News Ticker

ALL ELITE WRESTLING DYNAMITE PREVIEW 12/15: Winter is Coming Edition, MJF vs. Martin for Ring, Serena vs. Shida, Page vs. Danielson for AEW Championship

December 15, 2021

AEW Dynamite hits and misses analysis
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

ALL ELITE WRESTLING DYNAMITE PRIMER
WINTER IS COMING EDITION
DECEMBER 15, 2021
GARLAND, TX AT THE CURTIS CULLWELL CENTER
AIRS ON TNT NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST, 7:00 p.m. CST
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz, Jim Ross (on medical leave)

Match Results from Last Week

  • MJF and Dante Martin were the finalists of the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale.
  • Jurassic Express & The Varsity Blondes defeated 2point0 & The Acclaimed
  • The Young Bucks (w/Brandon Cutler and Adam Cole) defeated Rocky Romero & Chuck Taylor (w/Orange Cassidy). Trent Berreta made his return after the match.
  • Cody Rhodes interrupted an interview of TNT Champion Sammy Guevara by Tony Schiavone. He told Sammy a match was set for them for the title on Christmas.
  • Riho defeated Jamie Hayter.
  • Bryan Danielson defeated John Silver of the Dark Order.

Arena

Tonight’s episode of Dynamite and taping of Rampage will emanate from the Curtis Cullwell Center in Garland, TX, just under 20 miles northeast of Dallas. It is the 2nd Winter is Coming edition after starting the tradition last year. According to Google Maps, it’s about a 30–40-minute drive depending on traffic. The venue seats just under 7,000 and is the property of the Garland Independent School District. It hosted Dynamite back in December of 2019.

It is interesting that Tony is alluding to the fact that the title could change hands tonight.

Dynamite Diamond Ring: MJF (current holder) vs. Dante Martin

Because they were the final two in the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale last week, MJF and Dante Martin will go one-on-one tonight for the Dynamite Diamond Ring. Ironically it is currently held by MJF, who won it last year as well as in 2019.

Both men will have to look over their shoulder. CM Punk railed on the MJF-favored Long Island crowd last week, but also noted he would be watching the AEW World Championship match between champion “Hangman” Adam Page and Bryan Danielson. He claimed he “wanted next,” and put down the Long Island crowd for MJF being “their guy.” Punk and MJF have been verbally going at it for almost a month. On the other hand, Dante Martin will have to contend with Team Taz, whom he betrayed in the Battle Royale by eliminating Ricky Starks. He was beaten down after the match by Ricky and when it looked like MJF would help him, he joined Starks in the festivities. Punk bailed out Martin.

Frank’s Analysis: It feels like the logical answer is MJF wins this, right? I’m not one for much fantasy booking, but I could see Punk costing MJF the ring which would add some spice to their feud. Simultaneously, it’s a heel move by Punk and for some reason, I see a heel turn in his future. That’s why (I think) he was railing on the Long Island crowd. You must do better than knock the Islanders because they suck right now, and Let’s Go Rangers! Anyway, where was I? Oh right, the ring. Team Taz could also cost Dante the ring, Ricky in particular. I’ll sign up for a series of Ricky vs. Dante matches.

Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb

In what should be a highlight of the show, Hikaru Shida goes one-on-one with recent rival Serena Deeb. Things got hot between these women recently when Serena defeated Shida when she was attempting to get her 50th win in AEW. Shida returned the favor by eliminating her in the first round of the TBS Championship tournament.

Shida held the AEW Women’s Championship for the better part of the pandemic before losing the title to Dr. Britt Baker at Double or Nothing.

Frank’s Analysis: I don’t know what else to say but it should be a great match. It’s nice to see a personal feud on the women’s side that doesn’t involve a title. In the back of my mind, I wonder if a Shida turn could be in the works.

Matt Sydal vs. Wardlow

Wardlow of the Pinnacle goes one-on-one with Matt Sydal. Wardlow has been on a roll as of late until competing in the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale last week. He eliminated Lee Moriarty, Jay Lethal, and later Matt. Lee Johnson and Lio Rush were trying to eliminate Wardlow until all three were eliminated by MJF, who would eventually be a finalist with Dante Martin.

Matt has been involved mostly with Lio and Dante in different iterations as of late. While Wardlow has won a series of matches, there have been subtle issues between he and MJF.

https://twitter.com/mattsydal/status/1470779677568548864?s=21

Frank’s Analysis: Wardlow has been winning mostly squashes as of late, so it’ll be good to see him wrestle someone with credibility. We have to think the issues will come to a head at some point between he and MJF. I don’t see it happening until things with Punk are settled. It’s possible he’s a factor in how that feud turns out.

AEW World Championship: “Hangman” Adam Page (champ) vs. Bryan Danielson

The moment has arrived where “Hangman” Adam Page will have his first title defense when he puts the AEW World Championship against Bryan Danielson.

They have been on this journey since Full Gear, where Page defeated Kenny Omega after a two-year journey to win the title. On the same evening, Danielson defeated Miro in the finals of the world title eliminator tournament to earn the right to challenge for the championship. On the Dynamite episode that followed, Danielson congratulated Page, but said he expected to face Omega for the title. He went on to defeat several members of the Dark Order, with whom Page is loosely associated, including Colt Cabana in Chicago and John Silver in Long Island. After the match, Danielson said he would kick Silver’s head in until Page came out for the save.

Frank’s Analysis: I should be more excited for this, and I am looking forward to it, but something isn’t there for me. I don’t know if I’m underwhelmed by Page, the build, or I’m not crazy about Danielson being a heel. I know I’ve praised his work, and it has a right to be praised, but it just doesn’t feel right. I have hopes that it’s not a full-blown heel turn, and he’s just doing this to try and get the best out of Page. Either way, once the bell rings, I don’t think I’ll be thinking negatively about anything.

Follow Frank on Twitter @FrankPeteani. Thank you for reading!

Related Articles

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

ALL CONTENT © TDH COMMUNICATIONS INC. 2024