They've got a killer set for this pre-show. It's a pretty big night for AEW with it being possibly Danielson's final match as a full-timer. CHUCKY T IS ON THE PRE-SHOW and thanks RJ for getting him the wobbliest chair in Tacoma before saying he trained Ricochet in a backyard. GIDDY UP COWBOY with a great shot of Jay White.
Cage vs. Atlantis Jr is up for the ROH TV Title. Cage DVD is avoided, but a spinebuster hits. FLIP DIVE BY ATLANTIS JR! POWERPLEX TO MID-RING GETS 2 FOR CAGE! Pumphandle flatliner hits for 2 for Cage. TORTURE RACK BOMB BY ATLANTIS JR GETS 2! Superkick and a frog splash hit, but a super rana is met with an avalanche Ligerbomb for 2! Drillclaw into a victory roll for 2! DRILLCLAW ENDS IT and he wins the ROH TV Title!
Rico appears with MxM Collection before Anna Jay vs. Harley Cameron. Harley bites the hand a bit after a hip attack. Anna gets a bow and arrow on the ringpost before Harley hits a Russian legsweep for 2. Kneeling Rough Ryder by Harley gets 2.5! Cradle exchanges for 2 before Sole Food gets 2 for Harley. Gori Bomb faceplant wins it for Anna Jay! Her new theme is fantastic - a mix of her old one with instrumentals better for a dome.
Jarrett gets drowned out by the crowd. Rico is out with MxM - but not as their partner! Slingblade-style facebuster by Bowens to Mansoor! Ligerbomb and a calf kick by MxM, but the Centerfold is avoided. Chokeslam by Madden into a German by Mansoor gets 2! Caster AA sets up a Scissor Me Timbers WITH MADDEN! AND AN ACTUAL ONE! Bowens dives onto MxM. RICO GOES FOR THE SPIN KICK, but Billy stops it and fameassers him! Mic drop ends it! This was fun.
Rated FTR video on helping Asheville. Mercedes arrives and Amanita is NOT AMUSED. Congomorunners are out to face THE DARK ORDER and Premier Athletes. Three sets of 10 punches BEFORE OC HITS 1! TURBO TAGS IN AND RUNS WILD! SLAMS ABOUND! DOUBLE BICEP DROP! Woods prevents Total Recall! Daivari frog splash gets 2 thanks to KOR! Turbo with a Hulk up! ORANGE PUNCH BUT THE OUTRUNNERS CONFRONT MARK! TOTAL RECALL WINS IT!
Okada and KOR brawl and CD ejects them! Nice opening video and Jay White vs. Hangman opens it up! I'm a little disappointed that it isn't Mortos vs. Hologram, but I get starting it off with a bigger starpower match. Chop and basement dropkick by White and a big kneeling chop by White! Hangman grounds him and swarms him with elbows. BUCKLE FALLAWAY SLAM BY HANGMAN! Big sleeper by Hanger and spins it into a slam for 2. Gorgeous German by White gets 2! Hangman is caught in a tree of woe on the apron AND GETS CHOPPED! DEATH VALLEY BOMB ON THE APRON BY HANGER! Knreebreaker on the ramp prevents the buckshot AND THE BLADERUNNER ENDS IT!
Women's World Title match is up. Shotgun dropkick by Mariah. THE POUNCE YOU CAN'T DENOUNCE hits! ANOTHER SHOTGUN DROPKICK! Nigel - The hunt that you love to hunt...at least I think it was hunt... Excalibur - Oh brother! WILLOW BITES THE EAR! Mariah May is so fantastic as a heel that she's just come into her own in a couple of months of being her own full act - and with the handicap of being a tribute to multiple eras of Toni Storm's career beforehand. Mariah can't get her up for Mayday, but lands a smooth German for 2 - love that!
Indian deathlock by Willow with Willow smashing her knee into her head! Moonsault misses for Willow! SHOTGUN MISSILE DROPKICK HITS FOR MARIAH! MAYDAY HITS FOR THE...2.9! POUNCE MET WITH A CLONKING HEADBUTT AND A WILLOW FOREARM/LARIAT! CORNER DVD BY WILLOW GETS 2! Avalanche bomb meets a May rana, V trigger and the Storm Zero ends it. THIS RULED!
Shibata vs. Jack Perry is up for the TNT Title. The tale of this being that Perry wants THE OLD SHIBATA is interesting. Perry wanted him and HE GETS HIM WITH THE CHOPS! PK and seated kicks by Perry and Shibata rolls out of the PK and hits a rising boot! Draping snap suplex off the apron and the corner forearms and hesitation dropkick hit before the half hatch gets 2! KAWADA KICKS BY SHIBATA! Draping DDT on the floor by Perry! Ushigoroshi and an RNC - BUT PERRY TRAPS HIS BACK AND PINS HIM! Perfect! Perry hits the knee afterwards.
Daniel Garcia is out to save Shibata! MJF IS HERE! Perry jumps Danny and MJF brags about shooting movies and steps on Danny's throat. I normally don't like Dynamite angles on PPV - but this works well since it's MJF. He brings the ring back and makes Danny kiss it! BUT IT'S ADAM COLE, BAYBAY! And he's just a babyface and that's fine - it's the best role for him against MJF.
OSPREAY VS RICOCHET VS TAKESHITA IS UP! Callis calls talents meat puppets who perform for him - EXCEPT FOR TAKESHITA! "Let the thinker think and let the athlete wrestle!" Ricochet and Ospreay hit round kicks to Takeshita, but Ricochet eats a DDT on the floor before bringing a table into things. Ricochet Sasuke special is met with a powerslam position BUT OSPREAY SENDS THEM BOTH DOWN!
Combo DDT by Ospreay forces Takeshita down. Ricochet rolls right into a giant elbow shot by Takeshita! Apron chops to Takeshita and Ospreay jumps off of Ricochet's back onto a Takeshita apron DVD! METORIA BY RICOCHET TO TAKESHITA! Ospreay C4 prevents a dive through the table with Takeshita. Stormbreaker is met with a snap rana by Ricochet! BACKSLIDE DRIVER BY RICOCHET GETS 2!
INVERTED OMORI DRIVER INTO A WHEELBARROW GERMAN BY TAKESHITA ON OSPREAY! Blue thunder to Ricochet gets 2! Ospreay superkick to Ricochet before a Takeshita forearm shot and an Oscutter! RICOCHET POISON RANA! MASSIVE POWER LARIAT TO RICOCHET GETS 2.9! OSPREAY RANAS RICOCHET OFF THE TOP INTO A CRADLE FOR 2.5 ON TAKESHITA! RIDE ON SHOOTING STAR PRESS BY RICOCHET HITS FOR 2! PUMP STOMP BY RICOCHET ON THE APRON! INVERTED OMORI DRIVER THROUGH THE TABLE BY TAKESHITA!
Hidden Blade hits BUT CALLIS TAKES THE REF! FLETCHER SAVES CALLIS WITH THE SCREWDRIVER! RISING KNEE HITS OSPREAY! YES TAKESHITA WINS IT! TIGER DRIVER '91 BY FLETCHER TO OSPREAY! This is fantastic! Interference aside, that was an absolute classic - and sets up Ospreay vs. Fletcher nicely as a feature feud without worrying about the title hurting the booking.
Jerry Lynn puts Orange Cassidy over as something special and he even dressed like him for Halloween and he can be the man. Hook tells him he is the man. Prince Nana is out and puts over his coffee and the FOREVER ROH...AEW WORLD CHAMPION SWERVE STRICKLAND! The forever champ gets an entrance he deserves! He says he's cleared, but banged up before MVP and Shelton come out. MVP says Nana clearly didn't give him his card because he hasn't heard from him yet.
MVP is so much better as a manager than one would logically think he should be with how big he is - but he really grew a lot with his VIP Lounge. One of the few guys to really gain something from having a "talk show". MVP says he makes people better than they ever were. Swerve puts over their match in Defy and MVP says yeah, you beat me! MVP also doesn't mind putting others over himself at all times - normally, you'd have a heel find a way to back out of bringing up that loss to Swerve but he is selfless. Swerve says that with Nana, he lost his title, his home, and the cage match! But he wouldn't have had those things if it wasn't for him!
Swerve says that Nana's taking more of a percentage, is still selling weed to high school kids in parking lots, and he's neurotic! BUT YOU ARE FAMILY! He has picked his side and Shelton threatens him before Daniels and the refs break it all up. Tony says that it's clear we haven't seen the end of this. After being called Black Mortos for some reason on Dynamite, he's thankfully back to being THE BEAST MORTOS! Give LFI the Trios titles so they can FINALLY do something on-paper with Rush and Mortos.
LU-CHA chant starts things off. Inverted and then regular slingblade by Mortos! Avalanche press slam is met with a headscissor and the diving crucifix bomb gets the first fall! MIDDLE ROPE TORNILLO GETS A FUCK YEAH! BELLY TO BELLY INTO THE CORNER BY MORTOS! CORNER SPEAR BY MORTOS! ANOTHER CORNER SPEAR MISSES AND A HOLOGRAM MOONSAULT HITS! Mortos avoids the Portal Bomb. Atlantis backbreaker/shock treatment, into a Powerbomb on the knee and a discus lariat get a fall for Mortos!
SATELLITE HEADSCISSORS OFF THE TOP BY HOLOGRAM - that may be the single greatest example of how great a base Mortos is. Holy shit! POP-UP POISON RANA BY HOLOGRAM ON THE APRON! SOMERSAULT SENTON OFF THE APRON BY HOLOGRAM! Hologram hits a fallaway powerslam, but eats a discus lariat! AVALANCHE PRESS SLAM HITS FOR MORTOS FOR 2.9! Ropewalk crucifix bomb gets 2.9 for Hologram! Hook kick combo by Hologram! PORTAL BOMB WINS IT! THIS RULED!
Brody King vs. Darby is up and setup with a student film highlight reel of Darby skating and looking cool. Brody chops the shit out of Darby on the floor. Darby air Sabu's into a forearm! Brody puts the steps on Darby and STEPS ON THEM AND THEN STOMPS! MASSIVE CHOPS! Brody chopping the soul out of dudes never gets old. Definitely gotta have Brody vs. Wahoo in 2K24 later. Corner avalanche into a tree of woe by Brody! Darby doing the coffin drop is even more fitting since Sting did that standing variant against Vader a lot. ROPE SLEEPER BY DARBY!
BACK TO BACK AVALANCHE GERMANS BY BRODY GET 2! COFFIN DROP TO THE STEPS BY DARBY! Brody comes in at 2.9 only to eat another coffin drop and DARBY WINS IT. This was fantastic at what it needed to be - a showcase for both guys being amazing at what they do. Standing ovation for both guys and Brody hugs him - goddamn that was incredible! Private Party vs. the Young Bucks is up and it should be a career match for PP.
AMAZING RED HYPES UP PP IN THEIR VIDEO AS THEIR TRAINER. Bucks talk shit and we get a brawl and a bit of a stage dive by Quen, who stops for a second climbing in a mini-Homicide moment before flip diving! Tornillo by Zay and a dive gets 2 for Quen! Zay gets a double armdrag, BUT EATS A DOUBLE SUPERKICK! Zay with a springboard DDT to Matt for 2! Draping footstomp into the Ligerbomb MEETS A RANA FOR 2! ZAY WITH A SUPERKICK AND X FACTOR FOR 2! DESTROYER ON THE FLOOR AND QUEN HITS AN A BARRICADE 450! QUEN PREVENTS A TK DRIVER and Zay victory rolls Nick for 2!
Double superkick and MORE BANG...no! GIN AND JUICE HITS FOR 2.9! MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK TO THE BUCKS GETS 2.9! Doomsday Dropkick from the Bucks and a dropkick into a senton and THE EVP TRIGGER! FOR 2.9! ZAY KICKED OUT TO A MASSIVE POP! ZAY AVOIDS AN EVP TRIGGER AND A CRADLE GETS 2.9! TK DRIVER ENDS IT AND WINS IT! DAMMIT! They did set up Top Flight nicely here being in the crowd to make it clear they'd be in the future mix, but wow what an incredible match
Mark Briscoe vs. Jericho is up for the ROH World Title. Hocket fight to start and Mark rushes into a codebreaker! ORANGE PUNCHES TO BILL! Chop and elbow shot by Mark! Excalibur talks about how Mark was consoling everyone else while Nigel says it was due to his faith in God. Avalanche rana by Jericho! Walls by Jericho and Keith hits Mark with a bat for 2. Rocky takes him out and Mark puts Jericho through a table with a step-up swanton!! Froggy bow met with a codebreaker for 2. Judas effect misses, and Jericho avoids the J-Driller. JUDAS EFFECT HITS! J-DRILLER BY JERICHO HITS! FOR 2.9! Rolling death valley bomb and it's froggy bow time! C'MON BABY IT'S J-DRILLER TIME!
FINAL COUNTDOWN TIME! Mox jumps him and tears his jacket off with BCC moments on it! Kneeling chops against the barricade in a chair, but Mox tosses the chair at him and chokes him with the cable! BUSAIKU KNEE WITH A CHAIR! CORNER DROPKICKS! RNC by Mox, but a Saito suplex by Danielson and a busaiku knee gets 2.9! Kneeling kicks on the SAT but Mox piledrives him! Nigel is swatted at by Mox and Marina attacks Bryan on the apron. Mox elbows him down for 2. Marina knees Bryan on the apron! FINGER SNAP TO BRYAN!
Mox stomps his neck on the steps while Marina moves the pads and a fan tells Mox HE'S YER FUCKIN BROTHER MAN! Mox gets backdropped and then takes the K-Tape off and bites and scratches the neck. CORNER HEAD BITING BY BRYAN! CORNER KICKS AND DROPKICK TIME! CURB STOMP BY MOX INTO A BULLDOG CHOKE! Ex puts it over as the move he beat Brodie Lee out with! TOMBSTONE BY MOX!
Bryan stares him down as if to say BRING IT MOTHERFUCKER AND THEY DO! A minute of forearm shots! Mox eats a shitload of alternating kneeling kicks! Mox cutter is enabled by Marina AND SHE GETS CAUGHT BY THE REF AND EJECTED! FLIPPING GERMAN BY MOX LEADS TO A BUSAIKU KNEE FOR 2.9! "YOU'RE GONNA GET YOUR FUCKIN' HEAD KICKED IN!" FUCKIN' HEAD KICKS AND THE LEBELL LOCK IS ON! Mox got to the rope and Bryan moves the hand over into the double-armbreaker, but Mox gets the rope and blocks a tope and DEATHRIDERS HIM ON THE FLOOR!
Hammer and anvil elbows to Danielson! LARIANTS HIT FOR MOX! MID-RING DEATH RIDER HITS! AND IT GETS 1! GOTCH-STYLE PILEDRIVER HITS and he wants the bulldog choke! Danielson avoids that but IS IN AN RNC AND IT'S OVER! The crew comes out and they just put the belt in a bag. AND MOX GETS A PLASTIC BAG! Wheeler and Mox save BUT WHEELER ATTACKS DARBY!
They tape up Darby and Pac yells GET THAT MOTHERFUCKER! YUTA BAGS BRYAN! Darby is now fighting for Bryan's honor and also Sting's and his own - incredible! Private Party goes to save as does Jeff Jarrett! THEY PILLMANIZE HIS NECK AND CLAUDIO CURB STOMPS IT! What a chaotic scene to close out Bryan Danielson's final full-time match - and in fitting fashion, it put everyone else over at the same time.
Excalibur cries amid a "thank you, Bryan!" chant and the roster mourns the end of his career like this. I think he'll be largely gone for the first half of 2025 and then the second half will be him KICKING THE FUCKING HEADS IN of everyone who wronged him in this angle.
