So I reviewed this as usual last week and then forgot to publish it for some reason.  I’m not sure what happened but I’m sorry about that.

Ring Of Honor
Date: August 17, 2023
Location: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni

We continue our build towards…whenever the next big show is going to be around here, which might not be happening for a fairly good while. For now though, we have a new #1 contender to the TV Title as Shane Taylor won a tournament to earn the shot last week. As for this week, Joe is teaming up with Stokely Hathaway to face the Boys, as what feels like the build to Joe vs. Dalton Castle continues. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Gravity vs. Gringo Loco

Gravity starts fast with a springboard hurricanrana and an armdrag to frustrate Loco again. The frustration is alleviated by a right hand to the mask but Gravity snaps off a scoop powerslam but Loco shoves him off the top for a crash. The big flip dive takes Gravity down again, followed by a twisting senton for two back inside. Gravity sends him outside and runs up the corner, flips into a seat, and then flips forward into a hurricanrana (that was awesome).

Back in and Gravity hits a delayed top rope Vader Bomb for two but Loco’s standing Spanish Fly gets the same. Loco threatens to kill him but Gravity gets in a kick to the head. They both stand on top and flip over in….well they call it a torture rack superplex but it also looked like a flipping DDT. Either way it gives Loco two but Gravity catches him with a super Samoan drop. The top rope splash finishes for Gravity at 10:16.

Rating: B-. This was the “he lost last week so here’s a win to make sure the fans still care” match for Gravity and it worked well. Gravity is starting to put together better offense and is becoming a fun guy to watch so nice choice for an opening match. Loco is another person who has worked well in most of his appearances and he did well again here.

Silas Young vs. Josh Woods

Pure Rules and Mark Sterling is…not here with Woods for a change. Woods grabs a headlock to start before they both avoid an armdrag. Young’s handshake offer is turned down and Woods picks the ankle to take it to the mat. They fight over a wristlock until Young blocks a Chaos Theory attempt. The fight over the armbar doesn’t work for either of them so Woods snaps the arm over the rope. Back in and Woods sends the arm into the buckle before getting in some rather aggressive stomps. Young gets two off a sunset flip so Woods punches him in the face. The anarchist suplex into the corner finishes Young at 6:53.

Rating: C+. The match itself was fine enough but I’m getting tired of these Pure Rules matches. The rules don’t really change much about the match and they seem to just be there for the sake of setting up whoever gets to lose to Katsuyori Shibata next. Young knowing Woods so well made for a nice story, but it’s still just the Pure Rules division and that’s not the most interesting stuff. Oh and why are these the only matches that get on-screen clocks?

Maria Kanellis-Bennett talks about everything she has given to wrestling but she’s still here. Now she wants an army to protect the Kingdom. Leyla Hirsch is mentioned but comes in to rant about how she doesn’t like to be scouted. Maria has granted her request for more competition with a match against Rachael Ellering.

Athena vs. Brittany J

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if J can survive the ten minute time limit or win, she gets a future title shot. Athena poses to start and gets rolled up for two. Brittany sends her outside but Athena grabs a leg for a pull to the floor. For some reason Athena yells at Riccaboni before hitting a pop up powerbomb inside. The right hand finishes Brittany at 1:50. Of all of the Athena wins in Proving Ground matches, this was the most recent.

Post match the Renegades jump Athena but Billie Starkz runs in for the save.

Samoa Joe/Stokely Hathaway vs. The Boys

During the entrances, Stokely talks about how he’ll be right here on the apron if Joe needs him. The Boys jump Joe to start but he knocks them both down without much effort. Stokely comes in and gets punched in the face as the Boys take over without much effort. Back up and Stokely manages to get over to Joe, who quickly cleans house. The Muscle Buster is loaded up but instead Joe lets Stokely come off the top with an ax handle. Instead of connecting though, Joe turns away (taking Brandon with him) and lets Stokely crash in a funny spot. The Koquina Clutch finishes for Joe at 3:53.

Rating: C. Other than the step aside crash, there wasn’t much to see here. I’m assuming this is going to be setting up Joe vs. Dalton Castle, but beating up the Boys with the help (or close to it) from Stokely isn’t exactly a hot angle. At least they kept things moving here and Stokely was funny as usual.

Billie Starkz doesn’t know what is going on with Athena but the Renegades come in for a staredown.

Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels vs. Gates of Agony

This is from a Dynamite taping. Daniels grabs a headlock on Toa to start before getting run over with a shoulder. Kaun comes in and gets taken down with a drop toehold. It’s off to Sydal for a kick to the head before Daniels comes back in. As was the case earlier, Daniels gets beaten down, including a running splash in the corner. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Kaun switches to a side slam for two instead.

Daniels has to bite his way out of a bearhug and there’s the STO, allowing the tag off to Sydal. Everything breaks down and Sydal gets caught with the stereo clotheslines. Daniels makes the save, allowing Sydal to dive over for the tag to bring Daniels back in. Angel’s Wings hits Kaun but Toa makes the save this time. Back up and Kaun hits a fireman’s carry gutbuster to finish Daniels at 10;12.

Rating: B-. They managed to take two less that interesting teams and get an engaging match out of them. That’s hard to do and it’s nice to see the Gates starting to actually win matches against some decent competition. Daniels and Sydal aren’t exactly on the all time list of great ROH tag teams, but they’re former champions and work well enough so this could have been worse.

Dani Mo vs. Madison Rayne

Still at Dynamite and Rayne is the hometown girl. Mo elbows her way out of a hammerlock to start before Rayne charges into a boot in the corner. A cartwheel sets up a kick to Rayne’s face but she’s back with a dropkick. Rayne hits a neckbreaker into a northern lights suplex for two, followed by CrossRayne for the pin at 3:22.

Rating: C. It’s nice to have Rayne back as she is someone with enough of a reputation to be able to put some people over. She’s not likely to tear up the mat in a classic most of the time but she’s a good enough steady hand. Mo was unique enough to get another look and I could go with having her back somewhere in the future.

Dark Order vs. Corey Calhoun/Isaiah Broner/Lord Crewe

Uno takes Broner into the corner for the rapid fire stomps to start before Reynolds comes in to hammer away. Silver is in for the kicks to the chest and a near fall, followed by Reynolds’ knee drop. Cue Stu Grayson to watch, allowing Calhoun to come in of the tag. Not that it matters as the Darker Realm finishes Calhoun at 3:49.

Rating: C. Yeah they’re still the Dark Order, meaning it’s John Silver and an ok Alex Reynolds plus the mostly useless Evil Uno. I still don’t get what is supposed to be so special about these guys but they aren’t likely to go away anytime soon. At least they kept it short here and didn’t bother doing anything too important here, but that’s probably coming.

Claudio Castagnoli says he’s always watching, even if he isn’t on the show. He won the title over a year ago and cared, but then he lost it to Chris Jericho, who didn’t care. Now he’s a two time champion and he won’t let go of something he has cared about for so many years. His job is to keep people like Eddie Kingston, Mark Briscoe and Pac away from the title. He will step in the ring with anyone and this is still just a job. Come be better than him. Not much from Castagnoli here, but then again he didn’t have anything or anyone to talk about.

Cole Karter vs. Griff Garrison

Back in North Carolina as Garrison gets driven into the corner to start. A big boot staggers Karter though and a Falcon Arrow gets two on Karter. Back up and a dropkick hits Garrison and the chinlock goes on. Karter snaps off some suplexes but Garrison scores with a discus forearm to knock him silly. A rake to the eyes gets Karter out of trouble though and the belly to back spinning faceplant finishes Garrison at 4:29.

Rating: C. Remember all those other matches where Karter was just a guy in tights not doing anything that made him stand out in the slightest? This was another one of those, but for some reason he is being presented with Maria Kanellis-Bennett. I guess this is trying to find a way to use him, but he’s still nothing special in the slightest.

Post match Maria Kanellis-Bennett comes out to leave with Karter.

Charlotte Renegade vs. Billie Starkz

Robyn Renegade is here with Charlotte, who takes Billie down and hammers away to start. Starkz is sent outside for a beating from Robyn, followed by a face pull and choking back inside. Charlotte grabs a suplex but Starkz reverses into a brainbuster onto the knee. Robyn offers a distraction though and Starkz misses a Swanton, allowing Charlotte to hit a Samoan driver for two. Back up and Starkz grabs an arm trap faceplant (like a Neutralizer) for the pin at 3:40.

Rating: C. Well they’re trying with Starkz, who is indeed someone new. It seems that they’re setting up something for her against Athena and I’ll take that over one more random match after another. That being said, I could also go with less of the Renegades losing, as they feel like a pair who could be something, either together or on their own.

Post match the beatdown is on with Athena making the save. Athena won’t shake her hand but does say “come on minion, let’s go”, with Starkz following her out.

Tony Nese, with Ari Daivari, is annoyed at his group training being interrupted every week.

Workhorsemen/Lee Moriarty vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin/Lee Johnson

Well this is a 2023 ROH match if I’ve ever seen one. Moriarty and Johnson start things off with Moriarty cranking on the wrist but getting armdragged into an armbar. Andretti comes in and helps send the villains outside as the fast start continues. Back in and we settle down a bit with Moriarty bringing Drake in for a swinging Boss Man Slam on Johnson.

Kicks and chops keep Johnson in trouble but he rolls over for the tag off to Andretti to clean house. Everything breaks down and Andretti is tossed into Drake’s sitout powerbomb. Andretti is back up with a springboard spinning kick to Drake’s face. Henry tries an O’Connor roll but Andretti rolls through and sits down on it for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C+. Commentary talked about how the winner of this might be in line for a Six Man Tag Team Title shot and I’m not sure why I should believe that. The tradition for determining title shots seems to be throwing random opponents at the Embassy, even if they have never wrestled here before. At least they did pick up the pace after a string of dull matches, but I’ve seen Andretti and Martin team together with a variety of partners more than once now and it’s not like this was anything new.

Athena brings in Billie Starkz to say how proud she is but Starkz wants to face the Renegade Twins next week. This has been another story that could have been stretched out over about a month but instead they blitzed through it in about an hour.

Lady Frost vs. Trish Adora

Feeling out process to start until Frost misses a charge in the corner and gets kicked in the head. They go outside with Frost doing a handstand on the apron and then kicking Adora down. Back in and Adora kicks her into a crossbody but the Lariat Tubman is countered into a rollup for two. Frost hits her own kick to the head and goes up top for a corkscrew moonsault (Frostbite) for a pretty big upset at 4:06.

Rating: C+. Ok they got me with the surprise there, as I wouldn’t have bet on Frost winning. Much like Starkz, it’s cool to see someone fresh getting a chance, though unfortunately it’s at the expense of Adora. I’ll take what I can get with the unexpected ending though, as those can be nice every so often.

Kiera Hogan wants Lady Frost. This was less than thirty seconds after the match was over, because again, everything must go as fast as possible.

Rachael Ellering vs. Leyla Hirsch

Hirsch kicks a hand away rather than shake before taking Ellering down. Back up and Ellering chops away in the corner, only to get taken down by the arm. Ellering has to block a Fujiwara armbar and powers out of another armbar. A spinning uppercut drops Hirsch but she gets on Ellering’s back for the third armbar in a row. Hirsch rolls her up for two, followed by a cross armbreaker for the win at 4:49.

Rating: C. Hirsch picks off another one and in theory that should impress Maria a bit more. I’m not sure what Maria is setting up but at least Hirsch is getting to do something that might matter in a bit. It’s not a great match or anything, but it might matter going forward and I’ll take that around here.

Dalton Castle vs. Peter Avalon

Avalon is rather impressed by Castle’s over the top entrance. Castle wrestles him down to start but Avalon grabs a headlock takeover. A t-bone suplex cuts Avalon down and the Bang A Rang finishes for Castle at 2:35.

Shane Taylor is tired of hearing about the old guard. Now it is his chance to fight one of them himself and he’s back to establishing his own legacy. Good promo.

Metalik vs. Tony Nese

Ari Daivari is here with Nese, who does his usual bit before Jerry Lynn cuts him off. He’s tired of hearing this too, so here is someone from Nese’s past. Commentary being surprised despite introducing the match is a bit odd but far from new around here. Metalik stars fast with his rope walk dropkick to knock Nese outside but Nese trips him down.

Back in and Metalik gets tied in the Tree of Woe for the rapid fire kicks to the chest before grabbing the bodyscissors. Metalik is sent to the apron where he avoids a charge and hits an Asai moonsault. Back in and Metalik hits a reverse Sling Blade into the rope walk dropkick for two. Nese sends him hard into the corner but walks into a superkick and the Metalik Driver for the pin at 7:09.

Rating: C+. Commentary mentioned that these two had wrestled 34 times before and if that is the case, I’m not sure it’s something you want to brag about. This was hardly a noteworthy main event, but they seem to think they have something with this YOU’RE ALL FAT thing. Nese is one of those people who is going to be here no matter what, and while that can get old, it doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon.

Overall Rating: C-. Unless you will take any wrestling you can get, there is no point to watching this show. Between the match quality ranging from pretty good to incredibly dull, stories going either glacially slow or faster than anyone could need them to and the same wrestlers doing the same thing week after week, you could probably skip months of this show without missing anything.

At the end of the day, I just sat through almost two hours and fifteen minutes for a main event featuring a match that was played out when it was on 205 Live years ago. This show doesn’t build to anything most of the title, matches are just trotted out there for the sake of extending the show, and there is nothing to indicate that it is going to change because Tony Khan has decided that this show is A, good and B, necessary for some reason. Another complete waste of time, which might as well be ROH’s motto since its return.

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.

Ring Of Honor
Date: June 15, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nigel McGuinness

We’re about five weeks away from Death Before Dishonor and that means the card needs to start coming together. There is still enough time to burn off another show or two but things need to start heading in that direction. If nothing else, Claudio Castagnoli certainly needs a new challenger for the World Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Matt Sydal is ready to face Samoa Joe for the TV Title.

Samoa Joe is ready to face Matt Sydal for the TV Title. Points for treating this like a big time fight.

Opening sequence.

TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Matt Sydal

Joe is defending and they’re starting fast here. Sydal goes after him and is immediately taken into the corner and forearmed down for his efforts. Back up and Sydal hits a jumping kick to the face to put Joe outside. The Meteora off the apron hits Joe but he runs Sydal over without much trouble back inside. The nerve hold keeps Sydal down and Joe cranks on the arm for a bonus.

Sydal fights up with some chops and a jumping knee, followed by a spinwheel kick, which leaves Sydal on the floor in a weird result. Back in and Joe’s powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana, though Sydal comes up holding his knee. The knee is fine enough for a top rope Meteora and a near fall so Sydal goes up top. That’s fine with Joe, who crotches him down and grabs the MuscleBuster to retain at 6:46.

Rating: C+. That’s it? They built Sydal up as this big challenger for months and he just loses in about seven minutes? Joe has held the title for about fourteen months now and very few have given him a run for his money. I don’t think you can quite add Sydal to the list, but as for now, I’m not sure who else can challenge for the title, save for reheating Mark Briscoe.

Respect is shown post match.

Deimos vs. Nick Comoroto

This is Deimos’, with Teal Piper (Roddy’s daughter), debut. Deimos (rather tall and muscular) pounds Comoroto down to start and counters a slam into one of his own. They fight to the floor with Comoroto sending him into the steps to take over, followed by a running powerslam for two back inside. A Widowmaker gives Comoroto two but Deimos is back with a spinebuster. Deimos’ big boot gets two as Piper is starting to panic. Comoroto gets in a throat snap across the top though and it’s an Alabama Slam for the pin (with feet on the ropes) on Deimos at 5:14.

Rating: C. They were lumbering around a bit but this was a nice enough power match. Comoroto still feels like he could be something as he has the rather unique look and a good offense to back it up. Deimos is a tall guy and looks great, though he didn’t do much here to set him apart. I could go for more from both of them though, as some seasoning and experience could get them somewhere.

Mark Sterling has gotten Tony Nese some time to speak tonight.

Iron Savages vs. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus

The Savages have their hype man Jacked Jameson with them. Boulder suplexes Williams to start before it’s off to Bronson, who gets sent into the corner. An armbar over the ropes slows Bronson down but the Savages get in stereo gorilla press slams to take over again. Titus comes in and kicks Bronson in the face, followed by a quick belly to belly.

Boulder comes back in for a Boss Man Slam/swinging sidewalk slam (cool) to plant them both. Back up and Williams/Titus manages something like a double AA on Boulder. Bronson comes back in and gets caught with a Hart Attack but Boulder is back in for the save. Bronson fire thunder drivers Titus onto Williams (that’s a new one) and an electric chair splash gives Bronson the pin at 4:56.

Rating: C+. The Savages might not be the most complicated team in the world but it is nice to see someone with that kind of power around here. Being so different makes them stand out ala a team like War Machine back in the day and Jameson is funny enough in short doses. Let these guys run through some more people on a regular basis and I could see them getting a title program down the line.

The Workhorsemen (who seem to be on every week) don’t like FTR, or Mark Briscoe for that matter. Briscoe can take FTR’s beating for them.

Diamante vs. Teal Piper

Deimos is here with Piper, who gets in a quick slam to start. A neckbreaker over the middle rope cuts Piper off though and Diamante hits the running corner dropkick. Diamante slaps her in the face, which is enough to fire Piper up for some kicks in the corner. A sleeper doesn’t work for Piper as it’s something like Cross Rhodes to bring her back down. Diamante ties up the arms in a choke for the stoppage at 4:11.

Rating: C. Piper didn’t get squashed here but she only showed so much. Maybe it would have been better if she hadn’t popped up in the earlier match, but seeing her twice in one night took away some of the special feeling. She has enough skill be have a run on the indies somewhere though and with some more experience, could be something down the line. Diamante is still good for a spot like this and I’m still not sure why she hasn’t gotten a bigger role before.

Respect is not shown post match.

Tony Nese vs. Serpentico

Before the match, Nese and the rest of the Varsity Athletes say they have tried to get the fans’ respect for years but it has never happened because the fans aren’t on the same level. Instead, the wrestling is on hold because it’s time for group exercise! Ari Daivari leads the exercise until Serpentico’s entrance interrupts.

Nese wrestles him down without much effort but Serpentico comes back up with a slap. That’s too far for Nese, who stomps away and nails a hard elbow for a bonus. Serpentico tries to fight up but gets caught with a spinning kick to the face to put him right back down. Nigel goes old school by saying Nese is the winner of this year’s Jesse The Body Award. Hold on though, as Riccaboni says that he won a pose down against Frankie Kazarian.

With that out of the way, Nese grabs a bodyscissors and hammers away, only to miss the springboard moonsault. Serpentico’s jumping Downward Spiral gives him a breather but Nese German suplexes him into the corner. The Running Nese is enough to finish Serpentico at 6:05.

Rating: C. As much as Nese vs. Serpentico is a main event….I’m thinking nowhere in the country, I can go with Nese and company actually having something to annoy the fans. Calling the fans fat and out of shape isn’t much, but it’s something that might get Nese some heat for a change. The match was little more than a squash, but they might be trying something with Nese and I’ll take the effort.

Athena makes fun of Kiera Hogan and gets decked from behind by the real one.

Notorious Mimi vs. Miranda Alize

They trade slaps to start with Alize knocking her into the corner and sweeping the leg out. A butterfly suplex gives Alize one and a hurricanrana driver is twice as good. Alize stops to yell at her and gets faceplanted for two but Alize is right back with a cutter. The Drive By (Shining Wizard) finishes Mimi at 3:11.

Rating: C-. Now this was more of a squash, as Alize ran through Mimi save for about fifteen seconds. I never got the big appeal of Alize in her original Ring Of Honor run and that has only been slightly upgraded here. She could certainly be a midcard villain and I could see a big showdown with someone like Skye Blue, so there does seem to be some value there. Mimi is apparently rather young and like many others on the show, needs a good bit more experience.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. The Righteous/Stu Grayson

Brent and Vincent start things off with Vincent running him over with an elbow. A dropkick works better for Brent so it’s Brandon coming in with a springboard high crossbody to Grayson. Everything breaks down and Castle is sent into the post, leaving Brent to get beaten down without much trouble.

Dutch hits a splash and Grayson adds a heck of a clothesline to keep Brent down. An enziguri gets Brent out of trouble though and the hot tag brings in Castle to clean house. A reverse Sling Blade drops Vincent but Dutch blocks a suicide dive. Back in and a triple flipping faceplant finishes Brent at 7:24.

Rating: C+. This was an energetic match with Castle and the Boys being their usual entertaining selves and the villains working well together. Grayson being the unofficial member of the Righteous works for him and they could be a nice team, especially if they’re done with the Dark Order. For now though, I’ll take a nice trios match.

The Dark Order promises to get more violent and ask if they’re Grayson’s family.

Athena vs. Trish Adora

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Adora wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. We pause for Athena to yell at the fans to start, with commentary pointing out how stupid that is in a ten minute match. Adora slips out of an early headscissors but a test of strength lets her crank on Athena’s arm.

Athena bails to the floor and the distraction lets her snap the leg across the rope to take over. A leglock with a hair pull has Adora in more trouble, at least until she makes the rope. Some trash talk lets Adora come back with a German suplex and a powerslam gets two. Athena manages a quick whip into the corner though and the O Face finishes Adora at 7:10.

Rating: C+. Adora continues to feel like someone who has a lot of breakout star potential around here and I could go for seeing her featured a good bit more. That being said, Athena gets to take out someone else, likely on her way to another match with Kiera Hogan for whatever reason. That’s the feud that has been decided on, no matter how much Athena dominated the first match.

Post match Athena attacks her again but here is Kiera Hogan with a trashcan lid for the brawl. Athena takes it away and knocks her down but Hogan takes it back and blasts her (Riccaboni: “Bangin on a trashcan!”). Hogan sets up a table….which Athena spears her through, just in case Hogan started to feel like a viable threat. Athena knocks herself silly too though and both of them have to be helped out.

Mark Briscoe vs. Anthony Henry

JD Drake is here with Henry. Mark slugs away to start and sends Henry outside for the dropkick through the ropes. Back in and the rolling Death Valley Driver hits Henry but a Drake distraction lets him get in a dropkick. A DDT into a double armbar has Mark in trouble but Mark gets up and kicks him in the face.

Henry kicks him right back and we hit the crossarm choke. Back up and Briscoe hits a dropkick of his own, followed by a fisherman’s buster for two. The Jay Driller is blocked and Briscoe pulls him into a dragon sleeper. With that broken up via a handy rope, they chop it out until the Jay Driller finishes for Briscoe at 7:17.

Rating: C+. It seems that they’re building towards another Briscoe title shot, which makes the loss at Supercard of Honor all the more confusing. I get the idea of Mark being built up after adversity but I believe he’s already checked that box this year. For now though, it’s another pretty nice Briscoe match, as the Workhorsemen get in their required appearance.

Tony Khan introduces Stokely Hathaway and praises him for his good job so far. Hathaway pitches a Chicago street fight between Athena and Kiera Hogan next week. Sure.

DKC vs. Daniel Garcia

This is from Dynamite in Colorado Springs, it’s under Pure Rules and DKC is a student of Katsuyori Shibata. Garcia takes him to the mat without much trouble as we see Jerry Lynn sitting in as a judge. Not talking despite being one of the bosses of the show, but he’s here. A loud chop seems to wake up DKC, who is right back with a running hurricanrana. DKC goes up top but gets knocked outside, allowing Garcia to pose a bit.

Back in and Garcia gets two off a suplex, setting up the STF. DKC uses his first rope break, which has Garcia applauding himself. Garcia loads up a charge in the corner but stops to dance, which is apparently a shot at Shibata. DKC hits a middle rope jumping kick to put Garcia down and then fires off a series of chops. A neck crank sends Garcia over to the ropes for the break, allowing him to come back with a Boston crab. With that not working, the Dragontamer finishes DKC at 7:34.

Rating: C+. This was a logical step towards Garcia vs. Shibata, even if that might not be the most thrilling feud. The Pure Rules matches are something different, but they are only so interesting in the first place. Garcia vs. Shibata does feel like something of a feud, but it’s something that could be dropped without missing much.

Post match Garcia sits ala Shibata.

The Mogul Embassy knows they have beaten everyone and they’ll do it again against more weak competition.

Viva Van vs. Skye Blue

Van, who apparently holds five titles right now, grabs a wristlock to start but gets taken down just as quickly. A rolling kick to the face gives Van two but Blue gets in a boot to the face. Blue’s hurricanrana into a Shining Wizard gets two, only to have Van grab a wheelbarrow suplex for the same. Back up and Blue superkicks her, setting up Skyfall for the win at 4:01.

Rating: C. This match is the prime example of something that did not need to be on this show and could have been cut to shave off some time. Blue won a #1 contenders match on Rampage and then lost last night on Dynamite. Did she really need a rebound win 24 hours later? She’s been on six of the last eight Ring Of Honors so it’s not like she’s never around. This was there to add another match to a show for the sake of adding another match to the show and that’s where this show gets really tiresome every week.

Respect is shown post match, which makes sense as Van looked solid.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin/AR Fox

The Embassy, with Prince Nana, is defending. Fox and Cage get things going with Cage running him over with a shoulder. A slingshot splash is pulled out of the air and Fox is sent flying with a fall away slam. Martin comes in to dropkick Cage into a tag to Khan as the pace picks up.

Toa walks on Martin’s back but he’s right up to his feet for a tornado DDT. Andretti gets the tag and is knocked outside for some whips into the apron. Back in and Andretti is fine enough to hit a Canadian Destroyer on Cage. That’s enough for the tag to Fox as the pace picks up again. A springboard missile dropkick hits Cage and a big dive to the floor does it again. Back in and a Swanton gives Fox two, followed by an assisted middle rope cutter for the same.

Everything breaks down and Toa runs over all three challengers at once. Khan hits a fireman’s carry gutbuster on Martin but Fox is back in with a 450. Fox and Andretti kick away at Cage and Andretti hits his torture rack neckbreaker. Khan gets sent to the floor but Cage is back with a discus lariat to Martin. The Cheeky Nandos kick hits Andretti and Weapon X retains the titles at 10:19.

Rating: B. They went with a simple concept here and had every go nuts for the last few minutes. It was a power vs. speed match and that might be the most basic wrestling formula there is. That is the case for a reason as it works well when it is done right, as was on display here. The champs got rocked before coming away with the dramatic win and that made it the best thing on the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked it better than last week as it felt like there was a bit more purpose to some of the matches, but on the other hand there was (yet again) a lot of stuff that felt like it was there to pad the run time. There’s little need to have a lot of these people on the show every single week, and now Tony Khan is apparently going to be around to make matches while Hathaway plays a suck up villain and Jerry Lynn doesn’t talk. It’s nice to see them trying something, but a two hour show with a bunch of seven minute matches featuring so many of the same people week after week is only going to be so exciting.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Matt Sydal – MuscleBuster
Nick Comoroto b. Deimos – Alabama Slam
Iron Savages b. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus – Electric chair splash to Williams
Diamante b. Teal Piper via referee stoppage
Tony Nese b. Serpentico – Running Nese
Miranda Alize b. Notorious Mimi – Drive By
The Righteous/Stu Grayson b. Dalton Castle/The Boys – Triple flipping faceplant to Brent
Athena b. Trish Adora – O Face
Mark Briscoe b. Anthony Henry – Jay Driller
Daniel Garcia b. DKC – Dragontamer
Skye Blue b. Viva Van – Skyfall
Mogul Embassy b. Action Andretti/Darius Martin/AR Fox – Weapon X to Andretti

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.

Ring Of Honor
Date: April 13, 2023
Location: Ryan Center, Kingston, Rhode Island
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The show continues to go on the road with AEW and that could make for some changes to how things work. It is almost impossible to imagine doing the nearly two hour show in front of Dynamite so maybe things are going to be shuffled up a bit. Either way, I would still bet on Athena and Tony Nese getting in their regular appearances. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ari Daivari vs. Mark Briscoe

Tony Nese, Josh Woods and Mark Sterling are here with Daivari. They roll around a bit to start until Daivari charges into an overhead belly to belly. A vertical suplex sends him outside but the distraction lets Nese get in a cheap shot to take over. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a hammerlock DDT for two on Briscoe. The frog splash misses though and Briscoe gets to chop away. A Rock Bottom suplex into a hangman’s neckbreaker plants Daivari but it’s too early for the Jay Driller. Sterling’s distraction lets Nese and Woods interfere but they’re thrown out, meaning the Jay Driller can finish Daivari at 6:10.

Rating: C. This was a way to get Briscoe back on track and that is a perfectly fine way to go. Daivari is still enough of a name around here that beating him means enough when you combine him with the rest of his goons. If nothing else, it’s not the Trustbusters so this could be a heck of a lot worse.

Post match the Varsity Athletes jump Briscoe but FTR makes the save. Mark Briscoe: Friend Of Tag Teams is an interesting way to go.

Eddie Kingston reveals that he is suffering from a hernia and has been dealing with it since September. He went through the Supercard Of Honor match against Claudio Castagnoli but isn’t making any excuses. Odds are he is going to need surgery though and a lot of that is due to the beating Castagnoli gave him. He has been thinking back to his match with Cody Rhodes, when he gave his heart to AEW in the first place. Then he went home and he thought about it and now he is going to have to do it again. Kingston going away for a bit might help him, as he has been kind of all over the place in recent months.

Kelly Madan vs. Skye Blue

Blue teases a superkick to take Madan down and another kick puts her on the mat. Madan gets in a kick of her own and stops to dance, allowing Blue to kick her down again. Skyfall finishes for Blue at 2:06. Not quite a squash but it did what it needed to do.

Mike Bennett vs. Darius Martin

Matt Taven and Maria Kanellis-Bennett are here with Bennett. Martin wins a slugout to start and they trade chops in the corner. The fight goes to the floor with Bennett being sent into the barricade but Taven offers a distraction on the way back inside. That’s enough for Bennett to take over on the apron, with a superkick rocking Martin. Bennett drops him hard onto the apron but Martin manages to get up for a clothesline through the ropes. Back in and a Spanish Fly gives Martin two but Taven comes in for the DQ at 4:57.

Rating: C+. It’s almost strange seeing a DQ on one of these shows, but it’s also weird seeing Martin doing this on his own. That’s what we’re going to have to get used to in the coming months, but he did look comfortable out there in a singles match. I’m curious to see who is going to make the save/help Martin against the Kingdom, as he certainly can’t do it on his own. For now though, nice start to his singles run, even in a limited time.

Post match the beatdown is on but Action Andretti makes the save. I’ve heard worse ideas.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Tracy Williams

They go technical to start (shocking I know) but it’s too early for Williams to get in his crossface. The cross armbreaker is broken up as well and it’s Yuta grabbing a German suplex. Yuta ties up the legs and forearms away but Williams slips out. A belly to back suplex rocks Yuta but he’s right back with the strikes in the corner. The double arm DDT onto the top sets up a brainbuster and Yuta is down again. The crossface still doesn’t work and Yuta is back up with an Angle Slam. A dragon sleeper with Williams’ arms tied back is enough to give Yuta the win at 5:11.

Rating: C+. Williams is rather good at this kind of a match and Yuta can go move for move with him the entire way. Yuta is on a roll right now (save for the Shibata loss) so getting a win here is no surprise. What is a bit of a surprise is seeing Williams lose again, as has been the case since he came back to Ring Of Honor. I get the idea of having someone with a name do some jobs, but Williams has a strong enough resume that he should be able to do better than this.

Darius Martin is glad that he has a friend in Action Andretti, who knows what it’s like to deal with numbers. The challenge to the Kingdom is on for next week.

Katsuyori Shibata/Alex Coughlin vs. Workhorsemen

Drake won’t shake Shibata’s hand to start so Shibata starts with Henry instead. They go to the mat for a quick standoff and Shibata blocks an early Penalty Kick. Drake adds a headbutt to Shibata and it’s off to Coughlin to give Drake a belly to back. Another suplex drops Coughlin though and a Vader Bomb from the middle of the ropes crushes Coughlin again.

Henry comes in and goes technical with Coughlin, who starts while sitting down and manages to grab a suplex and stand up while holding Henry in the air (WOW). It’s off to Shibata, who tries a sleeper but can’t get anywhere. Drake breaks it up with a chop to the back so Shibata sleepers Henry again,, with Drake breaking it up again. A kick to the back/Downward Spiral combination plants Shibata but Coughlin makes the save. Coughlin takes Drake outside and it’s the Penalty Kick to finish Henry at 8:46.

Rating: B-. That suplex alone made this worth a look as Coughlin might be able to live up to that cyborg nickname. Shibata was a bit off here and even commentary was surprised at some of the mistakes that he was making. The Workhorsemen were their usual reliable selves and this was the best match on the show by a wide margin so far.

Post match Coughlin says he wants the Pure Title.

Willow Nightingale vs. Little Mean Kathleen

Nightingale slams her down to start but gets sent into the corner for some running stomps. Back up and Nightingale runs her over, setting up a Stampede for the pin at 1:47. As it should be, given that Kathleen is rather tiny and not overly impressive.

Stu Grayson vs. Tony Nese

You knew Nese would get a match in there somewhere. Mark Sterling, Josh Woods and Evil Uno are here too. Grayson starts fast and sends him outside, only to have Sterling’s distraction let Nese get in a cheap shot. Back in and Nese hits a running uppercut in the corner before a hard kick to the face gets two. Another forearm wakes Grayson up and a swinging Rock Bottom gives him two more. A fireman’s carry spun into a faceplant gives Grayson another near fall but Nese sends him face first into the buckle. Back up and a Pele kick rocks Nese, setting up Knightfall to finish for Grayson at 7:14.

Rating: C+. Well at least the right person won, as I was worried Grayson would take another loss. Grayson has something with the look and energy so giving him a win over anyone, even Nese, is a nice boost. If nothing else, it would be nice for the Dark Order to have someone who might be able to win a match of some value at some point. The team has needed that for a long time now so maybe they are finally getting the idea right.

Post match the Righteous come out to stare down the Dark Order. Er, actually just Grayson.

Post break the Righteous says the Dark Order is about power (How?) but now it’s like a shell of itself. Vincent has the keys to Grayson’s freedom.

Ashley D’Amboise vs. Athena

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Ashley can survive ten minutes or win, she gets a title shot. Ashley dropkicks her down to start so Athena dropkicks her a few times to take over. The Crossface is broken up and Ashley gets two off a cradle. Something like a leg lariat gives Ashley two and a Samoan drop gets the same. Athena isn’t having that and dropkicks her off the top for a big crash. A clothesline on the floor drops Ashley again and the running knees against the steps make it worse. Back in and the O Face finishes for Athena at 5:09.

Rating: C+. I’ve heard of D’Amboise before but I’ve never seen her in a match that let her shine a bit. She did well with the time that she had here, though this was all about keeping Athena as a monster. I’m not sure who is going to take the title from her, but they are making her feel like a force. Maybe just give her a week off here or there though, just to keep her appearances feeling more special.

Post match Athena throws her to the floor.

Post break D’Amboise isn’t happy with the lack of honor so Athena jumps her again. Athena wants better competition and sends D’Amboise face first into the title.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Metalik

Metalik is challenging and gets taken into the corner to start. A legsweep drops Metalik but he kicks Castagnoli into the corner without much trouble. Castagnoli gets sent outside, where he cuts off a dive and drops Metalik hard onto the apron. The neck crank goes on back inside and there’s a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Metalik fights up and slugs away but Castagnoli sends him into the corner for the stomping. Back up and Metalik manages a kick to the head and a springboard hurricanrana.

A pop up Sling Blade (cool) drops Castagnoli again but the Metalik Driver is blocked. Code Red gives Metalik two more but a moonsault only hits raised boots. Castagnoli hammers away in the corner until Metalik kicks him in the head again. The rope walk elbow is cut off though and a Crossface has Metalik in trouble. That’s broken up so Castagnoli blasts him with the uppercut. The Neutralizer retains the title at 11:59.

Rating: B. I wasn’t expecting much coming into this one but they had a nice power vs. speed match with Metalik getting in a lot of offense. This could have been a four minute squash but they stretched it out a bit and made Castagnoli break a sweat. While there was no drama over a title change, it was nice to see this be more competitive than it could have been

Overall Rating: B-. This show was about 20-30 minutes shorter than the show’s average so far and my goodness it was more enjoyable as a result. Running just shy of an hour and a half, this show didn’t drag or feel like it just kept going and that is a huge improvement. I had a good time with the show and the action was good, but I never sat there wondering how much more they could squeeze in. Keep it around this length (or maybe a hair shorter) and it goes WAY up in value. Good show this week, with one of the biggest issues being addressed, at least for now.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. Ari Daivari – Jay Driller
Skye Blue b. Kelly Madan – Skyfall
Darius Martin b. Mike Bennett via DQ when Matt Taven interfered
Wheeler Yuta b. Tracy Williams – Dragon sleeper
Alex Coughlin/Katsuyori Shibata b. Workhorsemen – Penalty Kick to Henry
Willow Nightingale b. Little Mean Kathleen – Stampede
Stu Grayson b. Tony Nese – Knightfall
Athena b. Ashley D’Amboise – O Face
Claudio Castagnoli b. Metalik – Neutralizer

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.

Supercard Of Honor XVI
Date: March 31, 2023
Location: Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nigel McGuinness

It’s probably the biggest non-WWE event of the weekend and the show is pretty stacked. Ring Of Honor’s TV relaunch has made for some entertaining television and while it hasn’t exactly set this show up perfectly, we should be in for a heck of a show. The headliner is Claudio Castagnoli defending the World Title against Eddie Kingston so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Tracy Williams vs. Jeff Cobb

This is the first of four Zero Hour matches which were announced a few hours ago because Tony Khan. Cobb gets taken into the corner to start but snaps off the swinging belly to back suplex to send Williams down hard. A delayed running suplex gives Cobb two before he switches over to the leg. Williams strikes him back before getting two off a small package. Cobb isn’t having this and hits the Tour of the Islands for the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C. This was just a step above a squash for Cobb, who shrugged off everything Williams threw at him and hit his big finish to win. Cobb is the definition of a hoss who happens to have some incredible amateur skills. You don’t get things like that very often and Cobb seems to have settled into a rather nice niche.

We have a special surprise as NIGEL MCGUINNESS returns to do commentary for the rest of the show. If for some reason they have to have a three man booth, Nigel is a great choice to have around.

Zero Hour: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Willie Mack

Feeling out process to start with Takeshita going with the strikes. He knocks Mack to the floor but misses the big dive, only to have Mack get in a shot of his own. Back in and Takeshita snaps off a middle rope hurricanrana to send Mack outside again. This time it’s a big flip dive to take him down, only to have Mack get back up for his own dive. We hit the chinlock back inside, followed by a running clothesline to take Takeshita down again. Mack’s running kick to the chest sets up the nip up but his back is hurt. The standing moonsault gets two on Takeshita but Mack can’t quite follow up.

Takeshita blasts him with a lariat for two and has to block the Stunner. Mack hits the Pounce into a Stunner, only to have Takeshita hit a knee into his own Stunner. That’s shrugged off and Mack hits a running knee to leave them both down. The corner cannonball hits Takeshita but the frog splash hits too long. Takeshita grabs the Blue Thunder Bomb and the running knee finishes Mack at 9:40.

Rating: B-. These two working well together is hardly a surprise as they’re both incredibly talented. The good thing is that they were able to get some time and build something up rather than being all rushed. Mack continues to feel like someone who could be a thing if he was given the chance, but the wandering talented star is a nice place to be in as well.

Zero Hour: Miranda Alize vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale powers her down to start with Alize being sent outside. The big dive is cut off with a forearm though and a basement hurricanrana gives Alize two back inside. Nightingale isn’t having any of that and knocks her around again, setting up the running hip attack in the corner. Alize is back with a neckbreaker for two and a shot DDT gets the same. A Death Valley Driver plants Alize for two more, only for her to grab a cutter. Back up and the Drive By misses, allowing Nightingale to hit the POUNCE (Ian/Caprice: “PERIOD!” Nigel: “You’ve said that before haven’t you?”). The Doctor Bomb finishes Alize at 7:01.

Rating: C. It’s nice to see Nightingale win, even if it is in a lower level match like this. She has so much charisma and can do the power stuff rather well. I’m still not sure why she isn’t given a chance to win something that matters, but the fans keep cheering her so maybe she can get by without it.

Zero Hour: Slim J vs. Stu Grayson

Ari Daivari, Mark Sterling and Evil Uno are here too. Slim jumps him to start but Grayson knocks him down to the apron, setting up a slingshot hilo. Daivari offers a distraction though and Slim takes over, setting up a springboard reverse DDT (that was cool) for two. Grayson is back with a clothesline into a springboard twisting moonsault for two of his own.

A sleeper slows Grayson down for a bit but he’s fine enough for a pop up powerslam and another near fall. Slim grabs a twisting Sliced Bread for two and Grayson is ready to fight back. Sterling gets involved and is taken out by Uno, leaving Grayson to hit Knightfall for the pin at 6:55.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why this needed to be the final match on the show or why it needed to be there at all but at least Grayson has been treated as something important in recent weeks. In theory the idea is to get people to cheer for the Dark Order, though this isn’t really a crowd that needs to be warmed up. The match was good enough, but I’m rather tired of seeing Sterling everywhere.

Post match the Righteous (Dutch and Vincent) return to stare at the Dark Order.

Commentary welcomes us to the show proper.

AAA Mega Title: El Hijo de Vikingo vs. Komander

Vikingo is defending and we get the show of sportsmanship to start. The bell rings and that is a ROAR as the fans are way into this. They actually go with the wrist grappling to start until Komander takes him down and ties up the legs. That’s broken up so Vikingo gets him into a surfboard. Komander slips out as well and gets his legs tied up again, allowing them to slap away at each other.

With the legs still tied up, they both wind up on their heads to slap each other in the face. Back up and they both flip into a pose for another standoff. Komander gets sent to the floor where Vikingo dives on him and lands on his feet, only to send Komander back inside. This time Komander sends him outside for the running flip dive and it’s already time for the table.

Instead of putting Vikingo on it though, Komander hits a 450 off the stage. Back in and Komander has to bail out of a rope walk shooting star so Vikingo does his inverted dragon rana (again, the heck). Running knees put Komander on the floor, where he gets his own knees up to block a shooting star press. Back in and Vikingo puts him down, setting up a jump from the post to the top but right into a sitout powerbomb to give Komander two.

Komander goes up this time and gets shoved down in a big crash. Vikingo hits a springboard inverted moonsault to take Komander down again as commentary tries to figure out what to call that. Back in and a springboard corkscrew 450 gets two as the fans are very happy. They go to the apron with Komander hitting a Canadian Destroyer, followed by the rope walk (all the way across) into a VERY high flip dive. Back in and Vikingo finally hits his shooting star for two before going up top.

Komander tries to walk the ropes but gets caught in a top rope Canadian Destroyer. That sends Komander outside and onto the table for the springboard 630, which doesn’t break the table (because of course it doesn’t). Back in and Vikingo misses the 630, setting up the Hidden Ace (twisting Phoenix splash) for two. They both go up top again with Vikingo managing a swinging Rock Bottom to leave them both down. The running double knees hit Komander in the corner and the 630 can retain the title at 16:45.

Rating: A. Yeah what else are you supposed to say here? It’s a total stunt show and they aren’t trying to do anything else. There isn’t supposed to be anything with a big story or something complicated like that. Instead, this was about going out there and doing whatever insane thing they could think of to pop the crowd more and more. That’s what they were going for here and it worked incredibly well with some almost hard to believe stuff.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Embassy vs. AR Fox/Metalik/Blake Christian

The Embassy (Brian Cage/Gates of Agony with Prince Nana) is defending and gets knocked to the floor at the bell. Some dropkicks put them down again but we settle down to Cage powering Metalik down. Fox comes in and hits a jumping enziguri as Ian and Caprice talk about their wives. A cutter drops Cage and everything breaks down, with Fox hitting a running flip dive to the floor to take Cage down again.

Back in and Fox’s Blockbuster is pulled out of the air, allowing Cage to hit an F10. Cage takes too long though and it’s off to Christian, who hits the big Fosbury Flop on the champs. Metalik adds a top rope splash to Toa for not even a one, leaving Kaun to hit a backbreaker. Back in and Fox drops Cage but Toa plants Christian. Metalik comes back with a spinning DDT though and everyone is down. Christian hits Cage with a Canadian Destroyer and Metalik adds a sunset flip for two. Cage clotheslines Metalik into the Drill Claw to retain at 8:16.

Rating: C+. The action was there but it’s the Embassy beating a team that was thrown together for the sake of having challengers for the belts. There isn’t a division for these belts and other than giving Cage something shiny to hold, I don’t know how necessary the titles really are. The match was entertaining, but it’s not exactly easy to get invested in these belts.

We recap Athena vs. Yuka Sakazaki for Athena’s Women’s Title. Athena called her out for the title match and here she is, with Sakazaki saving Emi Sakura from a post match attack this week.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Athena is defending and stomps on a porcelain doll, as she has been calling Sakazaki recently. The fans are behind Sakazaki as they feel each other out to start. A hurricanrana takes Athena outside and Sakazaki dives through the ropes to take her down. Athena kicks her down and hammers away back inside as commentary thinks Sakazaki got messed up on that dive.

Sakazaki gets taken down in the corner to land on her head again but she’s fine enough to hit a clothesline. Athena cuts her off with a hard powerbomb and pounds away, with another near fall increasing the frustration. A dropkick sends Sakazaki outside and there’s a wheelbarrow suplex to drop her on the floor.

Athena’s running dropkick only hits barricade though and Sakazaki kind of suplex slams her on the floor. Back in and a springboard splash gives Sakazaki two but Athena blasts her with a spinning forearm. Sakazaki is back up with a spinning hammerlock slam for two more. Athena knocks her away though and hits the O Face to retain at 11:36.

Rating: B-. Athena has been on a roll lately with the new heel style and that was the case here. Sakazaki has all kinds of talent and was showing it in the match, with the neck injury slowing her down. I liked this more than I was expecting and the good thing is there are a ton of women who could come after the title.

We recap Samoa Joe defending the TV Title against Mark Briscoe. Joe won the title at last year’s show and Mark has been trying to win it for his entire career. The Briscoes could never beat Joe on their own but now Mark has to do it for himself, his family and his brother.

TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Mark Briscoe

Joe is defending. They circle each other to start until Mark strikes away. A fireman’s carry doesn’t work so they chop it out instead. Mark gets the better of things and manages a Death Valley Driver but Joe rolls away before the Froggy Bow can launch. They head outside with Mark charging into an overhead belly to belly to cut off the momentum. Back in and Joe hits another suplex for two but the right hands seem to wake Mark up.

Mark slugs away but gets knocked outside in a heap. The suicide elbow connects but Joe spends too much time bragging, allowing Mark to hit a dropkick. There’s the step up dive off the chair and Mark pulls out a table. Joe gets in a shot and leans the table up but gets Blockbustered through it for his efforts. Back in and a top rope chop to the head staggers Joe again, setting up a chop off.

Mark’s middle rope forearm puts them both down….and Mark goes over for a tag. Since Jay isn’t there, Joe catches him with the snap powerslam for two. Joe’s Crossface sends Mark to the ropes and Mark is back up with the chops. One heck of a clothesline drops Mark for two and Joe puts him on top. That’s broken up and Mark hits the Froggy Bow….for two. Mark loads up the Cutthroat Driver but Joe reverses into the Koquina Clutch. With Mark getting close to the ropes, a sleeper suplex drops Mark again and Joe chokes him out to retain at 14:16.

Rating: B-. That ending is going to get a lot of people talking and I’m not sure how well it is going to be received. This seemed tailor made to FINALLY give Mark his big win over Joe and get the TV Title that he has chased for years, but instead Joe holds onto it as his reign hits a year. Maybe there is some long term story planned, but it’s hard to believe that it will wind up feeling better than this would have. I really don’t get the thinking here.

Respect is shown post match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Daniel Garcia

They grapple against the rope to start and no Garcia isn’t going to let him have a clean break. The fight goes to the floor with Tanahashi hammering him around the ring but Garcia gets in a cheap shot to the knee. Garcia then mocks the air guitar and dances, leaving commentary aghast.

Some knee cranking ensues and Tanahashi screams a lot as McGuinness praises Garcia as much as he can. Garcia even mocks Shinsuke Nakamura a bit until Tanahashi fights up. A slam sets up the middle rope flip splash (don’t let Mike Bailey rub off on you man) but Garcia is back with an ax kick.

They trade shots with Garcia going to the knee to take him down. The dragon screw legwhip gives Tanahashi a breather and the high angle Texas Cloverleaf goes on. With that broken up, Tanahashi slips out of a piledriver attempt and hits the Twist and Shout. There’s the Sling Blade for two, followed by the High Fly Flow to finish Garcia at 12:04.

Rating: B-. Good match again but I never bought Tanahashi as being in any real danger. Garcia just isn’t on his level and there is no reason to believe that he will be anytime soon. This was more of a way to get Tanahashi on the show in some way with Garcia as the designated victim, kind of like his match with Adam Cole earlier this week.

We recap the ladder match for the vacant Tag Team Titles. The Briscoes are gone so the titles are on the line in a ladder match. Not much more to it than that.

Tag Team Titles: La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Lucha Bros vs. Kingdom vs. Top Flight vs. Aussie Open

Ladder match for the vacant titles. It’s chaos to start of course with La Faccion and the Kingdom being left alone, only to have the Kingdom jump them. Top Flight comes back in and gets beaten up by La Faccion, including being crushed in the ladder. The Aussies come in and quickly take La Faccion down, leaving them alone in the ring. The Lucha Bros break that up and stack La Faccion in a ladder, setting up their assisted wheelbarrow splash.

It’s too early to climb though as the Bros are sent outside, setting up big dives from La Faccion. Bennett holds up Darius Martin so Taven can hit a dive over the top for a Doomsday Device on the floor (GEEZ). It’s time to bring out the big ladder as the Aussies hit stereo Tombstones on the stage to knock the Kingdom cold.

Back at ringside the Aussies crush Dante Martin with the ladders but the Bros take them down. It’s too early for the Bros to go up though as La Faccion pulls them back down. Taven and Bennett (bleeding) are somehow back with the latter slugging it out with Rush. Dralistico suplexes Taven into a ladder in the corner before going up top with Darius. With that not working, Darius helps Dante go up top for the slugout with Dralistico going down. Dralistico breaks it up and Dante hits a step up dropkick to knock a chair into Rush’s face.

The Aussies clean house, including tossing Penta into a ladder in the corner. One ladder is stood up and another is bridged into it, allowing Taven to pull Darius down. Dante and Bennett fight up top, with Dante hitting a sunset bomb over the ladder. The Aussies are back with Coriolis on Dante and an assisted Alabama Slam drops Darius onto another ladder.

Dralistico plants Davis and hurricanranas Fletcher into (not onto) the announcers’ table, with everything being knocked over. The Kingdom puts Dralistico on the ladder and Bennett splashes him through for a huge crash. Rush suplexes Davis off the apron and onto a ladder, leaving the managers to fight.

Dante and Fenix go up with Fenix being knocked onto the bridged ladder. Penta goes up as well and kicks Dante down (leaving him alone with the titles) before hitting a Canadian Destroyer off the bridged ladder through two tables at ringside (Dante’s foot/leg looked BAD on that landing). Back in and Fenix takes out the Kingdom and gets the titles at 20:11.

Rating: B. That injury sucked the life out of me and the way it was set up (Penta being alone with the titles but going to do the move anyway) made it worse. That’s what will be remembered from the match, which is a shame as it was a bunch of great looking stunts. It did run longer than it needed to, but that injury is far worse than any timing issues.

Post match Mark Briscoe and FTR come out to celebrate with the Lucha Bros in a nice touch.

Looking at some photos, Dante’s foot was completely twisted around. He’s going to be gone for a long, long time.

We recap Wheeler Yuta vs. Katsuyori Shibata for the Pure Title. Yuta bragged about his training and wanted the head of the New Japan LA Dojo, meaning Shibata. Match made.

Pure Rules Title: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Wheeler Yuta

Yuta is defending and Jon Moxley comes out with him (but doesn’t stay). Shibata takes him down without much trouble to start and mounts him MMA style. Back up and Shibata pulls him to the mat again before working on the leg. Shibata grabs a leglock and Yuta goes for the ropes which, after a while, he does reach.

Back up and Yuta goes for the arm for a change, only to have Shibata take him down by the leg again. They get back up and Yuta’s chops have no effect, leaving Shibata to forearm the heck out of him. With nothing else working, Yuta uses the right hand to get the official warning (meaning he’s disqualified if he does it again).

Yuta’s chops still don’t work so Shibata chops him into the corner for a face wash. A running corner dropkick connects with Yuta and we hit the chinlock. Shibata chops away but Yuta spits in his face to anger the crowd. That earns him a sleeper, followed by the Penalty Kick to give Shibata the pin and the title at 12:08.

Rating: C+. I know it’s not the wisest thing to say but I’ve never gotten the appeal of Shibata’s style. It’s strong style and he’s a master of it and all that, but it’s never been something that has really held my interest. In this case though, he pretty much had to win as Yuta has done everything he can as champion and shouldn’t be going over someone as talented as Shibata. Then again, ROH’s history of having New Japan guys go over its stars isn’t a road they want to go down again, but I doubt that’s going to stop anything.

Post match Yuta won’t shake hands.

We recap the main event. Eddie Kingston wants to be World Champion but Claudio Castagnoli calls him a waste of talent. They have known each other for fifteen years and it is time for them to fight over the title.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is challenging and they go right to the fight to start, with Kingston going after the knee. A suplex drops Kingston but he’s right back up with a chop. Castagnoli absorbs the shots and manages to drop him across the top rope for a needed breather. One heck of a European uppercut sends Kingston outside but he comes back in for the slugout. You don’t do that with Castagnoli, who grabs the swing but Kingston goes to the knee to break it up.

Castagnoli gets back up and takes Kingston up top, where he knocks Castagnoli back off. The fans are split as Kingston comes back with chops, setting up a clothesline to send Castagnoli to the floor. There’s the big dive to knock Castagnoli silly, followed by a bulldog for two back inside.

Kingston tries the back suplex but Castagnoli turns onto him and fires off elbows. That’s reversed into the Stretch Plum until Castagnoli falls down to break it up. The backdrop driver gives Kingston two but Castagnoli uppercuts his way out of trouble. The Riccola Bomb is countered and the spinning backfist gets two. They head outside again with Castagnoli slamming the barricade into him over and over.

Another big uppercut gives Castagnoli two back inside but Kingston catches him with another backfist. A third backfist looks to set up what looked to be a brainbuster but it’s broken up. The Neutralizer gets one so Castagnoli uppercuts him down for two more. A bunch of uppercuts, including one to the back of the head sets up the Riccola Bomb but Kingston reverses into a cradle….which is reversed into a sunset flip to retain at 20:08.

Rating: B. Let me guess: long term booking. I’m sure they have some reason to keep the booking going, but having the fan favorite lose his big shot (again) isn’t exactly the best way to keep the interest up. This was the time for Kingston to win the title, even if he lost it back a week or two later. Castagnoli is a bigger deal on AEW TV, but him losing here wouldn’t have killed him. It might have killed Kingston though, as he loses yet another big one.

Post match Wheeler Yuta comes in to surround Kingston but Katsuyori Shibata comes in to even things out and hold up his title to Castagnolie’s. Kingston gets a mic and asks if we’re still on pay per view. Kingston: “One minute? F*** s*** motherf*****, fine me, I don’t care.” He puts over the Japanese stars on the show (not the young guys, not the talent who is here ever week, not the people who risked their health in the ladder match, but just the Japanese guys) and says he’s not done with Castagnoli to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a weird situation as the wrestling was good throughout, but that injury took me out of the rest of the show. It was so gruesome and so horrible looking that it was hard to get into the other matches. This was also a good example of the Zero Hour doing more harm than good, as having four matches thrown in didn’t add much of anything and had me more burned out near the end. It felt like “here’s more stuff, just because we can” and that doesn’t exactly scream best of the best like this show is supposed to be.

Now that being said, this show is definitely worth seeing with as much good stuff as it had. When the weakest match is perfectly watchable, if not good, you know you’re in for something special. The opener is another eye popping stunt show and the other matches are great, but egads there are some weird choices in here. Briscoe and Kingston, the emotional challengers, both losing is hard to get my head around, as only Shibata and the Lucha Bros got feel good wins. You need something more than that to get invested in and I don’t think this had that. Great show, but I’m not sure about a few decisions.

Results
Jeff Cobb b. Tracy Williams – Tour of the Islands
Konosuke Takeshita b. Willie Mack – Running knee
Willow Nightingale b. Miranda Alize – Doctor Bomb
Stu Grayson b. Slim J – Knightfall
El Hijo del Vikingo b. Komander – 630
The Embassy b. Blake Christian/Metalik/AR Fox – Drill Claw to Metalik
Athena b. Yuka Sakazaki – O Face
Samoa Joe b. Mark Briscoe
Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Daniel Garcia – High Fly Flow
Lucha Bros won the Reach For The Sky Ladder Match
Katsuyori Shibata b. Wheeler Yuta – Penalty Kick
Claudio Castagnoli b. Eddie Kingston – Sunset flip

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.

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 30, 2023
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the go home show for Supercard Of Honor and that means we should be in for a big night. The card is mostly set and while a lot of the build should be focused on the event, there is a good chance that we will be seeing a lot more than that. The show has been good so far though and hopefully they can keep that up. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Nese/Ari Daivari vs. Aussie Open

So yes, Daivari is now in TWO groups and Mark Sterling is here with Nese/Daivari. Fletcher works on Daivari’s arm to start and throws him down without much effort. Nese and Davis come in with the former going straight to the bicep pose and the Aussies take over on him rather quickly.

Sterling offers a distraction though and Fletcher is brought to the floor for a ram into the apron. Back in and Daivari misses a top rope splash, allowing Fletcher to roll over for the tag to Davis. Everything breaks down quickly but Sterling’s distraction breaks up Coriolis. Daivari knees Fletcher in the head and Nese adds a 450 for a rather close two. Davis makes the save and the Aussies superkick Sterling, setting up Coriolis to finish Nese at 9:20.

Rating: C. This is exactly what the match should have been, as the Aussies have a big match coming up and they need some momentum. Nese and Daivari aren’t a regular team but they have enough value on their own. At the same time, anything involving Sterling being hit in the face is a good thing so this could have been a lot worse.

Miyu Yamashita vs. Shazza McKenzie

Respect is shown and Miyu snapmares her down for a kick to the back. A suplex gets McKenzie out of trouble but Miyu powers out of an abdominal stretch. Back up and Miyu hits a heck of a kick to the chest but Shazza kicks the leg out. Some kicks to the chest rock Miyu but she rolls through a crossbody. A big kick to the head knocks Shazza silly for the pin at 4:43.

Rating: C. Short match here but Yamashita is someone who feels like a big star, especially with those hard kicks. McKenzie is someone who has been around for a long time but hasn’t had a lot of exposure on the big stage. As good as she was though, this was all about Miyu, who lived up to the hype and would be nice to have around here/AEW more often.

The Embassy vs. JD Griffey/Dak Draper/Arjun Singh

Non-title and the Embassy has Prince Nana with them. Cage leapfrogs the rather tall Draper to start and powerslams him down. A release German suplex drops Draper again and it’s off to Griffey to strike away at Toa. The strikes don’t exactly have any impact though so it’s Kaun coming in for a hard clothesline. Singh gets blasted by the Gates’ double clothesline and the apron superplex finishes for Cage at 3:14.

Rating: C-. More dominance from the Embassy before their title defense on Friday. Much like the opener, this was to the point but the speed made the team look even more dominant. I’m still not sure why I’m supposed to be interested in guys who aren’t much more than a bunch of size and power but there have been weaker reasons to give people belts before.

AR Fox/Metalik vs. The Infantry

For and Metalik have a Six Man Tag Team Title shot coming up but they’re in a regular tag match here. I’m sure that makes sense somehow. Metalik breaks up Dean’s headlock to start and hits the reverse Sling Blade. The rope walk dropkick gets an early two and it’s Fox coming in to almost piledrive Dean down for two. Bravo comes in and hits Metalik in the face to take over though, including Snake Eyes in the corner.

Fox tries to come in and gets caught with a wishbone to put him down as well. A suplex gets two on Metalik and a heck of a right hand into a Sky High is good for the same. Metalik manages a sunset bomb though and an enziguri allows the tag back to Fox. House is quickly cleaned and an enziguri knocks Bravo into a rolling cutter. Metalik adds a heck of an Asai moonsault, setting up Fox’s springboard Downward Spiral. The top rope elbow gives Metalik the pin at 8:14.

Rating: B-. This was all action and it was rather entertaining, despite the weird choice of not having Blake Christian here. The Infantry might not be the most successful team in the world but they are more than capable of having a nice match. Fox and Metalik are a nice team together too and the four of them made this work well.

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Athena vs. Emi Sakura

Athena is defending and gets chopped to the floor to start. Back up and Athena is able to get in a posting, setting up something close to a belly to back suplex on the apron. Athena slams Sakura’s manager but the distraction is enough for Sakura to hit a running crossbody against the steps. Back up and Athena is fine enough to tie her in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the back as the intensity cranks up a bit.

Sakura cuts off a flip with a chop though and a rather delayed butterfly backbreaker drops Athena again. A moonsault gives Sakura two and it’s time to chop it out. Athena gets knocked down but nips up, where she has to cartwheel out of something close to Cross Rhodes. Sakura gets knocked away but manages to pull the O Face out of the air. A suplex gives Sakura two but Athena forearms her in the face. Something like a powerbomb flipped into a Codebreaker sets up a choke to make Sakura tap at 8:33.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a fight and the crowd carried it that much further. The fans were actually rocking over this one and it was well deserved as it was one of the best Athena matches I’ve ever seen. Sakura brought it as well and it was rather good once it got going. This came out of pretty much nowhere and it was quite the hit.

Post match Athena goes after Sakura’s knee but Yuka Sakazaki runs in for the save. Security has to break up the brawl but Sakazaki dives off the top to take out a bunch of guards and Athena at once.

Rush/Dralistico/The Kingdom vs. Top Flight/Lucha Bros

Jose the Assistant, Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Alex Abrahantes are here too. Taven and Darius start things off but Taven wants (and receives) Penta. That means a slap with the glove, which Alex catches on the floor. That’s too far as everything breaks down and the good guys clear the ring. With that not working for the villains, they pull the other four outside and the brawl continues.

Taven kicks Penta in the head and a slingshot elbow gets two. Rush and Dralistico stomp away on Dante, setting up a double basement dropkick to make it worse. It’s back to the Kingdom, who can’t quite manage Hail Maria to Dante. Fenix comes in to clean house but Penta has to save him from the Proton Pack. Top Flight comes in with the kicks to the head, only to have Dralistico come in with a springboard Codebreaker to Darius. Dralistico’s springboard Canadian Destroyer (geez) gets two and the Bull’s Horns finishes Darius at 7:32.

Rating: B-. This is about as logical of a way as they could have taken to set up the ladder match and I appreciate them keeping it to one match here rather than spreading it out. If nothing else, there is something fun about having everyone in there running around until one team catches the pin. The win means nothing for tomorrow, but at least they had an entertaining match on the way there.

Here is Mark Briscoe to say that tomorrow night is the biggest singles match of his career. This one is special because it’s for his family, from his wife to his kids to his brother to everyone back in Delaware. He and Samoa Joe have beaten on each other for years but now it’s time for Briscoe to claim his destiny. Joe pops up on screen to say he does NOT like the sound of that and promises to win. They kept this one to the point.

In the back, Jay Lethal is waiting for Mark Briscoe and tells him to bring home the title. Lethal was being sincere here.

Pure Title: Leon Ruffin vs. Wheeler Yuta

Yuta is defending and has a newly designed title. They go with the hard lockup to start with Yuta taking over off a wristlock. Ruffin fights out and goes to the middle rope, only to get tossed back down. The Octopus hold goes on (in a nod to Katsuyori Shibata/Antonio Inoki) but Ruffin makes it over to the rope or the break. Yuta ties up the legs and bridges back while posing a bit for a bonus. Ruffin has to burn off another rope break and he bounces off the ropes, only to get knocked out of the air. The hammerlock crossface finishes Ruffin at 5:28.

Rating: C. This was little more than a squash for Yuta and a match that probably didn’t need to be on the card. Yuta has long since been established as being able to take out those beneath him and Ruffin would certainly fit the description. The Shibata match should be good, though I’m not sure where Yuta is supposed to go after that after beating so many people.

Post match Yuta promises to beat Katsuyori Shibata….who is here in person. They go nose to nose and Shibata backs down.

El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Blake Christian

Non-title. Commentary can’t believe we’re getting this match and….yeah it’s quite the odd choice. Feeling out process to start until they start running the ropes. Christian gets knocked down to set up a quick standing shooting star press to give Vikingo two. Vikingo snaps off an armbar for two as commentary makes the good point of how fast Vikingo’s mind must go to do those moves.

A rope walk hurricanrana drops Christian to the floor and the big springboard flip dive takes him down again. Back in and Christian avoids a charge and hits a basement dropkick to the floor. Christian kicks him down again back inside and there’s the Fosbury Flop to drop Vikingo again. A standing flip splash hits Vikingo back inside and we hit the chinlock. That doesn’t last long and Vikingo is up with a spinning kick to the head.

Vikingo’s springboard corkscrew 450 gets two and Christian drops him down hard. They head to the apron and Vikingo hits a poisonrana but Christian catches him with a running C4 on the floor. Back in and a running Death Valley Driver gives Christian two and they go up top. Both of them backflip down at the same time (that looked sweet) where Vikingo plants him with a hurricanrana for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B+. This was a different kind of match as it was Christian trying to match Vikingo instead of trying to survive him. Christian absolutely help up his side of things and it was a heck of a match. I’m not sure why this match needed to air this week when Christian has a title match tomorrow but the action involved makes up for pretty much all of that.

Post break Prince Nana interrupts Blake Christian, who isn’t worried about being beaten up and is ready to win the titles. Then the Embassy jumps him to make it worse.

Eddie Kingston vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels’ running shoulders don’t work to start so Kingston hammers him down to take over. A running neckbreaker gets Daniels out of trouble though and an STO gets two. Daniels Downward Spirals him into a quickly broken Koji Clutch and Kingston grabs a backdrop. They chop it out with both lowering their singlets to make it more painful.

Kingston goes with a jumping enziguri to stagger Daniels and an exploder suplex sends him flying. Daniels gets in a shot of his own though and pulls up the straps to protect the damaged chest. Back up and Kingston has had it with this, meaning it’s a pair of Spinning Backfists to the Future to finish Daniels at 7:25.

Rating: C+. You knew these two were going to be fine against each other as there is way too much talent between them. Kingston is going into the World Title match at Supercard and Daniels mainly exists to put other people over these days so this was a completely logical setup for the main event.

Post match respect is shown….and here is Claudio Castagnoli (also with redesigned title). Daniels leaves and Kingston wants to fight right now. The referee stays in and Castagnoli takes off his shirt….before leaving. Kingston says says if the fans don’t buy the pay per view, they’ll feel like s*** because he needs to be a World Champion.

Kingston’s mom isn’t a grandmother because he doesn’t have time for anything but wrestling. He accuses Castagnoli of leaving to go be an entertainer (with an uncensored F bomb included). Castagnoli leaves and Kingston promises to fight until he dies in the ring and lists off some Ring Of Honor World Champions to end the show. Good fired up promo from Kingston here and I would hope that they change the title, though I don’t think I can picture it.

Overall Rating: B. This show started slowly and then didn’t look back with pretty much nothing short of rather good after the first three matches. There were some weird booking choices here and there but what matters is they made me want to see Supercard of Honor more than I did coming in. Solid show here which would have been a bit sharper with a bit of it trimmed off and maybe another promo or two.

Results
Aussie Open b. Tony Nese/Ari Daivari – Coriolis to Nese
Miyu Yamashita b. Shazza McKenzie – Kick to the head
The Embassy b. JD Griffey/Dak Draper/Arjun Singh – Apron superplex to Singh
AR Fox/Metalik b. The Infantry – Top rope elbow to Bravo
Athena b. Emi Sakura – Choke
Rush/Dralistico/The Kingdom b. Top Flight/Lucha Bros – Bull’s Horns to Darius
Wheeler Yuta b. Leon Ruffin – Hammerlock crossface
El Hijo del Vikingo b. Blake Christian – Hurricanrana
Eddie Kingston b. Christopher Daniels – Spinning Backfist to the Future

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.

Revolution 2023
Date: March 5, 2023
Location: Chase Center, San Francisco, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Jim Ross

We’re back with another AEW pay per view and that should mean something really good. The television shows haven’t been the strongest in recent weeks but that has never stopped the pay per views from being special. The main event will feature MJF defending the World Title against Bryan Danielson in an Iron Man match, which should be…uh, long. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Lucha Bros/Mark Briscoe vs. Varsity Athletes/Ari Daivari

Mark Sterling are here with the Varsity Athletes (Tony Nese/Josh Woods) and Daivari. Nese poses at Penta to start but Penta is right back with CERO MIEDO. All six come in to strike it out with Penta and Nese being left alone in the ring. Made In Penta gives Penta a quick two before Daivari has to save Sterling. The villains take over on Penta by whipping him into the corner and Woods adds a nice suplex for two.

The Athletes double suplex Penta as commentary keeps ripping on Schiavone for making a mistake about how much time is left before the show. Rights and lefts in the corner keep Penta in trouble but he kicks away at all three villains, setting up a double DDT. The Sling Blade drops Woods and the diving tag brings Fenix in to pick the pace up even more. Fenix and Woods knock each other down and it’s back to Nese, who puts Fenix on top.

A slightly messed up super hurricanrana (though Fenix got enough of it) brings Nese back down and it’s Briscoe coming in to strike away. Everything breaks down and the Bros hit stereo dives, followed by Briscoe hitting the step up flip dive to the floor. The Froggy Bow is broken up though and it’s a Tower of Doom to leave everyone but Nese laying.

That leaves Nese to add a 450 for two on Briscoe and we get the parade of strikes to the face. Nese hits Briscoe with….something that breaks into a bunch of pieces for two but the Bros are back in with a bunch of superkicks. The spike Fear Factor hits Daivari (with Nese taking a Widow’s Peak at the same time), setting up a Froggy Bow for the pin at 12:43.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what kind of Kickoff match you should have: a bunch of people getting in the ring and having a fast paced match that didn’t get too serious. It was a light match that didn’t overstay its welcome, so well done on hitting all of the points. The Bros and Briscoe getting a Trios Title shot wouldn’t be too far out of the question either.

Post match the winners beat up Mark Sterling.

Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Starks

The Jericho Appreciation Society is banned from ringside. Starks, with bad ribs, hammers away in the corner to start but Jericho chops his way out of trouble. They fight to the floor with Starks hitting a suicide dive but getting chopped against the ropes back inside. A forearm to the face sets up the missed Lionsault but Jericho drops the bad ribs across the top.

Jericho drives him hard into the barricade as the fans are all over Jericho here. The butterfly backbreaker stays on the ribs but Jericho stops to slap him in the face, which just wakes Starks up. Jericho is fine enough to send him to the apron for the triangle dropkick, setting up a baseball slide to the ribs, sending Starks outside again. We hit the abdominal stretch back inside (makes sense) but Starks powers his way out.

A tornado DDT gives Starks two but Jericho kicks him out of the air. Jericho’s Death Valley Driver (that’s different) gets two and Starks is in trouble. Jericho sends him chest first into the corner but the Codebreaker is countered into a powerbomb for two. The spear is loaded up but Jericho counters into a Codebreaker for two. Back up and Starks hits the spear for two, meaning it’s time for the slugout.

Starks kicks him in the chest, only to miss a middle rope moonsault. The Walls go on to go straight after the ribs but Starks rolls out. Starks is able to grab his own half crab but here is Sammy Guevara….who is speared down by a surprise Action Andretti. The distraction lets Jericho get in a baseball bat shot to the ribs but the Judas Effect is blocked (by just raising his arm, which is so simple that it’s almost hilarious). Roshambo finishes Jericho at 14:05.

Rating: B-. Good opener, with a result that brings us back to where we were when the feud started. This feud needed to end as soon as it started, but at least Starks did win clean in the end. That’s what matters most, as Starks feels like someone who could be a breakout star in the short or long term. A win like this helps a lot, screwy setup aside.

Christian Cage vs. Jungle Boy

This is the Final Burial, which thankfully means Casket Match instead of Buried Alive (which is still over the top, but not as egregiously so). Though there is still a mound of dirt and a shovel so who knows what they’re doing here. Jungle Boy (in street clothes) goes straight at him with a double leg takedown and right hands before sending Christian face first into the post.

They fight on the floor with Christian bailing into the crowd so Jungle Boy gives chase. Christian is taken back to ringside where he bails up the ramp, right towards the casket. Jungle Boy tries the Snare Trap on the ramp but gets kicked away, meaning it’s back to the ring. Right hands in the corner have Christian in more trouble, at least until he knocks Jungle Boy down and rubs a forearm over Jungle Boy’s face.

Choking on the ropes, including that stand on the back and hold the ropes spot that Christian does, is broken up and Jungle Boy sends him to the floor. There’s the required dive and Jungle Boy sends him into various things. Jungle Boy misses a stomp to the arm though and gets dropped head first onto the steps instead. Christian is busted open as he whips Jungle Boy in the back with a belt.

They go up to the casket with Christian choking even more before opening said casket. A chair is pulled out but Jungle Boy knocks it away, only to get backdropped on the dirt. The Killswitch onto the chair is broken up though and Christian is sent off the stage. Jungle Boy follows with the big flip dive and it’s time for Christian to beg off. That’s just enough to get Jungle Boy to walk into a low blow and Christian sends him face first into the closed casket over and over.

With the casket opened, Christian can’t shut him inside so Jungle Boy goes after the leg, only to have Christian throw dirt in his eyes. The Killswitch onto the dirt but the Killswitch misses, allowing Jungle Boy to come back with some shovel shots. Back up and Christian’s shovel shot misses so Jungle Boy pulls him into the Snare Trap. Christian is down so Jungle Boy is able to hit the Conchairto, but he doesn’t look happy with himself. That’s finally enough for Jungle Boy to put him in the casket (and grave) for the win at 14:30.

Rating: B-. The stipulation is weird as almost everything before the ending doesn’t matter. You can’t win the match in the ring, so the drama doesn’t really crank up until you get up to the casket. They did give Jungle Boy the big win though and made him look very strong in defeat and that is what matters most. Good fight here, but Jungle Boy winning is the big deal.

We recap the Elite vs. the House of Black for the Trios Titles. The Elite are awesome but the House of Black is violent, so this will be a real test for both of them.

Trios Titles: Elite vs. House of Black

The Elite is defending and has its whole entourage here, while the House has Julia Hart. Matthews and Omega start things off with the staredown with Matthews grinding him down by the arm. With that broken up, they trade headlock takeovers to a standoff, with the fans approving. Black comes in for the big showdown with Omega, which the fans dub awesome. Omega avoids a kick but can’t grab the One Winged Angel, meaning Black gets to miss Black Mass.

They both sit down and look at each other, with the fans again being rather pleased. Matt comes in and gets to face King (as per his request), but then thinks better of it. Nick isn’t having anything to do with that though, only to come in for a double dropkick. Everything breaks down with the House being sent outside, allowing Matt to dive onto Black and Matthews. Omega hurricanranas King to the floor and then dives onto all three members.

Back in and King wrecks everyone in front of him to take over, including a running crossbody to crush Omega against the barricade. Nick rolls Matthews up for two before it’s right back to King for a running splash in the corner. Omega gets back in and cleans house, including the Kitaro Crusher for two on King. The You Can’t Escape moonsault only hits raised knees though, allowing Matthews to dropkick Omega into the corner.

The House’s triple shot in the corner is broken up though and everything breaks down again. Believe it or not, it’s the Bucks cleaning house with superkicks into a standing Sliced Bread on Matthews. Black gets nailed with Omega’s V Trigger but is right back up for the slugout. Hart grabs the boot for the distraction and it’s King choking Matt on the apron.

Omega hits another V Trigger on King and then accidentally takes out an interfering Hart with one of her own. Black Mass hits Omega for two with Nick making the save but the Bucks are sent outside. That leaves Omega down 3-1 but the Bucks make a quick save. A bunch of superkicks drop the House and there’s the BTE Trigger to Black for two with Matthews making the save. The Meltzer Driver is loaded up but Matthews knees Nick (who would have been three feet short anyway) out of the air. Dante’s Inferno gives the House the titles at 17:53.

Rating: B+. That was the only way they could have gone, as there was no way you could have the House lose again without ever actually picking up a major win. The House needed the win and while I’m sure the Elite will get the titles back eventually, they lost them when they had to. Other than that, you had a high energy match where I wasn’t sure who was going to win until the end. Pretty awesome match here, with the right ending.

Tony Schiavone replaces Jim Ross on commentary. If that’s all he’s going to do, what’s the point anymore?

Women’s Title: Saraya vs. Ruby Soho vs. Jamie Hayter

Hayter is defending and Britt Baker and Toni Storm are here too. Saraya bails to the floor to start so Soho dropkicks her off the apron to take the fight outside. All three wind up in the crowd, with Soho getting dropped throat first across the barricade. Saraya knocks Hayter back to ringside and stomps her down in the corner. Hayter fights up and sends Saraya outside, meaning it’s time for Soho to high crossbody Hayter for two.

The chinlock goes on but Saraya breaks it up, only to have have Hayter fight back up. Hayter suplexes both of them at once and gets two each as they’re getting beaten up. Soho suplexes Saraya but walks into the Hatebreaker to leave all three down. They slug it out from their knees until Saraya is knocked outside. Soho’s hurricanrana driver gets two on Hayter but Saraya is back in and hooks Soho in the Scorpion Crosslock.

Hayter breaks that up and decks Storm, only to get caught in what used to be called the Rampaige. Baker makes a save as well so Soho hits Destination Unknown for two on Hayter, with Saraya making the save. Back up and Hayter grabs a rollup on Soho and traps the arm to retain at 9:47.

Rating: C+. This worked well enough with such a three way formula, but the effort was certainly there. Hayter fighting off both challengers at once is a good way to make her feel strong, though there is still a lot more to the story to go. What matters is Hayter retains, but you can almost guarantee that she is going to lose the title in a big showdown in the near future. For now though, I’ll take a pay per view worthy title defense.

Post match Storm decks Baker and goes after Hayter, meaning the big brawl is on. Soho watches before sending Saraya and Storm outside, saying “we run this place b****”. Then Soho lays out Hayter and Baker as well. That’s a good surprise, but it might have meant a bit more before she got pinned. Then Storm hands Soho a can of spray paint to brand Baker and Hayter.

We recap Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page in a Texas Deathmatch. They have fought multiple times and hate each other, but now it is about being the only one who survives.

Hangman Page vs. Jon Moxley

Texas Deathmatch, which in this case means you can only win by knockout or submission (not what the historic version of Texas Deathmatch means but I guess this is the AEW version). Moxley makes his big entrance through the crowd but Page is right there to jump him and start the fight. Page whips him into the barricade and it’s time to bust out the barbed wire (well of course).

The wire cuts Moxley open and Page stomps him down in the corner. Page wraps the wire in his boot (might have made more sense twenty seconds earlier) but gets caught in it, allowing Moxley to take him down and hammer away. A barbed wire right hand knocks Page down again and Moxley pulls him into the triangle choke. With Page trapped, Moxley stabs him in the head with some kind of stick to bust Page open as well.

What looks like a fork to the head makes Page bleed even more and Moxley wedges a chair into the corner. For once that actually works, as Page is sent face first into said wire, leaving him even more rocked. The half crab, with Page’s chest on the barbed wire chair, doesn’t last long as Moxley stomps him in the head instead. Moxley wraps some chairs around two open chairs but takes too long, allowing Page to powerbomb him onto the chairs.

With his back busted open, Page wraps barbed wire around himself and moonsaults down onto Moxley (with the wire not really coming close to making contact). Page gets knocked down so Moxley can pull out….a brick and a chain. Moxley crushes Page’s hand between two bricks and then piledrives him onto the chain. Another piledriver onto the barbed wire chair is broken up and Page hits a hard clothesline. Moxley gets fall away slammed into the wire and sent outside but he rakes Page’s back to get a break.

The barbed wire is raked over Page’s back and Moxley sends him down (and mostly over) a barbed wire board bridged over two chairs (he basically Swantoned the board). Back in and they slap it out until Page blasts him with a lariat. The Buckshot Lariat is countered into the Death Rider though and Moxley Stomps him onto the bricks. The fans sing Seth Rollins’ song (they earned that) so Moxley chokes him for nine. Back up and Hangman gets his own choke, followed by the Buckshot Lariat. Moxley gets up again so Page chokes him with the chain for the tap at 25:58.

Rating: D-. Call me stupid, tell me I don’t get it or that I’m old fashioned but I cannot stand this kind of a match. These two are capable of having such a better match (I was there in person for one of them) but instead they had to do their barbed wire fetish match and it turned into “what can we wrap it around next”. Oh or stabbing someone in the head with a fork, because that was a thing here too. This time though they mixed it up with bricks and a chain, because that’s what they needed instead. I’m sure this will have its audience and if you liked it then good, but this was absolutely not my thing in any way.

We recap Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe for the TNT Title. Joe took the title from him and also cut his hair, which had been a tribute to Wardlow’s father. Now it’s time for Wardlow’s revenge.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is defending and Wardlow pulls him outside to start the fight. They get inside with Wardlow sending him hard into the corner and hammering away. A Whisper in the Wind drops Joe again but he’s back with a chop block to take over. The Rock Bottom out of the corner plants Wardlow and Powerhouse Hobbs (who gets the winner on Dynamite) approves from a sky box.

Joe cranks on the leg but Wardlow is right back with a spinebuster. Some choking ensues to keep Wardlow down but he makes the rope for the break. With that not working, Joe tries his own powerbomb, only to have Wardlow slip out and hit a headbutt. Wardlow grabs his own rear naked choke….and Joe is out to give Wardlow the title at 10:32.

Rating: C+. Ok they got me with that finish as I wouldn’t have bet on Wardlow using a choke to win. That being said, the match was kind of all over the place, as Wardlow continues to sell too much in his matches instead of being the machine that got him over in the first place. At the same time, they have a big Hobbs shaped problem now, as neither of them should be losing anytime soon.

Tag Team Titles: Acclaimed vs. Danhausen/Orange Cassidy vs. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal vs. The Gunns

The Gunns are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. They start slow with Cassidy’s hands in the pockets driving Jarrett and Lethal nuts as they can’t cut him off. Danhausen comes in for some better received slams before Colten takes over on him with some alternating shots. A roll under a clothesline is enough for the tag back to Cassidy but Austin hands it back to Lethal before the Orange Punch.

The Stundog Millionaire hits Lethal and it’s Caster coming in to take over. Sonjay Dutt saves Jarrett from Scissor Me Timbers so Bowens hits Dutt with it instead. Back in and the Gunns take over on Bowens, including a delayed vertical suplex, with Jarrett and Lethal taking out everyone else. The villains all strut and do their own scissoring but Bowens fights up. Caster comes back in and drops Lethal but has to escape the Stroke. The Gunns go after Jarrett and Lethal so Singh makes the save.

We get the Danhausen/Singh showdown, with Cassidy Orange Punching Singh so Danhausen can get in the low blow. Billy Gunn adds the Fameasser (I’m pretty sure they’ve done pretty much this same sequence before) to get rid of Singh and the Acclaimed cleans house. Jarrett throws in the guitar but Caster takes it away, only to have the referee take it away from him. The Golden Globe to Caster sets up the Stroke for two, leaving Jarrett panicking. Back in and Danhausen rolls up Austin for two but the 3:10 to Yuma finishes Danhausen to retain the titles at 13:10.

Rating: C+. The match was fast paced but dang they had a lot of stuff going on in there. The Gunns retaining isn’t overly surprising as putting the titles back on the Acclaimed wouldn’t have felt right and the other two teams were just there to fill in spots. Danhausen taking the fall was the right way to go as there was no reason for anyone else to get pinned. Hopefully they have something good planned for the Gunns, because they have a long climb starting in loose rocks.

Post match the Gunns brag about their wins but FTR returns and lays out the champs. How Dax Harwood’s got busted open while beating up the Gunns isn’t clear (must have taken a shot in the punch out) but I’ll take the return. I mean, it should have been a year ago but I’ll take it.

We recap MJF defending the World Title against Bryan Danielson in an Iron Man match. Danielson wants to prove he is the best in the world and MJF wants the moniker for himself. MJF made him jump through hoops to get the title shot and since Danielson did, here we go. For some reason MJF talked about how horrible his personal life has been lately, but the match was already set.

AEW World Title: Bryan Danielson vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending in a sixty minute Iron Man match and gets a masked orchestra to play him (in a mask as well) to the ring. We get the Big Match Intros and MJF (who is in great shape here) bails to the floor to start burning off some clock. Back in and Danielson (with a taped up shoulder) easily takes him down to tie the legs up and bridging onto his neck to crank up the pressure. MJF grabs the rope and we’re at a standoff as they have a long way to go. A hiptoss takes Danielson down but he kicks MJF off and they both miss elbows.

Headlock takeovers don’t work either so they trade armdrags into another standoff. Hold on though as MJF goes outside again and throws a drink on a fan before stopping to pose some more. MJF: “Is this going to cost me a star Dave?” Back in and Danielson does some jumping jacks before slipping out of a full nelson. Danielson starts going after the legs so MJF hides behind the referee. With that not working, Danielson backdrops him (with MJF screaming) and then does it again for a bonus.

MJF sends him into the corner though and stops for some water as we’re ten minutes in. In a clever move, MJF tells the fans to clear out and then throws Danielson the other way. Back in and Danielson manages some quick dives for a breather. MJF catches him with a lifting DDT for two though and we hit the armbar to keep Danielson down.

We’re fifteen minutes in as MJF takes him up top, only to get sunset bombed down in a huge crash. MJF avoids a charge into the corner though and goes right back after the bad arm to take over again. A powerbomb onto the knee gives MJF two and he breaks up a skin of the cat with a low superkick (into the Shawn Michaels pose).

Back in and MJF can’t quite get Salt of the Earth, so he hits something like Made In Penta for two. Danielson gets in a knockdown of his own but bangs up the shoulder again to leave them both down. They trade headlock takeovers and counters for a bunch of near falls…and then keep going even longer, with both of them looking a bit tired by the end (fair enough). They’re both up and Danielson hits the running knee for the first fall at 25:25.

Danielson – 1
MJF – 0

MJF is frustrated and hits Danielson low for the DQ at 26:32.

Danielson – 2
MJF – 0

Then MJF pins Danielson at 26:38.

Danielson – 2
MJF – 1

Then MJF pins Danielson again at 26:43.

Danielson – 2
MJF – 2

Well that was smart. MJF grabs some water but Danielson is back up to go after the knee. Danielson’s charge is cut off by a clothesline but MJF’s is as well. Danielson fires off the kicks against the barricade as we hit the halfway point. A running dropkick against the barricade rocks MJF again and Danielson starts in on the leg back inside. The Figure Four goes on and MJF screams a lot as they slap it out (what a time for a Power Slap promotion).

MJF finally turns it over for the break and they fight to the apron, where neither can hit a piledriver. Instead Danielson gets shoved off for a nasty crash and seems to have hurt his arm again. With nothing else working, MJF puts him on a table and drops a top rope elbow for the huge crash. Danielson barely beats the count back in so MJF takes him back outside….for a running Tombstone through the unbroken piece of the table. MJF’s knee is in a lot of trouble and Danielson is busted open. That’s fine with MJF, who squeezes the cut as we have 20:00 left. Back in and the Heatseeker gives MJF the pin at 40:29.

MJF – 3
Danielson – 2

MJF takes a second to favor his knee before hammering away at Danielson’s head. With Danielson down, MJF shouts that Danielson isn’t the best in the world and that he f****** sucks. We hear the names of Danielson’s kids and MJF shouts at the camera to them. Some stomps keeps Danielson in trouble before MJF tells him to give him his best shot.

A headbutt drops Danielson against the ropes but he gets fired up and hammers away. MJF gets knocked to the floor and taken out with a big dive. Back in and MJF catches him on top, only to get headbutted down for the Swan Dive. MJF is busted open as Danielson gets two and we hit the Regal Stretch to make MJF tap immediately at 49:48.

MJF – 3
Danielson – 3

Danielson tries the hold again but gets reversed into the Salt Of The Earth. That’s reversed into the LeBell Lock and MJF is in trouble. The reversal lets MJF grab the Salt Of The Earth again but Danielson won’t tap. Instead MJF ties up the arms with both lets and pulls back Danielson’s leg, sending Danielson’s free leg to the rope for the break (that was a crazy looking hold). They pull themselves up to their knees for the slugout as there is blood everywhere.

With five minutes left, they get up and slug it out hard, with Danielson smiling. A running forearm drops MJF but he’s back up with a Heatseeker for two more. Hold on though as MJF goes to get more water, prompting an H2O chant. Danielson catches him up top again with the hammer and anvil elbows, only to get reversed into a super Tombstone. The landing bangs up MJF’s knee though and the long delay lets Danielson get the single leg crab with a minute left. MJF has to bite his hand to avoid tapping and the clock runs out at 60:00, with MJF tapping at 60:01.

MJF – 3
Danielson – 3

The announcer clarifies that is a draw and MJF retains the title. Hang on though as Tony Schiavone gets a message, saying that Tony Khan is insisting on sudden death. The medical team leaves (as MJF was getting oxygen during the break) and MJF immediately shoves the referee, allowing Danielson to grab a rollup for two. MJF kicks Danielson low for two (with trunks) so it’s time for the belt.

The referee takes it away but MJF pulls out the diamond ring. The big shot misses and Danielson hits a poisonrana into the running knee for a VERY close two. Danielson gets the half crab again and the referee takes the ring away from MJF at the same time. The rope is grabbed but MJF taps just after, making Danielson think he won. MJF rolls outside and grabs the oxygen tank to knock Danielson silly. A LeBell Lock on the unconscious Danielson….who stops his arm at two drops to keep it going. Then Danielson taps at 1:07:30.

MJF – 4
Danielson – 3

Rating: A-. Oh that ending is going to get a lot of people talking, as there was a rather simple solution of having Danielson pass out in the hold. Having Danielson tap is going to get people annoyed as the hero falls, but MJF can get a lot of bragging out of that one. Now that being said, this match started slowly but got WAY better by the end, with a great mixture of playing up the limb injuries and mixing in the violence. They were playing some interesting games with each other before the finish and I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. Great match, with an ending that might not go over so well.

Overall Rating: B+. This was another rather good AEW show, with the last hour plus being the best match of the night. Save for one match (which is going to get all kinds of differing takes), there wasn’t anything bad on the show and it was full of the hard work you would expect around here. With this out of the way, AEW can hopefully reset things a bit and find their groove again, but for now, they are starting with a heck of a pay per view as they add to their collection of awesome special events.

Results
Mark Briscoe/Lucha Bros b. Varsity Athletes/Ari Daivari – Froggy Bow to Daivari
Ricky Starks b. Chris Jericho – Roshambo
Jungle Boy b. Christian Cage – Jungle Boy put Cage in the casket
House of Black b. Elite – Dante’s Inferno to Nick
Jamie Hayter b. Ruby Soho and Saraya – Rollup to Soho
Hangman Page b. Jon Moxley – Choke with a chain
Wardlow b. Samoa Joe – Rear naked choke
The Gunns b. Danhausen/Orange Cassidy, The Acclaimed and Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett – 3:10 to Yuma to Danhausen
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Bryan Danielson 4-3

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 Revolution and things are not exactly feeling hot coming into the show. The main event is a sixty minute Iron Man match with Bryan Danielson challenging MJF for the World Title, which means there won’t be as much time for the usual deep card this time. Other than that, we have Hangman Page vs. Jon Moxley in a Texas Death Match and Christian Cage vs. Jungle Boy in what seems to be a Buried Alive match. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Mark Briscoe/Lucha Bros vs. Ari Daivari/Varsity Athletes

The Mark Briscoe vs. Mark Sterling and company feud continues for reasons I don’t think I follow. Briscoe also has some new friends in the Lucha Bros and that means we could be in for a new trio. The division could certainly use them, but for now they have to get rid of something like this, as AEW is giving them a nice spot to get their feet wet as a three man team.

Of course I’ll take Briscoe and the Bros here, as there is no reason to suggest that Daivari and company will ever be winning anything important. If nothing else, it is nice to see Briscoe getting to do something, as that mention of Jay he made on Rampage was one of the sadder things I’ve heard in wrestling in forever. The obvious choice here is obvious though, and hopefully Briscoe gets to move on from the Sterling feud.

Tag Team Titles: Gunns(c) vs. Acclaimed vs. Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett vs. Orange Cassidy/Danhausen

For the life of me I still don’t get why the Acclaimed lost the titles in the first place, but they are already feeling nothing like they were just a month ago. This is another match where there are going to be a lot of people doing as much as they can, probably at the same time. That is not going to make it an easy match to keep track of, but that might be part of the plan.

I’ll take the Gunns to retain here, but I’m really curious to see what AEW has planned for them next. The tag team division has taken a hit in recent months (right around the time of the rise of the Trios Titles) and it could use a good match here. That is only going to get so far with four teams in there at once, but the champs win here, leaving the Acclaimed to continue their rapid fall down the mountain.

TNT Title: Samoa Joe(c) vs. Wardlow

This is a feud that has been going on for a good while now and has reached the point where Wardlow needs the win. Joe has not only beaten him but also taken away part of his hair. That should be grounds for Wardlow winning and winning big, but there is always the chance that things are not going to follow the strongest logic. On top of that, we already have Powerhouse Hobbs waiting on the winner, putting us….right back where we were months ago.

Anyway, I’ll take Wardlow to win here, as he almost needs to at this point. Wardlow has been beaten at almost every point so far and that means he has to pull this one off. Joe is someone who can be reheated almost immediately, even after he takes a long form Powerbomb Symphony. Let Wardlow win here, as he needs to get back on track after quite the derailment.

Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page

This is a Texas Deathmatch as we hopefully wrap up a feud that felt like it should have wrapped up with their Los Angeles match. Instead, we are getting a match where these two can beat the fire out of each other, which does fit with what they have done to get here. Now that being said, these two can have one heck of a fight, and if they do that here, then we should be in for a pay per view quality brawl.

Page needs to win here and we’ll go with that, as Moxley can absorb a loss like almost no one else around AEW. This is going to be about the two of them beating each other over and over until one can’t get up, which is a good way to make a star. Page could use a big win here and surviving everything Moxley can throw at him can help him. Moxley winning wouldn’t surprise me, but Page going over makes more sense.

Women’s Title: Jamie Hayter(c) vs. Saraya vs. Ruby Soho

The three sided feud continues, with the originals vs. the newcomers vs. Soho. This feud has dominated the women’s division over the last few weeks and Soho has established herself as a weird third wing. That is where we are with the title match, as all three branches are fighting over the championship. It could change the way the feud goes, and that should tell you where things are going.

As much as I would think Hayter retaining the title would make sense or giving Soho the win be some fresh blood in the title scene, I’m thinking Saraya leaves as champion. It is the kind of story that would keep the feud going the longest while also attempting to get something else out of Saraya. Hayter should retain the title, but my gut says Saraya gets it here in what will be treated as a big deal.

Ricky Starks vs. Chris Jericho

I’m still not sure what to think about this feud. While Starks has gotten one of the biggest wins of his career and may have outsmarted Jericho to keep the Jericho Appreciation Society away, the entire feud has been built on a horrible premise. Starks has already beaten Jericho, who has then put up every roadblock he can find to avoid facing Starks again. It doesn’t make the most sense, yet here we are anyway.

I keep having to shake the feeling that Jericho will get the win here to somehow try and stretch this story out for one more match. Ignoring that though, I’ll assume that AEW doesn’t go insane and Starks just wins here. Starks needs to get away from Jericho and if he wins again here, he can do that with his next big win here. I would say I’m not sure what is next for Jericho, but it is probably going to be going after the next young and popular stars.

Christian Cage vs. Jungle Boy

And now, Buried Alive. Or the Final Burial, but based on what they’re saying, it sounds a lot like Buried Alive. The idea is that Cage has insulted Jungle Boy’s deceased father once too often, but their first “match” was Cage hitting the Killswitch on a beaten up Jungle Boy and then going away for six months. That seems like quite the leap to this level of a match, but why go sane when you can go nuts?

There is no reason for Jungle Boy to lose here so we’ll go with that, as he finally gets to show his aggression and beat Cage. I’m not sure what that means for Cage after this as a Buried Alive match kind of gets rid of you for awhile, but maybe they have some kind of out. For now though, I’m still trying to get my head around the stipulation, which feels like something created by a random number generator. Or a nine year old who thinks it sounds cool.

Trios Titles: Elite(c) vs. House Of Black

This one has me worried, as there is one way this match should go and quite a bit of reason for making me think it will not go that way. The Trios Titles seem to be made to give the Elite something to do and at the moment, there isn’t much of a division to fight over them. The House Of Black are the most viable challengers, but if the Elite wins, who are they supposed to fight anytime soon?

I’ll go with the logical hope and say the House Of Black wins here, but the Elite squeaking out a win wouldn’t surprise me either. The House Of Black has always felt like they should be this unstoppable force but at some point they need to actually win something to validate their hype. Starting with these titles would be a smart move. This should be a layup, but the Trios Titles have been weird so far to say the least.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Bryan Danielson

This is a sixty minute Iron Man match and probably the reason for a bunch of multiman matches earlier in the show. The idea here is that Danielson can out wrestle Friedman any day and then….something about Friedman’s personal life falling apart and he’ll do anything to win and then he might have framed his ex-girlfriend for a car wreck. In other words, this whole story has been weird as they seem to have booked the match and then tried to put the rest of the story together, which is rarely a good sign.

I’ll go with Friedman retaining, either via a draw or just barely escaping with the last fall. This feud has been uneven to say the least but it is almost impossible to fathom Friedman losing the title so soon after he won it. Danielson also has seemingly gone on a quest to put over as many people as he can and he will probably be doing that again here, albeit with some shenanigans.

Overall Thoughts

Here’s the thing about AEW: the TV builds to pay per views can be all over the place (this one has been particularly weak) but they have such a sterling reputation on pay per view that I fully expect this show to work. The action will be good and people will be working hard, which will make for another very good show. That’s kind of what AEW does, and I’m looking forward to the show, not so great hype aside.

Dark: Elevation
Date: January 30, 2023
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Matt Menard, Paul Wight

It’s the 100th edition of the show and I happened to be in the house for it so let’s take a look at this show. Thankfully this is now just the series of dark matches before Dynamite and not the insane marathon sessions this/Dark had back in the day. If nothing else we should get a nice main event so let’s get to it.

I was sitting in the middle deck for this show with the big screen on my right. Traffic did cause me to miss the first ten or so minutes though.

Red Velvet vs. Billie Starkz

Velvet takes her down without much effort but Starkz is back with a German suplex. It wasn’t quite as good as the commentators made it seem, as Velvet Iconoclasms her off the top for two. A kick to the face out of the corner rocks Velvet again but Velvet hits a running knee to the back. Starkz tiger suplexes her for two and a Swanton is good for the same. Velvet is right back with a poisonrana into the Final Slice for the pin at 3:18.

Rating: C. Starkz impressed while she had the chance and that German suplex was pretty good. I can see why she has the hype that she has been receiving at this point in her career, though she needs something to set her apart. Velvet seems likely to be fed to Jade Cargill soon, because that is a feud the world has been waiting to see wrapped up.

Athena takes over her own interview as she looks for a tag partner for tonight. Diamante (with Athena being reminded of her name) will do, with Athena offering a future title shot in exchange for a win. That’s enough for Diamante.

Workhorsemen vs. Dark Order

John Silver and Alex Reynolds, with Evil Uno, for the Order here. Silver and Henry start things off with Silver running him over without much trouble. Drake comes in with a slingshot hilo on Silver and a falling headbutt gets two. Silver manages to roll away from Henry though and it’s off to Reynolds to clean house. A tiger driver gets two on Henry but he’s back up with a flipping faceplant. Drake kicks Reynolds in the face but accidentally gets dropkicked by Henry. That’s enough for a series of strikes to Henry, setting up the cutter into the German suplex into the flipping rollup to give Reynolds the pin at 4:23.

Rating: C. The Dark Order have settled into a nice role: the team who is there to do nothing more than fire up the crowd in a pretty nothing match. That is a valuable piece to have and what is left of the team plays it well. Just don’t try to make them too serious and everything should work out well for them.

Rush vs. Brian Pillman Jr.

I had forgotten Pillman Jr. was still here. Rush chops away to start and rakes the eyes over the top for a bonus. A hard right hand sends Pillman outside, with commentary getting to talk about the new barricades. Preston Vance gets in a few cheap shots and Rush is able to kick away at Pillman’s head back inside. Pillman actually wins a strike off and hits a dropkick, only to get knocked into the corner. The Bull’s Horns finishes Pillman at 4:06.

Rating: C. This show is already getting into a funk of having matches on a similar level over and over. This one at least had some more star power to it, as Rush certainly feels like a big deal, even if he hasn’t really done much around here. Pillman Jr…..dang I just don’t know what happened. He felt like he had the potential and it just never took off. It still could, but he might need to go somewhere else and build himself up first.

Post match Rush whips him with an electrical cord and bends Pillman’s arm.

Diamante/Athena vs. Yuka Sakazaki/Skye Blue

Madison Rayne is here with Blue/Sakazaki. Diamante runs Sakazaki over to start but Sakazaki pops up with a sliding lariat for two. The camera goes a bit nuts for a second as Blue comes in and headscissors Athena into the corner. A Diamante distraction lets Athena knock Blue off the top though and Athena pats Diamante on the head.

The villains take turns suplexing Blue until she kicks Athena away for the hot tag. Sakazaki gets to clean house, including a missile dropkick to Athena. Everything breaks down and Athena powerbombs Sakazaki. Back up and Sakazaki hits Diamante in the face, setting up a spinning armtrap faceplant for the pin at 7:08.

Rating: C+. They had some more time with this one and it helped let them flesh things out a bit. Sakazaki is a ball of energy and Blue has come a long way in her time around here. At the same time, Athena is growing into her heel role rather well and I’m curious to see how far she can take it after her previous pushes have stalled so often.

Top Flight vs. Ari Daivari/Tony Nese

Mark Sterling is here with Daivari and Nese and offers free soap to everyone here. There is allegedly a bar of soap under their seat, but everyone who checks is declared guilty of breaking Kentucky’s showering laws. Darius dropkicks Nese down to start as we hear about Sterling’s toy podcast. Dante comes in with a slingshot hilo but Nese gets in a cheap shot from behind.

The springboard moonsault gives Nese two on Darius and the villains double team him down in the corner. A double hurricanrana is enough to get Darius over for the tag though and everything breaks down. Dante and Darius both hit big flip dives but the Nose Dive is countered back inside. Instead it’s a Dominator/sliding cutter for two on Dante but he is right back up with the Nose Dive for the pin at 5:03.

Rating: C+. This was another fun one as Top Flight continues to rack up wins. I could see the team getting somewhere in AEW and a title reign is not out of the question. The fact that they went from little more than an ok team to one of the most entertaining acts around. Go with that and have them do their thing here and there.

Yuka Sakazaki is asked about Athena but the Dark Order comes in to offer her a spot on the team. She says “hai” (yes in Japanese) but they don’t quite get it and leave.

Kings Of The Black Throne vs. Turbo Floyd/Truth Magnum

Floyd and Magnum have rather toothpaste colored gear. Black spins Magnum around to start and has a seat to wait on him, much to Magnum’s shock. Turbo and King come in, with King chopping away at Floyd and Magnum. Everything breaks down and the toss over the shoulder piledriver finishes for King at 2:52. The House Of Black is getting a bigger and bigger reaction every week. They’re going to be turned face sooner than later at this rate.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Blake Christian.

Castagnoli is defending and runs Christian over to start. A shot to the face drops Christian again but he manages to knock Castagnoli outside. That’s fine with the champ, who drops Christian chest first onto the apron. Back in and Castagnoli is not looking worried but an attempt at a Samoan drop changes things.

Christian gets a boot up in the corner though and Castagnoli gets kicked down. With Castagnoli on the apron, Christian cuts him down with a spear and adds a top rope double stomp for two back inside. Back in and Castagnoli tries the Swing but gets rolled up for two. Christian hits a springboard 450 for two but gets pulled into a powerbomb. The Swing makes Christian tap at 7:17.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t a classic but Castagnoli let Christian get in some nice stuff near the end. Castagnoli is one of the better things that AEW has been doing as of late, especially with the Ring Of Honor World Title not being the focus so often. Christian is someone who has looked good during his appearances so we should be in for something good when he gets to stick around.

Overall Rating: C+. This is another one of those shows that is almost entirely wrestling rather than advancing any stories. That makes a lot of sense as ultimately, it is the second internet show that AEW produces every week and it doesn’t mean much. For about an hour of action a week though, it is about as harmless as it could go, which is at least one way to go. This show was far from great and it’s still too long, but getting the stars out there to do something is better than having them sit at home. Pretty good show here.

Results
Red Velvet b. Billie Starkz – Final Slice
Dark Order b. Workhorsemen – Rollup to Henry
Rush b. Brian Pillman Jr. – Bull’s Horns
Yuka Sakazaki/Skye Blue b. Diamante/Athena – Spinning armtrap faceplant to Diamante
Top Flight b. Ari Daivari/Tony Nese – Nose Dive to Nese
Kings Of The Black Throne b. Turbo Floyd/Truth Magnum – Toss over the shoulder piledriver to Floyd
Claudio Castagnoli b. Blake Christian – Swing

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.

Rampage
Date: December 23, 2022
Location: Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

We’re still in front of one of those crazy Texas crowds and in this case there is a rather unique match. This time around we are having a Casino Trios Battle Royal, with the winning team splitting $300,000. That should be enough to make things interesting, and seems to be the big focal point this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Three Kings Christmas Casino Battle Royal

So this is a nine team Casino Battle Royal (basically the Royal Rumble) for $300,000 and all three members of the team have to be eliminated. We start with the Best Friends/Orange Cassidy, La Faccion Ingobernable (Rush/Preston Vance/Kalistico) and Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian. Triple brawls break out in various corners until the Best Friends and Cassidy are kicked into the middle of the ring for the Big Hug.

Cassidy is sent outside but not eliminated, allowing Rush (also not eliminated) to deck him from behind. Rush chokes Cassidy on the floor as Preston Vance spinebusters Taylor inside. That’s enough to get rid of Taylor as the Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta) are in as well. The brawling is on as the ring is already too full. With nothing going on for two minutes, the Dark Order (John Silver/Alex Reynolds/Evil Uno) are in as well to fill up the ring even more.

A bunch of people go to the floor (again without being eliminated, because battle royals think that’s a good idea), leaving the Dark Order to triple team Vance. Moxley is sent to the apron but gets back inside, followed by Cassidy getting beaten down for a change. We take a break and come back with Cassidy, Blade and Sabian being tossed in a row. The Spanish Announce Project (Angelico/Luther/Serpentico, because OF COURSE those three are a team) jumps off the Spanish announce team and get inside to keep up the brawling.

Angelico is out fast and Silver gets rid of Kalistico. Rush tosses Silver and Moxley gets rid of Uno. Castagnoli tosses Luther as they’re certainly getting rid of people faster. Ari Daivari/the Varsity Athletes (Tony Nese/Josh Woods) are in, with Mark Sterling insulting the fans on the way to the ring. Trent gets sent outside (again, not eliminated) for a triple teaming and Reynolds is eliminated, meaning the Dark Order is completely out.

Rush hits Yuta with the Bull’s Horns in the corner and throws him out. Vance gets rid of Serpentico, meaning the SAP are out as well. Top Flight (Dante/Darius Martin) and AR Fox are in to complete the field as Castagnoli eliminates Daivari. There goes Vance, with Woods and Nese out as well to get rid of another team.

Trent piledrives Butcher on the apron to get rid of him but gets dropkicked out by Rush. Castagnoli and Rush have a showdown ad wind up on the apron for a chop off. A hard series of forearms and the uppercut get rid of Rush, leaving us with the Club (Moxley/Castagnoli) vs. Fox/Top Flight (AR Fox/Top Flight). Moxley gets rid of Fox almost immediately and it’s 2-2.

Cue Hangman Page to run in and go after Moxley as a brawl breaks out. Security comes in, allowing Top Flight to eliminate Moxley. That’s fine with Moxley, who dives on Page to keep up the fight. Back in and Castagnoli picks up both Martin at once but they fight back in from the apron. Castagnoli fights off a double slam out but gets DDTed and double clotheslined to the apron. A running hurricanrana gets rid of Castagnoli to give Fox/Top Flight the money at 21:59.

Rating: C-. This is a great example of “your mileage may vary” but this was a long match where only the last few minutes felt important. There were far too many stretches with too many people in the ring at once, but granted when you can just go to the floor at any point, it doesn’t matter as much. It’s a fun concept for a match and Fox/Top Flight winning is smart, but I can only get so much out of another battle royal with a bunch of rather low level teams.

Here are Eddie Kingston and Ortiz for a chat. They want to fight the House of Black but can’t get the contract signed, so here is Julia Hart to….point at the screen, where the House is waiting for a chat. Malakai Black suggests that Ortiz is really Kingston’s enemy, but Ortiz and Kingston are both a bit confused. I’m still confused as to why the House Of Black talks so much.

Daniel Garcia doesn’t like much about Sammy Guevara but if Chris Jericho tells them to be together, so be it. Sammy gets in Garcia’s face….and hugs him. They’ll be fine.

Jade Cargill vs. Vertvixen

Non-title and the Baddies are here with Jade. Cargill powers her down to start and hits a slam as we take a break forty seconds in. Back with Vertvixen getting kicked in the ribs and back of the head, setting up the pump kick for the pin at 5:01. Again: there is no reason for a five minute match to need a break. We saw about a minute and twenty seconds of the match. Why is there a commercial? The only positive: Vertvixen’s name sounds like the villain from Garfield’s Pet Force: Vetvix. I love Garfield’s Pet Force.

Ruby Soho is sick of Anna Jay helping Tay Melo so she’s getting Willow Nightingale to help her.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Wardlow doesn’t believe Samoa Joe is some unstoppable king and is ready to get his title back.

Powerhouse Hobbs has grabbed a man outside and says he’s taking everything. Hobbs lunges at the camera and that’s it.

Jay Lethal/Jeff Jarrett and company are ready to beat up Billy Gunn and Anthony Bowens. Anthony wants Jarrett to LISTEN and hear that everyone loves the Acclaimed.

Billy Gunn/Anthony Bowens vs. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal

Max Caster, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt are here. Max Caster handles the pre-match rap, promising to send them back to the Impact Zone with the Not So Great Khali. Bowens and Lethal lock up to start with Bowens having to chop his way out of the corner. A quick Figure Four attempt is blocked so Bowens chops away some more and hits a jumping bulldog for two.

Gunn comes in to face Jarrett, with the latter sending him into the ropes for the running crotch attack to the back. It’s back to Lethal, who gets punched out of the air, allowing Bowens to slam him. A double scissoring elbow (just go with it) gets two on Lethal but Bowens is sent outside for a clothesline from Jarrett. We take a break and come back with Lethal holding a chinlock.

Bowens fights up and slugs it out with Jarrett, capped off by a superkick to put them both down. The double tag brings in Gunn to clean house, including a clothesline to cut off Singh. The One And Only gets two on Lethal but a Dutt distraction lets Jeff hit the Stroke on Bowens. Caster accidentally distracts the referee though and it’s a low blow from Dutt, followed by the Lethal Injection to give Lethal the pin at 9:13.

Rating: C. The match was ok, but Caster’s line at the beginning tells you everything you need to know: Lethal and Jarrett feel like Team TNA and that is not something you want to see. I don’t think they’re going to win the titles, but I have no idea why this team exists and even less of an idea why they are getting a push. Gunn losing doesn’t diminish the Acclaimed, though putting them against Lethal and Jarrett isn’t helping them.

Overall Rating: D+. The most important thing about this show is the date. This show is taking place at 10pm the night before Christmas Eve. AEW knew that no one was going to be watching and almost completely punted as a result. The battle royal was little more than a gimmick attraction, Cargill did the same thing she has done about forty times and the main event featured Jeff Jarrett and Billy Gunn. This show was the definition of skippable, and there is a good chance that a lot of people did just that.

Results
Top Flight/AR Fox won the Three Kings Christmas Casino Battle Royal last eliminating the Blackpool Combat Club
Jade Cargill b. Vertvixen – Pump kick
Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal b. Anthony Bowens/Billy Gunn – Lethal Injection to Gunn

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: November 30, 2022
Location: Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’ll wrap up the month here as MJF should be here for the first time as World Champion. That alone should be a heck of a moment, but we also need to get more of the build towards Final Battle out of the way. There isn’t much set for the show but that should change this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jon Moxley to get things going. He talks about working to get here and what a wild ride it has been. There are three constants in life: death, taxes and Jon Moxley. No one can out work him, out fight him, out wrestle him or anything else. There is not one man who has the guts to come out here and tell him any different….and here is the returning Hangman Page. Moxley asks if Page wants to do this after what happened, if he can remember it. Page comes up swinging and the fight is on, with referees and security needing multiple attempts to break it up. Nice return here as it felt like a bit deal.

Bryan Danielson vs. Dax Harwood

They go technical to start as the fans are way into this from the opening bell. It’s too early for either to get very far with a leglock so Danielson bails to the floor to start. Back in and Danielson tries the moonsault over into the running clothesline but Harwood is ready for him instead. Danielson sends him over the top to set up the suicide dive to send Harwood into the crowd. They slug it out from different sides of the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Harwood rolling some German suplexes before teasing a right hand to set up the piledriver for two. Harwood’s headbutt misses though and Danielson grabs la majistral for two. They head outside again and Danielson’s apron knee to the face knocks Harwood silly. Back in and Danielson can’t hit a superplex so he tries a belly to back version instead.

That’s fine with Harwood, who turns it into a high crossbody for two, leaving both of them down again. The slugout is on again until Harwood pulls him into a half crab. Without that broken up they hit the pinfall reversal sequence until Danielson gets the LeBell Lock for the tap at 14:42.

Rating: B. This is in the “well what were you expecting” category as they had two talented wrestlers have a good wrestling match. That is going to work every time and Harwood looked game in there against one of the best ever. It went very well and Danielson gets a win to continue looking great after the recent win over Sammy Guevara.

Ricky Starks is ready to win the World Title.

Hangman Page and Jon Moxley are still fighting in the parking lot.

We get a sitdown interview between the Jericho Appreciation Society (minus Chris Jericho) and the Blackpool Combat Club. The Society mocks Wheeler Yuta but Castagnoli is asked about the Final Battle main event. Jake Hager things Castagnoli would be a great sports entertainer and throws him a hat. That doesn’t go well for Castagnoli who snaps and yell about how he’s sick of this. Castagnoli leaves, so the Society issues the challenge for a tag match. Yuta accepts on Castagnoli’s behalf but he’ll take a Pure Title shot at Final Battle too.

TNT Title: AR Fox vs. Samoa Joe

Joe is defending and hammers Fox down in the corner to start. Fox comes back up with some shots to the face, only to have his legs swept out so Joe can drop a backsplash. We take a break and come back with Fox breaking up the Musclebuster. A diving tornado DDT rocks Joe and Fox kicks him in the face. Fox hits a 450 for two but Joe walks away from a Swanton attempt. The Musclebuster retains the title at 6:39.

Rating: C+. This was another match that didn’t have time to go very far, mainly because of the break in the middle. The match didn’t even last seven minutes and had three minutes of that spent on a commercial break. It’s nice to see Fox getting to showcase himself, but Joe was going to roll over his first challenger and that is more or less what happened here.

Post match Joe declares himself the king of television but Wardlow pops up on screen to say enjoy it while it lasts, because this is Wardlow’s World. Joe looks a bit concerned.

We go back to Oakland, California where Powerhouse Hobbs walks past some gambling and goes inside some kind of store. That was short.

Taz breaks down how Hook beat Lee Moriarty. I love this kind of stuff and Taz is perfect for the role.

Here is William Regal, with something under a sheet, to introduce MJF for his first comments as World Champion. MJF talks about how Regal sent him an email not too long ago, saying that MJF had become weak after he had been beaten down by the Firm. Regal thought MJF could become the best villain of all time, but Regal wanted to see MJF grab the brass ring. They met behind closed doors multiple times after that and MJF admits that Regal is a genius. Regal wanted MJF to use the brass knuckles at Full Gear so they would leave an emotional scar on Jon Moxley.

As for the Firm…..eh. He would have done the same thing, but chasing them down takes effort and that is for poor people like these fans. Speaking of things beneath him, we have this title, which makes him sick (and not just because he is in Indiana). The people who have held it before aren’t o his level, which is why the title is garbage. MJF throws it down and Regal unveils the new belt, which has the Burberry strap design.

No one deserves the title except for him, including the people these fans cheer for. MJF means people like Eddie Kingston, Ricky Starks or Bryan Danielson. Sure Danielson can wrestle his way out of a paper bag but that doesn’t mean he deserves to be a World Champion. MJF praises his boys up north, Jolly Old Saint Nick and Trips. So what happens on January 1, 2024? Maybe Hollywood wins instead of either promotion.

Anyway, the fans are going to get sick of him as champion but they’ll keep tuning in to see who can take the title off of him. During his title reign, the championship will be defended very rarely because he is a special attraction. Nine times out of ten, you’ll have to buy a pay per view to see him wrestle because his title reign is going to make Hulk Hogan, JBL and Jeff Jarrett’s seem short.

As for William Regal…..MJF knocks him silly from behind with the brass knuckles. Schiavone: “STEVE REGAL….WILLIAM!” MJF says Regal thought he had a lot to learn, but Regal is the one who made a deal with the devil. As Regal said a few years ago, when you’re a world class talent, send him your stuff. Danielson and medics run out to check on Regal, who is put in a neck brace and taken out on a stretcher. That one actually got me so very well done on not taking the expected path. The rest of the promo was a bit rambling but that ending surprise was exceptional.

Ricky Starks vs. Ari Daivari

Before the match, Ethan Page and Stokely Hathaway come out, only to have Matt Hardy interrupt. Hathaway tells Hardy to get to the back as Starks tells Hardy to help him win the Dynamite Diamond Ring battle royal next week. Then Page is cashing in the match he gets on MJF after Starks’ title shot at Winter Is Coming. Daivari jumps Starks but gets speared and Roshamboed for the pin at 22 seconds.

Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker and Rebel tell Tony Schiavone that they will be having their own sitdown interview next week on Dynamite, just like Saraya this week on Rampage.

Anna Jay vs. Willow Nightingale

Tay Melo is here with Jay. Nightingale takes her down for an early two and hits a backsplash in the corner. After some dancing, Nightingale hits another backsplash, only to miss a clothesline. Jay hits a running spin kick in the corner and we take a break. Back with Nightingale making the comeback, including a spinebuster for two. Jay grabs a quick Gory Bomb for two but Nightingale blocks what looked to be a Rock Bottom. A rollup gives Jay two instead but Nightingale plants her with a doctor bomb for the pin at 7:32.

Rating: C. Another short match that was cut off by unnecessary break. Nightingale getting a pin over a fairly established star like Jay is a good sign for her future as she has been needing the wins that help set her apart. Nightingale has a lot of the tools she needs to be a star but the wins are going to do more good for her than anything else.

Post match Ruby Soho makes her return and goes after Anna and Tay.

We look back at the return of the House of Black.

QT Marshall wants an All Atlantic Title shot and Orange Cassidy gives him whatever he wants with no discussion. We’ll even make it a lumberjack match. Marshall is almost annoyed at how easy that was.

Here are Jade Cargill and the Baddies for a celebration of her retaining the TBS Title. Jade talks about getting rid of the trash last week (when Kiera Hogan was fired) but wonders why the Baddies were spending time with Hogan this week. Either get in line or leave, because they eat off of her. Jade brags about how awesome she is and how she makes careers. Speaking of careers, Bow Wow is a joke…and Bow Wow pops up on screen. He’s done with his tour so he’ll be around soon. That title she has does something to him, which seems to have Jade a bit shaken. I’m no music guy, but is this supposed to be a big deal?

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

The Acclaimed are drilled by Billy Gunn about why they don’t have a match this week. Therefore they will give a Tag Team Title shot to the best team in AEW on Rampage. Gunn wants to know how that is possible when they’re already the best. Ok then we’ll make it the second best team. Scissoring ensues.

Death Triangle vs. Elite

Match #3 in the best of seven series, with Death Triangle up 2-0. The Elite jumps them in the aisle and the big brawl is on, only to have Pac superkick Omega out of the air as we take a break before the opening bell. Back with the fight still on the floor and the opening bell ringing. Penta cleans house and the referee gets taken out, leaving Penta to whip out the hammer.

Fenix won’t let that happen and Omega V Triggers him down, only to have the Elite come back with superkicks. The snapdragon drops Fenix but Death Triangle hit superkicks of their own. Death Triangle go up top for moonsaults to the Bucks and a double stomp to Omega. The Fear Factor gets two on Omega but Nick saves him from the Black Arrow. Matt suplexes the Bros down, leaving Pac to get up for the staredown with Omega. One heck of a super Falcon Arrow gives Pac two and we take a break.

Back with Pac snap German suplexing Omega, who blasts him with a clothesline. Fenix comes back in and has to escape the Meltzer Driver. A 450 gets two on Fenix instead with Penta making the save. Everything breaks down and Matt gets planted, leaving Penta to dive onto Omega and Nick as Penta gets two. Pac’s brainbuster gets two on Matt so it’s time to go up again. Pac loads up the Black Arrow but lands on Matt’s knees (to the banged up face) to give Matt the pin at 12:15.

Rating: B. It was another wildly insane match that was a lot of fun and that won’t stand out from their previous two matches. That was always going to be the case for the entire series and it is already happening here. The matches are total crash courses and wrestling junk food, but they are certainly fun and total action from the start to the finish. This was no exception and I’ll take the Elite winning one of the earlier matches rather than winning four in a row.

Post match Omega says there wasn’t going to be a sweep with the Cleaner around.

Overall Rating: B+. The show was book ended by a pair of good matches and the MJF surprise was right in the middle. There still isn’t much announced for Final Battle but Ring Of Honor shows have a tendency to be thrown together at the last minute anyway. This show worked because of a few very good parts, but some of the stuff in the middle was just kind of there.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Dax Harwood – LeBell Lock
Samoa Joe b. AR Fox – Musclebuster
Ricky Starks b. Ari Daivari – Roshambo
Willow Nightingale b. Anna Jay – Doctor bomb
Elite b. Death Triangle – Knees to Pac’s face

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.