AEW International Champion Rey Fenix def. Nick Jackson
I feared this match might be bumped from the show after it looked like Fenix was injured during that four-way tag team match at WrestleDream, but thankfully, it went on as planned. We don't see Nick in action often on his own, but it's certainly refreshing and I thought he had a strong showing. This was a fun opener and a nice throwback to one of Dynamite's first memorable matches four years ago. It was announced that Fenix will defend against Jon Moxley in a rubber match on next week's Title Tuesday show.
Wardlow def. Arn Anderson
Wardlow's last appearance on AEW TV was the premiere of Collision back in June when he lost the AEW TNT Championship to Luchasaurus. I know he had some travel issues after his passport was stolen earlier this year, but that's too long of a hiatus for a guy that was one of the hottest acts in the entire promotion for a period of time. He wasted no time in putting Garrison away here and showed more of an edge than usual, even storming off through the crowd afterward. Now the question is if he can maintain momentum this time around.
AEW World Trios Champions The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn def. Kip Sabian, The Butcher and The Blade
What a random title defense for The Acclaimed and Gunn. I'm all for them beating fighting champions, but the heel trio are never on television and obviously did nothing to deserve a title shot. There was no setup for this, either, at least as far as I know, and the commentary team spent most of the time talking about other stuff. This could have easily happened on Rampage, though I assume it existed because of Max Caster's backstage interaction with MJF later on. This was fine for what it was.
Jay White Attacked AEW World Champion MJF
MJF's mic work has been hit or miss most weeks as a babyface, but there's no doubt he's super over in the role. This was a solid segment to get more heat on Bullet Club Gold with them laying out MJF and to set up MJF vs. White for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear. I'm glad thy announced the pay-per-view main event so early and now they can properly build to it. I'm happy to see White in such a prominent spot.
Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho def. Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita
Don Callis announced earlier in a backstage segment that Sammy Guevara wasn't cleared to compete, so Fletcher (whose tag partner Mark Davis is also injured coming out of WrestleDream) took his place. It was pretty obvious Fletcher was taking the pinfall loss, but it was an enjoyable outing, nonetheless. The bigger takeaway was that Powerhouse Hobbs, who attacked Jericho and Omega afterward, is the newest member of The Don Callis Family. It could be a good fit for him, despite already being a part of two factions previously.
"Timeless" Toni Storm def. Skye Blue
We found out from Storm's latest profile package that aired earlier that Timeless will be her new nickname going forward, which perfectly fits her new character. She's one of the best parts of AEW at the moment and it's funny that she seems to be getting more television time and focus now than she was when she was champion. This was a decent little match designed to further Storm's momentum. Interestingly, Blue was showing the aftereffects of being "misted" by Julia Hart.
AEW TNT Champion Christian Cage Declined Adam Copeland's Request to Reunite
Copeland being in AEW ring is still surreal. He cut a strong promo about his reasons for coming to the company, who's on his radar and what he wants to do, but his reunion with Christian won't be imminent with what went down here. This was great stuff that left me looking forward to what's next. Christian just walking out on Copeland and that being it was a bit anticlimactic, but I guess they didn't want Copeland to get physical again until he has his debut match on the Title Tuesday show.
Overall Show
This didn't feel like a special show despite it being the anniversary edition, but that isn't to say it wasn't eventful. We heard from Copeland, the opener delivered, Storm introduced her new moniker, and Wardlow and Hobbs returned. I liked the show on the whole and they announced several big matches for Title Tuesday next week as well as confirmed the Full Gear main event, which was a pleasant surprise. On a side note, the audio issues appear to be a TBS issue (hence why Dynamite got a significant overrun this week), but they must be fixed immediately because they're inexcusable at this point.
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