After the tag team division seemed to be getting back to a place where it could be seen as “good” again way back in February, The Hurt Syndicate have held the titles for five months and have no real credible challengers. That’s not through a lack of trying, after all The Outrunners, The Gunns, and The Sons of Texas all gave it a good go to avail, but their gimmick of hurting people has actually been counter-productive when it comes to this feud (if you can call it that) with Kevin Knight and “Speedball” Mike Bailey, better known as Jetspeed.

Before that, a big shout out to MJF, Brody King, Anthony Bowens, and AR Fox who put on a fun, clash-of-styles four way match that once again made King look like an absolute behemoth (give him an actual singles push please Tony), but it’s the aftermath that really did nothing for me personally. Mark Briscoe comes out and reminds everyone about MJF’s small pickle, before challenging him to a “Talky-Talk” next week, essentially a promo battle that will likely be a fun segment that serves as a build up to the Casino Gauntlet match at All In: Texas.

Then Knight and Bailey hit the ring as they want revenge for being beaten up by Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin last week, and they…wait for it…got beaten up again. These guys are meant to be the next in line for a shot at the AEW Tag Team Championships, and the champions are beating them black and blue. But Jetspeed are getting up! How courageous! Never mind, Lashley and Benjamin go back down and beat them up some more, leaving them in a scrambled heap on the mat, putting an exclamation point on their beat down. BUT WAIT! THEY’RE GETTING UP AGAIN! YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?! Oh wait, no Bobby and Shelton go back do once more to really lay it into Bailey and Knight, to the point where you could say “man they are taking liberties here.”

WAIT A SECOND…THEY’RE GETTING UP AGAIN?!?!? Now even at this point, I was agreeing with MJF when he was shouting “STAY DOWN” because please guys, stay down and let this segment end. One beat down was enough, but three? Three whole beat downs followed by Knight dissing Shelton’s mom (which he didn’t get beaten up for ironically) and you have Knight saying that they will have to be killed in order to be beaten, which if you’ve been paying attention to the show lately, has been said by both Toni Storm and Hangman Page in two much more interesting programs.

If they do have a match at All In: Texas, Jetspeed simply have to win because if they don’t, they will never be able to be taken seriously again, and The Hurt Syndicate will get even more burial allegations than what they were already getting. You got the idea of this segment, but the execution was long, messy, and a bit dull.

Written by Sam Palmer