2) Chris Jericho & MJF vs. The Varsity Blondes (Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison)
Second big tv match for Pillman & Griff. They are getting well deserved regular spots on the show. They do the Jericho sing along garbage which I am sick of. MJF gets the mic pre-match and runs down Griff but RECEIVES A RIGHT HAND FOR HIS TROUBLES. It’s not long before Jericho & MJF regain control though as they isolate Pillman which builds to a HOT tag for Griff that I didn’t expect but which was heightened by the commentary team and reaction in Daily’s Place. Griff looked AWESOME and he & Pillman get a nice nearfall or two on Jericho & MJF here. This was truly a ton of fun, even if we didn’t get the upset that I wanted after the great effort from Pillman & Garrison.
Match rating - **3/4
The Inner Circle all pose together post match. Guevara & MJF still end up arguing, though.
Pre-taped PAC video package. He targets Kenny with his words and says he & Rey Fenix will show Omega & the Good Brothers the true meaning of brotherhood as payback for them taking out Penta El Cero M last week.
Cody Rhodes is here to respond Shaq’s comments directed at him from before the show. Tony Schiavone hosts and asks for a response to Jade Cargill from the Waiting Room a few weeks back as well. And mother of pearl, I loved this. It leads to Cody asking Arn Anderson what he should do at Revolution because they can’t do Cody/Brandi v Shaq/Jade because of Brandi’s pregnancy. Arn brings out RED VELVET who cuts an awesome promo and basically inserts herself into the match in Brandi’s place and says she’s ready to stir Jade’s “bitch ass up” OH MY GOD. This could make Red Velvet a bonafide star and I’m all for it.
3) Hangman Adam Page vs. Ryan Nemeth
Time for lil Ziggs to get his time to shine and what better way than against Hangman? Page has gotten so good at these little TV matches, I wish we got them more. He’s just become so refined and can keep it compact and clean and it rules. Stiff strikes and stuff, Nemeth gets a good bit in and I’d say this was a very suffice debut for him. Page wins with the buckshot lariat.
Match rating - **1/2
Matt Hardy approached the apron to cheer on Page during the match. Post match, Tony Schiavone asks Matt what was up. Hardy said he just wanted Page to know he supports him and that he’s a great person. Hardy said he knows he needs to hear that right now after still recovering from the burn of Omega & The Bucks leaving him high & dry and offers him room in his dressing room to dress instead of where’s been dressing - the hallway across from catering. It’s probably because I’m all emo but I’m a sucker for this melodramatic Hangman shit. He’s so good at getting sympathy and I’m excited for the eventual payoff to him finally getting out of this slump and finding himself.
4) Dax Harwood vs. Jungle Boy
Okay, I can’t lie. I was not excited about this little feud being extended whatsoever. I’m pretty soured on FTR and Jungle Boy rules, but he hasn’t made much noise in a while. Well, this match was an exception to both of those thoughts. For a moment I thought this may be going too long, but they kept the focal point of Jungle Boy as the underdog and the left arm of Dax Harwood being hurt. This combined with the high energy exchanges and nearfalls down the stretch made this pretty fucking great. I definitely could this being a sleeper in the Top 15-20 TV Matches of the year for AEW. Great match on free tv. Jungle Boy gets the huge victory forcing Harwood to tap to the snare trap submission transitioned into a stretch that targeted the injured arm of Dax.
Match rating - ****
After the match, FTR & Tully Blanchard snap and break free. They were all handcuffed to one another at ringside for the whole match to prevent interference. They handcuff Luchasaurus to the ropes and cut the horns off his mask. This draws a huge reign of boos and referees, Marko Stunt and other members of the roster hit the ring to stop this gross display. I kinda am feeling this feud now, it definitely has more heat behind it following this match and segment. Hell yeah.
Out in the parking lot, Team Taz has a message for Darby & Sting as they beat the shit out of the merch guys. This is pretty hilarious I can’t lie.
5) Britt Baker (w/ Rebel) vs. Shanna
This was in a terrible spot on the card coming right after the barnburner that was Jungle Boy/Harwood, but the ladies did a good job with what they were given. Sure, it was a prolonged squash, but still, it felt like the finish was up in the air for a second or two thanks to a great showing from Shanna. Baker wins via submission. Post match, Britt & Rebel continue assaulting Shanna and Thunder Rosa runs them off.
Match rating - **1/4
Beach Break is next week. Lots of matches lined up. You have the internet. I’m not running down all of this. They hype those matches, the one match announced for Revolution and the first match in the women’s eliminator tournament which is Riho vs. Serena Deeb HOLY SHIT LETS GOOO.
Backstage, THE BIZ CLIZ is together. The Bucks and the Good Brothers, that is. Anderson & Gallows say next week they will beat up Jon Moxley which is their favorite thing to do, along with PAC & Fenix. They ask if The Bucks are down with that, The Bucks say they are, but only if Don Callis doesn’t get involved. Kenny Omega walks up and he & The Bucks get in a little bickering contest when Callis himself walks up.
6) The Young Bucks, Karl Anderson, & Doc Gallows vs. Dark Order (Stu Grayson, Evil Uno, John Silver, & Alex Reynolds)
And you already know it, barnburner TV main event. They do small stuff in the beginning like teasing the Good Brothers/Bucks tension with little shit like Anderson kicking Stu, then jumping off the apron and Nick taking a shot to the face for it. Things break down and the finishing run is balls to the wall, classic YB stuff. Some awesome callback spots from Bucks and the Good Brothers including the simultaneous powerbombs on the ring apron. The finish with a quadruple superkick was epic and it was followed by magic killer and the Meltzer Driver.
Match rating - ***3/4
After the match, The Young Bucks say they've entered themselves into the Tag Team Battle Royal next week. The winner faces them for the titles at Revolution, but if they win, they can pick their opponents for the PPV. They say "it could be anyone...." and look at Anderson & Gallows and they all "too sweet" as if it would indeed just be friendly competition. THENNNN
Shit breaks down. Rey Fenix is a maniac and looks as such here per usual. Moxley is out next. Between the two of them, they clean house on everyone. Kenny Omega comes down and gets spiked with the DDT from Moxley and YUP. Awesome show ending. I can't wait for the trios match at Beach Break next week, it's gonna be bonkers.
So, this show wasn't on the level of the classic 1/6 episode, but it was a big improvement from the past two weeks and felt more like top notch AEW. Two great, worth going out of your way to see matches and everything else is good in it's own right. HELL YES. BEACH BREAK NEXT WEEK. Omega/Good Brothers - Mox/PAC/Fenix LETS GOOOO.
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