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AEW World Title: MJF vs. Darby Allin vs. Jungle Boy Jack Perry vs Sammy Guevara
Dave: This match is exactly why I think interest in AEW is down right now (and if you doubt that, just look at attendance for Dynamite on Wednesday and ticket sales for this show). The worst thing that ever happened to MJF was winning the Title. His run has been disappointing to me. With that said, the only one in this match that should possibly beat him is Darby. I usually don't like seeing the champ lose in these kinds of matches but you know what? I think MJF needs to lose to get his mojo back. Darby as champ could sell merch and maybe get some buzz back on the company.
Anthony: Where do we even begin to discuss the most obvious and haphazardly put together main event in AEW PPV history? Obvious from a mile away promos? AEW suddenly leaning into countouts and disqualifications? Sammy Guevara suddenly getting a case of the Galacticly Stupids? The only positive thing I can say about this is that MJF and Allin go into this with the least amount of stink on them from the build up. I honestly would not put this on last as it is so painfully obvious MJF is going to win. If Perry or Guevara happen to pull this off, then the AEW belt's value goes WAY down. And that's not entirely their fault.
Cory: Since they already spoiled who MJF’s next opponent will be, it’s clear he’s getting the win. This feud has taken the shine off of Jungle Boy (his actions with fans haven’t helped much either), and if they are looking to use this as a way to turn Sammy babyface, it will never work because Sammy is just a guy who needs to be a heel. I see Darby coming out of this looking better than going in, Jungle Boy being the reason MJF wins so that he and Darby can feud, and Sammy goes back to being one of Jericho’s followers.
Mike: Four ways have never drawn well as main events and I don't think this will prove to be an exception. Jungle Boy has run his course in my opinion and could use some freshening up or a turn. I don't see Sammy Guevara getting the nod. That leaves Darby Allin, who the audience loves but I don't see this being the moment where he is crowned the champ. So, it's MJF stealing the victory. But, do they make it clear CM Punk is back after?
AEW TNT Championship: Wardlow vs. Christian Cage
Dave: Speaking of people who have lost their way due to the booking, Wardlow! What should happen here is that Cage does what a great pro like him does and makes Wardlow look like a star. There is no world where Cage should win.
Anthony: In a perfect world, Cage makes Wardlow look like a million bucks here en route to rehabbing Wardlow's devalued character. Cage, I hope, is professional enough to ixsnay ANY suggestion from booking that doesn't accomplish that. It's time to figure out where Tony Kahn is going to slot Wardlow. He can't lose here. He just can't.
Cory: Wardlow wins and Luchasaurus attacks after that win for the next feud.
Mike: This will never happen but I'd like to see Wardlow booked like the ghost of both Ryback and Goldberg at once, completely DESTROY Cage in 2 minute and climb up to get the belt. Make this man a monster again. Sacrfice Cage. No one is looking for a 20 minute competitive ladder match with Wardlow.
AEW Women's World Title: Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm
Dave: I like Storm a lot but the Outcasts just aren't working. If it's me, I have Hayter win this and move on from the feud. But knowing Tony, I could see him booking Storm to win and having Hayter win the Title back at Wembley.
Anthony: It's time to make the Outcasts a true force. Losing week in and week out to Hayter and company has done them absolutely no favors and, in fact, has brought HAYTER down due to the lack of imagination and or competition. Storm never got a proper title run the first time, with the interim tag and all. Time to reset her and the entire women's division. Storm wins the title with plenty of help from Saraya and Soho.
Cory: We are not going to get this match. Hayter has a legit injury, and she has been beaten down by the Outcasts on the last few shows. Something about the women’s title is cursed with so many injuries, but I see this becoming an Outcasts vs the Originals match instead.
Mike: I am thinking the match isn't happening since Hayter apparently has a back issue.
AEW TBS Championship: Jade Cargill vs. Taya Valkyrie
Dave: I use Taya here to take Jade to the next level. Everything has been pretty easy for her so far. It's time to have her go through a war and add a new element to her character. I have Jade retain.
Anthony: Time to see what Jade is really made of. The undefeated streak seems to be the only aura she has left after a year with Mark Sterling as her mouthpiece/comedic foil. Valkyrie is a pro's pro who might actually be someone AEW can rebuild the division around. If Jade is nothing without being undefeated, then she's nothing being undefeated. If she's strong enough to stand on her own, she needs to drop the belt to Valkyrie. That's my pick.
Cory: Jade is a champion who, when she loses the belt, it will also be the end of a streak, and I can’t see the streak ending with a normal match in the world of AEW. Taya is fantastic, and this should be Jade’s best match ever, and for the first time she should have to win through shenanigans.
Mike: Dave nailed it here. This should be the moment where Taya helps Jade excel and hopefully get to the next level as a talent, since she's already at the level she needs to be as a star.
AEW World Tag Team Title: FTR vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal with Mark Briscoe as the special referee
Dave: My fear is that Tony will book Mark to turn for the same reason Don Callis did (i.e. just because and don't expect it to make sense). FTR SHOULD win. But with Tony booking, I am scared.
Anthony: Can't we just have FTR defend the belts without all this abject silliness? 2 and a half months ago, Mark Briscoe was about to become the feel good story of 2023. Now? He's firmly presented as a simpleton who can't see through the obviousness of the way Lethal and Jarrett are manipulating him. The match itself? It'll be fine as we sit and wait for the angle to take it's course. And, honestly, even if Jarrett and Lethal win, what do the AEW Tag Team Titles mean now anyways? Remember how prominently guys like Keith Lee, Swerve Strickland, the Gunns and The Acclaimed have been featured since getting the rub? Neither do I. FTR retains, I say.
Cory: Jarrett and Lethal are about the best in ring workers in the company, other than FTR, and this match will be my favorite, I am calling it now. I can also see they are planning something with Lethal and Mark, but will it be a heel turn for Mark or a face turn for Lethal? I am going with FTR retaining. Jarrett and Lethal are best at putting people over, and have done so since Lethal came into the company.
Mike: Can we just tell everyone involved to work like its Mid-South Coliseum in 1984? PLEASE? This has the potential to be a great old school tag team bout. I suspect we'll get more shenanigans however. I don't see a title change here but nothing would shock me. I really just want this to be a fun, entertaining bout because everyone involved is great.
AEW International Title Battle Royal
Dave: Orange you already sure who will win?
Anthony: They're not, they CAN'T, take the title off of Cassidy in this. It's a battle royal with stakes featuring a ton of can't miss talents that did. I don't see any contender in this on a higher level than Cassidy. This should have been a battle royal with the winner getting a shot at Cassidy Wednesday. Cassidy retains.
Cory: I think Orange retains as well, He’s a ratings draw, a top merch seller, and the “babyface in peril” they have been doing with him draws the crowd into his matches every time. I see the feud with Swerve and Lee being spotlighted, and them trying to take out each other leads to Orange winning.
Mike: Cory is dead on here. They will use this as a backdrop for an angle with Swerve and Lee - hopefully not something hokey like he gets his beard shaved or they dye his hair or something inane. If it was up to me, I'd like to see Dustin go the distance and have a good match with Orange. But hey, if three tombstones can't put OC away, nothing short of the entire Colony from CHIKARA burrowing up through the ring is going to cause his loss!
Chris Jericho vs Adam Cole- Non Sanctioned Match
Dave: COLE MUST WIN. It's time for Jerico to realize he's there to help younger guys get over and stop being the guy he used to complain about 20 years ago.
Anthony: Do or die time for Cole. I have a terrible feeling Roderick Strong will be the newest member of the JAS after turning on Cole here. There's nothing I've to back up this claim but I have a feeling that's where they're going. Cole and Jericho are 2 pros that I personally think are going to pull out a fun match. Placement on the card of this one will be interesting, as we have a similar free for all happening. I see Britt Baker playing a key role in the finish, getting knocked out in some way leading to a distracted Cole falling prey to a Judas effect. Obviously, Sabu will likely do something crazy here.
Cory: Again, they spoiled who Cole’s next feud is with on Dynamite with someone screwing up their promo, so I can’t see Cole losing when he’s about to go for the World Title.
Mike: What if Sabu is the red herring and RVD is going to be the one to assist Cole? Probably not, but he does live in Vegas too. Like Wardlow, this match needs to be ABOUT MAKING ADAM COLE. It cannot be about Chris Jericho showing the world he can go with the younger talents and he's still viable and important and beloved politically behind the scenes. It should be about making Cole a top tier talent. No matter what, the story to me should be that Jericho gets more and more desperate as the match goes on because he can't stop the pissed off Cole and one by one the JAS keep getting taken out by SABUUUUUUUUUUUUU, Roderick Strong, whoever and at the end of the day, Jericho is KO'd, pinned and dragged out. If this is anything but Cole standing tall after getting his vengeance, this never should have been booked.
Anarchy in the Arena: The Blackpool Combat Club vs. The Elite.
Dave: The BCC are fighters. The Elite are mostly spot machines. They should lose in a fight to fighters, so in Tony's world The Elite win.
Anthony: I shall invoke Justin Roberts' declaration last year: The $h!t's about to hit the fan. There will be blood, obviously. There will be violence, obviously. The Elite are so much better when fighting from behind, which is why I truly think the BCC needs to win this one here. All I ever hear about is how great the Elite storytelling is. They need to lose here. This can't be the end of this.
Cory: I am going to disagree with Dave and Anthony here, and it’s not for the reasons they say. This is the first time The Elite have been fully back together in years, and it’s rare a faction loses their first match as a group. Also, Bryan Danielson has been talking about the mistakes Yuta is making in matches, and Bryan is someone who knows how to plant seeds and drop hits so that a story makes sense. In this match, we get too much blood, lots of violence for the sake of violence, and Yuta screws something up and loses the match.
Mike: Hangman Page has one eye. Matt Jackson has one arm. At the end of the day, the BCC should be ripping apart everyone on the Elite and it should be that The Elite fight valiantly but fall prey to their opponents. We know there will be tons of blood here so let them make it so that the bleeding is actually a factor here in the match as the Elite are more and more exhausted. I expect lots of weaponry and insanity and spots, because that's what the audience will want - but they should also position it so that the winning team are the definitive faction for Dynamite going forward.
House of Black Open Challenge
Dave: The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn would make sense here. If so, pull the surprise and have them win. They never should have taken the tag belts off of them.
Anthony: The only fun part will be to see who answers the challenge. Whoever it is, House of Black needs to win and retain. But, for the sake of something interesting, I'm going with the Embassy, ROH six man tag team champions, as the surprise challengers here.
Cory: The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are going to be the opponents if we believe the hints from Rampage. The House of Black is over HUGE, and have a unique match style and lighting. I can’t see them losing so early in their run, and the Acclaimed have been facing mostly tomato cans, and they are over big time as well, but their matches are mostly schtick while House fo Black is all about brawling and dominance. I see a hard hitting match, and the House of Black retains.
Mike: House of Black wins after pinning Gunn.
The Hardys & Hook vs. Ethan Page and The Gunns
Dave: The Hardys and Hook get the win here.
Anthony: We had a lot of fun with Matt Hardy being controlled by Stokely and company. Time to put the shoes on the other foot. The aftermath of this should be a blast, as Page works really well with the Hardys.
Cory: The Hardys and Hook have to win just for the comedy of Page working with the Hardys for a few months. They have finally figured out how to use Ethan Page. The Gunns also need to go back to benign the foil to someone they work well with, and their brand of snotty sarcasm doesn’t work with the Hardys on their farewell tour.
Mike: Hardys and Hook win. That's good because when was the last time Hook was on TV? Maybe he can do the Hardys dance to celebrate after. Probably not.
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