Ring Of Honor
Date: March 28, 2024
Location: Canadian Tire Center, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are eight days away from Supercard Of Honor but you might not know that based on the card that has been put together so far. There are currently three matches set for the show and while there is still time to have those added, it would be nice to see them actually announced. The main event this week will see Kyle Fletcher defending the TV Title against Black Christian so let’s get to it.

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

We run down the card.

Athena vs. Nikita

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Nikita survives the ten minute time limit or wins, she gets a future title shot. Nikita starts fast with a Sling Blade and an X Factor gets an early one. A figure four necklock over the rope has Athena in more trouble but she pulls Nikita to the floor and hits a big forearm. That’s enough for Athena to get her vest off and send her into the barricade before coming inside. Quite the spinning faceplant puts Nikita down as we get a MAPLE SYRUP chant. Something like an abdominal stretch choke makes Nikita tap at 2:57. Nikita started fast but then it was the usual.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Hikaru Shida runs in for the save.

Lee Johnson wants the TV Title shot at Supercard Of Honor.

Cole Karter/Griff Garrison vs. Kaz Jordan/Victor Castella

Maria is here with Karter and Garrison, the latter of whom shoulders Jordan down to start. It’s off to Karter for a spinebuster before the villains just wreck both of them. With Jordan knocked to the floor, a running boot/flapjack combination finishes Castella at 2:02. I’m sure this will be the start of Karter and Garrison’s rise to the top.

Dalton Castle vs. Nick Comoroto

Castle has the substitute Boys (their rhythm is off) and looks more than a bit off. Comoroto powers him into the corner to start and Castle shouts for him to GET OFF ME. That’s exactly what Comoroto does so Castle double legs him down without much effort. An attempt at a toss to the floor lets Comoroto skin the cat back in for a heck of a clothesline. Castle isn’t having that and German suplexes him into the Bang A Rang for the pin at 2:44. They’re not wasting time this week.

Post match Taya Valkyrie comes out to say that yeah she and Johnny TV lost the Boys, but it’s not a big deal because they were BAD BOYS. Castle deserves what he is getting, including this, which includes a sneak attack from TV. Standing tall ensues.

Mark Briscoe talks about the Briscoes’ history in Philadelphia but then it was all taken away when Jay Briscoe dies. Mark tried to come back in the Continental Classic but came up short. That’s what Eddie Kingston did against Kazuchika Okada so it’s time for Mark to show that he is the real deal. It’s eleven years to the day that Jay won his first World Title so it’s time to man up. The fact that neither of the participants in the World Title match are actually here in person is as telling as you can get.

Colt Cabana/Brandon Cutler vs. Rex Lawless/Bryce Donovan

Lawless is jacked and should get a chance somewhere based on his look alone. Cutler chops at the rather large Lawless and hurts his own hand in the process. Lawless takes Cabana down with a test of strength but it’s off to Donovan instead. Cutler and Cabana do a dance into an elbow/splash sequence but Lawless is right back up.

Cutler is planted to set up a jumping elbow from Donovan, only to have Cutler dive over Donovan and bring Cabana back in. The double Bionic Elbow puts Lawless and Donovan down but Cutler tags himself in for an airplane spin. Lawless is sent outside and it’s a pumphandle slam/clothesline combination to finish Donovan at 5:08.

Rating: C. Of all the matches that get a bit of extended time so far on this show, it’s a comedy team who haven’t done anything in months. Cutler and Cabana are just there because they’re still employed by AEW and need something to do, which was fairly obvious in this case. Lawless was pretty well protected here and felt like a monster while Donovan was the guy who happened to be introduced with him.

Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. KPK

Andretti takes Abu down to start and gets two off a quick rollup. Darius comes in with an armdrag into an armbar before it’s off to Dante with a springboard stomp to the arm. Ahmed gets in a cheap shot from the apron to cut Andretti off though and the villains take over for the first time. It’s Abu coming back in with a slingshot hilo for two but Andretti slips out and dives over for the tag. Darius cleans house with a tornado DDT as everything breaks down. Darius and Andretti hit stereo dives, setting up Andretti’s split legged moonsault to pin Abu at 5:48.

Rating: C+. Well, that was certainly an established team against three guys who had very little to make them stand out. It’s the kind of match that should be on AEW’s version of Main Event but instead here it is instead on one of the last shows before a pay per view, which Andretti and Top Flight will be featured on I’m sure. And somehow, this was the best match of the show so far.

We look at how Queen Aminata and Billie Starkz made the finals of the Women’s TV Title tournament.

Diamante vs. Kiera Hogan

Diamante grabs a headlock to start and runs her over for a bonus. Back up and Hogan does the same to even things up a bit. They fight over wrist control for a change until Hogan gets her down with a hammerlock. That’s reversed into an armbar from Diamante but Hogan breaks out, with commentary saying it’s time to crank it up. Cranking ensues with…a wristlock, followed by a pop up legdrop for two on Diamante.

Hogan spends too long teasing the running hip attack so Diamante cuts it off and hits a running corner dropkick instead. Something like a seated abdominal stretch has Hogan in more trouble until she breaks out again. A missile dropkick puts Diamante down again and Hogan hits a sliding boot to the face for two. Diamante goes to the knee to no avail so Hogan scores with a superkick, followed by Face The Music for the pin at 8:34.

Rating: C+. They were teasing something interesting last week with the two of them being in a relationship but fighting anyway and then that was completely dropped here. It got some time and they were suggesting that the winner would be getting a Women’s TV Title shot, but it still feels like two women who were eliminated from the tournament having a match to fill time. That last part is the case with a bunch of things around here though so I shouldn’t be overly surprised.

Evil Uno vs. JD Drake

Yep. They spend the first minute plus in a pose off, with the Canadian Uno being rather popular. That includes a SEXY UNO chant so Drake grabs a wristlock and swivels his hips a bit. They trade running shoulders until Uno snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor. Uno follows and they trade chops until Uno hits him in the face for a rather wise counter. A less than wise move sees Uno accidentally chopping the post, allowing Drake to get in a hard shot to the f..uh, mask.

Back in and Drake knees him down, setting up a Shining Wizard for two. Uno Hulks Up so Drake quickly forearms him to the floor. This time it’s Drake chopping the post by mistake to even things up a bit, leaving Uno to hit a dive. Back in and Uno hammers away in the corner until a DDT gets two. Uno swivels his hips a lot and takes off his vest, only to have Drake run him over. Drake misses a Vader Bomb and gets kicked in the face but still manages to avoid Uno’s Swanton. There’s a Cannonball to Uno, who is fine enough to avoid a moonsault and roll Drake up for the pin at 10:16.

Rating: C. This show is about 80 minutes long and ten minutes of it were used for a partial comedy match between two members of low level tag teams. We have a week to go before the pay per view and this was the best they could offer? For the life of me I do not get the thinking around here, as there was nothing the popular Uno could have done in the way of a two minute squash?

Supercard Of Honor rundown, with a six woman Stardom tag being added. This would be your annual “here are some people from Japan to fill in the card” match.

Hikaru Shida is ready for Athena.

TV Title: Blake Christian vs. Kyle Fletcher

Christian, with his one singles win (in a four way back on January 6) around here this year, is challenging. This puts him slightly behind Fletcher, whose last win in Ring Of Honor was on January 10. Fletcher easily takes him down to start and does it again with a shoulder. Back up and Christian knocks him into the corner and gets in a bit of taunting, followed by a rollup for two. Christian sends him outside and flips into a Nightmare on Helm Street to plant Fletcher again.

Back in and Fletcher hits him in the face to take over, meaning it’s time to walk around and taunt the crowd a bit. Christian’s chops in the corner are cut off with a running elbow but he’s fine enough to hit a spear on the apron. A top rope elbow gives Christian two but Fletcher sends him hard into the corner. Fletcher’s brainbuster gets two and a bit of frustration is setting in. Christian drapes him over the top and hits a top rope splash to the back for two. That’s enough for Fletcher, who grabs the piledriver to retain at 8:00.

Rating: C+. This right here is pretty much the perfect illustration of what I can’t stand about Tony Khan’s booking style. There was zero reason for this match to take place as there has been no interaction between the two of them and neither has won a match in Ring Of Honor in months. But none of that matters because one of the most worthless titles around is thrown onto it and that instantly is supposed to make it interesting.

They had a decent match, but it was built up as this important main event and it felt like any kind of story or interest was ignored for the sake of “title match”. That is the case FAR too often in AEW and/or ROH and it drives me nuts every time it happens. At least Lee Johnson, whose title match (assuming it happens), will be probably announced with less than a week before the pay per view, has won something to earn the shot.

Overall Rating: D+. Ever since it was announced, Supercard Of Honor has felt more like a chore than a show that Ring Of Honor wants to present. Between a total of four matches (one of which has nothing to do with Ring Of Honor) announced so far, absolutely nothing in regards to the Tag Team or Pure (yes I know the champ is hurt but maybe do something about the title if he can’t wrestle for two and a half months) Titles, the World Champion and #1 contender not even being able to make an in-arena appearance despite being at the tapings when these things are filmed and the big match announced so far being a tournament final for the Women’s midcard title, this show feels so unimportant.

Then, with two shows to go before Supercard, we get this mostly useless show which did next to nothing to build towards the pay per view. The longest match on the show was Evil Uno vs. JD Drake for the sake of popping the crowd a bit, which might not happen if they had done ANYTHING interesting here.

The wrestling was fine enough, but it was reaching a new level of “none of this matters” before asking for our money and even more time next week. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again here: if this is all of the effort that Tony Khan is going to put into Ring Of Honor, just drop the stupid thing already because it’s clear that he does not care about this place whatsoever.

Results
Athena b. Nikita – Abdominal stretch choke
Cole Karter/Griff Garrison b. Kaz Jordan/Victor Castella – Running boot/Flapjack combination to Jordan
Dalton Castle b. Nick Comoroto – Bang A Rang
Colt Cabana/Brandon Cutler b. Rex Lawless/Bryce Donovan – Pumphandle slam/clothesline combination to Donovan
Action Andretti/Top Flight b. KPK – Split legged moonsault to Abu
Kiera Hogan b. Diamante – Face The Music
Evil Uno b. JD Drake – Rollup
Kyle Fletcher b. Blake Christian – Piledriver

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

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta vs. Dark Order

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

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

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

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

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

Mariah May/Toni Storm vs. LMK/Kayla Sparks

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

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

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

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

We get the brackets for the Tag Team Title tournament:

Young Bucks
Private Party

Undisputed Kingdom
Best Friends/Don Callis Family

Ricky Starks/Big Bill
Top Flight

FTR
Infantry/House Of Black

The lack of Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli is interesting.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Komander

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

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

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

Serena Deeb is back and ready to hurt people.

Video on the Undisputed Kingdom vs. Top Flight.

Undisputed Kingdom vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: March 14, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are less than a month away from Supercard Of Honor and it should be time to announce some matches. That could make things all the more complicated as there isn’t much time left to build up the card. Then again ROH has a tendency to just throw things together and that will probably be the case again here. Let’s get to it.

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

We run down the card.

Women’s TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Diamante vs. Billie Starkz

They trade rollups to start until Diamante knocks her into the corner for a running dropkick. The beating heads outside with Starkz being knocked into the barricade. Starkz is right back with a hurricanrana off the steps to take over. Diamante drives some shoulders in the corner and we hit the neck crank. Starkz fights up but gets splashed for two, only to kick her back to the floor.

There’s the suicide dive, followed by two more to make it worse. Back in and a suplex onto the knee gives Starkz another near fall, followed by a faceplant to plant Diamante on her face. Diamante is back with a rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner for two, only to have Starkz blast her with a clothesline. They forearm it out (of course) until Diamante grabs a quick Stunner. A standing Sliced Bread #2 gives Diamante two but Starkz kicks her in the face. The Swanton gets two so Starkz goes for a half nelson crossface for the tap at 11:38.

Rating: B-. This got rolling near the end and I was digging what they were doing. The tournament matches have been made a good bit more exciting s there is SOMETHING for these people to fight over. The fact that there was a pretty obvious winner in Starkz but they had me wondering on some of those near falls is proof that they were doing something right. Good stuff here and one of Starkz’ better matches to date.

Lee Johnson vs. Aaron Solo

They trade arm control to start until Johnson grabs a headlock takeover. That’s broken up and Solo gives him a sarcastic handshake. Solo is sent outside and shakes the fans’ hands but runs into a dropkick back inside. Back up and Solo sends him hard into the ropes with Johnson seemingly hitting his throat on the top rope to cut him down fast. A suplex gives Solo two and we hit the chinlock.

Johnson fights up and sends him throat first into the ropes to even things up with a double knockdown. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two but the Big Shot Drop is broken up. Solo kicks him down for two and a top rope double stomp gets the same. A butterfly powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana from Johnson, who lawn darts Solo into the buckle. The Big Shot Drop finishes Solo at 10:22.

Rating: C+. Lee Johnson is being pushed, with six straight wins coming into this match. This was near his hometown of Atlanta. It took him ten minutes to beat a perennial jobber in Solo. There was little reason for this to be anywhere near as competitive if Johnson is supposed to be something important. In theory he is on the way to a title shot, but why should I believe he can beat someone important if it is this hard to beat Solo?

Robyn Renegade vs. Lady Frost vs. Kiera Hogan vs. Leyla Hirsch

Renegade gets triple teamed down to start, leaving the other three to fight in the ring. Frost sends Hirsch into the corner but gets legdropped by Hogan for two. Robyn comes back in but gets choked by Hirsch, only to have Hogan break it up with some kicks to the head. They all slug it out until Frost sends them into the corner for a pair of flipping Cannonballs. Hogan is back up with a running hip attack against the ropes to Renegade, followed by Face The Music for the pin at 5:26.

Rating: C. Hey look: another four way match where the winner is no further ahead than she was before the match. It also didn’t get a ton of time so they didn’t have the time to shine or get anything going. The action was fine enough, but these things coming and going every week have taken away almost all of their interest.

Griff Garrison and Cole Karter are ready for their big match but Maria Kanellis-Bennett comes in to blame their lack of Collision appearances on Garrison’s loss to Adam Copeland. Don’t disappoint her.

Athena vs. Aisha

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning Aisha gets a title shot if she survives the ten minute time limit or wins. Athena starts fast with a toss suplex but Aisha kicks her into the corner. They head outside with Athena sending her into the barricade a few times. Aisha comes back with a spinebuster for two inside but Athena grabs the Codebreaker. Something like an abdominal stretch makes Aisha tap at 4:29.

Rating: C. This is what you get from an Athena Proving Ground match and there isn’t much to be gained from them. The good thing is they got through the match rather quickly and Aisha didn’t put up much of a fight. Athena needs a new challenger and we’ll probably get that sooner than later, but for now there isn’t much for her to do.

Post match Athena keeps up the beating and runs down the city of Atlanta. Cue Hikaru Shida to interrupt and we seem to have a challenger for Supercard of Honor. That would be another person from outside ROH getting the title shot because the division has been wrecked so badly by this Athena title reign that could have ended months ago without her losing a thing. But then again it’s not like this show matters in the slightest so why should I expect it to be well put together?

Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. Iron Savages

Before the match, we get a drink off between the Savage Sauce and Andretti’s water. Andretti wins and we’re ready to go, with Top Flight/Andretti hitting dives out to the floor. Back in and Dante kicks away at Bronson and everything breaks down again. Dante avoids going into a hairy chest and brings Darius back in to clean house.

Darius gets knocked down in the corner but Bronson spends too much time on pelvic thrusting and misses the moonsault. A kick to the face out of the corner allows the tag to Dante, meaning things pick up again. Everything breaks down and Jameson gets caught with a shooting star press followed by a frog splash to give Dante the pin at 6:01.

Rating: C+. Nice six man here with Top Flight and Andretti continuing to work well together. That being said, it’s another case where a team is floating around from win to win without getting much of a chance to go anywhere. Granted it might help if the Six Man Tag Team Titles had been defended here but that hasn’t happened on this show since September.

Lee Johnson is just getting started.

Workhorsemen vs. Jacoby Watts/Nick Comoroto

The Workhorsemen jump them from behind to start and Comoroto is knocked into the wrong corner. Comoroto slugs his way out of corner but Henry kicks him down for two. Everything breaks down and Drake suplexes Comoroto, setting up Henry’s top rope double stomp for the pin at 3:41.

Rating: C. This is a good example of a match that was fine but since it didn’t really add anything, it probably didn’t need to be on a show that is running over two hours. The Workhorsemen have been around here for months and don’t seem to be going anywhere, which again might have something to do with the champions almost never being around here (with their one title defense since winning the titles in December).

Post match Watts holds the ropes for Comoroto and they take their time leaving together.

Lance Archer vs. Darian Bengston

Jake Roberts bothers to show up for once. Archer misses a charge into the corner but pulls Bengston out of the air without much trouble. Another missed charge lets Bengston strike away but Archer plants him with a chokeslam. The Blackout finishes for Archer at 2:17.

We look at Dalton Castle losing the Boys to Johnny TV/Taya Valkyrie two weeks ago.

Taya Valkyrie is thinking about buying the Boys matching outfits but Dalton Castle comes in to say he can smell them. They shout at each other over the boys diets (sushi vs. tater tots) until security drags Castle away. This was amusing.

Women’s TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Mercedes Martinez vs. Abadon

Abadon slugs away to start and hits some running knees in the corner. Martinez is knocked outside and taken down again, only to come back with a big boot. Back in and some rolling butterfly suplexes have Abadon in trouble and a clothesline gives Martinez two. Abadon fights up and hits a running Codebreaker for two, only for Martinez to come back with a hard suplex.

The half crab has Abadon crawling over to the ropes for the break, followed by a quick cutter to send Martinez outside. Martinez is back up with a hard knee on the apron, setting up a hanging neckbreaker to the floor. Back in and Abadon grabs a quick DDT for two…but someone pops out from under the ring to deck Abadon. The fisherwoman’s buster gives Martinez the pin at 9:46.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t as good as the opener but it was still a nice showdown between two talented stars. Martinez going forward is a good choice as she is at least a minor threat to win the title but also someone who can be beaten to give someone a rub. I’m curious about the interference, as it’s at least a fresh ending for one of the tournament matches.

And it’s Diamante as the interfering scoundrel.

The final four:

Billie Starkz
Mercedes Martinez

Red Velvet
Queen Aminata

Slim J vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. AR Fox vs. Komander

Oh this is ROH in 2024 all right. J isn’t interested in a handshake and instead flips everyone off before heading to the floor for the bell. Fox takes him out with a dive, as he won’t stand for that kind of disrespect. That leaves Komander to miss a charge in the corner so Cartwheel hits a flipping elbow for two. J is back in to hit Fox low and another one cuts off Cartwheel, setting up a running cutter for two more. Fox flips J off the top and steps through into a cutter of his own for two of his own.

Komander has to make a save before kicking J down in the corner. Komander’s backbreaker puts Fox down before going to the top with Cartwheel. A middle rope Codebreaker on the apron rocks Cartwheel but J is there with a suicide dive to drop Komander. Back in and a top rope reverse DDT gives J two on Fox before Cartwheel and Komander go flipping up (and down) the ramp. Komander gets the better of things, setting up Cielito Lindo to finish J at 8:20.

Rating: B-. Remember the women’s version of this match earlier, where it was more or less the same kind of match that they’ve had for months and it is mainly just flashy yet meaningless? Same thing here, but with the men instead. It was entertaining enough, but when you’ve seen it over and over again for weeks, it’s hard to get interested again.

Eddie Kingston says Mark Briscoe was supposed to get a World Title shot last year. He can have it this year at Supercard Of Honor instead. There is no mention of anything but the ROH World Title on the line. Naturally this had to be a pre-tape because the champ isn’t going to be on the regular show.

Cole Karter/Griff Garrison vs. Trent Beretta/Orange Cassidy

Maria Kanellis Bennett is here with Karter and Garrison so Chuck Taylor is here to cancel her out. Karter misses an armdrag attempt to start so Cassidy puts his hands in the pockets to take over. Beretta comes in to hiptoss Garrison, setting up a quick double suplex for two. Cassidy sends Garrison face first into the buckle over and over but Karter is back in with a snap suplex.

Cassidy manages to kick his way to freedom though and there’s the hot tag to Beretta. A dive to the floor takes out Garrison but some double teaming puts Beretta in trouble for a change. Karter misses a 450 though and Beretta suplexes Garrison, allowing the real tag off to Cassidy. A bunch of kicks put the villains down and Garrison gets high crossbodied. The tornado DDT gets two on Karter but Maria offers a distraction, meaning it’s time for an exchange of kicks to the head. Maria gets up for another distraction and offers a hug, but Beretta would rather hug Chuck. The Orange Punch finishes Karter at 10:58.

Rating: B-. Nice match here, even if it is near impossible to care about Karter and Garrison no matter what they do. They have been up and down for months and still seem to be going nowhere as I still wonder why Maria is stuck with them. Cassidy and Beretta were the big guest stars and it makes perfect sense to close with them, even if they needed better opponents.

Post match the Spanish Announce Project comes in to get Serpentico’s mask back but manage to get beaten down. Cassidy and Beretta make the save and pose with the Project to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. And we’re back to the old format with two hours of stuff, much of which could have easily been dropped with absolutely nothing being lost. The four ways feel like little more than ways to get people on the show and when they feature a lot of the same people week in and week out, it’s rather hard to care. Other than that you had a bunch of the usual stuff, with the tournament matches at least feeling important. So yeah, it’s back to what makes ROH annoying after weeks of having it be what it should have been.

Results
Billie Starkz b. Diamante – Half nelson crossface
Lee Johnson b. Aaron Solo – Big Shot Drop
Kiera Hogan b. Robyn Renegade, Lady Frost and Leyla Hirsch – Face The Music to Renegade
Athena b. Aisha – Abdominal stretch
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Frog splash to James
Workhorsemen b. Jacoby Watts/Nick Comoroto – Top rope double stomp to Comoroto
Lance Archer b. Darian Bengston – Blackout
Mercedes Martinez b. Abadon – Fisherwoman’s buster
Komander b. AR Fox, Slim J and Jack Cartwheel – Cielito Lindo to J
Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta b. Griff Garrison/Cole Karter – Orange Punch to Karter

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta vs. Kip Sabian/Butcher

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

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

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

Video on the Infantry.

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

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Robyn Renegade

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

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

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

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Action Andretti

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Rampage
Date: February 23, 2024
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re almost to Revolution and as usual with this show, it could mean almost anything. I’m not sure what to expect around here, though there will likely be a nice mixture of different things. That tends to be the formula for Rampage, though you never can tell what you’re going to get. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Matt Sydal/Private Party vs. Penta El Zero Miedo/Komander/Bryan Keith vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

One fall to a finish and Sydal/Andretti get things going. Sydal takes him down with some headlocks to start but Andretti runs the corner for a wristdrag. Darius comes in and gets kicked in the face for his efforts so it’s off to Keith, who is forearmed by Quen. Penta and Quen have a big staredown but Dante tags himself in before things can get physical. Komander rope walks into a springboard armdrag (seems like a lot of work for the payoff) and we hit the parade of people hitting one move before being knocked down.

We take a break and come back with Dante elbowing Private Party down and hitting a springboard high crossbody for two. Everything breaks down and Dante hits a big dive onto the floor, leaving Sydal to hit a top rope Meteora to Komander on the apron. Back in and Penta counters the Gin and Juice into a middle rope Canadian Destroyer and Komander is launched over the top to take down a bunch of people. That leaves Penta to Fear Factor Sydal for the pin at 11:31.

Rating: B-. This is one of those matches where it’s all about the flipping and the diving and nothing at all about a coherent match. They kept things a bit more structured at first and then went completely nuts, with everyone hitting a bunch of big moves. For a match that felt important it was a waste of time, but as a total spectacle, it was a fun time.

Saraya freaks out that Ruby Soho is on a date with Angelo Parker but has good news: her brother Zak Knight is ALL ELITE. Saraya: “THIS COULD HAVE BEEN YOURS RUBY!” Harley Cameron: “LOOK AT HIM! HE’S HOT! I mean her whole family is hot. Look at daddy. And mommy. And you.” Saraya sprays her down with the water bottle, says things are about to get spicy around here, and gives Cameron a quick spank as they leave. That went in a direction.

Young Bucks vs. Jonny Lyons/Cappuccino Jones

Nick hammers on Lyons to start and hands it off to Matt for an elbow to the face. Jones comes in and gets dropped by a DDT, followed by a heck of a discus lariat. A top rope Meltzer Driver (now dubbed the Tony Khan Driver) finishes for Matt at 1:18.

Post match Nick threatens the referee with a fine for improper name use. Tony Schiavone is called into the ring, with Nick saying it was an accident when he tripped into Schiavone. They even give him a $25 Amazon gift card. The fine will NOT be rescinded though and now they are ready to beat up Darby Allin and Sting at Revolution.

Post break Schiavone is still in the ring and brings in Sammy Guevara for a chat. Guevara isn’t happy with what Don Callis said about him, or Powerhouse Hobbs putting him through a table. Hobbs is a force on his own and doesn’t need Don Callis, but it’s too late for now. Guevara calls out Hobbs but gets Callis instead. Cue Hobbs from behind but Guevara cuts him off instead. Some chair shots have Hobbs staggered….until Sammy tries the GTH and gets laid out as a result.

Skye Blue isn’t happy with Stokely Hathaway but Julia Hart interrupts. Hart promises to dig graves for Hathaway, Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander, but Blue wants someone to step up.

Anna Jay vs. Mariah May

May takes her up against the ropes to start and hits a chop against the ropes before doing it again in the corner. We take a break and come back with Jay catching her on top and pulling May back down for two. May knees her in the face but has to break out of the Queenslayer. Jay’s backbreaker gets two and the Queenslayer goes n. May actually bites her way out and hits May Day for the pin at 7:47.

Rating: C. And that’s a women’s match on Rampage. It’s what they do almost every week, to the point where I was just waiting for the commercial. May getting a win is nice to see as she is still relatively unproven in the ring around here. At the same time, this is what Jay does: gets heated up by a win or two, loses two or three in a row, starts the cycle over. I get that AEW wants her to be a thing, but she has to break this cycle if that is ever going to happen.

Angelo Parker and Ruby Soho had a nice date but Soho says it’s clear Saraya needs her instead of the other way around. When Soho starts talking about Parker, it gets serious. So next week, let’s just have everyone out there at once to deal with it. Parker: “You’re very hot when you’re mad.” They’re off for a drink.

Jake Hager vs. Roderick Strong

Hager has the Tulsa Drillers’ mascot with him while Strong has the Kingdom. Strong chops him to no avail so Hager glares him out to the floor. Back in and Hager fires off some much harder chops in the corner but has to chase Strong outside. Hager plants him down for two and we take an early break. Back with Strong hitting a knee to the face and grabbing an Angle Slam for two.

The mascot tries to play cheerleader and gets scared off by the Kingdom. A confetti cannon just annoys the Kingdom so here is Orange Cassidy to…throw Hager his hat. We now remember that there is a match going on as Hager cleans house. The Vader Bomb gets two and a Doctor Bomb sets up the ankle lock. Strong kicks his way out and the Kingdom offers a distraction. That’s enough for the jumping knee to finish Hager at 10:17.

Rating: C+. Maybe it was being at home or something, but Hager was feeling it here and put in one of his better showings in a good while. At the same time, Strong needed the win to help get him ready for Cassidy at the pay per view. Having him get beaten up for the better part of ten minutes didn’t help that, but the story has enough issues so far.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, this felt like the C show but the action we got was good enough. They covered quite a few things and did well with most of it, though very little of it feels like it will make a big impact. Saraya and Soho’s segments were good and the opener was wild, which should be enough to get you through most of this show.

Results
Penta El Zero Miedo/Komander/Bryan Keith b. Top Flight/Action Andretti and Matt Sydal/Private Party – Fear Factor to Sydal
Young Bucks b. Jonny Lyons/Cappuccino Jones – Tony Khan Driver to Jones
Mariah May b. Anna Jay – May Day
Roderick Strong b. Jake Hager – Jumping knee

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Rampage
Date: February 2, 2024
Location: UNO Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re about a month away from Revolution and the card started to get bigger over the last few days. This week has its own issues though, as we have a mini invasion from CMLL. The four visitors will be facing a group of AEW stars tonight on their way to a showdown with the Blackpool Combat Club next week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Top Flight vs. Private Party

Rematch from last month where Private Party cheated to win and Action Andretti is here with Top Flight. Dante and Quen start things off with Dante taking over and handing it off to Darius. A double leg trip and stereo kicks to the chest set up an assisted DDT for two on Quen. The front facelock keeps Quen in trouble but he dropkicks his way to freedom and brings Zay in.

Zay cleans house and steals a crown from a fan as he takes over on Darius. Andretti tries to come in but gets held back as we take a break. Back with Darius hitting an enziguri and diving over for the tag to Dante so the pace can pick up. Zay fights his way back in though and it’s the Silly String into a shooting star press for two on Dante. Darius cuts Zay off though and Dante’s spinning half nelson slam finishes Quen at 9:53.

Rating: B-. You pretty much know what you’re getting with these teams and that was on display here. They flew around, did their dives and double teaming and then Top Flight won to even the series. Odds are we’ll see a third match here and the winners will move up in the title rankings, but it won’t matter unless one of them is a pretty clear winner.

Sammy Guevara is back and ready to take care of his family, which means he’s coming for Powerhouse Hobbs.

Jeff Jarrett and company are annoyed at Jay Lethal for being late for a workout. Lethal comes in and says he’s ready to go but no one else wants to get in the ring, so Jeff Jarrett says he’s running the meeting next week.

Ricky Starks/Big Bill vs. Dark Order

Non-title and Darby Allin is on commentary. The Dark Order go right after the champs to start and the fans do not like bad things happening to Starks, the hometown boy. A poewrbomb onto raised knees gets two on Starks but Silver gets taken into the wrong corner. That’s broken up and it’s Reynolds coming in to clean house. Bill gets sent outside for some dives but is fine enough to hit a Boss Man Slam back inside. Starks comes back in and gets to clean some house, including the dancing Old School. Roshambo finishes Silver at 5:41.

Rating: C. This was nothing more than a way to get Starks in the ring in front of his hometown crowd for a nice win. It did exactly that and they didn’t waste time in getting there. I’m glad the champs didn’t have much trouble against a team like the Dark Order, who have been presented fairly strongly in the past despite not winning much of anything.

Don Callis and Powerhouse Hobbs don’t think much of Sammy Guevara and promise to take him out like they did to Chris Jericho.

Willow Nightingale vs. Queen Aminata

Kris Statlander and Stokely Hathaway, the latter reluctantly holding a pro-Willow sign, are here with Nightingale. They fight over a wristlock to start until Nightingale runs her over with a shoulder. Some clotheslines put Aminata down again and a middle rope dropkick sends her outside. The backsplash off the apron misses though and Aminata points at her own head as we take a break. Back with Aminata hitting a running hip attack in the corner for two. Nightingale shrugs it off and hits the Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: C. The more I think about Aminata, the less interested I am. She’s been around for several matches in recent weeks, with commentary pointing out how active she has been. The problem with that is we still don’t know much about her. She’s some kind of royalty and she’s from Africa. I’m going to need more than that to go on and she hasn’t shown it yet.

Orange Cassidy and the Best Friends know that the Undisputed Kingdom are about to interrupt them so here is the Undisputed Kingdom to interrupt. A six man is set for next week on Rampage.

The Outcasts interrupt Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway and a match is made for next week.

Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. Volador Jr./Mistico/Mascara Dorada/Hechicero

Dorada and Sydal start things off with Sydal snapping off a running hurricanrana. That doesn’t get him very far so it’s off to Volador to take over on Menard. Mistico and Daniels come in with the former hitting a handspring elbow into a crossbody for two. Daniels bails to the floor for a breather before being taken into the wrong corner back inside.

Dorada’s running shooting star press gets two with Sydal making the save. Back up and Dorada chops away at Daniels in the corner but Menard and Parker come in to clean house. Sydal’s standing moonsault gets two on Dorada and we hit the bow and arrow as we take a break. We come back with Dorada hurricanranaing/kicking his way out of freedom to bring in Hechicero.

The sleeper doesn’t work so well so Hechicero settles for a top rope clothesline. Everything breaks down and Daniels’ Koji Clutch is broken up. Mistico sends Menard and Parker to the floor so Volador can hit a dive. Dorada does the same, leaving Hechicero to roll Daniels up for the pin at 11:28.

Rating: B-. If you call this what it was, which was just a showcase for the luchadors, it went well. It’s certainly not a must see match but the four guys got in there and did their thing well enough. It’s not like they beat anyone of value so this was a perfectly serviceable match. I’m not really expecting the CMLL guys to be the next big thing here, but it was a fine choice to headline the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a “what do you want me to say” show as they had some good enough matches, the main event felt like something more than the rest of the card and some things were set up for next week. As is the case with Rampage, it’s nothing you need to go out of your way to see but it’s a good background noise show. Not a classic, but as usual, it’s hard to get that annoyed at an hour of decent wrestling.

Results
Top Flight b. Private Party – Spinning half nelson slam to Quen
Big Bill/Ricky Starks b. Dark Order – Roshambo to Silver
Willow Nightingale b. Queen Aminata – Babe With The Powerbomb
Volador Jr./Mistico/Mascara Dorada/Hechicero b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker/Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Rollup to Daniels

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Rampage
Date: January 26, 2024
Location: Enmarket Arena, Savannah, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

It’s the Friday show and that could mean more than a few things. Rampage is the one AEW show that doesn’t exactly have a regular format and that opens up a few options. You never know what kind of a show you’re going to get and most of them wind up working well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley vs. Lee Moriarty

Shane Taylor is here with Moriarty, who is quickly chopped out to the floor. Back in and Moriarty pulls him into a headlock, only to get elbowed outside. Moxley and Taylor almost get into it, leaving Moriarty and Moxley to slug it out back inside. Moriarty manages to take him into the corner for some right hands and we take a break.

Back with the two of them striking it out on the apron until Moriarty takes him down by the arm. They get back inside with Moriarty cranking on the arm and getting two off a German suplex. Moxley comes out of the corner with a hard clothesline into the hammer and anvil elbows. Moriarty snaps the fingers and hits some running corner dropkicks but Moxley grabs a piledriver. More elbows and a running kick to the face gets two, followed by a rear naked choke for the win at 12:52.

Rating: B. Yep that was a Moxley match, as he did his wrestling/grappling stuff with insert opponent here. It’s not that they’re bad or anything close to it, but it feels like something that we’ve covered so many times that it stops meaning as much. Moxley is probably going to be back in a title hunt sooner or later and odds are he’ll be doing the exact same stuff, as tends to be the case.

Post match Taylor jumps Moxley for the double beatdown.

Angelo Parker asks Anna Jay if she had anything to do with Harley Cameron kissing her…so Jay slaps him. She’s tired of no one having her back so she’s having her match tonight on her own.

CMLL is coming to AEW.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Christopher Daniels

The Don Callis Family is here with Takeshita with Callis himself on commentary. Takeshita hits him in the face and hits a running crossbody. A middle rope backsplash connects but Daniels headbutts him off the top. The middle rope swinging Downward Spiral drops Takeshita but he’s right back with a kneeling Tombstone. The running knee finishes for Takeshita at 3:07.

Rating: C. This was short and to the point and that’s all it needed to be. Takeshita continues to feel like he should be a killer but for some reason he only pops up every now and then. At least he beat up Daniels in short order, but can we get something a little more substantial for Takeshita already? He’s too good for the role he’s in at the moment.

Post match Callis gets on the mic and talks about how his family has taken away everything from Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega. Now it’s time for Takeshita to face Chris Jericho in two weeks, but Kyle Fletcher says he wants to face Jericho instead. Works for Callis, who says Jericho can face Fletcher next week.

Top Flight with Action Andretti and Private Party talk trash before their match next week. Andretti’s water bottle is knocked out of his hands.

Ruby Soho vs. Anna Jay

The Outcasts are here with Soho, who jumps Jay before the bell and sends her outside. Jay is sent into various things on the floor and they head back inside for the opening bell. A whip into the corner has Soho in trouble but she runs Jay over as we take a break. Back with Jay getting two off a DDT but Harley Cameron breaks up the Queenslayer. That’s enough for the double ejections, leaving Soho to hit Destination Unknown for two. Jay is fine enough to grab the Queenslayer for the win at 6:53.

Rating: C. As usual, there is only so much you can get out of a match that doesn’t even last seven minutes and almost half of it is spent in a commercial break. It’s nice to see Jay get a win, but forgive me if I don’t think this is going to be her big break. She has some of the worst start and stop momentum in wrestling and there is no reason to believe this will be the first big step.

Eddie Kingston, in a Cincinnati Reds shirt, for some reason is willing to give Willie Mack a non-title shot on Collision.

Video on Serena Deeb.

El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kip Sabian vs. Komander vs. Butcher

The winner gets an International Title shot on Collision. The brawl is on to start with Sabian and Butcher seemingly working together. Sabian turns on him just as quickly though, allowing Vikingo and Komander to send them outside. Stereo dives connect but Vikingo and Komander come back inside for a standoff. Butcher comes back in for a weird cloverleaf on Komander. Sabian takes out Vikingo and we take a break.

Back with Butcher and Sabian working on Komander until Sabian tries to turn on him AGAIN. This time it’s a backbreaker to Sabian but Vikingo is back in with a springboard kick to put Butcher down. Komander is back up to clean house, with a Spanish Fly getting two on Sabian.

Butcher manages to hold both of them up until Sabian trips them down for two of his own. Komander goes outside and uses Alex Abrahantes as a launch pad for a Canadian Destroyer to Sabian. Back in and Vikingo hits running knees to Butcher but Sabian runs him over. A bridging German suplex gives Sabian two on Komander, who is right back with a hurricanrana to pin Sabian at 12:59.

Rating: B-. It was a good enough match but this is a fine example of a match where it’s hard to care. You have four people who are rarely above the midcard and now they’re in a thrown together four way for a shot at a title the next night against a champion who is set for a pay per view showdown the month after next. It’s a case where a bigger name would do a lot of good, but instead we get this which was…there.

Post match Orange Cassidy comes out for a staredown with Komander to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was indeed Rampage and it was indeed a show whose purpose was to set things up for later rather than doing anything of importance here. It’s a show where if you watch it, you’ll probably have a good time but if you don’t, you’re really not going to miss anything. That doesn’t exactly come off as a positive, as the show could use some more star power and stakes, as they’re both mostly lacking here.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Lee Moriarty – Rear naked choke
Konosuke Takeshita b. Christopher Daniels – Running knee
Anna Jay b. Ruby Soho – Queenslayer
Komander b. Kip Sabian, El Hijo del Vikingo and The Butcher – Hurricanrana to Sabian

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Ring Of Honor
Date: January 25, 2024
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The very slow build towards the yet to be announced Supercard Of Honor continues, including what is likely to be another build towards the Women’s TV Title tournament. We still don’t have anything for a start date for the tournament, or any other details for that matter, but maybe we can find out something this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary runs down part of the card.

Righteous vs. Camaro Jackson/Anaya

Dutch shrugs off a shoulder from Jackson to start and takes him into the corner so Vincent can come in. Jackson manages a suplex but Vincent sends him into the corner, with Dutch coming in for a splash. Vincent’s low Downward Spiral connects but his elbow hits raised knees. Anaya comes in and drops Vincent for two, only to have Dutch come in to set up Autumn Sunshine for the pin at 3:44.

Rating: C. The Righteous looked dominant enough here as Jackson and Anaya only got in so much offense before falling short. It does help having the Tag Team Titles around here again, as the Righteous, while not on the top of the list of challengers, have something to fight over. That being said, if you have the Righteous as the weird cult people, why not have them doing….cult stuff?

Nyla Rose vs. Laynie Luck

Rose crushes her hand in the Code Of Honor and hits a clothesline. Luck’s kicks don’t get her anywhere as Rose sends her into the ropes for some far harder kicks. A powerslam cuts off Luck’s running headscissors and the Beast Bomb finishes at 2:00. Exactly as it should have gone.

Zak Knight vs. Aaron Solo

Solo hammers away to start and manages a dropkick out to the floor. Back in and Knight hits a clothesline, followed by a toss across the ring. Knight hits a delayed vertical suplex, with some squats thrown in, but Solo breaks up a springboard. Solo hits his own clothesline for his own two and we hit the chinlock.

Back up and Knight catches him on top for a delayed vertical superplex, followed by a Samoan Driver for two. As Ian says Knight usually makes short work of his opponents (his shortest ROH match is 4:15), Knight misses a Swanton, allowing Solo to hit a double stomp for two. Knight has had it with him and hits the Razor’s Edge bomb into the corner, followed by the running forearm for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C+. I’m assuming the idea is for Knight to be in the ring longer to get a better look at him, as there is pretty much no reason to have Knight take eight minutes to beat Solo. On top of that, Solo got in quite a bit of offense before Knight took him out, which is kind of a weird way to go. I could still go for more of Knight though and it’s nice to see him getting more shots out there.

We recap Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. the Spanish Announce Project.

Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. Spanish Announce Project

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with Garrison and Karter. Angelico and Garrison start things off with an exchange of wristlocks until Angelico pulls him to the mat. That’s enough for Garrison to bail to the floor before coming back in to shoulder Angelico down. Karter gets to stomp away in the corner and then does it again for good measure. Angelico breaks that up and hands it off to Serpentico for a top rope stomp to the arm. Serpentico knocks them both to the floor for the big dive but Maria offers a distraction.

That lets Garrison send Serpentico’s long injured knee into the steps so the villains can take over again. Karter comes back in but Serpentico jawbreaks his way to freedom, allowing the tag off to Angelico. A breakdancing kick to Garrison’s head gets two and we hit the leglock. With that broken up, Karter offers a cheap shot and spinebusters Serpentico for a bonus.

Everyone is down for a breather, allowing Angelico to get over for the tag to Serpentico. A running cutter drops Garrison but Maria’s distraction lets Garrison clothesline Serpentico down. Maria tells them to try something, which results in heel miscommunication. Not that it matters as Karter steals Serpentico’s mask and Garrison hits a discus forearm for the pin at 11:09.

Rating: C+. On one hand, it’s nice to have a match with a feud and something of a history to it. On the other hand, forgive me for not getting interested in an eleven minute match between Serpentico/Angelico and Griff Garrison/Cole Karter. There’s a reason they were at the bottom of the AEW totem pole and have been more or less relegated to Ring Of Honor. The match wasn’t bad, but it’s between four people who aren’t that interesting and it was showing here.

Post match Angelico covers Serpentico’s face but gets beaten down anyway.

Outrunners vs. Blake Christian/Willie Mack

Christian starts with Floyd, who runs him over with a shoulder. An exchange of headlocks doesn’t do well for Magnum, who gets shouldered down by Christian. Magnum is sent outside and there’s the Fosbury Flop to put him down again. Back in and it’s off to Mack for the house cleaning, including a double noggin knocker. The dancing moonsault gets two on Floyd and the Stunner into the frog splash is enough to give Mack the pin at 5:14.

Rating: C. This was very much in the “we have to get them on the show” style and it didn’t exactly do much beyond that. Mack and Christian are another thrown together tag team and they beat one of the goofy regular teams. It’s not a bad match, but when a show is over two hours and fifteen minutes long, this isn’t exactly must see content.

Lady Frost/Kiera Hogan/Trish Adora vs. Taya Valkyrie/Leila Grey/Diamante

Johnny TV is here with Valkyrie and company. Valkyrie shoves Hogan into the corner to start but she’s back up with a right hand. The basement superkick drops Valkyrie, who comes back with a knee to the face. Adora comes in to crank on Grey’s arm, meaning it’s quickly of to Frost for a sunset flip on Diamante.

Frost gets taken into the corner and Grey takes her down with a Sling Blade. Something like an STF goes on but Frost fights up and brings Adora in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Valkyrie is low bridged to the floor. Frost goes up top and moonsaults onto Valkyrie and Grey, leaving Diamante to hit the rolling cutter for the pin on Adora at 6:58.

Rating: C. This was the latest match between people who are probably going to be in the TV Title tournament or competition or whatever it is, but at some point it would be nice to start the thing. I’m assuming they’re setting up the finals for Supercard Of Honor, but that is a heck of a long time to stretch things out. If nothing else, give us something resembling details about the whole thing, as these tag matches are feeling more and more like filler every week.

Leyla Hirsch and Rachael Ellering have been working on chemistry by going to dinner and even joining a book club. They’re both ready to try to win the TV Title though. For now though, sushi.

Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson vs. Infantry/Lee Johnson

Johnson and Bronson start things off with Bronson blocking an armdrag to start. Jameson comes in so Bravo starts working on his arm. Boulder breaks that up and cleans house, with Dean being sent face first into the chest hair. Dean slips away and brings in Bravo to pick the pace way up. A TKO Stunner gets two on Bronson and it’s off to Jameson, who gets caught with a reverse inverted DDT to give Johnson the pin at 5:36.

Rating: C. The Iron Savages are rapidly reaching the point where I don’t need to see them again for a long time. It’s the same stuff every week and they lost again here, at least with the manager taking the fall. That’s one of the biggest problems with Ring Of Honor: you see the same people so often and it stops mattering when they’re on the show week in and week out. That’s the case with the Savages, who only had so much to go on in the first place.

Red Velvet vs. Heather Reckless

They fight over a lockup to start with Velvet sending her to the apron. Reckless kicks her away though and hits a shot off the top for two. Velvet shrugs it off and hits The Mix for the pin at 2:22.

Nyla Rose throws away/steals a bunch of Athena’s stuff. Lexi Nair comes in to ask what she’s doing so Rose lists off her resume. Rose declares herself the new Minion Overlord because Athena isn’t coming back. She has Nair grab the camera and then powerbombs the cameraman through a table. So is Rose the heel in all of this? Because making Athena the face is a weird way to go.

Billie Starkz vs. Tootie Lynn

Starkz takes her into the corner to start and pulls her back out, setting up a kick between the shoulders for two. More kicks put Lynn down and a Swanton finishes for Starkz at 3:04.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match here as Starkz, another name in the mix for the TV Title, gets a spotlight. At this rate the tournament is going to have all kinds of stars in there, though Starkz might have to help Athena deal with Nyla Rose. Starkz is starting to get a bit of a build back up after Final Battle, which is exactly what she needs here.

Ethan Page vs. Kody Lane

Page grinds away on a headlock to start but gets dropkicked into the corner. Ego’s Edge is broken up and Lane knocks Page down, only for Page to come back with Ego’s Edge for the pin at 2:00.

Dalton Castle interrupts Jerry Lynn and demands to face Johnny TV. Cue TV out of his locker room to say not until Castle is TV ready. Then TV slides away on his knees (with an assist from Taya Valkyrie).

Abadon vs. Robyn Renegade

Abadon headbutts Renegade down to start and hits some running knees in the corner. Renegade is back up with a kick to the head for two and a face first drop onto the turnbuckle. A Codebreaker gives Renegade two but Abadon is back with a Stunner for two more. Sean O’Haire’s old Widowmaker gives Renegade two more but Abadon grabs the Black Dahlia for the pin at 3:54.

Rating: C. Hey look: another match where commentary talks about building momentum towards the TV Title tournament. It might have meant a bit more if not for the three other times I’ve seen it in the last 40 minutes or so. Abadon seems to be one of the heavy hitters/big stars on the way to the tournament and that isn’t exactly instilling me with hope.

Jon Cruz vs. Jack Cartwheel

Cartwheel starts with cartwheels and flips, with one of them including a kick to the head. A missed flip of the top lets Cruz run him over, while asking where Cartwheel’s cartwheel is. Cruz hits a side slam for two and we hit the seated abdominal stretch. Back up and Cartwheel sweeps the leg and hits a slingshot flipping splash before flipping into a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Cartwheel takes him down again and hits a top rope corkscrew Swanton for the pin at 4:34.

Rating: C+. When commentary is counting the number of cartwheels you’re doing in a match, it might be time to vary things up a bit. One of the common criticisms of modern wrestling is that it’s built on a bunch of flips, but Cartwheel is leaning all the way into it. He’s quite acrobatic, but my goodness can we just end this show already without cramming in everyone they can find?

Action Andretti vs. Anthony Henry

They fight over a lockup to start with Henry going after the arm. Andretti is sent outside and the arm goes straight into the steps as Henry has an early target. Back in and Andretti hits a corner splash and rains down some right hands, followed by a springboard clothesline for two. Henry hits an enziguri but misses a top rope double stomp. Instead Andretti is back with a Spanish Fly, only to have Henry crank away on the arm again. They forearm it out until Andretti hits a shotgun dropkick into the corner. The split legged moonsault finishes for Andretti at 7:33.

Rating: C+. They had one of the better matches of the night here as Henry worked over the arm and Andretti had to fight from underneath. Andretti is still one of the better high fliers, but when his match comes after Jack Cartwheel, it loses some of its impact. I’ll take what I can get here though as this was a step up from recent matches.

Slim J vs. JD Drake vs. Rocky Romero vs. Josh Woods

Woods and Drake clear the ring to start and trade heavy forearms until Woods grabs a German suplex. The two of them go outside with Romero and J following them with stereo dives. Woods suplexes J on the floor, leaving J and Romero to beat up Woods inside. Drake gets kicked back to the floor so Romero takes down Woods and J at the same time. With everyone else on the floor, Romero dives onto all three but gets suplexed by Woods back inside. Drake suplexes Woods and hits the moonsault, with J making the save. Romero is back in with the running Sliced Bread to finish J at 7:27.

Rating: B-. It was the fun, almost all action match and that worked out well here. Romero getting the win isn’t shocking as he’s the biggest star in the match and feels like an important name. At the same time, it’s not like Romero is going to go anywhere, so this was just another match for the sake of putting four people in the ring.

The Kingdom vs. Gravity/Gringo Loco

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Gravity and Loco win or survive the ten minute time limit, they get a future title shot. Taven jumps over Loco to start and hits a dropkick, followed by a springboard armdrag. Loco takes Taven into the corner though and it’s off to Gravity for two off la majistral.

The champs are sent outside and the non-champs both hit dives. Taven takes over on Loco outside though and a running flipping neckbreaker drops him inside. Bennett adds a clothesline and spinebuster but Loco gets over for the tag. Gravity takes Bennett down and a moonsault gives Loco two. Bennett superkicks Loco though and the Hail Mary is good for the pin at 6:52.

Rating: C+. You know, it is ok for the Kingdom to squash someone every so often. So far, the Kingdom has mainly had difficulty against thrown together teams rather than destroying someone, but that might make the Undisputed Kingdom dominant or interesting or something like that. The match itself was fine, but I have no idea what the deal is with the Undisputed Kingdom, because introducing a new monster heel group and then having them struggle in matches like this one is bizarre.

Overall Rating: D+. This show was one of the worst presentations I’ve seen from a company with a budget. The wrestling was completely fine and even good in parts. The problem with this whole thing is it’s not an interesting or well put together show. The show just keeps going and going with matches that either don’t advance anything or have a bunch of people who have nothing going on.

Two hours into a show is not a good time to have a four way between random wrestlers with nothing on the line, which came two matches after a Jack Cartwheel match. I have no idea why this show is supposed to be entertaining, either for fans watching at home or watching in the arena, but this was a wretched setup for a show and a waste of some good action. Fix this already, because this was a big negative despite the positives from the wrestlers.

Results
Righteous b. Camaro Jackson/Anaya – Autumn Sunshine to Anaya
Nyla Rose b. Laynie Luck – Beast Bomb
Zak Knight b. Aaron Solo – Running forearm
Griff Garrison/Cole Karter b. Spanish Announce Project – Discus forearm to Serpentico
Willie Mack/Blake Christian b. Outrunners – Frog splash to Floyd
Diamante/Leila Grey/Taya Valkyrie b. Lady Frost/Kiera Hogan/Trish Adora – Rolling cutter to Adora
Infantry/Lee Johnson b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Reverse inverted DDT to Jameson
Red Velvet b. Heather Reckless – The Mix
Billie Starkz b. Tootie Lynn – Swanton
Ethan Page b. Kody Lane – Ego’s Edge
Abadon b. Robyn Renegade – Black Dahlia
Jack Cartwheel b. Jon Cruz – Corkscrew Swanton
Action Andretti b. Anthony Henry – Split legged moonsault
Rocky Romero b. Slim J, Josh Woods and JD Drake – Running Sliced Bread to J
The Kingdom b. Gravity/Gringo Loco – Hail Mary to Loco

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: January 20, 2024
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

The card is looking pretty good here as Jon Moxley is back after his recent New Japan matches. In this case he’ll be fighting Shane Taylor, which should be a heck of a showdown. Other than that, we have another Adam Copeland open challenge and that could go in a variety of directions. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor vs. Jon Moxley

Lee Moriarty is here with Taylor. They slug it out to start with neither being able to get very far until Taylor knocks him into the corner. A hard chop brings Moxley down but he’s back up to trade chops. Taylor hits a running splash in the corner and he backdrops his way out of a piledriver attempt. They go outside with Moxley sending him into the steps as Nigel makes a joke about how Moxley is likely about to bleed.

Moriarty gets in a cheap shot though and Taylor grabs a chinlock back inside. Taylor misses the middle rope splash, allowing Moxley to grab a running cutter. The King Kong Lariat gives Moxley two but Taylor hits his own clothesline. Back up and they trade headbutts until Taylor hits a powerbomb, only to get pulled into a triangle choke. Taylor dead lifts his way out, only to have Moxley elbow him in the face. Back up and they slug it out until Moxley pulls him into the bulldog choke for the knockout at 9:37.

Rating: B. Sometimes you just need two guys to beat the fire out of each other and that’s what we had here. Moxley can hang in fights like this one and Taylor has the raw power to make his half work too. It was an entertaining slugout and Moxley gets to come back with a bang after a few weeks away.

Post match Moxley says this is going to be his year and if you want to be his opponent or teammate, you better keep up.

We look at Hook vs. Samoa Joe from Dynamite.

Adam Copeland vs. Dante Martin

Copeland grabs a headlock to start but Martin is back up with some leapfrogs into an armbar. Back up and Copeland manages to send him outside as we take an early break. Back with Copeland holding a headlock. Martin fights up but gets sent to the apron, where he has to fight out of a sunset bomb to the floor. A hurricanrana takes Copeland down as commentary thinks Martin’s balance and equilibrium are off.

Back in and the half nelson slam is broken up but Copeland misses the spear. Martin hits the Nose Dive for two as Copeland has to grab the rope. Commentary says Martin has vertigo (egads if true as that is a nightmare) as he goes up, only to get caught on top. Martin is fine enough to hit a sunset bomb for two but another springboard is speared out of the air. Copeland’s Grindhouse finishes at 11:51.

Rating: B. If Martin wrestled that match with vertigo, my goodness it’s an amazing performance. That is one of the nastiest conditions you can have and the idea of walking in a straight line, let alone wrestling a match, would be horrible. For now though, this was another match where Copeland got to go in there and have a good one against some younger star, which makes for some interesting situations. They’re not instant classics or anything, but Copeland wrestling a random wrestler once a week is not a bad idea whatsoever.

Post match Tony Schiavone gets in the ring to talk to Copeland, who wonders what he was thinking with these open challenge. He sees a bunch of young guys going after him instead of a veteran. They want to take a bite out of him and there’s a lot to eat. Copeland: “I’m a five course dinner. I don’t know what the h*** that means.” He’s coming for the TNT Title and he’ll be champion the next time he wrestles in this city.

Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli aren’t happy with losing to Eddie Kingston in the Continental Classic and want revenge in the main event.

Private Party interrupts Top Flight and Action Andretti so a match is set up.

Queen Aminata vs. Thunder Rosa

Feeling out process to start with Aminata grabbing an armbar and shaking her hips a bit for some mind games. They run the ropes until Aminata drops down, allowing Rosa to cradle her for two. Aminata hits a backbreaker for two and then drives some knees to the ribs. Rosa is fine enough to send her outside for a dropkick through the ropes and we take a break.

Back with Aminata kicking her in the back again, with Rosa’s eyes bugging out. Rosa is fine enough to strike away in the corner, setting up some running knees. A running dropkick against the ropes sets up a northern lights suplex for two but Aminata’s Air Raid Crash gets two. Rosa wins a kick off and grabs the Tijuana Bomb for the pin at 9:19.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of physical win that Rosa needed and Aminata put in a good showing. I liked the idea of focusing on Rosa’s recently injured back as it’s a simple yet effective way to go, but the break in the middle took away some of the momentum they were building. At the same time, Aminata has now had six televised matches (counting ROH) this month alone. It’s ok to hit the brakes on her a bit.

Eddie Kingston and Ortiz are ready for Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli tonight. Kingston doesn’t have time for this.

Here is Bullet Club Gold, with Colten imitating the Rock’s catchphrase and Jay White talking about being glad to be back on Saturday. There is something missing though….and we have a cardboard cutout of Juice Robinson. If you’re not down with them, they have two words for you. Cue Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed (minus rap for some reason) to interrupt and again offer to form a super group. The people want to see these guys getting some gold, which gives us a BANG BANG SCISSOR GANG chant. Bowens gives a heck of a speech….and the Club is in!

Toni Storm admits she knows Deonna Purrazzo and threatens to beat and eat her. Storm: “Now where is my pork dinner?”

Buddy Matthews vs. Daniel Garcia

The House Of Black and FTR are here too and Matt Menard is on commentary. Matthews powers Garcia down to start and then knocks him to the floor. Back in and Garcia hits a running shoulder to put Matthews on the floor for a change. All six get up on the apron for a staredown and we take a break.

Back with Garcia escaping a powerbomb on the apron and hitting a piledriver to plant Matthews. They both barely beat the count, with Garcia hammering away back inside. Garcia wraps the knee around the post and even grabs the Hartbreaker to make it worse. The Dragonslayer goes on but Matthews grabs the head and slams it into the mat for the break. Matthews hits a knee to the face into a Jackhammer for two as the fans think this is awesome. Garcia dances at him from his knees so Matthews grabs a powerbomb, which is reversed into a jackknife rollup to give Garcia the pin at 11:19.

Rating: B. This is the kind of Garcia who could get somewhere, as he’s starting to figure some things out. It’s one of the better matches he’s had and having him there to even the odds with FTR against the House is a good idea. Keep this up and they might have something, as long as they don’t go too far with it too fast as they did before.

Post match the fight is on and the locker room comes in to help break it up. The fans were WAY into this as it was a hot fight.

Post break FTR and Daniel Garcia want a six man elimination tag….in a cage.

Roderick Strong vs. Matt Sydal

The Kingdom is here with Strong and yes we get a Generation Next reference. Strong pulls him into a quickly broken surfboard to start so they grapple against the ropes. Sydal sends him outside for a crash and we take a break. Back with Sydal in trouble but elbowing his way out of a fireman’s carry. Some running shots to the face take Strong down but he’s back up with the jumping knee to the face. End of Heartache is the end of Sydal at 8:15.

Rating: C+. They kept this going fast but there is only so much you can get out of an eight minute match with a break in the middle. Sydal continues to be the good hand who hang in there with just about anyone but isn’t likely to win match. That makes it a valuable win for Strong as he is on his way to the International Title match at Revolution.

Eddie Kingston/Ortiz vs. Claudio Castagnoli/Bryan Danielson

Kingston and Danielson start things off with the fans not being sure who they like more. They trade some poses and don’t actually make any contact until nearly two minutes in. A lockup doesn’t go anywhere so Danielson starts kicking away at the leg. That lets Danielson pose some more until Kingston snapmares him down for a kick to the back. Ortiz comes in for a double suplex so it’s off to Castagnoli for the hard uppercut.

Ortiz dropkicks them both at once but Castagnoli drops him face first onto the buckle to cut that off fast. We take a break and come back with Ortiz fighting out of a chinlock. That’s not enough for the tag though as Danielson comes in to kick at Ortiz, who says bring it. As we’re told that the ranking system is returning (erg), Ortiz escapes and brings Kingston in for the showdown with Castagnoli.

Kingston fires of the machine gun chops in the corner but Castagnoli hits a hard clothesline. Danielson adds the top rope headbutt for two, followed by Castagnoli sending Ortiz into the barricade. Back in and Kingston hits a quick DDT on Danielson, allowing the tag off to Ortiz. A t-bone suplex drops Castagnoli and Kingston hits him with a suicide dive. Danielson manages a LeBell Lock on Ortiz, who gets over to the ropes. That leaves Danielson to stomp away as Castagnoli holds Kingston. The running knee gives Danielson the pin at 16:13.

Rating: B-. This was the match that got the most time but it wasn’t quite as good as some of the other things that were on the card. What mattered here was having Danielson get a win, which should set him up for a title shot against Kingston down the line. It’s a good enough main event, which says a lot when it was one of the weaker matches on the card.

Ortiz apologizes to Kingston to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. There was more than enough good to very good action here to make this one of the better Collisions in awhile. This show felt a bit more straightforward as you had wrestlers in feuds and matches that advanced those feuds. That is what AEW has tended to shine and it’s nice to see them doing it again here. Pretty awesome show this week as Collision is starting to get back to what works.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Shane Taylor – Bulldog choke
Adam Copeland b. Dante Martin – Grindhouse
Thunder Rosa b. Queen Aminata – Tijuana Bomb
Daniel Garcia b. Buddy Matthews – Jackknife rollup
Roderick Strong b. Matt Sydal – End Of Heartache
Bryan Danielson/Claudio Castagnoli b. Eddie Kingston/Ortiz – Running knee to Ortiz

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: January 18, 2024
Location: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

We’re back with another week but there is a twist this time: the Tag Team Champions are ACTUALLY HERE! For the first time since early August, the titles will not only be on the show but also on the line. It’s a tiny victory but I’ll take the little things that I can get here and there. Let’s get to it.

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

Here’s what’s coming this week.

We look back at Nyla Rose attacking Athena at a training school.

Billie Starkz and Lexi Nair don’t get how this happened but Nair suggests herbal tea and Friends. Starkz on the other hand wants the Women’s TV Title. These two are still great together.

Nyla Rose vs. Erica Leigh

Leigh chops away to start but is dropped with a single chop. They go outside with Leigh being rammed ribs first into the apron and then into the steps as the fans approve of Rose. Back in and Leigh gets in a kick, earning herself a “HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND” and a chokeslam. The cannonball and Beast Bomb finish for Rose at 2:57.

Tag Team Titles: Iron Savages vs. The Kingdom

The Kingdom is defending and Bennett chops Bronson into the corner to start. Bennett’s right hands don’t get him very far as Bronson backdrops him down and hands it off to Boulder for a swinging side slam. Bennett sends the Savages into each other though and Taven comes in for a spear. A running flipping neckbreaker gives Taven two on Bronson as commentary talks about the Kingdom’s history.

Taven’s chinlock doesn’t last long so it’s back to Bennett for the chops in the corner. A splash misses for Bennett though and it’s Boulder coming in to pick up the pace. Slams and corner splashes keep the Kingdom in trouble, with a powerbomb/World’s Strongest Slam combination getting two. Taven low bridges Boulder to the floor but Bronson sends Taven outside for the dive. Back in and a Sky High gives Bronson two but it’s Just The Tip into the Death Valley Driver into Just The Tip to give Taven two. Hail Mary (spike piledriver) retains the titles at 6:54.

Rating: C+. That’s something the show has been missing for a long time now. This wasn’t some epic match, but the champs being here and putting the titles on the line gives the other tag teams a reason to fight. There’s a prize to be won now and there might be a reason to having all of those tag matches now. It’s not so much a great match, but it’s an important event that needs to happen every so often.

Robyn Renegade, Taya Valkyrie, Leyla Hirsch and Rachael Ellering are ready for their eight woman tag match as a preview for the Women’s TV Title tournament.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Keith

Castagnoli powers him into the corner to start and adds a nice shove. It works so well that Castagnoli does it again, this time for some rights and lefts to make it more violent. Keith is able to send him outside and follows with…actually some strikes rather than a dive. Back in and Castagnoli grabs a chokeslam of all things, setting up an elbow drop for two.

Some stomps in the corner have Keith in more trouble and Castagnoli grabs a slam to cut off the comeback attempt. A gorilla press into the corner sends Keith outside again but he’s back in with a tornado DDT. They head outside again with Keith firing off some kicks to the chest but Castagnoli uppercuts his head off.

Back in and Keith hits a running knee for two of his own and a Death Valley Driver onto the knee gets the same. Castagnoli has had it though and grabs the Swing for two of his own. The big uppercut gets two more so Castagnoli grabs a swinging sleeper into a rear naked choke to finish at 12:46.

Rating: B. This started off slowly but they got into a groove and were tearing the house down by the end. Castagnoli going into wrecking ball mode is great to see as there isn’t much that can stop him when he gets going like that. Keith held his own here too and I was into this by the end, which is a great sign for any match.

Respect is shown post match.

Billie Starkz/Queen Aminata/Kiera Hogan/Lady Frost vs. Taya Valkyrie/Robyn Renegade/Leyla Hirsch/Rachael Ellering

Starkz and Renegade start things off, with Starkz hitting a hard shot to the face. Frost comes in to flip over Hirsch and dropkick her in the back, allowing Ellering to come in. Aminata comes in as well as commentary hypes her up as a major prospect. Ellering wins a strike off so Aminata takes her down for a kick to the back.

Hogan gets to strike away at Ellering, who casually picks her up and drops her into the wrong corner. It’s Renegade coming in for a change, with Hogan hitting a running hip attack to the back. Renegade kicks her out to the floor for two, followed by Taya’s sliding clothesline for the same. Ellering’s backsplash gets two more and Renegade gets to grab a reverse chinlock as the fast tags continue.

Hogan grabs a jumping neckbreaker to get her way out of trouble and it’s Frost coming back in to pick up the pace. A cartwheel hip attack in the corner gets two on Valkyrie and things settle a bit. Everything breaks down (you knew that was coming) and we hit the parade of secondary finishers. Starkz grabs the Starkz’s End for the pin on Renegade at 9:15.

Rating: C+. As usual, there is only so much that you can do in a match with this many people involved. What matters is that they’re setting up the TV Title tournament, though it would be nice if the thing actually, you know, started. Starkz would seem to be a favorite to win the thing but you never know in something like this.

Post match Abadon comes out to stare everyone down again.

We look at Bullet Club Gold winning the Six Man Tag Team Titles on Dynamite.

Top Flight give Action Andretti a ride in a golf cart before his shot at El Hijo del Vikingo later tonight.

We’re off to Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida for a bit.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Top Flight

Dante throws Blade into the corner to start and a running Downward Spiral brings him back out. Butcher comes in but gets dropkicked into another corner so Blade tries his luck again. Blade finally takes Darius into the corner and Butcher hits a heck of a clothesline to take over for the first time.

The chinlock doesn’t last long but Butcher cuts of the tag attempt. That doesn’t last long either as Darius gets over for the tag to Dante so the pace can pick up in a hurry. Everything breaks down and an assisted tornado DDT plants Butcher. Darius drops Blade and Dante’s top rope splash finishes at 7:03.

Rating: C+. Another nice match here with the power vs. speed formula. Butcher and the Blade are a team who always feels like they could move up to the next level but then they lose here. In theory this is Top Flight getting some momentum back, though I could go with it not being at Butcher and the Blade’s expense.

Mark Briscoe vs. Serpentico

Briscoe takes him down to the mat without much effort but Serpentico is back up with a hurricanrana out of the corner. A running boot to the face puts Serpentico outside and Briscoe gets to stomp away back inside. Briscoe’s suplex gets two and they chop it out. Serpentico grabs a jumping cutter for two more but Briscoe knocks him to the floor for a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and the Jay Driller is countered into a jumping Downward Spiral for two, only for Briscoe to come back with the Driller for the pin at 6:22.

Rating: C+. They had another nice match here in a streak of them this week. Serpentico has gone from little more than a comedy goof to someone who can hang in there with some bigger names and that is nice to see. Briscoe continues to just kind of float around, and unless that’s what he wants to do, I have no idea why he’s being used this way.

Lexi Nair is annoyed at Nyla Rose for attacking Athena, with Rose saying she’ll be the new head of the Minions….and then doing a Cartman impression for a bit of charm. Rose wants Athena but for now, she’s looking for Billie Starkz.

Diamante vs. Dream Girl Ellie

Diamante starts fast and hammers away, setting up an early chinlock. Ellie is back up with a scream, only to get taken down by a clothesline. Something like Reno’s old Roll of the Dice finishes Ellie at 1:27.

Johnny TV, with Taya Valkyrie, isn’t going to fight Dalton Castle, who he calls Macho Man Randy Average. Cue an enraged Castle to chase TV into a locker room and almost cry about how much he needs to beat TV.

TV Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels is challenging. They circle each other to start until Daniels takes him down by the arm. Back up and Fletcher runs him over with a shoulder for two, only to get pulled into an armbar. Fletcher goes after the arm as well, including a slam while holding onto said arm. A quick Downward Spiral and belly to back suplex get Daniels out of trouble and he hammers away in the corner.

The middle rope Downward Spiral gives Daniels two but Fletcher’s brainbuster gets the same. Daniels manages a quick Angel’s Wings for two and the fans find this awesome. Back up and Fletcher hits a running knee to the back, setting up the kneeling piledriver to retain at 9:15.

Rating: B-. This was the wrestling match of the show and it worked well enough all things considered. At the end of the day though, Daniels losing over and over again is only going to get him so far. It’s more or less all he does most of the time and while it’s still working, it’s starting to lose some of its impact.

Ethan Page wants a title but he has to make specific goals. That’s why he’s looking at Kyle Fletcher and winning the TV Title. He’s ready to earn his way there too.

AAA Mega Title: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Action Andretti

Andretti is challenging. They trade rollups for two each to start and flip to a standoff, with the fans approving. After a handshake, Vikingo hits a dropkick into a headscissors out to the floor, only to have Andretti come back with a Falcon Arrow. A basement dropkick gives Andretti two and we hit the chinlock.

With that broken up, Andretti’s bicycle kick gets two and the chinlock goes on again. Vikingo grabs a quick Death Valley Driver for two of his own and goes up top for a heck of a twisting moonsault. Andretti gets sent outside for a heck of a moonsault but he comes back in with a springboard clothesline and a near fall. They trade rollups until Vikingo stacks him up to retain at 10:08.

Rating: B-. This was the high flying match with both of them doing their big moves until one of them got the pin. It’s an entertaining match, but it’s the kind of thing that I’ve seen so many times that it stops having that much impact. They had an entertaining main event and that’s all that matters here, as it was just a thrown together match at the end of a long show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show that would have been outstanding if you cut it off after the eight woman tag. The problem is that the show keeps going for over an hour after that and it went downhill a bit after that. The show was far from bad and it was down to under an hour and forty five minutes, but it did drag in places. I’ll definitely call it an improvement over recent weeks, but they still felt like they were just filling time for a good while and that’s not good.

Results
Nyla Rose b. Erica Leigh – Beast Bomb
Kingdom b. Iron Savages – Hail Mary to Bronson
Claudio Castagnoli b. Bryan Keith – Rear naked choke
Billie Starkz/Queen Aminata/Kiera Hogan/Lady Frost b. Taya Valkyrie/Robyn Renegade/Leyla Hirsch/Rachael Ellering – Stark’s End to Renegade
Top Flight b. Butcher and the Blade – Top rope splash to Blade
Mark Briscoe b. Serpentico – Jay Driller
Diamante b. Dream Girl Ellie – Rolling cutter
Kyle Fletcher b. Christopher Daniels – Kneeling piledriver
El Hijo del Vikingo b. Action Andretti – Rollup

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