This was another taped episode from the Rochester New York Blue Cross Arena. For the most part, this was just another extension for the Brodie Lee show in terms of the main event. There was only one match that had some appeal but without the live crowd, it felt pretty dead as a program.
Bryan Danielson Vs. Nick Jackson
Not a great match by any stretch of the imagination. Nick Jackson is too used to teaming with his brother and he looked lost here. The crowd was pro-Danielson but they felt quiet compared to the lively Adam Cole vs Jungle Boy match on Monday. Bryan Danielson did his best to carry Nick Jackson here but the reality is that Nick Jackson isn’t a good wrestler and it really shows when he’s facing a trained competitor.
While reading Reddit, someone mentioned that this match looked more like a squash match. Well, in reality it was. Nick Jackson tried to do some lame flippy offense and his kicks were awful. The super kick has become so overdone that I can’t stand seeing it with the exception of 1-2 people.
Danielson won with the Cattle Mutilation tap out over Nick Jackson. The Elite came into check on Nick Jackson while Christian Cage and Jurassic Express went to Danielson. There was a small after birth to promote Wednesday’s big 8 man tag team match where poor Adam Cole and eventually Kenny Omega were put into submissions. But overall the only thing that matters at this point are Omega vs Danielson part 2 and possibly Adam Cole vs Christian Cage or Bryan Danielson vs Adam Cole down the line.
Ricky Starks Video Package
Again, AEW does a great job when it comes to these video packages in making their wrestlers look like actual stars. Unfortunately, poor Ricky is still stuck in another unending feud with Brian Cage. After CM Punk’s win over Powerhouse Hobbs, I was hoping he would have the opportunity to take on Ricky Starks since he mentioned him by name at one point. And it would give someone Starks could sink his teeth into and actually deliver an exchange of good promos.
CM Punk Video Package
Puts over Hobbs but says that he’s about to make that serious turn where he’s going to start aiming for bigger stars soon. Not sure who is in Punk’s crosshairs yet. During the MJF promo on Dynamite, it was very clear people want to see Punk shut MJF up. I think they should keep these two clear for a while just because MJF did that huge job to Chris Jericho on the PPV.
I thought Ricky Starks would’ve been a better next opponent just because of the mic stuff they could do. But again Starks is in the never ending feud with Brian Cage. Since MJF did that promo against Darby Allin, I have a feeling Punk won’t have to deal with MJF for now.
Now, I could see Punk facing Men of the Year. Since Jericho got punked (pun intended) and Punk admits to dabbling in MMA, he could take them on along with Jericho. But I’d feel really bad for Scorpio Sky since the guy deserves better. Yet it might lead to some worked MMA fights with the rest of American Top Team. I personally think that whole angle is dead because they fucked it up badly but who knows?
Nyla Rose Vs. Thunder Rosa Vs. Jade Cargill
This was supposed to be a grudge match that turned into a semi-garbage match with a trash can, table and chair being brought in. Jade Cargill is very pretty but she just can’t work. Thunder Rosa managed to power bomb Nyla Rose through the table on the outside for the “holy shit” moment of the night. Then Jade Cargill used a chair to bash Thunder Rosa for a pin. Some of those chair shots just looked awful and they never explained why any of these implements were allowed in this match. I have no idea why Jade was given the victory over Thunder Rosa because Thunder Rosa is probably either 1 or 2 in terms of AEW’s best women workers while Jade is at the bottom. And Mark Sterling is an even cheaper version of Don Callis with less personality.
Malakai Black Segment
Sounds like Malakai Black is done with Cody Rhodes and the Nightmare Factory for now, which is GREAT. He did mention that Cody needs to basically become a heel but anything moving forward will probably be done by Cody on his own in moving towards a heel turn. Black does say that he’s looking for more souls to collect so hopefully he can move onto bigger things like a TNT title shot since Miro is out of that picture.
Sammy Guverra Video Package
They talk about his victory over Miro in becoming the new TNT title holder and already receiving his first defense next week on Dynamite against Bobby Fish, whom I believe works for New Japan, thus the Forbidden Door once more opening up. I can’t see Fish winning although I’ve read numerous people getting excited about his arrival. I still think it’ll be Malakai Black beating Guverra at Full Gear in November for the TNT title.
Matt Hardy/Jack Evans and Orange Cassidy with Mark Henry
Another backstage segment with Mark Henry. It’s basically stupid comedy with Matt pretending Jack thought about this plan while Jack tries to deny it and Orange casually saying he just has to beat Jack as his strategy. Mark Henry is looking more and more confident in these segments which is cool. I did see him on Elevation while Paul Wight was wrestling and thought he did a good job. It’s better than Jericho shouting over him and interrupting him constantly.
Jack Evans Vs. Orange Cassidy
Really a nothing match. Crowd seemed dead except when Cassidy was on offense. Jack Evans has some good offensive moves but no one cares because they realize that he’s a jobber. This match was better suited for Dark or Elevation. Jack lost to Orange’s Orange Punch hit which meant he would have his head shaved.
HFO tried to come out to save Jack but Cassidy’s buddies formed a line. Then more of HFO came out which brought out part of the Dark Order. In turn, Angelico attempted to save his partner then got knocked silly while Hardy made a strategic retreat as Jack Evans got the top of his head shaved.
This lead to -1 being invited to the ring so that the Best Friends and Dark Order could give the kid a hug to finish off the night.
Final Thoughts
After reading the spoilers on Wednesday, I knew this wasn’t going to be an exciting show. It really was meant for Brody and even then it felt lifeless. I still argue that rather than have a dumb show full of shitty matches with jobbers, they’re better off having a one night tournament culminating with a big match on Fridays because at least you’ll have a meaningful bunch of pro-wrestling matches rather than boring angles that lead nowhere.
Next week we’re supposed to be getting a special anniversary edition for Dynamite. On top of the big tag team match and Shida vs Deeb match, they’re having a stupid ladder match that will be formatted like their Casino Battle Royale, including a joker card. The participants they announced are
- Jon Moxley
- Lance Archer
- Pac
- Andrade El Idolo
- Matt Hardy
- Orange Cassidy
So far there hasn’t been a clear indication for the Joker. Since Lio Rush just re-signed, there’s a small possibility he’ll show up since he got injured supposedly at their last Casino Battle Royale. There was another name mentioned on Reddit on a thread where Jay White was brought up based on a rumor from a cancelled appearance. It didn’t sound concrete but just received a lot of upvotes.
Jokers in the AEW context have been outsiders so there’s no reason not to suspect a debuting wrestler will show up. The thing is that outside of Ric Flair and Bray Wyatt, there hasn’t been any major rumblings of AEW’s next major signings since the WWE had done all their releases. With the recent two Dark Side of the Ring episodes putting a great deal of shade onto Flair, it’s unlikely he might make a debut anytime soon. And for Bray Wyatt, his contract deal isn’t up for another month or so.
The one major name that the WWE released who could make a debut is Braun Strowman. Yet this doesn’t seem like the type of match he would do compared to the people listed and there hasn’t been mention of any public interest in him thus far from AEW. The only thing that was said about Strowman was that he was commanding a pretty big contract with the WWE. But I don’t think he might bring the upside Tony Khan wants with the way the roster is being built.
From other possible WWE related stars that might show up for something like this, I have a few that could be in this position:
- Buddy Murphy – Style would fit for a match like this but not sure if AEW is the right place for him. Others said he probably will heading to Impact.
- Bronson Reed – Doesn’t seem to fit this type of match but he is free I believe. Visa issues might present a problem though.
-
Tony Nese – Not familiar with him but he might fit. Haven’t seen him signed to anywhere just yet
-
Tyler Breeze – Friends with Adam Cole and Shawn Spears. Now runs a wrestling school with Spears. Could see him here but I read that he wasn’t interested in pursuing a company at the moment. So hard to say.
So I think the interesting thing will be seeing who the Joker card is. It’s not going to be a the level of CM Punk nor Bryan Danielson (or heck Adam Cole for that matter) but I would imagine the debut to be not someone yet seen. So should be good.
At any rate, I’m glad this show only went for an hour. It was pretty bad and I don’t think I’d enjoy watching a whole 2 hours of this with all the jobbers from both shows.