IT’S SUNDAY NIGHT. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!
Heya folks! We’re here! All Elite Wrestling’s Double or Nothing has finally arrived. AEW has done a great job of building their stories toward this event. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m frikkin’ stoked for this event. The rise of the Era of DMD, Orange Cassidy as champ and Bryan Danielson winning the Casino Battle Royale! Okay, so those are all dream scenarions and not necessarily predictions (those were posted here!) but damn, the anticipation that it COULD happen is amazing! Let’s get to it!
Obligatory POP: Live Crowds!
H/T to Alison for this idea but having a live crowd gets a POP tonight for sure. They are hype as hype gets and before we even get started, you can tell they’re frothing at the mouth to finally be back in person and cheering on their favorite wrestling company. Just the vision of seeing a packed house and not a bunch of empty seats is so pleasing to my face, I can barely stand it. It sure beats the heck out of one row of people standing behind a giant plexiglass wall banging on it without breaking it in half. I don’t know what I would give an entire crowd of people who make this product even better (somehow) but all the Whose Line is it Anyways points to you, Tampa.
POP: Bought In
Riho comes out to kick off the Buy In show as she challenges Serena Deeb for the NWA Women’s World Championship. Serena goes for an early pin but Riho slides out. She attempts to shake Serena’s hand but Deeb slaps her right in the mouth. Riho surprisingly slaps her back. As Tony points out, Serena was being cheered by the live crowd until she slapped Riho in the face. Riho hits a big crossbody block off the top but can’t capitalize for the pin. Deeb counters a monkey flip into the Serenity Lock but Riho is able to get to the ropes before she can cinch it in completely. Deeb shows a lot of innovative offense against Riho here but Riho hits her with a coupe de grace. Unfortunately, her knee is still injured from earlier in the match. She’s able to hit the Tiger Feign Kick but only gets a two. They exchange offense and pinfall attempts throughout the match but Deeb finally ends it by smashing Riho’s injured knee into the canvas and then getting Riho to tap out with the Serenity Lock for the win!
This was a great kickoff match. You want to talk about something to get you prepared for a 9-match Pay-Per-View card, this is it! Serena Deeb is on a different level right now. There’s a reason she’s the NWA Women’s Champion. It is always nice seeing Riho and hearing that she has permanently moved to the U.S. to wrestle is awesome. I can’t wait to see her more but right now Serena is in a higher stratosphere and it’s the right call to have her retain. Great match, let’s get started!
POP: Table = Set
Oh boy, we start the main card off with Page vs. Cage! Again, it’s not Ethan vs. Christian but Adam vs. Brian. Cage is adamant he can do this on his own so he comes out alone with no members of Team Taz in sight…okay, unless you count Taz on commentary. Just to clarify, this match is NOT for the FTW Championship title. The worst part about wrestling outside during the day is it takes away the aesthetic of how badass things will look. For example, Cage comes out in his Terminator gear (since he’s The Machine and all), but since it’s outside, it just loses a lot of its appeal. Just imagine how amazing that would look under the lights or in the darkness of a normal arena. Especially if the eyepiece glowed red. Oh…hey guys. Looks like I went on a little tangent right there. Back to the action!
For an opening match, this is as good as it gets! You have a true powerhouse in Cage against a smaller, more athletic wrestler in Page. The good thing is that both of these men know how to complement the other’s style and it came out looking like a million bucks. Hangman hits a moonsault to the floor! Then Brian Cage attempts a Buckshot Lariat! This starts a phenomenal exchange when Cage’s knee buckles on the Buckshot portion of the Buckshot Lariat. Page responded with an F-5 (!) and you know Brock Lesnar was pissed when Cage kicked out. Sorry, Bachur. The match ends when Hook and Ricky Starks come out to interfere. Hook distracts the ref while Starks slid the FTW belt to Cage. Cage tells Starks he said he didn’t need his help and then threw the belt at him! This allows Cage to be distracted enough to eat a Buckshot Lariat and Adam Page gets the win… and the beer!
After the match, Cage gets in an argument with Starks and Hook in the middle of the ring. Cage eventually has enough and just walks out. Again, this was a perfect table setter for a pay-per-view. I was (not-so)secretly hoping that Team Taz would just demolish him and knock him out of the group but it looks like we’re going to get a slow face turn. That’s okay. Also, where is Powerhouse Hobbs in all of this?
POP: TONY KHAN HATES ME!
“Wild Thing” hits and the Wild Things hit the ring carrying the Young Bucks’ Air Diors. Also, Eddie comes out in his Chico Bail Bonds baseball jersey, which I oddly saw more than a few of on my baseball stadium tour last month. Eddie Kingston – he’s just one of us regular folk! The Bung Yucks come out in their Pookey Pants and hit their muscle pose as the streamers shoot off. It appears Blonde Buck is now Auburn Buck as his hair is a horrific shade of orange. Before the streamers can even land, Mox and Kingston punch them straight in the mouth. They beat them all around Daily’s Place before the bell rings and Mox adds insult to injury by shoving streamers down black-haired Bucks’ mouth. Fantastic. Oh, what’s this? Brandon Cutler using the aerosol to cool off Auburn Buck? Nope. He catches an ass whipping too.
Eventually, they make their way to the ring and finally the match officially starts. Mox and Eddie take an early advantage but eventually the tag champs show why they’re the tag champs. Auburn Buck does a Macho Man taunt in the middle of the ring which did not go over well with the crowd. A few minutes later, black-haired Buck hit ’em with the Hulk Hogan taunt. This understandably went over worse than the Macho Man taunt. Karl Anderson comes out on the ramp after Mox hits a pair of piledrivers on the Bucks. Kingston sees Doc Gallows sneaking up from behind and takes him out. Frankie Kazarian flies out and beats Anderson to the back. Mox goes full Dean Ambrose (never go full Dean Ambrose!) during this and just watches it all shake out. For his troubles, black-haired Buck sprays him with the canned version of “Arrogance” and then throws the bottle right in his face, busting Mox open!
The Bucks take advantage and beat the brakes off Moxley for awhile, including hitting a beautiful swanton bomb while Mox was draped on the rope. With Mox knocked to the ground, the Bucks do the Shield fist bump over them and then go for the Roman Reigns powerbomb (OOOH-AAAH!). This provokes Mox to double suplex the Bucks and get the tag to Eddie. Some great back and forth offense between the two teams goes down until Mox and Kingston hit a Doomsday Device using the Dior shoes they stole from the Bucks on Dynamite. The Bucks fight back to take the upper hand. They take out Kingston with superkicks to his injured knee and give Mox FOUR consecutive BTE triggers and the Bucks get the W.
Holy shit, I wrote a lot about this match. *Hey Siri, insert shrug emoji* You are probably wondering why I gave this a Pop and not a Botch. It’s simple really. This was a great tag team match. I’m not the BIGGEST fans of the Young Bucks, though I do appreciate them. Their tandem offense is often something I’ve never seen or something that just looks so beautiful, you can’t help but admire it. That was on display in their tag-team offense here tonight too. It was just so much fun. Moxley and Kingston were the perfect foils for the Bucks and damnit, if I’m not bummed out I’m not getting my Mox/Kingston tag champ run. DAMN YOU TONY KHAN! GIVE ME WHAT I WANT! WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!?
POP: Chasino Chaos
Justin Roberts introduces Paul Wight as guest commentator and then goes over the rules for the chaos that is the Casino Battle Royale. The guys that drew Clubs come out first. Number one? My predicted winner, Christian Cage! How can you outwork everyone if you don’t come in at number one? Matt Sydal is out next, followed by Powerhouse Hobbs. Oh, there he is. And boy, is he looking thicc, y’all. The Natural Dustin Rhodes comes out with his cowbell followed by the final member of the Clubs, my boy, Max Caster! He has a platinum rap for us too! Feel free to sing along:
Yo, yo. yo. Ayy. Yo.
Christian, dustin’ off the cobwebs.
He used to be cool but only when he had an Edge.
Ay Yo Sydal, you trippin’,
Climb to the top, I’mma catch yo ass slippin’.
Ay yo Dustin, yo. Dustin, look at me. Dustin look at me.Yo, yo. yo.
It’s Dustin in the place, but you’re so ugly you should paint your whole face
You know I’m so great, double or nothin’, this is my showcase
Right side, right side, come on
Left side, left side, what up
And to the commentary team, and now screeeam!
Here’s how the Battle Royale shook out:
Matt Sydal – Eliminated by Max Caster
Max Caster – Eliminated by Christian Cage
Out come the Diamonds next! Isiah Cassidy is first with Matt Hardy second. The two of them lay in wait and ambush 10 of the Dark Order, Preston Vance. Vance hits the ring and is followed by Nick Comoroto. The final Diamond member is Serpentico, who is led out by the ear by Luther. That’s it for the Diamonds!
Serpentico – Eliminated by 10
Nick Comoroto – Eliminated by Dustin Rhodes
10 – Eliminated by Dustin Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes – Eliminated by Powerhouse Hobbs (after Comoroto hits Dustin with the cowbell)
Next up is the Hearts! The Hollywood Blondes enter first and second for the Hearts. Colt Cabana represents the Dark Order, immediately followed by Anthony Bowens. It should be noted he did not rap a single word on his way to the ring. Glad to see ya, Marty Jannetty. Penta El Zero Miedo wraps up the Hearts and off we go!
Colt Cabana – Eliminated by Isiah Cassidy
Anthony Bowens – Eliminated by the Hollywood Blondes
Griff Garrison – Eliminated by Matt Hardy
Here come the Spades! First up is your favorite actor’s favorite son, Jungle Boy! Marq Quen comes out next and all three members of the Hardy Family Office are ready to rock. Aaron Solow comes out (replacing QT Marshall, who is out due to a wrist injury) followed by Evil Uno and Big Shotty, Lee Johnson! Only one spot left!!
Brian Pillman, Jr. – Eliminated by Private Party
Aaron Solow – Eliminated by Big Shotty Lee Johnson
Big Shotty Lee Johnson – Eliminated by Matt Hardy
Evil Uno – Eliminated by Penta El Zero Miedo
Penta El Zero Miedo – Eliminated by Jungle Boy
Powerhouse Hobbs – Eliminated by Christian Cage
Hold your butts! Here comes the Joker! It’s MTV The Challenge veteran, LIO RUSH!!
My God, Lio Rush is so fast. But….
Lio Rush – Eliminated by Matt Hardy
With Lio Rush out, we are back down to Christian Cage, Isiah Cassidy, Matt Hardy, Jungle Boy and Marq Quen.
Isiah Cassidy -Eliminated by Jungle Boy (after Christian Cage threw him onto the apron)
Marq Quen – Eliminated by Christian Cage
This leaves us with a final three of Christian Cage, Matt Hardy and Jungle Boy Dudley. Welp, that didn’t last long.
Matt Hardy – Eliminated by Christian Cage
Christian Cage and Jungle Boy go at it. You can just FEEL how much it means to Jungle Boy. Cage immediately tries to throw him out but Jungle Boy fights him off. Jungle Boy counters a running run and almost eliminates Cage, who turns it around and throws Jungle Boy to the apron. Jungle Boy pulls him over and now we have an apron fight! Cage goes for the Killswitch but Jungle Boy fights out. Christian throws him into the (SteelRing)Post and Jungle Boy hangs on and swings around it to the apron on the other side of the ring. Christian slides in and Jungle Boy gives him the ol’ back body drop to win! JUNGLE BOY GETS A SHOT AT THE AEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!
Christian Cage – Eliminated by Jungle Boy
This match was well built; however, it did have a couple of production issues. We were unable to see two or three of the eliminations cleanly. Even the announce team didn’t know if Hobbs had been eliminated at one point even though he was still very much in. As for the match itself, I like the entrance format because it’s so much different than other Battles Royale. I also loved Luchasaurus and Marko Stunt coming out to congratulate Jungle Boy. Even MORE than that, I loved the crowd absolutely freaking out and singing along with Jungle Boy’s song as he celebrated. Even Christian giving Jungle Boy the veteran’s respect afterward was awesome. The great thing about these types of matches is it’s the simplest format to start a new feud. Just from a few of these eliminations, we could easily get Lio Rush (I’m so excited he’s here!) feuding alongside Christian against the Matt Hardy Office or we could see the Hollywood Blondes vs the Acclaimed (oh man, Caster’s gonna have a field day there). I can’t wait to see what comes of it.
BOTCH: America Wins (LOL)
So immediately following the Memorial Day salute to Veterans everywhere (seriously guys, thank you to all military veterans and their families for the sacrifices you endured so I could write a wrestling column on the internet), we get the America vs. England match with Anthony Ogogo and Cody Rhodes. Special shoutout to Anthony Ogogo’s panties, which spell his name in the Olympic rings logo. *chef’s kiss* You can see the Ogogo Logo on his vest, here.
Ogogo immediately tries to knock out Rhodes. Cody does a good job keeping it a wrestling match but wears one right to the ribs. It didn’t knock him out so maybe Ogogo is losing a little power on the body hook. Cody sells the ribs pretty heavy throughout the match so maybe an Ogogo punch still hurts. Ogogo beats up Cody for awhile and QT Marshall gets a shot in. Naturally, Arn Anderson grabs a chair and chases him off. Ogogo randomly starts bleeding from a laceration above his right eye. This causes him to start swinging a little wild and Cody takes advantage, hitting a Cody Cutter on Ogogo. Cody sets Ogogo up on the top rope and Ogogo punches him off.
Famous highflyer Anthony Ogogo hits a surprisingly good-looking frog splash on Cody. Rhodes is able to get the upper hand and locks Ogogo in the Ric Flair Figure Four, complete with customary WOOOO! Ogogo is able to break the hold and counter a CrossRhodes into a body hook and an uppercut. He goes for the pin but Cody’s hand is under the body rope so the ref breaks it up. Cody counters a Guvnah’s Hammer into a Vertebreaker for the win!
I really thought they were going to use this to put Ogogo over as an absolute stud and have him beat Cody into paternity leave. Alas, Cody went over and America rejoiced on the Memorial Day weekend. That being said, Anthony Ogogo can gogo. He more than held his own against Cody and not only that, he showed off a versatile offense that was highly unexpected. I was left very disappointed after this match that Cody won. The match itself was fine but that was more for the awesome Ogogo offense than anything else.
POP: Miro, Miro on the Wall, Who’s the Most Murdery Murderhawk Monster Murderer of Them All?
Happy Miro Day, everyone! Happy Mirorial Day, perhaps? Oh, is that blasphemous? My bad, fam. Moving on…. Before the match can even begin, Lance Archer jumps Miro on the apron and throws him in the ring and starts throwing his body at Miro. He walks the ropes Old-School style and hits a moonsault for two. The fight drops to the outside, where Archer smashes Miro through a table with a spinebuster. Miro ends up back body dropping Archer into the front row and then back out again.
They make their way back to the ring and exchange offense with neither man able to get the definitive upper hand. Archer misses a top-rope moonsault. Miro kicks him in the face about it and suddenly, Jake “The Snake” Roberts comes down to the ring with Damian in the bag! Okay, so maybe it was Lucifer, but either way, he definitely has a snake in the bag! Miro drags Jake and the snake into the ring and then THROWS THE SNAKE ALL THE WAY UP THE RAMP! Earthquake he’s not. Miro uses the middle rope to get a low blow and thrust kicks Archer in the mouth. Miro can’t lock in the Game Over so he stomps Archer in the spine and bends him backwards in the Game Over and….well, it’s Game Over. Sweet, sweet Miro retains his TNT Championship!
POP: Dr. Britt Baker, DMDeserved It!
The revenge match between Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida is up next. We start off with the two ladies throwing their fists at each other. Britt goes for the Lockjaw early and Shida slides out and just misses a Tamashii. This shit is gonna rule. They go through an incredible exchange and eventually Britt avoids a dropkick and slides to the outside. Baker takes advantage and starts choking and beating Shida in the corner. Shida comes back and dropkicks Britt back to the outside. She throws her in the barrier and knees her in the face. Shida hits the flying crossbody that takes out both Britt and Rebel! Britt counters a knee strike to take advantage and they head back into the ring.
Baker gets her bedazzled glove from Rebel and goes for the Lockjaw again. Shida rolls out one more time with the tried and true strategy of, “you can’t lock the jaw if you can’t shove your fingers in my mouth.” Trust me, it’s a real thing. Shida finally gets pissed and Hulks up. She gets Baker down and hammerfists her damn near into submission. She hits back-to-back running knee strikes in the corner and then a third when Baker drops to the ground. The two of them exchange violent forearms and Britt hits the swinging fisherman’s suplex for a two. Brit gets the Lockjaw cinched in but Shida is able to roll out of it. She hits a back suplex and spinning elbow to the back of Britt’s head but Britt won’t stay down for three.
Shida locks in the Stretch Muffler but gets distracted by Rebel on the outside holding her championship belt. Rebel swings the crutch at Shida but Shida is able to throw Baker into the swing plane and Rebel crushes Britt in the back! As the ref ejects Rebel, Britt curb stomps Shida onto the championship belt! Shida gets the arm up at 2 7/8! Shida hits Britt with a running knee strike followed by the Tamashii and now Baker kicks out just before the three! Britt locks in the Lockjaw and Shida taps! Shida taps! THE DMD ERA STARTS NOW!
The last half of this match was just phenomenal. The first half was great too but the second half, they kicked in the urgency and holy shit, it was amazing. Both ladies put on one hell of a wrestling match. They told a story, they kicked each other’s ass and you couldn’t be confident in the result until the ref rang the bell. I’m all in (heh) on the Era of DMD. Britt Baker has more than earned her spot in AEW and her battles with Shida and Thunder Rosa have turned her into a main event player. She seemingly gets stronger and stronger as her matches go longer and that was the turning point tonight. My favorite part was Tony Schiavone greeting Baker at the top of the ramp and congratulating her. The smile on Britt’s face afterwards just warmed my heart. Era of DMD. Let’s Go!
POP: Father and Son Outings
Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page come out and wait for Sting and his emo son to show up. After a quick cinematic entrance, they get in the ring and you can just see from Darby’s body language, he’s about to throw his whole ass at Sky and Page. Sure enough, he starts by hitting a Tope’ Suicida, knocking both guys into the barricade. Sky takes Sting up to the ramp and suplexes him on the unforgiving steel. Sting pops right back up! He piefaces Sky and throws him off the stack of casino chips onto Ethan Page below. You think that was cool? Sting rips off his shirt and hits a double flying crossbody off the chips! Holy shit, you guys.
The match officially starts with Darby Allin getting his ass kicked. I know. I’m just as surprised as each and every one of you. All the while, Scorpio would tease Sting and do the Stinger’s taunts right to his own face. While he’s celebrating, Darby makes the tag and Sting comes in and punches Sky and Page in their faces! Plot twist! Aubrey didn’t see the tag so she kicks Sting out of the ring and Page and Sky have the upper hand again. Page picks Darby up over his head and throws him from the ring into his brothers in the front row!! Wow! Sting drags him over the railing and Darby slides in at 9. Page gets Darby set up in the Ego’s Edge but Darby kicks Sky off the apron and is able to get the upper hand and tag in Sting! Sting hits a couple of Stinger Splashes on the boys and hits a Code Red on Page!
Darby yells at Sting for the tag. He wants to pin Ethan Page. I mean, it makes sense. I’d want to pin the guy that threw me down a flight of cement steps. Sky interrupts Darby jumping in the ring and Page grabs Darby and throws him onto Sting. He gets Darby in the Ego’s Edge again but Sting kicks him and locks in the Scorpion Deathlock! Sky locks Darby in a heel hook so Darby and Page start fighting while they’re in the submission moves! Aubrey is able to restore order and kick Sting and Sky back to the apron. Darby and Page get the tags to their teammates. Sky tries to end Sting but Sting isn’t having any of it. Sky manages to avoid the Scorpion Splash but immediately eats a Scoprion Death Drop for the 3 and Darby and Sting are your winners!
This match went a little longer than I thought it would. I expected Darby to be in for most of it, getting his ass kicked and then Sting getting a hot tag and ending it rather decisively. For the most part, that’s exactly what happened but they drew it out perfectly. My one goal for this match was “Sting, don’t die.” Not only did he not die, he thrived! My mans is out here throwing high crossbodies, Code Reds and shit. Put him in the AEW Hall of Fame yesterday. Thank you.
POP: Freshly Squeezed Bastard
Pac (no X) and Orange Cassidy come out just to watch Kenny Omega come out wearing every belt he currently owns. The Belt Collector has arrived in style! The big story going into this no-DQ match is that Omega doesn’t have to get pinned to lose his title. When the bell rings, Pac goes right after Kenny and Omega tries to get out of the ring. He comes back in and knocks Cassidy to the outside. Omega and Pac go at it. Omega kicks Pac into next week but Pac returns and they hit a violent double crossbody on each other. Orange Cassidy slides in the ring and throws a very nonchalant pin on Pac. Pac kicks out at one so he tries pinning Omega, who also kicks out at one.
Cassidy goes for the Orange Punch on Omega but Kenny pins him against the turnbuckle. Pac is able to get advantage on them both and hits the Asai Moonsault on Omega outside the ring. In true triple threat fashion, one guy recovers on the outside while the other two fight on the inside. After beating up Orange Cassidy, Kenny hits a diving Senton on Cassidy and Pac on the outside. He drags Cassidy back in the ring but Orange hits the Stundog Millionaire on Omega. They exchange pinfall attempts until Pac hits a 450 on both men!
Kenny starts throwing out snapdragon suplexes on Pac and Orange Cassidy. Omega gives them the guns and hits the V-Trigger on Cassidy. He goes for the same thing on Pac and Pac counters it into a German suplex. All three are in the ring battling and hitting each other. Kenny ducks a superkick that hits Orange Cassidy. Wrong place, wrong time, amirite? Omega hits Cassidy with another V-Trigger and sets him up on top for an avalanche dragon suplex. Orange fights out of it by putting his hands in his pockets as one is wont to do. Pac jumps up and hits the avalance release German on Kenny! OC, still on the top with hands firmly in his pockets, crushes Pac on the outside with a Senton, rolls into the ring and does a kip up. Unfortunately for him, Kenny was waiting with a Tiger Driver ’98 for Cassidy. Cassidy kicks out!
Kenny hits the V-Trigger on Pac. As he goes for the follow-up V-Trigger, Cassidy pushes Pac out of the way and hits the Michinoku Driver on Omega! Cassidy then turns into a brainbuster from Pac but kicks out at two again! Pac counters a top-rope One-Winged Angel and then hits an avalanche Falcon Arrow on Omega. Orange runs in and throws Pac out of the ring to pin Omega but only gets a two! Pac, naturally mad that Orange tried to take advantage, kicks OC in the dick and hits him with the Black Arrow. Cassidy is confirmed deceased but Omega breaks up the pin. Kenny avoids a Black Arrow and gets Pac in the One-Winged Angel. Pac counters into a standing Brutalizer. OC comes back from the dead to Orange Punch everyone in the face but Callis pulls the ref out of the ring before he can get a three count.
Pac locks the Brutalizer in on Orange but even as Omega kicks Pac, he won’t let go of the hold. Omega uses his big brain and drops the double axe handle on Bryce Remsburg! He hits Pac with one belt. Callis gives him the AAA Mega Championship so he hits Pac with that one too. Callis hands him another belt so he hits Pac with that one. Finally, he grabs the AEW World Title from Callis and crushes Pac for a fourth time. As he celebrates, Cassidy sneaks in and hits him with an Orange Punch but there’s no referee. Aubrey runs down to count the pin – One! Two! Omega rolls into a crucifix pin and gets the three! The rest of the Elite comes out to celebrate Kenny’s big win and they party to the back.
What a great triple threat match. This had everything you would want in a match. Three phenomenal athletes, a great story, enough time to tell said story and a somewhat unexpected finish. I loved this match. Not only did everyone get to shine but after the first quarter of the match, they were able to get away from the two in, one out trope and have all three of them interacting frequently. Kudos to all three men. This is professional wrestling. After the match, Schiavone announced that Mark Henry has been signed to be an analyst for the new AEW show, Rampage. He will also be a coach in AEW. Hopefully, he is better than Big Paul.
POP: The Inner Circle is Out
MJF enters the Jaguars Stadium in a limousine. He threatens to end the Inner Circle. Jericho’s music hits and the five of them enter by rappelling down the stadium! MJF retreats to the limousine but The Pinnacle guys aren’t in there! They come rolling through the tunnel in the FTR truck and the fight is on! Sammy and Spears end up in the ring to start the match and Sammy hits a flying cutter to kick this thing off. We see Wardlow try to stick Hager’s face in a burning oil barrel. While everyone is distracted, MJF exits the limo and finds Jericho waiting right behind him. They brawl for a bit before MJF sprays Jericho with a fire extinguisher. Jericho chases him into the arena and catches him in the backstage area.
Jericho throws him in the trash and punches the can. MJF throws hot coffee in his eyes then grabs the phone off the wall and hits Jericho in the face, saying, “Chris can’t come to the phone right now because he’s too busy swallowing his teeth.” Jericho hits Friedman in the head with what I assume to be Jimmy Hart’s pre-paintjob megaphone. He then claps his ears with cookie sheets. They fight into the Safeties room where Coach Urban Meyer (fuck that guy) and Charlie Strong are working. Strong throws Jericho a couple footballs to launch at MJF. Meyer hands him a laptop so Jericho strikes MJF with the laptop and throws MJF out of the office. Urban delivers a classic, “Holy shit” and Jericho chases MJF into the next room.
We cut to Wardlow and Hager fighting in the back near the food prep area. Wardlow chokeslams Hager onto a bunch of boxes of peanuts then throws him into the walk-in freezer. Hager beats Wardlow with a crate then starts fisting him in the face. Wardlow slams Hager against the rolling food cart (think Subway bread) a few times and punches him to the ground. Wardlow spears Hager through the wall and into the kitchen.
We find Sammy searching for Spears. As he’s looking, we hear a chair clacking against concrete. Sammy finds Spears sitting in a room full of chairs (think a distillery but instead of barrels, it’s just chairs!) and they start swinging and throwing chairs at each other. They fight out of the room to the backstage area. Spears launches Sammy into rolling garage door. Spears finds a baseball bat and some bolt cutters but grabs a chair instead. Sammy ain’t havin’ that and knees him in the chest for it. Spears throws Sammy face first into a scissor lift but Sammy finds a cable cord and chokes Sammy from above. Sammy lays Spears on a tarp and climbs the top of the shelving rack but Spears is able to move. Sammy jumps down to the ground so Spears hits him in the face with a ladder. Spears locates a handcuff chain in the back of a forklift because where else would they be? He cuffs Sammy to the shelving rack and walks away. Unfortunately for him, he left the bolt cutters within reach.
As Sammy reaches for the bolt cutters, we find Santana and Ortiz stalking FTR and Tully in what appears to be the Jags’ nightclub. They all salute and take a shot. The DJ turns out to be Konnan, who switches the music. Let the bar fight commence! Tully goes to hit Ortiz with a pipe but Konnan stops him. Pride & Powerful knock him down and hit him with the pipe right before FTR can stop the attack. Ortiz and Harwood straight up box while Ortiz and Cash are throwing each other over tables and jumping off them to kill the other guy. Quite the different fight styles. Ortiz agrees and bludgeons Dax with a metal trash can. Cash starts throwing full beer bottles at Ortiz but Santana tackles him into an elevator and away they go.
We go back to Wardlow and Hager fighting in the equipment area. They end up on top of a golf cart and Hager hits Wardy with the low blow. He then chokeslams him through some wooden shelving. We go back into the team hallway and MJF and Jericho are beating the hell out of each other. Jericho hits MJF with a cardboard cutout of Shad Khan (Tony’s dad) and chases him into an office. MJF targets the dislocated elbow of Jericho and stomps on it on top of the office desk. They end up in the conference room and Jericho staples a Thank You sign to MJF’s stupid, smug face. Great callback to Blood & Guts. MJF punches Jericho onto the conference table and gives him a piledriver for a two count. MJF finds a hammer but Jericho avoids the shot. Jericho opens a cabinet and we see Floyd the bat hanging out in there so Jericho brains MJF with it. They end up in what appears to be Customer Service and Jericho throws MJF through the door to the supervisor’s office. The glass cuts MJF and Jericho starts to drag him out by his hair.
We cut to Spears looking for Tully but he gets chased out of the backstage area by the Inner Circle Motorcycle Club. Jericho continues to drag MJF out by his hair and into Daily’s Place where our dearly beloved crowd is amped up and ready to go. Jericho crotches MJF on the handrail and MJF is clearly uncomfortable. He has the wherewithal to smash Jericho’s bad arm over the rail but Jericho clubs him with a spotlight. Jericho then powerbombs him into the spotlight bay.
Spears is still on the run from the motorcycle club and we see headlights in the distance. Boy oh boy, you know it’s not the motorcycle club! It’s Sammy Guevara in a golf cart! He runs Spears down and knocks him into Daily’s Place. They end up in the middle of the ring. Sammy goes for a flying something but gets hit in the throat with the steel chair. Spears absolutely murders Sammy with a chair shot to the head but somehow Sammy kicks out. Spears is in disbelief. He wedges the chair in between the bottom and middle ropes. He drags Sammy toward the chair but Sammy hits him with a JGH to get control. He then stomps Spears through the chair! Sammy goes up to the top and hits the 630 splash! Sammy pins Spears to win the match! The Inner Circle is still intact! Jericho, Santana, Hager and Ortiz join Sammy in the ring to celebrate as the crowd singscreams Judas at the top of their lungs and the pyro bangs around them.
What an incredible match. What an incredible card. This was one hell of a pay-per-view. So refreshing to see all of this. It’s such an honor to be able to cover this company. It really is. Somehow, 90% of the show always feels like something new. There were a few moments of shoddy cut work on the television end but it really wasn’t enough to hamper the product. I’m willing to compare AEW to any other wrestling promotion out there whether stateside or abroad. This company is doing this damn thing just like they said they would. Support AEW, you guys. The future is here.
Whew! That was intense, phenomenal and just overall amazing! Enjoy your week everyone! Feel free to leave a comment below (good or bad, I’ll answer them all!) and share the column with your friends, family and followers. You can also reach me on Twitter and the Instagram @robbywardshow. But seriously, join the Discord for good talk with good people. Wrestling united!
