Is Darby Allin the right amount of danger to take down the Death Riders?
Think about it. Jon Moxley targeted Darby first. Was it only for Allin’s AEW Championship shot or was it also because Moxley knew it would take a lot to keep Allin down so he’d better strike first? And that’s exactly what Moxley did, eventually winning (by any means necessary) the title opportunity away from Darby before winning the championship from Bryan Danielson at WrestleDream. Allin, along with a host of others, tried to save Danielson from the post-match homicidal actions of The Death Riders.
And now wherever you see Moxley and his Death Riders, Allin won’t be far away. Whether it’s jumping out of the stands, getting swung into a garage door, or intentionally wrecking his own car to get to them, Allin won’t stay down and he won’t stop. What do you do to a man who gladly accepts pain? How do you break someone who has already lived and survived such a challenging life?
Allin laid all that out in his interview with Tony Schiavone on Dynamite. It felt like a turning point for Allin, similar to Mick Foley spilling his guts to Jim Ross back in 1997, and that’s not to say Allin is another Foley, he isn’t. Allin is his own man in the best way possible. However, those conversations with Foley and JR were the catalyst for a connection with the fans that was as genuine as it gets.
People connected with Foley because he showed them how his heart led him to wrestling. Allin has been doing that more and more in recent years, as he’s revealed bits and pieces of what makes him who we see in the ring every week. The visual of him smiling through bloodying his mouth with his own fist is a snapshot of who Darby has always been. A man willing to sacrifice anything for what he wants no matter how dangerous it is or how long it takes.
Let’s take a look back on the last week of AEW…
Check out Matt on the latest episode of AEW’s Inside the Continental Classic
Claudio Castingnoli vs Will Ospreay
It only happened one time before and that was back in April, so safe to say the anticipation for Castingnoli/Ospreay 2 was palpable. Claudio has always been a fun foil for aerial opponents, but there was nothing fun about his approach in this one. Ever since the formation of the Death Riders, every bit of Castingnoli’s focus, skill, power, and technique has been geared towards inflicting the most punishment possible. There’s a noticeable difference from the majority of his career, where all those attributes contributed to some of the smoothest matches you’ll ever see. This version of Claudio is the best version. And maybe that’s what made Ospreay’s win over him that much more impressive.
The loss wasn’t taken lightly, as Castingnoli tried to destroy Ospreay with a chair only for Ospreay’s next C2 opponent, Darby Allin, to make the save. The first-time ever dream match of Ospreay vs. Allin happens on the Holiday Bash edition of Dynamite next week, but what kind of shape are both men in considering this grueling tournament and how neither man has been fully healthy for a while?
Brody King vs Ricochet
When I say styles make fights in wrestling, it’s because if you mix two vastly different wrestlers, there’s always the potential of beautiful violence done in a way you’ve never seen before. That’s especially true when it’s a first-time matchup with high stakes like we got between Brody King and Ricochet on Dynamite. In Ricochet’s win over Komander on last week’s Rampage, he altered his game plan during the match to take advantage of his power. This week was about taking to the air against the much larger King, although he was satisfyingly swatted away on multiple occasions. Credit Ricochet for taking such a beating before battling back to earn a tough victory. Once again, King impressed in a loss and seems to be winning over more and more fans each week.
Read more AEW content from Matt Camp on DraftKings Network.
The (Worlds) End for MJF and Adam Cole?
MJF turned the house cameras off and graced Kansas City, Missouri with his presence on Wednesday night. It was the first time Maxwell Jacob Friedman was live and in person since his victory over Roderick Strong at Full Gear. While Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly fought for the right to face MJF at Worlds End, the man himself showed up and appeared to be trying to take out Cole. That would backfire and Cole got the win meaning he’ll now face MJF for the Dynamite Diamond Ring at Worlds End.
Considering that it was at Worlds End last year that Cole revealed himself as The Devil and leader of the Undisputed Kingdom after MJF lost the AEW Championship to Samoa Joe, it’s fitting that we’ve come full circle one year later. MJF believes he was betrayed by Cole. Cole thinks he beat MJF to the punch. There’s so much pent up animosity between the two, that it no longer matters who is right. This has to end.
Toni Storm Does the Best Imitation of Herself
Toni Storm ran from the spotlight in shame after losing the AEW Women’s Championship to Mariah May at All In and hasn’t been seen in AEW since, despite infrequent appearances around the world. Her retirement announcement seemed impulsive and confusing. And just weeks later, she finally reappears in AEW after May’s successful title defense against Mina Shirakawa. This was not a Timeless Toni Storm. In fact, she seemed to go back to the future with a look that’s been associated with her for the majority of her career. But there was an expression of unease and perhaps confusion, a far cry from the confident, charismatic Storm we’ve seen in the past. She took down Harley Cameron in her return to action, although even then Storm was not quite herself. At least we have her back…right?
Until next time, when I’m back to talk about wrestling even more…
You can watch and listen to Matt every weekday at 5pm Eastern at thewrestlingmattshow.com. Matt is also one of the hosts of Busted Open Radio on Sirius/XM. He is regularly featured as a streamer for Bleacher Report’s pro wrestling content.