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You Asked Me To... | AEWeekly #222
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 and the week's MVP, Lauren [@sithwitch.bsky.social] exploring a key Story Beat, and Sergei [@sergeialderman.bsky.social] talking about the Best Interview & Moment, as well as editing and organizing it all.
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.
Andrade vs Tommaso Ciampa vs Komander
"Un Ídolo para todos los Mexicanos"
by Abel.
Grand Slam: Mexico was once again a resounding success for All Elite Wrestling, not only introducing the company to a potentially new audience but also showcasing the rich culture of Mexican luchadores in AEW. Among a card full of phenomenal matches, one specifically stood out to me – not necessarily because of the quality, even though it was still very good, but because of what the moment meant for all three men involved. Tommaso Ciampa continues to spread his creative wrestling wings in AEW, Komander had an item checked off from his bucket list, and this was Andrade’s homecoming.
In terms of match quality, there can be an argument that both Kyle Fletcher vs “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Will Osprey vs Mark Davis were maybe better in the ring, although this match wasn't trash either. I have written about both of those matches before, when they faced each other in their respective trilogies, and each rivalry was worthy of being named match of the week. Still, something about this match just moved me. The atmosphere, the quality, and the post-match angles made me romanticize it. To me, this is exactly what these Grand Slam shows are all about.
The entrances were big. Ciampa was first and played the “Ugly American” perfectly without needing to say a word. Komander came in like he was finally home, and Andrade was the returning hero with a superstar entrance. What was at stake was the No. 1 entrant in the Casino Gauntlet match, which would give any of these three men a great chance to win a shot at the AEW World Championship.
To break kayfabe for a second, I absolutely adored the facial change-up from Andrade during his entrance. Right before his music hit, he had the face of a nervy yet confident wrestler. Once his music hit and the light shone the brightest, he switched it on and became El Idolo. This man has IT.
The match in the ring was eye candy for any wrestling fan. Komander is an X-Man. There is no other way to describe how he balances on the ropes and flies through the air. That first dive was gravity-defying as it looked like he hung in the sky for an eternity. I know that phrase is a cliché, but there is no other way to explain it. Even more impressive were his two Reverse Hurracanranas. They look pretty and, at the same time, like an instant headache for his opponent.
Ciampa has proven himself to fit like a glove in AEW, as his mix of physicality with heel schtick has earned him a great place on the card as the constant heel chasing the title.
Andrade had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and El Idolo just taking off his pants gets bigger pops than most wrestlers will ever get. Every move was followed by a gasp, cheer, or jeer, depending on which end Andrade was on. It was a truly magical crowd.
Only one man could win this match, and we knew who it was going to be. The ending of the match was perfectly sequenced. The Cielito Lindo that took out Ciampa allowed Andrade to take advantage, hit the DM on Komander, and win the No. 1 entrant spot in the Casino Gauntlet. It painted Andrade as the smartest in the ring, and Komander was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Andrade got the 1, 2, 3 as his meteoric rise continues.
After the match, Andrade took the microphone and delivered a very good bilingual promo for both Spanish and English listeners. With many of these bilingual talents, they need time to develop their promo time on the mic and on live television. Andrade was not only the winner, but he also let the rest of the world know that his chase for the AEW World Championship is not a joke, and that he is here to lay his claim as the first Latino AEW World Champion.
MJF made his return at the expense of Andrade, signaling what the next major chapter will be for both competitors. MJF vs Andrade at All Out in Chicago will feed generations, as the kids say, and I can't wait for it.
Even leaving aside the post-match shenanigans, this match will always be included in the highlight packages as one of the reasons Grand Slam: Mexico is so special. It also continues to prove that both Tony Khan and Andrade’s bet on each other has paid off.
Eddie Kingston
"...you guys will never ever understand how much I fucking missed every single one of you..."
by Lauren.
On this week's Collision, Eddie Kingston returned to AEW crowds as a contestant in the Continental Cup. Before this, Eddie hadn't been on AEW since February, the second of his previous two appearances in 2026 until now. His TV bookings in 2025 and 2024 were also fewer, due to the broken femur that kept him away for 19 months. While he has been putting out solid and consistent work since his return, that has largely been on Ring of Honor.
Eddie has a well-known history of self-destruction and self-doubt. It's easy to imagine not being on TV as chafing, and in an industry where lack of attention means the loss of audience – and therefore support and political capital – it carries very real risk. In Terry Pratchett's standalone Discworld novel Small Gods, a formerly powerful god named Om finds himself diminished into the form of a small tortoise, with only one true believer left to his name. Wrestling – most performance arts, really, but few with the immediacy and closeness to the source that wrestling has – works in a similar way.
The difference is that Eddie had a steady stream of voices, myself included, wanting him back. I attended Collision in Colorado Springs wearing a Wrestling Winedown “Bad Bitches for Eddie Kingston” shirt, and I was surrounded by other Eddie shirts as well as posters declaring they were there to see Eddie Kingston. Eddie performed for us, but also for those who came into this recently. He told a straightforward story in the ring, the thesis statement of himself: A perpetual underdog, uncertain after being away for so long, slowly gaining confidence and strength as the crowd cheered him on until he won. (All of my carefully taken precautions to preserve my voice fled the second Eddie's theme hit, and I've been on vocal rest until this very morning. Worth it!)
Afterward, in a segment I thought I had recorded but sadly had not, Eddie thanked us for not forgetting him. He told us how much he missed being in front of us, and how our belief in him kept him going through injury, recovery, and self-doubt. This is the man that so many of us want the world for, re-introducing himself and laying out why we see ourselves in him. The doubt, the insecurity, and the ability to keep moving forward despite it all.
Welcome back to TV, Eddie.
Mistico & Excalibur
"Que se equivocaaaaa..."
by Sergei.
Great moments are at the heart of why we love professional wrestling. Sometimes these moments are meticulously arranged for, and sometimes they just happen organically. And unfortunately, sometimes they get trampled all over by announcers who don't know when to shut up, or who can't express a sense of awe. (Or worst of all, they talk about something else entirely while magic is happening right in front of them.) Luckily, AEW has Excalibur.
On Wednesday night, Dynamite emanated from Arena México. The evening was, to a great extent, about the fans of Mexico getting a chance to see the AEW stars who aren't there all the time like the local luchadores. But no night of wrestling at the cathedral of lucha libre would be complete without the iconic entrance of the greatest superstar luchador of this era, Mistico. Thousands of fans singing their hearts out to the emotional strains of “Me Muero” is always amazing, but on this night it may have been even more iconic than usual, with Mistico looking resplendent wearing angel wings, carrying two (of his four) championship belts, and wearing a special janus-faced mask (tribute to his partner that night, Darby Allin, I suspect.)
From the time Justin Roberts finishes announcing his name, almost a full minute goes by before another word is spoken, so the moment can just be – Mistico climbing down the steps, heading towards the ring, interacting with the adoring crowd who were emotionally singing his song, thousands strong.
All of which is capped off by, when Excalibur finally speaks, the only apt words for that moment:
Sometimes you got to just take a moment and realize we've got the coolest job in the world.
It's so amazing when the announcers take a moment to appreciate how lucky they are to have the best seat in the house week after week. That's why Excalibur was my pick for greatest play-by-play in the Broadcaster Roundtable that PWM published earlier this week, and this call was one that I highlighted specifically. Sometimes, silence is golden.
Ace Austin
"He’s Inevitable…"
by Abel.
It's not very often that you hear the front office of a wrestling company openly stating that one of they were impressed with an up-and-coming talent – at least not outside of the locker room. It's obvious that this is done on purpose; word of being impressed is sent out to the Dirt Sheets, not only to gauge how fans feel about that discourse, but also to make sure the talent in question hears it loud and clear. Ace Austin was recently mentioned by all the wrestling outlets as having impressed the higher-ups in AEW, with the pull quote that it's “inevitable” he makes his rise towards the top of the card.
Austin is an up-and-coming talent in All Elite Wrestling, and I think it's about time he gets his recognition for the work he has been doing every week. He continues to prove his worth and make it increasingly clear he will be a big name on the All Elite Wrestling roster. For that, and for his fine match on Saturday night, Ace Austin is our MVP of the Week.
As the fresh “rookie” of the Bang Bang Gang, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle with so many characters in one group. But Austin is able to stand out both on the mic and in the ring. Austin can make an impression even in the small windows he gets on the mic. But where the “Inevitable” one really shines is, of course, in the ring. Austin’s match this week – against Claudio Castagnoli in the first round of the Continental Cup – continues a string of great matches he's had since his debut in AEW last August in 2025. This week, I think the momentum will start building fast enough that Austin might end up being the breakout star of 2027.
I had mentioned in a previous post that Austin was doing all the things necessary to become one of the next big stars in AEW. He is grinding away, being on AEW television weekly, and continues to put people over. This type of trajectory has paid off in the past for the likes of Kevin Knight, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Daniel Garcia. All talented wrestlers who fought their way to consistent television time and are now recognized names. It’s working. [trust the system!] The important people at the front of the table are starting to recognize the hard work, and when we look back at Austin’s career, this past week might be the moment we will pinpoint as the start of his ascent to the top of the mountain.
Right now, Austin and the BBG are involved in a feud against the alliance of the Dogs and the Death Riders. I think this is as good an opportunity as you'll find for him to make a name for himself and start his singles run. Everyone in the BBG has a fantastic personality and is a wrestler who can go their own way but also work together. Putting Ace Austin in the Bang Bang Gang was a great fit and a great springboard for a future as a singles champion.
I don't think this is the last time we see Austin in a big tournament; however, don't be surprised if next time he competes in one, he wins it. It's just a matter of time before Ace Austin is a major player in the AEW landscape.
Eddie Kingston
"I fight for you..."
by Sergei.
I cannot even TELL you how envious I am of Lauren that she was there and saw Eddie's return to AEW TV live! And a little mad, but NOT at Lauren for failing to get video of his return promo that she describes above. It is absolutely not the role of the fans to record what happens at the show and it often really bites into one's enjoyment. The same thing happened to me when I was at the show in St. Paul a few months ago: Moxley came two feet from me in his through-the-crowd entrance and instead of being in the moment, I was fiddling with my phone like a goof. (I learned my lesson and put my phone away the rest of the show.)
No, I'm a little mad at whoever made the call (TK? “The guys in the truck”?) to cut away from the show when Eddie Kingston is calling for a mic? Come on! “Legendary promo on a cookie” Eddie Kingston??? Who does that!! And it didn't even get posted later as a social exclusive… did you RUN OUT OF FILM???
However, even if the live audience got a treat of an interview nobody else got to see, the post-match interview crew found Eddie later in the evening and recorded him repeating some very similar sentiments in my Interview of the Week:
I went into this with high anticipation, as Kingston is one of my all-time favorite interviews, but (other than greatness) I had no idea what to expect. A vengeful rant against his enemies? A passionate declaration of his resolve? But thanking the fans was definitely not on my Bingo card…
And the way he went about it was perfectly, idiosyncratically Eddie. He started by joking about his underwhelming physique, something that seems to be a hot topic on the twitters, I guess? (Reason enough to stay away from that place, if there weren't far worse ones…) “Here's pro wrestling, this is your athlete,” lol. He also made a very mysterious statement about his reasons for being off TV till now: “...granted, my own doing. That's for you guys to wonder and for me to know.”
But when he got to the thank you he made a point to clarify that he did not mean this as some saccharine declaration to get the fans on his side – he's not being “the corny… hooray” guy. He means literally: if it weren't for the fans telling him at every show that they want him back on TV, he would've been done. He would've called it a career and eased into giving back a little just working with the young guys coming up on the Independent shows and the ROH developmental show, and leaving the nationally televised pro wrestling for the current generation.
But we kept asking when he'd be back and it inspired him and he called up Tony Khan and asked to be in this tournament.
He makes another funny little caveat, saying “I'm gonna be selfish later, trust me,” but this tournament is not for him: “...in this tournament, I fight for you.”
I didn't get a chance to see Eddie Kingston to say this to his face like the fans who inspired him by telling him “I can't wait to see you back on TV,” but I want to be counted now among them: I couldn't wait to see him back, and I'm so glad to finally have him back on my screen.
Sometimes I feel like … I've never been nothin’ but tired
And I'll be workin’... workin’ ... Till the day I expire
Sometimes I lay down … No more can I do
Then I go on… on again … Because you asked me to
Note: this song is about Martin Luther King, Jr – whom the singer Solomon Burke had been personal friends with. It is 17 kinds of heresy to say that this song made me think of Eddie Kingston and how he feels inspired by wrestling fans. But it did!
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