Overall Evaluation and Achieved Goals
SO GOOD.
Pro wrestling TV can be so frustrating because half the battle is just choosing a direction in general. There have been a shocking amount of hours of pro wrestling TV produced over the years without one.
The last few months have bummed me out, AEW floating in the wind as the good brothers tried to figure out what they want to do on TNT either not making decisions or making lame ones.
This show was packed, consistent, and finally felt like it was moving not just in a direction but an interesting one.
A lot of talented people on this roster were actually put in spots to be good at wrestling. Crazy.
SO GOOD!!!
Areas of Excellence Within Performance
Suddenly, this week: three great matches. When it clicks, it clicks.
One of those matches was a Battle Royal for a shot at the AEW World Tag Team Title. I liked the gimmick to begin with: BOTH members of the team must hit the floor before elimination, which is the rare wrestling twist that was both unique and not annoying. Then they did my favorite thing in Battle Royals where they used it to have a bunch of moments that kept the fun coming and got a bunch of things over. Trent Baretta and CIMA had a couple showcases they don’t normally get, while Orange Cassidy again stole the show. Was also impressed by how composed The Dark Order guy was with the live promo.
Shout out to AEW’s approach to the video package. Quality editing work, and feels more to the point as far as telling the story and not simply recapping what happened.
Darby Allin saving Dustin Rhodes to a Road Warriors/Stone Cold POP and going after The Inner Circle was amazing pro wrestling. Can’t imagine anyone in AEW not recognizing what they’ve got in Darby, but stranger things have happened.
I have found myself very underwhelmed by all the Exciting Tag Team Matches on TV that AEW has offered since the start, but Kenny Omega & Hangman Page vs. The Lucha Bros was a keeper – just amazing. They went epic then topped more on top of it, using their wild moves to build all the drama. The dive train here might’ve been the best ever, I just don’t know. This type of match standing out is a mountain nowadays, but when it does stand out it’s more impressive.
On top of everything they closed with a legitimate classic Steel Cage Match in Cody vs. Wardlow – not just a fun match, but a classic simple TV match with Cody going full Dusty Rhodes and using all the tricks to make the most compelling wonderful match, an example of what worked with wrestling Back In The Day – the crowd was committed to their guy, and their guy bled and bumped all over before he did a moonsault off the top of the cage.
The cage wasn’t classic WWF blue, but classic NWA unstable cage that had serious give any time someone got their head slammed into it. Wardlow was the most wonderfully serviceable big guy wrestler, and I mean that as a serious compliment – he was there for everything and never needed to over-do it. Arn Anderson and MJF on the outside too. What at trip!
Suggested Areas of Improvement
Jeff Cobb is still boring and hasn’t reached his potential, but him vs. Darby Allin could be something.
Love JR, love Tony – seems like there might be better roles for them in 2020. The commentary team is getting there, and Tazz did good. Tazz also loves Cobb’s hips. Loves letting you know when a man is using his hips.
Top Plays of the Week
2. Penta Driver Kickout: An incredibly timed near fall that really really really felt like the end.
3. The Darby Allin Pop: OH MY GOD
Mike Bloomberg 2020 Presents, The Awful Ad of the Week
2. The Strong Hearts: CIMA and T-Hawk just gonna show up in some random Battle Royal on Dynamite, otherwise it’s Dark duty – WHY? Same with Private Party.
3. Big Swole Interrupts: Involving her is good, putting her in that lame position is bad. But also it wasn’t that bad. This was just a really good show.
Performance Improvement Plan (Kind Of)
Official Star Rating
5 out of 5 Stars
