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Housekeeping
• According to various reports, including Fightful’s Andrew Zarian, the AEW-WBD TV deal is complete. It’s just a matter when it’s officially announced.
• In addition to the deal with WBD being done, rumors emerged over the weekend of AEW potentially expanding its TV reach with a Fox network now that Smackdown has completed its run on Fox broadcast network. Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox said in the quarterly conference call that the WWE deal wasn’t renewed because the ad revenue generated by WWE programming would not be commensurate to the cost of keeping it. Basically the ad revenue wouldn’t be worth of the hefty price tag WWE commands. AEW getting a deal with Fox would be huge on its face and it would cost significantly less. If this new show, potentially titled AEW Shockwave, does come to fruition I sincerely hope Rampage or Collision go away because four shows would be total overkill.
• Tony Khan announced that tonight’s Dynamite will feature the first ever tag team Casino Gauntlet match. I hope this features the debut of the Hurt Business. They should win and beat the Bucks at Grand Slam. Just get the tag titles off the Bucks ASAP.
INTRO
What a polarizing show All Out was. On the one hand it featured a true MOTY contender in Ospreay vs PAC, a future Okada/Takeshita match being setup, and a Chicago Street fight that absolutely over delivered. On the other hand it featured the first appearance of a plastic bag in wrestling in 35 years and a lights out steel cage match that was a violent as advertised. I think this show was legitimately a show of the year contender. Every match except one hit, some harder than others, and each served a purpose except one. Your mileage may vary on the use of a plastic bag in an angle on a wrestling show. That’s perfectly acceptable but the storytelling within that segment as a whole was phenomenal and what should come out of it should be just as good. I’m a little less sympathetic when it comes to the steel cage match because everyone watching knew what to expect from that match (aside from one specific spot I will discuss later) so they should’ve been prepared. Now it’s all about the follow up. It’s incumbent on Tony Khan and his team to make everything that happened Saturday night count. So far they’ve done a good job but Dynamite tonight is where it really matters.
Jon Moxley
Latest Developments
Mox once again asked Darby to meet with him. He and Marina Shafir destroyed the Outrunners and their new valet. Things escalated greatly on Saturday when he attempted to suffocate Bryan Danielson with a plastic bag as PAC held back a visibly distraught Wheeler Yuta.
Analysis
The promo on Dynamite was once again fairly short and to the point. He asked Darby to come talk to him and warned that while he is a patient man his patience has a limit. This promo was good. While the request seemingly polite, it was done with a menacing undertone. He and Marina then showed up on Rampage and just destroyed the Outrunners who were celebrating their first (and maybe last victory). Marina put their new valet, who looks like she stepped out of a Jane Fonda jazzercise video, through a gimmicked wall.
All of that pales in comparison to what transpired Saturday night. After Bryan Danielson successfully defended his AEW world title against Jack Perry, Killswitch hit the ring and headbutted Bryan. At that point Christian made his way toward the ring with the intent of cashing in his contract. That’s when Jon Moxley stepped out of the crowd to block Christian’s path. The rest of the BCC and Pac, who had previously run the Young Bucks away from ringside, returned to back up Mox. The Patriarchy backed down and went back up the ramp.
The BCC and Pac joined Danielson in the ring. Mox and Danielson embraced and then out of nowhere Claudio spun Bryan around and dropped him with an uppercut. Bryan was stunned. That’s when Mox pulled the plastic bag out of his pocket and put it over Bryan’s head. Marina Shafir hit the ring and positioned herself to single-handedly hold off any security that hit the ring as PAC held Wheeler Yuta back while Mox attempted to suffocate Danielson. After what felt like an eternity Mox let go and the group took their leave allowing EMTs to get to the ring and give Bryan oxygen before carrying him away.
A lot to unpack here. The plastic bag portion of this is obviously an homage to the angle in which the late Terry Funk did the same thing to Ric Flair on the Clash of the Champions XII one day after I was born or exactly 35 years ago Thursday. Again, your mileage may vary on the bag portion but everything surrounding this was storytelling at its finest. There was the tease of Christian to remind us that weasel is lurking in the shadows with the contract. Claudio striking the first blow was significant given that he’s been arguably Danielson’s most loyal friend. Marina as the sentinel in charge of holding off anyone who came to help made her look incredibly badass.
The star of this angle though was Wheeler Yuta. The pained, anguished expression on his face as he was forced to watch one of his mentors do something so ghastly to another of his mentors was something else. It’s easily the best work he’s done thus far in his career. The commentators did a great job selling the seriousness and severity of this angle during and particularly after. Jim Ross’s outrage over Mox using, in his words, “a goddamn plastic bag” and something as innocuous as Taz removing his sunglasses were particularly effective.
AEW putting a disclaimer on their Twitter feed saying that the footage was too graphic even for social media helped further emphasize the brutality of the angle as did the abbreviated, somber press conference following the show. Friend of the Torch Stephanie Chase discussed the press scrum on the special Sunday roundtable and voiced her frustration with how things were handled. Under normal circumstances I would agree with issues with how kayfabed the presser was but given the heaviness of the attack on Danielson and the violence of the match that followed, attempting to have a normal presser would’ve been jarring.
First of all, Mox should be facing a very stiff fine. I understand that suspending him would be impractical given how imperative his promo tonight, but he should absolutely be facing a financial penalty in the high six or even seven figures. Beyond that, we’re left with a lot of interesting questions.
- The Blackpool Combat Club is dead but what’s the name of this new faction?
- Why did Mox do what he did? What’s his motivation?
- Why did Claudio betray his closest friend?
- How will the trios titles be dealt with now that two-thirds of the trios champions turned on the other third?
- Why was Yuta turned on too and will him taking the pin in the tag match be cited as part of the reason?
- How does Darby Allin fit in this? Does Mox expect Darby to join his group or will he simply make it clear he’s not really asking?
- Does Shane McMahon have a role in this?
- Remember it was Shane who Danielson teamed with in his return to the ring back in 2017 so there’s history there.
A lot of these questions will be addressed when Mox cuts maybe the most important promo in Dynamite history. For better or worse people are going to be tuned in to hear Mox explain himself so he has to deliver the goods. If there’s anyone to trust with this kind of promo it’s Jon Moxley.
Grade: B+ (Would’ve been A- just based on storytelling, but I had to mark off due to the controversy of the bag.)
Check out the All Out Post-show special, the latest episode of “Wrestling Night in America” hosted by Wade Keller, 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)
Bryan Danielson vs. Jack Perry
Latest Developments
Bryan Danielson defeated Jack Perry in a very good match at All Out
Analysis
Jack Perry cut a promo talking about his history with Bryan going back to Bryan’s debut at All Out 2021 and how felt Bryan didn’t help him when he could have last year. The Elite jumped the BCC and PAC after the main event of last week’s Dynamite but Bryan was saved before Perry could any real damage. He vowed to kick Perry’s head in. This was fine for a ten-day feud where the outcome was never going to be in doubt to begin with. I think it was smart that Perry referenced Bryan being able to “help” last year (Bryan was on the discipline committee post Brawl In) without mentioning the backstage stuff explicitly.
The match itself was unsurprisingly very good. It was a coming out party of sorts for Perry. It was his best match without question and he got good consistent heat with the crowd. Him striking the crucifix pose so as to go defiantly down in defeat when Bryan hit the final Busiku knee was a nice touch. I do think the match went a little long given the lack of drama and what went down afterwards. That angle immediately made the match a distant second in importance. I would’ve shaved five minutes off the match to tighten things up a bit.
Grade: B+
Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page
Latest Developments
Hangman set fire to Swerve’s childhood home and then defeated him in a brutal, violent lights out steel cage match.
Analysis
During the day last Wednesday a video was released to social media of Swerve and Nana standing in front of a house that Swerve explained was his childhood home that he recently bought after signing his new AEW contract. An abbreviated version of that video aired on Dynamite. At the end of the show Swerve and Hangman were set to sign their contract but Hangman didn’t show up. Instead, he popped up on the video screen inside Swerve’s childhood home. Using a selfie stick he filmed himself walking through the house cutting a promo and pouring gasoline. The promo was intense. He walked back out the front door, put the phone on a stand and took a seat in a wingback chair. He told Swerve to say goodbye to “Swerve’s house”, struck a match and lit the house on fire. He then sat back in his chair and drank while the house burned.
The image of Hangman Page sitting in his chair, drink in hand, while a house burns behind him will live forever. This whole angle was bonkers. Hangman was great in his role. Throughout Hangman’s entire promo Swerve got more and more worked up knowing what was coming. His pain was visceral and palpable once the house went up in flames. This, in theory, positioned Hangman as the heel, although in my view there hasn’t been a pure heel or pure face at least since Hangman returned.
Once the bell rang on Saturday night the match was as brutal though maybe not as bloody as expected. They used the cage, a staple gun, a table, a chair, a cinderblock, barbed wire, and burned shard of the house to put each other through hell. In the end Hangman pulled out a syringe and drove it into Swerve’s cheek before smashing him over the head with an unprotected albeit heavily gimmicked chair, knocking Swerve out and claiming victory.
Let me say that I found the syringe spot to be pointless. It didn’t really do anything in the match. As for the chair shot, it was heavily gimmicked as I said but I understand the discomfort with the illusion of a real unprotected shot to the head given the history of concussion issues in wrestling. At least it was the very emphatic finish.
The storytelling in this feud has been so unique for wrestling. Way back last October Hangman was the clear face and Swerve was the clear heel. Along the way the crowd got behind Swerve, even after the home invasion, and he couldn’t be denied. A justifiably furious Hangman became obsessed with getting revenge on Swerve and making sure he never won the world title. He got himself suspended in the process and Swerve became champion. When he came back he was even more angry and crazed and out of control but underneath it, he had legitimate reasons to be angry with Swerve and the fans. That’s so deep and complex.
Do the fans get behind the guy they’ve grown to love who isn’t necessarily a good guy and who just watched his home get burned to the ground or the guy was pushed to an extremely dark place because of that guy. It’s so psychological and I love it. In the end the crowd was mostly behind Swerve but there were some “cowboy shit” chants. After the match Hangman looked like he was finally realizing how far he’s gone in the last ten months and his primal scream on the stage was like a release of those emotions. Ultimately, he’s not sure who he is as evidenced by the fan video on Twitter showing him struggling to determine which tunnel to go down. Now his arc will be about him figuring out exactly who he is and who he wants to be. Very good stuff.
Grade: A+
MJF vs. Daniel Garcia
Latest Developments
Danny Garcia and MJF cut a promo vowing to break each other’s necks and then out trying to do just that at All Out. MJF stole the win but Garcia got the last laugh with a piledriver from the second rope.
Analysis
Garcia and MJF opened Dynamite with Garica in the ring and MJF at a distance in the crowd. They traded barbs including MJF calling Garcia an “emaciated skinhead hooked on Ozempic” which got a chuckle from me. Garcia vowed to do MJF what MJF did to him and MJF said he was going to take Garcia to hell after he smashed a wine bottle on his head. Danny Garcia has really improved as a promo. He was able to confidently hold the ring and go toe to toe with one of the best talkers in the business. MJF was finally getting back to his comfort zone.
Much like Dynamite, they opened the PPV. The match was hard hitting. Danny Garcia got opened up which I would’ve advised against it. They really milked Garcia attempting a piledriver several times before he hit to a loud pop. In the end MJF had use a low blow and a jackknife pin to steal the win.
After the match MJF tried to trick Garcia with another handshake but Garcia saw it coming and low-blowed MJF first and then made good on his word to piledrive MJF from the second rope. Given what we got later in the show, I would’ve advised against running this angle. I understand that MJF is off filming a movie and there may have been some time sensitivity involved but if it at all possible I would’ve done this angle at another time so it didn’t get lost in the much more violent, graphic attack later on. All that said, Garcia needs to be put on the path to challenge Jack Perry for the TNT title. It’s time to give him a really big win.
Grade: B+
Nyla Rose vs. Mariah May
Latest Developments
Mariah May defeated Nyla Rose in a strong match and then set up a match with Queen Aminata stemming from an encounter on the All Out Zero Hour.
Analysis
Mariah’s match with Nyla Rose was very good. Mariah didn’t back down from her larger foe. The two had very physical match that Mariah eventually won with a Storm Zero which worked as a twofer. She couldn’t get Nyla up for a Mayday so this was a good substitute and she got to needle Toni Storm a little bit. On the Zero Hour she attacked Skye Blue which brought out Queen Aminata to help her. That set up a match between Mariah and Aminata for Dynamite. Obviously, Mariah is winning but it should be a strong match. I just think Mariah needs a real feud to sink her teeth into. It’s entirely possible the plan is to have Toni beat Mariah in Australia in February. If that’s the case Mariah needs a couple good feuds between now and then even if it feels like the outcome isn’t in doubt. She and Toni need to stay apart until December at the earliest so that Mariah further establish herself.
Grade: N/A
Mercedes Moné vs. Hikaru Shida
Latest Developments
Mercedes cut a promo on Dynamite and then defeated Shida at All Out
Analysis
Mercedes cut a short promo on Dynamite which was interrupted by Shida and Christopher Daniels on the big screen with CD announcing that Kamille would be banned from ringside at All Out. I was nervous when Mercedes came down to the ring. Last week in this column I said that less was more when it comes to Mercedes’ promos and an in-ring promo seemed to run counter to that. She made it work though. It was pretty short and to the point without a lot of shtick. Banning Kamille made sense given that she directly cost Shida the previous match.
Unfortunately, the match did not live up to expectations. It wasn’t terrible but it was only just ok. Mercedes appeared to target Shida’s knee early, to limit the Katana, but abandoned it for no apparent reason. I think wrestling a more mat based match would’ve actually been to her benefit. Alas that’s not what happened. The rest of the match was inoffensive but not knock your socks off. The finish however was a complete mess.
First Shida hit three consecutive Katanas. She covered Mercedes who awkwardly kicked out and rolled across the canvas and out of the ring. I immediately thought she must’ve been out of position on third Katana and was probably supposed to fall out of the ring on impact. It got stranger from there. Mercedes and Shida fought over Shida’s kendo stick on the outside. Shida won control as they rolled into the ring and then agonized over whether to hit her with the weapon right in front of the ref. She dropped the stick and then inexplicably turned her back which allowed Mercedes to knock her into the turnbuckle. A Monémaker later and Mercedes won.
I called Mercedes a walking conundrum last week and she may be even more so this week. Her in-ring is her calling card but she’s had two rough matches at back-to-back PPVs. Britt Baker gets a large part of the blame for All In. All Out should’ve been better. As Chris Lansdell pointed out on the Sunday roundtable, Mercedes is was the best wrestler in the WWE women’s division. Now she’s in a division with a plethora of great workers and she’s playing catch-up after being out for a year. First thing she needs is a new finish. The Monémaker never looks good because Mercedes is too tiny to properly hit it. She also needs a feud with a strong worker that she can sink her teeth into. I think there’s still a lot of talent. She just needs to be set up for success.
Grade: B-
Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale
Latest Developments
Willow and Statlander had an interesting sit down interview Renee Paquette on Collision. At All Out they had a wild Chicago Street Fight won by Stat with the aid of a chain.
Analysis
The interview was very interesting. Statlander voiced frustration that she never got a rematch after she lost the TBS title amongst other grievances. Willow seemed sad that she lost a friend but resigned to what was going to happen the following day. She also mentioned that Stokely Hathaway is part of the problem. That led me to think that a reconciliation is possible at some point down the road when Stat finally realizes Stokely is poison. We ain’t there yet though.
The following night at All Out Willow and Stat absolutely over delivered. They were in the unenviable position of having to follow a MOTY contender in Ospreay/PAC. I actually thought it was smart to slot them there because their match was something completely different. I didn’t expect them to go as hard as they did. The first big spot less than two minutes in was Stat powerbombing Willow through the announce table. It only got crazier from there. There was a pounce through the barricade, Stat getting walloped over the head with light tubes, an insane spear off the stage through a table and Stat doing the splits on tacks after missing an axe kick.
Though Willow introduced a regular chain, Stat upped the ante by bringing in a big chain with wrist straps and tying herself and Willow to it. She whipped Willow with the chain, hit a tombstone, and wrapped the chain around her face and pulled back forcing Willow to verbally submit. This match was the best kind of bonkers and a somewhat surprising definitive win for Statlander. This feels like the blowoff and there won’t be a CMLL World Women’s title match. I do wonder what’s next for Stat. She got a huge statement win but both champions are heel. Much like Deonna Purrazzo, she’s going to need something to keep her built up until a title opportunity is available. Maybe a feud with Toni Storm who needs something to keep her occupied besides her recently revived obsession with Wendi Richter?
Grade: A
FTR vs. GYV
Latest Developments
GYV won a squash and the FTR challenged them to match on this week’s Collision.
Analysis
GYV defeated Iron Savages in a slightly too long squash. FTR then cut a promo backstage challenging them to a match for this week’s Collision. The match should be very good but it seems a little strange that this match is happening after the tag-team Casino Gauntlet tonight on Dynamite. Clearly this feud is going to be adjacent to the tag titles which is actually is good because the tag division needs strong teams built up.
Grade: B
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