The past two weeks for AEW have been good.
Now I see you ready to throw a parade and shout, “BACK!” and, “THE FEELING IS RESTORED!” and all of the other tropes we’re used to when All Elite Wrestling is doing some good shows. Not yet.
I wrote Suffocating Heat after Dynamite 278, which began with all of the good work being done in the Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega feud against Don Callis Family undone in one long, extended, unnecessary heel beatdown. AEW the week prior had done right by having Ospreay and Omega take to the Don Callis Family and despite the lack of numbers, it was through sheer will and determination that Ospreay and Omega were able to beat the heels and stand tall. On Collision followed this video where the DCF in Callis palatial estate actually showed fear for what the babyfaces could do to them.
Callis also hinted there was another member to the DCF with a smile. So what happened on Dynamite 278? Ospreay defeated Brian Cage, only for the DCF to beat down Ospreay and Omega over, and over, and over, so long that the crowd was starting to get bored of it. The “another member” didn’t come until Dynamite 279 against Will Ospreay, as Mark Davis ended up the indentured servant joining the DCF.
That match, unlike the week prior, didn’t end in another long drawn out beatdown. Instead the babyfaces stood tall after the victory and prevented another ugly beatdown. It gave fans a chance to breathe.
Refreshing the Death Riders
Being able to breathe was against the mantra of the Death Riders since they suffocated Bryan Danielson in a bag, as they spent most of January continuing to beat down every babyface in the promotion into dirt. AEW seems to have realized that the suffocating heat doesn’t lead to a hot crowd. It leads to a beat down crowd. I didn’t care for Cope’s promo on Collision, but the brawl on Dynamite wasn’t suffocating. The babyfaces got the advantage as they evened up the numbers, and it led to the Jay White and Cope challenge for Death Riders at Grand Slam: Australia.
It’s unfortunate to see Jay White basically be a roaming satellite to the feud, unable to get a one on one match with Cope in Australia (it’s close to New Zealand, kind of, listen it’s enough to feel like a home field advantage for White) and being constantly beaten down while Cope gets the focus, but at least he didn’t look like a whipping boy here. Moxley refusing to accept Cope’s challenge will likely mean Cope has to beat Moxley in the match to change his mind. That’s good simple booking.
It led to Jon Moxley, the AEW Men’s World Champion, opening AEW Collision over the weekend to do what the face of a company is supposed to do. Moxley wasn’t doing a beat down and running away and laughing as nobody got a thing over him. He instead used a microphone to show his power and show why he’s the top heel of the promotion. This was more effective than anything they did in January as a heel faction.
This Jon Moxley? This Jon Moxley I can watch. This Jon Moxley feels like… Jon Moxley. Welcome back friend.
We even got a culmination to the trios matches that Undisputed Kingdom have been having to mean something, as they got attacked by the Death Riders and set up a challenge for them at Dynamite for the AEW Trios Championship. It’s nice to see the belts back, and it’s nice to see the progression of the group. Adam Cole feels fresh for the first time in a very long time in AEW, as does Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong. All of the baggage from the MJF feud finally feels released.
I suggested they keep the name and stay away from title contention which they are not really doing here, but they did earn their keep on Collision and the company backpeddled from having Undisputed Kingdom involved in Swerve/Ricochet affairs. That’s good. As I said, I’m tired of ragging on them. Now I don’t have to hold myself from it. They are progressing nicely.
So aside from the Death Riders championships and Omega/Ospreay versus DCF programs, what is bringing fresh air to AEW right now compared to weeks past? It’s two things.
Timeless Toni: Top Babyface
I referred earlier to the fact that Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay being able to fight back against DCF was a great segment because the babyfaces stood tall. They were outnumbered and attacked and still found a way to stand tall.
Nobody embodies this better than Timeless Toni Storm’s return. She made her return on Collision after Mariah May beat her up very similar to how she turned on Toni back at the final of the Owen tournament. But returning to the Timeless Toni Storm gimmick was about her reclaiming the mind games and proving she could emotionally manipulate Mariah the way Mariah manipulated her.
Toni kept it up by playing the part of Mariah May in her match with Queen Aminata, causing May to choose between seeing Toni Storm beat up or see someone dressed and acting like her be beaten up. May sold it really well, and it felt like a babyface getting the upper hand.
This would continue with Collision, as May made quick work of Shay KarMichael and went to dress her up like Timeless Toni Storm. Luther made his return and brought out the shoe, giving time for Storm to switch places with Shay. Once May picked her up and realized it was not Toni Storm, the crowd exploded in seeing the babyface once again get the heel psychologically.
Toni Storm is without question the top babyface in All Elite Wrestling. Nobody in the company is being built to look strong like her, and even when she gets beat down, she figures out a way to get the psychological advantage, something the fans recognize and appreciate.
It sounds like simple Booking 101, but the fans want to see the good guys win. You of course need heels to be able to get heat to create tension, but too much heat and they just stop believing in the babyface. They believe in Toni Storm. AEW is so fragile right now when it comes to the suffocating heat for the past six months that usually, a babyface getting the advantage in most segments on the way to a major event where they likely win the World Championship would be the wrong way to build up tension. But here? In this AEW? It’s necessary. We need to believe in Toni Storm more than we need heel heat.
Bandido returned to AEW to face Bryan Keith in the Bounty Match and it wasn’t the time for Big Bill and Chris Jericho interfering to get a win for Keith. It was time for Bandido to remind AEW fans that he’s one of the best wrestlers in the world under the age of 30. He’s got the talent to be a big time babyface star in the company, and the match he had with Keith was nothing short of fantastic. The best 10 minute TV match you could ask for in the circumstances. It didn’t end with a beatdown. The babyface stood tall after a hard fought victory.
LFI attacking Komander leading to Hologram’s return and the two men getting the advantage on LFI was more important than any beat down LFI could do.
It’s these clean victories from babyfaces that help a crowd believe in people again. Toni is leading the charge, but there’s other examples throughout the show that have helped make it easier to breathe in AEW. It’s no longer time to pile heat upon heat. It’s time to give AEW fans something to cheer.
Less Old
Have you seen Jeff Jarrett around lately?
It’s like he disappeared from the show after essentially getting a quarter of TV time every week. It’s like AEW finally realized that the Main Event Mafia was becoming a thing, and this over exposure of old, tired acts was a problem.
I’m sure Jeff returns at some point to get his match with MJF, or maybe Dustin Rhodes has completely replaced him as the old guy for this role, as Dustin has essentially taken Jarrett’s spot. Better for there to only be one of them than two.
Christian Cage hasn’t been around as much, only one comedy segment with Samoa Joe beating up his Patriarchy children. Cope is still involved in a top storyline but he isn’t suffocating us with an 18 minute match with PAC in the main event. Instead we’re getting Ricochet versus Swerve Strickland and Mark Briscoe versus Kyle Fletcher.
Oh hey, welcome back Kyle! After getting to the semi final of the Continental Classic, Kyle Fletcher has only been on TV for beat downs in the month of January. It’s like Tony Khan tried to cool him off after the substantial work done to make him a star at Full Gear and through the C2. Or maybe all the old guys were annoyed they lost TV time in December and Tony just couldn’t give much to Kyle until now. Fletcher worked both Dynamite and Collision with victories in both, and the victory over Briscoe was a great TV main event.
Remember: Kyle Fletcher is 26 years old. Having him on these shows makes things feel younger, fresher, and progressive. Someday he’ll be in the Prime Seven, but he can accomplish a lot before getting there. There’s a world champion in there.
That Maximum Carnage set of episodes where Dynamite had Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, and their manager MVP wrestling and essentially destroying Mark Briscoe and Private Party, as well as a Christian Cage match, and Jeff Jarrett in MULTIPLE TALKING SEGMENTS and then Collision had Christopher Daniels in the opener (a great match and a veteran doing the right thing, but combined with everything else it’s a bad look), Dustin Rhodes in a squash, and then Cope leading a 12 man tag against a Death Riders/Learning Tree combo so we had to see and hear about old man Cope and old man Jericho squaring off? Those shows felt old. Those shows felt like WCW in 1998.
We now had a Dynamite and Collision with most of the performers under the age of 40. The oldest wrestler in a match on the Dynamite 279 was Brody King at 37. Collision had a Dustin Rhodes squash, but aside from him, the oldest competitor was 41 year old Matt Menard and 40 year old Mark Briscoe. Everyone else was under the age of 40, with Garcia, Fletcher, and Mariah May still in their mid 20s.
I’m not against older wrestlers. I’m sure it sounds like it, but I brought up the Dustin Rhodes squash and promo. I wasn’t against him having that time. He’s one old veteran. One is fine. Multiple on the same show making younger wrestlers look inferior? That’s where I draw the line.
Repairing the Lungs
Dynamite 280 we know Dustin Rhodes is facing MJF and the Hurt Syndicate defend the AEW World Tag Championship against the returning Gunns. That’s fine, especially since I think MJF is going to do something so heinous to Dustin Rhodes that it brings Hangman Adam Page into the fold against him, and the two men can finally light the spark and finally feud against each other instead of against fossils.
Following this is Grand Slam: Australia, a PPV worthy card with some of the best wrestlers in the company colliding, main evented by Toni Storm trying to get her championship back from Mariah May. The only wrestlers over the age of 40 are in the same match: Cope at 51 with Jay White versus Claudio Castagnoli at 45 with Jon Moxley. It doesn’t feel like Age in the Cage. It feels like the best in their prime against the best in their prime up and down the card.
There’s three weeks until Revolution, and AEW is on the right track to produce a show that people will want to pay to see. The past two weeks, it reminds me a little bit of the build up to Revolution 2020, which was one of my favourite times following AEW. It’s not at that level exactly; there’s no Jon Moxley coronation coming up or a Hangman/Omega versus Young Bucks feud brewing on the card, or Cody vs MJF with the Wardlow cage match and the whippings, but what it does have is a fiery Swerve Strickland versus Ricochet feud that’s helping carry the company, a top babyface in Toni Storm likely to regain her championship before the pay per view, and a lot of divisions finally finding their purpose instead of sitting dormant and collecting dust.
Most importantly, with the lack of suffocating heat each show, it’s allowing heat to actually mean something. Ricochet beating Swerve in the main event of Dynamite by an accidental low blow meant something, instead of just being the same finish we’ve seen a dozen times. Kyle Fletcher defeating Mark Briscoe without DCF getting involved made me consider him a much greater threat to Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay if they just did another monster mash beatdown.
AEW is generating proper heat and giving proper shine, and if they continue down this path? It will repair the lungs of All Elite Wrestling. Fans will be able to properly breathe, and no longer think about the damage done to their lungs for weeks on end. They will instead just think about how great next week should be. The way it used to be.
