The D'Amore Drop: Welcome to pro-wrestling's biggest weekend since WrestleMania
The D'Amore Drop is a weekly guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D'Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D'Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling.
This weekend is pro-wrestling's biggest since WrestleMania 41 in April.
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Saturday is headlined by the biggest show on AEW's calendar: All In. We went over what a home run this is for AEW last week — today, let's focus on the matches.
As a promoter/booker, you dream of the times where everything just clicks. Everything in AEW is clicking right now.
The main event is a Texas Death Match for the AEW World Championship: Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Adam Page. We know this is going to be a violent, personal, emotionally-loaded match.
Some people have been critical of Moxley's title run, saying the Death Riders have outlived their usefulness. Well, ratings and attendance have gone up during Mox's reign as champ. If you're going to blame the world champ when things go down, you have to credit him when things goes well.
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With that said, it is time for Hangman to complete his redemption arc and regain the title.
WWE presents its latest mid-year edition of "Saturday Night's Main Event," just hours after AEW's big event (how'd that happen?), with the headliner being 58-year-old Bill Goldberg's retirement match against WWE World Champion Gunther.
A lot of people are asking if Gunther can carry Bill to a good match. That's not a fair question — and it isn't the right one.
What fans want is simple: That knock on the door, that music to hit, the smoke, the fireworks, Goldberg punching the air on the way to the ring, the spear, the Jackhammer — and a near-fall.
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They just want the chance to believe in Goldberg one last time. Don't we all want that — just one more time seeing our heroes as we remember them?
That's what WWE aims to deliver on Saturday.
Some fans argue WWE has telegraphed that Goldberg is losing, because he's not getting the belt in his last match, especially with WWE establishing that wrestlers 'Jon Jonesing' the heavyweight title 'ruins' things.
Even if that was the case, sometimes the result is not as important as delivering the moment.
Also on "Saturday Night's Main Event": LA Knight vs. Seth Rollins in the co-main event.
It's a big spot for LA Knight — well earned. He's incredibly over and super talented. Some people compare him to The Rock, others to Stone Cold. If you're compared to both, you're doing something right.
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Meanwhile, Rollins is having one of the best — maybe the best — in-ring years of his career. He had the best match on Day 1 of WrestleMania 41 with his triple threat against CM Punk and Roman Reigns. And he's followed that up with banger after banger.
His match with Penta this week on "WWE Raw" was just a perfect TV match — everything you'd want from weekly wrestling.
Sometimes it takes a while for even a top hand to find their footing in a new environment, but Mercedes Moné now looks like an AEW superstar and not 'Sasha Banks from WWE.'
However, to me, this is the — ahem — 'time' for Toni Storm to retain her Women's Championship and then circle back to this feud a little down the road.
Saturday's biggest match in terms of pure wrestling is, of course, Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega. This is the fifth match in a series that not only is one of the very best in the sport's history, but a massive reason AEW even exists.
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Okada and AEW took some criticism about how Okada was used early on in his AEW run, and some of that was fair, but there's no question that since linking up with Don Callis, Okada is on fire.
If I had the pencil — and I don't — I'd have Okada go over, 100%. He needs the win way more than Kenny does. He's just starting to really hit top gear in AEW, in part because he's been paired with a heat machine like Callis.
Okada losing would put him at 1-3-1 against Kenny in singles matches.
I'd have Okada draw level in the series. Maybe I'd lean into the idea that Kenny's been off hurt, maybe plant the idea he's not quite what he was, give him something to prove to the fans and himself.
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Then do another rematch in September or even early next year when Kenny Omega proves the old adage from Toby Keith, 'I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.'
Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega's rivalry goes back to their NJPW days.
(Etsuo Hara via Getty Images)
That's all this weekend. Last weekend was a huge one for my new promotion, Maple Leaf Pro.
It's hard to call our July 5 event in Montreal anything but a smashing success.
Montreal is a wrestling city with deep roots, but it's also fiercely competitive. There's always a lot going on every weekend and you have to fight to sell every ticket.
On the same night we ran our show, the CFL's Montreal Alouettes drew 21,000 fans, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami were in town, and one of North America's biggest Comic-Cons was happening a few blocks away.
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And yet — in a market we'd never touched before — we still drew 2,800 fans. That's an incredible statement about what we're building with MLP.
This promotion is just 10 months old. We don't have a TV deal or national distribution. What we do have is a passionate crew, a growing digital footprint … and a roster of talent that's second to none.
And in Montreal, we had a secret weapon: PCO.
Carl Ouellet, 57, is a Montreal legend, and he and his team put in the old-school hustle — boots on pavement, posters on walls, shaking hands and filling seats the hard way.
And then, as advertised, PCO had a wild, unforgettable main event against Dan Maff with AEW's Billy Gunn as special guest referee.
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The spot PCO did — at his age and after three decades in the business — through the table was as legit of a 'Holy s***!' moment as I've seen all year. And Maff underlined that he also absolutely belongs in a main-event spotlight.
The show itself was our best yet.
We even had a surprise reunion of AEW's Dark Order with Stu Grayson and the unexpected return of Evil Uno.
That moment was so cool to give the fans — those guys haven't teamed in years. Then we added another layer of fun with TNA's Santino Marella making a one-night-only appearance as MLP's Director of Authority. That whole segment, with AEW, TNA and MLP talent all sharing the ring, was a great example of the kind of cross-promotion and fan-first moments we love delivering.
NWA Champion Thom Latimer is criminally underrated. His match at MLP last week against Matt Cardona was as good as anything you'll see on WWE or AEW week to week.
Shotzi Blackheart hit free agency like a ton of bricks — already appearing on MLW and then having a great match against MLP Women's Canadian Champ Giselle Shaw.
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Similarly, hot new free agent Ace Austin reminded — as if anyone should need reminding — what a massive talent he is against Josh Alexander.
The entire team — in front of and behind the camera — delivered big. I left that night feeling humbled, proud and more excited than ever for what's next.
Which brings me to Downtown Showdown.
On Saturday, July 26, Maple Leaf Pro literally takes wrestling to the streets — closing off downtown Windsor, dropping a ring at the intersection, and letting the action fly.
This is wrestling on the patios. Wrestling on the sidewalk. A fair show on supplements.
Last year's trial run drew about 500–600 fans. This year, we're expecting to pack in around 1,000.
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The vibe is casual and electric — no video wall, no big stage, just daylight, great matches, a sound system, and the energy of a live crowd standing (or sitting) just feet from the action.
It's free, it's family-friendly, and it's world-class wrestling in the heart of my hometown.
Expect to see The Good Brothers, Giselle Shaw, Ace Austin, and more — not behind a velvet rope, but right there, where you can shake hands, grab a photo and make a memory.
We're proud of what we're building with Maple Leaf Pro.
And we're just getting started.
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