Last night AEW produced it’s first pay-per-view in almost 5 months! It was a good show but I found it to be a disappointing night. I walked away from my television at 12AM saying, “Damn, did we just pay to see sprinklers?” It was a rough end to the Exploding Barbwire DeathMatch, but what was even worse was the disappointing signing of Christian Cage. Then, you had spectacular matches like the Ladder Match, Hardy v. Hangman, the Tag Match, and the well directed Street Fight. I applaud Darby Allin for that incredible match, he did an terrific job directing it. Enough chit chat, let’s get down to it:
Christian Cage is All Elite:
Now, I’m not going to come onto here and take a big ole’ dump on Christian, I’m enraged towards Tony Khan and the way he handled this mess. It’s ok though, because now we know what Tony Khan is about. I feel like he’s starting to head towards what Dixie Carter was doing in signing WWE castoffs. He and his AEW colleagues used words like: “Game changing, shocking, an all-time wrestler and last but not least A Hall Of Fame Talent,” I don’t mean to offend anyone, but Christian is 47 years old. I’m certain that nobody has said to themselves, “I can’t wait to watch Christian headline the main event,” He has always been a Robin even since his days in The Brood, that’s simply a fact. I know that Christian is a great person, I met him in real life at a WrestleMania Access a few years ago, and when I met him he couldn’t even sit down. Do you know why? It was because of his terrible back injury and his concussions that he endured. He even said a few months ago that his in-ring career is complete and he is content with all his accolades. I hope all works out for him, but Tony Khan failed to deliver an actual game changer that lived up to the hype. This keeps proving that Eric Bischoff will always be #2 right below Vince McMahon, because when Eric said he had someone big that was a game changer. He always lived up to it. He said he know the third guy that would join the NWO, it was Hulk Hogan. Then, it was Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect and etc. Point is that he always delivered in brining in hall of fame talent. People underestimate that less is more. I would guarantee that if Christian came in at the end of a match at Revolution, attacked the babyface, and did his signature crowd view, that I would be a very happy wrestling fan and every single person in the crowd would’ve went nuts. That would’ve been the best entrance for Christian, not teasing it for 5 days and saying the wrestler would be “Game changing, shocking, an all-time wrestler and a Hall Of Fame Talent,” I wish more Wrestling fans shared the perspective as me, but they don’t. Let’s not be sheep ladies and gentlemen. This was a disappointing signing by Tony Khan and AEW. Somewhere in the world right now Vince is laughing and saying, “They signed Robin,” with three 3 laughing emojis. I had high expectations of a John Cena and a Brock Lesnar or even CM Punk because of the adjectives they used to describe this Hall Of Fame worthy talent. To many I may sound like a clown but Tony Khan failed us, and that’s the truth.
Sprinklers at AEW Revolution Main Event
Moxley v. Omega in an Exploding Barbwire Deathmatch is what EVERYONE wanted. The stakes were high and so were the expectations, and those two men delivered. It was an incredible match, I was on the edge of my chair the entire time. That is until the sprinklers came on at the end of the match. The plot line of this match was incredible. Moxley takes a beating to start it off, then he goes savage mode and both wrestlers start bleeding, Omega realizes he’s running out of time and calls his heel partners (The Good Brothers, Gallows and Anderson) to help beat Moxley. Then, they leave Moxley in the ring to die by himself and at the last second Eddie Kingston (his long lost friend) comes in to save him and they go through the “explosion” together. The reason I put quotation on it, is because there was no explosion. It was a damn fireworks show at the local park on the Fourth of July. After the show ended, Moxley addressed the crowd and played it off as if it was planned and said Omega can’t build a exploding barbwire death ring at all. If they wanted to play it off as that then Kingston shouldn’t have sold it like they perished. Tony Khan addressed the Media after the event and said this when asked about the sprinkler show, “I don’t know what people really want, unless you wanted us to actually explode the guys at the end. There’s only so much we can do. So, without actually blowing [up] the ring and both guys up, you know I think the basic explanation I think is that Kenny’s ring set to explode, his plan you know as a heel who built this thing with a hammer and nails as we saw that the final bomb just didn’t go off.” Those were his exact words, I don’t think he’s ever watched an exploding barbwire deathmatch. However, I will agree that the rest of the match lived up to expectations and these two legends in the making can put on a 5-star show.
The Rest of the Matches
Tag Team Championship Match, Young Bucks vs. Inner Circle: This was an incredible match and set the tone for the rest of the night. It was a very entertaining and dirty match. Jericho and MJF make a great duo but I don’t think any tag team in Wrestling besides The Usos can out-duel the Young Bucks. Those two are extremely talented and are the second best tag team in Pro Wrestling, right now. I give that match an A.
Casino Battle Royale: This match was for a future AEW Tag Team Championship opportunity versus the Young Bucks and it was a fun match. I personally would’ve love to seen Private Party get the push that they deserve but I’m not against the Death Triangle. I love the “Bastard” Pac gimmick alongside Rey Fenix. I liked It, but it wasn’t mind-boggling. I give it a C+.
Miro and Kip Sabian vs. the Best Friends: First of all, Miro is one of the most underrated wrestlers in wrestling. I think he has potential to do astronomical things, when allowed by the boss. He is gifted and he has that animal mentality. He man-handled Chuck Taylor and I found the ambush on Orange Cassidy to be a great heel move. This match gets a B+.
Tag Team Street Fight, Team Taz vs. Sting and Darby Allin: This was a great piece of filmmaking. We all know that Sting is old and he shouldn’t wrestle live in front of a packed audience because of the risk of sustaining an injury. However, the idea that WWE had with UnderTaker vs. AJ Styles is a brilliant idea and AEW followed that route. It was also reported that Darby Allin was the main director and he has a future in that business if Wrestling doesn’t work out. I give this match an A+.
Ladder Match for TNT Championship Opportunity: This was a good match and they all when at it. I would’ve preferred to see Lance Archer finally get that title push that he fully deserves but I don’t mind seeing Scorpio Sky get a push. Sky has solo competitor potential. He’s a grinder and deserves a title match. I give this a B+ grade.
AEW Women’s Championship Match: It was Hikaru Shida vs. Ryo Mizunami. This match started off fast, these two ladies got to it. They weren’t wasting time. These two competitors have had previous matchup against each other outside of AEW. Hikaru beat her in fashion and at the end the ring was swarmed by Nyla Rose, Britt Baker, Maki Itoh and Rebel as heels. Then, the babyface Thunder Rosa cam out and they all left. It was a nice match, I give it a B.
Big Money Match, Matt Hardy vs. “Hangman” Adam Page: This was a well-done match. I’m a huge fan of the “Big Money” Matt Hardy gimmick and Hangman finally accepting Dark Order. Hardy was the heel and tried to cheat by making Private Party get involved. Dark Order came in and made it fair for Hangman. I give this a B+ grade.
Final Grade:
I give this PPV an A-, which would’ve been an A+ if two things didn’t happen. The letdown of the new signing and the “explosion” that occurred. The signing could’ve been handled so much more better and the sprinklers show was just borderline pathetic. Besides that this was a great PPV and very entertaining. AEW sort of delivered.
Thanks for reading everybody. This has been Jose Calderon III with FiveBoroughDispatch, have a great day; everybody!
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