At this point, I’m not sure AEW has it in them to just, you know, end a wrestling match. Instead, we continue to need all the finishers, all the interference, all the false finishes, all the ref distractions, all the things, all the time. Such was the case in Wednesday’s opening match, and the fact that it featured a pair of quinquagenarians — AEW TBS Champion Christian Cage and “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes — only furthers the point that sometimes (most times) less is more.

First of all, if you thought Rhodes was becoming a champion for the first time in AEW tonight, oh, have I got some deals for you! (Inquire within.) Now listen, I’m not complaining here about a match, per se, between Cage and Rhodes. They can both still get after it, and kudos to both for what they’ve been able to do under the AEW umbrella. But you can’t tell me that match needed two segments, multiple instances of outside interference, and several false finishes, including a Cross Rhodes from “The Natural” (hi, Cody!), and a Spear/Killswitch combo that didn’t get the job done for Cage, who ultimately needed a second Killswitch to score the victory.

These two are a combined 104 years old kicking off this show. Rhodes got over without going over, as they say, but why the hell are we protecting Dusty Rhodes? There’s a way to put on that type of match — a veteran champion fending off a veteran challenger — without all the hullabaloo. Pretty simple. Give Rhodes some offense, have the heel champion cheat, get the win, maybe a beatdown, easy peasy. But AEW doesn’t get that.

Written by Jon Jordan