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The month of July got off to a rough start for AEW with multiple top stars having to isolate themselves due to COVID related concerns. This led to the highly anticipated match between AEW World Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley and new signing Brian Cage being postponed.
AEW was also on a losing streak in the ratings war against NXT with several stars taking to social media to comment on it as well. However, following a strong performance in the ratings for Wednesday night’s Fight for the Fallen show, AEW seems to have rebounded.
The show itself featured a stacked card featuring matches such as The Lucha Bros vs FTR, a promised promo by Chris Jericho, the reveal regarding Nyla Rose’s new manager and the above mentioned World Title Match.
As a result, AEW was able to once again win the so-called Wednesday Night War toppling NXT and drawing an average viewership of 788,000. Additionally, AEW performed strongly in the 18 – 49 demographic reaching No.5 in the Top 150 original cable telecasts.
The show also featured some strong booking that would give hints as to where AEW Dynamite will be heading creatively in the weeks to follow. One such example was the return of Darby Allin who has been absent following a storyline injury at the hands of Brian Cage.
We may have seen the beginning of this plan come to fruition this week after the conclusion of his match alongside The Young Bucks against The Jurassic Express. With this in mind here are six potential storylines hinted at on this week’s episode and where they might go in the weeks to come.
#6 Jake Hager vs Orange Cassidy
Orange Cassidy drew the ire of Le Champion Chris Jericho several weeks back when he interrupted an interview of The Inner Circle by wandering into the shot. This perceived sign of disrespect would then lead to Chris Jericho attacking Cassidy on Dynamite and striking him in the head with a sack full of oranges.
Cassidy would look to seek his revenge on Jericho in the main event of the June 8th edition of AEW Fyter Fest. The match received strong praise on social media with Jericho claiming it to be one of his best matches in AEW.
Cassidy would ultimately lose this match following a strong performance. The up and coming star would get revenge on this week’s show, dosing The Inner Circle with gallons of Orange Juice further enraging the now christened "Demo God".
The issues between Jericho and Cassidy are far from over. However, following a strong match between the two, it would be too soon to have the pair face off again.
Perhaps, Jericho will dispatch his enforcer Jake Hager to deal with Orange Cassidy on his behalf?
#5 A possible Four Horsemen revival featuring FTR, Cody & Shawn Spears?
Recently rumors began to circulate the internet relating to the possible formation of a new Four Horsemen stable with Ric flair endorsing the idea in a recent interview. AEW Fight For The Fallen featured shots of Tully Blanchard seemingly scouting talent during several matches such as Cody Rhodes vs Sonny Kiss and FTR vs the Lucha Bros.
Is it possible that AEW is planting the seeds for the formation of such a group? Recently, Hangman Page has begun forming a camaraderie with the aforementioned FTR. Perhaps, this is being done to set the stage for a new alliance.
It means that Tully Blanchard could form such a group in AEW featuring Spears, FTR and possibly Cody or Hangman Adam Page. In the company's short existence, AEW has shown favoritism towards the usage of stables to fill out the card and provide storylines for several characters at once.
This combined with AEW's propensity to use old school booking lends credence to this idea. Especially, when you consider that AEW already features two former members of the famous stable as on-air talent.
This would angle would tie in perfectly to FTR and their goal to revive classic tag team wrestling. It would provide the underrated Shawn Spears with some direction after months of inconsistent television time.
Finally, such a story would create an immediate top card feud between the newly formed group and The Elite.
#4 A Cody Heel Turn
When AEW was launched, Cody Rhodes was built up as the central babyface on Dynamite. For the first year of the company, he was tasked with putting over and providing spotlight to several new stars such as Lance Archer.
In addition to this, he also established the credibility of the AEW World Title during his feud with Chris Jericho.
During the summer of 2020, Cody Rhodes won the TNT Championship following a highly enjoyable tournament. Following his win, Cody then began an open challenge which saw him defending his title each week on AEW Dynamite. As the weeks went by, The American Nightmare began to show signs of cracking under the pressure of having to defend his championship.
Recently, the defenses have become highly competitive requiring more effort from Cody. Last week's episode of AEW Dynamite saw this pattern continue as Cody struggled to defeat Sonny Kiss. At one point during the match, Arn Anderson yelled at the AEW VP telling him to regain his focus. Throughout the match, those watching at home began to notice Cody showing more and more signs of frustration and aggression which is usually not seen from the reigning TNT Champion.
Could it be possible that we are building towards a heel turn for Cody? Perhaps, due to the pressure of hosting an open challenge he will soon end the weekly defense angle.
It would also make sense for Cody to turn heel as he is currently managed by Arn Anderson, one of the most famous bad guys. If a new Four Horsemen group is formed, Cody could be the figurehead of the stable.
#3 Hikaru Shida Open Challenge
Upon the promotion’s inception, AEW fans were promised a keen focus would be given to the women's division. Despite the early promise due to appearances by Aja Kong and a working agreement with Joshi promotions, the company has failed to deliver since the launch of Dynamite. The first champion of AEW's Women's division, Riho, was largely absent from TV until she dropped the title. Nyla Rose, meanwhile, proved to be a strong champion even though she lacked credible contenders.
The company has made some improvements to the division in recent weeks but there is still a long way to go. That being said, Hikaru Shida is a highly talented star and is primed for a successful run assuming she is given time to establish herself.
AEW will need to develop strong challengers for Shida or else her reign will face the same fate as that of Nyla Rose. On this week's episode of Dynamite, Shida delivered a promo many have interpreted as an open challenge. This could go a long way towards establishing her as a strong champion while adding depth to the women's division.
It would also create a focal point each week for the women's division as she looks to defend her title against a revolving door of challengers. Cody has already shown that this angle can work via his defense each week of the TNT title.
As discussed on the previous slide, Cody may soon end his open challenge. Which would open the door for Shida to take up the mantle for herself as AEW's resident fighting champion.
#2 Darby Allin vs Brian Cage
Double or Nothing 2020 saw the shocking AEW debut of Brian Cage as he appeared as the surprise entrant in the Casino Battle Royal. The Machine immediately made his presence known during the match.
During the course of the match, Brian Cage focused his assault on rising AEW star, Darby Allin. As a result of this, Allin was off TV as he was deemed to be medically unfit to compete.
That all changed on Dynamite last week when Allin returned following the conclusion to Brian Cage's match against AEW Champion, Jon Moxley. In a moment that would have a drawn a huge reaction had there been a live crowd in attendance, Allin returned attacking Brian Cage with a custom skateboard.
It makes sense that coming off this angle Darby will set his sights on revenge and target Cage going forward. This could lead to a match for Cage's FTW championship. Should Darby win that match it would be fitting of that title’s legacy given Darby's daredevil nature.
#1 The Return of The Cleaner
It was recently reported that AEW has planned all along to build Kenny Omega up to be a top star from year 2 onwards. This would explain his booking in the company thus far. When AEW was launched, there were only a handful signings that had the same level of excitement when it was confirmed that Omega was joining the company.
Long suspected to be joining the company due to his friendship with The Elite, fans expected huge things from the top New Japan star.
However, instead of getting his classic 45-minute plus matches, Omega has mostly worked to put over the likes of Joey Janela.
Instead of competing for the AEW World Title, Omega has spent the majority of his time in the tag team division. His matches have been excellent, but fans of his Japanese career has not been great thus far.
This may be set to change however as reports and rumors have recently been circulating that Omega is due to bring back his moniker of The Cleaner. If true we would see an angry and more focused version of Omega who could easily climb the ranks to the main event of AEW.
We may have seen the first glimpse of this character in the upstart promotion. Following his match against Jurassic Express, Kenny Omega attacked Marko Stunt.
Once The Young Bucks had separated Omega from the diminutive Stunt, the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion could be seen smirking to himself in the corner. This may be an indication that Omega is soon going to turn heel possibly as a result of his own frustration with how the first year of his AEW career has gone. If this is the case it won't be long until we have a feud between Moxley and Omega which is sure to steal the show.
