A dramatic journey to the main event and an incredible Texas Death match were highlights from Full Gear.
In pro wrestling, it’s common to talk about someone as champ and another wrestler chasing them. When the main event of AEW Full Gear 2023 hits the Kia Forum tonight, it will be a rare case of one man filling both roles.
MJF is in the midst of an impressive AEW World Championship reign, but he hasn’t actually had his beloved Triple B title belt for some time. That’s because Jay White took physical possession of the championship and simply refused to give it back — and not for MJF’s lack of trying.
One expects that he’ll have to relinquish it if MJF emerges victorious in Inglewood. And considering White is the biggest underdog on the card at places that traffic in betting lines and such, there’s not a whole lot of belief that he’ll get the job done.
Other challengers seem to have better odds. The consensus seems to be that “Timeless” Toni Storm has a good shot at dethroning AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida, especially since Full Gear is being billed as Toni’s “Hollywood Homecoming.” Kris Statlander may be in a precarious situation as well, considering she’s going to be defending her TBS Championship against both Julia Hart and Skye Blue.
Amidst all of that, the most anticipated match of the night may be the Texas Death match between Swerve Strickland and Hangman Adam Page, the latest showdown in a program that has become very personal.
We’re looking forward to the whole Full Gear card, so here we go.
AEW Full Gear 2023 results from Inglewood:
(click on any match or segment with a link for full details)
The broadcast begins with a replay of the end of Zero Hour, where MJF was taken away in an ambulance, making his status for the main event seem uncertain
Adam Copeland, Darby Allin and Sting def. Christian Cage, Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne by pinfall in a match that involved Ric Flair taking a low blow and Cage accidentally hitting Luchasaurus with his tile belt and then running out on the match
Allin reminds the fans that this could be Sting’s last match ever in California and asks for more applause for the Icon, who returns to the ring to soak it all in
Tony Schiavone and Bryce Remsburg call out Jay White and Schiavone is about to say that White will get the world championship by default, but Adam Cole, on crutches, says he will defend it in MJF’s place
Eddie Kingston tells Renee Paquette that he wants to up his game, putting both of his titles on the line in the Continental Classic, so the winner will grab both those belts plus the Classic trophy
Big Bill and Ricky Starks def. Kings of the Black Throne, FTR and La Facción Ingobernable (Rush and Dralístico) in a Ladder match to retain the AEW World Tag Team championship
Julia Hart def. Kris Statlander and Skye Blue by pinning Blue to become the new AEW TBS Champion
The AEW blockbuster signing is revealed … and it’s Will Ospreay, who says he’s going to “finish up” with NJPW before joining on “the road to Revolution”
AEW’s penultimate pay-per-view offering of 2023 isn’t necessarily the promotion’s best on paper, as going into the show, I thought Forbidden Door, All In and WrestleDream had better cards.
However, with some revelations expected in the form of the unveiling of the mysterious “Devil” and the unveiling of the promotion’s acquisition of one of the “world’s best wrestlers,” the show could be quite eventful.
But who walks out of The Kia Forum in Los Angeles a winner? Here are my predictions for Full Gear.
The good news is MJF is still AEW World Champion. The bad news is the person in the Devil mask plagued him again.
It’s time to see what Daniel Garcia is all about on AEW Dynamite from Portland.
Garcia has had quite the journey during his time in AEW. Originally positioned as a no-nonsense technical wrestler, he did almost a complete 180 by joining the Jericho Appreciation Society. He’s now known even more for his hip-thrusting dance, though his in-ring skills certainly haven’t gone away.
He’s also competed against some of the best the company has to offer, including Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston and Orange Cassidy. Garcia is somehow still only 25 years old, so his best days may very well still be in front of him.
Perhaps this will be one of those days. Garcia has a shot at the AEW World Championship held by MJF, and while it would be shocking indeed for AEW to do a big title change on free TV just 10 days out from a pay-per-view — where it’s already advertised MJF vs. Jay White as a featured bout — stranger things have happened.
White has a hurdle of his own to clear tonight in Portland, where he’ll take on Mark Briscoe, who just recently returned from injury. White’s spot in the Full Gear match is on the line, but unlike MJF, the Switchblade has several buddies to watch his back and ensure he makes it out of Dynamite with that opportunity intact.
(And the title belt in his possession, since he’s been holding onto it even though it still belongs to MJF.)
Plus we’ll see Darby Allin and Sting in tag team action, Swerve Strickland vs. Penta, the in-ring return of Red Velvet, and a talking segment with the Golden Jets, Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho.
You ready? We’re ready to start recapping the action.
AEW Dynamite results from Portland:
(please scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)
MJF tells Tony Schiavone that he’s not losing tonight or to Jay White before he gets a video call from BFF Adam Cole, but MJF seems upset that Cole suggests again that he consider Samoa Joe’s offer to watch his back; Daniel Garcia seems offended that MJF says he’ll handle him and confirms that Max will get the professional wrestler tonight …
… but that’s not all because Roderick Strong stops by, and he vows to remind everybody “who the hell I am”
MJF def. Daniel Garcia by submission to retain the AEW World Championship
Mark Briscoe talks about how he and Jay White have locked up in tag team matches but never in a singles match and warns him about what’s coming later tonight
Darby Allin and Sting def. The Outrunners by submission
Schiavone interviews Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida in black and white, where Timeless Toni essentially blames Hikaru for what happened to her
Swerve Strickland def. Penta El Zero Miedo by pinfall, but Hangman Adam Page gets the beginning of some payback afterward with a chair assault and a DeadEye through a table
Jay White gets in some barbs on MJF and tells him to sit back and watch what he does to Briscoe
Don Callis and Kenny Omega cut dueling promos on each other
Renee Paquette talks to Omega and Chris Jericho, who are interrupted by the bitter Young Bucks; one thing leads to another, and they agree on a tag team match at Full Gear with some stakes: If the Bucks lose, the tag team title shot goes to the Golden Jets, who will break up if they lose
Samoa Joe def. Keith Lee by submission to retain the ROH World Television Championship, then relinquishes his title to concentrate on the world title held by MJF
Orange Cassidy says Jon Moxley must be nuts thinking he overlooked Mox, and he says he needs to beat Jon to be the champ he knows he is
The Gunns def. Bollywood Boyz in less than a minute, then boast about their talent and mock MJF ahead of their ROH title match against him and a mystery partner at Full Gear; as MJF watches backstage, Joe approaches him and he decides to move on
Moxley gives his rebuttal to Orange Cassidy, suggesting he’s setting a poor example for Hook and that he doesn’t deserve to make it to Full Gear; Wheeler Yuta tells Hook he crossed the wrong crew too
Lest we forget that Wardlow is gunning for MJF too, a video package showing him working out reminds us that, yes, he is
Julia Hart def. Red Velvet by pinfall, but her post-match attack is interrupted by Skye Blue, and eventually, Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale
Mariah May is in AEW and seems really excited to meet Toni Storm
Jay White def. Mark Briscoe by pinfall
MJF’s music hits after White’s match, and he sneaks in the ring from the back and lays out White’s Bullet Club Gold teammates with the Dynamite Diamond Ring; White heads for the safety of the ramp while MJF tells him playtime is almost over and says Switchblade will have to kill him to beat him because he is fighting for everyone who’s been riding with him, but then …
… the lights go out and people in all black are shown assaulting The Acclaimed, throwing Anthony Bowens through a window; the main in the Devil mask appears briefly as MJF heads backstage, too late to do anything, and Joe laughs at how he’s “running out of friends”
Full AEW WrestleDream results from Seattle including title matches, a betrayal and a familiar face from Christian Cage’s past.
What’s in a dream? We’re about to find out, pro wrestling style, thanks to AEW WrestleDream in Seattle.
Tony Khan conceived this new addition to the AEW pay-per-view lineup as a way to honor the great Antonio Inoki, the founder of New Japan Pro-Wrestling who passed away a year ago. While this isn’t a straight up dual-branded PPV with NJPW a la Forbidden Door, there will definitely be some New Japan talent who are prominently featured in the show.
There are also several levels of intrigue around the event. Khan hasn’t been shy about calling WrestleDream the end of one era of AEW and the beginning of a new one, but he has declined to elaborate on what that might mean.
Could there be some debuts? Perhaps. Many fans are anxious to see if WWE Hall of Famer Edge, likely using his real name of Adam Copeland, might show up since his WWE contract has expired. The fact that the main event will feature Darby Allin and Copeland’s longtime friend Christian Cage has only ratcheted up the hype.
Even if no one new shows up, the card should deliver on pure in-ring action as AEW usually does. Let’s see what the night has in store.
AEW WrestleDream Zero Hour pre show results:
Satoshi Kojima, Keith Lee, Athena and Billie Starkz def. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty), Diamante and Mercedes Martinez by pinfall
Claudio Castagnoli def. Josh Barnett by pinfall; afterward, Barnett gives Claudio a big show of respect afterward and says Inoki-san would be a fan of his, then says he will come after Castagnoli again down the road, to which he says “any time, any place” and pays respect in return
Luchasaurus def. Nick Wayne by pinfall
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens and Max Caster) and Billy Gunn def. TMDK (Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Bad Dude Tito) by pinfall to retain the AEW World Trios Championship
AEW WrestleDream results:
(click on ay match with a link for
MJF addresses the crowd, talking about how pissed he is that someone stole his mask and that Adam Cole isn’t here tonight; he also tells The Righteous exactly what he’s about to do to them
MJF def. The Righteous by pinfall to retain the ROH World Tag Team Championship
Eddie Kingston def. Katsuyori Shibata by pinfall to retain the ROH World Heavyweight Championship and NJPW Strong Openweight Championship
Kris Statlander def. Julia Hart by pinfall to retain the AEW TBS Championship
Young Bucks def. The Gunns, Lucha Bros. and Orange Cassidy and Hook to win a future AEW World Tag Team Championship shot
Cage and Wayne stomp away on Allin after the bell, but Sting comes down the ramp to make the save, except Luchasaurus arrives to aid the heels, and it looks bad for our heroes …
… until a short film plays that says “Rated R” on a road, bringing Adam Copeland, formerly known as Edge, to the ring; he takes a chair from Wayne and teases a Con-chair-to before using the chair to save the day; Sting and Copeland shake hands as the show goes off the air
During a media call earlier this week, Tony Khan revealed that the plans behind Sunday’s pay-per-view began back on Oct. 1 of last year, when he heard that legendary wrestler and founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling Antonio Inoki had passed away at the age of 79.
Khan told the media that he took a mental note of the date and immediately began the ideation process of putting on a tribute show with New Japan to honor Inoki. The result is WrestleDream.
The last time AEW did something with a distinct NJPW flavor was the dual-branded Forbidden Door event back in June, which produced some of the best wrestling matches of the year. With a title like WrestleDream, I’d imagine we’ll see more of the same Sunday night.
Here are my predictions for the event:
Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
What is a better way to headline a supposed dream card than with a dream match between two of the best technical wrestlers in the world?
When matches like this come around, fans usually cheer for both participants because they are so happy to see the match become a reality. However, I believe that can take away from a match.
Danielson and Sabre should have no such issue as it emanates merely two hours away from the former’s hometown of Aberdeen, Wash. With Seattle being Danielson’s surrogate hometown for the evening, I’d imagine most of the fans in the building will be rooting for the hometown hero, which should elevate the match.
When it comes to picking a winner, that’s where things become difficult. Danielson has openly discussed the end of his full-time in-ring career being in the near future, which could lead to him looking for someone to pass the torch to as this generation’s best technical wrestler.
Sabre would certainly fit that bill.
However, because this match takes place in Danielson’s neck of the woods, I believe he will walk away with the victory, sending the fans in Seattle home happy.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Adam Page
The segment between these two on this week’s edition of Dynamite was fantastic, and it added to my own personal excitement to see this encounter.
While that was fun, this is another match that is proving tough to predict. Why? Because both guys need the win.
Sure, Page has been to the top of the mountain before and has been heavily featured in the past, but he hasn’t been involved in a lot of eventful angles lately. A win here could re-energize his momentum and get him back to the top of the card.
However, Strickland has never been given a main event-caliber push, and it was only until recently that he was a consistent presence on the weekly television shows. And some of that credit should go to the hysterically funny Prince Nana.
Not to mention, it has been a while since Strickland picked up a big win. In my opinion, he’s due.
The match itself should be a classic.
Winner: Swerve Strickland
AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR (c) vs. Aussie Open
Another match, another potential classic for the world tag team titles.
While Aussie Open is a great team, I don’t see a reason to take the titles away from FTR at this point.
Winners: FTR
AEW TNT Championship (2-out-of-3 Falls): Christian Cage (c) vs. Darby Allin
I may not hit on all of my predictions, but if there is one that you can take directly to the bank, it is that Allin will take chances with his body during the match — and some of them will be unnecessary.
I can easily see Cage doing something that would damn near incapacitate Allin, only for it to be used as a means to have the latter come back from behind and win the match.
Winner: Darby Allin
AEW TBS Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Julia Hart
As excited as I am to see the TBS title get some shine on a pay-per-view, I am just as disappointed in the fact that Statlander versus Hart is the only women’s match on this card.
When AEW and New Japan link up, in my eyes, it is a showcase of the best professional wrestling the world has to offer outside of WWE. There are enough great women’s wrestlers out there to warrant putting more than one match on a card of this magnitude. But guess how many women’s matches were on Forbidden Door?
One.
There are enough wrestlers in AEW’s women’s division that would warrant more than one match. But guess how many were on All In, the supposed biggest wrestling show of all time?
One.
Guess how many women’s matches were on All Out?
One.
And no, I’m not counting the pre-show matches. I’m talking about the proper pay-per-view that people pay their hard-earned money to watch.
Somehow, there’s never enough time for more.
Both Statlander and Hart are great wrestlers, and I love seeing the latter’s maturation into someone who has main event potential, but there are more talented wrestlers in AEW’s women’s division. They deserve to be put on this stage as well.
As far as a winner, I’m going with Statlander. I do believe that Hart will have a star-making performance in defeat.
Winner: Kris Statlander
Ring of Honor World & NJPW Strong Openweight Championship: Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata
On paper, this sounds like it should be a banger, but with Kingston recently revealing that he is dealing with a lower back injury that forced him to step away from independent wrestling, I’m not sure what to expect.
Kingston also revealed that he recently signed a four-year extension with AEW. AEW making such a commitment tells me that the promotion is firmly behind Kingston as the ROH champ.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship: MJF (c) vs. The Righteous
As I wrote in a previous column, it would make total sense to have MJF lose to The Righteous and move on from tag team competition since his partner is sidelined with a broken ankle.
Winners: The Righteous
Chris Jericho & The Golden Elite (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) vs. The Don Callis Family (Will Ospreay, Sammy Guevara, & Konosuke Takeshita)
After all of the trouble the Callis family has caused over the last few weeks, my instinct is usually to take the good guys in this situation.
However, I feel like Guevara needs a chance to redeem himself after losing to Jericho at Grand Slam. Sure, he gained some measure of revenge by getting some of his heat back on Jericho after the match.
But I feel like in order for him to get the maximum amount of revenge, he needs to beat Jericho. Maybe that will happen in a one-on-one match one day in the future, but I would make it happen here, and further elevate The Don Callis Family in the process.
Winners: The Don Callis Family
No. 1 contender’s match for AEW World Tag Team Championship: Young Bucks vs. Lucha Bros. vs. The Gunns vs. Orange Cassidy and Hook
Since three of the four teams have already been heavily featured in the past, I’m going to call for the upset and go with the odd couple pairing of Cassidy and Hook to come out on top.
Winners: Orange Cassidy and Hook
Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta
Yuta is cool and all, but if Starks doesn’t pick up the win here then we have some serious problems.
Adam Cole also delivered some bad injury news on AEW Dynamite from Broomfield.
The card for AEW WrestleDream this Sunday seems pretty much set since there are already nine confirmed matches. But that doesn’t mean tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite from the greater Denver area couldn’t still shake up things for Seattle somehow.
It’s not 100% clear how just by looking at what’s been promoted for tonight’s show, to be fair. Willow Nightingale will take on Julia Hart in what should be a great pairing of two of AEW’s rising stars, but Hart already has a title shot this weekend against Kris Statlander.
The same is true of the four-way battle between Orange Cassidy, Penta, Matt Jackson and Austin Gunn. Will it be fun? Almost certainly. But those peeps are already half each of four teams who will be competing for a future tag team title shot in Seattle.
Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland will sign on the dotted line before they tear into each other at WrestleDream, so perhaps there will be a wrinkle added there. A last minute stipulation of some sort can’t be ruled out.
There’s also the unfortunate matter of a potential injury to Adam Cole. Tony Khan said that his status would be addressed on Dynamite, and since he and his Better Than You Bay Bay partner MJF are scheduled to speak, hopefully it won’t be to tell us that Cole can’t go come Sunday.
Certainly, Khan’s cryptic comments about the end of an era and the beginning of a new one, which he has chosen to keep enigmatic, have raised some eyebrows. Could there be some hints toward what might be coming on Dynamite?
There’s only one way to find out. Well, two ways, really. Let’s get into this show and see what’s what.
AEW Dynamite results from Broomfield:
(please scroll down for full details on any match or segment in bold)
Rey Fenix def. Jeff Jarrett by pinfall to retain the AEW International Championship
A video shows MJF trying to cheer up Adam Cole by hanging out together on a boat (his dad’s, apparently) off Long Island, but Max is disappointed that Adam was on the phone with Roderick Strong so long and teases hitting him with the Dynamite Diamond Ring and tossing him overboard … but Cole sees that coming (though MJF denies it) and explains it’s OK to have more than one friend, and they end up drinking beers with Captain Insano after catching him with a fishing rod
Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita are shown in Tokyo looking for Kenny Omega’s secrets or something, but that was apparently before tonight as they’re up next
Renee Paquette talks to The Don Callis Family, who revel in adding Sammy Guevara to their ranks and apparently have already attacked Kota Ibushi in Japan
After the Death Match with Bryan Danielson, Ricky Starks brags that he survived, but Wheeler Yuta drops by to call him an entitled prick and says if he disagrees, they can find out in Seattle … and the match has already been added to WrestleDream
Nick Jackson def. Brian Cage and Claudio Castagnoli, earning himself a shot at Fenix next week
The Righteous deliver a message to Adam Cole and MJF about fake friends ahead of their title match at WrestleDream
Adam Cole has bad injury news, and to make matters worse for MJF, Jay White has the Triple B in his sights
Jim Ross has a sitdown interview with Christian Cage and Darby Allin, who argue about the tutelage of Nick Wayne and their upcoming TNT Championship match at WrestleDream
Orange Cassidy def. Penta El Zero Miedo, Matt Jackson and Austin Gunn
Julia Hart def. Willow Nightingale by pinfall, then gets out of dodge when Kris Statlander hustles to aid Willow after the bell
Swerve Strickland and Hangman Adam Page sign on the dotted line, but not without some verbal barbs and a touch of violence
Backstage, Jay White is getting beaten up by men in all black and devil masks …
Better Than You Bay Bay will also be on AEW Dynamite tonight from the Denver suburb of Broomfield.
It’s almost time to dream. WrestleDream, that is, this Sunday in Seattle. The brand spanking new pay-per-view is a tribute to the late Antonio Inoki, but also has a bit of an air of mystery about it. Nevertheless, there is business to attend to first, and that means AEW Dynamite from the Denver adjacent town of Broomfield.
What’s on tap? Only two matches have bee promoted so far. One will see Willow Nightingale slightly less cheerful than usual as she takes on Julia Hart. An all business attitude might help since Hart has been on a tear as of late, and will face Kris Statlander for the TBS Championship on Sunday.
The other advertised bout for Dynamite is a four-way dance that is a preview of the four-way tag team top contenders match on the WrestleDream card. Penta, Matt Jackson, Orange Cassidy and Austin Gunn will all do battle tonight to get … we suppose a mental leg up on the competition for the weekend.
Talking segments? Yes, we’ve got some of those too. Hangman Adam Page and Swerve Strickland will have the contract signing for what has quickly become one of the most personal WrestleDream feuds. Christian Cage and Darby Allin will have a sitdown interview with Jim Ross ahead of their 2-out-of-3 falls title match in Seattle. And we’ll hear from Adam Cole and MJF, who will defend their ROH tag team titles against The Righteous on Sunday.
Could there be more beyond what AEW is promoting? Quite possibly, especially when it comes to matches as the above doesn’t feel like enough to fill two hours. But that’s why we watch, right?
We’ll certainly be watching starting at 8 p.m. ET on TBS. If you aren’t able to do the same, please consider visiting us again at Wrestling Junkie as we’ll have live results and updates as they happen.
Here’s what happened on the Grand Slam edition of AEW Rampage on Friday, Sept. 22.
FLUSHING, N.Y. — They might have held their breath for a moment or two, but the talent and staff of AEW filled Arthur Ashe Stadium for over four hours of pro wrestling on Wednesday night.
AEW struggled to sell tickets in the weeks leading up to the show, possibly due to prices, having run this venue at the same time of year before or other circumstances, once making Grand Slam unlikely to be a base hit. Even with a strong card, fans were not buying in.
To combat this, last week, AEW began a special “buy one, get one free” ticket offer to jumpstart sales. That helped, but so did MJF’s rigorous promotional tour across seemingly every local New York morning show — a tactic scarcely used in this pro wrestling’s company young existence.
AEW found a way to make Grand Slam 2023 work and can learn lessons from it. But quality wrestling pushed the negative attention aside, between two hours of Dynamite and an extensive Rampage taping.
Both before and after the main show, AEW recorded matches for its Friday night series that featured numerous top stars, title bouts and promos that would normally happen on Dynamite or Collision. AEW always touts Grand Slam as its longest Rampage show, extending it to two hours instead of the usual 60 minutes. So once Dynamite ended, the action was hardly finished.
How did the action shape up? Let’s take a look at the results of what happens on the Sept. 22 Grand Slam episode of Rampage.
AEW Grand Slam Rampage results from Arthur Ashe Stadium:
Santana def. Bear Boulder. Ortiz stepped out on the stage after the match, but Santana barely acknowledged him. It seems their real-life animosity will translate to a storyline.
Orange Cassidy, Hook and Kris Statlander def. Matt Menard, Angelo Parker and Anna Jay. A fun match that included a triple suplex spot that popped the crowd.
Darby Allin and Sting def. Luchasaurus and Christian Cage by pinfall after Nick Wayne distracted Christian. The crowd chanted “Who’s your daddy?” after the match.
Don Callis (with Konosuke Takeshita) cut a promo about why he recruited Sammy Guevara to work with him. Guevara eventually joined him in the ring to explain his reasoning for turning on Chris Jericho and aligning with Callis. It was difficult to hear most of what Callis and Guevara said because of the crowd booing.
As Guevara explained himself, Jericho interrupted and started brawling with Guevara and Takeshita. Kenny Omega made the save to a great reaction, but when Jericho went to shake his hand, Omega did not reciprocate.
Hangman Page and The Young Bucks def. Toa Liona, Kaun and Brian Cage to win the ROH Six-Man Tag Team Championship by pinfall, which pleasantly surprised the crowd. Swerve Strickland, who was very over with the New York fans, walked onto the stage during the match to stare down Page and distract him.
Julia Hart def. Skye Blue by submission. Willow Nightingale made the save for Skye when Julia would not release her submission hold.
Tony Khan came out to a mixed reaction (it was his third appearance of the night) to tease Grand Slam one day becoming an AEW pay-per-view. That likely wasn’t for television.
The Righteous def. Best Friends, The Kingdom and The Hardys by pinfall to become the No. 1 contender for the ROH Tag Team Championship. It will be interesting to see how Adam Cole’s injury impacts the eventual match.
The Acclaimed def. The Dark Order by pinfall to retain the AEW Trios Championship. They invited the Impractical Jokers into the ring after the match for a scissor party.
AEW Rampage live notes:
Kudos to a crowd that had already been there for three hours for making as much noise as they did when Sammy Guevara and Don Callis cut promos.
Julia Hart’s live entrance has some pretty neat aesthetics that stand out amongst most of the roster.
A special edition “Better Than You Bay Bay” shirt in New York Mets colors and font was sold at the merch shops.
Two titles were also on the line in the Motor City, but did either one change hands?
Unlike many pro wrestling stables, The Elite and Blackpool Combat Club don’t really have designated leaders. They’re more collections of equals in many ways. But Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley are certainly the frontmen when necessary, and that’s extremely relevant to this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite in Detroit.
See, the beef between the two groups has gotten to the point where something dramatic needs to be done to settle it. And well, Omega and Moxley stepping in against each other in a steel cage fits the bill.
That’s a spectacular main event for free TV by any reckoning, but Little Caesars Arena will also be treated to a pair of title bouts: Orange Cassidy will defend his International Championship against Daniel Garcia, and House of Black will put their World Trios Championship on the line against Bandido and Best Friends under their unique “House Rules.”
There’s more, too, but let’s not waste any more time. Here we go.
AEW Dynamite results from Detroit:
(click on any match with a link for full details)
Claudio Castagnoli def. Rey Fenix by pinfall, meaning he and a partner of his choice will get a ROH World Tag Team Championship shot against the Lucha Bros.
Renee Paquette welcomes Miro back to Dynamite, but he ignores her question and walks right into Tony Khan’s office
MJF compares the AEW Pillars to The Beatles, calling himself Paul
A hype video is shown for the Steel Cage match, not that we need it to get any more amped up
FTR come out to apologize to Mark Briscoe, but Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal want an answer to their challenge, and Briscoe reveals that the title match is on for Double or Nothing — with Mark himself as special guest referee; Sonjay Dutt spits moonshine in Dax Harwood’s eyes, and in his blind fury, he accidentally piledrives Briscoe
Paquette wants to know how Chris Jericho feels about Adam Cole getting the best of him, but The Ocho has lawyered up and gotten a restraining order, but that doesn’t apply to Roderick Strong, who challenges Jericho to a Falls Count Anywhere match … and Jericho accepts only to find that Strong has ensured that the JAS will be banned from the building next week when it goes down
Thunder Rosa makes her return to Dynamite, also passing Paquette on her way to talk to Khan
A video promotes Sammy Guevara, which includes testimonials from Jericho and Tay Melo
Khan puts over tonight’s show but also wants everyone to tune in for one of the most important AEW announcements ever
Orange Cassidy def. Daniel Garcia by pinfall to retain the AEW International Championship
Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter accept the challenge from The Outcasts for a trios match next week on Dynamite
Tony Schiavone gets some time with Christian Cage, who brags about his ability to get a title shot and mocks the relationship between Wardlow and Arn Anderson
Another hype video shows Darby Allin preparing for his world title shot, and offers insight from Sting and Darby himself
Julia Hart def. Anna Jay by submission in a No Holds Barred match
Best Friends and Bandido are ready for their title shot and decide the final rule for the Open House Challenge is going to be “all witches are barred from ringside”
House of Black def. Best Friends and Bandido by pinfall in an Open House Challenge to retain the AEW World Trios Championship
Backstage, Cassidy has been laid out by Kyle Fletcher of Aussie Open
The final Pillars hype video is about Jack Perry, which strangely has validation from Christian Cage
Ricky Starks is sick of Bullet Club, but Jay White remains unimpressed ahead of their match next week on Dynamite
A Steel Cage match between two of AEW’s biggest stars, two title matches and much more highlight the card from Detroit.
Sometimes you just need to settle things inside a steel cage. Well, in pro wrestling, anyway, we don’t recommend using that method for resolving run of the mill disputes. Happily, Jon Moxley and Kenny Omega are indeed pro wrestlers, two of the best, in fact, so they can go that route on this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite in Detroit.
The fun part of their shared history is that a Steel Cage match doesn’t even represent an uptick in violence for them, considering they’ve already had an Unsanctioned Lights Out match and an Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch. But the ongoing enmity between Omega’s Elite and Moxley’s Blackpool Combat Club more or less demands something dramatic at this point, and this qualifies — on free TV, no less.
Yet this isn’t the only match worth noting for this week, as Tony Khan’s claims that this is a PPV-caliber card aren’t off base. Rey Fenix and Claudio Castagnoli will face off in a Double Jeopardy match where shots at each of their ROH titles are at stake. House of Black will defend their World Trios Championship under their own unique House Rules for the first time against Bandido and Best Friends. And the most workmanlike champion in major pro wrestling, Orange Cassidy, will put up his International Championship against a very real threat in Daniel Garcia.
Plus there’s a No Holds Barred match between friends turned enemies Julia Hart and Anna Jay, and we’ll hear from both Christian Cage and FTR. Stacked, you say? Sure seems like it to us.
That means if you won’t be at Little Caesars Arena in person, you’ll want to be watching at 8 p.m. ET on TBS. Failing that, we’ll have full results and all the relevant details from Dynamite here on Wrestling Junkie later tonight.
