Game changer is a word that gets thrown around way too often in the world of professional wrestling.
While we as fans should not deny our enthusiasm to see a wrestler jump ship from one promotion to another, not all wrestlers are created equal in terms of “impact.”
Last night at Big Business, Mercedes Mone (fka Sasha Banks) made her debut for AEW. This show wasn’t just your usual AEW “lights on, lights off” or “who’s music is that?” debut most new signings in AEW get (and for the most part these have all worked well). No, this was a hand-crafted, purposefully curated show built around not just the debut of Mercedes Mone but giving her multitude of fans and loyalists a taste of everything All Elite Wrestling is all about.
It was a show that featured familiar faces for WWE fans (Renee Paquette, Samoa Joe, Chris Jericho), the new hotness of AEW (Okada, Will Ospreay), new-ish faces (Hook, Wardlow, Willow Nightingale) and AEW mainstays (The Bucks, Eddie Kingston, Penta). It also illustrated the wide array of styles AEW presents, and just how different this company is from WWE.
It also signaled a distinct change in philosophy and presentation of women’s wrestling in AEW. While, this show has historically featured women in the main event (this time of year saw the two Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa matches), Big Business was a definitive statement. Not only did Mercedes Mone get a celebration rivaled only to CM Punk at The First Dance, but she opened and closed the show — something very few in AEW have done on their first night.
Big Business also signified the beginning of a working relationship between All Elite Wrestling and Stardom — as Tony Khan announced on Twitter.
The division that has historically struggled to find television real estate now has a massive international star with a proven track record of doing “big business” and being a history maker. This combined with the hiring of Jennifer Pepperman as a top creative team member, and the organic evolution of young talent like Julia Hart, Skye Blue, Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale with the meteoric rise of “Timeless” Toni Storm — this division is on a brand-new trajectory. Oh, and let’s not forget Dr. Britt Baker DMD and Jamie Hayter are both on the sideline and will be back soon — which is absolutely massive.
As for Mercedes Mone herself, she came off as you’d expect, an unabashed star. She has the look, the swagger, the aura, the vibe, and the people in the palm of her hand. Not since the 2021 debuts of Punk, Cole and Danielson has someone come off as the biggest thing since sliced bread in AEW (I exclude Ospreay and Okada because they have worked in the company before).
Now onto Big Business itself…
Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe for the AEW World Heavyweight Title: A good match, that may have been a bit limited by the injuries to Wardlow. He definitely seemed more bandaged and braced on his legs than usual, and it definitely dinged the match a bit. Samoa Joe retains with an excellent finish — jumping on Wardlow’s back and choking the big man down to the mat for the tap. Wardlow looks like a monster still, but his future is very, very unclear. Meanwhile, Samoa Joe and Swerve Strickland have a date with destiny real soon.
Swerve Strickland Promo: Despite Mercedes, Okada and Ospreay being on the show — it’s still Swerve’s house. Dude is still super over as the crowd loves him and want so desperately to win the title. What’s great about Swerve is the shades of grey his character walks in. He walks that line between heel and face so well, and one has to hope for some sort of violent clash between he and Joe at Dynasty.
The Young Bucks and “The Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada vs. Eddie Kingston, “The Bastard” PAC and Penta El Cero Miedo: A ludicrously smooth match. The Young Bucks are working the heel EVP characters to utter perfection. You just love to hate these guys, and that’s when The Bucks are at their best. Okada, a man some questioned if he could be a heel, is just wonderful as the classic Ric Flair golden boy work rate heel. He’s just so natural in the role and you can tell he’s enjoying himself in the ring. Eddie Kingston is the perfect foil to Okada and next week is going to be a banger. Pac and Penta hopefully will be in tag tournament because that’ll add some needed juice to that tournament.
Will Ospreay Promo: Bruv. Will Ospreay is easily the biggest pure babyface in AEW right now. While we’ve never considered him a “promo guy” he’s had tremendous flashes throughout his career. So far in AEW, he’s batting 1000. This promo was brilliant, bruv. His match with Bryan Danielson was already must-see, but now, it’s even bigger due to Will’s words.
Darby Allin vs. Switchblade Jay White: Darby Allin has fully embraced the spirit of Sting. He did everything within his power to make Jay White — a man in desperate need a fresh coat of paint — look like an absolute killer and an absolute POS. Jay is so good in the ring, but his recent programs have overshadowed that — even his great run in the Continental Classic. The MJF program and this Bang Bang Scissor Gang run hurt his standing in the company, but now that corner has been turned. Let’s have the Trios belts unified at Supercard of Honor and let Bullet Club Gold run wild.
Deonna Purrazzo Promo: Short. Sweet. Effective. Deonna has lust zero luster despite the arrival of Mercedes and losing to Toni Storm. Good booking will do that for you.
“Jerihook” aka Hook and “Lion Heart” Chris Jericho vs. The Gates of Agony: This did more for the Gates than it did Jerihook. Toa and Kaun coming out in the traditional warrior king garb of their ancestors was a great look and shows to me that AEW is investing more and more into these two (as they should). Don’t be shocked if these two aren’t holding tag gold by year’s end. Hook looked good here and is stepping his game up — although his match with Cage last week was much better. Then there’s the Chris Jericho of it all. The King of Re-Invention needs a good four plus months off. Have him return as a surprise partner for someone for Wembley Stadium, or at Arthur Ashe or something down the road. Jericho has been a mainstay on AEW for over five years, and with the glut of talent they have right now, he can take time off to heal his body, reinvent himself, and allow the fans to care again. Maybe he loses to Hook next week and goes away.
The Main Event of AEW Big Business – Riho vs. Willow Nightingale: Willow was a regular in the New England indie scene, so it’s awesome to see her here. This may have been the best and smoothest match of Willow’s AEW run and she came off looking like the star she should be. Riho is just a workhorse for AEW. She’s super over and always reliable. She’s AEW’s Rey Mysterio, but sadly she’s never consistently on TV. Let’s hope that all changes now. Run don’t walk to see these two women absolutely beat the hell out of each other. Willow scores the W a gigantic and vicious Babe with the Powerbomb.
Final Thoughts: The last two weeks of Dynamites have been nothing less than amazing. That feeling? Oh, my friend, it’s totally restored.
