New Year's Smash (January 2021)
| AEW New Year's Smash | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Promotion All Elite Wrestling | | ||
| Date | January 6-7, 2021 (aired January 6, 2021 and January 13, 2021) | ||
| City | Jacksonville, Florida | ||
| Venue | Daily's Place | ||
| Attendance |
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| Event chronology | |||
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| AEW Dynamite special episodes chronology | |||
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The January 2021 New Year's Smash was the inaugural New Year's Smash professional wrestling television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The two-part event took place on January 6 and 7, 2021, at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida and was broadcast on TNT as special episodes of AEW's weekly television program, Dynamite. Night 1 aired live on January 6, while Night 2 was taped on January 7 and aired on tape delay on January 13. The event was originally supposed to begin on December 30, 2020, and end on January 6, 2021, but was postponed by a week due to the death of AEW wrestler Brodie Lee; the December 30 episode was instead held as a memorial event for Lee.
In the main event of night one,
Production
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
Commentators
|
Jim Ross |
| Excalibur | |
| Tony Schiavone | |
| Chris Jericho (Night 1) | |
Taz (Allin vs. Cage)
| |
| Ring announcer | Justin Roberts |
| Referees | Aubrey Edwards |
| Bryce Remsburg | |
| Mike Posey | |
| Paul Turner | |
| Rick Knox | |
Interviewers
|
Alex Marvez |
| Dasha Gonzalez |
Background
On the December 9, 2020, episode of Dynamite, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) announced that the December 30, 2020, and January 6, 2021, episodes would be a two-part event titled "New Year's Smash".[2] However, on December 28, it was announced that the event had been postponed to January 6 and 13, 2021, due to the death of AEW wrestler Brodie Lee on December 26. Night 1 of New Year's Smash aired live while Night 2 was taped on January 7 and aired on tape delay on January 13.[3] The December 30 episode was in turn held as a memorial event titled Brodie Lee Celebration of Life, featuring matches and segments with fellow wrestlers honoring and paying tribute to Lee.[4]
As part of a tie-in with TBS's Go-Big Show, in which former AEW executive and wrestler Cody Rhodes served as a judge, rapper Snoop Dogg, who was also a judge on the show, was announced to make a special appearance during New Year's Smash.[2] On December 23 at Holiday Bash, it was announced that Jon Moxley would return on Night 1 of the event.[5] During the Brodie Lee Celebration of Life event, it was announced that Sting would also make an appearance on Night 1. Also announced for Night 1 was an AEW TNT Championship weigh-in between champion Darby Allin and challenger Brian Cage, with the title match taking place on Night 2.[6]
Storylines
New Year's Smash featured
Rey Fenix was originally scheduled to face Kenny Omega on October 28, 2020 in the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament, but was replaced by Penta El Zero Miedo due to a injury Fenix sustained in his previous bout.[8] On the December 16, 2020 episode of Dynamite, it was announced that Omega would defend AEW World Championship against Fenix on Night 1.[9]
On the November 25 episode of Dynamite,
After an eight-month absence from television,
Reception
The first night of the event was held live and attended by 770 people, with 650 of those being paid fans, and the rest being AEW personnel who sat at ringside. Night 2 was pre-taped, and took place with no paying fans in attendance for security reasons.[1] Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter gave Omega–Fenix a rating of 5 stars, making it the sixth AEW match to be rated 5 stars or more by Meltzer. He also rated the eight-man tag team match 4 stars, and Allin–Cage 4.25 stars.[1]
Television ratings
The first night of New Year's Smash averaged 662,000 television viewers on TNT and a 0.25 rating in AEW's key demographic.[21] The second night of New Year's Smash drew 762,000 viewers, and achieved a rating of 0.30 in the key demographic.[22]
Aftermath
During Night 2, the match card for the next Dynamite on January 20 was announced:
A second New Year's Smash was held in December, thus establishing New Year's Smash as AEW's New Year's television special. Additionally, while the second event retained its two-part format, the first part aired as Dynamite while the second part instead aired as the same week's episode of Friday Night Rampage, a second weekly program that began airing in August.[24]
Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times Singles match for the AEW World Championship[11] | 15:03 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times Singles match for the AEW TNT Championship[17] | 13:47 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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See also
References
- ^ a b c d Observer Staff (January 8, 2021). "January 13, 2021 Observer Newsletter: More on the death of Brodie Lee, Tokyo Dome, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- ^ Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ Khan, Tony [@TonyKhan] (December 28, 2020). "AEW New Year's Smash will now take place across the first 2 weeks of 2021, on January 6 + January 13 on @tntdrama. I'll announce the card for this week's #AEWDynamite Celebration of Mr. Brodie Lee's Life in a moment. Thank you to all who have shared their love for Jon this week" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (December 29, 2020). "Watch the Brodie Lee Celebration of Life episode of #AEWDynamite this Wednesday LIVE on TNT Drama at 8e/7c. Tickets are ONLY available by emailing [email protected] or calling 904-633-2000" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (December 24, 2020). "Here's a look at your match card for next week and as well as Jan 6th. Watch #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama" (Tweet). Retrieved December 24, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (January 5, 2021). "Sting Appearance, TNT Title Match Weigh-In Added To 1/6 AEW Dynamite". Fightful. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- Discovery Communications. Archivedfrom the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- POSTWrestling. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (November 25, 2020). "Abadon Returns On AEW Dynamite, Targets Hikaru Shida". Fightful. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- ^ Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ AEW Staff (May 6, 2020). "AEW DYNAMITE Results for May 6, 2020". All Elite Wrestling. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ^ S. Lealos, Shawn (May 23, 2020). "AEW: Former World Champion Debuts, Wins BIG at Double Or Nothing". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ^ Thomas, Jeremy (September 6, 2020). "AEW News: Update on Darby Allin and Matt Sydal After All Out, New Video of Chris Jericho Falling Into Mimosa". 411 Mania. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ^ AEW Staff (November 18, 2020). "AEW Dynamite Results for November 18, 2020". Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ^ a b c DeFelice, Robert (December 23, 2020). "FTR vs. Jurassic Express, Darby Allin Defending TNT Title Added To AEW New Year's Smash Night 2". Fightful. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
- ^ Thompson, Andrew (November 11, 2020). "PAC returns, set to compete against The Blade on 11/18 AEW Dynamite". POST Wrestling. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
- ^ Thomas, Jeremy (November 18, 2020). "Death Triangle Reunites on AEW Dynamite (Video)". 411 Mania. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
- ^ Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (January 8, 2021). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.6.2021". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ Metcalf, Mitch (January 14, 2021). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 1.13.2021". showbuzzdaily.com. Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
- ^ AEW Staff (January 19, 2021). "AEW Dynamite Preview for January 20, 2021". All Elite Wrestling. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ Figure Four Online. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
- ^ Acero, Tony (January 6, 2021). "Join 411's Live AEW Dynamite New Year's Smash (Night One) Coverage". 411 Mania. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- ^ All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (January 7, 2021). "We get an update on the current condition of @trentylocks and an interesting challenge made between @SexyChuckieT & @ToBeMiro. WATCH #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama" (Tweet). Retrieved January 7, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (January 7, 2021). ""Let's have an Elite reunion as @KennyOmegamanX the AEW World Champ & the World Tag Team Champs have a 6-man tag-team next week!" - @TheDonCallis. Night Two of our New Year's Smash this Wednesday on @TNTDrama at 8e/7c" (Tweet). Retrieved January 6, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ All Elite Wrestling [@AEW] (January 7, 2021). "Next week during Night Two of our New Year's Smash we have a STACKED card for you! WATCH #AEWDynamite NOW on @TNTDrama" (Tweet). Retrieved January 6, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Barnett, Jake (January 13, 2021). "1/13 AEW Dynamite results: Barnett's live review of New Year's Smash night two with Darby Allin vs. Brian Cage for the TNT Title, Miro vs. Chuck Taylor, FTR vs. Marko Stunt and Jungle Boy, Serena Deeb vs. Tay Conti for the NWA Women's Title, Pac vs. Eddie Kingston". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 13, 2021.