.png)
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, Rampage, and Collision, plus any social-media exclusives up until publication.
This week’s contributors are Tim [@TimmayMan] covering Match of the Week, Sergei [@SergeiAlderman] talking Best Interview, Gareth [@Gareth_eno] exploring a key Story Beat, Emiliana [@emilianartb.bsky.social] with the Moment of the Week, and Peter [@PeterEdge7] giving us the MVP of the Week.
A page of links to prior installments may be found here: #AEWeekly
Will Ospreay vs Darby Allin
"Chapter One..."
by Tim.
Wrestling booking is such a unique thing in the entertainment industry. There’s a mix of long-term planning, on-the-fly pivots, real-sports analytics, and keeping secrets from the fans, (sometimes even from the wrestlers.) The Match of the Week this week between Darby Allin and Will Ospreay, in addition to being a great match, is a great example of Tony Khan’s booking strategy. Clearly both Allin and Ospreay are key figures in the hierarchy of AEW. They were bound to cross paths at some point so how does that happen? Do you put a title on one and have the other chase them? Do you do the overused "tag-team partners who can’t coexist" storyline?
Khan went the route of putting them both in a tournament where fans knew they would eventually cross paths. He then advertised their matchup weeks in advance knowing that these two would deliver, and deliver they did. Their match from Dynamite was incredible. Fueled by a hot crowd the two workers put on a display that will be on lots of “best of 2024” lists. One could feel that their styles would mesh well together before the opening bell. Once the in-ring action started it was evident that this pairing was as good as hot cocoa on a cold winter day. The quickness and precision of both men plays into each other’s strengths and elevates the in-ring action. The stand-out sequence in the middle of the match displays this. Ospreay goes for a Phoenix Splash from the top and Darby rolls out of the way. Darby attempts a Code Red, Ospreay flips Darby over, Darby lands a perfect dismount with both feet on the mat, but Ospreay hits a Hidden Blade. A Storm Breaker attempt from Ospreay, but Darby reverses that into a Code Red. This has the fans near-apoplectic with excitement.
The action moves to the ring apron and the spot that follows is one I wouldn’t recommend to anyone — Ospreay gets Darby into the Styles Clash and jumps to the floor. The potential for injury is crazy-high here. Darby seems invincible but a bad landing and he’s paralyzed (or worse). Ospreay does a great job to protect Darby, but in doing so he has opened himself up to a debilitating knee/leg injury or any number of issues. My first response to this spot was amazement. My second response a fraction of second later is that I hope they never try that move again. Back in the ring and another Storm Breaker attempt is countered by Darby, this time into a Scorpion Death Drop (I love that the spirit of Sting finds his way into Darby’s matches this way). Two Coffin Drops later and Darby has a hard earned win and three points in the Continental Classic.
So what does the future hold for either man? It’s a safe bet that at least one of them will be AEW World champion at some point in 2025. With this C2 matchup as an opening chapter, a rematch with a title on the line means more. Or maybe they find themselves as allies as the Death Riders continue to run rampant across AEW. A booker must hold their cards close to their chests sometimes. I feel that Tony Khan (in his head, if nowhere else) has long-term plans for Allin and Ospreay. This 5-star opening bout is just the beginning and where they go from here is full of exciting possibilities.
No Awardee
"Not feeling it this week..."
by Sergei.
In a week marked by amazing in-ring action, especially the amazing Match of the Week between Allin and Ospreay, the mic work just wasn't up to par, in my considered opinion.
Ricochet… a-HAA!
"MVP Motivates Ricochet..."
by Gareth.
“What a difference a week can make...” That’s what Ricochet may be saying as only a week ago people were calling his arrival in AEW “underwhelming”. Yet here we are, one week later, and it seems everyone is at least interested in what “Trevor” is up to.
It started on Dynamite where Ricochet’s promo was interrupted by the Hurt Syndicate. Whilst Bobby Lashley held ‘The One and Only’ in place, MVP took back his business card and told Ricochet that “nobody likes a kiss-ass.”
This coming after many weeks of the Hurt Syndicate flirting with Ricochet, it was somewhat of a swerve. But what came next as “Trevor” was once again interrupted, this time by Swerve Strickland, who humbled Ricochet in such a manner that would humiliate certain performers.
However, this version of Ricochet feels different. Like he breaks all the rules of what a pro-wrestler should “try to be”. He’s stumbling over his words and being intentionally dorky with adlibs like his new catchphrase “a-haa!”
Many wrestlers wouldn’t recover from such a week, but Ricochet let it bounce off him in a way that makes it all feel very, very intentional. Then on Collision, we all saw exactly that.
As Ricochet took on his long-time rival Will Ospreay, he took MVP’s words as motivation and earned his 9th point in the Continental Classic. Intentionally cheating twice to beat ‘The Aerial Assassin’ in a match where he showed his potential as a heel. Both in how he acted and in the crowd responses he was getting. Loud boos and toilet paper thrown at him.
So, where does this leave Ricochet? Mocked by the coolest babyface in the company and disrespected by the heel group who Ricochet seemed destined to join.
Well, maybe Ricochet will just be a loner who continues to get strong heel reactions and lean more and more into that. Or, perhaps, he will continue to impress The Hurt Syndicate and eventually join with them. Whatever direction it goes, one thing is clear. This is the most compelling Ricochet has probably ever been as a TV character.
Ricochet
"He’s Just A Little Guy..."
by Emiliana.
If I had my way, Ricochet would be MVP, Moment, and Match of the week, as well as an Emi Award for Most Improved, all in the span of this past week. But alas, this is a collaborative effort, and my fellow contributors are free to choose as their hearts desire.
But for me, Ricochet is my darling, pathetic, loser son and I think he should win everything. Because he’s my son. Let the record state that I never lost faith in him, not even when everyone was complaining about the match with Takeshita and how it was “slow” and how they “expected more.” No, that was your problem, not mine. I enjoyed the pacing of that match, though I could see how others thought it was slow - for those two men, yes, perhaps.
HOWEVER, we’re not here to talk about the distant past. We’re here to talk about the recent past - specifically this week, where Ricochet got to show off more extensively what he was hinting at last week with that goofy laugh - a new personality! Or at very least, the dam finally broke open on what we knew was always there: this guy is not cool, and that’s OKAY! It’s perfectly okay to like a guy that emanates loser energy, because as my darling Anne on the Tunnel Talk podcast said this week, “you know, I thought the goal of stories in wrestling were to make me want one person to win…you know what people like watching? The underdog to win.” And it’s true! We have to have losers in wrestling, and not just at the lowest level of the card or in the record column. The greatest faction in AEW since its inception have been the Elite. Every person in this faction except Cody Rhodes actively chose to emphasize, at different points in their AEW careers, pathetic loser energy - usually by some form of psychotic break. And it works!
But back to the matter at hand - Ricochet had many outstanding moments this week, and it was honestly difficult for me to choose between them. ln the interview he had in the ring with Tony Schiavone, we witnessed the Hurt Syndicate essentially bully him in front of the whole school, give him an atomic wedgie, and then stuff him in a locker. Later on at Dynamite, while he was giving an interview with Renee, Ricochet was interrupted by none other than Swerve Strickland. Swerve dressed Ricochet down once more, but this time we got to see the slightly rattled but still strong heart of Ricochet as he reminded Swerve that he did not win last year’s Continental Classic. And then finally, on "Christmas Collision", we witnessed the nail in the coffin of Ricochet’s former self, as he came out in trunks with a t-shirt hanging out of the front, making him look like an arrogant dork that nobody in their right mind should love - except for me, a woman who loves freaks and geeks.
Whether a shoot or a work (who can really say?), toilet paper rolls were thrown into the ring and settled around Ricochet’s feet, to the glee of golden retriever Will Ospreay. The Hammerstein Ballroom was the perfect place to set up this complete and utter makeover of Ricochet’s character, as Ricochet picked up a toilet roll, looked to the crowd, and wiped the underside of his trunks with it - to the verbal disgust of the fans.
But perhaps THE greatest moment for Ricochet this week was at the crescendo of the riveting match, when he stole the victory from Will Ospreay through nefarious means, cementing his status as a dork heel, the guy you (not me) want to see lose.
I, however, was vindicated. It’s not often you see a man look around and realize we need a top loser in wrestling. As a man who trained under the mentorship of Charles Entertainment Taylor, it only makes sense that Ricochet should be the guy to step down and be the loser he was always meant to be…and follow in his mentor’s footsteps.
Will Ospreay
"On Will’s terms"
by Peter.
To make a great wrestling match, you need a dance partner. You can't do the tango by yourself, conversations are more illuminating when you're not talking to a wall and if you were to have a MOTYC you need both men to come out and give a MVP performance and that's what we saw.
Tim goes into the match in fantastic detail (we'll miss your excellent work buddy) but in my look at who the MVP was of this match and in my view therefore this week (Ricochet was a close third, sorry Emi) I asked myself on a second watch, who is winning the fight to have the match on their terms. Are we watching a Will Ospreay match or a Darby Allin match?
While both men are renowned for being high-flyers, they are different in their styles of flying. Will is now controlled in his aerial assault, earning his name of Assassin. Darby despite Tony Schiavone's insistence that he isn't, is still reckless with his attempt to gain control of a match as that attempt of the Coffin Drop showed an obvious note on that but with two contrasting styles, which road would the pair go down to the expected *****
That honour would go to Will.
The final five minutes saw all the tropes from Ospreay that make his matches so enjoyable. The reversals made me ooh and aah. That Hidden Blade came out of nowhere and Will did an insane move. But we also got to see the subtle heel Will.
Since Will has been All Elite, we haven't seen the Will Ospreay that was heel in 2023. In 2024, we've seen Will soak in the Ospreay chant during Elevated from the patrons in the Church of Ospreay, he's been the cool, happy Will Ospreay but that mean streak is just hibernating. That mean streak that was on show when through various moments in the last 5 years such as the Ibushi and Takahashi matches at the Dome and the Michael Oku matches in Rev Pro shone again when he picked the greater of two evils when contemplating whether to hit the Styles Clash on either the apron or the outside floor.
But while Will could be as subtle as shouting Leeroy Jenkins while playing on Blizzard in the past, Ospreay's control segment showed a man who is the better wrestler but wasn't being nasty about it. The purpose was to win, something that could be seen in the background while Darby was feeling the effects of the Styles Clash when Ospreay motioned that he was taking the count out win.
Will didn't get that count out win. He didn't even get the win as Darby took the spoils and now has a hill to climb to qualify for the final four of the C2 needing a lifeline from other events in the Gold League to advance but Will's performance in what will surely be the Dynamite MOTY shows how he's the best wrestler in the world right now and it's up to everyone else to catch up with Billy G.O.A.T. when it comes to match quality when the calendar turns to 2025 and the next year to come.
댓글