The January 2021 New Year's Smash was the inaugural New Year's Smash

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

produced by

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...

(AEW). The two-part event took place on January 6 and 7, 2021, at

Daily's Place Daily's Place is an amphitheater in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. The venue is connected to the south end of TIAA Bank Field and shares space with a "flex field" indoor practice facility for the Jacksonville Jaguars. It opened in May 2017 and ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

and was broadcast on

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

as special episodes of AEW's weekly television program, ''

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

''. 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 Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Luke Harper (later simply Harper) from 2012 to 2019, and in All El ...

; the December 30 episode was instead held as a memorial event for Lee. In the main event of night one,

Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-time ...

defeated

Rey Fénix Rey may refer to: *Rey (given name), a given name *Rey (surname), a surname * Rey (''Star Wars''), a character in the ''Star Wars'' films *Rey, Iran, a city in Iran * Ray County, in Tehran Province of Iran * ''Rey'' (film), a 2015 Indian film *The ...

to retain the

AEW World Championship The AEW World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Unveiled on May 25, 2019, it is the promotion's top championship for male singles competitors, an ...

. In night two's main event,

Darby Allin Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former and longest-reigning AEW TNT Champion. He is also known for his app ...

defeated

Brian Cage Brian Christopher Button

to retain the

AEW TNT Championship The AEW TNT Championship is a men’s professional wrestling television championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Established on March 30, 2020, it is named after the TNT television network, which curr ...

Production

Background

On the December 9, 2020, episode of ''

'',

(AEW) announced that the December 30, 2020, and January 6, 2021, episodes would be a two-part event titled "New Year's Smash". 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

on December 26. Night 1 of New Year's Smash aired

live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...

while Night 2 was taped on January 7 and aired on tape delay on January 13. The December 30 episode was in turn held as a memorial event titled

Brodie Lee Celebration of Life The Brodie Lee Celebration of Life was a professional wrestling memorial event and television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The event took place on December 30, 2020, at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida and was broadcast on ...

, featuring matches and segments with fellow wrestlers honoring and paying tribute to Lee. As part of a tie-in with TBS's ''

Go-Big Show ''Go-Big Show'' is a televised American competition series that premiered on TBS on January 7, 2021. In contrast to other talent shows, ''Go-Big Show'' focuses on bigger scale performances featuring monster trucks, horse riding and large stage ...

'', in which former AEW executive and wrestler

Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (''né'' Runnels; born June 30, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Rhodes is also known for his time in All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...

served as a judge, rapper

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

, who was also a judge on the show, was announced to make a special appearance during New Year's Smash. On December 23 at Holiday Bash, it was announced that

Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wr ...

would return on Night 1 of the event. During the Brodie Lee Celebration of Life event, it was announced that

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

would also make an appearance on Night 1. Also announced for Night 1 was an

weigh-in between champion

and challenger

Brian Cage Brian Christopher Button

, with the title match taking place on Night 2.

Storylines

New Year's Smash featured

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character as ...

, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Storylines were produced on AEW's weekly television program, ''Dynamite'', the supplementary online streaming show, ''

Dark Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lum ...

'', and

The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team and promoters, consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who are known by their ring names Matt and Nick Jackson, respectively. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

series ''

Being The Elite The Elite is a professional wrestling stable currently appearing in U.S. based Professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). As of December 2022, the line-up has consisted of Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), ...

''.

Rey Fenix Rey may refer to: *Rey (given name), a given name *Rey (surname), a surname * Rey (''Star Wars''), a character in the ''Star Wars'' films *Rey, Iran, a city in Iran * Ray County, in Tehran Province of Iran * ''Rey'' (film), a 2015 Indian film *The ...

was originally scheduled to face

on October 28, 2020 in the AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament, but was replaced by

Penta El Zero Miedo Penta may refer to: Places * , an Italian hamlet (') of Fisciano, Salerno * Penta-di-Casinca, a French municipality of Corsica * Penta, Chhattisgarh, a town in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, India * , a small river in Lithuania Other * Pent ...

due to a injury Fenix sustained in his previous bout. On the December 16, 2020 episode of ''Dynamite'', it was announced that Omega would defend

against Fenix on Night 1. On the November 25 episode of ''Dynamite'',

Hikaru Shida is a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, actress, and model, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a former and the longest-reigning AEW Women's World Champion. On February 25, 2021, she became the longest reign ...

retained her

AEW Women's World Championship The AEW Women's World Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Established on June 18, 2019, the inaugural champion was Riho. The current champion ...

against

Anna Jay Anna Marie Jernigan (born July 15, 1998), better known by the ring name Anna Jay, is an American professional wrestler. She is signed to All Elite Wrestling, where she is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society Stable (professional wrestlin ...

. After the match, Abadon made her return and went after Shida and her title. On December 23 at Holiday Bash, it was announced that Shida would defend her title against Abadon on Night 1.

Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

first offered to help

as his

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

during a backstage interview on May 6, 2020, after Allin lost to

one week prior. On May 23 at

Double or Nothing Double or nothing (UK often double or quits) is a gamble to decide whether a loss or debt should be doubled. The result of a "double or nothing" bet is either the subject doubled to twice the amount as the original ''or'' the doubling of a debt. It ...

, Taz accompanied the debuting

Brian Cage Brian Christopher Button

in the

Casino Ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

, a match Allin was also competing in, which Cage won. On September 5 at All Out, Cage eliminated Allin in the

Casino Battle Royale The Casino Battle Royale, with its tag team variant being the Casino Tag Team Royale, is a professional wrestling match utilized by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Both variations are modified rumble rules battle royals. The Casino Battle Royale featur ...

after putting him in a body bag with thumbtacks and powerbombing him over the top rope. On November 7 at Full Gear, Allin defeated Rhodes to win the

and after the match, Team Taz (Cage and

Ricky Starks Richard Starks (born February 21, 1990), is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He also serves on the commentary team for AEW's sister streaming television program, ''Elevation''. Starks is also known ...

) beat down Allin and Rhodes. This led to a tag team match on the November 18 episode of ''Dynamite'', pitting Team Taz against Allin and Rhodes, in which Cage pinned Allin to win. On December 23 at Holiday Bash, it was announced that Allin would defend the TNT Championship against Cage on Night 2. After an eight-month absence from television, Pac returned to AEW on the November 11, 2020 episode of ''Dynamite'', where he confronted

Eddie Kingston Edward Moore (born December 12, 1981), better known by his ring name Eddie Kingston, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Kingston started his wrestling career in 2002, and has wrestled for numerous ...

. During Pac's absence, Kingston had formed a stable composed of The Butcher and The Blade and

Lucha Brothers The Lucha Brothers, also known as The Lucha Bros or Los Lucha Bros, are a Mexican professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Penta El Zero Miedo/Penta Oscuro and Rey Fénix, and their manager Alex Abrahantes. They currently compete ...

(

and

), the latter of the two being Pac's former stablemates. Fenix and Penta would reunite with Pac on the November 18 episode of ''Dynamite'' to reform their stable Death Triangle. The trio began feuding with Kingston, The Butcher and The Blade, and on December 30 at

, it was announced that Pac vs. Kingston would take place on Night 2.

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. Wrestling journalist

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...

of ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' 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.

Television ratings

The first night of New Year's Smash averaged 662,000 television viewers on

and a 0.25 rating in AEW's

key demographic The key demographic or target demographic is a term in commercial broadcasting that refers to the most desirable demographic group to a given advertiser. Key demographics vary by outlet, time of day, and programming type, but they are generally co ...

. The second night of New Year's Smash drew 762,000 viewers, and achieved a rating of 0.30 in the key demographic.

Aftermath

During Night 2, the match card for the next ''Dynamite'' on January 20 was announced:

in action,

Penelope Ford Olivia Hasler (born September 14, 1992), better known by the ring name Penelope Ford, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling. She is also known for her work in Combat Zone Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Comb ...

vs. Leyla Hirsch,

Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jeri ...

and

MJF Maxwell T. Friedman (born March 15, 1996), better known by his ring name Maxwell Jacob Friedman (often abbreviated to MJF), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), wh ...

vs.

Santana and Ortiz Santana (Mark Sanchez, born February 4, 1991) and Ortiz (Miguel Molina, born September 27, 1991), sometimes nicknamed Proud & Powerful, are an American professional wrestling tag team currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), but the team is ...

vs.

Sammy Guevara Samuel George Guevara (born July 28, 1993) is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society. He is a record tying three-time former AEW TNT Champion. He also appea ...

and

Jake Hager Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Jake Hager, where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society st ...

to determine the official tag team of The Inner Circle,

Matt Sydal Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Prior to signing with AEW, Sydal wrestled in WWE as Evan Bourne, and was ...

and Top Flight vs.

Matt Hardy Matthew Moore Hardy (born September 23, 1974) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is best known for his time with WWE. With his real life brother Jeff, Hardy gained notoriety in WWF's tag team d ...

and Private Party,

vs.

Peter Avalon Peter Hernandez (born June 14, 1989), better known by the ring name "Pretty" Peter Avalon, is a Cuban-American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his appearances in Championship Wrestling from Hollywood ...

, and

Adam Page Stephen Blake Woltz (born July 27, 1991), better known by his ring name "Hangman" Adam Page, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former AEW World Champion and AEW World Tag Team Champ ...

and

The Dark Order The Dark Order is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The stable consists of Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Brodie Lee Jr. The group debuted on the inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per- ...

(

Colt Cabana Scott Colton (born May 6, 1980), better known by the ring name Colt Cabana, is an American professional wrestler, color commentator, and podcaster. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a wrestler and as a coach, and he performs the same d ...

and

Alex Reynolds and John Silver Alex Reynolds and John Silver, formerly known as the Beaver Boys, are an American professional wrestling tag team currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as members of The Dark Order. They are also known for their appearances in Combat Zon ...

) vs. Chaos Project (

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

and Serpentico) and

The Hybrid 2 The Hybrid 2 (TH2) are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Angélico and Jack Evans. They have previously competed in Mexico's Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) - where they were three-time AAA World Tag Team Champions - and U.S. indepe ...

, billed as Brodie Lee Jr.'s (-1) birthday celebration match. Page has said he will reveal whether or not he will join The Dark Order after their match. Several segments were also announced:

AEW World Champion The AEW World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Unveiled on May 25, 2019, it is the promotion's top championship for male singles competitors, an ...

reflects on his dominance,

congratulates

AEW TNT Champion The AEW TNT Championship is a men’s professional wrestling television championship created and promoted by the American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Established on March 30, 2020, it is named after the TNT television network, which curr ...

, and an update from Miro and his new butler Chuck Taylor. 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.

Results

References

External links

* {{All Elite Wrestling events, New Year's Smash 2020s American television specials 2021 American television episodes 2021 in professional wrestling in Florida 2021 in professional wrestling New Year's Smash Events in Jacksonville, Florida Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television January 2021 events in the United States Professional wrestling in Jacksonville, Florida Holidays themed professional wrestling events

Production

Background

Storylines

Reception

Television ratings

Aftermath

Results

See also

References

External links