AEW RISING AND FADING STARS: Thekla shines against Starlight Kid, Will Ospreay with momentum headed into All In, The Dogs upstaged

Welcome everyone!

As you read this I have a question. Should this be the last Forbidden Door PPV? Personally, I feel like it should be. There is no door anymore. That said, they gave me lots to write about with a six hour show so let’s get to it!

RISING STAR OF THE WEEK

THEKLA

My oh my was that match between Starlight Kid and Thekla was great. Probably the best overall women’s match in AEW since the Hollywood Ending between Toni Storm and Moriah May.

One thing I loved about the match was the backstory. I have never seen Starlight Kid wrestle but it was easy to know she was the babyface fighting for the honor of her company. Putting Thekla as the heel, where she loves to be.

In the ring this also felt like Thekla’s true arrival as AEW World’s Champion. She has put it all together from her promos to in ring to, one Wade talks about, her look. Thekla speaks to fans like myself, as I am married to a goth girl who loves her metal music. I can get behind someone who was called the “idol killer” because my favorite wrestlers are not your cookie cutter type of wrestlers.

Going forward it will be interesting to see how they put Thekla versus Mercedes Mone. Of course, if Thekla is still champion by All In Texas.

RUNNER UP – WILL OSPREAY 

This one is a little by default because Ospreay deserves to be atop my list, but I felt like Thekla had a better night. Mostly because we knew who was winning between Ospreay and Swerve, that match was more about the story they were going to tell within the bloody ring.

Would this have been a better story if Ospreay beat Mox to win his way to All In London? Probably but that is not the story we got which is ok. I, for one, like the story they told even if there was something weirdness to get to this point.

Ospreay is on his way to London for a shot at the AEW World Title. Who will his match be against? We can only speculate because it’s a LONG time before we get to All In London. I am hopeful he can keep his momentum up until then.

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

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FADING STAR OF THE WEEK

THE DOGS

Look, this is more about a few things that happened outside of their AEW Tag Title match. The Dogs looked good in the match. They are landing here more because they were completely upstaged by two things.

First, Jay Whites return felt like a bigger deal than anything the dogs did. Add that to the fact that the fanbase wants White in the main event scene you have to assume The Dogs are losing this feud, also.

Second, and probably bigger, is this question. Is Gabe Kidd apart of The Dogs anymore? The clip they played at the PPV made me feel like he is a Death Rider, not a dog. Which makes this team mid card at best.

Yet another New Japan person or group to come in and be defined lower than they needed to be. It’s very strange considering where a chunk of the original roster came from. I hope to be proved wrong.