AEW Dynamite (9/14) Preview: Semi-Final Tournament Action Looks To Set The Stage For Grand Slam

It’s Wednesday, and you know what that means!

With only one week to go before Grand Slam, AEW continues its tour of New York with two semi-final matches in the tournament to a brand new World Champion. With the aftermath of All Out still fresh in the minds of the audience, AEW marches towards its next pay-per-view and a new era with plenty of questions that will hopefully be answered within the next seven days. However, before Grand Slam can takeover Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, All Elite Wrestling must first determine who will be in the main event next Wednesday night. 

Here’s everything you need to know before tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TBS! 

Tournament Semi-Final Action!

In a rematch from All Out, Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson will once again go one-on-one. However, this time, there will be plenty of stakes attached. The winner of this match will advance to the main event of next week’s episode of AEW Dynamite as a contender for the World Championship. Chris Jericho is hoping to become the third person to be crowned a two-time AEW World Champion in the span of two months. Bryan Danielson, on the other hand, wants to pick up his first AEW World Championship and in the process, prove that he is a better wrestler than Chris Jericho when there are no shenanigans involved.

The other semi-final match will see Jon Moxley take on Sammy Guevara. Sammy Guevara is the one man left in this tournament that has yet to win a major world championship in wrestling, but Jon Moxley is determined to become a legend and the first-ever three-time World Champion in AEW history. Moxley has made it clear how much the World Championship means to him and he certainly didn’t postpone a six-week vacation to come up short before AEW makes it to Queens. 

Tonight, we will find out what the main event will be for next week, and regardless of the Grand Slam main event and who comes away from this tournament as the new AEW World Champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman is waiting in the wings with a poker chip that he can cash in at any place and time for a World Championship shot. 

Women’s Tag Team Action That Has Already Seen One Major Change

Originally, the plan for tonight had Toni Storm scheduled to team with Hikaru Shida against the tag team of Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D & Serena Deeb. However, Britt Baker, claiming frustration over not being able to team with Jamie Hayter took out Shida on the September 13 AEW Dark. As a result, Toni Storm will now team with Athena. Athena has largely been focused on Jade Cargill since arriving in AEW and now finds herself mixing it up with the main players in the interim AEW Women’s World Championship scene.

Who will make a statement moving closer to Grand Slam and will Jamie Hayter factor into this match at all or is she still frustrated with Britt Baker’s behavior in the AEW Women’s World Championship match from All Out? Tonight, we may get answers.

Currently, that is everything announced for tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite. However, in addition to all of that, Jade Cargill is still TBS Champion, defeating Athena for her 37th victory at All Out. Now, she is looking for her next challenger. FTR is looking to get back to business and back into the AEW World Tag Team Championship picture, but they have to wait until The Acclaimed receive their title match next week in Queens, New York.

TNT Champion, Wardlow has also promised that he will once again begin displaying an intensity and a new version of himself. Samoa Joe and Claudio Castagnoli are also around with gold of their own, and surely, they want to make statements as well.

With all of these factors going into tonight’s event, it is sure to be an explosive night of AEW action.

Here is the current lineup for AEW Dynamite on September 14:

AEW Dynamite (9/14)

• AEW World Championship Tournament Semi-Final: Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho
• AEW World Championship Tournament Semi-Final: Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara
• Toni Storm and Athena vs. Britt Baker and Serena Deeb

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.