0.NWA Women's Title: Deeb(c) vs Kay ***
1.Eliminator Tournament Final: Omega vs Page ****1/4
2.Orange vs Silver ***1/4
3.AEW TNT Title: Cody(c) vs Darby ***3/4
4.AEW Women's Title: Shida(c) vs Rose **3/4
5.AEW Tag Titles: FTR(c) vs Bucks ****1/2
6.Elite Deletion: Hardy vs Guevara ***3/4
7.Jericho vs MJF ***
8.AEW World Title, I Quit: Moxley(c) vs Kingston ****1/4
Thoughts:
Time to check out Full Gear, which I've heard rocked. I started with the NWA Women's World Championship defense from the Buy In, though I skipped everything else on that stream. Having just watched Deeb take the belt off of Thunder, it felt like required viewing seeing as I was already checking out the show proper. I'd love seeing Kay in AEW more often. She's a sincerely great talent and while she was used well in NWA I would still enjoy seeing her on TV more. I'd also not hate more NWA involvement in AEW. With the Scurll story dead now, I could see Corgan wanting to partner with AEW closer when Powerrr returns for the next big Aldis feud. As a dark match, this was good stuff, by the way. Deeb looks to be a solid champ and I loved Thunder coming out in post the set up the rematch. Dark matches can be drizzling shit storms but this was far from such a thing.
The show officially kicked off with Kenny and Adam in a #1 contender battle that had pretty good building leading into it. While the feud had been predictable, I still appreciate the way it was done and the slow burn nature on display. I've been rather transparent over the years too that I consider Kenny to be the best active wrestler in the world and one of the best of all time. I also have appreciated the way Page has been booked in general, going from a dude that everyone was just okay with and growing into one of the biggest babyfaces in the game. Lots of mentions of NJPW during this (and the show in general) which I know is one of the things fans point to as evidence of a relationship in the works though I still personally think its being over played by fans. I could be wrong, of course, and it would make sense if they are talking about a deal either way. Anyway, the execution here was superb with dramatic near falls working perfectly together with the top shelf action. In all, it was a fantastic display from both and everyone walked out looking good as a result.
Next, the crayon box was opened for a battle of colors. I've been following these two for a bit, especially Orange, and was excited to see this down card match play out with reasonable expectations. I had no idea, or no memory of at least, this even being a feud but it's a decent way to kill time with both for sure. They picked the perfect ref for this one, by the way. Early on, Silver tore off Orange's pockets and it was fucking glorious. In all, a perfectly fine throwaway match from the two and a decent way to keep the show moving along. The right man won but both came off looking strong here, too. It's one of the better things about AEW for sure.
Cody and Darby next for the TNT Championship. A reminder that Brodie's last match was awesome and I hope his wife gets some answers soon. Sometimes people just die and we don't always get satisfactory responses that explain why, but hopefully she gets some more closure. Unrelated but also a downer of sorts, I still want to know why Darby didn't get something similar to Sammy earlier this year and instead was pushed. Great worker but AEW handled that weird and I know I won't get answers for why they did nothing but I still am left wondering regardless. In regards to Cody, in hindsight I still agree with the move to keep him out of the AEW World picture during the MJF angle and I think he should continue getting reigns with the TNT belt from time to time. I'd also like to see a run with the Tag belts at some point. Past that, bit roles work well for him and the whole Nightmare Factory thing looks to be working well thus far. It's funny but over in WWE, NXT is a mystery. It's no longer developmental yet the definition of what it actually is remains fluid. They've also failed to truly make the PC turn out new, true stars. Over in AEW they have Dark essentially being used in a way that gives the stars reps while building newcomers. Khan and crew have made mistakes but have largely put WWE to shame over and over and over again with how intelligent they've been with their general approach to nearly everything they've attempted. I try to be fair and talk shit often, but on the flip side credit where it's due, after all. So, back to the match and on to more positive stuff, this was great. I'd like to see the belt defended every week on TV honestly, similar to what Cody was doing. That shouldn't be just an Cena's Open Challenge kind of thing but just a stipulation attached to the belt in general. Unpopular opinion? But yea, Darby was a cannonball. Cody was his super-serviceable self. They played a bit into the David versus Goliath style and showed that resilient, burning spirit nicely. Thumbs up for sure and from a kayfabe stance the switch was a good one.
By the way, can we see NWA and AEW tighten shit up a bit more and have Cody versus Aldis again?
Taz out after doing Taz shit before Cage and Starks attacked Cody and Allin. Good stuff. Hobbs with the save.
A QT and Dustin promo followed. It worked well and I like the specific way they are promoting TV content on the show.
The worst match of the main card sadly involved Shida. Rose is a decent worker and has grown but still requires some smoke and mirrors, the right opponent, and a good agent to make her matches truly recommendation levels and sadly one of those things went wrong here. Vicky being her manager is an interesting choice and honestly a good one, at least. Just cut the interference shit. Currently, the women's division itself is finally featuring enough talented names that they are more than capable of changing perceptions at least and I hope 2021 ends the general consensus shared by most fans that they are weak in that department. And, for the record, this wasn't a bad match. It's just that it wasn't good either and truly the weakest thing on the show. Once the pandemic cools down, and before the next one starts, I think Nyla should get sent to Japan for a while again. It'd be great for her.
For those that care for a follow up, my issue with HP seems to be handled now. Waiting until the new laptop is in my hands before I say for sure, though. Figured I'd drop that here.
Next, The Young Bucks shut down critics once more and got to be dicks while doing so. I saw someone earlier today tweeting about how indifferent they are to the brothers. To each their own, but I have no idea how someone can see this match, the one against Kenny and Hangman, and the one against the Golden Lovers and be indifferent on them. Truly, this was more than just MOTN but a sure MOTYC level encounter. I love FTR by the way, too. I have a feeling if NWA could actually pay their talent that FTR would be their biggest target. I'd actually love seeing FTR win the NWA Tag straps in AEW match but I don't want Stevens on AEW so I'm torn. During the match, I'd note that there was a very illogical spot with Matt that had me scratching my head and left Excalibur trying to explain it away. Outside of that, I have no true complaints and honestly thought this was simply must-see stuff. In many ways, it was a modern Midnight Express versus Rock n' Roll Express. Watch this ASAP if you missed it!
To the fan celebrating post, know that you don't need to pull your mask down. It doesn't change your volume really at all and just is reckless stupidity. I saw the same shit when Jericho came out, too. Everything I've read suggests that AEW does temp checks and distances fans about. Smoke and mirrors of course, but I don't see much distancing. Also, if they'd crack down hard just once it'd make a big difference. Toss one fan out that is wearing their mask down, hanging off their ear. They'd do it if they got naked or were waving a gun about.
We then were moved to the cinematic match of the evening, which was about 20 minutes of pure entertainment like every other Matt related cinematic affair. The cheese was so thick that it featured a monster truck basically right off the bat. They battled around the complex and into an official AEW Full Gear ring, we had PnP and Private Party run-ins, fireworks, The Hurricane, Gangrel, and so much more. Nothing to complain about and a shit load of fun along the way. Your mileage may vary but I found it to be glorious.
I feel this is a good place to once again state that JR should be moved to a backstage interview role among other things with Taz replacing him.
Archer and Jake the Snake cut a promo from a back ally next. Good shit.
MJF and Jericho up next. I think this arguably should have been a tad lower on the card, to be honest. That said, and say what you will about how fuckin stupid he is in real life, but Jericho deserves true credit. In many ways he is the Hogan of AEW but is also showing time and time again how interested he is in building up the roster around him unlike that racist orange dipshit. Hogan...not Trump. MJF has been slowly burning his way up the card and this solidifies him as an upper mid-card name. I've contradicted myself a tad in this paragraph, so lets keep that going a bit since I'm ranting here anyway. MJF winning over Jericho is big. His movement on the card has been big and I think he has enough to him that it makes sense to keep him positioned nicely. He also is now a #2, at best, in the Inner Circle, though which will pin him down to a spot for now. I honestly wouldn't mind him taking over the unit at some point which might be the end game. The match wont blow you away, but MJF isn't a workrate dude and Jericho to his defense has been in the game for 30 years. He's still able to work at a good level of course but set your expectations to a reasonable level and you'll be okay. We got an Eddie finish which honestly was fine in this case, by the way.
Backstage drama followed.
Main event time! I've said so often that I wish the core of CHIKARA would get a chance to show off. Many will never get the chance, sadly. Seeing Orange win on this show and then featured in a segment right before Eddie in the main event is amazing, though. Mox and Eddie are some of the best all around workers in the world, capable of cutting killer promos and then working great contests after so you knew they'd deliver here and they did exactly that. The package showing of the feud before was expert level, doing a great job of getting me extra pumped. I loved Kingston's gear, too. Misawa truly is the GOAT. Everything that followed the opening bell was highly enjoyable and simply an excellent hardcore brawl that utilized the gimmick perfectly. A perfect way to end the evening. Hopefully we get to see Eddie hold the belt at some point.
This was a great show. Three bangers surrounded by a handful of very good to great matches and only one thing that was below *** range. I don't watch a lot of full shows these days, but this was worth the pull and is recommended for anyone as far behind as myself. Sincerely one of the best all around PPV shows I've seen in a long time.
Invest in Dogecoin, thanks for reading, and have a badass day!
Overall Rating: 85/100%
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