Last week we witnessed every AEW title defended in one evening, and it would end up being a great night for the defending champions as all four managed to retain their prizes in the face of tremendous competition. FTR bested Best Friends, Hikaru Shida topped Big Swole, Cody and Orange Cassidy went to a 20 minute draw, and Jon Moxley survived Lance Archer long enough to eek out a three count.
This week there may not be any championships on the line, but the future of both the AEW World Title and the AEW World Tag Team Titles will begin to take shape this Wednesday night. In the case of the former, the World Title Eliminator Tournament kicks off as eight men vie for a future shot at Moxley's championship. As for the latter, the four tag teams who were drawn from the tumbler last week will compete in one match to see which duo will face FTR at FULL GEAR 2020 on November 7th LIVE on pay-per-view!
On top of that, Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D will be back in action as her epic comeback rolls one, and we will all bear witness to what happens when “The DemoGod” and “The Ratings Ruler” sit down for a steak dinner together.
All the excitement kicks off at 8pm EST/7pm CST on TNT, and on AEWPlus.com for our International audience. And don't forget to check out our Pre- and Post-Game shows EXCLUSIVELY available on our YouTube channel (Click Here), and it's also the home for the action-packed AEW DARK that comes at you every Tuesday night!
WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR QUARTER-FINAL MATCH...
Rey Fenix vs. Penta El Zero M
Family fights, that's what they do, Eddie Kingston even said as much many weeks ago in reference to The Lucha Brothers, The Butcher, and The Blade when tensions began to run high between those four men. A family of violence is how he referred to his quintet, and on Wednesday night, with a potential World Title opportunity down the line, that is just what two of the men will become. It is also quite apropos then that the two members of la familia engaging in battle are the actual blood relatives.
Rey Fenix and Penta El Zero M are not unfamiliar with one another as opponents inside the wrestling ring, it's a position the two men have been placed in several times in their careers, but this marks the first time in All Elite Wrestling, and the first since April of 2019. And although there have been championships on the line in some of their previous encounters, this is by far the most important and highest profile match between the brothers.
And the world of singles wrestling is not unfamiliar to either man, but it is certainly a rarity in terms of Penta who, prior to this Tuesday night's episode of DARK, had not competed in an AEW singles match since a December 2019 victory over Christopher Daniels. Fenix has had far more experience inside the AEW ring as a singles competitor, having gone six-and-one in that role since AEW's inception, and rattling off four of those victories in a row, perhaps even a fifth since he too is in action on DARK Tuesday night.
Which of the Lucha Brothers will advance in this tournament, and take one step closer ward challenging for the AEW World Title? Whichever it may be, they've got either Kenny Omega or Joey Janela in their future, and to be frank, Rey Fenix has a little something to settle with both of them...
WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR QUARTER-FINAL MATCH...
Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela
Two big zeroes in the win column for Joey Janela; that's what he sees when he looks at his record versus Kenny Omega here in All Elite Wrestling. And although one of those bouts, an Unsanctioned Lights Out Match from the 10/15 AEW DARK, may not officially count as a loss, it still matters in the heart and in the mind of Janela. On top of that, Joey also has to look at his record where DYNAMITE is concerned, and face the fact that he has yet to secure a victory on AEW's flagship program. On Wednesday night he will have an opportunity to rectify both of those facts, but he will no doubt have to go through a small hell to make it happen because Kenny Omega, if this week's BTE (Watch Here) and his demeanor since being announced for the tournament are any indication, seems to have found himself some motivation.
Tournaments are his thing, according to the man himself, and Omega's history is certainly indicative of that, exampled by his status as the 2009 Pro Wrestling Guerrilla BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES winner, and the only gaijin wrestler to win New Japan Pro Wrestling's illustrious G1 Tournament in 2016, to name a couple.
This tournament also marks Omega's return to the ranks of singles competition, something he has apparently been craving despite having spent the majority of 2020 reigning as World Tag Team Champion with Hangman Page. And despite that initially being a relationship Omega insisted upon, it was certainly evident that Kenny had exhausted of the pairing and all its headaches even before ALL OUT 2020 when they lost the championship to FTR.
So will this Wednesday night be the night Kenny Omega heralds a triumphant return to solo competition after shedding the albatross that he perceived Hangman Page to be? Or will Joey Janela take a quantum leap forward in his AEW career by defeating the once dubbed “Best Bout Machine” and wipe out the aforementioned blemishes on his AEW record book?
WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR QUARTER-FINAL MATCH...
Hangman Adam Page vs. Colt Cabana
On the other side of the bracket stands (or is it stumbles) the former championship partner of Kenny Omega, one Hangman Adam Page. Despite the way Page conducted his business in the latter days of their World Tag Team Title reign, costing The Young Bucks the Gauntlet Match for a title shot and his general outside the ring behavior, Hangman somehow believed that fence could be mended.
It wasn't until he heard Omega announced for this tournament, then discount Adam as “just” a tag team wrestler, and state he was done with tag team wrestling that Page truly understood the reality of his post-ALL OUT 2020 world. He truly believed there was a chance to salvage the relationship, but the harsh truth has set in, and now Hangman must focus on the task before him, “Boom Boom” Colt Cabana.
Colt heads into this singles bout having won his last three singles bouts, possibly a fourth with his DARK bout against Bshp King this Tuesday night, and would love to add three more to that tally en route to winning this tournament. His road starts with Page, a tough battle for sure, but Colt may be catching this opponent at his most vulnerable. With no friends at his side, nor support at his back, Page has to fight an opponent who has the entirety of The Dark Order at his back if the need strikes and Mr. Brodie Lee wishes it to be so.
Page has indeed netted a couple singles wins since losing the World Tag Team Titles, most recently against Cabana's Dark Order compatriot Evil Uno, but it's a long path to the finals of this one, with a loaded line-up of competition.
In the next round, the winner of this one has to either contend with the power of Wardlow or the all-around athleticism of Jungle Boy, but that's putting the cart before the horse. It comes one match at a time, and this Wednesday night is where it begins for both these individuals...
WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR QUARTER-FINAL MATCH...
Wardlow vs. Jungle Boy
These next two competitors in the tournament are not unfamiliar with one another, in fact it was a tag team battle back on the July 1st DYNAMITE that saw Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus hand Wardlow and MJF a loss, one of the few on either man's record. By his association with MJF, Wardlow has found himself embroiled in many instances with the members of Jurassic Express during the last year of DYNAMITE, but this will mark the first one-on-one meeting of these two drastically different competitors.
These differences are quite clear, evident to all, and are most notable when it comes to the size and strength disparity. Wardlow is one of the powerhouses of the AEW roster, Jungle Boy is woefully dominated in that category, but all of the speed and agility here come from his side of the equation. Jungle Boy has been in the ring with men who had similar advantages, men like The Butcher or Jake Hager, and come out as the victorious party. He's taken the fight to former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho, and survived a Ten Minute Challenge to give Le Champion the first blemish in his singles record. It wasn't a win, but it wasn't a loss either.
And Jack Perry has only gotten better, garnered greater experience since those early days of AEW, including being the first challenger to the TNT Title after Cody claimed it at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2020, winning a four way on last week's DARK, and fighting a very physical beast named KTB on this Tuesday's DARK.
Wardlow, despite his physical gifts, has not been a perpetually active competitor like his opponent, forced to serve primarily as protector to MJF and his running mouth, while, prior to this Tuesday's DARK contest with Vinny Pacifico, only notching one match under his belt since July.
Still, as Wardlow proved when he entered into a Steel Cage against Cody for his very first AEW match, the lack of ring time does not equate to downtime. He is a beast in the gym, training at every opportunity so as to be at his best whenever he enters the squared circle, and with a potential World Title match at the end of this three match journey, odds are “The War Dog” has been pushing himself harder than ever before since his name was added to the mix.
Tune in Wednesday night to see which warrior will advance to the semi-finals and, hopefully, the finals at FULL GEAR 2020!
#1 CONTENDER 4-WAY TAG TEAM MATCH...
**WINNER EARNS WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH AT FULL GEAR 2020**
(#4) The Butcher & The Blade vs. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver) vs. Private Party (Marq Quen & Isiah Kassidy) vs. (#2) The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
With FULL GEAR 2020 a little over two weeks away, and FTR having beating the top ranked contenders in The Best Friends on last week's edition of DYNAMITE, a lottery of sorts was held to help determine the next contenders for the World Tag Team Championship. As seen in the video above, a slew of tag team names were placed inside a tumbler and four names were drawn out to compete in this number one contender bout for that pay-per-view title opportunity on November 7th.
In terms of familiarity, The Young Bucks, The Butcher and The Blade, as well as Private Party, are all very familiar with one another. Matt and Nick have engaged in some pretty rough battles with Butcher and Blade, including a Falls Count Anywhere bout on DYNAMITE back in July that the brothers Jackson won. The Bucks were on the wrong side of a huge upset when Private Party beat the odds-on favorite in the opening round of the World Tag Team Title Tournament just over a year ago, a loss Matt and Nick never got a chance to redeem in a straight-up tag team bout.
That upset put Private Party immediately on the map here in AEW, and they even secured an unsuccessful World Tag Team Title opportunity at the 2019 FULL GEAR PPV event last November in Baltimore. Marq Quen and Isiah Kassidy would also get a chance to challenge Adam Page and Kenny Omega for the belts in July, but were unable to dethrone the champions there either. In the aftermath of that title shot, PP would have their first encounters with The Butcher and The Blade, first in tag team action and then as part of an eight-man battle, and would end up on the losing end of both encounters.
Alex Reynolds and John Silver, representing The Dark Order, would be the wildcards of this four way tag team bout. Of their opponents, only Private Party has faced the boys before, and it marked a victory for Quen and Kassidy on the ALL OUT 2020: BUY-IN event. And while the men Mr. Brodie Lee has dubbed Three and Four may seem the most unlikely candidates to earn the title shot, they have been gaining traction on DARK with victories in both tag team and multi-man matches. They, along with Butcher and Blade, will even be in action on this Tuesday's DARK in their own respective bouts. As if the chance to challenge for the World Tag Team Titles live on pay-per-view wasn't enough motivation, Reynolds and Silver have something else that no other team has to motivate them: Mr. Brodie Lee.
Many pundits are taking The Young Bucks as the favorites again here, thinking that FULL GEAR 2020 will give everyone the match against FTR they've been clamoring for years to happen. It's a goal Matt and Nick certainly aim to accomplish, and the brothers have certainly had no qualms about infuriating everyone in recent weeks in order to get into that championship head space they feel they need. Will it be the missing ingredient to finally get The Young Bucks where everyone though they'd be a year ago? Or will they continue to be frustrated in yet another crucial moment of their AEW career?
THE DOCTOR IS IN THE HOUSE...
On the September 30th edition of DYNAMITE, Britt Baker stepped back into the AEW ring for the first time since her crushing defeat at ALL OUT 2020 in the Tooth and Nail match with Big Swole. In just under five minutes, AEW's resident doctor reminded Red Velvet why she is one of the baddest woman on the roster.
It marked the beginning of what Baker consistently refers to as her epic comeback, and that grand return to glory continues this week on DYNAMITE when the D.M.D is back in action with intentions to prove she still belongs, not just in the top five rankings, but also in any conversation about future challengers for Hikaru Shida.
LE DINNER DEBONAIR...
Chris Jericho and MJF having a steak dinner; that sounds like one of the most intriguing fly-on-the-wall situations imaginable in All Elite Wrestling and it will in fact happen this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE.
A few weeks ago the on-again, off-again courtship between MJF and Chris Jericho that seemed to start after Max turned his back on Cody nearly a year ago, veered back into ON territory once more. Platitudes were exchanged, gifts were presented, and last week, Maxwell, with much consternation, finally uttered his desire to join The Inner Circle.
And while Jericho seemed very open to the possibility of this union, other members of the Inner Circle were not so keen on the idea, with Ortiz in particular vocalizing his disdain quite quickly. Thus “The Million Viewer Man” acquiesced to his fellows, and told MJF it would have to be a group discussion, something decided within The Inner Circle, not solely by its figurehead.
But in lieu of giving MJF an immediate response, he did extend the invite to Max to meet him...at a restaurant...for a steak dinner. Yes, that is correct, two of the most despised individuals on the AEW roster will be engaging in a meeting of the minds over a prime cuts, and MJF's biggest concern looking at his Twitter feed is apparently what kinds of sauce to put on his steak. Apparently he is unaware it may be considered an insult to the chef to commit such a travesty...
Where will this “Dinner Debonair” lead? Will we see the devils of AEW align over filet mignon and bubbly? Check in Wednesday night to see how this unfolds...
By the end of DYNAMITE, four men will have taken a step closer towards a World Title opportunity, while one team will have secured their Tag Team Title bid for FULL GEAR 2020. AEW is full speed on the road to that pay-per-view extravaganza set for November 7th, so be sure to join the ride at 8pm EST/7pm CST when DYNAMITE takes over the TNT airwaves for two hours of top shelf wrestling on Wednesday night!