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See the best photos from the return of The Elite as they took on Death Triangle at Full Gear 2022.
The Elite is back.
While never officially announced by AEW, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks were out of action for several months serving suspensions resulting from the backstage altercation following All Out. They returned in dramatic fashion at Full Gear, taking on Death Triangle in a thrilling bout that was revealed to be the first in a best-of-seven series.
Check out some of the best photos of The Elite’s return in Newark here. (Photos courtesy of All Elite Wrestling)
Get set for the week in WWE and AEW with Opening Bell: quick previews of Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Rampage.
Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week we’ve just begun.
Before you dig into your turkey and stuffing or other foods of choice this week, there’s business to take care of on Raw. The women’s WarGames teams are set for Survivor Series, but which side will have the advantage is up for grabs on Monday in Albany.
To settle that important question, Asuka will take on Rhea Ripley. The winner will get a numerical advantage every few minutes during WarGames, so both Team Bianca Belair and Team Damage CTRL will be watching anxiously (and perhaps even intervening) to see who comes out on top.
And that’s all WWE has officially revealed for this week’s show so far. Considering Survivor Series WarGames only has four matches announced and the women’s match still has one participant yet to be revealed, smart money suggests we’ll get some answers on Monday night.
AEW is headed back to one of its homes away from home, the Windy City, for the pre-Thanksgiving episode of Dynamite. The biggest thing on the card is determining a No. 1 contender for MJF, who you may have heard is now the AEW World Champion following Full Gear. Ethan Page and Ricky Starks will wrestle for that honor in the final of a tournament that’s been going for a few weeks.
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But the show is pretty loaded beyond that. The Elite and Death Triangle tore it down at Full Gear, where it was revealed they’re going to do it again … and again and again, in a best-of-7 series for the AEW World Trios Championship. Match two takes place Wednesday on Dynamite.
Chris Jericho is still The Ocho, but he’ll get a formidable challenge for his ROH World Championship from Tomohiro Ishii of NJPW. And Orange Cassidy, who’s been putting his All-Atlantic Championship on the line regularly, will face perhaps his physically biggest test as champ in the form of Jake Hager (and his purple bucket hat).
A good night of wrestling before turkey? It sounds like it.
We still don’t know much about what AEW has planned for Rampage this holiday week, but we do know one thing: It’s not going to be on at 10 p.m. ET like usual.
Nope, Rampage is moving earlier, much earlier, for this pre-taped show from the Chi. It will air at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on TNT. So … just be thankful for some afternoon wrestling, we suppose.
We’re bummed this venue is no longer the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, even though we’re sure the folks at Amica Mutual are lovely. It’s unusual to know much more about the SmackDown card than the Raw card on a Monday, but that’s exactly the case here for this big show on the night before Survivor Series.
The men’s WarGames advantage will be up for grabs in a tag team match between the undisputed champs, The Usos, and the brothers from another mother, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. It would certainly help the Brawling Brutes and company if they can gain an edge over the Bloodline.
Speaking of the Brutes, another one of their own, Butch, is still alive in the SmackDown World Cup, and will take on Santos Escobar Friday in one semifinal. The other semifinal will also take place in Providence, when Ricochet goes up against Braun Strowman.
Last but certainly not least, Shotzi and Ronda Rousey continue to circle each other ahead of their title match at Survivor Series WarGames. They’ll meet in a tag team match Friday, with Shotzi teaming with Raquel Rodriguez while Rousey calls upon her BFF, Shayna Baszler.
You’ll be all shopped out by Black Friday night anyway, so this is the best possible way to end Thanksgiving week.
Get quick AEW Rampage results for the November 11, 2022 episode, featuring Orange Cassidy vs. Lee Johnson for the All-Atlantic Championship.
Who would have imagined that Orange Cassidy would be the hardest working champion in AEW? It doesn’t really fit his personality at all, but Freshly Squeezed is back at it again on AEW Rampage, defending his All-Atlantic Championship after several tough defenses just last week.
This time out, it’ll be Lee Johnson getting a shot at the gold. And speaking of gold, the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament was supposed to have all three of its remaining first round matches on tonight’s show. However, Ricky Starks isn’t cleared to compete, kicking his match with Lance Archer into next week.
We’ll still see two other tourney matches as Brian Cage takes on Dante Martin and Rush collides with Bandido. The winners of those matches will join Ethan Page in the semifinals after his victory on Dynamite.
Let’s check out what’s going down as we wrap up the week in AEW on TV.
Get set for the week in WWE and AEW with Opening Bell: quick previews of Raw, SmackDown, Dynamite and Rampage.
Welcome to the Opening Bell, where we round up what’s been announced for WWE (Raw and SmackDown) and AEW (Dynamite and Rampage) programming for the week we’ve just begun.
What does Brock Lesnar want? That’s a valid question after the Beast Incarnate showed up unexpectedly on Raw last week and destroyed Bobby Lashley. We should get more insight into what he’s got his sights set on now when he appears live this week in OKC.
The beneficiary of Lesnar’s attack was Seth Rollins, who defeated an injured Lashley to become the new United States Champion. He’ll get little time to enjoy it, however, as he has to defend it against heated rival Matt Riddle on Raw.
Dexter Lumis has popped up more than once without warning to torment The Miz, despite not having a WWE contract. That could change after Raw, as the two men will finally go head to head in an official match, with Lumis earning a deal if he wins.
Also scheduled for this week’s episode of Raw:
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The MLB Playoffs have claimed TBS for this Wednesday evening, so Dynamite is taking over Tuesday night instead. And it’s from the hometown of AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, but he’s not going to have a restful stay at home considering he’s defending his title against Hangman Adam Page.
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But wait, that’s only the first of four, yes four, championship matches scheduled for Dynamite. In what should be a respectful yet fierce encounter, Toni Storm puts her AEW Women’s World Championship on the line against Hikaru Shida. The Ocho, Chris Jericho, will try to fend off a ROH World Championship challenge from Dalton Castle. And the Trios titles will also be up for grabs as Death Triangle defends against Best Friends and Orange Cassidy.
Phew. That is a loaded card, and we’ll also hear from MJF. Fans definitely won’t want to forget Dynamite is on a different night this week.
Maybe Ohio is the pro wrestling center of the world for this week, as SmackDown heads to Toledo. We already know there will be a championship match on the card, as the Damage CTRL duo of Dakota Kai and IYO SKY tries to retain their titles against Shotzi and Raquel Rodriguez.
A former champion will also be in action, as Liv Morgan faces off with Sonya Deville. Liv’s Extreme Rules confrontation with Ronda Rousey seems to have changed her for good, but is it a change for the better?
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Logan Paul is also scheduled to appear on SmackDown, plus it would be strange if Bray Wyatt didn’t show up as well.
Rampage is back in the spiritual home of AEW, Daily’s Place, with a couple of matches already announced. Hook is a man of few words, but he’ll try to let his actions speak for themselves as he defends his FTW Championship against Ari Daivari following Daivari’s unsuccessful attempt to simply buy the title from its holder.
And 10 of the Dark Order has been the subject of numerous recruiting efforts from Jose The Assistant. He’ll try to end them for good by battling Rush, because if 10 wins, Jose must leave him alone going forward.
