Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here’s your guide for what to watch for in WWE, AEW and the pro wrestling industry in the year ahead.
To say 2023 was an eventful year in professional wrestling would be an understatement.
However, there is plenty of intrigue on the horizon in 2024. Here are the stories to watch as we enter a new year.
Vaughn Johnson picks winners for all the matches on Long Island at AEW Worlds End.
Alas, we have reached the end of a roller coaster year for AEW with the promotion’s final pay-per-view offering, World’s End.
Will AEW end close out 2023 with a bang, or will it stumble to the year’s finish line?
Let’s run through the show match-by-match and offer some predictions.
Several more parts of the Worlds End picture slid into place on AEW Dynamite in Orlando.
The AEW Continental Classic approaches what should be an explosive finish with the Gold League and Blue League finals tonight on AEW Dynamite in Orlando.
The Blue League final is a story of regret turned possible redemption, as Eddie Kingston tries to make it all the way back from losing his first two matches after including both of his championships in the tournament. Standing in his way? None other than Bryan Danielson, who has essentially wrestled his way through with one eye as AEW played up a real life injury.
In the Gold League final, it will be not two but three men vying for one spot in the overall final at Worlds End. Jay White, Jon Moxley and Swerve Strickland would all be worthy representatives, but only one can prevail in their three-way bout to go for the Triple Crown Championship on Saturday night.
There are some other interesting things planned for tonight outside the tourney too. MJF and Samoa Joe will fight two of the Devil’s masked men — for real this time. We think. Lexy Nair will have a sitdown interview with Christian Cage and Adam Copeland, who can’t wait to tear each other apart at Worlds End.
So this should be anything but a calm go home show, or at least it doesn’t appear that way. Let’s find out, shall we?
(please scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)
How often will two of the three combatants get to try to settle this among each other? That’s something to watch as Moxley and Swerve quickly pair off. Mox ends up throwing both of his foes into the crowd, then brawling with Swerve and dropping White crotch first on a barricade.
Strickland bites Moxley’s forehead and smashes him with a running knee shot while Mox is helpless seated on a steel chair. Those two battle up into the first section of seats off the floor, repelling White again when he tries to join in … but only momentarily as Switchblade comes roaring back as soon as the others are occupied with each other.
White suplexes Moxley into a steel chair along the ringside barricade, rolling Strickland back into the ring and covering for two. A suplex into the barricade gets another two count, but Swerve is able to battle back with a running knee shot from the apron.
Strickland picks up the pace against Moxley only to get rakes across the back. He bites Mox’s fingers in response and follows with a running lariat.
Swerve nails Mox in the back of the head with an elbow and hits the griddy. He kicks White in the head and backdrops Moxley out to the floor on top of him. Strickland hits a diving frog splash onto both foes that gets the crowd on its feet.
After some picture-in-picture action, Mox goes diving to the floor to take out Swerve. A flurry of right hands crash down on Strickland’s face, as well as Moxley’s teeth on his forehead. A piledriver leads to a cover, with Moxley switching to mat wrestling immediately after Strickland kicks at two.
Swerve’s jump from the top is greeted by a kick to the gut, then a DDT for another near fall. White has been out of the action completely for several minutes, but he arrives just in time to smash Swerve with a chair.
That leads to an extended flurry of kicks from Strickland, but his somersault splash can’t win it because Mox comes right behind him to hit a stomp, and all three men are down for more side-by-side commercials.
It’s a legit three-way battle when we return, with no one quite able to gain the upper hand. White brings a steel chair into play, setting it across the pads in one corner. Alas, it’s him who ends up getting shoved into it, and Strickland nearly rolls up Moxley to win it.
Swerve and Mox start smacking each other with open hand shots before Strickalnd opens up with two pump kicks and a discus lariat. He whips Moxley into the corner but gets shoved to the floor by White.
Mox takes advantage with a clothesline and a Death Rider to White, and Strickland can’t get back in the ring fast enough to break up the pin. Moxley is on to the Continental Classic final at Worlds End.
To a chorus of boos, Don Callis says this has been a difficult two weeks that he would not have made it through without his family. To show his appreciation, he has some Boxing Week gifts to give out to his crew, which of course consists of paintings of a way too buff version of him with each member of his team.
Callis says his family feels complete, but one person who may object is Sammy Guevara, freshly back from paternity leave. Guevara appears upset that Callis hasn’t spoken to him for a while, but Don has a painting for him too, showing Sammy holding his baby with the rest of the faction behind him.
Guevara says the Family members are big time stars but Callis makes all of their victories about him. Don turns it around and talks about his disappointment with Sammy for being gone so long, and he tells Guevara to choose between his real family and the Don Callis Family.
As he is wont to do, Don goes too far and says Sammy is about to be remembered as a big failure as a wrestler and a parent. That gets him shoved down, and when the rest of the Family attacks Guevara, Chris Jericho comes flying to the rescue with his bat, Floyd. They clear the ring and destroy the paintings, and with the fans urging them on, they hug before they get attacked by Big Bill and Ricky Starks.
The lights go out as they scrap, then come back on to reveal Darby Allin and Sting, who finally help drive off the tag team champs.
The winner here faces Mox for all the marbles on Saturday. Danielson hears some boos as he stays elusive in the early moments. He’s certainly living rent free in Eddie’s head for now.
A suplex and a tope suicida make for a great response by Kingston, who stays on his opponent on the outside. Hard chops crash into Danielson’s chest, and he’s thrown into the barricade before taking more of them.
Danielson finally gets an opening to unleash his own chops but is met by a bigger one that knocks him down. He bounces back to deliver a DDT on the apron and a flying knee to the floor. Picture-in-picture is next.
It’s Danielson who has taken control during the break, verbally berating Kingston while he kicks him. An exploder suplex make Bryan stop, and he hits a DDT when his spinning back fist is countered.
Kingston batters Danielson into the corner as the fans urge him on. He wants another exploder but is dragged to the mat for the LeBell Lock. Eddie is a long way from the ropes, but he’s moving forward and grabs the bottom rope for a break.
Danielson’s kicks lead to a snap suplex, but his attempt to come off the top rope is foiled by more chops. But Kingston ends up in the Tree of Woe, eating more kicks. What does Danielson have in mind next? It’s a superplex, but Kingston rolls over top of him and lands on his face, so both men are down or more side-by-side ads.
Kingston is landing chops at will as the full picture resumes, only to be hit by a shoulder capture suplex that forces him to kick out at two. Danielson’s upper chest is bright red, but Kingston can’t be feeling too good either as he takes a huge series of kicks to the chest.
Danielson’s running knee in the corner misses, giving Kingston an opening for a Northern Lights Bomb that comes close to ending it. Both men score some near falls before Bryan nails a Busaiku Knee, only to see Eddie kick out again.
Pulling up his eyepatch, Danielson appears bemused by the continuing chants for his opponent. He rains down hammer and anvil elbows that cause Kingston to fade. The ref checks on him, but he ends up getting stomped in the face and has to convince the ref again … with a middle finger to Danielson.
Kingston gets his second wind, firing through a flurry of offense that includes the spinning back fist. He follows with a powerbomb and a high stack, and against all odds, Eddie is through to the final.
Stokely Hathaway joins the announce team to take in this one, though he scoffs at the idea that he’s been trying to recruit Statlander. Kris definitely isn’t taking it easy on Skye just because they used to be friends, bossing the early action.
Blue fights back by stomping Statlander into the corner but is quickly picked up for a delayed vertical suplex. They fight out to the apron, where Blue smashes Stat’s face down before picture-in-picture.
The full picture is back just in time for a Statlander near fall. Blue responds with a thrust kick and Code Blue, good for a two count.
Blue tries for a top rope hurricanrana but gets caught and eventually powerbombed, though she’s able to kick out at two. Shortly after, referee Aubrey Edwards is checking on Blue, totally unaware as Julia Hart gets in a cheap shot while Statlander is on the top rope. Blue delivers an Avalanche Code Blue, and Stat isn’t kicking out from that.
After the bell, Blue attacks Statlander again, and Hart joins in with a sliding lariat. Who’s coming to the rescue? It’s Willow Nightingale, who runs over both heels and sends them fleeing.
Two of the Devil’s masked men take the ring for this tag team match, and MJF makes his way down too, but he sees Samoa Joe laid out backstage on the big screen and angrily says he’ll defend the titles alone (even with a brace on his left shoulder).
When the bell rings, MJF goes right after one of the masked men trying to unmask him. It doesn’t work, but he flips the other man out to the floor and hurls him into the steel steps. MJF goes for this guy’s mask but is hit from behind by a third man wielding a metal pipe.
A tag is made and the masked man hits the Heatseeker, and with his partner holding MJF’s feet, they make the pin and win the titles. All three goons stomp away on MJF, but even hobbling, Joe makes his way down with a steel chair.
Suddenly, the Devil appears on the big screen with the message “pleasure doing business with you” … which apparently is for Joe since he nails MJF in the back with the chair. Joe stands over MJF holding the world championship aloft as Dynamite goes off the air.
Will Jon Moxley, Swerve Strickland or Jay White emerge from the Gold League on AEW Dynamite tonight?
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Although we’ve come to the end of the road, still we can’t let go … of the Continental Classic, that is (h/t forever to Boyz II Men). The tournament has come to its penultimate installment, giving us two potentially amazing matches tonight on AEW Dynamite at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando.
In addition to the Blue and Gold League finals, MJF and Samoa Joe will finally get their hands on two of the assailants who have been plaguing them for weeks … maybe.
The Continental Classic Gold League has been a wild ride from the start, so it was only fitting that three men ended up tied atop the group. Jon Moxley, Jay White and Swerve Strickland will battle it out tonight to finally settle who moves on to the tournament final Saturday at Worlds End.
A case could be made for any of them to win, and it would be especially weird for Mox to not be involved in the crowning of a new champion. That said, it feels like Swerve’s time is now, and a victory here would be a big validation of that feeling.
The story AEW has told with Eddie Kingston through the Continental Classic has been a good one. The Mad King put both of his titles on the line in the tourney, ensuring the overall winner would have three belts … then immediately regretted his decision after he lost his first few round robin matches.
Now that he’s made it to the Blue League final after winning three straight, he still has a huge hurdle to overcome in Bryan Danielson — whose narrative has also been compelling since he’s wrestled all his bouts with one eye covered. Something has to give tonight in Orlando, and while we’re leaning toward Kingston overcoming the odds again, that’s certainly no guarantee.
While the identity of the AEW Devil was definitely the hottest thing going for a few weeks and fans are still curious about the eventual reveal, there can be little argument over the fact that the subplot has cooled a bit. Perhaps that will change when MJF and Samoa Joe get their long awaited pound of flesh tonight.
Except we’ve been here before and the Devil chose a sneak attack rather than a match. Will that change on Dynamite? We admit we’re curious.
Also scheduled for AEW Dynamite tonight:
We’re getting set to break away from taking it easy during the holidays to recap everything that goes down in Orlando tonight. Join us here at Wrestling Junkie at 8 p.m. ET if you’d like to follow along.
[lawrence-related id=42045]
In the spirit of giving, here’s a half-dozen things that would help AEW in 2024 and beyond.
Despite breaking world records, releasing a video game, and adding major names to its roster, AEW went through a lot in 2023.
It lost its top star and saw its ticket and television ratings decline. Even the video game game garnered middling reviews from critics and drew the ire of fans for its lack of depth and price.
So if there is any entity in professional wrestling that is in need of some holiday cheer, it is the good folks based out of Jacksonville. So while I was doing my holiday shopping, I made sure to save some imaginary cash for AEW.
Here are the six gifts AEW could use this holiday season.
See how AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash set up a three-way dance in the Continental Classic for next week.
Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends. We’re so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside … inside the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, that is, for an important night in the Continental Classic on AEW Dynamite.
The Gold League is down to its final matches for each man, and there’s plenty at stake (well, except for Mark Briscoe and Jay Lethal). It appears Jon Moxley and Swerve Strickland will advance to the semifinals, but Rush and Jay White can still throw a monkey wrench in things.
There’s big stuff going on in the women’s division too, as Riho and Saraya battle to see who gets a shot at Toni Storm’s AEW Women’s World Championship, and we’ll hear from MJF and Samoa Joe as well.
Let’s not waste any time. OKC, let’s start the show!
Along with 3 Continental Classic matches, AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash will feature Riho vs. Saraya for a shot at the world championship.
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You know what’s fun? The idea that a wrestling show is bursting at the seams with good stuff that it needs to be longer than usual. That appears to be the case with tonight’s AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash from Oklahoma City, which Tony Khan has already said was granted a five-minute overrun from TBS. Let’s see why it might be needed.
We’re getting down to the nitty gritty in the AEW Continental Classic, with the final matches in the Gold League taking place tonight. Jon Moxley is the leader with 12 points, having won every match so far. But he’s not quite guaranteed to finish first in the group, because his opponent tonight, Jay White, can draw even with him if victorious.
There’s drama in one of the other Gold League matches as well, because while Swerve Strickland is in good shape with nine points, Rush can draw even with him at nine by defeating him in OKC. It’s going to be an interesting finish to this group to see who will advance to the semifinals on next week’s episode of Dynamite.
(Oh, and Jay Lethal and Mark Briscoe are facing off as well, but pretty much just for the love of the game since both are winless so far.)
We already know Toni Storm will be defending her title at Worlds Ends on Dec. 30, but what still needs to be figured out is who her opponent will be. Dynamite will settle that with a match between Saraya and Riho.
Both wrestlers have held the AEW Women’s World Championship before, and while Riho feels like a fresher matchup for Storm, there’s more narrative history between Saraya and Toni given their time together as Outcasts. This is a legit pick ’em, which is the best kind of No. 1 contenders bout.
MJF and Samoa Joe are on a collision course for Worlds End, which is stressful enough. But Joe also promised to keep the world champ in one piece until the pay-per-view, and the Devil and his goons have made that a more difficult prospect than he might have figured.
We’ll hear from both champion and challenger tonight, but it would be shocking indeed if the Devil let them both be just 10 days away from the PPV.
Also on tap for AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash:
We’re properly stoked for this extra long episode of AEW Dynamite and will have full coverage of Holiday Bash later tonight.
The Gold League got very interesting on the Winter is Coming edition of AEW Dynamite.
OK, technically, winter isn’t coming for a few more days, but we’re definitely in that time of the year. AEW always rings in the season with a Winter is Coming episode of AEW Dynamite, which comes to us tonight from the Dallas-adjacent area of Arlington, Texas.
Tonight’s card features not one, not two, not even three, but four matches in the AEW Continental Classic. The biggest of them all pits Jon Moxley against Swerve Strickland in a battle of two men who have yet to taste defeat in the tournament. Will the self-titled “Ace of the World” show why he deserves that moniker, or can Swerve remain on his hot streak and take down yet another top star?
The Blue League matchup between Andrade El Idolo and Brody King is also worth noting. With Bryan Danielson still dangerous despite his ailments and Eddie Kingston desperate to climb back into contention, a victory tonight would be huge for either man.
Dynamite will also welcome back one of the pioneers of the AEW women’s division: Riho, the very first AEW Women’s World Champion. A lot has changed since she was last around the show, but she’ll get a fine welcome back (and by that I mean a potentially violent one) from Ruby Soho, provided Ruby can get her mind off her love life.
All this plus the Von Erichs return to Dallas, plus appearances from The Golden Jets and Samoa Joe. Let’s dive in before it gets too snowy.
(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)
Reminding us all that he promised to protect MJF, Samoa Joe says he was forced to look like a liar after MJF was laid out backstage last week. He suspects it was Hangman Adam Page thanks to the broken bottle and the smell of “Stetson and disappointment.”
That brings Page to the ring, and he wants Joe to accuse him straight up. Hangman doesn’t care about anything around MJF and the Devil, and their squabbling in turn brings out Roderick Strong and The Kingdom. After calling Page “my young boy,” Strong lays out what he feels is the evidence pointing to MJF being the Devil.
Page has enough and smashes Roddy with a right hand, and Aubrey Edwards has to step between Page and Joe … but it’s time for Page and Strong to have their match.
These guys definitely aren’t going to ease into this one after what we saw in the opening segment. Page hits a fallaway slam and a standing Shooting Star Press for a two count.
Strong battles back and stomps Page into the corner. He gets his own two count but keeps control of Hangman’s head on the mat until Page can free himself for a big boot.
There’s a quick vertical suplex for Page as he remains on the attack. Strong responds with a kneedrop and another near fall. Roddy is elevated out to the apron, and a jumping lariat leaves him wide open for a cross body. Hangman is thinking moonsault to the floor, but The Kingdom intervenes and prevents it. Strong drops Page’s back on the turnbuckles, bouncing him to the outside as side-by-side commercials arrive.
We return to find the two men trading blows on the feet until they both go for big shots at once and end up on the mat. Another exchange of strikes goes in Page’s favor as he stomps Strong into the corner.
Page eats a boot on the way in but responds with a Death Valley Driver for a two count. They head up to the top turnbuckle together, though Strong is knocked down, and while he escapes a moonsault, he is nailed by a popup powerbomb and has to scramble to kick out at two.
Strong hits a couple of shots and suplexes Page for another near fall. He rolls through his next suplex to chain into a Tiger Driver, then transitions right to the Stronghold. Hangman strains and manages to get a rope break.
The Kingdom gets involved again and pays for it, with both members taking a moonsault. Strong tries to take advantage of the commotion but is rolled up for two, but he isn’t so fortunate after the DeadEye.
The announcers point out the size disparity between the men despite the fact that Andrade looks like he’s been bulking up. El Idolo manages to take King to the mat, and he stays on his size headlock to ensure his foe doesn’t get rolling.
King is selling some of the damage to his neck even as he frees himself and sets off a battle of chops. Forearm shots force Andrade down, and he’s whipped into the corner but escapes from a choke and rebounds with a cross body and a one count.
Andrade takes flight with a moonsault to the floor from the middle turnbuckle before rolling his foe back inside. He looks like he’s bleeding a tad from the mouth.
Dueling chants break out from the crowd as Andrade gets chopped off the top rope all the way to the floor. King is still in command after ads until Andrade is able to send him face first into the turnbuckles.
Andrade tries to hoist King for a body slam, then switches to a couple of dragon screws instead. There’s a flying elbow strike to follow, and Andrade springs to his feet and flexes for the crowd.
A body slam has Andrade in position for a split-legged moonsault, and he covers for a near fall. He wants a corner charge as well, but King evades it and runs him over with a big lariat.
Andrade finds no escape in the corner as King finds him with a cannonball and covers for another two count. They trade forearm shots and chops, then other strikes as well. Andrade’s back elbow hits hardest, and he decides to climb up top again. King meets him by the buckles, but his superplex thoughts are foiled by a DDT into the top turnbuckle (and the buckle is exposed, though we didn’t see exactly when).
Andrade executes a hammerlock DDT and gets the three count, going to the top of the Blue League standings.
Dallas seems happy to see Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, who say the reason we haven’t seen them together recently is due to Big Bill and Ricky Starks. Jericho is none too pleased and calls out the tag team champs.
They oblige and immediately try to sow some distrust between the Golden Jets. Omega laughs because he actively doesn’t trust Jericho, then mocks Big Bill’s time in The Firm as well as making a reference to his time in WWE.
The upshot of all this is a challenge for the tag team championship, which Starks accepts for Worlds End. But he wants Jericho to remember that he beat The Ocho twice, so he’s already done half the work.
Since the champs brag that they don’t have a team name, the Golden Jets come up with some ideas that have to be bleeped out. They settle on Big Billy Starks before Jericho calls Starks a “better dressed, less charismatic version of Enzo Amore.”
That finally touches the nerve the Jets were aiming for, and the Worlds End match looks like it’s set.
Toni Storm joins the announce table for guest commentary, and Mariah May is with her but Luther has the day off. Soho gets off to a fast start against Riho, who hasn’t been on AEW TV since April.
A bridging suplex gets Riho a near fall, and a double stomp has Storm paying even more attention. Soho eats some elbows on the top rope before Riho comes off the top and picture-in-picture slides in.
Storm seems unimpressed by Riho’s status as the first ever AEW Women’s World Championship, so she probably enjoys Soho getting a two count with a suplex. Riho fights back with a crucifix bomb for her own near fall.
No Future puts Riho back down, but she’s able to barely kick out in time. Riho’s response comes in the form of a dragon suplex and a sliding double knee strikes, and that’s enough to wrap it up, drawing mock applause from Storm.
Rush is still alive to advance from this group and Jay Lethal is not. He can play spoiler, though, as the announcers point out. Lethal definitely looks good early, showing off the strut before Rush goes on offense.
The battle goes to the outside, where Rush is brutalizing his foe. They head back inside for Rush to lay in some chops, and Lethal actually waves him in for more. That might be a mistake as he gets beaten into the corner.
The Tranquilo pose is next before Lethal runs into a powerslam and a near fall. Unable to line up his top rope elbow, Lethal goes for the Lethal Combination instead, then nearly gets caught with an inside cradle for the pin.
Lethal’s corner charge get shim thrown into the turnbuckles instead, though he bounces back to stop the Bull’s Horns. Rush counters the Lethal Injection in turn to apply a sleeper, and Lethal ends up tapping out pretty quickly.
We’re reminded by the announce team that Rush needs White to lose or draw here to stay in contention to advance from the Gold League. The fans start a “Dem Boyz” chant for Briscoe as he hits a Death Valley Driver and the Froggy Bow. White heads for the floor to avoid a pin.
Though White grabs a camera cable, Briscoe stays on top of him and takes things back between the ropes. He bites White’s forehead but ends up getting flipped over the top rope, bouncing hard off the apron.
After commercials, White runs into a big lariat and both men are down. Briscoe is trying to shake off leg damage he suffered at Switchblade’s hands during the break, and he’s able to get off some Redneck Kung Fu and land a flying forearm shot.
Briscoe’s elbowdrop off the apron is on target as well, and he gets White back in the ring to cover him for two. The battle goes up to the top rope, where Briscoe clobbers White in the back of the head and hits the Razor’s Edge for a near fall.
The “Dem Boyz” chant is back in effect but no defense for Mark against a couple of dragon screws. He does pull off an inside cradle but sees White kick out at two and deliver a sleeper suplex.
Another one follows a brief exchange, and White wants a Blade Runner but gets countered with a t-bone suplex. Briscoe heads up top but catches knees on a Froggy Bow.
The Blade Runner follows and keeps Briscoe winless in the Continental Classic.
Buckle up for this one, as the fans start a “holy s–t” chant as soon as the bell rings. The two men are fine with taking it to the mat early on, and Mox plays some mind games with Swerve by kissing him on the forehead in the corner. Strickland repays him in kind.
The psych out work continues as Strickland tries to get under his opponent’s skin by outwrestling him. It sort of works as Mox returns firing strikes, and Strickland is able to survive them and nail a DDT out of the corner that’s good for a quick cover.
They fight to the outside, where Moxley is run face first into the post. He’s able to explode out of the corner with clothesline and rain down shots before biting Strickland on the arm. A stalling piledriver forces Swerve to kick out at two.
Moxley tries to trap Strickland’s wrists but is flung out to the floor, but he traps Swerve in the apron skirt and crotches him with apron before sending his opponent hard into the steel steps.
A commercial break comes and goes to find Moxley in control as the match passes the halfway point in its 20-minute time limit. He connects on a cutter but can once again only get two.
A Gotch-style piledriver leads to another cover; Strickland manages to kick out again. The two warriors exchange headbutts until Swerve can hit a flatliner, and while Moxley tries to shrug it off, Strickland’s big boot nearly pins him.
Strickland steals a page from the BCC playbook with hammer and anvil elbows, then follows with a House Call. He wants the Swerve Stomp put gets shoved off the top rope all the way to the floor.
Moxley tells referee Paul Turner to count him out, and Strickland beats the count only to slide into a Stomp. Swerve kicks out and we’ve got only five minutes left now.
Mox wants a choke and switches to a cross armbreaker instead. A steel chair is Moxley’s next idea, but Strickland flies out to nail him, then hits the Swerve Stomp with Mox seated in the chair.
Strickland flies off the top with the Swerve Stomp, pausing ever so briefly to sell pain to his right shoulder, but only gets two. Swerve wants the JBL Driver, but Moxley rolls him up and holds on for the three count.
Both the Gold and Blue League will have Continental Classic matches at AEW Dynamite Winter is Coming in Arlington.
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Let’s get something clear right out of the gate: We really, really don’t want to make any “everything is bigger in Texas” style jokes about tonight’s AEW Dynamite Winter is Coming broadcast from right near Dallas. It’s just that it’s so easy since the show will run over by five minutes to 10:05 p.m.
Sigh …
Anyway, here’s what to watch for tonight.
If you’ve been enjoying the inaugural Continental Classic, you’ll really like tonight’s show, which has four, count ’em, four tournament bouts. Even better, all four figure to be significant in some way.
The biggest is definitely Jon Moxley vs. Swerve Strickland. Both men are undefeated at 3-0 in their Gold League matches, so something has to give. Unless they go to a time limit draw, of course, but that hasn’t happened in the Classic to date.
Also of note is a clash between Blue League co-leaders Andrade El Idolo and Brody King. Along with Bryan Danielson, they both come into tonight with six points, so a win in Arlington would be big.
Though Roderick Strong has been doing some of the best character work of his career, it appears he’s ready to leave the wheelchair behind and get (more) serious. The question is whether he’s bitten off more than he can chew in Hangman Adam Page.
It’s not just that Page is one of AEW’s top stars, but he’s also reeling right now after two big match losses to Swerve. Hangman could desperately use a victory to right the ship, which makes him desperate — and dangerous. If AEW gives Strong a win here, that could signal even bigger things for him ahead.
It’s been a minute since we’ve seen the first ever AEW Women’s World Champion, but Riho made her return last week and injected herself right into the thick of the women’s division. She’ll take on Ruby Soho tonight to see if she can ease back into title contention.
Soho is a tough competitor but has been a bit … distracted lately by matters of the heart. We’ll see if she can keep her mind off Cool Hand Ang and get her hand raised against the former champ.
Also slated for the Winter is Coming episode of AEW Dynamite:
AEW Dynamite Winter is Coming begins at 8 p.m. ET on TBS and will run until 10:05, so join us back here at Wrestling Junkie for live results at that time if you aren’t able to watch live.
It also appeared Julia Hart welcomed a challenge from Abadon for her TBS Championship on AEW Rampage from Montreal.
It’s time for some magic. And by that we mean Daddy Magic Matt Menard, who is on guest commentary tonight on AEW Rampage.
Only fitting since Menard is from Montreal, sight of tonight’s show (which was taped on Wednesday). There’s some good stuff in store, including a Continental Classic match between Bryan Danielson and Daniel Garcia. There’s almost no way that’s not good stuff.
Let’s find out, shall we?
