AEW Dynamite: Samoa Joe will defeat Roderick Strong

AEW Dynamite is back this Wednesday and will be broadcast live on TBS from the Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Wednesday’s episode of All Elite Wrestling’s flagship program will include Don Callis revealing who he and Konosuke Takeshita will be targeting next.  We will also find out who will challenge Saraya and MJF at AEW Grand Slam on September 20th for their respective AEW World Titles.

By the time Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite draws to a close, we will have a very clear picture of the card that will be presented to us during AEW’s third trip to Arthur Ashe Stadium for Grand Slam.

Let’s take a look at the announced matches and segments for this Wednesday’s episode of AEW Dynamite.

Jon Moxley vs. Big Bill in an AEW International Championship Match

Jon Moxley‘s run as International Champion will be an interesting one.  On one hand, Moxley has absolutely no need to be the AEW International Champion.  But on the other hand, it makes sense for him to continue to keep the International Championship at the elevated level that Orange Cassidy handed it to him at.

The trick with having one of your top stars hold a mid-card belt is how you get him to lose it without losing credibility.  And having Moxley drop the International Title to a monster like Big Bill would not be a bad way to go.

As intriguing as a Big Bill title run might be, it won’t be happening on Wednesday.  Mox will find a way to get Big Bill to the ground and apply a bulldog choke that renders Bill unconscious, giving Tony Khan some more time to figure out how to take this midcard title off one of his biggest stars.  Winner: Jon Moxley

“Hangman” Adam Page vs. Brian Cage

After taking a verbal beatdown from Swerve Strickland and a physical beatdown from Brian Cage last week, “Hangman” Adam Page will look to get some retribution for the latter when he and Cage go one-on-one.

The money match in this program is Strickland and Page, but another singles match between Cage and Page makes sense if the end game of this feud is to put Strickland over and elevate him up the card.  Cage has the size and strength to take a lot out of Page leading up to his eventual showdown with Strickland, allowing Sweve to go over while keeping “Hangman” strong as well.

The outcome of this match is clear, as there is no Swerve versus Page without the cowboy first dispatching Brian Cage.  Winner: “Hangman” Adam Page

Don Callis Reveals His Next Masterpiece

Last week Don Callis introduced a veiled painting that supposedly will reveal Konosuke Takeshita’s next target.  Coming off a pair of wins over Kenny Omega in the span of a week, Takeshita and Callis have their sights set on a new opponent.

This new target will be a babyface and someone at the top of the card, as defeating Kenny Omega and then going down a level in competition makes very little sense.  Given his friendship with Omega, Adam Page seemed like the easy choice until he got wrapped up with Swerve Strickland and the Mogul Embassy last week.

The new target of Callis and Takeshita should be one of the following: Adam Cole, MJF, Orange Cassidy, or Chris Jericho.  With WrestleDream three weeks away, let’s say Callis and Takeshita call their shot and look to ride their momentum into AEW’s next pay-per-view challenging MJF for his AEW World Title.

Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose vs. Toni Storm in a Grand Slam Women’s Championship Four-way Eliminator Match

One of the better pieces of character work we have seen on AEW television lately has been given to us by Toni Storm.  Her off-her-rocker personality has been portrayed beautifully, and it should be a lot of fun to see how it translates to the ring.

It is very tough to call how this match may play out.  Nyla Rose hasn’t been a part of a relevant story on AEW television lately, so she seems like the biggest undergod to come out the winner.

Both Baker and Shida make sense.  Shida lost her title at All In without being pinned and Britt Baker remains a very popular member of the roster that always elicits a crowd reaction.  But Toni Storm is the way to go from a storyline perspective.  Not only with Storm acting very unstable as of late but also with the Outcasts faction seemingly hanging on by a thread.  Saraya having to defend versus Storm seems like the best way to close that story out.  Winner: Toni Storm

Samoa Joe vs. Roderick Strong in the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator Tournament Final

Samoa Joe and Roderick Strong meeting in the final of the Grand Slam World Title Eliminator was an obvious booking decision since the day this tournament was announced.  The story being told between Joe, Strong, Adam Cole, and MJF all intertwined has been a lot of fun and adds a lot of intrigue to this match.  The question is does Strong get a shot at MJF, prolonging the MJF and Samoa Joe match for an AEW pay-per-view or does Joe go over as most expect he will, setting up Joe vs. MJF at Grand Slam?

The storytelling that AEW has done over the past couple of months truly makes this match a toss-up.  Roderick Strong will be extra motivated in this matchup for a couple of reasons.  One, getting revenge on Samoa Joe for injuring his neck, and two, getting a shot at winning the AEW World Title, while exposing the true MJF to Adam Cole.

As much as it would be great to see Strong get a shot at MJF, it would be hard to justify Samoa Joe getting a title shot after suffering a defeat at the hands of Strong.  And as good as Roddy is in the ring, the match that is going to draw the most eyes is MJF vs. Samoa Joe.  Winner: Samoa Joe