SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HITS
SWERVE & NEW LEVEL VS. THE DEMAND
If this was billed as a tornado tag match, it would have been near perfect. It was chaotic and I am not a fan of three guys pinning one guy for the win. That said, this was a blast of an opening match as all six performers were amazing and the crowd was into it the entire time. It’s so impressive watching Kofi and Creed have such good chemistry with their opponents considering most are completely new to them. Sure, there were a couple of moves where the timing was slightly off, but I’ve written before that I like when there are a few hiccups because it makes it look more authentic. It’s not realistic for every move to be flawless.
As good as the match was, the post-match was better. “Hangman” Adam Page, Brody King, Bandido, Swerve, and The New Level all hit it out of the park. The mission was to get fans fired up for their match at All Out and that mission was accomplished blending the long-time rivalry between Hangman and Swerve with the freshness of the New Level being given an AEW history lesson by Brodido. The tension was high and I also continue to be impressed by Creed and Kofi fitting right into AEW’s ring-style as well as their storytelling. This was well done all around and I can’t wait for that match on Saturday.
WILL OSPREAY & SPEEDBALL BAILEY VS. CLAUDIO & GABE KIDD
I really like “Speedball” Mike Bailey being a buddy for Will Ospreay to team with. You could argue that Speedball wrestles the exact style that Ospreay used to before he spent time with the Death Riders and gained that edge.
I know they play different roles, but Britt Baker could take some lessons from Jon Moxley when it comes to being on commentary. Mox really understands what he needs to do and is so smooth. He smartly builds up his opponent while rooting for his guys to get the job done. You also get a glimpse of how he thinks.
Gabe Kidd did something very subtle late in the match when Ospreay was setting him up for the hidden blade. He glanced at the big screen to time when to duck and that was something I think should have been pointed out by the commentary team.
There were a ton of wild spots, but my favorite was the counter to the big swing by Ospreay that led to the Styles Clash and the victory. That was a very original way to turn the tide and set up the win. I also loved that Moxley hinted that he was the one who taught Ospreay how to do that.
The post-match was also well done. Ospreay first thanked the fans and then thanked Moxley for what he has done for AEW. He also said “I’m the man I am today” because of what Mox did to him and for him. It was a perfect babyface champion performance.
Mox did his part, though I would have preferred Gabe Kidd not looked like a dope in trying to attack Ospreay from behind. You want passion? How about Ospreay adding the exclamation point to the segment dropping the F-bomb (which almost came through) on national television.
As a further point to the story being told, Ospreay likely would not have been ready for a sneak attack or been confident enough to say what he said had he not spent that time with the Death Riders.
This has been a great story that has been months and months in the making and it seems clear that Moxley built Ospreay into an opponent that he will not be able to beat.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Post-show covering the latest episode of Dynamite: CLICK HERE (or search “wade keller” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
QUICK HITS
“Thekla is for the children” – Thekla is ALSO for the 50-plus year old wrestling columnist/podcasters.
– Jon Moxley had a solid match with Desmond Xavier. The best part was Tony Schiavone bringing up that Mox has been facing high-flyers to prepare for Will Ospreay. That makes so much sense. It’s all in the details.
– The tag team ladder match in-ring promos were well done. I particularly enjoyed the references to history like bringing up Copeland’s poor decision to jump from the top of a cage a couple of years ago when he broke his foot. Copeland tends to be too over-the-top for me in these situations, but the others did their job well and I continue to enjoy pretty much anything Christian says. Not a lot needed to be said to build up what is one of the top two matches on the card. They accomplished what they set out to do here.
– I keep going back and forth on what fans are supposed to think about Kazuchika Okada and Tomasso Ciampa since both have played heels for months. However, both are loved by the crowds. Just when I thought the fans were getting behind Okada, Ciampa’s last words got a large group cheering for him as well. It’s still a bit strange why this was chosen as a PPV match, but I think both wrestlers have done a good job making it seem important to them. It will likely be a split crowd on Saturday, but the match itself should be memorable.
MISSES
– Commentary has never been a strength for Britt Baker. She comes across very awkwardly to me. There was some fun banter with the rest of the team, but my main issue is that we have no idea what her goals are other than being pals with Persephone. Is she going to wrestle regularly or was the Rebel show a one and done and she’s mainly a manager? Even if they don’t have big plans for her at this time, there should be a reason explained for why she is back and what she is hoping to accomplish.
NOTE: I leave the last hour of the show to Brian Zilem and his Collision “Hits & Misses” so be sure to check that out!
Please also check out the weekly free podcast I’m part of, “The All Elite Conversation Club” that drops on Fridays the PWTorch Dailycast lineup. Joel Dehnel and I have a great time breaking down all things AEW and we’ll have a comprehensive preview of All Out on this week’s show. Search “pwtorch” on your podcast app to subscribe. Send questions and comments to allelitecc@gmail.com.
