This week is the fallout from the AEW Beach Break editions of Dynamite and Collision. On Dynamite, Kenny Omega defeated MJF to become AEW World Champion once again. While on Collision, Mark Davis retained the National Championship against “SpeedBall” Mike Bailey in an unreal match. The end of July features a new PPV, Redemption, which feels like a pitstop on the road to AEW All In at Wembley Stadium.
The Boston crowd was hot, and a venue (MGM Music Hall at Fenway) like this felt perfect for the show. Very similar to the Hammerstein and other settings in which the show feels more intimate for the live crowd.
The show begins with a backstage promo featuring the Death Riders. Jon Moxley once more served as a mentor, continuing to provide real-world advice for Will Ospreay. It seems Ospreay has embraced the teachings of what the Death Riders represent.
This has been interesting for the stable. While not explicitly faces or heels, letting fans decide whether to love or hate them depending on the situation. As evidenced by the first match, Wheeler Yuta and Daniel Garcia might be hated forever. At least Yuta will be. They challenged for the AEW Men’s World Tag Team Championships, but fell short to Adam Copeland and Christian Cage. Good and entertaining match. However, the post-match saw some drama unfold as the trio of the Dogs attacked, but The Bang Bang Gang made the save. Christian didn’t seem too happy with Jay White and Copeland being all buddy buddy.
Keen-eyed fans will notice a running theme lately: wrestlers like Cope and Cage pulling off shenanigans during their matches, appearing as though they are being themselves. Goofy smirks, cynical shoulder shrugs—it’s refreshing to see the seriousness level lowered in the right environments.
Promo featuring Andrade El Idolo. He’s chilling out. As the man should, Tranquilo…
Backstage with Renee Paquette, he shows off a gift from a friend: MJF’s Dynamite Diamond Ring. She insinuates his “friend” is Will Ospreay. He replies, “How you know?”
Brilliant.
Backstage: The Conglomeration offer to defend the AEW Trios Championships, but are confronted by The Demand, and then blindsided by Lethal Twist. It seems Jay Lethal, Blake Christian, and Lee Johnson might be aligned with Ricochet?
Andrade defeated Jake Doyle
Excellent match, Doyle is a big ol’ beast. After a very long and hard-fought match, Andrade gets the win with a beautiful combination of a boot, an elbow strike, followed by the underhook DM driver. National Champion Mark Davis arrives to confront El Idolo ahead of their confrontation at Redemption.
This is the best version of Andrade. Better than his first run in AEW, even better than his NXT run. The guy truly looks great and seems amazingly comfortable and happy in his role of Tranquilo. Maybe there really is something to this sort of lifestyle…
Kenny Omega Celebration Segment:
It’s challenging to do babyface “celebrations” since segments like this typically involve bragging about a win and promoting oneself for being the best. We got around this with Omega showing appreciation to the fans and the company, and being thankful for being healthy enough to keep doing what he loves. The Young Bucks came out and put Kenny over as “The Best Bout Machine.”
They admit they don’t feel comfortable with the version of the championship around his waist, so they replace MJF’s Triple B with the bona-fide AEW Men’s World Heavyweight Championship. This brings out Will Ospreay who massively praises Kenny, bringing up their history, capped off with Ospreay admitting he admires Omega to a level he can’t surpass but hopes to come fractionally close. Ospreay is a promo house of fire. Between him and the Jackson brothers, it seems Omega may not have been aware of the level of praise he was going to receive.
This shifts dramatically as Kevin Knight interrupts, demanding he get his World Title Match. While Kenny initially blows off the upstart, saying he has no intention of fulfilling a promise made by MJF. Then conversation turns to Knight’s alignment with Don Callis. Kenny takes the promo to history, where he shares his allegiance with Don Callis but also acknowledges it ate his soul and in the end, he was a pawn. He tells Knight to expunge this darkness and reclaim his soul. Knight doesn’t want to hear it. He wants a title match and will do anything to get one. Kenny offers one last bit of caution: Knight better bring the version of himself who can do it alone.
Knight attacks Omega, prompting Ospreay to chase him off. The rest of the Don Callis Family arrive but are stopped by the arrival of the Death Riders. Omega is unsure what to make of this, and this certainly adds to the drama. Next week on Dynamite, a trio from the DCF will face World Champion Omega, Will Ospreay, and Jon Moxley.
That’s a main event team for you.
Promo by “Jungle” Jack Perry: He’s ready for his next chapter, and it begins on Collision.
Brodido defeated Nick Comoroto and Aaron Solo
COMOROTO! Yeah! Haven’t seen him in a long time. Another beasty dude, would have loved to see him with more opportunity if possible
Brodido teed off on their opponents, winning with a double splash. Bandido is freakishly strong, lifting Comoroto over his head for a press slam is ungodly
Backstage: They bump into Kyle Fletcher and Okada. It seems Fletcher and Bandido will collide at Redemption.
Kyle Fletcher retains the AEW International Championship against Komander
What a match. Yes, Komander wasn’t going to win, but damn did they look good. My one critique is that at times Fletcher portrayed himself as a “big man” like Samoa Joe or Shibata who would no-sell strikes during a long match. If this was the opener, sure, but ten minutes in, both men should be vulnerable. I say the same when Mox does it. No-selling hurts more than helps. Besides this, they have unbelievable chemistry in both ground and aerial moves. The Super Destroyer, a 450, and some ridiculous floor dives had the live crowd and I imagine fans at home on their feet. Fletcher took a nasty bump on the announce table, appearing to slice his midsection open. If Kenny was watching, he might get PTSD. A ridiculous exchange in counters saw Fletcher finally hit his brainbuster for the win.
Fletcher showed no honor; he tried ripping off the mask, but Konosuke Takeshita rushed out for the save, only for Okada to run out as well. Brody King and Bandido rush out as well. In the aftermath, Okada and Fletcher have a brief staredown with the International Championship.
Backstage: Darby Allin tells Kenny Omega he is wasting his time trying to talk sense into Kevin Knight. Jon Moxley arrives with some cryptic words of his own.
The Brawling Birds come out for a promo, stating they will make their way to All In by any means.
Backstage promos: Ahead of their proposed final clash at Redemption, Chris Jericho and Tommaso Ciampa ready themselves. While Ciampa promises to show his hand on Collision, Jericho reveals he is bringing The Painmaker persona.
It’s been a long time. This will end in blood, fire, or both.
Darby Allin defeated “The Machine” Brian Cage
Darby gets bounced around like one of those smashballs we played with in middle school, before outsmarting the big man to get the win. Cage is a brute of brutes. Despite a loss, he never fails to be intimidating. Can’t have Cage lose too many times, the intimidation will fade.
Speedball tries talking sense to The Jet but he doesn’t want to hear it. Knight claims to be sick and tired of everyone trying to talk him out of his decisions.
Mercedes Mone, Megan Bayne, and Lena Kross defeated Willow Nightingale, Maya World, and Hyan
Excellent match. Don’t sleep on Hyan. While she has not seen a lot of ring time since Maya World went singles, she is not one to dismiss. Her spear looks believable. While not the same height as Bayne and Kross, close enough to be a challenge for the tag champs. All six women put on one hell of a main event. Mone and the tag champs have great cohesive chemistry with their tandem moves, making everything look seamless. Team Willow seemed to survive an onslaught, the Divine Dominion hulked up to throw their opponents with suplexes and powerslams. Hyan was left with Mone who seemed to escape a finisher into the Mone Maker for the pinfall.
Mone vs. Willow at All In is going to be huge. On any other PPV I could see it as the main event. But we know this spot will be Omega vs. Ospreay.
