Another iteration of AEW Dynamite is on tonight and we here at the Overtimer will be giving you the same in-depth coverage as always, including a quick look at everything that’s on tap for tonight! With the Hager/Moxley AEW World title match behind us, the TNT Championship Tournament is now the full focus of the show. With no further adieu let’s get into the AEW Dynamite Preview!
TNT Championship Tournament Round 1: Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin
To me this was far and away the biggest first round match of the tournament. Seeing Cody/Spears revisited was cool and Archer/Cabana made for an extremely fresh match. But Sammy and Darby are two guys who always spring to mind when I think of future TNT Champions. Even long before the title had a name, they were both major reasons for even wanting a title of this level in AEW in the first place. If not for them already having a PPV match at Revolution a couple of months ago, this may well have been the tournament final.
I expect this to be every bit as wild as their last encounter and they may even get a crack at main eventing tonight, which would be quite the notch under their belts. Looking at the whole bracket, I think the easy choice is Darby Allin to beat Sammy once again. Guevara will get his over Darby eventually but I think for now, he’s gonna be a big hurdle for him to get past. No doubt they’ll be facing off in major matches plenty of times in the coming years.
TNT Championship Tournament Round 1: Kip Sabian vs. Dustin Rhodes
Compared to the other matches on the bracket, this one seemed to have the least going for it. I think they realized that and have really been pushing to change that in the past week because seemingly out of nowhere, Dustin decided to put forth a stipulation that, if he lost this match, that’d be it for him. He’ll be retiring if Sabian gets this victory. In some ways it’s easy to believe. Kip is a guy I could easily see them pushing as a bigger deal and this would be a helluva way to start that off, and Dustin’s in his 50s. Anytime he talks about retirement there’s not that much reason to doubt it.
But considering that the Natural has just recently started up a named tag team with QT Marshall, and the winner of this match faces the heel monster Lance Archer – who has a vested grudge against Dustin’s Cody – it seems not only obvious that Dustin would win, but like it’d be a missed opportunity for him to lose. Kip going on to face Archer just doesn’t make near as much sense. Dustin over.
Jimmy Havoc vs. Orange Cassidy
It’s… almost impossible to imagine what this match will be like. And that’s the main appeal of it, really. These guys really, really don’t belong together but they’ll wrestle tonight and I’m sure interested in seeing where it’s going. Cassidy is such a popular figure, but not one that actually needs to win much. And I have a theory that Jimmy Havoc and Jon Moxley are gonna have a brutal weapons filled war for the AEW World Title before that reign is done. If that’s the case, don’t expect to Havoc to lose anytime soon. Jimmy Havoc over.
Also advertised: Brodie Lee, Kenny Omega and Wardlow in action!
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