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AEW/Lee South
Earlier this month, AEW representatives filed to trademark the term Maximum Carnage, and it has been revealed that the branding will be used for an upcoming week of "AEW Dynamite" and "AEW Collision" broadcasts. The Andrew J. Brady Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, posted an official AEW graphic advertising the tapings on Wednesday, January 15, and Thursday, January 16, with "Dynamite" set to air live before "Collision" is taped the following day. Both shows will bear the Maximum Carnage name that week.
The two figures most prominently featured in the advertising are Swerve Strickland and Jon Moxley, with the latter hailing from Cincinnati and currently living in the city. Additionally, the ad features Orange Cassidy, Mercedes Mone, Christian Cage, Mariah May, Darby Allin, Willow Nightingale, and Chris Jericho. While this would normally indicate that these wrestlers are set to be featured on the show, writer Dave Meltzer recently noted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that AEW has been advertising performers without actually utilizing them on the events.
In addition to Maximum Carnage, the promotion also applied to trademark Maximum Mayhem, possibly indicating that AEW President and booker Tony Khan was still deciding between the two titles. Since AEW's inception, Khan has elected to brand certain episodes of "Dynamite" and "Collision" with special names, with other examples including AEW Grand Slam, AEW Winter is Coming, and AEW Fight For The Fallen. That last special is set to return early next year, with Fight For The Fallen taking place in Asheville, North Carolina, on January 1. It will mark the first time that "Dynamite" is simulcast on both TBS and streaming platform Max.