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Night 3 of the AEW Grand Climax tournament is upon us as the A and B Blocks return for their 2nd night of action.
B Block: "Red Death" Daniel Garcia vs. "The Natural" Dustin Rhodes
Garcia is the second-youngest man in this tournament, but this match with Rhodes features the largest age gap in block play. At a staggering 30-year difference, Garcia was born when Rhodes was going through his weird preacher stage in WWF.
Anyway, these two had an absolute barnburner to kick us off, Dustin sticking predominantly with his old school brawling and Garcia using his kicks and submission acumen. Garcia attempts to lock Dustin into an Abdominal Stretch which is countered into a School Boy for a win.
Winner: Dustin Rhodes
Time: 17:01
Rating: 96%
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A Block: Rey Fenix vs. Swerve Strickland
We go from a more hard-hitting opener to a battle of flashy speedsters as Swerve looks to ride some momentum off of his upset tournament-opening victory over Chris Jericho.
Unfortunately for Swerve, he ran into a Rey Fenix that was every bit on his A-game. This match was just in full throttle the entire time and ended with Fenix connecting with a Fenix Driver to secure his first points.
Winner: Rey Fenix
Time: 8:39
Rating: 84%
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B Block: Jay Lethal vs. PAC
Here we have our first matchup between participants who started their tournaments off on a losing note and looking for redemption. They also seemed hellbent on following up the opening B Block match of the night, and they gave it their best shot with a ton of drama and nearfalls.
PAC goes for a top rope suplex but gets shoved off the top. Lethal follows it by paying homage to Macho Man with a Flying Elbow Drop for the victory. In addition to getting his first points of the tournament, Lethal might be able to lay claim to a future shot at PAC's All-Atlantic Championship.
Winner: Jay Lethal
Time: 13:46
Rating: 93%
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A Block: Kyle O'Reilly vs. Wheeler Yuta
On paper, this is a match that should've had all the makings of a technical masterclass. In practice, it was the 2nd straight KOR match in the tournament that just didn't quite live up to expectations. He did his job for certain, but he certainly wasn't looking to impress anybody nor get paid by the hour.
KOR is a master of not only submissions but he also has so many suplexes with pinning combinations, it's only a matter of time before his opposition succumbs, as was the case here with Yuta being put down with a Northern Lights Suplex. The former ROH World champion takes down the current Pure champion.
Winner: Kyle O'Reilly
Time: 10:25
Rating: 71%
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B Block: Scorpio Sky vs. Samoa Joe
Oh my word, the B Block is having an incredible night tonight in terms of match quality. Another match that was packed with drama and had the crowd on their feet from the variety of near-falls that were seen. This match also saw the recurring theme continue of champions being dropped.
Joe picks Sky up for a Muscle Buster but he's able to wrangle himself free and then impressively pick the larger man Joe up onto his shoulders. Sky hits him with the TKO and takes down the ROH TV Champion in a fantastic bout.
Winner: Scorpio Sky
Time: 16:51
Rating: 97%
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A Block: Andrade El Idolo vs. "The Murderhawk Monster" Lance Archer
Having nearly been forced into a near-30 minute draw only to come up with a losing effort in his last contest, Archer charged into the ring tonight hoping to put down the smaller Andrade in quick fashion. The shrewd Andrade was prepared for this and attempted to use his shiftiness to play Archer's overeagerness against him.
A stunned Andrade sat on the top rope, Archer walked over to get him into position for a Blackout, only for Andrade to reveal he was playing possum and boot him in the face. Andrade leaps off the ropes with a Diving Senton to collect 2 more points.
Winner: Andrade El Idolo
Time: 11:40
Rating: 78%
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B Block: Powerhouse Hobbs vs. "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson
On paper there would seem to be some similarities to this match as the previous - big powerful dude vs. resourceful dude. It's also tough to imagine a universe where Bryan Danielson would have the worst match of the night, but such is life in Fire Pro simulations.
Bryan had an answer for everything Hobbs threw at him, whether it be an elbow strike, knee strike, or a good-ol' fashioned brutal submission. Hobbs lifts Bryan up for a Powerslam but Bryan is able to clasp his hands around Hobbs neck and shoulders. Hobbs collapses down into the LeBell Lock and Bryan forces him to tap out.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Time: 7:24
Rating: 68%
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A Block: "All Ego" Ethan Page vs. MJF
The combined cockiness of these two men would probably be enough to form a sucking black hole that would envelop the entire arena and maybe even the entire ZIP code. But the crowd on this night decided to support Page as the babyface. Both because MJF is the heeliest of heels in the business, and also out of appreciation for Page pulling out a MOTY candidate the other night.
Somehow, someway, Page topped his performance from a few nights ago. The crowd was absolutely losing their minds at the back and forth nature of this one, and cheering Page on as he wrestled his way to the ropes out of the Salt of the Earth armbar on multiple occasions. Page ducks MJF's attempt to hit him with the Dynamite Diamond Ring, then hits him with the spinning Uranage he refers to as the "Spinning Dwayne". Page scores a big upset and wins a classic!
Winner: Ethan Page
Time: 18:56
Rating: 99%
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B Block: Malakai Black vs. CM Punk
We last saw CM Punk winning a match with a roundhouse kick, reminiscent of one Malakai Black. Well now he gets to face the man himself to close out the night's B Block competition. The match ran a bit shorter than expected, but it still delivered a solid showing.
The announcers pointed out that Punk's next challenger, the interim World champion Jon Moxley, beat House of Black member Brody King via knockout the other night. Punk seemed determined to do the same thing. He hits the leader of the House of Black with not one but two GTSs, forcing the ref to call the bell for a knockout win! What a statement to Moxley from CM Punk.
Winner: CM Punk
Time: 7:56
Rating: 81%
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A Block: Chris Jericho vs. Darby Allin
Although the block assignments were a surprise until competition started, if you'd seen the blocks ahead of time, these two men would've jumped out as being among the favorites for A Block. The tournament is young, but things can slip away from you in a hurry if you have too bad of a start, and now these two favorites are squaring off to avoid a dreaded 0-2 start.
The bulkier Jericho outpowered Darby for most of it, but couldn't do enough to put him down. The speedster threw caution to the wind, throwing his body at Jericho from the top rope and ring apron with reckless abandon. Darby eventually starts a string of three straight rapid fire pinning combo attempts, visibly wearing Jericho out. The fourth ends up being the charm as the Last Supper puts Jericho down for three. Darby's got his first points and Jericho starts 0-2!
Winner: Darby Allin
Time: 14:19
Rating: 92%
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