Credit: All Elite WrestlingThe Inner Circle faced the possibility of their run as a faction being over by night's end as they entered TIAA Bank Field for their Stadium Stampede Match against The Pinnacle.
The early portion of the match focused on Chris Jericho and MJF, the leaders of the respective factions, and their brawl around the stadium. At one point, they crashed a meeting featuring Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, and fought into the team meeting room.
Jake Hager and Wardlow brought a little bit of the hoss fight, culminating in a visit to a freezer.
Elsewhere, Sammy Guevara fought "The Chairman" Shawn Spears, using a forklift as a jungle gym as he dominated the fight with Spears. The artist formerly known as the Perfect 10 caught him and sent him face-first into a garage door like a lawn dart. He eventually shackled Guevara but forgot the bolt-cutters left in the room.
Elsewhere, Santana and Ortiz confronted FTR. A cameo by Konan as the DJ was a nice touch considering both his and the babyfaces' history as members of LAX in Impact Wrestling. Konan joined in, helping to even the odds with Tully Blanchard by FTR's side.
Meanwhile, Hager chokeslammed Wardlow through a wooden pallet, and Jericho and MJF continued a war that spilled into the Jaguars conference room and saw Le Champion staple a piece of paper to his opponent's forehead.
MJF delivered a piledriver onto the table, which did not give. Jericho recovered and blasted The Salt of the Earth with Floyd, his trademark baseball bat. From there, he sent MJF face-first through an office door window, busting him open in the process.
In the bowels of the arena, a seemingly celebratory Spears called for Tully, only to encounter the Inner Circle Motorcycle Club.
Back in Daily's Place, Jericho battled MJF through the fans. The heel attempted to throw Jericho from the upper deck into the crowd below, but Jericho delivered a powerbomb through a nearby table.
Spears returned to the arena, too, and found himself on the receiving end of an ass-kicking, courtesy of Guevara. He fought out of a Death Valley Driver, only to fly through the air into a waiting steel chair by Spears.
The Spanish God withstood considerable punishment with the chair, delivered a stomp that sent Spears face-first into the steel chair and picked up the win with the 630 senton.
Jericho, Hager, Santana, and Ortiz limped to the ring to join Guevara in a post-match celebration, with Inner Circle's status as the most dominant faction in AEW intact. Pyro exploded around the ring and the group engaged in its trademark middle finger pose, the fans raining down on the competitors with the lyrics of Fozzy's "Judas."
Inner Circle defeated The Pinnacle
These two factions had the impossible task of living up to the lofty expectations set by last year's Stadium Stampede. That match, a brilliantly creative and extraordinarily executed bit of sports-entertainment excellence, won Match of the Year awards, and deservedly so.
This match was different. It left behind much of the creativity and humor of its predecessor, instead opting for a more straight-forward grudge match that fit the hatred that existed between the two teams. Add to it Inner Circle's desperation to remain a faction in AEW, and you have a contest tonally different.
And it worked.
It was physical, violent, still mixed in a few jokes where applicable, and above all, shined the brightest possible spotlight on Sammy Guevara.
The Spanish God has been one of the most talented young stars in professional wrestling over the last two years, and his babyface turn created a ton of buzz for him. Here, he withstood tremendous punishment by Spears to deliver an emphatic finish and ensure Inner Circle's existence for the foreseeable future.
The booking, from Jericho and MJF's beef taking up a good chunk of the match, to Guevara's triumphant moment in the spotlight, was fantastic and brought an end to the rivalry in fitting fashion.
Or at least one can hope.
Inner Circle vs. The Pinnacle is done now and any hint that it may drag on past this will only serve to undo what was successfully executed in the main event of a superb Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
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