AEW Dynamite airs tonight (Feb. 18) with a live show from Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California. This is the eighth episode of Dynamite during the 11 week build to Revolution, which takes place on March 15.
Swerve Strickland shuts down Booker T’s claim about his ‘bad habits’ in AEW
It was just last year when Swerve Strickland said “Fuck you” to WWE Hall of Famer Booker T while they went back and forth over how Black wrestlers are treated in WWE. After that happened, Booker indicated that he’ll never say anything nice about Swerve again again.
We got more evidence of
Booker T’s stance on Swerve on his podcast this week when he said the following about his bad habits:
“I heard Swerve Strickland talk about Je’Von Evans, and Evans probably grew up watching guys like him, and that’s true. So you’ve got to figure out how to get rid of those bad habits.”
Swerve responded on X with a joke about trademarking the term “BAD HABITS.” He then shut down Booker’s criticism by giving the following answer to someone who asked “How many pairs of shoes do Booker T go through a year tap dancing for WWE”
Swerve’s apparent bad habits will be on full display for the world to watch tonight on Dynamite when he faces Kenny Omega in a singles match. This is the kind of fight that could potentially main event an AEW pay-per-view if their was a world title on the line. It sounds like Kenny Omega is too busy playing Street Fighter 6 in Japan to make it to AEW Revolution in March, so there’s a rumor that suggests that’s why this match is happening tonight instead.
If the rumor is true, that could open the door for Swerve to show why he’s the most dangerous man in AEW moving closer to a heel turn and injuring Kenny tonight. Both men are desperate to regain momentum in the AEW world title scene after losing to Andrade over the last month. Omega and Swerve had an electric brawl to kick off last week’s show, and we don’t have to wait for PPV to get the pay off.
Who will win when Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland go to war in a PPV caliber match on Dynamite? Tune in tonight on TBS and MAX to find out.
The rest of the card
TBS Champion Willow Nightingale defends her belt tonight in a 4-way match against Mina Shirakawa, Marina Shafir, and Megan Bayne. Willow says it’s a “less than ideal match type for the champ” given how she can lose the belt without even being involved in the finish. Marina and Megan have yet to win championship gold in AEW, but perhaps that will change tonight if they work together and focus on beating Mina Shirakawa as the weaker babyface in the match. The heels will have to fight each other at some point, though, because there can only be one winner.
MJF is still AEW world champion despite Brody King’s best efforts and all of the “Fuck ICE” chants at Grand Slam Australia. Max doesn’t have any time to rest, because AEW World Trios Champion Hangman Page is the new number one contender after beating Andrade in Australia. MJF and Hangman have a face-to-face confrontation scheduled for Dynamite, ahead of their title match at Revolution. After these two guys are done arguing about AEW’s top prize, will one of them kick the other in the dick? Instead of doing the dirty work himself, will MJF instead hire The Opps and HOOK to keep fucking with Page?
“The Brawling Birds” is the name of the new team that was recently formed by Jamie Hayter and Alex Windsor. After winning a house show match in Australia, they make their TV debut as a team tonight on Dynamite. No opponents are listed for them, so it may be one of those quick “in action” squash matches. How long will it take Hayter and Windsor to climb the ladder as they look to eventually dethrone the Babes of Wrath for the AEW women’s world tag team championship?
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– “Timeless” Toni Storm and Orange Cassidy gave Wheeler Yuta a very unfortunate hair cut at Grand Slam Australia. Is Wheeler ready to show off his bald head tonight after presumably shaving the rest of his head after the match? Or will he wear a wig to deny AEW fans the ability to make fun of his hideous new look?
– AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley hates time limit draws after the clock ruined the end of his title match against Konosuke Takeshita in Australia. Is Tony Khan willing to change the Continental rules to remove the timer for whenever the rematch is booked?
– The babyface Young Bucks will challenge FTR for the AEW world tag team championship at Revolution. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler were obnoxious jerks on the mic last week, so Matt and Nick Jackson laid them out with superkicks. Will FTR choose to use their fists to send a message to the Bucks tonight?
– Is Private Party heading back to the AEW bench after not winning their surprise return match last week, or will they continue fighting against The Razcals?
– Kris Statlander shockingly lost the AEW women’s world championship to Thekla in a strap match last week. Is Tony Khan planning a title rematch with a different gimmick at Revolution?
– Darby Allin is fighting for his life in a feud against Gabe Kidd and Clark Connors. Is there any other babyface on the AEW roster who will lend Darby a hand and maybe prevent him from getting murdered by these war dogs?
– TNT Champion Kyle Fletcher doesn’t have to worry about Mark Briscoe anymore after beating him in Game 7 at Grand Slam Australia. But will Kyle end up facing the wrath of a psycho killer tonight after he beat Tommaso Ciampa for the belt last week?
– If Brody King doesn’t appear on Dynamite, will AEW at least announce his return date so that nobody gets carried away with false claims about WBD trying to keep him off TV to protect their sale to Netflix?
– Where the f*** are Chris Jericho and Danhausen? Are one of them currently hiding inside WWE’s mystery crate that will be opened at Elimination Chamber?
What will you be looking for on Dynamite?
