Mox/Jericho could save this show for me. Darby/Sammy, MJF/Cody, and PAC/Orange have all been varying levels of good, with the rest ranging from meh (Hager/Dustin) to infuriating (tag titles) to embarrassing (Nyla/Statlander). 

A choir version of Jericho's entrance?

This needs to be double juice.   Bring out the weapons for this one

 

I don't know if I agree with the decision to put the world title on Mox, but he is def a big draw and at least for the night, it was the right decision because the crowd was bummed by MJF and Pac winning. 

I loved this match. Jericho put over Mox big time, credit to le (former?) Champion for that.

Solid ME, tipped the show overall into a positive for me. They need to convince the usual suspects that 40 minutes of a Street Fighter match does not make for a great wrestling match, or that Nyla Rose isn't a liability in waiting.

I loved the  show overall. The main event was great, Pac-Cassidy was great, Guevera-Allin was awesome. I thought Cody-MJF was fine - and I don't think it's their first match - and all the other matches were solid. They also did a great job of building storylines further and creating interest in what's going to happen next. AEW are stumbling here and there but they are definitely on the right path imo. 

Tag match was the highlight for me - loved the way they worked in the callbacks to Golden Lovers-Bucks to enhance the story, with Matt being the hothead again but in the heel role. Nothing was following that. An all-time classic, easily the best AEW match in history at the moment.

Great show on the whole, even if Cody-MJF didn't get all the way there and Mox-Jericho was also a little under expectations. Well-timed, too, with nothing really outstaying its welcome.

Also, holy fuck, I'm going to be live for a WAR GAMES.

It's amazing how much different a show feels when the stars are allowed to be stars and the focus isn't on the all important BRAND. Everything had meaning and the fans were invested rather than being punished for getting behind the wrong guys.

Liked the show overall. Thought the tag match was great, if not a little bit overkill. The Bucks are just so much better as heels I don't understand why they don't just go with it all the time. Page is now a made guy. I thought Cody MJF was perfectly ok,  but maybe a little underwhelming for how hyped I came into the match for. Ditto for the main event. Nyla Rose is going to kill somebody, seriously she's strong as a brick shit house and as awkward as a baby giraffe, thats not a safe combination. Orange Cassidy might not be my cup of tea, but he is as over as any comedy act I've ever seen. 

What a great PPV. What’s so crucial about AEW for me is that they’re absolutely relentless in getting everyone over. Not in the shitty Russo way of shoehorning terrible programs into the undercard but highlighting everyone’s strengths and, more importantly, having the patience to spotlight the right people and the right time. This was the exact right time to kick into the second part of Orange Cassidy’s gimmick and, even in defeat, the dude was pretty much made. In 6 months, they could have him opposite the World Champion and it would be fully earned and everyone would be fully invested in the story. There is a slight whiff of self-indulgence about these bigger matches but fuck man, they do so much right that you can turn a blind eye to it. And we’re finally going to get The Inner Circle vs AEW War Games match! I love how they’re spotlighting specific episodes of TV in between their major shows. It’s a real Clash of the Champions vibe.

That Darby suicide dive headbutt thing was so strange. One of the least believable offensive moves I've ever saw I think. Took me out of the match unfortunately. 

Anyway it was a pretty good card otherwise. Thought the main was great and although I'd rather have saw Jericho retain I think the reaction to the Moxley win certainly justified it. 

Orange cassidy rapidly becoming star of the show for me is pretty unexpected.

Spot of the night was Ortiz bumping for Aubrey ejecting them from ringside.

12 minutes ago, Dale Wolfe said:

That Darby suicide dive headbutt thing was so strange. One of the least believable offensive moves I've ever saw I think. Took me out of the match unfortunately. 

I thought the commentators did a good job of saving the spot. Darby is so good at selling and garnering sympathy that botches don't seem too jarring to me. That pop when he hit the Coffin Drop was ridiculous.

Six months ago, if you'd have told me that there was going to be a match involving Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks and Adam Page in AEW and that the most popular person out of the four participants would be Adam Page...and the Young Bucks would actually get booed for working him over, I would thought you were crazy and never believed it in a million years.  But there it was.

I've always liked Adam Page but I've loved watching him come into his own and slowly gain in popularity based on his natural charisma, unscripted promos and skill.  It's too bad that because this wasn't planned or a creation of management, we know that he's going to basically get punished for getting over on his own, so AEW won't push him.

Oh wait that's right...this isn't WWE.  You can actually get over in AEW based on your own work and they won't bury you for it.  What an unheard of and revolutionary concept.

I haven't seen the show yet but I would have thought that the long term way to go was to have Jericho hold the belt until All Out and Page be the one to take it on the one year anniversary of his big loss. But I can also see why they would go all in with Moxley considering that he has established himself as a ratings draw and clearly showed in WWE that he could've been a franchise player if they got behind him. Hopefully they have the Page/Omega/Bucks feud well planned out and realise that the end goal should be to establish Hangman as the top babyface for 2021 or so. They're doing really well but for the company to get to the next level, they need a breakout star and he's probably the closest they have who is a fresh face to audiences.

Am I alone in thinking that Darby/Sammy was the best match on the show?

30 minutes ago, akira maeda said:

Am I alone in thinking that Darby/Sammy was the best match on the show?

It was right up there, IMO. You could make an argument for that or the tag match and I'd be fine with it.

4 hours ago, akira maeda said:

Am I alone in thinking that Darby/Sammy was the best match on the show?

It had a guy getting a skateboard thrown off his head so yeah, it was up there.

 

Personal match rankings:

1. Omega/Page v. Young Bucks
2. Pac v. Orange Cassidy
3. Darby Allin v. Sammy Guevara
4. Moxley v. Jericho
5. MJF v. Cody
6. Hager v. Dustin
7. Nyla Rose v. Statlander

Only seven matches! And agreed with the tweetman. Maybe I'd revisit one of the top three matches above someday, so it wasn't a show with MOTYCs, but I still had a lot of fun with this. Don't love dropping $50/event, but if they hold it to four or five a year, I could probably justify it (certainly helps when they are as well built to as this one).

The problems I have with all the kickouts in this generation of wrestling is somehow lessened during a tag match, so last night's really worked for me. Must be the suspension of disbelief isn't completely ruined because most pin attempts are broken up by a partner.

 

My personal top 3 of the show is 1) Allin v. Sammy; 2) Cassidy v. Pac; and 3) Jericho-Mox. I think the crowd really elevated Darby-Sammy to another different level.

Ranking from most enjoyed to least...

1) Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara, 2) Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho, 3)PAC vs. Orange Cassidy, 4) Cody vs. MJF, 5)Omega/Page vs. Young Bucks, 6)Jake Hager vs. Dustin, 7)Nyla Rose vs. Kris Statlander

The drop from the first 4 to the bottom 3 is pretty steep for me, too. The tag match had me going more than any Omega match I've ever seen before...until it became every other Omega match and just went full Return of the King for the last 15 minutes. 

Some wholesome content for the day - 

 

Thought the show was terrific. Hager-Dustin and Nyla-Statlander disappointed and Cody-MJF was a bit of a mixed bag, but everything else I think fired on all cylinders. The tag title match in particular was tremendous. Solid MOTYC for me and honestly one of the best U.S. tags I've ever seen.

On 3/1/2020 at 4:52 AM, sek69 said:

Excalibur getting in a Worker Ant reference made me chuckle.

Fire Ant, not Worker Ant

Tony got the line of the night: "I have said it before, I identify with Orange Cassidy because, he doesn't seem to give a rats ass and many days I don't either, so... I'm with you, man."

The Cody vs. MJF match was hit-and-miss. It had the right direction as long as MJF was in control, when Cody was, not so much. Why did he go for a roll-up pinfall within the first two minutes of the match? Why did he do that Orton pose? Etc. With MJF winning, maybe you could spin it that Cody after all still did not take MJF seriously enough, but I am sure that was not the intention. I don't know if the fault is on Cody's side or it was bad agenting, probably a bit of both. The timing of MJF's blade job also seemed weird. Disaster Kick -> halt of the match due to Wardlow interference and AA shenanigans -> MJF stands up with the crimson mask.