AEW RISING AND FADING STARS: Jon Moxley, Josh Alexander, Mini Shirakawa, Big Bill, Kazuchika Okada

Another fun week of AEW wrestling has concluded and here are some tidbits before we get to this week’s Rising and Fading Stars.

•Will Osprey and “Hangman” Adam Page started the latest episode against Konosuke Takeshita & Josh Alexander of the Don Callis Family. I am a huge fan of all four of these wrestlers, but I don’t like how Alexander is being positioned. More on that later.

•Ricochet is so well-suited to play a heel in AEW, it’s almost like that’s who he is in real life.

•Rest in peace, Sabu. I am sure you and Terry Funk are having some amazing matches in the afterlife.

•Unpopular opinion: My favorite aspects of the Hurt Syndicate’s match and post-match was the build for their opponents at Double or Nothing. The MJF part was way too goofy. Speaking of goofy, did we really need to see Tony Khan during this?

•Nigel McGuiness overshadowed Daniel Garcia, again, in the set up for their match against FTR. I just don’t see how this helps Garcia, but it could get over huge for FTR and maybe that’s the point.

•Jon Moxley beating Samoa Joe was not a surprise. Gabe Kidd showing up to be the one that helped Mox secure the victory was a welcome surprise. Go out of your way to watch Mox’s pre taped vignette on Collision. That dude, Mox, can get me fired up and ready to run through a wall but Kidd stole the scene with just one line.

•Collision was your home again for mid-card developments – and I’m here for it. If they aren’t going to do an actual roster split, then this is okay use for Collision.

•The biggest result to come out of Collision was that we have the Hurt Syndicate’s opponents for Double or Nothing in “The Sons of Texas” Dustin Rhodes & Sammy Guevara. This will be Sammy’s first AEW PPV proper (not on the pre-show) match since 2023’s Worlds End and Dustin’s last AEW PPV match was a battle royal at 2023’s Double or Nothing.

Rising Star of the Week

Jon Moxley

Mox had a World Title defense against a legend in Samoa Joe and now has a new, vicious, wrestler by his side in Gabe Kidd (my mother’s Maiden name, so I wonder if he and I are related somewhere). Anyways, the Mox follow-up promo might have been better than the match itself.

Mox now turns his focus to the Anarchy in the Arena match where he is 1-1 in prior ones. I will be curious who he has on his team this time considering the last time Mox was in one of these, he was facing The OG Elite – meaning he faced Nicholas & Matthew Jackson. Who are now allies?

1st Runner Up: Mina Shirakawa

Mina had her first match and first win as an official member of the AEW roster. Not by pinning just anyone. No, Mina pinned the reigning AEW Women’s World Champion “Timeless” Toni Storm in an “Eliminator Match,” meaning she gets a shot at the title. Not too shabby for the first day on the job.

Like I said, this now sets up Mina challenging Toni at Double or Nothing for the AEW Women’s World Championship. The ending of that match will be very interesting. Who comes out on top, who loses, and who might get involved at the end of the match with All In right around the corner now.

2nd Runner Up: Big Bill

If you haven’t been watching Collision, then you have missed out on the TV feud with Big Bill & “The Bad Apple” Bryan Keith battling Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona, The Gates of Agony.

We have seen them go at it several weeks in a row. Which I like since both lost to the Hurt Syndicate last month. Both teams had a fight in the parking lot two weeks ago. Followed by the Gates of Agony calling out Billy and Keith which led to a brawl where both Keith and Big Bill went through tables. This week we got a “Chicago Street Fight”.

Big Bill shined throughout this entire match. He has become such a complete wrestler since his “and you can’t teach that” days. How they have not run with him as a singles-dominant big man, yet, baffles me. Maybe having him turn on Chris Jericho could lead to that.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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Falling Star of the Week

Kazuchika Okada

Well. Another week of AEW wrestling and what did “one of the greatest ever” do? On Dynamite “Speedball” Mike Bailey basically made Okada run away with his tail between his legs. Then Okada comes out to deliver one line before giving his, I guess, catchphrase of “Bitch.” Then Dralistico and Rush attacked Bailey.

Look, I get it. He’s a chickenshit heel, but I don’t think he plays it right. He plays up the comedy way too much. Then there is the in-ring aspect and obvious comparisons to another New Japan Pro Wrestling star who came to NXT and seemed to down shift: Shinsuke Nakamura, anyone? I don’t think the comparison lines up, personally. Okada hasn’t shown anything in the ring so far where Nakamura definitely had some really good matches early on in NXT.

So we are probably getting Okada vs. Bailey at Double or Nothing and it will be solid. I think I just expected so much more from Okada.

1st Runner Up: Josh Alexander

If you are reading this, I’m guessing you know who Josh Alexander really is. What Alexander has done over the last few years with Impact/TNA. How Alexander is a multiple time TNA World Champion and multiple time TNA World Tag Team Champion with Ethan Page (yes, that one).

Alexander is 0-2 in singles matches and, when his team loses in tag matches, he is being pinned. I feel like he could have been so much more, but he has been immediately defined down.

There is still time but his newness is already wearing off on AEW TV and when he comes out you can know what side of the ending he will be on. He is the heel Brody King. Both can be so much more.