An unfortunate situation appears to be developing for one of AEW’s most recognizable big men.
During AEW Dynamite: New Year’s Smash, Luchasaurus was seemingly written off television following a post-match angle tied to Ricochet’s successful National Championship defense. While the segment played out dramatically on screen, new information suggests the injury involved is very real.
According toFightful Select, Luchasaurus is dealing with a legitimate shoulder injury and is expected to be sidelined for an undetermined amount of time. As of now, there’s no word on the exact nature of the injury or whether surgery will be required, but AEW officials are reportedly preparing for him to miss some action.
The warning signs appeared even before Wednesday’s Dynamite. Luchasaurus was only briefly involved during Jurassic Express’ match on the Zero Hour portion of Worlds End, where he was helped to the back by Bishop Kaun. He later returned with his shoulder heavily taped to finish the bout, raising early concerns about his condition.
On Dynamite, Luchasaurus accompanied Jack Perry to ringside for Perry’s National Championship challenge against Ricochet. After Perry came up short, Toa Liona targeted Luchasaurus at ringside, setting the stage for a more vicious attack moments later. Liona and Kaun ambushed him on the stage, with Liona placing part of the barricade onto Luchasaurus’ shoulder and smashing it with a steel chair. Even when security intervened, the damage continued, as Liona slammed one of the guards onto the barricade, crushing Luchasaurus’ arm underneath.
The angle served as a clear on-screen explanation for Luchasaurus’ absence moving forward, but behind the scenes, it appears AEW is dealing with a genuine injury concern. There’s no official timeline yet for his return, and updates will likely depend on further medical evaluation.
For now, fans may be seeing less of Jurassic Express as a unit, while AEW waits to see how serious Luchasaurus’ injury turns out to be.
Tonight’s taped AEW Dynamite On 34th Street takes place from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, airing on TBS and HBO Max with a special 6:00 pm ET start time.
Continental Classic Blue League Match: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Orange Cassidy
Continental Classic Blue League Match: Roderick Strong vs. Mascara Dorada
MJF in action
Dynamite Diamond Ring Final: Ricochet vs. ROH World Champion Bandido
Continental Classic Gold League Match: PAC vs. Jungle Jack Perry
Maxwell Jacob Friedman is officially back, and his return has instantly changed the landscape of the AEW World Championship scene.
During this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, MJF re-emerged to cash in his Casino Gauntlet contract, inserting himself into the already high-stakes World Title match scheduled for Worlds End. The bout was originally set to feature reigning champion Samoa Joe defending against both Swerve Strickland and “Hangman” Adam Page, but MJF has now made it a four-way showdown.
Samoa Joe captured the AEW World Championship at Full Gear in November by defeating Page, aided by Hook’s involvement and Joe’s renewed alliance with The Opps. Strickland later returned to the picture, joining forces with Page as the two former rivals united against Joe and his allies. Their partnership was on full display at Dynamite: Winter Is Coming, where Page and Strickland fended off Joe’s Trios Championship partners, Katsuyori Shibata and Powerhouse Hobbs, before officially declaring their shared pursuit of the world title.
On Dynamite, Joe, Page, and Strickland met in the ring to sign the contract for their upcoming clash. While tensions were high, Page and Strickland stood shoulder to shoulder, warning Joe that he had underestimated them. Moments later, the arena went dark — and MJF’s music hit.
The former champion made his first AEW appearance in three months, having last been seen losing to Mark Briscoe in a brutal Tables n’ Tacks match at All Out in Toronto. MJF wasted no time reminding everyone why he was there, signing the Casino Gauntlet contract he earned by winning the match at All In back in July, officially adding his name to the Worlds End title bout.
MJF then addressed each of his future opponents, taking shots at Strickland with a controversial comparison and referencing his WWE past, while also making it clear that his goal was to humiliate Page and the two men he considers his biggest rivals.
There’s plenty of history between all four competitors. Page defeated MJF to retain the AEW World Championship at Forbidden Door in August, while Joe ended MJF’s first title reign at Worlds End 2023. Joe would later lose the championship to Strickland at Dynasty 2024, setting the stage for a deeply intertwined and volatile main event heading into this year’s Worlds End.
AEW will present its 3-hour ‘Holiday Bash’ special episode of AEW Dynamite & Collision tonight on TBS and HBO Max from the Co-Op Live in Manchester, England.
AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: FTR (c) vs. Bang Bang Gang (Juice Robinson & Austin Gunn)
Mercedes Mone’, Athena, Megan Bayne & Marina Shafir vs. Harley Cameron, Willow Nightingale, Toni Storm & Mina Shirakawa
$1 Million Match: The Elite vs. The Don Callis Family (Kazuchika Okada, Konosuke Takeshita & Hechicero)
AEW World Championship Three-Way Match Contract Signing For Worlds End: Samoa Joe, Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland
Continental Classic Blue League Match: Mascara Dorada vs. Orange Cassidy
Continental Classic Blue League Match: Jon Moxley vs. Roderick Strong
Continental Classic Gold League Match: Kyle Fletcher vs. PAC
AEW Dynamite: Winter Is Coming airs live tonight on TBS and HBO Max from the Gateway Center in Arena in College Park, Georgia – 10 miles south of Atlanta.
AEW World Championship Match: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Eddie Kingston
AEW Women’s World Championship Tournament Final: Babes of Wrath (Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron) vs. Timeless Love Bombs (Toni Storm & Mina Shirakawa)
Tornado Tag Match: ‘Hangman’ Adam Page & Swerve Strickland vs. Katsuyori Shibata & Powerhouse Hobbs
Continental Classic Gold League Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Jack Perry
Continental Classic Gold League Match: Kyle Fletcher vs. ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey
A bit more clarity has emerged regarding the odd finish to Shelton Benjamin’s match with “Speedball” Mike Bailey during Wednesday night’s special three-hour AEW Dynamite/Collision broadcast from Boston’s Agganis Arena.
The closing stretch left plenty of fans scratching their heads. Benjamin nailed Bailey with a sharp superkick and covered him, only for the referee to abruptly halt the count despite Bailey’s shoulders being flat on the mat. The match rolled on for a few more moments before Benjamin ultimately sealed the win with a German suplex, a knee strike, and another superkick.
Naturally, viewers wondered if Bailey might have been legitimately rocked on the first kick. However, Bryan Alvarez reported that the situation came down to nothing more than an in-ring miscommunication — and no one was hurt.
Per Alvarez, the planned finish was indeed a superkick, and Bailey sold it with a huge flip bump that looked picture-perfect. Benjamin, recognizing how strong the moment came off, called an audible on the fly to end the match right there. The issue? The referee never caught the cue and stopped the count because it didn’t match the layout they’d been given.
Alvarez emphasized that Bailey did nothing wrong and wasn’t injured in the exchange. The blame, if any, falls on the miscommunication between Benjamin and the referee. Once the count was halted, the wrestlers simply reverted to the original closing sequence.
In the end, everyone walked away fine — just another case of live TV wrestling unpredictability creating a bit of confusion in real time.
AEW Dynamite and Collision will air live tonight on TBS and HBO Max, beginning at 8:00 pm ET.
Tonight’s live 3-hour special, which is the go-home show for this Saturday’s Full Gear PPV, will take place from the Agganis Arena on the campus of Boston University in Boston, MA.
ROH Women’s Television Title Unification Match: Mercedes Mone’ vs. Red Velvet
AEW Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament Quarterfinal: Toni Storm & Mina Shirakawa vs. Riho & Alex Windsor
AEW Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament Quarterfinal: TayJay vs. Megan Bayne & Marina Shafir
The #1 Spot in the National Title Casino Gauntlet Match at Full Gear: Bobby Lashley vs. Ricochet
The #2 Spot in the National Title Casino Gauntlet Match at Full Gear: Mike Bailey vs. Shelton Benjamin
AEW World Champion Hangman Adam Page vs. Katsuyori Shibata (non-title)
Double Jeopardy Match: AEW unified Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. CMLL World Trios Champion Mascara Dorada
Wrestling News Blog 