This week All Elite Wrestling comes our way live from Jacksonville, Florida. Last week, FTR officially linked up with Tully Blanchard, Kenny Omega won his match, but lost his marbles, Ivelisse and Diamante won the Deadly Draw, Jericho revealed The Mimosa Mayhem Match & Cody spectacularly lost his TNT Championship.
Advertised for tonight:
- New TNT Champion celebration
- Tag Team Number One Contender Gauntlet featuring FTR, The Young Bucks, The Best Friends and The Natural Nightmare
- Sammy Guevara versus Matt Hardy in a tables match
- Jon Moxley & MJF sign the contract for their match at All Out
- Big Swole versus Britt Baker, Penelope Ford & Reba in a handicap match
- Chris Jericho on commentary
Here are five questions about AEW tonight:
1) How will The Dark Order celebrate Mr. Brodie Lee’s TNT Championship win?
Mr. Brodie Lee is a problem for AEW and, boy, is that fantastic for us. He absolutely DECIMATED Cody last week, leaving the former champion beaten, broken and embarrassed. It’s not too little too late (fortunately) but this, THIS, is how Mr. Brodie Lee should have been handled from the moment he debuted. Dark Order FINALLY feels like a threat and less like a whiny internet cult.
What happens now? I hope they don’t have Cody face Lee at All Out. I know it’s unlikely to have a PPV without Cody, but I think they should play up his injuries for a while and let Lee dominate over The Nightmare family for first. Have Anna Jay (and hopefully some more Dark Order women! Seriously, not like the women’s roster is DOING ANYTHING ELSE) take out Allie and Brandi. Have the lackeys take out QT. Let’s watch Mr. Brodie Lee rip Dustin’s heart out! All the while Cody has to watch on the sidelines not able to do a damn thing to protect his family. Cody has been dominant in AEW since the show began. Even when he was losing to MJF, he was KILLIN’ it all over the place with promos and we all know MJF cheated for most of those wins. I want to see Cody - Mr. Daddy eats first - truly broken before he can come back and face Mr. Lee.
I also hope they keep the TNT Championship open challenge up. It will give Lee more opportunities to look strong, but also I like the juxtaposition behind purpose of the challenge. When Cody faced people for the championship it was about elevating them and giving everyone an opportunity. If Mr. Brodie Lee did it, it would be all about dominance.
Regardless of what happens, I just hope The Dark Order gets enough Chili’s for everyone to share.
2) Who will face Hangman & Omega at All Out?
Hangman & Omega have held the tag team championships for a truly astounding amount of time. Especially, if you consider their “friendship” or lack there of. Throw in Hangman’s wavering loyalty and Omega’s new found wild streak and it looks like this duo is headed toward a loss at All Out. If that is the case the big question is who will be the ones to take it from them?
Tonight, four teams face off to earn said title shot; FTR, Natural Nightmares, The Best Friends and The Young Bucks. If we are picking based on who could actually take the titles from the champs then we can rule out the Natural Nightmares and The Best Friends right away. There is no way that QT Marshall is going to be one of the wrestlers that finally gets a win over the champions and if the Best Friends were going to win the titles from Hangman & Omega they would have done it when they faced them just a few weeks ago. That leaves The Young Bucks & FTR.
The Young Bucks winning makes so much sense. They are one of the founders of AEW, but have yet to hold gold. It was valiant of them to not book themselves into a win right away, but it’s been long enough that them holding titles would not seem ostentatious. Plus, they’ve been teasing a Omega/Hangman break-up due to the Bucks interference for what seems like my entire life so, story-line continuity wise, it makes a ton of sense.
FTR winning also makes a ton of sense. They are the hot new tag team in AEW and have made quite the impression already. They’ve dominated in their matches, have stirred the pot relentlessly and have aligned themselves with Tully Blanchard. They have been clear from the beginning that they are in AEW to win, to be the best and nothing else. Having them win at All Out solidifies them as a top tier tag team in AEW. It also would lead seamlessly into a prolonged feud with The Young Bucks. They are already a bee in the Bucks bonnet, but imagine the tension and the build when FTR makes them beg for a title opportunity.
3) Can Big Swole beat three competitors?
I’m pretty sure the answer is an unequivocal yes. Reba is a lackey, Britt is hardly heeled and Penelope is easily distracted by her Beau. Britt is many things, and one of those things is overly confident. There is no way she goes into this 3-on-1 handicap match with less than 100% assurance that she and her group will win. And that is why she is going to lose. Big Swole may be cocky (deservedly so), but she is relentlessly focused (see: her terrorizing Britt for several months).
I think Swole wins, Britt blames her partners and demands a one-on-one match at All Out.
4) How many bones will Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara have left after their tables match?
Matt Hardy is going to kill this boy. Don’t get me wrong, Guevara is going to put up a hell of a fight, but I think Matt Hardy comes out on top. Guevara, for all his immense talent, is still a cocky upstart, while Hardy is a multifaceted (heh) veteran. Guevara can come back from a loss very easily here, too. He is, after all, a part of a heel stable that is very good at spinning a loss in their favor. While on the other hand, Hardy needs this win. He’s been in AEW for a while and has a good win record, but now that he’s not facing off with Jericho or so heavily aligned with The Elite he is floundering a bit. Having him win here will help to reestablish him as a formidable foe on the roster and not just “another legend on the payroll.”
The one thing we can count on for sure though is that there will be a ton of reckless, amazing, terrifying spots and that we’ll all have to cover our eyes for at least once. Hope Sammy has those crutches at the ready.
5) What else can MJF turn into a Burberry nightmare?
My new favorite game is “what is Burberry this week?” First it was the scarf. The it was a tie. Then it was the podium. Last week it was a walker. Hopefully, this week it’s the neck brace...ooo maybe even the pen he signs the contract with!
If MJF wins the AEW Championship do you think he’ll make the straps Burberry too?
Tune into AEW on TNT at 8 p.m. EST to see if we get any answers to these questions!