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Welcome to the #AEWeekly review discussion where PWM contributors reflect on the highlights of the last week in AEW. This week eligibility includes the special "Title Tuesday" episode of Dynamite as well as the WrestleDream PPV, plus any social-media exclusives up until publication.
This week’s contributors are Tim [@TimmayMan] covering match of the week, Sergei [@SergeiAlderman] covering interview, Saul [@SaulKiloh] exploring a key story beat, Peter [@PeterEdge7] with the moment of the week, and Joe [@GoodVsBadGuys] giving us the MVP of the week.
A page of links to prior installments may be found here: #AEWeekly
Bryan Danielson
"This isn't Tony’s company anymore"
by Peter.
A man is on the ground, being placed on a stretcher. His colleagues are looking on stunned, shocked as if the world has ended and they can do nothing about it. The man who is on the stretcher's biggest enemy is looking on actually concerned for his welfare and the main play-by-play commentator is openly weeping into his mic. If the end of All In was "Happy Shiny People" the end of WrestleDream was the entire back catalogue of The Smiths.
The comparison to the end of Infinity War and the Empire Strikes Back have already been made, and the short-term future of AEW television is going to see the main stars of the company attempting to reclaim the company now held hostage by The Blackpool Combat Club via the prism of the World Title. But the question has to be: who is the guy who is snapping his fingers.
Jon Moxley isn't Thanos in this equation.
The moment Jon Moxley won the AEW World Title, he passed "Big Platinum" to Claudio Castagnoli and it immediately got put into a bag as if it was being delivered to a destination. That destination might be to the "greater cause" that has been rumoured since Excalibur mentioned the someone might be pulling the strings in Jon Moxley's quest the last 2 months. That destination might an undesirable person and place and while who that person is will be a topic of debate in the next few days maybe weeks, the roadmap of AEW has been made clear.
In a country that is losing good men by the week, someone needs to step up. The final shot of WrestleDream saw two men that could possibly do it in Orange Cassidy and Darby Allin. It sure isn't going to be Wheeler Yuta who stuck his flag into the sand no matter how reluctant he was. That man to avenge the American Dragon might be some New Hope we don't even suspect yet, but right now—after a several-minute spree of violence that saw a legend's full-time career end in a sharp second, a mentor betrayed, a generational rival of that legend, along with the whole roster, shocked to their core—that hope is difficult to find.
The truth of the matter is, Jon Moxley might be right after all when he stood in the ring and told Tony: "this isn't your company anymore."
Danielson vs Moxley
"These violent delights have violent ends...
-William Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet)"
by Tim.
This entry often takes different turns on a weekly basis. Sometimes I’m impressed by the sheer physicality of the match, if this was the case this week then the triple threat for the International belt would have taken it. Other weeks it may be a match that advanced a character through the action (most of Wheeler Yuta’s recent work). This week what impressed me the most about the World Title match is an element that often gets understated. Working a match with a competitor who is dealing with injury or is so physically diminished that anything above two stars is a success.
Wrestling fans forget this sometimes, maybe it’s the nature of the business where injuries are worked to be overcome. Maybe it’s hero worship that gets to a point where a worker’s vulnerability is overlooked. The facts are that Danielson’s body is a wreck. His neck is being held together with toothpicks and the power of meditation. Leading up to the match he gave an interview to local Seattle TV station Komo4 where he said as much. Surgery is imminent and he’s limited in what he can do in the ring. The writing was on the wall and Danielson has been saying it for weeks, this is the final full time run.
Compare this to Moxley who looked like an absolut monster with an air of dominance reserved for legends. His physicality would fit right in on a medieval battlefield swinging an axe into someone, or a dusty boxing ring competing for a fight purse. His demeanor, muscle build, attitude: it all embodies “professional fighter.” That’s what pro wrestling can be, the pantomime of competition and violence. So we have a champion that’s running down the clock and a competitor that can take on the world. What do you do for a match?
You keep it simple. Danielson can be his own worst enemy when it comes to his well-being. I’m still surprised he was doing top-rope flip dives to the outside (even if he did look like a duckling going for their first fall out of the nest) but for most of the match you can see Moxley protecting Danielson while making things look hard. Death Rider to the exposed concrete is a great spot, but watch it and Danielson rolls with the move and doesn’t end up crippled. Piledriver on the table? Moxley’s really good at this move and he hits it perfectly. It’s Danielson’s selling afterward that makes fans believe. Outside of these couple of spots the rest of the match is pretty straightforward. Busaiko Knees from Danielson, chokes and back rakes from Moxley. The crowd ate it up because Danielson is a hero and little things just mean more.
The ending has already drawn divisions amongst fans. In Moxley’s pre-match promo he said he wanted to give Danielson a “Hero’s burial in home soil”. It’s epic poetry that Moxley has gotten really good at lately. The final sequence wasn’t anything fancy, Danielson got caught in a choke and couldn’t make the ropes. In the violent competitive world of pro-wrestling that’s what can happen (similar to the ending of Joe/MJF from last year). Then it was time to put Danielson in the dirt as the Blackpool Combat Club swarmed the ring, and Yuta was forced to put down his mentor. Dark stuff but it all builds towards the future of AEW, and that’s what Danielson wants. He could have lost and given a nice little speech (which is what I thought would happen) but, by going for the dramatic, his in-ring end sets up AEW storylines for the next several months that will hopefully create a new top babyface to take down Moxley.
I was surprised that so many fans, both live and online, were shocked and upset that Danielson lost. Maybe I’m too deep in the inner workings and backstage news, or maybe some fans can’t see past their own dopamine hit when their favorite act gets a win. The moment that sealed the ending for me happened before the opening bell. "Final Countdown" starts playing and Danielson makes his entrance. I was there live in the audience, only 10 yards or so away from the face entrance tunnel. Danielson’s face told the whole story and how things were going to play out. He paused for a moment, his eyes shrink-wrapped in tears, and I could tell he was just soaking it all in. The end was finally here, but it was an ending on his terms. Now he can get healthy, spend time with his family, watch his children grow… while his absence sets up AEW to develop a new face of the company. Danielson has been heralded as one of the best wrestlers of all time, but he’s also one of the most selfless.
Jon Moxley
"The Mission of an Antagonist..."
by Sergei.
I loved WrestleDream, it was everything I could have hoped for. But after the show I still wasn't sure who had been best on the mic for the week. Amazing Red gave a great motivation speech to Private Party, but it turned out he had wasted his breath. Both Danielson and Moxley had cut passionate promos leading up to their confrontation, but I wasn't quite convinced. I asked the group chat for thoughts, and Greyson highly recommended that I check out Count Down. He was right, it was fantastic:
Everybody involved in providing interviews to cut together to make this promo video really knocked it out of the park, I was mightily tempted to give a group award to Schiavone, Christopher Daniels, Menard, Paquette, Yuta, Castagnoli, PAC, Malenko, etc. But the guy whose words and delivery really stood out the most was Jon Moxley.
Jon Moxley has cut a lot of really intriguing promos since his betrayal of Danielson at All Out, with a really ominous and cinematic quality. But they always leave me wanting more— specifically, more clarity. Tony Schiavone says of Moxley that "he's been speaking in riddles… no one understands him." It was just last week that I was spinning three alternate theories regarding "what it's all really about" in the Story Beat of the Week section. And in the Moment section even this week, Peter remains convinced that there is a mysterious puppeteer behind it all yet to be revealed. As Excalibur asks: "Who is forcing Jon Moxley's hand in all this?"
But in Moxley's promo segment on Count Down starting at 10:36 he makes it clearer than ever before that when he says that he doesn't have a choice, he does NOT mean that there is any "third man" or "higher power" forcing his hand, he simply believes that there is only one correct way.
We were supposed to do it better. AEW was the dream: for wrestlers, by wrestlers, driven by the spirit of wrestlers and wrestling fans—the greatest sport in the world. I look around one day and I realize: AEW is like a zoo, and those who have dominion over us have no idea of our true nature…. Something terrible is going to happen. Nobody's paying attention… to anything. They hear, they nod, but they don't listen. Nobody sees what's going on around them.
So far, so mysterious still… arguably. But then he finally makes it completely clear exactly what he's been driving at this whole time:
Blackpool Combat Club was about one thing: excellence. Three years, searching for other apex predators. One guy showed us he wanted it. One guy, out of all of them. And that was Wheeler Yuta. And Bryan… has gone and pampered that kid. And softened that kid up. And he's trying to undo everything we did to build Wheeler Yuta into what he is. What kind of a mentor does that? What kind of a guy—who cares about the future and the well-being of his protégé— lets him become… weak? …lets him become… soft? All these guys, man, they're fat and happy… they're cashing their paychecks… this is not an easy sport. This is not supposed to be… easy. And we're making it… EASY for these guys! They think this is how it's supposed to be. It's not how it's supposed to be, and it's not how it's gonna be anymore.
In these words, I believe that Jon Moxley has finally revealed all of his cards and the clues to all of his riddles. What this story has been about all along is what the Blackpool Combat Club has been about all along: building a legacy by developing the next generation. And the conflict between Moxley and Danielson is fundamentally a disagreement about what the right way to go about that development will be. Earlier in the video, Moxley says: "There is a crucial element in the DNA of the next generation of AEW Wrestling that is missing." This view makes for a powerful motivation for an antagonist and a perfect foil for any up-and-coming star who believes that they don't need any old head to tell them the one way.
Bryan Danielson
"Dragons Never Die..."
by Saul.
Sometimes you witness something that overwhelms you with disbelief, and makes you contemplate your own mortality.
I won’t go on too long, as this piece will have lots of writing about Bryan Danielson and I don’t think I have anything all that unique to add. He’s one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots and enter the professional wrestling ring. He brought an authentic passion that is unmatched, and mixed his technical mastery with massive emotional investment. In spite of any criticisms you may have about the company, Danielson's run in AEW has been exquisite.
Moxley beat Danielson, to become a 4-time AEW World Champion. Not content with the gold and the glory, his new, twisted BCC wailed on the former champ in a brutal assault. Wheeler Yuta, even with his seeming conflict about the group’s direction, joined in on the attack. They wanted to make a statement, and ensured that it was heard. Moxley sits atop the world, scorched but alive, knowing that everyone knows he was the one who did the deed.
They say any man that slays a dragon becomes a legend. However, they are dead wrong, because I know for a fact that dragons never truly die.
Bryan Danielson
"Thank You, Bryan"
by Joe.
Leaving the Tacoma Dome after WrestleDream was one of the strangest live-experience induced feelings I’ve ever had as a fan. I was feeling tired, and grateful, and sad, and a little bit stunned… but mostly sad. I just witnessed the end of an incredible era.
I was tired because WrestleDream fell in the middle of my birthday-weekend vacation in Seattle. The Tacoma Dome show wasn’t in the big city proper but was a 45-ish minute hike out closer to nature, which is pretty fitting for Bryan Danielson. For the live fans, the show was over 4.5 hours long, and on the commute back to Seattle, I began to feel it. "It" being a cocktail of emotions & sensations, fatigue being the first one.
Fatigue was followed by Gratitude. My wife & I saw an incredible wrestling show, with a lot of variety in terms of styles, a very passionate crowd, and some significant outcomes and performances. My wife and I reflected on how we saw Will Ospreay at a smaller Ring Of Honor show in Chicagoland back in 2017, and now 7 years later, much like the audience, Will was noticeably bigger and better. 2017 was the year after Bryan Danielson was forced into retirement. Another show we went to together was WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans. That show featured the in-ring return of Bryan Danielson from that first retirement, teaming with Shane McMahon against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. I was grateful we got to be there to witness that return, in the same city and same arena where Bryan Danielson had defeated Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista in the same night en route to winning the undisputed WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 30. Believe it or not, I was lucky enough to be there live for that, too! That means I was also there live for the end of the Undertaker’s Streak, and this show ended with a vibe similar to the atmosphere in that arena when Taker lost. Luckily for myself and the other fans at Wrestlemania 30, that downer of a feeling is not what ended the show, but rather the feel-good triumph of “Daniel Bryan”. At WrestleDream, that streak ending feeling had no palate cleanser. This was it.
That’s why I also felt sad. Much like Undertaker wasn’t retired after that loss, Danielson is not believed to be done wrestling forever, which is great. However, he is done being one of the main characters and regular cast members on my favorite show, and that’s how I watch wrestling - as a show rather than a sport. Bryan was so good at making things matter, and making fans invest. He had a relatability that made you believe in him as a human, he had an intensity that made you believe in his credibility as a fighter, and he had a creativity in the way he thought, spoke, and moved that set him apart from the pack. I am going to miss that.
Bryan Danielson got the crowd louder than anyone else at the end of a long show on Saturday night, showing his value as a performer. Bryan Danielson’s loss made the crowd eerily quiet when he lost, showing the fan attachment… and therefore showing his value as a character and person to the wrestling world. This week, Bryan Danielson was the most valuable performer in AEW, in all of wrestling, and probably all of entertainment.
Thank you Bryan, for a career filled with some of the best memories I have as a fan. I’ll be teaching my kids about you some day.
Is Bryan Danielson one of the greatest of all time?
Yes. YES. YES! YES!!!
Thank you Bryan. Enjoy your time at home with Brie, Birdie, and Buddy.
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