AEW Dynamite Review - November 25th, 2020

AEW Dynamite

November 25th, 2020

Daily’s Place

Jacksonville, FL

Commentators - Jim Ross, Excalibur & Tony Schiavone 

Okay this is almost 2 weeks old now but I missed it and I have to finish it for completion’s sake so fuck off 

1) Hangman Page vs. John Silver 

 

Big Meltz gave this four stars which is crazy, but this did in fact rule. These two are honestly kinda similar in style, not the biggest guys, although Page is taller, however they hit super hard and they threw some bombs here. Honestly everything you could want out of a sprint between these two while also teasing the possibility of Page joining Dark Order. 

Match rating - ***1/4

Kenny Omega is backstage with Alex Marvez. Omega says Moxley needs to leave the garbage wrestling at home next week if he really wants to prove himself as the best. Omega also says Mox’s life story warms his heart but that his dad “would probably beat the shit out of your dad” DAMNNNNN. I love Omega so much. 

Darby Allin vignette with him blowing up a car and saying that Team Taz will survive if he lets them. 

2) Powerhouse Will Hobbs (w/ Taz) vs. Lee Johnson 

AEW: Dynamite - Winter is Coming Review - December 2nd, 2020

AEW Dynamite

WINTER IS HERE

December 2nd, 2020 

Jacksonville, FL 

Commentators - Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur & Don Callis

1) Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal 

So this is for the ring that MJF notoriously won last year, I guess that means this will be a yearly thing. I fuck with it because MJF made it such a big deal. MJF says in a video pack he will “retain” his ring especially if he has Sammy Guevara & Wardlow by his side because “this is our ring” - well.. anyway this gets going and there are lots of names in this. Basically every mid card-upper mid carder. You’ve got Matt Hardy, Private Party, Miro, Orange Cassidy, Hangman Page and a bunch more. AEW reaaaally kills it with these battle Royal layout and this was no different. They touch on so many different things in this. From the tension between Shawn Spears & Scorpio Sky as they both refuse to get in the ring and stare down each other at ringside at the bell (which also is touched back on later when they got involved) to Hangman and Silver & Reynolds hitting some triple team offense and celebrating together which further teases the Page/Dark Order stuff. They packed so much little stuff in here and it was a blast. Jungle Boy gets cornered by Guevara, MJF & Wardlow in the end. He & Sammy have an awesome exchange before MJF shoves them both off the top rope which furthers the MJF/Sammy strained forced friendship. It looks like MJF & Wardlow are the last two and will face off next week per the rules, but they forget Orange Cassidy is still at ringside and wasn’t thrown out. YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. Cassidy comes in and stuns them both and throws Wardlow out! Orange vs. MJF next week FOR THE RING. Miro comes out PISSED about this as Chuck Taylor & Trent? celebrate with him. This felt so chaotic and was awesome. I love that they are keeping Orange Cassidy so involved in big stories. But yes, this was great! 

Match rating - ***1/4

2) Chris Jericho (w/ Jake Hager & Ortiz) vs. Frankie Kazarian 

This was pretty interesting. You get a buuuunch of Inner Circle turmoil and that’s pretty much what this was all about, but we got a fun match out of it too. I’m sure it was a treat for Kazarian to face Jericho and he proves it by nailing Jericho with the fucking flux capacitor off the top turnbuckle. INSANE spot. Jericho kicks out and they keep going at it. Kazarian locks Jericho in a Boston crab. Ortiz almost breaks it up but Hager stops him to avoid the DQ. Then MJF comes out with a towel and Sammy Guevara runs down to stop him. Meanwhile Jericho gets the ropes as all his stablemates argue, he hits the Judas effect on Kaz for the win. 

Match rating - ***

Post match, Jericho says he’s sick of the bullshit!!! Ahhh the S bombs on television! Jericho says they either all get along next week or Inner Circle breaks up FOREVER... dAMN! 

The Young Bucks are backstage doing an interview. Next week, they face Jack Evans & Angelico. If they can beat them, they get a tag title shot because they are fighting champions. The Acclaimed walk up and I don’t know much about them, but one of them starts rapping and making jokes about the Bucks’ book cover and Matt goes “didn’t somebody already do this gimmick?” which was hilarious. TH2 (Evans & Angelico) attack The Bucks from behind. Evans throws Nick in a garbage dump. Christopher Daniels & Kazarian make the save. TAG DIVISION HEATING BACK UP HELL YEAH.

3) Britt Baker (w/ Rebel) vs. Leyla Hirsch 

Apparently Hirsch has competed in AEW before but I’ve never seen her. She has a good look though. Awesome pre-taped promo from Britt during her entrance saying she’s keeping it clean around AEW and will be sending Leyla on a one way plane ticket back to Russia. Oof. Well atleast they gave us some story and meaning to care about this match and it actually turns out to be pretty decent! Rebel gets involved and is a big factor in this. Baker goes for the lockjaw but HIRSCH REVERSES INTO A CROSS ARMBREAKER!! Nice little spot of hope for Hirsch before Baker fights back to put her in lockjaw forcing a submission and getting her the victory. 

Match rating - **1/2 

THUNDER ROSA ATTACKS BRITT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BELL. I forgot to mention Britt mentioned Rosa in her promo earlier as some of the trash she took out referencing her attack on her last week. PULL APART BRAWL BETWEEN THE TWO LADIES. Referees, Jerry Lynn, BJ Whitmer, and others run down to separate things. 

4) Darby Allin & Cody Rhodes (w/ Arn Anderson) vs. Ricky Starks & Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Taz)

God I love the Team Taz entrance music. I guess they’ve changed Will Hobbs name to Powerhouse Hobbs? Ok I guess. So yeah this feud has been awesome so obviously this was a lot of fun. Cody & Darby try to work over Starks, it doesn’t last long and Darby gets isolated and Hobbs & Starks just beat the shit out of him. Hobbs in particular looks amazing doing so. They build towards the super Cody hot tag. Cody & Darby make their comeback and get the victory. 

Match rating - ***

Post match, it all breaks the hell down. Arn Anderson throws blows at Hobbs for attacking Darby post match. Dustin Rhodes comes out. Brian Cage comes out. It turns into a dominant assault by Team Taz. All of a sudden the lights go out and... FUCKING STING. STING IN AEW. STING ON TNT FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE LAST EPISODE OF WCW MONDAY NITRO. This is massive. I was never a huge Sting fan. However his contributions and legacy cannot be argued. His WWE run felt very forced and just whatever. But this.. this felt special. Especially with Tony freaking Schiavone calling it. Hearing Tony yell “ITS STIIIIIIING” gave me chills and I haven’t even watched much WCW. Epic moment and wow. Sting staring down Darby Allin in the corner for even longer and more intently than he did Cody, Dustin, and Arn. Chills. Cannot WAIT to see what is next as they announce after this segment that Sting has been signed to a multi year contract with AEW by Tony Khan. 

Next week:

The Young Bucks vs. TH2 (Jack Evans & Angelico)

Dustin Rhodes vs. 10 

The Inner Circle Ultimatum 

FTR vs. Varsity Blondes (Brian Pillman Jr & Griff Garrison) 

Abadon in action 

Lance Archer & Lucha Bros vs. The Butcher, The Blade, & Eddie Kingston 

Sting speaks next week! 

Backstage, Hikaru Shida is not afraid of Abadon. 

5) Jon Moxley (c) vs. Kenny Omega - AEW World Championship Match 

And here we go. The biggest match in Dynamite history. The final moment in Omega’s rise back to singles prominence. The true peak in Jon Moxley’s AEW World Title reign. Such a massive match. Omega’s longtime friend, former NJPW commentator, and current Impact Wrestling executive Don Callis is on commentary. Mox & Omega work on the mat to start. Omega throws the first strike in the form of a chop in the corner and Mox fired up out of it and each one that followed as he got right in Kenny’s face in response. Just awesome shit early. They end up on the floor aka in Moxley’s zone and he dominates, throwing Kenny around and breaking the count so they can continue to brawl at ringside. Back in the ring, Omega starts going after Moxley’s knee. Mox has his leg hung up in the corner but manages to knock Omega down with a brutal lariat to make some separation. This match was at a pretty slow, but deliberate pace until about halfway through. They kick things into high gear and start busting out all their big stuff. I marked super hard for Kenny hitting Mox with croyt’s wrath which was a super good nearfall. Then comes the drama. Mox suplexes Omega into a heater at ringside. This brings refs down to check on him. Don Callis leaves the commentary booth. Mox pulls the referees off and tosses Omega back into the ring and starts wailing on him. Don Callis gets on the apron with a mic, Moxley knocks him down, but Omega gets the mic and the process and nails Moxley with it... full heel turn here for sure. Mox is busted open and Omega nails multiple versions of the v trigger on his bloody head. All of which look hella stiff. Then it’s the one winged angel for the victory. MAN. High drama there at the end, I don’t even mind the overbooking at all, this honestly felt so big and left me with so many questions and things to be excited about. I’ve watched it three times and I’m still buzzing at the replays on YouTube. Awesome match, but the real buzz comes post match. 

Match rating - ****1/4

Callis and Omega shuffle out of the arena as the commentators call this a screw job. Fans and employees are shouting at them as they head through the backstage area. Tony Khan is yelling from the gorilla position. They catch them for an interview as they’re getting into a car to flee and when asked what just happened, Don Callis says “You’ll find out from me & Kenny on IMPACT Wrestling on AXS TV next Tuesday night!” WHAT. THE. FUCK. 

Eddie Kingston hops on commentary at the last second mocking Moxley’s loss and says he wants Lance Archer now. Chaotic ending to this show in every facet and all in all, this might be the best episode of Dynamite yet as a whole. 

AEW: Dynamite Review - November 18th, 2020

AEW Dynamite

November 18th, 2020

Jacksonville, FL

1) The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) (c) vs. Top Flight (Darius & Dante Martin) - AEW World Tag Team Championship Match 

This was an awesome match to open the show. It was very reminiscent of the story of Bucks/PP from the AEW Title tournament, but even more personal as Top Flight’s journey has been SO similar to the YB’s. Just classic Bucks stuff here and Top Flight looked great too. Bucks retain. 

Match rating - ***1/2

Post match, Jack Evans & Angelico attack Top Flight. The Bucks run them off and raise the hands of Darius & Dante.

AEW: Dynamite Review - November 11th, 2020

AEW: Dynamite 

November 11th, 2020

Team Taz opens the show. Ricky Starks looks like a fucking goat as usual. God I love him. Taz points out that Darby Allin is up in the stands watching things. He tells him to keep his "narrow ass" in the seat and puts over the importance of Cage/Sydal which is next. 

1) Brian Cage (w/ Taz & Ricky Starks) vs. Matt Sydal

AEW: Full Gear 2020 Review - November 7th, 2020

AEW Full Gear

November 7th, 2020

Jacksonville, FL

IT IS TIME. I am a few days late, scratch that, a week late thanks to work causing me to miss a small get together with my friends Mike & Donnie to watch this event live. None the less, I am just as fucking stoked despite seeing spoilers. And as a note, I also caught the main event live. 

Don Callis has joined Excalibur, Jim Ross, & Tony Schiavone on commentary for our opening match per request of Kenny Omega. 

1) Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page - Finals of the AEW Title #1 Contender’s Tournament 

Alright. We all know I’m a mark for the Bullet Club turned Elite turned AEW EVP’s. Omega & Page’s title defense against The Young Bucks earlier this year earned a five star rating from me which is a testament to how invested I am into this story. Admittedly it felt like this stalled out in the build, however the video package and seeing the two in the same ring for this high stakes match brought back some of the urgency and most definitely brought back the feels. They get into a collar elbow tie up early and wrestle around the ropes and get into it pretty back & forth early. Page sends Omega into the railing but OMEGA JUMPS ONTO THE RAILING AND MOONSAULTS PAGE for my first gasp of the match. Next crazy moment is Page with a pop up powerbomb on the entrance way followed by one in the ring for a big near fall. A couple big moves later and Omega wins with the one winged angel. Dang. I was hoping for more than this, but I guess that’s my own fault for wanting another epic from this story. My only guess is maybe AEW saw this story stalling and decided not to try and make this a melodramatic contest. Well, great opener none the less. Omega wins and Page looks very depressed as he is helped to the back. 

Match rating - ***3/4

2) Orange Cassidy (w/ Chuck Taylor & Trent) vs. John Silver 

AEW: Dynamite Review - October 21st, 2020

AEW: Dynamite Review

October 21st, 2020

The show opens with Wardlow on his way to the ring...

1) Wardlow vs. Jungle Boy - AEW Title #1 Contender’s Tournament 

WARDLOW. Aside from the expected Omega/Page final, Wardlow being involved might be what I’m most excited about as I feel he could be the real sleeper of this thing. I don’t think he’s wrestled on dynamite since the cage match with Cody? So seeing him here and only on special occasions I think helps build the appeal. And this was another good match from the big man as Jungle Boy flew and bumped around for him and they delivered a solid big man/little man back & forth contest. In the end, Wardlow is too much for Jungle Boy to combat and he eats the pin. 

Match rating - ***

2) Kenny Omega vs. Sonny Kiss - AEW Title #1 Contender's Tournament Match

EPIC KENNY OMEGA CLEANER ENTRANCE. They did everything in their power to make this feel big and it worked. Poor Sonny Kiss eats a V Trigger and the One Winged Angel and this one is over before it even gets started. Omega advances with a dominant showing in his huge return to singles competition. This makes sense on every level especially considering Omega's original opponent Joey Janela was pulled from the tournament due to having came in contact with someone who had COVID over the weekend. I just wonder if this was the plan in that case too? Guess we will never know!

3) Pentagon Jr. vs. Fenix - AEW Title #1 Contender’s Tournament Match

Hell fuckin yes. One of the best AEW TV matches to date. Penta & Fenix are brothers and a team, but have faced off numerous times and with the stakes this high it makes total sense. Eddie Kingston is on commentary and does a great job helping explain that as well. If you’ve ever seen these two go at it, you know what we got here. Just an absolute bonkers showcase. So much inane shit packed into 15 or so minutes. Fenix wins and will face Kenny Omega next week. 

Match rating - ****

4) Hangman Adam Page vs. Colt Cabana - AEW Title #1 Contenders Tournament Match 

Colt once again delivers some TV goodness and Hangman looks amazing, also per usual. They do some pretty good spots and gave Colt a little more than you might expect. Uno was at the entrance ramp watching on. Hangman wins with the buckshot lariat. 

Match rating - ***1/4

Back from commercial, Taz comes out with Brian Cage and Ricky Starks and cuts a badass promo on how unfair it is that Darby Allin is getting handed a title shot against Cody for the TNT Title at Full Gear. Ricky Starks then gets the mic and shows why he is honestly the bigger star compared to Cage. Awesome stuff from Starks as he vows to put Darby in the grave the next time they meet.

The Chris Jericho/MJF musical that I'm sure you've heard about by now airs and it is fucking hilarious and part of what makes AEW unique. They actually know how to pull of light hearted/comedy stuff without making you feel stupid for watching even though this entire thing is goofy as can be. Who knew Jericho and MJF would be the perfect pairing.

5) Britt Baker vs. KyLinn King

Extended squash for Britt here. But as I have said in previous reviews, she's improved so much that almost everything she's involved in is at the least somewhat enjoyable. Despite this being a squash, King didn't look bad and played her part excellently. Baker wins after a few minutes. 

Match rating - **1/4

NEXT WEEK: 

• Hangman Page vs. Wardlow
•  Cody vs. Orange Cassidy - Lumberjack Match for the TNT Title 

6) The Young Bucks vs. The Butcher & The Blade (w/ The Bunny) vs. Private Party vs. John Silver & Alex Reynolds - AEW Tag Team Title #1 Contender’s Match

This was a lot of fun as you’d expect. Silver & Reynolds and Private Party were honestly the highlights and if I’m being honest, I think I’d enjoy seeing them feud over the tag belts more right now than Bucks/FTR. That dream match feud has just lost its luster and I don’t even understand the build they’ve been going for anymore. But, yeah. Bucks win this. Oh, also, poor Alex Reynolds got knocked out cold and it was very scary. Cody even came out to check on him after the show went off the air. 

Match rating - ***1/2

Post match, FTR tries to share a beer with The Bucks which they obviously decline and slap out of their hands. It’s so hard to tell who’s supposed to face and heel here considering the past few weeks, especially on the Bucks’ end. 

AEW: Dynamite Review - October 7th, 2020

AEW: Dynamite

Chris Jericho 30th Anniversary Appreciation Night 

October 7th, 2020 

Show opens with various stars talking about Chris Jericho and his influence on them/their favorite moments of his. Darby Allin, Santana & Ortiz, Scorpio Sky, & Britt Baker are among those featured. 

We are thrown to the commentary booth that is even more packed than usual with Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz and Ricky Starks residing. They run down a couple things for the night and we are kicking off with Brian Cage defending the FTW Title against Will Hobbs !! 

1) Brian Cage (c) vs. Will Hobbs - FTW Title Match 

It’s finally here - Will Hobbs’ first big singles match and I’d say he definitely delivered. Just your basic Brian Cage style match with a little more emotion than normal bc it’s Hobbs’ big opportunity. Cool moment I enjoyed near the end was Hobbs hitting Cage with his spine buster finisher and Cage kicks out which leaves Tony Schiavone with the line “now let’s see what he’s made of” as Hobbs stands trying to figure out what move he can even do next. He goes for a big frog splash only to miss and get drilled and lose. I look forward to a rematch between these two. 

Match rating - ***1/2

As fun as the match was, the post match was even fucking better. Ricky Starks steps from the commentary table and hits the ring looking like a STAR. I love that dude, I swear. He just has the look and he & Cage are perfect together with Taz. Taz gets on the mic and is as on point as ever as he offers Hobbs the chance to join Team Taz or get the hell beat out of him. Darby Allin’s music hits as they corner Hobbs and I GOT CHILLS. Starks & Cage slowly back away as Darby taunts them with the skateboard. Taz calls Darby a rotten punk and that he will learn not to get in Team Taz’s business one day soon. This angle is so hot right now. 

Slash, Hiroshi Tanahashi and several others are the next group of Jericho shout outs. Never thought I’d put Slash and Hiroshi Tanahashi in the same sentence but hell yeah. 

2) FTR (c) vs. TH2 (Jack Evans & Angelico) - AEW World Tag Team Title Match 

Jack flips his way to the damn ring, literally. What an insane human being. The Young Bucks are shown watching FTR’s entrance with a shitty look on their face. Jack Evans hits some crazy, sloppy fast offense to stun FTR early. This turns into a pretty competitive match. You could tell Jack had some ring rust, but other than that this was fun. FTR retains. 

Match rating - ***

Best Friends come out to a huge reaction and feel. I swear they are possibly the biggest stars in this company right now - definitely in the tag division. They have shirts on bridging off them calling FTR weenies last week. Next week Best Friends challenge FTR for the Tag Team titles and I am READY. This little feud rules. 

3) Brodie Lee (w/ John Silver) (c) vs. Cody (w/ Arn Anderson) - Dog Collar Match for the TNT Title 

It’s Cody in a gimmick match fueled by emotion so you know it rocks. They milk the stipulation, beat the hell out of each other and bleed buckets. Cody winning the title right back seemed a little abrupt and brought some flack from some. But it’s what we got and the match was good and having to see Brodie covered in blood and beaten to that pulp is the only way I think we should see him getting beaten right now so hell yeah on that note. 

Match rating - ****

Post match, Cody is riled up and says he will always be for the people and will defend the title again next week. Out walks FRESHLY SQUEEZED ORANGE CASSIDY and here we fuckin go. Cody/OC next week as they give each other the thumbs up as we go to break. 

COLT CABANA, WARDLOW, & HANGMAN PAGE are announced for the AEW Title tournament that also features Kenny Omega, Jungle Boy & Rey Fenix. Fuckin WARDLOW huh? Stoked on that. 

Big thing from that announcement was Page being announced. Also excited about that although I think we all saw it coming from a mile away. Kenny gets interviewed backstage and says he will win the tournament because he’s won tournaments around the world and it doesn’t matter if a “tag team wrestler like Page” is in it or not. Inject Page/Omega final into my veins. 

4) Big Swole vs. Serena Deeb

Yo this was solid. Both women busted their ass and delivered a great match despite being in the cool down portion of the show after the hot TNT title match. The final few moments were nuts and Serena Deeb was defnitely an amazing addition to the AEW team. Swole takes the victory when all is said and done.

Match rating - ***1/4

5) Inner Circle (Chris Jericho & Jake Hager) vs. Chaos Project (Luther & Serpentico) 

After a night of videos congratulating him, Jericho finally appears for our main event and it’s a fitting one for this show. They work a basic tv main event tag and it’s more than suffice considering we already had a blow away melodrama match like Brodie/Cody. This really felt special for Jericho and another awesome moment to cap off a special night for Y2J. And of course he & Hager win to boot. 

Match rating - **3/4 

Jericho goes to give a speech post match with The Inner Circle beside him. MJF interrupts with gifts and they do a bit to close before celebrating together. Yeah yeah. 

DYNAMITE ANNIVERSARY SHOW NEXT WEEK WITH ALL THE TITLES ON THE LINE SEE U THEN

AEW: Dynamite Review - September 30th, 2020

AEW Dynamite - September 30th, 2020 Review

I haven't reviewed Dynamite in a while due to my work schedule, but I'm back here for completions sake so lets get into it!! Also shout out Kingston/Moxley from last week - a great match that made into my match rating archive tracker for 2020 that you can check out by clicking here!

1) Darby Allin vs. Ricky Starks

WHOOO. This is a feud that has been boiling for a little bit with Starks dressing up as Darby and mocking him after Darby threw him out of the battle royal at All Out. Not to mention, Starks & Cage putting Darby in a bodybag of thumbtacks and powerbombing him on the stage afterwards. So, yeaaaah. There's some heat here and it rules. Starks is honestly better than Cage in my opinion and he & Darby tear the house down here. Brian Cage actually tries to interfere, but WILL FUCKIN HOBBS stops him. Now that's a match I want to see. None the less, that gets disperesd and Allin & Starks finish their match unbothered and with a bang. Darby wins with the coffin drop. 

Match rating - ***1/4

Cody Rhodes is in the ring to answer Brodie Lee's challenge for a Dog Collar Match for the TNT Title next week. He teases not accepting only to HIT THAT FIERY BABYFACE PROMO COMEBACK AND I AM RILED UP. CODY ACCEPTS. BRODIE RUNS DOWN AND ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. The roster and security is out to separate. Brandi Rhodes comes down and hits a damn dive on the rest of the Dark Order. Next week is gonna fuckin rule. I'm calling another Cody classic tbh. Such an awesome pull apart chaotic brawl segment here. 

Tony Schiavone is backstage with FTR & Tully Blanchard. They talk about their match with SCU tonight and explain why the Bucks don't deserve a title shot. In the middle of it, Matt Jackson superkicks Tony Schiavone. 

On commentary, JR asks Excalibur what the hell is wrong with the Bucks to which he yells "THIS IS REPREHENSIBLE" 

SCU interview, Frankie and Scorpio representing tonight and vow to become tag team champions for the second time.

2) FTR (w/ Tully Blanchard) (c) vs. SCU (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) (w/ Christopher Daniels) - AEW World Tag Team Title Match

Hangman Page was on commentary for this. Daniels gets thrown out by the ref early thanks to mindgames by FTR. Kaz returns the favor by tricking FTR into position for a dive from Scorpio Sky that takes them both out. That sends us to commercial. After the break, shit pretty much breaks down. Some sick offense from SCU with double slingshots ace crushers. A bunch of near-falls before Tully grabs Scorpio's legs and costs SCU the match as the ref counts three. Hell of a match while it lasted and good way to make FTR more despised as they win using tactics that they falsely got Daniels ejected for earlier in the match. 

Match rating - ***1/2

On commentary, Excalibur announces the 8 man tournament that will end at Full Gear with the winner facing the AEW World Champion. Rey Fenix, Jungle Boy, and Kenny Omega are the first three competitors. Hangman spits out his whiskey when they say Kenny is involved. 

3) Chris Jericho vs. Isaiah Kassidy

Wow. Jericho continues to give so many young talents the opportunity to show out and it’s the same case here. The Inner Circle is at ringside to support him and Matt Hardy joins Kassidy’s Private Party partner at ringside which adds to this also. Kassidy throws out everything at Jericho including a code breaker and lionsault but Jericho kicks out and is able to finish off Kassidy with the Judas Effect. 

Match rating - ***1/2

Post match, Jericho and Hager attack Serpentico & Luther to build towards their match at the 30th Anniversary of Jericho next week! 

MIRO AND KIP SABIAN are planning a bachelor party. 

Best Friends and OC are backstage. Before they can answer their interview questions, FTR interrupt and run them down as below them and that they are nothing more than comedic relief. Best Friends act like they are gonna hit them, FTR flinches and Orange calls them weenies. Best Friends accompany OC to the ring for his match which is up next. God the FTR/Best Friends story dynamic is so perfect and fun. 

4) Orange Cassidy (w/ Best Friends) vs. 10 (w/ Colt Cabana, Allan Angels & John Silver) 

This was such a fun squash. AEW is really developing such a well rounded roster where nothing feels pointless. Even these 3-4 min matches rule. OC wins with the BEACH BREAK. 

Match rating - *** 

MJF & Wardlow walk into the Inner Circle’s dressing room with gifts for everyone but he forgets Sammy Guevara’s. Jericho tells MJF he wants to know why he’s doing all this. Jericho and MJF argue over if MJF wants to join the Inner Circle or if Jericho wants MJF to join the Inner Circle. Hager and Wardlow tease getting into it. MJF leaves on good terms and they continue to tease the weird ironic dynamic of Jericho/MJF. 

5) Britt Baker vs. Red Velvet 

Britt has improved so much wow. I just remember her early dynamite matches being so shaky but this rocked even though it’s a prolonged squash. Velvet held her own and put in a solid showing. Baker looked amazing though and she gets the win after a few minutes. Good stuff. 

Match rating - **1/2 

Eddie Kingston heads to the ring with his arm around Bryce Remsburg and god the CHIKARA GLORY DAY FEEEELSSSS. Penta and Fenix are with him as well. It’s time for King to announce Mox’s opponent for the night. BUT not before he chastises Bryce for calling for the bell despite him not submitting last week. Bryce has an explanation but King doesn’t like it and they set up to attack him. JON MOXLEY HITS THE RING WITH A BARBWIRE BAT. King and Lucha Bro’s clear out and The Butcher slides in from behind and he’s Mox’s opponent for the night. 

6) Jon Moxley (c) vs. The Butcher - AEW World Title Match 

This was what it was. It wasn’t that insane blow away first title shot for someone like The Butcher but it was a solid effort that felt like a main event despite it being a tag team wrestlers’ only singles match in the promotion??? Don’t fact check me on that. But yeah. Butcher hung right in there despite it not being a blow away performance it was a good tv main event and I’d say considering his prior experience in this type of spot (none) that this was def a success. It just never felt like he had any real chance of winning so it was hard to get invested. Good match none the less. Mox retains via submission. 

Match rating - **3/4

NEXT WEEK: DOG COLLAR MATCH - BRODIE LEE VS. CODY FOR THE TNT TITLE LEGGOOOOOOOOO

AEW: ALL OUT 2020 Review

 AEW: ALL OUT 2020

September 5th, 2020

Jacksonville, FL

THE BUY IN/PRE-SHOW:

1) Joey Janela (w/ Sonny Kiss) vs. Serpentico 

This match was added at the very last minute and is pretty random, but it's decent. Fun little back and forth action to kick things off. The Janela/Kiss alliance continues to work pretty well as Janela wins and they seem to be gelling pretty nicely.

Match rating - **1/2

2) Private Party vs. John Silver & Alex Reynolds (The Dark Order)

The former Beaver Boys really have been busting out some low-key heaters lately. This once again had me pretty riled up on a team I was never super stoked on. Private Party pick up the win, but what I got out of this was that I want more Silver/Reynolds tag matches. Very fun. 

Match rating - ***

MAIN SHOW:

1) Big Swole vs. Britt Baker - Tooth & Nail Match

So, this happens in a "dentist office" - a lot of people shat on it, but it was entertaining and kept me into it the whole time by the sheer weirdness and... stupidity of the stip? A needle of novacaine and a drill came into play and this was a fair enough blow off for all the issues they've had in recent weeks. 

Match rating - **1/4

2) The Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus) - #1 Contender's Match

The Bucks do an amazing job here of playing off where they are as characters, It seems like we could be headed towards a heel turn for them. Lots of frustration stemming from the Page/Omega stuff and you could almost sense a small lack of confidence. Jungle Boy & Luchasarus looked like straight up stars here and The Bucks gave them a lot. Great tag match with loads of action and fun spots, plus the Bucks story telling made this a success. The Bucks win and are the new #1 Contenders to the Tag Team titles. Jungle Express looks strong in defeat.

Match rating - ***3/4

3) Casino Battle Royale 

Off the top of my dome - three things stand out from this year's edition of this match, and I will mention those right off the bat. First being Will Hobbs who had an awesome showing. He had several great displays of his strength and agility, but also had the moment of checking on Sydal smoothly and discreetly following his botched shooting star press. Speaking of that, that's one of the three things that stood out here. Matt Sydal was the big final surprise entrant. Myself and the room of people I was watching with were super stoked. Sydal comes down, knees Shawn Spears in the face on the ramp, climbs the top turnbuckle for a shooting star press and.. slips and falls. I could not get the lump out of my throat for the rest of this match. Such a big moment for Sydal, arguably his biggest since leaving WWE as Evan Bourne and damn... I still hope he gets the chance to show out in AEW. And the third thing that stood out here was the absolute insanity of Darby Allin and the bodybag full of thumbtacks bump he took here - absolutely devastating. In the end, it's Eddie Kingston and Lance Archer left. A perfect final two as it felt like it could go either way, and Archer gets the win after a short struggle. I am big down for a Mox/Archer re-match after their match in NJPW so hell yeah to this.

Match rating - **3/4

4) Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara - Broken Rules Match

Man oh man.. poor Matt Hardy. This feud with Sammy Guevara has nearly killed him on two occasions now. First it was the botched chair shot on Dynamite that busted him open and it took 13 staples to close him up. Now they go right out the gate in this match with Guevara spearing Hardy off a lift thing, Hardy misses the table and clocks his head on the cement, going stiff almost immediately, clearly knocked out. The match gets stopped for a little while then they re-start and go right into the finish with Hardy throwing Guevara off a scaffold tower thing through some stage boards. FUCKED. I can't even rate this, but it was insane to see unfold live and I hope Matt is okay.

5) Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Thunder Rosa - AEW Women's Title Match

After the ups and downs of the battle royal and the scary Hardy/Guevara spectacle, this show needed a cool down and more of a straight forward wrestling match and that's what we got from Rosa and Shida here. This is a match that I was super looking forward to and it definitely delivered despite taking a few minutes to get into gear. After some intense back and forth, Shida retains over the NWA Women's Champion. I hope we get more AEW/NWA stuff because this was solid.

Match rating - ***1/4

6) Kenny Omega & Hangman Adam Page (c) vs. FTR (Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler) - AEW World Tag Team Title Match

Ohhhhh man. Here we go. Omega & Page had a five star classic (and my only five star rated match in 2020) back in February against the Young Bucks at Revolution and proceeded to be the leaders of the best tag team division in all of pro wrestling with every defense being fun/very good at the least. I can only think of one or two that didn't hit over *** and those were still solid in their own right. AEW truly has the best tag team division in the world right now and this match is another example of that. There is so much going on story wise here. The tension between Page & Omega, Page's continual amazing character development, FTR's first big match and title match since jumping ship. So, yeah. A lot of people thought this match went too long, but I thought it made perfect sense considering FTR is the traditional tag team and they were in clear mental and physical control of this match so for it to be worked in their vein/this vein made sense. Lots of awesome story and character work from Omega & Page and at almost the 40 minute mark after a lot of struggle - FTR dethrones Omega & Page. This match was a slow burn, but had me on the edge of my seat for most of it anticipating if a turn would happen between Omega/Page and honestly what would happen in general. There was so much at stake that it had me grasped from start to finish. Another awesome tag team contest for Page/Omega and AEW. Its not Bucks/Omega & Page, but it's great and something totally different.

Match rating - ****1/4

7) Chris Jericho vs. Orange Cassidy - Mimosa Mayhem Match

The show is starting to feel kinda draggy and long at this point, but that aside this was another fantastic match from these two. The fire from Orange is amazing and I literally can't believe that he got the feud ending victory. Lots of sick exchanges and moments. Jericho ends up being the one to eat shit in the mimosa pools at ringside after loads of teasing and that is the finish despite them having some good near fall sequences in the ring. I thought they worked the stip well and didn't overdo it or make it look dumb. Another career defining performance for Orange Cassidy.

Match rating - ****

8) Jon Moxley (c) vs. MJF (w/ Wardlow) - AEW World Title Match

God, I wish this would have happened under different circumstances and not at 11pm at night after a super long and sorta rocky show because they knocked this out of the fucking park. It was smash mouth, in your face and brutal. MJF was the chicken shit heel that he is better than anyone and Moxley is Moxley. They work the paradigm shift being banned stip well and the way they play into the finish is fun and an outcome I didn't at all think of heading into this match. MJF bleeds a ton after eating a post shot. The bleeding stops, but Moxley headbutts him brutally and repeatedly and opens the cut back up which alone is fucking nuts. But this whole match ruled even if I was exhausted of this show by this point - it fucking ruled and is probably my favorite Moxley defense yet and my favorite AEW match of his since the Omega match. Awesome stuff. Mox retains after a banger.

Match rating - ****1/4

Final thoughts: Some say this was a shaky PPV, but to me it was only plagued by running a little too long as I was exhausted by the time Jericho/Cassidy and Moxley/MJF rolled around. None the less, it still delivered big to me with there being no BAD matches and there being three that hit four stars+. I think this will defnitely be better on a re-watch than live for some people. 

AEW: Dynamite - Fyter Fest 2020 Night Two Review - July 8th, 2020

AEW Fyter Fest/Dynamite 

July 8th, 2020 

Jacksonville, FL

1) Hangman Page & Kenny Omega (c) vs. Private Party - AEW Tag Team Title Match 

The AEW tag division is so stacked and consistent so yes, this ruled. Omega continues to be WOTY despite not even being a singles wrestler or top focus in the company technically. Action packed, balls to the wall, classic AEW style tag title opener. Page & Omega retain. Private Party look the best they’ve looked since the Bucks match. Being in there with more seasoned workers definitely helps tie up their loose ends.

Match rating - ***3/4

2) Lance Archer vs. Joey Janela 

This is a match on paper I wouldn’t care about but actually was good. Janela took a hell of a beating and Archer looked like a beast. Archer wins after a gruesome table spot. Most I've enjoyed a Janela match in a while! Super good.

Match rating - ***1/2

Taz comes out with Brian Cage and introduces the FTW Title like it’s 1998. He crowns Cage as the FTW Champion and continues to sell the upcoming title match with Moxley next week. Taz is killing it in this role.

3) The Young Bucks & FTR vs. Lucha Bros, The Butcher & The Blade

As said in my review of the opener, the AEW Tag Division is insane right now and this match is the perfect example of it. So much story work with FTR & The Bucks to match the crazy spots and moves. Awesome stuff. This is must see for the canadian destroyer over the top rope to the floor spot alone. I don't even know how to properly explain/articulate how it happened. The finish with a misplaced super kick from The Bucks to FTR gave the Lucha Bros and Butcher/Blade a huge win without sacrificing anything as it just adds to the Bucks/FTR story. DEPTH. 

Match rating - ****

Big Swole tries to enter the arena, but is served papers that she is suspended. 

4) Nyla Rose vs. Kilynn King & Kenzie Paige 

Good squash match with Nyla literally throwing both women around the whole time. Post match, Nyla has an announcement. Apparently she has a manager now and that is gonna help her get the title back from Shida. I love Shida’s facial expressions. 

Colt Cabana is bruised up and has a hematoma from the attack he suffered last week but he is cleared to compete. Brodie Lee comes up and tells him with him having his back now, that won’t happen again and tells him to get ready for the match they have later. Colt says  “will do Mr. Brodie” - it’s looking like Cabana is really being sold on joining Dark Order. 

5) The Dark Order (Brodie Lee & Stu Grayson) & Colt Cabana vs. SCU (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, & Scorpio Sky) 

They continue to play the Colt story insanely well. SCU was SCU and made great opponents. After some back and forth, Brodie destroys Daniels and lets Colt get the pin which makes him visibly happy. Colt hasn’t lost a match since his talks with Dark Order began and they even left a spot beside Brodie during their entrance. It’s gettin real.

Match rating - *** 

Big Swole shows up in the arena despite being suspended and causes some havoc with Britt Baker.

6) Chris Jericho (w/ LAX) vs. Orange Cassidy 

Cassidy tells Chuck & Trent to stay backstage and vows to face Jericho on his own. This was a classic popular not so serious underdog against cocky veteran. If it had a crowd I’d argue this could’ve been a 4.5 star affair. Big Dave went 4.25 and I’m going slightly lower but this was still so fucking good. Jericho continues his career resurgence with another awesome match that will be looked back on when all is said and done. Cassidy fought from underneath the entire time with flurries that would get cut off either by Jericho himself or Santana & Ortiz at ringside. He kept his lazy gimmick in moments but also showed fire and poise. Seeing him hit Y2J with a fucking falcon arrow was INSANE. Jericho locked him in the walls multiple times but Cassidy escaped each time. In the end, it was the Judas Effect that put him away after a lot of back and forth and interference from LAX that was thwarted by Best Friends. I wish this had a crowd, but it’s still amazing regardless. 

Match rating - ****

Final thoughts: This has to be a Top 5 episode of AEW since they debuted in October. 3 matches right at four stars and the other three were more than solid in their own right. AEW has an off week now and again but right now they have such a solid set of stars and stories and next week looks to be just as good with Moxley/Cage, Elite/Jurassic Express, Lucha Bros/FTR and a Cody title defense. 

AEW Dynamite Review - May 20th, 2020

AEW Dynamite
May 20th, 2020
Jacksonville, FL

Brodie Lee is out with the Dark Order and Jon Moxley’s AEW World Championship. Brodie says he is just like everyone at home despite being an athlete in his prime. He names 10 a ‘high knight’ of the Dark Order and says he always knew he was special. He then says “go hurt Jon Moxley.”

1) Jon Moxley vs. 10 
Moxley storms 10 at the bell and lays a bunch of moves on him. 10 fires back and gets a little in before Mox takes control again. This turns into Moxley trying to goad Brodie back out there by hitting big moves including a gotch style piledriver and not going for a pin despite 10 clearly being done for. Moxley eventually does pin him though. This was good for what it was! Moxley holds 10 under a chair and threatens to break his arm if Brodie doesn’t bring his belt back. Brodie refuses and says he’s leaving and that “sometimes you have to make sacrifices” referring to 10. Mox pops 10’s arm with the chair and then dips out.

Match rating - **1/2

JR segways to the following match by referring to MJF as Tony’s “little buddy” and Tony says “what a jerk ass” and it was hilarious.

2) MJF vs. Marko Stunt

MJF is good at being an annoying dick and Marko bumps great so this was okay, albeit a little repetitive. MJF talked the shit the whole way through. Marko goes for a dive and eats an elbow this leads to the shoulder breaker and a submission victory for MJF.

Match rating - **

MJF makes Marko “kiss the ring” before Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus make the save. MJF faces Jungle Boy on Saturday night at Double or Nothing.

Last week, Cody drove his truck into the arena and got into a brawl with Lance Archer while Jake narrated it. A replay is aired to hype the upcoming match on Sunday.

Arn Anderson and Jake Roberts have a sit down debate thing to hype their men for the Cody/Archer TNT Title finals match. It’s really solid as all of the build to this has been. Jake makes some gross comments and Arn gets serious and says he’s glad Jake is doing DDP yoga so he can be all limbered up when she SPINEBUSTERS HIS ASS. Good LORD. Jake is pissed and flips the table. Refereees separate the two old heads. Arn did a great job speaking for Cody here although I’d have loved to see Cody and Archer in person here just days before their big match.

3) Rey Fenix vs. Orange Cassidy

Pretty insane PAC promo hyping Fenix and Death Triangle aired before this. They also played off last week with Fenix trying to attack Cassidy on the ramp only for Orange to be slick and dodge it. This was both guys doing moves for the most part and it was fun. Fenix is a nutcase and Orange has a number of tricks up his sleeves. Kip Sabian distracts Orange, costing him the match as Fenix capitalizes on it.

Match rating - **3/4

Kip Sabian’s distraction came in the form of him sitting on a ladder. Kazarian & Scorpio Sky come down and fling him off it. This brings out Jimmy Havoc and this turns into insanity to hype the casino ladder match. Fenix hits an insane springboard thing and may have injured himself bc it looked rough and they kept him out of all the spots that followed, I hope he’s okay :( Colt Cabana is out with a crazy moonsault then the Best Friends help Orange fly and take everyone out.

4) Kris Statlander & Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose & Britt Baker

Was looking forward to this because Britt rules and Shida is also very good. But it was pretty sloppy and saw our second injury scare of the night. They had a good idea here, but it didn't come to fruition very well despite some fun moments. I hope Britt's leg is okay. Nyla Rose wins despite her partner being hurt and looks strong heading into her defense against Shida at Double or Nothing. Unfortunately this did nothing to enhance the build for that.

Match rating - *3/4

Backstage interview with Jon Moxley as one last attempt to hype the title match for Sunday.

5) Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

Kinda wild, but this match and the aftermath were the best things on this show. Guevara bumps like a GOD for Matt and makes up so much for Hardy's lack of mobility in his age. Sammy has grown on me so much. He is so great in the role he is in. This really picked up down the stretch and after a couple of near falls, Hardy wins with a Twist of Fate.

Match rating - ***1/4

Post-match, we get more Elite/Inner Circle goodness. Chris Jericho and Jake Hager come on the screen and they've got Kenny Omega tied up on the football field and are throwing water on him. Jericho gets ready to hit Omega with a bat when THE YOUNG BUCKS make their return and fly out of the stands onto Jericho & Hager. LAX ends up out there and Hangman Page runs from across the god damn field in his first appearance since the quarantine started. LORD. He clears house or... field? IDK! This was an awesome closer to the show and the only thing that made me excited for Double or Nothing. Inner Circle backs away as Elite & Matt Hardy stand tall. Hangman walks away by himself as Omega, The Bucks, and Hardy pose... the story continues. 

AEW Dynamite Review - May 13th, 2020

AEW Dynamite

May 13th, 2020

Jacksonville, FL

Jake "The Snake" Roberts accompanies Lance Archer to the ring. Good promo to start the show and it leads to Cody Rhodes in a fucking F-150 running into a barricade for no reason and getting out for a GOOD OL BRAWL. Jake is talking through the entire thing and some found it cringe (shout out Mike Klinsky) but I found it hilarious. "You're just a squirrel trying to get a nut" what Jake?

1) Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent?) vs. Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus)

This felt like every PWG Best Friends match. Which could be good or bad depending on who you are. But yeah. Fun stuff that was full of spots. And yeah.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Hikaru Shida vs. Britt Baker vs. Kris Statlander vs. Penelope Ford

So some of this ruled and some of it was disjointed as heck. But I enjoyed it for the most part. Shida looked amazing and gets the victory in route to facing Nyla Rose for the AEW Women's Title at Double or Nothing on May 23rd.

Match rating - **1/2

3) Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy vs. LAX (Santana & Ortiz)

Omega is the AEW king of this empty arena era of matches. And 2020 continues to see him as the in-ring MVP. He & Hardy click like they've been teaming for years, but I guess that's what you get when you put two tag team specialists together. None the less, this stems from LAX's interference in the street fight match last week and it... you guessed it - rules. Awesome hot tags and back & forth action. Sammy Guevara tries to run in and Hardy hits him with a twist of fate that Sammy made look insane. Lots of new combo moves from Omega & Hardy and they are able to overcome and get the win. Fuck yeah. So intrigued to see how they play this when Omega's partner and co-holder of the tag titles Hangman Page returns.

Match rating - ***1/2

4) MJF (w/ Wardlow) vs. Lee Johnson

Poor Lee Johnson. MJF is here in his first match in a whiiiile. He pretty much toys with and makes light of Johnson before finally submitting him. Post-match, MJF hypes up his match with Jungle Boy coming up at Double or Nothing on May 23rd. He also announces that he will meet Jungle Boy's stable mate Marko Stunt next week. Oh boy..

Also next week: Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara, face to face with Arn Anderson & Jake the Snake Roberts, + Jon Moxley vs. 10

Also at Double or Nothing - Private Party vs. Best Friends in a #1 Contender's Match for the tag titles yessssss.

5) Chris Jericho vs. Pineapple Pete/Suge D

Suge gets squashed here :/ post match Jericho and the Inner Circle challenged the Elite to a Stampede Stadium Match? Whatever that is. It's something new for Double or Nothing. Matt Hardy's flying aircraft Vanguard-1 shows up. Jericho cutting a promo to it is the funniest shit straight up. V1 says that the Elite accepts and Jericho proceeds to beat the hell out of it with a bat. Inner Circle leaves as Matt Hardy comes down to console the pieces of his broken vanguard.

6) Brodie Lee vs. Christopher Daniels

This had mixed reviews due to some thinking it went too long, but admittedly Daniels has way more in-ring credibility than Lee's past two opponents and the experience to boot so it makes sense to me. You can't job out Chris Daniels. So, yeah, this was solid. I enjoyed seeing old man Daniels struggle with Big Rig. Lee wins and his opponent for Double or Nothing, Jon Moxley shows up to get his title back.

Match rating - ***

Moxley clears house on the Dark Order and says Brodie's career will be over at Double or Nothing before it even starts.

AEW Dynamite Review - May 6th, 2020

AEW Dynamite 
May 6th, 2020
LIVE on TNT
Jacksonville, FL

Excalibur, Jim Ross, & Tony Schiavone - the infamous three man team are back on commentary tonight since Jacksonville has eased covid-19 restrictions. BUT we can't hear em bc of some technical difficulties. They run down some matches for tonight tho including Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy vs. Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevaraa in a STREET FIGHT.

1) Cody vs. Joey Janela

Cody had a banger with Darby last week now here we are again with another opener and I'm instantly invested because well, Cody is the best thing in AEW and possibly in all of wrestling right now. Every thing he is involved in means something. Cody took this match with Janela despite having his big TNT Title match coming up against Lance Archer because "you can't get better in wrestling unless you wrestle" - what a hero <3 Anyway, Joey Janela looks nuts. His hair and beard are crazy right now. It has been a while since we've seen him on Dynamite and this was a great way to come back into the lime light. They both have a fire lit under them here and do some innovative spots. Cody hits a moonsault off the stage to the floor. Janela flies around and shows grit. Cody lands a DAMN REVERSE SUPLEX off the top turnbuckle. They go into a pretty high impact finishing few minutes and it uhhhh rules. Cross roads finishes it off. Good sh*t.

Match rating - ***1/2

2) Nyla Rose vs. Kenzie Page

Squash for the reigning women's champ. She does the heel thing and pulls Kenzie's shoulders off the mat when it was clearly over, just to put the extra nail in the coffin.

Match rating - **

MJF is in a pre-taped jawn and looks like he's hosting a night show. He says he's not The Rock, Flair, or Piper - he's like nothing we've ever seen before. He says when he decides to come back to work, his spot at the throne will be waiting for him. Next week he will "sit back on his throne" so guess he will be in action next week.

Shawn Spears is still obsessed with the Rhodes family. Basically tries to villainize Cody for watching Dustin have his career ended last week and not throwing in the towel.

MJF is ringside with Tony Schiavone and Shawn Spears. Wardlow is in the background. MJF & Shawn basically bond over their hatred for Cody. Huge ass kissing fest. Tony announces MJF/Jungle Boy for Double or Nothing. MJF spits his drink everywhere and says he didn't agree to that.

SCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

3) Jon Moxley vs. Frankie Kazarian

Moxley, the AEW World Champion, in action for the first time in a while. Kazarian is in his first AEW singles match. This is a first time ever match I'm pretty sure between two diff generations of indepent wrestling pioneers. And it is very fun. Kazarian, like his SCU brethren, can kill it in any role and he did so here as always. After about 15 minutes of back and forth, Mox hits the dirty deeds for the pin. The champ looks strong!

Match rating - ***1/4

Dark Order attacks post match. SCU down for the save, but gets destroyed. Brodie Lee comes out and CHAIR SHOT TO THE HEAD OF DANIELS. Brodie cuts an AWESOME promo on Moxley and the AEW World Title. AHHHHH. CZW THROWBACKS. WWE THROWBACKS. But both guys have grown so much since both of those days and now they are here about to feud for the AEW World Title. This is going to be good and yet another chapter in the history of these two who always seem to butt heads. Brodie leaves with Moxley's AEW Championship.

Brandi Rhodes proceeds to cut an epic promo toward Jake the Snake Roberts. WOW. She rules at this. She says it's not 1991 and she knows he & Archer's moves before they make them and that she will hit Jake back if he strikes her and a lot of other stuff. Seek this out!

4) QT Marshall (w/ Brandi Rhodes) vs. Lance Archer

Lance Archer is so great. Every week, it just seems to get better and better. He is gonna be a top player in AEW for a long time. QT puts up a fight, but can't hack it against the War Hawk. Interesting ringside moment sees Brandi chunk one of Britt Baker's shoes into the air. This leads to Britt giving her a DDT after the match. Jake the Snake then gets in the ring and puts his snake on Brandi. This was awesome all around. Could they be bringing Britt into the Archer/Roberts fold? That could honestly work! But either way, this was a fantastic way to keep building Cody/Archer.

Match rating - **3/4

At Double or Nothing: Moxley vs. Brodie Lee for the AEW Title, Cody vs. Archer to crown the first TNT Champion plus the first EVER Casino Ladder Match. Rules will be announced for the Casino Ladder Match next week.

Also next week - Jurassic Express vs. Best Friends and Brodie Lee vs. Christopher Daniels plus Chris Jericho in action!

Taz offers Darby Allin help backstage, Darby stays silent then storms off.

5) Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara (w/ Jake Hager) vs. Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy - Street Fight

Kenny Omega & Matt Hardy mow down Sammy Guevara with a golf cart

What da fuck. This is Matt Hardy's debut match in AEW and it was so much fun. Everything you want out of a match of this style. It felt like what we used to get in the heyday of wrestling. They end up outside of the ringside area and we get a variety of innovative spots including a Omega moonsault off a scissor lift tower thing and Sammy Guevara getting mowed down by Hardy on a golfcart. So much happened here and it's such an enjoyable match to sit through. Several table bumps and moments to have you marking out or dying laughing. Kenny Omega is killing it in 2020 with such a wide variety of amazing matches and I'm so glad he brought a DDT style match to AEW and national US television. This fucking rocked. LE SEX GODZ win when Jericho pins Omega following help from Santana and Ortiz. Inner Circle reigns supreme to close the show.

Match rating - ****

Final thoughts: Another great week of TV for AEW. Everything meant something and held my attention/interest all the way through. The main event is one of a kind in this day and age and everything else is well worth a viewing if you wanna kick back for an hour and a half. Can't wait for next week! Brodie/Daniels, Omega & Hardy/LAX, and more !!

AEW Dynamite Review - April 29th, 2020

AEW Dynamite
April 29th, 2020

Commentators - Chris Jericho & Tony Schiavone

In this day, Wednesdays are what I look most forward to as a wrestling fan. NXT & AEW both have such loaded, fun products. I haven't watched/reviewed a full Dynamite in a month so as my interest has been higher in NXT, but that changes this week.

Awesome Cody/Darby video package to start the show.

Jericho & Tony run down the agenda for tonight. AEW World Champion Jon Moxley speaks, Wardlow in action, TNT Title Tournament Semi-Final action, and much more!

1) Cody vs. Darby Allin - TNT Title Tournament Semi Final Match

WOW. This roooooocked. Oddly enough might be my favorite of their series even though it didn't have a crowd? It just felt like the perfect culmination of their prior matches. If it had a crowd, it could easily have been ****1/4 match, in my opinion. Darby worked the leg super well and leaned more into a heel role. Britt Baker jabbed Cody from ringside at one point. Darby used the cross roads AND the figure four against Cody which was epic. Brandi brought down a water botttle for Cody after he got his already worked over leg, worked over even more with the figure four. Darby took it and slapped Cody in the face with it. Cody retaliates and goes for a FUCKING COFFIN DROP. Darby gets the knees up and nails the coffin drop but his shoulders are on the mat as he lands/covers Cody and he gets pinned. Lot of people hated on this finish, but I didn't mind it at all.

Match rating - ****

Scorpio Sky video pack airs on how he got into SCU.

MJF reminds us that he is better than us and that he won't be flying in to wrestle in front of six of his peers, but Wardlow will be...

2) Wardlow vs. Musa

AEW Dynamite Review - March 4th, 2020

AEW Dynamite Live on TNT

Bromfield, Colorado 

March 4th, 2020 

New AEW World Champion Jon Moxley speaks

Awesome classic opening segment here from the new champ. Had a real big feel to it. Moxley says AEW brought pro wrestling back and gives a rally speech about what led him here and what's to come. I got chills. The crowd is going nuts. This rules. Jericho comes out and is the perfect counterpart to the ultra babyface Mox as always. Jericho promises that Moxley won't leave the show on his own two feet and if he does, he will take a 2 month leave of absence from AEW.

1) The Dark Order vs. Colt Cabana, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, & Scorpio Sky 

With all the teasing and suspicion surrounding who "The Exalted One" of the Dark Order will be, this is an interesting 8 man. Not to mention, the Daniels conspiracy also! AND this is Colt Cabanas debut! So much wrapped into one little eight man banger and it's a lot of fun. Everyone looked good and Colt had a fantastic debut getting the pin in very unique fashion. Uno gets on the mic after frustrated as soon as the bell rings and says this isn't how it was supposed to go and the exalted one will not be happy. 

Match rating - ***1/4 

2) Big Swole vs. Leva Bates

Britt Baker is back on commentary for more gold with Tony Schiavone. This is complete squash though. Swole gets the win and I'm assuming will be challenging Nyla soon. 

Cody speaks on his loss against MJF

3) PAC vs. Chuck Taylor (w/ Trent & Orange Cassidy)

Another good match from PAC in his epic week that began with the Ironman match with Omega then went to Revolution for the barnburner with Orange Cassidy. Now we're here. He teases going after Cassidy during the match which Chuck capitalizes on. They gave this more time than I expected but it's really fun. Chuck hits the awful waffle for a near fall and goes for a moonsault from the top turnbuckles. He misses and eats shit and gets tapped out by PAC.  

Match rating - ***1/4

Post match, PAC keeps messing with Chuck, Trent steps up only for Cassidy step in front of him and we get a staredown. Out of nowhere, Lucha Bros run down and double superkick Cassidy and we proceed to witness the formation of the "Death Triangle" as PAC calls it. This is pretty cool. Savage beatdown on Cassidy with Pentagon biting his ear as PAC holds his face like a trophy. "no one is safe" says PAC. 

4) Jake Hager (w/ LAX) vs. QT Marshall (w/ Brandi and Dustin Rhodes)

Honestly don't even remember what happened in the match because the post was so awesome. Hager & LAX start beating down Marshall. Dustin Rhodes hits the ring, he gets beat down. Cody runs down to save his brother. Cleans house until Ortiz nails him with a chair shot which brings down MATT JACKSON of the Young Bucks who gets taken out after a short hot run. Then out walks the star himself - HANGMAN PAGE. This was so perfectly done. Long slow walk and tease of whether he'd make the save or not. He eventually does and the crowd goes wild. Amazing Buckshot lariat spot. He comes face to face with Matt as the faces are celebrating and FLIPS HIM OFF. God. The heat is still there Jesus Christ. 

5) Chris Jericho & Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin & Jon Moxley 

Moxley gets attacked on his way to the ring so Darby is left to fend for himself. The perfect spot for Darby Allin. The crowd is into him fighting from under and not backing down so this is hot through and through. Eventually the heels are too much for Darby and he gets pinned but the effort was valiant. 

Match rating - ***1/4

Post match, Moxley makes the big run in return to close the show. He gets outnumbered though and is powerbombed off the stage through a table by Jericho and the rest of Inner Circle who stand tall throwing middle fingers as Dynamite goes off air. 

AEW Revolution Review - February 29th, 2020

AEW Revolution 

Live on PPV from Chicago, Illinois

February 29th, 2020

1) Jake Hager vs. Dustin Rhodes

In ring debut for Jake Hager. Dustin is sporting a "Jericho's bitch" shirt in reference to Hager. Nice pop and start as Hager mouths "you motherfucker" and charges Dustin at the bell. Unfortunately the fire from that opening exchange doesn't last all too long and fluctuates from dull to fiery during the entire match. Things get good again when Dustin kisses Hager's wife at ringside only for it to die down again. Dustin hits a cool code red for a two count. They trade moves and Hager debuts his standing sleeper hold to win. That came off weak and the crowd booed in kind. Match as a whole wasn't bad but didn't reach the level it could've. Just thankful it wasn't a dud. 

Match rating - **1/2

2) Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara 

Insane flying Darby as soon as he gets in the ring, before his music even stops playing. This outside plunder before the bell ends with Guevara hitting a 630 on Darby through a table. Darby makes it into the ring for the bell somehow and he & Sammy trade all the big movez. Darby hits an epic long distance coffin drop for the win. So much fun. Darby is HOT rn.

Match rating - ***1/2

3) Hangman Adam Page & Kenny Omega (c) vs. The Young Bucks - AEW World Tag Team Title Match 

Okay wow. Where do I start? When The Bucks won the battle royal to get this title shot I was like okay, that will be fun. Everyone has also been talking up Hangman's recent rise in popularity and while I agree, I hadn't got invested fully to the point of emotional investment. Then they did the sit down interview segment with Jim Ross on last week's Dynamite and I was like okay that was reallllly good and I got vibes from the epic Golden Lovers/Bucks clash that I gave ***** last year. And the video package heading into this match heightened that. So we get to this match and I am as invested as can be and these guys DELIVERED. This was everything I loved about Golden Lovers/Bucks. Just superb, epic tag team wrestling and without a doubt has to be a Top 10-20 tag match of all time. Big Dave said it's the best of all time and while that's a bold take - it's a valid take. You don't get wrestling like this much nowadays. Esp in tag team wrestling. The Bucks have now done it twice in the past two years and they're the only team to deliver something of this level in the past 10 years or so. But anyway, here, Hangman Page is so fucking good. He's so over and just like every other Babyface in AEW - not in the typical WWE learned way - in his own unique way. He could easily come off as bratty for his attitude towards his Elite brethren but people love his attitude and have attached themselves to him as chants of "Hangman" and "cowboy shit" rang through from the opening bell. The Young Bucks leaned into their heel side for this and did so amazingly. Omega was his usual tweener self. I've never seen four guys have such unique, ungeneric flexible roles that can work to the level they do here. People can say this was just a spotfest and overrated, but that would just show shortsightedness because there is SO much more to appreciate here. Not that the action wasn't top notch though, it was every bit as good as anything AEW has produced but with levels and levels of storytelling and character development to boot. This is my personal favorite MOTY and it will be hard to top this going forward. Hangman & Omega retain and god damn I hope their reign never ends. It's been phenomenal. This earns my first five star rating of 2020. 

Match rating - *****

4) Nyla Rose (c) vs. Kris Statlander - AEW Women's Title Match 

After that classic, the crowd is kinda worn out. So this having a little rough start didn't help. Once it got going, it picked up down the stretch but I don't think anyone ever got their teeth fully sunk into this. It was not bad by any means though, just not on the level of other AEW title defenses. A dominate showing for Nyla none the less and a solid first defense. 

Match rating - **3/4

5) Cody vs. MJF 

Some people say the neck tattoo and Downstait performance ruined this match & Cody for them but once the bell rang, all that went out of the window. This was classic pro wrestling, just like this whole story has been and just like almost everything Cody touches. Slow burn with a lot of emotion. Cody accidentally kicks Arm when Wardlow picked up Brandi. MJF bleeds and dubs the crimson mask. Lots of good stuff in here. Not the show stealer and a not a MOTY candidate, but great great wrestling. 

Match rating - **** 

6) PAC vs. Orange Cassidy (w/ Chuck Taylor & Trent) 

Orange Cassidy is so over it's insane. This was so different from everything else on the card and such a different role/type of match from PAC coming off such a pure wrestling match like the Ironman with Omega on Dynamite earlier this week. Comedy wrestling at it's finest worked perfectly and another W for PAC. 

Match rating - ***1/2 

7) Chris Jericho (c) vs. Jon Moxley - AEW World Title Match

Super hype entrance for both men and it feels like a big fight feel world title brawl. And that's just what it was. It's not match of the night, it's not match of the year, but it delivered. Mox and Jericho fought tooth and nail for the belt to end a story that was simple wrestling storytelling in it's best form. And that's something we don't get anymore. Huge pop for Mox ripping the eye patch off and even bigger one for what it led to as he becomes the new AEW World Champion. 

Match rating - ***3/4 

AEW Dynamite Review - February 26th, 2020

AEW Dynamite

LIVE on TNT

Kansas City, Missouri

February 26th, 2020 

Commentators - Jim Ross, Excalibur, & Tazz

1) Kenny Omega vs. PAC - 30 Min Iron Man Match 

The Young Bucks are at ringside with Omega, but no Hangman Page. Very weird and interested how that plays into their PPV match for the tag titles on Saturday. None the less - WOW. Insane offering from these two live on free television. I wasn't blown away by their first singles match despite highly anticipating it as a mark for both guys. However they really knocked it out of the park here and damn near killed each other on a number of occasions. Plus they called back to those matches several times here so without those meetings, this wouldn't have been as great as it was. Omega and PAC were two of the first people to take my breath away when I got into watching Indies & Japanese wrestling in the mid 2000's so seeing them tearing it up like this on national television was so cool. PAC hit a god damn falcon arrow on Omega from the apron to the floor for fucksake. Watch this match. Compelling from start to finish and through the duration of a sudden death stipulation. Plus the first fall was a DQ and was done SO well. Everything about this was ace. Omega wins after a slew of manuevers in sudden death. This was so good that my dad even called me to talk about it and that's rare!

Match rating - ****1/2

First 35-40 minutes gave us the best TV match of the year followed by a PAC interview with Tony Schiavone. Orange Cassidy comes out and gets laid out by the bastard.

2) Sammy Guevara & LAX vs. Jurassic Express (Luchasarus, Jungle Boy, & Marko Stunt)