AEW Dynamite: Preview and Predictions for January 19th, 2022

AEW Dynamite is back this Wednesday and will be broadcast from Washington, D.C. on TBS.  The show already has six announced matches in what promises to be a hectic show featuring some of the biggest names in AEW.

Adam Cole, Britt Baker, CM Punk, Sting, Darby Allin, FTR, and the House of Black will all be in action on Wednesday.

We are sure to hear from the AEW World Champion, “Hangman” Adam Page, after he was brutally attacked by Lance Archer on last week’s show.

And for the first time since winning the TNT Title for the third time, Cody Rhodes, rumored to be working without a contract, is expected to make an appearance as well.

Let’s take a look at the 6 announced matches for this week’s AEW Dynamite and what we can expect from each:

CM Punk vs Shawn Spears

Last week saw CM Punk barely escape with a win after basically being squashed by Wardlow for the majority of their match.

It was a brilliant piece of booking that allowed Wardlow to continue his ascent as a destroyer while keeping CM Punk on track to get his one-on-one match with MJF in the near future.

This week MJF sends “The Chairman” Shawn Spears after Punk, in a match that shouldn’t give CM Punk near as much trouble as the Wardlow match did.

MJF will more than likely be ringside again, and this will be enough of a distraction to keep Spears competitive for a while.  But CM Punk will keep his AEW undefeated streak alive and continue his march towards MJF.  Winner: CM Punk

Varsity Blonds vs House of Black

Brody King made his long-awaited AEW debut last Wednesday as he showed up to save Malakai Black from a post-match beatdown at the hands of the Varsity Blonds and Pente El Zero Miedo.

But King showing up was only part of the interesting developments of last week’s post-match.  The other was Julia Hart screaming at The Blonds and Penta to stop their 3 on 1 beatdown of Black before King arrived.

Were Hart’s motives driven by a kind-hearted person that had seen enough or is Julia Hart starting to show some symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome?

We should get our answer on Wednesday night by watching Hart very carefully during and after the match.  A match that will see the House of Black debut successfully as a tag team in AEW.  Winners: House of Black

Lee Johnson & Brock Anderson vs FTR

Any Lee Johnson appearance on Dynamite is a good thing.  There is perhaps no one in AEW that has improved more during their time with the promotion.   Johnson is an under-the-radar star that is going to force his way into more big spots in the near future.

But for now, he is saddled in a tag team with Brock Anderson, and under the watchful eye of Arn Anderson the duo will take on FTR, with Tully Blanchard in FTR’s corner.

The dynamic between Arn and Tully is always interesting as they were themselves one of the most successful tag teams in the ’80s in the NWA and share a bond as former members of the Four Horsemen.

FTR are the AAA Tag Team Champions, have a wealth of tag team experience, and simply are going to be too much to handle for Johnson and Brock Anderson.  And while the outcome of the match is somewhat of a foregone conclusion, the continued story between Arn and Tully might get interesting this week.  Winners: FTR

Sting & Darby Allin vs The Acclaimed

On the surface, this looks like an easy one to call.  Sting and Darby Allin have never tasted defeat as a tag team and the Acclaimed don’t seem to quite be on the same level as the Brothers in Paint.

But a look at the rankings shows the Acclaimed as the number one ranked tag team in AEW, and they have positioned themselves nicely to get a title shot at Jurassic Express if they can somehow come out of this match with a win.

A couple of weeks ago Darby Allin was able to defeat Anthony Bowens in a single match, but after the match Andrade’s music hit, causing a temporary distraction that allowed the Acclaimed to deliver a beatdown to Sting and Darby.

Something tells me that Andrade or possibly just Andrade’s music will again cause a distraction this week.  And that will be the opening the Acclaimed needs to pick up the upset victory and stay at the number one spot in the AEW tag team rankings.  Winners: The Acclaimed

Serena Deeb vs Skye Blue

Skye Blue is young and full of potential and has a chance to be a big part of the future of the AEW women’s division.  But she is running into Serena Deeb at the wrong time.

Fresh off beating Hikaru Shida’s knee to a pulp last week, Serena Deeb will continue her march on the warpath when she takes on Skye Blue.

This shouldn’t be anything more than a glorified squash that enhances Deeb’s ruthlessness and brutality.  Winner: Serena Deeb

Adam Cole & Britt Baker vs  Orange Cassidy & Kris Statlander

This week’s Dynamite will include a rare mixed tag team match when Adam Cole and Britt Baker team up to take on Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander.

Mixed tag matches are hard to pull off as momentum can be tough to come by based on the rule that when a member of one gender is tagged in, the opponent of that same gender on the opposing team must enter the match as well.

But this match has four competitors in it that should be able to make it work.

It’s hard to picture Baker and Cole dropping this match.  The power couple of AEW are just getting started and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them in mixed tag matches more regularly going forward.

Expect some funny spots, some entertaining in-ring action, and more in-ring kissing from Cole and Baker.  Winners: Adam Cole & Britt Baker