How Hurricane Ian Messed Up AEW's Dynamite Plans This Week

Latest on how Hurricane Ian impacted this week's episode of AEW Dynamite.

by Andy H Murray
Samoa Joe
AEW

Hurricane Ian has had an understandably detrimental impact on professional wrestling this week, with Wednesday's episode of AEW Dynamite the first major show to be affected.

Fightful reported earlier this week that Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe were both unable to make the show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This came in the wake of AEW founder and CEO Tony Khan granting any wrestlers who needed it the week off ahead of the storm making landfall on Wednesday.

Now, in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer that Jake Hager was also scheduled to be at the show but needed to stay in Florida as Hurricane Ian hit the state. Hager would have been involved in the Jericho Appreciation Society's show-opening in-ring promo. But even though Jake wasn't at Dynamite, he still impacted the broadcast by suggesting his stable come out clad head-to-toe in purple.

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Meltzer added that AEW intended on kickstarting a program between Swerve in our Glory and the newly-formed Wardlow/Samoa Joe tandem on Dynamite. With Strickland unable to get to Philly, Keith Lee was instead involved in a backstage segment with The Acclaimed.

Hurricane Ian made landfall as a category 4 storm on Wednesday, leaving upwards of 2 million homes and businesses without power.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.