Rampage
Date: June 21, 2024
Location: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

The road to Forbidden Door continues and we have another qualifying match for the TNT Title ladder match. That at least adds some drama to this show, but a good chunk of the rest of it seems to be the usual Rampage fare. In other words, it should be some solid action. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Private Party vs. Metalik/Komander

Zay headlocks Komander to start but gets taken into the wrong corner so Metalik can come in for a chinlock. That’s broken up and the Silly String gives Zay two and it’s off to Quen. Metalik elbows his way out of trouble and everything breaks down, with Komander and Metalik hitting a big running flip dive to the floor each.

We take a break and come back with Zay hitting a spinebuster and diving over for the tag to Quen. A superplex hits Metalik and Quen drops a 450 for two. Metalik is back up with a reverse Sling Blade with Zay having to make a save. With Zay and Metalik both down, Komander and Quen both miss shooting star presses, leaving Metalik to charge into Gin and Juice for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: B-. While this was little more than a way to build up Private Party for their match against the Learning Tree tomorrow, it wound up being an entertaining match. Komander and Metalik were more or less the designated luchadors but since they have such little status, a loss doesn’t hurt them. Nice amount of action here and it will serve something of a purpose tomorrow.

Post match here is the Learning Tree for the brawl, with the outnumbered Private Party getting beaten down.

Video on Ultimo Guerrero, who is facing Kazuchika Okada on Collision.

Rey Fenix vs. Turbo Floyd

Floyd hits a shoulder and poses, setting up an elbow drop for one. Fenix avoids a charge in the corner though and hits a springboard spinning crossbody. The frog splash finishes for Fenix at 1:29.

TNT Title Qualifying Match: Lio Rush vs. Action Andretti

They go to the grappling to start with Rush dodging a bunch to send Andretti outside. An exchange of flips gives us a standoff so they collide to give us a double knockdown. We take a break and come back with Andretti firing off some forearms. Rush gets kicked to the floor and an Arabian moonsault takes him down again. Back in and a Falcon Arrow gives Andretti two, followed by the Cameron Grimes flipping powerslam for two more. Rush strikes away though and hits the springboard Stunner, setting up the Final Hour for the pin at 8:21.

Rating: C+. You knew what you were going to get with these two and it went about as expected. There is nothing wrong with that as Andretti is a god high flier and Rush can do some things that almost no one else can do. There’s nothing wrong with sending two high fliers out there and letting them do their thing, which they made work here.

Post match Top Flight comes in and Rush shows respect to Andretti.

Shingo Takagi vs. AR Fox

Fox jumps him to start and takes it to the floor, setting up a middle rope moonsault. Back in and Takagi drops him with a clothesline, followed by a neckbreaker. Fox dodges a basement lariat and jumps to the top for a 450 and a near fall. Lo Mein Pain is broken up but Fox rolls him up anyway. A Death Valley Driver sets up a hard lariat, followed by Last Of The Dragon to finish Fox at 4:46.

Rating: C+. Takagi is one of the people who was randomly thrown onto one of the previous Forbidden Door cards with no in-ring exposure around here. This wasn’t exactly a glowing showcase, but getting him in the ring at all is the right way to go. Let us know what he can do and show that he could be a threat to take someone out, just for the sake of adding a bit of interest. Nicely done.

Post match Bryan Danielson comes out to shake Takagi’s (his opponent in the Owen Hart Cup) hand but Takagi isn’t interested.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Serena Deeb vs. Willow Nightingale

We get a handshake to start and Deeb grabs the wrist for some spinning. A running shoulder doesn’t work on Nightingale, who runs Deeb over with one of her own. The basement crossbody gets two but Deeb snaps the knee over the ropes for a breather. A neckbreaker on the floor has Nightingale in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Nightingale striking away and superkicking Deeb for two. Deeb’s Black Widow is broken up so she grabs a half crab on the leg she went after earlier. With that broken up, Deeb hits a DDT for two as frustration sets in. Deeb goes up but gets superplexed back down, leaving them both on the mat. Back up and Deebtox gets two on Nightingale, who is right back with the Pounce. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Deeb at 11:32.

Rating: B-. They telegraphed the result with all of the talk about the winner facing Kris Statlander but that’s not the worst way to go. Nightingale continues to feel like a star in the making and a win over someone as dangerous as Deeb will only make her feel stronger. Other than that, it was a good match with Nightingale surviving the knee and winning in the end.

Overall Rating: B-. Now this is more what I want from Rampage: a bunch of matches that either set something up for a future show or take care of some of the smaller stories that Dynamite doesn’t have time to cover. The Fenix match, which wasn’t even two minutes long, was the only part that felt like filler and it included one of the Outrunners to make up for it. Good use of TV time here, which has been a problem for Rampage for a long time.

Results
Private Party b. Metalik/Komander – Gin and Juice to Metalik
Rey Fenix b. Turbo Floyd – Frog splash
Lio Rush b. Action Andretti – Final Hour
Shingo Takagi b. AR Fox – Last Of The Dragon
Willow Nightingale b. Serena Deeb – Babe With The Powerbomb

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Ring Of Honor
Date: June 13, 2024
Location: Acrisure Arena, Palm Desert, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Maybe it’s false hope but the Kyle Fletcher pinning World Champion Mark Briscoe this week on Dynamite has me wondering what they might be doing for the title going forward. Briscoe hasn’t defended the title in two months now so maybe he’ll have something to do. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Billie Starkz vs. Sandra Moone

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Moone wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Moone gets in a quick shot to start but Starks knocks her down and scores with a kick to the ribs. Moone’s elbow out of the corner just annoys Starkz again and we hit the double arm crank. That’s broken up and Moone sends her outside for the dive. Starkz’s Swanton attempt is blocked but she knocks Moone off the top. The Swanton….isn’t launched as Starkz drops down again. A half nelson fish hook chickenwing makes Moone give up at 4:58.

Rating: C. That’s a Proving Ground match alright, though Moone did get in some offense to make it a bit better. Starkz seems to have her next challenger set up in Red Velvet though, making this little more than a warmup for her before that match, likely in a little over a month. Not much to the match, but that’s not the point of something like this.

Nick Comoroto/Jacoby Watts vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Moriarty strikes away at Comoroto but a gorilla press puts Moriarty down. Watts comes in but stops to tell the fans to praise him. It’s off to Taylor for the shove off with Comoroto, the latter of whom skins the cat. Taylor plants him with a release Rock Bottom into a splash for two. Comoroto fights up and powerslams Moriarty, with Watts tagging himself in for two. Moriarty sends Comoroto face first into the middle buckle though and Taylor hits the big right hand for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C-. Here’s the problem: we just saw Comoroto treated like a total jobber on Dynamite. That doesn’t make me want to see him do something here, especially something as lame as the story with Watts. Having ROH stars as jobbers in AEW doesn’t make them feel bigger. It just makes Ring Of Honor feel that much less important.

Taya Valkyrie and Johnny TV aren’t happy with recent loses. Valkyrie is ready to knock Queen Aminata off her throne.

Red Velvet vs. Viva Van

Velvet headlocks her down into a chinlock to start as commentary talks about Forbidden Door. Van is back up with a cravate and knees to the face but Velvet fights out of a cross armbreaker attempt. Velvet works on the arm for a change until Van runs the corner and bounces around for a wristdrag. Some running knees against the rope rock Van and the Mix finishes Van off at 5:12.

Rating: C. It’s pretty clear that Velvet is set for the TV Title shot and that isn’t a bad thing. She’s been built up well in recent weeks, though I still don’t think I can imagine her actually winning the title. For now though, she got a nice win against Van as she gets to keep the pace with Starkz, who did the same thing earlier.

Lance Archer/Righteous vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. Dark Order vs. Infantry/Dalton Castle

Andretti snapmares Reynolds down to start but misses a kick to the head. Top Flight and Andretti start in on Reynolds’ arm until he scores with an elbow to the face. Uno comes in to Russian legsweep Dante for two but Dante brings in Bravo to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down (I’m shocked it took that long) with Archer getting to wreck just about everyone.

Dean manages to duck a corner clothesline though and it’s Castle coming in for the parade of suplexes. Castle’s falling splash gets two on Dutch with a bunch of people making the save. Dante and Reynolds slug it out but stop to beat up Dutch and Archer. Silver comes back in for the Spin Doctor on Dante and Castle DDT’s Darius, who rolls to the floor rather quickly. Top Flight’s double swinging slam finishes Reynolds at 9:14.

Rating: B-. This was exactly the match you would expect from something like this one: all action, nothing that resembles a story throughout, and the winner likely gains nothing. That being said, I don’t think there is anything to suggest that it was supposed to be something other than that. I don’t need to see this every week, but once in awhile can make for a fun fast paced match.

Diamante/Marina Shafir/Alex Windsor vs. Lady Frost/Abadon/Leyla Hirsch

Marina and Leyla start things off with a grapple exchange going to a standoff. Leyla takes her down and Abadon comes in with a backsplash for two. A bite to the arm sends Marina over for the tag to Diamante, who gets chopped into the corner by Frost. Abadon is sent into the corner so Shafir can start cranking on the legs to take over. A save is made and everything breaks down with Windsor hitting an Angle Slam for two, with Abadon breaking it up. Windsor’s Shining Wizard sets up a spinning brainbuster for the big upset pin on Leyla at 7:21.

Rating: C+. Just like the previous match, it was hard to get much out of this with so many people running around. I can go with Windsor getting a win, but there is a good chance that this was the best way they had to make her feel like a bigger deal before her match against Toni Storm on Collision. In other words, it’s a nice moment which isn’t likely to get her very far.

Harley Cameron vs. Trish Adora

Cameron grabs a headlock to start but Adora snapmares her into a double arm crank. A rolling sunset flip gives Adora two but Cameron takes her down for a lick to the cheek. Adora is right back with her Air Raid Crash leg crank, only to have Cameron slip out and hit a sliding Downward Spiral. Cameron grabs a cross arm choke but Adora powers her into the corner for some hips to the face. Back up and they collide, with Cameron going to the throat. A running kick to the chest gives Cameron the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C. Cameron is the bigger star, but dang it always feels like Adora should be on her way to something bigger somewhere. At the same time, putting Cameron, who is still very inexperienced, in there with someone like Adora is a good idea, as she can help Cameron learn. Not much of a match, but Cameron has made some strides in the ring.

Kingdom vs. Che Cabrera/Bad Dude Tito

Another non-title Proving Ground match. Tito chops away at Taven to start, at least until a dropkick takes his leg out. Cabrera comes in for a double flapjack but Taven gets in a neck snap. Taven’s running splash in the corner misses but it’s back to Bennett to strike away. Tito gets in a hard clothesline though and it’s Cabrera coming back in to clean house. A Sky High gets two on Bennett but it’s the Death Valley Driver to cut Cabrera off. Just The Tip into Hail Mary finishes for Bennett at 6:15.

Rating: C+. Nice enough match here, but again it’s hard to get into the idea of a match with ten minutes at most and little reason to believe that the champs were going to lose. Cabrera and Tito looked good out there and commentary mentioned they had experience. It was easy to see that they have a history, though it’s hard to showcase that in a match that barely gets six minutes.

Overall Rating: C+. Another show that feels rather like the norm for Ring Of Honor, with all kinds of people running around doing their thing and little that actually stands out. There is also little that feels like it matters going forward, which is a bit of a stretch with about five weeks to go before Death Before Dishonor. I would say Ring Of Honor needs to work on that, but that has been the case for years now.

Results
Billie Starkz b. Sandra Moone – Fishhook chickenwing
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Nick Comoroto/Jacoby Watts – Right hand to Comoroto
Red Velvet b. Viva Van – The Mix
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Dark Order, Dalton Castle/The Infantry and Lance Archer/Righteous – Double swinging slam to Reynolds
Diamante/Marina Shafir/Alex Windsor b. Lady Frost/Abadon/Leyla Hirsch – Spinning brainbuster to Hirsch
Harley Cameron b. Trish Adora – Running kick to the chest
Kingdom b. Che Cabrera/Bad Dude Tito – Hail Mary to Cabrera

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Collision
Date: June 15, 2024
Location: Covelli Center, Youngstown, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re closing in on Forbidden Door but we have a holiday weekend to get through first. As a result, we get Christian Cage celebrating Father’s Day, which could go in a variety of directions. Other than that, CMLL Hechicero is here to face Dalton Castle, which could be rather good. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Christian Cage welcomes us to the one year anniversary of Collision. He put this show on the map the first week it was on the air when he won the TNT Title (not quite) and tonight he’s here to celebrate the most important holiday of the year.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Lio Rush/Rocky Romero/TMDK

Rush and Danielson start things off with Rush flipping around to make Danielson miss. Yuta can’t catch Rush either so it’s off to Romero, who gets pummeled into the corner. Castagnoli comes in and gets caught in a hurricanrana, allowing the tag to Mikey Nicholls (part of TMDK, along with Shane Haste). Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock but everything breaks down, including the hold. Instead, Danielson fires off the kicks to the chest but gets knocked to the apron as we take a break.

Back with Romero hitting the Forever Clotheslines on Danielson, who grabs a super atomic drop of all things for the break. Castagnoli comes in and gets to clean house, including going to the floor to keep up the beating. Back in and Nicholls has to break up the Swing to Haste so Moxley grabs a quick cutter. A double clothesline puts Moxley an Nicholls down, with Rush adding a frog splash for two on Moxley. Danielson is back in with the running knee to Nicholls but gets knocked outside again. The Swing sends Romero flying and Moxley Death Riders Rush for the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B-. What else were you expecting from an established team against a makeshift team? I get the idea of facing wrestlers from New Japan before Forbidden Door, but it would be nice if more than one of the eight people involved had a match on the show announced. Not a bad match, but it was more waiting around for the Club to win than anything else.

Post match Moxley grabs the mic and says Forbidden Door will be Tetsuya Naito’s final chance at the title. Moxley is coming to end him once and for all.

Video on MJF vs. Rush.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a chat. Caster talks about how he has been fined $5,000 by the Young Bucks, but that isn’t what the fans want. The fans want to see them do their thing and for the Acclaimed to win the Tag Team Titles on Dynamite. Bowens talks about how they’ll do anything to get the titles back but here is Brandon Cutler to cut off the rap. More fining ensues but here is Christopher Daniels to say Tony Khan has reversed the fines. Daniels drops Cutler and the Acclaimed give him Scissor Me Timbers. We needed a full segment for that announcement? With two authority figures?

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa

No DQ and Purrazzo jumps her from behind during the entrance. Rosa sends things outside and hits a dive off the ropes to the floor. Back up and Purrazzo slams the arm into the steps and it’s time to bring in the weapons. Rosa’s Death Valley Driver gets two but she takes too long getting a table, which is dropkicked into her face.

We take a break and come back with Rosa kicking a chair into Purrazzo’s face and Samoan dropping her onto an unopened table. Purrazzo catches Rosa on top and ties her in the Tree of Woe for a running shoulder. Rosa is right back up to put a trashcan over Purrazzo’s head and then dives off a table to crush her in the corner. Purrazzo fights back and tries the Venus de Milo but can’t quite get it on. Instead she goes outside and grabs a camera from a photographer, which she uses to knock Rosa silly. A double arm crank in the ropes finishes the unconscious Rosa at 10:26.

Rating: C+. If you’re going to have what seems to be some big blowoff match, or at least what should be a major match in their feud, you might not want to have about a third of it taking place during a break. I like the ending with Purrazzo knocking her senseless but then making sure she won submission anyway as it suits her and should give Purrazzo a nice boost. Rosa has been missing something since her return and it didn’t get much better here.

Video on the first year of Collision.

Dalton Castle vs. Hechicero

Castle even has the Outrunners as some of his Boys while Hechicero has the Gates of Agony. Hechicero takes Castle down to start but has to spin out of a quick Bang A Rang attempt. Back up and Castle grabs a suplex before kicking Hechicero square in the mask. Hechicero is right back with a running knee in the corner and a headscissors driver for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C. What in the world was that? This was the match that had me the most intrigued and then it just ends like that? I was hoping this would get some time and let Castle showcase himself but we just didn’t get anything close here. For the life of me I don’t get how there isn’t a better use for Castle, even if it isn’t as a featured star. He’s good enough for a bigger spot.

Post match the beatdown is on so the Outrunners come in and…are taken down with ease. Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard run in with chairs for the save.

Dante Martin is ready for a TNT Title qualifying match against Lee Moriarty tonight. Lio Rush comes in to wish him luck and says he’ll see them later. Tony Schiavone is confused.

Here is the Patriarchy to introduce Christian Cage. Christian talks about how this is the anniversary of the death of Buddy Wayne (Nick’s dad), which is the best thing that ever happened to Nick. Speaking of Nick, he has a Father’s Day card for Christian, talking about how he hopes to be as good as Christian.

Killswitch has made a painting of Christian, which he thinks is ok, before raving about the card again. As for Killswitch, why can’t he be more like Nick? Killswitch goes to leave, but Christian calls him back. Cage wants the World Title but he’ll start with winning the Trios Titles. It’s his present to his children, just like Tony Khan’s father gave him the money to start AEW. Well from now on, this is Christian’s company. He is the greatest signing in this company’s history and now he is Tony Khan’s father. Well at least that’s something new for him to do.

The Bang Bang Gang know they have a lot of challengers and the Patriarchy can get in line.

TNT Title Qualifying Match: Dante Martin vs. Lee Moriarty

They trade takedown attempts to start and neither get anywhere. Moriarty takes him down by the leg but misses a charge and crashes out to the floor. There’s a dropkick through the ropes to drop Moriarty again and we take a break. Back with Martin hitting a springboard spinning crossbody for two but Moriarty faceplants him down. The Border City Stretch goes on and Moriarty even stomps the hand, only to have Martin make the rope anyway. Martin comes back with a knee out of the corner and a frog splash for the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C+. This was pretty much exactly what you probably expected it to be, meaning that while the action was good, the result wasn’t quite shocking. Martin has been in those ladder matches before as he’s there for the high flying aspect, while Moriarty is little more than part of a losing team. Perfectly fine use of a match, but not much in the way of drama.

Post match Shane Taylor Promotions comes in for the beatdown but Darius Martin and Action Andretti make the failed save attempt as they’re beaten down as well. Lio Rush comes in to make the real save as Dante seems to have suffered an arm injury.

Hikaru Shida is in the Owen Hart Cup.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Anthony Henry

Roderick Strong, with the Kingdom, is on commentary. They go to the mat to start with O’Reilly backdropping hits way out of an armbar. Henry grabs a Russian legsweep and kicks away, but O’Reilly just gets annoyed. Back up and O’Reilly suplexes him into the cross armbreaker for the win at 2:50.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Bang Bang Gang vs. House Of Black

Non-title, with commentary making it clear that the Bang Bang Gang is NOT using the Freebird Rule. Black runs Robinson over to start and then sits up to freak Robinson out a bit. Austin comes in, hits Black in the face, and then hands it off to Colten, who gets to face King. The Gang is quickly cleared from the ring but run back in to cut off the dive. The brawl goes back to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Robinson snapping off a suplex to Black, followed by a leg lariat for two. Robinson grabs the chinlock (“ASK HIM!”) but spends too much time shouting about a CANNONBALL before he misses one. Matthews comes in and gets to clean house, including a Jackhammer to Austin. The top rope Meteora connects but Matthews hurts his knee on the landing.

We take another break and come back with Matthews having been taken to the back. Robinson’s Cannonball gets two on King, who manages a shot of his own and brings Black back in. A German suplex gets two on Austin but Colten’s running shot to the back gets the same. The 3:10 To Yuma hits King but he isn’t legal. Cue Pac to distract Austin, allowing Black to hit the End for the pin at 18:24.

Rating: B-. Oh that knee did not seem like a good thing and now all we can do is wait and see how it is going. Matthews is one of the more entertaining guys in all of AEW and it would be terrible to see him added to their already long injured list. In theory the House is coming after the Trios Titles again, but now we’ll have to see just how bad things are. In other words, the result might not matter, which is a shame as it was a pretty good match.

Post match the Patriarchy pops up on screen, revealing that they have laid out Matthews with a Conchairto to end the show. That’s a really scary sign for Matthews, but I wonder if they had something similar planned with or without the knee injury.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s how Collision works. It’s a show where it feels like the biggest stars aren’t going to bother, leaving a bunch of things that don’t feel overly important. There are things happening, but what was the big development here? Purrazzo winning? Martin qualifying for a match he isn’t going to win? Between this and Rampage, it’s a lot of time being spent on things that don’t feel overly important, especially with Dynamite so crammed full. As usual, Collision was ok, but it’s not something you need to watch straight through.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Lio Rush/Rocky Romero/TMDK – Death Rider to Rush
Deonna Purrazzo b. Thunder Rosa – Double arm crank in the ropes
Hechicero b. Dalton Castle – Headscissors driver
Dante Martin b. Lee Moriarty – Frog splash
Kyle O’Reilly b. Anthony Henry – Cross armbreaker
House Of Black b. Bang Bang Gang – The End to Austin

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: May 30, 2024
Location: Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The slow road to Death Before Dishonor continues with about two months left before the show. That isn’t likely to mean much this far out but we might be able to start seeing some inklings of the card. Athena seems ready to defend her Women’s Title against Queen Aminata but that might be a long wait for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Athena vs. Vita Van

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Van can win or survive the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Athena backs her into the corner to start and sweeps the leg for an early two. Van grabs an armbar but Athena takes it to the floor and hits a hard powerbomb. Back in and a low superkick lets Athena pose a bit and she throws in a few slaps for a bonus. Van fights up and shoves her to the floor, with Athena coming back in favoring her foot/ankle. A big right hand ends Van at 3:50, the only thing Athena did when she got back in.

Rating: C. This didn’t have a ton of time and the ending is not exactly encouraging. They went home very quickly as soon as Athena seemed to be hurt, though it’s hard to imagine this was going to go much longer. What matters now is getting Athena back in the ring, and thankfully it wouldn’t be a stretch to have her sit out for a bit before her next title defense.

Kingdom vs. Jacoby Watts/Nick Comoroto

Another Proving Ground match. The Kingdom jumps Comoroto to start and superkick him into the corner without much trouble. Comoroto headbutts his way to freedom, only to walk into a dropkick for his efforts. Skinning the cat gives Comoroto a nice reception but Bennett forearms him into the corner. A double clothesline drops the champs though and Comoroto snaps off some slams. Instead of tagging though, Comoroto talks to Watts and walks into a Death Valley Driver into Just The Tip to give Taven the pin at 3:21. Watts never got in the match (or took off his cowboy hat).

Rating: C+. So I’m guessing Watts is going to exploit Comoroto and have him do everything, though that is only going to make so much sense if they lose a bunch. Comoroto looked like a monster out there with his visuals being great, but he needs a bit more than that. I’m not sure if Watts is that thing, but at least they’re trying.

Watts circles around the ring and then yells at Comoroto, asking if he wants to feel like a loser.

Serpentico vs. Brady Roberts

Serpentico strikes away to start and gets two off an early superkick. Roberts actually gets in a takedown and hits a neckbreaker for two as commentary talks about Roberts’ appearances on various TV shows. A front facelock keeps Serpentico down but he’s back up for a running chop in the corner. Serpentico hits a superkick and a reverse Sling Blade, setting up a Swanton. La majistral finishes Roberts at 4:27.

Rating: C. Serpentico is definitely a crowd favorite and he’s completely passable in the ring, but that doesn’t make him the most thrilling watch. I can go for the idea of giving him a quick win on his own, as if nothing else it gets him away from the Griff Garrison/Cole Karter stuff. They kept it short too so there isn’t much bad to be seen here.

Marina Shafir demands to be asked why she is the problem. That would be because she says so, and what happens when you don’t take care of a problem? It gets worse. This was certainly someone talking.

Red Velvet vs. Kel

Kel, who towers over Velvet, mocks not being able to see her and gets kicked in the shin so aww here it goes. Velvet runs her over with a running forearm and the Final Slice finishes Kel in a hurry at 1:48. Needed more Kenan.

Post match Athena’s music plays for a distraction as Billie Starkz runs in to jump Velvet and lay her out.

Zak Knight vs. Sebastian Wolfe

Knight is now very stereotypically British and takes a long time to disrobe. He punches Wolfe down at the bell and Knight is NOT pleased with Wolfe daring to try and chop away. A slightly delayed suplex gives Knight two and a lariat gets the same, with Knight pulling him up both times. The running right hand finishes for Knight at 1:48. As usual, Knight’s intensity carries him far enough.

Lee Johnson vs. Aaron Solo vs. Action Andretti

Solo gives some rather enthusiastic handshakes to start but gets sent outside to start. Andretti and Johnson trade some rollups for two each, with Johnson being sent outside as well. Solo is back in to break up Andretti’s dive and the stomping in the corner is on. Johnson comes back in and gets kicked in the head, leaving Solo’s top rope double stomp to get two on Andretti.

This time it’s Solo being sent outside for a dive from Johnson, who is taken out by a dive from Andretti in a rather quick turnaround. Back in and Andretti hits a double handspring elbow before firing off kicks to the chests. Johnson slips out of the torture rack neckbreaker but the Big Shot Drop is escaped as well. Andretti kicks Johnson down for the split legged moonsault but Solo is there to steal the near fall. Solo drops Andretti again but gets caught in the Big Shot Drop to give Johnson the pin at 6:38.

Rating: B-. Match of the night by far to this point as you had three people out there going nuts for a bit. This could have gone on longer to a greater effect but I’ll take what I can get. Johnson continues to seem like someone who could become a bigger deal if given the chance and if ROH would ever actually pull the trigger on him, we could see how far he could go.

Premiere Athletes vs. Bollywood Boyz

The Boyz are the hometown favorites and come out in Vancouver Canucks jerseys. The Athletes break up the dancing before the match (culture haters) and the beating is on fast. Harv is sent outside to start and Gurv gets slammed down, only for Harv to come back in for the save. The Athletes are sent outside and the Boyz get to pose but the dancing is broken up AGAIN.

Nese comes in to help Daivari hammer Harv down in the corner, setting up a hard running elbow for two. Harv fights out of the corner without much trouble though and it’s Gurv coming in to clean house. Everything breaks down and NOW THEY DANCE! Nese gets in a cheap shot though and the pumphandle driver finishes Gurv at 6:52.

Rating: C+. I’m not bit on the Boyz most of the time but they were absolute heroes here and the fans were all over everything they were doing. I can get why they didn’t win as the Athletes are presented as big deals, but dang the reaction to the Boyz was fun. For now though, I can settle for a one off cool match.

Post match the Athletes beat the Boyz down until the Infantry makes the save.

Video on Dalton Castle vs. Kyle Fletcher for the TV Title next week.

Workhorsemen vs. Top Flight

Henry and Darius fight over arm control to start until Darius gets two each off some rollups. Drake comes in to win the chop off but it’s quickly off to Dante for an anklescissors. Everything breaks down and they head outside, where Drake sends him into the ropes for the big right hand.

Back in and a Codebreaker/double stomp combination has Dante in trouble but he fights out of the chinlock rather quickly. It’s back to Dante as everything breaks down again, this time with Drake hitting a Sick Kick for two. Darius is back in for a double DDT and the hot tag brings in Dante to clean house. Drake gets taken out with a dive and a high crossbody gets two on Henry. Dante’s swinging half nelson slam is enough to pin Henry at 7:41.

Rating: C+. Good, fast paced main event here with the power of Drake and speed of Henry working well enough against a fast paced team like Top Flight. As tends to be the case though, it’s hard to get excited over Top Flight when they never win anything important. It’s just another meaningless win over a team that it feels like they have beaten more than once.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show well enough as it moved by quickly, but it suffered from the normal problem of not having in the way of importance. We at least get a big time title match next week (the first time an ROH title has been on the line in over a month). This warmed things up well enough, but don’t go into it expecting it to mean much.

Results
Athena b. Viva Van – Right hand
Kingdom b. Jacoby Watts/Nick Comoroto – Just The Tip to Comoroto
Serpentico b. Brady Roberts – La majistral
Red Velvet b. Kel – Final Slice
Zak Knight b. Sebastian Wolfe – Running right hand
Lee Johnson b. Aaron Solo and Action Andretti – Big Shot Drop to Solo
Premiere Athletes b. Bollywood Boyz – Pumphandle driver to Gurv
Top Flight b. Workhorsemen – Spinning half nelson slam to Henry

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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 23, 2024
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are about two months away from Death Before Dishonor and that means we are still too far away to really start setting things up. I’m not sure what that is going to mean for a bit, though it would be nice to have something of an interesting program going on around here. Ring Of Honor is capable of pulling that off but just doesn’t for some reason. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

JD Drake is ready to fight on his own but Anthony Henry comes in to say the Workhorsemen are back.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Kyle Fletcher vs. London Lightning

Non-title Proving Ground match meaning if Lightning wins or survives the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Fletcher takes him down with a headlock to start but Lightning slips out and hits a running crossbody. They head outside with Fletcher hitting a brainbuster but Lightning beats the count back in. Lightning strikes away until Fletcher runs him over to cut it off. Fletcher snaps off three slams but Lightning fights up and hits an atomic drop.

A suplex drops Fletcher and a middle rope elbow gets two. Back up and Fletcher knocks him to the floor, setting up a suicide dive. Another brainbuster gets two back inside but Lightning fights up AGAIN and gets two off a hurricanrana. A spinebuster plants Fletcher and Lightning grabs a Sharpshooter. That’s escaped with a rollup so Fletcher hits a superkick into the piledriver for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C. Ring Of Honor/AEW is mad at Fletcher right? He regularly loses on AEW TV and then has to escape a match like this one. It’s ok to let a champion act like a dominant force every so often, but for some reason that doesn’t seem to apply to Fletcher these days. And also: a brainbuster on the floor should not be something that just happens in the middle of the match. That should have been a countout or a pin, and no I do not care that it happens that way on a regular basis. It’s stupid when that is just another move and it was awful here.

Workhorsemen vs. Spanish Announce Project

Angelico and Drake start things off with Angelico failing to sweep the leg. Henry comes in to trade wrist control with Serpentico before an exchange of headscissors gives us a standoff (and a VERY intrigued crowd). Drake comes back in and dances a bit before hitting a hard chop to Serpentico in the corner.

Serpentico manages a tornado DDT and kicks Henry away, allowing the hot tag to Angelico. Everything breaks down and a dive takes out Drake, leaving Henry to get planted with a lifting Downward Spiral. Cue Griff Garrison and Cole Karter for a distraction, allowing the Workhorsemen to hit a Downward Spiral/enziguri combination to finish Serpentico at 7:44.

Rating: C. The Workhorsemen are back and that’s about all of the interest I can muster about them. They’re a fine team who aren’t going anywhere but will be around more weeks than not. At the same time we have the Project still dealing with Garrison and Karter because that feud must continue for months on end.

Post match Garrison and Kole jump the Project but Serpentico fights back and the villains are dispatched.

Matt Menard is ready for Mike Bennett, even if Angelo Parker isn’t here.

Nyla Rose vs. Riea Van Slasher

Van Slasher has some size to go with her awesome name. She stomps on Rose’s foot to start but gets run over with a hard shoulder. A neckbreaker and the Beast Bomb finish for Rose at 1:32.

Video on Marina Shafir

Satnam Singh vs. Jimmy Jacobs

Singh hits a crossbody for one and a chokeslam for the pin at 46 seconds.

Blake Christian is in the Best Of The Super Juniors.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Artemis Spencer/Jon Cruz

Spencer’s wristlock to Ogogo gets nowhere so it’s already off to Cruz. For some reason Cruz wants Taylor, who drops him with a single left hand. The big right hand and the Marcus Garvey Driver finish Cruz at 1:56.

Mike Bennett vs. Matt Menard

Matt Taven is here with Bennett. Menard, with his taped up ribs, wastes no time in backdropping his way out of a piledriver attempt. Bennett grabs a headlock takeover instead but they head outside where Menard hammers away. Menard sends him shoulder first into the steps, only to be whipped into them as well to put him in trouble. Back in and Bennett hits a nice dropkick and we hit the chinlock.

That’s broken up and they trade rollups until Bennett grabs a Kimura. Menard reaches the rope for the break and blocks the piledriver three more times. The third sees Bennett backdropped out to the floor, with Taven offering some advice. Back in and Menard hammers away before grabbing the Boston crab. Taven’s distraction breaks things up though and Bennett hits a Death Valley Driver. The referee gets distracted so Taven tries powder but hits Bennett by mistake. Menard cutters them both and pins Bennett at 10:35.

Rating: C+. This right here is what I’m wanting more from on this show: a match that felt like it actually mattered. Menard mentioned that a win here might put he and Angelo Parker that much closer to a Tag Team Title match, making it feel somewhat important. It’s an actual story that could go somewhere and that is very needed around here.

Post match the Kingdom jumps Menard and beats him down.

Athena and the Minions are ready for Queen Aminata and Red Velvet.

Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Premiere Athletes vs. Lee Johnson/Top Flight/Action Andretti

Darius backslides Daivari for two to start but an armbar is driven into the evil corner. That doesn’t last long and it’s off to Andretti, who headscissors Nese into a dropkick. Andretti slips out of Karter’s suplex and hands it off to Johnson to clear the ring. Johnson gets caught in the wrong corner as well, with Daivari grabbing a backbreaker into a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Johnson wins a slugout, setting up an enziguri.

Nese breaks up the tag attempt but gets caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb, allowing the diving tag to Dante (wrestling in a shirt for some reason). Everything breaks down and the villains are sent outside, where they are taken down by four way stereo dives. Andretti tries a springboard back inside but gets knocked down, leaving Garrison to break up Dante’s Nose Dive. A chair is loaded up in the corner but cue Serpentico to take it away for a distraction. Dante’s spinning half nelson slam finishes Garrison at 11:27.

Rating: B-. And here’s your latest multi team match with a bunch of people flying around until one of them got the pin. They tied the ending into a feud, but unfortunately it’s a feud that stopped being interesting months ago but is still going week after week. It’s nice to see Top Flight and Andretti getting a pin, but I have long since stopped believing that they are going to mean anything after seeing them fail in big matches far too often.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling was ok enough, but at the same time, this show could not feel more worthless if they tried. Throughout this show, a total of two feuds feud got any significant development and one of them is the Spanish Announce Project vs. Garrison/Karter feud. This show keeps coming and going with almost nothing whatsoever that feels important.

Case in point: assuming the there isn’t a last minute title match on either Collision or at Double Or Nothing, none of the Ring Of Honor Title will have been defended in a month, with most of them closing in on two months. We get Proving Ground matches, which have had one successful win in the show’s history, but other than that it’s nothing more than talking about title matches that come around once every few months. That makes for an incredibly tedious show as you’ll spend months waiting around for anything that feels important.

I’ve gone on a similar rant to this several times now but it just keeps happening. What happened on this show? Fletcher won his third straight Proving Ground match over a very low level opponent, the tag feud continued, Rose, Singh and STP won squashes, Menard and Parker (who isn’t here) might be on their way to a title shot and the main event saw the second segment in the same tag feud (which has been going for five plus months now). That is pretty much nothing and that is pretty much what it feels like around here WAY too often. Fix this stupid show already.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. London Lightning – Piledriver
Workhorsemen b. Spanish Announce Project – Downward Spiral/enziguri combination to Serpentico
Nyla Rose b. Riea Van Slasher – Beast Bomb
Satnam Singh b. Jimmy Jacobs – Chokeslam
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Artemis Spencer/Jon Cruz – Marcus Garvey Driver to Cruz
Matt Menard b. Mike Bennett – Cutter
Lee Johnson/Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Premiere Athletes – Spinning half nelson slam to Garrison

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Ring Of Honor
Date: May 16, 2024
Location: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re up in Canada this week and that means we could be in for something…well as interesting as it gets around here. With more than two months from Death Before Dishonor, it could be a long time before we get to anything important with this show. Maybe we could get some decent action out of it though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s what’s coming on this show.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Mentallo

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Mentallo wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Fletcher jumps him to start and fires off the chops in the corner. Some stomps set up a delayed suplex but Mentallo is back with a running dropkick to the knee. Fletcher is sent outside for a moonsault, setting up a top rope Fameasser for two back inside. The palm strike in the corner is cut off with a boot to the face and Fletcher hits a brainbuster for two. They trade kicks to the face until Fletcher grabs the piledriver for the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C+. So Fletcher loses over and over on Dynamite to bigger names, then needs to work to beat someone who means nothing around here. I’m not sure why he couldn’t have a dominant win here, but he could use a few of them after a not so great stretch of results. There’s nothing wrong with moving Fletcher up the ladder, but maybe not have your champion take so many losses?

Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal vs. Dark Order

Oh yeah Lethal and company are a thing. Lethal and Uno slug it out to start and neither can get very far. Therefore we’ll go to Singh vs. Silver, the latter of whom barely comes up to his chest. Silver puts his hand up for a test of strength, with said hand only reaching Singh’s shoulder. Singh drops him with a single shot and hands it off to Lethal for a running crotch attack against the ropes into a Fargo strut. Uno knocks Lethal off the top and Silver tries to choke Singh, who chokeslams Uno anyway. Lethal actually has to make the save, setting up the Lethal Injection to finish Uno at 4:46.

Rating: C. As weird as it is to see Singh in ROH (or in a match at this point), it was nice to have something resembling star power around here. Lethal isn’t a top name in AEW, but he’s someone who has nothing else going on so putting him out there for about five minutes in ROH is a good idea. While it wasn’t a particularly good match, I’ll take a match between some midcard names over another squash.

Jacked Jameson and the Iron Savages are tired of being stepping stones and are ready to become road blocks. Shouldn’t they want to be something other than something that stands still?

Anna Jay vs. Tara Zep

Zep powers her into the corner to start but Jay is back with a suplex for a quick two. Jay chokes away on the ropes and hits a Gory Bomb, only to pull Zep up. The Queenslayer finishes Zep at 2:09.

Skye Blue vs. Rachael Ellering

Blue grabs a headlock to start but gets powered away without much trouble. Ellering hits a hard shoulder into a gutwrench suplex but the running backsplash hits raised knees. A handspring elbow is cut off by an Ellering clothesline and a running elbow puts Blue down again. Ellering’s scoop brainbuster gets two and now the backsplash can connect. They trade rollups for two each and Ellering hits a pop up powerbomb for two more. Blue is back up with a quick Code Blue for the pin at 6:32.

Rating: C+. The action was fine but this was the match that became infamous last week due to the horrible person (he’s not a fan) at ringside. Whatever he said was edited out here as he wasn’t noticeable at all, though there were a few odd camera cuts in places. I’d be curious to see how much of the match was trimmed, but the less he has to be heard, the better.

Angelico and Serpentico say they’ve been in a nightmare for months and can’t wake up. They’ve had to deal with Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Maria Kanellis and it’s about to get uglier. Does it have to? It can’t just be over instead?

Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Levi Knight/Jon Cruz

Knight is rather retro and gets kicked in the ribs by Darius to start. Cruz comes in and takes his jacket off but trips on the ropes, with Andretti not being overly impressed. Knight comes back in and gets elbowed out to the floor in a hurry. With commentary making as many Knight/Night music puns as they can manage, Knight gets in a quick shot to take over on Darius.

A backbreaker gives Knight two and Cruz hammers away as well, with Andretti having to make a save. Cruz grabs the chinlock with a knee in the back but Darius hits a Pele Kick out of the corner. That’s enough for Andretti to come back in as everything breaks down. Andretti hits a slingshot dive to the floor and a double superkick drops Knight. Cruz is sent to the floor and a double swinging slam finishes Knight at 7:44.

Rating: C+. This was a fun match with the kind of regular team beating a makeshift team. Knight got your attention by looking a bit odd and sometimes that’s enough to get you through something like this. Any combination of Andretti/Top Flight works, though they need to win something of value at some point.

Kingdom vs. London Lightning/Jason Geiger

Another non-title Proving Ground match and the spotlights during the Kingdom’s entrance show off a lot of fans cosplaying as empty seats. Lightning and Bennett start things off with Lightning moving around rather quickly. Taven comes in and can’t catch Geiger, who grabs a quick spinebuster with Bennett having to make the save.

Taven chokes in the corner and says that’s how your mom stretches, which is kind of a weird insult. It’s back to Bennett for the Death Valley Driver and Just The Tip gives Taven two. Lightning gets over to Geiger as everything breaks down, with Lightning being sent outside. Rockstar Supernova puts Geiger down for the count at 5:05.

Rating: C. If only the Undisputed Kingdom hadn’t been treated as such losers, the Kingdom could be a rather useful team. They work well together and have a history of success, but for some reason they’re stuck with worthless titles and get beaten by any serious competition. Lightning continues to do well when he’s out there so it’s no surprise that he’s one of the resident Canadian jobbers.

Athena vs. Nicole Matthews

Non-title Proving Ground match and Matthews is something of a mainstay of independent wrestling. The fans certainly seem to know Matthews and that is already helping a bit. They go to the mat to start with Matthews working on a hammerlock. Athena reverses into a gator roll but gets sent outside as she can’t do much with Matthews early on. With nothing else working, Athena trips her down and scores with a big right hand as commentary talks about Matthews’ career history.

A running forearm in the corner rocks Matthews again and Athena even throws in a bit of a dance. Matthews escapes a neck crank and gets a few near falls, followed by some clotheslines. A northern lights suplex gives Matthews two but Athena hits her in the face. Matthews gets baseball slided to the floor and the O Face gives Athena the pin at 7:02.

Rating: C+. The name value of Matthews helped a good bit here, as the fans seemed to remember her and wanted to see her have a chance. While I get not having her go over Athena or even make the time limit, it was nice to see something of a tease. Athena seems likely to be facing Queen Aminata next so giving her a nice win helps, with Matthews being able to give her just enough of a challenge.

Post match Athena puts her in the crossface but Queen Aminata makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Ring Of Honor is in such a weird spot, as this is the kind of show that makes for a perfectly watchable show week to week. The problem is that the champions and the bigger names are treated as such losers on AEW shows that it’s hard to get behind them here. I’d want to see more of these people in action, but seeing them lose all the time on AEW TV brings them right back down. Notice that Athena, who never loses anywhere and is almost never on AEW TV, is the biggest star on this show. That’s not a coincidence, but that isn’t stopping AEW from running most of the ROH names into the ground.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Mentallo – Piledriver
Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh b. Dark Order – Lethal Injection to Uno
Anna Jay b. Tara Zep – Queenslayer
Skye Blue b. Rachael Ellering – Code Blue
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Levi Knight/Jon Cruz – Double swinging slam to Knight
Kingdom b. London Lightning/Jason Geiger – Rockstar Supernova to Geiger
Athena b. Nicole Matthews – O Face

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Rampage
Date: May 1, 2024
Location: Canada Life Center, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

It’s time for the second half of the double shot and that means we are probably going to drop down a little bit in importance. Odds are we’ll be seeing something from the end of Dynamite as well, as the Elite attacked Kenny Omega to end the show. I’m not sure how well that is going to go but Rampage can be all over the place. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with Kenny Omega down in the ring with FTR checking on him after an attack by the Elite to end Dynamite. Omega is taken out on a stretcher but gets attacked by the Elite again in the back. They shove the stretcher over and then order medics to check on Omega.

Jay White vs. Dante Martin

The Gunns, Darius Martin and Action Andretti are here too. Martin charges at him to start and hammers away with the fight heading outside. Back in and White stomps away in the corner but gets headscissored outside. Martin’s dive drops White again but a springboard is broken up back inside.

We take a break and come back with White grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up and Martin hits a dropkick, setting up a springboard high crossbody for two. White wins a chop off and sends Martin to the apron, where he comes back in with the Nose Dive for a quick two. White has had it though and hits the sleeper suplex into the Blade Runner for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C+. This was designed to be tied into the gauntlet match from last week but it didn’t exactly feel the same when you had Bullet Club Gold beating the Martins and Andretti on Collision. It also doesn’t help that Martin loses almost every singles match he’s in against any worthwhile opponent, which needs to change to make something like this more interesting.

Post match White helps him up and then lays him out with an implant DDT.

Deonna Purrazzo is sick of the lack of respect around here. Now she is starting to feel like herself though and if Thunder Rosa wants to make this personal, that works for her too.

Rush brags about his success and wants respect on his name.

Big Bill believes he has everything he needs to reach the top but he needs Chris Jericho’s guidance. Teach him. Jericho comes in and is happy to have retained the For The World Championship so now he’s ready to let Bill into the Jericho Vortex.

We look at Christian Cage being named #1 contender on Dynamite.

Swerve Strickland is ready to remind Cage who he is. They’ll talk next week and Swerve won’t be alone.

Rocky Romero vs. Kyle O’Reilly

They fight over wrist control to start with O’Reilly taking him down, only to have Romero pop back up for a staredown. Romero kicks him out to the floor for a suicide dive but O’Reilly grabs the cross armbreaker as we take a break. Back with the two of them exchanging kicks until O’Reilly runs him over with a hard clothesline. They go up top so Romero can grab a super Sliced Bread for a double knockdown. Neither can get very far with an arm hold but O’Reilly can get a rollup for the pin at 9:58.

Rating: C+. Another match that gets a bit of time and had good action in that time. The good thing is they didn’t overstay their welcome here, as it was a cold match with the two of them being thrown out there together. O’Reilly gets a win to make up for his Dynasty loss while Romero continues to be the guy you put out there to make someone else look strong.

Saraya and Harley Cameron aren’t happy with Mariah May losing earlier so Cameron will fight Toni Storm herself on Dynamite.

The Undisputed Kingdom does not like Tony Khan’s lack of respect of NECK STRONG. Roderick Strong promises to take out Will Ospreay at Double Or Nothing.

TBS Title: Skye Blue vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale is defending and it’s anything goes, falls count anywhere. Nightingale hammers away with a trashcan lid in the aisle to start and they fight into the crowd. Blue is sent into the barricade and they head back to ringside to continue the fast start. It’s already time to bring in the weapons but Nightingale’s flip dive off the apron only hits chair.

We take a break and come back with Nightingale Pouncing Blue down and putting a chair over her in the corner. The Cannonball is cut off with a chair shot to give Blue two and it’s time for the thumbtacks. They both go up and Nightingale grabs the swinging superplex for the crash into the tacks and a near fall. Blue gets in a shot of her own and grabs out a barbed wire board, because of course she did. That takes too long though and the Babe With The Powerbomb through the board retains Nightingale’s title at 10:43.

Rating: C+. It was a violent brawl, but this felt like having a hardcore match for the sake of having a hardcore match. Throw in the fact that Chris Jericho and Katsuyori Shibata had a hardcore match about an hour and a half ago and this didn’t have quite the same impact. That being said, Nightingale getting a win in a match like this on her own is a good thing and something she has been needing to do more often.

Overall Rating: B-. This did feel more important than most Rampages so it’s nice to see them taking advantage of what they had with Dynamite. That being said, only one of the matches felt important and even then it was only so big. As usual, the parts between the bell worked well and the other stuff was hit or miss. Not a show you need to see, but for an hour long show, it went just fine.

Results
Jay White b. Dante Martin – Blade Runner
Kyle O’Reilly b. Rocky Romero – Rollup
Willow Nightingale b. Skye Blue – Babe With The Powerbomb through a barbed wire board

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Ring Of Honor
Date: April 25, 2024
Location: Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Things have been getting longer around here again and that has not often been the best thing for Ring Of Honor. It often results in matches that are just there to make the show longer and I’m still not sure how that makes for better weekly events. Odds are we’ll get more on Queen Aminata coming after the Women’s Title this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Isiah Kassidy vs. Komander

Kassidy takes him down to start and fires off some dancing as commentary talks about Shaquille O’Neal. Komander grabs an armbar into a rollup but gets dropped throat first onto the top. Stomping in the corner keeps Komander in trouble until he comes out with a kick to the face. Kassidy cutters him across the top to send Komander outside but he comes back in with a running hurricanrana.

An Asai moonsault takes out Kassidy on the floor and a springboard Swanton connects for two. A poisonrana plants Kassidy again but he’s right back with a Spanish Fly for two of his own. Back up and Komander grabs a waistlock, only to have Kassidy kick him low. A reverse Twist of Fate finishes for Kassidy at 7:42.

Rating: C+. This was in fact a high flying match between a perennial jobber and one half of a tag team. They both have athletic abilities and I certainly wasn’t bored with what I was seeing. At the same time though, it’s a little hard to get invested in seeing something between people that AEW has made feel so unimportant. That’s a big problem with ROH and I don’t see it being cured anytime soon.

We look at Bullet Club Gold unifying the two sets of Six Man Tag Team titles.

The Club brags about their win but they don’t have room for all of the gold.

Dark Order vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

Silver and Darius start things off with Darius slipping out of a wristlock and grabbing a cravate. Andretti comes in to work on the arm before everything breaks down, meaning a triple superkick to send the Order outside. Back in and the Order takes over on Dante, who flips over to hand it right back to Andretti.

Everything breaks down again and an assisted tornado DDT puts Reynolds down. Andretti’s running shooting star gets two with the Order having to make the save. The Order isolates Darius and strike away at him until Dante makes a save of his own. Darius and Andretti grab a double spinebuster to finish Reynolds at 6:58.

Rating: C+. This was the match designed to warm up Andretti and Top Flight before their shot at Bullet Club Gold this weekend. Andretti and Top Flight work well enough together but it feels like they are up and down all the time around here. Giving them a win is nice, but it doesn’t feel like anything more than getting them ready for their latest loss against better competition. It makes sense, but it’s not the most engaging stuff.

Anna Jay vs. Allysin Kay

Kay powers her into the corner to start but Jay knocks her into the corner to cut that off. A spinning kick is countered into a suplex, only to have Jay stomp her down in the corner without much trouble. Kay grabs a hotshot into a chokebomb for two but Jay is right back with a middle rope Blockbuster for the same. The Queenslayer finishes for Jay at 3:44.

Rating: C. Believe it or not, Jay goes from losing on Dynamite to winning on Ring Of Honor. That’s the story of her career, as she is so all over the place with her wins and losses that it is not wonder she can never get any kind of traction. Yes she’s on a winning streak around here, but it only means so much when she loses any big match she has.

We recap Queen Aminata seemingly coming after Athena for the Women’s Title.

Athena has an emergency Minions meeting and offers a beating to Aminata and Red Velvet.

Johnny TV vs. Will Austin

Taya Valkyrie is here with Johnny, who takes Austin down without much effort. A springboard hurricanrana into a dropkick works well for Austin, with Ian saying “Make your name Austin!” I’m thinking that might not be the best idea as it’s already taken. Taya offers a distraction so Johnny can get in a shot from behind and work on the arm. A spinning knee to the face sets up the Flying Chuck into Starship Pain for the pin at 3:16 (….hey).

Rating: C. As usual, there’s only so much you can get out of what was just a step ahead of a squash. TV is back after his loss at Supercard Of Honor and now he can find something else to do. I’m not sure what that is, but it’s better than having him sitting around waiting for something to happen.

Mogul Embassy vs. 1 Called Manders/Beef/Calvin Tankman

No Prince Nana with the Embassy as they’re getting it right. Beef gets taken into the corner to start the beating in a hurry, with Toa hammering away. Kaun backbreakers him onto the turnbuckle and Cage hits the apron superplex for two. Beef finally gets in a shot of his own and hands it off to Tankman, who gets to clean some house. The numbers catch up with him though and it’s a triplebomb to give Cage the pin at 4:06.

Rating: C+. This was more than I was expecting with Tankman getting to show what he could do if given the chance. The guy can be a wrecking ball when he is in there and that worked for a little while. At the same time, not having Nana out there with the Embassy is a good sign, as the face turn continues.

Video on the Premiere Athletes, focusing on Ariya Daivari.

Mark Sterling is impressed with how many people it took to stand up to the Premiere Athletes.

Leila Grey vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Sakazaki takes her over with a headlock to start before hitting a spinning kick to the chest. A running dropkick misses though and Grey drops a backsplash for two. Grey gets two off a bulldog and there’s a Hennig necksnap to drop Sakazaki again. They go up top, where Grey grabs a sunset bomb for two more before it’s time to trade forearms. We go to a random replay of the sunset bomb, which has me wondering if they needed to edit something out. Sakazaki grabs a spinning hammerlock slam and hits the Magical Girl Splash for the pin at 4:44.

Rating: C-. This was a weird one with that replay/seemingly an edit feeling really out of nowhere. I’m not sure what was going on here but the ending felt like they were told to go home in a hurry. Grey has done well enough in some limited roles and was working here, but the chemistry was pretty far off with this one.

Griff Garrison and Cole Karter are upset at their recent losses. Maria Kanellis comes in to say she is disappointed too but says it’ll work in the end. This team’s existence continues to confuse me.

Kingdom vs. Outrunners

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if the Outrunners win or last the ten minute time limit, they get a future title shot. Floyd works on Bennett’s arm to start but it’s quickly off to Taven for a cheap shot to take over. Back up and Magnum fights back and manages to clear the ring but Bennett drops him again. Taven chokes away and Bennett gets two off a suplex.

The chinlock keeps Magnum down but he atomic drops his way to freedom and hands it back to Floyd to pick up the pace. A spinning suplex drops Taven and Magnum hits a top rope forearm. Boot Camp is loaded up but Bennett reverses into a rollup with tights for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C+. The extra time helped this one, along with the fact that we saw the champs go to a time limit in a Proving Ground match a few weeks back. It adds just enough drama to make this work better than that is great to see. It wasn’t a great match, but the Outrunners are always fun and the champs get a win, meaning they are at least here for a change.

Queen Aminata and Red Velvet are ready for Billie Starkz and Athena.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Laynie Luck

Taya goes with the power to start and chokes away on the ropes but Luck strikes away. That earns her the running knees in the corner, followed a double underhook drop for two. The STF makes Luck tap at 3:26.

Rating: C. Pretty much a squash for Taya, though Luck got in a few shots of her own. That isn’t the biggest surprise as Luck is something of an indy mainstay around this area and is a step above some of the jobbers you’ll see. Taya is still someone who could be used in a bigger spot but she seems pretty stuck in the midcard gatekeeper heel spot at the moment.

The Infantry wants more but the Outrunners interrupt and brag about their own success. The challenge is on for next week, with the Outrunners repeating what the Infantry says.

Lance Archer/Righteous vs. GPA/Ren Jones/Jon Cruz

Vincent punches GPA down to start as Ian talks to students. Dutch comes in for some clotheslines before running Jones over for a bonus. It’s off to Archer, who gets annoyed at Jones’ dropkick. A full nelson slam plants Jones, who kicks Vincent away and hands it off to Cruz. It’s back to Jones all of ten seconds later but the villains are tired of this and wreck everyone. The Blackout sends GPA onto Jones to give Dutch the double pin at 3:43.

Rating: C. Archer and the Righteous are doing well with these squashes but it’s hard to believe that they’re going to get a title shot. I base this on the idea that we have seen them do something similar to this for a good while now and they have never been near the titles. That’s how Ring Of Honor works with a lot of this stuff and it can be rather frustrating.

Abadon vs. Nova

Nova takes things into the corner to start for a running shoulder to the ribs but Abadon is right back with some clotheslines. The Meteora in the corner sets up a running knee and Black Dahlia finishes Nova at 1:35.

Johnny TV and Taya Valkyrie (the latter of whom got a shower and changed in record time) are happy about their reality series when Aaron Solo interrupts. Taya isn’t impressed and Johnny mocks his win/loss record so Solo promises to win next week. Now we’re getting an Aaron Solo story?

Blake Christian vs. AR Fox vs. Beast Mortos

Mortos runs them both over to start but gets sent to the corner as commentary talks about the things Christian has been doing with Missy Hyatt in GCW. Mortos is back inside and takes out Christian before powerslamming Fox for two. A shinbreaker puts Fox down again and we hit a leglock. Christian comes in off the top for the save and Sling Blades Mortos, who is back with a Samoan drop for two.

The pace picks up and Christian takes Mortos down for a quick splash. Fox is back in to double team Mortos to limited avail but they manage to knock Mortos down into the corner. With the other two up top, Mortos pulls them back down for a big crash but Fox kicks him out to the apron. Christian’s spear puts Mortos on the floor and a springboard 450 into a Swanton connects back inside. Christian goes after Fox but Mortos is back up with a spinning piledriver to finish Fox at 6:52.

Rating: B-. Best match of the show as it was more competitive but it’s not like this was anything great. There were no stakes to this and Mortos already beat Christian at Supercard Of Honor. That didn’t leave much in the way of drama here, though it was nice to see a match that had a bit more time and all three were putting in some energy.

Overall Rating: C. That was Ring Of Honor all right, with a bunch of people doing a bunch of stuff and very little of it standing out. The last few weeks have gotten away from the focused version and have been back to being little more than getting as much content out there as possible. As usual, that’s great for the wrestlers who get more work, but it doesn’t make for an entertaining show. It’s almost impossible to have this much content while also having the wins and losses matter for the sake of title shots, especially when those shots are few and far between. Ring Of Honor is proving that and it’s not working well.

Results
Isiah Kassidy b. Komander – Reverse Twist of Fate
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Dark Order – Double spinebuster to Reynolds
Anna Jay b. Allysin Kay – Queenslayer
Johnny TV b. Will Austin – Starship Pain
Mogul Embassy b. 1 Called Manders/Beef/Calvin Tankman – Triplebomb to Tankman
Yuka Sakazaki b. Leila Grey – Magical Girl Splash
Kingdom b. Outrunners – Rollup with tights to Floyd
Taya Valkyrie b. Laynie Luck – STF
Lance Archer/Righteous b. GPA/Ren Jones/Jon Cruz – Double pin
Abadon b. Nova – Black Dahlia
Beast Mortos b. Blake Christian and AR Fox – Spinning piledriver to Fox

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Collision
Date: April 27, 2024
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re doing another double shot this week with Collision and Rampage going back to back. That makes for a rather interesting night, as last week’s Collision was great while the following Rampage definitely took its foot off the gas. Odds are we’ll be getting an update on what happened to Tony Khan on Dynamite, which is suddenly the top story in AEW. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Swerve Strickland winning the World Title at Dynasty.

Here is Swerve Strickland, with Prince Nana, for a chat. Nana introduces Swerve as the boss of bosses, one h*** of a wrestler and the new World Champion. Swerve runs down what we have been seeing around here over the last week, including Jack Perry and the Young Bucks attacking Tony Khan. Swerve has done a lot of things in wrestling, but that sounds like a b**** move.

The biggest thing in wrestling though is him winning the World Title and he got here while making some sacrifices. Swerve’s oldest daughter said she doesn’t really know him and he can’t make up for lost time, but he can make sure that this is all worth it. He beat Kyle Fletcher on Dynamite so let’s do the open challenge tonight. Cue Claudio Castagnoli in a suit and I think we have a main event. Swerve says he’ll see him tonight in whose house? Castagnoli takes the mic and says it’s going to be his.

We look at the attack on Tony Khan.

Tony Schiavone says Tony Khan has suffered multiple head and neck injuries. Khan cannot travel but he can run AEW remotely from Jacksonville. Nigel McGuinness asks what happens if Khan something happens and Khan isn’t there. Are we really to believe that Khan can’t be expected to call/text in orders? That isn’t what was said, but I would hope they have a better explanation than “he’s not here in person”.

Trios Titles: Bullet Club Gold vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

The Club is defending. White and Dante start things off with Dante striking away until White chops him into the corner. The Gunns come in for a clothesline into a knee lift as the villains start taking turns on Dante. A quick dive cuts Austin off though and it’s Darius coming in to clean house. Darius’ Downward Spiral gets two on Austin but White plants him face first onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Dante and Andretti being pulled off the apron but Colten avoids a splash. Darius rolls over and brings Andretti in to pick up the pace. A split legged moonsault into a Spanish Fly gets two on Colten as everything breaks down. White crotches Andretti on top and the swinging Rock Bottom plants Dante. 3:10 To Yuma plants Darius but Andretti dropkicks White into the corner. Not that it matters as Andretti handsprings into the Blade Runner to retain the titles at 11:13.

Rating: B-. This was a perfectly good first title defense for the champs as Andretti and Top Flight were fine challengers. The division is hardly deep in the first place so it is nice to see a regular team getting a title shot. They don’t need to defend the titles every week but they did need to defend them at least once to get the unified reign off to a nice start.

We look at the Young Bucks winning the Tag Team Titles over FTR in a ladder match at Dynasty, albeit with help from Jack Perry.

The House Of Black is happy with beating Adam Copeland again at Dynasty. One of them will be accepting the Cope Open on Dynamite.

Rey Fenix vs. Beast Mortos

This is Fenix’s first match since October. Fenix fires off kicks to start and bounces off the ropes, right into a powerslam from Mortos. With Fenix sent outside, Mortos takes him down with a corkscrew dive. Back in and Mortos hits a crucifix bomb, followed by a heck of a clothesline for two.

Mortos starts in on the leg and gets in something like a reverse Figure Four, with Fenix having to roll to the ropes. It’s time to go after Fenix’s mask, because that is something we have to see quite often around here. We take a break and come back with Fenix striking away and snapping off a hurricanrana out of the corner. Fenix fires off some more kicks before running and…stepping up onto Mortos’ head, because that’s something someone can do.

Mortos doesn’t like having his head stepped on and knocks Fenix out of the air for a double knockdown. Back up and Fenix knocks him to the floor for the required dive but Mortos grabs a nasty gutbuster for two back inside. Fenix kicks him away again and hits a superkick into a frog splash for two. A rollup gives Fenix the pin at 15:11.

Rating: B-. Well they certainly got some time. This was a long match that let Fenix showcase his athleticism while letting Mortos get in his own power stuff. It made for a good match and a nice return, though there were some points when it felt like it was going long for the sake of going long.

Video on Trent Beretta turning on Orange Cassidy, with Chuck Taylor standing up to Beretta.

Cassidy is scared of what Taylor and Beretta are going to do to each other in the parking lot. Kris Statlander comes in to say Beretta needs them.

Rush vs. Martin Stone

Rush, in his first match since December, snaps off a German suplex to start and knocks Stone outside to choke against the barricade. Some whips with the TV cables make things worse and they head back inside. Rush suplexes him into the corner and the Bull’s Horns completes the squash at 2:15.

Post match Rush hits another Bull’s Horns for a bonus.

We look at Serena Deeb saying she’s coming after the Women’s Title.

Deeb says she is the obvious #1 contender and it is now or never. After all these years of being told she’s great, she needs to be Women’s Champion.

Toni Storm vs. Anna Jay

Non-title and Mariah May (in black for a change) is here with Storm. They lock up to start until Storm grabs a headlock and grinds away. Jay sends her into the corner for a running kick to the face, setting up a hip attack. That just wakes Storm up and she is back with a Thesz press, followed by some hips to the face. Another hip attack knocks May down, allowing Jay to grab a neckbreaker and Nigel to panic as we take a break.

Back with Storm hitting a Backstabber into a DDT into a fisherman’s suplex for two. A Gory Special gives Jay two and we hit the Queenslayer. Nigel: “THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME! THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!” Storm fights up and knocks her into the corner, setting up the big hip attack and Storm Zero finishes Jay at 9:22.

Rating: C+. Something has clicked for Storm in the ring lately and it has been going much better. She has the character stuff to be incredibly entertaining, but the in-ring part has been going way up lately. That helps a lot and has made things that much better, which is quite good given the amount of challengers coming for the title.

Chuck Taylor, with his dog, tells Orange Cassidy that he has to do this on his own. Works for Cassidy.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Acclaimed

This is the Veterans’ (James Drake/Zack Gibson) debut and Billy Gunn is here with the Acclaimed. Gibson and Caster start things off with the former working on the arm and handing it off to Drake for the same. Bowens comes in and grabs a neckbreaker, setting up a slugout. Gibson isn’t having that and comes in for some double teaming, setting up something close to a Poetry In Motion to knock Caster off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Drake hitting a dive on Caster as Tony manages to figure out what Nigel means by “don’t GAF.” Gibson’s chinlock doesn’t last long and Caster ducks a spinwheel kick allowing the tag off to Bowens. House is quickly cleaned and Caster tags himself back in (rather quickly) for Scissor Me Timbers to Drake.

Gibson gets back in to distract Caster, allowing Drake to hit a running boot to the face. Bowens gets Codebreakered out of the corner, with Drake adding a missile dropkick for two. With nothing else working, Gunn offers a distraction so Bowens can come back with the Arrival, setting up the Mic Drop for the pin on Gibson at 12:10.

Rating: B-. If the Veterans want to stick around, they probably earned themselves a job with this match. They looked like a polished, experienced team and were running circles around the Acclaimed here. I’m not sure what has happened to the Acclaimed, but they seem to have just stopped evolving or advancing in the ring whatsoever. They feel like a colder version of the same act from a year ago and that is a really bad sign. The team needs something to change them up and it needs to happen soon.

Katsuyori Shibata is ready to beat up Shane Taylor Promotions himself tonight and then he’ll beat up Chris Jericho. Daniel Garcia comes in to offer some help and Shibata accepts, saying “save the last dance for me.”

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Strickland is defending. Feeling out process to start until Castagnoli wrestles him to the mat without much trouble. They fight over a test of strength on the mat with neither being able to get very far. Swerve twists up to his feet but Castagnoli is right there with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Castagnoli knocks him to the apron but Swerve comes back with a hurricanrana on the ramp for a nasty crash.

Back in and a high crossbody knocks Castagnoli down again, setting up some rolling neckbreakers for a new idea. Castagnoli isn’t having this and knocks him outside, where a hard running uppercut against the barricade takes us to a break. Back with Swerve hitting a basement superkick to send Castagnoli outside, where another kick to the chest makes it worse. The rolling Downward Spiral gives Swerve two and a forearm puts Castagnoli on the floor again.

Swerve gets sat up on the stage and a running flip dive brings him back off, while dropping Castagnoli at the same time. Back in and a 450 gives Swerve two but Castagnoli hits a running stomp of his own. That just fires Swerve up and he strikes away, at least until Castagnoli runs him over for a double knockdown. Swerve muscles him over with a suplex and there’s the Swerve Stomp for a rather near fall.

The House Call is loaded up but Castagnoli reverses into the Swing, setting up the Sharpshooter to put Swerve in a lot more trouble. The crossface goes on but Swerve gets out, earning himself a heck of a running clothesline for two. Swerve grabs a DDT and goes up for the Stomp…but Castagnoli just blocks him in the air and slams him down. A running stomp drops Castagnoli though and it’s the House Call to retain the title at 21:04.

Rating: B+. Now this was more like it, as Swerve had to work to get through a rather tough opponent. It takes someone special to be able to hang with Castagnoli and Swerve not only did it but even looked better at times. Castagnoli is one of those guys you call if you want to make an opponent look good and he did it in spades here, with a rather excellent match.

Respect is shown post match.

Overall Rating: B+. This had some pretty quality wrestling matches and I had a good time with the show. That’s two weeks in a row with high level Collisions and I could certainly go for more of this. While Dynamite needs to spread the important parts around to the other shows, it’s nice to Have a show that isn’t packed with storylines and lets the wrestlers do their thing. Rather strong stuff here as Collision is getting into a heck of a groove.

Results
Bullet Club Gold b. Top Flight/Action Andretti – Blade Runner to Andretti
Rey Fenix b. Beast Mortos – Rollup
Rush b. Martin Stone – Bull’s Horns
Acclaimed b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Mic Drop to Gibson
Swerve Strickland b. Claudio Castagnoli – House Call

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Collision
Date: April 20, 2024
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last Collision before Dynasty but also the first half of a double shot tonight, as Rampage will air after the show. In this case we have Bryan Danielson in a Bunkhouse Brawl, as the Blackpool Combat Club is facing the Don Callis Family. That should be enough to carry things so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Adam Copeland/Eddie Kingston/Mark Briscoe vs. Action Andretti/Top Flight

Briscoe starts with Andretti, who wants some Redneck Kung Fu. Never ask someone who looks like Briscoe for either Redneck or Kung Fu. They fight over wrist control until Briscoe grabs a headlock on the mat. Back up and Andretti hits a dropkick into a moonsault for two but Briscoe runs him over. Copeland comes in to share a double running shoulder with Briscoe but Andretti kicks him in the knee in a smart move.

It’s off to Darius for a dropkick, with Dante adding a running clothesline in the corner. Dante tries to jump a few too many times though and gets caught with a running powerslam. We get Kingston for the first time, with Dante getting knocked into the corner as we take a break.

Back with Darius coming in to clean house as everything breaks down. Andretti hits a running shooting star press on Kingston, with Copeland making the save. They all get up and have the six way staredown, setting up a triple clothesline to put them all down. Kingston wins a slugout with Andretti but gets kicked down by Dante. Copeland grabs the implant DDT on Dante and it’s a Jay Driller to Darius. The spear and the Froggy Bow finish the destruction at 12:17.

Rating: B-. Nice start to the show as the winners get a boost before their showdown with the House Of Black at Dynasty. It’s not exactly a career making win but I’ll take them at least teaming together before going into that match. You don’t often see three singles champions against an established team but that’s what we’ll be seeing at the pay per view, which is quite the big match.

Post match the House Of Black pop up on screen with various threats to the winners.

Video on Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. CJ Espersa

Don Callis is on commentary and Hobbs takes it to the floor. Some slams onto the apron and a torture rack complete the destruction of Espersa at 1:24.

Post match Callis gets in the ring and announces that Hobbs’ match with Jon Moxley on Dynamite will be for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, as he has called in some favors.

Will Ospreay is ready for Bryan Danielson.

We look at Chris Jericho yelling at Hook and shoving Taz on Dynamite.

Jericho apologizes to Hook and Taz but he’s asked Tony Khan for a match against Hook at Dynasty for the FTW Title.

Gunns vs. Acclaimed

Jay White and Billy Gunn are here too. The Gunns tease walking out but Tony Khan, by way of Tony Schiavone, threatens to cancel the Dynasty match. Acclaimed jump them to start and the fight is on, with the Gunns taking over in the corner as we take a break. Back with Caster caught in a double half crab but he kicks his way to freedom. The diving tag brings Bowens in to clean house, including a jump over the back Fameasser for two on Colten.

Everything breaks down and Colten’s rollup, even with feet on the ropes, only gets two. Austin grabs Bowens’ leg from the floor, allowing Colten to hit a Fameasser for two more. The 3:10 To Yuma doesn’t work so Colten rakes the eyes. Caster is back in to plant Colten but gets crotched as he goes up. Now the 3:10 To Yuma can hit Bowens but Caster hits the Mic Drop on Austin. Back up and Austin grabs a rollup (and the bat as extended by White) for the pin on Caster at 10:01.

Rating: C+. AEW really likes running this match and have the history to prove it. The matches are ok, but the interesting thing is how far the Gunns have come in a few years. You can absolutely see the improvement and that is nice to see for a team with that much potential. Then you have the Acclaimed, who are pretty much exactly what they were a few years ago, if not downgraded.

We look at the Blackpool Combat Club attacking the Don Callis Family on Dynamite.

Bryan Danielson talks about feeling alive but he wonders what Don Callis is up to. Tonight he gets revenge on Konosuke Takeshita and tomorrow he gets Will Ospreay. Cue Ospreay to say he had nothing to do with Takeshita attacking him because he wants Danielson at 100%. Danielson doesn’t seem convinced.

Toni Storm, in color to show what happened to her, is not pleased with Thunder Rosa putting paint on her face. Rosa wants to bring her to h***, but she makes love to demons every night.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Don Callis Family

Bunkhouse Brawl, meaning anything goes, and the Family (Kyle Fletcher/Konosuke Takeshita in this case) jumps the Club from behind to start. The fight starts in the crowd with Danielson striking away at Fletcher and beating him up through the people. The two of them get to ringside while Castagnoli cleans up some garbage in the crowd. Takeshita grabs the ring bell hammer to beat on Castagnoli before they get inside to slug it out.

Castagnoli grabs the Swing and Danielson adds the dropkick but Fletcher throws in a chair (busting Danielson open in the process) for the save. Some powder to the eyes lets Fletcher hit a powerbomb for two on Castagnoli and we take a break. Back with Castagnoli ramming Fletcher into the steps over and over to bust him open as well.

Danielson hits a top rope knee to the back of Takeshita’s head and then a hard kick to the front of his head. Fletcher is back in to kick Castagnoli down and it’s time for a chain (everyone uses a chain these days). The Club fights back and hit the stereo elbows to the face but here is Powerhouse Hobbs to clean house. Jon Moxley runs in to brawl with Hobbs through the crowd, leaving Danielson to super hurricanrana Takeshita onto an open chair. Castagnoli wraps the chain around his arm for an uppercut to Takeshita. Danielson knees Fletcher into the LeBell Lock (with the chain) for the win at 16:04.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that AEW really likes to present and as usual, the result depends on the level of talent involved. With these four in there, it was almost impossible for it not to work and they even tied it in with Hobbs vs. Moxley next week on Dynamite. It was a wild brawl, but dang there are a lot of those in AEW.

Post match Danielson says he’s doing this match because his Heaven is bleeding in this ring in front of these people. He’ll beat Will Ospreay at Dynasty.

Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale and Stokely Hathaway are fired up for Nightingale to win the TBS Title at Dynasty.

Skye Blue vs. Leyla Hirsch

Hirsch rushes her to start and hits a boot to the face, with Blue having to bail out to the floor. Blue gets in a shot outside though and a hanging swinging neckbreaker drops Hirsch hard. They get back in and Hirsch slugs away, only to get dropped with a forearm to the chest. A belly to back and wheelbarrow suplex get Hirsch out of trouble but Blue catches her with a Cheeky Nandos kick. Hirsch fights back up and hits a superplex, only to slip off the ropes. Blue grabs a dragon sleeper for the tap at 5:09.

Rating: C+. Blue has felt somewhere between cold and non-existent in recent weeks so it’s nice to see her getting a win here. It seems she’s passed her peak so far, but giving her a few wins could bring her back. That being said, seeing her make someone like Hirsch tap out is more than a little weird.

Dynasty rundown.

Elite vs. FTR/Pac

Pac and Okada start things off and, after Pac cuts off the Bucks’ interference, he takes Okada into the corner so Wheeler can stomp away. The Bucks pull Okada to the floor and the big brawl is on. Back in and Harwood strikes it out with Okada but Matt tags himself in. That earns him a quick beating so it’s right back to Okada, with Pac starting in on the arm. Everything breaks down again and they all head to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Wheeler getting stomped down in the corner, setting up Matt’s chinlock. Wheeler suplexes his way out but Nick is right there to cut him off again. A splash misses though and it’s a diving tag to bring Pac back in to clean house. The big running flip dive to the floor takes out the Bucks but it’s too early for the Black Arrow. Okada distracts the referee so the Bucks can send Pac into the steps and we take another break.

Back again with the Bucks’ powerbomb/corner enziguri combination not exactly working and the big tag brings Harwood back in. A brainbuster plants Okada and FTR sends the Bucks into each other for a double low blow in the corner. Harwood slugs away at Okada, who cuts him right back off with the dropkick. The Rainmaker is blocked though and Harwood pulls him into the Sharpshooter.

Various superkicks break that up and Matt adds a top rope elbow for two. Everything breaks down again and the PowerPlex hits Matt. They all get up for the slugout and the Bucks give Pac a Shatter Machine for two, followed by the EVP Trigger for the same. Wheeler dives onto Nick and Okada, leaving Pac to hit the Black Arrow for the pin on Matt at 22:15.

Rating: B. Yeah of course this was good and that shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise. There is always something to combining two pay per view matches into one main event and they made it work here, with Pac getting a pin to keep him hot for the title match. Odds are the Bucks win the titles tomorrow, but at least we didn’t have to hear about building momentum towards a ladder match.

Post match the villains ump the winners but Daniel Garcia runs in for the save. Okada gets caught in the Brutalizer with the Bucks pulling him out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was quite the stacked show and it made for a rather strong two hours on the way to Dynasty. It helps that they didn’t really have to do anything new here and most of the show was built around building up things for Dynasty. Either way, this was a rather awesome show and one of the best Collisions in a good while.

Results
Adam Copeland/Eddie Kingston/Mark Briscoe b. Action Andretti/Top Flight – Froggy Bow to Darius
Powerhouse Hobbs b. CJ Espersa – Torture rack
Gunns b. Acclaimed – Rollup to Caster while grabbing a baseball bat
Blackpool Combat Club b. Don Callis Family – LeBell Lock with a chain to Fletcher
Skye Blue b. Leyla Hirsch – Dragon sleeper
FTR/Pac b. Elite – Black Arrow to Matt

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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