Anarchy In The Arena

It's that time! Three matches remain, and the next one is one that many tuned in to see this evening. It's time for Anarchy in the Arena. The pre-match video package airs to tell the story leading up to this expected violent spectacle forthcoming. After the pre-match package wraps up, Justin Roberts begins on commentary, "Oh sh*ttttt! Phoenix, get on your feet, it's time for Anarchy in the Arena!"

Swerve Strickland's theme hits and out he comes in his usual over-the-top pay-per-view ring entrance gear, looking like a super-hero as fire pyro and fireworks explode behind him, and Prince Nana does his usual goofy-ass(ed) dance next to him. He takes his helmet off, and Swerve has war paint on as well.

Out next is Willow Nightingale with a chain around her wrist ready to go. From there, The Opps as Powerhouse Hobbs and Katsuyori Shibata head to the stage, with Samoa Joe curiously missing as the other two head to the ring. Swerve talks to them as Kenny Omega makes his entrance next, getting a big pop from the crowd as he comes down in his Captain America-inspired attire, complete with a trashcan lid fashioned after the shield.

As Omega settles inside the squared circle, we see The Death Riders entering the building backstage. They opt to divide and conquer as the music hits, bringing us back to ringside for their entrance, making their way down the steps to come through the crowd toward the ring.

The group gets a decent pop from the crowd despite their villainous ways, and the Riders slowly make their way down. Rounding out the competitors are the Young Bucks, getting a goofy entrance and special introduction about being the “founding fathers” of AEW. Schiavone calls it the "most bullsh*t thing he's ever heard." Excalibur and Taz laugh.

From there, the Bucks make their way out, and Omega and Hobbs rush up the ramp to attack them as we see Samoa Joe takes Claudio by surprise to get this match underway. The goofy “Founding Fathers” theme continues playing as the battle begins. A four-way split screen showing us what’s going on.

Joe has taken Claudio outside the building as Shafir hits a big suplex on Nightingale, and eventually we focus on the ring where Omega, Shibata, and Strickland continue to beat up the Bucks and Yuta. Omega calls for the music to change, and we get “I’m So Excited” instead. Omega and even Swerve gets into it and the crowd roars.

Seconds later, however, Omega gets back on the microphone and says he's feeling a different sound. He says he wants to hear some alternative 90s rock. "Play that sh*t!" he yells. From there, we hear the familiar sounds of an old-school ECW classic, "Let the Bodies hit the Floor" by Drowning Pool. The crowd goes insane and sings along with it. Omega even does karaoke with some lady in the crowd.

Back to the wild action taking place all over the place -- literally. We see Mox going after Hobbs, while Joe and Claudio go at it some more. Yuta is laid out by Shibata as Joe and Castagnoli make their way toward ringside. The Drowning Pool song keeps replaying over-and-over-and-over again. They've either got to change it again or turn it off at this point. Went from awesome as hell when it first hit to overkill.

The camera cuts to show Mox getting his hands on a fork, as he digs into the forehead of Hobbs, while Yuta backs off from Shibata. Yuta stops Omega from a dive off the balcony. They continue to go at it as we see Hobbs coming over, throwing Yuta onto the rest of the competitors and some security nearby.

This is followed by a big dive from Omega as the music loops back around. We see Strickland and Mox go at it as they head to the ring, with Joe once again going after Claudio. Hobbs comes back to the ringside area but is intercepted by Mox, who sends him to the corner in the ring to jab him in the head with the fork once again.

Meanwhile, Swerve drops Nicholas on the chair with a backbreaker as we see Omega get his leg slammed against the ring post. Mox has set up a table against that corner but gets taken out with a spinebuster that sends the World Champion through the table instead. The Drowning Pool song replays yet again as the chaos begins picking up even more.

Kenny continues to go after Matthew while Swerve takes control, hitting a Swerve Stomp. We cut to outside the arena as we see Willow and Marina still going at it, with Shafir sent against a production truck before taking a bottle to the head by Nightingale, who then sends Marina onto a nearby table.

We see the ladies joined by Yuta and Shibata for just a second, before they head back into the backstage area. Shibata sends Wheeler into a trash bin as we get the split screen again, and he sends Yuta into the steel gate as we get one more look at everything on.

Back to Shibata, who wraps barbed wire around his leg for a nasty punt on Yuta. Back to ringside, and the Bucks hit a DDT on Swerve before mocking him then posing, only to take a trashcan to the head by Omega. Nicholas and Kenny go at it until Matthew intercepts with the trash-can.

Swerve comes in but takes a Destroyer on the stage…but recovers to hit a House Call instead. He leaps off the stage but gets intercepted by Claudio, who takes Swerve for a ride with a giant swing into a speaker, and that seems to bring the music to an abrupt end.

The chaos continues with Matthew diving onto Hobbs when he shows up. We see Marina and Willow make their way to ringside now, with Shafir taking control using the chain as Omega is back in the ring looking for a dive that gets intercepted by the Bucks. Shafir attaches Willow to the ring post by her ear, with Mox mocking her while the Bucks send Omega through a table.

Shibata gets set up for a TK Driver to the floor now, and Mox goes after Omega with a piece of table. Yuta lays into Hobbs with a chair as Shibata is brought into the ring for a beatdown by the Riders, with Mox hitting knee strikes to the head of The Wrestler. Joe is choked by Matthew on the outside as Nicholas and Yuta go after Hobbs.

Claudio brings a table for the Bucks to use on Hobbs as Yuta walks down with Claudio. Matthew sets Hobbs on the table, allowing Nicholas to connect with a senton bomb sending the Powerhouse to the stage. Back in the ring, the Riders continue to inflict pain on the likes of Omega and Shibata while Willow is stuck to the ring post.

Mox comes after Hobbs, who gets to his feet and fights back before the Bucks intervene. They slam a chair against him before setting up for an EVP Trigger, but Swerve has arrived on a forklift driven by Nana as the crowd goes wild. He helps Willow escape her ear-lock situation and the crowd comes unglued as we see high spot after high spot.

Nana has a key to help unlock Willow from the post as Shafir attacks Hobbs. Claudio hits him with a chair but to no avail, as Willow and Hobbs take out Shafir and Claudio. Matthew runs into the ring but gets trapped in a Coquina Clutch by Joe while Hobbs is put in a bulldog choke by Mox.

Matthew breaks the Coquina with a 450 as Swerve does the same to the choke from Mox. Nicholas has a staple gun that he uses on the back of Hobbs, but the Powerhouse is barely fazed and encourages to staple his forehead, which busts him open but doesn’t hurt him. Swerve takes the staple gun and uses it to his advantage before Claudio intervenes.

This doesn’t go well for him, but Nicholas goes for a low blow with no luck, before Shafir comes in to take Strickland down. She uses the staple gun on Swerve’s tongue, or at least tries to before Willow intervenes. She’s sent out before Kenny runs in, with Marina imploring Omega to “do it”, and does it Omega does, hitting a snap dragon suplex as the crowd erupts.

Now we see a double superkick from the Bucks lays Kenny out, and they hit Nana and Strickland and even the ref and Willow. They set her up for a TK Driver, but Swerve knocks Nicholas off the turnbuckle. This leads to Willow and Swerve hitting a TK Driver on Matthew and Willow makes the cover. Yuta breaks it up.

After that, Yuta goes after Swerve but is knocked out by Joe, who catches Mox with a uranagi. Claudio hops onto the apron with a chair, but is pulled down by someone in an orange hoodie. It’s HOOK. He hits Claudio with a golf club, but walks away from the ring leaving Joe confused.

Joe hits Mox with a Coquina Clutch as Omega and Hobbs keep the Bucks away, but Gabe Kidd shows up with the briefcase to break the hold. Omega comes in to go after Kidd, who hits a piledriver on Kenny before the Bucks look for an EVP Trigger on their former friend.

Yuta stops them, but only to put some thumbtacks in Kenny’s mouth for added damage. Claudio with a giant swing on Omega, into a dropkick by Wheeler. Mox runs in for a bulldog choke, and Kenny looks completely out of it, before Joe breaks the hold. He gets ganged up on by Kidd and the other Riders.

Kidd leaves the ring with Yuta and Claudio bringing Joe toward an ambulance. If you’re wondering what that ambulance is doing here, it turns out it’s because Mark Briscoe has returned to the arena after the stretcher match, and he gets the drop on the Riders. They lock the Riders in the ambulance and the Bucks are all alone.

Swerve puts on The Answer sneaker he recently debuted, covered in thumbtacks. He uses it to finish things off, giving his team the win in one of the wildest matches you'll ever see. Assuming we call that a "match," that is. Definitely lived up to the Anarchy in the Arena name.

Winners: Kenny Omega, Swerve Strickland, The Opps & Willow Nightingale