 |
| CIMA still has it, and probably will still have it until he disintegrates Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
Sonny Kiss vs. "The Librarian" Peter Avalon - The Buy In kicked off with Librarian action, and thankfully, it wasn't Leva Bates in the ring. Even more thankfully, Avalon had Kiss as his opponent. Even without pomp or pyro, Kiss can make an impact starting with the entrance because of his sick dance moves, but he got the Jaguars' cheerleaders to accompany him. Right out of the gate, he felt like the most special guy in the room. I think leaving him in the pre-shows for too much longer would be a mistake. He's got "it," and as a bonus, he checks a lot of boxes for diversity that these corporate wrestling companies seem to love even if they don't really care about the marginalized folks those wrestlers represent. Anyway, the match itself was a brisk, fun opener, and honestly, they really should keep Avalon as the in-ring worker for this Librarian gimmick. Hell, Bates couldn't even do outside interference right.
Britt Baker and Riho vs. Shoko Nakajima and Bea Priestley - Man, compared to the multi-woman match from Fyter Fest, this match was a disaster. I think the biggest reason was that Baker got concussed early, so she was just all over the place. i mean, it provides a decent cover for why she went to try and tag Nakajima instead of Riho. It was either a concussion or racism, and well, I wouldn't put either one past a White wrestler but I'm glad it was the former, at least socially. That and I think Priestley has a bit of what makes her beau, Will Ospreay, so insufferable. The match was pretty much laid out for Priestley's greater glory, which kinda sucks. That being said, once again, whenever Riho was in charge, the action went about as well as you could imagine it would. I know they're probably gonna put the Women's World Championship on someone like Allie or Brandi Rhodes to start, but really, you could do a lot worse than having Riho chase Awesome Kong or Nyla Rose to start the division.
MJF, Sammy Guevara, and Shawn Spears vs. Darby Allin, Jimmy Havoc, and Joey Janela - The opening match of the main show containing the dude who was made by a time-limit draw vs. the company's Triple H, the guy who tattooed the company's Triple H with a chair to great fanfare, and the guy who headlined the last show in a crazy hardcore match raised a lot of questions, and I'm not sure they have good answers? An optimist's view says that there's going to be a lot of card fluidity to allow fresh main events without overpushing someone or ignoring anyone else. Then again, it's the third show, and three is still a small sample size? I don't know. Anyway, the match was a fine opener with some important storytelling going forward. While I question the idea of having MJF, the most elemental heel on the roster, as Cody's "best friend," I think they progressed the story well that he and Spears just don't like each other. Also, I dig Havoc, because he's an accomplished wrestler despite being as athletic as I am. I feel represented.
Allie vs. Brandi Rhodes - I feel bad for Allie, because people are gonna think she sucks because she couldn't get good matches out of the two worst women on the roster. Seriously, you can't sit through a match where Rhodes fucked up several suplexes and say that it was all on Allie not knowing how to take them. But anyway, I get a headache trying to parse this match, so I wanna talk about Rhodes' turn as a dollar store Stephanie McMahon. Seriously, like she's the "Chief Brand Officer," a position that I've never heard of until McMahon took it up. She gave herself such a melodramatic tear-stained vignette before the match where she talked about her "demons," only to abandon that right away by introducing Awesome Kong as her muscle. It almost reads as a bad parody of McMahon, only I'm not entirely sure Rhodes won't make herself prominent in the women's division. Anyway, I'm not mad about this because they're "aping" WWE; I'm furious because they're taking one of the dirt-worst elements of WWE in a company that's supposed to be the change in corporate-owned wrestling and doing it way, way, WAY worse, as if that could even be possible. I guess the lesson here is shame on me for expecting a corporate wrestling company for not indulging in this kind of shit.
Awesome vs. Aja, Battle of the Kongs, should own at least.
The Dark Order (Stu Grayson, Evil Uno) vs. A Boy and His Dinosaur (Luchasaurus, Jungle Boy) vs. Angelico and Jack Evans - This was an action-packed, breathtaking multiman spotfest that didn't need Angelico and Evans in it. I hate saying it, because Evans is incredible and Angelico is even better. This match would've been a lot cleaner if it just had been the former Smash Bros. vs. Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus. I mean, Evans or Angelico didn't even eat the pin! Anyway, the Dark Order showed everyone why they were staples in Chikara and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla for years before they encountered visa troubles. Evil Uno exudes so much Abdullah the Butcher energy that I'm surprised he didn't have a fork in his tights. And Grayson looks a lot more grown than when he was a beanpole bopping around the ECW Arena competing for the Young Lions Cup. Like he actually looks swole enough that, with his aesthetic, Vince McMahon was probably furiously trying to rename him "Sven" or "Baleog." The real revelation here though was Luchasaurus, who showed a style that was heretofore hidden, even during his run in Lucha Underground as Vibora. Not only is A Boy and His Dinosaur the most wholesome act in AEW, they may be the most exciting, especially now that they seem to have added Marko Stunt.
Kip Sabian vs. Adam Page - My feed dumped out in the middle of this match, but man, the beginning of the match was a snoozefest while once my feed came back in, it picked up for far too short. Page seems like the guy they're hitching their wagon to to start, but I'm not sure he's ready yet. He's too white-meat in an era where white-meat doesn't always work. I mean, the white-meat babyface in Jim Crockett Promotions was hardly trusted to hold the title for too long since they had the strap on Ric Flair so much anyway. Still, I think he's a good worker and someone who can keep the midcard afloat, but man, they'd be way better off having Allin, Janela, Kenny Omega, or even CIMA as the babyface chasing Chris Jericho into Double Or Nothing II. That being said, Page has never looked more badass than when he came out to give Jericho a receipt for jumping him after this match during his promo with double shiners above and below his left eye. AEW has to try and distill that energy into a character that Page can embrace all the time before he becomes their "guy."
The Lucha Bros. (Pentagón, Jr., Feníx) vs. SCU (Scorpio Sky, Kazarian) - This was the Feníx turn-out match that I hoped Fyter Fest would be. Outside of the spot where Kazarian was slow getting into position for a dive and Feníx pulled a Randy Orton, he was unleashed in this match. When he gets free reign, few things are more breathtaking in any wrestling promotion. He is everything Will Ospreay pretends to be, and he does it working an insane amount of dates, which isn't as much of a compliment as you think it is. Anyway, even though the SCU guys felt like they were playing a game of eternal catch-up, it was still an enjoyable match. That being said, AEW trying to turn SCU into their version of the New Age Outlaws? Yeah, it doesn't work.
CIMA vs. Kenny Omega - I had high hopes going into this match because if anyone was going to be able to do the Kenny Omega Half-Hour JO Special as good as Omega, it would be CIMA. True story, CIMA probably has a bigger influence on Omega than most anyone in wrestling, so of course they were going to fit like a key in a lock. They went places I didn't expect them to, most specifically the Meteora from the stage onto the ring bell table. Seriously, that spot was probably gnarlier than anything from Janela vs. Jon Moxley at Fyter Fest, and they only needed the table as fixed surface. Normally, a match this long probably needs editing, but I found myself enthralled the whole way through. I think everytime you want to say CIMA has too many miles on the odometer, he comes out and shows he's able to keep up with the most extra wrestler in the business right now. Omega found his counters where he needed to, and man, taking that many Meteoras in all the spots he did took some gumption. This match was, by far, the best one at either of these free shows.
Dustin Rhodes and Cody vs. The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) - It's surprising how well the Bucks played into the Rhodes' Boys' wheelhouse, because this match took a far more methodical pace than what was promised. Even the Bucks getting into their mega sequences felt more deliberate than usual. They're really trying to turn Cody into a facsimile of his dad, and while I'm not sure he'll ever get to The Dream's level, he's far better suited to that life than the super indie cosplay he put on when he first was freed from WWE. Dustin Rhodes also proved he has some sauce left, which isn't surprising since those old Southern guys age like luchadors, just look at the Rock 'n Roll Express. Anyway, while Omega/CIMA didn't need any editing, I thought this match did. The feeling-out process in the beginning felt too gratuitous, and the Bucks staring at the Rhodeses at the end multiple times was unnecessary. But otherwise, it was a fitting main event for the show.
I'm going to have commentary about the post-main check-presenting segment later on in the day on a different bent than what it was on the surface, but I just wanna add that Omega should never have a live mic ever again. Let him wrestle and do heavily-scripted pre-tape promos, but never let him speak into a mic off the cuff, thanks.
