# AEW Homecoming

AEW Homecoming is a periodic professional wrestling television special produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Established by the promotion in 2020, it celebrates the company's return to its home venue of Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Homecoming airs as special episodes of AEW's weekly television programs.
After producing Homecoming events in 2020 and 2021, the special was briefly discontinued until its return in 2024. The event originally aired as a special episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite on TNT, but in 2024, it was expanded to a two-part special, also encompassing Friday Night Rampage, with Dynamite now airing on TBS and Rampage on TNT. The 2025 event was held as a one-night special of Saturday Night Collision on TNT, which was subsequently the first Homecoming to be simulcast on the streaming service Max.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the vast majority of the promotion's shows had to be held at Daily's Place from March 2020 to June 2021, but these were not produced as Homecoming events due to the circumstances. Additionally, although AEW returned to Daily's Place for episodes of their television programs in December of 2021, March and October of 2022, and April of 2024, these were not held as "Homecoming" specials.

## History

After the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) was founded in January 2019, the company held its third-ever event, Fight for the Fallen, on July 13 that year at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida. Daily's Place is an open-air amphitheater located on the same complex as the EverBank Stadium (formerly TIAA Bank Field; renamed in 2023), the home stadium of the Jacksonville Jaguars, a National Football League team that is also owned by AEW President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Khan. As such, the stadium itself is AEW's de facto headquarters, with Daily's Place becoming AEW's home base. On January 1, 2020, AEW held a special episode of its weekly television program, Wednesday Night Dynamite on TNT, at Daily's Place titled Homecoming, in reference to the venue.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that began effecting the industry in mid-March 2020, AEW held the majority of its programs from Daily's Place; these events were originally held without fans, but the company began running shows at 10–15% capacity in August, before eventually running full capacity shows in May 2021. Although held at Daily's Place, these shows were not "Homecoming" events due to the circumstances. In May, AEW announced that it would be returning to live touring, beginning with a special episode of Dynamite titled Road Rager on July 7. Road Rager was also the first of a four-week span of special Dynamite episodes as part of AEW's "Welcome Back" tour, which continued with the two-part Fyter Fest on July 14 and 21 and concluded with Fight for the Fallen on July 28. In early July, AEW scheduled a second Homecoming episode to be held after the conclusion of the "Welcome Back" tour, briefly returning AEW to Daily's Place on August 4. The event was promoted as the final event to be held at Daily's Place for Summer 2021. AEW would then return to Daily's Place in December that year, but that event was held as the New Year's Smash special.
Although AEW returned to Daily's Place in 2022 for episodes of Dynamite and their secondary program, Friday Night Rampage (which premiered on TNT on August 13, 2021), these were regular episodes that were not produced as Homecoming specials. AEW did not hold any shows at Daily's Place in 2023, but scheduled a return to the venue in January 2024. The company in turn revived the Homecoming special with the third event held on January 10, 2024. Unlike the prior two events, the 2024 Homecoming expanded the show to a two-part special, with the first part airing live as a special episode of Dynamite on TBS (the program moved from TNT to TBS in January 2022), with the second part taped the same night to air on tape delay on January 12 as a special episode of Rampage on TNT.
AEW returned to Daily's Place in late April 2024 for episodes of Dynamite, Rampage, and its third program, Saturday Night Collision (which premiered on TNT in June 2023), but these were not held as Homecoming specials. The first Collision to be a Homecoming special was the 2025 event, scheduled for January 25. This also reduced Homecoming back to a one-night event, following Rampage's cancellation at the end of December 2024. This was also the first Homecoming to be simulcast on the streaming service Max.

## Events

All AEW Homecoming events are held at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
| # | Event | Date | Main Event |
| 1 | 2020 | Dynamite: January 1, 2020 | The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) vs. Death Triangle (Pac, Pentagón Jr., and Rey Fénix) |
| 2 | 2021 | Dynamite: August 4, 2021 | Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes |
| 3 | 2024 | Night 1: Dynamite – January 10, 2024 | Sting and Darby Allin vs. The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs) in a Texas Tornado match |
| 3 | 2024 | Night 2: Rampage – January 10, 2024 (aired January 12) | The Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver, and Alex Reynolds) vs. Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, and Jake Hager |
| 4 | 2025 | Collision: January 25, 2025 | Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the AEW International Championship |

## Results
### 2020

The 2020 Homecoming was the inaugural Homecoming professional wrestling television special produced by AEW. The event marked the promotion's return to its home base of Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, following the company's debut at the venue during Fight for the Fallen in July the previous year. It was held on New Year's Day on January 1, 2020, and was broadcast on TNT as a special episode of AEW's weekly television program, Wednesday Night Dynamite.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | Cody (with Arn Anderson) defeated Darby Allin | Singles match | 17:18 |
| 2 | Riho (c) defeated Britt Baker, Hikaru Shida, and Nyla Rose | Four-way match for the AEW Women's World Championship | 9:49 |
| 3 | Jon Moxley defeated Trent (with Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy) | Singles match | 11:02 |
| 4 | Sammy Guevara defeated Dustin Rhodes | Singles match | 11:23 |
| 5 | The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson) defeated Death Triangle (Pac, Pentagón Jr., and Rey Fénix) | Six-man tag team match | 12:26 |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match ||||

### 2021

The 2021 Homecoming was the second Homecoming professional wrestling television special produced by AEW. The event marked a brief return to AEW's home venue of Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, which is where they had produced shows through the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 – June 2021), and came after the conclusion of AEW's "Welcome Back" tour, which celebrated the company's resumption of live touring. It was held on August 4, 2021, and was broadcast on TNT as a special episode of AEW's weekly television program, Wednesday Night Dynamite. This was the final Homecoming special produced until 2024, as despite AEW returning to Daily's Place in December 2021 and then in March and October of 2022 for episodes of Dynamite and their Friday night program Rampage, these were not produced as Homecoming specials, and no shows were held at Daily's Place in 2023.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | Chris Jericho defeated Juventud Guerrera | Singles match Jericho had to perform a top rope maneuver to win. | 9:55 |
| 2 | Jon Moxley, Eddie Kingston, and Darby Allin (with Sting) defeated 2.0 (Matt Lee and Jeff Parker) and Daniel Garcia | Six-man tag team match | 10:11 |
| 3 | Christian Cage defeated The Blade (with The Bunny) | Singles match | 10:14 |
| 4 | Miro (c) defeated Lee Johnson (with Dustin Rhodes) | Singles match for the AEW TNT Championship | 9:48 |
| 5 | Leyla Hirsch defeated The Bunny | NWA World Women's Championship Eliminator Match The winner became the #1 contender to the NWA World Women's Championship | 8:19 |
| 6 | Malakai Black defeated Cody Rhodes | Singles match | 5:09 |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match ||||

### 2024

The 2024 Homecoming was the third Homecoming professional wrestling television special produced by AEW. The event marked the company's return to its home venue of Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida for the first time since October 2022, although it was the first Homecoming special since 2021. It was held on January 10, 2024. Unlike the prior two Homecoming specials, which only aired as a special episode of Wednesday Night Dynamite, the 2024 event expanded Homecoming to a two-part special, also encompassing Friday Night Rampage. Dynamite aired live on TBS while Rampage aired on tape delay on January 12 on TNT. The event also paid tribute to Mr. Brodie Lee, an AEW wrestler and leader of The Dark Order who was a prominent figure during the company's time at Daily's Place during the COVID-19 pandemic from March to October 2020 before his death that December.

#### Night 1

Dynamite (aired live January 10) :
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | "Hangman" Adam Page defeated Claudio Castagnoli by pinfall | Singles match | 17:00 |
| 2 | Adam Copeland, Dustin Rhodes, Orange Cassidy, and Preston Vance defeated Lance Archer and The Mogul Embassy (Brian Cage, Bishop Kaun, and Toa Liona) (with Jake Roberts and Prince Nana) by pinfall | Brodie Lee memorial Eight-man tag team match | 10:25 |
| 3 | Sammy Guevara defeated Ricky Starks by pinfall | Singles match | 9:00 |
| 4 | Anna Jay, Kris Statlander, Thunder Rosa, and Willow Nightingale defeated Julia Hart, Skye Blue, and The Outcasts (Saraya and Ruby Soho) (with Harley Cameron) by submission | Brodie Lee memorial Eight-woman tag team match | 9:00 |
| 5 | Roderick Strong (with Adam Cole, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, and Wardlow) defeated Bryan Keith by pinfall | Singles match | 4:20 |
| 6 | Sting and Darby Allin (with Ric Flair) defeated The Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs) (with Don Callis) by pinfall | Texas Tornado match | 10:00 |

#### Night 2

Rampage (taped January 10; aired January 12) :
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | Eddie Kingston (c) defeated Wheeler Yuta by pinfall | Singles match for the Continental Crown Championship (AEW Continental Championship, ROH World Championship, and the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship) | 17:50 |
| 2 | Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana) defeated Matt Sydal by pinfall | Singles match | 4:00 |
| 3 | Hikaru Shida defeated Queen Aminata by pinfall | Singles match | 9:00 |
| 4 | The Dark Order (Evil Uno, John Silver, and Alex Reynolds) (with "Negative One" Brodie Lee Jr.) defeated Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, and Jake Hager by pinfall | Brodie Lee memorial Trios match | 10:00 |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match ||||

### 2025

The 2025 Homecoming was the fourth Homecoming professional wrestling television special produced by AEW. Although the company held shows at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida in April 2024, this was the first Homecoming special at the venue since January that year. It was held on January 25, 2025. Unlike the prior year, which aired as a two-part special encompassing Wednesday Night Dynamite and Friday Night Rampage, the 2025 event was reduced back to one night and was the first Homecoming to air as a special episode of Saturday Night Collision. The special was simulcast live on TNT and Max, which was the first Homecoming to be simulcast on Max.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times |
| 1 | Samoa Joe (with Hook and Katsuyori Shibata) defeated Nick Wayne (with Christian Cage, Mother Wayne, and Kip Sabian) by pinfall | Singles match | 5:27 |
| 2 | Kazuchika Okada defeated Komander (with Alex Abrahantes) by pinfall | Singles match | 9:00 |
| 3 | The Undisputed Kingdom (Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong) defeated Daniel Garcia, "Cool Hand" Angelo Parker, and "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard by pinfall | Trios match | 9:49 |
| 4 | Hounds of Hell (Brody King and Buddy Matthews) (with Julia Hart) defeated Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona) by pinfall | Tag team match | 9:04 |
| 5 | Yuka Sakazaki defeated Deonna Purrazzo (with Taya Valkyrie), Queen Aminata, and Serena Deeb by pinfall | Four-way match to determine the #1 contender for the AEW TBS Championship | 9:27 |
| 6 | Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Katsuyori Shibata by pinfall | Singles match for the AEW International Championship | 13:31 |
| (c) – the champion(s) heading into the match ||||

## Reception
### Television ratings

The 2020 Homecoming averaged 967,000 television viewers on TNT and a 0.36 rating in AEW's key demographic.
The 2021 Homecoming averaged 1,102,000 television viewers on TNT, with a 0.46 rating in AEW's key demographic.