Collision
Date: January 13, 2024
Location: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

This show is going to have some troubles as it is up against the NFL Playoffs. That opens up the question of whether or not AEW is going to more or less punt to next week, which might not be the worst idea. Adam Copeland has another open challenge this week, because modern wrestling LOVES open challenges. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.Opening sequence.

Here is Adam Copeland for his Open Challenge, though first he says hello to a fan with a sign about how excited he is over finally getting to see Copeland live. That’s so cool.

Adam Copeland vs. Lee Moriarty

After a video on Moriarty (with Shane Taylor), he promises to make Copeland tap out. Copeland headlocks him down and fires off some forearms in the corner. Moriarty escapes a suplex though and we take a break. Back with Copeland hitting a faceplant but getting armdragged off the top for a nasty crash.

Moriarty grabs the Border City Stretch, sending Copeland straight over to the rope. That means Moriarty goes up top, only to get caught with a super all away slam for the double down. Taylor offers a distraction to break up the spear so Copeland dives on him instead. Back in and they forearm it out with Copeland getting the better of things, setting up a backbreaker. The Grindhouse (Crossface) makes Moriarty tap at 11:11.

Rating: C+. Words cannot express how relieved I was when the opponent wasn’t Cole Karter after last week’s match against Griff Garrison. I can go for the idea of Copeland having to face various opponents and while Moriarty wouldn’t have been in my top list of guesses, it’s cool to see Copeland getting in there with some of the newer generation for a little while.

Post match Copeland says he’s still coming for Christian Cage.

FTR and Daniel Garcia are ready to work together to fight the House Of Black.

Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara are ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Lance Archer/Righteous

The Embassy is defending, Prince Nana and Jake Roberts are the seconds, and Cage forearms away at Archer to start. Archer is back with a clothesline but Cage is backer with a German suplex. It’s off to Toa to splash Vincent and then tie him up in the corner to start in on his leg. Everything breaks down rather quickly and we take a break.

Back with Dutch running Kaun over with a crossbody but Kaun fights his way out of the corner. Kaun uses Vincent to springboard into a dropkick to Dutch but Archer comes in to cut him off. Dutch comes in sans tag to clean house, including a big dive to the floor. Hold on though as Roberts cuts off an interfering Nana, leaving Toa to run Vincent over. Kaun Pedigrees Vincent for the pin at 11:43.

Rating: B-. This got better once they stopped trying to have a tag match and just went nuts. That’s often a good way to go and it worked out here. I’m a bit surprised that the Embassy retained after Brian Cage announced his back injury, but that team feels like they are going to hold those titles for the better part of ever.

Post match Nana laughs about Bullet Club Gold wanting the Six Man Titles. Since the Embassy is so great, they’ll challenge the Club for the titles on Dynamite.

Roderick Strong and the Kingdom interrupt Preston Vance. That doesn’t work for Vance, who will face Strong next week.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Willie Mack

They trade armdrags to start so Mack snaps off a loud chop. A headlock is quickly broken up but Mack runs him over and hits the standing moonsault for two. The Six Star misses though and Dustin is back with a running Canadian Destroyer. Rhodes’ powerslam gets two so it’s the Cross Rhodes into the Final Cut to finish Mack at 4:03.

Rating: C. It’s nice to see Rhodes get a win, but I’m not sure why it needed to happen. Rhodes is the definition of someone whose status has been set for years so why put him over anyone but a jobber? Mack might not be a top start, but you would think that he should be the one beating Rhodes rather than the other way around.

Bullet Club Gold is in to win the Six Man Tag Team Titles.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

The Patriarchy interrupts Dustin Rhodes, who tells them to shut up and wants Christian Cage to put the TNT Title on the line on Dynamite. Works for Cage, who brings up Dusty Rhodes being dead for the staredown.

JD Drake vs. Hangman Page

Anthony Henry is here with Drake. Page takes over to start but is quickly powered down. A dropkick sets up a headlock takeover to put Drake down, followed by some right hands in the corner. Page’s top rope moonsault to a standing Drake sets up the running shooting star press for two.

Drake is able to knock him outside though and we take a break. Back with Page sending him to the apron for a springboard crossbody, followed by a high crossbody for two back inside. A Death Valley Driver gets two more but the Deadeye is blocked. Drake sends him into the corner but misses the moonsault, allowing Page to hit the Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 11:32.

Rating: C+. As has been the case around here before, this accomplished what it was supposed to do but also went on too long. For now though, Page is seemingly ready to move up again while things go on around him. Drake is a big guy who can make others look good, and as a result, he’ll be around for a pretty long time.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Red Velvet

Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. The grappling continues until the threat of Purrazzso’s Virtuosa (Fujiwara armbar) sends her over to the ropes. Purrazzo stays on the arm but gets sent into the corner, allowing Velvet to start hammering away herself. Back up and they trade kicks tot he face until Purrazzo pulls her into the Virtuosa. With that broken up, Purrazzo grabs the Venus d Millo (double arm crank) for the win at 6:10.

Rating: C+. That’s how it needed to go, as this was about making Purrazzo look like a killer on her first night. She didn’t beat anyone too big but she won with the painful looking hold. The action was good enough to get by, but the point here was getting Purrazzo over as a threat and that worked well.

Hook vs. Kevin Matthews

Non-title and Hook starts fast with a suplex. Another suplex has Matthews on the floor and Redrum finishes for Hook at 1:12. Simple and effective.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

FTR/Daniel Garcia vs. House Of Black

Matt Menard is on commentary. Matthews and Harwood fight over a lockup to start and neither can get very far. Harwood sends him into the ropes so Wheeler can come in for a double catapult into said rope. It’s off to Black, who armdrags Garcia into an armbar. Garcia sits down ala Black, who flips him off as a result. Everything breaks down and the House is cleared out, allowing FTR and Garcia to sit down together as we take a break.

Back with FTR striking away at King and finally going for his legs to take him down. Some chops just annoy King, who is back with a chokebomb for two on Harwood. Black comes in for a headlock takeover but Harwood is up and gets to the middle rope. A missed something bangs up Harwood’s knee though and the beating takes him outside for a bit. Back in and a snap suplex drops Harwood again as we take a break.

We come back with Harwood not being able to get out of the corner, as a double knee to the face gets two. Not that it matters as a DDT out of nowhere is enough for the tag off to Garcia. Everything breaks down and Garcia slips out of King’s choke to send him outside. Garcia takes out Black’s knee and Wheeler hits a dive to take out the others. King is back in and a triple spike piledriver gives Garcia two.

Black is back in to kick away until he and Garcia kick each other down for a needed breather. Everyone goes to the corners until Black gets caught in a Steiner Bulldog for a rather near fall. The PowerPlex doesn’t work as Garcia lands on Black’s raised knees. Black kneebars Harwood, who has to make the rope for the break. Matthews tags himself in as Black moonsaults onto Wheeler. Some powerbombs get two on Harwood, who is right back up with a piledriver for another near fall. Back in and Black kicks Harwood in the head, setting up the Stomp to give Matthews the pin at 24:37.

Rating: B+. This had time to get going and they were going nuts by the end of it. That’s what you expect from a match like this one and my goodness did it work. It doesn’t happen every time, but when FTR is given time to really put something together, this is the kind of match you can get. Awesome stuff here with the House evening the score a bit.

Post match Menard comes in to check on Harwood, leaving black to kick him in the head. The good guys make the save with chairs to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The main event was by far the best part and it carried an otherwise just ok show. It was pretty clear that a lot o this was filler to make some of the bigger names look good. That’s ok in small doses, but they aren’t going to be able to do this kind of show again for very long. As a one off though and with a rather good main event, we’ll call it the In Your House of Collision.

Results
Adam Copeland b. Lee Moriarty – Grindhouse
Mogul Embassy b. Lance Archer/Righteous – Pedigree to Vincent
Dustin Rhodes b. Willie Mack – Final Cut
Hangman Page b. JD Drake – Buckshot Lariat
Deonna Purrazzo b. Red Velvet – Venus de Milo
Hook b. Kevin Matthews – Redrum
House Of Black b. FTR/Daniel Garcia – Stomp to Harwood

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

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Dynamite
Date: January 10, 2024
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re back to Jacksonville for the Homecoming show, which is likely going to focus on a lot of the greatest hits. At the same time, there is still a chance that some of the regulars are going to be over in Japan, so it is hard to say who will be around for the show. We’re also less than two months away from Revolution so it might be time to start getting ready. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Hangman Page vs. Claudio Castagnoli

They start fast and slug away with the fight heading to the floor. Castagnoli gets the better of things before they head back inside. A bunch of forearms to the head rock Page and Castagnoli gets the Swing, setting up the Sharpshooter. The rope is grabbed so Castagnoli slugs away again, only to get caught with a fall away slam.

A springboard clothesline sends Castagnoli to the floor and there’s a slingshot dive to hit him again. We pause for Page to have a fan’s beer, with Castagnoli gorilla pressing him over the top and onto the ramp. Back from a break with the fight on the ramp, with Page clotheslining Castagnoli into the ring. The Buckshot Lariat is countered into Swiss Death for two and they slug it out back inside.

Page knocks him to the floor hits a moonsault, followed by another off the stage to drop Castagnoli again. A Tombstone gives Page two and they both need a breather. They trade more hard shots until the Deadeye gives Page two. Castagnoli takes him to the corner and tries a super Riccola Bomb but Page reverses into a hurricanrana. That and a pair of Buckshot Lariats finish Castagnoli at 17:05.

Rating: B. For a cold match, this was a heck of a fight with both guys laying it in as well as they could. That’s all you can ask for out of a match like this and they made it work rather well. Page needs the win as he seems primed for another match with Swerve Strickland so starting against Castagnoli is a good thing. As for Castagnoli…oh he’ll be fine as always.

We take a quick look at Brodie Lee.

Dustin Rhodes/ Preston Vance/Orange Cassidy/Adam Copeland vs. Mogul Embassy/Lance Archer

Jake Roberts and Prince Nana are here with the heels. Rhodes powerslams Toa to start and hands it off to Vance, who gets driven into the corner. Cage comes in to send Vance into the buckles but it’s off to Copeland to slug away. Cassidy gets to come in and tires his usual on the Gates of Agony, with Toa Pouncing him out to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Archer beating on Cassidy in the corner. Roberts and Jose the Assistant get in a fight on the floor, with the distraction letting Cassidy fight over to Vance. House is cleaned and everything breaks down, with Copeland Impalering Cage. The villains clear the ring but Archer and Cage hit each other, leaving Copeland to spear Cage down. Vance’s discus lariat finishes Cage at 10:21.

Rating: B-. This was a bit about Brodie Lee but more about getting some people on the show, even in something of a random fashion. The match was the usual form of chaos and it was good enough for a match that got a bit of time. That being said, Copeland being in there felt a bit off, as this kind of match seems somewhat beneath him. Anyway, nice stuff here, even with Vance feeling out of place.

Bullet Club Gold wants the Trios Titles so here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, who again suggest an alliance. The Club wants more time to think about it.

Here is Samoa Joe to get things going. After a THANK YOU JOE chant, it’s time to make some changes to who gets title shots. Here are the changes that we’re making: no more whining and crying here or on social media. Bring your record and your reputation and submit it to the championship committee. If you’re deemed worthy, you get the right to get beaten up. The new championship era is here and for all who want a piece of him, our champion will be waiting….and here is Swerve Strickland, flanked by the Mogul Embassy.

Swerve declares this his house and says the same thing he said to Hangman Page: this isn’t personal, but Swerve wants something Joe has. Now once he takes the title, and Joe makes it personal, Swerve can do that too. Cue Page to interrupt, saying he’s throwing his name in the title picture too. Page talks about what he did in 2023 and promises to make the title his in the new year. Swerve is about to go after him but leaves instead.

Joe and Page go face to face, with Page saying he remembers what Joe did and promises to take the title. With everyone else gone, here is Hook to confront Joe. Hook gets in his face and says one week before leaving. Even Taz sounds confused. Hook in a one off title match where he gets to showcase himself in defeat isn’t a bad idea, as it isn’t like he has anything else going on.

Toni Storm didn’t watch Mariah May’s match and is worried about Wendi Richter rather than the debuting Deonna Purrazzo. May: “She kicked me in the face.” Storm: “Darling, have a chocolate.” She wants to meet this Donna Polazzo but can’t remember the last line of her catchphrase. May tries to help her and is told she’s ruined the moment. This was absolutely hilarious.

Ricky Starks vs. Sammy Guevara

Starks works on the wristlock to start but Guevara is back with a headlock. Guevara knocks him outside for the moonsault, with Starks coming up favoring his arm. Back up and they fight on the apron, with Starks hitting a double underhook faceplant to take over as we take a break.

We come back with Guevara knocking him down but moonsaulting onto raised boots. Starks’ sitout powerbomb gets two but he has to reverse the GTS into a rollup for two more. Back up and Guevara kicks him in the face twice and grabs a quick small package for the pin at 9:22.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure if something happened in there but Starks was looking off for a good chunk of the match. The ending came a bit out of nowhere too and made things feel all the weirder. They did the right thin by having Guevara win of course, as the Tag Team Title match is looming this weekend

Post match respect is shown but it’s a ruse for Big Bill to come in and beat up Guevara. Chris Jericho runs in from behind for the save. Jericho and Bill fight into the crowd while Guevara celebrates with fans.

Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander/Anna Jay/Thunder Rosa vs. Saraya/Ruby Soho/Skye Blue/Julia Hart

Harley Cameron is here with Saraya and company. Anna and Soho lock up to start with the former snapping off a headscissors. Nightingale comes in for the basement crossbody before it’s off to Rosa vs. Hart. The villains get to stomp away in the corner but Rosa elbows her way out of trouble. It’s back to Nightingale to take over but Cameron shoves her off the top.

We take a break and come back with Statlander getting the tag to come in and clean house. A falcon Arrow gives Statlander two and the villains get caught in a quadruple suplex, leaving commentary trying to figure out how to call it. Everything breaks down and we get the parade of knockdowns. We get a Jay vs. Hart slugout until Blue tags herself in and superkicks Jay. That’s fine with Anna, who pulls her into the Queenslayer for the tap at 8:58.

Rating: C+. This got a hair more time than women’s matches tend to get around here and that helped things out a bit. At the same time, there is only so much you can do with eight women in a match that barely gives them a minute each. At least it got them on the show though, and in this case that feels like the main goal.

Wheeler Yuta doesn’t like Eddie Kingston and challenge him for the Continental Crown on Rampage. Of note: commentary says that if Yuta wins, he’s a quadruple champion, so apparently all of the titles are defended at once.

Bryan Keith vs. Roderick Strong

The rest of the Undisputed Kingdom is here too. Keith kicks him down to start and chops away before taking it to the apron. Strong fights back and takes him back inside for the stomps in the corner. An enziguri into the Angle Slam gives Strong two but Keith kicks him in the face again. Diamond Dust plants Strong and Keith rolls him up for two, only to get kneed in the face. End o Heartache finishes for Strong at 4:21.

Rating: C+. This was a better debut than the Kingdom had as part o the team last week. At the very least, Strong didn’t take a good while to pick up the win, which should get him closer to Orange Cassidy and the International Title. Keith feels like he is on an extended tryout and that might be better. While he is talented, the roster is heavy enough already and adding someone else doesn’t seem like the best idea, at least with someone of Keith’s status.

Post match the team gets in the ring, with Adam Cole promising that the team is going to win a lot of titles.

Deonna Purrazzo wants the Women’s Title and will debut on Collision. Red Velvet comes in and seems to accept the challenge.

Jim Ross joins commentary for the main event.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Don Callis Family

Texas Tornado tag with Ric Flair and Don Callis here too. It’s a brawl to start with Sting chasing Hobbs into the crowd and hitting him with a chair. Takeshita and Allin follow in a different area as Hobbs is sent into some trashcans. Back at ringside, Takeshita hits a scary rolling German suplex on Allin and we take a break.

We come back with Allin being tossed into a powerslam, with Sting (looking spent) having to make a save. The Family sends Allin flying, with a nasty landing head first in the ropes. Sting gets kneed down by Takeshita….s Flair comes in to chop away at Hobbs. Sting is back up for the save and they all fight to the stage, with Allin being sent into the wall.

Takeshita’s running knee misses so Allin climbs the stage and Coffin Drops onto Takeshita, who kind of guides him down instead of catching him. Hobbs and Sting fight along the platform around ringside, with Sting hitting a Death Drop off said platform and through the announcers’ table for the in at 9:59.

Rating: B-. To call this wild would be an understatement, with Sting and Allin doing some crazy bumps that are probably not exactly safe. For now though, Sting’s retirement tour continues with another win, and now all he needs is to get through Revolution in less than two months. This was a crazy main event, but at times it was scarier than it needed to be.

Post match Sting is asked who he wants to face in his final match…..and here are the Young Bucks to interrupt. The staredown seems to say the match is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There was a weird theme to this show as it felt like they were trying to get in as much stuff as they could. Granted that is probably due to what seems like some of the bigger names still missing, which is ok for a one off. The good thing is they still do have a lot more time before Revolution, so having more of a fun show designed to set things up for the future is hardly some terrible choice. They tried something different here and it worked well enough to get by for a week.

Results
Hangman Page b. Claudio Castagnoli – Buckshot lariat
Orange Cassidy/Preston Vance/Adam Copeland/Dustin Rhodes b. Mogul Embassy/Lance Archer – Discus lariat to Cage
Sammy Guevara b. Ricky Starks – Small package
Willow Nightingale/Anna Jay/Thunder Rosa/Kris Statlander b. Saraya/Ruby Soho/Julia Hart/Skye Blue – Queenslayer to Blue
Roderick Strong b. Bryan Keith – End Of Heartache
Sting/Darby Allin b. Don Callis Family – Scorpion Death Drop through a table to Hobbs

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

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AND

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Collision
Date: January 6, 2024
Location: Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the first Collision of the new year and this time around we have a big showdown with the House Of Black finally facing FTR. These teams have been teasing a fight for a long time now and it should be quite the fight. Other than that, Sting and Darby Allin are in action as the retirement tour continues. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Workhorsemen

Ric Flair is here with Sting and Allin and….yeah ok it’s Charlotte. The Workhorsemen try to jump them before the bell, with Sting no selling a chair shot from Drake and Flair even getting in a chop. The fight keeps going on the floor with Sting and Allin being beaten down until we go inside for the opening bell. Allin gets beaten down to start and Henry grabs a Backstabber for two. A cheap shot knocks Sting off the apron but Allin rolls away, allowing him to bring the quickly recovered Sting back in. The Scorpion Death Drop finishes Drake at 2:51. Well that was quick.

Post match the winners and Flair celebrate with some fans, including a Flair cosplayer in a nice touch.

We look at Konosuke Takeshita destroying Allin on Dynamite, setting up the Don Callis Family vs. Sting/Allin on Dynamite.

Continental Crown: Trent Beretta vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is defending, and it’s still not clear if this is for one individual title or all three combined. Trent gets powered into the corner for the early break before winning a strike off. Trent grabs a quick tornado DDT for one and a snap suplex gets the same. Back up and Kingston fires off the rapid chops in the corner, including one chop to the face.

That leaves Trent rather bloody (his nose might be broken) and his missed dive to the floor makes it even worse as we take a break. Back with Kingston hitting a running boot in the corner before pulling Trent off the ropes for a head first crash into the buckle. Trent manages some forearms to pound Kingston down against the ropes and a basement dropkick puts him on the floor.

Back in and Trent powerbombs him out of the corner for two but Kingston snaps off an exploder. The DDT gives Kingston two but Trent rolls some German suplexes. The running knee to the face and a Gotch style piledriver give Trent two more. They slug it out from their knees until Trent grabs the half nelson suplex. Kingston grabs one of his own though, setting up a spinning backfist into the northern lights bob for two more. Another northern lights bomb retains the title at 15:13.

Rating: B. It wasn’t a match with the highest level of drama but they traded big shots here until one of them got the win. Kingston is still the kind of wrestler who can get a crowd behind him like few others and that is a very valuable thing to have. He’s getting featured in a big way here and it makes sense with the reception he receives. Trent can still have a good match with anyone and that was the case again here.

Earlier today, Tony Schiavone asked Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale about Stokely Hathaway but they’d rather just be friends and have a big new year.

Hook says he’s coming for Samoa Joe.

Kingdom vs. Bryan Keith/Komander

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Keith and Komander win or survive the ten minute time limit, they get a future title shot. Roderick Strong is here with the Kingdom, who take Komander into the corner to start the beating. Komander kicks away at Taven and brings in Keith to strike away against the ropes. A blind tag brings in Bennett to knock Keith down though and we take a break.

Back with a top rope elbow getting two on Keith and something like a Border City Stretch going on. Keith gets out and manages to suplex Bennett into the corner. Komander comes in with the spinning DDT, setting up a running headbutt in the corner to Taven. Komander’s big assisted flip dive takes the champs down but Bennett is back in with a piledriver. Just The Tip hits Keith and the powerbomb/Zig Zag combination finishes for Taven at 8:33.

Rating: C+. You have the new champs (on Collision rather than ROH, where the titles have not been seen in over five months) making their debut after being revealed as part of the big heel stable and it takes almost nine minutes to beat a makeshift team? At the same time, commentary pointed out that no one has ever beaten the champ/survived in a Proving Ground match. It shouldn’t have taken place here, but maybe it should take place at some point to add some drama?

Bullet Club Gold says they have no relationship with the Acclaimed, who come in to interrupt. Violence is teased but Anthony Bowens thinks they might be better together. The Club will think about it.

Here is Adam Copeland for a chat. Copeland talks about how he and Christian Cage had a fight at Worlds End and he won the TNT Title. Then on Dynamite, Cage said that because he beat Copeland to get the title back, Copeland goes to the back of the line. If he has to earn his title shot, he’ll start right here because he works hard. So get him someone out here.

Adam Copeland vs. Griff Garrison

Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Cole Karter are here with Garrison. Before the match, Garrison says he wants respect but Copeland says he’s coming from below sea level to Mt. Everest. A slap to the face has Copeland saying he likes Garrison, but it’s time for a beating. Copeland chops him into the corner to start and drops Garrison face first onto the top turnbuckle. Maria breaks up the spear though and Karter offers another distraction, allowing Garrison to get in a big boot to take over.

The chinlock doesn’t last long so Garrison faceplants him for two instead. Copeland is back up with the Edge O Matic and takes out Karter, setting up a high crossbody for two more. The spear is cut off by a discus right hand but Copeland headbutts him on top, setting up a superplex. The crossface finishes Garrison at 6:37.

Rating: C. It was nice to have Copeland in a random match like this, as we keep hearing about him wanting to work with others but he’s been around Cage for a long time. Putting him in a quick match like this one was a fine way to go and it seems we might be seeing more of it in the near future, as he has to go up the ladder to get at Cage again.

Post match Karter jumps Copeland but gets speared down instead.

Sting, Ric Flair and Darby Allin are fired up for the tag match on Dynamite.

Skye Blue vs. Kiera Hogan

Hogan powers her into the corner to start and we actually get a clean break. Blue’s headlock slows Hogan down until she’s back up with some slaps. A kick to the head gives Hogan one but Blue drops her again and we take a break. Back with Blue kneeing her in the chest but diving into a superkick for the double knockdown. Hogan hits the running hip attack (as seems to be required in women’s wrestling these days), only to have Blue pull her into the dragon sleeper for the win at 8:49.

Rating: C. I’ve said this before but it’s getting more and more difficult to get into a match between either of these two as they have been on the treadmill for the better part of ever. They’ll win some matches, they’ll get a bigger match, they’ll lose, they’ll start over. Odds are that is going to be the case again with Blue again, as has been the case with her for months now.

Serena Deeb is coming back.

Andrew Everett vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Everett’s running dropkick has no effect and Castagnoli slams him down (with Schiavone continuing Everett’s “I’m a seven footer” deal, which just kind of makes Schiavone sound dumb as it’s not exactly something you hear about around here very often). The Swing connects but Everett is back with a springboard spinwheel kick. The shooting star press is loaded up but Castagnoli misses what seemed to be an uppercut to knock it out of the air. Thankfully Castagnoli just picks him up and hits the Neutralizer, followed by a clothesline to finish at 3:15.

Rating: C. This wasn’t quite a squash and they weren’t exactly on the same page. Everett’s deal with the thinking he’s a giant is kind of a weird thing and thankfully he’s not around often enough for it to become a thing. At the same time, points for not worrying about the missed uppercut and moving on to the next thing without missing a beat.

Castagnoli wants (and will get) Hangman Page on Dynamite.

Big Bill and Ricky Starks are ready to face Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara….at Battle Of The Belts. And we’ll make it a street fight. Well dang. That’s been one of the biggest issues with Battle Of The Belts and they addressed it. Nice job.

FTR vs. House Of Black

FTR has some friends and family here. Wheeler and Matthews fight over a lockup to start and go into the corner. Matthews gets shoved away but comes back with some hard arm cranking. They go to the mat for some quick escapes so FTR grabs a double Russian legsweep (and yes we get a Brad Armstrong reference). It’s off to Harwood vs. Black, with the latter dropping into a sit to avoid a right hand.

Harwood sits down as well and flips him off as we take an early break. Back with Harwood and Matthews chopping it out until Harwood is sent into the wrong corner. That’s broken up and the tag brings in Wheeler, who is sent outside again for a middle rope moonsault. Wheeler manages to send them into each other back inside but Matthews cuts Harwood off in a smart move.

We take another break and come back with Harwood hammering on Black in the corner before diving onto Matthews. A brainbuster gets two on Black but the Sharpshooter is broken up. Matthews gets in a cheap shot from the floor but Harwood is fine enough to get Black into the PowerPlex. A Matthews saves breaks up the cover though and all four of them are down.

Back up and Wheeler is sent over the announcers’ table so Black grabs a chair. We pause for Black to look menacingly at Harwood’s family but the distraction lets FTR hit the Shatter Machine for two on Matthews. Black gets spike piledriven onto the apron so here is Brody King. Cue Daniel Garcia to chair King in the back and then throw the chair at his head. Back in and Matthews stomps Harwood for two but a powerbomb is countered into a sunset flip to give Harwood the pin at 21:28.

Rating: B+. As usual, if you give FTR some time and the right opponents, they can make some magic happen. That was the case here as these guys tore the house down and had a heck of a main event. What matters is the good guys won for a feel good moment in front of their family, which gave the show a nice ending. King and Garcia get to continue their deal but they didn’t actually get involved so the ending was even clean. Really strong stuff here, with FTR showing they can still do it.

Post match the House beats down FTR and Garcia, with Black spin kicking a chair into Harwood’s head. Julia Hart pops up to slowly ring the bell to end the show. Well so much for the happy ending.

Overall Rating: B. This show was carried by two matches and that was more than enough to make it work. It went by quickly and the main event was a grudge match that more than delivered. Some of the stuff in the middle was a bit lacking, but they had a nice variety and it felt more like one of the first few Collisions, which is quite the compliment as those were some very good shows.

Results
Sting/Darby Allin b. Workhorsemen – Scorpion Death Drop to Drake
Eddie Kingston b. Trent Beretta – Northern lights bomb
The Kingdom b. Bryan Keith/Komander – Powerbomb/Zig Zag combination to Keith
Adam Copeland b. Griff Garrison – Crossface
Skye Blue b. Kiera Hogan – Dragon sleeper
Claudio Castagnoli b. Andrew Everett – Clothesline
FTR b. House Of Black – Sunset flip to Matthews

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

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AND

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Worlds End 2023
Date: December 30, 2023
Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Long Island, New York
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last pay per view of the year and that means we could be in for a rather big show. The main events will see MJF defending the AEW World Title against Samoa Joe with the Devil’s reveal lurking. We also have the finals of the Continental Classic, which means the crowning of the first Triple Crown Champion. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

Stokely Hathaway, the source of the issues between these two, is at ringside and both of the women are from Long Island. An exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere as Hathaway blames Tony Schiavone for the issues between these two. Nightingale takes her to the mat and grabs a headscissors but Statlander easily slips out. A legsweep and some spinning knees give Statlander two but Nightingale runs her over with a crossbody.

Back up and Statlander strikes away, setting up the pretty impressive slam. We hit the bodyscissors and then a chinlock to keep Nightingale down, followed by a belly to back suplex for two. Back up and they collide for a double knockdown, followed by Nightingale crushing her in the corner. A spinebuster gets two for Nightingale, who gets planted down to give Statlander the same. Statlander hits an electric chair faceplant but Nightingale is right back up with the Pounce.

The Cannonball into a Death Valley Driver gives Nightingale two more, followed by Statlander’s ax kick for the same. Nightingale powerbombs her onto the apron though and a missile dropkick gets two more. Saturday Night Fever is broken up so Statlander settles for a discus lariat, only to miss the 450. The Babe With The Powerbomb doesn’t work as Statlander lands on Nightingale (with Nigel pointing out that it was more of a legdrop for Statlander), so Nightingale grabs a better version for the pin at 13:21.

Rating: B-. This was a hoss fight and thankfully they went home after the not so great powerbomb slip. It’s very nice to see Nightingale get a win after being known for coming up short so often. At the same time, what in the world has happened to Statlander? She went from on ire to losing clean in a Zero Hour match, which is hardly the best way to go for her. She needs to get back on track, though I’m not sure I see that happening anytime soon.

Zero Hour: Battle Royal

Action Andretti, Darius Martin, Alex Reynolds, John Silver, Danhausen, Bryan Keith, Matt Menard, Rocky Romero, Trent Beretta, Angelo Parker, Kip Sabian, Christopher Daniels, Lance Archer, Killswitch, Dalton Castle, Johnny TV, Butcher, Blade, Serpentico, Lee Johnson

For a future TNT Title shot. Castle (with two suspiciously large Boys) and TV get in a fight at ringside while everyone else jump Archer and Killswitch to bury the under tables at ringside. Everyone else gets inside and Serpentico is quickly eliminated. Sabian knocks Castle out (less than two minutes in) before a launched Danhausen gets rid of TV and Johnson follows him out.

The Dark Order beats up and eliminates Parker before Reynolds is out as well. Butcher tosses Silver as the ring is rapidly clearing out. Keith kicks Sabian out before going after Butcher and the Blade, who put him out. Archer is back up so Menard chops away at him, earning the quick elimination. Archer’s running knee gets rid of Daniels before Andretti (following his water bottle trick) and Martin manage to take Archer down.

Killswitch is back in and starts clearing the ring until it’s down to Killswitch, Archer, Danhausen and Trent. Danhausen gets saved from the Blackout and Trent and Danhausen manage to get rid of Archer. Then Trent turns on Danhausen to throw him out (the fans DO NOT approve) but has to slip out of Killswitch’s chokeslam. A low bridge puts Killswitch on the apron and a jumping knee puts him down on said apron. Not that it matters as a headbutt knocks Trent down to give Killswitch the win at 13:47.

Rating: C. One of the worst things you can do in a battle royal is having a field where one or two people is a likely winner. That was certainly the case here, and as soon as you remembered who the TNT Champion is, the drama goes even lower. It made for a bunch of waiting around for Archer and Killswitch to get back up and then it was just a matter of time.

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Wheeler Yuta vs. Hook

Hook is defending (Yuta’s Ring Of Honor Pure Rules Title isn’t on the line) in an FTW Rules match, meaning anything goes. We start fast with Hook jumping him and grabbing a throw, only for Yuta to get in a cheap shot. It’s time to grab some weapons but Yuta takes too long, allowing Yuta to grab a suplex on the ramp. One heck of a trashcan lid shot puts Hook down but Yuta makes the mistake of yelling at Taz.

That’s enough for Hook to come back with a clothesline and they get back inside. Yuta knocks him down again and a running backsplash gets two. Hook manages another suplex and they slug it out for a double knockdown. A t-bone suplex sends Yuta into a trashcan in the corner for two but Redrum is broken up. Yuta DDTs him for two and Hook bails to the floor for a breather. With Yuta grabbing a 2×4, Hook pulls out a stick (hockey or lacrosse) and nails Yuta hard. Redrum, with the broken stick, retains at 10:15.

Rating: C+. They were smart to go with the weapons stuff here as Hook probably isn’t capable of a regular match yet and the Pure Rules still aren’t interesting. Odds are they’ll do this again under Pure Rules and then have a regular match later on, but this one had to go this way to start. Hook has cooled off a lot but at least he got some momentum here.

The PPV proper opens with a look at the big matches and a talk about how this is the end of everything.

Brody King/Jay Lethal/Rush/Jay White vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Mark Briscoe/Daniel Garcia

Matt Menard is on commentary. Rush and Castagnoli trade the heavy strikes to start with Castagnoli getting the better of things. Rush sends him outside but Castagnoli is back in and they stare each other down. Briscoe and Lethal come in with Lethal not being able to get the Figure Four. A chop off goes to Briscoe so Danielson comes in with the LeBell Lock to White. That means a quick rope break as Nigel is in rare form of insulting Danielson.

A running corner dropkick hits White and a middle rope hurricanrana drops him again. King comes in and shrugs off Garcia’s right hands, setting up a swinging Boss Man Slam to plant Garcia. King takes him outside and yells at Menard, who isn’t exactly interested in coming after the monster.

Back in and Lethal stomps away on Garcia (who might have a broken nose) before White adds a seated chop. Garcia manages to fight out of the corner though and it’s Briscoe coming back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and the fight heads outside. Briscoe hits the running Blockbuster and Bang Bang Elbow from the apron, followed by a fisherman’s buster for two on White. Back in and Briscoe knocks Lethal off the top, only to have Lethal pop back up for a top rope superplex.

Everything breaks down again and Castagnoli unloads with uppercuts to King. Castagnoli muscles King up for an impressive suplex but Rush is back in for the save. Danielson cuts Rush off and dropkicks King to cut off Castagnoli’s Swing. Garcia and Lethal slug it out until Lethal grabs his namesake Combination. The Figure Four goes on but Briscoe makes the save with the froggy bow. We hit the parade of finishes until Garcia rolls Lethal up for the pin at 17:12.

Rating: B. This was the insanity that you were expecting as this wasn’t about the teams but rather getting eight people in the ring for a pay per view match following the Continental Classic. In other words, it was a great choice for an opener and Garcia’s likely face push continues, as he gets a nice win in a match where someone had to pick one up.

We recap Andrade El Idolo vs. Miro. CJ Perry, Miro’s wife, is managing El Idolo so Miro promised to not end him until after the Continental Classic. Since El Idolo is out, he’s fair game for Miro.

Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo

CJ Perry is here with El Idolo, who gets jumped to start as the beating is on. El Idolo gets in a shot of his own but dives into a suplex to cut that right off. Perry yells at Miro about her infected finger so Miro chokes him on the ropes in front of her. Miro throws El Idolo to the floor, where El Idolo gets in a shove over the announcers’ table.

Back in and El Idolo blocks a superplex attempt so they slug it out instead. El Idolo gets the better of things so Miro drops him with a clothesline. Miro gets knocked into the corner but it’s too early for the running knees. Instead Miro bails to the floor, leaving El Idolo to hit the middle rope moonsault.

Back in and the double moonsault gives El Idolo two so we hit the Figure Four. That’s turned into the Figure Eight…but Perry cuts it off. Miro, now much happier…or at least whatever passes for happy with him, kicks El Idolo in the face, setting up Game Over for the tap at 15:03.

Rating: C. This was a rough one as it just kept going. It’s a good example of a match that should have been cut down by at least five minutes so there wasn’t as much slow offense and standing around. The Perry turn was the right way to go as she and Miro work really well together. I’m not sure what took so long to set them up, but at least now things are as they should be.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Riho. Basically Riho returned, wanted a title shot, earned one, and is getting it.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Riho

Riho is challenging. Storm takes over to start so Riho starts spinning around. A running knee into and a running bulldog out of the corner gives Riho two and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up and they head outside where Storm gets in a slam to take over. Storm slowly hammers away and gets in a slam, setting up the double bicep pose. The half grab goes on to stay on Riho’s back, followed by a toss out to the floor.

Back in and Storm declares “she’s toast now” before grabbing a Texas Cloverleaf. Luther adds some cheating but gets caught, meaning the hold is broken and Luther is out of here. Riho hits the 619 and a high crossbody, followed by another dive to the floor. Back in and Riho misses a charge in the corner, allowing Storm Zero to connect for two. Riho tries to spin over her but gets caught in a hard DDT to retain the title at 11:47.

Rating: C+. This could have been a lot worse, but they weren’t given the chance to set up much of a feud. It was more or less Riho coming back, saying she wanted the title, getting a title shot and then losing with little in between. Storm is still great at what she’s doing and has Mariah May waiting on her, so this shouldn’t have been the most stunning result.

Post match Mariah May brings out rose petals to celebrate.

Dante Martin is upset about not being a champion so Orange Cassidy comes in to say he knows where this is going. Martin issues the challenge and they’re on for Dynamite.

Swerve Strickland vs. Dustin Rhodes

Rhodes is replacing an injured Keith Lee. Swerve jumps him before the bell and beats him up on the floor, with the cinder block being loaded up. The Swerve Stomp onto the ankle onto the block leaves Rhodes laying. Medics come down to check on Rhodes…who wants to go anyway.

The bell rings, with Swerve taking him down immediately and hammering away before shouting that it could have been you (meaning Lee). Swerve dropkicks the leg out again and gets in some dancing so Rhodes gets in a shot of his own. Rhodes manages a high crossbody for two, followed by the Canadian Destroyer and snap powerslam for two.

Nana offers a distraction and gets dropped with a right hand, followed by a piledriver and Cross Rhodes for two on Swerve. Back up and Swerve hits a Downward Spiral, setting up a half crab. Rhodes makes the ropes and fires up again before flipping Swerve off. The House Call cuts Rhodes off though and a second knocks him silly. Swerve snaps the arm and hits the Swerve Stomp to win at 9:24.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t about the action, but rather the fact that this match didn’t need to happen. Swerve took Rhodes apart before the match and left him laying, but instead of letting that be it, they had to have a nine minute match anyway. Throw in Rhodes doing high risk moves so he can get his stuff in and this made Swerve look weaker than need be. He won in the end, but the match didn’t need to happen.

Don Callis Family/Big Bill/Ricky Starks vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Sting/Darby Allin

Guevara gets knocked around by Takeshita to start so it’s quickly off to Jericho. The fans don’t seem to pleased with that, even as Hobbs comes in to run him over. Takeshita gets in a few shots until Jericho makes it over to Allin for the tag. That doesn’t last long as Allin is taken over for the tag to Hobbs so the beating can be on.

A suplex from Hobbs lets Bill come in for a huge toss across the ring. Allin manages to get over for the tag to Sting and house is quickly cleaned. Everything breaks down and Bill gets in a cheap shot, followed by a Boss Man Slam. Jericho comes back in with a Codebreaker and is soundly booed out of the building.

Allin manages to knock Jericho into Hobbs for a breather and a Scorpion Death Drop takes Hobbs down. Takeshita drops Allin HARD though and then does it to both Guevara and Allin with a single German suplex. Sting is back in and grabs the Scorpion on Takeshita, with Callis making the save. The Scorpion goes on but gets broken up again, allowing Guevara to come in and go all flippy. The shooting star press finishes Starks at 15:43.

Rating: C+. The match was the usual fun wild brawl, but this was ALL about Jericho. I’m not sure what AEW needs to do about him at the moment, but they are going to have to do something about it soon. Jericho can’t come out there and be this kind of a distraction so he needs to either go away until his name is cleared or AEW is going to need to come up with some kind of a long term solution. The match was kind of a mess because of him and that can’t happen again.

We recap Julia Hart vs. Abadon for the TBS Title. They’re both weird and want to be champion.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Abadon

Abadon is challenging and under house rules, biting is allowed. The fans declare THIS IS SPOOKY and Abadon grabs a quick cutter to take over fast. Hart isn’t quite sure what to do here so they grab each other by the throat until Hart can leg sweep Abadon down. Choking on the ropes has Abadon in more trouble until a running knee hits Hart in the corner.

A Codebreaker gets two but Hart manages to grab Hartless. The ropes don’t help so Abadon has to crawl out and knock Hart away. Cue Skye Blue for a cheap shot before she dives underneath the ring, leaving Abadon to go after her. The distraction lets Hart drop Abadon, setting up the moonsault (which seemed to be more Hart’s knees slamming into Abadon) to retain at 11:13.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure if it was the spooky vs. spooky stuff here, but they lost me and lost me hard during this one. They just kind of kept doing things until Blue showed up at the end and it couldn’t have been much less interesting. Maybe I just couldn’t get into it for some reason but this wasn’t working and felt a lot longer than it lasted.

We recap Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage. Copeland came back and wanted to reform the team, but Cage said no. The Waynes were brought into this, with Copeland attacking Nick and Shayna costing him the title as a result. Now it’s about violence, revenge and the title, with the latter being a good bit less important than the others.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Cage, with the Waynes, is defending and this is No DQ so Copeland jumps him on the floor to start. They brawl around ringside, with Nigel McGuinness insulting Copeland. That earns him a SHUT UP NIGEL, with Nigel obliging before waiting for Copeland to be out of earshot to call him a coward. Cage’s right hands don’t do much as he has to avoid his hand being stomped onto the steps.

Cage bails into the crowd with Copeland following, setting up a big dive to take Cage down again. They go back to ringside where Copeland drops him again, earning a YOU STILL GOT IT chant. Back in and Copeland’s spear hits post, followed by a drop onto the steps for two. With Copeland bleeding around the eye, Cage grabs some kendo sticks and chokes away before punching at the cut.

Cage grabs a chair and puts it over Copeland’s back for a Boston crab in a creative, and mostly painful, looking hold. With that broken up, Copeland gets in a stick shot of his own, followed by some more to the ribs. As usual, Copeland gets the bar from the chair for the Crossface but that’s not good enough. We get the obvious ladder brought in, with Cage being catapulted face first into it in the corner.

A low blow cuts Copeland off so Cage goes up, where a superplex is countered into a sunset bomb to leave them both down. It’s time for a table, with the distraction letting Copeland grab an Impaler onto the chair. The Conchairto is loaded up but cue Nick Wayne with a low blow for the save. Cage loads up a spear through the table but naturally gets speared through it himself. Shayna Wayne breaks up the cover and Nick hits Copeland with the title. Wayne’s World to the floor (next to the table rather than through it) drops Copeland again and Cage gets two.

That leaves the Waynes to cover the table with lighter fluid and set it on fire but Copeland spears Cage back inside. The fire goes out so Copeland puts on more fluid and it’s on fire again. Nick gets sent onto (not through) the table and goes writhing onto the floor. Cage’s belt shot is cut off and Copeland hits a Killswitch for the pin and the title at 24:40.

Rating: B. Now this felt like a fight and that is a good thing to see. It also helps that these two have a history, along with Cage being one of the best things in all of wrestling today. The ending isn’t great, but I guess Copeland needed his “you still got it” moment. They could have done without some of the weapons, but the point here was they wanted to hurt each other and then tried to do it. That made or a better match and I liked what we got here.

Post match Killswitch jumps Copeland and chokeslams him through a chair….and since the contract from earlier is for a title match anywhere any time….but hold on as Cage wants it instead. Killswitch hands it over and let’s do this.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Adam Copeland

Cage is challenging and wins the title with a spear in ten seconds. That was A, great and B, even better because it gets rid of the Money In The Bank thing (with Edge getting some payback after being so well known for using the briefcase before).

Copeland gets looked at after the match.

We recap the Continental Classic, which has been going on for over a month now. Kingston wants to win to prove he belongs while Moxley wants to win because he likes winning.

Continental Classic Finals: Triple Crown Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley

For the vacant title and Bryan Danielson is on commentary. They go technical to start with Moxley taking it to the ground for some grappling. Moxley gets the better of things until a rope gives Kingston a breather. Back up and they go to the test of strength with neither getting the better of things. They stare each other down a bit more as Danielson is in full analysis mode, talking about each of them having strengths.

Kingston manages a jumping enziguri to put him on the floor but the dive goes over Moxley for a nasty crash. Back in and Moxley hits a quick suplex, followed by a Paradigm Shift on the floor. They get back in with Kingston’s chop hitting a raised forearm, leaving Kingston in a lot of pain. A piledriver gives Moxley two so we pause for some yelling at the referee (possibly due to Kingston’s bell being rung).

Kingston is back up and drops Moxley to his knees off a single chop. They chop it out and even Danielson is thinking this is a bad move. Kingston grabs a suplex so Moxley pops up, only to grab his banged up knee. The spinning backfist drops Moxley for no cover as Danielson is livid. The machine gun chops have Moxley in trouble in a variety of corners, setting up a DDT to plant Moxley again.

Moxley is back up with a cutter so Kingston hits the spinning backfist, only to get dropped with a hard lariat. The northern lights bomb gives Kingston two but Moxley is back with the bulldog choke. That’s broken up and another northern lights bomb gives Kingston another two. One heck of a lariat drops Kingston for two, sending commentary into stories of injuries from clotheslines. They headbutt it out from their knees until another spinning backfist gives Kingston the pin and the titles at 17:05.

Rating: B+. Much like the previous match, this felt like a fight but for a very different reason. While Copeland vs. Cage felt like a fight between two people who hated each other, this felt like two people wanting to survive to claim a prize. That worked very well and I dug what we got here. Danielson in particular made a feel more like a sporting contest and it made things that much better.

Post match Eddie is presented with the title. Respect is shown and Moxley lets Kingston have the ring.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

We recap Samoa Joe vs. MJF for the World Title. While Joe is challenging, the real story is MJF being chased by the Devil, who very well could be revealed here.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Samoa Joe

MJF is defending and we get a video of people talking about how he’s THEIR scumbag, including a video from his ex-girlfriend giving a VERY censored story about a night in the back of a car. Before the match, cue Adam Cole to support MJF, whose shoulder is completely wrapped up. Joe backs him into the corner but MJF goes to the eye in a smart move.

A shot to the arm cuts MJF down fast and Joe drops a leg on said arm to make it worse. It’s too early for the Muscle Buster though and Joe gets low bridged to the floor. Back in and a low superkick staggers Joe and the Kangaroo Kick connects. MJF is knocked outside for a heck of a suicide dive, followed by a suplex to rock the shoulder again.

They go to the apron where Joe drops him hard with a MuscleBuster for two. MJF manages a shot to the back of the head and rams Joe into the buckle over and over. Joe shrugs off some right hands in the corner and MJF collapses when trying a fireman’s carry. He’s fine enough to catch Joe with a Heatseeker for two before grabbing the Salt Of The Earth.

Joe reverses into an armbar of his own but MJF makes the rope. Back up and the ref gets bumped so MJF gets all smiley. A low blow cuts Joe off on the middle rope and an F5 of all things leaves both of them down. MJF’s cover gets a very delayed two and Joe pulls him into the Koquina Clutch….for the knockout and the title at 17:47.

Rating: B. This was interesting as Joe won (more or less) clean and that makes sense. MJF isn’t John Cena, meaning at some point the odds are so strongly against him that he has to lose. That’s what took place here, as Joe had been built up as this unstoppable force and MJF was coming in very banged up. While MJF fought, he ultimately couldn’t last against someone like Joe. It told a good story, as the hero goes out on his shield and loses in the end.

Post match Joe leaves and Cole tells MJF to listen to the fans cheering for him. Cue the Henchmen to take both of them down, with Cole saying hit him instead. MJF says hit him instead of Cole. Then the lights go out and the Henchmen have let Cole go. The Henchmen are Wardlow, the Kingdom and Roderick Strong, with MJF being in tears. The big beatdown is on with Cole dropping the Devil mask on MJF to end the show.

Now this is probably the biggest story of the show as it is the big reveal after a months long story. While we’ll have to wait and see what the actual story is, in theory it’s all of MJF’s past sins coming back to haunt him. MJF may be a changed man, but he’s hurt a lot of people on his way to the top. That seems to be what came back to bite him here, as Cole and company wanted to take down the villain who had hurt them all on his way to the top. Cole in particular should feel upset, as he turned into some kind of goof and then lost to MJF at All In because he wasn’t being himself. The real explanation will help, but the potential is there.

Overall Rating: B. This show might not have been great, but the last three matches did a lot to help boost it up. I know I say it a lot about Tony Khan produced shows, but there was too much here at first. The matches that came before the big stuff needed to be trimmed down, as only one non-cash-in match was less than ten minutes long. It’s ok to have something go 5-6 minutes instead of stretching it out way longer than it needs to go and it would have helped a lot.

Now on the good side, the matches that had the biggest builds did rather well, with Copeland vs. Cage, the tournament final and the World Title match all being big hits. It continues to show what AEW can do with some nice storytelling to back up the good action. There are still some corrections to be made and overall this is on the weaker end of the AEW pay per view offerings, but this started off weak and finished very strong and that is a great thing to see.

Results
Willow Nightingale b. Kris Statlander – Babe With The Powerbomb
Killswitch won a battle royal last eliminating Trent Beretta
Hook b. Wheeler Yuta – Redrum
Blackpool Combat Club/Daniel Garcia/Mark Briscoe b. Jay White/Rush/Brody King/Jay Lethal – Rollup to Lethal
Miro b. Andrade El Idolo – Game Over
Toni Storm b. Riho – DDT
Swerve Strickland b. Dustin Rhodes – Swerve Stomp
Sting/Darby Allin/Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Big Bill/Ricky Starks/Don Callis Family – Shooting stark press to Starks
Julia Hart b. Abadon – Moonsault
Adam Copeland b. Christian Cage – Killswitch
Christian Cage b. Adam Copeland – Spear
Eddie Kingston b. Jon Moxley – Spinning backfist
Samoa Joe b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman via referee stoppage

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

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

AND

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

It’s the end of the year and that means there is time for one more pay per view. Since it’s AEW, the show is stacked with twelve matches announced so far. The two big draws are the finals of the Continental Classic for the Triple Crown Title, plus MJF defending the World Title against Samoa Joe. The question in the latter is whether or not the Devil will be revealed, which would probably help quite a bit. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

This was added on Rampage and the big issue seems to be Stokely Hathaway trying to cause drama. That is where Hathaway excels and some of the things that he’s been saying have been more entertaining than the story itself. As for the actual match, both of them need a win and maybe a change of pace, which very well could come here, even if the options aren’t great.

I’ll go with Statlander winning here as she could use the win more, along with the principle that Nightingale doesn’t win anything. At the same time, having Nightingale be the evil one who sides with Hathaway might be the traditional way to go, but I can’t imagine anyone in AEW thinking evil Nightingale is a good idea. Statlander wins and then something probably happens after the match, but Nightingale going bad would be the worst possible outcome.

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Hook(c) vs. Wheeler Yuta

This is under FTW rules, meaning anything goes. I’ll take that over Pure Rules, but this hasn’t been the most eye catching feud so far. They seem to be going for a brawling vs. technical style, which could work well when Hook gets to show off all of his suplexes. That works in theory, but egads Yuta is not interesting a lot of the time and there isn’t much of a way around that. Having an opponent as young as Hook isn’t going to help that and I’m almost worried about how this is going to go.

I’ll go with Hook winning here, as it lets Yuta complain that they didn’t do things in the right style to set up a rematch. I appreciate the idea of Hook getting in the ring more often and he’s done well before, though he needs things set up very well for him. Keeping him on the pre-show is the right move at the moment, though he might be in for a bigger feud with Yuta should this continue. Hook needs to win to make that happen, so we’ll say Hook wins here.

Zero Hour: Battle Royal

So this is a tricky one, as we have a twenty man battle royal for a future TNT Title shot but we don’t know any of the participants. That doesn’t leave much in the way of a preview, but AEW sure does love itself a battle royal here and there. These things kind of have to happen if there are so many people who need to get on the show, but it is quite the cliché at this point.

We need a blind guess here, so I’ll play the safe guard here and go with Trent Beretta. You can almost guarantee that he’s going to be involved in the thing so let’s say he wants to set up his one off title shot. This is pretty easily the one with the least amount of confidence as I can’t even guess who all will be included, but hopefully they have the entertaining kind of battle royal that they know how to do.

Swerve Strickland vs. Keith Lee

We’ll go with this one before Tony Khan changes his mind and doesn’t do the match again. These two started having issues last November and then did a big angle in December, only to never actually wrestle. That leaves us with a weird match as the story has pretty much gone ice cold, but also because Strickland is in a very different place than he was when the whole thing started.

There is no reason for Strickland to lose here as he is rapidly rising up the ranks and could be on the way to the World Title picture in the near future. While Lee is incredibly athletic and fun to watch, he also has very little going on at the moment. I’m really not sure why this loose end needed to be fixed over a year after it got started, but Strickland wins here and moves on to something more important.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Riho

Riho returned after another hiatus and was immediately back in the title scene, as tends to be the case when she returns most of the time. She might even be acting a bit more serious this time around, but Storm is still feeling it with this rather bizarre Timeless deal. That has made for a pretty strange story but then again, it isn’t like they had time to really set anything up.

Storm wins here, as Riho is likely going to go away again after or shortly after the match. With Mariah May likely waiting on Storm in the near future, this should be Storm retaining and doing pretty well. Riho hasn’t been interesting in a good while now so it would be pretty insane to give her the title again. Storm retains and moves on to something more natural for her, while Riho just kind of fades away until she gets another title shot down the line.

TBS Title: Julia Hart(c) vs. Abadon

This is another surprise as Abadon is getting a push that isn’t close to Halloween. That’s a different way to go for her and it’s kind of working, as AEW has presented her as the creepy monster who could be a threat. At the same time, Hart is already the supernatural kind of star so this is a bit of a weird setup. The match hasn’t had a great build, but it deserves credit for adding someone new to the mix.

While Abadon has done well enough in her chance, there is no reason to expect her to win the title here so we’ll say Hart retains. Hart has been doing well with her new stuff and it would be kind of nuts for her to lose one of her first title defenses. Abadon has done well in a short amount of time, but she hasn’t shown herself ready for the level of being a champion. It should be a weird fight, but Hart wins in the end.

Ricky Starks/Big Bill/Don Callis Family vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara/Darby Allin/Sting

Here we have the result of a pretty wild segment on Dynamite which saw about three stories coming together to set up an eight man tag. In other words, Sting needed to be on the show and he works almost exclusively in big tag matches. That has served him well so far and now we get to see what he can do again with quite the group of talented people around him.

There is little reason to have the freshly reunited Guevara and Jericho, as well as Sting, lose here so we’ll go with the good guys winning. I’m not sure who you have them pin here, but Jericho or Guevara pinning Starks or Bill would do well to set up their Tag Team Title match. This should be a lot of fun as the teams should be able to have the kind of wild match that this needs to be.

Blackpool Combat Club/Mark Briscoe/Daniel Garcia vs. Brody King/Jay White/Jay Lethal/Rush

This is the second eight man tag as we have most of the people in the Continental Classic thrown onto the show. That could go in a variety of different ways as there are several combinations, even if we’ve seen a bunch of them in recent weeks. The good thing is they can put almost any of them together for a solid match and we’ll probably be seeing quite a bit of it here.

Hopefully this ends with either Garcia or Briscoe getting the pin as both of them had a bit of momentum after their last match in the tournament. Neither of them have anything going on at the moment but a win in a match like this could be a nice boost. This has the potential to be all over the place with quite a bit of time and it could be quite the show stealer if given the chance.

Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo

It’s the classic story: Miro is married to CJ Perry, who is managing El Idolo, but promised not to massacre El Idolo until after the Continental Classic was over. Since Miro almost never wrestles (one match per month since September), it’s hard to say where this is going to go but at least there is a story. Granted it isn’t much of one as Perry and El Idolo have barely been a thing long enough to matter, but it’s something.

Since Miro never really does anything these days, I’ll take El Idolo to win here as he has quite a bit more going on at the moment. I’m sure this will wind up involving Perry, but there is only so much that she can do given how things are set up. Miro is one of the more interesting people in AEW but he never really wrestles, so there is little reason for him to win. El Idolo did well in the tournament and a win over Miro could take him a long way.

TBS Title: Christian Cage(c) vs. Adam Copeland

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Cage is overshadowing Copeland, despite Copeland being treated as the bigger star. The good thing is that Cage has turned into a heck of a villain in AEW and he has done it by becoming one of the most unlikable people imaginable. They’re going to have a No DQ match, which should open up quite a few doors for some wild brawling involving Cage’s friends. In other words, exactly what this needs to be.

As much as I don’t want it to be the case, I’m thinking Copeland wins here. He hasn’t had the big moment in AEW yet and there is a good chance that he’ll get the title here for that moment. Cage winning would make more sense and I certainly hope he does, as he has become the best heel in AEW in a very long time. I’m expecting Copeland to win here but really hope I’m wrong.

Triple Crown Title: Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston

If not for the whole Devil thing, I would almost have this one be the main event of the show. The Continental Classic has dominated AEW TV for the last six weeks or so and this has the most potential of anything on the card. Kingston is getting to defend his Ring O Honor and Strong Openweight Title, which has me wondering how much the whole tournament was necessary to get us here. Anyway, the promo to set this up has me wanting to see these two go at it and now we’ll get to see just that.

For the life of me I have no idea why Moxley would win here as the big emotional moment would be Kingston winning another big one to give the fans something to cheer. I’ll go with that as the feel good option, while also remembering that Tony Khan really, really, really likes to snatch those moments away from the fans. Moxley absolutely does not need this win while Kingston certainly does, so hopefully sanity prevails and Kingston wins as he should.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Samoa Joe

This is one of the weaker World Title matches in recent memory, as Joe has played a huge second fiddle to the Devil and everything going on with him. They tried to remedy that on Dynamite by having Joe fake the injury and cost MJF the ROH Tag Team Titles, even though that is one of the best things that could have happened. I’m far more interested in the Devil story finally going anywhere than the result of the title match though and that’s really not good.

There is zero reason for the Devil to not be revealed or MJF to retain the title here so I’ll take Joe to win. MJF already beat him once so get to where things should be, which is Joe winning the World Title on a grand stage. The Devil (I’ll take Adam Cole for the reveal, as it might not be the most interesting but it’s the person who makes the most sense) needs to be done here and cost MJF the title though, even if I have no idea what is next for everyone after.

Overall Thoughts

The biggest though, other than how many matches there are on here, is how weird the build to this has been. Dynamite, and a good chunk of Collision, has been dominated by the Continental Classic and the Devil stuff as of late and there is only so much that can be done for the rest of the show. I have hope for how this is going to go, but it’s going to be on the wrestlers to do the heavy lifting here.

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Dynamite
Date: December 27, 2023
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the last Dynamite of the year and the last one before Worlds End. That means we have the semifinals of the Continental Classic so we can find out who fights for the title on Saturday. On top of that, MJF and Samoa Joe are defending the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles against the Devil’s Henchmen so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Continental Classic Gold League Finals: Jon Moxley vs. Swerve Strickland vs. Jay White

Moxley and Swerve waste no time in fighting to the floor, with White being smart enough to let them fight. They go into the crowd with White following and staying behind for the most part, instead getting in some cheap shots. Moxley drops Swerve and takes it back to ringside, where White takes out Moxley’s knee. White takes them both down but Swerve kicks him off the apron. The flip dive misses for Swerve but he mostly sticks the landing and hits a knee from the apron to White’s jaw.

Moxley gets back in so Swerve bites his finger and hits a clothesline. Swerve knocks them both to the floor and hits a big high crossbody as we take a break. Back with Swerve being knocked off the apron, leaving White to blast Moxley in the knee with a chair. The distraction lets Swerve hit a powerslam on White into a 450 but Moxley makes the save with a Stomp.

We take another break and come back with Moxley grabbing the bulldog choke on White but Swerve breaks it up. A Blade Runner gets two on Moxley with Swerve breaking it up. Back in and White chairs them both down before wedging the chair in the corner. Swerve obeys the laws of wrestling by sending White into the chair before reversing Moxley’s choke into a rollup for two more. The Swerve Stomp is broken up by White, who gets taken down by the King Kong Lariat. The Death Rider gives Moxley the pin at 23:11.

Rating: B. Yeah it was really good and that’s not exactly shocking. What matters here is that Swerve, the hottest star in the match at the moment, didn’t take the pin, which leaves him strong coming out. Moxley winning is more of the safe pick than anything else, as he is able to either win the title or make someone look good in defeat. Heck of an opener here and the extra time helped, even if Moxley forgot about that knee injury pretty quickly.

We recap the Blue League finals being set up on Collision.

Swerve Strickland isn’t happy with being interviewed so soon after the match but if Keith Lee is looking for him, come see him at Worlds End. Tony Schiavone happens to have a contract for the match on him, so everything seems set.

Renee Paquette brings out Mariah May for a chat. May knows people have been waiting for her debut, which will be next week. Cue Riho to chase May off but Toni Storm comes in for the brawl, with Riho getting the better of things.

Top Flight and Action Andretti issue a challenge for…well we don’t know, because Orange Cassidy comes in to say he knows what’s going on here. Cassidy and the Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta will see them on Rampage. Cassidy and Trent leave, with Romero accusing Cassidy of being a bit out there lately. Then Andretti takes a bottle of water and crushes all of it into his mouth in one gulp.

Now that Andrade El Idolo is out of the Continental Classic, Miro is ready to hurt him.

Here is the Don Callis Family for a Boxing Week celebration. Callis gets to the point, by unveiling custom paintings of each member of the family (with Callis in each, including punching a kangaroo with Kyle Fletcher). He says the Family is complete but here is the returning Sammy Guevara, who hasn’t heard from Callis in a long time.

Callis is surprised that Sammy didn’t get the gift he sent for the new baby and blames the Canadian Postal Service. We get the final picture, with the Family surrounding Sammy as he holds his baby. Sammy DOES NOT like his baby being in the picture, but Callis suggests that Sammy isn’t smart enough to be a father. Sammy says Callis didn’t call when he was injured so Callis complains about Sammy being gone so often.

Callis wants him to pick a family and suggests Sammy will be a bad father, so Callis gets shoved down. The beating is on but Chris Jericho makes the save. Jericho breaks the first three pictures with the bat but lets Sammy break the last one. They do the big handshake but Big Bill and Ricky Starks run in for the beatdown. Then the lights go out and Sting/Darby Allin make the save. So that was….four or so segments packed into one? And likely setting up an eight man tag (or so) at the pay per view?

Roderick Strong and the Kingdom have a chart to prove that MJF is the Devil.

Worlds End rundown.

Continental Classic Blue League Final: Eddie Kingston vs. Bryan Danielson

Danielson tries to hide in the ropes a bit to start but Kingston sends him outside for a suicide dive. Kingston chops him around ringside but comes back in and gets chopped in the corner. They fight to the apron where Danielson gets in a DDT, followed by the running knee off the apron to send us to a break.

Back with Danielson striking away but Kingston suplexes him down. The rapid fire chops in the corner have Danielson spitting at Kingston, who unloads with even harder chops. Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock to send Kingston bailing to the ropes, meaning Danielson can go up top. Kingston chops away again but gets caught on top as well. A belly to back superplex attempt is countered int a crossbody onto Danielson and we take another break.

Back again with Kingston firing off more chops but Danielson suplexes his way out of trouble. A northern lights bomb gives Kingston two but the running knee gives Danielson two of his own. Danielson stomps away so Kingston flips him off, leaving Danielson to load up another knee. That’s cut off with a spinning backfist and a half and half, followed by two more spinning backfists. The powerbomb gives Kingston the pin at 22:33.

Rating: B+. I was getting into this one as it was Kingston fighting for everything he had because he wants to win the while thing. While Danielson can use it to put another line on an already complete resume, Kingston needs it to prove himself in the first place. The fact that it was a heck of a fight that had me wondering who was going to win made it even better. Awesome stuff here.

Post match Jon Moxley comes out to say that despite his faults, Kingston has a lot of fans who love him. Moxley is ready to take him apart but Kingston cuts him off, saying he’s not some young boy. Kingston promises to take him out on Saturday and wants his music played. That helped to give the match some spice.

Christian Cage is ready for a sitdown interview with Adam Copeland when Copeland jumps him for the big brawl. The locker room (seemingly a lot of ROH people) breaks it up.

Skye Blue vs. Kris Statlander

Stokely Hathaway is on commentary. Statlander powers her into the corner to start but gets taken down by the hair. Some stomping in the corner has Statlander down but she reverses a suplex. They go to the apron where Blue hits a reverse Sling Blade as we take a break. We come back with Statlander grabbing a rolling suplex out of the corner for two. Code Blue gives Blue two of her own but Statlander hits a powerbomb for the same. Statlander takes her to the top, only to have Blue slip out. Cue Julia Hart for a cheap shot though, allowing Blue to hit a heck of a super Code Blue for the pin at 9:11.

Rating: C. Another women’s match where a good chunk of it is cut out, meaning there is only so much that can be done. It also doesn’t help that it feels like the same group of women have been in the middle of a really long feud for months without it really going anywhere. That was the case here, and it’s kind of hard to get invested in it happening every week without much really changing.

Post match the beatdown is on but Willow Nightingale makes the save. Abadon comes out for the staredown with Hart.

Ruby Soho is ready for Marina Shafir on Rampage but Saraya offers her the help of….Harley Cameron, who whips out a butcher knife and laughs a lot.

Another Worlds End rundown.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Samoa Joe vs. Devil’s Henchmen

MJF and Joe are defending and the Henchmen come through the crowd for their entrance at 9:59. And Joe has been attacked in the back and is holding his knee. MJF says he’s doing this himself and the bell rings, with MJF throwing his jacket at the taller one to start. MJF sends him into the corner before taking the other one to the floor. It’s time to go for the mask but a third masked man comes out from under the ring with a pipe shot. The smaller masked man hits a Heatseeker for the pin (with feet on the ropes) at 1:43.

Post match more masked men come in to beat on MJF until Samoa Joe makes the save with a chair. The Devil appears on screen and text says “Pleasure doing business with you.” Then Joe chairs MJF down and says he did this to MJF. Commentary says Joe is in league with the Devil, as MJF is left laying and Joe poses with the title to end the show. This felt like Joe having a short term arrangement with the Devil rather than actually working with him full time.

Overall Rating: B. As has been the case in recent weeks, this was mainly about the tournament and the Devil stuff, though they did add a good bit of content to the pay per view card. Things are going to get interesting next week when there is no tournament to lean on, but above all else, AEW needs something fresh coming out of Worlds End. Things are still good because of the action, but the storylines are feeling rather stale in a lot of areas. That being said, the action tonight was more than enough to carry the show and they set things up for the future, so this was another good week for Dynamite.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Jay White and Swerve Strickland – Death Rider to White
Eddie Kingston b. Bryan Danielson – Powerbomb
Skye Blue b. Kris Statlander – Super Code Blue
Devil’s Henchmen b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Samoa Joe – Heatseeker to Friedman

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Collision
Date: December 16, 2023
Location: Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

We’re two weeks away from Worlds End and that means we have more Continental Classic matches this week. The tournament field is starting to thin out and that should make things more interesting. Another thing they might want to work on is building up the pay per view card, as with Kenny Omega now stuck on the sidelines, the Tag Team Title match is off for now, leaving the card with two matches. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Eddie Kingston, Daniel Garcia, Claudio Castagnoli, Andrade El Idolo, Brody King, Bryan Danielson and Orange Cassidy (who is a bit confused) are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

Continental Classic Blue League: Andrade El Idolo vs. Claudio Castagnoli

They fight over a lockup to start before an exchange of shoulders doesn’t get either of them anywhere. Andrade knocks him outside but Castagnoli is back in with a hard clothesline. It’s too early for the Swing though as Andrade hurricanranas him to the floor. A dropkick through the ropes has Castagnoli in more trouble but he nails an uppercut. Back in and Castagnoli shrugs off a dragon screw legwhip and hits Swiss Death as we take a break.

We come back with Andrade hitting a running forearm but the Swing puts him down. The Sharpshooter goes on but Andrade reverses into a Figure our. That’s enough to send Castagnoli bailing to the ropes for the break so Andrade goes up, taking off the turnbuckle covering at the same time. A super sunset bomb gives Andrade two and the running knees in the corner get the same.

Castagnoli catches him on top though and it’s a superplex back down, only to have Andrade roll some Amigos. They trade kicks to the face until Andrade scores with a spinning elbow to the face. Andrade goes up again and tries a super hammerlock DDT, only to get crotched onto the turnbuckle. Hold on though as the referee notices the removed pad, allowing Castagnoli to get in a low blow. The Neutralizer finishes Andrade at 15:30.

Rating: B-. That adds a bit of drama to the tournament and it’s kind of nice to see Andrade get what was coming to him after cheating multiple times. Castagnoli gets to stay alive while Andrade’s spot in the semifinals isn’t entirely locked up yet. The match was the good stuff you would expect from these two, and it certainly didn’t feel like that long of a match.

Blue League Standings
Andrade El Idolo – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (2 matches remaining, eliminated)

We recap the Dynamite Continental Classic matches.

Abadon vs. Jazmin Allure

Abadon jumps her to start and hits a swinging Rock Bottom. A running knee and the Black Dahlia finish Allure at 1:07.

Post match here is Julia Hart for the brawl, with Abadon laying her out and posing with the title. Cue Skye Blue to jump Abadon and the double teaming is on. Cue the returning Thunder Rosa (who was on Spanish commentary earlier) for the save.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are back and want revenge on the Devil and his henchmen. Action Andretti and Top Flight come in for a challenge to a title match next week. Game on.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Bryan Keith

Keith is challenging and the fans certainly seem to like him. A headlock takeover puts Cassidy down to start but he’s back up to put his hands in his pockets. Cassidy starts picking up the pace but gets kicked in the face as we take a break. Back with Cassidy hitting the tornado DDT and suicide dive to send Keith into the barricade.

Keith is able to catch him on top though and a running knee drops Cassidy. The tiger driver is countered into Beach Break for two and Cassidy needs a breather. Cassidy kicks away but Keith does the same, setting up Diamond Dust for two more. The tiger driver is loaded up again but this time Cassidy reverses into the mouse trap to retain at 9:12.

Rating: B-. As has been the case every time I’ve seen him, Keith put in a rather nice match with the intensity being on full display. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him around here a lot more often as there are far worse prospects. At the same time, Cassidy adds another win to his tally as we wait for another serious challenger to come up against him.

Miro wants to beat up Andrade El Idolo and it isn’t just because El Idolo is being managed by Miro’s wife.

Komander is interrupted by Roderick Strong and the Kingdom, with Strong mocking Komander for not winning the ROH TV Title. Strong wants a match and Komander seems interested.

Here is FTR for a chat about the House Of Black. Wheeler talks about the success they’ve had around here but the House is still unrealized potential. If the House wants a fight, come get one. Cue the House on the screen to say no one can save FTR, but Buddy Matthews has a question for Wheeler: who loves you? Everyone loves Harwood, but who loves Wheeler? Malakai Black holds up a photo of Harwood’s family and burns it, saying the House is their family now. FTR runs off.

Video on Keith Lee, who beat Shane Taylor at Ring Of Honor Final Battle. Taylor is not the “him” that Lee has been looking for.

Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale vs. Mercedes Martinez/Diamante

Street fight, with weapons provided. Believe it or not the brawl is on to start and they’re quickly on the floor, where Nightingale gets hit in the head with a bottle. Martinez tears away at the cut but Nightingale and Statlander can cut off Diamante’s dive off the steps. A barbed wire bat to the head cuts Diamante open but Martinez is back in with a tire iron for the save. Martinez hits a release German superplex to drop Nightingale onto some chairs for two and we take a break.

Back with Statlander being sent through a piece of plywood but Nightingale sends the villains into each other. A Pounce sends Martinez into a board in the corner but Diamante gets in a shot to Nightingale. Statlander is back in to beat on Martinez, only to have Diamante come back in with a briefcase (that Statlander and Nightingale brought to the ring). Said briefcase is full of thumbtacks and glass and it’s time for people to be dropped onto the contents. Diamante dropkicks Nightingale into a powerbomb through a table at ringside but Statlander hits a discus lariat with a chain to pin Diamante at 10:31.

Rating: C+. I have no idea what to say about this, but it was certainly a violent sprint. At the same time, I’m not sure if this feud warrants this kind of a bloody match, as it doesn’t quite seem like the right fit. Statlander and Nightingale winning is good as they could go for moving up the ladder, though they need something to move towards. I’m not a fan of the glass and thumbtacks though, even if they might have been the logical call in this kind of a match.

Toni Storm is ready to face either Saraya or Riho at Worlds End. Mariah May is getting her American wrestling license and wants Storm to commentate her first match. Storm isn’t sure but wants Saraya and Riho to beat each other up.

Adam Copeland wants to face Christian Cage at Worlds End in a No DQ match.

Brian Cage vs. Karl Wright

Kick to the head, release German suplex, fall away slam, powerbomb, Drill Claw gives Cage the win at 1:28.

Post break the Mogul Embassy is proud of Cage’s win but Keith Lee comes in to say that Cage can tell “him” (suggesting Swerve Strickland) that his patience is running thin.

Continental Classic Blue League: Eddie Kingston vs. Daniel Garcia

Matt Menard is on commentary. Kingston wants him to bring it to start so Garcia loads up the dancing. Instead he chops away and actually gets the better of things, with Kingston favoring his throat. A dragon screw legwhip off the apron drops Kingston again and it’s time to crank away on that leg back inside. Kingston isn’t having that and fights up to drop Garcia as we take a break.

Back with Garcia fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught in the corner for the rapid fire chops. Garcia tries some weak dancing, earning himself even more chops. Even more dancing, this time with Garcia down in the corner, actually starts a comeback, setting up a running knee in the corner.

A kneebar sends Kingston bailing to the rope so Garcia pulls him back in with an ankle lock, complete with a grapevine. That’s broken up as well and Kingston suplexes him into the corner, setting up the spinning backfist for two. Back to back Saito suplexes give Garcia two but Kingston hits a half and half suplex. Another spinning backfist finishes Garcia at 12:10.

Rating: B-. They had a story here of Garcia turning into a hybrid of the dancing goof and the serious wrestler, which made for a good mix. That version had Kingston on the ropes but still came up short, which feels like it’s going to be the perfect way to set up Garcia stealing a win in his final match. Kingston surviving, and possibly even advancing to the finals, makes sense as you don’t want him to just lose his title without even making a run in the tournament. Good match here, with some of the stories being set up for later.

Blue League Standings
Andrade El Idolo – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (1 match remaining, eliminated)

Continental Classic Blue League: Bryan Danielson vs. Brody King

King backs him into the corner so Danielson starts kicking away at the leg to slow things down. That’s not working for King, who knocks him right back down and rakes away at the eyes in the corner. There’s the Cannonball in the corner to knock Danielson silly and they head outside, with King sending him face first into the announcers’ table. One heck of a crossbody up against the barricade crushes Danielson and we take a break.

Back with Danielson’s bad eye busted open and the fight heading outside again. This time King misses another crossbody into the barricade, allowing Danielson to hit a shotgun dropkick back inside. King crotches him on top for a clothesline and they both need a breather. Danielson manages a quick half crab before kicking away at the leg even more.

The hammer and anvil elbows rock King but he’s right back with the Death Valley Driver for two. Back up and Danielson’s running knee gets two so he fires off kicks at King’s head. A hard clothesline takes Danielson’s head off for two but he’s back up with the fabled small package for two. Three straight running knees, with the last one to the back of the head, finishes King at 14:48.

Rating: B+. This started a bit slow but once they got going, they were beating the fire out of each other. That’s about what you have to expect from Danielson in a tournament like this, as he can bring out the best in anyone. King’s run definitely seems to be fading, as Danielson seems to be almost a lock for the semifinals. For now though, awesome big man vs. little man match and they had the crowd going nuts on those kickouts at the end.

Blue League Standings
Andrade El Idolo – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 9 points (1 match remaining)
Brody King – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (1 match remaining, eliminated)

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling here was quite good and they built up a few things other than the tournament. The whole league portion of the tournament is over in a week and that means we can move on to the bigger stuff. For now though, it means we’re still getting in some solid matches, including a pretty awesome main event. I’m a bit worried about what they’re going to do when the tournament is over, but things are still working well for the moment.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli b. Andrade El Idolo – Neutralizer
Abadon b. Jazmin Allure – Black Dahlia
Orange Cassidy b. Bryan Keith – Mouse trap
Kris Statlander/Willow Nightingale b. Mercedes Martinez/Diamante – Discus lariat with a chain to Diamante
Brian Cage b. Karl Wright – Drill Claw
Eddie Kingston b. Daniel Garcia – Spinning backfist
Bryan Danielson b. Brody King – Running knee to the back of the head

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

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AND

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

Dynamite
Date: December 6, 2023
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re north of the border here and well on the way towards the big closing pay per view of the year. As has been the case in recent weeks, it’s another Continental Classic week with three more matches to keep things going. Other than that, and probably a good bit bigger, we have Christian Cage defending the TNT Title against Adam Copeland. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Excalibur runs down the card.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jon Moxley vs. Rush

They strike away at each other to start with Rush suplexing him hard onto the arm. The fight goes outside and into the crowd, followed by another trip into another part of the crowd. Rush puts him in a chair and hits him with a beer (that’s not a good idea around Moxley) before they head back inside.

Rush takes Moxley into the corner for the Tranquilo pose, only for Moxley to come back up with a double middle finger. Believe it or not, Rush pounds him down again but this time Moxley grabs a cutter. A superplex gives Moxley two and they go back to the floor, with Rush belly to bellying him into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Rush hitting a piledriver and then a top rope superplex for two. They fight out to the floor and crash onto the ground, where Moxley crawls over to whisper something to Rush. Since countouts suddenly matter, they beat the count back in at nine and trade strikes back inside. Rush knocks him hard into the corner but Moxley comes out with the King Kong Lariat. The Death Rider gets two so Moxley grabs the choke for the win at 14:28.

Rating: C. I’m sure I’ll get yelled at for this one but my goodness I was bored out of my mind for a good chunk of this. It was a lot of two people hitting each other and barely selling a thing, which doesn’t make for an interesting match. Instead it was waiting for someone to get to the finish, which has been the case in a lot of Rush matches. I get what they were going for, but it really didn’t land for me.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Rush pops up to his feet immediately after being choked out.

Video on Jay Lethal vs. Jay White.

Here are Roderick Strong and the Kingdom for a chat. Strong (who now shouts first names) wants Samoa Joe to hurt MJF and shrugs off the idea that MJF isn’t bad. He’s sick of being held back by the wheelchair and pops up, saying it has held him back for far too long.

Hangman Page talks about how he wasn’t allowed to fly for a bit so he’s been gone. As for Swerve Strickland, he broke into Page’s house and into his son’s room and it took a bunch of people to beat him on pay per view. Page took something from Swerve though and this is not over.

Swerve wants something but now Page is going to make sure he never has it. MJF pops out of his locker room (where Page and Renee Paquette are standing) to mock Page. They argue about their history until MJF says Page is jealous over his title reign not being as long. MJF accuses him of being the Devil and a fight almost breaks out until Samoa Joe breaks it up. Can we just announce MJF vs. Everyone already?

Continental Classic Gold League: Swerve Strickland vs. Mark Briscoe

Feeling out process to start with Briscoe taking him down into a headlock. Swerve reveres into one of his own but Briscoe is back up with a boot to the face. Briscoe hammers away in the corner and grabs a suplex as Schiavone talks about how many wrestlers in WCW would love to play spoiler in the tournament.

Back up and Swerve takes him down, setting up the middle rope elbow to the back of the neck. A neckbreaker gives Swerve two but Briscoe sends him to the floor for a dropkick through the ropes. The apron Blockbuster is broken up and they chop it out on the apron. Swerve backdrops him over the barricade before superplexing him off the barricade and back to ringside.

We take a break and come back with Swerve working on the arm but Briscoe fights up with the chops. A fisherman’s buster gives Briscoe two but Swerve is back with a kick to the head for the same. They go to the corner and crash out to the floor, where Briscoe hits a quick dive.

Back in and one heck of a lariat gives Briscoe two but the Jay Driller is countered. The House Call connects on Briscoe but the 450 hits raised knees. Briscoe’s Froggy Bow hits raised knees as well so Swerve rolls him up for two of his own. We get the five minute call as they fight to the apron again. Swerve plants him with a Death Valley Driver, followed by the Swerve Stomp for the pin at 15:43.

Rating: A-. Oh yeah this was awesome stuff with two guys beating the fire out of each other until one got the pin. Briscoe is someone who can work well with anyone and has that weird charisma that makes you want to see him win. At the same time, Strickland is on a roll right now and I could easily see him winning the whole tournament. Great match here and the best of the tournament so far.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)

Mariah May is excited to be here for her first match but she will not say who that opponent will be.

Samoa Joe/Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Devil’s Henchmen

Joe comes to the ring and four masked men surround the ring. The lights go out again and the our men are gone. The Devil pops up on screen and we see MJF down in the back with a broken beer bottle next to him. No match.

Post break we look at what we just saw.

Jon Moxley is in the back and says he is humble for everything because he knows what he is capable of doing. He expected to be 3-0 and he expects to be 5-0. Swerve Strickland comes in to say it’s going to take more than Moxley to beat him. They ace each other next week.

Ben Makiewicz, host of Turner Classic Movies, introduces Toni Storm, playing it completely straight and listing off some of her films. This was great.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Skye Blue

Storm, with Luther and Mariah May, is defending. They go with the grappling to start with Storm getting the better of things. Storm gets knocked to the apron but lands on Luther’s shoulders, setting up a superplex to take Blue down. The beating continues on the floor, with a running hip attack against the barricade knocking Blue silly.

We take a break and come back with Storm missing the wind up punch and getting kicked in the head. Blue’s high crossbody gets two and a running hip attack knocks Storm silly. Code Blue gives Blue two but Storm catches her up top. A superplex brings Blue down but the hip attack (with the camera going black and white) is countered into a rollup. Storm reverses into a sunset lip of her own (with Blue’s shoulders nowhere near the mat) to retain at 9:28.

Rating: C+. That ending looked terrible but Storm getting a win is a good thing to see. May is likely going to be her surprise challenger at some point in the future (perhaps at the end of the month) and that should make for something interesting. For now though, Storm continues to be the best thing about the women’s division and that is great to see.

May is nowhere to be seen during the celebration. Instead, here is the returning Riho to seemingly challenge for the title. Well so much for May at the moment.

Video on Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jay White vs. Jay Lethal

They go at it to start and strike away with Lethal getting the better of things. The strut is broken up though and White fires off some chops. Lethal takes him down into the basement dropkick, setting up the strut. White gets in a hard knockdown of his own though and we take a break.

Back with the fans making funny JAY chants (Holy Jay/Let’s Go Jay etc) and Lethal taking over. The top rope elbow gives Lethal two but White goes after the knee. A suplex into the corner and a brainbuster give White two, setting up the sleeper suplex. The Blade Runner is countered but so is the Lethal Injection, with White taking out the knee. Another Blade Runner is countered into a rollup but White reverses into one of his own for the pin at 11:21.

Rating: B-. Another good one, though the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt. Lethal is the guy in this half of the tournament whose job it is to make other people look good and he did that here. White gets a boost and Lethal is mathematically eliminated, so things came together as they were supposed to.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 9 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay White – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (2 matches remaining, Eliminated)

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Cage is defending. Copeland starts fast by knocking him to the apron for the forearms to the chest. A bunch of rams into the announcers’ table have the WOO energy drinks flying but Cage bails back into the floor. Copeland blocks the low blow though and goes after the hand to keep Cage in trouble. Cage manages a ram into the post though and we take a break.

Back with Cage hammering away (with the left hand) in the corner so Copeland bites the right hand to escape. A middle rope Russian legsweep takes Cage down and they go outside again. This time cage sends him into the steps and hits a frog splash for two. Cage’s spear is countered into the Impaler for two but Cage is back up with more left hands in the corner. This time Copeland counters into a Liger Bomb for two but Cage is right back up.

The Killswitch is countered into an Edge-O-Matic for two, followed by the Crossface to keep Cage in trouble. With that broken up, Copeland hammers him down but the spear is countered into the Killswitch for two more. The referee takes a shot to the eye….so Cage kicks him low and grabs the title. That misses so they both try spears, only to collide in the air. Cue Nick Wayne’s mom (who is apparently named Shanna) to grab the title and hit Copeland. With Wayne gone, Cage puts Copeland’s face on the title and stomps on it (that didn’t look great) for the pin to retain at 18:04.

Rating: B-. The ending is going to get the attention here and it was….I guess the word is fine? It was perfectly logical, but as soon as Copeland crushed Nick Wayne with the Conchairto (note: send him a Christmas card for that) in front of Wayne’s mom, you knew there was going to be payback down the line and this match felt like the perfect place. They shouldn’t have done a swerve for the sake of a swerve, but the match (which was good) felt like a lot of waiting around until Wayne came out to cost Copeland the title.

Overall Rating: B. This show went in a few different directions as you had the main event, the MJF stuff and the tournament. That gives you a lot of variety, but some of it is wildly more interesting than others. The tournament is going to go on for a few more weeks while Cage vs. Copeland seems set for a rematch (please nothing involving a ladder, I beg of you). That leaves the MJF/Devil stuff and while it’s not a bad story yet, they are going to need a heck of a reveal for this to be worth the time spent on it. For now though good show, but things need to change up a bit before they run out of steam fast.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Rush – Rear naked choke
Swerve Stickland b. Mark Briscoe – Swerve Stomp
Toni Storm b. Skye Blue – Sunset flip
Jay White b. Jay Lethal – Rollup
Christian Cage b. Adam Copeland – Stomp onto the TNT Title

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

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Dynamite
Date: November 29, 2023
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Excalibur, Taz

It’s the second week of the Continental Classic and that seems to be the focal point of the show again. That went well enough last week, but I’m curious to see how well it holds up week after week. Other than that, Christian Cage has to respond to Adam Copeland’s challenge for a TNT Title match next week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson joins commentary.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jon Moxley vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal takes him down rather fast to start but the figure four doesn’t last long. Instead Lethal knocks Moxley outside for the suicide dive, only to have Moxley come right back with a dive of his own. Moxley comes up favoring his knee so Lethal is right back to go after the knee. Lethal knocks him off the apron and we take a break.

Back with Moxley grabbing a cutter but Lethal pulls him off the top with a super dragon screw legwhip. More shots to the knee have Moxley down but he sends Lethal into the corner. Moxley’s rear naked choke is broken up though and now the Figure Four can go on for a lot longer. The rope is grabbed though and it’s a Paradigm Shift into a pulling piledriver. The rear naked choke goes on though and Lethal is done at 11:20.

Rating: B-. Lethal continues to be one of the most consistent stars in AEW as he can have a nice match against anyone. That was the case here, with Lethal working on the knee, even if Moxley only sold it so much. Moxley feels like a strong candidate to go to the finals, so stacking him up with wins to start makes sense.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Following his loss on Collision, Eddie Kingston says he didn’t deserve to win and now he has to face Bryan Danielson. Time to heal up.

Danielson is all fired up and says he’s coming to win.

Tony Schiavone announces the Revolution will take place on March 3 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Naturally this means a discussion about the Clash Of Champions match between Sting and Ric Flair, who come in to talk about said match. Sting thanks Flair for putting him on the map that night and Flair talks about how awesome Sting was that night. Trivia for you: according to AEW, that was the only match these two have ever had and now they’re legends 35 years later with nothing in between.

Continental Classic Gold League: Rush vs. Mark Briscoe

They go right to the slugout to start with Briscoe knocking him into the corner. Rush switches places with him and takes Briscoe out of the corner before they head outside. An exchange of whips into the barricade has Rush down, setting up the Bang Bang Elbow off the apron. Back in and Rush hits a superkick but Briscoe hits a hard lariat as we take a break.

We come back with Rush holding a leglock, with Briscoe making it over to the ropes. Rush sends him flying into the corner but a spear cuts off the Bull’s Horns for two. They fight to the apron until Briscoe charges into a suplex out to the floor. Back in and Rush gets knocked off the top, setting up the Froggy Bow for two. The Jay Driller is broken up though and the Bull’s Horns finishes for Rush at 11:22.

Rating: B-. This was the fight you would expect from these two and it was a fun brawl. Rush winning does get him on the board, but it’s rather frustrating to see Briscoe lose so often. He has so much charisma and could be a steady hand in the midcard. Instead he seems there to put people over, but maybe things can change in the next few weeks.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Toni Storm is proud of winning the Women’s World Title but she’s a bit tired from celebrating and has some gout.

Here is MJF, on a cane, for a chat. He’s set to defend the World Title against Samoa Joe next month and he respects Joe very much. We hear a story about MJF seeing Joe in TNA and knowing what kind of a monster he saw. Then Joe went to WWE, who didn’t see his talents or make him a World Champion. The road Joe paved brought MJF to wrestling though so thank you…..but MJF has gone down his own road as well. MJF talks about the names he has beaten and now their match is about MJF’s own legacy.

On December 30, MJF doesn’t care about his injuries because it is going to be about how much fight he has in him. If Joe wants the title, he’ll have to put MJF down. Then the lights go out and the Devil minions show up, only to have Joe make the save. Then the screen goes back and a text crawl comes up, with someone challenging Joe and MJF to team together to face the unknown in a tag match. An angry MJF says it’s on and promises to unmask people.

Commentary says their IT security is looking into who keeps taking over.

Wardlow vs. AR Fox

Fox knocks him over the top and out to the floor to start the beating on the floor. They get inside with Wardlow suplexing him over the top to get us to the opening bell. Wardlow takes him back outside to keep up the beating but Fox kicks him down back inside. A 450 gives Fox two but Wardlow calmly powerbombs him. A Swanton crushes Fox and another powerbomb makes the referee stop it at 3:13.

Rating: C+. This was another slow step forward for Ward low as he gets to beat up a slightly bigger nae this week. That is a nice way to keep him moving but it is only going to mean so much if there isn’t some consistency. Wardlow has been higher than this before, only to have everything stop out of nowhere. Keep this up and it should work.

Hardys/Brother Zay vs. Action Andretti/Top Flight

Andretti sunset flips Matt for two to start but the Hardys take Andretti down without much trouble. It’s off to Zay, who gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing Dante to come in for a running corner clothesline. We take a break and come back with Jeff taking Andretti into the corner.

Andretti fights back to take Matt down and the hot tag brings Dante back in. Everything breaks down and Zay takes Dante down for two. Jeff cuts Darius off the apron (the fans do not approve), leaving Dante to get caught in a double electric chair/springboard missile dropkick combination for two. Back up and a dropkick into a German suplex gives Dante the pin on Zay at 9:46.

Rating: C+. This was about getting Dante back in the ring to show that he can still do it. You can see the athleticism there and Top Flight has looked like a potential breakout team for a long time now. What matters though is how long they can stay healthy, as it feels like they have spent years apart due to the injuries destroying them. For now though, I can go with the Hardys putting someone else over, as it’s what they do best at the moment.

Post match, Penta El Zero Miedo, Hijo del Vikingo and Komander seem to want to face Top Flight and Action Andretti.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Emi Sakura

Hart is defending and due to House Rules, the match cannot end by submission. Hart starts fast by knocking her into the corner for a running elbow. Sakura chops her way out of trouble but gets taken down by the arm. They head outside with Sakura hitting a running crossbody against the steps as we take a break.

Back with Sakura hitting the delayed butterfly backbreaker, only to have Hart pull her into a triangle choke. Since that doesn’t work, Hart hits a running forearm to the back, setting up the moonsault to retain at 7:34. Sakura seemed to try to roll away and it looked like Hart almost had to hold her down for the pin.

Rating: C. The match was nothing of note but I’m a bit curious about that ending. I’m not sure if that was a communication issue or something that didn’t work like they were planning. Either way, it’s another win for Hart, who is on a roll at the moment and getting win after win is the right way to go.

Here is Christian Cage, with security, to call out Adam Copeland for a chat. Cue Copeland, so Cage sends security away. Cage talks about their history together and how much success they had on their own and together. We hear about their history, including Cage and Copeland being friends as children. Copeland was raised as Cage’s brother so they should do it one more time. Copeland seem to agree but then catches the low blow. He’s coming for the title next week and says “go f*** yourself”, which is NOT censored on the TNT feed. Good stuff here, as Copeland knew Cage and didn’t fall for his tricks.

Continental Classic Gold League: Swerve Strickland vs. Jay White

Feeling out process to start and they’re quickly out on the floor. Swerve sends him hard into the barricade and fires off some chops back inside. Things head back outside with Swerve dropping him over the barricade, followed by an apron double stomp to the back. White manages a DDT on the way back inside though and we take a break.

Back with White cranking on both arms but Swerve comes up with some chops. White doesn’t seem to mind and suplexes him into the corner, meaning it’s time to yell a lot. Swerve’s rolling Downward Spiral is blocked but so is the swinging Rock Bottom. A quick suplex gives Swerve two but White grabs what looked to be a Downward Spiral.

Swerve hits a quick clothesline though and they slug it out. White goes back to the knee and a swinging Rock Bottom gets two. Back up and White tries the low blow but gets taken down instead. The Swerve Stomp gets two more but White grabs a quick Blade Runner. Swerve rolls to the apron before the cover though and they chop it out with five minutes left…when Swerve grabs a cradle out of nowhere for the pin at 15:26.

Rating: B. These two tore it up here as Swerve continues to FINALLY get the chance to show what he can do. It feels like we’ve been waiting to see it happen for the better part of ever now and at least it seems to finally be going somewhere. Beating White clean is a pretty big deal, so well done on making someone feel like a much bigger deal, which isn’t easy to do.

Gold League Standings
Jon Moxley – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Swerve Strickland – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Rush – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (3 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Overall Rating: B. The tournament is by far the biggest focus for the show and that is good enough, but they also focused on the other important stories on the show. That would include the Cage vs. Copeland title match next week, plus the banged up MJF vs. Samoa Joe. Good show here, though I continue to wonder how long the tournament is going to be able to last at this level.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Jay Lethal – Rear naked choke
Rush b. Mark Briscoe – Bull’s Horns
Wardlow b. AR Fox via referee stoppage
Action Andretti/Top Flight b. Hardys/Brother Zay – German suplex to Zay
Julia Hart b. Emi Sakura – Moonsault
Swerve Strickland b. Jay White – Rollup

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: November 22, 2023
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Full Gear and that means it is time to start the Continental Classic. This is a round robin tournament that will run until the end of the year with a new title (plus seemingly two more though it’s a little unclear how it works) going to the winner. Samoa Joe is also coming for MJF and the World Title so let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

The graphics on the sides of the entrances are now Ric Flair WOO Energy with a cartoon Flair. The drinks are also at the announcers’ desk.

Here are the rules for the Continental Classic:

20 minute time limit
3 points for a win
1 point for a draw
Everyone is banned from ringside

Continental Classic Gold League: Swerve Strickland vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal shoulders him down to start but an anklescissors sends Lethal to the floor. They strike it out on the apron, with Lethal going after Swerve’s banged up arm. Swerve is knocked to the floor for a suicide but Swerve is right back on the leg back inside. They strike it out with shots to the leg and arm until Lethal gets in a shoulder breaker as we take a break.

Back with Swerve catching him on top and hitting a Downward Spiral for two. Lethal puts him right back down and drops a top rope elbow for two. The basement dropkick is countered into a stretch muffler to send Lethal bailing to the ropes. That’s fine with Swerve, who hits the House Call into the Swerve Stomp for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: B-. The action was good enough and the working on the leg/arm worked well enough for a story. Swerve pretty much had to win coming off the momentum he had in the Full Gear match against Hangman Page, though it’s a bit much to take to have him be this fine so soon after that kind of a fight. I’m not sure why Swerve had to wrestle here, but they did the right thing in their current situation.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Jay White – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Orange Cassidy, Hook and Katsuyori SShibata are cut off from making an announcement as Wheeler Yuta interrupts. Yuta is sick of Shibata and wants the Pure Title back. Cassidy doesn’t get to make his announcement.

Here are MJF (on a cane) and Adam Cole (on crutches) for a chat. Cole has a seat in a chair as MJF talks about how the Devil is here and no one is on his level. He brags about his win over Jay White but sometimes he can be a bit too humble. None of what he has done without his brochacho though so it’s time for Storytime with Adam Cole. Uh, bay-bay.

Cole say she’s a long way off from being able to get back in the ring but he wants to be here with MJF. He understands, and threatens the person in the Devil mask. Cue said person on the screen….and here is Samoa Joe. After mocking Cole, he wants MJF to honor his deal of a title shot. MJF has thought about this and says something that gets muted. Cole insists that MJF is a man of his word and praises Joe.

Cole tells MJF to be a man of his word so MJF says Joe wouldn’t be the first Ring of Honor legend he has beaten in Chicago. Twice. The challenge is thrown out for right now but Joe says nah. He knows better than to face MJF when he can complain about his injury. Instead, we’ll do it at World’s End in MJF’s hometown of Long Island.

The match is on, though MJF has to calm the crowd down after praising Long Island a bit too much. Joe says MJF doesn’t have to worry about the Devil anymore because MJF is now his property. He wants the best MJF, so for now, he has MJF’s back. That’s a nice little twist on a match we knew was coming.

Hook/Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard/Jake Hager

Before the match, Cassidy gets to make him announcement: Danhausen is back! Menard uses the distraction to jump Hook from behind and gets thrown down for his efforts. Everything breaks down and a backbreaker/running knee to the head combination puts Hook down. Hager yells at the referee and we take an early break.

Back with Hook suplexing his way out of trouble and handing it off to Cassidy to pick up the pace. The Stundog Millionaire cuts off Hager and Shibata comes in to forearm away. Shibata chops Hager down in the corner and nails the running dropkick….and Danhausen has Hager’s hat. Everything breaks down and Shibata/Hook grab a stereo sleeper/Redrum for the double submission at 8:08.

Rating: C. This was only so competitive as the match was more about getting Danhausen back in the fold. The fans are going to be happy with just about anything he does and it was a smart move to bring him back. At the same time, the double submission worked well as one of the Ring Of Honor champions is back. And later this week, he’ll be back on Ring Of Honor!

Adam Cole is glad to be back when Roderick Strong and the Kingdom interrupt. Strong asks where Cole was on Friday, which sends Cole into a rant about how they’re not best friends anymore.

Here is Christian Cage, with Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne, for a chat. Cage says things did not go their way at Full Gear but Luchasaurus lost that match. They have both benefited from their relationship with cage and it is time to rechristen them. Luchasaurus takes the knee and is renamed….Killswitch. Wayne takes the knee even faster but Cage tells him to get up because he is special. Since Cage sees himself in Wayne, he is now the Prodigy Nick Wayne.

Cue Wayne’s mom (Cage: “You are a terrible mother.”) but Cage cuts her off and berates her. It’s a good thing Wayne’s father is already dead because he could never be as good of a wrestler as Cage. He tells her to go get to her shift at Denny’s….but Luchasaurus gets between them. Cage tells him to get back on his knees. That doesn’t happen so Cage slaps him….and shoves him into Wayne’s mom. Cage orders Wayne to grab a chair but wants Luchasaurus to hit the Conchairto. Hesitation ensues but here is Adam Copeland for the save. Wayne is left alone for the spear and an Impaler, setting up a Conchairto.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society is annoyed at their loss but Anna Jay tells them to shut up. Angelo Parker says he’s got her back tonight…but is getting a call from Ruby Soho.

Continental Classic Gold League: Rush vs. Jay White

Rush easily powers him into the corner to start and then does it again for a bonus. A takedown lets Rush stomp away and there’s a basement dropkick to the back of the head. They head outside where Rush drops him with a hard chop, followed by some hard whips into the barricade.

Back in and they trade chops in the corner with Rush getting the better of things (as he tends to do). White gets stomped down in the corner, setting up the cocky kick to the face. We take a break and come back with White suplexing him into the corner for two. That’s too much selling for Rush though as he’s back with rolling suplexes into a brainbuster for two.

White manages a brainbuster of his own for two more before mocking the matador’s cape. They slug it out again until a swinging Rock Bottom plants Rush for two more. Rush snaps off a German suplex and suplexes him into the corner, only to have the Bull’s Horns cut off. The Blade Runner is blocked as well but the referee gets distracted. That lets White hit a low blow into the Blade Runner for the pin at 13:56.

Rating: B. This is becoming more of Rush’s traditional match, as he beats the fire out of someone for a good while before getting to whatever they have for a finish. White was mostly squashed here until managing to get in some offense of his own. That being said, White did get the win (cheating aside), which he needed after losing at Full Gear.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

We look at Ricky Starks and Big Bill retaining the Tag Team Titles, plus Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega earning a title shot, both at Full Gear. The teams got into it at the media scrum and the champs jumped Jericho afterwards, damaging his arm in the process.

Here is Toni Storm for her Women’s Title acceptance speech, though first we get an Oscar winner announcement style introduction. She didn’t have anything prepared but does pull out a list of people to thank. That includes Anthony Khan, all of those at Warner Discovery (including founder Jack Warner, who died in 1978) and all of the little Toni Storms out there.

Skye Blue vs. Anna Jay vs. Ruby Soho

Angelo Parker, Matt Menard and Saraya are here too. They trade rollups to start until Soho and Parker stop to stare at each other a bit. Soho is sent outside, leaving Jay to kick Blue in the face. Back in and Soho suplexes Blue, allowing Parker to trip Blue up. Jay bends Blue around the post and we take a break.

We come back with Jay planting them both with a Tower Of Doom before they all head outside. Soho gets the better of things but stops to look at Parker, allowing Blue to dive onto Soho and Jay back inside. Jay gets sent outside where Menard offers a distraction. Saraya breaks that up, leaving Blue to kick Soho right into Parker’s arms (Soho doesn’t seem to mind). That’s broken up as well and the distraction lets Blue hit a TKO to pin Jay at 9:52.

Rating: C+. The action was good enough but this was all about Parker and Soho and nothing more. They’re having that forbidden romance deal and in a way that’s kind of interesting. I could go or it being someone other than Parker, but Soho needs something to get her somewhere and maybe this is it. Jay losing is a bit frustrating, though if AEW has to start pushing Blue again, doing it in her hometown makes sense.

Wardlow is interrupted by AR Fox and drops him as a result.

Continental Classic Gold League: Mark Briscoe vs. Jon Moxley

They go to the slugout to start with Moxley taking him into the corner for some chops. Briscoe manages to send him outside for a running Blockbuster from the apron. Back in and the Froggy Bow misses, allowing Moxley to knock him into the corner again. We take a break and come back with Moxley working on an STF on the bloody Briscoe (commentary does in fact make fun of the fact that Moxley isn’t bleeding for once).

The comeback is on with Briscoe striking him down, setting up a running shot in the corner for two. Moxley’s armbar sends Briscoe to the ropes so Moxley grabs the Paradigm Shift. Briscoe pops back up and hits a dropkick before collapsing for the double breather. The Death Valley Driver into the Froggy Bow gives Briscoe two but Moxley is back with the Death Rider for the same. Moxley wins a slugout and hits a Stomp into another Death Rider for the pin at 11:23.

Rating: B. It’s against bigger names, but Briscoe continues to lose now that he’s back in AEW. I’m not sure how wise that is as he’s one of the most charismatic people they have but at least it was to one of the company’s top stars. Moxley is going to be a favorite to win the tournament, though I could go for an explanation for why he’s getting the chance to win three titles after losing to Orange Cassidy on Saturday when Cassidy isn’t in the tournament.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Respect is shown to end the show.

Of note: the Ring Of Honor Instagram account has announced that Ronda Rousey will be wrestling on this week’s Ring Of Honor. Unless it was mentioned in a quick throw away line, I did not hear her name or any reference to her on this show. Katsuyori Shibata’s Pure Title match on the same Ring Of Honor was mentioned and Wheeler Yuta said he wanted the title. That was mentioned, but not Rousey, who has been announced by the official Ring Of Honor social media. That’s a very interesting choice.

Overall Rating: B+. Well the focus was on the tournament here and that stuff went very well. I’m not surprised by that part as it is still fresh and new with some very talented wrestlers involved, but it should be interesting to see how that goes a few weeks from now when the new shine has worn off. The rest of the show was rather good, with the six man tag being the weakest point and even that was completely fine. This was a wrestling based show and as usual, AEW knows how to make that work.

Results
Swerve Strickland b. Jay Lethal – Swerve Stomp
Hook/Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata b. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard/Jake Hager – Double submissions
Jay White b. Rush – Blade Runner
Skye Blue b. Anna Jay and Ruby Soho – TKO to Jay
Jon Moxley b. Mark Briscoe – Death Rider

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