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AEW Road Rager (July 7, 2021)

Results & Afterthoughts

AEW Road Rager was a professional wrestling television special episode produced by All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It was held on July 7, 2021, in Miami, Florida at the James L. Knight Center and was broadcast on TNT as a special of AEW's weekly television program, Dynamite. The event marked AEW's resumption of live touring during the COVID-19 pandemic, following a year of producing shows at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, also becoming the first major wrestling promotion to resume live touring during the pandemic. As such, it was the first of four episodes in AEW's "Welcome Back" tour. At the time, it was the largest attended wrestling event during the pandemic outside of WWE's WrestleMania 37 in April and AEW's own Double or Nothing in May.

In the main event, The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defeated Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo in a Street Fight to retain the AEW World Tag Team Championship. In the opening bout, Cody Rhodes defeated QT Marshall in a South Beach Strap match. Andrade El Idolo also made his AEW in-ring debut and defeated Matt Sydal. The event was also notable for the AEW debut appearance of Malakai Black, formerly Aleister Black in WWE.

Match Results:

South Beach Strap Match

Cody Rhodes (with Arn Anderson) def. QT Marshall (with Nick Comoroto and Aaron Solow)

In this match, the only way to win was by touching all four turnbuckles in succession.

I tuned out for a lot of this match, but looked up from my computer when I saw the lights flickering for a moment. My initial thought was that it was a botch or more of this company's technical difficulties when it comes to their live broadcasting on their weekly programming, but it turned out to play into what would happen later in the show.

Cody got the win with not one or two Cross Rhodes', but with THREE that he hit on QT before hitting all of the corner posts for the win. I hope to God that this is the last of this Nightmare Family vs. Nightmare Factory bullshit as this feud isn't doing anyone on either side of the spectrum any favors. I get that they want to give people in both factions "the rub" by association, but it's doing nothing but make me care less about all parties involved. Anthony Ogogo just had eye surgery so he's out for a while and they haven't really done much with Solow and Comoroto, so it wouldn't hurt these guys if they just split them all up to go their own directions.

Besides, we all know that this is just filler before Cody's next vanity project.

Tony Schiavone Interviews Kenny Omega

I have to admit that I was surprised that they are going this route so soon after last week's in-ring confrontation between the Dark Order and Kenny Omega after he completely dismissed the entire roster of the company for the complete lack of further competition to his AEW World title. "Hangman" Adam Page didn't make an appearance last week, but I guess his balls finally dropped after the sappy pep talk(s) from the members of the Dark Order last week.

I'm going to get this out of the way now too. All of those guys in The Dark Order need to unmask and go their own separate ways. I understand that they want to band together out of respect to the dearly departed Brodie Lee, but it would do everyone in this faction good if they try to get over on their own and try to change their collective looks instead of looking like a collection of goofball jobbers with two hot chicks in there (Anna Jayy and Tay Conti). There's no doubting that the fans want to see these loveable losers get some success in this company to honor their departed leader, but they shouldn't be saddled with this horrible gimmick for the rest of their careers either. That's all what I'm saying.

As for this segment, I thought it was well done, despite the fact that I think Kenny Omega's promos have been awful in this role. The stand off between Kenny and Hangman was well worth its weight in (championship) gold and if Hangman isn't the man to dethrone Omega for the AEW World Championship then these people are stupider than I give them credit for. It's no secret that Omega is working hurt while simultaneously holding on multiple promotions' top titles, so it's time for him to start dropping some of those titles for he can take the time off that he desperately needs before he's on the shelf for good.

Six-Man Tag Team Match

The Pinnacle (Wardlow, Dax Harwood, and Cash Wheeler) (with Tully Blanchard) def. The Inner Circle (Jake Hager, Santana and Ortiz) (with Konnan) by pinfall

This match was fine as a showcase of talent between the two factions at play here with the Pinnacle getting a much needed win over the Inner Circle. At the same time, this 50/50 booking in this feud isn't getting anyone anywhere. The Pinnacle should have beaten the Inner Circle in both of their clashes - first at Blood & Guts AND in the rematch within Stadium Stampede to add the exclamation point of establishing this new faction as a dominating force, but nope.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I can't bring myself to care for anything that Jake Hager AKA the charisma vacuum/black hole is involved in. His portions of this match I completely tuned out of.

I really didn't understand what was up with them beating up and assaulting Konnan for the second week in a row when he had that loaded sock (I'm guessing it was baseballs or tennis balls in there) for FTR. From as much Konnan and the rest of the Keepin' It 100 crew talk about AEW to improve it for the better with constructive criticism, they need to tear these people apart from how poorly that they have been using Konnan as of late. After that opening salvo of a promo that Konnan cut on Tully, they should be doing more with him than having him escort Santana and Ortiz to a losing effort.

Would it kill anyone to have more FTR matches on this show? Goddamn, this was nice change of pace instead of lucha-style tag team matches every week that devolve into utter chaos and back-to-back spots on a whim.

Jim Ross' Sit Down Interview with Darby Allin and "All Ego" Ethan Page

Page has had fire since he was part of The North in IMPACT Wrestling, but I don't understand this ongoing rivalry between him and Allin. I understand that they have some sort of history from their time on the indies but I don't understand what does that have to do with the here and now. Why should Page be mad at Allin for being homeless while he stayed home and started a family in his hometown? Sounds like Page made some better career choices if they both wind up here in the same place.

These sit-down interviews have been mostly a waste of time except for the one with Britt Baker during the build to her match with Shida for the Women's Championship. This one was no different as they could have had a normal interview to the same result.

Contract Signing between Chris Jericho and MJF

The conversation point from this segment was the fan that rushed the ring, looking to take a shot at Chris Jericho before he was put down that went on Twitter, tagging Jim Cornette and his podcast co-host, Brian Last, saying that he did it for them in the same vein as Rikishi running over Stone Cold Steve Austin. After the rebuttals from both Cornette himself and Jericho on Twitter, that would be end of it, but nope. You have Matt Hardy's wife, Reby, and Kenny Omega riling people up to "cancel" Jim Cornette (again) for "sending" his deranged fans at them at shows. Everyone has deranged, mentally disturbed fans in wrestling - now more than ever - so let's not act like it's only Cornette that has the crazy ones. If you want proof of that, look up any of the "stan" accounts for most of the women in WWE or a lot of the AEW apologists that pop up when someone has any sort of constructive criticism when it comes to this company, so yeah.

As for this segment as a whole, I thought it was good for what it was worth and it got the point across, especially with Jericho getting most of his catchphrases and jabs in there. It ends with MJF pitching that Jericho runs the gauntlet against a list of opponents that he has to defeat until he ultimately gets the 1-v-1 match against MJF that he's been begging for. I don't see any problem with this as they have to kill time until the next PPV in another month or so.

Tony Schiavone Interviews Britt Baker

Another EXCELLENT promo from the AEW Women's Champion. She's been killing it for the past year on her heel promos that led to her dethroning Hikaru Shida for said title. As for the upcoming title defense against Nyla Rose, I honestly don't care, especially from how they have beaten any sense of credibility out of the "Native Beast" from her getting beat convincingly time and time again. I hope they aren't saving that match for the next PPV. By that point, they should have a stronger challenger for her.

Singles Match

Andrade El Idolo (with Vickie Guerrero) def. Matt Sydal by pinfall

I thought it was pretty sick that Andrade came out dressed like Black Mask, but when he took off the entrance attire, his gear looked a little reminiscent of that Chippendales looking outfit he wore during his first few months of being on NXT.

Now that the option of having Zelina Vega come in to be his manager is off the table (FYI she returned to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown! brand two weeks ago), I humbly suggest hiring Salina de la Renta (currently going by her real name of Natalia Class on Twitter) to be his mouthpiece. I'm sorry but Vickie Guerrero ain't it for this guy. It's bad enough that they are already putting up subtitles for when he speaks in English AND Spanish. He needs someone who is going to talk him up like he's worth a million bucks while his ring work speaks for itself.

At the end of the day, people will look at Sydal as the sacrificial lamb here, but he knew what he got hired for in this company. He's a good hand who can make guys who this company is obviously interested into elevating up into a main event level look like a million bucks. Sydal was a great opponent for Andrade's first match in this company, even though I thought that this went on a little too long than it needed to be, but I'll give them a pass when this match didn't need to be a complete squash. I just found it a little puzzling that Sydal was in control here a lot more than I thought he should have been. If they didn't want to beat their #5 ranked wrestler outright, then he shouldn't have been Andrade's first opponent in his debut - simple as that.

Mixed Tag Team Match

Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander def. The Blade and The Bunny by pinfall

At this point, does anyone really believe that The Bunny and The Balding... err The Blade can actually win a match? I considered this the bathroom break spot of the night. Bunny and Blade tried to use the brass knuckles, but they got tossed out of the ring and out of the equation, allowing OC and Statlander to pick up the win.

I can't remember if I've said it before but the streamlined look for Statlander looks good on her figure. It makes her whole entire presentation look better, despite the fact that she's still going with the gimmick of being an alien from another planet but that's besides the point. I hope they find a way to put her into contention for a future Women's title shot down the road. She's a much better opponent for Britt Baker than Nyla Rose.

Malakai Black is All Elite

After the lights were flickering around earlier in the show, we finally found out who was the culprit behind that technical hiccup... Tommy End/Aleister Black, now Malakai Black (a name that he dubbed over on his Twitter earlier that very day) has arrived in All Elite Wrestling.

After how WWE has fucked over his main roster run over the last two years and how they did his wife, Zelina Vega/Thea Trinidad, dirty concerning that third party stuff (OnlyFans, Twitch, etc.), I don't blame the former Aleister Black/Tommy End to jump ship to AEW. Apparently, someone in WWE fucked up and never upgraded his contract from a NXT developmental contract to a main roster contract, so his non-compete clause was for a mere 30-days instead of the standard 90-days. Boy, I know someone over there got chewed out AND fired over that blunder... WWE's loss is AEW's gain.

I'm just BEGGING for them not to fuck around with this guy. They have the makings for their own Undertaker-style character if they play their cards right with this.

I had to laugh that they let him lay out BOTH Arn Anderson AND Cody in this segment, when one or the other would have been fine enough. I guess we know what Cody's next big feud will be now...

This was easily the biggest shocker to come out of this entire show and rightfully so too given the crowd reaction to Black's debut.

Dan Lambert from American Top Team Has A Few Things To Say

I found it amusing to see a lot of the live reactions on social media about Dan Lambert's promo skills. I understand that a lot of people didn't see him when he was managing Bobby Lashley during his last run in IMPACT Wrestling, but the guy is a legit mega fan of the sport and has a lot of respect for the history of professional wrestling. This segment and shoot promo seemed to come out of nowhere until I realized what exactly what they were going for in this segment - it's a direct knock on critics like Jim Cornette and other wrestling personalities, who AEW apologists are quick to point out that they are "stuck in the past/old ways of thinking about professional wrestling." This was an easy shoot promo for heel heat to get the crowd to pop huge when Lance Archer came out there and promptly laid the guy out.

While I enjoyed Lambert's promo, I couldn't help but shake my head at the pop for Lance Archer. The guy still gets reactions like that from crowds and this company still has him doing absolutely nothing in terms of title contention or anything PERIOD in terms of a storyline. I swear, this company loves squandering the talents of big guys.

Street Fight for the AEW World Tag Team Championship

The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) (c) (with Brandon Cutler) def. Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo by pinfall

Whether if they are in the opening match or main eventing the show, I honestly can't get heavily invested into these Young Bucks matches anymore. They follow the same trend that has ruined a lot of tag team matches for me in this company. The referee (I believe it's that standing corpse, Rick Knox) stands idly by doing nothing as guys go in and out barely tagging in and out to do countless double team spots and high spots in the ring or at ringside without a care in the world when it comes to a ring out count.

With all of that being said, Kingston and Pentagon put on a convincing effort to try to win tag team gold. Pentagon pulls off a Canadian Destroyer through a table at ringside... only for it to be break spot for the last commercial break of the night. Much like the Tombstone Piledriver that MJF did on Sammy Guevara off the middle rope that only was a goddamn TWO COUNT in the main event of the previous week's episode of Dynamite, these people are killing me with wasting moves that could be convincing injury angles or devastating match-ending spots.

I cannot wait until this company get those belts off of the guys in The Elite. Between the constant run-ins from the Good Brothers and the Elite goon squad of Nakazawa and Brandon Cutler, I'm so sick and tired of almost every Kenny Omega and Young Bucks match and/or segment devolving into a clusterfuck of run-ins and interference. I joked about this with my best friend over the holiday weekend too when I compared AEW as "TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, circa 2005-2010 without a good women's division and Russo's booking hasn't gotten as recognizably bad yet."

Afterthoughts:

For AEW's first show back "on the road" so to speak, the live fans definitely showed their support loud and clear. I was more than happy to see them outside of Daily's Place as AEW have ran that venue into the ground for the past year or so.

This was a mediocre show that was highlighted by the bombshell of a debut from the former Aleister Black/Tommy End, the in-ring confrontation between "Hangman" Adam Page and Kenny Omega, and that great promo from Britt Baker backstage. Everything else was fine for the most part, but in terms of crowd enthusiasm, I was more invested into this show than I was for NXT's Great American Bash the night prior just from the energy of the crowd on this show from start to finish. NXT's crowd looked like they rather have been watching anything else but this at points of that show, while this crowd was eating everything presented in front of them. At the end of the day, this is show that's not without flaws either - despite the fact that there's a lot of fans and people who work for AEW who can't handle constructive criticism on their beloved show.

If Road Rager is a sign for things to come, then AEW fans have a lot to look forward to as they ride towards All Out.

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