Kyle O’Reilly to make AEW in-ring debut at New Year’s Smash
A week after making his surprise debut on the Holiday Bash edition of AEW Dynamite, new roster member Kyle O’Reilly will make his in-ring debut on next Wednesday’s New Year’s Smash edition of the show.
O’Reilly appeared Wednesday to attack Orange Cassidy during his match with Adam Cole, eventually leading to a Cole win. Cole, O’Reilly and Bobby Fish will reunite for the first time since they split up in March while in NXT as they take on Cassidy and Best Friends (Trent and Chuck Taylor).
Wednesday’s show will also see the remaining semifinal in the TBS title tournament as Thunder Rosa faces Jade Cargill. The winner will advance to face Ruby Soho in the finals on the January 5th Dynamite debut on TBS as Soho beat Nyla Rose Wednesday.
Also announced for the show: Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz vs. Daniel Garcia and 2point0 in a continuation of their feud from the past few weeks; and the return of Jim Ross to the announce team following the completion of three-plus weeks of consecutive radiation therapy for skin cancer.
Here’s the lineup currently announced for Jacksonville, Florida:
- Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish vs. Best Friends and Orange Cassidy
- TBS title tourney semifinal: Jade Cargill vs. Thunder Rosa
- Eddie Kingston, Santana and Ortiz vs. 2point0 and Daniel Garcia
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.