Briscoe, MJF meet in grudge match on Dynamite on TSN2
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Mark Briscoe meets MJF in a grudge match. Plus, the Young Bucks meet Brody King and Bandido and "The CEO" Mercedes Mone returns. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on TSN2, the TSN App, and TSN.ca.
CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Mark Briscoe
Things are never not hectic for MJF. He should be on a high right now. Not only did he win the Casino Gauntlet match at last month's All In to earn an any-time shot at the AEW World Championship, he has a prominent role in Happy Gilmore 2 and this past Friday night at Arena Mexico. he defeated Averno to become the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion. But because he's MJF, he's managed to complicate things. Already a longtime rival of AEW World Heavyweight Champion "Hangman" Adam Page, he's managed to antagonize him even more lately. Then there's the matter of the Hurt Syndicate where his membership in the faction appears to have been revoked after repeatedly angering AEW World Tag Team Champions Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin. But most pressing for Friedman right now is Mark Briscoe. One of the most beloved and happy-go-lucky members of the AEW roster, Briscoe managed to get under MJF's skin by just being himself. Briscoe possesses a connection with the fans that Friedman could only dream of because he's genuine in a way that MJF would never let himself be. Ahead of All In, Friedman vowed to pin Briscoe to win the Casino Gauntlet. That didn't bother Briscoe, but what did was Friedman's constant invocation of his late brother, Jay Briscoe. It's brought out a more serious, angry side of Briscoe that has never been seen before and it's one that MJF himself might have erred in creating. On last week's Dynamite, Briscoe said that for the first time in his life, he didn't know if he'd ever see Jay again because he wouldn't go to heaven after killing Friedman. After Friedman jumped him from behind last Wednesday, Page came to Briscoe's aid and this allowed for Briscoe to set MJF up for a Jay Driller, but Friedman was able to escape and hightail it up the ramp and to the back. He won't get so lucky this Wednesday night when the two men meet one-on-one. With tensions at a fever pitch, both men will need to keep a level head because there are title implications in play, as well. Page made it clear last week that he would like to grant Briscoe a title shot, the thought of which infuriated Friedman. A win over MJF would certainly cement that match for Briscoe, but a victory for Friedman would force the issue of a title shot even without using his guaranteed contract. With emotions running high, which man will pick up an important victory?
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Forbidden Door TBS Championship match qualifier: Skye Blue (w/ Julia Hart and Thekla) vs. Queen Aminata vs. Alex Windsor vs. Billie Starkz (w/ ROH Women's World Champion "The Fallen Goddess" Athena)
At Forbidden Door on Aug. 24, "The CEO" Mercedes Mone will be putting her TBS Championship on the line in a four-way match. The bout will feature a competitor from Stardom, one from CMLL and one from AEW. On Wednesday night, we will find out just who that AEW wrestler is when Skye Blue, Queen Aminata, Alex Windsor and Billie Starkz vie for that spot. This past Thursday night on Collision, a number of these women renewed pleasantries. After Blue and Julia Hart helped Triangle of Madness stablemate Thekla defeat Willow Nightingale, they were joined by Megan Bayne and Penelope Ford in a five-on-one beatdown of the former TBS Champion. They were eventually chased off by the arrival of Queen Aminata, Anna Jay and Tay Melo. On Wednesday, Aminata will have the opportunity to get her hands on Blue. The other two women in the match are also well acquainted in Windsor and Starkz. The duo met on opposite sides of a tag match on last week's Dynamite when Windsor and AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm took on Starkz and AEW Women's World Champion Athena. Storm and Athena are on a collision course for Forbidden Door where Storm will put her title on the line after Athena won the Casino Gauntlet at All In. The team of Athena and Starkz picked up the win over Storm and Windsor when Athena pinned Storm after an O-Face. In sharing a ring with both Starkz and Athena in recent weeks, Windsor has demonstrated her prowess, but a win on Wednesday night would truly announce her arrival in AEW. A former RevPro Undisputed British Women's Champion, the Norfolk-born Windsor would love nothing more than earning a spot in a title match in a city only a couple of hours away from where she grew up. Who will emerge with a win on Wednesday night and a trip to Forbidden Door?
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World Tag Team Title Eliminator Tournament semi-final: The Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson) vs. Brodido ("Big, Bad" Brody King and ROH World Champion Bandido)
AEW World Tag Team Champions the Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin) have an open date on their calendar at Forbidden Door on Aug. 24. It will be filled by the winners of the ongoing World Tag Team Title Eliminator Tournament. On the left side of the bracket, two-time former champions FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) picked up a win in one quarter-final over JetSpeed ("Speedball" Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight). In the other quarter, Bullet Club Gold's Juice Robinson and Austin Gunn defeated Big Bill and Bryan Keith. On this past Thursday night's Collision, Harwood and Wheeler defeated the Bang Bang Gang to reach the final. They will find out their opponents on Wednesday night when the Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson) take on Brodido (Brody King and ROH World Champion Bandido). The Jacksons reached the final four with a win over the Outrunners (Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum) on last week's Dynamite. King and Bandido punched their ticket with a victory over the Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona) on Collision. Wednesday night's match is the first-ever meeting between the two teams, but the four men are far from strangers to one another. In fact, King has taken a championship away from the Jacksons in the past. At Revolution 2023, the House of Black (King, Malakai Black and Buddy Matthews) defeated the Elite (the Jackson and Kenny Omega) for the AEW World Trios Championships. As for Bandido, he was part of the main event of the original All In that preceded the creation of AEW when he, Rey Fenix and Rey Mysterio Jr. fell to the Golden Elite (the Jacksons and Kota Ibushi). For the Jackson, the World Tag Team Title Eliminator is a way to get back some of the dignity they've lost in recent weeks. No longer executive vice-presidents following their loss to Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland at All In, the Jacksons didn't even get a televised entrance for their match last week. Their chyron was set to default. Their Uber was late to the arena. Winning the tag titles for a fourth time might be the Bucks' only avenue back to respectability. But before they can even contemplate that, they need to get through Wednesday night. Which of these duos will set up a date with FTR?
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"The CEO" Mercedes Mone returns
For the first time since losing her first match in AEW at All In to AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm, TBS Champion Mercedes Mone will make her return to the company. And she won't be coming alone. Mone will have all eight of her titles with her. On top of being the TBS Champion, Mone holds the Undisputed British Women's Championship, CMLL World Women’s Championship, EWA Women’s Championship, 2025 Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Championship, Queen of Southside Championship and the recently won PTW Women's Championship and Bestya Women's Championship, captured last weekend in Poland. Back in her home promotion, what will Mone have to say on Wednesday night?