This week, DYNAMITE returns to Bridgeport, CTfor the final episode of AEW's flagship program before FULL GEAR 2022. A huge tag team match between The J.A.S. and the Blackpool Combat Club will give fans a preview of the ROH World Championship match, the first-ever singles clash between Swerve and Bowens previews the AEW World Tag Team Championship bout, and just days before her title fight with Jamie Hayter, Toni Storm will meet Anna Jay A.S. in an Eliminator Match! Plus we will hear from the AEW World Champion, his challenger, the ROH World TV Champion, and both Saraya and Dr. Britt Baker!
Plus The Acclaimed will premiere their latest music video, the first Semi-Final match of the Men's World Title Eliminator tournament will take place, and Death Triangle will put the AEW World Trios Championship on the line against the a reunited Top Flight and the red-hot AR Fox!
The road to FULL GEAR 2022 hits the home stretch this Wednesday night on TBS, getting underway LIVE at 8pm EDT/7pm CDT, and at AEWPlus.com for international audiences, and the official AEW YouTube page is the best place to get prepared with AEW DARK, AEW DARK: ELEVATION, ROAD TO, and THE CONTROL CENTER with Tony Schiavone!
MEN'S WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR SEMI-FINAL MATCH...
“All Ego” Ethan Page vs. Bandido
The Men's World Title Eliminator Tournament kicked off last Wednesday night on DYNAMITE when Eddie Kingston collided with “All Ego” Ethan Page in a renewal of a rivalry that spilled blood across the independent wrestling landscape.
As that pro wrestling colloquialism goes, when the dust settled and the smoke cleared, it was The Firm member who came out of the bout victorious, albeit with some distraction provided by Stokely Hathaway along the way, but ultimately due to a Super Ego's Edge delivered to Kingston sealing the deal. It marked a huge victory for Ethan Page, who moved one step closer to getting his first AEW World Championship opportunity, and a huge frustration for Eddie Kingston with not making it out of the opening round.
With the other half of this semi-final match, Bandido had to overcome a tremendous fight from underneath against “El Toro Blanco” Rush in their Quarter-Final match. The battle of two former ROH World Champions was tremendously physical, with the ultra-aggressive Rush throwing every thing he had at Bandido, and the man still surviving the LFI onslaught. Ultimately though it was John Silver's arrival on the scene that opened the door for Bandido to score the victory, a Dark Order appearance only brought about by Jose The Assistant getting involved in the contest to assist Rush's bid to advance.
While Jose would end up scurrying away from the ring, Rush allowed himself to be distracted by Silver's presence, which left the door open for Bandido to score the victory with a School Boy roll-up, and advance to this Semi-Final match!
Now this Wednesday on DYNAMITE, one-half of the tournament finals at FULL GEAR 2022 will be set when Ethan Page and Bandido lock-up for the very first time in their careers! “All Ego” is operating on a different level than we have seen since he debuted in AEW at REVOLUTION 2021, something unleashed since signing on with The Firm several months agao, while Bandido is such an unknown factor in the All Elite world, having only competed twice on the AEW stage. His blend of high-flying and power is unlike any other competitor in that locker room, and it makes the former ROH World Champion quite the unpredictable foe!
Will The Firm be there to help “All Ego” along the way, or will he have to dance with Bandido without the benefit of Stokley Hathaway in his corner? Tune in to TBS this Wednesday night to see how the World Title Eliminator Tournament continues to unfold!
ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW...
The Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli)
vs.
Jericho Appreciation Society (ROH World Champion Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara)
It has been nineteen months since the last time Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli stood as partners in a professional wrestling match, and despite their hard-earned respect for one another, as well as their mutual involvement in The Blackpool Combat Club, more often than not they've been on opposite sides of the ring in their careers. They've fought over championships and they've battled for title opportunities, they've been foes in tags and trios and multi-man matches, and even once fought over the ROH World Championship in a Four Way bout at DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR VI where Claudio actually stomped a steel chair into the skull of Danielson. Point being, they've gone through hell and back together, finding a genuine bond in those wars, and though the current tension within The BCC is between Bryan and Yuta, Double C has found himself in the awkward role of peacemaker between the two.
On the other side of the ring this Wednesday night, presenting themselves as some kind of united front, will be The Jericho Appreciation Society tandem of Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara. While the two men may want to present some visage of solidarity, the whole world witnessed Guevara discard his Inner Circle vest while tensions rose between Jericho, Ortiz, and Santana. There is plenty of video showing “The Spanish God” leaving his IC allies to pursue his own endeavors, and becoming a 3-Time TNT Champion while operating as a solo artist. So there is not this extensive track record of Jericho and Guevara always being on the same page, always being together, and the only person who likely believes that sell is the ROH World Champion himself. Perhaps he has a selective memory, perhaps he's chosen to redact it from his own recollections of The Inner Circle, but either way, when “The Ocho” said a thing like “little buddy” to the 3-Time TNT Champion, it was clear on Guevara's face that the comment didn't sit well. Sammy's refusal to even address it when he made the challenge to Bryan Danielson for the Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls Match just screamed how much it got under the skin of “The Spanish God” but he wasn't about to let it show.
So all of the issues of The J.A.S. and The BCC combined certainly add up to one intriguing situation both for this Wednesday's tag team bout, and for the Four Way ROH World Championship bout on Saturday night. It really is a question of whose bonds are stronger, and who is more willing to see their ally achieve success even if it means their own failure. This tag match may be setting the stage for FULL GEAR 2022, it may even give the winner of the deciding fall a boost of momentum heading to Newark, NJ, but it may also show the world (and the other competitors in the match) where the cracks are in the foundation of The JAS and/or The BCC.
TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW...
AEW World Tag Team Champion Anthony Bowens vs. Swerve Strickland
And speaking of cracks in the foundation, here is the World Tag Team Championship bout between challengers Swerve In Our Glory and champions The Acclaimed taking place on Saturday night. As the world has seen over the last several months, especially since DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2022 when Swerve and Keith Lee lost the titles to The Acclaimed, the former champions are most certainly not on the same page. As evidenced by his incident with Billy Gunn, Strickland is willing to go to some very dark places to send The Acclaimed a message, while Keith has quite vocally expressed his confusion as to just what is going on with his partner, and their partnership.
In that way, it likely is a good thing that Swerve will head into combat on a solo mission this Wednesday night when he takes on Anthony Bowens just three days prior to their championship rubber match at FULL GEAR 2022. It has been nine months since Bowens last one-on-one encounter in AEW while, prior to his encounter with “Daddy Ass”, Swerve hadn't gone solo since an April loss to Darby in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament. Both men have been ultra-focused on their tag team successes throughout 2022, and that focus has led to championship celebrations for both The Acclaimed and S.I.O.G, but now they've got a singles clash to try and get a leg-up before their tag team collision on Saturday night.
Which man will add some momentum to their respective tag team, and who will leave Bridgeport frustrated in defeat? And will The Acclaimed's other big moment of the night play any part in how Swerve approaches this first-time collision with Anthony Bowens? What's that big moment you ask?Well...
A HAND FOR A HAND...
It's been awhile since The Acclaimed have dropped a music video on the AEW faithful, “Trash Boys” back in July to be precise, but between that, “Goth Phase”, “Buck Hunt”, or “All Talk”, Caster and Bowens have repeatedly demonstrated they don't pull any punches with their diss tracks. They've done it to The Gunns, to Moxley and Kingston, to Hangman Page, as well as Sting and Darby, and went straight for the jugular each time.
With such a heated rivalry between Swerve in Our Glory and The Acclaimed, one can only imagine what the World Tag Team Champions will have to say in this video about Swerve and Keith Lee! And with the promise of a special guest in this video, speculation has begun to run wild about just who Bowens, Caster, and Billy Gunn could pull for this latest music video.
AEW WORLD TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Death Triangle (PAC, Penta El Zero Miedo, & Rey Fenix)(c)
vs.
AR Fox & Top Flight (Dante Martin & Darius Martin)
Okay, so it is clear there is a lot of internal strife within the units occupying AEW's locker rooms. It's there with The J.A.S. (even if Jericho doesn't see it), it's there with The BCC, and it is there with Swerve In Our Glory. After the events of the last several weeks, notably surrounding PAC's liberal abuse of the ring bell hammer, it is evidently existing within The Death Triangle as well. “The Bastard” has encouraged, if not expected, The Lucha Brothers to be willing to sink to the same “by any means necessary” depths as he in order to achieve victory, while it seems neither Rey Fenix nor Penta El Zero Miedo are wanting to follow PAC's path. Fans saw it when Fenix threw the hammer back at PAC in his All-Atlantic Championship Three Way with Orange Cassidy and Luchasaurus, and we heard The Bastard's expectations in the video embedded above.
The weight of those expectations will be felt this Wednesday night when The Death Triangle defend their AEW World Trios Championship for the third time since winning in September. They beat The Best Friends and Orange Cassidy to become champions, and Death Triangle beat them in their second title defense as well, with The Dark Order unit falling in Death Triangle's first Trios Championship defense.
But the team stepping up to challenge isn't one Death Triangle has faced before, nor is it one for which they can game plan because there is no tape to study. For the very first time, AR Fox will unite with the Top Flight duo of Dante & Darius Martin, and they will challenge for the AEW World Trios Championship! Now this is a huge night in many ways; for one, it's the first match in seven months for Darius Martin after he was injured in a car accident back in April, and Top Flight's first championship opportunity in All Elite Wrestling. For another, this bout will be the first AEW title opportunity for one AR Fox, a man who has been plying his trade on the independents for the last 15 years, and who has impressed in his AEW bouts against Ari Daivari, Serpentico, Rey Fenix, and Dante Martin over the last several months.
For those who may be unfamiliar with his work, AR Fox broke into wrestling back in 2007 in Georgia, and in the decade and a half since, has competed against the best wrestling has to offer. He's battled Adam Cole, Jon Moxley, Brody King, Tony Nese, and PAC to name a few, competed in the PWG Battle of Los Angeles tournament, and even traveled to Japan as part of the Dragon Gate promotion. He's held over a dozen championship during his career, and consistently proven himself to be one of the most exciting athletes in today's pro wrestling landscape.
So while this may be the first time uniting for AR Fox and Top Flight, and while it may be Darius' first bout in seven months, those facts may actually be their keys to victory. They cannot be prepared for, they cannot be predicated, they are an unknown entity entering into this fight and facing a trio that, while quite experienced, are clearly not all in agreement with how to continue operating as competitors. That lack of simpatico could prove Death Triangle's undoing in this AEW World Trios Championship fight, just as the lack of joint combat experience could be the downfall for AR Fox and Top Flight.
However this goes, given the talents of the six men involved, and their proclivities to take to the air, fans are likely in store for one unforgettable bout this Wednesday night in Bridgeport!
AEW INTERIM WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATOR...
Toni Storm(c) vs. Anna Jay A.S.
Originally scheduled as The Bunny versus Toni Storm, an unfortunate illness has forced Bunny out of this bout, but her misfortune is The Jericho Appreciation Society's gain! Stepping up in her place this Wednesday night in the Interim Women's World Championship Eliminator Match will be Anna Jay A.S!
This will be the first time Toni Storm and Anna have ever met inside the squared circle, and the only way the stakes could be higher is if the championship was on the line! The J.A.S. member comes into this bout having won five of her last six singles bouts, and with a clear focus on beating the champ while the champ has to compete knowing her title defense against Jamie Hayter is just three days away. The sort of distraction could be the opening Anna Jay A.S. needs to pull off the win on DYNAMITE, and secure herself the first shot at whichever woman walks out of FULL GEAR as Interim Women's World Champion! It's been two years since Anna's last World Title opportunity, and she is certainly hungry for another chance to become the top of the division!
Between the intense schedule Toni Storm has kept since winning the Interim Women's World Champion, and the looming Jamie Hayter collision, can Anna Jay A.S. pull off the upset on Wednesday and earn herself a title fight?
WHEN THE WORLD CHAMPION SPEAKS...
Last week, with William Regal at his side, AEW World Champion Jon Moxley had choice words to share with his FULL GEAR 2022 challenger Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Mox spoke of the devils he's known in his life, of the darkness and evil he's encountered over the years, and Mox made it quite clear that he does not see MJF as being anywhere in the league of the great darkness' he's experienced in his lifetime.
This Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, just a few days before his World Championship bout with MJF on Saturday night, we will hear once more from Jon Moxley, and when the World Champion speaks, the whole of All Elite Wrestling, not just MJF, better be listening!
A SILVER-TONGUED DEVIL...
Of course, if the AEW World Champion is going to speak, than so too must his challenge for said title. Last Wednesday, fans heard the words Maxwell had to say, but unlike Moxley who spoke his from the center of the ring in Boston, MJF shared his thoughts from the safety of the #1 Sports Podcast “Pardon My Take”.
Well this week on DYNAMITE, we anticipate hearing from the Casino Ladder Match winner once again, but will he once again do so a safe distance from the AEW World Champion? Or will MJF actually be in the building this Wednesday night when AEW returns to Bridgeport, CT just three days before the highly-anticipated AEW World Championship bout at FULL GEAR 2022?
BAKER & SARAYA SPEAK...
It was made official last week; along with some extremely emotional words between Saraya and Dr. Britt Baker, not to mention the Good Doctor unsuccessfully trying to attack her foe, the return of Saraya to active competition was set in stone for this Saturday night at FULL GEAR 2022! And what better way for Saraya to return to the ring, after fighting the last five years to get her career back, than by facing the former AEW Women's World Champion!
This Wednesday night, the AEW faithful will hear from both woman ahead of their emotional collision on Saturday night inside Newark, NJ's Prudential Center!
WHY, JOE? WHY?
Last Wednesday, after weeks of seeing ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe and TNT Champion Wardlow unite in battle as WarJoe against The Gates of Agony, The Factory, and The Varsity Athletes, after witnessing the two men having each other's backs against The Kingdom, Brian Cage, and Powerhouse Hobbs, fans watched in shock as Samoa Joe sunk a choke in on “The WarDog” following his TNT Championship bout with Ari Daivari.
What prompted the ROH World TV Champion to put down the man who he'd been partner to the last several weeks? Why did the longest-reigning ROH World Champion in history choose to sever the ties that bound WarJoe and leave the TNT Champion laying?
On Wednesday night, we will hear from Samoa Joe during DYNAMITE and anticipate some answers forthcoming to explain his actions against Wardlow. Will those actions bring about a collision between the two champions? Will Wardlow seek retribution when AEW returns to Bridgeport this Wednesday night? Tune into TBS beginning at 8pm ET to see how this apparent dissolution of WarJoe continues to play out!
On Wednesday night, AEW comes back to Bridgeport, CT for the final DYNAMITE before the FULL GEAR 2022 pay-per-view extravaganza! The four men involved in the ROH World Championship match this Saturday will face off in tag team action while two of the men vying for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at FULL GEAR will meet in singles competition! Plus, we will hear from both AEW World Champion Jon Moxley and his challenger MJF, we will hear from ROH World TV Champion Samoa Joe after his actions last week, the AEW World Trios Championships will be on the line, and both Saraya and Dr. Britt Baker will have words before their impending clash in Newark!
DYNAMITE comes to you live on TBS starting at 8pm ET/7pm CT this Wednesday night, and the official AEW YouTube channel is your best spot to catch up on the latest action from DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as recent editions of AEW DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, and ROAD TO!