On October 2nd of 2019, AEW DYNAMITE the airwaves for the very first time LIVE from the Capitol One Arena in Washington, DC. On that landmark broadcast Riho became the first-ever AEW Women's World Champion by beating Nyla Rose, The Inner Circle came together at the expense of The Elite, and Jon Moxley made a surprising return to decimate Kenny Omega. In celebration of this milestone, fans can relive all the excitement here (Watch Here) on our official YouTube channel until October 15th.
In the year since, AEW crowned it's first-ever World Champion, World Tag Team Champions, TNT Champion, and witnessed the rebirth of the FTW Title thanks to Taz. We have seen The Elite teeter on self-destruction, The Inner Circle grow stronger even in setbacks, new allegiances form, new champions crowned, new faces step-up, and plenty of shocking arrivals onto the AEW stage. Cage matches, Dog Collar matches, Battle Royales, Iron Man matches, fans have witnessed them all, and there is plenty more to come!
And with so many of these historic events transpiring on DYNAMITE, it has certainly proven to be an absolute can't miss event each and every week! And this Anniversary celebration will prove no different as, for the first time ever on DYNAMITE, all four AEW championships will be defended!
The action kicks off hot and heavy at 8pm EST/7pm CST on TNT, our amazing partner for this last year, and on AEWPlus.com for our International audiences! The World, Tag, Women's, and TNT championships are all up for grabs on Wednesday night, but will the same people who walk in with them close out the evening hearing an “AND STILL CHAMPION...” or will it be “AND NEW...” that echoes in their mind as it reverberates through Daily's Place?
***RANKINGS AS OF 10/7/20***
AEW WORLD TITLE MATCH...
JON MOXLEY (c) vs. (#1) “The Murderhawk Monster” Lancer Archer (w/ Jake Roberts)
The date was January 4, 2020 and the location was the legendary Tokyo Dome in Japan; on that evening Jon Moxley and Lance Archer locked up for the one and only time in their careers, under the auspices of a Texas Death Match, and with New Japan Pro Wrestling's IWGP United States Heavyweight Title on the line. It was a fifteen minute war between the two combatants, and when the final bell gonged, it was Mox who survived to call himself the new champion.
Fast forward eight months plus a day to September 5, 2020, and slide over from Japan to the United States, specifically Jacksonville, FL, for AEW's ALL OUT 2020 pay-per-view extravaganza. That summer evening witnessed Jon Moxley retain his AEW World Championship for the fifth time in the main event, this one over a very game MJF, just not game enough to conquer the defending champ. But that wasn't the only momentous occasion of the evening, not as it pertains to this Wednesday night, because “The MurderHawk Monster” would conquer the Casino Battle Royale earlier in the event to claim a future World Title opportunity. In just over twenty-one minutes, Archer eliminated Trent, Ortiz, Will Hobbs and Brian Cage simultaneously, and ultimately Eddie Kingston (albeit with some controversy) to earn the shot, and the match-up was swiftly nailed down for place October 14th in celebration of the one-year DYNAMITE ANNIVERSARY.
But bumps in the road did occur, and when preventative measures relating to the pandemic forced a planned six man tag pitting Moxley, Hobbs, Darby Allin against Archer, Cage, and Ricky Starks to be changed, it also nearly changed the face of Archer's World Title match. Moxley, ever the fighter, demanded a World Title match for that 9/23 edition of DYNAMITE and Eddie Kingston, stemming from the Casino Battle Royale, was granted that chance.
Mox and The Mad King had a veritable war of their own for eleven minutes, but the Bulldog Choke secured the win for the champion via referee stoppage, and thus a retention of the AEW World Championship. Moxley's victory was rather pyrrhic though, as he, Allin, and Hobbs ended up victims of a mass beatdown from Penta, Fenix, and Starks, and then, on top of that, Kingston was allowed to select an opponent for Moxley for the 9/30 DYNAMITE. Oh, and it was a World Title Match...
The Butcher got the nod from Kingston, and put Moxley through physical hell for nearly fifteen minutes before the champ found a way to pick up the win and retain his championship for the third time in September.
All this punishment, these grueling matches and assaults from Kingston's family, while all that happened to Moxley, Lance Archer watched from a distance, waiting with baited breath for his impending World Title match, watching to see which man emerged as champion by October 14th. Much to Archer's delight, it is Mox who still maintains a grip on the AEW World Title, and there is no doubt the defending champion is more battered and bruised than he has ever been heading into any previous title bouts.
Does that make him easy pickings? That is a resounding no, at no point in his life has Moxley every been easy pickings in a fight, and a World Title match is certainly not going to be the first time for that one. What it could lead to is an extra level of confidence for the challenger, it may give Archer a belief that he has an advantage over Moxley heading into this fight, and with a mind like Jake Roberts in his corner, he will certainly know how to press that advantage.
Whether or not October 14th will mark the beginning of a monster's reign over AEW remains to be seen, but the thought of Archer standing as the figurehead of All Elite Wrestling is certainly a terrifying one. The sound of NEW AEW WORLD CHAMPION LANCE ARCHER sounds too good to “The MurderHawk Monster”, and you can bet neither he nor Jake Roberts plan to let a second championship opportunity slip through their fingers.
And should Jon Moxley survive Lance Archer, one has to ponder just how much it will take out of the champion to retain his title?
AEW TNT TITLE MATCH...
“The American Nightmare” Cody (c) vs. “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy
Speaking of surviving, one week ago “The American Nightmare” Cody survived a hellacious battle with Mr. Brodie Lee to not only reclaim the TNT Title from The Dark Order, but also to become the ONLY two-time champion of any division in AEW's history. And the fact that he did so with a dog collar strapped around his neck, a chain binding him to his foe, and blood soaking his face, stands as testament to just how important that TNT Championship is to Cody.
But it also makes a spectator question just how much of the fight it took out of the new champion as he heads into this first defense of his second reign on Wednesday night against none other than “Freshly Squeezed” Orange Cassidy. It's something Coach Arn Anderson addressed following the victory:
As for Cody, he has taken a rather interesting approach to addressing Orange Cassidy's unique style by pointing out the fact the man has never locked up, traditional collar-and-elbow style, in an AEW match before. The new champion has promised to make his challenger engage in this tried and true act, and the official AEW Twitter account even took a poll (Click Here) to see if fans thought OC would go for it. It is certainly an interesting way to approach the man who achieved something Cody was unable to accomplish himself, not once but twice, and that's beating Chris Jericho.
Yet knowing Cody's track record, the Open Challenge that defined his first run as TNT Champion, there is no way he is underestimating Cassidy, he is just that confident in his own abilities to find the answer to any challenge. Be it Kingston, Quen, Jungle Boy, or Jake Hager, Cody found a way to beat them all, and some with absolutely no prep time. With a week to prepare for OC's challenge, a week to heal up as best able from the Dog Collar and Brodie Lee, Cody has to be heading into this with a confidence that took a heavy hit the night he lost the title.
OC himself has felt the sting of being crushed by Brodie Lee as Cassidy was the last man Lee successfully defended the title against a few weeks ago. Orange himself was riding high after beating Chris Jericho in the Mimosa Mayhem Match, and that momentum felt like the kind of thing to boost him to dethroning The Exalted One. That hope was destroyed by Lee, but now OC has his second chance to make a first TNT Title run a reality this Wednesday night.
And while Cody may be promising to make Orange lock-up, keep in mind that Cassidy fights...however...and isn't about to be made to wrestle the way anyone else wants him to...
AEW WOMEN'S WORLD TITLE MATCH...
Hikaru Shida (c) vs. (#2) Big Swole
This one has been a long time coming; Big Swole has not suffered a loss in singles competition since the June 3rd DYNAMITE, bested her long-time foe Dr. Britt Baker at ALL OUT 2020, and knocked off two more victories since that Tooth and Nail battle. She has been a fixture in the Top Five rankings, currently sitting at the number two spot as of the 10/7 update behind Nyla Rose, and has more than proven her abilities inside the squared circle.
The same can be said for Hikaru Shida, the reigning and defending AEW Women's World Champion for nearly 150 days. And although Shida holds just two successful defenses during the course of her reign, over Penelope Ford and NWA World Women's Champion Thunder Rosa, she pretty well bested the entire division before knocking Nyla Rose off her championship perch. That victory over Rose mind you, is something that Swole failed to accomplish on two separate occasions, and likely the one thing keeping her out of that number one spot in the rankings over the former champ.
As a point of fact, Shida has only been beaten twice in one-on-one competition since entering AEW at DOUBLE OR NOTHING 2019. The first loss came against the very first Women's World Champion Riho at ALL OUT 2019, prior to her earning that crown, and the second against Kris Statlander way back on December 4th. What that means is that it has been over ten months since Shida has tasted defeat in a singles match while, in addition to the aforementioned title defenses, she has beaten Baker, Diamante, Anna Jay, and Abadon to name a few. Shida even holds a singles victory over Swole back in November of last year on an edition of AEW DARK.
That was almost a year ago, and neither woman is the same competitor they were back then. They've both been through the battles inside the ring, against many of the same women, yet Big Swole has certainly been grinding extremely hard to get that World Title opportunity. She even entered into the Women's Tag Team Cup Tournament with Lil' Swole, but they were beaten by The Nightmare Sisters in the Semi-Finals. The loss hurt, any loss does, but Swole picked herself up, dusted off and kept fighting. There have only been two things that mattered in the last few months; the first was ridding Britt Baker from her path and that was accomplished at ALL OUT 2020. The second is that championship belt around Hikaru Shida's waist, and on Wednesday night Big Swole could make that second goal her reality.
Will we see the crowning of our fourth AEW Women's World Champion at the DYNAMITE ANNIVERSARY, or will Shida's reign continue on into the fall months?
AEW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH...
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood w/ Tully Blanchard) (c) vs. (#1) The Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent)
Chuck Taylor and Trent earned their top spot in the tag team rankings, and this title opportunity, the hard way. By rebounding from a championship loss in July to Hangman and Omega, fighting the good fight against every team positioned across the ring from them, and going to war with Proud-N-Powerful on multiple occasions. Their battle culminated in a violent Parking Lot fight several weeks ago on DYNAMITE, and should have secured their spot as the first team to challenge the newly crowned champions after their ALL OUT 2020 victory.
Instead Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, and Tully Blanchard spent their first week as champions attempting to celebrate their victory while simultaneously rubbing it in the faces of the rest of the AEW tag team division. That arrogance got them a fight with Jurassic Express a week later, non-title of course, and would then lead to FTR declaring their own Brush With Greatness deal that gives challenging teams twenty minutes to win a championship match. Keep in mind it took FTR nearly a half-hour to beat Page and Omega to claim the titles, but when you're calling the shots, it's easier to overlook unflattering details.
So it would be Kazarian/Sky and TH2 who would get the first two cracks at the World Tag Team Champions, neither duo in the top five rankings it should be noted, but both proved unsuccessful and were defeated within the twenty minute limit. It certainly appeared that the champs and their representative were purposefully dodging the top ranked teams, but last week on DYNAMITE the choice was taken out of their hands when it was declared Best Friends would get their much deserved title opportunity!
Will this shot prove more successful than Chuck and Trent's last one three months ago against the previous champions? Both teams' come into this battle with a great deal of momentum, especially the defending champions with their unbeaten duos record, but their grand arrogance could very well prove their undoing. Cash and Dax certainly view The Best Friends as less than themselves, glorified backyarders if you will, and undeserving of being in the ring with a true team like FTR despite Chuck and Trent's accomplishments in AEW.
Wednesday night, The Best Friends have their chance to demonstrate to FTR what the rest of the world already knows; they are an elite team, a championship caliber duo, and they are not be underestimated.
THE WEDDING PARTY...
The wedding day fast approaches, and fans have seen Miro racking his brain to plan the Bachelor Party of the century for Kip Sabian, even looking to the video game legend Billy Mitchell for some help in putting it all together (Watch Here). As Miro himself put it, planning such an event in a pandemic is not exactly the easiest feat to achieve.
As for a feat not so trying for THE BEST MAN and the groom-to-be, well that will go down Wednesday night when the enter into tag team competition for the second time since Miro made his surprising AEW debut.
In their last outing, Miro and Kip bested the pairing of Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss in decisive fashion, heralding the arrival of THE BEST MAN to the the AEW ring, and serving as warning to the rest of the roster. So who will step up to the challenge this week on the DYNAMITE ANNIVERSARY and attempt to dampen this wedding party?
MJF'S ANNOUNCEMENT...
So what will Maxwell Jacob Friedman's grand announcement be this time? He has used the platform of DYNAMITE in the past to declare his candidacy for the AEW World Title and launch the MJF 2020 campaign that targeted Jon Moxley. He has run his mouth time and time again about Cody, Jungle Boy, Marko Stunt, pretty much anyone who Max arbitrarily decides he does not like, but what is it about this announcement that makes it so special?
Is it related to this “will they, won't they” dynamic that has existed between MJF and Chris Jericho in recent weeks? “Do you want to join The Inner Circle...do you want me to join The Inner Circle?” has been bantered back and forth between the two egomaniacs on several instances, and Max even elected to give Jericho anniversary gifts last week, albeit with his own self-centered bent.
MJF has even publicly posited the idea of creating his own group, since everyone else has one he says, and one can only imagine what that would look like; if his MJF 2020 campaign crew was any indication it would be a very sycophantic lot. Contrary to any lone wolf narrative he spins, it isn't as if MJF has been standing on his own pretty much at any point in his AEW tenure. From his manipulative alliance with Cody and The Nightmare Family to Wardlow to the aforementioned MJF 2020 campaign crew, Max has been surrounded by someone, or someones, since they moment he started in All Elite Wrestling.
Of course this is all rampant speculation, MJF is the type who would declare it a massive announcement worthy of international coverage if he bought a new scarf for his collection. So we waited with anticipation at just will fall out of the mouth of Mr. Salt Of The Earth this Wednesday night.
Come join AEW this Wednesday night for a DYNAMITE ANNIVERSARY, coming to you LIVE on TNT at 8pm EST/7pm CST, and on AEWPlus.com for our International fans! And don't miss out on the latest edition of AEW DARK, exclusively on our YouTube channel, featuring Matt Sydal, Eddie Kingston, Darby Allin, Nyla Rose, Frankie Kazarian, and more in action! Plus it's the only home for our DYNAMITE Pre- and Post-Game shows, that give fans the full elite experience!