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!
Tonight’s episode of AEW RAMPAGE was broadcast from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!
Yourbroadcast 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!
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.
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
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?
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!
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!
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.
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?
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?
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…
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!
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
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)
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
-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!
Tonight’s AEW COLLISION was broadcast live from the United Center in Chicago, IL
Nigel McGuinness and Kevin Kelly were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Saturday night and you know what that means! Saturday night’s alright for fighting!
Tony Schiavone kicked off the show in the ring, introducing “Absolute” Ricky Starks, who had Big Bill with him!
Ricky Starks: “Well, here we are again, huh? I find myself back at square one. It seems that every time I climb up the hill I get dragged back down. But I get better. I am so tired of having to start over. But I do it because I show up and I show out and I deliver every single time.
“No matter how many people try to suck the life out of me, it doesn’t work. You cannot put a lid on a boiling pot because I will overflow. I am tired and sick of having to start over. Bill, I want you to know something. You are a hell of a dude, for real. I’m telling you from my heart, I believe in you. And I believe in myself.
“I’m so angry and I want to cry but I’m a man about it. And I will do what I need to do. You know it’s funny. I sat at home and watched All In, one of the biggest wrestling pay-per-view shows of all time on my couch. There wasn’t time for me? Because I got suspended for whipping Ricky Steamboat. And that is why I’m challenging Ricky Steamboat to a strap match at All Out.
“I am not letting a moment pass me by tomorrow night. That is why I’m calling my shot. So, I want an answer from the Dragon right now.”
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat walked to the ring with a vengeful look!
Steamboat: “Let me say something. What happened to you and me, Ricky, you took a couple of cheap shots on me, and I went down. I hear on social media that Ricky Starks wants to have a strap match with the Dragon. No disqualification. You talk a good game. You can perform in the ring when you want to. But I have a contract. I got a hold of AEW legal, let’s do it old school with a dragon. Let’s make sure the pen talks and not the mouth.”
Steamboat handed a contract to Tony Schiavone and told him to show Starks.
Steamboat: “Sign it!”
Starks put his signature on the contract.
Steamboat said they know him as the Dragon. But, he said, “They also know this guy.”
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson came out to the ring!
“My God, Ricky Starks what have you signed?” asked Kevin Kelly.
Bryan Danielson signed the contract!
Starks: “It’s supposed to be Steamboat.”
Danielson: “It says ‘The Dragon’ on the contract.”
“Looks like we’ve got ourselves a No DQ Strap Match for All Out,” said Tony Schiavone.
Starks: “Well, if this is the bed that I lay in, I’m going to make sure I’m real comfortable.”
Steamboat: “We just wanted to make sure you got what you wanted. You got your strap match!”
Danielson smiled at Starks across the ring.
Jon Moxley was backstage with words for Orange Cassidy!
Moxley: “Be the rock upon which the waves crash and eventually even the raging seas fall still around you. Or in other words, be Orange Cassidy, International Champion, the player that no one can checkmate. These idiots who call him a cosplayer wrestler, okay, in that case, who did they beat?
“When you’ve been doing this as long as I have been at this level, there’s always another bigger show, you wrestle the greats, the Chris Jerichos, the Bryan Danielsons, sometimes you win, sometimes they win. But there’s always another opportunity.
“This is a chance that only comes once in a lifetime because Orange Cassidy is on the run of a lifetime. I can smell BS from a mile away and I know the real thing when I see it. And Orange Cassidy looks like the real thing to me. And tomorrow we’ll find out.
“I am a technician of the highest order. My specialty, I’m going to target your soul, your heart, your guts, your endurance, your will to survive. A lot of these guys think they want to be wrestlers, but they don’t really want to be great wrestlers. Orange Cassidy, when it gets hard, and it’s really gonna get hard, will you look for a way out? I hope not. A lot of people believe in you Orange Cassidy. This Sunday at All Out, don’t disappoint us.”
AEW World Trios Championship Match!
The Acclaimed (c.) vs. Daddy Magic, Cool Hand Ang, & Daniel Garcia (with Jake Hager)!
Angelo Parker ate some right hands from Anthony Bowens. Garcia tagged in, as did Daddy Ass. Garcia cracked Billy Gunn with a chop across the chest. Billy Gunn and Bowens dropped double elbows on Garcia. Garcia put the Dragon Tamer on Bowens after some help from Parker and Menard. Billy Gunn broke up the hold.
Max Caster tagged in and cleaned house on the opposition. Caster connected with a cross body press on Garcia for a near fall. Garcia fired back with a uranage. Menard grabbed a tag and collided with Caster. Billy Gunn tagged in and smacked Menard with the Fame Asser. Caster soared down with the Mic Drop and pinned Menard!
Lexy Nair was backstage interviewing the Dark Order ahead of their ROH World Tag Team Title match against champs Adam Cole and MJF tomorrow at All Out!
John Silver: “Adam Cole used to be our best friend, but you threw it away to team with MJF?!”
Alex Reynolds: “And speaking of MJF, not a lot of people know this, but I actually trained MJF to become a pro wrestler. And I told him that if he wanted to succeed, he’d have to do whatever it took. And he did and I’m proud of him. But only one of us took that advice. But the Dark Order needs those titles more than you. Tomorrow night we do whatever it takes to beat you, because we have to!”
Tony Schiavone interviewed Ricky Starks backstage!
Starks: “Here’s the deal. Once again, every obstacle they throw in my way I knock it out of the park. Bryan Danielson, tomorrow night I’m going to show you why I am exactly what I say I am, and that is ‘Absolute’ Ricky Starks!”
Aussie Open—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis
vs.
Nick Wayne & Komander (with Alex Abrahantes)!
Davis charged at Nick Wayne. Davis whipped Wayne into the turnbuckles. Fletcher tagged in but Wayne knocked Kyle down with a European Uppercut. Komander and Nick Wayne hit Kyle with a double dropkick.
Mark Davis tagged in, but Komander stretched him in the Octopus submission. Davis escaped and tagged Fletcher. Aussie Open used their tandem offense on Komander to take control of the match.
Nick Wayne frog splashed Fletcher for a near fall. Fletcher nailed Wayne with a half and half suplex. Davis spiked Komander with a piledriver. Aussie Open crushed Wayne with the Coriolis and pinned him!
“Color me impressed,” said Nigel.
Tony Schiavone interviewed Nick Wayne in the ring after the match.
Nick Wayne: “I’m frustrated. I lost the match. But what I’m more frustrated about is why Darby Allin forgave AR Fox for what he did to me.”
Darby Allin walked onto the ramp.
Darby: “Nick, stop, just stop. Please stop. I’m going to explain why I forgave AR Fox. I’ve known Nick since he’s been eight years old. His father trained me. I’m going to explain why I forgave AR Fox. You know what happened between your father and me. You were there. There was a time I didn’t talk to your father, your mother, or you for three years.
“I got into a big fight with him, and I burnt that bridge. And before I could make things right, he passed away. And I have to live with that every single day, Nick. I wish I could have made things right. AR Fox is one of my trainers as well. And I refuse to live with the hate. I had to let it go. And that’s why I forgave him so fast. So please find it in your heart to forgive him.
“This Sunday at All Out I am fighting for the TNT Championship. It’d be an honor if you were in my corner for that match.”
Christian Cage and TNT Champion Luchasaurus walked onto the ramp!
Christian Cage: “Nick Wayne. It was rude of me last week to speak so much about your father when I forgot to ask what your mom’s name is. Now I couldn’t help but notice her sitting at ringside. I know she’s not here tonight, so it was a missed opportunity on my part. So perhaps I should just slide into her DM’s and see if maybe we can change that.
“Now speaking of your parents, Nick, did I hear you right Darby? You didn’t speak to his parents for three years? So, let me get this straight, Darby, Nick Wayne is your personal pity project? You’re using him to justify that you’re actually a decent human being? Maybe you should take after me because I don’t pretend to be something that I’m not.
“Now in case where we’re at, Darby. We’re in Chicago. And these people can smell a loser a mile away. And you, my friend, are a loser in life and that will never change. Nick, if I can give you any advice it’s this. Carry a towel with you tomorrow to ringside because you’re going to need to throw that into the ring to stop this match. It’s going to be a massacre at the hands of not just my monster, but the most complete big man in the business today. And when it’s all said and done, I, we will be standing at the top of the mountain as the face of TNT, now and forever.”
Wheeler Yuta and ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli were backstage!
Claudio: “Congratulations Eddie. You beat Wheeler Yuta. You came back from Japan, and you beat the youngest member of the Blackpool Combat Club.”
Claudio smashed Yuta with a European Uppercut.
Claudio: “But I have a newsflash for you. We beat Wheeler every day of the week. You know what the difference is? Wheeler gets back up. He doesn’t stay down and moan like you do Eddie. Eddie, I thought Japan would change you. I was wrong. Eddie, I thought I couldn’t lose any more respect for you. But you proved me wrong.”
Lexy Nair interviewed AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya and Ruby Soho backstage!
Saraya: “I’m awesome. I won in front of 81,000 at Wembley but now I’m stuck in Chicago.”
Ruby: “Kris Statlander has never beaten me in the entire time I’ve been in AEW. And don’t worry about the Outcasts. We’re going to bring not one, but two titles back to the Outcasts. And Toni will be fine. Tonight, we’re going to drop the homegrowns like we’ve done the past few months.”
Tony Schiavone brought NBA Hall of Famer “The Worm” Dennis Rodman out to the ring!
Schiavone asked Rodzilla what he was doing here in AEW. Before Rodman could answer, Jeff Jarrett’s music began to play!
Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt, Satnam Singh, and Jay Lethal came to the ring!
Jeff Jarrett: “The reality is we all have something in common. Satnam Singh is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Jay Lethal, you’ve been a champion since day one. Dennis, you have too! Sonjay Dutt, wherever he goes, he strives for world peace. And Dennis, so do you. And I can’t forget Karen. She looks great in a dress and so do you!
“But all kidding aside, Dennis when it gets right down to it, I was a leader, and you were an integral part of one of the greatest factions of all time. And it was too sweet. And we used to say it was for life. You want to run with the bulls Why don’t you join this family?”
Rodman: “Chicago, it’s a great day to be in Chicago. It’s my first time here in 13 years. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be here but I’m loving the fact you guys are loving AEW!”
Jeff Jarrett: “Don’t make me put Satnam on your ass. I want an answer and I want it now.”
Rodman: “When I was playing basketball, Shaq was as big at Satnam, and I whipped his ass.”
Sonjay told the rest of his crew to get out of the ring so he could talk to Rodman alone.
Sonjay: “Let’s talk, Dennis. Now that these guys are out of here, there’s no funny business involved. So, what do you say?”
Rodman threw Sonjay to the mat! The Acclaimed came out with Billy Gunn!
Bowens: “Hey, double jackass, if you want a fight, how about you three get your asses in the ring right now and fight the Acclaimed?”
Billy Gunn: “There is no way Daddy Ass is wrestling twice in one night. But I’ll tell you this. We have nothing to do tomorrow. So, All Out tomorrow, we’ll put the Trios Titles on the line tomorrow with Dennis Rodman in our corner.”
Trios Match!
The Outcasts vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D., Hikaru Shida, & TBS Champ Kris Statlander!
Statlander shoved Toni Storm to the mat. Kris caught Toni and slammed her. Britt Baker tagged in and walloped Toni with a sling blade.
Shida tagged in, as did Ruby. Saraya and Ruby double teamed Shida. Statlander tagged in and cleaned house on the Outcasts. Statlander nailed Saraya with a running knee strike. Statlander powerslammed Saraya. Britt and Ruby exchanged strikes in the center of the ring. Britt blasted Ruby with a neck breaker. As the ref was distracted, Saraya sprayed Baker in the eyes with paint and Ruby pinned Baker.
Powerhouse Hobbs vs. GPA!
Hobbs nailed GPA with a spinebuster and then pinned him!
“The Redeemer” Miro came out to the ring!
Hobbs and Miro brawled in the ring, and then on the arena floor! They’ll face each other tomorrow at All Out!
Main Event Time!
AEW World Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood (with Cash Wheeler)
vs.
“Switchblade” Jay White (with Bullet Club Gold)!
Jim Ross joined the broadcast booth for the main event.
Jay White had Dax in a headlock. Dax escaped and chopped away at Switchblade. White retreated to the floor when Dax was looking for a submission.
Switchblade suplexed Dax into the turnbuckles. Jay White stomped a mudhole into Dax. Switchblade DDT’ed Dax for a near fall.
Harwood knocked down Jay White with a short arm clothesline. Dax superplexed Jay White!
“Jay White is in agony,” said Kevin Kelly.
Dax went for the diving headbutt, but Jay White dodged it. Dax followed up with a German Suplex and then a brainbuster for a two-count. Jay used a dragon screw leg whip on Dax. He followed up with a suplex to Dax. Jay rocked Dax with a Death Valley Driver for a near fall.
Dax stuffed Jay with a piledriver for a near fall! Jay planted Dax with a uranage. Jay followed up with a sleeper suplex. Jay went for the Blade Runner, but Dax countered with a slingshot powerbomb for a near fall. Dax put Jay White in the Sharpshooter, but Jay White grabbed the ropes. Bullet Club Gold pulled Jay out of the ring, realizing he was in trouble. Dax got out of the ring and Jay White shocked him with a Sling Blade on the arena floor! Back in the ring, Jay White clocked Dax with a Blade Runner and pinned him.
After the match, Bullet Club Gold surrounded Cash Wheeler! The Young Bucks sprinted to the ring and chased off Bullet Club Gold! The Young Bucks offered their hands to FTR, but FTR walked away.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!
This Sunday order AEW All Out 2023 from the United Center in Chicago, IL, live on pay-per-view at 8PM ET/5PM PT!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE was broadcast live from NOW Arena in Chicago, IL!
Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, and “The Human Suplex Machine” Taz were the broadcast team for tonight’s event.
It’s Wednesday night and you know what that means!
Jon Moxley vs. Komander (with Alex Abrahantes)!
Moxley wiped out Komander with a big boot as the bell rang. Moxley jabbed and chopped at Komander in the corner turnbuckles. Komander fired back with head scissors. He jumped off the top rope and connected with a high cross body press to Moxley on the arena floor.
“He caught all of Moxley,” said Taz.
Back in the ring, Moxley dug his nails into Komander, clawing at his back. Komander missed a Cancun Tornado, as Moxley moved out of the way. Komander countered a powerbomb with a facebuster to Mox.
Komander nailed Moxley with clotheslines, but Moxley didn’t budge. Finally, Komander connected with a dropkick to the inside of Moxley’s knee and then DDT’ed him. Komander cracked Mox with a lung blower for a near fall.
Komander walked the ropes and jumped off with a 450 but Mox countered by raising his knees. Mox spiked Komander with a piledriver for a near fall. Moxley pounded Komander with the hammer and anvil elbows and then applied the rear naked choke, forcing Komander to tap out!
Footage was shown from backstage at All In! AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR were talking with the Young Bucks when Bullet Club Gold interrupted.
And it was announced that Tony Khan made it official!
This Sunday at All Out, it’ll be an 8-Man Tag Match!
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR & the Young Bucks vs. Bullet Club Gold!
Renee Paquette interviewed Toni Storm backstage!
Storm: “Don’t get me wrong. I’ve very happy for Saraya but she went completely off script and now I have no title, no friends. Ruby hates me. Wimbley went tits up! I can’t trust anyone. I can’t Saraya. I can’t trust Ruby!”
Chris Jericho came out to the ring alone!
Jericho: “I will never forget the show at Wembley, but there is something I would like to forget. And that is how I treated my brother, Sammy Guevara, after the match. Sammy if you’re back there, please come out now.”
Sammy Guevara walked down to the ring.
Jericho: “I know I pushed you after my match. I was frustrated after losing to Will Ospreay. I should have never taken it out on you. I didn’t know if you did everything on your end to help me, but watching back, I saw what you did. We all lie, cheat, and steal here, and you did that, and I want to apologize for not thinking you did everything you could have done.”
Sammy: “I told you Chris, I always have your back, and a little push isn’t going to break us up.”
Jericho: “I’m still replaying the Ospreay match in my head, questioning what I could have done to win it. Maybe you could have hit him harder with the baseball bat.”
Sammy: “When I was watching it, Chris, I thought in my head, maybe if you hit him a little harder with the Judas Effect, maybe you could have gotten it done. Maybe.”
Jericho: “Sometimes when I ask you to do something, it doesn’t turn out like I envisioned it. That’s all.”
Sammy: “Maybe if I wasn’t so worried about having your back, maybe I could have wrestled at Wembley.”
Jericho: “Maybe if you continue to follow my advice, then maybe next year you will wrestle on that show next year at Wembley Stadium.”
Sammy: “I’ll follow that advice and maybe I won’t lose next year at Wembley Stadium like you did.”
Sammy threw his microphone down and had a stare down with Chris Jericho.
Jericho: “Hold on. Let’s not say something that we’re going to regret later. We’ve been together since day one here in AEW. So, let’s get back to what we do best. Let’s reunite Le Sex Gods. Next week let’s start on the road to becoming the AEW World Tag Team Champions.”
Sammy and Jericho hugged and smiled.
NJPW Strong Openweight Championship Match!
Eddie Kingston (c.) vs. BCC’s Wheeler Yuta!
Kingston and Yuta locked up. Yuta slapped Kingston. Yuta began to work over Kingston’s taped up elbow. Moxley and Claudio were watching the match on a monitor backstage.
Kingston used an exploder suplex on Yuta for a near fall. Yuta blocked the spinning back fist and fired back with a German Suplex for a two-count on Eddie.
Kingston chopped Yuta until Yuta blocked one. Yuta nailed Eddie with repeated elbows. Kingston came back with a half and half suplex. Eddie rocked Yuta with two spinning backfists and pinned Yuta!
ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli walked to the ring and helped Yuta to his feet. Claudio didn’t look at Kingston once, showing a complete lack of respect.
Footage was shown from backstage after the main event of All In: London. Adam Cole and MJF were talking. MJF said Tony Khan informed him that there’d be a battle royal on Rampage to determine who will face Adam Cole and MJF for the ROH World Tag Team Titles at All Out this Sunday in Chicago. MJF also said there was going to be a tournament kicking off next week to decide who gets to face MJF for the Triple B at Dynamite: Grand Slam on September 20th. But first, MJF was going to have a week off to spend some time in Paris.
Adam Cole: “If anyone’s earned a week off, champ, it’s you. I love ya, man.”
Renee Paquette was interviewing Sammy Guevara backstage when Don Callis interrupted!
Callis: “It’s hard being Jericho’s friend, isn’t it? Don’t you find it challenging having to deal with a sociopath like that?”
Sammy: “Stop talking, I know what you’re up to. I have a family. I didn’t leave my family to come to Chicago to come talk to you. So, get lost!”
ROH World Tag Team Champion Adam Cole came out to the ring!
Adam Cole: “I lost in the main event at Wembley, and that hurt, but I know at some point I’ll get another shot for the AEW World Title. Now concerning my good friend, MJF, his neck is pretty banged up. But I promise you this Sunday at All Out live in Chicago, MJF is going to be ready to go.”
Roderick Strong came to the ring with the Kingdom! “Adam!” yelled Strong.
Strong: “So you care more about the fact that Max’s neck is bad than you care about my neck? Is my neck health not important to you?”
Cole: “This is getting absurd.”
Mike Bennett: “Let me take you back 2010, Ring of Honor. It’s a 21 year old Adam Cole versus a 25 year old Mike Bennett. We got each other signed to Ring of Honor that night and I felt like we were bonded for life. You were at my wedding, man. You hosted my bachelor party the night before.
“We picked each other up during our worst moments and celebrated during our best moments. But you forgot what we meant to you.”
Matt Taven: “Shut your mouth, Cole. This is just who you are. You needed us. You needed the Kingdom to take over Ring of Honor and once you did you jumped ship to join the Bullet Club. Then you went to Florida and surrounded yourself with all our friends. And now you want to come here and say you’re a changed man? You’re a liar. You’re still the same leech. When you look at pictures of the past, do you ignore all the people around you? Because I think you believe you’re standing there alone. Because that’s the only person you care about.”
Cole: “You know for a fact that that’s not true. If I made you feel that way, I am so sorry. We were all close at one point. But the three of you need to accept that not only is Max my friend, but he’s also my best friend.”
Strong: “I can’t accept that. I’m entering that Grand Slam Tournament and I’m going to do what you can’t do. I’m going to beat MJF and become the new AEW World Champion and I’m going to do that with my real friends in the Kingdom by my side.”
Cole: “You know your neck is not in good shape.”
Strong: “Oh, Cole is pretending to care about me. I don’t need a neck that’s 100 percent to win. Bad neck or not, I’m going to break everyone’s back and win that tournament because I am a wrestling legend!”
Baker bludgeoned Sakura with forearms and then took her down with a sling blade. Shafir distracted the ref while Nyla hit Baker with a knee.
Rose, Shafir, and Sakura employed quick tags to work over Baker in their corner, isolating her. Statlander grabbed a tag and cleaned house, hammering Shafir. Statlander slammed Shafir onto the mat from off her shoulders. Baker inadvertently connected with a thrust kick to Shida. Nyla chokeslammed Baker.
Statlander climbed to the top and jumped onto the pile of opponents on the arena floor! Kris nailed Shafir with the Wednesday Night Fever tombstone piledriver and pinned Shafir. After the match, Ruby Soho jumped into the ring, ambushed Kris, and leveled her with the No Future kick! Ruby walked away with Statlander’s TBS championship!
It was announced that Shane Taylor will be facing Samoa Joe for the Ring of Honor World TV Championship this Sunday at All Out!
The AEW World Trios Champions the Acclaimed and Daddy Ass came out to the ring!
Daddy Ass: “Chicago, I have some really good news I’d like to share with you. Daddy Ass is back. Last Sunday was a really good day for us. At Wembley, we became Trios Champions.”
Max Caster: “80,000 people witnessed us capture the Trios titles. But we thought it was fitting that we come back to this crowd in Chicago and promise that we will lift these titles with pride as we dominate the trios division. I wanted to start with a ribbon cutting ceremony.”
Anthony Bowens: “There is a new era in the trios division and this is our house now. Chicago, welcome to the House of Ass. And in this house, we wear pink, which is why Billy, if you take a look at these titles, these are kind of dull. So, Max and I have a little surprise for you.”
Bowens and Caster revealed brand new custom AEW World Trios Championship belts with a hot pink leather strap.
Bowens: “Saturday night, live on Collision, we’re going to defend the Trios Titles!”
Main Event Time!
AEW International Championship Match!
Orange Cassidy (c.) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo (with Alex Abrahantes)!
The winner faces Jon Moxley this Sunday at All Out on pay-per-view.
Orange and Penta had a stale mate early in the match, each countering one another’s moves. Orange tried for a tope, but Penta caught him, and press slammed him into the steel barricade!
Cassidy finally connected with a tope suicida. Cassidy went for the Orange Punch, but Penta countered with a thrust kick. Penta flipped over the top rope and crashed right down onto Orange’s hand!
Orange countered a suplex with a Stun Dog Millionaire and then a DDT on Penta for a near fall. Penta punted Orange in the ribs. Penta followed up with a backstabber for a two-count on the champ.
Penta chopped down the champ with thrust kicks, and continued the assault on Orange’s right arm, looking to neutralize the threat of the Orange Punch. Orange and Penta traded Canadian Destroyers!
“What the hell are we watching? My God! It’s amazing,” said Tony Schiavone.
Penta blasted Orange with the Made in Japan for a near fall!
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
Orange nailed Penta with the Beach Break for a near fall. Orange went for the punch, but Penta countered with a thrust kick to Orange’s hand. Cassidy ate a thrust kick on the apron. Penta smashed Orange with the Made in Japan on the ring apron! Somehow Orange kicked out of the pin attempt at the last possible moment.
Penta stomped on Orange’s right arm. Penta pulled back on Orange’s arm. Penta crushed Orange with the Fear Factor for a near fall. Orange held on, cradled Penta, and pinned him!
“Penta was stunned that Orange Cassidy was able to kick out of the Fear Factory and Orange took that moment to score the victory,” said Excalibur.
Orange: “I don’t usually like to talk but yet here we are. I am so tired. My body hurts. And every single time I have a title defense, the backpack gets a little heavier. But I’m here. I’m wrestling. I’m defending the International Championship because this means everything to me. This is what AEW is. It’s about putting a person that was told, ‘You’ll never do anything,’ I’m the champion.
“And I will continue to defend my championship for as long as I want and there is nothing anyone can do to take it from me. Jon Moxley, you’d better bring more than a fork. Because I am ‘Freshly Squeezed’ Orange Cassidy and I do not have a catch phrase.”
Moxley stormed down to the ring! Moxley shoved Orange and Orange slapped Moxley! Moxley flipped off Orange and walked away.
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, IN!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c!
AEW presented All In: London live from Wembley Stadium today!
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, Tony Schiavone, & Taz!
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match!
Aussie Open (c.)—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis
vs.
Better Than You BayBay—AEW World Champion MJF & Adam Cole!
Aussie Open blindsided Cole and MJF at the start of the match. They bashed Cole and MJF with the collider outside the ring!
Davis planted MJF and splashed him for a two count. Fletcher whipped Cole into the steel guardrail. MJF was looking for the kangaroo kick, but Davis clipped him from behind. Cole made the tag and kicked Davis in the jaw, and then dished one out to Fletcher.
Fletcher charged at Cole and Cole superkicked him. MJF and Cole went for the double clothesline, but Davis pulled Fletcher out of the ring. Aussie Open pulled out Cole and swarmed him before MJF could do his dive. Aussie Open nailed MJF with the Aussie Arrow for a near fall.
MJF connected with the kangaroo kick on Aussie Open! MJF and Cole hit the double clothesline on Kyle Fletcher and Cole pinned Fletcher!
Your new ROH World Tag Team Champions…Better Than You BayBay!
Seven-Time Women’s World Champion Mercedes Mone was shown watching the action in the stadium seats!
Jim Ross joined the broadcast booth for the second half of Zero Hour!
FTW Championship Match!
Jack Perry (c.) vs. HOOK!
Jack Perry arrived in a limo. Jack Perry exited the vehicle and stood on the roof, holding up his FTW Championship. Hook walked up the ramp and the two began to brawl! Hook hurled Jack Perry across the hood of the vehicle. Hook sent Jack Perry hard into the open door of the limo. Jack Perry suplexed Hook on top of the car!
Jack Perry channeled RVD and used a Rolling Thunder on Hook on the hood of the car. Hook planted Perry with a fisherman buster suplex onto the front windshield! Jack Perry fired back with a draping DDT on Hook. Jack Perry teased going Coast-to-Coast but then gave the packed stadium the double middle fingers instead.
Perry crunched Hook with three German Suplexes. Hook rallied back with a German Suplex of his own for a near fall. He hit a second German on Perry! Hook T-boned Perry into the turnbuckles! Perry nailed Hook with a Tiger Driver for a two-count. Hook dodged a moonsault. Hook bashed Perry with a trashcan on the skull. Hook locked in Red Rum and forced Jack Perry to tap out!
Your new FTW Champion…HOOK!
Nigel McGuinness joined the broadcast booth for the next match.
The broadcast team to start the pay-per-view portion of the event was Excalibur, Jim Ross, and Nigel McGuinness.
“Real World Championship” Match!
CM Punk (c.) vs. Samoa Joe!
Samoa Joe and CM Punk locked up, with Joe muscling Punk into the turnbuckles. Punk smiled as he put Joe in a headlock. Samoa Joe slid out of the ring and chopped at Punk. Back in the ring, Samoa Joe rattled CM Punk with chops and a headbutt.
CM Punk dumped Samoa Joe on his head with a hurracanrana. CM Punk tried for a dive over the top rope, but Samoa Joe moved, with Punk crashing onto the arena floor. Punk tried for a hurracanrana, but Samoa Joe caught him and swung him through the bottom of the broadcast table. Punk was busted wide open! Samoa Joe targeted the laceration with jabs.
Samoa Joe clocked CM Punk with a high boot and then sat out with a senton splash for a near fall. CM Punk got in an instinctive headshot, dropping Samoa Joe with a roundhouse kick. CM Punk hit a leg drop on Samoa Joe, but Joe kicked out at the one-count. Samoa Joe powerslammed CM Punk. Samoa Joe countered an incoming knee strike with a powerbomb. Joe transitioned into an STF on Punk. CM Punk escaped and collapsed Joe with a roundhouse kick.
CM Punk paid homage to Terry Funk with a spinning toe hold on Samoa Joe. CM Punk attempted the rising knee strike again, but Samoa Joe countered with the STJoe! Samoa Joe was looking for an avalanche brainbuster, but Punk chomped down on Joe’s head. CM Punk nailed Samoa Joe with the Pepsi Plunge and pinned him!
Trios Match!
The Golden Elite—Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, & Kota Ibushi
vs.
Bullet Club Gold—Juice Robinson, Jay White—& Konosuke Takeshita (with Don Callis)!
Don Callis joined the broadcast booth for this match. The Gunns were ringside with Bullet Club Gold.
Omega and Hangman ping ponged Juice with chops! Ibushi tagged in and Juice immediately tagged out to Jay White. Ibushi tried for a roundhouse kick, but Jay ducked it. Jay smashed Ibushi with forearms, but Ibushi didn’t budge. Ibushi blasted Switchblade with a hard kick.
Takeshita entered the fray, but Omega took him down with a hurracanrana. Omega wiped out Takeshita and Jay White with the Terminator Dive!
Ibushi and Takeshita squared off and exchanged forearms. Takeshita clocked Omega with the Takeshita line! Hangman grabbed a tag and Page cleaned house on Juice and Switchblade. Hangman hit Jay White with a dive from the top rope for a near fall. Jay White escaped a Dead Eye attempt. Ibushi tagged in and nailed White with a standing moonsault press.
Ibushi, Omega, and Page triple teamed Jay White. Ibushi planted Jay White with a German Suplex for a near fall. Jay White rallied back, spiking Ibushi with a uranage. Omega and Takeshita tagged in for their respective teams. Omega dished out snapdragon suplexes all around. Takeshita was there to wallop Omega with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near fall!
Omega cracked Takeshita with a poison rana! Hangman was looking for the Buckshot Lariat, but the Gunns jumped up on the apron. Page knocked them to the floor and then took them out with a moonsault. Page went for the Buckshot Lariat on Takeshita but Jay White shoved Takeshita out of the way. Switchblade sent Page flying with a half and half suplex. Ibushi rocked Jay White with a running knee strike.
Juice Robinson scored with a leg lariat on Ibushi, but Omega was there to facepalm and dunk Juice onto the mat. Takeshita decimated Ibushi with a jumping knee strike!
“Ibushi is in dire straits,” said Jim Ross.
Hangman hit Takeshita with a blindside Buckshot Lariat! Jay White was trying for a Blade Runner on Omega, but Omega escaped and countered with a massive knee strike. Omega cracked Juice with a knee strike! Omega connected with a V Trigger on Jay White! Out of nowhere, Takeshita rolled up Omega and pinned him!
“Did you see that?! We just changed the world,” said Don Callis.
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match!
FTR (c.)—Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood
vs.
The Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson!
The Young Bucks’ attire was an homage to Freddie Mercury.
There were dueling chants for “Let’s go Young Bucks! F-T-R!”
Nick Jackson scoop slammed Cash Wheeler. Cash answered with a slam of his own onto Matt Jackson. FTR employed quick tags, but the Bucks had a similar strategy. The Bucks sent FTR over the top rope and down onto the arena floor with stereo clotheslines. Nick connected with a corkscrew over the top onto FTR!
“The Bucks have found their groove,” said Jim Ross.
Nick Jackson stuck Cash with a senton for a near fall. Matt Jackson dropped an elbow on Cash, ala Bret Hart. Cash tried to tag out to Dax but Matt superkicked Dax, preventing the tag. Matt DDT’ed Cash. Nick Jackson springboarded but Cash fended it off with a forearm.
Dax grabbed a tag and suplexed Nick onto Matt Jackson. Dax nailed Matt with three German Suplexes. Matt answered with his locomotion Northern Lights. Matt used a stalling Northern Lights Suplex on Dax for a two-count. Dax answered with a German of his own!
“This is an outstanding match,” said Jim Ross.
Dax applied a sharpshooter to Matt. Cash put Nick in a sharpshooter on the apron! FTR spiked Nick with a piledriver, with Cash getting a near fall. Matt saved Nick from the Shatter Machine! The Bucks blasted Dax with superkicks! The Bucks spiked Dax with a piledriver, and Nick scored a near fall.
Dax dodged the BTE Trigger and then Cash speared Nick through the ropes! FTR nailed Matt with the FTR Trigger and followed up with the Shatter Machine! Matt kicked out at the two-count!
Cash attempted a springboard 450 but Matt moved out of the way! He superkicked Cash and scored a near fall! The Bucks hit Cash with the BTE Trigger, but Dax broke up the pin attempt that followed. The Bucks smacked Dax with a Shatter Machine! The Bucks rocked Cash with a second BTE Trigger, but Cash kicked out of the pin attempt!
Wembley chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
The Young Bucks were thinking Meltzer Driver, but FTR countered with the Shatter Machine on Nick, with Cash pinned Nick!
FTR offered their hands as a sign of respect to the Young Bucks, but the Young Bucks turned away and left the ring.
Stadium Stampede Match!
Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta & Mike Santana and Ortiz
vs.
Eddie Kingston, Penta El Zero Miedo, Orange Cassidy, Trent Beretta & Chuck Taylor!
Tony Schiavone joined the broadcast booth for this match.
Kingston charged straight for Claudio! Both teams paired off and brawled around the ring! Santana and Ortiz and the Best Friends traded strikes in the ring.
Moxley used a branding iron on his opponents! Penta smacked Santana and Ortiz with a steel chair! Penta dropped both of them with sling blades!
Moxley planted Penta with a cutter. He followed up with a Paradigm Shift on Penta. Moxley pulled out skewers, but Penta whacked Mox with a steel chair! Penta spiked the skewers in Moxley’s head and followed up with the Made in Japan!
Claudio and Kingston brawled throughout the concourse! Mike Santana powerbombed Penta onto two steel chairs in the ring! Moxley mauled Orange Cassidy with a fork! Orange was busted wide open! Moxley planted Orange with a brainbuster onto a steel chair! Moxley raked a barb wire board onto Trent’s face.
Ortiz cracked Trent with a kendo stick that was wrapped in barb wire. Kingston jabbed Wheeler with an umbrella in the mouth. Santana and Ortiz powerbombed Trent onto a ladder in the corner. Moxley sent Trent flying onto a plank covered in barb wire. Ortiz splashed Trent for a near fall.
Moxley spiked Trent with a piledriver onto the ring steps! Ortiz continued to attack Orange with a fork to the head!
A white minivan pulled up. It was Trent’s mom Sue! Mox kissed her and Trent began smashing the BCC with trays of Sue’s cookies! Music began to rumble, and Penta Oscuro came out through the entrance!
“Penta looking for revenge for what was done to his brother!” said Excalibur.
Penta and Santana traded stiff shots on top of the ladder and then the ladder collapsed under their combined weight. Penta went back up and smashed Santana with a sunset powerbomb through two tables!
Orange and the Best Friends swarmed Wheeler Yuta in the ring. Ortiz punished Chuck Taylor with baking sheet shots. Yuta pulled out a screwdriver and charged at Chuck Taylor, but Taylor dodged the attack. Chuck planted Wheeler with the Awful Waffle, but Claudio jumped into the ring and broke up the pin. Moxley rocketed out of the ring, through the ropes and straight at Chuck Taylor!
Claudio grabbed Orange Cassidy and put him in the Giant Swing! Trent superplexed Ortiz off the top turnbuckle and through tables on the arena floor! Cassidy clocked Claudio with three Orange Punches for a near fall! Orange wrapped tape around his fist, broke a bottle into a bucket, and then placed his fist in there. Orange pulled out his taped fist and it was covered in broken glass! Moxley dropped Orange with his right hand before Orange could do any damage to Claudio.
Orange DDT’ed Mox into the broken glass! Claudio hoisted up Orange and pulped him with a European Uppercut!
Eddie Kingston marched to the ring with a steel chair wrapped in barbed wire, like Terry Funk, battering anyone in his path! Kingston smacked Claudio repeatedly with the chair! Moxley pulled the chair out of Kingston’s hands, and they had a bloody stare down! Moxley was looking for the Paradigm Shift, but Kingston countered with a spinning backfist. Kingston tackled Moxley through a table. Orange connected with a broken glass Orange Punch to Claudio and pinned him!
“Holy smokes he won it!” said Tony Schiavone.
AEW Women’s World Championship Match!
Hikaru Shida (c.) vs. Saraya vs. Toni Storm vs. Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.!
Saraya made her entrance with her family and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” playing!
Toni Storm walked to the ring with “God Save the Queen” echoing throughout Wembley.
Saraya and Storm worked in tandem to powerbomb Shida. Baker hit a neck breaker on Saraya for a near fall. Toni smashed Baker with a hip attack in the corner. Saraya and Toni began to argue as they both went to cover Baker for the pin attempt.
“Things are breaking down before our eyes,” said Excalibur.
Shida stacked the Outcasts in the corner and then charged at them with a running knee strike. Shida suplexed Saraya into Toni Storm. Baker walloped Storm with the sling blade. Saraya blindsided Baker with a thrust kick.
Saraya’s mom was in the front row and held back Baker while Storm chopped Baker. Storm charged at Baker, but Baker dodged her, and Storm inadvertently collided with Saraya’s mom! Saraya clubbed Toni with her forearm. Toni answered in kind! Toni Storm stripped off the bottom turnbuckle pad and propped Saraya against it. Storm was setting her up for the hip attack when Ruby Soho sprinted to the ring, trying to restore some order between her fellow Outcasts.
Ruby pleaded with Storm, but Storm knocked her down! Saraya got up and connected with a thrust kick to Toni Storm. Shida rocked Saraya with a missile dropkick. Baker dropped Shida with a swinging neck breaker.
“So many moving parts,” said Excalibur.
Saraya tied up Storm in a submission, but Baker was there to curb stomp Storm! Shida hammered Baker with strikes. Shida hoisted up Baker and planted her with the Falcon Arrow on Saraya! Shida crushed Saraya with a meteora for a near fall.
Shida walloped Saraya with the Katana Kick, but Baker broke up the pin attempt. Baker was trying to apply the Lock Jaw on Shida. Saraya grabbed a can of paint and sprayed it into Toni Storm’s eyes! Saraya spiked Storm with the Knightcap and pinned her!
Your new AEW Women’s World Champion…Saraya!
Coffin Match!
Darby Allin & Sting
vs.
Swerve Strickland & Christian Cage (with TNT Champion Luchasaurus)!
Sting and Christian Cage had a stare down, but Swerve attacked Sting from behind. Sting knocked down Swerve with a lariat. Darby opened the coffin and pulled out a jacket covered in thumbtacks. Sting had a cricket bat! Sting cracked Prince Nana with the cricket bat! Then he hit Swerve with it. Sting and Darby put on thumb tack jackets! Sting and Darby used Stinger Splashes and Coffin Splashes on Swerve and Prince Nana in the corner!
Swerve speared Sting and Christian speared Darby! Christian used wrist tape and tied up Darby’s arms behind his back. Swerve drove the cricket bat into Sting’s throat. Darby dodged and spear from Christian and followed up with a moonsault with his wrists still taped behind his back! Darby connected with a cannonball dive to Swerve outside the ring!
Sting spinebustered Swerve onto the coffin! Christian Cage blindsided Sting and rammed him into the steel ring steps. Christian attempted the con-chair-to on Darby, but Darby escaped. Darby blasted Christian with a shotgun dropkick. Swerve grabbed Darby but Darby countered with an over the top stunner on the apron. Sting jumped off the apron and splashed Swerve, who was on top of a table on the arena floor! Sting went back up and dropped an elbow, this time pushing Swerve right through the table, splitting it in half!
Darby jumped off the top turnbuckle and dropkicked Christian Cage, who was propped up on a chair on the arena floor! Darby and Sting propped up the coffin against the ring and tried to slam the lid shut on Christian, but Christian pushed the lid back to prevent it from closing. Luchasaurus hit Sting and Darby from behind, saving Christian Cage. Luchasaurus threw Darby like a lawn dart against the coffin! Nick Wayne ran down and hit Luchasaurus in the back with a skateboard!
Luchasaurus dropped Nick Wayne with a headbutt. Luchasaurus choke slammed Nick Wayne onto the skateboard! Luchasaurus picked up Nick Wayne and carried him on his shoulders to the back.
Darby went for a Coffin Splash off the top turnbuckle and down onto Swerve who was on top of the coffin, but Swerve moved!
“It was a Coffin Flop for Darby Allin!” said Excalibur.
Sting splashed Christian and Swerve in the ring. Sting put the Scorpion Death lock on Christian. Swerve cracked Sting in the back with a steel chair.
“That just pissed him off!” said Excalibur.
Christian Cage used a baseball bat to low blow Sting! Swerve jumped off the top rope and hit the double stomp on Sting! The coffin was placed into the ring. Swerve shoved Sting into the coffin. Swerve tossed the bat into the coffin, wanting to bury Sting and the bat together. Swerve tried to shut the coffin lid, but Sting used the baseball bat to prevent the lid from closing.
Swerve bodyslammed Sting on top of the coffin. Swerve went for a 450 splash onto Sting on the coffin, but Sting rolled out of the way! Darby gouged Christian Cage in the eyes. Sting nailed Swerve with a Scorpion Death Drop on top of the coffin! Darby smashed Swerve with the Coffin Drop…onto the lid of the coffin and slid the coffin lid shut on Swerve!
Chris Jericho (with Sammy Guevara) vs. IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay (with Don Callis)!
Fozzy played Jericho to the ring, as Jericho sang “Judas”!
Jericho took down Will with a shoulder tackle. Ospreay dropkicked Jericho. Ospreay followed up with Sky Twister Press to Jericho on the floor!
Ospreay and Jericho exchanged forearms. Jericho caught Ospreay flush in the face with a springboard dropkick. Jericho followed up with a sliding baseball dropkick. Jericho rocked Will with a German Suplex on the ring apron!
Ospreay rallied back with a corkscrew kick to Jericho. He followed up with a standing shooting star press to Jericho for a near fall. Jericho had a lot left in the tank, though, and took down Will with a hurracanrana off the top rope.
The lionsault was countered by Ospreay. Ospreay followed up with a shooting star press onto Jericho, who was draped across the ropes. Jericho came back with a Code Breaker on the Aerial Assassin.
Will blocked the Judas Effect and countered with a hook kick to Jericho. Will spiked Jericho with the Os-cutter for a near fall. Jericho countered the Storm Breaker and put Will in the Walls of Jericho! Don Callis jumped on the ring apron. While the ref was dealing with Don, Sammy hit Will in the head with Jericho’s bat!
Jericho charged at Will, but Will countered with a Spanish Fly for a two-count. Jericho stunned Will with the Code Breaker. Jericho hit Will with an Os-cutter! Jericho nailed Will with a low blow and then cracked him with the Judas Effect for a near fall! Ospreay clocked Jericho with a combination Judas Effect/Hidden Blade. Will followed up with the Storm Breaker for a near fall on Jericho!
“Chris Jericho refusing to quit!” said Nigel.
Will rocked Jericho with the Hidden Blade. Will nailed Jericho with a second Storm Breaker and pinned Jericho!
After the match, Sammy helped up Jericho. A dejected Jericho pushed Sammy away.
Nigel McGuinness was in the ring with a microphone!
“London, England, what a moment! What a night. 81,035 fans! Tonight, we made a new world record in pro wrestling paid attendance!”
House Rules Match!
AEW World Trios Championship Match!
House of Black (c.)—Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews, & Brody King
vs.
The Acclaimed—Anthony Bowens, Max Caster, & Badd Ass Billy Gunn!
The stipulation was No Holds Barred.
Buddy Matthews flew over the top rope and wiped out both members of the Acclaimed. Brody King hit a tope on the Acclaimed. Julia Hart entered the ring, but Billy Gunn and Max held her down while Anthony Bowens dropped the Scissor Me Timbers!
Brody charged at Billy, but Billy dodged him, sending Brody crashing into the steel guardrail. Malakai and Matthews double teamed Billy but Billy took them down with stiff shots. He splashed them in the corner.
Bowens planted Malakai with the Arrival. Buddy prevented the Mic Drop, shoving Caster. Buddy dropped the meteora on Caster. The House of Black swarmed Bowens in the corner with the three headed hydra.
Brody wrapped a steel chain around his fist and went to crack Bowens with it. Bowens escaped Malakai’s grasp and Brody accidentally hit Malakai! The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn each hit fame-assers on Buddy. Billy went for the pin, but Julia Hart pulled referee Aubrey Edwards out of the ring, preventing her from making the count.
Malakai rocked Billy with the End kick, but Billy kicked out! Bowens smashed Brody with the Arrival and Caster followed up with the Mic Drop. Billy hit the Fame Asser, and the Acclaimed followed up with a second Arrival and Mic Drop, covering Brody for the pin!
New AEW Trios Champions…The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn!
Main Event Time!
AEW World Championship Match!
MJF (c.) vs. Adam Cole!
The match began with two friends taking in the moment, displaying good sportsmanship, but it quickly broke down. Cole stomped MJF in the corner after pulling ref Bryce Remsburg in MJF’s path.
Cole grabbed a handful of MJF’s hair and yanked him to the mat. MJF responded in kind.
“MJF is upset with his best friend,” said Excalibur.
Cole attacked with a thrust kick. “We may be friends but I’m better than you,” said Adam Cole.
Cole ripped MJF’s t-shirt off him. MJF blocked a superkick and scoop slammed Cole. MJF whipped Cole into the turnbuckles.
“That was a terrible landing on multiple levels,” said Excalibur.
MJF hit a dive through the ropes onto Cole! MJF and Cole traded pinfall attempts, neither man with the clear advantage. Cole stunned MJF with a pump kick. MJF powerbombed Cole onto his outstretched knee!
MJF was looking for the Panama Sunset but Cole superkicked MJF. Cole nailed MJF with the heat seeker! Cole whipped MJF into the steel ring steps. Cole drilled MJF with a sheer drop brainbuster on the steel ring steps!
“Is Cole concerned about his friend or concerned about MJF being counted out?” asked Nigel.
Cole was about to hit the Panama Sunrise, but MJF couldn’t get to his feet and stumbled out of the ring. MJF dismantled the top of the broadcast booth. MJF was going to tombstone Cole on top of the booth, but MJF put him down, unable to put his friend through the table. Instead, Cole spiked MJF with a tombstone on top of the broadcast table!
Cole rolled MJF back into the ring, but MJF kicked out at the two-count! MJF thumbed Cole in the eye. MJF nailed Cole with a rolling elbow strike. Cole fired back with a Canadian Destroyer, but Max retaliated with a last ditch kick.
“Both men down flat, exhausted, from physical punishment from each other,” said Taz.
The fans chanted “This is awesome! This is awesome!”
The champion and challenger called for the double clothesline! They ran into each other with clotheslines, falling on top of each other! The ref counted to three and it was declared a draw!
“A double pin! It’s a draw!,” said Excalibur.
Ring Announcer Justin Roberts announced the match was a draw.
Adam Cole grabbed a microphone and said, “No freakin’ way! Max, five more minutes!”
MJF replied, “No. Five minutes isn’t enough, Adam. We’re going until we’ve got a winner in Wembley!”
MJF blocked a superkick from Cole, but then Cole thumbed MJF in the eyes. Cole charged at MJF and MJF ducked, with Adam Cole inadvertently running into the referee and knocking him down!
“Bryce Remsburg just got decked!” said Excalibur.
“He got popped inadvertently there,” replied Taz.
MJF sat up with a big grin on his face!
“It’s playtime now for Max with the referee down,” said Taz.
MJF grabbed a steel chair and threw it to Adam Cole. Cole threw it back. Neither wanted it. Max placed the chair around his head to make it look like Cole hit him with it. The ref got to his feet and questioned Cole. MJF rolled up Cole for a near fall. MJF followed up with a thrust kick! MJF drilled Cole with the heat seeker! Cole kicked out at two!
Cole nailed MJF with a straitjacket German Suplex on the apron! Cole spiked MJF with a Panama Sunrise off the apron and onto the floor! Cole rolled MJF into the ring, but MJF kicked out at two!
Cole was setting up MJF for another Panama Sunrise. MJF pulled the ref into Cole’s way, and Cole inadvertently hit the ref with the Panama Sunrise! MJF pulled the Dynamite Diamond Ring out of his trunks. MJF was on the verge of tears, torn, not sure what to do! He pulled the ring off and put it back in his trunks. Out of nowhere, Roderick Strong jumped in the ring behind MJF!
Roderick Strong kicked MJF between the legs! Cole climbed back up and drilled MJF with the Panama Sunrise. Cole dropped his kneepad and lowered the boom with the knee strike. The ref was still out. The ref finally crawled over and started to make the count. MJF kicked out at two!
“Wembley Stadium is on its feet!” said Excalibur.
Roderick Strong threw the AEW World Title into the ring and told Cole to use it on MJF! “Do it, Adam! I’m your best friend!” screamed Roderick.
Cole picked up the title and then threw it out of the ring. Roderick Strong walked out on Adam Cole! MJF cradled Adam Cole and pinned him!
Still AEW World Champion…MJF!
After the match, MJF said it was okay and that the people still loved Cole. MJF brought the ROH World Tag Team Titles into the ring and handed one to Cole, but Cole threw it down!
“I get it. You never cared about me! You only cared about the belt. You’re a fake!” said MJF.
MJF picked up the AEW World Championship and tossed it at Adam Cole. MJF told Cole to get it over with, turning his back to Cole. Adam Cole picked up the title. Roderick Strong jumped on the apron and ordered Adam Cole to hit MJF with it! Adam Cole was tempted but threw the belt down. MJF and Adam Cole hugged it out!
The Kingdom held back Roderick Strong as MJF and Adam Cole celebrated in the ring.
Excalibur announced that AEW will be returning to Wembley on Sunday, August 25th, 2024!
Missed what the entire wrestling world is buzzing about? Order the replay of the historic AEW All In: London! 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 In: London for yourself!
Catch all the fall out on AEW DYNAMITE on TBS this Wednesday live at 8/7ct from NOW Arena in Chicago, IL!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
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!
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)
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
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
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.
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
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
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?
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
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
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?
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!
Tonight’s episode of AEW DYNAMITE: Fyter Fest was broadcast live from Gas South Arena in Duluth, GA!
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!
The show opened with a graphic paying tribute to Terry Funk: 1944-2023.
Trios Match!
The Elite—Kenny Omega, & The Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson
vs.
Juice Robinson & The Gunns—Austin & Colten!
The Elite charged up the ramp and attacked Bullet Club Gold, wasting no time! Juice Robinson decked ref Rick Knox. The Bucks superkicked Juice Robinson. Jay White, who wasn’t even in the match, began to stomp Matt Jackson.
The Gunns blasted Nick Jackson with the 3:10 to Yuma! Matt superkicked the Gunns. Jay White planted Matt and then Kenny Omega ran in. Omega nailed Colten with a snapdragon. Austin was looking for a fameasser, but Kenny blocked it. Kenny blasted Jay White with a V-Trigger! Kenny went for another V-Trigger, but Takeshita ran in and rocked Kenny with a lariat.
“This match has been thrown out,” said Excalibur.
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR—Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler—ran out to even up the odds for the Elite. Back in the ring, Takeshita battered Kenny with elbow strikes. Kenny fired back with a knee strike. Kenny lifted Takeshita for the one-winged angel, but Takeshita escaped Kenny’s grasp and ran out of the ring.
Renee Paquette spoke with AEW World Champion MJF backstage!
MJF: “If there’s one thing I know about myself, it’s that I can’t get enough of people chanting my name. When it’s time for the main event at All In: London, I want you to cheer me on. Let’s make this this loudest chant in the history of professional sports.
“The old me would have BS’ed you and said there was no pressure, but main eventing this Sunday, I feel an immense amount of pressure. This is the biggest event in the history of professional wrestling, bar none. None of this happens without my own talent, without all the fans, and not without all the people who have paved the road for professional wrestling prior.
“I’m about to be the biggest headliner in the history of professional wrestling and that’s insane. Think about all the people that came before me: Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino, Dusty Rhodes, John Cena, the Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H, Undertaker, the list goes on and on. I am standing on the shoulders of giants. And on Sunday, August 27th, if I win, I might become a giant myself. So yeah, there’s a lot of pressure but frankly it’s a pressure I’m ready for.
“Look, this is all really new for me. I’ve never had a genuine friend before in my entire life. That’s not me trying to work you guys. That’s real. Adam Cole has made me a better person in a really short amount of time. He taught me I can trust, and I can let my guard down. Frankly, Adam’s not just my friend, he’s my brother. Yeah, brothers fight, but at the end of the day, brothers hug it out. And we always hug it out.
“And I understand why you guys would have reservations about trusting me. I’m far from perfect. Think about the worst thing you’ve done in your life…I’ve probably done that twice. However, I’ve been vulnerable for the first time in my life. And I’m asking you people to go on this journey with me. Be vulnerable with me and I promise you, you will be rewarded. And that’s the first promise in my life that I intend to keep. Because I’m not just a scumbag, I’m your scumbag.”
Jon Moxley vs. Rey Fenix (with Alex Abrahantes)!
Mox and Fenix traded chops. Mox ducked a kick. Rey Fenix connected with a dropkick on target. Rey Fenix followed up with a tope suicida, and then a second tope to Moxley.
Moxley tore at Rey Fenix’s mask. Moxley curb stomped Rey Fenix on the arena floor. Moxley drove the flat of his boot against the face of Rey Fenix.
Rey Fenix stunned Moxley with a kick to the back of the head. Moxley charged and scored with a lariat to Fenix. Moxley captured Rey Fenix’s arms and then began to stomp Fenix.
Rey Fenix scored with a kick to Moxley. Fenix was looking for a cutter, but Mox caught him. Fenix escaped and stomped Moxley, and then followed up with the cutter for a near fall.
Rey Fenix walloped Moxley with a frog splash for a near fall! Moxley countered a fireman’s carry with elbows to Fenix. Moxley tried for the Death Rider, but Fenix countered with a cradle for a near fall. Fenix jumped off the ropes, but Moxley countered with a big antiair uppercut.
Rey Fenix connected with a thrust kick. Moxley dug his fingers into Rey Fenix’s back. Moxley bit the face of Rey Fenix. Moxley nailed Fenix with an avalanche Death Rider for a near fall! Moxley applied the sleeper, trapping Rey Fenix, and forcing Fenix to sleep.
Wheeler Yuta and Claudio Castagnoli jumped into the ring with crowbars! Penta El Zero Miedo and Eddie Kingston tried to come out to make the save, but Ortiz, holding the madball, got in between them and the ring!
Santana made his return! He charged right at Penta El Zero Miedo. Rey Fenix got whacked by a crowbar in the side of the head by the BCC!
“Mike Santana making his return! Ortiz making his return!” said Excalibur.
Orange Cassidy, Chuck Taylor, and Trent came down the ramp!
“The Best Friends now coming down,” said Tony Schiavone.
Doc Sampson had to get in the ring to check on Rey Fenix.
“I think Fenix is in bad shape here. He got cracked in the side of the head with the crowbar,” said Taz.
Rey Fenix was carried out on a stretcher and then loaded into an ambulance.
Backstage, Renee Paquette attempted to interview Eddie Kingston.
Kingston: “You saw what your husband did?! You want me to fix it? Yeah, I’m gonna fix it at Wembley, watch!”
Earlier in the day, Renee Paquette interviewed Sammy Guevara!
Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, and Daniel Garcia interrupted Sammy before Sammy could get a word out.
Menard: “Sammy, what are you doing? You realize Jericho accepted the offer? He said yes. And the only reason things went south was because of that stupid painting. Don Callis is exactly who we thought he was!”
Sammy: “Yeah, but Chris isn’t who you think he is. I’ve known him since day one of Dynamite. We’ve had our ups, we’ve had our downs, and yeah, I don’t agree with everything he does, but he’s blinded by friendship. He’s known Callis for 30 years. When your friends are in the wrong, that’s when you need to be there for them even more. I told Chris I’m always going to have his back, and I meant that.”
Angelo Parker: “Sammy, understand this, as your friends, we’re trying to make sure you don’t make that same mistake of being blinded by friendship. You see the trend here? It’s always Sammy who’s there for his friend. But when it comes down to it Sammy, is your friend going to be there for you? It’s just something to think about.”
Garcia stared at Sammy and then walked away without saying anything.
Up next: The Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay All In: London Contract Signing!
Tony Schiavone was in the ring with security.
Will Ospreay walked to the ring with Don Callis.
Chris Jericho came to the ring with Sammy Guevara.
Don Callis: “Everybody wants to know why I did what I did last week, Chris. It’s real simple. The reason I did what I did can be summed up in four words. Will By God Ospreay! Because I realize the only thing better for me than having Chris Jericho in the Don Callis family was if I could play a part in ending the career of the greatest of all time.
“And I had to make an offer to this kid that no one else could. You know what I offered him? Your head on a platter at Wembley. So yeah, I threw away 34 years of friendship, I chose money and power over our friendship. I chose writing history rather than watching it and I chose Will Ospreay over you.
“So, Chris, on a serious note, a couple years ago you nearly died in England. Well Chris, this Sunday at Wembley, I’m going to be in Will Ospreay’s corner to make sure that that job gets done to you once and for all.”
Will Ospreay: “Chris, are you actually taking this match seriously or is this some type of vanity project to get your band to play at Wembley Stadium? Do you understand what Wembley Stadium is? It is the biggest venue in the entire U.K. This match is going to change by life, bruv. The day before I wrestle Chris Jericho, I’m doing an indie. I’m trying to put as much money together to put my kid through school. This match changes my life, bruv.
“After this, after I beat you in wrestling’s biggest event, I’m going to be the only man to say I’ve beaten Kenny Omega, Okada, and Chris Jericho in two months. And that goes very well in six months’ time, because my contract comes up from New Japan Pro-Wrestling. And who is going to pay millions of dollars for Will Ospreay? Because I know I’m the best wrestler. I’m better than the Elite. I’m better than Danielson. I’m better than Punk. I’m better than you!
“All your championships, your legacy, I respect it all mate, but all it is is rocket fuel for me and my future.”
Will Ospreay signed the contract.
Chris Jericho: “Let’s talk about your future, Will. No, let’s talk about your present. And congratulations to all the things you’ve accomplished in the last six months. But I don’t think you’d have accomplished those things if it wasn’t for me. Because five years ago when the entire wrestling world was all predicting you were going to be in a wheelchair before you were 30 years old, like your hero the Dynamite Kid, because you were so reckless, I called you.
“I got your number, and I told you to tone it down because if you didn’t, you’d never have the longevity of Chris Jericho and you would never be what I’d knew you’d be before anybody else, which is one of the top stars in this business.
“And hey, you listened to me, Will, and now here we are, Wembley Stadium, Jericho versus Ospreay. And you didn’t have to attack me from behind last week to get this match, Will, because this match has been in the works for years. This match was supposed to happen in 2021 at the Tokyo Dome before the lockdown, but there’s no lockdown now. This is Wembley. This is the biggest show in pro wrestling history, which means it’s the biggest show of my career. Almost 33 years, don’t tell me this is a vanity project for me. This is bigger than any WrestleMania, this is bigger than any Tokyo Dome, this is bigger than anything!
“This match means more to me than it does to anybody else. Because you’re coming at this from the bottom. I’m coming at it from the top of the effin’ mountain with everyone trying to knock me off.
“Every hater on social media is trying to predict my demise. So that means I have to be the best Chris Jericho that I’ve ever been to beat you Will Ospreay. But in return, you have to be the best Will Ospreay you’ve ever been to beat me.”
Chris Jericho signed the contract.
Jericho: “So prove it to me Ospreay. Prove it to your family at Wembley sitting in the front row. Your mother, your father, you missus, your four year old stepson that you’ve got to put through school. Prove it to them in front of 80,000 of your countrymen that you can beat Chris Jericho. And don’t make me regret the fact that I picked up the phone and called you five years ago. And don’t make me forget that I kept you from being in a wheelchair—”
Will Ospreay slapped the microphone out of Jericho’s hand! Jericho slapped Will Ospreay in the face! Security had to keep Jericho and Ospreay separated.
Renee Paquette spoke with Adam Cole backstage!
Adam Cole: “It’s so bizarre, never in a million years would you think a guy like Adam Cole and MJF would not only get along but become best friends. I think the world of him professionally. He’s an absolutely amazing professional wrestler. We’ve had a ton of fun together.
“But the thing I appreciate the most about MJF is he helped me find myself again. When I came back from my injury, my confidence was at an all time low. This relationship that I’ve formed with Max, he’s reminded me who the real Adam Cole is. And I’ll love him forever for that.
“When I got into pro wrestling, I never got into it with the intention of being a wrestler. I got in with the intention of being the best pro wrestler. I’ve won world championships all over the globe, but the AEW World Championship solidifies you as the best pro wrestler on the planet. This match is everything. I don’t want to win the match. I need to win the match. And I will.
“I don’t understand how people find it so hard to process that two people can be friends. Is it that hard? Is it that hard? I’m gonna say this one time and one time only. There are no issues with me and Max. None! Thank you, Renee!”
Tornado Tag Team Match!
Mogul Embassy’s Swerve Strickland & AR Fox (with Prince Nana)
vs.
Darby Allin & Nick Wayne!
Swerve threw Darby hard into the barricade. AR Fox nailed Nick Wayne with a German suplex off the top rope. AR Fox hit an implosion senton to the outside on Nick Wayne and Darby Allin!
Nick Wayne’s mother was in the front row.
Swerve spiked Nick on the apron. Nick Wayne jumped off the turnbuckle and blasted Swerve and Fox with a double cutter on the arena floor!
“Double Wayne’s World on the outside!” said Excalibur.
Darby nailed Swerve and Fox with a Coffin Drop from the turnbuckle to the arena floor!
Nick Wayne tried for Wayne’s World again, but Fox and Swerve countered with a brutal neck breaker! Darby came over the top with a stunner to Fox and then rocketed to the outside like a missile to Swerve!
Swerve crushed Darby on the arena floor with a Swerve Stomp from off the apron! Swerve booted Nick in the face. Fox hit a corkscrew brainbuster on Nick Wayne, but Nick kicked out at two! Fox did it again, but Nick Wayne kicked out again! Swerve kicked Nick in the back of the head…Nick kicked out of the pin attempt again!
“He has great resilience,” said Taz.
Swerve and Fox hit double pump kicks in the corner on Nick Wayne. Fox went for the 450 splash but Nick Wayne rolled out of the way! Nick Wayne cradled Fox and pinned him while Darby held back Swerve!
Swerve: “This is so disappointing. And by disappointing, I mean you Fox. How come every time you get the opportunity of a lifetime, you blow it! I tried. Why are you such a loser Fox? Little did you know this was a test for you. This was all a test. You can’t be an 18-year-old child Nick Wayne, who I wiped the floor with. I can’t trust you Fox. I can’t trust you in this match. I damn sure can’t trust you in front of 80,000 people at Wembley.”
Prince Nana: “On behalf of the Mogul Embassy, AR Fox you are fired!”
“The Machine” Brian Cage jumped into the ring from out of nowhere and rocked Fox with a spinning lariat. Cage planted Fox with the Drill Claw.
Darby Allin and Nick Wayne came back down to the ring, but this time they brought Sting with them! The Mogul Embassy retreated, leaving behind AR Fox.
Darby: “AR Fox, I wouldn’t be here today without you. You changed my life. You took me in when I was homeless. And no matter what you did to me, I’m always going to credit you for helping me make it here. Take my hand. I love you, man.”
Darby Allin and AR Fox hugged.
Darby: “Swerve, you’re stupider than I thought. 80,000 people in London, this Sunday, what are you going to do? Who do you got?”
Swerve and Prince Nana were standing beside Brian Cage and laughing. Christian Cage and the TNT Champion Luchasaurus walked out.
Christian Cage: “You guys shouldn’t be so surprised. The true greats are always two steps ahead, ain’t that right, Stinger? Darby, Sting, are you going to introduce me to your little friend? I think I know who this guy is. I heard a lot about you, Nick Wayne. It’s nice to meet you in person finally. I heard about your story. And I understand you have a father, and your father is dead.
“I also understand that your father was a professional wrestler. Well, I’ve never heard of your father, Buddy Wayne before, so he must not have been very good. The good news for you, Nick, is because your father was such a talentless hack, you don’t have a lot to live up to. And if I were you, I’d still clear of Wembley Stadium this Sunday, because I’d hate for you to have déjà vu and watch that coffin door close on someone you love for the second time in your life.
“But hey Nick, if you play your cards right, kid, I’ll be there to mentor you when it’s all over. Because we all know that every fatherless child needs a true mentor and there’s no better mentor than the TNT Champion!”
“Reminder that the TNT Champion is Luchasaurus and not Christian Cage,” said Excalibur.
AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR—Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler had a face-to-face interview with the Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson!
Cash: “We need to know once and for all, and same for you guys I’m sure, who is better—FTR or the Young Bucks. No excuses.”
Renee: “Each team has one apiece. We’re now going into the rubber match for the championship in front of 80,000+ fans in a packed Wembley Stadium. Does this feel like the biggest match in your career?”
Matt Jackson: “Yeah, when we first did All In all those years ago, it seemed impossible to do 10,000 in an arena. And now here we are 8 times over. Biggest match of our career…understatement of the century.”
Nick Jackson: “I feel like Matt and I are made men. We don’t need to win this match. These guys need to beat us for their legacy to be cemented on the top. I feel strongly about that too.”
Dax: “This goes far beyond business. This is personal to us. It’s about the AEW World Tag Team Championships. But I think it goes far beyond the AEW World Tag Team Championships. And I’ve said it to the point where it annoys me. The legacy. FTR’s legacy. And the only tag team that stands in our legacy is the Young Bucks. And on Monday morning I don’t want to wake up to explain to my family that I lost.”
Matt Jackson: “I’d love to remind you, how do you feed your daughter? Do you remember we brought you here? We were the reason you have jobs here. You want to talk about legacy? I hate to do this, and I know this just got awkward, but this is the truth. One day when this is all said and done, and we decide to hang up our sneakers and say that’s it, you know what people are going to say about the Young Bucks? ‘The Young Bucks…let’s finally give them their damn flowers. That’s the best damn tag team that has ever competed in pro wrestling.’
“And do you know what they’re going to say about you? They’re not going to say it. They’re going to whisper it. They’re going to say, ‘And those guys, those are the guys the Young Bucks named on their YouTube show.’ And that’s the truth.” Dax: “You guys had to jump on our name, and on our popularity and insult us, because you wanted to be on our level. There ain’t no way. But here’s the thing. 80,000 people, we will make you guys. Every time you get a chance you say you’re the foundation. Well, we’re the foundation here now.”
Matt Jackson: “We’ll see you at Wembley.”
Skye Blue vs. The Outcasts’ Ruby Soho!
Ruby dumped Skye to the outside. Skye swept out Ruby’s leg on the apron. Skye connected with a thrust kick and then whipped Ruby into the guardrail.
Ruby chopped at Skye in the corner. Ruby gouged Skye’s eyes. Sky rocked Ruby with a jumping knee strike. Skye jumped off the apron and hit Ruby with a diving crossbody press.
Skye jumped off the top rope with another diving crossbody for a near fall on Ruby. Skye planted Ruby with a spinning neck breaker. Skye Blue nailed Ruby with Skye Fall for a two-count!
Ruby countered the Code Blue attempt. Ruby cracked Skye with the No Future kick! Ruby spiked Skye with the Destination Unknown and then pinned her!
Renee Paquette was backstage with Roderick Strong and The Kingdom!
Strong: “At the end of the night at All In, we’re going to find out who the real MJF is and we’re going to find out who the real Adam Cole is.”
The Acclaimed—Max Caster and Anthony Bowens came to the ring!
Bowens: “No more games! We’re still standing! House of Black, get your asses to this ring right now! Let’s fight!”
The arena went black as the lights switched off!
The AEW World Trios Champs—The House of Black—walked down the ramp with Julia Hart!
The House of Black surrounded the Acclaimed, who were standing in the ring outnumbered. Both teams began to brawl, 3 on 2! The Acclaimed were outnumbered and were being pummeled by the House of Black.
Daddy Ass stormed to the ring and the House of Black retreated!
Daddy Ass: “Hold on just one second! You wanted my attention, well, now you’ve got it. So let me try to explain to you kind of what you’ve done. A couple of weeks ago after you beat me for the second time, I sat right there, unlaced my boots, and I did the two hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my entire life. Walk out on Max and Anthony and leave behind a really good career. And I was okay with that but then last week you jumped Max and Anthony.
“You busted Max open. You hurt one of my kids. But that wasn’t good enough. Then you took my boots, and you destroyed them. You tried to tear down a legacy that has taken me 32 years to build. I’ve done stuff in this business that will go down in wrestling history. I am a hall of famer and you just pissed all over it.
“So, for that, for that, one more time, it’s all or nothing, All In, Wembley Stadium in front of 80,000 people. Look in my eyes. I take everything from you. Because at All In it’s the House of Black against the Acclaimed and well, unfortunately that fun loving Daddy Ass can’t make the trip. But there is a guy I thought we’d never see again. And I guarantee you never wish you saw him either because there’s a bad ass coming to London and his name is Billy Gunn!”
Main Event Time!
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match!
Aussie Open—Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis (c.)
vs.
The Hardys—Matt & Jeff Hardy!
Aussie Open came in hot, charging right at the Hardys. Matt and Jeff began to fire back.
The fans chanted “Let’s go Hardys! Let’s go Hardys!”
Jeff launched off Matt’s back and splashed Mark Davis in the corner. Jeff did it again, this time to Kyle Fletcher!
The Hardys hit clotheslines on Aussie Open, sending the champs over the top rope and spilling to the arena floor.
Jeff Hardy jumped off the top turnbuckle and wiped out Aussie Open. Matt back body dropped Kyle Fletcher. Matt DDT’ed Davis and then hit the Side Effect on Fletcher for a near fall. Matt dropped an elbow across the base of Fletcher’s neck.
Matt superplexed Fletcher and then Jeff splashed Fletcher for a near fall. Davis was there to break up the pin attempt. Fletcher powerbombed Matt Hardy. Davis muscled up Jeff Hardy and then planted him right into a kick by Fletcher! Aussie Open double teamed Jeff with the Aussie Arrow and pinned Jeff!
“Hey man, you get a win over the Hardys, that’s impressive,” said Taz.
Kyle Fletcher: “Wembley Stadium, there will be no double clothesline. There will be no kangaroo kick. And Aussie Open will still be your Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions, baybay!”
The fans erupted as AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole headed to the ring shoulder to shoulder. They faced off with Aussie Open and had a stare down. Things broke down and MJF and Cole brawled with Aussie Open. Aussie Open beat down Cole and MJF. Aussie Open were going for the double clothesline on Adam Cole until MJF jumped on Davis’ back. Adam Cole wiped out Fletcher with a pump kick, and then he served up a pump kick to Davis!
MJF and Cole called for the double clothesline! Davis bailed out of the ring, though. MJF was about to go for the kangaroo kick on Fletcher when Davis hit MJF from behind! Cole wiped out Davis with a superkick! Fletcher charged at Cole, but MJF saved him by clocking Fletcher with a back elbow. MJF held Fletcher back for Adam Cole to superkick Fletcher. Fletcher escaped and Adam Cole almost inadvertently superkicked MJF, but MJF caught the kick with his hands and blocked it.
MJF held up his AEW World Championship Title. Adam Cole offered his hand, but MJF pushed past him. MJF pulled out his Dynamite diamond ring and put it on his finger. He turned around, but then removed it and put it back in his pocket. MJF called for Cole and then they hugged!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from NOW Arena in Chicago, IL!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday on TNT at 8/7c!
Be a part of history! This Sunday order All In: London from Wembley Stadium, live on pay-per-view at 6pm BST / 1pm ET! Zero Hour begins at 5pm BST / Noon ET / 9am PT!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
Orange and Wheeler traded arm drags. Then they exchanged stiff chops and forearms. Wheeler suplexed but then Orange countered with one of his own.
“These guys are going move for move,” said Taz.
Wheeler blasted the champ with a tope suicida. Orange suplexed Yuta on the arena floor. Yuta spiked Orange on the ramp! Wheeler followed up with a thrust kick to Orange’s head.
Back in the ring Orange blasted Yuta with the Beach Break! Wheeler chomped down on Orange’s hand and then stomped on it, trying to neutralize the hand that Cassidy uses for the Orange Punch.
Orange took flight with a tope suicida. Orange climbed the turnbuckles, but Wheeler kicked him in the head. Wheeler rocked Orange with a massive superplex! Wheeler crashed down onto Orange with a diving splash for a near fall. Cassidy clocked Yuta with the PK and then DDT’ed Yuta.
Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli walked out of the stands and glared at Orange from ringside. Orange looked over at Moxley and nailed Yuta with a Paradigm Shift!
“He looked right at Moxley when he executed the Paradigm Shift,” said Tony Schiavone.
“Moxley’s not too impressed,” replied Taz.
Orange connected with the Orange Punch on Wheeler Yuta. Orange immediately grabbed his hand.
“Oh, man, Orange Cassidy is hurting,” said Tony Schiavone.
Yuta locked up Orange in the seat belt for a near fall. Orange rolled up Wheeler, held onto his jean pockets, and pinned Wheeler!
Immediately after the match, the BCC swarmed Orange Cassidy and began to pummel him!
Best Friends—Trent and Chuck Taylor, sprinted to the ring to even up the odds. But the Best Friends still were not at 100%. The Lucha Bros came down to the ring with Alex Abrahantes. The Lucha Bros dished out stereo thrust kicks to Claudio. Moxley took a powder, leaving the ring before anyone could get their hands on him.
“Moxley got out of town,” said Schiavone.
Claudio and Moxley grabbed steel chairs and were about to enter the ring again when Eddie Kingston’s music hit! Kingston ran to the ring and began to brawl with Claudio!
“This has just broken down!” said Excalibur.
Eddie Kingston: “Hey, guess what? Wembley Stadium, boys. All In, boys! Us against you and whoever you can find! In a Stadium Stampede Match!”
Jim Ross had a sit-down interview with The Elite’s Kenny Omega at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, FL!
Jim Ross wanted to know about Omega’s plan for All In: London, and he wanted to know how Omega could even consider doing business with Don Callis.
Omega: “Uncle Don was just a friend of my real uncle, Uncle Larry, the Golden Shiek. And whether it was Christmas or my birthday, he was always there. Now that I look back it was really an odd childhood. I didn’t have friends, Don doesn’t like friends. I wasn’t able to have afterschool parties. Don gave me my first weight set. My first tub of protein. He’d say, ‘Take your vitamins.’
“And the way he guided me made me the best athlete possible. I try everyday to remember that version of Uncle Don. You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family. And I found myself trying to justify what this guy has done. I’m trying to find a reason not to make my entire existence one of revenge.
“I just want to move on. I don’t want him to get into my head. I don’t want this to all be about Don and the people he chooses to be part of his family. Takeshita and I go way back. I saw a lot of myself in him when I was in DDT in Japan. I thought this is the kind of guy you want to guide the right way.
“As the god of pro wrestling, I have the power to giveth, and I have the power to taketh away. And Don, this new cash cow of yours, that you think means the world to you, I’m going to take him away.”
Don Callis interrupted the interview!
Callis: “Whoa, J.R., I didn’t know you were a psychotherapist now. How is your mental health, Ken, I’m really concerned.”
“Switchblade” Jay White and Juice Robinson ambushed Omega! Takeshita joined in on the beatdown as Don yelled “More! More!”
“Hangman” Adam Page had followed his friend Omega to the hospital.
Adam Page: “If you’re going to drive all the way to Jacksonville to do a beatdown, it’s at least got to be good. It’s got to be longer than two minutes. If you’re going to start a beatdown, you have to finish it.
“I’m outside of the hospital, with Kenny inside of it. It may seem like he is, but Kenny’s not finished. And neither is he friendless. Because in London Kenny will have two of his greatest friends. And not to flatter myself, two of his greatest tag team partners of all time, in ‘Hangman’ and Ibushi. A dream team, if you will, in front of one of the largest crowds in the history of pro wrestling. Juice, Jay, Takeshita, this little beatdown you started, at Wembley, we finish it.”
Don Callis was in the ring!
Callis: “It looks like everyone wants a piece of the Don Callis family. Ladies and gentlemen, we know the world is waiting. Without further ado, we’re going to get the answer. It’s my pleasure to introduce the greatest of all time. And my best friend for 34 years, Chris Jericho!”
Chris Jericho came down to the ring!
Jericho: “What happened last week broke my heart, when all the members of the Jericho Appreciation Society walked out on me, it made me reevaluate myself. It made me reevaluate who I am as a person.
“Like I told you Don, Chris Jericho doesn’t join factions. Chris Jericho creates them. And after what happened last week, it’s obvious what the answer is. So, my answer, if I want to be a part of the Don Callis family, is yes!
“The answer is yes. I’ll tell you why, Don. When the Jericho Appreciation Society walked out on me, I realized I needed to get back to my roots. I need to align with a man who is just as low as I am. The answer is yes!”
Jericho and Callis hugged!
Callis: “This is great! Let’s go drink Broadway dry and beat up some rednecks, just like back in the day.”
Jericho: “Before we go, what’s with the picture there?”
Chris Jericho turned back and looked at a picture set up in the ring that had a black cloth draped over it.
Callis: “Oh, I got another picture of you, me and Bad News. Which one of your houses do you want it sent to?”
Jericho: “No, no, seriously, if you’ve got a painting for me, I want to see it. Let’s check this out.”
Callis: “Chris, Chris…”
Jericho: “If it’s a gift for me, I want to see it.”
Jericho pulled the cloth off the painting, and it was revealed to be a portrait of Don Callis holding up Jericho’s decapitated head!
“No wonder Don Callis was so surprised by Jericho’s answer,” said Excalibur.
Jericho: “What is this?”
Callis: “What do you think it is? It’s a joke. It’s a practical joke.”
Jericho: “Did you think I was going to say no? So, over a business decision you were going to have me assassinated? You were going to have me beheaded if I said no to you?”
Callis: “No, you don’t understand, this is very embarrassing for me. I paid a lot of money for you to have a painting of you, me, and Bad News, and the artist screwed it up.”
Jericho: “Stop, stop, stop! I have known you since 1989. I know when you’re telling the truth and I know when you’re lying. You’re lying to my face right now, Don. For the first time in your life, you scumbag lowlife, be honest with me and tell me the truth. Be a man and tell me the truth!”
Callis: “You want the truth? Okay, you’re right! I did not think in a million years you would say yes to me Chris. I thought you would say no because of your massive ego. I’ve known you for 34 years and it’s always been about you. So yes, I thought you’d make a stupid decision and say no. So, Chris in a business full of egomaniacs, you truly are the greatest at that. You are a narcissistic ego maniac who is too stupid to see what’s good for him and you don’t deserve to be a part of the Don Callis family!”
Jericho: “The Don Callis family? Who the hell is Don Callis? Three years ago, you weren’t even in the wrestling business, and nobody cared. And now because of me you’re in AEW at the top of your career, and compared to me, still, nobody cares! And this is why, Don, you have lost everything. You lost your family, you lost Kenny Omega, you lost your friends because you don’t have me, you have messed up every single personal relationship you’ve had in your life. And you want to know why? Because you’re a low life. You’re a worm. You’re a piece of trash. And Don Callis, you are an a—hole!”
Don Callis slapped Jericho!
Jericho shoved Don Callis against the turnbuckles. Takeshita jumped into the ring with a steel chair, but Jericho cut him off! Will Ospreay jumped into the ring and blindsided Jericho!
“Don Callis called in reinforcements!” said Excalibur.
Will Ospreay cracked Jericho in the skull with the steel chair and busted him wide open! As Takeshita and Ospreay held up Jericho, Don Callis smashed the picture frame over Jericho’s head!
Sammy Guevara ran to the ring with Jericho’s baseball bat and Callis, Takeshita, and Ospreay retreated out of the ring!
Jack Perry said next week on Dynamite he is going to retire the FTW Championship!
Darby Allin & Nick Wayne
vs.
Gates of Agony—Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona!
The Gates of Agony rushed at Darby and Nick as Darby and Nick were making their entrance!
Swerve Strickland and AR Fox walked onto the ramp with steel chairs.
Nick Wayne rocketed out of the ring with a tope suicida onto Bishop Kaun! The Gates of Agony hip tossed Nick into the barricade.
The Gates of Agony double teamed Darby Allin. Nick Wayne sent Toa flying off the apron with a hurracanrana. He followed up with a cutter to Bishop. Darby splashed Bishop with a Coffin Drop and pinned him!
Darby and Nick were ready for the fight with Fox and Swerve, as the Mogul Embassy members inched closer to the ring.
Sting appeared on the big screen! “Who’s house?” asked Sting.
Sting: “C’mon, I’ve got something I want to talk to you about. I’m directing movies, yes. Stinger is making movies now and I’ve got a great leading man. And I’m going to get into that in a minute. But first, Fox, this is for you. You better have eyes on the back of your head from this moment forward. Why? Because we have a Coffin Match in nine days at Wembley Stadium. I love it! The red blood cells are already moving. Tell ‘em, leading man.”
Sting pulled Prince Nana into frame!
Prince Nana: “Actually, 11 days away, sir.”
Sting: “Well, I guess the only thing left to say is, ‘It’s showtime!’”
Out next: AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole!
MJF: “Cut our music! The Devil has arrived!”
Adam Cole: “We are a week and a half away from the biggest pro wrestling event of all time, I’m talking about All In. And during Zero Hour, Adam Cole and MJF are going to become your new Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions. And we’re going to do it—”
MJF: “With a kangaroo kick, baby!”
Adam Cole: “Max I was going to say we’re going to win with a double clothesline! But that is not the only match taking place that night. Because in the main event we have Adam Cole against MJF for the AEW World Championship. And this is going to go down as the most important match in my entire life. Because nine months ago I was told by multiple doctors that I may never wrestle again. Fast forward and now I’m in the biggest pro wrestling show of all time, challenging for the most prestigious prize in our sport, the AEW World Championship. And I’m doing it with one of my best friends. I’m talking about you Max.
“This match is so important for my legacy. For 15 years I’ve been at the top of every wrestling promotion I have ever worked for. I’ve broken records with my championship runs, and this match with Max, that solidifies my legacy in AEW. But not just being in the match but winning the match. Because Max, I love you, but I need to win this match more than you could ever imagine. And I’m just telling you this out of love, but the second that bell rings, I will do anything and everything to win that AEW World Title.”
MJF: “That was a great story. Too bad mine is better. When I first got into this sport, on my first day at wrestling school, we were told to write down dream opponents. I wrote down two names. Cody Rhodes. And Adam Cole, baybay. Fast forward, the year is 2018, I for one year have had a brand new Dodge Ram truck and in that one year I put 90,000 miles on it, because I busted my ass trying to make a name for myself on the independent circuit.
“And then a little birdie tells me in 2018 there’s going to be a show in Chicago, a show that would be the biggest show in wrestling outside of the WWE in decades, and that show was called All In. So, I shot my shot. I DM’ed Cody Rhodes and I said, ‘Sir, you don’t know me all that well and you don’t owe me a damn thing, but if you give me an opportunity, I promise you I will not disappoint. Some time went by, the show was getting closer and closer, and my hopes of getting on it were getting thinner and thinner until I got a response from Cody Rhodes. He said to me, ‘Kid, you’re all in.’
“That was the biggest night of my career and I got to open a pay-per-view I had no right being on. And yes, I may have lost that night, however, I managed to turn some pretty important heads. One of them being a man by the name of Tony Khan. After that match Tony Khan offered me a contract to a company called All Elite Wrestling.
“The fact of the matter is, if there’s no All In, there’s no MJF, and that’s a fact. Fast forward the year is 2023 and I went from being an unknown and I scratched, and I clawed my way up from the undercard and I grew up in front of your very eyes. I became a generational talent. I became the devil himself. I became the AEW World Champion!
“And now once again I’m looking at the opportunity to be on a show called All In and it will be in front of the biggest crowd in the history of this sport and I’m going to be in the main event with a guy who on day one was my dream opponent, and who I can proudly say has become my best friend. This means so much to me, you have no idea. However, it doesn’t mean everything to me. There is only one thing that means everything to me and that is the Triple B. This is not simply just a title. This symbolizes all my blood, sweat, tears, countless hours training in the gym. All so I could obtain this! And if you think just because I’m your bud I’m going to lay down on August 27th, you’re out of your mind. I love you like a brother but a win in Wembley will make me legendary and I’m going to win Adam, because nobody is on the level of the devil!”
Adam Cole: “Well Max, may the best man win.”
MJF: “I have a feeling the best man is going to win because I’m MJF and I’m better than you and you know it!”
Adam Cole: “That’s interesting because I’m pretty sure your new AEW World Champion’s name is Adam Cole baybay!”
ROH World Tag Team Champions Aussie Open emerged from the crowd and attacked MJF and Adam Cole!
Adam Cole and MJF turned the tables and got the upper hand on Aussie Open! They tried for the double clothesline on Mark Davis, but he jumped out of the ring and pulled Kyle Fletcher with him.
Roderick Strong as watching on a monitor backstage with the Kingdom—Mike Bennett and Matt Taven.
Chris Jericho was backstage being stitched up!
Jericho: “Ospreay, at Wembley Stadium, your home turf, you want a piece of Chris Jericho. Jericho versus Ospreay at All In! I’m going to make you bleed and drink your blood. I’m going to get inside your head and embarrass you. You don’t know what you got into, but you’ve opened hell and the Ocho is coming for you!”
Texas Chainsaw Massacre Deathmatch!
“The Last Outlaw” Jeff Jarrett vs. Jeff Hardy!
Absolutely anything goes and the only way to win is by pinfall.
Jeff Jarrett ambushed Jeff Hardy. Hardy whipped Jarrett into the wall and then bludgeoned Jarrett with a crutch.
Satnam Singh grabbed Jeff Hardy by the neck and hoisted him up against the wall. Matt Hardy, Brother Zay and Ethan Page came out to even up the odds.
“This is one of the most bizarre matches we’ve seen in All Elite Wrestling,” said Excalibur.
Jeff Hardy dropkicked Jarrett on the ramp. Smoke began to billow out from beneath the ring. Hardy smacked Jarrett with a kendo stick. Jeff Hardy connected with a swanton, crushing Jarrett through a table! Jay Lethal jumped into the ring to break up the pin attempt.
Ethan Page blasted Lethal with a shoulder tackle. Matt Hardy hit the Twist of Fate on Lethal! Karen Jarrett hit Matt Hardy from behind with a cheap shot. Jeff Jarrett grabbed his guitar, but Jeff Hardy pulled it away and smashed it over Jarrett’s head!
Leatherface came to the ring and kicked Jay Lethal in the midsection. Leatherface chased Karen Jarrett to the back! Satnam Singh grabbed Jeff Hardy and then Jay Lethal cracked Jeff Hardy in the back with a hammer! Satnam Singh choke slammed Jeff Hardy! Lethal placed Jeff Jarrett on top of Jeff Hardy and then Jarrett scored the pin!
All In: London Women’s Championship Qualifier Match!
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. The Bunny (with Penelope Ford)!
Bunny charged at Britt, but Britt rolled up Bunny for a near fall. The Bunny stomped on Britt’s hand. She followed up with a knee lift to Baker.
Penelope Ford jumped on the ring apron and distracted Britt long enough for the Bunny to hit a lariat. Britt fired back with forearms. Britt battered Bunny with elbow strikes. Britt hit the Sling Blade.
Britt nailed Bunny with a swinging neck breaker for a near fall. Baker landed a thrust kick and then the curb stomp and she pinned the Bunny!
“She punched her ticket!” said Taz.
The Acclaimed—Max Caster & Anthony Bowens
vs.
…
Before the Acclaimed’s opponents were introduced by Justin Roberts, the arena lights went dark!
When the lights came back on, the AEW World Trios Champions the House of Black were standing behind the Acclaimed in the ring!
The House of Black ran over the Acclaimed like a freight train! Brody had a chain wrapped around his hand and he clocked Max Caster with it! Brody planted Bowens in the center of the ring!
Julia Hart had Billy Gunn’s wrestling boots. They were handed over to Malakai Black!
Main Event Time!
The Young Bucks—Matt & Nick Jackson
vs.
The Gunns—Austin & Colten Gunn!
The Bucks superkicked the Gunns as the Gunns were making their entrance! The Bucks double suplexed Colten in the ring. They hip tossed Austin.
The Bucks cleaned house with a flurry of offense. The Gunns gained some traction, working over Matt Jackson with tandem offense.
Matt Jackson rallied back and tagged Nick. Nick took down the Gunns with a huge double crossbody. Nick superkicked Austin! Nick punt kicked Colten!
Matt Jackson tagged in and he superkicked Austin. Nick smashed Austin with a knee strike. Colten saved his brother from the Bucks. Colten tagged in, but Matt rolled him up for a near fall. The Gunns hit Matt with the 3:10 to Yuma but Nick used an elbow drop to break up the pin attempt.
Matt German Suplexed Austin Gunn. Matt pinned Austin with some leverage from his brother. Juice Robinson and Jay White jumped into the ring after the match and began to ground and pound the Young Bucks! They placed Matt Jackson’s injured arm between a steel chair, and they were about to crush the arm when FTR’s music hit! FTR jumped in the ring, and they cleaned house on Bullet Club Gold! The Bucks and FTR cooperated to clear out the ring of Bullet Club Gold!
Catch AEW DYNAMITE on TBS next Wednesday live at 8/7ct from Gas South Arena in Duluth, GA!
This Friday tune in to AEW RAMPAGE at 10pm ET on TNT!
Don’t miss AEW Collision on Saturday live on TNT at 8/7c from the Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY featuring!
And remember…the home of professional wrestling is All Elite Wrestling!
The biggest event in All Elite Wrestling history, ALL IN: LONDON, is so close and it is already quite the stacked event, but there’s still more road to travel before we get there, and the next stop on that road is a return to Nashville for AEW’s debut at the Bridgestone Arena!
The biggest event in All Elite Wrestling history, ALL IN: LONDON, is so close and it is already quite the stacked event, but there’s still more road to travel before we get there, and the next stop on that road is a return to Nashville for AEW’s debut at the Bridgestone Arena! This Wednesday night Chris Jericho will give his answer to Don Callis, the AEW World Champion and his ALL IN: LONDON challenger will discuss their bout, and The Young Bucks will battle The Gunns in the perpetual debate of who is the best brother tag team! Plus, Dr. Britt Baker and the returning Bunny will fight it out for the fourth spot in the AEW Women’s World Championship match going down at Wembley, Darby Allin and Nick Wayne will be in tag team action against The Gates of Agony, and Orange Cassidy will defend his AEW International Championship against Wheeler Yuta!
DYNAMITE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2023 begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so drop by the official AEW YouTube channel to get caught up on highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and more! This year we are supporting those affected by the devastating fires in Hawaii, and encourage everyone to support the Maui Food Bank.
Six months ago Wheeler Yuta stepped into the ring with his former trainer, his former friend, Orange Cassidy and attempted to wrest the then-AEW All-Atlantic Championship from Cassidy’s grasp. It was a bout months in the making, the result of Wheeler turning his back on The Best Friends unit and aligning with The Blackpool Combat Club, and it would end in Cassidy’s favor. To this day, with 28 championship defenses to his reign, there are many who still consider this the best bout of Cassidy’s title run.
But being the opponent who took the champion to their limit doesn’t actually mean anything if you don’t win said championship, and that is where Yuta was at following their title fight. Each moved on with their life, at least for a short period of time, The BCC went to war with The Elite at Anarchy in The Arena and inside Blood & Guts, but along the way Yuta and company tangled with Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta in Trios matches. Orange continued to build his legacy, making history as the most prolific champion AEW has seen to date, defeating every single challenger that stepped up, no matter the cost to his body along the way.
But inevitably the paths intertwined once again as, in the aftermath of Claudio Castagnoli’s ROH World Championship match against PAC at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR 2023, The Best Friends’ issues with Death Triangle would bring Orange Cassidy into the fray, and lead to issues between The BCC, Death Triangle, and The Best Friends. Escalation, there is always escalation, and it came with The Luchas winning a three way tag bout over their foes, then Trent pinning Penta in a Three way with Moxley, and then the epic Parking Lot Fight between Best Friends and BCC in Jacksonville. In that last one, Cassidy and Yuta would have that moment where a showdown felt inevitable, but instead it was a group assault by The BCC on Cassidy that left the International Champion, as well as Trent and Chuck Taylor, battered on the concrete at Daily’s Place.
It’s also why Orange was all alone when Wheeler, Moxley, and Claudio surrounded the ring following Cassidy’s championship victory over Johnny TV last Friday on RAMPAGE, but instead of assaulting the man 3-on-1, the former 2-Time ROH Pure Champion issued a challenge to Cassidy to face him this Wednesday night in Nashville, and put the International Championship on the line!
Through his reign as International Champion, Orange Cassidy has found a way to beat opponents of all shapes, styles, and sizes, but few of his foes have come with such a personal edge as Wheeler Yuta. Cassidy may have beaten Yuta six months ago in Phoenix, but OC has had 16 defenses since then, not to mention numerous other fights, that have taken their toll on his body. Yuta has been through Anarchy, he’s been through Blood & Guts, he’s been to battle with Kenny Omega, and he’s been banged up himself. But one thing these two men have in common, maybe something born out of how their careers began, is that they seem to grow stronger through this adversity. It doesn’t matter the pain they’ve experienced, or how they are hurting, both Yuta and Orange persevere.
Who will be the one to persevere through this championship fight on Wednesday night?
TAG TEAM BOUT…
Darby Allin & Nick Wayne vs. Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona)
This dynamic between Darby Allin and Swerve Strickland has become brutally personal, something beyond the wins and loses, something now soaked in blood and betrayal. AR Fox stabbed Darby in the back, apparently because of how he viewed Darby’s support of Nick Wayne, and throwing his lot in with Swerve and the Mogul Embassy was the best way to make Darby feel the pain.
Apparently the best way to share that pain with Nick Wayne was to visit his training facility and leave him a bloodied, battered mess, but what The Mogul Embassy didn’t count on was the return of “The Icon” Sting to the AEW landscape, nor the Casket Match that would be set-up for ALL IN: LONDON. So now Prince Nana’s men are on the offensive ahead of that Wembley date and trying to hurt Darby, and his allies, in any way they can. Brian Cage stepped up last Friday night in a losing effort against the 2-Time TNT Champion, and now his ROH World Six-Man Championship partners will take their stab at Darby and the returning Nick Wayne, the latter certainly with revenge on his mind after the assault at his school.
Can Darby and Nick Wayne keep the momentum building as AEW approaches ALL IN: LONDON? Or will The Mogul Embassy throw a speed bump on the path and get an upper hand before the Casket lids are opened?
The Bunny has been out of action since February when she faced then-AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter in an Eliminator Bout, but this Wednesday night she returns to the AEW stage with one of the biggest opportunities of her career! There is one spot left in the AEW Women’s World Championship Four Way at ALL IN: LONDON, and The Bunny has an opportunity to fight in her first AEW championship bout in front of the largest crowd in All Elite Wrestling history!
All she has to do is defeat a former Women’s World Champion, another individual whose been a part of the fold since the very beginning, Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D! Now these two women have only faced off one time in singles competition, a match that took place on the 2020 Jericho Cruise, and was won by The Good Doctor.
Aside from bragging rights, that was a fight with very little stakes, but this one has some of the highest stakes possible save the title actually being on the line. Can The Bunny make her return to competition a triumphant one, or will it be spoiled by Dr. Britt Baker’s mission to become a 2-Time champion like Shida and Toni Storm?
THE BEST BROTHERS…
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. The Gunns (Austin & Colten)
Aside from the 2022 Battle Royales that shaped the REVOLUTION 2022 AEW World Tag Team Championship bout, The Young Bucks and The Gunns have had little interaction, but Austin and Colten’s insistence that they’re the best brother tag team is about to put them on a collision course. It won’t be the first time those claims have gotten The Gunn boys into a fight, they beat Top Flight and The Hardys to bolster their bragging, and now they’ve got the Brothers Jackson to tussle with on DYNAMITE.
The Young Bucks have a huge date with destiny on their plate at ALL IN: LONDON with the FTR rubber match, and their return to tag team competition last week, after months embroiled in Trios bouts and wars with The Blackpool Combat Club, proved quite successful when the bested The Hardys.
So for Matt and Nick it’s now about keeping the momentum going as they head to Wembley for one of AEW’s most historic events, and possibly the most important match of their careers. There’s a bit of irony here that The Young Bucks attempt to build momentum could be cut short by a team with BULLET CLUB affiliation, or that, should Juice Robinson and Jay White be on hand, the Jacksons could be cut off at the knees by the same actions they themselves once employed as part of that unit.
It could be a huge night for Colten and Austin Gunn, an opportunity to actually bolster their claims to be the best brother tag team in AEW, but it’s hugely important to The Young Bucks morale that they don’t acquire an “L” in tag team action before making the trip to Wembley Stadium.
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE DEATHMATCH…
Jeff Jarrett vs. Jeff Hardy
In conjunction with the release of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre game, dropping August 18th on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox, AEW presents the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Deathmatch this Wednesday night in Nashville! Pitting Jeff Jarrett against Jeff Hardy, it has been twelve years since the last time these two clashed in a singles match, and their only AEW interaction took place when Jeff and his brother lent an assist to The Elite following their Trios Bout with Jeff, Jay Lethal, and Satnam Singh.
Now Jeff and Jay will rekindle their rivalry in this special bout, a match where anything goes, and who knows what kind of chaos will result from that! Only 20 miles from Double J’s hometown of Hendersonville, will he put that guitar to use across Jeff’s head, or will Hardy put away Double J like he has so many times before?
After last week, AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole are now set to pull double duty at ALL IN: LONDON, first taking on Aussie Open in a ROH World Tag Team Championship bout during the ZERO HOUR, and then colliding with each other during the pay-per-view proper with Max’s title on the line.
It was an idea laid out by Cole, an opportunity to claim a championship he never held during his seven year Ring of Honor tenure as well as add his name to the ROH Triple Crown list, and for MJF to get his first ever bout under the auspices of ROH. Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis were more than happy to accept the challenge last Friday on RAMPAGE, and that makes the situation for Wembley’s AEW World Championship match even more intriguing.
But that’s not all that’s complicating the situation, there is the entire matter of Roderick Strong and whatever is going on with The Kingdom of Matt Taven and Mike Bennett. Clearly the former multi-time ROH World Tag Champs are in the ear of Roddy, offering Strong a shoulder to lean on as he watches his best friend repeatedly make terrible choices in this dynamic with MJF. Cole may be insistent that Roderick trust him, but it’s hard to do that when the man asking for trust keeps making questionable choices.
Well this Wednesday night, the AEW World Champion and his challenger will be on hands to discuss ALL IN: LONDON and the situations they are facing. Can these two new-found “brochachos” continue to bond with so much at stake in less than two weeks?
KENNY OMEGA AND JIM ROSS…
Kenny Omega has been through a lot in the last few months; he and The Young Bucks lost the World Trios Championship at REVOLUTION 2023, he was betrayed by Don Callis and quite literally stabbed by a man he considered family, betrayed by Konosuke Takeshita, and went through hell with Anarchy In The Arena and Blood & Guts. In the midst of all that, Kenny also lost the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship to Will Ospreay at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023; The Elite may have come out of Blood & Guts the victors, but Omega lost more personally than anyone else involved in the BCC war.
With all that in his heart and mind, Kenny Omega will sit-down with Jim Ross this Wednesday to discuss what the future may hold for the former AEW World Champion. Will he be in London? Will he look for vengeance against Don Callis? Where is Omega’s head at and what will it mean for All Elite Wrestling?
And speaking of Don Callis, another of his pet projects watched as his unit disintegrated before his very eyes this past Wednesday night. Chris Jericho, after being propositioned by Callis to join his family, never gave a definitive answer one way or the other, and that was something that sat ill with the rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society. Then when Jericho teamed up with Takeshita, another of Callis’ projects, to actually fight Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia, it infuriated The J.A.S, and to make matter worse, the way Jericho conducted himself in that fight, it essentially drove the final nail in the coffin of The Jericho Appreciation Society, leading to the mandatory meeting called to order by “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard rather than Jericho himself. So when every member of The J.A.S walked away from “The Ocho”, it left him, for the first time since the premier episode of DYNAMITE birthed The Inner Circle, utterly alone…except for Callis’ offer.
So what will it be? Will Jericho actually traverse the AEW landscape by himself, or will he surround himself with Callis, Takeshita, and whoever else may comprise this family Don is trying to surround himself with? Can Chris do it by himself, or is he afraid of standing among a locker room full of men he’s spent four years infuriating without a multitude of people insulating him?
All Elite Wrestling returns to Nashville for a debut at the Bridgestone Arena and with it comes loaded up edition of DYNAMITE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2023, with donations being made to support the Maui Food Bank and those affected by the fires. On tap, The Young Bucks and The Gunns will meet in tag team action, as will The Gates of Agony battle Darby Allin and Nick Wayne. Plus, The Bunny returns to action to face Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D for the final spot in the AEW Women’s World Championship bout at ALL IN: LONDON, Wheeler Yuta challenges former friend Orange Cassidy for the AEW International Championship, and we will find out Chris Jericho’s decision regarding Don Callis’ offer!
DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so drop by the official AEW YouTube channel to get caught up on highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, and COLLISION, plus the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER, and more!
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!
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!
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)
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:
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.
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?
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!
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.
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!
Wednesday night’s edition of DYNAMITE saw so much of ALL IN: LONDON fleshed out as the AEW World Tag Team Championship bout between FTR and Young Bucks became official, as a Tag Team Coffin Match pitting Darby and Sting against AR Fox and Swerve was signed, and as Hikaru Shida defeated Anna Jay to insure her position in the AEW Women’s World Championship match! We also witnessed the end of The Jericho Appreciation Society, the apparent end of a friendship between Roderick Strong and Adam Cole, BCC defeating Lucha Brothers, and Jack Perry escaping RVD with the FTW Title still in his possession!
The push towards Wembley will continue this Friday night on RAMPAGE when AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defends his title against Johnny TV, Darby Allin fights Brian Cage, ROH World Tag Champions Aussie Open are in action, and Saraya fights Skye Blue over the third spot in the AEW Women’s World Championship Four Way! The night starts at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so drop by 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!
These are two men quite familiar with one another; Darby Allin and Brian Cage have history dating back to The Machine’s arrival at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2020 where Cage won the Casino Ladder Match, and actually injured Darby in the process. That led to tag matches, Darby getting dumped from the Casino Battle Royale at ALL OUT 2020 by Cage, their TNT Championship match in January 2021, and ultimately the unforgettable Street Fight at REVOLUTINO 2021 that pit Darby and Sting against Cage and Ricky Starks.
It had been several years since the two men had butted heads, but then came the merger of Swerve Strickland’s Mogul Affiliates and Prince Nana’s Embassy, and suddenly Cage was back in the life of Darby Allin by way of his long-standing issues with Swerve. That is why this Friday night on RAMPAGE, with Darby and Sting heading for a Coffin Match at ALL IN: LONDON against Swerve and AR Fox, Brian Cage will head into battle with the former 2-Time TNT Champion on behalf of The Mogul Embassy!
Darby needs this victory ahead of Wembley, a bit of momentum for he and Sting going into such a historic evening, whereas Cage needs nothing more than to hurt Darby on behalf of his associates. For Darby it’s about victory ahead of one of the biggest nights in AEW, as well retaliation for what was done to Nick Wayne, whereas for “The Machine” it’s about suffering and pain and perhaps a little revenge for what went down between the two men in 2020 and 2021.
AEW International Championship Match…
“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy(c) vs. Johnny TV
He’s already made history by becoming the most successful champion in AEW history, across all divisions, with his twenty-seven title defenses, but there will always be records to chase and Orange Cassidy seems intent on topping them all! With 303 days as International Champion under his belt, he’s already the longest reigning current champion in All Elite Wrestling, but Orange is just over forty days away from eclipsing Kenny Omega’s 346-day World Championship reign to become the longest reigning male champion in AEW history as well! The Young Bucks had 302 as World Tag Champions, Darby’s 186 days still stands as the longest TNT Championship run, leaving only Kenny’s stand as the last milestone on the men’s side to surpass. After that, the chase is on to surpass Hikaru Shida’s 372 days as Women’s World Champion, and then finally Jade Cargill’s 508 days as TBS Champion. There is a lot of road to travel before either of those is possible, and a lot of potential foes, one of them being Cassidy’s challenger this Friday night on RAMPAGE: Johnny TV!
As a man who has traveled the world honing his craft for the last twenty years, and with the backing of the QTV contingent, Johnny TV is a certified threat to end Orange’s pursuit of history. Now the likelihood Orange is even aware, or cares, about his history making International Championship reign is debatable, but Johnny, Aaron Solo, QT Marshall, and Harley Cameron certainly know the importance of being the one to end it, and what it would mean for QTV as a whole to have a champion on their side.
Will Johnny TV be the one to end this epic championship run, or will “Freshly Squeezed” be the one to take the International Championship international and possibly defend it at ALL IN: LONDON? And regardless of who walks away from RAMPAGE as champion, who, if anyone, will step up to challenge at Wembley?
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) in action!
We all heard the challenge laid out by AEW World Champion MJF and Adam Cole, a ROH World Tag Team Championship bout during the ZERO HOUR of ALL IN: LONDON, pitting Better Than You Bay Bay against champions Aussie Open. This Friday night on RAMPAGE, Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis will be in action so perhaps we will get a response to that challenge from the United Empire representatives! Cole is the only 3-Time ROH World Champion, and a former TV Champion, but having challenged for them once in 2011 and once in 2015, he never claimed the ROH World Tag Titles. MJF, on the other hand, has never seen one bit of Ring of Honor competition, and although it’s quite clear he came up watching the product, Max has never been complimentary towards its existence.
But now that the challenge has been laid out, the possibility is there for both MJF and Cole to achieve something they’ve never done before, but will Aussie Open accept?
Winner Advances to ALL IN: LONDON Championship Match…
As seen in the clip above, AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida successfully retained her title against Anna Jay this past Wednesday on DYNAMITE, thereby securing her position as defending champion at ALL IN: LONDON in a Four Way that we also know will include Toni Storm. With two other spots to fill in the match, fans will see Dr. Britt Baker take on The Bunny this coming Wednesday night when DYNAMITE returns to Nashville, but first, this Friday on RAMPAGE, Saraya will be in action against Skye Blue!
Not only is Skye looking to advance to historic Wembley Stadium as challenger, but she is also aiming to even the score for a February 22nd loss to Saraya on DYNAMITE. As one of the women who has stood up to The Outcasts since they began their reign of tyranny over the Women’s Division, for Skye this is a fight with a whole lot of layers; it’s those two aforementioned items, it’s also keeping The Outcasts’ numbers down in the championship fight, diminishing the likelihood the title falls back into their clutches. Toni Storm already has her spot secured as the former champion, so a Saraya victory would make The Outcasts two-thirds of the challengers.
Can Skye Blue even the score with Saraya and thus secure her spot on one of AEW’s most historic nights? We shall see this Friday on RAMPAGE!!
This Friday night on RAMPAGE, with ALL IN: LONDON drawing closer, the AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy will fight Johnny TV with the title on the line, Brian Cage takes on Darby Allin, and we will see ROH World Tag Champions Aussie Open in action, as Skye Blue takes on Saraya with a trip to Wembley Stadium at stake! The bouts 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!
