SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Well, here we go again. Another go-home show as All Out is quickly upon us! Tonight’s goal for AEW was simple. Make fans want to pay $50 for the second time in two weeks to see a show. Last week was a good start as they learned their lesson from a year ago and started planting seeds for this event weeks and even months in advance. Let’s see how they did.
HITS
MARIAH MAY
Mariah May continues to do a great job with her character. Her match with Nyla Rose was a good one, but my favorite part was many heels would play a chicken or weak role against someone of that size, but Mariah’s confidence was sky high and she gave as good as she got. It was a clean win and defeating a former champion, even if Rose is not booked as well as she used to be, helps build Mariah’s resume. She is continuing to establish a character that fans can dislike but she is strong and talented and if someone is going to eventually beat her, they are going to have to be something special.
UNHINGED HANGMAN & EMOTIONAL SWERVE
I’ll have my “on the fence” opinion on the arson below, but when it comes to an intense segment, this had everything. Both wrestlers crushed it in their performances and you could feel the tension and hatred. When they showed the Swerve video package earlier in the show buying his childhood home, I knew by the end of the show something was going to happen to it. They clearly want Swerve as the babyface in this feud so having Hangman burn his house down pretty much cemented that. The pain on Swerve’s face at the end combined with the unhinged enjoyment of Hangman lounging in front of a burning home solidified what will likely be the bloodiest of blood feuds for the show on Saturday.
Now when it comes to arson, I can certainly understand those who think it went too far and was unrealistic as Hangman would clearly be arrested if this were real life. But this is not real life. This is a show. If you can look at it as a show, you can enjoy this for what it was. If you are a fan who enjoys more of the realistic aspects of wrestling, then you likely hate it. I get both sides.
Unfortunately, broadcasting something polarizing is not in the best interest of AEW when you are trying to keep viewers and get more than 2,000 people into the building on a weekly basis.
While I did not mind this story, it’s probably best that they did not do it this way because the main focus of the company should be to unify the fans and get more of them to watch.
QUICK HITS
– I thought the war of words between MJF and Garcia was just okay, but the end of the segment was really good and that’s what will be remembered as we go into All Out.
– There wasn’t much to the Jon Moxley promo, but it made sure viewers did not forget about what happened last week and sets up more intrigue on what exactly is Mox’s motivation. I’m hopeful there will be more to this on the PPV this weekend.
– Jack Perry crushed it once again with his promo. He has come such a long way and referencing Bryan Danielson’s debut three years ago as a motivation for this weekend’s match was well done.
MISSES
CONTINENTAL MESS
First of all, I’m going to say for what seems like the 50th time that the Continental Title should only be defended in the Continental Classic Tournament once a year. Now, that I’ve gotten that off my chest… again…. Why announce something called the Continental Contender match and not explain what it is for over 20 minutes? Eventually it was explained, but done so very quickly and during what was a very entertaining match that I missed it the first time and had to go back to make sure I understood. This is a rushed four-way because they didn’t do a good enough job setting up an opponent for Okada previously. At least it’s likely we’ll see Takeshita, Orange Cassidy, and Mark Briscoe in the match which should be pretty sweet.
WHAT IS THE BLACKPOOL COMBAT CLUB?
They are great, intense wrestlers. That’s all I know. Is Jon Moxley still in the group? Why are they playing heel roles when their “leader” is a babyface World Champion? I think they need to either pick a role and stay with it for multiple years or disband the group. If Moxley is going another direction and Danielson is set for part-time work, it makes sense to end the group and move on.
Two weeks ago, I thought they had a near-flawless go-home show for All In. This episode was much more hit and miss. (Get it?) I don’t think this show got more viewers who were on the fence to buy the event, but I also don’t think anyone who was going to buy it will decide not to. AEW excels in putting on great PPV’s and I’m confident this will be no different.
Don’t forget to check out the weekly free podcast I’m part of, “The All Elite Conversation Club” that typically drops on Fridays the PWTorch Dailycast lineup. Joel Dehnel and I have a great time breaking down all things AEW! Search “pwtorch” on your podcast app to subscribe. Send questions and comments to allelitecc@gmail.com.
Check out the latest episode of the “All Elite Conversation Club” with Joel Dehnel and Gregg Kanner, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
Or watch Wade Keller & Chris Lansdell discuss this episode of Dynamite with an on-site correspondent and other video callers, chat interaction, and the mailbag.
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