 Mercedes Mone Debuted and Addressed the AudienceIt was the worst kept secret in wrestling, but it came off amazingly well. It was remincient of CM Punk's AEW debut in Chicago three years ago, right down to to the execution. Granted, Mone's promo wasn't nearly as memorable as Punk's, but the circumstances are different and this didn't have to be anything more than what it was. The crowd was just happy to see her and she received a megastar reaction. AEW World Champion Samoa Joe def. WardlowThis was the third or fourth match these two have had in the last year and a half and it was on par with those encounters. I was skeptical of it going on first, but it ended up being the right call. They had an enjoyable outing even if it wasn't anything special. Wardlow losing clean was an interesting choice. It made Joe look dominant, but anything Wardlow gained from that intense promo two weeks ago and winning at Revolution was immediately erased with this loss. Undisputed Kingdom didn't even bother to interfere, which was strange. The Elite (Kazuchika Okada and The Young Bucks) def. AEW Continental Crown Champion Eddie Kingston, Pac and Penta El Zero MiedoCall it a spot-fest or whatever you want, but this was a total blast. It's hard to go wrong with the level of talent involved and everyone had their time to shine. I'm still not super high on Okada joining The Elite, but I am excited to see Okada work as a heel. Kingston is the perfect first babyface foil for him, and with Okada pinning him, he'll challenge Kingston for the AEW Continental (no Crown?) Championship on next week's show. They're not even waiting until Dynasty. Will Ospreay Addressed Bryan DanielsonOspreay had back-to-back killer matches at Revolution and on Dynamite, but this was his chance to show what he could do on the mic. For someone who isn't known for being the best talker, I thought he cut a pretty decent promo here hyping up his Dynasty match with Danielson. Danielson didn't interrupt like I thought he would, but there's plenty of time for them to have promo battles. The crowd reacted to him like he was the top babyface in the company, so there's no doubt in my mind he'll be holding gold before long. ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion Jay White def. Darby AllinThis was a quality first-time-ever encounter and an opportunity for both guys to impress on their own for a change. Of course, we know what they're capable of and they delivered, but Allin's been doing the tag team stuff for a while and White has been held back by the Bang Bang Scissor Gang crap. Thankfully, that stable is officially no more with Bullet Club Gold turning on The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn afterward in addition to "injuring" Allin to write him off for the foreseeable future so he can climb Mount Everest. LionHook def. The Gates of AgonyYes, Chris Jericho and Hook actually used LionHook as their team name. Ugh. Unsurprisingly, the crowd was at their quietest all night during this match. There was nothing wrong with this from an in-ring standpoint, but I would've preferred it to be a tad shorter because it really didn't serve much of a purpose outside of establishing an alliance between Jericho and Hook before their one-on-one match next week. The step up in competition for Hook is appreciated, but Jericho isn't exactly who I had in mind. Willow Nightingale def. RihoWhile far from the best bout on the show, it was refreshing to see the women given the main event spotlight for a change. Here's hoping that becomes more commonplace now that Mone has arrived. Speaking of whom, she shouldn't challenge for the AEW TBS Championship before Nightingale does considering she pinned Julia Hart at Revolution. This was a solid match and a notable victory for Nightingale, even though Mone was clearly the focal point as the show went off the air. Overall ShowI'm definitely biased because I was in attendance, but I thought this was one of AEW's strongest shows all year. The 90 minutes were brilliantly paced without any dull moments. The energy died down a bit during the JeriHook match, but the main event and Mone's post-match appearance were a nice way to cap off the evening. This felt like a mini pay-per-view in some ways AEW has a lot to work with at the moment and Dynasty could be another excellent event.
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