Matches:
1.Mox vs Reynolds NR
2.Cody, QT vs Butcher & Blade ***
3.Big Swole vs Emi **3/4
4.Omega, Page vs Spears, Kip **
5.Guevara vs Luchasaurus **1/4
6.Street Fight: Young Bucks vs PnP ***3/4
Thoughts:
Mox with a squash and destruction in general of the Beaver Boys was largely just a reason to get him out in the ring, leading to Jericho coming out and offering him a role in the Inner Circle. Interesting take, and I'd actually like a curve ball with him joining instead of the rather predictable outcome we're more likely going to have.
The tag match with Cody was good. QT looked decent here and the new team of Butcher & Blade did well in their in-ring debuts on the show. Allie was a good manager, of course. This did well for what it was, and Darby coming out after just to tease that he'd team with Cody to face the heel group was an interesting choice.
MJF getting his cheap heat next and then he cut a pretty decent promo, which is just natural for him. I've often called him the younger, better version of Miz for a reason.
Emi and Big Swole up next in a pretty decent match as the division continues to find a groove. Swole winning felt like a semi-big deal for her.
I can't call Omega and Page "The ELITE" anymore when they team, but going in I thought this might be the time when Adam officially starts a heel turn. I made sure to tweet my prediction out to cover my ass in case it happened. I'm still a bit surprised at how Spears has been booked since he was, for a short while, one of the hottest heels in the company and since falling to Cody he's been rather cold. Anyway, I'm always happy to see an Omega match though this was a bit basic as the entire episode continues to coast a bit this week and my fears following Dark came true. I could've done without the interference from Ford, for example. The lights going out and the whole Janela/Tully/Spears stuff should've been saved for the post-match, too. And then a blind tag? Yea, it builds off of Page's desperation and all, but it was still just all overbooked at that point. AEW is still learning, but the guys are smart enough to be past this by now in my opinion.
Brandi calls out Riho's lack on dates of late, asks again for Kris to join to Nightmare Collective, etc. Still not differentiated enough from the Dark Order gimmick and it feels like AEW just happens to have two cults. Meanwhile I just want the Kong/Kong match.
Jericho and Hager join JR for commentary and the Spanish God is once again compared to Eddie (and more). I actually kind of see it, and if someone who was so close to him like Jericho agrees (which he sincerely seems to) than who the fuck am I to second guess the claim? Luchasaurus is still over nicely enough. Sadly, the match felt off for some reason and never really kicked into the next gear that I had expected for it. Jericho went after Jungle Boy and Hager went after Luchasaurus after, leading to a visual pin for Perry over le Champion which was a nice touch, helping build to next week's match.
Even though this week's episode isn't a big deal in-ring, I still applaud the general interactions among the roster members and the way they're trying to build toward future stuff and the laying of seeds.
Chicago, February 29th, Revolution. The next AEW ppv. Mark your calendars.
The main event was low on time but had a good chance of saving the episode from failing to have anything in-ring be recommendable. I liked the hot start, with the chaos livening things up. JR missing that the match had actually started was funny. This thing was a true spectacle, with Matt even wearing a Cowboys helmet at one point, and was just pure entertainment. A bit overbooked but wildly entertaining stuff nonetheless and easily the best thing of the night. A fun way to close the episode on a high note while keeping one of the best rivalries moving forward. Watch this one.
We close with a tease of SCU/Bucks for next week, which should be great, too.
The entire episode might have been more flawed than usual, but it still went down rather easy and felt no where close to two hours and the main event was worth catching. I'm still all in, too, and am actually getting tickets to the Austin show soon which is pretty exciting for me. Anyway, watch the main event and just wait for the highlight clips for the rest of the stuff if you can't catch the whole thing.
Overall Rating: 65/100%
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