Tag: Adam Cole

AEW Dynamite results 07/05/23: ‘Can they coexist?’ gets a workout

Edmonton is also set to welcome Kenny Omega in singles action against Wheeler Yuta on AEW Dynamite.

If you think WWE is the promotion that made “Can they coexist?” into its own trope, AEW is about to say “hold my Canadian beer” tonight for Dynamite in Edmonton.

Odd couples are the name of the game for this show, including the first match with the pairing of MJF and Adam Cole. You may recall that not long ago, Cole came within a whisker of defeating MJF and earning a shot at his world title. He probably isn’t thrilled about this partnership, but MJF seems pretty enthused about it — likely because he thinks he can keep Cole from coming after his beloved BBB. We’ll see if they win despite themselves tonight.

Another match in the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament will see an actual former tag team reunited. Alas, the days of Swerve in Our Glory are long past, and since Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland weren’t always on the same page even in the best of times, heaven only knows if they’ll be able to make it five minutes into their matchup with Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy without trying to destroy each other.

Then we’ve also got matches of the more traditional variety, meaning the combatants just flat out can’t stand each other. That goes for Kenny Omega vs. Wheeler Yuta, an offshoot of the feud between The Elite and Blackpool Combat Club that is headed toward Blood and Guts, as well as the Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament bout between Britt Baker and Ruby Soho.

But you know who can coexist? You, dear reader, and your friends here at Wrestling Junkie. We’re ready to serve up the latest AEW Dynamite results fresh out the oven, so let’s get to it.

AEW Dynamite results from Edmonton:

Renee Paquette lets Darby Allin give Keith Lee a pep talk before they meet in the ring. Interesting motivational ploy. Lee’s response? “Ballsy. Stupid. But ballsy.”

Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin def. Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland by pinfall in a Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament match

Lee doesn’t even acknowledge Swerve as he walks down the ramp to get this started. The announcers sell the idea that Cassidy’s Orange Punch is losing some of its steam as he gets worn down from defending his championship every week, and indeed, Lee eats two without even leaving his feet.

In an “only Darby” bit, Allin ends up trapped under the steel steps. Swerve ends up hitting a 450 splash on his own partner while trying to break up a pin, then kicks him in the head by accident as well. Allin and Cassidy end up prevailing, then fist bump Lee afterward.

Allin narrates a video about the arrival of Nick Wayne in AEW. And it’s “to be continued” so there’s more to come.

Jack Perry pulls up and tells Tony Schiavone he’s going to demand an FTW Championship match. But when Hook runs up and tries to get a piece of him right there. Perry jumps back in his SUV and has the driver speed him out of there.

MJF and Adam Cole are shown working out together and bond over mocking Schiavone, and MJF seems stunned by how strong Cole is.

The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass def. The Blade and Bollywood Boys by pinfall

Max Caster gets in both Canadian wildfire and Justin Trudeau’s blackface incident punchlines during his entrance rap, for those of you who track such things. Despite the best efforts of Skinny Goldberg, a.k.a. The Blade, The Acclaimed win with a Caster Mic Drop.

Afterward, the winners are interrupted on the big screen by Harley Cameron. She claims she made a video and will drop it on The Acclaimed next week. She also appears to still be after Anthony Bowens, but Daddy Ass says he has two words for her, and you know what they are.

Jon Moxley says he wishes Eddie Kingston would embrace what’s next and help train up the next generation, but he knows that’s not reality. He also tells Eddie to answer his phone.

Matt Hardy watches as RJ City draws his tag team partner, and it’s Jeff … Jarrett.

Wheeler Yuta cuts a promo promising to end Kenny Omega tonight.

Chris Jericho comes to the ring and says it’s time for him to reevaluate things and make some changes. And what better place for that than Alberta, where he started his wrestling career?

Hearing this talk, Don Callis arrives to plenty of boos and says he can help Jericho make a change. Callis calls Jericho his best friend and that he’s there to ask if Chris will join the Don Callis Family.

Jericho almost seems offended by that, but then says “maybe” before leaving the ring.

Paquette gets a medical update on Roderick Strong, who gets a quick visit from Cole ahead of his tag team match with MJF.

MJF and Adam Cole def. Matt Menard and The Butcher by pinfall in a Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament match

Pretty sure Taz called the team of Daddy Magic and The Butcher “Magic Meat,” which, if so, well played. MJF peer pressures Cole into lending a hand with an abdominal stretch, some rulebreaking he clearly doesn’t want to do.

Cole is able to get the pin for his team in the end, but that’s not the end of the segment …

… because MJF grabs the mic afterward to put over Cole and asks the fans if they want to see another hangout session this weekend. The champ seems psyched when Cole accepts, then wishes Cole happy birthday, leading a cheer complete with streamers.

Alas, after MJF brings out a cake and leads the birthday song (remember he actually can sing!), Cole smashes his face into it. But Adam does thank him, sounding sincere, for doing all of this.

Paquette catches up with Britt Baker, who says Ruby Soho lied to people when she said she took everything from Britt. Now, Baker says she plans on winning the Owen Hart Cup tourney again, starting by beating Ruby.

Jericho is confronted by Daniel Garcia and Sammy Guevara, but tells them “you can’t be with me forever, think about that.”

Ruby Soho def. Britt Baker by pinfall in a Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament first round match

The other Outcasts are on hand, naturally, providing just enough of a distraction to allow Ruby to get the upper hand. Once they get down to brass tacks, there’s a pretty damn good match going on.

But of course the Outcasts spoil that, cheating to hit a belt shot and set up the No Future. Baker kicks out of that, but the cheating continues and helps Ruby get the pin and advance.

Skye Blue, who Soho will meet in the next round of the tourney, comes out for a brief staredown.

Kenny Omega def. Wheeler Yuta by pinfall

The announcers point out that Omega is coming off consecutive singles losses for the first time in his AEW career. Kind of reinforces the idea that he’s not losing here, but we shall see.

Omega sells some of the damage he suffered during his Forbidden Door bout against Will Ospreay, leaving Yuta very confident as he goes about his attacks.

Let’s be real, though: It’s still Kenny, even at less than 100%. He’s still able to run through most of his trademark offense, though he can’t get the One-Winged Angel off on the first try and has to scramble to kick out after Yuta pulls the seat belt pin on him again.

Callis comes down the ramp and is chases back up the ramp by security, but that gives Konosuke Takeshita a chance to sneak in from the other side of the ring for a Blue Thunder Bomb. Yuta hits a splash and covers, but Omega kicks out.

As Yuta goes up top, Omega uses that as leverage to hoist him for a One-Winged Angel that ends it.

Right after the bell, Takeshita and Claudio Castagnoli invade the ring, but the Young Bucks and Hangman Adam Page arrive with chairs. As the show fades out, however, after overrunning the time slot by a few minutes, the Dark Order is seen taking the chair away from Hangman.

AEW Dynamite results 06/28/23: MJF, Adam Cole play odd couple, Sting takes flight

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite from Hamilton will also see Chris Jericho and Sting in the ring together again, plus The Elite in action.

The “can they coexist?” bit has become so well-worn in storylines by the biggest U.S. wrestling promotion that it’s almost self-parodying at this point. Not so much for AEW, but it’s leaning into that vibe hard for what should be one of the more notable parts of tonight’s episode of Dynamite from Hamilton, Ontario.

MJF successfully made it out of Forbidden Door with the AEW World Championship still around his waist. Adam Cole would like to change that status quo, and is seeking a title rematch after taking MJF to a time limit draw a few weeks ago.

The problem is that AEW is also having a tag team tournament where the pairings are decided by a blind draw (wink, wink), and wouldn’t you know it, the first two names picked were MJF and Cole. The two men can’t stand each other and would love nothing less than to rearrange the other’s facial features, but for the time being, they need to work together.

OK, need is a strong word. They can certainly throw down if they want, but the guess is that if they do, it will prevent them from getting what they truly desire. We should find out more on that score tonight.

Elsewhere, there’s going to be a strong Forbidden Door fallout vibe in Hamilton. Tomohiro Ishii is still in Canada, and will tangle with Jon Moxley. The Young Bucks and Hangman Adam Page, or the Hung Bucks if you like that kind of humor, will be in action. Plus Chris Jericho and Sting will be in the ring on opposite sides of a match for the second time in less than a week after somehow not doing that for decades.

Time to dive into Dynamite.

AEW Dynamite results from Hamilton:

Jon Moxley def. Tomohiro Ishii by pinfall

No fooling around for these two gents, who just go right at each other, smash-mouth style. The Blackpool Combat Club is ringside to support Mox, but Eddie Kingston shows up before the picture-in-picture segment wielding  chair to deter any hijinks.

Ishii takes a nasty shot later that still probably isn’t quite as ridiculous as the one he took from Konosuke Takeshita at Forbidden Door. Kingston and Claudio Castagnoli aren’t taking their eyes off each other on opposite sides of the floor.

They eventually end up head butting each other bloody, because of course. Moxley finally wins with a Death Rider, but it took a huge effort.

Renee Paquette catches Adam Cole on his way into the arena, but he’s soon joined by an enthusiastic MJF, who says he thinks they got off on the wrong foot. To that end, he asks Cole if he wants to hang out this weekend, and even presents some “tag merch.” Heh.

Paquette asks Moxley what is going on and tries to play peacemaker when Kingston comes looking for him. It’s a serious yelling match, and Renee gets in the last word, telling Kingston he better fix this.

Orange Cassidy, El Hijo del Vikingo and Keith Lee def. Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard and Angelo Parker by pinfall when Lee pins Menard

There’s a peek at how this particular face trio came together, but honestly, does it matter? It’s just a fun trio. Also, Garcia teases his dance but doesn’t do it, but since fans dislike his dance, wouldn’t the heel play be to do it? Please ponder that.

Vikingo’s craziest dive to the floor hits only Lee, who picks him up and uses him as a weapon, then hurls him to the turnbuckles. He misses whatever he was going to try as he slips, but still launches into a moonsault.

Poor Daddy Magic ends up alone with Lee a little later, and welp.

The Elite wants to do a trios open challenge, and Hangman Adam Page is caught off guard when the Dark Order is upset that he ghosted them and wants to be their opponents tonight.

Chris Jericho says he and Sting in the ring together should be on TBS and should be commentated by Tony Schiavone. He also says it’s time to get into the “primordial ooze” of Jericho and summon the Painmaker. Sammy Guevara looks less enthused about the whole thing.

The Elite def. Dark Order by pinfall when Hangman Adam Page pins John Silver

Page looks conflicted, saying “we don’t have to do this.” No one does that emotion in pro wrestling like he does. When he finally becomes the legal man, he has a discussion with John Silver but finally gets hit in the face, and instead of punching back, he tags Matt Jackson in.

But Evil Uno finally pushes Hangman too far, and he comes in firing. The announcers note that Dark Order has no issues taking it to their friend as they’re trying to get the win. Page hesitates again when he has a chance to hit the Buckshot on Silver and nearly gets pinned. But he pulls it together to hit the Deadeye, and after a BTE Trigger by the Bucks, he finishes Silver with a Buckshot … and looks like he’s apologizing afterward, but …

… the Blackpool Combat Club invades the ring with chairs after the bell, and the Dark Order doesn’t stick around to help. Eddie Kingston tries, but he’s soon in as much trouble as The Elite. Page is bloodied as Konsuke Takeshita arrives to assist.

Moxley gets on the mic and says it’s time to end this: July 19, Boston, Blood and Guts.

A video package shows the contestants in the Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament talking about their first round opponents.

Cole tells a concerned Roderick Strong that he’s just playing along with MJF, who comes to scoop him up for “party time.”

“JungleHook was special because of me.” Jack Perry is now definitely a heel since he’s running down the fans and bragging about his bedroom exploits. Perry asks if he turned on Hook or everyone turned on him, and I think we know where he’s headed with this.

He calls Hook an entitled, second-generation prick and mocks the FTW Championship. Hook finally has enough and heads down the ramp, so Perry flees for the back.

With Hook in super hot pursuit, Perry leaps headfirst into the back of a waiting SUV, barely escaping what is almost certainly going to be an ass whooping.

Ruby Soho def. Alexia Nicole by submission

This was supposed to be Soho’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament match against Britt Baker who is out with illness. This … is not that, and Soho gets a quick tapout by using Baker’s own Lockjaw.

The Outcasts spray paint the ‘L’ on poor Nicole, and Soho blames Canada like South Park once did for Baker getting sick. Ruby mocks Baker and Adam Cole a bit more and vows to leave Britt nothing after defeating her.

QTV touts the arrival of Johnny TV, and Hayley Cameron does a poor impression of Brother Zay.

Darby Allin and Sting def. “The Painmaker” Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara by submission in a Tornado tag match as Sting makes Jericho tap out to the Scorpion Deathlock

Guevara enters separately and to his own music, something he teased last week. Jericho has a special entrance and what looks like glow in the dark makeup as the Painmaker, and before anything too crazy starts going down, he and Sting have a duel with their respective baseball bats.

Sting and Allin slowly gain the advantage, setting up two tables on the floor as both of the faces scale a ladder in the ring. It’s not Darby but Sting who makes the jump, and he barely makes it to send Guevara through the first table but looks like he lands hard in the process.

Despite Allin using his skateboard, Jericho is able to send Darby to the floor with a Judas Effect. Sting tries sneaking up on the Painmaker form behind, but Jericho puts him in the Walls of Jericho. There are no rope breaks, but Sting crawls and gets his bat, using it to break the hold.

A bloody Painmaker takes a Stinger Splash but answers a second with a Codebreaker. But the Judas Effect is countered with a Scorpion Death Drop that somehow only gets two.

Jericho tries another Codebreaker, but Sting sees it coming and applies the Scorpion Deathlock, and since the show is now in an overrun, the Painmaker taps and Dynamite quickly says peace.

AEW Rampage results: Jungle Boy passes pre-Forbidden Door test

AEW Rampage also featured a first round match in the Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament.

If you’ve never watched New Japan Pro-Wrestling before, that’s OK. But it would probably be a good idea to watch this episode of AEW Rampage before Forbidden Door this Sunday night.

That’s because there’s a whole bunch of NJPW talent on tonight’s show, which is fitting since they will also be a big part of the second annual supershow in Toronto. Also, MJF will be on tonight’s show, a first for the AEW World Champion.

So even though Rampage has slipped to third in the pecking order of AEW shows, this should be one hour that’s worth watching. Let’s see what we’ve got.

AEW Rampage results:

  • United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Kyle Fletcher and Will Ospreay) and Swerve Strickland def. Chaos (Best Friends, Rocky Romero and Yoh) by pinfall
  • Toni Storm says only her title is on the line when she faces Willow Nightingale at Forbidden Door because Willow would lose her title if it was on the line
  • Adam Cole goes to the ring but is quickly interrupted by MJF, who says he has talked to Tony Khan and got him to book Cole in a match at Forbidden Door against Tom Lawlor; Lawlor and Royce Isaacs attack Cole while MJF mockingly acts like he’s on the way to save his tag team partner, then wishes Cole good luck this weekend
  • The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass def. Local Talent in a very short match; afterward, Harley Cameron tells the group they should work together on music as a distraction for QTV to debut new member Johnny TV, who lays out Daddy Ass
  • Prince Nana and Swerve deliver a warning to Hiroshi Tanahashi, who Strickland will face on Collision
  • Skye Blue def. Anna Jay by pinfall in a Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament first round match
  • “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry def. Douki by submission by using Sanada’s Skull End hold, in a match that saw much of the crowd cheering for Douki …
  • … but Sanada comes out and walks to the ring for a staredown to end the show

Forbidden Door 2023 predictions: Who will win each match in Toronto?

Who will come out on top when AEW and NJPW come together once again in Toronto for Forbidden Door 2023?

While All Elite Wrestling treats a drama-free work environment like its own forbidden door, the actual Forbidden Door event looks to be the best pro wrestling show of the year on paper.

The card has a little bit of everything. It’s got a dream match between Bryan Danielson and Kazuchika Okada. It also features a grudge match between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay. We’ve even got arguably Japan’s biggest star going against AEW’s young sensation.

And yes, it even has CM Punk, who missed last year’s event due to injury. The show has got it all, and the backstage drama could make an unwanted cameo, too.

With that said, here are my predictions for the event, which emanates from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto:

IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Will Ospreay

The first encounter between these two (Wrestle Kingdom 17) was arguably the best match of 2023 to this point, and it took place all the way back on Jan. 4. I have no reservations in believing that they will do everything in their power to top that at Forbidden Door.

As far as a winner, I’m going to go with Ospreay to regain the title he lost back in January. Ever since Omega left New Japan Pro Wrestling and joined AEW, Ospreay has been one of the people in line to replace him as the promotion’s top foreigner. Whether he has succeeded in filling Omega’s shoes is up for debate.

However, Forbidden Door presents an opportunity for Ospreay to not only win back the title he lost at Wrestle Kingdom, but also put the world on notice that he is indeed capable of fulfilling the role Omega once held and thrived in.

By the way, I have a not-so-sneaky suspicion that Don Callis will have some involvement in the outcome.

Winner: Will Ospreay

Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada

If there is one match I have to watch on this show, it’s this one. Before this match was announced, it had never occurred to me that Danielson and Okada never had a match together — and that I also wanted to see it so very badly.

The story tells itself: Danielson is widely regarded as the best technical wrestler in the world. Okada, while not quite as technical as Danielson, can lay claim to being simply the best all-around wrestler on the planet given his classics with Omega and others. These two worlds collide (no pun intended) on Sunday, and it should make for an absolute classic.

So who will win this match? For me, this is one of those proverbial toss-ups. You really can’t go wrong either way, but my gut is telling me that Danielson will pull off the victory.

Winner: Bryan Danielson

AEW World Championship: MJF (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

MJF has had some pretty big matches during his short career, but I believe Hiroshi Tanahashi represents his biggest contest to date.

MJF, as he has reminded everyone on many occasions, has proven that he can hang with the best in the world time and time again. But I’m not sure he has faced someone with both the star power and the longevity like Tanahashi. Yes, MJF has gone up against the likes of Danielson, CM Punk and Chris Jericho, but none of them were the face of a major promotion for as long as Tanahashi was with New Japan.

MJF has many feathers in his cap, but I believe beating Tanahashi will be the biggest.

Winner: MJF

AEW Women’s World Championship: Toni Storm (c) vs. Willow Nightingale

Since Toni Storm recently won the title, I’m going with her to retain. However, I think Willow Nightingale will put on a star-making performance in defeat.

Winner: Toni Storm

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Sanada (c) vs. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry

No matter who Sanada faced in this match, I was probably going to pick him to retain. Seeing that his opponent was going to be Jack Perry only confirmed my thoughts. Nothing against Perry, who I am a big fan of, but I could not imagine New Japan putting its top title on him at the moment.

Winner: Sanada

Men’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament (Quarterfinal): CM Punk vs. Satoshi Kojima

According to reports, Punk was originally scheduled to face KENTA in what would have been another dream match over the who is the master of the GTS.

However, that never came to fruition and in steps Satoshi Kojima, who is a tremendous replacement.

Regardless of whether it was KENTA or Kojima, I’m still picking CM Punk to win and advance in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament.

Winner: CM Punk

10-man tag: The Elite, Eddie Kingston and Tomohiro Ishii vs. Blackpool Combat Club, Konosuke Takeshita and Shoto Umino

This match feels like it will be pure chaos. When the dust settles, however, I think the bad guys come away with the win mainly because I think AEW wants to maintain the momentum the Blackpool Combat Club has built up in recent months.

Winner: Blackpool Combat Club, Konosuke Takeshita and Shoto Umino

Six-man tag: Le Suzuki Gods (Chris Jericho, Minoro Suzuki and Sammy Guevara) vs. Sting, Darby Allin and ???

As of this writing, it has not been confirmed who Sting and Darby Allin’s partner. However, that will be unveiled on the second episode of Collision Saturday night.

Regardless of who the mystery partner is, I’m going with the good guys with this one.

Winner: Sting, Darby Allin and their mystery partner

AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Daniel Garcia vs. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Orange Cassidy has found miraculous ways to retain his title, and I think his run of good fortune continues at Forbidden Door. Although the outcome feels like more of the same, I believe this is a match that could steal the show.

Winner: Orange Cassidy

Adam Cole vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor

SPOILER WARNING IN CASE YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED RAMPAGE YET …

… but Tom Lawlor shows up on the show and attacks Adam Cole, setting up a match between them at Forbidden Door.

Lawlor is great, but I have no reason to expect Cole to take a loss in this one on his way to getting another match with MJF.

Winner: Adam Cole

Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament (Quarterfinal): Billie Starkz vs. Athena

This may be a nitpick in some people’s eyes, but I think it would have been nice to get this onto the main card instead of the pre-show. Obviously, something has to be on the pre-show, but the main card currently features only one women’s match.

Shoving the other women’s match to the pre-show is a move fans lambasted WWE for routinely doing just a couple of years ago.

No one can make the excuse that there just isn’t enough time. AEW’s pay-per-views typically run well over three hours because everyone is trying to have their own mat classic, which can make for a lot of great wrestling, but it typically comes at the expense of the women’s roster.

I feel like AEW’s women’s division is deep enough to have two matches on every pay-per-view, and if that means having a men’s match on the pre-show then so be it. If that meant putting the International title match (for example) on the pre-show, then so be it.

As far as the winner, I’m going to roll with the Ring of Honor women’s champ.

Winner: Athena

AEW Dynamite results 06/21/23: Leave the (Forbidden) Door open

Chicago hosts the final AEW Dynamite before Forbidden Door, and we’re tracking the action live.

We’re just four days away from Forbidden Door 2023, where the worlds of AEW and NJPW will once again collide, this time in Toronto. But unlike last year, tonight’s final AEW Dynamite before the supershow isn’t even the go home show.

The arrival of Collision has seen to that, giving Tony Khan and the brain trust behind the collaboration time to add matches almost literally right up to the last minute. That said, there should definitely be more pieces of the Forbidden Door puzzle that fall into place tonight in Chicago, and there will definitely be New Japan talent in the house.

Two of the promoted matches for tonight are proof of that. One will see Orange Cassidy and Katsuyori Shibata team up to tangle with Zack Sabre Jr. and Daniel Garcia. There’s a pretty decent chance this tag team bout is going to set up Cassidy vs. ZSJ in Toronto, a matchup yours truly would love to see.

In trios action, Minoru Suzuki will once again align himself with Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara. But things have changed since last year, as Suzuki no longer has his army behind him, and Jericho and Guevara aren’t exactly best buds these days either.

We will, of course, hear from a number of people, including Bryan Danielson, who has a high profile Forbidden Door match already lined up against Kazuchika Okada, and Adam Cole, who does not. There have also been reports that a certain favorite son of Chicago is in the building and may appear, and if you need me to tell you who that is, congrats on taking your first dive into pro wrestling. Hope you enjoy it enough to stick around.

Let’s dive into it, shall we Chicago?

AEW Dynamite results from Chicago:

  • The Gunns def. The Hardys by pinfall after a distraction from Bullet Club Gold, who proceed to help beat down Jeff and Matt after the bell; Ricky Starks and FTR join the fray on the side of the fan favorites, as does … CM Punk, who helps clear the ring and says the two groups can settle things in the ring on Collision

  • A video package promotes the Concession Stand Brawl between Jeff Jarrett and Mark Briscoe, which is well timed because it leads right into …
  • Jeff Jarrett def. Mark Briscoe by pinfall in a Concession Stand Brawl that sees Sonjay Dutt, Karen Jarrett, Papa Briscoe, Christopher Daniels, Best Friends and Lucha Bros. all get involved

  • Blackpool Combat Club and Konosuke Takeshita challenge The Elite to a 10-man tag (they’ll also have Shota Umino on their team) at Forbidden Door, while Bryan Danielson says he’s going to the ring to call out Kazuchika Okada and that the Rainmaker is a coward if he doesn’t show up

  • Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Minoru Suzuki def. Action Andretti, AR Fox and Darius Martin by submission when Jericho gets Martin to tap out to the Lion Tamer
  • Renee Paquette talks to the winners after the bell, giving Jericho a chance to call out Sting and challenge him, Darby Allin and a partner of their choice to a match at Forbidden Door; Sting and Allin come to the ring to accept and say they’ll reveal their partner at Collision

  • Tony Schiavone and RJ City kick off the draw for the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament, the brackets for which will be unveiled next week on Dynamite
  • The Elite (in a pre-taped bit, we assume) acknowledge the challenge from the BCC, but they say they have friends all over and a lot of people hate the BCC too … like Eddie Kingston, who also says he’ll pick the fifth member of their team and make the announcement

  • Adam Cole hits the ring to give the Devil his due, admitting that MJF gave him one of the toughest matches of his career last week and calling out the champ to talk rematch; but not only does MJF refuse, Tony Schiavone informs them they’re a tag team for the tournament, but that’s not all …
  • … because Hiroshi Tanahashi appears on the big screen to remind MJF of the challenge the Ace made for Forbidden Door, and Cole manages to goad the AEW World Champion into accepting

  • Daniel Garcia and Zack Sabre Jr. def. Orange Cassidy and Katsuyori Shibata by pinfall as Garcia pins Shibata following a miscommunication by Cassidy and Shibata
  • Alex Marvez catches up with Will Ospreay, who doubles down on his criticism of Canada, to which Don Callis blames Kenny Omega for Will’s troubles and pledges his private security to aid Ospreay
  • Toni Storm disses the people that like Willow Nightingale, who takes the high road and says she respects the champ’s fight; the two women will meet for Storm’s title at Forbidden Door
  • Kris Statlander def. Taya Valkyrie by pinfall to retain the TBS Championship
  • Eddie Kingston says he thinks there’s one member of BCC who might have a problem with him teaming with The Elite, and sure enough, Jon Moxley comes out to confront his old friend before Kingston confirms the fifth member of their team is Tomohiro Ishii; the Stone Pitbull comes to the ring but is waylaid by the BCC, and Danielson’s threats bring Kazuchika Okada to the ring as well, and he gives the Rainmaker to Wheeler Yuta

AEW Dynamite results: The Forbidden Door gets kicked wide open in D.C.

Get live AEW Dynamite results from D.C., featuring MJF vs. Adam Cole and more pieces of Forbidden Door falling into place.

Sometimes you can just feel when wrestling companies want to put their best foot forward, and tonight is one of those nights as AEW Dynamite airs from the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.

Not that Tony Khan isn’t trying to hit every show out of the park, mind you. But with the debut of AEW: Collision this Saturday, followed quickly by Forbidden Door next week, it behooves this particular episode to have that “can’t miss” feeling about it.

Whether it does or not is in the eye of the beholder, but the card looks compelling from here. MJF and Adam Cole will battle in a world title eliminator, and while “beat the champ to get a shot at the champ” matches are sometimes silly, this one appears very legit.

The Blackpool Combat Club and The Elite may literally fight forever at this point, which will be the case again tonight as they meet in trios action. AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends her title against Skye Blue, and Wardlow does the same with his TNT Championship against Jake Hager, and a big eight-man tag team match sees the Mogul Embassy go up against a fan favorite group made up of Darby Allin, Sting, Keith Lee and Orange Cassidy.

Plus Sammy Guevara will be on Dynamite for the first time since his unsuccessful world title bid at Double or Nothing. Add it all up and it has the makings of a very fun two hours, and that’s not even counting the fact that perhaps a NJPW talent or two will drop by.

AEW Dynamite results from Washington D.C.:

  • Adam Cole vs. MJF goes to a 30-minute time limit draw after MJF’s two attempts to cheat both backfire, and Cole has him beaten with the Panama Sunrise only to have the bell ring with the count at two; Cole asks MJF for five more minutes, but the champ takes his title belt and leaves

  • A video package promotes the return of CM Punk at AEW: Collision

  • Sammy Guevara talks to Renee Paquette about the highs and lows of his last few weeks and says he has to make some personal changes; Darby Allin arrives and suggests Guevara needs to leave the Jericho Appreciation Society to reach the next level … which in turn brings Chris Jericho to the ring, demanding an apology; that in turn brings out Sting, who has a brief, tense staredown with Jericho amid suggestions they might all be in a tag team match next week

  • IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Sanada issues an open challenge for his title at Forbidden Door and says he’s anxious to see who from AEW will step up and accept it

  • Darby Allin, Sting, Keith Lee and Orange Cassidy def. Mogul Embassy by pinfall when Sting pins Brian Cage
  • Paquette asks The Gunns about their relationship with Bullet Club Gold, but they play dumb and would rather talk about their challenge to The Hardys for next week … and then they diss Renee’s hair for some reason

  • Wardlow def. Jake Hager by pinfall to retain the AEW TNT Championship, with Brock Anderson helping fend off outside assistance for Hager by the JAS; afterward, Christian Cage and Luchasaurus appear on the screen to accept Wardlow’s challenge on Collision and show that they’ve beaten up Arn Anderson
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi makes a challenge to MJF for Forbidden Door, and Paquette gives the bad news to the AEW world champ backstage and he says he’s not doing it

  • Paquette is talking to Orange Cassidy about what the future holds when Zack Sabre Jr. says it should be the two of them facing off for the AEW International Championship at Forbidden Door; Daniel Garcia arrives as well, so Cassidy says he and Katsuyori Shibata will face ZSJ and Garcia next week on Dynamite

  • Toni Storm def. Skye Blue by submission to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship, with help from the other Outcasts, of course; Willow Nightingale sprints down to prevent a post-match beating
  • “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry tells the very busy Paquette he’s accepting Sanada’s title challenge for Forbidden Door and asks Hook to have his back; Hook looks like he accepts with a fist bump

  • A video package promotes the main event for the debut episode of AEW: Collision on Saturday night
  • The Elite (Hangman Adam Page and Young Bucks) def. Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta) by pinfall as Page pins Yuta, leaving Bryan Danielson on commentary going “you’ve got to be kidding me”
  • After the bell, the BCC attacks The Elite, but Eddie Kingston comes rushing down and goes right after Castagnoli, eventually clearing him from the ring; Kingston and Moxley have a brief showdown and Eddie tries to play peacemaker, but Konosuke Takeshita runs down and attacks Kingston from behind before Kenny Omega joins them and battles Takeshita … but gets assaulted in turn by Will Ospreay, who hits the Stormbreaker on Omega to end the show

AEW Dynamite preview 06/13/23: Preparing for a Collision

AEW Dynamite hits D.C. tonight with two title matches, a title eliminator and much more ahead of the AEW: Collision debut this weekend.

With the debut of AEW Dynamite just days away, you didn’t think the company was going to just phone it in for its existing two-hour show, AEW Dynamite, right? Perish the thought.

The card for tonight in Washington D.C. is, in fact, pretty loaded. It starts with MJF taking on Adam Cole; not for the AEW World Championship itself, but in a title eliminator agreed upon after the two men exchanged pointed insults last week. That means if Cole wins, he gets a shot at the BBB, which is something MJF would undoubtedly prefer to avoid.

Two other titles will be on the line in D.C. Skye Blue won her opportunity to challenge Toni Storm for the AEW Women’s World Championship, but considering how the other Outcasts are always there to back Storm, she may come to regret that unless she has backup of her own. TNT Champion Wardlow, on the other hand, made it clear he’s not done with Christian Cage and Luchasaurus, but his business on this particular evening is with Jake Hager (and his hat), who he obviously can’t afford to take lightly.

And the feud between the Blackpool Combat Club and The Elite rages on, this time in trios form. Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta will go up against Hangman Adam Page and the Young Bucks — you can also call them the Hung Bucks, collectively — in a match that’s sure to be entertaining.

AEW is also promoting that Sammy Guevara will be at Dynamite tonight for the first time since losing his chance at MJF’s world championship. No word on what he’ll be up to, but a thought: He’d be great when matched up against a high flyer from NJPW at Forbidden Door, which is also less than two weeks away.

That’s a lot to cram into two hours (there’s also an eight-man tag we didn’t even get to) but we have faith it’s all going to come together. Check it out beginning at 8 p.m. ET on TBS, or hop back here to Wrestling Junkie as we’ll have live results and commentary.

The very inside baseball MJF-Adam Cole Dynamite segment did Cole no favors

MJF is good enough on the mic to tear down his opponents many different ways. So why bring up things about Adam Cole that only a few fans will get?

During All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing post-event press scrum, MJF mentioned that only seven percent of the promotion’s audience is active on Twitter, essentially rendering that segment nothing more than an echo chamber of diehard wrestling fans.

Whether MJF’s statistical claim is true or not, I don’t know. But let’s take the champ at his word and assume that his assertion is based in facts.

AEW has made its bones catering to the diehard fan base since its inception back in 2019, and was rewarded for doing so by Warner Bros. Discovery in the form of two more hours of live television on Saturday nights.

According to MJF, that particular set of fans doesn’t amount to a whole lot. That made it even more jarring when MJF’s promo about Adam Cole on the most recent episode of Dynamite was filled with content that only that “seven percent” would understand.

MJF referred to Cole’s tumultuous end to his WWE tenure, where there reports were swirling that Vince McMahon (who was mentioned by name during this promo) had zero faith in Cole to replicate the success he had in NXT and Ring of Honor, which saw him featured at the top of the card on a routine basis. Instead, McMahon’s vision for Cole reportedly involved him being a manager, specifically for Keith Lee.

While that would have been a gross misuse of Cole and Lee, it is something that the “seven percent” of AEW’s fan base could believe, as it fits McMahon’s modus operandi.

However, MJF brought this up in front of a lot more than that supposed fraction of AEW’s audience. He brought this up in front of thousands in person and hundreds of thousands more watching at home. Chances are, there was a good chunk of people watching MJF’s promo on Dynamite that either had no idea what he was talking about or blocked it out of their memory because it was yet another absurd McMahon idea.

And at the end of the day, who did it help? It helped MJF for sure, as he verbally eviscerated the person who looks to be the next challenger for his world title. I know for sure who it did not help: Adam Cole.

I am well aware that this is what MJF does to his opponents, which is what has made him into the champion he is today. That said, I think it’s also a symptom of a larger problem that AEW has run into at various times throughout its four-year history, which is delving too deep into the rumors and innuendo that often permeate wrestling fandom.

It’d be one thing if these rumors and stories were solely focused on AEW. But in this case, they are not. They are primarily focused on the maniacal ideation process of the competition’s boss. They are focused on what has occurred elsewhere.

World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action did the same thing back in the day. WCW brought in Roddy Piper and Ultimate Warrior so that Hulk Hogan could settle a score with them from a decade prior in WWE. TNA used Hogan’s WWE Hall of Fame ring as the MacGuffin for an entire story involving Abyss. They also used the cape Hogan wore as a heel in the 1970s for Matt Morgan.

But at the very least, those promotions were re-hashing stories that played out on screen. The story MJF told fans Wednesday night was not. It wasn’t even major news. It was a news item that garnered a visceral reaction from fans, most of whom thought about it in a negative light.

MJF is talented enough to lambaste his opponents in a variety of ways, but delving into these deep cuts leaves some fans either in the dark or rehashing negative thoughts. The entire point of this is for people to believe Cole actually has a chance to dethrone the champ.

But when you bring up the fact that the most important figure in the entire industry — who is not affiliated with AEW — saw him as nothing more than a mouthpiece for another guy his company also released, it does him no favors.

Not to mention, MJF also questioned Cole’s physique, which won’t miraculously change during the course of this feud, called him the “Panama Game Boy” and said he looks like a “virgin gollum.” Those are some darn good roasts that could even earn a cackle or two on All Def Digital’s YouTube series, Roast Me.

Cole tried to clap back in his own way by saying that no one in the AEW locker room respects MJF. That may very well be true, but that could also be chalked up to MJF being a heel, which means he shouldn’t be respected. He also brought up MJF’s fiancé leaving him and implied that MJF may be using performance enhancing drugs, which is a WILD accusation to levy on television.

There is still time for Cole to get his lick back, so to speak, whether that is on the microphone or in the ring, but there is no guarantee that he will. Not only does he have to beat MJF to become the champion, but he also has to prove to everyone that McMahon was wrong about him, too?

Who cares? This is AEW, not WWE.

For better or for worse, MJF is a great white shark on the microphone, and he could easily turn Cole into mere chum before it is all said and done.

AEW Dynamite results 06/07/23: Orange still golden, but are The Gunns?

AEW Dynamite from Colorado Springs featured an AEW International Championship match between Orange Cassidy and Swerve Strickland.

Orange Cassidy has been magic during his AEW International Championship reign, defending the belt tirelessly despite the fact that he’d rather not wrestle at all if he had his druthers. But with all due respect to the wrestling maneuver of the same name, Swerve Strickland could be the magic killer tonight on AEW Dynamite from Colorado Springs.

Swerve was popular was a fan favorite but has really seemed to hit his groove since embracing his villainous side, not to mention dropping the dead weight (sorry, but it’s true) that was the Mogul Affiliates and joining forces with The Embassy. If someone is going to end Cassidy’s run prior to Forbidden Door, it could very well be Strickland — plus it would be fun seeing Swerve have to defend the title against someone from NJPW later this month.

Another champ, Kris Statlander, will also be in action tonight. The AEW Women’s World Champion should get a pretty nice contest from Anna Jay, who has been impressive in recent appearances.

We’ll hear from MJF, probably about how he’d prefer not to defend his title at Forbidden Door (though he’ll likely be forced to do so). Tony Khan has an announcement to make about the main event for the first episode of AEW: Collision, coming up ever so quickly on Saturday, June 17. And the ever popular “JungleHook” team of Jack Perry and Hook will join forces once again, which should prove popular with the fans on hand in Colorado Springs.

AEW Dynamite results from Colorado Springs:

  • Orange Cassidy def. Swerve Strickland by pinfall to retain the AEW International Championship
  • The Mogul Embassy heads down to assault Cassidy after the bell, but the lights go out and come back on to reveal that Sting and Darby Allin have cleared the ring
  • A video package hypes tonight’s match between Ricky Starks and Jay White
  • The video from Dominion with Bryan Danielson challenging Kazuchika Okada is shown before he joins the commentary desk
  • Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta) def. Chaos (Rocky Romero and Best Friends) by submission as Moxley gets Romero to tap out
  • Hangman Adam Page and the Young Bucks challenge the BCC to a trios match next week and ask if they can handle it without Danielson or Konosuke Takeshita helping them

  • A video package promotes the rematch between Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay at Forbidden Door
  • MJF is interrupted during his insults of Colorado and its citizens by Adam Cole, who bears the brunt of the champ’s barbs for a bit before firing back and saying no one respects MJF; it seems to have the desired result, as MJF says he’ll wrestle Cole “any day of the week”
  • Matt Hardy says Ethan Page is the newest member of the Hardy party and makes him apologize to Isiah Kassidy, and Matt says he can make Ethan into a better human being

  • Hook and Jack Perry def. Dralistico and Preston Vance by submission in a wild Texas Tornado tag team match that featured plenty of blood, weapons and Jose The Assistant attempting to get involved
  • Tony Khan announces that the main event of the AEW: Collision premiere will pit Jay White and Juice Robinson of Bullet Club Gold and Samoa Joe vs. FTR and CM Punk
  • Konosuke Takeshita def. Damon Ace by pinfall in a quick squash match; afterward Don Callis repeats his assertion that his “new family” is going to cut The Elite out of AEW for good
  • Christian Cage says Arn Anderson cost him a title at Double or Nothing so he’s taking revenge by … having Luchasaurus beat up Brock Anderson, it seems

  • Kris Statlander def. Anna Jay by pinfall to retain the AEW TBS Championship, with Taya Valkyrie looking on backstage
  • Toni Storm talks about the four-way match to determine her No. 1 contender, and she says she and Ruby Soho will be watching
  • Jay White def. Ricky Starks by pinfall after the ref takes a bump and The Gunns hit the 3:10 to Yuma on Starks

AEW Dynamite results 05/31/23: Britt, Adam lower the Boom, CM Punk confirmed

Get filled in on all of the action from AEW Dynamite in San Diego.

AEW Dynamite usually promotes a bunch of matches and segments well ahead of time. For tonight’s show in San Diego? Not so much.

That’s not to say we didn’t have any advance notice about what’s on the card. For instance, the mixed tag match pitting Adam Cole and Britt Baker against Chris Jericho and Saraya was advertised last week. And after his dramatic betrayal of The Elite Sunday at Double or Nothing, we knew we’d hear from Konosuke Takeshita (and, sadly, Don Callis).

But the rest of the slate was a mystery until this afternoon. Now we know some more of the matches, starting with a title defense by a champ whose reign has only been a few days. TBS Champion Kris Statlander has issued an open challenge, and it was answered by Nyla Rose.

Other wrestlers who were prominent at Double or Nothing will also be in action. The Blackpool Combat Club is undoubtedly riding high after defeating The Elite, but they’ll have to be on top of their game to defeat the Lucha Bros. and Bandido. Swerve Strickland, Big Bill and Trent will collide in a three-way dance, and Orange Cassidy will team with Darby Allin to face the Gates of Agony.

So that’s a lot more info than we had before. Plus we haven’t even gotten to the thing that has been the subject of equal parts excitement and eye-rolling, another announcement from Tony Khan about the debut episode of AEW: Collision next month. Will he confirm the participation of a certain Mr. Brooks? And will anyone be salty if the announcement is anything else?

(Spoiler: Yes. Yes they will.)

Let’s see how this all goes down.

AEW Dynamite results from San Diego:

  • Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta) def. Lucha Bros. and Bandido by pinfall
  • Matt Jackson says the BCC brings out the worst in The Elite, Nick Jackson says one setback won’t bring them down, and Hangman Adam Page is interrupted by what’s left of the Dark Order, who seem jealous; Page also confirms that Kenny Omega has left the country … but he’s not in Canada
  • Tony Schiavone talks to Jay White and Juice Robinson, who say Ricky Starks doesn’t have any friends and call FTR “a little bit slow,” and after beating the Top Guys up, they flee as Starks chases them off and challenges White to a match next week
  • Tony Khan has another announcement about the debut of AEW: Collision, and it’s what we expected: the show will feature CM Punk
  • Swerve Strickland def. Big Bill and Trent by pinning Trent
  • The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass tell Rene Paquette they want gold again, and that Billy Gunn deserves to hold gold one more time — an idea that proves popular with the fans
  • Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita come to the ring to plenty of boos, with Callis saying his new family is going to cut The Elite out of AEW
  • Arn Anderson and Wardlow tell Luchasaurus if he wants to be next in line, so be it
  • Darby Allin and Orange Cassidy def. Gates of Agony by pinfall, and Sting is on hand to prevent a post-match beating from the Mogul Embassy
  • A pre-recorded MJF promo has the champ claiming that no one is on the level of the Devil
  • Schiavone welcomes Hook to the ring, and when La Faccion Ingobernable attacks him, a chair-wielding Jack Perry comes to his aid
  • Toni Storm and The Outcasts scoff at the idea that there’s anyone good enough to hang with them
  • Kris Statlander def. Nyla Rose by pinfall to retain the AEW TBS Championship, as Taya Valkyrie looks on backstage
  • Britt Baker and Adam Cole def. Saraya and Chris Jericho by pinfall, with Hikaru Shida and her kendo stick on hand to neutralize the other Outcasts