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

AEW had to adjust last night’s show (which was originally supposed to be their “Blood & Guts” event and highlighted by the match of the very name) due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Even without the “Blood & Guts” match, AEW Dynamite advertised a pretty impressive card. How did that card play out? Let’s look at the booms and duds for the Mar. 25, 2020 episode.

It’s nice to see AEW be a little practical and postpone the “Blood & Guts” card considering the need to socially distance as much as possible right now. I assume the talents working AEW shows are being medically monitored/tested so as to prevent any sort of contagion among its employees.

This also presents an opportunity for AEW to change the name of the event and match, something I pointed out last week as maybe a bit too topical in our current situation.

(Let’s also hope Rey Mysterio and Dana Brooke, who are reportedly in self-quarantine, are recovering and doing well with their families.)

The big question for the B&G match is will Matt Hardy still be the fifth person for The Elite, or will enough time have passed (both literally and in kayfabe) for Nick Jackson to return? If Nick does return, where does that leave Hardy?

Those questions, however, are to be determined.

As a reminder of my criteria, I’m not going to run through each match/segment. Rather, I will identify a couple of segments that either worked (“boom”) or didn’t for whatever reason (“dud”).

My criteria includes quality of match/segment and how it starts and/or builds stories. After all, we watch partly to be caught up in the stories. If a great work-rate match happens with no context or bearing on the stories, it’s going to be a miss.

Also, just because something is a hit/miss doesn’t mean it was an overwhelming choice. The selection could be 51 percent hit, 75 percent miss, and so on.

There are other subtleties to my criteria, but those are pretty much the parameters.

Let’s also agree that we should all be grading these shows on a bit of curve for pretty much any promotion. Rosters are limited right now, and for AEW, wrestlers have the option of staying home.

Not having fans and that immediate reaction really hinders some segments, and even with all the camera tricks, it’s still a bit eerie watching an arena void of people.

That being said, in lieu of B&G, just how did AEW pivot? Was it successful considering the palpable hype surrounding the postponed 10-person match?

We had Cody vs. Jimmy Havoc in the opener; Kip Sabian vs. Darby Allin; Jake Hager vs. Chico Adams; Brodie Lee vs. QT Marshall; a recap of the attack on Nick Jackson and report on Nick’s recovery from the new AEW West Coast correspondent; Kenny Omega (c) vs. Sammy Guevara for the AAA Mega Championship; and Chris Jericho facing off with Matt Hardy for the first time in AEW.

Let’s hit the first topic, which seems to have received a bit of a polarizing response from fans.

Boom: when the “Broken” universe met “Le Champion”

Dud: all the arguments you have against this segment are justified

I understand if you aren’t a fan of AEW giving two former WWE stars the main event segment of the show. I understand if you weren’t a fan of this segment with its special effects and the hokey/comedic verbal exchanges.

The teleportation bit (with Jericho’s body slightly shifting due to the obvious jump cuts) is definitely something that reminds you’re watching a scripted simulation and won’t work for everyone.

This is also the one segment on the show where it may have seemed more engaging and important with immediate, live fan reaction. This probably means there wouldn’t have been a teleportation scene, but trade-offs, right?

However, you can’t deny the fact that both Hardy and Jericho are “all in” so to speak not only in their characters, but in this angle. That, dear readers, is the main reason it receives a “boom” from me, though again, all your arguments for giving it a “dud” are agreeable.

With these types of characters and segments, particularly the “Broken” character, the wrestlers must “buy in” (to use another AEW pun) wholeheartedly to their characters. Hardy and Jericho have never had issues fully embodying their characters, particularly when they’ve had creative input.

If you haven’t or just need a reminder, bypass his recent WWE run and revisit Hardy’s time as the “Broken” character in Impact Wrestling that is the genesis of his current character. If you still give this a “dud” after, that’s fine.

You might also change your mind after thinking about the amount of creativity in character and matches he brought to Impact and how quickly the Broken universe became the hottest act in the promotion. He even used that platform to elevate his wife, his brother, and his children; I think King Maxell is still the youngest person to ever record a pin on a national pro wrestling show.

Back to last night’s show, the dialogue, even though filled with creative quips and historical references, felt more natural than we hear in WWE (genearlly). The “DELETE!” vs. “ELITE!” duel was hilarious, as was Jericho cutting a promo on that “piece of trash” and new West Coast correspondent Vanguard-1.

Then he said, “All those Instagram drone models will be flocking around wherever you go.”

I busted out laughing.

There were other great lines between the two, particularly Hardy’s, “I knew the original Judas, too. Ironically, he betrayed me.” What a tough 3,000 years it’s been for poor ol’ Damascus.

Bonus points to Omega on commentary: “Is he using the Britney Spears mic?”

My only qualm is I’m not sure the quality of 1-on-1 match we may have between the two, which seems to be the case after tonight’s interactions; remember, we’re not sure when B&G will happen. I can see two ways a match between them works without trying to be traditional or a high work-rate match: a gimmick brawl of some kind (falls count anywhere, no dq) OR an “Ultimate Deletion” type match.

I vote for the latter.

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.

Boom: Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Darby Allin, and Vanguard-1

Dud: the disjointed videos for The Exalted One

With the legendary Roberts, even if you might not understand everything he’s saying or don’t like how he sometimes meanders to his point, just his presence and voice are enough to keep your attention. He elicited a fiery response from Cody who vacillated between “He can’t start with me!” to “Maybe I will be his first opponent” in about five seconds.

Now we know Archer will have his in-ring debut next week. The question is who will be his opponent?

Allin continues with his Gothic-inspired, esoteric, and engaging videos. It still seems creepy when he dons those paper masks of his adversaries. but it is effective. Further, we now know what his foreseeable mission is concerning The Inner Circle: BURN IT DOWN!

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

Sabian’s mask was also involved in the burn pile, and Allin beating Sabian in a good match last night now propels Allin forward to expected singles matches with members of The Inner Circle.

Providing an update on Nick Jackson through Vanguard-1 was a creative and effective move. I mean, sure, it’s kind of creepy and voyeuristic, but I’m pretty sure AEW gained Nick’s consent before filming.

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1242982618775224320

My favorite part? The recovery meter showing Nick is at about 62 percent in his recovery from The Inner Circle just “finding” him with that heavy garage door on his chest.

Then we have two videos last night for “The Exalted One,” Brodie Lee.

The first one, which seemed like a mix of a replay of last week’s debut video and some new scenes, was great in reminding us just who Brodie Lee is and why he’s in AEW: to prove to these “out of touch old men” they’re wrong about him. It also fit the mold of the presentation of Dark Order as dark, brooding characters.

The second one was a parody of Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

All the sudden, Lee’s in a suit and tie eating steak and drinking red win with the lower-ranked named members of the group: John Silver and Alex Reynolds. Besides looking extremely awkward trying to cut his steak, Lee acted less like how The Exalted One has been described thus far and more like an arrogant, privileged man-child.

He kicked Silver out for trying to eat before he finished his food, and then erupted at Reynolds for sneezing. This is a reference to McMahon’s noted hatred for sneezing as he sees it as a sign of weakness.

I just sneezed three consecutive times. Am I triply weak?

I understand taking a shot at WWE and McMahon, but AEW seems to do that with every former WWE wrestler. At this point, that’s a lot of times.

Yes, with a certain segment of fans, they love any and all WWE bashing. For those who only returned to wrestling because of AEW, are they going to understand these references?

Hopefully, Lee’s constant references to McMahon is akin to Moxley being in all those hardcore/death matches after he signed as “getting it out of his system.” He’s much more than a spurned WWE wrestler, and I’m looking forward to the depth of his character.

-Boom: more creativity from AEW

After receiving some criticism last week for having talent so close to each other while watching at ringside (particularly the older ones), AEW found a different way to still have a “crowd” of wrestler without being ringside nor in large numbers.

The gambling truck was a nice touch because we were able to see more wrestlers and, crucially, a bit of their personalities. Of course Jericho bets against Cody since he hates The Elite. Sabian fell asleep on the couch later with a dog on his lap, but he also had a match earlier in the night.

Dasha Gonzalez revels in victory, and Shawn Spears is going to run away rather than pay his debt. It all makes sense and fits their characters.

Don’t count me surprised if we see something similar on SmackDown and RAW, but without the acknowledgement to AEW of course.

-Boom: the refreshing voices of Cody and Omega on commentary

This is not a knock on the team of Schiavone, Ross, and Excalibur. They’re a great team and really compliment each other well.

Why were Cody and Omega refreshing? With Omega, we were able to hear more of him and it sounded genuine. When he was shocked, he was shocked. When he was disappointed, he was disappointed. It was nice to just hear more of his personality. Changing his music to start with the drop rather than building to it was a great choice, too.

Cody really shined. Being a wrestler, he brought the perspective of how and why certain maneuvers affect certain areas. I liked how he chided Sabian for not having enough weight on Allin’s shoulders during a pin attempt.

I already mentioned his response to Roberts, but Cody also wasn’t shy in his support of Marshall without being obnoxious. Him pulling for Omega in his match against Guevara is to be expected as they’re locked in feuds against each other, but it also wasn’t overbearing.

They’re surprise and acceptance of Hardy was well done, and their making the save to welcome Hardy further into the fold is all coherent in story.

We know AEW isn’t shy to have wrestlers on commentary. Jericho, MJF, Britt Baker, and others have commentated matches before. Give us more wrestlers on commentary, please!

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1242984487039799296

-Boom: the continued, rapid growth of Sammy Guevara

When the commentary team (I think Jim Ross) compared Guevara to Eddie Guerrero several weeks ago, I was a bit skeptical. In the ring I could see the comparison as Guevara is as fluid as he is talented, just like Guerrero. As a character, I wasn’t yet sold.

Consider me a fool for doubting Guevara.

While his match with Omega was great, I was more fascinated by the amazing heel work Guevara keeps delivering. His demeanor as he enters the arena, his fully embodying “The Spanish God” gimmick, and his cue card/artwork shtick just makes you want to see him get his due even more. Being able to back it up in the ring with his skill (and heel taunts/poses) just adds another layer.

He rate of growth is astounding, and he is probably learning a lot from Jericho. It shows. 2020 seem poised to be Guevara’s massive breakout.

Also, his interactions with Brandi Rhodes were fantastic. Let this scene entertain you during these trying times, and let Brandi’s disgusted face be all of our reactions to anything of the sort moving forward.

Stay safe everyone. Remain indoors if at all possible. Remember to use soap and wash your hand frequently and for 20 seconds. If you want to watch more wrestling, check out the various lists we’ve been posting at Daily DDT this week of matches, feuds, events, and documentaries to watch on the WWE Network.

See you next week!

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