Since Double or Nothing, the following Dynamites have felt increasingly more stable and consistent in terms of action, storytelling, and match build. Graphics showcasing what’s on offer next week are beginning to recapture a sense of “the feeling” perhaps?
Last week it was Will Ospreay vs. Rey Fenix. This week I can’t help but fantasy book what might happen when MJF returns to the ring.
Against RUSH, this is more likely to be a fight than a match. It’s not going to be pretty in all the best ways. Will there be blood?
Elsewhere, other storylines are being developed with The Young Bucks competing in a championship eliminator match. A big “all-star” 8-man tag match featuring multiple opponents who will face off in New York in two weeks is seeking to replicate the magic of the trios match the week before.
Plus, other championship contenders will meet in the ring face-to-face to sign contracts and/or parlay. That’s if tempers can be controlled.
Likewise, there will be at least two more matches taking place on the card. Other prominent figures, like “The Learning Tree” Chris Jericho are likely going to drop in (“Hey, guys!”) for more TV time.
We aren’t there yet with “restoring the feeling”. Although there is a slow creeping feeling of unpredictability impacting Dynamite’s matches, it’s encouraging progress.
It’s Wednesday so we know what that means…
AEW Dynamite Card (6/19/24)
Matches announced:
- MJF vs. RUSH to kick off the show – commercial-free
- AEW World Tag Team Championship Eliminator Match: The Young Bucks (c) vs. The Acclaimed
- All-Star 8-Man Tag: Mark Briscoe, Kyle O’Reilly, Orange Cassidy & Dante Martin vs. Kyle Fletcher, Roderick Strong, Konosuke Takeshita & Zack Sabre Jr
Other segments announced
- Contract signing for the AEW Women’s World Championship match at Forbidden Door: “Timeless” Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa
- Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay face-to-face
Banger of the Night: Brawling with The Bull
When it comes to the return match for a former world champion, for a man who carried the company on his back, it often seems academic what will happen in their first match. However, MJF’s first match has upped the ante considerably given he faces perhaps one of the best and downright most vicious brawlers in wrestling.
This isn’t no tomato can opponent. If anything, if someone’s going to be busted open and bleeding, it’s going to be Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
When it comes to MJF vs. RUSH, the fact the match is going to be aired commercial-free implies that what could happen is going to be intense, fast, and brutal. Already, I have visions of MJF’s eyes bulging as the people’s scumbag is choked using the production cables.
And given the previous brawl, we may be lucky if this match starts or stays in the ring. RUSH, in his return after an excellent showing in the Continental Classic last year, wants respect.
El Toro Blanco wants his moment. RUSH has ripped through the skin of former world champions, from Bryan Danielson to Jon Moxley.
Don’t expect MJF to play fair. This match is likely going to be dirty. Possibly filthy in terms of the abuse RUSH is willing to inflict on MJF. If MJF gets the victory, it’s going to be using his old Burberry bag of tricks.
The Sapphic Love Triangle Continues
Two weeks ago, an iconic moment in AEW’s women’s wrestling storytelling took place. Mariah May cradled both her mentors, her stardom partner and friend Mina Shirakawa on one side and her idol and inspiration, “Timeless” Toni Storm on the other, to her chest area.
Some fans had the connection to Tommy Dreamer’s famous ECW declaration “I’ll take ‘em both, I’m hardcore”. Others online have questioned and teased Storm joking about “where the breast wrestle”.
This storyline deserves its own article (working on it!) because it’s more than just using sexuality as a selling point. Happy Pride Month by the way!
This match at Forbidden Door, as much as it’s about the AEW Women’s World Championship, is also a battle for the heart and loyalty of Mariah May. May has been the understudy to her mentor Toni Storm.
Storm’s affections for her protégé have only increased over time. Clearly, jealousy has emerged with Mina and how she has come to May’s aid on multiple occasions.
This confrontation is unpredictable. With a microphone, Storm is likely to say everything and anything.
Expect sexual innuendo, insults, and comments that would make your mother blush. Expect to laugh. Yet the unpredictability for once doesn’t just come from Storm.
What will Shriakawa have to say? Also, how does Mariah fit into this? Will either Mina or Storm try to sway her one way or the other?
If things come to blows, who does Mariah side with? Things could go t*ts up very quickly!
If you want a fuller analysis of the “Timeless” Toni Storm character, you can read my analysis here.
Whose House, Bruv?
#AEWDynamite WEDNESDAY!@eaglebankarena | Fairfax, VA
LIVE 8pm ET/7pm CT | @TBSNetworkAEW World Champion @SwerveConfident and AEW International Champion @WillOspreay will FACE OFF after their tense confrontation last Wednesday on #AEW Dynamite! pic.twitter.com/pp7o60qspq
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) June 17, 2024
Swerve Strickland, at the end of last week’s Dynamite, told Will Ospreay that if they were not friends, Strickland would have put Ospreay in the ground for stealing his house call finisher. These two friends have a long history with each other.
Ospreay appeared on Strickland’s podcast not long ago. There’s the viral video of the two of them as younger men having a dance-off in Germany in WXW. If there is any dancing on Wednesday night or at Forbidden Door, it’s not going to be friendly.
Historically, neither Ospreay nor Strickland have been known for their microphone work. However, this year both men have proven they can shoot for the heart, head, and vital organs when cutting into opponents verbally.
Both have stepped up and are not afraid to go for the kill shot. Both men want the AEW World Championship and to be the man who carries the company back to “the feeling”.
Whether or not these men remain friends by the end of the evening is unclear. How Don Callis and Prince Nana as seconds fit into this confrontation throws two potential wildcards into proceedings.
This is the most unpredictable match in AEW this year that will define the future of the company. Both men want the psychological victory because there is so much at stake beyond the championship.
Who strikes the first blow to prove they are the best in the world? Whose house is AEW?
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
Header photo – AEW – 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 on Wednesday nights at 8 PM ET on TBS. AEW Rampage airs on TNT at 10 PM EST every Friday night. AEW Collision airs Saturday at 8pm Eastern on TNT. More AEW content available on their YouTube.
