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INTRO
There’s a new era in AEW. Will Ospreay is the AEW World Champion and thus the standard bearer. He’s got no shortage of possible challengers. Andrade won the Casino Gauntlet contract for a guaranteed title shot on a week’s notice, but rest assured MJF won’t be far behind. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Ospreay and AEW in general.
Torch Passed
Latest
Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega to capture the AEW World Title.
Analysis
Ospreay cut a rah-rah babyface promo on Dynamite reiterating his promise to bring home the title on home soil. The show closed with an excellent video package spanning the entirety of the Ospreay-Omega rivalry. Kenny never appeared in person at least. That became a topic of conversation leading into the PPV. By the time the bell rang on Sunday afternoon it didn’t matter.
The pomp and grandeur AEW put into the entrances for both Ospreay and Omega was remarkable. Ospreay got a career retrospective video package soundtracked by The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” and narrated by his mum. As the video finished, the song continued playing in the background as Ospreay began to make his way down the corridor to the entrance. He greeted the members of the United Empire who then flanked him the rest of the way. He encountered Zack Sabre Jr, Swerve Strickland, Michael and Amira Blair, Ricochet, Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, his wife Alex Windsor, and finally at the curtain Jon Moxley who smiled at him like a proud father and handed him a Union Jack. Once Ospreay stepped through the curtain the pop was loud it drowned out the opening strains of “Elevated”.
Not to be outdone, Omega got a career retrospective of his own narrated in Japanese by the actor who voiced the character All Might in the anime My Hero Academia. Kenny then stepped out onto the stage in attire inspired by the same character
Both of these entrances were tremendous. They made the match feel huge and special and got the crowd in the building up to a fever pitch even before the bell. Once the bell rang, Omega and Ospreay simply had the match of the year.
Omega seemingly turned back the clock wrestling with crispness, fluidity, and brutality. To put it bluntly he spent the bulk of the first 15-20 minutes of the match just whooping Ospreay’s ass. He bloodied him with the monitor from commentary desk. He tried to put him through a table with a running powerbomb but the table metaphorically laughed at them by not breaking. He hit a neckbreaker on Ospreay that would’ve made Ravishing Rick Rude proud. He repeatedly lit him up with knees and snap dragons. At one point Omega hit a perfect Croyt’s Wrath from the second rope. The margin for error was very slim and that made the move even more insane.
Ospreay finally mounting a comeback with a flash Hidden Blade out of nowhere. He caught Omega just under the eye and split him wide open hard way. Omega repais him soon thereafter by absolutely destroying him with one of the nastiest knee shots you’ll ever see directly to the back of the neck as a reversal to an Os Cutter.
Things really picked up in this one when Omega hit a One-Winged Angel. The crowd gasped and then positively exploded when Ospreay kicked out at two. Omega took a gnarly Tiger Driver ’91 right on top his head. The finishing sequence was riveting. Omega attempted a second One-Winged Angel but Ospreay reversed it into one of his own. Omega kicked out at one. Ospreay hit a Hidden Blade and a Storm Breaker. Omega kicked out one. Omega was only able to get to his knees though. Ospreay slid the elbow pad off, did a finger gun at Omega, and cleaned his clock with final Hidden Blade for the three count. Ospreay simultaneously won the AEW World Title and conquered Kenny Omega.
There really aren’t enough superlatives for this match. From the United Empire and The Elite being each man’s respective seconds to the way they worked this felt like a New Japan main event and it absolutely delivered. From the entrances, to the ambiance, to the in-ring work it was absolutely stellar. Having both Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson on commentary was the cherry on top of this amazing ice cream sundae.
The build was up and down, but when it mattered the most both guys nailed it. Kenny proved that he just might be the GOAT (sorry Bryan Danielson) and Ospreay cemented his status as arguably the best wrestler in the world in addition to being the centerpiece of AEW. It was clear as soon as the bell rang, once the show went off the air Ospreay helped Omega to his feet and the two embraced in the center of the ring. Later, Kenny tweeted simply “the rest is up to you Will”. Torch officially passed. The Era of Ospreay is upon us.
Grade: A-
Women’s Title Magic
Latest Developments
Mercedes Mone defeated Willow Nightingale to finally capture the AEW Women’s World Championship.
Analysis
The build to the match was wrestling at its simplest, a beloved babyface facing down a narcissistic heel. It did hit a snag coming into last week’s Dynamite as Willow suffered a broken hand ahead of the show. Plans were changed and it was written into the story via an angle in which Mercedes attacked her backstage.
Fast-forward to Sunday afternoon and the women got the same elaborate entrances as the men in the main event would get. Mercedes got Black Swan themed dancers. Willow got a video with fairytale storybook voiced over by young girl and an awkward Madonna-esque cone bra with confetti cannons. The video was great, confetti cannon cone bra not so much. Nevertheless, if anyone was concerned that Willow’s injury would hamper the match, those concerns were dispelled very quickly once the match started.
Willow and Mercedes absolutely laid into each other from the opening bell. About 90 seconds in, the match spilled to the floor. Willow picked up Mercedes by her feet and swung her face first into the guardrail. I’m pretty sure this is the spot that resulted in Mercedes coming up bleeding with a broken nose. To her credit Mercedes didn’t even attempt to wipe it away. She wore it like a badass badge of honor. By the end it made her look deranged in the best way possible. From that point forward these two women pulled out all the stops. Willow hit a Spanish Fly from the top rope. She reserved the third of an attempted Three Amigos into a suplex off the apron to the floor that resulted in an absolutely sickening thud. At one point Willow climbed the ropes to go for a moonsault but slipped. Mercedes had the wherewithal to get up and attack Willow so that Willow could lay her out again. To top it off Willow almost overshot the moonsault but Mercedes believably rolled into the path and it looked like Willow totally crushed her. That’s just instincts that can’t be taught on Mercedes’ part. Willow reversed a MonéMaker into a backslide which has been the most devastating backslide in wrestling but Mercedes kicked out. There was one scary spot where referee Aubrey Edwards got bumped and it looked like she might’ve blown out her knee.
Much the main event, the finish to this was exquisite. Willow went for the Babe with the Powerbomb. Mercedes slid off her back, tripped her, and locked in the Statement Maker. As Willow tried to get to the ropes, Mercedes used her good arm to wrap around her throat and turn into a straitjacket Statement Maker thus choking Willow out in the process. As Willow desperately reached for the ropes, Mercedes cranked back and Willow began to fade. In a callback to her match with Bayley at TakeOver Brooklyn, Mercedes stomped repeatedly on Willow’s injured hand. There was some question about whether Aubrey called for the bell too early, but I don’t think that was the case. Willow passed out just before Mercedes started stomping on the hand. The stomping was just insult to injury.
Mercedes finally won the one title that has eluded her for so long. More than that, she and Willow put on a classic. Willow more than held up her end of the match, especially considering she came in with a broken hand, but Mercedes further cemented as one of the greatest women’s wrestlers off all-time. If you want to put Manami Toyota above her, I won’t argue with you but just this year alone Mercedes had a great match with Persephone in Mexico. She had 20 minute barnburner with Hazuki on Dynamite, and then she made Maya World at Forbidden Door. Now this legit match of the year contender with Willow. It might be time to have that conversation.
The big question looming tonight is who will her first challenger be? Who’s going to crash her championship celebration and stake their claim on the AEW Women’s World Championship. Thekla was watching on from the Royal Box at Wembley, but I’m not sure how she could turn babyface so quickly and get out of the Triangle of Madness.
Grade: A
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Christian Gonna Christian
Latest Developments
With the aid of a wrench, Adam Copeland and Christian Cage became one of only two champions to retain their titles at All In.
Analysis
This match arguably had the weakest build of any of the major matches. Christian did his level best to lift the build by injecting some tension into things. It couldn’t totally make up for the lackluster build but it was a good attempt.
The match itself was pretty darn good. The Bucks wrestled a traditional tag team match and did so quite well. After Matt Jackson kicked out of the double team elevated spear at two, Cope and Christian got desperate. Copeland motioned for Christian to go get one of belts which he did. He also grabbed a small wrist and stuffed it inside his arm brace. He used the belt as a decoy to distract the ref and then swung the loaded brace at Matt who ducked which sent the wrench flying. Christian seemingly had to improvise by picking up the wrench and walloping Matt with a backhand shot upside the head followed by a second elevated spear for the win.
Christian being the one to actually do the cheating makes sense. He hasn’t changed who he fundamentally is since rejoining Copeland, he’s just directed his ire at heels. Part of does question the wisdom of ending something billed explicitly as a “dream match” that way. I also wonder if this leads to a full fledged heel turn for the team or if Copeland expresses some kind of regret.
The post match which featured The Motor City Machine Guns making their first appearance since their debut in Detroit, FTR, and The New Level felt like a flex by Tony Khan to show how deep this rebuilt tag division is. There are a lot of fresh matchups to be had so the next few months should be fun.
Grade: C+
It’s a New Level, Yes It Is
Latest Developments
The New Level (fka The New Day) made their long-awaited AEW debut alongside Swerve Strickland and won the AEW Trios Titles.
Analysis
Let’s get the negative out of the way. The Trios Roulette Royale match was conceptually fine but needlessly long. Stretching from the Buy-In to the main card was a mistake. This was a match that should’ve went 25 minutes max. 40 minutes was just absurd. They could’ve introduced the first 2 teams entering the match at the end of the Buy-In if they were determined to have cross-over.
All that said the actual debut of The New Level was great. Austin Creed and Kofi looked so pumped to be in AEW and so good standing next to Swerve Strickland. Austin is absolutely shredded. I think his entire layoff in the gym. It was also nice to not see any pancakes or Booty-Os or any of that nonsense. We got Kofi’s trademark battle royal save spot, this involving the help of Prince Nana. In the end Swerve and the New Level won the AEW Trios Titles. Being that it was a battle royal it feels like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly have a claim to a rematch and I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing that. Up first though New Level make their Dynamite debut alongside Swerve defending the trios titles against The Rascalz.
Grade: B
Family Drama
Latest Developments
Kazuchika Okada became a two time International champion when snuck in a pinned fellow Don Callis Family member Kyle Fletcher.
Analysis
This match had lofty expectations coming in given the athletes involved. I would say this is a rare instance where the story of the match outweighed the in-ring action. That’s not to say these three didn’t bring it but it felt like the inner Don Callis Family turmoil was more the focus. At one point Okada pulled the infamous screwdriver from its normal hiding spot inside the turnbuckle pad only to turn around and see Fletcher there. It got knocked out his hand and Takeshita picked it up but tossed it out of the ring rather than using it. Multiple times Fletcher and Takeshita treated Okada as a nuisance and sent him packing from the ring. In the end Okada picked his spot. Fletcher hit Takeshita with a brutal turnbuckle brainbuster. Okada quickly snuck in the ring and caught Fletcher with a Rainmaker. With Fletcher and Takeshita both down, Okada opted to pin Fletcher for the win.
After the match Callis had to get in the ring and convince a frustrated Fletcher to hand Okada the belt and raise his hand. When it comes to the Callis Family each man who thought they were the favored son, from Ospreay to Takeshita to Andrade, had to learn the truth: there is no favored son. Don Callis doesn’t care about the individual success of any of his charges. It’s All about satiating his own ego and have titles under his purview. It’s now Fletcher’s turn to learn this hard lesson. The question is how long will it take him to realize that Don is only out for Don.
Grade: B+
Random Questions
-Did we really need a whole tournament? Nigel McGuinness and Jon Moxley put on a technical wrestling masterclass. The grappling and counters were superb. Nobody sells a submission like Mox. The visible panic on his face and the way he thrashes about is just great. To nobody’s surprise, Mox retained the title. He trapped Nigel an ankle lock and grapevined the leg. Nigel attempted to get to the ropes, pushing himself until he was mere fingertips away. One more push would’ve done it but he just didn’t have it in him and he was forced to tap out. It was a heartbreaking yet perfect finish. I just question whether it was necessary to have an entire tournament just to get to this match. There were other ways to get there that would’ve built this up into something.
– Who saw that return coming? Dr. Britt Baker DMD made her surprise return at All In shoving Maya World.off the top rope and allowing Persephone to hit a BT Bomb for win the TBS title. Britt hasn’t been on AEW TV in nearly two years and it seemed like she never would be again save for a possible appearance on the upcoming Rebel Heart Dynamite. I was shocked to not only see her return but immediately be inserted into a feud. The promo backstage attempted to explain her alliance with Persephone as one forged based on a mutual enemy in Thunder Rosa yet we’ve only seen Perse and Rosa interact one time on TV. I’ll keep an open mind but I feel like the women’s division has passed Britt by in terms of in ring. I don’t know how high my hopes are for this return.
– It’s always nice to see Sting isn’t it? Wielding his trusty bat, The Icon made a special appearance coming to the aid of Darby Allin and his son Steven Borden during the falls count anywhere match. The moment where he and his son met atop a ladder and Steven told him “I got this Dad” and did the leap himself was so cool.
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