The last match on the Zero Hour pre-show saw The Acclaimed put their AEW Trios Championships on the line against Mikey Nicholas, Shane Thorne and Bad Dude Tito – also known as TMDK. They are all part of the TMDK group, which is led by British star Zack Sabre Jr.
Max Caster’s rap was not his best before the match. He claimed the group watched tentacle porn, and he saw them kneeling before a “glory hole”. There’s only one reason he would be at that glory hole, so I’m not sure what he was insulting them about. No matter, onto the match.
If you’ve seen any Acclaimed match in their recent run, then you’ve seen this match. Lots of “ass-shaking” by Billy Gunn, as other wrestlers ran around him and bumped off the 58-year-old champion (the oldest champion in AEW history).
The Acclaimed hit all their signature moves, much to the delight of the crowd. They hit the “Scissor Me Timbers”, before doing the three-way scissor in the ring. This gave the heels the chance to get back on top, beating down Anthony Bowens while referee Aubrey Edwards was distracted by The Acclaimed.
Bowens was beaten down for a while by the three TMDK members, as the fans clapped along and willed him to tag in one of his teammates. He eventually made the tag to Billy Gunn, and the WWE Hall of Famer cleared out the ring being hit by a big Spinebuster. The ring then filled with both teams, who hit all their signature moves on one another (with some impressive tag team moves by TMDK).
Billy Gunn hit Tito with the Famasser, before Bowens and Caster hit the Arrival and Mic Drop combo to retain the AEW Trios Championships. The match was a typical Acclaimed match, and the group are starting to become stale in the ring, despite their immense popularity and brilliant character work.