Ospreay tries to prove that AEW really is ‘where the best wrestle’

Dynamite airs tonight (Apr. 17) with a live show from Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is the final episode of Dynamite during the seven week build towards Dynasty, which takes place on Sunday (Apr. 21).

Will Ospreay tries to prove that AEW really is “where the best wrestle”

Ever since AEW President Tony Khan brought in big name free agents Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Mercedes Moné, the company has gone hard on pushing the message that AEW is “where the best wrestle.”

Nobody embodies that branding better than Will Ospreay, who has a rightful claim to being the best wrestler alive today. After last week’s ratings stunt regarding the CM Punk / Jack Perry backstage fight footage from All In, AEW gets back to doing what it does best tonight when Ospreay goes one-on-one with Claudio Castagnoli. This match is going to be incredible, and in some sense is just an appetizer for what we can expect to see at Dynasty in Ospreay’s dream match against Bryan Danielson.

Speaking of Danielson, he and Claudio are stablemates in the Blackpool Combat Club, and there’s a good chance we’ll see a post-match angle here where the BCC brawls with the Don Callis family. Callis has ordered his guys to injure Danielson ahead of Dynasty. But is Ospreay on board with Don’s sinister plan, or will he tell the head of the family to stay out of the way and let him handle Danielson all on his own in a fair fight?

The rest of tonight’s lineup

Dynamite features a mixed tag team bout of Willow Nightingale & TNT Champion Adam Copeland vs. Brody King & TBS Champion Julia Hart. Mark Briscoe, Eddie Kingston and the rest of the House of Black will likely get involved at some point, given their upcoming trios match at Dynasty. Will Julia demonstrate that she’s good to go following last week’s apparent injury on Rampage?

The Elite (Young Bucks & AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada) vs. PAC, Daniel Garcia & Penta El Zero Miedo is also booked for tonight. This match doesn’t look good for the babyfaces on paper, so maybe FTR will have to show up and do something about it with their fists.

Deonna Purrazzo can’t get a rematch with AEW Women’s Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm right now, so she’ll settle for a singles match tonight against Storm’s protege, Mariah May. Purrazzo and Thunder Rosa are butting heads at the moment, and we’ll probably see more of that happen if Rosa runs in to get a piece of the champ.

FTW Champion HOOK has ghosted Chris Jericho ever since last week’s trios loss to Shane Taylor Promotions, so Chris convinced HOOK’s father Taz to broker a meeting between them tonight. Jericho needs a match at Dynasty, so does this mean he will challenge HOOK for the FTW title? That might be the best way for HOOK to sit under Jericho’s learning tree and breathe in the rarefied air of Jericho. Okay I’ll admit it, I vomited in my mouth just a little bit while typing out the previous sentence.

We’ll hear from Swerve Strickland and AEW World Champion Samoa Joe ahead of their title match at Dynasty. The level of violence has escalated between these two stars over the last couple of weeks, so AEW better have extra officials on hand to try keeping them away from each other tonight.

The heart and soul of AEW is back when IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley makes his return to Dynamite for the first time in over a month. There’s a gaping hole in the Dynasty card that only Moxley can fill, so it will be interesting to see what match Tony Khan books for him on a one week build.

Finally, we’ll also hear from Mercedes Moné to find out what memorized script is going through her head after a mystery attacker took her out last week. Mercedes wants to challenge for the TBS title on next month’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view, but she may have to step in the ring for a match at Dynasty if the mystery attacker is revealed tonight and is not Julia Hart.

Other stuff to keep an eye on

– Tony Khan probably wants to add more matches to Dynasty, and an obvious one out there is an AEW world trios championship match of Daddy Ass & The Acclaimed vs. Bullet Club Gold. The babyfaces are running out of steam, and it feels like a title change should be happening soon.

– Kyle O’Reilly was betrayed by AEW International Champion Roderick Strong and The Undisputed Kingdom over the weekend on Collision. What will Kyle have to say after having a few days to let this betrayal sink in? Will he try to get The Kingdom banned from ringside when he challenges Strong for the gold at Dynasty?

– Trent Beretta turned on Orange Cassidy earlier this month, and it’s not clear whose side Chuck Taylor is on. Perhaps we’ll find out where Chuck stands if Cassidy vs. Beretta is booked at Dynasty.

– What’s the timetable on Britt Baker’s return to AEW?

What will you be looking for on Dynamite?