All Elite Wrestling comes our way from the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, and it’s the last Dynamite before Double or Nothing! Last week, Johnny Elite was revealed to be the joker in the Men’s Owen Hart Tournament but still managed to lose to Samoa Joe. Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt, & Satnam Singh attacked Samoa Joe after his match, but Trent, Rocky Romero, & Chuck Taylor came to his rescue with a steel chair. World Champion Adam Page went one-on-one with Konosuke Takeshita in an instant classic match while his DoN challenger CM Punk waxed poetic on commentary. Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland made quick work of The Workhorsemen. Their celebration was cut short, however, when Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs, Christian, AND Jurassic Express came out to steal focus and demand a match. Wardlow no sold MJF’s weak little “whips” like a beast. Kyle O’Reilly defeated Rey Fenix to advance in the Owen Hart Tournament. Chris Jericho tried to convince The Blackpool Combat Club to agree to a stadium stampede, but Moxley said, “No, no, no, I’m not doing that sh!t.” Britt Baker defeated the women’s Joker, Maki Itoh, to advance in the Owen Hart Tournament. Britt Baker’s boo Adam Cole also moved on in the Owen Hart tournament when he defeated Jeff Hardy. And, of course, the show ended in chaos when The Young Bucks confronted The Hardy’s and all their friends got involved.
This Week’s Headliner
The star of this show, as well as the star of Double or Nothing, is the World Championship match between Hangman Adam Page and CM Punk.
AEW did a great job of reintroducing Punk to the wrestling world, keeping him away from the title scene for as long as they did. He got his sea legs back, built up a winning record, and helped to put over some of the younger talents. But he’s still CM Punk, one of the most famous wrestlers in the world. They couldn’t keep him out of the title picture forever.
And since he is still CM Punk, he’s still super cocky despite his current babyface demeanor. He thinks he has this one in the bag. And why shouldn’t he? He’s currently 18-1 in AEW. He knows it’ll be a fight, but he also thinks he KNOWS he’s winning.
To say this is Adam Page’s biggest championship challenge is an understatement. He’s let CM Punk rile him up over the past few weeks, and although he has wrestled some of the best in the world for this championship, he hasn’t wrestled THE Best in the world for it yet, and boy, does that have to be terrifying. The thing about the Cowboy, though, is that he’s at his very best when the chips are down.
Tonight they have a face-off before their match on Sunday. I can already feel the tension in the arena.
Oh gods, this match is gonna rule.
The Title Scene:
At DoN, the Tag Team Championships will be defended against two teams. Tonight, a representative from each team battles it out when Ricky Starks, Jungle Boy, Swerve Strickland meet in the ring. Jungle Boy better win this one, or his wrestling dad, Christian Cage, might have some big (evil) feelings about it. My guess is that Jurassic Express drops the titles on Sunday, and we get a heel turn from Cage.
And speaking of tag team championships, tonight FTR defends their Ring of Honor Tag titles against ROH and NJPW favorite Roppongi Vice. Look, the stakes here are “don’t forget about ROH,” and I’m fine with that. Both these teams are incredible, and this match should be very fun.
Apparently, the AEW writer’s room has gone old school when writing the build to this match, i.e., not knowing how to build a Women’s World Championship title match. We’re less than a week away from DoN, and the best we’re getting is “a word from Thunder Rosa.” At least the match itself should be good!
Last week, Sammy Guevara, Tay Conti, and Frankie Kazarian took a sledgehammer to TNT Championship. Idk it’s a messy story. Who is the bad guy? I guess we’ll never know. (It’s Dan Lambert. It’s always Dan Lambert.)
Anna Jay inserted herself into the TBS Champions business, and now she has to face Jade Cargill at Double or Northing. Unfortunately, bravery does not equal intelligence.
Other things to keep an eye on:
-Will Samoa Joe be healed enough from his beatdown to defeat Kyle O’Reilly for the right to face Adam Cole at DoN in the Owen Hart Tournament finals? Signs point to no. Damn you Jay Lethal!!!
-Toni Storm tries to secure a spot in the Owen Hart Tournament finals against the one and only Dr. Britt Baker. This one got nasty when Storm threatened to break Britt’s teeth. Can one do dental surgery on themselves? Let’s hope so!
-I can’t write about what I think about Wardlow getting whipped by MJF because I think I will lose my job so...um tonight he tries to secure his match against MJF when he wrestles Shawn Spears in a cage. I.E., this man does a murder, and my thirst intensifies.
-Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson weren’t getting along last week during their confrontation with The Jericho Appreciation Society. Will they be able to put aside their differences to defeat The Wizard? It’s a QUESTion. (Shut up, Brandon Cutler would find this joke very funny.)
-Death Triangle dramatically revealed House of Black’s name on a tombstone last week, cementing (heh) their match for DoN. They’re set to battle it out Sunday, but I’m hoping we get some more elaborate prop action tonight to keep the hype alive.
-Some HOOKhausen shenanigans for sure.
Tune into AEW on TBS at 8pm E.T. — and join us in our live blog — to see how all this plays out.
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