New champions Swerve, Mox in action on Dynamite on TSN2
Published
Jon Moxley defends the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Powerhouse Hobbs. Plus, AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland meets Kyle Fletcher in a World Title Eliminator Match and Mina Shirakawa makes her AEW debut. You can catch AEW Dynamite LIVE beginning at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2, streaming on the TSN App and on TSN.ca.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Don Callis) - For the first time ever, the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship will be defended on Dynamite as new champion Jon Moxley puts his title on the line against the Don Callis Family's Will Hobbs. At New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Windy City Riot on Apr. 12, Moxley defeated Tetsuya Naito for the crown, putting him away with a second Death Rider. Moxley became only the ninth ever gaijin to hold NJPW's top prize, following in the footsteps of Will Ospreay, "Switchblade" Jay White, Kenny Omega, AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, Bob Sapp, Scott Norton and Big Van Vader. Moxley already had two title defences lined up. On May 4 at Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka, Moxley will put his championship on the line against House of Torture's Ren Narita. Should he be successful, he will then defend a week later in Ontario, CA at Resurgence against his protege, Shota Umino. These defences were lined up before last week's events. This past Wednesday on Dynamite, Moxley inserted himself into the Blackpool Combat Club's war with the Don Callis Family. Mox said if they were gunning for Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli, then they were gunning for him, too, and he challenged Hobbs to a match. On Saturday, Callis revealed he called in a favour with the New Japan office to have the match turned into a title bout. For Hobbs, this is undoubtedly the biggest match of his career and a chance to once again have gold around his waist. Hobbs held the TNT Championship in the spring of 2023 when he defeated Wardlow and made five successful defences before dropping it back to Wardlow weeks later. The match will be the Palo Alto, CA native's first shot at a world title and he's ready to make it count. Hobbs holds wins over former world champions Chris Jericho, Penta El Zero Miedo and Christopher Daniels and is looking to add another to the list. If there is anybody in AEW who isn't lacking confidence in their abilities, it's Hobbs and that's something of which Mox is undoubtedly aware. The other factor to consider here is the presence of each man's respective faction. Danielson and Will Ospreay are unlikely to factor into the proceedings, with both men still nursing their wounds from their generational encounter at this past Sunday night's Dynasty. Kyle Fletcher has a match of his own to contend with on Wednesday, so that likely rules him out of any role here. Konosuke Takeshita has proven in the past to have no problem with getting his hands dirty, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him make things difficult for Mox on Wednesday night. Will Mox's first defence be successful or will Hobbs bring more gold back to the Family?
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World Title Eliminator Match: AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland (w/ Prince Nana) vs. ROH World TV Champion Kyle Fletcher - This past Sunday night at Dynasty, Swerve Strickland climbed the mountaintop. After hitting Samoa Joe with a sunset-flip power bomb from the turnbuckle, Swerve scaled the top rope and delivered a second Swerve Stomp to the fallen "Samoan Submission Machine" and pinned Joe to win the AEW World Championship. In doing so, Swerve became the first Black AEW World Champion and joined "Hangman" Adam Page, Kenny Omega, Rey Fenix, Darby Allin and Killswitch as the only men to have won both tag-team and singles titles in AEW. After some celebration of his accomplishment, it's back to work for Strickland on Wednesday night as he comes face to face with the man who might be the first to challenge him for his title. Should Kyle Fletcher defeat Swerve on Dynamite in a World Title Eliminator Match, the ROH World TV Champion earns the chance to become a double champion with a shot at the AEW World Championship. This will be the first ever meeting between the two men and, while the pressure is on Fletcher here, this will not be a match for Swerve to relax - for one thing, that's not how he operates, but on top of that, losing his first match as champion would not exactly set a great tone for his reign. And Fletcher isn't exactly an opponent you can take likely. While he's come out on the short end in matches in recent months against the likes of Will Ospreay, Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega, he's still made multiple successful defences of his TV Championship and is a decorated tag-team wrestler alongside Mark Davis as Aussie Open. Fletcher knows the kind of opportunity he's been handed and will do anything to earn himself a shot at Swerve's title. Can Fletcher line up a shot at the AEW World Championship or will AEW's Swerve Era begin with a victory?
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Mina Shirakawa (w/ Mariah May) vs. Anna Jay - One of Stardom's biggest names makes her AEW debut on Wednesday night when Mina Shirakawa takes on Anna Jay on Dynamite. The co-leader of the Empress Nexus Venus faction, Shirakawa is currently the co-holder of the Artist of Stardom Championships, a trios title, alongside Maika and Xena. She has also held the Future of Stardom Championship, winning a seven-person tournament in 2021, and the Wonder of Stardom Championship, the promotion's secondary title, defeating Saya Kamitami for it before dropping it to Tam Nakano last spring. There is one other title Shirakawa has held and that one has the most relevance to Wednesday night's match. At Stardom Sunshine 2023 last June in Tokyo, the team of Rose Gold (Shirakawa and Mariah May) captured the Goddess of Stardom Championships, the promotion's top tag-team prize, by defeating the God's Eye team of the New Eras (Ami Sourei and Mirai). Shirakawa and May comprised one half of the original Club Venus, alongside Xena and Xia Brookside. With her arrival in North America, Shirakawa has once again reinserted herself in May's life. On the Apr. 10 edition of Dynamite, May defeated Anna Jay, but was taken out by Jay's Queenslayer submission after the match. Jay was forced to relinquish the hold as Shirakawa came to the ring to chase her off. Shirakawa then offered May champagne and a kiss. What was interesting about this is that Toni Storm, May's current associate, challenged Shirakawa for the AEW Women's World Championship only days earlier at Stardom's show in Philadelphia. With May caught in between the two women, Shirakawa meets Jay on Wednesday, but it's not actually the first time the two have done battle. On the Mar. 21 edition of ROH on HonorClub, Shirakawa pinned Jay with the Glamorous Collection MINA, a leg trap clutch. Jay, who has no time for either of Shirakawa or May, is out to get her win back on Wednesday night. Will Shirakawa make it two in a row over Jay or will Jay even their series? And will Storm make an appearance?
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PLUS:
- Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway hold a championship celebration for the new TBS Champion Willow Nightingale
- We will hear from the new FTW Champion "The Learning Tree" Chris Jericho
- After the split between "Freshly Squeezed" Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta, "The Kentucky Gentleman" Chuck Taylor will indicate where his loyalties lie.