Rampage
Date: June 28, 2024
Location: PPL Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Ian Riccaboni

We are two days away from Forbidden Door and that means the card is mostly set up. While there is a chance that we could see something else for the pay per view, there is a good chance that we are going to be seeing a few minor pushes towards Sunday and little more. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Orange Cassidy vs. Outrunners

Cassidy works on Magnum’s arm to start and then mocks the double bicep pose. Floyd comes in and manages a running shoulder to drop Cassidy, meaning we get the REAL double bicep. Back up and Cassidy knocks both of them down, setting up the double dropkick. The referee almost gets hit but gets hugged instead, with the distraction causing Cassidy to get caught in a double belly to back suplex. A double slam gives the Outrunners two but Cassidy rams them into each other. Floyd is sent outside for a dive and the high crossbody hits Magnum. The Orange Punch gives Cassidy the pin on Magnum at 6:05.

Rating: C. That’s quite the odd choice to give Cassidy a win on his way into a showdown with a technical master like Zack Sabre Jr. The Outrunners are little more than a couple of comedy goofs and it isn’t a bit deal to see Cassidy beat them. Nothing much to see here and I’m not sure I get the thinking behind this one.

The Learning Tree has a new partner for the six man tag at Forbidden Door and we’ll find out who it is on Collision.

Gabe Kidd/Roderick Strong vs. Infantry

The Kingdom and Trish Adora are here too. Kidd runs Bravo over with a shoulder to start and it’s Strong coming in for some hard chops in the corner. Strong gets caught in the wrong corner but cuts Dean off with a backbreaker as we take a break. Back with Dean caught in the wrong corner but a missed double clothesline allows the diving tag to Bravo. A slingshot cutter gets two on Kidd and there’s an ax kick to put him down again. Strong breaks up Boot Camp though and Kidd hits a quick piledriver to pin Bravo at 6:27. Not enough shown to rate but it was a competitive enough match.

There is going to be a Brodie Lee commemorative shoe.

TNT Title Qualifying Match: El Phantasmo vs. AR Fox

They run the ropes to start until Phantasmo snaps off a headscissors into a dropkick. A very springboardy hurricanrana takes Fox down but he avoids a dive and knocks Phantasmo outside. The big dive connects but Phantasmo is back up with a running forearm. An atomic drop into a Russian legsweep has Fox down as Nigel notices the Bret Hart homage. Phantasmo’s Lionsault gets two but Fox enziguris him into a twisting brainbuster. Fox puts him up top but takes too long, allowing Phantasmo to come back with a middle rope Canadian Destroyer. A faceplant finishes for Phantasmo at 5:24.

Rating: B-. Nice, fast paced match here, though it’s kind of hard to get behind the idea that Fox is going to win anything of value. Phantasmo is the New Japan representative in the title match, though it’s hard to imagine that he is going to win. For now though, I’ll take a pretty good match on TV with two talented stars.

Deonna Purrazzo is ready for the Owen Hart Tournament and her first round match against Hikaru Shida.

Dalton Castle vs. Shingo Takagi

They fight over a lockup to start until Takagi runs him over and we take an early break. Back with Takagi hitting a backsplash and driving in some elbows to the head. Castle is back up with a suplex and a spinning elbow to the head, followed by a reverse Sling Blade for two. Takagi grabs a Gory Bomb into a DDT, setting up Made In Japan to finish Castle at 7:49.

Rating: C+. The more I see Castle out there doing his awesome stuff, if nothing else his entrance, the more amazed I am that he is little more than a jobber to the stars. I know his back is messed up, but how do you look at someone with his unique set of talents and have nothing better for him? It’s one of the bigger shames in AEW and while I’d love to believe that it’s going to get better, it’s hard to believe that is a realistic option.

Saraya isn’t worried about Mariah May.

Skye Blue vs. Queen Aminata

They start fast with Blue missing a big boot and getting German suplexed for an early two. An exchange of rollups doesn’t go anywhere so Aminata grabs a pair of vertical suplexes. Back up and Blue hits some running knees to put Aminata outside, setting up the dive to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Aminata hitting a PK for two, followed by a heck of a running boot against the rope. Another suplex on the apron rocks Blue but the running hip attack only hits the steps. Blue suplexes her off the steps for a change of pace and a near fall back inside. Skyfall is broken up and Aminata headbutts her for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: C+. What an odd choice for a main event. There is almost nothing going on with these two, at least in AEW, and yet they get the main event slot and longest match on the show. Aminata seems likely to be in line for a Women’s Title match in Ring Of Honor, but I’m not sure why she is getting this kind of a spot on a pay per view weekend.

Aminata tries to show respect post match but gets superkicked for her efforts. Red Velvet runs in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. In theory this was a preview for Forbidden Door with some other stuff thrown in, though Kidd isn’t on the pay per view card at the moment and Phantasmo is going to be one of a bunch of people in a ladder match. In other words, this was the usual somewhat random assortment of matches that tends to fill out Rampage. It’s not a bad show at all, but there were a few times where I was wondering why something was taking place.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Outrunners – Orange Punch to Magnum
Gabe Kidd/Roderick Strong b. Infantry – Piledriver to Bravo
El Phantasmo b. AR Fox – Faceplant
Shingo Takagi b. Dalton Castle – Made In Japan
Queen Aminata b. Skye Blue – Headbutt

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: June 28, 2024
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves

We’re in the World’s Most Famous Arena and it could be interesting to see what that means for the new version of WWE. The big story coming out of last week’s show is the debut of Jacob Fatu as the Bloodline is looking stronger than ever. That could make for some serious trouble for Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens/Randy Orton, who are facing the Bloodline at Money In The Bank. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a look back at last week’s Bloodline ordeal, with Solo Sikoa suggesting that Roman Reigns isn’t coming back and then the debut of Jacob Fatu as a wrecking ball.

The Bloodline, minus Jacob Fatu, arrives. Paul Heyman asks where Fatu is but gets no answer as Solo Sikoa and the Tongans come to the ring for a chat. Cody Rhodes, Kevin Owens and Randy Orton aren’t far behind and the brawl is on. Owens hits a huge Swanton off some equipment to put Sikoa through a table as Nick Aldis and security come out to break it up. Hot start to the show here.

Post break Aldis can’t get the good guys out of the ring so they beat up security. With security gone, threats are made to the Bloodline. Rhodes talks about how this arena deserves a World Title shot but instead he has to deal with something he ended at Wrestlemania. When he looks at Solo Sikoa, he doesn’t see a Tribal Chief, but rather a seat filler. That was a good line.

Post break, we look back at what we just saw.

Nick Aldis has the Cody Rhodes/Kevin Owens/Randy Orton leave the arena.

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Jade Cargill vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Candice LeRae

Cargill shrugs off some double teaming attempts to start and neckbreakers both of them. A superkick sends Stratton outside and Cargill throws LeRae onto her for the big crash. Cue Nia Jax and we take a break. Back with Bianca Belair at ringside as well and Cargill fighting out of trouble. Stratton avoids a charge to send Cargill outside, where Belair cuts off Jax’s stalking. Cue Indi Hartwell to post Cargill, allowing LeRae to grab a rollup for two on Stratton. Not that it matters as Stratton is back up with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to finish LeRae at 9:08.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and had a good way to avoid Cargill winning while moving Stratton forward. It wasn’t exactly a game changing performance from any of them, but it did what it needed to do on the way to the match that matters. Stratton is certainly a contender to win the briefcase and that is exactly where she should be right now.

Bayley and Naomi find Stratton annoying and wonder what happens if Naomi wins Money In The Bank. Blair Davenport comes in to mock Bayley, with Naomi swearing vengeance.

The Pride comes in to see Nick Aldis, who says they can’t fight the Bloodline tonight but they might be able to do it next week. Pretty Deadly returns and suggest a musical but get a match with the Pride instead.

Solo Sikoa tells Paul Heyman that Jacob Fatu isn’t here but tonight, Heyman is officially becoming his wise man.

Men’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Santos Escobar vs. LA Knight vs. Logan Paul

Non-title and Paul brings Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (who helped beat the New York Knicks) to show New York what a real winner looks like (with the feed cutting, suggesting a lot of swearing). It’s a brawl to start with Knight getting double teamed down. Paul and Escobar tease a fight but Knight is up again, only to get dropped again. Escobar gets sent outside, leaving Paul to plant Knight and take over. Paul dives onto Knight but gets taken out by Escobar as we take a break.

Back with Escobar hitting a super hurricanrana for two with Paul making a save. Knight slugs away on Paul and DDTs Escobar for two. Knight’s spelling elbow is cut off by Escobar so Knight slams him down for the elbow instead. Escobar is back up with a Phantom Driver to Knight, leaving Paul to make the save this time. Knight German superplexes Escobar off the top so Paul drops a Swanton for…two. Haliburton loads up the knuckles but New York Knicks’ star Jalen Brunson jumps the barricade for a staredown. The distraction lets Knight roll Paul up for the pin at 12:22.

Rating: B-. The NBA stars were a nice touch and made the match/show feel a bit more important. Other than that, this should get Knight into the ladder match, where Paul can cheat him out of the win and likely set up a title match at Summerslam. Escobar not being the designated victim was a nice surprise, but this was all about Knight vs. Paul.

Post match everyone but Escobar has a staredown, with the villains leaving.

Baron Corbin talks to Apollo Crews, who is happy that Santos Escobar has no chance of being Mr. Money In The Bank. Carmelo Hayes comes in to brag about how he’ll win Money In The Bank.

We get a tribute video to Sika.

Andrade talks about what it would mean to win Money In The Bank.

Women’s Money In The Bank Qualifying Match: Blair Davenport vs. Naomi vs. Indi Hartwell

Naomi dropkicks them both down to start but a double crossbody is cut off. Davenport tries to get the pin but Hartwell doesn’t like it, meaning the alliance lasts all of 18 seconds. They go outside with Davenport taking the other two down as we take a break. Back with Naomi making Hartwell DDT Davenport to leave everyone down for a breather. Naomi hits a spinning middle rope kick to the head to put Davenport down before hitting some running forearms in the corner.

Hartwell gets in a shot of her own and covers both of them for two, with commentary not quite getting why. Back up and they all trade forearms until Naomi knocks Davenport down in the corner. The split legged moonsault misses though and they head outside, with Jade Cargill coming out to jump Hartwell as payback for earlier. Naomi’s Bubba Bomb into a rollup finishes Hartwell at 9:28.

Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this one as it didn’t exactly come off as smooth, with some of the spots just not quite clicking. It’s also a bit much to have the qualifying matches be triple threats, as the novelty, or whatever novelty there might be, wearing off quickly. Not the worst match, but it didn’t exactly work.

DIY is ready for their Tag Team Title shot next week. Austin Theory comes in to say he and Grayson Waller will win next week, but Johnny Gargano suggests that Waller is only in this for himself. Waller comes in to jump Gargano but Theory gets him out of there.

Here is the Bloodline for an acknowledgment ceremony. Paul Heyman handles the induction but Solo Sikoa cuts him off and says he’s introducing the newest member of the Bloodline: Jacob Fatu, Sikoa’s personal enforcer. Sikoa has the Tongans and Fatu acknowledge him, which goes rather quickly. That leaves Heyman, who is rather hesitant. He loads up the lei and says he acknowledges….that Sikoa IS NOT his Tribal Chief.

Sikoa Samoan Spikes Heyman and Fatu adds the top headbutt before a TripleBomb (with Fatu as Reigns) puts Heyman through the announcers’ table. Fatu gives Sikoa the lei to end the show. The countdown to Reigns’ return continues and now we pretty firmly know which side Heyman is going to be on. I believe that’s called the battle lines being drawn.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener and ending segment were the good parts of the show, with the rest being more things that needed to be covered rather than all that interesting on its own. That is only going to get you so far and while the show wasn’t bad, it was being carried by the Bloodline. Hopefully next week is better, as while this wasn’t terrible, it was beneath what Smackdown, and WWE in general, has been doing lately.

Results
Tiffany Stratton b. Jade Cargill and Candice LeRae – Prettiest Moonsault Ever to LeRae
LA Knight b. Logan Paul and Santos Escobar – Rollup to Paul
Naomi b. Blair Davenport and Indi Hartwell – Rollup to Hartwell

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 27, 2024
Location: Cicero Stadium, Cicero, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We are closing in on Slammiversary and the big story is the Road To Slammiversary tournament/competition, which will see five challengers lined up to challenge Moose for the World Title. Josh Alexander is already in but he is going to need some fellow challengers. Odds are we find out at least one of them tonight so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

In Memory Of Sika.

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Jordynne Grace for a chat. She knows Ash By Elegance has been watching her for months, so the title match can be on tonight. Cue the person concierge to introduce Ash, complete with security. The match can indeed happen, but we’re going to do it at Slammiversary while Ash goes to the Bahamas for a breather. Security goes after Grace, who wipes them out without much trouble until Santino Marella breaks it up. Masha Slamovich comes to the ring for her match and has a staredown with Grace.

Masha Slamovich vs. Xia Brookside

Alisha Edwards is here with Slamovich. They fight over wrist control to start with Brookside taking over, only to have Edwards offer a distraction. Brookside fights up and hits a quick Broken Wings. The Brookside Bomb is broken up by another Edwards distraction, meaning the Snowplow can finish Brookside at 5:21.

Rating: C. Slamovich getting a shot at Grace, perhaps after Slammiversary, is not the worst idea and it isn’t like Slamovich and Edwards feel like a long term team. It’s interesting to see where this could be going, though I could also go for more from Brookside. She has the talent, but for some reason she is never given much of a significant spot.

We look at First Class breaking up Steph De Lander and PCO’s date last week.

First Class brags about their win and as a bonus, AJ Francis has bought a title from a Montreal promotion. PCO has long since wanted that title, but since Francis bought it, he’s the new International Champion.

Lars Frederiksen gives Spitfire a big pep talk before they have to face each other.

Campaign Singh introduces Mustafa Ali for his state of the union. Ali talks about the video where he degraded the X-Division Title and put out an investigation into the video. The reality is that the video was AI GENERATED and officially fake news. He loves Chicago and it is #1, albeit partially in crime, but it’s time to move on to the next challenger. That means a SPEEDBALL chant but Ali is looking at both the TNA and other locker rooms.

Ali is cut off by more fans chanting for Speedball, which earns them an ejection from the champion. One of them doesn’t want to leave and throws a drink in Ali’s face, meaning the brawl is on. The fan is dragged inside to keep up the beating, with Mike Bailey and Trent Seven running in for the save. Ali isn’t happy with this and issues the challenge to Bailey for Slammiversary. Good enough stuff here, as the election stuff is tying into Ali’s slow downfall.

Post break, Bailey says of course he’s in for the title match.

ABC vs. Rascalz vs. Cody Deaner/Jake Something

Before the match, Deaner and Something say they want a title shot if they win but the Rascalz say they should just be #1 contenders by default. ABC dives onto them to start the fight before the bell and we take a break. Back with the match joined in progress and Deaner fighting back against the Rascalz.

Deaner flips out of a suplex into the corner for a tag off to Austin to start the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and it’s Something coming in to clear the ring. A sitout powerbomb gets two on Austin and Something shrugs off a dive. Something cuts off Austin’s handstand on the apron and drops him onto Wentz for a nasty crash. The ABC takes out Something though and it’s the 1-2-Sweet to pin Deaner at 5:28 shown.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of action match that you would have expected and they’re doing a nice job of rebuilding the ABC for what is likely one more big title shot at Slammiversary. The Rascalz are always going to be fine but hopefully this helps split up Something and Deaner. Something just deserves something better than that and hopefully that is where he goes next.

The System isn’t worried about Santino Marella because Moose has a plan.

Video on Sami Callihan vs. Steve Maclin.

Road To Slammiversary Qualifying Match: Sami Callihan vs. Steve Maclin

Maclin hits a running knee at the bell but misses the Jar Headbutt. The Cactus Driver 97 gives Callihan two as we’re about thirty seconds in. Back up and Maclin slugs away until he knocks Callihan outside. The Scud is knocked out of the air so Maclin settles for a knee to the face back inside. The Jar Headbutt gets two and there’s an elbow off the apron to hit Callihan again.

Callihan is right back up with a t-bone suplex on the floor and they’re both down again. They both beat the count back in and Callihan hits another t-bone into the corner. The middle rope Cactus Driver 97 is blocked so Callihan settles for a middle rope Death Valley Driver. A regular Cactus Driver 97 gets two and they fight to the apron to keep up the brawling. Callihan gets caught in the ropes for a running knee, setting up the hanging KIA to give Maclin the pin at 8:46.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure I can imagine Maclin winning but much like Alexander, it makes all the sense in the world to have him in the match. Putting a former World Champion in the match makes it feel that much more important and it was made even better by having a solid match on the way there. It isn’t easy to make that happen with Callihan but it worked here.

Alan Angels vs. Kushida

Angels tries to jump him to start and gets cut off as Kushida sends Angels out to the apron. Back in and a neckbreaker gives Angels two as commentary talks about Jonathan Gresham. Angels grabs the chinlock but Kushida fights up, only to get dropkicked out to the floor. Kushida is fine enough to snap the arm on the floor before he punches a springboarding Angels out of the air. The Hoverboard Lock finishes Angels at 3:57.

Rating: C. Thankfully they kept this short as there is little reason for Kushida to have any serious trouble against someone of Angels’ caliber. At the same time through, that means he is a step closer to dealing with Jonathan Gresham again, which isn’t good for anyone. Not much of a match, but that’s to be expected given the circumstances.

Post match Jonathan Gresham comes in to go after Kushida and tries to pour the ink into his mouth. Security makes the save as the worst thing in TNA (if not wrestling right now) continues.

The Hardys vow revenge on the System. This was right back to Broken Matt after last week’s step back to reality.

Video on Rich Swann vs. Nic Nemeth.

Road To Slammiversary Qualifying Match: Nic Nemeth vs. Rich Swann

AJ Francis and DJ Who Kid are here with Swann. Nemeth works on the arm to start but Swann takes him down and swivels his hips. Back in and Nemeth takes him to the mat and we hit the rather aggressive headlock. That’s broken up so Kid offers a distraction, allowing Francis to get in a cheap shot. The referee tosses out the seconds and we take a break.

We come back with Nemeth fighting out of a chinlock but getting kicked in the head for his efforts. Nemeth fights up but gets clotheslined down for two more. Back up again and Nemeth grabs a sleeper, which is broken up so Swann can knock him down for another near fall. The middle rope Phoenix splash is blocked but Swann connects with the handspring cutter for two. They trade superkicks until Nemeth hits a DDT into the Danger Zone for the pin at 15:02.

Rating: B-. As has been the case before, there are matches where you know the quality will be there based on the people involved. That was the case again as you had two talented stars getting to do their thing for awhile. Swann might not be the star that he was before but he can still have a good match with just about anyone, including someone as talented as Nemeth.

Overall Rating: B. You can see most of Slammiversary coming from here and this show was designed to get us towards a lot of the expected card. That might not make for the most thrilling show, but it makes for a quality one, which is what needed to happen here. Good show, with the main event probably being the best part of the night.

Results
Masha Slamovich b. Xia Brookside – Snowplow
ABC b. Rascalz and Cody Deaner/Jake Something – 1-2-Sweet to Deaner
Steve Maclin b. Sami Callihan – Hanging KIA
Kushida b. Alan Angels – Hoverboard Lock
Nic Nemeth b. Rich Swann – Danger Zone

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Ring Of Honor
Date: June 27, 2024
Location: Covelli Center, Youngstown, Ohio
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are less than a month away from Death Before Dishonor and, as usual, there is nothing announced for the card. In theory we should be getting something set up for it rather soon, but in this case we have the World Title on the line in a match that seemed like it was destined for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Athena holds a Minions In Training meeting and announces that she will be out 8-12 months. Therefore, she has some extra security around here, with even Lexi Nair fired up to deal with Queen Aminata and Red Velvet.

Alex Reynolds vs. Lee Johnson

Evil Uno is here with Reynolds. Johnson takes him down by the arm to start and the clean break gets some polite applause. Back up and Johnson takes him down again, only to miss a kick to the head and get rolled up for two. They fight over a standing switch until Johnson clotheslines him out to the floor, setting up the quick dive. Uno offers a distraction though and Reynolds gets in a cheap shot to take over.

Johnson is sent hard into the steps for two but he fights up and makes the clothesline comeback. A standing moonsault gets two on Reynolds but the Big Shot Drop is countered with a knee to the face. Some hard forearms to the face give Reynolds two and a tiger driver gets the same. Reynolds rolls out of the Big Shot Drop but gets sent face first into the buckle instead. Uno gets superkicked off the apron and the Big Shot Drop finishes Alexander at 8:49.

Rating: B-. This was Johnson’s rebound win after losing the TV Title match last week. That’s a good way to go, though taking this long to beat someone as low level as Alexander didn’t exactly make him look strong. It also doesn’t help that it’s Johnson having to build himself up again, which has happened multiple times now.

Marina Shafir vs. Erica Leigh

Shafir takes her down with ease and forces a handshake on her on the mat. Some hard forearms have Leigh in trouble but she fights up with some shots of her own. Something like a 619 in the corner sets up Mother’s Milk to finish Leigh at 2:34.

The Kingdom is tired of everyone wasting their time and need more competition. Mike Bennett drops to his knees to pray to Tony Khan to find some good challengers.

Lance Archer/Righteous vs. Duke Davis/Victor Benjamin/Ganon Jones Jr.

Archer pounds the rather large Davis into the corner but actually gets shouldered into another corner. Vincent comes in to hammer on Benjamin, who strikes his way out of trouble. Vincent’s running basement Downward Spiral gets two and they head outside. A ramp into the steps keeps Benjamin down, followed by Dutch’s swinging Boss Man Slam for two back inside. Benjamin stumbles into the corner though and it’s the also big Jones coming in to fight back. Another Boss Man Slam hits Davis and Orange Sunshine finishes Jones at 5:44.

Rating: C. Hey you know how Archer and the Righteous do this seemingly every other week or so and it leads nowhere but the matches are almost always the same? Well this is the most recent edition, as the Righteous and Archer got to beat some people up and odds are it won’t be leading anywhere. I would say maybe that can let them go somewhere, but it doesn’t seem likely.

Post match the beatdown continues.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Trish Adora

Valkyrie chops away to start but Adora gets in her own chops and snapmares her down. The threat of the Lariat Tubman sends Valkyrie bailing to the floor, where she reminds us of how smart she is. Valkyrie gets in a few shots of her own, including a few kicks in the corner. The double arm crank goes on, followed by a quick clothesline to give Valkyrie two. Adora fights back with a snap suplex for two but Valkyrie slips out of an airplane spin. Back to back Shania Pains finish Adora at 6:31.

Rating: C+. This one gives me a bit more hope, as there is the chance that we could actually see Valkyrie getting a title shot somewhere down the line. I won’t quite believe it until I see it, but at least it seems like something that could happen. On the other hand, Adora seems to be locked into jobber to the stars territory, which doesn’t give me much hope for her future.

Leyla Hirsch has beaten Diamante four times, but Diamante comes in and wants one more. They’ll make it a street fight.

Billie Starkz vs. Angelica Risk

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Risk survives the ten minute time limit or wins, she gets a future title shot. Starks grabs a choke to start and then kicks Risk in the face to take over. The running boot in the corner hits Risk again and Starkz stomps away. They head outside with Starkz sending her into the corner, setting up a running knee. Back in and Risk rolls away before the Swanton can launch, leaving Starkz to mock Red Velvet. Risk fights back but Starkz pulls her into the fish hook choke for the win at 4:18.

Rating: C. There is only so much you can get out of Athena, and now Starkz, having this kind of a match over and over. In short, it has been done and there was little reason to believe that Risk was going to get a win, or even put up a fight here. Red Velvet seems to be the next challenger but it’s been set up for such a long time now that it’s kind of hard to care in the slightest.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle Fletcher

Only Briscoe is defending and yes we are doing this here rather than on the pay per view. Briscoe sends him into the corner to start and the fans approve, just like they do as we hit the headlock. Back up and Fletcher knocks him hard into the corner for a change, only to get knocked off the top. There’s the dive to the floor to take Fletcher but he’s right back with some shots of his own.

Briscoe’s chops are shrugged off and Fletcher gets to lay out on the steps for a breather. Back in and Briscoe wins a slugout, setting up a fisherman’s buster for two of his own. A Pele kick into a discus forearm connects but Fletcher catches Briscoe on top. Briscoe catches him on top as well though, meaning it’s a fisherman’s superplex (that’s a new one) to bring Fletcher back down.

They head to the apron with Briscoe hitting a few shots, setting up the Bang Bang Elbow. The Froggy Bow hits raised knees back inside though and the piledriver gives Fletcher two. Briscoe Death Valley Drivers him down and now the Froggy Bow connects for two more. Fletcher kicks away but walks into one heck of a clothesline, setting up the Jay Driller to retain the title at 13:11.

Rating: B-. Well, it was the best match of the show, but thank goodness they got rid of what could have headlined Death Before Dishonor this early. Why go with a story that is ready made when you can make something from scratch on short notice? The match itself was what you would expect, but I could go without seeing Fletcher for a rather long time.

Overall Rating: C+. And that was Ring Of Honor, as it had some good to ok matches, little in the way of setting anything up, and a grand total of absolutely nothing set for Death Before Dishonor with four shows left before the pay per view. I’m sure something will happen on AEW TV or elsewhere to set up the top of the card in a hurry but the pay per view builds really do show you how slowly things move around here. Not a bad show, but they need to actually get the pay per view ready.

Results
Lee Johnson b. Alex Reynolds – Big Shot Drop
Marina Shafir b. Erica Leigh – Mother’s Milk
Lance Archer/Righteous b. Duke Davis/Victor Benjamin/Ganon Jones Jr. – Orange Sunshine to Jones
Taya Valkyrie b. Trish Adora – Shania Pain
Billie Starkz b. Angelica Risk – Fish hook choke
Mark Briscoe b. Kyle Fletcher – Jay Driller

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

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Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Summerslam 1988
Date: August 29, 1988
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 20,000
Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Billy Graham

The main event here is Hogan/Savage vs. DiBiase/Andre in a match billed as Mega Powers vs. Mega Bucks. Allegedly the plan was to have Ric Flair jump from the NWA and challenge Savage for the title but Flair backed out, giving us the tag match instead. Other than that we have Honky Tonk Man defending his title against a mystery opponent and the Hart Foundation challenging Demolition for the tag titles. The card wasn’t exactly stacked for this show. Let’s get to it.

The opening video has what would become the Royal Rumble theme song set over shots of the four guys in the main event plus their managers, Virgil and Miss Elizabeth.

Fabulous Rougeaus vs. British Bulldogs

These two teams could not stand each other behind the scenes, eventually reaching the point where the Bulldogs left the company as a result. Davey jumps Jacques to start and rams him into turnbuckle after turnbuckle to put him down. Smith throws Jacques over to Raymond for a tag in a nice display of bravado. Off to Dynamite for a quick headbutt and a slam to keep Raymond in trouble.

Off to an armbar by Dynamite Kid before Davey comes back in for one of his own. Dynamite comes back in with a wicked clothesline to take Raymond’s head off. Chris Benoit idolized Dynamite and you can see so many of Benoit’s moves when you watch Dynamite’s matches. Davey comes in and trades some snappy rollups before it’s back to Dynamite to continue cranking on the arm.

Davey comes in again but Jacques trips him up to shift control to the Canadians. It’s off to some leg work now as Jacques kicks away at Davey’s hamstring. The Rougeaus start tagging in and out with Ray coming in to drop some knees on the hamstring before Jacques comes back in to pull on the leg. Ray comes back in sans tag to pull on the leg before Jacques puts on a spinning toehold. Davey finally gets back up and monkey flips Ray down, allowing for the tag to Dynamite.

The Kid speeds things way up and sends Ray out to the floor, triggering a brawl between Davey and Raymond. Back inside and Davey hits the powerslam but Jacques breaks it up before a one count. Dynamite comes back in for the headbutt but Jacques drills him with a belly to back suplex for two. Off to an abdominal stretch by Jacques followed by a camel clutch from both Rougeaus. Kid fights up and rams Ray into the buckle to escape but it’s right back to the abdominal stretch by Jacques.

Dynamite finally fights up again and headbutts Jacques down to bring in Davey. Jacques immediately grabs the rope to avoid a dropkick but gets caught in a gorilla press onto the top rope. Everything breaks down and Davey picks up Dynamite to launch him into a headbutt on Jacques, but the time limit expires before there can be a cover.

Rating: C+. This was a solid opener as the fans were staying hot throughout the extended rest holds. The parts with both teams brawling and getting to move around made for a much better match, but you can’t do that for twenty minutes when you’re going for the draw. Draws were much more commonplace back in the 80s so this was nothing that odd to see.

We see Ron Bass attacking Brutus Beefcake and busting him open with a spur. The big red X saying CENSORED which doesn’t actually cover the cut on Brutus’ head is hilarious. Brutus won’t be able to challenge Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Title tonight but there’s an unnamed replacement.

Bad News Brown vs. Ken Patera

Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter who has seen far better days. Bad News is a former Olympian as well, having won a bronze medal in Judo. Brown goes right after Patera during Ken’s entrance and drops a quick elbow for no cover. Patera comes back with a clothesline and takes his jacket off to really get things going. A back elbow puts Bad News down but an elbow drop misses. Brown stomps away on the apron as we’re firmly in punch and kick mode here.

Patera blocks a backdrop with a kick to the chest and gets two off a bad backbreaker. Off to a bearhug by Patera but Brown pokes him in the eye to escape. Patera can’t get his full nelson on in either attempt at the hold so he botches a charge into the corner instead, hitting the post shoulder first. The Ghetto Blaster (enziguri) is enough for the pin by Brown.

Rating: F. Patera was terrible by this point, not even being able to run into Brown’s elbow in the corner properly. Even the announcers were suggesting that he retire at this point, which I believe he did soon after. This match was nothing more than punching and kicking which doesn’t make for a very entertaining few minutes. It’s a product of the times on house shows that, which for all intents and purposes is what this show is: a big house show with a big main event.

Ad for a boxing PPV which had some kind of promotional deal with WWF.

The Mega Powers (Hogan/Savage/Liz) are hyped up for the main event and say that Liz is their secret weapon.

Rick Rude vs. Junkyard Dog

Just like in the previous match, the good guy is jumped during his entrance. This time though Rude is backdropped down and headbutted to the floor for a hug from Heenan. Back in and Dog misses a headbutt, allowing Rude to hit Dog with a top rope axhandle. Rude pounds away on the head as Graham shouts that it won’t work. Instead it’s off to a chinlock by Rick as the match slows way down.

Back up and Dog pounds away in the corner but stops to go after Heenan. A Russian legsweep puts Dog down, and Rude goes up top. Instead of immediately diving off though, Rude takes his own tights down to reveal another pair with Cheryl Roberts (as in Jake’s wife) on them. Jake charges in for the DQ as you would expect him to do.

Rating: D. The match sucked but it’s miles ahead of the previous match. If nothing else Dog had some great charisma and kept the crowd in it, as opposed to Patera who put the crowd to sleep seconds after the bell rang. The Dog was just a jobber at this point and would be in WCW by the end of the year.

The Dog is mad post match but nothing comes of it.

Honky Tonk Man, like the dolt that he is, doesn’t want to know the identity of his mystery opponent. He says he wants to be surprised.

Powers of Pain vs. Bolsheviks

The Powers (Barbarian and Warlord) are still faces here and have the Baron (Von Raschke) with them. Just like in the previous two matches the brawl is on as soon as the good guys hit the ring. The Powers double clothesline Boris Zhukov as Volkoff tries to sneak in for a cheap shot. Barbarian easily catches him coming in and sends him flying until we get down to Barbarian vs. Boris to start things off.

Boris puts his head down and…..something happens (it looked like a choke but it’s not really clear) before it’s off to Warlord for a gutwrench suplex on Zhukov. Both Russians double team Warlord but they can’t even get him down to his knees. Nikolai chokes away before Boris puts on a chinlock. The Russians have a double backdrop broken up and it’s off to Barbarian again. Everything breaks down and it’s a double shoulder followed by a swan dive to Boris for the pin.

Rating: D. Another lame match here but the Powers looked decent. The Baron would be gone in a few weeks as the company wasn’t pleased that a dark character was getting cheered, so they turned Demolition and their evil S&M looking gear face instead. Also did the Russians ever actually win a major match?

Ad for Survivor Series.

Here’s the Brother Love Show with a bell ringing to start it for some reason. After a minute or two of talking about love, he introduces his guest: Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Duggan says that he loves the country and that Love is a fake. Love thinks that Dino Bravo knows the meaning of love and loves his country (Canada), but Duggan says that the people of Canada don’t respect Bravo. Duggan says this isn’t Sunday school and he’ll police this company if need be. Love says he doesn’t see a badge on Duggan, but Jim says his 2×4 will do just fine. Duggan gives him a five count to leave and Love is gone at four. This was pointless.

Same boxing ad as earlier.

Intercontinental Title: Honky Tonk Man vs. ???

Honky says to get him someone out here to wrestle and he doesn’t care who it is. After a few seconds, the Ultimate Warrior charges to the ring, pounds Honky with right hands, hits a shoulder block and splashes him for the pin and the title in thirty seconds. The crowd ERUPTS, as this is what they’ve been waiting over a year to see.

So why was this so awesome? This was one of the most perfectly told stories the WWF ever produced and they nailed it every step of the way. Back in 1987, Ricky Steamboat was Intercontinental Champion but wanted to take some time off. The solution was to put the title on the comedic newcomer the Honky Tonk Man, who cheated to win the belt. Honky viewed as a total joke as champion due to his lack of skill and his gimmick of a wrestling Elvis impersonator.

The fans looked at him as someone who would lose the title the first time he defended it against someone far more competent than he was so it wasn’t that big of a deal. This is where Vince had the fans: what if Honky just didn’t lose the title? If there is one thing pure fans hate, it’s seeing a guy who doesn’t deserve a title holding onto it against people they like. Honky did this for the next 18 months by coming up with every way imaginable to cheat, ranging from getting counted out, disqualified, having Jimmy Hart interfere, walking out of matches and all points in between.

Honky continued to hold the title against far better talent, such as Jim Duggan, Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Ricky Steamboat and Brutus Beefcake, with the idea being “he has to lose eventually.” All of a sudden, Honky was one of the biggest draws around because people would pay their money to see him get beaten up, thinking that the lucky streak couldn’t go on much longer. Well the streak DID keep going, stretching into the longest title reign in the history of the belt which still stands to this day and will likely never be broken.

This is why having Warrior out there was so brilliant. Warrior was the last guy on earth that you would expect to pull off something clever, but he did what everyone else had overlooked: he didn’t bother trying to outsmart Honky, but instead just ran over him and beat him in thirty seconds. This is EXACTLY what the fans had wanted to see for over a year and they got it to perfection. That’s the kind of storytelling that you never get anymore which is a shame.

Regis Philbin is here.

Survivor Series is coming, so here’s a four minute highlight reel from last year’s show. This must be intermission.

Sugar Ray Leonard, one of the boxers in the advertised show, thanks Vince for promoting his fight.

Video on Leonard and his opponent in the fight Donny Lelonde.

Lelonde talks a bit as well.

Leonard says he’ll win.

We see the intro video from the beginning of the show again.

Bobby Heenan comes up to the announcers’ booth and says that DiBiase is counting his money while Andre reads the Wall Street Journal. The Mega Powers are currently cowering in their locker room.

Dino Bravo vs. Don Muraco

These two fought at Wrestlemania earlier in the year as well. This is power vs. power so they shove each other around to start. Some armdrags put Bravo on the floor before heading back in for a hiptoss. Off to an armbar by Muraco but Bravo comes back with an atomic drop to take over. A Russian legsweep puts Bravo down but Muraco has to go after Bravo’s manager Frenchy Martin. The referee gets kicked but nothing comes of it, allowing Bravo to hit his side slam for the pin.

Rating: D-. Somehow that match ran five and a half minutes. Muraco would also be gone soon before the end of the year and it’s not hard to see why. He was nowhere near as bad as Patera earlier but it was clear that his best days were behind him. Bravo would become Earthquake’s lackey soon after this and have the most productive time of his career.

Another Survivor Series ad.

Jesse Ventura says that he’s going to be impartial as the guest referee in the main event despite taking money from DiBiase.

Tag Titles: Hart Foundation vs. Demolition

Demolition is defending and the Harts don’t even get an entrance. The champions have Mr. Fuji and the Harts’ former manager Jimmy Hart with them. Bret and Ax start things off with Ax pounding Hitman down like he’s nothing. Bret avoids an elbow drop and it’s off to Anvil (Jim Neidhart) vs. Smash with Neidhart taking over. Ax hits a knee to Jim’s back from the apron and the champions take over again.

Neidhart gets in a punch to Ax’s face and it’s off to Hart vs. Smash again. Smash will have nothing to do with this selling stuff and whips Bret shoulder first into the post as the champions get their first extended advantage. Bret’s bad arm is caught up in the ropes and both champs pound away on the injured limb. Smash bends Bret’s arm around his own leg Off to Ax for more cranking on the arm. Bret is shockingly not selling it all that well.

Smash sends the arm into the post again and Bret is in big trouble on the outside. Back in and Ax pounds away while Graham is SCREAMING at Anvil to do something. Bret comes back with a clothesline with the injured arm but the referee misses the tag. Smash charges into a knee in the corner and now the referee sees the tag. Anvil comes in and cleans house, even slingshotting over the top onto Smash on the floor. Back in and Bret throws Anvil into Smash in the corner for two before everything breaks down. Neidhart goes after Fuji, allowing Ax to hit Bret in the back with the megaphone to retain.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but once Bret got in and started selling, it was all awesome. Demolition would hold the titles for nearly another year in the longest tag title reign in company history. These teams would go at it again in two years in one of the most entertaining tag matches ever. This was good stuff, but they were capable of much better.

Boxing ad.

Honky is going NUTS in the back, ranting about how this isn’t fair.

Big Boss Man vs. Koko B. Ware

Boss Man is brand new here. This wasn’t included on the home video version for reasons that I’ve never figured out. It was probably a time thing though. Koko fires away to start and staggers the very fat Boss Man with a dropkick. Boss Man is one of the best cases of weight loss you’ll ever see as he lost probably 100lbs in a year and a half, making him MUCH smoother in the ring.

Koko charges into a front facelock and Boss Man pounds him down with a forearm to the back. A splash in the corner crushes Ware but Boss Man pulls him up at two. Off to a surfboard hold but Koko rolls forward and kicks Boss Man in the face. A stiff right hand puts Koko down again but Boss Man misses a top rope splash. Boss Man misses another splash in the corner and a missile dropkick gets two for Koko. Ware charges again but gets dropped face first onto the post, followed by the Boss Man Slam for the easy pin.

Rating: D. This went WAY too long for a squash early on in Boss Man’s run with the company. The match wasn’t terrible and Koko looked good with the high flying stuff, but therein lies the problem: there’s no reason to have Koko look so good here. He should have gotten destroyed in about three minutes as opposed to being somewhat competitive in twice as long.

Boss Man hits Koko with the nightstick post match.

Survivor Series ad. Again.

Ultimate Warrior celebrates in the back and talks about it being like a comic book tonight. He’ll be on the next spaceship to Parts Unknown.

Jake Roberts vs. Hercules

Jake goes for the snake but it’s merely a ploy to get in some quick right hands. A knee lift puts Herc down but Jake can’t hook the DDT. Instead it’s a headlock and Hercules can’t even break it with a belly to back suplex. Herc escapes and drops some elbows for no cover. Off to a chinlock on the Snake as Graham says you can use this to talk to your opponent. In non-announcer speak: it’s a nice way to call spots. A lot of spots could be called here as Herc keeps the hold on for well over a minute.

Jake finally fights up and tries a hammerlock but gets elbowed in the face for his efforts. Roberts pulls Herc from the apron to the floor, only to have his neck snapped across the top rope as Hercules comes back in. We hit the chinlock again but Jake immediately jawbreaks his way out of it. The short clothesline looks to set up the DDT but Hercules backdrops out of it. Herc drops an elbow for two but Jake slips out of a slam and knocks Hercules out lukewarm with the DDT for the pin.

Rating: C-. The match was nothing special but it certainly wasn’t bad. The DDT looked great and the fans went nuts for it so you can’t say they didn’t get what they wanted. Hercules was fine for a role like this as he was strong enough to be a threat to anyone but rarely won anything. Decent little match here actually.

We recap the buildup to the main event. Andre seemed to be challenging Savage for a world title shot but DiBiase jumped Randy from behind, allowing Andre to choke Savage down. The Mega Bucks challenged Savage to a tag match which Savage accepted, saying that he would announce his partner later. If you didn’t know who that was from a mile away, you fail as a wrestling fan. Jesse Ventura, long time Hogan hater, is guest referee for no apparent reason. Andre intimidated Jesse and DiBiase paid Jesse off so the fix is in.

Mega Powers vs. Mega Bucks

Jesse sends all three managers (Virgil, Heenan and Liz) to the floor but not to the back. He also makes the teams change corners for no apparent reason. Savage gets to fight Andre to start but it’s quickly off to DiBiase. He wants Hogan and gets both Hulk and an atomic drop into a right hand from Savage. Hogan pounds DiBiase as well and it’s off to Savage for some double elbows. A top rope ax handle gets two for Savage off a slow count from Ventura.

Andre comes in to beat Hogan down but Jesse is with Liz. Now the Giant comes in legally and sits on Hogan’s chest a few times before putting on a nerve hold. With DiBiase coming in sans tag, Andre chokes away with his singlet. Ted comes in legally for a near fall off a clothesline before dropping those trademark fists of his. Off to a chinlock which Gorilla swears is a choke. Hogan finally elbows his way out of the hold but a double clothesline puts both guys down.

The hot tag brings in Savage to pound away on DiBiase with right hands and a backdrop. A top rope ax handle puts DiBiase down again but Ted rams him into the top turnbuckle to change momentum again. DiBiase clotheslines Savage down and it’s off to Giant again. Andre sits on Savage in the corner which is a lot more devastating than it sounds. Back to DiBiase who gets two off a suplex. Ted goes up for a middle rope elbow, but Savage uses all of his flying elbow experience and rolls away.

Hulk comes in again off the real hot tag and cleans house on both Mega Bucks but Savage jumps into Andre’s boot. Hogan puts DiBiase in a sleeper but Andre makes the save with some headbutts. The Mega Powers are down, but Liz gets on the apron and in the most famous part of the match, takes off her skirt to reveal a bikini bottom and some nice legs. The distraction lets the Mega Powers do their big handshake and Hulk Up as one. A top rope ax handle to Andre, a flying elbow and legdrop to DiBiase later and things are pretty much done. Jesse only counts two, so Savage has to shove his hand down for the three.

Rating: B-. Much like the original Wrestlemania main event, there isn’t much to see here but it’s a fun match. It gave the fans exactly what they wanted and the Liz bit was a big surprise as she NEVER did anything sexual up to that point and rarely did after. Hogan and Savage were obviously going to win, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a fun moment and a decent main event.

Hogan lifts Liz (who remember is rather scantily clad here) onto Savage’s shoulder for the post match celebration. Savage gives him a look that says “Dude, NOT COOL!” You could see the seeds being planted even back then.

Overall Rating: D+. This is more of the start of a historical series than a good show itself. The only things people remember are Liz’s legs and a thirty second squash and it’s really not surprising. The rest of the show is a bunch of boring matches with nothing of note to them at all. It’s certainly not a terrible show as there are some good tag matches and some decent singles matches, but nothing on here is must see television and nothing is really significant. For a big house show though, not too bad.

Ratings Comparison

For each of the reviews, I’ll be posting a comparison of the original reviews to the redos as I always do. Summerslam was one of the first set of reviews I ever did so the original ratings are going to be very interesting.

British Bulldogs vs. Fabulous Rougeaus

Original: B
Redo: C+

Bad News Brown vs. Ken Patera

Original: D+
Redo: F

Rick Rude vs. Junkyard Dog

Original: D
Redo: D

Powers of Pain vs. Bolsheviks

Original: C+
Redo: D

Ultimate Warrior vs. Honky Tonk Man

Original: A+
Redo: N/A

Dino Bravo vs. Don Muraco

Original: B-
Redo: D-

Demolition vs. Hart Foundation

Original: B-
Redo: B-

Big Boss Man vs. Koko B. Ware

Original: D
Redo: D

Jake Roberts vs. Hercules

Original: C-
Redo: C-

Mega Powers vs. Mega Bucks

Original: B
Redo: B-

Overall Rating

Original: D+
Redo: D+

How could I have possibly liked Muraco vs. Bravo? There’s NOTHING there!

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2011/07/23/history-of-summerslam-count-up-1988-liz-has-some-nice-legs/

Dynamite
Date: June 26, 2024
Location: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite before we get to Forbidden Door, meaning it’s time for the final push towards the show. There is a good chance that more matches will be added either tonight or on Rampage or Collision, which doesn’t leave much time to get things ready. Other than that, we have some Owen Hart Tournament matches to cover so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is MJF to get things going but Daniel Garcia (hometown boy) cuts him off. MJF is glad the fans love Garcia, but tread lightly. Garcia thanks him for the save last week but says this is his town and his business. He is here to do something new: say nice things about MJF! That works for MJF, so Garcia talks about MJF’s accomplishments, including beating Garcia in a World Title match.

That loss set him off on the run of a lifetime, so why settle for being a pillar when he can be the workhorse around here? For that, he thanks MJF, but does mention MJF being two faced. MJF hypes up Forbidden Door (getting the date wrong) but then thanks Garcia for actually thanking him for what he does behind the scenes. Garcia got his title shot because he earned it and because he reminds MJF of himself.

The thing to remember though is that MJF beat Garcia, but maybe he should get one more shot…say at All In. Garcia says that’s huge but here is Will Ospreay to interrupt. Ospreay says he appreciates Garcia, who has been earning a shot by earning win after win. Not only that, but he’s been doing it faster than Ospreay “lasts in the bedroom Bruv.”

After an apology to his lady friend at home, Ospreay says the title shot is on for next week…and we’ll make it a World Title match too since Ospreay is winning that at Forbidden Door. Works for Garcia, so Ospreay leaves and MJF isn’t happy. MJF tells him to focus on his big shot and leaves in a hurry. The fact that MJF’s match against Hechicero on Sunday was barely mentioned isn’t a great sign for that one, but it’s not like they have anything to talk about anyway.

Swerve Strickland doesn’t get why Ospreay isn’t making promises he won’t be able to keep, because that isn’t very World Champion-esque. Fans: “WE CAN’T HEAR YOU!”

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

Bryan Danielson is on commentary and it’s Titan/Shingo Takagi/Hiromu Takahashi for Los Ingobernables. Castagnoli runs Takagi over with a shoulder to start and they slug it out, as you might have expected. A hiptoss puts Castagnoli down and he’s rather impressed. Takahashi comes in for a running hurricanrana to Yuta and it’s off to Titan for a running clothesline in the corner. There’s the big dive to the floor but Castagnoli comes back in and pulls Titan out of the air to take over.

We take a break and come back with Titan kicking Castagnoli’s leg out but it’s off to Moxley, who gets hit in the face. Everything breaks down and it’s a slugout between Moxley and Takagi. Moxley bites his face but gets put down with a clothesline, meaning it’s off to Yuta vs. Takahashi. A rather snappy German suplex sends Takahashi down but he’s back with a Death Valley Driver. Then Moxley hits Takahashi with a chair for the DQ at 10:48.

Rating: B-. It was fun while it lasted but the ending was kind of out of nowhere. Maybe they’re playing up the idea that Moxley is wild and violent before his IWGP World Title defense against Tetsuya Naito on Sunday but it only went so far. Other than that, this was the Club against another group of guest stars, which has kind of been done to death lately.

Post match the brawl is on until Tetsuya Naito comes in for the brawl. Takagi hammers on Yuta until Danielson makes the save.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Jay White vs. Rey Fenix

The rest of the Bang Bang Gang is here with White while Penta El Zero Miedo is here with Fenix. Everyone at ringside wants to grab a chair so the referee ejects them all before the bell. Fenix grabs a very fast rollup for two so White chops away at him to take over. Fenix is right back up with a springboard armdrag to send White outside, which of course means a big dive to take him down again. Back in and White grabs a quick flipping neckbreaker for two as we take a break.

We come back with White firing off more chops but Fenix kicks him down. A frog splash gets a rather delayed two but White spins him into a DDT for a knockdown. The brainbuster gives White two, only to have Fenix reverse the Blade Runner into a rollup for two of his own. Fenix tries the Fire Thunder Driver but White reverses into the Blade Runner for the pin at 9:18.

Rating: C+. This only had so much time and I was expecting a bit more from them. White getting a singles win is almost weird to see as he has spent so much time as part of a team. I’m not sure I can imagine him going very far in the whole thing but giving him a single win isn’t going to hurt anything.

Post match the Bang Bang Gang comes back and here is the Patriarchy to stare them down. Then the Patriarchy leaves.

The Young Bucks blame the Acclaimed for the cheating in last week’s match as the Bucks were pushed to it. With that out of the way, they brag about the Elite’s success and next week, they’ll get to pick their own Wild Card into the Men’s Owen Hart Tournament so the World Title can come to the team.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a chat. Caster refers to the Bucks as the “cucks” and showed how inept they are at running anything. They’re going to decide when to issue the challenge for the Tag Team Titles….but here is the Elite to interrupt. They get right to the point and issue the challenge for a six man tag at Forbidden Door. Gunn says he’s kind of a big deal and knows a president, so we get a video from Hiroshi Tanahashi, who says he is coming to Forbidden Door to fight the Elite. So did Gunn have that video ready just in case the Elite issued a challenge for a six man?

The Conglomeration is ready to win everything on Sunday, with Kyle O’Reilly calling Zack Sabre Jr. a scalawag. Mark Briscoe goes into a rant about various horrible things that Sabre Jr. is like, including Peppa Pig. Orange Cassidy thinks that went well, which has been the case every time they’ve let Briscoe go insane.

Mina Shirakawa/Toni Storm/Mariah May vs. Outcasts/Anna Jay

May is dragged to the entrance by Storm but stays on the stage to come to the ring with Shirakawa (following a rather snazzy dance routine). Jay and Shirakawa start things off with the former sliding down and dancing a bit. Back up and a springboard kick to the face rocks Jay so it’s off to May for some shaking. Cameron comes in for some elbows to the back but May isn’t sure who she should tag. Instead she stays in, allowing Saraya and Jay to pull Storm and Shirakawa to the floor.

We take a break and come back with May and Cameron grabbing stereo hair takedowns. Storm comes in and sends Saraya flying with a German suplex, setting up the hip attack. Shirakawa tags herself in and everything breaks down, with the Mina Driver (I think) finishing Cameron at 6:57.

Rating: C+. They are playing the heck out of the triangle deal here and it’s working well enough. I’m curious to see where they go on Sunday but odds are they have some kind of a way out of it. Other than that, I’m a bit relieved that Jay didn’t take the pin here, as she seemed to be added for little more than that.

Post match May has the other two toast the champagne. May then dances with Storm, leaving Shirakawa to grab the champagne bottle….which hits May by mistake. Storm is not pleased and seething ensues.

Video on Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer.

Mone is here and says it’s funny that Vaquer isn’t. Vaquer will be wrestling on Collision and Mone will be there too.

Here is the Learning Tree for a chat, with Bryan Keith’s arm in a sling. They aren’t happy with Keith’s arm being injured, but Samoa Joe and company has challenged them to a six man anyway. The Sensei of the Sickos (Chris Jericho that is) has an idea though, so here is their third man: Minoru Suzuki!

But hang on, as Suzuki says he wants to fight Jericho for the FTW Title rather than team with him. Jericho said that he hadn’t watched the video (and that Suzuki was a fellow Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall Of Famer). Cue Samoa Joe and company, with Joe saying this is awkward. Katsuyori Shibata sums up the situation with his computer saying “this guy sucks” and the fight is on, with the Learning Tree bailing.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Orange Cassidy is on commentary and Roderick Strong is watching from ringside. They go to the grappling to start (shocking I know) with O’Reilly flipping over him into a standoff. Sabre goes after the arm but O’Reilly is away just as quickly and we have a standoff. O’Reilly takes over on the mat by cranking on the leg but Sabre slips out and stomps him down as we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly striking away until Sabre pulls him into an abdominal stretch. That’s broken up as well so it’s time for O’Reilly to win a strike off. O’Reilly suplexes him into a cross armbreaker before switching into an ankle lock. That’s broken up so O’Reilly snaps off a German suplex for the knockdown. They exchange kicks to the head and then slap it out until Sabre pulls him into a Disarm-Her for the tap at 10:59.

Rating: B. This was exactly what you would have expected it was going to be from these two and it went rather well. It was two guys who are masters at technical wrestling getting to do their thing for a good while until one of them gave up. Solid match, though I’m still only so interested in seeing Sabre vs. Cassidy on Sunday.

Post match Cassidy goes to the ring to check on O’Reilly as Sabre’s partners, the Mighty Don’t Kneel, come in. Cue Tomohiro Ishii to even things out and the villains run off.

Swerve Strickland/Will Ospreay vs. Gates Of Agony

The Gates jump them at the bell and the beating is on in a hurry. We settle down to Ospreay jumping over Kaun and sending him flying with a monkey flip. A standing moonsault hits Kaun and Swerve gets two, only to have to block an accidental big boot from Ospreay. The distraction lets Liona run both of the over with a clothesline and we take a break.

Back with Swerve kicking his way up from the mat but Kaun pulls Ospreay off the apron to break up the tag. Kaun dropkicks Liona by mistake though and the tag brings Ospreay in to clean house. The standing shooting star press gets two on Kaun but he catches Ospreay on top for a super Jackhammer. Swerve is back with a Stomp from the apron to the floor to take Kaun down. Back in and Ospreay superkicks Swerve by mistake, leaving Kaun to hit a Pounce for two. Swerve is back up but his boot misses Ospreay (in theory) and hits Liona, setting up the Oscutter for two more. The Hidden Blade finishes Liona at 10:08.

Rating: C+. This was about adding more spice to the World Title match and it worked well enough, or at least as well as you can get with the Gates being involved. Strickland vs. Ospreay should be a heck of a match on Sunday, though I’m worried about how overshadowed it might be. Maybe this match boosts it up a bit, but they have some work to do.

Post match Ospreay picks up both titles and gets House Called for his efforts to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The show was fine enough but my goodness I do not care about Forbidden Door and I never can. The show always winds up being good but the build always comes off as “and then we have this person and this person and this person and this person” as guest stars.

It certainly has an audience of some kind, though I can never bring myself to get interested in this. That was on full display this week as we have a bunch of people added to the show at the last minute. Forbidden Door will be good, but I don’t care for the build and never have. Some of the other stuff worked well, like the Women’s Title match and the World Title, but that’s only a portion of a rather long two-plus hour show.

Results
Los Ingobernables de Japon b. Blackpool Combat Club via DQ when Moxley used a chair
Jay White b. Rey Fenix – Blade Runner
Mina Shirakawa/Toni Storm/Mariah May b. Outcasts/Anna Jay – Mina Driver to Cameron
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Kyle O’Reilly – Disarm-Her
Swerve Strickland/Will Ospreay b. Gates Of Agony – Hidden Blade to Liona

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #1
Date: June 19, 2002
Location: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West, Ed Ferrara

I’ve tried to do this series more than once and it has never quite worked but I might as well try it again. I’ve done the first 18 before but since it’s been so many years and I can’t even remember what happened, we’ll just start from the beginning. This is of course the new Jerry Jarrett promotion that was designed to fill in the gap left by WCW and it went…well yeah. Let’s get to it.

Commentary gets their entrances and we get an intro to the company, as well as the rules for tonight’s Gauntlet For The Gold (basically a Royal Rumble with a singles match at the end) for the World Title.

We open with an in-ring legends ceremony, with some big names included:

Harley Race
Dory Funk Jr.
Jackie Fargo
Bob Armstrong
Corsica Joe
Bill Behrens
Ricky Steamboat

Steamboat has the World Title and talks about how important the belt is to him and everyone else in the ring. Tonight you will see the Gauntlet For The Gold for the title and Steamboat will be the guest referee when it gets down to two. Cue Jeff Jarrett to interrupt and he hates the whole idea. Fargo doesn’t want to hear it and puts Jarrett in the Gauntlet at #1. Cue Ken Shamrock to say he doesn’t like this either, but Jarrett isn’t beating him up. Cue Scott Hall through the crowd (fresh off being thrown out of WWE) to say quit crying about the match because that’s how it’s going to go.

Puppet the Psycho Dwarf thinks his match should start the show because he’s the real star.

AJ Styles/Low Ki/Jerry Lynn vs. Flying Elvises

The Elvises would be Sonny Siaki/Jorge Estrada/Jimmy Yang and they jump the other three to start. Lynn is right up for a dive onto Siaki as Styles powerslams Yang. Lynn comes in with a backbreaker for two on Yang as this is all action to start. Back up and Yang sends Lynn into the corner for the step up moonsault kick too the chest. It’s off to Siaki, who gets sent into the corner so Ki can come in to strike away. An over the shoulder backbreaker plants Ki before a Samoan drop into a moonsault gets two.

A neckbreaker out of the corner into a running shooting star press gets two on Ki but he’s back with a heck of a kick to the head. It’s back to Styles for the springboard moonsault into the reverse DDT for two as everything breaks down. Lynn Cradle Piledrives Estrada but walks into a fisherman’s neckbreaker from Siaki. Ki kicks Styles by mistake though and Yang Time (twisting moonsault) is good for the pin on Styles at 6:27.

Rating: B-. And that’s how TNA starts. They weren’t kidding with the “total nonstop action” part as they had all six people going nuts out there and cramming in as much stuff as they could in about six and a half minutes. That isn’t much time to work with but Styles looked like a star and Lynn looked like the established veteran while Ki was the hard striker. Throw in a kind of awesome gimmick like the Flying Elvises and how can you go wrong?

Teo vs. Hollywood

It’s a midget match and Teo, the World’s Smallest Extreme Athlete, jumps him to start and hammers away in the corner. Tenay talks about how Rey Mysterio was asked to be a midget wrestler when he started. Ferrara: “And what happened?” Tenay: “Obviously he didn’t.” Thanks for that Mike. They trade rollups for two each until Hollywood knocks him down and hits a top rope splash for two. Teo comes back with a Russian legsweep into a top rope twisting Swanton for the pin at 2:49. Short and pretty much what you would expect here.

Apparently Teo stands for Totally (Totally E) Outstanding.  That’s….eh it’s kind of clever.

Ferrara gets in the ring and announces next week’s lingerie battle royal, with Ferrara and West bringing out various women who will be included, such as Francine, Shannon (Daphne), Alexis Laree (Mickie James), Elektra (from ECW) and more. Francine says none of these women can compare to her but Elektra doesn’t want to hear about extreme. The brawl is on and clothes are ripped off.  This was what you would think it would be.

Mortimer Plumtree, a rather nerdy manager who carries a paddle, brags about the force of his rather obedient tag team: the Johnsons.

Johnsons vs. Psicosis/James Storm

That’s quite a team to face off against the guys in flesh colored outfits meant to resemble a certain body part. Storm is a cowboy of course but looks more like a flasher in a cowboy hat. He does at least have some cap guns to make it more authentic. Richard sends Psicosis hard into the corner to start and snaps off a suplex for two. The Johnsons are sent into each other though and Storm dropkicks Rod down.

Cue Alicia (Ryan Shamrock) to watch, with commentary being glad for the camera to pan out and show the rest of her. Psicosis comes back in for a basement dropkick but the Johnsons plant him with a double flapjack. A t-bone suplex drops Psicosis again as commentary makes rather lame jokes. Psicosis faceplants his way out of a powerbomb attempt but the Johnsons snap off stereo suplexes. Everything breaks down and a sloppy TKO finishes Storm at 4:54.

Rating: C-. For a match that was all about making various awful jokes over one idea as many times as possible, this was surprisingly dull. Psicosis and Storm are as thrown together as you can find and while the Johnsons were a decent power team, they couldn’t be more one joke if they tried. It’s designed to make the writers laugh and if they have to go for a joke on the first show, so it be I guess.

Post match Alicia talks to the referee, who pays her.

The Dupps (Stan, better known as Trevor Murdoch, and Bo) go to have beers with their cousin Fluff but they aren’t allowed to wrestle.

Here are NASCAR drivers Hermie Sadler and Sterling Marlin for a chat. Marlin is the current season points leader and is ready to go race in California this week. Cue K-Krush (R-Truth) who is sick of hearing about race car drivers. He’s a real athlete instead of someone who drives around in a circle.

Sadler mocks Krush’s look and says this place is full of NASCAR fans. Krush isn’t interested but Brian Lawler (Grandmaster Sexay) runs in for the save. The drivers get to beat Krush up and Lawler issues the challenge for next week. Seems to be on. Commentary going back and forth between Brian Christopher and Brian Lawler isn’t a good sign.

Jeff Jarrett is choking Jackie Fargo.

Christian York/Joey Matthews vs. Dupps

The Dupps, with Fluff (the cousin AND girlfriend), are as stereotypical of a hillbilly team as you could get. York gets dropped to start but Matthews comes in with a double springboard dropkick. Bo strikes away on Matthews and hits a standing splash for two. Back up and Matthews clotheslines his way to freedom, allowing York to come in and clean house. Everything breaks down and York hits a tornado DDT but Fluff breaks up something off the top, allowing Stan to get the pin at 3:42.

Rating: C. York and Matthews are a good team for a pair of young, athletic stars but there is only so much you can get when you have a one note comedy act. The Dupps are about as dumb of a team as you can get, save for the team that we saw in the previous match. One team showed potential while the other was awful, so guess which team won.

Here’s the video for Toby Keith’s How Do You Like Me Now. He’s no Hardcore Holly.

Here is Keith to sing Courtesy Of The Red White And Blue live and, after quite a lengthy performance, Jeff Jarrett interrupts. Jarrett: “How do you like ME now?” Keith is held back.

NWA World Title: Gauntlet For The Gold

The title is vacant coming in (as Dan Severn was stripped of the title due to not defending it here), there are twenty entrants with ninety second intervals and it’s a battle royal until the final two entrants. Jeff Jarrett is in at #1 and Buff Bagwell is in at #2 to slug away and hit the running neckbreaker. The Blockbuster connects but a charging Bagwell is sent out with a backdrop. Lash Leroux is in at #3 And they both head outside (not eliminated) to slug it out.

Back in and the Stroke connects, with Leroux being easily tossed. Norman Smiley is in at #4 as the remaining time is skipped if there is only one person in the ring. Good for fans, totally unfair to the lone wrestler. Jarrett blocks the Big Wiggle and tosses Smiley without much trouble. Apollo (a rather big and muscular wrestler from Puerto Rico) is in at #5 and manages to send Jarrett to the apron for some stomping but can’t get him out. K-Krush is in at #6 and saves Jarrett from a gorilla press, setting up an ax kick to Apollo. Slash, with James Mitchell, is in at #7 as Apollo fights up.

Jarrett saves Slash for no logical reason and the villains hammer on Apollo again. Del Rios is in at #8 as the ring is starting to fill up. The rather large Justice (soon to be known as Abyss) is in at #9 and hits the yet to be named Black Hole Slam on Del Rios. Slash adds a reverse DDT to Del Rios and it’s Konnan in at #10 to pick up the pace.

That gives us a grouping of Jarrett, Apollo, K-Krush, Slash, Del Rios, Justice and Konnan, which is quite the collection. Here is Joel Gertner to limerick Bruce (better known as Kwee Wee in WCW) at #11. The entrance takes so long that almost nothing can happen before Rick Steiner is in at #12. Slash is eliminated and Justice follows him as Rick clears some of the ring. Malice (formerly known as The Wall in WCW and Slash’s partner in the Disciples Of The New Church) is in at #13 and throws out Bruce, K-Krush, Del Rios and Konnan before low bridging Steiner out. Apollo skins the cat to stay alive and it’s Scott Hall in at #14.

A superkick drops Malice and Hall hits the Razor’s Edge to plant Jarrett. Toby Keith is in at #15 (oh dear) and suplexes Jarrett (who can’t hide that he’s doing the work) before tossing him out. Keith walks out, seemingly eliminating himself, leaving us with Hall, Apollo and Malice. Chris Harris is in at #16 to pick up the pace but the Vampire Warrior (Gangrel) follows him and seems to be in as well. Devon Storm (formerly known as Crowbar) is in at #17 (I think?) and gets to hit some people but no one is tossed.

Steve Corino is in at #18 and seems rather happy to be here. Mitchell gets in a cheap shot to cut Corino off as Ken Shamrock is in at #19. Some rather hard striking abounds until Malice catches him with a chokeslam. Harris is sent to the apron but comes back in to hammer on the Warrior. Brian Christopher is in at #20, giving us a final grouping of Hall, Apollo, Malice, Harris, Warrior, Storm, Corino, Shamrock and Christopher.

Harris, Storm and the Warrior are out in a hurry and Christopher knocks Corino out as well. Shamrock kicks Christopher down and throws him out before Malice does the same to Apollo. Hall is tossed as well and it’s Shamrock vs. Malice for the title, with Ricky Steamboat as referee.

Malice puts him down rather quickly and gets two off a side slam. Shamrock’s sunset flip is blocked but the chokeslam is countered into a cross armbreaker. Malice grabs the rope so Shamrock grabs the ankle lock, with Malice going to the rope again. For some reason Shamrock just pulls him back and doesn’t let go, so another rope has to be grabbed for the real break. Shamrock even yells at Steamboat (no one yells at Ricky Steamboat) before countering a chokeslam into a belly to belly suplex for the pin and the title at 37:37.

Rating: C+. There were definitely names involved here and it made the match feel more prestigious. A match like this is about setting the standard for the main event scene going forward and Shamrock is a good choice to start things off. Malice felt like a monster but there is only so much you can get out of that monsterness when Shamrock beats him in a few minutes. For now though, this is the right call and you know that Jarrett is going to have something to complain about.

Commentary talks about the night but here is Jeff Jarrett to yell at Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race and Bob Armstrong over how a World Title shouldn’t be decided in a battle royal. Jarrett drops Funk and Armstrong so here are Jackie Fargo and Toby Keith to yell. Fargo says he’ll get Scott Hall to fight Jarrett next week. Hall runs in and brawls with Jarrett to end the show. They’re the biggest stars in the company but it’s not a great idea to put them out there just after crowning a new World Champion.

Overall Rating: C-. Oh this was a rough start, with only a few bright spots. The main event was good enough and the opener worked, but the obsession with the country/southern stuff and the dumb “comedy” tag teams were just bad. It’s not a show I’d want to keep watching, but in theory they were going for the idea of having no alternatives to WWE. Call it a case of anything being better than nothing, but egads they have a lot of work to do.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT – June 25, 2024

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NXT
Date: June 25, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We are rapidly closing in on Heatwave and after last week, we have an official #1 contender to the NXT Title. At the same time, we seem to have two other people who want that spot as well. A four way title shot isn’t out of the question, which seems to also be the case for another Joe Hendry appearance. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Ava tells referees and security to be on their toes tonight.

Tag Team Gauntlet Match

For the Tag Team Title shot at Heatwave with Edris Enofe/Malik Blade in at #1 and New Catch Republic in at #2. Dunne works on Enofe’s arm to start but Blade comes in off a blind tag for a double dropkick. A Blockbuster/spinebuster combination gets two on Dunne but Bate comes in for a rebound lariat/German suplex combination. Bate dives onto Blade and then comes back in for a double powerbomb and the elimination at 2:43.

Angel and Berto are in at #3 and the slugout is on until Angel low bridges Bate to the floor to take over. A Gory Bomb/flipping cutter combination gets two on Bate but Dunne comes back in to make the save. Bate is taken up top but cue Apollo Crews for the distraction, allowing him to fight his way to freedom. The Tyler Driver 97 finishes Berto at 6:13 total and it’s the OC in at #4.

The OC get dropped in a hurry and we take a break. Back with Bate airplane spinning Anderson, who is back up to save Gallows. The Magic Killer is broken up and Dunne small packages Gallows for the pin at 11:45 total. Chase U is in at #5 (the final team) as OTM comes out to laugh at the OC, who chase them to the back. Chase stomps on Dunne to start but Dunne sends him to the apron for the ten forearms to the chest.

That’s broken up and the tag brings in Hudson to clean house. Hudson and Bate fight over a suplex with the latter getting the better of things, only for Chase to kick Dunne in the head. Bate rolls Chase up for two but Hudson makes the save. Hudson’s fingers are snapped by Dunne so Bate dives onto….Ridge Holland, who shoves Chase out of the way. That leaves Chase to hit the high crossbody for the pin and the win at 17:00.

Rating: B-. As usual, this was pretty much of regular tag matches tied together with some falls that were far quicker than normal. The Republic going through the match until the end, with Holland costing the team the win, is a good story throughout but it feels like something we see in so many gauntlet matches. Either way, solid match here and I can go for more Chase U.

Roxanne Perez doesn’t like Karmen Petrovic watching her beat up Lola Vice and mocks her for only watching the stars.

We get a tribute graphic for Sika.

Dante Chen offers to be Nathan Frazer’s corner man tonight but Axiom comes in to say he’ll do it instead. Works for Chen.

Here is Ethan Page for a chat. He’s not happy with Je’Von Evans being the #1 contender because he won a battle royal where Page was never eliminated. Page requests and receives Ava out here and wants her to change the Heatwave main event. Ava thinks he has a point but here is Shawn Spears for another interruption.

Spears pinned Evans two weeks ago, but Page doesn’t see why that matters (fair). Spears promises to pin Trick Williams tonight, so cue Williams to interrupt. Williams doesn’t care who he faces at Heatwave so the fight is on, with Evans coming in to help Williams clear the ring. They aren’t even bothering to try hiding where this is going and that is fine.

The No Quarter Catch Crew yell at Ridge Holland but an off-screen woman (presumably Thea Hail) calls him over. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger come in to issue a challenge for next week. Sure why not.

Stevie Turner seems to flirt with Mr. Stone and suggests that she be the second in command. Neither of them are going anywhere, with Stone saying she couldn’t beat him on her best day.

Wes Lee vs. Joe Coffey

The rest of Gallus is here with Coffey. Lee runs him over to start but Coffey runs him over with a shot to the face. Back up and Lee kicks him in the face, setting up a quick DDT. Lee stomps him on the back but walks into a powerslam for two. All The Best For The Bells is loaded up but Lee hits a quick Cardiac Kick for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have much time to get anywhere but the idea was that Lee can hit that kick from anywhere and score a win, especially over a bigger opponent. Oba Femi is likely going to break every piece of Lee in half but at least they’re doing a nice job of setting things up. Nice storytelling here, though it only had so much time.

Post match Oba Femi pops up on the platform and says he’ll see Lee at Heatwave.

Tony D’Angelo’s plan for Nathan Frazer? Punch him in the mouth and keep the Heritage Cup in the Family.

Duke Hudson is with Ridge Holland when he gets an envelope of pictures delivered. Holland says Hudson won and snatches them away as the rest of Chase U comes in to celebrate their win.

Heritage Cup: Tony D’Angelo vs. Nathan Frazer

Frazer is challenging. Round one begins with Frazer grabbing a headlock takeover and rolling D’Angelo up for the pin and the first fall at 42 seconds. Round two begins D’Angelo hitting a backdrop and hammering away with some heavy shots to the ribs. Frazer gets knocked out of the air and a spinebuster ties it up at 1:11 of the round and 2:23 overall.

Round three begins with D’Angelo firing some shoulders into the ribs in the corner. Frazer manages to send him outside but a dive is cut off, with Frazer being sent into the steps as we take a break. Back with about two minutes left in the fourth round and Frazer knocking D’Angelo to the floor for a dive. Frazer hits another one and a low superkick gets two back inside. Frazer’s springboard is pulled out of the air though and D’Angelo hits another spinebuster for two.

D’Angelo misses a charge into the post and gets missile dropkicked as the round ends. Round five begins with D’Angelo knocking him into the corner but charging into a superkick for two. Frazer goes up but dives into another spinebuster for two more. They head outside again and D’Angelo is sent arm first into the steps. Back in and a Coast To Coast gets two on D’Angelo as the fans deem this awesome.

Frazer knocks him off the ropes and hits the Phoenix splash as the round ends. Round six (the last round) begins with Frazer getting some rollups for two each. Frazer goes up but gets caught in a heck of a release belly to belly superplex. I believe the fifth spinebuster retains the Cup at 1:12 of the round and 14:42 overall.

Rating: B-. The repetitive spinebusters aside, this was a good back and forth match with D’Angelo using the power to deal with Frazer’s high flying. That’s often the best way to go and it worked well enough here, with Frazer coming close but not being able to pull it off. The seconds didn’t do anything here, meaning the Axiom/Frazer issues can likely continue going forward.

Je’Von Evans is willing to have Trick Williams’ back in the main event but Williams is cool on his own. Works for Evans.

Roxanne Perez vs. Karmen Petrovic

Non-title but hold on as here is Lola Vice to join commentary. Perez grabs a hammerlock to start and then kicks her down into the corner. Vice promises that her fists don’t lie as Perez hits a running shot in the corner for two. Petrovic fights up and hits some forearms, only to have the big spinning kick blocked. Pop Rox finishes for Perez at 3:43.

Rating: C. This was pretty much a squash for Perez as she gets to show that she is still on a high level before her match with Vice at Heatwave. That’s a good way to go as Perez has not looked like the strongest force in recent weeks. Petrovic still feels like she has potential, but that is only going to carry her so far.

Post match Vice drops Perez and takes the title with her.

Noam Dar calls in to Meta Four and tells them that he suffered a torn tendon in his leg when Ethan Page attacked him. He’ll be out for awhile, which sends Oro Mensah into a rather emotional story about how his father almost died in a wreck. His father was severely burned though and as a result, he and his brother were put in foster care. He never felt like he fit in but now he feels like he fits in with Meta Four. That’s why he will do anything to get revenge on Page.

The OC has attacked OTM, leaving Michin and Jaida Parker to yell at each other.

Ava grants Carlee Bright a match with Wendy Choo when Lola Vice comes in. Vice leaves the title on the desk and says tell Roxanne Perez she wants a title shot at Heatwave.

Damon Kemp vs. Tavion Heights

If Heights wins, he’s in the No Quarter Catch Crew (at ringside). Heights takes him down a few times without much trouble and a shoulder breaker sends Kemp outside. We pause for Kemp to pop his shoulder back into place and he drops some elbows back inside. An Angle Slam gets two on Heights but he escapes a second one and hits a spinning belly to belly for the pin at 2:54.

Kelani Jordan is ready to find out her next challenger and wants to be a drama free champion. With that covered, Jaida Parker comes in to challenge Michin to a street fight next week.

Brinley Reece gives Edris Enofe and Malik Blade a pep talk but Izzi Dame comes in to mock them. Dame bails before a challenge can be made.

Axiom wants to do tape study for Heatwave but Nathan Frazer has to get ready for his Speed match first. Axiom is not pleased.

Arianna Grace vs. Sol Ruca

For a Women’s North American Title shot at Heatwave. Ruca pulls her into a headscissors on the mat to start and then shifts into a headlock. Back up an an X Factor plants Grace, allowing Ruca to strike a surfer pose. Grace gets in a quick shot to send her outside and snaps off a suplex for two back inside. A running knee lift drops Ruca again and we hit the seated abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and Ruca starts the comeback, only to get rolled up for two. The Sol Snatcher finishes Grace rather quickly at 4:14.

Rating: C. This wasn’t much of a match but after Kelani Jordan won the title in a ladder match, having a #1 contender crowned by being handed a title shot wouldn’t have been a great way to go. Ruca beating Grace isn’t much but it’s better than nothing and does at least set up the title match. It’s not exactly interesting, but that’s going to be the case for the first good while of the title’s history.

Roxanne Perez storms into Ava’s office and thinks Ava is behind the whole thing. The title match against Lola Vice is set for Heatwave.

Kelani Jordan and Sol Ruca are cool for their match at Heatwave. Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx pop up to complain about not getting their shots.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Shawn Spears vs. Trick Williams

Non-title and Ethan Page is on commentary. They go to the floor to start but head straight back inside, with Spears hitting a Thesz press of all things. Williams fights up and grabs a choke before they both hit kicks to the chest. Cue Oro Mensah to brawl with Page and we take a break.

Back with Williams having to use the ropes to get out of a crossface and Hulking Up in a cool visual. A Rock Bottom is countered though and Spears hits a superkick for two. Williams hits a kick to the face but gets caught in a Backstabber, only to come back with a Rock Bottom for two. Cue someone (it’s Brooks Jensen in a hoodie) to try and interfere so Williams sends Spears outside. A dive drops Spears but Jensen, being pulled away by security, rips the top of the announcers’ table off and hits Williams in the face. That’s enough to set up a C4 into the corner to finish Williams at 8:18.

Rating: C+. This was about getting Spears further into the title picture while also bringing Jensen’s deal to the next level. As you could see earlier, there isn’t much of a doubt about where the Heatwave title match is going and this was a step that they needed to take to get there. I’m still not sure what is going on with Jensen (who wasn’t named or identified) or if he is going to be able to live up to the hype, but they’re certainly trying.

Ava, Mr. Stone and Stevie Turner aren’t sure what to do with the title situation so Ava makes a four way for the title, with Williams defending against Spears, Page and Je’Von Evans.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show that wasn’t about the wrestling but rather adding all kinds of things to the Heatwave card. Five matches were added to the show, which says a lot when we came in with nothing officially set. That’s a lot to set up in a hurry, but some of the matches were all but made coming into this week. That’s the kind of a show you need on occasion and they made it work very well here.

Results
Chase U won a tag team gauntlet match last eliminating the New Catch Republic
Wes Lee b. Joe Coffey – Cardiac Kick
Tony D’Angelo b. Nathan Frazer 2-1
Roxanne Perez b. Karmen Petrovic – Pop Rox
Tavion Heights b. Damon Kemp – Spinning belly to belly
Sol Ruca b. Arianna Grace – Sol Snatcher
Shawn Spears b. Trick Williams – C4 into the corner

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

Remember that you can pick the Summerslam I redo this year by voting here.

Make sure you check out some recent reviews:

Impact Wrestling – June 20, 2024

Ring Of Honor – June 20, 2024

A Tribute To The Extreme 2

Monday Night Raw – June 24, 2024

Twice As Nice: WWE Couple Announces Birth Of Second Son.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/twice-as-nice-wwe-couple-announces-birth-of-second-son/

58 Year Old Former WWE/WCW/ECW Star Arrested, Accused Of Stabbing Man At Truck Stop.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/58-year-old-former-wwe-wcw-ecw-star-arrested-accused-of-stabbing-man-at-truck-stop/

Earned It: Popular AEW Star Taking Time Off Due To Various Injuries.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/earned-it-popular-aew-star-taking-time-off-due-to-various-injuries/

Make It Bigger: New Stipulations Set For Seth Rollins vs. Damian Priest At Money In The Bank.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/make-it-bigger-new-stipulations-set-for-seth-rollins-vs-damian-priest-at-money-in-the-bank/

And NEW! Title Change Takes Place In Wild Monday Night Raw Main Event.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/and-new-title-change-takes-place-in-wild-monday-night-raw-main-event/

They’re On: Title Match And Grudge Match Set For WWE Money In The Bank.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/theyre-on-title-match-and-grudge-match-set-for-wwe-money-in-the-bank/

Him Too: Another Prominent Name Gone From WWE.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/him-too-another-prominent-name-gone-from-wwe/

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