Ahoy! this week AEW boards the Jericho cruise as this week’s show is at sea. After a beating at the hands of the Inner Circle Jon Moxley is out for blood, but Pac stands in his way. Cody says yes to all of MJF’s stipulations what will MJF do? And after last week’s surprise victory it’s SCU vs. Kenny Omega & Adam Page for the AEW tag team titles.
Kenny Omega and Hangman Page DEF. SCU
SCU dominates the opening half of the match with Frankie Kazarian giving Adam Page no room to breathe. Things change when Kenny Omega gets involved and changes the momentum. After some near-falls Adam Page scores the win.
Through most of this match, SCU is dominant because they work as a tag team, doubles maneuvers, tagging in and out. Adam and Kenny are more like singles competitors in the beginning. When momentum does change it checks all the boxes, doubles, coordinated moves, accidental hits. In the end, every man is in the ring and it takes Adam in a rage taking out both members of SCU to win the match.
In victory, it’s clear that Adam still doesn’t feel ELITE and by shrugging of Kenny and the Youngbucks to celebrate with fans even a title win can’t bring them together.
4/5
Britt Baker Def. Priscilla Kelly
Britt Baker starts off by keeping Priscilla in various holds and tries to win by maneuvering into roll-up pins. Priscilla eventually gets control with an arm drag and the match starts to get slightly better but Britt eventually gets control again and turns a Russian leg sweep into a lockjaw and scores the win.
Maybe it was the last match but this one in comparison felt stale. This match heavily relies on mat work, limited strikes, and countless roll-ups making it hard to watch. This is disheartening as more and more the women’s division really does feel like an afterthought.
2.5/5
Chris Jericho, Santana and Ortiz DEF. Jurassic Express
Jungleboy starts off strong against Jericho and continues when Ortiz is tagged in. Jurassic Express dominates until Jungleboy ends up in the Inner Circle’s corner and gets attacked. From then on it’s about punishing Jungleboy as the Inner Circle goes to work on him and tries to keep him from tagging out. Luchasauraus gets the tag and makes quick work of the Inner Circle, double chokeslaming Ortiz & Jericho. Jack Hager attacks Luchasauras and Marko Stunt gets tagged in, a series of failed pin attempts and Jericho pins Marko for the win.
The opening video package highlights Jungleboy Jack Perry’s life and career. This is an indication he may be headed for a solo run and this match is a preview. Jurassic Express and Inner Circle still manage to impress with the three-man suplex being a highlight of the match.
4/5
MJF DEF. Joey Janela
Joey and Maxwell lock up and go back and forth with no clear winner. Looking to gain the upper hand MJF goes for a handshake but is slapped away by Joey. Unable to get the upper hand MJF spits on Joey and gets spat on in return. MJF walks out and Joey follows eventually getting him back in the ring and getting the match going again. Things are looking good for Joey after he suplexes MJF off the top rope. Penelope Ford and Kip Sabian come out and make out in front of Joey. Distracted Joey misses the flying elbow and MJF hits the double-cross for the win.
MJF is peak villain throughout the match, he plays sneaky and tries to trick Joey to no avail. The problem with this match is there’s not too much going on and it ends in a screwy finish. And can we decide who Kip and Penelope are focused on? It’s either Joey Janela or Kenny Omega and Riho. PICK ONE!
3/5
MJF goes for a swim
Post-match MJF calls out Cody. Cody appears and MJF taunts him with the “No Touching” rule and drops the mic so Cody has to go pick it up. With MJF out of the ring Cody points out that while he can’t touch him they can as MJF receives a superkick from the Young Bucks who then throw him into the swimming pool.
As stated in previous articles when a wrestler agrees to a “No touching” rule it usually makes the babyface look dumb, but here Cody makes the smart move by using the Young Bucks to take care of MJF, my only real gripe with this segment was that MJF wasn’t in a suit when he went in the pool.
4/5
Jon Moxley Def. PAC to determine the number 1 contender
One thing to remember about being on a cruise is that it takes some getting used to as your body needs to adjust to the constant movement. Here Jon Moxley with one eye useable and sea legs fights PAC through the ship and keeps the match going. Jon takes an ungodly amount of abuse and keeps getting back up. Jon gets his wind back and after refusing to submit and hits PAC with the paradigm shift and scoring the pinfall.
From the beginning it’s clear Jon wants Chris Jericho. At this point, it’s no longer about the title but inflicting as much pain as possible.
4/5