lolz
Did you guys know that there were "empty arena" matches contested before this global pandemic? If you watch Raw or Dynamite, every match these days is held in an empty arena. However, due to a unique conflux of circumstances, we have seen a few bouts arranged under traditional "empty arena" match rules. Fuck, I'm already sick of typing "empty arena." I shall be valorous and soldier on! For you, my love! This is all for you!
This seemed to start with Wrestlemania. Edge and Randy Orton fought for days, though in all actuality, it was a Last Man Standing match. Owing to its gritty nature (not to mention its substantial length), it gets grouped in with the other matches that I'll be covering. What are those matches, you may ask? Well, shit! Johnny Gargano versus Tommaso Ciampa on NXT and Jon Moxley versus Jake Hager on AEW's Dynamite. With NXT's battle, the exact stipulations were left loose. Triple H merely told the boys to finish their feud. AEW's match was the most "old school" of the lot. They even upped the ante by having Jim Ross deliver commentary.
I'll come right out and say it; all three matches were protracted beyond dialectics. Beyond acumen. Beyond fucking marbles! They were too long, Daddy-o. That doesn't necessarily mean that they were inferior. Of course, I didn't love any of them either. A favorite? I'm not sure that I have one. I dug the plot twist of sorts that resolved Gargano/Ciampa. Nice payoff. Edge/Orton...urgh, I couldn't jive with the angle. The story felt lacking. But! I'm an Edge fan, and it was cool to see him back.
Mox/Hager was fine. That's it. While I appreciated the technical matwork in the beginning, the rest of the brawl was just that. Tedious brawling. I can't say that it was executed poorly, but I can say that it was tiring. So no, I don't have a favorite. If we're talking all-time, hold on there for a hot minute. Ironically, three clashes come to mind. The three best "empty arena" matches are as follows...
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