AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash, Night One Predictions

AEW Dynamite’s New Year’s Smash takes place this Wednesday.  It will feature 2 title matches, the return of Jon Moxley, and an appearance from Snoop Dogg.

After ending 2020 with two beautiful hours of television celebrating the life of Brodie Lee, AEW Dynamite will look to kick off 2021 with a bang on January 6th as they present night one of New Year’s Smash.

While the appearance of Snoop Dogg will probably have more to do with promoting the Go Big Show that will be premiering the following night than anything related to the card, there is still plenty to be excited about in regards to this show.

The return of Jon Moxley will mean that Kenny Omega will have to defend the AEW World Championship while keeping his head on a swivel as Moxley will no doubt be looking for revenge.  Hikaru Shida will face a very unique and unsettling challenger and the AEW Tag Team Champions will be in action as part of an eight-man tag bout.  Here is a look at the announced matches and what to expect.

Matt Sydal vs Cody Rhodes

This should be pretty one-sided.   Matt Sydal has picked up a slew of wins on AEW Dark but has yet to be able to break through on Dynamite.   Going up against one of the top guys in the company isn’t exactly a recipe for that breakthrough either.   There really isn’t a story of any kind behind this match and it feels like it is just a chance to get Sydal on TV.  He will represent himself well but will fall to Cody in the end.  Winner: Cody Rhodes by pinfall

The Young Bucks & SCU vs The Acclaimed and TH2

It has been an interesting couple of weeks for SCU.  On a recent episode of Britt Baker’s “The Waiting Room,” Frankie Kazarian blasted his tag team partner, Christopher Daniels for the team’s recent lack of success.   Kaz stated that anytime that SCU had lost a match in the past months it is always Daniels taking the loss.

Daniels went on to say that 2020 was the worst year of his professional career.  And it was to the point that he dreaded coming to work and anytime he stepped in the ring he was overcome by anxiety.  Daniels finished his rant by saying that maybe it was just time for him to walk away.   Kazarian stopped him and said let’s make one more run at the AEW tag team titles, but the next time they lose a tag team match then the two of them are done as a team forever.  Daniels agreed and the two embraced.

This is a smart angle for AEW to take as it makes every SCU match going forward mean something.  Expect AEW to ride this angle for a while, maybe even all the way up to a match between SCU and The Young Bucks for the tag team titles.  SCU will begin to build its momentum on this week’s Dynamite with a victory over The Acclaimed and TH2.   Winners: The Young Bucks and SCU

Jake Hager vs Wardlow

"This is a tough match to call as it could end so many ways.  It also could, and most likely will end the Inner Circle as we know it.   Will this match lead to the split between MJF and Wardlow?  Will it lead to a split between MJF & Wardlow from the Inner Circle?   Will MJF try to interfere and Sammy Guevara leave the Inner Circle because of it?  It is really hard to say.   One thing is for certain, The Inner Circle is going to look much different after this match than it did going into it."

All things considered, Wardlow is the right choice to go over here.  He is extremely talented and has potential superstar written all over him.  2021 should be the year that Wardlow stands on his own and becomes a dominant force in AEW.  A win over Hager will springboard Wardlow in that direction and start his ascent up the ranks.  Winner: Wardlow

Hikaru Shida vs Abadon for the AEW Women’s Title

Hikaru Shida takes on the most unusual wrestler in all of AEW when she puts her title on the line against Abadon.   Abadon is very unique and definitely adds an element to the women’s division.   She has been sparingly used on Dynamite so she still has an aura around her that will keep wrestling fans interested from week to week.

Having Abadon dethrone Shida would be fine.  Abadon would be a scary champion that could have a great reign because of her ability to beat her opponents psychologically before they even step foot in the ring.  But the real issue is who goes after Abadon next?  Outside of Shida there really aren’t many babyface challengers that would be believable threats to Abadon moving forward.  That said, Shida will find a way to put down Abadon and retain the title.   Winner: Hikaru Shida

Ray Fenix vs Kenny Omega for the AEW World Championship

The outcome of this match is not in doubt.  Newly crowned champion Kenny Omega is not losing his title anytime soon.  But that doesn’t change the fact that this match has the potential to be one that we still talk about 11 months from now when we are putting together our match of the year candidates for 2021.

This match was supposed to take place in the semifinals of the World Title Eliminator Tournament back in November.  Fenix had to bow out of the contest due to injury and was replaced by his brother, Penta El Zero M.   Omega defeated Penta that night and then went on to win the tournament, and ultimately win the title by beating Jon Moxley.

Fenix felt like he deserved a shot at Omega due to not losing in the tournament and Tony Khan agreed, much to the dismay of Kenny Omega.

Omega and Fenix both have an extensive history of putting on classic matches that we can’t take our eyes off of.   This one should be no different.  This match will have a lot of winners, Kenny Omega and anyone who tunes in to watch it.  Winner: Kenny Omega