AEW Dynamite preview (July 12, 2023): The Blood & Guts double mystery could be Chris Jericho’s way out

Dynamite airs tonight (July 12) with a live show from SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This is the third episode of Dynamite during the nine week build towards All In, which takes place later this summer.

AEW’s huge double mystery could be Chris Jericho’s way out

The Elite and the Blackpool Combat Club will each make a HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT tonight, with each group revealing the identity of their mystery partner for next week’s Blood & Guts match.

In the case of The Elite, most signs are pointing towards Kota Ibushi finally making his AEW debut to reunite with his Golden Lovers partner. The Elite can certainly use his help after Hangman Page and the Young Bucks lost a match against the Dark Order last week on Rampage due to interference from Konosuke Takeshita and Claudio Castagnoli.

Things are less obvious in the case of the Blackpool Combat Club’s mystery partner, especially with Will Ospreay and Shota Umino both preoccupied with the lengthy G1 Climax tournament in Japan, which begins in a few days.

One potential candidate who could be partnering up with the BCC is actually Chris Jericho, who received an offer last week to join the Don Callis family. The Callis family’s primary goal is to destroy The Elite, so if Jericho makes the jump, then he instantly becomes a sworn enemy of Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, and Hangman Page.

The Jericho Appreciation Society feels like it has run its course. Jake Hager, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker are treading water with their roles in the group, while Jericho has already given his blessing to Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia to find their own success without him. Chris often has a good sense for when it’s time to change gimmicks or try something very different; the Don Callis angle could be his way out of the JAS, bringing that faction to an end.

Jericho is in action tonight against Komander. After Chris wins, there’s a good chance that he will grab a microphone to accept or decline the offer from Don Callis. If he accepts, then he pretty much has to be the BCC’s mystery partner for Blood & Guts. If he declines, well, you can let me know in the comments below who you think the mystery partner will be.

The rest of tonight’s lineup

Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF are back in tag team action tonight as part of the Blind Eliminator tournament. After another weekend of bonding, Cole and MJF are set to put their chemistry to the test against the formidable duo of Big Bill and Brian Cage. The winning team advances to the final match of the tourney.

Darby Allin & AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy vs. Sammy Guevara & Daniel Garcia is the other semifinal match of the Blind Eliminator tournament, and it’s also on tonight’s card. Garcia stole the pin from Guevara in last week’s win. Will those sort of antics be the team’s undoing against stronger opposition?

Skye Blue takes on Ruby Soho tonight in the semifinal round of the women’s Owen Hart tournament. The winner will face either Athena or Willow Nightingale in the final round. Blue is the underdog in this match, as always, because Soho has the numbers game in her favor as part of The Outcasts faction. But maybe Britt Baker will show up to neutralize Soho’s allies after they screwed Britt over last week.

Nick Wayne just turned 18 years old, so now the wrestling prodigy makes his AEW debut tonight in a match against Swerve Strickland. Swerve has been taking a lot of L’s lately, and one more will probably be added to the pile tonight.

Other stuff to keep an eye on

- FTW Champion HOOK briefly got his hands on Jack Perry last week, but that coward escaped in a getaway vehicle once again. Perry will be challenging for HOOK’s title soon. Will he become the first AEW wrestler to ever beat HOOK?

- Kris Statlander loves to issue open challenges for the TBS championship. Who will be next woman to try her luck against the champ?

- AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm needs a new challenger, and Hikaru Shida happens to be winning a lot of matches of late.

- Luchasaurus vs. Shawn Spears for the TNT Championship is scheduled for Saturday at Battle of the Belts, and FTR will be defending the AEW world tag team titles that same night against Bullet Club Gold in a two out of three falls match. There could be some pre-taped promos or video packages tonight hyping up these fights.

- Ethan Page is now a babyface. Are you rooting for him yet? I don’t think Jeff Jarrett is a fan of Page after he saved Matt Hardy from becoming Jarrett’s latest guitar victim.

- Does Wardlow not work Canada? The former TNT champion has been absent from AEW’s Canada tour up to this point.

- The Acclaimed are keeping busy these days dealing with Harley Cameron, Johnny TV, and the rest of the QTV crew, which perhaps no longer includes Powerhouse Hobbs.

What will you be looking for on Dynamite?