By: Gavin Axelrod & Joseph Casciaro
Everything you need to know about the iciest episode of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite ever
(AEW)
Winter is here, which means the biggest episode of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Dynamite is upon us. ‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega challenges for the AEW World Championship in the main event, a match that could cause a paradigm shift in the promotion.
AEW champion Jon Moxley hasn’t been pinned in 18 months. His reign began back in February at the Revolution pay-per-view event where he defeated ‘Le Champion’ Chris Jericho.
The show will also feature a Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale, where competitors will vye for the prestigious Dynamite Diamond Ring, currently held by Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF).
Britt Baker takes on 23-year-old AEW newcomer 'Legit' Leyla Hirsch in what will be an exciting singles match. Hirsch will look to score a massive victory over AEW's resident dentist.
Chris Jericho will face Frankie Kazarian one-on-one for the first time ever following last week’s clash between The Inner Circle and SoCal Uncensored (SCU).
Team Taz looks to stay hot as Powerhouse Hobbs and Ricky Starks take on Cody Rhodes and TNT Champion Darby Allin. Hobbs or Starks could be in line for a future title shot if either of them pins Allin.
The Diffusing Dynamite duo of Gavin Axelrod and Joseph Cascaiaro are excited to bring you this special preview for the Winter Is Coming edition of AEW Dynamite. Keep reading for everything you need to know about the show!
Leyla Hirsch looks to cement herself as legit
(AEW)
Leyla Hirsch could earn herself an AEW contract if she pulls off an upset victory over Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. Baker, on the other hand, will look to make quick work of her opponent as another challenger looms in the waiting.
On the Nov. 18 edition of Dynamite, Baker gave Serena Deeb a huge assist when she attacked Thunder Rosa. Deeb went on to win the match, which made Rosa extremely frustrated.
Don’t be surprised if Thunder Rosa shows up to even the score between herself and Baker. All signs point to the two stars having a singles match in the near future.
However, before Baker can worry about Thunder Rosa, she’ll have to focus on beating a rising star in ‘Legit’ Layla Hirsch.
Jericho & Kazarian go one-on-one for the first time ever
(AEW)
Last week on Dynamite we saw what seemed to be the start of a feud between The Inner Circle and SCU. There was a tag team match between Chris Jericho and Jake Hager of Inner Circle against Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian of SCU.
The match was fairly clean until The Inner Circle interfered to allow Jericho and Hager to pick up the win. After the match was over, a disgruntled Kazarian decided to punch MJF of Inner Circle square in the jaw.
This led to the entire Inner Circle beating down Daniels and Kazarian, until Scorpio Sky made the save for his stablemates. Jericho then announced in a backstage interview that to get payback for MJF he would face Kazarian one-on-one at Winter is Coming.
This is a first-time-ever match, and about ten years ago this would have been must-see. However, due to their current ages, I would not expect an instant classic, but do expect to see the Inner Circle make their presence felt.
Allin and Rhodes set for grudge match with Team Taz
(AEW)
Cody Rhodes and Darby Allin have been in a heated feud with Team Taz ever since they attacked them after their match at the Full Gear pay-per-view. We have seen a number of attacks on Cody and Darby from the team of Brian Cage and Ricky Starks.
One common thing from all the attacks was Will Hobbs always came to the aid of Cody and Allin, but he was always a bit late. This was something the co-aces of The Intermission wrestling division picked up on and we grew suspicious of.
Our suspicions came to life when Hobbs saved Cody and Allin and then as Cody got to his feet, he hit him between the eyes with the FTW Championship, two weeks ago on Dynamite. Hobbs then raised the title to signify he had aligned himself with Taz, Cage, and Starks and he was officially a member of the stable.
Last week on Dynamite we saw a brand new Hobbs, dawning the moniker of Powerhouse Hobbs and he competed in Taz’s signature black and orange colourway. After Hobbs’ match Taz called out AEW management for more respect and screen time for his boys.
Cody came out to respond to Taz leading to a war of words in which Cody involved the son of Taz.
He said if FTW was so great why is Taz’s son training under him instead of his father. This set Taz off and he locked in the Tazzmission on Cody. It was such a treat to see Taz get physical again.
This led to the announcement of Cody and Allin against Hobbs and Starks at Winter Is Coming. After the past month of battle, this should be a vicious bout and it will be interesting to see if Team Taz finally gets the respect they’ve been begging for.
Battle Royale Bonanza
(AEW)
At Winter Is Coming we will see the second ever Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale for the Dynamite Diamond Ring.
Last year’s Dynamite Dozen Battle Royale was a bit different. The two finalists of the battle royale, MJF and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, squared off in a singles match, which Friedman won.
MJF has held the Dynamite Diamond Ring ever since and we’ve seen it factor into matches like the main event of the All Out pay-per-view. He will be competing this year along with names like Miro, Wardlow, Scorpio Sky and everyone’s favourite meat man, John Silver.
Joseph’s prediction:
This should be a very fun match and it has a lot of great competitors, meaning there are a lot of guys that could possibly get the win. Some guys that could really use the win being Page, Miro, or Sammy Guevara.
I believe this battle royale will be a continuation of the divide of The Inner Circle since there are three members competing in this match. So, I have Sammy Guevara coming out on top and winning the Dynamite Diamond Ring.
This will cause tension in the Inner Circle because MJF will have to hand over the ring to his teammate Guevara, who he already has a lot of tension with. Guevara taking his ring will make MJF plot the removal of Guevara from the faction.
Guevara will receive this ring and finally get his push as a singles star as I believe this will be his way out of The Inner Circle.
Kenny Omega vs Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship
(AEW)
When Jon Moxley made his shocking debut at AEW’s first-ever pay-per-view, Double or Nothing 2019, it caused a paradigm shift in the world of wrestling. However, Kenny Omega would be on the wrong end of wrestling’s most talked-about moment of 2019.
Moxley made an instant statement when he attacked Omega to close the historic show and things wouldn’t end there. Omega would even the score in June of 2019 when he attacked Moxley following his brutal match with Joey Janela at Fyter Fest.
The two would go their separate ways with Moxley heading to Japan for G1 Climax 29 and Omega staying in the United States to help get AEW off the ground. A match between the two was announced for the All Out 2019, but it never happened due to an elbow injury Jon Moxley suffered.
When Omega found out Moxley wouldn’t be able to compete at All Out, he lashed out in a fiery promo. He said Moxley couldn’t handle a month in the life of Kenny Omega and that Moxley couldn’t win the G1 Climax tournament, but he did on the first try.
Omega finished his promo by telling Moxley to look at himself in the mirror and ask, “what the f--k am I doing?” It’s safe to say this didn’t go over well with the Purveyor of Violence.
On the debut episode of AEW Dynamite in the fall of 2019, Jon Moxley emerged from the shadows and laid a beating on Kenny Omega, putting him through a glass table. The war between the two momentarily culminated in a Lights Out Match at Full Gear 2019, in what was one of the most brutal pay-per-view matches in years.
Since their clash at the event wasn’t sanctioned by AEW, the two wrestlers technically have a zero-and-zero record over each other. However, everyone knows Moxley won the first battle.
As 2019 came to an end the two went in different directions. Kenny Omega won the AEW World Tag Team Championships with ‘Hangman’ Adam Page and Jon Moxley won the AEW World Championship at the Revolution pay-per-view this past February.
Almost a year into Moxley’s reign as AEW World Champion and as Omega said on Dynamite last week, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
At Full Gear 2020 Omega defeated his former tag team partner to win the AEW Eliminator Tournament to become the number one contender for Jon Moxley’s championship. While the pay-per-view went off the air, Omega faced off against his future opponent and laid down the challenge.
The past month between the champion and challenger has been heated on the microphone and in the ring. Jon Moxley was recently the victim of a between at the hands of an unknown culprit, but last week on Dynamite he returned the favour and jumped Omega on his own.
This is just one of the parallels between two of the best wrestlers in the world today. Jon Moxley isn’t afraid to beat down anyone that stands in his way, but Omega won’t own up to laying him out weeks ago and may have even hired someone to do it.
Kenny Omega is a wrestling purist, his goal is to change the world and while Jon Moxley’s love for the sport runs deep, their styles clash. One is an artist and one is a brawler.
Yet, here we are, we’ve reached the day where the biggest weekly television match of 2020 and maybe even years, is about to occur.
When Jon Moxley came to AEW he announced his arrival as a paradigm shift in the world of wrestling. Regardless of the outcome, tonight’s match might be another one of those paradigm-shifting moments.
The challenger hopes to beat a man who hasn’t been beaten in 18 months and the champion hopes to remind everyone that he is indeed the best wrestler on the planet.
Winter is here and Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley are about to go to war.
Joseph prediction:
“Omega has a lot to prove and it’s been a long time since he has been the face of a company. Which is exactly why he is my pick to dethrone Moxley and become the NEW AEW World Champion, I also expect Omega to be standing tall with his friends and AEW Tag Team Champions, The Young Bucks, to close the biggest Dynamite of all time.”
Gavin’s prediction:
“I’ll keep it short and leave you with three words: The Cleaner wins.”