Though this PVP had some downs, on the whole this PVP was the best of the weekend that I watched, and it started with the Pre-Show
Pre-Show:
AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship Match: Sammy Guevara and Tay Melo vs Ruby Soho and Ortiz
Though I really love the in-ring work of Sammy and Ruby, I honestly didn’t care about this match, mainly because I am past tired of Guevarra and Melo’s sickening (in a bad way) lovey dovey shtick. It definitely have “go away” heat with me. That being said, it did have some highlights in it. There was no way “the happy Newlyweds” were going to lose this match, but the back and forth of the match was entertaining. I am sad to see that Ruby got her nose broken. I hope she’s going to be ok and recover as quickly as possible.
FTW Championship Match: Hook vs Angelo Parker
Again, this match was fun because it was Hook. He’s very entertaining to watch, and we got to see more of his move set and what he can do in the ring. That being said, if Hook wasn’t in this match, I wouldn’t care about it.
AEW All Atlantic Championship Match: PAC vs Kip Sabian
One thing was very evident throughout this match–even though Kip Sabian hasn’t been wrestling recently due to injury, while he was away recovering, he was working on his moves in the ring. I actually like this wannabe DC’s Joker character that he’s working on, and he is very much improved in the ring and showed that he could hang quite well with the likes of Pac. Pac is always great in the ring and fun to watch, so the match as a whole was entertaining.
Eddie Kingston vs Tomohiro Ishii
This was the match of the pre-show for me. These two going at with stiff shot after stiff shot, move for move was awesome to watch, and I like that Kingston actually got a win. I know Ishii is on the backside of puro resu career, but he continues to prove that he can still go and kick ass with the best of them. Very entertaining match, and each stiff chop had me popping.
Main Show:
Casino Ladder Match
This match was amazing!!! Whether it was ground and pound or high-flying moves, this match had me popping and jumping out of my seat from start to finish. Claudio picking up to the ladder and ejecting Andrade from it, Rush trying to murder people with kicks, Dante doing his homage to Spiderman on the ladder, and the Canadian Destroyer on the ladder between Penta and Andrade were all crazy and really entertaining to watch. The way the masked Joker won the match–this match was ridiculously exciting from start to finish, and really started the main show of the PVP off with a bang and some intrigue.
World Trios Championship Finals: The Elite vs The Dark Order
This match was worth the tournament, and it started off the existence of these belts in style. The thing is though I KNEW this match would be good. You had the best of the Dark Order (Johnny Hungy, Alex Reynolds, and Hangman Adam Page vs The Youngbucks and Kenny Omega, so there was no doubt that this match would bomb. Omega coming back from multiple injuries LOOKED AMAZING, and he showed everyone in attendance and watching from their TV screens why he is considered one of, if not the best in pro wrestling today. It was pretty clear from the first moments of this match, that the previous two matches that he had on AEW TV were partly to work in the story that he was a tad rusty after coming back from eight months of injury and surgery recovery. The false finishes in this match, especially towards the end had me on the edge of my seat. I seriously thought that the one false finish with Silver was the finish. I just knew the ref counted three. I really felt from the beginning that either team could have won this match, and throughout the match, they didn’t disappoint. I also loved how they played into the previous story between Omega and Page to finish the match. There’s definitely gonna some fallout from the ending of this match on Dynamite Wednesday. Congrats to the Elite on the win.
TBS Championship Match: Jade Cargill vs Athena
So this was the first low point of the night for me. Jade Cargill has a great look, and she has some prowess on the mic, though I do wonder what she would have to say if she wasn’t just calling everyone bitches all the time. I think that’s where it ends with me for Cargill because though I think she is improving daily in the ring, I don’t think and never thought that she should be TBS Champion, and frankly, there are quite a few people that she’s faced that could have legitimately ended her undefeated streak. From the very moment she was put in the finals of the tournament for the TBS title, I’ve said that she’s not ready (in-ringwise) for a title, and each subsequent match hasn’t disproven my stance, and this match didn’t do any favors. Athena was killing it in the ring, but again 1–she had to slow down for Cargill, and 2–even then she couldn’t hang. True there were flourishes from her, but on the whole, Cargill looked bad in this match…plain and simple. Also, the audience in the Arena was probably using this as a pee break match or a match to rest up for the remainder of the card, unfortunately, because except when they were cheering for Athena and reacting to some of her moves, this crowd was dead. They were dead because, besides the shock beginning of the match, everyone knew Cargill was winning the match because they are pushing her hardcore. This match frankly took the sails out of the crowd and they didn’t get their mojo back until later in the PVP, and that’s a shame because this crowd wanted Athena to win…hell, I wanted Athena to win, and when the ref counted the three count on yet another Cargill win, after her botchy performance that may have gotten her hurt (though I really hope she was just selling her shoulder) it really felt like…Meh.
FTR & Wardlow vs MCM & Jay Lethal
As much as I love all the people involved in this match, I really didn’t see a reason for it. The match was good, but honestly, I would have preferred to see a match between just FTR and MCM. I did like the ending of the match though with Sanjay getting his comeuppance.
Ricky Starks vs Powerhouse Hobbs
Honestly, this match could have been the main event of Rampage to give the show more viewers. I don’t think this match should have been on the PVP. That said, I really like Starks and Hobbs. Hobbs has really improved from his debut to become one of the heel, brutish brawlers that enjoy watching. The match was good, but I personally wanted Starks to win.
AEW Tag Team Championship: Swerve in Our Glory vs The Acclaimed
This was the best tag team match of the weekend. Both teams were evenly matched and the action was hot, heavy, and fun. When the crowd started chanting, “Oh Scissor Me Daddy!!!!” I laughed my ass off. It just showed how much the Acclaimed are over and love. By the end, I wanted the Acclaimed to win, but I understand why they didn’t, and appreciate the great work that Serve and Lee performed. Amazing match!
Interim Women’s World Championship Match: Hikaru Shida vs Toni Storm vs Jamie Hayter vs Britt Baker
From the very announcement of this match, I wanted either Storm or Hayter to win. I love Hikaru Shida, and I think she’s had one of the best run as champion in AEW, but personally, I wanted someone new to win the belt, and both Hayter and Storm have the chops to run that belt up the ladder to be one of, if not the top belt of the promotion. When it comes to Baker, honestly towards the end of her reign as champion, I began to shower on her matches, because it felt that she was…phoning it in, I guess you can say, and after she lost the belt, it felt like her matches were becoming more botchy and less entertaining like she’s kinda lost the care for the division if she’s not the champion/leader of it. So needless to say, I didn’t want her to win the belt again. Shida came out kendo sticks blazing and didn’t stop even after she was carried to the back, she came roaring back. The crowd cheered for Hayter throughout the match, and she was killing it. Storm was also showing why she’s beloved in the ring. I’m glad Storm won, but I can see the potential for two juicy feuds coming from this match–Storm vs Rosa, and Baker vs Hayter.
Christian Cage vs Jungle Boy
I know some felt this match was wasted, but I didn’t have a problem with it. It furthered the storyline and added a twist to the story.
Bryan Danielson vs Chris Jericho
This match was a great, gritty technical match and I loved every second. My only problem with the match was that Jericho cheated to win, and it wasn’t necessary.
House of Black vs Sting, Darby Allin, and Miro
This match was great, but honestly, I think that the House of Black should have been in a Triple Threat match for the Trios titles. They should be going for the Trio titles now if the rumors aren’t true and Malakai isn’t leaving AEW… a damn shame if he did.
AEW World Championship Match: Jon Moxley vs CM Punk
Though this match was slightly diminished in the name of ratings, it was still a very good match. I loved hearing the crowd chanting for Moxley, even though Punk was in his hometown. It added a bit of edge to the match. Even though Punk won, and I understand why he won, I was still hoping for Moxley to retain. That being said, when the lights went dark, I knew MJF was coming out because I knew he was the Joker in the Ladder Match, when he walked out in the mask–it didn’t stop me from being excited about it though. I think MJF is going to win the belt at either Grand Slam or Full Gear, and I can’t wait for his heel work that he’s going to spew out along the way.
On the whole, this PVP was great…the best of the weekend, but there are still areas that need working on within AEW, and the whole incident that was the AEW Post Media Scrum added some weird heat to all the stuff that’s going on behind the scenes. I hope all that stuff is a work, and not grown adults acting like childish idiots. Anyway…TLDR, this PVP gets a solid 4 out of 5.
