 FTR Explained Their Betrayal of Adam Copeland and Attempted to Attack Tony SchiavoneI'm glad this is what kicked off the episode because FTR's betrayal of Copeland at Dynasty was one of the bigger (and better) things that happened at the event. FTR did an effective job of explaining exactly why they turned on Copeland and the logic didn't feel forced at all. As soon as Schiavone condemned their actions on Wednesday's Dynamite, you knew a beatdown was coming his way. Nigel McGuinness stepped in before FTR could lay him out here, and Daniel Garcia then made the save for McGuinness. I liked how FTR didn't immediately attack Garcia because they technically don't have an issue with someone who's been their ally, at least not until later in the night. Jamie Hayter def. Billie Starkz in a Women's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal MatchI was originally fine with these two facing off a few weeks ago on Collison, but that was before I knew Starkz would definitely be taking part in the tournament. Why not just save their first one-on-one encounter for when it actually mattered? Not to mention Starkz hasn't won a singles match in AEW and therefore did nothing to deserve a spot in the tourney. Nonetheless, they had another very good match with Starkz again looking credible in defeat. Hayter advancing was the right call, but Starkz will need to win eventually. The Gates of Agony def. Smash and BurnGates of Agony will score the occasional win on television, only to be fed to another team. Sure enough, that's exactly why this existed. They made short work of Smash and Burn as they should have before calling out The Hurt Dynamite for the upcoming episode of Dynamite in a backstage segment later on. That can be a hell of a hard-hitting affair, so I hope it's not booked like a straightforward squash for Hurt Syndicate. Anthony Bowens def. Blake ChristianChristian is a guy you can throw in there when you want someone to win and also have a quality contest. He's had a winning streak going on ROH TV as of late, but obviously, that hardly matters on AEW TV. I don't think this needed to be as competitive as it was, but they had a nice match in the time they were allotted. Bowens continues to show signs of singles potential. Billy Gunn is an unnecessary addition to this act, though. Megan Bayne def. LMK and Kelly Madan in a 2-on-1 Handicap MatchThis marked Bayne's first match since failing to dethrone Toni Storm for the AEW Women's World Championship at Dynasty, so this gave her the rebound victory she needed and she was completely dominant. Based on how Storm beat her, it's entirely possible AEW will book a rematch between them for Double or Nothing. I'm not high on the idea of Bayne losing back-to-back matches and then seemingly falling down the card, but we'll see what they have in mind. Kevin Knight def. AR FoxSimilar to Knight on Dynamite, Fox has also won a match in AEW where money was on the line, so I guess they have that in common. There wasn't a reason for why this happened otherwise and the outcome was never in doubt because Fox doesn't win much in AEW these days, but I can't complain about an enjoyable outing. I'm happy Knight has been consistently featured since joining AEW. FTR def. "Daddy Magic" Matt Menard and "Cool Hand" Angelo ParkerI'm not sure why they rushed into this on this show when it could've been saved for Dynamite or next week's Collision, but it's not like it needed a big buildup. This was more of an angle than a true match with FTR basically destroying Menard and Parker, but aside from Menard bleeding (especially as early as he did), this was well done. FTR attacked Garcia afterward and The Paragon (the new name for The Undisputed Kingdom) made the save, so it looks like we're headed toward FTR vs. Garcia and Adam Cole soon. ROH Women's World Champion Athena def. Harley Cameron in a Women's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal Match (Non-Title)This was a weird match to do in the first round because Cameron is definitively a babyface and Athena is technically a heel but has been positioned as the babyface in her feud with Mercedes Mone, which made for a quiet crowd for a majority of it. This was well worked, but Hayter vs. Starkz was the much better bout. I'm really looking forward to Mone vs. Athena in the semifinals on Dynamite. With it being in Boston, that has to main event, right? Konosuke Takeshita def. Brody King in a Men's Owen Hart Cup Quarterfinal MatchKing is great, but the problem is that he suffers from the same problem as others in that he doesn't win the important matches often enough. As a result, Takeshita going over here felt like a foregone conclusion. Despite that, they delivered a super solid match and it was the correct choice to close the show. Takeshita vs. Will Ospreay in the semifinals on Dynamite is bound to be a banger. Overall ShowThe show started hot with the opening segment and Hayter vs. Starkz, but the Springfield crowd died down until the main event, where they came alive during the second half. All in all, this was a thumbs-up episode. Featuring three Owen Hart Cup matches certainly helped along with the progression of FTR's story and the usual entertaining action. I've said this before, but props to AEW for making more of an effort with Collision in recent months.
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