AEW Dynamite: Bryan Danielson Defeats Dustin Rhodes to Advance in World Title Eliminator Tournament

10/23/2021 08:57 pm EDT

Bryan Danielson has defeated Dustin Rhodes to advance in AEW's World Title Eliminator Tournament in the first round on AEW Dynamite! Although Hangman Adam Page currently has the right to challenge current champion Kenny Omega at the upcoming Full Gear pay-per-view event, AEW is already looking ahead to find the next challenger for whoever ends up becoming champion after the event this November. This kicked off a huge new tournament to start to find the one who would be the next challenger, and one of the first matches in the first round was between Bryan Danielson and Dustin Rhodes. 

This is arguably one of the most anticipated matches of the eliminator tournament's early rounds as fans wanted to see how Danielson would bounce off against one of AEW's biggest veterans. As the commentary team had noted, Danielson was just much more spry and speedy. Although Dustin Rhodes had been keeping up against Danielson in terms of aggression and staying power (easily brushing off some of Danielson's brutal hits), Rhodes ultimately could not defeat Danielson as Danielson now moves onto the next round. 

The most exciting aspect about the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament overall is that it's not hard to imagine any of those involved in the matches being the next potential contender. Whether Omega or Page ends up taking the victory at the end of Full Gear, any of these future contenders would make for a fun next opponent. But there's all sorts of things that could unfold throughout the weeks as the matches continue. 

The matches will continue through episodes of AEW Rampage and AEW Dynamite over the next few weeks with the final match taking place during the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view. The rest of the Round One matches of the AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament break down as such:

• Orange Cassidy vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (with Cassidy moving onto Round 2) 
• Jox Moxley vs. Dark Order's 10
• Bryan Danielson vs. Dustin Rhodes (with Danielson moving onto Round 2)
• Lance Archer vs. Eddie Kingston

What do you think of Bryan Danielson taking the victory over Dustin Rhodes? What are his odds of winning the entire tournament? Who do you think has the best chance at becoming the next contender for the title? Let us know all of your thoughts about it and everything All Elite Wrestling in the comments!

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