What's the story, subscribers to staged strife?!
A fantastically fun TV match from AEW on offer this week, one I did not expect to review but knew I was going to the second it was advertised. You think I'm just going to glaze over Tommaso Ciampa's AEW debut like that? Ha! Do you even know me? Give me a break!
Let's not waste anymore time! Let's get on with the review!
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| AEW |
Weekly Roundup
Here's what I watched for the week;
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Here’s what we’re reviewing for the Watchlist;
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Mark Briscoe vs. Tommaso Ciampa - The Psycho Killer Hunts The Chicken
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| Respect, always. AEW |
Basic Breakdown
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| Qu'est-ce que c'est? AEW |
The lights suddenly went out as the arena is plunged into darkness. A graphic of a beating heart appears on the screen, with the colour slowly draining until the heart is black and motionless.
"My shadow knows my story," are the opening lyrics to this debut song, a silhouetted figure marches to the centre of the entrance way as two words appear on his left and right, a moniker this man has not gone by in some time. "PSYCHO. KILLER." The words turn to dust and are replaced by something perhaps far more sinister, "TOMMASO. CIAMPA."
Feeling the energy of a thousand burning flames, Ciampa marches to the ring and circles Briscoe, his eyes never leaving the TNT Championship held loosely at Briscoe's side. They share a quiet, intimate exchange, old Ring of Honor rivals meeting up again for the first time in 12 years. This time, with far more on the line than honor and respect. The moment is punctuated by Ciampa, planting a quick, cocky kiss on the cheek of Briscoe before climbing back out of the ring, leaving the champion alone once again.
As confident as ever with a newly rekindled fire beneath him, Ciampa is ready to take AEW by storm. His first goal, the TNT Championship.
Bell to Bell
Ciampa is the first to make a move, standing at centre ring and extending a right hand to Briscoe, looking for a handshake. Briscoe meets him in the middle, sharing a few words before locking up. Ciampa is backed to the corner and allows Briscoe to break without any hassle. They lock up again and this time, it's Ciampa who backs Briscoe to the corner, giving him a friendly pat on the chest when he does decide to break. Fore being his first match back in a month and a half, Ciampa does not appear to have any real signs of ring rust, at least not yet. He easily escapes side headlocks and breaks a waistlock, able to keep pace with Briscoe and not allow any advantage to be widened to any considerable degree.
Rebounding off the ropes for the first time, he crashes into Briscoe with a shoulder block and exclaims "wow!" visibly shocked at how well Briscoe was able to absorb the shot. Making a challenge, he gestures to the ropes and stands firm in the centre, with Briscoe rebounding and crashing into Ciampa himself. Ciampa staggers back slightly, shaking out his shoulder, but looks to be faring well enough. Another rope rebound, but this time, he catches Briscoe with a forearm shot instead, faring better for him than the shoulder block did. They square up in the middle and trade shots back and forth, with a chop from Briscoe catching Ciampa off guard, sending him back a step.
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| The Chicken flies! AEW |
A kick upside the head of Ciampa sends him reeling through the ropes and crashing to the floor, with Briscoe wasting no time to rebound and fly, crushing Ciampa with a senton on the floor. Rolling him back inside the ring, Ciampa is quick to roll back out to the floor, coming in on the west side of the ring and back out on the south side. It looked to be a tactic to catch some air, but he lured Briscoe in and suckered him with forearm shots and chops the moment he came out to the floor. Briscoe is quick to chop back, however, pushing Ciampa back inside the ring and lacing him with heavy hands in the corner.
A kick to the face before pulling Ciampa to centre, Briscoe tries a cover but Ciampa is out before one. A vertical suplex drops his challenger before another pinfall, but Ciampa continues to survive. Backing Ciampa up to a corner, Briscoe lines him up for a chop but Ciampa ducks, switching places with the champion before drilling him with kick after kick, chop after chop, wearing Briscoe down to dust. Shooting Briscoe across the ring, Ciampa charges after him but finds Briscoe on the apron now, the champion vaulting over the top turnbuckle to escape the assault. Grabbing Ciampa in a front facelock, he tries for a huge vertical suplex, But Ciampa squirms and redirects himself to land feet first on the apron, avoiding disaster.
A chop fight ensues on the apron, with Briscoe pulling Ciampa in for a powerbomb or piledriver; whichever he's looking for, they aren't good news for his foe. Ciampa holds fast, staying grounded, able to shift Briscoe's weight and pull him up onto his back instead. Holding Briscoe in position for an Air Raid Crash, he drills him into the apron with a nasty Psycho Driver. A blast from Ciampa's past, he seats himself on the apron and gives himself a round of applause, complete with a pat on the back.
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| Crushed the Chicken! AEW |
Keeping Briscoe on the floor, he seats him in a chair in the corner and crashes into him with a running knee strike, colliding with the barricade. Rolling him back inside the ring, Cimapa goes for a cover but Briscoe survives, clutching the back of his head as he pulls himself off the canvas. Draping a leg across Briscoe while he leans on the middle rope, referee Remsburg gets in his face and counts, with Ciampa breaking and reminding him "I have 'till five." With Briscoe in the corner now, Ciampa lays in with heavy right hands, mocking the Gen Alpha "6-7" hand gesture when his strike count reaches that high, getting a pop out of me as I gleefully watch this match live with my wife.
Back at centre, a strike exchange leads to a tight, deep, side headlock from Ciampa, looking to squeeze whatever teeth are left in the jaw of Briscoe out of place and onto the canvas. Briscoe fights his way up, creating distance, only to get caught with a sleeper hold off the rebound. Thinking on his feet, Briscoe grabs Ciampa from behind and takes him up into a backdrop driver, breaking the hold and saving himself from fading in his clutches. Firing up after fending Ciampa off, Briscoe lands a spinning back elbow off a rope rebound, sending his foe into the corner for a moments reprieve. A lariat in one corner and a whip into another sees Briscoe follow close with another lariat, pulling Ciampa to centre again, only for the Psycho Killer to hold fast and fight free. He shoots for the ropes, but Briscoe is close behind again, sending him tumbling to the floor before lining Ciampa up from the far side of the ring.
Sniping Ciampa with a single leg dropkick that catches him in the jaw, Briscoe sends him headfirst into the ring post before catching Ciampa with a nasty neckbreaker off the apron! Honestly, I'm not sure which of these guys got the worst of that move, but something tells me that the historically bad neck of Ciampa suffered greatly from the heavy impact of that move.
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| Consider your neck, broken. AEW |
Rolling Ciampa back inside the ring, Briscoe catches his breath before climbing to the apron and climbing through the rop- Willow's Belle! Suckering Briscoe in, Ciampa waited for Briscoe to stick his head through the ropes to set up for his signature DDT!
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| Ring the belle! AEW |
Kicking out at two, Briscoe barely survives one of Ciampa's best shots, backing himself to the corner. Ascending up the ropes to get away from Ciampa's heavy-handed chops, Briscoe finds himself in dangerous territory. Positioning his foe on his back for another Psycho driver, Briscoe manages to fight free and send Ciampa crashing to the canvas. Ascending to the top, Briscoe flies with the FroggyBow, spiking Ciampa in the heart in the dead centre of the ring. He goes for the cover, but to Briscoe's shock, Ciampa survives.
Back to the corner, Ciampa is seated on top, with Briscoe climbing to meet him, but this proves to be disastrous for the champion. A Psycho Driver drills Briscoe into the canvas, with Ciampa pulling him in for a deep cover, but Briscoe somehow survives. Trading double underhooks in the centre, Ciampa looks for the Fairytale Ending while Briscoe looks to finish things with the Jay Driller, but when neither hold is possible, Ciampa sends Briscoe out to the floor, following him out after catching him upside the jaw with a knee when Briscoe tries to climb back inside.
⚡Move of the Match⚡
Brawling around the floor, Ciampa takes Briscoe to the timekeepers table, repositioning it nearer to the corner. Ciampa lays Briscoe across it and catches him with a knee before tossing the champ back inside the ring, taking a chance to pose on the table. Climbing down, Ciampa turns to see Briscoe on the top rope, soaring through the air and crashing into him with an elbow through the table.
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| Look out below! AEW |
Back at the centre of the ring, they dap one another up before swinging, heavy handed forearms back and forth, with Briscoe getting the better of the exchange with a single leg dropkick off the ropes. With Ciampa on his knees, he's somehow able to kick his feet out and catch a approaching Briscoe with a dropkick, planting him on his face as he backs to the corner, removing the kneepad to go for the killing blow. Charging out, Ciampa nearly drills Briscoe with a running knee, but Briscoe avoids the strike.
Looking for the Jay Driller again, Ciampa slips free and grabs the waistlock, taking Briscoe up and over with a heavy German suplex. Lining up a jelly-legged Briscoe, Ciampa charges with the knee, catching him in the side of the face. Tangling him up with a cover, Ciampa listens as Remsburg counts one, then two, then three.
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| The killing blow. AEW |
In his AEW debut, Tommaso Ciampa is the new AEW TNT Champion
Match length: 18:39
Overview & Final Rating
🟢 - Highly recommended
A match that would not have felt out of place on a PPV card, these two dug deep and had an intense, highly physical match that fels like it could end at any minute. I loved Ciampa's intensity and constant drive to try and land a finishing blow on Briscoe, who was comfortable at the start, but had to try harder as the match went deeper and deeper. As a Ciampa freak, I was hoping that Project Ciampa would win this match, but the shock factor of the knee being the finish was great. Really makes you think that just about anything in his arsenal could end a match. I loved this.
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As always. Be well, stay safe, and love one another.
cliffmorganwstl@gmail.com
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