Every AEW PPV Main Event (So Far) Ranked Worst To Best

Stadium Stampede II didn't come with quite the same buzz to it as the original, and that's fine.

It remained a highlight at a pivotal change in the current wrestling paradigm. Full crowds had just returned to AEW that weekend; the tear-jerking rendition of Judas after the Inner Circle's victory was real, genuine emotion.

What worked here really worked. MJF is superb when there's slapstick involved, meaning mostly everything he performed with Chris Jericho during the backstage sequence was gold. The fans ate up him taking two sick bumps, creating a pop that made you think this was the opening to an event with a hot crowd. It wasn't; it was the end. Only AEW could maintain crowd interest for that long a period.

This was about making a legitimate star out of Sammy Guevara more than anything else, hence why he pinned Shawn Spears with no one else around. A win for the good guys, the greatest possible end to a show that featured the return of a full live audience for a pay-per-view. A symbolic quintet of birds being flipped ended the live feed.

The bits that didn't quite click - Shawn Spears' miserable attempt at looking sadistic in his room of chairs was just sad - didn't overshadow the good that came of this match, either. The rest of it was simply too good.