Danielson meets Jarrett in anything-goes match on Dynamite on TSN2
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Bryan Danielson meets Jeff Jarrett in an anything-goes match with Ricky Steamboat as the special referee. Plus, MJF takes on Kyle Fletcher, Katsuyori Shibata battles Bryan Keith and Mariah May is in action. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.
Anything-goes match: "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson vs. "The Last Outlaw" Jeff Jarrett with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat as special referee - By winning this year's Owen Hart Foundation Cup tournament, Bryan Danielson earned himself a shot at Swerve Strickland's AEW World Championship in the main event of Aug. 25's All In pay-per-view at London's Wembley Stadium. A five-time WWE Champion and former ROH World Champion, Danielson's world championship pedigree has never been in doubt as he is widely considered to be a generational talent and among the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time, but the AEW World Championship is a prize that has eluded him over his nearly four years in the company. "The American Dragon" has wrestled for the title on three occasions and come up empty-handed every time with losses to Blackpool Combat Club stablemate Jon Moxley and "Hangman" Adam Page, as well as a time-limit draw with Page. With his in-ring career winding down, Danielson has made it clear that the match against Swerve might be his very last chance to claim this title. He underlined that last week when he promised to retire if he fails to win the title in London. Pushing him towards greatness for the past several weeks has been Jeff Jarrett. The 12-time world champion has told Danielson that he's not sure that he's taking this opportunity as seriously as he should, but that nobody believes in him more than he does. To ensure that Danielson is ready for Strickland, the man who Jarrett calls the most dangerous man in wrestling, Jarrett announced on this past Saturday night's Collision that he wanted to go back to his Memphis roots and make Wednesday night's match against Danielson anything goes with the legendary Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat as the special guest referee. Steamboat previously served as the timekeeper in Danielson's match against Daniel Garcia in the summer of 2022 and most recently appeared in AEW as the timekeeper in Sting's retirement match at this past February's Revolution PPV. A former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Steamboat is a man greatly respected by both Danielson and Jarrett, but will have his hands full as both men attempt to prove a point on Wednesday night. Which man will have their hand raised after what is very likely going to be a brutal encounter on Dynamite?
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AEW American Title Eliminator Match: Maxwell Jacob Friedman (c) vs. Kyle Fletcher (w/ Don Callis) - The first thing that Maxwell Jacob Friedman did after winning the AEW International Championship from Will Ospreay on the July 17 Dynamite was throw it in the garbage. Sick of international competitors in AEW, MJF introduced the AEW American Championship in its place and vowed to keep it around his waist. This incensed Ospreay, who let MJF know that he was disrespecting the legacy of the International Championship and the people who built it like Orange Cassidy, Jon Moxley and Rey Fenix. Vowing to beat MJF in their rematch at All In, Ospreay says he will restore the International Championship when he does so. After Ospreay defeated Lance Archer in a hard-fought encounter last Wednesday night, Friedman attacked him with the same Dynamite Diamond Ring he used to beat him for the title. Before he could inflict too much damage on the prone Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher intervened. A close friend of Ospreay's, the Don Callis Family member grabbed the mic and told Friedman that everybody could see that he doesn't actually give a damn about America, a country that Fletcher himself is grateful to be living in, and that Americans, Britons, Australians and people from everywhere else are sick of MJF's crap. Friedman challenged Fletcher to a match and vowed to leave him in a pool of his own blood like he did to Daniel Garcia. This past Saturday night on Collision, Friedman consented to make the match a Title Eliminator, meaning that Fletcher would get a shot at his title should he defeat him. There is no love lost between the two men. At last year's All In, MJF and Adam Cole defeated Fletcher and Aussie Open partner Mark Davis for the ROH World Tag Team Championships, something that Fletcher has not forgotten about in the slightest. With what had already been sticking in his craw reignited by Friedman's attack on Ospreay, can Fletcher steel his emotions in order to get the best of MJF or will the AEW American Champion use them against his opponent?
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"The Wrestler" Katsuyori Shibata vs. "The Bad Apple" Bryan Keith (w/ FTW Champion "The Learning Tree" Chris Jericho and "The Redwood" Big Bill) - Revenge will be on the mind of Katsuyori Shibata when he takes on Bryan Keith on Wednesday night. On the July 3 edition of Dynamite, the trio of Keith, Big Bill and Chris Jericho laid waste to Shibata, Samoa Joe and Hook after they had defeated the Cage of Agony (Brian Cage, Toa Liona and Bishop Kaun) in a physical trios match. During the melee, Keith Pillmanized Shibata's arm and kept him out of action for a number of weeks. After making his return to AEW on the July 24 edition of Dynamite to aid Minoru Suzuki against the Learning Tree, Shibata has demanded vengeance, but will have to do so on his own. Allies Joe and Hook have also been put out of action by Keith, Big Bill and Jericho, so the former three-time NEVER Openweight Champion will go it alone on Wednesday. If the prospect of going one-on-one with the vicious Keith weren't enough, Shibata must contend with the monstrous Big Bill on the outside and Jericho won't be too far away at the commentary desk. But Shibata isn't stupid. He's proven over the course of his career to be just as cerebral as he is physical and it's highly unlikely that he's going to enter Wednesday night's match without a plan. Does Shibata have a surprise waiting up his sleeve for the Learning Tree? As for Keith, his attack on Shibata's arm wasn't for no good reason as far as he's concerned. Shibata injured Keith's arm and his orbital bone when the two did battle back in May. The injury kept Keith out of the Forbidden Door PPV. With bad blood flowing freely, which of these two competitors will come out on top?
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"The Glamour" Mariah May vs. Viva Van - Since turning on her mentor AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm after winning the Owen Hart Foundation Cup and earning herself a shot at the world title in her hometown at All In, Mariah May has returned to her roots. Gone is the Toni Storm cosplay and back is "The Glamour," the persona that May used as a member of Club Venus in STARDOM where she was one half of the Goddesses of Stardom Champions alongside Mina Shirakawa. May redebuted the persona on last week's Dynamite when she dispatched Kaitland Alexis in a little over 90 seconds. She won the match with Storm Zero, sending yet another message to the champion. May's betrayal has incensed Storm and we've seen not only a more vulnerable side from the champion, but a more unbalanced disposition from her, as well. something that didn't appear to be possible considering her usual state. Storm says she's ready to die over her title and will prove it to May at Wembley Stadium. Before that can go down, May is back in action on Wednesday night when she takes on Viva Van. The Los Angeles-born competitor has made AEW appearances in the past and has stepped into the ring with the likes of ROH Women's World Champion Athena. Nicole Matthews and Steph De Lander over her six-year career. Recently, she was defeated by Willow Nightingale for the vacant CMLL Women's World Championship in a match that also featured Lluvia at last month's CMLL/New Japan Pro-Wrestling Fantastica Mania show in San Jose. Van's match against May will arguably be her most high-profile to date in AEW and offers the chance to make a name for herself at the expense of, perhaps, the hottest competitor in the women's division right now. May can ill-afford to take her focus off of Van ahead of the biggest match of her career. Can Van spring the upset or will May once again put the AEW Women's World Champion on notice?