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Mercedes Moné vs. Julia Hart in an Owen Hart Tournament Match
Hart and Moné have a good back-and-forth to start the match. There is a sequence where Moné misses a spot where she runs up the ropes for an arm drag, and when the crowd gets on her about it, she does her dance. The thing that strikes me as the match goes on is that Moné is always aware of where the camera is and has a facial expression to sell the move or heighten the emotion.
After they brawl on the floor, Hart is fighting from underneath. The story of the match becomes Moné being frustrated that Hart won’t stop, so she mocks her and tries for a big move that Hart is able to either survive or counter. Hart doesn’t play to the camera or the crowd, but instead goes for quick strikes when she can. After Hart gets a spinning DDT and a two count, Moné gets a lung blower that looks brutal.
Hart is able to get a tarantula on Moné and then grabs the octopus hold. Moné has to fall into the turnbuckle to escape. Moné gets her feet up when Hart goes for a moonsault from the top, followed with a pair of backstabbers, but Hart is able to get a crucifix bomb for two. Hart is able to reverse the Statement Maker into Heartless, and Moné is able to reverse it back.
The crowd is chanting LOUDLY for Hart as she tries to get out of the Statement Maker. Hart is able to reverse it for a two count. Moné is able to reverse that into a pin and a win.
Winner and moving on in the Tournament: Mercedes Moné
Hart showed she can stand toe-to-toe with a star, and I hope AEW follows up on it quickly. Hart has tremendous upside and is another young talent that they can push, especially after the crowd reaction in this match.
Death Riders (Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and PAC) – AEW Trios Champions vs. Rated FTR (Dax Harwood, Cash Wheeler, and Cope)
Nigel McGuinness takes Taz’s place at commentary. The crowd singing Cope’s music after it stops has become a big part of his presentation now.
The thing I like about everyone in this match is that they know how to make it look like a fight. Dax and PAC are excellent at that. Once Yuta tags in, the crowd is ALL OVER HIM, and he is getting the most heat of the night so far. Rated FTR dominates the start of the match and shows a lot of tag team coordination as they dominate the early part of the match.
When Cash is on the top rope, Yuta knocks him down and allows him to become the babyface in peril. I like that Yuta did it to get himself even more heat. Things start to break down as Dax steals the tag when Cash tries to tag in Cope. We have a spot where everyone is in submission holds, but no one who is legal is in a submission by the legal man, and things completely break down. Claudio tags in Yuta after Rated FTR is down.
Claudio gets the big swing on Dax, and Yuta ends the swing with the dropkick for two. Dax is finally able to get the hot tag to Cope after taking a lot of attacks from the Death Riders. Rated FTR hits Power and Glory, with Cope getting the first suplex for two on PAC, with Claudio breaking it up. Dax is put in the Brutalizer and the other members of the Death Riders hold Rated FTR back until Cash carries Yuta and crashes into PAC to break it up.
FTR hits a Shatter Machine and Cope gets a spear on Yuta, but Claudio breaks it up at two. The fight spills to the floor and we are left with Dax and Yuta in the ring. Cope nearly spears Dax but stops short. Yuta shoves Cope into Dax and then gets the Psycho Knee on Dax for the pin and the win.
Winners and still Trios Champions: The Death Riders
The Death Riders leave and Rated FTR hug after the match. When Cash goes to leave, Dax hits a piledriver on Cope. He then grabs two chairs. Cash is talking to Cope as Dax sets up for the Con-chair-to. He hands a chair to Cash, who shoves him away. Cash then helps Cope up and pulls him into the Shatter Machine. They then hit the assisted piledriver on the chair and set up for the Con-chair-to.
Cash hits it, and after a pause, hits a second as the doctor gets in the ring. FTR holds back the medical staff, and Cash puts on the neck brace. He lays on the stretcher and then says, “He needs it more than I do,” as they go to the back and Cope is stretchered out
The turn everyone knew was coming, finally happened. FTR as heels works for me since they have been rudderless for the last year or so. I am also glad they didn’t try to get cute or shock the audience. A straight heel turn, teased and set up for a few weeks, and they followed through on it with no twists.
Toni Storm (AEW Women’s Champion) w/Luther vs Megan Bayne w/Penelope Ford
Storm’s entrance video has a training montage before she comes to the ring. Luther is in a trainer’s gear instead of butler’s gear. The crowd is singing for Toni, and this reminds me of the crowds they had after the pandemic. These folks are here to have fun, and the matches are giving them that.
Storm’s fists are taped and she is really leaning into the “Rocky” motif with the match she is working. Bayne gets a series of attacks but when she goes for a dive, Luther pushes her out of the way and Storm presses her advantage. It is cut short when Ford grabs Storm’s foot, allowing Bayne to take over again.
Bayne hits big power moves and then poses for the crowd. Ford also keeps attacking Storm when Bayne is distracting the ref and Storm is in the ropes. Luther finally carries Ford to the back and Ford is screaming to be let go. This allows Storm to take command and start beating down Bayne. Storm gets a twisting STF on Bayne, and Bayne is able to carry her to the ropes for the break.
I have to apologize for naming it wrong in the past as the announcers make sure to enunciate that Bayne’s finishing move is Fate's Decent, not Face Decent.
Storm gets a back suplex off the top and Bayne lands in a scary way on her head and neck. She is OK and they throw hands in the middle of the ring and Storm wins the exchange. Bayne misses a flying lariat, but recovers quickly to hit a release German suplex. Storm starts reversing Bayne’s moves. Storm hits a hip attack and pops right up. Storm hits a headbutt and a series of hip attacks.
Storm is able to hit Storm Zero, but Bayne is up at one. Bayne starts hitting clothesline and follows with a power bomb. Storm is able to get out of the Fate’s Descent to grab a surprise rollup for the pin and the win.
Winner and still AEW Women’s champion: Toni Storm
Kyle Fletcher vs Mark Briscoe in an Owen Hart Tournament match
Don Callis joins commentary.
Fletcher dives onto Briscoe before the bell and they go right at it with big moves from the get-go. Briscoe tosses a chair in the ring to use as a springboard., but the ref takes it away. Briscoe tells the audience “Boo this man.” He and Fletcher brawl on the outside and then tosses a bunch of chairs in the ring. Briscoe sets up a chair and Fletcher slides into the ring and suplexes Briscoe onto the chair for two.
They make so much noise, it’s clear Referee Rick Knox is utterly deaf as he doesn’t even react.
Fletcher takes over and slows the match down and deliberately beats down Briscoe. When he does move, Fletcher moves with a speed that makes his moves look more impactful. Fletcher just beats down Briscoe, and does one spot where he power slams Briscoe onto the top of the barricade.
Briscoe is able to recover a bit when they move to fighting on the top, and Briscoe bites Fletcher and then hits him with a shotgun drop-kick from the top. They trade chops and Fletcher moves to knees and they then clothesline each other down. They go back to throwing hands. From here they move to big moves and two counts for each man.
As each man kicks out, they look like they are just barely able to get the shoulder up. Kyle rolls to the floor and Briscoe comes off the top with Froggie Bo on the floor. Kyle is rolled into the ring and Briscoe comes off the top and Fletcher gets the feet up. From here, Fletcher’s attacks are at super speed. Fletcher this the turnbuckle brainbuster for the pin and the win.
Winner and moving on: Kyle Fletcher
Good match to keep Fletcher hot after losing the feud with Ospreay.
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