The latest AEW pay-per-view features title matches and an overall card that has several potential match of the year candidates. Let’s get started with the first match.
AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Cope
I’m nervous about this match. The head-scratching decision to have Cope lose at Grand Slam still hurts this match a bit. Granted, the story following that match makes sense as the only reason Moxley won is due to the Death Riders. But you didn’t need to have Cope to lose to get there.
Moxley has been using this tactic since he became the world champion, so Cope could’ve done this plan without taking the loss. However, I’m nervous because of what happened on Dynamite. I get the feeling that Wheeler Yuta is going to come out and cost Cope the world title. I hope AEW knows that it makes Cope look stupid if that happens. Yuta has been brainwashed for months by Moxley, but all it took for him to snap out of it was a handshake. Come on, please don’t swerve us with Yuta costing Cope the title.
Even if Yuta doesn’t help Moxley win, nobody buys Cope taking the title off of him. AEW needs to give the championship to someone fresh and young. Cope is simply a bump in the road, even if he’s gotten rid of the other Death Riders. Since this is a clear one-and-done (unless they revisit the match on television) then I don’t see Moxley dropping the belt.
The only way I can see Cope winning is if the plan is to give the world title to Ricochet. I actually wouldn’t be against giving him the title, but then it makes this entire Death Riders story pointless. Like I said before, it needs to go to somebody like Powerhouse Hobbs or Will Ospreay. I would even be cool with Swerve or Hangman Page recapturing the belt. But Cope isn’t winning. I’ll let Hangman burn my house down if he does.
Winner: Jon Moxley
AEW International Championship: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kenny Omega
Kenny Omega is winning the International Championship. In fact, I do believe that it will be a title vs. title match against Okada at All In. The thing is, All In is taking place in August. AEW is in this awkward stage where they have to pretend that Omega and Okada don’t exist (to each other) until it’s time to build a match between those two.
Omega needs something to do in the meantime and having a feud with Takeshita and The Don Callis Family is a good distraction. I wouldn’t be surprised if Omega won here, but I feel that he’ll win it somewhere down the line.
Winner: Konosuke Takeshita
“Hollywood Ending” Falls Count Anywhere match: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May
This is somewhat of a hard one. We just went through an entire Mariah May title run, but I don’t feel that AEW got the mileage out of it that they should’ve. It should be a slam dunk that Storm is retaining, but before May, Storm held the belt for 281 days. Do we need another long Toni Storm reign?
She can still be a featured talent without the belt. Just give her a set of compelling stories outside of the title scene. So while Storm just won the belt, I can see May regaining the title thanks to someone on the roster. That way, Storm moves on to another feud and Mariah May gets a fresh challenger.
But, AEW isn’t particularly building up anyone to be May’s next challenger. Statlander and Nightingale are front runners, at least in my opinion. Mercedes Mone is also another interesting option since May and Mone had that kayfabe back and forth in late December. Realistically, there’s a strong case for both women to walk out as champion, but a finale usually has the good guy (or girl in this case) win, so…
Winner: Toni Storm
AEW Continental Championship match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Brody King
Kazuchika Okada. He’s not dropping that belt until All In, and AEW has done nothing to convince me otherwise. I like Okada, but it seems that Tony Khan doesn’t know how to build a meaningful feud with him outside of Kenny Omega.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada
TBS Championship match: Mercedes Mone vs. Momo Watanabe
If they didn’t have Mone drop it to Harley Cameron, it’s highly doubtful that she’ll lose it here. They sort of overshadowed the result with the introduction of Billie Starkz, who seems to be the next challenger for Mone.
I hope Athena comes after Starkz; don’t get me wrong, I like Starkz and I’m looking forward to a possible feud with her and Mone, but Athena deserves to finally have her spotlight on Dynamite.
I wouldn’t be surprised if AEW decided to re-do Harley/Mone, with the former finally beating the latter. There are still plenty of options for Mone, whereas Watanabe has been treated as an enhancement talent for the stars. This will likely be a good match, but my instincts say not to bet against Mone.
Winner: Mercedes Mone
Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin vs. “The Outrunners” Turbo Floyd and Truth Magnum for the AEW Tag Team Titles
The Hurt Syndicate isn’t dropping the belts this soon. While I don’t know who will eventually take the titles off of the duo because no one in the tag division particularly stands out, there’s no way that Lashley and Benjamin are losing this early in their run unless something bigger is planned for the duo. This match should still put The Outrunners as a credible team. If the Babyface team can have a great match against the tag champs then mission accomplished.
Winner: Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin
Steel Cage match: Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher
If Ricochet and Swerve didn’t have the number one contender’s stipulation attached then I would’ve easily put Ospreay down as the winner. It would be surprising if Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley doesn’t happen before this whole The Death Riders schtick ends.
I don’t particularly know what's next for Ospreay after this. Maybe Christian Cage and The Patriarchy? Or The Jericho vortex? Sadly, there aren't a lot of high-level heels left for Ospreay to fight. Maybe Daniel Garcia can turn heel and finally have a feud for the TNT title. Or a rematch against Okada for the Continental belt. Even possibly revisiting a match against Ricochet.
Fletcher has more options on the face side. Garcia, Jay White, Hangman Page, Adam Cole, Cope; I think there’s a bit of a heel/face problem in AEW. Nevertheless, I do think AEW sees something in Fletcher. Plus, he’ll benefit from the win a lot more than Ospreay. AEW has done a great job of booking the former International Champion, so Ospreay should be fine. It wouldn’t surprise me if Ospreay wins, but I can see him getting his win back in a year or two.
Winner: Kyle Fletcher
No. 1 Contender’s match to the AEW Championship: Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet
You know, I generally wouldn’t mind a Ricochet world title run. Put Samantha Irvin with him as a heel valet and I think they’ll be the perfect package. It’s amazing how far his character has come and he’s doing the best work of his career so far.
However, Ricochet/Moxley just doesn’t make sense. I toyed with the notion that Cope could win, but I highly doubt that will happen either. I don’t want Ricochet to turn back into a babyface, and he likely would if he faced Mox. But there’s an interesting story to tell with Strickland losing Prince Na Na. Granted, Strickland doesn’t need Na Na, but the story of him losing another big match can take him in an intriguing direction as far as character goes.
But Swerve/Moxley is the spark that AEW needs in the main event scene right now. I doubt Swerve will win the title back anytime soon, but it’ll be fun to see what they can do for this build. Plus, Swerve has been losing big matches left and right, so it’s time for him to get his win back.
Winner: Swerve Strickland
(Pre-Show): Big Boom AJ, Orange Cassidy, and Mark Briscoe vs. Johnny TV and “MxM Collection” Mason Madden and Mansoor
A warm-up meant to excite the fans. There’s no way that Cassidy and Briscoe are losing here, especially with Big Boom AJ on the team.
Winner: (Pre-Show): Big Boom AJ, Orange Cassidy, and Mark Briscoe vs. Johnny TV and “MxM Collection” Mason Madden and Mansoor