Wednesdaymania 229: Fight for the Fallen

The third Official PPV for AEW!

By now, I'm fairly certain that everyone who reads my Wednesdaymania Blogs is aware that I'm obsessed with the new kid on the block, All-Elite Wrestling. I'm not what you might call "subtle", after all. Neither is AEW. Their latest Pay-Per View, Fight for the Fallen, was a charity show to raise money for victims of gun violence, and it was streamed for free in the US on B/R Live. The Pre-Show was on, and is still available on, YouTube.

I'm really digging the "expensive Pay Per View followed by free offerings" thing AEW has going here. I hope they don't change it too much (unless they change it by making the paid PPV's less expensive...).

I watched this show via Roku with our Wrestling Friends and Z, which is really the way to do it, in my opinion. Gather your friends and family who like wrestling, make some delicious cheesy shepherd's pie, collect snacks and drinks, and settle in for a good time for a good cause.

Sonny Kiss vs Librarian Peter Avalon with Librarian Leva Bates

The preshow kicked off with an awesome match between two awesome people. The Librarian Gimmick is super over with me. I can read. I love reading. Reading rocks. Also, I think these two are hilarious and are perfect for this whole gimmick. I'll be really sad when it has run its course.

Peter Avalon came out in a Ric Flair-style robe, accompanied by Ms Bates carrying a stack of books. He shushed the crowd and tried to get them mad at him. The people of Florida obliged, chanting "Reading Sucks" at him until he was interrupted by Sonny Kiss's entrance.

I once feared that Sonny might be all style and no substance, as often seems to happen with people who have incredible personalities. They're charming, attractive, funny, and can talk all day and you never get bored, but then they get in the ring and it all falls apart. This is absolutely, unequivocally NOT the case with Sonny Kiss. Fabulous both inside the ring and out, Kiss is someone to watch, and watch closely!

Sonny came out to the ring with the Jacksonville Jaguars cheerleaders, and apparently choreographed the dance, too!
Fantastic!

The match itself was pretty darn good! I love watching people do their jobs well, and Peter Avalon and Sonny Kiss embody the ideal of a job well done. I loved the Heel work Avalon and Bates gave us, I loved Sonny being fabulous and awesome in the ring, and I loved the match!

My only quibble is something Z pointed out to me - Sonny's finisher, which is something like a cross between a very impressive split and a top-rope guillotine leg drop, is going to shorten his career. Seriously - that's going to wreck the pelvis and/or knee joints! Be careful with the splits, but aside from that, incredible work!

Sonny Kiss only took 5:10 to defeat the Librarians. I could've used another 5 minutes, to be honest!

More Multi-Woman Tag Action
Dr. Britt Baker DDM and Riho vs Shoko Nakajima and Bea Priestley

I have never seen Bea or Shoko Nakajima wrestle. Bea, I know via her relationship with Will Ospreay, but aside from that... nada. I knew literally nothing about Shoko Nakajima going into this match.

Uh.. guys...

This was a scary multi-woman match.

So, Bea is a one-woman wrecking crew, which is awesome, and Riho is, of course, the most seasoned veteran of the foursome, but... somehow, some way, Britt wound up with a concussion. That's a very bad thing when you're only three shows into your company and your prospective Women's Champion nearly bites it in the pre-show for a charity event...

The match itself, however, was pretty decent! Riho and Bea kicked butt, Britt was really solid, and Shoko scared the crap out of me a couple of times. Shoko Nakajima, by the way, came out to the ring dressed as a combination of Princess Mononoke and the wolf goddess Moro. Why am I bringing that up? Because it's cool, and also... they do spots where she acts like her tail is actually a part of her, and that was funny and neat!

But all the funny neatness in the world cannot protect you from devastation in the ring.

I'm really hoping that this match builds to a feud where Bea Priestly may become champ, because this match really made me love her. I would be fine if Britt lost the belt to Riho, and then Riho and Bea fought over the title for a few PPVs!

Impressive work from all four women over the course of 15:40, but the match did end up feeling too long and probably would have been better served if Bea and Shoko had succeeded in their win at about 12 minutes.

Last Note: This match is about when something really weird happened - for some reason, there was really bad closed captioning over the whole match and during parts of the actual show, and I'm not sure what happened. We had originally theorized that Z had accidentally activated the CC at some point while helping wrangle the Wrestling Friendos' Toddler, but it seems that the captions were a universal issue. What's up with that?

Jimmy Havoc, Darby Allin, and Joey Janela vs MJF, Sammy Guevara, and Shawn Spears.
aka
The Self-Demolition Derby vs The Douche Patrol
(Also, it's in black & white because the colorized versions I found were in unusable formats :( )

Okay, so we have a team of people who hate themselves and everybody else versus a team of people who nobody loves except themselves. The Douche Patrol, which is my own name for this team, is one of those volcanic, unstable groups where everyone within the party hates each other. MJF, especially, hates Shawn Spears (or at least, that's what he wants us to think...), and nobody likes Sammy Guevara.

I mean, Sammy's a great wrestler. He's fantastic in the ring. He's just also a grade-A Heel. Like... he's got almost as much heat with me as MJF does, and that takes some doing. Spears has not yet developed into a character I can despise, but that's not his fault. It'll take some time to undo the damage the WWE has done.

Ah, but what about the match - the first match of the PPV proper?

This is a match where everyone is at odds. Darby and MJF are both out for Shawn Spears' blood. Jimmy Havoc and Joey Janela want to kill Guevara. Sammy only cares about Sammy. Everyone hates MJF. It's great. The storytelling is superb, and you really start to get a sense of who everyone is.

I'm a little annoyed that Darby took the pin, since it really should have been Joey, in my opinion.

Honestly, though, this was a really cool match.

At 13:15 long, I feel like this match could really have used a bit more breathing room. Some of the spots got a bit muddled by everyone trying to get their stuff in where they could, and the finish seemed like it could have used some work. That being said, no one should be able to complain about how much work everyone put in. Darby Allin basically teleported around the ring - seriously, are we sure he's not a secret speedster - and he's just as accomplished a grappler as he is a brawler or aerialist. Jimmy looked pretty great, taking people apart. Joey looked like Joey, which is absolutely a compliment. Sammy made me want to slap him, which was perfect. MJF, however, did almost a half-turn, which is amazing, considering the heinous promos he's given this PPV. Shawn Spears still has work to do to make me hate him in accordance with his actions. He's getting better, though, since he's got a new look about his eyes that makes him seem, if not dangerous, than at least someone to be a bit more cautious around than before.

tl;dr: this is a good match, it just needed maybe 2 more minutes!

Brandi Rhodes vs Allie
A match much-hyped.

This match got a lot of promos on the Nightmare Family YouTube channel, and it made Brandi almost sympathetic. Here, however, is where things seem to have gone awry in AEW.

Look, I get it. Brandi is Cody's wife. Brandi wants to be a legitimate competitor and have the respect of everyone in and out of wrestling. She has the work ethic. She has the look. She will have as much skill as the other women in the ring, some day.

She's just... she's a little green. I mean, it takes wrestlers an average of ten years to master their craft. Almost everyone you've ever loved in wrestling really figured it out by the end of their first decade. Now, there are freaks like Will Ospreay and Velveteen Dream and Sonny Kiss, but they are few and far between in the Wrestling World. Most people need to have a lot more time in the ring before they become masters. Brandi has not yet had the benefit of these years. It's therefore pretty hard to judge her skills because she hasn't had time to nail them down yet.

So why are they doing the sympathetic promo that makes her human and then undercutting that by making her a Stephanie McMahon clone? It's unpleasantly bipolar and gives me an unenjoyable sense of emotional whiplash.

That being said, having Awesome Kong suddenly appear during the match to support Brandi was kinda cool. I like the idea of her being Brandi's Dance Coach Mom - the kind who will break the competition's legs if need be. You know what else I liked?

The sudden and surprise appearance of Aja Kong at the end when Brandi beat Allie.

Now I want a War of Two Kongs - Faces rallying behind/beside Aja, Heels behind/beside Awesome.

Seriously.

Also, with three Big Women, can we have a Heavyweight division for women at some point in the future? I'd like that, please, thanks...

This match was a sadly long-winded 11 minutes long.

Guys, give Brandi some time to master her craft before putting her on PPVs - it's a disservice to her future in the ring and may breed resentment among other wrestlers who had to wait a decade or more to get Pay Per View time.

But seriously, that surprise with Aja/Awesome was really, really cool!

The Dark Order vs The Obnoxious Gear Bros vs A Boy and His Dinosaur
aka
Dark Order vs Jack Evans and Angelico vs Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy

I love weird gimmicks. I love crazy bad guys. I love crazy good guys. I love ugly gear. I love the combo of Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy.

No, seriously, I don't think you understand.

The Boy and His Dino give me life.

And this match was really, really fun. Jack Evans and Angelico are obnoxiously green, so it's really easy to see them being chucked around by two behemoths like Evil Uno and Luchasaurus. Jungle Boy got to be a human pinball, though I'm shocked he didn't crack his skull open during a couple of the crazier spots. Evil Uno got to show off that he's not some lumbering blob, he's actually really agile!

This match did, however, end up feeling overstuffed. With six really good wrestlers in the ring at the same time, it was hard to tell who was doing what, who was legal, what was going on... essentially, things were kind of messy, despite the enormous talents of the men involved.

Dark Order obliterated poor Jungle Boy in 15:15, but the match could have easily gone to 20 minutes.

Hangman Adam Page vs Kip Sabian

Confession time: I have no idea who Kip Sabian is or what his background is or where he's from or anything. He's a total unknown to me, just like Dark Order. That said, this match taught me pretty quickly that Kip Sabian is a legit contender. He's got the moves, he's got the presence, he's got the gift of gab, and he's really, really cool. I could easily watch another Page vs Sabian match. Or three. I'll probably get at least two more, if AEW writes their arcs like other companies have.

This was a longer match, 19:05 according to the internet, but you don't feel it. It's so fast paced and interesting to watch that you don't notice the time passing you by. Sabian is a truly worthy opponent for Page, and it makes me wonder how awesome he'd be in person. If Hangman's presence, power, and grace do not properly translate on a screen (and they don't - he was at the Lewiston show I went to, and even there, in front of a pitiful crowd of salty New Englanders, he was spectacular), how must Sabian look?

This was a match I'd happily watch again.

Of course, there was a run-in after the match, with someone dressed like one of the Dark Order Creepers coming out to the ring and assaulting the victorious Page. Who do you think was under that mask? If you thought the broad-bellied fellow maiming the presumptive Champ was Chris Jericho, congratulations! You've been paying attention to the storyline!

Seriously, though, if you go and watch this match and the aftermath, it's hard to keep a straight face with Jericho wearing such a bad-looking outfit...

SCU (Scorpio Sky and Frankie Kazarian) vs the Lucha Bros

So. The Lucha Bros are probably the best tag team on Earth, right?

And SCU are probably one of the other best tag teams on Earth, right?

And they've fought each other before, right?

So why was this match so off?

It was a really good match - the pace was pretty decent, the moves were good, everyone got their moves in, and boy was it fun to watch, but...

Things were a little off. Spots were a split-second off. Moves had just a little too much air. I think the Lucha Bros didn't want to slow down at all to an American style and SCU were not quite prepared to turn up the heat past 11.

Daniels got involved, but he was pretty quickly punished by the Bros, who chopped him hard enough that I'm surprised his ankh tattoo didn't fly into the crowd. The Bros eventually introduced a ladder to Daniels, who was checking on his fallen friends after the Lucha Bros crushed them in 15:10.

A very nice ladder - painted in the company colors!

The match is NOT bad. It's a really good match. If you haven't watched the Bros vs the Bucks several times. SCU's style doesn't mesh with Lucha the same way the Bucks' style does, and it's only distracting if you're obsessed with the way moves connect like I am. If you like SCU and you like the Lucha Bros, you're probably going to like this match.

About that ladder, though...

The Bros climbed the ladder after the match and delivered a promo challenging the Bucks to a ladder match - it's a fantastic promo. Rey Fenix was fired all the way up, and Penta was completely nuts. Loved it!

Kenny Omega vs Cima

Kenny Omega is, arguably, the best wrestler on earth besides Kota Ibushi. He's smooth, he's expressive, his moves are impressive and consistent. He doesn't botch more than once a match (more often than not, and usually, it's 0 botches). He's the creme de la creme!

Cima is a relative unknown to me, but learning that he helped train Kenny makes this match all the more interesting.

Kenny was in the zone for this match. Both men moved like a well-oiled machine, and Cima really, really impressed me, not just with his excellent offense and defense, but with his wonderful selling, as well. The young wrestlers of China have an excellent mentor in Cima, and I get the feeling that OWE will be a pretty big name in the next five to ten years on par with All-Japan or ROH.

At 22:30, this match is one of the few I've seen this year (from any company) that felt like it was the perfect length. Omega and Cima told their story, showed their strength, and really got me invested in this match.

I'd watch this again in a heartbeat.

Our Main Event
The Young Bucks vs the Brotherhood

Remember the intense, emotional moment between Cody and Dustin at Double or Nothing? Where Cody tearfully asked Dustin to join him against the Bucks?

Remember how the Bucks made fun of that moment? Because they did. Repeatedly.

On Being the Elite.

See, in the absence of a TV presence at the moment, a lot of the storylines for AEW have been put forward on the Bucks' YouTube show. If you haven't been following BTE, a lot of AEW will make little sense, so I strongly recommend going back and watching all of the episodes from Double or Nothing to just before Fight for the Fallen for the full storyline.

Basically, the Bucks have been total d-bags about the emotional pinnacle of Double or Nothing, building mondo heat for this main event, and boy, does it carry through.

This match is brutal but thankfully, not bloody

These men fight like they actually hate each other, and at the end of the night, when all is said and done, it really feels like friends who have a blowup, fight it out, and then, eventually, forgive one another. It feels like a real story. It feels... real.

I loved every second of this 31:25 match. It felt exactly the right length, with moments where it felt like the match was over only to have someone come up with just enough energy to keep going for one more exchange, one more pin attempt, one more punch or kick. They used each other's moves. They used each other's taunts. They fought like a bitter couple in the middle of a divorce.

And then the Bucks somehow, some way, pulled out a win.

And for the first time in a long time, it felt like they'd really, really had to fight for it. It wasn't a clinic like their matches against the Lucha Bros sometimes become. It wasn't a squash. It wasn't two evenly matched teams competing for a prize.

It was a fight between two pairs of brothers.

It was a schoolyard brawl.

It was perfect.

And yeah, the promo at the end was cut short by the Khans coming out with Kenny to announce that the gate for the evening (with a few smaller donations added on) was $150k, all of which was going to the victims of gun violence.

And yeah, it made things feel a little... off in the end, but...

I think things are absolutely okay between these brotherhoods :)

And that, my friends was 2019's Fight for the Fallen PPV out of Jacksonville, FL.

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