What's new, diehards of dramatized dropkicks?!
This week, I bring you something I haven't done since Watchlist 004! Bring you a review of a show I was at LIVE! Well, I should correct myself from the hop here, I will not be reviewing September to Remember from top to bottom, I simply don't have the time, but I will be reviewing the opening match as someone who was there in attendance live from London, Ontario's Canada Life Place. It was a really fun show and I was so happy to be there live with my fiance. But the rest of the story is gonna be buried in this review, so if you want to find out more, read on!
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| A snap of the AEW September to Remember set, snapped by Cliff Morgan |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
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Roderick Strong vs. Jon Moxley - AEW: September to Remember - 09/17/2025
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| Mox and Roddy. Ready for war. AEW |
I've mentioned more than once on this blog that I am getting married this month, it's going to be a real night to remember. When AEW started announcing All Out and this September to Remember show the same damn week as my wedding, I pretty well gave up any thoughts of possibly going. Sure, All Out is an afternoon show the day before, but do we need to added stress of travelling an hour from home the day before a wedding? Our wedding? Nope! All Out was out of the question.
September to Remember, however, turned into a serious possibility. One fateful night, my girl and I are playing some Fallout 76, our most recent nightly routine. She gets an email from Ticketmaster saying, basically, "heeeeey, you guys wanna go see some wrestling? Only 3 hours from your house and 20% off with this code? What do ya say?" Well, when 20% off translated to $80 a head and I was able to coordinate crashing on an air mattress in my uncles living room, who lives less than a 5 minutes drive from the venue, it turned from a "maybe we could" to "so which one of us is driving to London?"
So, amidst the planning, packing, scheduling and last minute gathering of goods, we made the almost 3 hour drive to London Ontario for my first AEW live show since CMFTR was an early Collision mainstay. We made a pit stop in Woodstock to visit a massive, and I mean massive antique barn that we've wanted to properly check out since we first ran through an hour before closing last year, and then we carried on to London. But not before adding a VHS I've been hunting for a while to my burgeoning collection.
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| A VHS copy of "Wrestling with Shadows" |
If you want to try and spot us, I'm wearing the red OG NXT "Johnny Wrestling" shirt, while my girl is wearing the Black and Gold flag "CIAMPA" shirt. Black and gold forever, baybee. Our seats let us rest our feet on the hockey boards and we could see the wrestlers milling about behind the curtain near the babyface tunnel. Good luck finding waldo.
We were treated to Hangman and Fletcher opening the show with their contract signing. I really can't think of a batter way to start our 7 year anniversary wrestling show than with the Hangman- oh wait, did I mention this show was also happening on our 7 year anniversary? Crazy, right?! Seemed like we were meant to go to this show. I joked with a buddy when we got to the show that I was gonna invite Hangman to my wedding an, honest to God, if I had the nuts to shout it at him, he'd have heard me 100%.
I wasn't sure what match was going to open the show, but I had a feeling it would be Mox and Roddy when I saw Wheeler Yuta moving around behind the set. His unmistakable white shirt and scraggy hair stood out in the darkness. I started combing the arena to try and figure out where they were gonna have Mox make his entrance. I knew our tunnel was too close to the entrance set for them to use it, they always used one on the opposite side to the entrance way, but a man can dream, right? I spotted the red lights in the stairwell before the Death Riders song belted out through the speakers which, I've just gotta say this; I love the Death Riders theme, it's insanely badass, but hearing it's bass thrum throughout a building is an unreal feeling. I felt like I could box God for a couple of minutes there.
And then, AND THEN, Roderick muthafuckin' Strong. If I felt like I could throw hands with the creator a few minutes ago, End of Heartache has me certain I could double leg the bastard and make him tap in less than 10 seconds. Fired up doesn't begin to describe that feeling. On the one hand, I wished this was the main event, but on the other hand, I won't complain about getting to see these two throw hands wherever they decide to slot them in on the card. I knew from the moment this card was announced that this would be the match I'd review as a live viewer so I was locked in for this one. I didn't take notes during the show aside from live BlueSky-ing the matches as they started, but it's still pretty fresh in the brain cave so I'll do my best to give live thoughts and feelings as I write this one.
It should be noted that Mox comes to the ring with Marina Shafir and Daniel Garcia, the newly minted member of the Death Riders. Roddy is joined by the other half of Paragon in Kyle O'Reilly, so they've got their backup at ringside if things go south. Right from the hop, however, Roddy tries to even the odds by fucking FLYING at Garcia with a dropkick through the ropes, just no warning, charged him like a fuckin' bull. Hilarious start to the action.
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| Like a sniper! AEW |
Robby turns to find Mox rolling out the ring after him, lacing his chest with heavy handed chops that leave the former champ stumbling and reeling as he tries to get away. Strong is nipping at his heels as they march around the ring, with Mox stopping to try and gain an advantage, but Roddy always seems to get the upper hand. Eventually, Mox is able to grab Strong by the head and use it to press his back into the barricade, halting his momentum dead in its tracks. He hauls Strong around ringside in a side headlock, cracking his skull with a short punch before rolling back inside to reset the count, Mox not wanting this to end so quickly.
This moment allowed Strong to regain his footing, picking up an encroaching Moxley before dropping him on the barricade with a backbreaker, the Messiah of the Backbreaker living up to his legendary moniker. Back inside the ring, Mox backs himself into the corner to set a trap for Strong, booting him in the gut on the approach so he can shift places with his challenger, laying into him with heavy forearm shots and a choke on the ropes. A pair of whips and lariats to accompany them stun Strong long enough for a set of mounted punches, Strong fighting out of the corner with a chop that echoed throughout the building. Seriously, every time Roddy chopped Mox, it was LOUD. Mox's weren't quite as percussive, but Strong's were, for lack of a better word, strong.
A forearm shot from Mox drops Roddy to his ass in the centre, the most decorated man in AEW doing his best to fend off a worth adversary. But his best laid plans fall apart when he gets caught in the jaw with a dropkick off a rope rebound, rolling to the floor for air. In a moment that really only means something to those that are really tapped into wrestling, Roddy rolls out to chase after Mox but his second in command, Marina Shafir, gets in Roddy's face. Odd, however, because the normally fierce and stoic Shafir can't help but hold back a smile. Is that love I see in those eyes? The love only a wife would find difficult to hide when looking in the eyes of her dear husband? Surely not... surely.
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| "You’ve Got Lust in Your Eyes, And In Your Black Heart!” AEW |
O'Reilly is quick to get in the face of Garcia, the two of them sufficiently occupied as Mox finally comes back into the fray, catching Roddy in the throat with an open handed jab. Strong staggers back, clutching at his throat, struggling to draw a breath but knowing he needs to before his opponent seizes on him and rips him to shreds. Grabbing onto Roddy, Mox hurls him into the front row before getting back in the ring to pose before the people, proud of his kill. O'Reilly, on the other hand, won't let this injustice stand. He climbs into the crowd and pulls Strong to his feet, helping his friend into the ring so he can continue to fight.
Roddy is right back in the face of Mox, trying to trade jabs but his legs are rendered to jelly when Mox lands a quick shot to the jaw, forcing Strong to use the ropes for support. Dragging Strong out of the corner, Mox holds the legs and stomps the gut of Strong. My fiance thought that Mox was doing that thing where you move your babies legs to make them fart, which is an absolutely hilarious signature move for a wrestler to have. "Hey, whats your finish kid?" "I'm gonna make you shit your pants" "... w-what?" But no, just a gut stomp. He starts twisting Roddy around into a single leg crab and then into a version of the calf crusher, forcing Strong to grab the bottom rope to break the hold, pulling himself out to the apron for reprieve.
Mox tries to pull him back in the ring with a vertical suplex, but Strong holds fast, holding on until he gets shoved off the apron, tumbling to the barricade. Mox rebounds off the ropes and rolls outside, grabbing Strong by the back of the head and tossing him into the ring steps. A moment we couldn't see but I was pretty certain about what took place, Mox brings Strong back to the steps and holds his hand on the top of the diamond plate, his fingers stretched wide. Switching his hand for his foot in a flash, Mox stomps the appendages of Strong against the metal, weakening the chopping hand of a heavy handed chopper. Say that five times fast.
Back in the ring, a back suplex from Mox gets Strong down for a pin, but he escapes at an early two. Keeping Roddy grounded, Mox hammerlocks the left arm of strong and gets him in a choke hold with his left arm. Doing whatever he can to break the hold, Strong forces his way to his feet and sits out, landing a jawbreaker on Mox that releases his python-like grip. Taking to the ropes, Strong catches Mox with a lightning quick combination. A kick under the jaw staggers him as he tries to approach, an enziguiri moves him back a step, and a chop doubles him over. He goes to whip Mox but gets reversed, only to use that momentum to lariat him off of his feet. A back heel kick staggers Mox enough to rebound off the ropes and onto the shoulders of Strong in the firemans carry position. Popping Mox up, he drops him across his knees for a gutbuster that would knock the wind out of most mortal men.
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| Roddy's on a roll! AEW |
A corner knee and a drop to the stomach sees Strong attempt a cover, but it's only good enough for two. From their knees to their feet, Strong attempts a Tiger Driver but Mox fights out, both men trading shots back and forth until a Moxlet sized lariat folds Strong in half. Pulling his seated adversary in tight, Mox hoists Strong up for a pilderiver, holding him upside down and flipping the bird to the camera before stuffing Strong's head into the canvas. He goes for a cover, but Strong gets out ,with Mox quickly transitioning his lateral press into a cross arm breaker. He's able to extend just about fully, but Roddy gets his foot on the bottom rope and breaks the hold, moments before his elbow would turn to dust.
Back on their feet, both men are in the mood to spar, going shot for shot in the middle with Mox clearly more surprised than anything that Roddy is up to standing toe to toe in this match. It's Strong, however, that gets the best of this exchange, ducking Mox's boot off the rebound only to hit the ropes himself, coming back with a Sick Kick! An Olympic Slam takes Mox down, but he's quick to counter with a rear naked choke, effortlessly transitioning. But, to Strong's credit, he's able to slip free of the hold and land another Olympic Slam, draping an arm across Mox's chest but only scoring a two count.
Taking Moxley to the top rope, Strong looks to try for a superplex but Mox twists the left wrist of Strong to break his grip and half his momentum. Strong falls back off the top and lands on his feet, with Mox still perched up high. With effortless precision, Strong kicks Mox in the back of the head with a nasty enziguiri, stunning his opponent while barely hanging onto the top rope. Getting into an unorthadox position, Strong rips Mox off the top with, what looks to be an Olympic Slam at first, but turns into a simple front slam halfway down. Strong has landed this earlier in the match and even commentary doesn't have a name for it. It's like a Olympic Slam but he just drops them on their front halfway through getting them up, like a "fuck you" mid suplex.
Back on their feet, Moxley hooks Strong for the Paradigm Shift but Strong charges forward and pushes them both through the ropes to the floor, saving himself from certain death. Tossing Mox back in the ring, Strong goes to follow but Garcia grabs his foot to hold him back. His attempt doesn't last very long, however, as Kyle-O is in for the save, cracking Garcia with punches to break his hold. A roll up is attempted by Moxley, but Strong breaks free, landing a running knee under his jaw to stagger him. Taking off for the ropes, Strong hits but a figure emerges from behind him. A man with shaggy black hair and a plain white tee, that's gotta be! That's gotta be Yuta! He snatches the foot of Strong and trips him up, dropping him long enough for Mox to land the Paradigm Shift and a Bulldog choke for the win. The Death Riders steal another victory.
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| Defeat ripped from the jaws of victory. AEW |
For an opening match, this was a lot of fun! Like I said earlier, I was hoping this would main event, but I was happy to see these two regardless of their position on the card. Mox continues his winning ways, Strong put on an excellent showing in trying to take down the Ace of AEW, and the Death Riders continue to prove that the numbers game is just too much for most people to contend with. The addition of Garcia is more than welcomed, for me at least. I'm a much bigger fan of "Red Death" Daniel Garcia then "Friends of 2.0 and dancing" Daniel Garcia. This heel twist was much needed for someone who felt like they were floundering for a while and needs a shot in the arm at this point in his career to keep his momentum trending upwards. Being with the Death Riders, to me, can only be a good thing for young Danny. Oh yeah, and Moxley was great as always. No notes.
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There it is, a live show-ish review! I had considered doing the full card like I've done big shows before, and like I did Money in the Bank when I was at my last live show, but I've still gotta record the last half of Three Ring Circus and get ready for a wedding. I've got an overflowing plate and a waistline already at capacity. I'm doing my best here, guys.
But! The most exciting news is that the by the time you're reading Watchlist 67, I'll be married! Woohoo! Hopefully with an All Out review too!
Please send gift cards, congratulations, and condolences to cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
Until next week, stay safe, be well, love each other
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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