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HOUSEKEEPING
• Wrestling legend and ECW original Sabu died over the weekend mere weeks after his retirement match. Sabu made a brief appearance at Double or Nothing 2023 as a special enforcer for Adam Cole in a match with Chris Jericho. May he rest in peace.
• AEW announced a second residency, this one in Chicago, beginning the week after All In. Residencies aren’t all that common in wrestling, so it’s interesting that AEW is doing two over the course of the summer.
INTRO
Tonight is Beach Break live from Chicago, a city known for its beautiful shores. I jest of course. I have to imagine AEW is deliberately running beach themed shows from non-coastal cities on purpose now; otherwise, it’s one hell of a coincidence. The card itself is fairly strong with a lot of it either impacting existing matchev
Rage in the Cage
Latest Developments
Samoa Joe and Jon Moxley set the stage for their steel cage showdown.
Analysis
Samoa Joe and Claudio Castagnoli had a perfectly fine match. The best part was the finish of Joe blocking Claudio’s giant swing by pushing Claudio with his legs and spinning him into the Coquina Clutch. The key event took place after the match as Joe took out Claudio the same way Hook and Shibata were taken out while Mox watched from the crowd.
This was basic but effective building towards tonight’s main event. Both guys have done a good job selling the gravity and impending violence of tonight’s match through promos without overselling the idea that Joe might win since that’s obviously not happening. My only hope is that Mox beats Joe clean before all hell breaks loose.
We saw the Death Riders and The Elite having a private meeting in the Bucks’ locker room last week. I assume there’s an all-out brawl after this match to set up Anarchy in the Arena. I’m totally cool with that as long as the Bucks don’t cost Joe the match and simultaneously diminish the cage stipulation AEW’s done a decent job of protecting.
Grade: B
Okay. So Who’s the Guy?
Latest Developments
Will Ospreay and “Hangman” Page took part in a masterful opening segment that threw the outcome of the Owen Hart Tournament final in doubt.
Analysis
“Hangman” Page came down to the ring first and recounted everything he’d been through over the last 18 months with Swerve. He said that, even after beating Swerve in the steel cage match, he still didn’t feel better which is why he lashed out at everybody. He said the title gave him something to focus on and that even though he’ll never forget or forgive what Swerve did, he has to put it in the past in order to reclaim the title. That’s when Ospreay came down.
Ospreay empathized with Hangman, but said that when it comes down to it, the Owen Tournament was “not about your [Hangman] redemption, it’s about my ascension.”
This part of the segment was one of the best promos of the year and a model for how to do babyface vs. babyface matches. Hangman basically validated everything I’ve said about his story arc in this column for the last six months. Ospreay was intense but respectful. He acknowledged Hangman’s contributions and his journey, but reasonably refused to take a backseat to Hangman.
From the beginning of this tournament it felt like Ospreay was destined to win it. Even with Hangman as his opponent, it still seemed like Ospreay was the guy. After that promo segment on Wednesday, I feel like pendulum swung 180 degrees in the opposite direction.
AEW OG “Hangman” Page, a fundamentally good guy driven to darkness by a violation of his home, finally getting past his demons and vanquishing Jon Moxley feels like a much more powerful way to end All In. That’s not to say that Will Ospreay finally capturing the title wouldn’t be equally as good. It’s just that Hangman’s arc has more layers to it and it’s more compelling. Ospreay identified himself as a friend of Swerve so he could slide into the role of Swerve’s partner against the Bucks.
Before we get there, though, there’s the small matter of the Don Callis Family. Callis interrupted Hangman and Ospreay, bitter that his Family members had been eliminated from the tourney. Ospreay challenged Callis to pick two of his guys for a tag match. When it looked like Ospreay and Hangman mightr come to blows, Callis gleefully accepted the match. Konosuke Takeshita and Josh Alexander will be his chosen guys. I just hope that Ospreay and Hangman don’t fall into the clichéd trap of two babyface who can’t get along because of a friendly-fire mishap. It’s tired and undermines what they so well set up as a respectful yet intense battle between two top faces.
Grade: A-
The Role of Jerry Lawler is Now Being Played by Nigel McGuiness
Latest Developments
After weeks of verbal and physical taunting to himself and Tony Schiavone from FTR, Nigel McGuiness finally fought back, seemingly cementing a partnership between himself and Daniel Garcia.
Analysis
FTR and Stokely Hathaway accosted Tony Schiavone at the announce position on Dynamite, taunting him while also accepting Garcia’s challenge to fight one of them on Collision. When match time came, it was Dax Harwood who fought on behalf of FTR. He and Garcia had a very physical match which featured Garcia hitting a crazy Three Amigos series of superplexes. Eventually things broke down.
Garcia and Dax fought out of the ring and through the crowd up to where the commentators table was set up. Dax got in Nigel’s face, knocked off his headset, and dared him to hit him. Schiavone talked his broadcast partner down until Dax shoved Nigel. That was the last straw. As Garcia and Dax fought back into the ring, Nigel tossed his headset down. He made his way into the ring and hit Dax with an uppercut, causing the match to get thrown out.
I think there was a different way of arriving at the same outcome, Nigel getting fed up, could’ve been achieved especially with both Stokely and Cash ringside. That said, this was great. I’ve been saying for weeks in this very good column that Nigel would end up teaming with Garcia and I was proven right.
Now I can here some people out there shouting that they’re ripping off WWE by having announcers involved in storylines. To that I’d say, this was story actually started before the brief Pat McAfee-Gunther feud and Nigel is a mostly retired wrestler not a punter turned commentator. This borrows more from when Jerry “The King” Lawler used to fight on behalf of Jim Ross whenever someone picked a fight with good ‘ol J.R. It’ll be nice to see Nigel lace up the boots again. Also, Garcia can’t carry his end of the storyline alone; having Nigel there will increase interest in the match.
Grade: B+
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the “All Elite Conversation Club” with Joel Dehnel and Gregg Kanner, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
Come One, Come All
Latest Developments
Toni Storm won another eliminator match, this one a four-way and then set up another for this week.
Analysis
Toni Storm defeated Anna Jay, Thunder Rosa, and Penelope Ford after forcing Ford to tap out to the brilliantly named TCM Chicken Wing. The match itself was not the smoothest. Megan Bayne interjected herself, specifically targeting Anna Jay, until Harley Cameron came down to the ring wielding a lead pipe to chase her off.
A four-way felt like the perfect way to protect Toni but find her an opponent for Double or Nothing. Instead, Toni escaped again. On Collision, she cut a promo from the box seats of the venue, Detroit’s Masonic Temple Theatre. She wrapped a description of her first match and the rush of wrestling up in a patented Timeless Toni innuendo. She acknowledged the risk she was taking by continuing to take on these eliminator matches and then laid out the challenge for another one.
I appreciate that she acknowledged that she was pressing her luck with each eliminator match and that she would eventually hit a metaphorical whammy. It was both a nod to the obvious and some groundwork possibly for tonight’s show because Tony Khan granted Toni’s wish. There’s another four-way eliminator on tap. Skye Blue returns to the ring for the first time since her ankle injury last fall. The other two participants are as yet unknown.
A red spider crawled down the screen during women’s matches last week as a tease for the incoming “Toxic Spider” Thekla. I don’t think it will be or should be her, though. The last thing we need is another debuting woman shot straight into the title picture. Fightful reported that Mina Shirakawa is due to be full time in AEW at any time. Bea Priestley, something of an AEW original, is also available now that the non-compete clause has expired following her WWE release. Either or both of them would be good options. I tend to think that this is the match Toni loses to set up her title defense at the PPV.
The battle to determine Toni’s opponent at All In got some shine this week too as Jamie Hayter sat down for an interview with Renee Paquette. Jamie fully leaned into the Daphne from Scooby-Doo look and I appreciate that. She said that while she didn’t have the accolades and acclaim of Mercedes, she did have grit and heart. Jamie said she was looking to bring Mercedes down a peg at Double or Nothing. Mercedes ambushed her in the middle of the interview and the two brawled out of the room through the box seats and onto the stage. Jamie went for the Hayterade, but Mercedes ducked and ran away. The segment looked to be over when Mercedes suddenly reappeared and attacked her from behind and applied the Statement Maker.
I thought this did a good albeit basic job of building the women’s Owen Tournament final. I believe that Jamie should’ve mentioned winning the title alongside putting Mercedes in her place, but otherwise her interview did it’s job. The brawl was fine. I did think having Mercedes come back to Pearl Harbor (as Gorilla Monsoon would say) Jamie after Jamie’s music had to started to play was a nice touch. I’m still voting for Jamie to win, but I’m not holding my breath.
Grade: B
The Moment of Truth is Upon Us
Latest Developments
After MJF attempted to prove himself by hurting Top Flight, Bobby Lashley told him he’d have to wait a until tonight for a final answer on his bid to join the Hurt Syndicate.
Analysis
The Hurt Syndicate came to the ring at which point MVP proceeded to call out the tag division. He basically said the Hurt Syndicate had no competition. That brought out Top Flight. The Martin brothers cut a weak promo essentially challenging the Hurt Syndicate until they were cut off by MJF who attacked them from behind. Darius was split open and then piledriven on the floor. Max got in the ring, into Bobby’s face, and yelled “I hurt people!” Bobby teased the thumbs up or down and then told MJF he’d have to wait until tonight for an answer.
The choice to use Top Flight as the victims of MJF’s attack was an odd one. They’re babyfaces, but not very strong ones. The crowd barely reacted to them at all. Worse yet, MJF attacking them got cheered. That’s been the issue with this story. MJF is a heel, but it’s been hard to keep it that way given how entertaining the segments have been. Tonight feels like a pivotal segment in this story.
I’ve said for weeks now that this story needs to get to the point thta MJF and the Hurt Syndicate are adversaries. This feels like the best opportunity to do that. There are rumors that Cedric Alexander could make his debut. If that happens and they choose Cedric over MJF, that would be a great catalyst for a feud. Either way, something definitive needs to happen tonight to move this story forward.
Grade: B
Random Questions
-Zach Gowen? In 2025? AEW loves to have the occasional guest star. Rhino was on Dynamite this past week after all, but dredging up a guy who was relevant for about five minutes 22 years ago feels like a reach. Sure, Ricochet looks like a jerk for absconding with Gowen’s prosthetic leg, but how much of the crowd is really going to care about Ricochet fighting a guy who’s greatest claim to fame is being pulverized by a man who’s not particularly welcome in polite society at the moment?
-Is that a tag division I see forming? Gates of Agony, Big Bill and Bryan Keith, FTR, Paragon, and now the returning GYV. With the Hurt Syndicate on top, there’s the makings of a real division for the first time in a long time. It’s not there yet, but it’s a start.
-Why is Billy Gunn still hanging around with Anthony Bowens? I like Billy and all, but it feels like his presence is keeping Bowens from truly moving into a new phase of his career. Could Rockabilly really have become “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn with the Honky Tonk Man still attached to him?
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