ALL IN: LONDON 2024 week is upon us and it begins tonight with the very first DYNAMITE emanating from the United Kingdom, specifically the Utilita Arena in Cardiff, Wales! With just four days to go until All Elite Wrestling takes over Wembley Stadium, we've got a huge night of action lined up including two championship bouts, one whose result could change the face of Sunday's pay-per-view extravaganza! AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada will defend his title against the BCC's Claudio Castagnoli in one title fight while in the other, the one that could have huge ramifications on ALL IN: LONDON 2024, AEW Women's World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm puts it all on the line against former ally Saraya! In addition, AEW...American...Champion MJF will have a face-to-face will his challenger Will Ospreay, and ahead of his FTW Title defense on Sunday, champion “The Learning Tree” Champion Chris Jericho will fight “Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington!
The action begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS, so make a point to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from DYNAMITE, COLLISION, and RAMPAGE to get prepared for the night! Fans in attendance at Utilita Arena will get the opportunity to see Saturday's episode of COLLISION before anyone else, which means finding out which trio will occupy the fourth spot in Sunday night's World Trios Championship London Ladders Match. From Cardiff it's off to Boxpark Wembley on Saturday afternoon for the ALL IN: LONDON CELEBRATION from 11am-3pm, and that brings us to Sunday for ALL IN: LONDON 2024 live on pay-per-view! This is the biggest week of the year for All Elite Wrestling, and we cannot wait to experience it with the greatest wrestling fans on the planet!
THE FINAL SHOWDOWN...
In four days AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland and 2024 Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament winner Bryan Danielson will meet inside Wembley Stadium with both the title and the future of Danielson's career hanging in the balance. What was already a very intrapersonal situation for “The American Dragon” was made quite interpersonal by Swerve last week with the assault on Wheeler Yuta after their match, his words directed towards Bryan's family, and the House Call sneak attack delivered to Bryan as he was checking on his BCC training partner. If the point was to get a leg up on the challenger, well that may have backfired because instead it seems to have awoken the darkest parts of Bryan Danielson, parts that even with his participation in violent situations like Anarchy in the Arena, All Elite Wrestling has not seen.
There is one man who has seen it though, one man who experienced Bryan's brutality first-hand roughly 215 miles from Wembley Stadium at a historic venue called the Liverpool Olympia, and that man was former ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness. Though they had many wars during their tenure in Ring of Honor, as well as several battles outside those honorable auspices, their fight at UNIFIED on August 12, 2006 has always stood out from the pack. Part of that may be because it unified the ROH World and Pure Championship, a unification that remained intact for fourteen years, but a larger reason is due to the sheer brutality of the violence Bryan and Nigel perpetrated upon one another that evening. From the elbows to the lariats to the headbutts to abuse of the corner posts, Bryan and Nigel did everything they could to maim one another that night all for the right to be the ROH World Champion.
Fast forward eighteen years to ALL IN: LONDON 2024, it has been nearly thirteen years since Nigel's last match, fifteen since the last time the two men shared a ring at ROH's GLORY BY HONOR VIII: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN event, and the vitriol Nigel still feels towards Bryan can be heard every single time his name is brought up in McGuinness' presence. In fact Bryan doesn't even have to be part of the conversation for Nigel to put him into it just to take a verbal jab, and yet tonight on DYNAMITE in Cardiff, as Danielson and Swerve confront each other one final time before traveling to London, it is Nigel McGuinness who will serve as the moderator. Is he capable of being a fair and unbiased moderator? That's highly unlikely, this is after all the man who physically jumped for joy at REVOLUTION 2024 when Eddie Kingston defeated Bryan in their Continental Crown bout, who has spent the last year hoping every match Danielson had would be his last, and who has manged to turn the phrase “Clamdigger” from a descriptor to an insult.
Yet Nigel has been tasked with the job of moderating this confrontation between AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland and challenger Bryan Danielson, so can he do it fairly? Can he insure that this does not break down into violence, especially after how things were left last week on DYNAMITE?
AEW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
“Timeless” Toni Storm(c) vs. The Outcasts' Saraya
Perhaps this is a bit of full circle, perhaps this is karma circling back around to Saraya as just a few days ago she was standing on the outside of Wembley Stadium looking in, desperately hoping to find a way back inside the place where she won the AEW Women's World Championship one year ago.
Then, from the recesses of that memory, came a celluloid goddess, looking oh-so-different than she did on that August 27, 2023 evening, yet possessing the title that once found its home around the waist of “The Unproblematic Icon”. Despite the past, despite the broken hearts and shattered realities caused by their falling out, here was that “Timeless” icon offering the former champion an opportunity to walk onto AEW's biggest stage once more, and with that championship title once more in her possession. It was not a dream sequence, Saraya was not moments from waking up only to find herself still hopelessly locked out of Wembley, she was in fact staring at AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm and hearing her former Outcasts ally offering the opportunity of a lifetime.
Now this being Toni Storm, she certainly hasn't forgotten the sting of betrayal felt when Saraya and Ruby Soho excommunicated her from The Outcasts, so this opportunity being given to Saraya feels more like pity based on what they used to mean to each other rather than generosity. Storm's motivations aside, gratitude is clearly not a word in Saraya's vocabulary based on how she responded to the birthday gift laid at her feet, as if the former Women's World Champion feels entitled to a spot at ALL IN: LONDON 2024.
Will Saraya leave Cardiff empty-handed, disappointed, and locked out of Sunday's pay-per-view event, or will she completely change the face of the AEW Women's World Championship match? Toni Storm may have created the opportunity for such sweeping change, but now it's in Saraya's hands to pen the sequel to her 2023 blockbuster!
AEW CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
The Elite's Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Blackpool Combat Club's Claudio Castagnoli
Take two of the greatest athletes in professional wrestling today, throw them in the ring together, and watch magic unfold! On paper that sounds like exactly what this bout between Claudio Castagnoli and AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada should be, but in reality it has the potential to be something quite different and that's got nothing to do with either man's skill levels.
Claudio is a 2-Time ROH World Champion, one of just six men who can claim that status since the titles July 2002 inception at Crowning a Champion, as well as a 2-Time ROH World Tag Team Champion with Chris Hero, a former PWG World Champion, and widely considered among the most spectacular athletes in the game. He can throw bombs with the nastiest strikers, get on the mat and grapple with technicians, and even soar through the sky with luchadors. One would be hard-pressed to find a more versatile professional wrestler than Claudio Castagnoli, and his work with Blackpool Combat Club has only honed that sword to a cutting edge.
Not only is Kazuchika Okada the reigning and defending Continental Champion, a title he's held since beating Eddie Kingston 154 days ago, but he's also a 5-Time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, a 2-Time IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, a 4-Time G1 CLIMAX Tournament winner, a 2-Time New Japan Cup Tournament winner, and just as Castagnoli learned the art of Lucha Libre at the feet of Skayde, Okada was mentored in the Toryumon Mexico Dojo by Ultimo Dragon.
Yet with each man's impressive pedigrees, the accolades they've earned en route to joining All Elite Wrestling, there is one huge difference in how each man represents themselves today and it's encompassed by the company they keep. As a member of the BCC, Castagnoli's dedication to becoming a better fighter is stronger than ever as is his desire to compete as much as possible, against as many different opponents as possible, because each of those bouts teaches Claudio something new about himself, about his foes, and about professional wrestling.
As a member of The Elite, Okada's mindset stands in stark contrast to that of Blackpool Combat Club, though that group of men may all stand in AEW as champions, they do so by putting themselves at risk as infrequently as possible. Fans witnessed it with The Young Bucks taking 115 days to even make their first defense of the World Tag Titles, they've seen it with Jack Perry taking a TNT Title once synonymous with the Open Challenge and only defending it once in the fifty-two days since FORBIDDEN DOOR 2024, and Okada is just as guilty, making only two defenses in 154 days, with the last one against Dax Harwood going down ninety-eight days ago. It's not just the way The EVPs have used their power to protect their friends, but also the sheer fact that prior to last Wednesday night, not one of them had even appeared on TV since losing to Team AEW inside Blood & Guts.
Suffice to say the man holding the Continental Championship is a far cry from the man who held the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, and his alliance with The Elite may very well be the thing that stacks the deck against Claudio Castagnoli tonight on DYNAMITE. What was once a dream match on paper could be the stuff of nightmares if The EVPs assert any influence on the proceedings...
ONE-ON-ONE...
FTW Champion “The Learning Tree” Chris Jericho vs. “The Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington
“The Learning Tree” Chris Jericho is set to defend his FTW Championship against HOOK this Sunday at ALL IN: LONDON 2024, and even got the 2-Time former champion to agree to a fight with Big Bill on COLLISION ahead of that, but what he didn't need to do was take on a fight of his own prior to AEW's pay-per-view festivities. Maybe he didn't think about that, or perhaps he did think it through and it's just that Chris' ego is just so all-consuming that he genuinely doesn't believe that “Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington poses any threat. Perhaps Jericho just sees Billington as an upstart punk taking advantage of his family name, or perhaps he saw how brutally Tommy rebuked Don Callis weeks ago so rather than suffer the same humiliation, he's just skipping the offer to become a branch, and jumping right to the inevitable fight. Jericho best be careful though, Billington may be young but he's a dangerous fighter inside that ring, and all it takes is three seconds to shake up Jericho's expectations. It wouldn't be the first time Chris' arrogance has gotten in the way, never forget Action Andretti scoring AEW's biggest upset in December 2022 or even Jungle Boy taking him to a 10-minute draw in December 2019, and with the HOOK fight just four days away, Jericho can ill afford a repeat of either of those outings.
Will this be another night “The Learning Tree” is hoisted on his own petard, or will he make “Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington an example for HOOK ahead of their FTW Title fight on Sunday?
FACE-TO-FACE...
First he stole the AEW International Championship from Will Ospreay in the final seconds of what had been a tremendous match on the 250th edition of DYNAMITE. Then he spat on the legacy that first began when “The Bastard” PAC won the All-Atlantic Championship at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2022 when he stripped the International Championship of the name Orange Cassidy earned during his record-setting first reign, a legacy that was subsequently built upon by Jon Moxley, Rey Fenix, Roderick Strong, and Ospreay. MJF's choice to label his title the AEW American Championship has not exactly been canonized by All Elite Wrestling, and there's a certain irony in MJF doing so just before heading to CMLL in Mexico and RevPro in London to defend the title. His defense against Michael Oku marked the first defense outside North America since Cassidy did so at RevPro's HIGH STAKES 2024 event in February, and it's certainly not coincidence that MJF took that match as a shot at Ospreay before their bout this Sunday.
Well tonight MJF is going to have to take those shots at his challenger with Will Ospreay standing right in front of him, because on DYNAMITE the self-labeled AEW American Champion will go face-to-face with his ALL IN: LONDON 2024 challenger! What will these two men have to say to one another just four days before their rematch on pay-per-view?
TRIOS BOUT...
Darby Allin & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs. The Elite (TNT Champion Jack Perry and AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks)
Ahead of their mutual matches at ALL IN: LONDON 2024, Darby Allin and FTR will go to battle with The Elite of Jack Perry and The Young Bucks! Though both teams have united previously in Blood & Guts (in the case of The Elite) and Anarchy in the Arena (applicable to both teams), this is the first time either have functioned as a trio. For FTR and Darby Allin, this is yet another fight in a string of them heading towards Wembley Stadium but for Jack Perry this is his first real fight since nearly being set on fire inside Blood & Guts by Darby Allin, and this is only The Young Bucks second match since stepping out of that cage.
This fight not only sets the table for Sunday, but it also provides three with the opportunity to get an advantage before their respective championship fights! Will it be The Elite who score that advantage, or will the three men loyal to AEW, rather than just themselves, be the ones heading to Wembley with a leg up on the competition?
ALSO FEATURING:
ALL IN: LONDON 2024 is just four days away, and All Elite Wrestling begins this final leg of the journey to Wembley with DYNAMITE's debut at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff! There is a whole lot on tap for AEW's flagship program this week, including a title bout between AEW Women's World Champino “Timeless” Toni Storm and Saraya that could have a huge impact on ALL IN: LONDON 2024. We will also see Claudio Castagnoli challenge Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Championship, FTW Champion Chris Jericho take on “Dynamite Kid” Tommy Billington, and “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay get some face time with AEW American Champion MJF!
DYNAMITE gets underway at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS, so before showtime drop by AEW's official YouTube channel to catch up on the latest highlights from DYNAMITE, COLLISION, and RAMPAGE, as well as get a special look at ALL IN: LONDON, catch Ricky Steamboat on HEY! (EW), and more! Fans fortunate enough to be in attendance at Utilita Arena on Wednesday will also get to experience Saturday night's COLLISION before the rest of the world, which means they'll know who the fourth trio taking part in Sunday night's World Trios Championship London Ladders Match will be first! After Cardiff, AEW heads to London and Boxpark Wembley for Saturday afternoon's ALL IN: LONDON CELEBRATION taking place from 11am-3pm, and then it's all about ALL IN: LONDON 2024 live on pay-per-view this Sunday!
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