AEW Booms and Duds: Hangman Page’s mystery partner is underwhelming

Boom: another opening match that ignited the crowd

Cody has had his issues with The Inner Circle in the past, and with The Elite taking on The Inner Circle in a few weeks in the “Blood & Guts” match, it made sense to have a member of each group face off in a singles match.

While it may have been nice to see one of The Bucks face off against Ortiz, having Cody face Ortiz made sense to help build momentum for the face team for what will undoubtedly be a match where face tactics just don’t last.

It was a nice paced match, with Ortiz given some time to display his skills and style (the planking dive is always a hit). He hit that nice superplex in the tweet above.

The post-match happenings with Jericho, Guevara, and Jake Hager standing over a bloodied Nick Jackson (ever so perfectly placed beneath the sliding door) worked well in regaining some heel heat for The Inner Circle. It also helped explain why Nick wasn’t out there with his brother Matt as they made the save for Cody.

This also helped setup the main event angle and post-match beating. It prompted a logical (if underwhelming) selection for “Hangman” Page’s mystery partner, as well as the lack of an immediate save from the faces.

However, the “one step back” feeling started with this match, and should have been a harbinger of things to come.