 Mina Shirakawa Saved AEW Women's World Champion "Timeless" Toni Storm from AEW TBS/RevPro Undisputed British Women's/EWA Women's/CMLL World Women's Champion Mercedes MoneStorm vs. Mone is obviously the biggest women's match AEW could possibly book at the moment, btu the feud has left a bit to be desired. Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting, but it's mostly been basic so far. Storm has killed it with the promos, but everything else has been average at best. Nonetheless, this was an effective angle to put more heat on Mone. Surely Shirakawa will factor into the finish at All In, right? Swerve Strickland and Will Ospreay def. Blake Christian and Lee JohnsonThis was essentially an extended squash for Strickland and Ospreay ahead of their now-official match with The Young Bucks at All In. It probably should've been a little shorter given the obvious outcome, but at least they maximized their minutes. In addition to Strickland and Ospreay vs. the Bucks being confirmed for All In, it was also established that the Bucks will have to step down as EVPs if they lose. That's a weird stipulation for the Bucks to agree to since they gain nothing if they win. Kota Ibushi def. Trent BerrettaThis was Ibushi's first AEW match since November 2023, which is wild. He looks fantastic and didn't show any signs of ring rust here. Berretta shouldn't have scored as much offense as he did, but this was a nice match otherwise. Ibushi vs. Kazuchika Okada was subsequently announced for next week's 300th edition of Dynamite and I'm excited for that. JetSpeed def. AR Fox and RicochetWith Ricochet looking to form his own faction, he teamed with Fox to gauge whether he'd be a good fit. Fox wasn't buying it, yet he looked surprised when Ricochet left him hanging on the apron. Fox hasn't been pushed at all since Strickland turned on him two years ago, so this was a predictable development. The match itself was fun for what it was, though. The Hurt Syndicate Attacked JetSpeed and Were Interrupted by Mark BriscoeJetSpeed were speaking on the stage with Tony Schiavone and about to issue a challenge Hurt Syndicate for the AEW World Tag Team Championship at All In when they were attacked by the group. The rest of the segment was solid, but I have no idea where any of this is supposed to be going. Even as champions, Hurt Syndicate feel like they're treading water right now. I guess this means we're getting MJF vs. Briscoe at some point. That's fine, but MJF should be doing more than just standing there with Hurt Syndicate most weeks. I'm actually amazed he's being relegated to the Casino Gauntlet at All In. Mark Briscoe def. Roderick Strong, Konosuke Takeshita and ROH World Champion Bandido for the #1 Spot in the Men's Casino Gauntlet at All In (Non-Title)Battling for the first spot in the Casino Gauntlet has never made sense to me because, yes, it guarantees them a spot in the match, but it also means any of these other guys can enter later and have a better chance to win because they'll be fresher. Nonetheless, this was the really well-wrestled four-way you'd expect considering who was involved. The outcome was irrelevant, but Briscoe has been featured the most out of the four, so him winning was logical. Kris Statlander def. Willow Nightingale, Thunder Rosa and ROH Women's World Champion Athena for the #1 Spot in the Women's Casino Gauntlet at All In (Non-Title)I would have spaced out the four-ways so this didn't have to immediately follow the men's match. That aside, this was another great match and there was never a dull moment. It's wonderful Athena is finally wrestling on AEW TV again, but this just means that she'll be in the Casino Gauntlet at All In and not defending her ROH Women's World Championship (which will probably be saved for Supercard of Honor the night before). The Death Riders interfering and aiding Statlander to victory was notable. I really hope Statlander doesn't end up joining them. "Hangman" Adam Page def. The Beast MortosWhat a week it's been for Mortos, who was revealed as dating Mone, became a lawyer and just competed in his second straight Dynamite main event. The guy is super talented, so I'm not complaining. I wish this got more storyline standpoint to justify why it went on last and the post-match angle wasn't enough of an explanation. The match was enjoyable, but what happened afterward felt like more of the same. Overall ShowThe top matches at All In have plenty of potential, but it doesn't feel like All In season for whatever reason. The overall build has been tame and there haven't been any significant storyline developments to make the show stand out. I loved last week's Grand Slam: Mexico episode, but it was back to normal this week with a fairly standard offering. Not bad, but nothing too special, either. I'll give it a thumbs-up, but only barely.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
December 2025
|
RSS Feed