AEW FEUD TRACKER: Assessing and grading Samoa Joe vs. Swerve, Okada vs. Kingston, Ospreay vs. Danielson, Christian vs. Copeland, Saraya vs. Soho, more

Over the course of the last week Kazuchika Okada officially became All Elite, Dynamite featured maybe the best TV main event of this short year, and a legitimate dream match was made official for Dynasty.

There are two top babyfaces – one for now and one for the not too distant future – and a new top heel. It feels like AEW is really starting to build some momentum. That momentum train rolls into Boston tonight for “Big Business,” where Mercedes Moné is expected to make her long-awaited official AEW debut. How that goes down exactly is a mystery (it probably involves some combination of Serena Deeb and Dr. Britt Baker), but one thing is for certain Moné adds star power to the women’s roster and could help pull some of her passionate and devoted fan base into watching AEW more regularly.

With Mercedes, Tony Khan completes the year=long clean sweep of the major free agents. Now it’s time to start making those acquisitions count. As far as tonight goes though, in the words of someone I never thought I’d quote in a million years, Michael Cole: “It’s Boss time” in Beantown.

Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland

“Hangman” Page is officially out of the picture, but Swerve remains laser-focused on the AEW World Title. He cut a promo last week wondering out loud if karma for bad behavior cost him the match at Revolution. Swerve then said it was the fan’s support that’s motivated him to keep going. The promo was good but Swerve has to be careful not to lose the edge and effortless coolness that got him over with the crowd in the first place. Being a babyface doesn’t have to mean kissing babies and shaking hands. Swerve can still be himself just without committing any felonies.

There is one minor speed bump on Swerve’s road to Dynasty, and that’s Wardlow challenging Samoa Joe for the title tonight. It’s as guaranteed as a Caitlin Clark 3-pointer that Wardlow is losing to Joe. It’s just a matter of what happens to Wardlow after that. Does Adam Cole remove him from the Undisputed Kingdom? Can he maintain any credibility after the loss? Whatever happens to Wardlow, this is Swerve’s time and Dynasty will be his moment.

Grade: A-

Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson

No, you’re not seeing things. This is an actual thing that’s happening. The GOAT vs. the best wrestler in the world right now. This fight sells itself. That said there’s another layer of story here because Don Callis is going to stick his nose in this and try to manipulate things, take credit for stuff he has no business trying to take credit for, and maybe attempt to sic the Callis Family on Danielson against Ospreay’s wishes. I suspect Ospreay who genuinely wants to prove who the best in the world really is, will be unhappy about that and it will push him even closer to separating himself from the Family.

Grade: A+

Kazuchika Okada vs. Eddie Kingston

To go from talking about Will Osperay and Bryan Danielson to talking about Kazuchika Okada is wild, but I digress. The Rainmaker made his debut as an official AEW roster member. He did so by taking the spot in the Elite left vacant after the Young Bucks fired Kenny Omega from the group. (Omega’s reaction on Twitter being future endeavored from his own faction was hilarious.) He attacked Eddie Kingston who thought Okada was coming to his rescue after he got into a scuffle with the EVPs.

On Collision, the new look Elite made their trios debut. It really wasn’t a trios match though as Okada – totally too cool for school and dripping with enough arrogance to fill Rick Martel’s infamous atomizer twice over – dispatched of all three enhancement wrestlers by himself. After the match, Eddie attempted to get revenge on the Elite only to trip over himself before getting swarmed. Penta attempted to save his friend only to get overwhelmed himself. That’s when a certain lovable bastard made his return. Pac, out since last September with health issues, hit the ring and cleared out the Elite before challenging them to a trios match.

That much should be a whole lot fun as will an Okada vs. Pac singles match. With the Bucks focused on the tag team title tournament (see below), Okada has his sights set on the Continental Crown. If/when he wins it, it will immediately raise the prestige of that title. Okada as heel is an unexpected choice, but it makes sense given how crowded the babyface side of the roster is. I think he’ll be successful as long as he’s positioned against popular faces like Eddie.

Grade: A

Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo

I said last week that Toni and Deonna’s feud wasn’t finished after she lost the match at Revolution despite getting the visual tap on Toni. Sure enough on Collision, Mariah May had a good match with Trish Adora during which she cosplayed as old Toni Storm. Afterwards, Toni came out to present her with the Toni Award for Best Performance as Toni Storm. That’s when Deonna struck. She attacked Toni before Mariah jumped in, pulled her off, and dropped her with a version of Maryse’s French Kiss DDT on the ramp. This entire sequence was interesting. Deonna got booed when she ran out despite being the aggrieved babyface. To me, that says she needs to be the heel. It doesn’t have to be anything drastic. It can be little subtle changes that implicitly give the audience permission to boo her. I think Toni needs to be a face for the eventual Mariah turn to work right anyway so just go with it now.

Grade: B+

Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Copeland returned Wednesday seeking vengeance on Christian Cage for the Conchairto that put him out for three weeks. Christian made a break for it, running like hell through the backstage area before ultimately committing grand theft auto to get away from his former best friend. Copeland then challenged Christian to an I Quit match on Dynamite in Toronto. Christian was celebrating Nick Wayne’s victory on Collision when someone sitting in the audience but dressed conspicuously like one half of Los Conquistadores jumped the barricade and attacked him. Of course it was Copeland.

Copeland pulled a long gray box with the word “Spike” emblazoned across the top of it from underneath the ring. He opened it opposite the hard cam and just enough for Christian to see what was inside at which point the color drained from The Patriarch’s face. We now have a mystery as to what’s in the box. (Because of smartphones and the internet, I already know what’s in the box but I won’t ruin the surprise.) It feels like it’s time to blow off this feud so both parties can move onto something else.

Grade: A

Kris Statlander & Willow Nightingale vs. Julia Hart & Skye Blue

Kris Statlander faced the perpetually over Riho in singles competition. Once again, at a pivotal point in the match, Stokely Hathaway threw a chain into the ring for Stat to use and distracted the ref. Stat thought about using it, but wound up deciding against it. She hit a series of suplexes on Riho, but wound up rolled up for the victory. Even though she didn’t use the chain, she was clearly tempted again. This story has become a version of “Star Wars” with Stokely as Emperor Palpatine trying to tempt Kris StatWalker to the dark side while Obi-Willow Kenobi tries to keep her on the straight and narrow. Eventually Stat will succumb to temptation and go to the dark side. In the meantime, though, Willow wants a shot at Julia Hart’s TBS Title, but first she’s going through Riho tonight. I doubt Stokely even brings the chain out because Willow’s too pure and wholesome to even be tempted.

Grade: A-

Mark Briscoe vs. House of Black

This feud just continues to escalate. House of Black cut a promo on Briscoe on Dynamite that was replete with fire imagery as a retort to Briscoe attempting to incinerate Buddy Matthews’ head. They challenged him to a street fight on Collision. Jay Lethal offered his assistance to his longtime friend and offered to bring Jeff Jarrett as a third partner. I’m no fan of the Team TNA clown car, but this was an acceptable use of them.

The match went about as you would expect; that is to say, completely out of control. The HOB turned babyface briefly when Julia doused Sonjay Dutt in gas and attempted to light him on fire before spitting mist into Karen Jarrett’s face. In the end, HOB won when Buddy Matthews powerbombed Briscoe through a mildly flaming table. It doesn’t feel like this feud is over. In fact, it feels like this is destined to end in an inferno/ring of fire match between Briscoe and Matthews while Brody King and Malakai Black are off in the tag title tournament. That would be quite the sight.

Grade: B+

Ruby Soho vs. Saraya

It feels like this feud, which has been slow cooking like a brisket in a smoker, turned a corner on Rampage. We got full-on pissed off Ruby which is the best version of Ruby. There’s a certain intensity that she has when she’s really angry that’s missing with the scrappy underdog Ruby. Saraya had her man taken out so now she’s coming for Saraya. Saraya, meanwhile, is an ice cold master manipulator with her maniac brother and the ever unstable Harley Cameron behind her as she openly torments a woman she used to consider her best friend. It certainly feels like there’s mixed tag coming soon. We definitely need to get this feud in the ring, though. I’m really looking forward to the eventual one-on-one blow off between Ruby and Saraya where Ruby finally gets her big win on PPV.

Grade: B+

AEW Tag Team Title Tournament

In light Sting’s retirement, the AEW Tag Team Titles have been officially vacated. A tournament to crown new champions will begin this Saturday on Collision. No bracket has been released, but we do know some teams involved. In addition to the Young Bucks, FTR as well as the Infantry from ROH are officially in. I expect Private Party, Blackpool Combat Club, and Kings of the Black Throne to also be included. Given the promo battle the two teams had, one that included the Atlanta crowd cheering for the famous local gentlemen’s club Magic City, I expect FTR and The Infantry to cross paths. I also expect to get BCC and FTR 3. Who knows what else we might get, though. Hopefully there’s some intrigue built into this thing and the finals aren’t an immediate foregone conclusion.

Grade: N/A

RECOMMENDED NEXT: AEW COLLISION HITS & MISSES (3/9): Pac returns for the tenth time, FTR speaks, Hook exists in public, Toni Awards, The Infantry visit, Copeland joins CMLL briefly

OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s AEW Dynamite Hit List: The “season premiere” with Kazuchika Okada’s debut, Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher, Hook vs. Brian Cage for the FTW Title, Riho vs. Kris Statlander