AEW Dynamite preview (May 24, 2023): Tony Khan has to finally give an answer about CM Punk

Dynamite airs tonight (May 24) with a live show from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the go-home show for Double or Nothing, which takes place on Sunday (May 28).

Tony Khan has to finally give an answer about CM Punk

Tony Khan’s big announcement last week was apparently supposed to be about CM Punk’s return to the promotion for the launch of AEW Collision on June 17. However, it sounds like Punk and Khan reached an impasse over the status of Ace Steel that required more time to resolve. As a result, Khan never brought up Punk’s name on Dynamite, nor did he announce that Chicago’s United Center is the venue for the premiere episode of Collision.

Instead, Tony left us with the teaser that he will reveal the location of the Collision premiere on tonight’s episode of Dynamite.

After months of dodging every question from the media about CM Punk since last year’s backstage fight at All Out, Khan’s answer tonight should finally give us some insight into CM’s status with AEW. If Khan announces the United Center as the venue for the Collision premiere, that means Punk is back in the fold, and Khan can even announce his return tonight as part of the big news.

However, if Khan announces a different venue for the Collision premiere, such as Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, then it could mean that we really have seen the last of CM Punk in an AEW ring. AEW has a lot riding on the success of Collision, so I expect Khan will go to extreme lengths to make sure Punk is back and we hear his name on tonight’s broadcast.

The rest of tonight’s lineup

Adam Cole is no longer banned from the same building as Chris Jericho. These two stars will fight each other in an Unsanctioned match at Double or Nothing. Both men will officially sign the contract tonight to ensure that AEW isn’t responsible for what they do to each other at the PPV.

AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy will defend the belt against 20 other wrestlers in a Blackjack Battle Royal at Double or Nothing. That’s assuming he defeats Aussie Open’s Kyle Fletcher tonight. Fletcher is challenging for the gold and is confident that he can bring Cassidy’s lengthy title run to an end.

House of Black is scheduled to defend the AEW world trios titles tonight in another Open House match, this time against Blake Christian, AR Fox, and Metalik. The challengers pretty much never win on Dynamite, so I don’t like their chances here. The babyfaces get to pick one of the rules for the match, so let’s hope they put more thought into this decision than the Best Friends did a couple weeks ago.

Taya Valkyrie takes on Lady Frost tonight. Will TBS Champion Jade Cargill crash the ring afterwards to send Taya a message before their match at Double or Nothing?

AEW World Champion MJF is set to defend the top prize in the company at Double or Nothing against Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara, and Jungle Boy. We will hear from all four pillars tonight. Who knows, maybe even Britt Baker will have something to say. Does MJF have one final trick up his sleeve before the PPV match?

We’ll also hear from AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR, who will defend the belts at Double or Nothing against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. FTR might want to use their mic time to clear the air with Mark Briscoe, considering he’s the special referee for their title match on Sunday. Will Karen Jarrett interrupt and cut a promo on the champs?

Ricky Starks also has something to say. His feud with Bullet Club Gold hasn’t been added to the PPV yet, so it might be time for Ricky to do something about that.

The Lucha Bros defend the ROH World Tag Team Championship tonight against Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta. Will The Elite show up to stop Blackpool Combat Club from adding more gold to their mantle?

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- Speaking of The Elite, Hangman Page returned to AEW television last week wearing an eye patch. Will we hear what Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson think about Page’s return? How do Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita fit into this picture, with Anarchy in the Arena just a few days away?

- The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass have been piling up the trios wins lately. Is there enough time left to book them in a trios title match at the PPV?

- AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter has a title defense at the PPV against Toni Storm. Hayter missed last week’s match with an injury, though it’s rumored to be a work. Will we receive an update on her status for the PPV tonight?

- Christian Cage will fight Wardlow for the TNT Championship in a ladder match at Double or Nothing. Cage and Luchasaurus took him out last week with a low blow and Killswitch. Will the heels turn their attention to Brock Anderson tonight?

- The Hardys and Isiah Kassidy are scheduled for a trios match at the PPV against Ethan Page and The Gunns. If Matt wins, he controls Ethan’s contract. However, the heels injured Kassidy last week on Rampage. If Brother Zay can’t recover in time for the match, can the babyfaces replace him with FTW Champion HOOK?

- Swerve Strickland and Brian Cage laid out Keith Lee and a bloodied Dustin Rhodes last week on Rampage. Is a one-on-one match between Swerve and Lee finally coming our way on PPV?

- AEW’s top draw, The Blade, isn’t announced for anything tonight. If Tony Khan wants to maximize TV ratings, he’ll make sure to change that before Dynamite goes on air.

- AEW’s Fight Forever video game finally has a release date of June 29. The game will surely receive heavy promotion on AEW TV over the next few weeks. Is this the real reason why Miro is coming back?

- Where the f*** is Scorpio Sky?

What will you be looking for on Dynamite?