DYNAMITE: MAXIMUM CARNAGE comes to you live from the Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, OH on the heels of a wild week for All Elite Wrestling! Powerhouse Hobbs won last Wednesday night's Casino Gauntlet to earn a shot at Jon Moxley's AEW World Championship while Kris Statlander earned the #1 spot in this week's Casino Gauntlet for a shot at the Women's World Championship come GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA on February 15th. We witnessed a hard-hitting TNT Championship bout between Daniel Garcia and Katsuyori Shibata, Mark Briscoe take a beating from Bobby Lashley after Hurt Syndicate let Private Party know where they stood, and Adam Page challenged Christopher Daniels to a Texas Deathmatch!
DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS, MAX, and around the world through AEW PLUS and TSN in Canada, so be sure to drop by the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from last week's editions of DYNAMITE and COLLISION, as well as so much more from the place where the best wrestle! Then join us right back at the Brady Music Center tomorrow night for COLLISION: MAXIMUM CARNAGE featuring a Texas Deathmatch between Hangman Page and Christopher Daniels plus a huge 12-Man Tag pitting The Death Riders & The Learning Tree against Rated FTR, The Outrunners, and Powerhouse Hobbs and the face of that hinges heavily on tonight's World Championship fight!
AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Jon Moxley(c) vs. Powerhouse Hobbs
On April 24, 2024 in Jacksonville, Powerhouse Hobbs stepped onto the stage at Daily's Place with the goal of ripping the IWGP World Heavyweight Title from around the waist of Jon Moxley. It was an opportunity secured for him by Don Callis, and Hobbs had every intention of taking that crown from Moxley's head, placing it on his own, and becoming the top man for New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Unfortunately fate had other plans in mind for Powerhouse Hobbs as during the course of the match he ruptured his patellar tendon, the ligament connecting kneecap to shinbone that is an integral component when it comes to straightening your leg. It required surgery, it required extensive rehabilitation, and Hobbs was in fact ready to go well before the expected timetable of recovery. The time for that return came November 6th when he entered the ring as Ricochet's mystery partner against The Don Callis Family, settling one of the lingering questions about where Hobbs' loyalties would lie whenever he made his comeback.
Turned out that Callis is a creature of habit, in his case a habit of completely abandoning someone once they're no longer of use to him. He did it to Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, and added Powerhouse Hobbs to that list after the injury, probably on the morning of April 25th. Well the best revenge Hobbs could've had was coming back better than ever and that's just what he did! He took it to the Don Callis Family at the side of Ricochet, Mark Davis, and Will Ospreay, he earned himself a shot at Konosuke Takeshita's International Title at WORLDS END 2024, and although he wasn't able to parlay his momentum into a title win that night, the former TNT Champion rebounded last week when he pinned Kyle O'Reilly to win the Casino Gauntlet and earn a shot at AEW World Champion Jon Moxley.
Tonight in Cincinnati, Moxley's hometown mind you, Hobbs gets that opportunity and when he stands across the ring from the AEW World Champion the last year of his life will have come full circle. The title may be different, the venue obviously not the same, but this is a moment for Hobbs to reclaim everything he lost during the seven months recovering from injury. This is Hobbs' opportunity to show that Moxley can't beat him when he is running at 100%, and to again demonstrate that he came from the injury better than he was before. However it's not just the future of Hobb's AEW career impacted by this bout but rather the whole of AEW's future. This is his opportunity to step up and lead All Elite Wrestling away from The Death Rider's vision of violence for violence's sake, this is the chance to take the crown from the self-professed “one true king of AEW” and smash it into oblivion. Orange Cassidy, Jay White, and Adam Page all failed to break Mox's stranglehold on the AEW World Title; will Powerhouse Hobbs be the man that lets AEW breath again?
CASINO GAUNTLET MATCH...
***WINNER EARNS AEW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH AT GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA***
Kris Statlander vs. ????
The breakdown of the Casino Gauntlet is well known by this point; as Renee Paquette's voice-over on the above embedded video stated two will start, there is no set time limit, no set number of entrants, and no set interval upon which the entrants will arrive. Beyond #1 and #2, there is no guarantee anyone else will see action during the Casino Gauntlet because the end can come at any time via pinfall or submission.
The first time out eight men made it into the fray before Will Ospreay scored the decision at 18:43 while in the second outing nine competitors got to the ring before Ospreay won again, this time after 22:14. When Christian Cage scored his victory at ALL IN: LONDON 2024, 12 made their entry in the 25:57 duration of the bout while in the Tag Team variation nine teams participated before Ospreay and Kyle Fletcher claimed victory in 22:16. Just last week, in the Casino Gauntlet that earned Powerhouse Hobbs his shot tonight against Jon Moxley, 11 men made it into the competition before Hobbs topped Kyle O'Reilly in 26:33, making that the longest Gauntlet to date. This AEW original match is the epitome of unpredictability, and that will no doubt continue tonight when the Women's Division runs the gauntlet for the very first time!
We know that former TBS Champion Kris Statlander will take the #1 position by virtue of her victory over Willow Nightingale and Toni Storm last Wednesday night, but beyond that the field is quite the mystery! We don't know who else will step into the fray to earn an AEW Women's World Title match at GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA, but the locker room is laden with competitors capable of earning that opportunity! We've got former AEW World Champions such as Jamie Hayter, Thunder Rosa, and Nyla Rose, former TBS Champions like Willow Nightingale and Julia Hart, women such as Serena Deeb, Deonna Purrazzo, and Taya Valkyrie who've held gold many times over in their careers outside AEW, and of course AEW has been home to many competitors from Japan like Emi Sakura, Yuka Sakazaki, and Mina Shirakawa.
There are so many potential entrants into this field, all who'd love nothing more than to make history at AEW's first-ever event in Australia, but who will run the Gauntlet and get their shot on February 15th? AEW Women's World Champion Mariah May plans to be right there at the commentary table watching it all unfold...
THE RETURN...
“The Machine” Brian Cage vs. “The Best Bout Machine” Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega survived his battle with diverticulitis, he survived being assaulted by the very men he once thought of as his best friends, and he won an absolutely brutal war at WRESTLE DYNASTY 2025 just ten days ago, his first match since the 12/9/23 COLLISION. The former World Champion may have thought his return to DYNAMITE last week would simply be a moment of triumph, a celebration of Kenny returning from a health crisis that could've ended his career, but unfortunately he was wrong. Instead it became a violent spectacle thanks to Don Callis' arrival on the scene, but instead of waiting for members of The Don Callis Family to strike first, Kenny went right for the head of the snake.
Omega was all of us in those moments he had to rain punches down on Callis' scarred head, unfortunately the Murder Machines of Brian Cage and Lance Archer ruined it all but “The Cleaner” knew that was an risk inherent in giving Don Callis his just desserts. Of course “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher got in on the action too, but his involvement in the violence party may have actually been the thing that saved Omega from a worse fate because it brought “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay out to the ring. Despite the history between the two men, despite the fact that Ospreay was brought into AEW by Don Callis with the expressed purpose of taking out Omega at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, the 2-Time International Champion saved Omega from The DCF.
Perhaps Omega thought he could compete in AEW without further Don Callis entanglements, but clearly Callis will never stop trying to make The Cleaner's life hell at every opportunity. That means Callis continuing what he started in 2023 when he first betrayed Kenny, this time in the form of “The Machine” Brian Cage!
This is the first time “The Machine” and “The Best Bout Machine” have ever gone one-on-one, and the only way the stakes could be higher was if a championship was on the line! Kenny hasn't competed on DYNAMITE since 11/15/23 in the Like a Dragon Gaiden Street Fight with his last DYNAMITE singles match taking place on 10/18/23 against none other than Kyle Fletcher. That, combined with his history against Don Callis' lackeys, make this one of the most important fights of Omega's AEW career. This is the battle that will show the AEW faithful what Omega has in the tank after so much time away from the company he helped build from the ground up, this is the proverbial second chance at a first impression, but Brian Cage has intention to make it Kenny's final “Goodbye and good night”.
TRIOS BATTLE...
AEW World Tag Team Champions Private Party (Zay & Quen) and Mark Briscoe
vs.
Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley, MVP, & Shelton Benjamin)
First, Hurt Syndicate crashed Private Party's celebration and MVP let the World Tag Team Champions know that Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin had their eyes on the prizes around Zay and Quen's waists. There was no doubt about the message, no mistaking what MVP was telling Private Party, just as there was not a drop of uncertainty about Hurt Syndicate's intentions where it came to Mark Briscoe:
The fact that Zay and Quen came to Mark's defense against a trio of the most dangerous individuals in AEW showed the world they aren't afraid of what Hurt Syndicate brings to the table. It demonstrated the kind of bravery needed when holding those coveted tag team titles, and it's going to be put to the test again tonight when they link up with “Chicken” to fight Hurt Syndicate in trios competition!
AEW fans have seen the kind of violence Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin are capable of since they each debuted last year, but for DYNAMITE: MAXIMUM CARNAGE they will be joined by MVP as he laces up his boots to battle alongside his Hurt Syndicate brethren! It will be the first time in 2.5 years that the multi-time champion has fought on television, but don't let that fool you, the man has kept himself in excellent condition, and returned to active competition elsewhere to prepare himself for this moment with AEW.
The man jumped right into shark-infested waters in November when he fought Josh Barnett as his first match in 2+ years, so there's no question MVP has got plenty left in the gas tank. Tonight he will stand besides Shelton and Bobby as a trio for the first time since 2020 with ill intentions for Mark Briscoe and Private Party; can the champions and “Chicken” survive the merchants of misery and shut down their championship aspirations or will this be the night Hurt Syndicate secures a position as contenders to the Tag Team throne?
GRUDGE MATCH...
“The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil” HOOK vs. “The Patriarch” Christian Cage
HOOK has had his sights set on “The Patriarch” Christian Cage ever since he learned that Cage's Patriarchy was responsible for attacking his father Taz. Said assault forced Taz to go under the knife for surgery while in HOOK's attempts to garner vengeance he ended up with a broken arm at Christian's hands. He may have gone through “The Prodigy” Nick Wayne to get here, and done so with a cast on his arm, but stepping into the fight with Christian Cage is another story.
In addition to the vast experience advantage Christian has over HOOK, the 3-Time FTW Champion is also dealing with The Patriarch's willingness to do absolutely anything in order to get his victories. He's never had a problem throwing other individuals in the way to get what he wants, never had a problem skirting the rules or flat out breaking them when he can get away with it, and is far sneakier an individual than HOOK has ever been. HOOK is straight-forward and in your face where Christian Cage is conniving and underhanded, HOOK doesn't rely on others to fight his battles whereas “The Patriarch” has surrounded himself by people who will take the bullets for him.
Will HOOK's method bring him the vengeance he craves? Will “The Patriarch” Christian Cage stand atop HOOK's broken body like he did his father's and continue to keep his eyes on the World Championship scene? Tune into DYNAMITE to see what carnage erupts from this long-simmering hate!
SICKO...
On January 1st, as Swerve Strickland fought Jay White and Roderick Strong for the #1 spot in last week's Casino Gauntlet bout, Ricochet picked his moment to repay the humiliation heaped upon him by Swerve and Prince Nana at WORLDS END 2024. Suffice to say that Ricochet's scissors will beat Swerve's toilet paper any day, but AEW fans know that the former AEW World Champion will bring far more to the fight than TP. What that may be this time remains to be seen, but perhaps we will find out alongside Ricochet when the scissor-wielding assailant appears on DYNAMITE: MAXIMUM CARNAGE!
DYNAMITE kicks off at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS and MAX, as well as around the world through AEW PLUS and TSN in Canada! In addition to Powerhouse Hobbs challenging Jon Moxley for the AEW World Title, we will see which woman earns a World Championship fight at GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA on February 15th, watch HOOK fight for vengeance against Christian Cage, and see MVP step into an AEW ring for the first time when his Hurt Syndicate fight Mark Briscoe and the AEW World Tag Team Champions Private Party! Before showtime, visit AEW's official YouTube channel to catch all the highlights from last week's editions of DYNAMITE and COLLISION, plus all that AEW has to offer! Then join us right back at the Brady Music Center tomorrow night for COLLISION: MAXIMUM CARNAGE featuring a Texas Deathmatch between Hangman Page and Christopher Daniels plus a huge 12-Man Tag pitting The Death Riders & The Learning Tree against Rated FTR, The Outrunners, and Powerhouse Hobbs and the face of that hinges heavily on tonight's World Championship fight!