AEW's Matt Jackson Thinks This Explosive Spot Isn't Discussed Enough

AEW World Tag Team Champion Matthew Jackson has been in some chaotic matches throughout his career, ranging from wild tag team bouts in PWG, to ladder wars in ROH. However, despite shedding his fair share of blood since the formation of AEW in 2019, no match can compare to the Anarchy in the Arena chaos that he has been involved in.

Jackson was part of both the 2023 and 2024 editions of the match, with the 2023 bout featuring the now iconic moment of him superkicking Jon Moxley in the face with an exploding sneaker. Speaking with "Sneaker History," Jackson explained how he managed to get the "Across the Spiderverse Jordan 1's" to blow up in Moxley's face. "I had a pyrotechnic attached to the sneaker. It created this giant fireball in his face. It was so shocking. Nobody saw it coming. It was almost this two or three second delay of, 'Wait, what?' No one understood what they had just seen. It was really cool because it took a lot of work." 

The AEW EVP explained that he needed to get a Nevada state license as a fireworker in order to perform the move, which he believes has been forgotten about due to how many other things have happened in the Anarchy in the Arena matches. "That's one that maybe isn't talked about enough. People send my private messages all the time, 'I love this moment,' but I feel it's kind of forgotten. Maybe because it was among such a crazy match that night where a million other things happened. That was a really special moment with sneakers." Jackson followed up this spot with an exploding chair in 2024, with FTR's Dax Harwood feeling the brunt of that move.

Please credit "Sneaker History" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.