Collision
Date: August 3, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still in Texas with the Arlington residency and things have gone well enough so far. This show is coming off a Dynamite which wasn’t as eventful as recent weeks but that doesn’t mean things are going to be weaker this time around. Hopefully it can follow the successful Collision formula so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Here is the Patriarchy, with Christian Cage holding all of the belts, to get things going. Cage tells the fans to shut up while he conducts his business and can’t wait to get on his private plane to get out of here. He brags about winning the Trios Titles, which are a vehicle to get to the World Title. They aren’t belts but rather titles, because a belt holds your pants up or beats an unruly child. For now though, it is time to present the Patriarchy with their titles.

Nick Wayne is a prodigy and Killswitch is Cage’s finisher….but Killswitch didn’t give birth to a prodigy, so Mother Wayne gets his belt instead. Killswitch grabs Cage but here is the House Of Black to interrupt. Cage only sees two of them so no, they can’t be #1 contenders. Cage thinks they want some fatherly advice but the lights go out and here is Buddy Matthews to chase the Patriarchy off. Cue the Bang Bang Gang to cut them off and Kip Sabian sends Nick back inside for the beating. They’re teasing things with Cage and Luchasaurus and the fans are right there with them for it.

Dustin Rhodes and the Von Erichs talk about their partnership and families’ history. Sammy Guevara comes in to say he wants to team with them and earn their trust because they’re Texas legends. Dustin shakes his hand.

Mistico/Hologram vs. Premiere Athletes

Yes they have Mistico, no they didn’t announce him in any major way in advance and yes they are using him to get Hologram over. Hologram takes Daivari down to start and snaps off a hurricanrana into a dropkick to keep Daivari in trouble. It’s off to Mistico for a springboard high crossbody into something like Silly String. The luchadors tease dives but get in a stereo pose instead.

We take a break and come back with Mistico fighting out of a chinlock and hitting the double handspring elbow to drop the Athletes. It’s back to Hologram to pick up the pace with a hammerlock faceplant getting two on Daivari. Nese is back in with his pumphandle driver for two on Hologram with Mistico making the save. Hologram dives onto Mark Sterling (the fans approve) and Mistico hits a springboard missile dropkick on Nese. Hologram hits a big rope walk flip dive (taking out Mistico as well), setting up a 450 to finish Daivari at 9:40.

Rating: B-. The match was the fun stuff you would expect but my goodness it boggles my mind that this is the best they can do with Mistico. You do not get someone of his caliber very often and this is the best they have for him? At least announce him a bit more in advance to draw some kind of an audience with what you have there. Also, maybe don’t try to get your new luchador over with the biggest luchador in the world right now.

We look at Bryan Danielson not being pleased with Jeff Jarrett and setting up their match on Dynamite.

Mariah May comes out for commentary during Toni Storm’s match but here is Storm to dive onto May for the brawl (McGuinness: “SHE’S GONE FULL NORMA DESMOND!”).

Toni Storm vs. Rache Chanel

Chanel uses the distraction to jump Storm, who hits the Hip Attack and Storm Zero for the pin at 57 seconds.

Kyle Fletcher talks about his friendship with Will Osprey, which is why he stood up to MJF.

We look at MJF coming to CMLL for an American Title defense.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Brian Cage

Don Callis is on commentary. They fight over a lockup to start with Cage kneeing him down but getting sent to the floor. The big dive takes him out again as Callis praises Fletcher (and himself) as much as he can. They go to the ramp for a running cannonball from Fletcher as we take a break. Back with Cage slamming him off the top but the Drill Claw (Callis: “This move scares me.”) is countered into a small package. Fletcher’s piledriver finishes at 6:01. Not enough shown to rate, but how in the world does a six minute match need a break?

Post match Fletcher challenges MJF to put the title on the line in their match. MJF pops up on screen and says he doesn’t like Fletcher’s accent so let’s make it an eliminator match instead. This sends us to a break, maybe five minutes after we came back from the previous break.

Bryan Danielson is having Wheeler Yuta go after his neck in training because he knows Swerve Strickland is coming for it at All In.

Jay Lethal and company cut off Jeff Jarrett, who says no one got what they wanted but he’s ready for Bryan Danielson on Dynamite. Danielson needs to get ready for Swerve Strickland so let’s make it anything goes.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Lee Moriarty

For a Continental Title shot and Shane Taylor is here with Moriarty. They do the circle strike to start with Moriarty being shouldered down, leaving Ishii and Castagnoli to trade shoulders. Moriarty is back in with a dropkick to both of them but Castagnoli stomps him down in the corner. Back up and Moriarty dropkicks him out to the floor, setting up the dive as we take a break.

We come back with an exchange of German suplexes and everyone is down. Castagnoli and Ishii are both up to slug it out until Castagnoli Swings Moriarty. Ishii is back in but gets rolled up by Moriarty. Castagnoli makes a save and slugs it out with Ishii again. Moriarty rolls both of them up and gets the Border City Stretch on Ishii, who has to make the rope. Castagnoli plants Moriarty so Ishii makes a save of his own, leaving Castagnoli to uppercut Moriarty for the pin at 10:31.

Rating: B-. That’s a very AEW style of booking: taking three people, putting them into a random #1 contenders match and having the new Ring Of Honor champion take the fall. It’s another example of not being able to take Ring Of Honor seriously and I have no idea why Moriarty needed to be in there. Was there really not a non-champion available to do the job?

Top Flight, now with Leila Grey as their attendant, is interrupted by the MxM Collection. They don’t like Grey’s gear and pose.

Thunder Rosa vs. Taya Valkyrie

Johnny TV is here with Taya. An early TV distraction lets Taya jump her to start and the rope choking is on. Taya stomps away and kicks her in the back but Rosa is up with a running corner clothesline. The sliding lariat sends Taya outside and we take a break. Back with Rosa unloading with forearms on Taya and scoring with some dropkicks. Taya strikes away but gets double stomped for two. Johnny pulls Taya out and the distraction lets Taya score with a spear for two. Rosa dropkicks Johnny through the ropes and pulls Taya into the seated cobra clutch for the win at 7:50.

Rating: C+. Another match where they didn’t get to really showcase that much because of the break in the middle but Rosa gets to look good again, this time in victory. She’s done well since her return but losing to Deonna Purrazzo all the time isn’t helping things. For now though, a win over a nae who has been around for a good while should only help her.

Post match Rosa calls out Deonna Purrazzo, who mocks Rosa for all of her losses. Rosa issues the challenge for a Texas Bullrope match next week.

Darby Allin/FTR/Mark Briscoe vs. Beast Mortos/Undisputed Kingdom

Harwood and Strong start things off with Harwood grabbing a headlock. That doesn’t last long as Strong is back up with some chops but Harwood armdrags him into an armbar. Wheeler comes in to grab a hammerlock and the good guys get to take turns on the arm. Strong manages a quick shot though and it’s off to Bennett to chop it out with Harwood. Taven comes in to take over on Briscoe, who quickly brainbusters him for a breather.

It’s off to Allin for a headlock into a cradle for two as the fast tags continue. Mortos comes in (the fans approve) to drop Wheeler with a clothesline. Briscoe tries to go after Mortos but the referee holds him back, leaving Wheeler to chop it out with Strong. Wheeler gets dropkicked to the floor for the big beatdown as we take a break. Back with Wheeler hitting a middle rope bulldog for a needed breather. Strong is smart enough to take out Wheeler’s partners but the tag brings Briscoe in a few seconds later anyway.

Briscoe gets to clean house but has to slip out of the Proton pack. A Razor’s Edge/neckbreaker combination into the Froggy Bow gets two on Taven with Strong making the save. Mortos hits a huge suicide dive, followed by a twisting Swanton for two on Harwood. Strong comes back in but Harwood gets in a double clothesline for the double knockdown.

Bennett Death Valley Drivers Briscoe on the apron as everything breaks down. Mortos strikes away at Harwood until another double knockdown allows the tag back to Allin. House is quickly cleaned as Briscoe and Mortos knock each other down on the floor. Strong gets sent into the barricade but Taven lets go of the Hail Mary to go after Wheeler for some reason. Allin breaks up another Hail Mary attempt before he and Wheeler hit stereo suicide dives. The PowerPlex into the Froggy Bow into the Coffin Drop finishes Taven at 18:56.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match with everyone looking good in the process, with Allin getting the pin to slowly build him up for the title match in nearly two months. In theory Mortos is the next challenger to Briscoe, who wanted to fight Mortos here, but it wasn’t exactly a focus. FTR going after the ROH Tag Team Titles would feel like a waste, but then again the titles don’t quite have much in the way of a status anyway right now.

Post match Harwood grabs the mic to say how much he loves everything here and calls his team the heart and soul of AEW. Cue the Acclaimed to say not so fast because FTR wasn’t in Blood & Guts last week. They don’t care about FTR’s legacy because the Acclaimed is the real heart and soul around here. The challenge is made for the tag match but Mark Briscoe breaks it up, saying this is what the Young Bucks want. Harwood extends his hand but Billy Gunn won’t let it happen. Gunn and the Acclaimed leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. That was certainly a Collision, with little that mattered and the big story being a match that we already knew about being turned into the dreaded Eliminator Match. Oh and Jeff Jarrett vs. Bryan Danielson is now anything goes. As usual, Collision needs a bit more than advertising what is going to happen on Dynamite, but if they can’t even advertise Mistico further in advance, it isn’t like it matters that much anyway.

Results
Mistico/Hologram b. Premiere Athletes – 450 to Daivari
Toni Storm b. Rache Chanel – Storm Zero
Kyle Fletcher b. Brian Cage – Piledriver
Claudio Castagnoli b. Lee Moriarty and Tomohiro Ishii – Uppercut to Moriarty
Thunder Rosa b. Taya Valkyrie – Seated cobra clutch
FTR/Darby Allin/Mark Briscoe b. Beast Mortos/Undisputed Kingdom – Coffin Drop to Taven

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 31, 2024
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, South Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re coming off a big week with Blood & Guts last week and after that, plus with this week’s show being up against the Olympics, there is a chance that this week might go in a bit of a different direction. We are just under a month away from All In as well so odds are it’s time for some building towards the show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is MJF to get things going. He makes fun of the southern accent and southern people in general before talking to the REAL Americans. After a promise to take out Will Ospreay again at All In, we’re asked to stand for a real American hero but here is Ospreay to chase him out of the ring. Ospreay promises violence but finds it funny that no one here acknowledges the America’s Title because of the person holding it.

Men have worked hard to make the International Title mean something, like Pac, Orange Cassidy, Jon Moxley, Rey Fenix, Roderick Strong and himself. MJF isn’t worthy of holding it but some fans chant USA. Ospreay says he gets it but MJF doesn’t represent the American worth ethic. MJF promises to take out Ospreay at All In, but tonight, everybody dies. They’re trying to set up Ospreay for the big win at All In and that should work out. I’m not wild on what feels like it could very easily turn into another MJF election year story though.

Lance Archer vs. Will Ospreay

Archer wastes no time in hitting a chokeslam and hits some running elbows in the corner. Ospreay fights back and knocks him to the floor but the dive is cut off with a drop onto the apron. Archer takes his sweet time to follow up though and a hurricanrana sends him into the barricade. Back in and a springboard dropkick gets one on Archer as Ospreay is starting to pick up the pace. Something else off the top is cut off with a huge chokeslam and we take a break.

Back with Ospreay still in trouble and a huge spinebuster getting two. Archer goes up top but gets caught, meaning it’s a super Spanish Fly for two more. The Oscutter gets another near fall but the Hidden Blade is countered with a hard clothesline. The Blackout is countered into a tornado DDT and the Hidden Blade…gets one. Another Hidden Blade finishes Archer at 11:23.

Rating: B. This was a good way to make Osprey look like a giant slayer as Archer is still someone who has some value due to being presented as a monster. Ospreay is set up for a huge match next month and giving him a win like this will help. At the same time, Archer can bounce back up with just a few destructions.

Post match MJF comes in for the beatdown but Kyle Fletcher makes the save. Don Callis isn’t happy but Fletcher says he was helping his best friend, family or not. Fletcher goes into a rather fired up rat about how he doesn’t like what MJF has been saying about foreign wrestlers. He wants MJF right now, but MJF says we’ll do it next week, with promises of a kangaroo kick and a broken neck.

Video on Swerve Strickland.

Big Bill has a cake to celebrate Chris Jericho being FTW Champion for 102 days (yes 102). Jericho promises revenge on Katsuyori Shibata at the hands of Bryan Keith. Alex Marvez gets to keep the cake.

Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander

Non-title. Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander. Nightingale gets jumped to start and a missile dropkick connects as the bell rings. They head outside with Nightingale sending her into the barricade but missing the Cannonball. We take a break and come back with Nightingale hitting a release gordbuster and a spinebuster for two. The Pounce is blocked so Statlander grabs an electric chair facebuster.

An ax kick gives Statlander two and they go to the apron to chop it out. Nightingale’s Death Valley Driver plants Statlander but she stops to go after Hathaway. That’s enough for Statlander to come back with a clothesline, only to have Nightingale powerbomb her out of the air. A DDT gives Nightingale two but Statlander headbutts her off the top. That means Statlander’s 450 can connect for two, leaving Hathaway to slip in a chain. The discus lariat, with the chain, finishes Nightingale at 9:48.

Rating: C+ This is a feud that has been going on for a good while now and it isn’t much of a surprise that Statlander cheated to win here. That being said, I’m really not sure if it needed to be a non-title match to set up what seemed to be a title match that was all but made. I can go for Statlander winning though and now we could be in for seeing her win in a title match down the line.

Post match Statlander wrecks Nightingale with a chair and hammers away.

We look back at Jeff Jarrett telling Bryan Danielson to give it his all at All In.

Here is Danielson for a chat. Danielson is glad to be in Greenville, South Carolina, which is where he and his wife got their engagement pictures taken. They were looking at those pictures and they have Danielson thinking. He is here to talk about presence and promises. A few years ago, he had to retire and had it all taken away from him. Now he’s back in AEW and having the most fun in his career. He was able to be present here and we get a THANK YOU BRYAN chant, which has him almost in tears.

For that moment, he was able to be present, but now let’s talk about promises. He promised his daughter that he would stop wrestling full time when she was seven. On top of that, he promised that his current AEW contract would be the last one he signs. That contract expires tomorrow and he is still promising to give it his all every time. Over the years, he has kicked a lot of heads in, but he hasn’t won the AEW World Title….yet.

This will be his last shot at AEW’s biggest show of the year. He promises to go to Wembley Stadium and be present for that moment because he will give us 100%. With his body and soul, he will go all in….and here is Swerve Strickland to interrupt. Swerve says he would be cheering for Danielson at any other time but not this time. He came to this place and said he would win the AEW World Title, which is exactly what he did.

Danielson came here promising to kick heads in, but apparently he couldn’t handle it when they started kicking back. The title isn’t an achievement award but rather something that shows you are the best in the world, which is Swerve himself. Last year, Swerve was competing at All In while Danielson couldn’t get on a plane. Maybe Danielson’s body can’t handle the pressure of being champion.

Swerve promises Danielson just isn’t winning at All In and he might not be walking again after their match. Swerve goes to leave, but Danielson ups the ante by putting his career on the line. Works for Swerve, who tells Danielson to keep that promise to his family. This was a segment with a lot going on, from Danielson’s emotional speech, Swerve’s dangerous sounding threats, and then the big reveal at the end. They’ve also laid the groundwork for the idea of Danielson possibly leaving, even though I can’t imagine it going that way. Rather good stuff here with a stipulation that isn’t ridiculous.

In the back, Danielson is congratulated by Jeff Jarrett, but Danielson says they can fight next week.

Rush/Beast Mortos/Roderick Strong vs. Conglomeration

It’s a brawl at the bell, with Cassidy using his jacket as a cape to make Mortos chase him. A very spinning DDT doesn’t quite work for Cassidy (with Taz accusing him of stealing his spots) and Mortos hits a spear to take over. Ishii comes in to slug it out with Mortos, who is knocked out to the floor. It’s off to Rush (there haven’t been any tags thus far) who wins a slugout to put Ishii down. Briscoe comes in for a slugout and knocks Rush outside, only to have the step up dive cut off by Strong.

That’s fine with Briscoe, who knocks him outside for a flipping neckbreaker, followed by a big dive to Rush and Mortos. Back from a break with Cassidy in trouble but avoiding a charge in the corner. The Stundog Millionaire staggers Mortos though and the tag brings in Briscoe to clean things out. Ishii comes back in to strike away but a piledriver is blocked. Strong hits an Angle Slam for two as everything breaks down. Mortos’ spinning piledriver finishes Briscoe at 11:18.

Rating: B. Wild match here, especially at the end, with the surprise finish. Odds are that sets up Mortos for a Ring Of Honor World Title match, though odds are it happens in AEW rather than Ring Of Honor. Other than that, a good hard hitting match here, with Ishii and Rush both looking strong.

Acclaimed and Billy Gunn want FTR but they’re nowhere to be seen. Instead, they’ll come see FTR at Collision.

Mariah May, not looking overly serious, talks about wanting to be like Toni Storm so she became just like her. Storm was perfect because she never did anything to her but May wore her like skin. And that’s the end so Renee Paquette walks out.

Here is Toni Storm, with a shoe and the title, to say she loved May too. She hits herself with the shoe and says it will be the romance of a lifetime at All In.

Britt Baker and Mariah May got in a fight at Comic Con. As a result, the title match was officially set for All In.

Kamille vs. Brittany Jade

Mercedes Mone is here with Kamille. The beatdown is on fast with Kamille unloading in the corner. A sitout Dominator finishes for Kamille at 1:16.

Post match Mone says Kamille is now part of the Mone Corporation and brags about how great the two of them are. She can’t stand Britt Baker, who is suspended for attacking Mone at Comic Con. For now though, this is Mone’s house and she is going to turn it into a mansion.

Darby Allin vs. Hangman Page

They take their time to start until Allin knocks him to the floor. The Coffin Drop is pulled out of the air with a German suplex and they go up the ramp, with Page grabbing a chair. That takes too long and they get to the stage where Allin hits a flipping Stunner. A Coffin Drop of the entrance hits Page and we take a break.

Back with Page swinging Allin around in a sleeper and slowly hammering him down. A rollup and springboard spinning crossbody hits Page….and the lights go out. They come back on to reveal nothing has changed as Page elbows him in the chest. Allin flips over the steps and dives at Page, who posts him hard and adds some powerbombs onto the apron. A fall away slam onto the steps (geez) has Allin in more trouble and we take a break.

Back again with Page hitting a super fall away slam and glaring at Allin as he tends to do. Allin gets dropped onto the steps again but sweeps the legs to send Page into the steps for a change. The suicide dive takes Page back of the steps and they’re both down on the floor. Back in and Allin’s Coffin Drop is pulled into a sleeper, which is reversed into a rollup for two on Page. The Buckshot Lariat gives Page two and a powerbomb is good for the same as Allin is in trouble. Back to back Deadeyes connect but another clothesline is countered into a rollup to give Allin the pin at 20:17.

Rating: B. It was a good fight with Allin taking an incredible beating, but I was left with a “really” response at the ending, as Allin just popped back up and won after that much punishment. While I like Allin winning, I’m not sure I would have had Page take another loss as that’s back to back singles losses for someone who was being presented as a big return. Either way, it was a good match, especially when it wasn’t exactly the biggest showdown.

Overall Rating: B+. This show was in a weird spot as this show was a bit of a step off the gas but it still wound up being rather entertaining with a bunch of good action throughout. That is more than I was expecting and it made for a nice surprise. The build to All In is already on and they can get into the harder push in the coming weeks, though this week was more about having fun with some select important moves being made.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Lance Archer – Hidden Blade
Kris Statlander b. Willow Nightingale – Clothesline with a chain
Rush/Beast Mortos/Roderick Strong b. Conglomeration – Spinning piledriver to Briscoe
Kamille b. Brittany Jade – Sitout Dominator
Darby Allin b. Hangman Page – Rollup

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

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Collision
Date: July 20, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We are officially in the start of the residency in Arlington, which is going to run until around the end of the summer. I’m not sure how much sense that makes but it’s certainly something different, which might be what AEW needs. Hopefully the show winds up being up to the recent efforts from Dynamite and Rampage. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence, now with a different theme song (first time I’ve noticed it at least).

Darby Allin vs. Beast Mortos

Mortos powers him down to start but misses a charge and falls outside. The big dive connects and Allin chops away against the barricade. Back in and Mortos stomps away in the corner, setting up a Samoan drop for two. A sunset flip dives Allin two and he grabs a sleeper but Mortos powers him into the corner. Back up and Mortos is set outside for the Coffin drop out to the floor.

Mortos isn’t having that and hits his own big dive, which has a bit more impact. Something close to a spear gives Mortos two but Allin strikes away and grabs a Code Red for two more. Mortos shrugs that off and grabs a super gorilla press before taking Allin back up top. A super Samoan drop is countered into a crucifix bomb, setting up the Coffin Drop to give Allin the pin at 10:37.

Rating: B-. This was good stuff with Allin fighting from underneath and trying to slow down the monster. That’s where Allin tends to shine and he did it again here, with Mortos only there to make Allin look good. Good opener here and a nice way to get Allin back in the ring after another absence.

Post match Allin says he’s ready for his first Blood & Guts because the Young Bucks aren’t going to promote anything around here. Other than that, he wants Jack Perry for the TNT Title at All In.

Billy Gunn fires up the Acclaimed before Blood & Guts.

Hikaru Shida vs. Skye Blue

Blue (already minus the cowboy gear) stomps away in the corner before winning a slugout. Shida hits a dropkick out to the floor and then hits a dive. We take a break….and the match was stopped during the break as Blue was hurt on the dive. Geez that’s never good to see.

Lance Archer beats up various people.

Minoru Suzuki attacked Chris Jericho on Dynamite.

Jericho has been ready for this match for a long time and now he can go move for move and blow for blow. Suzuki will realize he screwed up by turning Jericho down.

Here is Tony Nese, with the Premiere Athletes, for an open challenge and some insults about Texas.

Tony Nese vs. Rey Fenix

Mark Sterling and the Premiere Athletes are here too. They fight over wrist control to start until Nese hits him in the face to take over as commentary runs down upcoming shows instead of talking about what we’re seeing. Fenix’s springboard doesn’t work so well (commentary makes up for earlier by suggesting that Sterling tripped him) so he sends Nese outside. That’s fine with the Athletes, who stomp away on Fenix as we take a break.

Back with Nese winning an exchange of strikes and muscling him up for a powerbomb. Nese unloads in the corner but runs into a hurricanrana for two. Ariya Daivari’s distraction misses though and Fenix low bridges Nese out to the floor. Fenix hits the big running flip dive, followed by a rope walk kick to drop Sterling. Nese runs Fenix over for two but Fenix is back with a superkick and another rope walk kick. The frog splash pins Nese at 11:05.

Rating: B-. Fenix is a heck of a high flier and looked good here, which makes me wonder why he’s on this show when AEW is planning to debut another high flier later on in Hologram. It also makes me wonder why I’m still supposed to be interested when the Premiere Athletes couldn’t be less interesting if their lives depended on them doing so.

Here is FTR for a chat in the ring with Tony Schiavone. They’ve been going through a bunch of things, both personally and professionally, but the fans were there to support them. For now though, it’s time to go Buck hunting. They want the Tag Team Titles at All In, with Harwood promising to give it everything they have to get there. This is all for the Bucks, so top guys out. Normally I’d say “there’s no way they would run FTR vs. the Bucks at All In again just for the Bucks to get their win back”, but absolutely they would run FTR vs. the Bucks at All In again just for the Bucks to get their win back.

Hikaru Shida wants to face Britt Baker, who she made bleed once before. She’ll do it again at Dynamite.

Roderick Strong vs. Tomohiro Ishii

They trade chops to start and keep trading them until Ishii runs him over with a shoulder. Strong’s forearms out of the corner just annoy him and Ishii hits a heck of a forearm. Another shoulder sends Strong outside with Ishii following, only to get dropkicked down. We take a break and come back with Ishii fighting out of a chinlock, setting up a snap powerslam.

They forearm it out again with Ishii walking through them and suplexing Strong into the corner. A delayed superplex gives Ishii two and he runs Strong over again. Strong is right back with an Angle Slam into a gutbuster for two and they both need a breather. Some hard strikes rock Strong but here is the Kingdom for a distraction. Strong’s jumping knee finishes at 12:18.

Rating: B. This one is going to entirely depend on your taste in exchanges of strikes. I liked it well enough, but the ending was rather flat and felt like they didn’t have anything else to use. Strong needs the win over Mark Briscoe’s friend before Death Before Dishonor, because it’s not like they’re going to get any time on the Ring Of Honor show leading up to the match.

Post match the beatdown is teased but he Conglomeration runs in for the save.

We look at MJF beating Will Ospreay on Dynamite.

Hologram vs. Gringo Loco

Hologram starts fast with a running hurricanrana before sending him t the floor for a running flip dive. Back in and Hologram misses a charge into the corner and it’s a gorilla press drop into a standing moonsault to give Loco two. A corkscrew moonsault misses though and Hologram spins over him. Hologram’s big dive to the floor takes him down again and a spinning torture rack powerbomb finishes Loco at 4:16.

Rating: B-. If that’s their big debut for this guy, I’m not sure how much of an upside he has. It was a perfectly fine match, but when you have Rey Fenix, Penta, Private Party, Action Andretti, Top Flight and probably half a dozen others, Hologram is going to need a lot more to make him stand out. That might come later, but for now, it was nothing that really felt special.

Kevin Von Erich is here with his sons and Dustin Rhodes. Everything has changed since his time and he thinks Dustin can be a great mentor for them. Works for Rhodes. You had to have these guys around for a series in Texas.

Mark Briscoe is ready for Death Before Dishonor and says he’s better and tougher than he was the last time he faced Roderick Strong. Team AEW is ready for Blood & Guts though, because the Elite is everything wrong with society today.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa

Lumberjack match. Purrazzo bails to the floor to start and is thrown right back in, much to Rosa’s delight. A dropkick puts Purrazzo down and a chop in the corner gets one. There’s a spinning middle rope crossbody for two but Purrazzo is right back with a hanging DDT. Back up and Rosa sends her outside where the lumberjacks get into a fight, only to have Purrazzo superplex Rosa onto the pile.

We take a break and come back with Purrazzo getting two off a Backstabber. Rosa’s airplane spin into a Death Valley Driver gives her two of her own but Purrazzo grabs an exploder suplex for another near fall. The Fujiwara armbar sends Rosa over to the ropes so Purrazzo snaps the arm over said ropes. Rosa is back up with a dive and the lumberjacks get into it again. Purrazzo manages to find a turnbuckle and blasts Rosa in the face for the pin at 11:14.

Rating: B. It was another good match between them but this feud has lost me. Purrazzo feels like she has won multiple times now and there is little reason to keep it going. Hopefully this wraps it up for both of them and Purrazzo gets to move closer to a title match, as the feud has boosted her up enough. Just get on to someone new already.

Trios Titles: Patriarchy vs. Bang Bang Gang

For the vacant titles. Wayne and Austin lock up to start with an exchange of headlock takeovers. Austin sends him into the corner and it’s off to Cage vs. Robinson. Cage hands it off to Killswitch instead, with Robinson’s chops not having much effect. Robinson fights back but Cage trips him down so Luchasaurus can drop him hard.

We take a break and come back with Colten coming in to clean house. Colten misses a charge into the corner though and Wayne is pleased with the crash. Killswitch comes back in for a hard chop but Colten gets a boot up in the corner. Robinson comes in off the tag to clean house as everything breaks down. Luchasaurus is sent over the barricade, leaving Robinson to hit a Jackhammer for two with Cage making the save.

Cage is quickly surrounded and punched down, with Cage bailing to the floor. Robinson blocks Wayne’s low blow but Killswitch chokeslams him off the top. Killswitch hits Cage by mistake (McGuinness: “YOU FOOL!”) but Mother Wayne sprays Robinson with hairspray. The Killswitch gives the Patriarchy the titles at 11:17.

Rating: B. Good match, but the ending makes me wonder why the titles needed to be stripped in the first place. Would it have been that bad to just have the Patriarchy beat the Gang in the first place. Either way, Cage being a champion again is a good thing, as it means he’ll get to talk more often, which is one of the best things in AEW.

Post match the lights flicker and….nothing happens as Cage holds up all three belts to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Definitely a good wrestling show, which is enough to make up for some of the not so interesting matches. Everything around here is about Blood & Guts and then All In though, so a show like this only had so much interest. I’ll definitely take something like this though, as it was a solid use of two hours, which is as good as you’re getting with Collision most weeks.

Results
Darby Allin b. Beast Mortos – Coffin Drop
Hikaru Shida b. Skye Blue via referee stoppage
Rey Fenix b. Tony Nese – Frog splash
Roderick Strong b. Tomohiro Ishii – Jumping knee
Hologram b. Gringo Loco – Torture rack powerbomb
Deonna Purrazzo b. Thunder Rosa – Turnbuckle to the face
Patriarchy b. Bang Bang Gang – Killswitch to Robinson

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Dynamite
Date: July 17, 2024
Location: Simmons Bank Arena, Little Rock, Arkansas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the 250th episode and that means the show is going to be a stacked one. In this case, that means we have MJF challenging Will Ospreay for the International Title, along with a champion vs. champion match between Swerve Strickland and Kazuchika Okada. It’s also a week before Blood & Guts so we should get the final push. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

International Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Will Ospreay

MJF is challenging and bails to the floor to start. Back in and MJF has to duck the Bidden Blade before dodging a bunch of shots to the face. Ospreay flips over him and MJF isn’t sure what to do. His best idea seems to be bailing out to the floor, where Ospreay hits a big flip dive. Back in and MJF manages a quick Stunner for two, meaning frustration is staying on. Ospreay fights up again and knocks him to the floor for the Sasuke Special.

A sky twister press gets two on MJF and it’s time to set up a table at ringside. Instead they head back inside with Ospreay chopping away until is back with a Cheeky Nandos Kick. The fake knee injury lets MJF hit a piledriver for two and Ospreay is down. The Figure Four goes on but Ospreay gets over to the ropes. MJF whips him into the corner and the knee gives out, which has MJF rather pleased. Ospreay gets back up again and knocks him down for a needed breather, only to get his leg taken out again.

The brainbuster (which MJF shouts in advance) is countered into a Stundog Millionaire and MJF rolls outside. Back in and the Oscutter misses as MJF just kind of falls down and we take a break. We come back with Ospreay hitting a handspring kick to the head for the double knockdown but coming up favoring his shoulder. They go out into the crowd with Ospreay (leg seeming fine) striking away, and letting a kid get in a few shots (ok that was great).

They head back to ringside where MJF gets another beating. They go back inside to trade rollups for two each. Ospreay grabs a poisonrana but MJF is back with the Long Island Sunrise for two. MJF heads outside and has some water, which he throws around with a nice look on his face before breaking the count. The delay lets Ospreay get in a shot of his own and Cross Rhodes (with a wink) connects for two.

Back up and MJF pokes him in the eye, setting up a stomp to the arm. A hammerlock DDT gets two on Ospreay but MJF crotches him on top. They go to the apron and fight over a piledriver attempt until Ospreay hits a Styles Clash for two. Ospreay plants him down for two more and we take another break.

Back again with MJF hitting a Tombstone for two and they head to the apron, followed by a middle rope elbow to the back of MJF’s head for two. MJF takes him up but gets reversed into a super Styles Clash for a rather delayed near fall. Ospreay is put on the table for the top rope elbow and the huge crash sends us to another break. Back again with MJF holding the abdominal stretch until he gets caught cheating, allowing Ospreay to hiptoss his way to freedom.

One heck of a backbreaker gives MJF two and he takes Ospreay to the top where, after some pelvic thrusting, his super hurricanrana is flipped out of the air for a standoff. They trade rollups for two each before the brainbuster is countered into another Stundog Millionaire. Another poisonrana sets up a countered Stormbreaker and a Spanish Fly gives Ospreay two.

They fight to the top again where Ospreay has to fight out of a super Tombstone. The Oscutter and a running elbow to the face gets two on MJF, who can barely move. The Hidden Blade misses so Ospreay teases the Tiger Driver 91 as we have a minute left. Ospreay picks him up but can’t bring himself to go through with it. He doesn’t drop MJF but the referee gets bumped. Back up and the big shot with the ring gives MJF the pin and the title at 59:58.

Rating: A. This started hot and then kept going with some great stuff. While it dragged a bit at times and the leg injury was just dropped, they played up a great back and forth match with MJF finally cheating in the end while Ospreay wanted to do it the right way. This was Ospreay getting to show that he still has it and they had an awesome match throughout.

Post match MJF gets some oxygen before bragging about his win.

The Acclaimed want in on Blood & Guts so Mark Briscoe and Swerve Strickland agree.

It’s time for TV Time with the Learning Tree, with Big Bill introducing Chris Jericho. After the “hi guys” and a lecture about how Little Rock needs to work on its crime rates, Jericho says this is the 250th Dynamite and he’s been on almost all of them (Taz: “Shocking.”). Jericho promises to be on every show until episode #500 before talking about how many “accidents” there have been in recent weeks.

Who would be crazy enough to not want to listen to the Learning Tree? Cue Minoru Suzuki, with a paper in his hand. Next week it’s Suzuki vs. Jericho with Bill and Bryan Keith banned from ringside. I know he’s a legend, but I’m having more and more trouble caring about Suzuki every time he shows up.

The Elite aren’t going to lose their Tag Team Titles and threaten to beat up Swerve Strickland so much that the World Title is vacated. Mercedes Mone comes in to thank them for banning Britt Baker from the building. Okada requests she do her dance, which she obliges, leaving Okada rather, uh, bothered.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Nyla Rose

Mone is defending and is placed on the ropes, where it’s already time to dance. Rose’s suplex is blocked so Mone tries a tornado DDT. Rose blocks that as well (Rose: “HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND???”) and plants Mone down as we take a break. Back with Rose powering out of a suplex and hitting a splash in the corner.

The Cannonball gets two but Mone kicks her off the ropes and hits a Vader Bomb. The middle rope Meteora gives Banks two and a middle rope bulldog puts Rose down again. Mone loads up a CEO glove (ala Britt Baker) and grabs Lockjaw, with Rose just biting her hand for the break. Instead the Statement Maker (Bank Statement) makes Rose tap at 9:18.

Rating: C+. I know the ending was never in doubt whatsoever but egads it’s frustrating to see Rose be such an incredibly charismatic star only to come up short. Mone is by far the bigger star but I’m still having trouble caring about almost anything she does. It’s like she got to skip all of the stuff that she would need to do to connect with the audience and is just on top because of everything else she’s done. That makes sense, but it’s not the easiest thing to watch.

Post match Mone rips up a DMD > CEO sign…and yeah of course it’s Britt Baker.

We look back at Mariah May snapping on Toni Storm.

Jack Perry doesn’t care about Darby Allin beating up Brandon Cutler, and proceeds to beat Cutler up himself. Allin can come find him tonight. This would work better if there was any reason to care about Cutler.

Here is Toni Storm……as played by Mariah May. Schiavone: “Speak b**** come on now.” Taz and Excalibur: “WHOA TONY!” May says everyone but Storm saw it coming because Storm was giving it all away. The question shouldn’t be why, but rather why May took so long. She didn’t think it would take this long either. It was so easy though and she had so much fun stringing her along. She was ready to turn on Storm but then she figured she might as well beat her at Wembley.

Don’t worry though: she still loves Storm, who she never loved more than when she was on her knees, bleeding in front of May. The greatest performance will be at All In, because AEW is All About Mariah. She didn’t exactly tell us anything we didn’t know here, but it wasn’t supposed to be/didn’t need to be that kind of an explanation.

On Collision, the Bang Bang Gang was stripped of the Trios Titles but promise to win them back in their match for the vacant titles on Saturday. This still seems WAY more complicated than it needs to be.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Swerve Strickland

Non-title. Okada takes over to start but Swerve slips out and grabs a headscissors into the corner. Swerve gets in a bit of dancing before they head outside, where Okada plants him with a DDT. We take a break and come back with Swerve favoring his wrist, allowing Okada to knock him down again.

The top rope elbow connects but Okada spends too much time posing, allowing Swerve to roll him up for two. Okada is back up with the dropkick though and they both need a breather. Swerve is back up with a backbreaker into a powerslam but the Swerve Stomp misses. Okada is back up with a Tombstone but the Rainmaker is countered into the Swerve Stomp. Cue the Young Bucks to jump Swerve for the DQ at 11:28.

Rating: B-. This didn’t have the time to really go anywhere, especially with the break in the middle and little chance of a clean ending (which shouldn’t have happened). The did at least get some time to make it feel important, but it was always going to end with the big Blood & Guts preview. That’s the right way to go as well, as neither of these two should be taking a pin.

Post match the Acclaimed, Jack Perry and Mark Briscoe all run in for the brawl. Hangman Page runs in as security can’t break it up. Since team AEW is outnumbered, here is Darby Allin….from the ceiling ala Sting to even things up. The huge brawl ends the show.

Overall Rating: A-. When half of your show is spent on an instant classic, you’re pretty much playing with the house’s money. This was a heck of a show with a pair of huge matches and nothing bad to bring it down. While some parts of it might not have been as interesting (Mone/Jericho/Suzuki), that opener was more than enough to carry it. They only needed one other good thing to make this an easy win and the May promo was more than enough. Great show here, with that opener being more than PPV quality.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Will Ospreay – Punch with Dynamite Diamond Ring
Mercedes Mone b. Nyla Rose – Statement Maker
Swerve Strickland b. Kazuchika Okada via DQ when the Young Bucks interfered

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Dynamite
Date: July 10, 2024
Location: Calgary Stampede Grounds, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a big night here as we have the Owen Hart Foundation tournament finals for both the men and the women, which will give us two major All In matches. Other than that, Chris Jericho is facing Samoa Joe in a street fight. Finally, we have two weeks to go before Blood & Guts and the match could use some more build. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of MJF’s explanation for turning on Daniel Garcia last week. Basically he doesn’t like that the fans turned their backs on him and is going to hurt everyone the fans love. That fits him well and makes sense.

Here is Will Ospreay, looking rather serious, for a chat. Ospreay has heard rumors about MJF being insecure and now that someone like Daniel Garcia came up on MJF’s popularity, MJF snapped. Garcia is at home with no feeling in his arms and there is no idea when he’ll be back in the ring. MJF blamed his ADD but Ospreay has ADHD and it doesn’t give him an excuse to be horrible.

There are a few reasons MJF isn’t happy, like the Bidding War Of 2024 didn’t go MJF’s way because Tony Khan didn’t want to spend money on someone who buried the promotion. Ospreay says he has more talent than MJF could ever have and says some people are going to cheer for MJF anyway. That’s cool with Ospreay, because the Level Of The Devil is ground floor while Ospreay is on the top of the skyscraper.

The challenge is on for a fight so MJF’s music plays but he pops up on screen, sitting in a chair instead. MJF has beaten all of these favorites before, so why should Ospreay be any different? Ospreay is a flavor of the month while MJF is the flavor of the millennium. MJF is irreplaceable but Ospreay is a dime a dozen. If you get in the ring with MJF, you will be exposed. That’s cool with MJF though, because they can have a match next week for that International Title. Works for Ospreay. Ospreay’s talking was a bit rough but they got where they needed to go.

Video on Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page in the Men’s Owen Hart finals.

Men’s Owen Hart Foundation Finals: Bryan Danielson vs. Hangman Page

Jeff Jarrett is special outside enforcer. Feeling out process to start until Page takes him down and hammers away. Danielson fights up and knocks him outside for the suicide dive, only to bang up his own neck on the landing. Back in and Danielson hits a missile dropkick but charges into a boot in the corner. A hard shot to the neck lets Page send him into the buckle and out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Danielson busted open and Page stomping away while Nigel is rather pleased. Page chops away in the corner but Danielson pulls him into an armbar and then the LeBell Lock. A rope is reached in a hurry so Page put shim on top, only for Danielson to hit a release German superplex. Danielson’s swan dive misses and Page gets a crossface, sending Danielson over to the ropes.

We take another break and come back again with Page sending him into an exposed buckle. A tombstone gives Danielson two but he knocks Page outside for a springboard flip dive, with commentary saying he hasn’t done that in years. Page is right back with another piledriver, this time on the floor. Danielson makes it back in before ten so Page ribs the tape off of Danielson’s neck.

Back up and Danielson hits a running knee for a needed breather but Page flips out of a German suplex. Danielson does the same and another running knee hits the referee. Page takes off his belt and whips Danielson, which draws Jarrett in, earning him a shove down. Jarrett takes off his shirt to reveal a referee shirt (fair, as they established he was an enforcer) and counts two off Page’s Deadeye. The Buckshot Lariat to the back of the neck drops Danielson but another one is countered. Instead Page grabs a crossface with the belt and Danielson is in trouble…until he reverses into a rollup for the pin a 25:49.

Rating: A-. This took some time to get going but eventually it reached that higher level. Danielson winning was a genuine surprise, if nothing else because it happens so infrequently. They were having Danielson go all the way to the brink before fighting back for the win. I’m more than a bit surprised that Page lost as he was looking like a killer, but I’ll take this over Page vs. Swerve again.

Post match Jarrett and Martha Hart present Danielson with the title and trophy. Swerve Strickland comes out for the staredown.

Post break Swerve is still in the ring to talk about being the best in the World and he’s ready to face Bryan Danielson at All In. He’s not happy that Danielson beat him before because he likes to hold grudges. That’s for later though, because he is officially joining Team AEW for Blood & Guts. He’s ready to beat Danielson like Ospreay couldn’t before moving on to talking about the Dynasty Era. There are three people named as the top of the company, with himself, Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada. The challenge is issued for Okada, but as for Danielson, it’s his Final Countdown.

Mariah May and Willow Nightingale are ready to win the Women’s Owen Hart tournament.

We get a new Acclaimed/Billy Gunn music video mocking the Young Bucks, including them raiding the Bucks’ locker room.

Samoa Joe vs. Chris Jericho

Street fight. Joe takes Jericho’s hat and punches him through it before hitting the enziguri in the corner. Jericho slugs away but gets sent outside, where Joe hits the big suicide elbow. Back up and Jericho gets in some chair shots to take over, meaning it’s time for a bag of horseshoes.

Jericho drops him onto said horseshoes and grabs the Walls as we take a break. Back with Joe hitting Jericho with a horseshoe to break the hold and they head out into the crowd. They go into the back where Joe gets the Koquina Clutch, only to have the Learning Tree break it up. Joe is whipped with a belt and put on a forklift, which Jericho drives through a wall. The match is stopped at 12:35.

Rating: C+. Well that was certainly something, though I’m not sure what. If nothing else, it’s the latest instance of Jericho getting to look strong, which comes after last week when he got to look like a killer over all three of Joe and company (important note: commentary did say Hook and Katsuyori Shibata weren’t here to explain the lack of a save). In theory this leads to Joe or Hook coming back for revenge, but dang I could go for a break from all of the Jericho stuff for a long time.

Post break Joe is taken away in an ambulance while the Learning Tree waves goodbye.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Pac vs. Kyle Fletcher vs. Tomohiro Ishii

The winner gets an International Title shot. It’s a brawl to start with Ishii and Castagnoli being left alone to slug it out. Ishii shoulders Castagnoli down but Pac is back in with a missile dropkick. Back up and Ishii fires off some suplexes until Castagnoli gutwrench suplexes him down. Castagnoli hits a big dive onto a pile of people as we take a break.

Back with all four pulling themselves back up, with Ishii having to fight off all three of them. Fletcher superkicks Castagnoli but gets dropped by Ishii. We get the parade of strikes to the face, including Swiss Death to Pac. Ishii and Fletcher strike it out until Fletcher hits a Tombstone for two. Castagnoli grabs the Giant Swing to Fletcher and grabs the Sharpshooter.

Pac adds a springboard elbow and puts on the Brutalizer to Fletcher, while the Sharpshooter is still on. Ishii breaks that up and hits a suplex, followed by a clothesline to Pac (who had already let go of the Brutalizer). A hard clothesline gets two on Fletcher and Castagnoli gives him the Neutralizer but Pac breaks it up. Pac German suplexes everyone and hits the Black Arrow into the Brutalizer to beat Fletcher at 11:21.

Rating: B. This was what you would expect in a modern four way, with hard hitting shots and people trying to steal pins. What matters is setting up what should be a heck of a match, with Pac being more than capable of hanging in there with anyone. Good stuff here, thankfully with Fletcher losing again, as he should.

Post match Pac says he doesn’t know what’s next for him but teases a title match at All In.

Hangman Page storms past Renee Paquette and goes to see the Young Bucks. Kazuchika Okada doesn’t want to let him in but the Bucks ask if there is anything they can do for Page. An angry Page says he’ll do it, with the Bucks approving.

Here is Mercedes Mone to celebrate her double title win. She heard Britt Baker talking about the past, present and future, which is appropriate because Mone is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Baker is crazy to think she can beat her so it’s time for a champagne toast, only for Baker to interrupt. Baker beats up security and Mone bails in a hurry. Well that was short.

Brandon Cutler has been attacked by….Darby Allin, who calls out Jack Perry for next week.

Women’s Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Finals: Mariah May vs. Willow Nightingale

May has Luther and Toni Storm with her while Nightingale is in Owen Hart inspired gear. Feeling out process to start with the grappling not going either way. May hits a hard running dropkick and then another one to the back gets two. Back up and Nightingale hits a swinging side slam into a running basement crossbody for two of her own. May is sent outside for a big cannonball off the apron as we take a break.

We come back with May hitting a running hip attack but Nightingale runs her over again. The Sharpshooter takes too long to set up and May kicks her away, setting up a hurricanrana for two. May’s running knee strike misses and Nightingale grabs a fisherman’s buster for two of her own. Back up and the Pounce is blocked with a hard headbutt to put both of them down.

Cue someone in an old Sting shirt for a distraction, allowing Storm to grab the referee. Cue Kris Statlander to kick Nightingale in the head (it’s Stokely Hathaway in the Sting shirt) and May hits a running knee to the head for two. May’s bridging rollup gets two more but Nightingale’s lariat gets the same. The Cannonball hits May but a Death Valley Driver is countered into a victory roll to give May the pin and the tournament at 12:35.

Rating: B. Good stuff here, even if there was only so much drama to be had in the result. May vs. Storm should be a heck of a showdown and I’m glad that they didn’t have the interference cost Nightingale the match. May feels like someone who could be the next big breakout star in the division and this could be a step in that direction.

Post match May and Storm skip up to the stage….where May blasts Storm in the face with the belt. May unloads on Luther with the belt as well and kicks the bleeding Storm in the ribs. Some HARD shoe shots to the head have Storm busted open even more before even Aubrey Edwards gets shoved down. May rubs her face on Storm’s bloody head as the fans are rather impressed to end the show. Awesome stuff here as May looked like a psycho.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a very wrestling heavy show and as usual, that’s where AEW tends to shine. The tournament finals were both very good and the four way was a nice bonus. Even the street fight, which was something we’ve seen done roughly a hundred times (save for the finish) worked well enough. Throw in a heck of an ending segment and some stuff being set up for the next few weeks, plus All In, and you had a rather awesome show.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Hangman Page – Rollup
Chris Jericho b. Samoa Joe via referee stoppage
Pac b. Kyle Fletcher, Tomohiro Ishii and Claudio Castagnoli – Brutalizer to Fletcher
Mariah May b. Willow Nightingale – Victory roll

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 3, 2024
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Forbidden Door and that means it is time to start getting ready for All In next month. It’s too early to know what is going to happen on the show, but they have at least teased MJF vs. Will Ospreay. That could be addressed this week, as Ospreay defends the International Title against Daniel Garcia. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

Daniel Garcia, described as someone becoming “the backbone of AEW”, is ready for the biggest match of his life. MJF comes in to praise him and offers to be in Garcia’s corner. Works for Garcia, as well as Matt Menard.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Pac vs. Bryan Danielson

Feeling out process to start and they go technical with an exchange of armdrags. Back up and Pac chops away in the corner, only for Danielson to moonsault over him. The running clothesline misses though and they trade crossbodies for a double knockdown. Back up and Pac kicks him to the floor for one heck of an Asai moonsault. The Brutalizer sends Danielson over to the ropes and we take a break.

Back with Danielson kicking away against the ropes and hitting the running knee off the apron. A superkick cuts Danielson off though and a springboard elbow drop gets two back inside. Pac tombstones him for two but Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock, sending Pac over to the ropes.

Back up and Danielson hits a running dropkick in the corner but Pac crotches him on top. The top rope superplex drops Danielson for two but the Black Arrow misses. Danielson is back with the running knee for a very delayed two, with Pac turning the cover into the Brutalizer. That’s reversed into the LeBell Lock, which is reversed into a rollup, which is reversed into a crucifix to pin Pac at 16:45.

Rating: B. I don’t think there is any surprise to this being good. These two beat the fire out of each other and it was a heck of an opener with Danielson managing to survive again. I’m not sure if he wins the whole thing, but at least he’s getting some wins rather than piling up loss after loss.

Willow Nightingale is sick of being mocked by Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway because they don’t understand what Smile Anyway is all about. She’s ready to fight to become the first ever two time Women’s Owen Hart Cup champion.

Here is Mark Briscoe for a chat. He isn’t scared of anything but he was so close to being the TNT Champion. Jack Perry must have had an extra bowl of Lucky Charms because he took the TNT Title at Forbidden Door. For now though it’s Shark Week and that makes him think of blood. As in Blood & Guts, so he’s on Team AEW. Cue Perry to jump Briscoe from behind, with Kazuchika Okada joining in the beating. Cue the Young Bucks, with the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to make the save. I still have no idea what being the Ring Of Honor World Champion adds to Briscoe.

Toni Storm cradles Mariah May, who is set to face Hikaru Shida on Rampage. Storm gives her a pep talk. May does Storm’s catchphrase.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander

The brawl starts on the stage, where Nightingale Pounces her all the way to ringside in an awesome spot. They get inside for the opening bell with Statlander knocking her into the corner as we take an early break. Back with the two of them heading to the apron to slug it out again. Statlander tries a German suplex off the apron and crashes down to the floor, allowing Nightingale to hit a big cannonball.

Back in and Statlander grabs a German suplex for two but Statlander runs her over again. Nightingale goes up top but gets pulled back down, setting up a trade of rollups for two. Statlander’s F5 gets two so she grabs a chain, which almost hits Hathaway by mistake. The accidental distraction lets Nightingale get the rollup pin at 8:10.

Rating: C+. This was ok but mostly didn’t feel like a showdown between two women who hated each other. Nightingale gets to move forward and there is a chance that Statlander costs her in the finals, which could set up the big blowoff match. For now though, it’s nice to see Nightingale win, though I can’t imagine that happens in the next round.

Jeff Jarrett has nothing to say about the Owen Hart Tournament match tonight. Jay Lethal says Jarrett has never been more focused.

Tony Schiavone brings out Britt Baker for a chat. She says she missed us but she was thinking about what she should say in her first time back. Instead of over thinking it, she’s going to talk about things we all have: a past, a present and a future. The past is our lesson, the present is a gift and the future is our motivation. For the last ten months, people have been saying she’s been injured but people who know her know that it takes more than injuries to keep her gone.

Then one day she started to feel sick and her arm was tingling. She looked in the mirror and said she was good, but she couldn’t open a body of water. Then her whole right side stopped functioning and was diagnosed with a mini stroke. So it turned out she wasn’t good so she had to stay home and get better. Now she’s back and healthy, but she was never more nervous than she was at Forbidden Door. She wasn’t sure if anyone was going to care that she was there or not but the fans welcomed her back with open arms and DMD chants. For that, she will always be in our corner because she is one of us.

That brings us to the future and the motivation, so always go through your hard times. With all of that out of the way, it’s time to talk about the new female face of AEW. She can’t imagine how hard it must be to have to work to get someone to chant three letters after your name. The only letters that matter are DMD, but here is Mercedes Mone on screen getting out of a car and running into the Young Bucks. They say get the props ready for a championship celebration, which come to the ring while Baker is still in the ring.

Mone comes out and Baker accuses her of one upping her, just like Baker did to Mone at Forbidden Door. Mone brags about her title win and Baker talks about her history at All In. The challenge is laid out but Mone says get to the back of the line because there is a price to pay. Baker felt so much more natural out there and came off much better here.

There was a lot to this one, but Baker sounded completely genuine (likely because she was telling the truth, or at least most of it) while Mone, as always, felt like she was remembering her script. Baker came off far, far better here and while I can’t imagine her beating Mone for the title so soon, she absolutely feels like a star and is on (or above) Mone’s level.

Don Callis interrupts Will Ospreay, who says he wants out of the Family because he’s not that guy anymore. Callis isn’t used to doing that but he’ll do the favor. Maybe Ospreay can repay it one day. That’s so foreshadowing it might as well be sixshadowing.

Here is Chris Jericho to talk about how Hook broke a rule by using someone else’s finisher. Jericho: “That doesn’t work for me brother.” What was worse was Taz, who stood up and cheered like a mark. He’s spoken to the Young Bucks and since he’ll be on commentary here, Taz is ejected from the building.

Cage Of Agony vs. Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata

Shibata knocks Liona into the corner to start so it’s off to Hook, who is kicked to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Hook throwing suplexes until Liona hits him in the face. Kaun gets two off a gutbuster but Hook fights back up and everything breaks down. Cage’s F5 is countered into a DDT and Joe comes back in to start cleaning house. Liona gets caught in the corner for the running shots to the face, setting up a double suplex. Joe’s backsplash gets two and triple chokes finish the villains at 9:45.

Rating: B-. Perfectly nice match here with Joe and company getting another win after their big one on Sunday. The Learning Tree feud continuing is certainly a choice though, as there is little reason to keep it going when Jericho got pinned clean at the pay pr view. For now though, Joe and company get some more momentum.

Post match Jericho applauds the winners but the Learning Tree runs in with chairs to lay them out. Shibata’s arm gets Pillmanized and Jericho gets in the worst belt shot I’ve ever seen. Bill gets in some rather lame chair shots to Joe and Hook is laid out with some brass knuckles. Hook is put through a table as well. Dang that was a heck of a beatdown and in no way shape or form means a feud that should have wrapped up gets to continue.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Jeff Jarrett vs. ???

It’s Hangman Page. Jarrett isn’t sure what to do and they go with the brawling until Page kicks him down. Page hammers away and kicks him in the ribs, followed by a fall away slam. They go outside with Jarrett’s head being rammed into the steps as we take a break. Back with Jarrett hitting a Stroke on the apron but the Figure Four is blocked.

The Sharpshooter is blocked as well, allowing Page to hit the Deadeye. Instead of covering, Page tries the Buckshot Lariat but gets reversed into a Sharpshooter for the tribute spot. Page makes the ropes and sends him throat first into the ropes. The Buckshot and another Deadeye finish Jarrett at 10:14.

Rating: B-. The point of this was to have Page wrecking the fans’ hopes for Jarrett, which isn’t bad, but it feels like it would have gone a lot better if this was deeper into the tournament. Once Jarrett was announced as facing a wild card, it was pretty clear that he was losing here, which mad the great vignettes feel like a waste of time. Page did look good, but dang it could have been better.

The Learning Tree jumps Hook and throws fire in his face. Geez did Hook show Tony Khan the Dynamite ratings or something?

The Young Bucks ask Hangman Page to be their fifth man in Blood & Guts but he says he isn’t the Elite’s man anymore. He’s in the Owen Hart Cup and he’s going to win. That’s a bit of a twist and a good one.

International Title: Will Ospreay vs. Daniel Garcia

Ospreay is defending and MJF is in Garcia’s corner. Ospreay knocks him down to start, with MJF giving Garcia a pep talk. Garcia gets taken down with a headlock takeover, followed by the Cheeky Nandos kick to the floor. The dive connects, but Ospreay stops to stare at MJF. We take a break and come back with Ospreay chopping away in the corner, which just fires Garcia up.

Some rolling neckbreakers drop Ospreay and a DDT does it again. Ospreay fights up and hits a Phenomenal Forearm for two and things slow down a bit. Garcia fights back up and hits some dancing hip attacks, followed by a piledriver for two. A Styles Clash gives Ospreay two but the Oscutter is countered into a piledriver for two more. MJF slips in the ring but Garcia won’t accept it….so the Hidden Blade retains the title at 13:26.

Rating: B-. And Garcia loses again. That’s kind of a pattern with him but it’s a better choice than putting him over Ospreay, which would have felt like a stretch no matter the circumstances. If nothing else, they still haven’t had the Don Callis Family turn on Ospreay so they’re not jumping the gun with what should seem like a logical move. For now though, Ospreay wins and Garcia goes back to being pushed despite not winning anything important.

Post match Ospreay consoles Garcia and shows respect before leaving. MJF says that was on him instead of Garcia….then he kicks Garcia low. The ring shot and a bunch of left hands bust Garcia open and a middle rope tombstone makes it worse. Ospreay FINALLY comes back (presumably after trying to find a hot pretzel) out to chase MJF off to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I’m really not sure what to make of this show. It was certainly eventful and I’ll take this kind of a show over “and here is this person from this other promotion and this person is cool because they won this title in this other country and just trust us about all of them”, but dang there wasn’t much to cheer for here.

MJF turning heel again feels like a retreat back to something safe while Page being back opens a few new doors. It was a bunch of stuff happening in two hours, but that’s kind of what you need with All In about six weeks away. Blood & Guts will likely get more attention going forward though, so this show was a bit more needed this week.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Pac – Crucifix
Willow Nightingale b. Kris Statlander – Rollup
Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata b. Cage Of Agony – Triple choke
Hangman Page b. Jeff Jarrett – Deadeye
Will Ospreay b. Daniel Garcia – Hidden Blade

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

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Forbidden Door 2024
Date: June 30, 2024
Location: UBS Arena, Elmont, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, Taz

It’s back to the pay per view schedule with one of the biggest shows AEW presents every year. This is built around the international guest stars, including several stars from New Japan and CMLL. The main event will see Swerve Strickland defending the World Title against Will Ospreay in a pretty big showdown. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kyle Fletcher vs. Serpentico

Bonus match (on a card that already has 14 matches). Fletcher runs him over to start and poses a bit before going after the mask. The comeback is cut off with another kick to the face, followed by a running kick to the back. The piledriver plants Serpentico but Fletcher would rather put him on the ropes. An El Generico brainbuster in the corner finishes for Fletcher at 3:12.

Rating: C-. Total squash as I guess Fletcher gets some heat back after losing the ROH TV Title in Mexico on Friday. The match was nothing to see as Serpentico gets wrecked again, but it also didn’t make me any more interested in Fletcher. He does well enough in the ring, but there is little about him that stands out in any significant way.

Zero Hour: Private Party vs. House Of Black vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabe Kidd/Roderick Strong

O’Reilly and Black go to the mat to start before trading shots to the ribs. Ishii comes back in to a nice reaction and gets to chop it out with King. Kidd tags himself in and Strong adds a running shot to the face. Quen tags himself in as the rapid fire tags continue, only to be sent outside. Kidd comes back in to chop away (and bark) at O’Reilly, who gets caught in the corner for an exchange of chops from Kidd and Strong.

The team argues over who gets to chop him so it’s off to Ishii for a double clothesline. The House kicks Ishii down before everything breaks down. Quen hits a Trouble In Paradise on Black, who is back with a jumping knee to the face. Kidd brainbusters Ishii but gets chopped by King. Private Party hit stereo running flip dives before Kassidy rolls King up, with tights, for two, only to get Ganso Bombed for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: B-. This was the wild match that you would have been expecting and that’s not a bad thing. There is something to be said about getting a bunch of people in the ring and letting them fly all over the place to go nuts, which is what we got here. Good choice to fire the fans up, as this kind of thing almost always tends to be. The House winning is the right choice too as they’re the bigger of the two regular AEW teams.

Zero Hour: Willow Nightingale/Tam Nakano vs. Momo Watanabe/Kris Statlander

Stokely Hathaway is here with Watanabe and Statlander. Nakano takes Statlander down to start and hits a quick dropkick before it’s off to Nightingale. That means Statlander runs off to Watanabe, who is quickly dropkicked down for two. Watanabe and Nakano slug it out until Nakano hits a heck of a superkick. A Hathaway distraction slows things down though and Statlander gets in a belly to back suplex.

Statlander’s delayed vertical suplex gets two and Watanabe hits a hard shot to the back of the head. Nakano finally manages a quick shot and brings Nightingale back in to beat up Statlander. That lasts for all of ten seconds before the threat of the Pounce means it’s back to Watanabe. A hard spinebuster gives Nightingale two but Statlander offers a distraction, allowing Watanabe to get in a kick to the head.

Nightingale is back up with a dropkick, only for Nakano to miss a high crossbody. Nakano’s German suplex gets two on Statlander and a tiger suplex plants her again. That leaves Nightingale to hit a super Death Valley Driver for two on Watanabe, followed by a heck of a Pounce. Nakano comes back in and grabs a bridging German suplex to pin Watanabe at 10:23.

Rating: B-. Another good one here, though a middle rope Death Valley Driver not being the finish is a bit ridiculous, especially when the finish came a minute later. Either way, this was more about teasing Statlander vs. Nightingale, which does feel like a personal feud and a big rivalry. Throw in the fans loving Nightingale and things are even bigger.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mariah May vs. Saraya

Toni Storm and Harley Cameron are here too. May sends her into the corner to start and hits some running uppercuts, setting up a rather spinning side slam for two. A Stratusphere plants Saraya again and a missile dropkick gets two more. The hip attack takes too long though and they fight up to the top. May gets sent crashing out to the floor, leaving Saraya to do some jumping jacks until she gets back in.

A double knockdown gives them a breather and they slug it out from their knees. May sends her into the corner for the running hip attack but Storm has to cut off Cameron. Saraya’s superkick into the Rampaige gets two but the Scorpion Crosslock is broken up. Instead Saraya rams her face first into the mat over and over but a suplex is countered into a bridging rollup to give May the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C+. That was the only way this should have gone as May winning the whole tournament to set up a title match against Storm at All In is not the worst idea. At the same time, May gets a nice boost here and beats another former champion in Saraya. Good enough match here, though I’m not sure why it needed to be on this show.

Zero Hour: Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Mistico/Lucha Bros

Fenix and Titan start things off with Fenix knocking him down and springboarding around, setting up a double flip into a standoff. The fans greatly approve as it’s off to Penta vs. Tsuji, with the latter blocking Cero Miedo. Penta isn’t having that and sends him into the corner for the running dropkick, only to be stomped face first onto the mat. Back up and they chop it out before trading shots to the face.

The Fear Factor is broken up so Penta kicks him to the floor instead. It’s off to Mistico to face Takahashi and the fans greatly approve again. An early mask tear attempt is blocked so Mistico sends him outside instead. Tsuji and Titan come in to stomp away but Mistico breaks that up and hits a dive onto Takahashi. Back in and the Bros strike away, setting up Mistico’s Swanton for two on Takahashi. Titan and Tsuji send the Bros outside for dives, followed by a running sunset bomb from Takahashi to send Mistico onto the floor.

Back in and Mistico fights off all three of them at once, allowing the tag back to Penta. Everything breaks down and Fenix’s assisted splash off of Penta’s shoulders gets two on Titan. We hit the parade of big knockdowns until Titan tornado DDT’s Fenix into a superkick for the six way knockdown. Mistico hits the big dive to the floor and the spike Fear Factor hits Takahashi, who rolls out to the floor. Back in and La Mistica finishes Titan at 12:05.

Rating: B. I’m not sure why this wasn’t on the main show, or maybe just make this the only Kickoff Show match. It had the action, but having Mistico, a CMLL star, and the Lucha Bros, best known as AAA guys, on the same show is a big deal that you do not see very often. Almost like it would be….forbidden.

The opening video looks at the major matches and how big this night really is.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hechicero

MJF is of course the big hometown boy and gets a hero’s welcome, even doing a bit of crowd surfing. Hechicero takes him to the mat to start for a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Back up and MJF shakes his hand, which allows for a kick to the ribs and a “yeah of course I did” shrug.

MJF flips (yes flips) away into a double eye poke ala Roddy Piper. They head outside with MJF setting him in a chair and hitting a running boot to the face. Back in and Hechicero snaps the arm across the top rope to take over and we hit the armbar. MJF fights up but the Heatseeker is blocked, allowing Hechicero to plant him down for two. A running knee in the corner connects for Hechicero and the fans are NOT happy.

MJF manages a quick clothesline before spinning around into a piledriver for a needed breather. Hechicero is right back up with a springboard spinning dropkick before grabbing the cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well so MJF tries the Salt Of The Earth, which is reversed into a double arm crank with Hechicero’s legs. The ropes are reached for the break so MJF hammers away in the corner and even bites the mask. A Canadian Destroyer into the brainbuster gives MJF the pin at 9:48.

Rating: B-. The match could have been worse, but it still feels like quite the waste of MJF in a spot where he could have been doing something more important. At the same time, it made Hechicero look great all over again, as he has more than enough talent to be a star anywhere. That kind of thing will always work, though I’m not sure if it was the best idea in this spot.

We get a rather praise-heavy Young Bucks video (with Kenny Omega’s face blurred in a nice touch) which mocks the Acclaimed and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Elite vs. Acclaimed/Hiroshi Tanahashi

Caster’s rap mocks President Biden at the debate and Okada’s use of the word b****. Okada and Caster start things off but Okada decks Tanahashi off the apron, meaning it’s time for a historic standoff. Instead of doing anything though, it’s off to Matt, who gets taken down with a middle rope crossbody into some air guitar. Bowens comes in to take Matt into the corner, where some running elbows put him in even more trouble. Nick is brought in and it’s a double Scissor Me Timbers for a nasty crash.

Back up and Okada gets in a cheap shot to take over on Caster, with Matt putting on the headphones so Okada can dance. Caster gets caught in a camel clutch so Nick can run the ropes and then kiss his brother on the cheek. The slow beating continues in the corner as we get a few CM PUNK chants. That turns into a HE GOT FIRED chant as Caster knocks Matt off the top and hits a high crossbody.

Okada comes in and gets dropped as well, allowing the tag off to Bowens for the house cleaning. Okada gets dropped with a right hand and a spinning torture rack slam gets two on Matt. Bowens is taken down as well though and it’s a double tag to bring in Okada and Tanahashi. The dragon screw legwhip sets up the Texas Cloverleaf on Okada but the Bucks make the save.

Everything breaks down and the Rainmaker is countered into the Arrival into the Mic Drop. The High Fly Flow is broken up though and the rather delayed version hits raised knees. A superkick puts Tanahashi down again and the Bucks hit stereo slingshot dives to take the Acclaimed down on the floor. Okada hits his top rope elbow but the Rainmaker is countered into a small package for two. Back up and the Rainmaker finishes Tanahashi at 13:02.

Rating: C+. Tanahashi was trying here but those knees are just not holding him up any longer. Other than that, it was about what you would expect with the Bucks and the Acclaimed, which was only going to go so far. We still have the title match to come between the teams and that probably should have been here, but instead we get this feud extended even further.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi

McGuinness is already on Danielson, as you knew he would be. Danielson goes after the arm to start before tying up Takagi’s leg. That’s broken up in the ropes so Danielson takes him down again and grabs a surfboard. As usual, that doesn’t last long and it’s Takagi dropping him down hard. A backsplash gives Takagi two as McGuinness compares Danielson to Mozart and Napoleon, both of whom were FAR more successful.

Danielson gets knocked out of the corner but manages to send Takagi outside. The suicide dive doesn’t quite work though and Takagi catches him with a hanging fisherman’s neckbreaker,. Danielson lands on his head, because Danielson, and we pause for the medics to check on him. Thankfully he gets back up and beats the count back in, where Takagi drops a knee to the back of the head. Danielson fights up and they trade shots to the face until Takagi hits a clothesline.

Another kick to the head gives Danielson a breather and he goes up top. Takagi is right there with him, so Danielson grabs a belly to back superplex for the big double knockdown. Danielson’s triangle choke is muscled up into a powerslam and they’re both down again. Back up and Takagi superplexes him into a heck of a sliding lariat for two.

Made In Japan is broken up but Danielson misses a charge into the corner. Now Made In Japan can connect for two more, with McGuinness being left speechless. Danielson can barely get up so Takagi hits a running shot to the side of the head. Another sliding lariat is loaded up but Danielson reverses into a Fujiwara armbar.

That’s switched into the LeBell Lock but Takagi slips out. A reverse fisherman’s suplex puts Takagi down and the running knee gives Danielson two. Danielson stomps away at the head and grabs a triangle choke but Takagi powers up. That doesn’t work though as Danielson pulls him into a Disarm-Her for the referee stoppage at 19:58.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it’s another awesome Danielson match. At some point he needs to win a few of these things and this was a goo example of how to make it work. Rather awesome match here and Danielson gets to move on towards what could be a rather deep run in the whole thing.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Mina Shirakawa. The bigger story though is the battle over Mariah May, as both of them want her too.

Women’s Title: Mina Shirakawa vs. Toni Storm

Storm is defending and Mariah May is in a neutral corner. As you might expect, Storm is dressed as the Statue Of Liberty. May refuses to pick before the match so they circle each other instead. Shirakawa stops to dance and gets a hip attack to the face for her efforts. That just earns her more dancing before Shirakawa drops Storm knees first onto the mat. The Figure Four around the post goes on and McGuinness thinks May needs a hug. Back in and a dropkick to the leg keeps Storm in trouble but she’s back with a fisherman’s suplex for two.

There’s the running hip attack to put Shirakawa on the floor but another one only hits the steps. Shirakawa uses the breather to hit a big dive, only to have Storm catch her with a super chokebomb back inside. Storm misses a charge though and Shirakawa grabs the Figure Four to stay on the bad leg. They sit up and slap it out until Storm manages to escape.

Back up and they slug it out with Shirakawa getting the better of things and going up top. Storm is right there for another forearm off until Shirakawa hits a super DDT for two more. Shirakawa’s Glamorous Driver is broken up and Storm snaps off a release German suplex. Another hip attack gives Storm another two but Shirakawa is right back with the Glamorous Driver for her own near fall. Storm gets in a quick rollup for two, followed by Storm Zero to retain at 11:38.

Rating: B. Storm continues to feel it in these big pay per view matches, but May was more or less just window dressing. That’s normally a good thing, but she’s the entire point of the story in the first place. The match was good, though it was hard to believe that Shirakawa was going to be the one to end Storm’s reign.

Post match Storm and May look at each other and Shirakawa wants a handshake. Respect is shown and we get the big hug and we get the three way kiss. So May’s choice of a side was to not pick a side. Got it.

We recap Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy.  Sabre isn’t over Cassidy pinning him last year and Cassidy is having a rough time but is ready to fight again.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

They go technical to start with Cassidy not being able to get very far with some arm cranking. Instead Cassidy bails out to the floor for a breather before rolling back inside, with Sabre holding the ropes open. Back in and they fight over a cross arm choke until Cassidy ties him up on the mat.

That’s broken up as well so they trade rollups for two each. Sabre ties him up in a headscissors but Cassidy makes it over to the ropes rather quickly. Sabre does his own slow kicks but Cassidy takes out the knee to put him down for a change. Cassidy twists on the leg outside and again inside, setting up a top rope DDT for a rather near fall.

Sabre is right back with a kick to the arm and some finger snapping to put Cassidy down. The double arm crank goes on but Cassidy escapes and goes back to the leg. The Texas Cloverleaf is broken up so Cassidy hits the Beach Break for two instead. Back up and the Orange Punch is blocked so Sabre pulls him back into the European Clutch for two. Cassidy tries the Mouse Trap but Sabre reverses into a….well he tied up all four of Cassidy’s limbs at the same time with Cassidy having to give up at 16:20.

Rating: B. I’m still not sure I get why Cassidy was so upset coming into this one but he was holding his own out there well enough, only to get tied up by Sabre. It was a good back and forth match, with Sabre being able to do things in there that no one else can make work. Cassidy needs something new though, and I’m not sure what that is going to be coming off this loss.

Post match Sabre actually gives him the sunglasses back.

We recap the Learning Tree vs. Samoa Joe and company. Joe and company are sick of Chris Jericho and want a fight, with Jericho bringing in Jeff Cobb to replace the injured Bryan Keith.

Learning Tree/Jeff Cobb vs. Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata

Jericho is sure the fans don’t really want him to retire as he starts with Shibata. Before that goes anywhere though, it’s already off to Bill to face Shibata instead (third time tonight we’ve seen the “heel tags out instead of fighting” sequence). Chopping ensues with neither being able to get the better of things so it’s off to Cobb vs. Joe for the hoss showdown.

Cobb takes over by powering Joe into the corner and Jericho comes in to rake the eyes. Cobb comes back in and Joe gets the better of things for a change, allowing the tag off to Hook. Jericho chokes him on the ropes to cut him off and Cobb adds a standing moonsault. Hook manages to fight back and brings Shibata back in, with the good guys taking over on Cobb in the corner.

Jericho comes back in to take over on Shibata as everything breaks down. Shibata gets posted and Hook goes up top for an ax handle to Bill. The referee gets distracted though and Jericho hits Shibata low, setting up the Walls. That’s broken up so Cobb comes back in for the Tour of the Islands, only to have Hook t-bone him. The Codebreaker gives Jericho two on Hook but Hook comes back up with his own Judas Effect for the pin at 13:38.

Rating: C+. Hook gets a nice rub off the ending but this was the least interesting match n the card and the match didn’t make things much better. While the ending would suggest something of a downgrade for Jericho and the Learning Tree, that doesn’t seem to be the most likely outcome. Perfectly fine match, but it could have been on any AEW TV show instead.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. El Phantasmo vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Lio Rush vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Ladder match for the vacant title. Takeshita drops Perry to start and everyone else goes after ladders. With that not working, the fight heads outside instead with Briscoe grabbing various toys. Perry goes up a ladder but Rush makes the fast save. A ladder is thrown outside and almost hits Briscoe, leaving Rush to go up the ladder for a change. Phantasmo goes up but Martin makes the save and climbs as well.

That’s broken up but Martin dives onto Phantasm on the way down. Back up and Takeshita brainbusters Martin onto the side of the ladder, only for Briscoe to come in with the ladder around the neck. Briscoe grabs a chair and hits a step up flip dive onto a ladder onto Takeshita on the floor for the big crash. Perry goes up but Phantasmo walks across a bridged ladder to cut him off on top.

Martin gets taken down and bangs up his leg, leaving Perry to set up a table. Briscoe and Takeshita brawl on the floor until Rush dives onto the latter. That leaves Briscoe to go up a ladder for a splash but he lands on his feet, instead hitting a forearm on Perry on the table, which doesn’t break (similar to how Adam Copeland broke his leg).

Back in and Takeshita powerbombs Rush onto a ladder before pulling Phantasmo into a knee to the face. One heck of a Blue Thunder Bomb puts Phantasmo through the tables but Briscoe cuts off the climb attempt. Briscoe plants Takeshita onto the ladder and goes up, only to have Perry breaks up Briscoe’s climb. Perry beats on Briscoe with the chair and then wins the title at 16:48.

Rating: B-. That was a ladder match alright. Looked like it had about six people, some ladders, a chair and some tables too. There really isn’t much else to say about this, as it featured pretty much exactly what you would expect and had the most likely winner getting the title in the end. That’s pretty much exactly what was expected the second the match was announced and while it was ok enough, it was hardly thrilling.

We recap Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer, which is winner take all for the TBS Title and the New Japan Strong Women’s Title respectfully.

TBS Title/NJPW Strong Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Title for title. We get the referee’s instructions and Vaquer headbutts her to start. They trade rollups for two each until Vaquer grabs a wristlock and hits a very springboardy wristdrag. Mone gets in a quick breather and hits a Meteora for two. Vaquer is right back up with a shot of her own but Mone grabs Two Amigos, with Vaquer countering the third. Vaquer starts in on the leg and ties her legs around Mone’s head for some rams into the mat to wake the crowd up.

Mone fights up again and knocks her into the corner for the running knees and a springboard DDT gets two. The Mone Maker is countered into a DDT from Vaquer and she drops a leg for two more. Another shot from Mone leaves them both down so it’s a double nip up for the forearm exchange. Vaquer grabs a crossface but Mone reverses into a Bank Statement. That’s broken up as well, with the fans mostly cheering for Vaquer now.

Some knees to the ribs put Mone down but Vaquer can’t follow up. The fans give us a F*** THE CELTICS (as in Mone’s hometown team) chant as Mone goes up, only to dive into raised boots. Vaquer dragon screws her into the corner as the fans move on to the Red Sox. Mone’s crossface is countered, as is the Mone Maker, only to Mone pull her into the crossface for the tap at 16:47.

Rating: B-. This is where the Forbidden Door concept stops working for me. The action was fine enough, but it was really hard to get interested in a match between Mone, who has only wrestled here a handful of times, and Vaquer, who has had one short match in the promotion. It didn’t feel like a feud or a rivalry, but rather two people who don’t have a history around here having a match. It was good, but I had no attachment to either of them and it kept me from getting into this one.

Post match Mone celebrates….and Britt Baker returns to a hero’s welcome.

We recap Jon Moxley defending the IWGP World Title against Tetsuya Naito. Moxley took the title from him a few months ago and it’s time for the rematch.

Jim Ross is back for the last two matches.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Tetsuya Naito vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending. They slug it out to start with Moxley going after the knee to take Naito into the corner. Some corner clotheslines have Naito in more trouble and they head outside with Moxley dropping him onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Naito spits in his face so Moxley slaps him down for two. A piledriver gives Moxley two more and he puts Naito on top for a rake to the back.

Naito slips between the legs though and shoves Moxley down to the floor for the big crash. They go outside with Naito grabbing a piece of the barricade to beat on Moxley, sending JR into a hilarious frenzy about that not being tranquilo. Back in and Naito has to fight out of a Figure Four, turning it into a small package for two. Moxley’s Death Rider attempt is countered into a springboard tornado DDT for two more and they’re both down.

Moxley gets up and tries a sleeper, only to be reversed into Destino for…no cover, as Naito tries it again but gets reversed into a Death Rider. They slug it out again until Moxley hits a heck of a lariat into the Death Rider for two. With nothing else working, Moxley grabs a chair, which is quickly taken away by the referee. Destino and the Death Rider are both blocked, only for Destino to to give Naito the pin and the title back at 16:41.

Rating: B-. Much like the previous match, this was a feud that has been taking place elsewhere and the match was only taking place here because it had to. Naito getting the title match is a good thing, if nothing else to get it away from AEW, which doesn’t need another title floating around. The match was good and it feels like a big deal when Moxley loses in AEW, but it wasn’t overly interesting.

We recap the AEW World Title with Swerve Strickland defending against Will Ospreay. Strickland is the reigning champion but Ospreay is the hot new star so it might be time for a changing of the guard.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is challenging and his International Title isn’t on the line. They fight over a lockup to start before both of them flip out of hurricanrana attempts. Missed kicks to the head leave us with a standoff and the fans are WAY into this. Swerve kicks away but Ospreay chops him into the corner to cut that off. They head outside with Ospreay striking away, only to get caught with the middle rope elbow to the back of the head back inside. Swerve slows things down and chops away as Prince Nana is a bit worried.

They go outside again and Swerve loads up something on the barricade, only to be hurricanranaed back down. Back in and Swerve manages a short armscissors but Ospreay slips out. Swerve hammers away but Ospreay gets up and they forearm it out. The Hidden Blade and House Call both miss, with Ospreay grabbing a Styles Clash for two. The Oscutter is countered into the Swerve Stomp as we cut to Daniel Garcia watching in a sky box.

They go up top again with Strickland grabbing something like a super Angle Slam for the big crash and a near fall. Swerve takes it to the apron, where the Oscutter misses, sending Ospreay crashing onto the apron. The Swerve Stomp is loaded up but Ospreay rolls away before it can launch, leaving Swerve to hit the Stomp onto a standing Ospreay against (not through) the announcers’ table.

A piledriver onto the barricade (geez) rocks Ospreay again and the JML Driver gets two back inside. Another Swerve Stomp takes too long and Swerve gets crotched, setting up a springboard Oscutter for a very near fall. The Hidden Blade is blocked and the Oscutter is as well, leaving Swerve to go after the arm. That’s broken up and now the Oscutter connects, setting up the Storm Breaker for two. Ospreay scores with a headbutt but the Tiger Driver 91 is countered into a cradle to give Swerve two of his own.

The Hidden Blade connects for Swerve but he misses a Swerve Stomp. The referee gets hit by another Hidden Blade, followed by another to Swerve….and Don Callis is here. Nana won’t let Callis use a screwdriver so Ospreay goes after him, only to let him go. Back in and the House Call into the Swerve Stomp gets two more with a second referee. Swerve snaps the arm and another House Call (that looked great) gets a VERY near fall. Another House Call sets up a JML Driver to retain the title at 27:04.

Rating: A-. This was pretty easily the best match on the show and I might even be underrating a bit. They beat the living daylights out of each other but took their time to get there, with Swerve getting to show just how awesome he can be. Swerve needed a big win like this and even Callis being around didn’t bring it down. Awesome stuff here and a heck of a main event.

Medics check on Ospreay and Swerve shows respect to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The main event pulled it up a lot and there is nothing really bad on the show, but this is absolutely not my show and it never has been. The amount of matches and the parade of guest stars isn’t something that draws me in, as it feels more like Tony Khan getting to run loose in a candy store and do a show he finds fun rather than something for everyone else. As usual, the wrestling is more than good enough to hold up, but you could pretty easily chop off almost all of the pre-show and not lose anything.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Serpentico – Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
House Of Black b. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly, Gabe Kidd/Roderick Strong and Private Party – Ganso Bomb to Kassidy
Willow Nightingale/Tam Nakano b. Momo Watanabe/Kris Statlander – Bridging German suplex to Watanabe
Mariah May b. Saraya – Bridging German suplex
Lucha Bros/Mistico b. Los Ingobernables de Japon – La Mistica to Titan
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Hechicero – Brainbuster
Elite b. Acclaimed/Hiroshi Tanahashi – Rainmaker to Tanahashi
Bryan Danielson b. Shingo Takagi via referee stoppage
Toni Storm b. Mina Shirakawa – Storm Zero
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Orange Cassidy – Arm and leg crank
Hook/Samoa Joe/Katsuyori Shibata b. Learning Tree/Jeff Cobb – Judas Effect to Jericho
Jack Perry won the TNT Title Ladder Match
Mercedes Mone b. Stephanie Vaquer – Bank Statement
Tetsuya Naito b. Jon Moxley – Destino
Swerve Strickland b. Will Ospreay – JML Driver

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

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It’s that time again as we have the show built around the idea of gust stars from a variety of other promotions. You get to wrestlers from around the world coming in to compete against the stars of AEW, which can make for some rather interesting situations. The buildup to the show is not often the strongest but you can see one heck of a night of action. That should be the case again so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale/Tam Nakano

This, along with the other two Zero Hour matches, were not important enough to be announced on Dynamite but rather a few hours later on Twitter. I’m not sure I get the thinking, but it isn’t exactly making me interested in what we’ll be seeing here. In this case, Statlander vs. Nightingale is the big draw, as they are already set to face off in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament.

I’ll go with Statlander and Watanabe winning here to give a bit of doubt about Nightingale being able to make it to the finals of the tournament. That should make for a good match here, but Watanabe and Nakano are people who have not been around AEW very much over the years. That doesn’t exactly make for a big time match, but that is kind of the point in having the match on the Zero Hour show.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mariah May vs. Saraya

It’s a little weird to have May on the show when she already has a major role in another, bigger match on the card. For now though, we could be in for a nice match as either of them going forward could be an interesting way to go. Both of them could make for an a solid choice for the next round, though there is some logic that comes into play here which should determine the winner.

At the end of the day, May being involved in the Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa match is a lot more important and there is pretty much no reason for her to go into that spot as a loser. May going over here makes a lot more sense and while there is something to the idea of Saraya going on towards a title shot in London, it isn’t the best option that they have available here.

Zero Hour: Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Mistico/Lucha Bros

The big draw here is that Mistico and the Bros have never teamed together before. That isn’t the biggest draw in the world but it is certainly a cool enough moment and better than nothing. In other words, this feels like an excuse to get Mistico onto the show and that is not a bad idea. The match itself is only so important here, but that is often the case on Zero Hour.

There is pretty much no reason for Mistico and the Bros to lose here as Mistico can do his stuff and pop the crowd. There are some talented people in Los Ingobernables but it feels like they are here for the sake of making Mistico look that much bigger. It’s not a bad idea either, so hopefully they at least have an entertaining match on the way to the main show proper.

Zero Hour: House Of Black vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabriel Kidd/Roderick Strong vs. Private Party

Yes there is a fourth match on this show, which was added during this week’s Collision. This feels like little more than a way to get a bunch more people onto the card, which is often not the most thrilling way to go. In this case we do have some big names who probably should have been on the show, but that doesn’t exactly make for the most exciting match possible.

I’ll take the House Of Black here, as they’re the biggest of the two regular teams (at least in AEW) and it makes the most sense to give them the win. This is going to be the insane match with everyone going nuts all over the place and trying to get in as much as they can, which isn’t going to be easy given how many people are involved. Odds are it should be fun though and that’s what you want out of a match like this one.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

We’ll start the main card here as Sabre wants revenge on Cassidy for beating him at last year’s show in a four way match. The other idea is that Cassidy isn’t good enough to beat Sabre on his own and is going to need some kind of special trick to pull it off. I’m not sure what that is going to be, but then again that’s kinds of the point of watching the match in the first place.

As much as I want to take Sabre here, it feels like a situation where Cassidy is coming in as the huge underdog but manages to pull it off somehow anyway, as tends to be his custom. It might not be the most thrilling way to go but that has never really stopped AEW with Cassidy before. It’s always fun to see whatever Sabre can do to torment someone else so we should be in for a good one here with Cassidy winning.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hechicero

This is a bit early for a match involving someone as big as MJF but it isn’t like AEW has treated it like anything important. For the second year in a row, MJF’s Forbidden Door match feels like it was thrown on for the sake of giving him something to do and I do not get the thinking behind that move. It’s MJF’s first pay per view match since December and he’s more or less an after thought. That’s quite the odd way to go, but at least it’s an easy pick.

Save for some wacky interference, there is no reason for Hechicero to win here so we’ll take MJF in what should be an easy one. MJF will probably get in some trouble here but then wind up winning anyway, because there is pretty much no reason for Hechicero, who is probably not sticking around, to beat one of the biggest stars in the company. I’m still not sure I get the thinking here, but MJF wins.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi

The roller coaster that is the last full time year of Danielson’s career continues and that means we have another match against a hard hitter. That is kind of his trademark at this point and in this case he actually has a better chance to pull it off. It’s quite the way to go for a first round match in a #1 contenders tournament, but Danielson has a tendency to go a bit nuts anyway.

While Danielson might not have the best win/loss record, there is no reason to believe he goes down here. Takagi is another guy who isn’t likely to be around for the long term, which would likely include another match in the tournament. That leaves Danielson to win a heck of a fight, which isn’t something you get to say very often in AEW but it makes all the sense in the world here.

Learning Tree/Jeff Cobb vs. Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata

Cobb is substituting for an injured Bryan Keith as Jericho’s latest weird character gets a pay per view match. The good thing about Jericho being in the match is that he can’t talk, which would be about as bad as it could get around here. Joe vs. Cobb is the hoss fight fans would want to see while the rest…well they’re all involved as well, no matter how odd it might be.

I’ll take the Learning Tree and Cobb to win here, as it seems like we’re going to be seeing Jericho do his thing for a long time to come, no matter how much of a mess it might be. That doesn’t go well if he loses his big match as part of the team, so odds are Cobb pins Shibata to get the win, giving Jericho something else to talk about. The match itself should be ok, but egads this has been a rough sit for a good while now.

Elite vs. Acclaimed/Hiroshi Tanahashi

Tanahashi is replacing Billy Gunn for the sake of it’s Forbidden Door and therefore Tanahashi has to be on the show. Much like the Learning Tree match, the good thing here is that if the Bucks are in the match, they can’t be talking (in theory at least) and that should make things a bit less annoying. This feels like a match that should be on Dynamite but here we are instead, though at least the addition of Tanahashi makes it feel more special.

It’s hard to imagine the Bucks losing a big match until Blood And Guts at the earliest so we’ll say the Elite wins here and keeps things going. Odds are we get a rematch of this later on with Gunn in there rather than Tanahashi, but for now at least we should be in for something good enough. The Elite go over though, as they’re a bigger deal than another makeshift team.

TNT Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Dante Martin vs. El Phantasmo vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Lio Rush vs. Jack Perry

Here we have a ladder match for the vacant title as Adam Copeland decided that jumping off a cage and landing on his feet was a good idea. The ladder match part makes it all the more eye roll inducing because it’s such a cliché at this point, but it also lets someone potentially steal the title without having to get a pinfall. That opens up some doors, but I think you know where this is going.

As much as I’d love to see someone like Martin, who could actually be made by something like this, get the title, this feels like it’s Perry all day. AEW is obsessed with getting this guy over one way or another and it feels like he’ll do it here as a way to become that much bigger of a deal. The match will be the usual car crash, meaning it’s only going to be so good, but it should be exciting.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Mina Shirakawa

This is both a title match and part of a love triangle, as both of them are trying to woo Mariah May. That has made for quite the unique story but it is something that has been set up well enough that I’m curious to see where it goes. The match quality itself might be up in the air as Shirakawa doesn’t have a long track record in AEW, but that is far from the most interesting part here.

I’ll go with Storm to win of course, as the title isn’t likely changing hands here, though the question becomes what happens with May. It would not surprise me at all to see her side with Storm before eventually winning the Owen Hart Tournament and getting a shot against Storm at Wembley. For now though, all is right in the world as May signs with Storm and moves forward, though it could be quite the path there.

AEW TBS Title/NJPW Women’s Strong Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Stephanie Vaquer(c)

We’re going title for title here and…I have almost no idea what to expect here as all I’ve seen from Vaquer is most of an eight minute match this week on Collision. Other than that it’s been all hype videos and promos from Mone, which isn’t the best way to go. What matters though is that we have what could be a huge match which could go either way, as the title vs. title stipulation shakes things up.

While there is a chance that Vaquer wins, I can’t imagine Mone loses anywhere near this close to her AEW debut. AEW knows that she is a star and isn’t about to have her lose a big match, or any match for that matter, here. They have also hyped up the idea that she needs to win the NJPW belt, even if that means we are going to be seeing another title running around AEW, because we haven’t had that in a bit.

IWGP World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

This is the other World Title match on the show, which is arguably a bigger match than the main event. Thankfully AEW has managed to avoid treating this as such a big deal, as that would be about as bad of a result as you could get for the AEW World Title. Moxley is already one of the biggest stars in AEW, but that brings up the question of whether or not he gets to retain the title here.

This one could go either way, but I’ll take Naito to win here, as I can’t imagine Moxley being the next big thing in AEW. Naito can get back the title that Moxley took fro him and we could be in for a rather good match on the way there. It also gives the other promotions their big win on the show, which very well could otherwise be dominated by AEW. This one could go either way of course, but I’ll take Naito to get the title back.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Will Ospreay

Here we have the biggest match on the card and thankfully the best built up story. It’s an idea that has been done before, as you have Ospreay as the new ace of the company and Strickland being the “not so fast” champion. Ospreay has pretty much been able to do no wrong so far in AEW and Strickland can work well with anyone. That opens up the door for something great, but there is one thing in the way.

That thing is the Don Callis Family and unfortunately I’m expecting them to be what costs Ospreay the match here. Ospreay getting the World Title at some point seems to be an inevitability, but I would hope that Strickland gets at least one successful defense in the main event spot. Strickland has done incredibly well in this role and this could be another great one, though odds are the Family gets involved to cost Ospreay. It’s predictable, but that’s about all I can expect to happen.

Overall Thoughts

As you can probably tell from here, this is going to be a very long show. Fourteen matches and a show that could go around six hours makes for one heck of a marathon and I’m worried about things getting bogged down by sheer volume. There is a great show in there somewhere but AEW has a tendency to put in way too much on any pay per view. Hopefully they can find a way around it, but they’ve got a big challenge in front of them.

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

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AND

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

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

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

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

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

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

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

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

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

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer.

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

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

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

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kyle O’Reilly

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

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

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

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

Swerve Strickland/Will Ospreay vs. Gates Of Agony

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: June 19, 2024
Location: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are about a week and a half away from Forbidden Door and there is a good chance that we will see some more matches added this week. Other than that, we have a pay per view quality match with Rush facing MJF to open the show. That could open the door for both of them to do something else at the pay per view so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Rush

This is commercial free. Rush slugs away to start and drops down, only to have MJF strut over him. MJF loads up a chop, teases it for a long time, and then pokes him in the eye instead. The referee checks on Rush in the corner, which is enough of a distraction for Rush to headbutt him down. Back up and Rush hits him in the face and then unloads with forearms in the corner, allowing the Tranquilo pose. As you might expect, MJF charges at him and hammers away but Rush knocks him down again.

The Bull’s Horns misses though and MJF gets two off a small package. A lifting DDT (ala Saraya’s Rampaige) gives MJF two and a piledriver gets the same, allowing a quick breather. MJF’s charge is suplexed into the corner and a cross arm piledriver gives Rush two. They go outside for some hard rams into the barricade and MJF is in big trouble.

Rush throws a chair inside, and the distraction allows him to get in some whipping with an electric cable. A missed charge sends Rush into the barricade but he’s fine enough to suplex a charging MJF off the apron. Back in and the Bull’s Horns is cut off with a hard clothesline and MJF grabs a spinebuster. The Heatseeker into a brainbuster finishes for MJF at 14:19.

Rating: B. It was a hard hitting match though thankfully not as dominant as most of Rush’s matches. MJF had to get in his shots where he could and that worked out well, which is about all you can ask for in something like this. MJF should be on his way to something big at Forbidden Door, as he’s going to need something important after his comeback win here.

Post match, the Cage of Agony pops up to announce MJF vs. Hechicero at Forbidden Door. The match is apparently not official so MJF….has nothing to say.

Mark Briscoe and friends are ready for revenge and redemption….but Jack Perry walks by to annoy them. For tonight though, it’s an all-star tag match. Then Orange Cassidy gives Renee Paquette a bracelet.

Here are Will Ospreay and Swerve Strickland for a face to face chat. Ospreay brags about his success and calls himself the best in the world, but Swerve says that’s him. They’ve taken different career paths but here they are, coming to Forbidden Door at the same time. Swerve asks if Don Callis is going to be helping Ospreay try (yes try) to win the World Title. Ospreay says he can do this by himself and lists off his wins. Ospreay: “Bruv, while you had a hit row, I had a hit list.”

What if that kill shot from Swerve is just a bit off? It doesn’t matter what Ospreay does to Swerve, because Swerve is going to wake up without that World Title. Swerve says Ospreay can thank him for his firs pay per view main event but what if Swerve breaks Ospreay’s leg? If Ospreay can’t wrestle, who is he? Swerve doesn’t think Ospreay is ready to sacrifice the love of his wife or his son, with the mention of the latter making Ospreay much more serious.

Prince Nana has to break it up, but Swerve asks what if he does make it personal. Send his regards to Ospreay’s wife and son, which has the two of them going face to face but it doesn’t get physical. This was a heck of a segment, with both of them bringing the intensity and Swerve selling the stakes of the match, both with and without the title.

Don Callis tells the Family that it’s all going to be fine.

Mark Briscoe/Kyle O’Reilly/Orange Cassidy/Dante Martin vs. Kyle Fletcher/Roderick Strong/Zack Sabre Jr./Konosuke Takeshita

It’s a brawl to start with Cassidy and Sabre being left in the ring. That’s broken up so Fletcher sends Briscoe outside for a suicide dive. O’Reilly grabs a kneebar on Strong in the ropes, with Sabre putting Cassidy in an octopus next to them. Briscoe nails the step up flip dive onto Fletcher, with Martin adding a springboard flip dive as we take a break.

Back with a tag match breaking out and Sabre flipping Cassidy into a sunset flip for two. Takeshita comes in and drops Cassidy but he gets over to O’Reilly rather easily. Strong drops O’Reilly, who gets back up and slugs his way to freedom. Martin comes in but gets caught with a heck of a powerbomb, with Briscoe making the save.

We take another break and come back with Briscoe coming back in to clean house. Takeshita gets put down and it’s the Froggy Bow into a frog splash into Cassidy’s falling top rope elbow for two with Sabre making the save. Red Neck Kung Fu takes Sabre down but we hit the parade of knockdowns. Martin hits a pair of dives and Briscoe adds the apron Blockbuster to Takeshita. Sabre’s European Clutch gets two on Cassidy but O’Reilly shoves him out of the way to take Strong’s running knee. The Orange Punch finishes Strong at 16:44.

Rating: B+. This is one of the places where AEW tends to shine as it was a bunch of insanity with everyone going nuts and getting in their stuff. The Cassidy vs. Sabre stuff helps build towards their Forbidden Door match while last week had already seemingly set up Briscoe vs. Fletcher. That should be enough but maybe we get another match or two out of here in some combination.

Post match Jack Perry comes in to deck Martin, leaving Cassidy and Sabre to stare each other down.

Mercedes Mone is ready for Stephanie Vaquer.

Don Callis comes in to see Rush.

Young Bucks vs. Acclaimed

Non-title, Billy Gunn isn’t here and Caster’s rap is cut off again, with Kazuchika Okada being shown turning off the microphone. It’s a brawl before the bell, with Matt being caught in a neckbreaker/backbreaker combination. Scissor Me Timbers hits Nick so it’s off to Matt, who walks into a hiptoss. The Bucks take over on Caster though and we take an early break.

Back with Bowens hitting the jumping Fameasser on Matt but his bad leg gives out again. A superkick gives Matt two and the Swanton in the ropes gets the same. Caster is knocked outside but Bowens blocks the EVP Trigger. Stereo superkicks get two with Caster making the save. The EVP Trigger connects but Caster breaks it up again. A powerbomb/Sliced Bread combination gets two on Bowens and the Bucks are stunned. Nick brings in the belt but hits Matt by mistake, setting up the Arrival into the Mic Drop for the pin at 10:17.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to see the Bucks giving a team a win, even if there is a grand total of zero chance the Acclaimed win the titles whenever they get their shot. Bowens kicking out of the powerbomb combination was good, but this felt more like the Acclaimed won when the Bucks screwed up rather than beating them. That doesn’t exactly make me want to see a rematch, but the Bucks are the stars so they’re going to be the focus no matter what anyway.

Samoa Joe and Hook talk about….calzones, before storming the Premiere Athletes’ locker room. They find a note with a challenge for a six man, with Katsuyori Shibata, holding the camera, being in as well.

Here is Mariah May to emcee the contract signing between Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa. After extensive cheek kissing, May says she loves them both but Shirakawa tells her to shut up. Shirakawa says Storm was a big deal in Stardom but she is weak as champion. The fans want Shirakawa, so she’s taking the title and May at Forbidden Door. Shirakawa signs but Storm threatens to slap her chest off if she talks to May again.

Storm signs but Shirakawa says May must choose. Cue the Outcasts to say enough of this, with Anna Jay sneaking in from behind. The beatdown is on but Storm takes her shoe off to clean house. Storm’s hip attack misses though and she goes through the table. I’m not sure I get the backstory, but I get enough of the story of Storm vs. Shirakawa and that’s more than I get for most of the Forbidden Door card.

Video on Claudio Castagnoli vs. Pac.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Kris Statlander vs. Nyla Rose

Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander, who slugs away to no avail to start. Rose is back up with a crossbody but Statlander sends her outside as we take a break. Back with Rose powering her into the corner and hitting a running clothesline, setting up the Cannonball. The Beast Bomb is countered and Statlander kicks her in the head for two. The 450 misses for Statlander but she crotches Rose up top. Wednesday Night Fever finishes for Statlander at 7:52.

Rating: C+. This was a good enough power match, assuming you could get much out of a match that runs about eight minutes and has a break in the middle. We very well could be heading for a Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale showdown, which has been set up for a few weeks now. It also shows how much it helps when you have a monster like Rose, as beating her makes Statlander look that much more important.

Post match Stokely calls out Willow Nightingale, who pops up on screen to say she’ll see Statlander in the second round.

We look at Private Party beating up the Learning Tree last week.

Private Party is ready for their upcoming match but the Learning Tree comes in, with Chris Jericho warning them to avoid the piledriver. “That doesn’t work for me brother!” More of the usual from Jericho.

Daniel Garcia vs. Rhett Titus

Titus starts fast but gets dropkicked into the corner. Some neckbreakers set up the Red Cross for the pin at 1:00.

Post match the Cage of Agony runs in to beat down Garcia and Matt Menard (who was on commentary). MJF makes the save but gets beaten down, so Will Ospreay makes the real save. The Ospreay vs. MJF staredown gets the fans’ attention.

Post break, Brian Cage and Will Ospreay yell at each other and a match is made for Collision.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Pac vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Bryan Danielson is on commentary. Pac starts fast and knocks him to the floor, only to charge into one heck of a Swiss Death as we take a break. Back with Pac slugging away and avoiding a charge to send Castagnoli into the post. Pac snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor and an Asai moonsault drops Castagnoli again. A springboard elbow hits Castagnoli again and it’s time to slug it out.

Pac’s German suplex just wakes Castagnoli up again so Pac kicks him down, only to miss the Black Arrow. Castagnoli’s uppercut gets two so he sends Pac swinging. The Riccola Bomb is loaded up but Pac reverses into the Brutalizer, which is reversed into the Sharpshooter. With that almost broken up, Castagnoli switches into a crossface, which is escaped as well. They trade rollups for two each until Pac manages to keep him down for the pin at 11:07. Danielson is impressed.

Rating: B. It’s nice to see Pac getting a win here and beating Castagnoli is quite the mountain to conquer. Pac is still an impressive star and it’s nice to have him around for a slightly extended period of time for a change. If nothing else, we could be seeing Danielson vs. Pac later in the tournament and that could be a rather good one.

Post match Castagnoli won’t shake hands, with Danielson trying to calm him down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. As usual, you get a better AEW show when they are mainly focused on the in-ring action rather than anything else. The Young Bucks didn’t get to talk and Chris Jericho only had a quick backstage segment so things were a bit better than usual. At the same time, you had the Forbidden Door build, which was as rapid fire as usual, but there are enough good things on there to make it work. Rather strong show this week.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Rush – Brainbuster
Mark Briscoe/Kyle O’Reilly/Orange Cassidy/Dante Martin b. Kyle Fletcher/Roderick Strong/Zack Sabre Jr./Kazuchika Okada – Orange Punch to Strong
Acclaimed b. Young Bucks – Mic Drop to Matt
Kris Statlander b. Nyla Rose – Wednesday Night Fever
Daniel Garcia b. Rhett Titus – Red Cross
Pac b. Claudio Castagnoli – Rollup

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

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

AND

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