The Pipe Bomb: Toni vs. Mercedes, Gauntlet Surprise Entries and Should Hangman Beat The Death Riders?

Wrestling

Thelesterlee
July 11, 2025
8 min

Welcome to The Pipe Bomb, where we discuss the latest news and events from the wrestling world, both inside and outside the ring. This week, let’s talk about Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Mone, the Casino Gauntlet matches and a potential Jon Moxley victory at All In.

Kyle Fletcher vs Daniel Garcia

We’ll get into AEW All In in a second but I want to quickly show some love to a Collision main event last week between Kyle Fletcher and Daniel Garcia—a bout to determine the No. 1 contender for the TNT Title.

Kyle Fletcher vs Daniel Garcia
🎵- Smack That

AEW Collision 5 Temmuz 2025 pic.twitter.com/B80uASPpCB

— Sotiri (@umutcan33990) July 6, 2025

Ever since MJF beat Daniel Garcia into a puddle at last summer’s All Out—almost as if to write Garcia off the show in the off chance he didn’t decide to sign a new contract with the company—I’ve watched DG handle this humiliation ritual in stride.

Even before his match with Fletcher, he called himself a loser.

Tonight’s AEW Collision main event between Daniel Garcia & Kyle Fletcher will be a number one contender’s match for Adam Cole’s TNT Championship at All In Texaspic.twitter.com/wwDGu7jZR1

— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) July 6, 2025

Daniel Garcia and Adam Cole had a great 2003 WWE Cruiserweight Championship match.

Jamie Noble and Billy Kidman wept.

Paul London and Brian Kendrick died for our sins.

But between his Cole rivalry and the FTR tour bus visit, I’m ready for Garcia to do something new

Enter Kyle Fletcher.

He and Takeshita are on a ’96 Nash/Hall Outsiders run—aura farming across the globe.

There’s a kid somewhere in his room staying up too late on a Saturday night, hitting all their taunts and losing their minds when Fletcher and Takeshita hit the ring together.

Following an absolute classic with Will Ospreay, The Protostar has stiff-armed Daniel Garcia out of the way on his quest to get his first AEW championship.

Daniel Garcia was always going to lose but he needed to lose with gusto. With gumption. A little je ne sais quoi, ya feel me?

He needed a huge main event to remind us all he can hoop—but more importantly, hoop with a guy like Kyle Fletcher, who is on pace to become one of the greatest ever.

If AEW is the home of professional wrestling, Garcia’s performance against Fletcher means he gets to sleep indoors again, no longer sharing a doghouse in the backyard with Jeff Jarrett and Brit Baker.

At 26 years old, Garcia has plenty of time to make it to the top of the card consistently. Going forward, I pray he no longer shares screen time with a guy named “Daddy Magic.”

As far as what’s next for Kyle Fletcher—the Protostar should drop Napalm on Adam Cole.

I like Adam Cole.

Kids suuuperduper fuck with him.

I enjoy his commentary.

Collision is at its best when there’s a main character for a while—unfortunately, it’s a coin flip whether it’s Jay White’s month or Jericho’s.

But Kyle Fletcher should break his shit.

This shouldn’t be a match.

This should be a televised murder—an execution.

#RIPAdamCole

The Best vs. The Greatest

Toni Storm & Mercedes Mone full Promo #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/MhHn5XhNWx

— PRONIGHTMARE (@ProDynamicJL) July 10, 2025

In a world where we are all constantly refreshing social media feeds to consume news, opinions and bullshit all day long—we’ve lost the ability to recognize, in real time, when we are witnessing a histortic event.

Whether it’s a presidential administration actively making the world a far worse place than it was prior to the printing of their little gay ass red hats or a Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Mone AEW Women’s World Championship match.

Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Mone is the biggest women’s match in North American professional wrestling history.

I know Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair main evented Wrestlemania and good for them.

But none of those women are close to what Toni Storm has done in the past two years.

From the creation of the Timeless character, buidling to a blood feud with Mariah May—including a mini detour where Toni pretended to have amnesia, believing she had just arrived to AEW for the first time—Toni Storm transformed herself into a main character of a show full of guys like Kenny Omega and Swerve Strickland.

Every week, when she puts a microphone to her face, she becomes the most captivating woman on television.

On the other side is a woman who speaks like someone who doesn’t need to speak to sell a fight.

And she’s right.

Mercedes Mone left WWE determined to be perceived as one of the greatest in-ring workers and she’s traveled across the globe putting in the work to deserve that level of respect.

From wars in Japan against AZM and Hazuki to a series of lowkey classic fights against Kris Statlander—two women who have a surprising amount of chemistry together—Mercedes Mone steps into the ring, you’re going to get one of the best matches on the card.

She squeezed a dope match out of a somewhat green Harley Cameron at Grand Slam Australia.

The reluctance to acknowledge Mercedes as one of the greatest is off-putting.

She’s better than Charlotte or Becky.

The only woman from her era I’m comfortable saying is on her level is Asuka—who Mercedes has a string of classics against.

But what I find most fascinating about this match is that going in, I can confidently say Toni Storm is the best right now and Mercedes Mone is the greatest ever.

And depending on who gets the 3 count at All In, those labels might switch.

Toni might walk away with a victory over Mercedes and the title of the greatest of all time, while Mercedes could put on another banger and firmly hold the status of the best right now.

Mercedes will probably win, granting Toni a fun summer vacation and creating a target at the top of the mountain that women worldwide will line up to take belts from her.

Also, Mercedes winning gives the best runway for Kris Statlander to finally become the AEW Women’s World Champion next.

Mone is about to pass out a TON of batons.

Women’s Surprise Gauntlet Entrants

1. Serena Deeb: This isn’t a big return like, perhaps someone like Ruby Soho coming back from bearing a child but I have no problem living on Serena Deeb island alone.

Maybe I just feel a way about my fellow seizure survivor but she may be the best technical, knows-all-the-holds, American women’s wrestler I’ve ever seen.

Charlotte Flair just gave an interview explaining how older women in wrestling get pushed out and although that is 1000000% not true in WWE at all (see the constant returns of Trish Stratus and the Bella Twins) but it does feel like if Deeb was 25 instead of 39, she’d be in the ring with Thekla every week.

I don’t care that she’s a nothing with a mic in her hands.

Most wrestlers are.

Who cares?

2. Nyla Rose: A trans woman was the 2nd AEW Women’s World Champion.

Fucking huge statement from AEW in a time when WWE was pumpfaking the return of Vince McMahon—a pile of shit who dropped piles of shit on a downtrodden woman he manipulated with financial security.

I know all billionaires are bad and the Khan family donates money to Trump and all that jazz but giving Nyla Rose a canvas to tell her story, even if just briefly, means so much to people like me who log on every day to be gaslit by nihilistic assholes into believing that I’m crazy for just thinking “uh, just let trans people do whatever. Who cares?”

3. Emi Sakura: Forget everything positive I just said about Tony Khan.

I will never forgive him for allowing Emi Sakura—a fucking legend whose entire gimmick is an homage to Freddie Mercury—to sit there and watch fucking Saraya walk out to We Will Rock You at All In to steal the AEW Women’s Championship before the worst title reign ever—where she spent most of the time being a total dickhead to fans online while Sakura was never really seen again.

Shout out to the Deadlock boys doing the Lord’s work.

Men’s Surprise Gauntlet Entrants

1. Bryan Danielson: I could say an Eddie Kingston return would be cool.

Orange Cassidy back would be dope.

Even Darby Allin coming back makes sense in this match.

But honestly, the only real return that would make get out of my seat is The Final Countdown playing with Bryan Danielson marching to the ring to throw elbows, forearms and beat motherfuckers heads in.

2. Keith Lee: Hey, it’d be cool to see Keith Lee wrestle again.

3. Chris Hero:

AEW is a company built on the backs of Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, CM Punk and Chris Hero.

That early-to-mid 2000s indie scene shaped the direction of professional wrestling.

All In would cease to exist without the contributions of all those Ring of Honor guys’ blood, sweat and tears, creating an alternative to whatever the fuck Triple H was doing at the time.

Chris Hero never achieved any of the TV success of his peers (thanks to injuries and shitty booking) but he deserves a moment to receive his flowers.

45-year-old Chris Hero is a coach/producer backstage in AEW right now.

I know this isn’t the Royal Rumble where an older act gets to laboriously jog to the ring, hit all his moves before being eliminated by a youngin but why can’t Chris Hero get one final moment in the sun before MJF sends him to the ER?

What if Jon Moxley wins?

Someone’s championship story is being told right now.

But it may not be Adam Page’s.

As someone who is in love with everything MJF is doing this year, his story of joining the Hurt Business for backup against the Death Riders doesn’t make sense if the Death Riders end at All-In.

I’m fully convinced MJF is winning the Men’s Casino Gauntlet and facing Jon Moxley.

Not sure if he’ll beat Moxley but in Swerve and Hangman’s race to beat each other to become a 2-time AEW World Champion, MJF might skip them both and get his second world title reign before either of them.

I understand Jon Moxley fatigue permeates through the Internet Wrestling Community but Moxley deserves a long, substantial title reign—especially post-Adam Copeland—where it feels like The Death Riders truly are one of the coolest acts in the company.

I love their entrance through different arenas across the country, with Marina Shaffir looking like she’d strangle me if I stared at her too long.

I really liked the venue AEW used last night for Dynamite. They did some cool camera shots from there as well. Particularly, the opening and Wheeler Yuta’s entrance. I’m liking the unique venues AEW keeps finding and using. #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/Nzw4Bgu1yY

— Pro Fights Info (@ProFightsInfo) March 6, 2025

They fucked around and made Wheeler Yuta cool. Only Moxley has these superpowers of spreading cool via osmosis.

I just think it’s presumptuous to assume Hangman Page will be the new AEW Champion.

I’m prepared for Jon Moxley to run it up for another year.

Give him the Roman Reigns treatment.

Fuck it.

We’re already here.

Thanks for reading.

Let me know your thoughts on Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Mone, leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee.