Dynamite
Date: August 31, 2022
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz

We’re four days away from All Out and it would be nice to have a main event announced. I would certainly hope we know who that is this week, but the question now is which way they go. There is a good chance that it is a rematch with CM Punk, but other than that, is there another option outside of maybe Hangman Page? Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jon Moxley to get things going. Moxley says let’s talk about it: he had 57 minutes left in him last week but CM Punk didn’t. Last week, we found out what Punk was made of and it turned out that Moxley didn’t care. Champions never fold and it just didn’t work out for him. Moxley knows this is Punk’s town but he has no sympathy. That’s last week though and now he has a signed open contract for All Out, which he will leave in the ring. He’s not sure who he’s going to face and he really doesn’t care. Cue Ace Steel, Punk’s mentor, who grabs the contract and takes it to the back.

Chris Jericho is ready for Bryan Danielson on Sunday. Daniel Garcia comes in to say that he is loyal to the Jericho Appreciation Society and wants to see Jericho crush Danielson at All Out. Works for Jericho.

Jake Hager vs. Bryan Danielson

Chris Jericho and William Regal are on commentary. Hager hits him in the face to start but charges into a boot in the corner. The guillotine goes on but Hager powers out without much trouble. They head outside with Danielson’s suicide dive being cut off and Hager hitting a running spinebuster through a table. Back in and Danielson can’t grab a kneebar as Hager elbows him in the face.

We take a break and come back with Danielson firing off the kicks to the chest but getting hammered with more heavy forearms. That’s pulled into the guillotine, which is countered into something like a powerbomb to drop Danielson again. Danielson is fine enough to pull him into the LeBell Lock, which sends Hager over to the rope. Back up and Danielson hits the running knee for the pin at 10:45.

Rating: B-. That’s what Danielson does best, as he got the most out of Hager by playing to his strength and making the match that much better. Hager does not exactly have the best track record in AEW but Danielson made it work. Nice match, as Danielson continues to show what a master he is every week.

Post match the Jericho Appreciation Society runs in for the beatdown but the Blackpool Combat Club makes the save. Jericho tries to come in with a chair but Daniel Garcia takes it away. The distraction lets Danielson hit another running knee.

Here are the Wingmen to complain about not being around much lately. From now on, Dynamite is their show, but here is W. Morrissey (better known as Big Cass) to wreck things. Stokely Hathaway comes out and seems to have a new client. Tony Schiavone stops them in the aisle and asks Hathaway what’s up with all of the business cards. Hathaway says none of his business and grabs Tony for daring to say it is AEW business. Morrissey had a Sid like energy in Impact Wrestling but I don’t know if that is going to work in AEW.

Will Ospreay and Aussie Open are in the back when Don Callis comes in to praise him a lot, saying he knows it’ll be different than the last time Kenny Omega gave him the One Winged Angel.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm

Rebel is here with Baker/Hayter. Shida hammers on Hayter to start so it’s off to Storm, who gets taken down with a jawbreaker. Baker comes in and we take an early break. Back with Shida getting the hot tag to start cleaning house but Baker takes her down with a neckbreaker for two. A basement superkick nails Shida but the Stomp misses. Shida gets in a shot of her own though and goes outside to distract Hayter. Storm comes in with a running hip attack and takes out Hayter again. Shida’s spinning kick to the head finishes Baker at 7:34.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to do much as a good chunk of it was in the commercial. Shida getting the pin boosts her up a bit for the title match but I don’t exactly see her having much of a chance on Sunday. Having her win in a tag match is a good way to go, even if there wasn’t much to see here.

Kip Sabian talks about how brilliant his box on the head plan was and how he took it out on Pac. Now they are meeting on Sunday for the title.

Miro/Sting/Darby Allin are ready for the House Of Black.

Here is CM Punk, looking rather emotional. Punk talks about breaking his foot on June 1 and wrestling a match on it anyway. His doctor said he “pulverized” the bones so he had a bunch of plates and screws put in his foot during a June 8 surgery. After saying the number of screws he had put in his foot is more times than this fat guy in the front row has been screwed in his life, he talks about his loss last week. His foot was completely cleared last week but it’s a new 100%. What he doesn’t know is if that 100% is good enough and he doesn’t want to let his fans down.

Maybe that love just isn’t enough anymore, but here is Ace Steel to interrupt. Steel explains who he is (thank you) and doesn’t know what Punk is doing here. The two of them are family and Punk didn’t let his family down last week. Punk filled an arena up on a rumor last year and now he is going to get up and fight on Sunday.

Steel pulls out the contract for Sunday and says sign it (possibly dropping an F bomb in there). Punk takes off his jacket and says people have been trying to kill him since he was born with a cord around his neck. Moxley isn’t a man who can do it because THIS IS CHICAGO and, as Punk goes into the crowd, he declares WE ARE CHICAGO and signs. So yeah, this whole story has been about the live crowd instead of the people watching at home, which is one of those AEW tropes that needs to go away.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down between Christian Cage and Jungle Boy with the rule of no physicality. Christian says he is here to make money instead of being Jungle Boy’s father. Jungle Boy isn’t looking for a father, and on Sunday, Christian is going to fight Jack Perry. Good closing line there and the name change would not be a bad idea.

Wardlow/FTR vs. Silas Young/Ren Jones/Victor Capri

Wardlow and Jones start things off and we don’t waste much time getting to the dominance. After Harwood takes over on Capri, a two movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes him off at 1:59.

Here is Moxley to say that if that is what Punk wants, that’s what he can have.

10 is injured and out of the Trios Title match so here is Andrade to offer to buy him if he’ll take the mask off. Evil Uno says no, so Andrade hits him with a crutch. Then Jose the Assistant….either tazes 10, who doesn’t move, or just threatens to do it. I think it’s the latter, which would be a lot better.

Rush vs. Rey Fenix vs. Dante Martin vs. Wheeler Yuta

William Regal is on commentary. Rush powerslams Fenix to start and Martin snaps off a Code Red for two. The big series of dives is on, with Rush wiping out Fenix on the landing. We take a break and come back with Fenix spinning Martin into a knee to the face, followed by a spinning powerbomb for two. Rush makes the save but gets sent outside, leaving Martin to drop Fenix with a poisonrana. Fenix pops up to catch Yuta on top, only to get sent outside. Yuta misses a top rope stomp to Martin but pulls him into the Seat Belt for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: B-. I know I say this a lot for a match like this but you know exactly what you’re getting with this style. Everyone not named Rush can wrestle that style just fine and he was there for the power to offer a different way to go. I was thinking Martin would get the pin here but at least they didn’t talk about the idea of building momentum for ten minutes.

The Dark Order needs a partner and Hangman Page is willing. You knew that was coming.

Trios Titles Tournament Semifinals: United Empire vs. Elite

That would be Will Ospreay/Aussie Open vs. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks. Omega and Osprey slug it out to start and everything breaks down. The Bucks’ dives onto Aussie Open on the floor are pulled out of the air, leaving Ospreay to hit a VERY twisting dive to take them out.

We take a break and come back with Aussie Open beating on Matt, who hurricanranas his way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Omega to start cleaning house but the V Trigger is blocked. The Oscutter is blocked as well and Ospreay snaps off a hurricanrana to send Omega outside. Ospreay misses the Space Flying Tiger Drop and gets kicked down, leaving Aussie Open to hit a double delayed vertical superplex for two on Omega.

We take another break and come back with Nick cleaning house but having his 450 hit Ospreay’s raised knees. The snapdragon drops Nick and it’s Omega vs. Ospreay with the forearm slugout. A sitout powerbomb plants Omega HARD, leaving Aussie Open to load up the assisted Oscutter but Matt countered into a cutter of his own. Omega is back up for the triple knees to the head but Ospreay makes a save. A shooting star Meltzer Driver (just go with it) gets two on Matt but Omega’s V Trigger is broken up. The spike Indytaker gets two more and there’s the V Trigger into the One Winged Angel to finish Davis at 18:53.

Rating: A-. This is a great example of a match that isn’t for me but I get why it is taking place. This was tailor made for the AEW audience and the fans are going to eat it up. The flips and dives worked very well and it was incredibly high energy, which is the kind of match you had to expect take place here. I don’t think there was much in the way of question about the winner, but Omega vs. Ospreay is going to be a big match down the line and it should be a blast.

Overall Rating: B+. They got this one right and built up All Out rather well. I’m not wild on how they got to Punk vs. Moxley II and AEW still has issues with rushing through things as fast as they can, but it is certainly not boring and that is a great thing to see. Very fun show this week and it got some stuff done, so it’s quite the success.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Jake Hager – Running knee
Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm b. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter – Spinning kick to Baker
Wardlow/FTR b. Victor Capri/Silas Young/Ren Jones – Powerbomb Symphony to Capri
Wheeler Yuta b. Rush, Rey Fenix and Dante Martin – Seat Belt to Martin
Elite b. United Empire – One Winged Angel to Davis

 

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Mid American Wrestling
Date: September 1, 2002
Location: KP Classics, Big Bend, Wisconsin

This appears to be a rather small promotion but the thumbnail is CM Punk talking so there should be at least something decent here. I know a few names on the card, but there are some that probably didn’t make it much higher than this. You never know what you are getting from something like this though so let’s get to it.

Keep in mind that I have never seen any of this promotion before so I apologize for missing any storyline or character points. The lack of commentary isn’t going to help either.

Scott Marciano vs. CM Punk

Marciano has some guy and a tall blonde in a short dress with him, while Punk has Dave Prazak to even things out a bit. Before the bell, Punk says a bunch of stuff that I can’t pick up (keep in mind that this is an outdoor show so the audio isn’t great) before saying this will be like old times. Prazak gets the mic and joins Marciano’s Shoot World Order, which causes Punk to end their friendship. Punk says the blonde doesn’t know what this is about, meaning it’s time to explain the idea of straightedge meaning Punk is BETTER THAN YOU.

We get the bell as Punk takes him down into a chinlock, which is reversed into a headlock. Punk switches back into a headlock, followed by an STF. Marciano’s comeback doesn’t last long as Punk slams him down and grabs something like another STF. That’s broken up so they fight over a suplex, with Punk hitting the delayed variety for two.

Prazak is smart enough to low bridge Punk to the floor, where the other guy who came to the ring with Marciano gets in some cheap shots. Back in and they trade rollups before Punk suplexes his way to freedom for a double knockdown. Marciano starts kicking at the legs but Punk sweeps Marciano down. A running knee looks to set up the Pepsi Plunge but the other guy at ringside breaks it up. Instead Punk grabs a Texas Cloverleaf for the tap at 8:47.

Rating: C. Not much of a match here, but you can see the charisma dripping off of Punk, even if it is at a smaller show like this one. Having the angle tacked on at the beginning like this was a little weird, but Punk won pretty convincingly anyway. Marciano was fine enough here, though I didn’t see much in the way of shooting for someone who is part of the SHOOT World Order.

Colt Cabana vs. Ace Steel

For some reason the match order is wrong on the video’s listing but there didn’t seem to be a cut. Cabana would be 22 years old here (and he looks even younger) and is facing one of his trainers (not an uncommon practice). They take their time to start with Steel backing him into the ropes for a clean break. Steel sends him into the corner so Cabana has a breather on the apron.

Back in and Cabana grabs a full nelson of all things, only to get sent to the floor this time. With the holds not working, Cabana misses a running elbow and gets chopped into the corner…as a plane seems to drown out the limited sound for a bit. A knuckle lock doesn’t go well for Steel but he reverses into a headlock as the technical off continues. It’s off to an exchange of armbars but Cabana is back up with a springboard….something to drop Steel.

Cabana starts going after the knee, including a series of stomping and what looks like a kneebar. We’ll make that a spinning toehold but Steel is up again. This time Steel tries a jump over him out of the corner but gets caught in a half Billy Goat’s Curse (that’s a new one). Steel gets to the rope and grabs the arm to pull Cabana down into I guess you would say a reverse Koji Clutch. With that not working, Steel rolls him over for the cradle pin at 13:04.

Rating: C+. This was a much more technical match and you can tell that Cabana doesn’t exactly have the most experience at this point. You also didn’t get to see much of what would make Cabana famous, which is rather strange to see. That being said, what we had here was a nice match with two guys who were able to have a good technical exchange. Yeah Steel was probably walking him through it, but what else is a trainer for?

Post match Steel needs a chair to get out. Cabana says he has no shame in getting pinned by Steel and offers to buy the beers tonight. Not for him because he doesn’t drink, but sure for Steel.

The ring announcer brings out the Furies, who won the Tag Team Titles last night. The Furies (Mitch Blake and Rick Walsh) bring out a guy in an OLD SCHOOL shirt to yell at him, but here are two guys from behind to jump the champs and beat them down. Some shouting suggests that these two are the former champions, better know as the Old School Express (Jason Dukes/Skull Crusher). They wreck one of the champs’ knees and shout a lot before walking off.

Chuck E. Smooth vs. Jarrod The Jackal

Jackal, who cackles a lot, takes Smooth down without much effort and slams him for a bonus. Back up and Smooth elbows him down, setting up a nasty kick to the back of the head for two. Jackal sends him into the corner though and takes over, only to miss the top rope splash. That’s enough for Smooth to grab a quick rollup for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t very good and didn’t have time to get better, though the only thing that stood out was Jackal’s cackling. It felt like there were out there to fill in time and that they kind of did, albeit not much as they weren’t given a ton of time to make it work. Granted neither exactly stood out here as they were both fairly small but didn’t wrestle much of a cruiserweight style.

ODB, with Dave Prazak, comes out for a match with a woman but says she wants to fight a man instead.

ODB vs. Ken Anderson

This is pre-WWE Anderson but you would know that hair anywhere. Anderson says he isn’t doing this but gets kicked in the gut (or maybe lower) and the bell rings. Back up and Anderson is able to kick her out to the floor, meaning frustration is setting in. ODB takes him down without much trouble but gets rolled up for two, which just annoys her more.

A gorilla press attempt is countered into a rollup to give ODB two but she is right back with a testicular claw. ODB’s falling top rope splash misses though and they’re both down for a bit. Anderson tries a powerbomb (with ODB’s trunks being pulled in various ways) but gets rolled up instead. The annoyed Anderson hammers away in the corner, though he has to alternate between Prazak and ODB). The Swanton Bomb is enough to finish ODB at 5:05.

Rating: C-. This was treated as a regular match without a ton of gimmicks so it could have been a lot worse. It’s bizarre to see Anderson as such a young guy without the confidence and character that would make him as famous as he was. ODB was far smaller here than she would become and while the other stood out more, this was a better fit for her as she looked more like Beth Phoenix than anyone else.

Intermission.

Adrian Serrano vs. Brad Bradley

Serrano is the other guy who was with Marciano (who is here, with the blonde and Dave Prazak) earlier. Bradley is better known as Jay Bradley, who has bounced around for a LONG time. Serrano gets thrown around a few times to start and wants a breather in the corner. The much bigger Bradley wants a test of strength and even drops to his knees to make it easier.

Serrano accepts and then Bradley accepts to take him down. A suplex gets Serrano out of trouble but Bradley boots him out to the floor. Serrano gets smart by going after the knee though and kicks Bradley down a few times. That doesn’t work for long on a big guy though, as he catches the kick and cranks on the leg a bit. That doesn’t work for long on a submission guy though, as he switches over to an ankle lock.

Something like an STF goes on but Bradley is up again. Prazak gets on the apron for a distraction, allowing Marciano to get in a shot from behind. Serrano grabs a choke in the corner, with Prazak on the apron so long that the fans are chanting BORING. With Bradley finally passing out, the referee turns around and calls it at 9:24.

Rating: C-. Bradley is a big monster and I can see why he has been around for so long. That being said, the ending was such a mess and the fans weren’t happy with what was going on, as they shouldn’t have been. It went so far beyond the point of being realistic that it was just stupid, which doesn’t make for a good ending. The SWO seems to be a big thing around here, but unless Punk is one of the top names, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to have what seems to be one of their top guys lose in the opener. Either way, not a terrible match here, but I wasn’t getting much from it.

Post match the SWO spray paint Bradley’s chest just to hammer the point home that much more.

Tag Team Titles: Old School Express vs. The Furies

The Furies are defending but one of them has a bad leg. Apparently the injury to (I think) Rick Walsh is so bad that Mitch Blake is going to go this alone. Blake is ORDERED to hand over the titles but he hits Jason Dukes in the head instead and starts fast. An armdrag into an armbar has Dukes down and we settle in a bit. Dukes gets out and heads up, only to get slammed back down.

Skull Crusher shoves down a slam attempt though and it’s Blake in trouble for the first time. The double teaming is on, with the bigger Skull Crusher slamming him down and grabbing a Boston crab. Dukes even shoves Crusher back onto him and they switch places to keep the crab fresh. Crusher drops a knee to make it even worse before grabbing a t-bone suplex. A backbreaker gives Dukes two but here is the limping Walsh to stand on the apron.

Dukes takes his own shirt off and starts slapping his chest, drawing one of the best reactions of the night. Blake fights up and slugs away but refuses to make the tag to the injured Walsh. That just earns Blake another beating but he fights back again, which this time is enough to warrant the tag.

Walsh manages to send them into each other but a shot to the knee brings him back down. The knee is wrapped around the post and the screaming is on, made worse by a spinning toehold from Dukes. Make that a Figure Four from Crusher, followed by another (and worse one) from Dukes to keep things moving. That’s finally enough for Blake, who submits for Walsh at 12:39.

Rating: C. The action wasn’t great, but they had some good storytelling here as Walsh fought through the knee injury as well as he could but his body ultimately gave out on him. That’s a classic story and it worked well here, even if it ends their title reign after one day. Crusher and Dukes are a weird team as it’s like Moose and the Blue Meanie teaming together, minus Meanie’s charisma. Still though, not too bad here.

Here is the Commissioner, whose name I can’t hear, but he is happy that the main event is anything goes and cannot be stopped due to blood. He is also happy that there are some nice people in IWA, including their champion, who is willing to come wrestle around here. This brings out IWA World Champion Chris Hero, who seems to be a good guy this time.

Chris Hero/Dysfunctional vs. Corporal Robinson/Ian Rotten

Anything goes and Dysfunctional’s (smoking) manager is happy that they are going to get to hurt Rotten. Hold on though as Rotten isn’t sure if he and Robinson are on the same page. Robinson swears a lot, which seems to be an affirmative. After Rotten says he’s looking forward to hero trying to get more bookings from him in the future, they go to a test of strength and headbutt each other, with Hero switching to a waistlock.

Rotten gets in a few shots but is knocked into the corner, allowing Hero to take him down into a seated abdominal stretch. That stays on for a bit until Hero starts working on the leg. With that broken up, Robinson comes in as this isn’t exactly insanity so far. Hero knocks Robinson down as well and there’s a kick to the back. It’s already back to Rotten, who pulls up Hero’s shirt and starts headbutting away as things pick up a bit.

A Stunner drops Hero and it’s back to Robinson, who gets taken down by the leg. Dysfunctional comes in for the first time and starts kicking at the leg but Robinson hands it back to Rotten for a (very delayed) Razor’s Edge toss. Some chops, to the chest and the back, followed by some shoulders to the ribs in the corner. Robinson distracts the referee, allowing Rotten to do….absolutely nothing illegal. A chair to the head rocks Dysfunctional and another one busts him open.

Rotten bites at the cut as this is painfully slow so far. We go back to the wrestling with an abdominal stretch, followed by a Banzai Drop for no cover. Robinson’s brainbuster gets two and it’s back to Rotten for right hands to the head. Note that there are minutes going on between anything big, as this is a ridiculously slow match as they’re just walking around between a lot of the moves. Then Robinson turns on Rotten as Hero is gone for some reason.

Robinson and Dysfunctional start double teaming Rotten….and now Hero beats up Dysfunctional. Everything breaks down and the partners are fighting each other on the floor. Back in the ring, Hero backsplashes Dysfunctional as Rotten clotheslines Robinson on the floor. Rotten starts chairing Robinson down before going inside to dropkick Dysfunctional. With Hero and Robinson on the floor, Rotten hits an elevated double underhook DDT for the pin on Dysfunctional at 21:50.

Rating: F. This is a failure in two parts, which is pretty hard to pull off. First of all, you have just how bad things were before we got to the wacky parts. The match was moving as slowly as anything I can remember for a VERY long time and that didn’t make me want to keep watching. Instead of doing anything good here, we got got two guys who don’t seem to have the most intricate arsenals doing bad looking stuff in slow motion for well over ten minutes.

Then the partners started beating each other up because of course they did. I’m going to assume that this is something that would be better explained if you were around more often, but that didn’t exactly help when I’m watching for the first time. Absolutely terrible match with people who didn’t know how to work a match this long, capped off by insanity that DESPERATELY needed some kind of explanation.

Post match the beatdown continues, with Dysfunctional and Robinson taking out Hero. Then they take Rotten over near some big platform and put him on a table, with Robinson diving off to put him through said table on the gravel. Robinson’s (I think?) manager pops up to say that Bull Pain is going to destroy Rotten at the next show. Then we spend a few minutes watching Rotten getting up as Robinson is helped off after doing something so stupid. Then Hero shows up with a chair to check on Rotten to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. Even taking into account the low level atmosphere, this show was a chore to sit through, especially after the awful main event. You get the feeling that they would take just about anyone and put them on the show, though that is kind of the point of a smaller company like this. The usual suspects stood out and you could see charisma in certain places, but there was a lot of fine tuning to go and it showed badly in places. Not a good show and I can see why this place wasn’t that well known.

 

 

 

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