The show starts at 8 pm ET/7 pm CT live on TBS and at AEWPlus.com for international fans. So drop in on the official AEW YouTube channel and AEW’s various social media platforms for highlights from last week’s episodes of DYNAMITE, RAMPAGE, COLLISION, and the latest CONTROL CENTER! Then join us next Wednesday night for DYNAMITE’s debut in Quebec City and the Centre Videotron! 

TNT Championship I Quit Match…

Christian Cage(c) vs. Adam Copeland

Three minutes and thirty-two seconds; that is how long Adam Copeland could claim to be TNT Champion after beating Christian Cage at WORLDS END. Then Killswitch, having earned a guaranteed TNT Championship during the ZERO HOUR, struck down the new champion to try and capitalize on the situation. Sadly, it was Christian who got to take advantage of it all, convincing Killswitch to bequeath his title shot to “The Patriarch” and ending Copeland’s TNT Title reign just 212 seconds after it began.

Copeland had every reason to demand a rematch, despite Cage’s insistence that he go to the back of the line, but instead, Adam began his “Cope Open” to earn another shot and took on every person who stepped up to the plate. Griff Garrison, Lee Moriarty, Dante Martin, and the legendary Minoru Suzuki all put Copeland to the test in their fashion. Still, Adam beat each one, leading to a confrontation with another man pursuing Cage’s title, Daniel Garcia. Like true sportsmen, Copeland and Garcia agree to meet in singles combat with the next TNT Championship match going to the winner, but like a true scumbag, Christian Cage and his Patriarchy stuck their nose into the fight, causing a No Contest result, and allowing Cage to put Copeland on the shelf with a Con-chair-to.

But they left Garcia intact, and though he didn’t claim the TNT Championship at REVOLUTION 2024, it’s only because Nick Wayne and the Patriarchy were there to make sure Christian Cage survived Greensboro as champion. If they had taken them out of the equation, the AEW faithful would’ve been calling Daniel Garcia the new TNT Champion. It would’ve been quite fascinating to see how Copeland would’ve responded to someone else being the one to knock Christian off the TNT mountaintop, but that’s not how the hand played out. Instead, Cage has to deal with the repercussions of his assault on Adam Copeland, with the future of the TNT Championship hanging in the balance!

Furthermore, the future of the championship won’t be decided in a regular match, not after everything that’s taken place between these two men since Copeland first arrived in AEW. The TNT Championship will be contested in an “I Quit” match this Wednesday night in Toronto! This is just the second such bout in the history of All Elite Wrestling, the first taking place at FULL GEAR 2020 between Eddie Kingston and then-AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, and coincidentally, that too was a fight between friends-turned-enemies. That is about where the similarities end; neither Moxley nor Kingston threatened violence with a nail-embedded 2×4 for one, and though their bond had history, it isn’t thirty-plus years deep.

That’s what makes this entire scenario so painful yet so intriguing; the careers of Adam Copeland and Christian Cage have played out before the world for the last twenty-five years, their lives have unfolded before the eyes of wrestling fans, their triumphs and tragedies have been public consumption, and a vast majority of it took place with them supporting one another. Even when they were on opposing sides, it wasn’t as ugly as situations have gotten here in AEW; it never seemed past the point of no return as it does now.

With AEW’s return to Toronto, one of these competitors will be forced to say “I Quit” in front of the world. One man will have to capitulate to the others’ onslaught and give up their TNT Championship dream, but more than that, give up on the hope of reconciling differences. Either Christian Cage or Adam Copeland will leave the Coca-Cola Coliseum as TNT Champion; that is certain. However, what is uncertain is what the future of the relationship between these two men could look like after the hell that’s been traversed over the last several months.

Continental Championship Match…

Eddie Kingston(c) vs. Kazuchika Okada

Five months ago, at NJPW’s RUMBLE ON 44th STREET event, Eddie Kingston and Kazuchika Okada stood inside the ring as allies, a tag team facing down the BULLET CLUB GOLD tandem of Jay White and Juice Robinson. However, their ending came with “Switchblade” pinning “The Mad King”. Skip ahead to March 6, 2024, when Kingston confronts The Young Bucks in the middle of the ring. The two found a way to boast about their loss to Sting and Darby Allin at REVOLUTION 2024 a few days prior. The two EVPs chose to assault the Continental Crown Champion, teaming up on Kingston after a low blow neutralized him for a moment. Still, it seemed that the arrival of Kazuchika Okada would end the attack.

It turned out it was all a ruse at Eddie’s expense, and Okada chose that moment to show the world that not only was he officially All Elite, but he was also now one of The Elite alongside Matthew and Nicholas Jackson! To say that Okada’s choice was disappointing would be a gross understatement. Still, it proved a successful alliance as this new unit defeated Kingston, PAC, and Penta El Zero Miedo in the Trios competition, with Okada pinning Eddie to secure the victory. Sure, it took another low blow from Matthew to allow Okada to hit The Rainmaker lariat. Still, with the win secured, Okada was up for an immediate shot at the AEW Continental Championship.

That title fight will take place this Wednesday night in Toronto. It marks the first defense of the Continental Championship, which is separate from the rest of the Continental Crown. It will be fought under Continental Rules, meaning no interference will be tolerated. Kingston is also set to defend the ROH World Championship at ROH’s SUPERCARD OF HONOR 2024 event on April 5th, a match separate from the rest of the Crown.

This bout is also Kazuchika Okada’s first singles match as an official member of the AEW roster, though not his first in All Elite Wrestling; he’s 0-2 in one-on-one matches over his limited AEW experience, meaning he may see this as the match to make a statement to the rest of the AEW locker room, as well as an opportunity to claim his first AEW championship rapidly. After overcoming Bryan Danielson at REVOLUTION 2024, after getting “The American Dragon” to shake his hand and acknowledge respect for “The Mad King”, it seemed Eddie had found a way to channel his inner fury into a positive, controlled fashion. Still, this situation with Okada and The Young Bucks seems to have shaken that resolve.

The Kingston who got in The EVP’s faces was not restrained; the man who fought in that Trios match was not as focused as he was in Greensboro; could that be his undoing this Wednesday night when the Continental Championship is at stake? Will we see Okada add another championship to his resume? Will Kingston add another victory to this impressive nine consecutive singles matches, including Claudio Castagnoli, ROH Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta, Bryan Keith, and two over Bryan Danielson?

Singles Match…

FTW Champion HOOK vs. Chris Jericho

FTW Champion HOOK and Chris Jericho recently found themselves with a familiar foe in The Mogul Embassy; in HOOK’s case, it was Brian Cage in pursuit of the FTW Championship, and for Jericho, it was putting himself in the middle of that situation. When the original AEW World Champion elected to help HOOK when The Gates of Agony attacked him, Jericho became another target for Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona, and they didn’t wait long to let him know. It was only a few days between the attack on HOOK and the one on Jericho, and just as “Lionheart” helped “The Cold-Hearted, Handsome Devil,” HOOK assisted Chris. 

That led the two men to team up against The Gates of Agony; not only did they team up, but the unlikely pair won the bout over Kaun & Toa, which was not the end of their association. Jericho himself made the challenge for this bout taking place on Wednesday night! Now, one need only look at Jericho’s history in AEW for enough reason to question the man’s motivations for wanting this bout. Still, his desire to test HOOK does seem legitimate, not like a cover for ulterior motives.

Interestingly, it was just over 28 years ago that Jericho fought HOOK’s father, Taz, for the first time, actually scoring a DQ victory over “The Human Suplex Machine” that night in Philadelphia, so it is rather wild that Jericho is now fighting HOOK almost three decades later. It’s a testament not only to the longevity of Jericho’s career and how he’s operated at the highest levels but also to his willingness to mix it up with the younger generations when he could very well use his status to avoid ever having to lose face should he lose about like this.

It’s almost as if Jericho wants to make sure the landscape of wrestling is in good hands when the time comes for him to step away from in-ring competition, and perhaps that’s why the fights with Atlantis Jr, Titan, and now HOOK. It’s going to be interesting to see how this one plays out. Will Jericho’s experience lead to victory, or will the youth of HOOK lead him to the most significant win of his career? The FTW Champion tested Samoa Joe like few others in AEW have. Can he do the same to Jericho?

Tag Team Grudge Match…

AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm & Mariah May vs. Deonna Purrazzo & Thunder Rosa

At one point during their REVOLUTION 2024 championship match, “The Virtuosa,” Deonna Purrazzo had “Timeless” Toni Storm dead to rights, tapping out to her Venus de Milo submission hold. Still, the official could not make the call, thanks to Mariah May. Still, the world saw the AEW Women’s World Champ giving up even if the referee did not. Though it may not mean Purrazzo stands as the World Champion, it gives her a viable claim to a rematch and every justification to refer to herself as the “uncrowned champion” if she so chose. Toni Storm wants to avoid a championship rematch with Deonna at this juncture. Still, unfortunately for Storm, she can’t dodge the tag team match scheduled for this Wednesday evening, a match she agreed to without even knowing who Deonna’s partner would be!

Turns out there’s another woman with some unfinished Toni Storm business. However, it may be more accurate to say it’s unfinished World Title business, “La Mera Mera” Thunder Rosa! Unfortunately for Rosa, due to injury, she had to vacate the AEW Women’s World Championship in September 2022, a vacancy that was filled by Toni Storm at ALL OUT 2022 when she beat Dr. Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, and Hikaru Shida in a Four Way bout. It was the first of Storm’s three championship reigns, and though it lasted just 76 days before Hayter dethroned her, it fueled the fire (and possibly the personality break) that has led “Timeless” to where she is today. In the time Rosa missed, the AEW Women’s Division landscape shifted quite a bit, and now she finds herself fighting for a shot at the title she never lost. Perhaps this tag team contest is a way to that end game. A victory over Storm could put Rosa into contention; after all, she’s won six straight matches since her return to action, four of those in singles competition, and if she could pin Toni in this fight, well, it would have to put her name into the running for the next title fight.

That makes this pairing of Thunder Rosa and Deonna Purrazzo quite interesting. They are two women who want to claim the AEW Women’s World Championship from Toni Storm, but does that put them at cross-purposes as partners? Mariah May is all in on supporting Toni and doing whatever she needs. Can the same be said for “La Mera Mera” and “The Virtuosa”?

The CEO Comes to Ontario…

Last week on DYNAMITE: BIG BUSINESS, Mercedes Moné made a significant impact with her arrival in All Elite Wrestling! It wasn’t just the words she spoke at the top of the program, but also her actions at the end of the night when Moné lent a helping hand to Willow Nightingale as TBS Champion Julia Hart and Skye Blue assaulted her. She dropped Skye Blue, planted Julia Hart, and shared a moment of respect with Willow Nightingale despite the fact Willow beat her to become the first NJPW STRONG Women’s Champion last year.

Now we will hear from “The CEO of AEW” this Wednesday night live on DYNAMITE, and you know the ears and ears of Julia Hart and Skye Blue, as well as the rest of the AEW Women’s locker room, are going to be fixed on what Mercedes Moné has to say!

But that’s not all…