It’s Will Ospreay v Bryan Danielson in a dream match as well as Swerve’s crowning moment in AEW.
Trent Barreta vs. Matt Sydal
Solid pre-show match to further the heel turn of Trent who is way more vicious and uncaring. He sells the character change well but this wasn’t really needed on the PPV card. Sydal was way more energised here which helps but the outcome was predictable. Trent wins. **3/4
Orange Cassidy and Katuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor Promotions (Shane Taylor and Lee Moriarty)
Decent match here and while there wasn’t a whole lot of story here, it was nice to STP’s good run recently highlighted on a bigger stage. They did a great job of pushing their roles to the fore – Moriarty as the wrestler looking to prove himself against Shibata while Taylor is the puncher looking to take on the world. Obviously, they weren’t beating the faces here but it was a good showing for STP. ***
The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens) and Billy Gunn (c) vs. Bullet Club Gold (Jay White, Austin Gunn and Colten Gunn) (c) to unify the AEW & ROH Six-Man Tag Team Titles
I was surprised to see this on the pre-show but that says a lot about how cooled this feud has been. The match itself is pretty good though and is boosted by a stellar Jay White performance. He was booked really well and came across as the leader of his group in a major way. He was calling the shots, he was controlling the pace and the narrative of the match and he looked like a real bad-ass leader rather than the coward he has previously been booked as. Obviously, it’s Acclaimed stuff so the usual applies. Billy gets too much offense, Bowens impresses as the star while Caster sells pretty well. White wins for his team with the Blade Runner on Gunn and I’m left feeling pretty hopeful of what can happen with White and BC Gold going forward. ***1/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. PAC for the AEW Continental Championship
Okada’s first really good AEW match and it’s no surprise that it comes on PPV as in New Japan, he tended to phone in Road To matches but turn up at the big event. I really enjoyed the opening here as PAC switches up expectations to take control as he starts as a mat-wrestler rather than the high-flying Okada would have expected. That gave him the control to wrestle in his own way but Okada managed to get back into it with a NASTY draping DDT off the barricade. There was some terrific bumps taken by PAC here while he was always willing to provide a wow factor (the springboard moonsault to the floor was BEAUTIFUL). Okada teased doing the Rainmaker pose but flipped off the fans instead in a pretty glorious heel move. He had some great heel moments here that weaved into the match naturally and my favourite was Okada countering the Brutalizer with an eye rake. Simple but so effective. The finish saw PAC go for the Black Arrow, Okada get the knees up before RAAAAINMMMAAAAKKKEERR. Fin. Superb stuff. ****1/4
House of Black (Malakai Black, Brody King and Buddy Matthews) vs. Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston and Mark Briscoe
Decent trios match here with a unit v a super group to kickstart a Malakai v Copeland TNT Title feud which sounds pretty awesome. They had some cool moments here including a super finish where Copeland got misted and hit with the Black Mass to be pinned. This was all action with great spots like propelling off a chair to dive on King or the usually-good Tower of Doom spot. There wasn’t enough substance in this between the spots for me, but it was still a good watch. ***1/4
Julia Hart (c) vs. Willow Nightingale for the AEW TBS Championship
Willow started aggressively in a nice change of pace but that did play into Julia’s hands who used the ring environment really well to get control. That’s what’s really impressed me in Julia’s rise over the past twelve months. She doesn’t just do moves – there’s a point to everything and it was all about grounding the bigger opponent here. There was a great spot where Julia sucked Willow into going for the missile dropkick and dodging it before locking in the Hartless Lock. Willow had too much strength though and Julia’s chances of retaining decreased as the match went on and Willow got more momentum. Nice revenge spot with Willow getting a knees up counter on a moonsault and nailing the Doctor Bomb to win the championship. Julia’s good reign deserved a better ending but Mercedes v Willow should be very good. It only went 6 minutes which is a shame, but it was a damn good 6 minutes. ***
Roderick Strong (c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly for the AEW International Championship
The crowd were cold to start but these two are awesome so they got the fans on board by the end. Excellent chain grappling to start and Kyle seems to have the advantage on the mat with some work on the arm. Strong panics a little but gets hold of the hair and NAILS a nasty backbreaker to start his routine. Eventually, Strong realises he doesn’t have the grappling advantage so sticks to strikes like the Sick Kick and backbreakers which Kyle sells superbly. Strong even used the top turnbuckle to deliver a back breaker in a really cool spot. Eventually, Kyle made his comeback with some well-planned counters and the back suplex into the knee bar would have been nice if it wasn’t for the rope break. How cool was Roddy’s running elbow strikes sequences by the way? Setting up the strike exchange with a visual handshake was a nice piece of storytelling and they continued to exchange submissions or impact strikes in their attempt to win. Wardlow came out and kind of did nothing but Roddy won clean with the End of Heartache anyway. A bit of nowhere in the finish after an excellent technical wrestling match. ***3/4
Adam Cole turned up and is now walking which is nice. He seemed to give Wardlow a dirty look so a tease of a turn there.
Hook (c) vs. Chris Jericho for the FTW Championship
The work in this is solid, but nothing spectacular. Hook isn’t at the level for this type of featured match while Jericho is well past his prime in-ring though. The story of this came from the crowd who absolutely hated Jericho which is now being presented as the plan rather than the fans hijacking. Jericho is leaning into it with a grizzled veteran character who is masking his jealousy for a young star like Hook which is a good gimmick for him. That lends itself to the finish as Jericho, who acts like a wrestling martyr, couldn’t put Hook away with two Judas Effects so he uses the bat instead to become FTW Champion. Not the worst idea in the world as when Hook eventually beats Jericho, it will mean more than it would here. ***
Toni Storm (c) vs. Thunder Rosa for the AEW Women’s World Championship
Toni has really improved her in-ring work recently which was being held back by the gimmick. She’s much more of a nasty bully rather than a comedic heel and it suits her so much more. It also suits this battle with Thunder Rosa as we know the challengers is always up for a fight and that’s what this felt like. It had real struggle elements to it and I enjoyed it because off that. Toni hit a MickDT and rolled over into a Perfectplex for a really nice near fall. Toni had some great back offense including some terrific bully elbows too. Deonna Purazzo came out to deal with Mariah May and it led to a great battle for control in the finish. Storm couldn’t put her away with the Storm Zero or the Texas Cloverleaf and Rossa fought back with the Backstabber. Storm, who may have been doubting herself a little after near falls, resorts to kicking low behind the referee’s back and winning with a second Storm Zero. It would have been more impactful as a finish if we hasn’t seen a similar story beat with Jericho but it’s still a good match and Storm’s best title defence in the reign. If she keeps incorporating her bully offense, Bully Storm v Brawler Jamie Hayter could be a fun Wembley match if Hayter can get fit. ***1/2
Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Danielson
Oh boy, here we go. The best right now vs. perhaps the best to ever do it so let’s say expectations were high going in. Not high enough though. The pop for Ospreay is still huge every week and they got HOLY SHIT chants before they even started which always feels epic. Danielson gets the better of the early mat exchanges but Ospreay’s quickness allows him to counter. Ospreay went for a quick flurry sequence but Danielson manages to avoid everything with clever placement so stalemate. Danielson’s whole gameplan is to ground and pound because he knows that at this stage in his career, he can’t keep up with Ospreay when he gets into his explosive first gear. His kicks and knees have special aim for Will’s midsection to disrupt Ospreay’s breathing and slow him down. From there, this became about escalation. Danielson dropped Ospreay with a SICK Dragon Suplex from the top rope and it unlocked the warrior deep within the Brit. He went to work on a number of big shots to Danielson’s neck including an Oscutter on the apron and a running Hidden Blade to the floor. Danielson was being eaten alive by Ospreay’s explosive power so had to take any counter opportunity to wrestle back the control. He got Will into the LeBell Lock a couple of times but Will’s legs are too long so he gets to the ropes easier. Danielson has to change tact again then and decides to just kick Will’s head off. The first Busaiko Knee only gets two (with Will really selling the desperation of nearly being pinned so well). Ospreay turned triangle choke into a one-armed Styles Clash which was awesome while moments later, he went for an Oscutter and DANIELSON COUNTERED WITH A BUSAIKO KNEE IN MIDAIR. FUCK. The escalation continued leading to one final showdown with both men going for their running finisher. But Will is faster with the Hidden Blade. He immediately drops Danielson on his head with the Storm Driver 93 and the referee immediately shows concern and Danielson sold it like he’d been hit by a fucking truck. Will doesn’t give a shit now though as he’s in warrior mood. HIDDEN BLADE. 1. 2. 3. Best fucking match ever. Yep I said it. Danielson’s worked injury topped off this superb tale of control, escalation and strategy with some incredible counters in there too. TOP OF THE LIST. *****
The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson) vs. FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) for the AEW World Tag Team Championships
Ladder match and the titles are vacant going in. This was a terrific chapter in the rivalry between these two teams and a great way to tell the story of a ladder match. The Bucks are way more comfortable in this setting and dominate early, but in a different way than usual. Because they’re assholes again, they’re vicious with their ladder attacks and it let fans recover from the Danielson/Ospreay match as they were quiet for the start. This was also filled with terrific spots from top to bottom and Cash Wheeler was an MVP here with his uncharacteristic flying and the way he took the fight to the Bucks. He had to do a lot of the heavy lifting as Dax is taken out halfway through with what looked like a concussion and while he did still soldier on, it was Cash who had to hold it together. The Power and Glory spot was really well done and while I will also appreciate what FTR could do as champions, the Bucks didn’t turn heel and retire Sting to lose this. They even add a member to the Elite. A masked man (in a STING mask no less) interferes and is unmasked to be JACK PERRY. Good booking and Bucks win from there. ***3/4
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship
Anyone else feel like this didn’t feel like the big moment for Swerve? Whether it’s because Cody’s WrestleMania win took the energy or the Swerve/Joe rivalry just hasn’t heated up, this just didn’t have the impact you would want. Both men put in great performances though so that helps make a good main event. Joe has been presented as a dominant heel champion throughout his reign and with his top level experience, he knows to take the game to Swerve and cut off his momentum. He goes big early with slams on the announce table and even pulling the mats away for a Muscle Buster on the concrete. However, everything Joe threw at Swerve, he had an answer for. Joe got desperate and went for a belt shot, but Swerve countered with a powerbomb and the stomp to win. ***1/2
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