Hurricane Ian Causes Several Changes To AEW Dynamite

With Hurricane Ian causing serious damage to Florida, a couple of changes to the planned AEW Dynamite rundown have been revealed.

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Fort Myers, Florida on the afternoon of Wednesday, 28 September, leaving millions without power and streets submerged with severe flooding.

Per Grapsody’s Will Washington via Fightful Select, a couple of changes had to be made to the night’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Both Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe, the current ROH World Television Champion, were absent from the broadcast after initially being planned to appear.

Strickland was due to appear alongside Keith Lee in a backstage segment opposite new AEW World Tag Team Champions, The Acclaimed; Lee went into the segment alone instead. It’s unknown what, exactly, Samoa Joe was scheduled to do on the broadcast, though Fightful Select has promised to find out further details.

Tony Khan went public on Twitter prior to Hurricane Ian’s arrival, advising those who were scheduled to be at this week’s show had the option of staying at home to keep themselves safe. A company-wide email was reportedly also sent out.

Originating on 19 September, Hurricane Ian has thus far travelled through the Cayman Islands, Cuba, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico, becoming a category four hurricane prior to its arrival in Florida. Two fatalities, both of Cuban natives, have been confirmed.