After a jam-packed week of action with three events, All Elite Wrestling returns to one of DYNAMITE's first homes at the Liacouras Center on the Philadelphia campus of Temple University! With it comes the Dynamite Diamond Ring clash between AEW World & ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF and BULLET CLUB GOLD's Juice Robinson ahead of Max's scheduled clash with “Switchblade” Jay White at FULL GEAR 2023! In addition, Hikaru Shida will put her AEW Women's World Championship on the line against Ruby Soho, Rob Van Dam and HOOK will clash with The Dark Order, and we will hear from Chris Jericho as he sits down with Renee Paquette!
But that's not all: we will also see a huge dream team match-up as AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy brings Kazuchika Okada back to AEW for a tag team clash with Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli of The Blackpool Combat Club! In addition, AEW President Tony Khan has a gift for “The Icon” Sting after his stunning announcement last week, and The Elite will put their ROH World Six-Man Championship on the line against The Hardys and Brother Zay!
DYNAMITE is loaded for AEW's return to Philadelphia, and the action gets underway beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT live on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans! Before the night starts, visit the official AEW YouTube channel to watch highlights from last week's DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, COLLISION and BATTLE OF THE BELTS, as well as the latest CONTROL CENTER, and so much more!
DYNAMITE DIAMOND RING MATCH...
AEW World & ROH World Tag Team Champion MJF vs. “Rock Hard” Juice Robinson
As of this moment, AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman is set to clash with BULLET CLUB GOLD's “Switchblade” Jay White at FULL GEAR 2023 (https://www.allelitewrestling.com/aew-event/aew-full-gear-2023) on Saturday November 18th, and with that on the horizon, The Bang Bang Gang has done everything they can to make Max's life hellish. They've attacked him, stolen his Triple B championship belt, mocked the Dynamite Diamond Ring MJF has managed to keep in his possession since 2019, and now after Juice Robinson won the Battle Royale last week, they aim to rob him of that accessory as well.
Sure Max, or at least someone wearing his signature devil mask, and a gang of other disguised individuals fired back at Jay White by assaulting him backstage, but circumstantial evidence aside, and taking the man's word with a grain of salt, MJF claims the mask was stolen from his bags. Now historically speaking Maxwell Jacob Friedman has not been the most trustworthy individual, but his somewhat matured attitude towards everything lends him a credibility he didn't have earlier this year.
But MJF is going to have to put all that aside, everything BC GOLD has put him through the last several weeks and the distractions of everything surrounding Adam Cole's surgery, and focus on the task at hand with Juice Robinson. With Cole's out, and MJF clearly not interested in the help offered by Max Caster, the AEW World Champion is quite alone in a situation where Juice and The Bang Bang Gang will absolutely use their numbers to further break MJF down before FULL GEAR 2023.
Will “Rock Hard” be the first person not named MJF to lay claim to the Dynamite Diamond Ring? Max won the Battle Royale, and the subsequent singles match, three years running while last year defended the AEW World Title, as well as possession of the ring, in a match versus Ricky Starks. So while history is on MJF's side, the other side has four men on it who will conspire together to insure the current holder of the Dynamite Diamond Ring doesn't spend another night with it on his finger...
A DREAM TEAM...
AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy & Kazuchika Okada
vs.
Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson & Claudio Castagnoli)
Four months ago to the day, at FORBIDDEN DOOR 2023, Bryan Danielson defeated “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada with a broken arm. It was the culmination of a hard-hitting twenty-eight minute fight, one fans had dreamed about seeing for years finally coming to fruition, that far exceeded expectations, and left people clamoring for more. Okada, for one, was certainly game for a rematch, quoted as saying “If there is a time to have a rematch, I’d like to win even if I have to break both of Danielson’s arms next time.”!
Well, as Orange Cassidy announced to the world after winning his BATTLE OF THE BELTS VIII International Championship defense against John Silver, “The Rainmaker” will have that chance this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE when he returns to AEW for this tag team dream match! The multi-time IWGP Champion will team with the 2-Time AEW International Champion to take on The Blackpool Combat Club of Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli!
This match marks the first time Okada has been in Philadelphia since ROH WRESTLING Episode #209, available on Honor Club now, was taped in August 2015! It's been over eight years since “The Rainmaker” graced the City of Brotherly Love, and now he's back for this huge tag team collision that's as much about OC and Jon Moxley as it is Danielson/Okada. Moxley may not be cleared for combat quite yet, but clearly he and “Freshly Squeezed” are on a collision course revolving around that AEW International Championship. What Orange did when he purposefully shoulder bumped Moxley was way outside the norm for the 2-Time International Champion, as was the manner in which he lofted the belt overhead as Mox was pulled away by his BCC brethren, as if Orange was challenging the man who beat him for the belt back at GRAND SLAM 2023.
So while OC and Mox may not get their hands on one another quite yet, Cassidy is more than happy to fight the other members of The Blackpool Combat Club this week, and no matter who the victor is when the final bell rings, the AEW faithful are all winners! This is Danielson and Okada in the ring once more, this is Danielson and OC fighting for the first time, Claudio and Okada for the first time, and it goes down this Wednesday night on TBS! Dreams do come true...
AEW WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Ruby Soho
It is clear as day that Ruby Soho is beyond frustrated with her championship situation, or rather lack thereof, in All Elite Wrestling: frustrated at GRAND SLAM 2021 by Dr. Britt Baker in their AEW Women's World Championship fight, and beaten by Jade Cargill in the finals of the TBS Championship Tournament on January 5, 2022. Then it was the loss at REVOLUTION 2023 in a Three Way World Championship fight with Jamie Hayter and Saraya, the defeat at Kris Statlander's hands in their TBS Championship bout at ALL OUT 2023, and the loss to Hikaru Shida in their #1 Contender's match on the 9/29/23 edition of RAMPAGE, a victory that Shida parlayed into her third reign as champion at Saraya's expense.
So with all that piled on her head, not to mention everything that's gone down with “Timeless” Toni Storm, Ruby is hellbent on finally becoming a champion in All Elite Wrestling, to the point where she made this challenge to Hikaru Shida despite having ate that loss a month ago. Ruby wants what she feels she deserves, and given her temperament when she delivered those words on COLLISION, she may be willing to do anything to make it happen.
For Shida, this is a possibly a chance to move past The Outcasts, to add a championship win over Ruby Soho to that of her recent one over Saraya and her DYNAMITE #200 one over Toni Storm. It's also the opportunity to celebrate this third championship reign the way Shida couldn't with the second when Saraya stole it from her at ALL IN: LONDON, by pinning Storm, after just twenty-five days. Can Ruby bring Shida's third championship reign to an even shorter conclusion than her second and finally achieve what she's craved since her first day in AEW?
ROH WORLD SIX-MAN CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH...
The Elite (Hangman Adam Page, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson)
vs.
Brother Zay & The Hardys (Jeff & Matt)
The Elite of Adam Page and The Young Bucks captured the ROH World Six-Man Championship titles from The Mogul Embassy at RAMPAGE: GRAND SLAM 2023, beginning their second reign as champions some five and a half years after the conclusion of their first. While all three men have been distracted with other business in the months since that victory, none have forgotten about their responsibility as champions and how that entails actually defending the titles.
It is with that in mind that Hangman and the brothers Jackson laid out an Open Challenge for this Wednesday night in Philadelphia, leaving the door open for any three individuals to walk through and try to claim the titles for themselves. Well it looks like two men men named Hardy heard the call, and found their third in another named Brother Zay who's grown quite close to Matt and Jeff over the last couple years. Now The Hardys and Zay have only gone the trios route on two instances, once to challenge Daddy Ass and The Acclaimed for the AEW World Trios Titles and another to face Garcia, Parker, and Menard, and have lost on both occasions, but that isn't going to stop them from taking the gamble when there's a championship at stake.
The Hardys do know a thing or two about beating The Young Bucks, while Matt, Hangman, and Brother Zay have some history of their own here in AEW; which trio will walk away dominant and which will be despondent?
TAG TEAM CHALLENGE...
The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver) vs. FTW Champion HOOK & Rob Van Dam
The Dark Order are quite unhappy with the outcome of John Silver's AEW International Championship fight with Orange Cassidy that took place at BATTLE OF THE BELTS VIII. Though Silver fought the good fight, “Freshly Squeezed” left with the championship still in his backpack, but for John and Alex Reynolds the deal isn't over yet.
As they said, since they can't get their hands on OC this Wednesday seeing as how he's got that tag match already on his plate, they've elected to target a pair of his friends in Rob Van Dam and the FTW Champion HOOK. This being Philadelphia, the home of the promotion where RVD really made his name in professional wrestling, it's akin to a homecoming for the multi-time World Champion, a return to a city he hasn't competed in since December 2022, and only six times in the last decade at that. Together, though it's only been that one match thus far, RVD and HOOK have gelled quite well as a tag team, but they will be put to the test by Alex Reynolds and John Silver on Wednesday night.
Those two Dark Order members are one of the most experienced pairs in All Elite Wrestling, having worked as a team since 2011, and captured multiple championships together before their entry into AEW. Though they've been frustrated as team, only challenging one time for the AEW World Tag Titles and once for the ROH tag belts, that doesn't change the fact they are a dangerous duo with a chip on their shoulder and a reborn malice in their hearts.
Orange Cassidy may be the target of their animosity, but it's Cassidy's friends potentially taking stray bullets this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE. Obviously The Dark Order doesn't care who feels their wrath, as long as it hurts Orange Cassidy in the process...
A GIFT FOR STING...
A week ago we heard “The Icon” Sting tell the world that REVOLUTION 2024, wherever that may take place and on whatever date it may take place, will be his last day competing as a professional wrestler. Though he has often used the line “The only for certain about Sting is that nothing is for certain”, “The Icon” made a point to say that this was for certain. Exactly what shape that final night will take remains to be seen, and luckily we all still have several months to show the man our appreciation for everything he's meant to professional wrestling, and to so many lives around the world.
One man who intends to show his appreciation for Sting this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE is AEW's CEO Tony Khan, and he apparently has a gift for “The Icon” he intends to present right here in Philadelphia. It's a city Sting's quite familiar with, a place where's he's won and lost championships, and a city whose wrestling history he's been a part of since 1987; what will this next trip to Philly mean to “The Icon” as he heads towards the end of the road next year?
CHRIS JERICHO & RENEE PAQUETTE...
Powerhouse Hobbs decimated Chris Jericho like no man has done since the inception of All Elite Wrestling, and possibly like no man has ever done to Chris in the whole of his career. It was an explosion of so much pent-up within the former TNT Champion, years and years of emotion and rage, and though it was Don Callis who harnessed those emotions to unleash upon Chris Jericho, it was Powerhouse who did the damage.
Now, after the AEW faithful being subjected to Don Callis and his ilk last week, it is time for Chris Jericho to share his thoughts with the world, something he will do when he sits down with Renee Paquette this Wednesday night on DYNAMITE. How is Jericho feeling? What is running through his head after Callis' latest affront and after hearing Powerhouse Hobbs' words? The AEW faithful will find out Wednesday night on TBS!
SWERVE'S GOT WORDS...
This Wednesday night in Philly Swerve Strickland has some thoughts to share regarding “Hangman” Adam Page and his involvement in Strickland's match with Bryan Danielson. In the mind of Swerve, if Page hadn't inserted himself into the fracas it would've been Strickland challenging Christian Cage for the TNT Championship instead of “The American Dragon”, and Swerve would've won the title whereas Danielson lost.
The reality is that Hangman, despite having an upcoming match with Jay White on his plate, chose to put himself into that fight to stop Swerve Strickland from cheating the same way he did at WRESTLEDREAM to defeat Page. Hangman was only there to make sure it was fair, and that is what played a part in costing Swerve his TNT Championship opportunity.
So on DYNAMITE, in the City of Brotherly Love, Swerve Strickland aims to address the former AEW World Champion about this situation, and we shall see what that leads to, especially considering Hangman has a ROH World Six-Man Championship title defense already on his plate for the evening.
This Wednesday night, DYNAMITE comes back to Philadelphia's Liacouras Center with a jam-packed night of action beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT LIVE on TBS, as well as at AEWPlus.com for our international fans! Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale winner Juice Robinson takes on AEW World Champion MJF with his prized Dynamite Diamond Ring at stake, Kazuchika Okada returns to AEW to team with Orange Cassidy for a tag team bout with The BCC, Hikaru Shida defends the AEW Women's World Championship against Ruby Soho, and so much more set to go down! Be sure to drop by the official AEW YouTube channel for highlights from last week's episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, BATTLE OF THE BELTS, and COLLISION, as well as the newest edition of THE CONTROL CENTER to get prepared!
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