AEW frenzy (February 3, 2023) emanated from the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. The show featured The Elite defending the Trios titles, Saraya and Tony Storm getting mean, and so much more.

Excalibur, Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone were on commentary. Ring announcer duties were taken over by Justin Roberts.

matches

AEW World Trios Championship: Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks retained against Ethan Paige, Matt Hardy and Isiah Cassidy. Down the stretch, chaos broke out. He moves all over the place with all six guys. The company was quicker to recover and went on a series of crimes that culminated in Hardy’s “Twist of Fate”. This was the company’s best chance of winning, but the Elites were able to break the hold. Cassidy also surprised jumper Nick Jackson with a mid-air counter breaker for his near-fall.

Paige and Hardy were out when Cassidy needed to get out the most. The Elite ran hard on poor Zay using the V-Trigger, One Winged Angel and BTE Trigger for the win.

This match went as expected with high octane action and the elite kept the straps. The story to watch was Page’s behavior as a bossy boss’ jerk. Although All Ego blinked at times, he teamed up in cohesive teamwork sequences with a desire to win. No doubt Paige would blame poor Zee.

Swerve Strickland defeated Brian Pillman Jr. Competitive match. Pillman started strong until his knee was jammed by Swerve. Strickland dominated Pillman’s selection away. Mehboob’s gathering is thwarted by the outside interference of Mogul-affiliated goons. Swerve executed a Death Valley driver on the apron and finished with a double stomp. After that, the bad guys beat up Pillman. Dustin Rhodes ran to save.

That match was better than I expected. I assumed Swerve would score an easy win, since Pillman hadn’t been on TV for a long time. Bellman’s bravado was correct. Bring the fight to look strong. I didn’t like how Swerve needed the help of a cheat to win. Pillman is an opponent that he must be able to defeat on his own. Unfortunately, AEW is once again counting on winning cheating on a group of tired heels that they are very fond of booking. Honestly, I’ve been to death in the upgrade and it feels outdated. Swerve makes her look weak on this occasion. I love the potential of Dustin Rhodes to help Pillman. A tag team on the line or even a trios unit with Brock Anderson would be an interesting thing and a good way to feature Rhodes at this point in his career.

Saraya and Tony Storm defeated the Rebel Twins. Although the rebellious sisters weren’t easy to get out of, the mean girls got to grips with their own business of domination. The Storm finished with a riverboat for the victory. Afterwards, Saraya sprays her victim with an L for the loser.

Saraya and Storm continue to do great work earning heels. Their recent actions make it clear that they are despicable. It’s easy to dismiss them as characters. I try to be stingy these days when I say AEW should sign someone, because their roster is as big as it gets. However, I really want to see the Renegade twin on a bigger platform, be it in AEW or elsewhere. I think they have a high potential for success wherever they end up.

Rush defeated Christopher Daniels. In the words of Mark Henry, “Time for the main event!” Daniels was on peak form early on and then Los Ingobernables bullied him. They had no regard for fair play and took inappropriate CD shots. The Fallen Angel outlasted Jose Auxiliary and Perro Peligroso to get back in the match. Daniels trapped Rush in a submission, but Rush’s allies got his foot on the ropes for the break. Daniels went for the best Moonsault ever, and Rush blocked his knee. A belly-to-belly suplex and a falling Bulls Horns kick finished Daniels on the three count.

Was this match good? Not right. There was so much interference that it was ridiculous. Was this match entertaining? Kind of yes. The interference was so blatant that it became amusing. In a vacuum, it was an impassable part. In the larger context of Rush showing his match against Bryan Danielson dynamite, to fail. Rush did nothing to make me think he was going to win. The story seems more about Danielson’s injury rather than the athletic competition. Even though MJF pays Rush to hurt Danielson, Rush still needs a win to prevent Danielson from winning the world title match.

Boredom

Ricky Starks put his foot in his mouth to let JAS dictate a fatal match, but that’s okay. He’ll do whatever it takes to get to Chris Jericho again. The Absolute always finds a way.

Jai Lethal, Jeff Jarrett, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh prove they can’t be matched by the Best Friends crew. Danhausen and his co-stars stormed out in annoyance at having their Golden Globe award smashed over their heads. Danhausen was convinced he was taking down the giant until he deceived him.

I’m sitting at McDonald’s home, because the Internet is out at home. Honestly, I can’t hear what Malachi Black is saying, so here’s a transcript of the description from Ken A. Knight, “Malachi Black says the Black House doesn’t want Eddie Kingston. The point was to show how easily a man can be corrupted, and that’s what they accomplished with Ortiz and Kingston.”

Adam Cole has worked harder than ever to get back into wrestling. Thinking of his dying dreams was the trigger. Cole refuses to let anyone stand in his way of getting back into the ring.

Grade B-

Par for the course on a Friday night frenzy. An entertaining action with boredom that ties the stories together. The Elite Trios match was the best of the bunch.

Share your thoughts about frenzy. How do you rate it? What are your favorite moments from the show?