Wrestling prodigy Wayne debuts on Dynamite on TSN2
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At only 18 years of age, Seattle wrestling prodigy Nick Wayne makes his AEW debut against Swerve Strickland. Plus, Chris Jericho takes on Komander and the semifinals of the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament go down. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.
Nick Wayne vs. Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) - One of the most anticipated debuts in AEW history goes down on Wednesday night when 18-year-old Nick Wayne steps into the ring for the first time against a man he knows very well in Swerve Strickland. Wayne is the son of the late Buddy Wayne, a former wrestler and trainer in the Northwest, who trained, among others, Darby Allin and Bryan Alvarez. Debuting in his early teens, Wayne is a regular in Seattle's DEFY Wrestling where he is a former champion and has worked in Game Changer Wrestling and PROGRESS Wrestling in England. His age belies his experience and quality. Wayne has already taken on the likes of Impact Wrestling World Champion Alex Shelley, El Phantasmo and KENTA in his young career. It was KENTA who took the DEFY title from him early last month, but the person Wayne beat for the title in April was his opponent on Wednesday night in Strickland. Strickland will undoubtedly have revenge on his mind when he looks to spoil the biggest night of Wayne's career. Can Wayne make waves in his debut or will Swerve remind him whose house he's in?
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"The Ocho" Chris Jericho vs. Komander - Just what's going on with Chris Jericho? That seems to be a question for a lot of people in AEW right now. Two weeks ago on Dynamite, longtime friend Don Callis made an impassioned plea for Jericho to join him in the new family he's building to take on The Elite (Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page, Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson). While he didn't immediately accept the offer, he didn't turn it down, either, telling Callis "Maybe." That didn't sit well with Jericho Appreciation Society members Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia, who wanted to know where his head was at. He told them that they have to soar on their own at some point, which was especially confusing for Guevara, who had been at odds with Jericho in recent weeks over his place in the JAS and taking a backseat to the eight-time world champion. For the first time since Forbidden Door, Jericho will be in action on Wednesday night when he takes on exciting luchador Komander. Jericho, of course, has a storied history in Mexico, competing in CMLL early in his career. Jericho took on the likes of Dr. Wagner Jr., Silver King and Atlantis over his time in Mexico, but Komander will be a different kind of challenge altogether. In perhaps his highest-profile AEW contest to date, Komander will need to use his speed and aerial abilities to slow down a man whose wealth of experience dwarfs almost everybody else in AEW's. Will Komander pick up a signature win or will Jericho send a message to the youngster?
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Owen Hart Foundation Cup Tournament semifinals match: Ruby Soho (w/ AEW Women's World Champion Toni Storm and Saraya) vs. Skye Blue - Two women meet for a spot in the Owen Hart Foundation Cup Tournament final when Ruby Soho takes on Skye Blue. In a rematch of last year's final, Soho avenged her loss and defeated Dr. Britt Baker, DMD, on last week's Dynamite, thanks in large part to help from her Outcasts stablemates, Toni Storm and Saraya. Blue, perhaps on the best run of her young career, reached the semis with a win over the Jericho Appreciation Society's Anna Jay AS. Soho and Blue are far from strangers to one another. This will be the fourth time the two have met in 2023, but only the second time in singles action. Soho defeated Blue on the March 8 edition of Dynamite from Sacramento. Most recently, Blue and Willow Nightingale teamed up to defeat Soho and Storm on the premiere episode of Collision with Blue getting the pin on Soho. For Soho, this year's tournament represents a chance to capture what she came so close to doing last year. While Blue has the chance to reassert herself in the women's division after coming so close, but failing to unseat Storm as champion on the June 14 Dynamite. The winner of this match will meet the winner of the other semifinal - Nightingale vs. ROH Women's World Champion "The Fallen Goddess" Athena.
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Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament semifinals match: AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Adam Cole vs. ROH World Six-Man Champion "The Machine" Brian Cage (w/ Prince Nana) and "Big Bill" Morrissey - While they had never previously teamed together, Brian Cage and Big Bill looked dominant in their first-round matchup in the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament on last Friday's Rampage. The duo manhandled the team of Matt Sydal and Trent Beretta and got the victory with an absolutely devastating power bomb-lariat combo. Their opponents on Wednesday night also looked good in their opening-round win. Adam Cole and AEW World Champion MJF showed surprising teamwork for two men who were at each other's throats only weeks earlier when they defeated the team of The Butcher and "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard. How long that camaraderie will actually last remains to be seen and the team of Cage and Big Bill represent an altogether different dynamic to deal with for Cole and MJF. The size difference between the two teams will be substantial. There is also a matter of trust. Despite buddying around for the cameras, it's quite obvious neither MJF nor Cole trusts the other and it seems like only a matter of time before one stabs the knife in the other's back. Cole still wants MJF's title and that's not something either of them has forgotten. Can their team survive one more match or will the power of "The Machine" and Big Bill be just too much to handle?
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Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament semifinals match: AEW International Champion "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin vs. Jericho Appreciation Society ("The Spanish God" Sammy Guevara and "Red Death" Daniel Garcia) - Four men who have done battle against one another on a number of occasions over AEW's history take the ring one more time on Wednesday night for a spot in the Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament final when Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin meet the Jericho Appreciation Society's Sammy Guevara and Daniel Garcia. Cassidy and Allin are in the semis by virtue of a victory over the reformed Swerve in Our Glory (Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee) last Wednesday night. Guevara and Garcia were victorious over the veteran team of Jeff Jarrett and Matt Hardy on Rampage. While they won, there were certainly cracks in the facade of their teamwork. It was Guevara who had the match won for the duo when he hit Hardy with the Go to Hell, but it was Garcia who got the pin because he blind-tagged himself in for no apparent reason other than wanting the three count for himself. Wednesday's match should be a competitive one considering who is in it, but it's difficult to pick a favourite when these four men have opposed one another so frequently. Which of these two teams will position themselves to battle for a title shot in the final?
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PLUS:
- The Elite (Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page, Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson) and the Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler YUTA) and Konosuke Takeshita will each reveal their respective fifth members of their teams for next week's Blood & Guts match.