In the aftermath of DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023, replay available on Bleacher Report, Maxwell Jacob Friedman is unfortunately still our World Champion, taking advantage of the rules of a Four Way Match to retain possession of the AEW World Title. Another man, or rather men, who took advantage of the rules of the game would be Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita as they played a crucial role in The Blackpool Combat Club's victory in Anarchy In The Arena. And those were just two of the huge moments that took place last Sunday night: Kris Statlander returned to the fold to make history, ending Jade Cargill's TBS Championship reign, and undefeated streak, in shocking fashion, Adam Cole smashed his way through Chris Jericho in their Unsanctioned fight, FTR retained their AEW World Tag Team gold, and so much more that needs to be seen on the replay!
That bring us to this Wednesday night at the Viejas Arena in San Diego for the aftermath of that pay-per-view extravaganza, and the beginning of the next phase in AEW's life. Signed before DON '23 even ended, Adam Cole will team with Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D to take on Chris Jericho and Saraya in a Mixed Tag match, and we learned Tuesday night that Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita will be in the building to justify their actions during Anarchy In The Arena! Plus The BCC will be in Trios action against The Lucha Brothers and Bandido, the newly crowned TBS Champion Kris Statlander will put her title on the line against Nyla Rose, and we will hear from BULLET CLUB GOLD about their encounter with Ricky Starks and FTR!
The night begins at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans, and the official AEW YouTube channel is the place to watch highlights from last week's DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, in addition this week's editions of ROAD TO, THE CONTROL CENTER, and more!
MIXED TAG GRUDGE MATCH...
Adam Cole & Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D vs. Chris Jericho & Saraya
The record books may not reflect it, but on Sunday night Adam Cole defeated Chris Jericho in rather devastating fashion in their Unsanctioned bout. It was a violent affair, to the surprise of none considering the road that lead to it, and saw tables, kendo sticks, and chains all come into play during the course of the fight.
It was that second one that plays a role in how this Wednesday night's Mixed Tag came to be as, during the course of the bout, Dr. Britt Baker would hit the ring for some retribution of her own on “Le Champion” for his role in that brutal assault she suffered at the hands of The Outcasts. With a kendo stick of her own in hand, Baker tore into Jericho with one shot after another, actually bringing Saraya out from the back to try and help, only for the Good Doctor to wear her out with the kendo stick as well. It's the least Saraya and Jericho deserved for their actions, but if we've learned one thing about these individuals, especially “The Ocho”, it's that neither brook humiliation well, and they both earned it on Sunday night.
That is why the challenge was made for this tag match, and why Jericho needlessly assaulted that AEW staff member with a fireball, someone had to pay for the humiliation, and what easier target than the man just doing his job who is of absolutely no threat to the original AEW World Champion.
But Adam Cole is, and Dr. Britt Baker is absolutely one to Saraya as well; it won't be so easy for Jericho and her on Wednesday night in San Diego when the bell rings for this one, and while both Cole and Jericho are still hurting from the Unsanctioned fight, that isn't going to stop either man from picking up right where they left off!
TAKESHITA, WHAT DID YOU DO?
Before DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 even began, Don Callis sat down with Jim Ross and opened up about his history with Kenny Omega, a history dating back to Callis' training under the Golden Sheik, coincidentally the uncle of Kenny's. Despite the decades of having a familial relationship, Callis repeatedly rationalized his actions to JR, consistently referring to everything Omega did as “We”, as in “We won the AEW World title” and “We beat Okada”, and putting the blame on Kenny for destroying his family. Don put blame on The Young Bucks for dragging Kenny down from the wrestler “he's supposed to be”, painting himself as the victim of Omega's choices, and in the closing moments of Anarchy In The Arena, Callis would make his move once again, only this time he wasn't alone.
For weeks on end, Don Callis courted Konosuke Takeshita, making overtures about what he could do for Takeshita's career, and even offering to purchase his plane ticket home if Don couldn't help elevate Takeshita. It seemed that Takeshita was siding up with The Elite when, several weeks ago, he united with them against The BCC, and even teamed with Kenny to beat The Butcher & The Blade, only to end up on the wrong end of Jon Moxley's screwdriver after the match.
And yet on Sunday night, at the most crucial moment when Kenny was set to drop Wheeler Yuta with Angel's Wings, Don Callis entered the ring, but his presence was only distraction for the assault that came from the hooded individual who revealed himself to be Konosuke Takeshita after delivering a jumping knee to the face of “The Cleaner”.
So what did Don Callis whisper in Takeshita's ear to bring him to this position at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023? We will all hopefully find out together this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE!
TAG TEAM BOUT...
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin
vs.
The Mogul Embassy's Gates of Agony (Kaun & Toa Liona)
As the last men standing in the Blackjack Battle Royale this past Sunday night, Orange Cassidy and Swerve Strickland had a tremendous fight to determine who would walk away the AEW International Champion. Despite all the punishment his body has taken during his record-setting reign, despite all he endured during the fight, it would be Orange Cassidy who walked away still clutching his title. Swerve may have came closer than any man has before him, but the nature of the contest only meant Cassidy had to make The Mogul Embassy member's feet touch the floor to secure victory. Had Orange been required to pin or submit Strickland to win the bout, we may have been looking at a new AEW International champion, but luckily for OC, “all” he had to do was kick Swerve's hands off the ropes.
With that little bit of humiliation in mind, Swerve has looked to his affiliates in the Mogul Embassy to step up and deliver some retribution this Wednesday night in San Diego! As two-thirds of the ROH World Six Man Champs, Kaun and Toa Liona are forces of destruction, and they are being unleashed upon two of Swerve's most staunch enemies, one old and one new, that being AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin. The history between Allin and Swerve has been well-documented in their previous encounters, with Darby scoring victory in both their AEW encounters, and, it should be noted, this relationship between OC and Allin that's been built-up the last few months has proven quite fruitful as well, leading to multiple victories on the HOUSE RULES tour, as well as on a recent edition of DYNAMITE.
Can The Gates of Agony get some revenge on Swerve's behalf, especially given how they are the far fresher duo having not competed at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 last Sunday, or will the AEW International Champion and the former 2-Time TNT Champion continue building their tag team resume together en route to heaping further humiliation on Swerve Strickland?
TRIOS BOUT...
The Blackpool Combat Club (ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, & Wheeler Yuta)
vs.
ROH World Tag Team Champions The Lucha Brothers (Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix) and Bandido
Fresh off their victory at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 in the Anarchy in the Arena battle, The Blackpool Combat Club will jump right back into trios competition and face the reigning ROH World Tag Champion Lucha Brothers and their third-man, former 2-Time ROH World Champion, Bandido!
Now Penta and Fenix recently scored a ROH World Tag Team Championship victory over Claudio and Yuta, with a little assist from The Young Bucks, but this time around, with the state in which they left the T-Mobile Arena on Sunday night, it seems unlikely that there will be a repeat performance.
So the question is what kind of condition will The BCC men be in coming into this trios battle, especially considering their foes had a far easier night in Las Vegas, relatively speaking, as they took part in the Blackjack Battle Royale for the AEW International Championship. This could be a prime moment for The Luchas and Bandido to score victory as all three men have to be hurting following Anarchy in the Arena.
Can the ROH World Tag Champs and Bandido take advantage of the moment and seize victory against the most violent men that All Elite Wrestling has ever seen?
TBS CHAMPIONSHIP OPEN CHALLENGE...
Kris Statlander(c) vs. Nyla Rose
On the heels of ending Jade Cargill's record-setting TBS Championship reign and undefeated streak, brand-new TBS Champion Kris Statlander is staying true to the Open Challenge, and what a way to start her reign! Former AEW Women's World Champion Nyla Rose has answered the call, and will challenge Statlander on DYNAMITE.
These two powerful competitors have collided twice in AEW; the first time at REVOLUTION 2020, a flu-stricken Statlander came close to dethroning Nyla as AEW Women's World Champion, but in their rematch on 8/11/21, after Rose was dethroned by Hikaru Shida, it would be Kris who came up with the big W.
So consider this rubber match, with the TBS Championship on the line, and a true test of Statlander's comeback! Could the second TBS Champion in the title's history also hold the record for shortest reign? We will find out this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE!
THE BULLET CLUB GOLD SPEAKS...
After once again attacking Ricky Starks, this time following the Blackjack Battle Royale, Juice Robinson and “Switchblade” Jay White found themselves with having unwanted face-to-face time with the AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR. This Wednesday night, we will hear from Juice and “King Switch” and they've got a message for “Absolute” Ricky Starks, Cash Wheeler, and Dax Harwood.
This Wednesday night, for the very first time, DYNAMITE comes to you from the Viejas Arena in San Diego where the fallout from DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 begins! We know Adam Cole and Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D will fight Chris Jericho and Saraya in a Mixed Tag match, and we also know Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita will be in San Diego to rationalize their attack on Kenny Omega last Sunday night! Plus The BCC will be in trios action, the BULLET CLUB GOLD will be on-hand to run their mouths, Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy will take on The Gates of agony, and more; DYNAMITE kicks off at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, just be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel prior to showtime to catch DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE highlights, as well as this week's editions of ROAD TO, THE CONTROL CENTER, and much more!
And if you're in the area, be sure to catch the HOUSE RULES TOUR this Friday night in Tupelo, MS and Saturday in Huntsville, AL!