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Welcome to the #AEWeekly review discussion where PWM contributors reflect on the highlights of the last week in AEW. The eligibility week always includes the most recent episode of Dynamite and Collision, plus any social-media exclusives up until publication.
This week’s contributors are Abel [@loza3.bsky.social] covering Match of the Week, Sachin [@sachin0mac.bsky.social] talking Best Interview, Lauren [@sithwitch.bsky.social] exploring a key Story Beat, Emiliana [@emilianartb.bsky.social] with the Moment of the Week, Peter [@peteredge7.bsky.social] giving us the MVP of the Week, and Sergei [@sergeialderman.bsky.social] editing and organizing it all.
A page of links to prior installments may be found here: #AEWeekly
We'd love for this and any and all of our content to be the beginning of a conversation with our readers. To interact with any and all of our contributors please accept our invitation to join the Pro Wrestling Musings Community Discord. Then follow this link to the #AEWeekly Discord Thread.
Awardee
"If you were to go to the wrestling lab and try to create the perfect wrestler, the outcome might be Konosuke Takeshita..."
by Abel.
There was only one option for Best Match this week, and that was always going to be the match between International Champion Konosuke Takeshita and challenger Orange Cassidy. In what was the first one-on-one meeting between the two AEW stars — and hopefully not the last — Takeshita and Cassidy built incredible momentum and excitement for the Revolution fight between The Alpha and The Omega.
The winner of the match, according to Don Callis and the rest of the announce team, was going to walk out with the moniker of the "Greatest International Champion of all time." To his credit (which is difficult to say) Callis is right. On talent alone, Takeshita might be the greatest International champion in its short history. On the flip side, Orange Cassidy not only had the most significant International championship run, but that run might also have been the greatest singles title run in AEW history. So it was within reason to believe that the winner could earn that accolade.
Before his match against Roderick Strong two weeks ago, Cassidy took the most extended break he has ever taken in AEW: six weeks. After two matches back, it didn't even look like he took a month and a half off. OC is just casually dropping banger matches in his nonchalant wake.
But, in this match, Takeshita was the star. Not to take anything away from Cassidy, as he is still a fantastic wrestler at 40 years old-- 41 in May of this year-- but Takeshita showed on last week's Dynamite that if you were to go to the wrestling lab and try to create the perfect wrestler, the outcome might come be Konosuke Takeshita. Everything The Alpha does in the ring looks so effortless and smooth. Very rarely will you see Takeshita make a mistake in the ring. His stamina will not allow it.
The perfect example of that was in the middle of the match. When the usually predictable spinning DDT and Stun-dog Millionaire from OC was turned on its head- almost literally- and showcased one of the most impressive feats of strength and athleticism an AEW ring had ever seen when Takeshita turned that into the best Blue Thunder-Bomb in the business. OC, of course, kicked out, but for a hot millisecond, we all thought this might be the Blue Thunderbomb that finally got a victory.
Like any great match, this went to the outside and created another great moment when OC hit his Beach Break on the announce table, breaking it in the process. The sense of desperation we got from Cassidy made his Beach Break even more visceral and compelling. That was his last true shot in the match before Takeshita took over and sealed it.
The Raging Fire is such an aesthetically pleasing finisher, which adds "aura" — I think that is how the kids use it — to the already growing legacy of Takeshita. He got the 1, 2, and 3 in an intense and exciting contender for the TV Match of the Year. We are only eight weeks into 2025, but Takeshita vs. OC has set the bar high for the rest of the roster on TV matches. Also adding to what has been an incredible run so far this year for AEW as a whole.
"You had absolutely no idea It was going to get this good. Did you?"
by Sachin.
The fact that this week's Best Interview was a tussle between Toni Storm and Ricochet, shows how far character work can take a performer. Ricochet has become a GREAT promo now and it’s not because he has changed his voice or style of verbiage in his promos and became incredibly charismatic and charming but because his Audio/Visual cables have finally plugged into a character that is in sync with his aesthetics and mannerisms. He has found a way to be comfortable with people's perception of him.
However, as talented and as self-aware as he may be, you know what he ain’t? He ain’t Toni. Ahaa-Haaaaaa. (This is a reference to that one promo that you may not remember. Just ignore me, I'm a dork.)
Toni has reached the pinnacle of her career for completely antithetical reasons to those of Ricochet. She is not even trying to portray anything similar to her real self — or anyone's real self. She is fake and (in character) she doesn’t know it.
So many programmes and feuds in wrestling seem less like a wrestling feud and more like a reality TV feud. When you look at Toni storm, you instantly know she is fake and meant to be — an interesting illusion meant to provide a brief escape from reality. Yet somehow she ends up, on a regular basis, as one of the more thought-out characters on the show. Her speech, her mannerisms , her behaviour, are all very consistent. Her acting is truly brilliant. And the fact that she is outlandish actually benefits every feud she is in, because it's fun to see a “normal” wrestler interact with her.
She has been able to become the North Star of American pro-wrestling that other wrestlers (Men or Women) can look up towards because of her unapologetic, unashamed and sincere portrayal of a ridiculous character that has talked, walked, dressed and wrestled like she is supposed to — or at least according to her own morphed interpretation of logic and reason. In other words it makes sense.
This week, her appearance wasn’t on a stage or in a wrestling ring but in a bed, wearing a neck brace. (People named Toni/y and neck braces – 2 nickels!) The feud between Mariah May and Toni Storm has seen enough twists and turns. The end is near and it is going exactly as it should, not in some fiery outrage of hate, but the calm before the storm.
You know, The nice part about being pile driven on stage and waking up to panicked doctors and dozens of messages asking me if I'll ever walk again.
It really gives you time to think if this has all been worth it or if the past 15 years of my life have been a complete waste of time because my dreams have been haunted by a woman who won't let me wake up.
She sold the attack that happened last week and talks about the physical damage of having to keep fighting Mariah all the time and the mental toll it has taken to a point where she can’t even keep her out of her dreams. I loved the phrasing of the last sentence – Mariah won’t let her sleep by haunting her in dreams and she won’t let her stay awake either as she keeps attacking her and leaving her unconscious. This is why I pay close attention to her promos — a beautiful string of sentences on a show where being merely crude and crass is more the norm.
What do you want Mariah? My Title? You can pry it from my cold dead hips. My soul? I'm going to leave it home… or do you just want the spotlight that drove you to me in the first place? Now that I can give you.
Disqualifications, I don't want them. Count outs, I don't need them. Rope breaks, piss off. Not a single hold will be barred and Falls count anywhere in the entire bloody building.
Mariah, my sweet dear Mariah, I hope you believe in God because now you're going to meet her.
She puts over the importance of the title in her own unique way. I’m not a big fan of wrestlers talking about soul and spirit and other stuff of that nature. It comes across (to me) a little hokey and cringe. But here it is done to communicate to the audience that their final affair will most likely be bloody and brutal and it’s not just because of the match type but also because of what these characters have brought out in each other. Will it main-event? No, that's for the old WWE guys. But this match will be a landmark for years to come as one of the best and longest women’s storyline in wrestling history. A true Hollywood ending has been earned. No more taking it slow, it's time for some fierce hate-making.
Wheeler Yuta and the Death Riders
"You finish the job..."
by Lauren.
The Death Riders have gone from running roughshod over the roster to running for their lives. Ramping up to Revolution this coming Sunday, March 9, Adam Copeland has gone on the attack.
Fresh off of PAC being taken off the board last week, the rest of the Death Riders were on high alert. When Claudio Castagnoli was jumped by Cope and dragged into the arena, Wheeler Yuta and Marina Shafir came to his rescue. For a moment the Death Riders were poised to turn the tables on Cope, but – between Jay White coming out to even the numbers Marina taking friendly fire in the form of a Busaiku knee to her face from Yuta – their fortunes quickly reversed. Mox salvaged what he could – namely, Yuta – and watched from the crowd as Willow Nightingale joined Cope and White in taking out Marina.
On Collision, just over a week before Mox vs Cope for the AEW World Heavyweight Championship, Yuta fought Willie Mack. Previously, the Death Riders have come out in a pack for their singles matches. But partially due to Yuta's own mistake, he walked out alone.
Yuta's transformation into Bryan Danielson has been ongoing for some time now: first the moves, and lately the hair and beard are currently hovering around Danielson circa 2013. During his match he drove the similarity home, shouting “I have until five!” in the manner of his mentor. But the influence of his other mentor, Jon Moxley, has been equally on display. But not nearly enough, it seems, as Mox charged into the ring to lecture Yuta. Willie Mack had only been defeated, and if Yuta is to face Cope on this week's Dynamite, mere defeat isn't good enough.
Yuta clubbed Willie Mack in the face with the briefcase containing Mox's belt. As Mox left through the crowd, Yuta stood in the ring, watching Mox go and absently petting the briefcase, as if for reassurance. This small action does a masterful job of showing Yuta's state of mind. He turned on his original mentors in favor of what Mox and Danielson could teach him, all those years ago. He wants to live up to their examples, to the point of wanting to embody Danielson. And then, he turned on Danielson. He has spent the year-plus since justifying that decision to himself to the point where he states that he has nothing to live for, but would die for Mox.
A part of Yuta doubts his actions. Perhaps the part determined to publically go through the awkward stages of growing out short hair in favor of looking like someone else. What would it take for that doubt to outweigh his loyalty? Seeing Mox defeated, perhaps?
Whether it happens at Revolution or beyond, one day Mox will lose his title. What does a cult do when their leader is revealed to be only human? Time will tell.
Ricochet
"Y’all Don’t Have Enough Money In Your Bank Account To Pay My Fee!"
by Emiliana.
In a time where I generally do not feel up to watching wrestling most weeks despite multiple hot feuds in Hangman/MJF and Toni/Mariah, it is the goofballery of pathetic characters that relieves my heavy, turmoiled heart. While I could sit here and tell you that yes, I did in fact raise an interested eyebrow at the prospect of Swerve Strickland making plays to get back to the AEW men’s World Championship, I also want to temper my expectations on what could be before I wind myself up into a tizzy and dream book a Hangman / Swerve rematch at Y’All In and then get masterfully disappointed if it doesn’t happen. So, like that former men’s World Champion Bryan Danielson said eight months ago (she says, begrudgingly), I will remain present and enjoy the moments that are happening, right now, in front of me. Like Hangman Page (she says, more excitedly), I will lie about living in the now and not looking to the past.
Ricochet is absolutely killing it. He came out last week at Dynamite like the cat who ate the canary, except the cat is about four weeks old and is barely bigger than the canary it just ate. Yes, in Nana’s robe he looks so small and tiny that it invokes the DUMBEST biological instinct in me possible – the same exact feeling that I get when I see cowboy boots for a newborn baby at the Western boot store. He makes me squeal with delight. Pepper in the fact that he decides to match a nerdy outfit with a giant robe and a snapback of this year’s Super Bowl champions, and he just looks like a five year old on their first day of kindergarten.
The lame sports insults, the constant looks back to the ramp camera, the laugh, the nervous rambling when the crowd drones in a continuous boo, the cheap heat of stealing Mercedes’ line in the Harley Cameron feud of “are you STUPID or are you DUMB?” despite the fact that we got tired of the line three weeks ago. Somehow this is working in the most endearing, charming, most pathetic way possible. I hope it never ends. I don’t want to worry about what will happen when the feud with Swerve is over, I just want to live in a world where this will always make me laugh out loud.
The obvious and correct winner of the match at Revolution should be Swerve Strickland. It makes the most sense for the match I’d like to see down the line. But let’s say that there’s an upset in the World title scene this weekend, and Big Cope manages to dethrone the king. Ricochet feels like a great first guy to feed to Copeland, but let’s not put that out into the universe. In any case, I hope Ricochet comes out looking even more pathetic and psychopathic with each passing week.
Gabe Kidd
"The Forbidden Door has been barged down…"
by Peter.
It's said that gimmicks in AEW are the performer's real personality turned up to 11… and you can say the same for some AEW-adjacent people too, and maybe the best example of that is Gabe Kidd. Since making his bow on the NJPW main roster, Gabe has been everything that he claims to be: He is a mad man. He looks like someone who is about to commit a crime that meant he wouldn't be allowed to wrestle for the foreseeable future. He acts like the guy if he thought someone was looking at him funny in the pub on a Thursday afternoon, the next thing you'd see was the inside of an ambulance.
But how much of it is an act in the world of wrestling and how much of it is real?... For those who knew the story of Gabe, they knew a large part of the answer to that, but those that didn't learnt a lot about Gabe this weekend on AEW's YouTube.
But before we talk about the main reason I'm picking Gabe Kidd as my MVP, let's talk about Gabe's appearance on AEW lineal television…
Mark Briscoe is being interviewed backstage by Lexy Nair... It's Mark Briscoe being Mark Briscoe, he's promoting the trios match he'll feature in on the Zero Hour on Revolution night… but then enter a lad from Nottingham full of piss and vinegar. Kidd wants some television time… he's been flown to Oakland yet not been anywhere near anything viewers might see on TNT. Maybe someone went long on their time and Gabe's time got cut… but no-one should cut Gabe's time because he'll butt in on someone else's interview!
The moment he sees Mark Briscoe, he makes a beeline. The time for the airing of grievances is now…
Now, when Chris Jericho mentioned Jay Briscoe in the run up to the ROH title match they had, it felt gnarly, unjustified, like something that existed purely to offend and disgust… yet when Gabe mentioned Mark's bro backstage on Collision, it didn't feel like any of that.
The fan in Gabe Kidd comes out when he talks about one of the greatest teams of the 21st century — did you spot the Briscoes reference in Gabe's diatribe? But the use of a past Briscoe reference was not there just for us to go "I understood that reference" — Gabe used it to further his claim that this variant of Mark Briscoe is a neutered, PG version. It's something that certainly struck at Mark's core — cue the resulting pull-apart brawl.
But as I mentioned before, as good as that brawl was, that isn't the reason why I'm picking Gabe as my MVP…
RJ City's "Between Two Ferns"-esque interview show Hey! (EW) on AEW's YouTube channel is a really fun 15-20 mins of content to watch on a Sunday while you dread the fact you're having to go back to work tomorrow. An appearance on the show can reveal the real human being behind the facade that the man or woman can be on AEW. Many have charmed (Jeff Jarrett and Hikaru Shida) and some have bombed (Adam Cole and Ruby Soho) It's not a coincidence that those who have bombed came into the room with their characters stuck to them. Those who the masses have enjoyed have just been themselves and willing to join in the joke.
Gabe managed to jump from being the man to being the character and pulled it off easily. In between the cursing out of RJ and the getting freaky with the Hey! (EW) were some really affecting moments behind the gimmick.
Gabe told a story of his time stuck in isolation with COVID. He also told stories of times when he really struggled with his mental health. He told of how much he loved his mom and he cursed out all the other moms, because he can't help but slip into the gimmick but the times when he stopped being Gabe and became Gabriel told of a man who I can't help but root for even when he would sometimes go into his anti-AEW schtick, and that's one of the most fascinating things about Gabe's appearances in AEW.
The special relationship between AEW and NJPW doesn't really leave anything for hostilities that aren't friendly competition (despite Chris Charlton's efforts on Jan 5th), but Gabe has managed to position himself as the outsider coming into AEW hunting for big fish in the locker room. The Forbidden Door has seen many cross the Pacific Ocean to wrestle outside their comfort zone, but it looks like one man coming from Japan to the US is changing the vibe and making many in AEW feel really uncomfortable
In a month when AEW lost many people seen as malcontents, a man in Gabe Kidd has come into AEW to make waves and knock down doors… and that is going to make things really fun.
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