Folks, the winds of change are blowing through All Elite Wrestling, and let me tell you, it’s a beautiful, tremendous thing. After that absolutely not scripted chaos of All In London, which was totally great, absolutely nothing suspicious about a wrestling show drawing 80,000 people without at least a couple of scripted elbow drops in the crowd, the company is sprinting towards another massive event. It’s like a wrestling marathon—minus the actual running, more like glistening bodies getting tossed like sacks of potatoes. Classic.
But here’s the big deal, the biggest of deals. We’re just days away from the sixth annual All Out event on September 7 in the magnificent city of Chicago (which has totally not seen enough wrestling drama to last a lifetime). And the mystery? Oh, it’s so thick, you could cut it with a kendo stick. The All Elite Wrestling Continental Champion himself, Kazuchika Okada, fresh off smacking opponents across continents and time zones, has finally decided to unveil his plans for this week’s Dynamite. And let me tell you, folks, you’re going to love it. It’s the most exciting thing since, well, the last Okada match.
That’s right—The Rainmaker will be defending his AEW Continental Championship against none other than the man with the sharpest jawline in wrestling, Kyle Fletcher of the Don Callis Family. This is not just any random Wednesday, people. This is “Oh-my-goodness-I-can’t-miss-it” television. Like a ratings bonanza, or maybe just a regular bonanza… I never miss those.
Now, how did Fletcher earn this honor, you ask? Well, buckle up, because the man fought his way here, clawing back from a defeat to Ricochet on “Dynamite” on August 28. It’s like he’s in some action movie where every loss just makes him stronger. And then, just when people started to think he was more hype than substance, boom! He smashes Tomohiro Ishii on “Collision” in the kind of fight where even the steel chairs were like, “Please, stop!” Impressive stuff, folks. Fletcher is coming in hot, like a toaster strudel straight out of the oven—dangerous and likely to leave a mark.
And speaking of leaving marks, Okada’s got a bit of history going for him, too. This is his fourth defense of the title since snatching it from Eddie Kingston back in March. Four defenses might not sound like much, but in wrestling, that’s like 100 years in regular time. He’s already dispatched PAC, Dax Harwood, and had a 60-minute marathon against Claudio Castagnoli that felt more epic than a Lord of the Rings extended edition. Now, he’s poised to add Fletcher’s name to his list of casualties—unless Fletcher has something to say about it. Spoiler: He probably won’t.
Oh, but don’t think this is the only dish in AEW’s buffet of brawls. Wednesday’s show is shaping up to be a good old-fashioned smorgasbord. Mariah May, who looks like she was genetically engineered to hold a title, will defend her AEW Women’s World Championship against Nyla Rose. And believe me, Nyla isn’t going to be sending flowers to that match. She’s bringing everything—chairs, fists, probably a sandwich. Who knows with Nyla?
And in a Trios match that’s so stacked it might need a chiropractor, we’ve got AEW International Champion Will Ospreay teaming up with Kyle O’Reilly and Orange Cassidy. Yes, you read that right—Orange Cassidy is getting serious. Maybe. They’ll be facing AEW World Trios Champions PAC, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta. It’s like a video game where someone turned the “chaos” dial all the way up and then broke it off.
Folks, you don’t want to miss this. In fact, I’d say it’s unmissable, but then again, you do you. Just don’t come crying to me when you’re stuck watching clips on Twitter and all your friends are talking about Okada turning Fletcher into a human pretzel. You’ve been warned.