AEW Dynamite Preview (May 13, 2020): Dark Order Rises

Tonight (May 13) All Elite Wrestling comes our way from a closed set in Jacksonville, Florida. Last week Nyla Rose returned, Brodie Lee challenged Jon Moxley, Jake the Snake lived up to his moniker and Sammy Guevara got run over by a golf cart. This week Omega & Hardy suit up to face the Inner Circle’s tag team duo, the women’s division gets a number one contender and Lance Archer continues his hunt for Cody.

Advertised for tonight:

• Matt Hardy & Kenny Omega vs. Santana & Ortiz
• Brodie Lee vs. Christopher Daniels
• Britt Baker vs. Penelope Ford vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Kris Statlander
• Chris Jericho vs. Pineapple Pete Suge D
• Lance Archer & Jake Roberts speak
• MJF in action

Here are five questions about AEW tonight:

1) Will Jon Moxley retaliate?

Since making his debut as The Exalted One, Brodie Lee has slowly been making his dominance known throughout Dynamite. In addition to being undefeated, he has been busy whipping his followers into shape (whether they like it or not). This all culminated last week when he attacked Jon Moxley and declared himself the new number one contender for the AEW championship.

Tonight, he faces Dark Order’s resident pain in the ass, Christopher Daniels, and while I’m sure that match will be very good, I can’t help but wonder just how Jon Moxley will respond? He told Brodie last week that all he had to do was ask for a championship match, but since he opted to beat up the champion instead of asking I bet Moxley has a few choice words for his new rival. Moxley isn’t known for his calm, rational responses so expect a Mox retaliation tonight!

2) Will The Young Bucks return to help Hardy & Omega?

Last week Hardy & Omega faced half of The Inner Circle in what many (okay, me) are deeming the best street fight ever. They were kicking butt too - hard not to when you have a golf cart on your side - until the numbers game ultimately swung the match in the Inner Circle’s favor. Santana & Ortiz returned to help their stable mates and are now set to face Hardy & Omega tonight.

Hardy & Omega are formidable talents, but the numbers are still on The Inner Circle’s side. As the battle between the Elite and The Inner Circle rages on one can’t help but wonder when the rest of The Elite will come to the aid of their comrades? Frankly, I was shocked that The Young Bucks didn’t show up last week amidst the chaos, but maybe they were just to enthralled watching the fight to participate.

Will The Bucks show up tonight to help their Elite brethren or will the numbers game defeat them yet again?

3) Who will be named the number one contender of the women’s division?

Finally the champion is back on Dynamite! Last week Nyla returned and was NOT impressed with the state of the division. She doesn’t fear the women’s roster and isn’t worried about losing her championship. There are four women, however, who disagree.

Tonight we get a fatal four way match which should determine Nyla’s next opponent and I, for one, am over the moon! IWhat’s the alternative? Relying solely on their rankings system to choose the champions next opponent a day before the PPV AEW is naming a number one contender early? Maybe this will even allow for a real feud to happen in the women's division! Shocked and delighted! But who will it be?

Britt Baker has been making a name for herself as the resident role model. She’s been stealing the show with her promos, shoe beatings and impressive win record. She may delusional about her role as the face of the women’s division, but if the mangled state of her opponents jaws are any indication, she’s not wrong about her right to face the champion.

Hiraku Shida has been on top of the women’s division rankings since the debut of AEW. While not always number one, her in-ring skills and fierce determination have won her both the audience’s favor and a favorite to be the new AEW women’s champion. While she hasn’t quite made it to the top of the mountain yet this could be her opportunity.

Penelope Ford is no longer just a pretty face. Over the past few weeks - as one of the only women featured on AEW - she has proven herself not only to be a diabolical partner in crime for her betrothed, but a back flipping bad ass in the ring. She’s the dark horse in this competition, but I wouldn’t count her out!

And finally there is Kris Statlander, who I guess they put in this match because she used to be a number one contender and they like fatal four ways more that triple threats. Don’t get me wrong, she has a great win record, but she hasn’t been doing anything on TV recently while the other three have been keeping the women’s division a float. It’ll be nice to see her in the ring again, but it does feel a little odd that she’s there.

Personally, I want Britt Baker to win. Her heel work has been A+, her in-ring work in AEW has never been better and she can afford to lose to Nyla as she’s the type of heel that can ret-con any loss.

4) What’s going on with that snake?

Is Jake Roberts’ snake a permanent member of the AEW roster now? I want to know it’s name, stats and wrestling history before Cody kills it! Do dogs eat snakes? Maybe Pharaoh will eat it!

But seriously, last week Brandi delivered an AMAZING pre-taped promo calling out Jake the Snake and warning him that he doesn’t scare her and she’s no damsel to be used in his feud with her husband. Unfortunately for her he disagreed and sought to prove her wrong by knocking her out and throwing a snake on her.

Tonight Jake & Archer are scheduled to make an appearance, but what I really want to know is how will Cody respond to the attack? And, frankly, how will Brandi? She talked a big game about not being used as a prop in this feud only to be used almost immediately as a prop in this feud. Jake & Archer have the upper hand here, but for how long?

5) Pineapple Pete, huh?

Pineapple Pete is the very definitions of “shoot your shot.” Former champion, Chris Jericho, has been making fun of Suge D since they squared off a month ago. Sure he wore a festive shirt, but that doesn’t mean that Suge D is afraid of Jericho! Fed up and looking to make a name for himself Suge D got into Jericho’s face - and avoided getting hit with a bat- during last week’s Street Fight. This week they’ll renew their...let’s call it a rivalry...when they face off tonight.

Is Suge D going to win? No, but this seemingly random match is exactly the type of thing that makes Dynamite worth watching. Suge D is new and is a crowd favorite (I mean, according to Twitter) and has proven that he’s at AEW to do whatever to make a name for himself. Jericho uses his power as arguably the most famous wrestler on the roster to continuously push new talent. He’s not the champion anymore, but he’s still doing champion-like work!

People like Cornette can go blue in the face talking about how lower roster wrestlers look too strong against the main guys, but that dynamic makes it feel like anything could happen during a wrestling match. It’s exciting. I mean, yeah we know Pineapple Pete isn’t going to beat Jericho, but it’s nice to think that maybe, just maybe he could!

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