This Sunday is the last PPV stop on the way to AEW All In, a brand new event called AEW Redemption. Who is being redeemed, you ask? Well it was obviously meant to be Kenny Omega's long-awaited coronation as AEW World Champion, but plans changed - it sounds like MJF needed time off sooner than expected - and the MJF-Kenny rematch was moved up to Beach Break. And it was an absolutely fantastic match, better than their Dynasty match in April. Long and short, Kenny is the new AEW Champ and now has seven weeks with the title before All In instead of five. And now his "redemption" on Sunday will I guess be in the form of a successful title defense?
This here is a weird lineup that feels very much like a B-PPV except that it's loaded with bouts that should be spectacular. But it lacks the marquee feel of most AEW PPVs. I wonder if WBD pressured Tony into adding it to the calendar, because the build for this one was all crammed into two weeks of TV and there are lots of unconventional names vying for championships. Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna watch the shit outta this show and most of the matches will deliver big. But it does feel like a WWE Roadblock-type show, ahead of their WrestleMania.
But let's get into the matches.....
Six-Way Ladder Match: Jack Perry vs. The Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Speedball Mike Bailey vs. TBD vs. TBD
So somehow this match was thrown together due to a Mistico injury, but I'm fuzzy on what Mistico was supposed to be doing at this PPV. I know he was set to get an International Title match with the winner of Fletcher-Bandido, but that was set for Grand Slam Mexico. Anyway this match is now for a shot at said championship, with two qualifiers set for Collision: Nick Wayne vs. AR Fox and Lio Rush vs. El Clon. Should be a very fun car wreck match and I think it would be a good candidate to open the show. No idea who gets the title shot but Jack Perry or Speedball would make sense against Kyle.
Pick: I'll go with Jack since he just re-signed
Chain Match: Jay White & Juice Robinson vs. David Finlay & Clark Connors
Jay made his in-ring return last night and looked pretty rusty. Hopefully he can get his mojo back so his inevitable singles match against Finlay will deliver like it should. But this is a good choice to take up the slack for him. I'm a sucker for chain matches anyway, so this should be fun. Jay just pinned Clark on Dynamite so I think The Dogs probably take this one.
Pick: Finlay & Connors
AEW National Championship: Mark Davis vs. Andrade El Idolo
The idea of this match isn't blowing me away but I expect both guys will be on point. The National Title is definitely a superfluous belt, one of many in the current wrestling landscape, so the stakes aren't exactly sky-high. But Andrade needs a big PPV win so this'll do that for him.
Pick: Andrade
TBS Championship: Hikaru Shida vs. Maya World
I'm torn on this one. On one hand Shida just won this title a couple weeks ago and has settled nicely into her heel role. On the other, Maya World just had a career-elevating match with Mercedes last month and you don't want to sleep on that. She's connecting with the fans so she needs a big win somewhere. I'd assumed it would be over Athena for the ROH Women's Title, but it could be here too, in front of a much bigger audience.
Pick: I guess Maya wins it?
No Holds Barred: Chris Jericho vs. Tommaso Ciampa
Jericho is resurrecting his homage to Avatar's Johannes Eckerstrom, The Painmaker gimmick. These two had a very solid match at Beach Break and the No DQ stip should raise the stakes here. I imagine Jericho gets his win back after a bloody affair.
Pick: Jericho
AEW Tag Team Championship: Cope & Cage vs. Claudio Castagnoli & PAC
Odd choice of challenger for this one, not sure why CC & PAC get a title shot, but the match should be quite good. Claudio and PAC are always awesome and should bring out the best in C&C. No suspense over the result, Cope & Cage will obviously have a 3-way or 4-way with FTR, the Bucks and maybe New Day at Wembley.
Pick: C&C beat CC & P-A-C
International Championship: Kyle Fletcher vs. Bandido
One of a handful of potential show stealers. Again, there's no suspense over the result but goddamn will this be sick. Fletcher's match with Komander last week was stunning and I expect this to be even better. At some point Bandido needs to win a major AEW singles title, but for now Kyle keeps it on his way to a likely triple threat at Wembley.
Pick: Kyle retains
Will Ospreay & Jon Moxley vs. The Young Bucks
Another guaranteed homerun match, though I'm not exactly sure why this one came together. I know Matt and Nick are Kenny's best friends and Ospreay is prepping to fight Kenny, but was there a proper storyline explanation for this that I missed? Regardless, the match will be insanely great. Ospreay's obviously not losing going into Wembley.
Pick: Ospreay & Mox
AEW Women's World Championship: Thekla vs. Willow Nightingale
This is the one match from this show that's had the longest build, and by that I mean two-and-a-half weeks. It was a very pleasant surprise to see Willow come back from injury so quickly, and it must've surprised her just as much since she came back literally a week after the title she'd vacated found a new owner. Anyway, all signs point to Willow vs. Mercedes at All In, but I'm sure the original plan was for Willow to be the challenger there, not the champion. So the dynamics will be a little weird - does Willow get a short one-month reign or does Mercedes come up short at All In for the second year in a row? I'm of course discounting the possibility that Thekla retains here, but I just don't see Thekla vs. Mercedes as an All In-type title match since they're both heels. Thekla has stepped way up as champion though, that shouldn't go unnoticed. Her charisma is glorious.
Pick: Willow
AEW Men's World Championship: Kenny Omega vs. Kevin Knight
Welp, considering there's zero chance of Knight defeating Kenny here, I must say this week's Dynamite did a fine job of making him look like someone who just might pull it off. Between his clean win over former champ Darby Allin and the show-closing angle where he left Kenny laying, they made Kevin look like a top guy. And the match should be excellent. But Omega-Ospreay III is the All In match, obviously. Knight is already teasing dissension with the Callis Family, will he end up being their shortest-tenured member since Powerhouse Hobbs?
Pick: Kenny retains
For a B-PPV this sure has a lot of stuff on it. Ten matches, all with good-to-great potential. By show's end hopefully we'll have a good picture of what All In looks like, plus there are some interesting free agents who could make an appearance (Kairi, I'm looking in your general direction). Enjoy!
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