This was definitely the weakest AEW PPV by a mile and if it wasn’t overshadowed by Jericho controversy, then it would’ve been by the shotty in ring work.
— Kris/Willow on paper should’ve been a layup, but the match was clunky, awkward and had a shyt ton of botches with both of them gassed by the end of it. Idk what happened here, but hopefully they get the chance to run it back and do better in the future.
— … Sting don’t deserve this, man. This was a filler ass match, but Sting doesn’t deserve any of what took place, man. This is likely gonna be his penultimate PPV Appearance, and because Jericho had to be on some creep shyt, he couldn’t get his spots off without the crowd booing due to Jericho’s involvement.
S/O to the crowd for not singing him to the ring and letting him off the hook. Now I hope they keep that same energy for however long he’s on TV. And #FreeRickyStarks til it’s backwards.
— Swerve/Dustin Rhodes. I remember debating someone (I think it was the Bryan Danielson account) about how Squash Matches were a necessity in Pro Wrestling for moments exactly like this. When you have a star you’re clearly trying to keep attention on, and you wanna give them something to do. There’s no reason in hell why 60YO Dustin Rhodes went hold for hold with him.
— Julia/That Demon felt like a match that should’ve been a hidden gem. But it simply wasn’t. It wasn’t BAD by any means, but it was kinda just there.
— Filler 8 Man Tag Match #2 was better than the first, if only because Jericho wasn’t here.
— Edge/Christian was exactly what the PPV needed to wake the crowd up. Obvious MOTN and for story purposes, the right man initially won. I don’t mind how everything else shook, but I hope this shyt doesn’t fall off.
— I missed Eddie/Mox (I fell asleep. I’m clearly becoming
brehs.
), so I can’t comment.
— MJF/Joe. Right Man Won, clean as a sheet, Devil Melodrama not gonna bog down the world title scene. All I can ask for.
As for the reveal itself… The Execution was fine and it was the safest choice possible in that it made sense. But it was still incredibly bland and lacking a needed punch if the identity was a foregone conclusion. And paints a bleak picture for that particular storyline in terms of creativity going forward
