So, something a bit different, rather than finding a random classic match to watch, I'm reviewing the Anarchy in the Arena match from last night's AEW Double or Nothing show. There are a few different reasons but mostly it's because it's an insanely cool match I need to write something longer form about to get my thoughts in order.
First of all, the Jericho Appreciation Society enter with matching white leather gear and jackets with the JAS logo on the back and immediately I thought back to the Jericho vs Shawn Michaels Unsanctioned Match (a personal favourite) where Jericho turned up in normal ring gear only for Shawn to enter in street gear to show what kind of match this was going to be. And that's exactly what happens, Moxley, Danielson, Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz all parade down through the audience with Wild Thing blaring and fans going wild, dressed in a variety of street gear, and I knew this match was going to rule.
As they get closer to the ring, JAS realise what's going to happen and storm the other team, but Wild Thing doesn't stop as the action starts, it just keeps rocking out. And, to me, this is just the coolest thing in wrestling. A massively heated chaotic brawl with rock music at full volume, and the moment Wild Thing loops and the fans realise what's going to happen they start cheering even louder. Incredible stuff.
One thing that really entertained me was that throughout the opening few minutes there was just wild brawling happening all over the arena but it keeps cutting to Bryan Danielson and Cool Hand Ange in the same spot of the arena with Danielson laying in some really convincingly stiff punches. I don't why this sticks with me but it just made me wonder what grudge Danielson had with this one man.
And at this point the match kinda breaks down into 4 or 5 different brawls happening at any time with the cameramen furiously editing between them. It's the kind of thing that could absolutely fall apart into a mess but never does, instead it feels like a match bursting at the seams with chaos but with just enough intelligence to make it something special.
Wild Thing is still playing at full volume now and just as it starts to feel like it might start to be waning in effectiveness they have Jericho find a soundboard and smash it to end the song. This is kind of a small spot in the match but it's just a lovely detail that helps everything happening feel more organic, as opposed to the Stadium Stampede days.
At this point I kind of forgot to keep taking notes as I was cheering along with the action, but I don't think a move-by-move breakdown is really in the spirit of this match. While there are obviously some fantastic spots (the PnP Blockbuster/Powerbomb to Hager through the table, Garcia dragging Eddie with a belt round the neck, the PnP double ladder splash for example), it's about more than just the spots, it's a match entirely carried by the auras of all 10 men. It feels dangerous and unhinged and it's a style of wrestling that hasn't really existed for 20+ years. A true blood feud being paid off with an absurd amount of blood and violence.
The ending section is also something truly special, first of all Eddie returns from the freight elevator looking like a cross between a zombie and the villain from a horror movie, he's absolutely drenched in blood and mustard (there can't be many people in history with both of those things) and carrying a can of petrol. He gets to the ring and just covers Jericho in the petrol, and this is one of the few feuds in history where that's totally justified, Jericho hit him with a fireball and drove him mad so he's getting revenge how he wants. Unfortunately he also covers Danielson, who stands up and just smacks the lighter away. We've seen literally thousands of spots of partners not being able to co-exist over the years but this might be the best. Eddie was so focused on torching Jericho he literally didn't care that Danielson would likely also go up in flames so *of course* this broke the tenuous relationship between him and Danielson. Then Eddie and Danielson just give up and start brawling and don't stop till Mox jumps in to try and break up the fight. This immediately backfires as he's shoved into the barbed wire board outside the ring by Hager, and then Eddie takes a Judas Effect and is out for the rest of the match.
All of that, only to set up the true ending. Danielson is left alone in the ring with Chris Jericho and Jake Hager and while this seems unwinnable, luckily he's maybe the best wrestler in the world so fights back and starts actually winning, peaking with a Busaiku Knee into the chair Jericho is holding. He sets up the Danielson stomps only for Hager to jump back in and take out his knee with a savage assault with Jericho's baseball bat (is it called Floyd? Something like that anyway). Then Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho and Hager grabs the ropes to choke Danielson, and that's it. There's no help coming anymore and no way out of a dual submission like this. He holds on as long as he can but eventually loses consciousness and JAS get the win.
This match just activated something primal in me. It might not have been the cleanest match, or the most technically proficient. But god damn it RULED. Just wall-to-wall action and fun and on reflection, I can't really fault it. The amount of people helped the pace feel strong, it was creative and unique and exciting and everything I want out of a feud like this.
*****
First of all, the Jericho Appreciation Society enter with matching white leather gear and jackets with the JAS logo on the back and immediately I thought back to the Jericho vs Shawn Michaels Unsanctioned Match (a personal favourite) where Jericho turned up in normal ring gear only for Shawn to enter in street gear to show what kind of match this was going to be. And that's exactly what happens, Moxley, Danielson, Kingston, Santana, and Ortiz all parade down through the audience with Wild Thing blaring and fans going wild, dressed in a variety of street gear, and I knew this match was going to rule.
As they get closer to the ring, JAS realise what's going to happen and storm the other team, but Wild Thing doesn't stop as the action starts, it just keeps rocking out. And, to me, this is just the coolest thing in wrestling. A massively heated chaotic brawl with rock music at full volume, and the moment Wild Thing loops and the fans realise what's going to happen they start cheering even louder. Incredible stuff.
One thing that really entertained me was that throughout the opening few minutes there was just wild brawling happening all over the arena but it keeps cutting to Bryan Danielson and Cool Hand Ange in the same spot of the arena with Danielson laying in some really convincingly stiff punches. I don't why this sticks with me but it just made me wonder what grudge Danielson had with this one man.
And at this point the match kinda breaks down into 4 or 5 different brawls happening at any time with the cameramen furiously editing between them. It's the kind of thing that could absolutely fall apart into a mess but never does, instead it feels like a match bursting at the seams with chaos but with just enough intelligence to make it something special.
Wild Thing is still playing at full volume now and just as it starts to feel like it might start to be waning in effectiveness they have Jericho find a soundboard and smash it to end the song. This is kind of a small spot in the match but it's just a lovely detail that helps everything happening feel more organic, as opposed to the Stadium Stampede days.
At this point I kind of forgot to keep taking notes as I was cheering along with the action, but I don't think a move-by-move breakdown is really in the spirit of this match. While there are obviously some fantastic spots (the PnP Blockbuster/Powerbomb to Hager through the table, Garcia dragging Eddie with a belt round the neck, the PnP double ladder splash for example), it's about more than just the spots, it's a match entirely carried by the auras of all 10 men. It feels dangerous and unhinged and it's a style of wrestling that hasn't really existed for 20+ years. A true blood feud being paid off with an absurd amount of blood and violence.
The ending section is also something truly special, first of all Eddie returns from the freight elevator looking like a cross between a zombie and the villain from a horror movie, he's absolutely drenched in blood and mustard (there can't be many people in history with both of those things) and carrying a can of petrol. He gets to the ring and just covers Jericho in the petrol, and this is one of the few feuds in history where that's totally justified, Jericho hit him with a fireball and drove him mad so he's getting revenge how he wants. Unfortunately he also covers Danielson, who stands up and just smacks the lighter away. We've seen literally thousands of spots of partners not being able to co-exist over the years but this might be the best. Eddie was so focused on torching Jericho he literally didn't care that Danielson would likely also go up in flames so *of course* this broke the tenuous relationship between him and Danielson. Then Eddie and Danielson just give up and start brawling and don't stop till Mox jumps in to try and break up the fight. This immediately backfires as he's shoved into the barbed wire board outside the ring by Hager, and then Eddie takes a Judas Effect and is out for the rest of the match.
All of that, only to set up the true ending. Danielson is left alone in the ring with Chris Jericho and Jake Hager and while this seems unwinnable, luckily he's maybe the best wrestler in the world so fights back and starts actually winning, peaking with a Busaiku Knee into the chair Jericho is holding. He sets up the Danielson stomps only for Hager to jump back in and take out his knee with a savage assault with Jericho's baseball bat (is it called Floyd? Something like that anyway). Then Jericho locks in the Walls of Jericho and Hager grabs the ropes to choke Danielson, and that's it. There's no help coming anymore and no way out of a dual submission like this. He holds on as long as he can but eventually loses consciousness and JAS get the win.
This match just activated something primal in me. It might not have been the cleanest match, or the most technically proficient. But god damn it RULED. Just wall-to-wall action and fun and on reflection, I can't really fault it. The amount of people helped the pace feel strong, it was creative and unique and exciting and everything I want out of a feud like this.
*****