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Tonight (Jan.22) All Elite Wrestling comes our way from the Bahamas, and the Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea, Part Deux (spoilers are here, if you’re into that sort of thing).
On the last episode, Hangman Page & Kenny Omega earned a tag title shot against SCU, Cody put MJF in his place, Shida & Statlander defeated The Nightmare Collective, 63 year old DDP jumped off the ring post and Darby Allin & PAC put on an instant classic!
Advertised for tonight:
- Hangman Page & Kenny Omega versus SCU for the AEW tag titles
- Jon Moxley versus PAC in a #1 contender’s match
- The Inner Circle versus Jurassic Express
- Britt Baker vs. Priscilla Kelly
- MJF vs Joey Janela
Here are five questions about AEW tonight:
1) Will Hangman and Omega’s winning streak earn them the tag team championships?
Hangman may be a drunk, but he’s a winning drunk. We haven’t had a single title change in AEW, which honestly has been great! They have resisted the urge to hot potato their belts and have attempted to make their champions look, well, champion worthy. But it’s been months now and while SCU has been killing it in the ring, Hangman and Omega have an inexplicably great thing happening. They hate each other, they love each other, they win, they drink (well one of them drinks), there is tension because of The Elite standings - every night it’s like a flippin’ soap opera and it’s fantastic. There are so many possibilities that all could work that it makes everything they do interesting. Imagine how much more interesting it would be if they were doing all that with gold around their waists!
Plus, a Hangman/Omega (c) versus The Young Bucks feud would be incredible. They teased it a little last week when they had a little tense interaction with The Bucks after their match and that, plus them all trying to keep The Elite together could lead to some compelling story lines. Gotta make all the work they’ve put into BTE worth it!
2) Can PAC derail Moxley in his quest to destroy Jericho?
Probably no. Moxley may have a weirdo eye patch (will he still have it??? I want him to still have it.), but he has one goal and that goal is to destroy Jericho on his way to becoming the AEW champion. PAC is ferocious and is definitely deserving of a title shot, but it’s not his time. I expect many, MANY near falls, but there is no way that Moxley loses this battle. Even better if it’s done dirty or if Mox barely escapes with the win because then he can have a natural feud with PAC once he wins and moves on from Jericho. One thing we can be certain of, however, is that this match is going to rule.
3) Can we expect any updates from our creepy collectives?
The Nightmare Collective got their butts whooped last week - which was an interesting choice considering they are being built up as the “big bad” of the women’s division. Of course, since Kong wasn’t in the match they can just hide behind the fact that they only lost because their muscle wasn’t there but I expect some kind of backstage segment or promo from The Collective. They desperately need it after their embarrassing showing last week because right now they seem like Scooby-Doo villains and it’s not working.
The Dark Order didn’t have a match, but they did have an ominous recruitment check in video with a mysterious shadowy leader. Perhaps we see The Dark Order further their recruitment on Nakazawa tonight? If Omega and Hangman win it could be a good opportunity to remind Nakazawa that Omega has a new bestie and that he needs “friends that won’t abandon him.”
4) Will TNT let Priscilla Kelly put her hands down her pants on LIVE TV?
Many of you will be familiar with Priscilla Kelly (PK) from the famously viral “tampon spot” but you’ll be delighted to find out that she is a fantastic wrestler too! She’s quick, dynamic, has a deep wrestling vocabulary and has figured out how to capitalize on the thing people know her for. Of course she can’t pull out a tampon every time, but a favorite move of PK is to put her hands down her pants right before a test of strength and I want to know if TNT will let that happen! Look, we used to have a guy rub his practically bare ass in competitors faces and I just want the women to have the equal opportunity to be just as gross on live TV. Plus, a Britt Baker reaction gif to that would be delightful.
5) How will Cody mess with MJF tonight?
MJF thought he was smart laying out dramatic and lofty stipulations for Cody to earn his match against him. Cody, however, was having absolutely none of it and it in a brutal promo - now a Cody Rhodes staple - he basically called MJF a fame hungry scaredy pants wannabe. Ouch. To further add insult to injury, he agreed to all of MJF’s dumb rules because “MJF is just a chapter in the Cody Rhodes story.” Point Cody.
MJF, ahem, I mean Max, has a match against Joey Janela tonight and I just can’t imagine that Cody lets Max off that easily. He can’t touch Max before their match, but he can get into his head. Even if he just comes out to watch or to mess with Wardlow there is a good chance that Max is distracted enough that Janela picks up the win and Max is left furious looking into Cody’s eyes.
Point. Cody.
Tune into AEW on TNT at 8 ET tonight to see if we get any answers to these questions.
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