What's the story, chasers of choreographed chaos?
Time just keeps moving forward which means the reviews just keep a'comin. Sticking with my 1 match review again this week as the wedding countdown is nearing closer to two weeks than three. Hard to believe we're as close as we are. But, you guy's aren't here for that, are you?
As I talk about later in this review, it's all I can do to keep up to date with the current product (of course referring to AEW) so reviews will more than likely just be a recap of the best match from TV the past week. Give me some time to get back in the saddle and then we'll be back to business as usual.
So, until then, enjoy this wee's exciting offering!
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| AEW |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
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Claudio Castagnoli vs. Darby Allin - Falls Count Anywhere Match - AEW Dynamite - 08/27/2025
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| Dar-Batman! AEW |
For those that aren't in the loop, life is getting pretty hectic at Wrestling Vault HQ. Your favourite reviewer is getting married this month! We just recently came back from a joint bachelor-bachelorette weekend away and are in the final weeks of making sure everything is ready for D-Day so I don't really have a lot of time to watch a lot of wrestling. I'm honestly maxed out at watching AEW and the recent Ring of Honor PPV. But, I want to stay up to date with my promotion of choice and boy oh boy, and I glad I did this week. The main event "falls count anywhere" match was exceptional. Want to find out why? Well, keep reading!
Returning from climbing Everest earlier in the year, Darby Allin continues on his quest to see how close he can bring himself to death week after week and still survive. He's been chasing Moxley and the Death Riders ever since he returned at All In and all things point to them clashing one-on-one sooner than later. All Out maybe? Right around the corner from me in Toronto? The day before my wedding?! A lot to unpack there, eh?
Before Mox and Darbs can clash, the leader of the Death Riders sent his second in command, his "Emissary of Violence," Claudio Castagnoli to deal with Darby before he can get his hands on Moxley. A falls count anywhere match is a dangerous stipulation no matter who is involved, but when you have someone as strong and clever as Castagnoli going up against a human crash test dummy, you'd be smart to consider bringing a gun to this match if you want it to end in a reasonable amount of time.
We're taken to, what looks to be, the parking area of the 2300 Arena, where AEW has set up shop for the next 2 weeks. Claudio is doing his recently adopted "stand in a part of the arena while bathed in a red light to look super cool" entrance, this week finding himself between two shipping containers. He marches forth, alone for this main event, with Marina and Yuta joining Moxley for his show opening match against Daniel Garcia. Claudio knocks back a quick swig of water before marching up a ram- oh shit! Look out! From on top of another shipping container, Darby takes flight, crashing into Claudio and catching him completely off guard.
He peppers the Swiss Cyborg with rabbit punches to daze him, but they have little effect. Claudio grabs Darby by the head and tosses him into a shipping container, landing hard against the road crates resting against the container. Thinking on his feet, or remembering he's got some shopping to do once the match ends, Claudio grabs a shopping cart and loads Darby inside. "MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" Claudio shouts as referee Bryce Remsburg makes his way to join the pair, the match starting backstage instead of in the ring. He lines the cart up and charges, a parking barrier stopping the cart hard as Darby gets launched out and into rows of chairs set up in the backlot.
Tossing off his jacket as well as the shopping cart (have I ever mentioned just how strong Claudio is? Good lord, he's insane), Claudio bridges a TV across a park bench and a chair, bodyslamming Darby through it and onto the hard ground below. Dragging his limp corpse through the plastic drapery and out to the entrance ramp, Claudio heaves him into the chain fence above the LED boards that make up the entrance set. Grabbing him by his feet now, Claudio swings Darby around and around, moving further down the ramp until crashing him into the steel barricade, driving it back into the audience.
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| Like a sack of spuds. AEW |
Claudio tries for a cover, but Darby forces his shoulders up at 2, but is barely able to stand. This makes little difference to Claudio, who shoves Darby down the ramp before tossing him inside the ring. He takes a moment to catch his breath ringside as Darby rolls to the other side of the ring, using the ropes to get his feet back under him. With a burst of energy that betrays the damage his body has just endured, Darby charges across the ring and through the ropes, crashing into Claudio and driving him back first to the barricade. Again, Darby charges, this time landing a dropkick on the chest of Claudio, firing him into the barricade shoulder first.
Ripping the rubber pad off the top of the barricade, Darby climbs on top and uses it to climb one of the pillars inside the 2300 Arena. Higher and higher Darby ascends, stopping just before the lighting rig as he scrapes the ceiling. The truest definition of a trust fall, Darby kicks off the post and falls, landing a Coffin Drop on a half vertical Claudio, crushing him into the floor on impact. He crawls for a cover but Claudio powers out, both men forced to catch their breath on the floor. This time, it's Darby who sends Claudio into the ring, clubbing him across the back before taking off for the ropes, doing everything he can to keep him down.
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| Schweizer Tod! AEW |
His efforts were in vain, however, as Claudio is already on his feet as Darby rebounds, popping him up high in the sky before connecting with a huge European uppercut! Swiss Death! A cover near the ropes but Darby breaks free at two. Back on his feet, Claudio scans the horizon before landing on his next weapon, of sorts. He gestures towards the commentary desk, telling them to clear house. He taps his wrist as he says "I haven't got all day!," with Taz, Excalibur and Ian Riccaboni leave their post.
Hoisting his victim above his head, Claudio charges forward, hurling Darby into the announce table! Voices can be heard hollering and screaming as Darby soars, crashing into the table and flailing to the opposite side, landing in a heap among the papers and seats of the announcers. As replays play on screen, Claudio makes his way to ringside and dismantles the table, tossing aside chairs as he looms over Darby.
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| Hurled to hell. AEW |
With the commentary desk in pieces, the commentary team is silent as the crew frantically try to restore audio to the voices of our show. It's a chilling silence as Claudio covers Darby on the floor, his limp body barely escaping the pin attempt. Dismissively, Claudio goes under the ring and retrieves a table, tossing it in the ring as replays play over and over, showing the horrific dive Darby took. With the Taz, Ex, and Ian all standing around the carnage, Claudio picks up the displaced chairs and returns them to their places, gesturing to Excalibur as if to say "there, now you can sit and do your job again." The Death Riders aren't all bad! I say that as I watch Claudio body slam Darby onto a piece of the destroyed table, placing a foot on his chest for a cover, but it's still only two.
Tossing hand fulls of chairs into the ring, Claudio drops Darby gut first on top of the barricade before climbing in the ring, leaving him for dead as he sets up a table in the corner. As Darby stirs, Claudio returns to the floor, allowing his victim to use his chiselled frame as a ladder to climb to his feet. Darby swings at the face of Claudio, defiantly slapping him in the jaw as he stumbles backwards, his body in shambles but his heart refusing to quit. Another slap is met with a forearm from Claudio, the shot driving Darby back into the barricade. He fights to his feet and takes it to Claudio again, but a European uppercut and gutwrench suplex onto the apron takes Darby out again.
Back in the ring, Claudio sets up another table opposite the first, two corners now more plywood than padding. A chairshot clatters the spine of Darby, but he defiantly rolls to his back as Claudio marches in, furious that his attempts at offence are almost moot. Caught off guard, Darby kicks the knee of Claudio to bring him closer to the canvas. Latching on like a leech, Darby hooks Claudio in a front facelock, legs wrapped around his torso to keep the hold on tight. Claudio is only down long enough for Darby to snatch the hold, as the Swiss freak gets to his feet and tries to send Darby crashing into the tables not once, but twice.
A vertical suplex is countered by Darby slipping down onto the back of Claudio, wrapping him in a tight choke hold as his titanic foe starts to fade. Almost out on his feet, Claudio grabs the wrist of Darby and uses it to rip him off his back. Darby lands near the table, using it to support himself as he rises to his feet. Claudio is up quicker, shouting "DARBY!" as he charges forward, but his foe is a step quicker. Darby sidesteps Claudio's charge, leaving him to crash head first into the table in the corner, reducing it to splinters. Finding his second, third, or maybe even fourth wind, Darby grabs a chair and clatters the spine of Claudio over and over, trapping his head in the seat of the chair in a way that has become a signature of the Death Riders lately, looking to put Moxley's right hand man out of action.
He climbs to the top, but Claudio waits, leaping to his feet and charging into the corner at the last possible second, halting Darby's momentum with a European uppercut as he reaches the top rope. A chair shot keeps Darby out long enough for Claudio to stack the chairs in the middle of the ring, with Claudio climbing to the top rope to gutwrench suplex Darby off the top and into the heap of chairs!
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| There's easier ways to put someone in a chair, Claudio. AEW |
Another pin attempt, but Darby survives! Furious, Claudio leaps to his feet and pulls Darby up with him, bieling Darbs into the table leaned in the corner. It bends, but does not break. Without wasting a second, Claudio pulls Darby back to his feet and up into position for a powerbomb, drilling him through the table before dragging him out by his feet for another pinfall attempt. It's another close two count as Claudio grows desperate. He rips the pad off a top turnbuckle and goes to wheelbarrow Darby into it, but he springs up and lands on the middle rope, avoiding the metal eye as he lands back with a double foot stomp through the chest of Claudio!
With Darby using the corner to stand, Claudio charges again and catches the boot of Darby, twisting around and pulling him into the electric chair position. Or, for those not so wrestling-brained, the piggyback position. Darby uses this to his advantage, digging into the eyes of Claudio to half his momentum before rolling forwards to try and catch Claudio in a tight pinning predicament. It's close, but Claudio escapes before three. Charging after rising to his feet, the story of chekhov's gun rears it's ugly head as Darby trips Claudio into the exposed turnbuckle eye, stunning the Swiss destroyer as Darby goes for a code red! A pin is attempted, but no dice!
Without wasting a second, Darby takes to the top rope and falls back for a Coffin Drop, but doesn't go right for the cover. He ascends and falls back one more time, crushing Claudio with another Coffin Drop as he lays across him for the final three count. Somehow, some way, Darby survived.
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| Double coffin! All the way! AEW |
Man, this match was a lot of fun. Was it mostly a Darby murder fest? Yeah, but that's how most Darby matches are. He gets the absolute piss beaten out of him for 80% of the match, refuses to give in, and somehow finds a way to survive long enough to get the win. Claudio is the perfect guy to be opposite Darby, his freakish strength pairs perfectly with someone who has next to no limits as far as what they are willing to do or take. A real match made in heaven and a glimpse at what we might get when Darby and Moxley go nose to nose. Although, this match had 100% less forks than their Lights Out Steel Cage match had, which I fear will not be the case when it is Mox and Darbs one-on-one. Pray for his ear lobes.
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What a fun week of wrestling it's been! Dynamite, Collision, a fun ROH PPV, a real treat this week. A great way to start September. Really hope the rest of the month keeps this momentum going. Got a whole heck of a lot on my plate this month but my lovely wife-to-be (I think there's a word for that) knows my second love is wrestling, so I hope she can understand that I need to carve out some time for it amongst everything else we've got going on.
So, until next week. Be well, stay safe, and love each other.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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