AEW Dynamite Preview for April 24, 2023

What a night it was Sunday in St. Louis! DYNASTY 2024 saw Swerve Strickland find a way to defeat Samoa Joe and become the 1st African-American AEW World Champion! Joe reigned as a tremendous champion for 113 days, setting a new bar for all future champions to reach, but now the Swerve Era has begun! In addition, fans witnessed The Young Bucks defeat FTR in the Ladder Match Finals of the AEW World Tag Title Tournament to become the first 3-Time Champions, although they had a little help from certain Scapegoat of a friend. Plus Willow Nightingale ended Julia Hart's 155 day reign of darkness over the TBS Championship, The Bang Bang Scissor Gang became the Unified World Trios Champions after defeating The Acclaimed and Daddy Ass, and of course, there was Will Ospreay and Bryan Danielson!

This Wednesday night, All Elite Wrestling returns home to Daily's Place in Jacksonville to face the fallout from DYNASTY 2024! We know IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley will defend his title for the very first time against Don Callis Family's Powerhouse Hobbs, that new AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland is facing Kyle Fletcher in an Eliminator Match, and we will be celebrating Willow Nightingale's TBS Championship victory!

Don't go anywhere because we are staying in Jacksonville for some Saturday night fights as well! With DYNASTY 2024 (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/watchaewdynasty) in the rear view, everyone's attention turns towards DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-event/aew-double-or-nothing-2024) on May 26th in Las Vegas, and the road there starts this week!

IWGP WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...

Jon Moxley(c) vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

On April 12th, Jon Moxley brought the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship reign of Testuyo Naito to an end at NJPW's WINDY CITY RIOT 2024 event after ninety-nine days, marking the culmination of a quest that began for “The Death Rider” five years ago when he first set foot in the New Japan ring. Moxley started his New Japan journey winning the United States Heavyweight Championship from Juice Robinson, and though he never lost that championship, pandemic travel restrictions forced him to vacate, only to add a second U.S. Heavyweight reign to that resume that lasted 564 days. As important as that was to Mox's New Japan journey there was still always one goal, no matter who the champion was at the time, the goal to claim the IWGP World Championship for himself. It finally happened ten days ago, in the same venue where he defeated Chris Jericho to claim the AEW World Championship at REVOLUTION 2020, and now the hardest work begins, the work of being a defending champion!

The match may have started as “just” Jon Moxley versus Powerhouse Hobbs, a challenge actually made by Mox, but the machinations of Don Callis upped the stakes and now we've got an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match on our hands, a first for DYNAMITE history! There's something to be said for the effect Don Callis has on his family members, some believe he uses them to keep himself in the spotlight, while others see the effect of Kyle Fletcher claiming the ROH World TV Title, of Ospreay defeating Bryan Danielson, and for this Wednesday, Powerhouse Hobbs getting an opportunity he may not have gotten without “The Invisible Hand” of Callis. 

Which ever one is the truth, and really both can be true, it isn't Don Callis who steps into the ring with Jon Moxley on Wednesday night, it's not Don Callis putting his body on the line to become IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. It is Powerhouse Hobbs doing the real work, it is Powerhouse Hobbs risking his health and wellbeing to become the champion of New Japan Pro Wrestling, it is Powerhouse Hobbs who will go nose-to-nose with “The Death Rider” to see who breaks first. This one is going to be hard-hitting, this one is going to be felt by both men when they wake up Thursday morning, both will know they've been through a fight, and if that ends with Powerhouse Hobbs raising the championship over his head in victory, he will know he earned it the hardest way possible. 

In that same vein, Jon Moxley will know he went through the ringer to remain IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, he will know that he put himself to the test by challenging Hobbs to a fight in the first place, and that he made it through The DCF's monster to continue standing as champion. May the best man win, and may Don Callis keep himself seated at the announcer's desk so these two can fight it out!

ONE-ON-ONE...

Anna Jay vs. Mina Shirakawa

Mina Shirakawa comes into this fight as 1/3 of the Artist of Stardom (Trios) Champions, as a former Wonder of Stardom Champion, but perhaps most importantly as a former Goddesses of Stardom Champion alongside Mariah May, a title they held until 8/13/23. 

Suffice to say it was quite a surprise when Mina made her AEW debut after Mariah's victory over Anna Jay culminated in “The Queen Slayer” applying her signature choke to the winner. As a result of that choice by Anna Jay, Mina will make her in-ring debut this Wednesday night to face off with “The Queen Slayer”! Now Shirakawa and Mariah May were part of Club Venus in Stardom for the majority of 2023, but it seemed like the end of that road in September 2023 when May left for her AEW journey, but at Stardom's Philadelphia event on April 4th they reunited for Trios battle, and then six days later Mina made her surprise arrival in AEW!

Suffice to say there is a great deal of excitement with the AEW faithful about the involvement of Stardom competitors in All Elite Wrestling, but Anna Jay likely doesn't share their feelings, she just wants to choke them out, leave them behind, and move towards a championship win. Can she take those feelings and put them to use in victory over Mina Shirakawa? 

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATOR MATCH...

AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland vs. ROH World TV Champion Kyle Fletcher

Swerve Strickland slayed the dragon on Sunday night when he defeated Samoa Joe to claim the AEW World Title, and made history by becoming the first African-American AEW World Championship! The work is just getting started though, and Swerve is taking on the Eliminator Challenge of ROH World TV Champion Kyle Fletcher this Wednesday night in Jacksonville! A year ago Swerve stook side-by-side with United Empire to face CHAOS, but now both men are champions in their own right, and the ROH World TV Champ is gunning for a shot at the AEW World Title!

Given that Fletcher had the night off at DYNASTY 2024 while Swerve went through physical hell, this may be the prime opportunity for Kyle to achieve his goal, and with the backing of The Don Callis Family, Swerve Strickland is going to be in for a tremendous fight on his first night as reigning AEW World Champion!

TIME TO CELEBRATE WILLOW!

Sunday night Willow Nightingale not only ended the TBS Championship reign of Julia Hart, but she was also confronted by potential DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 opponent Mercedes Moné! Whoever holds the TBS Title come Las Vegas will have to face “The CEO” that night, but with a month to get there, there is still plenty of time for the championship to change hands and Willow to be on the outside looking in. 

But that's not Wednesday night, Wednesday night is about celebration! It's about Willow Nightingale's triumph victory, about Stokely and Kris Statlander rooting for their friend, and the AEW fans joining in  live on TBS to rejoice in the new face of TBS!

CHOOSE...

Happy birthday Chuck Taylor, now make a choice! What a thing to have to do in front of the whole world, what a spot to be put in by your supposed friend, but that's what Trent Beretta has done to Chuck Taylor this Wednesday night in Jacksonville. After beating Matt Sydal on the DYNASTY 2024: ZERO HOUR, Trent wants Chuckie T to pick between him and Orange Cassidy, but given everything these men have been through together, the years they've spent together, how can Chuck even do this? We will find out live on DYNAMITE this Wednesday night!

The aftermath of DYNASTY 2024 will be felt this Wednesday night when All Elite Wrestling heads back home to Daily's Place in Jacksonville! We've got IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley versus Powerhouse Hobbs on tap, as well as a celebration of Willow Nightingale, AEW World Champ Swerve Strickland versus Kyle Fletcher in an Eliminator Match, and more!!!

Then we will be right back in Jacksonville on Saturday night another night of loaded AEW action! DYNASTY 2024 is behind us, DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 is ahead on May 26th in Las Vegas, and the path to MGM Grand starts now!