“If you’re gonna be the future, perhaps you should consider letting go of the past.” – Alex Abrahantes to Jungle Boy, 12/29/21
Last December, AEW aired a really great episode of Dynamite called Winter is Coming. They were still taping from Daily’s Place with a small crowd every week but finding a way to put on good shows in spite of it. Kenny Omega won the AEW World Title in the main event, MJF won a shot at a second Dynamite Diamond Ring in the opener, and somewhere in between Sting showed up seeking justice and stuck around for another run after.
In the year since, leaps were made. Touring resumed. Crowds returned. Rampage began. Names were signed from Big Show to 2point0 to 3 of 4 of The Undisputed Era. The Last Dance in August through Full Gear in November was a blitz of promotion that kept the hits coming, though by the second Winter is Coming (12/15) everything was feeling a little crowded. The TV wasn’t so consistent and AEW found themselves a tier of people lost in the shuffle as the world-building began to feel like world-managing.
Overall satisfaction remains high though because AEW continues to do some of those bare minimum pro wrestling things: maintaining momentum, having a fun roster, accentuating the most expensive and promising talents. Sometimes there’s a CM Punk promo or Danielson match too. But tighten your shit up. And don’t tweet.
The Main Event(s) Momentum
New AEW World Champion Hangman Adam Page vs. Bryan Danielson at Winter is Coming was the big match of the month, and they had of those 60-minute time limit draws wrestlers used to have. It was an entire classic that continued each guy’s very reasonable next beginning. The rest of the month built up a rematch in January.
MJF got a boost in some feature spots like his third Dynamite Dozen Diamond Ring (12/8), a 6-man tag in Greensboro (12/22), and a ton of well-delivered insults opposite the very popular CM Punk. Wardlow mercifully found himself back on the radar too as a guy frustrated with MJF, annoyed with Shawn Spears, and doing powerbombs. Seems good.
Kenny Omega took time off after Full Gear, so The Elite’s business in December was handled by The Young Bucks and shady Adam Cole, who looped Bobby Fish then Kyle O’Reilly (12/22) into the family as they feuded mostly with The Best Friends — who got Trent back (12/8). And he’s shredded.
Yep: They Sent Hook
After creating a buzz most wrestlers would possibly literally kill for by just looking cool in the background on TV, the memes became real-life when Taz’ son Hook made his in-ring debut with Taz on commentary not containing his excitement (12/3). By swagger, suplexes, and tremendous TV presentation he delivered in just two short matches an introduction that overshadowed many of of AEW’s up-and-coming “pillars.”
Britt Baker spent December processing the news of a challenge for the Women’s World Title from Riho, Darby Allin played background in the Greensboro 6-man (12/22), and Jungle Boy won some matches and ended the month with a Tag Team Title shot.
I Guess We Could Talk About Cody
Sammy Guevara was TNT Champion most of December, defending vs. Tony Nese (12/3) and delivering an awesome babyface save (12/17) and promo (12/25) to build-up a defense against the increasingly complicated Cody Rhodes. Cody, whose wife Brandi Rhodes also returned to the ring, began December getting booed in Atlanta and setting a table on fire (12/1) then ended it beating Sammy for the belt on Christmas.
Cody reads more off-putting than interesting doing what he’s doing, and he kind of also single-handedly created an entire aimless midcard. Andrade el Idolo recovered from Atlanta’s flaming table working a gentleman named Kaun on Dark (12/20) and ended the year looking thirsty for relevance from Darby (12/31). Malakai Black tried to rip out PAC‘s eyeball (12/3), mentioned a king (12/15), and harassed the Hollywood Blonds. Anthony Ogogo returned and wrestled several times on Dark to little reaction too.
Winter Got Crowded
Two months later the decision to stretch the TBS Title Tournament out over two months seems a bit much, but maybe there’s value in the time to breathe. December’s semi-finals were Ruby Soho over Nyla Rose and Jade Cargill over Thunder Rosa with the assistance of the incoming Mercedes Martinez. The finals are set for January.
The Lucha Bros navigated numerous affiliations rivalries and overcame a Tag Team Title challenge from FTR before entertaining one from Jurassic Express. Chris Jericho and Eddie Kingston started beefing over assumed ties to Santana & Ortiz in a feud against 2point0, Daniel Garcia and possibly PAC too, but only maybe.
Team Taz vs. Dante Martin/Lio Rush and The Nightmare Family vs. Dan Lambert‘s Men of the Year were those kind of wrestling feuds that only sort of happened, and I forgot about Miro and Christian Cage.
AEW Dark and Dark: Elevation’s December collection of names from the past, present and future included Tony Nese, Marina Shafir, Josh Woods, Cin Delaney, Prince Nana, Shalonce Royal (does Opera), and Dean Fleming (wears suit). Matt Lee of 2point0 pinned Colt Cabana (12/14). The Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss‘ saga may have come to a close with an overshot splash through a table (12/28). “Blood here… we got blood on Dark!”
Top 10 Matches
1. AEW World Title: Hangman Page [c] vs. Bryan Danielson (Dynamite 12/15/21)
2. TBS Championship Tournament – Semi Final: Ruby Soho vs. Nyla Rose w/ Vickie Guerrero (Dynamite 12/22/21)
3. Fuego del Sol vs. Hook (debut) (Rampage 12/10/21)
4. John Silver w/ Dark Order vs. Bryan Danielson (Dynamite 12/8/21)
5. Street Fight: Tay Conti & Anna Jay vs. The Bunny & Penelope Ford (Rampage 12/31/21)
6. Riho & Ryo Mizunami vs. Emi Sakura & Mei Suruga (Dark 12/14/21)
7. Sting, CM Punk & Darby Allin vs. MJF & FTR (Dynamite 12/22/21)
8. Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb (Rampage 12/15/21)
9. Orange Cassidy, Trent & Chuck Taylor vs. Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish (Dynamite 12/29/21)
10. TNT Title: Sammy Guevara [c] vs. Cody Rhodes w/ Arn Anderson and Brandi Rhodes (Rampage 12/25/21)
1. AEW World Title: Hangman Page [c] vs. Bryan Danielson (Dynamite 12/15/21) – Look, it’s Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham but longer and with the benefits of human evolution. Page and Danielson fill the entire first hour of Dynamite with a match that stayed compelling and downright TV-friendly by way of a lively pace, Danielson playing a cocky then grouchy asshole, and oddball choices that just made sense like Hangman’s boot as Danielson’s kryptonite for the first half-hour or Page doing a skin-the-cat with 30 seconds left. By both telling a great story and effectively killing time, they delivered a wrestling masterpiece.
2. TBS Championship Tournament – Semi Final: Ruby Soho vs. Nyla Rose (Dynamite 12/22/21) – Ruby Soho is just pure babyface, big crowd reactions and selling that led to a thriller with Nyla Rose who is really great in these random spots as a tournament threat.
3. Fuego del Sol vs. Hook (Rampage 12/10/21) – Hook shows off a confidence beyond a wrestling rookie and wrestling style blending Judo and Lucha as Fuego does all that can be asked. A debut match so fun I was offended there was a main event after.
4. John Silver vs. Bryan Danielson (Dynamite 12/8/21) – Silver gets more in than anybody in Dark Order did as Bryan Danielson wrestles his second-longest match of the month. There is a German suplex counter here that is very well-done.
5. Street Fight: Tay Conti & Anna Jay vs. The Bunny & Penelope Ford (Rampage 12/31/21) – This delightfully embraced the hardcore match chaos, from Tay Conti charging out of the entrance with a Singapore cane to Penelope Ford doing a moonsault off the apron onto a table that didn’t break. Good time at the matches.
6. Riho & Ryo Mizunami vs. Emi Sakura & Mei Suruga (Dark 12/14/21) – Good timing, flashy spots, great time — they tore it up at Universal Studios and I hope they can in front of a bigger audience sometime. Added bonus here is Taz saying “joshi.”
7. Sting, CM Punk & Darby Allin vs. MJF & FTR (Dynamite 12/22/21) – If they did a little more (or maybe less?) with it this would’ve ranked higher, but it’s still a good time in Greensboro. Sting does a plancha.
8. Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb (Rampage 12/15/21) – They had trouble lightning a spark after the Danielson/Page draw so it isn’t their best match, but it’s still pretty good with quality grappling and a clever finish that went from a leglock to an exposed turnbuckle to jacknife cradle in shockingly smooth fashion.
9. Orange Cassidy, Trent & Chuck Taylor vs. Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish (Dynamite 12/29/21) – Check out 75% of The Undisputed Era reuniting against The Best Friends, who have developed into a real Swiss Army knife of a babyface trio for AEW.
10. TNT Title: Sammy Guevara [c] vs. Cody Rhodes (Rampage 12/25/21) – Seriously, Cody beat Sammy for the TNT Title on Christmas.
Other Cool Matches
- PAC & Penta El Zero Miedo vs. FTR (Rampage 12/3/21)
- AEW World Tag Team Title: The Lucha Bros [c] vs. FTR (Rampage 12/10/21)
- TBS Title Tournament – Semi Final: Thunder Rosa vs. Jade Cargill (Dynamite 12/29/21)
- Atlanta Street Fight: Cody Rhodes vs. Andrade el Idolo (Dynamite 12/1/21)
- TNT Title: Sammy Guevara [c] vs. Tony Nese (Rampage 12/3/21)
- Riho vs. Jamie Hayter w/ Britt Baker and Rebel (Dynamite 12/8/21)
- Emi Sakura w/ Mei Suruga vs. Ryo Mizunami (Dark 12/7/21)
- Jungle Boy vs. Isiah Kassidy (Rampage 12/25/21)
- CM Punk vs. Lee Moriarty (Dynamite 12/1/21)
- Sting & Darby Allin vs. Billy & Colten Gunn (Dynamite 12/1/21)
- Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal (Dynamite 12/8/21)
- Matt Sydal vs. Wardlow (Dynamite 12/15/21)
- Hook vs. Bear Bronson (Rampage 12/25/21)
Dark Matches Worth Noting
- Emi Sakura & The Bunny vs. Ryo Mizunami & Abandon (Elevation 12/6/21)
- Lee Moriarty vs. Misteriso (Elevation 12/7/21)
- Emi Sakura w/ Mei Suruga vs. Ryo Mizunami (Dark 12/7/21)
- Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs & Dante Martin vs. Kekoa, Omkar & JT Dunn (Dark 12/7/21)
- The Gunn Club vs. Joey Sweets, Antonio Zambrano & Jack Tomlinson (Elevation 12/13/21)
- Tony Nese vs. Alex Reynds (Elevation 12/13/21)
- Nick Comoroto vs. Dean Fleming (Dark 12/14/21)
- Shawn Spears vs. Josh Woods (Dark 12/14/21)
- Bear Country vs. Chaos Project (Elevation 12/20/21)
- Eddie Kingston vs. Cin Delaney (Dark 12/21/21)
- Dark Order’s 10 w/ -1 vs. Leroy Patterson w/ Howdy (Dark 12/21/21)
- Lee Moriarty vs. Shawn Spears (Elevation 12/27/21)
- Tay Conti & Anna Jay vs. Diamante & Emi Sakura (Elevation 12/27/21)
- Matt Hardy vs. Darius Lockhart (Elevation 12/27/21)
Angles and Promos Worth Seeing
- CM Punk enters to MJF’s music with a promo Long Island (Dynamite 12/8/21)
- The camera follows Eddie Kingston for a brawl (Dynamite 12/8/21)
- Trent Baretta returns in Sue’s Van and saves The Best Friends (Dynamite 12/8/21)
- MJF enters with a promo on CM Punk and Dante Martin (Dynamite 12/15/21)
- Sting, Darby Allin and CM Punk challenge MJF and FTR (Dynamite 12/15/21)
- Nyla Rose promo on Ruby Soho (Rampage 12/17/21)
- Cody and Dustin Rhodes confront Dan Lambert (Rampage 12/17/21)
- Kyle O’Reilly debuts (Dynamite 12/22/21)
- Hangman Page/Bryan Danielson confrontation (Dynamite 12/22/21)
- MJF with The Pinnacle promo on CM Punk (Dynamite 12/22/21)
- Mark Henry interviews Sammy Guevara and Cody Rhodes (Rampage 12/25/21)
- Christian Cage and Jurassic Express challenge The Lucha Bros (Dynamite 12/29/21)
- Mercedes Martinez unmasks as Jade Cargill’s helper (Dynamite 12/29/21)
- Technique by Taz: Hook’s REDRUM (Rampage 12/31/21)
Areas of Excellence
1. A one-hour draw for the World Championship (Dynamite 12/15/21)
2. Jim Ross, welcome back (Dynamite 12/29/21)
3. Dynamite’s first three segments include Danielson, Punk, and Ce (Dynamite 12/1/21)
4. Punk and MJF, on the loose
5. The re-introduction of Wardlow
6. First Hook match (Rampage 12/3/21)
7. Jungle Boy/Isiah Kassidy was a tremendous fast-paced squash (Rampage 12/25/21)
8. Emi Sakura, on the loose
9. Second Hook match (Rampage 12/25/21)
10. “JR Miller, Brandon Scott & Fodder” (Dark: Elevation 12/27/21)
Favorite Parts
1. “IT’S SUUUUUUUE!” – Tony Schiavone (Dynamite 12/8/21)
2. Welcome Back, Jim Ross (Dynamite 12/29/21)
3. Owen Hart Cup announcement and video (Dynamite 12/22/21)
4. The raucous lady pop for Jungle Boy (Dark: Elevation 12/6/21)
5. Sting and Punk just sharing a laugh after the 6-man in Greensboro (Dynamite 12/22/21)
6. “My man Baron Black’s in there, baby!” – Eddie Kingston, over the group of losers The Factory was about to to beat (Dark: Elevation 12/6/21)
7. Penta el Zero Miedo tosses the glove and superkicks Cash Wheeler (Rampage 12/10/21)
8. Arn Anderson is unimpressed by The Gunn Club’s promo (Dark 12/14/21)
9. Wardlow squashes Matt Sydal then gets td to get MJF champagne (Dynamite 12/15/21)
10. Taz laughing at Punk being the #2 seller on AEWShop.com (Rampage 12/31/21)
Favorite Things
1. “I’ll tell you where your destination is: the god damn trash!” – Nyla Rose to Ruby Soho (Dynamite 12/17/21)
2. MJF’s Hannukah robe (Dynamite 12/1/21)
3. Malakai Black’s lock on the thigh for a single-leg crab hold (Dynamite 12/22/21)
4. Comoroto Alabama slams Dean Fleming while wearing his necktie (Dark 12/14/21)
5. Wardlow powerbombs (Dark 12/28/21)
6. Santana & Ortiz squash approach
7. Brock Anderson’s spinebuster on JD Drake (Dark: Elevation 12/16/21)
8. Private Party apron work (Dynamite 12/29/21)
9. Skye Blue squash approach (Dark 12/28/21)
10. Lee Moriarty showing off vs. Shawn Spears (Dark: Elevation 12/27/21)
HWL’s AEW Power Rankings: 12/1/21 – 12/31/21
1. Hangman Page [-]
2. Bryan Danielson [-]
3. MJF [4]
4. CM Punk [5]
5. Britt Baker [3]
6. Sammy Guevara [8]
7. The Lucha Bros [New]
8. Eddie Kingston [6]
9. Cody Rhodes [New]
10. Jungle Boy [-]
Notably Absent: Kenny Omega, Darby Allin, Miro, Jon Moxley
HWL’s AEW Movers & Shakers: 12/1/21 – 12/31/21
1. Adam Cole and The Young Bucks
2. Trent and The Best Friends
3. Thunder Rosa
4. Chris Jericho
5. 2point0 and Daniel Garcia
6. FTR
7. Wardlow and Shawn Spears
8. Malakai Black
9. Riho
10. Hook
HWL’s Dark All-Stars: 12/1/21 – 12/31/21
1. Emi Sakura
2. Ryo Mizunami
3. Wardlow
4. Lee Moriarty
5. The Acclaimed
6. Tony Nese
7. Santana & Ortiz
8. The Dark Order
9. Eddie Kingston
10. Nick Comoroto
