AEW Dynamite: Preview and Predictions for February 16, 2022

AEW Dynamite is back this Wednesday night and will broadcast live on the TBS network from Nashville, Tennessee.

Last week’s Dynamite was an absolute blast of a show on many levels.

If you are into no disqualification/deathmatches you would be hardpressed to find a more entertaining one than the match Lance Archer and Adam Page gave us last Wednesday.

If tag team wrestling is your thing then watching FTR prove once again why they are one of the best tag teams in the world, having a great match with CM Punk and Jon Moxley was definitely for you.

If you love a good promo we got some solid work from MJF and CM Punk, as well as Chris Jericho’s best segment in months and Santana showing that Jericho isn’t the only Inner Circle member that is great on the mic.

And if you are into surprises, then the suspense created by the debut of Keith Lee, Jay White coming through the forbidden door, and the drama created by CM Punk’s search for a tag team partner (he even took to Twitter to try to enlist Samoa Joe and Danhausen) was sure to satisfy your appetite.

And maybe best of all, there was no Brandi Rhodes segment.

This week’s Dynamite match card is already five matches deep and based on the card alone, we can expect some top-notch in-ring action.

Let’s take a look at this week’s AEW Dynamite match card and what to expect from each match:

Bryan Danielson vs Lee Moriarty

As far as picking a winner goes, this is the easiest match on the card to predict.  But the story of this match isn’t who will win, it runs much deeper than that.

The story of this match revolves around Bryan Danielson putting together a stable of young and hungry up and comers, potentially with Jon Moxley.

And this heel version of Bryan Danielson is the best version of one of today’s best wrestlers to take the likes of Lee Moriarty and Wheeler Yuta and turn them into heartless destroyers.

Danielson will start that process on Wednesday, bringing out a viciousness in Moriarty, and causing Lee to put some serious thought into Danielson’s offer of mentorship.  Winner: Bryan Danielson

Wardlow vs Max Caster in a Face of the Revolution Ladder Match Qualifier

In most cases, a qualifying match involving Max Caster would be a tough call to pick a winner on.  But this match should be all about Wardlow.

The only thing that gives Caster a glimmer of hope to win this match is everything that is going on with MJF and CM Punk, and if that causes some sort of distraction for Wardlow during the contest.

And while this match might have some distractions, it isn’t going to be enough to cost Wardlow this win.  If it did, that would be enough to push Wardlow over the edge and complete his face turn, which I think we will get at the appropriately named, Revolution pay-per-view.

Caster has a bright future and will have his moments, but at the end of the day, this match is all about Wardlow.  And his victory will begin to whet the palates of wrestling fans everywhere as they start to think about spots between Wardlow and the newly signed Keith Lee in the upcoming Face of the Revolution Ladder Match.  Winner: Wardlow

Chris Jericho & Jake Hager vs Santana & Ortiz

The implosion of the Inner Circle should reach its epic conclusion on next week’s Dynamite when Chris Jericho and Jake Hager take on Santana and Ortiz in a tag team contest.

After last week’s Inner Circle Team Meeting segment really over-delivered a couple of things were very clear.

One, given the time, Santana can cut a heck of a promo, and he and Ortiz do not need Chris Jericho speaking for them moving forward.

Two, some of the things Chris Jericho said during this interaction hinted at a heel turn.

Expect that heel turn to happen during this match.  As Jericho uses his trusty baseball bat, Floyd, to secure a victory over Santana and Ortiz, officially ending the Inner Circle, and setting heel Jericho on a collision course with Eddie Kingston at Revolution.  Winners: Chris Jericho & Jake Hager

Mercedes Martinez vs Thunder Rosa in a No Disqualification Match

After their initial match ended in a rare disqualification, Thunder Rosa and Mercedes Martinez will meet up again, this time in a No DQ match.

After their first encounter, it was revealed that Martinez had been hired by Britt Baker to take out Thunder Rosa, which led to the introduction of the pipe and the DQ in their first meeting.

That announcement led us to this match, in which Martinez will be able to finish the job she was hired for without having to worry about losing the match as she will have free rein to inflict pain in whatever manner she sees fit.

This match is set up for Thunder Rosa to lose.  Baker has a stable of women with her best interest in mind and the no disqualification stipulation ensures that this match can turn into a four-on-one contest the very moment it looks like it is starting to get away from Martinez.

And it is almost guaranteed that we will get to the point where Rosa finds herself in a handicap match.

However, this match’s ending will be decided by Jamie Hayter.  Hayter’s bad blood with Mercedes Martinez will cost Martinez the match and lead to Thunder Rosa setting her sights on Baker and the AEW Women’s Title at Revolution.  Winner: Thunder Rosa

Sammy Guevara vs Darby Allin in a TNT Title Match

In a battle of rising stars, Sammy Guevara will put his TNT Title on the line against former champion, Darby Allin.

These two men were tense rivals in the early days of AEW, and given how much both have improved in the ring since then, this match has all the potential to blow the roof off the place.

Either man walking away with the TNT Title here is a perfectly acceptable outcome for a couple of reasons.

First, Darby hasn’t picked up a big singles win in a long time and is past overdue.

Second, the TNT Title changing hands regularly would add so much excitement to each and every TNT Title match, as we would never be sure when the title might change hands.

However, Sammy Guevara needs to come out on top in this match.

The aforementioned absence of big singles wins for Darby needs to become an underlying storyline of Allin’s character.

The frustration this causes him should be why Darby turned on Sting later this year, leading us to a fantastic cinematic match between the two.

On Wednesday, look for Andrade El Idolo to cost Darby the TNT Title, and possibly set up a triple threat match between all three men at Revolution.  Winner: Sammy Guevara