Another week and another review of AEW is coming to you from my brain. This week we saw the women of AEW in their own Gauntlet Match as well as the return of a Samoan named Joe on Dynamite. Over on Collision we got a brutal Texas Deathmatch, the ending of former AEW Tag Team Champions, as well as a star studded 12-man main event.

DYNAMITE

Live from the Andrew J. Brady Music Center in Cincinatti, Ohio! Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, and a returning Taz are on commentary.

RESULTS

Kenny Omega vs Brian Cage

We are kicking off Dynamite with a match that could have easily been a super banger. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we were treated to a teaser of what both these men are capable of. Omega starts the match off quickly and tries take out the base of the meaty monster Cage. Cage doesn’t let this happen though and they end up on the outside of the ring. Omega’s head gets bounced off the announce table a few times as well as Archer and Callis getting in some shots on Omega. Once the action is back in the ring, Omega gets his functions back and manages to capture the victory with the One-Winged Angel.

Winner – Kenny Omega

After the match, the DCF attacks Omega leading to Ospreay coming out for the save. Omega and Ospreay share a quick exchange of words before the return of Konosuke Takeshita interrupts. Takeshita gets into the face of Omega and holds the AEW International Championship in Omega’s face before they brawl. At the end of it all, the DCF is left standing over the bodies of Ospreay and Omega.

Hurt Syndicate vs Private Party / Mark Briscoe

Clearly, we are heading for Private Party vs Hurt Syndicate for the tag team championship and this match was a place holder in between to obviously test the chemistry. Briscoe is the one who takes most of the punishment during this match and Private Party hardly see any of the action. Quen eats the pin in this one, making it obvious that the Hurt Syndicate are coming for the belts.

Winners – Hurt Syndicate

Christian Cage vs HOOK

Hook jumps Christian during his entrance and we are off and running for this one. Hook beats Christian around the outside of the ring and back in. Christian begs for a hug and Hook briefly complies before changing it up to a Belly-to-Belly Suplex. We get the usual tactics from the Patriarchy and Hook tries his best to stay on top of everyone in the Patriarchy, however in the end the numbers game is just too much for him and both Wayne and Sabian save Christian by attacking Hook while he has the RedRum locked in for the DQ.

Winner – Hook

The Patriarchy continue the beatdown on Shibata and Hook and it looks like we are going to get a Con-Chair-To before Samoa Joe makes his return to the company evening up the odds and scaring away the Patriarchy.

Women’s Gauntlet – AEW Women’s World Championship Number 1 Contender at Grand Slam Australia

Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter will start us off in this one and we get some back and forth. Coming in at number 3 was the returning Megan Bayne who originally was out with injury but also spent some time in Stardom. Bayne stands tall over Statlander and shows why she is going to be a force in AEW. Lights go out and Julia Hart is in at number 4 and following her quickly at number 5 is Willow. Statlander and Willow seem to put their differences aside for a bit to try and take out Bayne who is clearly dominating this match. Toni Storm is in at number 6 and gives the women a barrage of Snapmare takedowns. We get a hockey fight between Hayter and Hart in the middle of the ring as Harley Cameron makes her way down at number 7. Cameron avoids the Hayteraide only to be misted by Hart who then tries to take advantage only to be on the receiving end of a Northern Lariat by Toni Storm and a quick cradle for the three.

Winner – Toni Storm

AEW World Heavyweight Championship – Jon Moxley (c) vs Powerhouse Hobbs

The Death Riders swarm around the ring but don’t attack as the bell rings. Hobbs uses his power to start with sending Mox into the corner and laying in some right hands. The action spills outside of the ring for a bit before returning to the ring. Moxley’s ear is busted open at some point during the match, and he is bleeding much like the Mox of old. By the end of the match, Hobbs has not yet succumbed to the Death Riders attacks so heels being heels utilize their numbers for the advantage. Shafir cracks Hobbs in the head with the briefcase trying to keep the big man down. Mox hits a Paradigm Shift but only scores a two count, so he transitions into the Bulldog Choke and that will be the end of it as Hobbs passes out.

Winner – Jon Moxley

Once the match is over, Death Riders are assaulting Hobbs with Claudio taking off the knee brace and wraps the chair to the knee. Claudio hits the stomp just before Rated FTR makes the save.

MY THOUGHTS

This show was not a wrestling classic like AEW likes to put on, however it did hint towards things to come storyline wise. The potential of an Omega / Ospreay team up is something worth watching especially knowing their history with each other. Samoa Joe’s return was a pleasant surprise as was the re-debut of Megan Bayne.

COLLISION

From the Andrew J. Brady Music Center in Cincinatti, Ohio! Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard, and Nigel McGuinness are on the call tonight.

RESULTS

Texas Deathmatch – Christopher Daniels vs Hangman Page

Page drops Daniels with a right hand and throws him to the outside. Page blasts Daniels with the corner of a chair and it busts Daniels open. This one is going to get messy folks. Page searches under the ring looking for some weapons and brings out some barb wire which he proceeds to rake across the face of Daniels. At one stage Page attempts to commit murder by trying to slice the mouth of Daniels apart with the barb wire. We get a table spot on the outside where Page stomps onto Daniels but the table doesn’t break in the traditional way. We get another table, this time with barb wire taped to it and Page slides it into the ring. Hangman attempts a Dead Eye through the table on Daniels but it is countered into a Uranage and Hangman takes barb wire to the back. Daniels hits a BME on Page and then places some of the broken barb wire table onto Page and hits another BME. End of the match sees Page hit a Dead Eye on a chair and a Buckshot to the back of the head and that will do it.

Winner – Hangman Page

As Hangman is leaving, he turns back around and hits an Angel’s Wings on Daniels before leaving the ringside area and doctors attend to Daniels.

Undisputed Kingdom vs Shane Taylor Promotions

A quick showing by the reunited UK going up against the staples of ROH in STP. We get some quick tags between the members of UK as they look to make their mark in the trios division.

Winners – Undisputed Kingdom

Murder Machines vs Top Flight

Murder Machines have that name for a reason, and it was evident in this one. They dominated Top Flight and didn’t really give them a chance to get on the defensive.

Winners – Murder Machines

AEW International Championship – Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii

The history between these two men is well storied from their time in Japan. This match was only a sample of what both men are capable of inside the ring and working together. Okada is showing some signs of his ankle possibly bothering him in this match. Ishii evades a dropkick from Okada but eats a Michinoku Driver. There is a bit more back and forth between the two before Okada gets to hit the Rainmaker for the win.

Winner – Kazuchika Okada

Dustin Rhodes vs Adam Priest

A quick match for Dustin to show he still can go. Priest tries to attack him from behind but ends up eating a CrossRhodes and Curtain Call from Dustin.

Winner – Dustin Rhodes

Julia Hart vs Harley Cameron

I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Julia Hart has the best entrance for a woman in professional wrestling right now. This match came about due to Cameron getting misted by Julia in the Gauntlet match on Dynamite and Cameron’s eyes were still showing some of the effects. Julia manages to get an Iron Octopus on Cameron in the middle of the ring, but Cameron breaks free. Julia locks in the Hartless and Cameron taps immediately.

Winner – Julia Hart

12 Man Tag – Rated FTR / Outrunners / Powerhouse Hobbs vs Learning Tree / Death Riders

Earlier in the show, the Learning Tree tried to take out Powerhouse making this an 11 man match instead. For most of the match it stayed that way. The match quickly broke down into a big brawl between the teams. Big Bill got a solid chant from the crowd at one point during the match. Cope tries to secure the win for his team with a spear only to be taken out by PAC and they try to murder him in similar fashion to the way they tried to murder Bryan Danielson. Towards the end of the match, Hobbs makes his way out to the ring and completely dominates and secures the win with a Spinebuster to Keith.

Winners – Powerhouse Hobbs / Outrunners / Rated FTR

MY THOUGHTS

I was concerned when the opening match was the Texas Deathmatch. I was worried that we weren’t going to go too hectic with it. Clearly, I was mistaken. We got a ton of blood from this match, so much that they had to change the ring mat. If that was the last match for Christopher Daniels as a wrestler, it was a great way to send him off. I am glad that we didn’t drag the ending of The Acclaimed out too long. It was obvious for a while now that they were going to split, and I think it was done the best way possible instead of just another attack scenario. Toni Storm is simply great. I am loving that everyone but her knows that she has been a champion before, and I look forward to her face to face with Mariah.