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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, but is more flexible in terms of Collision and Rampage, to account for busy folks not always being 100% caught up, so can include this week OR last week’s episode.
This week’s contributors are Tim [@TimmayMan] covering match of the week, Sergei [@SergeiAlderman] covering interview, Saul [@SaulKiloh] exploring a key story beat, Peter [@PeterEdge7] with the moment of the week, Sam P. [@BigBadaBruce] with Throwback of the week, and Joe [@GoodVsBadGuys] giving us the MVP of the week.
A page of links to prior installments may be found here: #AEWeekly
Royal Rampage
"A Differentiating Rampage..."
by Tim.
One of the goals of every wrestling organization should be to create a distinctive brand that sets itself apart from its contemporaries. A way of doing this is through unique stipulation matches that no one else does. WWE has Hell in a Cell (good), WCW had the Triple Cage match (bad), while TNA has Ultimate X (somewhere in the middle). AEW is doing their own thing with Royal Rampage, a double-ring over-the-top-rope elimination match that I look forward to every year. I’d argue that it’s more original than Blood & Guts which, to me, doesn’t escape the War Games comparison. Sure Royal Rampage is pretty much the Royal Rumble with an extra ring, (or WW3 with one less ring,) but it’s different enough—and in wrestling sometimes that’s the best we as fans can expect.
This year's edition had plenty to keep me entertained. You had Daddy Magic leave his commentary spot, get eliminated, then return to his commentary spot. Brandon Cutler set a record of quickest to be eliminated, a record that will be hard to beat. Orange Cassidy and Komander provided stereo ring walk into arm drags. Jeff Jarrett got a babyface moment before his momentum was ended by a huffy (and puffy) Hangman Page. Then we have Darby Allin who was without a doubt the MVP for that night in Nashville. Only moments removed from a brutal Blood & Guts performance, he came in to win the whole thing, earning himself a World Title shot. For a guy that seems to taunt death on a regular basis, it shouldn’t be too surprising that his endurance is top tier—but it’s still pretty surprising!
Another thing I really like about these multi-man matches is there are lots of opportunities to tell mini-stories within. Darby and Brody King faced off for a good chunk of the match, harkening back to their encounter in the 2022 Royal Rampage that spun off into a whole feud. Nick Wayne and Kip Sabian had a moment which seems to be building towards some sort of feud this year…. And then Claudio almost won… but it was his refusal to shake hands with Darby afterwards that intrigues me. Frustration has been building in Claudio for a while now and I'm not sure how it will erupt, but I feel that the Swiss Superman is nearing his limit.
Jeff Jarrett
"Supporting character vibe..."
by Sergei.
I think it's worth noting that I fucking HATE Jeff Jarrett. Not the real guy, the character. And not in the way that you hate a villain, but like Scrappy Doo—a character you would rather not be on your screen. I felt this way since the very first times I saw him, going back to the early days of TNA. I might find him barely tolerable as a hapless bad guy who almost always loses, but do NOT expect me to cheer this man!
That's what I would've said before this babyface run that began with the Owen memorial tournament. But I'm also a big enough man to admit when I was wrong. Jarrett has been absolutely pitch perfect in this new role, enough to overcome my powerful bias against him. (And I think it's interesting to note that, with a nod for both Interview and Match this week, he now has two each in those two categories in 2024 so far, twice as many as our World Champion!)
Jarrett's words getting honored this week were brief, but efficient. A well-chosen word is worth a thousand words, and Jarrett showed that on Wednesday night when he interrupted a conversation between Danielson and Renee Paquette to drop just a little wisdom on a Dragon. Icymi:
Jarrett isn't mad that Danielson won the Owen and he didn't. Of all people, Jeff understands how hard it would be to get past a Hangman with his mind on revenge, something Bryan accomplished where he could not. But after succeeding where he had failed, Jarrett absolutely can NOT sit back and listen to Danielson spout "happy just to be nominated" loser talk!
He prefaces what he has to say with a few words about being proud to have handed him the Owen cup, but now Bryan has to face a locked-in Champion, and Jeff can't stand to hear this loser talk from him. But the heart of the promo, the call to action, is incredibly terse:
Bryan, if you're gonna go All In, freakin' go all in. A lot of people… A lot of people believe in you. And I'm at the very top of that list.
I've talked before about the core purpose of a "promo" is to promote a match. But it doesn't always have to be one's own match! Jarrett here does a master class on how to be an effective supporting character, and promote a main event one isn't even in, oneself.
This Wednesday, Bryan Danielson—imo, one of the most talented ever on the mic—needs to convince a lot of very doubtful fans that he is the right guy to be on top of the card at Wembley, in spite of not being the guy who is in one of the hottest and most acrimonious feuds ever with the Champion. I don't know how many people believe he can manage that, but I'm at the very top of that list.
Toni Storm
"The Timeless One shows her human side…"
by Saul.
Toni’s transition to timelessness has been a constant delight and has resulted in one of the most memorable Women’s Championship reigns in AEW history. Her presentation was helped by the addition of Mariah May as the loving understudy, who idolised Storm…or at least that’s what she led the champ to believe.
After the devastation she felt upon the betrayal, Toni Storm has moved into the “anger” stage of grief. She got into a pull out brawl against May on Dynamite, and was defiant after her victory over Taya Valkyrie. This promo was a slight shift for Toni, still deep in the “Timeless” persona, but showcasing a new level of vulnerability that made the effects of the heel turn more real and fully cemented her role as a face. (Was she already a face? I feel like she was kinda ambiguously aligned. Anyway, this is just lampshading in case anyone had that thought.)
Storm got the fans in the crowd fully behind her, and a chorus of boos were audible upon the very mention of Mariah May. As much as anything else, that showcases the success of this angle so far, and I’m excited as hell to see the match at All In, it’s sure to be one hell of a spectacle. I’m also curious to see where the “Timeless” persona goes once she presumably loses the championship due to the POWER OF ENGLAND. (Or maybe May will choke just like England at the Euros…That was the last shot, I promise.)
I almost chose Thunder Rosa for storybeat, in part due to the promo Sergei eloquently discussed last week on #AEWeekly, and the fact that I found her short post-match promo to the camera surprisingly effective. It also made me remark at the recent strides made in AEW’s women’s division. Rosa/Purrazzo is probably the 4th tier feud currently going in the division, and even that’s got some heat. There’s perhaps been a tad too much mention of how the “division is finally good” in the general discourse, instead of just enjoying the programming. However, I still wanted to mention it as some people may still not be woke to it. Also, even if it took way too long, I’m glad that the women’s division finally has the full JUICE.
(Sorry to ruin the piece, but I didn’t really get in my weekly complaint. So ummmmm, NOW FIX THE GODDAMN TAG DIVISION.)
Mercedes Moné X Britt Baker
"Chaos at the Comic Con...”
by Peter.
San Diego Comic Con is now the go-to place for announcements that shake the foundations of the fandoms of shows and movies that are shaping the landscape of today's culture, as the announcement of Robert Downey Jr. playing the role of Doctor Doom in the new Fantastic Four movie has shown, as MCU Twitter went mad.
SDCC is where the big names go. So when scrolling Twitter and seeing that AEW were going to have a presence, the first reaction was that—in a world where WWE are to wrestling what Kleenex are to tissues—All Elite Wrestling getting to share a auditorium with the big players in today's pop culture feels like a big deal, and Tony Khan saw this as the occasion to further the story of one of the biggest rivalries in AEW heading into their biggest show of the year.
The panel for the roundtable that you see the big franchises hold to promote their brand saw names that are an advertisers dream in promoting the AEW brand. Orange Cassidy, Toni Storm, Will Ospreay, Darby Allin and Swerve Strickland were joined by Tony Khan, (because it's wrestling law that TK must be at an AEW promotional event,) and Britt Baker. Britt has been the face of the women's division since the inception of AEW and has always been a great ambassador for AEW, so it makes sense to have Baker on the panel. But, it was missing a certain CEO.
Mercedes Mone as the TBS Champion— arguably one of AEW's biggest three stars, and an actress in the Star Wars Universe—felt like a natural pick to be on the panel for the AEW roundtable and maybe that was a factor in Mercedes' "unscheduled" cameo. ICYMI:
After trash talk and Mone's further insistence that DMD wasn't getting the title shot, we got our mandatory pull-apart brawl, the male wrestlers would be the only people to keep the two females apart and from getting into enough fisticuffs to get them banned from future SDCCs. Toni Storm had her shoe at the ready just in case and Orange put in a little more than the required effort to keep Britt back.
The 60 seconds of chaos was the perfect distillation of the weird and wonderful land of AEW, and with Tony Khan getting to play matchmaker and making the Baker Vs Mone match for All In, what in my eyes could be the biggest match at Wembley this year, (it's the one I'm most excited for this Bank Holiday Weekend,) got it's announcement at the one the biggest stages for publicity All Elite Wrestling will get this year, and in the process showed how barmy pro wrestling can be and, let's be honest, that's why we love it so much.
AEW Dynamite Landmarks
"It’s Wednesday! You know what that means..."
by Sam P.
Last week featured the 250th edition of AEW Dynamite, a momentous occasion that was celebrated with great aplomb. After 250 episodes, it just seems right to look back at some of the best matches from landmark episodes.
Episode 5 of AEW Dynamite was a Halloween special on 30th October 2019, and was headlined by the finals of the tournament to crown the inaugural AEW Tag Team champions. The tournament had seen a surprise exit by the Young Bucks in the first round, an injury to Christopher Daniels who was replaced by Scorpio Sky, and a captivating story of Sky proving himself the MVP for SoCal Uncensored as they reached the Final to challenge the Lucha Brothers. Sky and Kazarian were determined to exact revenge against his attackers Fenix and Pentagon, but the experienced brothers controlled the majority of the match, capitalising on the less regular teaming Sky and Kazarian. When the brothers Powerbombed Kazarian through the timekeeper’s table, the odds were greatly stacked against Scorpio, but his explosive determination and smart thinking allowed him to survive long enough to sneak the Inside Cradle for a surprise victory. With SCU the first ever Tag Team Champions, the biggest victory might have been the excellent storytelling in the tournament that helped Sky become an early breakout star, the Lucha Brothers a beloved fan favourite, set up obstacles for the Young Bucks, and gave Private Party a pivotal victory.
For the 25th edition, on the 25th March 2020 during the pandemic era (just two weeks after the last show with a crowd), we saw the benefits of an international partnership between AEW and AAA, where then-AAA Mega Champion Kenny Omega defended the title against Sammy Guevara. As a member of Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle, this was an early opportunity for Sammy to impress, as part of the feud between the Elite and the Inner Circle. Sammy demonstrated an underrated amount of tactical nous, focusing his attack on Omega’s injured hand, with Cody on commentary citing Guevara’s excellent gameplan. However, Sammy missed several big attacks, such as a Moonsault and a Shooting Star Press, which left him open to several vicious V-Triggers, allowing Omega to hit his dreaded One Winged Angel to successfully defend his championship. While Guevara was unsuccessful, this match reflected the long term planning of AEW, putting young stars like Sammy, Darby Allin, Jack Perry and MJF in big matches to learn from more experienced individuals, leading to them becoming the original Four Pillars of AEW.
On the 16th September, we saw the 50th iteration of AEW Dynamite, which saw Adam Page against Kazarian, FTR take on Jurassic Express, and Thunder Rosa defending the NWA Women’s Title against Diamante. But the main event became an instant classic in AEW history, as Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta battled Santana and Ortiz in a Parking Lot Brawl. Cars, batons, chains, plywood and sledgehammers were all used in a brutal and violent war that left most of the participants bloody, but it was the interference of Orange Cassidy that turned the tide, ending with a Taylor Piledriver to Santana on a car and a Trent splash to Ortiz through plywood to end the match. In a memorable moment, Trent’s mum Sue appeared in her minivan to pick up her boys and take them home, flipping off Santana and Ortiz in the process. Gotta love Sue.
17th August 2022, on the 150th episode, a first round match in the AEW Trios Title Tournament saw Kenny Omega returning to join the Young Bucks and take on Andrade El Idolo, Dragon Lee, & Rush of La Faccion Ingobernable in the main event. Wearing a support top for his left shoulder, Omega struggled in his return and took much of the heat, with his opponents double and triple teaming him multiple times. However, as the match went on, the Jacksons started to get involved and Omega’s natural talent came through, despite being hindered by his left leg and left shoulder. With his reliable V-Triggers and the One Winged Angel, Omega and the Elite survived to reach the next round, while two of the members of LFI eventually ended up back in another promotion.
Darby Allin
"Allin is All In on AEW"
by Joe.
Merriam Webster defines the term “All In” as an adjective which means: “fully committed to or involved in something”.
“All In” is the signature show of the AEW movement, and much like Darby Allin stated in his promo calling out The Elite, you could say that Allin is the wrestler who has made himself the most fully committed to AEW. The most “All In” on All Elite Wrestling. While The Elite were rumored to be considering WWE deals at one point, Darby Allin has stated that he never wants to leave AEW, because the freedom they give him to be himself is worth more than any money anyone could offer him. He talked about how you won’t see the Young Bucks on Collision, but he’ll be there.
Now, this isn’t to say that The Elite aren’t committed to AEW. The Elite largely created AEW. They are deeply committed and invested. However, it is possible that on a level of commitment and loyalty and identity, no one has become more intertwined with AEW than Darby Allin. These past 2 weeks of AEW shows are a great example of what that commitment looks like.
Last Week’s Dynamite: Makes the heroic Sting-style save for the babyfaces to chase off the heel Team Elite by RAPPELLING from the ceiling!
Last Week’s Collision: Had an excellent match against The Beast Mortos. A highlight was his avalanche crucifix on Mortos.
This week’s Dynamite: Is an MVP of Team AEW, showing the killer instinct to get the win and a guaranteed TNT title match against Jack Perry at All In. A highlight was him flipping the middle finger from the top of the cage before hitting that Coffin Drop.
This week’s Rampage: Was the LAST MAN STANDING at Royal Rampage’s Two-Ring battle royal to win a World Championship match at Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe, on the same night his body survived being the FIRST MAN ENTERING the Two-Cage battle of Blood and Guts.
We often hear the term “No Rest for the Wicked”, but Darby doesn’t match that first definition of wicked, being “morally very bad : EVIL”. However, some of those others?
2a
a wicked dog
Yes, we saw some fierce and vicious behavior in that steel cage match.
2b
: disposed to or marked by mischief : ROGUISH
does wicked impersonations
Yes, Darby can definitely be mischievous, as demonstrated by some of his pre-big match self-made video packages.
3a
: disgustingly unpleasant : VILE
a wicked odor
(Can’t confirm or deny Darby’s level of hygiene.)
3b
: causing or likely to cause harm, distress, or trouble
a wicked storm
This definitely fits someone who makes use of flamethrowers and lighters as weapons.
4
: going beyond reasonable or predictable limits : of exceptional quality or degree
throws a wicked fastball
I think everyone agrees that Darby has gone well beyond reasonable or predictable limits throughout his entire AEW career.
So I guess Darby might be wicked, but he is simultaneously virtuous and loyal as well. Darby is rare and Darby feels real. You believe that the TNT title matters more to him, you believe that AEW matters more to him, and with the way he picked up and showed off Little Darby after Royal Rampage, you get the idea that his fans might matter more to him as well. Darby makes wrestling feel more real, more important, less predictable, and less limited. That is why Darby Allin is AEW’s Most Valuable Performer this week.
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