AEW Dynamite preview (Nov. 15, 2023): Tony Khan has another losing battle with WWE on his hands

Dynamite airs tonight (Nov. 15) with a live show from Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. This is the final episode of Dynamite during the seven week build towards Full Gear, which takes place on Saturday (Nov. 18).

Tony Khan has another losing battle with WWE on his hands

The Full Gear pay-per-view is set to take place on Saturday night, which means AEW is bumping this week’s Collision off to a Friday night head-to-head battle with WWE SmackDown. Given the poor state of Collision’s numbers of late, it’s expected to be demolished by SmackDown later this week.

Even so, AEW President Tony Khan is never one to shy away from a wrestling war. That’s why one of the things I’m keeping my ears open for during tonight’s Dynamite broadcast is the big matches or angles that AEW plans to announce for the Friday night war.

Khan is typically very good at coming up with a plan for these situations, but this one is trickier than usual because the most important title matches in his arsenal still need to be saved for Full Gear. In other words, it would be strange to book an AEW world championship, women’s world championship, or International title defense for the Friday night war, because those belts are being defended the next night at Full Gear.

What will Khan come up with to draw fans to his product on Friday night? Will it be another Andrade “dream match.” What about an official announcement of MJF’s mystery partner for Full Gear? How about something involving Danhausen? Maybe AEW will tease a reveal of The Devil’s identity? Or maybe Britt Baker’s return to the ring is on the way? Is it finally time to go all-in on The Blade?

The bottom line is that by the end of tonight’s Dynamite, we should know for sure which big guns AEW is bringing to its latest losing battle with WWE.

The rest of tonight’s lineup

Tonight’s headlining match is the Like A Dragon street fight featuring Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Chris Jericho, and Paul “Big Show” Wight taking on The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita, Brian Cage, Kyle Fletcher, Powerhouse Hobbs). This is Wight’s first ever match on Dynamite, and he’s looking to make a lasting impression with a KO victory. The video game tie-in nature of this bout means the AEW audience is sure to be inundated with constant reminders to spend their money on Sega.

The Young Bucks are also in action tonight when they step in the ring to face Komander and Penta El Zero Miedo. This is something of a tune-up bout for Nick and Matt Jackson ahead of their higher stakes Full Gear match against Omega and Jericho.

Jon Moxley is competing in tag team competition tonight as well. He’s teaming up with Wheeler Yuta to fight the duo of FTW Champion HOOK and AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy. If Yuta can manage to score a fall over HOOK here, perhaps he will be rewarded with an FTW title shot on the Full Gear pre-show or the Friday night war.

The lone women’s match tonight sees Red Velvet go one-on-one against Skye Blue. The winner of this match will qualify for the 3-way TBS championship match at Full Gear that already includes Kris Statlander and Julia Hart. Blue has been an integral part of Statlander and Hart’s story of late, so it would be pretty surprising if she doesn’t beat Red.

Finally, we’re going to hear AEW World Champion MJF’s reaction to last week’s show-closing angle that saw The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass get ambushed by disguised attackers and sent through a glass window. Does MJF have any idea who is hiding under his mask of The Devil? Will he finally give in and ask Samoa Joe to be his partner for the ROH world tag team championship match at Full Gear against The Gunns?

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida defends the belt at Full Gear against “Timeless” Toni Storm. Which wrestler will have the momentum going into their title fight?

- Wardlow wants to make MJF suffer and take everything from him when he least expects it. What exactly does he have in mind?

- Will we hear from Adam Copeland, Sting, Darby Allin, or TNT Champion Christian Cage ahead of their trios match at Full Gear?

- The Continental Classic tournament begins next week. Will AEW reveal the names of any other participants besides Bryan Danielson? What about other important details such as the rules of the tournament or what’s the ultimate prize for winning?

- Can AEW officials contain the violence that Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland will try to unleash on each other if they happen to cross paths tonight?

- Have Daddy Magic and Saraya already come up with a plan to ensure that Ruby Soho and Angelo Parker don’t fall in love?

- Is Jack Perry still suspended? If not, where the f*** is he?

What will you be looking for on Dynamite?