AEW’S TOP THREE MATCHES OF THE WEEK: Hangman Page vs. Fletcher from All Out tops the list, but a surprising Dynamite match makes the cut

“Hangman” Adam Paige (AEW World Champion) vs. Kyle Fletcher – All Out PPV

Well, if this match wasn’t on this list, it would have meant something went terribly wrong with the match and chemistry between these two. Luckily for all of us, these two tore the house down with the match of the week.

We still need to work on Fletcher’s ring gear, but oh boy did he bring it in this match. He came off as explosive, dangerous, and violent throughout this match, and I thought this really solidified him, as a main eventer in AEW. Every punch, chop, and kick was delivered with intention, and I thought he had an absolutely gorgeous elbow drop from the top rope in this match.

This was a great showing for Hangman too, and Hangman delivered two Deadeyes that made me audibly gasp out loud from my couch. The Deadeye off the apron through the table, and the final Deadeye off the turnbuckle both looked devastating to Fletcher’s neck.

I also enjoyed the shoutouts to Will Ospreay, Swerve Strickland, and Kenny Omega in the sequence in the middle of the match where both Hangman and Fletcher traded off using their finishers.

Fletcher falling to the ground from exhaustion, and Hangman missing the Buckshot Lariat because of it was also a great spot. This match was just an all-out war (no pun intended). With the injuries to Ospreay, and Swerve, I was really hoping Kyle Fletcher was going to be able to step up in this feud with Hangman.

To be honest I was very skeptical if he could do it, but he’s really proved me wrong. I’m excited to see what he does next and also excited to see where Hangman goes now.

Kazuchika Okada (AEW Unified Champion) vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mascara Dorado – All Out PPV

The road to get to this match was a little clunky. (Did we really think Okada wasn’t going to win that qualifying match?) But this was a really solid match, and I thought Mascara Dorado really stepped up in a difficult spot to be in.

Before I talk about the match, I need to talk about Okada carrying three belts. Tony Khan, please, enough with the belts. He’s the Unified Champion. Having the other two belts makes no sense. They were Unified, hence, the Unified belt. Alright, I just had to get that off my chest.

Let’s talk about Dorado in this match. What a tough spot to be in, coming into this match, as clearly the third guy, and an afterthought in my opinion. Dorado showed up and showed out. The double huracanana off the top rope was so impressive.

I really liked how, at the beginning of this match, Okada just dismissed him by slapping him around only for Dorado to then come out of the match as a major talking point in a positive way.

A couple spots that I thought looked really devastating were the brainbuster to Dorado on the ramp, and the powerbomb from Takeshita to Dorado. Takeshita really put a little extra into that one.

When Okada is into a match at this point in his career, it shows. From my perspective, I really think he was into this the more the match went along.

Two things that made me laugh out loud during this match were Brian Danielson commenting on the length of Okada’s middle finger, and Don Callis giving Takeshita a quick thumbs up as he left the ring, and Callis just continued to celebrate with Okada.

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Bobby Lashley vs. Toa Liona – Dynamite (9/17)

Yes, I’m just as surprised as you are that I’m putting this match in the top three of the week. Bobby Lashley is 49 years old and this was the best match he’s had in AEW so far. I thought these two guys really put on a strong match, and I wanted to give it some love, because I thought All Out was a great PPV, but other than the two matches I already talked about, I didn’t think any of the other matches were anything else other than good not great.

I thought these two had the Match of the Night on Dynamite, and they really took it to each other. The Samoan Drop to Lashley on the ring apron was brutal. Lashley looked like a cartoon character the way he fell, and I mean that as a compliment.

I also enjoyed the finish where Toa Liona passed out grabbing onto the referee’s shirt. The crowd was also really into it, and I thought it was a good use of MVP getting involved on the outside when he took out Ricochet. Sometimes a big man match where two guys just beat the hell out of each other for 15 minutes is just what you need.

Commentary mentioning how Bobby Lashley has still never been pinned in AEW was a nice touch too. I wonder if they are setting Lashley up for feud with Hangman this fall.

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Emptying out the notebook for the week

•The Kris Statlander win truly stunned me. I did not see that coming. Then I thought about a comment Bryan Danielson made about Mercedes Mone wanting to beat Ultimo Dragons record of holding ten world titles at the same time. I believe Mercedes Mone has nine belts now. Was the title put on Statlander to set her up to just be a sacrificial lamb to Mone for her to tie or break that record by finally winning the World Title, then eventually set up the rematch with Toni Storm where Mone gets her win back? Just something to watch, I think.

•Loved the throwback Brood Edge tights from Copeland.

•I think we can all agree that Juice Robinson growing the beard back is good for all of us.

•How did MJF not see that camera coming out of Tony Khan’s office? Feel like they missed an opportunity there to have him face palm the camera

•Thekla is an absolute bulldog, and I mean that as a very high compliment. I hope they stick with showcasing her.

•The loss to Eddie Kingston may be the end for Big Bill. I’m not sure how that character can be taken as a threat to anyone at this point.

•Bryan Danielson must stop screaming on commentary.

•When Moxley flipped over that first casket and a pillow fell out, I couldn’t stop laughing. Darby and Moxley are stabbing each other with forks, and lighting each other on fire, but thank God there was a pillow in the casket so they could be comfortable.