SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
AEW DYNAMITE PRIMER
JANUARY 8, 2020
SOUTH HAVEN, MS. AT THE LANDERS CENTER
AIRS ON TNT, 8:00 PM EST
BY JOSHUA CHAMBERS (@josh_chambers), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to add a weekly AEW Dynamite Primer to PWTorch.com’s line-up of features. Welcome to new contributor Joshua Chambers. Below is his first article.
Arena, Road to Memphis
The Landers Center is the 10,000-seat home of the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League (the NBA’s official minor league).
Here is “Road to Memphis” video, which debuted this Monday on the official AEW YouTube page:
Tonight’s show has been billed as “AEW Dynamite Anniversary Edition,” and is airing exactly one year after the Double Or Nothing press conference on January 8, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Matches Announced:
- Riho (c) vs. Kris Statlander – AEW Women’s Championship Match
- The Lucha Bros. vs. Cody Rhodes & Dustin Rhodes
- Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Private Party
- Christopher Daniels vs. Sammy Guevara
The following segments have been advertised:
- Moxley Answers Jericho’s Offer
- Cody Responds to MJF’s Stipulation Demands
- Tribute to Legends of Memphis Wrestling
AEW Dark Recap
- Awesome Kong defeated Skyler Moore
- SCU defeated Jack Evans & Angelico, & Kip Sabian
(Josh’s Analysis: This was the shortest episode of Dark so far at just over 30 minutes and only two matches. The Kong-Moore match was more than a squash (but just barely), but Awesome Kong did NOT take a piece of Moore’s hair. The tag match was pretty good and finished strong. The story of Christopher Daniel’s doubting himself after his botch in the Pentagon match was a nice touch.)
Matches and Segments
Riho (c) vs. Kris Statlander – AEW Women’s Championship Match
This match was supposed to happen last week in Jacksonville, but a scheduling conflict prevented Kris Stratlander from participating. Rather than cancel the match or force Stratlander to abandon her obligations, they presented a four way match for the title last week, with the winner facing Statlander this week. Riho retained her title, but suffered a vicious attack from Nyla Rose after the match.
(Josh’s Analysis: Stratlander is coming in with a lot of buzz and momentum, and Riho is not at 100 percent after Nyla’s post-match attack, so we should see that played up quite a bit. Riho is a white meat babyface that is all about overcoming the odds, however, so I fully expect her to retain and pivot into the feud with Britt Baker that was teased last week.)
The Lucha Bros. vs. Cody Rhodes & Dustin Rhodes
The Lucha Bros. are coming off a loss in a six-man match against Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks and are looking to rebound here and get into the tag title picture. This will be the third time that the Rhodes brothers have teamed together in AEW, but the first time they have faced the Lucha Bros.
(Josh’s Analysis: AEW has been leaning pretty hard on the “brothers” aspect of this match. There’s not a ton of storyline reasons for it to happen, but everyone involved is extremely talented, so it should be a real banger.)
Kenny Omega & “Hangman” Adam Page vs. Private Party
The very talented Private Party haven’t had a lot to do on Dynamite as of late, and, with the win/loss records reset, are looking to start off the New Year with a win over the dysfunctional team of Omega & Page.
On the Dec. 18 episode of Dynamite, Omega and Page teamed against the Lucha Bros., losing the match after Page mistakenly clotheslined Omega. After the match they stared each other down and got into a shoving match. Ever since taking a break from The Elite, Page has been spiraling and his drinking has become troublesome. Last week he interrupted Private Party’s backstage interview to pour himself some whiskey, and then appeared on commentary tipsy with a drink in hand. He appeared surprised when this weeks match was announced.
(Josh’s Analysis: Running with a substance abuse storyline is a high-risk maneuver, and I hope they stick the landing. I don’t see Omega & Page defeating an actual tag team, here, especially since both are on individual downswings. Expect their dysfunction to take center stage, furthering Page’s distance from the Elite, and possibly setting up a singles match down the road)
Christopher Daniels vs. Sammy Guevara
Last week a vlogging Sammy Guevara interrupted SCU’s interview with Jen Decker. He taunted Christopher Daniels by pointing out that Kazarian & Sky had the tag titles, but all he had was wrinkles on his face and losses on his record, saying that maybe Daniels “just don’t got it” anymore. Daniels replied that they’d find out next week, then licked his thumb and wiped it on Sammy’s phone screen.
(Josh’s Analysis: Sammy Guevara has the most punchable face in the industry, and I’m always excited to see it happen. They’ve been teasing that Daniels is drifting away from SCU, so I’m curious to see if something happens tonight that progresses that story)
Moxley Answers Jericho’s Offer
For weeks Jericho has been trying to lure Moxley into joining the Inner Circle with gifts (a million dollar sports car), prestige (49 percent share and the title of Executive Vice President of Inner Circle LLC), and friendship. Moxley says that he’s always looked to Jericho as a friend and a mentor and has promised to give us his answer this week face-to-face.
(Josh’s Analysis: We all know where this is going, and that’s okay! They’ve strung this along in a very fun way, and I’ll be pumped when Mox starts handing out Death Riders to the Inner Circle tonight. What I REALLY want, but probably won’t get, is some references to this weekend’s Wrestle Kingdom, Jericho’s match with Tanahashi, and Moxley’s IWGP United States Championship.)
Cody Responds to MJF’s Stipulation Demands
Last week MJF said that he would face Cody at Revolution if his three demands were met. They were as follows:
- Cody can not touch him until their match, otherwise they’ll never face each other
- Cody must beat Wardlow in a steel cage match
- MJF gets to whip Cody 10 times with a leather strap
AEW Pays Tribute to Legends of Memphis Wrestling
AEW is advertising a tribute to key Memphis Wrestling acts overt the years. Their Twitter page features a photo of Randy Savage, his brother Lanny Poffo, and his father Angelo Poffo, plus Tommy Gilbert and his son “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert, Jerry Lawler’s son Brian Christopher (but not Jerry Lawler, the biggest wrestling legend along with Jackie Fargo, who is also not pictured), Austin Idol, The Rock & Roll Express (co-stars of the current NWA Power series on YouTube), “Handsome” Jimmy Valiant, and announcers Dave Brown and Lance Russell.
#AEW will pay Tribute to Legends of Memphis Wrestling THIS WEDNESDAY in Southaven. Legends being honored include:
Angelo Poffo & Randy Savage
Lance Russell
"Hot Stuff" Eddie & Tommy Gilbert
Brian Christopher
Austin Idol
Dave Brown
The Rock & Roll Express
"Handsome" Jimmy Valiant pic.twitter.com/67qLqJ3ilq— All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) January 4, 2020
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