In Memory | AEWeekly #227

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 Lauren [@sithwitch.bsky.social] exploring a key Story Beat, Larissa [@actual-swamp-hag.bsky.social] expanding on the Moment of the Week, and Sergei [@sergeialderman.bsky.social] talking about Best Match & Best Interview, as well as editing and organizing it all. In addition, we are joined by Greyson for Quick Takes on the above categories plus on Best Move, Best Call & Most Valuable.

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

We'd love for this and any and all of our content to be the beginning of a conversation with our readers. To interact with any and all of our contributors please accept our invitation to join the Pro Wrestling Musings Community Discord. Then follow this link to the #AEWeekly Discord Thread.

"You know it's Rebel..."

by Lauren.

This week was an emotional one for both employees and fans of AEW. Dynamite had already been planned as a tribute to Tanea "Rebel” Brooks, and Collision also became a memorial show for Andy "The Butcher“ Williams, who died unexpectedly the week before. AEW is sadly no stranger to memorial shows, having done their first one for Jon “Brodie Lee” Huber in 2020. The Rebel Heart Dynamite, however, was different; it was for someone who is still alive.

Rebel was a fixture of early AEW. A wrestler herself, she was initially hired as a makeup artist. She became Britt Baker's sidekick and henchwoman, giggling at Britt's antics and tolerating being called “Reba” instead of Rebel. Unfortunately, she disappeared from TV in 2023 due to health issues, which were finally diagnosed as terminal ALS in May of 2026.

In the months since, both wrestlers and fans have rallied around her, culminating in the Rebel Heart Dynamite to raise funds for ALS research. Rebel was in attendance, and more than that, she was part of the show again. Britt Baker's return the week prior heralded the return of The Waiting Room, a Daily's Place staple segment during the lockdown era. Personally, I wept when Rebel corrected Britt on her name – a running joke that felt more poignant than before.

The real moment of the night was when Rebel zoomed out on her motorized wheelchair, "Roll Model” written in rhinestones on the back –another thowback– and came to Britt's rescue with her special lockjaw glove. Despite being heels and facing Maya World, Hyan, and Thunder Rosa, all popular faces, the crowd went wild for Britt's team's victory. After the match Britt and Rebel sobbed together, two friends sharing a moment that could very well be one of their last as an on-screen team, and I know there wasn't a dry eye in my house when Britt hopped on Rebel's lap to ride off into the sunset (or rather, up the ramp and backstage.)

People always say that you should celebrate your loved ones while they are still around to see how loved they are, and that's what we all did this past Wednesday. In his book Reaper Man, Sir Terry Pratchett wrote, "No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away.” Rebel is still making ripples, advocating for ALS education and research. Rebel, Butcher, Brodie, and more – you carved places into our hearts. Thank you for everything. We love you.

"Human Target..."

by Sergei.

The opening match Saturday night between Jon Moxley and Speedball Bailey was just a delight to me. Bailey needed to last 20 minutes with AEW’s Ace, Moxley, to earn a Continental Championship shot… and he almost pulled it out. More importantly, Speedball showed off once again that his unique presentation and character are ripe for a real singles push any time TK decides to.

The first six minutes of the match were fine – mostly grappling and handfighting, feeling each other out… But then a moment on the outside would set the tone and story of the rest of the match: after Mox dumps Bailey to the outside, he whips him toward the steel steps. But Bailey puts on the brakes, and side steps when Moxley rushes in at him. Moxley halts his own momentum just short of smashing his own knee into the steel step with no Speedball in between. But at the moment his kneecap is still in contact with the steel, Bailey delivers a vicious kick exactly to the back of Mox's knee, driving it in!

From this point, Bailey zeroes in on Moxley's left knee, wearing him down with kicks and holds and Dragon Screws all aimed at that target. Of the MANY cool attacks to Moxley's knee, my favorites are probably one where Mike tries the Dragon Screw through the ropes and Mox stops him with a straight right to the jaw, but then gets overconfident and poses for a second, when Bailey recovers faster than Mox had expected and goes right back to the Dragon Screw and hits it this time. And another where Moxley leans back to avoid a high kick to the face, but Bailey suddenly switches the level of his kick, right back to that knee.

Then when Moxley finally cuts off Bailey's momentum with a cutter, he goes for his Paradigm Shift finish, but Speedball drops to one knee, lowering his center of gravity and the Ace’s knee buckles and he can't follow through – making you wonder if he can even deliver a finisher with only one good wheel.

The final stretch is absolutely thrilling, with Speedball coming incredibly close to the huge upset several times in a row with a Shooting Star into a kneebar followed by a roll-up and then a straight-jacket pin. But then Moxley gets the curb stomp and the Death Rider to finish it off with only a minute or two left before a time-limit draw. But not only did Bailey hold his own and look like he would have been credible as the winner, he may very well have created a weak point on Moxley that may play into All Out’s main event.

Lauren: This is a match dynamic that I love, a tank versus a speedster. They both looked amazing and like they were truly trying to out think each other. I want to see them play it back like five more times. (Not specifying a Match of the Week, just expanding on the above...)

Sergei: On Wednesday night, Sting progeny Steve Borden had an incredibly fun Dynamite debut match partnered with longtime Sting Family ally Darby Allin. They finished off Josh Alexander with the perfect tribute double-team move: the Scorpion Coffin Drop. It seems like such an obvious move for them to do, it's crazy to me that apparently Sting and Darby never used it in their 2021-24 run as a tag team, but it seems not. I love these guys!

Lauren: The kid's got talent! ...wait, what do you mean he's in his mid-30s?! (Not specifying a Move of the Week, just expanding on the above...)

"Fear of shadows..."

by Sergei.

I have often admitted that I grade Best Interview on a bit of a curve. An MJF or Mad King delivering an effective, serviceable promo isn't making it for me – I know you can do that, show me something special, guys! Whereas, some rookie with an interview that is less than perfect but shows amazing potential might get me a little more excited. Which is all leading up to say that the speech from Steve Borden Wednesday night did NOT need a curve to be my Best Interview this week. In fact, it was at a level that makes me go “...wait, this was his FIRST wrestling interview? FOR REAL?”

He opens with the question on everyone's mind: “Why now?” With the implied question being “Why not sooner?” Steve Borden had every opportunity and ability to follow his father's footsteps and had always chosen otherwise until now. One could easily assume that wrestling had been a backup in case the NFL didn't work out. (A VERY familiar story among 2nd and 3rd generation wrestlers!) Borden's simple, one-word answer to this question is stunningly vulnerable and real: “fear.”

Everybody's asking me: “Why now?” And the truth is: fear. I've been afraid of my dad's shadow my entire life.

Borden goes on to express a lot of the concerns and reservations that should be  very familiar to anybody who ever started pursuing something later in life than usual: “Is it too late? On the other hand, time is going to fly whether I try this or not, and – succeed or fail – if I don't go for it now, won't I look back and regret it?”

This realistic and natural approach to an interview was absolutely a breath of fresh air, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how Borden handles it when he needs to deliver a promo with a more standard function: to build a feud…

Sergei: Tony Schiavone and his most iconic call, together again for the first time with: “...and STEEEEEEEVEN…” What can I say? It popped me…

"Rebel, you forgot your glove!”

by Larissa.

Whew, what a week! It’s not often that both Dynamite and Collision have to grapple with real-world events like they did this week. There was a heaviness to both shows that we don’t often feel, which is lucky. AEW’s team did a beautiful job celebrating both Rebel and Andy William; not just as professional wrestlers, but as beloved and creative human beings.

I could easily have awarded two Moments of the Week, but I’ll go with a moment on Dynamite, since Lauren covered the other one below in her Quick Take. I loved how Rebel was integrated into the show. It would have been easy to have her do a very heartfelt promo about living with ALS and just leave it at that. But instead Rebel got to have her own moment moving a match forward. Cruising down the ramp in her bedazzled “Roll Model” wheelchair, she delivered Dr. Britt Baker’s lockjaw glove in the nick of time. I love that not only was Rebel a part of the match, they also kept the story true to her character and loyalties. Let a gal be a heel! 

So Rebel won the match for the heels, and then Baker climbed into her lap and they wheeled back up the ramp together. The crowd was going nuts. They stopped at the top of the ramp, and you could see both women realize at once that they may never have a moment like that together again. It was absolutely brutal. Baker and Rebel were both crying, the live audience was crying, I assume everyone watching on television was crying. It was a deeply moving and bittersweet moment. Baker and Rebel hugged, and the love they feel for each other just radiated off the screen. Wrestling will break your heart sometimes.

Lauren: Daniel Garcia winning the Butcher Memorial Rumble had me in tears, especially when Marina and then the other Death Riders comforted him. The people we love may leave us, but we bring them with us for the rest of our lives, too.

Sergei: I'm also giving Daniel Garcia Best Moment, but for a slightly different reason for a slightly different moment. The thing that really impressed me was how much the real stakes and emotions behind it enhanced the drama of the Butcher Battle Royal. Normally a dozen midcarders having a battle royal on Collision would have me wondering if I should care who wins. But once I realized that the real stakes here were Garcia repping Buffalo, (his common hometown with Butcher) I was completely invested… and Danny's final elimination of Josh Alexander had me cheering and pumping my fist from my couch!

Sergei: The focus this week has been (very rightly) on remembering and celebrating the past. And a case could be made (and I hope other writers do) for Rebel or Andy as the Most Valuable of AEW this week. But value is about the future and about potential, too. And I think that the potential for Steve Borden is tough to measure. Despite an incomparable wrestling pedigree, a remarkable vertical leap, and just being ludicrously handsome, Borden just exudes “regular guy” energy. That combination of head-turning cool and relatably down-to-earth could propel him to levels that might surprise people considering he's a raw rookie who started so late.

Greyson: As a part of the early days of AEW, including the Jacksonville era, Andy Williams was a part of the group of trailblazers who helped form the foundation of AEW, and as a respected hardcore punk musician someone who knows the value of positive alternative culture. From the many tributes we have heard this past week, it is very clear that his impact on the AEW movement extends far beyond his work in the ring, with wrestlers across the roster, including multiple past champions, speaking highly of how he cared about and motivated them. Former Women’s World Champion Willow Nightingale said he advocated for her, encouraged her to “keep trying when (her) dreams still felt so far away,” and “had every right to have an ego, but he didn’t.” He is a reminder that a locker room leader is not defined by winning titles or garnering prominence on the card but by the respect you earn from your fellow athletes. RIP Andy, you will certainly be missed but your example will not be forgotten.