Joe battles Castagnoli on Dynamite on TSN2
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Powerhouses collide when Samoa Joe meets Claudio Castagnoli. Plus, Swerve Strickland faces off with the Young Bucks on opposite sides of a trios match and Kazuchika Okada takes on Kevin Knight. 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.
AEW World Trios Champion Samoa Joe vs. Claudio Castagnoli (w/ Wheeler YUTA)
Before he takes on Jox Moxley in a cage next week as he attempts to become a two-time AEW World Champion, Samoa Joe will go one on one with another member of the Death Riders in Claudio Castagnoli. Simply put, these two men will beat the hell out of one another. Wednesday night's match won't be about a win or a loss, it's about sending a message. "The Swiss Cyborg" will be out to soften up Joe ahead of his match with Mox next week, while Joe will be out to show Moxley just what he has in store for him. Castagnoli's loss of the AEW World Trios Championships will be fresh in his mind. On the Apr. 16 edition of Dynamite, The Opps (Joe, Katsuyori Shibata and Powerhouse Hobbs) ended the reign of the Death Riders (Castagnoli, Wheeler YUTA and "The Bastard" PAC) at nearly eight months. But Castagnoli and Joe's rivalry started well before then. The two behemoths have been doing battle for nearly 20 years. Joe and Castagnoli first faced off all the way back on Apr. 29, 2006 at Ring of Honor's Weekend of Champions in Cleveland. In that match, Joe had Castagnoli set up for the Muscle Buster, but Castagnoli's CZW buddies, Necro Butcher and Nate Webb, ran in for the disqualification. Their only other singles match came later that year in Chicago Ridge, IL. This time, Joe was able to hit the Muscle Buster and pick up the victory. Will that match serve as a preview for Wednesday night or will Castagnoli pick up his first victory against Joe?
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The Young Bucks (Nicholas Jackson and Matthew Jackson) and Ricochet vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey, Mark Briscoe and Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana)
For the first time since they cost him the AEW World Championship at Dynasty, Swerve Strickland will have the opportunity to get his hands on the Young Bucks (Nicholas Jackson and Matthew Jackson). With Swerve seemingly on the verge of reclaiming the world title from Jon Moxley at last month's pay-per-view, the Jackson brothers appeared from nowhere for the first time in an AEW ring since October to hit Strickland with an EVP Trigger to allow Mox to retain his title. On the next Dynamite, the Bucks claimed their actions were both a peace offering to the Death Riders and in the service of "Hangman" Adam Page, Strickland's archrival, who had promised that Swerve would never hold the title again. Interestingly enough, Hangman had also made his presence known earlier in that title match, but to assist Swerve in fending off the Death Riders. Whatever their reason, Strickland doesn't care and intends to go Buck hunting. Of course, Swerve will also have to deal with a longtime nuisance of his in the form of Ricochet. Much of Strickland's early 2025 was spent dealing with his old foe "Trevor" with Ricochet managing to abscond with Prince Nana's Embassy robe, the one that Nana once bestowed upon the late Jimmy Rave. It was Ricochet, in fact, that Swerve defeated - at Revolution - to earn his title shot at Moxley. Swerve won't be alone, though. With him in Wednesday night's trios match are Mark Briscoe and Mike Bailey. Briscoe's history with the Jacksons is a long one. The Young Bucks went to war with Briscoe Brothers (Mark Briscoe and the late Jay Briscoe) on numerous occasions over the years in both ROH and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The memories of those hellacious matches are undoubtedly still front of mind for all three men. Bailey is also familiar with his three opponents, having faced off with all of them in recent weeks. With both athleticism and bad blood abounding, which of these trios will come out on top?
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AEW Women's World Title Eliminator four-way: "Timeless" Toni Storm (c) (w/ Luther) vs. Thunder Rosa vs. "The Superbad Girl" Penelope Ford (w/ "Megasus" Megan Bayne) vs. Anna Jay
Toni Storm doesn't duck competition. The four-time AEW Women's World Champion is a fighting champion and will once again offer the opportunity for somebody to earn a shot at her title. This time, though, the World Title Eliminator Match will not be one one one. Storm enters a four-way match against former world champion Thunder Rosa, Penelope Ford and Anna Jay. The format of the match offers an interesting wrinkle. Normally in a Title Eliminator match, the challenger earns a title shot by defeating the champion. But in the case of a four-way, the champion doesn't need to be pinned to earn that shot. Thunder Rosa, Ford and Jay can all pin one of the other in order to get a title match with Storm. That very much removes some of Storm's agency in the equation. Still, Storm needs to only take out one of her competitors to win the match. While Thunder Rosa is a former AEW Women's World Champion, gold has thus far eluded both Ford and Jay in their AEW careers. Ford has never wrestled for a title in the promotion. The closest she came was losing a Title Eliminator to Storm back in 2022. For Jay, it's been nothing but heartbreak in title matches. When competing for either of the AEW Women's World Championship or the TBS Championship, Jay is now 0-11. She remains undeterred, though, and is convinced that her luck will one day change. Storm heads into Wednesday night's match on the back of three straight Title Eliminator wins over Lady Frost, Miyu Yamashita and Queen Aminata. Can Storm stay rolling or will one of her three opponents earn a shot at her gold?
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AEW Continental Title Eliminator: "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kevin "The Jet" Knight
One of NJPW's most iconic figures goes up against a man about to embark on his first Best of the Super Juniors tournament when Kazuchika Okada takes on Kevin Knight in a first-time singles match. Knight, who arrived in AEW in March, is set to fly out to Japan later this week to compete in the B Block of BOSJ against IWGP World Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado, ROH World TV Champion Nick Wayne, Ryusuke Taguchi, Robbie Eagles, Taiji Ishimori, NEVER Openweight 6-Man Champion "The Murder Machine" SHO, Titan and DDT Pro-Wrestling's MAO. The tournament can act as a springboard to greatness. Former winners of the tournament include Jushin "Thunder" Liger, Finn Balor, Will Ospreay, Ricochet and the only four-time victor Hiromu Takahashi. Okada knows about NJPW tournaments all too well. The man who considers himself the greatest tournament wrestler of all-time, Okada is a four-time G1 Climax winner and also won the 2024 Continental Classic. His pedigree speaks for itself and he knows what a victory over him would mean for an up-and-coming star like Knight. But beating the seven-time IWGP World Heavyweight Champion won't be easy. Since coming to AEW in March of 2024, only Bryan Danielson and Kyle Fletcher have been able to pin Okada. Since defeating Eddie Kingston for the AEW Continental Championship in Toronto in March 2024, Okada has successfully defended it 10 times and has won a pair of Title Eliminator matches against the legendary Ultimo Guerrero and Sammy Guevara. Knight knows what he's up against in one of the best wrestlers working today and of all-time. But Knight has never shown any kind of fear. Knight has taken on the likes of Ospreay, Jay White, Shelton Benjamin, KENTA and Dave Finlay. Facing off with Okada will be the biggest match of his AEW career to date, but he's not going to change the way he approaches things. Okada should underestimate his resolve at his own peril. Can Knight pick up the biggest victory of his AEW career to date or will Okada remain untouchable?
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"The Man Beast" Rhino appears
With AEW in Detroit, one of the city's wrestling icons will make an appearance in Rhino. The Man Beast's resume speaks for itself. Rhino was the youngest ECW World Champion in history and also held the ECW World Television Championship, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the WWE United States Championship and the WWE Tag Team Championships (alongside Heath Slater) among his many accolades. Is somebody set to feel a Gore on Wednesday night?
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Jamie Hayter sits down with Renee Paquette
With wins over Billie Starkz and Kris Statlander, Jamie Hayter finds herself in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final where she will meet TBS Champion Mercedes Mone at Double or Nothing in a first-time match. Mone has been dismissive of Hayter in the lead-up to their match, but that might just be false bravado. On Dynamite, the former AEW Women's World Champion will offer her thoughts on the match to Renee Paquette.
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We'll hear from "The Aerial Assassin" Will Ospreay
Will Ospreay now knows he will face "Hangman" Adam Page in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Final at All Out. Where is the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion's head at ahead of his first-time meeting with the cowboy?