Confirmed to AEW!

I went to both my very first live wrestling event AND AEW show! It’s been a very long time since I’ve even been to a wrestling show. I remember going to a WWE house show for the Smackdown brand back when I was in high school. I have absolutely no recollection of who even wrestled during that WWE show (I can only speculate), so I’m going to document this show in detail. 

I started watching AEW last year when I started dating Danny. I had lost interest in WWE months prior due to their predictable lackluster storylines, and underutilization of some of their most talented wrestlers who had really dope gimmicks. AEW has been a breathe of fresh air to say the least. I haven’t been this excited to watch professional wrestling in a while. It’s truly inspiring to watch a company that respects their talent and their creative endeavors, whether it be new faces or former WWE wrestlers looking for a new home. I also love that wrestlers are allowed to cross promotions. It keeps you on your toes, since you never know who might pop up in AEW. I find it so heartwarming when Tony Khan comes out to address the fans before the show because he’s just an enthusiastic wrestling nerd like the rest of us, and is incredibly humble of the support AEW has garnered. It’s fucking adorable. 

There was no doubt in our minds when AEW announced they were heading to the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York on September 22 that we were going to be there. Unfortunately, the day tickets went on sale didn’t go as planned. It was both frustrating and disappointing because I REALLY wanted to go and experience this live with Danny. I’ve been super stubborn my whole life, and if my vision doesn’t come to fruition, I won’t accept it. I knew, in the back of my head, that we were going one way or another. Fast forward to us buying tickets the day of the show LOL. I handled this last minute decision well because my determination to be in that audience was strong. NYC’s vaccine mandate worked to our advantage, since anti-vaxxed people have been barred from attending anything that involves fun (indoor entertainment). There were plenty of tickets on sale at somewhat decent prices for us to choose from. 

The night consisted of AEW Dark, Dynamite and Rampage, equating to 5 hours of wrestling. I love that they curated a lineup of high caliber, PPV worthy matches for their first New York show ever. We even got a two-hour special of Rampage, which usually airs for an hour. The view at this venue was pretty decent despite the camera crane that would obstruct the view at times. It added to the excitement though, seeing the crane at work and the cameramen down below running around the arena. I was in awe of it all since I’ve never been to a televised event before. 

AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam 

AEW World Champion Kenny Omega (w/ Don Callis) vs. Bryan Danielson 

30 Minute Time-Limit Draw

MJF (w/ Wardlow) vs. Brian Pillman, Jr. (w/ Julia Hart) Winner: MJF

Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes (w/ Brandi Rhodes & Arn Anderson)

Winner: Malakai Black

Darby Allin & Sting vs. FTR - Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood (w/ Tully Blanchard)

Winner: Darby Allin & Sting

AEW Women's Championship Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. (C) (w/ Rebel & Jamie Hayter) vs. Ruby Soho

Winner: Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. 

AEW Rampage: Grand Slam

CM Punk vs. Powerhouse Hobbs (w/ Hook)

(Punk's first TV match in seven years)

Winner: CM Punk

Adam Cole & The Young Bucks (w/ Brandon Cutler & Luke Gallows) vs. Christian Cage & Jurassic Express (w/ Marko Stunt)

Winner: Adam Cole & The Young Bucks

The Men of the Year Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page (w/ Dan Lambert) vs. Chris Jericho & Jake Hager

Winner: Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page

AEW Tag Team Champions Lucha Bros and Santana & Ortiz (w/ Alex Abrahantes) vs. Private Party and The Butcher & The Blade (w/ Matt Hardy & Jack Evans)

Winner: Lucha Bros and Santana & Ortiz

Penelope Ford vs. Anna Jay

Winner: Penelope Ford

Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki in a Lights Out Match

Winner: Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston

It's still surreal to me that I was actually there to witness these matches in person. I see these guys on television week after week, but to experience a show from a different perspective is unreal. So many magical things happened this night. The ultimate dream match of Bryan Danielson and Kenny Omega. My fellow asshole Long Islander MJF. Watching Malakai Black wrestle in person. Darby Allin’s coffin drop. Seeing Sting in real life for the first time in my life. Before then, he was merely a myth to me. Witnessing Ruby Soho wrestle in a championship match. The boom from the crowd as they chanted CM Punk. Party streamers with The Young Bucks. Finally getting to see Adam Cole perform. Luchasaurus destroying everyone in the ring. Hearing 20,000+ people sing along to Fozzy's Judas as Chris Jericho made his way to the ring. TNT Champion Miro almost killing Sammy Guevara. Special guest appearances by Orange Cassidy. Jon Moxley in another crazy match. My introduction to Minoru Suzuki.

I’m glad I got to be there with Danny. It’s exciting that we’re getting to do all these things together as a couple for the first time - trips, concerts, conventions, wrestling shows. If all goes according to our evil plan, we’ll be at the Long Island show at the new UBS Arena in Belmont, New York on December 8th for a live Dynamite episode and a Rampage taping. The end of 2021 is going to be both fun and chaotic.