By Will Pruett, ProWrestling.net Co-Senior Staffer (@itswilltime)
It’s thinkin’ time!
– AEW likes to have their named shows (Fright Night, Beach Break) end with big babyface moments. This show was no exception, with Queen Aminata toppling Persephone (and Britt Baker) to win the TBVS Championship. This was a great moment for Aminata, who has battled back from injuries. I do wish we knew who Aminata was just a little bit more. A sit-down interview with Renee Young would have done her a lot of good in the last two weeks. AEW could have told a better story going into this match, knowing the moment was coming.
– The Last Outfit is now The Cut, and I cannot say Jay White’s combination of two failed factions is off to an amazing start. While we did need a big heel force to stand up to The Death Riders, combining two factions people were not connecting to and turning them – then changing the name multiple times – is not the way to create that heel force. Jay White is a faction leader I enjoy, but the rest of this team seems completely interchangeable. The Cut does not feel special and does not seem like the vehicle that will make Jay White a main event star.
– The Cut vs. The Death Riders in Anarchy in the Arena will create complete and total chaos in Phoenix, and it disrupts AEW’s calendar nicely. Jon Moxley is amazing in matches like this, and it should be a great time in a hardcore party match for folks who were there live. This keeps AEW from having to roll out another Moxley vs. Jay White singles match so soon after their last one. It also may make White’s journey to the Continental Championship have to run through the Continental Classic, which does start soon.
– Kyle Fletcher had a fun match with Jack Perry (who thought he could do a Muscle Buster for some reason??!?) and followed it up with a challenge for Will Ospreay’s AEW World Championship. I like this match much more than I liked the Clockwork Carnage match at WrestleDream. There are actual stakes to a one-on-one title match that do not exist in an eight-man situation. Fletcher has a solid claim against Ospreay, and they are really great opponents for each other. I hope Ospreay manages to produce some memorable segments and promos in this journey.
– Swerve Strickland as the only man in this six-man match who wants to go down the path of Texas Death is a nice storytelling device. It’s true to who Kofi and Austin Creed are. It has been true to who Hangman Page tries to be as well. Brody King being willing to do anything to find and help Bandido is also true. This story has more depth than most trios stories in AEW history, particularly because of the Swerve and Hangman history. When we finally see these men in Texas Death, it will be interesting and violent and exciting. Full Gear is going to be a wild show with this and Anarchy in the Arena.
– The Motor City Machine Guns vs. FTR part three was alright, but this best-of-five series does feel like we are rushing through it. The first match felt like a classic tag match. The next two have ended on flukes or heel tactics. I am sure we will see something amazing in the fifth match, but the in-between matches have not impressed me to the level I had hoped for. I also question the move to have the babyface team go up two matches to one in this series. I’d rather this go down the more traditional path of the heels having the advantage and the babyfaces wrestling with their backs against the wall in match four.
– Marina Shafir vs. Mercedes Moné happening with the backdrop of Toni Storm seeming ready to reemerge in AEW is interesting. Is Shafir a wrestler AEW could actually run with for a bit? Would it be too soon to take Mercedes out of the World Championship picture? This is as over as Marina has been in AEW, and capitalizing on that could be smart. At the same time, there is a long-term story to tell with Toni Storm and Mercedes.
– Claudio Castagnoli throwing and then catching a trash can after it hit a man in the face was the highlight of this show.
– Darby Allin vs. Josh Alexander for the TNT Championship followed the pattern of Darby title defenses, where there is exceptional violence and pain inflicted on Darby, and he pulls out a win, then takes that damage into his next match. Alexander was a setup opponent to promote Blood and Guts, and he filled that role rather well. This was an entertaining match, and it led to next week.
– My biggest complaint about this show was a lack of promotion for Blood and Guts. Outside of a video package, we did not see much from the men’s teams or the women’s teams going into next week. Blood and Guts will be extreme and violent and involve a lot of risk from the wrestlers involved. I would have liked to see that risk honored more by AEW with some stronger promotion. I am still looking forward to next week, but promotion in the two and a half hour show would have been nice to see.
We did it! I am back on that thinkin’ train about pro wrestling, and you are back to reading my thoughts on an AEW show. Until next week, friends!
Will Pruett writes about wrestling and popular culture at prowrestling.net. To see his video content, subscribe to his YouTube channel. To contact Will, check him out on Bluesky @itswilltime, leave a comment, or email him at itswilltime@gmail.com.
