Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevera & Minoru Suzuki vs Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta, & Shota Umino | 6 Man Tag Match Where Winners Receive Blood & Guts Advantage
Chris Jericho def. Shota Umino via Pinfall at 19:00
It’s a bit awkward in the beginning with weird exchanges and weird selling. Not to mention Jericho doing a really weird arm stretch while tapping the ribs with his elbows. It gets way better towards the end with nice exchanges, near falls, and a good story being told in the end with Shota attempting to get his revenge on Jericho before failing in the end. Solid opener. ***
FTR vs The United Empire vs Roppongi Vice | IWGP & ROH Tag Team Championships Winner Take All Match
Dax Harwood def. Rocky Romero via Pinfall at 16:20
Felt a bit underwhelming at times, but is a pretty good match with some nice exchanges and a great story of FTR rising from the fall after Harwood was temporarily hurt. Proud of their progress since their WWE departure. They deserve it. ***
PAC vs Miro vs Malakai Black vs Clark Connors | Inaugural AEW All-Atlantic Championship Fatal 4-Way
PAC def. Clark Connors via Submission at 15:01
Most of the match is very underwhelming, but towards the end its pretty entertaining with them actually acting like it’s a 4 way and doing great exchanges and a nice and dramatic closing sequence. Congrats to PAC. **3/4
Dudes With Attitudes vs Bullet Club | 6 Man Tag Team Match
Shingo Takagi def. El Phantasmo via Pinfall at 13:01
This match is completely and utterly dumb as hell, but I honestly kinda dug it. Solid trios match. (Side note: Sting has to be on a large amount of crack the ways he’s taking these bumps.) **3/4
Thunder Rosa(c) vs Toni Storm | AEW Women’s Championship Match
Thunder Rosa def. Toni Storm via Pinfall at 10:41
It’s a pretty solid match, but that flat finish really ruins it. There was a also a lack of intensity that is a serious problem in the womens division. **1/4
Will Ospreay(c) vs Orange Cassidy | IWGP United States Championship Match
Will Ospreay def. Orange Cassidy via Pinfall at 16:39
Best match of the show so far. Cassidy’s corny Gimmick lasted not long and he actually wrestled here. Ospreay is great too and Cassidy showed he is a raging machine in the ring. Loved his tenacity in the end to keep going before finally falling. Great seeing Shibata post match. He’s definitely a legend in the Japan scene and deserved at least an appearance. ***1/4
Zack Sabre Jr. vs ??? | Singles Match
Its….Claudio Castagnoli!!!!!!! (FKA Cesaro)
Claudio Castagnoli def. Zack Sabre Jr. Via Pinfall at 18:28
It’s absolutely great seeing Claudio/Cesaro back in wrestling and getting the recognition he completely deserves. This was a really good match that was both great in the technically spectrum and the consistency spectrum. Love this for both of these guys who deserve such a spot on the card. ***1/4
Jay White(c) vs Hangman Page vs Kazuchika Okada vs Adam Cole | IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Fatal 4-Way Match
Jay White def. Adam Cole via Pinfall at 21:05
I’m so confused what exactly happened at the end there. Was Cole hurt? Did he purposely take the pin? Either way it was a horribly flat finish to a match that was doing really well. The match throughout has some great exchanges and nice drama with Cole and White’s issues and Okada and Hangman being the original match. It was great. However that finish completely takes that away… ***1/4
Jon Moxley vs Hiroshi Tanahashi | Interim AEW World Championship Match
Jon Moxley def. Hiroshi Tanahashi at 18:16
This is good. There’s nothing shockingly great about it, but overall they put on a pretty solid contest and I like Tanahashi’s mini comeback towards the end before Moxley won, which I thought was a good finish. Can’t wait for Moxley vs Punk! ***
Afterwards to end the show, Blackpool Combat Club and Jericho Appreciation Society engaged in a Brawl previewing Blood & Guts!
My thoughts on this show may differ from others. Personally I feel that even with the set backs heading into the show, they still could’ve delivered a great show with the talent they still had with them. However I feel like this was a massive disappointment as a lot of the high value matches just didn’t hit the mark. The finish to the IWGP World Title match completely toned down my mood for the main event. The post main event Brawl was underwhelming, like the show. We got some good parts, but overall this show is what I like to call…mid. 5/10
