AEW DYNAMITE Preview for May 20, 2020

This is it, the final edition of “Dynamite” before “Double or Nothing” this Saturday night, and it's a loaded one! Matt Hardy in action looking for vengeance on Vanguard-1's behalf, 10 aims to weaken AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, MJF preps for Jungle Boy, and two of the Casino Ladder Match participants square off!

All that and more is coming your way THIS Wednesday night when “Dynamite” takes to the airwaves at 8pm EST/7pm CST LIVE on TNT, or on AEWPlus.com for our International fans! Let's run down what is in store for the AEW fans!

NON-TITLE...

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley vs. 10 (w/ Mr. Brodie Lee)

“You may find your AEW career is over before it started!”

Those were the words of the World Champion last week regarding his challenger for “Double or Nothing” Mr. Brodie Lee, but they could also be foretelling of what will go down this Wednesday night when the Dark Order member dubbed “10” steps into the ring with Moxley.

The man once known as Preston Vance aligned himself with Mr. Brodie Lee several weeks ago, and since that decision, has gone 2-0 on “AEW DARK”, a distinct improvement from where 10 felt his career was going prior to The Dark Order. But those opponents were not in the league of Jon Moxley by any stretch of the imagination, and this one will be the fight of 10's young career.

Couple the assault Moxley suffered at the hands of The Exalted One and his Dark Order after the hard-fought Kazarian match with the theft of the World Championship belt, and Jon is bursting at the seams to unleash violence. 10 will be a message to Mr. Brodie Lee, there is no doubt about that, the only thing in question is will 10 survive and what will be left of him?

REVENGE!

“Broken” Matt Hardy VS. “The Spanish God” Sammy Guevara

One week ago Matt Hardy and Kenny Omega were riding high after defeating Santana and Ortiz in tag team action, a bit of comeuppance for their interference in the Street Fight the “Dynamite” prior. Even the attempted involvement of Sammy Guevara, as seen above, did not sway the odds into the favor of Proud-N-Powerful. Unfortunately for Hardy, the elation of victory was short-lived...

Vanguard-1 is no more, and Sammy Guevara is going to be the one to pay for the transgressions of “Le Champion” this Wednesday night. Vanguard-1 has been a companion to Hardy for some time now, and this loss must be punished, and it's pretty clear Hardy has ever intention of making Guevara suffer once that bell rings.

For Sammy's sake, the injury he suffered from the golf cart collision better fully healed up, or at least not as bad as he's letting on, because this Damascus entity is going to destroy “The Spanish God” if it is not. And if that's the case, The Inner Circle may find themselves a man down going into The Stadium Stampede at “Double or Nothing”. But keep in mind, if anyone has a trick up their sleeve, especially in a situation such as this, it is Chris Jericho. This one is sure to color the outlook of Saturday night...

PREPARATION...

Orange Cassidy vs. Rey Fenix

“He never saw it coming” does not do justice to the attack Rey Fenix perpetrated on Orange Cassidy last week on “Dynamite”. Cassidy was blindsided by that kick seen above, just decimated by one-third of Death Triangle, and reigniting a rivalry that ignited just prior to “Revolution” where Cassidy was defeated by DT member PAC.

Due to the circumstances of the world at the moment, Rey Fenix is flying solo now that he's made it back to AEW competition, but it's not unfamiliar territory to him. For example, the AAA Mega Championship that Kenny Omega has defended in AEW a handful of times was actually won from Fenix, and he's had a handful of singles bouts in AEW as well.

Much like Fenix, Cassidy has only competed in a small number of singles bouts in AEW, but has seen great success in that realm elsewhere. So it is with great interest that this bout goes down just a few days before both men compete in the Casino Ladder Match at “Double or Nothing”. This is a chance for one of these men to get a leg up on the other before Saturday night, before they vie with seven additional wrestlers for a chance at the AEW World Title.

ONE-ON-ONE...

MJF (W/ Wardlow) vs. Marko Stunt

Last week Maxwell Jacob Friedman made his triumphant return to AEW competition after (pretend there's an eye roll emoji here) an injury threatened to end his career prematurely. After his victory, MJF proudly boasted and bragged about his accomplishments (as he always does), and informed Marko Stunt that they would meet this week on “Dynamite”. It must be mentioned that earlier in the night, following the Jurassic Express/Best Friends tag team match in which MJF factored into the decision by assaulting Jungle Boy, Wardlow decimated Marko and tossed him into the ringside guardrails.

Max views this as nothing more than a warm-up before he faces Jungle Boy at “Double or Nothing, an opportunity to send a message to The Jurassic Express member through his friend. That is the arrogance of MJF at its finest, viewing an individual like Stunt as nothing more than a message. In recent weeks, Stunt has weathered the onslaughts of both Lance Archer as well as Mr. Brodie Lee and survived to tell the tale. He has hung in there with The Butcher and The Blade, The Inner Circle, and The Dark Order just to name drop a few, and proven time and again he has the heart of a warrior.

MJF's heart, on the other hand, probably does not exist.

But heart isn't akin to victories, and Marko does not have one of those between his three singles bouts in AEW. MJF, on the other hand, has an undefeated record in his singles matches, and only one overall loss period. Max fights for himself, while Marko fights for himself, but also for his JurEx partners. He's supported by Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus just as Marko supports them, and that is something Max doesn't have, want, or need in his world.

The arrogant MJF whose only ally is someone he pays to stand by his side, or Marko Stunt who fights for something more? Who will you take?

CONTENTION...

AEW Women's World Champion Nyla Rose & Dr. Britt Baker D.D.S vs. Hikaru Shida & Kris Statlander

In just a few short days, all four of these women will be engaged in battle at “Double or Nothing”. For the champion, she will have to defend her championship title against a Hikaru Shida rolling into the match on a very impressive streak. Baker and Statlander are also on a collision course of their own after the Four Way match a week ago where the good Doctor had Kris Statlander trapped in her Lockjaw submission on the outside of the ring.

So it is, on the last stop before “DoN”, that the four top women of their division will collide in tag team action! It's one final chance for someone to gain an advantage, be it physical or psychological, over the opponent for Saturday night. Shida could snag a pinfall over the champion to strike a devastating blow before her championship opportunity, or Baker could sink the Lockjaw into Statlander once again to further soften “The Galaxy's Greatest Alien” before their match-up.

Whatever the outcome of this tag team affair, it will certainly have implications for both the Women's World Title match between Rose and Shida, as well as the grudge match between Baker and Statlander. The thing that remains to be seen is who will benefit the most from this contest.

SIT-DOWN INTERVIEW...

Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Arn Anderson

They are two of the greatest minds in the history of professional wrestling, two men with incredible verbal gifts, but the experiences they bring to the table could not possibly be more different. Neither their in-ring career nor their outside the ring life bear any resemblance to one another, and quite surprisingly, they only shared the ring on one occasion back in 1989.

But this week on “Dynamite”, in a rather momentous situation, Jake Roberts and Arn Anderson will sit-down together and verbally have it out on behalf of their clients. With Cody and Lance Archer's “Double or Nothing” collision just a few days away, their respective mentors will have a not so private tete a tete that will likely get ugly. Roberts, as evidenced by his comments regarding Brandi Rhodes, has no filter; there is no line he will not cross, and no button he will not push when playing his games. He will poke the bear over and over and over again until that bear responds, and where he once would have retaliated himself, now Jake has Lance Archer there to choke the bear out.

Now where Jake is mean and nasty, a cruel monster of a man, Arn is cerebral, calculating, choosing his words for maximum impact as opposed to maximum carnage. He can verbally dissect a man without raising the timbre of his voice, but with a look in his eye that is still as intimidating as it was decades ago.

What path this sit-down will take is anyone's guess, but it will no doubt be a thrilling journey for all who witness it. This is not to be missed!

It's the penultimate “Dynamite” before AEW returns to pay-per-view THIS Saturday night for “Double or Nothing”. With all the above on tap, the Stadium Stampede match between The Elite and Inner Circle looming large and much more, the final look of “DoN” will be shaped by what happens LIVE on TNT (AEWPlus for our International audience), and it all starts at 8pm EST/7pm CST. Join us Wednesday night as the wrestlers of AEW raise the stakes in preparation for “Double or Nothing”!