Rampage
Date: November 15, 2024
Location: Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re just over a week away from Full Gear and probably about a month and a half away from the end of this show. The last two weeks have been about Lio Rush vs. Komander but odds are that’s over and done with for now. Ricochet is in action this week so we should at least get some impressive high flying. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Hikaru Shida vs. Leila Grey

Shida runs her over with a shoulder to start but Grey knees her in the ribs, That earns Grey a swinging waistlock and a knee lift cuts her down again. Back up and Grey hits a basement dropkick for two and a running knee/bulldog out of the corner gets two. Shida wins a strike off and gets two off a middle rope dropkick. The Katana takes too long but it’s a Falcon Arrow to finish Grey at 4:47.

Rating: C. This is what AEW needs to do more often, as the bigger star dispatched someone who has a bit of a name, but it didn’t take that long. For some reason AEW has some weird obsession with making this kind of a match last longer than it needs to so hopefully this is a change of pace. Shida doesn’t have much going on but a win here and there could help.

Harley Cameron says Mina Shirakawa has nothing Cameron doesn’t has. Cameron then whips out a guitar, sits down, and sings a bit but gets cut off. Threats of feeling her wrath are cut off as well.

Mark Briscoe vs. Ariya Daivari

The fact that I didn’t know who Briscoe was facing but figured it would be a Premiere Athlete isn’t a good sign. Briscoe grabs a headlock to start and strikes Daivari down without much effort. A suplex and some chops have Daivari in more trouble but he knocks Briscoe outside for a needed breather. Briscoe sends him into the barricade a few times but Mark Sterling cuts off the step up flip dive.

Daivari gets in a knockdown and we take a break, coming back with Briscoe fighting out of a chinlock. A sleeper doesn’t work much better so Daivari grabs a DDT for two. Briscoe fights up again and hits a fisherman’s buster, setting up the Death Valley Driver. Daivari breaks up the Froggy Bow and Sterling offers a distraction, only for Rocky Romero to cut Sterling off. Now the flip dive drops the villains and the Froggy Bow gives Briscoe the pin at 11:02.

Rating: C+. And this is a good example of the kind of match I mentioned earlier. Briscoe and Daivari are nowhere near the same level but it took Briscoe eleven minutes and a small assist to beat him. That felt like they were out there to do nothing but fill in time and that’s not good to see. The action was fine, but you know what you’re getting with the Premiere Athletes and that was on full display here, with pretty much nothing out of the ordinary.

Rocky Romero vs. Komander

MVP is watching in the back. Romero takes him down to start but Komander flips away. They grab hands and flip around a bit more until Komander grabs a springboard armdrag. Komander sends him outside for a dive but Romero is back with a faceplant for two. A backbreaker and superplex have Komander in trouble and we take a break. Back with Komander hitting a springboard moonsault, only to have his moonsault hit raised boots. Komander is fine enough to powerslam him into the corner and Cielito Lindo finishes at 9:46.

Rating: C+. The Komander Era of Rampage continues, but having him beat Romero isn’t exactly going to change much. At the same time, we got the required fairly long Komander match with his usual assortment of flips and dives. It’s impressive enough, but when he’s on the show so often, the impact is fairly limited.

Anna Jay is ready to take the risk to get the Women’s Title. Taya Valkyrie comes in to offer the Vendetta’s help but Jay says mind your own business.

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Alec Price/Richard Holliday

That’s quite the jobbing team. Price flips away from Mortos to start but a dropkick doesn’t work. Mortos runs him over and it’s off to Holiday to hit Rush in the face. That doesn’t work well for Rush, who takes Holiday outside for some rams into the barricade. The Bull’s Horns finishes Holliday at 2:59. You get someone as good as Holliday and you feed him to Rush in about three minutes?

MVP sees a lot of untapped potential in AEW but he sees arrogance in Swerve Strickland. How can Strickland call himself the most dangerous man in AEW when Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley are around? Komander impressed him, but tomorrow on Collision, Benjamin will get to know Komander up close.

Video on Mariah May vs. Anna Jay. This match might have some more heat if May hadn’t beaten her last time.

Ricochet vs. Dante Martin

They trade flipping escapes to start until Ricochet reverses a sunset flip into a rollup for two. Ricochet misses a charge into the corner and Martin nails a jumping knee. Ricochet’s springboard clothesline gets two and we take a break. Back with Ricochet charging into a boot in the corner and Martin hits a dive to the floor.

A springboard splash gives Martin two but the half nelson slam is broken up. Ricochet rolls the suplexes for two as MVP is watching in the back again. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Ricochet two more but Vertigo is blocked. Instead the Spirit Gun (I think) finishes Martin off at 10:13.

Rating: B-. Another high flying match here with two guys doing well in their standard style. Ricochet picks up another win on his way to the International Title shot against Konosuke Takeshita. Martin’s time as a singles star has come and gone for the time being and that’s a shame as he was stating to get something together before being put back into the team/trio with his brother and Action Andretti. They have talent, so do something with it.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Oh this was Rampage for sure. A bunch of people feeling like they were sent out there to fill in time and if anything good came of it, great. Otherwise, it’s a show where very little happens and the bigger matches for Collision and Dynamite are advertised a bit. As always, not a bad show, but totally skippable if you’re running short on time.

Results
Hikaru Shida b. Leila Grey – Falcon Arrow
Mark Briscoe b. Ariya Daivari – Froggy Bow
Komander b. Rocky Romero – Cielito Lindo
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Alec Price/Richard Holliday – Bull’s Horns to Holliday
Ricochet b. Dante Martin – Spirit Gun

 

 

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Ring Of Honor
Date: November 7, 2024
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re getting close to Final Battle, though it’s still far enough away that the show hasn’t been officially announced yet. Last week’s show was quite the lengthy affair at nearly three hours, with the big story being Athena escaping with the Women’s Title against Abadon. That would seem to set up an eventual showdown with Billie Starkz over the title and maybe that starts here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

We recap the Righteous coming after the Tag Team Titles last week.

Infantry vs. Tom Mitchell/Trace Parker

Shane Taylor is here with the Infantry. Bravo takes Parker into the corner to start and slugs away, with Dean getting in some choking from the apron. Bravo gives Mitchell a wind up DDT and it’s Boot Camp into a double stomp (Two To The End) for the pin at 2:24.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Shawn Donovan/LSG

Angelico and Donovan fight over wrist control to start until Serpentico comes in off the top with a stomp to the arm. Angelico hits some running clotheslines in the corner, at least until Donovan knocks him into another corner to take over. A Snow Plow gets two on Serpentico, who kicks his way out of trouble and hands it back to Angelico to pick up the pace. Angelico kicks Donovan in the head for two before grabbing an over the back stretch to make LSG tap at 5:15.

Rating: C. This is a good example of how Tony Khan’s booking style not only gets repetitive but also wastes time. Last week, the Project lost to the Infantry. Therefore, this match was designed to rehabilitate them in some way. That’s something that works well enough in theory, but the problem is rather simple: it’s the Spanish Announce Project. While they’re talented, they’re also about as low level of a team as you can get on the good side.

Winning this match doesn’t boost them up or change anything about them, as they’re still nothing but a team who have been around forever and aren’t going to move up the card in any meaningful way. This would be the equivalent of having Demolition beat the Killer Bees in 1988 and then needing to see the Bees win a match over the Brooklyn Brawler and Jose Estrada the next week. That would never happen, as it would just take up time and have no impact. That’s Ring Of Honor in a nutshell, as the show was just extended by about eight minutes and nothing was gained.

Lee Moriarty is ready to fight Matt Taven.

Preston Vance vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara tries an early GTH but Vance slips out, only to get caught with a dropkick. With Vance on the floor, Guevara gets to spin into his pose for a bit. Vance pulls him to the floor but Guevara changes places and hits a quick dive. Another dive off the barricade is countered into a suplex, allowing Vance to send him hard into the barricade. We hit the chinlock back inside until Guevara pops up for a superkick. Some forearms against the ropes stagger Vance, who is right back with the discus lariat. Not that it matters as Guevara is right back with the GTH for the pin at 6:04.

Rating: C. So Guevara is dealing with the Righteous as they come after the Tag Team Titles so he has a fairly competitive singles match against someone who has nothing to do with the Righteous? One might think there should have been a tag match here as Guevara and Dustin Rhodes haven’t actually teamed together in over a month, but why waste time with that? Vance continues to look decent and continues to do nothing around here, as is the case for a lot of people.

Post match the lights flicker and we hear the Righteous laugh but nothing happens.

The Outrunners have merch. I think it’s going to sell.

Lee Johnson/EJ Nduka vs. The Philly Marino Experience

Johnson headlocks Marino down to start and we’re off to the early chinlock. The rather large Nduka comes in and unloads on Marino in the corner. The good guys take turns hammering away in the corner before Philly comes in. A double clothesline drops the Experience and a spinebuster plants Philly. Johnson’s frog splash finishes at 4:39.

Rating: C. Johnson and Nduka work well enough together and it was a fine way to give them some ring time without being in any danger. I’m not sure I can imagine them getting close to the title picture, but I can go with an effective squash. If nothing else, Nduka continues to look impressive so putting him in the ring in any way seems like a smart move.

We look at Athena retaining the Women’s Title in last week’s main event.

Athena has called a MEM (Minion Empowerment Meeting) for tonight and thinks it’s time to go around the world. Lexi Nair says hello in a variety of languages when Billie Starkz comes in. Athena is not impressed and leaves, with Starkz being amazed that Athena won’t apologize.

Diamante vs. Rachael Ellering

Ellering grinds away on a headlock to start and then runs her over with a shoulder. A gutwrench suplex drops Diamante but she sends Ellering into the corner for the stomping. Diamante’s running corner dropkick gets two but Ellering is back up with a running elbow. The Squish gives Ellering two, only for Diamante to go to the eyes. The rolling cutter finishes for Diamante at 4:41.

Rating: C+. Ellering continues to feel like a fine midcard gatekeper, which is all that she needs to be. On the other hand you have Diamante, who being built up for another shot at the TV Title. There is a story there and the follow up has gone rather well. Now just do the match and see where it goes from there.

Post match Red Velvet comes in to brawl with Diamante in a not so nice move.

We look at Leylah Hirsch beating Diamante in a Last Woman Standing match in July but dislocating her elbow in the process.

Leylah Hirsch vs. Tina San Antonio

Hirsch wrestles her down to start but an O’Connor roll is blocked. San Antonio gets in some shoulders to the ribs in the corner but she misses a running elbow. Hirsch’s German suplex into a running knee finishes at 2:30.

Matt Taven wants the Pure Wrestling Title.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Aaron Solo

Solo’s running shoulders have no effect as Ishii drops him with a single clothesline. Another try goes better for Solo as he drops Ishii and they trade more forearms. Ishii hits another running shoulder and a Saito suplex gets two. A German suplex plants Solo, who is right back with a superkick to put Ishii down. Solo hits a frog splash for two but Ishii’s big lariat gets the same. Ishii isn’t having this and hits the sliding lariat, setting up the brainbuster for the pin at 5:30.

Rating: C+. While Solo isn’t exactly top level competition, they had a nice competitive match with Ishii eventually getting to take him out. Ishii is getting boosted up for a big main event level run in AEW as he helps go after the Death Riders, so giving him a win here is fine. Maybe it should have been on AEW, but he’s already over enough there anyway.

The Righteous come out for a tag match but Sammy Guevara and Dustin Rhodes jump them for the brawl.

Nick Wayne vs. Ryan Clancy

Wayne kicks away the handshake offer but Clancy spins around and takes him down without much trouble. A posing monkey flip out of the corner drops Wayne, who is fine enough to send Clancy outside to take over. Back in and a neckbreaker gives Wayne two and he grabs a neck crank. Clancy fights up and gets in a Russian legsweep for two of his own. A dropkick sends Wayne to the floor, only for Wayne to knock the referee into the ropes to crotch Clancy on top. Wayne’s World finishes at 7:28.

Rating: C+. This was a good showcase for Clancy and that’s what the idea seemed to be. Wayne isn’t someone who should be out there dominant but rather winning by cheating, with Christian Cage being able to beam with pride later. Nicer than I was expecting here, even with the extended time.

The Infantry and Shane Taylor Promotions try to find Dustin Rhodes but have to beat up security instead.

From February 21, 2021.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Mexisquad

Shane Taylor/the Soldiers of Savagery are challenging and Maria Kanellis-Bennett is on commentary. Hands are shaken but the fight is on in a hurry with everyone going to the floor. Back in and Flamita ducks Khan’s running big boot in the corner, allowing Flamita to hit a quick takeover. A dropkick puts Khan down again but he powers Flamita into the corner, allowing the tag off to Moses.

That means a big running charge takes Flamita over (commentary is rather pleased) but he’s right back up with a twisting Stunner. Shane comes in to chase Rey Horus around until a shot to Shane’s face sends us to a break. Back with Bandido getting the hot tag to come in and hammer on Shane. That’s fine with Taylor, who shoves him into the corner for the tag off to Flamita. A walk across Bandido’s shoulders sets up a running hurricanrana with the champs sending all of them outside. That means trio of dives, followed by a trio of flips to take them down again.

Back in and a 450 gets two on Shane as commentary tries to figure out if the champs winning can be an upset. Flamita flips Bandido around to take out Khan’s legs, because that’s just something he can do. One heck of a toss splash gives Flamita two on Moses with Khan making the save. Horus accidentally DDT’s Flamita and Moses nails a double clothesline to the floor. That leaves Shane to Rock Bottom Flamita into a splash for two and Welcome To The Land gives us new champions at 12:32.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t quite the level of awesome that you expect from the Mexisquad but they have been champions for so long and I don’t think that a single loss is going to change anything for them in the long run. What matters here is that we have some fresh champions, which probably needed to happen after the long layoff. Throw in Shane getting a big win before next week’s World Title match and it is a rather well put together title match.

AR Fox vs. Josh Woods

Mark Sterling and Ariya Daivari are here with Woods. An early elbow drops Fox but he pops back up to knock him outside for the big dive. Back in and Woods starts going after the knee, setting up a German suplex to drop Fox again. Sterling gets in some choking from the floor and some knees to the back give Woods two.

Fox sends him into the ropes for a running hanging DDT and the fans are getting a bit more into things. A Sling Blade into a Swanton gives Fox two and it’s time to fight over a suplex. Instead they crash out to the floor, with Fox getting up or a quick cutter. Back in and Rolling Chaos Theory is countered so Fox hits a Death Valley Driver into a 450 for the pin at 11:56.

Rating: C+. So commentary mentioned that Fox is going to be facing Nick Wayne on Collision. That’s all well and good, but how long is that match going to be? Maybe ten minutes or so? Did we really need to spend nearly twenty building both of them up on a show that is WAY less likely to be seen than Collision in the first place? That’s what I was getting at earlier: it feels like wrestling for the sake of filling time, which makes no sense when you’re on a show that has no set time limit, either high or low.

Post match Wayne comes in to lay out Fox. Again: this is all to set up a match on Collision.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. The Butcher

Butcher tries to wrestle to start and gets taken to the mat for an early leglock. With that not working, they go to the floor with Butcher hitting a clothesline and slapping on a half crab to put Shibata in trouble. The rope break gets Shibata away but the PK is cut off with a clothesline. Shibata goes with the sleeper instead and now the PK finishes Butcher at 4:29.

Rating: C. That’s quite the odd choice for a main event, as Butcher go in some offense but Shibata just got back up and won with his usual. It’s not a bad match to give Shibata a win, but he isn’t exactly doing anything at the moment so this isn’t coming off like a big step. Butcher is fine as a low level monster though and he’s done quite well for himself all things considered.

Overall Rating: C. This was probably the most well put together show they’ve done in awhile as there are clearly stories being built up. I’ll certainly take that over the seemingly random collection of matches you see a lot of the time around here, but dang they need to cut out a lot of the fat. We didn’t need twenty minutes of setting up Nick Wayne vs. AR Fox or the Spanish Announce Project being built back up. Cut out the “classic” match and the Guevara match and you’ve gt this down to a rather nice hour long show.

Results
Infantry b. Tom Mitchell/Trace Parker – Two To The End to Mitchell
Spanish Announce Project b. Shawn Donovan/LSG – Over the back stretch to LSG
Sammy Guevara b. Preston Vance – GTH
Lee Johnson/EJ Nduka b. The Philly Marino Experience – Frog splash to Collins
Diamante b. Rachael Ellering – Rolling cutter
Leylah Hirsch b. Tina San Antonio – Running knee
Tomohiro Ishii b. Aaron Solo – Brainbuster
Nick Wayne b. Ryan Clancy – Wayne’s World
AR Fox b. Josh Woods – 450
Katsuyori Shibata b. The Butcher – PK

 

 

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Collision
Date: November 2, 2024
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

While we’re not quite in a new era, we’re in for something different as Private Party has finally won the Tag Team Titles, ending the total reign of darkness. I’m not sure how long that is going to last but at least things have changed up a bit. We might even be in for another title change here as Anna Jay is challenging Mariah May for the Women’s Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

A bunch of wrestlers are in the ring to welcome Private Party for their celebration of winning the Tag Team Titles. The fans say Private Party deserves it (…eh) and the champs talk about how great it was to win the belts. Quen thanks the Young Bucks for making them better and they’re ready to defend the titles against anyone. FTR is ready to fight but the Outrunners break it up. Magnum: “If you’re anything like me, and I know I am…” The Outrunners say the marquee says AEW so let’s celebrate. Private Party goes into the crowd.

Anna Jay is ready to win the Women’s Title.

The Acclaimed congratulates Private Party but they’re still coming for the titles. Caster cuts off the catchphrase and Bowens isn’t happy, but he’s even less happy when Caster pulls out MVP’s business card. Bowens cuts off Caster’s last line too as some slight tensions arise.

Harley Cameron vs. Thunder Rosa

Dia de los Muertos match, meaning a themed hardcore match and Cameron has her own face paint. Rosa puts a picture of Cameron in the display usually saved for the dead people being remembered to make things….is personal the right word? Cameron kicks her down to start but Rosa comes back with a dropkick to the apron.

They head outside with Rosa hitting her in the back with a tombstone before getting on the barricade (with help from a fan). Cameron crotches her down and sets up a table, which Rosa whips her through to take over again as we take a break. Back with some weapons in the ring as the two of them trade clotheslines against the ropes for a double knockdown. Rosa scores with a Codebreaker before setting up some chairs and laying another tombstone over them.

Cameron is back up with a pinata (the candy flies) and then suplexes Rosa through the tombstone for two. Cameron’s running knee hits chair by mistake so Rosa chairs her down. Some kicks to the can, with Cameron inside, connect in the corner and it’s time for a table. This time thought he table is used as a ramp for a running dropkick against Cameron (still in the can) in the corner for the pin at 10:03.

Rating: B-. This was another way to get Rosa back in the groove of things after her long hiatus. If she is built up well, she’ll be right back in the title picture sooner than later. Cameron is someone who can be built up through pure charisma and then lose in a match like this without taking any real damage. She’ll say something funny and get right back to where she was and everything will be fine.

Roderick Strong, with the Kingdom, is ready for Shane Taylor. The Kingdom want the Tag Team Titles but Brian Cage and Lance Archer come in to say stay out of their way.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Komander

Fletcher kicks him down before the bell and sends him flying off a slam to start. Komander gets tied in the Tree of Woe for some stomping but comes out and strikes away. The very springboardy armdrag is shoved off the top for a big crash into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Komander hitting a middle rope Sliced Bread, only to have Fletcher send him outside for a big dive.

The posing takes too long though and Komander is back up with a springboard moonsault to the floor. Back in and a running Spanish Fly drops Fletcher for two but he’s back up with a boot to the face. A sitout Last Ride gets two but Komander gets up in an electric chair. They crash out to the floor with Komander still on his shoulders, setting up a poisonrana for the big crash.

Back up and Komander plants him onto the apron, setting up a moonsault for two. Fletcher kicks him in the face but gets sent outside, setting up the rope running flip dive. Cielito Lindo is broken up though and Fletcher hits a brainbuster into the brainbuster onto the turnbuckle for the pin at 13:25.

Rating: C+. This is a good example of a match that absolutely did not need to go in this direction. Komander got to do all of his big, flashy spots, but Fletcher took the better part of fifteen minutes to beat a guy who is best known as a jobber to the stars. If you want me to believe that Fletcher is a threat to Will Ospreay, don’t have him take this long to beat Komander. “But AEW doesn’t do that.” Well, in short, that’s dumb.

Second: between Ring Of Honor, Rampage and Collision, this is Komander’s third match in three days, totaling about 35 minutes. With the roster Tony Khan has, there is zero reason to have someone show up that often. Komander does some cool stuff, but I rolled my eyes and said “again?” when his music started here. You have this kind of a roster. Use it better.

Post match Mark Davis runs in to yell at Fletcher, who walks off.

Jack Perry is talking in the back when Daniel Garcia interrupts. Garcia says they’re two different people, with Garcia fighting from when he was a kid. Perry talks about how he’s already done that and Garcia still thinks there are good and bad people. He’s scared of sacrificing and isn’t ready. Perry needs to stop watching so many Raven promos.

Brian Cage/Lance Archer vs. Joe Keys/Shaun Smith

Archer sends Keys into the corner to start and drops him with a clothesline before it’s off to Smith. The chokeslam/powerbomb combination finishes Smith at 2:04. Total destruction, which is what these matches should be.

Post match the massacre continues but the Undisputed Kingdom runs in for the save.

The Patriarchy interrupts AR Fox, with Nick Wayne bringing up Fox attacking him at his wrestling school last year. Fox wants a match next week.

Kris Statlander isn’t happy with being attacked by Mercedes Mone on Dynamite so she wants a title shot at Full Gear. Mone is afraid and she knows it.

Here is the Blackpool Combat Club for a chat. They stay in the crowd, where Jon Moxley says at Full Gear, Orange Cassidy is going to have to cut the head off the snake. Cassidy has to make it to Full Gear so he can bring the World Title back to Philadelphia. Moxley knows what it takes to make it in Philadelphia and it’s people like Wheeler Yuta.

Moxley says Yuta knows what it’s like to sacrifice yourself for something greater, because he is a Philadelphia hero. Cue Action Andretti, who says Yuta isn’t what Philadelphia represents, because Andretti is more Philadelphia than him. Cue Pac to jump Andretti though and a referee comes in.

Action Andretti vs. Pac

The Blackpool Combat Club is at ringside as Pac kicks away in the corner to start. We take an early break and come back with Pac grabbing a chinlock but Andretti fights up. A handspring elbow cuts Pac down, followed by a pop up dropkick to the floor. Back in and Andretti hammers away in the corner, setting up a springboard kick to the head for two. Yuta offers a distraction though and Marina Shafir gets in a cheap shot, leaving Pac to hit the top rope superplex. The Brutalizer finishes Andretti at 8:05.

Rating: C. This was Andretti’s third match in three days as well, though thankfully they didn’t spend as much time on this one. Pac gets to maul another of the low level people before getting on to something else, though it would be nice to see someone give him a challenge. Andretti is another case of someone who is perfectly ok, but he’s around so often that his charm wears thin.

Post match the hold stays on until Orange Cassidy comes to the stage to talk about his times with Yuta in this city. This Yuta doesn’t do what the old one does and Cassidy says Moxley doesn’t care about Yuta. That’s enough for Yuta to go after him with a chair, which Yuta throws down, earning himself an Orange Punch.

Malakai Black is ready to take out Adam Cole.

Kyle Fletcher and Konosuke Takeshita want to fight Ricochet on Dynamite.

Lio Rush vs. Ariya Daivari

Daivari slams him down to start but Rush hammers away in the corner to take over. They head outside where all of their friends get in some glaring, leaving the two in the match t slug it out inside. Rush gets two off a Falcon Arrow but goes after Mark Sterling on the floor. Daivari gets in a cheap shot off the distraction but Rush scores with the springboard Stunner. The Final Hour finishes Daivari at 4:42.

Rating: C. Well at least they kept it relatively short. There is only so much to get out of anything involving the Premiere Athletes because there is no better example of an act where you know what you’re going to get. They probably haven’t won a match in months and that wasn’t likely to change here, yet they’re on TV almost weekly. Not a bad match, but nothing of interest whatsoever.

Johnny TV is impressed with the MxM Collection and offers to collaborate with them. If they’re interested, slide into his DM’s. The Collection is in awe.

Roderick Strong vs. Shane Taylor

All of their respective friends are there too. Taylor stomps him into the corner to start as we see MJF in what is completely and totally a live shot. Strong gets knocked out to the floor and Taylor gets in another beating on the way back in. We take a break and come back with Taylor missing a legdrop on the apron and Strong making a fired up comeback. Some running shoulders and a clothesline give Strong two, followed by an Angle Slam for the same. Taylor is back with a release Rock Bottom into a splash for two of his own but Strong knees him in the face for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: C. Nice enough for a power vs. speed match and Strong gets a win over an imposing opponent. That being said, this is another example of a match that works fine here but hurts Ring Of Honor, as Taylor and his friends are being built up over there. It’s a bit hard to care about them when their leader is losing on the bigger show.

We look at Bobby Lashley debuting on Dynamite and laying out Swerve Strickland.

There will be a four way for the Tag Team Titles at Full Gear with qualifying matches coming.

Mina Shirakawa is coming back.

Women’s Title: Mariah May vs. Anna Jay

Jay is challenging and isn’t having any of May driving her into the corner to start. May suplexes her into the corner and bends Jay around the ropes for a bonus. We take a break and come back with Jay making the comeback and rolling May up for two. A Backstabber gets the same but May chokes her in the corner.

May’s middle rope dropkick gets two and a running knee connects for the same. Jay neckbreakers her over the middle rope and, after blocking a Stratusphere, gets two off a Blockbuster. The Queenslayer goes on but May eventually flips backwards for the escape. A quick hot shot into a rollup retains the title at 10:21.

Rating: C+. Remember when WWE had this really annoying habit of having champions lose and then they would win the rematch like nothing happened? That’s what happened again here and it’s just as annoying. May looks more vulnerable, Jay continues her up and down booking, and we’re right back where we were before, as we wait on Mina Shirakawa and Tony Storm to come back and do something interesting with May.

Overall Rating: C. There was a good hour long show in here and they stretched it out to two hours, which took away the impact it could have had. Some important stories did get some attention, but then you had stuff like Fletcher taking so long to beat Komander and matches like the ones from Rush and Strong, which were just waiting around until the only reasonable results. This show had its moments but they were dragged down by all of the filler, and that made it quite the tedious watch.

Results
Thunder Rosa b. Harley Cameron – Dropkick into a trashcan
Kyle Fletcher b. Komander – Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
Brian Cage/Lance Archer b. Joe Keys/Shaun Smith – Powerbomb/chokeslam combination to Smith
Pac b. Action Andretti – Brutalizer
Lio Rush b. Ariya Daivari – Final Hour
Roderick Strong b. Shane Taylor – Jumping knee
Mariah May b. Anna Jay – Rollup

 

 

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

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AND

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Ring Of Honor
Date: October 31, 2024
Location: Alliant Energy PowerHouse, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s Halloween and in theory that should mean we’re getting things shaken up a bit. This is the kind of show that could include some kid of change of pace or at least some fun, even if we’re back in the Chris Jericho Era. The main event will see Abadon challenging Athena for the Women’s Title so let’s get to it.

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

Happy Halloween: this show is two hours and fifty six minutes long.

The Righteous want the Tag Team Titles and don’t think Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara are family. What happens when the snake bites Dustin? The Righteous want the titles.

We run down the card.

We look at La Faccion Ingobernable beating down JD Drake and Beef.

Peter Avalon/Preston Vance vs. JD Drake/Beef

Beef makes Vance shake his hand to start before they trade shoulders. That doesn’t go very far until Beef runs him over with a shoulder. Vance’s delayed suplex cuts him off and it’s Avalon coming in for a running corner clothesline. It’s off to Drake, who shakes pinkies with Avalon and then chops him, which is kind of a mixed message.

Drake chops him in the corner and hands it back to Beef for the same thing. Another tag brings Drake back in but he seems to hurt his leg, sending Beef back in to get taken down with a hard spinebuster. Vance’s discus lariat gets two but another one hits Avalon by mistake. Drake is back in with the spinning butterfly suplex, setting up Beef’s frog splash for the pin at 7:16.

Rating: C. So Beef and the Workhorsemen are the new Action Andretti and Top Flight yes? It’s quite the similar story and if it winds up going about the same way, it means they won’t have much of an impact. That being said, I could go for something new in the six man division, assuming you actually call that a division.

We look at Chris Jericho’s promo from Dynamite, promising to elevate Ring Of Honor.

Johnny TV vs. Deonn Rusman

This is certainly elevation. Feeling out process to start with TV driving him into the corner but stopping to pose. Some kicks to the head set up a knee to Rusman’s face but a shooting star headbutt low blow (yep) misses. Rusman stomps away but gets kicked low, allowing TV to rain down some forearms. A flipping neckbreaker choke just fires Rusman up, only for TV to kick him down for two more. Rusman connects with an AA but misses a charge in the corner. The flipping neckbreaker into Starship Pain finishes for TV at 4:58.

Rating: C. This was more about featuring Rusman a bit, as you more or less know exactly what you’re going to get from TV. Rusman has done well in some previous appearances and he did decently again here, though there is only so much you can do on defense. It wasn’t quite a squash, but TV isn’t likely to move up the ladder in any meaningful way.

The MxM Collection as a fall collection.

Gates Of Agony vs. CSJ/Dave Dutra

Kaun runs Dutra over to start and Liona hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. CSJ is sent into the barricade and some running shots in the corner crush Dutra. Open The Gates finishes at 1:40.

Sammy Guevara and Dustin Rhodes are down to face the Righteous. I still have no idea why these two are the champions, but I have less idea why Dustin is a double champion.

Lady Frost vs. Reyna Isis

Frost anklescissors her down to start but Isis runs the corner for a wristdrag. A corkscrew dive to the floor drops Frost again but Frost is back with a moonsault off the steps. Back in and Isis works on the back in the corner, with some running knees connecting for two. Frost ducks a clothesline and hits a running elbow for two but Isis ties her in the ropes. The springboard legdrop finishes for Isis at 5:41.

Rating: C+. I could go for building up Isis as a challenger for one of the titles and two matches in, that wouldn’t be the worst idea. If nothing else, it’s nice to have her around for a bit before throwing her right into something. That’s how a build is supposed to work and if that’s what we’re getting, I’ve heard worse ideas.

We look at Abadon attacking Athena again last week.

Matt Taven vs. Aaron Solo

Pure Rules. Solo knocks him into the corner to start and kicks away but Taven is back with the big dropkick. A springboard is broken up though and Solo hammers him down on the mat. Taven kicks his way out of trouble and hits a DDT, followed by a springboard kick to the head. A choke sends Solo over to the ropes for his first break, followed by a Climax for the second break. Solo gets in a kick to the face but dives into another choke for the tap at 5:49.

Rating: C. Let me guess: this puts Taven into contention for the Pure Rules Title or makes him #1 contender because he has now spent almost six minutes wrestling a Pure match. Ignore that NOTHING in this match had anything special about it that would make you realize it was a Pure Rules of course, because the Pure Rules Title is one of the most pointless titles around. The champion either doesn’t defend it for months at a time or loses in regular matches, but it just keeps existing because it was around before and therefore it has to stay around.

Post match Lee Moriarty comes out for the staredown because THAT’S WHAT WE DO in this….it’s not a division but around this title at least.

JD Drake insists he and Beef aren’t family. They’re waiting for Anthony Henry to get back. I still have no idea what the appeal of these guys is supposed to be.

Righteous vs. Jay Marston/Solomon Tupu

Marston gets dropped, Tupu gets dropped, Orange Sunshine finishes Marston at 1:19.

Post match the Righteous crush Tupu’s leg with Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara running in for the too late save.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Josh Woods

Mark Sterling and Ariya Daivari are here with Woods and plug the Premiere Athletes’ new shirt. Woods wrestles him to the mat to start but Woods is back up with a shot to the face to send him outside. Back in and Woods knocks him into the corner as commentary talks about ear injuries. Ishii’s Saito suplex gets two and he snaps off a German suplex. Woods comes back with an exploder but gets caught on top for a delayed superplex. The big lariat gives Ishii two so he headbutts Woods down, setting up the brainbuster for the pin at 7:08.

Rating: B-. Easily the best match of the night so far as they were beating each other up pretty well. Ishii is old and can’t move nearly as well as he did before but there is still a certain intensity to him that you cannot fake. That’s what we saw here and Woods was hanging in there with him well enough.

Post match the villains beat Ishii down but Kyle O’Reilly runs in for the save.

Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara get jumped by the Righteous, with Dustin trying to protect Guevara. As they rush through probably three weeks’ worth of stuff in about an hour.

Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. Dante Leon/Jah-C/Trip Jordy

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll refer to Dante Martin as Dante and Dante Leon as Leon. Darius armdrags Leon down to start and hands it off to Dante for a dropkick. The slingshot hilo sets up a double backbreaker and an assisted moonsault gets two. Jah-C comes in and gets caught with an atomic drop into a springboard spinning Downward Spiral. Leon comes back in and gets dropkicked into a German suplex. The swinging full nelson slam finishes for Dante at 4:51.

Rating: C+. As usual, Andretti and Top Flight work well together but there is no reason to believe that it’s going to lead anywhere. It’s not like it ever has before, yet here we are watching them have another (albeit entertaining) match. At some point though, I need to have a reason to get interested in these matches, as they’ve been doing the same thing for a long, long time now.

From This Means War on October 29, 2005.

Jay Lethal vs. Curry Man

Curry Man has Allison Danger with him. We get a long pose off to start with the first lockup not taking place until nearly two minutes in. Curry armbars him down into a headscissors but a hammerlock sends Lethal over to the ropes. They trade hammerlocks and that goes nowhere so it’s another standoff so the fans can have their dueling chants. Lethal turns down the option to dance but does armdrag him down into a hip swivel.

They fight over a wristlock again and then trade leg kicks like a dance…and then we pause so the referee can dance too. Danger comes in to dance as well before Curry grabs the mic and says…I think something about how he loves dancing. Lethal wristdrags him to the floor for the suicide dive, followed by a neckbreaker for two.

Curry sends him into the corner for a splash and a back elbow sends Lethal outside, setting up a dive of his own. Fan: “YOU’RE BETTER THAN PEPPER!” The chinlock goes on back inside before Lethal flips out of a suplex and knocks him down. Lethal’s middle rope leg lariat gets two but he misses the top rope headbutt. They trade rollups for two each until Lethal grabs a dragon suplex for the pin at 22:31.

Rating: C. I’m sorry what? Why in the world was this match added to this show? It runs over twenty minutes, including dance off and mid-match promo and could have easily had about fifteen minutes dropped. They were trading decent stuff but the match didn’t build to anything as Lethal just suddenly beat him. There was no need for this to be this long or added to this already marathon show.

Billie Starkz vs. Blair Onyx

Starkz takes her down by the arm to start and slowly kicks away before hitting a spinning kick to the head. Some stomping in the corner has Onyx in trouble and Starkz yells at the referee. Onyx gets a boot up but Starkz catches her on top and hits something like a One Winged Angel for the pin at 4:08.

Rating: C. Just a squash here with Starkz running her over and showing more aggression now that she is seemingly on the outs with Athena. We’re likely coming up on Starkz vs. Athena at Final Battle so we can finally change the title, though that has felt like an obvious case for a long time now. Starkz did look a bit better than she did before, so maybe things are changing a bit.

The Infantry joins Shane Taylor Promotions. Well that’s consolidating losers for a change.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Infantry

Shane Taylor Promotions and Trish Adora are here with the Infantry. Dean shoulders and armdrags Angelico to start but it’s quickly off to Serpentico for a falling splash. The Infantry is knocked outside, where Adora sends Angelico into the steps. Back in and Bravo hammers away on Serpentico with a suplex getting two.

Dean sends him hard into the middle buckle and a middle rope knee/backbreaker combination gets two more. Serpentico kicks his way out of the corner though and hands it off to Angelico to clean house. Everything breaks down and Adora has to offer a distraction, allowing Moriarty to get in a belt shot. Boot Camp finishes Angelico at 9:23.

Rating: C-. The team turns heel, has multiple people interfering, including a belt shot, and they need nearly ten minutes to beat one of the lowest of the low tag teams in Ring Of Honor. That’s the Ring Of Honor mindset in a nutshell: change something around and then make sure that it has as little impact as possible. None of these teams feel like they are going anywhere and this match going so long somehow made it worse.

We look at Diamante screwing up and getting disqualified against Red Velvet.

Diamante vs. Aminah Belmont

Whip into the corner, running dropkick, rolling cutter, Diamante wins at 1:24.

Lexi Nair tells Billie Starkz to focus on Athena’s title defense but Starkz is taking the night off. Nair: “I can’t protect her. I’m just a fragile flower!”

Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages vs. Dark Order

Silver and Bronson start things off with the latter driving him into the corner. That’s fine with Silver, who knocks him into another corner for some chops from Uno. Reynolds, still with bad ribs, comes in and gets driven into the corner for some shoulders. Reynolds shoulders his way out of trouble and chokes away on the ropes.

Boulder comes in for some hip swiveling and a crash into the bad ribs. That’s broken up and Reynolds fights out of the corner, only to get taken down again. An electric chair splash misses and the tag brings in Uno to clean house. A DDT puts Bronson down and the Order’s strike sequence into the jackknife rollup is good for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: C. Nothing to see here, again, as we have two teams who have been established as nothing more than the bottom of the barrel. The Order got wrecked by the Blackpool Combat Club while the Savages lose to everyone. They argued once and now they had a match to determine the second lowest team around here. Why would I want to see these guys fight for eight minutes?

Komander vs. Ariya Daivari

Mark Sterling and Josh Woods are here again and does pretty much the same promo as their first time out here. Komander works on a wristlock to start but has to fight out of a headlock. An armbar puts Daivari down again as commentary reminds us to vote on Tuesday. Some strikes to the face have Daivari in more trouble but Sterling offers a distraction so he can knock Komander off the top.

The villains get in some stomping on the floor and a neckbreaker gives Daivari two. Komander fights out of a chinlock and hits a springboard crossbody into a headscissors. The very springboardy hurricanrana sets up a top rope splash for two on Daivari. A reverse layout DDT gives Daivari two of his own and a superkick puts Komander down. The Magic Carpet Splash is cut off and Daivari rolls outside, where Woods gets in a cheap shot on Komander. He’s fine enough to hit the rope walk flip dive onto the villains, setting up Cielito Lindo for the pin at 11:09.

Rating: C+. This was a perfectly nice match which came at a terrible time in a long show. Komander is the designated jobber to the stars around here and has to be given a win every so often. The problem with that is he beat one of the Premiere Athletes, who lose to everyone. Not a bad match, but this show has gone on WAY too long to make a match between these two work.

Chris Jericho previews the main event. So far, he’s the only one to make any reference to this being the Halloween show.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Abadon

Athena, with Lexi Nair, is defending in a Ring Of Horror match, which is a Halloween themed hardcore match. Oh and they’re chained together. A forearm just annoys Abadon to start so some clotheslines in the corner have Athena in trouble. Athena hits a baseball slide to take it outside, where some chairs are set up.

That takes way too long though and Abadon gets in some kendo stick shots to take over. Things aren’t intense enough yet so Athena whips out a barbed wire baseball bat to miss some big swings. Some pumpkins are destroyed but Abadon uses the distraction to, eventually, spear Athena through a table for two. Another whip through another table has Athena in more trouble as they head back inside for the slugout.

Athena grabs a ladder, which is dropkicked back into her and they go back to the floor. Abadon gets in a dropkick with a trashcan and lays Athena onto a ladder onto the bottom rope. The ensuing backsplash connects and they’re both down. The fight goes outside again, where Athena gets in a hard knee against the steps for two. Back in and Abadon’s bite to the head doesn’t work very well as Athena gets in a powerbomb out of the corner.

Athena manages to slip out of the chain and swings a kendo stick, which bounces off the ropes and hits her in the head to give Abadon two. Abadon goes up but gets powerbombed onto the steps for two more. Nair slides in some skewers, which are driven into Abadon’s head. That’s shrugged off and Abadon pulls her head first into a chair in the corner. A swinging Rock Bottom plants Athena onto a bunch of thumbtacks on the floor for two more, leaving Abadon frustrated. Athena gets in a bottle shot to the face and the O Face onto the chairs retains the title at 19:48.

Rating: B. This worked rather well for a variety of reasons, including the effort that they put into the match on the way here. For once, it felt like this match had been built up for weeks and then they put in a heck of a performance in the match itself. It was violent and hard hitting, with Athena feeling like she survived. Good stuff here, as Athena continues to be the best thing about Ring Of Honor by a mile.

Overall Rating: D+. Oh this did not work, pretty awesome main event aside. This was WAY longer than it needed to be, as it felt like they were trying to cram in every single thing and person they could find. At what point do you look at a two and a half hour show and think “I KNOW! WE NEED A NINETEEN YEAR OLD CURRY MAN MATCH!”

There comes a point where a show just needs to end and they hit that point way before halfway through this week. It was a bunch of nothing matches featuring low level stars who felt like they were there to fill in an overly long card. Ring Of Honor has done this before and it never works, but I guess they just had to have all of this stuff on here because we only have what, five months between pay per views these days? Terribly put together show this week, as someone needs to tell Tony Khan to stop (again).

Results
JD Drake/Beef b. Peter Avalon/Preston Vance – Frog splash to Avalon
Johnny TV b. Deonn Rusman – Starship Pain
Gates Of Agony b. CSJ/Dave Dutra – Open The Gates to Dutra
Reyna Isis b. Lady Frost – Middle rope legdrop in the ropes
Matt Taven b. Aaron Solo – Choke
Righteous b. Jay Marston/Solomon Tupu – Orange Sunshine to Marston
Tomohiro Ishii b. Josh Woods – Brainbuster
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Dante Leon/Jah-C/Trip Jordy – Swinging full nelson slam to Leon
Billie Starkz b. Blair Onyx – Electric chair flipping slam
Infantry b. Spanish Announce Project – Boot Camp to Angelico
Diamante b. Aminah Belmont – Rolling cutter
Dark Order b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Jackknife rollup to Bronson
Komander b. Ariya Daivari – Cielito Lindo
Athena b. Abadon – O Face onto chairs

 

 

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: September 12, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

The Texas residency finally comes to an end with the last of one heck of a marathon taping. That being said, there is almost no way of knowing what to expect here as the shows do not exactly build week to week. Odds are the action will be good, if not a bit overdone though. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Atlantis Jr. vs. Peter Avalon

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Avalon wins or survives the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Avalon goes after the arm to start before Atlantis does the same to take over. Back up and they shove each other until Atlantis gets an early two off a Falcon Arrow.

Avalon seems to bang up his knee on a leapfrog attempt but appears to be goldbricking and takes Avalon down. Atlantis is right back up and hits a high crossbody, followed by a clothesline out to the floor. The big dive gets two on Avalon back inside and Avalon’s top rope moonsault press gets the same. Atlantis shrugs that off and hits a frog splash for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: C. This was the same issue that always plagues Atlantis as there is nothing about him that stands out in the slightest. He’s a perfectly adequate star but is seemingly there to boost up the relationship with CMLL. That doesn’t make for much of a championship run, especially when he doesn’t have any kind of a feud or story going on.

Billie Starkz asks Athena what is going on but Athena praises Lexi Nair instead. Maybe Nair should be Minion #1! Starkz loses it because Nair is getting all of her credit but Athena threatens violence for that kind of jealousy.

Harley Cameron vs. Queen Aminata

Aminata takes her down with a headscissors to start and shakes a bit for a bonus. A running knee to the chest gives Aminata two and they head outside where Cameron strikes away. Back in and a Russian legsweep gives Cameron two but Aminata grabs a suplex. The running hip attack misses in the corner though and Cameron hits a clothesline for two of her own. Back up and Aminata hits a headbutt for the fast pin at 7:00.

Rating: C. As usual, Aminata is only so interesting and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. She had her big run at the title and now that seems to have stopped mattering. It doesn’t help that Cameron is little more than the division’s designated jobber, which is all she was here. Not a bad match, but not something that is going to inspire much interest. In other words, it’s Ring Of Honor.

Top Flight/Action Andretti vs. Vin Parker/Dante Leon/CD Bennett

Lexi Nair is here with the good guys and for the sake of simplicity, I’ll only refer to Dante Martin as Dante. Andretti and Parker start things off with the former grabbing a hammerlock. A running kick to the chest gives Darius two but he gets taken into the wrong corner. That’s broken up with a dropkick and it’s off to Dante for a slingshot armdrag. Dante gets knocked outside for a stomping but he’s fine enough for a double hurricanrana back inside. Andretti is back in to clean house and a running shooting star press gets two on Leon. Dante’s swinging half nelson slam finishes Leon at 5:47.

Rating: C+. This was the latest match where Top Flight and Andretti looked good as a three man team, but there is no reason to believe that they are going to get a serious run at either title. We’ve been here so many times before and it hasn’t gone anywhere. The team is talented, but it doesn’t matter if the team isn’t getting in any real run at the titles. I have no idea why they don’t, but here we are again.

Rachael Ellering interrupts an annoyed Harley Cameron and mocks her for losing.

Outrunners vs. Fly Def

Erica Leigh is here with the Outunners. Fly starts in on Floyd’s arm before handing it off to Def for more of the same. Floyd fights up and hands it off to Magnum for the Paisan elbow. The Outrunners clear the ring in a hurry and Total Recall finishes Def at 2:33.

Post match Jacked Jameson and the Iron Savages jump the Outrunners because fun isn’t allowed on this show. The Infantry saves the Outrunners and we get the big handshake.

Robyn Renegade vs. Angelica Risk

The much bigger Renegade drops to her knees to even things up a bit, which earns her a slap. Risk takes her into the corner but gets dropped by a running knee. A suplex sets up an early chinlock but Renegade misses a charge into the corner. Back up and Renegade’s powerslam gets two but Risk manages a quick 619. Renegade shrugs it off and grabs a pumphandle Downward Spiral for the pin at 3:44.

Rating: C. Yes the woman who is occasionally brought in to put others over needed a win on this show. This is a great example of the kind of match that absolutely did not need to be on the show and only makes a long show even longer. The match was perfectly fine, but it’s just adding content to the show, which is rarely a good idea.

Jacoby Watts doesn’t like EJ Nduka and tells him to come find either himself or Nick Comoroto.

Righteous vs. James Blackheart/JC Valentine

Vincent hugs Blackheart to start and then runs him over in a bit of a mixed message. Valentine comes in and gets crushed by Dutch, with Blackheart getting the same. Orange Sunshine finishes Valentine at 2:41.

Ariya Daivari vs. Sammy Guevara

Daivari, with Mark Sterling, is going to beat up Guevara rather than all of Texas. Commentary says Guevara is on “the winning streak of his life”, roughly 24 hours after he lost on Dynamite. Daivari’s running shoulder has limited success to start before they fight over wrist control. Guevara dropkicks him out to the floor but spins into the pose rather than dive.

They brawl on the floor with Daivari taking over and sending him into the buckle a few times back inside. Sterling even gets in some choking before Daivari grabs a sleeper. Guevara fights up on the second arm drop and they chop it out with Guevara getting the better of things this time. Some right hands in the corner set up a delayed brainbuster to give Guevara two but it’s too early for the GTH. Instead Guevara goes up for the 630 but the Premiere Athletes break it up. Daivari’s hammerlock lariat gets two but Guevara dives onto the Athletes. A springboard cutter into the GTH gives Guevara the win at 11:03.

Rating: B-. This was the first match on the show that felt somewhat important, but it also makes me wonder why Guevara needs to be a champion. He hasn’t teamed with Dustin Rhodes as a regular team very often and is already losing on AEW TV, but he’s a Ring Of Honor champion anyway. Oh right he’s from Texas, which is all that matters in recent weeks.

Lexi Nair does not like Red Velvet but Diamante comes in to unofficially challenge for the title.

Lady Frost vs. Promise Braxton

Frost grabs a headlock to start but Braxton hits her in the back and hits something like a reverse Meteora. The chinlock doesn’t keep Frost down for long and she comes back with a running clothesline. A hurricanrana out of the corner into a cannonball gives Frost two and Frostbite finishes Braxton at 3:16.

Rating: C. More of the main theme of the show here, as someone whose main function is to make someone else look good gets a win. Again, that’s fine once in awhile but it can be rather tedious to watch a show mainly comprised of that kind of match. Frost feels like someone who could be a player, but since that isn’t going to happen, it makes matches like this feel rather tedious.

Willie Mack vs. Exodus Prime

Mack flips over him to start and grabs an armdrag before hitting a splash for two. Some chops in the corner set up a double nipple twist, with the fans approving of Mack’s actions. Exodus gets in a shot of his own and drops a knee, setting up the slingshot legdrop for two. A suplex gets Mack out of trouble and the standing moonsault gives him two. Prime’s comeback has no effect and it’s the Six Star Frog Splash to give Mack the pin at 7:20.

Rating: C+. This show is rapidly losing me as there is zero reason for a someone who hasn’t been here since February to need seven minutes to beat someone whose name sounds like a knockoff Transformer. It’s another example of this show just going and going with no reason other than because the person running it feels like it should. You can also add Mack to the list of people who are not likely going to go anywhere but needed a win anyway.

Beef interrupts Anthony Henry, who still doesn’t like him. Henry warns Beef that JD Drake is going to come back and slap Beef in the face.

Preston Vance vs. KM

Vance actually gets an insert promo, talking about how he wants to show what Brodie Lee saw in him. Vance knocks him down to start and takes it to the apron, where KM gets in a Stunner over the top. That doesn’t bother Vance, who sends him into the barricade and steps to cut off the comeback. A suplex on the ramp sets up a spinebuster back inside, followed by the discus lariat to finish KM at 3:19.

Rating: C-. I’m sure this will be the start of the big run for Vance, who has wrestled four times this year and hadn’t won a singles match in about a year and a half. It’s another thing that was added onto the show with no additional value, which has been the case with almost everything on this show. I’m going to guess that Tony Khan saw Vance in catering and put him on the show because he suddenly remembered Vance worked here, because why else would he be put on this far too long show?

Fuego del Sol/Spanish Announce Project vs. Ace Of Space Academy/Joe Alonzo

Angelico and Alonzo fight over wrist control to start, with Angelico getting the better of things and taking him into the corner. The rather large Charles comes in and is quickly dropkicked out to the floor. Back in and Serpentico gets caught in the wrong corner with an enziguri into a splash giving Charles two.

Alonzo slams him down for…nothing as Serpentico’s shoulder isn’t down. A running Downward Spiral gives Serpentico a breather and Angelico comes in to kick LSG into a small package for two. Everything breaks down and Fuego tornado DDTs Charles to the floor. Angelico grabs a Sharpshooter with an arm trap to make LSG give up at 6:03.

Rating: C. Fuego is your We’re In Texas addition to the show and the Project has to be on almost every Ring Of Honor show ever so they check a pair of boxes. Other than that, it’s more of the same on this show, as people who have nothing going on are put in a match just to add onto the card. Alonzo has looked decent in his appearances, but it’s hard to stand out in a six man tag.

AR Fox/Komander vs. Ariel Dominguez/Brilliante RB

Komander knocks Dominguez into the corner to start and hits a standing moonsault for an early two. RB comes in to float over Fox in the corner and a moonsault over him increases the frustration. Fox’s sunset flip gets two so it’s already back to Dominguez. Fox snaps off a jumping cutter to RB and hits the big flip dive to take both of them out on the floor. Komander hits his own dive and Cielito Lindo finishes RB at 4:50.

Rating: C+. They’re kidding right? The show was already pushing two hours so let’s put in another thrown together pairing of people who are on the show occasionally but never do anything. I’m sure they’ll be in the thick of the Tag Team Title hunt though, because every team who wins a match gets the same reaction, whether they are brand new or established as a team.

Lio Rush vs. Rocky Romero

Student vs. teacher. Romero armdrags him down to start and this a running basement dropkick, setting up an Eddie Guerrero dance. A shot to the face staggers Rush in the corner but he’s back with his running dodges into a dropkick. Back up and Romero kicks the leg out to send Rush face first into the buckle. A spinning backbreaker has Rush’s back in trouble and the beating continues on the floor.

Back in and Romero stomps away to set up a suplex, followed by a surfboard as the back focus keeps going. Rush jawbreaks his way to freedom but Romero pulls him right back into a chinlock. Another comeback sees Rush hit a tornado DDT and he cuts off the Forever Lariats. Romero kicks him into the corner and scores with a knee to the ribs but has to block a springboard cutter. Rush is right back with the springboard Stunner though and the Final Hour finishes at 11:23.

Rating: B-. This was the main event of the show and got the most time of any match. Here’s the problem with that: last night on Dynamite, Rush was thrown into a random TNT Title match and lost in about eight minutes while Romero has never won anything of value in either AEW or Ring Of Honor. Yes Romero mentored Rush off camera, but why in the world would that make me want to see them have a match? They’re people who have been presented as next to nothing in either promotion and that takes away the interest their behind the scenes story might have.

Overall Rating: D. This show did the worst thing a wrestling show can do: it felt like I wasted my time. Up and down the card, you had people who have either been spinning their wheels for months or doing nothing (again: Preston Vance has wrestled THREE TIMES this year but got a match here) and I’m supposed to want to watch them have matches for two hours.

This was episode 81 of the new Ring Of Honor and they have a very clear method of operation. You know what you’re going to get and you know that the people regularly presented as not often going to be elevated into the title picture. It’s a bunch of people with nothing better to do being thrown on here because of this really annoying mentality of “everyone should be presented as often as possible”.

It comes off like Tony Khan does not care about the quality of the show but rather just expects you to sit through whatever he throws out there because he knows you’ll either put up with it or he doesn’t care because you’ve already paid (BECAUSE THIS SHOW IS BEHIND A FREAKING PAYWALL!).

Normally I would say “Ring Of Honor needs to do this and this and this” but it’s not going to change anyway, so why waste even more of my time in a week where AEW already had an extra five hours of pay per view time, following another two hours of Ring Of Honor last week? Horribly put together show here and another great example of why Ring Of Honor is the biggest waste of time vanity project in wrestling today.

Results
Atlantis Jr. b. Peter Avalon – Frog splash
Queen Aminata b. Harley Cameron – Headbutt
Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Vin Parker/Dante Leon/CD Bennett – Swinging half nelson slam to Leon
Outrunners b. Fly Def – Total Recall to Def
Robyn Renegade b. Angelica Risk – Pumphandle Downward Spiral
Righteous b. James Blackheart/JC Valentine – Orange Sunshine to Valentine
Sammy Guevara b. Ariya Daivari – GTH
Lady Frost b. Promise Braxton – Frostbite
Willie Mack b. Exodus Prime – Six Star Frog Splash
Preston Vance b. KM – Discus lariat
Spanish Announce Project/Fuego del Sol b. Ace Of Space Academy/Joe Alonzo – Arm trap Sharpshooter to LSG
AR Fox/Komander b. Brilliante RB/Ariel Dominguez – Cielito Lindo to RB
Lio Rush b. Rocky Romero – Final Hour

 

 

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All In 2024
Date: August 25, 2024
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinnness, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the biggest show of the year and they’re in London for the second time in a row. That alone should make the show feel important but in this case the card is mostly living up to the hype. The main event will see Bryan Danielson challenging Swerve Strickland for the World Title in a title vs. career match, which has all of the makings. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo vs. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight

Don Callis is on commentary as Billington and Lethal strike it out to start. Sabian and Ogogo come in for a lockup until Sabian hits a dropkick to kick him down. Everything breaks down and we’re left with Singh and Rush for the visual. Rush’s chops to the stomach don’t work so he grabs Singh’s leg, with Singh walking around anyway. Singh isn’t having that and launches Rush over the top and down onto the pile.

Back in and Silver slams Andretti down and chokes on the ropes, allowing Evil Uno (one of the many extras on the floor) throwing the papers ala Brodie Lee. Private Party hit slingshot hilos and Daivari chops him down for two. Andretti handspring elbows his way out of trouble though and it’s back to Sabian to pick up the pace.

Fletcher comes in with a middle rope cutter to Lethal before knocking Singh off the apron. A brainbuster gets two on Reynolds and everything breaks down, meaning it’s time for the dives. Silly String hits Sabian and Gin and Juice makes it worse. Ogogo gets to punch at various people but Darius is back in with a double DDT onto the Order. Dante drops Daivari and hits a frog splash for the pin at 11:36.

Rating: C+. It was an entertaining match but it was such a mess with that many people in there that no one really got to stand out (save for maybe Fletcher). This was the definition of “get a bunch of people on the show”, but it was also the definition of “most of these people don’t mean much and they’re out there in front of a half empty stadium because the show doesn’t start for over an hour”. That’s not exactly a great start and the wide shot of all the empty seats at the start made me feel more sad for them than excited for the show.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Willow Nightingale

The winning team picks the stipulation for Statlander vs. Nightingale next month at All Out. Hathaway is brought to the stage on a sedan, because of course he is. Ishii starts with Hathaway, who isn’t having this and bails out, meaning it’s Nightingale vs. Statlander. Nightingale gets sent into the corner for some shots to the face but comes back with a spinebuster for two.

We pause for some yelling at Hathaway, allowing Statlander to get in some cheap shots to take over. Back up and Nightingale makes the clothesline comeback, only to walk into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Nightingale slips out of a Death Valley Driver and drops a backsplash for two of her own. The double tag brings in the men and for some reason, Hathaway fires off some chops.

This goes as well as you would expect and Ishii runs him over. Statlander comes back in to forearm away at Ishii, allowing Hathaway to actually hit a spinebuster. The fans are rather happy as Ishii pops back up, with Hathaway hammering away in the corner. That doesn’t last long as Nightingale Pounces Statlander, leaving Ishii to hit the sliding lariat for the pin on Hathaway at 8:15.

Rating: C+. This was all about Hathaway and of course he made it work in his limited chances. The bigger story is going to be the stipulation for Nightingale vs. Statlander, which almost has to be either a hardcore match or Nightingale fighting both of them at once. Perfectly fine match here and it would have fit in on any given Rampage.

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs vs. Kingdom/Cage Of Agony

Kevin Von Erich is here with the good guys and it’s a big brawl in the aisle before the bell. We get a quadruple Shattered Dreams to the villains and, with the referee ok with all of that, it’s the opening bell with Guevara and Kaun starting things off. Guevara quickly clears the ring and stares it down with Cage, who gets dropped with a top rope cutter. Kaun pulls Guevara outside for a whip into the barricade and they head back inside with Guevara caught in the wrong corner.

A backbreaker/springboard elbow drop combination gets two but Taven misses a frog splash. Rhodes comes in to take over and the snap powerslam puts Taven down. We hit the parade of knockdowns as Excalibur can barely keep track of everyone. Taven is back up with the Flight Of The Conqueror so Rhodes teases a dive but dances into a pose instead. Cage tries a running flip dive but mostly misses, leaving Guevara to shooting star onto the pile.

Back in and Cage gets the worst of a Tower Of Doom, leaving Rhodes to hit Cross Rhodes for two on Taven with the Gates making the save. Rhodes gets tossed into a powerbomb for two but Guevara hurricanranas his way out of the same thing. Shibata’s running dropkick hits Bennett in the corner and Marshall’s top rope moonsault gets the same. Rhodes hits Taven with the Final Reckoning and Guevara adds the Swanton so Rhodes can get the pin at 11:03.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what Rhodes has on AEW but he has been the most active guy in the company (and in Ring Of Honor, because that’s a thing as well) for the last few weeks. That being said, Texas Takes England wasn’t the most thrilling story, especially when it came after a tag match with even more people. This was another bunch of people doing stuff until someone got the pin. The Texas guys don’t do anything for me because I’ve seen them more than I could possibly want to recently, but at least it didn’t go that long.

Post match the villains jump them but Kevin Von Erich makes the save, meaning it’s a group claw to get rid of the bad guys.

Here are the Outcasts, with Saraya’s entire family, for her big moment. Harley Cameron says Saraya is mad, with Saraya going into a rant about not being on the show despite being the best British woman ever in wrestling. And cue the returning Jamie Hayter (now with red hair) to march her way to Saraya, with Sweet Saraya (Saraya’s mother) getting in a cheap shot. The younger Saraya escapes, allowing Hayter to take out Cameron and stand tall.

The last nine minutes of the pre-show are spent on the entrances to the opener so the main show can start fast.

Trios Titles: Patriarchy vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club vs. House Of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang

The Patriarchy is defending in a ladder match. The bell rings and Cage runs away to start, leaving everyone else to brawl on the floor. That means a table is already set up on the floor but Austin has to cut Matthews down from a climb attempt. A bunch of people go up but get pulled down, with King dropping Pac with a clothesline. Robinson hits a running flip dive off the apron to take out Castagnoli, leaving Matthews to hit a big flip dive over the top.

Pac dives onto all of them but gets caught with What’s Up from the Gunns. King hits the big suicide dive…and here is Cage again. Cage goes up but gets pulled down by King, who takes Cage outside to be surrounded by a mob. That leaves Mother Wayne to go up, with the Gunns cutting her off and talking some sense into her. Killswitch comes in with chokeslams abounding, including one onto a ladder.

Wayne’s World through a table drops King so Luchasaurus goes up, only for Cage to go up at the same time for the sake of getting the glory. That’s broken up as well so it’s Castagnoli getting to wreck the Gunns. There’s the Swing to Robinson but the Gunns make the save, meaning it’s time for the tables. A bunch of people go up and crash through said tables, leaving Robinson to pull Black off the ladder. Wayne goes up and gets knocked hard through another table so let’s bring in the really big ladder, which is grazing against the bottom of the titles.

Pac goes up but gets pulled back down as Mother Wayne passes something off to Cage. That would be a spray of some kind, which goes into Yuta’s eyes to bring him off the ladder. Cage puts a ladder onto him and unloads with a chair but Robinson blocks Mother Wayne’s spray and sprays her instead. Luchasaurus knocks Robinson through a table, leaving Cage and Matthews to go up a pair of ladders. Cage spears him down through a table but might have hurt his own head in the process. Luchasaurus picks Cage up and climbs but Pac goes up as well and kicks Cage down. Pac gets the titles at 19:10.

Rating: B. Well that was a ladder match with a bunch of weapons and even more people involved. It’s something that has been done time after time and while it can be fun, it’s not something I’m going to get excited to see. This would also be the case with a thrown together team winning the titles. I’m sure it’s to get a British champion on there, but there are going to be more than a few on here without doing this title change.

We recap Mariah May challenging Toni Storm for the Women’s Title. May was Storm’s understudy but then won the Owen Hart Tournament to earn the shot and violently attacked Storm. Now Storm is being serious for the first time in a good while and wants revenge.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May

Storm is defending and has Luther with her. They glare at each other and argue to start before slugging it out. May Day and Storm Zero are both broken up so May dropkicks her into the corner. They chop it out until Storm grabs a DDT, with the fans approving. Storm misses a running hip attack in the ropes and gets powerbombed out onto the floor for a nasty landing.

Back in and May hits a running dropkick, followed by Stratusphere for two. Storm fights up from a slap and hammers away, only to get suplexed back down. May even goes outside and dropkicks Luther, which is just not that nice. To make it even worse, May slaps HER OWN MOTHER (in the crowd) but the delay lets Storm hit Storm Zero onto the steps. Storm goes over to hug May’s mother and now May is busted open.

Back in (because the champ’s piledriver onto the steps barely keeps May down for a minute) and Storm throws her around, including a chokebomb for two. May kicks her in the head and hits a bunch of hip attacks but the big one takes too long. Storm is back up and hits her own hip attack, setting up Storm Zero for two.

May goes after the fingers and kicks Storm low before stereo headbutts leave them both down. Back up and May Day gets two so it’s time to grab the title, with Luther pulling it away. Instead May grabs the bloody shoe but Storm takes it away..and can’t bring herself to hit May, who rolls her up for two. May knees her in the face, kisses Storm on the head, and hits Storm Zero for the pin and the title at 15:11.

Rating: B. That was the only result that made sense as Storm’s time as champion had come and gone. It was a hard hitting fight with Storm wanting revenge but coming up short, which is how it should have gone. It wouldn’t shock me to see Storm go a bit more back to normal now, as she can only go so much nuttier. Good stuff here, which overcame a bit of a weak build.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Hook for the FTW Title. Jericho has already beaten Hook but has had to jump through hoops to get another shot at him.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and gets played to the ring by Fozzy. It’s FTW Rules so the Learning Tree gets in and beats Hook down to start. The Codebreaker connects for one but Hook is back up with a German suplex. Jericho drops him again and hits the Lionsault for two, meaning it’s weapons time. That takes too long so Hook grabs another suplex and pulls out a cricket bat. Hook even grabs some cricket balls and hits them at Jericho but Keith comes in with a trashcan lid.

The Walls are broken up so Hook grabs his own version, only to have Bill make the save. They go outside with Keith setting up a barbed wire board on another table. Hook slips out of a chokeslam but Jericho goes after the good eye to blind him again. One heck of a trashcan shot puts Hook down but the Judas Effect is countered into a t-bone suplex, allowing Hook to reveal that his patched eye has healed and he could really see (Remember when Jericho blinded Jon Moxley and Moxley wore an eyepatch but then Moxley revealed he could really see during their match? Just a random thought.).

Redrum goes on with Bill making the save, only to have Jericho accidentally knock him into the barbed wire board. Keith gets up for a cheap shot, which FINALLY draws Taz off commentary to Tazmission Keith down. Redrum makes Jericho tap and gives Hook the title back at 10:11.

Rating: C+. And that should be it for these two. Hook gets his (latest) win over Jericho and Jericho gets to…well probably move on to a bigger feud because he has to be involved in something important every week. For now though, it’s a feel good moment and that’s all it needed to be.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. The Acclaimed and FTR both want the Young Bucks’ titles but since the Bucks almost never defend them, we have both of them getting a shot at once.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. FTR vs. Acclaimed

The Bucks are defending and Caster rushes through his rap, possibly due to nerves. Harwood works on the arm to start but FTR and the Acclaimed get in a shoving match, all while the Bucks approve. The Bucks do come in but are quickly dispatched, leaving Wheeler to get caught in a Scissor Me Timbers attempt. That takes too long though and Nick makes the save, setting up an assisted standing Sliced Bread to Wheeler. Matt grabs a chinlock for a bit before Wheeler fights up and hands it off to Bowens to pick up the pace.

Now Scissor Me Timbers can hit Nick and we pause for some scissoring. Harwood is back in with the German suplexes, including one to both Bucks at once. The PowerPlex only hits raised knees but so does Nick’s 450. The Tony Khan Driver is broken up as well though with Nick being shoved into a moonsault onto the Acclaimed. Matt walks into the Shatter Machine but Nick pulls the referee out.

Back up and Matt hits a tornado DDT to plant Bowens on the floor, leaving Matt and Caster to hit a VIP Trigger to Harwood. Wheeler makes a save but gets sent outside, leaving the Acclaimed to load up Nick. Matt makes the save with a low blow and it’s time for the superkicks. That’s not enough for Matt, who grabs a title, earning himself a Fameasser from Billy Gunn. The Arrival connects but Nick makes the save. Harwood rolls Nick up for two but gets belt shotted for two. The EVP Trigger to Harwood is enough for the pin to retain the titles at 13:21.

Rating: B-. It was a good match but not top level stuff. The Bucks getting their win back in Wembley wasn’t exactly shocking and now we get to find out who they’ll defend against, maybe by Halloween or so. The story coming in wasn’t overly exciting and it dragged things down a bit, though I do appreciate them not going crazy long, which just wasn’t needed.

Post match the Grizzled Young Veterans come in for a staredown with the Young Bucks, who leave instead. Heaven forbid we get that match here of course, because we needed to repeat the previous combinations instead.

Casino Gauntlet Match

This is a 21 person gauntlet match with staggered entrances, but the fall can happen at any time, even if it is only the first two entrants. The winner gets a World Title shot at any time (basically MITB). Orange Cassidy is in at #1 and Kazuchika Okada is in at #2. Okada doesn’t seem worried so Cassidy dropkicks him down into the nip up. NIGEL MCGUINNESS is in at #3 and the fans go coconuts, especially as he and Okada go with the grappling. Nigel takes Okada down and it’s Kyle O’Reilly in at #4.

O’Reilly ties up Okada’s arm but gets caught in an armbar from Nigel at the same time. Cassidy is back in with a Stundog Millionaire and Zack Sabre Jr. is in at #5. We get the Nigel vs. Sabre showdown and the fans are VERY pleased. They go with the grappling before trading rollups for two each until Okada takes Nigel’s place. Sabre gets in a weird neck crank but Okada slips out and hits the top rope elbow. Back up and Sabre goes for the leg but Roderick Strong is in at #6.

Strong’s entrance takes so long that Mark Briscoe is in at #7 by the time he gets to do anything. House is quickly cleaned and it’s Hangman Page in at #8. Clotheslines abound and it’s Jeff Jarrett in at #9. We get the strut before Jarrett gets to hammer on Page in the corner. Page breaks that up and powerbombs Jarrett onto a pile as Ricochet makes his debut at #10. Ricochet starts firing off the kicks and goes to the floor to hammer on Page. Christian Cage limps in at #11 but Ricochet cuts him off.

Okada dropkicks Page, who fights back and loads up the Buckshot Lariat. That’s broken up with a guitar shot, leaving Okada to Rainmaker Jarrett. Cassidy is back up to clean house until he walks into End Of Heartache. Briscoe is in to wreck everyone until he accidentally helps Nigel hit the Tower of London (hanging Stunner) on Sabre. Cage drops Nigel though and it’s Luchasaurus in at #12. He starts firing off the chokeslams, including one to O’Reilly, with Cage stealing the pin at 25:50.

Rating: B. They were rocking here for a bit before a kind of downer ending. Cage being added to the match and stealing it in the end felt like something out of Unforgiven 2008 with a banged up Chris Jericho winning the World Title. That being said, the good stuff here more than outweighed the bad, with Nigel being a crazy great surprise and Ricochet being a cool moment. I liked this, but make it an annual PPV event, as this is the third time we’ve sen it this year.

We recap MJF defending the American Title against Will Ospreay. MJF beat Ospreay in a match that went about an hour via some cheating and now Ospreay wants the title back.

American Title: Will Ospreay vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending and comes out dressed as Uncle Sam, while Ospreay gets an Assassin’s Creed entrance. Just to make it worse, MJF has a big American flag come down from the rafters, which Taz calls “heat”. They slug it out to start with Ospreay getting the better of things to send him outside. That means a Sasuke Special to drop MJF, who is right back with a running boot against the barricade. Back in and Ospreay can’t hit the Oscutter so they trade rollups for two each.

MJF powerbombs him onto the knee and adds a Kangaroo Kick. That means we get a hip swivel but Ospreay is back up with an enziguri for two. A skytwister press gets two and MJF heads outside, where he catches Ospreay’s dive in a Tombstone on the floor. Ospreay is back on his feet 51 seconds later and catches MJF’s Moonsault in a Spanish Fly. Back in and MJF is draped over the top for a shooting star to the back for two more.

Stormbreaker is countered into Cross Rhodes for two, only for Ospreay to come back with the Oscutter for the same. MJF hits a quick piledriver for two more but has to counter Stormbreaker into a discus forearm. He takes too long to follow up though and walks into the Stormbreaker for two. The Hidden Blade is loaded up but MJF rolls out to the apron instead. The Oscutter misses as Ospreay only hits mat in a nasty crash. A Canadian Destroyer on the apron knocks Ospreay even sillier, to the point where he collapses before MJF can try a Hidden Blade.

The Heatseeker is blocked and NOW the Oscutter on the apron connects. The crash takes out a production crew member though and Ospreay goes to check on him, allowing MJF to grab the title. Ospreay superkicks MJF and goes after him again, only to bump the referee. MJF hits him low and loads up another shot but a man in black jumps up to cut him off. It’s Daniel Garcia, with MJF threatening him as he leaves. The running forearm drops MJF and the Tiger Driver 91 gives Ospreay the title back at 25:36.

Rating: B. This got going and turned into a showdown, with Garcia being a fine way to go. It was either going to be him or Adam Cole and while I’m not a Garcia fan, I’d rather they go with him over reheating Cole vs. MJF. The match was the kind of hard hitting special that works well for Ospreay, though MJF better be out of action for the better part of ever after all the hype the Tiger Driver 91 received. I know he won’t be, but that’s how he should be after the story they were telling.

Post match Christopher Daniels presents Ospreay with the International Title as the America’s Title goes away.

We recap Britt Baker challenging Mercedes Mone for the TBS Title. Mone is the dominant champion but Baker is back to get into the title hunt again.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker

Mone, with Kamille, is defending and comes to the ring in a carriage with her corgis. They run the ropes to start until Mone hits a dropkick but Baker is back up to knock her to the floor. Kamille catches her though and Mone poses with the title as a villain should. Back in and it’s too early for the Lockjaw so Baker settles for a superkick. Kamille offers a distraction though and Mone grabs a backbreaker onto the turnbuckle for two.

Another backbreaker keeps Baker in trouble but she fights up. A kick to the back cuts her off and Banks grabs Three Amigos. Baker fights up again and takes Mone up, only to get slammed down from the middle rope for a nasty crash. Back up and Baker tries a stomp but gets countered into a powerbomb. A quick cutter drops Mone but she goes to the back again for some near falls. Mone loads up…something, only to be reversed into the Air Raid Crash for two.

They go up top and Mone tries another slam, which is reversed into a wicked super powerslam to give Baker two more. Mone tries a belt shot but gets caught, allowing Kamille to tease one, only for Baker to drop down, Eddie Guerrero style. Kamille is ejected and the Panama Sunrise hits Mone for two. Lockjaw goes on but Mone bites the fingers and grabs the Mone Maker to retain at retain the title at 17:20.

Rating: C+. This went long and it hurt things a lot, as they could have wrapped it up about five minutes earlier. As usual, Mone is much more about the sizzle and setup than the match itself, though she was doing well here. Just find a finisher that doesn’t look terrible all the time and she’ll be in a much better place. I’m not sure what is next for Baker, but she could use a win in a good feud. Maybe Deonna Purrazzo?

We recap Darby Allin challenging Jack Perry for the TNT Title. Allin doesn’t like how Perry was handed the title and since Perry is the Most Interesting Wrestler Ever, he wants it to be a Coffin Match.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Jack Perry

Allin is challenging in a Coffin Match and goes after Perry with a chair to start. They go to the floor with Perry being sat in the chair for a dive, meaning it’s time for the coffin. Perry cuts off a dive though and it’s already time for a bag of broken glass. The fans sing CRY ME A RIVER so Perry swears at them, only for Allin to drive a skateboard into his back, sending him into the glass.

They go outside with Allin hitting a dive, only to get rammed into the coffin. Now it’s time to go up the ramp and Allin gets thrown off the stage and through a table. Perry throws him into a bodybag and carries him back to the ring….where Allin is thrown into the coffin. A running knee is enough to knock Allin out and retain the title at 10:35.

Rating: C+. Well, there’s your Jack Perry win over someone who is more interesting and better than him. It’s not exactly a shock and Allin is on the way to bigger things with the World Title shot at Grand Slam, but as usual, this felt more about Perry and….yeah it’s still the same guy. The tough guy thing isn’t working for him and they had to get the glass spot in, which might not be the most lucrative call back.

Post match the Young Bucks come out to light the casket on fire…..but STING returns for the save. Perry chairs him in the back for no effect so Perry runs off, leaving Sting to lay the Bucks out. Then Allin is helped out of the coffin to pose, which doesn’t exactly make Perry look like a killer. Granted that might be minor to having a 62 year old retired legend take out the top heel stable on his own.

We recap the AEW World Title match with Swerve Strickland defending against Bryan Danielson. That’s not big enough so Danielson, whose neck is held together by paper clips and a dream, is putting his career on the line.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson

Swerve is defending and gets rapped to the ring. After the Big Match Intros, Danielson chops away to start but gets taken down by the arm, allowing Swerve to glare at Danielson’s family in the crowd. Back up and Danielson goes to the arm but it’s too early for the LeBell Lock attempt. Swerve misses a dive so Danielson is up with a springboard flip dive to take him down on the floor.

Back in and Danielson starts in on the arm, which is fine enough for Swerve to grab a suplex. The confidence starts to pick up as Swerve knocks him into the corner. Swerve heads outside but gets caught in a triangle choke over the ropes. Back up and Swerve tries a Death Valley Driver, with the referee getting knocked down. That lets Prince Nana slide in the title, with the Driver onto the belt knocking Danielson silly and busting him open in the process.

Swerve asks why we have to do this when Danielson’s family is watching, though he’s fine enough to hit a middle rope elbow to the back. They head back outside where Swerve stomps at the bloody Danielson and then yells at Danielson’s family. The Swerve Stomp misses though and Danielson pulls him into an STF.

That’s broken up but Danielson is right back with a clothesline for the double knockdown. The Cattle Mutilation is broken up so Danielson settles for the YES Kicks. A tiger superplex drops Swerve again and we hit the Cattle Mutilation again. This time Swerve powers out and hits a Vertebreaker for the big, scary crash. That’s enough to pause for the medical team to come in and check on Danielson but deem him ok to continue.

The Swerve Stomp gets two so Swerve hits back to back House Calls…for two more. Swerve is stunned as Danielson gets up and strikes away, setting up a triangle choke. After we cut to Danielson’s daughter not watching the match, Danielson suplexes Swerve down and hits the running knee…which Swerve brushes off. Another House call drops Danielson and the JML Driver gets two.

Swerve loads up his own running knee but cue Hangman Page for a distraction. That’s enough for Danielson to hit the running knee for two, with Nana almost diving in for the save. They slug it out until Swerve tries a roll but gets kneed down. Another running knee to the back sets up the LeBell Lock but Swerve powers out, only to get pulled into a Rings of Saturn variant for the tap at 25:45.

Rating: A-. They did a good job here of making me wonder how it was going to end and that’s a nice feeling. When in doubt, going for a feel good Danielson win is as safe of a moment as you can have and it worked here. It felt like the last hurrah of a legendary career and while he probably won’t hold the title for very long, he had one last great one (so far). Strickland can move back into the Page feud, and thankfully the interference didn’t lead directly to the ending. Heck of a main event and it felt important, which is how a match of this magnitude should go.

Danielson’s family gets in the ring to celebrate, with the Blackpool Combat Club (and Pac) joining them to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The matches that needed to deliver did so and they nailed the big happy ending. There were some weaker parts, such as the Coffin Match, Baker vs. Mone and Hook vs. Jericho, plus having SO MANY PEOPLE on the show, but the good stuff was more than enough to make this work. It’s absolutely AEW’s biggest event of the year and they worked out some of the kinks from last time, with a show that not only felt big but was better. Rather solid stuff here, and if they can leave some of the people alone next time, it could be even stronger. Heck of a show, with the big feeling taking it higher.

Results
Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo b. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight – Frog splash to Daivari
Willow Nightingale/Tomohiro Ishii b. Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway – Sliding lariat to Hathaway
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs/Katsuyori Shibata b. Cage Of Agony/Kingdom – Swanton to Taven
Pac/Blackpool Combat Club b. Patriarchy, House Of Black and Bang Bang Gang – Pac pulled down the titles
Mariah May b. Toni Storm – Storm Zero
Hook b. Chris Jericho – Redrum
Young Bucks b. FTR and Acclaimed – EVP Trigger to Harwood
Christian Cage won the Casino Gauntlet – Chokeslam to O’Reilly
Will Ospreay b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Tiger Driver 91
Mercedes Mone b. Britt Baker – Mone Maker
Jack Perry b. Darby Allin – Perry put Allin in the coffin
Bryan Danielson b. Swerve Strickland – LeBell Lock

 

 

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Collision
Date: August 24, 2024
Location: Utilita Arena, Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the European debut for the show and that means we should be in for some good stuff. At the same time, it’s the day before All In and even though most of the card is set, there is still a spot to be filled in the four team ladder match for the Trios Titles. Throw in the final push towards the show and we could be in for a good one here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Conglomeration vs. Undisputed Kingdom

Tomohiro Ishii is on commentary. Briscoe and Bennett start things off by trading chops before it’s off to O’Reilly for a kick to the face. O’Reilly and Strong strike it out with O’Reilly getting the better of it again, meaning it’s off to Taven so O’Reilly can beat up two people at once. Cassidy comes in for the lazy kicks and a double hurricanrana to the Kingdom, followed by a toss into a tornado DDT to Bennett.

Back up and Bennett’s Hail Mary is blocked but Cassidy gets sent into the corner to put him in trouble for a change. That doesn’t last long as Cassidy escapes a sunset flip and hands it off to Briscoe as everything breaks down. Cassidy dives onto Strong but Taven dives onto both of them. Bennett moves the chair to prevent Briscoe’s dive but puts it back so Strong can slam Briscoe onto it. We take a break and come back with Briscoe in trouble and Strong mocking the hands in the pockets, which draws in an irate (well as irate as he gets) Cassidy.

Not that it matters as Briscoe gets over for the tag off to O’Reilly, who gets to wreck the whole team at once again. Bennett’s leg gets dragon screwed over the ropes and it’s the Froggy Boy into the lazy elbow for two with Taven making the save. Everything breaks down again and Bennett Death Valley Drivers O’Reilly for two.

A Rock Bottom backbreaker gives Strong two on O’Reilly but the Conglomeration all grab stereo holds. Those are broken up at the same time and everyone is down in a heap. Strong backbreaker O’Reilly but gets caught with Cassidy’s top rope DDT. NOW Briscoe can get the chair and there’s the big step up dive onto the pile at ringside. O’Reilly guillotines Taven for the win at 15:23.

Rating: B+. This was a blast with everyone doing a bunch of stuff, but O’Reilly was the absolute star. He wrecked the villains multiple times and felt almost unstoppable, which is quite the performance. I’m not sure how much of a preview this was for the Casino Gauntlet, but I had a really good time with this as they got a lot into and out of the opener. This doesn’t include Ishii, who didn’t say a word as far as I could tell. He did however sneer a lot, as is his custom.

Video on the Trios Title situation, which naturally set up a four team ladder match for the titles, even though the story had been about three teams and one more is being added for the sole purpose of putting more people in the match.

Willow Nightingale vs. Harley Cameron

Ishii is still on commentary as Cameron chokes (and screams) in the corner to start. Nightingale fights out of that and hits a running shoulder in the corner, followed by some rapid fire clotheslines. A Russian legsweep gives Cameron two and an elbow to the face is good for the same. Eat Defeat and a running knee give Cameron two more and she drives some elbows into the neck. Nightingale gets fired up and hits a quick Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin (it’s as sudden as it sounds) for the pin at 4:11.

Rating: C+. Cameron got to do some stuff here but this was about getting Nightingale ready for her tag match tomorrow. There’s nothing wrong with giving her a nice boost like this and the match didn’t overstay its welcome. I could see Cameron eventually evolving into a bigger deal, but she’s not there yet.

Private Party are the official emcees for All In. I have no idea why that is necessary.

Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara issue an open challenge for All In. They’re also bringing the Von Erichs and Katsuyori Shibata. I have no idea why that is necessary.

Jay Lethal vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Both of their usual friends are here too. They fight over arm control to start and Lethal has to go to the ropes for the early clean break. Back up and Shibata goes right back to the arm, only to get taken down for the basement dropkick. Lethal starts going for the leg but the Figure Four is broken up, allowing Shibata to go right back to the arm.

We take a break and come back with Lethal putting on a Figure Four, sending Shibata to the ropes this time. The Lethal Combination drops Shibata again but Hail To The King is countered into a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Back up and Shibata suplexes him for two and it’s time to strike it out. Shibata grabs the claw (as taught to him by the Von Erichs) and pulls him into the cross armbreaker for the win at 9:49.

Rating: B-. This is one of those matches was going to work because of who was involved and that is a nice thing to see. Lethal is someone else who can be put out there with anyone for at least a passable match. If you put someone as good as Shibata in there with him, it wound up being all the better for a nice TV match.

Post match everyone else gets in and Shibata offers Lethal a handshake, which he eventually accepts.

Video on Will Osprey vs. MJF.

We go to Create A Pro Wrestling Academy where Kris Statlander trains Stokely Hathaway, who does surprisingly well.

Stokely Hathaway/Kris Statlander vs. Nina Samuels/Kid Lykos 2

Statlander runs them both over to start and gives Lykos a Babe With The Powerbomb. Hathaway gets dropped onto Lykos for the pin at 58 seconds.

Post match Hathaway calls that a preview for tomorrow at All In.

Ben Mankiewicz narrates a video on Toni Storm vs. Mariah May, explaining May being something of an understudy who was never quite accepted. Then May won the Owen Hart Tournament and attacked Storm, setting up the personal title match.

Hook vs. Big Bill

Chris Jericho and Bryan Keith here with Bill and the fans don’t seem overly thrilled with Hook. Jericho even joins commentary as Bill throws him out on the corner to take over fast. Hook gets beaten down into the corner and Bill goes after the bandaged eye. A big boot sends Hook to the floor and we take a break. Back with the fans going a bit nuts over Bill, who grabs a bearhug.

With that broken up, Bill hammers away and the fans start slapping the barricade so loudly that I thought it was someone’s music in a run-in. Hook fights up and low bridges him to the floor before hammering away in the corner. A northern lights suplex drops Bill but he grabs a Hook by the throat (to a MONSTER reaction). That’s broken up but Hook slaps on Redrum out of the corner for the tap at 10:47.

Rating: C+. The match itself was just kind of there, but this was ALL about the absolutely incredible reaction to Bill. It must be one of those things where a wrestler can be over in a certain place and it would suggest that Bill should move to Wales as soon as possible. That was one of the most ridiculously positive receptions I’ve ever seen and it was a sight to behold.

Video on Jack Perry vs. Darby Allin for the TNT Title.

We look at the Bryan Danielson/Swerve Strickland showdown from Dynamite, with Danielson dropping Strickland to end the show.

Ariya Daivari vs. Jeff Jarrett

Karen Jarrett is here with Jeff. The fans sing for Jeff to get things even more hyped up, meaning the pose off is rather one sided. Daivari knocks him down and does the Fargo Strut before hitting a running shoulder. Back up and a hiptoss lets Daivari strut for the third time but Jarrett sends him hard into the buckle. Jarrett knocks him to the floor and teases a strut of his own (BIG pop) and we take a break.

We come back with the fight on the floor and Jarrett sending him into various hard objects. They do Jarrett’s signature sleeper exchange sequence until Jarrett rams him into the corner to break it up. A Russian legsweep gives Jarrett two and an enziguri sets up the running crotch attack against the ropes. NOW we get the real strut, with the fans coming to their feet in a cool moment. The Figure Four is blocked but Jarrett hits the Stroke for the pin at 9:54.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the previous match as the wrestling was just ok, but the fans carried this to a much more entertaining level. The fans were absolutely insane for Jarrett here and the reaction to the Stroke was great. I’m not a big Jarrett fan but he clearly loved this, as he did his basic stuff but the fans were way into it, mainly due to him being an actual legend. This was a lot of fun.

Video on Hologram.

All In rundown, with the Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara challenge now a ten man tag, because of course it is.

Lio Rush/Top Flight vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club

For the final spot in the four way ladder match for the Trios Titles at All In. Darius grabs a cravate on Yuta to start but gets pulled into a quickly broken bow and arrow. Back up and a dropkick staggers Yuta and it’s off to Pac, who misses a charge at Dante. Pac gets in his own flips as well so it’s off to Rush vs. Castagnoli. Rush tries his own Swing, which is broken up just as quickly and Castagnoli gets triple teamed down into the corner.

We take a break and come back with Yuta in control on Darius and knocking Top Flight off the apron. Darius fights up and hands it back to Dante to pick up the pace, including some kicks to the head. Rush adds a bottom rope Asai moonsault to Pac for two back inside as commentary just kind of stops for a few seconds. Yuta grabs a nasty German suplex on Dante and Rush kicks Castagnoli in the head. Pac is back up with an overhead German suplex to Rush but a series of splashes hit Pac for two. Dante hits a dive but Castagnoli cuts off one from Rush, setting up the Black Arrow to give Pac the pin at 12:58.

Rating: B. This was another action packed match and that’s all it needed to be. While I could go for a regular team being in the ladder match (or the ladder match not having four teams, or ladders for that matter), I do like getting some of these people on the show. At least they got there after very fast paced match as well.

Post match here is Christian Cage, with Mother Wayne, to mock the Welsh fans’ accents. The distraction lets the Patriarchy come in with chairs for the beatdown, only for the Bang Bang Gang to come in and whip out some tables. Then the lights go out and the House Of Black come in, leaving all nine of the challengers to brawl while the Patriarchy leaves. Sweet goodness that is a lot of people for one ladder match.

Overall Rating: B. The opener and main event were both pretty great, with the rest of the matches being forgettable….at least on their own. What mattered here was a white hot crowd, as they were carrying everything up more than a few levels. They drew me way into this show and I was more interesting than I would have been based on what I was getting from what AEW was doing. Not a great show, but one that was a really good time to watch.

Results
Conglomeration b. Undisputed Kingdom – Guillotine choke to Taven
Willow Nightingale b. Harley Cameron – Babe With The Powerbomb
Katsuyori Shibata b. Jay Lethal – Cross armbreaker
Stokely Hathaway/Kris Statlander b. Nina Samuels/Kid Lykos 2 – Splash to Lykos
Hook b. Big Bill – Redrum
Jeff Jarrett b. Ariya Daivari – Stroke
Pac/Blackpool Combat Club b. Lio Rush/Top Flight – Black Arrow to Rush

 

 

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Ring Of Honor
Date: August 8, 2024
Location: Esports Arena Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re still in Texas and the big story coming out of last week is Sammy Guevara showing up to join the other Texans because we all love Texas around here. Odds are we get some fallout from that this week as we build towards pretty much nothing for the foreseeable future. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Dark Order vs. Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara

Fallout from last week’s show closing angle. Guevara drops Silver down to start and it’s off to Dustin for a clothesline to send Reynolds outside. Everything breaks down and Guevara’s teased dive turns into a break dance into a pose. Dustin does the same and the fans are rather pleased. We settle down to Dustin getting caught in the wrong corner but he manages the powerslam, only to bang up his knee in the process. Dustin and Reynolds head outside, where Evil Uno gets in a cheap shot to give Reynolds a quick two.

Silver’s DDT on the knee gets two and the knee is wrapped around the middle rope. The Order takes turns working on the knee, including a half crab from Silver. That’s broken up and Dustin low bridges Reynolds outside, allowing the tag off to Guevara to pick up the pace. Back to back dives take out the Order but a superkick into a bridging German suplex gives Silver two. Guevara and Reynolds trade knees to the face until a DDT drops Guevara for two. Everything breaks down and Dustin’s knee is fine enough for the Canadian Destroyer. The GTH finishes Silver at 12:01.

Rating: C+. This was a completely by the book tag match and that’s perfectly fine. Dustin and Guevara fill in the Texas quota for the night while the Order has been around for so long that they’re kind of packaged into the whole thing. Hopefully this wraps up the feud though, as there isn’t much left for them (or the Von Erichs) to do here.

We look at the Women’s Title matches at Death Before Dishonor.

Athena is sick of Billie Starkz’s disappointments. Starkz’s MIT degree is revoked and she is officially Minion #400,237 ¾ in training again. Queen Aminata and Red Velvet come in and say it’s a tag match tonight because Athena and Starkz aren’t ducking them anymore. They JUST SHOWED a clip of the four of them in a pair of title matches from two weeks ago! How have Athena and Starkz been ducking them???

Taya Valkyrie vs. Hyan

Johnny TV, looking like he just finished a match, is here with Taya, who isn’t overly interested in the pre-match handshake. Hyan forearms her into the ropes to start and gets caught with a running elbow in the corner for her efforts. Taya knocks her down and cranks away on both arms before hitting a spear. Shania Pain finishes for Taya at 2:38.

Griff Garrison and Maria (minus Cole Karter) are cut off by the Spanish Announce Project. They want one more match for Serpentico’s mask, with Serpentico putting his mask on the line. This has to be it for this feud right? It has to be.

Tag Team Titles: Infantry vs. Kingdom

The Infantry, with Trish Adora, is challenging and it’s a brawl at the bell. The Kingdom tries to bail up the aisle but get pulled back to keep the brawl going at ringside. Bravo throws Taven inside to start properly and a double fist drop gets two. Bennett comes in and gets chinlocked down, followed by an armdrag into an armbar on Taven. A cheap shot from Bennett lets Taven grab a suplex and the villains take over. Bennett’s pop up right hand gets two and a Russian legsweep gives Taven the same.

Bravo fights out of a chinlock but gets dropped for two, with a grab of the rope being necessary. Back up and the diving tag brings in Dean to clean house. A frog splash gets two on Taven with Bennett making the save. The Death Valley Driver into Just The Tip gets two with Bravo making the save. The spike piledriver is broken up but so is Boot Camp. Bennett’s low blow sets up the spike piledriver to finish Dean and retain at 11:46.

Rating: B-. These teams have enough chemistry but that’s the second loss from the Infantry to the Kingdom. Normally I would say that it’s enough to end their feud but it isn’t like the tag division has that much depth. The Kingdom is more likely to lose the titles to an AEW team, as that is where they wind up spending most of their time in the first place.

Rachael Ellering vs. Brooke Havok

Ellering goes after the arm to start and powers her way out of a headlock. That’s enough for a standoff before Ellering runs her over, only to get tripped down so Havok can pose. Back up and Ellering fires off some chops in the corner but Havok takes her down and hits a basement dropkick. A neckbreaker gives Havok two but the Boss Woman Slam finishes for Ellering at 4:47.

Rating: C. Not much to this one here but Ellering matches are always going to b at least decent. That was the case again here, with Ellering needing to get a boost as she is still getting established around here. Havok was smooth enough out there and could be a nice choice for a spot like this going forward.

Respect is shown post match.

Lee Moriarty wants to face Action Andretti again and will put the Pure Rules Title on the line.

Outrunners vs. Stephen Wolf/Barrett Brown

Erica Leigh is here with the Outrunners, who shake hands with each other to start. Magnum chops the heck out of Brown in the corner to start and it’s off to Floyd to stay on the arm. An elbow drop sets up more posing and a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Wolf at 2:19.

Robbie Eagles vs. Darian Bengston

Eagles cranks away on the arm to start but Bengston takes him down and does some basketball poses. Back up and a spinwheel kick drops Bengston and a rather slow spinning toehold is broken up. Bengston’s forearms are broken up and Eagles kicks him in the leg. A 450 onto the leg sets up…something kind of leglock called the Ron Miller Special for the win at 5:21.

Rating: C+. Eagles is a star over in New Japan and looked good here, though it was little more than a squash with Bengston not being able to get very far. I could go for more of Eagles around here as the show could desperately use some more star power, but this might just be a cameo from an international star. That leglock certainly looked cool if nothing else.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tony Nese

Mark Sterling and Ariya Daivari are here with Nese. For some reason Nese tries to chop away to start and gets knocked into the corner for his efforts. Nese’s forearms don’t get him anywhere so they head outside, where Nese manages to get in a quick dive for a knockdown.

Back in and Ishii fights out of a chinlock but gets caught in the Randy Savage jumping neck snap over the top. Ishii snaps off a belly to back suplex for two, followed by one heck of a clothesline for the same. Sterling is dealt with and the brainbuster is enough to finish for Ishii at 8:23.

Rating: C+. This felt like a way to have Ishii on the show and since the Premiere Athletes are the designated jobbers in AEW and ROH at the moment, the result wasn’t quite in doubt. Ishii can still do well enough, but like many others either here or in AEW, a lot of the special feeling goes away when he’s around so often. At least this one was a singles match instead of another big tag though.

Rachael Ellering is glad to be back after her injuries. Harley Cameron interrupts and seems happy to meet Ellering, who doesn’t seem impressed.

Johnny TV vs. Fuego del Sol

Taya Valkyrie is here with TV, who gets armdragged and dropkicked to start. TV knocks him down but it’s way too early for Starship Pain, allowing TV to hit a hard knee out to the floor. The flipping neckbreaker keeps del Sol down and we hit the chinlock back inside. A spinning knee to the face gives TV two and we’re back to the chinlock.

Del Sol fights out and hits an enziguri, setting up some running dropkicks in the corner. TV is back with a seatbelt for two, followed by a jumping kick to the head op top. Del Sol is fine enough to crotch him on top for a double stomp but TV easily gets in a knockdown of his own. Starship Pain finishes del Sol at 6:22.

Rating: C+. The del Sol push comes to a halt here and that isn’t the biggest surprise. Del Sol coming back was a nice surprise and it was nice to see TV actually get a win for once. At some point his status is going to fall with all of the losses so changing the results up a bit is not a bad idea.

Red Velvet/Queen Aminata vs. Athena/Billie Starkz

Both teams have matching gear, which is impressive for a match that wasn’t set when the show started. Starkz and Aminata start things off with Aminata taking her to the mat in a front facelock. It’s quickly off to Athena, who gets hammered down into the corner. Athena fights out and starts in on Aminata’s arm, setting up a Codebreaker for two. Starkz slams the bad arm into the mat a few times and, with Velvet being drawn in, some double stomping ensues.

Aminata fights up and gets over to Velvet, who tornado DDTs Athena for a fast two. A Codebreaker/German suplex combination sets up a running knee to give Aminata two. Back up and it’s off to Athena, who fires off superkicks to stagger Aminata and Velvet. A fall away slam/Samoan drop (at the same time) sends them flying again and Athena knocks Aminata silly with the big right hand. Velvet takes Athena down and hits the Mix on Starks but Athena makes the save. Aminata won’t let Athena use the microphone but Starkz gets in a belt shot for the pin at 12:11.

Rating: B-. The ending is a nice way to get Starkz back in Athena’s good graces, which she is going to need after losing last moth, which is not something Athena will like. The cheating is certainly an Athena way to go as well and it should set up a potential title rematch. At the same time, I could go for seeing some fresh challengers to either title, though I’m not sure that is going to take place for a good while.

Overall Rating: C+. The action was fine enough, and as usual, after about an hour and forty five minutes of decent/mediocre wrestling, I’m not overly interested in most of what I’m seeing around here. The World Title still might as well not exist most of the time and we’re back to the same Tag Team Title match that we saw over Wrestlemania Weekend.

The Women’s Titles are still in the same stories they’ve been in for a few months now, making this show feel like it is running a treadmill while being lost at the same time. As usual, it’s not a bad show, but an hour and forty five minutes of this stuff wears out its welcome very fast.

Results
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara b. Dark Order – GTH to Silver
Taya Valkyrie b. Hyan – Shania Pain
Kingdom b. Infantry – Spike piledriver
Rachael Ellering b. Brooke Havok – Boss Woman Slam
Outrunners b. Stephen Wolf/Barrett Brown – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Wolf
Robbie Eagles b. Darian Bengston – Ron Miller Special
Tomohiro Ishii b. Tony Nese – Brainbuster
Johnny TV b. Fuego del Sol – Starship Pain
Athena/Billie Starkz b. Queen Aminata/Red Velvet – Belt shot to Velvet

 

 

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Isiah Kassidy vs. Komander

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

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

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

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

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

Dark Order vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

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

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

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

Anna Jay vs. Allysin Kay

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

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

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

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

Johnny TV vs. Will Austin

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

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

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

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

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

Video on the Premiere Athletes, focusing on Ariya Daivari.

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

Leila Grey vs. Yuka Sakazaki

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

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

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

Kingdom vs. Outrunners

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

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

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

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

Taya Valkyrie vs. Laynie Luck

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

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

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

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

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

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

Abadon vs. Nova

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

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

Blake Christian vs. AR Fox vs. Beast Mortos

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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Survivor Series 2016
Date: November 20, 2016
Location: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Attendance: 17,143
Commentators: Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Mauro Ranallo, John Bradshaw Layfield, Michael Cole, David Otunga

I say this every year but it’s always hard to believe that it’s been a full year since this show. This was the first time that a Survivor Series was expanded to four hours but thankfully there’s a good chance that they could make it work, mainly due to the elimination matches. The main event though is Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg, which I’m sure will be completely uneventful. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Drew Gulak/Ariya Daivari/Tony Nese vs. Noam Dar/TJ Perkins/Rich Swann

This is a preview match for something called 205 Live, which debuts next week. I know it hasn’t gone great but the division really has evolved into a better place than when it started. Swann gets a nice reaction and then starts with Nese, who gets chopped in the corner. They do their regular flips with Swann’s jump over Nese’s feet getting a good pop (as always) before it’s off to Perkins.

Some suplexes set up an Octopus Hold but Nese reverses into a kind of gutwrench suplex. Gulak comes in and gets caught in the wrong corner with everyone working him over. We actually get a TJ PERKINS chant as he slaps on the kneebar to keep Gulak in trouble. Everything breaks down and we take a break.

Back with Daivari in trouble this time as Dar gets two off a running kick to the face. Nese offers a distraction though and a spinebuster takes Dar down. A superkick gives Daivari two and it’s back to Gulak to crank on the leg. If this sounds rather uninteresting, it’s only because that’s what it is.

Dar dropkicks his way to freedom and the hot tag brings in Swann to very little reaction. A good looking jumping hurricanrana takes Daivari off the middle rope as everything breaks down again. That means we hit the dives but the referee CUTS PERKINS OFF. Now you know that’s not working so Perkins dives over the referee to take out some villains. Back in and Swann’s standing 450 ends Daivari at 11:48.

Rating: C-. I forgot how uninteresting these earlier cruiserweight matches were. The guys barely have characters and the entire story here was “three faces vs. three heels”. It didn’t get much better for a long time but, as usual, the problem comes down to one simple thing: if the smaller guys on the main roster can be big stars and do all these dives, why should I be impressed when cruiserweights can do them too?

Kickoff Show: Luke Harper vs. Kane

Harper is part of the NEW Wyatt Family, which screwed Kane over, meaning we need a match here. Kane grabs a full nelson of all things and we’re in a chinlock fifteen seconds in. That goes nowhere so Harper grabs a headlock as the fans are oddly split here. Kane starts in on the shoulder by sending it into the buckle. Harper sends him outside though and hits that suicide shove of his (Who needs cruiserweights?).

A slingshot flip splash gives Luke two and we take a break. Back with Kane in a chinlock (well duh) but managing to superplex Harper down for a crash. The sidewalk slam gets two but Harper scores with a superkick for the same. Kane’s running DDT and Harper’s Boss Man Slam are good for two more each but it’s the chokeslam to put Harper away at 9:10.

Rating: D+. Well what were you expecting here? This was exactly the match you would have planned out for them and Kane won with his finisher. It’s about as paint by numbers of a power match as you can get and while it wasn’t terrible, it’s also a match I really didn’t need to see.

The opening video looks at Goldberg vs. Lesnar and then all the Raw vs. Smackdown matches. Well at least they got some time. I’m sure Stephanie’s voiceovers had nothing to do with it.

Raw Women’s Team vs. Smackdown Women’s Team

Raw: Bayley, Alicia Fox, Charlotte, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks

Smackdown: Alexa Bliss, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Naomi, Nikki Bella

Entrances alone take forever of course, which will be a theme tonight. Charlotte is Raw Women’s Champion and has Dana Brooke in her corner. Becky is Smackdown Women’s Champion but Nikki is captain. You know, because of course. Bliss gets a heck of a reaction (gee I wonder why). Actually hang on a second as there’s no Nikki. We cut to the back where she’s down after being attacked. Not to worry though, as Smackdown coach Natalya is more than willing to take the spot.

We settle down to Becky and Banks trading rollups before it’s off to Charlotte for more of the same. Becky can’t get the Disarm-Her and it’s off to Nia as things get a lot more difficult. Carmella and Bliss come in for the expected results and Naomi’s high crossbody is pulled out of the air. Natalya actually gets a reaction but Nia clotheslines her head off for her efforts. It’s off to Fox vs. Carmella with Alicia avoiding a Bronco Buster, setting up what looked to be a mostly missed ax kick for the elimination at 6:35. Bliss comes right in, sends Fox into the buckle and adds Twisted Bliss to tie it up at 6:48.

Charlotte and Naomi come in with the latter cleaning house, including knocking Nia outside and hitting a high crossbody to the floor. Nia posts her though and that’s a countout at 8:23. We pause for the Tye Dillinger TEN chant until Bliss takes Banks down and grinds her face into the mat. Banks sends Bliss and Natalya into each other, followed by the double knees in the corner to Alexa. Back up and Bliss saves Natalya from the Bank Statement, allowing Natalya to roll Banks up for the elimination at 10:20.

Charlotte comes in and gets suplexed, meaning we hit the SUPLEX CITY chants. You would think fans would know more chants than that. Charlotte goes up for the moonsault but, as always, Natalya powerbombs her down for two in the near fall that never ends Charlotte. The required Sharpshooter sends Charlotte crawling for the ropes but a big boot ends Natalya at 12:01.

Becky and Bliss get in an argument over who should come in, allowing Jax to suplex them both at the same time. Of course that gets a MAMA MIA from Mauro, which I miss hearing so often. Bliss gets caught in a slam but Becky makes a blind tag and missile dropkicks Bliss in the back to knock her onto Jax. The Disarm-Her actually makes Jax tap at 13:35 and it’s 2-2 with Becky/Bliss vs Charlotte/Bayley.

Jax mauls Becky, leaving Bliss to get big booted down for the elimination at 14:03. Becky fights back as fast as she can with the series of clotheslines into the leg lariat, followed by Bexplex. Bayley has to dive in for a save after a top rope legdrop before coming in for the slugout. Another Bexplex gets two but Bayley’s elbow to the back gets the same. You can tell Becky is getting tired out there so Bayley blocks the Disarm-Her and grabs the Bayley to Belly for the final pin at 17:53.

Rating: C+. The quick eliminations didn’t help things here but the ending was the right call. There was way too much talent on the Raw side to lose and I’m VERY glad it was Natalya, who can wrestle this style without having to dumb things down too much. Becky was pretty much all the blue team had for a lot of the match and she put up a valiant effort, only to be outgunned. That makes her look strong and Bayley getting a win like this is a good thing for her at this stage in her main roster career.

Charlotte takes Bayley out post match and beats her around ringside.

Smackdown mascot James Ellsworth runs into Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, who weren’t funny in 2016 either. They make some bad chin puns but Raw GM Mick Foley comes in to run them off. Ellsworth talks about all the great memories he has of Foley, most of which involve him being in extreme pain. Foley thanks him anyway and suggests Ellsworth move to Raw. He appreciates the offer but politely turns it down because he’s true blue. Foley leaves and Ellsworth runs into Braun Strowman, who asks if he knows Ellsworth. James runs in a smart move.

Intercontinental Title: Miz vs. Sami Zayn

Miz is defending and Sami is trying to take the title to Raw. We get the Big Match Intros and Sami gets quite the reaction for being Canadian. Sami spins out of a wristlock to start and Miz looks annoyed in the corner. Miz gets sent outside but Sami has to bail out of the flip dive. The moonsault off the barricade works though, drawing over Maryse for a distraction. Well she can be quite distracting.

This one works well with Miz taking out the knee to get his first advantage. Some hard stomps to the knees have Sami in trouble but he’s still able to clothesline Miz to the floor. A flip dive works as well, followed by a Michinoku Driver for two. Miz’s short DDT gets the same and it’s time for a double breather. The running corner dropkick/clothesline look to set up the ax handle but Sami reverses into the Blue Thunder Bomb.

The Helluva Kick only hits corner though and that means the Figure Four. This one stays on for a good while until Sami makes the ropes, earning himself some YES Kicks. Sami reverses one into a Figure Four of his own but Maryse rings the bell. Since Sami isn’t all that bright, he of course falls for it, only to have Miz roll him up to retain at 14:06.

Rating: C-. Kind of a dull match as you knew a lot of Sami’s near falls weren’t going anywhere. I can go for Miz and Maryse teaming up to steal wins though and it’s a big reason why he’s been an awesome Intercontinental Champion. This would also help play into Sami’s heel turn nearly a year later as he would get tired of losing while playing by the rules. Makes sense, especially in a long term form.

Dean Ambrose and AJ Styles are bickering over being teammates tonight when Shane McMahon comes in and tells them to cool it so Smackdown doesn’t lose again.

Raw Tag Teams vs. Smackdown Tag Teams

Raw: Enzo Amore/Big Cass, Cesaro/Sheamus, Gallows and Anderson, New Day, Shining Stars

Smackdown: American Alpha, Breezango, Heath Slater/Rhyno, Hype Bros, Usos

A fall eliminates both members of a team. Enzo and Cass suck up to the live crowd, as you might expect. New Day and Slater/Rhyno are the respective champions. Fandango tries to give everyone a fashion ticket to start, earning himself a Midnight Hour for the elimination at 44 seconds. New Day spends too much time celebrating though and it’s a superkick from Jimmy to pin Big E. at 1:08.

Gallows comes in to punch Jimmy in the face before handing it off to Cass for the tall power. The fast tags continue as it’s off to Epico vs. Ryder (who is rocking some old school Survivor Series logo trunks) with Mojo coming in for a clap around the ears. Rawley gets taken down into the corner for the huge group beating though as we keep trying to get everyone in. It’s back to Ryder (not Slater like the fans want) but Gallows saves Anderson from the Broski Boot. Instead it’s the Magic Killer to pin Ryder at 5:08.

Gable comes in as Graves talks about how scared he is of American Alpha. It doesn’t seem to be the most valid fear to start though as Epico takes Gable down into a chinlock. Some rolling suplexes have Gable in more trouble and Primo comes in with a springboard ax handle to the ribs. He misses a charge in the corner though and it’s off to Jordan for a quick Steiner Bulldog to get rid of the Stars at 8:08.

The six remaining teams (Enzo/Big Cass, Cesaro/Sheamus, Gallows and Anderson vs. American Alpha, Heath Slater/Rhyno, Usos) come in at once as everything breaks down. That means Enzo gets tossed over the top onto a big pile….which was mainly Raw guys but whatever. Rhyno gets thrown over the top as well, only to have Slater add an even bigger dive. Back in and Cesaro swings Jordan but Gable makes the save with a Rolling Chaos Theory.

Gable isn’t done though as Jordan throws him over the top for a HUGE flip dive onto everyone. Sweet goodness those two were awesome together. I mean, not as awesome as Jordan on his own with Kurt Angle kind of around but still. Back in and it’s a quick Magic Killer to get rid of Jordan at 10:39 as the eliminations are still flying. A spinebuster plants Slater and he’s caught in the wrong corner.

Sheamus won’t tag Cesaro (this was before their ridiculous matching outfits) and an argument breaks out, allowing the hot tag off to Rhyno as everyone bickers. Rhyno comes in and Gores Gallows for an elimination at 12:28. Cass wastes no time with a big boot to Rhyno, followed by the Bada Boom Shaka Lacka for the pin at 12:45.

That leaves us with the Usos….who superkick Enzo down to set up the Superfly Splash and an elimination at 13:26 before I can type the Raw teams. So now we’re down to the Usos vs. Cesaro/Sheamus with the latter hitting the ten forearms (you know the chant) on Jimmy. Cesaro comes in and eats a double superkick but Sheamus Brogue kicks Jimmy with Jey making a diving save.

Super White Noise plants Jimmy again but Jey is right back with a Superfly Splash for two with Cesaro making a save of his own. The hot tag brings in Cesaro for the Uppercut Train and a 619 as the fans lose their minds over Cesaro again. A high crossbody gets two on Jey and it’s time for the Swing. Jimmy breaks up the Sharpshooter and Jey gets the Tequila Sunrise. That’s reversed right back into the Sharpshooter with Sheamus remembering he’s in the match to cut off Jimmy, leaving Jey to tap at 18:55.

Rating: B. This was during the time that I couldn’t stand Sheamus and Cesaro (not a lot has changed in a year) but they did a lot of stuff in this match, despite the crunched timeline. Getting nine eliminations in less than nineteen minutes is a lot but you have to clear the ring out at the beginning. It’s entertaining, but hits a hard ceiling that it’s not getting past.

Stephanie and Foley decide that Sheamus and Cesaro should get a Tag Team Title shot tomorrow night. They recap the rest of the show with Stephanie getting way too serious, as usual.

Preview for TLC with Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles in a TLC match for the title.

Cruiserweight Champion Brian Kendrick does his best Sean O’Haire impression and is ready for Kalisto. If Kalisto wins, he brings the division to Smackdown. It’s fine for a one off match but it was really hard to buy Kendrick as the best cruiserweight in the company in 2016.

Cruiserweight Title: Kalisto vs. Brian Kendrick

Kendrick is defending and charges straight into a knee to the face. Kalisto is right back with a suicide dive, followed by a springboard corkscrew crossbody for two. Some rollups give Kalisto more near falls and a shotgun dropkick has Kendrick in even more trouble. A rollup into the corner finally gives Kendrick a breather and he crushes Kalisto between the steps and the apron for good measure.

Back in and we hit the cravate to slow things back down. Kalisto manages to fight up and get to the apron where he grabs a C4 out to the floor in the big crash of the match. A good looking suicide dive takes Kendrick down again but he reverses a super Salida Del Sol into the Captain’s Hook. Kalisto finally grabs the ropes and fires off some kicks, followed by the hurricanrana driver. The Salida Del Sol gets two with Kendrick getting to the ropes. Kalisto heads up top….and here’s Baron Corbin for the DQ at 12:21.

Rating: C-. The match was good at times but Kendrick really isn’t the kind of guy you want as a long term champion. It also didn’t help that you knew they weren’t changing up the cruiserweight division so close to 205 Live’s launch. Corbin interfering was fine enough, but it really does make the title match feel like a big waste of time.

The Kickoff Show panel recaps the show so far.

Daniel Bryan yells at Corbin, who doesn’t want little pests running around on Smackdown.

We recap the men’s Survivor Series match, which started in July at the second Brand Split. Naturally this is about the McMahons as Shane and Stephanie are the Commissioners and therefore they have to be fighting. We look at all the entrants as this is treated like the major match is should be treated as. Then Shane is added to the match and that notion kind of falls apart.

Raw Men’s Team vs. Smackdown Men’s Team

Raw: Braun Strowman, Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns

Seth Rollins

Smackdown: AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, Shane McMahon

AJ and Owens are the World Champions, Reigns is US Champion and Ellsworth is here as the mascot. This is also during the period where Orton is part of the Wyatt Family because we needed that story to get to Orton as World Champion again. Rollins gets a nice reaction and it’s far better without BURN IT DOWN or whatever the line is. AJ and Owens start things off with Styles wasting no time in hitting the drop down into the dropkick.

That’s enough of that though as it’s and they slug it out with AJ getting the better of it. The STUPID IDIOT chants mean it’s time for Jericho, who throws his shirt at AJ and hammers away. Styles dropkicks him down again as the announcers discuss Jericho insulting Undertaker on Twitter. It’s off to Ambrose vs. Rollins, which turns into far more of a wrestling match than it should.

Rollins can’t get a Pedigree so let’s go back to Jericho. Chris yells at Dean for the $15,000 jacket issue, earning himself some really bad armdrags. An enziguri cuts Dean down for two but Ambrose is right back with a bunch of right hands to the head. Shane comes in for the first time and my interest goes down. I’m still not a fan of middle aged Shane and this isn’t likely to change things.

Shane’s bad punches and an armdrag (better than Dean’s) take Jericho down until a dropkick cuts him off. The announcers debate the TV ratings as Reigns comes in and gets booed out of the building. Roman hammers him down in the corner and Seth comes in for a chinlock. That’s broken up so let’s go with Dean vs. Kevin. Owens hits a superkick but gets caught in a hurricanrana, only to have Jericho break up Dirty Deeds.

Everything breaks down and Strowman tags himself in, leaving the fans to chant for Ellsworth. The fight heads outside with Dean being left alone in the ring until Strowman catches his slingshot dive. Strowman walks him around the ring until AJ’s slingshot forearm to the floor breaks it up. Owens dives onto everyone and Strowman tosses Shane across the ring in a pretty good power display.

Some double teaming doesn’t do much to stop Strowman but they manage to knock him outside. That’s enough of Dean and Ambrose working together so they get in a fight, allowing Strowman to hit the running powerslam for the pin on Dean at 15:57. AJ was looking right at the cover and didn’t move. Shane gets to beat on Strowman for a bit but thankfully he gets hammered down as well.

The Phenomenal Forearm is pulled out of the air with AJ being tossed outside in a nasty heap. Orton gets thrown aside too but a stare from Bray stops Strowman in his tracks. Strowman grabs Jericho by the throat but decides to run Bray over instead, followed by a dropkick to put him on the floor. Braun goes outside as well but runs into an RKO onto the announcers’ table. After we pause to see what a random eight year old fan thought of it (he was applauding), Shane drops the top rope elbow to put Strowman through said table. That and Ellsworth grabbing Braun’s foot get Strowman counted out at 21:18.

Strowman catches Ellsworth running up the ramp though (How slow is this guy?) and throws him off the stage through some tables. Everyone else is mostly dead until Jericho covers Shane for two. Owens is fresh enough to drop the backsplash on Shane for two (but only after mocking the dance). There’s the Lionsault but Shane gets two of his own off a small package.

Shane takes a Codebreaker but Orton comes in before the cover, meaning Shane survives another finisher. He avoids a top rope splash though and it’s off to AJ to work on Jericho. With Owens getting in an insult to AJ’s hair (too far man), Jericho counters the Styles Clash into a failed Walls attempt. The Phenomenal Blitz rocks Jericho but Owens comes in with the List of Jericho to blast AJ. That’s a DQ at 29:23, but not before he gives AJ a Pop Up Powerbomb.

Orton gets the tag and comes in with the RKO to get rid of Jericho at 30:19. Notice Reigns blankly staring up at the ramp and not hearing the RKO RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. So it’s down to Shane/AJ/Orton/Wyatt vs. Reigns/Rollins with Orton hammering on Rollins to start. Wyatt and Orton take turns on Seth as Shane is still laid on the apron after his long time in the ring. The superplex takes Rollins down (looks great too) but it allows the hot tag to Reigns. AJ comes in as well and MY GOODNESS the fans do not like Reigns.

House is cleaned with a series of Samoan drops, followed by a great looking Razor’s Edge powerbomb for two on AJ. Seriously that was good enough to cut off the booing. A Pele cuts off a Superman Punch and it’s back to Shane for no logical reason. Shane gets in a tornado DDT to drop Reigns and a clothesline takes Rollins down. Reigns tries a spear but gets awkwardly countered into the post.

In probably the spot of the match, Shane loads up Coast to Coast but gets speared out of the air for a SICK landing. Shane actually kicks out at two but you can see that he is completely gone. Like Lesnar after the botched shooting star gone. The referee says Shane is eliminated at 37:07, presumably due to his brains looking like a pie that has been run over by a bus driven by raccoons.

We pause for a bit as doctors get Shane out of the ring until Roman blasts Bray with a clothesline. Rollins and AJ get stereo hot tags with Seth’s Blockbuster putting Styles down. There’s the slingshot knee to AJ and a suicide dive to Wyatt. With Reigns down on the floor, let’s hit that ROMAN’S SLEEPING chant! Still one of my favorites because the fans just will not give him a break no matter what. An enziguri staggers AJ on top and now it’s WAKE UP ROMAN. Reigns does in fact wake up and saves Rollins from a hanging DDT on the floor.

With Orton down, it seems as good a time as any for a DoubleBomb. Styles makes a save before it can be loaded up but here’s Ambrose to jump Styles again. The fans call Dean a STUPID IDIOT as the former Shield beats up security. NOW the TripleBomb puts AJ through the table, allowing Rollins to get the pin at 47:00. It’s down to two on two with the Wyatts vs. the Shield (not the worst idea in the world)….and here’s Luke Harper for a distraction so the Wyatts can take over.

Reigns posts Orton but Harper superkicks him down, only to have Rollins score with a flip dive to the floor. Back in and the low superkick hits Wyatt but he dives into an RKO, giving Bray the pin at 49:25. Reigns, all alone, sends both of them outside and takes Harper out as a bonus. Back in and Orton eats a spear to save Wyatt, leaving Bray to grab Sister Abigail for the pin at 52:50.

Rating: A. This is a great example of a match that benefits from all of the time it had. What I loved about this was how long it took to take someone out. Most of the people in here were former World Champions and it doesn’t make sense to have them losing in a minute or two like in the other matches. They let the match build up for a change and that’s what makes this feel important.

Above all else though, this felt like someone surviving instead of whoever was left last. Look at the women’s match. Bayley barely looked like she had been through anything at the end. Orton and Wyatt looked banged up, which is how they should after a match like this. It’s a well put together match that got the kind of time it needed, which is exactly how something like this should be. Really strong stuff here with Bray, who actually needed it, getting the win.

We recap Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar. Goldberg was being interviewed about being in WWE2K16 and said he didn’t owe Lesnar a rematch. Lesnar challenged him though and Goldberg wanted his son to see him wrestle. The match was on and it does indeed feel like a battle of two people who could kill each other.

Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg

We get the full Goldberg entrance, complete with someone knocking on his door. Lesnar drives him into the corner to start but Goldberg shoves him right back down, scaring the heck out of Lesnar in the process. Back up and the spear connects to drop Lesnar again. There’s a second spear, followed by a Jackhammer to give Goldberg the huge upset at 1:25.

Yeah I still don’t like it. Sure it was shocking and a huge moment, but what did this set up? Goldberg eliminating Lesnar from the Rumble, Goldberg getting the most unnecessary Universal Title reign ever, and then a good sub five minute match at Wrestlemania. One of WWE’s biggest issues is giving fans something to cheer for and they give this spot to Goldberg, who they didn’t even create, for the sake of a video game (might not have been their call) and a story that could have made someone’s career. After this, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman both fell to Lesnar, but Goldberg doesn’t. I don’t buy it, nor to I like it.

Goldberg celebrates with his family to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. One of the major perks about a match running nearly an hour on a three and a half hour show is that it can REALLY bring an overall rating up. Throw in a good women’s match and nothing really bad, this is actually a strong show. It’s far from perfect (main event aside, though that was the only thing that could have closed the show) but it’s a heck of a card, which I can always go for of course. The main issue is they could have gotten this one under three hours so it’s a bit long but nothing too bad. Really solid show though and most of that is due to the mega long match.

Ratings Comparison

Rich Swann/Noam Dar/TJ Perkins vs. Ariya Daivari/Tony Nese/Drew Gulak

Original: C

Redo: C-

Kane vs. Luke Harper

Original: C-

Redo: D+

Women’s Survivor Series Match

Original: C

Redo: C+

Miz vs. Sami Zayn

Original: C+

Redo: C-

Tag Team Survivor Series Match

Original: D+

Redo: B

Kalisto vs. Brian Kendrick

Original: C

Redo: C-

Men’s Survivor Series Match

Original: A-

Redo: A

Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: N/A

Redo: N/A

Overall Rating

Original: C-

Redo: B+

My eyebrows went up when I saw the original overall rating. The year of mellowing on the ending have helped a lot as there’s no way this is a B-. Also I really couldn’t stand Sheamus and Cesaro back then.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2016/11/20/survivor-series-2016-there-are-no-words/

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

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