A prominent AEW title and the promise of a major pay-per-view clash will both be at stake during next week’s episode of Dynamite from San Diego, California.
Orange Cassidy will challenge AEW International Champion Konosuke Takeshita next Wednesday, pitting the incumbent champ against one of the title’s most prominent past holders.
Cassidy earned the title spot against Takeshita by beating Roderick Strong on this week’s Dynamite as part of the ongoing “Revolution International Championship Series.”
As part of the short tournament, whoever wins on next week’s Dynamite will go on to face Kenny Omega at Revolution on March 9. So not only is a title on the line next week but also a spot at the Crypto.com Arena show.
Next week will be Takeshita’s eighth time defending the International title since dethroning Will Ospreay at WrestleDream last year. He has since overcome Tomohiro Ishii, Ricochet, Shingo Takagi, and most recently Katsuyori Shibata.
Cassidy holds the record for longest reign as AEW International Champion, holding the belt for nearly a year from October 2022 to September 2023. He would become the only three-time International champ if successful.
It has also been teased that TBS Champion Mercedes Moné could have a face-to-face confrontation with Stardom wrestler Momo Watanabe on next week’s Dynamite.
Watanabe expressed recently that she wants to use her International Women’s Cup title shot against Moné at Revolution. Watanabe earned an opportunity to challenge any AEW, NJPW, ROH, or CMLL champ when he won a four-way at Wrestle Dynasty last month.
Moné told Watanabe on Wednesday that she has to show up and issue the challenge in person if she wants a match.
