AEW - From The Beginning | Volume One: Ch 1-12

[Comrade Khan]

El Phantasmo
NAITO
El Hijo del Vikingo

@Juice

 

[CakeWalker]

Chapter Two - Part One

PAC x DDP - Act One

In the fallout of All Out, Dallas would cut a promo in which he would be openly honest and admit that he had never expected to last so long in the Casino Battle Royale let alone end up winning the whole thing and therefore a guaranteed shot for the AEW World Championship DDP would make it clear that he had no expectations that he was going to win the match, but that wouldn’t stop him from giving his all at Fall Brawl. PAC would compete in the fall-out show in a non-title match, and claim a win over the much larger framed Luchasaurus.

The following week, DDP and PAC would lock horns in the main-event in a Trios Match with DDP being joined by fellow Nightmare Family members Cody & Dustin Rhodes, whilst PAC would be joined by his close friend Luthor as well as the debuting and powerful Jeff Cobb. Cobb would put on a high calibre performance that would play a massive influence in PAC’s team claiming the victory. The following week, the two men would meet once again as PAC and Luthor would team up and claim a win over QT Marshall and DDP. After the match ‘The Bastard’ would grab a microphone and make it clear that he had a lot of respect for DDP considering his age and the fact that he was willing to put it all out at this stage in his life. PAC would inform Dallas that on the go-home show they would each get to select each other’s opponent in a series of Pick Your Poison matches and reveal that DDP would face Jimmy Havoc in next week’s main-event.

During the go-home show, DDP would have selected Christopher Daniels to be the AEW World Champions Poison. In what was looking like it was going to be yet another notch on the win column for PAC, as DDP’s music would play around the arena PAC would be left distracted as he would turn towards the back long enough for Daniels to spin PAC on his axis and nail him with the Angel’s Wing and claim a monumental non-title win and become the first person to beat the champion in singles action since PAC had won the belt.

DDP would have a truly testing and brutal match against Jimmy Havoc, but Dallas would turn a lot of heads and put out all the stops that would lead to him nailing Havoc with the Diamond Cutter and claiming an important win, that would give him all the momentum that a challenger would want going into a big title match at a PPV.

At Fall Brawl, both men would feature in a gruelling battle and there had been a number of moments where DDP had come within inches of beating PAC, but when it came down to it he wasn’t able to match the stamina and agility that PAC brought to the table, that led to ‘The Bastard’ successfully defending the AEW World Championship. After the match, DDP was on his knees and would offer PAC his hand as a sign of respect - only for ‘The Bastard’ to slap Page’s hand away and instead flipping him off before exiting the ring with a strap hanging over his shoulder and a massive smile on his face.

Omega x Jericho - Act Two

On the fallout show following All Out, Chris Jericho would have a confrontation with Jay Lethal backstage where Jericho would make it clear that Lethal had squandered his chance at greatness, and was an embarrassment for entering the Casino Battle Royale as its Joker and getting outlasted by Stu Grayson and Diamond Dallas Page and that he needed to be taught a lesson. Jericho would click his fingers, and in a moment notice Jake Hager would charge forward and send Lethal down onto the floor with a brutal shoulder tackle before stomping down repeatedly on Lethal. Lethal would be left in a blood pool on the floor, as Jericho and Hager would walk away from the scene of the crime.

Later on that night Omega would confront Jericho, and make it clear that if he wanted to walk around like some high school jock bullying the rest of the roster then he was going to answer to him and would inform him that later on tonight he and Hangman would offer Jericho & Hager a battle that they actually had of losing and that is exactly what they would do as Omega and Hangman would claim a monumental tag-team victory over the Jericho Circle.

A week later Kenny would confront Jericho in the ring and make it clear that he wanted him in the ring at Fall Brawl - and not only was he going to right the wrongs of Fyter Fest and prove he was the better wrestler, as he had originally proven at Double or Nothing but he was also going to send a message to the rest of the roster that if you are going to lay hands on those not so able to defend themselves then you should be surprised to find members of the aid answering the call and stepping up to the plate. Jericho would find what Kenny was saying amusing, and would make it clear that after he had disposed of Omega he never wanted to see him in the ring as him ever again.

At Fall Brawl both men would compete in a 2 out of 3 Falls Match, that would be seen as fitting match gimmick to potentially finally close the book on the story between both men.Jericho would claim the first fall, but rather than put Kenny on the back foot it would only seem to motivate Omega who would go on to win the second and third fall to win the match and claim an important victory over Jericho. Omega would massively pleased with himself with the victory, whilst Jericho would skulk towards the back clearly not enjoying suffering such a major loss under the spotlight.
​

 

[Marty McFourth]

Pac vs DDP, amazing. Definitely a feud I didn't expect to see. This is going to be fun.

 

[CakeWalker]

Chapter Two - Part Two

Cody Rhodes x PAC - Act Two

The last time Cody and PAC were interlocked in a match program, they would be battling at Fyter Fest for the right to challenge for the AEW World Championship at All Out - which had resulted in ‘The Bastard’ now being the inaugural champion. Cody would run into PAC backstage on the fall-out show following Fall Brawl and make it clear in as many words that he felt he was actually an opponent that actually had a chance of beating him. The manner in which Rhodes said it, made it clear that he considered DDP and Jericho as being nothing more than old men from a bygone era and therefore not opponents that offer a legitimate challenge. The comments would certainly get the response that Cody had been after, as he would be baited into accepting the challenge and let Cody face each other at Halloween Havoc, before pulling off a swerve. PAC would inform Cody that their match would be a non-title match, and that if Cody was able to beat him at the PPV - then he would prove himself worthy of a shot at the title.

The following week PAC would be joined in the ring by Luthor & PCO and would the trio as the ‘Company of Bastard’ and would make it clear that the likes of The Elite and the Nightmare Family were nothing but fakes and frauds compared to his fellow Bastards that felt no need to pretend to be something they weren’t. The ‘Company of Bastards’ would then have their first official match under their banner as PAC & PCO would team up and claim a win over Cody & DDP in the evening’s main-event. .

On the following show Cody would claim some retribution from the previous show by claiming a singles win over PCO. After the match, PAC would congratulate Rhodes on finally starting to show signs of earning his place on the roster by winning matches rather than by adding VP to the end of his name, only to throw shade by stating that DDP was still the most deserving member of the Nightmare Family at this point in time and therefore he was decided to give Dallas a shot at the World Championship tonight. This felt more like PAC was trying to get under Cody’s skin, especially considering the fact he was forcing Rhodes to earn the right to face him. As many had expected, PAC would successfully defend the belt but it must be noted that Diamond Dallas Page was no slouch and made PAC work for his dinner. After the match, PAC would forcefully throw DDP out of the ring through the ropes, ejecting him like was a piece of crap.

Cody would take great offence to the manner in which PAC had thrown DDP out of the ring the week before, which would in a truly brutal backstage brawl occurring between both men both, with Cody being thrown to the floor by a security team as they would intercepted him just as he was running forwards to punt PAC’s head directly into a concrete wall which would not doubt caused irreparable damage.
At Halloween Havoc PAC and Cody would have a tremendous contest, with the match actually earning a five star rating. Despite Cody's best efforts though, PAC would continue to show exactly why he was the AEW World Champion as he retained the belt in the evening’s main-event. After the match, whilst PAC was joined by Luthor and PCO - PAC would mockingly toss Cody a ‘Company of Bastard’ tee and make a hand gesture of a telephone almost as if he was implying that Cody should call him.

During the start of the fall-out show, PAC would applaud Cody on his performance and despite the fact that he was had been unable to beat him yet again, ‘The Bastard’ would say that every now and again he felt like being generous and so he would offer Cody exactly what he wanted - a match for the AEW World Championship. Cody would accept, but PAC would wave his fingers and make it clear that he hadn’t even explained the stipulation that would be added to the match. Cody though said it didn’t matter what the stipulation was, because he was going to accept the challenge no matter what. PAC would laugh before explaining that both men would compete in a Lumberjack Match with members of the ‘Company of Bastards’ and ‘The Nightmare Family surrounding the ring. However, PAC would make it clear that if Cody was unable to beat him tonight then he would be forced to turn his back on his family and join the ‘Company of Bastards’.

Both men would feature in another high quality contest, but once again PAC would prove himself to be the superior wrestler and now held a 3-0 record over Cody in singles action as well successfully having defended the title for the third time of his reign. The loss for Rhodes meant that he now had no choice but to leave with the ring with the ‘Company of Bastards’ which was slightly ironic considering the original bad blood between both men had begun when Cody had attempted to recruit ‘The Bastard’ to join the Nightmare Family.

PAC x Jericho - Act Two

Following his second program with Cody Rhodes that had been concluded with the Lumberjack Match, Jericho and PAC would have a confrontation backstage the following week where Jericho wouldn’t be shy in stating that as it stood there was one more deserving than him on the roster to challenge PAC for the title and he wanted to have rematch of their match at All Out. PAC would make it clear that he was making a habit of doubling down and beating his challengers twice and so would welcome Jericho as his opponent at Full Gear.

The following week the Jericho Circle would claim a victory over the Company of Bastards, in what would be Cody Rhodes first match not representing the Nightmare Family as he would partner up with PAC. Cody though, would spend most of the time in the match with PAC seeming to be testing Rhodes commitment to his new faction by not being tagged back in as much as he would usually demand.

The go-home show would see PAC and Jericho be given tuneup matches to help prepare them for Full Gear. Jericho would face off against Jay Lethal, with Jericho on course to picking up a win only for PAC to distract him by being present at ringside that would result in Lethal picking up an unexpected win to his name. The distraction would lead to Jericho and PAC having an all out fight at ringside, with Jerry Lynn escorting security out that would escort Jericho from the building on the basis that neither man would injure the other ahead of the PPV. PAC would close the show by picking up a solid non-title victory over DDP to close the show.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Chapter Two - Part Three

Ishii x Moxley - Act One

A week after All Out, Moxley would call out Ishii and make it clear that one match would simply not be enough for a clear winner to be found and instead that they should contest in a best of seven series. Tomohiro would welcome the challenge and make it clear that one of the main reasons he had agreed to coming to America was to prove to the rest of the world that Jon Moxley was nothing more than a man and like every other man in history they could be beaten. The first match in the series would take place later that evening, with Moxley picking up the win - and claiming an early 1-0 lead in the series.

The following week the pair would be involved in tag team action, as Ishi would team up with Cody Rhodes to claim a victory over Moxley & Jericho. After the match, Jimmy Havoc would attempt to blindside Moxley, clearly trying to get revenge for the post-match beating he received following the No Holds Barred match at All Out. Before Havoc could make contact though, he would be spiked with a stiff punch from the Stone Pitbull before he would toss Jimmy out of the ring. It sent a clear message not just to Moxley, but the rest of roster that the only person who would be fighting with Moxley from this point onwards would be him and him alone.

Ishi would then go on to claim the next two wins in the series, the first being in the go-home show prior to Fall Brawl and the second taking place at Fall Brawl itself with Ishii taking the lead for the first time to go 2-1 in the series. Ishii continued his spell of dominance and claimed a third win in a row, meaning that Tomohiro needed just one more win to prove his dominance over Moxley and to take the series.

The tensions between Mox and Tomohiro would grow tense backstage, with Moxley making it clear that not only would he claim victory in tonight’s go-home show prior to Halloween Havoc, but he was going to level the series by claiming a victory at the pay per view. Moxley would stay true to his word by winning both matches and by levelling the series to 3-3, with men staring each other down as complete equals following their sixth match of the series at Halloween Havoc.

Ishii much to his annoyance would be paired up with Jimmy Havoc to face Moxley and Dustin roads in tag team action during the fallout show, with Ishii and Havoc claiming the victory. After the match Tony Schiavone would enter the ring and make two announcements. The first would be that the series decider between Moxley and Ishii would take place at Full Gear and be a Fall Count Anywhere match, something which both men would seem quite happy with the announcement. The second thing that Tony S. would reveal was that on next week’s episode of Dynamite - Moxley and Havoc would have a Lights Out match to finally put their issues to bed once and for all. The match would end up being truly brutal, with Moxley claiming the victory and finally bringing an end to their feud. (This would be Havoc’s final match with AEW, as he would be released by the promotion the following day.)

The last time both men would feature on Dynamite, prior to Full Gear would be in a tag team contest in which Ishii and Moxley would be forced to team up with each other, but despite their reservations with teaming up together they would manage to work together and claim a win over TH2. With Moxley and Ishii standing in the middle of the ring, Mox would reveal to Tomohiro that he had been informed prior to the match that whoever won at Full Gear would become the new number one contender and earn themselves a shot at the AEW World Championship at Winter Is Coming.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Chapter Two - Part Four

Raise Me Up

During Fall Brawl, former NJPW and more recently former WWE talent Shinsuke Nakamura would debut on the pay per view and cut a promo, in which he would make it clear that he had been seriously undervalued by his former employers for far too long and that promises and assurances that had had been given had not been kept and that he had joined All Elite Wrestling in the hopes that he could finally prove to a mainstream market that he truly was capable of being recognised as the best in the business.

Nakamura would claim a debut win over Joey Janela on the fallout show following Fall Brawl, but the rest of the two months wouldn’t feature on Dynamite and instead spend some time off-screen. In the build up to Full Gear, Nakamura would have a heated moment with the recently signed talent who was yet to debut Jeff Cobb. Both men would come to an agreement that they would put on one hell of a match with no bad blood between them, to exhibit the best of themselves and show they were worthy of a spot further up the card.

Pumpkin Bowl

A new tournament would be announced with the first two rounds being streamed exclusively on AEW’s YouTube channel, with these round being aired over six days leading up to Halloween Havoc, with the first two rounds brackets shown below:

The final eight would see Darby Allin, Jay Lethal, Evil Uno, Sammy Guevara, Wardlow, Paul London, Luthor and Luchasaurus advance to the quarter final, with all remaining matches set to feature as part of the Halloween Havoc card. The winner of the tournament would earn the Pumpkin Bowl, which would act as a cash in contract to challenge for the World Championship at Blood & Guts. The added gimmick to the Pumpkin Bowl, was that the holder of the bowl would have to defend it on multiple occasions in the five months leading up to Blood & Guts meaning that whoever won the title tonight, might not even be the person who would cash in the contract in the future.

The final two would end up being Darby Allin and Paul London, with London claiming the victory over the man half his age and claiming the Pumpkin Bowl and thus becoming the man who would provisionally be challenging for the World Championship at Blood & Guts.

In the fall out of Halloween Havoc, Allin and London would have an intense moment backstage in which Darby would make it clear that he wanted to be the first man to officially challenge London for the Pumpkin Bowl and London would make it clear that he welcomed the challenge because since he had already between Darby, he would have no problem doing it again. London’s over confidence would end up losing the Bowl to Darby on his very first defence. Paul London was visibly furious that he had lost his provisional shot on his very first defence.

Darby and London would be set to face each other again at Full Gear with the Pumpkin Bowl being put on the line. In the build up to the PPV Darby would team up with Jurassic Express to claim a win in a trios tag team match against London, PCO & Luthor. After the match both men would shake hands and it was clear that there was a lot of respect between both men.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Chapter Two - Part Five

Mejor En El Bloque - Act One

Following All Out, the tag division would really be thrown into the mixer.with tensions really brewing backstage. Two teams that previously had been considered as friends backstage were Private Party and the Gunn Club, only for everyone to be left shocked as Kassidy & Quen would ambush Billy Gunn and beat the crap out of him in a move that would result in Private Party turning heel. This wouldn’t be the only fight that would break out backstage in the weeks leading up to Fall Brawl. Trent? & Chuckie T (Best Friends) would be cutting a promo backstage, only to be attacked by the tag champions with absolutely no reason for the assault given, other than because they could.

PCO & Paul London would announce themselves as the newest team in the division, where they would be referred to as ‘The Expendables’.Best Friends would get a chance to get revenge on the Lucha Bros, as would battle them in a non-title match and shock everyone by beating the Lucha Bros. This would lead with the Lucha Bros having no choice, but to grant the Best Friends a shot for the titles at Fall Brawl.

At Fall Brawl, Best Friends and the Lucha Bros would battle each other in what would end up being a high quality five star match with Rey and Penta successfully retaining the belts. A fatal four way match would also take place at the PPV, with SoCal Uncensored (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky) gaining a victory over Private Party, Gunn Clubb & Strong Hearts (Lindaman & CIMA).

Best Friends and the Lucha Bros would face each other in singles matches during the fallout show. Chuckie T would claim an impressive win over Rey Fenix. After the match Taylor would cut a promo in which he would make it clear that there was no doubt that the Lucha Bros had proven themselves time and time again that they were the best team in the division, but would remind everyone that every former champion had one thing in common and that was that they eventually lost. Pentagon, Jr. would stop a clean weep taking place however, by picking up a singles win over Trent.

The following week Lucha Bros & Jericho Circle would form a unique foursome as they would claim a win over all four members of The Elite in a star studded main-event. After the match, Fenix would confirm that the Lucha Bros would be facing the Best Friends once again at Halloween Havoc, but at next week’s go-home show they would take on the Young Bucks in a non-title match.

The Lucha Bros would pick up an important win over the Young Bucks at the go-home show, before successfully defending their championships for the second time of asking against the Best Friends at Halloween Havoc. After the match, there was no doubt in anyone's mind - that Rey and Penta had very much erased all conceivable memory of their loss to the Best Friends out of existence at least in terms of what it meant within the division.

In the weeks leading up to Full Gear, the Lucha Bros would make a statement that when they had teamed up with the Jericho they felt that they could have easily have defeated all four members of The Elite by themselves and so would challenge the Young Bucks and Omega & Hangman to face them at the PPV in a triple threat ladder match with the AEW World Tag Team Titles being suspended above the ring. For many wrestling pundits, there was a belief that this could be end up being the best tag team match in the promotions short history - even though the Tag Division had proven to be one of the most talked about areas of AEW as of late.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Chapter Two - Part Six

One True Queen - Act Two

In the aftermath of All Out, it was clear that every single woman on the roster had their eyes set on Priestly irrespective of whether they would admit it or not. Focusing on the champion herself, Priestley and Baker would invite Jamie Hayter to the ring, where the Women’s Champion would reveal that Hayter was the newest member of the US Chapter of Oedo Tai Priestley would then cut a promo that whilst she was planning to continue to be the best possible women’s champion that AEW could hope hope, she honestly felt that Hayter had the same level of potential as Baker of being one of the great women in wrestling of all time. This was why she had tasked Jamie to achieve a truly dangerous task, as she would be battling Awesome Kong at Fall Brawl. Hayter would take the microphone and make it clear that not only would she defeat Kong at the PPV, but within one year everyone in the business would recognise the name Jamie Hayter.

After winning the Brawl Match that took place in Penelope Ford’s room during All Out, Riho would end up locking horns with Nyla Rose again and claim another big win to her name during the fallout show. The next week Oedo Tai (Priestley & Hayter) would pick up a solid tag team victory over Awesome Kong & Riho

The following weeks after claiming a win over Shoko Nakajima, Riho would be on the receiving end of a woman wearing what looked like a cat luchador mask, with it being assumed that it was either Hayter of Baker behind the attack - although the actual identity couldn’t be confirmed even if it felt like some sort of warning shot. Later that same night, Priestley would once again defend her title and continue to prove that she was a fighting champion, and would do so by taking on top ranked Bunny. Bea would prove that she was simply too much though, to retain the title and maintain her perfect singles record of 8-0 since having joined AEW. After the match, Priestley would send a challenge to Riho, saying she was damn impressed with how she had performed at All Out and would be putting her title on the line against her at Fall Brawl.

Fall Brawl would prove to be a perfect night for the fighting members of Oedo Tai. Jamie Hayter would defeat Awesome in what could only be considered as being a shock win and would leave everyone surprised that she had claimed such a massive scalp so early into her career. Whilst. Bea Priestley would continue her streak of dominance by successfully defeating Riho and retaining the AEW Women’s World Championship.

Two weeks after Fall Brawl, Priestley would continue to stay true to her word as she would accept yet another challenger this time in the form of Abadon with the title on the line once again, which she would retain without any real issues. During that same evening, Awesome Kong would turn her fortune around slightly, by winning a ten woman Battle Royal which would certainly aid in keeping her favour within the division.
During the go-home show the Oedo Tai US Chapter would win a Trios. match and defeat Hikaru Shida, Emi Sakura and Riho. After securing the victory, Priestley would challenge all three members of the opposing team to face her in a Steel Cage match at Halloween Havoc where the only means to win would be by climbing out of the cage and escaping. Bea would make it clear that she proved herself countless times as being the very best woman around, and felt that a high risk, high danger match such as this would finally confirm that she truly was the most important member of the entire AEW roster. And Bea would win an exceptional match that would earn a 4.5 star rating, in which she would retain the belt once again but this time doing so in a match where she had only had a 25% chance of winning going into it.

During the Halloween Havoc fallout show, Priestley would have one final non-title match with Sekura which she would go on to win. After the contest both women would shake hands, and despite their very different attitudes to life it was clear that Emi had a lot of respect for what Priestley had achieved as the champion.

With two weeks until Full Gear Oedo Tai would pick up another Trios win this time over Shida, Sakazaki and Riho. After the contest though, Priestley would make it clear that in her mind she needed just one more singles victory over Riho to get the confirmation she needed that she was truly the very best. Riho would accept the challenge, although being the babyface that she was would make the point that in the last five months since becoming the champion Priestley had successfully defended the belt eight times against six different opponents.

During a promo segment between champion and challenger on the go-home show, the most recent promotion from the AEW training center Cassandra Golden would feature on the titantron where she would making it clear that she was arriving in AEW to make a name for herself - and that it didn’t matter if Priestley or Riho won at Full Gear because sooner of later they would on the receiving end of a golden handshake. Riho and Bea wouldn’t really know how to respond to the impromptu promo, but it was clear that they really only had eyes for each other going into the weekend’s PPV in Baltimore, Maryland.​

 

[CakeWalker]

I will run a Prediction Contest alongside this for any readers interested. The winner/s will get to choose two wrestlers from the training roster that will get instantly promoted to the main roster [at the period in time - where I am booking behind the scenes] - as well getting to select a challenger for a future AEW World Championship Shot.

Once again - thanks to @The Fourth Wall for making these awesome match graphics.

Best Friends vs. Butcher & The Blade, TH2, Private Party, Gunn Club (Billy & Austin), Stronghearts (CIMA & Lindaman) vs. SoCal Uncensored (Daniels & Kazarian) vs. Higher Education (Peter Avalon & Kip Sabian)

Nightmare Family (DDP, QT Marshall & Brandi Rhodes) vs. Company of Bastards (PCO, Luthor & Cody Rhodes)

 

[CakeWalker]

Will post results tomorrow - so anyone wanting to make predictions - holla at your person.

 

[CakeWalker]

Chapter Two - Finale

[The opening contest would be a good opening to the show, with no real issues between Lethal and Janela and the match just being sold as two men who had made quite a legacy for themselves going toe-to-toe in an AEW ring. The match would be short and sweet, and a good way to put butts in seats as Lethal would claim the win by connecting with the Lethal Combination.]
(3.75 Star - 07:03)

[Odea Tai (Hayter & Baker) had proven themselves as trusted allies of Bea Priestley, and the match would act as a perfect platform to show just how far the two women had come as a tag team unit. That wasn’t to say that Kylie and Shanna weren’t able to hold a good account of themselves, but they just didn’t have the same level of compatibility that can only come from spending time together. Oedo Tai would claim the win with Hayter and Baker rocketing into the Shanna with double knee strikers to pick up the W.]
(3.5 Star - 05:36)

Best Friends vs. Butcher & The Blade, TH2, Private Party, Gunn Club (Billy & Austin), Stronghearts (CIMA & Lindaman) vs. SoCal Uncensored (Daniels & Kazarian) vs. Higher Education (Peter Avalon & Kip Sabian)

[With eight teams involved this match was always going to be messy, and it was announced at the start of the contest that for a team to be eliminated only one member of the tag had to be pinned or submitted]

Order Of Elimination: 1) Higher Education 2) TH2 3) Stronghearts 4) Best Friends 5) Private Party, 6) SoCal Uncensored

This would result in the final two teams being the Gunn Club and Butcher & The Blade, what had proven to be a very messy match, with the Gunn Club picking up the win after Billy would nail The Blade with the Famouser to pick up a landmark win for the father and son team.]
(3 Star - 13:41)

Nightmare Family (DDP, QT Marshall & Brandi Rhodes) vs. Company of Bastards (PCO, Luthor & Cody Rhodes)

[The most interesting part of the match was the fact that Cody and his Brandi were representing two different factions, with Cody having fully committed himself to the Company of Bastards. However, when push came to shove and husband and wife were in the ring at the same time - Cody refused to fight Brandi, which would leave Cody vulnerable and he would be wiped out by the Diamond Cutter before Brandi would show no hesitation in covering her husband and claiming the pin-fall much to the frustration of PCO & Luthor who would look on in disbelief.]
(4 Star - 09:47)

[Awesome Kong and Nyla Rose would be pitted in a Big Women’s Hoss Battle, with comparisons being made to the four match series that had taken place between Awesome & Aja in months previous. Both women would go all guns blazing, and look like two heavyweight going at 110% in the first round of a UFC first round, which of course resulted in both behemoths tiring each other out quite quickly and Nyla would manage to force Kong down onto the canvas before managing to lock her into the Camel Clutch and force Kong to tap out in what was an incredibly fast paced powerhouse match, despite the match last under six minus in length.
(3.5 Star - 05:42)

[Shinsuke and Jeff would have an intense battle with it being clear that both men were desperate to get some time under the spotlight and despite the words of mutual respect between both men prior to the event. Both men would reach into their arsenal in a clear attempt to not just claim a victory over the other, but also do it in style. Both men would have an intense exchanges mid-match, in which Nakamura would strike with chops to the mid-section, whilst Cobb would counter with heavy hitting headbutts of his own and as Nakamura would drop to one knee before picking him up and twirling him around as he would nail him with Tour of the Islands, with Nak shocking everyone by lifting up his right shoulder off the mat to stay in the contest. The match would end with Nakamura connecting with a perfectly placed spinning wheel kick that would leave Cobb standing silly before he would be nailed with the Kinshasa and Shinsuke would claim an important win to his name.]
(3.75 Star - 17:02)

[Darby and Paul were meeting for the third match in a row, with London having won the first in the final of the Pumpkin Bowl tournament whilst Darby had won the second when he had taken the Pumpkin Bowl out from under London. Both men would have a true high speed match, which in some aspects would almost be a throwback to the day of the original Cruiserweight division in the WCW/WWF days. Darby would remain the possession of the Pumpkin Bowl as he would crash down on London with the Coffin Drop to claim the win to his name.]
(4 Star - 12:49)

[Dustin Rhodes & MJF was a match that had been added to the card with no real purpose other than to put on a good show for the fans, although MJF was one of the younger members of the AEW roster that was certainly being given a slow burn push up the card. The match would end up being a good watch, with Dustin Rhodes clearly going out of his way to make MJF look as impressive as possible - whilst at the same time using his veteran experience would add substance to the contest, which MJF would win by nailing Dustin Rhodes with the Double Cross. After the match, MJF would reject a handshake although Rhodes wouldn’t seem to be offended by it.]
(4 Star - 15:24)

[Priestley would come into the match with eight successful title defences to her name over her five month reign, and with this being the third time she was facing Riho with the title on the line. Both women though, would come together to have the first outstanding contest of the night with it being made clear to everyone in the audience and those watching at home that the big matches of that night had finally arrived. Some of the key moments from the match would include:

- Riho, despite her small frame would target Bea who was lying on the ring apron as she would crash down onto Priestley with a Diving Elbow Drop that would result in both women falling out off the canvas and out onto the floor at ringside.

- Priestley and Riho would have an interesting exchange where Riho would leap onto Bea’s back with the attempt to choke her out only for Priestly to counter the move and nail Riho with the Backpack Stunner that would result in a near-fall with Riho only breaking the count by rope break with her fingers brushing against the rope with an outstretched right hand.

The match would come to an end with Riho trapped in the Fatality (Priestley’s Double Wristlock) and was looked as if she was about to tap out, only to navigate herself in such a way that she would throw Bea off her and the champ would find herself hanging on the middle rope only to take two boots to the face as Riho would swing around and nail the champ with a brutal 619 before diving through the ropes and dropping onto Bea for the cover. Before anyone realised what had happened, the referee had counted to three and Riho was being presented the AEW Women’s World Championship with a massive smile on her face.]
(5 Star - 18:44)

[Tomohiro and Jon would be set to do battle one final time with both men knowing that the winner of the match would not only win the series but also challenge for the AEW World Championship at Winter Is Coming. With the match being contested under Falls Count Anywhere rules, meaning that the match would go contested until there was a confirmed winner. Both men would push each other to their absolute limits, in a match that would see them leave the ring pretty quickly and descend into the crowd with both men being involved in a nasty spot in which Moxley would have a trash can over his head, before Ishii would claim up onto one of the guard rail bannisters and leap off nailing Moxley with a Diving Crossbody - Moxley though despite the impact would live to survive another day as he would kick out as the match would continue.

The pair would move through the crowd, with the latter portions of the match taking place in the backstage area of the Royal Farms Arena with both men moving into the private office areas of the building with both men fighting in an office space. Tomohiro would look like he had claimed the match, as with both men standing on a large desk he would send Moxley crashing through the table with Ishii Driver. Despite taking another bump though, Moxley would defy Ishii by staying in the match and breaking a submission by grabbing hold of a large hole-puncher and slamming it into the side of his opponent’s head that would violently bust the Stone Pitbull wide open.

With blood in his eyes and being temporarily blinded, Mox would take advantage of the situation as he would grab hold of the Japanese veteran and throw Ishii straight through a window with glass shattering everywhere. Moxley would show now fear as he would leap through the window before taking hold of Ishii and send him face down face first into the glass with the Paradigm Shift to pick up the win and in doing so earn himself a shot at the AEW World Championship - and thus proving himself better than Ishii by winning the series 4-3.]
(4.75 - 24:03)

[Even though all four members of ‘The Elite’ were in the same match, it was clear that with the AEW World Tag Team Championships on the line it was clear that both teams were only watching their own backs. With all the ladder involved in the match, there would be a number of high impact spots and bumps that would leave the crowd entertained - with numerous moments being that would be instant nostalgia from the TLC matches that had involved the Hardy Boyz, the Dudley Boyz and Edge & Christian at SummerSlam 200 and Wrestlemania X-Seven (TLC I & TLC II). The ending of the match, would certainly be an incredibly memorable moment that would help the match break the five star barrier.

With two massive ladders erect in the ring - Matt Jackson was on top of one of the ladder reaching for the titles as Rey Fenix would clamber up the other and straddle onto the second and without a moment's pause would launch both of them off the top of the ladder and they would crash down onto a ladder bridge that had been setup up between the ring apron and the security barrier with a brutal Spanish Fly. The move would wipe both men out for the rest of the match, due to the sheer high impact of the aerial move.

Kenny Omega and Pentagon, Jr. would be battling at ringside and Omega would nail Penta with the One Winged Angel dropping Pentagon, Jr. down head first onto the steel steps. As this was going on Nick Jackson and Hangman Page were clambering up a ladder reaching for the titles, with Nick nailing Page with a Superkick before reaching upwards and pulling down the titles and thus making the Young Bucks the new champions.]
(5.5 Star - 15:51)

[There was always going to be comparison made between the match that took place between the two men at All Out, and even with the addition of Bret Hart as the Special Referee the match would fall just short of the first match both men had had for the AEW Championship three months previous. The match would also be shorter than the original, with Bret’s involvement resulting in the match being more ground based and technical with there being a clear interest in how Hart would manage the match as the referee. Bret - to some people’s disappointment who had clearly been hoping for some sort of swerve or twist would simply call the match straight down the middle and show no signs of favouritism.

Jericho had been targeting PAC’s right leg through the match whether he was stomping down on it or slamming it into the ring post, which had all been part of his plan to lock the World Champion into the Walls of Jericho. PAC though, would show his true resilience as he would suffer the pain of the hold for a solid two minutes before using all his strength to form a bridge and using his body weight force Jericho to release the hold, although twisting his ankle in the process but hold his nerve and transition himself in such a way that he was able to singe in the Brutaliser and force Jericho to tap out meaning that PAC had successfully defended his title for the 5th time of his reign.

PAC would be joined by the Company of Bastards, including Cody Rhodes as the faction would lift PAC up into the air with ‘The Bastard’ sitting on PCO’s shoulders with the title held aloft in the air as the PPV would come to an end.]
(5.25 Star - 24:38)

PPV RATING: 4.5 | BUYS : 373k

Results
Jay Lethal def. Joey Janela
Oeda Tai (Baker & Hayter) def. Shanna & Kylie Rae
Gunn Clubb [win Elimination Tag Match]
Nightmare Family (Brandi Rhodes, QT Marshall & DDP) def. Company of Bastards (PCO & Luthor & Cody Rhodes)
Nyla Rose def. Awesome Kong
Shinsuke Nakamura def. Jeff Cobb
Darby Allin def. Paul London
MJF def. Dustin Rhodes
Riho def. Bea Priestley
Jon Moxley def. Tomohiro Ishii
Young Bucks def. Lucha Bros vs. Omega & Hangman
PAC def. Chris Jericho​

 

[CakeWalker]

Chapter Three - Part One

PAC Against The World

Despite, having just had a truly intense battle with Jericho at Full Gear - PAC would make it clear that the fact that Jericho had arrived to the arena on his own to feet meant that he clearly hadn’t done enough to keep Jericho down and would announce that in tonight’s main-event both men would meet once against, with the AEW World Championship on the line in a First Blood Match. Both men were clearly still suffering from Full Gear, but PAC would have the edge with the critical moment coming when he would rip one of Jericho’s wrestling boots off his foot and begin scraping the heel of the boot against his head until blood would be drawn from the veteran. The spilling of blood would mean that once again ‘The Bastard’ had retained the strap.

PAC had been given a week off to recover after two intense matches with Jericho, and would return to Dynamite cutting a promo in which he would make it clear that the war between him and Jericho was very much over and he was ready to move to bigger and better things. ‘The Bastard’ would be interrupted by Moxley who would make it clear that he didn’t know if he was bigger or better, but he had won the right to challenge for the belt at Winter Is Coming after he had come out trumps in his match series with Tomohiro Ishii. PAC would seem to show a certain level of respect, making it clear that Ishii was a proven veteran of this sport and so would welcome the challenge from Moxley - before making it clear that every now and again you had to give an underdog the chance to shine.

During the go-home show, Jon Moxley would lose his patience with the manner in which PAC was talking down to him and both men would end up having an all out brawl that seemed to cause some damage to Moxley’s left hand. The hand was visibly taped up during Winter Is Coming, and it was a weakness that PAC was able to exploit to his advantage as he would successfully retain the belt at the last major show of 2019 0 ending the first calendar year of AEW’s history as its only World Champion.

During the fallout show, Moxley would jump PAC from behind and ambush him the corridor backstage, and make it clear that it didn’t matter to him that PAC had won at the PPV, because from where he stood wins and losses didn’t define a man and that Jon Moxley was always going to be known as the toughest son of a bitch in AEW. Despite having suffered the attack, PAC would still turn up to fight DDP later on that night and claim an impressive win.

After the match though, everyone would be left stunned as Tony Schiavone would introduce a special guest to the ring - Dave Batista. Batista would personally congratulate PAC and make it clear that he was incredibly impressed with everything he had seen from the promotion’s first world champion and offer ‘The Bastard’ his hand as a sign of respect. PAC though would spit Batista in the face, before punching him square in the jaw before kicking him the stomach multiple times before picking up the microphone and saying just two words ‘Fuck Stamford’ before dropping the microphone and exiting the ring.

Following suffering a loss to the Nightmare Family’s DDP, Dustin & QT Marshall - alongside Lucha Bros, PAC would be confronted by Dave Batista who would make it clear that he had showed up last week as a guest of AEW, but after last week things had become personal and that not only was he going to teach the Brit a lesson of respect at Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager At Sea, but after having spoken with Tony Khan would confirm that their match would be for the AW World Championship.

During the go-home show, PAC would face DDP in what was a fairly competitive match - only for the match to end via DQ, as Batista would enter the ring and brutally Spear PAC sending a clear message ahead of their match at sea. The match itself would be of five star quality, but PAC would confirm himself as the very best and begin 2020 in much the way he had ended 2019 with the AEW World Championship in his possession.

In the build up to Revolution, PAC would make it clear that he had been the AEW World Champion for six months, but that he wanted the match at Revolution to mark him down as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and would do so by defending the belt against five other men in a ladder match. PAC would offer places to his last three title challengers in Batista, Moxley and Jericho. Over the next few weeks, Kenny Omega would join the fray as well as Ring of Honor legend Jay Lethal to complete the lineup. Tensions would boil in the lead up with a string of singles matches against all six men, but it was clear that this was now the most hyped match in the history of AEW.

Company of Bastards x Nightmare Family

Following a loss to Darby Allin, Luthor would be attended to in the ring by Cody, PCO & PAC. Luthor who had very much taken on the role of second in command of the Company of Bastards would introduce the two newest members of the faction - Rey Fenix and Pentagon, Jr. The introduction of the former Tag Champions certainly added a certain level of clout to the group that previously only PAC had really brought to the table.

The following week Cody would once again find himself in an uncomfortable position where he was forced to wrestle against the group of his own creation, but it was clear that despite his feeling about the situation he realised that if he wanted to stay relevant and move up the card then he was going to have to put in the effort. This would lead to Cody and Luthor claiming a tag team victory over Nightmare Family members DDP & QT Marshall.

The Lucha Bros in their first match representing the Company of Bastards would suffer a loss The Elite’s Hangman & Omega - but after the match they would be joined by PCO in a post-match assault sending a clear message that irrespective whether they won or lost, they would always be the most dominant group in AEW. At the go-home show Omega & Hangman would claim a second victory in a row over Fenix and Pent, whilst the Nightmare Family (DDP & Dustin Rhodes) would claim a win over Cody & PCO in what was overall not a great night for the Company of Bastards.

A few weeks after Winter is Coming, the Nightmare Family would introduce Gunn Club (Billy & Austin) as their newest members.They would offer moral support to DDP, Dustin & QT Marshall who would claim win over the Company of Bastards (PAC & Lucha Bros) in an intense six man tag team contest. There would be a mixed bag of results at the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager with Cody Rhodes picking up a win over QT Marshall, whilst the Gunn Club representing the Nightmare Family would claim a victory over the Lucha Bros who were representing the Company of Bastards.

With three weeks leading up to Revolution, Jeff Cobb would be invited to join the Company of Bastards by Luthor only to be flat out rejected as Cobb would announce that he was already a member of the Nightmare Family before laying out Luthor in the middle of the ring with the Tour of the Islands. The tension between both groups were on a knife's edge, and the group would come a boiling point where an all out brawl would take place following a tag team match between Luthor & PCO against DDP & Cobb get thrown out by the referee only for all members of both factions to come out from the back and have an all out brawl that simply couldn’t be controlled by security, referee and whole team of backstage officials.

Jerry Lynn - who as of late had started to be a bit of an on-screen authority figure would come out from the back and make it clear that this was not the behaviour of professionals and that Tony Khan had come to a decision. At Revolution the Nightmare Family would take on the Company of Bastards in a five on five Steel Cage match, in what would be one faction's final resting place as whichever team lost would be forced to disband forever. In the fortnight leading up Revolution - DDP would take on the role of team captain and reveal he would be joined by Dustin Rhodes, The Gunn Club and Jeff Cobb as they would face the Company of Bastard very best with Luthor leading fellow Bastards Pentagon, Jr., Rey Fenix, PCO and Cody.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Chapter Three - Part Two

Golden x Priestley - Act One

Priestley would face Riho in a direct rematch following Full Gear, on the Dynamite fallout show - but it would be Riho who would retain the belt on her very first defence. After the match, Cassandra Golden would confront Priestley backstage and make it clear that Bea might have been the first champion in the company’s history, but she was also going to the first member of the Women’s Division to be forgotten about - because after she had given Priestley the ‘Golden Handshake’ she would be left with no choice, but to head for the exit door and never return. Priestley would clearly find what Cassandra was saying hilarious, as she would remind Golden that she was nothing but a green girl with no real meat or substance to her, but that she would enjoy teaching the rookie a lesson in respect.

In the weeks leading to Winter Is Coming Priestley single stock would drop further as she would suffer a second loss to Shida, whilst Golden would pick up a win over Diamante. The tensions between both would lead to a Trios match being booked at Winter is Coming with the full complement of Oedo Tai claiming a win over Cassandra Golden, Kylie Rae and Big Swole.

Tensions between both women would continue for the next month, although it would become clear that Golden & Priestley weren’t commanding as much TV time as some of the other storylines to the point, but they would have a few backstage scraps leading up to the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager, with Golden claiming a win in a four way contest by defeating Priestley, Mizunami and Shida - although Cassandra would get the pin-fall over Ryo Mizunami meaning by a technicality Priestley had yet lost to Golden. The win though would certainly rub Priestley up the wrong way though, with a match between both women being set in stone to take place at Revolution.

Riho x Kyle Rae - Act One

Riho would begin her reign as the AEW Women’s Champion by having a lavish coronation ceremony where she would be joined by a large member of the women’s roster, in particularly nearly all of her fellow Joshi talent irrespective of whether they currently be portrayed as face or heel as their kayfabes seemed to disappear for what felt like a shoot celebration whilst it lasted. At the end of the ceremony, Riho would offer Priestley a direct rematch, and would end up successfully retaining the belt in her first defence that would legitimise her reign as champion.

Two weeks later following Nyla Rose claiming a win over Awesome Kong, Riho would walk out from the back and offer Nyla a shot at her title shot at Winter Is Coming making it clear that unlike the former champion she wasn’t avoiding the big opponents and that Nyla was a top shelf opponent that Priestley had avoided her entire reign. Rose would accept the match, and in the build up to the PPV would claim an important confidence building win over Awesome Kong in the night’s main-event that took place during a Dynamite special labelled ‘Ladies Night’. The momentum though wouldn’t be enough, as Riho would win a true David vs.Goliath battle to retain the AEW Women’s Championship at the last PPV of the year.

Riho would suffer a shocking loss to Kyle Rae in a non-title loss during the first Dynamite episode of 2020. The following week, Kyle would pick up a win the following week over Yuka Sakazaki only for Riho to make her way out from the back and make it clear that it was a common Japanese tradition that when someone beats the champion in a non-title match they are granted a future shot at the belt, and that therefore she would face Kylie at Jericho’s ship show. In the lead up Kylie would team up The Bunny and claim a tag victory over Riho & Brandi Rhodes, to build further momentum in her favour.

Kylie Rae would leave everyone surprised, but not completely shocked as she would once again prove she was capable of beating Riho by picking up a second singles victory in a row over Riho, but now she was in possession of the Women’s Championship. The program leading up to Revolution would be built around Kylie giving Riho a rematch at the PPV, with Rae constantly stating that she was the champion the division, rather than than the one they wanted and would make the point that the reason why so many people had come out to Riho’s championship celebration, was because everyone everyone that had attended in their back of their mind were hoping they would be the woman to beat her.

Riho though would fire back, and fire shots that Kylie was nothing more than a nobody and that the title was lose its value for everyday that it was in the hands of a worthless indie lose, but because she cared so much about the the fans - she would be doing everything in her power to bring the title back home to where it belongs. The fans were slightly confused by the promo, as Riho for the first time had shown herself as not being overly face in the ways she had spoken about Rae - despite the fact that Kylie was clearly the villain in this rivalry.​

 

[CakeWalker]

Chapter Three - Part Three

Pumpkin Bowl

Following Darby's successful defence of the Bowl over London at Full Gear, the two men would continue to battle for the next calendar month. London would tell Darby that he wanted to earn the right to face Allin again, and so in a non-title fight London would win over Darby setting up another Pumpkin Bowl match between the two men at Winter Is Coming. Both men would have another great contest, but it would be Darby who would claim the win and continue to be in possession of the Bowl. Paul London would look massively disappointed following the loss, but shake hands with Darby and make it clear that he hoped that Darby went all the way to Blood & Guts to cash in the Pumpkin Bowl to challenge for the World Championship.

In the first show of the year Darby Allin and Tomohiro Ishii would compete in a game changing singles match, with the Japanese veteran going toe-to-toe with one of AEW’s hottest prospects. Ishii would leave with the win, but making it clear that although he had never considered it until now - now that had a win over Darby, he wanted another one and intended on taking the Pumpkin Bowl away from Darby. Ishii though would have to return to Japan for a number of weeks on personal business, to return at the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager to claim a win over Dustin Rhodes.

The two men would finally meet again, in the fallout show with the Pumpkin Bowl up for grabs, and would be another solid match - but this time round it would be Darby who would pick up the win and retain the bowl. The following week, Darby Allin would introduce Orange Cassidy to an AEW audience for the very first time, with the pair claiming a win over Ishii and London. It would be confirmed by AEW management, that the Pumpkin Bowl would be defended on final time in a match between Darby, Tomohiro and London - where the winner of the match would not only be the final holder of the Pumpkin Bowl and no longer be considered the provisional challenger for the AEW World Championship at Blood & Guts.

Best On The Block (Mejor En El Bloque) - Act Two

Many had assumed that the tag division would continue to be one of the AEW’s draws following the Young Bucks becoming the champions, but it would become clear that with the main feud no longer being The Bucks vs. Lucha Bros that anything else at this point was being considered as second best. This would lead to ‘One Final Battle’ being booked following Full Gear, with the Young Bucks defending their titles for the first time against the Lucha Bros in a match that was being sold as the final match in the long standing rivalry. The Bucks would retain the belt, and solidify themselves as very much being the ‘Best On The Block’.

The Lucha Bros would go on to lose two matches in two weeks to Omega & Hangman, before suffering their fifth straight tag loss in a row to the Best Friends at Winter Is Coming. The Young Bucks would grant a tag team title shot to one of the lowest ranked teams in the division, in what they would sell as an early Christmas present during the season of goodwill as they would take on Higher Education. Kip Sabian and Peter Avalon would really pull off an incredible performance and offer a challenge that would turn heads in what would be seen as the best match in Higher Educations short time as a team, although the Young Bucks would retain the belts, in what could easily have been an embarrassing loss for one of the most established tag team in the world.

The Young Bucks would suffer an unexpected loss to The Expendable in a non-title match, whilst the Best Friends had pushed up the rankings and were very much seen as the number one team in the division. This would result in a triple threat match being booked for Jericho’s Cruise with both the Expendables and the Best Friends challenging for the belts. Matt and Nick Jackson though would invite both teams to a true sea based Superkick Party to retain the belts.

The next team on the list set to face the Young Bucks would be TH2, with Jack Evans and Angelico being hand picked opponents by The Bucks, who felt that both men who were no strangers to the lucha libre style would make perfect showcase opponents for the Revolution PPV, in what would be The Hybrid 2’s first attempts for the gold. There was a certain portion of fans that didn’t really understand that either men were challenging for the belts, and didn’t understand why the Expendables or the Best Friends weren't given a one-on-one shot instead. The match had been booked though, and so that was the match that the fans were going to get at Revolution.​

 

[CakeWalker]

I will run a Prediction Contest alongside this for any readers interested - The winner/s will get to choose two wrestlers from the training roster that will get instantly promoted to the main roster [at the period in time - where I am booking behind the scenes].

Best Friends (Trent? & Chuck Taylor) vs. The Butcher & The Blade vs. Higher Education (Kip Sabian & Peter Avalon) vs. Dark Order vs. Private Party, Strong Hearts vs. Jurassic Express vs. SCU

Nightmare Family (DDP, Cobb, Dustin Rhodes, Gunn & Gunn)
vs.
Company of Bastards (Penta, Fenix, PCO, Luthor & Cody)

​