Shortly before the AEW Worlds End pay-per-view began on Saturday, Tony Khan announced that doctors would not be able to clear Keith Lee for Saturday’s match. Instead, Strickland will face Lee’s tag team partner Rhodes.
“Due to injury, AEW doctors can’t clear Keith Lee for his match tonight at Worlds End. His Naturally Limitless partner Dustin Rhodes has asked to step in to face Swerve TONIGHT,” Khan wrote on X.
Earlier on Saturday, Lee wrote on X that he has been dealing with an injury since Grand Slam 2022, but the injury has gotten worse since ROH Final Battle earlier this month.
“Today… I keep it very real with you guys,” he wrote. “I have been working through an injury since Arthur Ashe Stadium 2022. It has been mostly well taken care of. Things have been worse since Final Battle. I am trying to get through today for you guys, but I cannot promise anything.”
Here is the updated lineup for Worlds End:
AEW World Championship: MJF defends against Samoa Joe
AEW Women’s Championship: Toni Storm defends against Riho
TNT Championship, no DQ: Christian Cage defends against Adam Copeland
AEW Continental Classic finals: Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley
TBS Championship: Julia Hart defends against Abadon
Swerve Strickland vs. Dustin Rhodes
Andrade El Idolo vs. Miro
Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Mark Briscoe & Daniel Garcia vs. Jay White, Rush, Jay Lethal & Brody King
Sting, Darby Allin, Sammy Guevara & Chris Jericho vs. Big Bill, Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs & Kyle Fletcher
Zero Hour: FTW rules for FTW Championship: Hook defends against Wheeler Yuta
Zero Hour: 20 man battle royale for a TNT title match anywhere, anytime
Dustin Rhodes and Keith Lee will tag together on next week’s Rampage.
On Rampage Saturday, Lee said that he would have beaten Chris Jericho on last week’s Dynamite if it wasn’t for Swerve Strickland’s interference. Rhodes said they were back teaming together and they were the best duo since John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, and next week Naturally Limitless will descend on Florida.
Lee and Jericho were wrestling on last week’s Dynamite when Swerve attacked Lee, leading Jericho to score the win. The two have been feuding for months, dating back to December when Swerve turned on his former partner and put him on the shelf for months. Lee made his return in February and has yet to face Swerve in a singles match.
During Lee’s absence, Strickland also began a feud with Dustin Rhodes, leading to a match in February that ended in a DQ. On the March 3 edition of Rampage, Lee and Rhodes defeated Swerve Strickland and Parker Boudreaux in a tag team match.
Dustin Rhodes likes how WWE is booking Cody Rhodes.
The 54-year-old appeared on Monday’s edition of Busted Open Radio and spoke about Cody losing to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. According to Dustin, WWE is making the right call by having Cody “earn it.”
Dustin Rhodes said:
He’s being shot to the moon right now and that’s great, that’s good for him. I hope he’s happy and finally gets that big one that dad never got. I’ve never won a world title. But there is a little jealousy on my part cause, ‘Man, why can’t I get that?’ You know what I mean? But it’s okay, it’s not like a bad jealousy thing. I’m extremely proud of him, I wish him the best, and he’s going to be world champion, I know it. I don’t know when but he’s going to be world champion.
Dustin continued to echo the sentiment previously expressed by Paul Heyman that Cody’s story would have nowhere to go if he won the title at WrestleMania 39.
They are making him pay for it now, they are making him earn it and I like that, I do. I like that because once you put the title on him, where are you going?
Rhodes’ story continues on WWE Raw tonight from Little Rock, Arkansas. Brock Lesnar is scheduled to respond to his challenge for a match at Backlash on the show. Should Lesnar vs. Rhodes be scheduled for next month’s PLE from Puerto Rico, it would be the first time the two have met in singles competition. The only two times they were entered into the same match together were the 2016 and 2023 Royal Rumbles.
It’s Monday night and you know what that means: AEW Dark Elevation from Winnipeg’s Canada Life Centre with Matt Menard and Paul Wight on the call.
Skye Blue defeated TFA
TFA attacked Blue before the match started, which seems to happen to her a lot. If you were wondering what TFA stands for, it’s Taryn From Accounting.
TFA had some of the crowd behind her, being from Canada and all, and went for a couple of quick pins that Blue kicked out of. Blue rolled her up and then hit a few elbows and followed with a high crossbody for a two count. Blue kicked out of a side slam-esque move out of a shoulder carry, landed a kick, and hit her running sunset flip bomb for the win. She moves on to take on Toni Storm Wednesday on Dynamite.
Jake Hager defeated Adam Knight
Hager was joined by Angelo Parker and, of course, had his purple hat on. Hager made sure to connect on a belly-to-back suplex before he took it off. Knight hit a wraparound on Hager and a lariat off the ropes that stunned him. Hager came back with his own lariat followed by his running middle rope splash for the win.
Emi Sakura defeated Zoe Sager
Fun fact: Sager is the LPW Grand Champion out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She was taking on the queen here tonight and it didn’t go very well. Sakura toyed with Sager early on with hair pulls, back rakes and chops, but Sager still kicked out of a pin attempt. Sakura quickly got her up for a tiger driver, but Sager fought out. After absorbing a dropkick off the top rope, Sakura kicked out and then hit a neckbreaker off a counter. She followed it up with a crossbody in the corner and a submission hold you have to see to believe:
Cutler got a big reaction from the Canadian crowd, probably because he is miraculously undefeated on Dark Elevation this year. (He may be 1-0 but still undefeated.) Geiger showed off some technical wrestling early with a vertical suplex and a kneebar, but Cutler found the ropes. Cutler was in the corner trying to fix his shoes as Menard and Wight suggested that he might be pumping them up. Impossible since he’s wearing Jordan 1’s, but I digress.
Cutler hit a couple of elbows, some dance moves, and an airplane spin that made him dizzier than Geiger. When he hit a second airplane spin, they both fell onto each other. Geiger turned the pin into a rear naked choke, but Cutler flipped over into a pinning combination for the win to extend his winning streak to 2-0 on Elevation.
The Firm (Ethan Page, Isiah Kassidy & Matt Hardy) (w/ Stokely Hathaway) defeated Massive Damage, Mo Jabari & Sebastian Wolfe
Man, I love The Firm. The music hit for a big pop, but Page had to shut it off, as always. He tried to get the crowd on his side with his Canadian gear. Somebody yelled shut up, so Page called him an assh*le and handed the mic over to Kassidy. Menard sounded like he feared for his life thinking Kassidy was about to moan. He led the crowd in some moans and they went to the ring.
Kassidy got things going with Jabari and some great wrestling. Hardy then got to deal with Wolfe, who actually got the upper hand on Hardy until the Three Courses of Deletion started in the turnbuckles. Next, both Page and Hardy hit elbows off the middle rope. Damage distracted Kassidy while he was hitting shots in the corner, so Page got the hot tag and ran wild on all three men. After Jabari kicked out at two, each team was in the ring and The Firm hit a triple Side Effect followed up by an Ego’s Edge for the win.
Hathaway was out there the whole time but looked miserable, nervous and out of it. After the match, he got in the ring and locked in a rear naked choke on Jabari. He takes on Hook in a no DQ match on Wednesday.
Top Flight defeated Michael Allen Richard Clark & Shaun Moore
Yeah, you read that right. This guy has four names which is very unique if you ask me. Turns out Wight was bleeding at the desk at the start of this match, so I’m not sure what happened there. But for the actual wrestling, Darius Martin took most of the match like usual and looked good. Clark and Moore double-teamed Darius but he moved under for the hot tag to Dante who ran wild with help from his brother, ending the match with his between-the-legs frog splash.
ROH Women’s Champion Athena defeated Taylor Rising in a Proving Ground match
Athena headbutted Rising immediately take her out. She disposed Rising to the outside and threw her into the new, harder barricade but Rising threw Athena into the steel steps. Athena was not happy, so she hit Rising with an Alabama Slam on the concrete floor. Back in the ring, Rising actually hit Athena with a few kicks and a pedigree for a near fall that actually got me. But, Athena quickly hit her double knees and then locked in the crossface for the win. After the match, Athena threw Rising over the top rope and then threw her face straight into the belt.
Dustin Rhodes & Keith Lee defeated Jessie V & Levi Night
This is the new team’s second match together after beating Parker Boudreaux & Swerve Strickland on Rampage a few weeks back. They showed off some great teamwork early on. Both V and Night got the worst of it from both men. Lee never even left his feet, not even on a belly-to-belly suplex. They finished off Night quickly for the win.
Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver) defeated Varsity Athletes (Ari Daivari & Tony Nese) (w/ Mark Sterling)
Daivari and Nese got UFC-style comedic entrances from Sterling. He used the mic time to make fun of the Winnipeg Jets and their absence of retired numbers. He pointed out that Nese is a better athlete than Jets winger Blake Wheeler. No offense to Wheeler, but he’s probably right.
Nese and Daivari attacked Dark Order before the bell rang. Silver fought out early, but referee Rick Knox was easily distracted by Sterling. The athletes used the opportunity to lay their boots to Silver. Silver fought back and tagged Reynolds who hit both men on the outside and tried to pin Daivari before Nese broke it up. After Dark Order disposed of Daivari, they connected on their stunner/German suplex/float-over combo onto Nese for the win.
In a tag team grudge match, Keith Lee & Dustin Rhodes will take on Swerve Strickland & Parker Boudreaux on Friday’s AEW Rampage.
The live show from San Francisco’s Cow Palace will be the go-home for Sunday’s Revolution pay-per-view.
After Strickland, Boudreaux and Trench took Lee out via Strickland stomping a cinder block into his chest in a late-December attack, the former AEW Tag Team Champion returned to defend Rhodes from a two-on-one attack by Strickland and Boudreaux on Rampage last month.
Lee and Rhodes, aka Naturally Limitless, had some words for Strickland and Boudreaux on Wednesday’s Dynamite:
This will be Lee’s first in-ring action since he and Strickland defeated Shane Taylor Promotions at ROH Final Battle last December. In that match, Strickland walked out on Lee, setting up the aforementioned cinder block attack as part of a segment with rapper Rick Ross. In that attack, Boudreaux and Trench aligned themselves with Strickland and his new Mogul Affiliates faction.
It was the only match or segment announced for Friday’s show.
AEW announced on Friday morning that fans will “hear from” the 53-year-old during tonight’s show.
Rhodes has been involved in an angle with Swerve Strickland and Mogul Affiliates as of late. After Strickland defeated Brian Pillman Jr. on Rampage last week, the Mogul Affiliates continued to attack him until Rhodes ran out to make the save.
Rhodes announced in December that 2023 will be his final year wrestling.
AEW Rampage this week was filmed on Wednesday from the El Paso County Coliseum in Rhodes’ home state of Texas. He hasn’t wrestled since the company was in Texas last December for shows in Cedar Park and Garland. AEW is in Laredo for Dynamite and Rampage next week.
The advertised lineup for AEW Rampage on February 10, 2023, is as follows:
All-Atlantic Champion Orange Cassidy defends against Lee Moriarty w/ Stokely Hathaway
Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta) vs. Kip Sabian and The Butcher & The Blade
Making his professional wrestling debut in 1988, Rhodes spent his early career in World Championship Wrestling as “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes. He joined WWE in 1995, portraying the character of Goldust for several years before rejoining WCW in 1999. He returned to the WWE in 2002 as Goldust and wrestled there sporadically through 2019. He also made appearances for Impact Wrestling.
Rhodes made his debut for AEW at Double or Nothing 2019, facing his brother Cody in a match that he ended up losing. Since then, he has appeared both as an on-air wrestler as well as a coach behind the scenes. His most recent match in AEW was on the August 24 edition of Rampage, where he lost to Claudio Castagnoli in a match that was for the Ring of Honor World Championship.
Dustin Rhodes says he knows his father would be happy with Cody Rhodes’ promo the night after WrestleMania.
Dustin appeared on an episode of The Sessions with Renee Paquette released on Tuesday. During the discussion, Paquette asked Dustin what he thinks Dusty would have thought of Cody’s promo on Raw that night.
“I knew dad always wanted us to be happy. And he would have his suggestions and things like that and try to lead us in the right way but ultimately these are our decisions, right? Money’s money and dad would always say, ‘Take the money.'”
“Cody is very, very passionate about his promos, about every single word that he is going to say which is very important, right? Especially for that first one, which was very important, you’re making a huge impact on a lot of people the first time you’ve been back in years, and he did. And I know dad would be happy. He’s sitting in the rafters, that’s where I pictured him when me and Cody wrestled at Double or Nothing.”
Dustin also addressed getting to wrestle his brother at Double or Nothing 2022.
“Having an opportunity to work with my brother and not knowing what to expect with an AEW audience. I had no idea if I was going to get any reaction at all and just the fact that we went out there and I got a reaction and the match was just, for me and him, perfect.”
“I’ll never do it again, I’ll never wrestle him again. It did a lot to me that night,” he continued to say about wrestling his brother.
Regarding Cody signing with WWE, Dustin is happy for him but does miss him at AEW.
“I was happy for him but I also miss him already and I miss him being there but I know he’s young and, you know, let’s go, go do your thing. So, I’m very happy for him and I’m like, ‘Hey man, more power to you, go get that title and win it all and do your stuff.'”
Dustin was also asked about how he feels a character like the original Goldust would work in modern wrestling.
“It absolutely would not work. The way Goldust was portrayed back in the 90s, he was very androgynous, we would never say the word ‘gay.’ I don’t think it would work because those things back then were like way, way ahead of its time.”
“It was just very pushing the envelope as far as you could possibly do it, stepping over that line? Today, trying to do something like that? No.”
Dustin also addressed his match against CM Punk from the AEW Dynamite on April 20.
“He’s always been a dream match of mine to have. He’s one of those bucket list things,” Dustin said of Punk.
“My big thing I told him, I said, “Look, I don’t care about all these moves that we’re going to do, I just want to make the people feel something.’ So, we did that. And he sold an arm and I sold a leg. Babyface vs babyface. You’re selling, he’s selling, it gets a little heated, we start slapping each other. Then it’s not really a he’s a heel or I’m a heel, it’s just two guys slugging it out having a pro-wrestling match.”
“You’re looking around the arena and you start seeing [fans] standing up at certain times. It’s a build, right? It’s all part of a story and I love to tell stories. That night, knowing that I could do that with CM Punk and did it, I knew for a fact that in 2022, you can still go out there and have a pro-wrestling match without doing a whole bunch of bulls**t.”
Join Denise Salcedo on the April 20th edition of Speak Now Pro Wrestling in which she covers AEW Dynamite! This episode includes a coffin match, CM Punk vs Dustin Rhodes and an announcement from Tony Khan regarding AEW and NJPW partnership! This is a fun and lively show perfect for all fans of AEW!
CM Punk faces Dustin Rhodes on tonight’s AEW Dynamite in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The bout was set up on last week’s AEW programming where Rhodes delivered an impassioned promo about the Punk match being an unrealized dream match for him.
Tony Khan has promised a “huge announcement” on tonight’s show, believed to be a joint AEW-NJPW show in Chicago in June.
Darby Allin will face Andrade in a coffin match on tonight’s show. Wardlow will also take on The Butcher, acting as a hired hand for MJF to take out Wardlow.
Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. will have her first match in more than a month tonight, facing Danielle Kamela in an Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament qualifying match.
Jungle Boy will take on Kyle O’Reilly in an Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament qualifier.
Hook will make his in-ring debut on Dynamite tonight. All of his career matches have taken place on Rampage or pay-per-view pre-show to this point.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Show Report —
“Cult of Personality” opened the show.
CM Punk defeated Dustin Rhodes
They shook hands at the bell before exchanging holds for the first few minutes. Punk avoided a running crossbody, which sent Dustin crashing to the floor. Dustin’s left knee was hurt on the fall, so Punk targeted it with strikes through a commercial break. During commercial, Dustin came back with a lariat, but Punk swept out his leg on the apron.
The two competitors traded strikes in the ring. Dustin landed a back body drop before hitting a flurry of offense, concluding with ten punches in the corner. He then hit the Code Red for two. Punk wanted the GTS, but Dustin hit his drop down right hand and the snap powerslam for two.
Punk regained control with a chop block on Dustin’s injured knee. He locked on a Figure Four, which Dustin eventually fought out of with slaps, allowing him to reverse the pressure. Punk grabbed the ropes to force a break.
Dustin countered a diving clothesline with a right hand before hitting the Cross Rhodes and a straight piledriver for a near fall. Punk hit a roundhouse kick and went for the GTS, but his knee gave out, so he cradled Dustin for the win.
– After the match, AEW World Champion Hangman Page’s music played, and he faced off with Punk on the entrance ramp.
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Earlier today, Wardlow arrived at the arena, where Mark Sterling informed him he’d be escorted directly to his locker, to the ring, and out of the arena. He also needed to be handcuffed. Finally, Sterling relayed a message from MJF: “Eat sh*t, pig.”
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William Regal joined commentary.
Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, & Wheeler YUTA) defeated Dante Martin, Lee Moriarty, & Brock Anderson
BCC went right after their opponents before the bell. YUTA locked Dante in a bow-and-arrow stretch. Danielson tagged in, but Dante was able to fight both him and Moxley off before bringing in Brock. Moxley took down Brock with a half-and-half suplex as BCC continued to dominate leading into the break.
Once back, a spinebuster from Brock allowed him to reach Moriarty for the hot tag. Moriarty took out all three opponents before landing a springboard forearm on Danielson. They traded slaps and uppercuts until Moriarty hit an arm-trap suplex for two. He locked on the Border City Stretch, but Danielson stood up out of it and hit a Regal-plex.
Dante tagged in and took out Danielson with a springboard dropkick before a second springboard dive landed on Moxley. He hesitated on the Nose-Dive, allowing Moxley to turn it into the Bulldog Choke. Moriarty tried to break it up, but Danielson kicked his head in as YUTA laid in elbows on Brock. The Paradigm Shift from Moxley finished Martin.
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Adam Cole, the Young Bucks, and reDRagon were backstage with Cutler. O’Reilly said they all needed to turn it around as the “Undisputed Elite.” Tonight, O’Reilly will qualify for the Owen Hart Cup. Cole said they couldn’t be stopped as a team, so next week, there will be a U.E. Open Challenge for a ten-man tag.
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A video promo furthered the Samoa Joe-Jay Lethal feud. Sonjay Dutt said Satnam Singh would carry on the legacy of the entire country of India. Joe said he was inevitable.
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AEW/NJPW Forbidden Door supershow announcement
Tony Khan was introduced by Tony Schiavone for his “huge announcement.” Khan brought out Takami Ohbari, the president of New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Adam Cole interrupted on the big screen. He said he was the one who deserved to make this announcement: Forbidden Door, an AEW/NJPW supershow at the United Center in Chicago. He then announced that he would face Tomohiro Ishii in an Owen Hart Cup qualifying match before saying he had a friend who wanted to say “hello.”
Jay White’s music played, and he emerged. It’s fitting that he’s here, as at the last major NJPW USA co-produced event, he “single-handedly sold out Madison Square Garden.” He said that for the Undisputed Elite and Bullet Club, it was still their era.
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Jade Cargill was backstage with Red Velvet, Kiera Hogan, and Mark Sterling. If Marina Shafir’s “the Problem,” then Cargill’s “the Problem Solver.”
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Before the match, MJF and Shawn Spears appeared up in the stands. MJF mocked Pittsburgh, and said since Wardlow’s a “nobody,” he’ll come out to no music. Wardlow emerged still handcuffed.
Wardlow defeated The Butcher
They traded big-man offense at the start. A shoulder tackle from Wardlow sent Butcher to the floor, where he produced a chair and drove Wardlow into the ring apron and the barricade. In the ring, Butcher hit a powerbomb, but Wardlow kicked out at one. Wardlow then hit the Powerbomb Symphony (four powerbombs this time) for the win.
– After the match, Wardlow was handcuffed again and led away from the ring.
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Eddie Kingston addressed Daniel Garcia, who he will face on Rampage. Their stablemates won’t be allowed in the arena. He then told Jericho that everything he does to Garcia will be done to him later on.
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Owen Hart Foundation Cup qualifier: Kyle O’Reilly defeated Jungle Boy
O’Reilly defeated Jungle Boy 100% clean. It appeared to be a result of Jungle Boy showing excessive aggressiveness and confidence.
After a back-and-forth exchange, Jungle Boy took O’Reilly down with a dropkick. O’Reilly got the better of the following exchange and went for an armbar, but Jungle Boy had it scouted. O’Reilly hit three butterfly suplexes leading into a commercial.
Once back, Jungle Boy dumped O’Reilly over the top rope and landed a suicide dive followed by a comeback lariat on the floor. Back in the ring, O’Reilly targeted Jungle Boy’s spine before the latter landed another rebound lariat. Jungle Boy sent O’Reilly into the corner with an overhead throw, but O’Reilly came back and applied a wristlock on the top rope. Jungle Boy escaped and laid in strikes.
Jungle Boy was showing some aggression. He thought about the Snare Trap but took too long, allowing O’Reilly to avoid it. O’Reilly kicked out of a cradle and applied an ankle lock, but Jungle Boy escaped and locked on the Snare Trap, forcing O’Reilly to fight to reach the ropes.
O’Reilly landed a modified brainbuster and climbed the ropes, hitting a diving knee drop for the win.
– After the match, Christian Cage came out, and he and Jungle Boy talked things out.
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MJF was backstage with Shawn Spears. He repeated the refrain that he’s a “snake.” Spears produced an envelope with money, offering it to Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who walked up. Jake rambled for a while before Lance Archer slapped away the money, saying all he wanted to do was fight Wardlow.
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HOOK defeated Anthony Henry
This was HOOK’s Dynamite debut. HOOK picked Henry’s ankle and immediately went for a single-leg crab. He laid in strikes in the corner before hitting a variety of suplexes and throws. Tony Nese and Mark Sterling were shown at ringside. HOOK hit a sliding lariat and crossface strikes. Danhausen appeared and tried to… “curse”… HOOK but failed. HOOK locked in Redrum for the win.
– After the match, Danhausen said he had had it with HOOK. Now, they will fight. HOOK ignored it and walked back up the ramp.
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Frankie Kazarian was about to call out Sammy Guevara backstage, but Scorpio Sky interrupted. He said all of his accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without Kazarian before asking Kazarian to wait for his TNT Title shot until after Sky won it back. Kazarian said he’d always have Sky’s back.
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A Thunder Rosa video promo aired. She said she’d continue to fight the best that AEW has to offer.
Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti were in the ring. Guevara’s happy to be a three-time TNT champion, and to anyone who doesn’t like him and Conti? “Be mad.”
Scorpio Sky, Ethan Page, and Dan Lambert interrupted. They said nobody came to hear Guevara talk into a microphone, and the only reason they’re not attacking Guevara is that for Lambert, tonight’s all business. Lambert demanded Guevara give Sky his rematch.
Guevara said Sky could get his match if they gave Guevara and Conti the mixed tag match. Their TNT title match next week will be a ladder match.
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A House of Black video promo aired. Black addressed Fuego Del Sol and said “next week, the sun dies.”
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Baker was accompanied by Pat Freiermuth and Najee Harris, members of the hometown Pittsburgh Steelers.
Owen Hart Foundation Cup qualifier: Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. defeated Danielle Kamela
Kamela dominated early on through a commercial. She taunted with a Terrible Towel, allowing Baker to come back with a tackle, forearms, and a sling blade. Baker landed a superkick and a twisting neckbreaker followed by the curb stomp. Freiermuth handed Baker a Steelers glove and she applied the Lockjaw for the win.
– After the match, Baker said the AEW women’s division is a disaster without her. She ran down members of the division including Ruby Soho, Toni Storm, Jade Cargill, and the Baddies. Baker said she’d win the Owen Hart Foundation Cup.
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A Serena Deeb/Hikaru Shida video promo aired. Next week, their feud will end once and for all in a Philly Street Fight.
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AEW Rampage (4/22) lineup:
Owen Hart Cup qualifier: Adam Cole vs. Tomohiro Ishii
TBS Championship: Jade Cargill (c) vs. Marina Shafir
Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland interview
Lance Archer vs. Serpentico
Eddie Kingston vs. Daniel Garcia
Women’s Owen Hart Cup qualifiers Hayter, Storm, and Baker interviewed by Schiavone
AEW Dynamite (4/27) lineup:
Philly Street Fight: Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb
Wardlow vs. Lance Archer
Owen Hart Cup qualifier: Dax Harwood vs. Cash Wheeler
TNT Championship ladder match: Sammy Guevara (c) vs. Scorpio Sky
Adam Cole, Young Bucks, & reDRagon vs. Varsity Blonds, Dante Martin, Lee Johnson, & Brock Anderson
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Coffin Match: Darby Allin defeated Andrade El Ídolo (w/ A.F.O.)
Darby hit Andrade with his skateboard and kept the Blade at bay until being overwhelmed by the numbers advantage with an attack from Quen. Andrade tossed Darby out into the ringside area. Quen ripped up a sign held by a fan in a Sting mask, who subsequently unmasked as… Sting himself! Sting beat down both the Blade and Quen with a trash can.
The two sets of teams brawled for a while. Quen and Sting were on a set of raised stairs, where Quen hit Sting with a chair. Sting fired up and tossed Quen off the stairs before jumping off a balcony onto the pile in a ridiculous spot.
Once back, Andrade had Darby trapped behind a chair in the corner. Darby used the chair to trip up Andrade before hitting a Code Red. He went for a Coffin Drop to the floor, but Andrade reversed it into a German.
Andrade put Darby in the coffin, but the inside of the coffin lid was scattered with thumbtacks, making it difficult to grip. Andrade carried Darby up the ramp and hit a delayed vertical suplex. They jockeyed for position on the ramp, with Andrade suplexing Andrade onto a steel grate in another brutal spot.
Back at the coffin, Andrade tried to powerslam Darby into it, but Darby stunned him over the ropes and landed his missile suicide dive, sending Andrade into the coffin. Darby couldn’t close the coffin, however, and José the Assistant attacked. Darby dropped José onto the tack lid and slammed the coffin shut to win.
– After the match, the Hardys came out to celebrate with Darby and Sting.
A new match has been added to this Wednesday’s Dynamite card.
In a backstage promo during tonight’s Rampage, Dustin Rhodes talked about his recent win against Lance Archer, saying he knocked Archer out of the top 5. He said that he has shown he still has what it takes after five decades in the business. He then issued a challenge to CM Punk, saying it was a dream match of his.
Later in the night, announcers said that Punk had accepted the match, setting the stage for Wednesday.
Here is the current card for this coming Wednesday’s show, which will take place in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania:
Hook vs. TBA
CM Punk vs. Dustin Rhodes
Wardlow vs. The Butcher
Jungle Boy vs. Kyle O’Reilly in an Owen Hart Foundation Tournament men’s qualifying match
Britt Baker vs. Danielle Kamela in an Owen Hart Foundation Tournament women’s qualifying match
Darby Allin vs. Andrade El Idolo in a coffin match
Sammy Guevara defeated Dustin Rhodes in the interim TNT Championship match at tonight’s AEW Battle of the Belts show in Charlotte to win the title.
Guevara pinned Rhodes with a cradle after escaping a Tiger Driver attempt to lay claim to the interim title. The interim TNT Championship was established after Cody Rhodes was not medically cleared to wrestle on tonight’s show.
A new challenger for the interim TNT title was quickly established on tonight’s show. After Guevara’s win, Daniel Garcia came to the ring and confronted him. The two went face-to-face, then Guevara issued a challenge to Garcia in a post-match interview backstage. It was announced later in the show that the match is official for this coming Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.
Guevara is a former TNT Champion, having held the title from September to December 2021. He dropped the belt to Cody on the Christmas night Rampage, taped December 22.
Two new title matches have been added to Saturday’s Battle of the Belts card on TNT.
Dustin Rhodes will step in for his brother Cody as it was announced that Cody is not medically cleared to compete. Dustin will wrestle Sammy Guevara for what is being billed as the interim TNT Championship. In addition, Ricky Starks will defend the FTW Championship against Matt Sydal.
It was announced by AEW on Thursday evening that due to medical protocols, one of the matches for Battle of the Belts had to be changed. In a video package that aired on Rampage, Dustin talked about the opportunity to compete for the title, while Guevara said it didn’t matter who he ends up facing as he will walk out of Battle of the Belts with gold.
In addition to the two new matches, Britt Baker will defend the AEW Women’s title against Riho. Tony Khan on Twitter announced tonight that there will also be a house show card held prior to the live show on TNT.
TONIGHT on TNT #AEWRampage @ 10/9c, I’ll announce a change due to medical protocol to TOMORROW’s Battle of the Belts! Rampage tonight will be a great hour on TNT! In addition to tomorrow’s live #AEWBOTB I also plan to book a stacked house show card for the loyal fans in Charlotte
