AEW Bash at the Beach Review - January 15, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

"Hangman" Adam Page and Kenny Omega def. Santana & Ortiz, The Young Bucks, and Best Friends in an AEW World Tag Team Championship Four-Way Tag Team Match

These multi-team matches are always wild and this was no exception. Sometimes the action is too chaotic in AEW and it's hard to keep up with everything, but since I don't really mind that much, I found this to be a fantastic four-way. It was all action and everyone put in an excellent effort. Even Orange Cassidy managed to work his way in there while the referee was down. Page and Omega made the most sense to win, as their split will mean more after they fail to win the AEW World Tag Team Championship next week. That said, I didn't understand why the Bucks were upset with them afterward. Did they not realize it was every team for themselves?

Cody Agreed to MJF's Demands

Cody continues to be the best all-around mic worker not only in AEW but in all of wrestling. He never ceases to elicit big reactions from crowds, he cuts passionate promos and gets me and the rest of the audience invented in what he's saying. The only thing I didn't like about his promo was the "heel" talk about MJF. It was a little too on-the-nose for my liking, but otherwise, this was terrific. He agreed to all his stipulations and will now face Wardlow in a Steel Cage match in four weeks on Dynamite. Cody's Miami Vice-themed attire here was a fun touch, too.

Kris Statlander and Hikaru Shida def. The Nightmare Collective

I immediately lost interest in anything involving The Nightmare Collective. The act simply isn't working and hinders the quality of the show far more than it helps it. Props to Statlander and Shida for attempting to hold this thing together, but the match wasn't good at all. Mel was fine, but Brandi is atrocious. It'd be nice if the babyfaces winning meant the Nightmare Collective would go away, but I doubt that'll end up being the case.

Jon Moxley def. Sammy Guevara to Advance to Next Week's AEW World Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

I've seen other people say Guevara is one of AEW's most consistent performers and I can't say I disagree. He has quality matches with everyone he steps in the ring with, but aside from that one match with Cody from the Dynamite debut in October, this may have been his best bout to date. He and Moxley worked a very clean and enjoyable matchup and I liked how Moxley won with something other than the Paradigm Shift. The outcome was never in doubt, but Guevara looked very good in defeat.

MJF, The Butcher and The Blade def. QT Marshall, Dustin Rhodes and Diamond Dallas Page

I don't think I would have lost any sleep if DDP never wrestled again, but to his credit, he did well and actually exceeded my expectations with his performance. Butcher and Blade are whatever, but MJF was the real star of this match in my opinion. Above all else, the crowd was into it and MJF winning was obviously the right result. On a side note, AEW seems to have cleaned up most of their audio issues, but their camera work was terrible on this episode. They missed a ton of stuff, including the finish of this matchup. Maybe they had an off night, but it was a recurring problem throughout the night I noticed.

Pac def. Darby Allin to Advance to Next Week's AEW World Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

For a first-time-ever encounter, this was stellar stuff. Allin is always impressive regardless of who he's in the ring with, while it's near impossible for anyone to have anything less than an average match with Pac. Allin gave Pac everything he had and came close to clinching the victory but ultimately fell short. I loved how Pac targeting Allin's back throughout was what led to Allin's downfall following the Black Arrow. The brief post-match promos from Pac and Allin effectively set the stage for their number one contender's clash next week.

Overall Show

It's not a stretch to say that last week's episode of Dynamite was their weakest to date, which is why I'm happy they provided such a strong rebound episode here. The stuff with The Nightmare Collective continues to be a weak point of the show, but everything else delivered and was entertaining. The wrestling on the whole was above average, storylines were furthered, and there was plenty of build for next week's stacked show on the Jericho Cruise which will feature Moxley vs. Pac in an AEW World Championship number one contender's match and SCU vs. Omega and Page for the AEW World Tag Team Championship.