All Elite Wrestling pulled no punches in its third year of existence, providing its #AllElite following with the best wrestling action they never thought possible. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that the New Year’s Smash edition of AEW Dynamite won’t be any different. This show promises to bring the fire that embodied the promotion for the past 12 months.
As 2022 draws to a close, AEW and all of its world-class competitors have one more in them to end the year on a high note, and welcome 2023 with a bang. It’s Wednesday night, the last for 2022, and you know what that means! This is the New Year’s Smash year-ending episode of AEW Dynamite! Let’s run it down.
Full AEW Dynamite Match Card – New Year’s Smash
- AEW World Trios Championship Best Of 7 Series – Match 6 (Falls Count Anywhere): Death Triangle (3) vs. The Elite (2)
- TNT Championship Match: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Wardlow
- Ethan Page vs. Bryan Danielson
- Top Flight vs. Claudio Castagnoli & Jon Moxley
- Ruby Soho & Willow Nightingale vs. Anna Jay & Tay Melo
The #AmericanDragon @bryandanielson has an EGO problem to deal with, when goes one-on-one with #EthanPage @officialego THIS WEDNESDAY during #AEWDynamite #NewYearsSmash LIVE at 8pm ET/7pm CT on @tbsnetwork!
🎟 See it LIVE! https://t.co/UN1cNiJJrQ pic.twitter.com/6OfxPQcJJ5— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 24, 2022
Melee in the Mile High City
To say Bryan Danielson has had a rough couple of weeks would be an understatement. First, his mentor and a man he considered a father was attacked by the cunning and conniving AEW World Champion MJF. From there, things did not get easier. Danielson made it known on the latest edition of AEW Dynamite that he’s not entirely sure about his status with his Blackpool Combat Club brethren. This puts another thing to think about on the already stacked plate of the “American Dragon.”
That said, he needs to set aside everything for the meantime as he battles a very dangerous Ethan Page. Last week in San Antonio, Texas. Page and Stokely Hathaway had a few choice words for Bryan, which he did not take kindly to. That verbal attack from the members of The Firm urged Danielson to challenge Ethan Page to a match this Wednesday night, which the Canadian confidently accepted.
With his back against the wall, how will Bryan Danielson respond?
The #KingOfTelevision #ROH World TV & TNT Champ @samoajoe will put the TNT title on the line against former TNT Champ @realwardlow this WEDNESDAY during the #AEWDynamite #NewYearsSmash at 8pm ET/7pm CT on @tbsnetwork! pic.twitter.com/gjMpJzwvvZ
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 24, 2022
WarJoe No More
For a time, Samoa Joe and Wardlow were as thick as thieves, absolutely obliterating anyone that stood in the way of their collective paths. Unfortunately for “Mr. Mayhem,” he saw firsthand Samoa Joe’s true colors and what the current TNT and Ring of Honor World Television Champion is truly capable of. Samoa Joe was hellbent on being “the guy.” And, he didn’t even think twice about stabbing his former tag team partner in the back to achieve just that.
Not long after this heinous attack, Joe would fulfill his mission. In a three-way dance for the TNT Championship, then held by Wardlow and one that included the mastodon Powerhouse Hobbs, Samoa Joe took the title for himself becoming a double champion in the process. Dubbing himself the undisputed “King of TV,” Joe, to his credit, absolutely tore through everyone who coveted either title. The list, thus far is as follows, AR Fox, Darby Allin, and more recently, Juice Robinson.
Unfortunately for Joe, Wardlow is one loose end that won’t go away without one heck of a fight. This leads us to this Wednesday night. The last AEW Dynamite of 2022 will finally play host to the much-awaited showdown between Samoa Joe and Wardlow for the TNT Title.
This will be one “hoss fight” that’s sure to tear the house down at New Year’s Smash. Who will come out on top? Find out on the final New Year’s Smash 2022 episode of AEW Dynamite!
Stay tuned to the 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 TBS and AEW Dark: Elevation (Monday nights) and AEW: Dark (Tuesday nights) at 7 PM ET on YouTube. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night.
