[2018-07-22-Impact-Slammiversary XVI] Austin Aries vs Moose

[SmartMark15]

Thought this was match of the night and thought it was fantastic how it was able to follow the two crazed brawls before it. This felt very much like an excellent modern day championship match with Moose playing the big babyface against Aries' Flair-esque wily heel. Lots of great false finishes you could really believe in like when Moose nails the Spear at last but Aries gets into the ropes. Then there's Moose tossing Aries into the plants in the crowd for a great visual spot. But I thought the finishing stretch with Aries upping the aggression was by far the best part of the match. Great championship match.

****1/2

[Stiva]

Yeah, this felt like a really big deal and was laid out perfectly. Moose is a dude that's a bit of a freak athlete and you can really tell when he's in with someone like Aries who is similarly agile. Some great early spots like Moose meeting Aries on the dive and him shrugging off the strikes, only to get poked in the eye led perfectly into Moose just casually tossing Aries into the fucking crowd. Aries took an awesome bump on the spear too and it really did look like a killer hit and worthy of a great nearfall. Aries trying to use the belt only to have it taken away and Moose somehow surviving the brainbuster on the floor were awesome escalations of the heat until Aries finally hits his killer blow. It really felt like the first match in a series where Moose eventually wins after Aries runs out of tricks. Hopefully, that's the case as they matched up really well here and helped cap off a killer PPV.

[ShittyLittleBoots]

A pretty damn unique main event world championship match; very rarely you see such a match in that spot w/ this kind of a sprint pace & energy from start to finish. Aries was excellent with his overall performance from his bumping, to his hard hitting chops, to his sneaky veteran tactics & Moose was, well, Moose. Solid with his power game - he played his part well, but this truly was the Austin Aries show all the way through. ****1/4

[TonyPulis'Cap]

Fantastic match. As others have pointed out, it's an example of just how good Aries can be. He really thrives as the 'heel champion' and just carried himself like a veteran with wily ring smarts against the stronger and more athletic challenger. Aries is just so intelligent with what he does in the ring, both from a kayfabe and non-kayfabe sense. Moose for his part is really, really good here - showing great fire with everything he does and really conveying a desire to win the title rather than just 'have a good match'. So many great nearfalls and countout teases that had me legitimately biting on when I knew the result of the match going in which is the ultimate compliment. My only criticism would be that the layout and storyline seemed to be set up for a big coronation moment for Moose, which hasn't happened since and he's now a heel. As a match though this is brilliantly laid out, and a great example of how to convey a big title fight atmosphere. **** 1/4  

[Superstar Sleeze]

Nice to see this get a ton of love here as I thought this was light years better than the significantly more hyped LAX vs OGz & Callihan vs Pentagon Jr. 

Impact World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries vs Moose - Slammiversary 2018

A couple weeks ago, I was playing tennis. A ball ricocheted off the fence and hit me square in the nuts. I have not been hit in the balls in like 10-15 years. Instantaneously you double over. Your legs feel like jelly. The most interesting thing is your throat closes up not completely but you feel it. You feel it for a while probably a solid 2 minutes before it all starts to subside. I tweeted that day, if you no sell a ballshot, you're dead to me. Clearly that's hyperbole, Moose is not dead to me, but brutha it definitely annoyed me when it happened in this match. It took a great match down a peg in my eyes. I hate to see it and just dont do it. Did we really need a no-sold ballshot to set up the Spear?!? Really?

This match is significantly better than the more hyped LAX vs OGz & Callihan vs Pentagon Jr matches from the same card because of how expertly this match is laid out. This a match that Aries excels in and is why he is so valuable as a heel world champion. Moose has tremendous upside. He is someone I have wanted to see work now for a couple years. He is leaner than I expected but much taller than your average non-WWE talent. He made Aries look like a child. You could see he is still a green and is trying to figure out the distances in wrestling, but Aries made him look like a million bucks bumping & feeding for him. 

They established the size advantage early working those great headlocks. Aries established his douche advantage early, celebrating a cartwheel of all things and slapping the taste out of Moose's mouth. It was an interesting idea they came back to twice. That is really the only man that could hurt Moose is Moose. Try as Aries may to hit Moose with some really stiff shots, it left the big man unphased multiple times. It was when Moose got overzelaous and launched himself into the air only to crash & burn that Aries could take advantage. See when Moose sails over the railing into the crowd. Aries begins his work. Another interesting thing about this match is that there is no real heat segment. I liked it in some ways and not so much in others. I don't like long, drawn-out heat segments. I think this style can create more drama when done properly. My turn, your turn is always terrible wrestling. This was NOT that. However, I would have liked to have seen some more meaningful momentum shifts as a lot of the wrestling was great, but it was not sticky i.e. it does not stick with you after you watched it. I think the best move of the middle part of the match by far was Moose cold-cocking Aries on his full sprint Top Suicida and Aries awesome bump & sell. Aries hits the best one in the business because he comes out like a rocket (see later in the match), so when he took that shot at full-speed that popped me huge!

I liked how they made Moose earn his Signature stuff. It took two attempts to hit the D'Lo Brown style Spinebuster. It took two attempts to hit the Spear, the first one being countered into the Last Chancery. Less said about the blown off ballshot the better. The money in this match is the finish stretch. After Moose hit the Spear and didnt get the job done, you knew his goose was cooked, but they have him lose in a smart way. He gets in a Big Highspot. He throws Aries from the ramp into the crowd with Security Guards to catch him. This gives the crowd a big moment and gives them something to play in video packages about Moose. It was a great moment. The next best part was how they transitioned into the loss. Moose hurled himself over the top rope and crashed on the ramp. Again, it was Moose who hurt himself not Aries. Moose felt that desperation knew he needed something big, but high risk is sometimes just that high risk. Aries gets the Brainbuster on the floor. Bada Bing Bada Boom! Aries hits the Brainbuster in the ring to polish him off. 

Great title defense. Moose looked like a valiant babyface champion who came oh so close to winning and was only thwarted by his own overzealousness. Aries was a King Prick and bump & fed well. When it came time to rock the finish, he delivered the goods. ****