SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HOUSEKEEPING
· Tony Khan revealed in in his pre-Redemption media call that while Anna Jay re-signed with AEW, her partner Tay Melo asked for and will be granted her release so that she can step away from wrestling.
INTRO
AEW Redemption is in the books and now the road to All In began in earnest. Next week features a pit stop in Arena Mexico but tonight expect plenty of fallout from Sunday’s show.
Actions Have Consequences
Latest
A show long story arc led to Will Ospreay splitting from the Death Riders and the mentorship of Jon Moxley following Kenny Omega retaining the AEW World title over Kevin Knight.
Analysis
The story really began when Jon Moxley and Kenny Ospreay did battle with The Young Bucks on the second match on the card. Early in the match, Ospreay and Nick Jackson collided head-to-head. From that point forward Nick was selling symptoms of being of concussed. Matt was reluctant to tag him in but made the decision for him. At the climactic point of the match Ospreay and a woozy-seeming Nick stood toe-to-toe trading shots. Ospreay notably only hit body shots at first. After a bit of back and forth Ospreay finally dropped Nick with a forearm to the head.
The ref checked on Nick but didn’t stop the match. Ospreay knelt down and drew back to nail a downed Nick with a forearm but he hesitated despite Mox’s encouragement. Matt then jumped in to cover up his brother. (At this point there should’ve been an intervention by the ref and/or the doctor to at least remove Nick from the match based on the type of injury he was selling. Have Mox shove the doctor out of the way and drag Nick back into the ring.) Mox had enough and tagged himself in, tossed Matt out and gave Nick a curb stomp.
After Nick kicked out, Mox applied a Bulldog choke, but kicked him off. Nick got a near fall on Mox and that’s when things really broke down. Mox hit two Paradigm Shifts and a Death Rider. Not satisfied with that, he then retrieved a chair. As he went to use it Ospreay intervened and yanked the chair away only to get it superkicked into his face by Matt. That allowed both Bucks to nail Mox with a BTE Trigger and 4 consecutive double superkicks for the win.
Later in the night, Renee Paquette interviewed Ospreay who explained that Nick had a history of head trauma and he didn’t want to exploit that. Mox interrupted. Ospreay immediately defended his actions saying it was just a match with no stakes so he wasn’t out to kill someone. Mox said he wasn’t worried about the match but that Wembley was everything and that he couldn’t turn his back on anyone. He said that if Ospreay couldn’t pull the trigger, he could.
The Kenny Omega-Kevin Knight match was really good. Kenny looked as good as he has in a long time. The finish of Kenny sidestepping a leaping lariat to catch Knight with a V-Trigger and a One Winged Angel was well-done. Being the outcome was no surprise, the real interesting stuff happened after the bell. The Death Riders hit the ring and attacked Omega. Claudio wrapped a chair around Omega’s head. Before he could stomp Omega’s neck, Ospreay intervened. He took the chair from around Omega neck and backed the rest of the Death Riders off.
Mox took matters into his own hands and approached Ospreay. He said something to Ospreay and then pulled a plastic bag out of his pocket and gave it to Ospreay to use on Omega. A conflicted Ospreay momentarily considered it but then emphatically tore up the bag. He then decked Mox and disposed of the rest of the Death Riders. A frustrated Mox called off the Death Riders and retreated through the crowd. Ospreay helped Omega to his feet, handed him the title belt, and the two shook hands. Each went a corner and posed for the crowd. Suddenly Omega snuck under Ospreay and laid him out with a One Winged Angel.
Holistically, I think this angle accomplished what it was supposed to. Ospreay finally ended his weird relationship with Mox and the Death Riders and proved that he does have a moral compass. No, Ospreay isn’t Laurence Olivier in terms of his acting skills but he got the point across.
Thus far Ospreay has been only around Mox. This was the first time he was faced with exactly what the Death Riders are capable of and he balked. He has an edge now but he’s not willing to knowingly hurt someone or take an unfair advantage ahead of a world title match. He wants to beat Kenny Omega straight up. Unlike Wade Keller, I didn’t have an issue with the plastic bag because it wasn’t actually used. It was merely used as the line that Ospreay wouldn’t cross.
While Kenny’s actions might appear irrational and illogical on their face, I think the announcers could have saved it. Instead of Taz immediately saying that Omega was angry that Ospreay even considered using the bag (implying that Omega somehow figured all of that out based solely on the remnants of the bag), one of them could’ve said that Kenny has some explaining to do on Dynamite. Leave it open-ended; that way there’s a hook for Dynamite and nobody can fully pass judgment on Kenny. I still think he can clean up some of this with a promo tonight.
Speaking of tonight, I expect a tense confrontation between Ospreay and Omega and then I expect the Death Riders to appear. I’m sure that Mox will try to be Ospreay’s sensei once more but things will likely devolve into a situation where Ospreay and Omega have to get along to deal with the Death Riders together.
Grade: B
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Willow Won But What’s Next for Thekla?
Latest Developments
Willow Nightingale defeated Thekla to become the new AEW Women’s World Champion.
Analysis
Willow and Thekla have great in-ring chemistry and produced a really good match. Given the size difference between the two, Willow leapfrogging Thekla to avoid a spear was impressive. Willow winning with a backslide was viewed as anticlimactic by some but she’s established the backslide as a finish in much the same way Toni Storm established the Big Package so it didn’t bother me.
Willow’s win not only makes her the first women’s grand slam champion, it sets up her up on a Collision course with her longtime nemesis Mercedes Moné at All In. These two have a rich history inside and outside AEW so I have no doubt they can do a job build up this latest clash in a way that makes feel big.
Unfortunately Willow’s win also leaves Thekla without a clear path to All In. Thekla singlehandedly saved the women’s division from the doldrums of Kris Statlander’s title run and established herself as a central figure in the division and AEW in general. I would hope Tony could find her a spot on the biggest show of the year. She and the rest of the Triangle of Madness did just win the Artist of Stardom titles. Perhaps Stardom sends a trio over to face. Alternatively, and this would be my preference, the newly free agent Kairi Sane could be brought in as representative for Stardom to fight Thekla. That match would not only be amazing in-ring, it would further Thekla’s ongoing war with her former promotion.
Grade: B+
A Dream Match, For Now
Latest Developments
After retaining the tag titles over the Death Riders, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage were approached by the Young Bucks at which point it was announced that the two teams would be facing off at All In.
Analysis
The Adam Copeland & Christian Cage vs. Death Riders match was worked in an old school heel team cuts off the ring, isolates one of the faces, and builds to a hot tag manner I enjoyed. The problem is there wasn’t any build or intrigue surrounding the match. Cage and Cope retaining was a foregone conclusion.
After the match, the Bucks made their way down to the ring and motioned at the titles. Seconds later a graphic popped up on the screen announcing that Cage and Cope will defend the tag titles against the Bucks at All In. Announcing that way was certainly a choice. It makes more sense to build up to a match announcement, however I think there’s a method to the madness. The Motor City Machine Guns are almost certainly debuting in AEW soon, as soon as tonight in Detroit possibly. The New Day shouldn’t be far behind them. If in fact one or both of these teams get added to the match then not enticing the fans into wanting a straight up Bucks vs Cope and Cage match will make sense in hindsight.
Grade: N/A
Random Questions
-What the hell was that Jericho/Ciampa match? It was a violent bloodbath for a feud few people actually cared about. Worse yet in the midst of all the violence Ciampa took a pause to don a Boston Bruins jersey and beat up a Montreal Canadiens mascot stuffed toy. That Jericho won by taking a drill to Ciampa’s head and forcing a submission was a fittingly ridiculous end to a ridiculous match. This match was just smoke and mirrors to hide Jericho’s deficiencies and give him an excuse to wear his stupid Painmaker face paint. Jericho’s return is an abject failure at this point. He needs to disappear again, soon. Ciampa deserves better.
– Why was the double chain match even on the card? It didn’t feel like that stipulation was warranted yet. On top of that the announcers spent the first five minutes of the match talking about how bloody it was going to be yet not a drop ended up being spilled. Perhaps that’s because all the blood was reserved for the Jericho match. If that was the case that’s even more reason not to do this match. Cutting this one and the aforementioned Jericho garbage would’ve shaved about 40 minutes off the total run time of the show.
– Was that really the best way to set up the Divine Dominion/Brawling Birds feud? I’m not even talking about Mick Foley awkwardly barking like a dog. The fact that he talked them up instead of having them step up to the champions on their own feels like the wrong choice. The Birds can speak for themselves and they should.
– Who had the Rougeau Brothers making an appearance on their 2026 wrestling bingo card? I appreciate the way Tony honors the wrestling heritage of different cities. Raymond was his usual affable self, smiling and speaking to the crowd in French. Jacques took the mic and was instantly booed. I guess being a legendary asshole has a way of following a guy. Rocky Romero played foil for them and did what he does best, catch a beat down.
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