For those of you not familiar with AEW or All Elite Wrestling, here is a crash course. Founded in 2019 by billionaire Tony Khan (the Khan family that could have been owners of the Rams, but no, we had to have that clown Kroenke, but I digress) and Executive VPs The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), Kenny Omega, and Cody Rhodes as an alternative to WWE and their storyline and promo style, AEW was carving out its own niche until the pandemic hit. Since the Khan family own the Jacksonville Jaguars and Daily’s Place amphitheater in Jacksonville, FL, they set up shop and not only survived but grew during a time when they couldn’t have fans in the arena. I honestly do not know how I would have survived the pandemic without their weekly television shows and quarterly pay-per-views. It gave wrestling fans something to look forward to each week. They built their reputation on providing top quality in-ring action with less emphasis on the melodramatic (and many times unrealistic) storylines WWE offers. They prefer to tell a lot of the story beats within the confines of the match or the action surrounding something that happens. Not to say they don’t have storylines, but they put much greater emphasis on the in-ring action or a feud leading to a match. It is a much more mature product with some salty language, storylines surrounding things like anxiety and addressing mental health, and a HEAVY dose of hyperviolence. They offer a buffet of wrestling styles from lucha libre, to old school Memphis-style brawling, state of the art high flying, more realistic grappling, and hardcore matches with the occasional blood-soaked death match.
AEW has been to St. Louis multiple times and the set for this show was way better looking than any televised events they’ve done here, with the Arch being a giant focal point for the stage. It gave this a unique, only-in-St. Louis feel. The action on this show was excellent and across the entire card the quality was consistently high. There wasn’t a bad match or anything that didn’t need to be there. The crowds in St. Louis for wrestling events are a wild thing to be part of. AEW prides itself on having very vocal crowds—they can sometimes make or break a show with the amount of participation they provide. On this night, this was one of the best crowds I’ve seen. Much like soccer matches, crowd chants and participation are a big part of wrestling and this crowd did not disappoint with the volume and creativity at what was shouted back to the wrestlers. Just a top-tier crowd.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a better show than this one in 2025 in terms of match quality. The Tailgate Brawl is their one-hour preshow and it was fine, with the last match being FTR vs. Jet Speed, who have phenomenal chemistry together in the ring. What was unique about this match is it didn’t get started until a few minutes before the pay-per-view was to start so it bled over to the main broadcast, which was a nice touch of realism that fights don’t always end just in time for broadcasts. It helps that the match kicked ass, too.
On to the main card. Jamie Hayter vs. Thekla: Very hard-hitting match between two women known for hard hitting and being able to take punishment. Great start to the show with Hayter getting the win to further her ongoing feud with Thekla and her stable mates.
Jurassic Express vs. the Young Bucks: Phenomenal tag match with just unbelievable crowd heat. Storyline-wise, the Bucks are former Execs for AEW who lost those jobs and are now just wrestlers who are broke because of lavish lifestyles and gambling. The crowd was unrelenting towards the Bucks with chants like: You’re Still Broke, You Ain’t Got No Money, EBT, Food Stamps, Poor, Broke Bucks. Jurassic Express got the clean win. Post-match, the Bucks and the stable of the Don Callis Family attack JE and Kenny Omega makes the save. What is noticeable was his brief interaction with the Bucks, with him asking them to help him and they declined. Bucks and Kenny used to be known as The Elite but they turned on him. This is a start to a slow build redemption for the Bucks.
The Hurt Syndicate vs. The Demand: Great trios match. Going into the show, I didn’t really have feelings towards this match, but boy oh boy, did they deliver on the night. The Hurt Syndicate got the win and became the number 1 contender to the Trios Titles.
Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe for the TNT Championship: I could watch these two kick the crap out of each other for a long time and never get bored with it. Briscoe is a beloved veteran and Kyle is a young rising star. Fletcher gets the win in a great, hard-hitting match that was filled with near falls and drama as the winner could have gone either way with a satisfactory outcome.
Kris Statlander vs. Toni Storm Women’s World Championship: Another great hard-hitting affair. Briefly on Toni, who for the last two years has been one of the best characters in all of wrestling. She lost the title a few years ago and kind of lost her mind. She started acting like a 1930s movie star complete with the mid-Atlantic accent. Her character development and throuple feud with Mariah May and Mini Shirakawa was outstanding and easily one of the best storylines in the last two years, mixing friendship, mentorship, romance, and betrayal. Toni recently lost the title to Statlander. Stat gets the win here, which is causing Toni to spiral emotionally and question more who she is without being the champ. Stat is confronted by Mercedes Mone post-match with Mone dismissing Stat. Good stuff.
Mercedes Mone vs. Mini Shirakawa for TBS and Ring Of Honor TV Titles: Last minute addition to the show. Mone (formerly Shasha Banks of WWE fame) is currently in the storyline collecting titles from other promotions. AEW, much unlike WWE, is an open universe that acknowledges and collaborates with other wrestling promotions. Mone at the time of this match had 10 titles, tying the record previously held by wrestling legend Ultimo Dragon. The match was perfectly fine and served to get an 11th title on Mone, furthering her story of collecting titles. After the match she is confronted by Statlander, setting up a match for their next pay-per-view. Details for that match are TBD. The heat for that match will be electric.
Brodido vs. Okada/Takeshita for AEW Men’s Tag Team Championship: Just a top-tier tag match and you will be hard pressed to find a better tag match in 2025. Brodido is composed of Ring Of Honor Men’s Champion Bandido and Brodie King, who is also famous as the lead of hardcore band God’s Hate. The match was incredible, with multiple near falls that people bought was the end as well as some sequences that showcased just insane athleticism, including 300+ lb Brodie King diving through the ropes like a luchador and Takeshita wheelbarrow suplexing Brodie King. Brodido wins and retains the Tag titles after Okada “accidently” nails Takeshita with a massive shot. This split between the two Japanese stars has been very slow building, with Okada being the more veteran wrestler who is insanely jealous and resentful for younger upstart Takeshita. The match between these two, whenever it happens, is going to be one for the ages.
Hangman Adam Page vs. Samoa Joe Men’s World Championship: Hangman wins in a fantastic back and forth match where both wrestlers were dropping bombs on each other. This was one of those matches where you look at it and question if these guys know this isn’t supposed to be real as they were laying shots in hard. Post match, Joe acknowledges Page is legit and the champ, earning his respect, only to take his head off with a clothesline in a betrayal no one saw coming. The rematch for this is going to be a violent, nasty match and I cannot wait for it.
John Moxley vs. Darby Allin I Quit Match: The only way to win is to make your opponent quit. Given the way to win this match, these two ramped up the violence. Even given the Missouri Athletic Commission’s refusal to allow a lot of blood, glass, thumb tacks, crowd brawling, and most things you would see in modern blood feuds like this, they made this an extremely violent and memorable match. Controversy from this is a spot where Mox was trying to drown Darby in hopes of him quitting. That wasn’t even the most violent thing here but it’s all anyone seems to be talking about. This match involved a bamboo skewer shoved in a finger, table spots, and Darby being thrown from the ring onto the announcers’ table in one of the hardest hitting table bumps I have ever seen. I don’t know how he isn’t dead. He hit so hard. Darby gets the win when towards the end of the match the Icon, the Legend, Sting made a return to help save Darby. The crowd came unglued for this. That and Darby winning sent the crowd home happy.
All in all, this show gets an A from me and is highly recommended. | Michael Koehler
