AEW Dynamite Preview (Dec. 18, 2019): Winter Finale

Tonight (Dec. 18) All Elite Wrestling rounds out the year from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Last week The Young Bucks won the Texas street fight, Jericho gave Moxley an interesting offer, Big Swole got the Big Win, The Butcher & The Blade had their in-ring debut, and The Dark Order started recruiting the AEW talent.

Advertised for tonight:

• The Young Bucks challenge SCU for the AEW tag titles
• Jungle Boy versus Chris Jericho in a non-title ten minute challenge
• The Butcher & The Blade versus Cody & Darby Allin
• Kris Statlander versus Britt Baker for the #1 contenders slot
• Lucha Bros vs Kenny Omega & Hangman Page

Here are our five questions about AEW tonight:

1) Can SCU continue their winning streak?

Lots of people were shocked that The Young Bucks lost in the first round of the tag team tournament. It was an interesting choice (and ultimately the right one) for a tag team that is consistently called the best in the world. It’s been really refreshing to watch The Bucks have to legitimately fight their way back to the top while SCU has dominated in every match they’ve had since winning the belts (not counting Sky’s run in with Jericho). There hasn’t been a title change in AEW and it feels like this Christmas The Bucks are getting everything they wanted.

2) How much will Jericho have underestimated Jungle Boy by?

While he may very well last ten minutes, Jungle Boy isn’t beating Chris Jericho, and it doesn’t matter. Jungle Boy is young, insanely talented and watching him go up against Le Champion is going to make the crowd pop even harder for him. This is exactly what I love about Jericho as a champion. On one hand, he’s a giant douche who sells champagne and refers to himself in the third person. On the other hand, he continuously pushes and puts over younger talent by letting them share his spotlight. This one is going to be fun!

3) Golden child or Star child?

Britt Baker has basically been the most consistent wrestler in the women’s division, appearing on a majority of AEW episodes and racking up the wins. Recently, after Shida’s winning streak came to an end, Britt was moved up the rankings and now holds the #1 slot, but newcomer, Kris Statlander is looking to change that. She’s 2-0 in AEW and has her sight set on gold (it reminds her of the stars!).

Riho, after an impossibly long absence, is set to defend her title on the New Years Day, but now the questions remains - who will be her opponent? Britt has faced Riho before and while she was hot there for a while she has been putting out some sub-par matches and the crowd’s interest seems to be waning. Kris, on the other hand, is fresh off the indies and has never faced Riho before in AEW. Plus, Kris has a built in feud already with Brandi’s Nightmare Collective. Basically, there is an interesting choice and an obvious choice. The outcome of this match could very well set the tone for the women’s division going forward into 2020.

4) Will Cody be able to focus on his tag match or will MJF’s words from last week be too much of a distraction?

Cody lost to The Butcher and The Blade (with a lot of help from The Bunny), but he has a chance at redemption tonight with his partner Darby Allin. While a win here for Cody would be great for him (and Darby) this match really isn’t about The Butcher or The Blade - it’s about MJF. Cody needs to prove to himself, to the audience and to MJF that he is ready for their inevitable battle. Unfortunately, for him his opponents won’t go down so easily. Fortunately, however, he’s got a pint sized psycho at his side and he may just eek out the win and get a much needed self esteem boost!

5) Will we see any big reveals for the winter finale?

There have been a few creepy things happening in the background of Dynamite. Namely, The Dark Order and their recruiting infomercials and the Nightmare Collective’s style salon. Both factions are looking to expand their ranks and, as this is a finale of sorts, I expect at least one of them to make a shocking reveal. Perhaps, the Beaver Boys show up and ruin one of the tag matches in Dark Order masks or, better yet, The Collective’s Varys-like member’s secret identity will be revealed!

Tune into AEW on TNT at 8 ET tonight to see if we get any answers to these questions.