AEW Booms/Duds: Matt Hardy knew the original Judas!

Boom: not all squash matches have to be quick as long as they’re decisive

A couple of weeks ago, I gave the return of squash matches to Dynamite a “boom,” and once again, I give the Lee-Marshall and Hager-Adams matches “booms.”

Probably due to being conditioned by WWE, it seems like we expect squash matches to be 30-90 seconds of pure annihilation. I was never someone who felt there was one way to do a squash match, however.

Last night’s squashes showcased another route: deliberate, methodical destruction.

With both Lee and Hager, their characters are basically sadist who love to inflict physical violence on their opponents (and in Lee’s case, the lower members of Dark Order).

In Lee’s match against Marshall, Lee was methodical in delivering punishment. Sure, Marshall had about a 15-second hope spot, but that was quickly dashed.

When Lee was setting up for his discus lariat finisher, a maneuver of his which has always been great, I honestly thought he was about to a Sister Abigail. Like Wyatt, he crouched a little and held Marshall’s head in one arm. Unlike Wyatt, who usually does it from his right side, Lee had Marshall placed on his left. He then hit the discus lariat for the victory.

Am I the only one who saw the Sister Abigail similarity?

Still, it helped establish Lee as a dominant, methodical performer who brings a level of credibility and edge to Dark Order.

Shifting to Hager, Jericho keeps reminding us that Hager likes to hurt people, including breaking Dustin Rhodes’ arm, the repeated use of kneeing his opponents’ groin, and powerbombing fools off the stage. His match with Adams was no different.

Unlike Marshall, Adams had no hope spots (the right call) and was thoroughly decimated. Hager was quicker than Lee in achieving victory, but just as destructive. The height he gains on his Vader Bomb (is his the Hager Bomb now?) is tremendous, and it’s true that his MMA career in Bellator adds a notable edge he sorely lacked in WWE.

They’re also really protecting his arm-triangle choke submission (or a “kata gatame” as Taz would probably remind us).

This set the stage for Jon Moxley to return from selling his injuries (though we saw him in video packages in recent weeks) to confront Hager. This led to Moxley basically challenging Hager to a match where Moxley will defend his AEW World Championship.

Usually, I’m not a fan of the champion picking his challenger. However, this works for two reasons. One, while he isn’t ranked #1, Hager was at #4 before last night’s show, and his victory probably has him rise at least one more spot considering #1 Jericho was inactive and seemingly locked into a match with Hardy; #2 MJF was inactive; #3 Cody won (and should go up) but is tied up with The Inner Circle; and #5 Omega didn’t have an official AEW match since it was for the AAA Mega Championship.

At least, as of this morning, Omega’s singles record is still 1-0 as it was heading into last night’s show.

Two, Moxley is a loner who tends to do things his way. It makes sense why he would go after the biggest, baddest dude in The Inner Circle. Remember that beating they inflicted on him? Hager did the most damage, including powerbombing Moxley off the stage and through a table. This is just Moxley seeking his justifiable vengeance.

Squash matches work, but they don’t always have to follow the same template.