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Hello everyone, it’s Winfree here to cover the latest AEW PPV. The build for this one has left me a little cold personally, but the action could easily surpass the build. Chief amongst the somewhat lackluster build is our presumptive main event, Maxwell Jacob Friedman defends his AEW World Title against Sammy Guevara, Jungle Boy Jack Perry, and Darby Allin. MJF’s reign thus far has been a little underwhelming, but he’s probably retaining here so let’s see what we might have in store going forward, and the match itself is almost certainly going to be engaging. Elsewhere on the card Chris Jericho takes on Adam Cole in some variety of Street Fight, and Sabu will be hanging around for that one. FTR put the tag titles up against TNA, House of Black defend their trios titles against The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, Orange Cassidy’s International title will be up for grabs in a Battle Royal, Wardlow defends his TNT title against Christian Cage, and we’ve got Anarchy in the Arena for the Blackpool Combat Club taking on The Elite. There are a a few other matches, but we’ll get to them as they come up. With the debut of Collision on the horizon this might be the time for AEW to try and build momentum. Well that’s the preamble, let’s get to the action.

Brief notes from the pre-shot, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and Hook defeated The Gunns (Austin and Colten) and Ethan Page, Matt Hardy now owns Ethan Page’s AEW contract.

Match #1 – AEW International Title Match: Battle Royal

Kip Sabian tries to toss Orange Cassidy right away, doesn’t work though. Some of the participants are just chilling on the floor, a few are fighting out there as well. Brian Cage and Swerve Strickland are just sitting on the entrance ramp, waiting. Kommander goes to walk the ropes, he walks across and hits a dive onto Big Bill and Lee Moriarty, he did all that without touching the ring canvas and is technically not in the match yet. Rey Fenix and Pentagon square up with Bandido and Kommander leading to all the luchadors working together to keep Kommander safe while he hits a delayed vertical suplex on Tony Nese. Nese gets tossed out of the ring and is gone. Penta and Ari Daivari fight on the apron, Daivari gets taken out. Brian Cage enters the ring and goes after Kommander, Kommander bounces off of him. Cage runs over Penta then tosses Fenix around before hitting both Lucha Bros with a German suplex. Bandido tries a military press on Cage, he gets real close before Cage slips free and hits him with a monkey flip. Cage now catches both Bandido and Kommander with a combination Worlds Strongest Slam and powerbomb. Penta and Fenix with a series of superkicks to Cage that finally takes him down. Ricky Starks is going after Juice Robinson and Jay White, they fight him off then try to take out Kommander but Penta and Fenix save him. Robinson takes some corner offense from the Lucha Bros, then Kommander tries a rope walk move only for White to shove him to the floor and eliminate him. Starks is trying to hang on as Robinson and White try to get rid of him, but he does hang on and save himself. Sabian is after Cassidy again, but here come Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta to hit a triple powerbomb on Sabian then Taylor eliminates him. Best Friends then hug before Bill and Lee take them down.

Lee with a Fang to Cassidy but can’t get rid of him. Cassidy accidentally low bridges Taylor, or was supposed to but he grabbed the middle rope instead of the top one, so minor botch. Keith Lee just heaves Blade over the top rope and out of the match. Cage and Lee square up and trade punches. Here comes Swerve, slowly moving towards the ring, thinking about coming in. Swerve jumps on the back of Lee but Lee tosses him down. Lee and Swerve trade strikes, Swerve lands an enziguri but he’s caught with a powerslam from Lee, then Cage superkicks Lee. Penta and Fenix eliminate Butcher. Bandido avoids some corner offense but gets eliminated by Lee. Lee and Beretta fight on the apron, both men could be eliminated here, Beretta hits a half nelson suplex on the apron and Lee is gone. Cassidy nearly gets eliminated but holds on only for Beretta to shove Cassidy away from a Bill boot and Beretta is eliminated. Again Lee and Swerve square up, Lee unloads with body blows then tries to toss Swerve but Cage comes from behind and tosses Lee out of the ring. Despite being gone Lee tries to take out Swerve but can’t. Dustin Rhodes with a Cross Rhodes to Cage and tries to eliminate him, but Swerve saves Cage. Lucha Bros and Bullet Club Gold are trading strikes, White and Robinson wind up on the apron but fight back into the ring. Penta accidentally eliminates Fenix, then Starks takes out Robinson before White spikes Starks with a uranage. Penta and White square up now, Penta unloads with kicks but is caught in a Blade Runner but Starks flies in with a Spear to White and then eliminates him. Robinson pulls Starks under the ropes and he and White beat down Starks on the floor for a bit. Starks crawls back into the ring, but here’s Bill to greet him. Bill goes to toss Starks, but Starks hangs onto the apron then comes back into the ring with rights to Bill. Chop from Starks, then Bill kills him with a big boot over the top rope and Starks is gone. Dustin low bridges Cage and hits the apron Canadian Destroyer to take out Cage, and Swerve eliminates Dustin after that.

Our final four are Cassidy, Bill, Penta, and Swerve.

Pena unloads with kicks to everyone then a Sling Blade to Swerve. Backstabber to Cassidy and Penta feels good. Bill and Penta square off again, Penta with chops and leg kicks but Bill just boots him then clotheslines him out of the ring. Bill with a Black Hole slam to Cassidy. Now Swerve and Bill have a conversation, Bill wants to toss Cassidy, he presses Cassidy up but Swerve shoves him out as Cassidy falls to the mat. Cassidy and Swerve trade near eliminations, then trade strikes. Around the world DDT from Cassidy is countered, Cassidy then hits a Stunner but Swerve comes off the ropes with the Swerve Kick and both men are down. Both men slowly pull themselves up, and Nana trips down Cassidy leading to another Swerve Kick, then a Swerve Stomp. Swerve takes a bit too long going for the elimination, he puts the hands of Cassidy in his pockets and goes to dump him, but Cassidy hits a tornado DDT to counter then the around the world DDT. Cassidy with an Orange Punch to send Swerve to the apron, Cassidy goes for another one but Swerve blocks and pulls Cassidy to the apron with him. They fight over position, then Nana grabs at Cassidy to set up a knee from Swerve. Cassidy hangs on but Swerve is going for an apron Swerve Stomp, Cassidy gets the boots up to block, then thinks about an Orange Punch but instead just kicks the hand of Swerve that’s holding the ropes and Swerve falls to the floor.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Orange Cassidy retained the title

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Most battle royals are the same, and most of this was just like every other battle royal you’ve ever seen. But the closing bit with Cassidy and Swerve was good, I’d like more of that pairing.

Match #2 – Unsanctioned Match w/ Special Enforcer Sabu: Adam Cole w/ Roderick Strong vs. Chris Jericho w/ Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Matt Menard, and Angelo Parker

Cole and Strong come down with chairs, Sabu of course has a chair and Sabu wipes out Parker with his. In the ring Jericho and Garcia go after Cole. Sabu gets a chair in the ring and squares off with Jericho. They talk for a bit, pretty tepid reaction here. Some sword fighting with chairs, Jericho drops his first and Sabu tosses his chair into Jericho’s face. Cole sets up Parker on a table and Sabu dives onto him and breaks the table. Sabu shouldn’t have to do this. Hager attacks Strong for a bit and eventually Cole and Jericho get into the ring together. Everyone else seems to be meandering to the back. Cole tosses Jericho through the ropes, rough landing from Jericho and Cole is going after the arm of Jericho now. Cole slams the arm of Jericho into the ring steps a few times, then puts him in the ring to wrap his legs around the ring post a few times. They head to the apron, Cole wants a Panama Sunrise through a table on the floor, but Jericho blocks and just suplexes him onto the floor. Jericho tries for heat by flipping off the crowd, again tepid response. Jericho goes for a powerbomb, Cole fights him off but Jericho then hits an alley oop onto the ring apron. Next Jericho runs Cole into the ring steps. Back into the ring now Jericho with some chops then a slap. Cole with some body shots but he runs into a clothesline. Jericho puts a chair up between the ropes, but Cole avoids a charge and Jericho goes face first into that chair. Cole with elbows then a pump kick but he runs into, well, let’s call it a cross chop to the chest and Cole bumps. Jericho tries a Lionsault, Cole tries to intercept with a superkick but Jericho doesn’t have the elevation of others who make that spot work so this one just looks awkward. Jericho blocks a Panama Sunrise and tries the Walls of Jericho, he gets them in and Cole crawls under the ropes to reach down and grab a conveniently placed fire extinguisher which he uses to spray Jericho and that breaks the hold. Next Cole cracks Jericho with the extinguisher for a 2 count. Jericho with some chops but he just falls after the second, Cole wants a Boom but Jericho counters with a Codebreaker for 2. Now Jericho with the extinguisher, he sprays Cole for a bit then sprays the air before dropping the cannister onto Cole’s abdomen.

Jericho heads out of the ring and gets a kendo stick, but here comes Britt Baker with a stick of her own the crack Jericho. Britt goes nuts but here’s Saraya and Baker chases her off with the kendo stick to leave Jericho and Cole alone again. Cole grabs the kendo stick now and chokes Jericho with it then uses it to hit a Backstabber for 2. More choking from Cole, the crowd wants more table usage. Jericho gets a chair as Cole climbs the ropes, Jericho then tosses the chair into Cole’s head and Cole falls through the table on the floor. Jericho heads out of the ring to talk to the camera, then he sends Cole back into the ring. Before joining Cole in the ring Jericho finds a long length of chain with handcuffs on it. Jericho cuffs one of Cole’s hands, but he wastes time and Cole is able to use the chain to help land a punch, then a DDT for a 2 count and Jericho seemed to mess up the kick out just a bit. Cole cuffs Jericho to him and lands a superkick. Panama Sunrise connects and Cole has to pretend to be surprised that Jericho kicked out, has Cole won a match with that in the last 5 years? Jericho avoids a Boom, and rolls up Cole for 2. Jericho with a chain shot, sort of, then does it again a few times with a much better visual. Cole avoids a Judas Effect, but Jericho starts choking Cole with the chain. Cole walks up the ropes and flips free then lands a couple of superkicks, then a Boom but Cole doesn’t go for the pin. Cole wraps the chain around his leg, it wont stay but he holds it in place for another Boom. Mounted punches from Cole, with the chain to help things out and the ref waves things off.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Adam Cole won

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: This didn’t click, it was a bit slow and normally you’d rely on the emotion to carry those spots but there just wasn’t any real hatred coming through the screen here. They probably could have trimmed 3-5 minutes from this too, but Cole isn’t exactly known for his self restraint.

Match #3 – AEW Tag Team Title Match w/ Special Guest Referee Mark Briscoe: (c) FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) vs. TNA (Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal) w/ Satnam Singh, Sonjay Dutt, and Karen Jarrett

Dax and Lethal start us off, they tie up and then trade a quick mat wrestling exchange. Another tie up, then Lethal with an arm wringer and a shoulder block. Lethal with an O’Connor roll for 2. Dax grabs a side headlock takeover. Lethal with some corner strikes then Dax fires back with a chop, and another one. They start trading chops for a bit, then Dax runs into a back elbow. Things break down briefly leading to Dax hitting a crossbody onto both Jarrett and Lethal, then stereo Atomic Drops. Double Sharpshooter attempt but Jarrett rolls out of the ring and Lethal uses the ropes to break the hold. The heels take a powder then Lethal gets back in the ring with Dax. Wheeler tags in and goes after the arm of Lethal with some arm breakers. Lethal fights back with strikes, Lethal and Jarrett try the fake tag but Briscoe saw that and doesn’t let Jarrett in. Wheeler with more chops to Lethal then tags in Dax for a double back body drop, then Jarrett eats some elbows. Dax and Wheeler send Lethal out of the ring and onto Jarrett. We get brawling on the floor now, back in the ring Jarrett low bridges Wheeler behind the refs back. Jarrett nearly uses a chair but again Briscoe sees him and Jarrett just tosses Wheeler into the barricade a few times instead.

Commentary has been moved to ringside for this event, and they are not loving it between the crowd being jerks and the wrestlers constantly running into them. Jarrett tags in and hits a Russian leg sweep. Karen with some cheap shots to Wheeler. Lethal tags back in and stomps on Wheeler for a bit. Uppercut from Lethal then he tags Jarrett back in. Jarrett with stomps then a strut and he tags in Lethal leading to Lethal hitting a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Chin lock from Lethal but Wheeler fights back with a back suplex and both men are down. Lethal stops the tag with a shot to Dax, Wheeler with a school boy for 2 then Lethal hits a Dragon Screw and tags in Jarrett. Jarrett with some kicks to the leg then he wants the Figure Four, and gets it. That goes on for a bit, then Dax takes out Lethal and hits Jarrett with a falling headbutt to break the hold. Briscoe with the count as both men are down, eventually Lethal tags in but Wheeler is able to tag out as well. Dax runs wild on Lethal with strikes then a clothesline. German suplexes from Dax now, he hits 2 before they spin around and Dax hits a Brainbuster for a near fall. Lethal Combination to drop Dax and both men are down. Lethal now heads up top, slowly, but Dax gets up and crotches him then lays in chops. Wheeler and Jarrett fight on the apron, Dutt gets involved and Jarrett is able to shove Wheeler into the ring post. Dax headbutts Jarrett but that allows Lethal to unload with chops to drop Dax. Lethal again takes too long to deliver the elbow drop, and Dax jumps up there with him to hit a superplex, then rolls through and sets up the Doomsday powerbomb, Wheeler dives onto Jarrett but Dutt pulls Dax off of the cover. Dax chases Dutt, but Briscoe sees this and ejects Dutt. Briscoe tosses Singh as well, just for good measure I guess. Jarrett has a guitar, he swings at Dax but Dax moves and Jarrett breaks the guitar over Briscoe’s head. Things break down, Lethal takes a Shatter Machine but there’s no ref. Dax covers for a 15 count or so, but Dutt blocks Aubrey Edwards from coming down, she shoves Dutt but Karen clobbers Aubrey with a guitar. Lethal with a double Lethal Injection to both Dax and Wheeler and everyone’s down. I wonder if Jarrett legitimately got hurt, he’s been MIA for a long time here and was visibly favoring his knee earlier. Karen gets the title belts, gives one to Dutt and one is tossed into the ring. Lethal has the belt, Jarrett holds Dax for a belt shot but Dax fights back, piledrives Lethal, but Jarrett with a belt shot to Dax and a Stroke to Dax. Jarrett has now used 3 of his 4 moves and celebrates, he covers but Briscoe takes a bit to recover and count so we only get a 2 count. The only move Jarrett has left is a low blow. Jarrett gets mad at Briscoe and pie faces him a few times, then slaps him, Briscoe slaps Jarrett back, that sends him into a Shatter Machine and that’ll get the pin.

OFFICIAL RESULT: FTR retained the titles

Rating: 3 stars
Thoughts: Overbooked, but that’s about what you’d expect from well, every Jarrett match ever. The crowd was struggling here, but this crowd has kind of sucked thus far in general so I’m not sure if that’s on the wrestlers. This one might have benefitted from being a little shorter and more action packed.

In the back Starks talks, he barely starts before Juice Robinson and Jay White attack him. They’re chased off by FTR, who must have made the worlds fastest sprint from the ring to the back.

Later in the back Jericho throws a tantrum, Saraya is there too and they complain about Adam Cole and Britt Baker. They’re going to demand Tony Khan give them a tag team match on Dynamite. Sure, that’s a thing they can do. A random production assistant shows up and takes a fireball from Jericho. I was so happy that thing had died, please don’t bring it back.

Match #4 – TNT Title Ladder Match: (c) Wardlow vs. Christian Cage

Cage is wearing his sleeveless turtleneck. Wardlow gets a ladder pretty quickly, but Cage dropkicks it into him, then Cage tries a dive but Wardlow whacks him in mid air with the ladder. Some more stomping around from Wardlow, he pulls a couple of tables from under the ring. Wardlow sets up the tables beside each other, then bounces Cage off of the ring steps. Cage is set up on the tables, Wardlow climbs the ropes for a Swanton Bomb but Cage rolls off of the tables and Wardlow drops down to chase him around the ring side area. Shot to the eyes from Cage, then he gets a ladder and drives it into the ribs of Wardlow. Big ladder from Cage and he whacks Wardlow with it then bridges it between the barricade and apron. Wardlow fights back and sets Cage on the ladder, then jumps to the apron and walks onto the ladder with Cage. Wardlow wants a powerbomb but Cage drops free and crotches Wardlow through the rungs of the ladder. In the ring Cage sets up a ladder and goes to climb but thinks better of it as Wardlow climbs into the ring. Cage stomps on Wardlow then picks up the ladder he had set up and puts it in the corner. Pretty loud “turtleneck” chant, of all things. Wardlow whips Cage into the ladder, then tries a powerbomb but Cage avoids him and then side steps a charge and Wardlow eats the ladder. Next Cage sets up the ladder along the middle rope in the corner, and Cage catapults Wardlow’s head into the ladder. Another “turtleneck” chant as Cage starts climbing a ladder, but Wardlow shoves the ladder over and then wipes out Cage with a clothesline. Wardlow’s turn to climbs the ladder, he’s a little out of position but Cage stops his climb anyway. Cage avoids a powerbomb and climbs the ladder, Wardlow stops him, catches him and hits a Worlds Strongest Slam. Wardlow flattens the ladder, then picks up Cage with a military press and spins him before dropping him across the ladder, that didn’t look fun. Now Wardlow looks to climb again, but here’s Luchasaurus to toss Cage into the ring and stop the climb of Wardlow. Cage catches Wardlow with his falling reverse DDT off of the ladder. Again Cage sets up the ladder in the corner, he wants to Spear Wardlow into it but Wardlow kicks him then kills him with an Alabama Slam onto the ladder. Wardlow pulls the ladder and Cage into the ring, then goes for a Swanton Bomb but Cage rolls away and Wardlow eats the ladder on the drop. Cage uses the ladder to knock Wardlow off of the apron then sets it up. Arn Anderson waddles down to ringside to help Wardlow as Cage is climbing. Wardlow to the top rope, he tries to jump onto the ladder but the rungs break under him and the ladder breaks as he and Cage fall. Cage rolls out of the ring as Wardlow is limping.

That ladder is broken and Wardlow gets another ladder but here’s Luchasaurus to chokeslam Wardlow twice. Arn is in the ring now though and Arn bites the thumb of Luchasaurus then kind of falls down. Luchasaurus is bleeding from the thumb now, not sure if legit. Luchasaurus and Arn are on the floor now, Wardlow is here with a chair to save Arn and he wallops Luchasaurus with the chair and sets him on the tables he set up earlier. Wardlow sets up a ladder, climbs it as Arn holds it, then Wardlow with a Swanton Bomb through the tables in the old Jeff Hardy spot. No idea why Cage isn’t climbing, he wasn’t really hit before all of that happened. Cage pulls himself into the ring and sets up a ladder while Wardlow is recovering. Cage climbs, but here’s Arn to push the ladder over, Wardlow catches Cage as he falls and crushes him with a powerbomb. Wardlow climbs now, and gets the belt.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Wardlow retained the title

Rating: 3.5 stars
Thoughts: A little slow to start, but Christian Cage taking some of those bumps was incredibly generous of him as he certainly didn’t need to. Wardlow looked pretty good here, but he’s still struggling to really get heated back up. Wardlow is also limping visibly as the match ends, hopefully he wasn’t seriously hurt.

Storm waits in the ring, no sign of Hayter early. They play her music twice, then we see Saraya and Ruby are attacking Hayter as she heads to the ring. Storm joins in the attack and slams Hayter into the barricade shoulder first. More arm work around the ring post, then she slams Hayter into the ring steps again. Saraya holds the arm in place so Storm can crush her with a dropkick into the steps a couple of times. They head into the ring and the ref checks with Hayter.

Match #5 – AEW Women’s Title Match: (c) Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm w/ Ruby Soho and Saraya

Quick kick from Storm then a cover for 2. Storm kicks the arm of Hayter a few times and goes to work on it as Saraya exposes one of the top turnbuckles. Britt Baker makes her second appearance of the night and starts brawling with Saraya, again. Storm runs into the ref and accidentally knocks into the top turnbuckle, then Storm eats a uranage from Hayter for a 2 count. Ruby with some spray paint into the face of Hayter, then Storm with a hip attack to follow up but only a 2 count. Here’s Hikaru Shida with a kendo stick to neutralize Ruby and they start brawling to the back as well. Hayter bounces Storm into the exposed buckle and Hayterade but the damage to the arm means she’s slow to cover and only gets a near fall. Hayter pulls off the KT tap, but Storm sends her into the exposed buckle, sort of as Hayter just kind of threw herself in there, then Storm hits the Storm Zero to pin and win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Toni Storm won the title

Rating: 2 stars
Thoughts: Overbooked to hell, I wonder who they were protecting or if this was a runtime issue. Also commentary pretending this wasn’t just fair play after how Hayter won the title is just comical.

House of Black head out next, this is an open challenge match so let’s see who’s answering. As expected here come The Acclaimed with Billy Gunn. Caster raps to the ring, he pretends the crowd loves him, claims King is a Drag Race reject, wonders how Black gets away with Black face, and asks Buddy what it’s like to be cucked by a kid named Dominick. They decline to add a rule, and just like tons of people before them confuse emo and goth aesthetics.

Match #6 – AEW Trios Title Match: (c) House of Black (Brody King, Malakai Black, and Buddy Matthews) w/ Julia Hart vs. Billy Gunn and The Acclaimed (Max Caster and Anthony Bowens)

Bowens and Black start us off, they tie up then break without incident. Black and Bowens trade arm wringers and escapes then Bowens tries a back elbow that Black no sells. Another tie up, Black lands a shoulder block then they hit the ropes for a bit and Black flips over Bowens then just sits in the ring. Bowens sits down across from him and scissors himself before encouraging Black to get serious. Black obliges with a kick then tags in Buddy who stomps the arm of Bowens. Loud “Dominik” chant for Buddy, one of the loudest chants all night was for a guy not in the promotion. Bowens lands an elbow to Buddy, then some kicks and a running Rocker Dropper. Caster tags in and Buddy eats a dropkick to the outside then Caster back suplexes him onto the apron. Back in the ring Caster eats a knee and Black tags in. Black hits the ropes and then Caster lands a shoulder block. Black tags in King who launches Black at Caster, but Caster avoids a bit of offense before Black lands a kick and King follows with a Western Lariat for a 2 count. Chop from King and he tags Black back in. Caster fights free of them with a chop to Black and tags in Bowens. Bowens and Caster with corner offense on Black, then a Scissor me Timbers, but Black fights free. Things break down now and Buddy wipes out Caster while King tosses Gunn into the ring steps while Black is working an Achilles lock on Bowens. King with a crossbody against the barricade to crush Gunn. Bowens fights to the ropes, but no rope breaks, so Bowens has to use them to pull himself up and stomp out of the hold. Black and Bowens trade strikes for a bit, Bowens with a fireman’s carry neckbreaker but that hurts the knee of Bowens more. There’s no one for Bowens to tag, and Black lands a knee strike then goes back to the Achilles, Black tags in Buddy who flies in with a Meteora to Bowens. Gunn gets a little heated but can’t do much. Black tags back in as he and Buddy work the leg of Bowens again. Modified calf slicer from Black, nice little hold there, Bowens tries the ropes but he’s reminded again that they can’t save him. Bowens pulls up and lands elbows, then a striking flurry to Black but his leg is giving out as he lands a superkick and both men are down. Black stops the tag from Bowens and tags in Buddy.

Buddy with some leg work, a “who’s your mami” chant, and Bowens drops Buddy onto the apron. Bowens still can’t tag out and King tags in then squishes Bowens with a senton. Sick chop from King floors Bowens. Another chop from King, Bowens fights back with a jawbreaker and an elbow then he tries to jump for a tag but King catches him then chops him down again. King barks and wants the cannonball senton but instead wipes out Caster and Gunn before hitting the cannonball senton for a near fall as Caster breaks up the pin. Black goes after Caster for that one and abuses him around the ringside area. Buddy tags in, they want Dante’s Inferno but Bowens slips free and shoves King into Buddy. Bowens low bridges King, but Buddy pulls him away from the tag, only for Bowens to kick Buddy out of the ring. Bowens then kicks Black out of the ring when Black was trying to stop him, Bowens goes for a tag but King pulls Gunn off of the apron. Gunn slams King into the barricade to deal with him. Buddy tries a jumping ax handle at Bowens but Bowens lands a superkick and he’s finally able to crawl over and tag in Gunn. Gunn gets to run wild on Buddy and Black for a bit then he and King go face to face. King with a double chop, Gunn no sells it and drills him with a Fame-Asser. Buddy tries to deal with Gunn but eats a Fame-Asser though the ropes. As Gunn gives Buddy the old crotch chop Black sets behind him, then murders Gunn with a Black Mass to get the pin.

OFFICIAL RESULT: House of Black retained the titles

Rating: 3.5 stars
Thoughts: Pretty good little match here, The Acclaimed looked solid here even fighting from underneath the House all match. A little more love should be given to King here, the man has mastered how to sell for smaller guys while still feeling like a monster.

Match #7 – TBS Title Match: (c) Jade Cargill w/ Leila Grey and Mark Sterling vs. Taya Valkyrie

Taya and Jade fight over their finishers then Taya lands a back elbow. They go face to face and trade elbows for a bit then Taya lands a chop. Some rope running and Taya lands a shoulder block. Sliding clothesline from Taya and Jade rolls out of the ring to recover. Taya climbs the ropes and jumps onto Sterling, only to turn into a pump kick from Jade. Back in the ring Jade lands some stomps then a back elbow but Taya kicks her in the head then hits the Nakamura sliding German suplex. Grey grabs at Taya and that allows Jade to land a superkick. Both women on the floor now, Jade with a suplex then they head back into the ring. Spinebuster from Jade gets 2. Outside the ring again and Jade picks Taya onto her shoulders and drops her onto the barricade. Back in the ring Jade grabs a rest hold. Taya fights free with an arm drag then a clothesline. Clothesline from Jade, then another one, and a really weak third one. Taya fights back but gets caught in a sleeper hold, only for Taya to hit a short Blue Thunder Bomb for a 2 count. Jade rolls to the apron, and tries a springboard nothing which Taya counters with a Codebreaker and both women are down. Again they’re trading strikes, then Taya face plants Jade and grabs a modified Regal Stretch, then transitions to a very safe Curb Stomp for a 2 count. Grey gets on the apron, Taya kicks her down and Jade rolls up Taya for 2. Taya with a Spear, Road to Valhalla but Jade allegedly kicks out. Boy was that badly handled. Jade “lands” a kick, hits Jaded because what’s selling, and that gets the 3.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Jade retained the title

Rating: 1.5 stars
Thoughts: These two just have no chemistry, though I’m not sure who Jade has had good chemistry with. Jade has presence but can’t work a match.

Post match Mark Sterling with a mic, he puts over Jade and says she’ll defend anytime and any place, but there’s no one left. Our obvious set up pays off with the return of Kris Statlander. Statlander walks to the ring and we’ve got an impromptu match.

Match #8 – TBS Title Match: (c) Jade w/ Leila Grey and Mark Sterling vs. Kris Statlander

Statlander avoids a pump kick, head kicks Jade then unloads with corner offense. Jade fights off a suplex and lands a pump kick. Statlander avoids Jaded, Saturday Night Fever, and Statlander wins.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Kris Statlander won the title

Rating: 2.5 stars
Thoughts: Well that happened. I couldn’t quite call this a squash because that’s not right but this wasn’t a real match either, so let’s just call it average for what it was. Nice to see Statlander back.

Sammy Guevara brings back the cue cards during his entrance to announce that Tay Melo is pregnant. Congratulations to them. Wait, the confetti from Statlander’s celebration is still on the floor. Can we not sweep that up?

Darby Allin gets a full blown commercial for his entrance, he beats up someone with an MJF cutout taped to their face, then he enlists the help of an Elvis impersonator to get rid of the body before skateboarding to the arena. OK then. Darby is in fact wearing an Elvis inspired jumpsuit. Orchestral performance of MJF’s theme, that’s suitably creepy as he descends on a throne in his devil mask.

Match #9 – AEW World Title Fatal 4-Way Match: (c) Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara vs. “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry

Everyone stares at MJF, who bails and walks around the ring but Sammy and Perry chase him back into the ring. Everyone backs MJF into a corner, and all three of them jump him. Chop from Perry, chop from Sammy and that sends MJF out of the ring. Sammy with some acrobatics and a dropkick to Darby, everyone takes turns with dropkicks then a double kip up as Sammy fails on his. MJF mockingly applauds from the apron. They all take out MJF then Perry with a double arm drag to Darby and Sammy which sends them out of the ring. Perry wants to dive, but MJF cuts him off with a clothesline. MJF fakes a dive and does the strut and Rude hip swivel, but turns into a dropkick from Darby. Darby with a heatseeking dive onto MJF, Perry with a dive onto Darby, then one to MJF and he hits a third dive onto both of them. Sammy climbs the ropes now, and hits a Shooting Star Press onto all three men on the floor. Relatively weak “this is awesome” chant for that one.

Perry and Sammy wind up in the ring, Sammy puts Perry in the tree of woe, Darby shows up and gets put on the top rope in the same corner. Sammy climbs up for a superplex, MJF runs over but Perry sits up and hits a spider German suplex on Sammy for the modified Tower of Doom spot which sends Darby into the charging MJF. Perry with some offense out of the corner and a clothesline to Darby. Perry with a poisoned rana to Sammy for a 2 count. Darby with ping pong corner offense to Perry and MJF, then a flipping Stunner to MJF and a side headlock into a pin on MJF but that only gets 2. Sammy tosses Darby into a corner, then misses a Shooting Star from the apron to Perry, but he lands on his feet and superkicks Perry then catches a diving Darby with a Cutter on the floor. Sammy is going nuts, he takes out MJF in the ring and hits a Frog Splash for a near fall. Next Sammy and MJF fight on the ropes, MJF with a bite to Sammy then a stomp to Darby, knee to Perry, then a powerbomb backbreaker to Sammy for a 2 count. MJF tosses Sammy into Perry then catches Darby with the side headlock pin for 2, before following up with a Muscle Driver for another 2 count. MJF spits on Darby and insults him to get some heat, it works. Sammy tries to superkick MJF, but here’s Perry and we get a series of superkicks, elbows, and Darby punctuates the sequence with a John WOOOO dropkick to Perry. Darby with a Scorpion Death Drop to MJF, Sammy with a Codebreaker to Darby, Perry then wipes out Sammy with a Killswitch, and MJF punctuates the mentor callback sequence by drilling Perry with a Cross Rhodes. MJF gets a mic, he says Sammy needs the money with the baby on the way, just lay down and he’ll pay him off. Sammy is half considering it, he takes the mic from MJF and says he’ll lay down for MJF and take the money. Sammy lays down, MJF flips off the crowd and Sammy grabs a Small Package for a near fall. MJF blocks the GTH and tries the LeBell Lock, but Sammy counters into a Walls of Jericho. MJF gets the ropes, but there are no rope breaks in a fatal four way and Darby and Perry show up, Darby grabs a Scorpion Death Lock on Perry. Perry stops Sammy from tapping out and they wind up breaking the holds, then Darby grabs a Figure Four on Sammy, Perry with an armbar on Darby as Sammy grabs an Ankle Lock on MJF, and MJF completes the submission circle with an awkward Sleeper on Perry. “Fight forever” chant, a little more fervor behind this chant.

They all break and MJF eats a Canadian Destroyer from Darby, then Sammy flies in with his own Canadian Destroyer, so Perry hits one on Sammy because that move means nothing. Perry pulls himself up, runs across Darby and Sammy to hit a Canadian Destroyer on MJF for a near fall. Eventually Perry and Sammy are left in the ring, Perry with a Tiger Driver for a 2 count. Darby avoids a baseball slide from Perry and shoves him into the barricade, then sets MJF beside him and hits a running clothesline to send all three of them over the barricade. Darby tosses both men back to the ringside area, then climbs the ropes and wants to Coffin Drop both of them on the floor but Sammy runs in with a knee strike to him. That sets up Sammy for a Spanish Fly from the top onto both MJF and Perry, and everyone’s wiped out. Everyone crawls into the ring and sits around before MJF reminds them they’re supposed to be fighting and we get everyone trading strikes in a circle. They move to their feet and Darby clobbers MJF. MJF then blasts Darby and we’re still just trading strikes in a circle. Sammy drops Perry, but Perry pops up and looks to hit MJF, but MJF responds with eye pokes to all three men, but he then runs into a triple superkick. Everyone gangs up on MJF now, Sammy with a running Cutter, Darby with a Code Red, and Perry with a Sliding D to the back of the head and they dump MJF out of the ring. The remaining three men trade roll ups for a while but no pin. Sammy lands a superkick to Darby, then hits a flipping implant DDT to Perry and Perry is out of it. Darby with a Code Red to Sammy for 2, then climbs the ropes for a Coffin Drop but MJF rattles the ropes to crotch him. Sammy rolls out of the ring, MJF climbs up on the ropes with Darby and hits a Blonde Bombshell, the avalanche powerbomb in ode to Chris Candido who used that as his super finisher. MJF is selling his left arm like death. In the middle of this we’re informed that Jericho and Saraya vs. Cole and Baker is official. They trade covers again as everyone comes back into the ring, Perry just can’t find a pin and can’t get out of the shadow of everyone else in this match. Perry puts Sammy on the top rope, chops him, and climbs up with him where he and Sammy trade chops. Sammy with more chops then a second rope Cutter but Perry rolls out of the ring to avoid being pinned. MJF and Sammy are left in the ring again, MJF still selling the arm, and he crushes Sammy with a low blow. MJF with the ring, but Darby’s behind him with the skateboard and cracks MJF with it, then a Coffin Drop that landed mostly on the head, Darby with a headlock pin but Perry flies in to break up the pin at 2.95. Darby and Perry shove each other then trade slaps and get into a hockey fight before hitting simultaneous clotheslines and they’re both down. MJF heads into the ring with the belt, he’ll clobber whoever gets up first and charges at Perry but Perry blocks the belt shot and Sammy clotheslines MJF out of the ring. Perry is still holding the belt, he could kill Darby with it if he wants, but he’s not selling his soul for this and drops the belt but Darby catches Perry in a Last Supper for 2. Sammy in with knee strikes, a GTH to Perry then eh climbs the ropes but Darby just shoves him from there to the floor. Darby up for another Coffin Drop, but MJF sneaks up and puts the belt on top of Perry so Darby drops onto the belt, then MJF with the side headlock takeover on Darby for the 3 count.

OFFICIAL RESULT: MJF retained the title

Rating: 4 stars
Thoughts: These four had something to prove here, the build to this match had been a little lackluster and they overcame that for sure. There was a bit too much overly choreographed stuff for my tastes, but the general story telling here was good with Perry again deciding that his soul is worth more than the belt while MJF continues to sneak away with wins.

Match #10 – Anarchy in the Arena: Blackpool Combat Club (Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, and Wheeler Yuta) vs. The Elite (Kenny Omega, Adam Page, Nick Jackson, and Matt Jackson)

Things break down during the BCC’s entrance and we’ve got crowd brawling everywhere while a live performance of “Wild Thing” still plays. Omega and Moxley are tearing into each other, as are Page and Bryan. Claudio selling for Matt just feels wrong in many ways. Nick throws popcorn on Wheeler. Up in the crowd Page crotches Bryan on the hand rail and slides him down into a trashcan shot from Nick. Don Callis has joined commentary for some reason. Moxley jumps off the announce table onto Omega, mostly misses but Omega sells anyway. Claudio has a chair and lays into Omega with it while Nick uses a fake belt to hit Wheeler in the crowd. Moxley puts a Figure Four on Omega. In the ring Bryan and Page unload on each other, apparently the ref has bladed already. Bryan lands a series of kicks, then runs into a clothesline from Page. Page removes his eye patch and tosses it to Bryan before pulling a screwdriver out of his pants. Wheeler with a chop block to Page to stop that. Bryan, Moxley, Claudio, and Wheeler attack Page in the ring. Everyone gets in the ring now and we’ve got more brawling the music is still playing.

Omega with chair shots to Moxley then all four men with four corners 10 punches and The Elite celebrate then all of them land superkicks. All four of The Elite then dive and everyone’s wiped out. Moxley is apparently bleeding now. Nick and Matt fight with Bryan and Claudio up onto the entrance stage. The lead singer has a BCC shirt on and Nick and Matt then take him out with superkicks. In the ring Omega with a piece of the desk to attack Moxley while Nick and Matt hit dives off of the stage. Moxley and Omega start trading chops, then they trade headbutts. Elbows go back and forth now, and we get a double clothesline spot. On the entrance Matt with his rolling Northern Lights suplex series to Wheeler, all the way down the ramp but Claudio is here to stop him, then Nick jumps onto Claudio. Page then picks up Wheeler with a powerbomb onto the apron. Wheeler really is the weak link here and it’s obvious. Omega and Page isolate Moxley and they chop him for a while as Claudio attacks Matt. Moxley avoids a strike and Page takes out Omega, then Moxley levels Page with a clothesline. More random brawling now, Bryan and Page wind up in the ring. Bryan with some tape to choke Page. Moxley sends Page into a giant poker chip. Claudio and Matt are fighting up in the crowd, Moxley turns over the poker chip to reveal barbed wire. Bryan gets the jacket from Justin Roberts and hits Page with it while Moxley suplexes Moxley onto the barbed wire. In the concession area Claudio slams Matt into a pillar. Wheeler and Bryan with belt shots to Page. Moxley has a fork, and stabs at Omega with it while Claudio uses a Giant Swing on Matt in the concession stand and launches him into a trash can. Claudio picks up Matt and walks him somewhere. Omega is in a choke from Moxley, but he just back slams Moxley onto the barbed wire. The camera work tonight has not been on point, we’ve missed several moments of impact. Wheeler and Page are in the ring, Page is bleeding as Wheeler lands chops. Bryan is messing with Nick, he’s removed padding on the ringside area and he’s grinding Nick’s face into the cement and punches him. Wheeler has a chair now and whacks Page with it. Moxley knees Omega in the head and attacks his head. Nick is bleeding pretty visibly and Bryan is happy to beat him down and show off the blood on his fist. Moxley and Bryan take turns kicking Page. Bryan is after something, Claudio and Matt have started fighting in the garage area as Moxley just throws a chair into Omega’s head. Claudio dumps Matt into a truck bed. Nick gets suplexed onto a set up chair. Matt and Claudio fight in the bed of the truck, Claudio piledrives Matt down and declares himself the king of Las Vegas. Bryan has Page in a LeBell Lock but Omega breaks it up. Wheeler with a shot with a leaf blower. Moxley and Wheeler hit a modified Hart Attack onto Omega, then Bryan launches Nick off of the entrance stage.

On the apron Page hits Moxley with a Deadeye but Wheeler the cracks him with the leaf blower. Omega has a trashcan lid and mimics Captain America with it, but Claudio is here to catch the lid, then murders Omega with a Swiss Death. Nick is here for his improbable hope spot, eventually Moxley wipes him out with a lariat then a Gotch Piledriver for a 2 count. Moxley stomps on Nick for a while then grabs a single leg Crab, but Omega stomps him, only for Moxley to tell him to “fuck off” and hold on as Wheeler and Claudio dispose of Omega. Moxley switches to a full Boston Crab, Wheeler is doing something that we don’t see, I think a Crippler Crossface to Nick. It’s about time, and yeah there’s Matt for an even more improbably hope spot as he superkicks Moxley with a firework going off. Superkick to Wheeler as well, then another one and a third to wipe out Wheeler. Nick holds Wheeler for a Buckshot Lariat, but Claudio dives in to break up the pin. Claudio with an uppercut to Matt, then pulls off his exploding show and launches it into the crowd. Bryan and Claudio stomp on Matt for a bit. Omega pulls Claudio out of the ring while Wheeler and Bryan attack Matt. Moxley shows up with thumb tabs, and plants a one bare footed Matt into the tacks, then a Death Rider but Matt kicks out. Bryan then grabs a Heel Hook on Matt, but Nick flies in with a Swanton bomb, then Moxley Cutters Nick into the tacks. Omega with a snap Dragon to Moxley, then Omega counters a Ricola Bomb with a hurricanrana. Bryan with Busaiku knees to both Omega and Page. Bryan with Hammer and Anvil elbows to Omega, everyone else gets those elbows as well, but Matt is trying to save everyone. Wheeler with a low blow to Matt, then Moxley puts tacks in the mouth of Matt and Claudio murders him with a running uppercut. Wheeler with a bridging German to Matt but Page breaks up the pin. Omega and Page talk to each other, but they’re out numbered, so they’ll go down fighting. Page with a back suplex to Moxley into the tacks. Bryan with kicks to Omega and Page before Omega catches one to set up Bryan for a Deadeye, Omega follows with a One Winged Angel but Wheeler breaks up the pin.

Wheeler is left along with Page and Omega, he’ll fight them both but this goes poorly for him. Omega and Page with a series of moonsaults, Page then moonsaults onto Moxley. Callis is here, they’re setting up Wheeler for the V-Trigger and Buckshot, Wheeler get a screwdriver from Callis and spikes Page with it. Callis then stops a One Winged Angel from Omega, but here’s Takeshita to wipe out Omega with a Zahi! Wheeler spikes Omega and pins him with the Seatbelt to win.

OFFICIAL RESULT: Blackpool Combat Club won

Rating: 4 stars
Thoughts: The BCC badly needed this win, they’d struggled to get meaningful wins since forming basically and letting Wheeler get the pin on Omega was a nice touch. I’m more forgiving of hardcore matches like this than most so nothing here really put me off, though there were several technical issues here that hurt the presentation. I know the anarchy (pardon the pun) is part of the gimmick, but if you miss as many big moves or moments of impact as this broadcast did you’ve just poorly prepared for it. That said, once things settled down a bit, as much as this match was going to at least, it was violent and appropriately compelling. Takeshita’s turn is interesting, he’d have been totally lost as another member of The Elite so siding with the BCC in that sense tracks, and I’m super curious to see him work heel. This likely sets up Blood and Guts with Kota Ibushi rounding out The Elite.

Post match Callis starts choking Omega with his belt. Takeshita watches on as the BCC celebrates. Claudio puts Wheeler on his shoulders in celebration.