Last week the AEW faithful witnessed the triumphant return of Adam Cole to competition with a victory over The J.A.S' Daniel Garcia, as well as a bit of a moment with Chris Jericho as he and Dr. Britt Baker, draped in streamers, celebrated inside the ring. Plus, Kenny Omega and Jeff Cobb went to battle over the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, leaving the defending champ vulnerable to The Blackpool Combat Club following the victory, and that included the returning Bryan Danielson joining in on assaulting Omega. The Best Friends scored a pyrrhic disqualification victory over The Kings of The Black Throne, Sammy Guevara began his push towards MJF's AEW World Championship, and The Outcasts continued their rampage against the women of All Elite Wrestling just as Taya Valkyrie did her quest for the TBS Championship!
AEW is back in the Tri-State area for the first time in 2023 with a return to Long Island and the UBS Arena! Four championships will be on the line, as well as one teams AEW careers, and no doubt AEW World Champion MJF will be celebrating himself with this homecoming as the champ. He celebrated himself in Long Island without a championship, so one can only imagine how he'll do it now that he has the most important one in professional wrestling!
The action gets started LIVE on TBS promptly at 8pm ET/7pm CT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, and a visit to the official AEW YouTube channel is a must for highlights from last week's episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest from AEW DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, ROAD TO, THE CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
AEW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES VS. FTR'S AEW CAREER...
The Gunns (Austin & Colten)(c) vs. FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood)
As of late, The Gunn's have managed to do something that wouldn't have seemed possible a year ago: they've gotten into the heads of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood. Whether it was because of Austin and Colten's sneaky victory in the #1 Contender's Match, or the memorial they held for FTR's career afterwards, the current AEW World Tag Team Champions have managed to put FTR on their heels.
As former AEW World Tag Team Champions, Cash and Dax have had but one mission ever since losing the belts to The Young Bucks at FULL GEAR 2020: reclaim the gold. In the pursuit of that goal FTR managed to claim the AAA Tag Team Titles, the IWGP Tag Team Titles, and the ROH World Tag Team Titles, but were stifled against The Lucha Brothers in late 2021, frustrated in multiple Battle Royale contender situations heading into REVOLUTION 2022, screwed over by The Gunns in 2022 in another contender's bout versus Swerve In Our Glory, and ultimately stopped once again by The Acclaimed at the end of 2022. As much success as they've had overall, the AEW World Tag Team Championship has been a constant source of frustration for FTR, and perhaps that's what has pushed Dax and Cash to the point of putting their AEW careers on the line for one last shot.
Austin and Colten Gunn got into their heads, pushed them to the point where, in desperation for the shot, they put every last card on the table. This is it for FTR, do or die, beat The Gunns or walk away from All Elite Wrestling in humiliation knowing it was “The Ass Boys” who drove them out of town. For all their pride, all their belief at being the best tag team in the business, what would that loss do to their egos? Could FTR even continue on from that particular defeat? This is not to undercut the talent that Austin and Colten have, the work they've put in to becoming a better tag team, but when you consider yourself the best and you fall to obnoxious upstarts like The Gunns, it has to sting like nothing else.
As for Austin and Colten, if they do manage to stop FTR for the second consecutive time, that's going to be an ego boost that makes the brothers even more insufferable than they already are, It's going to be an interesting night in Long Island for a great many reasons, and aside from MJF's homecoming as AEW World Champion, this is the most intriguing! Who will leave UBS Arena as AEW World Tag Team Champions, and will the outcome mean we've seen the last of FTR in All Elite Wrestling?
AEW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Jamie Hayter(c) vs. Riho
Although Riho has stood side-by-side with Jamie Hayter in opposition to The Outcasts, though she has been on the spot with a pipe in hand to assist Willow Nightingale, that hasn't changed the fact that Riho's ultimate goal is reclaiming the AEW Women's World Championship she lost over three years ago, and becoming the first 2-Time champion in division history.
Since returning to AEW in 2023, Riho has bested Diamante on two occasions, Emi Sakura, Toni Storm, and even avenged that championship loss to Nyla Rosa, all to build herself up for the title fight, and it did not go unnoticed by the Women's World Champ. Hayter has seen what Riho's done since returning to the fold, while also witnessing her standing in defense of the “AEW originals” against Saraya, Storm, and Ruby Soho.
So it is those victories, as well as the mutual respect earned between the two women, that has brought about this championship fight come Wednesday night at UBS Arena! Hayter officially surpassed the length of Riho's championship reign a few days ago, but the original champ racked up four defenses in that time while Hayter currently has just two to her record. One of Riho's defenses put her against three challengers in a single contest, Hayter's most recent set her opposite two contenders, Jamie's been in 44 fights since August 2021 when she returned to AEW while Riho's had 35 since 2021, both are world-traveled, both are tremendous competitors who will fight until there's nothing left to give, and now they will collide this Wednesday night with the most prestigious championship in Women's Wrestling at stake!
There is no doubt The Outcasts will have their eyes on this bout, so the question is rather if they will let it play out unabated or insert themselves into the fray? If Riho and Hayter are able to battle it out without distraction, this could be one of the most compelling championship bouts AEW has seen to date, but will Ruby, Saraya, and Toni allow these two originals to show the world the division's strength?
AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
The House of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews, & Malakai Black)(c)
vs.
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy & The Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta)
The win, the loss, it obviously didn't matter to The Kings of the Black Throne last Friday night on RAMPAGE; all that mattered was decimating The Best Friends in their tag team collision, and leaving bodies strewn about the ringside area. Whether it was Chuck Taylor getting dropped by Brody King and Malakai Black with a Dante's Inferno, or Orange Cassidy getting waylaid by Buddy Matthews for trying to assist his friends, the point for The House of Black was clearly to destroy everything standing.
But actions have consequences, even for champions, and those will come this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE when The House of Black have to put their AEW World Trios Championship on the line against AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy and The Best Friends! With eleven wins over seventeen matches, the unit of OC, Chuck, & Trent is one of the most experienced trios in All Elite Wrestling, with The Elite and Death Triangle as the only active groups with more bouts under their belt. That being said, The House has won just as many matches as their opponents, but their eleven wins came over the course of just thirteen matches, and they won championship gold in the process when they beat The Elite at REVOLUTION 2023.
The House of Black made a choice to lay waste to The Best Friends last week which in turn led to Orange Cassidy suffering the same fate; will it be history repeating this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE when the AEW World Trios Championship titles are on the line? Or will Orange Cassidy add a second title to his trophy case as his Best Friends score their first AEW championship?
FTW CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
HOOK(c) vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page
It's been quite some time in the making, with an impromptu fight even erupting at the Troy, OH HOUSE RULES TOUR event after Ethan Page demanded a tough challenge after he defeated Shawn Dean. That night, in a non-title affair, HOOK stomped out “All Ego”, but it didn't mean the hostilities from The Firm towards the FTW Champion ceased.
After all, HOOK had put a hurting on Stokely Hathaway in their No Disqualification Match, a match he earned after beating Matt Hardy in a FTW Championship Match in San Francisco, and even before that he'd put down the challenge of Lee Moriarty, as well as teamed with “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry to beat both Firm duos of Big Bill/Lee Moriarty and Matt Hardy/Ethan Page.
Suffice to say HOOK has been a thorn in the paw of The Firm for quite some time but, apparently thanks to Matt Hardy, Ethan Page finally has a chance to put an end to this rivalry while simultaneously claiming the FTW Championship and snapping The Cold-Hearted Handsome Devil's unbeaten streak! But everyone saw that right? That look on Hardy's face when he hugged Ethan last Wednesday night, and when “All Ego” signed the contract on his back on RAMPAGE? What was that about?
UGH...
ONE-ON-ONE...
“The Spanish God” Sammy Guevara vs. Komander
Last Friday night, Sammy Guevara kicked off his push to AEW World Championship contention with a victory over Konosuke Takeshita, albeit with a little outside assist from his wife Tay Melo. Not the most heroic of victories, but that's not something that's ever concerned “The Spanish God”, all he cares about now is racking up enough wins to make his overtures for MJF's AEW World Championship undeniable.
Unfortunately for Guevara, he's going to have to deal with one of the most amazing athletes professional wrestling has seen in quite some time: the high-flying Komander! Coming off a AAA Mega Championship challenge at ROH's SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2023 event, Komander is ready to jump straight back into action this Wednesday night!
Previously they'd only shared a ring while participating in the 2023 Face of the Revolution Ladder Match, so this will mark the first-ever singles collision between Komander and Guevara; the former is aiming to make a big impact in AEW with this first victory while the latter desires nothing more than the AEW World Championship. Can Sammy follow up on his (tainted) success against Takeshita with more of the same against Komander? Or will the Lucha Libre sensation spoil The Spanish God's championship aspirations?
THE ACCLAIMED'S DECISION...
The Jericho Appreciation Society, spearheaded by Angelo Parker and Matt Menard, has been courting The Acclaimed pretty heavily over the last several weeks, and they gave it a particulary hard sell last week with a grand tour around St. Louis. Bowens, Caster, and Billy Gunn were treated to a St. Louis Blues hockey game, an extravagant dinner, and even a carousel ride!
But was it enough to convince the former AEW World Tag Team Champions and Daddy Ass that signing on with The J.A.S. is the right move for their career? We will find out on Wednesday when The Acclaimed have to make their decision!
HEAD-TO-HEAD COLLISION!
“Rock Hard” Juice Robinson vs. “Absolute” Ricky Starks
The hostilities that led to this battle on Long Island started almost immediately after Ricky Starks defeated Chris Jericho at REVOLUTION 2023. It should have been a moment in which “Absolute” celebrated his triumph, instead it was spoiled by “Rock Hard” Juice Robinson and Starks will finally have a chance to even the score this Wednesday night!
Last Friday night Robinson used Action Andretti to send a message to Starks ahead of this match, a match Juice ducked when Starks initially called him onto the table and pushed it forward to this New York event. But whether that was a stay of execution for Robinson, or Juice controlling the playing field to his advantage remains to be seen! Which man will walk away from UBS Arena having had their hand raised?
AEW returns to the Tri-State area for the first time in 2023 with a visit to the UBS Arena on Long Island this Wednesday night! Not only is it a return home for AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman, it is also a night loaded with championship matches! The FTW Championship is at stake between HOOK and The Firm's “All Ego” Ethan Page, The House of Black puts their AEW World Trios Championship on the line against AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy and The Best Friends, Riho challenges Jamie Hayter for the AEW Women's World Championship, and FTR put their AEW careers on the line for one more shot at The Gunn's AEW World Tag Team Titles!
DYNAMITE begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS, and at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, so be sure to hit up the official AEW YouTube channel before the fights begin for highlights from previous episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest offerings from AEW DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, THE CONTROL CENTER, and this week's edition of ROAD TO! And be sure to stay tuned following DYNAMITE for the latest episode of AEW: ALL ACCESS on TBS!