AEW Dynamite Holiday Bash Preview for December 23, 2020

It's the holiday season and All Elite Wrestling is bringing a HOLIDAY BASH to you this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE! On the heels of a wild night last week, one that saw Rey Fenix step up to challenge AEW World Champion Kenny Omega after he bested Joey Janela, and witnessed Sting's arrival to back up Cody in the face of Team Taz. Fans also viewed chaos break out between Lance Archer, Death Triangle, and the Kingston Family, as well as one crazy twelve man tag! Plus The Acclaimed topped SCU, Matt Hardy and Private Party win one despite their tensions, and more!

This week, that victory for The Acclaimed pays off in a World Tag Team Title Match while, coming out of that 12 Man tag last week, Top Flight fights with The Inner Circle in tag team match! Sting will be in the house, The Butcher and The Bastard go head-to-head, Dustin Rhodes' quest to end The Dark Order continues, and the AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida will be in action!

It all kicks off after the conclusion of the NBA on TNT this Wednesday night, and is just the beginning of our holiday celebration that continues with the two-night NEW YEAR'S SMASH events on December 30th and January 6th!

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH...

The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (c)

Vs.

(#5) The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster)

The Acclaimed, Anthony Bowens and Max Caster, have only been teaming for a relatively short time, since the October 27th edition of AEW DARK to be exact. That night, the nascent pairing lost to The Best Friends of Chuck Taylor and Trent but it was immediately clear that Anthony and Max had something as a team.

In the two months since, that “something” has proven to be a rather special bond that, first, elicited seven straight wins on DARK which catapulted The Acclaimed into the number five spot in the tag team rankings. Then, in a win that can only be considered an upset, Bowens and Caster topped the veteran SCU team of Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian on DYNAMITE last week. The circumstances of their victory were certainly dubious, but it marked eight straight victories for The Acclaimed and was part of the reason they now find themselves with a World Title opportunity against The Young Bucks this Wednesday night.

But those victories are only part of the story; the other part of Anthony and Max's story comes with the verbal abuse they have laid down upon every competitor they have come across. Be it SCU or any of their foes on DARK, Max Caster has had plenty of words to share with the world to run down his fellow AEW competitors. So too have Matt and Nick Jackson been targets of Caster's rhymes, the verbal assault on the champs actually facilitated a physical one from TH2 backstage, and they clearly had The Young Bucks attention enough to bring them ringside for The Acclaimed's eventual victory over SCU.

Now the young pair will receive the biggest opportunity of their career on DYNAMITE, just their second match on AEW's flagship show, when they challenge Matt and Nick Jackson for the AEW World Tag Team Titles! Not only is it The Acclaimed's first stab at the AEW World Tag Team Titles, it also marks The Young Bucks first defense of the titles since they won them at FULL GEAR 2020 on November 7th. The brothers Jackson have defeated both The Hybrid2 and Top Flight since that pay-per-view victory, so they aren't coming in cold, but the added pressure of their first title defense, even against a team as new to the scene as The Acclaimed, changes up the situation.

The Young Bucks have the experience, The Acclaimed have unpredictability; Matt and Nick have been here before as champions, Max and Anthony have never had the pleasure; these are factors that play into the big picture, but ultimately it is about who wants it more to leave Daily's Place this Wednesday as champions.

THE VIOLENCE...

The Butcher (w/ The Blade, The Bunny, & Eddie Kingston)

Vs.

“The Bastard” PAC (w/ Penta El Zero Miedo & Rey Fenix)

For the last month, since “The Bastard” PAC made his return to AEW, Eddie Kingston and his Family have been intimately involved with Death Triangle. After months of trying to spin out the relationship between Penta El Zero Miedo and Rey Fenix, The Mad King's games blew up in his face, in large part due to PAC's reemergence from exile. The Lucha Brothers renewed their Death Triangle allegiance, and now Kingston, with The Butcher and The Blade at his side, found the odds evened up with in-ring competition. The Bunny may be at their side, and play a crucial role in the family's successes, but when once the bell rings, she is not the one inside the ropes fighting Death Triangle.

In addition to DT, Kingston has also earned the ire of “The Murderhawk Monster” Lance Archer since ALL OUT 2020 and the Casino Battle Royale. Last week, each of those roads crossed as everyone aimed to get their hands on Kingston, but the mutual desire of PAC and Archer to crush Eddie actually turned into fuel for a new animosity between those two men. Once again Eddie escaped his fate, but another member of his family has not.

This week on DYNAMITE, for the just the second time since debuting in AEW, The Butcher will step inside the ring for a singles match against “The Bastard” PAC. On November 18th, it was The Blade that ended up the first member of this family to fall at PAC's hands, but he and Butcher evened the score a week later in tag team action against PAC and Rey Fenix. Then on November 9th it would be Kingston, Blade, and Butcher who would get a leg up on both Death Triangle and “The Murderhawk Monster” by beating Lance, Penta, and Fenix in Trios action.

Now the table is set for PAC to collide with a second member of this familial triumvirate as he ultimately looks to get his hands on “The Mad King”. Will “The Bastard” be able to mount a second head on his wall, or can The Butcher stop PAC's bloody vengeance before the machinations of Eddie Kingston catch up to him?

TAG TEAM CONTEST...

The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho & MJF)

Vs.

Top Flight (Dante & Darius Martin)

Last week, in a wild twelve man tag team contest, The Inner Circle bested six other men when MJF pinned Griff Garrison to secure the victory. Now it may have been Jake Hager who did the bulk of the work to close it out, but it was the two-time Dynamite Diamond Ring winner who got the three count.

Yet in typical Inner Circle fashion, the victory just was not enough, so the duo of MJF and Chris Jericho continued to assault Griff after the bell rang. It was only the intervention of Top Flight that brought an end to the beatdown as Dante and Darius showed no fear in the face of the The Inner Circle, sending Max and Chris scurrying after a pair of dropkicks. Top Flight would then make the challenge themselves for Jericho and MJF to meet them in a tag team match:

Quickly a match was put to paper pitting Chris Jericho and one of his newest I.C. associates, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, against the Martin brothers in tag team action! It is the biggest opportunity of Top Flight's burgeoning AEW career, and they head into it having lost their last two bouts on DYNAMITE. Those two losses did come at the hands of The Young Bucks and The Hybrid2, the champions and one of the top teams on the roster, so no one can say Top Flight has not jumped into the tag team division with both feet.

Going into this match-up, Top Flight certainly has one advantage over their foes; despite the respective experience of Jericho and MJF, this fight will be the first time those two men have united (musical number aside) as a team. The Martin brothers may have a great deal less experience than their combined foes, but that experience comes as a team with one another. Now Jericho may have a rich history as a tag team wrestler, and champion with multiple partners, but none of those partners where family, and none of them were as self-serving as MJF.

It's going to be an interesting collision in the tag team ranks of All Elite Wrestling this Wednesday night, and Top Flight has the world to gain from picking up this victory on TNT!

THE OFFER...

“The Natural” Dustin Rhodes

Vs.

The Dark Order's Evil Uno

The rivalry between Dustin Rhodes and The Dark Order has encompassed many months of the elder Rhodes brother's life. Dating back as far as April, “The Natural” has tangled with members of The Dark Order but it was not until Mr. Brodie Lee took the TNT Title from brother Cody that the situation escalated drastically. The all-out assault on The Nightmare Family that followed Lee ending Cody's first TNT Championship run turned the situation decidedly personal heading into ALL OUT 2020.

On the September 4th DARK, The Natural Nightmares beat Five and Ten in tag team action, then Dustin's coalition beat The Dark Order at ALL OUT 2020 in an eight man tag that earned him a TNT Title match with Mr. Brodie Lee. Unfortunately for Rhodes, his bid to reclaim the championship for the family did not end in his favor, but it did serve to further fuel his desire to end The Dark Order.

Since that September evening, Dustin and QT Marshall beat Colt Cabana and John Silver in tag team action then, two weeks ago on DYNAMITE, Rhodes would best Ten in a singles match. The aftermath of that match would throw an unanticipated wrinkle into Dustin's plans for The Dark Order as Evil Uno would extend an offer to him, a chance to align with The Dark Order as designate Seven.

Dustin response was swift and violent, slapping Uno and his offer down, but much to the shock (and chagrin of his fellows), Uno held The Dark Order back from reciprocating. If history is any indication, this is merely a continuation of the machinations that Uno will engage in to lure someone into the Dark Order ranks. Whether or not it will have any pull on Dustin Rhodes, someone who is well versed in playing games of the mind over the course of his legendary career, remains to be seen.

But if the interview embedded above is any indication, Uno is barking up the wrong tree trying to convert Dustin Rhodes to the ways of The Dark Order. Rhodes is hellbent on decimating their cult-like numbers, and he has certainly done a tremendous job when faced with their numbers. Alex Reynolds, John Silver, Colt Cabana, Five, Ten, Eight, and Nine have all fallen in some form to Rhodes over the course of 2020, and you can include Uno, Stu Grayson, and Brodie himself in those numbers when factoring in the ALL OUT 2020 multi-man tag.

This week though, with Evil Uno lined up across from the ring with Dustin for one-on-one competition, it is a chance to shut the mouth of The Dark Order. It may only be a short term silence, but it will be oh so sweet for Rhodes as he continues his quest to end The Dark Order.

SIX MAN TAG...

Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus, & Marko Stunt)

Vs.

The Dark Order (Colt Cabana, Five, & Ten)

And speaking of The Dark Order, three more members of that unit will be in action on Wednesday night on the heels of a successful outing on DARK Tuesday night. Colt Cabana, Five, and Ten united as a trio for the very first time and were quite dominant in their victorious DARK bout against Aaron Solow, Fuego Del Sol, and Ray Jaz. They certainly make for quite a well-rounded trio with Five's speed, Ten's power, and Colt's all-around wrestling abilities but this Wednesday night they are faced with much stiffer competition.

The full contingent of Jurassic Express, with a 7-3 record this year in Trios Matches, certainly has the edge in experience with this situation. They may also have a bit of a psychological advantage as Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy hold a pair of wins over Five and Ten in tag team matches as well. They have the power in Luchasaurus, as well as a freaky athleticism unexpected from a man his size, plus JurEx has the speed with both Jungle Boy and Stunt, on top of Jungle Boy's own all-around wrestling skills.

It's quite an intriguing match-up of skills, somewhat even on paper, so the experience factor as a trio may be the edge that swings this one in favor of Jurassic Express. But of course, there's also the rest of The Dark Order to be concerned about...

THE WOMEN'S CHAMPION...

2020 has been a tremendous year for AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida. She has not lost a one-on-one match the entire year to date, as a matter of fact her only loss as a singles competitor was in a four way championship bout way back on January 1st. Even in a tag team situation, Shida has only lost on three occasions this year and the last of those was just over six months ago; to say she has been one of the most outstanding wrestlers on the AEW roster throughout 2020 would be an understatement.

Yet, despite all that success and the variety of opponents she has had to fend off, for the very first time in her AEW career, regardless of what she may say, Hikaru Shida is shook. To be fair, the mere presence of Abadon is enough to strike fear into anyone and throw them off their game, but when, as witnessed in the video embedded above, she also demonstrates the ease with which she can attack you, well it turns that fear into terror.

Those feelings are what the AEW Women's World Champion must contend with as she prepares to step into the ring this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE. Shida must not only worry about her opponent, but also about when Abadon will strike next, if she even chooses to do so. The champion has to find a way to set aside hers fears and concerns about “The Living Dead Girl” long enough to focus on adding another win to her already impressive record...

STING AND SCHIAVONE...

There is an energy, a feeling, when Sting and Tony Schiavone occupy the same space at the same time. It just feels like all is right with the world, especially in tumultuous times, so to know these two legendary figures will be together once more on Wednesday night generates some exciting feels.

But what will Sting have to say after last week when he stood down Team Taz before they could perpetrate an assault on “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes? Are his words for Taz, Cage, Starks, and Hobbs or are they for Cody? Will it be something for TNT Champion Darby Allin? Expect the unexpected when it comes to the painted one, and tune in to TNT on Wednesday night to find out!

THE WEDDING!

The anticipation for the big announcement has been building for months, the speculation has run rampant, and it is finally here! This Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, The Superbad Couple, with The Best Man Miro at their side, are set to finally announce the date for their wedding!

That anticipation and speculation have certainly been weighing heavily on the minds of The Best Friends and Orange Cassidy after all the engagement they have had with Kip and Miro since the latter's debut in AEW. Just listen to their words on the subject...

The excitement Chuck, Trent, and OC feel is palpable and, just as Miro was sure to make his presence felt during the Dynamite Diamond Ring Finals between Cassidy and MJF, it is quite possible The Best Friends and Cassidy will make theirs known during this landmark announcement for Penelope and Kip!

Wednesday night, after the NBA game on TNT, DYNAMITE is bringing to you THE HOLIDAY BASH! The World Tag Team Titles are on the line, Sting is in the house, Dustin Rhodes, The Dark Order, The Wedding Date, and more! Do not miss out this Wednesday night on TNT! And be sure to check out all the action from Tuesday night's loaded AEW DARK exclusively on our YouTube channel (Click Here)!