Holiday Bash (2023)

The 2023 Holiday Bash was the fourth annual Holiday Bash professional wrestling Christmas television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It took place on December 20 and 23, 2023. While the prior two events were two-part events, airing as special episodes of '' Wednesday Night Dynamite'' and '' Friday Night Rampage'', the 2023 event expanded Holiday Bash to a three-part special, also encompassing '' Saturday Night Collision''. ''Dynamite'' aired live on December 20 on TBS and was held at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, while ''Rampage'' was taped that same night and aired on tape delay on December 22 on TNT. ''Collision'' aired live on December 23 on TNT and was held at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.

A total of 15 matches were contested across the three broadcasts; five aired live on ''Dynamite'' with four taped for ''Rampage'', and then six aired live on ''Collision''. In the main event of the ''Dynamite'' broadcast, Jay White defeated Jon Moxley in a Gold League match of the AEW Continental Classic tournament. In the main event of the ''Rampage'' broadcast, El Hijo del Vikingo defeated Black Taurus to retain the AAA Mega Championship of the Mexican promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. In the main event of the ''Collision'' broadcast, Eddie Kingston defeated Andrade El Idolo in a Blue League match of the Continental Classic tournament. The ''Collision'' broadcast was also notable for Thunder Rosa's first match since August 2022 due to a back injury.

Production

Background

Holiday Bash is an annual professional wrestling Christmas television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW) since 2020. While the original event only aired as a special episode of AEW's flagship program, '' Wednesday Night Dynamite'', the 2021 event expanded it to a two-part event, with the second part airing as a special episode of '' Friday Night Rampage'' (although in 2021, ''Rampage'' aired on Saturday instead of its usual Friday slot). The 2023 event was then expanded to a three-part event, with the third night airing as a special episode of '' Saturday Night Collision'', AEW's third weekly program that launched in June 2023. ''Dynamite'' aired live on December 20 on TBS and was held at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, while ''Rampage'' was taped that same night and aired on tape delay on December 22 on TNT. ''Collision'' aired live on December 23 on TNT and was held at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Storylines

Holiday Bash featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines, written by AEW's writers. Storylines were produced on AEW's weekly television programs, ''Dynamite'', ''Rampage'', and ''Collision''.

Aftermath

The League Finals of the AEW Continental Classic tournament were scheduled for the following week's ''Dynamite'': New Year's Smash. As a result of Jay White's win over Jon Moxley on ''Dynamite'': Holiday Bash, that tied him in points with Moxley and Swerve Strickland, with the three facing off in a three-way match in the Gold League Final. Additionally, due to Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli's time limit draw on ''Collision'': Holiday Bash, that kept Danielson ahead in points to face Eddie Kingston in the Blue League Final. At ''Dynamite'': New Year's Smash, Moxley and Kingston won their respective League Final matches to face each other in the Championship Final at Worlds End.

Results

Night 1

Night 2

Night 3

References

External links

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{{All Elite Wrestling events, Holiday Bash

2023
2020s American television specials
2023 American television episodes
2023 in professional wrestling
December 2023 events in the United States
2023 in Oklahoma
2023 in Texas
Professional wrestling shows in Texas
Holidays themed professional wrestling shows
Events in Oklahoma City
21st century in San Antonio