This week is set to be another action-packed one for All Elite Wrestling as we begin our California loop ahead of REVOLUTION 2025 in Los Angeles on March 9th! Tonight AEW travels to Oceanside, CA and the Frontwave Arena for a stacked edition of DYNAMITE featuring AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita defending his title against Orange Cassidy in Phase 2 of the REVOLUTION 2025 International Championship Series. The winner of this moves on to March 9th to defend the title against “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega live on pay-per-view! In addition to that first time one-on-one bout, “Bad Apple” Bryan Keith becomes “The Bounty Hunter” once again as he tries to collect Don Callis' money at Will Ospreay's expense, and Vendetta's “Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo faces Harley Cameron in their first meeting!
On top of that tremendous action, fans in attendance will also see tremendous Ring of Honor action featuring the athletes of CMLL as Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., and Dark Panther face Valienta, Gran Guerrero, and Euforia in trios competition while ROH Women's World Champion Athena puts her title on the line against La Catalina!
DYNAMITE begins at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT streaming on MAX, as well as on TBS, not to mention around the world via AEW PLUS and TSN in Canada, so prior to the action getting started, visit the official AEW YouTube channel to catch-up on highlights from last week's DYNAMITE and COLLISION, and so much more! Then join us on Saturday in Oakland, CA at the Oakland Arena for COLLISION, and then Wednesday March 5th in Sacramento at the Memorial Auditorium for the final night of action before REVOLUTION 2025!
AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
“The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita(c) vs. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy
In the first phase of the REVOLUTION 2025 International Championship Series, 2-Time former champion Orange Cassidy defeated another former champion in Roderick Strong to advance to this title fight with “The Alpha” Konosuke Takeshita tonight in Oceanside, CA. In the final phase of the series, on Sunday night March 9th in Los Angeles, “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega awaits the victor of this bout, and while it's clear he has his hopes of exacting vengeance upon “The Alpha” that night, it became clear at the close of last week's DYNAMITE that Omega realizes Orange Cassidy could be the man standing across the ring that night!
That means the the only Triple Crown winner in AEW history will be paying special attention to this first-time singles clash between the current International Champion and the man who put that title on the map in the first place. Orange Cassidy may not have been the first champion when this title was initially called the All-Atlantic (that honor went to PAC) but he is by far the most successful holder of the belt, and the man who elevated it to International Championship. Orange's first 326 day reign holds the record for longest with the International Title, far surpassing the second place record of 145 days coincidentally also held by “Freshly Squeezed”, and only exceeded by a handful of competitors in AEW history across all division. Orange should also be considered the most successful champion in AEW history as his 31 defenses are not just the most with this title, but they are the most for any champion in the whole of All Elite Wrestling history.
Despite that amazing track record with the International Title, that was a year ago before Roddy ended OC's second run at REVOLUTION 2024. In the here and now, Takeshita has been quite the dominant force with 14 consecutive singles victories in AEW-related competition, seven defenses since beating Will Ospreay and Ricochet at WRESTLEDREAM 2024, and adding the NEVER Openweight Title to his trophy case. OC, though coming off the victory over Roderick Strong last week, had been out of action since DYNAMITE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2025 when he fell to Hangman Page and spent the last couple months of 2024 embroiled in a bitter war with AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and The Death Riders. So it begs the question if Cassidy is ready for the fight that Takeshita will bring tonight in this championship defense, and if he's ready to potentially deal with Don Callis and the rest of The Family over the course of the match? With the potential to become a 3-Time International Champion at hand, it could be a historic night for OC, but it could also be a heartbreaking one.
Who will rise to the occasion tonight in California and move on to REVOLUTION 2025 to fight Kenny Omega? Will “The Alpha” have the opportunity to prove dominance over Kenny once and for all, or will it be Orange Cassidy who puts the title on the line in his first one-on-one match with “The Cleaner”?
BOUNTY MATCH...
“The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay vs. “Bad Apple” Bryan Keith
Don Callis and “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher may have accepted Will Ospreay's challenge to a Steel Cage Match at REVOLUTION 2025, but that doesn't mean they're just going to sit back and let Ospreay rest up on the road to March 9th. Quite the opposite in fact; Don Callis has taken a page from the Chris Jericho playbook (quite ironic considering how their relationship soured) and put a bounty on the head of Ospreay. Just as was the case with “The Most Wanted” Bandido and Jericho's $200,000 prize, it's “Bad Apple” Bryan Keith who is stepping up to the plate to try and collect the prize on “The Aerial Assassin”!
It's a reasonable assumption that Don Callis doesn't care a wit if Bryan Kieth actually defeats Will Ospreay tonight on DYNAMITE, but there's no doubt that he wants Ospreay hurt as badly as possible ahead of AEW's journey to Los Angeles. He wants a weakened “Aerial Assassin” to step into the cage with Fletcher that night, a man battered and beaten down who's easier pickings for “The Protostar”. Will Bryan Keith deliver that to Don Callis and his Family in return for the bounty?
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED...
“The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo vs. Harley Cameron
For the last month there's been a growing hostility from The Vendetta, Deonna Purrazzo and Taya Valkyrie, directed towards Harley Cameron. It began at COLLISION: HOMECOMING 2025 when their blatant disrespect towards Cameron brought her to the ring to disrupt a Vendetta double-team assault on Yuka Sakazaki. Harley's brief involvement to even the odds snowballed into Yuka pinning Deonna to earn a TBS Championship match, and kicked off this grudge The Vendetta has against Harley. It led to a singles match between Harley and Taya Valkyrie on COLLISION the following week, which in turn brought Harley Cameron her first televised singles victory:
That loss obviously didn't sit well with Taya or Deonna, nor did seeing Harley actually get a TBS Title fight at GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA, and so they intend to do something about it tonight on DYNAMITE! Yes it's a one-on-one match, but in the case of The Vendetta, it is still a plural situation as these two women don't tend to operate alone. Where one goes, so tends to go the other, though when Harley Cameron managed to overcome Taya it was a rare instance of The Vendetta flying solo. Can Harley find a way to experience that same success with both Taya and Deonna there, or will their numbers sway the outcome?
TRIOS CONTEST...
TNT Champion Daniel Garcia & FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) vs.
Undisputed Kingdom (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, & Roderick Strong)
The ongoing friendly rivalry between TNT Champion Daniel Garcia and Undisputed Kingdom has played out in many fashions over the past several weeks, from their unified front against The Death Riders to their mutual desire to claim the AEW World Trios Titles to the interest Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong all have in the belt Garcia has held since FULL GEAR 2024 last November. Undisputed Kingdom failed in their bid to dethrone The Death Riders as Trios Champions, so too did Garcia when aligned with Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang, but that doesn't mean any of these men intend to stop trying. The fact that UK were there to assist the TNT Champion and his allies also doesn't change that they have mutual championship goals. With that in mind, tonight on DYNAMITE, Daniel Garcia turns to another pair of men with whom he's allied in the past, and who served as great mentors and partners, particularly when he stepped inside a Steel Cage with them a little over a year ago.
FTR have had their eyes on The Death Riders for quite some time now, and in fact hold a victory over Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta in that Mid-South Street Tag Team Fight on February 1st, as well as that DYMAMITE: FIGHT FOR THE FALLEN 2025 trios victory on January 1st alongside “The Rated R Superstar” Cope. They, perhaps more than any others, have had the number of The Death Riders and that makes them ideal partners for Daniel Garcia, not just for this trios battle with Undisputed Kingdom, but also given the hopeful championship fight down the line.
Still, before either unit gets to that position, they've got to take up the fight with one another, but luckily Garcia has picked some partners with Undisputed Kingdom experience! FTR defeated Cole and...MJF...in an AEW World Tag Title match in July 2023, and have several 2024 run-ins with Roderick Strong in trios and multi-man matches leading to a 2-1 record against “The Messiah of the Backbreaker”. As for Kyle O'Reilly, while they've got a little experience with him (as well as Roddy) from their pre-AEW lives, the only ring time they've shared here was in a Tag Team #1 Contender's Battle Royal three years ago won by Kyle's reDRagon team.
That being said, UK have a distinct experience edge here as a trio despite the two units' records being similar (UK: 3-1, Garcia/FTR: 2-1), that being their recency in action. It's been over a year since the last time FTR and Garcia fought together whereas the four battles this UK trio have fought together all took place in the last five weeks. Will that be the deciding factor in this contest? And how will the outcome affect the World Trios Championship scene now that The Death Riders have been forced back into the role of defending champions after three months without a title fight?
DYNAMITE gets started at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT streaming on MAX, on TBS, and around the world via AEW PLUS and TSN in Canada! This week we've got a highly anticipated AEW International Championship match pitting Konosuke Takeshita against 2-Time former champion Orange Cassidy with the winner facing Kenny Omega at REVOLUTION 2025! We will also see Harley Cameron in action against “The Virtuosa” Deonna Purrazzo, “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay versus “Bad Apple” Bryan Keith in a Bounty Match, and so much more as we barrel towards March 9th! Before the evening gets underway, make a point to check out AEW's official YouTube channel to watch highlights from previous editions of DYNAMITE and COLLISION, as well as GRAND SLAM: AUSTRALIA, and so much more! Then come with us on Saturday to Oakland, CA where the Oakland Arena hosts COLLISION, and then to Sacramento on Wednesday March 5th when the Memorial Auditorium is AEW's home for the final night of action before REVOLUTION 2025!