SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HOUSEKEEPING
• Jim Ross posted on his social media that his cancer surgery was a success.
• All Out was announced for Toronto on Sept. 20.
INTRO
Double or Nothing was very good if slightly too long PPV event. Now the road to All In begins. It got off to a strong start on Dynamite this week, but AEW has to maintain the momentum and really do a good job building this show to get some more tickets sold. Incidentally, it was a nice touch starting the build to All In in Texas.
Epic Brawl
Latest Developments
Swerve Strickland pinned Nicholas Jackson after a Swerve Stomp with thumbtack sneakers while the Opps and Willow Nightingale held the Death Riders captive in an ambulance.
Analysis
On Dynamite the stage was set for Anarchy in the Arena with a trios match in which Swerve got the pin and a show-closing brawl.
The match itself was the unbridled chaos everyone has come to expect from AITA. The Bucks coming out to mock 18th century flute music and dressed as Minutemen was fully in-line with their pompous, self-aggrandizing attitudes. Using that music to soundtrack the match was questionable as was switching out with “I’m So Excited.” That felt like a troll job even if it wasn’t the intent. Drowning Pool’s “Bodies” taking the Pointer Sisters’ place and playing for the bulk of the match was a much better choice. The crowd was instantly hyped and bouncing along.
The action itself was hard to follow as is to be expected in a match that, by definition, is fought all over the arena. Kenny Omega dove off a balcony onto Wheeler Yuta and group of security guards. Marina Shafir and Willow Nightingale fought all the way outside where Willow smashed a beer bottle over Marina’s head.
Eventually Claudio giant swung Swerve into the speaker killing the music. The women mixed it up with the men as well with Marina taking a snap dragon suplex from Kenny and Willow eating a Superkick Party from the Bucks. Hook made his return, attacking Claudio with a gold club and then walking away rather than rejoin with Samoa Joe. Joe was able to lock Mox in the Coquina Clutch. The faces held the heels at bay. That’s when Gabe Kidd appeared with the Steve McMichael Memorial Halliburton briefcase and broke up the submission. Kidd and the Death Riders ended up fighting with The Opps and Willow all the way up the ramp to where the ambulance from the stretcher match earlier in the night was still parked.
Out of nowhere, Mark Briscoe looking like a reanimated corpse dove onto the pile of heels. With Briscoe’s help, Willow and The Opps shoved the Death Riders into the ambulance and held the doors shut. That left the Bucks alone with Swerve and Kenny. V-Trigger for Matthew, House Call for Nicholas. Kenny dragged Matthew up to the top of the stage where he delivered a One Winged Angel off the stage through an exploding table in stereo with Swerve hitting Nicholas with a Swerve Stomp with thumbtack sneakers for the pin and win.
This match went long. I would’ve shaved about ten minutes off. That said, I didn’t hate it. There’s a certain energy to AITA if you allow yourself to get swept up in it. One less replay of “Bodies” would’ve been better but the music is such a big part of this match. These athletes worked hard and put their bodies on the line. Swerve had a staple still in his tongue by the end of the match for goodness’ sake.
The outcome was a bit surprising. Typically the heels win this match to help set up for Blood and Guts later in the summer. Barricading the Death Riders inside the ambulance protects them and leaves something for that match while Swerve and Omega were able to get even with the Bucks and seemingly move onto other things most notably a showdown with Kazuchika Okada for Omega.
Grade: B+
Redemption vs. Ascension
Latest Developments
“Hangman” Adam Page defeated Will Ospreay to earn the right to fight Jon Moxley in the main event of All In.
Analysis
On the final Dynamite before the PPV, Will Ospreay and Hangman had face-to-face that produced maybe the best promo in AEW history. Both men did a good job framing the importance of one of them dethroning Jon Moxley at All In. Beyond that, each made a compelling case for winning the match on Sunday.
Hangman, his voice cracking at times, explained how important winning the Owen and going on to beat Mox for him to feel like a good husband and father again after the last 18 months.
Conversely, Ospreay talked about how much he wanted the title to validate his hard work and sacrifices like 15 hour flights and jetlag every week and how much he wanted to take the belt back to his home country at Forbidden Door. Ospreay needed an emotional component to his story to compete with the very compelling journey of Hangman Page and I thought he did excellent talking about his sacrifices and wanting to bring the gold back to England.
When it came time for the match, it had a big fight feel complete with in-ring introductions. Once the bell rang, Ospreay and Hangman had an instant classic. They started off slow which was a risky choice for the main event of a four hour show. Once it picked up, it never stopped. They threw everything at each other including Ospreay hitting a Styles Clash off the apron to the floor and Hangman hitting a Dead Eye on an announce table that had already collapsed under both men’s weight.
In the promo on Dynamite, Ospreay said it was going to be a shootout in the desert and they paid that off with an ingenious sequence where Ospreay rolled out the path of a Buckshot, pulled himself up with the opposite side ropes, and removed his elbow pad. Hangman followed suit and both men ran for the middle with their metaphorical guns drawn. Hangman connected with the Buckshot for a two that in the moment felt like his best shot at winning. In a moment of desperation, both guys used moves from their great rivals – Ospreay a Kenny Omega V-Trigger and attempted One-Winged Angel; Hangman a Swerve Strickland Big Pressure.
Soon after Ospreay landed a Hidden Blade followed by a Storm Breaker for a shocking two count. He went for a second Storm Breaker, but Hangman wriggled free and dropped Ospreay with a clothesline followed by a Buckshot for the win.
The last few minutes of the match had me gripped. Every kick out provided a certain emotion, whether it was disappointment or relief. It was near perfect pro wrestling. Hangman winning was a genuine surprise. As much as it felt like he had the stronger, more compelling story it just seemed like Ospreay’s match to lose. Hangman going over was a bold and ultimately right choice. Now his redemption arc can be completed on the biggest stage of the year as he takes down the man who’s terrorized AEW for a year.
To that end, Hangman cut a very passionate promo to open Dynamite in which he promised that he was going to beat Mox at All In and restore the true integrity of the title. That brought out Swerve who rolled a clip of the Bucks explaining they did it for Hangman and then accused Hangman of colluding with the EVPs. Hangman denied it and said he would’ve cost Swerve himself if he wanted to. Swerve called BS which lead to Will Ospreay to try and play peacemaker.
Ospreay told Swerve that he looked Hangman in the eye after their match and Swerve is wrong about him. He implied that Hangman is their best chance to get the belt off Mox and that they all need to work together. He didn’t actually get to finish his sentence because Swerve slapped the mic out of his hands. He said he’ll never trust Hangman and walked off. Hangman said he’d never accept help from Swerve and left Ospreay by himself in the ring.
This whole segment was tremendous. Ospreay and Swerve both have something to do now heading into All In. The moment when Hangman and Swerve finally get on the same page (no pun intended) and the AEW Avengers assemble against the Death Riders will be unreal.
Grade: A
Heels Go Over
Latest Developments
FTR defeated Nigel McGuiness & Daniel Garcia after Garcia passed out in the Sharpshooter.
Analysis
A contract signing for this match took place on Collision. FTR really heeled it up. Nigel held up his end of the babyface side well, and Garcia was surprisingly strong too.
As for the match, it did what it needed to do. Nigel and Garcia fought valiantly. Nigel was able to play some of his greatest hits and was actually slotted into the babyface in peril role. That was something of a surprise as it seemed a more natural fit for Garcia.
FTR taunted Tony Schiavone throughout the match. Nigel was caught with a Shatter Machine on the floor which took him out of the match. That left Garcia fighting two on one until Dax locked him in the Sharpshooter. Eventually the pain was too much and Garcia succumbed to unconsciousness.
This did it’s job of getting heat on FTR and getting them a strong win ahead of their presumed match with Adam Copeland & Christian Cage at All In. My only complaint is that I would’ve shaved several minutes off this match too. This was not a match that needed as much time as it got.
Grade: B
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Dynamite: CLICK HERE (or search “wade Keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
Giving It Their Damndest in the Desert
Latest Developments
Toni Storm defeated Mina Shirakawa to retain the AEW Women’s World Title and Mercedes Moné defeated Jamie Hayter to win the women’s Owen Hart Tournament.
Analysis
Mina Shirakawa beat Julia Hart in a warm-up match last week. Afterwards, she attacked Toni’s knee softening it up for Double or Nothing with a Bret Hart style figure-four around the ringpost.
In the match, Mina focused her attack on that knee, relentlessly going after it and applying multiple variations of the figure-four. Toni survived them all and even kicked out of a Glamorous Driver. In the end, a headbutt and a Storm Zero was enough to do Mina in. Afterwards, Toni helped Mina up and the two shared a kiss.
This match was good. Both women worked hard, but it was handicapped by the fact that the outcome was never in doubt.
Earlier in the night, Mercedes Moné and Jamie Hayter had spirted, physical encounter. They laid their shots in. Mercedes got the win after spiking Jamie on her head and rolling her up. For what it’s worth, it didn’t look like the spike was intentional.
Mercedes winning wasn’t a surprise even if I believe that AEW is taking on a headache they could’ve avoided. If there really is an intent to introduce women’s tag titles, maybe the Women’s world and TBS titles could be unified at All In as well. It would alleviate the issue of one woman holding both singles titles.
Mercedes and Toni closed this week’s Dynamite with a strong promo segment that acknowledged their journeys from the indies to AEW and the importance of their match at All In. I could’ve done without the unnecessary dancing at the end, but this was a strong opening salvo.
Grade: B
Off the Rails
Latest Developments
MJF signed his contract to officially join the Hurt Syndicate; The Hurt Syndicate defeated The Sons of Texas to retain the AEW tag titles.
Analysis
Another week and this MJF/Hurt Syndicate saga skidded further off the rails. MJF, The Hurt Syndicate, and each sides’ lawyers took the ring. MJF did his usual cheap heat heeling on the crowd, but then MVP joined in and really laid it on thick. He just kept going after the crowd. MJF signed the contract first and then each member of the Hurt Syndicate concluding with Bobby Lashley put pen to paper. Before any shoes could drop, the Sons of Texas interrupted. Dustin had another rough night at the office, cutting a promo in which repeated himself more than once as he attempted to sell the tag title match at the PPV.
I still don’t know what to make of this segment a week later. MVP going so far in his heeling on the crowd made no sense. Nobody wants to boo the Hurt Syndicate. Any attempt to get them to do so is pure folly. The biggest problem, though, was an absence of progression.
There was Hurt Syndicate calling MJF out for wanting to use them for his own gain nor did MJF get indignant about how much it took for him to finally get a unanimous vote. Perhaps the inclusion of legal counsel will lead to something, but that’s just kicking in the cam down the road. This story desperately needs some real movement and defined sides.
The match at the PPV was fine but ultimately pointless because Dustin and Sammy had no chance of winning and it was just an interruption to the larger MJF/Hurt Syndicate story.
On this week’s Dynamite, there was a short and sweet pre-taped promo with the entire Hurt Syndicate. It was easily the best segment in the last three weeks, but there was still this sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop hanging over the entire thing. Let’s get it moving already!
Grade: C
Random Questions
•Why was the Callis Family vs.Paragon trios match added to Double or Nothing? The FTR match could’ve served as a cool-down match and saved 15 minutes of the show?
•Why book a TNT Title match if you can’t put the champion or challenger over?
•Why was the Frat House put on TV and who in the hell thought it was a good idea to give Jacked Jameson a mic? He was awful with the Iron Savages and he’s even more gratimg now.
•Hook to the Callis Family? Callis and Taz have been sniping with each other any time Callis is on commentary and, with Hook seemingly going heel, he’ll need someone to talk for him.
•Can we get Kenny Omega vs. Mystico at Grand Slam Mexico, please and thank you?
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