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ALL ELITE WRESTLING DYNAMITE PREVIEW 2/9: Inner Circle Mandatory Meeting, MJF Speaks, Kassidy vs. New Signee, Page vs. Archer in Championship Texas Death Match

BY FRANK PETEANI, PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR

February 8, 2022

AEW Dynamite analysis
MJF (photo courtesty AEW media)
SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

ALL ELITE WRESTLING DYNAMITE PRIMER
FEBRUARY 9, 2022
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. IN THE JIM WHELAN BOARDWALK HALL
AIRS ON TBS NETWORK, 8:00 p.m. EST, 7:00 p.m. CST
BY FRANK PETEANI (@FrankPeteani), PWTORCH.COM CONTRIBUTOR

Announcers: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

Match Results and Key Segments from Last Week

  • Jon Moxley defeated Wheeler Yuta. After the match Bryan Danielson proposed to Jon that they join forces and bring along some of the up-and-coming AEW talent.
  • Brandi Rhodes and Dan Lambert had a much maligned and insider reference-filled back and forth in-ring promo.
  • Malakai Black & Brody King defeated Penta El Zero Miedo & Pac.
  • Nyla Rose defeated Ruby Soho.
  • MJF defeated CM Punk.

Arena

AEW rolls into the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention, and in 1987 was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The building opened in 1929 and was the primary convention center for Atlantic City until the Atlantic City Convention Center opened in 1997. It is the home of the Miss America Pageant.

Two matches and two talking segments have been announced for the show. Here is a link to the “Road to Atlantic City”:

Inner Circle’s Mandatory Meeting

Things have been breaking down in the Inner Circle in recent times and thus leader Chris Jericho has called for a mandatory meeting.

This stems from Eddie Kingston recently associating himself with Inner Circle Santana & Ortiz, with whom he was affiliated in Impact Wrestling. When Chris Jericho returned from being attacked by 2point0, he and Kingston started having issues. Kingston went so far as to tell Santana & Ortiz they haven’t won the AEW Tag Team Championship because of their affiliation with Jericho. Soon thereafter they admitted it may be true.

Two weeks ago, Santana & Ortiz, along with Jericho, defeated Daniel Garcia and 2point0. Jericho was not tagged in when expected and he and Santana & Ortiz had communication issues throughout the match. Last week in a backstage promo, Jericho said their actions were disrespectful and unacceptable. He questioned why Santana & Ortiz suddenly cared about what Eddie Kingston thinks. He called for the Inner Circle team meeting and said attendance was mandatory.

Frank’s Analysis: This is a problem I have with AEW. They assume fans know about past affiliations and stories. I know that Kingston managed Santana & Ortiz when they were LAX in Impact Wrestling, and I’m sure many know that, but not everyone. I’m not saying you have to spell it out, but at least have the announcers explain why they suddenly care about what he thinks. That being said, if Santana & Ortiz have to break away from the Inner Circle to get elevated, so be it.

MJF Speaks

In one could be categorized as one of the biggest matches of his career, MJF knocked off the undefeated CM Punk in his hometown of Chicago, Ill. last week. He thought he had the match won with a sleeper hold combined with a body scissors. Punk’s hand dropped three times and thus the referee called for the bell. Shortly thereafter, he discovered MJF was using the tape he attempted to choke Punk with earlier and restarted the match. Later, Wardlow came down and while the referee was having a word with him, MJF it Punk with the Dynamite Diamond Ring and scored the pin. Punk had not lost in AEW since defeating Darby Allin in his first match back at All Out in August.

MJF tweeted about his upcoming appearance:

Frank’s Analysis: I’m not sure why they did the false finish. It didn’t add anything in my opinion. The ultimate finish they did would have been just fine, even though I didn’t like Punk being distracted by Wardlow. Speaking of Wardlow, he is turning on MJF right? I’m not sure it has the steam it had a few weeks ago, but we’ll see what they do. I don’t mind the long-formed storytelling, but there comes a time where you need to “get to the point.” Now I must admit, when they say MJF is going to speak, I look forward to it!

Face of the Revolution Ladder Match Qualifier: Isiah Kassidy vs. Mystery Opponent

Tony Khan has been busy on social media touting an arrival into AEW. He has stated that Isiah Kassidy of Private Party will have the chance to qualify for the Face of the Revolution Ladder match to take place at the Revolution PPV. Tonight, he takes on a mystery opponent who will “walk through the forbidden door,” sign an AEW contract, and “slam the door shut.”

Tony has talked to Sports Illustrated:

Frank’s Analysis: I’m going to be very honest here. Yes, I’m curious to see who shows up. Who wouldn’t feel this way? I wouldn’t have a pulse in my wrestling fan body if I didn’t care. The problem is I feel like asking Tony who the (blank) do you think you are? I don’t like the tweet about wrestlers being welcome whether AEW is on good terms with their employer or not, and wrestlers being welcome to slam the door on their former company. He comes off as arrogant and I feel like he thinks his (you-know-what) doesn’t stink. It makes me not want to see talent go to AEW to be perfectly honest. Besides, if they’re going to sign a contract, doesn’t that make them a free agent? If they’re a free agent, why is it a forbidden door? In addition to ALL of that, how much more talent do they need? AEW had an almost year-long Christmas in 2021 getting a LOT of new “toys,” and Tony needs to play with what he has if you get my metaphor there.

AEW World Championship Texas Death Match; “Hangman” Adam Page (champ) vs. Lance Archer (w/Dan Lambert & Jake “The Snake” Roberts)

After several weeks of build, Lance Archer steps into the ring to challenge “Hangman” Adam Page in a Texas Death match for the AEW World Championship. Page has been the champion since defeating Kenny Omega at Full Gear back in November of 2021. He has since retained over Bryan Danielson.

Several weeks ago, Archer answered the call when Page said he was looking for his next challenge. When Page was advised that it would be a Texas Death match, he sounded surprised and said he will “take his best shots and bring hell with him though all nine layers of the abyss.” Last week, Archer confronted Page along with Dan Lambert and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Lambert called him a “soft-ass cowboy” while Jake said he was having bad dreams. Archer and Page brawled.

https://twitter.com/lancehoyt/status/1490741265599717377?s=21

Frank’s Analysis: Aligning Lambert with Archer seems odd considering he’s paired with Jake, but hearing Jake speak I could understand why they’d want Lambert with him. Poor Jake sounds terrible, and I hope he’s in good health. I’m not terribly invested in this match not because I know Page will win, but I don’t feel like the feud got to a Texas Death match stipulation. Either they want to try and prop up Page, whose reign has felt dull so far, or they’re trying to work around something with Archer.

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

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