Another episode of AEW Dynamite comes to us tonight and we have plenty to get into as usual. As seems to be the norm for post-PPV episodes, it’s a little bit of a reset for the company. Not a ton of major stuff compared to past weeks but the slow build to All Out – and a more expedited build to Fyter Fest – begins tonight. With no further adieu, let’s get into the AEW Dynamite Preview!
Battle Royal For The First Shot At The TNT Championship
Just days ago, Cody was crowned the first-ever TNT Champion after defeating Lance Archer in a tournament final at Double Or Nothing. But, and this may well set a precedent for frequent Dynamite defenses with this title which makes perfect sense to me given the name, he’s already looking towards his first defense next week. This match was announced a week in advance, but they’ve been as vague as possible about who will be in it or how many participants we can expect.
That makes it extremely hard to predict, to say the least! There’s not really an obvious ready-made challenger. Shawn Spears looked like he was gearing up for another match with Cody but then Dustin humiliated him. It’d be a little goofy to give him a title match right now. I also don’t think anyone expects Cody to up and lose in his first defense either which means I basically can’t predict anyone that I think they wouldn’t beat right now. Probably isn’t Brodie Lee in that case and there’s no reason for Cage to do it. Another thing is that not all hands are on deck still, though we’re closer than we were a few weeks ago. Still, people like PAC or Pentagon Jr., who would’ve been sound picks otherwise, aren’t available.
I have seen MJF imply his involvement here but I can’t imagine they went through everything they did in the Spring just to have Cody get his win back on free TV in the Summer. Jake Hager might be a strong candidate…Wardlow getting another crack at Cody wouldn’t be a bad thing either. I’m still keen on seeing Rey Fenix get a push as a singles guy until the Death Triangle can re-converge, it’d be really fascinating to see him against Cody. We’ve been to the Sammy/Cody well a couple of times but Guevara really does seem like a stronger and stronger part of AEW by the week, he’ll almost definitely have the TNT title down the line eventually.
This also shouldn’t be thought of as exclusive to heels, Cody has had plenty of face/face battles in the past, most notably with Darby Allin, and I’m sure he’ll have plenty more to come. Scorpio Sky would be a fun shout, maybe even Colt Cabana? I’m sure those two could tell a fun story. Truth is, it could even be someone we’ve never seen before. Cage popping up at Double or Nothing reminds us that we can’t be sure when the next sudden debut will come.
But I’m beating around the bush… if I had to pick just one potential winner? I actually like Dustin Rhodes. It’s been a full year now since the two Rhodes brothers had their classic and it seems like a great time for a rematch. There would be a lot of significant to a TNT title match between the two of them. I Imagine Dustin is the only active competitor on the roster to have actually contended for the WCW Television title, and this championship is very much a throwback to the TV title concept. What’s more, Dustin is on a roll after the aforementioned humiliating of Shawn Spears and was once again putting on a series of strong matches even in an empty arena before his brief, Lance Archer-induced sabbatical. Seems like a sound pick to me.
Britt Baker to address her injury.
Britt was hurt during a tag match last week which ended up her costing her a spot on the Double or Nothing card. It looked like it could’ve been pretty severe but on the DoN post-show media scrum, Tony Khan suggested she might be out for about six weeks. All things considered that seems like a lucky break. This advertisement suggests to me that Britt will continue being a presence in spite of her injury which is a good idea in my book, we can perhaps go back to the Role Model vignettes for a bit as that was well-received.
Matt Hardy & The Young Bucks vs. Joey Janela & Private Party
We know for a fact that the Young Bucks basically see Private Party as a younger version of themselves, and watching them in the ring, it’s easy to see why. But does this insinuate that the same holds true for Matt Hardy and Joey Janela? Eh, it’s a little hard to imagine Matt sees what he is right now in anyone else in the world… either way, I imagine The Elite will continue their winning ways.
Mike Tyson To Appear Live
Not content to just serve as a guest presenter of the TNT Championship, Tyson is set to appear here tonight on Dynamite as well. To what end, it’s hard to say but AEW isn’t usually about pointless guest appearances. Granted if you can have someone like Mike on your show you might make an exception. It’s also been noted that Tyson is getting back into ring shape, a potential boxing return is legit being discussed, and we saw at Double or Nothing that was not just talk, he is frighteningly cut if nothing else. That this coincides with him appearing in AEW is certainly interesting, but I’d rather not get too caught up in speculating.
There have been a lot of callbacks to Mike knocking out Chris Jericho on an episode of Raw once, albeit only on social media. It almost feels like a confrontation is being teased between them… it does sound like good TV. Maybe this will have to do with the below.
The Inner Circle Pep Rally
The Stadium Stampede was loads of fun for sure. It seems the Inner Circle enjoyed the football theme so much that they don’t want to give it up, so we’ll be having an official pep rally here this evening. What this entails exactly is hard to say but none of these Jericho segments have disappointed.
Plus: AEW World Champion Jon Moxley Appearing Live, AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida In Action
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