On the whole I’d say AEW is an entity of its own, peak ROH and NXT were a different breed and style altogether. AEW is more of a jack of all trades type promotion which attempts to cater to all the different groups of enthusiasts, you got the modern era hipster smarks, indies golden era smarks, territory era smarks and AE/RA era smarks. That’s their strategy though I guess opposed to developing a unique identity of their own in terms of style and presentation.
I wont watch an entire show but they are good enough for me because they give me reasons to tune into select segments involving the likes of Punk, Bryan and MJF; I will rarely tune in to the others unless these guys are involved.
I really enjoyed the Punk/MJF match, it’s another MOTY contender from Punk. As Mo. Asif once said, a fish never forgets to swim and am going out on a limb to say that I feel Punk is even better then ever, he’s a student of the game and all his past experiences and influences really show in his promo and character work, he legit gets it man, Punk’s the man and the best baby face in the world since his return. MJF is a big star in his own right and has shown he can hang in there with a big dog in the ring.
The other match I watched was Bryan/Mox, I liked the story they are going for here, it’s a slow burn and doesn’t feel forced, the ring action was decent.
The rest of the card didn’t interest me but you may have caught it
Oh no I agree with you on that. My point was that AEW, when it started out, felt like a polished version of ROH. Not just because it had alot of ROH's top guys but also because it signed alot of hottest young talent: Darby MJF, Sammy etc. Now though it has become its own thing. But I also feel like its rise has in a way, made ROH obsolete because that was the place people used to go to see the best wrestling and the best rising stars in wrestling for a pretty long time.
I think Punk v MJF might be my favorite match in AEW yet. I've thought long and hard about it and this one pips Danielson v Omega. Just because it was so perfectly executed from the first interaction these two had, right down to that match. I especially loved Punk coming out to his ROH theme, in his ROH attire. And the match was exactly what it needed to be. I agree that Punk is a student of the game, but I feel like MJF is too. Because everything that MJF does means something---whether its on the ring or on the mic---and with this feud he has shown that more than ever for me. I think they should seriously think about putting the belt on him, because Adam Page's title run has gotten really stale for me.
Bryan vs Mox was easily the next best thing for me on the show too. Both guys went out and just had a great wrestling match. Loved the finish and loved even more the sight of William Regal coming out. Both these guys are two of my favorite wrestlers so I am fully here for another reincarnation of the Two Man Power Trip. And honestly who wouldn't want to see these two with all the belts, and all the best young talents by their side? This angle has lot of potential to be something great.
As far as the rest of the show is concerned, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Eddie Kingston vs Chris Jericho. Eddie ofcourse is brilliant and the modern day incarnation of the American Dream, in that everything he says and does feels real. But credit to Jericho who is onto something with his latest heel turn and he has really slimmed out and leaned up in recent weeks. He and Kingston essentially worked a hard-hitting All-Japan style match and man oh man Jericho took some brutal bumps in this. But it was pretty great and certainly the best wrestling match I have seen Jericho involved in, in AEW.
Apart from that The Face of the Revolution ladder match had the potential to be great, but wasn't exactly so. Despite alot of great talent involved, there were too many moments where guys just wandered off around the arena, while the other guys in the ring were laid out for minutes. Wardlow in particular showed his green-ness with certain spots, but the match still had some cool moments/spots.
And I don't know what it is about the Bucks, but I always find myself enjoying their PPV matches to a great extent. And this was no different. It was high-paced and exciting. The presence of reDRagon really elevated the whole thing and I honestly can't ever recall Jurassic Express looking this good.
Most disappointing match of the night was easily Adam Page v Adam Cole. This match had almost no heat and I don't think anyone really believed that Cole was winning this. They did some good wrestling in until the match just devolved into a typical TNA/WWE style big match where everyone is just kicking out of big moves.
Thunder Rosa v Britt Baker was probably the worst match of the night with endless amounts of interference. But overall I thought it was an awesome show that I massively enjoyed. AEW's PPVs feel like PPVs. There is very little filler, and ALOT of whopper matches. Can't wait for Double or Nothing.