AEW returns to Edmonton, Alberta and Rogers Place for an all-new DYNAMITE kicking off at 8pm ET/7pm CT on TBS, and doors opening at 5:30p MT for those attending in-person! We know Adam Copeland will defend his TNT Championship against The House of Black's Brody King, that AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland plans to call out his DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024 challenger Christian Cage, and that Mariah May will go head-to-head with Harley Cameron in the latter's first DYNAMITE match. Plus, Serena Deeb will be in the house to address her DON '24 championship bout with “Timeless” Toni Storm while Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta will clash in the aftermath of what Trent did to Chuck Taylor! All that and more is coming your way Wednesday night, so be sure to visit AEW's official YouTube channel, as well as our assorted social media platforms, for highlights from last week's episodes of DYNAMITE and RAMPAGE, as well as the latest edition of the CONTROL CENTER!
After Edmonton, COLLISION returns for AEW's Vancouver debut this Saturday night May 11th along with a helping of RAMPAGE! It's three hours of the greatest professional wrestling on the planet as we head towards Las Vegas and the 5th anniversary of DOUBLE OR NOTHING on May 26th!!
TNT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Adam Copeland(c) vs. Brody King
As TNT Champion, Adam Copeland perpetually has a bullseye on his back but these issues with The House of Black have made him the target of multiple men who all have the same agenda. Whether it's Buddy Matthews, Brody King, or Malakai Black, The House seems intent on ripping the TNT Title out of Copeland's hands by any means necessary. It started weeks ago after Copeland defeated Christian Cage to reclaim the championship, continued on into DYNASTY 2024, and has even seen Copeland exposed to that black ichor that Malakai spews.
Though Copeland fell victim to The House at DYNASTY 2024, and though he was on the losing side of the mixed tag match with Willow Nightingale, he was able to survive the onslaught of Buddy Matthews in their TNT Championship clash last week. Unfortunately, based on Adam's actions after the victory, the machinations (and possibly the mist) of The House seem to have gotten into his head. Not only did Adam nearly deliver a con-chair-to to Buddy, he was actually encouraged to do so by Malakai Black if only for a brief moment. Suffice to say, it does not seem that all is well with Adam Copeland, and that was further illustrated by his somewhat paranoid response to Kyle O'Reilly...
For better or worse, The House of Black and Adam Copeland are not quits yet, not by a long shot. Their wars continue this week on DYNAMITE in Edmonton when Brody King steps up to the challenge of dethroning Adam as the TNT Champion! It's been nearly fourteen years since Copeland last competed in Edmonton, while Brody King has never fought in “Festival City”, but this Wednesday night both men aim to make it the city that hosts their victory. After seeing how he left Winnipeg last week, one can't help but question where Copeland's head will be at coming into Edmonton, but perhaps that is what The House of Black is counting on to bring the TNT Championship inside their walls!
INSULTS...
Mariah May (w/ AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm & Luther) vs.
Harley Cameron (w/ Saraya)
Jealousy is an ugly emotion, and is there any other excuse for why Saraya and Harley Cameron have suddenly decided to dogpile on Mariah May, or why AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm's name is back on their tongues? Why else would “Tiny Storm” become their insult of choice for Mariah May and why else would Saraya not-so-casually mention how she beat Toni Storm when she was World Champion?
Clearly their respect for Mariah isn't exactly high, which is why Harley Cameron has challenged her to a match this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE. On paper this doesn't seem to be the smartest play, after all Harley Cameron has only had three matches in All Elite Wrestling over the last two years and it's been over a year since her last time even stepping into an AEW ring for a fight. On the other hand, Mariah May is 8-4 overall, 7-3 in singles competition, and though she's lost three of her last four outings, May proved her ability to be a dominanting force with six consecutive victories to start her AEW career.
She's been in the ring with Thunder Rosa, Serena Deeb, Anna Jay, Trish Adora, and Queen Aminata, to name a few, while Harley has been watching from ringside as others did the fighting. Mariah May was fighting in the ring while Harley Cameron was playing mind games with Angelo Parker and Ruby Soho. Yet it is now Harley throwing out challenges, and while she's demonstrated on multiple instances to be more than a little unhinged, there has to be something else going on here to explain why Harley would be so brazen, so bold, given her relative inexperience compared to Mariah May. What other game are these Outcasts playing?
FRIENDSHIP IS DEAD...
“Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta
Two days after his birthday, Chuck Taylor got to celebrate by having to choose between Trent Beretta and Orange Cassidy. Though Chuck made the right choice, it was one that ultimately put him into a Parking Lot Fight with Trent, and has now left Chuck having to face the possibility that his career is over thanks to Beretta's assault on Chuck's injured ankle.
Now four days removed from his own birthday, Orange Cassidy will step into the ring for a fight with Trent Beretta, a rematch of their RAMPAGE: NEW YEAR'S SMASH 2022 bout over the AEW International Championship, but now a situation far more personal than that championship bout. We heard the words straight from OC's mouth that Chuck Taylor's career is over because of Beretta's heinous actions after the Parking Lot Fight had already ended, effectively killing any hope that the former 2-Time International Champion had of mending fences within The Best Friends unit. We also watched as...Don Callis...elected to insert himself into this situation that had nothing to do with him, and whisper something into Cassidy's ear that sent him walking off seemingly down the wrong path.
What is Callis' interest in his dissolution of friendship? Actually that's not the question, Don's interest in any situation is always self-beneficial, the actual question is how this will all explode on Wednesday night when Trent Beretta and Orange Cassidy step into the ring against one another for a fight? Trent initiated the breakdown of these friendships, Trent assumed Chuck Taylor would side with him because of their ten year history, Trent likely ended that man's career because he didn't make the choice, and now Orange Cassidy aims to make Trent answer for all of those sins! Can “Freshly Squeezed” achieve that goal or will Trent shut him down the way he did Chuckie T?
FACE-TO-FACE...
Last week the world learned that AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland will defend his title against “The Patriarch” Christian Cage at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024! It's not because of Cage's record nor any rankings, but rather because The EVPs of Matthew and Nicholas Jackson flat-out abused their power in the absence of AEW GM Tony Khan last week. It wasn't a matter of TK being unable to oversee events from Jacksonville as he recovers from the neck injury inflicted upon him by The Young Bucks, but rather because the satellite connection to Tony coincidentally happened to fail right at the top of the program.
With the power to run the show squarely in their lap, the brothers Jackson handed former 2-Time TNT Champion Christian Cage the shot at Swerve Strickland essentially because Swerve had the audacity to speak truth to that power. As always, Cage wasn't rolling alone, and together with his band of sycophants, they decimated both Swerve and Prince Nana. Interestingly enough, and it could be nothing but coincidence, Mogul Embassy member Brian Cage was involved in DYNAMITE later that night, but was nowhere to be found while Nana and Swerve were destroyed by The Patriarchy.
This week on DYNAMITE, after suffering the physical assault and humiliation of Luchasaurus ripping hair right out of his head, the AEW World Champion aims to call Christian Cage out for a face-to-face confrontation. If Christian even musters up the guts to respond to the call out, there's little possibility he will respond alone, and if he does respond, what is the likelihood that this doesn't turn physical?
THE PROFESSOR'S LESSON...
After defeating Mariah May last week, and scoring her fifth consecutive victory of 2024, “The Professor” Serena Deeb officially earned a shot at “Timeless” Toni Storm and the AEW Women's World Championship at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2024. Earning that title bout was one more step towards the culmination of Deeb's long, hard road back to competing inside the squared circle, obviously taking the title from Toni would be the end game.
Well this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE we will hear from “The Professor” as she prepares for her championship bout in Las Vegas, a match that coincidentally is also a rematch of Deeb's last AEW World Championship fight as she unsuccessfully challenged Toni Storm in a Lumberjack Match back on 9/28/22. What will Serena Deeb have to share with the AEW faithful three weeks out from her huge championship opportunity?
OMEGA'S REACTION...
Last week Kenny Omega returned to the AEW stage, not to compete, but to give us all an update on his status and to address the situation with The Elite. Unfortunately he was attacked by Jack Perry, hit with a chair in his gut, battered by his former friends, The Young Bucks, with an EVP Trigger, and was moments away from being blasted with Kazuchika Okada's Rainmaker Lariat when FTR hit the ring to save “The Best Bout Machine”.
But as can be seen in the video above, that wasn't enough for The Elite, and they chose to once again attack Kenny while he was strapped to a gurney, unable to mount even the slightest bit of self-defense. So with that in mind, this week on DYNAMITE Kenny Omega is set to make what he described as “an important announcement”. Will it pertain to his future inside the squared circle? Did The Elite's assault set his recovery back, or perhaps worse? What does the former AEW World Champion have to tell the world?
SITTING UNDER THE LEARNING TREE...
Back in Jacksonville, FTW Champion Chris Jericho extended an invitation to any who wanted to sit under his Learning Tree and pick the brain of a man who has been a World Champion everywhere he has gone, has battled and beaten the best wrestlers of the last thirty years, and who has an extraordinary wealth of knowledge to share from his travels around the globe. Former AEW World Tag Champion Big Bill put himself out there as a man interested in what “The Learning Tree” had to offer, and after proving himself through a dominant victory on the 4/27 edition of RAMPAGE, as well as playing a pivotal role in Chris Jericho's FTW Championship victory over Kastuyori Shibata, the seven footer has earned his spot under the tree.
This Wednesday night on DYNAMITE, Big Bill will team up with Chris Jericho for the very first time and show the world what lessons he's already learned from the original AEW World Champion!
All Elite Wrestling returns to Edmonton's Rogers Place this Wednesday night for a huge edition of DYNAMITE featuring TNT Champion Adam Copeland taking on The House of Black's Brody King in another championship fight! Plus, Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta will go to war after the latter ended the career of his “best friend” Chuck Taylor in the Parking Lot Fight, Harley Cameron makes her DYNAMITE in-ring debut against Mariah May, and we will witness AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland attempt to confront Christian Cage face-to-face as they head towards their title fight in Las Vegas!
Then join us on Saturday night for AEW's Vancouver debut for three hours of best professional wrestling in the world as AEW presents both COLLISION and RAMPAGE! It's all about getting to Las Vegas on May 26th and being part of the 5th anniversary of DOUBLE OR NOTHING live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena!!