By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
AEW “The Deadly Draw” Tag Tournament (Episode 1)
Taped last week Jacksonville, Florida at Daily’s Place
Streamed August 3, 2020 on the AEW YouTube Page
A Deadly Draw opening video aired and focused on a number of women who are in the tournament… Tony Schiavone welcomed viewers to the show and was joined on commentary by Veda Scott, who said it was a big night for AEW and women’s wrestling. Schiavone noted that Scott has been a tag team champion in her past…
Ring announcer Shaul Guerrero introduced Madusa, who walked onto the stage where the Deadly Draw cup was sitting on a platform. Madusa said it was her honor to introduce the first tournament. She asked what makes a question rise above and show the world what they are made of. She asked who will step up, who will become allies, and questioned if she can work together. “This is AEW,” Madusa concluded…
Backstage, Brandi Rhodes and Allie were interviewed by Dasha Gonzalez, who noted that there was a chance that they might not actually be teammates due to the luck of the draw. Brandi drew a red piece. While Brandi was talking with Dasha about red being her lucky color, Allie snuck a peek and drew out the other red, meaning they will team together…
Powell’s POV: I guess we have to turn our brains off if the idea is that Allie was able to cheat to grab the piece she wanted. On the bright side, I like that Veda Scott is on commentary, Shaul Guerrero is the ring announcer (just as she was for the WOW promotion), and Madusa was much better here than she was during her rough NWA appearance.
They cut to Gonzalez hosting while Penelope Ford drew her color while Kip Sabian stood by. She drew a blue piece, then Mel approached her with the other blue piece and asked if she was ready to kick some ass…
1. Mel and Penelope Ford (w/Kip Sabian) vs. Brandi Rhodes and Allie (w/QT Marshall, Dustin Rhodes) in a first-round match. Schiavone noted that Brandi brought Mel into AEW (as part of the short-lived Nightmare Collective). Mel checked in early in the match and threw several punches at Rhodes before slammed her head into the mat and then rubbed her face on the mat. Rhodes took Mel down with a move and then shook her ass and slapped it while looking back at Ford.
Ford and Marshall bickered at ringside while Ford and Allie were on the floor. Allie threw Ford back inside the ring, then Mel blasted Allie with a big boot to the head. Allie was isolated by her opponents. Brandi eventually tagged in and hit Mel with a big boot and a superkick and then knocked Ford off the apron. Mel slammed Brandi to the mat and had her pinned, but the referee was distracted.
Sabian stood on the apron and complained to the referee. Marshall tried to get him down, but Sabian punched him off the apron. Brandi ended up spearing and pinning Mel to win the match for her team…
Brandi Rhodes and Allie defeated Mel and Penelope Ford in 9:05 to advance to the semifinals.
Powell’s POV: A mix of decent moments and sloppiness. It’s no surprise to see Rhodes and Allie go over since it feels like this tournament was created for them to win or at least to help tell their story.
An ad aired for the All Out pay-per-view… A video package featured the women of AEW while Brandi spoke about inclusion and being part of the movement. She said she wants everyone to feel confident in their own heels. An AWE heels graphic was shown…
Footage aired from AEW Dynamite of Nyla Rose and Ariane Andrew drawing the same colors… Footage aired from “earlier today” of Anna Jay drawing her color, which was followed by Tay Conti showing up and saying it looked like they were on the same team. Neither woman looked pleased…
2. Ariane Andrew and Nyla Rose (w/Vickie Guerrero) vs. Tay Conti and Anna Jay in a first-round match. The Dark Order walked onto the stage with Anna Jay, who removed her mask and walked to the ring. Jay and Conti seemed to warm up to one another during the introductions. The Dark Order left before Andrew and Rose were introduced. Scott claimed that Ariane trains all the time and was ready for this match.
Ariane offered a handshake, but Jay declined. Later, Conti got some offense in against Rose before tagging out. Rose performed a nice slam on Jay for a two count. Ariane tagged in and performed a splash in the corner and then slammed the face of Jay into the mat. Ariane covered Jay and got a two count, then tried again and got the same result.
Rose tagged in and tossed Jay across the ring. Jay rallied and worked over Rose’s knee. Conti tagged in and was hit with a Death Valley Driver by Rose, who sold her knee injury and then limped to the corner to tag out. Ariane hit a series of movies on Conti and covered her, but Jay broke up the pin.
Jay and Conti went for a double suplex, but Rose ran in and caught her partner, then clotheslined both opponents before limping to the ropes and rolling to ringside. Ariane suplexed Conti and did her splits move, but Jay had made a blind tag and ended up hitting Ariane with a rolling neckbreaker before pinning her.
Tay Conti and Anna Jay defeated Nyla Rose and Ariane Andrew in 8:45 to advance to the semifinals.
After the match, Rose clotheslined Andrew and left her lying. Vickie Guerrero laughed and then headed to the back with Rose. Conti helped Ariane to her feet and then hugged her…
Powell’s POV: More of the same in terms of match quality. Look, it’s hard to imagine there being any mat classics in this tournament, so this isn’t going to be for you if that’s what you’re looking for. Conti showed signs of improvement during her NXT run so I’m happy to see that she is continuing to wrestle despite being cut by WWE.
Backstage, Alex Marvez interviewed Brandi Rhodes and Allie. Rhodes said they had a huge win and this was the first time she realized that she’s a big star. Allie took exception and said she did pretty good during their match too. Brandi said she’s the first woman in AEW to have an action figure and boasted about her Instagram count. Brandi told Allie to keep rubbing shoulders with her and she’d get her an action figure too…
Marvez interviewed Anna Jay and Tay Conti following their win. Conti spoke about the win. Marvez asked Jay about joining the Dark Order, but she told him to stick to the tournament…
The graphics were shown and Tay Conti and Anna Jay will face Brandi Rhodes and Allie in the semifinals. Schiavone said he couldn’t wait to find out who else will compete in the opening round on next week’s show…
Powell’s POV: Wait, so Brandi is a heel again? What does that make Allie, who had looked like the heel in their act by toying with QT Marshall? It’s not compelling, it’s just plain confusing. Pick a direction already. And, really, it’s an issue with this tournament too in that I don’t know who they want fans to root for and against.
I like the presentation in terms of bringing in Scott, Shaul, and Madusa, but I hope the second episode produces some teams that are easier to follow in terms of the babyface and heel dynamic or at least provide some interesting conflict if there are teammates on the opposite side of the babyface and heel divide.
It looks like they will be doing the other two first-round matches next week, the semifinals on August 17, and the finals on August 24. I will be back shortly with my live review of WWE Raw. Join Jake Barnett for his live review of AEW Dynamite every Wednesday night, and Briar Starr’s reviews of AEW Dark are available on Wednesday mornings.
Brandi Rhodes is just unbearable at all times. The only reason they hired Arianne is to try and have a woman who’s even worse at every aspect of pro wrestling.
Meanwhile, Penelope and Allie look like they could put on a solid singles match.
At least the Bootyful People beat that dude and the only woman who’s less of a talent than Brandi.