AEW TNT Title Match: Miro (c) vs Eddie Kingston
Miro has been awesome even if his TNT title reign hasn't been blessed with high quality matches. Kingston is always a fun opponent. And this match was just that. Kingston got more offence than I thought he would honestly. Kingston went heavy with the 80s Japan inspired offence with an intent to target Miro’s neck, setting up the DDT later in the match. Miro was able to shrug off one Saito suplex but Kingston was persistent enough to hurt Miro with them. Miro had a very good balance of selling for Kingston but being able to absorb enough to keep this aura he's been portraying. I'm glad Miro won though . He would've just been spinning his wheels if he loses it now as he wouldn't be a challenge for Omega right now as that's not how TK books. Good opener. ***
Satoshi Kojima vs Jon Moxley
This probably was supposed to be Hiroshi Tanahashi but the logistics couldn't be worked out so here we are. It's not a bad replacement. Kojima is in much better shape than Yuji Nagata who had a rather stinky match with Moxley on Dynamite so this on paper seemed to be a fun match on the undercard. Moxley has been pushing this feud against New Japan management which is an alright reason to keep these New Japan wrestlers on the show rather than just being a special appearance. Giving the fans a reason to care will be much more beneficial for integrating outside wrestlers on television. This was an alright match. They were able to successfully incorporate Kojima's signature spots into the match, which always pop me. Moxley gave Kojima a lot out of respect and quickly put him away soon enough. Standard enough match to showcase the overseas legend. The biggest take away was Minoru Suzuki coming down! That should've been a clear direction as he's in the States but it went over my head. The actual exchange was terrible. The idea is “I'm tough, hit me with all your might” but the execution is to hit each other slowly, pretend to stagger and pull a face. Way to kill the heat man. Lmao (the crowd loved it, so this is just an expression in this case). **1/2
AEW Women's World Title Match: Britt Baker (c) vs Kris Statlander
This Britt Baker title reign has predictably done nothing to interest me. She can be pretty poor and uncoordinated in the ring. Statlander is fine as an opponent but she isn't a world beater either. The result is obvious. The title shouldn't really change hands here. I think the next person should be a quick transitional champion before Jade Cargill gets the title but she isn't ready for that yet, so why not keep this going until then? The match was pretty fine. There wasn't anything that stood out as poor or bad, honestly. Even the Panama Sunrise spot was done well enough. My biggest takeaway was Orange Cassidy on the outside breaking character to cheer Statlander back in the ring. For some reason, these two clicked together really well. **3/4
AEW World Tag Team Title Steel Cage Match: The Young Bucks (c) vs Lucha Bros
Initially I couldn't tell if the restrictive environment will be better for these two or worse. I'm not a fan of their previous matches but I can't expect a bad match from these two since Nick Jackson and Fenix can always create magic out of nothing. And they sorta did that. But there was so much of this match that I hated and felt frustrated with. I'll quickly get what I disliked out of the way: So many contrived synchronized spots, Matt Jackson constantly pantomimed into the camera like he was in a school play and worst of all, Penta decided to kneel in front of his brother, taking the Superkick w/tacks on the bottom of the boot spot, rather than attacking Matt Jackson in the most mind numbing spots I've seen in a while. I almost lost my mind at that sequence. But this was far too insane and fun to hate on fully. Fenix cage walking up the walls to hit an armdrag was simply astonishing. Same with the dive off the top of the cage. The Young Bucks had some great team work as well, outside of the usual low points of their work. I loved them using the aforementioned thumbtack boot in the match. It felt earned in this setting and it allowed Penta to bleed all over the place which is always a good thing. There was one nearfall that got a crowd that was waning in energy up on their feet again. There was a lot to love in this match. And a lot to hate. This was good in spite of itself. But good nonetheless. ***1/2
Casino Battle Royale Match
No. I watched it but no. It's nothing worth talking about. Ruby Soho showing up is a plus.
The Final Fight: Chris Jericho vs MJF
Hopefully this feud ends here. The feud hasn't been dreadful but I'm ready for MJF to move on to better things. For him to work on someone in their prime so he can develop his wrestling skills more. Jericho isn't that guy. I dunno if Jericho will retire here or not. Honestly, it could've gone either way. Jericho had said before that he wishes to go more full time with commentating but that didn't necessarily mean that I'd what's happening. It was a good red herring for the actual result. The match itself wasn't good at all. Now, if you want a match that has absolutely no intensity, no urgency and some of the worst examples of faux drama that is done in a very lazy fashion, this is perfect for you. These two failed to click or produce any convincing results that gave respect to the stipulation. I blame the execution of the foot on the ropes spot on the refs because they didn't sell it right at all. They had no conviction whatsoever. Awful. The crowd perked up a little but they lost me way before then and that took the cake. This was a dreadful wrestling experience. **
CM Punk vs Darby Allin
I was for giving Punk someone else at first to give him a win, eventually leading to Darby Allin winning but Darby can take a loss easily enough. Punk’s first win gives him a pass anyways. These two together was the obvious big pairing you'd want so I'm glad AEW saw that. The match could've gone many ways but they went for the surprising route by going slow and methodical. The crowd seemed to be taken aback by it but I thought it was clever. It works from both a kayfabe and a real life logic. Punk spent many years with some of the best mma trainers in the world, mostly working on his ground game, so it'd make perfect sense for him to continue to use that training and experience against Darby Allin, who also has an amateur background, while also preserving his energy and hiding his rustyness which he undoubtedly has after so long away. And the submission work wasn't just rest holds either. There was a proper story and intent behind each hold with Punk taking every care to make them look as uncomfortable as possible. Darby Allin was able to showcase himself as well as allowing Punk to do his thing. He took some horrendous bumps, the one in the corner in particular and got some great near falls in. This felt like a competitive, deliberate match. This is what pro wrestling is. The great kind anyway. Welcome back CM Punk. ***3/4
Paul Wight vs QT Marshall
Why is this on this show? I don't know. You could say it's a legend returning but it doesn't feel like that at all. I couldn't possibly care about this. All this does is take up space and add more time to what will look to be a lengthy PPV. SQUASH
AEW World Title Match: Kenny Omega (c) vs Christian Cage
I've been a little cold on the feud but the Rampage match was good for what it was. It served as a nice sneak peek into what these two could potentially have planned. Plus Christian already beating Omega added a little more juice to the match, even if this result was obvious. Although the Super One Winged Angels was an insane finish. Christian is historically made of glass so him doing a big risk like that was nuts. This had some of the greatest counter wrestling elements of their first match, put on a PPV setting with a bit match closing stretch. There was constant quality throughout the match whether it was the transitions or the high spots with the tables. This was a pretty awesome main event. ***1/2
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