Welcome back to my series where I speculate into the future for AEW’s awesome storylines. If you’re interested in seeing my first ever Game Over Guesses, be my guest. Those predictions are ROUGH and I’m not proud of it. Can’t hide from it though! Hopefully, I do better this time!
These are my top five favorite stories in AEW as of this moment and where I believe them to be going, in no specific order whatsoever.
Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Jericho BLOOD FEUD
Eddie Kingston and Chris Jericho have been at odds for a long time. They originally battled at Revolution in March in a battle of respect, except the deplorable Jericho had no honor when he refused to shake Eddie’s hand. The former AEW Champion also dissolved the Inner Circle to create the Jericho Appreciation Society. This led Eddie Kingston down a path of insanity where he failed to ignite Jericho ablaze with gasoline and drain him of blood. Kingston seems not to be satisfied until Jericho is beaten within an inch of his life. He’d probably be okay with ending Jericho’s life, at this point. This is a true Blood feud in every sense of the term.
This feud has many ups and downs with multiple different AEW superstars. Kingston has needed help from the Blackpool Combat Club, Santana and Ortiz, Ruby Soho, and former bitter enemy turned necessary friend, Claudio Castagnoli. Jericho formed his Appreciation Society with 2point0, Daniel Garcia, and former Inner Circle member Jake Hager. He even returned estranged Inner Circle member Sammy Guevara and girlfriend Tay Conti into Society members. This six-month feud has to be coming to an inevitable conclusion, right?
We’ve gone through Anarchy in the Arena, Blood and Guts, and now ‘Barbed Wire Everywhere’ is happening this week on Dynamite. What more can these two do to each other!?
Prediction: Eddie Kingston FINALLY gets his retribution on Jericho after spending six months longing for it. Such a big win has to take Kingston somewhere, right?! A victory over massive star Jericho leads Kingston down a path towards his former rival turned best friend, Jon Moxley. With Moxley’s group, Blackpool Combat Club, consisting of two bitter enemies of Kingston (Danielson and Claudio), Moxley will have to choose friend or faction.
Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland…are good now?
Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland, Swerve in Our Glory, won an amazing triple threat bout last week on Dynamite. The tag team of former singles stars have been a diamond in the rough for an already stacked AEW Tag division. Their offense is innovative, Swerve is an athletic machine, and Keith Lee is a monster. However, everyone remembers what happened one month ago during the Casino Battle Royale where Swerve betrayed Keith for his shot at the interim AEW Title.
It took a little while, but Keith seemingly forgave Swerve on their road to winning that precious prize. Yes, every match has had some form of miscommunication, but their singles acumen and talent have helped them overcome to ascend the mountain. Now that they’re on the top, how long will their reign be? Who takes those belts?
Prediction: Swerve and Lee winning those belts still had a tease during the match’s latter stages. Strickland almost betrayed his partner again, but rose above and embraced his partner to win. AEW doesn’t hotshot titles, TNT title notwithstanding, but I believe Swerve in Our Glory hold those titles for a little while. They’ll win some title defenses in fun matches and lose those belts within the next month or two. Full Gear feels too far away, but All Out might be a little too close. I’m guessing it happens at Grand Slam. Against whom?
Remember the other team-up of singles stars who caught fire so hot they won the AEW Tag Team Titles? Kenny and Hangman were on top of the world until they came face to face with FTR, who drove a wedge so deep between the champs that Hangman was kicked out of the Elite. The Top Guys saw the cracks in the foundation of Hangman and Kenny, which led to them beating them for the titles. I can see a similar situation this time too. FTR could see an opportunity to be the catalyst for the inevitable Swerve and Keith Lee break up and get their Tag Team titles back. FTR wins at the big Arthur Ashe event.
Christian Cage, Luchasaurus, and the returning Jungle Boy
This one could be considered low-hanging fruit and obvious, but that makes no difference for why it’s a favorite story of mine. Christian Cage has been the prick of all pricks since his heel turn and subsequent destruction of Jungle Boy, which makes every Cage segment must watch. What asinine thing will he say or do next!?
Jungle Boy has been out of action since Cage nailed him with a conchairto exactly one month ago. When he comes back is anyone’s guess, but I’d assume it’s well before All Out. There are a lot of stories to unpack here. How did Christian Cage persuade Luchasaurus to join him and why? What does Jungle Boy have to say about this? We know Christian has said some truly nasty things about Jungle Boy and his family, but is ‘riding coattails’ the sole reason Cage turned on him? I cannot wait to see how this one plays out. Jungle Boy is returning with a fire lit under his ass.
Prediction: But when is that return? Luchasaurus and Christian Cage will go on a tear for a few weeks, destroying lesser tag teams and superstars. A couple of weeks before All Out, Jungle Boy returns ready to destroy Luchasaurus and Christian Cage. The young Jungle Boy needs to beat Luchasaurus to set up a match between him and Christian Cage at All Out. Even though simple always works, how about having Jungle Boy lose the first match at All Out to finally overcome Christian Cage at Full Gear.
Young Bucks…and Hangman?
The story of The Elite is one for the ages. Nothing like it will ever happen again in the wrestling industry. It spans multiple companies, countless superstars, and has more twists and turns than a country road through the mountains. The story of the Elite in 2022 is a broken one. Adam Cole has been the bridesmaid catching the bouquet numerous times and is now injured, reDRagon members Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly are also injured, and Kenny Omega hasn’t been seen since his loss to Hangman last year.
But nobody has seen an up and down year more than the Young Bucks. They had a string of losses towards the beginning of the year against Jurassic Express, rivals FTR, and former idols the Hardys. They found some momentum, which saw them capture the AEW Titles in an awesome ladder match on the same night of Christian’s horrific betrayal, but ended up losing them in their first defense to Swerve in Our Glory. The Bucks have no friends, no titles, and haven’t lost this much at any point in AEW’s existence.
(Quick side note. If you don’t watch Being the Elite, you’re missing out on amazing character moments for this story. It gives a lot of depth to AEW storylines)
Prediction: I was ready to predict the reunion of Hangman and The Bucks and have them make a crazy run into winning new Trios Titles until a report very recently came out stating that Kenny Omega’s return is imminent. My prediction has now switched to the Elite reuniting, winning new AEW Trios Titles, and causing the insecure Hangman to possibly relapse and run away. That’s a twist. That’s very twisty.
Jade, Stokely, and the Baddie conundrum
Jade Cargill is an enigma. Literally, everything she touches turns to gold. She has proven everyone wrong (including me) that she wasn’t ready to be a champion. She’s now 33-0, the head of an awesome faction, and is on an unprecedented 500 day undefeated streak. Regardless if she’s in a small promo package, segment, or match, she’s one of my favorite parts of any show she appears.
However, all is not well in Baddie-ville. Red Velvet was injured, which caused Stokely Hathaway to bring in Leila Grey as a replacement Baddie after Leila lost to Jade in two minutes. Jade and Keira Hogan disagree with Stokely’s decision, which is causing turmoil. This turmoil is exaggerated by Kris Statlander and Athena sniffing for a TBS Championship match. There’s a lot of different ways this could go.
Prediction: This is one I’m least confident in. Stokely Hathaway has me hooked, line, and sinker with this story. I love where they’re going with it, but I am throwing a dart in the dark and hoping to hit a bullseye. Stokely has a plan, that is for sure, and I think it revolves around Statlander, Athena, and the TBS title. Jade doesn’t like Leila Grey, she kicks Leila out, and Stokely’s true plan is unveiled by Athena being the true baddie and betraying her friend, Statlander. The former Alien now runs through Athena on her way to beating Jade for the TBS title.
Now I want to hear from you! What do you think is going to happen in these stories! Tell me about it on Twitter @Game_Gimmicks. You can yell at me at how bad my booking skills are! Spoiler alert. I know how bad they are!
Also follow me on twitch.tv/gameovergimmicks!! I play various games and eventually, I’ll be doing PPV and Dynamite watch-a-longs!