God, everyone’s so dramatic.
But they should be. CAUSE THE WRESTLING BUSINESS JUST CHANGED.
This was a great debut show for a new professional wrestling company in 2019. Like, possibly perfect. Even the stuff rough around the edges had some of that weird charm that comes with good old-fashioned professional wrestling.
Nearly every fear created by All In seemed dispelled, different styles of wrestling were showcased in a way they were actually – gasp – showcased, and puzzle pieces for the future began to come in place.
Some initial thoughts:
Dug the tunnel entrances, dug the time limits, dug the variety of wrestling styles.
Dug everything getting time, even if some of the matches didn’t need it. A lot of matches were showcases, and didn’t follow the formulas you get so used to.
It seems like they’re really honestly setting up a tag division. That’s nice, and necessary considering the invariable presence of the Young Bucks.
The main event finish sure was sudden and awkward, and at the same time I liked that by doing that they established right away that A) finishes can come out of nowhere and B) an old dude like Jericho still has some legs.
Excalibur is GREAT and held some potentially awkward commentary together. Alex Marvez felt occasionally catatonic and confused as he offered soundbites every five minutes or so. Jim Ross seemed legitimately invested in the wrestling in front of him too – I wonder who had to have The Talk with him, or if it was just working with Excalibur who cut in when necessary versus Josh Barnett who’d cut in to try and get JR to like him.
Justin Roberts is still good.
What really set them apart for an introduction was the clear investment in both a graphics department and a unique set. Everything felt properly branded and major unique. The Cody/Dustin video was incredible. The match graphics and rules all had their themes. The gigantic poker chips were silly, but good wrestling silly.
Cody as their Bill Watts will be interesting. And I say that like it’s a standard wrestling archetype these days, which it isn’t any more – there was a real aura that a vet who’s half wrestler half publicly known guy in charge gave off. It hasn’t been done well in a long time, with Triple H’s shtick for the last few years a total bastardization of all of it. But this sure is interesting. I don’t even know if that’s the actual plan. Whether it is or not, that I left this show thinking Cody would even take advantage of that dynamic means these Elite boys have got me hooked reallll good.
Weekly TV is obviously the real test, but there were some really hopeful bits in the middle of a show that was pretty much in-ring start-to-finish: setting up the tag division, positioning MJF and Hangman Page as the top young stars, establishing Jimmy Havoc and Jungle Boy as babyfaces who want to kick MJF’s ass, etc.
That fear that All In created I alluded to above was another wrestling company only for the already initiated. One of my hang-ups with going back to regularly watching independent wrestling organizations is how off-putting some feel to both these old eyes and any innocent onlooker. And yes I know I say that as a WWE fan, but WWE in their own weird way does attempt to be viable to those innocent onlookers. And this more than any company I’ve seen in a long time felt viable. The cash they’ve got certainly helps, but there was clearly a ton of careful thought and planning put into this presentation. Viable is good. I need my wrestling to be viable.
Plus I liked former WWE superstar Shawn Spears debuting getting eliminated by a guy with no legs.
AND MOX.
0. Winner Receives AEW World Title Match – 21-Man Casino Battle Royal
A wonderful stupid version of a Royal Rumble or New Japan Rumble, with the hook being that guys come out a few at a time. And that actually did not come off as terrible as it sounds, especially as the first match for a new company. Like, hey – it’s Billy Gunn! And he’s entering with GLACIER and JUNGLE BOY. Here’s this dick MJF, and he’s entering with the unique-looking Sunny Daze and Michael Nakazawa, who was the finest ECW throwback I saw all night in that his simple intro (“NAKA… NAKA… NAKA… ZAWA!”) and baby oil immediately set a tone and got over. There were a few awkward spots, missed camera shots, etc, but then here’s Shawn Spears making a big entrance and having an amazing stand-off with MJF based around middle fingers. And they didn’t feel like “LOL I’M EDGY” middle fingers they were just straight-up throwing up that middle finger to tell a guy to get bent.
MJF is clearly gonna be a guy and took full advantage of his ring time – went right at the legless Dustin Thomas, took advantage of the ring mics, showed he can carry an angle at the end with Page. Aw yeah.
Joey Janela meanwhile is someone that is going to be a major part of this company but he kind of came across as a low rent scub even in this match. Insane table bump on the elimination though.
Luchasaurus’ look is awesome. Orange Cassidy cracked me up. Marko Stunt’s bump on the massive fatass Ace Romero’s Pounce was amazing. So was Billy Gunn working spots with Marko Stunt. Janela got a lit cigarette stapled to his head and the camera missed it for an MJF/Billy Gunn showdown too, which I’m just gonna laugh at. It had its’ clunky moments but a real fun time. **1/2
0. Kip Sabian vs. Sammy Guevara
“The Best Ever” sure is one of the lamer gimmicks in 2019, but Sammy Guevara looks like a proper shit and the fur hat deal is very nice. He and Kip Sabian, who is a proper good-looking babyface with some potential, had a fine face/heel tone-setter of a match with the occasional neat thing here and there, including Guevara trying to be too smart for Sabian’s dives but Sabian opting to just hit them from other places. A Little Much sometimes, but solid. **
Maaaaan – Cody and Brandi rolling up in an SUV, Cody all decked out appearing with Pharoah in the first shot, followed by his hot wife walking out of the car, then getting handed a cup of coffee – MAGIC. The “raa raa” intros are cool and I think they’ve got maybe two more in them before that is no longer the case.
1. SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) vs. Strong Hearts (CIMA, T-Hawk & Lindaman)
Here’s Daniels and Kazarian and CIMA, still capable after all these years. Is that the life of the traveling wrestler? You go from hyped up, maybe even have a prime where you’re among everybody’s favorite, and then you kind of keep doing the same thing and get a little boring, even if it’s technically OK, and that makes you irrelevant for a little while, and then the fact that you are still doing it 5-10 years after THAT brings us full circle and makes you kind of awesome. I wasn’t big on the OWE guys coming in with some mystique and then being like… well, any other guys, but everybody still put out a fun opener that hit the right notes. Lindaman is shockingly small and there’s a real charm in that, and he’s buff enough that he can probably kick some ass too. ***1/4
2. Fatal 4-Way Match: Awesome Kong vs. Dr. Britt Baker vs. Kylie Rae vs. Nyla Rose
Out of everything I dug about the Smilin’ Kylie Rae gimmick introduction, and there’s a lot of it, her clapping for Britt Baker’s entrance was probably my favorite. Awesome Kong’s surprise entry into the match and massive pop was… awesome. And besides all the camera shots of Brandi Rhodes watching on as some Three Eyed Raven of the AEW women’s division, this was a very fun match. Kept a good pace and there was a great car crash spot with Kong and Nyla. Also I thought Allie did phenomenal on commentary – “It doesn’t look like Kyle’s smiley anymore, does it” is not a line you can use again, but her delivery of it was gold. ***1/4
3. The Best Friends (Trent & Chuck Taylor) vs. Jack Evans & Angelico
Eh match for me, they got a little time but it didn’t really work as a showcase for anybody. I might’ve been distracted by Angelico’s horrifying gear though. Felt like a lot of near falls at the end didn’t work either. I dig all these guys and liked this here as a match to flesh out the tag division, but it wasn’t my fav. **
The post-match with the former Super Smash Brothers laying dudes out surrounded by a ton of scary masked people was a pretty incredible visual, and after hearing Stu Grayson just genuinely hoping a wrestling company could supply him a working visa on the Art of Wrestling I found myself pretty emotional during the whole thing.
4. Hikaru Shida, Riho & Ryo Mizunami vs. Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki & Emi Sakura
This is where the show really clicked for me, both in that it was the best match so far but also showcased the potential of AEW more than possibly anything on the show. I also honestly think it is where JR clicked too, as after a bunch of great shit he drops the grumpy shtick and gives in: “I have no idea who’s legal. It doesn’t matter” And so it was told, that Aja Kong awoke the spirit of wrestling in 2019 to Good Ol’ JR. This was just a buncha gimmicks and great wrestling, and I adored Excalibur putting over how all these gals aren’t really connected, it’s just a collection of individuals who probably aren’t going to do much in the way of teamwork. This properly positioned the match as the showcase it was, and what a showcase. It’s a new kind of women’s wrestling that’s been going on for years, and if they can present Joshi in a prominent place that’s awesome.
Riho stood out as so impressive – her movement, selling, being twenty freakin’ one. And AJA KONG WAS HERE. Her spine kick on Riho was incredible, especially how everybody individually sold it, and the box/cane stuff was wonderful weird wonder on U.S. Pay-Per-View. Sazakazi’s gimmick is fun, a high-end Bayley. Emi’s “We Will Rock You” Queen spot is great. Shida is very purty and very good. Dug her trading shots with Emi at the end before dropping her with an incredible knee to the face. The early ring bell was a doozy, but regardless this had zero formula bullshit and was a great showcase for not just these ladies but the potential of this organization in general. My God. Hope. ***1/2
5. Cody w/ Brandi Rhodes vs. Dustin Rhodes
Holy shit, the NWA in the 1980s still exists and all it took was the sons of Dusty Rhodes to leave WWE and lock horns in Las Vegas. At the end of the day, at its core, this was a very simple, solid wrestling match that got a lot out of each guys’ signature spots. But it had an atmosphere. And a DDP cameo. And led to one of those classic wrestling moments where two guys are just lying there in a blood-stained ring for this BUSINESS. Plus there was Dustin deciding to let out what felt like literally all the blood he had been holding in over a period of 25 years of on-again off-again employment by blood-averse Vince McMahon.
Beyond the blood, Dustin was great here – his big swinging wild punch as Cody started working over his wound was so simple but felt so WRESTLING. He took a big bump in the corner and dished out a complete ass whoopin’ for the finish that ended with a CODE RED. A superplex almost went haywire and it didn’t matter because these gladiators were EXHAUSTED. Lots of stiff finishers and kickouts at the end before Cody emerged victorious. Tremendous. I’m conflicted about this. As a standalone match, maybe I don’t go full five. But as a match on the AEW Double or Nothing show? Man. The Rhodes Boys did it. *****
Bret Hart actually appearing on the show to intro the AEW World Heavyweight Title was another fun surprise, especially considering he shared his time with World Title contender Hangman Page and MJF, who is an undeniable promo talent – it’s CM Punk raised by a Jewish grandmother. With appearances by Havoc and Jungle Boy too, the 10 minutes of this wrestling show setup some programs and actually might’ve got some guys over. Wild.
6. AAA World Tag Team Title: The Young Bucks [c] vs. The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix)
Well, this was definitely a statement. It moved fast, it went a little long, it didn’t really seem to follow any particular thread, but it was the quickest of the quickest and the hottest of the hot trying to out-do each other and was a great time. These guys are some kind of new dimension of Excellence of Execution, and they gave the audience exactly what they seemed to want, though maybe they were a little quiet between the crazy. I liked Nick’s big run of leaps and kicks and dives and the stare to the camera after, like it was just easy. The MCMG callback spot was fun, as was the double stomp package piledriver.
And obviously Fenix’s double-triple-I don’t even know-jump hurricanrana that took out both Bucks was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life. ****1/4
7. Winner Receives AEW World Title Match: Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho and the Cracker Barrel was an all-timer folks – the confidence that experience brings is a special thing. And well then the bell rang and this match was… fine. It was the right headliner and a proper big match but they didn’t really put out anything special, which I’m not sure I should’ve even expected except they did do something special at the Tokyo Dome last year so maybe some things don’t work out. Also Jericho’s new look/feel/everything is phenomenal, but as a wrestler there were points here where it felt like Kenny was wrestling a blob. Not to diss the Ayatollah of Rock-n-Relevance, but he’s not doing this week after week and I’m not sure what Kenny usually does translates to whatever he’s capable of anymore. I’m still not convinced he actually made any attempt to block that V-Trigger he somehow countered with the Walls of Jericho. Regardless, his ability to hit three Lionsaults in a row SO well had me just tickled. The V-Trigger to Dragon suplex setup by Kenny countered with a front cradle into the Walls of Jericho was also very, very good. The Dome was a long spectacle, this was a trimmed down solid main event. ***
OH MY GOD IT’S MOX THEY ACTUALLY DID IT
I admit it – I was cynical going on. Now I’m interested. They didn’t need to re-invent the wheel and they didn’t, though they also did leave some wiggle room to do just that. In 2019 though, maybe just a good old-fashioned wrestling show that showcased different types of wrestling and setup a potentially exciting future IS re-inventing the wheel. The joshi match, Cody’s sledgehammer to the throne, and Dean Ambrose actually seriously appearing – this is kind of the show for me. Those were the beats it needed to hit. The throne breaking effect itself was kind of lame, but that they actually did that felt like a legitimate challenging of the guard. They could’ve gone conservative here, but they actually truly madly deeply went… all in. 10/10
