Tune in tonight at 10 p.m. ET:
The Bucks are back and I couldn’t be happier. Well, I could be happier if there was any explanation why Dark Order didn’t get involved last week or this week with the BCC, but seeing the best tag team of all time back on TV will always make me happy with my viewing choice.
I feel like the ex-Bullet Club leaders have all been booked pretty highly wherever they ended up, but Jay White feels midcard as hell thus far. Bullet Club Gold sounds like a lame corporatized attempt to sell t-shirts in celebration of the tenth anniversary … which it very well could be.
Buddy Mathews sells like crazy. He and OC had match of the night for me, but only slightly ahead of Swerve/Darby. Love how smarts in the Last Supper and MouseTrap got the wins. Two really good matches and a few good angles made for a good show.
Where is PAC?
Really enjoyed Darby vs Swerve, no surprise there, and the Darby/ MJF/ Sting promo segment that followed. I like the idea of a 4-way between the pillars, which is where I think we’re going, but I can see Darby getting a rematch on his own assuming he’s not the one taking the pin. He feels at a level that’s just above JB and Sammy.
OC has done a great job with his title run, and I hope that whoever eventually takes it off him will continue to treat it like a belt that needs to be defended frequently and impressively. I love the HoB but it was probably the right move to keep the title on Cassidy. The match was still good for Matthews, who’s needed the opportunity to show what he can do.
Compared to those two, the main event felt kind of plodding. I get why it was placed where it was, but the drop in crowd energy was very obvious. At least we’re going to get a proper finish to the Swerve/ Lee feud.
Genuinely hope Jeff Hardy has his demons under control.
Cody From Maine
Enjoyed most of the show, especially the opening 30 minutes. Sting’s AEW run has been everything a fan of his could’ve asked for. That said, I have two big concerns. The first being the holding pattern booking of the women’s division. Not that the matches/segments have been bad. But I swear it’s been nearly two straight months of the same thing every week. Blood & Guts can’t come soon enough for them.
The second is the return of Jeff Hardy. I got nervous about a return when Matt recently began speaking about him publically and of Jeff being in a good place. Those concerns were validated tonight. It’s hard to feel like a wrestling ring is the best place for him. Another negative incident would be a massive black eye for Tony Khan and the company as a whole, and it’s tough to be confident in avoiding such an incident. Whether it be an injury in the ring or his struggles outside of it.
If there’s time, I wanted to mention two other things non-AEW related after missing out on the Raw review and the mail bag.
On the barricade discussion from Monday. I was at the ROH 15th Anniversary show in 2017 where TK O’Ryan broke his leg over the top of the guard rail after overshooting an Asai Moonsault. That was THE moment for me where I would’ve been fine with never seeing a steel rail in wrestling ever again. Not worth the risk, especially for major promotions who can afford safer options.
And on the G1, it was mentioned that it looks like we’ll get the four blocks again this year and that there’s a good chance for outside talent to join the field. If that’s the case, I’d love to see a format where AEW has a wrestler in A block. Impact has a wrestler in B block, and so on for NOAH and All Japan. AEW obviously has plenty of options, Impact could send someone like Jonathan Gresham, Speedball, etc. Would be a great way to spice up the tournament this year.
Jordan from the Bronx
Swerve and Darby are effortlessly great together in the ring. I just wish that the match didn’t take place tonight. I feel that both need wins at the moment and Swerve taking loss days after forming the Mogul Embassy was slightly deflating.
The wacky telegraphing of Powerhouse Hobbs’ new car getting wrecked was on the level of Randy Orton’s NASCAR.
I laughed hysterically when Nakazawa was literally swung out of his shoes by Claudio.
Bullet Club Gold is interesting. I wonder who they would add to the group? They could use some people from New Japan or perhaps recruit new members from the AEW roster. It’ll be fun to see them get rolling.
I’m weary on Jeff Hardy’s return. I hope that he’s in a good place and wish him the best. However, this must be the final straw.
Finally, Orange Cassidy has been having a great run in the last few months. Anyone that calls him a comedy wrestler at this point are not giving him enough credit for what he’s doing establishing the International title.
Question: Who can you taking the belt from him? I like Swerve with a title, and I feel like it could be a compelling matchup.