So, after the quite impressive PPV that was Full Gear, AEW now has to follow up with the TV show. Let’s see how that goes!
(Oh, and I was abused on Twitter – or rather, my mate who deals with that stuff was – because I didn’t call it the first AEW Dynamite Era PPV. Seriously? Looks like the IWC hasn’t changed in 20-odd years…)
1) PPV highlight package to open. Nice. Oh, and while I’m here – there has been a lot of debate about the Omega-Moxley match. I am not a fan of hardcore wrestling, but this was done well. The thing is – there was more blood in the Dustin-Cody match. See, they started with the big blood spots. What that did was get the crowd riled up and everything else that looked impressive but did not draw a lot of colour was made to look worse because the blood started the match. And these two did not perform any overly risky moves. Hell, Cody’s face dive was riskier. Anyway, I liked it. Speaking of which, Omega and the doctor and highlights are shown and Omega isn’t cleared to wrestle. I liked that. And it looked like the camera was just there – they weren’t performing for it.
2) Jon Moxley v Michael Nakazawa
And before I can type that, it’s over. A squash, which gives Moxley a reason to be there and doesn’t over-tax him after Full Gear. Nakazawa starts with a flurry, then is killed. Dead. Moxley on the mic. He puts Omega over, and then says no-one wants to step in the ring with him (actually, no-one has the balls). So he puts out an open challenge. Good promo.
3) Dark Order v Jurassic Express (Marko Stunt & Jungle Boy)
JE are so over it’s hilarious. Not a bad match, but this was the JE bumping and hit high spots for the DO… I am yet to be convinced by Dark Order, and this match did not change my mind. They got the win in the end, offered a place in the Dark Order to Marko Stunt (seriously), Jungle Boy sort of says no for him, the Creepers attack, Luchasaurus comes out and kills everyone. Sorry. This did nothing for me. But the pop for Luchasaurus was huge!
4) Shawn Spears v Peter Avalon v Darby Allin
Oh, goody, a Librarian match. F*ck. 3-way match. Avalon’s pre-match mic stuff was crap. This was disjointed. At one point, Joey Janela came out and he and Spears brawl into the crowd. So Allin got the win with the Coffin Drop. Post-match, Allin accepts Moxley’s challenge.
(Bonus thought: At Full Gear, JR sounded grumpy and disinterested; tonight, he sounded cynical and some of his jokes and asides were actually amusing. It’s like he needs the comfortable security blanket of Tony Schiavone to be Good Ol’ JR. No comment, just a thought.)
5) AEW Dark is recapped and hyped. This leads into:
Nyla Rose v Danny Jordan
And we have squash number 2 for the evening. Nyla is still a little green, but she is definitely improving. Jordan has a good look, but we couldn’t tell much about her wrestling.
6) News! Dustin Rhodes is a couple of weeks away from resuming. Next week a 12-man battle royal who be fighting for a diamond ring… Battle Bowl? Seriously? Will DDP win again? Schiavone is with a female wrestler named Allie, and out comes Brandi Rhodes and Awesome Kong who take some of her hair. I said it before, I say it again – this will have no decent pay-off.
7) Jericho is out with a mic. He demands his thank-you. He cuts a promo about Cody. MJF comes out to Cody’s music (Shiavone: “You can remove the J if you ask me.”). They share Cody-bashing for a while. Cody runs out to attack MJF (botching a powerslam). Wardlow comes out to be MJF’s hired muscles and they beat up Cody and re-open his cut. The promos were good, and it established MJF as the heel he was at the start of AEW. Slightly long, but still really good. And some of the back and forth comedy between Jericho and MJF was laugh out loud funny.
8) Pac v Hangman Page
Rematch from Full Gear. The rubber match, apparently. Not as good as the PPV match, but still very good. There were call-backs to previous matches, as they had both learnt from previous bouts. Pac gets the win to take the “series”. This was a seriously good match, but, like I said, the PPV one was better.
9) We go backstage where Santana & Ortiz are brawling with the Young Bucks. We get one of the best Orange Cassidy cameos and the response by Ortiz was classic. The brawl ends up on the stage. They really take out Nick’s leg he hurt at Full Gear. While intense and served the purpose of continuing the feud, it did feel like it went on a little long. Powerbomb through the stage. Brandon Cutler tries to make the save, but is attacked. Private Party make the final save.
Look, kudos for AEW for making things seem more realistic. Brawls leading to matches is fine. But it is happening over and over already. I do not want to see soap opera WWE bullsh*t, but every single feud being based on a brawl or having a brawl will overkill it very, very quickly.
10) Tag Team Titles: SCU (c) v Sammy Guevara & Chris Jericho
Your main event was another really good match. While it was short – a little over 10 minutes – a hell of a lot was packed into it. Danielson and Hager got involved, there was some great near-falls. Guevara when he was in did look a little lost and slow (and pre-selling…), but he, like so many others in AEW, is getting better each time I see him. The ending came when Scorpio Sky cradled Le Champion Jericho for the pin to retain. Jericho’s first loss, and first time he’s been pinned in AEW! And post-match, he throws a right tantrum!
Sky was the MVP of the tag tournament and everyone could see that. The crowd responded to him amazingly, and he really put in a strong effort. To AEW’s credit, they have listened to the responses, and giving Sky this pin in the victory, and over Jericho, not Guevara, indicates how highly he is thought of. I hope this is the start of great things for Scorpio Sky, as he would be a fine choice to lead the promotion.
So, there we have it. The whole show did feel like there was a let down after the PPV. It did not quite hit all the marks. It was what it was.
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