Whilst the blood and aquarium water from Saturday’s WrestleDream will be dry by Wednesday, the ramifications and fallout are still fluid on AEW Dynamite this week. Two big title matches, plus the unveiling of tournament brackets, are already setting expectations high. Tonight’s edition of AEW Dynamite features appearances from Mercedes Moné and more, so it’s definitely something fans shouldn’t miss.
Besides two championship matches, there’s plenty of story beats and characterization to come. Storm lost her rematch for the AEW Women’s World Championship. Shirakawa, her Interim ROH World TV Championship to Mercedes Mone. Yes, it’s time. It’s official! We’ll find out the brackets live this Wednesday. Check this deep dive if you are looking for a full speculation about the AEW Women’s Tag Team Championship tournament contenders and who could be the inaugural champions.
Elsewhere, Kenny Omega tried to make amends with The Young Bucks after their loss to Jurassic Express. The Hurt Syndicate defeated The Demand for the number one contendership for the AEW World Trios Championship at WrestleDream. Meanwhile, the champions, Samoa Joe, Powerhouse Hobbs and Katsuyori Shibata turned their backs on Hangman Adam Page. Going heel makes the dynamic of this match more traditional. There were already plenty of parallels between the trios. Two of the most bad-ass and powerful trios, who have a clearly defined mission and particular forfeit for powerful strikes and crippling throws. That’s not considering their tough guy charisma. In some ways, going straight into this match leaves money on the table from a potential feud. Just the individual mini-matches alone, in many respects, deserve more. Samoa Joe vs. Bobby Lashley. Bobby Lashley vs. Powerhouse Hobbs. Shelton Benjamin vs. everyone. The combinations are crazy. A dynamic beef battle with thrills, spills and wince-inducing glory. Hopefully, is not just a one-and-done match, but could for the entire trios division, but the start of something bigger.
After Kazuchika Okada pinned Bandido to earn an AEW World Tag Team Championship shot at WrestleDream, The Rainmaker experienced karma. It can be a bitch. Scoring a pinfall victory, the double champion, Bandido, gets his shot against the legend who unified two of AEW’s singles championships. Bandido’s year has been incredible, whether in ROH, CMLL or weekly on AEW TV. Mixed with Okada’s character work and precision, this will be a fun contest and a good chapter in a much larger novel. AEW and Okada have crafted this incredible long-term story that stablemate and new IWGP World Heavyweight champion, Konosuke Takeshita, may end. Some elements of this will come into effect before, during or after the match. An upset seems unlikely, yet as a spectacle, this could be a banger of a contest. Given the numbers of the Don Callis Family, I would not be so sure if they are done with the AEW World Tag Team champions, Brodido.
