Report: Reason For Botched Ending To AEW Match

Last night in the opening match of AEW Dynamite, the ending of the PAC vs. Trent match was botched.  PAC hit The Black Arrow and covered Trent.

There was one major problem, Trent didn’t kick out.  However, the ref stopped his count at two.  No doubt. This was awkward.

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1192248597179289602?s=20

According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, a major lack of communication is to be blamed for the misunderstanding.  The match was quickly coming up to a commercial break and the finish needed to happen live on television.

Apparently the match was supposed to go longer, but the finish needed to end while the cameras were on.  Trent and PAC set up the finish.

Supposedly, this was going to be The Black Arrow.  However, nobody communicated this to the ref who was still expecting the pre-planned finish.

#AEWDynamite on @tntdrama NOW! pic.twitter.com/H8Zr1d0sYz

— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) November 7, 2019

When the ref stopped the count, PAC quickly transitioned into The Black Arrow for the win.  In most situations like this, the ref is taught to count the pin like a true sporting contest.

Obviously this didn’t happen.  To the folks viewing at home, this was clearly an awkward situation.  To a lot of folks in the live crowd, it appeared PAC just popped up and didn’t want the ref to count out.

This is why many of the fans were booing.  PAC is billed as a Bastard and this action would have fit with his character wanting to punish his opponent more.

Unfortunately, the botch created a poor ending to what was otherwise an outstanding match.  Meltzer gave the match 3 and 3/4 stars.  He said it would have easily been 4 stars if not for the ending.

Kudos to PAC for adlibbing quickly.  However, AEW needs to limit these mistakes as they continue to move forward on live TV.

• trent
• Pac
• botch
• AEW

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