Impact Wrestling
Date: September 8, 2022
Location: The Factory, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re still on the way to Victory Road and that means we should get some stuff being built up this week. That could go in a few different ways but we do at least have the main event set. In other words, it is probably time for Josh Alexander to keep dealing with Honor No More, who will be terrorized by Heath even more. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Ace Austin/Chris Bey vs. Aussie Open

Aussie Open is getting around as of late. The Aussies jump them to start and Bey is kicked out to the floor without much effort. Austin is right there for the save, including a handstand on the apron. Bey is back up with the big running flip dive but the Aussies catch them inside with a double spinebuster ram into each other. We settle down to Fletcher slamming Austin and running him over with a shoulder.

Back up and Austin avoids a charge in the corner, allowing the rolling tag off to Bey. A standing Sliced Bread drops Fletcher and everything breaks down, with Austin hitting the big running flip dive to Davis on the floor. That leaves Bey to frog splash Fletcher for two but Davis is back in to send Austin outside. Some forearms to the head rock Bey, setting up the Coriolis (kind of a double Death Valley Driver) for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: C+. Good start to the show here and a nice way to establish Aussie Open as big deals. The Bullet Club still means something and it is a good idea to have the Aussies beat them clean. Aussie Open already has exposure coming off of AEW so push them for a bit, especially if they won’t be around that long.

Here’s what’s coming tonight and at Victory Road.

Honor No More is ready to keep winning, with Kenny King wanting the X-Division Title. Eddie Edwards is going to crush Heath once and for all.

The Good Brothers want their Tag Team Titles back but the Motor City Machine Guns come in to say they want the dream match. Let’s do it at Bound For Glory. Or we’ll make it next week.

Mickie James vs. Raychell Rose

Mickie grabs a headlock and armbar to start but gets taken into the corner for a knee to the ribs. Back up and Mickie kicks her away and hits the top rope Thesz press for two. The MickDT finishes Rose at 3:15.

Rating: C-. Just a step above a squash here as Mickie begins her climb up through the ranks one more time. That is something that has some potential and now I’m wondering who else she is going to get to face on the way there. Nothing match of course, but it’s the start of a long story.

Kenny King breaks up a chat between Scott D’Amore and Mia Yim because he wants another X-Division Title shot. D’Amore says not so fast but he’ll have an idea next week. King is also getting a warmup match and it’s next.

Steve Maclin insists that there is no alliance with Moose and he’ll prove it.

Kenny King vs. Yuya Uemura

King takes him down without much trouble and Uemura’s shoulders have no effect. Uemura gets taken down by the head but slips up and drops an elbow for two. Back up and King pulls him off the top for a nasty crash though and we take a break. We come back with Uemura fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a dropkick. A Saito suplex gives Uemura two but King is back up with a spinebuster for the same. They head outside with Uemura being sent into the steps but Mia Yim comes out to yell at King. A kick to the head rocks King, allowing Uemura to get up top for a high crossbody and the pin at 12:30.

Rating: C+. This was about getting Uemura a win to start his time around here and if it builds up Yim in whatever she’s doing is a nice bonus. I’m not entirely sure where this is going but it is a good thing to have Uemura getting established. He is a guy with some buzz at the moment so let him see what he can do with a nice win to start.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Bobby Roode b. Sting at Victory Road 2012.

Sami Callihan is ready for barbed wire at Victory Road.

Doering finds Eric Young and says he still believes in violence. Then a bunch of people in yellow hoodies come up behind Doering and shout VIOLENCE over and over. WHY IS THIS STUPID THING GETTING BOOSTED UP AGAIN???

Taya Valkyrie vs. Chelsea Green

Rosemary, Jessicka and Deonna Purrazzo are all here too. Taya kicks her in the face to start and hits a running crossbody for two. Believe it or not, Taya talks trash but Green sends her outside. A running shot cuts Taya down though and Green chokes away back inside. Taya is back up with some strikes to the face, including a hard knee. Green kicks her in the head but Taya is pulls her down to go after the leg. That means a quick distraction so Purrazzo can trip Taya, setting up the Unprettier to finish for Green at 6:30.

Rating: C. This continues the issues between Rosemary/Jessicka/Taya, as the former two were nowhere to be seen when Taya was in trouble. The match wasn’t much to see but Green getting the boost is a good sign. She hasn’t quite been able to maintain momentum so seeing it keep moving forward for another week is a good thing.

Jordynne Grace isn’t intimidated by Masha Slamovich. She goes into her locker room and finds MASHA’S GONNA KILL YOU painted on a wall.

Vincent talks about resurrecting PCO and how their voices are in unison. They are together in Honor No More.

Digital Media Title: Bhupinder Gujjar vs. Brian Myers

Myers is defending and gets taken down for some forearms to the face to start. A basement superkick gives Gujjar two but it’s too early for the Gargoyle spear. Myers manages a quick posting and we take a break. Back with Gujjar hitting something like a Sling Blade and a Samoan drop gets two. Myers manages an enziguri and hits the implant DDT for two before going to grab the title. That doesn’t work as Gujjar takes it away and belts Myers for the DQ at 8:31.

Rating: C. And so it continues. The Digital Media Title sounded like something that could have been a fun idea, or at least a nice change of pace, but it is nothing more than a lower midcard title with Gujjar vs. Myers being a boring feud. I’m sure we’ll get something else between these two as this feud just has to continue.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Gail Kim comes up to Savannah Evans and Tasha Steelz to put the latter on commentary, as per Killer Kelly’s request.

Scott D’Amore makes a ladder match for the Digital Media Title in two weeks.

Eddie Edwards vs. Heath

Edwards jumps him before the bell but Heath punches into the corner to get out of trouble. That doesn’t last long as Edwards knocks him around and chokes on the rope for a bit. Back up and Heath manages a toss to the floor and we take a break. Back with Edwards hitting a forearm to the face for two and grabbing a chinlock. Heath fights up and stereo crossbodies put them both down. Back up and Heath hits a DDT for two, followed by the Wake Up Call, which draws out Honor No More. The distraction lets Eddie hit a low blow so the Boston Knee Party can finish Heath at 12:15.

Rating: C+. Heath is a weird case as he is clearly in over his head against Honor No More but he is inspired to keep fighting because of what happened to his friend. That being said, there is no reason for him to be beating Edwards or really coming close to doing so. Let him go over other members of the team, but this was about as much as he should have been able to do against someone on Edwards’ level

Post match Eddie grabs the mic and says Honor No More wants to know which side Josh Alexander is on in this war. Cue Alexander to say this isn’t a war because no one is pulling any strings against Honor No More. Alexander says his side is across from Eddie so the fight is on. Cue Honor No More for the beatdown, with Heath and Rich Swann running in for a failed save attempt. The big beatdown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. I wasn’t really feeling this one as there wasn’t much that kept my interest this week. The wrestling was fine and they advanced enough stories, but nothing was exactly jumping off the page. Victory Road isn’t looking overly interesting and that isn’t going to leave much time for Bound For Glory. Not a bad show here, but one of their weaker efforts in recent weeks.

Results
Aussie Open b. Ace Austin/Chris Bey – Coriolis to Bey
Mickie James b. Raychell Rose – MickDT
Yuyu Uemura b. Kenny King – High crossbody
Chelsea Green b. Taya Valkyrie – Unprettier
Brian Myers b. Bhupinder Gujjar via DQ when Gujjar used the title belt
Eddie Edwards b. heath – Boston Knee Party

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Impact Wrestling
Date: September 1, 2022
Location: The Factory, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

The road to Victory Road and then Bound For Glory continues and we’re going big this week. Honor No More is finally getting its shot against the Good Brothers for the Tag Team Titles. This is a long time coming and now the question is how far Impact is willing to go with Honor No More. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Honor No More vs. Good Brothers

They’re starting fast and the Good Brothers are defending. The fans seem behind Honor No More as it’s a slugout to start. Taven and Bennett take Anderson into the corner for a running kick to the head before we settle down to Gallows beating on Bennett in the corner. It’s off to Taven for a kick to the face in the corner and a neckbreaker gets two on Anderson. Back up and Anderson fights out of a double team, only to get kicked back down for two.

Taven’s Lionsault hits knees but Bennett is right there to cut Gallows off before the hot tag. That doesn’t really matter as Anderson gets in another shot and hands it off to Gallows a few seconds later. House is cleaned, including a pumphandle spinning…something for two on Taven. Bennett breaks up the Magic Killer so Anderson gives Taven the spinebuster instead. Back up and Bennett sends Gallows to the floor and crotches Anderson on top, setting up the Proto Pack for the pin and the titles at 8:17.

Rating: C. This didn’t have much time to get anywhere and it didn’t really get out of second gear. The Good Brothers wrapping up with the company made this a pretty obvious conclusion but at least it was a clean win to give us new champions. On top of that, Honor No More HAD to win something before the team stopped meaning anything so this was long overdue.

Maria comes in to celebrate.

Video on Killer Kelly, who is feeling like a star since her debut.

Honor No More celebrates their win but Eddie Edwards is STILL on PCO. Vincent intervenes again.

Here’s what’s coming tonight and at Victory Road.

X-Division Title: Kenny King vs. Mike Bailey

King, with Maria, is challenging and elbows Bailey in the head to start. A clothesline out of the corner puts Bailey down again and there’s a snap powerslam for two. Back up and Bailey knocks him outside but a dive is broken up, allowing King to hit him with a headbutt. A t-bone suplex sends Bailey hard into the apron and we take a break. We come back with Bailey hitting a middle rope dropkick but Bailey kicks him down again. The running corkscrew shooting star press gets two on King but he’s back up and accidentally kicks the referee down.

Bailey’s Ultimate Weapon is broken up with a low blow and another referee comes in for the delayed two. Back up and Bailey tries a sunset flip but Maria grabs King’s hands so he can get the pin at 12:11. And no of course not because the original referee saw Maria cheating so we’re restarting and Honor No More is barred from ringside. King loads up the Royal Flush but Bailey reverses into a cradle to retain at 13:31.

Rating: C+. That was a big tease of a finish and it wouldn’t shock me to see a rematch between these two at Victory Road. I’m not big on Bailey but they have been pushing him hard and making his reign feel like a big deal as he keeps racking up wins. Good match here, and the ending probably builds to something else so well done.

Brian Myers tells Scott D’Amore to get the Digital Media Title back but D’Amore says do it yourself. Then Bhupinder Gujjar drops Myers and leaves the title.

Rosemary, Jessicka and Taya Valkyrie have a drink together but Taya still isn’t sure about Jessicka.

Flashback Moment Of The Week: Sami Callihan wins the World Title on the October 29, 2019 Impact.

Aussie Open is ready to win the Tag Team Titles and they’ll start by beating the Bullet Club.

Moose and Steve Maclin argue again.

Eric Young rants at Violent By Design and Joe Doering walks off. Young does as well, but Deaner can decide who to follow. Get well soon Joe.

Here is the returning Mickie James for a chat. She seems rather pleased with the warm reception before talking about November being 24 years since she first set foot in a ring. The last few years have been a journey, from her sister’s deathbed to being released to being thrown out like the trash to being told she was too old and fat.

That’s good for a MICKIE chant before she talks about everything that has happened in her latest run for the company. She even headlined a pay per view but then she lost her Knockouts Title and was betrayed by Chelsea Green. It had her thinking that she couldn’t do it anymore so she broke up with wrestling.

All she wanted to do when she first got into wrestling was to make it a better place for women and she thinks she has done just that. At one point though, she also promised herself that she was done if she didn’t think she could do it at a high level anymore. Mickie isn’t sure if she can do it anymore, but she isn’t retiring right now.

Instead, she wants to earn it with dirt in her eyes and grit in her teeth, so the open challenge is on for everyone and she is going from the bottom of the roster to the top. But if she loses (Fan: “YOU’RE NOT GONNA LOSE!”), she’s done and it ends one of two ways: as Knockouts World Champion, or her being gone for good. This was an emotional promo and Mickie’s last rodeo (her words) should be a heck of a ride.

Josh Alexander talks about how great Mickie James is but he’s ready for Eddie Edwards at Bound For Glory. And no, he doesn’t buy Honor No More’s sales pitch, because no one is more Impact than him. Edwards comes in to say everyone knows Alexander is disrespected. He brings up Heath….who runs in and beats up Heath.

Post break (and after Tommy Dreamer and Lance Storm finish calming Heath down, because DREAMER WILL NOT JUST GO AWAY), Scott D’Amore gives Heath Eddie Edwards next week. That’s cool with Heath, who goes to apologize to Josh Alexander. That’s a problem though, as Alexander didn’t like Heath cutting him off last week and walks away.

Mascara Dorada vs. Alex Zayne

Dorada is better known as Gran Metalik and the winner is the #1 contender to the X-Division Title. They trade running flips to start before stereo missed dropkicks give us a standoff. Back up and Dorada runs the ropes, setting up the middle rope hurricanrana to the floor. That works for Zayne, who sends him into the barricade and starts chopping away. Zayne drops an elbow on the apron and we take a break with Dorada in trouble.

Back with Dorada fighting up and hitting a rope walk flip dive (with Hannifan saying Dorada is turning this place into a house party). They get back in with Zayne cutting off a charge with an elbow in the corner, followed by a running knee for two. A 450 misses though and Dorada’s tornado DDT sets up a Dorada Driver for the pin at 11:35.

Rating: C+. Another week, another good X-Division match as they throw two more guys out there and let them do their thing. On top of that, there was even something on the line here to make it feel more worthwhile. Dorada is someone people will recognize and that puts him ahead of most of the division. Good stuff here and another nice use of TV time, as tends to be the case with these guys.

Jordynne Grace wishes Mickie James luck and would love to give her a title shot at the end of the line.

Yuya Uemura is here next week.

Masha Slamovich vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Chelsea Green is here with Purrazzo and the winner gets Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Title at Bound For Glory. They start a bit slowly until Slamovich gets her into the corner for some chops. That’s fine with Purrazzo, who ducks a chop and hits a shot to the face of her own. A running hurricanrana drops Slamovich but she takes Purrazzo down by the hair and kicks her in the chest. It’s too early for the Snowplow so Slamovich has to throw her back inside. Green’s distraction lets Purrazzo get in a cheap shot though and we take a break.

Back with Slamovich getting out of a chinlock and hitting a dropkick through the ropes. One heck of a running spinwheel kick gives Slamovich two and she wins a slugout from their knees. Purrazzo is right back with a Russian legsweep into the Fujiwara armbar, sending Slamovich straight over to the rope. Back up and Purrazzo sends her shoulder first into the post, setting up the rolling German suplexes.

The Queen’s Gambit is countered into an Air Raid Crash into the corner for two more. A Green distraction sets up the Queen’s Gambit for two. Slamovich has had it with this and hits the spinning backfist, kicks Green to the floor, and hits the Snowplow for the pin at 13:59.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of match that Slamovich has been needing, as you can only go so far with having her squash people in a minute and a half. Beating Purrazzo, who has been the star of the division for most of this year, and taking out Green at the same time, makes her look like a killer and Jordynne Grace could be in trouble at Bound For Glory.

Post match Jordynne Grace comes out and gives Slamovich a death warrant of her own to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was focused on the X-Division until the big ending with the Knockouts. I liked how they didn’t spend the entire night on the World Title situation, as the match is set and there is other stuff that needs the focus. Impact is getting the idea that they need a balanced card and what they are doing so far is working. Good show here, as Impact continues to produce quality TV.

Results
Honor No More b. Good Brothers – Proton Pack to Anderson
Mike Bailey b. Kenny King – Rollup
Mascara Dorada b. Alex Zayne – Dorada Driver
Masha Slamovich b. Deonna Purrazzo – Snowplow

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Dynamite
Date: August 31, 2022
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz

We’re four days away from All Out and it would be nice to have a main event announced. I would certainly hope we know who that is this week, but the question now is which way they go. There is a good chance that it is a rematch with CM Punk, but other than that, is there another option outside of maybe Hangman Page? Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jon Moxley to get things going. Moxley says let’s talk about it: he had 57 minutes left in him last week but CM Punk didn’t. Last week, we found out what Punk was made of and it turned out that Moxley didn’t care. Champions never fold and it just didn’t work out for him. Moxley knows this is Punk’s town but he has no sympathy. That’s last week though and now he has a signed open contract for All Out, which he will leave in the ring. He’s not sure who he’s going to face and he really doesn’t care. Cue Ace Steel, Punk’s mentor, who grabs the contract and takes it to the back.

Chris Jericho is ready for Bryan Danielson on Sunday. Daniel Garcia comes in to say that he is loyal to the Jericho Appreciation Society and wants to see Jericho crush Danielson at All Out. Works for Jericho.

Jake Hager vs. Bryan Danielson

Chris Jericho and William Regal are on commentary. Hager hits him in the face to start but charges into a boot in the corner. The guillotine goes on but Hager powers out without much trouble. They head outside with Danielson’s suicide dive being cut off and Hager hitting a running spinebuster through a table. Back in and Danielson can’t grab a kneebar as Hager elbows him in the face.

We take a break and come back with Danielson firing off the kicks to the chest but getting hammered with more heavy forearms. That’s pulled into the guillotine, which is countered into something like a powerbomb to drop Danielson again. Danielson is fine enough to pull him into the LeBell Lock, which sends Hager over to the rope. Back up and Danielson hits the running knee for the pin at 10:45.

Rating: B-. That’s what Danielson does best, as he got the most out of Hager by playing to his strength and making the match that much better. Hager does not exactly have the best track record in AEW but Danielson made it work. Nice match, as Danielson continues to show what a master he is every week.

Post match the Jericho Appreciation Society runs in for the beatdown but the Blackpool Combat Club makes the save. Jericho tries to come in with a chair but Daniel Garcia takes it away. The distraction lets Danielson hit another running knee.

Here are the Wingmen to complain about not being around much lately. From now on, Dynamite is their show, but here is W. Morrissey (better known as Big Cass) to wreck things. Stokely Hathaway comes out and seems to have a new client. Tony Schiavone stops them in the aisle and asks Hathaway what’s up with all of the business cards. Hathaway says none of his business and grabs Tony for daring to say it is AEW business. Morrissey had a Sid like energy in Impact Wrestling but I don’t know if that is going to work in AEW.

Will Ospreay and Aussie Open are in the back when Don Callis comes in to praise him a lot, saying he knows it’ll be different than the last time Kenny Omega gave him the One Winged Angel.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm

Rebel is here with Baker/Hayter. Shida hammers on Hayter to start so it’s off to Storm, who gets taken down with a jawbreaker. Baker comes in and we take an early break. Back with Shida getting the hot tag to start cleaning house but Baker takes her down with a neckbreaker for two. A basement superkick nails Shida but the Stomp misses. Shida gets in a shot of her own though and goes outside to distract Hayter. Storm comes in with a running hip attack and takes out Hayter again. Shida’s spinning kick to the head finishes Baker at 7:34.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to do much as a good chunk of it was in the commercial. Shida getting the pin boosts her up a bit for the title match but I don’t exactly see her having much of a chance on Sunday. Having her win in a tag match is a good way to go, even if there wasn’t much to see here.

Kip Sabian talks about how brilliant his box on the head plan was and how he took it out on Pac. Now they are meeting on Sunday for the title.

Miro/Sting/Darby Allin are ready for the House Of Black.

Here is CM Punk, looking rather emotional. Punk talks about breaking his foot on June 1 and wrestling a match on it anyway. His doctor said he “pulverized” the bones so he had a bunch of plates and screws put in his foot during a June 8 surgery. After saying the number of screws he had put in his foot is more times than this fat guy in the front row has been screwed in his life, he talks about his loss last week. His foot was completely cleared last week but it’s a new 100%. What he doesn’t know is if that 100% is good enough and he doesn’t want to let his fans down.

Maybe that love just isn’t enough anymore, but here is Ace Steel to interrupt. Steel explains who he is (thank you) and doesn’t know what Punk is doing here. The two of them are family and Punk didn’t let his family down last week. Punk filled an arena up on a rumor last year and now he is going to get up and fight on Sunday.

Steel pulls out the contract for Sunday and says sign it (possibly dropping an F bomb in there). Punk takes off his jacket and says people have been trying to kill him since he was born with a cord around his neck. Moxley isn’t a man who can do it because THIS IS CHICAGO and, as Punk goes into the crowd, he declares WE ARE CHICAGO and signs. So yeah, this whole story has been about the live crowd instead of the people watching at home, which is one of those AEW tropes that needs to go away.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down between Christian Cage and Jungle Boy with the rule of no physicality. Christian says he is here to make money instead of being Jungle Boy’s father. Jungle Boy isn’t looking for a father, and on Sunday, Christian is going to fight Jack Perry. Good closing line there and the name change would not be a bad idea.

Wardlow/FTR vs. Silas Young/Ren Jones/Victor Capri

Wardlow and Jones start things off and we don’t waste much time getting to the dominance. After Harwood takes over on Capri, a two movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes him off at 1:59.

Here is Moxley to say that if that is what Punk wants, that’s what he can have.

10 is injured and out of the Trios Title match so here is Andrade to offer to buy him if he’ll take the mask off. Evil Uno says no, so Andrade hits him with a crutch. Then Jose the Assistant….either tazes 10, who doesn’t move, or just threatens to do it. I think it’s the latter, which would be a lot better.

Rush vs. Rey Fenix vs. Dante Martin vs. Wheeler Yuta

William Regal is on commentary. Rush powerslams Fenix to start and Martin snaps off a Code Red for two. The big series of dives is on, with Rush wiping out Fenix on the landing. We take a break and come back with Fenix spinning Martin into a knee to the face, followed by a spinning powerbomb for two. Rush makes the save but gets sent outside, leaving Martin to drop Fenix with a poisonrana. Fenix pops up to catch Yuta on top, only to get sent outside. Yuta misses a top rope stomp to Martin but pulls him into the Seat Belt for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: B-. I know I say this a lot for a match like this but you know exactly what you’re getting with this style. Everyone not named Rush can wrestle that style just fine and he was there for the power to offer a different way to go. I was thinking Martin would get the pin here but at least they didn’t talk about the idea of building momentum for ten minutes.

The Dark Order needs a partner and Hangman Page is willing. You knew that was coming.

Trios Titles Tournament Semifinals: United Empire vs. Elite

That would be Will Ospreay/Aussie Open vs. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks. Omega and Osprey slug it out to start and everything breaks down. The Bucks’ dives onto Aussie Open on the floor are pulled out of the air, leaving Ospreay to hit a VERY twisting dive to take them out.

We take a break and come back with Aussie Open beating on Matt, who hurricanranas his way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Omega to start cleaning house but the V Trigger is blocked. The Oscutter is blocked as well and Ospreay snaps off a hurricanrana to send Omega outside. Ospreay misses the Space Flying Tiger Drop and gets kicked down, leaving Aussie Open to hit a double delayed vertical superplex for two on Omega.

We take another break and come back with Nick cleaning house but having his 450 hit Ospreay’s raised knees. The snapdragon drops Nick and it’s Omega vs. Ospreay with the forearm slugout. A sitout powerbomb plants Omega HARD, leaving Aussie Open to load up the assisted Oscutter but Matt countered into a cutter of his own. Omega is back up for the triple knees to the head but Ospreay makes a save. A shooting star Meltzer Driver (just go with it) gets two on Matt but Omega’s V Trigger is broken up. The spike Indytaker gets two more and there’s the V Trigger into the One Winged Angel to finish Davis at 18:53.

Rating: A-. This is a great example of a match that isn’t for me but I get why it is taking place. This was tailor made for the AEW audience and the fans are going to eat it up. The flips and dives worked very well and it was incredibly high energy, which is the kind of match you had to expect take place here. I don’t think there was much in the way of question about the winner, but Omega vs. Ospreay is going to be a big match down the line and it should be a blast.

Overall Rating: B+. They got this one right and built up All Out rather well. I’m not wild on how they got to Punk vs. Moxley II and AEW still has issues with rushing through things as fast as they can, but it is certainly not boring and that is a great thing to see. Very fun show this week and it got some stuff done, so it’s quite the success.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Jake Hager – Running knee
Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm b. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter – Spinning kick to Baker
Wardlow/FTR b. Victor Capri/Silas Young/Ren Jones – Powerbomb Symphony to Capri
Wheeler Yuta b. Rush, Rey Fenix and Dante Martin – Seat Belt to Martin
Elite b. United Empire – One Winged Angel 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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Pancakes And Piledrivers II
Date: April 7, 2018
Location: Sugar Mill, New Orleans, Louisiana
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, Jake Manning, Marty DeRosa

This is a show from Pro Wrestling Revolver plus some other companies (AAW/Fight Club Pro), with the show being billed as the Indy Summit. The show took place over Wrestlemania XXXIV weekend and I had a ticket to this show but went to WrestleCon instead. Odds are I made a mistake but let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the promotions included for a nice change of pace.

Jeff Cobb vs. Shane Strickland

Yeah this is going to be fun, even with Matt Striker as ring announcer. At the very least, seeing Strickland’s Ain’t Nobody entrance is always awesome. Strickland hurts his arm on an early clothesline attempt so Cobb grabs him by the throat. A charge into the corner takes too long though, allowing Strickland to go up top. That’s fine with Cobb, who pulls him out of the air and hits the swinging belly to back toss. The huge beal out of the corner sends Strickland flying again as commentary mocks the building for being filthy but not allowing the advertised pancakes.

Strickland tries to come back with a chop, allowing Cobb to show him how one is properly thrown. They have the same exchange with forearms but Strickland manages a kick to the head into a German suplex. The running kick to the head gives Strickland two and a hard knee to the head makes it worse. The Swerve Stomp gets two but Cobb sends him into the corner for a running uppercut. A headbutt plants Strickland again and the Tour of the Islands gives Cobb the pin at 7:59.

Rating: C+. Nice opener here as we get one of the things that WrestleCon does well: putting together indy (well then indy) stars and letting them have a fun match. Strickland continues to feel like a star and it is no surprise that he has become a bigger deal. Cobb is a monster who can run over anyone and it is always fun to see him throw people around.

Post match Strickland thanks all three companies for putting the show on.

Colt Cabana/Marty DeRosa vs. Joey Ryan/Session Moth Martina

It’s still weird to hear Ryan being treated as some kind of awesome star. Martina on the other hand goes around the ring drinking with fans, which makes her seem rather popular. Grinding on everyone in the ring makes it even better (Better?) as this is going to be an interesting one. This is DeRosa’s, usually a commentator, debut and he has gear very similar to Cabana’s.

Ryan oils up and gives Cabana some for he and DeRosa to share. The bell rings and Ryan tells Cabana to touch it but, after an apology to the crowd, he declines. Ryan thinks DeRosa might do it instead so Cabana brings him in…and has to hold DeRosa back from touching it. DeRosa and Ryan trade wristlocks to start but Ryan still can’t get him to touch it. If that won’t happen, maybe DeRosa will touch Martina’s….uh, yeah.

Cabana is MORE than willing to try (Martina doesn’t seem to mind) but they’ll wrestle instead. Well maybe not as Martina grinds on Cabana to get out of a waistlock and Ryan tags himself back in. Cabana does his STOP, WHAT’S THAT and slaps Ryan in the face and annoyance begins to grow. DeRosa and Martina come in with DeRosa slapping her in the same way, which is NOT COOL with a lot of people. Ryan knocks DeRosa into the corner for a Bronco Buster (the long form) from Martina.

With DeRosa down, it’s time for the lollipop from Ryan’s trunks. Cabana breaks that up and it’s stereo Bionic Elbows to the….villains? DeRosa busts out a super hurricanrana for two, followed by a Figure Four. Cabana puts Martina in the Billy Goat’s Curse at the same time but Martina crawls on top of DeRosa’s face and bounces for the double break.

Then Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer starts playing (ok that’s a plus) and romance is teased….until DeRosa and Cabana’s hands are put between Ryan and Martina’s respective legs. There’s the double flip (with the referee falling down too) and Ryan pulls out a sucker/Martina pulls out a prophylactic from their tights, which go into Cabana and DeRosa’s mouths. Stereo superkicks are good for stereo pins for Ryan and Martina at 8:12.

Rating: F. This is the definition of a your mileage may vary match and that isn’t the best thing to see. Ryan’s shtick didn’t work for me before everything came out about him and it’s even more uncomfortable not. The match was pure “comedy” and barely a match, but what else were you expecting here? Absolutely not my thing and the kind of stuff I never need to see again.

Peace is made post match as Jim Cornette insults abound.

Eddie Kingston vs. Juice Robinson

Kingston comes out to David Starr’s music as the result of a lost bet. They go technical to start with Kingston working on a hammerlock before switching into a top wristlock. Back up and Robinson hits a spinwheel kick, setting up a Cannonball in the corner. A high crossbody gives Robinson two as commentary talks about Sami Callihan. Kingston isn’t having that and knocks him outside, setting up the big suicide dive.

Robinson’s piledriver attempt is countered into a backdrop on the floor, setting up a big whip into the barricade. Back in and the waistlock goes on to keep Robinson down, followed by the rapid fire (minus rapid fire) chops in the corner. That’s reversed into some chops from Robinson and a layout powerbomb gets two. Kingston runs him over again and NOW it’s time for the big chop off (which you knew was coming). Robinson gets in another shot and grabs Pulp Friction for the pin at 8:29.

Rating: C. That ending came out of nowhere and it wasn’t exactly a great match in the first place. This felt more like the match where someone said “hey they’ve never fought before” and that was the extent of the planning. Granted there is only so much that you can do with a story on this show, but this was just kind of there for the most part.

Fight Club Pro Title: Meiko Satomura vs. Kimber Lee vs. Jessicka Havok

Satomura is defending and this is the top title of the promotion (out of England, owned by Trent Seven) rather than the Women’s Title. Striker, ever the nitwit, insists that it IS the Women’s Title, even though that title doesn’t seem to have ever existed. Havok clotheslines both of them down to start and does it again to Satomura for daring to fight back.

Satomura and Lee get together and start striking away to take Havok down, leaving Lee to forearm away at Satomura for a bit. Some kicks to the head rock Lee but she’s back with a bridging German suplex for two. Havok is back in though and tosses Lee around with no trouble. Three straight running kicks to the face stagger Lee even more but Satomura forearms Havok away. A DDT sends Havok outside and Lee gets Death Valley Drivered for two. Satomura hits Scorpion Rising to retain at 6:06.

Rating: C. That was rather sudden as Havok never came back in after the DDT. Not having a title changed here isn’t exactly shocking and it was cool to see Satomura getting to showcase herself. Lee is someone I never could get into but she is talented. Havok on the other hand is a total monster that you get as soon as you see her. Perfectly fine match here, but I was expecting more.

AAW Title: Trevor Lee vs. ACH

ACH is defending and Lee’s (probably better known as Cameron Grimes) AAW Heritage Title isn’t on the line. Lee bails to the floor to start and grabs the mic, allowing him to complain about this show taking place at “eleven o’clock in the afternoon”. These people here don’t care that he was out late on Bourbon Street but all that matters is that he is going to win the AAW Title. Not some loser like ACH who can’t even get on another show this weekend, but a real champion.

After bragging about the money he is going to make, Lee gets hit in the face, only to have ACH miss the 450 back inside. A shot to the face knocks out ACH’s tooth or gum but he is fine enough to avoid the Cave In. ACH is back with a superkick into a brainbuster for…..the pin at 3:10!

Rating: C+. Sure why not, as Lee’s promo and then getting getting shut up so fast was funny, but the wrestling was barely half of this. Sometimes you need a fun match like this, even if it was probably a way to cut time on a loaded show. ACH really was a talented guy before he went a bit bonkers, while Lee would go on to a rather nice career.

Post match, Lee reminds us that he is STILL the Heritage Champion.

OVE vs. Brian Cage/Joey Janela/AR Fox

Tornado rules. That would be the Crist Brothers/Sami Callihan, who are billed under both of their names (Ohio vs. Everything and Ohio Is For Killers). Jake Crist isn’t waiting on the bell and flip dives onto everyone, setting up an Asai moonsault as we’re just getting started without a bell. Penelope Ford comes out to watch as Dave takes Fox inside for a wind up DDT. Janela high crossbodies Fox but gets clotheslined by Callihan.

Cage is waiting on him so Callihan spits in his face….which earns Callihan a heck of a discus lariat. Jake knocks Cage outside but his suicide dive is caught in a suplex because Cage can do that. Everyone else heads outside, leaving Janela to hit a big top rope flip dive. Dave goes up so Ford catches him and it’s a superplex onto the big pile. That’s too far for Callihan, who powerbombs Ford onto a slightly smaller pile, which has commentary freaking out. Not over what Ford did, which was more dangerous, but just what Callihan did. Hypocrites.

Back in and a bunch of strikes to the face leave everyone down as commentary talks about Ford’s Gizmo themed gear. OVE is back up with stereo superkicks but charge into superkicks. Fox avoids a charge though and hits a Spanish Fly, setting up a 450 for two. Jake is back in with a Death Valley Driver to Fox, setting up the spike Tombstone (Killing Spree) for….one?

Everyone is back up for the big staredown, with Cage hitting an F5 and Fox hitting a Death Valley Driver of his own, setting up a triple cover. OVE breaks up stereo triple superplexes so Fox knocks Dave down instead. Fox loads up a frog splash but Jake dives from the adjacent corner with a super cutter to knock Fox cold for the pin at 8:45.

Rating: B-. Thank goodness they went to the finish after that cutter because nothing was going to top that one. Fox was knocked silly and there was no reason to try anything else. The rest of the match was your usual insanity that comes with such a stipulation and it went rather well, at least partially helped because OVE is a regular team. That finish looked great though and it carried the match a lot higher.

PWR Scramble Title: Matt Palmer vs. Jake Manning vs. Caleb Konley vs. Trey Miguel vs. Clint Margera vs. Jason Cade vs. Ace Romero vs. Curt Stallion vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Myron Reed vs. Connor Braxton vs. Omari

Palmer is defending and this would be your OH COME ON match of the show, as there are TWELVE PEOPLE in this. Everyone but MJF jumps Palmer to start and toss him outside, leaving everyone else to brawl inside. Reed is left alone to dropkick Cade outside so Stallion comes in to dropkick him. Romero hits a dropkick to Stallion but the rather tall Braxton kicks Romero outside.

Palmer and MJF double team Braxton and we seem to have a partnership….until they both poke eyes and kick each other low, which is good for a handshake out of mutual respect. That’s always nice to see. Omari and Margera hit stereo flip dives onto the floor, followed by Miguel’s springboard flip dive. Manning’s top rope trust fall (while still reading his Boy Scout manual, as is his custom) takes everyone down, leaving Romero (nearly 400lbs) to hit his own dive, much to the fans’ delight.

Back in and we get the required Tower Of Doom, albeit with Palmer and MJF teaming together, teasing a split, and then splitting in the span of ten seconds. Braxton and Stallion double team Romero, with the former managing an impressive slam. Manning is back in with a backbreaker into a lifting Downward Spiral to Stallion and we hit the parade of secondary (or maybe primary) finishers. Omari takes Miguel out so MJF tries to steal the pin, only to get rolled up by Palmer (with trunks) to retain at 8:14.

Rating: C. Yeah it was fine and that’s all I can think of to say about it. What in the world are you supposed to do with a dozen people doing spot after spot for about eight minutes? Palmer stealing the pin doesn’t so much prove anything as he just was in the right place at the right time. That is how these matches always go and while they get a lot of people on the show, they almost never do anything for me as no one gets to stand out in the slightest.

Lucha Bros vs. Jack Evans/Teddy Hart

First half of a double main event and it takes a good while for the Bros to get here. As usual, Evans runs his mouth a lot before the match, which will likely continue after the bell. Fenix and Evans start things off and yes Evans is still running his mouth, which is rarely a good idea. They trade their flips until Fenix kicks the leg out for no count before flipping up into a standoff.

Hart and Penta come in and the chop off is on fast before Hart complains about the lack of respect. A Backstabber drops Penta and Evans springboards in to kick Fenix in the head. That leaves Hart to hit a hanging piledriver/DDT at the same time to drop both Bros. Evans does a triple backflip into the corner to poke Fenix in the eye, which he describes as never before seen. The Canadian Destroyer into the moonsault gives Hart two on Fenix but Penta is back in for a change.

The double teaming takes him down as well, only to have the Bros pop up for running corner clotheslines. Penta gives Hart a heck of a superkick into the corner, with Evans being tied in the Tree of Woe to put them on top of each other. Fenix flips Penta onto the pile before Evans is tied up in a surfboard. That’s not enough for Penta though, as Fenix pulls on the arms at the same time.

Since that doesn’t really work nearly as well as the single version would, Evans hangs on until Hart makes the save. Penta Canadian Destroyers Hart for two with Evans making a save of his own. A springboard doesn’t work for Evans as he falls off the top but he’s right back with a middle rope Phoenix splash for two as Fenix makes his own save.

Fenix hits a rolling cutter on Evans as the referee is trying to restore order for whatever reason. One heck of a Project Ciampa drops Fenix and Evans adds the 630 for two more. Penta powerbombs Evans onto his knee for his own near fall, setting up a stereo Pentagon Driver/Black Fire Driver to give the Bros the double pin at 10:34.

Rating: B-. I would call this the “well, what did you expect” special, as you know what you’re going to get when you have a match involving these people. There is nothing else to expect from these four getting into a match and they made it work well. Let them go out there and do their flips and dives to pop the crowd and that’s all you need. Fun stuff of course, despite being total junk food wrestling.

AAW/PWR Tag Team Titles: Besties In The World vs. Aussie Open vs. Rascalz

The Besties (Davey Vega/Mat Fitchett) are defending both sets of titles in a ladder match. The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier/Zachary Wentz) are debuting their name, having been formerly known as Scarlett And Graves (weird name). That leaves Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis), who have nothing of note but I needed a reason to say their names. And yes, the Besties are the team who do their entrance to Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden and yes it is still amazing.

Hold on though, as Fitchett wants tables and chairs added in to the ladders because they’re hardcore! Vega: “NO WE’RE NOT!” Striker says everything is legal, despite it being a ladder match where everything is legal in the first place. A bunch of weapons are thrown inside as commentary talks about how ridiculous it is to have all of these totally unnecessary things underneath the ring.

Ladders and plywood are placed in the corner and Fitchett and Miguel are knocked into/through them. Vega goes up top and gets caught by a bunch of people who shove him through another plywood board. Aussie Open and the Rascalz slug it out with the bigger Fletcher being the last man standing. Wentz chairs him off the ladder though and goes up, allowing commentary to mock JR’s voice on the famous Jeff Hardy ladder climb.

With that broken up, Wentz hits a big step up dive onto a pile on the floor, followed by Fitchett’s running lip dive. Davis Arabian presses onto a bunch of people, leaving Xavier alone with a ladder in the ring. Instead of going for the belts, he climbs the ladder and shooting stars down onto the pile. Vega has used the delay to put a board over six chairs at ringside and superplex Wentz through it for the next big crash.

Back in and Fitchett kicks Xavier in the face but it’s Aussie Open cleaning house. Davis’ running forearm in the corner rocks Xavier and the Aussies both climb at once (Commentary: “No, no, no.”). Fitchett makes the save and the champs crush Aussie Open with ladders in the corner. The Rascalz are back in to kick the Besties down, including Wentz superkicking a chair into Fitchett’s face. Davis comes back in this time and powerbombs Xavier with one arm (dang) but gets kicked in the face by Wentz as well.

Xavier is back up to kick Fletcher and Fitchett down, leaving everyone on the mat. The Aussies catch Xavier going up and Fletcher dives off the top for a cutter (not quite OVE level but not bad). Wentz chops at the Aussies but gets thrown into a ladder in the corner for his efforts. That’s enough to dent the ladder so Fletcher gets on Davis’ shoulders but the champs turn it into a Doomsday Device. The Besties hit stereo piledrivers on the Rascalz (illegal in Louisiana) and retain the titles at 14:10.

Rating: B. It was a six man indy ladder match and that should tell you everything that you need to know. There were cool spots and a lot of carnage until one of the teams got the titles, which is exactly how something like this was supposed to go. It’s nothing great or memorable but for a big main event on a show like this one, it went well and was probably the best thing on the card.

Post match the Besties say that’s how you win gold together (Fan: “THEY’RE SILVER!”) but they want to call out….DAVID ARQUETTE??? AND HE’S HERE! Arquette pulls out a $100 bill scarf and says the Besties just want his money, before bragging about the big names he has faced. He says he’s a real champion and that WWE ruined WCW. Then he pulls off his jacket and reveals a NEVER BEEN PINNED shirt. Arquette seems to challenge the Besties to a match and leaves through the crowd to end the show on an awkward note.

Overall Rating: B-. I had fun and it only went a little over two hours so it didn’t overstay its welcome. What matters here is getting a bunch of people on a show and popping the crowd over and over. You don’t look for continuity or logic here and what we got here lived up to those requirements. It’s cool to see some of the non-WWE stars out there doing their thing and there is only one match that really didn’t work on the whole card. Fun stuff and I’m kind of regretting not taking it in live.

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 24, 2022
Location: Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz

We’ve got a big one this week as suddenly we have a World Title match between Interim World Champion Jon Moxley and World Champion CM Punk. This comes as we have All Out in about a week and a half and now we need a main event. Odds are we get the main event announced or all but announced by the end of the night. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Chris Jericho to get things going but he gets to the point this time: Daniel Garcia needs to get out here to explain things to him. The fans tell Garcia that he is a wrestler as Jericho says all he wants is an apology. Garcia gets serious and talks about how he had wanted to face Danielson, his hero, for as long as he remembers. People are calling it the best match in Dynamite history (no, they aren’t) and they went thirty minutes (still not quite but closer to reality than best match in Dynamite history). It was the match he always wanted to have and Jericho ruined it.

Jericho wants him to say that he’s a sports entertainer but here is Danielson to interrupt. Danielson was proud of the match too but wants Garcia to be a wrestler. Jericho says Garcia is the best sports entertainer but Garcia says he can’t decide between his mentor and his hero. He gets so emotional that he knocks Jericho down and leaves.

That leaves Jericho to rant about how much he knows more about wrestling than Danielson. That doesn’t compute for Danielson, who asks what Jericho’s mentor, Stu Hart (not exactly), would think of this. The result is a match at All Out, but here is Jake Hager to jump Danielson from behind. Jericho vs. Danielson at All Out isn’t a surprise, but dang I could go for dropping this SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT IS BAD/WRESTLING IS GOOD story. We get it: WWE is awful and AEW rocks. Move on already.

Dax Harwood vs. Jay Lethal

No seconds are here oddly enough. They chop it out to start as JR talks about how old school promoters would love this and Taz explains what makes chops loud. Harwood hammers away in the corner until Lethal slips out and hits a super Russian legsweep as we take a break.

Back with Harwood rolling German suplexes but Lethal is right back with a Figure Four attempt. That’s broken up so Harwood goes for a Sharpshooter, which is broken up as well. Another Figure Four attempt is countered into a small package for two before Lethal kicks him in the leg.

The leg is fine enough to hit a slingshot powerbomb for two and the Sharpshooter goes on. Sonjay Dutt (with pencil) gets on the apron for the break and Lethal grabs a rollup for two. A small package gives Harwood the same and a middle rope spinning crossbody gives him two more. Lethal gets crafty by distracting the referee though and a rollup with trunks is enough to pin Harwood at 12:47.

Rating: B-. Lethal isn’t likely to become the tops tar in AEW or even a champion around here, but you are almost never going to see him do anything close to bad in the ring. That is a fine reason to put him on television and it worked well here, with Harwood going step for step with him before getting cheated in the end. I could go for Harwood winning more of these singles matches, but he is making himself into more and more of a star every time he’s in there.

Post match Sonjay Dutt says we’re still having a six man tag at All Out, but he never said who was in it. Jay Lethal will be teaming with……the Motor City Machine Guns???? Well that’s an upgrade.

Thunder Rosa is in tears and announces that she has to vacate the Women’s Title. Therefore, an Interim (STOP DOING THAT!) Women’s Title will be crowned in a four way match at All Out.

Billy Gunn vs. Colten Gunn

The Acclaimed handles Billy’s entrance, bringing up student loan debt and backstage talent meetings. Billy wastes no time in powering Colten outside and we take an early break. Back with Billy unloading in the corner and stomping away, with the referee having to pull him off. The distraction lets Stokely Hathaway get in a cheap shot with the boom box on the floor. That’s also enough of a distraction so Colten can get in a low blow, setting up the Colt 45 for the pin at 6:16. Most of the match was in the break but that’s the right result.

Post match Hathaway again offers his business cards and this time the Gunns accept. The beatdown is on until Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland make the save.

Death Triangle is ready for Will Ospreay/Aussie Open.

Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King

Baker hammers away in the corner but King reverses and stomps away in said corner. A Downward Spiral into the buckle drops King though and Baker pulls her head into the post. Back in and King hits a German suplex but King gets taken down and Stomped. The Lockjaw finishes for Baker at 3:55.

Rating: C. Just a quick win to give Baker some momentum heading into the All Out title match. Baker isn’t exactly someone who needs such a win but at least they are doing something to build her back up. King continues to look like a good prospect and I could see her going somewhere just due to her unique look and size.

Post match Baker rips on the rest of the challenges for the Women’s Title, including Toni Storm. Jamie Hayter and Rebel jump her from behind but Hikaru Shida makes the save.

Keith lee and Serve Strickland are down to give the Acclaimed a Tag Team Title shot at All Out.

AEW World Title: CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley

Punk’s AEW World Title and Moxley’s Interim World Title are being unified. They fight over a lockup to start and Punk is taken into the corner, where Moxley hammers away. Punk is back with a kick but hurts the previously injured foot and he’s in trouble. The doctor is called over but Moxley hits a King King lariat. Leg cranking ensues, along with hammer and anvil elbows, setting up the Death Rider. Moxley hits it again and wins at 2:59.

I believe a “….whoa” is in order here as that wasn’t exactly what a lot of people were likely expecting. This feels like either Punk was still injured or those backstage issues are bigger than we think, but it is still a good bit too early to know for sure what is going on. What matters here is that Moxley wins and can move on to….I have no idea what actually at All Out, but the Interim Title (at least this one) nonsense is over. People are going to be talking about this one for awhile though and that is a good thing.

Punk is helped to the back.

Christian Cage is rather serious as he accepts Jungle Boy’s challenge for All Out. All he wanted was for two of them to be back together but then Jungle Boy took it to another level. Jungle Boy isn’t in his league but the match is on.

Here is a ticked off Ricky Starks to talk about how Powerhouse Hobbs turned on him. Veterans are telling him that this is show business and you have to get used to this but he thought he was the exception because he had Hobbs behind him. Hobbs was checking on him every day last year when he broke his neck, but then Hobbs got jealous of Starks’ success. Starks remembers Hobbs standing around in the background until they got together, but then Hobbs hit him in the neck. He sees Hobbs as a neck, and where Starks comes from, they step on snakes. The challenge is on for All Out in another match you knew was coming but needed to be officially set.

We look at the title change again.

Jon Moxley is sick of people writing his obituary as soon as Punk arrived. He is the answer to every wrestling problem and his time is right censored now.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

We look at Kenny Omega’s return last week.

Trios Titles Tournament: Death Triangle vs. Will Ospreay/Aussie Open

Don Callis in on commentary. Fenix and Ospreay trade flips to start before everything breaks down. Death Triangle sends them to the floor and hit the stereo flip dives for the big knockdown. Back in and Pac chops away at Ospreay before Fenix kicks him down for two. We take a break and come back with Osprey hitting a Sky Twister onto Pac and Penta, followed by a running boot in the corner to Fenix.

We settle down to a heck of a dropkick to Fenix but he chops away at the Aussies and hits a very springboard double wristdrag for a breather. The hot tag brings in Penta for a double high crossbody and everything breaks down as we take a break. Back with Pac coming in to clean house, but Aussie Open and the Lucha Bros come in for the brawl. Ospreay and Pac hit stereo poisonranas to the teams and it’s time for the big staredown. They slug it out until the Oscutter drops Pac, followed by a hard shot to the face to do it again.

Pac catches him on top though and it’s the big superplex for a double knockdown as we take a break. Back with Ospreay back up and hitting a hurricanrana on Pac but the Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana to give Pac two. Everything breaks down again and Penta hits a step up Canadian Destroyer. Pac goes outside and stops to glare at whoever is in the Kip Sabian box because it clearly isn’t Sabian. It’s….just someone, allowing Sabian to jump Pac from behind. Back in and an assisted Oscutter gives Ospreay the pin on Fenix at 25:18.

Rating: B+. Kip Sabian aside, this is the reason you put a match like this on the card: total and complete insanity with very little resembling a tag match (though there was some in there for a bit of a bonus) and all of the insanity you could ask for in one match. It was a lot of fun and the result surprises me, so well done all around.

Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks come out for the staredown but Callis holds Omega back to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather weird show with all kinds of stuff going on, a lot of which had a vibe like it was being cobbled together at the last minute. That’s usually a problem, but they have a huge out this week with the Punk/Moxley situation, which is going to completely dominate the post show chatter. I have no idea what they are going to do with the title at All Out but me being this curious says they seem to be doing something right.

Results
Jay Lethal b. Dax Harwood – Rollup with trunks
Colten Gunn b. Billy Gunn – Colt 45
Jon Moxley b. CM Punk – Death Rider
Britt Baker b. KiLynn King – Lockjaw
Will Ospreay/Aussie Open b. Death Triangle – Elevated Oscutter to Fenix

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

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AND

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

Dynamite
Date: June 22, 2022
Location: UW Milwaukee Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

We’re at the final Dynamite step before Forbidden Door on Sunday, which could be quite the rough night. Bryan Danielson is making an announcement about his future and it might not be the best news. Odds are we get some more matches announced for Sunday as well so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Bryan Danielson for the announcement. Tony Schiavone asks about his future but Danielson takes the mic and says he isn’t giving it back. Danielson says this is a great week to be an AEW fan or a professional wrestling fan. This Sunday we have Forbidden Door and then a week later we have Blood and Guts with all of the violence you could want. As for Forbidden Door, Zack Sabre Jr., he wanted to prove he was the best technical wrestler in the world, while Danielson wanted to crush Sabre Jr.’s trachea.

Unfortunately, he isn’t cleared to wrestle at Forbidden Door or Blood and Guts due to what happened at him in Anarchy In The Arena. However, don’t worry about him because he is going to be back. He feels great, he can read 500 words a minute, he can run two miles and not break a sweat and his mind is working at full speed.

As for the near future, he has found the one person to take his place at Forbidden Door and Blood and Guts who can be technical and violent and he will astound you. Who you ask? Well he came out of the bad guy tunnel so he isn’t going to tell you. Tune in on Sunday and you’ll see the greatest technical match of your lives. Sabre Jr. comes out to stare at Danielson but doesn’t say anything.

Jon Moxley is ready for the biggest match of his life on Sunday but he is also ready for the violence next week.

Aussie Open/Will Ospreay vs. Roppongi Vice/Orange Cassidy

Romero can’t get far with Fletcher to start and but he does manage to take him down. Cassidy comes in as everything breaks down, with Romero hitting the forever lariats. Vice and Cassidy do their biceps pose but the triple suicide dives are cut off. Stereo apron bombs have the good guys in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Cassidy hitting the lazy kicks before snapping off a double hurricanrana. A springboard hurricanrana takes Aussie Open down, setting up the triple dives onto Open and Ospreay. Back in Ospreay takes over on Cassidy, who cuts him off with a Stundog Millionaire. Everything breaks down again and it’s the parade of knockdowns until Cassidy hits the Orange Punch to finish Davis at 11:34.

Rating: C+. Cassidy is a very fun guy to watch, but it’s a little hard to get my head around the idea that he is getting to face one of the people who main evented this year’s Wrestle Kingdom. As for Aussie Open, they’re a good example of guys who were added to the mix in recent weeks without much being known about them. They’re the tag team who works with Ospreay and that’s about all I can tell you about them based on how they have been presented, which isn’t a good thing.

Post match the rest of the United Empire comes out for the staredown but FTR (including a Loverboy Dennis Condrey shirt) evens things out to chase the villains off.

Jay Lethal and Satnam Singh want Samoa Joe to vacate the ROH TV Title if he can’t defend it.

Here is Christian Cage for the big explanation. Christian doesn’t think much of Jungle Boy costing him a chance to win the World Title, but then he checked social media and saw what people thought of Jungle Boy. That’s why Christian hitched his wagon to Jungle Boy to try to make a quick buck. He didn’t come here to mentor some new generation but rather to make big money.

Christian offers some free advice: try having a match that people talk about more than two weeks after the fact. Have the match that parents sit their kids down to watch or name a pay per view after. We look at the clip of Christian insulting Jungle Boy’s family last week, which has Christian saying he doesn’t want to be Jungle Boy’s father. Jungle Boy has a father….but he’s dead.

That’s a good thing too, as Jungle Boy’s dad would be sad to see what his son has become. Cue Luchasaurus to choke Christian, who says Luchasaurus is like a son to him. Luchasaurus buys it and they hug, though Luchasaurus might not be entirely convinced. Heck of a promo from Christian here, though I’m not sure on changing things up with Luchasaurus.

We look at Kyle O’Reilly being taken out by Sting and Darby Allin on Rampage.

O’Reilly and the Young Bucks are ready to team up with Hikuleo and El Phantasmo vs. Sting/Allin and cronies.

All Atlantic Title Tournament First Round: Malakai Black vs. Penta Obscuro

Obscuro starts fast and knocks Black outside for a shot tot he face. Back in and Black counters the armbar into a rollup, setting up the Sling Blade for two. Black bails outside where he sends Penta into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Black fighting out of a piledriver on the apron but getting kicked in the head.

They get back inside with Black hitting a jumping knee to the face to send Penta outside, setting up a moonsault. A top rope double stomp gives Black two back inside but Penta catches him with a super Fear Factor. That’s good for a (very) delayed two as Black gets a food on the rope. Penta loads up another Fear Factor but Black escapes and hits Black Mass for the pin at 11:32.

Rating: B-. What else were you expecting here? They hit each other really hard until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That’s what you should get from a match like this, though I don’t need to see House of Black vs. Death Triangle again for the better part of ever. Good, hard hitting match though, with Black moving on as he should have. I think.

Post match Pac comes in to stare at Black but Miro pops up on screen to promise to redeem all of the pagans and others at Forbidden Door.

Hangman Page vs. Silas Young

Adam Cole is on commentary and this is Young’s AEW debut. Young starts by missing a legsweep but coming back with a few shots. Page knocks him outside and hits the big moonsault as we take a break. Back with both of them getting up until Page knocks him to the floor. A top rope clothesline gives Page two but Young knocks him down again. The springboard moonsault misses in the corner though and Page hits a clothesline. The Buckshot Lariat finishes for Page at 8:43.

Rating: C+. Young can bring it almost every time he’s out there so I’m not surprised to see him do well in his AEW debut. Fans are going to know enough about him to think something of the match but it isn’t like Page beat a hot new star. It was a perfectly fine TV match and I could go for Young getting to do a bit more around here as AEW has far worse options.

Post match Adam Cole says it’s Story Time but Jay White cuts him off. White is looking forward to Forbidden Door, but he won’t be defending against Cole, who lost to Page twice. As for Page….he isn’t getting a title shot either. The fight is on with White getting the better of things, but he turns around to see Cole holding the title. A double team on Page is teased but Kazuchika Okada comes in for the save.

Red Velvet is injured so Stokely Hathaway is looking for a new Baddie.

Kris Statlander and Athena don’t think much of the Baddies because they have Willow Nightingale.

Marina Shafir vs. Toni Storm

Nyla Rose is here with Shafir. They go to the mat to start with Shafir getting the better of things as Storm isn’t quite at that level. Storm gets sent outside where Rose hits a heck of a backsplash as we take a break (with Excalibur being cut off in mid-sentence for about the fourth time tonight). Back with Storm taking it to the floor and hitting a tornado DDT off the steps. Storm sends her into the corner for the running hip attack but Rose offers a distraction. The pumphandle is broken up though and Storm gets a rollup pin at 7:19.

Rating: C. That’s probably Shafir’s best AEW match to date, which isn’t clearing that high of a bar. The best thing that can be said about it is that it felt more natural with Shafir not coming off as so stiff (as in moving better, not hitting hard). Maybe she has shaken off some of the jitters or gotten some pointers, but either way, this was a step up for her and that’s good to see.

Post match Rose jumps Storm and the double teaming is on until Thunder Rosa makes the save.

Darby Allin and Sting are bringing Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi to even things up at Forbidden Door.

Fenix is ready for Andrade El Idolo on Rampage.

Forbidden Door rundown, with Excalibur tripping over his words.

Lance Archer/Chris Jericho vs. Jon Moxley/Hiroshi Tanahashi

William Regal is on commentary. It’s a brawl to start with Tanahashi taking over on Jericho’s arm. Moxley comes in to take over but a cheap shot takes Moxley down for a change. Jericho catapults Moxley throat first into the bottom rope and it’s back to Archer to keep up the beating.

We take a break and come back with Tanahashi getting the tag to clean house, including the middle rope flipping splash for two on Jericho. Back up and Jericho can’t grab the Walls but manages to knock Tanahashi down and gets the second attempt. Tanahashi breaks that up and hits the Sling Blade with Moxley coming back in to drop Archer. The High Fly Flow gives Tanahashi the pin at 12:00.

Rating: B-. Pretty nice main event style tag match here with the only possible option to take the fall getting pinned. Tanahashi gets some momentum heading into Sunday, though I could have gone without commentary talking about how Moxley needs to defend AEW from New Japan. That’s a very tacked on idea and it isn’t needed for a match like this one.

Post match Eddie Kingston, the Jericho Appreciation Society and a bunch of New Japan guys, including Minoru Suzuki, come out for the brawl. Tanahashi and Moxley stare each other down in the ring as the brawl goes on for more than a few minutes to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m honestly not sure what to say about this show. We’ll start with the good: there were surprises, most of the wrestling was strong and the ending brawl was really energetic. They added some matches to the Forbidden Door card and gave you more of a reason to watch the pay per view. That’s how a go home show is supposed to go and they did that part pretty well.

Now comes the problem: if you don’t like/know a decent amount about New Japan, this was an absolutely nutty show that probably left you a bit confused. The last month or so has been Tony Khan getting to put his fantasy booking show on national TV (“And then THIS GUY show up but THIS GUY is out as a surprise and it’s a new faction between the two companies and they’re fighting for THIS TITLE but wait here’s THIS GUY and it’s a big fight and there’s an INTENSE STAREDOWN and…..”) and if you’re not into it, you have no need to watch the show.

I get what AEW is going for here and it will sell like gangbusters for their core audience, but I’m not exactly sure how other fans are going to care. This has been one heck of a detour into the inner workings of Tony Khan’s mind and unless you’re completely on board with that, this isn’t going to be your time. Sunday is (probably) going to be a lot of fun but it’s quite a lot of time spent setting that show up.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Roppongi Vice b. Aussie Open/Will Ospreay – Orange Punch to Davis
Malakai Black b. Penta Obscuro – Black Mass
Hangman Page b. Silas Young – Buckshot Lariat
Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir – Rollup
Jon Moxley/Hiroshi Tanahashi b. Lance Archer/Chris Jericho – High Fly Flow to Archer

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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IMG Credit: New Japan Pro Wrestling

Royal Quest
Date: August 31, 2019
Location: Copper Box Arena, London, England
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Gino Gambino

So this is a New Japan show and their first ever independently promoted event in the UK. That could mean a lot of things, but hopefully it means a good show. Since we already have multiple major events today with Takeover: Cardiff and All Out, I might as well just complete the trilogy. The main event here is Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Title against Minoru Suzuki with a lot of fans wanting to see a title change. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the fallout from the G1 Climax and how it’s time to take over Europe.

Card rundown with the bigger matches getting the extra attention they deserve.

Roppangi 3K vs. Ryusuke Taguchi/Shoto Umino/Ren Narita

The fans are rather behind Taguchi here though unfortunately we don’t get the big zoom in shot at the opening bell. Yoh and Umino get things going for some early grappling and that’s an early standoff. Umino kicks him in the face but can’t get a slam as the fans are behind Umino, mainly due to him being associated with Jon Moxley. Everything breaks down early on with Taguchi and Romero both cleaning house. That earns Romero a song from the crowd, which sounds so out of place in a New Japan show. Sho rolls Umino up for two but Umino is right back with a suplex, setting up the hot tag to Taguchi.

A bunch of hip attacks, including one from the top, ensue but Romero comes in for the forever lariats. They’re cut off by another hip attack and it’s back to the Young Lions for some double teaming. The Boston Crab doesn’t last long on Sho and it’s time for the parade of kicks to the head. Sho and Yoh are sent into each other and Narita gets two off a victory roll. Sho’s German suplex gets two, followed by Project Ciampa to finish Umino at 8:19.

Rating: C. Perfectly fine opening match with the fans loving Romero and Taguchi as always, even if I’ve rarely (though not never) seen much in them. That’s a good way to start the show: give the fans something fun that is going to energize them for later. Tag matches, either of the four or six man variety, work just fine in that regard and the crowd is now properly energized.

Kota Ibushi/Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi/Hikuleo

Takahashi and Hikuleo are Bullet Club and it’s Ibushi and Hikuleo starting things off. Hikuleo throws the smaller Ibushi down to start and mocks him a bit, only to have everything break down. Robinson sends Hikuleo into the corner for a Cannonball but Hikuleo is right back up with a backsplash for two on Ibushi. Takahashi comes in for a legdrop as the fans are behind Ibushi, as you probably expected.

Ibushi is right back up and brings in Robinson to pick up the pace, including a dive to take out Hikuleo. A spinebuster does the same to Takahashi but he’s right back with a fisherman’s suplex for two on Robinson. The Juice Box (Codebreaker to the chest) is enough to bring Ibushi back in but he charges into a powerslam from Hikuleo. The Club is dominating so far, which you might not have expected against a team like Ibushi and Robinson.

Ibushi’s strike rush gets him out of trouble but Hikuleo cuts him off again, this time with a Samoan driver for two. Takahashi comes back in so Ibushi hits a double Pele, followed by a victory roll for two on Hikuleo. A running knee to the face sets Kamigoye (knee to the face) for the pin on Hikuleo at 8:46.

Rating: C. This worked just fine with both teams looking good. Ibushi wasn’t about to lose so soon after winning the G1 so the Club came off more like obstacles for him to get past rather than people who were going to give him an actual run for his money. That’s perfectly fine for a match like this as it came off as a way to get Ibushi (and Robinson) on the card.

Will Ospreay/Robbie Eagles vs. Taiji Ishimori/El Phantasmo

Ishimori and Phantasmo’s (Bullet Club) IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Phantasmo is the British Cruiserweight Champion and Ospreay is the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Eagles used to be in Bullet Club but Phantasmo turned on him, sending him over to Chaos. Ospreay and Eagles are part of Chaos and of course Ospreay gets a ROAR.

The Club jumps them to start but Chaos tosses them to the floor to the floor, setting up a big flip dive from Eagles. We settle down (kind of) to Phantasmo getting caught in an exchange of strikes and monkey flipped into a kick to the back. Eagles starts throwing the kicks to the chest but Ishimori comes in for the save to take over. To mess with things a bit, Phantasmo seems to twist Eagles’ nipples, setting up a springboard spinning crossbody into a Lionsault.

Ishimori comes in for the loud chops and a top rope Meteora for two. Eagles gets tied in the Tree of Woe for some running crotch standing (egads) but he’s right back with a sliding elbow to the back of the head. The hot tag brings in Ospreay for Pip Pip Cheerio and two on Phantasmo. Ospreay and Phantasmo trade kicks to the head until Ospreay’s Stundog Millionaire puts both of them down.

Ishimori and Eagles come back in with the latter nailing the springboard missile dropkick to Ishimori’s knee. Ospreay comes back in as Eagles hits a Codebreaker to Ishimori, who holds him in place for Ospreay’s moonsault to the back. Superkicks begin to abound and it’s the Oscutter to Phantasmo, followed by a double super Spanish Fly to finish Ishimori at 10:49.

Rating: B. There’s something about watching these people go insane on each other with one big spot after another until the really big one gets the pin. This all but guarantees the Tag Team Title shot for Ospreay and Eagles, which sounds quite good to me as a rematch could be quite awesome. Ospreay has been having one awesomely entertaining match after another as of late and giving him the win in his home country is the best thing they could have done. Very fun match.

Post match, Ospreay issues the challenge for the titles. At least they aren’t wasting time.

Tetsuya Naito/Sanada vs. Jay White/Chase Owens

Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Bullet Club, with Gedo. Naito (Intercontinental Champion) gets a huge reaction. White bails from Naito to start (as you might have expected) so Chase comes in and requests Sanada. An early battle over arm control goes nowhere so Owens offers a handshake. That goes badly for Owens, who tries the Paradise Lock, which Owens reverses into a failed version of his own.

White breaks up the real thing and takes Naito to the floor for some chops. The distraction lets Owens take over on Sanada and a backbreaker puts him down. White comes in for the chops in the corner but Owens charges into some boots in the corner. A suplex puts White down and it’s hot tag to Naito for the house cleaning. White gets sent to the floor and that means the TRANQUILO pose for a big reaction. Back in and Naito gets two off a pair of neckbreakers, only to have White knock him into the corner.

The Bladebuster gets two on Naito but doesn’t get very far with a choke. Naito is right back with his springboard tornado DDT and that’s enough for the double tag. Sanada gets the Paradise Lock on Owens (a recurring problem for him), setting up the big running kick. Owens puts him on top and gets two off a super snapmare (that’s a new one), followed by a running knee to the head for the same. The package piledriver is broken up though and Skull End finishes Owens at 12:53.

Rating: C+. Naito and Sanada just come off as cool no matter what they’re doing and that’s a good thing to have on your roster. It makes a lot of sense for them to be so popular everywhere else, though I can also see why White isn’t the most beloved. He just isn’t all that interesting and while I liked him elsewhere, he hasn’t been clicking for me in Japan.

Post match White gets a chair and beats down Sanada but Naito makes the save and hits Destino for a self counted three. Naito even sits in the chair because he’s cool that way.

Tag Team Titles: Guerrillas of Destiny vs. Aussie Open

Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis) are an Australian team who won a tournament to get the shot. The Guerrillas make it even worse by having Jado with them. It’s a big staredown to start as the fans are rather split. The champs get in an early cheap shot but the Aussies are right back with running clotheslines in the corner to take over. A series of kicks to the chest gets two on Loa and it’s a double flapjack into Davis’ backsplash for two more.

Loa low blows his way out of trouble and it’s Tama coming in for a corner splash. Some shots to the head keep Davis down but he gets over to Fletcher, who is taken down in a hurry with a neckbreaker. A spear cuts Fletcher down again and a rather delayed Jackhammer gets two. Tama mocks Fletcher’s crawling attempts, earning himself a backdrop so Fletcher can dive over for the tag. Davis clotheslines the champs to the floor and there’s the big dive from Fletcher.

Everything breaks down and a butterfly powerbomb into a sitout Alabama Slam gets two on Loa. Jado cheap shots Davis with the kendo stick though, drawing him outside so Tama can drop Fletcher. A Swan Dive/frog splash combination gets a very close two and the fans are back into it off the kickout.

Davis is back in with a Spanish Fly to bring Tama out of the corner, setting up Fletcher for a big flip dive to the floor. The Fidget Spinner (minus the spinner), a double pumphandle slam, drops Loa but Tama is back in with a German suplex on Davis. A sitout Tombstone plants Davis and a superbomb to Fletcher is enough to retain the titles at 14:26.

Rating: B. The more I see of Aussie Open, the more I like them and the fact that Fletcher is only twenty years old makes it all the more impressive. The Guerrillas are on another level at the moment though with very few teams in the world being able to hang with them. Aussie Open could be able to do that one day, but they’re not there just yet. Another more than solid match though with the near falls being highlights.

We recap Kenta vs. Tomohiro Ishii. Kenta recently debuted for the company and turned on Ishii in a tag match. Therefore, tonight it’s time for a fight over the NEVER Openweight Title. Kenta laid out the returning Katsuyori Shibata to make him even more evil.

NEVER Openweight Title: Kenta vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Ishii is defending and is part of Chaso while Kenta is part of Bullet Club. They go nose to nose to start with Kenta chilling in the ropes for a few seconds. A shot to Ishii’s face has Kenta bailing to the floor as the mind games are on early. Ishii is pulled to the floor and beats Kenta inside for the slugout. As you might have imagined, a guy named the Stone Pitbull is fine in a brawl and takes over on Kenta, until a tornado DDT onto the top rope gets him out of trouble.

They slug it out again with Ishii staggering, allowing Kenta to blast him with a clothesline. The running dropkick in the corner corner hits Ishii and has the fans annoyed but it’s too early for the GTS. Kenta strikes away but gets caught in a German suplex….and something is wrong. Kenta falls down on what looks to be a slam attempt so Ishii headbutts the heck out of him. The referee checks on Kenta, who gets back up and is clearly gone.

He’s fine enough to knock Ishii down and hit a top rope double stomp. The GTS is countered again and Ishii loads up the brainbuster, which winds up being closer to a swinging suplex instead. The fans can tell something is wrong as Ishii slaps him in the face, meaning it’s time to sit down and slap each other a lot.

Kenta’s sleeper is broken up and Ishii takes his head off with a clothesline. Cue the Guerrillas, who are quickly dealt with by Ishii, setting up the brainbuster. The Guerrillas pull the referee though and Ishii takes a Magic Killer for a very close two. Kenta’s sleeper is broken up as well so a big shot to the face and the GTS to give Kenta the title at 20:16.

Rating: B-. It’s really hard and unfair to be overly critical here as you could see Kenta just being gone as soon as he landed on his head. The intensity went away and Kenta was a shell of himself for the next eight minutes. That makes the shots to the head all the more disturbing and the fact that he went to the hospital after the show all the less surprising. The title change makes sense to make Kenta a more established star around here, but egads it was a scary match to watch in the second half.

Post match Kenta celebrates, but is so messed up that he can’t get onto the middle rope and has to be helped up.

We recap Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for Zack’s British Heavyweight Title. They’ve feuded for a good while now with Sabre not having much respect for the legend, so Tanahashi is coming to Sabre’s country to take his title. This is their seventh match and they’ve split the first six so it’s quite the rivalry.

Rev Pro British Heavyweight Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Tanahashi is challenging. Sabre goes for the technical stuff to start as the fans are rather pleased with the heel champ. It’s an early standoff as the Tanahashi chants begin. Tanahashi reverses a crossarm choke into one of his own but you just don’t try to trade holds with Sabre, who is out in a hurry. They circle each other a bit more until Tanahashi takes him down by the leg for a change.

Tanahashi puts on a standing leglock but bridges back to really crank on the thing. The middle rope Swanton misses though and Sabre starts in on the arm. A seated armbar has Tanahashi in trouble and the cockiness is rolling fast. That means some cocky kicks but Sabre goes back to the arm to cut off the comeback. A dropkick to the leg gives Tanahashi a breather and a running dropkick in the corner has the champ rocked for a change.

Twist And Shout into the Sling Blade gives Tanahashi two but the High Fly Flow hits knees. That means a triangle choke from Sabre, which he switches into the modified Rings of Saturn. That’s broken up as well and it’s the European Clutch for two on Tanahashi. Another Sling Blade gives Tanahashi another two and it’s the High Fly Flow for the pin and the title at 17:20.

Rating: B+. Sabre is one of the most unique performers I have ever seen and I could watch him go from one submission to another for hours. Tanahashi on the other hand is as smooth of a performer as you’re going to find and they mesh very well together. This was my favorite match on the show so far and it’s quite the impressive display, as these two almost always do. Their styles go together perfectly and Tanahashi winning is a great feel good moment, even in defeat of the home country champion.

Tanahashi celebrates for a good bit.

We recap Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Suzuki was ticked off (shocking) about being left out of the G1 and wanted to show NJPW what they missed. Then he beat Okada in a tag match and challenged him for the title shot, which you just don’t turn down. They’re billing it as the unbeatable champion vs. the angry king and it’s one of the better videos I’ve seen from NJPW.

It’s always cool to see the big montage of champions before the title match.

IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki

Suzuki is challenging. They start very slowly with only a Suzuki kick to the leg in the first minute and a half. Okada works a wristlock and the dueling chants begin again. That’s reversed into a hammerlock from Suzuki as they’re taking their time to start. Suzuki stays on the arm so Okada picks the leg to take it to the mat. That goes nowhere either and we’re already five minutes in. Therefore, it’s time to strike it out in the middle until a snapmare lets Okada hit a running kick to the face.

A triangle over the ropes slows Okada down and it’s a ram into the barricade to make it worse. Okada blocks a piledriver on the ramp so Suzuki settles for a running Penalty kick instead. The referee won’t let Suzuki use a chair so Suzuki sits in one in the middle instead. Okada comes back in….and his forearms have no effect. Suzuki smirks at him and slaps on a few leglocks as the torture begins. That’s broken up and it’s time for another forearm slugout until a running elbow drops Suzuki.

They head outside with Suzuki in trouble, but he’s right back in with more kicks to the chest. The Fujiwara armbar goes on to make Okada scream some more as Suzuki is enjoying this way too much. The running boot to a seated champ gets two but the piledriver is broken up again. Okada gets in another shot to the face and they’re both down again. A slam sets up the top rope elbow for two….and Suzuki is mad. That’s the stuff that nightmares are made of so Okada forearms away, earning himself a hard shot to the face.

Suzuki even puts his arms behind his back so Okada can hit him harder. For some reason Okada agrees to do the same and is promptly knocked silly. We get a rather good tease of a piledriver with Okada kicking his feet and being picked back up twice before he reverses into White Noise onto the knee. They slug it out from their knees with Suzuki taking over off some headbutts, only to get caught with the dropkick. Okada tries his own sleeper but Suzuki throws him down and puts on one of his own.

That means the old school arm drops until Okada counters into the Rainmaker. He’s too down to cover so it’s another Rainmaker but Suzuki blocks a third. Suzuki unloads with strikes to put Okada down but he STILL can’t hit the piledriver (that’s been an awesome tease throughout the whole match). The Rainmaker is countered again so Okada slips out of the sleeper one more time (I can live with that as the piledriver is being treated as the real finisher) and hits the Tombstone. The Rainmaker finally finishes Suzuki at 33:56.

Rating: A. Oh yeah that was awesome with Okada being completely outmatched physically but managing to avoid the big weapon until he could wear Suzuki down enough. Suzuki is a great dragon that has to be slayed and showing him so furious about being left out of the tournament was a fine story with the champ being the only one who could stop him. Okada gets to pass another test as we wait for the next big challenge at whatever the next big show is before Wrestle Kingdom. Great match and I don’t remember liking a New Japan match much more than this one.

Post match Okada thanks the fans but cue Sanada, who beat Okada in the G1, to challenge for the title match. Sanada leaves and Okada seems to accept. He throws in some English for the crowd, who certainly seem to appreciate it to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. While Takeover had a better main event (and not by much), this was the best show of the weekend with nothing bad (some of the tag matches were fine but skippable) and two excellent top matches. It also found that sweet spot in the middle of the times where it was long but not long enough that I was wanting the show to end. While I think it would lose some of the appeal if I watched it full time, it’s always a blast to watch and this was another awesome show. Check out the main event for sure and Tanahashi vs. Sabre if you have time.

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

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IMG Credit: Rev Pro Wrestling

Rev Pro: New York
Date: April 5, 2019
Location: New York Hilton Midtown, New York City, New York
Commentators: Andy Boy Simmonz, Kevin Kelly

I’ve seen these guys twice live and had a good time with each of the shows so this was a must for the list. I don’t really follow their stories all that closely but I know enough of the names to keep up. This show will have a mixture of British wrestling and New Japan so it’s going to be quite the combination. Let’s get to it.

Kelly welcomes us to the show and says we’ll be ready to go in just a bit. Fifteen minutes later we’re ready to go.

Owner Andy Quildan welcomes us to the show and says part of the delay was wrestlers at the merch tables (fair enough). We get the traditional requests for the cheering but no “London says they’re louder than you”.

Karl Fredericks/Clark Conners vs. CCK

That would two Young Lions from the New Japan Los Angeles dojo vs. Jonathan Gresham/Chris Brookes. Clark and Gresham go straight to the mat and it’s actually a standoff, which you wouldn’t expect against Gresham. A chop off goes to Conners and the bigger Fredericks comes in to shove Gresham into the corner. Brookes comes in and gets taken down by the smaller Fredericks, as the Young Lions are certainly good on the mat.

Fredericks powers him into the corner and it’s a double leglock from the Lions, drawing Gresham in for a save. Speaking of Gresham, he comes in off a blind tag and catches Conners in a German suplex. Brookes comes back in and slaps on a leglock with Fredericks picking Gresham up and throwing him away to make a save. A dropkick to Gresham’s leg gives us a double knockdown and everything breaks down. Stereo Boston crabs from the Lions are broken up with some kicks from Brookes and we hit the ten minute mark.

Fredericks throws Conners into Brookes and it’s another chop off to put Brookes in trouble. A Jay Driller with Gresham adding a kick to the head gets….two with Conners shoving Clark into the cover for the save. I thought that was it. Clark and Gresham forearm it out until an enziguri into a standing Lionsault has Clark rocked. The ankle lock goes on with Gresham pulling him up into a bridging German suplex for two more. Gresham has had it and it’s a discus forearm….for two more with Gresham being shocked. A spinning kick to the head knocks Conners silly for the pin at 13:35.

Rating: B. Considering that the Lions are trainees, this was a heck of a fight with the rookies more than holding their own here. I had a good time watching it and that’s more than you expect when one of the teams is told to use a limited moveset. Very good opener and far better than I was expecting.

Carlos Romo vs. A-Kid vs. Kid Lykos vs. Flamita

I’m only familiar with Flamita so this is going to be all over the place. Kid and Romo are a regular team called Team Whitewolf. Flamita and Lykos chop away in the corner with Lykos missing a 619 in the corner but snapping off a headscissors. They switch out with the other two but Kid is thrown outside onto Romo, meaning it’s a flip dive from Lykos.

Another one from Flamita takes everyone down but Flamita stops for some posing. Back in and Kid fisherman suplexes Flamita for two, leaving himself open for a kick to the face from Lykos. A split legged moonsault gives Lykos two of his own and a 619 takes Kid to the floor. Romo adds a moonsault but gets caught with a 619 and Backstabber from Flamita. Kid is right back up with a Canadian Destroyer to Lykos but Romo slides in and steals the pin at 7:04.

Rating: B-. This was about as long as they could go at this pace before it stops meaning as much. I do like the fact that they advance storylines on this show instead of just having one off matches as it adds a nice change of pace. Flamita was the most impressive of course but the other three got to showcase themselves as well, which is one of the hardest parts in a match like this.

Michael Oku vs. Brian Cage

Oku is a contender and Cage is a surprise opponent. He starts kicking at the legs and has a tornado DDT easily countered with raw power. A release powerbomb sets up a hard toss across the ring as Oku is already in big trouble. Cage throws him again and makes it even worse with a monkey flip. A little too much posing lets Oku get in a basement dropkick to the back of the head but doesn’t know what to do next, allowing Cage to throw him down again.

The F5 is countered and Oku goes up….for a moonsault that Cage can’t catch. Cage gets sent outside for the flip dive to the floor but it’s too early for a countout. The powerbomb counter into a sunset flip is botched so Oku reverses an F5 into the Canadian Destroyer (WAY too popular a move this weekend) for a delayed two. Well done on not doing the same spot and mixing it up a bit there. Cage’s helicopter bomb gets a rather surprising two and Oku reverses another powerbomb into a hurricanrana for two more. That’s it for Cage as the Drill Claw finishes Oku at 9:39.

Rating: C+. Well that was way better than it had any right to be as Oku is basically trying to get his first big win and has to fight Cage. I’ll give Cage some major points for that much selling as it made Oku look far better than he would have otherwise. Cage is one of those imports who can make for a good guest star and if he can help out the full time people, good for him.

Hiroshi Tanahashi/Will Ospreay vs. Minoru Suzuki/Zack Sabre Jr.

Suzuki/Sabre’s British Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Tanahashi and Sabre start things off with Sabre taking him up against the rope with ease. That’s broken up and Sabre skips around the ring and Tanahashi can’t do anything with him. Ospreay comes in and knocks Sabre to the floor but Suzuki grabs an armbar over the ropes to cut off a dive. They head outside with Suzuki forearming the heck out of him, sending Ospreay down in a heap.

Back in and Ospreay lets Suzuki chop him and is stupid enough to let him do it a few more times. Everything breaks down and the villains slap on stereo holds. With those broken, Suzuki goes after the referee because he has to hurt someone. Ospreay’s nose is busted (looks broken) so Suzuki elbows him in the face. I love that kind of meanness. The half crab goes on as the announcers explain that this isn’t about a submission but just about pain.

Ospreay somehow springboards into a kick to the head and the hot tag brings in Tanahashi. They trade abdominal stretches but you know that’s not good enough for Sabre, who slaps on an armbar at the same time. Sabre stomps on the arm and it’s back to Suzuki for the exchange of forearms. Tanahashi knocks him backwards (shocking) and extends his jaw to give Suzuki a free shot.

Suzuki takes him down by the leg but Ospreay makes a save, allowing Tanahashi to get back up for a forearm. Ospreay fires in a long stretch of forearms to knock Suzuki down in the corner for a basement dropkick…..and Suzuki stands up. More forearms give Suzuki that “boy you done messed up look” so Ospreay says bring it. A forearm from Suzuki gives Ospreay that “my goodness that was incredibly painful look” but a spinwheel kick drops Suzuki.

The sleeper has Ospreay in more trouble and Sabre comes in for the Penalty Kicks. Tanahashi makes a save and the villains slap on stereo abdominal stretches. That’s broken up and a dragon screw legwhip sends Suzuki outside. The Sling Blade sets up the picture perfect shooting star press for two on Sabre. Back up and Ospreay tries Stormbreaker but gets reversed into the European Clutch for the pin at 21:17.

Rating: A-. Suzuki is still the scariest human in wrestling history and this was a good example of why you don’t try to hit him in the face. These guys beat each other up quite well and it even helps set up Tanahashi vs. Sabre tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden. This is the best match I’ve seen this weekend so far and that covers some ground, so Rev Pro comes through again.

Intermission.

Rocky Romero vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

I believe Swoggle is in the crowd along the aisle. Taguchi is in his rugby gear to celebrate the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Romero bails from the threat of a hip attack before going with an armbar to take Taguchi down. Back up and Romero offers a handshake, even shaking the referee’s hand to show that it’s legitimate. Taguchi does take the handshake but gets kicked in the ribs, allowing Romero to hit the Eddie Guerrero dance.

A handstand from Taguchi lets him offer a quick dropkick but he’s out of the way so Romero misses for a crash. The hip attack knocks Romero outside but Taguchi spends WAY too much time getting ready, allowing Romero to knock him outside. The suicide dive connects and it’s Romero hitting his own hip attack. That’s not cool with the fans and it’s an exchange of atomic drops….for stereo Flair Flops. A series of hip attacks have Romero in more trouble as this needs to end.

Taguchi rolls some vertical suplexes but Romero is right back with a springboard dropkick to the back. The Forever Lariats don’t last forever and it’s some Forever Hip Attacks until a tornado DDT plants Taguchi. Sliced Bread is countered into a series of rollups for two each because THIS WON’T JUST END. Romero hits some Kawada Kicks to the face and, you guessed it, Taguchi does the same things with hip attacks. Taguchi hits an enziguri and a running hip attack gets two. A double chickenwing faceplant finishes Romero at 15:22.

Rating: D-. WOW this was bad as it felt like it was going on for about three times what we got. It just kept going with about 80% of Taguchi’s offense being that stupid hip attack. This felt like a performance instead of two guys trying to win a match and that made it feel so much longer than anything else. I know Romero is a rather polarizing wrestler and I can easily see how that’s the case. Worst match I’ve seen all weekend and it was nearing torture.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. David Starr

Starr’s Cruiserweight Title isn’t on the line. Starr is always claiming that Rev Pro is against him (that was the case two years ago) so Ishii is pretty much here to kill him. Feeling out process to start and Starr decides it’s a good idea to chop someone called the Stone Pitbull. About five chops have no effect and one Ishii chop takes Starr down. It also fires Starr up as he’s right back on his feet for a hard running shoulder.

Starr stomps him down in the corner and hits a running clothesline for two. Ishii gets annoyed at the chops and forearms and it’s time for Starr’s pain to really begin. A rolling kick to the head drops Ishii to the floor and it’s a suicide dive to give Starr his best chance so far. Back in and a top rope elbow gives Starr two but his German suplex is no sold. A superkick works a bit better but Ishii is right back up with a delayed superplex for two more.

The sliding lariat is countered into a rollup for two and Starr fires off two straight lariats for his own near fall. Another superkick sets up the Tomorrow Driver (the brainbuster onto the knee) for two more as they’re trading covers here. Ishii has finally had it and nails the sliding lariat into the brainbuster for the pin at 13:08.

Rating: C+. They were beating on each other as hard as they could (well maybe not as hard as Ishii could) and that made for a good but not great match. There wasn’t exactly a story to the match and most of it was spent trading forearms and clotheslines until the end. There wasn’t a ton of drama because Starr never tried anything big and you knew that brainbuster was waiting at the end. It was good, but it never got that far out of high gear.

Aussie Open vs. Roppongi 3K

3K’s IWGP Junior Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Davis and Yoh start things off with a test of strength taking Yoh down without much effort. Sho comes in to face Fletcher but everything breaks down with Roppongi dropkicking them to the floor for stereo flip dives. Back in and Fletcher gets dragged into the wrong corner but he’s right back with a double toss into the air for two on Sho. A hard clothesline connects for the same and it’s off to Davis to chop and elbow at Sho’s chest.

We hit the reverse chinlock with Yoh making a save as the slow beatdown continues. Fletcher kicks Sho down but can’t get a suplex as we hit the ten minute mark. Sho slips out of a suplex and hits a spear (you don’t see that one very often in Japan). That’s enough to bring Yoh back in for a backbreaker/neckbreaker combination on Fletcher. The Figure Four goes on until Davis comes over for a save.

Everything breaks down and Sho gets kicked on the floor, leaving Yoh to take an assisted cutter for two with Sho diving back in for the save. Fletcher and Yoh trade kicks to the head and back to the to the other two with Sho’s running clotheslines having no effect. A dropkick to the knee into a German suplex works a bit better and it’s Sho coming back in for double jumping knees to the face.

3K is broken up with Fletcher’s high crossbody but the Fidget Spinner is broken up. Yoh comes back in and 3K grabs stereo submissions, broken up by stereo reaching the ropes. Fletcher kicks Davis’ arm by mistake and gets rolled up for two but Sho is sent outside. A stuff piledriver into the Fidget Spinner is good for the pin on Yoh at 20:28.

Rating: C. This was WAY too long again and it hurt the match a lot. Aussie Open is good but it felt like they were extending the match for the sake of extending the match. That’s almost never a good idea and it really hurt things here. I was waiting on the match to end instead of wanting to see the finish and that’s not a good sign. It certainly wasn’t bad, but it was a long match at the end of a long show.

The shake hands to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a great example of a show being cut in half by intermission and the quality dropping off a cliff in the second half. The first half of this show was one of the better ones I’ve seen in a long time but the second was one long match after another and I was checking the clock a lot. There’s more good than bad, but it needed to have about twenty minutes cut to really make it great. Of just don’t do Taguchi vs. Romero at all. Check out that first half but move on to something else after intermission.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WXW

Amerika Ist Wunderbar
Date: April 4, 2019
Location: La Boom, Woodside, New York
Commentators: Jeremy Grave, Sebastian Hollmichel

This is WXW (Westside Xtreme Wrestling) from Germany and another promotion I don’t know much about. A few weeks ago someone asked me to do one of their shows so I’ll take care of it as part of the Wrestlemania weekend festivities. As usual I have no idea what to expect from this so let’s get to it.

We’re joined in progress with David Star yelling at Lucky Kid, who won the 16 Karat Gold Tournament and gets to face Starr tonight. Kid doesn’t look impressed as Starr leaves.

Opening sequence, featuring some names such as Walter and Toni Storm, meaning I won’t be totally lost.

And now the same opening sequence as I think we’re starting late.

And now, a black screen as the streaming problems seem to be in full swing.

We’re good to go about twelve minutes after the scheduled start, which is pretty good for indy wrestling.

LAX vs. The Crown

The Crown is Alexander James/Jurn Simmons. Thankfully commentary feels us in a bit, saying that the Crown is a relatively new team who stumbled out of the gate. James and Ortiz start with Ortiz claiming a hair pull. Well to be fair there’s kind of a lot of it man. A northern lights suplex gives Ortiz two and it’s off to Santana to kick James in the head.

Simmons comes in for some better luck with the powerful forearms to Santana’s back. The Crown takes over in the corner but Santana slips away and jumps over the ropes with Ortiz tagging in on the way. LAX speeds things up in a hurry with a series of splashes straight out of the Lucha House Party playbook. Simmons is right back up with a hard suplex to take over again though and it’s back to James for something like a triangle choke.

Ortiz finally fights out and rolls over for the hot tag to Santana as the pace picks back up. A sitout F5 takes James down but the top rope double stomp misses. An Alley Oop plants James again and Santana drops a frog splash for two with Simmons making the save. The Street Sweeper is broken up but the Decapitation (whatever that is) is broken up as well. LAX is right back up with the double belly to back faceplant for the pin on James at 11:21.

Rating: B-. LAX is just good and always worth checking out no matter where they are. They kind of came out of nowhere and I can’t imagine they stick around the small pond of Impact Wrestling much longer. They’re that good and a team who could be stars anywhere they go. Hopefully that’s the case in the future as they’ve more than earned it. The Crown was fine for a power team but nothing all that great.

Darby Allin vs. Avalanche

Thank goodness for name graphics, though I’ve seen Allin before in MLW. Avalanche is a monster (duh) though apparently not a Shark or an Earthquake. The smaller (and more dead looking) Allin bails outside to start and Avalanche follows, earning himself a whip into the barricade. Back in and Avalanche takes over as the German chants begin. I don’t speak German but I might have better luck with that than the NXT UK chants.

Allin manages a Code Red for two and a flipping Stunner follows, only to walk into a Samoan drop. A Fujiwara armbar works a bit better for Allin as Avalanche has to get a boot on the rope. Back up and Avalanche uses the power to take over again, this time asking Allin what is wrong with him. A running splash in the corner (the Avalanche) sets up a fall away slam into a Vader Bomb for the pin on Allin at 5:14.

Rating: D+. Just a step above a squash here with Avalanche following the tradition of the German monsters. Allin was trying but there was only so much he could do against a monster like Avalanche. It was a good way to see what Avalanche can do and that’s what makes sense going forward for the company.

Yuu vs. Jordynne Grace

Women’s match with Grace as a replacement for LuFisto who isn’t here for some reason (that’s better as I just saw the face and didn’t remember LuFisto looking like that). Grace takes her down with a headlock to start and runs Yuu over with a shoulder. Yuu’s headlock doesn’t work and it’s a pair of running knees in the corner to set up another Vader Bomb.

Yuu takes her down and grabs a chinlock, which lasts as long as you would expect for a chinlock against someone made of muscle. Grace hits a charge in the corner and a spinning Samoan drop gets two. The Grace Driver (pumphandle driver) finishes Yuu at 7:54. Dropping someone on the back of their head can do that most of the time.

Rating: D+. These two beat each other up but Yuu was clearly a few steps behind. Grace has been impressive in Impact as she looks unique enough to be a monster with some skills, which is more than you might expect from someone her size. Yuu was completely acceptable but nothing too special.

Video on the Shotgun Title (seems like a midcard title) match. The subtitles don’t help all that much but I think the title changed hands recently and the former champion is getting his rematch. Fair enough.

Shotgun Title: Marius Al Ani vs. Emil Sitoci

Sitoci is defending after winning the title from Ani a few days ago. They start fast with Ani grabbing a quickly broken chinlock and getting armdragged down. Back up and Ani sends him into the ropes but stops to pose, allowing Emil to grab a backslide for two. A suplex sets up a double arm crank as Emil can’t keep the momentum going. Ani kicks him in the back of the head and poses some more as they have the face vs. heel dynamic set up pretty well.

Back in and Emil hits a good belly to belly before slapping on a seated abdominal stretch. The split legged moonsault hits Ani’s raised knees but Ani grabs an O’Connor Roll into an ankle lock to put Emil in trouble for a change. That doesn’t last long either as Emil is up with a gutbuster and a top rope elbow to stay on the ribs. A snapmare driver is countered into a quickly broken ankle lock so Ani throws him down with a release exploder suplex. Ani goes up top for a splash but gets pulled down into a super Spanish Fly to retain Emil’s title at 9:02.

Rating: C+. These guys looked better than anyone else on the show so far as they beat each other up and you could see the story of the match. It’s perfectly fine for a title defense and the finish looked good. Emil was referred to as a legend and I could see him being someone who had been a star for a long time around here. Good match and another nice entry on the show.

We see the same argument between Starr and Kid that opened the show.

David Starr vs. Lucky Kid

I think I’ve been watching too much indy wrestling as I now recognize Starr’s music and can recite most of his many nicknames. Kid seems to be rather popular and I don’t think Starr would be a face in his own living room. The announcers recap the story with Starr being jealous of Kid winning the 16 Karat Gold Tournament and not getting the respect he demands.

Kid defeating Walter has something to do with it as well. Kid starts fast and slides between the legs for a dropkick to the head. That leaves Kid in the ring for a little taunting (not good against Starr, who calls himself the King of Taunts), meaning it’s Starr coming back inside to nail him in the head. Starr takes it outside and drops Kid on the barricade, only to get chopped in the corner. A big lariat gives Starr two and it’s time to just hammer away at Kid’s head.

The referee starts a count on the downed Kid but Starr comes over to get him, meaning the comeback is on. Kid can’t get a Crossface so they trade forearms to the head. Starr catches him on top with a belly to belly superplex….which is no sold. Well ok then. With the suplexes not working, Starr hammers away with more shots to the head until Kid grabs a suplex of his own. Starr’s German suplex (how appropriate) and another lariat are shrugged off for something like a powerbomb to put Starr down again.

Kid slaps him in the face and grabs a small package for two but the Blackheart Buster (brainbuster onto the knee gives Starr a very close two. A powerbomb onto the knee gets two more and Starr can’t believe it. Kid is dead so Starr kicks him in the head and yells about making Walter tap out.

That earns him a middle finger from Kid and the fans remind Starr that he never beat Walter. They slug it out with Starr’s lariat staggering Kid. Starr tries it again but gets reversed into a Crossface, which is broken up in a hurry. Sliced Bread puts Starr down and Kid’s 450 goes knees first into Starr’s chest. Another Crossface makes Starr tap at 14:33.

Rating: B+. It takes something special to suck you into a show where you don’t know what’s going on and only know one of the wrestlers. I liked this match quite a bit with Starr’s frustration coming through as Kid managed to survive to continue what seems to be Starr’s descent into madness. Very good match here and I liked it far more than I was expecting.

Post match Starr sits in the corner and grabs the mic, saying that he’s not safe venting his frustrations anymore. This is Wrestlemania weekend, but the fans here have allowed the evil corporation to take over independent wrestling. Starr is independent and there are certain cowards who don’t show up to shows like this. Cowards who tapped out to him at 16 Karat Gold (Walter) and work for companies who don’t provide healthcare or allow them to unionize. These fans were chanting NXT so they’re just as fake as Walter is. Walter won’t face him in a WXW ring so Starr is quitting WXW.

Aussie Open is ready to defend the Tag Team Titles. Works for me as they’re rather awesome. An unnamed guy comes in and doesn’t think much of them.

Absolute Andy vs. Chris Brookes

I’ve heard a lot about Andy before but I’ve never actually seen him wrestle. Andy chills on the floor to start and pulls Brookes outside so the chopping can begin. A suicide dive has Andy in more trouble and Brookes adds a double stomp from the barricade. Andy can’t powerbomb him onto the barricade so Brookes wraps the ring skirt over Andy’s face and hits another stomp. As they get in for the first time, Andy kicks the ropes for a low blow behind the referee’s back to take over. Andy sends him into the corner and we get the opening bell as the four minutes of brawling before didn’t count.

A missed charge in the corner lets Brookes get up top for a backsplash to the back and a suplex gets two on the bigger Andy. A spinebuster plants Brookes right back down but Andy misses a good looking moonsault. Brookes gets two off a slingshot cutter and grabs something close to a Koji Clutch. That’s broken up with a foot on the rope and Andy is fine enough to run the corner for a belly to belly superplex. Andy grabs an F5 but gets reversed into a rollup for a very sudden pin at 5:43.

Rating: C-. It was fine while it lasted but it didn’t last long. Andy seems to be a legend around here, which is rather impressive given his pretty generic physique (he has some size to him but not much in the way of muscles). Brookes is someone I’ve seen elsewhere before but never been all that impressed by him. I could have gone for more of this and I can see either of them giving a better performance with more time.

Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open vs. Workhorsemen

Aussie Open (Mark Davis/Kyle Fletcher, who don’t have their belts for some reason) are defending against JD Henry/Anthony Henry. Fletcher and Henry start things off and the fans are split. Henry takes him into the corner to start and backflips away for some early posing. The Workhorsemen start in on the arm with the rather large Henry (those are some huge trunks) coming in for a Codebreaker into a knee to the head from Henry.

Fletcher muscles Henry over for a suplex though and it’s off to Davis for the power chops. It’s already back to Fletcher, who misses a charge in the corner and gets chopped by Henry. A neckbreaker onto Henry’s raised knees get two on Fletcher and it’s off to a chinlock. Fletcher gets taken into the corner but fights out of it in a hurry, allowing the hot tag off to Davis for the house cleaning.

Henry and Davis slug it out until Fletcher comes in, only to have Henry run both Aussies open. Gibson and Drake are sent outside, leaving Henry and Davis to slug it out. The other two come back in and are chopped down almost immediately. Henry’s sitout slam sets up a moonsault for a VERY close two as the announcers can’t seem to remember which one is Henry and which one is Drake. The Aussies are right back and Drake gets superkicked, setting up a piledriver and a double flipping powerslam (the Fidget Spinner) retains the titles at 15:49.

Rating: B. Another rather good match here as Aussie Open is one of the better indy teams around today. They work well together and this was quite the match from both teams. This is the reason I like watching shows from this weekend as you never know what kind of random pairing you’re going to see with this kind of a result. Good stuff here, as the show is getting back on a roll.

WXW Unified World Title: Bobby Gunns vs. Shigehiro Irie

Gunns is defending and a smoker, described as the King of Smoke Style. Uh, yeah. Gunns takes him down as we hear about Irie pinning Gunns before Gunns won the title. Makes enough sense. Irie gets in a bulldog to put the champ down and a rather early near fall. A cross armbreaker is broken up in a hurry and Gunns kicks him in the back. The arm wringing begins and Gunns stomps on the raised arm ala Shayna Baszler.

An STF is broken up with a rope grab and Irie scores with a quick suplex for two. Irie gets in a good looking top rope splash for two but Gunns pops up from a hard left armed clothesline. Gunns snaps off the German suplex but gets Pounced hard into the corner. They head to the apron with Irie nailing a piledriver to knock Gunns silly, albeit on the floor.

Gunns starts crawling back inside and gets caught with a legdrop to the back. The Cannonball gives Irie two and he blasts Gunns with his Beast Bomber lariat for two, with the bad arm preventing the fast cover. Gunns catches him on top and snaps the fingers ala Pete Dunne (he’s an NXT fan).

Irie is too big to be German suplexed so Gunns pulls him down into the Rings of Saturn. That’s quite the problem so Irie bites the rope for the break. Sebastian: “By the skin of his teeth!” Jeremy: “That was perfect Sebastian.” The Beast Bomber gives Irie two and they flip each other off with Gunns pulling him into a cross armbreaker for the tap at 15:30.

Rating: B-. It was entertaining but it didn’t feel like a major match at all. Gunns isn’t the most thrilling wrestler and I didn’t get invested into this one for the most part. Irie felt like a monster for Gunns to slay and while that’s fine and exactly what Gunns did, it didn’t exactly get overly entertaining and I didn’t buy Gunns’ title as being in jeopardy.

Post match here’s Joey Janela of all people as Gunns lights up a cigarette. Janela does the same and says he wants the belt.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this. I’m not sure how much I’d want to watch it in the future but for what we got here, I had a good time. There were enough good matches to keep the show entertaining with only one or two being less than adequate. I can see why this is one of the better received European promotions and it was better than expected. Well done.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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