On the final DYNAMITE of 2023, the AEW faithful watched as Samoa Joe stabbed AEW World Champion MJF right between the shoulder blades to cost him the ROH World Tag Team Championship to The Devil's Masked Men! We also witnessed both Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston advance to the Continental Classic Tournament Finals taking place at WORLDS END, Sammy Guevara apparently reunited with Chris Jericho, Mariah May announce her in-ring debut for the first DYNAMITE of 2024, and so much more! It was an action-packed edition of AEW's flagship as we barrel towards WORLDS END this Saturday night on pay-per-view!
There's only one more sleep until WORLDS END, but before you close your eyes, there's a matter of Friday night RAMPAGE! Coming to you from Orlando, the night begins at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, and features AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero, and Trent Beretta in Trios action against Action Andretti and Top Flight, plus Ruby Soho goes one-on-one with Marina Shafir, but now with Harley Cameron apparently attached to her side! And less than 24 hours before he engages in a FTW Rules fight with HOOK, ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta puts his title on the line against former ROH Tag Champion Matt Sydal! We will also hear from Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara after their moment with The Don Callis Family as well as AEW World Champion MJF after he was betrayed by Samoa Joe!
Before the show begins, drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW's various social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week's DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!
TRIOS MATCH...
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero, & Trent Beretta
vs. Action Andretti & Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin)
For the second week in a row, AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy has taken the off-handed comments of someone as a challenge. Last week it was his own friend Rocky Romero, and this time around it is the high-flying trio of Action Andretti and Top Flight who “Freshly Squeezed”, and apparently Trent Beretta, assume are looking for a fight!
Well this Friday night on RAMPAGE, less than twenty-four hours before AEW's last PPV presentation of the year, Cassidy and his friends will clash with Action and his in a huge Trios match! Andretti and the Martin brothers are coming off a hard-fought loss in their AEW World Trios Championship challenge last Saturday night on COLLISION, and are hungry to get another shot at The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass. A victory over the International Champion, Trent Beretta, and Rocky Romero would go a long way towards the three young men achieving that goal, and who knows, if they can get that victory by beating OC, it could even mean a future date with the AEW International Championship!
Knowing what these six men are capable of, this match is certainly going to be a wild one full of high-flying action, hard-hitting offense, and the finest trios competition you'll see anywhere in professional wrestling today!
ONE-ON-ONE...
Ruby Soho vs. Marina Shafir
Well it seems whether she likes it or not, Ruby Soho has a...helper...in the form of one Harley Cameron. It's quite clear that Soho does not want this, but Saraya is making it happen no matter what her friend wishes. Obviously that phone call from Angelo Parker was more important to Soho than anything Saraya had to say, but perhaps this is all the former AEW Women's World Champion's way of apologizing for her treatment of Soho the last several weeks.
It was only a couple weeks ago that Soho challenged Saraya to go it alone against Riho to earn the WORLDS END championship match with Toni Storm, and the former champion failed to rise up on her own merits. So maybe employing Harley is as much a birthday present as a mea culpa, but regardless of the reason, hopefully it pays off for The Outcasts and isn't just another distraction for Ruby Soho. That's the last thing she needs when having to deal with a problem like “The Problem” Marina Shafir!
ROH PURE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Wheeler Yuta(c) vs. Matt Sydal
Though Yuta has a FTW Championship match at WORLDS END: ZERO HOUR on tap, one contested under FTW Rules, he is set to take on a challenge to his ROH Pure Championship at RAMPAGE, less than 24 hours prior to his clash with HOOK. His opponent this Friday night in Orlando: former ROH Tag Team Champion Matt Sydal!
Though Sydal was part of the 2020 Pure Title Tournament that reintroduced the championship after a fourteen year hiatus, Sydal has never fought in a Pure Rules match, much less a Pure Title bout, making this uncharted territory for the veteran of the mat wars.
Is it wise for Yuta to step into a championship bout so close to his FTW Rules fight with HOOK? Is it worth risking injury, or worse, losing the Pure Championship before WORLDS END? Apparently for someone the mindset of Yuta, someone with The Blackpool Combat Club mentality, the answer is yes. Hopefully Yuta doesn't go to sleep Friday night regretting his decision...
JERICHO AND GUEVARA REUNITED???
The relationship between Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho, likely because it dates back to the dawn of DYNAMITE, has been quite tumultuous over the last four years. They've generally stood on the same side of the battle, though it has occasionally been a tense situation, justifiably so given the power dynamic of the relationship. Jericho has often seen Sammy as his understudy, as beneath him, while at a certain point the former 3-Time TNT Champion felt he'd proven himself an equal. It popped up during the dissolution of The Inner Circle, when Jericho was reigning as ROH World Champion, and blew up completely in the aftermath of The Jericho Appreciation Society. The final straw, or so it seemed at the moment, was Guevara choosing to stand alongside Don Callis in opposition to “The Ocho”.
Shortly thereafter “The Spanish God” suffered a serious concussion, and during his recovery from that injury, witnessed the birth of he and Tay Melo's child, and it made a shift in where Guevara's head is at. No longer dredging in the same depths as Don Callis, Guevara would've ended up another victim of a Callis Family assault if not for the arrival of Chris Jericho, followed by Darby Allin and Sting.
So where does that leave Chris Jericho and Sammy after that surprising save? We will hear what the original AEW World Champion has to say about the matter this Friday night on RAMPAGE!
It's the final night before WORLDS END, and that means Friday night RAMPAGE is on deck! Emanating from Orlando, matches begin at 10pm ET/9pm CT on TNT, as well as at AEWPlus.com for international fans, and include Action Andretti and Top Flight fighting AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy, Rocky Romero, and Trent Beretta in Trios action as well as plus Ruby Soho going head-to-head with Marina Shafir. In addition, Matt Sydal will challenge ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta just 24 hours before The BCC member steps into a FTW Rules match with HOOK! We also anticipate hearing from Chris Jericho after what happened with The Don Callis Family and Sammy Guevara!
Before the show begins, drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel, as well as AEW's various social media platforms, to catch up on highlights from this week's DYNAMITE, as well as previous episodes of RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER!