It's Wednesday, January 25, 2023, and you know what that means!
It's time to break down tonight's AEW Dynamite on TBS.
AEW Dynamite looks to build off of the successful start to the year thus far. Tonight, the stars of All Elite Wrestling head to Lexington, Kentucky, with momentum and purpose.
Tonight's episode will feature Bryan Danielson against Brian Cage, Darby Allin defending his TNT Championship, Family Therapy, a match dedicated to the memory of Jay Briscoe, and more.
Here's everything you need to know before tonight's AEW Dynamite on TBS.
Darby Defends Against Buddy Matthews
Darby Allin is going back into his past to prove himself as one of the greatest AEW TNT Champions of all time. Tonight, Darby takes on Buddy Matthews of the House of Black. Darby has a long history with the dark faction, but now he is giving Matthews a chance to do something he hasn't in quite some time, hold singles gold in a major promotion.
Darby is fresh off of defenses against Mike Bennett and KUSHIDA. As he continues to light up every arena he enters, one wonders if he is burning the belt at both ends and when he will reach a point of exhaustion. Giving up is not in Darby's vocabulary but according to Malakai Black, "The House Always Win."
Something's got to give when the championship is at stake tonight.
The American Dragon vs. The Machine
Bryan Danielson must win every match between now and February 8 in order to make sure he faces MJF for the AEW World Championship in an hour-long Iron Man bout at AEW Revolution.
With two more matches to go, Danielson will wrestle Brian Cage tonight. Cage is currently one-third of the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions. With Prince Nana in his corner, Brian fights for much more than bragging rights. Maxwell Jacob Friedman approached Cage last week and offered him an undisclosed amount of money to break the arm of "The American Dragon."
Danielson has already defeated Bandido and Konsuke Takeshita, the latter of which said he would be in the corner of Bryan Danielson from now on because he does not trust MJF.
Tonight, Danielson looks here one step closer to his goal.
Reach For The Sky
Tragically, the wrestling world lost Jay Briscoe (Jamin Pugh) in a car accident on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.
Tonight, Jay's brother, Mark, is slated to make his AEW Dynamite debut in a tribute bout dedicated to Jay, on what would have been his 39th birthday. Mark Briscoe's opponent tonight will be one of his brother's most significant rivals in Ring of Honor, Jay Lethal.
Fans can read Tony Khan's comments about the upcoming tribute match at this link.
A donation page was set up on Thursday morning for the Pugh family. Fans can donate by clicking here. AEW released a memorial shirt on Monday with 100% of the proceeds going to the Pugh family.
Fans can read the latest update on Jay's daughters Gracie & Jayleigh, who were in the vehicle with him at the time of the accident, by clicking here.
JungleHOOK Rides Again
Following "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry's victory over Ethan Page on the January 20 episode of AEW Rampage, thanks in small part to inadvertent help from Matt Hardy, Ethan challenged Perry to team up with HOOK one more time to face himself and Matt Hardy.
Page feels as though Hardy owes him one after his actions on Friday night. Ethan and Matt have been very successful tag team wrestlers in the past, and it could be argued that this is the coming together of a dream team, but if they're not getting along JungleHOOK may pick up their second Victory as a team.
Women's Triple Threat Action
As things in the women's division continue to heat up in All Elite Wrestling, tonight's episode of dynamite will present a unique contest with three of the top women in the company trying to move up the ranks while also standing firm in their personal beliefs.
Willow Nightingale wrestled Toni Storm last week, and during that contest, Storm and Saraya appeared to embrace a villainous persona. Nightingale is, of course, as pure and wholesome as ever. Tonight, Ruby Soho looks to defend her friend's honor.
In the middle of all of this, Dr. Britt Baker finds herself in a neutral position. While she is not necessarily looking to become best friends with Ruby, Baker is absolutely looking to defend the women's division from Toni and Saraya, as they appear to have come to believe that just because they have been elsewhere, they are automatically providing the most important impact as the women's division progresses in AEW.
Tonight, one woman will come out on top and continue to progress her career while also making a statement about their conviction.
Family Therapy
The saga between The Acclaimed & The Gunns appears to be never-ending. However, Billy Gunn is helping to find a solution tonight as all five sit down in Family Therapy. At one point, The Acclaimed, albeit begrudgingly, formed a successful union with The Gunns.
Billy Gunn is very happy where he is right now alongside The Acclaimed as The Acclaimed's "Daddy Ass," but he does not want to allow the tension between himself and his own children, Austin and Colten, to continue for another week.
It is unknown who will be providing therapy for this quintet at this time, nor is it known if Uncle Bart Gunn will be taking part in any therapy proceedings.
Regardless, whatever happens, it could prove to be very memorable
Chris Jericho Looks To Finally Defeat Daniel Garcia And Action Andretti
Tonight, Chris Jericho will team up with Sammy Guevara and take on Action Andretti and Ricky Starks. Le Sex Gods reunite in an effort to take out these common enemies that have made sure that Chris Jericho starts out his 2023 in a very bad mood.
Action Andretti defeated Chris Jericho at Winter is Coming 2022 while Ricky Starks defeated Jericho on the first episode of AEW Dynamite of this year. Furthermore, Ricky has been able to defeat Jake Hager and Andretti has found a nice Rhythm and is putting together a string of Victories including one over Daniel Garcia.
Tonight, with his longest-tenured AEW ally by his side, Jericho looks to get his groove back.
In addition to all of that, AEW stars like Jade Cargill, Adam Cole, Wardlow, and more are all waiting for their next opportunity to bask in the spotlight. The road to AEW Revolution is entering the fast lane, and tonight, Lexington, Kentucky, will watch the next chapter in AEW unfold.
The updated card for the January 25 episode of AEW Dynamite is as follows:
AEW Dynamite (1/25)
- TNT Championship: Darby Allin (with Sting) vs. Buddy Matthews (with Julia Hart)
- Jay Briscoe Tribute Match: Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Lethal
- Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm vs. Ruby Soho
- Ethan Page & Matt Hardy vs. JungleHOOK ("Jungle Boy" Jack Perry & HOOK)
- Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Ricky Starks & Action Andretti
- Bryan Danielson vs. Brian Cage
- Family Therapy with The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens), Billy Gunn, and The Gunns (Austin & Colten Gunn)
Fightful has live coverage of AEW Dynamite every Wednesday night as it airs on TBS. We will also have a podcast breaking down all the action after the show goes off the air on our YouTube channel.