SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Intro
After the last two weeks at Detroit’s Masonic Temple Theater and then the legendary Arena Mexico, the crowd tonight in Las Vegas is going to have a lot to live up to. AEW has been nicely ramping things up and filling out the card for All In. Let’s take a look and see where the last two weeks have left us.
Pulling the Trigger
Latest Developments
Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay had a heated in-ring exchange in which they explained their recent behavior and then Ospreay vowed to “pull the trigger” at All In to win the AEW World Title.
Analysis
Kenny came out first dressed in a suit with his hair pulled back so you knew he was all business. Ospreay immediately interrupted. Omega explained that at Redemption he showed Ospreay how he felt with the One-Winged Angel.
He talked about how he put their friendship first and how Ospreay’s words after Double or Nothing about Omega giving up on himself had hurt. He lamented how Ospreay had ignored all of his warnings about Mox and the Death Riders until it was too late.
Ospreay admitted that he enjoyed being a Death Rider. He said they gave him camaraderie he hadn’t had since Japan and that he enjoyed the training. He said that he did not ever agree with their philosophy on how to win the title and that he couldn’t sit by when he saw them wrap the chair around Kenny’s neck like they did to him last year.
That’s when Kenny did something few faces do. He called Ospreay out for how long it took him to rescue him. He accused Ospreay of considering using the plastic bag. When Ospreay denied it, things got physical as Kenny began repeatedly slapping him in the face and telling him that he crumbles under pressure.
After five slaps, Ospreay slapped back. Ospreay said he had an entire country depending on him and then vowed to “pull the trigger” at All In and become world champion.
This promo was great. Both men delivered. They both brought their promo A-games, not always a guarantee with these two. The content of the promos did a good job cleaning up the issues from the end of Redemption as well as any lingering questions about Ospreay’s dance with the Death Riders.
I loved how Kenny mentioned that Ospreay basically brought the Death Riders to his doorstep and as previously mentioned that he called Ospreay out for how long it took him. Ospreay gave his most impassioned babyface promo yet. These two set themselves up well for Wembley. Now it’s just about maintaining and not doing anything to mess up what they did here.
My only real gripe about this was the fact that it occurred in the overrun. It was so far in the overrun in fact that the promo and the show didn’t end until 9:30 CST. That’s just excessive. It’s also problematic because anyone who DVRd the show would’ve lost the last four minutes of the promo. Just format the show so that any overrun doesn’t go more than ten minutes.
For the second year in a row, Kenny Omega didn’t make the trip to Mexico, although it’s unclear why. Ospreay on the other hand was in the main event beating Mark Davis in an insane Mexico City street fight. The match was extremely physical, maybe a little too physical for the guy who’s about to be in the main event of the biggest show of the year. I don’t see Ospreay not wrestling between now because he’s just not wired that way. I hope at least that he doesn’t have anymore matches as risky or physical as this one.
Grade: B+
Willow and Mercedes Deliver
Latest Developments
Willow Nightingale’s championship celebration turned into the best promo Willow’s cut in her career thus far and one the best promos Mercedes Moné has ever cut
Analysis
When she was introduced for her championship celebration Willow got an absolutely thunderous ovation from the crowd inside Detroit’s Masonic Temple Theater. It was merely a harbinger of things to come.
The cheers and adoration was sustained as loud chants of “you deserve it” rang out. While that chant has become cliché it really worked in this instance because the audience’s reaction left Willow genuinely overwhelmed and overcome with emotion. I believe that emotion grounded her and allowed her to tap into an authenticity she’s been lacking.
Instead of trying too hard to be a face, she was just a likable, relatable human being talking about how her mom encouraged her to get back up and fight during her injury and how that encouragement helped her make her dream of becoming Women’s World Champion come true.
Enter Mercedes. Anyone who’s read this column knows that I consider Mercedes to be among the very best female wrestlers in the world, but subpar on the mic. Well, she was ready last week and matched Willow’s authenticity with an authenticity of her own. Gone was the dance and the silly laugh. Mercedes was all business, her words laced with narcissism as she talked about how Willow was always in her way and how she made Willow relevant.
The rich history between these two in NJPW and AEW certainly helped create a strong a foundation for both women to stand on and they absolutely crushed it. Just before things got physical, Willow told Mercedes that she was just jealous that Willow had the one thing Mercedes just can’t seem to win.
The ensuing brawl that also featured Divine Dominion and the Brawling Birds was fine, but the promos were the star of this segment. If I were Tony Khan, I wouldn’t have the women cut another promo until the go-home show. Don’t risk tainting how good this was.
The word “perfect” doesn’t get thrown around very often, especially by me but I cannot find a single flaw with this segment. Even Renee Paquette was professional while also being genuinely moved.
Grade: A+
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Still a Dream Match
Latest Developments
The Young Bucks and Adam Copeland & Christian Cage had a cordial conversation about their upcoming match.
Analysis
This was a pre-recorded backstage sit down moderated by Renee Paquette. That surprised me as I expected it to be in the ring so that the Motor City Machine Guns could interrupt. Instead, what we got was both teams talking about what this match means to each of them.
Christian, as usual, was the one who provided the tension, telling the Bucks that he and Copeland weren’t just on a nostalgia tour and had no intention of losing the titles at All In.
This segment did exactly what it needed to; it built this match up as a clash between two of the top teams of two different generations while making it not feel like a mere novelty. It did make it seem pretty clear that it’s going to just the two teams even though the Machine Guns did debut on Collision last Thursday. It’s a perfectly fine match that should be great once the bell rings.
I just hope we get more than the run-of-the-mill tension that we got last week with the miscommunication between teams leading to them losing an eight-man tag.
Grade: B+
One True Champion
Latest Developments
MJF returned at Grand Slam Mexico, attacked Andrade, declared himself for the Casino Gauntlet match at All In, and asserted that he was the “one true champion.”
Analysis
Andrade, Tomasso Ciampa, and Komander did battle in a three-way match to determine the first entrant into the Casino Gauntlet match with Andrade picking up the win with the DM.
After the match, Andrade’s promo was interrupted by MJF’s music. MJF jumped the rail and struck Andrade from behind with his Triple B title belt. He reclaimed his Dynamite Diamond Ring and blasted Andrade in the face with it splitting him wide open.
After pummeling Andrade some more MJF, his “wife beater” t-shirt now bloodstained, grabbed a mic. He said that Omega was a paper champion and that Ospreay’s involvement cost him his All In main event. He declared himself for the Casino Gauntlet and said he was going to dog walk Andrade en route to winning it for the second year in a row so he could use the title shot to challenge Ospreay and prove that he (MJF) is the one true champion.
It’s great to see MJF back and with a clear path to All In. I expected him to have a singles match with Andrade, but once Andrade declared for the gauntlet, it became clear that things were going in a different direction.
It seems clear MJF will earn the number two spot so he and Andrade will start the match. Hopefully they get a few good minutes to go at it before the ring begins to fill up.
While I wish this was the one-on-one I was expecting, having these two guys in the Casino Gauntlet at least gives that match some star power. I don’t know if MJF winning would make the most sense or not. His “one true champion” shtick will get him a title shot eventually and it’s totally in line with his normal post-title loss crash outs. I just don’t want to see AEW sanctioned matches for his Triple B belt. It’s currently not the World Title and his delusions shouldn’t be humored.
Grade: B+
Random Questions
– The Continental Cup, huh? This tournament was announced by Jon Moxley via an offhand comment in a promo. It was actually explained the following night on Collision. It’s a 16 man double-blind draw tournament. I like the concept in theory. I also understand that Tony Khan is heavily influenced by NJPW which holds several different tournaments throughout the year. I just wonder if this isn’t a bit crammed in. Given the field, it very much seems like Nigel McGuinness is almost certainly going to be in the finals in his home country. If that’s the case, there had to be a better way to get there.
– Why not talk up Arena Mexico more? Tony has a lot of reverence for wrestling history in general and Lucha culture specifically. We see it in how he treats Místico as a true legend. I think he missed a prime opportunity to educate the AEW audience on the history of Arena Mexico. Sure, Excalibur talked about it, but a video package would’ve been better. This past spring, CMLL celebrated the 70th Anniversary of Arena Mexico with images of videos of fans waiting to get in and still photos of the arena through the years. That would’ve been a nice touch here. To their credit, they did nice job on the review package aired on Collision.
– Those AEW Trios Titles sure are moving around, aren’t they? The Demand beat The Conglomeration last week. This week they fell to the newly formed team of “Hangman” Adam Page & Brodido (or, as they named themselves, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”). The Buckshot 21 Plex was a really cool finish, especially on someone the size of Toa Liona. Now give “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” a nice run with these titles. I expect them to defend the belts at All In. If that does happen, Tony better spring for the classic Ennio Morricone theme for them.
– Is there anything like a Mìstico entrance in Mexico? For the second year in a row, the crowd treated Mìstico as a deity, serenading him to the ring as “Me Muero” played. Once again it was chill-inducing and nice to see Tony Khan treat him with far respect than he got when he was Sin Cara.
– Will there ever be peace in the Don Callis Family? Don’s built a family of egomaniac, so it should be no surprise that Kyle Fletcher is butting heads with both Kevin Knight and Kazuchika Okada. While Knight is clearly on his own side quest headed for a falls count anywhere match with Darby Allin, Okada seems to have eyes on the title he lost to Konosuke Takeshita at Double or Nothing. Takeshita is currently trying to win his second consecutive G1 Climax tournament but he should be back in AEW with time to spare before the PPV. Might we be headed for a three-way match and if so are we looking at an Okada face turn sooner than later?
– Can Tomasso Ciampa be serious, please? First it was beating up a stuffed hockey mascot. Last week he moved on to wrestling Andrade’s pants. Just stop it and give us back the Ciampa that existed before he got mixed up with Chris Jericho.
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