Happy Anniversary AEW DYNAMITE! Just a smidge over two years ago, the premiere episode of DYNAMITE aired live from Washington D.C and the Capitol One Arena! That evening, Riho was crowned the very first AEW Women's World Champion when she bested Nyla Rose, and The Inner Circle was born out of the Chris Jericho, Santana, and Ortiz versus The Elite main event! Plus, after contending with a serious elbow injury and staying radio silent for several weeks, Jon Moxley returned on the AEW stage to decimate Kenny Omega. It was an absolutely explosive debut for DYNAMITE, and set the bar high for everything that has followed over the last two years!
Well this Wednesday night, for the DYNAMITE: 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY edition, the bar will continue to be raised with another tremendously loaded event! The battle between The Elite and their foes will continue to escalate with a loaded eight-man tag that includes AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson! Plus the world-traveled, and highly decorated, Bobby Fish will step through that Forbidden Door to challenge Sammy Guevara for his newly won TNT Championship! But that's not all; a new contender for the AEW World Title will be determined with the second ever Casino Ladder Match while Shida and Deeb meet for the very first time as the former AEW Women's World Champion chases her 50th victory!
It is coming your way LIVE at 8pm EST/7pm CST on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our International fans, when we finally return to Philadelphia's Liacouras Center (Buy Tickets) after two long years!
And be sure to stay current with all the latest events in All Elite Wrestling by subscribing to the official YouTube channel for highlights from previous episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest editions of DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, and the ROAD TO specials!
8 MAN TAG TEAM BATTLE...
The Elite (Adam Cole, AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson)
vs.
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, Christian Cage, Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus)
Since the arrival of Bryan Danielson and Adam Cole into All Elite Wrestling, the reality has been that each and every week hostilities continue to escalate towards a fever pitch. It started at ALL OUT 2021 when, in the aftermath of Kenny Omega defeating Christian Cage, absolute pandemonium broke out between The Elite and the unit of Bryan Danielson, Cage, Frankie Kazarian, and Jurassic Express. It has evolved into Cole beating Kazarian, Danielson and Omega going to an epic time limit draw, The SuperKliq beating JurEx & Cage, Cole topping Jungle Boy, and most recently “The American Dragon” putting down Nick Jackson. While the units have gone back-and-forth with wins and losses, one constant appears to be Kenny Omega wanting nothing to do with Danielson after that instant classic clash at DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM.
Well this week during the DYNAMITE: 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, the AEW World Champion is going to have little choice but to lock horns with Bryan at some point during this 8-Man tag. Kenny will have to deal with that rather creative anatomy chant the fans threw his way the other week, and bear the brunt of those YGGYFHKI chants as well. He may have three other individuals he can use to duck and dodge ring-time with Danielson, but eventually “The Cleaner” and “The American Dragon” are going to share the same space.
On top of that, Adam Cole will have to square up with Jungle Boy once again to answer for the underhanded fashion in which he scored that victory in Rochester. Then we've got lingering JurEx and Young Buck issues, Omega and Christian Cage's recent history, the victory Danielson just scored over Nick Jackson on last Friday's RAMPAGE, and of course, there is the AEW World Title and its future. With so many different threads wrapped up in this world class eight man tag, it's going to be fascinating to see how it all unfolds this Wednesday night in Philadelphia heading into DYNAMITE's year three!
Will The Elite dominate to hand Team Danielson the loss? Or will the anti-Elite contingent celebrate this anniversary with a win? Either way, one of these two men, either Adam Cole or Bryan Danielson, are going to leave the Liacouras Center with their first loss! Do not miss out when the action kicks off at 8pm EST on TNT, or at AEWPlus.com!
TNT TITLE MATCH...
“The Spanish God” Sammy Guevara (c) vs. Bobby Fish
One week ago Sammy Guevara, in his very first singles title opportunity, accomplished the nigh-unimaginable when he beat “The Redeemer” Miro to become the 5th TNT Champion. It took everything “The Spanish God” had in him, with a little help from Miro's own turnbuckle machinations backfiring on the champ, but ultimately Guevara would nail the 630 Senton to secure the win! With gold confetti raining from the ceiling, the new Face of TNT celebrated his achievement with friends in the ring and fans surrounding it, but almost immediately Sammy had a challenge on his plate.
More on Bobby Fish and his resume in a moment, but that instant challenge would not be the only surprise in store for the new champion as, when he finally returned to the locker room area, Referee Bryce Remsburg had a present for Sammy:
So AEW will enter into its third year on TNT with a new face representing the company as TNT Champion, and another new face entering the ring as challenger for said title in one Bobby Fish. Now Fish is not an untested, unknown entity by any means having been competing on international television platforms since 2017 alongside another new AEW arrival, one Adam Cole. But there is a great deal more to the history of Fish than just these last four years, a story that dates back to 2002 when he first broke into professional wrestling, crediting Tony DeVito and the legendary Harley Race with his initial training.
The earliest years on the independents were a similar story to many wrestlers, competing whenever and wherever, just trying to gain the experience necessary until making the kind of impression that could lead to something bigger. Competing as Jerk Jackson for his initial years, Bobby Fish would intersect with some familiar names like Brodie Lee, recent AEW DARK competitors Colin Delaney and Cheech, Trent Acid, Balls Mahoney, and Chris Kanyon, but it was his 2006 arrival in Pro Wrestling NOAH that proved a game changer for the career of Bobby.
There Fish was thrown right into the mix against men like Naomichi Marufuji, KENTA, Akira Taue, Kenta Kobashi, and Jun Akiyama. He would often compete in tag team and multi-man matches alongside the likes of Bison Smith and 2 Cold Scorpio, and clearly Bobby made an impression in his month long excursion because in February 2007 he would be brought back for a second tour. These tours with NOAH would continue on over the course of the next seven years until his final tour in January 2014. During that seven years, Fish would take part in a GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Tournament, the 2011 Global League Tournament, the 2012 NTV Jr. Heavyweight Tag Tournament, and the 2013 Global Tag League Tournament. Although success in those tournaments eluded him, as did championships in Pro Wrestling NOAH, it was an invaluable experience that shaped Fish into a world-class competitor and established his name on the wrestling map.
In August of 2014, Bobby Fish alongside then-partner Kyle O'Reilly, would sojourn to New Japan Pro Wrestling for the very first time, unsuccessfully challenging Alex Shelley and Kushida, collectively The Time Splitters, for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles, but it marked the beginning of another international relationship for Fish that would continue to boost his profile for the next three years. During his tenure with NJPW, Fish not only captured those tag titles on two occasions, he would also compete in the 2014 & 2015 Super Junior Tag Tournaments, claiming victory in 2014, and participate in the 2015 & 2016 Best of the Super Junior Tournaments as well.
Add those accomplishments to everything Bobby Fish has accomplished stateside, and this 44 year old veteran of the ring wars stands as highly decorated in both tag team wrestling, as well as a singles competitor. He is quite familiar with a great many competitors on the AEW roster as well, having danced over the years with Santana, Ortiz, Cody Rhodes, Sonny Kiss, Alex Reynolds, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and The Young Bucks, just to name a few, not to mention his aforementioned relationship with Adam Cole the last several years.
Of all the names outside AEW who potentially could've knocked on the Forbidden Door and challenged Sammy Guevara for his first TNT Title defense, one would be hard-pressed to find a bigger threat. Can Fish build on his already impressive resume and make Sammy's title reign the shortest in AEW's history? Or will it be “The Spanish God” who uses Bobby's challenge to begin building his own legacy as TNT Champion in the City Of Brotherly Love?
CASINO LADDER MATCH...
Andrade El Idolo vs. Jon Moxley vs. Lance Archer vs. Matt Hardy vs. Orange Cassidy vs. PAC vs. THE JOKER
***WINNER RECEIVES FUTURE WORLD TITLE MATCH***
Climb the ladder, grab the prize, earn a World Title Match; sounds like a pretty simple procedure but as every competitor who has ever participated in a Ladder Match can attest, it is not simple whatsoever. It may just be a few rungs that need to be ascended to get to the top, but imagine as you climb that people are throwing other ladders at your back, maybe a chair is getting swung at your legs, or someone is throwing their own body at yours from a blind spot. Every step you take to get closer to the endgame is a risk because something can come at any moment to cut off your ascension to the top.
Now in the first Casino Ladder Match at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2020, “The Machine” Brian Cage made a huge impact in his debut match by winning the fracas to earn a shot at Jon Moxley's AEW World Championship. In his case, there were 8 other men to contend with in the bout, but not even a massive pile of plunder stacked on top of his body was going to stop the former FTW Champion from conquering that night. This year there will be a total of seven competitors in pursuit of a World Title shot, and only Orange Cassidy was part of the first go-round, although The Joker of the group could very well be an entrant from that bout as well.
In addition to just the fact a future title match hangs in the balance, there is also the history wrapped up between the six announced entrants. Jon Moxley and Lance Archer have danced over both the IWGP US Title as well as the AEW World Title while Mox and PAC certainly had their own issues through AEW's history. Two years ago, when DYNAMITE last came to Philly, Mox actually left PAC high-and-dry in their tag match against Hangman Page and Kenny Omega, which in turn led to the two fighting it out in Pittsburgh a week later. PAC and Orange Cassidy have had their history, including one of REVOLUTION 2020's best bouts with their singles clash, and then there is the current battle between OC and Matt Hardy that got Jack Evans' head shaved last Friday night on RAMPAGE. Even Andrade hasn't remained an island leading up to this as he has continually tried to rip The Lucha Bros away from PAC's side, and now seems aimed at bringing people in to come at the World Tag Titles.
And all that is saying nothing of the issues four of these men here have with current AEW World Champion Kenny Omega! Moxley and Omega is a well-documented issue since WINTER IS COMING in December 2020 where Kenny first robbed Jon of the AEW World Title. Then there is the unsettled issues from REVOLUTION 2021's Three Way for the World Title between Kenny, PAC, and OC in which the champion retained his title under dubious circumstances. Also, given their recent battle over the AAA Mega Title, there is certainly tensions between Andrade and Omega given the shady nature in which that whole situation unfolded as well.
Suffice to say, there is a lot riding on this Casino Ladder Match and a great deal feeding into the chaos that is likely to unfold without even considering the potential World Title match awarded the victor. Which man will climb the rungs and earn his shot at the most coveted championship in professional wrestling today? Just who will pull The Joker Card and can they match the success Brian Cage achieved in that spot? We will all find out Wednesday when DYNAMITE explodes inside The Liacouras Center!
CHASING FIFTY....
Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb
In one corner, we have the former AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida in pursuit of her 50th win, a feat not yet accomplished in the Women's Division in All Elite Wrestling. In the other corner, we have “The Woman Of 1,000 Holds” Serena Deeb, a former NWA Women's World Champion, and widely respected as one of the premiere wrestlers on the planet today.
Shida, as the AEW Women's World Champion, set an incredible standard for any future champions in the division. Over the course of 372 days, Hikaru successfully defended her title on eight occasions over Penelope Ford, Thunder Rosa, Big Swole, Nyla Rose, Anna Jay, Abadon, Ryo Mizunami, and Tay Conti. That title run also stands as the longest one across all divisions in All Elite Wrestling, with only Kenny Omega's current reign as Men's World Champion in the realm of breaking the record, that is if he holds onto the title for (roughly) another 65 days.
Deeb, in her role as NWA Women's Champion, also laid down a great track record with wins over former AEW Women's World Champion Riho, Thunder Rosa, Leyla Hirsch, Allysin Kay, Tay Conti, and Red Velvet before losing the title in June. It was an impressive 228 day reign highlighted on AEW programming, and showcased why Deeb, after 15 years in the ring, may be at her best yet. Contending with an injury earlier in 2021 may have slowed Serena down a bit at first, but she quickly got back into form, and is quite ready for this first-ever match-up of two former champions!
Will Deeb be a roadblock in Hikaru's pursuit of 50 wins? Or will Serena fall just as 49 other women before here have? Tune into DYNAMITE to see if the former AEW Women's World Champ hits the milestone!
DYNAMITE: 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, LIVE from Philadelphia's Liacouras Center (Buy Tickets) for the first time in two years, premieres Wednesday at 8pm EST/7pm CST on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our International fans! Between Shida's bid for 50 wins, The Elite versus Danielson and Company eight-man tag, the huge TNT Title match, and the Casino Ladder Match, this is one jam-packed edition of our flagship program, and who knows what else will unfold on Wednesday night!
Also, to stay up on the most recent events in All Elite Wrestling, be sure to subscribe to the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest airings of DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, and the ROAD TO specials!