Jericho meets Strong in a falls-count-anywhere match on TSN2
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Chris Jericho meets Roderick Strong in a falls-count-anywhere match. Plus, AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida face the Outcasts in trios action and Ricky Starks takes on Jay White. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.
Falls-count-anywhere match: "The Ocho" Chris Jericho vs. Roderick Strong - Chris Jericho is terrified of Adam Cole...or so he claims. The two men have been embroiled in a bitter feud since Cole's return to action in late March, but Jericho is refusing to consider his own actions as to why the situation has been exacerbated. On the Apr. 19 edition of Dynamite, the faceoff between the two men ended in a cowardly attack by Jericho and the Jericho Appreciation Society. After Cole's girlfriend, Dr. Britt Baker, DMD, attempted to intervene, it was revealed that Jericho had foreseen this development as the Outcasts (Saraya, Toni Storm and Ruby Soho) were waiting for Baker underneath the ring. With Cole handcuffed and powerless to stop it, the Outcasts brutalized Baker with a kendo stick and forced him to watch. Incensed, Cole sought retribution. At the conclusion of the eight-man tag match on the May 3 Dynamite that saw the team of Cole, AEW International Champion "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy, Bandido and the debuting Roderick Strong defeat the JAS team of Daniel Garcia, Jake Hager, "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard and "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker, Cole laid a beating on Jericho and sent him running for cover. Since then, Jericho has claimed that Cole has created a hostile working environment and he feels unsafe attending AEW events if Cole is around. On last week's Dynamite, he was confronted by Strong, who challenged him to a falls-count-anywhere match. Jericho only agreed when it Strong promised that Cole will be banned from the building. To even things up, so the rest of the JAS will also not be in the building. The match will be Strong's first singles bout in AEW and the first time he and Jericho have met in a match. Technically, they've shared a ring once before, but it was in a battle royale in 2018. While both men are skilled technicians, a falls-count-anywhere match is ripe for shenanigans. Perhaps Strong was too trusting in believing that the JAS will be nowhere to be found because Jericho always seems to have something up his sleeve. Can Strong pick up a measure of revenge for his friend or will Jericho ensure Strong's first singles match in AEW is a loss?
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The Killer and The Pillar (AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter and Dr. Britt Baker, DMD) and Hikaru Shida vs. The Outcasts (Saraya, Toni Storm and Ruby Soho) - After months of feuding, Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker will finally get all three members of the Outcasts in a match at once and this time, they won't be alone. On the May 3 edition of Dynamite, Saraya defeated Willow Nightingale with, surprise, help from Toni Storm and Ruby Soho. As the Outcasts put the boots to Nightingale after the match, former AEW Women's World Champion Hikaru Shida made her way to the ring and embraced Saraya, Storm and Soho. Celebrating the seeming arrival of a new member to the faction, Shida was handed a can of spray paint to use on the beaten Nightingale. As Shida was about to use it, Hayter and Baker emerged from under the ring, revealing that Shida's embrace of the Outcasts was all a ruse as Shida sprayed Saraya in the face and helped Baker and Hayter enact some vengeance. Now each trio faces off on Wednesday night and while nothing but pride will technically be on the line, there's something bigger at stake for the Outcasts. Double or Nothing is set for next weekend and right now, the AEW Women's World Champion Jamie Hayter does not have an opponent. Should Saraya, Storm or Soho pick up a victory over the champ, perhaps by even pinning her, that competitor could find herself in a title match come May 28. Which of these three women will emerge victorious in what should be a heated encounter?
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"Absolute" Ricky Starks vs. "Switchblade" Jay White (w/ "Rock Hard" Juice Robinson) - Ricky Starks has quickly learned the problem in dealing with the Bullet Club is that there always seems to be another member of pro wrestling's most notorious faction waiting in the wings to help out a stablemate. Starks should have been on a high after defeating Chris Jericho at Revolution in early March in what was one of the biggest victories of his AEW career, but instead of that win catapulting him on to bigger and better things, he's found himself mired in a feud with Bullet Club Gold. He finally dispatched with "Rock Hard" Juice Robinson, who had been tormenting him for weeks, on the May 3 Dynamite, but former IWGP Grand Slam Champion "Switchblade" Jay White made it clear that Bullet Club wasn't done with Starks just yet, laying him out with a Blade Runner after the match. Now the two face off in singles action on Wednesday night. The match will be just White's second singles encounter since joining AEW full-time. He previously defeated the high-flying Komander with a Blade Runner on the Apr. 26 edition of Dynamite. White and Starks have met once before on the Apr. 28 Rampage when Bullet Club Gold defeated Starks and Shawn Spears. While Starks might see this match as a chance to get Bullet Club out of his life for good, he must be wary of the possibility that their ranks could grow. It might not be only White and Robinson he needs to keep an eye on. Will King Switch stay undefeated in AEW or will Sparks make it 2-0 against Bullet Club Gold in singles matches?
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"Jungle Boy" Jack Perry vs. "El Toro Blanco" Rush (w/ "Perro Peligroso" Preston Vance and Jose the Assistant) - A little over 10 days away from the biggest match of his career when he challenges AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman in a four-way match that also includes Darby Allin and Sammy Guevara, Jack Perry takes a big risk on Wednesday night. Needing to head into that match against the other three of the "Four Pillars of AEW" in peak condition, Perry meets a man with world championship credentials in his own right when he faces off with La Faccion Ingobernable's Rush. A former two-time Ring of Honor World Champion, Rush might be feeling a little aggrieved these days that he's not receiving the opportunities he believes he's owed in AEW. The match will mark his first singles competition in AEW since February when he was defeated by "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson in a terrifically competitive match. A victory over a man set to wrestle for the AEW World Championship in only a few days would certainly prove Rush's mettle as he looks to build steam towards championship contention. Rush and Perry have never stepped foot into the ring together before. Perry heads into the match on the run of his career. Prior to losing to Sammy Guevara by count out thanks to the interference of MJF on the Apr. 19 Dynamite, Perry had won 10 straight matches dating back to last November. At no point in his young career has Perry been better equipped to take on the challenge of somebody the calibre of Rush. Can Perry keep rolling ahead of his title match or will Rush remind everybody of just what he's capable of?
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PLUS:
- AEW president Tony Khan promises a major announcement
- We will hear from Don Callis after his shocking betrayal of Kenny Omega last week
- "The Spanish God" Sammy Guevara is in action ahead of his participation in the AEW World Championship four-way match at Double or Nothing