Kevin’s AEW Road Rager Review 7.7.21

AEW Road Rager

July 7th, 2021 | James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida

With AEW going back on the road, I’m going to attempt to review Dynamite episodes going forward. It’s so cool to just see live crowds like this again.

South Beach Strap Match: Cody Rhodes (41-12-2) vs. QT Marshall (33-17)

Cody’s entrance is one of the most ridiculous things in the world. He presents himself like he’s the most important wrestler in the world and it’s funnier here since QT got no entrance. It’s pretty pretentious for a babyface. Also, the balls on AEW to have their first show back on the road start with QT Marshall. This had the “touch the four corners” gimmick, which doesn’t always work. Cody started hot with a tope suicida but his weak moonsault attempt failed. Dustin stopped Solow from truly getting involved shortly before QT got busted open. Yup, it’s a Cody match. There was a moment where the lights went out for a few seconds. QT got in a bit of offense but he really never felt like he was a threat, as expected. Cody hit three straight Cross Rhodes to put him down and touch all four corners after 10:38. A very bland match that didn’t do much for me. [**]

Shawn Spears cut a promo about how he hit Sammy Guevara with a chair last week. He was interrupted by Sammy throwing one at him from off-camera, saying this was far from over. Again, the balls to go from QT to Shawn Spears on your big return show is impressive.

Okay, now we’re onto stars with AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, his bad facial hair, and Don Callis for an interview conducted by Tony Schiavone. Callis took over the interview and bragged about them before saying that there’s nobody left for Omega to beat come Fight for the Fallen. Evil Uno and Dark Order interrupted like last week. Dressed better than anyone from the Elite, Evil Uno got cut off and hit in the nuts. That triggered a brawl where the Good Brothers and Michael Nakazawa got involved. With Evil Uno surrounded, Hangman Page’s music hit to a huge pop and he cleaned house. It ended with Hangman face to face with Kenny as the crowd chanted his name. Kenny bailed with the title after Luke Gallows intervened. They’re building this well but I hope they don’t go the New Japan route of waiting too long to pull the trigger on Page. Maybe have a Screwjob at Fight for the Fallen and do a title switch at the PPV.

We got a Jim Ross sitdown interview with Ethan Page and Darby Allin, who both want to end the other man’s career. Darby said that Ethan is pissed that he is a bigger star in a few years than Ethan was in a decade. Ethan says that’s right because if it wasn’t for him, Darby would still be living in his car and he jumped the line. Next week, it’ll be a coffin match between them.

FTR (22-4) and Wardlow (16-5) vs. Jake Hager, Santana and Ortiz (1-1 as a trio)

The Pinnacle/Inner Circle feud continues. I don’t care for a lot of Pinnacle but this trio rules. Konnan, who is dead in Lucha Underground lore, came out with the Inner Circle, led by Hager, the last Lucha Underground Champion. This was a quality six man tag with every moving part doing their thing and getting a chance to shine. Hager and Wardlow were used as powerhouses, while the tandems hit their trademark stuff. They worked through a commercial break and some of FTR’s double team offense was sweet. I loved Hager allowing a hurt opponent to tag out to Wardlow because he wanted the big man again. FTR saved Wardlow from an ankle lock and hit the Big Rig on Hager to end this in 9:00. Like I said, a quality six man tag. [**¾]

Backstage, Karl Anderson discussed how he will take the IWGP United States Title from Jon Moxley next week and make a big return to New Japan.

Time for an in-ring standoff between MJF and Chris Jericho. It’s a feud that I haven’t loved but it makes sense for MJF’s growth. This big of a live crowd singing Jericho’s theme was missed. A fan tried to jump into the ring and was taken down quickly. MJF and Jericho sat across from each other at a long table to talk. This is about MJF’s stipulation choice and Jericho said he’d do anything, including have sex with MJF’s mother….again. Cold. MJF chose to use Jericho’s blueprint against Moxley (he had Mox fight everyone in the Inner Circle) and improve upon it. He’ll have to fight four wrestlers of MJF’s choosing in stipulation matches and if he wins all four, he’ll get the MJF rub. Jericho accepted and pulled MJF in for a Judas Effect. This meandered on for a bit too long but was fine. Also, with Andrade on the roster, Jericho should stop with his weak elbow.

Backstage, Britt Baker complained about the injuries suffered against Nyla Rose last week. She also said that maybe Vickie Guerrero got “blood money” from Tony Khan. She said maybe AEW can run in Saudi Arabia next. Big “ooh” from the crowd.

Andrade El Idolo (0-0) vs. Matt Sydal (24-13)

Sydal is a good choice for a first opponent. He has some name value and can have a decent match. Andrade was out in a Black Mask outfit but removed it all before the bell. Not a fan of Andrade wrestling in slacks. It looks lame but maybe he hasn’t had new gear made or something. The fact that he could do his double moonsault so smoothly in slacks was sick. Sydal got in a lot of offense while still letting this be an Andrade showcase, which I prefer to the one minute squashes that often happens in debuts. Andrade won with the Hammerlock DDT, which didn’t look good, in 7:37. [***]

A video package aired to hype Christian Cage vs. Matt Hardy at Fyter Fest.

Tony Schiavone interviewed Arn Anderson in the ring. His promo was quickly cut off by the lights going out. When they came on, TOMMY END/ALEISTER BLACK/MALAKAI BLACK was in the ring. He hit the Black Mass on Arn and Cody entered to face off with him in his suit. Cody also ate a spin kick. I’m so happy for him to be here but they better not job him out to Cody.

A clip aired from earlier tonight where Ricky Starks cut a promo with his own personal security since he’s not medically cleared. He spoke to Taz, Powerhouse Hobbs, and Hook, with Taz saying this is embarrassing. Ricky shut him up and called Brian Cage embarrassing for not being a good teammate. Ricky said that he’ll beat Brian for the FTW title and he will FTW but with the W meaning wife. That brought out Cage to wreck the guards.

The Bunny (17-8) and The Blade (33-14)  vs. Kris Statlander (10-0 in 2021) and Orange Cassidy (11-1-1 in 2021)

Statlander wearing the shades and jean jacket was perfect. Blade is no-nonsense, so he quickly got over OC’s antics until he ate Stundog Millionaire. Statlander and Bunny had a fun back and forth where Blade intervened to give his wife the upper hand. After a break, Statlander was back in control and they teased some intergender wrestling but didn’t go through with it. That’s a shame. Do it. The most we got was Statlander hitting Blade with a 450 splash, which was sweet, and Bunny pulling OC to the outside. Blade used brass knuckles on OC and had it won but he missed Statlander tagging in. So, Bunny was legal and Statlander pinned her with the Big Bang Theory in 8:27. That was a creative finish for a mixed tag and a fun bout. [**¾]

Jungle Boy got a trophy earlier for being the first AEW wrestler to 50 wins.

At ringside, the American Top Team guys were interviewed when their manager Dan Lambert went on a rant in the ring about how wrestling sucks today. He said he’d rather watch ‘70s wrestling than what AEW puts on. However, he also managed to put over the talents which is impressive. Lance Archer arrived to shut him up with the Black Out. This was so strange but pretty satisfying.

NEXT WEEK ~ Darby/Ethan in a Coffin Match; Christian Cage/Matt Hardy; Brian Cage/Ricky Starks for the FTW Title; Penelope Ford/Yuka Sakazaki; Hangman Page speaks; and Karl Anderson/Jon Moxley for the IWGP US Title.

AEW Tag Team Championship Street Fight: The Young Bucks [c] (8-1 in 2021) vs. Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo (5-0)

Oof, I cannot stand watching The Young Bucks again. Michael Nakazawa got involved early but ate superkicks. The match itself was wild, filled with big spots of trash cans, tables, and more. That included Penta doing a destroyer off the apron through one. They worked through a commercial break and kept up with the big spots. With Matt Jackson on the verge of submitting, Nick hit the referee with a 450 splash, so he missed when Matt tapped. That brought out the Good Brothers for an advantage until Penta took them out with a dive. Kazarian put Cutler through a table, evening the odds again. Thumbtacks got brought into play late after another close call. Nick scored the win with a super rana onto the thumbtacks for just another close call. They put tacks in Eddie’s mouth and superkicked him to win in 14:18. As a match, it was fine but felt like just a bunch of wild spots for the sake of it at times. This is like when WWE got roasted for not putting the WWE Title back on Drew on the first show with live fans again. But Bucks gotta Buck. Maybe Santana and Ortiz will dethrone them but AEW is about two years overdue for them to get their due. [***¼]

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

Mostly a good way to get back on the road. Not all of the matches delivered the way I wanted but they were entertaining outside of the opener. Plus, you get the Black appearance, some good promo stuff, and setup for a bigger set of shows in the next two weeks