was an ungrateful wretch rather than an unbelievably loyal nephew and in which Don falsely believed Chris Jericho would refuse his help, thus painting that portrait that triggered their splintering, creating his own self-fulfilling prophecy.
Callis sees both men’s successes, and by proxy the success of AEW, as belonging to him rather than those two men or all the forces that have helped create All Elite Wrestling over the last four years. Don believes that without him Jericho never goes to New Japan, Kenny never goes to Japan, their WRESTLE KINGDOM 12 match in 2018 never happens, and thus AEW is never born. With all his heart and soul, Callis believes those to be facts, and on an even grander scale, he essentially wants credit for everything Kenny Omega has accomplished in his storied career.
So he has stabbed Omega in the head with a screwdriver, turned Takeshita to his side opposite The Elite, aligned himself with The BCC heading into Blood & Guts (bailing when it was no longer convenient of course), aligned with BULLET CLUB GOLD when it was beneficial, facilitated Will Ospreay coming to AEW for fights with Jericho and Omega, poisoned the well of the Jericho Appreciation Society which led to their fracturing, and finally turned Sammy Guevara against his best friend and mentor, though given their tense history it may not have taken much persuasion to pull Guevara away.
But for all his manipulation and plotting and scheming, it is highly unlikely that Don Callis ever saw Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega coming together over their mutual disdain for Don and all he’s done to their lives over the last several months. For years now Jericho and Omega have stayed as far away from each other as possible, and yet it was the only Triple Crown champion in AEW history who rushed to Jericho’s aid when “The Ocho” was at his lowest, totally alone.
To say it was shocking to both Callis and the AEW faithful would be a massive understatement, but it was likely just as shocking to Jericho to see the form his salvation took, and likely shocking to Kenny as well that he would even take up arms alongside Jericho. Only Don Callis could bring together two men with such a heated history and make them allies, but perhaps it was only Don Callis who could whisper the right words in the ears of Takeshita, Guevara, and Ospreay to get them on his side of this fight. It’s clear Don will stoop to any low in his mission to destroy Jericho and Omega, in a situation eerily similar to how he got BC GOLD to attack Kenny Omega in Jacksonville, Callis and Takeshita traveled to Tokyo in order to get at Ibushi while he was without any support.
After Saturday night’s tag team bout it is clear that they can figure out a way to work together, as long as Nana isn’t around to distract, so this Sunday night the unlikely trio of Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Chris Jericho will have to do the same to try and end Don Callis’ family. Callis has done nothing but wreak havoc on the lives of Jericho, Omega, and now Ibushi, and used men like Takeshita, Guevara, and Ospreay as his chess pieces to do so. Whether or not this can ever end while Callis occupies the same space as those he once called family is a reasonable question, one that may be answered comes Sunday in Seattle live on pay-per-view.
TBS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
Kris Statlander(c) vs. The House of Black’s Julia Hart
Starting with last night’s COLLISION and working backwards to DARK: ELEVATION #61 on 5/2/22, those are the women that have fallen before Julia Hart on this road to WRESTLEDREAM on Sunday night, but to truly see where this all began, one need only look a week prior to that first win, April 25th’s edition of ELEVATION, the night that Julia Hart lost to Kris Statlander in just over six minutes. A month after that loss to Statlander, Hart would align herself with The House of Black, and ever since then fans have witnessed a slow, systematic descent by Julia into a sadistic bent for punishment. Hart has come to relish the pain she inflicts on individuals, both the women in her division and the men with whom her House compatriots fight, and it has been particularly noticeable in the last several weeks as Hart’s desire to avenge her last loss became apparent.
Meanwhile, just a few months after that victory over Julia, Kris Statlander would find herself on the outside looking in, recovering from a devastating knee injury that kept her out of action for nearly a year from August 9, 2022 until her shocking reemergence at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 on May 28th of this year. That night in Vegas, not only did Stat return to AEW, but she returned to in-ring competition to dethrone Jade Cargill as TBS Champion, thereby bringing an end to Cargill’s dominating run as champion, and her record-setting unbeaten streak.
Since then Kris Statlander has been a true fighting champion, turning away 13 challenges to her reign, including a rematch with Jade and a bout with Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D, and has done nothing but prove herself as worthy of the crown. No challengers would ever be turned away by Statlander, and certainly not one being made by a woman with an undefeated streak as lengthy as that of Julia Hart’s. Julie has earned this opportunity, of that there is no doubt, but she elevated the stakes over the last several weeks with her attacks on the women Statlander calls friends, namely Willow, Skye, and Kiera.
The defending champion knows she’s not dealing with the same animal she did last time around, that The House of Black has turned Julie Hart into something, someone, far darker than ever before, and unleashed a ferocity in the woman that seems barely contained. Going into this fight Statlander has to remember to meet the woman Julia Hart is now, not the girl she was in 2022, but be aware that where Julia walks she never walks alone. Does The House always wins? Not if Kris Statlander can help it…
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP HANDICAP MATCH…
AEW World Champion MJF(c) vs. The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent)
After winning their #1 Contender’s Match at RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023, The Righteous of Vincent and Dutch were all set to challenge MJF and Adam Cole for the ROH World Tag Team Championship titles, but fate had other plans in store. As we all found out this past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, Adam Cole is injured and won’t be cleared to compete for some time, a situation that would generally dictate the champions vacate their titles, leaving the ROH Board of Directors to decide their future. AEW World Champion MJF had other ideas though and made a promise to Adam Cole that Max would make sure the belts were waiting for him when Adam returned to action, and that he would take on The Righteous in a Handicap Match this Sunday at WRESTLEDREAM! Call it crazy brave or just down right stupid, it goes to show just how much this partnership with Cole means to MJF, and just how much these titles may actually mean to Maxwell as well. He’s not just holding them for Adam Cole’s sake, perhaps he’s taking some pride in being a tag team champion and proving he can work with someone else to great success. Unfortunately he’s now headed down a path where he’s fighting alone, but fighting for two, and doing that against Vincent and Dutch may not be the smartest idea.
It’s clear that The Righteous are ready for this fight, ready to dig into the mess that is the situation between MJF, Cole, Roderick, and The Kingdom, and ready to use that situation to engage in psychological warfare against the champion. In addition to their man advantage, that mental game just may be what The Righteous need to leave Seattle as the new ROH World Tag Team Champions, but should MJF find a way to escape this situation with titles in tow, is this his plan from now until the day Adam Cole is cleared? Taking on that role, along with his duties as AEW World Championship, that is a sure way to find himself with no titles to his name…
SINGLES MATCH…
Wheeler Yuta vs. “Absolute” Ricky Starks
Wheeler Yuta still has a problem with “Absolute” Ricky Starks, and this Sunday night at WRESTLEDREAM he aims to pick up right where “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson left off and kick Starks’s head right in. Whether or not picking a fight with Ricky after the hell he went through with Bryan is the smartest idea, well that remains to be seen after the final bell rings and we see whose hand is raised. Starks is not about to let this affront from Yuta go unpunished, and Yuta isn’t about to let Ricky skate with what he thought was disrespect to Bryan after their Texas Death Match. This fight between two young and hungry dogs is going to be something to see, and it will be interesting to see if that violence Bryan showed Starks in their two encounters brought that side of Ricky closer to the surface.
ZERO HOUR
-AEW World Trios Championship Match: The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass(c) vs. TMDK (Bad Dude Tito, Mikey Nichols, & Shane Haste)
-Luchasaurus vs. Nick Wayne
-Claudio Castagnoli vs. Josh Barnett
-Diamante, Lee Moriarty, Mercedes Martinez, & Shane Taylor vs. ROH Women’s World Champion Athena, Billie Starkz, Keith Lee, & Satoshi Kojima
With the ZERO HOUR getting underway at 7pm ET/6pm CT, and WRESTLEDREAM proper going live at 8pm ET/7pm CT, Sunday night is loaded with the greatest professional wrestling available anywhere on the planet! Do not miss out as All Elite Wrestling returns to pay-per-view, something no one does as consistently amazing as AEW, and especially this time around when it has been called the end of one era and the beginning of another!
Tonight’s AEW COLLISION was broadcast live from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA!
Nigel McGuinness and Kevin Kelly were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Saturday night and you know what that means! Saturday night’s alright for fighting!
Andrade El Idolo vs. Bullet Club Gold’s Juice Robinson (with The Gunns)!
Andrade started things off fast with a double leg takedown and went for the figure four. Juice retreated outside the ring to collect his thoughts and regroup. Andrade hit the three amigos suplexes. Andrade climbed to the top turnbuckle and wiped out Bullet Club Gold on the outside with a moonsault!
As Andrade was trying to get back in the ring, Juice shoved him back out. Juice distracted the ref while the Gunns stomped a mudhole into Andrade. Juice planted Andrade face first right on the edge of the ring.
Juice smashed Andrade in the corner with the running cannonball. Juice followed up with a suplex and then blew snot rockets onto Andrade, showing complete disrespect for his opponent. Andrade slapped Juice and cranked him with a dragon screw leg whip. Hot and flexible CJ was shown scouting the match on the monitor backstage.
“Who was she looking at?” wondered Kevin Kelly.
Juice grabbed the ref and used him as a human shield. Juice thumbed Andrade in the eye and then powerbombed Andrade for a near fall. Juice connected with a high flying press from the top turnbuckle. Andrade rallied back, going for the Figure 8, but the Gunns tried to interfere. The ref ejected the Gunns from ringside!
Andrade drilled Juice with a back elbow for a two-count. Andrade spiked Juice with a DDT and pinned him!
Best Friends—Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta (accompanied by Rocky Romero)
vs.
The Kingdom—Matt Taven & Mike Bennett!
The Kingdom walked to the ring with their rolling luggage bags.
Trent nailed Bennett with forearms and chops. Chuck Taylor tagged in, and Best Friends hit a double shoulder tackle on Bennett. Taylor used a back suplex on Mike Bennett. Trent tagged back in and chopped Bennett’s chest. Taven grabbed a tag and drilled Trent with a dropkick off the turnbuckles.
Outside the ring, Trent charged at Bennett, but Bennett countered by using Trent’s momentum and sending him soaring into the steel guardrail. Bennett followed up with a drop toehold on Taylor onto a steel chair.
Trent rocked the Kingdom with a double dropkick off the turnbuckles. He followed up with a big swinging DDT on Taven for a near fall. Taven fired back with a running knee strike. Bennett was looking for a piledriver on the ring steps, but Trent countered with a Death Valley Driver!
Chuck Taylor hoisted Bennett on his shoulders and Trent followed through with a knee strike from the stop rope. Best Friends spiked the Kingdom with stereo piledrivers. Trent covered Bennett but Bennett got his boot on the bottom rope before the three-count.
As the ref was distracted, Bennett hit two low blows on Taylor. The Kingdom nailed Taylor with a spiked piledriver, and Bennett scored the pin!
Mike Bennett: “Weiner punch, piledriver, Roddy Strong!”
Matt Taven: “We gotta go! We’re flying right back to you, Roddy! We have a message for Adam Cole. Adam, I know you’re supposed to have doctors’ appointments all week and you delayed your surgery. Please, come meet us at Roddy’s house right now. If we’ve ever meant anything to you, Adam, please, meet us at Roddy’s.”
Alex Marvez tried to interview Don Callis and Prince Nana backstage, who appeared to be conspiring about something!
Don Callis was whispering into Nana’s ear and then walked away.
Prince Nana: “There’s a saying, Marvez. If you dig deep into the universe, you will find something that is very, very unique. And tonight, once the Gates of Agony get through with Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega—we’re in the money!”
The House of Black’s Julia Hart (with Brody King) vs. Vertvixen!
Julia charged at Vertvixen with a running clothesline. Julia slammed Vertvixen’s head on the mat repeatedly. Julia followed up with a cartwheel forearm. Julia Hart splashed Vertvixen with a moonsault from the top rope and then pinned her!
Julia Hart: “Oh Kris, I don’t think I can wait until tomorrow. I think you should come out here right now!”
TBS Champion Kris Statlander walked out onto the ramp. Best Friends followed her to the ring. Julia and Kris pushed their contemporaries aside and had a stare down. Julia smiled and left the ring, clearly playing mind games.
Kris: “Tomorrow, you’re going to be in the ring with not only the TBS Champion, but the defeater of the undefeated! Your clock is ticking and tomorrow your time is up!”
Claudio Castagnoli threw out an open challenge and Josh Barnett answered!
Josh Barnett: “Tomorrow night, Claudio, you’ll see what a challenge can become!”
Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega
vs.
Gates of Agony—Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona (with Prince Nana)!
Jericho chopped at Toa, but Toa answered with a headbutt. Kaun tagged in and rocked Jericho with a lariat. The Gates of Agony pummeled Jericho in their corner.
Omega tagged in and hit Toa with a flying cross body press. Omega and Jericho double suplexed Toa Liona. Omega and Jericho took down Toa with double shoulder blocks.
Prince Nana distracted Omega. Toa rammed Omega and Omega inadvertently knocked Jericho off the apron! Bishop Kaun used a backstabber on Omega and then Toa followed up with a running elbow, proving to be a truly effective combo.
Jericho tagged in and cleaned house on the Gates of Agony. Jericho dropped a double ax handle on Bishop and followed up with the Lion Sault! Jericho tried for the lion tamer, but Kaun kicked Jericho away. Toa blasted Jericho with a back elbow. Jericho fired back with a dropkick off the turnbuckles to Toa.
Omega cracked Bishop with the V Trigger. Kenny followed up with the terminator dive to the outside on Toa. Jericho applied the lion tamer to Bishop and forced him to tap!
Chris Jericho: “I have to say after what you just saw, Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho proved we can coexist together.”
Kenny Omega: “You said it yourself, Chris. Coexisting isn’t just part of some grand scheme to be the greatest tag team in AEW history. Nope, this is about something bigger. I was blinded by Don Callis but now I’ve seen the light. And all it took was for you, Don, to take Takeshita to Japan to hurt the ones I love. Ibushi takes a beating like that as an invitation. So tomorrow at WrestleDream, it’s time for the original Alpha and the original Omega to spell the beginning of the end of Don Callis.”
Jericho: “Tomorrow at WrestleDream, Kenny, Ibushi, and the Ocho, versus the Don Callis Family! Sammy, you are the ultimate Judas, you little bastard. I’m going to ruin your dreams, your goals, I’m going to ruin your entire life. And tomorrow at WrestleDream, I’m going to take out all my frustrations from teaming with you for the last four years, onto you! We’re coming for the Don Callis Family!”
The Righteous—Vincent & Dutch
vs.
Travis Williams & Judas Icarus!
Williams dropkicked Vincent in the corner. Vincent cracked Icarus with a running elbow and then tagged out to Dutch.
Dutch dished out overhand chops to the competition. Dutch planted Williams with the Bossman slam. Vincent finished off Icarus and pinned him.
“I would not like to be MJF come tomorrow night,” said Nigel.
Vincent: “Dutch, look at all the paper people strung together. It’s the same paper people who believe that MJF truly is the devil. You know something, he is the devil. The devil pulls the strings that make us dance. The same strings that are tied to that liar Adam Cole. So, at WrestleDream, not only is the Righteous going to become the ROH World Tag Team Champions, but we’re also going to make sure that the devil leaves with one hoof. Just like Adam Cole. Dutch, dig what I’m saying?”
Dutch pulled a block of wood out from beneath the ring and handed it to Vincent. Dutch held the block of wood between Icarus’ legs while Vincent slammed a steel chair against it!
Main Event Time!
All-Star 8-Man Tag Match!
AEW World Tag Champions FTR—Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood, & Blackpool Combat Club’s Wheeler Yuta & “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson
vs.
Aussie Open—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis, Big Bil, & “Absolute” Ricky Starks!
Zach Sabre Jr. was on commentary for this match.
Jim Ross was also at the broadcast booth to provide his main event analysis.
Wheeler grappled on the mat with Kyle Fletcher. They got to their feet and Yuta chopped Fletcher and then backdropped him. Dax tagged in and Mark Davis suplexed him. Things broke down with both teams brawling outside the ring.
“What the hell is going on here?” asked Jim Ross.
Ref Aubrey Edwards regained control of the match. Cash dropkicked Davis and then suplexed Fletcher. Cash cradled Fletcher for a near fall.
Yuta grabbed a blind tag. Yuta jumped off the top turnbuckle with a flying forearm to Fletcher. Wheeler Yuta wiped out Fletcher with a German Suplex. Big Bill booted Yuta right in the face!
“Man, that was a hard shot!” said Jim Ross.
Fletcher tagged in and he and Davis double teamed Yuta with a sit out powerbomb. Danielson tagged in and fired into Starks with chops and kicks! Danielson rocketed at Starks with a tope suicida. Danielson dropkicked Starks from the top rope.
Danielson charged at Starks, but Starks countered with a clothesline. Starks drilled Danielson with a DDT. Big Bill tagged in. Big Bill went for a choke slam, but Danielson countered and applied the LeBell Lock. Fletcher kicked Danielson from behind, breaking the submission hold.
Cash and Danielson held Big Bill while Wheeler dropkicked him from the top. Dax followed up with a diving headbutt to Big Bill.
Dax slugged Big Bill with knife edge chops. Dax tried for a sharpshooter on Big Bill, but Bill kicked him away. Big Bill chokeslammed Dax and then Starks speared him, and Starks scored the pin on Dax Harwood!
Just because the match was over didn’t mean the fight was! Both teams began to brawl after the bell! Danielson pointed at Sabre, and Sabre got into the ring. Danielson and Sabre had a face off and then Sabre shoved Danielson.
Danielson slapped back! Sabre grabbed Danielson by the throat, but Danielson was about to counter when Sabre abandoned the ring, saving his energy for his match tomorrow.
Catch the four year anniversary of AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, CA!
This Sunday, witness history live on pay-per-view and order AEW WrestleDream!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
One night before WRESTLEDREAM, COLLISION comes to the Climate Pledge Arenain Seattle with an event that will test the fortitude of all involved, especially as some head into another fight on Sunday night! After his sketchy loss to Jay White last week, Andrade El Idolo resumes his fight with BULLET CLUB GOLD, this time against Juice Robinson, but will the rest of his unit be on hand as well? Boiling over out of last week’s contender’s Four Way on RAMPAGE, The Kingdom of Matt Taven and Mike Bennett will clash with The Best Friends in their first tag team foray, and a huge all-star 8-Man tag links BCC with AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR to take on Aussie Open, Ricky Starks, and Big Bill!
COLLISION begins at 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT on TNT, just make a point to swing by the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, plus COUNTDOWN, and so much more!
Like so many wars fought inside the professional wrestling ring, it’s rare that they are ever truly over, especially when it is a case of the one fighting the many, and that is the situation with Andrade El Idolo stepping into the ring with BULLET CLUB GOLD. It is a situation with which El Idolo is quite familiar, running the numbers game to ones advantage, but that doesn’t mean he enjoys being a victim of it himself, though that is precisely what happened last week when he took on “Switchblade” Jay White in “singles” competition.
First it was Juice saving White from a three count by sliding Jay’s foot on the ropes, then shenanigans committed by The Gunns provided the necessary distraction for Robinson to crack Andrade across the head with his “Collision Cowboy” plaque, knocking the man lifeless enough for “Switchblade” to needlessly deliver a Bladerunner to Andrade before the pinfall.
But if Juice Robinson thought he was going to get away with that affront without suffering any repercussions, then he’s got another thing coming. Andrade doesn’t forgive, he doesn’t forget, and this Saturday on the eve of WRESTLEDREAM, he’s going to make Juice Robinson suffer for his crimes. Jay White’s brain may be a bit occupied with MJF now while The Gunns need to get prepared for their pay-per-view Four Way match, so will they be on hand to help Juice the way he was there to bail out “King Switch”? Or will Robinson have to go this one with only Cardblade at his side?
TAG TEAM GRUDGE MATCH…
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)
Last week, with a shot at the ROH World Tag Team Championship at stake, Chuck Taylor was on the wrong end of a Righteous pinfall victory, albeit one rightfully belonging to Jeff hardy, and saw another chance for The Best Friends to finally win a championship slip away. Yet it wasn’t just The Hardys, The Righteous, and The Best Friends involved in this situation, The Kingdom also had skin in the game, and their frustration at not being the next contenders to Better Than You BayBay erupted in violence directed at Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta.
Whipping them into the railing and assaulting them with chairs, Bennett and Taven let Chuck and Trent know that, in no uncertain terms, they were putting the blame for the loss squared on Best Friend shoulders. Well this Saturday night on COLLISION, instead of attacking the already vulnerable Chuck Taylor after he’d been hit with two Swantons and jumping Trent on the outside as he recovered, The Kingdom will have to face down Best Friends inside the squared circle!
Though they’ve faced off in a pair of ROH matches, most notably at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023’s Tag Team Championship fight, they’ve never done so in a traditional tag team situation, so this first-time clash is going to be a true test of each team’s mettle. The Kingdom has no problem assailing a foe from behind, but will they be so brave when an angry Trent Beretta and Chuck Taylor are looking them in the eye?
ALL-STAR 8-MAN TAG MATCH…
AEW World Tag Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler/Dax Harwood) & Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson/Wheeler Yuta)
vs.
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis), Big Bill, & Ricky Starks
Talk about a bunch of fighters with plenty on their plate already, and now add this all-star eight-man to their meal on Saturday, and they are all going to be feeling it come WRESTLEDREAM! First off, FTR is coming into this Saturday after being truly tested by The Workhorsemen last week, and then confronted by Aussie Open after their victory.
That same night Bryan Danielson and Ricky Starks committed utter atrocities to one another in their Texas Death match before it was ultimately won by “The American Dragon”, though neither man looked like a victory, Starks being carried to the back by Big Bill while Wheeler Yuta had to help Danielson stay on his feet. In a career full of trials, tribulations, and tests, it was one of Danielson’s best, and when all is said and done in his career, should be looked back on as a true highlight, just as it could possibly be looked back on as the moment Ricky Starks, even in defeat, stepped up to that next level he’s been chasing for so long. Perhaps that’s how Bryan also feels; if so, there’s one man in his BCC camp who clearly still has a problem with “Absolute”:
So with everything these men have gone through the last week, with everything they have in store for them tomorrow night on pay-per-view, they all will enter into combat on COLLISION in hopes of garnering that extra edge prior to Sunday’s fights. The dynamics of both these quartets should be quite intriguing, witnessing how they mesh for the night and if their respective goals are compatible with one another. However it goes, these are eight elite level fighters all occupying one ring, and that should make for a tremendous final fight before WRESTLEDREAM on Sunday!
UNLIKELY PARTNERS…
Chris Jericho & Kenny Omega vs. Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona)
There it was, right in front of the eyes of the world, Kenny Omega helping Chris Jericho because in that moment, the history between those two men paled in comparison to their mutual issues with Don Callis and his so-called Family. The story of Jericho and Omega predates the dawn of All Elite Wrestling, some may say it even helped inspire the creation of AEW, and has been a key element in the stories of both AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, but so too has Don Callis been a key element in both of their stories. For Jericho it has the better part of the last 30 years, while for Omega it has been the whole of his life, and in both cases Callis has threaded his way through so many aspects of each man’s existence.
So when he turned his back on each man, it was a betrayal far deeper than the kind quite frequently experienced in professional wrestling. It wasn’t about becoming a champion or in pursuit of greater glory, Callis isn’t even a competitor at this point in his life, but rather about jealousy and bitterness, and that is why we are here, a day away from Omega and Jericho being joined by Kota Ibushi, and the two Canadians are putting aside their differences to unite against an Elite problem.
The Gates of Agony and Brian Cage were recently dethroned as ROH World Six-Man Champions by The Young Bucks and Hangman Page, while Swerve Strickland is slated to meet Page this Sunday at WRESTLEDREAM, so Kaun and Toa are looking to take out their frustration on any member of The Elite, and Kenny Omega fits that bill!
Call it a gesture of good faith, call it preservation in keeping Omega healthy for Sunday, either way Chris Jericho has agreed to start this partnership a day early and team up with Kenny to take on The Gates of Agony in tag team action! If their partnership can make it through this fight, and win it, that’s a good sign for what may come to be at WRESTLEDREAM, but if it can’t survive this tag team bout, well then Omega and Jericho, regardless of Ibushi, may be doomed in Seattle!
COLLISION comes to Seattle and the Climate Pledge Arenathis Saturday night for the final event before WRESTLEDREAM, and what a night it will be! Best Friends versus Kingdom, BCC and FTR uniting to face Starks, Big Bill, and Aussie Open, and Andrade jumping into the fire with another member of BC GOLD; it’s going to be a wild one in Seattle, with plenty more on tap besides those bouts! The night kicks off at 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT on TNT so make a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, the latest editions of CONTROL CENTER, the COUNTDOWN, and so much more!
Wednesday night began the final few days before WRESTLEDREAM goes down this Sunday night in Seattle. Fans learned that Adam Cole suffered an injury at GRAND SLAM 2023 that necessitated pulling himself from the ROH World Tag Team Championship match, but as seen above, rather than vacate the belts, MJF will fight The Righteous himself. In addition, through their contract signing, we all witnessed the kind of aggression Hangman Page is bringing to his fight with Swerve Strickland:
But that wasn’t all; Rey Fenix defeated Jeff Jarrett to retain his AEW International Championship while Nick Jackson defeated both Claudio Castagnoli and Brian Cage to earn the next shot at said title. Success wasn’t universal for The Young Bucks though as Matt Jackson ate the pinfall in his Four Way PPV preview bout. A lot of the pieces for WRESTLEDREAM fell into their final place, and that will continue this Friday night on RAMPAGE! The bouts begin at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so visit the official AEW YouTube channel before RAMPAGE begins to see highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
NJPW STRONG OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
Eddie Kingston(c) vs. Rocky Romero
It’s been two years since the last time Rocky Romero and Eddie Kingston collided inside the squared circle, a fight won by Kingston, but not one in which any championships were involved. They celebrated July 4th with NJPW STRONG this year, teaming up to fight, and defeat, BULLET CLUB’s KENTA and Gedo in tag action one day before Eddie beating KENTA to earn the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship.
This Friday night on RAMPAGE the circle comes back around as, after being Eddie’s ally two months ago, Rocky steps up as the next challenger for the NJPW STRONG Openweight title, and just two days before Kingston is set to defend both it and the ROH World Championship against Katsuyori Shibata. Should Kingston fall to Rocky, then obviously only the ROH World Championship would be on the line at WRESTLEDREAM, but win or lose, with a foe like Romero gunning for him on Friday, what kind of condition will Eddie be in on Sunday?
AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP OPEN CHALLENGE…
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens, Daddy Ass, & Max Caster)(c)
vs.
Brother Zay & The Hardys (Jeff & Matt)
Ever since defeating The House of Black to claim the World Trios Championship titles, The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass have made it a point to be defending champions, taking on anyone willing to step up to the challenge, defending the belts on three occasions in the 33 days since ALL IN: LONDON. This week on RAMPAGE there will be another trio who answers the call to arms, forming a unit for the very first time, Brother Zay and The Hardys will take on the World Trios Champs!
Isiah Kassidy has been under the tutelage of Matt Hardy for quite some time now, both through good and bad, meaning they’ve united on plenty of instances, and there have been a few multi-man instances like The Firm Deletion, but this is the first time it’s just been Matt, Jeff, and Brother Zay.
The Hardys know plenty about being champions, though they’ve yet to achieve that here in All Elite Wrestling which is additional common ground with Zay, but that could all change this Friday night on RAMPAGE! Will the Scissor Party be brought to an end?
TITLE TUESDAY OPPORTUNITY…
Ruby Soho vs. Hikaru Shida
This could have some very interesting ramifications; for the very first time Ruby Soho and Hikaru Shida will lock-up in a one-on-one match and to the victor comes an AEW Women’s World Championship opportunity on DYNAMITE: TITLE TUESDAY on October 10th. So there is a possibility that, for the second time in as many weeks, Saraya will have to defend her title against someone who has stood by her side as an Outcast! Difference between Toni Storm and Ruby Soho though is that Ruby is still loyal to Saraya, making that potential title bout rife with potential drama.
The other possibility is that Hikaru Shida earns the opportunity to become the first 3-Time Women’s World Champion and beat the woman who ended her second reign in the process. Though Saraya may have been the one to leave ALL IN: LONDON as the new champion, it wasn’t the woman defending her title who she pinned but rather Toni Storm. That also makes this fight with Ruby one step away from revenge on Saraya, and one step away from Shida redeeming the indirect loss of her championship.
Will we see the remaining Outcasts have wedge drive in-between them, or will Shida get her shot at redemption for what happened at Wembley?
THE RIGHTEOUS IN ACTION!
After learning that their ROH World Tag Team Championship match at WRESTLEDREAM will now be a handicap match against AEW World Champion MJF, Dutch and Vincent have to be quite ecstatic about their impending Sunday night fight.
Before they get their though, The Righteous will be in tag team action on RAMPAGE, one final tune-up before their date with destiny on pay-per-view! There has to be a great deal of confidence on their part knowing they’ll have a man advantage in the championship fight, hopefully it doesn’t make them overconfident in this Friday night fight and leave them ripe for an upset.
RAMPAGE gets underway at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel prior to the show for highlights from Wednesday’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from 1stBank Center in Broomfield, CO!
Excalibur and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
AEW International Championship Open Challenge Match!
Rey Fenix (c.) (with Alex Abrahantes) vs. Jeff Jarrett (with Karen Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, and Jay Lethal)!
Rey Fenix hit a high crossbody press to the outside onto Jarrett as Jarrett was making his entrance. Fenix followed up with a moonsault for a near fall. Jarrett DDT’ed Rey Fenix after Satnam tried distracting Fenix.
Jarrett tripped up Fenix and Fenix rolled to the outside. Jarrett ordered his posse to swarm Fenix, but ref Aubrey Edwards stopped them. Rey Fenix fired back with a double foot stomp to Jeff Jarrett for a two-count. Fenix followed up with a thrust kick, trying to fight through the pain. Fenix ran the top rope and punted Lethal. Sonjay distracted the ref while Jarrett hit Fenix with a low blow!
Jarrett spiked Rey Fenix with the Stroke but Fenix broke the count when his boot touched the bottom rope. Jarrett tried to apply the figure four, but Fenix countered with a cradle and pinned Jeff Jarrett!
Footage was shown from Long Island with AEW World Champion MJF taking Adam Cole out on a boat trip to try to cheer up Cole after his recent leg injury.
MJF: “You were on the phone with Roddy a pretty long time.”
Cole: “Yeah, I was worried about him.”
MJF: “So long that you couldn’t come up to the ring with me last week?”
Cole: “Max, you didn’t bring me out here to hit me with the Dynamite diamond ring and then throw me overboard, did you?”
MJF: “No, no,” said Max, as he was hiding the ring behind his back.
Cole: “Having more than one friend is normal.”
MJF: “Plus last time I almost got caught when I was trying to throw someone overboard.”
Footage was shown from earlier in the week of Don Callis and Takeshita hunting for Ibushi in Tokyo!
Renee Paquette was in the ring to interview Don Callis and “The Alpha” Takeshita after their actions last week!
Don Callis: “I have something to say. I am so happy that Sammy Guevara is free of the toxic influence of Chris Jericho that I wanted to bring him out here myself. Ladies and gentlemen, the newest member of the Don Callis Family…Sammy Guevara!”
Sammy Guevara walked down to the ring.
Sammy embraced Don Callis in the ring.
Don Callis: “You want to know about Tokyo now? I said that Ibushi wasn’t safe so the Alpha and I went to Tokyo. I brought my personal camera crew, and we captured it all.”
Footage was shown of Callis and Takeshita invading Ibushi’s dojo. Takeshita attacked one of Ibushi’s students. Ibushi ran in and grounded and pounded Takeshita. Callis hit Ibushi with an umbrella. Takeshita blasted Ibushi in the head with a kettle bell! Callis screamed at Ibushi saying Ibushi wasn’t safe in Tokyo or in Seattle!
Don Callis: “The Don Callis Family has never been stronger with Takeshita, Will Ospreay, and Sammy Guevara going to WrestleDream!”
Sammy: “I’m the hero. Chris Jericho is the villain! For four years he was holding me back. I was champion without him. I did pay-per-views without him. Every time I would start to fly high, he would clip my wings. He was never going to pass me the torch. Chris Jericho is selfish. It is time for me to become the champion and the star I was meant to be.”
Don Callis: “At WrestleDream we are going to take everything from Omega, Jericho, and Ibushi until there is nothing left but the tears!”
Footage was shown from after Collision last Saturday of “Absolute” Ricky Starks!
Starks said he survived against Danielson. Wheeler Yuta approached Ricky and said Ricky was all style and no substance. Yuta challenged Starks to a match on October 1st in Seattle!
It was announced that Tony Khan signed a grudge match for WrestleDream between Ricky Starks and Wheeler Yuta!
3-Way Blind Eliminator Match for an International Title Shot Next Week!
ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Nick Jackson
vs.
“The Machine” Brian Cage (with Prince Nana)
vs.
Claudio Castagnoli!
Brian Cage tossed Nick Jackson over the top rope and out of the ring! Claudio and Cage locked up for a test of strength. Claudio suplexed Cage! Brian Cage retaliated with a vertical suplex of his own.
Nick Jackson jumped back into the ring and wiped out Claudio and Cage at the same time! Nick then flew over the top rope and knocked both of them down on the arena floor! Nick displayed creative, fluid offense to clean house on both opponents!
Brian Cage planted Claudio with a German Suplex. Nick Jackson blasted Brian Cage with a bulldog. Jackson moonsaulted off the apron but Claudio caught him, and then Nick nailed him with a DDT! Nick Jackson splashed Brian Cage with a 450 for a near fall in the ring!
Claudio whipped Nick Jackson into the steel ring steps. Claudio put Brian Cage in the Giant Swing!
“It’s like he’s swinging a Volvo,” said Taz.
Brian Cage suplexed Claudio from outside the ring to the inside, while Cage was on the second rope! Nick drilled Claudio and Cage with superkicks. Claudio rammed Cage with a European Uppercut. Claudio clocked Cage with a lariat. Claudio transitioned to hammer and anvil strikes, punishing the jaw of Brian Cage. Claudio hit the Ricola Bomb on Cage. Nick springboarded with a hurracanrana onto Claudio and then landed on Cage, with Nick Jackson grabbing the pin fall victory!
Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions Adam Cole & AEW World Champion MJF came to the ring!
Adam Cole was on crutches and his left leg was completely bandaged up.
MJF: “Cut the music! Ladies and gentlemen, the devil has arrived in Colorado. Adam Cole, talk to ‘em.”
Cole: “Who’s ready for story time with Adam Cole baybay? Unfortunately, this is a sad chapter in the story. Last week I got hurt. My ankle broke in three different places, and I tore ligaments last week. I have to go get surgery. There is nothing more soul crushing than hearing this, but I will do everything in my power to get back as soon as possible.
“But me and my good friend Max are the ROH World Tag Team Champions. And because we can’t defend these titles, we will have to relinquish—”
MJF: “Whoa, whoa, whoa! I didn’t wrestle twice in one night to win these and then have to relinquish our titles to the Righteous! Let’s keep it real. You wouldn’t be hurt if I didn’t need your help at Grand Slam. I know how much those ROH World Tag Team Titles mean to you. And I want to make sure that when you come back here, and you will, these will be waiting for you. Righteous, October 1st, I’m going to defend these titles against you in a handicap match and we are going to win!”
The Kingdom rolled Roderick Strong onto the ramp in a wheelchair!
Strong: “Adam! I need you now more than ever! It’s an emergency!”
MJF: “As much as I think Roderick Strong is a simp, I learned on the boat that he is your boy. I may not like him, but I know he’s your boy. Go do what you need to do, Adam, and I’ll be waiting for you when you come back.”
Cole hugged MJF. Adam Cole got on his crutches and walked up the ramp to Roderick Strong and the Kingdom.
MJF: “Everybody give it up one more time for Adam Cole. Now we all know I’m not a big fan of—”
“Switchblade” Jay White and the Bullet Club Gold walked onto the ramp, interrupting the AEW World Champion MJF!
“Switchblade” Jay White sent the Bang Bang Gang to the back and then walked to the ring himself.
Jay White: “Shut up, Max! We’ve all heard you talk enough. Everybody would like to hear this sweet, exotic accent for a change. Don’t worry, I sent everybody to the back. You can have your one on one time with the Switchblade and revel in your moment.”
MJF: “Boy, you must be smoking some strong Colorado grass. That mid mic work ain’t gonna work with MJF. You come at the king you’d better not miss. That first shot was a little hairy. Now Jay hear me out. In my career I’ve been compared to a lot of people. They say, ‘MJF is good but he’s no blank.’ And as my star rose the names got bigger and bigger and the goal posts moved. It never bothered me until I read, ‘MJF is good but he’s no Jay White.’
“It’s become very apparent why it offends me now that I’m standing in the ring with you. I’m like filet mignon. Much like when I’m inside this ring, the show is all about MJF because no one is on the level of the devil. Because I’m a generational talent, babe.
“And then there’s you. You are very talented, however, you’ve managed to convince the fans that you are also filet mignon when in reality you are tofu. Funny thing about tofu. It takes on the flavor of whatever you want it to. But you need to add something to it in order to trick yourself into believing it has taste. And you have been given everything. You were handed the keys to one of the greatest wrestling factions of all time. However, if I pluck it all away, I am left with nothing but boring, bland, tasteless tofu.
“And now here you are, Jay, trying to hop on my plate and trying to steal some of the champ’s flavor. I see through you, Jay. You are all hype. Allow me to give you some advice from a real top guy. If I were you, I would leave this ring and I wouldn’t keep talking smack to my poors. Because if you don’t, for the rest of your career, whenever our names are mentioned in the same sentence, it’ll read as follows: ‘Sure, Jay is good, but he’s no MJF,’ because I’m better than you and you know it!”
Jay White: “That’s what I came out here for, my very own personalized authentic MJF experience. But I have to be honest with you. I’m a little bit let down. Something’s a little bit off about you these days. I don’t know if it’s the injuries, but personally I think you’re distracted by Adam Cole.
“I just don’t think they love you like they love Adam Cole. And you know this whole situation with Adam Cole, it’s kinda my fault. Let me explain. If I didn’t temporarily end Adam Cole’s career after Forbidden Door 1, you wouldn’t have developed a soft spot for him, but I guess you got him back because he broke his ankle and that was your fault. And I’m sure your neck isn’t feeling good after Samoa Joe last week. So, I think I’ve been ruining your life for a little bit now. But I’m here to ruin your life in the flesh.
“You call yourself the devil. You need to find another level to stop me from taking that title away from you. You don’t seem so elite when compared to me. I’m the catalyst of professional wrestling. And I will be a truly elite champion when I pull that title away from your carcass!
“Don’t worry, Max, you will have your fans, they will have you, and I will have the Triple B, and you can all breathe with the Switchblade, because it’s still my era. This is the Switchblade Era because you’ve gone soft, and you know it!”
MJF: “You don’t have a clue what I’m capable of so why don’t I show you!”
Jay White tried to lure MJF in with mind games and then Jay White rolled out of the ring after getting under MJF’s skin!
Ahead of their 2/3 Falls Match for the TNT Title at WrestleDream, Jim Ross had a sit down interview with Darby Allin and new TNT Champion Christian Cage!
Christian Cage: “I’ve been the TNT Champion for months now and I proved I’m far superior to Darby Allin this past Saturday when I wrestled on Collision. I will walk out of Seattle as the TNT Champion because I know in my heart, Darby, that you’re nowhere near the man I am. You’re nowhere near the wrestler I am. I asked for this 2 out of 3 match because I want to see what you can do when you actually have to wrestle.
“Is your uncle going to be in attendance? What happened to him?”
Darby: “He’s dead. You think I’m afraid of dying? You think I’m afraid of losing? You cannot beat me. I’m going to win this Sunday.”
Christian Cage: “Why don’t you bring all the family. Bring Nick, bring Nick’s mother—”
Darby: “You want me to bring Nick so you can take advantage of him. I’ll tell him not to show up. If you had the balls, you’d tell Luchasaurus not to show up.”
Christian Cage: “He needs a man! I will always be the face of TNT! Get used to it!”
Four-Way WrestleDream Preview Match!
Austin Gunn
vs.
Matt Jackson
vs.
Orange Cassidy
vs.
Penta El Zero Miedo!
Partners were banned from ringside.
Austin sent Orange hard into the barricade. Matt Jackson DDT’ed Penta El Zero Miedo. Austin rolled up Orange from behind for a near fall. Penta connected with a thrust kick to Matt Jackson. Penta blasted Orange with a thrust kick. Austin ambushed Penta! Austin dropped Orange with a big right hand shot!
Orange peppered Austin with elbow strikes. Austin countered a hip toss with a neck breaker to Orange Cassidy. Penta nailed Orange with a destroyer. Matt Jackson hit a destroyer on Penta. Orange rocked Matt with a destroyer! Orange smashed Austin with a destroyer!
“All four men are on roller skates and all four men go down!” said Excalibur.
Matt Jackson wiped out Orange with the locomotion Northern Lights suplexes. Matt followed up with a double Northern Lights to Penta and Austin!
The fans chanted “A-E-W! A-E-W!”
Penta blocked the BTE Trigger from Matt. Penta took down Austin with a sling blade. Austin smashed Orange with the fame-asser from a near fall, almost stealing a victory. All three men superkicked Austin. Penta and Matt traded kicks. Orange pulped Matt Jackson with the Orange Punch and pinned him!
“Timing is everything and Orange’s timing was perfect,” said Taz.
The House of Black’s Julia Hart (with Brody King) vs. Willow Nightingale!
Willow’s left eye was bandaged up, a result of the mist attack last week from Julia.
Willow poured on the punishment, charging at Julia Hart and hitting her with a flurry of offense. Julia jumped on Willow’s back and grabbed at the bandage over Willow’s eye.
“Willow is fighting for purpose, not just for revenge,” said Excalibur.
Willow grounded and pounded Julia Hart. Willow body slammed Julia. Julia retreated out of the ring and crawled under the ring. Julia snuck up behind Willow and chop blocked her.
Julia locked in Heartless, but Willow reached the ropes, forcing the break. Willow pounced Julia out of the corner! Willow hoisted up Julia and placed her upside down in the corner. Julia dodged the cannonball splash. Julia hit the moonsault press and pinned Willow!
Julia placed Willow in the Heartless submission after the match! TBS Champion Kris Statlander sprinted to the ring to save her friend. Julia hid behind Brody King and laughed.
It was time for the contract signing between “Hangman” Adam Page & Swerve Strickland ahead of their match at WrestleDream!
The Elite and the Mogul Embassy were banned from ringside.
Renee Paquette was in the ring to help officiate the contract signing.
Swerve and Page sat across from each other at a table in the ring.
Swerve: “Before you sign that paper, I gotta admit I’ve been impressed with the fire you’ve been showing the past few weeks. But it’s a little too late for that. We are four days out from our match. Do you understand what you’re walking into? The lion’s den. This is unlike anything you’ve ever dealt with. We are two competitors who couldn’t be more opposite from one another. You are not the wrestler I am, and I am never going to be the wrestler you are. What’s a buckshot to a kill shot?”
Hangman: “It sounds like you’re fired up for this, and good, you should be. You said a few things to me a few weeks ago that stung. And I’ve had time to think about it. For a year and a half, every day that I came to work I felt there was a little dark cloud hanging over my head that I could not get rid of. And sure, the sun would shine. I beat Jon Moxley in a Texas Death Match. I reunited with my friends in the Elite. It felt like I should have been the happiest man in the world but every time I started to smile, that little cloud came back, and it started to rain.
“And I couldn’t do anything about it. I had a little umbrella next to me and as long as God let it rain on me, I didn’t open it. But that’s over with. I weathered the storm. And I am still here! And through that downpour it washed something out of me. I don’t know if it was hope, or passion, but it washed out of me. But I recognized it, and these people deserve more of me. They deserve the best of me. And I deserve it for myself. So, Swerve that’s what you’ll get in Seattle at WrestleDream. You’ll get the best of Hangman!”
Swerve: “That was quite beautiful, but it was the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen. This isn’t a personal thing. It could have been anyone in the position that I want. Truth be told, I might have mental health problems because I make an enemy every single day. I am going to take this position from you at WrestleDream. And by the way, it rains an awful lot in Seattle.”
Hangman: “You tell me you want this spot. You’re telling me you want a main event spot? Swerve, I don’t know, we could sit here and go back and forth about whether these opportunities were handed to me, but for every opportunity I’ve had, I knocked it out of the park!
“So, Swerve, you tell me you want this spot? You’re damn right, you should want this spot. But you don’t have what it takes to fill my boots!”
Swerve slapped Hangman and then went to sign the contract! Hangman stabbed Swerve in the hand with the pen! Security had to keep the two men separated!
Backstage, camera crews filmed a gang of men dressed in black from head to toe, wearing masks, swarming “Switchblade” Jay White and attacking him! One of the attackers looked into the camera and cocked his head to the side. He was wearing a devil mask!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
Catch the four year anniversary of AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Stockton Arena in Stockton, CA!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA!
And this Sunday, witness history live on pay-per-view and order AEW WrestleDream!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
It’s the final DYNAMITE before WRESTLEDREAM, and it’s coming to you from the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, CO just north of Denver, and home to AEW since the March 4, 2020 edition of AEW’s flagship, the first DYNAMITE of the Jon Moxley era!
It’s been nine months since our last visit to Broomfield, and this time we are coming to kickoff the home stretch to WRESTLEDREAM with the exciting action fans expect from AEW! In a preview of the Four Way Tag Fight for an AEW World Tag Title shot, one member of each team will collide in a Four Way Singles match, plus as Julia Hart continues her hunt for the TBS Title, she has to answer for her crimes when she faces Willow Nightingale in a head-to-head fight!
Plus, we will hear from the ROH World Tag Champions Better Than You BayBay ahead of their PPV clash with The Righteous, Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland will sign the contract for their fight on Sunday night, and Jim Ross will sit down with TNT Champion Christian Cage and Darby Allin ahead of their 2/3 Falls Bout!
DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to drop by the official AEW YouTube channel to catch the highlights from last week’s DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the CONTROL CENTER, and more!
FOUR WAY WRESTLEDREAM PREVIEW…
Austin Gunn vs. Matt Jackson vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Penta El Zero Miedo
On Sunday night at WRESTLEDREAM all four of these men will be locked in combat with a future shot at the AEW World Tag Team Championship on the line, difference being that in Seattle they will all have a partner sharing the ring, whereas in Colorado each will go it alone! Akin to a preview of that impending pay-per-view match, what makes this especially intriguing is what the AEW singles career has looked like for each of these men. Two of them have engaged in a fair deal of singles combat, particularly Orange Cassidy with his historic AEW International Championship reign, while two have barely been tested in those waters. Matt Jackson, though a 2-Time AEW World Tag Team Champion, 2-Time AEW World Trios Champion, and reigning ROH World Six-Man Champion, has only competed in one singles match, ironically against Rey Fenix back in March of 2021, and it was a match where he fell in defeat. The other man lacking in strong singles experience is Austin Gunn, crediting but one win in his three outings, the last of them being on the Jericho Cruise in October 2021. Penta, while not racking up the numbers of OC, stands 18-14 in his singles rows, including fights with Kenny Omega, Orange Cassidy, Jon Moxley, Samoa Joe, and even getting bloody with his own brother.
As for the former AEW International Champion, well he’s number three in the Men’s Division in terms of singles wins, just one behind Powerhouse Hobbs, and he’s tied with Moxley for the most overall wins with 122. With 156 matches, Cassidy is also the most prolific competitor in All Elite Wrestling, and his 31 match winning streak is the longest in Men’s Division history as well. Of course there’s the fact that Cassidy defended the International Championship more times than any champions in AEW across all divisions to add to the equation, all facts that would seem to tilt the balance of this four way fray in his favor. But what is his physical condition? Heading into his ALL OUT 2023 loss to Jon Moxley, Cassidy seemed held together by K-Tape and willpower, his body ravaged by the effects of the schedule he’d kept as International champion, barely able to stand without the assistance of his Best Friends after the loss. So how can he be ready for this return to action just a few weeks removed from that painful experience?
We will all find out this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE when Orange, Penta El Zero Miedo, Matt Jackson, and Austin Gunn all aim to get a leg-up before their Four Way Tag Team clash on Sunday night!
ONE-ON-ONE…
The House of Black’s Julia Hart vs. Willow Nightingale
Julie Hart is officially set for a TBS Championship fight with Kris Statlander this Sunday at WRESTLEDREAM, her first shot since challenging Jade Cargill back on January 28th of 2022, and three months before Julia’s last loss in All Elite Wrestling. That defeat was at Kris Statlander’s hand, taking place on DARK: ELEVATION #60 on April 25th , and along with The House of Black entering her life, was a transformative experience for the young woman. She’s remained undefeated since, and that streak has blossomed in truly violent fashion as Julia’s targeted anyone friendly to Statlander. Skye Blue felt the wrath last week on RAMPAGE, Willow Nightingale was going to step up to the fight on COLLISION but was attacked earlier in the night and taken to a local medical facility for observation, which left Kiera Hogan to step up in her stead, and she too was put down by The House’s Black Hart.
If the attack on Willow was intended to put her on the shelf then it failed, because all it did was postpone the inevitable by a matter of days. Instead of Julia having to face the music last Saturday night in Grand Rapids, she has to do so this Wednesday night in Colorado! Willow Nightingale will be back in action on DYNAMITE and looking to even the score, not just for herself, but also for the friends Julia Hart has left in the wake of her destructive path to the TBS Champion.
Can Willow humble Julia before her championship fight on Sunday night, or will she end up a repeat victim of that black mist that once served to change Hart’s entire life?
Swerve Strickland laid it all out for Hangman Page the Wednesday following ALL OUT 2023, a night where Page, a former teacher himself, won the Over The Budget Charity Battle Royal and in turn saw to it $50,000 was donated to the Chicago Public Education Fund(https://thefundchicago.org/), but come Wednesday on DYNAMITE, Swerve verbally tore down Hangman for everything he’d done, or hadn’t done, since losing the AEW World Championship.
Strickland verbally poked and prodded at the former champion, initially driving Hangman to leave the ring, but ultimately provoking him to return, only to be waylaid be a trap Swerve set, a trap in the form of “The Machine” Brian Cage. From there, Page and Cage had their third dance in AEW, a dance won by Hangman, and The Hung Bucks would in turn take the ROH World Six-Man Championship from The Mogul Embassy. Well certainly a blow to Swerve and Prince Nana’s organization, Strickland seemed unfazed by how those weeks unfolded, as if he anticipated Hangman rising to the occasion.
So with their head-to-head clash just a few days away, this Wednesday night Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland will publicly put pen-to-paper when they sign their contract in the middle of the ring. These situations are often a powder keg waiting to explode, sometimes filled with an exchange of words that lead to violence, while sometimes no words are shared and its just violence before the ink even dries. Either way, both The Young Bucks and The Mogul Embassy are banned from the area during the course of this contract signing, so whatever happens is going to take place between Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page, only Swerve and Hangman Page.
THE ROH TAG CHAMPS ADDRESS THE RIGHTEOUS…
It was just a week ago on DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023 that MJF went through hell and back and back to hell again with ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe, and though Maxwell had to dip into his devilish bag of tricks in order to get the job done, the defending AEW World Champion did exactly as promised when he choked Joe out. The guile it took, the willingness to do whatever necessary to win, it earned MJF the respect of Samoa Joe, and with that came a rather surprising handshake.
And while he may have been running a bit late after having swung by Roderick Strong’s hospital bed to check on his condition, Adam Cole was right there when it was needed the most, motivating MJF (who had just survived a Muscle Buster mind you) to fight out of Joe’s choke. Cole also provided the distraction to Joe that allowed MJF to use that chain…string…tape…whatever the object was that helped Max keep true to his promise.
The Brochachos celebrated together, but their jubilation came knowing that a ROH World Tag Title defense was awaiting them WRESTLEDREAM, it was merely a matter of waiting until Friday night’s edition of RAMPAGE to see which of four teams came out on top. Though Best Friends, The Hardys, and The Kingdom all fought valiantly, it was The Righteous of Vincent and Dutch who came out on top, and earned their very first ROH World Tag Team Championship match. Though former Six-Man Champs with Bateman, this duo has never challenged for the gold made so coveted through the work of teams like The Briscoes, The Kings of Wrestling, Steen & Generico, The Havana Pitbulls, and so many others over the last 20+ years.
We heard from Vincent and Dutch with their rather unique video embedded above, and this Wednesday night we will hear from AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole, the defending ROH World Tag Champs, about their fight coming up Sunday night in Seattle! What shape is Max in after his war with Joe? Is Cole okay after we all saw him hobbling a bit at ringside? Are these two bruised and battered men heading into the fight on pay-per-view? We shall have to wait and hear what they say on DYNAMITE!
Set for a Two Out Of Three Falls contest this Sunday night, one with the TNT Championship at stake, new champion Christian Cage and challenger Darby Allin will sit down with Jim Ross for a face-to-face…conversation…before their Seattle title bout. Jim Ross may be in quite the predicament here, sitting between these two, as Cage will no doubt do his best to raise the ire of his challenger. Christian has never let decorum be the rule of the day, never bothered to hold his tongue when the worst possible words drift into his mouth, instead actively choosing to say the most disgusting comments to his foes in hopes of garnering that psychological edge.
But after all these months dancing with Christian and Luchasaurus, not to mention everything else he’s been through in his wrestling career, its doubtful there’s anything left for Cage to say that Darby hasn’t heard before. So is there an edge for Cage to find before this title fight in Darby’s hometown? If there is, and if it’s something horrid, rest assured that the TNT Champion will find it, speak it into the world, and sit back completely proud of just how awful he can be.
DYNAMITE starts at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to check out the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
“AEW: WrestleDream” PPV Available in Select Out-Of-Home Establishments this Sunday, October 1
Sept. 26, 2023 – AEW and Joe Hand Promotions will bring AEW’s highly-anticipated “AEW: WrestleDream” pay-per-view event to select out-of-home establishments across North American this Sunday, October 1 starting at 7 p.m. ET. The inaugural “AEW: WrestleDream” event will honor New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s (NJPW) founder, Antonio Inoki, on the one-year anniversary of his passing. To locate a participating establishment, fans in North America can check the Joe Hand Promotions website HERE. The card for “AEW: WrestleDream” includes the following exciting match-ups:
AEW World Tag Team Title Match: FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis)
AEW TNT Championship (Two Out of Three Falls): Christian Cage (c) vs. Darby Allin
AEW TBS Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Julia Hart
ROH World Tag Team Championship: Better Than You Bay Bay (Adam Cole & MJF) (c) vs. The
Righteous (Vincent and Dutch)
ROH World Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship: Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Dream Match: Bryan Danielson vs Zach Sabre Jr.
Swerve Strickland vs Hangman Adam Page
Chris Jericho and The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) vs. Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara, and Will Ospreay)
The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) vs. The Gunns (Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn)
vs. Lucha Brothers (Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo) vs. Orange Cassidy and HOOK
*Card subject to change “Through our collaboration with AEW to deliver these historic events for fans to enjoy in social settings,
we are committed to keeping the wrestling community connected throughout the year. We aim to foster
a collective love for the sport, forging enduring memories that will last a lifetime,” said Joe Hand, Jr.,
President of Joe Hand Promotions. AEW consistently orchestrates thrilling gatherings that unite fans in communal atmospheres. Enthusiasts
can anticipate witnessing this event at handpicked Dave & Buster’s and Tom’s Watch Bar venues. “AEW:
WrestleDream” will also illuminate screens in numerous esteemed movie theaters across the United
States.
ABOUT AEW
Founded by CEO, GM and Head of Creative Tony Khan in 2019, AEW is offering an alternative to mainstream wrestling, with a roster of world-class talent that is injecting new spirit, freshness and energy into the industry. “AEW: Dynamite” airs every Wednesday from 8-10 p.m. ET on TBS and attracts the youngest wrestling audience on television. The fight-forward “AEW: Rampage” airs every Friday from 10-11 p.m. ET on TNT, and the new “AEW: Collision” airs every Saturday from 8-10 p.m. ET on TNT. AEW’s multi-platform content also includes “Being the Elite,” a weekly behind-the-scenes YouTube series, and “AEW Unrestricted,” a weekly podcast series. For more info, check out Twitter.com/AEW; Instagram.com/AEW; YouTube.com/AEW; Facebook.com/AEW ABOUT JOE HAND PROMOTIONS
Joe Hand Promotions brings fan communities from mainstream sports and entertainment into the top corporate and independently owned bars and restaurants, theaters, casinos, and other commercial establishments to provide the best viewing experience outside of the arena.
As the commercial content partner for some of the nation’s top live-sports media properties, Joe Hand Promotions is the leader in the out-of-home live sports and entertainment media distribution industry. For over 50 years, Joe Hand Promotions has seamlessly connected commercial establishments with live sports and entertainment, which has successfully driven traffic and increased revenues, time and time again. The Joe Hand Promotions team is more than the distributor, but also the advisor in this fast-growing industry.
DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023 was as exciting a night as it gets here in All Elite Wrestling, featuring two championships changing hands to the detriment of The Blackpool Combat Club, but also MJF overcoming all the odds to not only defeat Samoa Joe in their AEW World Championship match, but also earn a handshake from the respected (and feared) ROH World TV Champion. In addition, Saraya retained the AEW Women’s World Championship, Chris Jericho relived a piece of his own history when Sammy Guevara betrayed him to Don Callis, and now RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023 continues the excitement for two hours this Friday night!
The Ring of Honor World Six-Man titles will be on the line as The Mogul Embassy, one day removed from a successful defense on Honor Club, will put the titles on the line against The Elite of Hangman Page and The Young Bucks! Plus, the AEW World Trios Championship will be at stake between The Acclaimed and The Dark Order, Mike Santana returns to action, a big Mixed Trios match is going down, and the next contenders for the ROH World Tag Titles held by Adam Cole and MJF will be determined! Also, ahead of their three way championship match on COLLISION in Grand Rapids, Darby Allin and Sting will take on Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus in tag team competition.
The night begins at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so be sure to check out the official AEW YouTube channel prior to RAMPAGE to catch highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
ROH WORLD SIX-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, & Toa Liona) vs.
The Elite (Adam Page, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson
With Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland set to do battle at WRESTLEDREAM in less than two weeks time, The Elite and The Mogul Embassy will lock horns this Friday night on RAMPAGE, and the ROH World Six-Man Championship will be at stake! Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona come into this fight having held the titles since FINAL BATTLE 2022, some 286 days, and turned away nine challenges to their crowns, including one Thursday night on Honor Club (www.watchroh.com).
Now no disrespect intended to their other challengers thus far, but this is unquestionably the toughest challenge Prince Nana’s unit has faced to date, despite the long layoff in their competing as a trio. See it’s only been a few weeks since this particular Elite group reformed as a trio, but they’ve experienced success in their reunion, scoring victories over both The BCC and Dark Order, and their past resume reinforces they danger The Elite represents.
See long before The Mogul Embassy was a gleam in the eye of Swerve Strickland and Prince Nana, BULLET CLUB reigned supreme over Ring of Honor, and with that came a 201 day reign as ROH World Six-Man Champions for Hangman Page and The Young Bucks. Sixth on the all-time list, this trio racked up eight championship victories over The Kingdom, CHAOS, and SCU, just to name a few, before losing to SCU in a rematch at the 16TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW.
Now, with the Seattle collision between Hangman and Swerve looming, The Elite aim to pick up their second run with the titles at the expense of Strickland’s crew. Fans have already seen one ROH championship change hands on AEW programming this week, will they bear witness to another on RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023?
TAG TEAM CONTEST…
Darby Allin & Sting vs. TNT Champion Luchasaurus & Christian Cage
Christian Cage made the challenge for Saturday night on COLLISION, a Three Way TNT Championship bout between he, Darby Allin, and Luchasaurus, but in order to get there, he and his Right Hand of Destruction still have to through Friday night’s tag team battle against Darby Allin and “The Icon” Sting.
At ALL IN: LONDON, Darby and Sting shut down the tag team challenge of Christian and Swerve Strickland, in a Coffin Match no less, but that fight, in addition to everything he’s gone through since, has left Allin battered and bruised without giving himself time to heal up in the slightest. Christian may have gone through that battle as well, but he came out less the worse for wear, letting Swerve end up with much of that beating, and he’s got Luchasaurus on his side to throw in the way of the punishment as well.
Thankfully Darby has Sting to support him, genuine support not just the…human…shield who actually earned the TNT Championship that Christian Cage has been carrying around, and pick him up when the going gets rough, usually meaning when Darby is at the wrong end of the numbers game or his physically battered body needs a moment of rest.
Whoever comes out of RAMPAGE with the victory will have a distinct advantage heading into COLLISION in Grand Rapids, the kind of momentum that’s hard to fight, but when the numbers are essentially two-on-one in favor of the defending champion, the real one not Cage, a tag team victory may not amount to much. Still, every victory helps momentum, every victory helps psychologically, and every victory helps get Darby one step closer to bringing that TNT to his side in time for AEW’s WRESTLEDREAM return to his hometown!
WRESTLEDREAM OPPORTUNITY…
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta) vs. The Hardys (Jeff & Matt) vs. The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett) vs. The Righteous (Dutch & Vincent)
***WINNER EARNS ROH WORLD TAG TITLE MATCH AT WRESTLEDREAM***
WRESTLEDREAM is less than two weeks away, and with this bout here, four teams are jockeying for the right to challenge Better Than You BayBay, Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF, for the ROH World Tag Team Championship! Of the four teams in contention, The Hardys and The Kingdom can both lay claim to previous status as champions, while The Best Friends have never held a championship of any kind together, and The Righteous can only claim status as former ROH World Six-Man Champions.
All have motivation to press on to Seattle on October 1st and try to claim the throne upon which Cole and Friedman sit, but which pair will be able to see through the chaos that is this sort of affair and find their way to victory? It’s going to be a wild time in Queens with this one come Friday night; which men will come out with their eyes on the prize?
AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens, Daddy Ass, & Max Caster) vs.
The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds, Evil Uno, & John Silver)
Last time AEW was at Arthur Ashe Stadium for GRAND SLAM 2022, The Acclaimed captured the AEW World Tag Team Championship from Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee. This year they enter that same hallowed ground as the defending World Trios Champions, and the aim to walk back out the same way they come in: titles around their waist, and surrounded by a sea of scissors.
All that Max Caster, Daddy Ass, and Anthony Bowens have to do is survive The Dark Order’s onslaught, something that Bowens proved unable to do last week when he fell to John Silver (not without some trickery from The Dark Order mind you). Alex Reynolds, Silver, and Evil Uno have proven quite the competent competitors, 8-2 on the year and 11-3 overall as a trio, with a huge victory over The Elite included in that 2023 total. But after all this time in AEW, championship success has continued to allude the group ever since Mr. Brodie Lee lost the TNT Championship back to Cody Rhodes several years ago. No tag team or singles title has found a home in The Dark Order, and this will mark The Dark Order’s second attempt to claim the titles, albeit the first for this particular unit, the only three left standing to hold up the claw.
Can The Dark Order finally find their way to being called champion? Or will Arthur Ashe Stadium continue to be Acclaimed territory as it was in 2022?
vs. “Cool Hand” Angelo Parker, Anna Jay, & “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard
-Mike Santana vs. Bronson
-Skye Blue vs. The House of Black’s Julia Hart
This Friday night, on a stacked two hour edition of RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023, the AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed will defend against The Dark Order, The Elite will challenge The Mogul Embassy for the ROH World Six-Man Titles, we will see the return of Mike Santana to singles action, and a new #1 Contender for the ROH World Tag Team Titles will be set! All that and more is coming to fans this Friday night at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences! Be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel ahead of time for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE: Grand Slam was broadcast live from Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, NY!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
Title vs. Title Match!
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli (with Wheeler Yuta)
vs.
NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Eddie Kingston!
Ian Riccaboni joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Claudio rushed at Eddie and booted him in the face. They traded chops and forearms. The fight spilled outside of the ring! Eddie whipped Claudio into the steel guardrail. Eddie headbutted Claudio but Claudio fired back with a lariat.
Back in the ring Claudio gut wrenched Eddie nearly into a doctor bomb, planting him hard on the mat. Eddie German suplexed Claudio. Eddie tried for a backfist, but Claudio countered with the crown of his head. Claudio back suplexed Eddie Kingston onto the ramp!
Claudio clotheslined Eddie over the top rope and back into the ring. Claudio double stomped down onto the left arm of Claudio. Eddie moved out of the way of Claudio’s diving headbutt.
Claudio battered Eddie in the corner turnbuckles. Claudio nailed Eddie with a TKO for a near fall. Claudio blasted Eddie with boots to the face. Kingston baited Claudio in and nailed Claudio with two suplexes for a two-count. Eddie fired off a straight right to Claudio’s jaw, knocking Claudio to his knees. Claudio answered with a right hand of his own.
Claudio staggered Eddie with European uppercuts. Claudio headbutted Eddie and followed up with a short arm lariat. Claudio went for the ricola bomb, but Eddie reversed it for a near fall. Claudio hit the ricola bomb, but Eddie kicked out at the two-count!
“This crowd coming unglued in support of their own Eddie Kingston,” said Excalibur.
Eddie clocked Claudio with three back fists and followed up with a Northern Lights Bomb for a near fall on Claudio. Kingston fired off another backfist and then powerbombed Claudio for the pinfall victory!
And new Ring of Honor World Champion Eddie Kingston!
Claudio extended his hand and Eddie accepted. The Code of Honor was adhered to.
“It’s a great moment in the long history of Dynamite,” said Tony Schiavone.
Footage was shown from earlier of the Kingdom watching over an ‘injured’ Roderick Strong in a hospital bed.
Adam Cole came to visit.
“Where have you been?” asked Matt Taven.
Cole said he got there as fast as he could.
Cole: “I’m glad you’re doing okay, but I have to go. Max has a huge match against Samoa Joe.”
Roderick Strong: “Just go. Just friggin’ go.”
Renee Paquette was backstage with Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus!
Christian Cage: “Rampage: Grand Slam, we are going to walk through Sting and Darby Allin. And Darby I am ready to move on. I am bored with you. I have a little proposition for you Darby. This Saturday on Collision how about you step in the ring for a three-way match for the TNT Championship against me and Luchasaurus. If you want this shot, Darby, then Sting isn’t allowed at ringside.”
Chris Jericho vs. Sammy Guevara (with Monteasy)!
Monteasy rapped Sammy to the ring. Sammy was wearing a light up vest, an homage to Chris Jericho when he faced Shawn Michaels 21 years ago.
Sammy and Jericho exchanged chops right out of the gate. Jericho tripped and Sammy seized the moment with a corkscrew dropkick. Jericho hoisted up Sammy with an underhook and then hit a backbreaker. Sammy fired back with a corkscrew tornillo over the top rope onto Jericho on the arena floor.
Jericho countered a GTH attempt with the Codebreaker. Jericho suplexed Sammy off the apron and down onto the arena floor! Back in the ring Sammy lured in Jericho for a Spanish Fly for a near fall. Jericho retaliated with two nasty lariats.
Sammy grabbed Jericho and smashed his face with the Code Breaker for a two-count! Sammy charged at Jericho, knocking Jericho off the apron and onto the front of the announcer’s desk. Sammy jumped off the top rope with a moonsault onto Jericho. Sammy connected with a cutter.
“Both of these men have gone through a lot in a short amount of time,” said Tony Schiavone.
Jericho countered the GTH with the Walls! Sammy twisted his hips and escaped. Sammy cracked Chris with a rising knee strike. Sammy and Jericho jockeyed for position on the top turnbuckle. Sammy got the upper hand with a cutter off the top rope!
Sammy attempted a top rope lionsault, but Jericho countered by raising his knees. Jericho hit a running bulldog on Sammy. Jericho nailed Sammy with the lionsault for a near fall. Sammy caught Jericho with a GTH! Sammy went for the shooting star press, but Jericho countered with the Code Breaker and scored the win!
Jericho and Sammy hugged after the match. Sammy kicked Jericho with a low blow!
“What have you done, Sammy?” asked Excalibur.
Don Callis walked down the ramp and into the ring! Don Callis patted Sammy on the shoulder and the two men left the ring together.
Earlier in the day MJF pulled up to the arena in his exotic sports car with Adam Cole!
MJF had strong words for Samoa Joe. Adam Cole’s phone rang and when he answered, it was Roderick Strong. Cole told Strong to calm down and walked away from MJF to console Roddy.
Renee Paquette tried to interview Sammy Guevara and Don Callis backstage!
Don said all would be revealed this Friday on Rampage.
Daniel Garcia got in Sammy’s face, but Callis insisted they walk away.
AEW International Championship Match!
Jon Moxley (c.) vs. Rey Fenix!
Fenix met Moxley on the ramp and they began to brawl before the bell even rang. Fenix jumped off the ramp, over the cameraman, and onto Moxley on the arena floor!
Moxley rocked Rey Fenix with a forearm and then stomped him face first into the mat. Moxley grounded and pounded Rey Fenix. Moxley tossed Rey Fenix over the barricade. Moxley drilled Rey Fenix with a draping DDT onto the arena floor!
“Fenix is in a world of hurt right now from Mox,” said Taz.
Rey Fenix caught Mox flush in the face with a kick and then followed up with a cutter. Rey Fenix frog splashed Moxley for a near fall! Rey Fenix charged at Moxley, but Moxley wiped him out with a King Kong Lariat!
Fenix propped Moxley onto the steel barricade, draping him over it. Rey Fenix jumped off the top rope and landed on Moxley with a leg drop to the back of the head! Back in the ring Moxley regained momentum with a Gotch style piledriver. But Rey retaliated with a diving double foot stomp for a two-count.
Moxley curb stomped Rey Fenix on the stage ramp! Moxley spiked Rey Fenix with a piledriver for a two-count. Rey Fenix hit Moxley with a senton atomico and then a piledriver. Fenix hit a second piledriver and pinned Moxley!
And new AEW International Champion Rey Fenix!
AEW Women’s World Championship Match!
Saraya (c.) (with Ruby Soho) vs. Toni Storm!
Saraya slapped Toni in the face. Toni Storm smiled and chopped at Saraya. After a distraction from Ruby, Saraya capitalized with a thrust kick to Toni.
Toni swept out the leg of Saraya. As the ref was distracted, Toni Storm cracked Saraya in the head with a high heel shoe for a near fall!
Toni Storm pulled off the bottom turnbuckle pad. Toni had a can of spray paint, but Ruby grabbed it out of Toni’s hands and tossed it to Saraya. Saraya sprayed it in Toni’s eyes and went for the pin after a DDT, but Toni kicked out. Saraya grabbed Toni to ram her head into the exposed turnbuckle, but Saraya didn’t have the heart to do it.
Toni Storm grabbed Saraya, kissed her on the mouth, and then spiked her with the Storm Zero for a two-count! Saraya dodged the Hip Attack and nailed Toni with the Knight Cap, grabbing the pinfall victory!
Main Event Time!
AEW World Championship Match!
MJF (c.) vs. ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe!
The fans chanted “He’s our scumbag! He’s our scumbag!”
MJF thumbed Samoa Joe in the eye. MJF jumped on the back of Samoa Joe, but Joe shrugged him to the mat. Tony Schiavone pointed out that Adam Cole was not ringside for Adam Cole’s match, despite Adam Cole promising MJF he’d be there for him tonight.
Samoa Joe began to work over MJF’s neck. MJF thumbed Samoa Joe in the eyes again. Joe ran MJF over with a boot to the head. Samoa Joe attempted the muscle buster, but MJF escaped. MJF staggered Samoa Joe with three short arm lariats. MJF went for a fourth, but Samoa Joe swung for the fences and nearly decapitated MJF with a lariat.
Samoa Joe headbutted MJF but MJF fired up and raked Samoa Joe’s back! MJF hammered Samoa Joe with punches to the head. MJF bit down on Samoa Joe’s forehead. MJF connected with the kangaroo kick!
MJF ran for a tope, but Samoa Joe countered with a kick. Samoa Joe spiked MJF with a Death Valley Driver on the apron!
“That’ll change your career, man,” said Taz.
Samoa Joe pulled a table out from beneath the ring. Samoa Joe pulled MJF out of the ring and planted him through the table!
“Samoa Joe can feel the AEW World Championship in his grasp,” said Excalibur.
Samoa Joe pulled the padding off the floor, exposing the concrete beneath it. Samoa Joe was looking for a piledriver, but MJF bit him. MJF attempted a piledriver, but he had to let go because his injured neck began to spasm. Samoa Joe stuck MJF with a piledriver on the exposed concrete!
Samoa Joe told MJF to give up, but MJF spat at Samoa Joe. MJF pulled out a Liger Bomb out of nowhere on Samoa Joe for a near fall!
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Samoa Joe and MJF traded strikes in the center of the ring. Samoa Joe applied a sleeper. MJF pulled the ref in close and while the ref was distracted, MJF kicked back with a low blow to Samoa Joe. MJF pulled out the Dynamite Diamond Ring from his trunks.
MJF was about to clock Samoa Joe with the Dynamite Diamond Ring, but Samoa Joe pulled the ref in front of him, and the ref spotted the illegal object! As ref Paul Turner threw the diamond ring to the outside, Samoa Joe kicked MJF with a low blow!
Samoa Joe nailed MJF with the muscle buster but somehow MJF kicked out at the two-count! Samoa Joe applied a sleeper. Adam Cole sprinted down to the ring and tried to motivate MJF! MJF got to his feet! MJF applied the sleeper on Samoa Joe, but Joe shoved MJF into the corner. Adam Cole jumped onto the ring apron. Samoa Joe tried to take a swing at Adam Cole. As Samoa Joe and the ref had their backs turned, MJF used his wrist tape around Samoa Joe’s neck! MJF choked out Samoa Joe and the ref stopped the match, with MJF retaining! MJF dropped the evidence and Adam Cole quickly picked it up and hid it in his pocket.
Samoa Joe got to his feet, and he shoved Adam Cole. MJF jumped in between them, acting as a human shield. Samoa Joe offered his hand to MJF. Samoa Joe shook MJF’s hand, giving the devil his due.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from 1stBank Center in Broomfield, CO!
This Friday tune in to a stacked two-hour episode of AEW RAMPAGE: Grand Slam beginning at 10pm ET on TNT featuring:
