AEW is back with their latest pay-per-view entry, which is their first one since the ridiculous drama that took place after All Out in September.
What’s going to happen tonight? Will the people who are still desperately trying to hang on to the idea that the CM Punk/Elite fight was a work be proven correct? Who walks out of the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey as the AEW World Champion? I think it’s time to find out some answers to those, and many more, questions.
I doubt this will hurt the match quality very much, but in my opinion, this is the weakest build that we’ve seen for any AEW pay-per-view. The fallout from the All Out nonsense hurt multiple storylines, but even a lot of the non-Elite stories have seen multiple questionable, at best, booking and writing decisions. I’m hoping that we’ll be getting a bit of a year-end “reset” here, and that AEW will be able to build more momentum closing out 2022 and getting 2023 underway. We shall see.
“Jungle Boy” Jack Perry vs Luchasaurus – Steel Cage Match
Pros: – Jungle Boy reaching out to Mick Foley for advice on Steel Cage Matches. Foley himself said that he spoke with Jungle Boy and that some advice was passed along. If you’re in a blood feud and about to be involved in a brutal match inside of a cage, there probably aren’t many people better suited to get advice from that Mick Foley, so that’s a good start for JB.
– More violence than your usual WWE matches of this nature. Within a couple minutes, JB’s forehead is split open. Then, as the camera zooms in on his head, Luchasaurus grinds JB’s face into the cage, getting blood on the camera.
– Physicality. With everything that went into the story for this match, and with the cage itself being involved, this needed to be an angry, physical affair. It has been just that. Luchasaurus is using his size and strength advantage to bully Jungle Boy around, but JB is using rage as his motivation.
– The finish. JB places Luchasaurus on a table, then climbs to the very top of the cage, at least 384 feet in the air, and dives off with an elbow drop. He then locks in a Snare Trap for the submission win.
Cons: – Christian Cage’s injury. He got hurt at such an unfortunate time, as it brought this feud to a weird place. I get the story behind the split of this team, but let’s be honest… people want to see Jungle Boy vs Christian Cage, not Jungle Boy vs Luchasaurus.
– The alignment of the cage and the ring. These days, you see a cage lowered to the ground. This cage is raised just high enough off the ground to allow JB and Luchasaurus to reach underneath the ring to grab weapons. The problem is that the cage is raised, so the door area is raised, too. You have to climb up the steps, and then make a big step over the door frame of the cage to get into the ring. It looks weird.
Match Rating: 3.75 Stars. That was what it needed to be. Luchasaurus got to be a monster and dominate most of the match, but JB was able to showcase his heart and soul, never giving up and eventually getting the win. Christian is still injured, but I need to see JB move on now. Unless Christian is able to pull a John Cena and make a miraculously quick return, he’s still a few months away from returning to the ring. We can return to the feud at a later time and date. For now, it might be time to have Jungle Boy move up the ranks and look for a title.
Death Triangle (Pac, Rey Fenix & Penta El Zero Miedo) vs The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks) – Six-Man Tag Match for the AEW Trios Titles
Pros: New entrance music for The Elite. “Carry On Wayward Son” by Kansas has been hinted at as a possible new entrance track for The Elite, or at least for the Bucks, and that’s what we got. It’s a bit of an odd choice for a wrestling entrance theme, but you know what? I like it. The crowd was singing along to it, so it looks like they like it, too.
– The live crowd choosing a side after the All Out drama. A LOUD “Fuck CM Punk” chant is followed by a loud “Colt Cabana” chant. No matter what side of the beef you’re on, that’s a pretty strong statement.
– The pace. With these six men involved in the match, you know you’re going to get a pace that is off the charts with bell-to-bell action. Not only is that what we’re getting, but it stands out even more when it followed the slower, more methodical pace of offense from Luchasaurus in the opening match.
– Moves. Motherfucking moves, moves, moves, moves, and some more moves. Goodness gracious, there is so much going on. I’ve said this a million times about multi-man matches in AEW, but I’m eternally thankful that I don’t have to do play-by-play for these things. I can’t type fast enough for that.
– The finish. After multiple attempts by Pac to get Fenix to use a hammer in the match, it was finally successful, and Fenix drills Omega in the head with it to stop a One-Winged Angel attempt. The champions retain their titles. Fenix was left with no choice, and was that desperate to keep the belts.
Cons: – Broken nose for Pac? I’m not a Doctor, so I can’t say for certain, but the middle of Pac’s face is a bloody mess, and he keeps fiddling with the bridge of his nose and trying to clear the blood out of his nostrils, so it’s an educated guess on my part, at least.
Match Rating: 4.5 Stars. Everything you knew it would be. They went from 0-60 instantly, and they never slowed down. Wild, exciting action.
Jade Cargill vs Nyla Rose – TBS Title Match
Pros: – Nyla’s entrance. Nice Eddie Guerrero tribute, with Nyla, Marina Shafir, and Vickie Guerrero riding on the back of a lowrider, and with Vickie’s “I’m Your Mami” shirt. Wait… is she wearing a Rhea Ripley shirt?!? Anyway… we’re just over 17 years since Eddie passed away, and damn, I still miss him.
– A different type of opponent for Jade. For once, Jade is the one getting bullied and dominated for large chunks of the match.
Cons: – A clunker. Jade Cargill is definitely better than she was when she started, but she’s still nowhere near ready to compete in matches much longer than squashes. The problem with that, of course, is that it is beyond time for her to move up to bigger and longer matches that she’s not ready for. She doesn’t seem to have a ton of in-ring chemistry with her opponents, either, which certainly isn’t helping things.
Match Rating: 2.5 Stars. Let’s just call it “average” and move along. Way too many clunky moments and feather-soft strikes to rate it any higher.
Chris Jericho vs Claudio Castagnoli vs Sammy Guevara vs Bryan Danielson – Four-Way Match for the RoH World Title
Pros: – The pace. While not quite on the level of Death Triangle vs The Elite, all four men have been going nuts since the opening bell.
– A “Fuck you, Sammy” chant. He deserves it.
– The finish. Claudio has Sammy swinging and swinging and swinging, so Jericho has to jump over Sammy to hit Claudio with a Judas Effect to break it up. He hits Claudio with a second Judas Effect for the win. It looked funny to see Jericho jump like that, because he wasn’t able to get a ton of air, but he didn’t really need to, and the move itself made a lot of sense.
Cons: – The crowd. Overall, this crowd has been pretty quiet, especially considering the big names involved in the match. They were hot for the show opener, got even hotter for the six-man, and then seemed to be killed dead by Jade vs Nyla. As I type that, they seem to be alive again as Guevara breaks up a pin attempt by Jericho. We’ll see how long it lasts.
– The Sharpshooter. Why is it that nobody can perform the move properly unless “Hart” is their last name? Even someone as skilled and as technically sound as Claudio Castagnoli often locks the move in sloppily. Hey, at least it’s better than The Rock and Sting (pipe down about the name of the move being different for him) doing it.
Match Rating: 4 Stars. There was a lot of the “two wrestlers sell on the outside of the ring for several minutes while the other two fight in the ring” schtick that you get with these types of matches, but the action was really solid. Two heat magnets and two of the most popular performers in the company, and the crowd picked up in the second half of the match, being hot for everyone involved.
Saraya vs Dr. Britt Baker, DMD
Pros: – Psychology. Sure, it’s easy for this match, but Britt’s offense has been almost completely focused on Saraya’s neck. It would be pretty dumb if she focused on anything else, but credit is where it’s due here.
– A clunker. Yes, it’s in the Pros section. For now. There have been some awkward spots here, but it fits within the story. Saraya hasn’t had a match in nearly five years, so it makes a ton of sense that she won’t exactly be perfectly crisp in her return to the ring.
Cons: – The crowd. They’re back down to being relatively quiet again. I completely understand. Saraya was the clear face when all of this started, but both women came off heelish as things went on. It’s weird to take the returning hero story of Saraya and damn near turn it into “she’s one of THEM and Britt is one of US” before her first match has even happened.
Match Rating: 2.75 Stars. That was perfectly fine. It wasn’t earth shattering, but it was never supposed to be. With that first match out of the way, you have to think that Saraya will be able to build on that win and get better as she gets more comfortable out there.
Wardlow vs Powerhouse Hobbs vs Samoa Joe – Three-Way Match for the TNT Title
Pros: – Big, meaty men slapping meat. You wouldn’t expect anything less with these three hosses involved. They’re really laying the strikes in, and they’re throwing each other all over the place. Good stuff.
– The crowd. While they still aren’t molten hot like they were earlier, the mollywhopping in this match has pulled the crowd back in so far.
– Being a dual champion. Samoa Joe wins the TNT Title, and it goes with his RoH Television Title, which means he’s going to be a bigger deal in AEW now.
Cons: – Nothing, really.
Match Rating: 3.25 Stars. Pretty formulaic, but sometimes, you have to follow a formula when it’s successful. As expected, there was a lot of spots where one man was on the outside for too long while the other two fought it out, but the action was still hard-hitting fun.
Sting & Darby Allin vs Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal – No Countout, No Disqualification Match
Pros: – Satnam Singh’s strength. Darby Allin set a ladder up at the top of the ramp, climbs to the top of the ladder, and then attempts to hit a Coffin Drop on Jeff Jarrett, who is on the floor. Unfortunately for Darby, Satnam Singh showed up and caught him in mid-air. That was a really cool visual. If that guy can really pick the sport of pro wrestling up, he could be a big-time special attraction in the future.
– Using the entire arena. Like many of Sting’s matches these days, this has turned into a wild brawl that is happening in the ring, out of the ring, in the crowd, on the ramp, on the stage, and just about everywhere else. The crowd loves it, and it “protects” Sting a bit so that he doesn’t have to wrestle a normal match for more than a few minutes.
– Double-team work. Sting tries to hit Singh with a Scorpion Death Drop, but Singh fights it off. That gives Darby time to hit Singh with a Coffin Drop, allowing Sting to complete the Death Drop.
Cons: – Darby Allin’s spine. The man just did a Coffin Drop right into a guitar shot from Double J. Then, as I type that, Darby just kips up like it was nothing. Okay then.
Match Rating: 3.25 Stars. I don’t think it was on the same level as some of Sting and Darby’s recent matches, but it was a crowd-pleasing match that allowed both men to do what they do best.
Toni Storm vs Jamie Hayter – Interim AEW Women’s Title Match
Pros: – The right person won. Jamie Hayter is overdue for this, and now, she’s the new champion.
Cons: – “Interim” anything. I do not give one Kentucky Fried Fuck about WHY there’s an interim champion here. My point is that the whole interim thing is stupid, and for multiple reasons, it seems like AEW has had at least one interim champion for months and months now. If Thunder Rosa is injured and needs to be out of action for months, take the fucking title off of her.
– The crowd. Call it for whatever reason you want, but this crowd hasn’t exactly been thrilled for the women’s matches tonight.
– Toni Storm’s choice of lipstick. We’re only a few minutes in here, and Toni’s lipstick is smeared all over her face as if she just completed the world’s sloppiest makeout session. Me thinks she needs to choose something different from here on, so that she doesn’t look like The Joker.
– Toni Storm as The Joker. Not even two minutes after I typed that last entry, Storm’s nose appears to have been busted open. Now she has lipstick AND blood all over her face. Yikes.
– The finish. Britt Baker takes the pad off of the top turnbuckle, and Hayter sends Storm into it, but Toni doesn’t even hit it with enough force to injure my four-year-old daughter. Come on.
Match Rating: 2.75 Stars. It was decent, but nothing special. The lack of crowd reaction didn’t help. The match was booked to see a ton of “surprising” kickouts, but instead of the normal reactions that lead to “this is awesome” chants, you could see the crowd getting more and more upset whenever Toni Storm kicked out of anything. The woman that the AEW crowds wanted to become the champion is now the champion. Where do we go now? Time will tell.
The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) vs Swerve In Our Glory (Swerve Strickland & Keith Lee) – AEW Tag Team Title Match
Pros: – Blood. It seems like there has been blood in every match tonight. Sure, most of it is hard way blood, but it’s blood nonetheless. Max Caster appears to be bleeding inside his mouth. Perhaps he bit his tongue or something along those lines.
– A heel/face dynamic in the same team. I like the storytelling of Swerve descending into madness and becoming a dastardly heel while teaming with Lee, who remains a face that is trying to do things the right way. In some ways, it’s similar to what we saw earlier with Pac and Rey Fenix.
Cons: – Anthony Bowens’ shoulder. There was a lot of talk about his shoulder injury being kayfabe. While that is still a possibility, it sure does appear that there’s a legit injury. If he’s just selling this, he needs to be receiving acting roles because he’s doing an amazing job. You can see the extra levels of pain on his face whenever anything involving his shoulder happens.
– The crowd. In recent months, you could make the argument that The Acclaimed have been the hottest act in all of wrestling when it comes to crowd reactions. You wouldn’t know it by this reaction. Swerve Strickland is getting more heel heat than Bowens and Caster are getting face reactions. This is nothing like the last two times these teams have faced each other.
Match Rating: 3.25 Stars. The champions retain. It was fun, but there was a much slower pace here than their previous matches, with a lot of the story involving the injured shoulder of Anthony Bowens. If Bowens’ shoulder is really bad, what happens then? WILL WE GET INTERIM CHAMPIONS AGAIN?!?!? Golly gee, I sure hope so!
Jon Moxley vs MJF – AEW World Title Match
Pros: – A true mixed reaction. MJF is getting cheered. Jon Moxley is getting cheered. MJF is getting booed. Jon Moxley is getting booed. Hell, even William Regal got a 50/50 reaction during the pre-match introductions. The crowd is hyped up again, but they’re split down the middle. Imagine saying that about any crowd for a Moxley vs MJF match a year or two ago. There was even a brief “Fuck you, Moxley” chant. Insanity.
– A double turn? Continuing the last point, Moxley is getting more and more heel heat as the match goes on, while MJF is getting more and more of a face pop. It’s like we’re watching a double turn take place. Again, imagine even thinking that would be possible between these two men a year or two ago.
– MJF’s selling. He was already making Moxley’s offense look great, but after a Tombstone to Moxley on the ring apron hurt his knee, MJF is doing a fantastic job of selling that.
Cons: – Overbooked finish. Not one, but TWO ref bumps, followed by a turn for William Regal, as he gives brass knuckles to MJF and it leads to a new World Champion being crowned.
Match Rating: 3.75 Stars. The match was a lot of fun, with the tease of a double turn and MJF’s heroic face sell job of his knee injury. Regal’s turn was something that a ton of people were predicting, but in the grand scheme of things, I think it was a mistake in this spot. The crowd was already booing Moxley, so Regal giving the knucks to MJF got way more of a face pop than it would have in just about any other scenario. Too much “gray area” for too many people in AEW right now, and that is part of their booking problem these days.
Not a bad show overall. A couple of “average” matches sprinkled throughout, but there was way more to be excited about than to be down about. I guess I can’t complain much in that case.