AEW Five Fingers of Death 12/11 - 12/17 Part 1

ROH 12/14/23

Eddie Kingston vs Evil Uno

MD: I can think of two big Uno singles matches in the last year or two, vs Moxley and vs Danielson. I wrote up the Danielson one and I thought while it was appropriate to the burgeoning heel turn and the build in the Page title program, it didn't make use of what makes Uno special. The Mox match has Uno's bloody face plastered into my mind, but I don't remember it too much past that (bloody face and pile drivers. I remember pile drivers); that's a problem with AEW, of course. It's like an interview question where you answer "I care too much" or "I try too hard." There are good matches on a week by week basis and it's very hard for too much to get mythologized. I'm not sure the answer to that question but part of me kind of wishes Evil Uno vs Jon Moxley did stand out more in my mind.

This had more going for it along those lines. It was a chance to showcase Uno close to home. It was on ROH so there were not major constraints when it came to hitting time marks for overall length or commercials. Eddie's in weird spot being in the tournament and the title almost being in limbo but there's a certain comforting structure to these matches. Here, Uno was the clear babyface. They were able to match up well given their similar size and body types, with Eddie basing a bit for Uno. The early babyface advantage disappeared when Eddie took a page out of Joe's book and just walked away from a chop on the outside to the post. That let him tear at the arm a bit to get some heat and build Uno back up for the hand-the-leg-to-the-ref neckbreaker spot, which a Chikara guy like Kingston was going to be selfless enough to take, and with a great facial expression too. Subsequently, Eddie let Uno really stretch in front of the home crowd; he often plays vulnerable but here he was playing vulnerable champ against the hometown hero. But to put Eddie away, you have to do more and more and take risks of your own; Uno took one risk too many and opened him up to the Uraken. Eddie gave him a ton here, but then here on Honor Club and here on the top of the mountain, he has the luxury to do so.

ROH Final Battle 12/15/23

Eddie Kingston vs Anthony Henry

MD: Another day, another "Mad Ace" Proving Ground match. It's 2023, right? Emotional investment about finishes is a weird thing. Sometimes there's a wrestler you really don't want to see in a prominent spot and you hope that maybe they don't get put over. More often, you get happy when someone you think deserves it goes over. Sometimes it's the match itself, something that draws you in so much that you feel like it can only end a certain way. It's wrestling and we wouldn't watch if we didn't care. Sometimes we can be clinical or cynical but when something brings us to the point of being so emotionally invested that we care about who wins, then it's in some ways even more special than the sort of investment we had when we were kids and didn't know how it all worked. It has to be to break past those those walls.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is that I really want Eddie to somehow win the C2. I am emotionally invested. I'm emotionally invested for what he himself has invested into it, for his story through the tournament, even just to avoid the heartbreak of the guy losing everything because he reached for the skies. But really, as much as anything else, it's because I want to see these ROH proving ground matches and title matches continue. I like this Eddie! He's different than the guy I usually get. I like that guy too but what makes that guy special makes this guy special and unique too. Eddie's big enough to be both.

Here, he came out cautious, professional, poised. Henry got the first shot in and unleashed just about everything he had. He knew just how dangerous his opponent was. He targeted Eddie's neck and strung together a bunch of credible, dynamic offense. Here's the thing with our pal Eddie though. You chip away at him. You get him down to his knees. You open him up. Well, he's just so damn punchable, right? You lose focus because you just want to stop and hit him. Henry sure did. If he stayed on the neck, hit and moved, hit bigger and bigger offense, maybe he'd wear him down enough. Maybe he'd even beat the clock. He had to start throwing strikes though. People say that Eddie's strength is that he can take damage, take and take and take until he can hit you out of nowhere, but he also makes himself a hell of a target. Once Henry started fighting him on his level, it really, truly was just a matter of time. So yes, emotional investment, because I'm not ready for this Eddie to go yet. I feel like we just met him!

Athena vs Billie Starkz

MD: I'm going to go from emotional to clinical here, sorry. I already gushed about Athena (and Billie) a few weeks ago. Let's do this the old way, a nice tight paragraph talking about structure. This thing was put together so well. Athena went for the magic forearm. Billie ducked and hit her own, taking advantage. She pressed like someone with something to prove (and boy did she ever) right up until she took it too far and got caught on the dive. Athena started dismantling her as they cycled into the heat, bloodying her up and leaning on her. The hopespots escalated, starting with a few gut shots, then fighting on the apron, and then a roll up. All were cut off quickly. She finally kicked up and out of the corner and strung together a move or two, only to get taken out by the facemask, which set up golden, glorious moment of true comeback a minute or two later as she tore it off. From there the match just got bigger and bigger, which huge spots and set pieces and drama. That escalation doesn't resonate quite the same way without the way they built things through the first half though. People are going to remember those big spots and the ref bump and the finishing stretch, but it took the setting of the stage to create the atmosphere for payoffs. Here, they did an amazing job with it.