I have a lot of thoughts about the show, but let's get to the matches first-
The "Preshow' matches-
There was a brief contract signing situation between Miro and Will Hobbs, but it didn't really break down into too much of anything. The two glared at eachother and set up their PPV match at All Out, which is ONLY a week away. It was a little weird as neither wrestler is someone carrying a storyline that the fans are reall invested in, but it was a good way to get some eyes on these two.
ROH Tag Team Championship: MJF/Adam Cole vs. Aussie Open ( Mark Davis/Kyle fletcher)
Most of the buildup for this match is really about the World Title match that will be happening in the Main Event. Over the past several weeks, Cole and MJF have had a bizarre friendship blossom as wrestlings' most vicious and "evil" heel (MJF) seemingly found a real friend in Cole and the two have been way over with the audiences despite a losing effort against FTR earlier this month. The match against Aussie Open was a way to continue that storyline, but Aussie Open weren't just going to sit back and play second fiddle while their own tag titles were on the line. Consummate heel sadism set the tone as they cut MJF from making repeated tag attempts only for the audience to erupt when Cole eventually made his way into the ring. Ultimately, we had a great finish where MJF/Cole stood victorious in the ring with the ROH tag team titles held high.
FTW Championship: Hook vs. Jack Perry
Perry's recent heel turn hasn't worked for me. I get the gimmick, I get that he's a smarmy little punk brat, but he's ultimately coming off in a really grating way that goes beyond simple heel heat for me. I don't want ot see him get beat up, i just dont want to see him. Hook, on the other hand, is really good- but he's doing something with his recent look that I'm not sure is helping him- not sure if it's his workout or his diet, but he looks thinner than he should as a wrestler. The two worked a gimmick match with a little blood and a destroyed limoousine, with Perry turning to the camera to make comments regarding a backstage incident that the fans really don't care about and makes him look really REALLY bad right now. In the end, Hook winds up with the FTW title back over his shoulder.... a title that is unrecognized by any organization, mind you. It's a trinket Taz (Hook's father) used to carry around in the old ECW for awhile. There's no significance to it otherwise.
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe
Ostensibly, Punk is supposed to be defending the "real" world title, but there are enough fake titles on the line already and I don't think that it has anything to do with the real drama of the match. Joe and Punk go back to ROH and 2003. This match was about these two old warhorses going at it once again and the rivalry they've carried for 20 years(!), so the title was just a trinket to dangle for later angles. This was about these two men opening the biggest PPV of the modern era and having fun out there. And the one thing that you can tell by watching this match is they are having an absolute blast. Punk hits his Pepsi Plunge finish after the two men traded a Hulk-off moment, a great way to start the show and set the pace.
Kunosuke Takashita / Juice Robinson / Switchblade Jay White vs. Kenny Omega / Kota Ibushi / Adam Page-
I'm not sure what was supposed to be happening in this match, but I will say that it felt like the Golden Elite were wrestling like heels throughout the match while Jay White (who is supposed to be a heel) took a whole lot of bumps for them. Then the actual heels of the match took a small measure of control before Adam Page came in and ran a superman on all of them, frenetically running from one high flying spot to another an ultimately the match ended with Takeshita getting a pin on Omega to the dismay of the London fans who were heavily behind Kenny.
AEW World Tag Team Championship: FTR vs. The Young Bucks. MATCH OF THE NIGHT
And it's no small thing that I'm calling this match of the night considering the whoppers that came up later- but hear me out, these two teams gave us hellacious false finishes and built up their match from one moment to the next. I'm not a Young Bucks fan by any stretch of the immagionation, but I am a huge FTR fan and those four men tore the house down with their match. This is the modern era's greatest tag rivalry- whehter you hate either team or love them, these guys gave one of hell of a performance and FTR retained their championship after a second shatter machine.
Stadium Stampede: Best friends (Lst below) vs. Blackpool Combat Club (and friends) List below
The Stadium Stampede concept is an AEW original and it's basically two teams of five fighting all over the stadium and looking for a pinfal or submission. Anything goes, hardcore rules, the whole nine yards. It's not going to be a technicians dream, it's going to be death match style wrestling and high spots one after another- it's total chaos and it's fun, but way too much happens to take note of everything. On the Best Friends side we have Eddie Kingston, Orange Cassidy, Trent Baretta, Chuck Taylor, and Penta El Zero Mieda. On the BCC side we have Jon Moxley, Claudio Castignoli, Wheeler Yuta, Santana, and Ortiz. The whole thing was a bloody affair and Moxley, at one point, wound up with wooden skewers sticking out of his head while Orange Cassidy coated his taped fists in broken glass. The finish came when Orange Cassidy took the win for his team by pinning Claudio Castignoli.
AEW Women's Championship: Saraya vs Hikaru Shida vs. Toni Storm. vs. Britt Baker
A decent match that I'm not sure was placed well in the card, but Saraya took home the championship at sunset to a large celebration before her home country audience. Saraya was once called Paige in the WWE and had a movie made about her life so this was just a smart decision from a booking angle.
Darby Allin / Sting vs. Christian Cage/Swerve Strickland in a coffin match
Really good match and story going into this as Darby is challenging Cage's protoge for the TNT championship, but has had issues withboth Swerve and Christian along the way. This also got some star power on the PPV with Cage and Sting, got eyes on Strickland and Allin, and gave all four men some great moments to build on. Allin gets the win after stuffing Strickland in the Coffin, but I think Strickland actually came out looking the best out of everyone here.
Will Osprey vs. Chris Jericho
Jericho is played to the ring by his band, with the audience inging alon to Judas- and the two men had an AMAZING match!!! On a lesser PPV, this match would've stolen the show. As it was, it was an incredible introduction for many audience members t the talent of Will Osprey and the wonderul continuation of Chris Jericho's legacy in this business. And, with no shenanigans or major moments of gratuitous violence, Will Osprey defeats Chris Jericho.
AEW Trios Championship: The Acclaim and Billy Gunn vs the House of Black (w/Julia Hart)
Solid trios match finishing a storyline that saw Billy Gunn redeem some recent losses and take home gold with his friends, the Acclaim. House of Black with an interesting show of respect at the end for their opponents.Fun match, but after the prior match there was no way they were going to overshadow that or tak away from the coming Main Event.
MAIN EVENT: AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: MJF defends the Title against his best friend and partner, Adam Cole.
This match should be studied for a long time by people wnating to get into the business of what prowrestling is and how to remain true to the characters and the storyline. This was an incredible match that saw emotional highs and lows, with the audience sent on a journey of wondering "will he? Won't he?" Will either man betray the other? Why would they? For a title? For a moment? For glory? And it was an investment of time and heart and it really elevated the bar on this story and became something huge as a result. MJF retains after doubt from Adam Cole makes him toss away an opportunity to nail the wounded champion with his title, allowing MJF to snatch a small package and get the three.
