Dynamite airs tonight (Aug. 27) with a live show from 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is the first episode of Dynamite during the four week build to All Out, which takes place on September 20.
You’ve never seen AEW go to this extreme before
Immediately coming out of the Forbidden Door pay-per-view from London, AEW kicks off its residency at the 2300 Arena for tonight’s episode of Dynamite. The next three episodes of Dynamite (and Collision) will all be held at this venue.
This isn’t just any generic arena, of course. It’s the former
ECW Arena, home to the some of the craziest shit that happened in 1990’s pro wrestling here in America, thanks to a rabid fan base in Philadelphia and New York that loved to drink Paul Heyman’s Kool-Aid. AEW President Tony Khan was a huge fan of ECW as well at that time, so there’s no doubt he will try his best to channel that spirit and take AEW to the extreme over the next few weeks.
What exactly does that look like for tonight’s lineup? So far the only matches announced for Dynamite are Darby Allin vs. Claudio Castagnoli in a Falls Count Anywhere match, and Harley Cameron & Kris Statlander vs. Megan Bayne & Penelope Ford in a tag team match.
On paper, it admittedly looks like Khan is just taking a few wrestlers from Forbidden Door’s group matches and pitting them against each other in smaller scale matches on Dynamite. Does that mean he doesn’t yet have a well-crafted plan for AEW’s creative direction following Forbidden Door? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I do know that Darby is a madman who is always jumping off very high things. So if you are looking for something extreme to happen in AEW at the former ECW Arena, booking Darby Allin in a Falls Count Anywhere match is a solid choice.
Tune into Dynamite tonight to see AEW begin taking things to the extreme in Philadelphia.
Update: As I’m writing this at around 1 am ET, Khan posted on social media that he’s been busy celebrating his mother’s birthday, and that Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia is also happening on Dynamite. He seems especially proud of his late night tweets announcing all three Dynamite matches in the span of 90 minutes or so. There you go.
Other stuff to keep an eye
– Is AEW ready to announce any surgeries and/or extended absences for top stars Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland given the events that transpired at Forbidden Door?
– Adam Copeland and Christian Cage’s tag team reunion match at Forbidden Door was a big success. Next month’s All Out pay-per-view takes place in their hometown of Toronto, so they’ll need some better opponents to fight that aren’t just former lackeys of The Patriarchy. Is this where Cope finally gets his hands on FTR after they tried to end his career earlier this year?
– Young Bucks are sick of being treated like jobbers, and now they’re teasing Jack Perry’s return to AEW. Maybe they think he’ll come off like an even jobbier jobber and therefore take some of the spotlight off of them in that regard.
– Speaking of AEW returns, it sounds like Orange Cassidy is medically cleared and ready to return whenever AEW has a creative plan in place for him. With top babyfaces Ospreay and Swerve going down due to injury, this seems like an ideal time to bring OC back.
– What is MJF’s newest scheme for becoming the next AEW world champion after Hangman Page outclassed him at Forbidden Door?
– Now that AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm has proven to be better than both TBS Champion Mercedes Mone and ROH Women’s World Champion Athena, is there anyone left in AEW who can claim to be at Toni’s level?
– Remember that time last year when the Hurt Syndicate made Ricochet look like the biggest dork? Well, he finally got his revenge on MVP’s group by screwing them out of the AEW world tag team championship at Forbidden Door. How soon will Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin hurt GOA in response to what went down in London?
– The Don Callis Family looks stronger than ever now that Wardlow is back in AEW as its newest member, Kazuchika Okada is still the AEW Unified Champion, Kyle Fletcher is the TNT champion, and Konosuke Takeshita is the winner of this year’s G1 tournament. Which babyfaces and championships will Don’s group be targeting next?
– Jamie Hayter has lots off asses to kick now that she’s back in AEW, and Thekla’s name is atop the list. When will the match take place?
– Will Max Caster’s next Best Wrestler Alive open challenge be answered by an ECW legend? What about the son an ECW legend? HOOK is returning to AEW very soon, after all, and there’s no better place for that to happen than the former ECW Arena.
– Where the f*** is Chris Jericho?
What will you be looking for on Dynamite?
