Wednesday night on DYNAMITE AEW fans around the world witnessed the kick-off of the 2024 Continental Classic season with three tremendous match-ups! In the Blue League, Shelton Benjamin was the first to get on the board with 3 points after his victory over 2023 C2 participant Mark Briscoe. Over in the Gold League both Claudio Castagnoli and Brody King put 3 points on the board with their victories over Ricochet and Darby Allin, which leads us to this evening's trio of Continental Classic bouts unfolding on COLLISION! Two Blue League and One Gold League bout will go down, but that's not all that's in store for the AEW faithful joining us on TNT because we've got AEW World Tag Champions Private Party uniting with Mistico to face MxM Collection and Johnny TV in trios action, The Outriders and Iron Savages clashing in tag team action, AEW World Trios Champion Wheeler Yuta facing “Hangman” Adam Page, and so much more!
Yet that's not all that's on tap for the evening; as soon as COLLISION concludes, RAMPAGE is coming to you hard and fast with an hour of lucha action for your viewing pleasure! We've got Mascara Dorada and Atlantis Jr. teaming up with Katsuyori Shibata to face Action Andretti & Top Flight, The Beast Mortos fighting twice in one day when he faces Serpentico, Hechicero back in AEW to face Komander, and someone named Harleygram (who is absolutely not Harley Cameron) versus Thunder Rosa!
The action kicks off with COLLISION at a special start time of 4pm ET/3pm CT on TNT, immediately followed by RAMPAGE, and you can prep for it all with a visit to AEW's official YouTube channel to watch highlights from DYNAMITE, as well as previous editions of RAMPAGE and COLLISION! Then AEW heads to Indiana and the Fishers Event Center next Wednesday night for an all-new DYNAMITE as we journey towards Orlando for WORLDS END 2024 on December 28th!
BLUE LEAGUE...
AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. TNT Champion Daniel Garcia
Fans in attendance tonight at the Wintrust Arena will get the opportunity to enjoy Saturday afternoon's COLLISION broadcast three days before the rest of the world, and as part of that live experience they'll take in three additional Continental Classic bouts! As we experienced last year, every bout is crucial and can sway the standings in an instant, but there's something about this particular bout that is extra special because it is the first-time the reigning TNT Champion has ever faced the reigning Continental Champion!
In addition, this will also be the first-time Kazuchika Okada and Daniel Garcia meet one-on-one as their only previous encounter was in a trios match on the April 17th DYNAMITE where Okada actually pinned Garcia to win the bout for The Elite. Add in the fact this is Garcia's first match since winning the TNT Title at FULL GEAR 2024, Okada's first match since beating Kyle O'Reilly at BATTLE OF THE BELTS XII on October 19th, as well as Okada's first time in the C2 Tournament, and this is quite the monumental match for the Blue League.
Last year's C2 was an eye-opener for Daniel Garcia, indicated by the post-match comments AEW cameras captured with the fighters after most of the bouts, and it wasn't until the last match of the Blue League that Garcia finally got a win. That tournament gave him an idea of what he needed to do in the new year to take that next step in his career, and clearly those lessons paid off this past Saturday at FULL GEAR 2024. Will Garcia improve upon his performance last year? How will the reigning Continental Champion fare in the field that gave birth to the belt around his waist? Fans in Chicago will find out tonight, but the rest of the world will have to wait until Saturday at 4pm ET on TNT!
The Don Callis Family's Kyle Fletcher vs. LFI's The Beast Mortos
Speaking of individuals whose lives were dramatically changed at FULL GEAR 2024, tonight in Chicago “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher will enter his first Continental Classic on the heels of defeating “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay! It was unquestionably the biggest night of Fletcher's career and now he's looking to parlay that into C2 success, starting with a man he's never faced in All Elite Wrestling, and never gone one-on-one before in their careers!
The Beast Mortos was already a monstrous presence inside the ring with his dangerous combination of speed, power, and ferocity, but then he had to go sign on with La Facción Ingobernable and add their support to his fearsome abilities. What makes this dynamic quite interesting however is the business relationship that has evolved between The Don Callis Family and LFI, notably Don getting Lance Archer's services from Jake “The Snake” Roberts in exchange for Jake taking over management of “El Toro Blanco” RUSH from Callis. So there's a question of how all that will play into this Blue League battle tonight in Chicago, and if we will see “The Protostar” capitalize on his momentum from last Saturday night's victory or if The Beast Mortos will prove more than Fletcher can handle after that war at FULL GEAR 2024?
GOLD LEAGUE...
Bang Bang Gang's Juice Robinson vs. “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay
Speaking of that “Aerial Assassin”, tonight in Chicago he will begin his first Continental Classic journey as part of the Gold League in hopes of taking that heartbreaking FULL GEAR 2024 defeat and using it as motivation to add 2024 C2 Champion to his already impressive 2024 resume. This year Will has been a 2-Time International Champion, a 3-Time Casino Gauntlet winner, battled for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Title, fought over the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Title, challenged Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship, and alongside Kyle Fletcher, nearly defeated The Young Bucks to claim the AEW World Tag Titles. Suffice to say, despite that loss to Kyle, it's been a banner first year for Ospreay as a member of the All Elite Wrestling locker room, and what better way to cap it off than by winning the Continental Classic!
Yet every journey starts with a first time, and Ospreay is taking his against another man entering the C2 for the first time, Bang Bang Gang's own Juice Robinson! Now these two competitors are quite familiar with one another from their shared time in New Japan, having faced off in some 23 matches between 2016 and 2022, yet in all of those battles only one was a one-on-one affair and it just so happens to be the very last time they squared off as part of the 2022 G1 CLIMAX tournament. Ospreay won that battle, and actually made it to the finals before losing to “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada. There was also an IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title Four Way at NJPW's CAPITAL COLLISION 2022 event that included Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi where Juice's victory actually came at Ospreay's expense, albeit only after a low blow gave Juice the advantage.
With more than two years passing since their last match, and so much change taking place in each man's life, Juice and Ospreay clash once more in their first C2 bouts of the Gold League! Can Ospreay recover from the events of FULL GEAR 2024 to start off the tournament on the right foot? Or will Juice build on his RAMPAGE victory over The Butcher last week to make waves in the Gold League on day one?
ONE-ON-ONE...
AEW World Trios Champion Wheeler Yuta vs. “Hangman” Adam Page
Regardless of where a man stands with the AEW fans, if they've embraced that individual as one of their own or rejected him as a vile human being, the ultimate goal of the vast majority is claiming that AEW World Championship as their own. It's desire felt by the newest additions to the AEW locker room as well as those who've been here from day one, but perhaps strongest with those who've been fortunate enough to experience it before.
One such individual is “Hangman” Adam Page and that desire to reclaim what he once held has led him to make even more questionable choices as of late. Set aside the bad decisions made when it comes to Page's wars with Swerve Strickland, those were at least understandable given the actions Swerve himself committed, now he's taken to alliances with Christian Cage in order to get closer to the AEW World Championship. That agreement brought Hangman back into the sphere of another of his most-hated foes: AEW World Champion Jon Moxley. The two he spent the first quarter of 2023 waging war against one another, culminating in a Texas Death Match victory for Hangman at REVOLUTION 2023 as far as their head-to-head story went, but they were also participants in the DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 Anarchy in the Arena fight as well as the Blood & Guts Cage match on the July 19, 2023 DYNAMITE.
Now, because of the AEW World Championship as well as that agreement with Christian Cage, Hangman is back in Moxley's sights and that means the crosshairs of The Death Riders! After the attack perpetrated on Adam Page this past Wednesday, specifically that nasty chop block from Wheeler Yuta, the former AEW World Champ is going head-to-head with the 3-Time ROH Pure Champion for the first time since a Hangman victory on the 1/27/23 RAMPAGE!
Will this be the next shot fired in a war between Hangman and The Death Riders, or will Yuta end the hostilities before Adam Page gets anywhere near Jon Moxley's AEW World Title?
WINTER APPROACHES...
Mina Shirakawa vs. Leila Grey
After being betrayed by AEW Women's World Champion Mariah May at FULL GEAR 2024, and then blindsided with a champagne bottle from “The Glamour” this past Wednesday on DYNAMITE, Mina Shirakawa is ready to take out some frustration inside the squared circle. She knows she's got a championship fight on tap December 11th in Kansas City for DYNAMITE: WINTER IS COMING 2024, so anyone stepping into the ring with Mina before then could put themselves into the title picture with an upset victory!
Leila Grey is getting just such an opportunity this evening on COLLISION, but can she make the most of it and score victory over Mariah May's next challenger?
TAG TEAM BOUT...
The Outrunners (Truth Magnum & Turbo Floyd) vs. Iron Savages (Bronson & Boulder)
The Outrunners and Iron Savages had their fair share of words with one another over on Honor Club a few months ago. Aside from the Savages attacking Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum after their match on HONOR CLUB 81, the two teams never made it to that definitive battle inside the squared circle.
Well this evening during COLLISION that changes when Bronson and Boulder step into the ring with men they once referred to as “Meat Riders”, the red-hot Outrunners! Truth and Turbo stepped up and showed out at FULL GEAR 2024 in the 4-Way World Tag Title match, and although they didn't leave New Jersey as new champions, The Outrunners hung in with Private Party, The Acclaimed, and House of Black just like their decades of experience have taught them!
Now that they're finally getting in the ring with one another for tag team competition, can Iron Savages take it to The Outrunners on this special edition of COLLISION, or will they cause Bronson and Boulder to choke on their sauce?
TRIOS CONTEST...
AEW World Tag Team Champions Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) and Mistico vs.
MxM Collection (Mansoor & Mason Madden) and Johnny TV
Private Party are riding high after retaining their AEW World Tag Titles over three other teams at FULL GEAR 2024 and this evening on COLLISION they hope to ride that momentum into trios competition with CMLL's Mistico at their side! Mistico comes into this with some momentum of his own after winning a trios victory at CMLL's MARTES DE GLAMOUR event this past Tuesday, not to mention his 6-1 record in AEW since first debuting in October 2023 with that tremendous Two-of-Three Falls match with Rocky Romero. In fact that only blemish on his record is only due to his participation in the FORBIDDEN DOOR 2024 World Title Casino Gauntlet match won by Will Ospreay on May 29th, so it's safe to say Mistico also has a strong bit of momentum going with his AEW appearances as well!
As for MxM Collection and Johnny TV, after weeks of pursuing “Mr. TV Ready”, Mansoor and Mason Madden are finally getting that threesome they'd been hoping for after accompanying Johnny to the ring for his fight with Daniel Garcia two weeks ago on COLLISION. So no doubt they are hoping to make a good impression on this first outing together, especially after Private Party defeated MxM Collection in their last tag team fight on October 18th. It may have brought their head-to-head record to 1-1 given MxM's August 2nd win over Quen and Zay, but tonight's an opportunity to even up the score with increased international eyes given the involvement of Mistico!
RAMPAGE
ONE-ON-ONE...
“La Mera Mera” Thunder Rosa vs. HarleyGram
On the November 2nd edition of COLLISION Thunder Rosa defeated Harley Cameron in a Dia De Los Muertos match that saw tables, chairs, and even a trash can come into play. Though Harley gave Rosa a tremendous fight, the former AEW Women's World Champion emerged victorious and yet, as witnessed in the video above, a very familiar looking figure stepped up to face “La Mera Mera” for tonight's lucha-themed Rampage.
HarleyGram, a self-proclaimed counterpart to AEW's beloved luchador Hologram, has entered the chat and intends to step up to Thunder Rosa in this...first-ever...bout. Will HarleyGram make an impact in her “debut” match for All Elite Wrestling, or will the former World Champion teach the luchadora a lesson in lucha libra?
SINGLES MATCH...
Hechicero vs. Komander
As part of tonight's lucha-centric edition of RAMPAGE, All Elite Wrestling welcomes "El Alquimista del Ring" Hechicero back for the first time since his FORBIDDEN DOOR 2024 bout with MJF! Hechicero has been tearing it up in CMLL since we last saw him, and even teamed up with Virus to challenge TMDK for the NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Titles at CAPITAL COLLISION 2024 back in August. He was victorious in a 4-Way Mask vs. Mask match at CMLL's 91 ANNIVERSARIO in September and just six days ago was on the victorious side of a big 2-of-3 Falls match at CMLL's DOMINGOS ARENA MEXICO event!
Tonight he returns to AEW to face the high-flying sensation Komander in their first-ever encounter, and what a pairing this is going to be! It's the technical wizardry of Hechicero versus the gravity-defying, rope-walking, sky-soaring grace of Komander as RAMPAGE highlights a collection of the best luchadors out of Mexico!
TRIOS MATCH...
Katsuyori Shibata, Mascara Dorada, & Atlantis Jr. vs. Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin)
Following in the footsteps of his father Katsuhisa Shibata who'd toured Mexico for EMLL (CMLL's original name) from 1970-1971, a young Katsuyori Shibata took a brief excursion of his own to CMLL for a trio of shows in April 2002. Tonight on RAMPAGE Shibata reconnects with those roots as he teams up with CMLL's Atlantis Jr. and Mascara Dorada for a trios bout with Top Flight and Action Andretti! While Shibata, Atlantis Jr, and Mascara Dorada are new to the idea of working together as a unit, Andretti and the Martin brothers haven't been consistently on the same page as of late.
Overall they are 4-8 as a trio, but aside from a victory against Dark Order on the November 1st RAMPAGE, they have struggled in 2014 with a 1-7 record. Back on October 19th they had the gumption to step up and challenge The Death Riders for the AEW World Trios Titles, but that highlighted some of the differences fomenting between Action and Top Flight, then Dante and Darius had issues of their own trying to qualify for the FULL GEAR 2024 World Tag Title 4-Way Match that certainly impaired their opportunity to advance past The Outrunners. Dante even went out solo against Ricochet and in the FULL GEAR 2024: ZERO HOUR 4-Way won by Buddy Matthews while Action had his goes with “The Bastard” PAC and answered one of Jack Perry's TNT Championship Open Challenges. Those outings all came up on the losing side, but these young men have proven quite resilient in defeat and are willing to bring it back together for this trios outing tonight on RAMPAGE!
Can Action and Top Flight get back onto the same page as 2024 draws closer to its end, or will Shibata and his CMLL allies hand them yet another frustrating defeat?
DOUBLE DUTY...
LFI's The Beast Mortos vs. Serpentico
You have to hand it to The Beast Mortos as he pulls double-duty on a Saturday afternoon with fights on both COLLISION and RAMPAGE! As mentioned, he'll be in Continental Classic Blue League action against “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher when COLLISION kicks off at 4pm ET/3pm CT but then he's got another singles battle on RAMPAGE against SAP's Serpentico! With 154 matches under his belt, the snakeman is one of AEW's most experienced competitors but his 10-72 singles record shows that it's been quite the frustrating 154 fights. That being said, Serpentico has never backed down from a fight no matter who the opponent; be it Powerhouse Hobbs, Orange Cassidy, HOOK, Satnam Singh, or Samoa Joe, he's gotten in there and given his best.
That will certainly be no different as he steps into the fray with The Beast Mortos! Serpentico's best hope for victory over is the wild travel The Beast is enduring to get from Chicago to Reading, but even with that it's going to be a rough outing for the SAP member; but where there's a will, there's a way and Serpentico has no shortage of willpower!
This afternoon COLLISION kicks off at a special start time of 4pm ET/3pm CT on TNT, immediately followed by RAMPAGE, and featuring three huge Continental Classic match-ups including newly crowned TNT Champion Daniel Garcia versus AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada in the Blue League, Kyle Fletcher fighting The Beast Mortos in the Blue League, and Will Ospreay taking on Juice Robinson in the Gold League! Get ready for the action by visiting the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from DYNAMITE and previous editions of RAMPAGE and COLLISION, as well as so much more! Then join All Elite Wrestling as we travel to Indiana and the Fishers Event Center next Wednesday night for an all-new DYNAMITE on the road to WORLDS END 2024 in Orlando on December 28th!