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Preview: AEW – Thursday Night Dynamite (8/27/20)

tag team gauntlent aew dynamite

It’s Thursday, so you know what that means. It’s time for a very special edition of AEW Thursday Night Dynamite!

Due to the NBA playoff schedule, this week’s episode of Dynamite will air on August 28th instead of its usual August 27th date. But the date change doesn’t take away from the fact that this week’s card is once again one to watch. Following last week’s shocking developments, AEW is advertising an update on Cody’s medical condition, and a victory celebration for the new TNT Champion, Mr. Brodie Lee.

Also scheduled for tonight’s episode is a tables match between Sammy Guevara and the increasingly unstable Matt Hardy, a contract signing for the world title, a handicap match in the women’s division, and a tag team gauntlet to determine who will face Kenny Omega and Hangman Page for the titles at All Out. Plus, Chris Jericho will be on commentary once again, with hot takes the way only Le Champion is capable of executing. You won’t want to miss a moment of the action on AEW Thursday Night Dynamite!

Tag Team Gauntlet: Natural Nightmares vs Young Bucks vs Best Friends vs FTR

Four of AEW’s best tag teams will step to the plate for a chance to take on the reigning champions, Kenny Omega and Hangman Page at All Out in September. It’s a huge opportunity and one that all of these teams, based on their official AEW rankings deserve. According to the rankings set as of 8/19, these are the four best tags in the division and they will enter the gauntlet accordingly. Up first with by the fourth-ranked Natural Nightmares taking on the third-ranked Young Bucks. The winner of that will face the second-ranked Best Friends, and the winner of that will take on the top-ranked FTR, who is actually the only team in this match who have yet to challenge for the titles. Though that should change after tonight.

If we had to take a guess on what will happen, the Bucks will beat the Nightmares and then go on to defeat Best Friends, perhaps thanks to some interference by Proud-N-Powerful, who likely will not be over their loss to Chuckie T and Trent the last time the two teams met. That leaves a Young Bucks/FTR final, which given the events of Tag Team Appreciation Night, seems to be the perfect time to finally pair these two in the ring. Fans have been waiting years for FTR and the Young Bucks to get their hands on each other and that could and likely will, happen tonight. That is of course unless AEW wants to save the big moment for when the two teams have their very first traditional tag team match, sometime in the near future. Should the Bucks face FTR in the finals, it is likely FTR wins as ever since their arrival, they’ve been pushed toward the titles. Taking them off Page and Omega, who could finally fall apart due to increasing tensions and Page’s budding relationship with his fellow Carolina boys, would give AEW new champs and a chance for FTR to put their mark on wrestling’s best tag team division.

AEW World Championship Contract Signing on Dynamite

It’s time to make AEW great again! MJF, who has anointed himself the future of this industry and the future of AEW, has spent the last few months making a case for why he deserves to be world champion and put an end to dictator Jon’s reign of terror. His words, not ours. From campaign slogans to in-arena signs to most recently, a petition to ban Moxley’s finisher, which MJF fell victim to in a surprise attack by the champion not long ago. Not to say the young, charismatic challenger didn’t deserve it as in an effort to make his title match, perhaps a little easier, MJF cracked Jon Moxley in the head with the title belt to steal a win for Darby Allin. But things didn’t work out how MJF had hoped as Moxley managed to successfully defend his title anyway, leaving MJF in a precarious position: he had pissed off the champ.

With his associates by his side, MJF has promised that he will end Moxley the way Moxley tried to end him. These two have gone back-and-forth with fantastic promos and the contract signing tonight should prove no exception. Expect some vicious words and perhaps some even more vicious actions as the Road to ALL OUT for these two, becomes official on AEW Thursday Night Dynamite.

Tables Match: Sammy Guevara vs Matt Hardy

Someone, get the tables…Ever since Sammy Guevara’s reckless chair shot led to Matt Hardy being opened up hardway, the man of many identities has had trouble keeping his head on straight. Spurred on by vengeance, Hardy has shifted in and out of identities over the past several weeks, doing so subconsciously. But when he’s just Matt Hardy, his mission is simple. End Guevara’s career, beat him within an inch of his life, and then let the Young Bucks fire him.

Hardy’s desire to get even spurs beyond just Guevara’s attack a few weeks ago. It goes back to when Hardy extended his hand in an effort to take Guevara from Chris Jericho’s destructive influence. Hardy saw something in the youngster and he wanted to take him under his wing. But the younger half of Le Sex Gods already had his mentor and decided to give Hardy an emphatic and brutal “no.” Since then, the hostilities between the two have continued to escalate as Hardy has cost Guevara matches and Guevara has well, cost Hardy blood and lots of it. So last week, Hardy got a matter of revenge when he tossed Guevara off the stage and through a table. The referees interfered before Hardy’s attack could go any further. This week however, even the referees won’t be able to stop the physical punishment these two men plan to give to each other. Someone is going through a table, but expect a brutal beating to take place before that happens.

Handicap Match: Big Swole vs Dr. Britt Baker, Penelope Ford and Rebel

Big Swole has been desperate to get her hands on Britt Baker and on tonight’s AEW Dynamite, she finally will. Well, kinda. Baker has used her influence to get Swole to agree to a handicap match, one where it is unlikely the good doctor will ever get into the ring, short of the end of the match to steal the pinfall. Baker has been on the shelf since late May but that hasn’t stopped Swole from going after her. As the feud between the two has built it has seen Swole thrown into a dumpster, Baker throwing her assistant Rebel into the lion’s den in her place, and more.

With Baker set to return to the ring tonight for the first time in over three months, she’ll use her squad to make sure it’s a night to remember. Swole wants Baker one-on-one no doubt about it, and a win on Thursday night could get her one step closer to that goal, perhaps even getting that match as soon as September’s ALL OUT.

Medical Update on Cody

Fans were shocked last week when not only did Cody drop the TNT Championship, but did so in absolutely one-sided action. The match wasn’t even close as it seems the grind of defending the title every week finally got to Cody. But adding insult to injury, Mr. Brodie Lee, as well as the rest of the Dark Order, beat down Cody, Arn Anderson, and Brandi Rhodes. It is expected that Cody will be off TV for some time, but on AEW Thursday Night Dynamite, that will officially be confirmed.

A Dark Order Championship Celebration

When the Dark Order first arrived on the scene, there was intrigue regarding who the mysterious leader of whom Evil Uno reported to, would be. The reveal of Mr. Brodie Lee was somewhat surprising but at its onset, seemed like it would work. The Dark Order got their licks in early but when Lee lost to Jon Moxley in a world title match, the group seemed to move into having little to no direction. Losses piled up for John Silver and Alex Reynolds, Uno and Stu Grayson failed to capture the tag team titles, and seemingly everywhere the Dark Order went, so too did the Elite and they did so with the upper hand.

But all of that changed last week when Lee destroyed Cody in the dominant kind of performance the Dark Order has long-needed. The group followed up Lee’s win with a severe beatdown, helping to sell that they are indeed a group to be feared, even if their act had become comedic as of late. But the comedy seems to be gone as Lee is ready to embark on a new reign as TNT Champion. And while his predecessor was a fighting champion, taking on all comers week-after-week-after-week, Lee has decided his first night will be a night off. What does the Dark Order have in store for the championship celebration on AEW Thursday Night Dynamite? We’ll have to watch and find out.

Programming note: The September 16th episode of AEW Dynamite will air on September 17th instead due to TNT airing the NBA playoffs. Make sure to set your DVR in order not to miss any of the action!

Stay tuned to Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can catch AEW Dynamite Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TNT and AEW DARK Tuesday nights at 7 PM ET on YouTube.

Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the LWOS Boards to engage in conversation with fellow fans!

Marilee Gallagher, Manager

Marilee Gallagher, Manager

Marilee Gallagher is a Philadelphia native and lifelong sports fan with interests beyond just the major five U.S. sporting leagues. At Last Word on Sports, she is the Department Manager for Last Word on Pro Wrestling, helping lead a team that covers WWE, AEW, and indies both in the U.S. and internationally. Past writing experience includes time as a featured columnist for Bleacher Report and Rant Sports.

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