To say a lot has happened over the past few months would be an overstatement of a lifetime. But I will do my best to do a much of the major story-lines as possible.
First and foremost, the death of Brodie Lee brought shockwaves to everyone in the wrestling world. From his indie years in New York to becoming a part of the Wyatt Family as Luke Harper, his immense size belied nimble moves and intensity of his attacks. Sadly, he never got that rematch right at the height of his career. Yet it was this final act that got the Dark Order over, turning the stable from a geeky heel faction to one of the most lovable campy dorks in the wrestling world. John Silver alone is one of the most beloved wrestlers in the business and we can only hope for brighter things for the group. RIP Johnathan Huber, and we all thank you for your contribution to the sport.
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Speaking of whom, the Dark Order has set their sights on a new leader, and they believe they have found one in 'Hangman' Adam Page. Pinned by FTR on their title match, he has been abandoned by his mentor Kenny Omega marking the end of the Elite (but more on that later). After helping them secure a few victories, he declined the offer. He would instead side with ally Matt Hardy, now of Big Money fame. With big plans set for him as well as Private Party that span far beyond AEW (again more on that later), Matt has secured a contract with the sad cowboy. It remains to be seen what he has in store.
After winning the tag team titles, FTR proceeded to lay waste to the tag team division. With no respect to the modern tradition of flips and super kicks as well as with some help from Tully Blanchard, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood used good old fashioned fisticuffs and some underhanded tactics to dispatch the likes of TH2, The Lucha Bros and SCU before finally agreeing with a match with archrivals The Young Bucks on the condition that the later would be banned from ever winning the titles with a loss and with Matt Jackson suffering from a leg injury. What followed was a wonderful homage of the greatest tag teams in wrestling. In the coveted Fists vs Flips fight, The Young Bucks finally lived up to their potential and won the titles. For now, the two are wondering how to play out their reign, putting the ascending Top Flight team under their wings for now.
Meanwhile, The Inner Circle were trucking along well with no issues despite Chris Jericho losing the title last year.That all changed with a proposal from the narcissistic Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Reeling from a loss from Jon Moxley, he set sights on joining the faction. After a series of passive aggressive gestures, Le Champion agreed to give him a chance provided he could pin him. MJF did just that at Full Gear and the two have been chummy ever since. Not so much with everyone else. Jake Hager felt threatened with the presence of Wardlow, heightened by a later loss to him. The Proud and Powerful duo of Santana and Ortiz sense a lack of respect to their Puerto Rican heritage, a rift that heightened when they lost out a chance to face the Young Bucks to MJF and Jericho. And of course there's Sammy Guevara. The Spanish God watched as his best friend moved closer towards the newcomer, culminating to last week where he announced he was quitting the Inner Circle. It didn't matter that he could prove that MJF tried to record him. He had enough of his shenanigans and hopes to forge his own path. For now Jericho has his eyes set on the tag titles... unless the Proud and Powerful get the belts first.
Darby Allen may have been a thorn to the Inner Circle, but turned his attention to the TNT title, worn by an increasingly arrogant Cody Rhodes (now that he has won the right to say his name in full). After missing out in previous bouts, he finally caught the veteran napping, snagging the best for himself. Cody has since been supportive of the youngster, especially since Taz has set his sights on the title along with Brian Cage and Ricky Starks. Will Hobs was a newcomer and was thought to be an ally, but turned out to be a turncoat. Just when all hopes was lost, this happened:
That's right, after nearly 20 years, a substantial time in Impact and a lackluster number of appearances in the WWE, Sting has returned to TNT. As with his opposition to nWo years ago, he has arrived to put a stop to Team Taz's bullying and shape up Darby to unleash his full potential. So far... he hasn't done much. But he is slated to fight next month. Oh and Cody Rhodes has moved on to mentor Lee Johnson and feud with Shaq.
Shida has had a more quiet run of sorts in the women's division. With Japan's well of quality joshi wrestlers locked out of competition (including former champion Riho) and Kris Statlander still injured, here hasn't been much to go by here. Nyla Rose has Vick Guerrero as a manager, Abadon continues to bring about nightmares and Anna Jay got a rematch, but not much else has happened.
The bigger stories have been outside the title picture. Tay Conti and Red Velvet continue to show promise, while NWA's talent continues to shine, including an excellent title match between Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb. A distraction finish from Dr. Britt Baker cost Rosa her title and the later has been gunning for her ever since. Speaking of Baker, what a turnaround from her. Not only has she been the absolute best heel in the business, her technical skills has also improved. After getting the better of Rosa at Beach Bash, she now has her sights on the Women's title (yet again, more on that just a bit later).
Which brings us to the main event. After outsmarting the Inner Circle, Jon Moxley had a banger of a title run. He has no shortage of tough competition, but his overall toughness and deceptive trickiness saw him through. He outlasted Brodie Lee, outgrappled Brian Cage, outheeled MJF, outmaneuvered Lance Archer and outsavaged longtime friend Eddie Kingston to retain the title. All that was left was for him to take on what people thought would be the face of AEW. Kenny Omega hasn't had as much luck in singles competition, but his tag team loss caused him to reinvent himself. Forcing Justin Roberts to perform increasingly tedious introductions, he swept the competition to earn a title shot. But Moxley wasn't impressed. No, he stated if Kenny ever wanted the belt, he wanted the return of Mr. Cleaner. He wanted the 2018 Pro Wrestler of the Year, 6 star generating Kenny Omega. And at Winter is Coming, it seemed like we were getting that. Yet it didn't seem it was enough. So Kenny turned to dirty tactics. Don Callis got the illegal hit on Moxley to give Kenny the victory. Afterwich, the two ran off like thieves in the night while the AEW world wondered what got into him. Turns out Callis had plans of his own, bringing the title toTNA Impact Wrestling.
The door has been opened. Just not the one we had thought.
Ever since that, Kenny gleefully planned for the return of the Bullet Club, recruiting TNA Tag Champions The Good Brothers to assist him in keeping the titles and keeping Moxley at bay. All while the Young Bucks ponder what to do with it all. They seemed uninterested in re litigating old factions. Nearly two weeks ago, Jon Moxley finally got a chance to get his hands on Omega with PAC and Rey Fenix against the Good Brothers. While they lost the match, Moxley seemed poised to get his revenge. Then this happened:
Yes, that is KENTA, the current challenger to Moxley's IWGP United States Championship. The forbidden door has finally been opened.
Yet that's not all. Not only is New Japan open to bringing in their wrestlers to compete in AEW and Impact!, the joshi scene is finally poised to show what they are capable of in a Japan vs USA bracket with the winner to face Shida for her title. Including one popular wrestler:
That tournament will start tomorrow on Youtube.
With the pandemic finally showing signs of simmering down (fingers crossed on Florida), it seems only a matter of time before Tony Khan's dream of cross-promotion showdowns is finally realized.
We also have a whole slew of feuds going on from Eddie Kingston and PAC's feud over the custody of the Lucha Brothers with a sprinkling of Lance Archer and Private Party's quest for Impact domination in the tag division to Orange Cassidy's quest to free Chuck Taylor from the clutches of Miro (congrats to Kip Sapian and Penelope Ford on their wedding BTW) and Jurassic Express' feud with FTR. Not to mention a whole basket case of talent just waiting to become stars in the future. Oh and Ryan Nemeth's trying to be a thing. Good luck with that.
Where to watch AEW Dynamite
It will be shown on Wednesdays at 8/7c on TNT in America, TSN2 in Canada, approximately at 11:30 PM GMT and at FITE TV live anywhere else. AEW Dark shows at 7/6c on Tuesdays on the AEW Dynamite Youtube page.
First and foremost, the death of Brodie Lee brought shockwaves to everyone in the wrestling world. From his indie years in New York to becoming a part of the Wyatt Family as Luke Harper, his immense size belied nimble moves and intensity of his attacks. Sadly, he never got that rematch right at the height of his career. Yet it was this final act that got the Dark Order over, turning the stable from a geeky heel faction to one of the most lovable campy dorks in the wrestling world. John Silver alone is one of the most beloved wrestlers in the business and we can only hope for brighter things for the group. RIP Johnathan Huber, and we all thank you for your contribution to the sport.
Speaking of whom, the Dark Order has set their sights on a new leader, and they believe they have found one in 'Hangman' Adam Page. Pinned by FTR on their title match, he has been abandoned by his mentor Kenny Omega marking the end of the Elite (but more on that later). After helping them secure a few victories, he declined the offer. He would instead side with ally Matt Hardy, now of Big Money fame. With big plans set for him as well as Private Party that span far beyond AEW (again more on that later), Matt has secured a contract with the sad cowboy. It remains to be seen what he has in store.
After winning the tag team titles, FTR proceeded to lay waste to the tag team division. With no respect to the modern tradition of flips and super kicks as well as with some help from Tully Blanchard, Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood used good old fashioned fisticuffs and some underhanded tactics to dispatch the likes of TH2, The Lucha Bros and SCU before finally agreeing with a match with archrivals The Young Bucks on the condition that the later would be banned from ever winning the titles with a loss and with Matt Jackson suffering from a leg injury. What followed was a wonderful homage of the greatest tag teams in wrestling. In the coveted Fists vs Flips fight, The Young Bucks finally lived up to their potential and won the titles. For now, the two are wondering how to play out their reign, putting the ascending Top Flight team under their wings for now.
Meanwhile, The Inner Circle were trucking along well with no issues despite Chris Jericho losing the title last year.That all changed with a proposal from the narcissistic Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Reeling from a loss from Jon Moxley, he set sights on joining the faction. After a series of passive aggressive gestures, Le Champion agreed to give him a chance provided he could pin him. MJF did just that at Full Gear and the two have been chummy ever since. Not so much with everyone else. Jake Hager felt threatened with the presence of Wardlow, heightened by a later loss to him. The Proud and Powerful duo of Santana and Ortiz sense a lack of respect to their Puerto Rican heritage, a rift that heightened when they lost out a chance to face the Young Bucks to MJF and Jericho. And of course there's Sammy Guevara. The Spanish God watched as his best friend moved closer towards the newcomer, culminating to last week where he announced he was quitting the Inner Circle. It didn't matter that he could prove that MJF tried to record him. He had enough of his shenanigans and hopes to forge his own path. For now Jericho has his eyes set on the tag titles... unless the Proud and Powerful get the belts first.
Darby Allen may have been a thorn to the Inner Circle, but turned his attention to the TNT title, worn by an increasingly arrogant Cody Rhodes (now that he has won the right to say his name in full). After missing out in previous bouts, he finally caught the veteran napping, snagging the best for himself. Cody has since been supportive of the youngster, especially since Taz has set his sights on the title along with Brian Cage and Ricky Starks. Will Hobs was a newcomer and was thought to be an ally, but turned out to be a turncoat. Just when all hopes was lost, this happened:
That's right, after nearly 20 years, a substantial time in Impact and a lackluster number of appearances in the WWE, Sting has returned to TNT. As with his opposition to nWo years ago, he has arrived to put a stop to Team Taz's bullying and shape up Darby to unleash his full potential. So far... he hasn't done much. But he is slated to fight next month. Oh and Cody Rhodes has moved on to mentor Lee Johnson and feud with Shaq.
Shida has had a more quiet run of sorts in the women's division. With Japan's well of quality joshi wrestlers locked out of competition (including former champion Riho) and Kris Statlander still injured, here hasn't been much to go by here. Nyla Rose has Vick Guerrero as a manager, Abadon continues to bring about nightmares and Anna Jay got a rematch, but not much else has happened.
The bigger stories have been outside the title picture. Tay Conti and Red Velvet continue to show promise, while NWA's talent continues to shine, including an excellent title match between Thunder Rosa and Serena Deeb. A distraction finish from Dr. Britt Baker cost Rosa her title and the later has been gunning for her ever since. Speaking of Baker, what a turnaround from her. Not only has she been the absolute best heel in the business, her technical skills has also improved. After getting the better of Rosa at Beach Bash, she now has her sights on the Women's title (yet again, more on that just a bit later).
Which brings us to the main event. After outsmarting the Inner Circle, Jon Moxley had a banger of a title run. He has no shortage of tough competition, but his overall toughness and deceptive trickiness saw him through. He outlasted Brodie Lee, outgrappled Brian Cage, outheeled MJF, outmaneuvered Lance Archer and outsavaged longtime friend Eddie Kingston to retain the title. All that was left was for him to take on what people thought would be the face of AEW. Kenny Omega hasn't had as much luck in singles competition, but his tag team loss caused him to reinvent himself. Forcing Justin Roberts to perform increasingly tedious introductions, he swept the competition to earn a title shot. But Moxley wasn't impressed. No, he stated if Kenny ever wanted the belt, he wanted the return of Mr. Cleaner. He wanted the 2018 Pro Wrestler of the Year, 6 star generating Kenny Omega. And at Winter is Coming, it seemed like we were getting that. Yet it didn't seem it was enough. So Kenny turned to dirty tactics. Don Callis got the illegal hit on Moxley to give Kenny the victory. Afterwich, the two ran off like thieves in the night while the AEW world wondered what got into him. Turns out Callis had plans of his own, bringing the title to
The door has been opened. Just not the one we had thought.
Ever since that, Kenny gleefully planned for the return of the Bullet Club, recruiting TNA Tag Champions The Good Brothers to assist him in keeping the titles and keeping Moxley at bay. All while the Young Bucks ponder what to do with it all. They seemed uninterested in re litigating old factions. Nearly two weeks ago, Jon Moxley finally got a chance to get his hands on Omega with PAC and Rey Fenix against the Good Brothers. While they lost the match, Moxley seemed poised to get his revenge. Then this happened:
Yes, that is KENTA, the current challenger to Moxley's IWGP United States Championship. The forbidden door has finally been opened.
Yet that's not all. Not only is New Japan open to bringing in their wrestlers to compete in AEW and Impact!, the joshi scene is finally poised to show what they are capable of in a Japan vs USA bracket with the winner to face Shida for her title. Including one popular wrestler:
That tournament will start tomorrow on Youtube.
With the pandemic finally showing signs of simmering down (fingers crossed on Florida), it seems only a matter of time before Tony Khan's dream of cross-promotion showdowns is finally realized.
We also have a whole slew of feuds going on from Eddie Kingston and PAC's feud over the custody of the Lucha Brothers with a sprinkling of Lance Archer and Private Party's quest for Impact domination in the tag division to Orange Cassidy's quest to free Chuck Taylor from the clutches of Miro (congrats to Kip Sapian and Penelope Ford on their wedding BTW) and Jurassic Express' feud with FTR. Not to mention a whole basket case of talent just waiting to become stars in the future. Oh and Ryan Nemeth's trying to be a thing. Good luck with that.
Where to watch AEW Dynamite
It will be shown on Wednesdays at 8/7c on TNT in America, TSN2 in Canada, approximately at 11:30 PM GMT and at FITE TV live anywhere else. AEW Dark shows at 7/6c on Tuesdays on the AEW Dynamite Youtube page.
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