Here’s how Tony Khan plans to end AEW’s cold spell

Dynamite airs tonight (Dec. 11) with a live show from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. This is the third episode of Dynamite during the five week build towards Worlds End, which takes place on December 28.

Tony Khan plans to end AEW’s cold spell with another great Will Ospreay match

AEW’s Continental Classic tournament has been a disappointment in the numbers so far, but the promotion will try to reverse that trend tonight at Winter is Coming when Will Ospreay goes one-on-one with Claudio Castagnoli in the Gold League. Ospreay and Castagnoli are two of the best workers in AEW, so this is a case where AEW is doubling down on being “where the best wrestle” in order to end this cold spell.

Ospreay wasn’t around for last week’s tournament matches, so he has some catching up to do. Claudio is the current leader in the Gold League, but a win for Will will move him into a tie for that spot (click here for the current standings).

The other tournament match scheduled for tonight is Ricochet versus Brody King. If Ospreay beats Claudio, then the winner of this match will also move up into a tie for first place in the Gold League. Brody may be the bigger and badder man, but I’d say he’s the underdog here given the way Ricochet has been pushed since he debuted in AEW back in August.

Winter is Coming is typically one of AEW’s most hyped TV shows of the year, and Tony Khan seems to think another night of good to great tournament matches is enough to give the AEW product the jolt it needs. Is Tony right, or is the deep freeze just beginning to set in? Tune into Dynamite to find out.

The rest of tonight’s lineup

AEW World Champion Jon Moxley attempted to murder Orange Cassidy over the weekend by pouring a toxic chemical down his throat. FTR saved Orange from certain death, which means OC should be available to compete tonight at Winter is Coming. It will be Cassidy and Jay White vs. Moxley and PAC in a tag team match. Cassidy, White, and Hangman Page are all gunning for Jon’s world title, so PAC might be here to do the job for one of the babyfaces. Will the Hangman show up after the match is over to take someone out? Is Christian Cage hanging around like a dingleberry waiting to cash in his contract for a world title match?

The AEW women’s world championship is on the line tonight when Mariah May defends the title against Mina Shirakawa. Mariah tried to turn on Mina at Full Gear the same way she turned on Toni Storm earlier in the year, but Mina was ready for it and left Mariah laying. Is Mina also ready to become the top woman wrestler in AEW? If not, will Storm finally return to AEW after the match is over and make it clear that she’s coming back for her belt?

Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly were the last two men standing in last week’s Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal, which isn’t surprising when you look at the lineup of jabroni wrestlers who AEW booked in that bout. Cole and O’Reilly now get to fight each other in a singles match tonight, with the winner moving on to face MJF at Worlds End. Will the scumbag find a way to sabotage Adam in this match so that he can hurt Kyle at this month’s pay-per-view, just like he hurt Adam’s friend Roddy at last month’s pay-per-view?

Other stuff to keep an eye

- TBS Champion Mercedes Moné also holds the NJPW Strong Women’s title, and she plans to add a third belt to her collection during the holiday season. Will it become clear tonight which other championship she has her eyes on? Mercedes might need to wait until she beats Anna Jay at Holiday Bash on Dec. 18 before making her move.

- Swerve Strickland recovered from his Full Gear loss against Bobby Lashley by dismantling Max Caster last week. Are we heading towards a Swerve/Lashley rematch at Worlds End with a gimmick or stipulation added to the mix? After the frustrating loss, is Caster ready to move on from The Acclaimed and take MVP up on his business offer?

- Kyle Fletcher has a commanding lead in the Continental Classic Blue League after defeating AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada on Collision. Will Kyle take the night off after his two big wins last week, or is it time to grab the mic and brag about how great he is like a giant douchebag?

- Private Party needs some new teams to defend the AEW world tag team titles against at Worlds End. Lio Rush and Action Andretti think they are good enough to take that spot, but they may have to first go through Top Flight to get there.

- ROH World Champion Chris Jericho is lined up for a title defense against Matt Cardona at ROH Final Battle in New York City. What does any of this have to do with AEW? I have no idea, other than Cardona is scheduled to be on this week’s Winter is Coming episode of Rampage, which will be taped tonight.

- Powerhouse Hobbs is waiting to hear back from Don Callis about a future shot at AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita. Hobbs will likely be waiting for a very long time unless he decides to force the issue.

- Can HOOK even make it to the Hammerstein Ballroom for his scheduled match against Nick Wayne after The Patriarchy tried to break his hand last week?

- Willow Nightingale vs. Jamie Hayter is happening on this week’s Collision (which is being taped Thursday), with the winner moving on to compete for the International Women’s Cup at Wrestle Dynasty. Does this mean Julia Hart is returning to AEW at Collision in order to screw over Jamie?

- Bandido is finally coming back to town, but where the f*** is Samoa Joe?

What will you be looking for on Dynamite?