Collision
Date: March 30, 2024
Location: Budweiser Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s tournament time this week as we have two first round matches in the Tag Team Title tournament. Other than that, we have about three weeks to go before Dynasty and it is time to start hammering out the rest of the card. There is a chance we could see some of that tonight so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Here is TNT Champion Adam Copeland for his Cope Open open challenge and he loves the crowd reaction. He’s done with Christian Cage and now it’s time for the title to be on the line.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. ???

Copeland is defending and the open challenge is answered by….the returning Matt Cardona. They trade knockdowns into kickoffs and it’s an early standoff. An exchange of dropkicks give us a standoff as Schiavone runs down the card. Copeland gets him to the floor to take over but the Impaler on the apron is blocked with a rake to the eyes.

We take a break and come back with Cardona holding a chinlock with a knee in Copeland’s back. That’s broken up and stereo big boots leave them both down again. Cardona goes up but gets pulled down by the leg for his efforts. This time Copeland goes up and hits a top rope bulldog for two, followed by an Edge O Matic for the same.

Cardona bails to the floor so Copeland gives chase, only to get kicked low on the way back in. An Impaler gives Cardona two but Radio Silence (Rough Ryder) is countered into a buckle bomb. A sitout powerbomb gives Copeland two but the spear is countered into Radio Silence for two more. Cardona loads up a spear, only to have Copeland hit one of his own to retain at 13:26.

Rating: B-. This was a nice surprise though it’s still weird to me to see the serious Cardona. He deserves amazing credit for reinventing himself like this and turning a spot that cripples a lot of careers into something totally new. They were playing up the “we know each other really well” idea here but Copeland was just that much better. Good opener and Cardona was a bit of a treat as the challenger.

Post match the lights go out and Malakai Black is here, with Buddy Matthews jumping Copeland from behind. Mark Briscoe and Eddie Kingston run in for the save. The House vanishes and commentary hypes up Briscoe vs. Kingston for the Ring Of Honor World Title at Supercard Of Honor next Friday. This marks one more appearance than they’ve had together in Ring Of Honor this year so well done?

FTR isn’t sure if they’re the best team anymore but they want to be the first three time ROH Tag Team Champions. That means going through the Cinderella team of The Infantry tonight and so be it.

Tony Schiavone brings out Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed (rap not included) for a chat. Schiavone gets to the point of Bullet Club Gold invading Billy’s home on Rampage. Billy is ticked off and says White is always bragging about selling out Madison Square Garden. Billy: “I’ve done that so many times I’ve lost count.” Next week on Dynamite it’s vs. Billy, with Max Caster saying the Acclaimed and the Gunns should stay in the back. Bowens can’t blame White for running from Billy’s wife because she would have slapped the hair off his face. They’re ready for the Club.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: FTR vs. The Infantry

Wheeler takes Dean down to start but Dean is back with some armdrags into an armbar. Bravo comes in to face Harwood, who gets dropped by some dropkicks. The Infantry clears the ring so we settle down to Dean chopping away at Wheeler. A jumping elbow gets two but Wheeler powerslams a leaping Bravo out of the air for a nasty crash. Harwood’s top rope superplex drops Bravo and we take a break.

Back with Harwood chopping the soul out of Bravo but Dean is fine enough to hit a hue dive onto all three of them. Back in and Bravo’s high crossbody gets two on Harwood, followed by another high crossbody for another two on Harwood. Wheeler is back in with a powerbomb into a German suplex from Harwood into a rollup for two. Back up and the Infantry superkicks FTR into a neckbreaker for two on Wheeler but Harwood is sent into Dean to knock him outside. FTR collides with each other but Wheeler flips over Harwood to set up the Shatter Machine for the pin at 12:23.

Rating: B. The Infantry brought it here, which makes their near squash by the House Of Black all the more confusing. If you’re willing to let them have a close match against a great team, why not give them some more against the House? Anyway, this was an interesting one as you had FTR having trouble keeping up with the fast young team, only to eventually catch them. You could see Harwood’s face almost saying “gotcha” right before the Shatter Machine and that’s a great story, as the veterans take out the young upstarts by catching them rather than beating them.

Big Bill and Ricky Starks aren’t looking past Top Flight but they’re really not worried. They’ve beaten FTR before so they can do it again and prove just how great they are.

Adam Copeland, Eddie Kingston and Mark Briscoe are ready for the House Of Black at Dynasty. Briscoe is down but wants a dogfight from Kingston at Supercard Of Honor. Kingston is ready to make the House spit up blood and teeth.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. JD Drake

Drake grabs an early cobra clutch before hitting a dropkick for two. A Vader Bomb misses for Drake though and O’Reilly strikes away. O’Reilly kicks him down and grabs the cross armbreaker for the tap at 2:36. It’s nice to see a fast match like that, as this didn’t need to go long and made O’Reilly feel that much more dangerous.

Post match the Undisputed Kingdom comes out to celebrate with O’Reilly, who just kind of goes with it.

We get a preview of Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Will Ospreay on Dynamite.

Tag Team Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Big Bill/Ricky Starks vs. Top Flight

Darius wrestles Starks down into an armbar to start and a snap suplex puts him down again. A slingshot hilo gives Darius two but it’s off to Bill, who has Darius a bit nervous. With the solo efforts not working, Top Flight dropkicks both of them to the floor. Starks offers a distraction though and a big boot drops Dante as we take a break.

Back with Bill missing a charge into the corner, allowing the tag off to Darius to pick up the pace. A Pele kick out of the corner catches Starks and a rollup gets….two, despite Starks not really moving. Darius uses Dante as a launchpad for a tornado DDT to pin Starks at 9:40 (about ten seconds after the weird near fall so someone seems to have gotten screwed up there).

Rating: C+. The ending was a bit odd but they recovered just fine and got the result they needed, which is all that matters. Top Flight moving on despite Bill and Starks’ confidence is a good way to go and FTR should have their hands even fuller with the more established team. Good match here, though Starks and Bill seemingly being finishes so fast is a bit disappointing.

Christopher Daniels wants Malakai Black on Rampage.

Thunder Rosa vs. Lady Frost

They go to the mat for some grappling to start until Rosa shoulders her down. Frost is back up with chops and boots in the corner but Rosa hits a hard clothesline as we take a break. Back with Rosa wining a slugout and hitting another clothesline. Rosa scores with the running dropkick against the ropes for two but Frost scorpion kicks her way out of trouble. Rosa isn’t having that though and hits a Backstabber, setting up the Tijuana Bomb for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C+. There is nothing wrong with a match between a big star and a lower level opponent where said opponent gets in some offense before coming up short. That’s what we got here and it should move Rosa up a bit more before her likely title match at Dynasty. Frost continues to be someone who might not be moving up the ladder but she’s a solid enough opponent for a spot like this. That’s not a bad place to be and AEW seems to get that.

Post match Rosa shouts at the camera and demands respect from Toni Storm.

We go to the back with Toni Storm being told that next week it’s Thunder Rosa vs. Mariah May for the title shot at Dynasty. Storm turns to May, asks if this is what she has been planning all along….and then kisses her, saying she was a genius. Storm: “I see myself in you and I love me. What do you think about that eh Lightning Daffodil?” Everyone seems confused to wrap it up.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Video on Will Ospreay.

Blackpool Combat Club/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Lance Archer/Righteous

Shibata strikes away at Archer to start and then kicks him down as commentary talks about Bobby Heenan. Dutch comes in and requests/receives Castagnoli, who he runs over with a shoulder. Castagnoli is back up with a rather impressive slam and it’s of to Danielson to strike away. The rapid fire kicks in the corner connect but Dutch runs him over without much trouble.

Danielson slugs away on Vincent (not Dutch, Tony) and hits a suicide dive on Dutch (yes Dutch, Tony). That earns him a whip into the barricade though and the villains take over as we take a break. Back with Danielson not quite being able to pull Dutch into the LeBell Lock. Instead Dutch pounds him down into the corner, only to miss a charge. Archer and Dutch take turns slamming each other onto Danielson for two but he manages t knock Dutch off the top.

A missile dropkick allows Danielson to get over for the tag off to Castagnoli for the showdown with Archer. Everything breaks down and Castagnoli and Shibata double team Archer. The Swing has Archer in more trouble and Castagnoli grabs the Sharpshooter. Orange Sunshine hits Danielson but Shibata makes a fast save. Archer chokeslams Castagnoli so Vincent can hit a Swanton for two. Shibata suplexes Vincent but Dutch breaks up the cross armbreaker. Shibata’s sleeper takes Vincent down and the PK finishes at 16:47.

Rating: B-. This was another showcase match for most of the Club plus Shibata, which only made for the most interesting main event. Archer and the Righteous continue to feel like a team who should be something of a deal but mainly serve to beat up jobbers and lose to bigger teams. That’s not a bad role for them, but it did make for a fairly long match before we got to whichever of the good guys got the win.

Overall Rating: B. This show felt like it was trying to have more in the way of importance, but it still feels like it pales in comparison to Dynamite. AEW could use a bit more of a balance between the two shows, but this was one of the stronger Collisions in a bit. Dynasty still doesn’t feel like the most important show, though Danielson vs. Ospreay will be enough to carry a lot of it. Good show here, with the wrestling overcoming the other issues, as usual.

Results
Adam Copeland b. Matt Cardona – Spear
FTR b. The Infantry – Shatter Machine to Bravo
Kyle O’Reilly b. JD Drake – Cross armbreaker
Top Flight b. Big Bill/Ricky Starks – Tornado DDT to Starks
Thunder Rosa b. Lady Frost – Tijuana Bomb
Blackpool Combat Club/Katsuyori Shibata b. Lance Archer/Righteous – PK to Vincent

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

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Rampage
Date: March 29, 2024
Location: Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re still in Canada and that could mean a rather rowdy crowd. I’m not sure what to expect around here, which is rather normal on this show anymore. The main event will see Matt Menard facing Roderick Strong in a non-title match, which could make for a hearty reaction. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Dustin Rhodes vs. The Butcher

This is billed as a “big time grudge match” and it was set up with a minute long promo on Dynamite. Butcher powers him into the corner to start but gets caught with a backslide for two. Back up and Butcher is ready for the drop down uppercut but gets low bridged to the floor for his efforts. Butcher snaps the arm over the top rope and it’s time to start in on said arm. They head outside with the arm being sent into the steps and post and we take a break with Dustin in trouble.

Back with Dustin getting two off a Code Red, setting up the clothesline comeback. Dustin rains down the right hands in the corner and grabs the snap powerslam for two. Butcher is right back with a quick crossface but Dustin is out rather quickly. The Final Reckoning finishes Butcher at 10:39.

Rating: C+. Rather basic stuff here and that is not a bad thing. It was more or less a way to get Dustin on the card for his periodical match and as usual it went well enough. Butcher continues to be fine as a midcard villain who can look intimidating and then lose to someone like Dustin for a quick moment.

Bullet Club Gold goes to Billy Gunn’s house and mess with stuff until Billy comes home and they drop the camera.

We recap the Tag Team Title tournament matches from Dynamite.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Rose

Rose backs her into the corner to start but Purrazzo is right back with a shot to the arm. The arm is snapped and we hit the armbar before a crank with the legs gives Purrazzo two. Rose gets in some strikes but Purrazzo BLASTS HER with a pump kick. The Fujiwara armbar finishes for Purrazzo at 3:50.

Rating: C. Pretty much just a squash here with that pump kick looking awesome. Purrazzo wrecked her here and that is the kind of win that she needed after not doing so well against Toni Storm. Purrazzo still feels like she would be better as a villain but it might be a bit before we get there.

Video on Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay.

Mariah May vs. Nikita

May is substituting for Toni Storm (who has injured her hamstring but won’t dare tell us how). A running shoulder sets up a basement dropkick to put Nikita down early and we take a break. Back with May hitting a running dropkick in the ropes but Nikita gets in some shots of her down. May shrugs that off and hits a headbutt, the hip attack and May Day for the pin at 7:07.

Rating: C. This was more or less an extended squash and about half of it was during the break. May continues to be built up as the likely successor to Storm but we could be a good ways off from seeing that. The story is taking its sweet time and that is not a bad thing, but it would be nice to see May against someone other than the latest jobber.

Harley Cameron (playing with/tasting interviewer Lexi Nair’s hair) and Zak Knight aren’t worried about Angelo Parker, who runs in to beat Knight up with a pipe. Knight and Cameron run off so Ruby Soho is here to get mad at Parker for getting violent. She kisses him and leaves. This is one of the weirdest feuds as it has almost exclusively taken place backstage. Are we going to get a match out of this anytime soon?

The Righteous are weird.

Roderick Strong vs. Matt Menard

Non-title and the Kingdom is here with Strong. Menard yells at the Kingdom in French and the fans approve before Menard snaps off some armdrags. A breather on the floor goes badly for Strong as Menard is right on him with more forearms. Back in and a Kingdom distraction lets Strong get in a cheap shot, only to be knocked away as we take a break.

We come back with Menard fighting out of a seated abdominal stretch but getting pulled into a camel clutch. Menard Hulks Up though and hammers away, followed by a Rock Bottom for two. A Boston crab sends Strong over to the ropes so Menard cutters him for two. Back up and a Kingdom distraction lets Strong hit the jumping knee for the pin at 12:49.

Rating: C+. This is one of those things that Tony Khan tends to do, as this was about a hometown star getting a big match. That makes sense in theory, but at the same time, it was a nearly 13 minute Matt Menard match which wasn’t even for the title. That’s only so interesting in the first place and makes me think that a squash win for Menard would have been more effective. It likely would have been for the people watching.

Post match the beatdown is on until Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta run in for the save. Cue the Young Bucks to lay them out as well to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The key to enjoying Rampage is accepting that there are almost no stakes to anything here. This show was a one off match set up on Dynamite, a pair of squashes and a match designed to give the local fans a thrill before setting up the Young Bucks deal at the end. It does tie into some stories, but they are the lowest level stories going in AEW today. The wrestling is perfectly fine and it’s only an hour long so it doesn’t overstay its welcome. If you can accept that, you can have a good time here and that was the case this week, again.

Results
Dustin Rhodes b. The Butcher – Final Reckoning
Deonna Purrazzo b. Rose – Fujiwara armbar
Mariah May b. Nikita – May Day
Roderick Strong b. Matt Menard – Jumping knee

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

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Dynamite
Date: March 27, 2024
Location: Centre Videotron, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are less than a month away from Dynasty and the card is starting to come together. With Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay as the likely co-main event, we need someone to challenge Samoa Joe for the World Title. Odds are we’ll be finding that out tonight as Swerve Strickland faces Konosuke Takeshita. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Will Ospreay vs. Katsuyori Shibata

The fans are behind Ospreay as Shibata takes him to the mat and an armbar sends Ospreay over to the ropes. Ospreay takes him down into a headscissors but Shibata slips out, only to miss a kick to the chest. Back up and Ospreay sends him to the floor and hits a dive, followed by the strikes to Shibata’s face. As usual, these have no effect and he suplexes Ospreay in the aisle. Back in and Shibata shrugs off some chops and hits another suplex as we take a break.

We come back with Ospreay being sent into the barricade but Ospreay scores with a Phenomenal Forearm for two back inside. Shibata is fine enough to hit a running boot in the corner and forearms him down. Ospreay fights up but gets chopped down and put into a quickly broken ankle lock.

Shibata’s kick is cut off and they trade forearms until Ospreay manages an enziguri for a double knockdown. Back up and Shibata grabs the sleeper for two arm drops, only for Ospreay to drape him in the ropes. A top rope kick to the head sets up the Oscutter for one and the running elbow gets two. Ospreay plants him with a tiger driver so Shibata sits up, meaning the Hidden Blade can finish him at 18:58.

Rating: B-. Yeah I’m going to get yelled at for this one but I cannot see the good in having Shibata no sell a bunch of stuff and then trade forearms for the better part of ever. Ospreay’s thing seems to be having one long match after another and while that can be entertaining, there’s something a bit off putting about Shibata just sitting there and waiting for the finisher. Ospreay looked good for the most part here, but these Shibata matches are not doing it for me and mostly never have.

Video on Bryan Danielson’s career, including his time before AEW.

The Young Bucks are proud of doing what they want, including retiring Sting. Now it’s time to get rid of their loss to Private Party. Oh and Renee Paquette needs to smile some more.

Kazuchika Okada arrives.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Young Bucks vs. Private Party

The Bucks pitch to Excalibur for an announcement of Double Or Nothing being in Las Vegas during their entrance for a very on point move. Matt takes Say down to start and everything breaks down, with Private Party hitting the superkicks. The Bucks head outside and there are the stereo dives. Silly String off the barricade drops Matt, leaving Nick and Quen to slug it out on said barricade. A Falcon Arrow off the barricade drops Quen on the floor and the Bucks try for the countout. With that not working, they drop Quen again inside and we take a break.

Back with Say getting the hot tag to clean house, including a kick to the head and an Asai moonsault to take out Nick on the floor. A springboard high crossbody gets two on Matt but he’s back up with a German suplex onto the apron to Quen. Say is back up with the save and it’s Gin and Juice to send Nick outside. More Bang For Your Buck hits Matt for two with Nick having to make the save. Quen tries a 630 but only hits mat (as opposed to Matt), setting up a totally botched EVP Trigger (Nick didn’t make contact) for the pin at 13:27.

Rating: B-. That ending took a lot of the air out of the place and that’s a shame as they were starting to cook until the last few minutes. The problem here is the story of the match was that Private Party scored a fluke upset on the Bucks about four and a half years ago. Things have changed quite a bit since then and it was a bit much to buy that happening again with a match that went fairly long. The Bucks winning is the only move to make here, but they could have done it a good bit faster.

Video on Konosuke Takeshita.

Darby Allin is with Tony Hawk and promotes Hawk’s skate park charity. His now canceled Mount Everest climb was going to benefit said charity, which is always nice to hear.

Chris Jericho praises Hook and offers to mentor him, with Hook accepting despite knowing what Jericho is all about.

Willow Nightingale vs. Anna Jay vs. Kris Statlander vs. Skye Blue

For a TBS Title shot and Mercedes Mone is on commentary. Statlander and Blue fight to the floor to start, leaving Nightingale to crush Jay in the corner. A basement crossbody gives Nightingale two but Blue is back in to kick Nightingale away. Blue DDTs Nightingale for two but Jay is back up. Nightingale heads outside to Pounce Blue and glares at Mone as we take a break.

Back with Jay and Blue kicking Nightingale to the floor but Statlander plants Blue for two. Jay superplexes Statlander but Nightingale makes the save with a backsplash to crush both of them. The Babe With The Powerbomb is countered with Blue’s hurricanrana, followed by Code Blue for two. Nightingale is back up to plant Blue on the apron with a Death Valley Driver, leaving Blue to roll Statlander up for two. Back in and the Babe With The Powerbomb gives Nightingale the pin on Jay at 9:49.

Rating: C. This was another match where there was too much going on at once and it hurt things a bit. It didn’t feel like there was anything in the way of a story to the match and instead it was four people doing a bunch of moves to each other until someone got the pin. At the same time, Mone was VERY subdued on commentary here and sounded somewhere between bored and tired, which is quite the change after her first appearances. Nightingale getting the title shot is good, but egads it would be nice for her to actually win a championship that mattered.

Post match Julia Hart jumps Nightingale from behind and glares down at Mone.

Dustin Rhodes talks about the talent level in AEW and how great all of his matches have been. Butcher comes in and the match is set up for Rampage. Dustin says he’s a natural born legend and Butcher will find out why everyone loves him.

Toni Storm is in the TCM studios with Ben Mankiewicz, who congratulates her for her accomplishments. Storm congratulates him for….whatever he does around here. She tries to get him to say her catchphrase and then drops a shoe.

Swerve Strickland is ready for Konosuke Takeshita.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta vs. Kingdom

Non-title and Chuck Taylor/Roderick Strong are here as well. Cassidy starts fast and they head to the floor, with Bennett hitting a big flip dive. That’s fine with Cassidy, who dives onto everyone for a crash. Back in and Beretta German suplexes Taven until Bennett makes the save. A piledriver on the apron knocks Beretta silly and we take a break.

Back with Cassidy coming in to clean house, including a high crossbody to Taven. The Stundog Millionaire takes Bennett down and Taven is sent outside, leaving Bennett to get hit with a spike Strong Zero for two. We pause for a hug but Strong offers a distraction, only to be pulled down by Taylor. Cassidy cuts Strong off, leaving Beretta to escape Hail Mary and roll Bennett up for the pin at 9:33.

Rating: B-. Now why do I have a feeling that Cassidy and Beretta, who were teaming in ROH earlier this month, are not going to be in line for an ROH Tag Team Title shot after beating the champions here? Other than that, this was a fast enough paced match, though I still could go for more of the Kingdom as a dangerous team. Cassidy and Beretta still feel like the Cinderella team in the whole thing though and that is a great spot for them.

Post match the Young Bucks come out for the staredown.

Kyle O’Reilly is still sure he’s doing this on his own.

Video on Adam Copeland winning the TNT Title back last week. The Cope Open is coming back.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Swerve Strickland

Don Callis is on commentary and Prince Nana is ringside. Takeshita takes over on the arm to start but Swerve flips away and grabs a rollup for two. A hard clothesline drops Strickland as we see Samoa Joe watching in the back. Swerve fights up and takes over, only to have Takeshita come back for the exchange of forearms. A backbreaker gives Swerve two but Takeshita grabs a heck of a brainbuster.

Swerve tries to get back up but is rocked with some forearms against the ropes. Takeshita misses a charge and gets German suplexed, only to forearm Swerve out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Swerve fighting out of a chinlock and sending Takeshita out to the floor. A running hurricanrana takes Takeshita down and a high crossbody connects for two back inside.

Swerve tries to strike away but his neck/shoulder gives out (thanks to the brainbuster earlier), leaving him to shoulder Takeshita in the ribs. Takeshita counters a rolling neckbreaker into a sitout F5 to send Swerve outside. The big flip dive takes Swerve down again but he’s able to break up a brainbuster onto the turnbuckle. A DDT out of the corner plants Takeshita but he’s right back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.

Swerve is back up with a rolling Downward Spiral for two, only to miss the Swerve Stomp. Takeshita wheelbarrow suplexes him into the running knee for another near fall and they’re both down. Another Swerve Stomp misses so Swerve settles for an anklescissors into the corner. The House Call sets up the Swerve Stomp for two and Swerve is stunned. A standing stomp sets up the JML Driver to give Swerve the pin at 19:41.

Rating: A-. This is the kind of match I was hoping for when AEW started: two incredibly talented people getting the chance to showcase themselves on a big stage for the first time. The match told a story of Takeshita hurting Swerve early and Swerve having to fight around the injury and win in the end. Throw in some high impact offense and some hot near falls and this is one of the best matches I’ve ever seen on Dynamite. Loved this.

Overall Rating: B-. The show wasn’t their best effort for the most part but my goodness that main event was great. In other words, it felt like an In Your House and that is not the worst way to present television. The focus here was on setting up some things for Dynasty, with the TBS Title match officially being set and the Tag Team Title tournament getting rid of some teams. Not an excellent show, but dang check out that main event (and the opener, depending on your taste in Shibata).

Results
Will Ospreay b. Katsuyori Shibata – Hidden Blade
Young Bucks b. Private Party – EVP Trigger to Quen
Willow Nightingale b. Skye Blue, Kris Statlander and Anna Jay – Babe With The Powerbomb to Jay
Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta b. Kingdom – Rollup to Bennett
Swerve Strickland b. Konosuke Takeshita – JML Driver

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.

Rampage
Date: March 20, 2024
Location: Coca Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re having a rare live edition of the show this week and that means they are going to be coming in hot after Dynamite. The big match of the week is a street fight between Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale and Julia Hart/Skye Blue, though it is going to be taking place about an hour after an I Quit match on Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with Adam Copeland’s celebration after winning the TNT Title in the main event of Dynamite. Copeland mocks Cage and the Patriarchy a bit more before leaving.

Bullet Club Gold is in Florida and see rather pleased with turning on the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn last week. Jay White has painted Sting’s baseball bat gold and laughs about Darby Allin’s foot being broken, meaning he can’t climb Mt. Everest.

Here is the Acclaimed for a chat. They aren’t happy with what Bullet Club Gold did to them last week and now Billy Gunn isn’t even cleared to return to the ring. Jay White isn’t even here tonight because he hates Toronto. When the Acclaimed gets beaten down though, they show up because they want to fight.

Caster offers White a free trip anywhere because White needs to run from him. Bowens says the Club isn’t here because they aren’t good enough, so maybe White should have signed somewhere else. White got a World Title shot and lost to MJF with one leg. The only gang the Acclaimed needs are these people right here. Heck of a fired up promo here and you can smell the unification match from here. I hope.

Tag Team Title Tournament Wildcard Match: Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta vs. Kyle Fletcher/Powerhouse Hobbs

Don Callis is here with Fletcher/Hobbs. Hobbs wastes no time in spinebustering Cassidy before taking him into the corner for a running knee to the ribs. Another charge misses though and Hobbs crashes out to the floor, allowing the tag off to Beretta. Everything breaks down and Beretta hits a big dive down to the floor. Back in and Beretta hits some running shots in the corner until a pendulum bomb cuts him off.

We take a break and come back with Beretta hitting a tornado DDT to get himself out of trouble. It’s back to Cassidy to pick up the pace, including the spinning DDT for two on Fletcher. Hobbs isn’t having that and grabs the torture rack, with Beretta making the save. Cassidy’s kicks just tick Hobbs off so he runs Cassidy over without much trouble. The Stundog Millionaire into the half and half has Fletcher down, meaning we can pause for some hugging.

Hobbs makes the save and sends Cassidy into the LED ring skirt. Cassidy is fine enough for an assisted Beach Break on the floor but Fletcher gives Beretta a spinning Tombstone back inside. Beretta saves Cassidy on top and hits a half and half superplex, setting up Cassidy’s top rope DDT. The Orange Punch finishes for Cassidy at 10:33.

Rating: B-. Fun match here, with Cassidy and Beretta working together to take out the monster in Hobbs. That left them to beat Fletcher, which is fine enough as the ROH titles have already been treated like garbage anyway. Cassidy and Beretta might not be winning the titles, but I could certainly see them making a run all the way to the finals for the underdog story.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kevin Matthews

Shibata fires off the forearms to send Matthews into the corner, setting up the big running dropkick. Matthews gets in a clothesline but Shibata grabs a sleeper into the PK for the pin at 1:22. That was quick.

Adam Copeland and friends are celebrating the title win.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Rocky Romero

Don Callis is here too. Takeshita powers him into the corner to start and then sits Romero on another corner for some mind games. Romero goes simple by hitting him in the face, setting up a quick hurricanrana. The Forever Clotheslines are broken up as Takeshita knocks him down and sends him to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Romero hitting some suicide dives until Takeshita pulls one out of the air. Takeshita elbows the post though, allowing Romero to hit another dive. Sliced Bread gives Romero two and it’s time to go after the arm. The cross armbreaker goes on but Callis’ distraction breaks it up. Takeshita grabs a wheelbarrow suplex into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two, leaving Takeshita looking stunned. Romero kicks him away but gets run over with a clothesline. The spinning Falcon Arrow finishes for Takeshita at 8:56.

Rating: C+. This was the kind of win that Takeshita needed to get back on track after his big loss to Will Ospreay. As has been the case for far too long with Takeshita, the talent is absolutely there but he needs something to do. By something I don’t mean working for Don Callis, even though multiple talented stars are stuck doing just that.

Video on Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander vs. Julia Hart/Skye Blue.

Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander vs. Julia Hart/Skye Blue

Street fight and Stokely Hathaway is here with the heroines, who are in white to make bleeding seem likely. The brawl starts in the aisle as Hathaway joins commentary to start praising his team. They get inside with Hart being wedged in a chair for a kick to the head. A backbreaker drives the chair into Hart (that’s a new one) for two and it’s time to bring in a table.

Blue comes in for the save but accidentally gets spiked by Hart as we take a break. Back with the villains still in trouble and the fans declaring this awesome. Blue has to fight out of a powerbomb onto the announcers’ table and hits Code Blue to plant Nightingale instead. That leaves Statlander to bring out the thumbtacks but Blue kicks her down.

A powerbomb out of the corner sends Statlander into the tacks, which are then put in Statlander’s mouth. Blue hits a superkick to the tack filled mouth for two but Nightingale is back up with a Death Valley Driver through the tables at ringside. Back in and Statlander backdrops Hart onto some chairs but the 450 only hits said chairs. Hartless makes Statlander tap at 11:27.

Rating: B-. They had to try and follow the I Quit match and while it didn’t quite work, it wasn’t due to a lack of trying. All four of them were working hard here and the violence was intense, though there was nothing overly big to make things feel epic. For now though, I’ll take Hart getting a win over a bigger name, which she hasn’t done very often.

Overall Rating: B. This show was in a rough spot coming right off a fairly big Dynamite but they made it work out. It helps that the show felt like a third hour of Dynamite instead of something different, as that can make the show feel more interesting. It helps that the matches were good and nothing overstayed its welcome, making this a rather nice edition.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta b. Powerhouse Hobbs/Kyle Fletcher – Orange Punch to Fletcher
Katsuyori Shibata b. Kevin Matthews – PK
Konosuke Takeshita b. Rocky Romero – Spinning Falcon Arrow
Julia Hart/Skye Blue b. Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale – Hartless to Nightingale

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Dynamite
Date: March 20, 2024
Location: Coca Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’re north of the border this week and that means a big title match featuring some Canadians. In this case we have Adam Copeland challenging Christian Cage for the TNT Title in an I Quit match. Other than that, Kazuchika Okada is challenging for the Continental Crown, as the titles unified in the Continental Classic are already coming undone.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Mercedes Mone for a chat. She is so glad to be here and last week was so amazing. This is what she wants to do, but her dream was almost taken away from her ten months ago. We see a highlight reel of things she has done in and out of the ring before Mone talks about how she isn’t here to lea a revolution, because she has done that before. Instead, she is here to lead a GLOBAL revolution (that might not have been the best wording).

She wants to face some people and hits the catchphrase to wrap it up, but here are Julia Hart and Skye Blue. Mone fights them off but Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander run in with chairs for the save. The villains leave via blackout but Nightingale is still holding up the chair behind Mone. That gives us a standoff and egads standing in the ring talking is not Mone’s strong suit.

The Young Bucks mock Alex Marvez for not speaking Japanese to Kazuchika Okada. They won’t be ringside for the Continental Title match tonight but they will be on the headsets producing.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is defending and only one of the three titles are on the line. They start slowly and take their time to lock up until Kingston hits a hard chop. Kingston knocks him out to the floor and the chase is on, with Okada jumping him on the way back in. Okada starts working on the arm and Kingston is down as we see the Bucks sitting next to Tony Khan producing the show. That great dropkick puts Kingston down again and we take a break.

Back with Kingston hitting a suplex and grabbing an STO for a needed breather. Kingston strikes away and hits another suplex but gets caught with the dropkick to put him back down. The elbow misses for Okada though and Kingston hits the spinning backfist for two. Back up and Kingston has to block the discus lariat before knocking Okada down again. A running clothesline scores for Kingston, whose half and half suplex is broken up with a rake to the eyes. An enziguri takes Okada down but another spinning backfist misses. Okada hits a powerslam, followed by the Rainmaker for the pin and the title at 15:50.

Rating: B-. That was a pretty definitive win for Okada and so much for Kingston’s big run. There’s no shame in losing to a star like Okada, but egads they’re really splitting up the titles they unified less than three months ago. Odds are the NJPW Strong Title goes away, leaving the Continental Title and the ROH Title, which makes the unified deal feel all the more worthless in the first place. Also: we are 16 days away from ROH’s Supercard Of Honor and the TV, Tag Team and World Champions have all lost on AEW TV this month alone.

Post match Pac comes out for the staredown and we likely have a Dynasty match.

Swerve Strickland suggests Samoa Joe is scared of him because of the chain. We’re in Toronto tonight and he wants to fight so the open challenge is on.

Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander are ready for their street fight with Julia Hart and Skye Blue tonight. Mercedes Mone interrupts and says she has Statlander’s back tonight. Willow looks to say something but Mone says she’s done enough. Stokely Hathaway brings up Nightingale breaking Mone’s leg and Statlander isn’t pleased. I would sincerely hope they aren’t trying to turn Willow heel out of all this. Statlander sure, but Willow feels like the definition of someone born to be good.

Chris Jericho vs. Hook

Non-title and Hook suplexes him down at the bell. We pause for the referee to check on Jericho before he fires off some chops. A reverse t-bone suplex drops Jericho for two as it’s pretty much one sided to start. Jericho cuts him off with a shot to the head but a string of German suplexes drop Jericho again.

We take a break and come back with Jericho still being suplexed and Hook strolling around the ring. Jericho finally reverses a suplex and hits some shoulders but Hook suplexes him again. A big boot “hits” for Jericho and he scores with the Lionsault for a delayed two. Back up and Jericho tries a suplex but instead kind of drops Hook on his face. They go up top but Hook grabs Redrum, which has Jericho down in the middle. Jericho slips out and throws some VERY slow punches until Hook reverses into a cradle for the pin at 10:51.

Rating: C-. Well that didn’t go well for Jericho, and I’m not sure where this is leading. Given what happened with Jericho when Powerhouse Hobbs squashed him, I can’t imagine it’s going to go well for Hook, but he was basically Brock Lesnar to Jericho’s John Cena out there. The Redrum should have been the finish, but odds are we’re going to be seeing these two together for a lot longer.

Adam Cole is furious about Wardlow losing last week and says it is Wardlow’s job to keep the gold in the Undisputed Kingdom. Don’t screw it up.

Post break Chris Jericho says he wanted to face Hook, who showed him a lot tonight. Hook is as much of a bad man as people say he is and next week, Jericho will have a proposition for him.

Here is Will Ospreay for a chat. He was a little bit of a naughty boy the last time he was here and now he is here for the betterment of AEW. Ospreay apologizes for what he did to Kenny Omega in Toronto, but in return for his elite wrestling he needs….some of that maple syrup! As for Bryan Danielson, he hopes that you saw him face Katsuyori Shibata on Collision. When Ospreay went over to Japan (“Where you wanted to be a big star.”), he saw Danielson’s shoes, but they weren’t big enough for Ospreay.

What Danielson did in Japan was great, but Ospreay elevated wrestling over there. Ospreay lists off his accomplishments in Japan and now he’s ready to prove he can walk in his shoes. He met Shibata before but now he has cats, dogs and a mortgage to pay. The challenge is mad for next week and since Tony Khan is apparently watching the show from Shibata’s house, the match is made official about ten seconds later.

Video on Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage.

Mariah May/Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo/Thunder Rosa

It’s a brawl to start with May taking Purrazzo down so it’s off to Storm. Rosa comes in to strike away in the corner and a sliding clothesline gets two on Storm. A Luther distraction lets Storm knock Rosa outside though and we take a break. Back with Purrazzo striking away at May but not being able to get the Fujiwara armbar. Instead Purrazzo boots her in the ace but Rosa tags herself in, which Purrazzo doesn’t like. Rosa comes in to plant May but gets German suplexed by Storm. The hip attack connects, only to have Rosa roll Storm up for the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C. Again, a seven minute match does not need to have a commercial in the middle. The ending came out of nowhere but Rosa vs. Storm is a fresh match as we shift away from Purrazzo challenging. May seems to be the long term goal, but Rosa, who never lost the title in the first place, will do just fine for now.

Swerve Strickland vs. The Butcher

Swerve starts fast by knocking him into the corner, setting up the middle rope elbow to the back. A half nelson backbreaker puts Swerve down though and Butcher hits him in the face a few times. Back up and Swerve kicks him down, setting up the House Call. Butcher sits down for a good while, allowing Swerve to hit the Swerve Stomp into something like a short armscissors for the tap at 3:22.

Rating: C. This was perfectly acceptable booking as Butcher is just established enough to make Swerve work but not enough to be a threat to him. Swerve took a few shots but fought back and won clean. It’s exactly what it needed to be and I can always go for something logical and efficient.

Post match Swerve grabs his chain and says he keeps thinking about using it to choke Samoa Joe out. Every week, Joe can send security after him and Swerve will keep beating them up until Joe gives him what he wants. Cue Joe to interrupt, saying contrary to what Swerve believes, Joe beat him at Revolution. Joe says he has learned what to do with someone like Swerve: give him exactly what he wants.

Cue Don Callis of all people to interrupt, saying Konosuke Takeshita and Swerve Strickland have the same amount of wins. Takeshita is undefeated outside of the Don Callis Family so maybe he needs to show Swerve whose house this is. Swerve is in to face Takeshita, and then he’s coming for Joe. Yay more Callis N Pals.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Cage is defending in an I Quit match. Copeland starts fast and they go out to the floor with the brawl heading into the crowd. Copeland grabs a Boston Bruins jersey to put over Cage before grabbing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey for himself (the fans approve). Cage is knocked around even more as we take a break. Back with Copeland bridging a ladder between the announcers’ table and the barricade. An Edge O Matic onto the ladder has Cage in more trouble and we get a breather.

The ladder is turned upside down inside, where Cage is dropped ribs first onto said ladder. A table is set up against the barricade but Cage breaks up the spear attempt. The busted open Copeland is staggered and Cage hits a dive off the top to send him through the table. Back in and Copeland is catapulted into a ladder but still won’t quit. A quick Grindhouse is broken up and they both try spears at the same time for a double knockdown.

We take a break and come back with Cage being launched off the stage but cue Mother Wayne with a hockey stick to hit Copeland low. Cage sticks away inside and it’s time for a barbed wire chair. The Conchairto is loaded up but Copeland moves just in time. Neither can hit a Killswitch onto the ladder so Copeland hits him with the hockey stick. The Grindhouse, with the stick in Cage’s mouth, gets an incoherent answer so Copeland uses the draw string from his tights.

Cue the Patriarchy for the save but cue Matt Menard and Daniel Garcia for the save. Copeland sets up a ladder and dives onto the Patriarchy before handcuffing them in the corner. Mother Wayne runs away and cage gets speared down, meaning he can be cuffed as well. A low blow isn’t enough for Cage to quit so Copeland kicks him several more times. Spike (the 2×4 with nails) is pulled out for a major low blow….and the video goes off for a second (presumably the end of Dynamite/the start of Rampage), only to come back with Copeland loading up a shot to the head. That’s enough for Cage to quit at 25:43.

Rating: B. There was quite a bit here (to say the least) but it feels like a nice cap on the whole feud. Copeland getting the win in what very well may be the final match between the two in his hometown is a good way to go, with the rapid fire low blows in the corner feeling like the kind of humor these two would love. At the same time, I can’t help but think the lure of a ladder/TLC match will be too much for the two of them/AEW to resist.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show where the opener and main event bookended the show well, but the wrestling in the middle left a good bit to be desired. Mone was still a focal point here and does come off as a star but we still need to see what they have planned for her first feud. Other than that, you had some things teased for the coming weeks plus Dynasty, but this was all about the main event and it worked well enough.

Results
Kazuchika Okada b. Eddie Kingston – Rainmaker
Hook b. Chris Jericho – Rollup
Deonna Purrazzo/Thunder Rosa b. Mariah May/Toni Storm – Rollup to Storm
Swerve Strickland b. The Butcher – Short armscissors
Adam Copeland b. Christian Cage when Cage quit

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Rampage
Date: March 15, 2024
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

We’re slowly on the way towards Dynasty and that means we are going to be needing some things set up for the show. Odds are we won’t get anything big this time around, but we could be getting some smaller things here or there. That should be combined with some solid action so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta vs. Dark Order

Chuck Taylor is here with Cassidy and Beretta. Uno’s headlock on Cassidy doesn’t work to start but Cassidy asks him to wait for the hand/pocket merging. Silver breaks that up so Beretta comes in to shoulder the Order down. We get a forced Dark Order hug, followed by the real version, referee and Chuck included. Silver is back up with a gorilla press drop on Cassidy, followed by Uno neckbreakering Beretta.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy kicking away at the Order. Beretta rolls some German suplexes Silver a few times but Uno breaks up Strong Zero. Everything breaks down and we start the flip dives to the floor. Back in and Silver gets two on Beretta with Cassidy having to shove Uno into the cover for the save. That leaves Cassidy to Orange Punch Silver into Strong Zero for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: B-. Fast paced match here and they didn’t stay out there for a long time, meaning there was less Dark Order than was necessary. Cassidy and Beretta are getting primed for the tournament and they could make a nice run for a round or two. As for the Order, they’re fine in a role like this, which thankfully doesn’t involve them talking.

The Righteous talks about how you have to die to grow again.

Zak Knight and Angelo Parker get in a fight as the Outcasts watch on.

Mariah May/Toni Storm vs. LMK/Kayla Sparks

Before the match, Storm asks us to turn off all cellular devices. Also, if Deonna Purrazzo and her partner want a tag match, watch this. Storm jumps the two of them to start, with May adding a hard basement dropkick. Mae and Storm pose for a bit before Storm hits LMK with some hip attacks (including a dance before one of them). It’s back to Mae for a running knee to the face, followed by back to back running hip attacks. Storm Zero finishes Sparks at 3:07.

Rating: C. Total dominance here as May becomes more and more like Storm every time she’s out there. That should take us towards something interesting between the two of them and it could go in a few ways. Other than that, Storm gets to look dominant before we find out who Purrazzo has as a partner.

Post match here is Deonna Purrazzo with her partner…Thunder Rosa. Cool, as it’s been too long since she’s had anything important to do.

Video on Queen Aminata, who wants the ROH Women’s TV Title.

We get the brackets for the Tag Team Title tournament:

Young Bucks
Private Party

Undisputed Kingdom
Best Friends/Don Callis Family

Ricky Starks/Big Bill
Top Flight

FTR
Infantry/House Of Black

The lack of Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli is interesting.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Komander

Takeshita shoulders him down to start but Komander nips up. Komander avoids a running knee and hits a quick Lionsault, sending Jericho into a rant about a stolen move. Back up and Takeshita kicks him in the face to take over before snapping off a nasty release German suplex. We take a break and come back with Komander hitting a rope walk moonsault to the floor for the double knockdown.

Back in and a springboard hurricanrana gives Komander two but a springboard crossbody is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb. Komander kicks him off the rope though and hits a springboard Canadian Destroyer. Cielito Lindo hits raised knees though and Takeshita scores with a running knee. A spinning Falcon Arrow finishes Komander off at 9:38.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of win that gets Takeshita back on the right track after losing his big showdown with Will Ospreay at Revolution. Takeshita is someone who feels like he has had to take a back seat multiple times and it would be nice to see that change. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe that will be the case this time around.

Serena Deeb is back and ready to hurt people.

Video on the Undisputed Kingdom vs. Top Flight.

Undisputed Kingdom vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

Strong jumps Dante to start and the villains take turns stomping away in the corner. Dante slips out to the apron and springboards in with a flip dive. A rolling DDT is cut off though, leaving Dante to bring in Darius to keep the pace up. Strong comes in to knock Darius into the corner and some hard chops have him in trouble. It’s already back to Dante for two off a sunset flip and Andretti comes in for a running shooting star press. Everything breaks down and the good guys hit running dives as we take a break.

Back with Taven missing a Lionsault (Jericho: “Another one? You have got to be kidding me.”), allowing Dante to come back in for a springboard high crossbody. A springboard 450 gives Andretti two but Bennett makes the save. Andretti slips out of the spike piledriver and cleans house, only to get spike piledriven anyway. The End of Heartache gives Strong the pin at 11:25.

Rating: B-. It was the usual fast paced, entertaining match with Andretti and Top Flight doing exactly what they should have done. At the same time, it’s kind of nice to see the Undisputed Kingdom getting to do something, even if it’s had to buy into them as a threat to anyone of note. The match was fine for a Rampage main event, but I’m not sure how much of a future the villains have without a bunch of adjustments.

Overall Rating: B-. This show felt a bit more important than the last few weeks and that’s nice to see. There weren’t exactly higher stakes but there were some bigger names and Rosa joining forced with Purrazzo should be good. Other than that, they set a few things up for future shows and that made for a nice enough show. It’s still nothing worth seeing, but you won’t be disappointed if you do see it.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta b. Dark Order – Strong Zero to Silver
Mariah May/Toni Storm b. LMK/Kayla Sparks – Storm Zero to Sparks
Konosuke Takeshita b. Komander – Spinning Falcon Arrow
Undisputed Kingdom b. Top Flight/Action Andretti – End of Heartache to Andretti

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Collision
Date: March 16, 2024
Location: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

The road to Dynasty continues and in this case that means we have quite the big match. This week will see Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata in a match that was literally announced yesterday. It would be nice to have that big of a match announced further in advance but at least it is happening. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata

They aren’t wasting time here. Feeling out process to start until Danielson takes him down by the arm as Nigel talks about his history of beating up Danielson. That’s broken up and they go back to the standoff until Danielson goes back to the arm. Shibata isn’t having that and forearms him down with Nigel saying Danielson keeps coming back like a fungus. Some chops have Danielson taking Shibata back to the mat but Shibata sends him outside as we take a break.

Back with Danielson striking away in the corner until Shibata reverses for strikes of his own. There’s the running dropkick in the corner as Nigel wonders if Danielson is missing a chromosome. They trade ankle locks before knocking each other down for a double breather. Back up and they exchange knees to the chest until Shibata grabs a Death Valley Driver for two. Some elbows to the head rock Danielson but he’s right back with the running knee for two of his own.

Danielson gets the LeBell Lock until Shibata puts a foot on the rope. The kicks to the chest rock Shibata but he wants more. The running kick to the chest brings Shibata back to his feet and he fires off the Kawada Kicks. Now Danielson sits down so Shibata can kick him, leading to a seated slap off. Danielson kicks him in the head for the knockdown but the running knee is blocked. The octopus goes on but Danielson slips out and gets two off a rollup. Danielson’s LeBell Lock attempt is countered into a rollup, which Danielson counters into a rollup for the pin at 19:33.

Rating: B. I get the appeal of this kind of thing and it was a hard hitting, physical match, but this was the latest in the tour of “Danielson wrestles someone in a dream match and then we move on”. There are far worse uses of television time, but it’s a match that comes and goes and really just feels like something that happened because Danielson wanted it to. I’m sure he’ll do something else again and it’ll be good, but it would be nice to have it feel like something other than “here’s a cool pairing you’ve never seen before”.

Respect is shown post match.

We look at Mercedes Mone’s debut.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Trish Adora

Hart is defending and the special rule is….the loser is banned from ringside for the House of Black vs. Infantry match later tonight. Adora takes her to the mat and does the splits on Hart’s back while cranking on the arms. They go to the floor, with Adora blocking a whip and elbowing Hart in the face. Hart sends her hard into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Adora fighting out of a chinlock but getting sent into the corner for some running elbows. Adora’s bridging German suplex gets two so Hart superkicks her down. The moonsault retains the title at 7:43.

Rating: C+. Adora continues to look strong in the ring and can do some rather impressive things. At the same time though, this was about giving Hart another win as her rise continues. She is on the way to a showdown with Willow Nightingale for the title and having her win here is a good way to boost her up even further.

Zak Knight and Harley Cameron are happy with Angelo Parker wanting to fight Knight. Poutine insults ensue…and never mind as Knight says they’ll fight on his terms, meaning not tonight.

Daniel Garcia vs. Lee Moriarty

Shane Taylor is here with Moriarty and Matt Menard is on commentary. They go to the mat to start with Garcia slipping out of a headscissors and hitting a running basement dropkick to send him outside. The Taylor distraction lets Moriarty come back with a suicide dive to take over, allowing him to STEAL GARCIA’S DANCE! Moriarty works on the arm back inside but Garcia is back up to pound him into the corner. Garcia starts in on the leg before a Saito suplex gets two. Garcia’s piledriver attempt is cut off so Moriarty hits a double stomp. Not that it matters as Garcia pulls him into a heel hook for the tap at 5:12.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to see a short match like this one where they got to the point and gave Garcia a pretty definitive win. That’s a good thing to see after he lost at Revolution so there seems to be something of a bright spot for him going forward. Moriarty can work well with just about anyone and he did well here by making Garcia look better.

We look at Bullet Club Gold breaking Darby Allin’s foot on Dynamite.

Pac vs. Aaron Solo

Solo wastes no time by knocking him to the floor to start, setting up the running flip dive. Back in and Pac stomps him down in the corner, followed by some boot choking. Pac kicks him in the head and hits a missile dropkick, setting up the Black Arrow into the Brutalizer for the win at 4:36.

Rating: C+. I was worried that Solo was going to get in a bunch of offense here but instead Pac shrugged it off and squashed Solo as he should have. Pac is one of those people who has a bunch of presence and feels like a star every time he’s out there. The problem continues to be that he can’t stay around, which makes getting behind him that much harder.

Post match Pac says he’s looking for trouble. Either Tony Khan can find it for him or he can find it himself.

Bryan Danielson talks about how he and Katsuyori Shibata were both told that they couldn’t wrestle again but they just did it tonight. Danielson is grateful for that, just like he’s grateful for getting to face Will Ospreay at Dynasty. It’s live or die, but Danielson isn’t ready to die. He doesn’t think Ospreay is ready.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Lance Archer

They shove each other around to start and trade shoulders to see both of them staggered. We’re already on the exchange of forearms until Castagnoli takes over with some clotheslines. A running version puts Archer on the floor, only to have Castagnoli miss a clothesline off the apron. Archer’s running flip dive drops Castagnoli and we take a break.

Back with Archer hitting a swinging Rock Bottom for two but Castagnoli grabs a suplex. Archer hits him in the face and goes up, only to have his Old School broken up. The Swing is broken up as well though and Archer knees him on the top. A chokeslam gives Archer two but the Blackout is countered into a Death Valley Driver to give Castagnoli two. Castagnoli gets creative with a cutter off the middle rope for another near fall, followed by a springboard spinning uppercut. The Swing is on but here is the Righteous to jump Castagnoli fir the DQ at 11:08.

Rating: B-. I could have gone with a better finish than something that is likely setting up a six man with the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club but it was fun to see two monsters beating on each other. That’s all you needed from these two and they had a heck of a brawl. Castagnoli’s power continues to be impressive and him getting to throw someone like Archer around worked well.

Post match the beatdown is on so Bryan Danielson runs in for the save. When that doesn’t work, Katsuyori Shibata runs in with a chair for the real save.

Angelo Parker and Ruby Soho aren’t happy that Zak Knight won’t fight Parker tonight. Parker is ready to go find him, but Soho says that’s what Saraya and company want, so she won’t be with him. That’s enough to get Parker to calm down.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Bryan Keith

Keith grinds away on a headlock to start but O’Reilly slips out for another standoff. O’Reilly is knocked outside but gets right back in for an exchange of strikes. A grapple off doesn’t go well for O’Reilly as Keith kicks him in the face, followed by a DDT for two. We take a break and come back with O’Reilly kneeing him in the ribs.

We pause for a second for the referee to check on Keith, followed by a quick kneebar from O’Reilly. That doesn’t work so O’Reilly goes for a triangle choke to slow Keith down. Keith is fine enough to catch him on top, setting up a hard kick for two. An enziguri staggers O’Reilly again but he’s back with a heck of a lariat. The cross armbreaker makes Keith tap at 11:30.

Rating: B-. Keith was a good choice for O’Reilly’s first opponent back as O’Reilly needed to show he could still hang around here without putting him against too big of a name. Odds are this will be followed by something with the Undisputed Kingdom, and I’m not sure where that is going to go. Nice match back for O’Reilly here, as he has a lot of time to make up for from the last few years.

Post match the Undisputed Era come in to celebrate.

Deonna Purrazzo and Thunder Rosa are ready for Toni Storm and Mariah May.

Tag Team Title Tournament Wildcard Match: House Of Black vs. Infantry

Julia Hart is here with the House, who jump the Infantry from behind before the bell. The beating goes outside with the Infantry being beaten down until the House gets inside. The Infantry wants to go so we ring the bell, allowing King to hit a Cannonball for two. Matthews kicks Dean on the floor and we take an early break.

Back with Bravo grabbing a rollup for two on Matthews and diving over for the tag to Dean. King comes in and runs Dean over with a heck of a clothesline, followed by Dante’s Inferno for two with Bravo making the save. King takes Bravo outside for an AA onto the announcers’ table, setting up a piledriver onto the same table. Julia Hart gets up to argue for some reason and here’s Mark Briscoe with a chair shot to Matthews. Briscoe runs off with King giving chase, allowing Dean to get the upset pin at 7:44.

Rating: C+. This was almost more of an angle than a match, as it was mostly a squash until the end when Briscoe interfered. It’s nice to see Briscoe costing the House the win as it ties together and gives us quite the twist to start the tournament. Odds are this leads to something big between Briscoe and the House, though waiting until Dynasty might be a bit much.

Post match here is Malakai Black to glare.

Video on Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage.

Here is Copeland, still with the box labeled SPIKE. Copeland talks about his history here in Ottawa and, after rolling his eyes a bit at the hatred for Toronto, he sits in a chair in front of the box. He was looking forward to sitting around with Christian Cage when their careers were over but now everything has changed.

Copeland failed at World’s End and took a Conchairto. Now he has talked to someone who helped make him who he is (implying but not saying Mick Foley) and pulls out spike, which is a 2×4 covered in nails (better known as Janice in TNA). He and Spike are going to end Cage and make him say I QUIT in Toronto. Shouting I QUIT before an I quit match might not be the best idea.

Overall Rating: B-. This was quite the show, with nothing that really felt bigger than the rest and a pair of return matches before a big upset in the main event. It was a show with a bunch of things happening and most of it was anywhere from completely decent to solid. Next week’s Dynamite should be a big deal and this show did enough to help set it up, albeit without anything that felt like a main event.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Katsuyori Shibata – Rollup
Julia Hart b. Trish Adora – Moonsault
Daniel Garcia b. Lee Moriarty – Heel hook
Pac b. Aaron Solo – Brutalizer
Claudio Castagnoli b. Lance Archer via DQ when the Righteous interfered
Kyle O’Reilly b. Bryan Keith – Cross armbreaker
Infantry b. House Of Black – Chair shot to Matthews from Mark Briscoe

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Dynamite
Date: March 13, 2024
Location: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

So it’s Big Business and Mercedes Mone is going to debut tonight. That hasn’t been officially announced, but AEW has beaten us over the head with the hints to the point where you can’t be any more obvious. Other than that, Samoa Joe is defending the World Title against Wardlow. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Renee Paquette is in the back when a nice car comes in. The door opens and let’s go to the arena.

We aren’t wasting time this week as here is Mercedes Mone (dubbed the CEO) fr the big debut. Mone talks about how great it is to be here and how much magic we will be seeing. Wrestling has given her hopes and dreams, with people like Eddie Guerrero making it feel so special. Those dreams made her the first woman to main event a pay per view in this building. She dropped out of school at 13 to take care of her brother and went to a place near here called Chaotic Wrestling. Now she is here so let’s get down to business.

She’s looking forward to tearing it up with everyone back there, including the two women in the main event: Willow Nightingale (who injured Mone’s foot/ankle last year and put her out for months) and Riho. For now though, she is All Elite and thanks Tony Khan for the tweet announcing it. Dancing ensues. This wasn’t exactly a bombshell shocker (and it wasn’t supposed to be) but it did what it needed to do and gave Mone a nice start.

Samoa Joe promises to take out Wardlow, whose time has come. He doesn’t lose titles at the Garden.

Adam Cole reads a story about a man named Wardlow, who had to fight for his freedom from an evil man (MJF). He was ready to win more titles and now he is ready to destroy Samoa Joe and win the World Title. The end.

AEW Wold Title: Samoa Joe vs. Wardlow

Wardlow, with the Undisputed Kingdom, is challenging. They start fast and head to the floor, with Joe being whipped into various things. Back in and Wardlow hammers away, only to have Joe chop his way out of the corner. Joe kicks him down but Wardlow heads up top for something like a Whisper In The Wind.

We take a break and come back with Wardlow hitting a middle rope shoulder. Joe is back with a knockdown and backsplash, setting up a slugout. What appeared to be an over the shoulder powerslam is broken up though and Wardlow hits his knee out of the corner for two. The Swanton misses so Joe hammers away in the corner, only to get powerbombed down. The Powerbomb Symphony is loaded up but Joe reverses into the Koquina Clutch to retain at 11:04.

Rating: B-. Well that happened. Wardlow was built up as a serious challenger for a few weeks and was then put away without much trouble. The match was good and felt like a title fight, but it was the latest example of Wardlow losing after being treated like a big deal. Swerve Strickland is the real next challenger for Joe, which makes the Wardlow thing feel like that much more of a waste of time.

Post match a livid Swerve Strickland comes out with his chain but a smirking Joe walks off.

The Elite is not happy with Alex Marvez disrespecting Kazuchika Okada and promise vengeance on Pac/Eddie Kingston/Penta El Zero Miedo. Marvez also has to sing Happy Birthday to Matthew.

Elite vs. Eddie Kingston/Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac

Okada and Kingston start things off but Okada brings in Matt before doing anything. One heck of a chop rocks Matt so it’s Pac coming in for a running shoulder. A hurricanrana into a backbreaker puts Matt down so it’s off to Penta. That means a rolling cutter from Nick, which only makes Penta kick him in the face a few times.

An AA powerslam gives Penta two and something like What’s Up sends Matt rolling outside. Okada comes in to chop it out with Kingston, setting up a dropkick to put Kingston in trouble. A triple strike in the corner puts Kingston down and we take a break. Back with Matt diving into an exploder suplex but Okada and Nick break up the tag attempts. Kingston fights up again and gets the big tag, meaning everything can break down.

Penta and Pac hit stereo dives, setting up a top rope double stomp on Nick. Pac’s springboard 450 gets two with Okada making the save. Okada DDTs Kingston and Matt wheelbarrow faceplants Pac. Penta hits a Canadian Destroyer but Nick takes him down. A low blow into the Rainmaker finishes Kingston at 12:38.

Rating: B. This was the kind of wild match that you would have expected from the people involved and that is a good thing. The ending should set up the title match between Kingston and Okada, which very well could see the title changing hands. Other than that, it was the usual wild AEW six man, as going nuts and ignoring the rules tends to be the norm for these things.

Tony Schiavone brings out Will Ospreay for a chat. Ospreay has spent years trying to be like Bryan Danielson, who is one of the best ever. He has seen Danielson doing things to hurt his body over the years and that has Ospreay wanting to see what happens when they face each other. It’s the best wrestler ever against the best in the world today and Ospreay is ready to show he is on another level. Ospreay can bring some fire in his promos.

Deonna Purrazzo challenges Mariah May and Toni Storm to a tag match next week. Partner to be named.

Jay White vs. Darby Allin

White has Bullet Club Gold with him and Allin is heavily bandaged. White takes it to the mat to start and grinds away but Allin fights back up and sends him outside. The big flip dive connects, followed by a suicide dive to make it worse. A ram sends Allin into the barricade instead and a big whip over the steps has Allin crashing again as we take a break. Back with Allin fighting back and flipping away from White.

The Blade Runner is countered into a flipping Stunner, followed by a sunset flip for two. A springboard Coffin Drop is countered into a German suplex but Allin is back with a Scorpion Death Drop for two more. The Coffin Drop to the apron only hits apron and Allin is in trouble. He dives back in to beat the count and White hits the Blade Runner for the pin at 12:15.

Rating: B-. Maybe it’s the leftovers from the Revolution main event but I’m rather over seeing Allin doing his stunt show out there. It feels like that’s the entire point of his matches, which is annoying as he is capable of doing so much more. The action was good and White winning as Allin is going away for a bit is the right way to go, so call the whole thing a success.

Post match White teases respect but the Club jumps Allin instead. A Pillmanizing is loaded up but the Acclaimed runs in for the save. Then White chairs Billy Gunn down and the Club destroys the Acclaimed. With the Acclaimed down, Allin’s ankle is Pillmanized to send him away. To climb Mt. Everest.

Hook/Chris Jericho vs. Gates Of Agony

Hook and Jericho starts fast with a pair of double suplexes and the ring is quickly cleared. Toa takes over on Jericho in the corner as we settle down. Jericho is sent outside and we take a break. Back with Hook coming in to clean house, including grabbing a northern lights suplex. Jericho comes off the middle rope with a shoulder, leaving Hook to suplex Toa down. Kaun’s fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two but he gets knocked down. Redrum and a Walls combination goes on, with Jericho letting go to take out Toa, leaving Kaun to tap at 8:43.

Rating: C. Much like the earlier tag match, this turned into another wild brawl, but this one was more than a bit sloppy with some of Jericho’s stuff not looking very sharp. It wasn’t exactly must see stuff and having Jericho teaming up with another young star isn’t the most interesting. Odds are they’ll be in the upcoming tournament, which will probably lad into a regular feud before Jericho moves on to some other young star. As he tends to do.

Kyle O’Reilly talks about how banged up he was but now he’s healed up. He’s just wondering if he can hang, which he’ll get to find out this week on Collision against Bryan Keith. The Undisputed Kingdom come in and seem to be cool with him fighting on his own. O’Reilly: “Yeah….on my own.”

Video on Riho vs. Willow Nightingale.

Riho meets Mercedes Mone.

Chris Jericho is happy to have teamed with Hook, then challenges him to a match next week on Dynamite.

Riho vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale blocks an early whip attempt and runs Riho over without much trouble. A dropkick takes Riho down again and we take an early break. Back with Riho hitting a suplex and going up top. That’s broken up and Nightingale hits a heck of a Pounce to send Riho outside. The flip dive off the apron misses though and Riho hits a stomp off the apron. A top rope stomp off the top gets two but Nightingale is right back up. Riho gets planted so Nightingale takes the straps down, setting up the Babe With The Powerbomb to give Nightingale the pin at 9:28.

Rating: B-. Good match here, which is nice to see even if it feels like this is in the main event spot so Mone can do something after the match. Nightingale continues to feel like someone who should be ready for a big push somewhere in the near future, but at some point it has to actually happen. For now though, Nightingale gets a solid win and hopefully that continues. I was expecting this to be Riho getting a win to cut Nightingale off again and it’s nice to see that not being the case.

Post match the lights go out and here is Julia Hart for a distraction. Skye Blue runs in for the cheap shot from behind but Mercedes Mone comes in for the save (Kris Statlander, Nightingale’s friend and partner who was there for her entrance, was apparently off getting a hot pretzel). A lot of dancing ensues to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show started off feeling huge and that first hour and fifteen minutes or so were enough to make up for the rest of the show not being the strongest. Mone coming in here was a big deal and it makes sense to focus on her. I’m curious to see where that goes from here, but it was off to a nice start. Hopefully the audience is up after last week, as the show was good enough to warrant strong viewership.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Wardlow – Koquina Clutch
Elite b. Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac/Eddie Kingston – Rainmaker to Kingston
Jay White b. Darby Allin – Blade Runner
Hook/Chris Jericho b. Gates Of Agony – Redrum to Kaun
Willow Nightingale b. Riho – Babe With The Powerbomb

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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Rampage
Date: March 8, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

We’re done with Revolution and the big story coming out of Dynamite is the debut of Kazuchika Okada. Not only did he show up, but he has officially joined the Elite along with the Young Bucks. That should make for an interesting future, but we should also be seeing something else here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta vs. Kip Sabian/Butcher

Cassidy and Sabian start things off but it’s off to Butcher before anything happens. Trent comes in as well and gets shoved down a few times as Excalibur runs through the card. A suplex doesn’t work for Butcher as Trent slips out, only to break up the tornado DDT. Trent gets taken into the corner and it’s back to Sabian, who is quickly backdropped. Cassidy comes in for his half of a double suplex and they go to the mat for some quick rollups. It’s back to Butcher, who plants Cassidy down with a powerslam to further wreck Cassidy’s…everything. Sabian comes back in to stay on Cassidy and we take a break.

Back with Cassidy putting his hands in his pockets and rolling under Sabian to get to Trent (though Cassidy doesn’t want to take his hands out for the tag). Butcher accidentally runs Sabian over and Trent knocks Butcher outside for the slingshot dive. A running knee gets two on Sabian but Butcher is back in to kick Trent in the face. Sabian’s top rope double stomp gets two, with Cassidy making the save. Everything breaks down and Sabian is dropped, leaving Butcher to get caught with the Orange Punch into Strong Zero for the pin at 11:12.

Rating: C+. The way the promo on Dynamite had sounded, I thought this was going to be the first round of the tournament but instead it was Cassidy and Beretta just having a match against a team of guys who have lost a good deal of matches before. That being said, the fans are always going to respond to Cassidy and it makes the show feel more important by having him around.

Video on the Infantry.

Ruby Soho is in tears and says Angelo Parker is hurt, possibly with torn ligaments in his knee. Soho hates Saraya, who is an ugly person deep down. Saraya and her inbred family are going to get what’s coming.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Robyn Renegade

Hart is defending in an open challenge House Rules match, with the rule being nothing off the top rope. They go to the mat to start with Hart grabbing a headlock and then bashing said head against the mat. Choking on the ropes has Renegade in more trouble and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Hart sends her into the corner, setting up Hartless for the win at 3:40.

Rating: C-. Total squash for Hart here with the top rope thing not playing any sort of role. There was little reason to believe that Renegade was going to be a threat of any sort and that is exactly what happened, as Hart ran through her with no trouble. Hart is likely coming up on a title defense against Willow Nightingale or Riho and that should be a bit more competitive.

Renee Paquette (being recorded by a phone and the main camera for some reason) is interrupted by the Outcasts, who swear vengeance against Ruby Soho and Angelo Parker. Saraya slaps something out of a man’s hand so that it hits Zak Knight, causing violence.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Action Andretti

Andretti doesn’t care for Penta’s shouting to start and takes him down with a double leg. Back up and a tornado DDT plants Penta, who is right back with a shot to the face. They head to the floor, where Penta wins a chop off and sends him into the steps. Andretti is right back with a hurricanrana off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Andretti hitting a flip splash off the apron, only to get superkicked out of the air. Andretti is fine enough to grab a Spanish Fly for two, followed by Penta hitting a Death Valley Driver powerslam (I guess Keith Lee isn’t around) for the same. Penta knocks him out of the air again and the Fear Factor finishes Andretti at 9:08.

Rating: B-. They were trading their big flips and flashy moves until one of them won and that’s almost always going to work. It might not have been a classic or anything, but there are far worse ways to fill in about ten minutes. Penta has been getting some more television time in recent weeks and that is nice to see after he was just kind of hanging around for so long.

Video on Titan (Tee-Tahn), who faces Chris Jericho on Collision.

Private Party vs. Top Flight vs. Komander/Bryan Keith

Keith and Quen start but the latter tags in Kassidy, who tags in Dante. Everything breaks down in a hurry and it’s a big brawl with Top Flight clearing the ring. We take a break and come back with Quen kicking Keith down but Keith crotches Kassidy on top. Quen gets taken down as well but Komander has been knocked to the floor, meaning Keith has to tag in Darius.

Komander is back up to tag himself in for a rope walk dropkick. Private Party tries to double team Komander but Keith makes the save. Komander rolls Dante up for two but gets kneed in the face for his efforts. Dante dives onto a bunch of people, leaving Darius to hit the Ripcord to finish Komander at 11:00.

Rating: B-. This was pretty much exactly what you would expect from this kind of a match, as they were going all over the place until one of the established teams beat the makeshift team. It’s similar to what has been going on with Ring Of Honor for weeks now and it had about the same impact. It’s fine for a one off match, but it’s little more than a showcase for Private Party and Top Flight.

Overall Rating: B-. It wasn’t a bad show and it was an improvement over last week, but this still felt like a show that could have complete disappeared without missing a thing. This show came and went with pretty much nothing that made a difference in the slightest, with the biggest part being Orange Cassidy and Trent Beretta beating a pretty nothing team. The action was good and even entertaining, but it was nothing that you need to see.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta b. Butcher/Kip Sabian – Strong Zero to Butcher
Julia Hart b. Robyn Renegade – Hartless
Penta El Zero Miedo – Fear Factor
Top Flight b. Private Party and Bryan Keith/Komander – Ripcord to Komander

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Collision
Date: March 9, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re still near Atlanta for the third show of the week, though this show is going to be a bit of a follow up from Dynamite. In this case we have the first match for the new Elite, as the Young Bucks and Kazuchika Okada are now the new big evil trio. Other than that, we have a street fight, because that’s what we do around here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor vs. Bryan Danielson

Lee Moriarty is here with Taylor, who backs Danielson into the corner to start. The test of strength goes to Taylor of course but Danielson kicks away at the chest. That only goes so far so Danielson goes for the leg and uses the ropes to slow Taylor down. Nigel: “He’s using the ropes! That’s illegal!” Tony: “You never used the ropes during your career?” Nigel: “Of course!”

Taylor’s leg is tied up in the ropes so Danielson hits a running dropkick but a right hand sends Danielson outside (and us to a break). Back with Taylor hitting the apron legdrop for two but missing a splash in the corner. Danielson ties the leg around the post and kicks away to put Taylor down back inside.

The big kick to the head gets one and Danielson can’t believe the kickout. The running dropkicks in the corner just wake Taylor up though and it’s a big clothesline for two on Danielson. Taylor’s cannonball misses so he tries a powerslam, only for Danielson to take him down for the kicks to the head. The running knee finishes for Danielson at 14:00.

Rating: B-. Danielson is this generation’s wrestler who can get the best out of any opponent and that is amazing to see. Taylor had a good match here and wrestled like a power monster should, which made for a good showing. You could see Danielson trying to take him apart out there and it worked well in the end. Good opener.

Post match Will Ospreay comes out and says he’s here for a chat. After praising Danielson and Taylor, Ospreay praises…the sandwiches backstage before talking about how so many people are in awe of Danielson. Ospreay then calls him a “cheeky little slag” for interrupting him on Dynamite and wonders if Danielson has a question for him. Danielson praises Ospreay’s match with Konosuke Takeshita, but he’s also heard Ospreay talking about how great he is the best in the world, so the challenge is on for Dynasty. Ospreay is in.

Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada vs. Jon Cruz/Liam Gray/Adrian Alanis

Nick and Cruz start things off but it’s Okada coming in instead. Okada takes him up against the ropes for a pat on the head to start so the bigger Alanis comes in. The forearms just annoy Okada so he hits the dropkick, followed by the Rainmaker to pin Gray at 2:03. That’s what it should have been.

Post match Eddie Kingston runs in and gets beaten down so here is Penta El Zero Miedo…who gets beaten down as well. Cue Pac to come in and stare up at Okada (Nigel: “TAKE MY MONEY! TAKE MY MONEY! TAKE MY MONEY!”) before striking him out to the floor. Pac says he’s here to look for trouble and a six man is set up for Dynamite.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Jay White on Dynamite.

Mariah May vs. Trish Adora

May works on a wristlock to start as Nigel completely swoons over Mariah’s…well everything. Adora takes her down a few times without much effort but May grabs a running headscissors. A running dropkick puts Adora on the floor and we take a break. Back with Adora hitting a pump kick into a backsplash for two. Adora grabs a German suplex from her knees, only to have May hit a running knee. May Day finishes Adora at 6:13.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why a match that barely breaks six minutes needs a break but unfortunately that’s the AEW women’s division for you. May’s rise continues and having her dressed as rocker Toni Storm could be going in a few different directions. Not much in the way of a match, but what are you supposed to do with so little time and so much of that in a break?

Post match here is Toni Storm to present the first ever Toni Award (Storm: “That’s Toni with an I so we don’t get sued.”). May is the only nominee and she does indeed win. Cue Deonna Purrazzo to go after Storm but May lays her out with a DDT.

Video on Riho vs. Willow Nightingale.

Nick Wayne vs. Adam Priest

The rest of the Patriarchy is here too. Wayne starts fast and hammers away before sending Priest outside. A running boot rocks Priest again but he fires back, only to get a glare from Luchasaurus. Back in and Wayne chokes on the ropes, setting up Wayne’s World for the pin at 3:12.

Rating: C. More or less a squash here for Wayne, who still doesn’t have much in the way of interest. He’s Christian’s secondary lackey but having him beat up a relative unknown for a few minutes is hardly the worst thing. They kept this short and that’s the right way to go for a match like this one.

Post match someone in a mask pulls Cage into the crowd (Tony: “Is this a luchador? Is this someone from CMLL?” That’s a perfectly reasonable reaction and you don’t get many of those in wrestling today.) before diving onto the Patriarchy. It’s Adam Copeland, who gets in the ring and grabs the TNT belt, plus a metal case. Copeland opens it and Cage sees it (we don’t see what’s in there), making him back up. The match seems ready for Dynamite March 20.

Jeff Jarrett says Mark Briscoe can trust him tonight. Mark isn’t sure but they’ll fight together.

Chris Jericho vs. Titan

Jericho wastes no time in pulling him into a surfboard, which is broken up just as fast. Back up and they chop it out until Titan knocks him to the floor. That means a big suicide dive to drop Jericho and a whip sends him into the steps. Back in and they both go up, with Jericho hitting a super faceplant for two as we take a break. We come back with Titan kicking him out to the floor, setting up another dive.

That bangs Titan up a bit though and it’s a butterfly backbreaker to put him down again. The Lionsault misses though and Titan grabs a springboard tornado DDT for two. Titan’s top rope double stomp gets two but his leglock is countered into a failed Walls attempt. The Judas Effect misses as well and Titan grabs a spinning Death Valley Driver for two. Titan tries a springboard hurricanrana but gets pulled into the Walls for the submission at 11:59.

Rating: B. I liked that a good bit more than I thought I would have and Jericho hung in there with the younger high flier well enough. That being said, I’m still waiting on some kind of a point to these CMLL guys being around other than “here they are”. They had the feud with the BCC but that seems to have mostly wrapped up (thanks to the visa situation). Are we just going to have random matches like this with nothing really happening?

Post match the Gates Of Agony run in to beat down Jericho but Hook makes the save.

Here is FTR for a chat. Things didn’t go how they wanted at Revolution but that’s life. They’re officially throwing their names into the hat for the Tag Team Title tournament but they know it’s going to be difficult. Harwood isn’t sure they belong in the tournament but they will give everything they have if they get a chance. Cue the Infantry to interrupt, with a quick introduction. They say the tag division needs a revival and we get some of the old Revival theme song. Harwood: “The revival is dead and if we meet you in the tournament, you will be too.” Well that was efficient.

Mistico vs. Angelico

Serpentico is here with Angelico. They fight over wrist control to start and Angelico gets up for something of a dance. Mistico grabs some armdrags for a standoff and we take a break. Back with Mistico hitting a 619 into a springboard missile dropkick, followed by a slingshot hurricanrana to the floor. A slingshot corkscrew splash gets two on Angelico and a Swanton is good for the same. Angelico grabs la majistral for two and they trade running clotheslines in the corner. Both of them are knocked down but Mistico is back up with a very spinning rollup for two. La Mistica finishes Angelico off at 9:26.

Rating: B-. Again, nice match but it’s kind of hard to get interested in Mistico, as big of a star as he is, facing someone the caliber of Angelico. It’s a match that came and went with some nice high flying, but it doesn’t seem to have any connection to anything else going on. That’s fine once in awhile, but this is the second match on the show with the same stuff. It would be nice to have this tied into something, as otherwise it’s just wrestling for the sake of wrestling.

Respect is shown post match.

House Of Black vs. Mark Briscoe/Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal

Street fight. The brawl starts on the floor with Briscoe and Black slugging away inside. The good guys start in with the dives before it’s time to set up some tables. Lethal sends a charging King into an open chair but King is back up to crush Lethal through a table. Briscoe and Matthews slug it out until Briscoe’s dive off the top completely misses a table, hitting chairs instead.

We take a break and come back with Matthews pouring lighter fluid over a table but Sonjay Dutt offers a distraction. Cue Julia Hart with gasoline, which Matthews pours on Dutt. Karen Jarrett cuts off the whole murder thing so Hart gives her the mist. Lethal and Jarrett hit the Infantry’s Boot Camp (Russian legsweep/running big boot combination) to put King down but he’s back up with the sleeper to Lethal.

Jarrett makes the save with a heck of a guitar shot, only to walk into the End from Black. Hart slips in the spike but Briscoe blocks a stabbing and Jay Drillers Black. Briscoe’s big flip dive is pulled out of the air and the table is set on fire. The powerbomb puts Briscoe through said table and Black gets the pin at 12:47.

Rating: C+. Yeah it was another big brawl and had the spots and carnage but how many of these hardcore matches are we supposed to be interested in? This one had the fire theme but there was so much going on that it was just another big wild fight than anything else. It kept my interest but it feels like we get some kind of big weapons brawl every few weeks. Slow down with them already.

Overall Rating: B-. They were going back and forth from stuff that felt important to stuff that felt like it was just there to fill in time, which makes for a rather long two hours. The show was good enough, but after a pay per view on Sunday and three hours of AEW since then, the two CMLL matches, another brawl and a quick Elite match isn’t quite enough to make this a great show.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Shane Taylor – Running knee
Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada b. Jon Cruz/Liam Gray/Adrian Alanis – Rainmaker to Gray
Mariah May b. Trish Adora – May Day
Nick Wayne b. Adam Priest – Wayne’s World
Chris Jericho b. Titan – Walls Of Jericho
Mistico b. Angelico – La Mistica
House Of Black b. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Mark Briscoe – Powerbomb through a flaming table to Briscoe

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

AND

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