Dynamite – March 4, 2020: If This Is Their Downgrade, They’ll Be Fine

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: March 4, 2020
Location: 1^st Bank Center, Broomfield, Colorado
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re in a new stretch for AEW as Revolution has come and gone, meaning we have a new World Champion. Jon Moxley defeated Chris Jericho to win the title on Saturday, marking the first time that the title has changed hands. It should be interesting to see where we’re going next, but WarGames is looming in three weeks. Let’s get to it.

Here’s Revolution if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Revolution.

Here’s Moxley for his first chat as champion but he has to wait for the YOU DESERVE IT chants to die down. Moxley says AEW represents professional wrestling and this belt never belonged to Chris Jericho. It doesn’t belong to him either, because the belt belongs to the people. Every fan out there who said they wanted something different helped bring pro wrestling back. He will defend this title with his life and there isn’t a man in this industry who has what it takes to pry it away from his cold dead hands.

Moxley knows the Inner Circle is still coming for him and seeing the title on his shoulder is like acid in Jericho’s mouth. Moxley dares them to come after him so here comes Jericho, flanked by the rest of the team. The fans keep singing the song after the music stops for….I think it was a cool moment but I’m not sure. Jericho says he doesn’t need a belt to be Le Champion and yells at the fans for not chanting in unison. The fans may like the Moxley Era but Jericho thinks it sucks. Moxley’s title reign was based on a lie and the fact that Moxley can see out of both eyes is not worthy of a champion.

Therefore, Moxley is a liar and so are all of these fans. Now the Inner Circle is a hit squad and they’re coming after the entire roster. They’re going to hurt some people, starting with Moxley. After tonight’s main event (there’s a hug for Sammy), Moxley isn’t walking out of this dump on his own. Jericho is so sure of it, that if Moxley walks out on his own tonight, he’ll take a sixty day hiatus from AEW. Moxley knows he isn’t that smart but he’s so sick of hearing Jericho talk, that he’s going to beat him again tonight in Broomfield, Colorado.

Here’s a preview for the rest of the show.

SCU/Colt Cabana vs. Dark Order

Cabana and Grayson start things off with Cabana shrugging off some chops. The Order comes in to take over on Cabana and knock SCU off the apron at the same time. SCU gets back in and takes over on Silver, including a running series of elbows in the corner. Daniels gets sent outside though and Uno posts him to take over. The beatdown has Daniels down in the corner and we take a break.

Back with Daniels still in trouble but getting away from Silver and making the hot tag to Kazarian. House is cleaned and the assisted middle rope stomp puts Grayson down. A slingshot cutter gives Kazarian two and it’s off to Cabana to deal with multiple parts of the Order at the same time time. The fans are into Cabana but are also happy for Sky’s big flip dive over the top. Cabana hits the Chicago Skyline on Silver, followed by the Superman Pin at 10:27.

Rating: C+. Well at least the important members didn’t get pinned. The match was a good way to give Cabana his first win and continue the build towards the Exalted One. I’m still curious to see who it is and that’s a good feeling to have, as long as the reveal is even somewhat good.

Post match, Uno threatens SCU with the arrival of the Exalted One, because he will not be pleased.

Highlights of the Revolution Tag Team match, featuring quotes from Alvarez, Keller and Meltzer. Now granted they don’t say who those people are so anyone who aren’t hardcore fans won’t know who they are, but they did say that Justin Barrasso writes for Sports Illustrated.

Big Swole vs. Leva Bates

Britt Baker, with coffee for Tony, is on commentary. Swole shoves Bates down to start but a Peter Avalon distraction lets Bates hit her with a book. A Backstabber rocks Swole but she’s right back with Dirty Dancing for the pin at 1:28. Well that was emphatic.

Video on MJF stealing a pin over Cody.

Here’s Cody for a chat. He doesn’t know if he wants to talk about what it means to lose to MJF because it means a lot to get on a pay per view, let alone win. Cody has gone through a lot and now he wants MJF to come out here right now, look him in the eye and say he won fair and square. Instead, here’s Jake Roberts for your random cameo of the week. Jake: “I got tired of hearing you cry and b****.”

Roberts says he’s here because the Dark Side is coming to AEW and it will be like a phoenix rising from the ashes. It’s been twenty years to get clean and now he has earned it. If you think he’s going to be a nice boy who plays nice, you have another thing coming. For years, he brought a snake to the ring to get in people’s heads and now he’s still getting in heads.

His client is coming and he’ll be on the floor getting in Cody’s head again. Cody can even bring Arn Anderson if he wants because Jake is just here to take Cody’s piece of the pie. Jake says never turn your back on someone you respect or are afraid of before turning his back on Cody and walking away. They got the point across, but it took a few seconds for Jake to start making sense.

Clips of Pac vs. Orange Cassidy.

Chuck Taylor vs. Pac

Orange Cassidy and Trent are at ringside. They run the ropes to start with neither being able to make much contact. A hurricanrana puts Taylor on the floor but Pac rolls outside to stare at Cassidy. Taylor jumps over him in the corner and chops away but Pac takes it outside. That means a hard whip into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Pac working on the arm until Taylor fights up with a dropkick to the floor. That means a dive over the top, but he still has time to hug Trent. Back in and Pac gets caught with an Awful Waffle in the corner for a rather close two. The moonsault misses though and the Brutalizer makes Chuck tap at 10:05.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t the extended squash that it should have been, which is annoying at least Pac continues to make the fans hate him. I’m sure the feud will continue, even though Pac has dominated the entire thing and apparently has the Lucha Bros with him. Chuck wasn’t bad as usual, but the entire team feels like it’s playing over its head.

Post match Trent gets in Pac’s face but Cassidy takes his place. Cue the Lucha Bros for the beatdown, with Pac naming the trio the Death Triangle. Is there some rule that EVERYONE around here has to be in some kind of a faction??? Cassidy takes the spike Fear Factor and Pentagon bites his ear.

Tully Blanchard wants your suggestions for Shawn Spears’ partner.

QT Marshall vs. Jake Hager

Brandi Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, Santana and Ortiz are here. Hager takes him down with straight power to start and Marshall gets dropped with a knee to the ribs. The running Vader Bomb hits raised boots and Marshall’s corkscrew Swanton gets two. Hager is right back with a heck of a clothesline, setting up the standing arm triangle choke for the win at 3:23.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here and that’s fine enough. Hager is someone who needs to pick up wins like this to show that he can be more than a heavy and they did what they should have done. This feels like they’re setting up something for the future with a six man tag, though I’m not sure how much fuel something between these people are going to have.

Post match Hager won’t let go so Dustin comes in. That draws out Cody to clean house until Santana and Ortiz take him down with a chair shot. Cue Matt Jackson for the attempted save but the numbers are too big for him. Now it’s Hangman Page, who puts the beer on the post and starts wrecking people, including the Buckshot Lariat to Hager. Matt gets in Page’s face so Page flips him off and leaves.

MJF says he’s all about pinning shoulders to mats and banging rats (MJF: “AKA women.”). He’s gone from prospect to prodigy and now it’s time for him to become #1 contender. MJF will face Jungle Jabroni or Marko Stunted growth and doesn’t care who he is. It’s hot in here though so he needs to take his jacket off, revealing an I Pinned Cody shirt. That shirt is obnoxious, regrettable and very distracting. MJF: “Kind of like a neck tattoo, don’t you think?” We’re not worthy of MJF because this was glorious.

Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara vs. Jon Moxley/Darby Allin

Hold on though as three masked men jump Moxley during his entrance. They take him into the concourse and remove the masks to reveal Santana, Ortiz and Hager as the beatdown is on. Moxley gets covered with trash and choked out as commentary says Allin was jumped in the ring, which is why he isn’t coming out for the save. Ignore being able to see Allin standing up and watching the beatdown on the monitor.

Anyway, Allin agrees to wrestle on his own so Sammy knees him down for an early two. Jericho comes in and chokes in the corner, with Hager and company out to choke as well. A sunset flip out of the corner gives Allin two but Jericho is right back with the Walls. Allin makes the save so Jericho baseball slides him to the floor as we take a break. Back with Jericho hitting a suplex and bringing Sammy back in for a double elbow. The fans chant something censored before switching to STUPID IDIOT.

Allin fights up and knocks Jericho outside for a suicide flip dive but the numbers take him down again. Sammy kicks him in the back for two but the Lionsault hits knees. Allin tags himself in and gets all fired up, meaning the comeback is on. Jericho and Sammy are sent outside for the top rope Coffin Drop onto the entire Inner Circle. Back in and the Coffin Drop gets two on Sammy with Jericho making the save. Darby sends Jericho outside but the suicide dive gets Judas Effected out of the air. Allin is done and Sammy gets the pin at 14:08.

Rating: B. This was another show stealing performance from Allin, who needs to actually win something big at some point. It was a match where I got into Allin again and that’s something that happens almost every time he’s out there. Good stuff here and the action helped boost up a solid story.

Post match here’s Moxley to throw a chair at Hager but the numbers game gets the better of him as well. The Inner Circle takes him to the stage and powerbombs him down through some tables to end the show.

Lance Archer didn’t appear and wasn’t mentioned.

Overall Rating: B. It wasn’t quite as good as some of their previous efforts but that’s a pretty high standard to reach. There were some very good parts here along with some that were a bit odd/weak, such as Roberts’ random cameo and ANOTHER group named after death/darkness/evil. Still a good show and they’ve got a lot to look forward to, which is a great sign coming out of a pay per view.

Results

SCU/Colt Cabana b. Dark Order – Superman Pin to Silver

Big Swole b. Leva Bates – Dirty Dancing

Pac b. Chuck Taylor – Brutalizer

Jake Hager b. QT Marshall – Standing arm triangle choke

Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Darby Allin – Judas Effect

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Dark – March 3, 2020: We Needed Part Two

IMG Credit: AEW Wrestling

Dark
Date: March 3, 2020
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

So there was an episode of Dark on Friday but where would we be without getting to see the other match that took place before Revolution? Ignoring the big question of why we needed another one aside from having this one match for this show, there are a lot of interviews to go with the single match. Let’s get to it.

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

We look at Colt Cabana saving SCU from the Dark Order on the pre-show.

Colt Cabana has been friends with the people who run this company and he’s glad to be here, even though he hasn’t signed a contract. If the Dark Order wants to do this, let’s go. He’s got SCU’s backs and the Elite’s backs if they want him.

A fired up Christopher Daniels doesn’t think there is an Exalted One behind the Dark Order. SCU and Cabana are ready to fight the Dark Order. Perhaps in WarGames with the Exalted One as the big final entrant?

Quick look at Nyla Rose retaining the Women’s Title.

Kris Stadtlander is disappointed but she’ll come back a little more down to earth.

We look at the end of Orange Cassidy vs. Pac.

Pac won’t say what his relationship is with the Lucha Bros and AEW is responsible for what happened to Cassidy.

Riho/Yuka Sakazaki vs. Britt Baker/Penelope Ford

Kip Sabian is here with Baker and Ford. Sakazaki and Riho jump them to start, including a jumping knee to put Sabian on the floor. We officially start Baker getting double teamed in the corner until we settle down to Riho vs. Baker. That works a bit better for Baker, who takes Riho into the corner for the tag to Ford. Sakazaki comes in as well for a double elbow to the back and some rolling suplexes to Ford for a bonus.

A Sabian distraction lets Baker stomp Sakazaki and hit her with a suplex for two. Ford hits the handspring elbow and another Sabian distraction lets Baker crush Sakazaki’s head in the corner. A missile dropkick gets Sakazaki out of trouble and it’s back to Riho for the crucifix bomb on Ford. Everything breaks down and Sakazaki dives onto the two of them, setting up Riho’s top rope double stomp for two on Baker. Lockjaw is broken up as Riho counters into a rollup, only to have Sabian turn it back over so Riho has to tap at 7:48.

Rating: C-. Standard tag formula here with Sabian adding the wild card, but the big story here is Baker getting a win over Riho. You don’t see that very often so maybe this is her way of moving up the ladder a little bit. It wasn’t a clean win, but maybe Baker can tie that into cleaning teeth or something like that. Good enough storytelling though and that at least gives this some kind of a reason to exist.

Overall Rating: C-. Yeah this really should have just been added to the pre-show as it was barely a show, running less than twenty minutes. It’s like they had some kind of requirement to put something on tonight instead of just waiting for Dynamite. That makes for a rather pointless show, but the Riho loss might mean something so that helps a little bit.

Results

Penelope Ford/Britt Baker b. Riho/Yuka Sakazaki – Lockjaw to Riho

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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Dark – February 28, 2020: It Serves Its Purpose

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: February 28, 2020
Location: Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, Kansas City, Missouri|
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz
Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Dasha Gonzalez

This is a bit of a special edition as the show was uploaded on Friday instead of the usual Tuesday due to Revolution on Saturday. Odds are it is going to be the same kind of show as we always see and I’m not sure what that is going to mean. It’s all going to depend on the wrestling, which tends to be the case more often than not. Let’s get to it.

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

Sonny Kiss vs. Luther

Rating: D. Luther was far from a disaster but getting me to care about a “death match legend” from Japan 20 years ago is a bit of a stretch. Having Luther here as a low level villain isn’t going to hurt anything but the Nightmare Collective stuff was a big waste of everyone’s time. This could have been worse, though it’s nothing I’m needing to see again.

Post match Jimmy Havoc chases Luther off.

Tony and Dasha are excited for Revolution.

Dark Order vs. Michael Nakazawa/Peter Avalon

Before the match, Leva Bates tells Avalon to stop insulting every town they come to and hands him a book called “Don’t Be A D***.” Nakazawa loads up the baby oil but Avalon says no because he doesn’t want comedy. Avalon tags himself in and immediately slips on the oil as we’re in comedy land. Nakazawa comes back in and gets beaten up in the corner but uses more oil to escape a suplex. That’s enough for Avalon though as he walks out, leaving Nakazawa to take the Fatality for the pin at 2:56. This may be the biggest waste of time I’ve seen in a good many years.

Video on Cody vs. MJF.

Here’s where AEW is coming.

Britt Baker vs. Miranda Alize

Alize was on Impact last week. Baker takes her down by the arm to start but it’s way too early for Lockjaw. Alize can’t escape so it’s a forearm to the face. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Baker chokes away in the corner, followed by a kick to the jaw. A fisherman’s neckbreaker and the reverse Sling Blade set up the Lockjaw to finish Alize at 5:13.

Rating: C-. Just an extended squash for Baker here and that’s fine. It seems like she has been waiting to jump up to the next level for months now and it has just never clicked. You could still see it happening, but I’m not sure when it will. Alize didn’t get to showcase herself much here but she has potential if she ever gets a chance.

Brandon Cutler/Shawn Spears vs. Private Party

Hold on though as Private Party needs to throw their beads into the crowd. Cutler and Kassidy start things off and they take turns missing each other. Quen misses a running enziguri and all three try dropkicks for another standoff. Spears comes in for a chop but gets pulled into the corner so Quen can sunset flip Kassidy into a moonsault press for two.

It’s back to Cutler, who springboards in with a forearm to Kassidy so Spears can hammer away in the corner. The spinebuster plants Kassidy and Spears drops him onto the apron for a bonus. A legdrop gives Cutler two but Kassidy is back with an enziguri, allowing the hot tag to Quen. The sitout bulldog/faceplant combination puts Spears/Cutler down, meaning Spears is ready to leave. Gin and Juice finishes Cutler at 9:24.

Rating: C. Just a match for the most part and the same ending that we’ve seen from Spears before. The Tully Blanchard Search For The Perfect Partner story is getting old in a hurry, mainly because Spears has been turned into one of the least important people in the company. And that’s how they’re using Blanchard?

Tony and Dasha say goodbye. Their importance on this show is waning every week.

Overall Rating: D+. This is such a strange show and it rarely goes outside of its comfort zone. That being said, the show is far from terrible and they get a lot of talent in the ring. It’s better than having them sit on the sidelines as they’re being kept warm for later if necessary. The show wasn’t great this week but it served its purpose well enough, even if that purpose isn’t the most important for AEW.

Results

Luther b. Sonny Kiss – Camel clutch

Dark Order b. Michael Nakazawa/Peter Avalon – Fatality to Nakazawa

Britt Baker b. Miranda Alize – Lockjaw

Private Party b. Brandon Cutler/Shawn Spears – Gin and Juice to Cutler

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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Revolution 2020: They Know Their Stuff

IMG Credit: AEW

Revolution
Date: February 29, 2020
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Jim Ross

We’re back on pay per view for the first time in a good while as AEW is much more of a TV company than a major event company. The top of the card looks stacked this time around too and we could be in for a rather big night. The main event is Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley for the World Title, but there are two other matches that could easily headline. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: SCU vs. Dark Order

It’s Kazarian/Scorpio Sky for SCU, though they have requested that Christopher Daniels stay in the back. The brawl is on before the bell and they fight to the floor, which might not be the best idea given that the Creepers are out there as well. We officially start with Kazarian suplexing Grayson and Sky comes in to kick him in the chest. They head outside again though and Kazarian gets posted, allowing the rest of the Dark Order to beat him down.

Back in and Kazarian can’t quite fight out of the corner as the fans are chanting something about the Creepers. Grayson grabs the chinlock for a bit but Kazarian avoids a charge in the corner. A few flips allow the hot tag to Sky so house can be cleaned. Sky dropkicks Uno into a sunset flip for two and everything breaks down.

Grayson suplexes Sky into Kazarian in the corner for two but Fatality is broken up. Back up and Sky gets creative by monkey flipping Kazarian for a double clothesline to Uno and Grayson. SCULater is broken up with Kazarian getting knocked into the steps and a clothesline to the back of the head finishes Sky at 9:23.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and the Dark Order winning was the only way to go as the Exalted One is arriving soon. I’m not sure who that is going to be but AEW has done a good job of making me wonder. Daniels doesn’t seem to be the most likely candidate as he seems to be more of a red herring. That makes things even better, as there are so many options to pick from.

Post match the beatdown is on but Colt Cabana of all people debuts to make the save. He gets beaten down as well and here’s a guy in a hood. Presumably the Exalted One but it’s actually Daniels, who comes in for the real save. The Dark Order gets beaten down in a hurry.

The opening video looks at all of the matches, which is a nice change of pace from focusing on one or two. Of course the main events get more time but everything is at least mentioned.

National Anthem.

Jake Hager vs. Dustin Rhodes

Or “Swagger” as JR called him on the pre-show. Hager broke Rhodes’ arm several months back and it’s time for revenge. Dustin’s shirt: “I’m here to fight Jericho’s b****.” Before the match, Hager kisses his wife in the front row. It’s a slugout to start with Hager kneeing him in the chest to take over. Rights and lefts in the corner keep Dustin in trouble until he sends Hager over the top.

The fans chant JERICHO’S B**** as Dustin knocks him over the barricade to take the fight into the crowd. It’s back to ringside with Dustin going into the post and getting blasted with a running clothesline. Back in and Hager starts working on the arm, including a double arm crank. That’s broken up and Dustin takes it to the floor again, where Dustin gets in Hager’s wife’s face. Back in and Dustin hits the bulldog and powerslam for two each.

Hager slams him down and hits the Vader Bomb for two. There are some running clotheslines in the corner and Hager licks his neck ala Tyson Fury. Dustin backdrops a charging Hager over the top to send him face first onto the steps. Back in and Dustin kicks him rather questionably low and gets two off a Code Red. Dustin goes with a cross armbreaker for the sake of revenge but gets reversed into an ankle lock. That’s reversed with a roll through but the referee is almost bumped and the distraction lets Hager get in a low blow. The standing arm triangle choke knocks Dustin out at 14:48.

Rating: B-. Good, hard hitting brawl here with Dustin trying as hard as he could but not being able to take out the monster Hager. They can go a good distance with Hager as the crossover athlete who can hurt people for Jericho and he never has to go that far on his own. That didn’t work so well in WWE so a different style, like this one, could work rather well.

Blood and Guts (looks like a one ring WarGames) is coming on March 25.

Sammy Guevara vs. Darby Allin

Another revenge match after Sammy hit Allin in the throat with Allin’s skateboard. Allin wastes no time in suicide diving onto Sammy and then dropkicking him into the barricade. Sammy gets in his own whip to the barricade but Allin fights right back. A suicide dive misses though and a skateboard shot makes it even worse. It’s already table time and Sammy hits a 630 to drive Allin through it on the floor. They get inside for the opening bell and Sammy hits a running knee for a fast two.

Allin fights up and tries a Gory Special but bites the fingers for a bonus. A Fujiwara armbar into a double armbar makes Sammy get to the rope with his foot and they’re back up. Allin is sent to the apron and a top rope double stomp drives him down for a big crash (and a possible ankle injury for Sammy).

Back up and Sammy can’t get in a skateboard shot, allowing Allin to hit a quick Canadian Destroyer. The Coffin Drop is broken up though and Allin gets sat on top so Sammy can run the ropes, NEARLY fall (with one foot going in the air), and grab a super Spanish Fly for two. Sammy unhooks a buckle pad but gets sent into the exposed steel. A Stunner into the Coffin Drop is good for the pin on Sammy at 5:04.

Rating: B. The length hurt this one but dang they were beating each other up out there. This was the kind of hard hitting star enhancing performance from both of them and something that will get some attention on a stacked show. They’ve got something special in Allin and they know it, which is one of the best things that you can say about such a young promotion.

Post match Hager has to save Guevara from a skateboard shot.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page. Omega and Page won the titles before the Bucks despite Page walking away from the Elite. This is about seeing who the real stars are because the Bucks need to be validated as the best team in the world, though Omega isn’t interested in letting them walk there so easily.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

Omega and Page are defending. Nick takes Omega (with a taped up shoulder) down with a flying mare to start and there’s a spinning armdrag out of the corner to do it again. Page comes in to a BIG reaction and they go to the mat with neither being able to maintain control. Back up and Page spits in his face so everything breaks down with the Bucks taking over, including a neckbreaker out of the corner to Page.

Things settle down and Page hits Matt in the back to take over, with some knees to the spine making it even worse. Everything breaks down again and Page is ready to send Matt back first into the ring bell, but Omega isn’t letting that happen. They head inside again with Matt getting chopped but coming back with the northern lights suplex. That’s enough for the tag off to Nick as everything breaks down again (with JR wondering why the tags have stopped).

The slingshot X Factor hits Omega and Matt grabs the Sharpshooter on Page, only to have Page making the save off the running Fameasser. The brawling continues until Matt piledrives Omega for two but Omega knocks Nick away and brings Page back in. With the fans chanting for COWBOY S***, Page hits a fall away slam on Nick and knocks Matt to the floor. Both Bucks are tossed over the top and Page hits the top rope moonsault onto the two of them at the same time. Back in and Page shoves Nick into the corner because he wants to fight Matt.

Page gets the better of the slugout and Omega tags himself in, with Page throwing Matt into a German suplex (where he almost landed on top of his head). A Doctor Bomb gives Omega two more but Nick comes back in to make the save. The springboard wristdrag is broken up but Nick backflips onto the ramp and sunset flips Omega back in. The Bucks hit a powerbomb/Sliced Bread combination on Omega but Page is back in for the save. We get a Marty Scurll chickenwing but Matt breaks it up with a 450 for two.

Matt’s back gives out on the More Bang For Your Buck so Omega hits You Can’t Escape. Page gets his own two off a Blockbuster suplex to Nick, followed by a V Trigger for the same. Some Snapdragons rock Nick and the Tiger Driver 98 gets two. Nick is back up with a super reverse hurricanrana (so Omega can get dropped on his head as well) as Matt hits the rolling northern lights suplexes to Page on the ramp.

To make it worse, the Indytaker plants Page on the ramp….and the fans are REALLY unhappy. Back in and the superkicks have Omega in trouble and the Golden Trigger (Kenny and Kota Ibushi’s finisher) gets one as Omega is all fired up. Another one gets two so Matt starts stomping on the shoulder, even taking the tape off. Somehow Page is back up to stop the Meltzer Driver, meaning it’s a powerbomb through the timekeeper’s table.

That leaves Matt to take the Buckshot Lariat/V Trigger combination for two more and Omega is stunned. The V Trigger connects but Page can’t hit the One Winged Angel. Page does it instead with Matt coming in for the save at two. The Buckshot lariat drops both Bucks and Matt is finally done at 30:04.

Rating: A. If there was a rating between an A and an A+, it would fit perfectly here. They beat the heck out of each other here and the storytelling was awesome with the Bucks showing anger and then remorse at beating up their friend in the name of winning the titles. The ending is the right call as the story hits a bit of a wall with the Bucks winning but they did the right thing by having Omega and Page retain. Outstanding stuff.

Post match Page still won’t celebrate with the Elite and seems to tease a Buckshot lariat to Omega, but holds the rope open for him instead.

We recap Nyla Rose vs. Kris Stadtlander. Rose won the title earlier this month and Stadtlander is her first challenger. The idea is that Stadtlander can take away the size and power advantage.

Women’s Title: Kris Stadtlander vs. Nyla Rose

Rose is defending. After the Big Match Intros, Stadtlander slugs away to start but Rose drives her into the corner. A shoulder drops Rose and Stadtlander hits a standing moonsault for two. They head to the ramp with Stadtlander diving back inside, only to miss a dive and crash onto the ramp. Rose crushes her with a slingshot spear and suplexes Stadtlander into the corner.

Back in and more stomping has Stadtlander in trouble again but she manages a superkick. Stadtlander strikes away and an enziguri puts Rose down on the floor. There’s the back to back suicide dives, followed by a dropkick for two back inside. Rose clotheslines her in the back of the head before draping Stadtlander across the rope. That’s fine with Stadtlander, who hand walks away and lays on the mat to blow a kiss to Rose.

An STF puts Stadtlander in trouble again but she blocks a splash with knees. Rose catches her with a pop up Beast Bomb for two and goes up top, only to get pulled down with a nasty looking super brainbuster (Stadtlander almost dropped her). Stadtlander loads up a super hurricanrana but gets caught in a super Beast Bomb (with Rose leaving one leg outside the ropes for a nearly scary crash) to retain at 12:55.

Rating: D+. This was rough and by far the worst thing on the show so far. They were botching stuff left and right and it seemed like they weren’t ready for this stage. The match felt like it just kept going and they would have been a lot better off ending with that first Beast Bomb. Really not good here and it was a bit letdown after everything else.

We recap Cody vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman. MJF turned on Cody to cost him any chance of winning the World Title in the future, but then made it impossible for Cody to get his hands on him. Cody had to jump through hoops, including taking a whipping and beating MJF’s bodyguard Wardlow to get the match but here we are.

Cody vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Brandi Rhodes, Arn Anderson and Wardlow are all here and Cody gets played to the ring live. Cody has a new neck tattoo of an American flag skull so you know he’s serious. MJF runs away like a true coward should and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and the Cody Cutter is blocked so MJF heads outside again. This time MJF bails into the crowd (making sure to flip off the fans) but Anderson won’t let Cody follow him.

Back in and Cody hits the uppercut into the Cody Cutter for one, with MJF rolling to the ramp this time. Cody stomps on the fingers but MJF uses one of the good ones to poke him in the eye. MJF steps on Cody’s broken toe but since it’s just a toe, Cody hits a spinning Alabama Slam. Wardlow pulls MJF to the floor for a breather so Brandi throws a drink in Wardlow’s face. The stalking is on so Cody makes a save with a suicide dive.

Back in and MJF gets in a cheap shot, meaning it’s time to start on the arm. The reverse cross armbreaker keeps Cody down and MJF works on the second arm for a bonus. With his legs too far away, Cody crawls over and bites the rope for the break. MJF takes the boot off so he can stand on the broken toe….and then bite it for a bonus. A running powerbomb out of the corner is broken up and Cody hits the Disaster kick with the unbooted foot. Wardlow offers a distraction so Anderson grabs a chair to chase him off.

Somehow a socked foot to the head has busted MJF open and Cody hammers away in the corner. After a Randy Orton poses, Cody’s hanging DDT is countered into the Heatseeker. Wardlow tries to get involved again but this time Brandi dives off the apron to….not take him down. Cody goes after Wardlow but kicks Anderson by mistake. The medic comes out to check on Arn and MJF hits a low blow for two.

MJF tries a suplex but Cody reverses into one of his own over the top and they have a big crash to the outside. They get back in for the big slugout with Cody getting the better of it but MJF collapses before the Bionic Elbow can connect. That’s some goldbricking though as MJF grabs the Double Cross for two. MJF goes for the weightlifting belt but the referee takes it away, allowing Cody to get in a low blow.

A Vertebreaker gets two (because Cody doesn’t have enough finishers) and it’s time for Cody to get in his own whipping. The belt is thrown out and MJF cowers in the corner before grabbing Cody’s boot and begging off. JR: “I didn’t mean to be a Richard.” Now MJF hugs him, only to spit in his face, setting up Cross Rhodes. That’s not enough for a cover so Cody hits it again, only to have MJF sneak in a shot with the diamond ring for the fluke pin at 25:38.

Rating: A-. I smiled way too hard at MJF winning in the end because it’s such a slimy way for him to escape after taking that kind of a beating. It wasn’t as action packed as some of the other matches but it was the old school emotional fight with MJF stealing the win to keep things going. I loved the ending (though I might not have had it come after back to back Cross Rhodes) and I’m counting the seconds to hear MJF’s victory promo.

We recap Pac vs. Orange Cassidy. This only needs five words: this time he’s gonna try.

Pac vs. Orange Cassidy

The Best Friends are here with Cassidy. Fans: “HE’S GONNA TRY!” Cassidy wristlocks him down and it’s time to put the hands in the pockets. They exchange weak kicks to the legs until Pac shoves him down. Cassidy is back up with a dropkick and a victory roll for two, only to charge into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. They head outside with Pac sending him into the barricade and post. Excalibur: “If I didn’t know any better I’d say he was from a town called Malice.” JR: “I know a girl named Alice once. From Malice. She was mean.”

Pac knocks him down again and we get a NO PULP chant. The top rope superplex connects but Pac pulls him up at two. Cassidy rolls away before the Red Arrow can launch though and then does it again for a bonus. Fans: “HOLY S***!” The rolling continues until Cassidy smiles at him and nips up. There’s the suicide dive to Pac and a high crossbody connects, followed by a tornado DDT for two.

A hard forearm cuts Cassidy off but he puts his hands back in his pockets. They come right back out though for a Superman punch and a Stundog Millionaire drops Pac again. Pac crotches him on top, only to get tornado DDTed down. A super DDT connects but Pac rolls to the apron. Excalibur says Cassidy is pursuing him with the tenacity of a fire ant for your insider reference of the match. A White Noise gives Cassidy two but here are the Lucha Bros to fight with the Best Friends. Pac pulls him down by the arm and the Brutalizer finishes Cassidy at 13:00.

Rating: C. The important thing here was Pac won (which I don’t think was ever in any doubt) and everything leading to that was fine enough. I’m not sure they needed the Lucha Bros interfering instead of being on the card but the match was what it was supposed to be. Pac could have been used for something more important, but they didn’t do anything ridiculous and it could have been a lot worse.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley. Jericho was scared of facing Moxley and tried to get him to join the Inner Circle instead. Moxley broke a bottle over Jericho’s head so Jericho stabbed Moxley in the eye. That sent Moxley over the edge as he’s fighting for revenge and the title, but he’s fighting on his own.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho

Just to show off, Jericho has a gospel choir sing his theme song. Jericho is defending and has Santana/Ortiz with him. They go straight to the brawl to start and it’s already on the floor. Jericho takes it into the crowd and hits Moxley with something made of metal as he’s already trying for a DQ. Jericho does his steal a camera deal and flips Moxley off before hitting him in the face again. It’s back to ringside with Moxley getting the better of things and biting him across the nose, which Jericho had stitched up on Wednesday.

Moxley is bleeding from the head as Jericho powerbombs him through the announcers’ table. Jericho rings the bell and declares himself the winner before heading inside for a change. The fans start a STUPID IDIOT chant so Jericho flips everyone off. The book gets raked across Moxley’s face and it’s time to go back outside so Santana and Ortiz can hammer away.

A whip sends Moxley into the steps as the beating continues. Back in and Jericho gets a bit too cocky, allowing Moxley to slug away. Jericho charges into an elbow and gets pulled into a heel hook. That sends Jericho straight to the ropes and then outside, meaning it’s a suicide dive from Moxley. Santana and Ortiz offer a distraction to break up the Paradigm Shift and the loaded sock puts Moxley down again. The Lionsault gets two but Moxley picks the leg and puts on his own Walls.

Cue Hager for another distraction so Jericho can get the Walls as well. Moxley makes the rope so he gets in an argument with the referee. This time Hager punches Moxley in the face so all three seconds are ejected. Cue Sammy Guevara with a belt shot though and Jericho gets a very delayed two. Back up and Jericho rakes the bad eye so Moxley is totally blind. The Judas Effect misses though and it’s the Paradigm Shift….because the right eye is fine. Moxley points at the eye and hits another Paradigm Shift for the pin and the title at 21:40.

Rating: B. You could have gone either way here and that’s a good situation to be in. Moxley winning is a great moment and the eye patch being a fake was quite the mind game that suits him well. Jericho had held the title for a long time now and they could do a rematch at whatever their next big show is going to be. They almost had to switch the title here after what Moxley had been through and that’s what they did. It helps when either way could have worked fine though and it was a good enough match too.

Post match Moxley thanks the fans and says he wouldn’t be here without them. AEW wanted to bring wrestling back to the world and now it’s time for some beers. His music starts up again and Moxley drops an F bomb. He’ll fight anyone anytime so he can knock them down. For now though, it’s time to knock back some whiskey.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a rather good show with only a few bad matches, both of which were minor compared to the big ones. The main stuff all hit rather well and we got a feel good moment to end the show. They know how to do these big shows very well and it was a heck of a night. It ran about four hours counting the half hour pre-show and that’s fine when they only do a few pay per views a year. Mostly good to very good stuff here and some eventful moments so it’s hard to complain about much. Check out that tag match though as it stole the show by a wide margin.

Results

Jake Hager b. Dustin Rhodes – Standing arm triangle choke

Darby Allin b. Sammy Guevara – Coffin Drop

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page b. Young Bucks – Buckshot lariat to Matt

Nyla Rose b. Kris Stadtlander – Super Beast Bomb

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Cody – Punch with a diamond ring

Pac b. Orange Cassidy – Brutalizer

Jon Moxley b. Chris Jericho – Paradigm Shift

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Dynamite – February 26, 2020: Start The Revolution With Me

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: February 26, 2020
Location: Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

It’s another big week as we have the go home show for Revolution, but at the same time we also have an Iron Man match between Kenny Omega and Pac. This show has been on a roll lately with one good week after another so hopefully they can keep it going on the way to the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

The announcers preview the show.

Kenny Omega vs. Pac

Thirty minute Iron Man match. The Young Bucks are here with Omega but Hangman Page is nowhere to be seen. Feeling out process to start as it’s Omega grabbing a wristlock a minute in. Pac flips out of a wristdrag attempt and that means a standoff, with Omega’s look saying “so that’s how it’s going to be”. They chop it out until Omega kicks the leg out, only to charge into a hard superkick.

The early One Winged Angel attempt is countered into a Brutalizer but Omega falls into the corner for the break. Pac heads outside and that means a big flip dive, much to the fans’ delight. The running jumping bulldog (it was nowhere near a Fameasser this time) plants Pac for two and Omega strikes away against the ropes. There’s the Snapdragon as we’re five minutes in with both of them down.

They head outside with Pac managing a quick tornado DDT to plant Omega and give them another chance to breathe. Back in and Omega headbutts him off the top, only to have Pac run the ropes for the super brainbuster. Pac scores with a missile dropkick for two and we hit the chinlock. A hard faceplant gives Pac two as we hit ten minutes. The fans call Pac a b****** as he kicks Omega in the back of the head to keep him down.

Back up and they go into the slow motion slugout with Pac hitting a pump kick to the face. Omega doesn’t go down though so it’s a snap German suplex to drop him instead. That doesn’t seem to matter very much as Omega hits some knees to the head, followed by a Tiger Driver 98 for two.

After JR makes fun of the Tiger Driver 98 name, Pac breaks out of the One Winged Angle, only to get German suplexed HARD for two. Omega hits running knees to the back in the corner before loading up….a super One Winged Angel? That’s reversed into a sunset bomb as we hit the halfway point. Pac’s super hurricanrana is countered as well and there’s a Snapdragon into a V Trigger for two more. Pac staggers to the floor and BLASTS Omega in the head for the DQ with 14:06 to go.

Omega – 1

Pac – 0

We take a thirty second rest period but Pac gets in another shot to the head to keep Omega in trouble. A running kick to the head sets up the Black Arrow to tie it up with 13:21 to go.

Omega – 1

Pac – 1

Back from a break with 10:46 to go and the slugout on the apron going to Pac. A Falcon Arrow off the apron drops Omega again and the audio is muted for the sake of swearing fans. They’re both down again and we have less than ten minutes to go. Pac knocks him off the apron and the ref is bumped.

With no one seeing it, Pac pulls out a table and hits a shooting star off the top to send Omega through the table (which pretty much explodes). They both beat the count (I’m not sure on Omega but they give it to him anyway) and Pac can’t believe it. Another Black Arrow hits raised knees with five minutes left and Omega has an opener. A heck of a V Trigger sets up a spinning Rock Bottom for two on Pac, followed by another V Trigger.

Pac is back up with a tornado DDT and the Brutalizer (on the mat this time) has Omega in real trouble. We have two minutes left as Omega finally gets his foot on the rope. Pac is smart enough to go right back to the hold as we hit a minute left. The hold stays on with Omega looking at the clock as time expires at 30:00. Pac blasts the referee but hang on as we’re getting sudden death. Omega hits another V Trigger and then another knee to the head for two. The One Winged Angel finishes Pac at 33:14, counting the breaks between falls.

Omega – 2

Pac – 1

Rating: B+. They beat the heck out of each other here and while they could do another match, this felt like the definitive end of the feud. Omega gets a big singles win for the first time in a good while and Pac hardly looks bad in defeat. What does look bad is the Brutalizer, which was on for the better part of three minutes but then Omega just popped up and dominated overtime to win. I didn’t like it when Shawn Michaels survived that long in the Sharpshooter and I don’t like this either. That being said, heck of a fight and that’s what it needed to be.

Post break Pac doesn’t want to hear about getting what he deserves so here’s Orange Cassidy for a chat. Cassidy takes his glasses off so Pac drops him with a single forearm. Good for him.

Jake Hager isn’t allowing any interviews with Chris Jericho before tonight’s weigh-in.

Inner Circle vs. Jurassic Express

It’s Santana/Ortiz/Sammy Guevara this time around. The Express starts fast with Boy knocking Guevara off the apron and Stunt dropkicking Santana and Ortiz to the floor. Boy hits some suicide dives but Stunt gets pulled out of the air and thrown into Boy, driving him into the barricade. Back in and Luchasaurus gets taken down with a double flapjack, followed by a big toss to Stunt.

We take a break and come back with Santana hitting a big Poetry In Cannonball to crush Stunt in the corner. Stunt is fine enough to escape a German suplex attempt and bring in Luchasaurus to clean house. A chokeslam into a standing moonsault have Ortiz down but Sammy hits Luchasaurus in the back for reasons of overconfidence. Triple kicks in the corner rock Sammy and it’s a kick to the chest/Vertebreaker combination for two with Santana making the save.

A double enziguri puts Boy down and Sammy’s running shooting star press gets two with Stunt making the save. Luchasaurus moonsaults onto Stunt, Santana and Ortiz but Sammy grabs the loaded sock. Cue Darby Allin to steal it away though and Boy hurricanranas Sammy for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B-. It was action packed and aside from my general issues with Stunt, there wasn’t much to complain about here, save for one thing. If you’re going to bust out a big move like a Vertebreaker in a match like this, it should be the finish. I know they had more to do, but if that’s the case, don’t do the move. Save a move that big for a more important spot instead of another near fall in a six man that isn’t going to mean much in the long run.

Video on Cody vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman. They’ve done an awesome job of making me want to see Cody destroy him.

Best Friends vs. Butcher And Blade

Cassidy and Bunny are at ringside. Butcher runs Trent over to start and Blade walks around the ring a lot. Trent gets dropped ribs first across the top rope but he manages a running knee to set up the hot tag to Chuck. House is cleaned and we take a break. Back with Trent’s dive over the top being sent into the barricade but he’s fine enough to spear Blade down.

Hold on though, as it’s time for ORANGE CASSIDY TO DO THE SAME THING HE DOES EVERY WEEK, BUT THIS TIME IT’S SOMEONE DIFFERENT SO HE’S AWESOME! This time Bunny steals his sunglasses so he steals her bunny ears and then dives onto Blade. Strong Zero finishes Butcher at 8:06.

Rating: C-. It was the usual match with the usual Cassidy spot and that isn’t enough to overcome my lack of caring about either team. Butcher and Blade don’t win matches and don’t really hurt anyone so I’m not sure why they’re continuing their roles as enforcers/bounty hunters/whatever they’re called at the moment. It wasn’t a bad match, but after the first two matches, this wasn’t up to the same level.

Post match Tony Schiavone is in the ring with Best Friends and Cassidy to announce Cassidy vs. Pac for Revolution. Chuck: “Pac, the joke’s on you buddy, because this time he’s going to TRY!”

Big Swole vs. Shanna vs. Yuka Sakazaki vs. Hikaru Shida

Everyone gets in a shot or two to start with Shanna hurricanranaing Swole and Shida at the same time. Sakazaki stands on the apron while the other three do a triple test of strength. She comes back in to break it up but Swole kicks her down, setting up the parade of rollups for two each. Back with Shida cleaning house and suplexing Shanna into Sakazaki in the corner.

Swole is back in to clean house and kicks Shanna on the head, setting up a springboard cutter for two. Now it’s Sakazaki getting back up, only to get taken down with a lifting Pedigree to give Shanna two of her own. Dirty Dancing drops Shanna but Shida gives Swole a backbreaker. Sakazaki hits a springboard splash for two but Shida makes the save. A running knee hits Swole to give Shida the pin at 9:12.

Rating: C-. This was just another four way with the wrestlers doing their spots until one of them won. I’m rarely a fan of matches like this one as there is next to no story or psychology to the whole thing and it’s just moves after moves. It feels like there’s a multi person match every week or two and I don’t need to see another one for a good while.

The Dark Order says the Exalted One is coming and they’re beating up SCU at Revolution.

Jim Ross moderates a sitdown interview between the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega/Hangman Page (with a drink in hand). The Bucks couldn’t believe this being the case a year ago because Omega and Page were singles wrestlers. Omega says the Bucks are the best but he and Page were in the right place at the right time. Page looks rather anxious and the Bucks call him out for needing a drink.

They’re worried about him because they’re friends in and out of the ring. Page says he tried to leave the Elite, with the Bucks saying he’s walking away from everything they did for him. He was a jobber in ROH and they made him a star on Being The Elite. Page walks out, despite the Bucks saying they have a match to promote. Not titles to win mind you, but a match to promote.

Revolution rundown.

Lance Archer debuts next week.

It’s time for the official weigh-in between Jon Moxley and Chris Jericho, with Gary Michael Cappetta of all people as master of ceremonies. After hyping up the pay per view, Cappetta brings out the two of them but Jericho calls him a weird little man instead of getting on the scale. Jericho: “It’s no wonder WCW went out of business.” Moxley goes first and weighs 234lbs.

Jericho takes his time getting on the scale because he needs to insult the fans and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He goes after Moxley, who headbutts Jericho down to bust him open. The Inner Circle is on Moxley in a hurry but here’s Dustin Rhodes to go after Jake Hager. They fight to the back (JR: “For the love of God stay away from the Dippin’ Dots!!!”) and yes, Dustin is sent into the Dippin’ Dots cart.

Back in the arena, Darby Allin runs in (as in he doesn’t wait around on the stage for thirty seconds this week) for the save but Sammy takes the skateboard away and breaks it over Darby’s head. Moxley fights up and it’s time for the big slugout with Jericho. Guevara breaks up the Paradigm Shift with a low blow and the Judas Effect hits Moxley. Jericho gives him a Paradigm Shift onto the scale. That was a hot ending and covered three matches at once so well done all around.

Overall Rating: B. The opening hour was rather good and while things slowed down a lot from there, it was still a heck of a show with the ending picking up a lot of the slack. The last two weeks were better but this got me ready for Revolution and they’re still in a groove at the right time. Rather good show this week and if they can fix some of their issues, they’re as good as anything going at the moment, if not a fair bit better.

Results

Kenny Omega b. Pac two falls to one

Jurassic Express b. Inner Circle – Hurricanrana to Sammy Guevara

Best Friends b. Butcher and Blade – Strong Zero to Butcher

Hikaru Shida b. Big Swole, Yuka Sakazaki and Shanna – Running knee to Swole

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Dark – February 25, 2020: The Great Divide

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: February 25, 2020
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tazz
Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Dasha Gonzalez

It’s another week and I still don’t know what to expect from this show. They get into a rhythm and then it goes flying out the window the next week. The shows are fine enough most of the time but there are weeks where I don’t need to see most of what they are presenting. Let’s get to it.

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

Excalibur and Tazz run down the card with Tony Schiavone nowhere in sight.

Jimmy Havoc vs. Marko Stunt

The rest of the Jurassic Express is here with Stunt. Havoc misses an early charge and gets knocked to the floor for some suicide dives. A diving tornado DDT plants Havoc again but he’s fine enough to hit a buckle bomb back inside. Cue Dr. Luther and Mel to watch on the stage as Havoc hits a brainbuster and cranks on the neck.

Stunt gets a boot up in the corner but dives into a Crossface to work on the neck a bit more. The neck is bent around the turnbuckle and a fisherman’s suplex gives Havoc two. Stunt fights up with an enziguri and dropkicks Havoc outside, but this time he just sidesteps a suicide dive. The Acid Rainmaker finishes Stunt at 7:32.

Rating: D+. Same thing I always say about Stunt: it’s a nice story once, but it’s too much to believe that anyone has any real difficulty beating him. They didn’t go too long here and Stunt’s offense was mainly fluke shots that Havoc could shrug off, but it looks and feels like Havoc is beating up a twelve year old. The long hair and tiny frame make it impossible to believe and that’s not something that is going to get better.

Tony and Dasha (hey she still exists) talk about….not much really.

Dark Order vs. Strong Hearts

Fallout from the Dark Order trying to recruit Cima to the team. Evil Uno and T-Hawk start things off with Hawk chopping away but getting stopped with a poke to the eye. Grayson comes in and gets his leg dropkicked out, allowing the Hearts to set up a basement dropkick to the face. Something like a reverse Rings of Saturn keeps Grayson in trouble but he drives Hawk into the corner to cut him off. Some right hands keep Hawk in trouble and Uno adds a big boot.

A jumping knee into a clothesline gets two but Hawk gets in a quick powerbomb. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Cima so house can be cleaned as everything breaks down. The double suicide dive takes the Order out and it’s a missile dropkick to Uno back inside. Uno is fine enough to hit a DDT/Samoan drop combination on the Hearts though and it’s a toss into a powerbomb for two on Hawk. The Fatality finishes Hawk at 8:35.

Rating: C+. That’s one of the best things I’ve seen from the Dark Order so far but what matters most is having the Exalted One show up and be impressive. I’m not sure who it is going to be but they have a few options, some of which could be rather successful. If it doesn’t work though, the team is done for all intent and purpose so they better get it right.

Come to see Dynamite!

Kip Sabian vs. Joey Janela

Falls count anywhere so Janela low blows him on the stage for two at the bell with Penelope Ford making the save. Sabian knocks Ford down by mistake and it’s time to fight by the stage. That lets Ford hit a big dive off the stage with a crossbody but Janela is fine enough to hit a superkick. Ford gets in another distraction though and Sabian hits a flip dive to put Janela down.

They get inside for the first time with Sabian pulling on something like a reverse Koji Clutch until they fall outside again. The fight goes into the crowd with Janela throwing a drink in his face and taking it back to ringside. Janela’s dive off the barricade gets chaired out of the air but Sabian dropkicks a chair by mistake. A prosthetic leg to the head has Sabian drown again and it’s time to set up a table at ringside.

Sabian is back with a half and half suplex on the apron for two, followed by the swinging neckbreaker through the table. Two more tables are set up but Ford is back up with a top rope hurricanrana to Janela. That just earns her a toss into Sabian, who knocks the table over but doesn’t break it. Janela hits a hard kendo stick shot to the head for the pin at 12:29.

Rating: C+. The match was fine enough but I haven’t cared about this feud (or anyone involved in it) since the beginning and this match, which hopefully is the finale, is no different. Janela and Sabian fighting over Ford isn’t worth caring about and they both desperately need something different. It’s a boring feud and hopefully AEW can figure that out.

QT Marshall and Dustin Rhodes are ready for their tag match.

QT Marshall/Dustin Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears/Peter Avalon

Brandi Rhodes and Leva Bates are the seconds. Marshall gets hiptossed down to start and that means an early SHH. Dustin comes in for a running knee into a standing twisting moonsault for two on Avalon as the oldest person in the match gets to pick up the pace. Spears’ headlock works a bit better and he tries the Goldust deep breath.

Dustin’s uppercut doesn’t do much good so he goes with the ten right hands in the corner instead. Everything breaks down and Dustin and Marshall get in some stereo dancing jabs. We settle down to Spears dropping Marshall back first onto the apron to take over, allowing Avalon to get two off a leg lariat. Marshall gets away for the tag without much trouble though and it’s Dustin coming in to clean house.

Spears manages a spinebuster though and Marshall gets sent off the top for a big crash to the floor. Back up and Dustin grabs the Code Red for two but Spears runs him down again. A twisting frog splash gets two, only to have Avalon tag himself in. That means a left hand from Spears, who walks out on Avalon to seal his fate. Leva grabs Dustin’s foot to break up Shattered Dreams so it’s a spear from Brandi, followed by Shattered Dreams anyway. A powerslam/sliding reverse suplex combination finishes Avalon at 11:41.

Rating: C. I liked this one well enough but this Spears Needs A Partner deal isn’t going anywhere. The fact that they are already repeating the same idea with the same people isn’t a good sign and I don’t know why I would want to see it again. Not a terrible match but it belongs on a show like this one instead of anywhere near the main show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a great illustration of the divide between the top half of the roster and everyone around here. The show was full of a bunch of wrestlers who have little reason to be anywhere near Dynamite (not the case with everyone here, but the majority of them). There is a big difference between the two pools of talent and I don’t know how necessary it is to keep showing these matches. Not a bad show, but not one you’ll ever need to see.

Results

Jimmy Havoc b. Marko Stunt – Acid Rainmaker

Dark Order b. Strong Hearts – Fatality to T-Hawk

Joey Janela b. Kip Sabian – Kendo stick to the head

Dustin Rhodes/QT Marshall b. Peter Avalon/Shawn Spears – Powerslam/sliding reverse suplex combination to Avalon

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Dynamite – February 19, 2020: They’re Doing The Right Things

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: February 19, 2020
Location: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re coming up on Revolution and that means there are a few things we need do first. That would include a tag team battle royal to crown some new #1 contenders, plus Cody vs. Wardlow in a cage so Cody can face Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Hopefully we get some other good stuff as well and the last few weeks would suggest we will. Let’s get to it.

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

Tag Team Battle Royal

Hybrid 2, Private Party, Young Bucks, SCU, Best Friends, Jurassic Express, Strong Hearts, Butcher And Blade, Dark Order, Santana/Ortiz

Both members have to be eliminated. Kazarian dives onto everyone to start and Evans does the same, but his dive is caught for an elimination. Private Party saves themselves with the Silly String and then gets rid of T Hawk. SCU beats up the Butcher and Angelico but the Dark Order jumps them. The Dark Order isn’t that good though and get taken down. Hold on though as we need a Dark Order promo from the crowd about how the Exalted One is near.

The distraction lets the Dark Order get rid of SCU, only to have the Bucks superkick the Dark Order out. SCU goes after the rest of the Dark Order in the crowd, leaving Trent and Cima to chop it out in the ring. An Iconoclasm plants Trent and now Santana/Ortiz get in for the first time. Jungle Boy and Cima head to the apron for the slugout with Luchasaurus getting rid of Cima. The Bunny distracts Jurassic Express though and Butcher and Blade jump them from behind.

As this is going on, the Dark Order offers Cima a mask and he seems interested. Nick Jackson gets to beat up just about everyone else in the match until Butcher manages to send him over the top. A backdrop puts Jungle Boy on a pile of people, leaving us with Luchasaurus vs. Butcher. Private Party loads up Silly String again but they’re both knocked out as a result.

Luchasaurus kicks Angelico out but here’s Sammy Guevara to help eliminate Boy. Butcher and Blade and Santana/Ortiz get rid of Luchasaurus and it’s the Best Friends standing tall. Butcher and Blade get rid of Chuck and throw Trent over, but he lands on a surprise Orange Cassidy’s shoulders for the save. That lets Chuck get back in, leaving us with Matt, Blade, Santana/Ortiz and Chuck.

Butcher and Chuck fight on the apron as Orange is ready for the save if necessary. He puts his hands in his pockets but Bunny kicks him low as Chuck is eliminated. A spear through the ropes gets rid of Butcher, leaving Matt against Santana/Ortiz. The Street Sweeper plants Matt but he hangs on and superkicks Ortiz out. Sammy Guevara tries to interfere and gets superkicked out of the air, leaving Matt to clothesline Santana out for the win at 18:00.

Rating: C. This went on for a good while but didn’t feel too long, even if the ending was never in any serious doubt. The Bucks continue to push every possible boundary when it comes to surviving but they run the company so it’s to be expected. I don’t think there was any reason to believe the Bucks weren’t winning, but the match had some fun moments to keep it from being boring.

Shanna vs. Kris Stadtlander

Britt Baker is on commentary and has a special coffee for Tony. JR wants someone to explain Stadtlander to her and only Excalibur is dumb enough to go into the backstory, with JR calling him off in a hurry. Stadtlander cartwheels around a lot and then crawls towards Shanna in the corner, setting up the nose touch.

That sets up a poke/shove off as JR is rather annoyed that it’s always piefacing. JR: “I like cake!” A knee to the ribs cuts Stadtlander off and we take a break. Back with Shanna crotching her on top and tying Stadtlander in the Tree of Woe. A spinning DDT gets two but Stadtlander is right back with the Big Bang Theory for the pin at 8:07.

Rating: D+. So they’re on national TV and doing a spot where one pokes the other in the nose and the other shoves her back. I know Stadtlander is built around that gimmick a lot, but I was rolling my eyes over and over again during that one sequence. It’s like almost every match has to have some kind of shtick in there and it gets annoying in a hurry.

We look at Nyla Rose winning the Women’s Title last week.

Here’s Nyla Rose for a chat. She doesn’t like the fans buzzing around her because she wants to be the face of the division, meaning making the most money too. Riho believed in herself and look where it got her. No one can stand up to her so here’s Kris Stadtlander to point at the belt. Big Swole comes out as well to pose at Nyla, drawing out referees to break it up. Are we going to get an explanation for that segment during the commercial last week with Rose yelling at Tony Khan and Kenny Omega?

We look at Jeff Cobb’s debut last week.

Jeff Cobb vs. Jon Moxley

Tazz is on commentary but hold on though as here are Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara and Jake Hager to sit in the front row. Moxley has the bad eye and bad ribs so Cobb starts fast with the belly to belly into a dropkick. They head to the floor with Moxley getting in some chops but Cobb runs him over without much trouble. A headbutt to the ribs connects back inside and it’s a chinlock with a knee in Moxley’s back.

Moxley gets knocked outside again and we take a break. Back with Cobb planting Moxley again but pulling him up at two. Moxley’s sleeper is broken up in a hurry so he goes with a heel hook, which is broken up as well. Cobb goes to the floor so Moxley dives off the top….and right into another suplex. An Oklahoma Stampede gives Cobb two but Moxley hits a middle rope knee.

That earns him a German suplex but Moxley pops up with a clothesline. Cobb shrugs off another clothesline and blasts Moxley with one of his own. Tour of the Islands and the Paradigm Shift are blocked and Moxley elbows him in the corner. A superplex plants Moxley again, but he interlocks the legs for the small package and the pin on Cobb at 11:35.

Rating: C+. I can live with Cobb losing in that way as it was the only non-DQ ending they had, but maybe they shouldn’t have booked the match then. Cobb looked awesome here, as he tends to do, but you can’t have Moxley losing so close to the biggest match of his AEW run. The match was a glorified squash until the ending but it was the only way out they had.

Post match the Inner Circle comes in for the beatdown but Dustin Rhodes runs in for a failed save. Instead here’s the returning Darby Allin, who comes to the stage, walks around a bit, loads up his skateboard, and then comes to the ring, all while the Inner Circle stands there and watches him. The good guys clean house with Allin beating people up with the skateboard. Moxley gets in the big showdown with Jericho to finally clear the ring.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

Page and Omega are defending and Page’s name graphic says “como se dice Yeehaw? (How do you say Yeehaw?). Page slugs it out with Fenix to start before it’s quickly off to Omega for the running Fameasser. Pentagon gets knocked off the apron and it’s You Can’t Escape to Fenix, with Page taking out Pentagon again so Omega can get two. Everything breaks down with the Bros taking over, allowing Excalibur to wonder how long the ten seconds with no tag can go. A running kick to the face rocks Omega in the corner and we take a break.

Back with Page cleaning house, including a dive to the floor to take out Fenix. Pentagon is back in with a Canadian Destroyer to Omega though and everyone is down. It’s Fenix up first with the kicks to the head but Pengaton is knocked off the apron. That means the big dive from Page, followed by the moonsault to the floor.

Back in and everything stays broken down, including Page’s Buckshot Lariat hitting Omega. The Pentagon Driver gets two on Omega in a good near fall but he’s right back up to send Pentagon outside. A Tiger Driver 98 plants Fenix and it’s the V Trigger/Buckshot Lariat combination to retain the titles at 15:07.

Rating: B. Another very entertaining tag match as they aren’t deviating from the formula that works for them. I can go with something like that as it’s better to know what they are going to be doing instead of being all over the place. The result wasn’t all that surprising but the Revolution match is going to be awesome.

AEW has action figures, coming later this year. They look pretty good too.

Video on Cody vs. MJF, who is making Cody face Wardlow in a cage tonight.

Cody vs. Wardlow

In a cage (which is a good bit taller than the WWE version) and escape means nothing. MJF is here with Wardlow, who is making his in-ring debut. Cody kicks him in the head to no avail to start and Wardlow throws him into the corner. Wardlow blasts him with a clothesline to turn Cody inside out and there’s a toss into the cage. Back from a break with Cody busted open and making the comeback, until Wardlow kicks him low.

A release F5 drops Cody again and Wardlow throws him through the door. MJF tells Anderson to slam the door on Cody’s head but Arn hits MJF with it instead. Cody scores with some clotheslines and sends Wardlow into the cage. Wardlow is back with his own whip into the cage, setting up a heck of a Swanton for two.

The ring is thrown inside but Cody kicks him low and takes it away. MJF tries to claim in but Brandi hits him with a chair. Arn sends MJF into the crowd before he can hit Brandi, leaving Cody to hit Cross Rhodes for two. With nothing else working, Cody goes all the way to the top for a moonsault press to finally finish Wardlow at 11:07.

Rating: B. They rushed some parts of this a bit but dang they hit the high points. The ending looked very cool with the high cage and Warlow was a great monster. He’ll be fine as a bodyguard in the future, but Cody was the star here, showing that he really does come off as a main eventer. It’s amazing how much better he has been here than in WWE, and he wasn’t even that bad there.

Post match Cody poses on top of the cage and MJF sells the heck out of it, knowing that there’s no way around this and he’s screwed up bad.

Overall Rating: B+. It was a hair beneath last week’s show but another very good one that did everything it was supposed to do. We have some extra stuff set up for Revolution, plus some rather solid wrestling throughout the night. This show has been doing almost everything right lately and if you tweak a few things here and there, they’ve got some instant classics on their hands. More very good stuff this week.

Results

Young Bucks won a tag team battle royal last eliminating Santana/Ortiz

Kris Stadtlander b. Shanna – Big Bang Theory

Jon Moxley b. Jeff Cobb – Small package

Hangman Page/Kenny Omega b. Lucha Bros – Buckshot lariat/V Trigger combination to Fenix

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Dark – February 18, 2020: I Can Dig It

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: February 18, 2020
Location: HEB Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz
Host: Tony Schiavone

This show is what I want when I watch WWE’s Main Event: they rarely mess around and include some recaps when necessary, but above all else the show offers some talent a chance to get on TV. You don’t get repeat matches and it’s not a bunch of lifeless drek. That makes things so much better and Dark can be an entertaining show. Let’s get to it.

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

Tony welcomes us to the show. Dasha isn’t coming back is she?

Diamante vs. Kris Stadtlander

Stadtlander does her poke to the referee’s nose but Diamante isn’t as interested. A shot to the face sends Diamante into the corner and Stadtlander crawls after her. There’s the double arm pull before she sticks Diamante’s fingers into her (as in Diamante’s own) ears. A running knee in the corner puts Diamante on the floor so Stadtlander gorilla presses her onto the apron. Back in and a Code Red gives Diamante two but a wheelbarrow suplex (egads) drops Diamante on her head. The Big Bang Theory finishes Diamante at 4:26.

Rating: C-. This was just a squash and I still really like Stadtlander. She doesn’t need the alien deal as she’s unique enough looking on her own but it’s certainly something unique. Diamante hasn’t impressed me during most of the time I’ve seen her but there are far worse choices they could throw out there.

Hybrid 2 vs. Best Friends

And yes Orange Cassidy is here too. Chuck and Evans start things off with the former taking Evans down in a hurry. That’s reversed into a headscissors and it’s up to a standoff. Evans flips out of a northern lights suplex but the second work just fine. Chuck comes in for a double elbow drop as the fans are behind the Best Friends again. Apparently bored on the apron, Angelico drops to the floor and decks Cassidy, only to get knocked down by Chuck.

The Hybrids use the distraction to take over and Angelico Gory Specials Trent onto Chuck in a cool spot. Evans adds a moonsault to both of them and Angelico’s top rope double stomp into a belly to back suplex gets two. Trent’s tornado DDT gets him out of trouble and a helicopter bomb gets two on Evans.

A reverse Razor’s Edge into a cutter gets two more on Evans with Angelico making a save. The assisted 450 hits Trent for two but Cassidy gets on the apron to distract Evans on top. The big shot to the leg is loaded up but Cassidy steps to the side to avoid Angelico, who hits the ropes to crotch Jack. That’s one of the only times Cassidy has felt like he contributed something substantial to a match. Strong Zero finishes Evans at 8:31.

Rating: C. They worked more of a formula here and that’s a nice treat for the Hybrid 2. I still can’t bring myself to get into them and the Best Friends continue to be hit or miss. Cassidy using his shtick to outsmart some villains is a surprise as well and a lot better than having him stare down what is supposed to be some big heel stable in the Dark Order.

Post match, the winners and Cassidy have the extra big hug.

Here’s where Dynamite is coming.

Christi James vs. Big Swole

They fight over a lockup to start, with Taz talking about what you can learn from your opponent by locking up with them. I know he can be a catchphrase machine at times but Taz can throw out some insightful stuff every now and then. Swole’s headlock is reversed into one from James and we get an early standoff. A hard clothesline puts James into the corner but she puts Swole on the ropes and hits an enziguri. James pulls her by the hair so Swole strikes away, including a headbutt to the ribs. A pump kick into Dirty Dancing finishes James at 4:48.

Rating: D+. James is someone who has a catchy look with a lot of Brazilian flags but I need more than that to think much of her. Granted you’re not getting much out of a five minute match but this could have been a lot worse. Swole is someone who seemed to be little more than a person on the card but she has come around a good bit in recent weeks and that’s a good thing for the division.

Young Bucks vs. QT Marshall/Peter Avalon

Before the match, we get a lot of shushing from Avalon, with Marshall even asking the fans to let him get this out of the way so we can wrestle. Nick wristlocks Marshall to start and it’s time to flip around a bit without making much contact. A handspring into the Ricochet pose has Nick perplexed but Avalon asks what is this flippy doo stuff. Avalon: “THIS ISN’T WRESTLING!” Matt grabs the mic and asks if he and Nick should do a bad a** tag team move. Matt: “Let’s do a double hiptoss!” He doesn’t mention the double basement dropkick but does start a YOUNG BUCKS chant.

The camera can’t keep up with the Bucks but it settles down for Avalon running from a Matt superkick. Marshall gets in a few shots to Matt and Leva Bates reads to him a bit. Granted she also hits him with a book but at least it comes after some education. Nick gets knocked off the apron so there’s no one for Matt to tag, leaving him to roll some northern lights suplexes.

This time it’s eight in a row, with Taz saying he’s jealous that he never thought of it. The hot tag brings in Nick to clean house with kicks in the corner and a double bulldog out of the same. A moonsault/slingshot splash combination gets two on Avalon with Marshall making the save. Marshall won’t let Avalon use the book so it’s a right hand to take him down. The superkicks into the Meltzer Driver put Avalon away at 10:30.

Rating: C. I chuckled at the in-match commentary bits but that’s an old favorite of mine. This is the kind of match that works well for a main event on this show: a top act beating a team that isn’t going to get them any real danger but can get a few nice moments out of them. It worked well enough for a Dark main event and they weren’t trying for more than that (which is fine too).

Overall Rating: C. When this show gets it right, they have a nice little groove going. That’s what we had here with four matches over forty eight minutes and nothing going longer than it should have. That makes things so much easier while also making you understand how this show, without a lot of major stars, blows away stuff like 205 Live, which has talented wrestlers but not energy whatsoever. This was fun and an easy watch, which is always nice to have.

Results

Kris Stadtlander b. Diamante – Big Bang Theory

Best Friends b. Hybrid 2 – Strong Zero to Evans

Big Swole b. Christi James – Dirty Dancing

Young Bucks b. Peter Avalon/QT Marshall – Meltzer Driver to Avalon

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Dynamite – February 12, 2020: They’re On A Roll

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: February 12, 2020
Location: HEB Center, Austin, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re less than three weeks away from Revolution and the card is either set or pretty clear from this point. There is still some work to do, but at the same time there are major matches to get through on television. That would include tonight, as Riho defends the Women’s Title against Nyla Rose and SCU challenges Kenny Omega/Hangman Page for the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Tag Team Titles: Kenny Omega/Hangman Page vs. SCU

Omega and Page are defending but hang on because the Dark Order pops up on the screen before the match. They make it clear that there are many of them and they may be closer than it seems. That sends Christopher Daniels to the back to check on things, which doesn’t bode well. Omega armdrags Kazarian to start but stops to yell at Sky, allowing Kazarian to break up a dive.

Everything breaks down in a hurry and Page loads up the Buckshot Lariat, only to have Kazarian break it up. Sky hits a big running flip dive, followed by the same thing from Omega. Back in and Omega hits a missile dropkick to Sky’s back, followed by a fisherman’s buster for two. There’s the running Fameasser from Omega but You Can’t Escape hits knees. Page gets shoved off the top and into the barricade with Omega being sent in as well.

Back in and Kazarian’s spinning springboard legdrop gets two as Omega is favoring his ribs. Kazarian charges into a boot though and it’s back to Page to start kicking people in the face. A standing moonsault gets two on Sky and an assisted DDT gets the same on Page. Kazarian hits a Backstabber into a slingshot cutter from Sky, setting up stereo dragon sleepers.

JR accurately points out that the match can’t end here because there are two illegal men in the ring but Omega rams Kazarian into the other two for the save anyway. The Snapdragon ropes Kazarian but the Buckshot misses. Omega V Triggers Kazarian anyway and, with Sky taken out by a dive, it’s the V Trigger/Buckshot combination for the pin at 13:15, with Kazarian grabbing a rope a split second after the bell.

Rating: B. This is a good example of the kind of match that makes AEW work: they’re all action and very exciting, though I can understand why some fans might not be thrilled with them. They have very little in terms of traditional tag team offense and a majority of the match is spent with everyone in the ring at once. What matters though is AEW has made that the norm and the matches are certainly entertaining. This was a lot of fun and while the ending wasn’t a surprise, it made sense on the way there.

Post match the champs leave in their separate ways (as tends to be the case) and here are the Dark Order, the Best Friends, the Hybrid 2, Butcher and Blade and the Young Bucks for the big brawl to preview next week’s tag team battle royal. The Bucks clear the ring and then dive onto everyone else, which would be very stupid in a battle royal. Daniels did not come back out here.

We get a sit down interview with JR and Santana. There was a time when Santana was in a dark place, living in a terrible apartment in the Bronx and he couldn’t take anymore. He called his dad and said every day of his life was terrible. His dad started going blind at 14 and knew that he would be blind at 25. Imagine how that feels. Then last week Jon Moxley attacked his eye. JR think Santana should be mad at Jericho but Santana goes on a rant against Moxley for throwing everything away. Tonight, Moxley learns what it’s like to be in the dark. This was a rather emotional interview and not something you hear from Santana.

Here’s another video from Darby Allin, this time with messages written on pieces of cardboard. It was a mistake to smash his throat with a skateboard and he’ll find them sooner or later. In the meantime though, he’ll face Sammy Guevara at Revolution. The final sign is a picture of Sammy’s face, saying “kissing Jericho’s a** gave me herpes.” These things are different and that’s what makes them work, plus Darby coughing in the background to sell the throat injury.

Sammy Guevara vs. Dustin Rhodes

Guevara has Jake Hager in his corner. Sammy bails to the floor to start so Dustin has to wait to throw him down back inside. A running knee to the face gives Dustin two and it’s time for another breather on the floor. That’s fine with Dustin, who hits a running clothesline off the steps and stares Hager down.

Back from a break with Dustin hitting a Downward Spiral and going up, only to get distracted by Hager. Sammy grabs a torture rack and flips Dustin over into a GTS for two. Dustin shoves him off the top so Sammy runs the ropes, only to get taken down with a release gordbuster. A Panama Sunrise plants Sammy and the Final Reckoning gives Dustin the pin at 6:47.

Rating: C. To clarify, a middle rope Canadian Destroyer isn’t the finish. I know it’s not Dustin’s finisher but egads man, stop overthinking this stuff. The match was fine enough and gets us closer to the match that makes the most sense. Guevara continues to be great as the member of the Inner Circle who takes a beating and keeps annoying everyone and that’s a great place for him.

Post match Dustin calls out Hager (“Jericho’s b****.”) for Revolution. Hager leaves without saying anything but the fans seem to like the idea.

We look back at Britt Baker attacking Yuka Sakazaki after last week’s loss.

Britt Baker talks about following her ethical obligations by taking out Yuka’s decaying tooth for free. We don’t even know if she had health insurance! Tony does though, right Mr. Starbucks? Baker mocks the fans with their Whataburger faces and lists off her resume, including her degrees and being the first woman signed to this company. She is the women’s division and throws in an upside down Hook Em Horns sign. JR: “This is terrible.”

Women’s Title: Nyla Rose vs. Riho

Riho is defending. Rose powers her into the corner to start but Riho rolls her up for two. That just means Rose can run her over for two, with Riho bridging out of the cover. Rose crushes her with a backbreaker and let’s set up a table. JR: “She’s not even from Dudleyville!” Riho uses the distraction to hit a dropkick off the table and we take a break.

Back with Riho getting two off a crucifix bomb and avoiding a sitdown splash. A basement dropkick gives Riho two more but Rose is right back with a Samoan drop for the same. Rose drapes her across the top and hits a top rope knee to the back of the head for a big crash and a near fall.

They go up top with Riho biting her on the nose, only to get taken down with a super Death Valley Driver. That’s only good for to and Riho is back with a pair of Snapdragons. A northern lights suplex gets two but the top rope double stomp gets one. Riho hits two more double stomps but Rose is in the rope. Back up and the spear into the Beast Bomb gives Rose the title at 12:24.

Rating: C+. They had to do it. Riho was fine for a first champion but there comes a point of “she has so much heart” just isn’t enough to carry things anymore. The match was your usual David vs. Goliath fight and Rose winning was the right call. You can only have her lose so many times before she stops mattering so giving her the title was the only call.

Chris Jericho is sick of Jon Moxley so if Moxley can make it past Santana tonight, he can face an assassin next week: Jeff Cobb.

We get a quick highlight video on Cobb. I’m rather glad to see him on the big stage, as Cobb can be rather awesome.

Video on last week’s awesome closing segment with Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Wardlow whipping Cody.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Jungle Boy

They’re both on their own here and Brandi Rhodes is on commentary. MJF trips him down to start and poses a lot, only to have Boy jump up and grab a rollup to annoy MJF quite a bit. They stare each other down and Boy shoves him outside for a breather. Back in and Boy is smart enough to not fall for a handshake as he knocks MJF into the corner.

MJF slugs away and takes it to the floor for a whip into the barricade. We see Arn Anderson watching in the back as MJF slams Boy on the floor. Back from a break with Boy hitting a backdrop and sending MJF outside. That means two straight suicide dives, plus a big flip dive to put MJF down again.

A reverse hurricanrana gets two back inside but Boy’s back gives out on a powerbomb attempt. MJF grabs an inverted Gory Stretch until Boy flips out. Boy gets crotched on top though, allowing MJF to grab his crotch and shout that Brandi can have a real man. A sunset bomb gets Boy out of trouble so here’s Wardlow to give MJF the big ring. MJF knocks him silly and the Double Cross finishes Boy at 11:49.

Rating: C. Boy continues to impress and MJF continues to be the best heel in wrestling today. The match wasn’t anything great but it accomplished everything it was supposed to be. Boy got to show off a little bit and MJF cheated to win to keep his momentum high going into Revolution. It might not have been a classic, but it was efficient and that’s a great sign.

Post match, Wardlow lays out Boy again.

Next week: Cody vs. Wardlow in a cage.

Pac can’t wait for his Iron Man match with Kenny Omega.

Next week: a tag team battle royal.

We look at the Inner Circle attacking Jon Moxley’s eye.

The Inner Circle is in the crowd.

Santana vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley comes in from the concourse and Chris Jericho isn’t happy. Santana jumps Moxley on the floor and the fight is on in a hurry with Moxley sending him into the barricade. They head inside for the opening bell but Moxley sends him right back outside for a top rope ax handle to the floor. Santana tries to send him eye first into the corner of the steps but settles for a baseball slide instead.

We take a break and come back with Moxley hitting a series of clotheslines into a release German suplex to drop Santana. A rolling cutter gives Santana his own two and he plants Moxley with a piledriver for the same. The top rope splash hits raised knees though and Moxley blasts him with another clothesline. Moxley goes up for a change but Ortiz spits booze into the good eye. Santana hits a frog splash for two but Moxley pokes him in the bad eye. The Paradigm Shift finishes Santana at 10:00.

Rating: B-. This was similar to the Rhodes vs. Guevara match in storytelling but a bit higher quality. Moxley has an issue with Santana after last week but it’s a glorified warmup before he gets to the match that he really wants. What we got was good though and Moxley keeps rolling towards Revolution.

Post match the Inner Circle runs in to destroy Moxley, including a 630 from Guevara and a Judas Effect from Jericho. Jeff Cobb comes out and hits the Tour of the Islands to end the show. So….why are they bringing in a power monster with amateur skills when the Inner Circle already has a power monster with amateur skills?

Overall Rating: A-. This was a heck of a show with some very good action and several Revolution matches being advanced. It’s the kind of show that they needed to have and the company is officially on a roll as we head towards Chicago. This was one of their better shows yet and that makes me more interested in where they’re going after the pay per view. Really good stuff this week.

Results

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page b. SCU – Buckshot lariat/V Trigger combination to Kazarian

Dustin Rhodes b. Sammy Guevara – Final Reckoning

Nyla Rose b. Riho – Beast Bomb

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Jungle Boy – Double Cross

Jon Moxley b. Santana – Paradigm Shift

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Dark – February 11, 2020: That’s A Popular Move Around Here

IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: February 11, 2020
Location: Von Braun Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Commentators: Tazz, Excalibur
Host: Tony Schiavone

This show continues to be all over the place and that is rather interesting at times. You never can tell what to expect on something like this and that’s one of the best things about it. Hopefully it’s a bit shorter than last week, which was longer than a show like this needs to be. Let’s get to it.

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

Tony runs down the card.

Riho vs. Shoko Nakajima

Non-title. They go with the technical stuff to start with Nakajima grabbing a headlock to little avail. A dropkick puts Nakajima down but she’s able to send Riho out side for a suicide dive. Back in and a cravate with knees to the head rock Riho some more, setting up a running basement Blockbuster. Nakajima pulls on both arms at once but Riho rolls through into a double stomp.

Riho misses a 619 so Nakajima tries and misses her own, only to keep swinging to hit a second attempt for a cool spot. They slug it out until Nakajima grabs a guillotine, only to get reversed into a northern lights suplex for two. A top rope double stomp gets two on Nakajima and it’s off to a pinfall reversal sequence for two each. Nakajima misses a top rope backsplash, allowing Riho to hit a running knee to the face for the pin at 7:32.

Rating: B-. The action was pretty good but Nakajima is the latest name added to a long list of women who aren’t all that interesting in the first place. The biggest problem continues to be we know nothing about them and there is little that sets them apart other than their name and their gear. Yes the action can carry them, but they are going to need something else.

Jimmy Havoc vs. Sonny Kiss

Havoc takes him to the mat to start and Sonny can’t spin out of a wristlock. A quick reversal into a sunset flip gives Kiss two and he takes Havoc down with a hurricanrana. The handspring splash just annoys Havoc so he knocks Kiss down in the corner. They fight to the floor with Kiss chopping the post by mistake, allowing Havoc to bend the arm around the turnbuckle.

Back in and we hit the armbar on Kiss, followed by a suplex to send him into the corner for two. A Death Valley Driver gets two and we hit the Fujiwara armbar to keep Kiss in trouble. That’s broken up and Kiss hits a one armed belly to belly, plus a front flip kick to the ribs for two. Kiss tries a Matrix but hurts his arm, setting up Havoc’s cross armbreaker, with the finger being bent back to make Kiss tap at 10:01.

Rating: C. I was shocked by the fact that the arm actually played into the finish and that’s a good thing. It’s the kind of a finish that you don’t get very often and I’m glad to see them doing something like that for a change. Nice enough match and I’m not sure what Havoc is doing next, but I’m not sure I even remembered him being around.

Dr. Luther seems to threaten Jimmy Havoc.

Here’s where Dynamite is coming.

Hikaru Shida vs. Cassandra Golden

Golden is taller and grabs a headlock to start. Shida’s shoulder has no effect and Golden throws her down by the hair. A whip into the corner gets two but Shida manages a backbreaker. Golden is right back with a much bigger side slam and a Vader Bomb gets a deep cover for two. This time it’s Shida coming back with a running forearm and a missile dropkick puts Golden down. She isn’t down long though as she is right back up with a running enziguri and a Falcon Arrow. Shida is fine enough to hit a running knee (popular move around here) for the pin at 6:29.

Rating: C-. Golden was impressive enough here and Shida has already proven herself. I got more out of Golden than I did Nakajima earlier, if nothing else because she stood out a bit more. We got a good enough match here but it’s nothing overly memorable, which is fine enough on a show like this one.

Dark Order vs. Jurassic Express

Jungle Boy/Marko Stunt here while Alex Reynolds and John Silver are out with the Order. Stunt avoids a charge from Grayson to start and hits a springboard bulldog. That just earns Stunt a running elbow to the face so it’s off to Jungle Boy for a hiptoss. A basement superkick has Grayson in trouble and it’s Uno coming in for an elbow to the face. Uno hits a Swanton for two more and Grayson adds a spinebuster for the same.

Boy tries to fight up but gets his back raked to take him down again. A slingshot hilo to the apron keeps Boy down and there’s a t-bone suplex to make it worse. The Fatality is broken up though and it’s Stunt coming back in for the dodging disguised as offense. A tornado DDT plants Uno as everything breaks down.

Boy hits a suicide dive on Silver and Reynolds, followed by a Samoan drop for two on Uno. Grayson gets caught in a bridging German suplex so Uno slams Stunt onto him for the save. Uno tells Boy to stop and then punches him in the face before Grayson catches Stunt’s super hurricanrana. That means Stunt can be thrown at Uno for a sitout powerbomb and now the Fatality is good for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: C. I’m not sure on having a THIS IS AWESOME during this one but at least they had some fast paced action at times and Stunt took the fall. It’s amazing how much more interesting the Dark Order is when they’re not talking and how much less intimidating they are when Uno is one of the focal points. Grayson looks fine but Uno looks like an indy guy who stumbled in here. Fix that and you might have something.

Post match the Dark Order goes after Boy but here are Luchasaurus and SCU for the save. Posing ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling is what mattered here and we had a nice enough night. Couple that with the show being shorter than last week and the lack of a match being shot with a handheld camera and this was an upgrade. They had a decent enough variety this week and I liked what we got well enough. This show is going to be built entirely around the wrestling and this week’s was better than most so call it a good one.

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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