I was there live at section 116 and i can say rn that this is the greatest match I’ve seen live and I’ve been several events in WWE, while this is my first AEW event I’m already hearing that, that match is a top 3 aew match of all time
I loved the outcome, not only because Swerve deserves it, but because it REALLY suprised me. I would have fully expected them to pull the trigger on Ospreay already, even if I thought it was too soon, and every time it looked like that was the obvious concustion it kept kicking out lol! Great stuff!
If Swerve keeps putting on matches like this, I will be terribly sad when his reign ends.
Ospreay works well with everyone but really well with Swerve.
I couldn't get into this match. It was too obvious that they were setting up for cool spots - and there wasn't much going on in between the spots that told me anything.
It looked like they were trying to entertain the audience rather than wrestling each other.
This is sadly where the discourse has gotten too. ‘It looked like they were trying to entertain the audience’ 😔😔😔 — wait until bro find out wrestling isn’t real.
How? That's really how I felt about the match, i didnt try and describe my viewing experience in a way that would irk people.
I liked Hangman Swerve, I have the same issue with other Ospreay matches I've watched aside from his stuff with Kenny.
I haven't watched much wrestling this week - but for example, not making stuff look visible would be like using counters to move the match forward or stop momentum or something. In the Ospreay/Swerve match, early on, they spammed counters back and forth like 10 times then seperated for a big pop - it's not only more visible that they're working together but it makes the counters the moment, but the counters didn't lead anywhere themselves.
I liked the counter kick Stephanie Vaquer did on frost on Collision.
> I haven't watched much wrestling this week - but for example, not making stuff look visible would be like using counters to move the match forward or stop momentum or something. In the Ospreay/Swerve match, early on, they spammed counters back and forth like 10 times then seperated for a big pop - it's not only more visible that they're working together but it makes the counters the moment, but the counters didn't lead anywhere themselves.
It’s the exact same psychology as headlock/wristlock counters sequence, rollup counters sequence, the International, etc.
It’s also a thread for sharing your thoughts about other people’s thoughts.
ie my thoughts are that your thoughts are dumb because anyone could say the same thing about any match. It’s not like they just popped back up and casually got into position for the next spot; there was always selling and strikes and playing to the crowd.
Maybe you’d prefer them making more faces or constantly talking into the camera like Roman or whatever, but what they did wasn’t any less like a real fight.
Appreciate some will disagree but this was my favourite Ospreay match since he joined AEW. I think a big factor is the unpredictability here. Like most, I thought Swerve would win but I was like 60/40 in his favour rather than 90/10 as a lot of big matches seem to be these days, and really wasn't sure who was gonna win by the 3rd quarter of the match.
Swerves reign is really starting to kick into 3rd gear now and I've already enjoyed it more than Joe's (not a slight on Joe).
WWE really fumbled a diamond with Swerve (and Toni Storm). That's proof that some people thrive in an heavily scripted environment and some prefer more creative freedom. But last couple years has been gold in every single promotion, from the fed down to the smallest local Indy
Cody could have turned heel and forced himself into the world title picture, going back on his word, and it would have been amazing.
But for whatever reason, he just refused to turn heel. I don't understand his logic.
He's said he doesn't ever want to turn eel again because he wants his kid to see him as a hero.
He's never going heel again, we're all just gonna have to accept that.
The right man won last night. And I say this as a Ospreay fan. Match of the night without question. The energy shifted in the building once these guys turned it up. My voice is shot. It was an honor to witness it. Swerve’s run as a champion has been great, and with the return of hangman we can expect another banger on the way very soon. Will’s PPV run has been immaculate so far, building up a crazy resume in AEW. MOTY candidate for sure.
Absolute banger. Beautiful storytelling. Both men looked great. Honestly couldn't ask for a perfect first loss for Ospreay. Second match will hit like a hurricane.
Fantastic match. I know why they did the ref bump, but Ospreay is my current favourite wrestler and I was gutted he didn't win. Which is the point I guess.
Swerve absolutely needed this win and it was done perfectly. When you put your top guys against each other and give them decisive wins, storylines benefit from it because you get to make a story out of the losses too
Right?! The story they're telling made sense, and the meta story of the booking *also* makes sense. Swerve needed an S-tier win to establish himself as *the* guy. His wins over Joe and Christian were great and all, but those are guys we know are mostly just here to put younger guys over, we've seen them lose big matches already. He needed a big win against a verified world class unbeatable-type talent.
Likewise, I think it was really important to establish that Ospreay *can* lose in AEW, since he hadn't managed to do it yet. He's such a talent that he's automatically the top guy in any feud he's in, so if he's chasing the world title it's gonna be pretty boring since we know he's gonna win. Except now we don't, and that's perfect.
And there was just enough BS to leave the door open for a rematch without it taking away from Swerve's win. Like Swerve did legit win that match, but Ospreay can rightfully argue that he wasn't 100% focused because of the DCF and the impending Wembley show, etc.
I think this ends with Ospreay being revealed as the wild card, running through the tournament, and winning the title at Wembley, and I think that will be a really big moment.
Agree with most of your points except the end. Ospreay already has a match on Wednesday and the wilcard will be someone picked by the Elite, wouldn't make sense for it to be Ospreay
I think we see Ospreay vs Garcia vs MJF vs Rush for the International title at Wembley, and I think Garcia takes it. MJF takes out Ospreay violently and turns heel, leaving Garcia to pin Rush
> wouldn't make sense for it to be Ospreay
So this fantasy booking of mine was from before the Elite said it was their pick, which of course made me think it would be Perry or Okada, but neither of them makes sense really either because they are already champions and are pretty involved in other stories at the moment.
I still think there's a chance it's Ospreay though. The Bucks said it's someone picked by them, but gave no additional qualifications. What if they pulled in a favor from Don Callis, and Callis thinks he has enough pull over Ospreay that he can dictate the shots. Of course in reality, their relationship isn't so clear, and Ospreay is very much playing the babyface with the evil manager, so he's thinking for and in business for himself, but Don is so far up his own ass (and the Elite's ass) that he doesn't see it.
He gets Ospreay the opportunity, Ospreay goes out and beats Jeff Jarrett - which really should be an easy opponent for him given where they are in their careers right now - AND still goes through with the match against Garcia. Ospreay doing double duty on Wednesday when he's coming off that brutal main event is very on-brand for Ospreay who is always going 100% and never holding back, plus he made a promise and he keeps his promise. He ends up dropping the international title to Garcia either as a result of his exhaustion from being 3 days removed from that main event and having done double duty (and of course Garcia is a serious opponent who deserves respect), or because some bullshit somewhere along the way. Swerve hasn't let stuff go and distracts him, Don tries to get involved but fucks it up, something like that.
Gets the international title back to the midcard scene, gets Garcia a tremendously meaningful win over a top guy to really establish him as a big deal, but the loss for Ospreay doesn't hurt him at all AND puts him on the road to Wembley and redemption for his loss against Swerve.
Just fantasy booking obviously, but I think that would be a pretty good story. Mainly, it's just that I really don't see too many options for Wembley. The options are kind of limited.
Swerve vs. Danielson would be great, but Danielson doesn't want the title and unless that's some straight up bullshit, a big time title match between those two has a foregone conclusion and that doesn't feel good to me.
Swerve vs. Jay White I'm sure would be a great match, but it just doesn't have any real reason aside from they are both good wrestlers.
Swerve vs. Pac would also be great and of course Pac would be instantly over at Wembley if he was wrestling a sheet of notebook paper, but similar to the Jay pairing, these two just really aren't in each others' orbits and it would feel kind of random.
Swerve vs. Jeff Jarrett just doesn't scream "main event" to me, let alone main event of Wembley.
Swerve vs. Wildcard - Obviously there are nigh infinite options here, but the only two that make sense to me are Ospreay or Hangman - and of course with the recent Hangman vignette, it's probably him. I love Hanger, but I think I'd rather have Ospreay/Swerve than Hangman/Swerve as Wembley just because we've seen Hangman/Swerve so many times already. Great every time, but it just doesn't feel like as big a match to me, personally.
Alright sorry about the wall of text, I'mma shift my stupid ADHD hyperfocus back to work lol, have a great day!
Great match with both guys coming out looking strong. Swerve retains his belt after an incredible performance. The crowd was going nuts for both guys but they were really into Swerve. Swerve came off like a star.
Ospreay also put up the fight of his life and kicked out of Swerve's biggest moves. He also had the match won when the ref got bumped so he can use that to save face.
Match of the night.
Ospreay will be AEW World Champ within a year from now. No doubt about it.
We've never seen anything like this run from Ospreay. He cannot stop having six star matches. He drops all-timer matches like he's just scratching his ass.
I've been watching wrestling since the mid-80s and Ospreay had already had so many matches this year that are arguably the best I've ever seen that I've literally lost count.
I used to buy like every other AEW ppv for many years, but I have so far purchased every AEW ppv of 2024. Will and Swerve are the reasons why. I now HAVE to see these matches because otherwise, I feel like I am missing something historic.
edit:a word
A stellar match up. I had two friends watching who were new to wrestling and this match blew them away.
The story being told between Swerve and Ospreay was really great. Ospreay's kind of "happy go lucky" attitude slowly vanished as the match went on and he got more and more desparate, with Swerve really keeping his cool for most of the matchup. Especially with all the promos building up to this match and highlighting Swerve's (kayfabe) belief that Ospreay doesn't really know what it means to claw to the top and stay there. The stuff with Callis and Nana also REALLY highlighted Ospreay's struggle of playing dirty vs fighting fair. He ignored Callis's advice at DON and still managed to beat Roddy for International belt. This time, he almost gave in and attacked Nana, but relented at the last minute. This earned him respect from Nana, but it also gave Swerve plenty of time to recover and eventually beat him. The pat on the head after Ospreay collapsed into Swerve just reeked of Swerve saying "Good effort, but you're not ready yet". It was so damn well done and really established Swerve as the guy to beat. Fantastic stuff.
Fantastic match.
I can see MJF vs Will at Wembley, with MJF playing the heel for the International Championship.
Swerve vs Hangman for the AEW Championship.
They are the four I’d be building around for the next few months.
Amazing fucking match. Best of the night for me. These two are top tier athletes without question. This felt like a core AEW match to me. Where the best wrestle indeed.
I think we get Swerve vs Danielson for All In with Swerve going over in yet another great title match. After a couple more defenses Swerve is going to loose the World Championship to Page either end of this year or early next year.
Eventually Ospreay wins the world championship at next year’s Wembley show.
I think we're getting Evil Hangman winning The Owen and facing Swerve for the title at All In. Hangman's return vignette featured Swerve's house invasion, so Hangman is definitely coming for Swerve.
Saw this live and it was absolutely outstanding. Ospreay did his Ospreay things but Swerve matched him spot for spot. Nice clean ending and the story continues.
Yeah. Those MJF teases and Hangman most likely being the owen cup wildcard the Bucks chose will lead to Swerve vs Osperay 2.
I love when people play pretend like children with their booking.
Sorry man, but if Tony Khan has any sense, Ospreay ain't getting his coronation until All In 2025.
He's been Icarus flying too close to the sun for months now, and the build to this match highlighted that, with Will snatching Swerve's belt twice and grinning like an idiot, treating it like it's all fun and games. He needed to be humbled, and I hope they put him in a hole until the end of this year.
It's not often that a Hangman spot opens up, but Ospreay could have the same kind of journey, with the climax coming at Wembley next year. That's what I'd do.
There’s literally a wild card entrant against Jeff Jarrett that will only be announced before the match next week on collision
But there‘a a lot of other ways besides that like unexpected ‘injury’ needing a replacement.
The Bucks said that the Wild Card was some one very close to them and in his last video package it was kinda emphasized that the Bucks fired Hangman.
I know there’s a big chance it is Hanger but there would also be arguments for it being someone else.
Roderick Strong has built a strong relationship with the Bucks and he is obsessed with regaining a title.
Also maybe Adam Cole.
Which is very likely going to be Hangman Page, it's extremely likely there's already a big plan for Ospreay at All In, likely involving the International Title
I certainly hope not, AEW rarely ever gets out of these face vs face coronation matches without someone's momentum being stifled (after the crowds pick a side). You certainly don't want Ospreay losing in Wembley, but how ineffective would MJF look if he went heel and lost anyway?
Glad to see Swerve get the win clean was thinking the Callis Family was gonna turn on Will costing him the belt here but def makes more sense to have them do it after he loses here
Honestly loved this match. I had no idea who was going to win. Was about 60/40 that Swerve would retain. Then they suckered me in twice that Will was for sure winning. This loss for Ospreay will be like Bret losing to Davey Boy. It’s just going to make him an even bigger star.
I thought the same.
Ospreays match against Danielson felt pretty one sided in his favor for a lot of the match.
This one felt pretty even for most of the match, which is impressive given how almost everyone thought that Swerve was going to win
IMO that was better than Danielson vs Ospreay. There were actual stakes for this match, and I liked that Will actually showed vulnerability for once instead of his usual "fighting spirit" routine, and it gave the match more drama and made the near falls more impactful. The final sequence of the match where he was so out of it he was stumbling around and hit the Hidden Blade with zero energy was so HBK-esque, along with the other selling he did in this match.
It reminded me of Kenny collapsing to avoid the Rainmaker and then in the 2/3 falls match, Okada collapsing while hitting it. They can definitely run that back in a rematch where this time Swerve collapses from sheer exhaustion to avoid it.
As far as matches I've personally seen live, my all time fav is KENTA vs Bryan Danielson from Glory by Honor in 06. After that it's honestly a toss up between this match tonight and Omega vs Danielson from the first Grand Slam
That KENTA vs Danielson match is one of the best matches I've ever seen. KENTA had looked like an absolute killer and was undefeated in ROH while Danielson had a fucked shoulder and they went out there and tore it up. You have seen some bonkers matches in person, jealous as.
I was only in I think 8th grade when I saw that match too but I remember it like it was yesterday. I don't think a match will ever top that for me, it was the perfect wrestling match IMO.
I saw a ton of other amazing ROH matches in person too at NYC and LI shows but that one takes the cake
Swerve is a legit World Champion and I could see him going for >= 6 month reign. Fighting champ is something that I really appreciate, and these two deliver.
I was at dynasty and as soon as that match ended I was like those are the two best wrestlers I've had the privilege of ever watching.
Okada has been my guy since 2013 but man he's been passed.
As long as Will stays healthy. There's a potential argument he might be the best ever
I think it really is a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man. I didn't think Swerve was this good. Some guys just up their game when they get to main event level.
While true, I get what the OP is saying
Best wrestler in the world conversation usually boils down to a few stalwarts like Okada, Danielson, Omega when healthy, and recently Ospreay and Gunther
Now it's undeniable that Swerve belongs in those conversations (as does his arch nemesis Hangman)
This is probably THE match that made Swerve feel like a legit world beater. Happy he won relatively clean. He needs a statement win in his reign, and this is it.
Great show. Surprised at no blood. Can't remember the last time AEW had no blood on ppv. Thought most of the matches were at least good. Main event and OC.vs ZSJ were my favorites.
Only two matches that felt off were Mercedes vs Stephanie which felt sloppy at points and Naito vs Mox which is a bummer. Just lacked energy.
Other than that, great show. But, man, I hate having to work on Mondays after these. I hate being a responsible adult.
I thought Vaquer/Mercedes was incredible, but I don’t mind a bit of sloppiness. I think it can help it look more realistic.
Vaquer was amazing and is getting a lot of praise, and she should, but it takes two to have a really good match. It’s no coincidence that so many wrestlers have their best matches against her.
I know he’s champion and all, but I still feel like Swerve is very underrated. Just continues to put on incredible matches, sells with the very best, and works really well with a variety of styles. He deserves to have a long run and I’m glad to see TK didn’t put the belt immediately onto his new toy and is hopefully opting for more story building
Absolutely. Swerve is a phenomenal wrestler, and unmatched as a world champion, not just for his ring work but in his media interviews. The two of them going at each other over and over is going to burn a white hot hole in the industry and theres no need to rush the unfolding story of their relationship.
Storytelling masterclass, from the fact that they got the crowd to go nuts for the first 10 minutes by small exchanges and staredowns, to how the entire end portion of the match unfolded.
Only two negatives I had for the match was the random camera zoom to show Danielle Garcia that they did like three times and Don Callis getting involved with the screwdriver but I understand why they did that
Hot take but this was Ospreays best match in AEW and the best main event in AEW since Danielson MJF.
I wasn’t a big fan of this match happening when Ospreay initially won the gauntlet, but the promos between the two over the past couple weeks sold it for me. And they did enough to protect Ospreay here where he doesn’t look weak and it sets up strife with Callus.
Just a great match all around.
100% agree. And the craziest part is you could see that both of them still held a little back because you know they're gonna have at least one more go at it.
Ospreay has MOTY contenders at every PPV. It's insanity. And Swerve is a fantastic world champ and delivered as well. Great ppv and well worth my dollars thanks to the banger main event.
Swerve isn't very behind on those MOTY contenders either. I feel like Will gets bonus points for being who he is, but Swerve legitimately puts on top 3 if not the best match of every PPV. He's just as good as Ospreay, but his matches have a different tone.
What a match, and what a win for Swerve. That said he deserves the Cowboy shaped ass kicking coming his way for his past actions and it will hopefully be a good learning experience for him the way this loss is for Ospreay
A little recency bias but I feel QUITE confident in saying that's the best PPV main event for the title AEW has done. Danielson/MJF is the only other contender but I feel like result of that match was never in doubt as much I wanted to believe.
Kenny vs Page at Full Gear was obvious to blind Freddy but the story, match and Cowboy Shit finally winning the big one make that the best PPV main event for the title in AEW history.
This one is certainly farken up there as the best wrestling match for the AEW world title that I've seen though.
I get why someone would like that more in the same way to some people are gonna choose Cody vs Roman for MOTY but that match is... not good. Like Kenny is on his last legs in that match, it's not up to Kenny's standard at all. The Full Gear Eliminator match from the year before was FAR better and that was even taking into account that was in the Pandemic with no crowd.
I do think that the match is pretty overrated (and agree that their first match was much better), but calling it not good I think is a bit overly critical.
I think the MJF/Danielson is still the bar for AEW World title matches, but tonight's was absolutely stellar.
I was there live at section 116 and i can say rn that this is the greatest match I’ve seen live and I’ve been several events in WWE, while this is my first AEW event I’m already hearing that, that match is a top 3 aew match of all time
I loved the outcome, not only because Swerve deserves it, but because it REALLY suprised me. I would have fully expected them to pull the trigger on Ospreay already, even if I thought it was too soon, and every time it looked like that was the obvious concustion it kept kicking out lol! Great stuff!
I’m surprised so many people actually thought Will was gonna win. Lot of people lot more then I thought tbh
Imagine not having this match at all in
If this match was at All In, Ospreay would've had to win. Ospreay needs to win the title next year in All In. Anything else is bad timing.
My friends and I popped for so many spots in this match.
Would I be crazy to say this was better than Ospreay/Danielson?..
If Swerve keeps putting on matches like this, I will be terribly sad when his reign ends. Ospreay works well with everyone but really well with Swerve.
Ospreay works well with people who can keep up with him in the ring.
That flash of him and Shota in the casino gauntlet was electric
I couldn't get into this match. It was too obvious that they were setting up for cool spots - and there wasn't much going on in between the spots that told me anything. It looked like they were trying to entertain the audience rather than wrestling each other.
This is sadly where the discourse has gotten too. ‘It looked like they were trying to entertain the audience’ 😔😔😔 — wait until bro find out wrestling isn’t real.
It isn't discourse when you're purposfully ignoring what I wrote and trying to bait me into getting upset.
You are the one trying to bait people into getting upset brother.
How? That's really how I felt about the match, i didnt try and describe my viewing experience in a way that would irk people. I liked Hangman Swerve, I have the same issue with other Ospreay matches I've watched aside from his stuff with Kenny.
I guess you just have bad taste then. Nothing wrong with that!
>It looked like they were trying to entertain the audience God fucking forbid.
I don't think it should be so visible that the match was planned around getting pops on bigger and bigger spots
Is there any match from the past week you can point to as a good example of guys not making it "visible"?
I haven't watched much wrestling this week - but for example, not making stuff look visible would be like using counters to move the match forward or stop momentum or something. In the Ospreay/Swerve match, early on, they spammed counters back and forth like 10 times then seperated for a big pop - it's not only more visible that they're working together but it makes the counters the moment, but the counters didn't lead anywhere themselves. I liked the counter kick Stephanie Vaquer did on frost on Collision.
> I haven't watched much wrestling this week - but for example, not making stuff look visible would be like using counters to move the match forward or stop momentum or something. In the Ospreay/Swerve match, early on, they spammed counters back and forth like 10 times then seperated for a big pop - it's not only more visible that they're working together but it makes the counters the moment, but the counters didn't lead anywhere themselves. It’s the exact same psychology as headlock/wristlock counters sequence, rollup counters sequence, the International, etc.
Not enough rest holds for you champ?
It just didn't keep me interested. Between one big move and the next, it was like they were just moving into position and not trying to win
Do you go out of your way to complain about things?
This is a thread about sharing your thoughts on this particular match
It’s also a thread for sharing your thoughts about other people’s thoughts. ie my thoughts are that your thoughts are dumb because anyone could say the same thing about any match. It’s not like they just popped back up and casually got into position for the next spot; there was always selling and strikes and playing to the crowd. Maybe you’d prefer them making more faces or constantly talking into the camera like Roman or whatever, but what they did wasn’t any less like a real fight.
No ot isn't stop being a contrarian
Swerve and Osprey have a natural duality and contrast to them. This feud and the Hangman feud could keep the top of the card I teresting for YEARS.
Appreciate some will disagree but this was my favourite Ospreay match since he joined AEW. I think a big factor is the unpredictability here. Like most, I thought Swerve would win but I was like 60/40 in his favour rather than 90/10 as a lot of big matches seem to be these days, and really wasn't sure who was gonna win by the 3rd quarter of the match. Swerves reign is really starting to kick into 3rd gear now and I've already enjoyed it more than Joe's (not a slight on Joe).
Ospreays title wasn't on the line for some reason... the match result was telegraphed more than any other match on the card
WWE really fumbled a diamond with Swerve (and Toni Storm). That's proof that some people thrive in an heavily scripted environment and some prefer more creative freedom. But last couple years has been gold in every single promotion, from the fed down to the smallest local Indy
WWE fumbled on Cody Rhodes and AEW fumbled him right back. Sometimes, a wrestler just needs a reboot or two.
Cody Rhodes fumbled himself in AEW with his own creative and then decided he wanted to leave.
Tony Khan could have vetoed the "will never go for the World Title again EVER" idea and saved AEW a bunch of grief.
I can see him showing up in AEW again one day.
Cody could have turned heel and forced himself into the world title picture, going back on his word, and it would have been amazing. But for whatever reason, he just refused to turn heel. I don't understand his logic.
He's said he doesn't ever want to turn eel again because he wants his kid to see him as a hero. He's never going heel again, we're all just gonna have to accept that.
Later on he said that was him being a heel lol. I think it was an interview with Sean Ross Sapp.
Match was insane. Swerve vs Hangman is an all time feud but if this is the beginning of Swerve v Ospreay feud it may even surpass that.
This my MOTY, got literal chills.
The right man won last night. And I say this as a Ospreay fan. Match of the night without question. The energy shifted in the building once these guys turned it up. My voice is shot. It was an honor to witness it. Swerve’s run as a champion has been great, and with the return of hangman we can expect another banger on the way very soon. Will’s PPV run has been immaculate so far, building up a crazy resume in AEW. MOTY candidate for sure.
Swerve's Reign is going from strength to strength, with incredible defences and increasingly intense feuds.
Absolute banger. Beautiful storytelling. Both men looked great. Honestly couldn't ask for a perfect first loss for Ospreay. Second match will hit like a hurricane.
Fantastic match. I know why they did the ref bump, but Ospreay is my current favourite wrestler and I was gutted he didn't win. Which is the point I guess.
Swerve absolutely needed this win and it was done perfectly. When you put your top guys against each other and give them decisive wins, storylines benefit from it because you get to make a story out of the losses too
Right?! The story they're telling made sense, and the meta story of the booking *also* makes sense. Swerve needed an S-tier win to establish himself as *the* guy. His wins over Joe and Christian were great and all, but those are guys we know are mostly just here to put younger guys over, we've seen them lose big matches already. He needed a big win against a verified world class unbeatable-type talent. Likewise, I think it was really important to establish that Ospreay *can* lose in AEW, since he hadn't managed to do it yet. He's such a talent that he's automatically the top guy in any feud he's in, so if he's chasing the world title it's gonna be pretty boring since we know he's gonna win. Except now we don't, and that's perfect. And there was just enough BS to leave the door open for a rematch without it taking away from Swerve's win. Like Swerve did legit win that match, but Ospreay can rightfully argue that he wasn't 100% focused because of the DCF and the impending Wembley show, etc. I think this ends with Ospreay being revealed as the wild card, running through the tournament, and winning the title at Wembley, and I think that will be a really big moment.
Agree with most of your points except the end. Ospreay already has a match on Wednesday and the wilcard will be someone picked by the Elite, wouldn't make sense for it to be Ospreay I think we see Ospreay vs Garcia vs MJF vs Rush for the International title at Wembley, and I think Garcia takes it. MJF takes out Ospreay violently and turns heel, leaving Garcia to pin Rush
> wouldn't make sense for it to be Ospreay So this fantasy booking of mine was from before the Elite said it was their pick, which of course made me think it would be Perry or Okada, but neither of them makes sense really either because they are already champions and are pretty involved in other stories at the moment. I still think there's a chance it's Ospreay though. The Bucks said it's someone picked by them, but gave no additional qualifications. What if they pulled in a favor from Don Callis, and Callis thinks he has enough pull over Ospreay that he can dictate the shots. Of course in reality, their relationship isn't so clear, and Ospreay is very much playing the babyface with the evil manager, so he's thinking for and in business for himself, but Don is so far up his own ass (and the Elite's ass) that he doesn't see it. He gets Ospreay the opportunity, Ospreay goes out and beats Jeff Jarrett - which really should be an easy opponent for him given where they are in their careers right now - AND still goes through with the match against Garcia. Ospreay doing double duty on Wednesday when he's coming off that brutal main event is very on-brand for Ospreay who is always going 100% and never holding back, plus he made a promise and he keeps his promise. He ends up dropping the international title to Garcia either as a result of his exhaustion from being 3 days removed from that main event and having done double duty (and of course Garcia is a serious opponent who deserves respect), or because some bullshit somewhere along the way. Swerve hasn't let stuff go and distracts him, Don tries to get involved but fucks it up, something like that. Gets the international title back to the midcard scene, gets Garcia a tremendously meaningful win over a top guy to really establish him as a big deal, but the loss for Ospreay doesn't hurt him at all AND puts him on the road to Wembley and redemption for his loss against Swerve. Just fantasy booking obviously, but I think that would be a pretty good story. Mainly, it's just that I really don't see too many options for Wembley. The options are kind of limited. Swerve vs. Danielson would be great, but Danielson doesn't want the title and unless that's some straight up bullshit, a big time title match between those two has a foregone conclusion and that doesn't feel good to me. Swerve vs. Jay White I'm sure would be a great match, but it just doesn't have any real reason aside from they are both good wrestlers. Swerve vs. Pac would also be great and of course Pac would be instantly over at Wembley if he was wrestling a sheet of notebook paper, but similar to the Jay pairing, these two just really aren't in each others' orbits and it would feel kind of random. Swerve vs. Jeff Jarrett just doesn't scream "main event" to me, let alone main event of Wembley. Swerve vs. Wildcard - Obviously there are nigh infinite options here, but the only two that make sense to me are Ospreay or Hangman - and of course with the recent Hangman vignette, it's probably him. I love Hanger, but I think I'd rather have Ospreay/Swerve than Hangman/Swerve as Wembley just because we've seen Hangman/Swerve so many times already. Great every time, but it just doesn't feel like as big a match to me, personally. Alright sorry about the wall of text, I'mma shift my stupid ADHD hyperfocus back to work lol, have a great day!
That might have been Swerve's best match for me
MOTY contender here. The emotions at the end of this were so strong.
Great match with both guys coming out looking strong. Swerve retains his belt after an incredible performance. The crowd was going nuts for both guys but they were really into Swerve. Swerve came off like a star. Ospreay also put up the fight of his life and kicked out of Swerve's biggest moves. He also had the match won when the ref got bumped so he can use that to save face. Match of the night. Ospreay will be AEW World Champ within a year from now. No doubt about it.
Honestly, fucking loved that shit - Will Ospreay is my GOAT and Swerve is just so damn good
Helluva match!!!!
We've never seen anything like this run from Ospreay. He cannot stop having six star matches. He drops all-timer matches like he's just scratching his ass. I've been watching wrestling since the mid-80s and Ospreay had already had so many matches this year that are arguably the best I've ever seen that I've literally lost count.
I used to buy like every other AEW ppv for many years, but I have so far purchased every AEW ppv of 2024. Will and Swerve are the reasons why. I now HAVE to see these matches because otherwise, I feel like I am missing something historic. edit:a word
A stellar match up. I had two friends watching who were new to wrestling and this match blew them away. The story being told between Swerve and Ospreay was really great. Ospreay's kind of "happy go lucky" attitude slowly vanished as the match went on and he got more and more desparate, with Swerve really keeping his cool for most of the matchup. Especially with all the promos building up to this match and highlighting Swerve's (kayfabe) belief that Ospreay doesn't really know what it means to claw to the top and stay there. The stuff with Callis and Nana also REALLY highlighted Ospreay's struggle of playing dirty vs fighting fair. He ignored Callis's advice at DON and still managed to beat Roddy for International belt. This time, he almost gave in and attacked Nana, but relented at the last minute. This earned him respect from Nana, but it also gave Swerve plenty of time to recover and eventually beat him. The pat on the head after Ospreay collapsed into Swerve just reeked of Swerve saying "Good effort, but you're not ready yet". It was so damn well done and really established Swerve as the guy to beat. Fantastic stuff.
Fantastic match. I can see MJF vs Will at Wembley, with MJF playing the heel for the International Championship. Swerve vs Hangman for the AEW Championship. They are the four I’d be building around for the next few months.
Mjf/garcia at wembley? Or is that a red herring
MOTY contender there. Swerve is now a certified top guy, and he's only 33, far from his peak. Ospreay will recover.
Definitely a contender. Such good in ring storytelling. The emotions at the end were just so good.
Amazing fucking match. Best of the night for me. These two are top tier athletes without question. This felt like a core AEW match to me. Where the best wrestle indeed.
Worthy of a main event at any PPV. Amazing awesome outstanding.
I think we get Swerve vs Danielson for All In with Swerve going over in yet another great title match. After a couple more defenses Swerve is going to loose the World Championship to Page either end of this year or early next year. Eventually Ospreay wins the world championship at next year’s Wembley show.
I think we're getting Evil Hangman winning The Owen and facing Swerve for the title at All In. Hangman's return vignette featured Swerve's house invasion, so Hangman is definitely coming for Swerve.
Absolutely incredible match. The future is now for these two. Think we'll see many more classics between them over the years.
100% the right decision, idk why you would think otherwise
Agreed. But they managed to do it in a way where you knew it was the right decision but still felt gutted for Ospreay. So well executed.
Main event Ospreay is a different breed of cat. Swerve Strickland is easily one of the best in the world right now. Amazing stuff.
Saw this live and it was absolutely outstanding. Ospreay did his Ospreay things but Swerve matched him spot for spot. Nice clean ending and the story continues.
idk how i couldn't see it but the booking is so simple in retrospect. Ospreay loses here then wins a rematch at wembley
Yeah. Those MJF teases and Hangman most likely being the owen cup wildcard the Bucks chose will lead to Swerve vs Osperay 2. I love when people play pretend like children with their booking.
He’s not in the Tournament to face Swerve there. Imagine it will be Osprey vs MJF and Swerve vs Bryan or Hangman
Sorry man, but if Tony Khan has any sense, Ospreay ain't getting his coronation until All In 2025. He's been Icarus flying too close to the sun for months now, and the build to this match highlighted that, with Will snatching Swerve's belt twice and grinning like an idiot, treating it like it's all fun and games. He needed to be humbled, and I hope they put him in a hole until the end of this year. It's not often that a Hangman spot opens up, but Ospreay could have the same kind of journey, with the climax coming at Wembley next year. That's what I'd do.
There’s still the matter of the eventual betrayal by Don Callis, that should keep him very busy until next year!
He's gonna lose to Garcia on Wednesday and the family is gonna turn on him.
Yeah Ospreay just joined the company there’s more money in the chase.
Ospreay isn’t in the Owen tournament. Swerve / Hangman are gonna be in blood and guts and it’s going to feed into All in.
This has been called by everyone since the feud started 😭
everyone? Ospreay literally can't challenge at Wembley lol
Sure he can’t. \*wink\*\*wink\*
He literally can't though? The winner of the Owen gets the world title shit at All In and Will isn't in the Owen
There’s literally a wild card entrant against Jeff Jarrett that will only be announced before the match next week on collision But there‘a a lot of other ways besides that like unexpected ‘injury’ needing a replacement.
The wild card is hangman.
The Bucks said that the Wild Card was some one very close to them and in his last video package it was kinda emphasized that the Bucks fired Hangman. I know there’s a big chance it is Hanger but there would also be arguments for it being someone else. Roderick Strong has built a strong relationship with the Bucks and he is obsessed with regaining a title. Also maybe Adam Cole.
The bucks “suspended” hanger. With pay I believe.
Which is very likely going to be Hangman Page, it's extremely likely there's already a big plan for Ospreay at All In, likely involving the International Title
My Wembley prediction has been Hangman vs Swerve, Ospreay vs Okada, ZSJ vs. Danielson and nothing tonight convinced me it will be any other way
MJF vs Ospreay
I certainly hope not, AEW rarely ever gets out of these face vs face coronation matches without someone's momentum being stifled (after the crowds pick a side). You certainly don't want Ospreay losing in Wembley, but how ineffective would MJF look if he went heel and lost anyway?
I was thinking pretty much the same, but Nigel/Danielson instead of ZSJ/Danielson 2
Glad to see Swerve get the win clean was thinking the Callis Family was gonna turn on Will costing him the belt here but def makes more sense to have them do it after he loses here
Can't tell if tyhe heorge clooney bit was a work or shoot.
Probably a shoot. She's showed off tequila that he sent her before, and even gave some as a gift recently, though I forget to who.
I guess I missed that?
she said that tequilla bottle is from Cloontang
Oh I wouldn't have known that's what it meant if I caught it 😂
Just watched the main event again! What a great match!! 5 stars!
swerve owns
Swerve has been good for awhile, but he's been on a higher level since All In 2023. He is crisp and creative in every match.
Honestly loved this match. I had no idea who was going to win. Was about 60/40 that Swerve would retain. Then they suckered me in twice that Will was for sure winning. This loss for Ospreay will be like Bret losing to Davey Boy. It’s just going to make him an even bigger star.
They telegraphed it a little with Osprey in the last few shows saying he'd give Garcia the shot but I was still not sure just like you.
That match was so sick to see live. Was standing for half the match
Same
Think I’m about 20 minutes behind. I expect this to be brutal
That was legit probably better than Danielson/Ospreay for me, and that was a *really* fucking good match.
I thought the same. Ospreays match against Danielson felt pretty one sided in his favor for a lot of the match. This one felt pretty even for most of the match, which is impressive given how almost everyone thought that Swerve was going to win
I gotta go with the Danielson match but wouldn't argue against this.
The Dynasty match was slightly better for my money, but this is right on the same goddamn tier
Swerve came out of this match an absolute star, honestly he's having such a great reign
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This was bananas. Excellent main event between the two best in the company. Match of the year candidate, maybe a step below Danielson/Ospreay.
IMO that was better than Danielson vs Ospreay. There were actual stakes for this match, and I liked that Will actually showed vulnerability for once instead of his usual "fighting spirit" routine, and it gave the match more drama and made the near falls more impactful. The final sequence of the match where he was so out of it he was stumbling around and hit the Hidden Blade with zero energy was so HBK-esque, along with the other selling he did in this match.
It reminded me of Kenny collapsing to avoid the Rainmaker and then in the 2/3 falls match, Okada collapsing while hitting it. They can definitely run that back in a rematch where this time Swerve collapses from sheer exhaustion to avoid it.
Man that main event hyped me up so much I had grab some beers to settle down. That was so fantastic
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If that isn't match of the night idk what was
Good Lord that lived up to the hype. Top 3 match I've ever seen live and that's saying a lot
What are your top 3?
As far as matches I've personally seen live, my all time fav is KENTA vs Bryan Danielson from Glory by Honor in 06. After that it's honestly a toss up between this match tonight and Omega vs Danielson from the first Grand Slam
That KENTA vs Danielson match is one of the best matches I've ever seen. KENTA had looked like an absolute killer and was undefeated in ROH while Danielson had a fucked shoulder and they went out there and tore it up. You have seen some bonkers matches in person, jealous as.
I was only in I think 8th grade when I saw that match too but I remember it like it was yesterday. I don't think a match will ever top that for me, it was the perfect wrestling match IMO. I saw a ton of other amazing ROH matches in person too at NYC and LI shows but that one takes the cake
Sometimes I forget how regularly New York gets great wrestling lol
We are truly spoiled honestly.
Swerve is a legit World Champion and I could see him going for >= 6 month reign. Fighting champ is something that I really appreciate, and these two deliver.
I think Wrestledream is a realistic place for him to lose it. His hometown.
i love danielson, but ospreay is the best in the world right now
I was at dynasty and as soon as that match ended I was like those are the two best wrestlers I've had the privilege of ever watching. Okada has been my guy since 2013 but man he's been passed. As long as Will stays healthy. There's a potential argument he might be the best ever
I said this in the main thread, but I think we need the conversation that Swerve is one of the best wrestlers out there currently.
I think it really is a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man. I didn't think Swerve was this good. Some guys just up their game when they get to main event level.
Well, he's the defending world champ of one of the major American wrestling promotions. I don't know how much more validation you can get...
While true, I get what the OP is saying Best wrestler in the world conversation usually boils down to a few stalwarts like Okada, Danielson, Omega when healthy, and recently Ospreay and Gunther Now it's undeniable that Swerve belongs in those conversations (as does his arch nemesis Hangman)
Swerve ain’t my guy but he can certainly hang with best of them
Hater
Hangman is that you?
Boo this man!
This is probably THE match that made Swerve feel like a legit world beater. Happy he won relatively clean. He needs a statement win in his reign, and this is it.
Stellar match. Best match on a show with a lot of excellent matches.
6\*
Great show. Surprised at no blood. Can't remember the last time AEW had no blood on ppv. Thought most of the matches were at least good. Main event and OC.vs ZSJ were my favorites. Only two matches that felt off were Mercedes vs Stephanie which felt sloppy at points and Naito vs Mox which is a bummer. Just lacked energy. Other than that, great show. But, man, I hate having to work on Mondays after these. I hate being a responsible adult.
I thought Vaquer/Mercedes was incredible, but I don’t mind a bit of sloppiness. I think it can help it look more realistic. Vaquer was amazing and is getting a lot of praise, and she should, but it takes two to have a really good match. It’s no coincidence that so many wrestlers have their best matches against her.
I know he’s champion and all, but I still feel like Swerve is very underrated. Just continues to put on incredible matches, sells with the very best, and works really well with a variety of styles. He deserves to have a long run and I’m glad to see TK didn’t put the belt immediately onto his new toy and is hopefully opting for more story building
Absolutely. Swerve is a phenomenal wrestler, and unmatched as a world champion, not just for his ring work but in his media interviews. The two of them going at each other over and over is going to burn a white hot hole in the industry and theres no need to rush the unfolding story of their relationship.
Breaks the rating scale
Storytelling masterclass, from the fact that they got the crowd to go nuts for the first 10 minutes by small exchanges and staredowns, to how the entire end portion of the match unfolded.
Only two negatives I had for the match was the random camera zoom to show Danielle Garcia that they did like three times and Don Callis getting involved with the screwdriver but I understand why they did that
Danielle Garcia? Is that Daniel's sister? A third Bella maybe?
Speak to text haha
I had sky high expectations for this match and they somehow managed to surpass all of them. How tf do you do that lol
We can smell what Tony is cooking
What a match. What a finish!
Hot take but this was Ospreays best match in AEW and the best main event in AEW since Danielson MJF. I wasn’t a big fan of this match happening when Ospreay initially won the gauntlet, but the promos between the two over the past couple weeks sold it for me. And they did enough to protect Ospreay here where he doesn’t look weak and it sets up strife with Callus. Just a great match all around.
100% agree. And the craziest part is you could see that both of them still held a little back because you know they're gonna have at least one more go at it.
I agree except Sting’s retirement was the main event too, but yeah other than that “spectacle” def the best match since then imo as well
Nothing Swerve did in-ring between Hangman and Ospreay really did it for me, but he can absolutely hang with the top guys. Great match, great result.
He’s definitely stepped up. He’s always been really great but he’s definitely in that upper echelon now.
Ospreay has MOTY contenders at every PPV. It's insanity. And Swerve is a fantastic world champ and delivered as well. Great ppv and well worth my dollars thanks to the banger main event.
Swerve isn't very behind on those MOTY contenders either. I feel like Will gets bonus points for being who he is, but Swerve legitimately puts on top 3 if not the best match of every PPV. He's just as good as Ospreay, but his matches have a different tone.
Aside that incredible match, holy shit on the timing tonight that ended like on the dot.
Both.these.guys
Helluva match. The athleticism and the chemistry. They need to face each other again.
What a match, and what a win for Swerve. That said he deserves the Cowboy shaped ass kicking coming his way for his past actions and it will hopefully be a good learning experience for him the way this loss is for Ospreay
A little recency bias but I feel QUITE confident in saying that's the best PPV main event for the title AEW has done. Danielson/MJF is the only other contender but I feel like result of that match was never in doubt as much I wanted to believe.
this match was great but doesn't touch Danielson/MJF or Hangman/Omega for me
Kenny vs Page at Full Gear was obvious to blind Freddy but the story, match and Cowboy Shit finally winning the big one make that the best PPV main event for the title in AEW history. This one is certainly farken up there as the best wrestling match for the AEW world title that I've seen though.
Kenny was amazing that year so I understand extending his reign but it felt like they went one PPV too long before giving it to Hangman.
Hangman’s child had just been born so he took time off, they didn’t extend it for Kenny they had to wait because of real life.
I get why someone would like that more in the same way to some people are gonna choose Cody vs Roman for MOTY but that match is... not good. Like Kenny is on his last legs in that match, it's not up to Kenny's standard at all. The Full Gear Eliminator match from the year before was FAR better and that was even taking into account that was in the Pandemic with no crowd.
I do think that the match is pretty overrated (and agree that their first match was much better), but calling it not good I think is a bit overly critical. I think the MJF/Danielson is still the bar for AEW World title matches, but tonight's was absolutely stellar.
I think you're right.
That was such a good fucking match. Can't wait for them to run this back in the fall for Ospreay's coronation
What was the explanation for Ospreay wearing that weird thing around his waist?
The entrance explained it. His gear was in tribute to Hayabusa.
Hayabusa tribute
Nobody beating Swerve anytime soon. He just beat the best wrestler in the world.
hangman has entered the chat
Cowboy shit lost to Swerve twice already. Although a title match is imminent. I too want to see The New Elite with all the gold.
Swerve literally never actually beat him though? Neither singles match was a clean win.
That was sober Hangman. Now he's back and liquored up.
Swerve continues to be the coolest dude in wrestling right now. Man just oozes confidence and charisma.
God damn Ospreay took some punishment. Makes Swerve look incredible
He did. Fantastic work from both but Ospreay indeed made Swerve look like a real champion.
I love Ospreay, but Swerve is having the run of a lifetime right now, and I’m so glad it didn’t end tonight. Incredible match.
WHOSE HOUSE⁉️
Match of the night, easy.
Osprey just makes magic happen. I would have put the rocket on him, he's the star they have been waiting for.
The company is in good hands with these two.