SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
Housekeeping
•Tony Khan is nearing completion on a deal with WBD which would see ROH aired on TruTv, as reported by Dave Meltzer. I speculated last week that Tony was up to something when he put the ROH Title on Chris Jericho. Turns out I was right. If this deal comes to fruition, Tony needs to put ROH in the hands of a separate writing team and find a home base for the show so that doesn’t have to be recorded prior to Collision anymore. Most importantly though, he needs to get Chris Jericho and anyone else directly associated with that brand off AEW TV. Instead of using them as near enhancement talent, Tony should keep them on ROH, build them up, and then bring them to AEW to refresh the roster. It’s the old NXT model but it works.
•Kenny Omega made his return to NJPW this past weekend at the Power Struggle event. He announced that his first match back since diverticulitis put him on the shelf will be Jan. 5 at Wrestle Dynasty. Following his promo, he was attacked backstage by Gabe Kidd so look for Kidd to be his opponent. The Young Bucks are also expected on that show so look for the former friends to interact.
•Speaking of Power Struggle, Ricochet made his return to New Japan as well and promptly challenged IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Zack Sabre Jr. to a match at Wrestle Dynasty.
Intro
After the events of the last 24 hours, I think we could all use a welcome distraction. Dynamite promises to be interesting. There’s the likely possibility of a big return, Hook confronting Christian over his attack on Taz, and of course the big question of what Jon Moxley and his Death Riders do next. So let’s try not to dwell on other things and enjoy some good old fashioned ‘rasslin tonight.
Jon Moxley vs. AEW Locker Room
Latest Developments
Orange Cassidy and Jon Moxley was made official for Full Gear; the story of Wheeler Yuta’s internal conflict continued.
Analysis
Orange Cassidy opened Dynamite by coming out and cutting off the pre-recorded Mox video. He reiterated that he isn’t really leader but he’s got no choice but to step up confront Mox. He said that he was going it alone to protect everyone from Mox and the Death Riders and officially challenged Mox to a match at Full Gear.
OC was great here. He was serious and to the point. He cast himself as the reluctant warrior doing battle with this dangerous insurgent force for the soul of AEW. It always makes things feel more important when the normally laconic Cassidy drops the nonchalance and gets real.
Later in the show Mox and the Death Riders hit the ring. Mox said that he’d challenged OC not the other way around. He essentially justified breaking Chuck Taylor’s neck as cutting dead weight off Cassidy. He said nobody understood what he was doing but that it was for the greater good. To demonstrate his ruthlessness he tripped Wheeler Yuta and instructed Claudio to get a chair and wedge it around Yuta’s neck. OC made the save before Claudio could stomp the chair. He was overwhelmed by the numbers advantage of the Death Riders. Yuta joined in on the beatdown after Marina smacked him a couple times. That’s when the lower card babyfaces ran out and it devolved into another chaotic segment. The highlight of this was Darby repelling, Sting-like from the rafters. In the end the babyfaces and the Death Riders fought through the crowd to the back.
Mox cut another great promo. He’s coming off more like a cult leader spouting what he believes is righteous fury. Though his words may have kernels of truth, his maniacal delivery and unjustifiable brutality keep him firmly planted as a heel. The brawls are getting a little repetitive at this point although Darby dropping in from the rafters was a pleasant blast from the past. Honestly it was surprising to see him back this soon from his self-isolation given that he seems to be the endgame here but the babyface side did need some strengthening.
The story once again flowed through Collision, with the premise being that Mox was invading OC’s hometown of Philadelphia. Mox cut another strong promo wondering aloud if OC would make it to Full Gear with his mind and body intact. He then put over Yuta as being of unshakable character and being a Philly hero. Action Andretti came and tried to play the hometown hero himself to a tepid response. What resulted was a match with PAC that went too long for my taste. After the match OC appeared in the audience and trained his promo on Yuta who he who said had changed. He reminded him that Chuck trained him and told him Mox didn’t care about him. He vowed to beat to win the title at Full Gear. Mox sent Yuta into the crowd armed with a chair to take out Cassidy. Yuta hesitated and ended up eating an Orange Punch instead.
The Yuta subplot is interesting. Yuta’s doing a decent job conveying the idea that he’s conflicted about what he’s doing. He’s not totally convinced they’re going about things the right way, but he’s scared to leave the cult. Mox is preying on that fear and trying to build him up. It’s interesting to see a storyline like this tackle a subplot like that.
OC came out of this looking strong and capable as well. I’m very glad there’s a tag match scheduled for tonight. It gives the Death Riders something specific to do rather than just another chaotic brawl.
Grade: B+
Jay White vs. “Hangman” Page
Latest Developments
Hangman cut an intense on Switchblade.
Analysis
There was no Jay White or the Bang Bang Gang last week. What we did get was Hangman cutting an intense promo on Switchblade. He took credit for putting Jay out for three months. He said while he knew Jay would target his knee, Jay didn’t know what Hangman might do. He said he’d leave Jay less than he was before their feud and ultimately leave him behind.
Really good stuff from a Hangman who continues to get crazier and more unhinged seemingly by the week. I’ll be interested to hear Switchblade’s response tonight.
Grade: B
Anna Jay vs. Mariah May
Latest Developments
Mariah May defeated Anna Jay in a very good main event of Collision to retain the AEW Women’s Title.
Analysis
Mariah May and Anna Jay finally had their title match that’s been building over the last couple weeks. The match was pretty good. Anna has gotten so much better than her early days during the pandemic in Jacksonville. The finish was interesting too in that it ended similar to their previous encounter, that is in a clever pinning combination which protected Anna Jay to some degree.
The best part of this whole thing though was the promo Mariah cut afterwards which aired on social media. She took pleasure in the idea that she might’ve made a young fan cry by dashing Anna Jay’s dreams. She even said there’s a special place in hell for a woman like her. Mariah is an evil sociopath and she relishes it. She embraces it. That’s rare in wrestling. Normally heels are more complex like a Mox or a Hangman. This makes Mariah stand out and she’s a strong enough promo to keep it from being one-note. I sincerely hope Mina is back soon though because Mariah has otherwise been left to tread water and that’s not ok. She needs a strong opponent for Full Gear.
Grade: B+
Mercedes Moné vs. Kris Statlander
Latest Developments
Kris Statlander finished off what was left of Kamille’s mystique thus setting up a match with Mercedes at Full Gear.
Analysis
This match wasn’t the potential trainwreck it could’ve been after Kamille was exposed in her match with Queen Aminata. That’s not to say it was great either. It was just ok. The finish was odd, at least to me. Kamille went for a tombstone which is not normally in her repertoire and it was easily reversed into Wednesday Night Fever by Stat. That pretty much ended the mystique of Kamille and diminished her as a threat on behalf of Mercedes. Mercedes blasted Stat from behind with the title belt and yelled at Kamille to get to the back. I said last week that Mercedes should fire Kamille and I stand by that. I don’t need a drawn out thing leading to Kamille getting sick of Mercedes. I frankly don’t think Kamille would be a good babyface. Just have Mercedes cut her losses.
Statlander cut a strange promo on Collision. 80% of this promo was weird acting before Stat got serious about her intent to beat Mercedes at Full Gear. The last 20% of the promo was good. She should stick to more of that. I still believe the smart move would be to have Statlander beat Mercedes and then have Mercedes take a little time off before coming back without the “CEO” schtick.
Grade: B-
Jamie Hayter vs. Penelope Ford
Latest Developments
Hayter and Ford had a face-to-face backstage promo ahead of their match tonight.
Analysis
This was really nothing to write home about. Ford talked about reminding people who she is and Hayter said she was going to mop the floor with her. I expect Jamie Hayter to get a pretty easy win tonight but perhaps be subjected to a post-match assault.
Grade: B
Adam Cole vs. MJF
Latest Developments
Adam Cole defeated Buddy Matthews; Roddy Strong defeated Shane Taylor.
Analysis
Adam Cole made his return to the ring last week looking to get his first win on the road to earning the right to fight MJF at Full Gear. The match was a mixed bag. Both Adam and Buddy are quite talented and Adam selling the ankle that kept him out for over a year. Selling that injury made total sense however two critical mistakes were made. One, while Cole did loudly protest the doctor trying to pull him from the match and take him to the back, the referee didn’t call the match off. Cole making it clear that he doctor was dragging him to the back against his will was good but it doesn’t negate the ref’s responsibility to call the match. Adam or Buddy, who did ultimately motivate Cole to return, should’ve actively stopped the ref from calling for the bell. The second critical mistake was in how and when Cole sold the ankle. It was the multiple Panama Sunrises that furled my brow in particular. Cole didn’t wince one time hitting those moves. You can’t not sell an ankle injury on a move like that.
I did enjoy the post-match though where Adam and Buddy shook hands, lights on/lights off and Cole was shaking Malakai Black’s hand. The match between these two should be fun and it’ll be interesting to see if Malakai does the clean job. Cole’s post-match promo was also quite good. He further explained why he did what he did to MJF while pointing out Max’s selfishness.
Roddy vs Shane Taylor was just kind of there to give Roddy a win towards a match with MJF. I think it’s still a near certainty that the Undisputed Kingdom is turning on Cole. A towel came into play during the Adam/Buddy match and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the towel ended up on Roddy’s shoulder. Look for Roddy to throw in the towel on Cole’s behalf in the critical third match to set up the turn at Full Gear.
Grade: B-
Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher
Latest Developments
Fletcher called out Ospreay but got a returning Mark Davis instead. On Collision he had a fantastic if a little too long match with Komander and then set up a tag match with pretty obvious return of Ospreay.
Analysis
When Fletcher walked out on the stage in his jacket and sunglasses with his new shaved head look, he was almost a Don Callis mini-me. It was eerie. That said when he stood on the stage and called out Ospreay it was apparent that Ospreay wasn’t coming out. What we got instead was the return of Mark Davis. Fletcher’s Aussie Open tag partner called him out for his betrayal of Ospreay. Fletcher said Ospreay never cared about them and that there will come a time when Davis will have choose which side he wants to be on.
This good. Fletcher is really coming into his own as a promo. Mark Davis was fine. It’s nice to see him back after he was sidelined for so long with a wrist injury and another undisclosed ailment. That said he is very much the Marty Janetty or Rick Steiner of this team. I don’t think he works well as a singles guy so I have to imagine he ends ip siding with Fletcher and the DCF.
The Fletcher/Komander match was a total blast. These two guys can absolutely go when that bell rings. As fun of a match as it was though, it probably should’ve been a little shorter to really put over Fletcher. Afterwards Fletcher cut a promo on behlaf of himself and Takeshita suggesting that they want a shot at the new AEW tag team champions but first challenging Ricochet to find a partner for tonight. It feels the perfect set up for Ospreay’s return. He’s been gone long enough. It’s time for him to come back and get his hands on his treacherous former best friend.
Grade: B+
Young Bucks vs. Private Party
Latest Developments
Ding Dong the Bucks are gone! To the delight of myself and the live audience in Cleveland, Private Party finally brought the disappointing reign of the Young Bucks to end.
Analysis
Starting the match by having the Bucks sneak out while Private Party was helping to fight off the Death Riders was a nice touch. The match itself was tremendous. It told a good story of Private Party fighting back from adversity. At one point Quen accidentally split Zay open with the ring bell. Eventually the Bucks separated Private Party by dragging Quen up to the stage where Okada snuck out and delivered a rather dainty tombstone piledriver. Zay was left to fight off both Bucks and honestly I thought it was over at this point. To my surprise, he dodged one EVP Trigger, kicked out of the Bucks using Gin and Juice, kicked out of a successful EVP trigger, and was saved by Quen throwing his body into the ring to break up the pin after Matthew hit the One Winged Angel. The Bucks attempted a TK Driver but Private Party broke it up and hit Gin and Juice to win the titles to a massive pop.
Great stuff all around here. The match was great. The reaction to Private Party winning was great. This has been quite the turnaround for Private Party since becoming the first victims of Mox and the Death Riders. It was ultimately smart booking to play on Private Party’s history with the Bucks to build to them getting the big win. The promo earlier in the night with Christopher Daniels reminding Private Party that the Bucks have history beating teams who put their partnership on the line was a nice story beat and really helped sell the unpredictable nature of the outcome.
Post match the Bucks handed Private Party the titles in an uncharacteristic show of respect and then retreated to the back where they shredded documents and packed their bags before they got the hell out of Dodge leaving Brandon Cutler to the wolves. The wolves in this case were Mox and the Death Riders who summarily broke his hand. The Bucks are going to be off TV for awhile. Nicholas has a separated shoulder that needs to heal. They’re not expected to be back until Wrestle Dynasty. It also seems like their return will be as babyfaces riding in to fight off Mox and the Death Riders. The Bucks failed as heels beyond Sting’s last match. They were simply too unserious about their roles to really make it work. As babyfaces potentially alongside a returning Kenny Omega I think it’ll work better because they won’t to be super serious figures that they simply don’t have the capacity to be. Plus who doesn’t want to hear “Carry On Wayward Son” one more time.
As for Private Party they opened up Collision getting something of a victory celebration before it was announced that they would be defending their titles in a fatal four way tag match at Full Gear against three teams to be decided via matches in the coming weeks. This is fine. With the titles off the Bucks and back in circulation, I hope this is the start of a renaissance for the tag division.
Grade: A
Swerve Strickland vs. The Hurt Syndicate
Latest Developments
Swerve defeated Shelton Benjamin in a very good match before being laid out by a debuting Bobby Lashley.
Analysis
Swerve and Shelton met in the main event of last week’s Dynamite in a battle of Black wrestling’s past and present. To nobody’s surprise, they killed it. Shelton dominated a lot the match but Swerve fought back. In the end Swerve won with the Swerve Stomp. After the match ended, MVP got on his phone and called someone. That someone turned out to be Bobby Lashley who made his long-expected debut by flattening Swerve with a clothesline, massive spinebuster, and the Hurt Lock. Even Prince Nana got laid out.
The match was great. The post-match was just as good. I know the phone call bit got some mixed reactions but my immediate thought was that it was a clever way to have MVP call Lashley out rather than Lashley just show up. Lashley is ageless. He looked great and I can’t wait to see a match between him and Swerve. It’ll be interesting to see who else joins the Hurt Syndicate (Max Caster seems like a prime possibility, Ricochet not so much) and who Swerve enlists to help him.
Grade: B+
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