{"id":197896,"date":"2025-05-15T16:13:35","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T21:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=197896"},"modified":"2025-05-15T16:13:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T21:13:35","slug":"aew-rising-and-falling-stars-samoa-joe-speedball-mike-bailey-timeless-toni-storm-swerve-daniel-garcia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/05\/15\/aew-rising-and-falling-stars-samoa-joe-speedball-mike-bailey-timeless-toni-storm-swerve-daniel-garcia\/","title":{"rendered":"AEW RISING AND FALLING STARS: Samoa Joe, \u201cSpeedball\u201d Mike Bailey, \u201cTimeless\u201d Toni Storm, Swerve, Daniel Garcia"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3997189239\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><em>EDITOR&#8217;S NOTE: This column was written before this week&#8217;s Dynamite. There will be a new version of this column based on last night&#8217;s Dynamite soon!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Welcome everyone!<\/p>\n<p>What a little interaction we had at the start of Dynamite this week &#8211; &#8220;Hangman&#8221; Adam Page to start, followed by Will Osprey, and ending with the Don Callis Family coming out.<\/p>\n<p>I asked last week if we would see more fire from Osprey in the build up to his match with Hangman and I was quickly answered this week on Dynamite. I loved every second between the two of them.<\/p>\n<p>Next week&#8217;s tag match with Osprey &amp; Hangman vs. Konosuke Takeshita &amp; Josh Alexander should be fun. Later in the show, Swerve Strickland being the one to lose the match for his team was surprising. Swerve already has five losses this year (more on that later).<\/p>\n<p>The end of Dynamite saw Samoa Joe take out a member of the Deathriders, Claudio Castagnoli (still have to look that one up to spell it out, shesh) going into next week&#8217;s cage match. Mox will be down a man with Claudio being slammed on that chair, but I\u2019m sure Mox has something up his sleeve.<\/p>\n<p>Starting off Collision we were graced with \u201cTimeless\u201d Toni Storm for the second week in a row and once again she is one of the few that shows up every week on both Dynamite and Collision. She is such a star.<\/p>\n<p>Like Collision most weeks, this was a wrestling-heavy episode. I still love that fact that lower-card wrestlers get a chance on here. Hey, I just think wrestling is at its best when an entire card is over. The rise of wrestlers such as Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho in WCW or the Hardy Boyzzzzz in WWF were huge reasons the Monday Night Wars were amazing. (Shout out to the PWTorch &#8217;90s Pastcast!)<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-61035243\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>The Don Callis Family was all over the show and all six members were on the winning side of two different matches. I loved the fact that the Dark Order were taken out by Takeshita and Alexander ahead of their match with Osprey and Hangman. I\u2019m sure it will just piss off an already mad Hangman.<\/p>\n<p>Another highlight was Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander. I enjoy almost every match between them. Willow is SO strong&#8217;; her powerbomb of Statlander during the match was impressive.<\/p>\n<p>Closing out the show was Dax Harwood vs. Daniel Garcia. More on that later, but I think I like where FTR is going. They can be the biggest heels in the company over the next year.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Rising Star of the Week<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Samoa Joe<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Joe! Joe! Joe!&#8221; They really need to just let The Opps come out to Joe\u2019s music. It\u2019s so good! Anyways, I am really happy to see Joe get another shot at the World Title. I don\u2019t think he will win, but I feel like they have done enough to build him up to face Jon Moxley.<\/p>\n<p>Since returning from injury at the end of January this year, Joe has 10 wins and 0 losses. Granted 8 of the 10 wins were in Trios or Tag matches, but that\u2019s okay for me. Why? Because of what he did to Claudio this week and what he did the last time he and Mox were in the ring, if you remember. If you don&#8217;t, Joe choked Mox out after a Trios match.<\/p>\n<p>So here we go next week. Joe, who is probably not winning the World Title, has begun the beginning of the end for the Deathriders. Or it\u2019s how I feel but I will be watching to see what happens.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1st Runner Up: \u201cSpeedball\u201d Mike Bailey<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1224024174\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Where did this guy come from? Yes, I actually know the answer, but still. He came flying into AEW and has quickly become one of the more popular acts around and it\u2019s all because of his charisma and in-ring ability (remember his face-to-face on the mic with Kenny Omega? Awkward). Despite being on the losing side of a six-man tag on Dynamite this week, he picked up a singles victory over Dralistico on Collision.<\/p>\n<p>It appears next he will \u201cget the horns\u201das he and Rush are headed for a &#8211; wait for it &#8211; Collision. Bailey has just been amazing in his wins, but he might have been even more impressive in some of his losses. That\u2019s what makes him a rising star to me. He\u2019s not losing matches he shouldn\u2019t lose and we are seeing him on a journey right now when he is facing someone higher on the card. Bailey has definitely been the biggest surprise so far on the AEW roster in 2025.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2nd Runner Up: \u201cTimeless\u201d Toni Storm<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Storm was in a four-way \u201cAEW Women\u2019s World Championship Eliminator Match\u201d(well, that\u2019s a lot of words) against Thunder Rosa, Penelope Ford and Anna Jay. Ford eventually tapping out to Storm\u2019s TCM Chicken Wing and, as a movie guy, I love the name of her new submission hold. Storm followed that up with just another Classic \u201cTimeless\u201d promo.<\/p>\n<p>Back to the Dynamite match, we did get to see \u201cThe Megasus\u201d herself, Megan Bayne, come out and get into it with Anna Jay setting up their match next week on Collision. For me all this is doing is setting up match number two between Storm and Bayne. I like keeping them apart, but it has to be coming. Maybe post Storm vs. Mercedes Mone. Sorry Jaime Hayter, it appears to be Mone\u2019s match.<\/p>\n<p><em>ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Check out the latest episode of the &#8220;All Elite Conversation Club&#8221; with Joel Dehnel and Gregg Kanner, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/all-elite-conversation-club-dehnel-kanner-review-dynamite-with-kanner-s-in-person-perspective-from-the-mosaic-temple-theatre-in-detroit--66024038\">CLICK HERE<\/a> to stream (or search \u201cpwtorch\u201d on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"All Elite Conversation Club - Dehnel &amp; Kanner review Dynamite with Kanner's in-person perspective from the Mosaic Temple Theatre in Detroit\" src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?episode_id=66024038&amp;theme=light&amp;playlist=false&amp;playlist-continuous=false&amp;chapters-image=true&amp;episode_image_position=right&amp;hide-logo=false&amp;hide-likes=false&amp;hide-comments=false&amp;hide-sharing=false&amp;hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Falling Star of the Week<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Swerve Strickland<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Okay, okay, wait. I see the face you are making. Hear me out. I am a HUGE Swerve fan. Believe me, my wife hates that I walk around singing his entrance song so much, but I told her I can sing that or just randomly yell \u201cWHO\u2019s HOUSE?!\u201d and I would want her to respond \u201cSwerve\u2019s house!\u201d She told me the song is fine.<\/p>\n<p>Anyways, like I said earlier, he has lost five matches so far this year. I am positive the story will play out and Swerve will get some wins and be back in title picture, but right now he\u2019s not doing so well in the ring. His last three singles TV match wins were against Pac (who got injured in the middle of the match), Clark Connors, and Blake Christian. Swerve did have a PPV win wedged in there against Ricochet before losing at the following PPV to Mox.<\/p>\n<p>Following the Blake match, Swerve was taken out by the Young Bucks. That was followed up by Matt Jackson of the Bucks pinning Swerve in the middle of the ring on this past week&#8217;s Dynamite. So I am just saying Swerve has had a rough month since losing to Mox at Dynasty. That said, I am sure he will step it up and be on the better part of my list before too long.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Runner-Up: Daniel Garcia<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I am going to start off with saying that, unlike Swerve, I am not a huge Danny Garcia fan. He just lacks something that keeps him from connecting with me as a fan. This week on Collision the match between Garcia and Dax Harwood was okay, but it was definitely overshadowed by a \u201cretired\u201d announcer finally having enough of FTR\u2019s shit.<\/p>\n<p>While I do think the inclusion of Nigel McGuiness will help this feud, I also think Nigel just overshadows Garcia completely. Nigel will get the bigger reaction and upstage a guy in Garcia who is suppose to be part of the future of AEW. It appears they are setting up a tag match between the four. I am wondering if Garcia ends up turning on Nigel and we just get all three of them (FTR and Garcia), attacking Nigel or if Garcia is taken out and FTR continues their \u201cLedgend Killers\u201d rampage. We shall see.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wade Keller Post-show - AEW Dynamite w\/Wade Keller &amp; Brandon LeClair\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Pb7gDp9KntM?start=7&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1492806780\"><div id=\"pwtor-1792311095\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>EDITOR&#8217;S NOTE: This column was written before this week&#8217;s Dynamite. There will be a new version of this column based on last night&#8217;s Dynamite soon! Welcome everyone! What a little interaction we had at the <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2025\/05\/15\/aew-rising-and-falling-stars-samoa-joe-speedball-mike-bailey-timeless-toni-storm-swerve-daniel-garcia\/\" title=\"AEW RISING AND FALLING STARS: Samoa Joe, \u201cSpeedball\u201d Mike Bailey, \u201cTimeless\u201d Toni Storm, Swerve, Daniel Garcia\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":179889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,4309,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-197896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-rising-star-fading-star","category-specialists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2024\/06\/Screenshot-2024-06-12-at-1.14.20\u202fPM.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197896"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":197897,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197896\/revisions\/197897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}