The following is an opinion-based preview and reflects the views of the author and not our website.
Yet again, friends, AEW finds itself wrapped up in yet another unnecessary, self-created mess of a media cycle. Forget The Masters: this is fast becoming a tradition unlike any other.
The focus, yet again, is not on the excellent card for Sunday’s Dynasty (8 PM Eastern on PPV from St. Louis), but on more exhausting behind-the-scenes intrigue.
Showing the CM Punk/Jack Perry footage from All In nearly two weeks ago on Dynamite was a mistake, full stop. As much as I respect pettiness, and God knows I do, this was a low floor, low ceiling decision and exactly the type of decision they would be wise to avoid.
How exactly did seeing this footage change anything for the better? All it did was put Punk’s name on the tip of the wrestling world’s tongue (though to be fair, it is frequently there). There were no Punk chants at AEW shows, but there are now. It was a short-sighted play with negative long-term fallout.
Even though the Young Bucks and FTR did their best by spinning it into the storyline, the damage was done. It’s a wrestling truism that there’s no such thing as bad heat, but I’d argue that a returning Perry getting showered with chants for a wrestler from a rival promotion is exactly that. It makes everyone involved look small.
If this article ran on The Ringer, it would be titles “Winners and Losers of the Jungle Boy/CM Punk footage.” The only winner? Punk, of course. Brandon Thurston said it best: he really is a top guy in two companies. The sooner the obsession with the past ends, the better for everyone in AEW.
With my soapbox put away, let’s run through another promising AEW pay-per-view card with some main card predictions:
FTW Champion Hook defends against Chris Jericho
No matter the question, the answer is never “more Chris Jericho.” That is not a panacea for what ails AEW or anyone, really. He is a vampire getting undeserved regular TV and PPV time at the expense of both a talented roster and the audience’s respect. Look at what the other wrestling legends in AEW are doing. Christian Cage is doing the best work of his career and helping elevate younger wrestlers. Adam Copeland is doing the same. Jericho does what he does for one person, himself. Not being on TV is a fate worse than death to him.
Even though this isn’t the best opponent for Hook, matches on big shows like this are necessary for his growth and should have been happening far sooner. The chaos agent inside me wants Jericho to win but I simply will not have it.
Prediction: Hook retains
Adam Copeland, Mark Briscoe, & Eddie Kingston vs. House of Black (Malakai Black, Buddy Matthews & Brody King)
Copeland, Briscoe, and Kingston are just three guys being dudes. Copeland and Briscoe are brimming with some of the most powerful dad energy on television. Pair that with Kingston bringing his trademark level of chaos makes for a wonderful juxtaposition.
Most of their backstage interviews go something like this:
- Copeland: Standard wrestling promo with a corny joke
- Briscoe: “God is good.”
- Kingston: “Malakai Black, you looked at me with both eyes and where I come from, that means one of us has to die and it’s not going to be me.”
House of Black works so well as a trio because they each bring something completely different that plays to their strengths. Matthews is a muscle hamster that moves with incredible power and suddenness (him vs. PAC again soon, please), Black brings striking and aura, and then, there is King.
The king is saved for last because he’s, well, he’s the best. People yearn for Matthews and Black singles runs, but I want nothing more than Big Bad Brody King to get some solo shine. Equal parts powerful and agile, he is a throwback to a territory-style hoss; one tailor-made for either a TNT or International title reign. He had the mixed tag against Copeland on Wednesday, and I’d love to see this match lead to something there.
Prediction: Copeland, Briscoe & Kingston
AEW Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada defends against PAC
AEW is better when PAC is around. Hell, wrestling is better when PAC is around. Still one of the most enthusiastic sellers and explosive performers in modern wrestling, his return makes us realize how much he was missed. There’s always a place in wrestling for someone this angry.
His anger is different than Eddie Kingston’s. Where Kingston is generally perturbed, PAC seems angry that others dare even inhabit his world. Their existence is a source of disgust to him. Other than when the bell rings, my favorite part about the PAC experience is that he always looks the same with black trunks and bicep bands. That’s it and that’s all. I can’t even picture him wearing anything other than his ring gear, let alone something with a collar. Regardless, I’m thrilled he’s back if you couldn’t tell.
The arrival of Okada in AEW is one of the better presentations for a debut in recent memory. There was no time wasted when he formally showed up as he immediately rocked Kingston, aligned with The Elite, and won a championship. There was no pandering to the crowd, no happy to be here promos; just a whole bunch of being a smug jerk, which is Okada’s perfect character alignment. It allows him to work to his strengths: lengthy, control-focused matches with memorable finishing stretches. He is far more charismatic and interesting playing this role compared to being a generic babyface.
This suits him well, and so does having a championship. He’ll keep it this weekend.
Prediction: Okada retains
AEW International Champion Roderick Strong defends against Kyle O’Reilly
O’Reilly is another wonderful return. I have, depressingly, been consuming wrestling long enough to have seen the entirety of O’Reilly’s career. We are similar in age and seeing him grow from a young boy to a full-grown man with a family resonates.
There are moments when we observe someone navigating life’s challenges in a spotlight that amplifies their experiences, mirroring our own. It fosters a unique sense of connection and empathy, knowing that we travel parallel paths through life’s hurdles, both public and private. His triumphant return to the ring is inspiring and a testament to the indomitable will to pursue one’s dreams.
At 40 years old, Strong is still a certifiable monster. A cardio king with an unlimited gas tank, he should be wrestling regularly on TV and having killer matches. Orange Cassidy made this the International title a workhorse title, and there are few better than Strong to carry that mantle forward. He is made for TV matches, ones that are crazy sprints full of non-stop moves. That’s kind of his bag, bay.
This is his first real match since he won the title in early March, odd since this was the title that used to be defended weekly on the non-Rampage shows. That needs to continue. There are too many belts in AEW, but this one deserves far more attention than it’s currently getting.
As much as I love O’Reilly and am thrilled to see him back doing what he loves, big Rod Strong needs to keep the title
Prediction: Strong retains
TBS Champion Julia Hart defends against Willow Nightingale
This is Willow’s moment. She is as good as babyfaces get and is ready for a title. In some ways, she is the nice version of Kingston as fans relate to her similarly to how they relate to him. She is genuine and vulnerable on the microphone (her Dynamite promo a few weeks ago was the best she’s had), but a killer between the ropes. The approaches couldn’t be more different, but they connect with the audience at similar levels.
Hart’s TBS title reign has been fine as are most first-time title reigns. But, Hart has stayed dripping with superstar potential. Not many 22-year-olds can say they had a months-long title reign on TV. Even if it was just a fine run, those reps are invaluable towards her getting to her ceiling as a performer. The presentation and presence are already realized, the rest should come in time.
These are two people who the women’s division in AEW should be built around in the years to come. Julia had her run and it’s time for Willow to have hers.
Prediction: Nightingale wins the title
Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay
The Ospreay haters must have been fuming when Danielson, the Lisan al Gaib of wrestling, lavished him with the highest of praise:
“He has such a great grasp of what the modern professional wrestling fan wants. When I see him, I think he’s the best wrestler in the world for modern wrestling fans as far as what they enjoy.”
As always, our king speaks the truth. Often, you can distill the best Ospreay match down to five minutes and get 95% of the experience. We have attention spans shorter than a goldfish, so of course a dude that has between seven and ten jaw-dropping moments of athleticism per match resonates. The dopamine-addled brains of modern society, mine included, can’t handle much more than that. Many of you probably picked up your phone while reading this paragraph. I don’t take it personally, I did the same thing writing it. We can’t focus, we can’t just be.
In a word full of inattention, Ospreay might just be the best wrestler for it.
But he’s not because he is wrestling the best wrestler in the world and the best wrestler of all time in Danielson. It will be interesting to compare this match to the Ospreay/Kenny Omega matches that received so much attention last year. In many ways, Ospreay is the Pokemon evolution of Omega in that both are explosive, athletic marvels with unlimited stamina and adamantium necks. Both are top 1% athletes, pushing the limits of what a human body can do in the ring without exploding.
Danielson is none of those things. He approaches wrestling with far more subtlety. An artist of the highest form, he grinds, stretches, and strikes his opponents until he breaks their will and spirit. In other words, he is the stylistic opposite of Ospreay who just hits his opponents with bomb after bomb.
The best wrestler of all time vs. perhaps the best modern wrestler happens Sunday. This is as big of a match as AEW can put on, and I can’t wait.
Prediction: Ospreay
Young Bucks vs. FTR in a ladder match for the vacant AEW Tag Team titles
I already went long about the All In footage earlier so I won’t belabor that point. It’s too bad that it’s overshadowing another match between two of the best tag teams ever.
Since I was critical up front, let me play my own devil’s advocate and offer a more…generous reading of the decision to air the footage. The previous match at All In for whatever reason didn’t click. It didn’t feel like anything we hadn’t seen before. It felt like an empty exhibition rather than an emphatic third match in a trilogy. It was certainly good. but it wasn’t at the level we all know it could be. Weaving in the excuse, no matter how thin, that what happened backstage at All In had an impact on the quality of the match works if you really squint. It does lean into what the Young Bucks do better than almost anyone else: making the audience want to see them get beat up.
No one takes a beating like Matt and Nick Jackson. They’ve been doing it around the world for years and it always works. Sting’s retirement match was nearly perfect, and a ton of credit for that goes to the Bucks who did everything humanly possible to make Sting look like a hero going out. They are weasly, they are slimy, and they are just begging to be punched in the face. More so than any other great tag team of the modern era (Hardys, FTR, Motor City Machine Guns, etc.), they have the unique ability to be hated. It speaks to their skills as heels that two guys who wrestle in such an aesthetically pleasing style can get a crowd to loathe them. History will have a complicated relationship with them, as it does with any level of greatness, but we should all appreciate them while we can.
Logic would dictate that the Bucks win here. The whole Elite thing works best when all the slime puppies have gold. Jack Perry probably gets involved, something I definitely don’t care about, and helps them win.
Prediction: Young Bucks win the titles
AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm defends against Thunder Rosa
Nothing about this is compelling as Storm’s gimmick prevents her feuds from getting any serious juice. Her last program with Deonna Purrazzo should have been filled with emotional weight as these women effectively grew up with each other in wrestling. But the program ultimately fell flat. If one character barely takes anything seriously, how is the audience supposed to? At its core, that is the issue with the “Timeless” gimmick. It’s been the same thing for months. Even if her opponent tries to introduce some gravitas, her character is so unserious that it just doesn’t matter.
This program with Rosa is more of the same. She’s become just another character sacrificed at the “Timeless” altar and that’s a shame. Storm is an incredible in-ring talent, much like many women in AEW. Until the gimmick goes away, or the character gets changed, the song will remain the same.
Prediction: Storm retains
AEW World Champion Samoa Joe defends against Swerve Strickland
Joe, the champion, reminds us that God is in his heaven and all is right with the world.
Joe can do anything and make it big with gravitas. He is a pillar of stability in a company that too frequently depends on it. He and Jon Moxley allow AEW to weather all storms. Joe is reliably excellent in the ring and transcendent on the microphone; a true legend of modern wrestling that will only be remembered even more fondly when his time in the ring ends.
As wonderful as Joe is, and as much as I would love him to stay champion forever, this is Strickland’s time. This is the moment where he cements himself as one of the top guys in all of wrestling. It doesn’t feel as emotionally charged as when Hangman Page won the title back in 2021, but the builds that led to coronations are similar. It’s appropriate, too, considering his matches with Page pushed him into that upper echelon of main event-level performers.
The criticisms I have with Swerve are nits that don’t even need to be picked (he can be a little loosey-goosey in the ring with too many unnecessary rolls and somersaults.) But he’s got it all figured out and has for some time now. He seethes, he broods, and he delivers in every area. Last year was the beginning of his rise to the top of AEW. On Sunday, he claims his rightful place there. Who’s house?
Prediction: Strickland wins the title
