SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Zero Hour:
Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) vs. Zayda Steel & Viva Van – 5-minute tag team eliminator match. If Steel and Van last the 5 minutes, they will earn a future AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championship shot.
Preview: Divine Dominion has run roughshod over the women’s tag divisions since winning the titles a few months ago off of Harley Cameron and Willow Nightingale. It feels pretty clear that they’re building this team up for something big. Steel and Van are fun up-and-comers.
Prediction: Divine Dominion (Megan Bayne & Lena Kross) defeat Zayda Steel & Viva Van
Divine Dominion are being built as a monster tag team for a culmination at All In: London where they will ultimately drop the titles to the home country, and similarly steadily built act, of the Brawling Birds.
Boom & Doom (“Big Boom” AJ & QT Marshall w/Big Justice) & Mark Briscoe & Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong vs. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor & Anthony Ogogo & Capt. Shawn Dena & Carlie Bravo & Lee Moriarty)
Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta & Daniel Garcia vs. The Opps (Anthony Bowens & Hook & Katsuyori Shibata)
Main Card (subject to change):
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Konosuke Takeshita – AEW International Championship
Preview: The Okada-Takeshita Callis Family rivalry has been building since last year at a steady, some would say too slow, pace. It has all led to this match, which was earned by Takeshita for agreeing to team with Okada against the Bucks at April’s Dynasty PPV. It is clear that Don Callis has been favoring Okada in the family and that Takeshita is no longer fully happy with his role in the family or how the family has been operating under Don. I expect this match to be incredibly hard-hitting and I imagine that Okada will wrestle closer to his NJPW days than his more recent AEW days.
Prediction: Konosuke Takeshita defeats Kazuchika Okada (c) to become the AEW International Champion
Takeshita is a young rising star in AEW and this needs to be a passing-of-the-torch moment with Okada. This feud has been an important one to build in AEW over the last year and I expect this feud will span the summer and climax at All In: London, likely with some form of stipulation. I imagine that Takeshita will have to fight the Callis Family, along the way, leading to All In. That has been a cornerstone of Tony Khan booking since the inception of AEW.
FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (c) (with Stokely) vs. Cage & Cope (Adam Copeland & Christian Cage) – “I Quit” match for the AEW World Tag Team Championship. If Cage and Cope lose, they must retire as a tag team.
Preview: Holy stipulations, Batman! Despite the comical amount of stipulations attached to this match, I expect another solid showing between FTR and Cage & Cope. This rivalry has spanned since last year, similar to Takeshita & Okada, and the history of these two teams spans beyond a decade, inside and outside kayfabe. I think the intensity qualifies this as a blood feud so I am okay with the “I Quit” stipulation. I’m also okay with the stipulation that if Cage & Cope lose that they’ll never tag again because it adds a necessary uncertainty to the outcome of this match.
Prediction: Cage & Cope (Adam Copeland & Christian Cage) defeat FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) (c) (with Stokely) to become AEW Men’s Tag Team Champions
I predict that AEW’s men’s tag division is going to heat up immensely as we enter the summer (pun intended). With the hint of a future match between Cope & Cage and the Bucks that we got at Revolution back at March and the recent releases of the New Day and the Motorcity Machine Guns from WWE, I think that we’re leading to a multi-team ladder match replicating the Attitude Era days between FTR, Cope & Cage, The Young Bucks, The New Day, MotorCity Machine Guns and perhaps younger team or two, in the mix at All In: London for the titles and I am here for the madness.
Chris Jericho & The Hurt Syndicate (Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin) & The Elite (Kenny Omega & “Jungle” Jack Perry & Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. The Demand (Ricochet & Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona) & The Don Callis Family (Mark Davis & Andrade El Ídolo) & The Dogs (Clark Connors & David Finlay) – Stadium Stampede Match
Preview: The insanity of the Stadium Stampede match is well known to day one AEW fans. What is unknown is how the added chaos that the largest Stadium Stampede match in AEW history (in terms of number of wrestlers) will change the structure of the match. There are built-in stories and feuds, over the years, between each of these teams and their wrestlers so I expect many stories to be told throughout this match and future feuds to be built for the summer season. Expect the usual crazy spots and comedic scenes. This type of match isn’t for everyone but it is an AEW staple that, I personally think, works about once a year before the returns diminish.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Thekla (c) vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter vs. Kris Statlander – Four-way match for the AEW Women’s World Championship
Preview: All four of these women are either current or former AEW Women’s Champions and they all have legitimate beefs with one another. This match certainly feels like it fits more of a B-level PPV (which I wouldn’t consider Double or Nothing) but the star power, relative to AEW Women’s division, is certainly there. Injuries may have played a role in how Tony Khan has booked the Women’s title match for this PPV but I still expect this match to deliver.
Prediction: Thekla (c) defeats Hikaru Shida & Jamie Hayter & Kris Statlander to retain the AEW Women’s World Championship
Thekla has been a breath of fresh air with her strong title run since taking the title off of a floundering Kris Statlander. I see now reason to take the title off of her here when we look at the current options. I do expect Mercedes Mone to re-enter the picture, perhaps as soon as this PPV, and begin building a title feud, likely as a face, opposite of the increasingly good Thekla.
Samoa Joe vs. Will Ospreay – Men’s Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal
Preview: This is an Owen Hart Cup quarterfinal match with an accompanying feud. Samoa Joe isn’t happy that Ospreay has been training with Moxley and the Death Riders when Joe and the Opps “saved” Ospreay last year. Ospreay just wants to do what is best to get himself to World Championship level to finally get over the proverbial hump. The contrasting stylistic nature of this match-up is a selling point even without the strong backstory.
Prediction: Will Ospreay defeats Samoa Joe – Advances to Semi-Final of Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal
Ospreay is the wrestler of destiny to win the AEW Men’s World Title in his home Country of England at All In and this tournament is the vehicle to get him there. Joe is a good obstacle along the way to overcome.
Bandido vs. Swerve Strickland – Men’s Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal
Preview: They tried to create a feud that made sense for this match, as well, but it lacks the natural backstory of Joe and Ospreay. Regardless, this should be a very good match and both wrestlers seem motivated.
Prediction: Swerve Stickland defeats Bandido – Advances to Semi-Final of the Men’s Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal
Swerve and Ospreay are on a crash course for the Finals of the Men’s Owen Hart Cup, that much seems obvious. There will be a few fun matches along the way but the outcome is inevitable and, in this case, that is a positive thing.
Athena vs. Mina Shirakawa – Women’s Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal
Preview: Athena has been dominating in ROH as Women’s Champion for literally years now. The issue is, who has truly seen it? Mina has been a strong character in AEW and has shouldered a decent amount of the load since Toni Storm has been out indefinitely for unknown reasons.
Prediction: Athena defeats Mina Shirakawa – Advances to the Women’s Owen Hart Cup Semi-Final
I personally believe that this women’s tournament needs to be Athena’s true coming out party in AEW, as she’s needed with the lack of depth on top of the division.
Jon Moxley (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly – AEW Continental Championship. This match will have no time limit.
Preview: O’Reilly tapped out Moxley twice last year beginning at the Blood & Guts match last November. That has eaten away at Mox and it came exploding out when O’Reilly caught Mox, again, in a submission hold to run-out the 20-minute clock during their eliminator match on the go-home Dynamite. The story is that O’Reilly has Mox’s number. How will Mox deal with that perception?
Prediction: Jon Moxley (c) defeats Kyle O’Reilly to retain the AEW Continental Championship
I would personally give O’Reilly the win here and give him a run a bit higher up on the card and ride it to see how far it can go but I can’t see AEW doing that here. They see Mox as the heartbeat of AEW, and they aren’t wrong, so I expect him to have a big Continental Championship match at All In.
Darby Allin (c) vs. MJF – Title vs. Hair match for the AEW World Championship
Preview: The Darby Allin Title reign since defeating MJF for the belt on the Dynamite following Dynasty, where Darby became number one contender after defeating Andrade, has been decidedly polarizing. I, personally, have enjoyed the reign and the subsequent story of Darby flying too close to the sun which will likely end his reign sooner-rather-than-later. I personally think that this reign and MJF feud has made MJF less likeable and Darby’s genuine personality has been allowed the appropriate space to shine. The hair stipulation is either an obvious tell or a strategic red herring to the outcome of the match. The fact that I have to write that is actually a good thing for AEW.
Prediction: MJF defeats Darby Allin (c) to become the AEW World Champion
I believe that All In: London will be headlined by MJF Vs. Will Ospreay for the AEW World Championship. That has been Ospreay’s destiny since becoming a full time wrestler in AEW several years back. MJF will have to regain the title at some point before the PPV in late August (with enough time to craft the story). It’s possible that Darby wins here and MJF regains at Forbidden Door next month, but I think it’s more likely he takes it back this Sunday. The title has elevated Darby’s stock, MJF hasn’t been hurt in the process. All’s well that ends well as they say.
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