AEW Dynamite Preview: Forbidden Door, MJF Speaks, Big Title Match

By Liam Crowley

All Elite Wrestling is on the road to the banished passageway. With AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door just under three weeks away, AEW Dynamite promises to give a clearer picture of what fans can expect on the cross-promotional super show. Two matches have already been set for the pay-per-view as this past weekend at NJPW Dominion saw Will Ospreay win a top contender's tournament to cement himself as the next challenger for IWGP United States Champion Kenny Omega. Also on the show, Bryan Danielson appeared via video package to challenge Kazuchika Okada for AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door. Neither Omega nor Danielson currently have segments announced for AEW Dynamite, but look for both men's upcoming matches to be highlighted at some point during the broadcast.

Other Forbidden Door matches could materialize throughout various points on tonight's AEW Dynamite. AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman is set to speak for the first time since his successful defense at AEW Double or Nothing. At that event's post-show press conference, Friedman belittled NJPW, emphasizing that he has no interest in facing anyone from the Far East promotion. Expect MJF's promo to pick up where he left off at the presser before someone from New Japan interrupts.

Jay White will continue his rivalry with Ricky Starks when he meets him in singles action, but this time both men's allies, Juice Robinson and AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR, are banned form ringside. White was an NJPW mainstay for over six years, winning just about every championship under the rising sun. While he currently leads an off-shoot of Bullet Club on AEW TV, he was technically kicked out of the main group by David Finlay earlier this year. With White already having built in tensions with NJPW, tonight's AEW Dynamite could set the stage for Switchblade's Forbidden Door contest.

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Tonight's main event will see AEW International Champion Orange Cassidy defend his title against Swerve Strickland. This is shaping up to be Cassidy's toughest test yet, as Swerve nearly captured the gold at AEW Double or Nothing. While Cassidy's reign has been championed as one of the best going today, Swerve is riding significant momentum in recent weeks, and a title change could be in the cards.

AEW Dynamite goes down tonight at 8 PM ET on TBS. The full card can be seen below...

  • AEW World Champion MJF speaks
  • Jay White vs. Ricky Starks (Juice Robinson and AEW World Tag Team Champions FTR are banned from ringside)
  • Blackpool Combat Club (ROH World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta) vs. CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta)
  • Texas Tornado Tag Team Match: FTW Champion Hook and Jungle Boy vs. Dralistico and Preston Vance
  • AEW TBS Championship: Kris Statlander (c) vs. Anna Jay A.S.
  • AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Swerve Strickland

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