MJF makes in-ring return against Rush on Dynamite on TSN2
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MJF returns to action as he takes on Rush. Plus, the Owen Hart Foundation Cup Tournament gets underway and AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland meets face to face with AEW International Champion Will Ospreay. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. "El Toro Blanco" Rush - For the first time since Dec. 27, Maxwell Jacob Friedman will be in action on Dynamite. Since returning to AEW after five months on the sidelines at Double or Nothing, MJF has been on a collision course with Rush. On multiple occasions over the past several weeks, the two have engaged in wild brawls with the newfound enmity between the two clearly on display. What exactly set this off isn't exactly clear, but it appears that the former ROH World Champion took offence when MJF didn't mention him when he was running down potential opponents on the June 5 Dynamite. Rush heads into the match looking as dangerous as ever. Since making his return to AEW in April, Rush has been completely dominant, running over his opposition with a brutality not seen in him before. In four matches since returning, Rush has only been in the ring for a little over 13 minutes, having dispatched his opponents with ruthless ease. But MJF is a different kettle of fish. The former AEW World Champion has much to prove in his return and he doesn't intend to allow Rush to stand in his way. Having thrown down the gauntlet to the likes of AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland, AEW International Champion Will Ospreay and AEW Contintental Champion "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada, Friedman is ready to make a splash and get back the gold he lost at the end of 2023. Will MJF mark his return with a victory or will Rush continue his streak of domination?
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AEW World Tag Team Title Eliminator Match: The Young Bucks (Nicholas Jackson and Matthew Jackson) (c) vs. The Acclaimed ("Platinum" Max Caster and "The Five-Tool Player" Anthony Bowens) - From Sept. 21, 2022 to Feb. 8, 2023, The Acclaimed were the AEW World Tag Team Champions. While they've held the AEW World Trios Championships alongside "Daddy Ass" Billy Gunn since then, Max Caster and Anthony Bowens have not had another chance to win back their titles in a standard tag-team match. That could all change on Wednesday night. On Dynamite, the duo will meet the AEW World Tag Team Champions Nicholas Jackson and Matthew Jackson in an AEW World Tag Team Title Eliminator Match. Beat the Young Bucks on Wednesday night and Caster and Bowens will earn a chance to become two-time champions. The bad blood between the two sides has been simmering for weeks now. This past Saturday night on Collision, Brandon Cutler, an associate of The Elite, informed Caster and Bowens that the $5,000 fine the latter had been levied by the Jacksons for criticizing them on social media had been doubled. But acting executive vice-president Christopher Daniels arrived and announced that AEW president Tony Khan had waived the fine. For his trouble, Caster received a beatdown from Caster, Bowens and Gunn. The first three-time AEW World Tag Team Champions, the Jacksons and Acclaimed have met only once before. On the Dec. 23, 2020 edition of Dynamite, the Bucks defeated the Acclaimed in a competitive 15-minute match to retain their titles. Can the Bucks make it two straight over the Acclaimed or will Caster and Bowens take another step closer to reclaiming their gold?
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Owen Hart Foundation Cup quarter-final match: Kris Statlander (w/ Stokely Hathaway) vs. "The Native Beast" Nyla Rose - With an even greater prize on offer, the 2024 Owen Hart Foundation Cup kicks off on Dynamite with a match between two women who are no strangers to gold. This year, the men's and women's winners of the Owen will earn a world title shot at All In this summer. For both of Nyla Rose and Kris Statlander, that represents an opportunity to once again hold championship gold around their waists. Rose was the second AEW Women's World Champion, holding the title for 101 days in 2020 before dropping it to Hikaru Shida. Since losing her championship, Rose is 0-6 in championship matches, proving that titles in AEW are elusive and the chances to hold one are fleeting. Rose was an entrant in last year's Owen, falling to eventual winner Willow Nightingale in the quarters. Statlander held the TBS Championship for 174 days in 2023 after ending the 500-plus day reign of the undefeated inaugural champion Jade Cargill. After losing her title to Julia Hart, things began to unravel in the ring for Statlander, leading her to form an alliance with Stokely Hathaway. Under Hathaway, Statlander has shown her more aggressive side and that cost her her friendship with Nightingale, turning on her former compatriot with whom she's now engaged in a bitter feud. This will be Statlander's Owen debut and she's in it to win it. Statlander is 2-1 all-time in singles matches against Rose. Which one of these two women will advance on Wednesday night?
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Owen Hart Foundation Cup quarter-final match: "The Bastard" PAC vs. Claudio Castagnoli - Two veterans make their Owen debuts on Wednesday night in what should be a styles clash as PAC and his aerial prowess take on the sheer strength of Claudio Castagnoli. The tournament will take on special significance to Castagnoli due to his association with the Hart family. Castagnoli is a former tag team partner and close friend of TJ Wilson, the husband of Nattie Neidhart, who is the daughter of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart and niece of Owen Hart. With both men looking to earn an AEW World Championship match at All In, PAC and Castagnoli will pull out all the stops. Perhaps the impetus will be a little greater for PAC, who would have the opportunity to main event a show at Wembley Stadium in his native England. These two men are far from strangers to one another, having competed in two high-profile encounters over the past 12 months. On the July 19, 2023 edition of Dynamite, PAC wrestled alongside Castagnoli and the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club in a Blood & Guts match, but walked out on his team before it was over. Two days later, Castagnoli retained the ROH World Championship over PAC in a brutal match at the Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view. Wednesday night's match will mark the third ever singles match between PAC and Castagnoli with each man having claimed a victory. One of these former champions will advance in the Owen, but who will it be?
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All-Star Eight-Man Tag Team Match: ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe, "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy, Kyle O'Reilly and Dante Martin vs. The Don Callis Family (ROH World TV Champion Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita), Roderick Strong and Zack Sabre Jr. (w/ Don Callis, Trent Beretta, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven) - On last week's Dynamite, the team of Kyle Fletcher, Konosuke Takeshita and Roderick Strong defeated Mark Briscoe, Kyle O'Reilly and Orange Cassidy when Fletcher pinned Briscoe. The victory over the ROH World Champion should put Fletcher in line for a shot at that title, but what happened after the match was just as newsworthy. The Don Callis Family took the opportunity to attack an already fatigued Cassidy with a fresh Trent Beretta assisting stablemates Fletcher and Takeshita in the beatdown. O'Reilly attempted to intervene, but he was prevented from doing show by the Undisputed Kingdom with Strong, Mike Bennett and Matt Taven keeping him at bay. Eventually, Willow Nightingale attempted to make the save for Cassidy, but she was waylaid from behind by Kris Statlander. All six men will run it back on Wednesday night with a couple of additions to the proceedings. Dante Martin will join Briscoe, Cassidy and O'Reilly this time around with New Japan Pro-Wrestling superstar Zack Sabre Jr. making his return to AEW to join up with Fletcher, Takeshita and Strong. Sabre will meet Cassidy at Forbidden Door on June 30. At the 2023 edition of the show in Toronto, Cassidy retained the AEW International Championship over ZSJ in a four-way match that also included Katsuyori Shibata and Daniel Garcia. If Wednesday night's match unfolds anything like last week's, get ready for some fireworks.
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PLUS:
- AEW Continental Champion "The Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada meets a mystery opponent in a Continental Title Eliminator Match
- AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) will go face to face with his opponent at Forbidden Door, AEW International Champion Will Ospreay
- AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm (w/ "The Glamour" Mariah May and Luther) and Mina Shirakawa sing their contracts ahead of their Forbidden Door title match