SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
HOUSEKEEPING
•During Forbidden Door it was announced that the second night of WrestleKingdom in January will be a New Japan/AEW/CMLL/Stardom supershow at the Tokyo Dome entitled Wrestle Dynasty. Fans have been wondering if AEW would run Forbidden Door in Japan. Well, now we have this show. I’m a proponent of AEW fostering a global wrestling community with other international promotions. It’s part of why I enjoy Forbidden Door. That said, I think the event should replace Forbidden Door on the calendar. I think it would be better for the flow of AEW TV if the big co-branded supershow is in January and Forbidden Door is replaced with a King of the Ring style show built around the Owen Hart tournaments.
•Ricochet’s WWE contract has officially expired and the presumption is that he’s AEW bound. It may be a matter of when not if Ricochet shows up on Dynamite.
INTRO
Greetings dear readers. I have returned from the family sojourn to sunny Pensacola, Florida. Something I learned while away, if you’ve never been to a Culver’s and there’s one around you at some point, you have to try it. The frozen custard is amazing. I recommend Cappuccino Cookie Crumble. It was outstanding. Enough about my trip though. We’re here to talk wrestling.
AEW once again delivered on PPV. Forbidden Door featured a spectacular main event, Bryan Danielson doing GOAT things, and women showing up and showing out all over the show. With Forbidden Door in the rear-view mirror, the build to the biggest show of the year begins in earnest. Swerve Strickland, by virtue of his win over Will Ospreay, is now guaranteed to be in the main event of All In. His opponent is to be determined as the men’s Owen Hart tournament continues to play out over this week and next. Half of the finals will be determined when Danielson faces PAC tonight on Dynamite.
On the other side of the bracket, Jay White has already made the semifinals. He will face the winner of Jeff Jarrett, who is looking to honor his fallen friend, and the wild card who is likely a returning Hangman Adam Page. If Hangman Page is indeed the Elite’s wild card, I expect him to win the whole thing perhaps with an assist from Nigel McGuinness. Making Hangman vs Swerve for the title official ASAP is crucial. There needs to be plenty of time to build up the match. AEW PPV builds are more often than not spotty. AEW would like to sell 15-20,000 more tickets to Wembley, I’m sure. To do that they have to get this build right and make each match feel important. That process starts this week.
Elite Hostile Takeover
Latest Developments
A trios match was made between the Elite and the Acclaimed with their partner Hiroshi Tanahasi. At Forbidden Door, the Elite defeated the Acclaimed and Tanahasi when Okada pinned his long time rival.
Analysis
Billy Gunn stepping aside for Tana was so benevolent of him. Pre-match on Sunday Max Caster cut a surprisingly decent match. Stay tuned for the WKPWP tonight for an update on Wade’s Bitch-o-MeterTM after the number Caster did on it in his rap. As for the match it was fine. There’s was some good psychology with Okada trying to avoid Tanahasi which built to a good hot tag but not much else. In the end, the Elite won after Okada hit a Rainmaker on Tanahasi. I could’ve done without Okada running away from Billy Gunn after the match. Elsewhere on the card the Elite collected more gold when Jack Perry won the vacant TNT title. The Hollywood scion survived a six way ladder match to claim the belt. The Elite are all draped in gold. Hopefully they add the stakes to the Blood & Guts match this week. They need time to sell the import of the match.
Grade: B+
Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay
Latest Developments
Swerve and Ospreay teamed together on Dynamite to defeat the Gates of Agony. After the match Ospreay attempted to grab Swerve’s title so Swerve dropped him with the House Call. On Collision they had a weigh in. This time it was Swerve who was left laying after a Hidden Blade. Swerve defeated Ospreay relatively cleanly after a House Call and Big Pressure.
Analysis
The tag team match felt superfluous to the story. I would’ve much preferred the weigh in be on Dynamite. The match itself though lived up to expectations and then some. It was truly excellent. Ospreay came out wearing Hayabusa tribute gear which was a nice touch. A couple highlights were Swerve intercepting an Os Cutter with a springboard Swerve Stomp and Swerve hitting a Swerve Stomp on a standing Ospreay outside the ring driving him into the announce table which of course didn’t budge. The finish saw referee Paul Turner get nearly decapitated with a Hidden Blade which provided Don Callis the opportunity to show and attempt insinuate himself in the match. He attempted to persuade Ospreay to use a screwdriver. Prince Nana shoved Callis to the ground. Ospreay snapped and threatened Nana with the screwdriver before coming to his senses and ditching the weapon. He walked back into the ring right into a House Call and Swerve Stomp which he shockingly kicked out of. His staggering sell after the kick out was great. Swerve hit another House Call and Big Pressure for the win. That’s a big notch in Swerve’s belt heading into the biggest main event of the year. See below for what Ospreay’ next move is.
Grade: A
Will Ospreay vs. MJF (vs. Daniel Garcia?)
Latest Developments
Ospreay and MJF have been interacting with each other for the past couple weeks. In the opening segment of last week’s Dynamite from Buffalo, MJF shared the ring with and put over strong, hometown boy Daniel Garcia. He even teased a match between the two for All In. Ospreay came out and acknowledged Garcia’s quest for the International title and granted him a title match, even sweetening the deal by adding in a shot at the world title had he won it. MJF was not impressed with being bigfooted by Ospreay.
Analysis
This is a classic pro wrestling trick. Get the guy who’s losing a feud involved in another feud so he can slide into as soon as it’s over. It makes sense but it also sort of telegraphs the finish especially with the Owen in the background. That said Osperay vs MJF is a big match. Right now, it’s face vs face and that’s fine. MJF is so much better when has something meaningful to sink his teeth into so the promos between the two should be great. Daniel Garcia is in a weird spot. He got put over strong in his hometown and has a huge title match tonight in Chicago. I think that was a better choice than beating him in his hometown. That said if he does lose, which I expect him to, I don’t if he will or will not remain a part of this feud. Given that they explicitly teased a Garcia/MJF match for Wembley, it feels like that needs to be paid off so I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s a part of the presumed Ospreay/MJF match.
Grade: N/A
Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirkawa
Latest Developments
Toni, Mariah, and Mina all teamed in a trios match defeating the ever unstable Harley Cameron, Anna Jay, and Saraya. Following the match they celebrated with champagne. Mina attempted to clock Toni with the champagne bottle but wiped out Mariah May instead when Toni ducked. On Collision Toni cut a promo that was surprisingly not risqué while a standing on a pile of the broken champagne bottle. The match at Forbidden Door was great. Toni pulled out the win with a Storm Zero. Post match Mariah got Toni and Mina to make up and the three of them shared a three way kiss.
Analysis
In hindsight the bottle spot seems a bit pointless, but I thought it worked in the moment. Toni’s Collision promo was very different from her normal promos. The actual content was a reworking of the “The New Colossus”, the Emma Lazarus poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. Toni delivered it like a Shakespearean monologue. Really good stuff. As for the match itself, Toni and Mina really gelled in the ring. They worked great together and delivered a hard hitting match. At one point Mina hit a straight up DDT off the top rope which I’m not sure I’ve seen done before. Storm winning was the only outcome but it didn’t hinder the match. The post match has elicited some mixed reviews. I’ve been very consistent that I thought AEW needed to carefully thread the needle of Mariah May getting through this match while remaining babyface to maximize the effect of her forthcoming turn. They did that with the three way kiss and everyone walking out as friends. When Mariah does turn she’ll still have Mina who has no real allegiance to Toni. Speaking of that turn, it could come as soon as next week. On the Zero Hour pre-show Mariah defeated Saraya by reversing the Knight Cap into a very clever role up to advance in the Owen and hopefully put to bed the mini-feud with Saraya. Mariah is a lock to win the tournament next week and her turn needs to happen soon after that to get the most out of the time available to build up the match with Toni. On a side note, Tony Khan should be utilizing Mina Shirikawa any time he can. She’s talented and charismatic in addition to be an established ally of Mariah’s.
Grade: A
Mercedes Moné vs. Stephanie Vaquer
Latest Developments
While Dynamite featured more of the same, build through video package, the AEW crowd finally got to see Stephanie Vaquer in action on Collision against Lady Frost. She and Mercedes got physical afterwards with Stephanie getting the upper hand. The match itself was really good. Mercedes won by submission before being upstaged by a returning Dr. Britt Baker.
Analysis
The video was good but it was really nice to finally see Stephanie in ring. Lady Frost was a perfect opponent. As an aside, Tony if you haven’t already, please sign Lady Frost. She’s a unique talent. She combines legitimate gymnastics and wrestling in a way I’ve never seen before and moves like liquid in the ring. She deserves to be more than a highly skilled enhancement talent. Aside over. The PPV match between Mercedes and Stephanie was stellar. Stephanie has a different kind of style and physicality and Mercedes is a chameleon who can adapt to any style it seems. At one point it seemed like the crowd may have been getting behind Stephanie but that may have been a function of a annoying fan in a Celtics shirt who transferred heat to his fellow Bostonian. Mercedes got the submission win over Stephanie with the move formally known as the Bank Statement thus claiming the title she was intended to win prior to her injury last year. Britt Baker’s match return from a 10 month layoff was a nice surprise. The good doctor looks to be in great shape. This feud is a big one. The promos should be mighty interesting. Britt’s going to eat Mercedes alive on the mic with her gift of gab. It seems like a given Britt will be the face and Mercedes the heel but I have a feeling the promos will dictate that regardless. My one wish is that Tony Khan have the courage to schedule this match before the women’s world title match on the All In card. This is the secondary women’s title. It needs to placed that way regardless of who’s in the match.
Grade: A-
Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale
Latest Developments
Willow Nightingale and Tam Nakano defeated Kris Statlander and Momo Wantanabe when Nakano pinned Wantanabe with a straitjacket German suplex.
Analysis
Yes, this match was on the Zero Hour, but this was the beginning of the women putting on a show in Long Island. The match was hard hitting, the kicks from the Joshi women in particular, were stiff. There was good tag team psychology with Nakano being isolated by the heels to build up to the hot tag where Willow finally got her hands on her former friend. Once that came, Willow cleaned house. The finish saw the Joshi women trade shots until Nakano tied Wantanabe up and hit a picture-perfect straitjacket German suplex. Given that Statlander and Willow are having their Owen Hart tourney semifinal on Dynamite tonight, it was refreshing that their finisher wasn’t illuded to by who got the pin in this match. I expect Statlander to steal the win over Willow which will keep their feud going as Statlander competes in the finals next week.
Grade: B+
Chris Jericho vs. Hook
Latest Developments
Through some strange circumlocutions we arrived at a trios match with Jeff Cobb standing in for Bryan Keith who had been taken out by Shibata. The match was inoffensive, and Jericho took the pin from Hook after a Judas Effect.
Analysis
The Learning Tree gimmick continues to be awful, just absolute dreck. It’s not funny, it’s not entertaining, and it sure as hell is not getting over. Jericho reminds me of Pee Wee Herman or Firefly Funhouse Bray without either the nuance and smart humor or the sinister edge. It’s just shallow, one-note, over the top nonsense. The road to the PPV match was unnecessarily convoluted. Jericho not watching the video from Minoru Suzuki beforehand and being shocked that Suzuki turned him down was fine but then Suzuki basically challenged Jericho to a match. I was quite looking forward to Murder Grandpa beating Jericho to a pulp but then on Rampage the whole thing was rescinded, and it was made clear it would be a trios match. Cobb was revealed to be the partner on Collision. At least they referred back to Cobb’s previous association with Jericho in 2020. The match was wholly unnecessary and could’ve been cut from the card, but the action was fine. Jericho continues to understand his limitations and find ways to disguise them whether it’s FTW rules matches that don’t require much wrestling or hiding himself in tag/trios matches. As much as I loathe his current gimmick, and I do loathe it, I must give the devil his due. Jericho did something few wrestlers do. He lost clean to his own finisher. A few months ago, he tapped out to the Lion Tamer as applied by Konosuke Takeshita. Jericho may be incapable of comprehending how sick of him everyone is, but he’s willing to put young guys over in the most selfless way. Hook needs to get his singles match for FTW title, reclaim his family property, and let that be it.
Grade: C+
Orange Cassidy vs. Trent Baretta
Latest Developments
This program took a backseat to Cassidy vs Zack Sabre Jr. I expect it to be renewed this week.
Analysis
Orange Cassidy had to focus on his match with Zack Sabre Jr. That match was great. There’s something special about watching technical wrestling done at the level ZSJ executes it. OC did his best to keep with the technical wizardry of ZSJ but in the end found himself tied in a knot and forced to verbally submit. ZSJ can march into the G1 with another notch in his belt while OC’s downward spiral continues.
Grade: B+pet
Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito
Latest Developments
This match got little build beyond the promo from Mox threatening to put Naito in the ground and appearance from Naito on Dynamite. The match itself was the most ok thing on the entire show and that’s probably being generous.
Analysis
Naito struggled throughout the match. He’s clearly diminished from what he used to be, and Mox had to carry him to something passable and just barely got there. The finish was a mess. First Naito was slow to kick out a Death Rider which made the New Japan referee look bad and forced Mox to react as though there had been a slow count. After that Naito blew at least one attempt at his own Destino finisher and to my eye I think he blew two of them. In the end he hit Moxley with a Destino for the win. I’m not super in tune with the New Japan product, but even as an observer from afar I can say with some certainty Tetsuya Naito is not the answer. He cannot carry the New Japan product at this point. There was a point in the match where Moxley brought a chair in the ring before being disarmed by the referee who awkwardly clutched the chair. I think it would’ve been a better if they recreated the Summerslam 97 finish where special referee Shawn Michaels swung a chair a Bret Hart but accidentally clobbered the Undertaker instead and was forced to count the three. Replace Shawn with the New Japan ref, Bret with Mox, and Taker with Naito. Keep the title on Mox and tell the story of the New Japan roster growing resentful of a foreigner holding the IWGP title until the winner of the G1 beats Mox at WrestleKingdom. As it stands, I have no idea what Mox’s next potential feud might be while Naito is limping through the G1 and the rest of 2024 dragging the belt behind him.
Grade: C+
Bang Bang Gang vs. The Patriarchy vs House of Black
Latest Developments
Jay White cooked Christian in a backstage promo on Collision. Meanwhile House of Black won a four-way tag match on the Zero Hour.
Analysis
It’s rare that someone gets the better of Christian verbally, but Jay White interrupted a Christian promo and proceeded to have his way with the Patriarch. In fact, he mocked each member of the Patriarchy. If you haven’t seen it, YouTube it. I cannot do it justice here. Malakai and Brody won a fun but pointless tag team four-way match on the Forbidden Door pre-show. I don’t know if they’re waiting for Buddy to get back or just waiting for Jay and PAC to get out of the Owen, but I suspect this becomes a three-way feud before long.
Grade: B+
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