Joe makes first title defence against Hook on Dynamite on TSN2
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Samoa Joe makes the first defence of his AEW World Championship when he takes on FTW Champion Hook. Plus, Christian Cage puts the TNT Championship on the line against Dustin Rhodes and Bullet Club Gold vies for the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships against the Mogul Embassy. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.
AEW World Championship match: Samoa Joe (c) vs. FTW Champion Hook - It came as a surprise to many when FTW Champion Hook announced his challenge to AEW World Champion Samoa Joe two weeks ago, but it didn't to those who have been following Hook's young career. Despite embarking on just his third full year as a pro wrestler, the son of ECW icon Taz has never been short on confidence. In fact, the normally silent Hook exudes it and that's why Joe isn't taking this challenge lightly even though he's been wrestling for almost as long as Hook has been alive. The match will mark the first defence of the AEW title for "The Samoan Submission Machine" since choking out Maxwell Jacob Friedman to win the title at the Dec. 30 World's End pay-per-view on Long Island. Wednesday night's bout is just the 48th of Hook's career and his biggest challenge to date. Still, Hook holds wins over former and current champions like Ricky Starks, Wheeler YUTA, Jack Perry and Ethan Page and his lack of experience belies his abilities. And Hook won't be the only thing on Joe's mind. Former AEW World Champion "Hangman" Adam Page, Swerve Strickland and Joe's one-time former ally Wardlow have all made it clear in recent weeks that they're gunning for him and his world title. Even if he manages to defeat Hook, the lineup at his door is a long one. But Joe must focus on the task at hand because looking beyond Hook could be a recipe for disaster. Can Hook do the improbable and pick up the biggest win of his career or will Joe get his title reign started with a new victim?
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TNT Championship match: "The Patriarch" Christian Cage (c) (w/ Killswitch and "The Prodigy" Nick Wayne) vs. "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes - Two of AEW's most experienced and decorated competitors meet on Wednesday night when Christian Cage puts his TNT Championship on the line against Dustin Rhodes. Rhodes is coming off of a victory over Willie Mack on this past Saturday night's Collision. After the match, he was confronted by Cage who informed him that any friend of Adam Copeland's - Rhodes had teamed with Copeland on last week's Dynamite - was an enemy of his. Rhodes immediately shot back with a title challenge for Wednesday night. Between Cage and Rhodes, the two have held 21 major singles titles and, while Wednesday night's match won't be the first time the two have faced off for a championship, it will be the first time in a very long while. It was on Nov. 9, 2009 that the duo last competed for a title with Cage successfully defending his ECW World Championship over Rhodes. Cage also owns several wins over Rhodes in WWE Intercontinental Championship matches. The lone match that Rhodes has defeated Cage for a title came back in 2002 and when he and Booker T. defeated Cage and Chris Jericho for the WWE World Tag Team Championships in a four corners match that also included The Dudley Boyz and Lance Storm and William Regal. In singles matches over their storied careers, Cage holds a 6-4 edge over Rhodes. Of course, Rhodes can't be focused on only Cage these days. Where Cage goes, so does the rest of the Patriarchy in Killswitch and Nick Wayne. Killswitch and Wayne have never failed to get involved in one of Cage's matches when he needs the help and Rhodes needs to prepare for that contingency. The match will be the third time that Rhodes has fought for the TNT Championship, having been defeated in those matches by Mr. Brodie Lee and Sammy Guevara. Can Rhodes capture the title that has eluded him twice before or will Cage's second reign keep going?
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ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship match: The Mogul Embassy ("The Machine" Brian Cage, Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun) (c) (w/ Prince Nana) vs. Bullet Club Gold ("Switchblade" Jay White, Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn) - On this past Saturday night's Collision, the Mogul Embassy defeated the team of Lance Archer and the Righteous (Vincent and Dutch) to retain their ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championships. After the match, Prince Nana delivered a challenge to Bullet Club Gold for Dynamite on Wednesday night and the Bang Bang Gang gladly accepted. Jay White is still looking for his first championship since arriving in AEW and the Gunns (Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn) are trying to regain gold for the first time since dropping the AEW World Tag Team Championships back to FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) back in April. The match comes with Bullet Club Gold in the midst of pondering over an offer of a new alliance from an unexpected source. With White having vowed revenge against the Undisputed Kingdom (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Wardlow, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven) after a blindside attack, longtime rivals the AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) and the Gunns' father, Billy Gunn, who were also victimized by the Undisputed Kingdom, proposed that the two groups work together to take down Cole and co. For obvious reasons, Bullet Club Gold has reservations. Before they can think any more about the offer, they have to contend with the Mogul Embassy, who are currently in their second reign as champions after regaining their titles from The Elite ("Hangman" Adam Page, Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson) in November. Will the Mogul Embassy hang onto their titles again or will Wednesday night be Too Sweet for Bullet Club Gold?
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"The Virtuosa" Deonna Purrazzo vs. Anna Jay - Former ROH Women's World Champion and Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo makes her Dynamite in-ring debut on Wednesday night against tough competition in Anna Jay. Adding to the pressure for Purrazzo will be the presence of AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm sitting in on commentary for the match. Purrazzo's first AEW match was a success this past Saturday night on Collision when she put Red Velvet away with her patented Venus de Milo submission hold. Jay will present a difficult challenge. After picking up a victory in last week's eight-woman tag-team match on Dynamite, Jay followed that up with an unsuccessful challenge for Julia Hart's TBS Championship at this past Saturday night's Battle of the Belts IX. Reinvigorated by the memory of her late mentor Brodie Lee, a win over an opponent the calibre of Purrazzo would certainly put Jay back on track and once again into title contention. But Purrazzo has no interest on losing this quickly into her AEW tenure as matches with both "The Glamour" Mariah May and Storm herself appear on the horizon. Can Jay bounce back with a big win or will Purrazzo make it two for two in AEW?
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PLUS:
- After their surprise return last week with a challenge for Sting and Darby Allin, we will hear from the Young Bucks (Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson)