A passive Up for this, if only because AEW at very least delivered a major NJPW name with just three weeks to go before the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.
Truthfully, Will Ospreay's arrival should have been greeted with headline news acclaim, but a combination of Tony Khan's over-reliance on surprise appearances of late and Ospreay's knack for alienating folk over the years diluted the shock and awe.
It was otherwise a serviceable and functional piece of television. A beatdown including Aussie Open and Aaron Henare on Trent Baretta and FTR set up a six-man tag for Rampage and potentially another multi-man at the pay-per-view. It's midcard stuff, but divisive d*ckhead Ospreay will likely elevate it with his presence alone just as he did here.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
