AEW Dynamite preview (Oct. 4, 2023): The Rated R era is finally here

Dynamite airs tonight (Oct. 4) with a live show from Stockton Arena in Stockton, California. This is the first episode of Dynamite during the seven week build towards Full Gear, which takes place on November 18.

The Rated R era is finally here

AEW celebrates four years of Dynamite on tonight’s anniversary show as it begins a new era for the promotion.

Former WWE star Edge made his shocking debut for AEW on Sunday at WrestleDream. Adam Copeland now kicks off the Rated R era of Dynamite with his first promo on tonight’s show, where he explains what his mission statement is in All Elite Wrestling.

Adam’s first piece of business in AEW saw him save Sting from a Conchairto by TNT Champion Christian. Copeland used the chair to take out Luchasaurus and that traitor Nick Wayne, before Christian scurried off unscathed in the chaos.

Copeland’s debut match will take place next week against Luchasaurus, so there’s a decent chance that Christian, Luchasaurus, and Wayne will interrupt his promo tonight and try to attack him. Sting and Darby will need to be on standby to have Adam’s back, though it’s not clear how badly injured Darby is right now following some of the brutal bumps he took in his loss to Christian at WrestleDream.

The careers of Copeland and Christian are forever intertwined, so this whole thing could very well be leading to a TNT title match between them at Full Gear. But will another heel on the roster decide this is the perfect time to make a name for himself at Copeland’s expense?

The rest of tonight’s lineup

Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and Kota Ibushi failed to beat the Don Callis family at WrestleDream. Sammy Guevara pinned Jericho in their trios match, which in Sammy’s mind probably validates his decision to stab Jericho in the back. Chris and Kenny will team up at least one more time tonight against the duo of Guevara and Takeshita.

AEW International Champion Rey Fenix is scheduled to defend the gold tonight against Nick Jackson. It sounds like Fenix is very banged up, which helps explain why he didn’t do much in his four way tag team match at WrestleDream. Considering that Rey was never supposed to win this title in the first place, it might already be time for him to drop the belt.

We are going to hear from Jay White & Juice Robinson on Dynamite. AEW World Champion MJF denies having anything to do with last week’s attack on White that was led by a mystery man wearing MJF’s devil mask. It’s unlikely that Bullet Club Gold will believe MJF’s denial, given his contentious promo battle with White earlier in the show. Could this whole thing somehow be part of Roderick Strong and The Kingdom’s plan to break up MJF and Adam Cole? Or could Adam Cole actually be the mastermind behind the plot and the man who stole MJF’s devil mask? We’ll probably have more questions than answers by the end of the night.

On the WrestleDream pre-show, Ring of Honor Board of Director Stokely Hathaway told ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston that he has something to say Wednesday about his belt. Does that mean Stokely is going to name Eddie’s next challenger tonight? Jay Lethal has made it known that he thinks Eddie is a disgrace representing ROH as its top guy, for what it’s worth. The most pressing question here is: shouldn’t this segment happen tomorrow on ROH’s program rather than tonight on AEW Dynamite?

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- AEW Women’s World Champion Saraya will defend the gold next week on Title Tuesday against Hikaru Shida. Will Britt Baker make a last minute attempt to get herself added to the mix?

- Hangman Page lost in Swerve’s house at WrestleDream. Will Page pursue a rematch ASAP now that AEW is out of Seattle? Or is Swerve looking to immediately move on to bigger and better things?

- Is the new team of Orange Cassidy and HOOK over for now after they came up short at WrestleDream?

- Jon Moxley is out with a concussion and did some commentary at WrestleDream. Will he be back in the broadcast booth tonight as he awaits being cleared to compete again?

- AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR are preparing for another title defense against the Young Bucks after Nick and Matt Jackson were victorious in a four-way tag team match at WrestleDream. AEW said the winner of the match can challenge for the tag belts any time they want. Does that mean it’s tantamount to a Money in the Bank cash-in? Will AEW book this match for Title Tuesday opposite a loaded WWE NXT next week?

- TBS Champion Kris Statlander and AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed & Daddy Ass retained their respective belts at WrestleDream. Will they find new challengers for next week’s Title Tuesday episode of Dynamite?

- Is there any update on Jack Perry’s status after he was suspended following a backstage incident with CM Punk at All In in late August?

- Most episodes of AEW Dynamite include at least five matches, so there should be multiple announcements throughout the day regarding new segments on tonight’s show.

- Where the f*** is Serena Deeb Wardlow?

What will you be looking for on Dynamite?