All Elite Wrestling
Fight for the Fallen
July 13, 2019
Daily’s Place
Jacksonville, Florida

Watch: B/R Live 

Meet our previewers

Steve Case: It’s weird not being able to watch many shows live anymore. This kind of having a life thing is…..different. I’ll definitely be sitting down for this one as soon as I am able. This should really ramp up the story progressions to All Out. The matches themselves might not look quite as strong as the first two AEW shows on paper, but definitely should work to push some of the young company’s hottest angles forward. And it’s all for a great cause. Oh yeah, and it’s FREE. Follow me @Coachcase44

Mike Spears: Host of Open the Voice Gate and co-host of Everything Elite. I’ve already written over five thousand words for shows this month, so why not another couple of hundred? I’m kind of glad that I opted not to drive down to DUUUVAAALL to watch this show outside in what’s certainly going to be oppressive humidity on a Saturday night and will be watching this from my couch. I’m at @fujiiheya on Twitter for all the Dragon System content you crave. 

Sonny Kiss vs. The Librarian Peter Avalon

Steve: It would be like The Bucks and use online criticism to push something even harder wouldn’t it? This Librarian stuff has not been good. That said, to this point, it’s been mostly Leva Bates in the forefront. I’m sure she is going to be out there, but maybe Avalon can deliver enough here to at least make it watchable. This one screams hijinx to me though. I hope I am wrong because Sonny Kiss is unique and entertaining in the ring. These Buy In shows as a whole have not been good. I’m hopeful we get something passable out of this, albeit my bar is very low. I see Bates getting involved somehow leading to an Avalon win if nothing else to lean in this Librarian stuff even more. Prediction: The Librarian Peter Avalon

Mike: I’ve viewed these pre-TNT shows as sort of AEW’s preseason. Time to get the kinks out and to see what works and what doesn’t. One thing that’s clear so far in this preseason is that there is a disconnect between what their perception of a preshow is, and what the majority of fans view a pre-show. This match epitomizes it between having the sticking out like a sore thumb Librarians act, and Sonny Kiss, someone who has been sorely forgotten on previous shows. Sonny’s better than the preshow, and Peter Avalon is better than this goofy gimmick. I’m certain there is a way to incorporate BTE’s sense of humor and storylines better than this, and I hope they figure it out before October. Prediction: Sonny Kiss

The Dark Order vs. Angelico & Jack Evans vs. Jungle Boy & Luchasaurus

Steve: So this was a fun little surprise! We finally get to see the Dark Order in action, and if the minions don’t get too involved, they should impress. Jack Evans always entertains even with Angelico on his back. I’m really intrigued by the Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus pairing. If they work well as a team it could really jumpstart both of their careers moving forward. My guess is that this will be on the Buy-In and be a match that hopefully makes everyone forget about the Librarians. The Dark Order is winning this. There’s zero question in that. They are being set up as the top heel team in the company, so this will be the start of that rise. Prediction: The Dark Order

Mike: It’s the ridiculous tag team tournament play in for a bye that in theory will mean the winners of this match should have one more match in the tournament than anyone else in the tournament! Like Steve, I’ve been stoked about the JungleSaurus/Neo Jungle Assault Nation team. It’s a great way to keep a future star like Jungle Boy busy before they start giving him a legit build. Los Güeros del Cielo were, frankly, underwhelming at DoN. I guess Angelico is yet another person who lost the game of time, whereas Jack Evans is always good and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. There’s a cognitive dissonance about Dark Order that’s bothered me. Super Smash Bros was one of those great tag teams in the pre-boom PWG that sadly got border dinged, and I’m certain their ring style carries over to being heels. But the minions and the weird super villains act? Straight into the bin. Probably the easiest match on the card to predict. Prediction: The Dark Order

Jimmy Havoc, Darby Allin & Joey Janela vs. MJF, Sammy Guevara & Shawn Spears

Steve: The main event is the match with the most buzz and story behind it, and rightfully so. But this one might be just as intriguing. The chair shot heard round the wrestling world has added so much to this. Spears getting his chance to shine has lead to him being possibly the most hated man in AEW at the moment. He and MJF being put on the same team for this one brings all the intrigue. They had a run-in after the chair shot, as well as traded barbs on social media prior to that. And the person to hold it together is….Sammy Guevara? This won’t end well. Darby, Havoc, and Janela will bring the crazy as far as the match goes, and Sammy will probably take the brunt of it. I see MJF and Spears essentially going one on one and Sammy getting dominated. I also don’t think this is the last we will see of Spears and possibly MJF on this show. I don’t think Cody gets involved here with his big match later in the card, but don’t count it out either. Prediction: Havoc, Allin & Janela

Mike: This is the strange bedfellows match on this show, much like the four-way from Fyter Fest. Obviously, the interest in this match will be seeing in if MJF and Shawn Spears can coexist against a trio of legitimate crazy people. Being AEW pre-season, they feel like they’ve gotta get everyone as much screen time as possible. So instead of the natural MJF/Spears match, we are getting this. It’s hard for me to care much about this match, much like the aforementioned four-way. Anticipating a communication breakdown leading to a brawl between those two and Sammy eating the pin.  Prediction: Havoc, Allin & Janela

Brandi Rhodes vs. Allie

Steve: This match will be Brandi’s big introduction as an in-ring competitor in AEW. Her story in the Road To video really makes you want to get behind her and see her succeed. Will she rise to the occasion of the big stage this time? Will she falter just like she has on the ice when she was younger? Allie was introduced in the Buy-In before Fyter Fest, and unfortunately for her, she was with Leva Bates. It was not a mat classic by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t expect this to be either. I do expect a perfectly fine little match between two women who are highly motivated to prove they belong with the best. Will they run some sort of heel turn angle? Their face to face encounter on the last Road To video seemed a little off to me. I think Brandi and Cody will be huge heels at some point, but for now, I’ll give Brandi the clean win. Prediction: Brandi Rhodes

Mike: I think Brandi’s been the star of the combined AEW YouTube presence. She’s the funniest person on Being the Elite, and has had some of the more compelling sit-down interviews on the Road to series. Allie got saddled with a Librarians match last show and disregarding the DOA position of that gimmick/the person she was in the ring with, she acquitted herself well. I somewhat agree with Steve about the Rhodes’ long term alignment, but it’s going to be hard with how natural of a face Brandi’s been on the Road to Series. I guess that’s tomorrow’s problem. Don’t really have a feeling one way or another about the match itself, but I think it’d be neat if they had some sort of development for the Women’s division so let’s go with Allie. Prediction: Allie

Kenny Omega vs. CIMA

Steve: CIMA’s match with Christopher Daniels was a nice little opener. It didn’t quite meet my expectations for it, but in no way did I not like it. He’s going to need to step it up here. Kenny is going to want to have a big-time single’s performance here going into All Out, and CIMA is going to need to keep up. I’m confident he can and Kenny will push him to a very good to great match. There’s also no doubt Moxley is getting involved here. After Omega rushing him after Fyter Fest, it’ll be time for Mox to even the score here. Does he cost Omega the match? Does he attack him after? I’m guessing Omega gets a hard-fought win and Mox takes him out on the ramp. My only question is will Omega have the same smile Mox did at the end? Prediction: Kenny Omega

Mike: If you are an Everything Elite listener, you know how excited I am for this match. This was my most anticipated match in the promotion. In the decade-plus of his time in Japan, Omega never crossed paths with CIMA. That’s more to do with Dragon Gate’s walled garden approach and the two not being matched out during the short Dramatic Dream Gate collab. CIMA’s an interesting case. If you were doing the pluses and minuses of his 22-year career, the most glaring minus would be his lack of a legitimate MOTYC singles match. His best singles matches are years ago against Shingo Takagi and Masaaki Mochizuki where they plugged CIMA into their own match style. I don’t know if that will necessarily work or that the two will mesh, but here’s hoping it works out and we get the banger singles match. They’ve been doing Moxley and Omega as show end angles, and I guess I’m wondering if this will breakdown and have Moxley interfere. I really hope that’s not the case. I also wonder what’s next for Strong Hearts/OWE in AEW after this. Prediction: Kenny Omega

Adam Page vs. Kip Sabian

Steve: Adam Page needs a star performance here. With his title match with Jericho on the horizon, he should carry the majority of this match and look like the headliner AEW expects him to be. He’s only been good so far, and injury has played a part in that, along with the unfortunate PAC situation. He needs to be great here. Though I wasn’t incredibly impressed with Kip Sabian in the DoN Buy In, I do think he will be a good match with Page to counter his strength and unique brand of athleticism. He’ll also get a chance to bump all over the place and take a good beating. Page is winning this. Do we see Jericho here after? With news that he will be appearing on the show, it seems a Naito-esque beating might be coming for Page post match to heat up the AEW title match next month. Prediction: Adam Page

Mike: I’m prepared to be the contrarian here. I don’t want a “blow your socks off” match here. I don’t want fifteen minutes of back and forth between Sabian and Page. I want something straight out of Jim Crockett Promotions/Mid Atlantic: I want Adam Page to come in here, absolutely wreck Kip Sabian in like two minutes, hit the Dead Eye clean and dominate. Make him your Magnum TA, the rising star hunk that’s going to be the future of their promotion. I thought Kip Sabian looked good in person at DoN, but I’m sorry bruv, you gotta worry about making the other guy look like THE GUY versus getting your stuff in. Jericho’s going to be in Jacksonville, so I guess there can be a face to face after this match, but one thing is clear: the goal here is making sure that Adam Page is the star. Prediction: Adam Page

SoCal Uncensored vs. Lucha Bros

Steve: This match should be the opener to get the crowd fired up. Yes, the Buy-In is before this, but I don’t think we need to dive deeper into those concerns again. SCU excels in that role and The Lucha Bros are tailor-made to give the assist. This will feature dives, destroyers, unique double teams, and a fast pace. The perfect style for what I assume to be an opening match. Even if it doesn’t open the show, I expect this to deliver. The winner here is a toss-up. SCU could probably benefit more with a big win, but it’s hard for me to see the Lucha Bros losing at two straight big shows. I think they’ll take the win. Prediction: Lucha Brothers

Mike: This match makes me tired. I recognize that for some of the audience, this is a fresh and exciting matchup. But for those of us who either have seen a bunch of Lucha Bros in AAA or on the indies, and followed SCU in Ring of Honor, this feels unexciting and old. I fully expect this to be a competent to very good tag match. Maybe they’ll do something new! Yeah, make this an opener, give them ten minutes to play the hits, and get the crowd excited. At least someone will be excited.  Prediction: Lucha Bros

Cody & Dustin Rhodes vs. The Young Bucks

Steve: Here we are. The match we’ve been waiting for since Cody’s heartfelt promo after the match that will define this company’s early run. In the last Road To, Cody talked a lot about the Bucks not being a “less is more” kind of team, and Dustin even admitted that scares him a bit. But they also talked about how people forgot how good they were as a team and will be extremely motivated to keep up with the best tag team in the world. Dustin also mentioned how the Bucks making fun of people really pisses him off and likes a fire in his belly. This clash of styles match should be a great display and a tremendous challenge to show the versatility of both teams. 

The big question on everyone’s mind is, “How does this end?” I don’t think anyone expects a clean victory and the show just ends here. Does Dustin turn on Cody? There were very little moments during the Road To video that seemed to hint at the possibility. Does Spears get involved after his attack on Cody at Fyter Fest? Would Dustin help fend off Spears? There are so many directions this could go, which makes this match and this company so exciting. My guess is The Bucks get the win by pinning Dustin after Dustin helps his brother fend off Spears. Dustin, tired of being his brother’s protector, makes the turn. And there we have our rematch at All Out or another show down the road. Prediction: The Young Bucks

Mike: Here’s what should be the main event, and is something out of a Total Extreme Warfare save from 2014. The last time I really ever cared about WWE, the Rhodes Brothers/The Brotherhood was a highlight before Cody became Stardust. And they get the prohibitive Tag Team of the Decade, Young Bucks. The promo work from the Rhodeses is carrying this match, with both their desire to prove something and consternation towards the Jacksons’ mocking their Double or Nothing post-match moment. 

I’m mostly intrigued by how this match will play out. Whenever Cody tries to have a highspot based match, it usually comes off as forced and lesser than his big moment style that usually gets a more positive response (see his Dustin match and Wrestle Kingdom Ibushi one). The Bucks have their usual match, and I don’t know how that meshes with the Rhodeses’ style. What I’m hoping for I guess is somewhat of an older tag-team style where Cody and Dustin get their retribution for the last few weeks’ taunts. This feels like the obvious main event of the show, and I would like for them to break the streak of post-main event brawls. It’s a charity show, ya’ll, show some decorum. Prediction: The Young Bucks