AEW Dynamite: Homecoming Preview and Predictions

AEW Dynamite is back this Wednesday as the promotion presents its Homecoming edition from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida, the promotion’s home during the pandemic era.

This card is pretty loaded as it includes the in-ring debut of Malakai Black, a TNT Title match, the third labor of Jericho as he battles one of the top cruiserweights of all time in Juventud Guerrero, and a women’s World Title eliminator match.

In addition to the stacked card, there is so much going on in other storylines as well.  After Adam Page and Dark Order’s somewhat shocking loss to the Elite last week, where does “Hangman” go from here?  And who is next to challenge for Kenny Omega’s AEW World Championship?

Did Darby Allin really call out CM Punk last week for the upcoming Chicago show?

Will Brian Cage get his revenge on Team Tazz and Ricky Starks?

And what is going on with Andrade El Idolo and Chavo Guerrero and the Death Triangle?  It seems as if Andrade is trying to create his own faction by luring the Lucha Bros over to his team.  Will the talented tag-team stay loyal to Pac or align themselves with Andrade?

It is almost unbelievable how much AEW is packing into a two-hour program, and with Rampage on the way, it is exciting to see what other storylines AEW will be able to work in on a weekly basis.

Let’s take a look at the announced matches for AEW Dynamite: Homecoming and what to expect from each.

Christian Cage vs The Blade

Christian Cage is making it a weekly thing to take out members of the Hardy Family Office.  After consecutive victories over Matt Hardy in a singles match and then Private Party and Angelico last week in a six-man tag, Christian will look to complete his run through the HFO when he goes one-on-one with the Blade.

AEW has done a really nice job keeping the Blade relevant while his tag team partner, the Butcher, recovers from injury.

The brass knuckle-wielding enforcer of the HFO is the last chance for Matt Hardy’s group to hang Christian’s first AEW loss on him.

But unfortunately for Hardy, it isn’t going to happen on Wednesday.  Christian Cage should dispatch the Blade and hopefully end his program with the HFO.

And with Adam Page being pushed back to the end of the line for a title shot against Kenny Omega, Christian Cage would be a great choice to challenge for Omega’s AEW World Title at All Out.  Winner: Christian Cage

Lee Johnson vs Miro for the TNT Championship

The winner of this match is a foregone conclusion.  But there are still multiple reasons to get this match on the card.

Miro hasn’t defended his title in a couple of weeks.  And as entertaining as his promos have been, Miro does his best work in the ring.

And speaking of doing great work in the ring, there may be no one that has more untapped potential in the entire promotion than “Big Shotty” Lee Johnson.

Johnson is fast, strong, can take to the skies, and wrestles with a fearlessness that is only bested by the likes of Darby Allin and Rey Fenix.

Johnson has zero shot to win this match.  But he is very deserving of this spot to show exactly what he can do to a national television audience.  This kid is going to be a huge part of the future of AEW.  Winner: Miro

Juventud Guerrero vs Chris Jericho in the third labor of Jericho

After overcoming Shawn Spears and Nick Gage in consecutive weeks, Chris Jericho will face a blast from the past this week as he squares off with his old rival, Juventud Guerrero.

This will be a very different challenge than the one Jericho faced last week.  Guerrero was one of the fastest cruiserweights in the world in the 90’s as he and Jericho feuded over the WCW cruiserweight title.

So there is history there, as MJF pointed out last week.

Will Jericho be able to cash the check his mouth wrote when he referenced beating up Juventud Guerrero on a past episode of Dynamite?

Of course, he will.

While it will be fun to watch “The Juice” compete again on national television, he is just one more rung on the ladder that Jericho is climbing on his way back up to his MJF rematch.

AEW is handling these five labors of Jericho very well.  We all know that Jericho will complete the tasks and get his rematch with MJF.  So why not bring in people from outside the promotion to help create excitement for the matches.

It seemed to work last week in the case of Nick Gage.   We will see if the same excitement will come from a returning Juventud Guerrero this week.  Winner: Chris Jericho

The Bunny vs Leyla Hirsch in an AEW Women’s Title Eliminator Match

As of July 28th, neither of these women are ranked in the top five.  So why they are having a match with the winner getting a shot at Britt Baker’s AEW Women’s Title is a bit of a head-scratcher.

Yet here we are.

This is not to say that either of these women is not worthy of a title shot.  The Bunny has really grown as a performer since dropping the Allie moniker and embracing her less-than-stable side.

Leyla Hirsch has been impressive in her matches since coming to AEW.  She has looked really good in the ring against some of the top talent in AEW in losses to Hikaru Shida, Britt Baker, and Serena Deeb.

While Bunny seems like an opponent that is more capable of beating Britt Baker, this seems set up for Leyla Hirsch to get the opportunity.

The Bunny is playing her part to a tee and has been a regular part of Dynamite in recent weeks.  To be quite honest, she won’t benefit as much as Hirsch will by winning this match and getting a shot at Britt Baker.

Because of this Hirsch will find a way to submit the Bunny and earn a title shot against Britt Baker.  The good dentist will surely relish the opportunity to crack jokes about Hirsch’s size leading up to the match, which will serve as motivation for Hirsch to deliver a memorable performance.  Winner: Leyla Hirsch

Cody Rhodes vs Malakai Black

In a very highly anticipated match, Malakia Black will make his AEW in-ring debut against one of the promotion’s biggest stars, when he battles Cody Rhodes.

So let’s just say what we are all thinking.  It will be an absolute travesty if Cody Rhodes wins this match.

In Malakai Black, the promotion has a talent that belongs at the top of the card.  He is shrouded in mystery and mystique and could become one of AEW’s top draws if he is booked correctly.

However, this match with Cody Rhodes worries me.  Other than the Brodie Lee match (when Cody was leaving to film a television show), Cody has only allowed one wrestler to score a clean win over him, and that was Darby Allin, and it took Darby four attempts to do so.

So will Cody do the right thing and put over the AEW newcomer?

It is with complete and utter frustration that I say, I don’t think he will.

I hope very, very much that I am wrong.  Whether it is a clean victory or a tainted one, I don’t care.  As long as Malakai Black wins.  But sadly, I feel like the homecoming show ends with Cody Rhodes standing victorious in the ring.  Winner: Cody Rhodes