Hello and welcome another weekly recap of the happenings within All Elite Wrestling. This week we went from the absolute shit show of Dynamite to a completely insane ending of Full Gear 2024 as well as the announcement of the Continental Classic contenders. Let’s get right into it.

DYNAMITE

We kicked off Dynamite this week with the Guns ‘n’ Roses November Rain video package which originally debuted on Collision. After the package we head straight to the ring for the opening match.

RESULTS

Don Callis Family defeated Ricochet / Will Ospreay / Powerhouse Hobbs / Mark Davis – This all-star match opened the show and gave us a slight insight of what to expect at Full Gear this year. A great way to start off the show and get the crowd hot for the action.

Kris Statlander defeated Hikaru Shida – Decent quality match from both these two, Shida is looking to get herself back into the conversation once again when it comes to the AEW Women’s division.

Bobby Lashley defeated Joe Keys / Cheeseburger – Lashley is making his in ring debut for AEW and completely annihilates both Joy Keys and Cheeseburger in what can only be described as a squash match

Claudio Castagnoli defeated Darby Allin – The fact that Darby lost clean in this match to Claudio was a surprise. Claudio and Darby surprisingly work really well together.

Orange Cassidy defeated Wheeler Yuta – In the main event Cassidy came into this showcasing a bit more of an aggressive side. It was a solid match between the mentor and his student. The suckiest part of this match was that we were only given 10 minutes for the match.

This week Dynamite fell afoul of the mark for go home shows. In what should have been a great build of hype for Full Gear. Instead, we got yet another weak show with mainly segments that felt flat and didn’t create buzz.

RAMPAGE

Rampage this week hosted the weigh in between QT Marshall and Big Boom AJ before their match at Full Gear Zero Hour.

RESULTS

Mariah May / Mina Shirakawa defeated Nyla Rose / Harley Cameron – A sloppy ending for this one. Mina is adoring herself to the fans which is a solid takeaway from this.

Juice Robinson defeated The Butcher – I did not expect this match to get as much time as it did, especially being a random match on Rampage, but it was a good match for what it was. Hopefully we will see Juice start to be seen a bit more.

The Conglomeration defeated Dark Order – This was a confusing one, especially after the segment the other week in the backstage area where Dark Order and The Conglomeration were together protecting AEW from Moxley and the Deathriders. A nice win here for Ishii especially with his upcoming match against Jericho for the ROH Championship.

AEW seems to have seen the writing on the wall for Rampage and have accepted it’s fate which is a shame especially where it originally came from.

FULL GEAR 2024

RESULTS

Private Party (c) vs House of Black vs The Outrunners vs The Acclaimed – AEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP – HOB got a live performance of their theme to play them to the ring for this match. The Acclaimed showed some tension between the team leading to speculation of their impending split. The Outrunners were purely 80’S and Private Party is doing PP things.

Winners and Still AEW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS – PRIVATE PARTY

Roderick Strong vs MJF – MJF throws his shade at the sold-out crowd in Newark and takes yet another shot at Strong over his mother. A solid match overall.

Winner – MJF

After the match, MJF takes a chair to Strong’s arm before The Kingdom, Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly make the save. Kyle ends up shoving Cole and walks away helping Strong to the back.

Mercedes Mone (c) vs Kris Statlander – AEW TBS CHAMPIONSHIP – A standout match from Mercedes here. This is probably her best match on PPV and in my eyes her second-best match since she has joined AEW. The Jersey crowd absolutely loved Statlander and were behind her right from the start.

Winner and Still AEW TBS CHAMPION – Mercedes Mone

Hangman Page vs Jay White – Both men showed why they are top guys and are definitely worth having as part of the roster. Jay showed some of his classic NJPW storytelling throughout the match. Even though both men were clearly dealing with issues, they put on a great match and the quick exchanges made for exciting action.

Winner – Jay White

After the match Hangman stalks White up the ramp and blindsides him. Christopher Daniels tries to stop Hangman only to be on the receiving end of a right hand before he walks away.

Kyle Fletcher vs Will Ospreay – By far the absolute best match of Full Gear with potential to be considered in the conversation for match of the year. If you were not already sold on Ospreay or Fletcher, then this is the match for you to watch. Ospreay gave us everything that he brings to the table as one of the industry’s best performers and Fletcher showed us why he is going to be a star. You definitely witnessed the future of pro wrestling in this match.

Winner – Kyle Fletcher

Jack Perry (c) vs Daniel Garcia – AEW TNT CHAMPIONSHIP – In a battle of the young guys, Garcia and Perry put on a bout that was a detriment to their development since the beginning of AEW. Both men have garnered a new standing in the company with their moments over the past year and this match was one that they can easily look back on as a moment in their early careers which helped to cement their legacy.

Winner and New AEW TNT CHAMPION – Daniel Garcia

Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs Ricochet – AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP – A late addition to the PPV lineup, but the momentum has been building for this feud ever since the debut of Ricochet. We got some exposure to the true style that Ricochet can work when given the chance. Takeshita has been an amazing addition to the AEW talent pool and pairing these two together was definitely going to put on a great match.

Winner and Still AEW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION – Konosuke Takeshita

Swerve Strickland vs Bobby Lashley – I was expecting this to have the potential to steal the show. However unfortunately it never got that chance. It was still a good match, but it felt like we are aiming to continue the story between Lashley and Strickland.

Winner – Bobby Lashley

Jon Moxley (c) vs Orange Cassidy – AEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP – This match started off hot with Cassidy landing multiple Orange Punches on Mox and taking it to the outside. For the first few minutes of the match, Moxley barely gets any defense in but when he does, it leads to Cassidy bleeding. Cassidy showing the more aggressive side is a great growth of his character and was a brilliant choice to be the one to face Moxley in the protection of AEW. At one point in the match, I was on the edge of my seat with excitement for what was next to come. As usual, Mox’s crew got involved in the match which also led to The Conglomeration getting involved.

Winner and Still AEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION – Jon Moxley

After the match, Yuta has a bottle of some sort of chemical which he tries to pour down the throat of Cassidy and all over his face while Mox holds him in place.

Unexpectedly Hangman makes his way out from the back with a steel chair, and he takes out Yuta before Mox turns and stares him down. Out of nowhere, Christian Cage is in the ring and hits Killswitch on Mox laying him out in the center of the ring. As Christian contemplates cashing in his contract, Jay White hits the Blade Runner on him and costs him his opportunity to become the AEW Champion.

DeathRiders manage to get away from the craziness inside the arena, but as they try to go to their car, it is smashed into by another car. This leads to the DeathRiders hijacking another car and fleeing the arena. As they leave, we find out it was Darby Allin the one driving the car. He jumps onto the damaged ride of the DeathRiders and starts beating the crap out of it with his skateboard as the PPV goes off the air.

CONTINENTAL CLASSIC CONTENDERS

The Continental Classic 2024 is a stacked line up of competitors with some repeat contenders from the 2023 Continental Classic looking to make their mark once again and some fresh combatants make this year an interesting one to watch.