AEW’s long-awaited return to PPV is happening tonight and the headline bout sees Jon Moxley defend his AEW World Championship against the Dark Order’s Brodi Lee. For weeks Lee has beaten and taunted Moxley, going as far as to steal his title belt. Tonight Moxley seeks vengeance but he has a big task in front of him.
The other big match tonight is the unique Stadium Stampede between The Inner Circle and The Elite. The match will feature a ring in the middle of a football field, and see both teams battle it out all over the empty Daily’s Place arena. This should be a blast.
One member of The Elite who won’t be in that match though, is Cody. Tonight the American Nightmare will face his most difficult challenge in AEW so far: Lance Archer. These two are set to duke it out to become the inaugural AEW TNT Champion. Both men have a lot to lose and even more to gain.
Other matches tonight include MJF Vs. Jungle Boy, a Casino Ladder Match for an AEW World Championship opportunity, Nyla Rose Vs Hikaru Shida for the AEW Women’s Championship, Penelope Ford Vs. Kris Statlander, Dustin Rhodes Vs. Shawn Spears, and Private Party Vs. Best Friends to determine the number one contenders.
And that’s the preview for the PPV. It all begins at 7 PM EST, and we’ll have play-by-play coverage right here. Enjoy the show!
THE BUY-IN
Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, and Tazz welcome us to The Buy-In, and run down the card for tonight’s show.
We see Jake Roberts and Lance Archer earlier today, and Archer is chopping wood to prepare for his match. Roberts asks him if he wants to do something bad tonight and Archer starts smashing a toilet.
BEST FRIENDS VS. PRIVATE PARTY
We start the match with Chuck Taylor and Isiah Kassidy, and they go through the motions of mat wrestling. Trent and Marq Quen tag in and the latter counters an Irish whip/drop-down to hit a standing moonsault. Quen goes to the apron but Trent brings him back in with a bridging fisherman suplex for a one count.
Taylor tags in and teams with Trent to hit a double-team elbow drop. Kassidy runs in and drops both Best Friends with an assisted sliced bread. Trent chops Kassidy, then hits a back suplex. Kassidy slams Trent and tags Quen, who takes Trent’s headband. Trent gets mad and throws hands but Quen knocks him from the ring.
Tag made to Kassidy and he goes out to throw Trent into the guard rail, but he bounces right back with a spear. Quen dives over the ropes with a suicide dive to Trent, then sends him back inside and tags himself off Kassidy. Trent and Chuck team to hit a double team superplex. Chuck tags in and beats Quen in the corner before hitting a suplex for a two-count.
Quen counters a tornado DDT and drops Trent with a dropkick, then tags Kassidy. Isiah comes in hot, dropping Trent, then flipping over the ropes onto Chucky T. Kassidy stops to pose, then gets back inside and hits Trent with a sliced bread variation. Tag to Quen and they hit a double-team flurry for a near-fall.
Trent hits both of them with back suplexes and tags Chuck. Taylor dodges Kassidy and throws him overhead onto Quen, then he and Trent hit Soul Food to Quen. A brief hug allows Private Party to come back and hit a double-team shooting star press. A few disjointed sequences and poor timing leads to Private Party hitting G9 on Trent, followed by a shooting star but Chuck saves Trent.
Taylor hits a piledriver to Quen on the floor, then a superkick to Kassidy. Inside the ring, Trent hits a superkick to Quen for a near-fall. Private Party come back to hit a super sloppy top rope hurricanrana but Trent counters into a roll-up for a near-fall. Best Friends hit Storm Zero for the win.
WINNERS: BEST FRIENDS
Best Friends are now number one contenders to Kenny Omega and Hangman Page’s Tag Team Championships.
Tony Schiavone interviews Arn Anderson backstage and asks him about Lance Archer. Arn says smashing a toilet didn’t prove anything to him. Arn says he could spinebuster Jake, Jake could DDT him, or maybe Mike Tyson will knock either of them out. Thing could get hairy, but it will be decided in the ring. Arn says Lance might be the clear favourite on paper but you’d be forgetting about guts and tenacity. Anderson says Cody will start his own legacy tonight.
The first match will be the Casino Ladder Match, and we see short promos from each man in the match, staking their claim as to why they’re going to win.
CASINO LADDER MATCH
SCORPIO SKY VS. FRANKIE KAZARIAN VS. KIP SABIAN VS. DARBY ALLIN VS. ORANGE CASSIDY VS. LUCHASAURAS VS. COLT CABANA VS. JOEY JANELA VS. BRIAN CAGE
Everyone will enter this match one at a time, so we start off with partners Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky. They circle each other for a minute, then head out and grab ladders, but then drop them and come back in to do some mat wrestling. Kip Sabian comes out third, accompanied by Jimmy Havoc. Sabian drops Scorpio with a Michonoku Driver and follows him out of the ring, but Kazarian counters Jimmy Havoc to hit a German suplex onto a ladder!
Kazarian starts climbing but Sabian runs in and prevents him from climbing. Sky comes back and slams Sabian, right as Darby Allin enters the match. Allin immediately ducks a lariat from Sky and hits a suicide dive to Havoc and Sabian. Darby then takes out Sky and bridges a ladder between the ring and barricade.
Kazarian hits Allin but he throws a skateboard in his face. Allin puts Kazarian on the bridged ladder, then climbs up a huge ladder with his skateboard and dives off trying to land on Frankie but nobody’s home and Allin crashes on the floor. Orange Cassidy is the next entrant and he walks over to the announce desk and asks how you win this match. Excalibur says he needs to set-up a ladder and climb it and he rolls his head in exhaustion.
Cassidy stands on a flat ladder in the ring and reaches up but is nowhere close. A few wrestlers run in but he sidesteps them and they fly out of the ring. Cassidy tries to set a ladder up but can’t and the timer counts down to Colt Cabana.
Cabana joins Cassidy in the ring and feigns helping him, then knocks him from the ring. Cabana starts climbing but he gets ripped down. SCU take control of the match and beat OC to the floor. Joey Janela is out next and he runs right with a dive off the stage onto SCU, then dives over the barricade onto Sabian. Back in the ring and Janela attacks with a chair until Sabian knocks him from the ring.
Luchasauras is next and he makes his presence known with kicks and clears the ring, then powerbombs Kip over the ropes onto everyone on the floor. Kazarian sneaks in and tries to lift a ladder but Luchasauras chokeslams him onto the ladder! Allin finally returns and he hits Luchasauras with a Code Red from the top rope. Allin starts setting-up a ladder in the ring but the final entrant is out.
Brian Cage, the mystery participant, comes out with Tazz and snaps a ladder in half. Cage comes down and hits Darby with a spinning F5, then throws him into the buckles and to the floor. Cage slams Sabian, then sets up a ladder before tossing Scorpio into the corner and hitting an enziguiri, followed by a release German suplex. Janela comes back but gets hit with a suplex, then Kazarian tries to sneak up the ladder but Cage hits him with a wheelbarrow suplex.
Cage starts climbing the ladder and every man in the match comes in to grab his legs and pull him down. They team-up to beat Cage down and SCU hit him with a ladder, then they take him outside and bury him under ladders and a giant poker chip. Cabana gets cracked with a ladder in the ring, then put in the corner with a ladder in front of him, and Kip Sabian hits Coast-to-Coast. Sabian tries to climb the ladder but Kazarian stops him, then Cassidy comes in and slams Kazarian.
Sabian and Cassidy brawl atop the ladder and Penelope Ford comes out to the stage. Sabian gives Cassidy the finger but he bends it, then punches him off and onto a ladder below. Ford runs down and climbs up to fight Cassidy but he knocks her off onto Sabian. Jimmy Havoc comes back and attacks Cassidy until Trent and Chuck Taylor run out to help.
Luchasauras comes in and tips the ladder over, then wants to fight Cassidy. OC tries for a chokeslam on the dinosaur but can’t lift him. Marko Stunt comes out with a tiny ladder and sets it up, then uses it to help him chokeslam Cassidy. Stunt hits a suicide dive to a bunch of people on the floor, and Luchasauras gets dropped by Kazarian. Janela grabs the tiny ladder and hits Cassidy with it, then takes him to the apron and jumps off with Cassidy for a rolling death valley driver onto the poker chip lying on Brian Cage!
Scorpio Sky and Kazarian climb the ladder and brawl atop it but Luchasauras tips the ladder over, then he starts climbing it. Brian Cage reappears and comes face-to-face with Luchasauras. They go back and forth but Cage counters a chokeslam and hits a flying knee, followed by a powerbomb onto a ladder! Brian Cage starts climbing but in comes Darby, so Cage goes after him and turns him inside out with a lariat.
Cage hits a Michonoku Driver and out comes Tazz. Cage follows instructions and puts Darby on a ladder across the top rope, then Cage lifts them above his head and tosses them to the floor. Cage climbs up and wins.
WINNER : BRIAN CAGE
Brian Cage has an opportunity for the AEW World Championship. Tazz yells into the camera that the bodies are going to keep dropping. Cage poses on the ramp with the poker chip.
MJF W/WARDLOW VS. JUNGLE BOY
The match gets underway and there’s a feeling-out process, with MJF taunting Jungle Boy and grabbing hit crotch. Jungle Boy flips over MJF and does the same back, then knocks him from the ring. MJF comes back in and they trade pinfall attempts until JB gets MJF in a body scissors.
MJF and JB end-up locked-together and upside down, then start trading slaps to the face – a spot copied right from Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza in WWE a few months back. MJF feigns a knee injury, then cheap-shots Jungle Boy. MJF takes a side headlock but JB comes back with hits a crossbody, but MJF drills him with an elbow.
Jungle Boy attempts a poisonrana but MJF counters and hits a backbreaker for a two-count. MJF slows the pace of the match and attacks Jungle Boy in the corner with chops and trash talk. JB starts firing back with chops of his own, including a rolling double chop. MJF sends him to the outside and slaps him in the face, then takes his time gloating, allowing Jungle Boy to hit two suicide dives and a tope.
Jungle Boy catches MJF with a tornado DDT but MJF gets his foot on the bottom rope. MJF and JB trade stiff chops to the chest but MJF punches him, and hits the ropes but JB lands a superkick. Jungle Boy hits a Canadian Destroyer but MJF immediately hits a knee to the face. He goes for the cover but JB gets him in a crossface. MJF bites the hand to get out and he hits a modified Tombstone for a near-fall.
The action spills to the apron and Jungle Boy hits a poisonrana, seemingly spiking MJF. JB gets him back in the ring and goes up top but MJF shoves the referee into the ropes to crotch JB. MJF climbs up top with Jungle Boy but gets caught with an avalanche Liger Bomb for a near-fall. MJF looks for Salt of the Earth but JB fights it and rolls him up for two. They exchange pinfall attempts until MJF wins.
WINNER: MJF
It’s title inauguration time! “Iron” Mike Tyson comes out holding the new TNT Championship, and it’s a red belt with silver plates but apparently that’s only temporary. Lance Archer comes out and, as always, beats some random dude on his way to the ring.
TNT CHAMPIONSHIP
LANCE ARCHER W/JAKE ROBERTS VS. CODY W/ARN ANDERSON
The bell rings and Archer instantly hits The Blackout but Cody rolls to the outside. Archer gets Cody back inside and goes for the claw but Cody counters into an armbar. Archer kicks him in the face to break free, then Cody chops him in the chest but Lance no-sells it. Cody pulls his hair and hits a springboard but Archer hits him in mid-air with a shoulder.
Archer leaves the ring and starts removing the padding on the floor but Cody comes back with a suicide dive and fighting him through the crowd. Cody gets on a railing but Archer grabs him and throws him over the railing onto the floor at ringside. Archer gets Cody in the ring but runs into a boot, only to hit a big lariat.
Archer walks the top rope and hits a moonsault for a two-count. Archer chops Cody and slaps him in the corner. Cody counters a suplex and hits one of his own. Archer comes right back with an overhead suplex, then removes the top turnbuckle. Cody sends him into the exposed buckle, then beats him down. Cody leaves the ring and drags Archer around the ring post and contorts him.
Cody gets back inside but Archer lifts him up for a military press and tosses him over the ropes to the floor. Lance goes out and stands on Cody’s chest and neck, then puts him back in the ring. Cody takes a headlock and punches Archer, but the big man breaks free and hits an STO. Archer lands a spinning splash in the corner for a two-count.
The action spills to the floor again, and Lance whips Cody into the ring post. Lance knocks Cody down and talks trash, manhandling him. Cody counters a pin to apply the LeBell Lock but Jake Roberts gets on the apron and distracts him. Cody counters a back suplex and hits Archer with a DDT, then stares at Roberts, who gets mad and tries to come inside. A minute later, Archer hits Cody with a spinebuster and stares at Anderson.
Cody hits the springboard cutter and scores a big one count. Cody gets fired-up and lands some Dusty jabs and the bionic elbow, followed by a Final Reckoning. Cody signals for the end and grabs Archer for the CrossRhodes but Lance kicks out. Cody, playing on rumours, hits a Stinger Splash, but Archer comes right back with a chokeslam for a near-fall. Archer gets the claw and slams Cody’s head a few times but then he falls over himself.
Archer goes up top and walks the rope again and gets to the other side but Arn Anderson crotches him, then Cody hits an avalanche reverse suplex and almost spiked Archer. Another referee comes out and says Anderson interfered, so the referee evicts him – that’s hilarious considering AEW’s referees barely ever follow rules. Anderson and Jake are sent to the back, and Archer hits Cody with a release German suplex.
Roberts comes back out with the snake but Mike Tyson gets in his face and takes his shirt off. Roberts backs off and Tyson stares down Archer. Cody counters The Blackout and hits two CrossRhodes for the win!
WINNER AND FIRST TNT CHAMPION: CODY
Tyson comes into the ring and presents Cody with the TNT Championship, They pose together, then Tyson leaves and Cody celebrates alone.
A doctor gives an update on Britt Baker, and says that she has suffered a series of significant injuries to her knee and is out of action for a while. He couldn’t give a time frame however, as she wants to do that herself on Dynamite this week.
PENELOPE FORD W/KIP SABIAN VS. KRIS STATLANDER
This match begins with a lock-up and Statlander taking Ford down into a headlock. Statlander controls Ford and bests her at every turn, then does a cartwheel and pokes her on the forehead. Ford rolls from the ring to regroup with Sabian.
Ford uses a distraction to DDT Statlander as she’s getting back in the ring. Ford kicks Kris against the ropes, then hits a snapmare and a kick to the back. Ford goes to a headlock but Statlander quickly breaks free and forearms her out of the ring. Statlander takes out both Sabian and Ford with a suicide dive. Statlander gets Ford back inside and jumps off the top rope but eats a boot.
Ford hits a headkick for a near-fall. Statlander dodges Ford and hits a German suplex, followed by a running knee in the corner. Statlander hits a Michonoku Driver for a near-fall. Ford catches Kris with a reverse DDT and scores a two-count. Ford hits a lame Stunner and Statlander fires back with a lariat. Statlander puts Ford on the top rope but gets kicked back and hit with a sloppy hurricanrana – wouldn’t be a Statlander match without a botch. Ford attempts a handspring elbow but gets caught with the Big Bang Theory.
WINNER: KRIS STATLANDER
Shawn Spears comes out in a suit, dancing, and says he looks good. He makes fun of Dustin Rhodes and says he won’t be here. Rhodes’ music hits and Spears looks stunner but then smiles and says he’s sorry, he couldn’t help himself. Spears instructs the referee to ring the bell and count Rhodes out. Of course, Dustin does appear, behind Spears.
SHAWN SPEARS VS. DUSTIN RHODES
Rhodes unloads on Spears, and rips his jacket off. Spears fires back with right hands and chops Dustin in the corner. Rhodes then pulls Spears’ shirt over his head and throws it. Dustin stomps a mudhole in Spears in the corner. Spears comes back with a clothesline, then takes his belt off and wraps it around his first.
Dustin counters Spears with a powerslam, then rips his trousers off and Spears is wearing a garter. Rhodes pulls Spears’ boxers down and spanks him, then hits a Manhattan drop and clotheslines him over the ropes. Spears finds himself and comes back inside for Rhodes to hit a Final Reckoning and score the pinfall.
WINNER: DUSTIN RHODES
We see a memorial graphic for 22 year-old Hana Kimura, the Japanese wrestler who took her own life yesterday. Earlier tonight we saw one for Shad Gaspard, the former WWE Superstar who tragically drowned earlier this week.
AEW WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP
NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH
(C) NYLA ROSE VS. HIKARU SHIDA
The bell rings and Nyla is holding a Kendo stick but Shida kicks her until she drops it. Shida then hits her with the Kendo stick but Rose rips it from her and returns the favour. Rose hits a body slam for a one-count.
Shida hits a running knee to the face of the Champion, then drags her under the bottom rope and hits another running knee. Rose whips Shida into the barricade, then holds her foot on her throat. Shida starts to fight back as Rose pulls a table from under the ring, but Rose then lifts her and throws her over the railing through a poker table.
Rose hits Shida with a chair, then dumps her over the barricade again. Rose slams Shida and lands on her with a splash for a two-count. Shida makes a comeback but gets knocked from the ring. Shida tosses Rose over the barricade and tries to suplex her onto the poker chip but can’t lift her, so hits a hip toss instead. Shida hits a running knee into a standing poker chip.
Shida gets a hold of her Kendo stick and hits Rose in the arm with it, then sends her back into the ring. Shida beats Rose with the Kendo, then hits a brainbuster, followed by a running knee for a near-fall. Shida lands some hands but runs into a powerslam. Rose dumps Shida on the top rope and hits a flying knee. Rose then brings a table inside and props it in the corner. She drops Shida with a lariat, then lifts her for a powerbomb through the table for a near-fall!
Nyla goes up top but Shida throws a Kendo stick at her, then goes up and hits an avalanche Falcon arrow for a near-fall. Shida looks for a running knee but Rose hits her with the Kendo. Shida no-sells it and hits the running knee for a near-fall. Shida hits Rose with a Kendo stick in the face, followed by another running knee and wins!
WINNER AND NEW AEW WOMEN’S CHAMPION: HIKARU SHIDA
It’s main event time and Brodi Lee comes out with the AEW Championship. Mox is out next and they’re separated by a line of security in the ring.
AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
(C) JON MOXLEY VS. BRODI LEE
The first of our “two main events” gets underway and Moxley rushes Lee in the corner, but gets turned around and pounded. Moxley knocks Lee to the outside and hits a suicide dive. Lee hits the Champion with a suplex on the floor.
Lee gets Moxley back inside and hits a tope, followed by two suplexes. Moxley goes up top but gets caught and thrown from the ring. Lee hits a suicide dive that sends Moxley through the guard rail. They exchange shots around the crowd area and Lee slams Moxley into the steel barricade of the amphitheatre. Lee hits Moxley with a pumphandle suplex onto the guard rail.
Back in the ring, they exchange some stiff shots but Lee hits another back suplex. Moxley hits a lariat, followed by a piledriver for a near-fall. Moxley moves the steel steps over to beside the guard rail but runs into a dropkick from Brodi. Lee climbs the steel steps with Moxley and looks to powerbomb him through a poker table but Moxley flips him through it!
Jon puts Lee in the ring and goes up top but Brodi meets him there and hits a superplex. Moxley sends Lee to the outside, then jumps at him from the apron but gets caught and hit with a half-nelson suplex into some giant poker cards. Lee then slams Moxley onto the poker card that depicts their faces. Lee hits a powerbomb for a near-fall.
Both men sit in opposite corners, then come together to brawl. Moxley is thrown onto the ramp and Lee follows him to the stage. Moxley looks for a Paradigm Shift but Lee hits him with a poker chip. Moxley counters Lee and hits a Paradigm Shift off some steps through the ramp! Officials come out to check on them and Moxley emerges and rolls into the ring.
Brodi Lee pulls himself out of the hole and he’s bleeding. He slowly gets into the ring and Jon hits a Paradigm Shift but Lee kicks out at one! Moxley goes wild and unloads a flurry of forearms, bites, and everything, then lifts Lee for an elevated Paradigm Shift but again Brodi kicks out. Moxley takes a sleeper and Lee passes out.
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