From the Daily’s Place Amphitheater, in Jacksonville, Florida comes Fight for the Fallen from All Elite Wrestling (AEW). With all proceeds from the show going to victims of gun violence, the main event will see two sets of brothers in tag team action, as The Young Bucks, Matt and Nick Jackson, face off against the sons of the legendary Dusty Rhodes, Cody and Dustin Rhodes. Kenny Omega will be trying to break his losing streak in AEW when he faces off against CIMA, and two thirds of SCU, Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian, will face off against another pair of real-life brothers, The Lucha Bros, Fenix and Pentagon Jr. All of this and much more at AEW’s Fight for the Fallen.
+ CIMA vs Kenny Omega: this was a knee-lover’s dream, with Kenny’s reliance on the V-Trigger and CIMA hitting dozens of Meteroas. There was some awkward action earlier, but eventually the two seemed to click. I wasn’t really sold on this match until the two started slapping the piss out of each other, but the final stretch did solidify this as something better than I earlier though. Truthfully, it may not have been quite as good as it could have been, but it was still very good
+ SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) (w/ Christopher Daniels) vs The Lucha Bros (Pentagón Jr. & Rey Fenix): god damn the Lucha Bros are good. Pentagon, in particular, has such intensity and chemistry playing off the crowd that he is, and will continue to be, a star wherever he goes. Not to be outdone, Fenix is constantly proving he is more than just ‘Pentagon’s partner’. Kazarian looked to be a bit out of position a few times in this match, and Scorpio is good, but inexperienced. Nonetheless, this was really fun to watch, but Pentagon really needs to be more than a tag guy in AEW
+ Brandi Rhodes vs Allie: a quick pre-match surprise made things interesting before the bell even rang. Truthfully, this was so much better than I thought it would be. I’m a big Allie fan and I’m usually pretty down on Allie, but this was great because of both competitors, and the aftermath only built the hype even more
+ Jimmy Havoc, Darby Allin, & Joey Janela vs MJF, Sammy Guevara, & Shawn Spears: I was expecting this to be a spot-fest, but the built-in story between MJF and Spears, along with the love the crowd had for Darby made this something more. Guevara looked really good, and Janela and Havoc were there for the bigger moments. Overall, this was a good way to start the show
+ Sonny Kiss vs Peter Avalon (w/ Leva Bates): this is the first time I’ve seen Peter Avalon as the Librarian character, and while I can’t say I much care for the character, I do think Avalon is an underrated wrestler. Sonny Kiss is what he is, and while I could do without the more on-the-nose elements of his character, he is a hell of an athlete. This was fine
– The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs The Brotherhood (Cody & Dustin Rhodes): this was super disappointing. The Bucks looked sloppy throughout, and Dustin finally looked his age. I don’t want to suggest that the Cody/Dustin match from Double or Nothing was solely because of the story, but after this match I am scared to rewatch it. If this match was literally half the time it may have been better, but the longer it went, the less I cared, and by the time it ended i Had lost all interest
– Hangman Adam Page vs Kip Sabian: something about this match just never clicked for me. I am not overly familiar with Sabian, but I’m a fan of Page after that crazy G1 a few years ago, but this was just boring. Page is the number one contender to be the first EVER AEW Champion, so I entirely thought he would win, and that basically just meant I felt no drama in this match. Not to imply it necessarily went that way, but the journey meant nothing for me because I expected a certain destination
– Dr Britt Baker, DMD & Riho vs Shoko Nakajima & Bea Priestley: Priestly looked really good, and the Joshis, Riho and Shoko looked all right, but there was something really off about Britt Baker in this match. I know that Baker is usually pretty good, but every time she was in the ring, he opponent or partner looked worse off for it. This was stupidly overdone, with so many kickouts and huge moves on this pre-show match between four currently unimportant competitors. This was just ridiculous
> I had to step out right as the three-way tag team match started, so I’ll come back and review that when I get a chance
Should you watch this event: There was something a little bit awkward about the former members of the Bullet Club putting on a show against gun violence, but that might be more on me than them. Omega/CIMA was easily match of the night, but for the first time, this was probably a show you won’t mind missing.
MoshFish Reviews 