AEW Revolution 2021
March 7, 2021
Daily’s Place
Jacksonville, Florida

Watch: PPV, FITE (Non-US)

Meet Our Previewers

Sean Sedor: Sean spent most of his Sunday watching wrestling (the most recent New Japan Cup show along with some famous Exploding Barbed Wire matches from the ’90s) and a pretty exciting NASCAR race. Now he’s ready to watch AEW’s first PPV of 2021! You can follow Sean on Twitter @SASedor2994, and you can check out his YouTube channel (just search his name) for some F1 video game content.

Jeri Evans: The magic writing girl of VOW has traded her Plushies for real life people. She will eat lamb, drink wine, and watch two great wrestlers blow each other up. Living the life. She is on Twitter giving lukewarm takes at @Jerriest_Jer. 

Griffin Peltier: Has it ever occurred to you that AEW is booked like a TEW game? Griffin is excited to watch two of his favorite wrestlers explode for his entertainment. Follow him on Twitter @Hollywd12.

Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. & Maki Itoh def. Riho & Thunder Rosa

Sean: Earlier the day, Rebel was officially taken out of the match due to “injury”, and the surprise partner ended up being MAKI ITOH, which was a big surprise. Of course, Rebel’s “injury” proved to be a setup, as she used a crutch on Thunder Rosa when the referee wasn’t looking to help Britt Baker win. So that feud will obviously continue, but as for the match itself, I thought it was a solid tag team bout. There were one or two sloppy spots that I noticed, but other than that, I enjoyed this. It was also pretty good to see that they gave this match A TON of time. Maki Itoh did a fine job in getting her act over in the match, and it wouldn’t shock me if we see more of her in the near future, now that she’s in town. ***¼  

Jeri: MAKI ITOH!!!! With Rebel out, MAKI ITOH (and all her adorableness) ends up being the partner and I love it. This match had to compete with the delicious leg of lamb I was chowing down on (***** stars for anyone who cares to know) but I think it did itself well. Sloppy at times, it succeeded at putting MAKI ITOH (Yes all caps once more) over with a new crowd and all four worked hard even if the work wasn’t always its best. As far as a pre-show match, I say it was a good and fun time with the surprise addition of MAKI ITOH adding fun and energy to it. I also appreciate the match getting a good share of time. One more time for good measure . . .MAKI ITOH!!! I might have a small crush. ***¼ 

Griffin: Daily’s Place was filled to capacity (around 25% of the arena because of social distancing guidelines) and it made a big difference in how lively the broadcast sounded. Maki Itoh was the first surprise of the evening. This was a well-worked match but it was clunky at times and I felt like it went a lot longer than it needed to. Despite it being sloppy at times, all four women were showcased well and they really put over Maki to a new crowd. The match ended with Britt Baker cheating to get yet another victory over Thunder Rosa. The eventual feud-ending match should be fun. ***¼ 

AEW World Tag Team Championship
The Young Bucks © def. Chris Jericho & MJF

Sean: This started off as a brawl straight away, with The Young Bucks going right after Chris Jericho and MJF. It’s always good to see a match that has a personal issue involved start like that (it makes sense!). The Young Bucks were largely in control early, but the Inner Circle team would gain the advantage with some heel tactics (some of it on their own, some of it with the assistance of Wardlow). It became a more back-and-forth affair once Nick got the hot tag, and we did get one weird spot where Nick did an unnecessary flip where (I guess) he was supposed to be caught by Jericho? Anyway, Jericho and MJF kept trying to cheat, but it either got foiled or it flat out didn’t work. While Jericho was definitely the weak point of this match, it was pretty good anytime The Young Bucks were in there with MJF. There were a number of nearfalls in the closing stretch before Jericho eventually ate a Meltzer Driver for the pin. I thought they did a fine job really teasing that The Inner Circle was going to win this. Not a stellar match, but a very solid PPV opener. ***½  

Jeri: Always glad to see when a match that is personal gets down to business immediately and with little waste of time. Things would settle down before Nick got a hot tag and things would pick up and we’d get a very fun back and forth action match. Jericho and MJF would do their share of shenanigans to attempt to claim victory but it would end up not working or come up short. Young Bucks being in there with MJF is when the match was at its highest moments. Jericho didn’t ruin the match for me but to say he’s lost a few steps would be bleating out the obvious. To his credit, he was trying, no surprise there, but MJF and the Bucks brought most of the highs to the match. Some good near falls in this match but it was the Meltzer Driver that ended things in a very fun opening match that starts off the PPV in proper and fine order. Maybe should have cut some time as things felt like they could’ve been shortened here and there.  ***½ 

Griffin: This was very slow and methodical for a good ten minutes with Jericho and MJF working over the Bucks. Thankfully Nick got a hot tag and picked up the pace of the match because he’s that good… and then he tagged out. There was a weird spot where Jericho hit a gnarly tombstone but then Nick Jackson flipped into the ring right into a Lion Tamer for seemingly no reason. It went back to being a slow-paced match with Jericho and MJF in charge with some Bucks hope spots. There were a few cool spots – like a failed Lionsault right into a pair of superkicks and MJF being ping ponged by Bucks’ superkicks – but it went too long and, to me, it didn’t match the build. They should’ve gone all out instead of having a boring match for 25+ minutes. **¾

Death Triangle won the Casino Tag Team Royale

Sean: So this is basically a Tag Team Royal Rumble. Not using the usual Casino Battle Royal rules here. Both members of a team have to be eliminated to be gone. Started off the Natural Nightmares and Dark Order (5 & 10) followed by Proud and Powerful. The Sydal Brothers and the Dark Order A team of Evil Uno and Stu Grayson were the next two teams to come in. At this point, only 5 and Mike Sydal were eliminated, so the ring was really starting to fill up. The first big moment of the match saw a breakdown of sorts with the Nightmare Family, as QT Marshall eliminated himself after getting into an argument with Dustin Rhodes over the fact that QT dumped out both members of the Gunn Club (who are also part of the Nightmare Family). I guess we’re getting that QT heel turn that was subtly teased a few weeks ago on Dynamite after Lee Johnson’s first win.

Bear Country looked very impressive when they got in there, and then Jurassic Express really cleaned house once they got in there. We started to get the more notable teams in the second half as Butcher & Blade and Private Party entered the match. SCU entry came with the news from Excalibur that apparently SCU’s self imposed stipulation doesn’t count here. Bear Country eliminated Luchasaurus before Bear Country themselves were eliminated single-handedly by The Butcher. Death Triangle and the Dark Order B Team of Alex Reynolds and John Silver were the final entrants, and eventually, it came down to both members of Death Triangle, Jungle Boy, and John Silver. There was a good exchange between PAC and Silver before Fenix eliminated Silver with a huge running kick along the rope. Jungle Boy then managed to eliminate PAC, and after a REALLY fun final exchange, Fenix eliminated Jungle Boy to win the match for Death Triangle. This was an enjoyable Battle Royal with a strong ending, and we’re getting Fenix & PAC vs. The Young Bucks which is going to kick some serious ass. ***½  

Jeri: This could be really fun but a mess, or really bad and a mess.I see no middle ground on this ranking system. You have to have both members of your team eliminated to be completely gone. After several teams entered, The Dark Order team of Evil Uno and Stu Grayson would come in and things would feel as if they picked up a bit more. Things kept moving which is always something battle royales need in order to stay entertaining and not feel bogged down. As the match progressed Dustin and QT Marshall got in a disagreement due to QT eliminating the Gunn Club and QT Marshall would eliminate himself in disgust/anger. I’m all for story/angle progression in these things.Things continued to pick up with more notable teams entering the match and I found myself enjoying it. 

Final teams were PAC/Fenix, Dark Order (Silver/Reynolds), S.C.U (Daniels/Kazarian), and Jungle Boy representing Jungle Express. It would whittle it way down to Jungle Boy versus Fenix and while short needless to say it ruled. This was a highly enjoyable Battle Royale. A mess at times (as Battle Royales are known to do) but the right team won and we’re getting them versus Young Bucks which I have zero complaints about. I might have enjoyed this more than the opening match, which I wouldn’t have expected. Good stuff. ***½ 

Griffin: Fenix is the best wrestler in the world! Sean and Jeri have a good analysis on what happened in the match so I’ll keep this short. There were a few cool spots with Bear Country in the match but the match really kicked into high gear with the final four of Rey Fenix, PAC, John Silver, and Jungle Boy. Fenix and Jungle Boy were the final two and I really need a full-on singles match between them. Very fun. ***½ 

AEW Women’s World Championship
Hikaru Shida © def. Ryo Mizunami

Sean: We got a good video package before the match where we got some of the backstory between these two, which included the fact that Ryo Mizunami was on the verge of retiring from wrestling before Double Or Nothing 2019. This ended up being a really physical match with great back and forth action throughout. Mizunami nearly had the match won on several occasions, and it took A TON of offense for Shida to finally put her away. For my money, this was the best match on the show up to this point, and it was definitely one of Shida’s best bouts in recent months. Don’t have much to say beyond that. It was really good! ***3/4 

Jeri: Holy hell, I had a blast with this. I didn’t type a word while it went down. A physical contest that was heated, well contested, back and forth, and did a good job of convincing me that Ryo Mizunami could’ve potentially pulled it off. It was given plenty of time, in fact maybe a small fraction could’ve been chopped off, and they made the most of it. Things looked ugly, in a brutal way at times, as both competitors beat the hell out of each other and threw everything they had at each other. It took everything Shida had in the tank to put down Mizunami who came off fantastically in this match and showed to everyone who didn’t know that she freaking belonged in this spot. Again went a little too long but I do appreciate that Shida had to throw everything she could to win the match putting Mizunami strong in defeat while giving Shida an excellent win. Maybe it went a little too much at the end, but in the end doesn’t take too much away for me. Best match on the show up to this point. Great effort and I need more of this shit, not just from the women’s division, but in my wrestling in general. Hard-hitting no-nonsense competition between two wrestlers wanting the top prize. Fuck yeah. ****1/4

Griffin: This was a lot of fun! Hikaru Shida and Ryo Mizunami threw some stiff strikes and some of the suplex landings looked downright ugly. I bit on a lot of the nearfalls down the stretch because of how impactful some of the strikes were. It did go a little too long but it helped that Hikaru Shida had to go through most of her offense in order to finally put away Mizunami. ***¾ 

Miro & Kip Sabian def. Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy

Sean: Miro and Kip Sabian attacked Best Friends backstage before the match, which included Chuck Taylor getting thrown through the glass window on a door. Miro drags a busted open Taylor to the ring and this starts off as a handicap match, with Orange Cassidy nowhere to be found. The heels worked over Taylor for a little bit until Cassidy finally came out, made the tag, and ran wild. We did get some shenanigans at the end, when Cassidy’s comeback was cut off by Miro tossing him into Penelope Ford. He then promptly killed Cassidy before submitting Taylor to the accolade. I didn’t expect the pre-match assault, but the bout itself was….pretty much what I expected, I guess. I figured it would be the worst match on the show, and while it wasn’t overtly terrible, it was the worst thing on the show up to this point. **1/2 

Jeri: Miro and Kip used the Greco Roman attack against your opponent’s backstage technique. Look it up, classic amateur wrestling. Match started off proper with Miro and Kip double-teaming poor Chuckie. Oranged started to make his way out but he was too injured and hurt to make it to the ring . .  . BUT IT WAS MOSTLY A RUSE!!!! Orange Cassidy went into that high gear he is capable of having and started taking it to Kip and Miro. Miro would do badass (Best Man) things and at one point Miro would push Orange into Penelope causing her to crash to the mat and then submitted Taylor. The pre-match assault added to things and I appreciated it but the match itself pretty much just existed. Sabian does nothing for me, but at least Miro got to wreck shit and came off badass. That’s about all I can really say. Not much else to say but did what it needed, or wanted to do I guess.**3/4 

Griffin: After the (wcw) backstage assault, Miro and Kip Sabian beat the shit out of Chuck in the ring. Chuck tried to fight back but wasn’t able to do much until Orange made it out to the ring. Once Orange hit the Orange Punch on Miro, the match picked up. Penelope Ford tried to distract Cassidy but Miro then shoved Cassidy into Penelope and she went flying! Miro then locked in the Game Over on Chuck to pick up the win. The pre-match assault added a good story during the match. ***

Big Money Match
“Hangman” Adam Page def. Matt Hardy

Sean: Forgot to mention this in the PPV review, but this is a rematch of Final Battle 2013, back when Adam Page was the smiling babyface with green trunks and a trucker hat. Page started off strong, but then got cut off by Matt Hardy. Page eventually fought back and managed to connect with a big moonsault to the floor. He nearly had the match won after hitting the Dead Eye, but Private Party came out and prevented him from getting the cover. This distraction led to Matt Hardy nearly winning with the Twist Of Fate (which got an unusually large reaction from the crowd). Dark Order came out to even the odds, and they gave Page a helping hand of their own before he hit the Buckshot Lariat for the pin. Obviously, Page winning was the right call, but they probably could’ve cut a few minutes off of this one. Technically, it was perfectly fine, though I wouldn’t say it was PPV worthy necessarily. ***

Jeri: I appreciate that Hardy got a control portion in this match that involved finger work that was boring and uninteresting. It gave me time to make some hot chocolate which was much more enjoyable. Hangman Page is such a talent and he does his best in this match to entertain me and make me forget I’m watching a middling affair. Matt Hardy has done a lot and I respect it, but Matt Hardy single matches in 2021 has little interest to give me. Hopefully, and more than likely, this is a placeholder feud for Page until he gets back to doing better and bigger things. Anyway, Page hit that kick-ass moonsault to the outside he knows how to do and that brought some life to my interest. Match felt it went longer than it needed to, a theme for the night it seems so far. Page had the match won but Private Party distracted him, and extended this damn match. Page fought them off but it almost cost him the match. Dark Order came out against Private Party and buckshot lariat finishes a match that could’ve been accomplished in a much shorter time frame. We have after the match group hug….. So sweet. Page puts this above two. ** 1/2

Griffin: This was fun at the start when I thought Page was squashing Hardy. Then Matt Hardy took control of the match and went after Page’s hand and fingers in such a slow, plodding way I almost fell asleep. Hangman Page tried to make this interesting. Please keep Hardy out of the ring and stick him in a manager role. Private Party was here for a distraction because this match needed to go longer. Dark Order made the save and helped Page hit the Buckshot Lariat for the win to, thankfully, put this to an end. I don’t want to see Hardy wrestle ever again. **

Face of the Revolution Ladder Match
Scorpio Sky def. Cody Rhodes, Penta el Zero Miedo, Lance Archer, Max Caster, Ethan Page

Sean: I know they said there’d be a Brass Ring hanging above the ring, but that thing is freaking HUGE lol. In terms of the mystery entrant, it turned out to be Ethan Page….who was one of the top predictions for this final spot. If Tony Khan can get Page to real in his wacky stuff (Karate Man better stay as far away from AEW as possible), then I honestly won’t mind his presence in this company. We did get an inference spot early, as Jack Evans came out to give Max Caster his boombox, only for 10 to run out and attack him. This was pretty average for a few minutes (this early period featured poor Lance Archer forced to sit on all fours while Ethan Page botched a move with Scorpio Sky), but then we got a freaking insane spot when Pentagon gave Cody a Canadian Destroyer on a ladder bridge, which took Cody out of the match. 

As Cody slowly made his way to the back, the rest of the match was just kind of there with guys just doing things. Then Cody finally came back and cleaned house a little bit. The pace started to pick up at this point as well, as we started to get some bigger spots. It eventually came down to Cody and Scorpio Sky, and Sky managed to knock Cody off the ladder and grab the giant brass ring. This was the strangest collection of guys I’ve ever seen in a ladder match in quite some time, and I think that was part of the reason why this match underwhelmed. You really didn’t have any major high flyers in here, and at this stage, you need those spectacular guys in Ladder Matches if they’re going to stand out in any major way. The effort was clearly there, and I appreciate the effort of all six guys, but this was below the Double Or Nothing Casino Ladder Match from last year….and that was considered underwhelming as well. Wouldn’t shock me if Scorpio Sky wins the title from Darby Allin on Wednesday. Looks like this might be the sign that they’re finally going to get behind him. ***1/4 

Jeri: The Power Ring From Sonic The Hedgehog hangs above the ring. Get enough of them they’ll be able to go after the Chaos Emerald. That thing is huge by the way. And the mystery entrant issssssssss……. Ethan Page. Putting Ethan Page in a match is the equivalent of dumping a whole bottle of ketchup on a really good steak, which instantly ruins it for me. I know others will be into him, and not knocking that, but not for me at all. To their credit, and Ethan’s, he got some spots that showcased him well so maybe he can do well in this environment. Just again, kind of an anti-hype reveal for me. Cody got taken out of this match after a Canadian Destroyer to the ladder courtesy of Penta. You could see Cody in the background during the match being checked on and talked to. This match was on the low end of ladder matches for most of it. While there were nice spots, there was also a feeling of not much going on quite a bit. Scorpio hit a NASTY LOOKING frog splash on Caster (lying on a ladder) at one point and I loved it. 

To no surprise Cody made the return from the injury spot happen. Match felt lonnnnnng. I don’t mind a match BEING long but when it starts to feel it that’s a different problem. Lance Archer choke slamming fools and Black Outing one (Caster) on a ladder does pop me and amp me the hell up though. Hell yeah. Came down to Scorpio Sky and Cody and Scorpio Sky throws Cody off the ladder and gains himself the power…. Eh…. Brass Ring. The match sure did happen and there were moments of good action and fun spots, but a lot of blah and nothing you had to sit through to get to them. Not a top-tier ladder match for sure. Disappointing, I had solid hopes for this match. Sometimes they just come short. ***

Griffin: Tony flew the wrong Canadian to Jacksonville. There were a lot of spots in the match but they were sparse and lots of nothingness happened between them. Multi-man ladder matches work best when it’s spot after spot after spot and this felt disjointed when it wasn’t that. Cody was taken out of the match for a bit to have his shoulder checked which took the most over person in the match out of the picture. The action was fine but there was no connective tissue and it felt like a mess the longer it went on. Some impressive spots helped this a little bit but the match crawling at a snail’s pace hurt it so much. If they shaved some time off this match and went all systems go, it would’ve been a lot better. ***

Christian Cage has joined AEW

Sean: As soon as those first few notes of the theme song hit, I knew it was Christian Cage. I love that his AEW theme is essentially a rip-off of his TNA theme, which was itself a rip-off of “My Last Breath” by Evanescence (both are great songs, for the record). It should be interesting to see what Christian Cage does in AEW. I really enjoyed his run in TNA, and if the dude can still go, I have no problems with him in AEW as long as he’s not pushed right to the top and beating younger guys that AEW views as the future of the company.

Jeri: It’s….. Christian /Cole. In all seriousness, if Christian Cage can still go I’m all okay with this sighing. He looks great, has gotten himself into shape, and I’d be interested to give him a chance and see what he has left in the tank to give the wrestling business. Always like him so I hope it works out for everyone, but especially him. 

Griffin: I’m so pumped with this! Christian Cage had the balls to return to WWE, work the Rumble to return to the spotlight, and immediately sign with AEW. While he’s a face of the past, I think Christian works best when he’s not under the WWE banner where he’s compared with Edge all the time. He showed that in his work in TNA and I’m sure he’ll show it here in AEW. He’s in the best shape of his career and will be a great addition to the roster.

Street Fight
Darby Allin & Sting def. Brian Cage & Ricky Starks

Sean: So this is taking place in a ring that’s located (seemingly) in the same warehouse that Darby Allin and Sting filmed a vignette in many weeks ago. Darby Allin and Sting had a very cool entrance with Darby/Sting style druids. The match quickly broke down into a brawl, which saw Ricky Starks fight Sting, while Brian Cage brawled with Darby Allin.

I know some people really don’t like cinematic matches, and that’s completely fair, don’t get me wrong (a lot of them….mainly the WWE ones….have sucked ass). This one, however, turned out to be one of the better ones. It was basically a street fight in an abandoned warehouse with some spooky music and commentary. They definitely could’ve made some changes for sure (take away the commentary and get rid of the music), but this was pretty good. This was a serious feud, so there was really no room for the kind of silliness that we tend to see in these types of matches. Darby Allin, of course, did some insane stuff, including getting powerbombed through glass, and hitting Cage with what must’ve been a two or three-story Coffin Drop on Brian Cage (obviously a crash pad spot, but I’m sure the stuff he’s done with Travis Pastrana prepared him well for that). Powerhouse Hobbs and a SHIRTLESS HOOK (looking freaking jacked) got involved, but the babyfaces were able to overcome the odds, and Sting eventually pinned Ricky Starks in the ring that was set up. A very entertaining (but very serious) brawl in a cinematic environment. ****1/2 

Jeri: I don’t like cinematic pro wrestling….UNTIL FUCKING NOW. That ruled. Well shot, well-executed, with excellent action that continued, progressed well, and just felt like a long movie fight. Credit to Sting for putting in the work he did, but Darby Allin took the full abuse, the abuse you’d expect Darby to take but amplified big time. There were negatives, the music wasn’t needed and I’d actually preferred no commentary. I appreciate the heels trying to gang up and win with the number’s advantage with Sting finally getting the feel-good win by pinning Starks. Darby would jump from the second story of the warehouse and lands on top of Cage breaking through a platform and disappearing into the depths below in what was the big holy shit moment of the match. This was flat-out fun, flat-out entertaining, and is probably the best use of cinematic wrestling we’ve gotten. This girl loved the majority of it. I’m entertained, and after some flat matches coming into this it’s what the PPV needed leading into the main event. ****

Griffin: This is what cinematic pro wrestling should be like! The cinematography was top notch and the match looked like the lovechild of movies and wrestling. The dark abandoned warehouse gave such a tremendous look and feel that it made the match seem a lot more intense than it was. Darby Allin is a wildman and took bumps that would probably kill any normal human being. Sting looked great and the format hid any weaknesses he may have had. Everyone played their role perfectly and helped build this match to a nice crescendo with Darby taking out Cage with a Coffin Drop from one level of the warehouse through the floor of another. Sting dropped Ricky with the Scorpion Death Drop in the middle of the ring for the win. I would not mind a full-on wrestling promotion in this style – it was great and had no stupid gimmicky comedy that these cinematic matches are known for. This had no bullshit and felt like a breath of fresh air when it comes to this style. I hope they release a Director’s Cut without commentary and fan reactions. ****3/4

AEW World Championship – Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch
Kenny Omega © vs. Jon Moxley

Sean: Moxley came out wearing a jacket that looked like it was stolen out of Chris Jericho’s closet. Meanwhile, Bryce Remsburg is dressed in a bomb suit, while Omega cut out the usual extravagant entrance. I feel like watching a bunch of the classic 90’s Exploding Barbed Wire matches has me prepared for what’s to come here. They do a lot of teases early, with both trying to force the other into the barbed wire. Eventually, they spill out through the side of the ring facing the stage (the only side without any barbed wire) and continue their brawl. Omega takes over with powder to the eyes, and throws Moxley into one of the barbed wire sides for the first explosion.

Mox is busted open, and Omega is in complete control. He managed to toss Mox through a barbed wire board, but a Figure Four attempt backfired, as Mox sent Omega into the barbed wire ropes TWICE for two big explosions. Mox then gave Omega a taste of his own medicine, sending him into a barbed wire board and a barbed wire chair. They both went into the ropes (more explosions of course) and that led to a Paradigm Shift off the apron onto barbed wire on the floor! Nasty stuff. Omega is now all bloodied up. We got the countdown music at the ten minute mark, and there was a very cool spot where Mox got his foot on the barbed wire ropes to break up a pin, putting the explosion right in Omega’s face. The only negative here was that we got interference from Anderson & Gallows, which did give us an exploding bat, but it led to the finish.

The assault continued after the match, with Omega & The Good Brothers leaving right before the explosion was set to go off. Eddie Kingston suddenly showed up, and covered up Moxley to save from an explosion that was…..less than impressive. It’s funny….the rope explosions were cool, the board explosions outside the ring were ok…..but that final explosion was comically bad. Like…..WrestleCrap bad…..so bad that it really ruined the angle that was meant to be a babyface turn for Kingston. Not sure if there was some sort of issue with the explosions, but talking about ending the show on a whimper. This would’ve been a five star match without the interference. After that ended, I needed to knock it down again a little bit. A shame really, but the match itself was still pretty incredible. ****1/2

Jeri: Before this match even began I grabbed hold of a “emotional support plushie” that I knew I would need for this match. I could feel my left foot tapping up and down in nervous energy. Here we go. I wanted this to be great, needed this to be great. More importantly, I needed these soon to be bruised, battered, banged up, burnt bastards to not be too destroyed. The way Bryce is dressed, Omega cutting out his usual extravagant entrance, Moxley taking a big shot of whiskey, this felt dangerous before the match even started. Fuck. Well let get what needs to be said out of the way the aftermatch explosion did not go well. Being upset that a ring with living people in it didn’t go big badda boom seems ridiculous, but that’s pro-wrestling for you. However,  Eddie diving over a fallen Moxley to protect him ruled and I hope we’re getting Kingston versus Omega next. 

Now, that out of the way fuck me I enjoyed the hell out of this. This fucking ruled. Yes, we had the damn Good Brothers interference and I wasn’t big on that, but overall this fucking ruled. Omega and Moxley once again worked some ultra-violent magic with each other. There was hatred and grit and yes we got the explosions and cuts, and scraps, and neither man is going to be feeling fucking good going into the late even/early morning. This was intense and violent. I clutched my plushie and I’m pretty sure I used an excessive amount of saying “fuck” throughout the match, especially when they got thrown into the ropes. One creative spot that has to be mentioned is Moxley getting out of a One-Winged Angel attempt by setting off an explosion with his foot that catches Omega in the face. EXPLOSIVE RING PSYCHOLOGY AT ITS FINEST. I won’t type for too much longer but god damn overall I enjoyed the hell out of this. Both men had the match they clearly wanted and delivered. The interference is a bummer and I wish they hadn’t done it. In the end, when it’s all said and done, interference and disappointing final explosion aside, I think this match was incredible. Wasn’t a grand slam, it wasn’t the perfect match that I was hoping be punctuated with one hell of an exclamation point, but fuck me it’s excellent. I loved it. I don’t want to watch it again for a while. ****3/4

Griffin: Time to see some of my favorite wrestlers explode! Mox took a big shot of whiskey before the match to really put over how dangerous this would be. I won’t be able to describe the events of the match as good as Sean so I’ll just give my thoughts on the match overall. This was fantastic until the ending. Moxley and Omega beat the living shit out of each other and the explosions looked really nice when they were thrown into the ropes. Moxley hitting the Paradigm Shift from the ring apron onto the triple hell board outside while shirtless. This was an easy full five until The Good Brothers interfered (yet another interference on this show) and Kenny Omega won the match before the big explosion…

Which turned out to be fucking sprinklers on the ring posts! Eddie Kingston came out to protect Moxley in an Onita/Funk callback and they sold the FUCKING SPRINKLERS like death! There was no impact on the final explosion. It was as flat as can be. It was laughable. It made no sense that the explosives during the match were much more impactful than the big finish. If you’re going to promise an exploding ring, do a fucking exploding ring. As for star ratings, I’m going ****½ on the match because of the stupid ending, and a big ole DUD on the horrible explosions.