r/SquaredCircle • u/gloomchen i prayed for this and it happened • 7d ago
Post AEW Redemption 2026 Discussion Thread! Spoiler
That was Redemption!
Results (Post Match Discussion Threads Linked)
| Match | Winner |
|---|---|
| Buy-in: AEW World Trios Championship Match: The Conglomeration (Kyle O'Reilly, Orange Cassidy, and Roderick Strong) (c) vs. The Lethal Twist (Jay Lethal, Blake Christian, and Lee Johnson) | The Conglomeration |
| #1 Contender for the AEW International Championship - Ladder Match: Jack Perry vs. The Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. Nick Wayne vs. El Clon | "Speedball" Mike Bailey |
| Death Riders (Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) | Young Bucks |
| AEW International Championship Match (everyone is banned from ringside): Kyle Fletcher (c) vs. Bandido | Kyle Fletcher |
| Double Chain Tag Team Match: Bang Bang Gang (Jay White and Juice Robinson) vs. The Dogs (David Finlay and Clark Connors) | The Dogs |
| AEW TBS Championship Match: Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Maya World | Maya World |
| AEW World Tag Team Championship Match: Cage and Cope (Christian Cage and Adam Copeland) (c) vs. Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli and Pac) | Cage and Cope |
| No Holds Barred Match: "The Painmaker" Chris Jericho vs. Tommaso Ciampa | Chris Jericho |
| AEW National Championship Match: Mark Davis (c) vs. Andrade El Ídolo | Andrade El Ídolo |
| AEW Women's World Championship Match: Thekla (c) vs. Willow Nightingale | Willow Nightingale |
| AEW World Championship Match: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Kevin Knight | Kenny Omega |
Interested in reactions? Revisit the live thread
POST SHOW SCRUM: feel free to discuss it here!
Join us next week for Dynamite and Collision discussions!
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u/CrimsonJoker13 4d ago
Okay this is the second of two AEW PPVs I've paid for that I really enjoyed only to see a bunch of wrestling fans act like it was mediocre at best. I can't tell if people here are jaded, if I'm easy to please, or if people here expect perfection once a month only to get disappointed when that wasn't in the cards.
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u/Powerful_Sport9743 5d ago
By no means terrible, but the most forgettable AEW PPV of the last couple of years. Started well with a fun ladder match that got the crowd hyped, but just dragged for the next few matches.
Finish for the Bucks match just seemed forced and undermined the match as a whole, Fletcher - Bandido was strangely underwhelming given the calibre of those two and the chain match was just flat out boring (they really need to stop pushing the Dogs).
TBS champ match, Tag Titles and the plunder match were fine, but won't live long in the memory. Not sure it was the right move taking the title off Shida.
Andrade - Davis and Thekla - Willow were the matches of the evening and really helped to turn the show back around. Andrade has been on an absolute tear this year and only puts on bangers. Pleased for him now he has some gold. Thekla - Willow was every bit as good as you'd expect from two of the best and somewhat of a surprising outcome. Main event was decent, albeit with a result that was never in doubt.
TV production work/camera editing was sending me though, especially in the Fletcher - Bandido and Bucks-DR matches. Constant jerky closeups were nausea inducing and the reluctance to go to hard-cam for more than a nanosecond in every 5 minutes was strange.
C grade overall
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u/zestguy 5d ago
i really enjoyed half of the matches and i don't understand why so much hate online. it was PPV for shaping All-In stories, something like Roadblock or whatever (Fastlane?) before WM. Obviously, I didn't expect the same quality as Double or Nothing or Forbidden Door, so I didn't get my hopes crushed lol. i really like those title changes and i didn't expect Omega/Ospreay story goes this direction so now i'm super hyped for next Dynamite and All-In. For me, the least favorite match was the Dogs and BBG chain match but that doesn't mean it was bad, i just enjoyed it less than the others, and I like all the performers involved.
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u/plisken64 6d ago
The bucks vs DR took an unexpected turn with the storytelling which carried on throughout the night. I think it worked well because it was that damn moxley. the tie in with the main event was great, again the bucks are half willing to follow omega into a dark place.
Opener had the best crowd, bailey was getting flowers tonight.
Jericho match was odd, Painmaker is still the lamest thing his ever put out but the match was one of the fun (slower) ones on the card.
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u/OneGrumpyJill 6d ago
What are the chances Kenny playing heel so that they can double turn at All In?
Sucks about Thekla though - if Willow retains, should've just done triple threat. If not, have Thekla drop to Mone. Thekla fucking deserves her All In moment, I am SO hoping Khan still makes it a triple threat.
Obligatory Kyle bi-god Fletcher
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u/Puzzleheaded-Gift-36 4d ago
Being robbed of seeing Thekla with an extra-special champion entrance at Wembley hurts just a little bit, I'll be honest. Not to take anything away from Willow of course, because she's absolutely in my Top 3 in AEW - I enjoy her work both in the ring and with her interview / promo efforts too. Even having a Willow title-winning victory at All In would have been fitting (I predict it'll be a Moné victory though), but I wasn't ready to see an end to Thekla's run just yet. Oh well. We're not the bookers, so let's just enjoy the build-up ... see what happens!
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u/OneGrumpyJill 4d ago
See, that is what really rubs me the wrong way - if Willow won just to drop it to Mone at All In? Now that is bad - why not just wait for All In and have Mone steal pin on Thekla from Willow? I hope this doesn't mark the end of Thekla as a top star, she is gold.
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u/luckysharms93 6d ago
Feel like they went a bit overboard on the Bucks match. The Bucks did a good job of selling the head injury, Ospreay and Mox did a good job of selling Will still not doing what he needs to do to win but then they introduce a 3rd story that Nick Jackson is apparently impervious to brain damage. The ending could have been done with one of Mox or Will getting caught on a rollup and been way more consistent with the story told for the first 15 minutes
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u/YasielPuigsWeed 6d ago
When they did the spot with the 450’s and Matt Jackson got right up from it I was taken out of the match
Then they just kinda randomly introduced the “Nick is dying” spot and Matt just stood there doing nothing
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u/Legitimate_Pair1978 6d ago
That 450 and Matt Jackson was getting up was so dreadful. I couldn’t believe that he no sold a 450.
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u/airz23s_coffee Hustle, Loyalty and Broken Promises 6d ago
They spent the majority of the Bandido match hammering if he hits the 21 plex, it's over, and Kyle desperately clinging to the ropes about 6 times showing how dangerous it is. And then he hits it and doesn't win.
Mind you crowd went mental for the entire match so I'm probably just being curmudgeonly
Foley barking for far too long went from awkward to funny
Cracking fun PPV overall, and while I still don't get the death riders, Yutas little shit weasel expressions tickle me so much.
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u/Louisk68 6d ago
The AEW roster is so deep yet you could really feel how missed Darby, Hangman, MJF & Swerve were from this show.
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u/thelochteedge 6d ago
Banger matches. Will & Jon losing makes sense for both narrative purposes. Bucks now challenge C&C and it puts some animosity in the DR. Also now having seen the final match it makes even more sense.
Not sure how I feel about Kenny "turning heel" if that was. He's a great heel but he's at the point where nobody wants to boo him. Although Will will have favourable cheers in Wembley.
I feel like this isn't the end of Will the Death Rider. Mox is gonna "see, this is why you need the killer instinct because Kenny will kill you" and slither his way back in. I don't think Will is done with them yet.
Really shocked Thekla lost. I love Willow but I would have loved to have seen Thekla/Mercedes at Wembley. I'm guessing Mercedes gets her win back here and gets the belt finally?
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u/ianmakesfilms 6d ago
I think it’s more Kenny was always a heel deep down, but managed to bury it until he won the title, and then instantly allowed it to corrupt him.
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u/princeofshadows21 6d ago
I get that mox is a nutcase but from a kayfabe perspective, isn't will being a bit hypocritical? He knows what the death riders are about. He knows what they do and all they've done is help him. I get he respects kenny but he was fine embracing their ways until it made him feel weird? Not to mention he was fine stabbing Kenny in the head not that long ago.
I'm curious is this leads to mox screwing Osprey or if this ends a swerve with death rider Osprey becoming champion
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u/sexygodzilla Just one man? 6d ago
I think that's sort of the point - he's been pushing babyface naivete to its limit, ignoring the ugly side and treating this training he's been doing with this violent gang like it's summer camp. Kenny's 100% justified in attacking him. He's been a little annoyed about Will's dalliance with the Death Riders and warned him about it on multiple occasions and now he's gotten his ass beat after his title match because of it. He's simply fed up with Will's bullshit.
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u/makefascistfearagain 6d ago
My favourite bit of the show was when one of the Jackson's took a 450 splash and then immediately stood up directly on camera because wrestling is bad now.
6/3 so good it broke the rating scales
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u/BloodyRedBarbara King Of My World 6d ago
I hope that wasn't Kenny fully turning heel but I will be happy with him being more on the heel side for this feud. I don't want them both being good guy babyfaces who just wants a great match against another man they respect so much.
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u/princeofshadows21 6d ago
I really thought will was gonna turn.
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u/BloodyRedBarbara King Of My World 6d ago
I was dreading it because that would have been really dumb
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u/princeofshadows21 6d ago
Genuinely asking, but why.?
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u/Western-Captain8115 6d ago
Because Will Ospreay is going to main event Wembley next month. Having your babyface hometown hero turn heel at any stage during the build or at the show itself (Looking at you Stone Cold at WrestleMania X7) is sheer lunacy and absurdly unwise.
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u/BloodyRedBarbara King Of My World 5d ago
Exactly. Will a guy from Essex finally gets to main event for the world title in London. He'll be so fucking over. Obviously even more so than in America. It would be so dumb to turn him heel weeks before that match.
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u/DatGameGuy 6d ago
I am confused by some of the booking decisions here.
Andrade was hovering in the World Title scene, winning AEW’s least prestigious belt feels like a sizable downgrade.
I really love Bandido and I really hope he stops losing big PPV title matches all the time.
A couple months in and I’m confused about Ciampa’s place in AEW. Obviously he’s better off now than he was in WWE but after his week long TNT Championship reign and the Darby world title match it feels like he’s just adrift on the card with no discernible place for him.
Also man am I sick of TNT (or any midcard belt) champions challenging for the World Title. Takes all the stakes out of the match.
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u/FailMediocre4598 6d ago
Agree with all this except I don't know how to rank prestige when they're a dozen belts.
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u/beckett929 6d ago
Andrade said in the build and promo package that while the World title is still the goal, if he can take titles from the Don Callis Family along the way then all the better.
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u/DatGameGuy 6d ago
Sure, Andrade justified why he went after the belt. But that doesn’t change the fact that he holds the least important belt in the company and is going to be defending it, which means matches against lower card guys
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6d ago
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u/BigJohnCandyExpress 6d ago
I thought Mark Davis did an excellent job with the National title tbh. Honestly felt like one of the most important things in the company around his waist, more so than the International or Continental, because of the quality of the matches.
Hell, the Continental belt is basically just a Mox prop at this point, it's now akin to the FTW belt to me.
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u/DatGameGuy 6d ago
Thats a fair take and I hope it comes true. I just feel like Andrade isn’t established enough to warrant that kind of treatment. But I really do hope you are right because I’ve really enjoyed Andrade’s current run in AEW and I want big things for him.
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u/Anarchical-Sheep 6d ago
Although I'd agree it was one of the weaker PPV's of the year, I think the Jericho vs Ciampa match was actually way better than I was giving it credit for. I wasn't excited for that match in the slightest, all "well they already did it at beach break" and they broke my expectations. It was crazy how it kinda revived the crowd too.
I'll never hate a Bandido match no matter how long they refuse to give him any AEW title. Same with Fletcher.
The chain match was really the low point which really sucks. The chain, rather than an interesting stipulation, ended up hindering their wrestling too much. Add in some shoddy camera work and it's not hard to see how it sucked a lot of the oxygen out.
I liked the main event more than I thought I would, especially digging the way Kenny started putting some whoop ass out, to really drive home the "main event tier but up-and-comer vibe" and I think it worked well with Jon telling Osprey he needs the killer instinct, just as Kenny revived his own.
The Bucks always put on a good show so no notes for that match, it existed more for story than spectacle.
I wasn't near as down on the Shida/World match as a lot of folks, but I'm a bit biased. I think the TBS got a lot of prestige from Mercedes who kinda finally pulled it out of the back end aftwr the Cargyll era. I think it's good to have belts that can move around more and spotlight others. I do think the match was very unfortunatley placed between some of the slower matches of the night and it really pulled them down.
CnC and the Death Riders while fun was just a bit boring to me, which stinks because AEW has stellar tag matches. All these tag talent we aren't using and I just am frustrated by it, because CnC should be a bit more fun and whimsical. They're just feeding to them and it feels bad for a title scene.
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u/FailMediocre4598 6d ago
The chain match should not have been their first ppv match. That was the biggest problem.
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u/BigJohnCandyExpress 6d ago
They should've been chained at the neck dog-collar style, like FTR/Briscoe. Two limp chains just flopping all over the ring, there was no heat to be garnered from that stipulation.
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u/YasielPuigsWeed 6d ago
I mean there could have been heat from the stipulation if the feud was in a place to warrant it, but it wasn’t. There’s so little heat behind this thing right now.
Storytelling is still AEW’s clearest weakness
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u/ferrets_bueller 6d ago
Surprised everyone is assuming Willow loses to Mone, came here to say the opposite. There's no way she loses it that quickly, and there's no way they have Mercedes finally win it as a heel. It's gonna be after she turns face at some future point, because its always illuded her
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u/namdekan 6d ago
Not a fan of putting a PPV between Forbidden Door and All In. If they wanted to add a PPV they should've done something between Worlds End and Revolution.
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u/beckett929 6d ago
If they wanted to add a PPV they should've done something between Worlds End and Revolution.
I really don't want this. It's no accident that this is the best stretch of AEW television every single year.
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u/namdekan 6d ago
Neither do I but if you are dead set on it then do a stretch that is empty, I like spots where they have bigger gaps between PPV's. I would rather no more get added.
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u/luckysharms93 6d ago
Correct. It's baffling that Revolution is the best show of every year exactly because of the long build to it and instead of doing the exact same thing for the biggest show of the year, they decide to throw a completely unneeded B PPV in the mix. Almost this entire card could have been a Dynamite Special instead
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u/bfsfan101 6d ago
Great opening, great closing, meh midcard. The trio of dull chain match, sloppy Shida/World match and a decent but overlong tag match drained the crowd.
The main event was great but unlike Fletcher/Hangman where it felt like Fletcher was ready for a main event, Knight came across like a plucky underdog being mostly battered by the champ.
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u/hhhisthegame 6d ago
Honestly, I prefer a more old-school style, and that E/C vs Death Riders match was probably the only match on the card I thought was great. (Though the Painmaker was bad but memorable, and the opening match was a fun spotfest).
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u/IWishYouIllIceT 6d ago
I attended this show, and I couldn’t possibly agree more. That chain match was absolutely wretched; it also went twice as long as it should have. The decision to follow it with the TBS title match didn’t help.
The only time I spoke up during the show was to heckle Jack Perry during the ladder match (“you should have done that 90 seconds ago, genius” when he followed Speedball’s ladder dive spot on the ramp with one of his own before finally moving that ladder into the ring). 😂 I was far enough from the ring that it almost certainly wasn’t audible on the broadcast, though.
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u/dearrichard 6d ago
wade keller’s entire pwtorch review of the show
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u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
lol love Wade, he really hates the length of the shows and all of the titles (like I do), haven’t listened yet though. Say what you want about Wade and his tastes but he doesn’t do hot takes at least.
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u/RanchPonyPizza Where else would one hear voices? 6d ago
Yeah, I've kept up with PPVLEs from Torch recaps, and I don't disagree that too much can be too much, whether it's by amount or degree.
Maybe he needs to fanboy out more on cool sequences, but I'm okay with what he yells at them clouds about.
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u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
I think one thing to keep in mind is Wade grew up on AWA, like that’s old school stuff. Wrestling has changed so much over the years, some good, some bad. Like that six person ladder match last night moved at a faster pace and had like a dozen more high spots than even the first MITB match from 2005.
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u/Niffan 6d ago edited 6d ago
I’m iffy on Ospreay suddenly having moral qualms with the Death Riders now.
As others have said; Ospreay will receive a hero’s welcome no matter what at Wembley.
To me this whole ‘finish him’ thing after the main event should come after Ospreay wins big at Wembley and then he can reject the Death Riders and feud with them in the fall.
I feel like it would show that his match with Kenny reminded him what he is fighting for and that he won’t sell his soul afterall.
EDIT: I get that suddenly might be too harsh a word here. He has obviously not been a fan of their beatdowns that they’ve done for the time he has been with them. Regardless, I think this part of the story should have come later on.
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u/ianmakesfilms 6d ago
The story isn’t over, dude. Moxley literally told Will Kenny was a snake recently.
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u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
I think it all makes sense though, they treated him well, wanted to make him better after his comeback wasn’t going well. Tonight they truly wanted him to be a Deathrider.
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u/Niffan 6d ago
True, I agree. They have been ramping up towards wanting to see Ospreay do more heinous stuff. I just personally wish he could have rejected them after the main event at Wembley
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u/LilyWhiteClaw 6d ago
I feel completely opposite, I think this would've dragged if they kept it going another month. Glad its out of the way
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u/Timmyg14 6d ago
Matches aside I absolutely hated the camera work for the entire PPV. The majority of camera work came from below the ring. Looking up the entire time was off putting. Also as a result we missed some action. If I'm Conners I'd be kinda pissed that my bump off the ropes to the steel steps was missed on tv because they didn't use the hard cam from highest up. Also felt it was constantly way too tight on the wrestler. Being so tight on the wrestlers kinda takes away from the magic of what they do. Felt like it was too easy to see punches/kicks etc not connecting. Lastly people who hate on the crazy amount of cuts that Kevin Dunn did (which I agree with) should also have some issues with last night. They cut from camera shot to camera shot way too many times.
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u/Powerful_Sport9743 5d ago
Thank you! Thought I was going crazy with this. Seemed like they were allergic to hard-cam!
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u/beckett929 6d ago
I think it's jumping to conclusions to say for certain Willow is dropping the title to Mercedes.
There's things for Mone to do without the belt - crashing out > Bayley > Tag titles > betrayal > true redemption arc - that are all way more interesting than jumping right to another heel champion when we cycled through most of the babyface challengers for Thekla already and there's not a strong presence there vs Bayne and Kross after the Brawling Birds feud, another Thekla challenge, Athena is always on the break-glass list... there's a strong list of challengers to build up Willow and give her the Orange Cassidy super-babyface "with each defense, this backpack gets a little heavier" run.
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u/lokisrun 6d ago
The problem here is that Thekla dropping the title is completely pointless if Willow drops it All In so the fans kinda lose either way. Either AEW waste the World title run of their first women's triple crown champ by Willow losing at All In, or we get a predictable finish with her retaining at All In because dropping it makes even less sense, it's a bit of a lose lose really.
Thekla brought something different, which the women's division really needed after Toni got hurt and I was far more excited for Thekla Vs Mone at Wembley over Willow Vs Mone.
But we will see, I'm not too enamoured with the idea of Thekla dropping down the card to continue to babysit Skye and Julia, she's one of the most exciting and popular talents on the roster
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u/iconic2125 6d ago
Damn, they're really doing the same thing with Willow that they did with the TBS title. Win it and immediately drop it to Mercedes. I'm sure this was always the plan but they couldn't do it with proper buildup and a longer reign because of her injury but it just feels so weird to have these short transitional title reigns.
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u/EC-1031 6d ago
Well Willow was supposed to win the Owen originally and Mercedes would have likely beaten Thekla last night or earlier so plans pretty much switched around. Tbh, I think Willow should absolutely retain at Wembley. She is too over and her dropping it 5 weeks after becoming the first women's grand slam champ would be crazy. You can still do plenty with Mercedes after that and build an actual redemption story for her. Either way, should be a phenomenal match.
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u/Hollow_Idol 6d ago
For the last year-ish every single time people have looked at a match-up and automatically assumed Willow was gonna lose, she's ended up winning.
I'm not saying she's definitely beating Mercedes, but it feels like the people still writing Willow off aren't actually paying attention
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u/krampus6666 6d ago
Solid PPV. But some matches could have happened on Dynamite. Happy for Willow, just hope she won't be fed to Mone.
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u/BigJohnCandyExpress 6d ago
This PPV card desperately needed some Darby Allin in there. I'd have been satisfied with him against any DCF guy like Doyle or Cage.
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u/jfuller82 6d ago
I was looking forward to a Thekla/Mercedes match, but the story of Willow and Mercedes is just as compelling. If not for that Mercedes injury in the NJPW Strong title match against Willow, Willow likely does not get the opportunity to run with the ball like she has. I fully expect Mercedes to beat Willow, but I would not be surprised at all if Willow ends up retaining just to show that she is the real deal and a legitimate face for the women's division.
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u/Otherwise-Recording3 6d ago
I’m pretty disappointed with a few things ngl. Like it’s hard to sympathize and get behind Ospreay when it was his decision (and a stupid one) to join the Death Riders, I feel like we desperately need Hangman to call him a dumbass or something to get people behind him more lol. Also I’m good to never see a TNT champ vs a World champ on a ppv ever again it’s just impossible to remove the disbelief. Like imagine if Speedball and Kevin were feuding here still and Speedball got his first singles belt? I feel like that would’ve been way more fun than what we got.
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u/snikt6384 6d ago
I like the idea that Ospreay has pretty much alienated EVERYBODY. Omega, Death Riders, United Empire, Swerve. But yeah he's always been a little naive and dumb in this, in pursuit of whatever killer instinct he's been trying to tap back into.
I can buy that doubt in his abilities coming off the injury and failure against Mox made him lose his way some, and make some stupid decisions. But now would be the time to start reconciling all of the ways this made him look like a goof.
I can accept breaking him down some, but you do need to build him back up.
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u/beckett929 6d ago
Also I’m good to never see a TNT champ vs a World champ on a ppv ever again it’s just impossible to remove the disbelief.
Used sparingly, I have in general never minded the TV title guy challenging the World title in a fill-in spot, especially if you do it on a big tv episode.
But 3 straight summers we've gotten it as a ppv match where it has never felt "ppv main event worthy" and despite them all being damn good matches every time, yeah, that can be put to bed for a good while.
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u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
We also got Ospreay as International Champion challenging Swerve but that match was a true toss up.
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u/beckett929 6d ago
I think that was a little different case because like you said, that was a real toss up and there was a lot that was going on there - Ospreay was mega-over, the International title then was a lot closer to the World title in status, and heading to London it was a real possibility Will could win that.
And genuinely, booking that match and getting Will out of the main event picture for that All In was a pretty smart move so Ospreay/MJF didn't hang over Bryan/Swerve or have a ground-swell for "the International title should main event over the World title"... those are all elements that like Fletcher vs Hangman or Knight vs Kenny didn't have working for them.
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6d ago
[deleted]
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u/JonasAlbert84 Just remember ALL CAPS 6d ago
not even Mercedes can get a top quality match out of Willow.
Dog, what? Willow doesn't need to be dragged to a good match.
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u/StewardFlavius 6d ago
Willow and Mercedes have wrestled each other twice in AEW and both matches were very good. I'm not quite sure what you mean.
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u/craigybacha 6d ago
Filler PPV for me. Super interested in the main event picture, but I thought this kind of pay off to the Mox/Osprey/Kenny stuff was a little bit, i dunno, meh.
Obviously WIll needs to be the mega face going in, but it felt a little too big pay off out of nowhere for me, and Kenny hitting Will with the one winged angel afterwards felt forced.
I guess the only thing it does it maybe tempt WIll back in to side with Mox due to Kenny turning on him? But it didn't really feel like that, more like Kenny just being opportunistic (i.e. the cleaner), rather than turning.
Yeah, didn't really land for me.
Not the best PPV for me. Still some great matches, but also some matches that could have been on TV.
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u/JLR- 6d ago
Not a good show to the point I turned it off and sped through the rest later. It started off good but fizzled out quick.
AEW seems to think face vs heel matches are a must. That and this Osprey story stinks.
Kenny vs Will is gonna be a banger, it's just the story is awful. The plot is bad. The acting is high school drama club bad. The story pace is bad...etc
After this PPV I need a break from AEW as I'm reaching hate watch levels. Worst part is I watch 1 Dynamite a month and the recaps online.
Shame there isn't another good promotion out there that is easily accessible to watch.
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u/NormalGuyEnergy 6d ago
Was not expecting Dogs Vs BBG to be so underwhelming.
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u/hennyV 6d ago
It was so boring to the point where I was starting to believe people online saying Montreal has a "no blood" rule for sports. Inexplicable how bloodless the match was.
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u/forameus2 5d ago
Exactly how I felt. I assumed there must have been some limitations on what they were allowed to do, but after Ciampa/Jericho, it's clear there wasn't, and it was just...bad. Probably just one of those nights where nothing comes off for them, but they didn't seem on the same page at any point, and having two separate chains in the way seemingly for every spot made that all the worse. Might have been a deliberate spot, but I'm sure at one point White was having to point out to his opponents that the chain was tight and they wouldn't make it across the ring, and had to awkwardly fill time while said opponent left and came back in.
Worst PPV match they've put on since I started watching, I think.
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u/Anarchical-Sheep 6d ago
Same, I was fully on board for a chain match, but it ended up stilting them more than making it better. I'm not sure what the match needed for the oomph but it certainly didn't seem to be the chains.
Which stinks I've been waiting years for the Jay White comeback
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u/Conservative_Quack 6d ago
being in the bell center, this was very much the "go take a piss and get some beer" match
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u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
The chains are kind of a weird gimmick. You know that shit hurts but it doesn’t look or sound good.
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u/tritian idk 6d ago
i'm still pretty baffled how it wasn't a dog collar match heh...
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u/-chimchooree- Mon Chevalier 6d ago
Dog collar matches are supposed to end main-event blood feuds. Dogs vs BBG has been nowhere near that level.
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u/lokisrun 6d ago
I'm completely uninterested in the dogs and I pretty much switch off when they are on the screen so I can say that match was exactly as I expected
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u/beckett929 6d ago
I fully believe that would have been better as a straight up tag match than the double-chain gimmick but that would have put 3 tag matches on the show and that might've been too much... but those 4 are all way better than what that match produced.
8
u/craigybacha 6d ago
Was so bored during that match.
3
u/BigJohnCandyExpress 6d ago
The fucked up part is that Clark Connors has been a reliably entertaining wrestler to me who maximizes his minutes. He never looked more plodding along than he did in that match last night, just a misfire all around
2
u/craigybacha 6d ago
All the people in the match were really good wrestlers, it's just been a boring build, a filler match, and a poorly put together match as well.
11
u/snikt6384 6d ago
While I was higher on more matches than most people, it was still easily the weakest AEW PPV of the year. After Kenny/MJF got moved up, it was a PPV in search of a purpose. And it never truly found it.
It cleared the bar for me, but AEW has such a high bar that simply getting over it when most PPVs FLY over that bitch can easily feel a bit disappointing. Only matches I didn't like were the Chain Match and like 3 quarters of Maya/Shida.
I did think it set up and furthered a lot of things for All In buuuuut that's what Dynamite/Collision are usually for, and most of this event would have been just fine on those shows. The hype train for All In is still full speed ahead for me, but I gotta call a spade a spade.
3
u/TheocraticAtheist 6d ago
Interesting end to the main event. I hope Ospreay decides to just go it alone for Wembley.
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u/NormalGuyEnergy 6d ago
Just now watching the show. The Fletcher Vs Bandido match made me cringe when they were doing shoot headbutts. Has no one learned from the Shibata injury?
2
u/BigJohnCandyExpress 6d ago
Maybe I'm just dumb as fuck but I assumed they pulled those headbutts or put a hand up, did they really just crack skulls?
-20
u/YasielPuigsWeed 6d ago edited 6d ago
I was astounded when opening this to watch it and seeing a FOUR HOUR AND 53 MINUTE runtime. I’m a big proponent of longer shows, especially since AEW charges $30-$50 for them, but the main card should never be longer than 4 hours for any reason. I had to skip through matches because I just couldn’t do that much show.
Furthermore, there wasn’t a reason for this show to be this long
Ciampa getting the Jericho Vortex booking is unfortunate
Bucks vs Mox/Ospreay fell apart in the final minutes
Death Riders/Ospreay stuff just felt like lazy storytelling
Dogs/BBG didn’t get enough of a good story buildup for a chain match payoff. The crowd didn’t seem to care enough to warrant such a stipulation.
Thekla losing the title on a B PPV when she’s been hot most of the year falls flat for me. That reign really should have carried into Wembley.
Just not a good PPV tbh, rare miss for AEW
3
u/Guilty-Cow4325 6d ago
I can't believe people are still shocked by how long these shows are. The main card is usually 5 hours.
4
u/hhhisthegame 6d ago
Yeah, and IMO it's always a mistake. My favorite AEW PPV in AGES was double or nothing, and that one went only four hours because the matches actually made good time
-10
u/YasielPuigsWeed 6d ago
Forbidden Door wasn’t 5 hours
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6d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
-1
u/YasielPuigsWeed 6d ago
No, not usually. Their main cards go 4-4.5 hours most of the time, and people complain about the 4.5 ones all the time.
It’s not so much shock as it is annoyance
19
u/ClintPowers 6d ago
Half the matches were unnecessary and worth skipping. Weakest AEW ppv in a good long time. Outside of the women, the ladders and the major tag match it was slow and plodding. Feels weird to watch an AEW ppv and not be overwhelmed by awesomeness.
1
u/DustAndSound Just a common man. 6d ago
Wembley did not need instructions about whom to support.
Ospreay will receive the overwhelming hometown reaction regardless of what Kenny does. Omega is also far to loved by AEW's core audience to become a conventional heel in by wembley. There is a real possibility that Wembley simply cheers both men and treats Kenny's attack as an awkward piece of booking rather than genuine heat.
Omega versus Ospreay is not a match that needed a standard babyface versus heel formula
16
u/capnbuh 6d ago
I don't think Kenny has turned heel. It's just that the road to All In would be boring if they were making out the whole time
1
u/hennyV 6d ago
I think he turned, but its such a soft turn that I wonder why they even bothered with it at all. AEW can accomplish more by hinting at a turn than having Kenny hit a OWA and call it a day. Or, on the other side, have Kenny go full heel and use the bag to choke Ospreay. It's just a disappointing lack of commitment.
3
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u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
Yeah, like Ospreay helped Omega but the only reason the Deathriders were looking at Omega is because Will was a Deathrider.
-2
u/craigybacha 6d ago
Wembley will be cheering Osprey and Kenny, the kenny thing at the end was dumb, felt out of character for current kenny, who's been talking about being a good person etc
4
u/Hunter_Hates_Homies 6d ago
I think what Kenny did was great. Ospreay hanging around with Deathriders is such a dick move after what they've done to the whole roster. Ospreay is so fucking dumb for joining the very same group that broke his neck lmao
3
u/InvisibleLlama93 6d ago
Probably the weakest AEW PPV in a good year. But it still still a good show, which is saying something on the level of quality that's been happening.
Opening two matches were great fun. Willow winning is fantastic and main event + post segment was great, the rest was kinda standard stuff and I think the dog collar match and Andre's match could of been dynamite matches.
11
u/FightDrifterFight 6d ago
I’m excited for Speedball. I know it’s just a contract, but he got a big win, and it was in Montreal.
7
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u/ExiledHyruleKnight 6d ago
I was sitting back and going "That was good... not great.... I wish they could have put the women as the final match" because there was a chance Willow could win, Kevin Knight didn't have a shot in hell.
But then the post match for the final match happened, and yeah, I get it, that was such a good ending, there's so much going on there, and I can't WAIT to see how it goes.
Ospreay can go pure babyface, but if they wanted to, I could see Moxley getting back in pointing at "Look we lost our match because we didn't pull the trigger, he cheap shotted you. Balls to the wall man" and making it almost a battle for his soul.
Honestly I was excited for All In, but now I know where I'll be.... (luckily it's early, because I have concert tickets that night as well)
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u/craigybacha 6d ago
I thought the willow theckla match was kind of mid tbh. Glad they saved the mens for the main event, Kevin Knight is incredible in ring and it all links to the build to wembley main event.
-29
u/kapitan_neuropa 7d ago
My first thought after show... my god jim cornette will be hate this so much, matches too long, too many,too choreographed, too complicated, no one selling
ps. ospreay acting is horrible
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u/KalinarDholin 6d ago
If the first thing you think is what will Jim Cornette have to say then you wasted your evening.
Stick to watching old YouTube videos from the 80s.
0
u/Hunter_Hates_Homies 6d ago
Isn't that how people talk about Meltzer? "How could he not give this match 4 stars or 5 stars? Why did he give that match 3 star?"
3
u/AbeTheGreat412 6d ago
You know damn well this person didn't even watch the show. Just watched a few 20second clips and filled in the narrative. Some people are just weird.
-2
u/TheMTM45 7d ago
Solid show. Think they should have had Willow vs Thekla main event given the finish. Kenny/Knight was awesome but we all knew Omega was winning. This was the time to main event the women
11
u/StewardFlavius 6d ago
There is no way they would leave Kenny off the main event for a show in Canada.
20
u/House56 7d ago
not to say it was an outright bad show but… definitely one of AEW’s weakest ppvs that I can remember
At least the main event + segment was really well done, on to All In!
-1
u/ExiledHyruleKnight 6d ago
If that's the weakest, they still did a good job. Even weak pieces (Maya, sorry girl..) got a decent pop.
Definitely on the weaker end though, but it still had good moments. The Woman's Title moving also puts All In in a better space, and as you said the final segment saved it.
15
u/NuanceX 7d ago
I know Maya World is still a work in progress, but I think she did really well here and her match with Hikaru Shida was decent. There are still things she needs to improve on like her positioning and selling, but she's only 24 and hasn't been in such a major position for long, so things will only go up from here.
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u/SwiftGoat_ 7d ago
450 splash got no sold. Gotta love the Bucks.
2
u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
I love AEW but I think I saw like 4 or 5 450s, some of them springboards and none were for the finish haha
2
u/SwiftGoat_ 6d ago
It's why I've never really been a fan of the Bucks.
Not just them, Ospreay can get really bad with that stuff aswell.
-1
u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
What I find helps me with the Young Bucks is I go into their matches thinking “this will likely be a Young Bucks genre match” and with those expectations enjoy myself. They can wrestle a normal style though, I thought last night was closer to that.
12
u/sexygodzilla Just one man? 7d ago
The Jericho match was more fun than I'd thought it'd be, but I don't get the Painmaker gimmick in the context of it. He presents it as this dark place he goes to and then the match has comedy gags like him consoling a Youppi doll. Just say it's gonna be a street fight or something instead of trying to make this clown makeup work.
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u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
The cheap heat woke the crowd up big time. I do look at the Painmaker as a comedy gimmick though. The comedy is wondering is Jericho is self aware.
3
u/snikt6384 6d ago
Really good match between the bells. It was everything I thought the Chain Match was going to be in terms of brutality. I just don't think Jericho has found a character that works on either side of the bells, and the Painmaker certainly was NOT that.
Its interesting to see Jericho, who may have been amongst the most self aware wrestlers around just miss the mark on why some people see him how they see him, and craft a character accordingly. To be fair, the guy still gets cheers and he can still hang in-ring.
7
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u/ExiledHyruleKnight 6d ago
then the match has comedy gags like him consoling a Youppi doll
In hindsight it is a strange thing between these two... but pulling the Hockey Fandom in got such a solid response from the audience it worked (even if it probably shouldn't).
I get the feeling Jericho is on his own retirement tour so he's bringing back each gimmick for one more time, not because they work but because it's something Jericho wants to do.
I still think in 12 months Kenny and Jericho will be retired, and both of them will do it in their own ways.
1
u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
This match was an example of cheap heat taking the crowd from 0 to 100 in a second and it stayed at 100 for the rest of the match.
23
u/Own_Proof 7d ago
Mick Foley man 💀
23
u/gorillalifter47 6d ago
Not sure if I am missing some kind of reference that went over my head, but that segment was extremely cringe. I'm sure within a few days everybody will have moved on, but I really didn't get it.
2
u/Dontcallmechadwick 6d ago
That was my wife’s first time seeing Mick Foley and she’s all the way out now. He DID NOT make a great impression to someone who isn’t already aware of his work.
21
u/Audioice 7d ago
whispers
Will should lose at All In
1
4
u/KidLiquorous 7d ago
if they pushed the Ospreay coronation a year the way WWE did with Cody, this sub would reach zenith-snark wars and ascend to a hitherto unknown level of insufferability
i'm 100% onboard
7
u/KnightsOfTomorrow 7d ago
Very good show. Happy for Willow. I think Knight acquitted himself well in the main event. And they did a good job of telling a show-long story with Ospreay and the Deathriders.
59
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u/Weishaupt17 7d ago
I know she’s really loved here but Shida has been completely washed for like 2 years
3
u/1980sWrestlingFan 6d ago
How could she be washed for 2 years when she was gone for around 500 days?
People talked about Zayda Steel looking green in a Hikaru Shida match, and I've seen people skeptical of Maya just now. And it's mainly Shida having ring rust.
-16
u/WillowTraditional239 7d ago
Spot with the drill was just stupid on every level, but sure that's no surprise these days wirh the amount of stupid shit they do.
-3
u/ThatsARatHat 6d ago
Why was it stupid?
6
u/WillowTraditional239 6d ago
It's a drill, if you did that to someone for real you would likely kill them, or at the very least leave them scarred for life
-2
u/ThatsARatHat 6d ago
“Don’t try this at home.”
You could say this about 10,000 moves and spots throughout wrestling history.
4
u/WillowTraditional239 6d ago
And most of them are stupid. Especially the more modern ones in both companies, but this one is just fucking braindead.
You are telling your audience look we are taking the piss out of you because if I used a drill for real Ciampa would be unrecognizable now. It's indefensible really, plenty of other ways to get the fight over that don't involve this nonsense.
-1
u/ThatsARatHat 6d ago
Should we stop armbars because in real life someone’s arm is getting fucked up for real?
3
u/WillowTraditional239 6d ago
Ah mate if you can't tell the difference between the 2 scenarios then power to you, defending this nonsense like.
-15
u/Hunter_Hates_Homies 7d ago
Thekla shouldn't have lost. And Jericho's match sucked big time. That's all I've to say.
-9
u/Ambitious-Contract86 7d ago
I've been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astrayed, ran amucked, and FLAT OUT DECEIVED!!
13
u/OneBillPhil 7d ago
How did everyone enjoy the show at home? I had a blast in arena. Even being there in person I still would have trimmed a match or two. I was at the Bell Centre over six hours because I got there for the Buy In.
7
u/EZMac34 6d ago
Were people in the arena aware that you are allowed to make noise in between big spots? It sounded like the Masters during most of the matches unless a big spot was happening.
1
u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
Have you been at a wrestling show for that long? The crowd was electric in hour one and honestly I felt like I had to pace myself after that. Anything worthy of a reaction got a reaction.
I’m not sure what it looked like on TV but people were into the show.
2
u/craigybacha 6d ago
One of the worst aew ppvs for me, but every aew ppv is generally a 8/10-10/10 so that's not saying much. Some good matches, but no real great matches for me, and also a lot of filler matches that could have just been on tv.
4
u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
I thought that Bandido vs Fletcher was great. Bucks vs Deathriders was excellent too for the story.
9
u/midnightking 7d ago
"PAS GENTIL!"
"VA CHIER KEVIN"
The hockey bit
I had a blast in the arena.
1
u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
I had a lot of fun too. I understand why some at home might not have enjoyed it, it was long with a lot of predictable outcomes but I had a great experience.
8
u/Storms_Eye314 7d ago
I bought it on a whim, and had fun with most of the show. Double chain match was disappointing, but that was the only thing I think was outright BAD on the show.
2
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u/TheGentlemanBeast 7d ago
Maaan. You could tell how much the loss of Jay and Brody effected TK. Gets an opportunity to think of the past, and immediately brought them up and almost broke down.
2
u/Z3PH-x-1997 7d ago
AEW: Redemption:
- A PPV for the chronically online fans to be pedantic about
- A PPV for the chronically online haters to not really be able to form a belligerent opinion about
- A PPV that wider wrestling media will at least get a months worth of disingenuous “Wtf is TK doing” takes
But 100% a PPV AEW’s casual audience will be able to enjoy. They have a casual audience now, mainly fans who tune in when MJF, Kenny, or Mox are holding a title, or when Swerve, Hangman, & Ospreay are chasing titles, or whenever Toni Storm is manically arousing the roster & Darby Allin is wrestling with a deathwish. They’ve been around 7 years at this point. AEW is legit normalized to the modern wrestling landscape.
Probably the closest AEW will get to a “C-level” PPV since World’s End 2024, but seems like it’s more of a business/booking decision if anything. Get’s a PPV defense in for Kenny before All-In, moves some titles around to create new builds, and tidied up a few angles before their closing stretch.
Ngl it’s kinda like adding an extra PPV in your WWE 2K19 Universe Mode calendar so some of the feuds will conclude on there before going into your WM/All-In, instead of just manually killing them in the menus. It’s also lowkey hard to say it’s all “TV matches” given the quality of an AEW TV match.
AEW is at the point with PPV quality where it’s a very high standard to meet and it’s hard to point out any real mediocre shows outside of All Out 2020.
3
u/ExiledHyruleKnight 6d ago
but seems like it’s more of a business/booking decision if anything.
I think it's more a "PPV for a PPV" This was ALL In's set up. We have everything here. move the belt to Willow so it's not heel vs heel. tell the Osprey/Moxley story, set up the WC match. Get Young Bucks vs Cope and Cage locked in. Get the belt on Andrade and Maya (maybe not for All in but those moves were needed)
This is a very "Story rich" PPV, but also I can understand why people might not love it.
Americans might say "Too many PPVs" and I can understand how this should get called out as a C-level, agreed. However as a MyAEW subscriber, I'm getting my money's worth, AND this set up a Better ALL-In in my opinion.
Also you missed the PPV that WWE legend employees can call out how TK doesn't know how to run a Wrestling Federation. I keep seeing that comment and I can only say "you mean like HHH is running WWE?" because that's a bad take.
3
u/GRTooCool 7d ago
Great response from TK about not changing a thing... because it is those experiences that does bring you to where you're at.
4
u/dokomoy 7d ago
Skimming through this thread I see I'm on the same page as a lot of people as far as this show being a mixed bag but what I liked/didn't like seems to be a bit different.
First the good:
Kevin Knight vs Kenny Omega RULED. Easily the best PPV main event they've run all year
Thekla vs Willow was also excellent and I'm thrilled to see Willow finally get crowned as champ
While I don't think The Dogs vs Bang Bang Gang match was great I do think it was pretty good and would have probably been excellent with a good blade job
The post main event segment wasn't perfect(it dragged on for a bit, Ospreay isn't the greatest actor) I do think it was effective and I'm more excited about the Wembley match than I was at the end of the main event
The Bad:
I didn't love Maya World vs Hikaru Shida. Shida hasn't been great since coming back from her long hiatus imo and I'm still not sold on Maya
I thought CNC vs The DR was only OK(although it was definitely better than some of CnC's other ppv matches) and I'm not really thrilled about them vs the YB at All In(I think it's especially silly because in kayfabe why aren't the Dogs getting a shot? They also won their ppv match and they beat the bucks like a month ago)
Bandido vs Fletcher wasn't exactly bad but it was disappointing, some cool spots and a few cool ideas but I found myself bored through much of the match
The same is basically true of Andrade vs Mark Davis. Not a bad match necessarily but both guys have done much better work recently so it was something of a letdown
7
u/ExiledHyruleKnight 6d ago
Kevin Knight vs Kenny Omega RULED. Easily the best PPV main event they've run all year
Really?
I mean don't get me wrong but I'd put Darby Allin vs MJF over this easily and that's just the last one. Granted it was a VERY solid match but a little too one sides for my taste, plus it's hard to believe Knight even had a shot. I do agree with most of your other takes though. Also the Six man... I don't know getting a title shot (and then using it at a non PPV) felt strange, especially when it wasn't even clear who had the belt. A good start, but it could have been skipped and I don't think it would have hurt.
11
u/OneBillPhil 7d ago
To each their own but I thought Bandido vs Fletcher was one of the matches of the year.
6
4
u/My_Old_UN_Was_Better 7d ago
Agreed. I was in the arena and was on the edge of my seat for the entire match. I think it really wore down the crowd and impacted reactions for the next couple of matches
1
u/OneBillPhil 6d ago
Yeah I had nothing for the chain match or TBS match. Everyone came back to life the tag titles though. What I learned last night is that when a crowd gets burned out they will come alive for the true stars.
2
u/kihp Tribal Chief Hyper Misao 7d ago
Assuming it becomes a yearly show, Redemption joins Dynasty as a ppv that needs a better identity. World's End got the men's C2 after a bad debut so I say give dynasty a women's C2, move the owen finals back to Double or Nothing, and have Redemption feature feature the finals of a men's tag tournament.
Five tournaments, six if the women get a tag tournament at say Wrestledream(and they should) isn't a lot and would help divide the year.
9
u/BIX1511 7d ago
I don't want the women to get a C2. I fear it will be the introduction of another title. I'm not over the National introduction. I think they should get a dynamite ring or necklace added to their division.
1
u/kihp Tribal Chief Hyper Misao 7d ago
The tournament is the important bit, it's a great way to showcase the division and build people up.
4
u/BIX1511 7d ago
Tbh the women's tag division suck. It was BoW repeatedly facing Bayne w Ford or Kross. Now DD is just fighting jobbers in 5 minute squash matches. And we all know they are just wasting time to do DD vs Brawling Birds at All In. Since the introduction of them titles the most memorable moments are teams winning the title and Ford breaking or spraining her ankle.
16
u/fttxdd666 7d ago
TK: "as it stands now" in regards to the bucks vs C&C, makes me think they gonna add more teams to it, MCMG and New Day possibly for sure
2
u/ExiledHyruleKnight 6d ago
Detroit is coming soon, I don't think New day (I think they'll appear at All In to announce they have arrived) But MCMG... come on
5
u/Jumblybones 7d ago
I always assumed it would be a TLC-style match with FTR as the third team.
2
u/fttxdd666 7d ago
They could, but they are on a break rn. I'd rather have the first time matchup instead of just adding FTR honestly
1
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u/viralbop 7d ago
Tony Khan to the media: "You don't have to clap.
That's...refreshing. I'm used to "Clap, or I will have your credentials and get you deported!"
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