On the heels of a landscape altering pay-per-view (Bleacher Report) where CM Punk was crowned the new AEW World Champion came another massive shake-up on Rampage, AEW's first from Ontario, CA.
Unfortunately the new champion suffered an injury that would require surgery, thus necessitating time off for Punk, and while the fifth AEW World Champion was prepared to forfeit his newly won crown, it was important to AEW CEO Tony Khan that Punk maintain the lineage and be in a position to fight for the title upon his return. How will the Interim Champion be determined? More on that shortly...
On top of that landmark moment, Scorpio Sky successfully retained his TNT Title over Dante Martin, Ruby Soho pinned Dr. Britt Baker in a tag team bout, The Young Bucks and Lucha Brothers engaged in one of the most spectacular matches AEW has seen in its three year existence, and the words Blood & Guts crept back into the AEW lexicon in relation to The J.A.S, The Blackpool Combat Club, Eddie Kingston, and company.
This week on Dynamite, one-half of the Interim AEW World Title bout for Forbidden Door will be determined, Hangman Page will get back on the horse after his World Championship loss, and plenty more will unfold when All Elite Wrestling returns to the Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, MO this Wednesday night for Dynamite!
Dynamite hails from the historic KIA Forum in Los Angeles, CA this Wednesday night on TBS starting at 8pm EDT/7pm CDT on TBS, as well as on AEWPlus.com for our international audience. With everything that happened over the last week, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube page to get caught up on Dynamite and Rampage highlights, the latest editions of Dark: Elevation and Dark, and to watch the newest episodes of Road To and The Control Center with Tony Schiavone!
THE AEW WORLD TITLE SITUATION...
Last Friday night AEW made its debut in Ontario, CA with a tremendous edition of Rampage that featured an unbelievable bout between The Young Bucks and Lucha Brothers, Athena making her AEW in-ring debut in victory over Kiera Hogan, Team Taz making a statement, and Scorpio Sky retaining his TNT Title over Dante Martin. It was quite the memorable first-time out in the market, and if those matches were all that had taken place, it would have gone down as a reason to celebrate all-around.
Unfortunately there was one thing the cast a pall over the night, CM Punk's revelation that he'd suffered an injury that would require surgery, which meant time off to heal, which to him meant relinquishing the AEW World Title. With tears in his eyes, Punk explained that he was instead told by AEW CEO Tony Khan to keep the championship, that the lineage would remain unbroken, and that upon his return Punk would face whomever may be Interim World Champion to unify the belts.
It was a similar situation to what happened when then-TNT Champion Cody Rhodes was medically forced to miss his scheduled defense against Sammy Guevara at Battle for the Belts and an Interim Champion was determined between “The Spanish God” and Dustin Rhodes. A similar situation, although schedule-based rather than injury, occurred with then-ROH Women's World Champion Deonna Purrazzo. Her previous commitments forced her to miss Supercard of Honor 2022, setting up an Interim Title bout between Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Martinez that the latter would win, setting up a Unification Match in which Martinez would also prove victorious.
So AEW had already established a precedent for how these situations would be handled, but with the AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door (Order Now) pay-per-view event also on the horizon, there was an added wrinkle to the championship picture. See just two days prior on Dynamite, an AEW World Champion bout between CM Punk and “The Ace of NJPW” Hiroshi Tanahashi seemed to be signed, sealed, and delivered for June 26th, and clearly this was going to change things on several fronts.
First up is this Wednesday night on Dynamite; opening up the evening will be a Battle Royal in which the winning wrestler will advance to the main event of the show to face former AEW World Champion, the number one ranked Jon Moxley in singles competition. The winner of that bout will than move on to Forbidden Door to challenge for the Interim AEW World Championship. As for the other half of that title fight, that will be determined on June 12th during New Japan Pro Wrestling's Dominion event airing live on NJPWWorld (https://njpwworld.com/) when Tanahashi faces Hirooki Goto. Their record in one-on-one collisions is tilted favorably towards “The Ace”, with an 11-2-1 record over 14 singles bouts, so it will be interesting to see if Goto can overcome that history come Dominion.
As for the AEW side of the equation, whoever wins the Battle Royal will be heading into battle with a former World Champion who has won nine straight singles matches dating back to October 16th, 13 consecutive one-on-one victories going back to August 3rd, is second only to Lance Archer in singles wins, and third behind Jungle Boy and Frankie Kazarian in overall victories. He also holds the Men's Division record for longest singles win streak at twenty-five bouts, and has wanted to get that AEW World Title back ever since his last fight with Kenny Omega at Revolution 2021.
In order to get there, Mox will have to go through whoever steps out of the Battle Royal as the victor, and that is something absolutely unpredictable. Good thing Moxley thrives in unpredictable situations! Will it be the former AEW World Champion who comes to Forbidden Door looking to claim the Interim AEW World Title or will it be one of the multitude of talented athletes who compromise the Men's Division? And just who will they meet that night in Chicago? Will it be NJPW's Ace Tanahashi or CHAOS' own Goto who rises to the occasion? This time next week, it will all be clear...
GETTING BACK ON THAT HORSE...
“Hangman” Adam Page vs. David Finlay
It was just over a week ago at Double or Nothing 2022 that the dream of Adam Page was shattered by CM Punk. That night the 197 day reign of “Hangman” came to an end courtesy of a GTS from “The Best In The World”, but it was more than that that led to the defending champion's downfall. In a moment of weakness, Page contemplated using the AEW World Title belt as a weapon against his challenger. It was a crisis of conscience, and although Hangman chose the right path when he laid his weapon down, the internal struggle gave Punk enough time to recover and catch Page coming in for a Buckshot Lariat.
Page stayed true to his core in that match, but it cost him dearly, and now this Wednesday night the AEW faithful will get its first chance to see the former champion since that heart-breaking defeat. His foe for the evening is a familiar one, New Japan's own David Finlay, and there is a bit of history between the two competitors there. While they've never fought one-on-one, Page and the second generation athlete have fought in a plethora of tag, trios, and other multi-man matches in NJPW, and more often than not, it was Hangman's side that scored the victory.
Both men have come so far since their fights in Tokyo, Osaka, and Sapporo, Hangman has reigned as both AEW World and World Tag Team Champion while Finlay has captured both the IMPACT Tag Titles and the IWGP Tag Titles with Juice Robinson since their last encounter in January 2019. Now on this new playing field, one where Hangman Page had been the lead horse since November 2021, Finlay will come to town in advance of Forbidden Door to show what he brings to the table now!
How will Hangman respond in this first match back after losing his crown? Can Finlay capitalize on that defeat to make his AEW debut a memorable one, or will he taste that Buckshot that brought an end to so many other men's aspirations?
AEW Women's World Title Match
Thunder Rosa(c) vs. Marina Shafir
Thunder Rosa scored a tremendous victory over Serena Deeb at Double or Nothing 2022 in a bout that many called the best of the night. It further solidified both women as two of the best competitors in wrestling today, and cemented Thunder Rosa's position atop the division. But when you're the champion, the struggle to stay on top never ends, and this week in Dynamite, “La Mera Mera” has a big problem to deal with...
Sliding into the number five spot in the rankings following her victory over Skye Blue on Tuesday night's AEW Dark, “The Problem” Marina Shafir is coming after the AEW Women's World Title with the same fury she went after Jade Cargill's TBS Championship back in April on Rampage. This first-ever meeting between the two fierce competitors is sure to be a fight, especially with Rosa's hard-earned World Championship on the line! Do not miss out on this battle of two of the best in the loaded AEW Women's Division!!
A FIRST TIME...
Buddy Matthews vs. “The Bastard” PAC
At Double or Nothing 2022, Julia Hart finally embraced the teachings of The House of Black and directly cost Death Triangle their trios bout with Malakai Black, Brody King, and Buddy Matthews. It continues to feel like no matter what PAC, Penta Oscuro, and Rey Fenix try to do, they just cannot seem to get one over on The HoB.
Now that Julia Hart is in the camp, the numbers their foes will face are even greater than before, and the darkness that awaits is quite...terrifying. It's a good thing that the members of Death Triangle have no problem facing the darkness head on, they've embraced their own dark side, dove head first into the mind games and mental manipulations that Malakai and his ilk have employed, and yet nothing has given them a decisive advantage in this dark dance.
The fight will continue this Wednesday night when two men who have never met in singles competition will face off for the first time. “The Bastard” PAC and Buddy Matthews seem to be perfect foes for one another, they are two powerful fighters who move as fast as lightning, and whose strikes hit as hard as thunder. This is the kind of bout that fans salivate over seeing, and it is going down during Dynamite for all to see!
Will this be the night Death Triangle finds a chink in the House of Black armor?
AEW returns to the Kansas City area and the Cable Dahmer Arena this Wednesday night for another hallmark edition of Dynamite. The action kicks off LIVE on TBS at 8pm EDT/7pm CDT, and at AEWPlus.com for the international audiences, and this will be a truly historic evening! The shape of Forbidden Door will begin to take form, fans will see where Hangman Page's head is at in his fight against NJPW's David Finlay, and plenty more set to unfold! Before the action begins, be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel to catch up on it all via the latest editions of AEW Dark: Elevation, AEW Dark, the Control Center and Road To episodes!