AEW Dynamite airs tonight (Aug. 12) with a live show emanating from The Pearl Theater at the Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the third episode of Dynamite during the five week build to All In London, which takes place on August 30 at Wembley Stadium.
MJF is copying CM Punk in the worst way possible
The biggest angle last week at Grand Slam Mexico involved MJF’s surprise return to AEW. Big Hebrew brought back his Triple B version of the AEW world championship, which he used to ambush AEW National Champion Andrade El Idolo, who had just earned the number one entry in the Casino Gauntlet match at All In.
MJF threw a tantrum over Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega’s “fake main event” at Wembley Stadium, and claimed that he’s the real world champion. This was similar to an angle CM Punk did in 2023 for the launch of Collision, where he carried around his old AEW world title and declared himself to be the real world champ.
That angle ended up going nowhere due to Punk’s backstage altercation with Jack Perry at Wembley Stadium, which led to CM’s termination from AEW. MJF’s take on the angle isn’t off to a promising start either because he’s already submitting to the fact he isn’t actually the real world champ by competing in a match tonight against Speedball Bailey and Nick Wayne to determine the number two entry in the Casino Gauntlet match.
MJF laid out his grand plan last week, which is to win tonight’s match, go on to win the Casino Gauntlet at All In, and then cash in that contract to beat Omega or Ospreay for the AEW world championship. The main problem with MJF’s plan, of course, is that he shouldn’t be bothering with any of these steps to get back in contention for Omega’s world title if the Triple B that he carries around is the real deal. In other words, MJF’s plan completely undermines his claim to be the real world champion in AEW. Everyone can see how desperate he is to win back the actual AEW world title that Omega holds.
Regardless of how nonsensical his claim is of being the real world champ, MJF walks into tonight’s match as a huge favorite against Speedball and Wayne. Will Andrade show up at some point to get revenge on the scumbag for what he did last week, or does he need more time off to recover? Tune into Dynamite tonight to find out if real world champ MJF can secure the number two entry in the Casino Gauntlet match at All In.
The rest of the card
TNT Champion Kevin Knight defends his belt tonight against Chris Jericho. This match came about after Jericho joined Darby Allin and Mistico on a random team of former world champions to beat Knight, Kazuchika Okada, and Hechicero last week at Grand Slam Mexico. It looks like we’re heading towards Darby vs. Knight at All In London, so old man Jericho probably won’t be taking the young champ’s belt away from him tonight. But never say never with Chris.
The first round of the Continental Cup continues tonight with “Jungle” Jack Perry vs. AEW Continental Champion Jon Moxley. An upset might be in the making here if you believe in reverse momentum theory, given that Perry just lost a tag match against the Death Riders over the weekend on Collision. There’s also the issue that none of the men in the tournament seem like great choices for Moxley’s opponent at All In. It might make more sense for Mox to be eliminated early on with a shocking upset so he is free to find a more interesting opponent at AEW’s biggest show of the year. Then again, Eddie Kingston has advanced to the second round, so maybe the idea is to get to Moxley versus the Mad King at some point in the tournament.
Jay White vs. David Finlay is also booked tonight in the first round of the Continental Cup. The random draw of the tournament conveniently matched up these two guys who already hate each other and are currently in the middle of a feud. Everyone is banned from ringside per Continental championship rules, so babyface White probably has the advantage, at least until Finlay attacks him with a shillelagh behind the referee’s back.
Other stuff to keep an eye on
– Mercedes Mone might be losing her mind after getting pinned once again by AEW Women’s World Champion Willow Nightingale last week at Grand Slam Mexico. Will The CEO show AEW fans just how much it’s bothering her tonight?
– Will Ospreay went down the road of hardcore violence, excess bloodshed, and barbed wire in last week’s win over former friend Mark Davis. What does AEW World Champion Kenny Omega have to say after Ospreay demonstrated his killer instinct?
– Okada has his eye on taking back Kyle Fletcher’s AEW International Championship, even though they are both members of the Don Callis Family. To be fair, there are roughly 517 members of the family, so it wouldn’t be very practical for there to be a rule about not fighting each other. Is Tony Khan waiting on Konosuke Takeshita’s return from NJPW’s G1 tournament before officially announcing Fletcher’s title defense for All In?
– After being away for months, Hangman Page won a world championship in his AEW return match, along with his trios partners Brody King and Bandido. Are Ricochet and The Demand coming for a rematch for the AEW world trios championship ASAP? Is there any chance that Shane Taylor is hiring the Hurt Syndicate to hurt the new trios champs?
– AEW World Tag Team Champion Adam Copeland was a big loser in his Arena Mexico debut after a miscue with the Young Bucks cost them an 8-man tag team match. Is Christian Cage now ready to dislodge his boot from Marina Shafir’s vagina so that he can stick it straight up Matt and Nick Jackson’s asses?
– AEW Women’s World Tag Team Champions Divine Dominion vs. Brawling Birds is official for All In, thanks to Willow pinning Mercedes last week. The challengers look like the favorites to win considering that the event takes place in the United Kingdom. Does that mean Megan Bayne and Lena Kross will get to kick their asses in the next few weeks leading up to the show?
– Hikaru Shida stuck her nose in Kris Statlander’s business last week and cost her a match against CMLL World Women’s Champion Persephone, who seemed more interested in fighting Thunder Rosa. TBS Champion Maya World helped chase Shida way. Does this mean Shida is getting a rematch for that belt soon?
– Will any more of those ex-WWE stars like the New Day follow in Motor City Machine Guns’ footsteps by showing up next in AEW? Does FTR have any interest in returning to AEW to pick a fight with MCMG just in time for All In?
– Does AEW Creative have anything for former women’s world champion Thekla at All In?
– Where the f*** is Swerve Strickland? Is he really going to miss AEW’s biggest show of the year?
What will you be looking for on Dynamite?
