AEW So Horny | AEWeekly #204

Welcome to the #AEWeekly review discussion where PWM contributors reflect on the highlights of the last week in AEW. The eligibility week always includes the most recent episode of Dynamite and Collision, plus any social-media exclusives up until publication.

This week’s contributors are Abel [@loza3.bsky.social] covering Match of the Week, Emiliana [@emilianartb.bsky.social] giving us the MVP of the Week, and Sergei [@sergeialderman.bsky.social] with a few words on Moment as well as editing and organizing it all.

 A page of links to prior installments may be found here: #AEWeekly

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Swerve Stickland vs Kevin Knight

"The Present vs the Future"

by Abel.

Can you believe that the “other” company asked Kevin Knight to come in for a TRYOUT? Is Knight a finished product? Of course not, but he is way above any tryout or a developmental league. On last week’s episode of Dynamite, Knight proved he is not only the future of All Elite Wrestling, but the present as well. On the other side of the ring was the former AEW World Champion, Swerve Strickland, testing the young Jet to make sure he is ready to start the next chapter of his career. This also seems to be Swerve’s new chapter in his AEW career as he is becoming one of the measuring sticks for anyone trying to make it to the top of the card.

Swerve and Knight put on a hell of a match, all in the name of trying to prove to each other they are who they say they are. The Jet is trying to prove to a mentor that he is the next big thing, and Strickland is proving to himself, but more importantly, MJF, that he is still the most dangerous man in AEW. For the absolute battle and display of peak human athleticism, Kevin Knight vs Swerve Strickland is this edition’s Match of the Week.

We had a week of buildup for this match, where the nexus of this bout was Knight pushing back against Swerve for thinking he is the future, not the present. In only a certain number of words, Swerve let Knight and the rest of the locker room know that if they want to be at the top, they need to go through the former World Champion. Swerve can't lose pace with the rest of the contenders vying for the title. It's an arms race between Swerve, “Hangman” Adam Page, Kenny Omega, and Brody King for a shot at the AEW title. Taking on Knight and beating him would propel him to the front of the line. MJF was ever-present, watching from a suite, like an omnipresent asshole. I really like this chase for his world title. It feels like everyone and their mother is chasing Maxwell Jacob Friedman.  

It should not be glossed over that one of the best matches of the year was highlighted by two African American wrestlers. These moments are essential for a wrestling community as diverse as anything in popular culture. Representation matters, and with Bandido getting the push he is currently getting, and Swerve and Knight, AEW is giving those who might not get the chance elsewhere the platform to perform.

It really is impressive that Swerve was able to gain all that muscle and seemingly hasn't lost a step in agility, and didn't pull any punches where he truly tested Knight. For his part, Knight didn't hold back either and looked and proved, even in a loss, that he can compete with the best in the ring. These are the types of opportunities Knight needs to help continue to raise his star. He has now rolled off four fantastic matches in a row as a singles competitor. Knight beat Darby Allin and Okada, tied with Pac, and lost to Swerve, building his profile after each match.

It wasn't all acrobatic athleticism, either; this match was also physical as hell. Chops, dropkicks, and strikes were prominent throughout the match. The two wrestlers' consistent explosiveness was otherworldly. For 17 minutes, neither man looked to have been gassed. They look and wrestle like the tip-top condition athletes they are. It never fails to impress when Knight hits the UFO Splash. It looks and feels like he could easily clear the ring, but instead puts all of that energy into knocking the absolute piss out of his opponent.

Not to be outdone, Swerve’s Housecall that turned the momentum towards him and basically ended the match was one of his all-time best. The chemistry and trust two performers need with each other to pull that off are off the charts. Kevin "Knighted" himself the future of AEW, and Swerve cemented that it is his house. Hopefully, that chemistry will be shown off again someday – maybe in a battle for the AEW World Championship.

Speedball Mike Bailey

"Horsecock!"

by Sergei.

There were probably more traditionally wrestling-related Moments this week, but, come on… what a perfect split second in time… as Speedball suggests a new team name (or perhaps catchphrase) for the new Trios champions, and I guess Hangman was supposed to interrupt him before he says it on national TV? but… he doesn't quite interrupt in time! And the results is … just beautiful.

Between this and the MVP of the week teasing ref Aubrey (and the audience, and our Emiliana) with a strip show throughout his match, not to mention love triangles and pentagons and sex cults, AEW seems to be unusually horny of late, and we are here for it!

But the moment above is more than the Moment of the Week. It's a moment for the ages!

Andrade

"#Macho #Galan"

by Emiliana.

I feel the need to explain that my MVP of the week is almost always gonna be someone who made me smile for some reason or another, and won’t always necessarily be the person who may have worked to give the best quality of performance on both or either shows. Though I should probably state that if somebody makes me smile, they are probably performing pretty well in my book.

The person this week is Andrade. I’m genuinely uncertain what his full name is at present, since I recently saw that one of his socials’ usernames is back to AndradeAlmas, so I don’t know if that means he’s no longer Andrade El Idolo.

I watched Collision late on Monday this week, and I was undoubtedly taken with the very funny varieties of “horsecock” chants that Hangman (as well as Speedball and Kevin Knight on Dynamite) received on the show. But what blew me away more was how much fun the crowd seemed to have with Andrade later, as he quite literally (strip)teased the audience slowly to pops throughout the match. It was insane. They popped EVERY time. And to be honest: me, too. I was sitting by the fire, tending it and adding more firewood to keep my very cold Texas home from hitting temperatures too low for my cats to deal with, but my eyes kept straying back to the match because, quite frankly, that is a very beautiful man, and he was all but begging me to look.

This is a great gimmick, and I’m not just saying that because he got my ass. It’s a callback to his Ingobernable days (according to Excalibur - and yeah, makes sense, Naito does the stripping down thing too), as well as irritating for the person across the ring. And speaking of rings, Andrade made sure to pull his gloves off as well and point out the very empty ring finger, making his divorce and the fact that he is now single a canon piece of Andrade lore. Which melted in perfectly into the next bit, where he walked up to a planted beautiful woman (a wrestler) in the front row, took a selfie with her, and added his contact into her phone. 10/10 no notes; this guy is gonna piss off so many people.

I was enthralled.

And yes, he was having a very good match all while showing us what his new character within the DCF is going to be. Oh, that reminds me, he cut a promo afterwards, all business, telling us that he is part of the DCF to win the world title. Add another hunk to MJF’s waiting list. I hope he has to fight them all at once, the little bastard.

It was just extremely refreshing to see Andrade back in AEW and to so quickly be able to show off and give us a sense of what his character is going to be. I like that. I like when wrestlers really solidify themselves and know what their motivations are.

Now, please please please let’s just keep giving him the time to roll with this. He’s one of those that I feel is just supremely unlucky when he’s in AEW and I would really like things to work out this time. 

Hopefully we have all learned how to manage our feelings better (wink wink, nudge nudge).