The Road to Double Or Nothing will continue tonight as AEW Dynamite airs live on TBS from the UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
Tonight’s show will be headlined by the first matches in The Owen Hart Foundation Men’s and Women’s Tournaments. The contract signing and stipulation reveal for Wardlow vs. hometown star MJF will also take place, while FTW Champion Ricky Starks will defend his title against AEW World Tag Team Champion Jungle Boy.
* Danhausen makes in-ring debut vs. Tony Nese
* Jericho Appreciation Society victory speech
* MJF vs. Wardlow contract signing and stipulation reveal
* CM Punk vs. John Silver
* FTW Champion Ricky Starks defends against AEW World Tag Team Champion Jungle Boy
* The Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament Opening Round: Toni Storm vs. Jamie Hayter
* The Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Opening Round: Adam Cole vs. AAA & ROH World Tag Team Champion Dax Harwood
* The Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Opening Round: Jeff Hardy vs. Darby Allin
No one knows whether this year’s Money in the Bank winners will get title shots or WrestleMania main event spots.
Even though Hell in a Cell is next up on WWE’s Premium Live Event calendar, most people already have an eye on what’s next. That’s because Money in the Bank on July 2 will spark a run of three stradium shows in two months. SummerSlam on July 30, and then Clash at the Castle on September 3, the first stadium show in the UK for 30 years.
WWE began hype for Money in the Bank at WrestleMania Backlash, airing an ad featuring Cody Rhodes in Allegiant Stadium from which the show will air live. Harmless enough, except one line in the ad has had people talking ever since. Rhodes states the winners of this year’s Money in the Bank ladder matches will book spots in WrestleMania main events.
That’s very different from the title shots holding a contract usually guarantees. Some believed it to simply be a slip up that somehow managed to fall through a number of cracks. However, that same ad aired unedited on Raw the following night, and then again during NXT on Tuesday. There has still been no clarification as to whether Money in the Bank winners now earn something different, and apparently those within WWE are just as confused.
According to a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, no one backstage knows what exactly is going on regarding this year’s Money in the Bank. That includes people who would usually in the know when it comes to that sort of thing. There was also no confirmation offered up by WWE, so for now, what exactly this year’s Money in the Bank winners will get remains a mystery.
It could be argued that Money in the Bank was in need of a shake up after a few of its most recent winners, and their subsequent cash-ins, haven’t felt quite as impactful. Having them hold the briefcase until WrestleMania with no threat of them cashing in before then though, that doesn’t feel like the solution. If WWE does follow through with this idea, it does also raise the question of what will next year’s Royal Rumble winners get if those main event slots have already been taken?
The ad with Rhodes led to a lot of speculation, with many people assuming this was a mistake. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that many people within WWE were also under the belief that this year’s MITB stipulations would be the same as they have been in previous years.
It was said by some within WWE that the wording on the ad was a mistake that wasn’t caught when it aired at WrestleMania Backlash, but then WWE aired the same commercial on Monday and Tuesday.
One WWE source says McMahon has plans already in place for the top matches at WrestleMania 39, and that these plans do not include Money In the Bank winners in the top title matches. It’s still interesting that the commercial aired three times without an edit.
Last week’s show ended with Joe Gacy’s disciples carrying NXT Champion Bron Breakker away after Breakker retained in the main event. There will likely be a follow-up to that angle on tonight’s show.
The post-WrestleMania Backlash edition of WWE RAW will air live tonight from the XL Center in Hartford, CT with fallout from last night’s Premium Live Event.
WWE has not announced any matches or segments for tonight but the build to Hell In a Cell on June 5 should begin.
WrestleMania Backlash saw the reveal of Rhea Ripley as the newest disciple to WWE Hall of Famer Edge, helping him defeat AJ Styles, so it’s likely that the Judgment Day storyline will continue tonight.
A new challenger for Cody Rhodes is also being teased now that he defeated Seth Rollins in their rematch last night
An appearance by The Bloodline is possible as a follow-up to their win over RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania Backlash.
WWE announced that Charlotte Flair suffered a “fracture of the radius” during her I Quit match against Ronda Rousey at Sunday’s WrestleMania Backlash.
Following the announcement, Fightful Select reported that the injury is “very much a storyline angle” to write Flair off WWE TV. It was further noted that Flair was taking time away from the company.
Bryan Alvarez of The Wrestling Observer reports that Flair is getting married soon, and requested time off from WWE prior to Sunday’s event.
Flair recently revealed that her wedding to AEW star Andrade El Idolo is set to place this summer.
“We have a [wedding] date. It’s this summer in Mexico, I have my dress,” Flair told BT Sports’s Ariel Helwani. “I think Manny (Andrade) would be a little angry if I walked down the aisle with my title. He was like, ‘Mami, for the wedding, I do not want your hair to look like Charlotte.’ I was like, ‘what does that mean?’ Just less makeup, he likes the fresh face.”
After announcing Charlotte Flair’s injury Sunday, Kayla Braxton asked fans to check WWE’s website for regular updates regarding The Queen’s condition.
Styles goes to the top rope but now Damian Priest is walking down the entrance ramp. Priest points out he’s not yet at ringside but Finn Balor is right behind and the two brawl into the ring and back out to ringside.
In the confusion, a masked individual pulls Styles off the top rope. Edge locks on the cross face. Edge turns it into a sleeper hold on the mat and the referee calls for the bell.
The masked individual steps into the ring and kneels before Edge before unmasking to reveal it’s Rhea Ripley, sporting a darker hair color.
“I QUIT” MATCH FOR THE WWE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Ronda Rousey defeated Charlotte Flair (c) (**TITLE CHANGE**)
Madcap Moss defeated Happy Corbin
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns & SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) defeated Drew McIntyre & Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Riddle)
Gisele Shaw defeated Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Madison Rayne
Chris Sabin defeated Steve Maclin
AAA Reina de Reinas Title Match Taya Valkyrie (c) defeated Deonna Purrazzo
Deonna Purrazzo attacks Taya after the match. The lights go out in the arena. Mia Yim appears and gets in the face of The Virtuosa. Deonna immediately leaves the ring. Purrazzo returns to try and jump Mia Yim, but Deonna escapes.
Impact X-Division Title Match Ace Austin (c) defeated Trey Miguel
Honor No More (Eddie Edwards, Kenny King, Vincent, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett) defeated The Bullet Club (Jay White, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, El Phantasmo, Chris Bey)
Impact Knockouts World Title Match Tasha Steelz (c) defeated Havok
Impact World Tag Team Titles Match The Briscoes defeated Violent By Design (c) to become New IMPACT World Tag Team Champions
Moose makes his way out to the ring. Moose says he has done a lot of terrible things the last few months and he has no remorse because it made him the greatest champion. Moose says IMPACT and the fans repaid him with disrespect. Moose says IMPACT only gave him five days to prepare for his rematch after he lost his World Championship. Moose says Josh Alexander won’t be defending the World Title now because he’s hijacking the show. The lights go out and Sami Callihan makes his return with a baseball bat in hand. Sami hits him with the bat and hits a Cactus Driver. Callihan grabs the mic and says he’s back.
“I QUIT” MATCH FOR THE WWE SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair (c)
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns & SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) vs. Drew McIntyre & RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Riddle)
Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins
AJ Styles vs. Edge Damian Priest is banned from ringside.
The 2022 Impact Under Siege event will take place this coming Saturday, May 7 from the Promowest Pavilion at OVATION in Newport, Kentucky. The thirty-minute Countdown To Under Siege pre-show will air live and for free at 7:30pm ET via Impact Plus and YouTube. The main card will then air at 8pm ET via Impact Plus and YouTube for Ultimate Insiders. It should also be available on FITE.
CARD
Impact World Title Match Tomohiro Ishii vs. Josh Alexander (c)
Impact Knockouts World Title Match Havok vs. Tasha Steelz (c)
Impact World Tag Team Titles Match The Briscoes vs. Violent By Design (c)
AAA Reina de Reinas Title Match Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie (c)
Impact X-Division Title Match Ace Austin (c) vs. Trey Miguel
The Bullet Club (Jay White, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, El Phantasmo, Chris Bey) vs. Honor No More (Eddie Edwards, Kenny King, Vincent, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett)
Chris Sabin vs. Steve Maclin
Alex Shelley vs. Mike Bailey
Countdown To Under Siege Pre-show Match Gisele Shaw vs. Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Madison Rayne
Countdown To Under Siege Pre-show Match Rich Swann vs. Laredo Kid
Thursday night during IMPACT a video package aired promoting EGV that teased a appearance on 5/7/2022. The person behind the EVG videos is rumored to be Sami Callihan.
The WrestleMania Backlash go-home edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX will air live tonight from the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY.
It’s interesting to note that WWE has apparently pulled the Sheamus and Ridge Holland vs. The New Day Tables Match from tonight’s show. The match disappeared from the WWE website listing some time between Tuesday night and Thursday morning, and the old URL for the match preview now just says “Access Denied” when you try to access it.
The only match listed for tonight’s show is WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks vs. Shayna Baszler. This is to build to next Friday’s show with Banks and Naomi defending against Baszler and Natalya.
RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro are scheduled to appear tonight for the final WrestleMania Backlash build as they team with Drew McIntyre to face The Bloodline in six-man action on Sunday.
