Ring Of Honor TV – March 30, 2023: Where Did That Come From?

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Nese/Ari Daivari vs. Aussie Open

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

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

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

Miyu Yamashita vs. Shazza McKenzie

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

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

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

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

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

AR Fox/Metalik vs. The Infantry

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pure Title: Leon Ruffin vs. Wheeler Yuta

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

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

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

El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Blake Christian

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

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

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

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

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

Eddie Kingston vs. Christopher Daniels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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Ring Of Honor – March 23, 2023: Well Done

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 23, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We continue the rapid fire build towards Supercard Of Honor with week four of this show, which hopefully continues to have solid action. At the same time, things need to loosen up a bit as the show is so packed that it is hard to remember much of what happens week to week. Odds are they won’t slow down but you have to have hope. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Samoa Joe telling anyone to come get a TV Title shot because it’s an open challenge.

Opening sequence.

Tony Nese vs. Mark Briscoe

Mark Sterling and Josh Woods are here with Nese. Briscoe gets jumped to start but fights back as they head outside. The Bang Bang Elbow connects from the apron but Nese knocks him up against the apron. Woods tries to get in a cheap shot but Briscoe knocks him away, only to have Nese snap off a suplex.

Back in and Nese kicks him in the face for two and the bodyscissors goes on. A springboard moonsault misses for Nese though and Briscoe strikes away. The Iconoclasm gets two on Nese and the hangman’s neckbreaker is good for the same. Nese is fine enough to strike away and he flips out of a German suplex for a bonus. Briscoe clotheslines the heck out of him though and the Froggy Bow finishes Nese at 8:52.

Rating: C. This is exactly what it needed to be: Briscoe fighting through some adversity and finishing Nese clean as he continues to build up wins before what should be the title win at Supercard Of Honor. Briscoe is going to get a big reaction from the fans and you know he is going to bring the energy so starting the show with him is a good idea. Nese being relegated to losing here is good as well, as he is talented in the ring but rather horribly dull, so this is about as high as he needs to be going for the time being.

Trustbusters vs. Metalik/AR Fox/Blake Christian

Mark Sterling is with the Trustbusters. Ian: “In what has become something of a grudge match.” WELL WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU CALL IT??? Ian on Metalik and company: “What a combination this team has made!” You mean the team that hasn’t wrestled together yet? Kay headlocks Fox to start and then snaps off a dropkick for a bonus. Fox is right back with a neckbreaker though and it’s off to Christian, who is quickly taken into the wrong corner.

Christian is fine enough to slap on a seated abdominal stretch but Daivari sends him into the corner. Slim J comes in to stomp away as the villains start taking turns on Christian. A quick comeback finally allows Christian to bring Metalik in for the rope walk into a top rope splash. Metalik gets taken into the wrong corner as well though and it’s Slim J taking over. Kay grabs the chinlock and a splash gets two.

An enziguri gets Metalik out of trouble and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker allows the hot tag to Fox. Everything breaks down and Fox hits a bunch of cutters to take the villains down. The springboard flip dive takes out Kay and Slim J on the floor, followed by Christian’s big dive onto all three. Back in and Sterling gets kicked off the apron, allowing Kay to superkick Fox for two. The Tower of Doom, with a double Spanish Fly, knocks out just about everyone, leaving Fox to cutter Daivari. A 450 gives Fox the pin at 13:20.

Rating: C+. I’m sure that’s going to be enough to get Metalik and company a Six Man Tag Team Title shot as the titles continue to be among the most worthless in all of wrestling. Somehow a team winning their first match together over a team beating a team who is teaming together for the first time on this show is supposed to mean something. While the match was fast paced and gave us the right result, the only thing the next step shows me is that there is absolutely zero need for Six Man Tag Team Titles.

Post match the Embassy runs in to beat down Metalik/Christian/Fox.

Lady Frost vs. Skye Blue

Blue works on a wristlock to start but can’t get very far. Frost sends her into the corner and we pause for a breather. A hard kick to the face in the corner rocks Blue and a handspring Cannonball connects, allowing Ian to make Frozen references. Some knees to the back keep Blue down and Frost kicks her hard to the floor.

Back in and Blue kicks her down for a change but can’t follow up. A middle rope hurricanrana drops Frost again and a kick to the head gets two. Frost is right back with an Air Raid Crash for two, only to get slammed off the top. Blue hits a quick high crossbody into Skyfall for the pin at 7:19.

Rating: C+. They were both working hard here and Frost looked rather good in defeat. She was hitting some nice spots but Blue is the one who seems ready to move up a little bit on the AEW/ROH ladder. That isn’t going to change until Blue wins a bigger match but for now, at least she got a tough win.

Rush/Dralistico vs. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus

Rush and Dralistico jump them to start and send the other two outside, setting up the double pose. Back in and we settle down to Dralistico striking away on Williams. Rush takes his shirt off and chops away at Titus, who gets tied in the ropes. That means the top rope legdrop can give Dralistico two but Williams suplexes his way out of trouble.

It’s off to Titus to slug it out with Rush, who is fine to strike back. A running boot in the corner rocks Rush and Dralistico gets knocked down as well. Everything breaks down and Dralistico hits a springboard Codebreaker on Williams. Rush’s Bull’s Horns is cut off by Williams’ spear but Dralistico sends him outside. There’s the big flip dive, leaving Titus to get Bull’s Horned for the pin at 5:34.

Rating: B-. This was energetic while it lasted but it was almost a squash for Rush and Dralistico. Williams and Titus could be something in the tag division but for now it seems that La Faccion is getting the focus. Odds are they’ll be in the ladder match for the Tag Team Titles, which might make Rush interesting for the first time….well ever around here actually.

We get a sitdown interview with Claudio Castagnoli and Eddie Kingston. Castagnoli has said that Kingston is without honor and thinks his words speak for himself. Kingston only cares about winning the title and lists off some wrestlers who have held the title and served as his mentors. Castagnoli doesn’t think much of Kingston referring to himself as a fighter, because Kingston is the one who ran away when it became hard.

Kingston doesn’t like that but Castagnoli is scared for him. That makes Kingston challenge for the title and Castagnoli is in, because he can win and leave Kingston blaming everyone. Oh and then he’ll quit. It’s on for Supercard Of Honor. This was all but set weeks ago but it’s nice to have it made official.

Matt Taven vs. Darius Martin

The rest of the Kingdom is here but there is no Dante Martin. Darius armdrags him down to start and Taven needs a quick breather. Back in and Darius grabs a headlock before drop toeholding him down without much trouble. Bennett and Maria offer a distraction though and Taven takes over for the first time. Another Maria distraction lets Bennett hit a hard forearm on the floor and Taven’s double underhook backbreaker gets two back inside.

Taven misses the springboard senton though and Just The Tip doesn’t do much better. Darius atomic drops him out of the air though and a slingshot Downward Spiral gets two. A Spanish Fly gives Darius two more but they trade enziguris for a double knockdown. Back up and Just The Tip gives Taven two but Darius German suplexes him down. Taven is sent outside, where Darius dives onto Bennett. Maria grabs the boot though and Taven Climaxes Darius for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: C+. The more I see of Taven on his own, the more I like him. Taven is someone who works well on his own but his stuff with the rest of the Kingdom works well too. I’m not sure why the team (or just Taven) hasn’t been featured on AEW a bit more but at least they’re getting to do some stuff here. I’ll certainly take Kingdom vs. Top Flight in a bigger feud and we might be on our way there.

Post match the beatdown is on until Dante Martin makes the save. Where the heck was he two minutes ago???

Tony Deppen vs. Brian Cage

Prince Nana and the Gates of Agony are here with Cage. For some reason Deppen slaps him in the face to start and is quickly knocked to the apron for his efforts. The apron superplex plants Deppen and Cage drops an elbow into some pushups (must be a Scott Steiner fan and yes the jokes are too easy).

Deppen manages to catch him on the ropes and hits a Backstabber to send Cage outside. That means the big dive drops Cage again and the running knees connect back inside. Deppen’s top rope double stomp gets a close two, with commentary going NUTS on the cover. Back up and Cage blasts him with a clothesline but gets small packaged for two more. Cage spinebusters him though and a Drill Claw finishes Deppen at 4:27.

Rating: C+. They packed a lot into about four and a half minutes with Deppen showing some great energy. Commentary had me buying the chance of a big upset on that double stomp and the small package almost got me there too. At the end of the day though, Cage is a much bigger star and a champion isn’t going to get pinned so close to the big event (and likely title defense).

Post match the 3-1 beatdown is on until Metalik, Blake Christian and AR Fox (with pipes) make the save.

Silas Young vs. Shane Taylor

This could be interesting. They fight over a lockup to start until Young slaps him in the face. That’s not a great idea as Taylor shoulders him down but misses the apron legdrop. Young knees him in the back and drops a backsplash for two. A bunch of elbows give Young one but Taylor BLASTS HIM with a clothesline.

Taylor’s neckbreaker is broken up and Young knees him in the face. A DDT gives Young two, only to have Taylor pull him into a release Rock Bottom. The big splash gives Taylor two but Young knees him again. Young can’t hit his moonsault out of the corner though, allowing Taylor to hit a knee of his own. The package piledriver puts Young away at 6:46.

Rating: C+. Another hard hitting match here as Taylor gets a win over someone with a name in his own right. Pushing either of these guys would make sense, as they both have ties to the old Ring Of Honor but also have a lot to offer now. I’m not sure about putting them together so fast, but at least someone won definitively.

Billie Starkz vs. Miranda Alize

Alize is a luchadora who was around in the last phase of the old Ring Of Honor. The fans are behind Starkz and the lockup goes nowhere early on. Alize bails to the floor and the fans are already getting on her nerves. Back in and Alize bites the hand to take over but a dragon suplex gets Starkz out of trouble. Starkz has to roll out of a dive off the top though and Alize takes her down for two.

A running slap to the head (rather than the signature Shining Wizard) lets Alize brag a bit before grabbing the Miranda Rights (Crossface). With that broken up, Starkz elbows and kicks her in the face. Starkz charges into a shoulder to the ribs though and Alize grabs a hurricanrana driver for two. A cutter looks to set up a Shining Wizard but Starkz blocks it and hits the Starkz Driver (Tombstone) for the pin at 6:58.

Rating: C. Starkz is rather talented or her age but she needs some more seasoning. Hopefully she can get some of that on a slightly bigger stage like Ring Of Honor before getting in over her head elsewhere. Alize is a fine midcard villain, but I’m not sure I can see her going much further than that.

Aussie Open vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal

Sydal takes Fletcher down to start and grabs a quick rollup for two. It’s off to Daniels to take over on Fletcher’s arm before Davis comes in. Daniels takes the leg out and nails a clothesline to the back of the head. Sydal comes back in and flips Daniels onto Davis, setting up a standing flip of his own for two. Daniels is even smart enough to slide between Fletcher’s legs and pull him to the floor for a right hand.

Back in and Davis decks Daniels, setting up a slingshot cutter. Sydal gets dropped as well and it’s Davis hitting Daniels in the face again. The hand off suplex is countered into a small package to give Daniels a breather but Fletcher kicks Sydal off the apron in a smart move. Daniels manages to send them into each other though and grabs a middle rope Downward Spiral to Davis. Sydal comes back in with a hurricanrana driver on Fletcher but Davis slows Sydal down.

Daniels is back in and sends Davis outside, leaving Fletcher to get powerbombed/top rope Meteoraed for two. Everyone gets dropped for a breather until Sydal gets tossed into Fletcher’s boot to the chest. Daniels Downward Spirals Fletcher though and clotheslines both of them. The Blue Thunder Bomb gets two on Fletcher, who accidentally kicks Davis in the head. Sydal tries to come back in but gets Tombstoned, only to have Daniels release Rock Bottom him down. The double clotheslines stagger Daniels though and Coriolis gives Fletcher the pin at 14:10.

Rating: B. Best match of the night so far and it’s nice to see the Aussies get a win after losing so often on AEW. Daniels and Sydal were built up (as much as a team can be in one match) to be fed to them and odds are we’ll be seeing the Aussies at Supercard Of Honor. They had a heck of a match here as it even overcame my lack of taste for Sydal.

Post match Daniels and Sydal tease leaving but come back and shake hands.

TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. ???

Joe is defending against….Cheeseburger. Joe hammers him down in the corner and gets annoyed at Cheeseburger swinging at him. The MuscleBuster retains the title at 1:01. That’s a relief, though the lack of Cheeseburger would have been a better one.

Post match Joe wrecks Cheeseburger but Mark Briscoe makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The show had its usual setup problems but I think we’ve covered those enough forever. I’m aware they’re not going to change because this is what Tony Khan likes to do but they’re by far the show’s biggest problem. It was another show with good action and a lot of talented people, but I’m looking forward to a few weeks from now when Supercard Of Honor is over and the show can breathe a bit. Or just keep piling stuff in until the good stuff is overwhelmed by the sheer volume. For now though, another perfectly fine show, with the Aussie Open match being rather good.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. Tony Nese – Froggy Bow
Metalik/AR Fox/Blake Christian b. Trustbusters – 450 to Daivari
Skye Blue b. Lady Frost – Skyfall
Rush/Dralistico b. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus – Bull’s Horns to Titus
Matt Taven b. Darius Martin – Climax
Brian Cage b. Tony Deppen – Drill Claw
Shane Taylor b. Silas Young – Package piledriver
Aussie Open b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Coriolis to Daniels
Samoa Joe b. Cheeseburger – MuscleBuster

 

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Ring Of Honor TV – March 16, 2023: They’re Already At The Three Month Mark

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 16, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the third week of this show and hopefully the improvements they made last week are taken further this week. Last week’s show was a bit shorter than the debut and also felt like it was more important, with fewer squashes. They need to start announcing some more stuff for Supercard of Honor so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Willie Mack

Non-title but a Proving Ground match, meaning if Mack wins or survives the ten minute time limit to a draw, he gets a future title shot. Castagnoli works on the arm to start until Mack armdrags him out to the floor. Mack teases a dive but Castagnoli walks away in time, leaving Mack to pose instead.

Back in and Mack snaps off a hurricanrana for two before hitting a running kick to the chest. A hard clothesline and butterfly suplex give Castagnoli two and we hit the chinlock. With that broken up, the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault gets two on Castagnoli and they forearm it out. Mack goes Sky High for two more but Castagnoli BLASTS HIM with a running uppercut for the pin at 7:12.

Rating: B-. Mack has the charisma and the impressive looking offense but Castagnoli is on another level in there. He shrugged off everything Mack threw at him and then finished it with one heck of an uppercut. It made Castagnoli feel like the bigger star while he beat someone who felt important as well. Good opener and dang that uppercut looked great.

Castagnoli shows respect while Mack is still down.

Mike Bennett vs. Dante Martin

The rest of the Kingdom and Darius Martin are here too. Dante spins out of a wristlock to start and shoulders Bennett into the ropes. They strike it out with Dante getting the better of things, setting up a dropkick to the floor. There’s the big dive to take Bennett out again but a Maria distraction lets Bennett hit a piledriver on the ramp. Dante beats the count and is fine enough for a springboard crossbody.

A package sitout powerbomb gets two on Bennett and they both need a breather. Back up and Bennett grabs a Death Valley Driver into a seated armbar, sending Dante over to the rope. Bennett takes him up top but gets hurricanranaed down, setting up a frog splash for two. The Kimura is reversed into a cradle to give Dante two and a spinning half nelson slam finishes Bennett at 10:02.

Rating: B. This was REALLY fun as they had me wondering who was going to win in the end. It was a back and forth match that had both of them looking good multiple times, as Martin continues to know how to do the comeback well. Cut out the piledriver on the ramp not knocking Dante out cold and this would have been even better. Heck of a match.

Post match Matt Taven comes in to beat on Dante, with Darius making the save.

Trustbusters vs. Metalik/Blake Christian

Mark Sterling is here with the Trustbusters. Christian and Daivari start things off with the former working on the arm and bringing Metalik in to do the same. The rope walk dropkick gets two on Daivari but a Slim J distraction lets Daivari take over. That doesn’t last long as Metalik gets over for the tag to Christian so house can be cleaned.

Back in and Slim J takes Christian down before Daivari drives him into the corner. Christian handspring kicks his way out of trouble and it’s back to Metalik, who gets dropkicked out of the air. Everything breaks down and Christian dives onto Daivari, leaving Metalik to Michinoku Driver Slim J for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C+. Well thank goodness we got the Trustbusters on for the third show in a row. The good thing is the match was better, though it’s still rather hard to care about anything Trustbusters related as the team is just so uninteresting. Metalik and Christian worked well together for a makeshift team, though I’m not sure how much of a future they’ll have.

Video on Mark Briscoe wanting the TV Title and Samoa Joe’s history of success against the Briscoes.

Mark Briscoe calls the TV Title his destiny but for now, he wants to take out everyone who works for Mark Sterling.

Jeeves Kay vs. Eddie Kingston

Believe it or not, Kay is part of the Trustbusters. Claudio Castagnoli has a seat in the crowd as Kingston grabs a headlock takeover. They head outside with Kingston sending Kay into the barricade, knocking a drink onto Castagnoli’s expensive shirt. The distraction lets Kay get in a shot of his own and a frog splash gets one. Kingston isn’t having that and suplexes him into the Stretch Plum for the tap at 2:36.

The Trustbusters (Are they kidding?) says there were some illegal tags so that loss didn’t count. Oh and Kay gave Kingston his best match in AEW. Daivari is fed up and wants Christian and Metalik in a six man tag.

Athena vs. Hyan

Another non-title Proving Ground match. Athena drops her to start and mocks the fans a bit, only to get kicked in the face for her rudeness. A swinging chokeslam cuts Hyan down again but she fights out of a chinlock. Athena catches her on top and spins into a powerbomb to the floor (ouch). Back in and the Crossface makes Hyan tap at 4:41.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here and a lot of that was spent on Athena playing to the fans. That powerbomb looked good though and Athena ran through an opponent who shouldn’t have caused her much trouble. This was little more than a showcase for Athena and in that regard, it went well.

Post match Athena sends her face first into the title belt.

Blake Christian and Metalik have AR Fox to help them deal with the Trustbusters.

Silas Young vs. Marcus Kross

This is Young’s first ROH appearance since Christmas 2021. Young grabs a headlock to start but gets pulled into a rollup for two. Back up and a hard whip sends Kross into the corner and we hit the double arm crank. Kross fights up and hits a high crossbody but gets sent into the corner again. The Pee Gee Waja Plunge (handstand into an Arabian moonsault) finishes Kross at 3:07.

Rating: C. Young is a good hand to have around as he is someone with the resume to make a difference around here. I don’t know if he’ll be a star in the new Ring Of Honor but he ties back to the past in a way that could be beneficial. The match was almost a squash and that was a good way to bring Young back.

Post match Young says no one measures up to him but here is Shane Taylor to interrupt. Taylor doesn’t like Young calling himself the most dominant TV Champion ever, so let’s see who is more dominant next week. Young is in.

Athena wants to know where Yuka Sakazaki is because she hurt Sakazaki, who is now staying in Japan to avoid her. Well come challenge for the title at Supercard of Honor.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. The Embassy

The Embassy, with Prince Nana, is defending. Castle and Kaun start things off with Castle wrestling him to the mat without much trouble. Brent comes in and gets taken into the wrong corner with straight power. Toa chokes away and runs over the now legal Brandon. The Boys are back up with stereo basement Downward Spirals, setting up Castle’s splash. That doesn’t last long as the Gates are right back up to take over on Brandon.

The chinlock goes on, before Toa backbreakers Brandon onto the top rope. Cage’s apron superplex gets two and Kaun’s spinebuster gets the same. Brandon gets over for the tag off to Castle, who is promptly kicked down by Cage. Everything breaks down and Nana breaks up the Bang A Rang. The Boys beat up Cage but get crushed by the Gates. A double clothesline (one to the front and one to the back) drops Brent, with Brandon being slammed on top of him for the double retaining pin at 10:26.

Rating: C+. Given that these are the only two teams who ever talk about going after the titles, it would have made some more sense to put this on Supercard of Honor. Then again it would make more sense to drop these titles altogether, but that isn’t likely to happen. It gives Cage something to do though and that at least keeps him from being on Dynamite.

Post match the Embassy beats up Castle and the Boys again until Blake Christian/Metalik/AR Fox make the save. They hold up the titles, because forming together, setting up another match, and then going after the titles in the span of 45 minutes is perfectly normal pacing.

Trish Adora vs. Madison Rayne

They lock up to start, with Madison climbing the ropes and spinning her way out to take Adora down. Adora blocks a crucifix bomb and uses the power to take over. The Lariat Tubman is blocked though and Rayne plants her with a DDT. Rayne is right back with a cutter for two and the crucifix bomb gets two more. Back up and the Lariat Tubman finishes Rayne at 5:19.

Rating: C. Again they didn’t have much time but pushing Adora as a star is far from a bad idea. She’s got the charisma and abilities in the ring to make a go of something so let her see what she can do. If the division is going to work this time, it needs to make some new stars. Adora is a very interesting place to start.

Top Flight isn’t done with the Kingdom so next week, Darius is ready to take out Matt Taven.

Outrunners vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal

Truth Magnum jumps Sydal to start and Daniels gets planted. Daniels slips away though and brings in Sydal to kick away. A suplex gives Sydal two and everything breaks down. Turbo Floyd is sent outside and the Angel’s Wings into the Lightning Spiral finishes Magnum at 2:42. That worked.

Post match Aussie Open comes out and, after insulting Sydal and Daniels for being old, challenge them to a match. Daniels and Sydal seem in.

Video on Clark Connors challenging Wheeler Yuta for the Pure Title.

Pure Rules Title: Clark Connors vs. Wheeler Yuta

Yuta is defending and they run the ropes to start until Connors tells him to chop away. Yuta pulls him down into a choke and Connors has to use his first rope break. Back up and Connors grabs a brainbuster, only to get pulled into octopus stretch. That’s broken up as Connors falls into the ropes (there’s the second break) so Yuta punches him in the face (not seen). Yuta starts going after the arm by sending him into the corner but Connors comes back with a Pounce.

Another Pounce is blocked though and Yuta scores with his top rope forearm. Back up and Connors flips out of a belly to back and hits a hard spear. Yuta dropkicks him in the arm to break it up and ties the….leg up. Connors has to use his still legal punch for the break but Yuta punches him back (both are warned, meaning another punch results in a DQ). That’s fine with Connors, who grabs the ankle lock to make Yuta burn a rope break. Yuta ties up the arm with something like a Crossface before switching into the Seatbelt to retain at 9:57.

Rating: B-. Yuta cheating is working for the title and Connors was a nice safe title defense for him. Connors isn’t the biggest guy but dang that Pounce and spear looked good. With this out of the way though, Yuta is going to need a bigger name to come after the belt, or at least someone who doesn’t feel like they were drawn out of a hat.

Post match Yuta brags about his win and calls out Katsuyori Shibata for a title match to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As usual, the show was good and the wrestling isn’t the problem. Even the run time isn’t the problem (still under two hours, which is about as long as a show like this can reasonably go), but rather how much stuff is crammed in here. On this show, you had one story involving a tag match, the losers of that match wanting a six man, the winners finding a partner, the match being made and the winners wanting the Six Man Tag Team Titles. That sounds like about a month of one story and it took place in less than an hour and twenty minutes of one show.

I’m aware that they have a pay per view in a few weeks, but starting the build almost from scratch with about five weeks to go is turning the build into a train wreck. Things are being rushed together as fast as they can and very little is sticking in any way. It will likely get better after Supercard, but this show still feels like they’re racing to cover as much as they can as fast as they can instead of putting on a well polished product.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli b. Willie Mack – Running uppercut
Dante Martin b. Mike Bennett – Spinning half nelson slam
Blake Christian/Metalik b. Trustbusters – Michinoku Driver to Slim J
Eddie Kingston b. Jeeves Kay – Stretch Plum
Athena b. Hyan – Crossface
Silas Young b. Marcus Kross – Pee Gee Waja Plunge
The Embassy b. Dalton Castle/The Boys – Double pin
Trish Adora b. Madison Rayne – Lariat Tubman
Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels b. Outrunners – Lightning Spiral to Magnum
Wheeler Yuta b. Clark Connors – Seatbelt

 

 

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Ring Of Honor TV – March 9, 2023: It’s An Upgrade

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 9, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re still on the first taping of this new show so things are likely to look like they did last week. The wrestling itself was pretty good, but the length of the show was quite the drag. They did offer something big at the end with Eddie Kingston showing up to challenge Claudio Castagnoli, so there is at least a path forward in the main event. Let’s get to it.

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

TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Tony Deppen

Joe is defending and works on the wrist to start. For some reason Deppen strikes away, earning himself a beating in the corner. Deppen fights back though and hits a running corner dropkick. A knee gives Deppen two more but Joe Rock Bottoms him out of the corner. Joe blasts him with a clothesline though and the MuscleBuster retains the title at 5:26.

Rating: C+. Deppen was trying and they had the action going, but Joe isn’t about to lose to someone who has only made infrequent appearances in his first defense on this show. Joe doesn’t really need to get built up in Ring of Honor again but breaking a bit of a sweat against a former champion is a good thing. Now just get Joe a more serious challenger and we could be getting somewhere.

Post match Joe says that he always runs this place no matter what happens around here. If anyone wants a title shot, come see the champ. Cue Mark Briscoe (good call) to say that title is his destiny, with Joe saying bring it.

Dalton Castle and the Boys want the Six Man Tag Team Titles back. They’ve been moving furniture all weekend and want to face the Embassy. Castle: “Show them your teeth boys!” I have no idea why the Six Man Titles need to exist.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Marcus Kross/Cody Chhun/Guillermo Rosas

Chhun and Rosas are collectively known as C4. Castle and Cross poke each other in the chest to start, with Castle actually being knocked to the floor. The Boys fan him up before one…puts him in a full nelson and the other hits him in the stomach? I guess that is training of some sort as Castle goes back inside to wrestle Rosas down.

Brent comes in for a dropkick (the fans approve) and it’s time to go after Rosas’ knee. Rosas drives him into the corner though and it’s Chhun coming in for a dropkick into a suplex. Brent enziguris Kross though and Castle comes back in to start the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and the Boys are thrown outside for the crashes (that’s always cool). Back in and the Bang A Rang finishes Rosas at 5:30.

Rating: C. Just a squash here with Castle and the Boys proving that they are ready for the Six Man Tag Team Title shot. I’m not sure who else would get the shot, but the idea of throwing three people with little in common together would not be out of the question. Castle and the Boys are a fun team and crowd favorites, so this was a smart addition to the show.

Maria Kanellis introduces the OGK (Matt Taven/Mike Bennett) who say they’re coming for the Tag Team Titles. Maria: “We are the OGK but you can call us the Kingdom.” Or you could just pick one, preferably the Kingdom.

Angelico/Serpentico vs. Rush/Dralistico

Luther is here with Angelico/Serpentico, collectively known as the Spanish Announce Project and Jose the Assistant is with Rush/Dralistico. Rush isn’t interested in a handshake with Angelico as we are officially ready to go. They trade legsweeps into covers for no counts and it’s an early standoff.

Serpentico comes in to chop away at Rush for no avail before Dralistico comes in to take him down. Rush’s running splash in the corner sets up a pair of basement dropkicks to send Serpentico outside as the beating is on. The means a big flip dive from Dralistico and the Tranquilo pose from Rush. Angelico gets whipped with an electrical cord on the floor and Serpentico is draped over the top rope for a legdrop in a painful looking crash.

The double teaming continues until Rush accidentally knocks Dralistico off the apron. Serpentico gets knocked out of the air but Angelico breaks up the Bull’s Horns. With Angelico knocked outside, Dralistico hits a springboard spinning Canadian Destroyer to finish Serpentico at 9:16.

Rating: C. That was a pretty long squash as Dralistico and Rush were never in any real danger. They could wind up being a solid team around here as Rush has the World Title credentials and Dralistico looked good in a bit of a showcase here. Angelico and Serpentico did well as cannon fodder, but that’s all they were.

Post match Dralistico and Rush take Serpentico’s mask.

Trish Adora vs. Billie Starkz

Starkz is an 18 year old prodigy. Adora works on the arm to start and powers Starkz down without much trouble. Starkz gets knocked outside and dropped onto the apron before Adora la majistrals her for two back inside. A delayed bridging German suplex gets two and Adora grabs Cattle Mutilation, with Starkz having to go to the ropes. Starkz gets in a kick to the face but walks into a pump kick for two. They trade running shots to the face and then the big forearms until Starkz lands another kick. That doesn’t seem to matter as the Lariat Tubman (what a great name) finishes for Adora at 5:41.

Rating: C+. This was another near squash as Starkz only got in a few shots while Adora was running her over for the most part. Adora is someone who felt like she was ready to become a breakout star in the original Ring Of Honor, but the women’s division wasn’t nearly strong enough to make that work. The dominance was on strong here and it was already better than most of what Ring Of Honor’s women did in the past.

Christopher Daniels talks about his success around here and wants to win the Tag Team Titles with his new partner….Matt Sydal. Cue Sydal, who is willing to die flying or die trying. That feels like a “we have nothing else for these two to do” and that isn’t a bad thing.

Jake Crist/Jake Manning vs. Trustbusters

Yes the Trustbusters (with Mark Sterling) are back and no I don’t get it either. Manning is the Man Scout, which is like a Boy Scout but….I think you get the idea. Daivari throws Manning’s scout manual (which he reads during matches) outside and brings Manning into the corner for the tag off to Slim J. The Trustbusters start the alternating beatdowns but it’s off to Crist for a springboard forearm. Manning comes back in to hammer on Daivari but J gets in a cheap shot from the apron. The STF makes Manning tap at 2:55. At least it was short.

Post match Ari Daivari brags about beating Metalik on his own last week but Metalik runs in. That earns him a beatdown of his own but Blake Christian makes the save.

Pure Title: Wheeler Yuta vs. Timothy Thatcher

Yuta is defending and has to use a rope break to escape the Fujiwara armbar less than ten seconds in. They fight over arm control on the mat with Thatcher taking over and slamming the fingers into the mat for two. Yuta reverses into an Octopus and Thatcher has to use his first rope break as well. The armbar keeps Thatcher down and a middle rope flying armbar makes it worse.

Back up and Thatcher manages a belly to belly but Yuta is right back with another armbar. Thatcher’s second rope break gets him out of trouble so they trade uppercuts for a change. Thatcher uppercuts him into the corner but gets punched off the ropes, earning an official warning (one more punch and he’s disqualified).

Another armbar sends Thatcher to the rope again and this time he pulls Yuta into the keylock, sending him to the ropes as well. A belly to back gives Thatcher two and he knees away at Yuta’s back, sending him to the ropes for the final break. So now holds and pins in the ropes are legal so Thatcher stomps him to the floor. With the referee holding Thatcher back, Yuta hits him in the face again and slaps on an armbar in the ropes to retain at 12:40.

Rating: B-. This match stood out as it had the talent, the intensity and the different feeling from everything else on the show. Thatcher was doing more stuff here but Yuta cheated just enough to retain the title. The Pure Title isn’t the best thing going in Ring Of Honor but Yuta does well enough to make it work. Giving him an opponent like Thatcher was a guaranteed hit and they delivered.

Post match Yuta complains about the LA Dojo so here is Clark Connors to say the Blackpool Combat Club wished they trained under Katsuyori Shibata (the Dojo’s head trainer). Connors issues the challenge for a title match next week and Yuta is in.

Aussie Open vs. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus

Titus wrestles Fletcher to the mat to start and it’s Williams coming in to scare Fletcher over for the tag to Davis. A few shots to Davis’ arm seem to wake him up enough to kick Titus in the face and the Aussies take over. Fletcher comes in for a rather delayed suplex, which he passes over to Davis for the actual drop on Titus. A missed charge lets Titus roll over Davis and bring in Williams to clean house.

The piledriver is blocked but everything breaks down, with the Aussies being sent outside. That’s fine with them, as they pick up Titus and Williams for a hard ram together. Back in and Williams gets planted to give Fletcher two but Williams is fine enough to pull Davis into a Crossface.

Titus adds a half crab on Fletcher at the same time but the Aussies go to the ropes to escape. There’s a belly to belly to drop Fletcher and a lariat gets two, with Davis having to make the save. Williams adds a top rope splash for two on Fletcher but he’s back with a spinning Tombstone. Davis pulls Titus from the mat up into a piledriver (that was awesome) and the Coriolis finishes Williams at 10:22.

Rating: B. Now this was a fun one as they cranked up the intensity here with one hot sequence after another. The Aussies needed a win and putting them over some former Ring Of Honor champions worked well. Williams always felt like someone who could move up to the next level and Titus seems to get better every time he’s out there. Very energized match and I had a lot of fun with it.

Respect is shown post match, but the Aussies don’t seem to mean it.

Eddie Kingston vs. Ben Dejo

Suplex and spinning Backfist To The Future finish for Kingston at 40 seconds.

Post match Kingston calls out Claudio Castagnoli to answer his challenge. Cue Castagnoli to say a man without honor will never be champion. Castagnoli leaves and we see Kingston giving chase backstage.

Willow Nightingale isn’t just here to be happy because she wants Athena’s Women’s Title.

Athena isn’t worried about Nightingale and the title isn’t going anywhere.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale is challenging and I would have bet on this one taking place at Supercard Of Honor. They fight over wrist control to start with Athena throwing her down and posing. Nightingale is back with a running crossbody for two and Two Amigos into a fisherman’s suplex. Athena gets sent to the apron, where she snaps the arm over the ropes, allowing her to kick Nightingale down.

More kicks let Athena pose again and we hit the seated armbar. They trade rollups for two each until Athena hammers her down. The running baseball slide sends Willow outside, where Athena sends her face first into the steps. Willow’s arm gets crushed in the steps but she still beats the count back in. the running hurricanrana is countered into an apron bomb though and a Death Valley Driver plants Athena on the floor.

Both of them make it back in at 18 (out of 20) and a spinebuster gives Nightingale two. The arm gives out on the doctor bomb though and Athena grabs a crossface. Make that the Fujiwara armbar, which Willow reverses into a rollup for two. Athena plants her for two more and the kickout leaves her panicking. The Pounce sends Athena flying and the doctor bomb gets two more. Athena bails up the ramp, where she grabs a Wasteland to knock Willow silly. Back in and the O Face retains the title at 14:47.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match and the fans were way into it rather quickly, as Willow is as likable as you can get and Athena is starting to feel it as a villain. They had me thinking they might change the title here and maybe that is what they should have done. I’m not sure why Willow got the shot here and lost, as she could be built up as a potential new star in the division, including as the champion. Also, why not wait to do this at Supercard? Unless they’re running this back, I don’t know how much sense it made here, even as a rather good main event.

Post match Athena sends her arm first into the steps.

Overall Rating: B. Much better show this week as it was a bit shorter (about 15 minutes) and they kept things moving. The action was better as well, with a mixture of different kinds of things up and down the card. Three title matches is a bit much, but the TV Title defense was hardly a big deal.

The show is still too long though and that is going to get them in trouble when the matches aren’t as good. It’s ok to spread this stuff out a bit, but that has long, long since been one of the major problems with Tony Khan’s booking style. For now though, it’s an upgrade over last week, but I’m curious about how the second taping will go.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Tony Deppen – MuscleBuster
Dalton Castle/The Boys b. Marcus Kross/Cody Chhun/Guillermo Rosas – Bang A Rang to Rosas
Rush/Dralistico b. Angelico/Serpentico – Springboard spinning Canadian Destroyer to Serpentico
Trish Adora b. Billie Starkz – Lariat Tubman
Trustbusters b. Jake Manning/Jake Crist – STF to Manning
Wheeler Yuta b. Timothy Thatcher – Armbar in the ropes
Aussie Open b. Tracy Williams/Rhett Titus – Coriolis to Williams
Eddie Kingston b. Ben Dejo – Spinning Backfist To The Future

 

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Rampage – March 3, 2023: The Balancing Act

Rampage
Date: March 3, 2023
Location: Cow Palace, San Francisco, California
Commentators: Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s the final show before Revolution and that means this week is live. Normally I would say a pay per view card is set two days before the show but AEW has a tendency to throw in a bunch of stuff at the last minute. This week will also see Dustin Rhodes/Keith Lee vs. Mogul Affiliates so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Aussie Open vs. Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta vs. Top Flight vs. Dark Order

The Dark Order jumps Castagnoli/Yuta in the aisle to start but Top Flight dives onto all four of them. Aussie Open drives Top Flight together as JR talks about needing to win to get a pay per view pay day. Ross: “Am I right about that?” And he is completely ignored, as that doesn’t seem to be right.

We get inside for the bell with Top Flight dropkicking Aussie Open with Davis being knocked to the floor. Reynolds comes in and hits a running elbow on Fletcher as Jericho talks about the attractiveness of Tony Schiavone’s grandmother. It’s off to Silver to take Castagnoli down and hammer away. Silver hits a running flip dive to take Davis down on the floor, runs over more people, and then gets pulled out of the air by Castagnoli.

A backbreaker gets two on Silver as we see La Faccion Ingobernable watching backstage. Castagnoli and Yuta kick Reynolds down and we take a break. Back with Reynolds flipping out of a belly to back suplex as Maria and the Kingdom are watching at ringside. Yuta comes in but gets stomped down by Reynolds, allowing a double tag off to Dante vs. Fletcher.

Dante forearms him down and hits the big running flip dive to the floor. Back in and Silver has to make a save but the Aussies superkick Dante out of the air. An assisted flip powerslam gets two with Yuta making the save. Davis blasts Fletcher by mistake though and it’s the Dark Order coming in to clean house. The Stunner into the German suplex hits Darius but Yuta comes in with the Seatbelt for the pin at 9:35.

Rating: B. This was your “here are a bunch of people doing a bunch of stuff” match of the week and it was an entertaining one. While I do think these matches tend to run together quite a bit, they worked well here and the Blackpool Combat Club’s nefarious ways continue. The Aussies still feel like they should be a bigger deal around here but maybe their infrequent appearances are slowing them down. As for Top Flight, can they please get a few wins already?

Post match Dark Order jumps Castagnoli and Yuta until things are separated.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Jon Moxley in Sunday’s Texas Death Match.

We look at the Jericho Appreciation Society beating up Ricky Stars on Dynamite.

Jungle Boy wants to end Christian Cage…and it seems like it’s going to be something like Buried Alive. That seems like quite the jump after one 30 second match, jokes about Jungle Boy’s dad or not.

Riho vs. Emi Sakura

Sakura, Riho’s mentor, kicks her in the ribs to start and pulls the crossbody out of the air. Riho is back with a snap suplex for two and a headscissors puts Sakura on the floor. Sakura is fine enough to catch a charging Riho in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Riho gets crushed against the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Riho forearming away and hitting a 619. A high crossbody gets two on Sakura but she’s back with a running crossbody in the corner for two of her own. La Majistral gives Sakura two more and her moonsault….well it hits Riho but it doesn’t seem like it was supposed to. Riho misses the top rope double stomp but spins around Sakura into a rollup for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: B-. Riho is back and seems to be getting a strong push, which could lead up to a big match, perhaps against say Jade Cargill. This win makes her 2-0 this week and that should be enough of a stepping stone to somewhere. Sakura is someone else who can wrestle a good match with anyone and she was just right for putting Riho over here.

Video on Ruby Soho vs. Saraya vs. Jamie Hayter for the Women’s Title.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Serpentico

Town Business finishes Serpentico at 41 seconds. As it should be.

Don Callis recruits Konosuke Takeshita, who seems intrigued.

Mark Briscoe talks about being sick of Mark Sterling. He was ready for a tag team battle royal but he couldn’t find his brother Jay, because Jay must have already been out there (well dang). But no, he’s up there with the Lord now so Mark Briscoe went after Mark Sterling on his own. Then he saw the Lucha Bros in there and here they are with their friend. The six man tag is set for Revolution.

Revolution rundown.

The four teams in the four way Tag Team Title match are all ready to fight.

Video on Dustin Rhodes/Keith Lee vs. Mogul Affiliates.

Dustin Rhodes/Keith Lee vs. Mogul Affiliates

It’s a brawl to start with Lee and Boudreaux slugging it out. Boudreaux’s shots to the face just wake Lee up and it’s Dustin coming in to rain down right hands in the corner. Those are shrugged off but Boudreaux won’t tag for no logical reason. We take a break and come back Strickland throwing Dustin out of the corner and dropkicking Lee off the apron. Dustin backdrops his way out of trouble but there’s no Lee, leaving Dustin to powerslam Strickland instead.

That’s enough for the tag to Lee, who Pounces Boudreaux for the big crash. Strickland comes in and realizes he has to face Lee, leading to panic. One heck of a high angle spinebuster plants Strickland as everything breaks down. Strickland moonsaults off of Lee’s chest to take Dustin out on the floor. That leaves Lee to get Swerve Stomped for two but Dustin is back in. Lee crossbodies Boudreaux and Dustin hits a Canadian Destroyer on Strickland. Dustin gets tossed onto Boudreaux and the Big Bang Catastrophe finishes Boudreaux off at 11:03.

Rating: B-. This was about how the match should have gone, as Lee looks like a monster who is going to get his hands on Swerve at some point. I’m a bit surprised that it isn’t at Revolution, but it should make for a nice Dynamite main event in a few weeks. You also have Dustin holding things together for the incredibly inexperienced Boudreaux and it made for a nice main event.

One more Revolution rundown….doesn’t finish the show as Ricky Starks jumps Chris Jericho and brawls with him to end the show. That was a nice surprise.

Overall Rating: B+. While a lot of the matches didn’t exactly feel important (JR thinking there was a prize for the winner was really bad), this was a very easy to watch show with good stuff up and down the card. It was a mixture of different stories and kinds of matches to keep things interesting and that made for a solid Rampage. Now just get Revolution right (which they probably will) and maybe AEW can get back on track.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta b. Top Flight, Dark Order and Aussie Open – Seatbelt to Darius
Riho b. Emi Sakura – Rollup
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Serpentico – Town Business
Dustin Rhodes/Keith Lee b. Swerve Strickland/Parker Boudreaux – Big Bang Catastrophe to Boudreaux

 

 

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Rampage – February 24, 2023: How Can You Get Mad?

Rampage
Date: February 24, 2023
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Jim Ross, Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re still in the desert and Rampage is still searching for a more viable formula. I’m not sure why AEW seems to punt on this show so often but it does produce some enjoyable results. If you can get by without the star power after the first match, you should be in for a fun one and hopefully that is true this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Aussie Open vs. Young Bucks

Kenny Omega is here with the Bucks. The Aussies deck the Bucks to start and isolate Matt for a kick to the chest and backsplash. Matt manages to backflip away from both of them and brings in Nick to walk the ropes into a wristdrag/headscissors combination. The Bucks clear the ring but the bigger Davis comes back in to slam them both at the same time. Nick’s pop up dropkick sends Davis to the floor though and Matt grabs a running flipping neckbreaker to send Fletcher into Nick’s knee. Everyone heads to the floor with the Aussies ramming the Bucks together as we take a break.

Back with Davis chopping the heck out of Nick, who kicks his way out of trouble. It’s back to Matt to clean house, including an assisted Sliced Bread to Fletcher. Matt dives onto Davis on the floor and hits a top rope elbow for two on Fletcher. The assisted 450 gets two on Fletcher with Davis having to make the save. Fletcher grabs a brainbuster to drop Nick on the floor, leaving Davis to clothesline Matt inside.

A running elbow in the corner hits Matt and Fletcher kicks Nick in the face. Fletcher loads up a middle rope DDT but Nick twists around into a cutter to pull him out of the air. Everything breaks down and the Bucks fire off their superkicks until stereo clotheslines give us a double knockdown.

Nick and Fletcher clothesline each other until Davis pulls Nick to the floor. Matt does the same to Fletcher and the Bucks get to hit their flip dives. The Meltzer Driver is loaded up but the lights go out. Back up and Fletcher Tombstones Matt, setting up the Coriolis for two. The Bucks are back up with superkicks and the BTE Trigger finishes Fletcher at 16:20.

Rating: B. You could probably guess what you were getting here and it wound up going as well as expected. The Bucks haven’t been doing the regular tag stuff as much lately and it is nice to see them getting back to their roots. Other than that, Aussie Open are always good for a solid performance so this worked, even with the Bucks’ style being on full display.

Post match the lights go out and the House of Black appears. Then they go out again and the team disappears.

The Best Friends are ready for the Casino Tag Team battle Royal but Big Bill, Lee Moriarty and the Gunns come in to beat them down with a pipe.

Post break, Orange Cassidy and Danhausen find the fallen Best Friends. Cassidy doesn’t seem happy.

Toni Storm vs. Willow Nightingale

Saraya is here with Storm. Nightingale runs Storm over to start and hits some clotheslines to put her down again. Storm’s chop has no effect as Nightingale runs her over with a shot to the chest. Back up and Storm goes to the eyes to take over, setting up a hip attack to knock Nightingale off the apron. Nightingale gets sent into the barricade a few times and we take a break.

Back with Nightingale missing a Cannonball in the corner and getting caught with the running hip attack. A DDT out of the corner gives Storm two but Nightingale knocks her back into the corner. The Cannonball into a Death Valley Driver gets two but Nightingale has to deal with Saraya. The distraction lets Storm Zero finish for Storm at 6:56.

Rating: C. Nightingale has hit a bit of a wall in recent weeks and that is a shame to see after she had so much momentum. Storm didn’t squash here here but there was almost no way Nightingale was going to get a win over someone in this big of a story. I’m still not sure where the story is going, but a big title match at Revolution seems likely.

Post match Storm and Saraya bust out the spray paint but Ruby Soho, followed by Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker, make the save. Soho still wants the title.

The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are ready for the Tag Team Title match but Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt/Satnam Singh jump them for the beatdown.

Jade Cargill wants to know who is left and welcomes all comers.

Lance Archer vs. Bryce Saturn

This is Archer’s (with Jake Roberts) first match in AEW since November and he jumps Saturn in the aisle before the bell. The beating is swift and severe but Saturn blocks a chokeslam attempt. Archer crossbodies him down and hits a hard clothesline for the pin at 1:43. Good to have Archer back, but can we do something with him this time?

Dustin Rhodes and Keith Lee (dressed like a deacon or something close to it) are ready for the Mogul Affiliates.

Mogul Affiliates aren’t scared, though Trench still seems to have vanished.

Action Andretti is ready to prove himself to Sammy Guevara with Daniel Garcia promising a beating from Garcia.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows, including the Face of the Revolution ladder match AND a Casino battle royal on Dynamite!

Stokely Hathaway is ready to send Matt Hardy to destroy Hook on Dynamite. Oh and it can be No DQ.

Action Andretti vs. Sammy Guevara

Daniel Garcia is here with Guevara. They go straight to the floor to start with Guevara getting the better of things. Back in and Andretti counters a sunset flip into a falcon arrow for two, with even Jericho having to praise Andretti. Guevara gets dropped on the floor and Andretti hits a 450 from the apron as we take a break.

We come back with Andretti’s moonsault hitting raised kneed and Guevara planting him for two. Guevara’s shooting star takes too long though and Andretti hits a springboard kick to the face for another near fall. Some hard shots to the face rock Andretti again but he counters a crossbody into a flipping slam for two (ala Cameron Grimes). Andretti hits a springboard Swanton for two more and a heck of a shotgun dropkick sends Guevara into the corner. Garcia breaks up a springboard though and the GTH finishes for Guevara at 10:06.

Rating: B-. This was another Andretti match as he does the high fling well enough but he doesn’t exactly do much that makes him stand out over the rest of the crowd. It also doesn’t help that his big win over Chris Jericho was pretty much it for him winning anything, but I don’t think he was expected to be a breakout star. Guevara gets a win to keep himself warm, though I’m not sure what the Society is doing save for Jericho getting to face Ricky Starks again.

Overall Rating: B. Another fun show here with stuff happening and a few bigger names than usual to make this an entertaining hour. That’s where a lot of the positives come from with Rampage: you can only get so annoyed at what they’re doing as the show is over in a hurry. The opener was good enough and ate up about a third of the show counting the stuff before and after, so how bad can it be? Good stuff here, though I still wonder how many people are actually going to watch.

Results
Young Bucks b. Aussie Open – BTE Trigger to Fletcher
Toni Storm b. Willow Nightingale – Storm Zero
Lance Archer b. Bryce Saturn – Clothesline
Sammy Guevara b. Action Andretti – GTH

 

 

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Dynamite – February 22, 2023: Figure It Out

Dynamite
Date: February 22, 2023
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We have two weeks to go to before Revolution and that means it is time to start finalizing the card. That is a little tricky when one of the matches is going to be a sixty minute Iron Man match, but AEW does know how to throw in a few surprises. Tony Khan has promised a big surprise for tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta

Only Cassidy is defending after Yuta wants revenge for Cassidy and the Best Friends forgetting about him. They go technical to start and get some near falls each until Yuta bails to the floor. Back in and Cassidy uses Yuta’s own Seatbelt rollup for two, meaning it’s time for another breather outside. Cue Claudio Castagnoli to slap Yuta in the face to wake him up.

That’s enough to make Yuta counter the Orange Punch and send Cassidy outside for some whips into the barricade. A posting ensues and Yuta strikes away back inside, despite Cassidy putting his hands in his pockets. Cassidy hits a dropkick ad sends him into the corner a few times. There’s an enziguri from Yuta, followed by a top rope forearm for two. We take a break and come back with Yuta hitting a brainbuster into an Angle Slam for another near fall.

Cassidy manages some rolling German suplexes for two but Yuta uses Cassidy’s Mousetrap for two more. They spit at each other and knock each other down before heading to the apron. Cassidy gets the better of things and hits the diving DDT to the floor. Back in and they trade the driving elbows to the face until the Orange Punch gives Cassidy two. The Orange Punch retains the title at 16:48.

Rating: B. This turned into a hard hitting fight and that is the kind of thing that you do not see from Cassidy very often. Yuta can wrestle the technical style very well and made his half of things work here. They had a better match than I was expecting and this worked very well for a long, back and forth opener.

Post match Cassidy loads up the hug but Castagnoli tells Yuta to get out, with Yuta listening and leaving with Castagnoli.

Evil Uno is ready for Jon Moxley and wants Hangman Page to stay out of there from bell to bell. The Dark Order has to stand up for itself.

Here is Ricky Starks for a chat. Over the last few months, he has been dealing with Chris Jericho, who doesn’t want a rematch with him. Therefore, he is moving away from Jericho and now he has an open contract for a match at Revolution. Cue Jericho, who says Starks is enjoying that one win he got but it is never going to happen again. Starks isn’t at his level so good luck with the open challenge.

Cue Peter Avalon to try to accept the challenge but Jericho beats him down. Jericho gets in the ring and says this is what happens when you issue an open challenge. Starks says if Jericho signs, he’ll just bring the Appreciation Society, because apparently he needs them to win. That’s too far for Jericho, who agrees to the terms…..but he doesn’t have a pen. Starks: “D***. I do!” And after the big dramatic click, Jericho adds a line about the Society staying in the back and signs for the match. That took some time but it was some nice mind games from Starks.

A bunch of tag teams are ready for the battle royal.

Lee Moriarty/Big Bill vs. Acclaimed

Stokely Hathaway and Billy Gunn are here too. Caster’s rap makes fun of Moriarty and Bill, including Bill’s mother. Caster doesn’t get far with an armbar as a Bill cheap shot lets Moriarty take over. Bowens comes in for the blind tag though and something like a neckbreaker onto Caster’s raised knees gets two.

We take a break and come back with the Gunns out to watch as Bowens gets the hot tag and cleans house on Moriarty. Bill comes back in to kick Gunn and Bowens down though, allowing the Gunns to stomp their dad down. The Acclaimed chases them off and Caster poses Bill. The Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes Moriarty at 7:08.

Rating: C. They kept this short and sweet here as the Acclaimed gets some momentum back on their way to the four way title match. I’m not sure I can imagine them getting the titles back so soon, but at least they are beating teams they should beat. The title change still feels like it came out of nowhere though, and that might not be the best move.

Christian Cage comes out for an interview but Jungle Boy jumps him from behind. Jungle Boy loads up a Conchairto but takes too long, allowing Cage to low blow his way out of trouble. Cage hits him in the head with the chair and then rams said head into the other chair a few times. Jungle Boy is busted open and referees break it up.

Video on Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe.

Saraya vs. Skye Blue

Toni Storm is here with Saraya. Blue starts fast but a Storm distraction lets Saraya pull her off the top. Saraya takes over on the arm and plants Blue down for two. As Tony and Taz discuss the difference between making friends and making money, Saraya can’t superplex her down, allowing Blue to hit a high crossbody. Blue nails a running kick to the face but Storm offers a distraction, allowing Saraya to hit a superkick. The Scorpio Crosslock makes Blue give up at 3:45.

Rating: C. The fact that Saraya is now needing help to beat Blue isn’t a good sign for her future, but things haven’t exactly been going well for her for a good while. This us vs. them story is only so good and Saraya continues to be a letdown since she has been back. It was cool to see her wrestle again, but the charm is wearing off quickly.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker make the save. Cue Ruby Soho to signal that she wants the title shot. Hayter doesn’t seem opposed.

Here is Bryan Danielson for a chat. Danielson is ready to do everything he can to win the World Title but first he needs to talk about what MJF said last week. MJF hurt Danielson’s mentor William Regal…and here is MJF to interrupt. MJF says these people love Danielson but MJF is the guy who has been shoved away by everyone he has ever loved. Then he met a girl and fell in love with her, to the point where he got down on one knee and said he wanted to start a family with her.

Then she left him, meaning the only thing that that stops him from taking a fist full of pills and calling it a day is this title. Everyone loves Danielson though, and they’ll shout YES at the top of their lungs. Danielson has a family that he takes for granted but do you know why MJF hates him? Danielson has had concussions and seizures but he’s still wrestling. Every time Danielson gets in the ring, he is saying wrestling is more important than his family and his children.

Every time Danielson gets in the ring, he is spitting in MJF’s face because he disrespects everything MJF wants. Danielson is worse than his drug addicted mentor so he’ll get all of the spotlight he wants at Revolution when MJF beats him do badly. MJF talks into the camera to Danielson’s children and promises to hurt their daddy at Revolution, to the point where Danielson can’t play with them again.

For some reason Danielson doesn’t move, but MJF gets in the ring and promises early onset CT…..and Danielson jumps him. Security eventually breaks it up. This was a weird segment, as it didn’t so much make me want to see MJF lose the title, but rather make me want to buy him a hot sandwich and give him a hug.

Jamie Hayter thinks Ruby Soho and Saraya deserve a title shot, so let’s make it a triple threat at Revolution.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal, Top Flight, Best Friends, Lucha Bros, La Faccion Ingobernable, Aussie Open, Ari Daivari/Tony Nese, Jericho Appreciation Society, Butcher and the Blade, Dark Order

The winners move on to Revolution for a Tag Team Title shot and both members must be thrown out for an elimination. It’s a brawl to start with some teams on the floor and others fighting inside. Nese and Penta fight to the apron but here is Mark Briscoe to go after Josh Woods, because that feud is still going. Penta Fear Factors Nese for the elimination and Daivari is tossed out shortly thereafter as we take a break.

Back with no eliminations during the break but Aussie Open is tossed at the same time. Dark Order gets rid of Blade and Darius Martin was tossed somewhere in there. Butcher eliminates Reynolds and Penta kicks Vance out. Vance helps Rush get rid of Penta but Penta kicks Rush out to get rid of La Faccion.

The Society finally gets in and goes after the Best Friends, only to have to deal with Danhausen. They toss him out so he fires off a curse, with the Society being tossed out at the same time. Jarrett and Lethal get rid of Taylor, leaving us with Jarrett, Lethal, butcher, Fenix, Trent and Dante Martin as we take another break.

Back again with a mini six man having broken out and Butcher knock Fenix through the ropes to the floor (not an elimination). Dante gets knocked out but Fenix dumps Butcher as well. Jarrett and Lethal toss Fenix and we’re down to the two of them plus Trent. The double teaming is on but Trent makes the comeback, only to have Satnam Singh make the double save.

Jarrett hits the Stroke and sends Trent….to the apron, where Orange Cassidy makes a save of his own. Sonjay Dutt’s interference doesn’t help as Trent manages to get rid of Lethal. Danhausen chases Dutt to the back but Singh saves Jarrett from another elimination. Another Strike lets Jarrett toss him out for the win at 18:31.

Rating: C+. The ending was a bit much and they had a bunch of stuff going on at once, but Jarrett and Lethal being added to a four way title match isn’t a bad idea. You’re going to need a team to keep things a bit more under control and that is where Jarrett and Lethal can shine. Fun match here, though it did run for a good while.

The House Of Black wants the Trios Titles.

Tony Khan joins us for a big announcement….which will be made by Adam Cole: AEW is getting a reality series called All Access, which debuts next month after Dynamite. On a more personal note: Cole is making his in-ring return the same night as the show’s debut. I get that it’s an announcement and a cool deal for AEW, but hyping this up as a “major announcement” was destined to fail. Put out a press release, mention it on Dynamite, and then talk about it rather than making a big deal that isn’t likely to go over very well. And yes, I understand that it’s likely a mandate from WBD. Just maybe present it a little smarter.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal and company are excited but here are the Gunns to interrupt. Mocking ensues, but nothing gets physical.

Jon Moxley vs. Evil Uno

Uno jumps him to start and the beating is on fast, with Moxley having to fight his way out of trouble. Moxley gets sent outside for the top rope flip dive and Uno hammers away some more. A whip into the steps cuts Uno off though and Moxley sends him head first into the steps for a bonus. Uno is busted open and Moxley hammers away back inside, only to get caught with a pair of piledrivers. Moxley shrugs them off and chokes Uno out at 6:18.

Rating: C. You mean the former World Champion and one of the biggest stars in AEW history bet a guy who has been treated as little more than a comedy goof since AEW began? I’m really not sure why this was given the main event slot, as just having Moxley out there isn’t likely to give them that much attention. It was a bloody brawl, but there was zero drama to it and Moxley didn’t exactly seem to be worried.

Post match Moxley won’t let go so the Dark Order, the Blackpool Combat Club and Hangman Page run in (Page promised not to be out there from bell to bell so he kept his word). Page loads up what looks to be barbed wire but Moxley bails from the threat of a Buckshot Lariat to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show as everything worked out well enough from a presentation standpoint and the wrestling was fine to good, but man alive AEW is ice cold going into Revolution. The MJF vs. Danielson feud is just weird, Page vs. Moxley has been done over and over, the women’s feud has a ton of moving parts and the Tag Team Title stuff is overcrowded. This wasn’t a bad show by any means, but AEW needs to figure out what they want to focus on and fast.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Wheeler Yuta – Orange Punch
Acclaimed b. Lee Moriarty/Big Bill – Mic Drop to Moriarty
Saraya b. Skye Blue – Scorpion Crosslock
Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal won a tag team battle royal last eliminating the Best Friends
Jon Moxley b. Evil Uno – Rear naked choke

 

 

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Impact Wrestling – November 17, 2022: They’re Still Backwards

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 17, 2022
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

It is the go home show for Overdrive and that means we need to find out the other finalist in the X-Division Title tournament. Other than that, we have what should be a violent match between Eric Young and Sami Callihan, where blood is required. It should be an eventful show so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

A laughing Crazzy Steve is in the ring and asks if we can feel it. Brace yourselves for the barrage of brutality that is Black Taurus. Now that’s an entrance.

X-Division Title Tournament Semifinals: Black Taurus vs. PJ Black

They flip around to start with neither being able to get very far. A monkey flip sends Taurus into the corner but he blasts Black pretty hard. Black is fine enough to send him outside for a big dive. Back in and a moonsault misses for Black, allowing Taurus to powerslam him for two. A Sling Blade gives Taurus two more but Black is back with a pop up Meteora (that was cool) for two of his own. Taurus catches him on top, only to get pulled down with a super Spanish Fly. They slug it out with Black getting the better of things, only to get caught in Taurus’ spinning piledriver for the pin at 6:19.

Rating: C+. I don’t think anyone bought Black as having any real chance in a match like this but he can put on a good one if given the chance. That being said, Taurus is a monster who can move and that is a different way to go for the title. I’m curious to see where things go with the final, but Taurus winning the title would make a lot of sense.

We get the contract signing with Josh Alexander and Frankie Kazarian (with their wives next to them). They respect each other and Kazarian is sorry that he has to take the title from Alexander. The wives (Jade Chung and Traci Brooks) aren’t happy with what is being said but everyone splits before it gets violent.

Post break, Kazarian and Alexander say they’ll do it tomorrow and everything seems cool. Bully Ray says he’s coming for the winner, but Kazarian doesn’t believe that Ray will do it straight up. Ray doesn’t like that and leaves, with Alexander asking why it matters if Ray is honest or not. He’ll be ready no matter what.

Aussie Open vs. Motor City Machine Guns vs. Bullet Club vs. Raj Singh/Shera

It’s Ace Austin/Chris Bey for the Club with Austin and Kyle Fletcher starting things off. Austin grabs the arm and brings Bey in for a running dropkick in the corner. The Club takes Fletcher down and poses on him but Singh tags himself in. Austin gets dropped face first onto the top turnbuckle and a Downward Spiral makes it worse.

We take a break and come back with the Guns bouncing Singh back and forth with right hands. Sabin cutters Austin and drops Bey, followed by the Dream Sequence on Singh. Shera comes back in to clean house but the Aussies double team him down. Austin crossbodies Fletcher down and clears the ring, only to have Davis do the same thing, but Aussier. An assisted top rope cutter drops Bey for two but he’s able to slip out of Coriolis. Bey is back up with a big dive onto the floor (while too sweeting Austin on the way over) before coming back in for an assisted Art of Finesse to pin Fletcher at 12:02.

Rating: B-. This was your wacky match of the week as everyone was flying around and hitting one big spot after another until the Club won. They needed a win like this to get back on track and I could go for them getting into the title hunt. Everyone did well here, with even Singh and Shera doing well as the power guys.

Rosemary yells at Taya Valkyrie about the missing Jessicka, who was told to go get a drink.

Jordynne Grace is ready for Masha Slamovich so let’s do Last Knockout Standing at Overdrive.

Tasha Steelz vs. Taya Valkyrie

Savannah Evans and Rosemary are here too. Taya kicks her into the corner to start and a clothesline gets an early two. The running knees in the corner get the same but another charge sends Taya shoulder first into the post. Tasha loads up the Black Out but gets reversed into the Road To Valhalla. That’s blocked as well only to have Taya sit down on it to pin Steelz at 2:20.

Post match the brawl is on but Jessicka, complete with one of those helmets with a beer can on either side, makes the save.

Josh Alexander asks Tommy Dreamer about Bully Ray, which Dreamer says is the last 25 years of his life. Dreamer believes that Bully is a changed man.

Trey Miguel was sore after last week’s match but he is ready to get his X-Division Title back.

Steve Maclin vs. Tommy Dreamer

Old School (Extreme) Rules. Dreamer starts fast with a hiptoss and a Cactus Clothesline sends them both outside. A cookie sheet shot to the head rocks Maclin and Dreamer peels back the floor mat. The piledriver on the floor is broken up (because it’s a piledriver on the floor) and Maclin gets in a posting. Maclin drops a Cactus Jack elbow off the apron and it’s time to bring in some chairs. That takes too long though and Dreamer gets in some kendo stick shots, setting up a crossbody to drive Maclin through a chair.

The White Russian legsweep drops Maclin again but he grabs an Angle Slam for two. Dreamer gets in another shot and grabs some water/popcorn, both of which go into Maclin’s face. A cutter gives Dreamer two and it’s table time (of course, albeit with help from a fan dubbed Mr. Impact). Maclin blocks the Death Valley Driver though and DDTs Dreamer onto a pile of chairs for the pin at 8:06.

Rating: C. This was in fact a Tommy Dreamer match from anytime in the last fifteen years or so, but thankfully Maclin won in the end. What matters here is getting Maclin over as a major threat, as I could easily see him as the next World Champion. Dreamer got in his, and by that I mean others’, usual stuff and thankfully he more or less has it down to a science at this point.

Post match Maclin loads up a Conchairto but Bully Ray comes in for the save. Moose runs in to beat down Ray but Josh Alexander makes another save and has a staredown with Ray. Then they put Maclin through a table and Ray very slowly hands Alexander the title.

In her first interview around here, Masha Slamovich (in Russian) insults the interviewer for asking stupid questions. No one wants to talk about her wins because she had one bad night. Her expectations for Overdrive: death. Well that got serious.

Laredo Kid vs. Rich Swann

Kid starts fast with a neckbreaker and they head outside with Kid hitting a big dive. Back in and some moonsault elbows hit Swann but a third only hits mat. Swann fights back but gets caught with a release German suplex. The frog splash gives Kid two but he charges into a superkick. The middle rope 450 finishes Kid at 3:41.

Rating: C+. That was a weird one as Kid was dominating and then Swann won out of almost nowhere. I’m not sure if this one was cut for time or what, but it felt like there was another four to five minutes missing. Swann winning is fine, though Kid getting a big breakthrough win feels like it has been coming for years now.

Mickie James isn’t happy with Taylor Wilde for getting involved last week but Wilde didn’t want interference to end Mickie’s career. See, Wilde should be the one to end it.

Video on Josh Alexander vs. Frankie Kazarian, including how the X-Division Title has been wrecked along the way.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Eric Young vs. Sami Callihan

This is Death Machine Double Jeopardy, meaning your opponent has to be busted open before you can win by pinfall or submission. Violent By Design jumps Sami during his entrance and bust him open before he even gets to the ring. We take a break before the bell with Sami saying start it up. Young hits a quick Death Valley Driver for two but Sami reverses a suplex on the floor.

It’s weapons time with Sami cutting Young’s mouth with a picture of the Death Dollz. Young is back up and they fight on the apron, with both of them going after the eyes. Sami Death Valley Drivers him on the apron and we take a break. Back with Young busted open as well and the two of them posting each other. The piledriver on the floor is countered with a backdrop (this seems strangely familiar) and Sami throws a trashcan into the corner.

Back in and Young blasts him with a trashcan lid to the head before grabbing a kneebar. Sami reverses into something like a Figure Four but Young is out again. They fight up and slug it out until stereo headbutts put both of them down. Young is up first with a piledriver for two but another one is countered with a crotch grab. The Cactus Driver 97 gives Sami two of his own and another one finishes Young off at 17:38.

Rating: C+. This still isn’t my kind of match, but it was done a disservice by having Dreamer and Maclin do a lighter version of it less than an hour before. There were some spots here that were identical to Dreamer vs. Maclin (piledriver on the floor countered into a backdrop) and that took away some of the impact that this one had. Callihan winning is the way to go as it means Young loses, but I’m sure Young will be featured over and over again because reasons.

Post match Violent By Design comes out to stare down at Young to end the show. Oh come on don’t tell me it’s going to be Sami/Young vs. these goons.

Overall Rating: B-. They covered a lot on this show and there was nothing that would be called bad. There are some interesting stories going on around here and I want to see where they go. At the same time though, Overdrive continues to feel like an absolute nothing of a show and I have no desire to see what they do with it. Just get on with it so we can move on to the next big show.

Results
Black Taurus b. PJ Black – Spinning piledriver
Bullet Club b. Aussie Open, Motor City Machine Guns and Raj Singh/Shera – Art of Finesse to Fletcher
Taya Valkyrie b. Tasha Steelz – Rollup
Steve Maclin b. Tommy Dreamer – KIA onto a pile of chairs
Rich Swann b. Laredo Kid – Middle rope 450
Sami Callihan b. Eric Young – Cactus Driver 97

 

 

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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Impact Wrestling – November 3, 2022: Get Overdrive Over

Impact Wrestling
Date: November 3, 2022
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are about two weeks away from Overdrive and the card is starting to take shape. While the World Title match is already set, we still need to get the X-Division Title match ready, which is where this week comes in. Odds are there are going to be more tournament matches this week and that should be a good thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Eddie Edwards blames PCO for the destruction of Honor No More and invites him to come fight him in the desert.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title Tournament First Round: Kenny King vs. Mike Bailey

Feeling out process to start with King being weary of the big kick. An exchange of rollups get two each until they both try kicks to the ribs. Bailey dropkicks him for two and King is sent outside, but it’s too early for the dive. Back in and Bailey cranks on the leg, with a leglock sending King over to the rope. King’s leg is fine enough to hold Bailey up for a spinebuster and they head outside again. This time it’s a t-bone overhead suplex to drop Bailey on the ramp, setting up a half crab on the floor.

Back in and Bailey realizes his knee is fine enough to fire off the kicks, plus a standing shooting star press for two. Bailey’s spinning kicks send King outside and the big top rope moonsault drops him again. King shrugs that off and puts on another half crab, with Bailey going to the ropes. Another grab of the rope drags Bailey back to the middle, where he rolls King up to advance at 8:43.

Rating: C+. This was a very Mike Bailey match, as he did all of his usual stuff: kicks, flips, and really annoying no selling of an injured body part. The athleticism is great but it would be nice to have him act more like a wrestler for once. I’m not sure I would have had King lose so early, but there isn’t much room to shake things up in an eight person tournament.

The Motor City Machine Guns tell Josh Alexander to not trust Bully Ray. Josh seems to think about it.

Gisele Shaw is passing out photos of herself with the Knockouts Title but VXT isn’t impressed. Shaw dumps them, with Deonna Purrazzo having to calm Chelsea Green down.

Savannah Evans vs. Jessicka

Tasha Steelz and the Death Dollz are here too. They talk trash and then slug it out with Jessicka knocking her into the corner for the running clothesline. A ram into all four corners has Evans in more trouble but a missed charge lets her grab a DDT for a much needed breather.

We take a break and come back with Evans hitting a suplex for two but missing a charge of her own. Evans headbutts away until a tackle drops her again. A running basement crossbody crushes Evans so the women get in a fight on the floor. That’s enough of a distraction to let Evans hit a full nelson slam for the upset pin at 11:11.

Rating: C. I still don’t know how much interest there is in Evans and now calling her the “Cannibal” (yes the Cannibal) isn’t going to help that much. That being said, it is a good idea to give her a singles win every now and then, just to keep her built up at least a bit. This is probably setting up Steelz/Evans for a Tag Team Title shot, because singles matches make a difference in tag wrestling for whatever reason.

Flashback Moment of the Week: Bully Ray wins the World Title at Lockdown 2013 and reveals himself as the leader of Aces and 8’s.

Killer Kelly wants something fresh to play with around here.

Steve Maclin is sick and tired of so many people jumping the line in front of him. He wants the World Title and is coming to get it.

The Major Players are ready to win the Tag Team Titles but make the mistake of saying his name. Joe Hendry pops up (out of a refrigerator) and says he wants the Digital Media Title. Cardona: “Why was he in the fridge?”

And now, to the desert, where Eddie Edwards is waiting for PCO. The fight is on with PCO getting the better of things until Eddie starts slugging back. A rock to the head gets Eddie out of a Mandible Claw and he blames PCO for everything. Then PCO chokeslams him onto a bigger rock but Eddie comes back with a shovel. PCO gets shoved into a grave and Eddie buries him with rocks and dirt. Well that was violent.

Taylor Wilde comes up to Mickie James and they’re ready to face each other in a friendly match. This would be another situation with two women talking like non-humans.

Eric Young vs. Sami Callihan

Deaner is here with Young. Callihan starts fast and hits a powerbomb on Young before knocking Deaner down to the floor. The fight heads outside with Young posting him but getting his back raked for his efforts. A suplex drops Young on the floor and Callihan bites his ear to make it worse.

Deaner gets in a cheap shot though and they head back inside, where Callihan invites Young to headbutt him. Young clotheslines him down but misses a moonsault so Callihan can load up the Cactus Special. Before the pile can be driven though, cue all of the people in yellow hoodies to beat Callihan down for the DQ at 6:10.

Rating: C. Yeah here we go with the Violent By Design stuff, as Callihan needs an army to fight against. The match was the usual brawl without much to be seen, but above all else it was about the big ending, which is likely going to be the start of something big with the team. Well, depending on who are under the hoodies that is.

Post match two of the hoodies are pulled off and it’s Big Kon (Konnor from the Ascension) and Alan Angels. Young comes back in and drives a spike into Callihan’s head to draw blood.

Jordynne Grace goes into her locker room and finds a bunch of pictures of Gisele Shaw holding up the Knockouts Title. Jai Vidal, Shaw’s assistant, apparently put up the photos, so Grace chokes him and lets him run off.

Moose vs. Ace Austin

Chris Bey is here with Austin. Moose gets sent to the floor to start but pulls Austin into a powerbomb swung into the steps. We take a break and come back with Austin being whipped hard into the corner. The big chop misses though and Austin unloads in the corner as well.

That is shrugged off with all of no effort from Moose but Austin kicks him down. A running double stomp gets two but Moose is back up to reverse slam him off the top (that was cool). Cue Bully Ray for a distraction though, meaning Moose misses his spear. Austin grabs a rollup for the pin at 11:14.

Rating: C+. This was a nice enough match as you can always get somewhere with power vs. speed. That is what they were playing at here until the ending with Ray offering a distraction. Austin winning is nice to see, but this is all about Ray vs. Moose, because something always has to be about Ray.

Gisele Shaw interrupts commentary with more of her photos before her title shot next week.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Aussie Open vs. Josh Alexander/Frankie Kazarian

Kazarian and Fletcher start things off with Kazarian running him over to grab a headlock. Back up and Kazarian flips him into a rollup for two and it’s off to Alexander vs. Davis. Alexander starts fast with a middle rope dropkick so it’s back to Kazarian. Some double teaming puts Kazarian down for all of three seconds before he’s back with a running….Russian legsweep? That’s a new one, but it lets Alexander come back in to punch Fletcher.

Everything breaks down and Alexander gets clotheslined over the top for a crash. Kazarian is rammed into Alexander and we take a break. Back with Alexander fighting out of a chinlock but getting slammed by Fletcher. A belly to back drop puts Alexander on the apron and a brainbuster gets two. The trouble doesn’t last long as Alexander rolls over and brings in Kazarian to clean house.

Something like a Big Ending/middle rope cutter drops Kazarian, who is also fine enough to get over to Alexander for a tag. Everything breaks down and Alexander powerbombs Fletcher but Davis hits a running forearm. Some double superkicks drop Alexander for two with Kazarian making the save.

Kazarian gets a hot tag of his own and starts to clean house again. Alexander ankle locks Fletcher as Kazarian puts Davis in some kind of armbar, only to have Fletcher roll out, sending Alexander into the other two for the save. Fletcher and Alexander suplex each other to the floor, leaving Kazarian to hit a slingshot cutter for the pin on Davis at 19:18.

Rating: B. This was a rather entertaining back and forth match, though the lack of tagging got old near the end. Upcoming opponents vs. a regular team is an idea that has worked for a long time and that was the case again here. Aussie Open continues to be a good team, but it would be nice to have them win a big match every now and then.

Post match Kazarian picks up the title but hands it off to Alexander to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This is a weird time for Impact as they are doing almost everything right, but they are doing it on the way to a show that isn’t all that interesting. Kazarian feels a lot like Alex Shelley as a challenger and having the “will he/won’t he” stuff from Bully Ray isn’t the most thrilling. Hopefully they can find something better to do after Overdrive on the way to Hard To Kill, but we have a long way to go to get there.

Results
Mike Bailey b. Kenny King – Rollup
Savannah Evans b. Jessicka – Full nelson slam
Sami Callihan b. Eric Young via DQ when Violent By Design interfered
Ace Austin b. Moose – Rollup
Frankie Kazarian/Josh Alexander b. Aussie Open – Slingshot cutter to Davis

 

 

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Impact Wrestling – September 22, 2022: It’ll Do (Small Version)

Impact Wrestling
Date: September 22, 2022
Location: The Factory, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the go home show for Victory Road, which means we are about a month away from Bound For Glory. Victory Road is being treated as a pretty big deal so it would make sense to have a good go home show. This week does feature a pretty big showdown with Aussie Open vs. the Motor City Machine Guns. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Digital Media Title: Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Brian Myers

Myers is defending in a ladder match. Gujjar slugs away to start and hits a jumping knee to the face. A Samoan drop looks to set up the Gargoyle spear but Myers knees him out of the way. The first ladder is brought in but Gujjar dropkicks it into his face. Myers knocks him outside though and goes up for the title, only to be pulled down into a cutter.

Now the Gargoyle spear can send Myers into the ladder but the climb takes too long, as usual. The ladder is knocked into Gujjar and it’s time to bring in another ladder. Gujjar breaks that up and the other ladder is set up next to the first. They both climb with Myers being knocked off, only to come back up with a belly to back off the ladders.

That’s good for a crash out to the floor, where Myers bridges a ladder onto the steps. A powerbomb drops Gujjar onto the ladder but he’s still able to make the save back inside. Myers low blows Gujjar on the ladder though and then gets creative by duct taping Gujjar to the ladder. That’s enough for Myers to go up and retain at 12:20.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty run of the mill ladder match, albeit one with a creative ending. Gujjar continues to look good enough out there, but there is still something missing that is keeping him from breaking through to that next level. I’m not sure if this feud warranted a ladder match, but at least they had a decent one.

Heath comes up to Josh Alexander and Rich Swann to apologize for messing up last week. They have a six man tag at Victory Road, but Heath has an open challenge street fight against any member of Honor No More tonight. Swann offers help but Heath has to do this himself.

Victory Road rundown.

We look at Steve Maclin invading a Wrestling Revolver show to try to get to Sami Callihan.

Jordynne Grace vs. Zicky Dice

Johnny Swinger is here with Dice, whose boot to the ribs is quickly caught. Grace slaps him in the face a few times and the Grace Driver finishes Dice in 43 seconds.

Video on Max the Impaler, who is facing Grace tomorrow night as per Masha Slamovich’s choice.

Black Taurus vs. Mia Yim vs. Laredo Kid vs. Alex Zayne vs. Trey Miguel

One fall to a finish. The fans are behind Yim, who stands back as the four guys get into separate brawls. We settle down to Miguel trying to cover Zayne for some near falls but Yim middle rope dropkicks both of them down. Taurus comes back in to headbutt the heck out of Yim so Kid comes in with a very spinning headscissors to put Taurus down on the floor. There’s the big dive into a hurricanrana, followed by stereo dives from Zayne and Miguel.

Yim hits one of her own and is the only one left standing on the floor. We take a break and come back with Miguel sending Kid into Zayne in the corner. Taurus lifts Kid up for a double hurricanrana to Zayne and Miguel before a series of strikes puts everyone down. Back up and Yim powerbombs Zayne and Protect Yo Neck gives her two. Taurus gets up to clean house and the over the shoulder piledriver finishes Kid at 11:45.

Rating: C+. This is where the X-Division tends to shine: taking a bunch of people and letting them go nuts for a little while. The match doesn’t mean much for the #1 contenders match at Victory Road because the bigger names are involved in that one, but this was a nice way to fill in some time and do a bunch of high spots.

Eric Young tells the new Violent By Design to prove themselves to him. They chant answers in unison and he beats them all up.

A couple is arguing when the wife says that their kid isn’t his. The dad wants the name said, and cue Joe Hendry for the music video. This is still funnier than it should be.

Here is Heath for an open challenge to a street fight with any member of Honor No More.

Heath vs. PCO

Street fight. Well hang on a second though as Eddie Edwards comes out and doesn’t want PCO to do this. Not that it matters as Heath talks PCO into it anyway. Heath dives onto PCO, who pops up and hammers away, much to Vincent’s (at ringside too) delight. PCO gets backdropped onto the ramp and they fight on the floor up to the stage.

A cart full of chairs is shoved around until PCO throws them onto a bunch of already set up chairs. That takes too long though and Heath DDTs him on the stage. A big toss off the stage sends PCO into the chairs so here is Honor No More to surround Heath. Rich Swann and Josh Alexander come in for the save and the fight is on.

With everyone else down, Vincent chairs Heath down but Heath pops back up for a Wake Up Call. PCO gets up, with a bunch of chairs hanging off of him, and wins a slugout inside. The chairs are piled up and PCO Mandible Claws him down, only to miss the Swanton onto said chairs. Heath hits a Wake Up call onto the chairs for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C. This was half match and half angle advancement but giving PCO a big win was a good idea. Heath isn’t exactly a top star but he is starting to get somewhere with the serious stuff. He’s still a bit goofy, though he is starting to figure things out and that is more than I would have bet on. PCO seems likely to split off from the team at some point though and having him get a nice face run could be interesting.

Aussie Open vs. Motor City Machine Guns

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot at Bound For Glory. Shelley and Fletcher start things off with the bigger Fletcher shouldering him down. That earns him a crank on the arm and it’s off to Sabin for a knee drop. The even bigger Davis comes in to power Sabin into the corner but some kicks break that up without much trouble.

The Guns clear the ring and some kicks to Fletcher leave him down on the floor. Back in and the Aussies drive them together for a crash as we take a break. We come back with Fletcher hitting a delayed vertical suplex for two on Shelley. The beating doesn’t last long as it’s off to Sabin to clean house.

A missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination gets two on Fletcher as everything breaks down. The Aussies plant Sabin for two as Shelley makes the save, only to be sent outside. The assisted Iconoclasm gets two on Sabin but Coriolis is broken up. Shelley is back in and Skull And Bones finishes Davis at 14:21.

Rating: B-. This was a fast paced tag match between two talented teams so of course it wound up working out. The Guns can do well against anyone and Aussie Open are a good, young team. While seeing the Aussies get a chance at Bound For Glory would have been nice but the Guns are the team with the legacy around here and make for a bigger match.

Tasha Steelz aren’t having anything of Killer Kelly, who is sitting in Steelz’s locker room. Steelz isn’t sure what to think about that.

Gisele Shaw is ready to beat Mickie James and end her career.

Victory Road rundown.

And now, a contract signing, with Scott D’Amore emceeing. D’Amore brings out the three participants in Barbed Wire Massacre, with Moose, Steve Maclin and Sami Callihan…the latter of whom doesn’t show up. That’s cool with Moose, who compares Maclin’s time in the military with what is coming for him tomorrow night.

Maclin talks about how Moose has no idea what he is talking about and has never seen the things Maclin has seen. Tomorrow will be mayhem for all but here is Callihan to interrupt. Sami mocks both of them and has a seat, saying that the two of them made a grave mistake by crossing him.

Maclin wants Sami to sign….so Sami busts out a barbed wire pen. That takes too long so Maclin jabs Sami in the head with the other pen and it’s time to turn over some furniture. Sami gets tied in the Tree of Woe but Moose spears Maclin down. Another spear only hits table though, allowing Sami to sign in his own blood to end the show. This was every violent contract signing you would have expected.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty nice show this week, even if having another big event just a few weeks before Bound For Glory still feels off. I could go for having a focus on the major show but thankfully we can get to that next week. This show didn’t have a ton of big stuff but they did the minor stuff well enough and that’s good for a week.

Results
Brian Myers b. Bhupinder Gujjar – Myers pulled down the title
Jordynne Grace b. Zicky Dice – Grace Driver
Black Taurus b. Laredo Kid, Mia Yim, Trey Miguel and Alex Zayne – Over the shoulder piledriver to Kid
Heath b. PCO – Wake Up Call onto a pile of chairs
Motor City Machine Guns b. Aussie Open – Skull And Bones to Davis

 

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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