All Elite Wrestling kicked off a new era of professional wrestling on October 2nd, 2019, as they came to us live from Washington DC. With buzz in the air and the new “Wednesday Night Wars” officially underway, AEW knew they had to come out of the gate strong in their first TNT broadcast. Let’s take a look at their content in this pilot episode.
Right away, the production was top notch. The product on TNT will air as TV-14, which allows AEW more leeway with an edgier and more mature vibe than WWE’s TV-PG format. They also used pyro throughout the night, which has been something that hardcore fans have been missing for quite some time. The lighting and camera work were excellent, and they didn’t have any missteps like they had on earlier PPV broadcasts. Jim Ross and Excalibur were back in the commentary booth, and they were joined by beloved WCW veteran Tony Schiavone. Schiavone seemed very sharp for most of the night, and he comes off way more polished here than he has in the more freelance environment of MLW. The commentary did a nice job throughout the night of explaining characters and reasoning. With a steadily hot crowd, the action was ready to begin.
Cody vs. Sammy Guevara
The opening contest was preceded by a good package, detailing the importance of this first match by both men. It was well-paced, showing off athleticism without giving away too much too soon. Cody’s matches always tell a story, and this was no exception. Guevara sported a cocky heel character, and unleashed his ability to a national audience. Cody busted out a top rope reverse suplex, while Guevara hit a top rope spanish fly. After some crisp false finishes, Cody wins with a counter roll up. This hot opener helped both men, and the right guy got the victory.
After the match, Chris Jericho attacked Cody and got some nice heat for their upcoming World Title match at Full Gear. Throughout the night, during a match or hot angle, when AEW went to commercial break, they kept the action going through picture-in-picture. That’s a nice touch to keep fans from flipping over to NXT.
MJF cut a nice basic heel promo, and the crowd was REALLY into him. This lead to:
MJF vs. Brandon Cutler
MJF worked over Cutler’s arm, but the match ended seemingly quickly when Cutler slipped off the ropes and tweaked his leg. He tapped to an armbar, and MJF got the deserved win. Not sure if the botch was meant to play into the finish, or if Cutler got legitimately hurt.
Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith (stars of the upcoming “Jay and Silent Bob 2”) were being interviewed, when Angelico and Jack Evans came out to berate them (for some reason). Private Party came into the crowd and handed the celebrities drinks (for some reason). This seemed pointless and forced, but Evans and Angelico will likely cost Private Party their match next week and start a new program with them.
SCU does a quick but entertaining promo in front of the White House, then out on the ramp. They say the combo of Daniels/Kazarian will be the ones facing the Lucha Brothers in the tag title tournament, which brought the Lucha Brothers out. The two teams brawl for a bit. There wasn’t much buildup to their heat, but it gives the announcers some fodder to discuss during their match.
Pac vs. Adam Page
We finally get the match we were supposed to get at All In, before Pac’s famed Visa issues. These two also did a nice job of pacing the match out and not overloading it. It was physical and they used the outside very well. Both men hit impressive moonsaults to the outside. Pac hits a low blow, then the Black Arrow/Rings of Saturn combo for the pass-out win. This was a nice way of keeping Pac hot while not really hurting Page. Both men have all the tools to be top stars in this company.
Nyla Rose vs. Riho- Women’s Title Match
Britt Baker was out for commentary for this inaugural Women’s Title bout. Britt didn’t really add anything profound or pithy here, but she’s the face of this division, so it gives the match an important feel with her out there. Rose used her power advantage, while Riho relied on stomps and strikes. The much smaller Joshi fighter trying to stand toe-to-toe with the comparatively behemoth Rose came off a little bit silly here. But Rose had the crowd really hot for several athletic moves for a lady of her stature. Riho gets the first ever title reign with a double knee strike.
Michael Nakazawa comes out to interview Riho, but Rose gets her heat back as she lays both of them out. This program will continue, likely at Full Gear in November.
Young Bucks/Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho/Santana/Ortiz
Your first ever AEW TV main event sees The Elite taking on the AEW World Champion and the former LAX. Very early on, Jon Moxley comes out and starts beating on Kenny Omega. The two brawl through the crowd and the VIP area. Moxley gives Omega a Paradigm Shift through a glass table, and the two will be squaring off at Full Gear. The rest of the contest goes three-on-two, and the fun, fast-paced main event is won by Jericho as he hit the Judas Effect. Cody comes out to save the Bucks, followed by Guevara, followed by Dustin Rhodes. Then, Jake Hager (formally WWE’s Jack Swagger) comes out as a surprise to help lay out the babyfaces.
Hager is a legit collegiate wrestler, and also an MMA fighter, on top of his WWE success. He’s an agile guy with a great body, and some casual or lapsed fans may know who he is. He’s a great addition to the roster. This also gave Sammy Guevara a great rub by being out there with the top guys and feeling important.
Overall, the look of the show was great, the crowd was ready, and the matches were solid. They didn’t do a ton of character work or introduce many newer people to the national audience. They focused on the top names and advertised matches, but all of those things were given proper time. Having Hager there is a nice hook to get fans to tune in next week. It’ll be interesting to see them build storylines and take the product out of the ring a bit more. But this was a good opening building block for the first episode of AEW Dynamite.
