Orlando
TONI STORM vs. LEILA GREY (6:50): The WWE put a house show on in Orlando on the same night as this show. The main event for that show was Kevin Owens vs. Cody Rhodes in a Steel Cage match. That show got more fans than this show, which isn't really a surprise because the WWE is hot and AEW is not. This actually probably hurt the WWE more, though, because the WWE show only had 7,000 fans and only half filled there building while AEW had 6,000 fans and almost sold out their smaller building. WWE has usually been selling out their TV tapings, so you'd think only half filling the building for a show is kind of a disappointment. Anyway, this was a good PPV. The Continental Classic turned out to be a big success. The big problem with this show was that the first match of the main card was the best match. Hell, you can't go wrong with a show featuring two Ospreay matches. This first pre-show match featured the returning Toni Storm, who showed up in AEW a few weeks ago minus her 'Timeless' gimmick. This was a squash and pretty pointless. -No Stars-
JEFF JARRETT vs. QT MARSHALL (9:25): This was nothing, really, but at least the crowd seemed to be into Jeff Jarrett. QT looks really skinny these days. Is he on Ozempic? *1/2
ACTION ANDRETTI, LIO RUSH & MURDER MACHINES (BRIAN CAGE & LANCE ARCHER) vs. THE OUTRUNNERS & TOP FLIGHT (10:50): When did Action Andretti turn heel? I think I watch all the AEW shows so I'm not sure when that happened. This week's Rampage was the last one, as TNT cancelled it per the new TV deal. That's a good thing, as they'd pretty much given up on that show anyway. There wasn't much to this match, either. Not the best pre-show! *1/2
WILL OSPREAY vs. KYLE FLETCHER (16:20): This was the best match of the night. The crowd was super hot for these first two Continental Classic matches. Ospreay was a bloody mess and ended up winning after giving Fletcher a Styles Clash. That was a good way to have him win because the crowd always pops when he does it and he never wins with it so it was a surprise. On one hand, having Fletcher beat Ospreay at Full Gear seemed kind of pointless if he was going to lose here. Are you trying to make new stars and push these guys or what? On the other hand, Ospreay is AEW's best wrestler and he keeps losing on these PPV's (he lost on this show, too, plus the last two PPV's). I figured Ospreay would've been AEW champ by now. Still, this was an awesome, action packed, drama filled match with a super hot crowd. Great stuff. ***1/2
KAZUCHIKA OKADA vs. RICOCHET (13:00): Ricochet is a heel now. I don't know how that happened. It's weird because he's doing all these awesome flips and dives and the crowds can't cheer because he's the bad guy. Last weekend, AEW did 3 straight shows at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom, that cool looking building that ECW made famous back in the day doing shows. They did an ROH PPV and then Collision live and a Dynamite taping for Christmas. The live Collision opened with Ospreay vs. Richochet. The crowd was super hot. The match was awesome. It was the first time in forever it seemed that AEW felt so alive and popular and cool. It probably helped that they were in a building that only fits 1,500 fans and not these big, empty arenas they keep running. This match was entertaining. Okada is still good but not the great Okada of old. Ricochet has looked fantastic this past week (he did a 450 top rope flip onto Darby Allin on a table on Dynamite). After the match, Swerve Strickland came out to humiliate Ricochet for losing. Prince Nana handed out rolls out toilet paper to the crowd to throw at Ricochet (they did this at the Hammerstein Ballroom because usually they throw streamers at wrestlers but because Ricochet is a heel now it's toilet paper). That was a pretty amusing moment. ***
MARIAH MAY vs. THUNDER ROSA "TIJUANA STREET FIGHT" (13:10): Mariah's title reign has been pretty lackluster. Maybe after that great Toni Storm feud, nothing else feels as worthwhile. This match had thumbtacks, chairs, and Thunder Rosa used a table to run and jump off of. Mariah stole Thunder Rosa's dad's cane at ringside and then used to it to hobble around like an old man, making fun of him. The super hot crowd in the first two matches disappeared for most of the rest of the night. They did pop for the thumbtacks. Match was just okay. *1/2
MJF vs. ADAM COLE (14:35): These two had such a super popular run in the summer of 2023 that it's almost shocking how cold this feud is now and how little anyone cares about it. Maybe they should have kept MJF a babyface, as he doesn't really seem like a superstar these days. Cole is definitely colder, as a lot of people in the crowd seemed to cheer for MJF more and even boo Cole after the match when he spit on the ring and laid out MJF. MJF won after a low blow when the ref wasn't looking. This just didn't work, as most of the match was MJF beating on Cole. MJF retained his Diamond ring. *1/2
KONOSUKE TAKESHITA vs. POWERHOUSE HOBBS (16:30): This match was decent but nothing great. It felt just like a typical TV match more than a title PPV match. Takeshita retained the International Title. He's actually wrestling next weekend at Wrestle Kingdom against Shingo Takagi for both men's titles. That might be the greatest match in the history of the world. **1/2
MERCEDES MONE vs. KRIS STATLANDER (24:35): I don't think this was a good as their match on the last PPV, but the last five to ten minutes of this were excellent. This was the longest match on the show and that probably helped to build momentum to a great closing stretch. They kept having Statlander stranded outside, about to get counted out when Mone would leave and beat her up. At one point, Mone trapped Statlander's leg below the ring and she had to take her boot off. There were a ton of dramatic near falls. Really good match by the end. It kind of says something that the TBS women's title match went on later than the actual AEW women's title match. ***
KAZUCHIKA OKADA vs. WILL OSPREAY (19:15): This was the finals of the Continental Classic. Last year they only did the finals on this PPV, which Eddie Kingston won. Kingston lost the title to Okada. So Okada was the Continental champion and wasn't even in last year's tournament. I don't know why they don't just do what every Japan promotion does and has the winner of their tournaments get a title shot. The winner of the CC just gets a stupid championship belt. Hooray! AEW already has, like, seven or eight titles floating around. They're fucking meaningless at this point. This match was really good but not as good as Ospreay/Fletcher. The story was that Ospreay was bandaged and bloody and had to overcome that to win. I was kind of surprised Ospreay didn't win here, but then Kenny Omega made his return to AEW to hand Okada the Continental title. Omega is wrestling next week at Wrestle Dynasty, the 2nd night of New Japan's Tokyo Dome shows. He's facing Gabe Kidd. This was actually Omega's first time in AEW all year. Weird that he's an AEW contracted wrestler and he's making his in-ring return in Tokyo instead. This match had a lot of near falls and a bunch of Rainmakers. The crowd was really into this after being kind of quiet since the first two CC matches. Ospreay is so awesome, it's kind of sad to see him keep losing. Like...what's the deal? You going to push or bury your best wrestler? ***
JON MOXLEY vs. ORANGE CASSIDY vs. JAY WHITE vs. 'HANGMAN' ADAM PAGE (17:00): They probably should have had the Okada/Ospreay match go on last. The whole Death Riders storyline doesn't seem to be connecting much with the fans. Plus, it's not very exciting or entertaining. Plus, nobody thought Moxley was losing the title. They brawled in the crowd early. They put Moxley through the announce table and he must have cut the back of his head because it was gushing blood. All of the Death Rider goons interfered. Jay White actually gave his finisher to Marina Shafir at one point (AEW rarely has a man hitting a woman). The match was just okay. 'Hangman' gave everyone a Buckshot Lariat. After the match, FTR came out (they're wrestling the DR on Dynamite). Then Edge made his return. I guess Edge will face Moxley for the title? Okay. Christian has a title contract shot and was sitting up in a box. I figured he would cash it in and Edge would return to thwart him. That didn't happen. The Continental Classic was a big success, but this main title picture needs some juice. I guess Adam Copeland is...something. The next big show is a PPV in Australia in February. Maybe they'll do that match then. They already left the big stadium and moved the show to a smaller building. They might not have had to do that if Ospreay was the champion. Right? **
