AEW Elevation: April 19, 2021

The PG Era Rant for AEW Elevation Episode 6 (“The Champ Is Here!”), April 19, 2021.

TONIGHT! Austin Gunn steps up in singles competition against QT Marshall’s trainee Aaron Solow! Madi Wrenckowski tries out for the Vicious Vixens as she teams with Nyla Rose against Leyla Hirsch and Ryo Mizunami! Fallout from the Darby/Hardy match continues as Private Party get their hands on Alex Reynolds and Colt Cabana! And in the main event, AEW Champion Kenny Omega teams with DDT star Konosuke Takeshita and M.T. Nakazawa to face the Sydal Brothers and Danny Limelight!

PLUS: Best Friends, Jurassic Express, Sky and Ethan, Cage and Starks, Abadon, Hangman Page, The Hybrid 2, Thunder Rosa, Orange Cassidy, and Dr. Britt Baker!

From the AEW Arena.

Opening match: Hangman Page (6-0, #1 men, “New Boot Goofin”) vs. Spencer Slade (no chyron).

Page jumps the gun and goes after Slade in the corner, catching Slade in a fallaway slam and kipping up. He tries a suplex, but Slade blocks and fires off rights. He runs the ropes but runs into a clothesline. Corner clotheslines follow as Page takes Slade around the world. A sliding clothesline follows as even the announcers are calling it clothesline city. Pop-up powerbomb ends it at 1:22. Slade is so embarrassed he leaves before Page can give him a beer, so Page gives it to the ref instead. NR

Your hosts are Tony Schivaone and The Youngest WCW Champion Of All Time. We’re ready for the trios match tonight featuring the champ.

Britt Baker, DMD (#3 women, 7-1) (w/Rebel, not Reba) vs. Tesha Price (0-5). Wight: “That’s your favorite, Tony!” Reba gets her crutch stuck in the ropes while holding the ropes open for Baker.

Price shakes herself up to start, but Baker gets a hammerlock into a headlock. Price reverses and takes Baker down, but Baker with headscissors into a butterfly lock. She floats Price over for one, then tries a ground hammerlock, but Price tumbles to reverse. Baker escapes into a big right, then adds another. Baker puts her head down and pays for it with two big kicks, but Baker stops short on an up-and-over try before catching a pump kick and getting one of her own. They fight over a corner whip until Baker sends Price headfirst into the middle turnbuckle. She yanks Price’s shoulder into the ringpost, and while Baker is rolling in, Rebel adds a shot with her towel for no reason.

Cravat and knees by Backer, who is out on her feet. Snapmare into a sleeper on Price, who backs Baker into the ropes only for Baker to grind her boot into Price’s head. A short kick and Baker asks for the glove, but Price cuts it off with a cradle for two. Sling Blade by Baker, but she takes time to taunt and Price comes back with forearms and an enzuigiri. Downward punch gets two, but Price makes the How Did That Not Work face too soon. Baker ducks a clothesline and gets a DDT, and it’s GLOVE TIME. Emerald Fusion leads to the Lockjaw for the win at 5:29. She was just toying with Price, and I was kind of hoping it would backfire but of course it didn’t. 3/4* Humorously, Tony calls Rebel “Rebel” then corrects himself to “Reba” because Tony’s a weirdo.

Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus) (6-0, #2 team – and Jungle Boy Perry is #3 in men’s) vs. Mane Event (Jay Lyon and Midas Black) (0-2). C’mon, Paul, sing Tarzan Boy, I dare you! Perry is the man with more matches in AEW than anyone else, which Wight makes sure to tell us. Wight pronounces Lyon’s name like the French city, thus missing the point of the name.

Perry and Lyon start. Perry tries to remove the meat from Lyon’s mouth, but Lyon hiptosses him and kips up. Black in, and the Mane Event get a drop toehold/senton combo for one. Black works the arm on Perry and brings Lyon in to twist it into a headlock. Saurus tags himself in and boots Lyon down, but Black tags HIMself in and doesn’t like that. So Saurus uppercuts him flat and tags in Perry, as Saurus gets a wheelbaroow suplex. Lyon in, and he offers the meat as a peace offering, but Saurus is a plant-eater so Lyon gets a Tailwhip. Stereo Death Valley Drivers get the win at 1:52. The ref is given the meat by Perry. Okay then. NR

The Hybrid2 (Jack Evans and Angelico) (2-3) vs. Vary Morales and Andre Montoya (0-1). If anyone chants USA in this match, they’re rooting for Evans, so that won’t happen. Angelico is South African, Morales is Mexican, and Montoya is Chilean. Wight references Right Said Fred about Angelico’s dance. I have no clue what to make of that.

Angelico and Morales start. No, wait, Evans wants to start instead. He brushes Morales aside so he can breakdance, but Morales catches him with a SUPERKICK mid-dance. Headlock, but Evans punches out only for Morales to catch him with an overhead suplex. Evans goes to the apron and flies in with a 540 kick after shoving Morales away. Angelico in now, and he gets a face-first Exploder-like move for two. He cuts off the tag and does some weird submission move before rolling Morales over for two. Angelico with a high back suplex for two. Another stomp to the back cuts off another hot tag, after which Angelico sets up Penta’s armbuster but instead leans on the arm.

Morales makes the ropes. Angelico boxes away on Morales in the corner, but a blind charge eats boot and Morales gets a missile dropkick. Hot tag Montoya, and he gets a leg lariat to Angelico and clotheslines to Evans. Dropkick to Angelico and TH2 is down, so Montoys does a front roll into a Flatliner for two. Morales SUPERKICKS Evans, then flips him out of the ring and follows only to get his legs swept out by Evans off the apron. Evans with a Skytwister on Morales, and back in Montoya goes for the Tajiri handspring only to get kicked in the back. Navarro Death Roll ends it at 4:51. Evans kicks away on Montoya post-match. Easy showcase win for TH2, but Montoya looked all right. *1/4

Paul Wight Showcase is with The Acclaimed. When asked about their journey, they just say they’re the best team in the company in about six months, during the worst year of all time. They were so good, they got the best jobs in the world during the pandemic. Bowens, though, says that he’s had his struggles as an openly gay wrestler, living in fear if he could do this or not. Wight applauds him for taking the step forward and showing people can be accepted. Wight asks what’s in store in the future, and Bowens says there’s nothing he doesn’t do: magazine covers, red carpets, YouTube, national commercials, and more. And Caster is the most talented rapper on the planet.

Wight says there’s too much sugar for each other, but here’s the thing: how’s Bowens’ injury? Bowens says he has had a torn meniscus since November. He’s recovering quite well, and he thanks everyone for their concerns. He’ll be back soon, and the Acclaimed will be back on top when he is. Wight asks them to describe what it means to be a star every time. Caster says there’s something different in their appearances than anyone else’s, and it’s about their world-class athleticism and rap.

Bowens adds that they were not a tag team before AEW happened, and he thanks Tony Khan for teaming them up and making them megastars. By their 10^th match together, they were in a tag title match. Wight says he’s happy for both of them and hopes Bowens gets a speedy recovery. Unfortunately, they’re out of time which is too bad because the Acclaimed had more to say. They give him a group hug as the segment ends.

Brian Cage and Ricky Starks (4-1) vs. Stone Rockwell and Mike Magnum (first time as a duo). I gotta say, the enhancement side has some incredible ring names. And yes, that’s the Stone Rockwell that got a cup of coffee in Impact and looks like Indiana Jones. Let’s see if EVERYTHING IS FINE with these two as a duo.

Cage and Magnum start. Cage grabs a quick headlock, and after running back and forth catches a leapfrogging Magnum. Magnum escapes, but Cage with a back elbow and dropkick. Starks tags in and works the arm off the top rope before cutting off the tag and working Magnum’s neck. He knocks Rockwell off the apron, but runs into a slam by Magnum. Rockwell in now, working the back and slapping Starks hard. He keeps CLUBBERIN, THEY BE CLUBBERIN TONY, but Starks fights back only to be caught with a hard right. Starks recovers with a running boot and he showboats, so Rockwell takes over only for Cage to tag himself in.

Rockwell tries a Starks suplex, but Cage sets Starks down and SUPERKICKs Rockwell into next week. Double suplex try by Team Taz, but Rockwell escapes and cradles Cage, Starks saves. Team Taz argues, but Magnum comes in only for Starks to spear him. Cage with a powerbomb to Rockwell, then he sets up the Drill Claw… but decides to let Starks finish him off. Rochambeaux wins it at 3:18. EVERYTHING IS FINE! *1/4 Rockwell’s got a pretty neat look and a heck of a name, so hopefully they give him a training deal or something. He can stick around as enhancement talent.

Abadon (4-1) vs. Skye Blue (0-1). Wight attempts to vacate the premises as Abadon spits up blood during her entrance. Even the referee thinks of bailing out. Skye even keeps her distance on the outside.

Abadon crawls during the circle around as Skye backpedals. When she charges, Abadon gets a go-behind and takedown, punching away and scaring off the referee. She catches Skye and gets a Catatonic backbreaker, then just chokes her down. The referee tries to get her to stop, leading to a glare. Blind charge misses and Skye “getrs” a pump kick before adding a cartwheel forearm. But Abadon doesn’t go down and Skye freaks out, so Abadon gets a clothesline and German suplex. Double knees in the corner by Abadon, then a snapmare and low crossbody. Abadon mocks the crowd for pumping Skye up, then slams Skye into the mat over and over headfirst. Skye fires off forearms and gets a dropkick to the knee, but Abadon catches her going up and hangs her in the corner, splashing the back. Cemetery Drive ends it at 2:53. 1/2*

Orange Cassidy (4-0) vs. Prince Kai (0-1). Cassidy comes out alone. Wight makes sure to explain the gimmick: he acts lazy, but it hides how incredible a talent he is. To be fair, you never know when it’s someone’s first time watching. Kai hands his own intro to Justin Roberts, which is just good character work. I’m not sure whether Roberts reciting it awkwardly worked or not.

Kai spends so much time preening that he doesn’t notice Cassidy stands behind him. Beach Break, goodbye at 7.22 seconds. The glasses never came off. NR

Private Party (Isaiah Kassidy and Marq Quen) (w/Matt Hardy) (2-0) vs. Dark Order (Alex Reynolds and Colt Cabana) (w/Brodie Lee Jr and the entire Dark Order) (0-1). This is an offshoot of the TNT Title match between Hardy and Darby Allin, where the Dark Order decided to prevent the Hardy Office from overwhelming Allin. With the match finally cleared to 1v1, Allin retained. Junior is out with a video camera, and my understanding is this is for Sammy’s vlog.

Reynolds and Kassidy start, but Quen and Colt come in to stop each other from double-teaming. Colt leaves, so Private Party jump Reynolds and Kassidy pounds away in the corner. Reynolds escapes the corner and gets a running shoulderblock and dropkick as Kassidy bails. He shoves Uno away, so Grayson gives him a receipt and the referee tells the extras to go to the back. Yes, even Junior.

Kassidy gives Reynolds a Hotshot in the confusion, but Reynolds with a stiff right and Colt enters with a clothesline. Elbowdrops by Colt gets two. Kassidy goes to the eyes and brings in Quen, but Colt catches him with a drop toehold and lands a bionic elbow. Reynolds in, and he sends Quen into the ropes, sending him out of the ring and following with a tope suicida. He tells Hardy to back off, then rolls Quen in, but with the ref’s back turned Hardy pulls Reynolds off and throws him into the guardrail. Kassidy tagged in, and he moonsaults to the outside on Reynolds. Another trip by Reynolds into the guardrail and he wants the countout, but Reynolds rolls in with encouragement from Colt.

Kassidy stomps away and chokes Reynolds, draping him over the bottom rope in front of Hardy. Reynolds tries to escape, but Kassidy catches him with a suplex for two. Quen in, and he stomps a mudhole into Reynolds and walks it dry (with Kassidy adding a boot from the apron). Quen cuts off the tag while taunting Colt, and Kassidy follows only to get cradled for two. He stays on it, trying a suplex, but Reynolds with a pop-up knee strike to counter. Quen can’t stop him, and hot tag Colt. He runs Private Party together before getting a headscissors on Kassidy and Flip Flop and Fly on both guys. Superman splash gets two. (Not quite the pin cover, just a splash.)

Colt with chops and fists to Quen, but Quen with an RVD stepover enzuigiri. Colt catches Quen, though, and tries to dump him onto Kassidy. Private Party have Silly String blocked and Reynolds dumps Kassidy only for Quen to give Colt the Pele and dive onto Reynolds. He goes up top, and the 450 gets two. Quen looks to Hardy for help, but he and Kassidy are on the floor and Colt recovers with a big shot. Flying Apple, but Kassidy pulls Quen away. Ripcord forearm by Colt/Reynolds and the Dark Destroyer, and Colt gets the Superman pin… but Kassidy tagged himself in at some point and cradles Colt with the tights to win at 8:24. Good stuff. **1/2

Thunder Rosa (7-2, #5 women) vs. Shawna Reed (0-1). Reed looked all right on Dark, so let’s see how she does here. Despite being “from the graveyards of Tijuana”, Rosa comes out with the San Antonio flag.

Rosa with a go-behind, and after a double reversal trips Reed. Reed can’t escape and Rosa gets a hammerlock, but Reed with an armlock only for Rosa to get a drop toehold and Calf lock. They grapple up with Reed getting a hammerlock, but Rosa reverses to a standing armbar and hiptoss. Rosa with a trip and shotgun dropkick for one. Rosa kicks away on Reed and chokes her in the corner, then sends Reed into another corner and chops away. Rosa sends her around the world with more chops and back elbows, but Reed shoves her away and sends her in off a charge. Rapid fire boots and a hip check gets one.

Reed clubs away on Rosa, but Rosa outboxes her and nails a snapmare and soccer kick. Now Rosa kicks Reed away in the corner, dragging her to the center for two. Rosa puts her back in the corner and charges in with a Mizline before dropping the double knees. Hesitation dropkick follows, then a butterfly suplex for two. Uppercuts by Rosa, but Reed ducks and turns it into a Party Foul and armbar. Rosa escapes and shoots the half on Reed for two. They slug it out, which Rosa wins easily, getting the Thunder Driver for the win at 4:20. Reed was a fine opponent here, selling well for Rosa and showing okay comebacks. We know Rosa’s good, of course. *1/2

Best Friends (Chuck Taylor and Trent, w/Orange Cassidy) (25-11) vs. Kit Sackett and Hayden Backlund (0-1). Trent takes a while coming out, likely trying to get Orange’s attention that they have their cue. Sackett and Backlund look like generic wrestlers with beards, which is a shame if your last name is Backlund. C’mon, man, get the amateur singlet or the wild eyes!

Trent and Sackett start. Trent with a go-behind and takedown as he floats over Sackett and lets him up. Knuckle lock, but Sackett with a headlock and kick to Trent. He then charges into a lariat by Trent, who adds a right hook or two. Saito suplex by Trent, so Backlund tags himself in. Taylor tags himself in, though, and Best Friends gets the Sole Food into a half-and-half. Taylor throws Backlund into the guardrail on the outside, then back in, it’s locomotion piledrivers for the pin at 1:59. Best Friends are not goofing around this week. NR At least they still give the people what they want.

Nyla Rosa (#4 women) and Madi Wrenckowski vs. Leyla Hirsch and Ryo Mizunami. Neither duo has teamed together before. EXCUSE MEEEE! Sorry, Vickie Guerrero does intro for Nyla after abusing Justin Roberts. For someone who did not get into the business until age 40 or so, she’s become one heck of a heat magnet. Wight (about Vickie): “Living proof that Eddie Guerrero was the toughest man in the world.” Faces come out with matching Aniki sunglasses, which, okay, I love it.

Madi and Hirsch start. Madi smirks at Hirsch’s lack of size, but Hirsch with a takedown and takes the back. Madi with elbows to try to break, but Hirsch bring in Ryo… so Madi runs like hell and tags in Rose. Rose and Ryo shove back and forth to start, then slug it out. Rose with the Claw to take control, then runs her over and stomps away. Slam by Rose and a legdrop for two, brother, and Madi tags herself in as Rose gets a splash. Rose didn’t like that for a second, so Madi just runs to the cover for one before getting a surfboard.

Ryo begins to power up (Madi’s facial expressions are brilliant here), but Madi kicks her to stop the momentum and lands forearms. Ryo is doing something like Hulking Up off the forearms, and Ryo fires back with chops that send Madi into a neutral corner. Ryo with the Kobashi machine gun chops now, then one more for the exclamation point. She PULLS THE ROPE while staring at Rose, getting a corner clothesline for two. Hirsch back in, and Ryo whips Hirsch into Madi. Hirsch sends Madi back for a powerslam by Ryo, and Ryo hiptosses Hirsch off the top rope onto Madi, Rose saves.

Ryo is dumped outside and Hirsch eats a double suplex for two. And another two. Knee choke against the middle rope by Madi and a slap from Vickie for good measure, and Madi gets an X Factor for two. Axe Kick misses and Hirsch gets the armbar out of NOWHERE for the win at 4:54 as Ryo holds Rose at bay. Ryo Mizunami is quickly becoming one of my favorites. A very non-formula tag match that told a good story. **

Austin Gunn (w/Colten Gunn) (8-0 total) vs. Aaron Solow (w/QT Marshall and Nick Comoroto) (1-4 singles). This is an offshoot of the Cody/QT rivalry, as the Gunn Club are members of the Nightmare Family and Solow is part of the Factory rebel group. Austin is all business on the way to the ring. While on paper the records are disparate, Austin has won basically all his matches in trios matches. Comoroto lifts the stairs onto the stage just to make a point (cf. What they did to Cody when they formed), and Marshall sits on the steps…

…as Gunn fires off on Solow before the bell! Gunn floors Solow in the corner and glares at Marshall, but Solow reverses a whip only for Gunn to come back with a lariat. He yells at Marshall and gets a Cactus clothesline on Solow before telling Comoroto to stay back. Back in (as Gunn tells Comoroto to stay away), Solow charges a distracted Gunn with a Kitchen Sink. He punches down Gunn and adds a few stomps before taking his shirt off and tossing it at Gunn. Gunn tries to fight back, but Solow stops him and chokes him against the middle rope in front of Marshall. Suplex gets two. Gunn tries to punch back, but Solow whips him in and gets a back elbow as the pace slows down. Solow goes ground-and-pound on Gunn, then gets in an argument with Colten.

It’s a mistake, as Austin catches a blind charge with boots, then an elbow, then lariats Solow hard. Comeback time, as Solow falls to clotheslines and a running uppercut in the corner. Austin with the leg trip and Hennig neck snap, but now Comoroto’s on the apron. Gunn makes sure he goes back down, but that allows Solow to recover with a 540 kick for two. Now Colten gets in Comoroto’s face and gets a knee, but Comoroto’s charge misses and goes through the guardrail! In the ring, though, QT says finish him, but Gunn escapes and gets the Quick Draw to win at 4:20. Not sure I agree with the decision here, but this was all action from bell to bell. *3/4

Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page (2-0) vs. Carlie Bravo and Dean Alexander (0-3). So you make a big deal out of Ethan Page being a mystery opponent in a major ladder match, have Sky win that ladder match… and now they’re just another tag team? I think this is why you make sure you have a plan before you begin.

Sky and Bravo start. Sky with a waistlock takeodwn, and Bravo crawls with Sky on his back to the ropes. Sky with a headlock and he keeps it on through a lift as we go International~!, but Sky blocks a hiptoss and kicks Bravo senseless. Alexander in now, but Ethan wants him. Lockup, and Ethan forces Alexander to the corner and fakes a clean break. Alexander ducks it and fires away in the corner, but Ethan reverses a suplex to one of his own. Elbowdrop by Ethan, and he works the back of the head. Ethan with CLUBBERIN, THEY BE CLUBBERIN TONY and Sky comes in as they kick away on Alexander.

Sky works a wristlock, but Alexander turns it to a short-arm clothesline. Bravo takes Ethan off the apron when tagged in, and the students get a double dropkick. Ethan pulls Bravo outside and runs him over, while Sky takes out Alexander with a chop block and heel hook to win at 3:19. The students looked like they were on to something, but it went nowhere. Ethan gives Bravo the Ego’s Edge after the match just to be a dick. Whatever. 1/2*

Dasha congratulates Austin Gunn on beating Aaron Solow, but it’s far from over, right? Austin says family means everything to him. He was raised to believe that by Billy Gunn, and QT Marshall said it too – but QT tore the family apart. Billy gives Austin a hug as Austin gets too emotional, then says the feud’s not even remotely over… as QT wants to talk to Billy. He says it had nothing to do with Gunn Club, and he loves them too. Billy doesn’t want to hear it, and when Comoroto beat them up, that family bit is over and QT went too far. So Marshall sucker-punches Billy. That’s a good way to win an argument in wrestling.

MAIN EVENT: Sydal Brothers and Danny Limelight vs. M.T. Nakazawa, Konosuke Takeshita, and AEW World Champion (138 days) Kenny Omega. Neither trio has teamed before. It was nice of them to get the undercard out of the way to make time for this – though, to be fair, it’s not like any of the people being given short matches are unknowns. (Sure, there’s Prince Kai, but I think it was pretty funny how they had him do the “overblown no-name who gets instantly destroyed”.) Omega is furious that he’s slumming on this show. We cut back to The House Always Wins, where Omega, Nakazawa, and Takeshita were on the losing end. Everybody but Takeshita yells at each other before the bell.

Nakazawa and Limelight start, and if you think Omega being here means no more phone calls mid-match, Omega has a headset on in the corner and we’re still having a teleconference. Nakazawa avoids Limelight and keeps discussing with Omega, who tells him “tag me in”. Which he does. Omega is still on the headset as he ducks a lockup and keeps talking with Nakazawa. They decide to bring Takeshita in now, and we make first contact 90 seconds in. Takeshita with the headlock and we go International~!, with Limelight avoiding a German suplex only to run into a huge flapjack for one.

Takeshita works the shoulder of Limelight, bringing in Omega to drop the double axhandle. Now Nakazawa tags in to keep up the armwork, then he adds a slam before bringing Omega back in. Wishbone to Limelight, then a double stump-puller. Nakazawa’s legal again, working the shoulders and chopping away in the corner. He drops an axhandle on Limelight’s shoulder, but Limelight flips over Nakazawa and throws everyone together. He tosses Nakazawa and follows with a twisting Fosbury Flop, and back in, Mike gets a Matrix duck and enzuigiri to Nakazawa.

Standing moonsault gets two. Matt in now with a big boot and the Sydals with quadruple knees on Nakazawa, getting Matt two. Baseball slide by Matt, but Omega gets Matt in the back. Nakazawa hits Omega by mistake, but recovers with a Samoan Drop to Matt. Omega in, and he gets a backbreaker for two. Omega yells at Takeshita before tagging him in, and Takeshita with a leg lariat, Limelight saves. Omega wants back in now, and the heels get a double back elbow before Omega grinds his boot into Matt’s throat. Power Drive elbow gets two. He taunts Matt while cutting off the hot tag, but he tries a suplex, which Matt blocks.

Omega switches to CLUBBERIN on Matt, then mocks Mike. Big chop and suplex try, but Matt with a knee to the head. Omega’s had enough and takes out Mike and Limelight, but he runs into a spinwheel kick by Matt. Hot tag Limelight, but Takeshita gets the tag too. Limelight with a running headscissors and enzuigiri before going ot the top, getting a Buff Blockbuster for two. Limelight asks the Sydals to enter, and all three men go for Takeshita. Limelght misses, though, and it’s EVERYBODY INTO THE POOL as the heels take turns running into Limelight. Spinning powerbomb by Takeshita gets two. A pair of atomic drops leads to Omega getting a Famouser. Lariato by Takeshita gets two, still, as the announcers are amazed.

Omega’s ready to finish this and tags in, but Limelight blocks the dragon suplex. He rips up the full nelson and gets a back elbow, but Omega with a spinning elbow. Limelight lands on his feet on the Snap Dragon, but Limelight misses an enzuigiri. One-Winged Angel is escaped, and Matt enters with the Meteora. Limelight with a tornado DDT to Omega for another close two as Nakazawa is freaking out. Mike tagged in, and he kicks Nakazawa away before cartwheeling in, but Omega ducks a roundhouse and gets the snap dragon. Takeshita is tagged in and gets the Helluva Kick and brainbuster for another two.

Lariat try, but Mike with the splits and a cradle for two. SUPERKICK to Takeshita and Mike goes up, but Nakazawa crotches him and ties him in a reverse Tree of Woe. Takeshita goes up, and COAST TO COAST connects on Mike. Gut Check by Takeshita, Omega cuts off Limelight with the V-Trigger, and a deadlift German wins it at 13:07. Look, this was a hell of a match, but now they’re obligated to make something out of Limelight after the story being that he just would not die. ***3/4 On the other hand, we found out how many people it takes to get a great match out of Nakazawa.

We’re only going to remember this for the main event down the line, but what a main event.. Kenny Omega isn’t someone I’m a fan of on the undercard – to be honest, he doesn’t know how to tune it down – but when it’s a main event, he delivers. Takeshita is the truth, Limelight is a future star if they keep this up, and everyone else held their own.

Still, this show is SO much more than the main event. You had a women’s tag match in which all four people got over their personalities. Thunder Rosa allowed Shawna Reed to get in some good shine, but still controlled the match as the ring general to make it better. Prince Kai vs Orange Cassidy was a great joke and one that will never get old in wrestling. Throw in Dark Order vs Private Party and the sprintastic Gunn vs Solow, and this show is really good. Just cut out the squashes, which were too short to really get somewhere this week.

STATS

BELL-TO-BELL: 60:15 over fourteen matches (average time 4:18, though that drops to 3:38 if the main event is discarded)

MATCH OF THE NIGHT: Trios main event

FIVE STARS:

1. Danny Limelight
2. Marq Quen
3. Ryo Mizunami
4. Konosuke Takeshita
5. Kenny Omega

NOTE: Honorable mentions to: Madi Wrenckowski, who delivered with her facial expressions to advance the story of her match; Andre Montoya, who maximized his minutes and looked good against TH2; Prince Kai, for being willing to lose in under 10 seconds while still getting his character over; Austin Gunn and Aaron Solow, who show that it’s not about match time but what you do within the match time; and Angelico, who is who I want to be when I grow up to be a pro wrestler.

See you tomorrow for more AEW content!