MJF vs Darby Allin
This was a quality opener. It had a very good MJF performance offensively. Him pulling out a Robinson style back breaker and Atlanticida in one match was cool shit. And there were plenty of Eddie Guerrero references slotted in here, given the date coincided with his death date. The match started out with, what I could swear was a move for move tribute to one of Eddie Gurrero’s more famous matches against Rey Mysterio. Darby pulled out some awesome moves himself, like a brutal tope to the outside and the crazy Yoshi Tonic out of seemingly nothing but some of the overly co-opporative wrestling that tied this all together prevent this from being a classic. But there were a lot of things that I disliked - the inside cradle reversals, the mediocre limb work from Darby, who attacked the wrong leg twice and MJF’s selling which stuck out as a strong example of the idea that “overselling is bad selling”. This had its great highs but it wasn’t perfect. ***1/2
AEW World Tag Team Championships: Lucha Brothers (c) vs FTR
This was fine. The Eddie Guerrero spots got a rise out of me when seemingly nothing else did. FTR’s routine is admirable but it rarely produces the desired effects on me. Lucha Brothers were fine as well. Fenix did some great high flying and Penta went cero miedo . What more do you need to see. The closing stretch went a little long for people’s tastes but I didn’t mind them as some of the nearfalls were done well and had some hook to them. **3/4
AEW World Title Eliminator Tournament Finals: Bryan Danielson vs Miro
This began really well with Miro being established as the stronger man, brushing of Bryan’s strikes with not much trouble but as the match settled in a rhythm, it simmered down in quality. Miro’s character work and selling was rock solid and Bryan doesn’t put much foot wrong in execution but there was something sluggish and plodding about this. Perhaps an off night? This felt like an old Ring of Honor Bryan performance where he does everything well but there is something lacking. What? I dunno. This had a great finish though (ddt off the second rope into a guillotine choke). Bryan faces Page or Omega! ***
Falls Count Anywhere: Superkliq (Young Bucks & Adam Cole) vs Christian Cage & Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus)
I thought this was dreadful in so many ways I’m struggling to even say what I dislike about it. To try to put this into a coherent way; I disliked how this was wrestled. I guess it’s hard to put the genie back in the bottle but this was 22 minutes of plunder our way to a finish. There was no real thought put into this outside of the spot itself. All the thought goes into what it means but it rarely connects with the body of the match.There were 2 table bumps that meant absolutely nothing. Cole was covered in blood and it was seemingly brushed over (now, it’s possible that it was an accident). Nothing felt raw or genuine. Everything had the resemblance of the Elite’s preferred style - performative art. I just want brawling but what I got is cutesy set ups through tables and trash cans. The Bucks filling Jungle Boy’s mouth with tacks and superkicking it was great. The bucks running the ropes for a full 30 seconds, stopping to kiss Cole and then do it killed the gravity of the situation. Same again later; the Bucks and Cole do a triple knee strike to Luchasaurus but they have to make it a call back to when the Young Bucks put several thumbtacks on the boots (instead having a knee pad version), and it’s not even a finish. I can’t with this match. It’s the wrestling I like the least. And there were plenty of things that I loved, like Christian hitting a wild dive off a balcony, an insane feat at his age, but that didn’t stop this from getting bogged down by Elite garbage. There is a reason I’m skipping every Cole/Young Bucks match in AEW on television and this is a prime example of it. **
Cody Rhodes & PAC vs Malakai Black & Andrade El Idolo
This was haphazardly built up and executed. Put this in the “Should’ve been on Dynamite” pile. **
AEW Women's World Championship: Britt Baker (c) vs Tay Conti
Typical Britt Baker title defence. This was somewhat short but felt long due to the lack of quality and style mismatch. Britt has improved as a worker but she can’t lead without making it look very obvious. The best moments of the match were Tay Conti’s seoi-nages. **
CM Punk vs Eddie Kingston
God this was desperately needed. This PPV was putting my whole wrestling fandom into question with it’s list of overly long but mediocre matches. This was short, brief and absolutely amazing. Kingston can look sluggish but he more than makes up for it with his selling. And selling in terms of reacting to what Punk does. The little smiles and mannerisms he does was magic. Punk’s offence was intense and full of fire. The brawling aspects of this were great - with blood drawn - and it all built up superbly to a finish. Simple yet great. Thank god for CM Punk’s return. ***3/4
Minneapolis Street Fight: The Inner Circle vs Men of The Year + American Top Team
This was way more fun and thrilling than I expected it to be. Like the match earlier, this wasn’t true brawling but this had many clever sequences and moments. Dan Lambert was perfect. He ran when he needed to and snuck in when everyone was down. I even loved how he bumped. It was so perfectly awkward. The MMA fighters did well. They didn’t seem lost and stood out in their own ways, Junior Dos Santos anyway. This was good. So good that I’ll ignore that this began like a regular rules match. ***1/2
AEW World Championship: Kenny Omega (c) vs Hangman Page
Perfectly solid like most Page matches are. I wasn’t living and breathing on what happened or the nearfalls as the result seemed destined for one winner. Omega was rock solid on top, bullying Page, doing whatever he couldn’t get the win. Page did his comebacks before being cut off and then we got to a finish. It was surprisingly tame, honestly. Only having a ref bump and a Young Buck appearance but no actual interference. Page wins with two buckshot lariats to win the title. Yay, I guess? ***1/4
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