It is finally here! AEW’s first event is finally happening tonight and wrestling fans everywhere are fired up about it. I personally haven’t really kept up with a few of the wrestlers in the Indie scene, but I do know of a good deal of them. I’m interested to see how these stories will start to unfold once the TV show starts in the Fall. There will be an AEW World Championship, but I’m not sure if it will be unveiled tonight or if they will wait until the match for the new title will take place. There are 9 matches on the card with 2 of those taking place in the pre-show. I didn’t watch All-In, but from what I heard it was a great show, so I’m expecting this one to be impressive as well. This will also be a TV-14 program, which is a blast from the past. A lot of my predictions may sound pretty ignorant, so fair warning if any of you are independent wrestling fanatics.

*Predicted Winners are bolded

*Match card is likely not in exact order

- Men’s Singles Match

Kip Sabianvs. Sammy Guevara

I really don’t know who will win this match, but it should be a really exciting match. These two wrestlers are aerial specialists and the cruiserweights should put on a show. When Guevara signed, he was the AAA World Cruiserweight Champion in the Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide promotion, but does not currently hold the title. Guevara has an AEW t-shirt and Sabian doesn’t, so mark him down for the win.

- 21-Man Casino Battle Royale

Winner: Jon Moxley

Last 4: Jon Moxley, Joey Janela, MJF, and Ace Romero

The winner I picked isn’t announced for the PPV, but I have a really good feeling he will show up. If Jon Moxley makes an appearance in the show it will be during this match and he will likely win. There are a lot of guys who could win this one, but a few stand out to me. This Battle Royal has an interesting set of rules. Every 3 minutes, 5 men will enter the ring and this will happen three times and a lucky number 21 entry will come out last. This makes me think it will be Moxley, but the winner of the match will go on to face the winner of the Omega/Jericho match for the new AEW World Championship. Some familiar names in the Battle Royal include Shawn Spears aka Tye Dillinger, Billy Gunn, Glacier, and Brian Pillman Jr. There are only a few that could be considered for a shot at the title this early and I think if Moxley doesn’t show up, it will be either MJF or Joey Janela winning this match. PAC vs. ‘Hangman’ Adam Page was cancelled in this show due to creative differences with PAC, so it doesn’t look like he will be at the show. Page said he wasn’t going to be at the show, but I wouldn’t take that seriously. It should be interesting regardless of who is in the match.

- Six-Woman Tag Team Match

Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki, and Emi Sakura vs. Hikaru Shida, Riho Abe, and Ryo Mizunami

I don’t know anything about these competitors except Aja Kong. Kong was briefly in the WWF in 1995 and 1996. She was scheduled to face Alundra Blayze for the WWF Women’s Championship, but the Women’s division was cancelled after the incident with the WWF Women’s Championship being thrown in a garbage can by Blayze/Madusa on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro. This match seems like it could be a classic case of younger talents going over and that is why I chose the team of Shida, Abe, and Mizunami to win.

- Men’s Tag Team Match

Best Friends vs. Angélico and Jack Evans

This is another contest that could go either way. There will be a ton of high-risk action in this match and I think it is one of the most underrated matches on the card. I really can’t think of an explanation for one team over another, but I thought Chuckie T and Trent Beretta were entertaining in their press conference spot. I don’t know much about these guys other than watching them on YouTube on a limited basis, but I think Best Friends take the win.

- Six-Man Tag Team Match

SoCal Uncensored vs. Strong Hearts

I expect a lot of veteran talent to put over younger talent in this show, but I think this will be an opposite case. SoCal Uncensored has Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, and Scorpio Sky and all of them appeared in WWE in some capacity and TNA. This is a very charismatic team and I think they will beat Strong Hearts tonight.

- Women’s Triple Threat Match

Kylie Rae vs. Britt Baker vs, Nyla Rose

This should be an interesting contest. I know Britt Baker and Kylie Rae are excellent talents, but I really haven’t seen much from Nyla Rose. The favorite is Britt Baker and I don’t think it is going to go any other way. When Baker isn’t wrestling, she is a dentist, which I think is awesome. She also is dating NXT superstar Adam Cole. I don’t know if this match has any future implications for a Women’s Championship, but it should be a good match.

- Men’s Tag Team Match – AAA World Tag Team Championship

The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Bros

This is the only advertised match for a title and this is showcasing the inter-promotion capabilities of AEW. In the start, AEW mentioned that wrestlers were welcome to compete in other promotions and this shows that they are open to other promotions having title defenses on their show. The Young Bucks are the current holders of the AAA World Tag Team Championship and are key contributors in the formation of AEW, but I think they drop the titles in this one. The Young Bucks interfered in one of The Lucha Bros matches with AAW and challenged them this particular match. The Lucha Bros held the AAA World Tag Team titles prior to The Young Bucks, but their reign wasn’t even a full day. I think they take the titles back and The Young Bucks work on solidifying the AEW Tag Team division afterwards.

- Men’s Singles Match

Cody vs. Dustin Rhodes

Brother vs. Brother. When this match was announced, it immediately became one that fans were invested in. Cody has gotten the ball rolling with AEW and after a minor knee surgery, he is ready to get back into action. Dustin Rhodes, formerly Goldust, asked for his release from WWE a couple months ago and now is being featured in one of the biggest matches on AEW’s premiere show. This could be Dustin Rhodes’ retirement match, but nothing has been confirmed yet. He is 50 years old and his brother Cody would be the most ideal opponent to put over. I can’t really see a scenario where Cody loses this match, unless there is going to be a continuation of the rivalry in the future. Cody should be considered a front-runner for the new AEW World Championship after the champ is decided. This may be Match of the Night based on storytelling alone, so I’m interested in this contest.

- Men’s Singles Match

Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho

Without a doubt, this is the match that all wrestling fans are waiting for. Jericho mentioned a while back that he had unfinished business with Kenny Omega and this match will get Jericho closer to that result. I don’t think Jericho wins, but only because he doesn’t really have anything to gain from winning. Kenny Omega is the clear-cut favorite to become the new AEW World Champion and honestly there is no better person in all of wrestling to give prestige to a new belt. I’m expecting at least a 5-star match in this contest and many fans would be disappointed if this match doesn’t exceed or at least match expectation. Jericho was a huge acquisition that was a little unexpected, but now that he is here, look for him to make a huge impact for AEW. A losing effort for him here doesn’t hurt him in the slightest, and putting over Omega could be big for the future of the company.

Yacs

* The Buy-In Pre Show starts at 7pm EST and is available for free on YouTube and B/R Live.

*The Main Show starts at 8pm EST and it can be purchased on B/R Live and basically all cable and satellite Pay-Per-View services.

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