Every single Allin title match has been great so far, and tonight’s should be no exception given Takeshita’s status as one of the very best pro wrestlers in the world. It’s going to be tough to follow Darby’s crazy world title defense against PAC on a golf course at Fairway to Hell, but maybe Darby plans to go through eight tables this time instead of only four. The bottom line is that Allin’s philosophy of sacrificing a lengthy world title reign so that he can push his body to the limit in weekly defenses is a smashing success so far, in terms of creating compelling TV matches. Tony Khan loves to boast about AEW’s roster depth and how it is Where The Best Wrestle, and these weekly Darby Allin world title matches are giving AEW a good chance to show off that strength of the promotion.

Takeshita works very well here as a late replacement for AEW International Champion Kazuchika Okada, because a loss for the challenger gives Okada more fuel to constantly remind everyone that Konosuke will never be a champion at his level. Meanwhile, AEW is also advertising an appearance from MJF on this show. Darby originally told MJF to show up tonight for a contract signing for his world title rematch at Double or Nothing, as long as Max is willing to put his hair on the line. I don’t know if that contract signing is still on the slate for tonight, but MJF should have a response in mind for whether or not he is willing to go bald like Ricochet to get back the Triple B in NYC. The TNT championship is also on the line tonight, as Kevin Knight is issuing an open challenge for his belt. In a situation like this, there is always a chance that the champ won’t be able to handle the surprise that comes through the curtain, which sometimes ends up being a returning star who we haven’t seen for a while.