Tag: The Inner Circle

AEW Revolution 2021: Every Match Ranked

AEW’s first Pay-Per-View of 2021 is behind us, and honestly, I think this is one of the rare times where a show perfectly matched my expectations. It was a good show that I had a fun time watching, but I wouldn’t rank it among AEW’s best. There were some surprises, some great matches, some…interesting decisions and a whole lot to talk about, so let’s do that.

9 – PAC & Rey Fenix won the Casino Tag Team Royale
(Winner gets a match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships)

In my predictions video, I described this as a ‘tag team Royal Rumble’ and…yeah, that’s pretty much what it was, although I don’t think it lived up to the prestige of that name.

This wasn’t a bad match, and I’ll talk about what I liked in a moment, but I think there were some major flaws with this one. For one thing, the pacing felt way off, especially around the middle. There were spots and people doing wrestling moves, but there weren’t any ‘moments’ to tide us over between entrants. On top of that, the entrants should’ve been given a lot more fanfare. For one thing, I didn’t even know how far along we were or when the last entrant had come in until the commentary team told me.

On top of that, I didn’t like having the countdown visible for the whole 90 seconds. Firstly, it’s really distracting when it’s in the centre of the screen; it was what my eyes were naturally drawn to rather than the in-ring action. Secondly, it meant they had to very strictly stick to it, which isn’t the worst thing, but I would’ve preferred it if they had ‘kayfabed’ the timer (like in Royal Rumbles) if it made the flow of the match feel better and made moments go off with more of a bang. There were a couple of times in this match where a significant spot/elimination was overshadowed by a team entering the match, or vice versa.

That brings me to my other issue, which is that none of the eliminations felt like they had any real impact; they all just sort of…happened. Not to mention towards the end of the match, they were happening so quickly that I barely had time to digest each one.

However, there was still stuff I liked, most of it was in the final few minutes, though. Using John Silver & Jungle Boy as make-shift partners against the heels made for a compelling finish, and they teased the final eliminations just enough to keep me going until the end. It was just a bit of a rough journey getting there.

8 – Miro & Kip Sabian def. Best Friends

I liked this match, it was just a bit short. It’s not that big of a deal; on a show with 9 matches – 3 of which went over 20 minutes – there was going to have to be a short one. As such, it felt like it started halfway through, with Best Friend having been beaten down off-camera before the match started. I actually thought it was a good way to start things, and I like that not everything has to be on camera in AEW, they give us enough credit to work out what happened when the cameras weren’t there.

The bulk of the match was fun, it just didn’t have any unique pop to it. Orange Cassidy did his thing and hit his moves. The two teams traded momentum for five minutes, and then we went to the finish. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. As I said, it has its place on the card, it’s just not going to make me all that hyped.

Miro getting the win was the right decision, and there’s the threat of Miro causing Penelope Ford to take a tumble that they can pull on and hopefully pull Miro away from his pairing with Sabian.

7 – Hikaru Shida(c) def. Ryo Mizunami
(AEW Women’s World Championship)

Every now and then, I get a match like this where I can watch it and analyse it and see that it’s a great match. It hits all the right beats and has technical workings in there that I enjoy. And yet…I just don’t connect with it. For whatever reason, be it the story, or the placement on the card or some tick in my mind, I didn’t get invested in this match despite being able to see that it was good.

Shida & Mizunami had evident chemistry, which is no surprise given their history in Japan. I’d say the middle portion was this match’s strongest point. With the face vs face dynamic, neither woman was ever going to dominate the other, and the middle is where I think the flow of momentum was the best. It took a little while to get going at the start, and I think it really petered out by the finish. For some reason, all of the passion and brutality between the two women we saw in the middle evaporated by the finish. Shida hit a move…then another move…then another move, and that was it. The result was that despite going for 15 minutes, I came away from the match feeling underwhelmed.

6 – Britt Baker & Maki Itoh def. Riho & Thunder Rosa
(Pre-show)

There’s really nothing complicated about this one. It was a really good tag match between four women who will hopefully be much bigger stars in the weeks and months to come.

Bringing in Maki Itoh was a good move here. Despite being eliminated in the first round of the women’s tournament, people really connected with her, and I can’t say I blame them. Her style plays differently from what most of the other Joshi wrestlers have to offer, and she’s exceptionally charming on social media…in a very sweary way. I’m glad AEW stuck to their guns and are keeping her as a heel, though. It would’ve been easy to just make her a face, but you’ve got to play to people’s strengths and to turn her face might’ve made her get lost in the sea of face women’s wrestlers AEW currently has under their belt.

That’s all I’ve got to say, the match was very enjoyable to watch, but there isn’t anything particularly special to talk about. I’m just waiting for the day when AEW finally stop spinning its wheels with Britt Baker and put her in the title scene.

5 – Sting & Darby Allin def. Team Taz
(Street Fight)

I didn’t realise this match would be pre-taped when I wrote my predictions, but I’m happy it was. My biggest worry was how exposed Sting could look if he had to wrestle a full-length match in front of a crowd like this, but the controlled setting in which this match was set was perfect.

The dingy setting of the abandoned warehouse was the right choice as it made the whole thing feel extremely back-alley. It played into Allin’s gimmick and aided many of the spots they had planned for the match. The action did lull in certain places, but it kept me engaged for the majority of its runtime and the high spots were definitely worth it. Allin going through the glass was visually fantastic, and the elbow drop through the hole in the ground was a wonderful exclamation mark on the match that made Allin look brilliant.

One thing for which I’d really like to commend this match is having Taz commentating over the thing. Many of these cinematic matches forgo commentary entirely, but this match showed the benefit of using it when you get it right. Taz’s input really helped tell the story of this match, which could be a little murky at times without commentary on it, and his emotion felt really genuine, which sold the match wonderfully.

This match is a good summary of this show, on the whole, now I think about it. It wasn’t the best cinematic match ever, but still very good and a worthy entry into the history books.

4 – Kenny Omega(c) def. Jon Moxley
(AEW World Championship)
(Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch)

So let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first: the closing ‘explosion’ spot was shite. In an interview, Tony Khan said it was the best they could do without actually blowing up the ring, but that just isn’t true. I’ve seen exploding deathmatches before, and it’s not that difficult to make the explosion look good. Just shoot up a bunch of smoke and sparks ALL THE WAY around ringside, so the ring is momentarily covered by the smoke & sparks. It still won’t look like a real explosion, but it’d at least look like they tried. It seems they’re going with the narrative that Kenny (in kayfabe) just did a shitty job of rigging up the explosive, which I guess works, but it really left the show – which was a good show – on a crappy note. I did like Eddie Kingston coming out and doing what he did though, I really felt the emotional impact of that moment.

So what about the match itself? As I said, I went into it with an open mind as I really didn’t know if I’d like this kind of match. Now it’s over, and I can conclusively say…I think I liked it? I definitely didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t like this amazing revelation of a new style of wrestling I love either. It had ups and downs. As far as spectacle is concerned, it was great (except for the ending), the explosives having this constant presence in the match gave every move some level of tension, and it was always a bit of a shock when one went off, even if it was telegraphed. On the downside, when there weren’t crazy weapon spots or explosions going off, it was boring. Admittedly, that wasn’t very often, but there were periods where my interest waned.

I also wasn’t a fan of the booking of the finish. I get that Jon Moxley is one of the hottest properties out there right now, and you want to protect him, but having the Good Brothers show up and cost him just felt kinda cheap. I know that’s the point, to a certain extent, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. The exploding barbed wire bat was super cool, though. I’m happy Omega retained, but I want to see him do something different now.

3 – Hangman Page def. Matt Hardy
(Winner gets the 2021 Q1 earnings of the loser)

I’d say this is the best regular singles match Matt Hardy has had in…10 years? Maybe more?

It wasn’t the most technically incredible of matches, but the story was there to give it all the heat it needed. In the same way that I failed to connect with the women’s title match, I absolutely connected with this one. It hit all of the beats it needed to and never felt like it was outstaying it’s welcome. It favoured a very steady build with momentum going back and forth the entire time. Truthfully, I think both of these guys have very similar in-ring styles, which is a big reason as to why it worked so well. Both men can pick up and slow down the pace at will with a mixture of hard-hitting strikes and visually impressive manoeuvres.

Whenever Matt has a match these days, it seems to be a coin flip as to whether he’ll look rusty & exposed or as good as he always has, and you can never really tell which one you’re going to get until the match starts. Thankfully, we got the good one here. Page, meanwhile, continues to be one of the best and most easy to like wrestlers in AEW at the moment. You can tell he’s been around Kenny & the Bucks for ages because he has such a firm grasp of how to tell stories in the ring, even through subtle ways.

In my predictions, I thought Matt winning would be the more interesting story, but having seen how this one turned out, I think I was wrong to say that. It’s clear AEW isn’t handing Page a loss anytime before he challenges (and hopefully wins) the world title, and I’m on board with it, Hardy will be able to keep doing his thing regardless, and Page can move on to someone new.

2 – The Young Bucks(c) def. The Inner Circle
(AEW World Tag Team Championships)

Another excellent tag match by The Young Bucks…what more do you really want me to say? Admittedly this one didn’t quite live up to their other significant matches but, to be fair, that is a VERY high bar to clear. The actual story beats between the two teams were ok going in, but they really made something of them in the match. The Bucks came out of the gate with a much harder style than what we usually see from them. It didn’t last once things got going, but it gave the match a different feel in the beginning.

As expected, they did a good job of showing how the Bucks wrestle as a team compared to Jericho & MJF, who wrestled as individuals. The heels were very rarely working in the ring together, and when they were, Jericho was directing traffic. Conversely, you have the Bucks who work together at every opportunity and rarely even need to tell each other what to do. It’s this kind of dynamic that made their match with FTR work so well, and I’m glad they’re still putting an emphasis on it here.

The Bucks retaining was the right choice. The Inner Circle are only about half a step away from collapsing (we may even see it happen on Wednesday), so putting the titles on them now would’ve been relatively pointless. The Young Bucks will probably be champs for the better part of this year, and I’m all in favour of that decision as long as we keep getting matches like this.

1 – Scorpio Sky def. Cody Rhodes, Lance Archer, Penta El Zero Meido, Max Caster & Ethan Page
(Winner gets a match for the TNT Championship)

The one time I say Scorpio Sky doesn’t have an outside chance…

There was so much going on here, and all of it was brilliant. Ethan Page’s debut kicked things off with a bang. Like most new AEW signings, I know nothing about his prior work, but they’re treating him like a big deal, and I liked what I saw, so I’m willing to go with them.

Everyone got something worthwhile to do in this match, and no-one was ever forgotten. Page got the big spotlight as he debuted and established himself as a continuous presence in this match. Penta does what he does best and used the fast-pace to his advantage, doing something noteworthy almost any time he was on screen. Cody got the big story beat of getting hurt but fighting his way back. Caster got in on the biggest spot of the match with the elbow drop off of the ladder. Lance Archer, meanwhile, felt damn-near invincible, it always took a lot to get him out of the ring, and whenever he was in the mix, the spotlight was on him. As I said in my predictions, I think it would’ve been a bad idea for him to win, so booking him this way was the best option.

Then, of course, Scorpio Sky got the win. Like Penta, he was in the mix a lot and did a bunch of cool stuff as he did so, which helped this win feel earned. Not to say he hadn’t earned it before. He’s been someone waiting to break through for a while now. I don’t think he’s going to take the title from Allin, but I do think it’ll be a match worth talking about, and it’ll keep him around the upper mid-card until he’s ready to finally ascend.

So there you have it! Those are my thoughts on the show; thank you very much for taking the time to read this. Please, let me know what your thoughts were in the comments below or on Twitter @SStyleSmark. Finally, make sure to come back here this time on Saturday, where I’ll be running down my favourite Fall Guys levels!

AEW Revolution 2021: Predictions & Analysis

Despite the fact that there’s been a lot of wrestling over the past month, it feels like it’s been ages since the last AEW PPV. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; it’s certainly better than the fatigue I get from WWE’s schedule some times, but there’s been a lot going on with their programming as of late, and it can be tough to keep track of it all sometimes with how spread out they are.

As for this card, it’s not looking like one of AEW’s best, but there’s still plenty I’m excited to see. Not to mention, it’s not like AEW have put on a crap PPV in their lifespan so far, so I don’t have really have much reason to worry.

Riho & Thunder Rosa vs Britt Baker & Reba
(Pre-Show)

I’ll talk a bit more about the current state of AEW’s women’s division a little later, but the short version is, it feels like it’s on the upswing.

There isn’t that much story going into this match, but that’s ok; it’s more about showcasing the talent they have on offer at the moment. I think all four of these women could be in title contention soon, so giving them the chance to do their thing on the PPV stage is a good decision, even if it is only on the pre-show. AEW has shown before that they’re willing to give pre-show matches a proper amount of time rather than artificially cutting them short, which will absolutely be to this match’s benefit.

The result could go either way, as both teams would benefit from having a credibility boost. Since it’s a pre-show match, I will go with the default and say the faces, Riho & Thunder Rosa will win.

Miro & Kip Sabian vs Best Friends

This feud has been a bit hit or miss week-to-week on Dynamite. The overall presentation and through lines have been good, it doesn’t feel like a waste of anyone’s time. However, some individual segments, like the wedding segment, were just a bit much and outstayed their welcome.

That said, the match should be great. We haven’t really got much of a chance to see what Miro can do with the chains off, and Kip Sabian is just begging to break through in a big way. On the other side, the Best Friends have already established themselves as wrestlers that can be relied upon for great matches. I don’t think this will be a particularly long match, but I’m expecting a bit of a frantic pace and a whole heap of melodrama.

Again, I think the result could go either way. Miro should really be getting some big wins, as he’s been AEW for a while now and hasn’t got any. On the other hand, it’s Orange Cassidy who is one of the most over stars at the moment; he’s beaten Chris Jericho in singles competition more than once, so should be really be losing here? There’s a lot of outside elements in play here, and since it’s a tag match, Cassidy doesn’t need to take the pin, so I’m going to go with Miro & Kip Sabian to find a way to sneak a win.

Casino Tag Team Royale
(Winner gets a match for the AEW World Tag Team Championships)

So a lot is going on here, and about a thousand different ways things could go.

First of all, this is a Tag Team Royal Rumble, so sign me the fuck up for that. I’m excited to see how the different dynamics play out here, the ring will get pretty crowded at some point, and that should lead to a lot of enjoyable chaos. On top of that, I think there are a lot of possibilities for the winners.

All three Dark Order teams are in with a shout. Their character shift since Brodie Lee’s tragic passing has been exactly what it needed to be; there was no way that faction would ever be booed following that event. They feel like they’ve come together in a beautiful way and their presence on-screen almost always brings a smile to my face. If I had to pick one of those teams to win, I’d go with Alex Reynolds & John Silver. Silver has absolutely been the group’s breakout star, and I’d love to see him get a shot at the titles.

Santana & Ortiz would be an interesting choice for the winners, too, as you could go different ways with it depending on who wins the tag title match. If the Bucks retain, it’s a good opportunity to continue The Inner Circle vs Young Bucks feud. Meanwhile, if Jericho & MJF win, then it will push the narrative of The Inner Circle slowly falling apart.

Outside of those teams, there are a bunch of other teams with an outside chance. PAC & Fenix, Butcher & Blade, SCU and Natural Nightmares are all in with a shout. Private Party has potential too, but given that they’re currently going after the Impact tag titles, I’d doubt they’ll win.

It’s a really tough choice picking a winner, as all of them would make for good stories. In the end, I’m going to go with my gut and say Alex Reynolds & John Silver, it just feels right, and it’d work regardless of who the champs are.

Cody Rhodes vs Scorpio Sky vs Penta El Zero Meido vs Lance Archer vs Max Caster vs ???
(Winner gets a match for the AEW TNT Championship)
(Ladder)

Once again, we’ve got ourselves a multi-man match where the winner is up in the air. Let’s run through the participants.

Max Caster – Caster feels like the kind of guy where, while I don’t have to say about him now, he could easily be a big deal a year from now. He’s got tons of potential and is a great upside as a wrestler; he’s just not quite at everyone else’s level in this match yet. Hopefully, this will be a great performance for him, and I’m glad AEW are giving guys like this opportunities, but he’s not winning.

Scorpio Sky – Sky is always in these ladder matches for title shots, and every time I say he’s got an outside chance and every time, he doesn’t even get close. Every couple of months, Sky has a fantastic match with one of the more prominent names and we all rave about how he’s a future star of the company, but then nothing ever comes of it. Hopefully, one day that’ll change, but I don’t think it’s happening on Sunday.

Penta El Zero Meido – Another wrestler who always feels like they’re in these ladder matches but never actually wins any. I don’t really know what to say, he may win, but I doubt it. The Lucha Bros feel like they’ve got a vague direction right now, but I’m hoping it’ll form into something more clear soon, but I doubt that direction will be the TNT title.

Lance Archer – If the champ was anyone other than Darby Allin, I’d probably be picking Lance. I didn’t expect Archer to work as a face so well, but damn, it’s so easy to cheer for this guy. He taps into that face-monster archetype really well, and AEW could have a fantastic champion on their hands in a year or so if they build this right. However, I don’t think he’s going to win. While I’m sure a match between Allin & Archer would be great, it doesn’t make sense for them to face each other right now.

As much as I don’t really care about size in wrestling, Archer should realistically destroy Allin in a match, and that’s just not going to happen. If Archer squashes Allin, then it throws all Allin’s build down the drain, and if Allin managed to beat him, it would be a huge blotch on Archer’s record. No-one would gain anything from it, so they shouldn’t do it.

Cody Rhodes – This just feels like the best pick. Given how their previous match ended, it’s felt likely that a rematch would be on the cards; it just so happened that both men go sidetracked by other ventures before it could happen. I wouldn’t call it a sure-fire thing though, Cody’s tied up with Shaq as well right now, so that could always rear its head here and mess with Cody’s plans. It just seems to me that, out of all the announced participants, Cody is the only one that makes sense.

??? – What about the unannounced participant, though? Well, I honestly have no idea. I’d say the money is on it being someone from Impact, but I really couldn’t say who.

Either way, I’m going to go with the safe bet and say Cody Rhodes will win the title shot.

Hangman Page vs Matt Hardy
(Winner gets the loser’s 2021 Q1 earnings)

This is a weirdly interesting story and one that I think only works because of Page’s current trajectory. The whole downward spiral he’s on is the kind of story that’s going to have an incredible payoff when Page eventually beats Omega for the world title, but in the meantime, you’ve got to find ways to keep it going.

This story has been a brilliant way to keep it going. The story of him getting involved with The Dark Order but refusing to officially join them was unique and endearing for the characters on all sides, and this story with Matt is the perfect highlight of Page’s current character flaws. To be clear, I mean the kind of flaws intended by the narrative, mainly Page’s drinking, as it’s what got him into this situation in the first place. The stipulation of the winner lifting the loser’s earnings is brilliant for this story, even if we do know it’s not real. There’s this real sense that if Page loses this, he might have nothing left to keep him going and bottom out, and that’s some proper narrative stakes.

As for match quality, I’m sure it’ll be great. Page is perhaps my favourite wrestler in AEW right now regarding his ability in the ring, and Matt Hardy has proved that he’s not slowing down any time soon. I’m expecting a little bit of shenanigans from Private Party and maybe The Dark Order, but I doubt it’ll have too much bearing on the match.

When you look at who should win, it really depends where you want Page’s narrative next. Do you want him to continue his downward spiral? Or do you want this to be the point where he starts to bring him back from the brink? Personally, I would continue the downward spiral and really push the character to rock bottom. However, I don’t think that’s what AEW is going to do. With the ranking system, I’d imagine that Page isn’t going to be losing many matches this year for his eventually world title match. So I’m going with Hangman Page to win this one.

Team Taz vs Darby Allin & Sting
(Street Fight)

This story’s been a bit of a wild ride, that’s for sure. Sting’s appearance in AEW was one of those things that was shocking but inevitable. I had my doubts as to whether he’d ever wrestle (and, to be honest, I still have my doubts about how much he can go), but AEW wasted no time getting him in the ring. Allin has been a big beneficiary of this feud, which is good because I doubt it will do Team Taz many favours. While Allin hasn’t been defending his title so much because of this feud, his association with Sting (and inevitable victory) will raise his stock like a strong title defence never could.

I’m not entirely sure what to expect from this match. The street fight stipulation was definitely a good choice. It’ll allow Allin to perform at his self-destructive peak, allow Team Taz to get really vicious in their attacks and will create a naturally slower pace, so Sting doesn’t look exposed. Not to disrespect Sting, of course, but it’s been over 6 years since he last wrestled, and during that last match, he quite literally almost died in the ring, so I think I can be forgiven for worrying over how well he’ll be able to wrestle in this match.

Darby Allin & Sting are winning this. This match is by far the one I’m most confident about, Allin is a new champion who needs some wins under his belt, and this is Sting’s first match in AEW and first match in 6 years; there’s no way that team is losing. It’s a bit of a shame for Team Taz, but they can bounce back from it if that’s what AEW want for them.

The Young Bucks(c) vs The Inner Circle
(AEW World Tag Team Championships)

The Inner Circle and their story has been fantastic ever since AEW began. After Jericho lost his title, it really felt like the group’s days were numbered, but they managed to turn it around and keep feeling fresh with their endeavours. Now we’re in 2021, and yet again, they’ve changed up their makeup, and we’re looking at yet another story in the group. MJF joining was perfect, and the writing surrounding this story has been incredibly compelling. The knock-on effect of MJF’s presence and Jericho’s unwillingness to bend for the good of the group has been slowly creeping in week by week, and the consequences are on the horizon.

In regards to what they’ve been doing with The Young Bucks, I’ve liked that too. It’s not been the most complex of stories thanks to what’s going on within The Inner Circle, but it’s had the impact it needed to. On top of that, the Bucks and the Inner Circle are so diametrically opposed characters right now that it just kinda works regardless. Plus, there’s the hype of the actual match. All four men are bloody brilliant wrestlers, and if the Buck’s previous tag title matches are anything to go by, there will be a properly engaging story told between the dynamics of each team.

I went back and forth on this one a few times, but now I’m writing it out, I actually feel fairly confident in picking The Young Bucks to retain. That idea of the Bucks being the most solid of teams while Jericho & MJF are two bastards that are just one bad day away from turning on each other will come in to play, and The Inner Circle just won’t be able to hang with the best. Not to mention, it finally gives Jericho a reason to doubt MJF, and the cracks in The Inner Circle can start to get bigger.

Hikaru Shida(c) vs Ryo Mizunami
(AEW Women’s World Championship)

Inarguably my biggest criticism of AEW over its small lifespan so far has been the abysmal treatment of the women’s division. This year, they’ve committed themselves to building the division up to the prominence it should have, and while there’s still a long way to go to get to where it should be, the trajectory is finally pointing upwards. This tournament has done a great job of highlighting just about every competitor who’s worth taking note of in AEW’s coming weeks and, now they’re going to have more open access to their Joshi stars again, we should start to see a much greater variety in terms of feuds and title contenders.

Regarding Ryo Mizunami, it took me a little while to come around to her, but with each match in this tournament, I’ve enjoyed her work more and more, and I’m really excited to see what she & Shida can do. Shida has always worked really well against larger competitors, and Mizunami is one of the best ‘big women’ I’ve seen in wrestling in a while.

I’m struggling to pick a winner, though. Logic says that Shida should retain. Ryo is still a new star to the AEW fanbase, and putting the title on her straight away might put people off. However, this women’s tournament has felt like a big restart of the whole division, and what better way to make that statement of starting fresh than giving us a brand new champion? It’s a tough call, especially because I’m a huge fan of Shida, but I’m going to take the risky option and predict Ryo Mizunami to take the title.

Kenny Omega(c) vs Jon Moxley
(AEW World Championship)
(Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch)

Kenny Omega’s run as AEW champion has been quite a wild ride so far. Kicking things off with the partnership between AEW & Impact was one hell of a bold move, but one that absolutely worked. It built the hype surrounding this new champion, and it made me care about Impact for the first time since The Final Deletion. Seeing Kenny as a heel feels out of place, which is weird considering that’s what he was for the majority of his time in New Japan, but I’m liking it. The dude’s clearly been given a lot of creative freedom with how he operates, and he’s producing a lot of entertaining TV because of it.

An Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch, though…I really don’t know how to feel. I’ve never really watched deathmatch wrestling, nor have I ever wanted to. I don’t consider myself to be all that squeamish, but some of the clips I’ve seen of deathmatch wrestling are just…a lot to look at. This isn’t going to be a watered-down version of it either, Moxley made his name in this style of wrestling, and Kenny is never one to be 1-uped, so you know he’s going to go all the way with it. That said, I did enjoy their unsanctioned match from 2019, which most people said was ‘too much’, so maybe I’ve got more of a stomach for it than I realised. As I said, I just don’t know whether or not I’m going to enjoy this, so I’m going to go in with an open mind and see how it hits me.

The one thing I am sure about, though, is that Kenny Omega is winning. Moxley was an amazing champion, and between AEW & NJPW, he’s one of the biggest stars in all of wrestling right now, but his time with that title is done. It’s time for us to see him do new and exciting things in AEW outside of the title. Similarly, Kenny’s reign is just beginning. It’s gone really well so far, and it has an extremely promising future, so he’s definitely holding onto it for a while.

And there you have it! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this post. Please, let me know what you think will happen on Sunday, either in the comments below or on Twitter @SStyleSmark. Finally, make sure you come back here this time on Monday, where I’ll be publishing my review of the show!

AEW All Out 2020: Predictions & Analysis

It’s been a while since we’ve had one of these, but it’s time for AEW’s next Pay-Per-View! I’ll admit, with all the hype surrounding NXT Takeover, Summerslam & Payback, I’ve let my AEW viewing fall short somewhat. However, I dedicated this past week to catching up on the past month & a half of Dynamite, and I’ve got to say, I’m really enjoying the shows they’re putting out. Almost every week, there’s at least one match that feels like a big deal, and I can’t say that about Raw or Smackdown these days. Even NXT seems to be cramming its weekly shows with more and more filler (the past couple of weeks not included).

Regardless, there are nine matches on this show, and I’m going to predict them, because if I don’t do it, then you will? You know…other than any wrestling fan with any kind of minor online presence. If you saw my predictions for Double or Nothing, earlier this year, you’ll know that I got almost every match wrong, let’s see if I’ve learnt anything since then.

Britt Baker vs Big Swole
(Tooth & Nail Match)

Britt Baker’s injury was certainly unfortunate, but I’ll be damned if she hasn’t turned it into one hell of a positive for her character. It’s allowed her to play a properly slimy heel that can never seem to get her comeuppance because she’s hurt. Sort of like what MJF has been doing, but in a different way. Baker has been using it to take shot after shot at anyone she feels like dissing, and no-one can seem to do anything about it. Which is why I think there’s going to be some serious shenanigans at play during this Tooth & Nail match. Looking towards Big Swole, for one thing, that’s a dumb name, I don’t care what you say, but when it comes to her wrestling, she’s definitely got ‘future star’ written all over her. At the moment she’s not much more than a no-nonsense babyface who wants to kick people’s arses, and that works for her. It might not work forever, but that’s a problem for future Homer.

I’m curious as to what the Tooth & Nail stipulation entails. On Dynamite, it was implied that this is going to take place at Baker’s dentist surgery, and Tony Khan confirmed a few days ago that it would be a cinematic match, so honestly, anything could happen. Given that Big Swole picked the stipulation though, it seems an odd choice to give Baker the home-field advantage, but whatever.

I’m struggling to pick the winner though. Big Swole should definitely be being built up as a star, but I don’t think it’s going to be her time for a good 6-8 months or so. Meanwhile, Britt Baker is a ready-made opponent for Hikaru Shida already (spoilers), so provided she’s healthy, I don’t see any reason to delay that feud. Plus, as much as she’s been promoted as one of the spearheads of AEW’s women’s division, Baker isn’t a point yet where she can take innumerable losses and not suffer, she still needs big wins. So that’s why I think Britt Baker is coming away victorious in this one.

Casino Battle Royale

So, normally in big multi-man matches like this, I run down the possible candidates that I think could win the thing, but realistically, I think there are only two in this one.

I’m of two minds with AEW’s strategy for running a bunch of number 1 contender matches on their PPVs. It’s an excellent opportunity to give someone the spotlight who might not have received it otherwise, and I like that it gives the world title scene a constant sense of direction. However, I’m not sure a bunch of one-and-done title shots are doing much to elevate the contenders. I don’t know about you, but Brian Cage’s match against Moxley didn’t really do much to elevate him in my eyes. However, it’s a fun battle royal, and I like fun battle royals.

So, the two people I could see winning this thing (other than a surprise entrant) are Lance Archer & Darby Allin, and to be honest with you, which one I think is going to win mostly depends on the result of the main event. Lance Archer would be a great next challenger for Moxley, they’ve got recent history from their time in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and I would be down for a really brutal feud. Meanwhile, Darby Allin would be the perfect first opponent for MJF. From a character perspective, they’re perfect foils for one another, they’ve got in-ring styles that should mesh amazingly, and it would be a great showcase that AEW is willing to invest in its future with young stars.

Other factors that have played into my decision to pick Darby Allin as the winner though. For one thing, Allin’s been on the brink of breaking through for ages now, and they’ve got to do something with him before the fans stop giving a shit. Also, Lance Archer has plenty of options without needing to go after the world title. I would sure as hell like to see Archer vs Cage, even if it was heel vs heel.

The Dark Order vs Matt Cardon, Scorpio Sky & The Natural Nightmares

That TNT title sure has been going strong, hasn’t it? I still think the belt looks a bit boring, even with it’s improved look, but that doesn’t matter, because the booking team have been treating it very prestigiously. A series of open challenges is an excellent way to get me interested in any title/champion, and the run Cody had with the title was fantastic. Then, to have Brodie Lee come along and absolutely eviscerate Cody was the perfect next step. For one thing, Cody is easily one of the most sympathetic babyfaces out there, for another thing, it reestablishes Lee as a massive threat following his high-profile loss to Moxley. Not to mention, it’s given The Dark Order the credibility it’s been lacking, meaning I’m now a hell of a lot more interested in what they’re doing than I was before.

Given how close Lee winning the title has been to All Out, I don’t mind there not being any kind of title match on this PPV, because his presence around The Dark Order should be enough, especially if there’s an angle going down. As for the faces, I couldn’t care less. I’m happy to see that Cardona is making waves after leaving WWE, but unless he’s going to be a permanent fixture on AEW TV, then I’m not going to bother getting invested. I like Scorpio Sky, but this is not how I want to see him being used, he should be having high-profile singles feuds with anyone and everyone. I like Dustin, no complaints there, and QT Marshall is alright, but I haven’t really found a reason to like him yet.

Regardless, The Dark Order are winning this one, in fact, this is by far the predictions I’m the most confident about. They’re riding a huge wave momentum right now, and it’s way too early to hand them any significant losses. Combine that with the fact that the faces aren’t in a position to be hurt by taking a beating here, The Dark Order should absolutely wipe the floor with them.

Jurassic Express vs The Young Bucks

Yes, this is a match with nothing on the line, no build and is pretty much just ‘for the hell of it’, but it’s going to be excellent.

I’ve got very little to say about this match, other than that I’m really looking forward to it. Jurassic Express have been on fire ever since AEW began, and The Young Bucks have always been able to go with the best. The only there is to discuss is who I think is going to win. I think it would be nice for Jurassic Express to take it, but The Young Bucks have been jobbing themselves out like crazy since AEW began. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy they’re not going the exact opposite way and overbearing the whole show, but they’ve got to win big matches sometimes.

So I’m going with The Young Bucks, but really, I’m going to invoke the ‘we, the fans, win’ cliche in regards to this match.

Matt Hardy vs Sammy Guevara
(Broken Rules)
(If Matt Hardy loses, he must leave AEW)

I don’t know why this pairing works so well, but I’ve been enjoying this feud a great deal since it began. Sammy’s sign schtick has been wearing a bit thin, but it worked for this feud and allowed for some cool moments. Not to mention, it made great use of the picture-in-picture aspect of the ad breaks. Their matches have been killer too, after recent events, Sammy was always going to have to earn his way back into a prominent role in AEW, and I think his matches with Hardy have done just that.

Apparently, a ‘Broken Rules’ match just means a Last Man Standing match, which admittedly, does take away from my hype for the match somewhat. I honestly can’t remember the last Last Man Standing match I actually enjoyed, but I do think it’s the logical progression given where they’ve gone with the feud so far. If nothing else, I think it’ll serve the story perfectly, even if the action suffers as a result.

If the ‘Matt leaves AEW’ stipulation wasn’t on the match, I’d pick Sammy Guevara without a second thought, but that’s really thrown things into the air. It’s entirely possible that Matt Hardy could be going away for a little while, many on the internet have already theorized that he’ll just come back under a different gimmick. The only problem there is that AEW has already acknowledged Matt’s multiple gimmicks to be the same guy, so I don’t think the logic would hold. Ultimately, I’d prefer to Sammy win this one, but as it stands, I’m going for the safe pick, Matt Hardy.

Chris Jericho vs Orange Cassidy
(Mimosa Mayhem)

This match is going to be an absolute blast.

The in-ring action probably won’t be world-class, but in terms of pure entertainment value, this could easily be the most enjoyable match of the show. Jericho has proved time and time again that he’s one of the best comedic wrestlers when he wants to be, and Orange Cassidy is an absolute master of comedic timing in wrestling matches. Will it be over-the-top and a bit stupid? Probably, yes. Will that make it incredibly fun to watch? Hell yeah.

This feud as a whole has been really entertaining too. I love how dedicated AEW has been to getting Cassidy over as a real main-eventer, even despite his highly comedic persona. Jim Cornette and his screaming piss-babies will be forever crying about how comedic wrestling is the work of the devil and is ‘killing the business’, but it’s time to leave them behind and embrace the entertainment value of a guy like Cassidy for what it is.

The interesting thing about picking a winner is how the stipulation of the match is actually going to work. The way I see it, there is absolutely no way that Cassidy is going in the vat of mimosa. His character is one that can bounce back from any beating you give him, but humiliating him like that is insanely damaging to his persona. However, the match can also be won by pinfall or submission, so it’s entirely possible that Jericho could win the match via pinfall, only for Cassidy to push Jericho into the mimosa after the match to get the last laugh. Ultimately, I think that if Jericho’s going into the mimosa regardless, you might as well give Orange Cassidy as big of a boost as possible by giving him the win.

Hikaru Shida(c) vs Thunder Rosa
(AEW Women’s Championship)

AEW really need to get their shit together when it comes to the women’s division because this match has not been hyped or built nearly as much as it should. Shida is the kind of wrestler that you can build a division around, with her running strong at the top, and yet she’s barely on TV, and even when she is, it’s almost never in the ring. The treatment of the women’s division has been AEW’s biggest problem since the company began last year, and it’s incredibly frustrating to see that they’re not learning their lessons.

However, the one thing they do at least do well, is that they give the matches plenty of time on the shows, which is why I’m still very excited about this match. I don’t know a lot about Thunder Rosa, but what I’ve seen of her, I really like. As much as AEW hasn’t been pushing her personality properly, I’ve enjoyed what I’ve got of it so far, and I think she’ll click really well with Shida in the ring. I just think AEW has been leaning too heavily on Rosa’s status as the NWA Women’s Champion to sell her to the audience when really, that should be secondary to her character.

Now, I don’t know anything about what AEW’s agreement is with the NWA, but I don’t think AEW would be willing to put their women’s title on someone who isn’t under contract with them. It’s certainly not unheard of, but I’m pretty confident in my belief that Hikaru Shida is going to retain.

Kenny Omega & Hangman Page(c) vs FTR
(AEW World Tag Team Championships)

I didn’t think anything from this year could top Omega & Page vs Young Bucks, but if any team can do it…it’s FTR.

The build for this one has been excellent. I don’t like how absent Omega has been from a lot of it, but it’s a case where the story works fine without him; in fact, you could argue it shrouds the dynamic between him & Page in even more mystery. Everything Page has been doing all year has been great, and it finally feels like things are coming to a head. FTR has been masterful heels, manipulating Page to get him to screw over The Young Bucks and cause a rift between him & Omega, while not being so overbearing that they can have deniability about the whole thing.

I mean, come on, you don’t need me to tell you that this match is going to be amazing. FTR were one-half of one of my favourite tag team matches of all time (vs #DIY at NXT Takeover: Toronto), and Omega & Page were one half of the other of my favourite tag team matches of all time (vs The Young Bucks at AEW Revolution). With guys who can go in the ring like these and a story as hot as this one, I’m expecting a match of the year candidate.

Funnily enough, I think the outcome is fairly obvious. FTR are coming away with the titles. There’s definitely still a route for the story to go if Omega & Page retain, but I don’t think it’s the right way to go. We all know that FTR vs Young Bucks is where we’re headed, and while you can argue that match doesn’t need the titles, it should absolutely still have them involved. Tully Blanchard said it himself, if you haven’t got the titles, how can you truly say that you’re the best?

Jon Moxley(c) vs MJF
(AEW World Championship)

This is a real toughie. The thing is, this is the moment that MJF’s AEW career has been leading towards ever since he first showed up. There’s no way he isn’t going to hold the AEW Championship at some point in the next year or two. The thing is, is it actually going to happen now?

The feud has been great. MJF is the epitome of a clever heel. He knows that Moxley’s attitude is ‘fight first, talk later’ so he’s taken every opportunity to prevent Moxley from resorting to violence. The whole campaign to ban the Paradigm Shift has been a wonderful satire of the political landscape, without diving too deep to feel like a straight-up parody. Moxley’s bounced off it perfectly too. I adored his performance in the contract signing, where he just sat there and let MJF shoot his mouth off for ages, his facial reactions, the little comments he’d make were terrific. I honestly think Moxley could do very well for himself as an actor if he really wanted to.

I’m interested to see what direction the match will take. MJF can absolutely go in the ring – just watch his match against Jungle Boy at Double or Nothing if you don’t believe me – so they could wrestle a largely technical match. MJF touched on the idea that he was going to do everything in his power to keep Moxley from taking the match out of the ring, so I think there could be a great story to be told with Moxley wrestling a technical style in the ring. Alternatively, this could be a huge story-based match, with lots of excitement, big spots and interferences. I think either way would be equally as entertaining, provided they’re done well.

I’ve got to pick a winner though, and I honestly don’t know. As I said, MJF is getting his hands on that title eventually, I’m just not sure if now is the right time or not. It’s one of those situations where I’d be happy with either result, I’d love to see Moxley continue the absolute tear he’s been on as of late, but MJF at the top of the mountain would make for some incredible TV. It’s a tough call, but I’m going to go for MJF. I don’t know why. It was just my gut feeling.

And there you have it! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this post. Please, let me know what you think is going to happen tonight, either in the comments below or on Twitter @10ryawoo! Finally, make sure to come back this time next week, where I’ll be running down my favourite tracks from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise!