Heydorn's AEW Summer Blockbuster Receipt 6/11/25
The good, bad, and ugly from this week's AEW Summer Blockbuster special.
-Will Ospreay vs. Swerve Strickland 2 was as excellent as everyone thought it would be. A strong mix of action, psychology, history, and crazy athleticism. No doubt a third match is on the horizon. When that happens it should be on a major stage with all the marbles on the line.
All drama
-The angle at the end of Ospreay vs. Swerve with The Young Buck, Ospreay, and Strickland in the ring was even better than the match itself. The angle focused on a lot and was successful at each turn. Jon Moxley and The Death Riders got heat for ending what was going to be a match restart, The Bucks get even more heat because of taking out Swerve, Swerve is full of sympathy while he was getting beat on while in handcuffs, and Ospreay is the ultimate babyface in sacrificing himself for Swerve. Plus, that sacrifice shows the audience how invested he is in his “whole is bigger than the parts” strategy regarding Moxley. Really great and emotional work for all involved. Looks like Ospreay and Swerve vs. The Young Bucks is on tap for All In.
-Smart of AEW to give Mistico some screen time this week ahead of what is kind of a starring role for him next week at AEW Grand Slam: Mexico.
-It was a better week for MJF and The Hurt Syndicate this week. They tried to get heat and got it. Defining this faction is tremendously important and they took a giant step forward in that effort.
Heat
-MJF vs. Mistico in Mexico next week should be a very fun bout with a great crowd environment. Looking forward to that one.
-Jon Moxley cut a heck of a promo on a fallen Adam Page. It was dark and twisted only like Moxley can be, but put Page and his story over at the same time. Moxley was magic with the delivery as usual.
-Ya know, it was fine seeing Tay Melo back in the ring and all, but why is she and Anna Jay beating Megan Bayne? This makes no sense to me. At best, Melo and Jay are top tier babyface jobbers. Bayne has a huge upside as a super heel in the women’s division. Messing around with that for Melo and Jay is a risk without much reward behind it.
Omega, Okada, and AEW deliver
-AEW hit a grand slam with the Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada presentation this week. Starting off with a long vignette on their Japan history was smart to set the table and appease fans who know their history and look back on the rivalry fondly. The angle later with Okada going super heel and siding with Don Callis opposite Omega after teasing a respectful feud with Omega was a perfect way to get new fans to care about the match if they know nothing about the Omega/Okada past. Now, the build plays to both camps of fans and does so effectively. Okada and Omega sold the angle very well and there should be a rooting interest in Omega by the Texas crowd at All In.
-As for the AEW Unified Championship, it’s good the company is cutting back on singles titles, but the AEW International and Continental Championships were clear secondary titles. Unified Championship sounds like something on the level of a world title. Two world belts for a brand split? It’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Sorry Bowens
-Kyle Fletcher vs. Anthony Bowens was fine, but continued to define Bowens as a guy on the cusp of a push, but not getting one. Fletcher vs. Adam Cole for the TNT Championship is clearly in the plans for All In.
-Mercedes Mone with another feast this week while on commentary, but a pretty weak angle with Toni Storm in the ring. Did she whisper something? It looked like it, but the announce team didn’t play up that story much. This match is massive, but is still waiting on a big angle to drive top level interest in order to prove it.
-The Beast Mortos vs. Bandido was surprisingly great. A total random match that was thrown together because the show was four hours this week, but one that captured the attention of the fans by the end — and all because of the work in the ring.
-Ehhhh, not as great of a week this go around for Thekla. The match with Queen Aminata was sloppy and Aminata didn’t seem to have much interest in being out there.
Tired fans. Tired wrestlers.
-The Don Callis Family won the big eight-man tag team main event and it was fine, but was a stark reminder as to why it’s going to be great to have Dynamite back to two hours. Fans were tired and the wrestlers in this looked tired too.
What did you think of AEW Summer Blockbuster? Let us know in the comments!
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