Tag: The Righteous

AEW Collision results 03/30/24: Adam Copeland is Alwayz Ready for 1st title defense

Several Dynasty matches also came into focus during AEW Collision in Ontario.

What do you do when your bigger competition is about to have its biggest event of the year? Just keep keeping on and put on the best shows you can, which is what AEW Collision will hopefully be tonight in Ontario.

AEW has found some hot crowds during its current Canadian swing, and this should be no exception since Adam Copeland is making the first defense of his TNT Championship. We won’t know who the challenger is until their music hits, which is always fun.

Other big business (no pun intended) for Collision includes a pair of tag team title tournament matches that will help advance two duos toward a title match at Dynasty. We’ve got FTR and Big Bill/Ricky Starks to move on, but we shall see.

Here’s how it all went down.

AEW Collision results from London, Ontario:

  • Adam Copeland kicks off the show by saying how grateful he is to be in Ontario and how the stakes are raised for the Cope Open since he’ll be defending his TNT Championship in these matches now; Copeland makes the call for someone to come out and accept the challenge, and it’s answered by Matt Cardona

  • Adam Copeland def. Matt Cardona by pinfall to retain the AEW TNT Championship
  • After the match, the lights go out and come back on to reveal Malakai Black standing in the ring, bringing on a “holy s–t” chant from the crowd; Buddy Matthews attacks Copeland from behind, and Mark Briscoe fares poorly while trying to help him, but the appearance of Eddie Kingston to reinforce the faces gets the House of Black to pull a disappearing act
  • Lexy Nair asks FTR about their strategy against The Infantry, to which Cash Wheeler says it’s to not look past their opponents since they’ve been on a losing streak, and Dax Harwood says they need to make sure The Infantry’s Cinderella story ends tonight

  • Daddy Ass cuts a promo on Jay White ahead of their meeting on the next episode of Dynamite, and The Acclaimed have some choice words for all of Bullet Club Gold as well

  • FTR def. The Infantry by pinfall in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarterfinal
  • Nair talks to Big Bill and Ricky Starks, who are confident about defeating Top Flight despite not having a match in quite some time

  • Copeland says he knows the TNT title makes him a marked man, but he isn’t crazy about the House of Black jumping in his business, and challenges the House to a six-man match at Dynasty against him, Briscoe and Kingston, both of whom add their own two cents

  • Kyle O’Reilly def. JD Drake by submission, and is immediately hoisted onto the shoulders of the Undisputed Kingdom, who clearly want him to join up
  • Top Flight def. Big Bill and Ricky Starks by pinfall in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarterfinal; also appears that Starks may have suffered an injury toward the end of the match
  • Christopher Daniels makes his own House of Black challenge, the cool thing to do tonight, apparently
  • Thunder Rosa def. Lady Frost by pinfall
  • Renee Paquette speaks to Toni Storm, who asks Mariah May if she’s been plotting to get a title shot all these months and ends up kissing her, saying she sees a lot of Mariah in her

  • Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli and Katsuyori Shibata def. Lance Archer and The Righteous by pinfall as Shibata pins Vincent

AEW Rampage results 03/29/24: Matt Menard seeks his first title match

A look at the results from the March 29 episode of AEW Rampage.

The latest stop on AEW’s Canada tour takes Tony Khan’s crew to Quebec City for Rampage. With shows on the schedule already featuring a heavy north-of-the-border flavor, the March 29 episode will prove no different, with local favorite “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard in action. The part-time AEW commentator faces Roderick Strong in an AEW International Championship match to earn his first-ever AEW title bout.

While this isn’t AEW’s strongest Rampage card, it still has veterans such as Dustin Rhodes and The Butcher competing. Rising star Mariah May receives another opportunity to showcase her in-ring prowess, as well.

Let’s see what this hour of action has in store.

AEW Rampage results from Quebec City:

  • Dustin Rhodes def. The Butcher by pinfall
  • Jay White and Austin and Colten Gunn show up at Daddy Ass’ house for dinner, and while they search for him and The Acclaimed, they destroy the house; White says if The Acclaimed want the version of Jay White who dominated the pro wrestling world, it’s who they will receive; Daddy Ass arrives while his sons and White are there, however, chasing them away
  • Deonna Purrazzo def. Rose by submission; it was easily Purrazzo’s most aggressive performance since joining AEW
  • A video package teases Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay at AEW Dynasty
  • Toni Storm joins Mariah May in the ring and says she can’t compete due to a hamstring injury, so May will take her place against Nikita
  • Mariah May def. Nikita by pinfall
  • Zak Knight says in an interview backstage that he’s in Angelo Parker’s head; Parker attacks Knight by surprise and makes Saraya’s brother flee; Ruby Soho kisses Parker but walks away after accusing him of going back on his word looking for a fight
  • A promo package from The Righteous teases their match with Lance Archer against Katsuyori Shibata and the BCC for the Saturday, Mar. 30 episode of Collision
  • Roderick Strong def. “Daddy Magic” Matt Menard by pinfall in an AEW International Championship Elimination match; Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta save Menard from a post-match attack at the hands of Matt Taven and Mike Bennett; The Young Bucks intervene at the end of the brawl, hitting low blows and EVP Triggers on Cassidy and Beretta to close the show

AEW Collision results 01/13/24: House of Black keeps FTR down bad

Even with Daniel Garcia to help, FTR couldn’t overcome the House of Black on AEW Collision.

There’s a really, really cold football playoff game right now. You know where it will be much warmer and still plenty entertaining? In Norfolk, the site of tonight’s episode of AEW Collision.

While there are a few interesting matches on the card tonight, the main event figures to be FTR and Daniel Garcia teaming to face the House of Black. The House has been messing with FTR for some time now, claiming to be the only ones who love them.

But Garcia proved that wrong when he came to the duo’s rescue after an assault by … yes, you got it, the House of Black. Guess it’s tough love.

It may be an unlikely team-up, but it’s one that works as Garcia tries to balance his love of dancing with his road back toward being more pro wrestler and less sports entertainer. FTR can definitely help him with that. Let’s see if they do that and come out with a win tonight.

AEW Collision results from Norfolk:

  • Adam Copeland is out in his gear, meaning it’s time for the Cope Open; he asks who will step up, and he gets … Lee Moriarty, who gets a short hype video before he takes on Copeland
  • Adam Copeland def. Lee Moriarty by submission; after the match, Copeland returns to the mic and warns Christian Cage that “I’m still coming for your scrawny ass”
  • Lexy Nair asks FTR and Daniel Garcia if they can get along well enough to deal with House of Black, and they seem to be like-minded enough about what they’re doing that it won’t be a problem

  • Nair talks to Sammy Guevara and Chris Jericho ahead of their tag team title match on Battle of the Belts
  • Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage and Gates of Agony) def. Lance Archer and The Righteous by pinfall to retain the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship; afterward, Prince Nana calls his team the greatest ROH six-man tag team champs of all time and scoffs at Bullet Club Gold before challenging them for the next episode of Dynamite
  • Staying busy tonight, Nair talks to Preston Vance, who gets interrupted by Roderick Strong (and The Kingdom) and ends up angrily telling Strong they can fight next week
  • Dustin Rhodes def. Willie Mack by pinfall
  • Bullet Club Gold is definitely up for Mogul Embassy’s challenge

  • Rhodes is none too happy about Christian Cage interrupting his backstage interview with Renee Paquette, and even Killswitch and some insults about Dusty Rhodes won’t stop him from daring Cage to put his TNT title on the line next Wednesday
  • Hangman Adam Page def. JD Drake by pinfall
  • Deonna Purrazzo def. Red Velvet by submission
  • Hook def. … uh, someone by submission and tells Samoa Joe “I’ll see you Wednesday”
  • House of Black (Brody King, Buddy Matthews and Malakai Black) def. Daniel Garcia and FTR by pinfall
  • After the bell, King goes after Daddy Magic Matt Menard, who was out doing guest commentary, but Garcia and FTR come back in swinging chairs and are able to chase the House from the ring … except for King, who takes the Big Rig/Shatter Machine

AEW Collision results 11/4/23: FTR still figuring out friend from foe

AEW Collision did a nice job of loading up the next episode of AEW Dynamite.

What do you do when you have a bunch of tag teams whose subplots all kind of overlap? Throw them into one big eight-man tag main event, which is what’s happening tonight on AEW Collision from Wichita.

FTR is still hot for another shot at Big Bill and Ricky Starks, the duo who beat them for the AEW World Tag Team Championship. Gates of Agony has been making trouble for FTR and other face teams too … an umbrella that now apparently includes La Faccion Ingobernable.

So yes, all four teams are going to be involved in the last match tonight. Will that settle anything? Probably not. But that’s just how you gotta roll sometimes in wrestling.

There’s some other interesting stuff on the card, beginning with the first match that’s wasting exactly zero time to get started.

AEW Collision results from Wichita:

  • AR Fox isn’t waiting for the Elton John song to start the show, attacking Swerve Strickland in what passes for a cold open to Collision
  • Swerve Strickland def. AR Fox by pinfall, after which …
  • … FTR comes out to brawl with Gates of Agony, and are soon joined by Big Bill and Ricky Starks, as well as La Faccion Ingobernable, and the faces end up clearing the ring as House of Black watches from somewhere in the seats
  • MJF responds to Daniel Garcia calling him out on Rampage, and he seems OK with it since Garcia is a young guy, but wants to know if he’s getting the professional wrestler or the sports entertainer
  • More from MJF, who sarcastically congratulates Jay White for pinning him and calls Switchblade a nobody; needless to say, Bullet Club Gold sees that pin somewhat differently, and White says his group has earned the night off but will be back on Wednesday
  • Kip Sabian is pissed off (his words) at Mark Briscoe, and challenges him to find two partners to face him and The Workhorsemen
  • Roderick Strong complains that no one is taking neck health seriously enough, but The Kingdom is going to prove it’s important tonight
  • The Kingdom def. Brixton Nash and Jameson McGregor by pinfall
  • Briscoe gets an offer from FTR to do double duty and team with him, but Mark says while he appreciates it, he has a couple other guys in mind and will holler at them after the show
  • Darby Allin def. Lance Archer by pinfall, but Jake Roberts says he has more guys to go after him: The Righteous, who distract Darby long enough for Lance to him him with the Blackout
  • Kris Statlander thanks Skye Blue for doing the right thing, and even though Skye says she only did it for Willow Nightingale, Willow tries to convince Kris that all of them are friends

  • Alex Abrahantes is interrupted by Strickland, but Abrahantes takes exception to Swerve’s home invasion of Hangman Adam Page and says Penta will beat some respect into him next week

  • The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass are ready to celebrate 69 days as trios champs, complete with balloons, streamers and the whole nine yards; Anthony Bowens has a special gift for Max Caster, which turns out to be a video message from MJF saying Caster has earned his respect and he’s starting to like The Acclaimed, but just when the segment looks like it’s going to end …

  • … Dalton Castle and The Boys take the 69 trophy that The Acclaimed had over at the announce table and smash it; that sets off a brawl between the two teams and ends up in a match
  • The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass def. Dalton Castle and The Boys to retain the AEW World Trios Championship
  • Andrade El Idolo says he’ll give his answer to C.J. Perry next week, face to face

  • Mark Briscoe, Dustin Rhodes and Keith Lee def. Kip Sabian and The Workhorsemen by pinfall
  • Briscoe challenges White for his title shot at Full Gear on this coming episode of Dynamite
  • Willow Nightingale def. Emi Sakura by pinfall
  • Samoa Joe says he hasn’t heard back from MJF on his offer to watch his back and says the champ will keep enduring the pain he has been; also Lee stops by to challenge him for his ROH World Television Championship on Dynamite
  • La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush and Preston Vance) and FTR def. Big Bill, Ricky Starks and Gates of Agony by pinfall when Rush pins Kaun, but LFI walks away from FTR without shaking hands afterward
  • House of Black has a message for FTR on the big screen, but they appear in the ring to deliver it hands on until Blackpool Combat Club’s Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta arrive with a steel chair to drive them off

AEW WrestleDream results: Seattle sees thrills plus a Rated R debut

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
  • Swerve Strickland def. Hangman Adam Page by pinfall
  • Ricky Starks def. Wheeler Yuta by pinfall
  • Bryan Danielson def. Zack Sabre Jr. by pinfall
  • The Don Callis Family (Konouke Takeshita, Sammy Guevara and Will Ospreay) def. Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi by pinfall
  • FTR def. Aussie Open by pinfall to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship
  • Christian Cage def. Darby Allin 2-1 in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match to retain the AEW TNT Championship after Nick Wayne turns on Allin during the match
  • 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

AEW WrestleDream predictions: Who walks out of Seattle on top?

Who will emerge victorious in the first ever AEW WrestleDream in Seattle? Vaughn Johnson gives his picks for all the matches.

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/-Uvr4IoBLH5_irLup9Ye/1695990725898_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”PHNjcmlwdCBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGxheWVyLnBvcHRvay5jb20vYW55Y2xpcC13aWRnZXQvbHJlLXdpZGdldC9wcm9kL3YxL3NyYy9scmUuanMiIGRhdGEtYXI9IjE2OjkiIGRhdGEtcGxpZD0iZnZreG00cnVqZnh1ZXRjaWd2cHdzNHNtb3Z5ZHN3bGYiIHB1Ym5hbWU9IjE5OTgiIHdpZGdldG5hbWU9IjAwMTZNMDAwMDJVMEIxa1FBRl9NODMzMCI+Cjwvc2NyaXB0Pg==”][/anyclip-media]

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.

Winner: Ricky Starks

Adam Cole’s injury brings everyone’s favorite bromance to a screeching halt

It’s a tough break for Adam Cole, but also unfortunate for fans who will be deprived of seeing what was next between him and MJF.

AEW fans waited with bated breath for an entire week hoping for some good news.

They were hoping that whatever ailed current Ring of Honor World Tag Team champion Adam Cole wouldn’t keep him out of action for too long.

But alas, that will be the case. During Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite, Cole told the world that when he tripped off the ramp near the end of last week’s Dynamite Grand Slam main event between MJF and Samoa Joe, he broke his ankle and will undergo surgery.

While there has been no official timeframe set for Cole’s return, judging by the photos his longtime partner Britt Baker posted on social media, which revealed he broke his ankle in three places, it is safe to assume that he will be sidelined for an extended period of time.

(Warning: The photo of Cole’s foot and ankle is kind of graphic, so turn back now if that kind of thing bothers you.)

Could AEW keep the story between Cole and his tag team partner MJF, collectively known as Better Than You Bay Bay, going while the former works his way back to 100%? I suppose, but it definitely throws a large wrench into AEW’s plans to have Cole and MJF put on a rematch in the near future. What could have been a match between them at Full Gear or maybe even Revolution will have to wait for a time in the more distant future.

And what a shame this is. Obviously, the primary person to feel empathy for is Cole, who will once again have to bounce back from an injury that will require a lengthy recovery after already missing the majority of 2022 due to a severe concussion.

What should be Cole’s time to showcase himself at the peak of his powers is now being spent rehabbing far away from a wrestling ring.

[lawrence-related id=34429]

I’m sure this put a damper on AEW and its fans, and rightfully so. For AEW, it loses what I believe to be the best story it has told all year with the budding yet perpetually teetering bromance between Cole and MJF — which made for compelling television due to AEW threading in notes of the underlying tension between the two while also making sure that everything looked just fine between them on the surface.

Outside of Cole, who again, is literally suffering the most because of this unfortunate happening, I feel especially gutted for Tony Khan and the rest of AEW’s creative team. They’ve done a masterful job of keeping fans engaged in the story to the point that it was accepted as the main event of the biggest show in the promotion’s history, All In. I’d be willing to bet that AEW wasn’t looking to end or make a tonal shift in the story until Sunday’s WrestleDream at the earliest, where Cole and MJF were scheduled to defend their ROH tag titles against The Righteous. I personally believe they could have kept this going through the end of the year. Instead, MJF is slated to defend the titles on his own in a handicap match.

[lawrence-related id=35875]

But such is life in professional wrestling. People will get injured, even if it’s after something as simple as running down to the ring to interfere in the match. And when the injuries occur, promotions have to be able to adapt.

AEW is already on the path of making the necessary adjustments by sowing the seeds for a feud between MJF and “Switchblade” Jay White over the world title. While it does not yet have the emotional investment behind it like Better Than You Bay Bay has, it is still quite the silver lining in a tough situation. The fact that AEW can easily slot in someone as talented as White into that position and immediately have fans intrigued is a testament to AEW’s depth that isn’t always properly utilized. Even this time is out of necessity to give its champion something interesting to do.

As far as the tag titles, it would make complete sense for The Righteous to defeat MJF and take the titles. Even if MJF finds a partner, it would still be a convenient way to remove the titles from one equation and add them to another. If the vignettes the team have been showcased in on television are any indication, Vincent and Dutch are in line for a major run in Ring of Honor. The first step would be having them defeat MJF (and technically Cole) to win the titles.

And let’s not forget about Roderick Strong, who neck brace and all, is still lurking in the background along with The OGK.

So all hope isn’t lost for AEW, but it sure would have been nice if AEW’s original plan — whatever that may have been — could have come together.

AEW Dynamite results 09/27/23: Switchblade guns for MJF, Swerve and Hangman are fired up

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 …