Jeff Hardy returned! The Elite ran off The Blackpool Combat Club! The Outcasts turned tail and ran from AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D! All that and more unfolded on Wednesday night's edition of DYNAMITE, capped off by Chris Jericho defeating Keith Lee thanks to some help from The Mogul Embassy's Swerve Strickland!
AEW's momentum towards DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2023 continues to build this Friday night in Milwaukee! Aussie Open and The Best Friends will collide in tag team action while Mark Briscoe finds himself on an team he never anticipated for an 8-Man Tag team bout! Plus, Taya Valykrie will collide with Emi Sakura as she continues her pursuit of the TBS Championship just as “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry continues his push towards an AEW World Championship match by welcoming Shawn Spears back to the fold!
he action comes to you when RAMPAGE kicks off after the NBA on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, so be sure to visit the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest from AEW DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, ROAD TO, THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more!
IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta)
On April 8th, at New Japan Pro Wrestling's SAKURA GENESIS 2023 event, Aussie Open defeated Bishamon to bring the IWGP Tag Team Championship to The United Empire. Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI had reigned over the division for 94 days after defeating FTR at WRESTLE KINGDOM 17 on January 4th, but their dream of a long reign came to an end less than a week ago, and that of Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis is now beginning.
Unfortunately for Aussie Open, the dream may come to a rapid end when they collided with The Best Friends this Friday night on RAMPAGE! For all the time Trent and Chuckie T spent in the NJPW ring together, this will be the first time they ever challenge for a New Japan championship, and they'd love to make it a historic moment in their careers. For Fletcher and Davis, the last thing they want is to see their newly acquired titles taken away on the first defense, but with a team as talented as The Best Friends, it's a very real possibility.
It will be a red-hot kickoff to RAMPAGE this Friday, immediately following the NBA on TNT, and it could end with the return of the IWGP Tag Team Titles to the auspices of All Elite Wrestling!
2-TIME CHAMPS!
Last week, with their AEW careers on the line, FTR defeated The Gunns to reclaim the AEW World Tag Team Championship more than two years since their loss to The Young Bucks at FULL GEAR 2020. Now that Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler are back atop the division, the question is what the future will hold for these two men? Who will step up as their first challengers? Will Austin and Colten be looking for a rematch? Will The Acclaimed or J.A.S. want that opportunity once their done with one another? Perhaps it will be a Dark Order pairing, LFI, or someone from the outside looking to make their name at FTR's expense? Whoever it may be remains to be seen, that's why FTR can only be concerned with FTR right now, and why Friday night the 2-Time champions will address their future here in All Elite Wrestling!
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS...
Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Mark Briscoe, & Satnam Singh vs. The SAP (Angelico, Luther, Serpentico) and Man Scout
This is not what Mark Briscoe signed up for when he told his long-time friend, sometimes foe, Jay Lethal that he'd partner up with him. He wasn't looking for Satnam Singh, certainly not Jeff Jarrett, not even Sonjay Dutt despite being another individual Mark has known for two decades. He thought he was teaming up with Lethal, not acquiring the whole contingent as well.
Still, for better or worse, Mark will unite with Lethal, Jarrett, and Singh this Friday night on RAMPAGE in an eight-man tag team bout! Not only will it mark the first time this foursome has been together, it will also be the first time the complete Spanish Announce Project has been in the ring together, and they're bringing along The Man Scout for the ride!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Taya Valkyrie vs. Emi Sakura
Last week on RAMPAGE things did not go so well when Taya Valkyrie and TBS Champion Jade Cargill had a face-to-face meeting that was mediated...barely...by RJ City, just a few hours before Cargill had to defend her TBS Championship against Billie Starkz during BATTLE OF THE BELTS VI. Jade stormed out of the mediation, declaring she didn't have time for this, but that didn't stop Taya from poking the bear and popping her head out to watch the title match later in the night...
The tension between champion and her potential challenger is only getting thicker, and it is very evident that Taya isn't going to stop until she gets a title bout with Jade, but in order to do that, she needs to keep stacking up victories in All Elite Wrestling. While off to a strong start, Valkyrie is in for her biggest AEW fight to date when she collides with Emi Sakura this Friday night on RAMPAGE! Sakura gave AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter one of her stiffest battles to date just a few weeks ago, and there's no doubt she will bring the fight just as hard to Taya when that bell rings.
Emi could very well derail Taya Valkyrie's championship push, making all this drama with Jade a waste of resources, or Emi could prove just the kind of fight Taya needs to make sure she's in prime fighting condition when her championship qualifications are finally undeniable!
SINGLES MATCH...
“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs. Shawn Spears
It has been some time since AEW fans last saw Shawn Spears step into the squared circle, six months to be exact since he and FTR defeated The Embassy in trios action as part of AEW's Toronto debut last October.
In that time away, Spears became a father to a baby boy, but never took his eyes off the events going down in All Elite Wrestling. Once a part of the infamous Pinnacle faction with MJF, FTR, and Wardlow, Spears' relationship with the current AEW World Champion has become nonexistent, not due to any particular falling out, just the simple fact that MJF was done with Spears after his Cage Match with Wardlow last May. So while there was no burning of bridges, there is also no love lost, and that's why Shawn Spears is back in AEW for this specific match against “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry.
Because of their past, it would be easy to see Spears as taking this fight on behalf of the AEW World Champion, but the reality for Shawn is that his eyes are also on the prize they always should've been on, that belt around MJF's waist. Just as Jack Perry wants the crown, so too does Shawn Spears, and what better way to shoot himself into contention upon return than to defeat one of the pillars also chasing the championship.
As for Perry, he has already watched Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara each win two matches since they collectively declared their intentions for MJF's title, so the pressure is now on “Jungle Boy” to keep up with his competition. If one man falls behind the others, even by just one match, that individual may find themselves on the outside of the championship picture looking in, unable to match the achievements of the other two.
So as much as this is Perry having to push himself with each match, it's also a bit of “keeping up with the Joneses”, at least in a wrestling sense, and he absolutely cannot let himself fall behind the pack!
THE J.A.S. SPEAKS...
Last week on RAMPAGE, fans witnessed the abrupt end of any alliance between The Jericho Appreciation Society and The Acclaimed. Following the match, “Daddy Magic” shared the words embedded above with the AEW faithful, but this week in Milwaukee, with a week to collect themselves and reflect on what happened with Bowens and Caster, we will hear from Jake Hager, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker on RAMPAGE. What else does The J.A.S. have to say about the former AEW World Tag Team Champions?
The fights get underway at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international audiences, with Perry versus Spears, Taya versus Emi, Mark Briscoe teaming with The Lethal contingent, and it kicks off with Aussie Open taking on The Best Friends! Head over to the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from recent episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest from AEW DARK: ELEVATION, AEW DARK, ROAD TO, THE CONTROL CENTER, and much, much more, to get prepared for the Friday night festivities!