This Saturday night, AEW returns to Cleveland, OH for a night of COLLISION at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse! With two Grand Slam World Championship Eliminator Tournament Semi-Finals on tap, as well as a TBS Open Challenge, an International Champion defense pitting Jon Moxley against Action Andretti, BC GOLD, and more, this is quite the loaded edition of Saturday night’s premier wrestling program!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!

Your broadcast team was Excalibur, “The Ocho” Chris Jericho, and Tony Schiavone!

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

Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarter-Final Match!

Jay Lethal vs. Penta El Zero Miedo!

Lethal and Penta began shoving one another. Penta escaped a wristlock. Penta El Zero Miedo connected with a thrust kick. They traded chops. Penta hit a double foot stomp on Jay Lethal.

Jeff Jarrett swiped at Penta’s foot from the outside, but Penta outsmarted him. Penta jumped over the top rope, but Satnam Singh caught him and smashed him into the ring post as the ref was distracted by Jeff Jarrett. Karen Jarrett tied the back of Penta’s mask onto the ropes. The ref saw it and ejected Lethal’s entire squad from ringside. Lethal stomped on Penta while the ref tried untying him.

Penta El Zero Miedo dropped Lethal with two sling blades. Penta crushed Lethal with a tope con hiro! Penta squashed Lethal with another foot stomp for a near fall. Lethal fired back with a Lethal Combination for a two-count.

Jay Lethal pulled Penta’s mask off! Penta immediately covered his face. Lethal tried to grab the guitar that Jeff Jarrett left behind, but Alex Abrahantes pulled it away from Lethal. Penta rocked Lethal with a backstabber and then spiked Lethal with the Fear Factor for the pin fall victory!

Sammy Guevara came out with a microphone with words for Chris Jericho!

Sammy: “You’re pissing me off and I want to punch you in the face.”

Jericho: “It’s funny you say that. I want to punch you in the face, too.”

Sammy: “I want to punch you right now.”

Jericho: “Let’s be honest here. We’re obviously getting on each other’s nerves and that’s okay because we’re brothers. We’re on our way to becoming AEW World Tag Team Champions but we still can’t seem to get over this little bit of animosity. We need to get this out of our system. Do you agree?”

Sammy: “I agree.”

Jericho: “So why don’t we have a match against each other. That way we can get all this crap out of our system.”

Sammy: “Now the question is where do you want to do that?”

Jericho: “How about one of the biggest shows in AEW history? New York City. Grand Slam.”

Sammy: “Hell yeah, let’s do it.”

Trios Match!

Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., Hikaru Shida, & Skye Blue

vs.

Anna Jay, Taya Valkyrie, & The Bunny (with Penelope Ford)!

Skye rolled up Bunny for a near fall early on. Taya tagged in and blasted Skye with a forearm and then a chop. Sky hit Taya with a thrust kick and tagged in Shida.

Shida cleaned house and peppered Anna Jay with elbow strikes. Bunny tagged in but Skye Blue ran in to make the save. Taya speared Skye. Britt grabbed a tag and dropped the Bunny with a thrust kick. Baker suplexed Anna Jay. Shida and Britt inadvertently collided. Baker applied the Lock Jaw and forced the Bunny to tap out!

Baker tried to explain herself to Shida after the match, but Shida walked off.

The Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson

vs.

Angelo Parker & Matt Menard (with Jake Hager)!

Nick and Matt used tandem offense on Parker and then on Menard, coming out of the gates hot. Matt hit a neck breaker on Parker and then Nick took down Daddy Magic.

Parker thumbed Matt Jackson in the eyes. Matt rocked Parker with a series of Northern Lights suplexes.

“Great strength,” said Tony Schiavone.

Matt Menard tagged in and suplexed Matt Jackson. The fans were taunting Jake Hager, chanting “Where’s your hat? Where’s your hat?”

Parker and Menard double teamed Matt Jackson. Parker got a near fall on Matt Jackson after a snap suplex. Nick Jackson tagged in and wiped out both opponents with a double crossbody press. The Bucks dished out a superkick party! They cracked Matt with the BTE Trigger and Nick grabbed the pin!

“A return to form for the Young Bucks, potentially building up some momentum in the tag team division,” said Excalibur.

Main Event Time!

Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarter-Final Match!

ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy!

Hardy hit Samoa Joe with a basement dropkick. He followed up with a diving lariat to take Joe down. Samoa Joe gouged Jeff’s eyes and then connected with jabs.

Jeff Hardy stunned Samoa Joe with a jawbreaker. Jeff attempted a running cross body, but Samoa Joe side stepped it. Samoa Joe sent Jeff Hardy crashing to the floor with a sliding dropkick.

Samoa Joe softened up Jeff Hardy in the corner with body shots. Jeff jumped off the top rope with Whisper in the Wind, throwing his entire body at Samoa Joe.

“A desperation move but it worked,” said Tony Schiavone.

Jeff Hardy hit a Manhattan Drop on Samoa Joe. Jeff dropped an elbow for a near fall on Samoa Joe. Jeff Hardy went for the Twist of Fate, but Samoa Joe had it anticipated. Samoa Joe locked Jeff Hardy in the submission Clutch and put Jeff to sleep!

“Samoa Joe is one step closer to MJF,” said Excalibur.

Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, OH!

Don’t miss AEW Collision live on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c from the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, OH featuring:

-We’ll hear from AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya & Ruby Soho!

Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Semifinal Match: Roderick Strong vs. Darby Allin!

-We’ll hear from AEW World Trios Champions the Acclaimed & Daddy Ass!

-Bullet Club Gold will be in action!

-We’ll hear from “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson!

-AEW International Championship Open Challenge Match: Jon Moxley (c.) vs. Action Andretti!

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

https://www.youtube.com/embed/7EpjV-rKRH0?si=QmqwhXe-bkAmIS-3&start=209

This past Wednesday on DYNAMITE the stage for GRAND SLAM 2023 began to take shape as the Grand Slam World Championship Eliminator Tournament began! The winner of said tournament will advance to Arthur Ashe on September 20th to challenge MJF for the AEW World Championship, and on Wednesday night both Darby Allin and Roderick Strong took one step closer to the prize. In addition, we learned there will be a Women’s Four Way Eliminator Match to determine Saraya’s challengers that night involving former champions Toni Storm, Dr. Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, and Nyla Rose.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y7oidTdrSBE?si=3Xnitd11X8iVw11P&start=209

This Friday night on RAMPAGE we will find out the other two men advancing to the Semi-Finals in the tournament as Samoa Joe takes on a familiar foe in Jeff Hardy, and Jay Lethal meets Penta El Zero Miedo! Plus, The Young Bucks will be in tag team action after two disappointing nights between ALL IN: LONDON and ALL OUT 2023, and a Women’s Trios battle goes down involving six of the best AEW has to offer! The matches begins at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so visit the official AEW YouTube channel ahead of time for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!

GRAND SLAM WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…

ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy

https://www.youtube.com/embed/VLCw_QJD6sw?si=qhgtoPUN8rrANvQV&start=167

From Universal Studios in Orlando to Abu Dhabi and Allentown, PA to Manchester, UK, Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy have locked horns some 70+ times over the course of the last 18 years, even in Indianapolis, albeit a different venue that where RAMPAGE emanates from this Friday night. Thirty-two of those bouts have been one-on-one fights, and the balance of the victories tips heavily in favor of Hardy, though their last singles encounter that took place in March 2019 did swing Joe’s way.

This Friday night, as part of the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament, this storied rivalry will add a new chapter to its story, the first said chapter taking place in All Elite Wrestling, and at stake is the AEW World Championship bout awaiting the winner of the whole field. We’ve already seen Roderick Strong and Darby Allin advance to the Semi-Finals taking place this Saturday on COLLISION in Cleveland, now it’s a question of who will be the other two men to advance. One of those bouts will take place between Joe and Hardy, and the question is whether or not the ROH World Television Champion can buck his history with Jeff and actually defeat the man, or if Jeff Hardy will continue to dominate this rivalry in yet another promotion.

GRAND SLAM WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…

Jay Lethal vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

The other Quarter-Final match in this tournament runs quite contrary to that of Joe/Hardy; rather than a continuation of a rivalry that has crossed promotions for more than a decade, it is instead a first time singles match! While Jay Lethal and Penta El Zero Miedo have met previously in Battle Royales here in AEW, as well as in a non-AEW Three Way that included Matt Taven and took place one day shy of a year ago, they’ve never met in singles competition prior to this Friday night!

It’s a huge opportunity for both individuals, especially for Lethal given that he’s never challenged for the AEW World Championship, but to the victor of this comes the right to fight either Jay Lethal or Samoa Joe. Given the history between Joe and Lethal, one can imagine Lethal rooting for Hardy to win that bout, but he best stay focused on his own fight rather than worry about the outcome of the other.

Which of these warriors will move one step closer to that Grand Slam spotlight?

TRIOS MATCH…

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D, Hikaru Shida, & Skye Blue

vs.

Anna Jay, Taya Valkyrie, & The Bunny

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZQG1phgDsU4?si=EXxYO3SLverq-_eY&start=209

Though they’ve managed to persevere through it, Dr. Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida have a history that primarily has them on opposite sides of a fight. Yet ever since the emergence of The Outcasts as a threat to the rest of the Women’s Division, these two AEW stalwarts have found common ground, even if if has occasionally resulted in some crucial miscommunications. Still, they persevere, and this Friday night on RAMPAGE they will do so once again, welcoming Skye Blue to the party for the first time, to form a trio for battle against another first-time unit of Anna Jay, Taya Valkyrie, and The Bunny!

With Britt and Shida both set for the Four Way Eliminator on Wednesday night’s DYNAMITE, and plenty of past issues swirling about between the women involved here, this one has the potential to be a powder keg between two brand-new trios!

TAG TEAM ACTION…

The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. Angelo Parker & Matt Menard

The Young Bucks have had a rather frustrating couple weeks: they lost to FTR at ALL IN: LONDON in front of the biggest crowd in AEW’s history, not only giving Cash and Dax the advantage in their trilogy of bouts, but failing to capture the AEW World Tag Team Championship for a third time. Then, a week later at ALL OUT 2023, they and FTR, working as a quartet, fell to BULLET CLUB GOLD; not the best week in Young Buck history, but a new one has dawned, meaning a new chance to make up for those losses and get back on track.

That begins with a fight against former J.A.S. members Angelo Parker and Matt Menard, two men the brothers Jackson haven’t clashed with in over ten years, and who are also looking to get their ship upright after the upheaval of the Jericho Appreciation Society. So will it be the former 2-Time AEW World Tag Champs who get back on track, or Parker and Menard who score a RAMPAGE victory? Tune in Friday night to see which team rises up!

On RAMPAGE this Friday night, we will see who else advances to the Semi-Finals in the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator tournament when Samoa Joe fights Jeff Hardy, and Jay Lethal battles Penta El Zero Miedo! Plus, The Young Bucks take on Matt Menard and Angelo Parker, while Dr. Britt Baker, Shida, and Skye Blue take on Taya Valkyrie, Anna Jay, and The Bunny in Trios action! The night begins at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so visit the official AEW YouTube channel ahead of time for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!

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!

“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy came out to kick off the show!

“One of the greatest champions of all time in All Elite Wrestling, but after All Out, a former champion,” said Excalibur.

The fans chanted “Thank you Orange! Thank you Orange!”

Orange Cassidy: “Hey. Thank you. So, they told me to stay home. But I was like, nah, I’m not gonna do that. Championship or no championship, I will be here, every single week. Because I am ‘Freshly Squeezed’ Orange Cassidy, and I do not have a catchphrase.”

As Orange Cassidy was leaving the ring, out came the new AEW International Champion…Jon Moxley, and ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli! Orange stood on the ramp and watched as Moxley entered the ring.

AEW International Championship Open Challenge Match!

Jon Moxley (c.) vs. AR Fox (with Darby Allin)!

Fox dodged a lariat from Moxley, but Mox was there to chop away at Fox in the corner. Fox connected with a springboard dropkick. Fox flew over the top rope and wiped out Moxley on the floor!

Fox DDT’ed Moxley for a near fall. Moxley whipped AR Fox into the steel barricade. Fox rallied back with a thrust kick to the champ. Fox blasted Moxley with a cutter for a near fall.

Darby Allin and Nick Wayne were backstage watching the match on a monitor.

AR Fox vaulted off the ring post with a moonsault onto Moxley. Fox hit Mox with a 450 splash for a two-count. Moxley captured Fox and nailed him with hammer and anvil elbows. Moxley followed up with the King Kong Lariat and then the Death Rider to score the pin on AR Fox.

Darby Allin checked on AR Fox after the match. Nick Wayne was watching from the back when he was approached by Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus.

Christian Cage told Nick Wayne that if he wanted a true mentor, Nick should be looking at him. “And say hi to your mom for me,” said Christian Cage.

TBS Championship Open Challenge Match!

Kris Statlander (c.) vs. Emi Sakura!

Sakura tried to surprise the champion with a quick roll-up. She followed up with a Tiger Driver on Statlander. Emi drove Statlander to the arena floor with a running crossbody press. Outside the ring, Emi nailed Kris with a crossbody press against the steel ring steps!

Back in the ring Emi stunned the champ with a lariat. Both women collided in the center of the ring with dueling lariats.

“Both women same idea and both women go down,” said Excalibur.

Statlander was brought back down with a swinging neck breaker and then a nasty vertical back breaker from Emi Sakura. Statlander connected with a discus lariat. Statlander smashed Emi with Wednesday Night Fever and pinned Emi!

Roderick Strong was backstage with The Kingdom—Matt Taven and Mike Bennett.

Strong: “Wrestling gave me an opportunity to be something I was not. No one was judging me for what my parents were not doing. Professional wrestling is not just a business to me. It is my everything. But Adam Cole already knew that. I grew up alone and I’m going to win this Grand Slam Tournament alone!”

Le Sex Gods—Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara

vs.

Aussie Open—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis!

Don Callis joined the broadcast booth for this match.

Davis and Jericho started things with a collar and elbow tie up. Jericho chopped at Davis, but Davis returned fire. Sammy tagged in and Jericho and Sammy took Davis down with a double shoulder tackle.

Mark Davis did a cartwheel and then hit a double clothesline on Jericho and Sammy. Kyle Fletcher tagged in, and body slammed Sammy. Sammy hit Kyle with a corkscrew dropkick. Jericho tagged in and he and Sammy nailed Kyle with a delayed vertical suplex.

Davis and Fletcher smashed Jericho with stereo forearm smashes. Sammy came in with a cutter on Davis. Jericho fired back with a Code Breaker on Fletcher. Jericho connected with a dropkick off the turnbuckles. Sammy rocketed over the top with a tornillo onto Aussie Open on the arena floor!

Jericho went over the top rope but inadvertently landed on Sammy. Aussie Open made the dash around the ring with Jericho and Sammy and bashed them with the Collider. Aussie Open nailed Jericho with the Aussie Arrow with Davis grabbing a near fall on Jericho.

Jericho swept out the legs of Fletcher and tried for the Walls, but Fletcher escaped. Fletcher spiked Jericho with a brainbuster for a near fall.

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

Jericho charged at Fletcher, but Fletcher ducked, and Jericho inadvertently hit Sammy. Jericho cracked Fletcher with the Judas Effect and pinned him!

After the match, Sammy shoved Jericho. Jericho shoved back. AEW security had to separate the two men. Sammy walked out on Jericho.

“Sammy wants nothing to do with Jericho at this point in time,” said Excalibur.

“I’m sure they can patch it up,” replied Taz.

“The cracks in their relationship widening,” added Excalibur.

Renee Paquette interviewed Don Callis and Takeshita backstage!

Don Callis: “We made history and beat Kenny Omega twice in seven days. We’re going to have a celebration next week as well as the unveiling of our next target!”

Out Next: One-half of the ROH World Tag Team Champions and AEW World Champion MJF!

MJF: “I got a question, who’s your daddy? As you know, this past Sunday, Adam Cole and I successfully defended our ROH World Tag Team Championships. And that mark Tony Khan says I have to wrestle again on September 20th. That’s Grand Slam. That’s the Devil’s Den. MJF is coming back to New York, New York. And whoever wins that Grand Slam Tournament is going to find out the hard way that no one is on the level of the devil.

“But there is one person that needs to be taught a lesson, and that…”

ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe came down to the ring!

Samoa Joe: “Now pardon the interruption champ, but I was in the back, and I heard a little piss and vinegar in your voice, and I wanted to get a front row for what was about to be said. What seems to be the problem, kid?”

MJF: “Kid? Joe, this must be really embarrassing for you. You must have confused my entrance for an ice cream truck.”

Samoa Joe: “That’s good. But to be quite honest, the last time I had anything to do with an ice cream truck, I was busy being the biggest star of the company’s other network. No, Max, I am here out of genuine concern. So, what’s the problem, kid?”

MJF: “That’s kid twice. You called me kid twice. You know what’s funny about me, Joseph? I’m pretty creative myself. Hey everybody look, it’s Pillsbury Joeboy. No, wait, that’s Samoa Dough.”

Samoa Joe: “Oh, jokes and venom. Now Max it seems that you’re having a hard time comprehending what is going on. So, I’m going to ask you again, Max, what is your problem, kid?”

MJF: “You call me kid one more time I’m going to knock your teeth down your throat! Time out, time out. That’s how you want me to react. Yeah, because you want to skip the line. I’m sorry, there’s a whole tournament if you want to wrestle the champion.

“To coin a phrase from my bro, who’s ready for story time with MJF? Back when I was 19 years old, I had a tryout with the WWE. I knocked it out of the park because I’m that damned good. I was pulled aside by William Regal, and we know the story. He said he would have signed me, but I was too young. He blew me off.

“And we all know how that story ended. I knocked his British ass packing and I sent him back to NXT where he belongs. And funny enough Joe, if you play your cards right, you’re next. Later on, that evening I was informed I would get to be security to walk a wrestling legend down the aisle. I was going to meet the great Samoa Joe.

“But what did you do, Joe? You decided to take a 19-year old kid who was just trying to do his job and you shoved me into a brick wall and you laughed. And let’s be honest Joe. I know why you did that. I know how scumbags think because I’m their scumbag.”

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

MJF: “You did it because I was a kid, and you could get away with it. I’m not a kid anymore. I’m full grown and I am the AEW World Champion. I am the best wrestler on God’s green earth, and I headlined the most historic pay-per-view of all time, and I am MJF! So, Joey, if I were you, I’d stay out of my way or else I am going to kill you. And do you want to know why Joe? Because my name is MJF, and I am better than you and you know it!”

Samoa Joe: “That was a point beautifully made except there is one problem with it. I didn’t think of you as a kid when I pushed you. You know what I thought about you? I didn’t think you were a kid, Max, I thought you were a little bitch.”

MJF slapped Samoa Joe!

Samoa Joe: “Now this is you trying to provoke me. I’m not going to take your bait. I’m going to go through that tournament and beat everyone in it and then I’m going to come for you. Until then, champ, have a nice day.”

As MJF was walking through the ropes, Samoa Joe kicked the ropes and then stomped on MJF. Samoa Joe held up the AEW World Title until MJF kicked Samoa Joe between the legs! MJF charged at Samoa Joe, but Samoa Joe spiked him! Samoa Joe was looking to hit the Muscle Buster, but Adam Cole sprinted to the ring to even up the odds! Samoa Joe left the ring laughing.

Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarter-Final Match!

Trent Beretta (with Chuck Taylor) vs. Roderick Strong (with The Kingdom)!

Strong grappled Trent to the ground. Strong applied a front face lock. Strong hit a shoulder tackle but Beretta came back with a knee strike. Roderick Strong cracked Trent with a back breaker.

Trent launched off the top roe with a DDT on Strong, targeting the neck. Strong shoved Trent into the ring post. Strong planted Trent on the edge of the ring!

Roderick rocked Trent with the Sick Kick right on target! Trent used a hurracanrana off the top rope for a near fall on Roddy. Trent followed up with a half and half suplex. Trent spiked Strong with a piledriver, but Roddy got his boot on the rope to stop the ref’s count.

Strong cracked Trent with a knee strike and then finished him off with the End of Heartache, scoring the pin on Trent!

Renee Paquette was backstage to interview Toni Storm, and she asked Toni about the can of spray paint!

Toni: “It was such a blur. We must look forward. Renee, you are so nosey. You just poke. Next week I’ll be doing a sneak peek into my life.”

Tony Schiavone interviewed “Hangman” Adam Page in the ring!

Page: “I got a call Saturday night that there’d be a battle royal with the winner getting to donate $50,000 to the charity of their choice. So, I booked a flight, and I won the match and I got to donate money to teachers.

“I wanted to look forward. We’ve got a few months left in 2023 and I wanted to talk about what I wanted to do with the rest of—”

Prince Nana and Swerve Strickland interrupted, walking down to the ring!

Prince Nana: “Tony, you’ve done enough so far. Goodnight, my friend. Ladies and gentlemen, show some respect for Swerve Strickland.”

Swerve: “Being in a coffin for almost two weeks you get some clarity. You get some clarity. The first person that I thought of as soon as I got out was you, Hangman. Charity? Really? What are you some kind of mascot for AEW? You’re doing charity for Chicago Elementary System for children that are just going to flunk out anyway. And you weren’t on the main card at All Out competing for any championships.

“When All Elite started up, you were the cornerstone of this company. You were handpicked to be the franchise player and look what you’ve done. Former AEW World Tag Team Champion to former AEW World Champion. And now I’m looking at you on preshows. Or you lost your spot. Or you don’t even want it anymore.

“You got a whole new contract extension, so you’ve been eating good. Yeah, it’s been showing. You don’t have singles matches or promos on Dynamite anymore. You don’t even have title matches anymore. You took a backseat to the Elite.

“You’ve been handed a silver platter. If I would have gotten the opportunities that you got a year ago, I’d be the first AEW World Champion by now. So, I’ll leave you with this. Option A., ride off into the sunset. Move out of the way and let me take that slot that you don’t want. Or option B., you man up, you cowboy up to get that confidence, show these people what cowboy s—t is all about!

“Or we could this and you could fight me for that spot but forewarning, I have no regard for anybody. You choose to do this with me, I will walk you like a dog. Either way, I’m coming for that spot that you act like you don’t even want.”

Page: “If you want a match with me you go to the back and you get it. But I’m done with this s—t right now.”

Swerve: “It’s a shame that your wife and kid got to see their husband and father walk away from more responsibilities.”

Page returned to the ring and got in Swerve’s face! “The Machine” Brian Cage ambushed Page and nailed him with the Drill Claw!

“Like it or not, a phenomenal set up,” said Taz.

Main Event Time!

Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Quarter-Final Match!

Darby Allin vs. Nick Wayne!

Darby and Nick shook hands before the match began.

Darby and Nick traded pin fall attempts. Darby grabbed a side headlock. Darby went for a tope suicida, but Nick dodged it, sending Darby crashing into the steel guardrail!

Nick Wayne superplexed Darby and followed up with a fisherman’s buster for a near fall. Nick tried for a frog splash, but Darby raised his knees! Darby blasted Nick with a shotgun dropkick. Darby locked on a figure four leg lock. Nick Wayne reversed it, but Darby grabbed the ropes.

Nick and Darby collided with double crossbodies, knocking one another to the mat.

“Sternum to sternum, that’s tough full speed,” said Taz.

Darby and Nick traded strikes in the center of the ring. Darby asked for a microphone.

Darby: “You hit like an 18 year old. Hit me like you really want to win this!”

Darby put his hands behind his back and invited Nick to hit him. Nick nailed Darby with a thrust kick!

Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus walked onto the ramp and joined the broadcast booth.

Nick flipped over the top rope and landed on Darby. Nick whipped Darby into the steel guardrail. Nick hit a frog splash off the ring post and down onto Darby on the arena floor! Nick followed up with the Wayne’s World for a near fall.

Nick Wayne attempted a Wayne’s World off the top rope, but Darby held on, knocking Nick to the mat. Darby was contemplating the Coffin Drop but had second thoughts. Nick applied the Last Supper for a near fall on Darby.

Darby stunned Nick with the Code Red for a two-count. Darby grabbed Nick’s arms and stomped the back of Nick’s head, knocking out Nick! Darby advances in the tournament!

Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, OH!

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

Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-KZrxj34GfE?si=9yqv2gAngJvsIvYp

ALL OUT 2023 is in the books, and GRAND SLAM 2023 is right around the corner, and in-between All Elite Wrestling has some exciting stops along the way! This Wednesday night, we return to Indianapolis, IN and the Farmer’s Coliseum!

After seeing the Jericho Appreciation Society crumble around him, and dropping the match at ALL IN: LONDON to Will Ospreay, Chris Jericho has chosen to reunite with Sammy Guevara and bring Le Sex Gods into the tag team championship hunt! Plus, Hangman Page has some thoughts to share after winning the Over Budget Charity Battle Royale on the ALL OUT 2023: ZERO HOUR, AEW World Champion/ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF has something to say to ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe after their interaction on Sunday night, and the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament begins!

DYNAMITE kicks off at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel and catch up on highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as ALL IN: LONDON, ALL OUT 2023, plus the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!

GRAND SLAM WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…

Trent Beretta vs. Roderick Strong

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-rJKSLApHa8?si=TdkSdWeUW-WCgB2j

Over the next several weeks, eight men will compete in the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament to determine MJF’s challenger for DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2023 on September 20th; we learned last week that Roderick Strong, despite his still healing neck, would be cleared to participate in this tournament, and he has promised to do what Adam Cole could not, that being defeat MJF to claim the championship. Before that can happen though, Strong has to actually win the tournament, and that means three opponents all trying to stop Roddy from achieving his goals as they strive to achieve their own.

The first of those opponents, and possibly the last of them, is one with whom Roderick Strong is quite familiar, though it’s been eight years since their last collision, and his name is Trent Beretta! First meeting in singles competition back in 2013 in the hallowed halls of Reseda, Strong and Beretta have fought in one-on-one bouts on three occasions and Roderick holds the advantage 2-1. Now those three bouts are not their only meetings over the last ten years, in fact when looked at on the whole, in their five bouts as opponent, it’s Beretta who holds the advantage 3-2.

Now they actually did team up one time in February 2014 and, sheer coincidence, one of the two men they faced happened to be the future “Hangman” Adam Page. Sadly the Roddy/Trent team was not a successful one, lasting just that one match, and they would resume a life as foes, albeit a brief one. Well this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, Roderick and Trent will reignite that old rivalry, if only for a night, as each pursues their goal of facing Maxwell Jacob Friedman at Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 20th! For Trent this is just about proving to himself, and the world, he is a premiere fighter both as a singles and a tag with Chuck Taylor, but for Roddy this is far more personal. The end of this road means fighting a man who Roderick believes destroyed his friendship with Adam Cole, who Roddy sees as usurping his position as Adam’s best friend, and the opportunity to get him in the ring is too good to pass up. There may be a long road to travel to get there, but the benefits are worth the work in the mind of Strong who would likely do anything to lay his chops into the flesh of Maxwell Jacob Friedman.

So can Roderick, fighting with this injured neck, rise to the occasion and continue on the path to GRAND SLAM 2023? Or will Trent Beretta stifle Strong at the starting line, leaving “Mr. ROH” further frustrated, and further away from his aspiration of showing up Adam Cole? And, the question should be asked, where does The Kingdom of Mike Bennett and Matt Taven fit into this scenario?

GRAND SLAM WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL…

Darby Allin vs. Nick Wayne

https://www.youtube.com/embed/nvFMQMMVsCs?si=MpedKMZvwf1AX4Xb

It’s been a rough couple weeks for Darby Allin; he was battered in London during the tag team Coffin Match, he and Sting walking out the victors, but the former 2-Time TNT Champion saying as a result he is in more pain than he’s ever experienced in his life. Given everything we’ve seen Allin put himself through since joining AEW, that is saying a considerable amount, and that’s just from what happened at ALL IN: LONDON. Factor in this past Sunday, the fact that Darby is still a 2-Time TNT Champion rather than the reigning 3-Time, and all the hurt put on him by Luchasaurus, and then maybe one can garner an idea about where Darby Allin is at coming into this match.

And that’s just the physical side of things; mentally, he’s likely a bit out of sorts as well, especially given the tension between Nick Wayne and himself stemming from Darby’s willingness to forgive AR Fox’s transgressions. It’s hard to blame young Mister Wayne, after all Fox did participate in The Mogul Embassy’s assault on his late father’s training facility and on Nick himself. Fox did leave Nick laying in his own blood, and who knows if Fox would’ve ever been apologetic for his actions if Swerve Strickland and The Mogul Embassy hadn’t evicted him from their unit.

Suffice it to say when Darby accepted Fox’s apology, it did not sit well with Nick Wayne, but despite that fact, Nick was still there when Darby needed him both in England and in Chicago this past Sunday night, though it almost cost Wayne dearly at Christian Cage’s hands. So with both men, particularly Darby, still recovering from all this trauma, they will engage in the first one-on-one bout of their career! The winner of this will advance one step closer towards challenging MJF for the AEW World Championship at GRAND SLAM 2023 on September 20th, so there is a great deal at stake in this battle of mentor and protege.

Will the wounds of the last several weeks catch up with Darby and leave him vulnerable to young Mr. Wayne, or will Darby’s experience with fighting battered allow him to survive this bout and fight another day?

TAG TEAM BOUT…

Le Sex Gods (Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/LjFhaj-3730?si=NEr_AQD45-G4N7Qj

From the beginning of DYNAMITE, Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho have been part of each other’s lives, initially as The Inner Circle and later with The Jericho Appreciation Society, they have been bonded through thick and thin. Through Stadium Stampedes and Blood & Guts cages, they’ve been there for one another at nearly every turn since Jericho first brought “The Spanish God” under his tutelage.

Yes there has been separation, Guevara was the first man to walk away from The Inner Circle ahead of The J.A.S. being formed and they had their issues over the ROH World Championship, but when it’s come down to brass tacks, Sammy has always stuck by Jericho. As the entire J.A.S. walked away from “The Ocho” in the midst of his indecision regarding Don Callis, it was only Guevara who continued to show support for Jericho, and it continues to be Sammy by his side when all others have abandoned the original AEW World Champion.

So with this reunited duo setting their sights on the tag team division, it is very clear former ROH World Tag Team Champions Aussie Open have their issues with Le Sex Gods. Part of that may be due to Jericho’s issues with their United Empire cohort Will Ospreay, part of that may just be a warning of what’s in store for Jericho and Guevara if they choose to seriously compete in the tag team ranks. With a 6-5 record in those ranks since AEW’s inception, Le Sex Gods are just 1-1 in 2023 with their last tag bout being a loss to Darby Allin & Sting on June 28th. In other words, they’ve got a long way to go to be in contention for FTR’s AEW World Tag Team Championship titles, but if that’s the goal, may as well start with one of the baddest teams in All Elite Wrestling!

MJF IS NOT HAPPY…

Sunday night in Chicago was a great night if you entered the United Center as a champion; in four of the five championship bouts, it was the defending champion who retained, and that trend started with the ROH World Tag Team Champions Adam Cole & MJF, collectively dubbed Better Than You Bay Bay. Their fight against The Dark Order took its toll on both men, particularly MJF when Alex Reynolds dug up some of the old Dark Order nastiness and drove a steel chair into Max’s neck. Now that neck had been banged up in London during the course of his World Title defense against his own partner, and Alex took advantage of the referee’s distraction to deliver the weapon-assisted blow.

The situation forced Adam Cole to fly solo for quite some time, but eventually the AEW World Champion dragged himself back into the fray, and the defending ROH World Tag Champs found a way to defeat The Dark Order. MJF’s choice to return to the fight only served to exacerbate his injured neck, leading to AEW’s medical staff attending to the man for quite some time after the match, long enough that the next match had to send its competitors to the ring. Unfortunately for MJF, the first man to the ring was ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe, and in a moment hearkening back to Brooklyn circa 2016, Joe shoved Maxwell out of his way, and continued to the ring with a satisfied smile on his face.

Max wasn’t having it, but given his debilitated condition, there was little his body was going to let him do, and thus he ended up with Joe’s arms around his throat. Not the greatest moment for the AEW World Champion, but he wasn’t about to take Samoa Joe’s disrespect lightly regardless of the condition he was in after retaining the ROH World Tag Titles.

So this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, the AEW World Champion will be in the arena live and apparently with the intent to address what happened with Samoa Joe. As Joe’s inches towards Jay Lethal’s record as the longest-reigning ROH World TV Champ of all-time, does it seem the best idea for an injured MJF to confront the man?

HANGMAN FOR CHARITY…

During the ZERO HOUR on Sunday night, former AEW World Champion “Hangman” Adam Page managed to survive a fight with nineteen other men to win the Over Budget Charity Battle Royal. For the victor of that fray would go a donation in their name of $50,000 to a charity of their choice. Hangman chose the Chicago Public Education Fund to receive the money, rather unsurprising given his own history as a teacher, but now that that victory is in the rear view, it’s time for Page to talk about his future.

With that in mind, the AEW faithful will hear from Hangman this Wednesday night; what he will have to say, where his head is at, we will all find out together live on TBS when DYNAMITE kicks off at 8pm ET!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/y6QekT4AZnE?si=Pck1hQ23cPNTuAhI

This Wednesday night All Elite Wrestling returns to Indianapolis and the Farmer’s Coliseum for an all-new DYNAMITE, and the beginning of the road to GRAND SLAM 2023! The Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament kicks off with two Quarter-Final matches, AEW World Champion MJF will be on-hand live to address ALL OUT 2023’s engagement with Samoa Joe, Hangman Page will be in the house, and Le Sex Gods will be in action against Aussie Open!

DYNAMITE begins kicks off at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to check in on the official AEW YouTube channel and see highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as ALL IN: LONDON and ALL OUT 2023, and so much more!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

AEW presented All Out 2023 live from the United Center in Chicago, IL!

It’s Sunday and you know what that means!

The Zero Hour portion of the show kicked off! Your announce team for Zero Hour was Excalibur, Kevin Kelly, and Nigel McGuinness.

The Over Budget Charity Battle Royale!

The winner earns $50K to give to the charity of their choice!

Tony Nese began the match by doing pushups. He was quickly eliminated. Serpentico was swarmed by Menard, Hager, Garcia, and Parker. They quickly tossed him out. Aussie Open knocked Shawn Spears out with stereo thrust kicks.

Brian Cage powerbombed Komander and then the Mogul Embassy hurled Komander over the top. The Boys eliminated Angelo Parker, and then Cage clocked Dalton Castle with a discus lariat, sending Castle to the floor. Garcia threw Action Andretti over the top rope. Best Friends blasted Brian Cage with a double chokeslam. “Hangman” Adam Page knocked Bishop Kaun to the floor with a clothesline. Scorpio Sky threw Jake Hager out.

Trent and Page worked in tandem to eliminate Mark Davis. Sky flung Garcia over the top. The Mogul Embassy worked together to take out Scorpio Sky. Fletcher knocked out Andretti with a leg lariat. Trent planted Kyle Fletcher with a half and half suplex on the apron, sending Kyle to the arena floor. Cage chucked out Trent. The final three entrants were Toa, Cage, and Page.

Page scored with a Buckshot Lariat to Toa and then sent him over the top. Cage clobbered Page with a neck breaker. Cage and Page battled on the ring apron. Adam Page nailed Brian Cage with the Deadeye and won the match!

Trios Match!

ROH Women’s World Champion Athena, Diamante, & Mercedes Martinez

vs.

Hikaru Shida, Skye Blue, & Willow Nightingale!

Skye Blue jumped off the top turnbuckle and landed on the opposition. Diamante hit a neck breaker on Skye Blue and then tagged out to Mercedes. Diamante and Mercedes used tandem offense on Blue.

Athena grabbed Blue, preventing her from making the tag. Athena powerbombed Skye Blue for a two-count. Willow grabbed a tag and clobbered Athena with a lariat and then a splash in the corner. Diamante ate a Falcon Arrow from Shida. Martinez dumped Skye with a Spider German Suplex. Athena smashed Willow with the O-Face. Shida, not impressed, entered the ring and shoved Athena. Shida and Athena traded strikes. Shida dropped Athena with a strike. Willow pounced Athena outside the ring! Skye Blue pinned Diamante after hitting the Code Blue!

AEW World Trios Championship Match!

The Acclaimed (c.)—Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, & Daddy Ass (with Dennis Rodman)

vs.

Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, & Satnam Singh (with Sonjay Dutt & Karen Jarrett)!

Daddy Ass said he had his own referee and called out Aubrey Edwards to the ring. Bowens dropped the Scissor Me Timbers on Jeff Jarrett. Lethal tagged in and stomped a mudhole in Caster in the corner.

Bowens clipped Lethal with a series of thrust kicks. Billy Gunn tagged in and cleaned house until running into a massive boot from Satnam Singh! As Aubrey was ejecting Karen from ringside, Dennis Rodman smashed Jeff Jarrett’s guitar over the head of Satnam! Bowens hit the Mic Drop on Lethal and pinned him!

The pay-per-view portion of All Out kicked off with…

ROH World Tag Team Championship Match!

Better Than You BayBay—AEW World Champion MJF & Adam Cole (c.)

vs.

Dark Order—Alex Reynolds & John Silver (with Evil Uno)!

The fans were chanting “Double Clothesline! Double Clothesline!”

Reynolds pulled Silver out of the ring before Cole and MJF could hit the double clothesline. MJF and Reynolds shook hands and then MJF thumbed him in the eyes. MJF got his neck banged up and the Dark Order blindsided MJF when Reynolds hit MJF with a chair to the base of the neck. Ref Paul Turner didn’t see it. Doc Sampson examined MJF on the arena floor.

“It appears they’ve taken MJF out of the equation,” said Excalibur.

Dark Order had Adam Cole to themselves and used their tandem offense on him. Cole went for the Panama Sunrise on Silver, but Silver avoided it. Silver lit up Cole with vicious kicks and followed up with a fisherman’s buster for a near fall.

Dark Order smashed Cole with a double clothesline. Silver grabbed one of the tag titles while Evil Uno distracted the ref. It didn’t matter as Cole served up superkicks in a last ditch effort.

MJF came back to the ring, holding his neck. He fought through adversity to assist his best friend, Adam Cole. MJF chomped on Reynolds’ forehead. MJF clobbered Dark Order with the kangaroo kick! Better Than You BayBay hit the double clothesline on Reynolds and Cole scored the pin!

ROH World Television Championship Match!

Samoa Joe (c.) vs. Shane Taylor!

As Samoa Joe was making his entrance, he shoved MJF (who was still making his way to the back after his match)! MJF sprinted back to the ring and began to brawl with Samoa Joe! Joe locked MJF in a guillotine choke until AEW security separated the two men!

Shane Taylor dropped Samoa Joe after some stiff shots. Joe pulled Shane out of the ring and began to chop away at him. They slugged it out ringside. Back in the ring, Shane Taylor splashed Samoa Joe for a near fall.

Samoa Joe cracked Taylor with an elbow suicida. Joe used a Manhattan Drop and followed it up with a running senton. Joe jabbed away at Shane Taylor, but Taylor countered with a short arm clothesline.

“This isn’t boxing but it has a big fight feel,” said Kevin Kelly.

Shane Taylor rocked Samoa Joe with a hanging stunner! Taylor splashed Samoa Joe off the middle rope for a near fall on the champ. Taylor crumbled after a lariat from Samoa Joe! Taylor rallied back with body shots. Samoa Joe overwhelmed Taylor with knee strikes and then locked on the submission to force Taylor to tap!

TNT Championship Match!

Luchasaurus (c.) (with Christian Cage)

vs.

Darby Allin (with Nick Wayne)!

Jim Ross joined the broadcast booth for this match.

Darby charged right at Luchasaurus, swarming the champ. Luchasaurus whipped Darby into the steel guardrail. The champ swung Darby into the metal ring steps. Darby was busted open. Christian Cage ordered Luchasaurus to maim Darby.

Luchasaurus put the steps on Darby’s back and then walked up them, putting all of his weight on Darby. Nick Wayne lifted the steps off Darby, but the damage had been done already. Back in the ring, Luchasaurus hit Darby with a huge overhand chop. Luchasaurus headbutted Darby on the chin.

“Damn. It’s getting ugly. It’s getting uncomfortable,” said Jim Ross.

Somehow Darby mustered the strength to do a somersault off the top turnbuckle onto Luchasaurus on the arena floor! Back in the ring, Darby hit a crucifix bomb for a near fall! The fans rallied behind Darby. Luchasaurus caught Darby and suplexed him!

Christian Cage wanted Nick Wayne to toss in the towel. Darby rocketed out of the ring with a tope to Christian! Darby smashed Luchasaurus with an avalanche Code Red for a very near fall! Christian Cage whacked Nick Wayne with a chair. Darby saw it and got distracted. Luchasaurus seized the moment and hit Darby with two tombstones and then a lariat to the back of the head, more than enough to score the pin!

“Wow! Impressive victory for Luchasaurus,” said Jim Ross.

Christian Cage got in the ring, setting Darby up for a con-chair-to. Luchasaurus held Nick Wayne back. The locker room ran down to intervene and stop Christian Cage.

“Darby Allin dodged a hell of a bullet,” said Jim Ross.

“My heart was in my throat,” added Excalibur.

“This looks like a crime scene,” said Nigel.

“The Redeemer” Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs!

They locked horns right out of the gate! Both men refusing to yield ground. Miro shoved Hobbs to the mat and then ripped off his shirt. Hobbs was beaten down in the corner. Hobbs steamrolled Miro with a shoulder block.

“Two big meaty men slapping meat and this match has lived up to those expectations,” said Excalibur.

Miro used his quickness to hit Hobbs with a leg lariat.

Hobbs hurled Miro with a belly to belly suplex, sending the Redeemer for a ride.

The fans chanted “Slap that meat! Slap that meat!”

Miro and Hobbs exchanged strikes in the center of the ring. Miro knocked Hobbs down after several lariats. Miro superplexed Hobbs! Powerhouse Hobbs dodged a kick and then powerslammed Miro!

Miro nailed Hobbs with a thrust kick for a two-count. Miro stomped Hobbs’ lower back. Miro applied the Game Over submission. Hobbs escaped, rising up and squashing Miro into the corner. Hobbs blasted Miro with a spinebuster for a near fall! Miro answered with a spinebuster of his own! Miro locked in Game Over for a second time and Hobbs tapped out!

“Hobbs ran out of options,” said Jim Ross.

“One of the best big man matches I’ve ever seen. And the fans are giving this a standing ovation,” replied Nigel.

Hobbs and Miro shook hands after the match. Miro turned to walk away, and Hobbs blindsided the Redeemer. Hobbs grounded and pounded Miro.

Miro’s wife ran to the ring and cracked Hobbs with a steel chair! Hobbs was distracted and Miro grabbed the chair and smashed it into Hobbs’ head! Miro walked away, without embracing his wife.

TBS Championship Match!

Kris Statlander (c.) vs. Ruby Soho (with AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya)!

Kris cracked Ruby with a running knee strike. Kris whipped Ruby into the guardrail. Ruby rallied back, ramming Statlander’s head into the guardrail. Saraya hammered Kris with shots behind the ref’s back.

Kris nailed Ruby with a back breaker. She followed up with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall. Kris walloped Ruby with an avalanche powerslam for a near fall! Ruby nailed Kris with a poison rana, a DDT, and then a low hurracanrana for a two-count! Ruby smashed Kris with the No Future Kick and then Destination Unknown for a near fall.

Saraya distracted the ref while Ruby grabbed a can of spray paint. Toni Storm crawled out from beneath the ring and took the can away! Statlander spiked Ruby with the Sunday Night Fever and pinned Ruby Soho!

No Disqualification Strap Match!

“Absolute” Ricky Starks vs. “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson!

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat joined the broadcast booth for this match.

Starks attacked Danielson before the match began. Starks whipped Danielson with his weight belt! Starks targeted Bryan’s head and hit him with the buckle of the belt, busting Bryan Danielson wide open!

Starks stomped on Danielson’s head, sandwiching it on the steel ring steps. Starks used the strap around Danielson’s throat. Starks whipped Danielson with the strap.

“This is my house!” said Ricky Starks.

Danielson headbutted Starks and fired off round kicks. Starks walloped Bryan on the side of the head with the strap! Danielson rallied back and whipped Starks on the back over and over again! Danielson knocked Starks to the floor with a sliding dropkick. Bryan was going to jump out of the ring, but Starks countered by clocking him with the strap. Danielson pulled on the slack of the strap and pulled Starks headfirst into the steel ring post!

Danielson charged at Starks, but Starks turned Bryan inside out with a lariat! Bryan and Ricky nailed each other with the strap. Big Bill came down to the ring and jumped on the apron! Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat pulled Big Bill down to the floor! Danielson jumped off the turnbuckles and wiped out Starks and Big Bill!

Back in the ring, Starks speared Danielson for a near fall. Starks grounded and pounded Danielson. Danielson got to his feet and nailed Starks with the charging knee strike!

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

Danielson stomped on Starks. Danielson applied the Le Bell Lock! Danielson took the strap and wrapped it around Starks’ throat, pulled back, and Starks lost consciousness!

“Bryan Danielson returns from injury and defeats Ricky Starks,” said Excalibur.

“Starks made a statement in defeat. He refused to quit no matter what Bryan Danielson did to him,” replied Nigel.

NJPW STRONG Open Weight Champion Eddie Kingston

& ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata

vs.

Blackpool Combat Club—ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta!

Taz joined the commentary team for this match.

Shibata cracked Yuta with Kawada style kicks. Claudio tagged in and blasted Shibata with a European uppercut. Claudio dodged the PK from Shibata.

Eddie Kingston tagged in, and Claudio tagged out to Wheeler Yuta. Kingston charged out of the ring at Claudio, and they exchanged shots. Yuta blindsided Eddie with a tope. Eddie used a butterfly suplex on Wheeler in the ring.

Claudio tagged in and stomped on Kingston’s chest. Yuta tagged in and Eddie took him down with an STO leg sweep. Shibata grabbed a tag and rocked Claudio with rapid fire elbows in the corner. Shibata ran across the ring and dropkicked Claudio in the corner. Claudio escaped an arm bar with a powerbomb. Claudio and Wheeler hit the fastball special on Shibata for a near fall.

Shibata knocked Yuta off his feet with a spinning backfist. Shibata had Yuta in an inverted leg lock and then put Claudio in an ankle lock. Eddie tagged in and DDT’ed Yuta. Kingston charged in with a lariat in the corner on Yuta. Kingston threw Yuta with an exploder suplex. Claudio came in on Kingston’s blindside and kicked him in the head.

Shibata hit Yuta with a pump kick and Eddie hit a side suplex on Yuta. Claudio jumped into the ring and exchanged uppercuts with Shibata. Claudio whipped Shibata into the guardrail. Yuta German Suplexed Kingston for a near fall.

Claudio took down Kingston with a short arm lariat. Claudio used hammer and anvil strikes and followed up with the Neutralizer for a near fall on Kingston! Eddie knocked down Claudio with a spinning backfist. Kingston rocked Claudio with a Northern Lights Bomb but Yuta jumped in to break up the pin attempt. Claudio wrecked Kingston with a European Uppercut and pinned a stunned Kingston.

“The Cleaner” Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita!

Takeshita hit a dropkick on Omega. Takeshita followed up with a high angle back drop driver! Outside the ring, Omega used a moonsault off the barricade onto Takeshita.

Omega jumped at Takeshita with a springboard dropkick and followed up with the face dunk. Omega applied an Indian Death Lock on Takeshita.

Outside the ring, Takeshita spiked Omega with a brainbuster on the floor! Takeshita distracted ref Paul Turner while Don Callis piled chairs onto Omega’s injured midsection. Takeshita splashed Kenny with a senton. Takeshita wiped out Omega with a Blue Thunder Bomb in the ring.

Takeshita dropped Omega with a forearm shiver. Takeshita attempted a senton, but Omega countered by raising his knees. Omega smacked Takeshita with Polish hammers. Takeshita charged at Omega with a jumping knee, Omega moved, and the momentum sent Takeshita spilling out of the ring. Omega took flight with the Terminator Dive!

Omega blasted Takeshita with a missile dropkick! Omega followed up with a snap dragon suplex. Omega stuck Takeshita on the back of his neck with a second snap dragon suplex. Omega spiked Takeshita with a reverse hurracanrana for a near fall.

Takeshita dodged a V Trigger, but Omega scored with the second attempt. Takeshita swung for the fences with a lariat to Omega. Kenny powerbombed Takeshita and then cracked him with a knee strike! Bang! Omega connected with a V Trigger! Takeshita countered the One Winged Angel! Takeshita got a near fall with a deadweight German Suplex on Omega.

Omega hoisted up Takeshita and began climbing up the turnbuckles, carrying the weight of Takeshita. Omega was looking for an avalanche One Winged Angel, but Takeshita escaped. Takeshita rocked Omega with an avalanche Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall on Omega!

“Man, I don’t know. This Kenny Omega is made out of something special,” said Taz.

Takeshita scored with a powerdrive knee right on target. Takeshita distracted the ref while Callis tried to spike Omega with a screwdriver. Omega dodged it. Omega nailed Takeshita with a V Trigger. Omega lifted up Takeshita for the One Winged Angel. Takeshita had the screwdriver, but ref Paul Turner saw it and pulled it away. Takeshita removed his knee pad and decimated Omega with a knee strike, and then pinned Kenny Omega!

“We just found out what Kenny Omega’s limit is,” said Nigel.

Eight-Man Tag!

AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR—Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood & The Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson

vs.

Bullet Club Gold—Austin & Colten Gunn, “Switchblade” Jay White, & Juice Robinson!

Colten and Cash chain wrestled. Austin got a blind tag and tripped up Cash Wheeler. Cash sent Austin flying with a hurracanrana. Matt Jackson tagged himself in. The Bucks hit tandem offense on Austin. Dax Harwood tagged himself in.

Dax and Jay White locked up. Jay White chopped Dax. Juice Robinson and Jay White worked over Dax in their corner of the ring. Cash Wheeler grabbed a tag and FTR double teamed Jay White.

Juice jabbed at Cash Wheeler. Juice gouged at Cash’s eyes. All eight men were in the ring and began brawling! FTR and the Bucks hit quadruple atomic drops and then quadruple sharpshooters!

Dax dodged a cannonball from Juice Robinson. Matt Jackson smoked Juice with a superkick. The Bucks used a classic combo on Jay White.

“Superkick party in Chicago,” said Nigel.

The fans chanted “Young Bucks! Young Bucks!”

Matt and Cash dished out superkicks. Matt and Dax stuffed Austin with a spiked piledriver. Dax superplexed Austin and Cash, Matt, and Nick all hit high risk moves off the top turnbuckles on Austin. Dax and Austin rattled each other with double clotheslines.

The fans chanted “A-E-W! A-E-W!”

Dax and Jay traded chops. Dax walloped Jay with a short arm lariat. Juice saved Jay from the Shatter Machine. Nick and Dax hit the Shatter Machine! Matt and Dax grabbed Jay and bashed him with the BTE Trigger! Colten made the save, breaking up the pin attempt. Jay White hit the Blade Runner on Cash and Austin was there to pin him!

Main Event Time!

AEW International Championship Match!

“Freshley Squeezed” Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley!

Cassidy was playing mind games, not looking at challenger Jon Moxley. Orange went to put his hands in his pockets and Mox decked him! Moxley stalked Cassidy, giving him no time to breathe. Moxley bit the head of Orange Cassidy.

Cassidy fired back with a shotgun dropkick. Mox suplexed Orange and Orange immediately clutched his neck. Moxley sent Cassidy flying with a second suplex. Orange connected with a diving crossbody press but Mox rolled through and stomped on Orange’s head.

Orange flew at Mox with an elbow suicida. Moxley countered a DDT, turning Orange inside out. Moxley took his boots to Orange’s head again. Moxley mauled Cassidy, whipping him into the steel ring post. Cassidy was split open. Moxley bit Orange’s forehead.

“Orange Cassidy is gushing,” said Nigel.

“There is a pool of blood at our feet,” added Excalibur.

Moxley spiked Orange with a stalling piledriver for a near fall. Moxley battered Orange with clubbing shots. Orange dug his nails into Moxley’s back and then hit Moxley’s head! Orange cracked Mox with a diving DDT and then a second DDT!

Cassidy rocked Mox with the PK. He followed up with the Orange Punch for a near fall! Mox countered the Beach Break with a Gotch Style piledriver! Mox locked in the bulldog choke. Mox transitioned to an arm bar. Mox put Orange in the Le Bell Lock. Moxley transitioned to the bulldog choke, but Orange forced the ref break by reaching the ropes with his foot.

Moxley pulled the protective padding off the floor, exposing the concrete. Moxley tried for a piledriver, but Orange countered with a Beach Break on the floor! Orange dropkicked Moxley’s head into the steps!

Orange cracked Moxley with two straight Orange Punches! Orange went for a third, but Moxley countered with a cutter! Orange hit another Orange Punch and then speared Moxley for a near fall! Moxley nearly decapitated Orange with two King Kong lariats! Moxley smashed Orange with the Death Rider for a near fall!

Orange flipped off Moxley. Jon Moxley grabbed Orange and spiked him with a high angle Death Rider and pinned Cassidy!

And new AEW International Champion…Jon Moxley!

Missed what the entire wrestling world is buzzing about? Order the replay of the historic AEW All Out 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 All Out 2023 for yourself!

Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!

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

https://www.youtube.com/embed/dM7cb4L6CCs?si=6LkKFF2RVB5Cx7Jh

Just seven days after the biggest night in All Elite Wrestling history, we are right back at it with our second pay-per-view offering in a week! ALL OUT has been at the heart of AEW since 2019 when Chris Jericho defeated Hangman Page to become the first AEW World Champion, and it has provided a lion’s share of memorable matches and moments every year since! The Chicagoland area has been home to this event every year save one, and 2023 will be no different, but for the very first time, ALL OUT will emanate from the United Center!

If you can’t be there in-person, click here for details on all the ways you can watch the pay-per-view event live no matter where you are in the world! Also be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the latest edition of CONTROL CENTER, highlights from ALL IN: LONDON, and more to get you up to speed for ALL OUT 2023!

AEW International Championship Match…

Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Jon Moxley

This past Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, after Orange Cassidy bested Penta El Zero Miedo in his 31st International Championship defense, he was confronted by the next man scheduled to challenge for the title regardless of who won Wednesday night’s fight, former 3-Time AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.

Three years ago this would’ve seemed a largely lopsided fight, but in the time since Orange Cassidy fought his first AEW singles match at REVOLUTION 2020, coincidentally at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago as well as the same night Moxley won his first AEW World Championship, he has proven to be in a class all his own. There was never any question that Jon Moxley was at the top of the heap in All Elite Wrestling, he pretty much heralded that himself with how he arrived on the scene at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2019, but Orange Cassidy has been questioned, doubted, bullied, and tested at every step of his AEW career.

It didn’t matter how he performed in that first fight with PAC, that he beat Chris Jericho in two straight matches, that he beat Adam Cole in a Lights Out Match, or that he took Will Ospreay to his limits at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2022, he was still doubted. But since the October 12, 2022 edition of DYNAMITE where he defeated “The Bastard” to claim the AEW International Championship, Orange Cassidy has done nothing but proven himself as one of the elite competitors in pro wrestling. His first two title defenses took place in Three Way bouts, he took on “The Wrestler” Katsuyori Shibata in his next, and from that point on, it has been a matter of fighting everyone who stepped up to the plate. Daniel Garcia, Wheeler Yuta, Big Bill, Jeff Jarrett, and Jay Lethal; they all fell before “Freshly Squeezed” and at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 he really showed the world where he stood as champion when he took on 20 challengers simultaneously in the Blackjack Battle Royale. As a result of that many simultaneous challengers in Vegas, as Cassidy heads into this fight with Moxley, he has defended the AEW International Championship 31 times against 41 different men, and been champion for 326 days. He’s defended his title more times than any champion in AEW’s entire history across all divisions, and sits behind Jade Cargill’s 508-day TBS Title reign, Hikaru Shida 372-day AEW Woman’s World Championship reign, and Kenny Omega’s 346-day AEW World Championship run in terms of duration as champ.

And if that’s wasn’t enough to make the entire wrestling world stand-up and recognize the greatness of “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy, perhaps it should be noted that at 121 overall victories, he’s got more wins than any man in All Elite Wrestling, topping Jon Moxley’s 118 overall wins, though Mox does surpass OC as a singles competitor, holding 75 victories to Cassidy’s 68.

As if that wasn’t enough, Cassidy also has the longest active singles win streak in AEW with thirty-one consecutive victories, eclipsing Moxley’s run of 25 from 11/13/19-12/2/20 and HOOK’s from 12/10/21-7/19/23. All that put together, it could be argued that Orange Cassidy is the absolute best in All Elite Wrestling, that he is the measuring stick for the company, and that he is the one everyone else should be looking to as their litmus test.

Jon Moxley clearly is not a man who sees that to be the case, and after their engagement the last several weeks, including Stadium Stampede at ALL IN: LONDON, he aims to put OC to the test this Sunday at ALL OUT 2023! Mox aims to put Cassidy through the wringer in the process of proving that it is he and The Blackpool Combat Club who run AEW, and given the AEW career path that has brought both men here, this may be one of the most important pay-per-view matches in AEW’s history. It is also a night Jon Moxley could make history as the first AEW World Champion to capture another AEW singles championship!

OC has already made history during his International Championship reign, it started with being the man to level the belt up from the All-Atlantic to the International Championship, and has continued with each title defense he survives. But eventually the rigorous schedule Orange has kept will catch up to him, but will that point come this Sunday at the United Center? If there is anyone likely to push OC past that point, it is Jon Moxley, and if the defending champion can’t find an even deeper level to his reservoir of strength, he’s in for a rough night and most likely the end of his historic championship reign.

TNT Championship Match…

Luchasaurus(c) vs. Darby Allin

https://www.youtube.com/embed/nvFMQMMVsCs?si=gHpA5xJTY6YrFudb

As much as Christian Cage may claim otherwise, as much as he would rather have the fans believe an alternative truth, the reality is that Luchasaurus is the TNT Champion, not Christian Cage. Cage may carry the belt around, may consistently refer to the belt as “his” TNT Title, but it was Luchasaurus who won the belt from Wardlow, it’s been the former AEW World Tag Champion who’s defended it since that victory over “The War Dog”, and it will be Luchasaurus who faces former 2-Time TNT Champion Darby Allin this Sunday night at ALL OUT 2023!

But what condition is the challenger in? Like so many others at ALL IN: LONDON, Darby went through tremendous physical punishment, but the x-factor of the coffin elevated his to a whole other level. He was slammed on the metal lid, went for a Coffin Drop on Swerve while Strickland was draped across the top only for Allin to find no one home when he crashed down, he was battered and bruised, but ultimately victorious, though it also came at the expense of young Nick Wayne. Wayne, seeking to balance the scales of the bout, ended up being taken away by The Right Hand of Destruction, but that wasn’t the end of the story.

This week on COLLISION we heard Nick Wayne speak on Darby Allin’s actions pertaining to AR Fox, leading Darby out to the ring to publicly discuss the issue, but even that was interrupted by Christian Cage, who proceeded to say horrid things about Wayne’s mother, and of course promised destruction would rain down upon Allin’s head in his TNT Championship fight with Luchasaurus. Of course it wouldn’t have been Cage if he didn’t, yet again, imply he was the actual TNT Champion, but of course it won’t be he who steps into the ring to face Darby Allin, it will be the former AEW World Tag Team Champion.

Can Darby overcome the size of Luchasaurus, the numbers game that will be played by Christian Cage, and the injuries he sustained at ALL IN: LONDON’s Casket Match? If so, he will become the second man after Sammy Guevara to achieve 3-Time TNT Champion status, but if he cannot, and Cage has his way, will there be anything left of Darby to dust off and try again?

Singles Match…

“The Redeemer” Miro vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

https://www.youtube.com/embed/U-V_gYV6_7o?si=crR3wyOrsc4bjNUE

Forty-two days, in the span of 42 days between 3/8/23 and 4/19/23 Powerhouse Hobbs managed to defeat Wardlow to claim the TNT Championship, defend it five times, and then lose it right back to Wardlow. It was not the way Hobbs anticipating his championship reign going when he won the belt, and after it ended, he spent some time on the House Rules loop getting back on track, leading to a five match win streak, including a smashing victory over Powerhouse Hobbs in the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Quarter-Finals.

Unfortunately he ran into a familiar foe named Ricky Starks in the Semi-Finals, and “Absolute” would best his former Team Taz partner en route to winning the entire tournament shortly thereafter. Again, not the way Hobbs wanted his COLLISION career to go, but he rebounded and has since won six consecutive bouts, including an eight-second victory last night in Chicago.

As impressive as that streak may be, as rapidly as Hobbs has dispatched those foes, perhaps the most impressive thing Hobbs has done is have the gumption to call out “The Redeemer” Miro for a fight! A former TNT Champion himself, Miro is one of the most intimidating men in all of professional wrestling, and to call him out for a fight is to court pain and punishment. Thus he is also the supreme test for a men looking to redeem himself for the key losses he’s experienced in 2023.

Will Hobbs live to regret his choice to goad Miro into battle? Will he be humbled before “The Redeemer”, or will Hobbs instead find that redemption he’s looking for?

TBS Championship Match…

Kris Statlander(c) vs. Ruby Soho

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZQG1phgDsU4?si=4NUVHthSKNL6fd7L&start=180

The challenge was made by Ruby Soho, a woman that Kris Statlander has yet to defeat, and it appears a challenge born out of this Outcasts frustration at having never won a championship during the last 13 years. Just in All Elite Wrestling, after making her debut at ALL OUT 2021 by winning the Women’s Casino Battle Royale, she was frustrated in her first World Championship match at GRAND SLAM 2021 against Dr. Britt Baker, and sadly that would not be the last time Ruby’s dreams were dashed. A month later, in the inaugural TBS Championship Tournament, Soho would make it past Penelope Ford, Kris Statlander, and Nyla Rose but end up stifled in the finals by Jade Cargill, having to watch her claim status as the first TBS Champion. Even the AAA Mixed Tag Title alluded her and Ortiz at ALL OUT 2022 when they faced Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo on the ZERO HOUR, and finally at REVOLUTION 2023, in a Three Way where she and Saraya challenged AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter, Ruby was again turned away. The frustration is understandable, she is unquestionably one of the best wrestlers competing today, but has repeatedly failed to achieve the trophies that cement that fact in the history books.

That being said, it’s not as if Kris Statlander has had the easiest road to the status she now holds. Injuries have slowed her professional growth on multiple occasions since she first came to All Elite Wrestling, even her first AEW championship bout at REVOLUTION 2020 was tainted as Stat fought Nyla Rose with a debilitating flu that had kept her on bed rest for several days leading up to that night in Chicago. Even in the COUNTDOWN TO ALL OUT Statlander shared about her feelings as champion, a rather open look at the thoughts spinning around in her head despite defending her title eight times in the last 100 days on DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and on the HOUSE RULES tour. She has been a fighting champion from the moment she beat Jade Cargill at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023, and yet doubt still creeps.

It’s not an easy road for champion or challenger, both are driven to be the best, both have had their frustrations and setbacks, but only one has taken those challenges and used them to make herself a better version of who she was. Statlander has gotten tougher, she’s gotten stronger, and it’s led her to the status as TBS Champion whereas Ruby Soho has thrown her lot in with The Outcasts which in turn led her to watching both Saraya and Toni Storm become champions, although Toni’s current situation makes one question whether or not becoming a champion was worth the ramifications of losing it.

This Sunday, when Kris Statlander and Ruby Soho meet in their third singles match, it’s clear there is a bit more than the TBS Championship on the line for each woman. Pride, ego, legacy; they are all wrapped up in this fight between two of today’s best, but only one can walk away as champion while they other will have to find a way to handle with the disappointment and frustration…

Grudge Match…

“The Cleaner” Kenny Omega vs. Konosuke Takeshita

https://www.youtube.com/embed/GUeppqfOU4A?si=bAJ3mScOKwz94jgp

Kenny Omega has been betrayed by Don Callis on so many levels since that Cage Match against Jon Moxley back in May, and yet this Sunday night at ALL OUT 2023 he will still come to fight in the face of that sting. Whether it was Callis throwing his support behind Will Ospreay at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, ripping Takeshita away from his growing alliance with The Elite, or signing up with BULLET CLUB GOLD, the man who was once akin to Omega’s uncle has done anything he can to wreck the former AEW World Champion’s life.

This all stems from some sense of ownership Callis has over Kenny’s career, some belief he is entitled to the credit though it is Omega who did the heavy-lifting of actually getting in the ring for the fight. Uncle Don may have shown a young Kenny the ropes, but it was Omega who did the work and earned monikers like “Best Bout Machine” and “The God of Pro Wrestling”. It was Kenny in the ring with Okada for their four matches that, over the course of three-plus hours, firmly established both men as the best in the world. It was Kenny in the ring with Chris Jericho at WRESTLE KINGDOM 12 and DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2019 not Don Callis, and point of fact, the only actual accomplishment in Kenny’s career that Callis could take some credit for would be Omega defeating Jon Moxley to become the AEW World Champion. It’s undeniable that “The Invisible Hand” played a part in assisting Kenny’s championship challenge, but it’s certainly possible that it was Don whispering in Kenny’s ear that he needed his Uncle’s help to achieve that success.

That loyalty is simultaneously both Kenny’s biggest positive and negative, especially since his return to action in August 2022 after taking 10 months to recover from a litany of injuries collected over his wrestling career. Despite Callis’ entire oeuvre being a stark contrast to where The Elite stood as people in the fall of 2022, Omega kept Don by his side and Callis clearly bristled at the fact Kenny was not on the same page as he when it came to how to conduct business. Omega’s loyalty was that strong, his love for everything Uncle Don had been to him and his family was that strong, and yet Callis clearly grew unhappy with the fact he was no longer the primary voice in Kenny’s ear as he’d been during Omega’s championship reign.

All that anger and disappointment led Callis to betraying Kenny inside that Steel Cage, allowing Jon Moxley to get some revenge for Omega’s equally shady victories several years prior, and has taken us all down this path to ALL OUT 2023. It led Callis to put Takeshita inside the Blood & Guts Cage, and to pull him away from the fight when things weren’t looking promising for The Blackpool Combat Club, it led to the BC GOLD attack on Kenny when he sat down to talk to Jim Ross in Jacksonville, and now has Takeshita fighting Omega on Sunday night.

The relationship between Omega and Takeshita dates back to the earliest years of the latter’s career, so far back that Kenny was the opponent for the fifth match on record in Takeshita’s career, the first of their thirteen encounters in DDT Pro Wrestling between 9/30/12 and 10/26/14, all which posted them as opponents. It wasn’t until Takeshita first came to AEW in April 2021 that the two men fought as partners, and when he became a regular part of the roster one year later, it looked as if Takeshita would ride alongside The Elite as he pursued the growth of his own career.

Then Don Callis got in his ear, promising the sky, and turned Konosuke against those who’d supported him, leading to Takeshita’s impact on Omega’s face during Anarchy in the Arena at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023, and now here we are, four months later, with the two men colliding in their first AEW singles match, and their first head-to-head in a decade. It should be noted, though they were over a decade ago during Takeshita’s early days as a wrestler, Omega is 2-0 in their singles matches, but obviously Takeshita has grown exponentially since that time.

So should Takeshita fail in this singles match, will this be the end of Don Callis’ pursuit of Omega’s end? If Kenny walks away with the victory, will Uncle Don give up this mission to end his nephew, or is Kenny stuck in this infinite loop of Don Callis throwing everything at Omega just hoping he breaks until the weight of it all? And what is the future if Takeshita pins Omega as he did at ALL IN: LONDON? That is the kind of victory that potentially bolsters Takeshita up into championship contention, but what would it mean for Kenny Omega’s immediate future? The ramifications for this one will be felt for some time by all parties involved, but just looking at it as a fight, this one could possibly steal the show at ALL OUT 2023!

ROH World Tag Team Championship Match…

AEW World Champion MJF & Adam Cole(c)
vs.

Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/aZg5OWcGD8g?si=rVeItcGbSfyT3iHd

After defeating Aussie Open at ALL IN: LONDON to become the new Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions, Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF were informed they’d have to defend their championship against the winner of a Tag Team Battle Royale at ALL OUT 2023. So, in typical MJF fashion, he took the week off to recover from his UK journey while Adam Cole came to work only to be confronted by Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Mike Bennett, including Roddy throwing his name in the hat for the Grand Slam Tournament of Champions and telling Cole he would do what Adam couldn’t: beat MJF.

While that is indeed a concern for Cole, the more immediate matter is the match this Sunday with the winners of the aforementioned Battle Royale: The Dark Order of Alex Reynolds and John Silver! Though they have been part of AEW since the earliest days of DYNAMITE, the pair have only challenged one time for the AEW World Tag Team titles, during the reign of Jurassic Express, and they were unsuccessful in that endeavor. Since coming into the ROH fold back in April, the duo has been embroiled in their own violent affair with The Righteous, one that culminated with victory in the first-ever Trios Fight Without Honor at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023. But none of that matters to MJF who, having some experience with both Alex Reynolds and John Silver early in his career, doesn’t have a bit of respect for either man.

Well Dark Order is quite the motivated, driven duo, one whose bond runs far deep than just the last couple months of this year, and they aim to break this championship drought on Sunday night!

Adam Cole and Maxwell Jacob Friedman have proven themselves to be a strong tag team duo, with a genuine bond that defies all logic and reason, but they are facing a team who’ve been together for over a decade, and who have a whole lot to prove to themselves and the world. Adam Cole and MJF are in for a fight, and they will have to pull out every Double Clothesline, Kangaroo Kick, and any other offense to keep these ROH World Tag Team Titles around their waists.

ROH World Television Championship Match…

Samoa Joe(c) vs. Shane Taylor

The history of Samoa Joe in Ring of Honor has been well-documented; for 645 days he reigned as ROH World Champion, elevating the title from a regional one to World Championship status, and engaging in legendary fights that proved influential to the modern wrestling scene. Even after that reign ended at FINAL BATTLE 2004, Joe remained integral to the workings of ROH, claiming the ROH Pure Championship from Jay Lethal at MANHATTAN MAYHEM, and keeping that for 112 days until he was dethroned by Nigel McGuinness. Even then, his influence on both ROH and pro wrestling at large was felt as he engaged in one of the hardest-hitting, most memorable bouts in modern wrestling history when he fought the legendary Kenta Kobashi at JOE VS. KOBASHI, and even after Joe first parted ways with ROH in March 2007, his presence loomed large over every individual who held the ROH World Championship in his wake. All World Champions were compared to Joe and his legacy, and every big man who ever entered into ROH competition was sized up against Samoa Joe’s shadow as well.

That was the world into which Shane Taylor entered when he first joined Ring of Honor in November 2014 at GLORY BY HONOR XIII, and though he reigned as a dominating ROH World TV Champion for 218 days, and a ROH World Six Man Champion for 295 days, the comparisons to Samoa Joe never ceased, but Taylor never had a chance to tackle those comparisons head-on until now.

When Samoa Joe re-entered the ROH landscape at SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2022, the fanbase was excited at the prospects of all that could be, speculating on if Joe would pursue the ROH World Championship he lost, or who he may want to lock horns with inside the squared circle. It turned out his first mission was to claim a championship that he had no opportunity to hold during his original ROH tenure simply because it did not exist until 2010, the ROH World Television Championship.

Shortly after his arrival, Joe dethroned Minoru Suzuki to claim the title, and 508 days later, he is still standing tall as the champion with 13 successful defenses to his reign! This makes Joe the second longest reigning TV champion of all time, behind Jay Lethal, and put him just above Shane Taylor on the list of successful defenses, a list Jay Lethal is also at the top of, having retained the belt on 36 occasions during his 567 days.

So it shall be this Sunday night in Chicago that two of Ring of Honor’s most dominant forces, two of the most imposing competitors in professional wrestling today, will engage in combat for the very first time, a right Taylor earned with victories over Serpentico, Christopher Daniels, and Gravity in an Eliminator Tournament. This is a fight about the championship, about legacy, and about who will be the dominant force moving forward, and for Shane Taylor, with a visit to his hometown of Cleveland looming next Saturday, it’s absolutely about being able to go home a champion!

NO DISQUALIFICATION STRAP MATCH…

“Absolute” Ricky Starks vs. “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson

https://www.youtube.com/embed/FTOIjz-OYYY?si=yPI4zS_v0eAnHUku

Well Ricky Starks certainly did not anticipate getting the match he’s got to face on Sunday night at ALL OUT 2023, he was looking to fight a 70 year old “Dragon” in a Strap Match, but instead he got a date with a different Dragon, an “American Dragon”. This came as a shock to the AEW faithful in Chicago, as well as those watching at home, as no one was aware Danielson was cleared for competition following his injury in the Kazuchika Okada match at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023.

To his credit, Starks recognized the mistake he had made, and essentially told the world “if this is the bed I made, than I’m going to make myself comfortable”. After all, it’s a huge opportunity for the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament winner, the chance to spoil Danielson’s return to action almost two years to the date since his AEW debut at ALL OUT 2021, and continue to rise up towards the championship status he craves.

Will Sunday night be Ricky Starks night, or will it be the night “The American Dragon” roars?

Tag Team Battle…

NJPW STRONG Open Weight Champion Eddie Kingston & ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata

vs.

Blackpool Combat Club (ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta)

The bad blood between Eddie Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli has kept these two men bonded across many, many years, and even years wrestling in drastically different spheres did nothing to lessen the feelings of disdain. It’s spread from AEW to Ring of Honor and back again, putting Kingston inside Blood & Guts alongside The Golden Elite, putting him on the same side of Stadium Stampede as The Best Friends and Penta El Zero Miedo, and even putting him at odds with a man who was like a brother: Jon Moxley.

It’s been story of Eddie and his strange bedfellows, doing whatever he needs to do in order to get to Claudio, uniting with whoever has motivates that align with his, and hoping it leads to ending Castagnoli. This Sunday night in Chicago that means uniting with ROH Pure Champion Katsuyori Shibata to face the ROH World Champion and the man Shibata dethroned to claim that Ring of Honor title, the only 2-Time Pure Champion in ROH history, Wheeler Yuta!

The sad reality is that the animosity between Claudio and Kingston will probably never be satiated as long as both men are breathing. It’s shattered promotional boundaries, it’s bled across years and years, and sustained itself even when both men were on opposite sides of the wrestling world. Given that these men were once friends, roommates even, it’s a shame it’s gotten to this point, but that familiarity has bred contempt like none other. Is this a case of mutually assured destruction? Can either survive their own hate?

Eight-Man Fight…

AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) and The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)

vs.

BULLET CLUB GOLD (Austin Gunn, Colten Gunn, Jay White, & Juice Robinson)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/9hub3SmDfiM?si=JR1UIjkmXMLUTJT1&start=180

It may come as a shock in 2023, but in 2020 The Young Bucks and FTR actually united on two occasions ahead of their first clash at FULL GEAR 2020. Neither ended up as positive moments for the four men, they lost both the eight and ten man tags in which they participated, and as history as shown, they’ve since fought it out in three landmark bouts. The first won by The Young Bucks at FULL GEAR 2020, the second by FTR on the April 6, 2022 edition of DYNAMITE, and the third also by FTR at ALL IN: LONDON just a week ago. Though the brothers Jackson walked away from the match without shaking the hands of Dax and Cash, a common foe had brought them together once again this Sunday night at ALL O UT 2023.

BULLET CLUB GOLD has been a thorn in the side of FTR since the inception of COLLISION, and have also inserted themselves in Elite business time and again, including Kenny uniting with Ibushi and Hangman Page in a losing effort to Jay White, Juice Robinson, and Takeshita at ALL IN: LONDON. Now all the worlds collide as FTR and The Young Bucks try to put aside their differences to fight BC GOLD live on pay-per-view! Is it possible? Or will BC GOLD celebrate in the Windy City tonight!

ALL OUT 2023: ZERO HOUR…

-AEW World Trios Championship Match: The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens, Daddy Ass, & Max Caster)(c) vs. Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, & Satnam Singh

https://www.youtube.com/embed/dGq4ROIquRk?si=Upw7ARLadTEDjKMw&start=180

-ROH Women’s World Champion Athena, Diamante, & Mercedes Martinez vs. Hikaru Shida, Skye Blue, and Willow Nightingale

-Over Budget Charity Battle Royale: Winner gives $50K to the charity of their choice

ALL OUT 2023 emanates from the United Center in Chicago, IL this Sunday night, and live on pay-per-view beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT! Make a point to check out the official AEW YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFN4JkGP_bVhAdBsoV9xftA/videos) to get up to date with highlights from the lastest episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, as well as the CONTROL CENTER, highlights from ALL IN: LONDON, and more to get you ready for ALL OUT 2023!

— Global Pay-Per-View Event Becomes AEW’s Highest Grossing Event in History and Biggest Pro Wrestling Event Ever Held in Europe

August 27, 2023 – All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced tonight that “AEW: All In London” shattered multiple records across the professional wrestling industry. The sold-out event, which was broadcast worldwide, saw 81,035 fans from more than 70 countries converge on Wembley Stadium in London, marking the largest crowd in history to ever attend a pro wrestling event in Europe.

In addition, “AEW: All In London” became AEW’s highest grossing event ever and one of the largest pro wrestling gates of all time, generating more than $10 million.

“‘AEW: All In London’ marked a monumental achievement, and showed the world that AEW is not only here to stay, but also a formidable force worldwide,” said Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW. “This success wouldn’t have been possible without ourincredible roster and talented staff, as well as our colleagues at WBD, who passionately believe in the AEW brand as much as I do, and our amazing partners at Wembley Stadium, Live Nation UK and ITV who worked tirelessly to make this dream a reality.

“Most importantly, we thank AEW’s incredibly loyal fans, many of whom travelled to London from around the world to be part of the event, and have been with us from the beginning. We celebrate this long-awaited moment with all of you and look forward to our return to Wembley Stadium in 2024, where we will once again make history.”As announced during tonight’s event, “AEW: All In London” will return to Wembley Stadium on Sunday, August 25, 2024. Fans can register for additional information on the event by clicking ,here.

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. In the U.S., “AEW: Dynamite” airs every Wednesday night on TBS and attracts the youngest wrestling audience on television, the fight-forward “AEW: RAMPAGE” airs every Friday night on TNT, and the new “AEW: Collision” airs every Saturday night 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.

See IMPACT Wrestling’s Historic 1000th Episode LIVE in White Plains, NY on September 9 News / August 26, 2023 / by IMPACT Wrestling Staff Get tickets On Saturday, September 9th, the television trucks of IMPACT!

Continue reading →

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

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

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

AEW World Championship Match

MJF (c) vs. Adam Cole

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match

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

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

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

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

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

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

AEW Women’s World Championship Four Way Match

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

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

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

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

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

Stadium Stampede Match

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AEW World Trios Championship Match

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Real” AEW World Championship Match

CM Punk (c) vs. Samoa Joe

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

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

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

Dream Match…

Chris Jericho vs. IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trios Match…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tag Team Coffin Match…

Christian Cage & Swerve Strickland vs. Darby Allin & Sting

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

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

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

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

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

ZERO HOUR…

ROH World Tag Team Championship Match…

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

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

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

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

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

FTW Title Match…

Jack Perry (c) vs. Hook

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Must-See Matchups Set For Emergence Fallout This Monday in Toronto News / August 22, 2023 / by IMPACT Wrestling Staff Get tickets After Emergence, the battle is far from over! THIS MONDAY, August 28th, the

Continue reading →

Available Now on IMPACT Plus: December 2012 Classic IMPACT! Episodes News / August 17, 2023 / by IMPACT Wrestling Staff Click here to start watching Episodes of IMPACT from December 2012 are available in HD

Continue reading →

This past Wednesday on DYNAMITE, more matches for ALL IN: LONDON coalesced into being with a Stadium Stampede, Jericho and Ospreay, Kenny Omega challenging BULLET CLUB GOLD to a Trios match, and Dr. Britt Baker locking in her spot in the AEW Women’s World Championship Four Way! Tensions also increased between AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole ahead of their loaded trip to London, and Sting had a rather…interesting…meeting with Prince Nana in conjunction with Darby Allin and Nick Wayne defeating The Gates of Agony.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/JNaf2GJCUIU?start=345

With Wembley barely a week away, this Friday night’s edition of RAMPAGE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2023 features ROH World Tag Champions Aussie Open are in action against Brother Zay and “All Ego” Ethan Page, Skye Blue and AEW Women’s World Champion Shida in tag team action against The Outcasts, and Rey Fenix battling Komander! Plus, we will hear from Dr. Britt Baker after that win over The Bunny punched her ticket to ALL IN: LONDON! The night begins at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so visit the official AEW YouTube channel ahead of time for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!

ALL IN: LONDON PREVIEW…

AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida & Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho & Toni Storm

Two of the women involved in this tag team fracas will be part of the Four Way fight for the AEW Women’s World Championship at ALL IN: LONDON. Obviously Hikaru Shida, after defeating Anna Jay last week, heads into that night in Wembley as the defending champion while Toni Storm, as the one deposed by Shida, gets her rematch in the form of this Four Way bout. Now Ruby Soho was not involved in this title picture situation, but the third Outcast, the one who brought the band together in the first place, Saraya, she’s the one responsible for knocking Skye Blue out of the championship running last week on RAMPAGE.

So this Friday night, in somewhat of a preview of what’s to come in London, Shida and Skye will team up to battle Storm and Soho, with some hope of gaining an advantage over the others on their minds! At this point, there is plenty of animosity between all the women involved in this tag team bout, but will we also see Saraya stick her nose into this fight? It seems inevitable that where one Outcast goes, the other two are sure to follow, so where there’s two, there will also likely be three, and that third will probably try to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong.

Shida and Skye, especially Skye, are quite familiar with the games played by The Outcasts, and as such should be quite prepared for them, but if the former AEW Women’s World Champion, her tag partner, and their third woman on the outside do manage to pull a fast one, it won’t be the best way for Shida to head into her London excursion.

For morale reasons, as well as for momentum, Shida and Storm both need this victory prior to AEW heading into the biggest night in company history, and all four women involved in the actual match are talented enough to make this an event fight. It may all come down to that x-factor known as Saraya…

SINGLES MATCH…

Rey Fenix vs. Komander

https://www.youtube.com/embed/DdjmostHTUQ?start=221

Twice during ROH ON HONOR CLUB Komander has partnered with The Lucha Brothers and El Hijo Del Vikingo in Eight-Man Tag Team competition, and on both occasions they proved victorious, but this Friday night on RAMPAGE, the two Lucha sensations will not be partners, but rather foes, and what an exciting match-up that is on paper!

Rey Fenix has demonstrated in a multitude of matches just how talented he is in singles competition, and the times he has flown solo have led to some of the most exciting bouts in AEW or ROH history. Just look to his bouts this year against Gravity, Gringo Loco, Claudio Castagnoli, and Powerhouse Hobbs as examples of what Fenix brings to the table in singles competition. Win or lose, Fenix is one of the most thrilling competitors to watch in action no matter who he steps into the ring with for a fight!

Now Komander, having just picked up his first AEW singles victory over Kip Sabian, has also been impressive in his outings against foes like Chris Jericho, Gravity, El Hijo del Vikingo, and also Claudio Castagnoli. He is reminiscent of Rey Fenix, but with his own high-flying twist on the style, thought not as tested in the sheer violence that the former AEW World Tag Team and World Trios Champion has experienced during his AEW tenure.

So the thought of these two mixing it up as opponents is salivating, and they will no doubt push each to their limits. This is the kind of match a young Luchador like Komander dreams about, and his dream is about to come true on Friday night, but will it also be a dream that ends in victory? Or will the experience of Rey Fenix win out in the end? Do not miss out on this one!

TAG TEAM BOUT…

ROH World Tag Team Champions Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Davis)

vs. Brother Zay & Ethan Page

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Msja6NVJg4c

Both of these teams had some business to attend to on Wednesday night during DYNAMITE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2023, but only one of those teams left covered in blood, after a match that saw a chainsaw wielding maniac emerge at ringside, and was one of the most chaotic scenes ever witnessed on AEW television. The match may have been between Jeff Hardy and Jeff Jarrett but everyone associated with those two men, including Zay and “All Ego”, got involved in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match (https://www.txchainsawgame.com/hub).

As for Aussie Open, they got into it with AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole ahead of their ZERO HOUR championship bout, but were the ones left ducking away from the situation, and apparently MJF’s Kangaroo Kick at the end of the scuffle. Now, as Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis prepare for the biggest night in AEW’s history, they’ve got to take on Zay and Ethan Page, two men certainly not pleased with how their Wednesday night went either.

Can the ROH World Tag Champions stay ahead on top heading into Wembley Stadium, or will this Hardy Party duo upset their apple cart?

THE DOCTOR IS IN…

https://www.youtube.com/embed/IKfHMHe7j7Q?start=221

On Wednesday night, in their first singles match, Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D topped The Bunny to earn her spot at ALL IN: LONDON and the AEW Women’s World Championship Four Way! What this now means for Baker is an opportunity to reclaim the belt she lost to Thunder Rosa at DYNAMITE: ST. PATRICK’S DAY SLAM 2022, and potentially from the woman she first beat at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2021 to claim it in the first place. Why potentially? Because Britt doesn’t have to beat Shida directly to claim the prize, she could also put down either Saraya or Toni Storm to become a 2-Time Champion, and etch her name in the history books next to Storm and Shida. What will the Good Doctor have to say about the opportunity coming at Wembley? Tune in Friday night to hear what she has to say!

This Friday night on RAMPAGE, as ALL IN: LONDON nears, AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida teams with Skye Blue to fight The Outcasts, Dr. Britt Baker talks after her victory over The Bunny, the ROH World Tag Team Champions fight Ethan Page and Brother Zay, and Rey Fenix takes on Komander! The fights begin at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from this week’s DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!

Available Now on IMPACT Plus: November 2012 Classic IMPACT! Episodes News / August 11, 2023 / by IMPACT Wrestling Staff Click here to start watching Episodes of IMPACT from November 2012 are available in HD

Continue reading →

**CONTAINS SPOILERS**

Tonight’s AEW COLLISION was broadcast live from the historic Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC!

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!

Tony Schiavone was in the ring to interview “Absolute” Ricky Starks!

Tony Schiavone informed Ricky Starks that he has been banned from wrestling for AEW for 30 days due to his attack on Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat last week on Collision.

Ricky Starks: “You have to have consequences for your actions. And I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking about Steamboat. Steamboat cost me the match, so I had to whoop his ass. Every single parent here understands.

“The other thing I want to touch on…yeah, I figured you guys would suspend me. All you people backstage want to play in my face like I’m some type of joke. So, I went and got a manager’s license. I’m still going to be on this show each and every week because this is my show!

“You don’t have to like me, but you don’t have to love me, but guess what, you will respect me. I’m unhinged right now. CM Punk, I want you to know one thing. Blood is on your hands, brother. You brought that man into this ring, and you are the reason that he got 10 lashes. So, my question to you is, you got the W, and I got the L, but guess what? I can live with mine, can you? No. You aren’t Superman, you aren’t bulletproof, and you damn sure ain’t ‘Absolute’ Ricky Starks.

“Right here, right now, I am proclaiming that I am going to set this whole damn company on fire and I’m going to start next week. You want a war? Guess what? I’m going to bring a war to your front door and I’m going to make sure your mommy, your daddy, and your sister all understand that I am ‘Absolute’ Ricky Starks and there ain’t nobody like me on Dynamite and on this damn show!”

The Acclaimed—Max Caster & Anthony Bowens

vs.

Iron Savages—Bronson & Boulder!

Bowens traded forearms with Bronson. Bowens got the upper hand, and then tagged out to Max. Boulder got chopped by Max. Boulder held up both members of the Acclaimed and hurled them overhead and to the mat.

Bowens cleaned house on the Iron Savages. Boulder and Bronson planted Bowens. Caster ran in to break up the pin attempt on Bowens. Caster springboard dropkicked Bronson off the shoulders of Boulder.

Jack Jameson jumped into the ring and Bowens nailed him with Scissor Me Timbers. The Acclaimed hit double FameAssers on their opponents and scored the victory.

Caster: “Yo! Yo! Yo! Listen! Tonight, the best two man team in this sport has returned because the Acclaimed is back! This Wednesday on Dynamite we’re wrestling again baby. And even though Billy’s not with us, we’ve got the spirit of Billy with us always.”

Bowens: “And in the spirit of Billy Gunn, last week Max and I got to say goodbye, but you guys didn’t get to say goodbye. I know Billy is at home watching. So, Greensboro, throw those scissors in the air and make some noise for the legend that is Billy Gunn. We love you, Billy! The world loves you, Billy! And everyone loves the Acclaimed!”

Lexy Nair was backstage with Bullet Club Gold!

Jay White: Lexy you need to be smiling a bit. Because you’re hanging out with the Bang Bang Gang! Not only are we the best, this is the most elite version of Bullet Club ever. I know there’s a handful of guys that like to call themselves the Elite, but they don’t have the right to.

“Two of those guys walk around calling themselves the best brother tag team ever. They also don’t have the right to do that. That right is reserved for a couple of top guns.”

The Gunns said they would ride into Dynamite this Wednesday and show the Young Bucks why the Gunns are the best brother tag team in AEW.

TBS Champion Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale

vs.

Diamante & Mercedes Martinez!

Diamante and Statlander slugged it out. Willow tagged in and splashed Diamante for a near fall. She booted Diamante in the face.

Martinez and Diamante double dropkicked Willow after placing her in the Paradise Lock. Willow rallied back by choke slamming Diamante onto a prone Martinez. Statlander grabbed the hot tag and dished out clotheslines to the opposition.

Kris and Willow hit their opponents with double sentons. Diamante rocked Kris with a cutter. Martinez threw Diamante over the top rope and out onto her opponents outside the ring. Willow came back with a pounce onto Martinez. Kris smashed Diamante with a fisherman busterman spin driver. Martinez rolled up Willow and pinned her, with the help of Diamante giving leverage to Martinez.

Lexy Nair was backstage with Toni Storm!

Storm: “Listen, I don’t know who you are, but I demand a little respect. I’ve been a little depressed since losing my title but today I’m feeling a little better because not only do I have my rematch at Wembley Stadium but also because my girl Saraya will be in the match. Which means no funny business. That means I’m finally going to get a fair fight because these other girls are trouble, and everybody knows it.”

Ring of Honor World TV Champion Samoa Joe vs. Andrew Everett!

Samoa Joe jabbed at Everett. Joe crushed Andrew in the corner with a splash. Samoa Joe rocked Everett with a lariat and then locked in his submission to force the tap out!

Samoa Joe: “My name is Samoa Joe. I stand here as your now and forever king of television. And your king came here tonight looking for the answer of a champion. But as I stand in the ring right now, I’m met with the deafening silence of a coward. And as far as I’m concerned, your Real World Champion is acting like a real b—tch right now!

“I gave you the courtesy of asking. I gave you the mercy of letting you know what would happen. And since you don’t seem very talkative tonight, allow me to say this. I began coming out here by asking you for what I want. But now Punker, I’m going to convince you.”

Next Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus came out to the ring!

Christian Cage: “I know there’s a lot of second bests to come out of North Carolina. We all know that Michael Jordan isn’t the greatest basketball player of all time. And as far as professional wrestling goes, everybody knows that I am far superior to Ric Flair or any other wrestler from North Carolina for that matter.

“As the TNT Champion, I, we, don’t expect, we demand respect. Lately I felt a little disrespected by Darby Allin. Now Darby, I’ve already told you this, as long as this TNT Championship is in my possession, you will never touch it again. Do you understand me?

“I heard you say that you paint half your face because you’re 50% dead inside. I’m building a legacy. Do you understand me? If you keep pursuing my TNT Championship, I’ll give you the other 50%.”

Arn Anderson walked out with Brock Anderson!

Arn: “That’s about enough. This is not Darby Allin. We’re the Andersons. They know us around here. This is hallowed ground in professional wrestling. This is horsemen country. Before we get too much further into this, I would like to point something out to the sea monster to your left. Breaking news: you’re the champion, not him!

“If this was 20 years ago, I’d slide into the ring and I’d spinebuster you and I’d walk out with that title. I’ll tell you what. You didn’t think this was over did you? Go get him, son.”

Brock Anderson jumped into the ring and the match began!

Luchasaurus booted Brock in the face. He followed up with another thrust kick. Luchasaurus planted Brock hard onto the mat!

Brock battled back with right hands to Luchasaurus. The champ choke slammed Brock. Luchasaurus plowed into Brock with a lariat from behind and then pinned him!

Darby Allin jumped into the ring with a skateboard! Darby wasted no time, jumping off the turnbuckle with his skateboard and landing right onto Luchasaurus’ back!

Darby: “You’re a dinosaur, right? You’ve been around for 65 billion years. In that whole time have you ever had a skateboard up your ass?! And Christian, I’m getting really sick of you talking. Don’t you want to be a fighting champion? Next week on Collision, Darby Allin against Christian, what do you say?!”

Christian Cage: “You’re on!”

Darby Allin: “And when I’m done with you, at All Out, Luchasaurus, I’m going to put some respect back on that championship’s name when I become the new face of TNT!”

Tony Schiavone was in the ring to interview Powerhouse Hobbs!

Hobbs: “So last week an opportunity presented itself. Chicago, the United Center, All Out. The very place where Collision began. Now Schiavone, you know over the last few months I haven’t found any peace. So, what did I do? I took myself back to the Bay and I found the one thing that means something to me. That’s the Book of Hobbs.

“Like I said last week, I don’t want anyone’s help and I don’t need anyone’s help. The next chapter is entitled ‘Redemption.’ I’ll tell you how I’m going to redeem myself. I need to call out the Redeemer. So, Miro, bring your ass out!”

“The Redeemer” Miro’s music began to play!

Miro walked onto the ramp! Miro walked to the ring and was glaring at Hobbs. Out of nowhere, Aaron Solo and Nick Comoroto ran out and ambushed Miro! They rammed Miro into the steel ring steps! They threw Miro into the ring. Hobbs planted Miro with a spinebuster!

Main Event Time!

AEW World Trios Championship Match!

The House of Black—Brody King, Buddy Matthews, & Malakai Black

vs.

CMFTR—AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR & “Real World Champion” CM Punk!

Jim Ross joined the commentary team for this match!

Buddy backed Punk into the turnbuckles. Buddy blasted Punk with a shoulder block. Cash Wheeler tagged in. Cash used an arm drag on Buddy and tagged in Dax Harwood.

Dax suplexed Buddy Matthews and followed up with a leg drop. Brody King grabbed a tag and chopped Dax in the chest. Dax used some smash mouth tactics to bring Brody to his feet.

FTR dropkicked Brody, knocking him to the arena floor. Malakai Black tagged in. Punk ducked a roundhouse kick from Black. Both teams entered the ring and began to brawl!

Brody King helped isolate Dax into the House of Black’s corner. Harwood DDT’ed Malakai Black! Dax tagged out to CM Punk. Punk nailed Buddy with a running knee strike. Punk hoisted up Buddy for the GTS, but Buddy escaped. Punk rocked Buddy with a clothesline. Punk climbed to the top turnbuckle. Julia Hart distracted the ref just long enough for Malakai Black to knock Punk down.

Brody tagged in and ran into Punk with a cannonball in the corner! Brody followed up with a snap suplex. Punk was caught in the wrong corner. Punk came back out of nowhere with a GTS on Buddy Matthews!

Punk tagged out to Wheeler. Cash cut Brody King down to size. He caught Black with a powerslam. FTR sent all three members of the House of Black out of the ring. Wheeler flew out, through the ropes and right at the House of Black!

Cash nailed Brody with a bulldog off the top rope. Brody rallied back with a double DDT on FTR! Dax and Cash cut off his momentum with a superplex! Punk dropped an elbow off the top rope and onto Brody for a near fall!

CMFTR blasted Brody with a Super Shatter Machine! But Buddy hit a meteora on Cash! Harwood got nailed with a running knee from Black. Punk and Black dropped one another with massive kicks!

Punk drove Black into the barricade with a tope suicida! Harwood hit a diving headbutt on Brody King! Out of the shadows, Samoa Joe grabbed CM Punk and locked on a sleeper in the front row! Julia Hart jumped onto the ring apron and distracted the referee. Brody wrecked Dax with a spinning lariat and pinned him!

Catch AEW DYNAMITE: Fight for The Fallen on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN!

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

https://www.youtube.com/embed/lfcRKqTXnxY

Last week on COLLISION, fans witnessed CM Punk retain his “Real” World Championship over Ricky Starks, in part thanks to Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat having a keen eye for Starks’ cheating, and stepping in when referee Stephon Smith was knocked out of commission. Still, it didn’t save Steamboat from getting attacked by Ricky after the match, of course after Punk had already left the ring, necessitating Punk to come in with chair in hand to chase the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament winner away.

In addition, FTR retained their AEW World Tag Team Championship over Big Bill and Brian Cage in a hard-fought battle while Kris Statlander bested Mercedes Martinez in their TBS Championship clash only to fall victim to an assault from both Martinez and Diamante! The House of Black retained their World Trios Champions titles, Samoa Joe challenged CM Punk to meet him at ALL IN: LONDON, and Jay White was back in action as well!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/KxvTVdEMUkg

This week all of those champions will be in action once again, six of them in the same match, as The House of Black defends their AEW World Trios Championship against the team collectively known as CMFTR! On top of that, TBS Champion Kris Statlander will team up with Willow Nightingale to face Mercedes and Diamante in tag team action, and speaking of tag teams, The Acclaimed will be back in the mix this Saturday night when COLLISION comes to Greensboro, NC and the historic Greensboro Coliseum! The show begins at 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for AEW’s international fans, so make it 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 edition of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!

AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH…

The House of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews, & Malakai Black)

vs.

CMFTR (AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR & CM Punk)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/XLDUcfofd7w

It was far from an off-week for all the men involved in this bout as all six defended their titles on COLLISION. The House of Black, unarguably, had the easiest night of them all, and that’s meant as no slight to Action Andretti, Lee Johnson, or Darius Martin, it’s just that they were a trio fighting in their first outing together, and while they pushed The House for nine minutes, ultimately they were left decimated by Brody, Buddy, and Malakai. Now the CMFTR side of this coin, they put in 35 minutes of ring time between their two respective matches:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/MGOExmlWdlk

Now Dax and Cash may have been facing a team rather inexperienced in working together, but who have been quite the destructive force in their limited outings as a pair. Big Bill and Brian Cage ran the table on the Eliminator Battle Royale to earn this shot, and that was after several impressive outings in the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament that earned MJF and Adam Cole their title opportunity. So while they may have successfully defended their AEW World Tag Team Championship against Big Bill and Brian Cage, Dax and Cash took quite a beating from the monsters in the process, and that was after facing MJF and Cole the week prior, going nearly an hour with Juice and Jay White two weeks before that, and nearly thirty minutes with that BULLET CLUB GOLD duo the week before that. Suffice it to say FTR has been putting in the work since the debut of COLLISION, as well as making their presence known on DYNAMITE several times, and thus they are feeling it coming into this Trios bout.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/L675xZinpt0

And the same could be said for their partner, the self-proclaimed “Real” World Champion, CM Punk. Coming off a tremendous victory over Ricky Starks in which he put in 22 minutes of ring time, Punk has to walk around knowing what happened to Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat in the aftermath of the match, a match he was responsible for bringing Steamboat into in the first place. On top of that, though he may have been off the week prior, two weeks earlier he and Darby Allin were topped by Ricky Starks and Christian Cage, the week before that he lost in the finals of The Owen Hart Foundation Tournament to Ricky Starks, and the week before that he took an absolute beating from Samoa Joe en route to squeaking out a win over the ROH World TV Champion. So yeah, Punk is feeling it too coming into this Trios Championship contest.

Perhaps that is where CMFTR is most dangerous, when they are worn out, tired, and exhausted from their fights, perhaps that is where they are most likely to risk it all to end this House of Black reign, but that is what they will have to do in order to have hope in winning. Brody King, Buddy Matthews, and Malakai Black have far more experience working as a trio, and their seven championship defenses are testament to that resume. In fact, in all of AEW, The Elite and Death Triangle are the only active threesomes with more matches under their proverbial belt, and no active trio has more victories, though The House and Elite are tied with 17 wins each. So it is going to take every ounce of fight CMFTR has left in their body after these last two grueling months if they hope to dethrone The House of Black and head into Wembley Stadium holding the AEW World Trios Championship Titles.

Of course, both Punk and FTR have other ALL IN: LONDON issues to worry about, FTR with an officially scheduled World Tag Team Championship match against The Young Bucks and CM Punk with a challenge laid out by ROH World Television Champion Samoa Joe, so they’ve already got plenty to worry about without even adding these championship titles to their plate! Should they win, would these six men pull double duty at Wembley as MJF and Adam Cole appear set to do? And even if they do not win, the question remains who will step up to fight The House of Black should they too make the excursion on August 27th?

TAG TEAM CONTEST…

TBS Champion Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale

vs.

Diamante & Mercedes Martinez

https://www.youtube.com/embed/jSJiEZoQ2dU

Perhaps Diamante took to heart the words Athena shared with her after their ROH World Championship fight, telling her fallen foe that she has what it takes, but she’s missing something, and needed to step it up to reach championship level. It certainly seems likely given that, just two days later, Diamante joined Mercedes Martinez in assaulting TBS Champion Kris Statlander following her title victory over “The OG Badass”.

Prior to that moment, there was little common ground between the women other than both had multiple losses to Kris Statlander on their resume, and that both had fallen to Athena when the ROH Women’s World Championship was at stake. Well after the events that took place following Mercedes loss to Stat, these two women can add another commonality, an enemy named Willow Nightingale!

Now both are familiar with the 2023 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament winner; her and Diamante have split a pair of singles matches in AEW while Mercedes bested Willow for the Interim ROH Women’s World Championship at SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2022. But now “The Babe with the Power”, after her epic collision with Athena at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023, is primed to prove that she’s a dominating force in AEW, and siding up with Kris Statlander in this confrontation is quite the way to do just that.

Two top shelf athletes from Long Island facing two of the baddest women in pro wrestling today; it goes down this Saturday night on COLLISION and will no play a part in the future of the TBS Championship!

THE ACCLAIMED ARE BACK!

https://www.youtube.com/embed/bIX-eDQaIig

With Daddy Ass leaving his boots in the ring and apparently retiring from in-ring competition, The Acclaimed of Anthony Bowens and Max Caster will be stepping back into tag team action this Saturday night on COLLISION! As former AEW World Tag Team Champions, they know what it takes to get back to the top of the division, and although they’ve not been in a traditional tag team bout since the March 25th edition of RAMPAGE, they still have the most victories of any team in All Elite history with 54, and with 66 tag matches they’ve fought in more tag team bouts than any team in AEW history.

Will this Saturday mark the start of another climb towards the World Tag Team Championship for The Acclaimed? Or will their time spent in trios competition leave them a little out of practice from working the game from this angle.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/LB_HamFqslI

AEW swings into Greensboro, NC and the historic Greensboro Coliseum for an all-new COLLISION featuring one massive AEW World Trios Championship bout pitting The House of Black against CMFTR, a tag team grudge match with TBS Champion Kris Statlander being joined by Willow Nightingale to face Mercedes Martinez and Diamante, and the return of The Acclaimed to tag team action! The night kicks off at 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for AEW’s international fans, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from last week’s COLLISION, this week’s episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest edition of CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS** Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH! Excalibur, Tony…

ALL IN: LONDON draws ever closer and we’ve got several challenges laid out, and one AEW World Championship match made with Adam Cole…

**CONTAINS SPOILERS** Tonight’s AEW COLLISION was broadcast live from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, SC! Nigel McGuinness…

IMPACT Legends The Beautiful People & Awesome Kong Set for IMPACT 1000 News / August 3, 2023 / by IMPACT Wrestling Staff Get tickets On Saturday, September 9th, the television trucks of IMPACT! on AXS

Continue reading →