_poster.jpg)
Kevin Knight made his AEW PPV debut against Will Ospreay in the opening contest, a first round match from this year's Owen Hart Invitational. Knight was a last-minute replacement for Jay White due to injury. It is so rare to see Ospreay perform a "sloppy" move, but there was an awkward couple of moments here. Of course, that can almost be expected in a match like this, which was loaded with insane maneuvers and fought at a breakneck speed. Knight's dropkicks were excellent and there was at least one counter - to an Ospreay Styles Clash attempt - that got a "What the fuck?" pop out of me. This was a hot opener and a crowd-pleaser, but certainly a "lesser" match than what Ospreay and White would've delivered in terms of gravitas and importance. (3/5)
The Hurt Syndicate - Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley - defended their AEW World Tag Team Championships against Big Bill and Bryan Keith of the Learning Tree. Noticeably absent from the match was Chris Jericho (which had me wondering if it was due to tension with MVP). Big Bill was very over with the Philly crowd, but its not like the Hurt Syndicate were getting booed out of the building. This was a decent bout and had more heat and crowd engagement than the Hurt Syndicate haters would ever admit. MJF interfered to help give the Syndicate a win, an interesting wrinkle in the story of him potentially joining the faction but not having the acceptance of Lashley. Nothing super special, but at least average. (2.5/5)
Mercedes Mone vs. Julia Hart was next in another Owen Hart Invitational match. Mone botched a move early on that drew huge boos, but I loved the way she turned the moment into another reason to gloat and grind, dancing around in such a way as to draw even more attention to her cockiness. There were some telegraphed spots that stood out and some near-misses where one or both competitors could've been badly hurt, but they worked through them and some the "big moments" in this match - like Mone's double-knees off the apron or the finishing sequence - got huge reactions. It was an imperfect match, but Julia Hart, under 25 and relatively "green" compared to the better workers in AEW let alone the WWE, didn't crumble under the spotlight and Mone showed what she brings to the table in terms of keeping the crowd's focus on the action through impressive, attention-grabbing spots. (2.5/5)
The AEW Trios Championships were on the line as PAC, Claudio Castignoli, and Wheeler Yuta defended against Adam "Cope" Copeland and FTR. The story coming into this show was that there had been some dissension between FTR and they weaved that into the in-ring action. The crowd seemed a little bit burnt out at the start, but things picked up once we got the flurry of signature moves and near falls that the match desperately needed towards the back end. This was not Cope's best performance in AEW, but "hiding him" in tag matches is a wise decision at this point as he was noticeably slower than everyone else involved in this contest. The post-match was a little "cutesy" with Cash feigning that he wasn't going to join Dax in his beatdown of Copeland before "revealing" his true colors, but the level of violence and execution of the piledriver on the chair (as well as the two 1-man Conchairtos) was excellent. I also loved the post-match heeling of FTR here, really going the extra mile to draw heat from the crowd when turning on Cope could've actually gotten cheered based on the general "anti-ex-WWE guys" mood that can sometimes rear its head onto AEW shows. (3/5)
Toni Storm defended the AEW Women's Championship in the next bout against relative newcomer Megan Bayne. Bayne was accompanied to the ring by Penelope Ford. "Timeless" Toni's pre-match video was a somewhat odd tribute to Rocky, but like seemingly everything she's done with this gimmick, it worked (I also dug Luther's "Mickey" get-up). Bayne tried to use her power early but Toni hit her with a crossbody to slow her momentum. Bayne caught her with a suplex and then dropped her with a stalled powerslam and then an impressive reverse slam ala Scott Hall followed by a big boot to the floor. Bayne hit an insane dive, but caught Luther instead of the champ, who then planted her with a DDT on the floor. Ford distracted Storm, allowing Bayne to rock her with a nasty big boot. Bayne then hit a beautiful butterfly suplex as Excalibur did a great job on commentary explaining how much Bayne has improved since her early days. To be honest, prior to this match, I hadn't caught much of Bayne's work but she was very, very impressive in this match, especially for a 26 year-old. Bayne hit a series of short-arm clotheslines but failed to capitalize. Toni hit some slaps but then it was Bayne again in control with a trio of absolutely great belly-to-belly suplexes. Bayne went for a weak pinfall just to slap Storm in the face and, for the third time in the match, Ford got involved. Luther carried her away to a huge pop, evening the odds. Storm hit a series of forearms and then a Lou Thesz Press. Storm hit another tornado DDT and then applied an STF, but Bayne powered her way to the ropes. Bayne countered a Storm Zero attempt and ended up hitting a back suplex that lifted Storm from the apron back into the ring - a move one would normally see out of a powerhouse like Castignoli. Back to the top rope they went, where Storm then hit a nasty back suplex of her own, flipping Bayne all the way around to the point that she nearly landed directly on the top of her head. It was a scary, scary drop in a match that had already been full of nasty drops. An earned strike exchange sequence followed - something I'm not usually a fan of but made sense here because of how heated things were. Bayne missed a splash and Storm landed another German suplex and then attempted a hip attack but got German suplexed directly on the back of her head! Bayne then hit a brilliant Falcon Arrow for a great nearfall. Storm went for a roll-up and got 2 and then, after some standing switch counters, another German suplex and a hip attack! Bayne no-sold it but Storm hit a headbutt and then an even more nasty trio of hip attacks! Storm Zero, but Bayne kicked out at 1! Holy shit! Bayne hit a back body drop, a lariat, and then a flying clothesline followed by a sit-out powerbomb, but didn't go for the cover. Bayne went for her cover, but Storm countered it into an inside cradle to somehow sneak out the victory! Wow. Another Match of the Year contender for Storm and another "Best Women's Match in AEW History"-caliber match to my eyes. (4.5/5)
Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe had the unenviable task of having to follow an instant classic but worked very hard to keep the show's momentum and generally succeeded. Fletcher and Briscoe have great chemistry and did not hold anything back. Fletcher hit a nasty suplex that sent Briscoe's head into a chair early on, a move that could've worked as a finish but was just "table-setting" here. Whereas the previous match featured a real progression of a story from beginning to end, this was more of a tit-for-tat war where it was hard for either guy to get a clear, lengthy advantage despite all the bombs being thrown, including an absolutely wicked brainbuster on the apron. I'm not sure why this match would have a higher rating over on Cagematch than the Storm/Bayne bout, but I'm guessing it has something to do with a word that rhymes with nexism. (3/5)
Chris Jericho defended his Ring Of Honor World Championship against Bandido in the next match. They were behind the eight ball before the match even began as Jericho is not well-liked among the "smart" fans these days, this feud feels like it exists on a separate island than anything else on AEW's flagship shows, Jericho's title is wholly irrelevant at this point (with him making the title all about "sports-entertainment" and not pro-wrestling a punchline to a joke that was finished being told months and months ago), and Bandido is not considered even close to a "top guy." Once the bell rang, Jericho and Bandido worked hard and they tried to throw in every possible hook they could to get the crowd engaged. Much of it worked. Bandido hit some impressive maneuvers that showed off his mix of speed and strength. Jericho didn't look terrible either and was able to keep up with Bandido's pace. Having Bandido's family at ringside did allow for Jericho to get good heat and did help Bandido garner support from the crowd. But then...it became the focal point of the match...and the match went on for close to 20 minutes (the longest on the show by that point)...and Jericho's bat strike looked super weak...and then we got a silly "Dusty Finish" that was meant to be a feel-good moment but made Bandido look a bit like an undeserving goober when this could've/should've been a big triumphant moment for him. This wasn't a trainwreck and those calling it that are being overly critical of Jericho, but the booking and layout of this match did not do it favors and this probably would've been much better received if they had shaved off 2-3 minutes of in-ring action and went with a more definitive victory for Bandido. (2/5)
Daniel Garcia vs. Adam Cole followed for Garcia's TNT Championship. This was the third match in a row - on a very long show - that felt like it could've been on an episode of Dynamite or Collision and not necessarily a PPV as it has mostly played out on Collision for a much smaller audience. The crowd wasn't asleep for this, but they were working extra hard to keep a crowd engaged with big spots and "finisher spamming" on a night where the crowd had already had their mind blown by any number of flashier, more impressive athletes. Cole and Garcia are also in the unfortunate position of not having "the look" of some of their peers, an element of that matters in a cosmetic business where being undersized or thin must be overcome through personality or innovative offense. While Cole and Garcia both have charisma and, at times, have seemed like they could breakout as top-of-the-card talents, Cole hit several career speedbumps due to injury over the past few years and Garcia is still putting it all together, a promising future star but not one that has accelerated the way, say, Kyle Fletcher has. This was a good match, but not a memorable one. (2.5/5)
Kenny Omega defended the AEW International Championship against "Speedball" Mike Bailey and Ricochet in the next contest. This match went over 30 minutes and though I didn't love some of the "cooperation" that was occurred - especially early on when all three fell prey to the nasty habit of rolling their opponent over during a pinfall, essentially helping them kickout quickly and get back to their feet so they could get to the next spot - this was a spectacular fireworks show featuring some incredible sequences and some very innovative offense out of everyone. There was also great character work from Ricochet, who, over the past few months, has definitely come across as a much bigger star than he ever was in WWE. I loved Bailey's multiple double-knee variations, some of which were absurd in their execution and impact. Talks of this being among the best triple threats in history may be going a bit too far when this sort of match has become increasingly commonplace, but this was certainly well above average and one of the better matches on the show. (3.5/5)
Main event time - Jon Moxley vs. Swerve Strickland for Mox's AEW World Championship. This followed a much more traditional structure as they were some babyface shine in the beginning, followed by an extended heel beatdown that led to Strickland being bloodied, before he got in some hope spots. Moxley's use of a variety of submissions is selfish jui-jitsu fetishism to me, a style that pops him but clashed with the high-energy offense of Strickland, who was excellent here, giving the match life with his facial expressions and offense as Mox continued to grind him down with chokes and leglocks. I can understand Mox wanting to work a slower pace than the go-go-go style on display elsewhere on the card, but at this point on a 4+ hour show (not including Zero Hour), the crowd wanted some big drama and it took arguably too long to get to it. Things picked up quite a bit in the second half, once Swerve began to rally, hit his kicks-to-the-face, and Shafir ate a neckbreaker from Mox. At this point, Mox also grabbed a ladder, which didn't make a ton of contextual tense (okay, none at all), but did lead to Swerve stomping Moxley off the ladder and through the ringside table. It wasn't perfectly executed, but it still made for a great visual and got a huge reaction. Into the ring they crawled to exchange forearms, another Moxley "go-to" that he's maybe overused a bit too much in his attempt to pay constant homage to the Japanese wrestling he adores. I liked the ref bump that came when Mox threw a chair and Swerve ducked. This led to Hangman coming out, looking unsure of who he might hit with the front-flip clothesline, but then getting attacked by the Death Riders. Page fought them off and nailed Mox with his reverse piledriver, which led to HOOK, Joe, and Shibata running out to even the odds in a total clusterfuck. Swerve tossed the chair to Mox, hit a stomp from the top rope, and pinned him to win the title to a huge ovation...is how the should've ended. But, instead, Swerve hit the stomp, the lights went out, and then the lights came back on the Bucks hit him with their finish to help Mox retain in one of the more poorly-received PPV finishes in AEW history. From a storyline perspective and - in terms of execution - this was an effective gut punch that raises serious questions about where this storyline is going...but the issue is, Mox's title defenses have been mostly "mid" as the kids say, his work has been outright sloppy at times (note in this match how many times Mox re-positioned himself or telegraphed the next big move in blatant ways) and Swerve Strickland is very over and among the best wrestlers on the planet right now, the kind of talent that you can build a main event around with minimal effort (something AEW has not successfully done with Mox during this run). AEW is a company that's "best foot forward" is its wrestling and Mox is looking more and more like a relic. The match itself wasn't terrible (thanks to Swerve) and the big finishing angle was well-produced and legitimately surprising...but it'd be near-impossible to want to revisit this or recommend it. (2.5/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.9-out-of-5, Dynasty 2025 featured two excellent matches, a few matches that were good-not-great, but, unfortunately, some underwhelming matches in the middle of the card and a main event that left a sour taste in most viewers' mouths.
FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand
No comments:
Post a Comment