Jon Moxley’s return set for AEW New Year’s Smash night one

On the Holiday Bash edition of Dynamite, AEW rounded out the lineup for night one of New Year’s Smash, the first of two consecutive weeks of live action that begins next Wednesday.

Former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will return for the first time since losing his title to Kenny Omega at December’s Winter Is Coming edition of Dynamite. Moxley lost the title in controversial fashion which helped kick off the Omega/Don Callis/Impact Wrestling angle currently playing out.

In a grudge match that has been building for weeks, AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida will look for the sixth defense of the title against Abadon. The two got into a brawl after Shida’s Wednesday win over Alex Gracia which left the champion bleeding from the neck following a bite from Abadon.

In another match that has been simmering for some time, Inner Circle teammates will go head-to-head as Jake Hager will face Wardlow. After Chris Jericho and MJF defeated Top Flight on Wednesday, Hager took to the mic to air his frustrations with Wardlow and his absence as of late, telling MJF the match was happening next week.

In the main event, World Champion Kenny Omega will defend the title for the first time against Rey Fenix. Fenix earned the shot as he was removed from the recent World title eliminator tournament due to injury.

Jericho will be on commentary for the show.