FULL GEAR 2024 was an utterly chaotic night loaded with all the top-tier action fans expect from All Elite Wrestling! Jon Moxley is still your AEW World Champion after a bloody battle with Orange Cassidy, but it was The Death Riders running scared as we faded to black due to the actions of one Darby Allin. We did see “The Scapegoat” Jack Perry dethroned as TNT Champion by Daniel Garcia, much to the jubilation of the AEW faithful inside the Prudential Center, but that was the lone title that changed hands this past Saturday night. AEW World Tag Champions Private Party, TBS Champion Mercedes Moné, and AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita all left New Jersey with their titles still around their waist. In addition to those championship contests, Kyle Fletcher shocked the world with his victory over Will Ospreay, while MJF defeated Roderick Strong, Bobby Lashley decimated Swerve Strickland, and Jay White defeated Adam Page yet again!
That brings us to tonight in Chicago for AEW's return to the Wintrust Arena and our traditional Thanksgiving Eve broadcast of DYNAMITE! Tonight we shall witness the kick-off of the 2024 Continental Classic with three tremendous match-ups, as well as a championship rematch two years in the making between 2-Time ROH World Champion Chris Jericho and Tomohiro Ishii!
After all the dust settles, fans can catch all the AEW action Saturday with a huge block of starting at 4pm ET with COLLISION and immediately followed by RAMPAGE at 6pm ET! Then join us next Wednesday night in Indiana at the Fishers Event Center for an all-new DYNAMITE as we journey down the winding road to WORLDS END 2024 in Orlando!
ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
“The Nueve” Chris Jericho vs. “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii
Two years ago, during the DYNAMITE: THANKSGIVING EVE edition that emanated from Wintrust Arena, ROH World Champion Chris Jericho stepped into the ring with “The Stone Pitbull” Tomohiro Ishii for the very first time. Though Jericho bragged about being around Ishii back in the days of the WAR promotion, making Ishii carry his bags and wash his back, that night was the first time they'd ever met inside the squared circle and what a war unfolded with the ROH World Title at stake!
Though it was the final successful defense of Jericho's first reign as ROH World Champion, it cemented his status as one of the greatest to hold the title across Ring of Honor's twenty-year history. Though holding the belt for just 80 days, Jericho put up tremendous fights with Bandido, Bryan Danielson, Colt Cabana, and Dalton Castle before that Ishii battle, and even retained against Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Sammy Guevara in a Four Corner Survival at FULL GEAR 2022. He may have started his reign ranting about how he'd dishonor the title, but by the end of his reign Jericho showed himself to be a fighting champion who, whether he intended to or not, did justice to the lineage of a championship that included Danielson, Castagnoli, Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and of course Samoa Joe.
Unfortunately it doesn't seem as if that mentality is the one Jericho is carrying into this second ROH World Title reign, especially considering he owes its entire existence to Big Bill's assistance rather than his own ability to climb the ladder on the October 23rd DYNAMITE where they brought an end to Mark Briscoe's reign atop ROH. It seems this time around that Jericho is more inclined to battle with his words, particularly with insults circulating around the late Jay Briscoe, and run away from the fight whenever possible; just look at the above embedded video and the contract signing with Ishii from last Wednesday night.
Tonight Jericho can't run from the fight, he has to step into the ring once again with The Conglomeration's Ishii, and there's no doubt the memories of the punishment he endured at Ishii's hands two years ago brings an ache to his chest. Can Tomohiro Ishii add the ROH World Title to his resume right alongside the ROH World TV Title reign he enjoyed for 79 days from 2/19/16 to 5/18/16?
THE CONTINENTAL CLASSIC BEGINS!
GOLD LEAGUE...
Darby Allin vs. House of Black's Brody King
Of the three Continental Classic matches set for tonight on DYNAMITE, this Gold League contest is certainly the one most rife with AEW history, yet also with a history that extends far beyond All Elite Wrestling. Ever since their first match in January 2018 ended in a 10 minute draw, Darby Allin has chased a victory over Brody King. From New York to Texas to Los Angeles, from one indie event to another, Darby pursued Brody with a fervor, all in hopes of putting the behemoth's shoulders to the mat.
In their five meetings prior to AEW's inception, four singles and a tag, the record stood as 4-0-1 in favor of Brody King. Despite that history, since Darby made his way to All Elite Wrestling first, he did his best to see to it that Brody also got the opportunity to showcase his extraordinary abilities on the AEW stage. Brody may have found his path when he walked through the House of Black's doors, but Darby never stopped pushing for Brody to get his shot, and yet when the two were finally on the same playing field, history repeated itself.
The first-ever Royal Rampage in 2022 concluded with Brody King choking the life out of Darby Allin before dropping him to the floor to earn a World Championship match with Jon Moxley. Their first AEW singles match at DYNAMITE: FYTER FEST 2022 went in Brody's favor yet again, though it led to Darby finally scoring his first victory over King at DYNAMITE: QUAKE BY THE LAKE in a Coffin Match! It was satisfying for sure, but it was not a pinfall, it was not a submission, thus Darby still felt unfulfilled by the victory. At ALL OUT 2022 and DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2022, Darby experienced the thrill of victory over Brody King once again, albeit in a trios and tag match respectively, and got some measure of redemption for the first Royal Rampage when he eliminated Brody in the 2024 edition to earn his own future World Championship match, but it still wasn't a one-on-one pinfall or submission victory.
That opportunity finally came at WRESTLEDREAM 2024 when Darby pinned Brody King in a singles match for the very first time! Shockingly Brody actually shook Darby's hand after the loss, leaving Darby to (hopefully) enjoy his spoils, though they were not the AEW World Championship match he'd banked on after winning that aforementioned Royal Rampage. That opportunity had been lost to Jon Moxley weeks prior at DYNAMITE: GRAND SLAM 2024, and every move since then has been about getting back to the World Title, especially now that it's in Jon Moxley's clutches.
That brings us to tonight and Darby Allin's first Continental Classic experience; it seems apropos that Darby face Brody King in his first Gold League battle given their rich history, just as it feels right that Brody begin his second CC journey with Darby. Last year's Blue League experience saw Brody score six points with victories over Claudio Castagnoli and eventual winner Eddie Kingston, and he aims to surpass that mark starting with a win over Darby tonight!
The Death Riders' AEW World Trios Champion Claudio Castagnoli vs. Ricochet
With athletes the caliber of those in the All Elite Wrestling locker room, a tournament like the Continental Classic is going to be loaded with every single match, but to get this clash between Claudio Castagnoli and Ricochet as one of the first Gold League bouts is indeed something to be thankful for!
While this may be a first-time battle for AEW, Ricochet and Claudio have a rich history dating back almost twenty years to their very first battle inside the halls of that historic South Philly Arena in February 2007. Ricochet was barely three years into career at that point, but pushed the far more experienced Castagnoli to his limits before Claudio was able to secure the victory. It would be another three and a half years before the two would square up again, that time as part of the 2010 BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and once again it was Claudio scoring the win in that first round match-up.
Nine years would pass before the two competitors would meet inside the squared circle again, but from May through October 2019 they clashed some 18 times in one-on-one matches all around the country, and even in Japan! All but one of those fights went in Ricochet's favor, including their final head-to-head on 10/5/19, though that says nothing of their countless encounters in triple threats, four ways, tags, and other multi-man bouts. In fact the last time they occupied the same ring, back on February 4th of 2022, it was a partners rather than foes. All of that is a long way of saying these two fearsome warriors are quite familiar with what one another is physically capable of, so it's the mental side of the game that may be the determining factor tonight.
The Claudio Castagnoli we have seen since The Death Riders came together is the most vicious form of the man that's ever been unleashed on the professional wrestling world. What he did to Bryan Danielson and Chuck Taylor, those were despicable actions ruthlessly committed without hesitation by a man already one of the most fearsome competitors in AEW. Given his strength, speed, agility, and power, Claudio didn't need a chair to do what he did, but used it anyway without so much as blinking. That's not a version of Claudio that Ricochet has ever experienced, but then again, this Ricochet is dead set on becoming AEW International Champion isn't one Claudio has faced either. He's never encountered a Ricochet fighting with nothing to lose, who's been repeatedly frustrated and unable to achieve his goals, and that's something Castagnoli should be wary of as well.
These are two generational talents, of that there is no doubt, and together they will undoubtedly create magic as opponents tonight on DYNAMITE, but it's not about creating memories and moments. It's about scoring your first points in the Gold League, it's about victory, and making a statement to the other four men in the league about what to expect when their time comes. Will it be Ricochet, a man standing on his own against all odds, who takes home his first points tonight? Will it be The Death Riders' Castagnoli, a man whose fellow soldiers are thankfully banned from ringside, that scores his first points as he aims to surpass his 6 point total from 2023?
BLUE LEAGUE...
The Hurt Syndicate's Shelton Benjamin vs. The Conglomeration's Mark Briscoe
It may come as a surprise to many, but there is in fact a great deal of history between Shelton Benjamin and Mark Briscoe dating back to their shared time in Ring of Honor. From September 2010 until April 2013, Shelton, with tag partner Charlie Haas, were members of the ROH locker room right alongside Mark and brother Jay during a period where the tag team division was red hot. Between The Briscoes, Charlie and Shelton's Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team pairing, The Kings of Wrestling of Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero, All Night Express of Rhett Titus and Kenny King, and teams on the come-up like Future Shock (Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly), The Bravados, and C&C Wrestle Factory, the division was absolutely stacked.
The Kings stood atop the division for 363 days, the longest title reign without a COVID lockdown asterisk next to it, but when WGTT entered into the picture at GLORY BY HONOR IX to face Chris and Claudio, it was clear they were gunning for the titles. Unfortunately they were robbed in their non-title match that night in New York, but some things just feel inevitable. WGTT earned a title match with a victory over The Briscoes at ROH's 9TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW and parlayed that into a championship victory over The Kings of Wrestling at HONOR TAKES CENTER STAGE: CHAPTER ONE five weeks later!
With the titles around their waist, another inevitability reared its head, a title fight with the most-decorated Tag Champions in ROH history. By that point, Jay and Mark were already 6-Time champs but their first stab at Charlie and Shelton during ROH REVOLUTION: CANADA came up short, though that was far from the end of their story. A 4-Way Tag at BEST IN THE WORLD 2011 saw The Briscoes get eliminated first while WGTT went on to retain their titles, and though they were initially honorable champions, as their title reign wore on, Charlie and Shelton led with their less than honorable tendencies. A rematch at FINAL BATTLE 2011 led to Jay and Mark claiming the titles for the seventh time, but it kicked off a war between the two teams that raged for months across the country.
From Baltimore to Ft. Lauderdale to Dayton, they collided over the ROH World Tag Titles on three occasions, all won by The Briscoes, before ROH crossed over into Canada for BORDER WARS 2012 and a Fight Without Honor between the four men. That night WGTT reclaimed the titles after Haas quite literally ethered Mark Briscoe into unconsciousness, but it would nine more months until the two teams fought once again, and by that point WGTT had lost the belts, opening up The Briscoes to reclaim them for an eighth time. Jay and Mark won that last meeting during the 3/2/13 ROH WRESTLING #76 episode of TV, and Shelton would compete in just one more match for ROH at SUPERCARD OF HONOR VII against Mike Bennett.
In the eleven-plus years since their last meeting each man has experienced a great deal in their lives, highs and lows, triumphs and tragedies, including the loss of Jay Briscoe on January 17, 2023, but each man's path has brought them to All Elite Wrestling, and to this inaugural night of the 2024 Continental Classic. Last year's CC was not the kindest to Mark Briscoe as he went 1-4 in the Gold League, scoring just three points in his final league match via victory over Jay Lethal. However, the experiences of that tournament helped Mark find his way as a singles competitor after Jay's death, and ultimately led him to that ROH World Championship victory at SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2024. Though he had that title ripped from his hands by Chris Jericho and The Learning Tree last month during their DYNAMITE Ladder War, he's throwing his support behind fellow Conglomerator Tomohiro Ishii in his championship fight with Jericho tonight as well as prepping for this first-ever singles match with Shelton Benjamin.
As for Shelton, though he wasn't part of the AEW locker room last year when the Continental Classic took place, he's a man well-versed in tournament competition. He participated in New Japan's G1 CLIMAX tournament from 2012-2014, as well as 2014's New Japan Cup tournament, and the 2012/2013 World Tag League Tournaments. He was also a participant in the 2015 & 2016 Global Tag League for Pro Wrestling NOAH, as well as their 2015 Global League where he made it to the finals to fight Naomichi Marufuji. Just this past May he traveled to PROGRESS Wrestling to participate in their Super Strong Style 16 Tournament, and though he didn't prove victorious in any of those tournaments, the experience garnered in each was invaluable, especially now that he's arrived in AEW for this Continental Classic! The Blue League is stacked with two title holders among its participants, AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada and new TNT Champion Daniel Garcia, as well as former ROH World TV Champion Kyle Fletcher and The Beast Mortos, so being the first man to get a league victory is crucial.
Will it be Shelton or Mark who gets on the Blue League board first tonight on DYNAMITE: THANKSGIVING EVE 2024?
WRESTLE DYNASTY 2025 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S CUP QUALIFIER...
Jamie Hayter vs. Queen Aminata
On Sunday January 5th the wrestling world will converge on the Tokyo Dome for WRESTLE DYNASTY 2025 for an event of international proportions presented by New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, Ring of Honor Wrestling, CMLL, and Stardom! That night The Young Bucks will face Great-O-Khan and Henare in an IWGP Tag Title match, AEW World Trios Champion Claudio Castagnoli will face Shota Umino, Kenny Omega returns to wrestling after his life-threatening health issues to face Gabe Kidd, Tomohiro Ishii will face the winner of the Shingo Takagi/Konosuke Takeshita fight at WRESTLE KINGDOM 19, and Yota Tsuji is set to fight “The Scapegoat” Jack Perry. It's already a loaded night of professional wrestling action, possibly one of the best ever assembled, and taking it to the next level will be the WRESTLE DYNASTY International Women's Cup Tournament featuring athletes from CMLL, ROH, AEW, and Stardom vying for a spot in the Four-Way Finals!
Tonight on DYNAMITE, All Elite Wrestling will present the first of its three qualifying bouts as former AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter clashes with Queen Aminata in their first-ever match! The specter of Julia Hart has been looming around Hayter as of late, but she'll have to put that aside to focus on the hard-hitting Queen or else it will be Aminata who moves on to COLLISION: WINTER IS COMING on December 12th to face the winner of the December 7th fight between Serena Deeb and Willow Nightingale!
Which woman will get one step closer to making history on January 5th at WRESTLE DYNASTY 2024, and who will be waiting for them when they get to the Tokyo Dome for the International Women's Cup 4-Way?
COLLISION
BLUE LEAGUE...
AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. TNT Champion Daniel Garcia
Fans in attendance tonight at the Wintrust Arena will get the opportunity to enjoy Saturday afternoon's COLLISION broadcast three days before the rest of the world, and as part of that live experience they'll take in three additional Continental Classic bouts! As we experienced last year, every bout is crucial and can sway the standings in an instant, but there's something about this particular bout that is extra special because it is the first-time the reigning TNT Champion has ever faced the reigning Continental Champion!
In addition, this will also be the first-time Kazuchika Okada and Daniel Garcia meet one-on-one as their only previous encounter was in a trios match on the April 17th DYNAMITE where Okada actually pinned Garcia to win the bout for The Elite. Add in the fact this is Garcia's first match since winning the TNT Title at FULL GEAR 2024, Okada's first match since beating Kyle O'Reilly at BATTLE OF THE BELTS XII on October 19th, as well as Okada's first time in the C2 Tournament, and this is quite the monumental match for the Blue League.
Last year's C2 was an eye-opener for Daniel Garcia, indicated by the post-match comments AEW cameras captured with the fighters after most of the bouts, and it wasn't until the last match of the Blue League that Garcia finally got a win. That tournament gave him an idea of what he needed to do in the new year to take that next step in his career, and clearly those lessons paid off this past Saturday at FULL GEAR 2024. Will Garcia improve upon his performance last year? How will the reigning Continental Champion fare in the field that gave birth to the belt around his waist? Fans in Chicago will find out tonight, but the rest of the world will have to wait until Saturday at 4pm ET on TNT!
The Don Callis Family's Kyle Fletcher vs. LFI's The Beast Mortos
Speaking of individuals whose lives were dramatically changed at FULL GEAR 2024, tonight in Chicago “The Protostar” Kyle Fletcher will enter his first Continental Classic on the heels of defeating “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay! It was unquestionably the biggest night of Fletcher's career and now he's looking to parlay that into C2 success, starting with a man he's never faced in All Elite Wrestling, and never gone one-on-one before in their careers!
The Beast Mortos was already a monstrous presence inside the ring with his dangerous combination of speed, power, and ferocity, but then he had to go sign on with La Facción Ingobernable and add their support to his fearsome abilities. What makes this dynamic quite interesting however is the business relationship that has evolved between The Don Callis Family and LFI, notably Don getting Lance Archer's services from Jake “The Snake” Roberts in exchange for Jake taking over management of “El Toro Blanco” RUSH from Callis. So there's a question of how all that will play into this Blue League battle tonight in Chicago, and if we will see “The Protostar” capitalize on his momentum from last Saturday night's victory or if The Beast Mortos will prove more than Fletcher can handle after that war at FULL GEAR 2024?
GOLD LEAGUE...
Bang Bang Gang's Juice Robinson vs. “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay
Speaking of that “Aerial Assassin”, tonight in Chicago he will begin his first Continental Classic journey as part of the Gold League in hopes of taking that heartbreaking FULL GEAR 2024 defeat and using it as motivation to add 2024 C2 Champion to his already impressive 2024 resume. This year Will has been a 2-Time International Champion, a 3-Time Casino Gauntlet winner, battled for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Title, fought over the RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Title, challenged Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship, and alongside Kyle Fletcher, nearly defeated The Young Bucks to claim the AEW World Tag Titles. Suffice to say, despite that loss to Kyle, it's been a banner first year for Ospreay as a member of the All Elite Wrestling locker room, and what better way to cap it off than by winning the Continental Classic!
Yet every journey starts with a first time, and Ospreay is taking his against another man entering the C2 for the first time, Bang Bang Gang's own Juice Robinson! Now these two competitors are quite familiar with one another from their shared time in New Japan, having faced off in some 23 matches between 2016 and 2022, yet in all of those battles only one was a one-on-one affair and it just so happens to be the very last time they squared off as part of the 2022 G1 CLIMAX tournament. Ospreay won that battle, and actually made it to the finals before losing to “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada. There was also an IWGP U.S. Heavyweight Title Four Way at NJPW's CAPITAL COLLISION 2022 event that included Jon Moxley and Hiroshi Tanahashi where Juice's victory actually came at Ospreay's expense, albeit only after a low blow gave Juice the advantage.
With more than two years passing since their last match, and so much change taking place in each man's life, Juice and Ospreay clash once more in their first C2 bouts of the Gold League! Can Ospreay recover from the events of FULL GEAR 2024 to start off the tournament on the right foot? Or will Juice build on his RAMPAGE victory over The Butcher last week to make waves in the Gold League on day one?
Tonight All Elite Wrestling returns to the Wintrust Arena in Chicago for our traditional DYNAMITE: THANKSGIVING EVE broadcast, this year featuring the kick-off to the 2024 Continental Classic with three huge match-ups as well as 2-Time ROH World Champion Chris Jericho facing the challenge of The Conglomeration's Tomohiro Ishii! After that, fans can tune into TNT this Saturday for a huge evening of action starting at 4pm ET for COLLISION, immediately followed by RAMPAGE at 6pm ET, and then follow AEW to Indiana and the Fishers Event Center next Wednesday night for an all-new DYNAMITE head towards Orlando for WORLDS END 2024 on December 28th!