Danielson, Okada title vs. title headlines Dynamite 5 on TSN2
AEW Dynamite's 5-Year Anniversary show is marked by a title-versus-title match as AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson meets AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada. Plus, Will Ospreay defends the AEW International Championship against Ricochet. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.
Title vs. title match: AEW World Champion "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson vs. AEW Continental Champion "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada - Wednesday night's Dynamite will be headlined by one of the biggest matches in the history of the show when Bryan Danielson meets Kazuchika Okada for a third time. This time not only will there be a prize on the line, there will be two of them. Danielson puts his AEW World Championship on the line while Okada's AEW Continental Championship is up for grabs. But there's one small catch here - since AEW Continental Championship matches have a maximum length of 20 minutes, Okada's title is only on the line for the first 20 minutes of the match. Should Danielson beat Okada after the 20-minute mark, he will only retain his title and not claim a second. If Wednesday night's match will be anything like the first time these two men wrestled, we will have another instant classic on our hands. Danielson first met Okada in the main event of Forbidden Door 2023 in Toronto. In the dying minutes of the match, Okada nailed Danielson with the Randy Savage elbow drop from the top rope, connecting with his arm and breaking it instantly. Still, Danielson managed to fight on and, even with one arm, got the seven-time IWGP World Champion to tap out to the LeBell Lock. Now while Okada was undoubtedly in considerable pain, part of his reason for tapping out was self-preservation. He had the G1 Climax starting only days after the match and, in not fighting the hold, Okada made a business decision to not jeopardize his tournament. He gained a measure of revenge this past January at Wrestle Kingdom 18 at the Tokyo Dome. The story of that match was capitalizing on opportunities. Shortly after hitting a Busaiku Knee, Danielson opted to go for a second instead pinning his fallen foe. Okada managed to duck and then hit a Rainmaker to defeat his foe and even their series at 1-1. Wednesday night's match comes with a backdrop of betrayal and a major title defence on the horizon for Danielson. Recall that after defeating Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship at All In at Wembley Stadium in August, Danielson vowed to end his full-time in-ring career whenever he loses his title. After successfully fending off the challenge of Okada's stablemate in The Elite, Jack Perry, at All Out, Danielson found himself the victim of a vicious blindside attack from his former stablemates in the Blackpool Combat Club with Jon Moxley choking him out with a plastic bag. Officially declaring war on Moxley last week, Danielson is scheduled to face Moxley for the AEW World Championship at WrestleDream on Oct. 12, should he get by Okada. The last thing Danielson can afford is to look past Okada in the slightest. If he even keeps an iota of focus on Danielson, Okada will walk out of Pittsburgh a double champion. Two of the very best wrestlers of all-time, which of these two men will have their hand raised on Wednesday night?
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AEW International Championship match: "The Aerial Assassin" Will Ospreay (c) vs. Ricochet - Ever since Ricochet arrived in AEW this past August, people have been talking about running it back. The one match everybody wanted to see more than any other was the former WWE Intercontinental and United States Champion renewing his rivalry with Ospreay. On Wednesday night, the people will get their wish as Ospreay puts his AEW International Championship on the line against his old foe. While it's clear that there's a great deal of respect between these two men, that doesn't mean there isn't an edge to the rivalry. In recent weeks, the two men have been very complimentary of one another, but almost every single compliment hides a barb. Ospreay has repeatedly told Ricochet that he's forgotten who he was and things have changed. Ospreay, his "little brother," is now the best wrestler in the world and as much as he wants to pretend otherwise, he's under a tremendous amount of pressure to perform. For his part, Ricochet has played the part of the savvy veteran and hasn't lost his cool. He says that he's been in big matches a million times before and this match with Ospreay is no different. The match on Dynamite will be the first time the two men have shared a ring in over seven years and will mark the 10th singles match between the two competitors. Ospreay holds a 5-4 edge in those contests. Ospreay is coming off of coming achingly close to capturing the AEW World Tag Team Championships, having fallen just short of defeating the Young Bucks (Nicholas Jackson and Matthew Jackson) at AEW Grand Slam last week alongside Kyle Fletcher. A big win over Ricochet would be a tremendous way to get back on track. Will Ospreay's second reign as International Champion continue or will Ricochet grab his first taste of AEW gold?
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"Hangman" Adam Page vs. "Rock Hard" Juice Robinson (w/ Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn) - The safest thing for everybody in AEW right now might be to get out of Adam Page's way. Since burning down his childhood home and then defeating archrival Swerve Strickland in what was one of the most brutal cage matches in pro wrestling history at All Out, Page's bloodlust and desire for revenge hasn't been quenched despite getting what he wanted in viciously beating Strickland, the man who had broken into his home and entered his child's room last fall. This past Saturday night on Collision, Page was involved in yet another hellacious encounter, this time a lumberjack strap match, against "The Last Outlaw" Jeff Jarrett. As Page was preparing to hit the Buckshot Lariat and put Jarrett away, he was whipped with the strap by Juice Robinson. The move only made Page angrier. Eventually hitting a Deadeye after a low blow, Page got the victory over Jarrett. But like he wasn't after beating Strickland, Page wasn't finished last Saturday. When the match was over, Page began to choke Robinson with the strap before he was chased off by the Gunns (Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn). On Wednesday night from Pittsburgh, Robinson and Page will meet in singles competition for the first time ever. The match will also mark Robinson's first singles match in almost a year. Having missed much of the early part of 2024 through injury, the former IWGP United States Champion has competed exclusively in trios action since his return alongside his Bullet Club Gold stablemates. While ring rust will undoubtedly be a concern for Robinson, so will Page's mindset. The former AEW World Champion is unhinged right now and Robinson would do well to remember that. Safety comes before winning a match. In their previous tag and multi-man matches, Robinson holds a 7-5 edge over the Hangman. Which of these two men will pick the win when they meet one one one for the first time?
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PLUS:
- Dr. Britt Baker, DMD, takes on "The Professor" Serena Deeb