SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Blood and Guts, baby!
Moving past the decision to have two B&G matches on one episode, special shows like this is where AEW typically shines. I expect two wild matches that will move major storylines forward as they put the finishing touches on the card for Full Gear. I’m going to format this column a little differently this week by taking it match by match and giving the hits and misses for each of them.
WOMEN’S BLOOD & GUTS MATCH
HITS
– First of all, kudos to all the women for putting their careers and well-being on the line for our entertainment. All 12 women came in ready to give it their all and they came up with a lot of interesting spots, many of which were very inventive.
– Some of the ideas were not executed perfectly like the tacks bag exploding or Skye Blue not being able to find what was intended to be put inside of a turnbuckle. These things are minor in my opinion as no match should look perfect. They were all able to pivot from those misfortunes and it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the match.
– I loved some of the creative ideas like the slender women being able to slip out of the ring, the brass knuckles hidden under Mini-Mone, and the Samoan Drop on the table from the pillar from Kris Statlander to Mercedes Mone.
– The mirror to the face of Toni Storm was a wild spot that got an audible gasp out of me.
– Skye Blue continues to be a great seller in the ring. She set a nice tone right off the bat and wore a crimson mask for nearly the entire match.
– Marina Shafir stomping her bare foot on the glass in order to kick Mina Shirakawa to have her break her figure-four on Megan Bayne was great.
MISSES
– The director missed a number of spots that would have made the match better. It’s a tricky thing whether it was a director error or the women’s timing being a bit off, but it was too bad.
– The match itself lacked the drama of real blood feuds as the build was inconsistent and the one who initiated the entire thing, Jamie Hayter, didn’t do a whole lot in the second half of the match.
– I was disappointed in the finish. It’s a cliche that when the babyfaces lose a match where they need to surrender that it’s usually the heels threatening to do something dastardly to one of their friends. Well, this was set up well with the heels holding Toni Storm and making her watch Mina get beaten up, but she was just getting hit by a belt. That’s so less dramatic after what we had been watching for the last 45 minutes. It needed something far more violent being done to her to justify losing the entire match. Perhaps picking up a shard of the broken glass and threatening to scar her pretty face with it would have been a better choice to make Toni surrender.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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“HANGMAN” ADAM PAGE VS. “POWERHOUSE” HOBBS – FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE
HITS
– Powerhouse Hobbs looked exactly like a powerhouse as he punished Hangman throughout the first part of the match. He showed off his strength in many different ways.
– How about Hobbs bouncing off the floor after being back body dropped off the announce table? Ouch!
– Hangman turned back the clock and grabbed a beer out of the hand of a fan and drank it! Hadn’t seen that since pre-pandemic days!
– Hangman is really a man of the people if you watched the reaction of the fans when he came into the crowd.
– What a spot to end the match! – Hangman using his boot to knock Hobbs off an overhang onto a table that burst into sparks. Great spot and well-executed and the look on Hangman’s face afterwards brought back memories of the unhinged Hangman from the Swerve feud. Great visual.
– I love Eddie Kingston, as does the crowd.
– Adding a steel cage stipulation to the title match at Full Gear was a smart move. Any way to differentiate it from their match at WrestleDream is welcome and I think they’ve done enough now to make it not just another rematch.
MISSES
No misses on this one. This was a perfect match as a buffer between the B&G.
RICKY STEAMBOAT SEGMENT WITH FTR
– It’s always special for me to see Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat showcased, honored, and not embarrassed on TV. I watched him in his prime and when my friends and I videotaped ourselves in the backyard at 10 years old doing matches, I chose to be him. He is the definition of a wrestling legend.
MEN’S BLOOD & GUTS MATCH
HITS
– Darby Allin is a crazy person. Has that ever been mentioned? He continues to give everything to these violent matches and there were a number of creative spots that were unique in this one. The visual of him falling in the space between the ring and cage was well-executed as was the Coffin Drop from the beams at the top of the cage. That was some Ninja Warrior stuff.
– It is always great to see Gabe Kidd show up as he can be a difference-maker in the future should AEW be able to get him full-time.
– Cringe spot when Mox stapled Orange Cassidy’s hands in his pockets. Another inventive idea that worked.
– As stated above, Darby will do anything for the fans and this company. Falling through the flaming table was a visual AEW can use in promos and show opens for years to come.
– IF they build on this, Kyle O’Reilly can really get a huge bump from this match. He was great. He was bloodied and battered but overcame all of it to eventually get Moxley to finally quit and win the match for his team. And he did it by being serious and getting rid of the goofy lines and facial expressions.
– Moxley quitting should set up his ejection from the Death Riders very soon which should freshen up that group with Pac the likely leader and give Mox either a short vacation, or an ironic babyface turn where he can team up with Darby.
– Finally, seek out the short video AEW released of Mark Briscoe addressing the crowd after the show went off the air. Good stuff!!
MISSES
– Mark Briscoe being “taken out” by the Callis family is solid storyline advancement, but Briscoe should have sold those injuries a bit when he came out to the ring. He looked and acted fine the entire match including his battle on top of the cage. I would have made sure to show some effects of the beatdown that had Renee stating he was not going to participate in the match at all.
FINAL THOUGHTS
-This was a fun night of wrestling if you like this type of wrestling! If not, I would expect plenty of good in-ring action over the next couple of weeks outside of the violence expected in the cage match at Full Gear!
-Don’t forget to check out the weekly free podcast I’m part of, “The All Elite Conversation Club” that typically drops on Fridays the PWTorch Dailycast lineup. Joel Dehnel and I have a great time breaking down all things AEW. Search “pwtorch” on your podcast app to subscribe. Send questions and comments to allelitecc@gmail.com.
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