Cole makes in-ring return on Dynamite on TSN2
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For the first time in over 10 months, Adam Cole is in action on Dynamite when he takes on Daniel Garcia. Plus, Kenny Omega defends the IWGP United States Championship against the United Empire's Jeff Cobb and the Blackpool Combat Club meets Dalton Castle and the Boys in trios action. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.
Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia (w/ "The Spanish God" Sammy Guevara) - For the first time in 315 days, Adam Cole is in action on Dynamite. The former NXT and ROH World Champion has been sidelined for months with post-concussion syndrome after incurring two head injuries in quick succession. The latter of the two occurred during the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship four-way at Forbidden Door last June in a match that also featured "Hangman" Adam Page, Jay White and Kazuchika Okada. That June 26 pay-per-view was the last match that Cole has worked. His recovery has admittedly been a tough one. Cole was also dealing with a severe shoulder injury at the same time, but it was the head injury that gave him pause. Cole says he was unable to ride in a car without getting sick and would spontaneously begin to cry for no apparent reason. It was enough that it made him seriously consider stepping away from the ring on a permanent basis. But now months into his recovery, Cole has been cleared and feels ready to resume his career. With his return match, he's headed right into the deep end when he takes on one of the best young wrestlers that AEW has to offer in the Jericho Appreciation Society's Daniel Garcia. Rest assured, Garcia has no intention of taking it easy on Cole. Garcia and Cole have never met before, but the Buffalo, NY native is eminently familiar with Cole's body of work. Defeating Cole in his return match would only increase the already impressive trajectory Garcia is already on. And as is the case of any match involving the JAS, Cole will likely have to be mindful of who's outside the ring with the other members of the faction never too far away. Can Cole mark his return with a big win or will Garcia spoil the party?
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IWGP United States Championship match: "The Cleaner" Kenny Omega (c) (w/ Don Callis and Michael Nakazawa) vs. Jeff Cobb - Jeff Cobb is finally getting his wish. Since the beginning of the year when the team of Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada defeated the United Empire's Cobb and Aaron Henare at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's New Year's Dash, Cobb has wanted another shot at Omega. It wasn't Cobb who got pinned during that match - it was Henare. The New Zealander ate a combination V-Trigger/Rainmaker from Omega and Okada and was pinned for the victory. Following that match, Cobb has made it a point to call out Omega at almost every opportunity. The former US Olympian wants to bring the US title back to the United Empire after Omega claimed it from Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Cobb is seeking his second singles championship in New Japan after previously having held the NEVER Openweight Championship currently held by Tama Tonga. Could this be the right time to take on Omega? The Winnipeg native is only a week removed from a brutal encounter with AAA Mega Champion El Hijo del Vikingo and his mind be preoccupied with other matters, like who took out the Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson) ahead of last Wednesday night's Dynamite? Omega is also likely still smarting from the post-match beating he received last week from the Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler YUTA). Taking care of Cobb will require all of Omega's focus - the question is whether or not he will have it?
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AEW International Championship match: "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy (c) vs. The Butcher (w/ The Blade) - Andy Williams sets out on Wednesday night to become the man to end Orange Cassidy's nearly six-month reign as AEW International Champion in a rare singles match for the predominantly tag-team competitor. The match will mark the third time that Cassidy and The Butcher have shared a ring this month. After the team of Cassidy and Darby Allin defeated The Butcher and The Blade at the Mar. 18 House Rules show in Troy, OH, they were jumped by the losers backstage and left in a heap. Then on this past Wednesday night's Dynamite, Cassidy and Allin got their revenge when they were joined by "The Icon" Sting to defeat The Butcher, The Blade and "Superbad" Kip Sabian in trios action. Arguably AEW's workhorse, Cassidy's defence on Wednesday night will be his 16th since winning the title in Toronto on Oct. 12. Most recently, Cassidy overcame a knee injury to defeat "The Last Outlaw" Jeff Jarrett on the Mar. 15 Dynamite. Can Williams take advantage of Cassidy's busy schedule or will Cassidy chalk up yet another victory?
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Willow Nightingale vs. Ruby Soho (w/ Saraya and Toni Storm) - Former tag-team partners collide on Wednesday night when Willow Nightingale takes on Ruby Soho. This, of course, is not the same Soho with whom Nightingale used to tag, though. A newly embittered Soho has thrown her lot in with Saraya and Toni Storm to form the Outcasts. Since then, Nightingale and the rest of the AEW women's division has been a target of their ire. The trio has been a wrecking ball through AEW in recent weeks, leaving everybody around them laying. While Nightingale enters the match on a four-match winning streak, she has tasted defeat at the hands of Storm twice in recent months. She's also well aware of the numbers game that the Outcasts use to their advantage on a regular basis. But recently, the rest of AEW has begun to fight back with unlikely alliances forged. Who would have foreseen the likes of Riho and Skye Blue coming to the aid of AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker, DMD, only a few short months ago? Perhaps then Nightingale, too, will have some backup against Soho and the Outcasts. Which of these two women will pick up a big win on Wednesday night?
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Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli and ROH Pure Champion Wheeler YUTA) vs. Dalton Castle and the Boys (Brent Tate and Brandon Tate) - Ahead of this Friday's ROH Supercard of Honor pay-per-view where Claudio Castagnoli puts the ROH World Championship on the line against forever rival Eddie Kingston and YUTA defends his ROH Pure Championship against Katsuyori Shibata, the duo will be in trios action on Dynamite when they team with Jon Moxley to take on former ROH World Six-Man Champions Dalton Castle and the Boys. Somehow, the BCC's bloodlust has been turned up a notch in recent weeks. Gone is any semblance of sportsmanship and in its place is sheer ruthlessness. On last week's Dynamite, it wasn't enough for Moxley to simply defeat Stu Grayson. The trio laid a beating on Grayson's injured arm backstage, continuing their weekslong assault on the Dark Order. They also decided to target Kenny Omega after his match with El Hijo del Vikingo and they would have inflicted an even more severe beating had it not been for the intervention of "Hangman" Adam Page. It also begs the question if it was the Blackpool Combat Club who were behind the assault of the Jackson brothers before last week's Dynamite. Nobody seems to know just what Moxley, Castagnoli and YUTA are up to right now. While Castle is a former ROH World Champion and he and the Tate twins shouldn't be overlooked, it appears a long night could be in the cards for them on Dynamite.
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"Jungle Boy" Jack Perry vs. Matt Hardy (w/ "All Ego" Ethan Page) - For the first time since ending his lengthy rivalry with Christian Cage at Revolution earlier this month, Jack Perry returns to action when he takes on another crafty veteran and one of Cage's old foes in Matt Hardy. Perry has made it clear in recent weeks that now that Cage is in the rearview mirror, his focus is on the AEW World Championship currently sitting around the waist of Maxwell Jacob Friedman. But there are other challengers for MJF's crown with both Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara signaling that they want a shot, as well. A win over a man who has held 21 major championships could go a long way for Perry to assert his credentials. While this will be the first time that Perry and Hardy have met one-on-one, they have met in tag and multi-man matches on a number of occasions. Most recently, the team of Perry and Hook defeated Hardy and Ethan Page on the Jan. 25 edition of Dynamite. Can Perry build up some steam ahead of a potential title match with MJF or will Hardy be able to derail his momentum?