The Headlines
All Elite Wrestling has got the benefit of only being four episodes in but this is by far the most fun I have watching TV wrestling right now. The whole Wednesday Night War thing is weird because while the talent is sort of complementary between NXT and AEW, they’re completely different shows: both try to keep things in the ring with minimal distraction, but NXT feels match-after-match with little forward movement while AEW is match-after-match while also feeling like an exciting stacked night of wrestling TV.
The big thing this week was the Semi Finals of the AEW World Tag Team Title Tournament, plus The Inner Circle (minus Jake Hager, presumably training for his fight) walking through the crowd two matches in and hanging in their own exclusive skybox, leading to an angle with Cody that had it all, and I really mean it all.
The WWE references that AEW (actually, mostly Cody and Jericho) make can come off as cringy and unnecessary, but when they work they really work. Jericho’s burial of the “We the People” catchphrase a couple weeks ago was great, and this week had Cody truly following in the footsteps of his father by brilliantly positioning himself as the World’s Biggest Babyface, and dropping this quote that really worked: “This isn’t the other wrestling company we came from. This isn’t an invisible wall right here [holding the ring ropes] – I could easily step through, I could easily come up there and we can fight right now.”
The POP that got, baby. Then when Jericho asked Cody who could back him up, Dustin Rhodes, a week removed from running the ropes with T-Hawk on AEW Dark, entered to his Brain Stew ripoff music. Then came MJF, the tweener of all tweeners in professional wrestling. And then came – wait for it – Diamond Dallas Page, as if we weren’t already having a moment. It all led to a big brawl by the concessions, as AEW shot a better angle for a WarGames match that won’t happen as NXT builds to their own WarGames match that will.
The headline is that this is fun wrestling. They are still place-setting and world-building, there are kinks to work out, and I am waiting to see how they settle on using guys who aren’t wrestling a match (i.e.: promos, features, mentions, etc). But as I wait for the moment where it all really clicks, this is fun wrestling.
Also, WARDLOW HAS RESURFACED!!!
Dum Dum’s Takeaways
3. Long tag matches are a blessing and a curse. I love a good tag match and AEW has been pumping out a bunch of them lately, but maybe end them 5 minutes early and pack in a little character development, eh? I know we’ve got to keep guys strong but maybe Chuckie T didn’t need that kickout, eh?
2. Where is the women’s division? It’s been either a title match or squash for the women so far on AEW Dynamite, and either one has felt like the least buzzworthy thing on the show. I’m not sure who all is actually signed, who actually lives in the U.S., etc., but while Riho is a fine first champ this division stands out as the weakest link.
1. This is good. Double or Nothing got me excited, the other big shows bummed me out, but AEW on TV is finding a groove and right now is what I look most forward to every week across all shows.
Top Things of the Week
3. DDP: Embrace the weirdness, you Elite bunch of knuckleheads! I loved it.
2. Fenix: A dude so good even Jim Ross withholds his disdain for the wrestling match he is competing in.
1. Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela: A very good wrestling match that got Kenny some mojo and made me think Joey Janela might not be the worst.
Clorox Presents, The Dirtiest Discharges of the Week
3. Jim Ross: Respect to Tony Schiavone and Excalibur for not just doing well on commentary, but carrying this guy. There’s commentary, there’s working a gimmick on commentary, and then there’s working that gimmick to a point where you are pushing a narrative on commentary and it is just distracting from the show. Private Party isn’t here to impressed you, Jim.
2. Philadelphia’s Own, Britt Baker: Doctor Britt Baker is not an anchor.
1. Private Party Reverse Rana’ing Themselves: Regardless of whether JR was impressed or not, enough of this. You’ve got a good wrestling show going with enough fun spots – you don’t need to go into Doctor Strange territory.
Hot Take: Basketball be damned, AEW should run Mondays.
10 Questions
10. Has this feature become redundant?
9. Should I change it to 5 questions?
8. Does Cody positioned as top babyface enhance or detract from the show?
7. When do people start asking questions about who’s actually signed to what type of contract?
6. TV Time Remaining gimmick: good or bad?
5. If bad, when are we going to fight?
4. If AEW continues to feature tag team wrestling post-tournament, how big of a resurgence will there be of tag team acts on the independents?
3. Seriously when is Colt Cabana showing up?
2. Will AEW keep up with this pace of in-ring output week-to-week?
1. Was that Young Bucks/Best Friends match really necessary?
The Wrestling
To be honest, this was low key a top-to-bottom in-ring Show of the Year. The wrestling was good and the crowd was fired up to see it.
The first two matches were the Semi Finals of the AEW World Tag Team Title Tournament.
Private Party vs. The Lucha Bros had moments here and there of Party being rough around the edges, but it was overwhelmed by the fun and chaos of this match that felt like nothing seen on wrestling TV in a while. It really could’ve/should’ve ended after Fenix’s big quebrada to the floor and the Penta Driver but what can I say – Party had to get their run. And it was a really, really good run that included SO MANY HURRICANRANA’S INTO THINGS. Like every single possible version. Also there was a handspring hot tag. And Fenix rules. This wasn’t great but it also ruled.
SoCal Uncensored vs. The Dark Order was not the most exciting match on paper for me, though Evil Uno is a subtle sonofabitch and I respect that. The Dark Order also has some very cool offense that they do, both by themselves and as a duo. I’m not sure they’re all there for everything beyond that, but it’s some really cool offense. SCU ends up, weirdly, the most exciting choice to go to the finals.
Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela was a rematch of their Lights Out Match from AEW Dark a week back, and this was a lot better than that. No gimmicks, just a lot of well-timed knees and lariats and the occasional crazy bump or two. Ken is just aggressively going for that last minute Wrestler of the Year nod and you’ve got to respect it.
Janela played along, providing basically the perfect crash test dummy for a strong straight-up Kenny match that got all dramatic and stuff at the end. Janela’s sell of the last V-Trigger, passed out and draped over the ropes, tells me he’s been waiting to that one his whole wrestling existence. Very good, ***3/4 or so if you want me to provide a rating via star. Chris Jericho and The Inner Circle mugging for the camera from their skybox helped the presentation too.
The Young Bucks vs. The Best Friends was a bunch of fun stuff that felt a little second-hand after the few matches before it. A fine match, a strong match on any other card even, but very much a showcase of what these guys can do that might’ve been better used with a Sonny Kiss or T-Hawk match or something. I guess Orange Cassidy got some love – that was good. He is good.
Britt Baker + the hometown Pittsburgh hard sell was nearly tough to watch, though I am very into the few minutes I saw of her opponent Jamie Hayter. A quick match, but a weak part of the show.
PAC vs. Jon Moxley was a match of the Top Guys That Nevr Were just goin’ at it, starting with a PAC entrance attack and being all intense and brawly from there. The TV Time Limit Remaining countdown coming back was a charming move that could’ve been real lame, but they used it to create some drama and now AEW’s established another RULE. Rules are good. They might also get JR to shut up.
Plus PAC did a 450 to the floor, so that was great. Mox DDT’ing the referee to end the show was a very good way to end it show.
Official Star Rating
4 out of 5 Stars
