2024 ended on a wild note with WORLDS END 2024 as Jon Moxley survived Orange Cassidy, Adam Page, and Jay White to retain the AEW World Championship only to end up on the wrong end of an Adam Copeland spear to close the night. On top of “The Rated R Superstar” making his return to All Elite Wrestling, the AEW faithful also witnessed former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega return to the stage to present Kazuchika Okada with the AEW Continental Title after he defeated Will Ospreay in the 2024 Continental Classic Finale! Add in another amazing fight between Mercedes Moné and Kris Statlander over the TBS Championship, the wild Tijuana Street Fight for the AEW Women's World Title between Mariah May and Thunder Rosa, the battle over the Dynamite Diamond Ring between Adam Cole and MJF, and the hard-hitting International Championship fight between Powerhouse Hobbs and Konosuke Takeshita, and All Elite Wrestling closed out 2024 on quite a high!
Now we head into 2025 with a huge edition of DYNAMITE, live from Asheville, NC with FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2025 and in benefit for Hurricane Helene disaster relief! As important as that work is, it's not the only reason this Wednesday's edition of AEW's flagship program is such a landmark moment. January 1st will also be the mother of all simulcasts as All Elite Wrestling makes its debut on MAX!
For this historic night, AEW has lined up a huge night of matches including Rated FTR of Cope, Cash Wheeler, and Dax Harwood taking on The Death Riders of AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and AEW World Trios Champions Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta! Also Julia Hart returns to in-ring competition to face Jamie Hayter one-on-one, “The Last Outlaw” Jeff Jarrett is set to address his future, The Hurt Syndicate of Shelton Benjamin & Bobby Lashley will take on The Acclaimed, plus Hangman Page meets Orange Cassidy one-on-one for the first-time ever!
FTR challenged The Death Riders to step up for fight in Asheville several weeks ago after Jon Moxley and his crew assaulted them backstage at COLLISION for having the audacity to save Orange Cassidy from their gang assault. Prior to that FTR said they had no issue with The Death Riders when it came to their message, however their methods of handling business were another story. So it was as a result of the sneak attack perpetrated on Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler that their issues escalated into the above challenge but it's quite important to note how the 2-Time AEW World Tag Champion mentioned they wouldn't be alone. What that meant became all too clear at WORLDS END 2024 after Moxley found a way to escape his 4-Way World Championship defense with the title still around his waist:
Absent from AEW competition since DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 when he suffered a fractured tibia during his TNT Championship defense against Malakai Black inside a barbed wire-wrapped Steel Cage. It's been a long, hard road out of the hell that is rehab and recovery, but as soon as Cope walked onto the stage in Orlando alongside FTR, it was quite evident the former TNT Champ was ready to get back into the fight as soon as possible! Jon Moxley definitely felt that when he was speared by Copeland, and got a glimpse of the possible future when the metal bar was inside his mouth while Copeland wrenched back on that crossface. It didn't take long for a trios match to be signed between The Death Riders and the unit dubbed Rated FTR, and what better location than the land Adam Copeland, Cash Wheeler, and Dax Harwood call home: Asheville, North Carolina!
This was always going to be a special event for those men as AEW aims to bring awareness to the ongoing recovery efforts from the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Helene, but now it has a whole new meaning with Copeland's return to in-ring action to face down AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and AEW World Trios Champions Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta!
The MAX era of All Elite Wrestling gets underway tonight, but will it begin with a Death Rider victory or the hometown heroes getting their hands raised?
ONE-ON-ONE...
Julia Hart vs. Jamie Hayter
Jamie Hayter returned to All Elite Wrestling at ALL IN: LONDON 2024 after fifteen months away recovering from an injury sustained at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023. When she came back the former AEW Women's World Champion had the goal of returning the favor to the women responsible for her losing so much time, and getting back the title that she was robbed of by The Outcasts. Though that trio had long since dissolved by the time Hayter made her return, she was able to get a measure of revenge on Saraya while Ruby Soho and Toni Storm were both indisposed for disparate reasons. As for that other motivation, reclaiming the AEW Women's World Title, the best opportunity Jamie had to getting close thus far was ruined by Penelope Ford at DYNAMITE: TITLE TUESDAY 2024 prior to WRESTLE DREAM 2024.
In the aftermath of Hayter evening that score with Penelope Ford, another specter has loomed over every move Jamie has made, that of Julia Hart's looming return! A video for the the former TBS Champion's return first aired at the expense of Hayter speaking to the AEW faithful, and she was again interrupted a week later when she tried again:
It wasn't just backstage either; as Jamie fought Willow Nightingale at WINTER IS COMING 2024 over the right to compete in the WRESTLE DYNASTY 2024 International Women's Cup this Sunday night - the lights went out during the match, and then again after Willow defeated the former World Champ:
Shortly thereafter Hayter made the challenge for this match, and that has brought us to tonight's fight to kick off 2025! Can the Princess of the Black Throne prove that The House indeed always wins or can Hayter put this distraction down and continue on her mission to reclaim the throne stolen from her 19 months ago?
TAG TEAM BOUT...
The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin) vs.
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster)
It wasn't all that long ago that MVP slid one of his Hurt Syndicate business cards into the hands of The Acclaimed's Max Caster and amplified the recent series of events that have left Anthony Bowens and him seemingly at odds with one another. Caster's “Best Wrestler Alive” rhetoric has only gotten more persistent, the kind of thing that can't sit well with a tag partner who has been just as responsible for their mutual success as Caster. Even the two-minute humbling Swerve Strickland handed out to Max Caster didn't tone things down like Bowens had hoped, and the fact that Bowens elected to go out on his own to step up to Chris Jericho didn't help smooth over the friction between the former World Tag Champions.
But tonight, somehow, they've got to find a way to work through their problems because they'll be standing across the ring from Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley, two of the baddest individuals in the AEW locker room. It seemed some fences were mended prior to Bowens facing Chris Jericho at RAMPAGE: NEW YEARS SMASH 2024...
...but was it enough to get them back on the track that led to their unforgettable World Tag Team Championship win at DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2022 or their World Trios victory at ALL IN: LONDON 2023? We will see where The Acclaimed stand tonight when they step into the ring with “The All Mighty” and “The Standard of Excellence”!
FOR THE FIRST TIME...
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy
Considering both of these men have been part of All Elite Wrestling from the very beginning, it's amazing that “Hangman” Adam Page and “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy have never gone one-on-one! Starting with the DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2019: BUY-IN when each was part of the inaugural Casino Battle Royale (won by Hangman mind you), they've shared the ring a total of nine times; four were Battle Royale scenarios, one a Casino Ladder Match, one a Casino Gauntlet, two trios bouts, and of course the WORLDS END 2024 Four-Way World Championship fight this past Saturday.
It is only their shared goal of becoming AEW World Champion that has brought them together as of late, though each has quite different rationales for why they want the title, and their actions to get there have placed them in opposition despite the shared desire to end Jon Moxley's reign. How each man has gotten to this point has also split the AEW fan base on how they feel regarding Page and Cassidy; OC is beloved by the AEW faithful. This drive to save All Elite Wrestling from whatever dystopian fate Jon Moxley has in mind has only bolstered their support of the 2-Time International Champion. Hangman is a different story however as how the fans have responded to him over the last several months has largely depended on who is standing across the ring.
When it's Moxley, the crowd vociferously chants “Cowboy S***”, but when it's been Cassidy or, say, Swerve Strickland, the response has been quite different. Suffice to say that has likely not done the already tortured psyche of the former World Champion any good. The rage Adam feels towards everyone and everything has been etched on his face for months, and he's been taking it out on anyone who has gotten in the way of every goal he's set for himself.
Adam Page considers Orange Cassidy and Jay White two of the many who fall under that category, and though they should have made a concerted effort on Saturday to work together and eliminate Jon Moxley from the title fight at WORLDS END 2024, the reality is Mox slipped away still champion and left his challengers pointing fingers at one another. Tonight during FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2025 OC and Hangman have an opportunity to take that frustration out on one another in their very first singles match! No doubt each blames the other, Page kicked OC in the groin to eliminate him from the possibility of winning while the distraction that created left Hangman open for Jay White to drop him with a Bladerunner, so now they can settle things in the middle of the ring to kick off the new year!
Maybe if they beat the brakes off one another, then they can focus on ending Moxley's reign of terror atop All Elite Wrestling...
THE LAST OUTLAW...
For nearly 40 years “The Last Outlaw” Jeff Jarrett has entertained professional wrestling audiences around the world, earned the respect of his peers, become a role model for the generations that followed him, and amassed quite a few championships along the way. From Hendersonville, TN to Tokyo and the Louisville Gardens to TD Garden, Double J has seen it all, done it all, fought them all, and beaten them all, but it always seems there is one more mountain to climb.
In 2024 it was the Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament and though Jarrett wasn't able to win the field, the effort he put forth was a worthy tribute to his late friend, but as Jeff himself said in the above video, every new year means a reflection on what came before and a look towards what he wants for the future. Whatever is floating around in Jeff's mind, in his heart, it sounds like he will share it with the world tonight in Asheville during FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2025!
DYNAMITE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2025 is a historic night for All Elite Wrestling as “The Mother of All Simulcasts” gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS and MAX, as well as around the world through AEW PLUS and TSN in Canada! As part of this fundraiser for Hurricane Helene disaster relief we've got a huge trios match as “The Rated R Superstar” Adam Copeland returns to action alongside FTR to face AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and his Death Riders! In addition, former AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter faces former TBS Champion Julia Hart, Orange Cassidy and Adam Page fight for the first time, The Acclaimed meet The Hurt Syndicate, and we will hear “The Last Outlaw” Jeff Jarrett address his future!
Before the show gets underway, be sure to stop by the official AEW YouTube channel to catch-up on highlights from WORLDS END 2024, last week's episodes of DYNAMITE and COLLISION, the final edition of RAMPAGE, the best of DYNAMITE 2024, and so much more! After FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2024, we are off to Charlotte, NC and the Bojangles Coliseum on Saturday for a COLLISION highlighted by Mark Briscoe challenging Daniel Garcia for the TNT Championship, an AEW World Tag Team Title fight pitting Private Party against Action Andretti and Lio Rush, and Toni Storm taking on “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo! 2025 is going to be an epic year for All Elite Wrestling and it all begins tonight in Asheville with DYNAMITE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2025!