AEW WrestleDream 2024
October 12, 2024
Tacoma Dome
Tacoma, Washington
Watch: TrillerTV, PPV.com, YouTube & more!
AEW Upcoming Schedule & Events
Meet our reviewers
Joey O’Doherty: Joey is an Irish contributor to the site who stays up late each week to watch AEW live. Follow Joey on X @awesomeojoe.
Sean Sedor: Before this PPV started, Sean was watching the big Penn State/USC game, which was still going on by the time the Zero Hour started (USC got a big lead early, but Penn State came back and made it a competitive game). He’ll probably provide updates as the review goes on. You can find Sean on Twitter @SASedor2994. If you’re interested in some of Sean’s other escapades, you can watch him play the Formula 1 games on YouTube (just search his name and you’ll find the channel), and you can also go to the Be The Booker forums if you’d like to check out Sean’s EWR Diary, where he plays as WCW (started in 1998, currently in March of 2003)
AEW WrestleDream 2024 Zero Hour
ROH WORLD TELEVISION TITLE – BRIAN CAGE def. ATLANTIS JR. (c)
Joey: Last time I saw Cage on PPV, he had a wardrobe clash with Sammy Guevara, so I am a little disappointed to see he hasn’t done the same tonight with Atlantis Jnr. All jokes aside, while I am not the Swolverine’s biggest fan (what the hell is a Swolverine anyway?), I think he’s in the ideal spot in AEW/ROH. He is a great gatekeeper and usually makes others look excellent in the process. Atlantis Jnr and Cage had good chemistry here, and this match really did rock. Atlantis Jnr really did shine here and I was very surprised not to see him pick up the win here after tipping him to win on the Preview. That said, the way the match went, I can’t deny Cage the win who also looked fantastic here. A great, fast paced match to start off. ***3/4
Sean: I thought the wrestling wasn’t going to start until the top of the hour, so this one is starting a little early from that standpoint. The action got started during the fourth quarter of the Penn State/USC game, which wasn’t exactly ideal (I’ll manage though). Brian Cage utilized his power advantage right from the jump to gain control, and dominated Atlantis Jr. (who had a bunch of tape on his neck and upper back) for the first few minutes. The champion finally managed to find an opening in the form of a pair of rana’s, and followed up with a series of dives to the floor. It became a more even affair from there (with some big moves from Cage). While Atlantis Jr. did manage to avoid the Drill Claw once, he wasn’t able to avoid a second one, and Brian Cage won the ROH World TV Title! I certainly didn’t expect that finish, though commentary did manage that Atlantis Jr. got injured in Mexico recently, so perhaps that’s why they changed the title here. Regardless, this was a super fun match from start to finish. Didn’t set the world on fire or anything, but it was pretty good given the spot it was in. Brian Cage is a great person to put a mid-card title on, so I’m sure he’ll have plenty of enjoyable matches during his title reign. ***1/2
AEW WrestleDream 2024 Zero Hour
ANNA JAY def. HARLEY CAMERON
Joey: Two minutes into this match and all I could think of was “Does Sean like this shit?”. I’m sure he does. I wasn’t expecting this match to blow me away, and it didn’t. Harley, to her credit, wasn’t half bad for her 16th match in AEW and she’s already better than Dana Brooke ever was. That said, she’s still very green. She slows everything down in between moves and her move set is very basic. The crowd did its best to try get into it but they were given very little to rally behind. Some bright spots included a nice baseball dropkick by Anna Jay and nice Gory Bomb finish which shocked the crowd into life. **
Sean: Right before this match started, Penn State got an interception that stopped USC from driving down the field, which essentially saved the game by guaranteeing that they’d go to overtime. So my attention was understandably a little split. Anna Jay was in control early after sending Harley Cameron to the floor and connecting with a suplex, though Harley was able to come back from being viciously stretched in the corner, and gained the advantage. Anna did manage to recover and put Harley away with her Gory Bomb finisher. A perfectly fine match for what it was. Anna has definitely improved after her tour with STARDOM, and I’m actually very curious to see how she does once she faces stronger competition down the road. As for Harley Cameron, she continues to be an unexpectedly solid addition to the women’s roster. **1/2
AEW WrestleDream 2024 Zero Hour
THE ACCLAIMED (ANTHONY BOWENS & MAX CASTER with BILLY GUNN) def. MxM COLLECTION (MANSOOR & MASON MADDEN)
Joey: One stale act one-dimensional in the Acclaimed against a fresh one-dimensional act in MXM. Max Caster’s gimmick as the best wrestler alive continues to be false advertising at its worst. I did pop a little for Rico but I did not pop for his yellow stained teeth in HD, yuk! I get that he and Billy Gunn have history, but their shared past is better left unsaid considering how backwards the whole Billy and Chuck angle was. This match always had a low floor and not much of a ceiling. Its passible for a preshow match but neither team should be anywhere near a main card considering the other talent available. The match wasn’t bad or offensive, but it wasn’t anything worth seeking out unless your desperate for some lower card, WWE-level sports entertainment. To be fair, my expectations were low and it was more enjoyable at times than I expected, with Bowens and Mansoor’s exchanges delivering the highlights. The low lights being Billy Gunn yelling “Suck my dick” as he rocker droppers Rico. *3/4
Sean: So the Penn State/USC game was already in overtime after the Anna Jay/Harley Cameron match, and Penn State thankfully managed to put the game away with a field goal to move to 6-0 on the season (WE ARE!!). I had to then drive home from my dad’s place, so I missed this match live, but I did manage to go back and watch it later. The big surprise from MxM Collection was….Rico! I’d call that a pleasant surprise. Before the match started, we did get a brief promo from Billy Gunn that referenced the time that he and Rico spent together as part of the Billy & Chuck act from 2002 (twenty-two years ago, my goodness). This was a very average affair that saw The Acclaimed pick up the win after both Billy and Rico got involved. The thing with MxM is that I don’t think they’re bad in the ring by any means (Mansoor has always been solid while Madden has shown improvement from his WWE days), but they’ve been involved in some pretty cringy stuff over the last few weeks that’s lessened my interest in them. Hopefully they can reel some of that in going forward. Not entirely sure where The Acclaimed go from here, as their stock has definitely fallen compared to where they were even a year ago. **1/4
AEW WrestleDream 2024 Zero Hour
THE CONGLOMERATION (ORANGE CASSIDY & KYLE O’REILLY) & THE OUTRUNNERS def. THE DARK ORDER (ALEX REYNOLDS & JOHN SILVER WITH EVIL UNO) & THE PREMIER ATHLETES (ARIYA DAIVARI & TONY NESE WITH JOSH WOODS & MARK STERLING)
Joey: Remember when the Dark Order was a regularly featured act? One minute you’re part of a nice trio with Hangman Page, next you’re staring at the lights for the Outrunners. At least Uno gave me 98 Mick Foley/Mankind vibes with his attire.
A fun match which was much more entertaining than the MXM/Acclaimed match it succeeded. The Outrunners are a great act and pairing them with OC was an enjoyable experience. ***
Sean: When I was looking through this card the other day, I was a little surprised that Orange Cassidy wasn’t anywhere on the show (especially since he was on Dynamite and Rampage this week). Well, they did ultimately add him to the card, as he and Kyle O’Reilly teamed up with The Outrunners to defeat The Dark Order and The Premier Athletes in an entertaining eight-man tag. The babyface side had the early edge before interference from Josh Woods allowed the heel side to isolate Orange Cassidy. They then worked him over for a bit until The Outrunners ran wild off a hot tag. After Cassidy and O’Reilly took out Mark Sterling, Ariya Daivari got double-teamed and pinned by The Outrunners for the win. This was by no means a stellar match, but it was fun while it lasted. It also seemed to set up a future match with Kazuchika Okada and Kyle O’Reilly, so sign me up for that one. ***
JAY WHITE def. “HANGMAN” ADAM PAGE
Joey: I’ve missed Jay White and it will be interesting to see how he works out as a Babyface with the Bang Bang Gang. Hanger is one of the most interesting acts in AEW and this match had me excited. Jay White worked great from underneath, had plenty of fire when on offense and Hangman was his usually rage driven self, battering White when in control. Some lovely spots such as the knee breaker on the stage, some lovely suplexes and suplex reversals, and a picture perfect uranage. Also loved the low blow denial by White, which was a pleasant surprise (fuck you MJF). The cherry on top was the Buckshot attempt foiled by the earlier injured knee into a lovely Balderunner. Both men excelled, both men got over and White got the win, perhaps setting him up for a future Moxley match should he win the title later tonight.
My only quibble is that I could have watched it go longer, but it’s a minor nitpick. A great opener ****1/4
Sean: It’s cool to see Jay White back. He recently made his return from injury to help his Bullet Club Gold (I will not call them the Bang Bang Gang) stablemates against Adam Page, who had targeted them over the last few weeks. The crowd was really booing Hangman in the opening moments, which makes sense given that they’re in Swerve Strickland’s backyard. After White had the advantage in the opening moments, Page gained control after clotheslining White to the floor. After a few minutes of Hangman having the edge, White managed to connect with a series of chops, and went on an offensive flurry of his own before Hangman gave him a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron. More battling near the apron led to Hangman giving White a powerbomb on the steel steps that looked absolutely brutal. White responded with his own big shot in the form of a shin breaker on the edge of the ramp! Can’t say I’ve seen that before.
Back in the ring, and White got a nearfall off a big Uranage. Page managed to counter the Bladerunner with the Dead Eye, but couldn’t capitalize because of the injury to his knee. White then countered a Buckshot Lariat attempt and hit the Bladerunner to score the victory. The finish was pretty awesome as the crowd exploded when White avoided the Buckshot and hit the Bladerunner (which is still a super protected finish that pretty much nobody kicks out of). This was a great way to kick off the PPV. These two have had a number of matches in the past (both in AEW and in New Japan), but this might have been their best encounter to date. Page continues to do well in this current role, and White was pretty awesome here as well. Some of those spots on the apron and on the floor were crazy. I don’t think Hangman loses anything off this loss, and the win was much needed for the returning Jay White. Curious to see where both go from here, but again, a stellar way to start this PPV. ****1/2
AEW WOMEN’S WORLD TITLE
MARIAH MAY (c) def. WILLOW NIGHTINGALE
Joey: May’s reign has been almost ice cold since winning in Wembley, while Willow is coming off a career best match against Kris Statlander at All Out, so no better woman to help The Glamour get her reign back on track.
Mariah comes out to no pop, which really signifies how her title reign has progressed, while Willow leaps off the screen as a star, with the crowd firmly behind her. She really is everything Hugger Bayley should have been. While her reign has been poor, Mariah May can go when she has the right opponent and Willow and herself had a better match here than their previous match in the Owen. Both women appear to have good chemistry together, while the hot crowd really got into this from the get go. Highlights here was a killer DVD into the corner which crushed poor May, a sick running Cannonball and a beautifully missed Moonsault by Willow. Mariah and Nightingale both laid in the striking offense here too, with some neat forearms, headbutts and lariats. Easily Mariah’s best match as Champion and probably the beginning of Willows redemption story as she loses yet another big match. Loved it. Joey liked this shit! ****
Sean: This is a rematch of the finals of the Women’s Owen Hart Cup Tournament from earlier this year. Mariah May hasn’t exactly had a stellar title reign thus far, but this match with Willow has the potential to be the best match of this reign. Things got off to a fast start with Willow hitting a bodyslam and a pounce while Mariah connected with a series of running dropkicks. The crowd was firmly behind Willow as she fought back against the champion, and she managed to respond with a big boot and a spinebuster for two. She then locked Mariah in a leg submission, which commentary put over as something she picked up from her time wrestling in Mexico for CMLL. This was followed by a fun stretch where Willow missed a moonsault, but somehow managed to survive Mariah’s finisher, May Day. Willow tried for the pounce after she recovered, but Mariah countered that with a big headbutt that knocked both down.
More back-and-forth between the two followed, and Mariah countered a counter from Willow on the top rope with a big rana, and followed with a knee strike and the Storm Zero for the win. This was an awesome match that featured some great action from start to finish. What really made this work was that it was wrestled at a pretty fast pace right from the opening bell. They had their foot on the gas and they never really let up. Willow continues to be one of the best women’s wrestlers in AEW (if not the best), and she added another incredible match to her impressive in-ring resume (though she still struggles to win most of her big matches, which has been a nice story). As for Mariah May, this was easily the best in-ring performance she’s had since coming to AEW, and a match she sorely needed to give this title reign some juice. Hopefully we get more performances like this from her going forward. I had a blast watching this one. ****1/4
TNT TITLE
JACK PERRY (c) def. KATSUYORI SHIBATA
Joey: While Perry has been much improved both in-ring and character-wise, he still comes off as a nice guy pretending to be mean rather than be a killer, cut-throat bad ass. It’s just not him and it’s hard to get into his matches no matter what he does.
That said, this is probably the most I’ve enjoyed him thus far in his heel run, so maybe he is slowly starting to grow into the role. He’s still far from feeling genuine in the position, but this match gave me hope. Shibata was the perfect foil for Perry here, and he excelled throughout as he beat the shit out of the young upstart. Shitbata teased me everytime he had Perry on his shoulders that GTS was imminent. Easily my fav Perry match since turning heel over a year ago. The finish may divide people, but I can get behind the logic and it worked for me. Perry squirms a win while in a submission and gets the heat. Garcia making the save sets up the next feud for Jack, one which surely sees DG grab gold. ***¾
The aftermath saw MJF make his return to confront DG, attack him and cut a promo while Garcia was down. Then Adam Cole returned to run to the ring and I couldn’t help but imagine him reinjuring himself with the small sprint he made to the ring. I’m not hugely excited by Cole in 2024. I still have a bad aftertaste from his previous story with MJF in my mouth and he’s never been a favorite of mine anyway. While Garcia may try to restore the feeling, Cole and MJF’s returns counteract it in spades.
Sean: We didn’t see Jack Perry driving up in his Scapegoat bus for once. This one started off with Shibata trying to go for some early submission attempts. Perry would spend the early part of the match trying to respond with strikes, which Shibata just brushed off before responding with strikes of his own. A few minutes later, the action spilled out to the floor, and Shibata connected with a NASTY suplex into the side of the ring. Perry would respond in-kind with a DDT on the floor. Once they got back in the ring, Shibata went on an offensive flurry, and locked in a rear-naked choke, but then Perry pushed back and got an out-of-nowhere pin (the fans were PISSED when they realized what had happened) While that came off as a weak finish in the moment, it does fit with Jack Perry’s character that he would get the win like that. A really strong match on the whole. Shibata was his usual great self, while Perry was on the receiving end of some incredible punishment. I know he’s been hit-or-miss since he came back as the Scapegoat, but the one thing you can’t deny is that the man is willing to take some crazy bumps in spots like this. A nice bounceback for Perry after a disappointing match with Bryan Danielson at All Out. ****
Afterwards, Daniel Garcia saved Katsuyori Shibata from a post-match beatdown, which led to MJF making his return to confront Garcia. They came to blows, with MJF getting the better of him. He was then going to hit Garcia with the Dynamite Diamond ring (which he managed to get back), before Adam Cole….seemingly as a babyface….came out and chased MJF off. Obviously the MJF/Garcia feud was going to continue after Garcia decided to stay with AEW, but Cole coming back to get revenge on MJF throws a….fascinating wrench into things. Are we getting a three-way feud between Cole, MJF, and Garcia? What’s going on with the rest of the Undisputed Kingdom (who have been showing signs of a face turn as of late)? A number of questions that still need to be answered for sure, and I’m curious to see where this all goes.
AEW INTERNATIONAL TITLE – THREE-WAY MATCH
KONOSUKE TAKESHITA def. WILL OSPREAY (c) & RICOCHET
Joey: While some will point out that Ricochet is in trunks again, I was more drawn to the big downward arrow on his coat, which surely signaled where his career direction was the past 6 years.
Now the match. It was just amazing. The timing of each man, the chemistry was off the charts, with all 3 men complimenting each other perfectly. The sequences here were off the chart, fast paced, creatively set up and expertly nailed. The one thing I will say which may be controversial is that its rare that Will Ospreay is outshined. Ricochet, held his own and kept up as he rehabs his image in style, but it was Konosuke Takeshita who was the MVP of this match ahead of the awesome Ospreay. Will didn’t have an off night, he was his usual near perfect self, but it was the Alpha who shined brightest in this match. His hard hitting but quick paced offense stood out throughout this amazing bout. He’s a star in every shape and form, and to be the man of the match, ahead of Will Ospreay who was firing on all cylinders is a testament to his talent.
My only gripe is that the finish wasn’t clean. It was always inevitable that there would be Callis family shenanigans and it does further the story, but I feel they could have done this another time. Let Konosuke win clean here and have a TV rematch with the shenanigans, then. I may not have loved the finish, but I did expect it and it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this utter classic. The finish, featuring a Kyle Fletcher turn, continues the story nicely. Kyle, looking more beefed up with more baby oil than a Diddy freak-out, surely is on his way to face Will in Oz in a few months time.
A joy from start to finish. Fucking loved it. *****
Sean: The big news here is that Ricochet is wrestling in trunks, dropping the long pants (for now). As soon as the bell rang, Ospreay and Ricochet double-teamed Takeshita with a series of kicks before turning their attention to each other. They did a shortened version of their famous Best Of The Super Juniors exchange that was quickly broken up by Takeshita. This was followed a short time later by Takeshita catching Ricochet on a Sasuke Special before Ospreay connected with a Sasuke Special of his own. More incredible exchanges involving all three men followed, including a wild battle on the apron near a table that Takeshita had set up earlier.
I reached a point where I just gave up even attempting to mention some of the amazing action in this match. Everything they’ve been doing is nothing short of stellar. Eventually, Takeshita tried to put Ricochet through the table on the floor, and although Ricochet tried to fight it off, Takeshita did put him through it with the Bastard Driver. Once Takeshita got back in the ring, Ospreay went on the attack, and seemingly had the match won until Don Callis pulled the referee. He then tried to go after Ospreay with the screwdriver, but Ospreay stopped him and tried for the Tiger Driver. However, he was stopped by Kyle Fletcher, who stabbed him with the screwdriver, and allowed Takeshita to hit a running knee to capture the title. This was followed by Fletcher hitting Ospreay with the Tiger Driver. While the way the match ended kept it from reaching five star status, this was still an unbelievable bout that was easily the match of the night to this point. The action from start to finish was out of this world, and all three men busted their asses. They went out there with the intention of having one of the greatest three-way matches in wrestling history, and when the dust settled, it’s certainly up there. As I mentioned earlier, there were so many insane moves and moments in this match that it’d take all day to go over all of them. With regards to the finish, they did manage to accomplish something with the Kyle Fletcher heel turn, so in that regard, it totally worked. It’s great to see Fletcher getting more of a spotlight, so hopefully this turn will lead to bigger and better things for him. Takeshita FINALLY getting a championship was pretty cool as well, and hopefully he’ll have a strong title reign. Excellent stuff all-around, and the continuation of the streak of great matches on this PPV. ****3/4
SWERVE STRICKLAND RETURNS
Joey: We all expected this to be the point where Big Bobbo Lashley enters AEW and we didn’t get it just yet. MVP and Swerve had a good segment, but it felt anticlimactic without Bobby Lashley debuting as it appeared the stage was set for Lashley to confront Swerve. Another time I guess.
Sean: As expected, Swerve got a huge reaction in his hometown when he was introduced by Prince Nana. Also as expected, MVP and Shelton Benjamin came out and interrupted his promo. Swerve went back and forth with some of the pros and cons of his relationship with Nana, and his history with MVP. He rejected MVP’s offer and solidified his loyalty to Nana. Swerve then got into a shoving match with Shelton Benjamin that was broken up by referees and Christopher Daniels. I guess the biggest thing here was that we didn’t get the debut of Bobby Lashley. Seems like they’re saving that for a later date, I suppose.
TWO-OUT-OF-THREE FALLS MATCH
HOLOGRAM [2] def. THE BEAST MORTOS [1]
Joey: Chuffed this match didn’t get relegated to zero hour as this is the kind of match AEW should be about at its core. Two great wrestlers doing cool shit and both getting over in the process.
Not sure if the stipulation was needed. Hologram unnecessarily loses his pin fall streak and Mortos got beaten very easily for the first fall. Surely a regular singles match would have worked better no? The crowd did want to enjoy it. While they did pop for the awesome spots, they were silent in between each cool move perhaps in need of a piss break match (Jericho I’m looking at you here bud). Still plenty to enjoy here but it’s position on the card coupled with the stip held it back from being better. ***1/2
Sean: While Hologram did wrestle on the All Out Zero Hour, this is his first appearance on the main card of a PPV. After some wild lucha exchanges between the two to get this match started, Hologram won the first fall with a diving crucifix bomb after successfully countering the wild Gorilla Press Slam off the top rope that Beast Mortos usually does.
The second fall started with absolute domination from Mortos. After sending Hologram to the floor, Mortos gave Hologram a Gorilla Press Slam onto the ramp in a really brutal spot. He remained in control once they got back in the ring, and while Hologram would respond with a moonsault to the floor, Mortos went on another offensive flurry back in the ring, and managed to win the second fall. Mortos becomes the first man to pin Hologram in AEW but, of course, the match isn’t over yet. Hologram fought back during the third fall, and during a battle on the apron, he connected with a wild reverse rana before following up with a huge springboard dive. More wild action followed, and after a series of big exchanges, Hologram secured the victory with the spinning Torture Rack Bomb. This was a really good match that probably would’ve been great if the crowd (which had been awesome all night up to this point) wasn’t still recovering from the crazy three-way match and (I guess) the Swerve segment. They both worked very hard, and Hologram took some insane bumps throughout this one. I thought the usage of the 2/3 Falls stipulation here was well done, as Hologram technically remains undefeated, but Mortos does get the scalp of being the first one to pin Hologram in AEW. It says something about this main card that this is the weakest match so far. ***3/4
DARBY ALLIN def. BRODY KING
Joey: Darbs is the male equivalent booking-wise of Willow, losing the last few big matches and probably being groomed for a big future win. Brody sadly won’t eb established further as a singles tsar, but he should be. Whenever I see Brody King in singles competition, I hope he never returns to trios hell with the 2 geeks of Black. Brody has all the tools to be a star and always excels when given singles opportunities.
He and Darby work so well together, and both men were very creative with the spots here. Both are perfect for one another as Darby gets battered by the big dominant man who literally looks like one big scary motherfucker and wrestles like it too, unlike some big men in wrestling (Ahem Wardlow and Braun). Darby is best working underneath and pairing him with King allowed him to be his best plucky babyface self. Simply put, King looks great throwing folk around and its fun seeing Darbs being rag dolled, so they work effortlessly together.
One of Darbs best qualities is that he will go to crazy lengths to get a match over. Usually when you see a potential crazy spot set up, you think nah they will just tease it with most wrestlers but Darby you just don’t know if the crazy fucker will follow through, which makes you fully invested. Darbs gets the big win here which may kick start his road to the title. Brody will probably go back to being a third wheel in the spooky faction, hopefully I am wrong.A great match that probably could have gone longer. ****
Sean: Before Darby Allin’s entrance, we got a video package that featured him skateboarding to (what I believe) was a version of his old EVOLVE theme. Right from the jump, Brody went on the attack. After sending Darby to the floor, he grabbed him by his pants and just tossed him into the barricade. Darby then tried to just launch himself off the steps, but he just got clocked by Brody, who followed up by crushing him beneath the steel steps. Back in the ring, Brody continued to toss Darby around. After Darby managed to avoid a running cannonball in the corner, he went on an offensive flurry as he just threw his body at Brody multiple times.
We got a nice role reversal of the interactions these two have had in the Royal Rampage matches with Darby trying to choke out Brody, but Brody just dropped him off the apron to regain control. He tossed Darby around again with some HUGE German Suplexes (including off the top rope). Another battle on the top rope led to Brody taking a big fall onto the steps before Darby followed up with a Coffin Drop. Brody just barely beat the ten count, but immediately ate another Coffin Drop, and that was it. Absolutely no surprise that Brody King and Darby Allin had an awesome match. Both guys played their roles to perfection as Darby scored a nice rebound win in front of his home fans after the big loss to Jon Moxley a few weeks ago. Brody looked like an absolute monster tossing Darby around, and I hope he (someday) gets a more focused push in this company outside of the House Of Black. ****1/4
AEW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES
THE YOUNG BUCKS (c) def. PRIVATE PARTY
Joey: Far from the Bucks best match….. Perhaps Private Party’s best match in AEW.
The short build didn’t do the match any favors, but the history of the match coupled with a huge improvement from Private Party in hyping the match in the short build did enough to get me invested. After a slow start it really picked up, especially in the closing stretch. Private Party worked hard and kept up with the Bucks, but it suffered from a bit of crowd burnout after so many cool matches beforehand. But it was still very enjoyable and the right team won as Party are not ready for a big win in their current form. ***1/4
Sean: Before Private Party made their entrance, we got a cool video with Amazing Red hyping them up. A pre-match promo from Matt Jackson led to a brawl before the bell that ended up on the stage, where Quen connected with a dive off one of the entrance tunnels. Once the match officially got going, Private Party continued to go after the champions until The Young Bucks found an opening and took control of the bout. Zay did go on offensive after a tag, and managed to pull off some pretty cool counters (including a counter to that new rope assisted powerbomb The Young Bucks started doing). After the two teams did some spots involving the barricades on the floor, Nick managed to hit a crazy top rope cutter on Zay. A few moments later, Private Party were able to get a number of big nearfalls (including off of Gin and Juice as well as More Bang For Your Buck). The Young Bucks responded with a series of big double team moves, and while Private Party managed to survive most of that tag team offense, it ultimately wasn’t enough, and The Young Bucks retained.
This was a really good match, but similar to the Beast Mortos/Hologram match, they had a hard time getting the crowd into it, at least early on. They did eventually get there, and the action throughout was really entertaining (as The Young Bucks continue their return to form after a sluggish summer). However, this one just fell shy of being great, at least in my eyes. Perhaps the crowd would’ve been more into it if the build to this title challenge by Private Party had been better? Maybe if Moxley and crew hadn’t destroyed them in the weeks leading up to this, the audience would’ve been more invested in this match from the jump? Better booking could’ve made this a better match, but alas, the booking in the buildup was what it was. The camera lingered on Private Party in the ring after the fact, so I wonder what this means for them going forward. ***3/4
ROH WORLD TITLE
MARK BRISCOE (c) def. CHRIS JERICHO
Joey: While I care for Broscoe, Jericho and his Greg the Hammer Valentine physique have had go away heat for me for a long time and he has not felt important for quite some time, so this match was always going to be a tug of war for my affection. Thankfully, the early exchanges thrived as the energy of Briscoe overpowered the staleness of the former Ocho. The shenanigans in this match was a welcome shot in the arm as it kept the pace up and allowed the crowd to remain invested despite being fairly burnt out by this stage in the night.
But Jericho took control and the match began to slowly die as he undid all the good work the energetic Mark Broiscoe generated. Things weren’t helped with a confused JR fumbling through the encounter on commentary. Luckily, Briscoe and his high-octane offense got me back into life every time he got on offense, carrying this match away from its lulls when Jericho had control and to his credit, Jericho did his best to keep up in the closing stretch which was far better than it had any right to be. Happy Briscoe won, as I had assumed Jericho was winning to get a bigger TV draw to head the ROH brand as it seeks a TV deal. A better than expected match that overcame its inadequacies. ***
Sean: Earlier today, I got the latest COVID vaccine, and I have to say that it’s probably the worst reaction I’ve ever had to a COVID shot, relatively speaking (it’s not horrible, but I’m feeling it a little more than usual). Alas, we’ve arrived at the semi-main event as Chris Jericho looks to win the ROH World Title for the second time. He and Mark Briscoe went right at each other when the match started, and Jericho actually managed to hit an early Codebreaker. After the action spilled out to the floor, Big Bill got involved while Jericho at the attention of Aubrey Edwards, but Orange Cassidy managed to fight him off.
Briscoe and Jericho spent a little more time fighting on the floor before they eventually got back to the ring. After a few minutes of in-ring exchanges, Jericho grabbed the attention of Aubrey Edwards again so Bryan Keith could come out and hit Jericho with a baseball bat. Briscoe kicked out, and then followed up with a dive to the floor that sent both him and Jericho through a table that Big Bill set up earlier. Jericho would respond with some big offense of his own, including a Judas Effect and a Jay Driller, but that only fired Mark up. He went on the attack, hit the Froggy Bow, and then hit the Jay Driller himself to retain the ROH World Title. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mark retain the title here, as I thought there was a pretty decent shot that Jericho could win. This was another match on this main card that was just shy of being great (a pattern in this second half of the show). Mark Briscoe always puts forth a strong performance, while Jericho did a fine job playing his role as the heel. I know Jericho has gotten a lot of crap recently (well, he has for the last few years, but especially as of late), and a fair amount of that is definitely deserved, but he did a good job in this spot, and had a legitimately good match here with Mark Briscoe. This was certainly a big question mark on this card, in terms of how the match would play out, though once the dust settled, this turned out pretty well. ***3/4
AEW WORLD TITLE
JON MOXLEY (with MARINA SHAFIR) def. BRYAN DANIELSON (c)
Joey: The one we all were waiting for. The best wrestler in the past 20 years, versus the most compelling man on AEW TV the last 4 weeks and arguably the soul of AEW. Moxley seems focused, motivated and looks like a million bucks since returning and I was really looking forward to this since he turned on Danielson at All Out.
This match starts in a flurry of chaos as Mox attacks while the music plays, which continues as both men kick the shit out of each other. What a start and its moments like this that make AEW special and separates it from the sports entertainment bullshit of the market leader. And man did this hot start really wake the fans up. Pro fucking wrestling!!! Danielson does not wrestle like a man on the brink of semi-retirement. Mox was not wrestling like the disillusioned man some reports were representing him to be. Both men seemed determined and motivated to deliver from the get go. This had a big fight feel baby.
Big respect to the guy jaw jacking with Mox in a gloriously stylish Ricky Martin shirt. A winner is certainly you, my friend.
The match itself is hard hitting, with both men going balls to the wall to keep the fans invested and make this fight feel genuine. Mox is certainly very much refreshed since his long overdue vacation away from the AEW scene in the summer, while Danielson is leaving it all out in the ring as if it was his last match. The crowd was firmly behind Bryan and they ate up all of Moxley’s bad ass heel bullshit like puppets on a string. While I was rooting for Bryan, not wanting to see him leave full time competition just yet, I was more interested in a Mox win and how he would move forward as champion with his newly found mindset.
When Moxley and Danielson hooked up at Revolution 2022, it had a different story, a simple one of not so friendly competition. This one, while also having a simplistic story, had clear lines of good vs evil, which allowed myself and the fans in attendance a clear man to root for and against, which gave this match a lot more juice than the Revolution bout. The home state crowd helped a bunch too, as did the stakes of Danielson retiring from full time action.
I loved this match, both men laid it in thick and the energy was present all the way through, captivating the once tired crowd all the way to the finish. The end did come unexpectedly, which I personally loved and it sucked the life out of the live crowd who couldn’t believe what they witnessed. Moxly wins and Danielson’s reign is over after 2 months. ****1/2
The aftermath saw a Wheeler Yuta turn, finally embracing the darkside by attacking Darby and taking Bryan down with a suffocation, before Claudio gets the death nail into Bryan’s full time career. The face locker room came out one by one to help and you can see Moxley’s next few defenses line up as they stand up to the new Champion(Jarrett, Cassidy, Allin…. Yes I said Jarrett), and it’s now fully established that Moxley and his ragtag crew are the big bads in AEW. Bryan gets the stretcher job and will presumably take some time off. Mox now leads AEW into a new phase, while Bryan gets to take some time off. An interesting end to the stellar PPV.
Sean: It’s always a joy to hear Bryan Danielson come out to The Final Countdown, but his entrance was interrupted by Jon Moxley before it could hit its crescendo. This led to a wild brawl around ringside as The Final Countdown continued to play (bringing up memories of Anarchy In The Arena). Bryan managed to fight back, and went on the attack once the match officially began, but then Moxley would respond not long after with a nasty piledriver on the Spanish Announce Table, damaging Danielson’s already injured neck. Moxley was in firm control once they got back to the ring, with Marina Shafir getting her occasional shots in (the crowd was furious whenever Marina went after Danielson). After avoiding a piledriver on the exposed concrete, Danielson finally managed a response with a series of kicks in the corner, followed by a Spider German Suplex.
After surviving a Moxley submission attempt, Danielson connected with a piledriver of his own. A standing strike exchange followed, which Danielson won, and he followed up with his running knee for a close nearfall (after Shafir had been kicked out from ringside by Bryce Remsburg). Moxley finally responded with a DDT on the exposed concrete, but this wasn’t enough to keep Danielson down. Yet another running knee from the American Dragon, but Mox responded with some big lariats. Danielson kicked out at one after a Death Rider, and delivered a defiant slap before Moxley hit a Gotch Piledriver before locking Danielson in a choke. Bryce Remsburg was forced to stop the match, and that was it. Jon Moxley is the new AEW World Champion.
Danielson did everything he could, but ultimately, his best just wasn’t enough, and his full-time career is now over. This was a hard-fought affair, as you would expect, and it was pretty great. The crowd was into this one the whole way through, and the action was awesome from start to finish, with both men playing their roles excellently. It was easily the best Jon Moxley matches in a long while (the match where he beat Naito for the IWGP World Title is the last one that comes to mind, but I thought this match was better than that one, and I can’t think of the last great Mox match prior to that Naito one in Chicago). Meanwhile, Bryan Danielson adds one more match to what has already been a stellar 2024 on his end. ****1/2
The show came to the close with the former BCC (including Wheeler Yuta, who turned on Danielson here) doing a major beatdown of Danielson. This included Yuta choking Danielson with a plastic bag (while a tied-up Darby Allin watched helplessly) and Claudio stomping on Danielson’s head while it was wrapped in a chair. Some of the other babyfaces (like Private Party and Jeff Jarrett) tried to help Bryan, but failed. The former BCC didn’t leave the ring until a larger contingent of babyfaces and security drove them away. Quite the way to end the show, as this angle will likely put Danielson out for the foreseeable future. I’m definitely curious to see where everything goes, now that Wheeler has turned and now that Moxley is the World Champion once again. Who will step up to face Moxley and company next, and when will Danielson come back to get revenge? Time will tell.
