Collision
Date: September 27, 2025
Location: Marshall Health Network Arena, Huntington, West Virginia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back to the regular Collision and that means we’re going to be seeing something interesting this week. In this case, we’re done with All Out and less than a month away from WrestleDream. That means we should be in for some nice action, as well as the build towards the next pay per view. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The Death Riders, Paragon/Matt Menard, Jamie Hayter, the Triangle Of Madness, Kommander and Hologram…well normally they’re ready to fight but Kyle Fletcher runs in and jumps Hologram (who was interrupted by the CLON deal anyway).

Death Riders vs. Paragon/Matt Menard

Garcia and O’Reilly get things going, with Garcia having to use the ropes to escape a headscissors. Castagnoli comes in to beat up Menard before it’s off to Moxley for a knee to the head. It’s back to Garcia, who gets taken into the corner for the alternating strikes, including O’Reilly firing off the knees. Menard hammers down the right hands in the corner and O’Reilly adds a running dropkick against the barricade. We take a break and come back with O’Reilly in trouble.

O’Reilly fights back but Castagnoli is right there to pull Menard down before the tag. Instead O’Reilly gets over for the tag off to Strong who strikes away at everyone. The Sick Kick hits Moxley for two but Castagnoli is back to swing Strong into Moxley’s dropkick for another near fall. Menard comes in for the big showdown with Garcia and hammers him down but it’s quickly off to Moxley to take Menard down. Garcia’s stomp finishes Menard at 14:23.

Rating: C+. The problem here is very simple: the big climax of the match is the goofy commentator getting his hands on one of the least interesting heels in the company. Simply put, it’s just not something that I cared to see and the live audience didn’t seem thrilled either. It doesn’t feel important and they are going to need something more interesting than that if they want Garcia to feel like a big deal. Oh and look: Paragon losing. What a novel concept.

Video on Bandido/Brody King.

King wants to get his hands on the Don Callis Family and wants to settle the score with Josh Alexander and the Young Bucks. On Dynamite. When he teams with Bandido. And Kenny Omega.

We recap the Opps/Hangman Page/Death Riders brawl from Dynamite but in a bit of a production gaffe, Nigel tries to throw it to a post show interview but we go to the ring instead.

Death Riders vs. Rachael Ellering/Rosario Grillo

Yuta jumps Grillo to start fast and stomps away in the corner. The elbows to the head have Grillo in more trouble and Yuta drags him over for the tag to Ellering. Shafir quickly kicks her down and Mother’s Milk gets the tap at 2:11.

Post match Yuta is not happy with Kris Statlander, who betrayed the people who cared about her the most. He’s the reason she’s the champion today and on Dynamite, she will pay for making the wrong choice. Speaking of people making the wrong choice, Darby Allin will not give up and go away. Allin saw a lot of dead bodies on Mount Everest, so the Death Riders will put him right next to them. Jon Moxley yells about the Opps a bit more.

We look back at Darby Allin challenging Jon Moxley for WrestleDream and the I Quit match is official.

Now we get the video from after Dynamite, with Hangman Page and the Opps being ready to destroy the Death Riders next week. Samoa Joe promises a lot more lessons in violence.

Anthony Bowens/Max Caster vs. Swirl

Bowens and Caster argue over who gets to start and keep changing places until Caster drops to the floor. Then Caster pulls Bowens out with him so they can argue some more, with Christian diving onto Caster to take over. Back in and Swirl rolls into a right hand to Bowens, who comes back with a snap suplex. What used to be Scissor Me Timbers is broken up and Caster gets chopped in the corner as we take an early break.

We come back with the fans getting behind Caster but Christian kicks him in the face to cut if off. Bowens goes to leave but Jerry Lynn comes out to yell at him, forcing Bowens back. The tag brings Bowens in to clean house, including something like a reverse Angle Slam to Johnson. Christian is back up with a running flip dive to Caster, followed by a handspring kick/brainbuster combination for two on Bowens. Caster tags himself in but Johnson shoves Bowens into him for the crash out to the floor. Bowens is back up with a heck of a right hand, allowing Caster to get the rollup pin at 11:15.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure if the former Acclaimed are going to get back together but I’ll take this over another loss. If nothing else, the division could certainly use the help, though I’m not sold on another old 90s veteran being what it takes to get them back together. If that’s what they’re doing, why not just have Billy Gunn in the role again?

Post match Lynn wants some scissoring but Bowens walks away despite a tease.

The Matriarchy isn’t happy with Luchasaurus being gone but Nick Wayne is ready to go after Christian Cage.

Women’s Tag Team Titles are coming.

Anna Jay and Tay Conti are very excited about the titles being introduced and this is what they have been wanting for years now.

Outrunners/Dalton Castle vs. Corey Sparks/Cowpoke Paul/KM

KM is a good eight inches taller than his partners. Paul (as in COWPOKE Paul) gets taken down by the Outrunners to start and it’s off to KM, who gets suplexed by Castle. The Mega Powers Elbow into the Bang A Rang finishes KM at 1:30. Eh I like it.

Video on Mark Briscoe beating MJF in a table n tacks match at All Out. Now Briscoe is back with the Conglomeration and they’re funny, but they’re no joke.

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Kommander

Fletcher is defending and gets rolled up for a fast two. A sunset flip gets the same on Fletcher, who is right back with a slam to cut Kommander off. Some stomping and another slam give Fletcher two but Kommander kicks right back. The very bouncy springboard takes Fletcher outside and Kommander sends him into the barricade. Fletcher cuts off the charge though and powerbombs him onto the apron twice in a row as we take a break.

We come back with an announcement that Hologram is going to be out of action for “quite a while” so his TNT Title shot is off. Kommander gets two off a tornado DDT but Fletcher knocks him down again. They head to the apron, where Kommander has to escape a brainbuster and Tombstone.

Instead it’s a running headscissors to the floor but Fletcher is right back with a Michinoku Driver for two. Fletcher gets kicked outside for a step up twisting moonsault. Back in and a springboard Canadian Destroyer sets up a 450 for two Cielito Lindo hits raised boots though and Fletcher lawn darts him into the buckle. The brainbuster retains the title at 13:30.

Rating: B. I wasn’t expecting much here and they wound up having a heck of a match, with Kommander doing some amazing high spots but Fletcher kept reeling him in and eventually caught him. Above all else, you can see the star power in Fletcher growing every week and this felt like an important person getting a win. Kommander did his part too and I liked this a good bit.

We look at Hologram being attacked earlier, plus Kyle Fletcher’s win.

Fletcher says this was about reestablishing dominance and he’s just so upset about not facing Hologram. Now he has no one to face but he wants someone to step up to give him a challenge on Dynamite.

And it’s going to be Orange Cassidy.

Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. Hook/Eddie Kingston

Hold on as Hook has talked to Tony Khan and this is now a Texas Tornado match. Sure why not. Hook throws Keith down to start as the other two fight on the floor. Kingston comes back in and gets side slammed by Bill but Hook and Kingston clothesline him out to the floor. Keith gets double shouldered as well but Bill pulls Kingston outside for a ram into the steps as we take a break.

We come back with Hook still in trouble, with Bill hammering away. Schiavone gives us some breaking news: Dynamite will be TWO AND A HALF HOURS this week. Well to be fair, it has been a full week since they’ve gone longer than two hours. Kingston crotches Bill, who pops back up to try a double chokeslam. That’s broken up and a double suplex puts him down for two. Back up and Bill boots Kingston and hits a clothesline for two, only for Kingston to dragon screw leg whip him down. Keith is knocked down as well and the spinning backfist sends him into Redrum for the pin at 10:18.

Rating: C. This was pretty much exactly what you would have expected, as it was a rather unnecessary stipulation with Bill getting to be a wrecking ball until his partner lost. Kingston’s return felt important enough but his stuff in the ring is only so good. At the same time, I guess Kingston is the latest person Hook will be attached to in a desperate attempt to get him over.

The Bang Bang Gang agrees that they need new numbers and Ace Austin comes up. He seems to be the newest member. I still want to know why they aren’t selling Ace Austin playing cards.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Jamie Hayter vs. Julia Hart

Skye Blue is here with Hart. Hayter powers her down to start fast and a big boot drops Hart again. Hart gets thrown into the corner again but bails to the floor, allowing Blue to get in a cheap shot. We take a break and come back with Blue pulling Hayter outside again, only to get suplexed down this time. Hayter sends Hart into the buckle over and over and a dropkick sends her into the corner.

The Saito suplex gives Hayter two and she gives Hart a Samoan drop, which is countered into a crucifix for two. Hayter is right back with a fireman’s carry onto the knee but Hart manages a neckbreaker. Hart kicks her down and this the moonsault for two as Hayter’s foot is on the rope. An Octopus has Hayter in more trouble, which is reversed into a Tombstone for two. Hayterade gives Hayter the pin at 10:47 (because in AEW, you have to kick out of one big move before the pin).

Rating: B-. Nice main event here, with Hayter trying to get back the star power that was absolutely there before she got hurt. At the same time, the Triangle Of Madness is only looking so strong, though you know they’re going to be a factor in the Tag Team Title tournament. Hart’s moonsault still looks awesome though and it’s good to see her use it occasionally.

Post match Blue comes in to jump Hayter, who gets double superkicked. Queen Aminata runs in with a belt for the save. Thekla is here as well and Hayter says she had an idea. There is one simple way to solve this: Blood & Guts! You knew the women would get their own version at some point, which is fine, but PLEASE don’t let it be another 45 minute match which should be half of that at most. Schiavone says it might be on Wednesday, only to say actually it won’t be to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The Fletcher vs. Kommander match was rather good and the main event was fine enough, but dang that stuff with the Death Riders at the start was more than a bit tedious. Collision still feels like it would be a lot better as just an hour long show but that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. Either way, not a bad show here, but it felt rather long multiple times, save for the TNT Title match.

Results
Death Riders b. Matt Menard/Paragon – Stomp to Menard
Death Riders b. Rosario Grillo/Rachael Ellering – Mother’s Milk to Ellering
Anthony Bowens/Max Caster b. Swirl – Right hand to Johnson
Outrunners/Dalton Castle b. KM/Cowpoke Pete/Corey Sparks – Bang A Rang to KM
Kyle Fletcher b. Kommander – Brainbuster
Hook/Eddie Kingston b. Big Bill/Bryan Keith – Redrum to Keith
Jamie Hayter b. Julia Hart – Hayterade

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

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

Dynamite
Date: September 17, 2025
Location: Canada Life Place, London, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Excalibur, Taz

It’s the last night before All Out as we have both Dynamite and Collision airing back to back, albeit with only one hour of the second. That means we could be in for some big stuff this week, as they need to push All Out over the line. The show is only so interesting right now and needs a nice final night of build. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We’re starting with a contract signing for All Out so here are Hangman Page and Kyle Fletcher, with Tony Schiavone running things. Don Callis cuts Schiavone off though and talks about how Page took the title from him by beating Kenny Omega. Now though Callis has a better challenger for the title and no one can do anything to a star like Fletcher.

Page talks about being tired of all the interference in his title matches and he sees the potential in Fletcher. That’s why he wants Fletcher to be a star of the future without the Family helping him. Page has a new rule in the contract: if the Family interferes or if Fletcher gets disqualified, he loses the TNT Title.

Callis panics but Fletcher is more than fine with the terms. He knows he’s better than Page and signs but Page talks about how he knows what Fletcher is feeling right now. What Fletcher doesn’t know is how it will feel after All Out and that’s how his future will be defined. Page signs as well and we should be done but Fletcher promises to leave as a double champion. Violence is promised for later tonight but until then, say his full name. While I don’t believe that the Family won’t get involved, Fletcher has more than held his own in these promos and that’s a good sign for his future.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley in a coffin match.

Jon Moxley vs. Roderick Strong

The Death Riders are here with Moxley while Strong has Kyle O’Reilly. Strong starts fast by dropkicking Daniel Garcia on the floor but Moxley goes outside to rake Strong’s eyes. Strong drops Moxley onto the barricade and it’s time to chop it out back inside. Another dropkick sends Moxley outside and we get a double staredown on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Strong striking away and hitting some suplexes for two. Moxley cuts off an exchange of strikes and gets two off a piledriver. The cross armbreaker is broken up as Strong makes the rope. They go up top with Strong hitting a super belly to back faceplant for two of his own. Garcia grabs Strong’s boot so O’Reilly jumps him, which allows Wheeler Yuta to come out and trip Strong. The Paradigm Shift into the bulldog choke finishes Strong at 12:48.

Rating: B-. This was about all you would expect from this match and that’s not the most thrilling thing in the world. Strong is able to have a good match with some hard hitting shots but he’s pretty much never a threat to win anything important. Moxley is on his way to a big grudge so it wasn’t so much about if the Death Riders would cost Strong but rather when they would do it.

Video on MJF in a tables and thumbtacks match. This includes MJF going to yell at Tony Khan about the match but Khan yelled back and said no. MJF suggested he’ll kill Briscoe.

Bobby Lashley vs. Toa Liona

Their respective seconds and thirds are here too. They fight over a lockup to start and Lashley powers him into the corner to hammer away. Lashley charges into a boot in the corner though and they go to the apron, where Liona hits a Samoan drop. We take a break and come back with Lashley managing an electric chair out of the corner. They trade clotheslines until Lashley hits an overhead belly to belly. Liona rolls outside to avoid the spear and everyone else gets into a brawl. Back in and Liona hits a Pounce for two but Lashley is back with the Hurt Lock for the tap at 10:02.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure if I’d have the Hurt Syndicate’s representative win here, as the team feels like a major favorite going into the six man in the first place. It was nice to see Lashley have someone who could match him size and power wise though, even if Liona got knocked out at the end. Still maybe not the best way to go in the end, as the Gates Of Agony hardly have the best results in the first place, but maybe there’s a surprise on Saturday.

Post match the Hurt Syndicate easily clears the ring.

Tony Schiavone brings out Adam Copeland and Christian Cage for a chat and yeah they’re crazy over in their home country. They’re joined by FTR, with Stokely Hathaway recapping their issues. Hathaway makes it clear that Copeland will be heavily fined if things get physical here. Wheeler talks about meeting Copeland 16 years ago when he was a huge star and then he and Harwood became a legendary team.

Harwood talks about the Canadians being a great team but it was only because their competition was mediocre. We hear about the greatness of FTR until Copeland cuts him off. Copeland talks about how he helped Wheeler, even letting him live in his apartment when Wheeler was homeless.

Yes FTR is in the discussion of the greatest tag teams ever. Copeland and Cage have been there for twenty five years. They pioneered a match that became a pay per view. Cage disagrees about the team name and says that a $500,000 fine for jumping FTR right now is worth it because he’s right. The brawl is on and FTR is cleared out. FTR vs. Copeland and Cage is a dream match on paper, but the build for this has been draining my interest in the match more and more every week.

The Young Bucks are back in suits and pay off production to make their entrance better this week. As an apology, they give Renee Paquette $10,000.

Young Bucks vs. Bang Bang Gang

Qualifying match for the Tag Team Title ladder match at All Out. Matt and Robinson start things off with Matt working on an armbar. The Bucks get to pose for a bit and it’s a double clothesline to take them down. Gunn comes in to slug Nick down but gets caught with a neckbreaker. Matt adds a slingshot hilo and we take a break.

We come back with Gunn missing a diving tag, allowing Matt to knee him in the face for two. For some reason Nick grabs some of the money, which is knocked away by Gunn, who grabs a tilt-a-whirl slam. Robinson comes in to clean house before it’s already back to Gunn (Danielson thinks it’s too early) but Robinson comes back in rather quickly.

A slingshot X Factor hits Robinson but Nick misses a moonsault and gets taken down by a Fameasser on the floor. Back in and an assisted German suplex sets up a double basement superkick for two on Robinson. The EVP Trigger is broken up and a Downward Spiral drops Nick for two. We get a pinfall reversal sequence for two each, followed by a TK Driver to pin Robinson at 11:39.

Rating: B-. The Bucks winning again isn’t the most thrilling result in the world, but I can live with it over the remnants of the Bang Bang Gang. The group has been absolutely decimated so having these guys lose to the Bucks is hardly a stretch. I’m not sure what is next for the Bucks, but I’ll be fine as long as they don’t get the titles back anytime soon.

Video on the eight woman tag on Saturday’s Kickoff Show.

Unified Title Qualifying Match: Mascara Dorada vs. The Beast Mortos

They trade armdrags to start and Mortos runs him over with a shoulder for no count. An anklescissors into an enziguri has Mortos in trouble but he’s back with an even bigger shoulder. Dorada is sent outside for a big corkscrew dive and we take a break. We come back with Mortos missing a charge into the corner and getting taken down by an armdrag. They go to the apron where Dorada hits a Canadian Destroyer, followed by his own big corkscrew dive.

Back in and Dorada misses a 450 and gets flipped into a piledriver for two. Dorada reverses a torture rack into a crucifix bomb but Mortos catches him on top. They both go up top and a super anklescissors brings Mortos back down for one. Dorada is back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker into a shooting star press to pin Mortos at 10:03.

Rating: B. Power vs. speed works just about every time and Dorada is one of the better stars from CMLL, so this worked well for a good match. I still have no idea why the title match needs to be a triple threat but it’s the kind of choice that feels like it’s being overthought. That being said, at least Dorada had a heck of a performance here, even if it’s over Mortos, who never wins anything important.

Post match Kazuchika Okada and Konosuke Takeshita come out for a staredown. Dorada dives onto Okada and glares at Takeshita. The dive helped, but Dorada in the background while Takeshita and Okada stared at each other was a perfect representation of this match in one visual.

Here is Toni Storm for a chat and she lists off her usual nicknames. She’s still the champ, but it isn’t clear how long that will last. She has spent every day of her reign like it is her last and loved every second of it. If you aren’t willing to put your life on the line every time you get in the ring, you ain’t s***. If any of those three women want her title, be ready to burn her body and smoke the ashes. Jamie Hayter comes in to say she’s coming for the title because Storm invited her into the match. Kris Statlander comes in to say she’ll win but Storm says “trim your bushes b******” because they’re going all out.

Thekla vs. Queen Aminata

Anything goes. The brawl is on outside to start with Aminata getting the better of things and throwing some weapons inside. Thekla uses those weapons to beat the fire out of her and knocks Aminata over the barricade. We take a break and come back with Aminata hitting a hanging Twist Of Fate for two. Thekla hits a spear to send Aminata into an open spear for two and they slug it out from their knees.

Aminata’s big headbutt gets two as Dynamite officially ends and Collision starts. Thekla sits up to escape the Tree of Woe and trashcan lids Aminata in the head. Aminata cuts off the spear though and a fisherman’s buster onto some chairs gets two. A middle rope legdrop misses though and Thekla Stomps her onto some chairs for the pin at 10:29.

Rating: B-. It’s another odd choice to have Thekla doing this side feud with Aminata while she’s on her way to the title match, but it hasn’t exactly made her feel like a big deal. Thekla has some appeal to her and she could be a threat to the title, but it’s another case where it feels like AEW is trying to focus on too much at the same time and it’s hurting things.

Post match Thekla calls out Toni Storm so the brawl is on, with Jamie Hayter, Kris Statlander and the rest of the Triangle Of Madness joining in. Statlander leaves and the Triangle is chased off, leaving Hayter and Storm to have a big staredown. We’ll wrap this show up there.

Overall Rating: C+. There were some good matches here but man alive All Out does not feel important. This was the bigger portion of the go home show and I’m not exactly interested in seeing the pay per view at all. Hopefully they find something better with Collision, but it’s not exactly a promising sign so far. What we got here was fine, but it didn’t help All Out that much and that’s not great to see.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Roderick Strong – Bulldog choke
Bobby Lashley b. Toa Liona – Hurt Lock
Young Bucks b. Bang Bang Gang – TK Driver to Robinson
Mascara Dorada b. The Beast Mortos – Shooting star press
Thekla b. Queen Aminata – Stomp onto chairs

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

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

Collision
Date: September 6, 2025
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Matt Menard

We’re still in Philadelphia and still on the way towards All Out, which only has so much officially set. That’s going to need to be addressed, though I’m not sure how much is going to take place here. The big feature match this week is another All-Star tag match, this time including eight women. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia

Marina Shafir is here with Moxley. Garcia takes him into the corner to start and Moxley ducks into the ropes, where he dares Garcia to hit him. Moxley kicks him in the back but Garcia is right back with the forearms in the corner. That’s broken up and Moxley goes after the fingers before going after the head with right hands. Moxley takes him to another corner and keeps up the beating but Garcia is out with a dragon screw legwhip.

Garcia sits down on the leg and the wraps it around the post. The Figure Four around the post keeps Moxley in trouble until Shafir sends Garcia into the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Moxley heading to the apron, where Garcia elbows his way out of a fireman’s carry. Garcia piledrives him onto the apron (Moxley is back on his feet in thirty seconds) and Slugs away back inside as the fans greatly approve.

Moxley’s quick Sharpshooter attempt is countered into a rollup for two and Garcia hits a top rope superplex for two more. Moxley is right back with a Death Rider for two of his own but the bulldog choke is countered into the Dragontamer. The rope is grabbed so they pull themselves up and yell at each other, which fires Garcia up. Moxley’s suplex over the top leaves them both crashing before they get back inside for a slugout. Garcia’s rollup is reversed into Moxley’s rollup for the pin at 16:41.

Rating: B. The fans helped carry this one as they wanted to see Garcia get the big win. That being said, Garcia losing makes for a more interesting situation as he’s going to need to go back to the drawing board again and perhaps actually change something for a change. Moxley is all but guaranteed for a big match against Darby Allin at All Out so the result makes perfect sense for him.

Post match Garcia looks crushed and takes the mic from Tony Schiavone. He’s tired of making the same mistakes but he keeps getting back up. It’s been a good five years but sometimes good isn’t enough.

We look at the Dynamite main event and post match beatdown, with Kenny Omega being laid out by the Don Callis Family.

We run down the rest of tonight’s card.

Big Bill talks about hitting rock bottom in this building and the fans here gave him nothing. That doesn’t surprise him because he comes from a real city in New York. Someone else around here does that too, so he’s officially calling out….Eddie Kingston.

FTR vs. Tommy Billington/Adam Priest

Stokely Hathaway is here with FTR. Priest and Wheeler go to the mat to start with neither being able to get the advantage. They try it again and that gets the same result so Wheeler chops him instead. Harwood comes in to headlock Billington but Priest comes back in for a double elbow. Some clubberin in the corner has Priest in trouble but Billington makes the save. Stereo snap suplexes have FTR in trouble so they slap Priest as we take a break.

We come back with Priest and Billington cleaning house, with Billington getting a crossface. That’s broken up and Priest is dropped across the barricade, leaving Billington to miss the Swan Dive. The PowerPlex is broken up so Billington and Priest hit stereo Swan Dives for two on Harwood. Back up and Harwood blasts Priest with a left hand and FTR grab stereo German suplexes for two each. Billington is sent outside and the PowerPlex finishes Priest at 14:04.

Rating: C+. The action was good, but this was the wrong way for the match to go. FTR is on the way to a huge grudge match in two weeks. Why are they needing almost fifteen minutes to beat a makeshift team against a jobber in Priest and someone coming off a big injury in Billington? There’s no need to have it go this long other than to fill in TV time and that’s not a good thing.

Post match the beating continues as Hathaway talks trash about Adam Copeland and Christian Cage.

The Outrunners are getting back to nature but run into….some Boys. They also find Dalton Castle, who is ready to break some hearts. Well that’s random. Awesome, but random.

Jon Moxley talks about how simple minded it is to think that belts matter and now he’s ready to get rid of Darby Allin for good. The match is on for All Out with Moxley promising to put him in the ground.

Triangle Of Madness/Megan Bayne vs. Toni Storm/Mina Shirakawa/Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron

Wheeler Yuta comes in to offer some advice to Statlander but realizes he’s not wanted here and leaves. Mina slides away from Thekla to start and does the dance but Thekla is waiting for her with the spider pose. Hart comes in and gets splashed by Cameron, followed by Mina’s sling blade for two. Everything breaks down and Bayne hits a middle rope clothesline as we take a break.

We come back with Hart tripping Mina down and hitting a standing moonsault for two. Mina fights out of trouble and ties up Blue’s leg while DDTing Hart at the same time. Storm comes in to clean house as the fans certainly approve. Statlander helps Mina hit a big dive to the floor and it’s time for the parade of knockdowns. Statlander clotheslines Bayne, who pops back up with a spear. We settle down to Blue and Cameron trading forearms until Hart gets an Octopus on Statlander. That’s reversed into an electric chair faceplant and a Wheeler Yuta seatbelt pins Hart at 12:03.

Rating: B. This got rather awesome by the end, with the tag structure being thrown out for the sake of everyone going nuts and hitting whatever they thought of as fast as they could. It continues to be the junk food style that AEW uses very often, but dang it is entertaining. I’ve long since stopped caring about the Statlander/Yuta deal but it’s still going anyway.

Post match the fight continues with the Triangle laying everyone out (again). Jamie Hayter runs in for the save so Storm asks if they want to get nuts. She’s ready for Hayter. Thekla and Statlander at All Out.

Video on Ace Austin.

The Bang Bang Gang is tired of all the bad luck so they’re done with the cardboard cutouts. Now it’s time to find out what is next. This should come together sooner than later.

Mercedes Mone isn’t happy with Riho, so how about Riho and Alex Windsor face Mone and Riho’s mentor Emi Sakura on Dynamite?

Here is the Don Callis Family (with Kyle Fletcher rocking a pink suit) to brag about what happened on Dynamite. Josh Alexander is ready to take out Hangman Page in their grudge match next week. Fletcher isn’t impressed with Mark Briscoe, who won’t win tonight anyway, so now he needs to find out what is next. Maybe he’ll just win the World Title instead. Say at All Out. It’s where Page got his first World Title shot so Fletcher sees it as poetic.

The red Hologram is coming soon.

Paragon and the Conglomeration is in the back, with Kyle O’Reilly thinking it’s awesome that WE’RE CLONING LUCHADORS. Roderick Strong doesn’t want to hear it and is happy that Tomohiro Ishii is going back to Japan. O’Reilly says they’ll get back together and conglomerate later.

Anthony Bowens is bragging about what he’s been doing lately but Jerry Lynn comes in to say Bowens has been slipping. It’s time to find out what is missing.

Mark Briscoe vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Josh Alexander is here with Takeshita…who sends him to the back because he has this on his own. That’s another sign for Takeshita. They fight over arm control to start with Takeshita sending him into the corner and we take an early break. We come back with Takeshita hitting a hanging DDT to the floor and the chinlock goes on back inside. Briscoe fights up as one tends to do out of a chinlock, setting up a fisherman’s buster for two.

A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two and we get a quick breaker. Takeshita sends him outside for one heck of a flip dive but Briscoe low bridges him to the floor. The apron Blockbuster connects for Briscoe and a sliding lariat gets two back inside. A double clothesline leaves them both down and we take another break. We come back with Briscoe winning an exchange of forearms and hitting a Death Valley Driver.

The Froggy Bow is broken up so Briscoe gives him a sunset bomb and now the Froggy Bow…hits raised knees. Takeshita hits a Helluva Kick but Briscoe drops him with a hard lariat for two more. The Jay Driller is blocked and Takeshita hits a kneeling tombstone for another near fall. Briscoe is taken up top but headbutts his way out of a superplex. Callis offers a distraction so here is MJF to shove Briscoe off the top. Raging Fire gives Takeshita the pin at 17:56.

Rating: B+. This got awesome rather quickly and that’s not a surprise at all. I’m a bit surprised that Briscoe lost as it seemed like they were setting up Briscoe vs. Fletcher at All Out. Now it seems to be Briscoe vs. MJF, which should work rather well too. Good stuff here, with Takeshita continuing to be outstanding.

Post match Takeshita is NOT pleased with the interference but Briscoe and MJF have to be held apart. MJF says pick the time and the place and even the stipulation. Briscoe picks All Out and he’ll get back to him on the stipulation.

Overall Rating: B+. Pretty awesome show here with the wrestling being a strong highlight. There was nothing close to bad on the whole show and I was rather wrong about nothing being set up for All Out. This was one of the better Collisions in a good while and I had a heck of a time with it, which is always a nice surprise.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Daniel Garcia – Rollup
FTR b. Adam Priest/Tommy Billington – PowerPlex to Priest
Kris Statlander/Harley Cameron/Toni Storm/Mina Shirakawa b. Triangle Of Madness/Megan Bayne – Seatbelt to Hart
Konosuke Takeshita b. Mark Briscoe – Raging Fire

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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Collision
Date: July 31, 2025
Location: Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re wrapping up the run in the Ballroom and the shows have been good enough while they’ve lasted. This week is going to include quite the title match, as Dustin Rhodes is defending the TNT Title against Kyle Fletcher in a street fight. That is a big enough match and we should be in for a nice show so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We start fast, with the Death Riders jumping a security guard. Jon Moxley talks about how the team attacked Darby Allin a few months ago and wants him out here right now. Cue Allin the crowd and the team goes after him. More on this later it seems.

We look back at Hangman Page retaining the AEW World Title over Jon Moxley last night on Dynamite.

#1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament First Round: Bandido/Brody King vs. Gates Of Agony

Kaun shoulders Bandido down to start, earning himself a nip up right back. Bandido kicks Kaun into the corner and it’s off to Liona vs. King for the power showdown. They trade running shoulders until King hits a running clothesline to the floor. King drops Kaun as well and then slams Bandido onto him for two. Back up and the Gates clear the ring as we take a quick break.

We come back with Bandido still in trouble but he manages to kick Liona down and tag King. House is quickly cleaned before it’s right back to Bandido for stereo dives to the floor. Back in and a frog splash gives Bandido two on Liona with Kaun making a save. Kaun’s superbomb gets two more on Bandido but King hits a Death Valley Driver to plant Liona on the apron. King isn’t done as he superplexes Kaun and flips Bandido into a 450 for the pin at 12:43.

Rating: B-. This got going and I can go with a makeshift team getting to make a nice run in this kind of tournament. I don’t believe that Bandido and King are going to move on after this, but they looked good against a team like the Gates. They were all working and moving out there, which made for a rather nice opener.

Don Callis, with Lance Archer, is ready for Kyle Fletcher to win the TNT Title tonight. That gives them the power and the titles but Shane Taylor comes in to protest (calling Callis “Vigo The Carpathian looking”). Archer and Taylor are about to brawl but Callis seems to have an idea.

We look back at last night’s MJF/Mark Briscoe argument.

The Paragon is upset by the loss of Adam Cole but give the Conglomeration a pep talk.

The Death Riders are looking for Darby Allin, who jumps Jon Moxley and puts a towel over Moxley’s face.

Kris Statlander vs. Lena Kross

Kross is rather tall but Statlander shoulders her down anyway. Back up and Kross grabs a German suplex but gets electric chaired into a faceplant. Statlander pulls her into an armbar with a headscissors for the tap at 1:26. Well Kross was impressive while she lasted. She just didn’t last very long.

Post match Statlander poses and Willow Nightingale comes out for her match, though they pass without issue.

Willow Nightingale vs. Thekla

The rest of the Triangle Of Madness is here with Thekla. Nightingale grabs a waistlock to start and sends her flying into the corner without much trouble. Thekla spiders away from a clothesline and we have a rather odd faceoff. Nightingale cuts off a spin with a backbreaker and nails a big Pounce to send Thekla out to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Thekla grabbing an Upside Down choke, with the rest of the Triangle approving. Nightingale gets back up and hits a middle rope dropkick, followed by a clothesline on the apron. Back in and Thekla catches her on top, setting up a heck of a spider superplex. Thekla hits a nice dive to the floor but Nightingale is right back up. Julia Hart offers a distraction though and Thekla drops Nightingale with a spear. The running stomp finishes for Thekla 11:15.

Rating: C+. This match was designed to keep the feud going for at least another match, with Nightingale getting distracted by the numbers game. That’s going to result in her needing some friends to help fight the Madness and we should be in for something decent as a result. If nothing else, at least Thekla won something, which she has been needing to do more often.

Post match the Triangle beats Nightingale down, with Penelope Ford joining in on the fun. Megan Bayne loads up a powerbomb but Queen Aminata (with a chair) leads Tay Melo and Anna Jay out for the save.

Billy Gunn isn’t sure what happened with Anthony Bowens last week when Bowens interrupts. Bowens says Gunn hasn’t contacted him since last week and yells a lot, with Gunn saying he doesn’t know who Bowens is anymore.

Swerve Strickland is happy with taking everything away from the Young Bucks. The Bucks are still trying to abuse the power they have though and Strickland isn’t going to let that happen. He’s going to be there to stop Kazuchika Okada too.

Don Callis and Okada don’t think much of Strickland, or Prince Nana for that matter. Okada is willing to face Strickland at Forbidden Door and the match is set.

#1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament Semifinals: FTR vs. Bang Bang Gang

Schiavone is impressive, as he has moved from calling this the first of four semifinals earlier in the night to the final semifinal here. Wilder and Robinson start things off before quickly going over for the double tag. Harwood grabs a headlock on Gunn and then shoulders him down for a bonus. Robinson comes back in to send Harwood into the corner but Harwood is fine enough to hit an elbow to Gunn’s face. Everything breaks down and FTR is double clotheslined to the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Wheeler missing a Bronco Buster but Harwood grabs an abdominal stretch on Gunn. That’s broken up and Gunn gets over for the tag, which the referee doesn’t see so the beating continues. A Hart Attack gets two on Gunn and he’s sent outside, where Wheeler misses a dive into the barricade. Back in and it’s off to Robinson to clean house.

Stokely Hathaway tries to help on a rollup but the referee breaks it up, allowing Robinson to get two off a sunset flip. A PowerPlex gets the same on Harwood, with Wheeler making the save. Robinson’s spinning Downward Spiral gets a very close two on Harwood and he knocks Wheeler into the Fameasser. Hathaway distracts Robinson though and Wheeler sends him into the steps. Back in and Wheeler gets a cheap shot, allowing Harwood to roll Gunn up for the pin at 15:23.

Rating: B. It shouldn’t be a surprise that FTR and the Gang had a good match, as they had a great one a year or two ago. They work well together and that was the case again here, even with the roles reversed. FTR has felt destined to make the finals and now they have, which shouldn’t be stunning, but I’m not sure how it’s going to go in the finals. Either way, pretty awesome stuff here, which is no shock at all.

We get a Technique By Taz video on Athena’s O Face. Good stuff, as usual.

Athena brags about pinning Toni Storm last night and now she is ready to sign the contract for Forbidden Door. Works for me.

Here is Max Caster for his latest open challenge, plus an insult at Anthony Bowens (who is apparently a boring, bland b****).

Max Caster vs. Rush

Caster gets smart and runs to the floor, with the chase burning off the first minute. Some laps around the ring take off even more time but Rush goes outside to drop Caster. Rush sends him into the barricade and pounds Caster down, only for Caster to come back with a slingshot dive. Back in and Rush gives him the cocky running boot in the corner as we have less than a minute to go. Another toss sends Caster into the corner and Rush chokes away but spends too long posing as time expires at 5:00.

Rating: C. This was more of an angle than a match and I’m actually digging the idea of Caster turning after all of those losses. He’s almost goofily sympathetic and that could make for a nice run. If nothing else, the pre-match promo should mean we’re on the way to something else with Bowens, and that could be fun.

Post match Rush gives him the Bull’s Horns so the rest of LFI runs in for the beatdown. Jet Speed and AR Fox make the save. Caster is laid out but raises a fist from the mat.

Mercedes Mone has won a women’s title in Poland. She’ll be back next week.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Skyflight

Sky knees away at Taylor to start but gets powered into the corner for his efforts. It’s quickly off to Bravo, who gets elbowed down by Top Flight. Dean trips Darius down though and Taylor drops a leg on the apron as we take a break. We come back with Dante cleaning house, including a high crossbody for two. Dante has to roll away from some double teaming and it’s back to Sky. Things pick up again and a quick TKO finishes Bravo at 6:54.

Rating: C+. I’ve always liked Sky and Top Flight so this is a pleasant surprise. It’s not like there are teams beating the door down to come after the Opps, or possibly even the Sons Of Texas in Ring Of Honor. At the same time, Taylor and company losing again is almost funny, as it’s become a running joke at this point.

Darby Allin tries to dump Jon Moxley out of a fire escape but security does their job to break it up.

TNT Title: Dustin Rhodes vs. Kyle Fletcher

Fletcher is challenging in a street fight. They go outside rather quickly and Rhodes knocks a kendo stick away, only to get DDTed onto the steps. It’s time for a table as Rhodes is already busted open. Fletcher misses a dive and crashes through the table, allowing Rhodes to grab another table. Before we get there though, it’s the cowbell to the head for two but Fletcher sends him through the table at ringside.

We take a break and come back with Fletcher busted open as well and using the cowbell to hammer on Rhodes’ knee. Rhodes fights up and hits Cross Rhodes before unloading with a chair to the back. Fletcher superkicks said chair into Rhodes’ face, setting up a jumping Tombstone onto an open chair for two. A third table is set up but Rhodes catches him on top with a super Canadian Destroyer. It’s time for a glove loaded up with thumbtacks, meaning the Claw can go on.

Fletcher breaks that up and brings in the bag of thumbtacks (of course), only to get powerslammed onto them for two. Rhodes pours the tacks into Fletcher’s trunks for Shattered Dreams but Don Callis slips Fletcher the screwdriver. Fletcher stabs the screwdriver into Rhodes’ knee (it sticks) but the doctor gets it out. A brainbuster is countered into a small package to give Rhodes two, followed by the brainbuster onto the tacks to give Fletcher the title at 16:42.

Rating: B. They beat each other up and it’s rather nice to see Rhodes lose the title so soon. Fletcher winning the title is what should have happened and hopefully this lets them give Rhodes his big moment and start to wrap up his time as a focal point. It made for a big time feel to the main event, and at least Rhodes didn’t hold the title very long.

Post match Fletcher smashes a chair over Rhodes’ knee against the post, leaving Rhodes to be taken out on a stretcher. If this is how they get both ROH titles off of him….honestly I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.

Overall Rating: B. The two rather good matches carried this one and they did at least set up some matches for Forbidden Door. I’m more interested in the pay per view than I was coming in and that’s a sign of a good show. This needs to be the first of more than a few focused on Forbidden Door though, as the show is needing a lot more work.

Results
Bandido/Brody King b. Gates Of Agony – Assisted 450 to Kaun
Kris Statlander b. Lena Kross – Headscissors armbar
Thekla b. Willow Nightingale – Spear
FTR b. Bang Bang Gang – Rollup to Gunn
Skyflight b. Shane Taylor Promotions – TKO to Bravo
Kyle Fletcher b. Dustin Rhodes – Brainbuster onto thumbtacks

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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Collision
Date: July 26, 2025
Location: Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We are less than a month away from Forbidden Door and that means we might be getting some of the card set up this week. If nothing else, we are probably going to be seeing more of the #1 contenders tag team tournament, which means we might be finding out who is actually in the thing. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

TNT Title: Dustin Rhodes vs. Lee Moriarty

Rhodes (and only Rhodes) is defending. Feeling out process to start, including an exchange of wristlocks. Moriarty grabs a quick Border City Stretch to send Rhodes bailing over to the ropes but he’s back up with a Cactus Clothesline. Back in and an armdrag sends Moriarty into an armbar, which doesn’t last very long. Moriarty is right back out and grabs a shinbreaker to send Rhodes out to the floor. That doesn’t last long as Moriarty comes back in to work on the leg.

We take a break and come back with Rhodes kicking him out to the floor. Back in and Rhodes snaps off a powerslam before hitting an atomic drop. That bangs up Rhodes’ knee, though he’s fine enough to hit a quick Cross Rhodes. Moriarty gets his foot on the ropes for the break so Rhodes plants him in the middle for two more.

A shot to Rhodes’ leg cuts him down again though and it’s an ankle lock with a grapevine. Rhodes makes the rope again and avoids a boot in the corner. Shattered Dreams doesn’t work so Moriarty hits a running boot, followed by a spinning butterfly suplex for two. An attempt at a Figure Four is reversed into a small package to retain the title at 16:35.

Rating: B. Nice match here, though I could have gone without another champion losing. Rhodes getting a win over a lower name is ok as odds are he won’t be holding the title for very long. I still have no idea why he needs to hold all three titles at once, but at least he didn’t pick up a fourth one here.

Post match here are Don Callis and Kyle Fletcher, with the latter saying he wants the TNT Title. Rhodes agrees, but he wants it next week in a Chicago Street Fights. Rhodes: “I’ll be your Huckleberry b****.”

The Bang Bang Gang is ready to face Bryan Keith and Big Bill in the tournament tonight. Yeah one of them is injured, but next man up.

Tony Schiavone pays tribute to Hulk Hogan.

Toni Storm says no one goes as deep as she does and she wants to see Alex Windsor beat Athena. Storm doesn’t think Athena has the ovaries to take the AEW Women’s Title from her.

#1 Contenders Tag Team Tournament First Round: Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. Bang Bang Gang

Robinson and Keith start things off with Robinson working on the arm. Gunn (Austin) comes in for a neckbreaker but it’s off to Bill to easily shove him down. Bill misses an elbow though and Gunn jabs away, only to get dropped with a shot to the face. A half crab keeps Gunn in trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Gunn jumping over Keith out of the corner but his knee is in bad shape. A lariat puts Keith down but Bill is in to cut off the tag attempt. Gunn manages to fight his way out of the corner though and the big tag brings Robinson in to clean house. An atomic drop into a backsplash hits Keith and the cannonball in the corner gets two. Bill boots Robinson in the face though and Keith gets two off a suplex. Keith goes up top but Robinson hurricanranas him down. That’s reversed into a sunset flip, only for Gunn to turn it over and give Robinson the pin at 12:19.

Rating: C+. Nice enough match here, though it’s kind of a shame to see Keith and Bill go from being a good team to losing to a fairly makeshift team here. At the same time, this tournament has me worried that we’re coming up on another FTR vs. Young Bucks final, with the Bucks going on to the title match. Maybe it’s too early for that to be the case, but it seems like a real possibility.

Video on the Outrunners vs. the Young Bucks.

Don Callis interrupts a Shane Taylor interview and talks about tonight’s match for $400,000, because we have to do another match for money as that’s the hot thing at the moment.

Here is Max Caster for his next open challenge.

Max Caster vs. Anthony Bowens

Bowens takes him into the corner to start so Caster hides in the corner, with the fans cheering for Caster. Some shots to the back of the head have Caster in more trouble and Bowens yells at him, followed by the running Fameasser. The Mollywop finishes Caster at 2:07.

Post match Bowens beats on him even more but Billy Gunn breaks it up. An angry Bowens leaves on his own. So we took that long to get to a Bowens heel turn after he was upset about losing so much and he turns after winning? Am I getting that right?

AR Fox interrupts the Matriarchy and wants to face Nick Wayne. Kip Sabian thinks it’s a good idea and the match is on.

Don Callis Family/Infantry vs. Outrunners/Tomohiro Ishii/Hologram

For $400,000 and Don Callis is on commentary. Bravo’s chops in the corner just annoy Ishii, who runs him over without much trouble. Hologram comes in to wristdrag Hechicero, followed by an anklescissors into the corner. The Outrunners clean house but Floyd wants to face Archer on his own. Hologram tries a springboard hurricanrana but Archer pulls it out of the air and powerbombs him into the Outrunners (ouch).

We take a break and come back with Archer knocking some people off the apron, only for Hologram to get the tag off to Ishii anyway. Hologram comes back in with a top rope double stomp to Hechicero and everything breaks down again. Magnum drops the Infantry and Hologram adds a nice top rope hurricanrana to Hechicero. The Mega Powers Elbow hits Dean but Callis gets off commentary for a cheap shot. Cue Paragon to chase an interfering Taylor off and Total Recall finishes Dean at 11:42.

Rating: B-. Ok. What else am I supposed to think here? It was the same perfectly good eight man tag that we’ve seen a bunch of times around here, with one team winning money which changes nothing for their status in AEW. Commentary mentioned that Hologram has been around for fifty three weeks. The fact that he is undefeated and still in this spot isn’t exactly a great sign.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Jon Moxley on Dynamite.

Triangle Of Madness vs. Mazzerati/Laynie Luck/Rachael Ellering

That would be Skye Blue/Thekla/Julia Hart. We start fast with Hart hitting Old School on Luck and it’s off to Thekla for a running shot in the ropes. Hart’s standing moonsault hits raised knees though and it’s Ellering coming in for a backsplash. Everything breaks down and Thekla spears Luck on the floor. An assisted swinging Rock Bottom plants Mazzerati and Thekla hits a Stomp for the pin at 3:11.

Rating: C. I was worried that this was going to be a long match to make the jobbers look good but instead the new team smashed through them. We’ve seen all of the members of the Triangle (AEW likes that name) before so it’s nice to see them getting this kind of a win in their first match together. Not exactly a thrilling match, but it’s how this should have gone.

Post match Queen Aminata runs in with a chair but Megan Bayne takes her out.

Stokely Hathaway doesn’t think much of Cope coming after him but promises FTR will win the tournament.

Paragon interrupts Hologram and Tomohiro Ishii’s interview and the Conglomeration seems to be back together. Hologram and Ishii look…confused?

Nick Wayne/Kip Sabian vs. AR Fox/Angelico

Fox takes over on Wayne to start and drags him into the corner so Angelico can crank on his arm. A Mother Wayne distraction lets Nick get in an elbow though and we take a break. We come back with Angelico and Sabian knocking each other down, allowing Fox to come in and clean house. A slingshot dropkick in the corner sets up a rolling cutter and no one can believe the kickout. Sabian is back in with a missile dropkick to Angelico as everything breaks down. Nick Killswitches Angelico for the pin at 8:10.

Rating: C+. I continue to have no idea why Sabian is around, as he’s a completely forgettable star who was mostly just a warm body here. At the same time, it seems like we could be setting up a big Christian Cage vs. Nick Wayne match and that’s….only kind of interesting at best. Angelico being thrown in there was a bit weird but Fox was a highlight reel, as usual.

Kris Statlander goes on a heck of a rant about how Willow Nightingale hasn’t thanked her for anything. Now Statlander is going to be herself because you can’t stop Stat. She was bringing the fire here.

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Alex Windsor vs. Athena

Athena, with Billie Starkz, is defending. Windsor takes her into the corner to start and they go to the mat for a quick standoff. Athena hits her in the face and poses a bit, only to get armdragged into a basement dropkick. Windsor gets in a shot to the back of the head and they head to the apron for a chop off. Athena plants her onto said apron and we take a break.

We come back with Windsor getting in a shot of her own for a knockdown, followed by a running clothesline for the same. Athena bites the leg to get out of a powerbomb and rolls into a Koji Clutch. That’s reversed into a rollup to give Windsor two and she powerbombs Athena out of the corner. A faceplant on the floor has Athena in more trouble and Windsor sends Starkz into the steps. The distraction lets Athena come back with a running dropkick before knocking her off the barricade. Back in and the O Face retains the title at 12:20.

Rating: B-. Windsor was a good enough challenger for a basic televised title defense, but what matters the most here is getting Athena on the bigger stage. She has gone from a good hand to an absolute star during her Ring Of Honor title reign. I could go for seeing her winning the title from Storm, though we could be waiting a bit for that to happen.

Post match Athena and Starkz go after Windsor again but Toni Storm runs in for the brawl. The running hip attack sets up the chickenwing but Starkz makes the save. Windsor is up again and the villains are knocked to the floor to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Well, it was a show featuring a bunch of Ring Of Honor stars and champions, with the Athena/Storm stuff being the highlight. As usual, Collision only feels somewhat important and you would probably be better off just reading a recap. Next week’s show will be back on Thursday and hopefully things pick up a bit. It’s absolutely not a bad show in any way, but it only matters so much in the grand scheme of AEW.

Results
Dustin Rhodes b. Lee Moriarty – Small package
Bang Bang Gang b. Big Bill/Bryan Keith – Rollup to Keith
Anthony Bowens b. Max Caster – Mollywop
Tomohiro Ishii/Hologram/Outrunners b. Infantry/Don Callis Family – Total Recall to Dean
Triangle Of Madness b. Mazzerati/Laynie Luck/Rachael Ellering – Stomp to Mazzerati
Nick Wayne/Kip Sabian b. Angelico/AR Fox – Killswitch to Angelico
Athena b. Alex Windsor – O Face

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: November 13, 2024
Location: Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re closing in on Full Gear and the big story continues to be the Death Riders taking over everything. That changed a bit last weekend though as Orange Cassidy and friends stood up to the villains, with Cassidy himself scaring Jon Moxley off. The rest of the show could use some time of their own though so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Christian Cage/Hangman Page vs. Bang Bang Gang

Cage has the Patriarchy here with him. White backs Page up against the ropes to start and elbows him in the face but Cage tags himself in. Robinson comes in as well and flips Cage off but Cage manages to send him outside. Nick Wayne gets in a cheap shot on the floor and the slow beating continues. Cue Hook to choke Wayne over the barricade and drag him into the crowd though, allowing Robinson to hit a reverse DDT on the floor. Back in and the tag brings in White for a reverse DDT on Cage, plus a suplex into the corner to Page.

Everything breaks down and Robinson gets crotched on top, followed by a triangle clothesline to White. A super all away slam brings Robinson down for two but White is back in. Cage’s spear is countered into the Blade Runner but White has to duck the Buckshot Lariat. Back to back suplexes put the villains down and the Blade Runner sends Cage into the barricade. Back in and Robinson slugs away at Page, who gets sunset flipped for two. Kip Sabian gets in a contract shot to Robinson though and the Deadeye finishes at 12:33.

Rating: B-. Good opener here with something that felt a little bit different. Throwing something like Page and Cage together is an interesting way to go and the Gang was protected with the interference. I like this kind of thing every so often and it was a nice way to go for a change.

Here’s what’s coming at Full Gear and later tonight.

Mercedes Mone blames Kamille for the car issues last week and tells her to take care of her jacket. Then Kris Statlander shows up for a brawl, with Statlander driving Mone through a wall and onto Kamille. As the destruction of Kamille continues.

Here is Will Ospreay, who gets straight to the point by calling out Kyle Fletcher. Cue Fletcher, who threatens violence and then asks what Ospreay wants to talk about. Ospreay doesn’t buy this and tells Fletcher to drop whatever weapons he has because this is just for a talk. Fletcher throws a screwdriver down before Ospreay talks about their history together.

Fletcher knows everything about him, down to where his kids go to school, so why is all of this happening? That sends Fletcher into a rant about how Ospreay was selfish over the years and turned on a bunch of people, which is why Ospreay would have done the same thing in Fletcher’s spot. Ospreay asks what Fletcher has done, and he doesn’t mean Aussie Open. Fletcher wants a match at Full Gear, which sends Ospreay into a rant about how he’s Mr. PPV around here. He’s fought all kinds of champions on pay per view and stolen the show each time (yet he’s not like, in the title picture at the moment).

The match is set, with Lance Archer and Brian Cage coming in. Ospreay has friends of his own with Mark Davis and Powerhouse Hobbs so the fight is on. Cue Roderick Strong to go after Archer for their scheduled (falls count anywhere) match and we’re ready to go. Other than that, this was another long segment built around things that happened years ago and mostly not in AEW, which happens rather frequently around here.

Roderick Strong vs. Lance Archer

Falls count Anywhere and Archer sends him through some things as we take an early break. Back with Archer missing a charge into the barricade but Brian cage pops up to try a powerbomb. The Undisputed Kingdom makes the save but Archer is back up with a chokeslam to send Matt Taven into security. Strong comes back with a chair to the face and a jumping knee for the pin at 6:42.

Rating: C+. What do you say about something like this? It was a big brawl with a bunch of interference and a good chunk of it was spent in the break. Strong gets another win on the way to the MJF match and Archer loses again, which tends to be the case in any match that matters. Not much to see here, as the falls count anywhere aspect was little more than a way to have a bunch of interference.

Post match Strong promises to come after MJF (as he has not secured his match with his third win) but cue Konosuke Takeshita to jump him from behind. Cue Adam Cole for his scheduled match with Takeshita.

Adam Cole vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Non-title. Cole knocks him out to the floor to start while the theme song is still going, only for Takeshita to come in side and take over as we take a break. Back with Cole hitting the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two but Takeshita hits a Blue Thunder Bomb. Back up and Cole hits him in the face, only to miss the Boom. A brainbuster onto the knee gives Cole two but Takeshita is back with his modified Tombstone into a wheelbarrow suplex.

The big lariat gets two but another is cut off by Cole’s superkick. The Panama Sunrise connects, only for Takeshita to roll outside before the Boom. Takeshita whips out the Dynamite Diamond Ring and the referee turns away for the sake of plot convenience. The big shot to the head gives Takeshita the pin at 9:29.

Rating: C+. Well the ending did surprise me, and thankfully we won’t be getting a triple threat match with Cole, Strong and MJF. If nothing else, I’m not sure why Cole was getting a chance to equal Strong’s three wins but it wound up not mattering. Not a great match, which shouldn’t be a surprise given that it’s Cole, but at least the right person won.

Post match the beatdown is on but Kyle O’Reilly runs in for the save, with Ricochet coming out to fight Takeshita to the back. Cole and Strong shake hands but O’Reilly walks away.

The Hurt Syndicate is ready for Bobby Lashley to make an example out of Swerve Strickland.

Here are the Death Riders beating up JD Drake. Jon Moxley hijacks a cameraman and talks about what he has done to Orange Cassidy’s friends. Chuck Taylor is drinking through a straw and Wheeler Yuta believes in Moxley because Cassidy couldn’t save him. Cassidy is going to learn a lesson and the Death Riders have the power. Cue Cassidy to interrupt, with Rocky Romero and Mark Briscoe joining him.

Cassidy talks about how the World Title gives Moxley power so they’re going to wrestle for the title at Full Gear, where Cassidy will beat him. First though, he has to take out some pawns, like Wheeler Yuta, who he’ll face next week, before he can take down the king. The villains go to leave but Darby Allin dives off the balcony onto them. The Riders try to leave again (leaving Yuta behind) but Allin dives onto the back of their truck. Claudio Castagnoli swings him into a garage door and Yuta dives into the back of the truck to escape. That was a lot in one segment, though Cassidy still feels like his loss is just a formality.

Chris Jericho, with the Learning Tree, talks about Tomohiro Ishii being a young boy thirty years ago and having to wash Jericho’s back in the shower. Jericho accepts Ishii’s challenge and the match is n for two weeks.

Britt Baker vs. Penelope Ford

They fight over wrist control to start until Ford kicks her out to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Ford hitting a handspring elbow in the corner, only to get caught with a discus lariat. Ford Matrixes away from a clothesline and tries a….well commentary calls it a cutter but I’m not sure they made contact. Baker kicks her down and loads up the Lockjaw but takes too much time. Ford pulls her into the Muta Lock, which is reversed into the Lockjaw to finish Ford at 8:55.

Rating: C. Baker feels like she is just going through the motions here and that has been the case for a good while. She just doesn’t feel like she is doing anything overly good these days. At the end of the day, she has just stopped evolving and the rest of the division has, which doesn’t work out well. Ford is trying rather hard and while it’s not exactly getting her anywhere, it’s definitely noticeable.

Post match Serena Deeb comes out for a staredown with Baker.

Mina Shirakawa is back and read for a champagne celebration with Mariah May. Cue Harley Cameron, who says Shirakawa is called the Harley Cameron of Japan. Cameron: “Well welcome to the Harley Cameron of Harley Cameron!” They get into a chest shaking contest until Renee Paquette yells at them to stop.

Lio Rush vs. Swerve Strickland

They take turns flipping away from each other to start before going out to the floor. Rush rakes the eyes and yells a lot but gets sent ribs first into the apron. Rush sends him into the announcers’ table though and we take a break. Back with Swerve kicking him in the head on the apron and adding a suplex for two. Rush is back with a cutter for two of his own, followed by the Final Hour for another near fall. Rush’s rollup with ropes doesn’t work so he hits a rolling kick to the head. Strickland has had enough of this and hits the JML Driver for the pin at 10:06.

Rating: B-. Nice match here, as we get our required Rush appearance. Swerve had to fight through some adversity to win as Rush continues to try and get the Hurt Syndicate’s attention. Swerve having some issues with Rush made sense and it went the way it should have without hurting Swerve in any way.

Post match Swerve calls out Bobby Lashley for the brawl (saying we’re in Stamford, Connecticut). Cue Lashley and MVP and, after a THIS IS BRIDGEPORT chant, MVP says they have the numbers advantage and here is Shelton Benjamin to jump Swerve from behind. Prince Nana has to watch as Swerve is taken out. Lashley beats up Nana for a bonus.

Jamie Hayter is coming after one thing. Then the lights go out and we get a Julia Hart vignette, showing her recovering from being shot with an arrow in another vignette. Brody King calls her and says it’s time to come back. Then she seems to have a mental breakdown and screams a lot. Then she is handed a crossbow and puts on a hat.

Kings Of The Black Throne vs. FTR

For a spot in the Tag Team Title match at Full Gear, meaning Private Party is watching. Wheeler tries to pick up the pace against King to start but gets backdropped down hard. Black comes in to strike away at Harwood, who misses a right hand so Black drops down to the mat. Black kicks Harwood to the floor, where FTR gets in a shot of their own to take over. We take a break and come back with Black fighting his way out of trouble, allowing the tag back to King. Wheeler catches King on top though and a powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination gets two.

Black moonsaults onto Wheeler on the floor as King powerbombs Harwood for two back inside. King gets taken up top again but he gets knees up to block the PowerPlex. Black’s top rope double stomp hits Harwood for two and the Shatter Machine gets the same with Black making the save. A spike piledriver onto the apron plants Black but King is there with a dive. Back in and a pair of lariats into a sleeper finish Harwood at 13:28.

Rating: B. Another hard hitting match here and I like the result. FTR has been done to death in the title picture and it will add at least a little spice when they turn on the Outrunners at the show. The Kings Of The Black Throne needed a win to give them some momentum, even if it’s hard to buy that they are going to win the titles at Full Gear.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m not sure what to make of this show. It was absolutely not boring, but the biggest thing is I’m not really overly interested in Full Gear. A lot of the matches feel like things we have to get through on the way to whatever is next and that’s not a great feeling to have. All of the run-ins and people interfering here didn’t really boost my interest as much as it made me want the show to calm down. It certainly felt like they were trying something different, though I’m not sure how well it worked.

Results
Hangman Page/Christian Cage b. Bang Bang Gang – Deadeye to Robinson
Roderick Strong b. Lance Archer – Jumping knee
Konosuke Takeshita b. Adam Cole – Punch with the Dynamite Diamond Ring
Britt Baker b. Penelope Ford – Lockjaw
Swerve Strickland b. Lio Rush – JML Driver
Kings Of The Black Throne b. FTR – Sleeper to Harwood

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: October 23, 2024
Location: Maverik Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re a month away from Full Gear so that means it’s time for a ladder match with a title on the line. In this case it’s the Ring Of Honor World Title with Chris Jericho challenging Mark Briscoe, who beat Jericho clean at WrestleDream. Other than that, Jon Moxley and company are still all tough and violent and such. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the Blackpool Combat Club being all mega evil.

Jon Moxley is in the desert and saying it’s for the greater good when the rest of the Club pulls up in a truck to take him away.

Mark Briscoe fires up a bunch of low level stars who are ready for the Club to arrive.

Here is Hangman Page to brag about how awesome he is but here is Colten Gunn to jump him for attacking Austin Gunn last week. Jay White and Juice Robinson run in to clear Page out. White talks about having Page’s number and all of the violence that Page loves isn’t hiding the fact that he’s not as good as the Switchblade. They’ll see each other again.

Video on Shelton Benjamin vs. Sammy Guevara.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Sammy Guevara

MVP is here with Benjamin, who wastes no time in launching Guevara into the air for a backdrop. Some hard knees set up a snap suplex to keep Guevara in trouble but he’s right back with a dropkick. Benjamin cuts off a suicide dive and hits an overhead belly to belly as we take a break.

Back with Benjamin snapping off another German suplex but Guevara hits some superkicks. Guevara hits a big running flip dive to the floor, followed by a pop up cutter for one back inside. Benjamin staggers up but manages to superkick Guevara out of the air (I wonder where he learned that…). A knee to the face and the exploder finish for Benjamin at 10:07.

Rating: B-. See, this is something that made a lot more sense than the Lio Rush match last week. Guevara is a far more established name around here and him giving Benjamin trouble fits perfectly. That’s the kind of win that actually builds Benjamin up rather than making him look like he’s needing to try too hard to beat someone who hasn’t accomplished much. Far better situation for everyone here.

Mariah May throws Anna Jay’s stuff out of the locker room so the brawl is on. It’s broken up in about three seconds, but it was on.

Video on Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher. They were friends, mainly in other promotions, but then Fletcher turned on him at WrestleDream and now we need an explanation.

Here is Fletcher, with Don Callis, for his explanation. For eleven days, Will Ospreay has been in a hospital bed while fans are wondering why. When Fletcher arrived in AEW, people thought he was the next big thing (Who thought that?) but then Ospreay got here. That made people call him the next Will Ospreay, because people said he looked and sounded like Ospreay. Fletcher is better than him in every single way but the fans don’t seem interested.

Don’t worry though because Don Callis has bought him all the TV time he needs so you will listen to him! Anyway, we move on to Kazuchika Okada, who brought Will Ospreay into New Japan (as we go back years and halfway around the world to another promotion to explain this story), who Ospreay stabbed in the back. Then Ospreay did the same thing to Kenny Omega. Fletcher turned on Ospreay because it’s what Ospreay did to people, so Fletcher is giving him one chance to save face.

They can face each other next week and Fletcher will give him tiger driver after tiger driver. For now though, he will be nothing like Ospreay. Then he shaves his own hair. So we have a feud between one of the company’s superheroes and a mostly midcard star over something that happened years ago in another promotion in Japan as the Don Callis Family/Will Osprey Saga is now going on for….how many months? Fletcher is getting a bit of a boost out of it, but if this is the best they have for Ospreay, I have no idea what to think of how screwy this place is.

We look at Ricochet showing up at Maple Leaf Pro over the weekend to go after Konosuke Takeshita.

Ricochet isn’t done with Takeshita, but MVP (who compliments his suit) and Shelton Benjamin come in. MVP leaves him with a business card and Ricochet doesn’t say no.

Lance Archer/Brian Cage vs. Pillars Of Destiny

Powerbomb/chokeslam combination finishes for Cage at 1:01.

Chuck Taylor tells the army outside that Mark Briscoe’s match is up next. Taylor holds Orange Cassidy back and says Cassidy can beat the villains so it’s time to step up.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is defending in a Ladder War and slugs away to start fast. Jericho is knocked off the apron and through some tables and Briscoe beats him around ringside. A suplex gets Jericho out of trouble but Briscoe hits him in the face with a ladder. Briscoe’s big running flip dive only hits ladder and Jericho hits him in the face with another ladder as we take a break.

Back with Briscoe hitting a Death Valley Driver through a ladder in the corner before throwing in a fresh one. They go up the ladder with Jericho going for the belt but Briscoe shoves the ladder over for the crash. The Froggy Bow through the table is loaded up but Bryan Keith comes in to break it up.

Rocky Romero runs in and hits Keith with a kendo stick, setting up the Froggy Boy to crush Jericho. It’s such a crash that Briscoe is on his feet eight seconds later and the Jay Driller connects but here is Big Bill to send Briscoe through a table. Jericho gets the title back at 15:46.

Rating: B-. Of course he did. You could feel the title change coming when Jericho said he wanted a rematch, because I’m sure we now need to set something up where Jericho allegedly puts someone over before moving on to something bigger. That’s just what the Ring Of Honor Title is about, as we now get to see which non-Ring Of Honor wrestler gets the shot at Final Battle in about two months. The match was pretty run of the mill ladder showdown, but another heel champion around here isn’t exactly appealing right now.

Post match Tomohiro Ishii returns with Rocky Romero. Gee man. Thanks for coming out and helping with Big Bill!

Video on Kamille vs. Kris Statlander, featuring both of them being rather strong.

Here is Adam Cole for a chat but the Undisputed Kingdom cuts him off. They don’t like MJF either, but they did check on Cole while he was healing up. The team does great things when they are together and agree to go after MJF. Cue MJF on the Titantron, getting a massage, who says either Roderick Strong or Cole has to win three matches in a row to get a match with him at Full Gear.

MJF won’t be around until then, which might be enough time to realize that this is the third time MJF has forced someone to beat a string of opponents to face him. Second, the Undisputed Kingdom is working for MJF right? It’s the most logical way for all of this to go. Otherwise, this is the second “group of good guys bands together to fight the villain” story going at the moment.

Video on Penelope Ford vs. Jamie Hayter.

Hayter talks about how hard she has worked to get here and she’s ready for a fight, but Ford isn’t here. How about they fight in two weeks?

House Of Black vs. Jaden Monroe/Kevin Koa/Pirata de la Muerte

The House beats up Monroe, sends Koa bailing into the corner, and hits the Cannonball/dropkicks combination to Muerte. The toss powerbomb into Murphy’s stomp finishes Monroe at 1:59. That team was squashed flatter than something that is very flat.

Post match, Matthews challenges Adam Cole for next week. We cut to Cole in the back, who walks up to Matthews and wonders what’s up with that. The match seems set.

Kamille vs. Queen Aminata

Mercedes Mone is here with Kamille, who powers Aminata down to start. A short arm lariat gives Kamille two but Aminata is back with a running headscissors. Aminata rolls her up for two but gets dropped as we take an early break. Back with Aminata hitting a running elbow and grabbing a neckbreaker. A running shot against the ropes gets two on Kamille and Aminata grabs a full nelson with her legs. Kamille’s powerbomb attempt is countered into a hurricanrana for two but Kamille is back with a torture rack spun into a powerbomb for two of her own. The reverse spinning DDT finishes for Kamille at 8:16.

Rating: C. Of course. Of course you have a monster like Kamille in her fifth match in AEW and of course it takes her eight minutes to beat someone who is best known in AEW for not winning a match for months when she got there (What else is she known for?). This made Aminata, who isn’t set for a big showdown with Kris Statlander, look like someone who could go somewhere while Kamille, the new monster, looked like she had trouble beating someone who hasn’t won anything of note around here. “But AEW doesn’t squash it’s own stars!” Then don’t book the match. Really not that complicated.

Post match Kris Statlander comes out for the staredown. With Kamille. Who just struggled to beat Queen Aminata. Kamille and Mone lay her out.

The Patriarchy arrives and the army is looking for them. The Patriarchy backs off, but chases Kip Sabian away, because THE KIP SABIAN/PATRIARCHY STORY IS STILL A THING.

After commentary talks a bit, the Patriarchy chases Sabian into the ring but Hook shows up on the screen, saying that the people in the ring took out his dad. Hook storms the ring and goes after Nick Wayne before trying to Choke Christian Cage. Sabian saves Cage, who tells Sabian to get in that corner to be dealt with later. The Patriarchy takes out Hook, with Cage calling him “Tyler” and says “it’s not what it seems” (I think). Well thank goodness Kip Sabian is getting something to do. Now I can stop losing sleep over him lack of direction.

Elite vs. Private Party/Daniel Garcia

The Elite gets taken out before the bell…and then the bell rings a second later. Garcia stomps on Perry in the corner before it’s off to Kassidy to hammer on Matt. A quadruple clothesline gives us a quadruple nip up until Garcia comes in to take out villains. We see the army still waiting outside as the Bucks take over on Quen.

We take a break and come back with Stokely Hathaway watching in the front row as Nick accidentally kicks Matt in the face. The big tag is cut off and Garcia is sent into the timekeeper’s area. Risky Business gets two on Kassidy but a headscissors/wristdrag gets him out of trouble. Quen comes in to clean house but gets caught in the powerbomb/stereo enziguris in the corner. Garcia cuts off something on the apron, with Quen breaking up the TK Driver. Silly String is enough to pin Matt at 11:11.

Rating: B-. For those of you keeping track, this is now the fourth match between Private Party and the Bucks which has been set up by that one time Private Party beat them five years ago. They weren’t interesting challengers at WrestleDream and they aren’t going to be interesting challenges whenever they get their next title shot, but this is what we’re getting until whomever is ready to fight the Bucks next.

Post match, Private Party says they want another title shot and put their future as a team on the line. The Bucks are down and the match is made. Oh no. What ever would we do if a team who was apart for over a year is apart for good? Anyway, the Blackpool Combat Club’s truck arrives in the back but it’s just Marina Shafir. The men sneak in from behind and take out Private Party with Chairs. Jon Moxley throws Chuck Taylor inside to Pillmanize his neck. A bunch of people, including Orange Cassidy, run in to clear them out. The Elite watch on as commentary is DISGUSTED to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I liked most of the wrestling tonight, but I do not remember being so bored, uninterested and uninvested in an AEW (or most anywhere else) show in a LONG time. The stories they are telling are a mixture of far more complicated than they need to be, illogical, and flat out dull. Right now, in 2024, the biggest good guy champion in AEW/ROH is Dustin Rhodes. That’s what we have to cheer for at the moment.

Other than that, you have the BCC not only dominating everyone but making them look like idiots, because NO ONE THOUGHT TO GUARD THE OTHER DOOR. It’s astounding how dumb the heroes in this promotion are presented as being and it’s not making an already annoying show that much worse. Between insisting on Kyle Fletcher getting Will Ospreay’s attention, Chris Jericho winning ANOTHER title, whatever Adam Cole/MJF are doing now and their insistence on making sure that people like Queen Aminata are kept strong, this place has its priorities in a really weird place.

I’m sure I’m just watching it wrong or I’m not bright enough to get the subtle nuances of “Private Party could TOTALLY win this time and you should care that they might split up even though they’ve won one thing that matters in five years”, but dang I haven’t been this down on AEW since its inception.

Results
Shelton Benjamin b. Sammy Guevara – Exploder
Lance Archer/Brian Cage b. Pillars Of Destiny – Powerbomb/chokeslam combination
Chris Jericho b. Mark Briscoe – Jericho pulled down the title
House Of Black b. Jaden Monroe/Kevin Koa/Pirata de la Muerte – Stomp to Monroe
Kamille b. Queen Aminata – Reverse spinning DDT
Daniel Garcia/Private Party b. Elite – Silly String to Matt

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: October 16, 2024
Location: SAP Center, San Jose, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re done with WrestleDream and the big story is Jon Moxley is the new World Champion, having kind of retired Bryan Danielson. It seems we are going to need some saviors to fight for the company and maybe we find that out tonight. Other than that, Adam Cole and MJF are both back and don’t like each other. Let’s get to it.

Here is WrestleDream if you need a recap.

The opening video features Jon Moxley and friends in the back of a truck with Moxley talking about how there are so many wrestlers on the roster who get paid and then do nothing. He hates what AEW has become because there is no need for all of the dancing and partying. He’ll burn down the forest and do what has to be done because they can see a better future.

If you want to come with them you can, but otherwise, run while you can. The new paradigm is you work for him now. Wheeler Yuta looks off into the darkness. This included shots of wrestlers being upset at what happened to Bryan Danielson, meaning we probably have some people ready to fight back. That being said, “Wah, they’re making too much money and are too soft but we’re all tough” isn’t exactly a thrilling story.

Here is Adam Cole for a chat. He loves his friends but he has to do this on his own. Cole wants to talk about the worst person in this company, MJF. After years of seeing him be this way, the only thing that Cole can say is that MJF is fake. Just look at his hair: it took two surgeries but that fake hair is on his head. MJF will act all tough and stoic on social media when fans insult him but then he’ll cry in his hotel room.

This place has the best talent roster in the world and there are a lot of hungry people who are ready to go around someone like MJF. He’ll act like he’s something special but the reality is everyone, including Cole, hates him. Cole hates everything about him, including his stupid face, so get out here for the fight they’re going to have right now.

MJF’s music plays but he pops up on screen to say he’s a multi millionaire at 28, but he knows what it’s like to be alone. Cole tried to be his friend but then MJF took it away, but now Cole is never going to get his revenge. MJF will always dangle the carrot of revenge and Cole can thank him for everything later. Cole swears vengeance anyway. This only worked to an extent, as the feud felt like it was over and Cole didn’t have much to say other than “I really hate you”.

Chris Jericho feels vindicated after his loss to Mark Briscoe because Briscoe cheated. Jericho wants a rematch to become the two time Ring Of Honor World Champion, just like Jay Briscoe.

Mark Briscoe doesn’t like Jericho bringing up his brother’s name again, so of course they can have a rematch. Next week. In a ladder war. Tonight though, FTR is going to take out Jericho’s Learning Tree. I appreciate the logic of Briscoe wanting to avenge his brother’s memory being tarnished, but if this is continuing, Briscoe shouldn’t have beaten Jericho clean on Saturday.

FTR vs. Learning Tree

Harwood takes over on Keith to start and hammers away before handing it off to Wheeler. Keith gets in a slam and a knee drop but Wheeler fights up. Bill comes in off a surprise though and it’s a Boss Man Slam to send us to a break. Back with Harwood hitting a clothesline on Keith but getting dropped by the same thing from Bill. The Shatter Machine is broken up and Wheeler takes Bill to the floor for a tornado DDT. Back in and Keith walks into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. As usual, there is only so much that can be done with a match that only gets eight minutes and includes a commercial break. Bill continues to look like a monster and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him do something better in the future. For now though, he’s part of a tag team where Keith is taking the fall, so at least Bill is being protected. At the same time, dang FTR feels like they’ve fallen a very, very long way in the last few months.

Post match the Outrunners come out to post with FTR.

Acclaimed and Billy Gunn are ready to head to the gym, with Billy going to get the car ready. They’re ready for more, but MVP and Shelton Benjamin come in. MVP offers a business card, with Bowens saying they don’t need anything from them. Caster slips the card into his pocket.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Queen Aminata

Mone, with Kamille, is defending. Mone tries to take her down but gets some swiveling hips to the face for her efforts. A victory roll gives Mone two but Aminata gives her a fall away slam to the floor. Kamille offers a quick distraction and Mone gets in a whip to the steps as we take a break. Back with Aminata hitting an Air Raid Crash for two and they both need a breather. A sunset flip gives Aminata one and a neckbreaker gets two, followed by a snap suplex to send Mone into the corner. Mone fights her way out of said corner and hits the Statement Maker for the pin at 8:41.

Rating: C+. Same problem with the match being cut off by the break as the previous one, which is quite the recurring issue in modern wrestling. Mone continues to be good in the ring but other than Britt Baker, she hasn’t had much in the way of competition. Aminata and Emi Sakura haven’t exactly done much in AEW but have gotten recent title shots. Find someone a bit more elevated to get the shot at her.

Private Party talks to the Young Bucks and wants another title shot. The Bucks admit that Private Party took them to the limit but that was their last shot. The Bucks are gone so Stokely Hathaway comes in to say the team has been here since the Obama administration and never gotten anywhere. If they lose next time, they should split up, because Kassidy is the singles star anyway. Not that that’s any of Hathaway’s business of course. I would certainly hope that’s it for the Bucks vs. Private Party, as it wasn’t exactly a big match in the first place.

The Elite talk about how important today is to the history of AEW. Today is Kenny Omega’s birthday and even though he’s had a bunch of his intestines taken out, they have a cake for him. Then they pour a bunch of fake intestines on it. Jack Perry: “Get well soon Kenny. Or die.” Kazuchika Okada throws in a b****. Teasing Omega’s return, even if it’s a bit off in the distance, is a good thing.

Elite vs. Conglomeration

Nick gets taken own by Cassidy to start and O’Reilly strikes away before they do the same to Matt. Romero comes in for a running hurricanrana to Okada and we take a break. Back with O’Reilly making Nick clothesline Matt but Okada comes back in for the save. The Rainmaker is broken up but Matt hits an elbow to give Okada two. Romero is back up with the Forever Clotheslines, only for Okada to break it up with the tombstone. The Bucks spend their time pumping up their shoes and Cassidy starts cleaning house….but Wheeler Yuta runs in to jump O’Reilly for the DQ at 9:21.

Rating: B-. Well at least they had a way to avoid either team losing here. The Conglomeration would be fine enough as the first people to stand up to the Club and some of that was already started at WrestleDream. There’s a good chance the Elite are the real ones to fight the villains of though and….egads that is going to take some incredible efforts. Or they’ll just make the Elite good again and forget everything about what has happened in the last six months with no major repercussions.

Post match the rest of Moxley’s friends, including Moxley, come in for the beatdown, with commentary calling Cassidy “the leader of AEW” which….no. Top Flight comes in for the failed save so the Dark Order runs in, passing by the Elite on the way and asking them to help. The Order is beaten down as well (including Pac beating people up with a briefcase, which may contain the World Title) and the violence continues as Moxley says this is just the cost of doing business. Excalibur: “There’s no rhyme or reason to what these people are doing here.”

Commentary is aghast.

The Elite, minus Okada, says that wasn’t their business but Daniel Garcia and Private Party come in. Perry and Garcia….kind of nuzzle a bit before the Elite leave.

We look at Swerve Strickland picking Prince Nana at WrestleDream.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Lio Rush

MVP and Leila Grey are here too. Rush dodges around to start and can’t get anywhere, so Benjamin drops him with a hard shot. Back up and Benjamin is sent outside, where he jumps up to the apron for a knee (MVP approves) and we take a break. We come back with Benjamin knocking him down again but Rush hits his springboard Stunner.

A cutter catches Benjamin again, followed by a rather spinning tornado DDT for two. Rush goes up top so Benjamin runs the corner for a belly to belly superplex. A release German suplex sends Rush flying and another one does it again. Benjamin superkicks the heck out of him and hits the exploder for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: C+. Benjamin looked great in his first feature match in a long time, but there was no reason or this to be eleven minutes. People know who Benjamin is and he has a long resume. There was no reason for Rush to get in this much offense, as Rush on his best day is nowhere near what Benjamin has done. This should have been WAY shorter, but that’s not how AEW works.

Post match MVP says he wants to keep this going with Swerve Strickland (MVP: “HOW CAN THIS BE SWERVE’s HOUSE WHEN SWERVE’S HOUSE WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND???”) because this is Strickland’s future.

Darby Allin isn’t here tonight, but we do see him talking about Tony Hawk….who isn’t with him. They are however selling signed photos of the two of them together for charity. Sure.

Swerve Strickland is ready for Shelton Benjamin and is ready for him anytime. Benjamin set a lot of records, which have been broken, but Strickland breaks bones.

Here is Don Callis, flanked by Lance Archer and Brian Cage, for a press conference. Since there is no press in wrestling though, he’ll answer the questions himself. First up, he wants the Tag Team Titles back, so these two are going to get them. With that out of the way, Callis brings out Konosuke Takeshita and Kyle Fletcher.

Callis says Takeshita is defending the title all around the world, with Takeshita saying come take it. Fletcher is given the chance to explain why he turned on Will Ospreay….but he’s not going to say anything because the fans keep chanting for Ospreay. This could have been summed up as “Brian Cage is now on the team”.

Mariah May wants competition so here is Anna Jay to charge at her. Christopher Daniels tries to break it up and Jay hits him in the face. Nigel McGuinness is thrilled.

Ricochet is ready to show that he is the best in the world and doesn’t need the lackeys to do it for him like Konosuke Takeshita. The open challenge is on for Collision.

Jon Moxley and company are still beating up the Dark Order and Top Flight. The villains leave and Evil Uno rants about how Moxley and company are taking food off their plates. Darius Martin issues the challenge for Collision. If I’m supposed to care about the Dark Order and Top Flight as AEW’s saviors, AEW has a lot more work today.

Christian Cage vs. Jay White

A bunch of their friends are here too. They start slowly until White sends him into the corner a few times. White grabs something like an Indian deathlock as commentary does their inside jokes. Nick Wayne makes the referee believe the Bang Bang Gang used a chair so they’re ejected, but Wayne gets beaten up first. We take a break and come back with White fighting out of a chinlock.

White pulls the turtleneck over Cage’s face and hammering away in the corner, followed by the chops to the exposed chest (Nigel: “You sadist!”). Cage fights back and hits a reverse DDT onto the apron but cue Kip Sabian (because of course) for a distraction. White gets a rollup for two as Hangman Page is hiding on the floor (he might have shown up too early). Cage’s Killswitch gets two but Sabian offers another distraction, allowing Page to come in with the Buckshot Lariat so Cage can get the pin at 16:03.

Rating: B-. Oh someone botched the heck out of that interference, as Sabian and Page did the exact same thing twice about five minutes apart. That feels like it’s something the producer screwed up as the wrestlers were probably given the cue early. Other than that, it was a long main event with a bit of a story behind it (Cage put White out earlier this year) and it keeps White vs. Page going, which does fit after they had a quick one off match.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure what to make of this show. While it wasn’t bad, it absolutely did not feel like something coming off of what was supposedly a huge ending to a pay per view. Moxley and company are still all violent and beating people up, but now they’re beating up some of the lowest of the low around here. After everyone was so devastated by Bryan Danielson being taken out, you would think there would be bigger names than Dante Marin and Evil Uno ready to fight back.

Other than that, there was a lot of stuff that seems like it will be continuing from WrestleDream, which only felt so important coming in. That’s the theme of this show: stuff happened, but it didn’t feel like it matters that much. The big story is what people will focus on though and that’s….well it’s going to be a bit before we get to the meat of the matter. Until then, we have Battle Of The Belts, which had its first (and so far only) match announced with ten seconds left on the show: a non-title match between Anna Jay and Mariah May. That show, much like a lot of other things around here, is going to need some work.

Results
FTR b. Learning Tree – Shatter Machine to Keith
Mercedes Mone b. Queen Aminata – Statement Maker
Conglomeration b. Elite via DQ when the Blackpool Combat Club interfered
Shelton Benjamin b. Lio Rush – Exploder
Christian Cage b. Jay White – Buckshot Lariat

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Collision
Date: September 14, 2024
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re getting closer and closer to Grand Slam and this is another taped show after the kind of weird taping schedule following All In. Dynamite was not the strongest show in the world so hopefully they can bounce back a bit here. That could be easily done as Collision can have some strong shows when given the chance. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. Christopher Daniels

Daniels is challenging and strikes away in the corner to start. A clothesline gives Perry a quick two and he does that cross pose in the corner. Perry gets two off a running clothesline and a neckbreaker, followed by a more basic kick to the head for one. A missile dropkick gives Perry two more, with Nigel saying Bryan Danielson stole that from Perry. Daniels manages a quick STO and the Death Valley Driver for two. The Angel’s Wings is countered and they trade rollups for two each. Perry puts him down again though and the running knee (with middle fingers, because Perry is tough like that) retains at 5:07.

Rating: C. If you must have Perry in the ring so often, this is the kind of win that is going to help boost him up. Daniels is still a name and even though he is miles past his prime, it’s still a nice win for Perry and didn’t take that long. Perry is going to need a bigger challenger coming up though, and I’m not sure who can deal with someone as interesting/tough/amazing as him.

Perry leaves, getting in the Scapegoatmobile, while saying the people who hate him can’t handle the truth.

We kind of look at what happened to Bryan Danielson.

Wheeler Yuta is very upset about what happened and hasn’t talked to the rest of the team. He has a match tonight but you can tell his mind is everywhere else. Yuta sold this rather well.

Conglomeration/Hologram vs. The Beast Mortos/Premiere Athletes

Mark Sterling is here with the Athletes and says he paid Mortos off to team with them tonight. O’Reilly works on Nese’s arm to start and it’s off to Briscoe to stay on the arm. Nese takes him into the corner and Daivari comes in, with Nigel talking about how rich Daivari certainly is. Briscoe isn’t having that and staggers Daivari so O’Reilly can come in with a boot to the face.

O’Reilly stays on Daivari’s arm (he likes that) so Mortos comes in and knocks Hologram out of the air. A rather springboardy armdrag takes Mortos down though and an armdrag gets two on Nese. Everything breaks down and, after a weird wide shot, Josh Woods offers a distraction so O’Reilly can be taken out. We take a break and come back with Briscoe coming in to clean house, including a suplex for two on Nese.

Mortos breaks up the Jay Driller but gets knocked out to the floor. Hologram takes Nese off the top for two with Daivari making the save. Nese dives onto O’Reilly but gets taken out by Hologram’s running flip dive. Mortos hits an even bigger dive, only for Sterling to cut off Briscoe’s dive. That doesn’t work for Briscoe, who hits his own big dive over Sterling to take a bunch of people out. Back in and Hologram hits a tornado DDT into a crucifix to pin Nese at 10:37.

Rating: B. Take Hologram To Your Match Day continues with the Conglomeration getting a turn. It’s not the worst idea and Hologram is getting to rub elbows with some big names, though I’m not sure I know anything about him yet other than he flips a lot. Either way, it was another fun match, with the stars getting to showcase themselves a good bit.

Post match Mortos spears Hologram down, with the Conglomeration making the save.

We look at Orange Cassidy winning at CMLL’s Anniversary show and taking out Chris Jericho to end the show.

The Learning Tree jump Orange Cassidy and put the backpack over his head so Chris Jericho can smash the picture from Dynamite over his head. Well over the bag over his head.

Someone who looks like Stokely Hathaway (we never saw his face) watches a DVD of the Briscoes vs. FTR III.

Mariah May isn’t having her championship celebration this week and still wants Mina Shirakawa back. She can’t have her celebration without her. Yuka Sakazaki comes in to say she wants a title shot. May says she can get in line so May can rip her head off. Sakazaki: “OK! BYE!”

Wheeler Yuta vs. Anthony Henry

Yuta is not into this and Henry has Beef with him. Henry headlocks him down to start and Yuta doesn’t seem to care. A takedown lets Henry kick him in the back but Yuta comes back with a slam, only to miss a backsplash. Henry sends him outside for a suplex into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Henry getting two off an Air Raid Crash but Yuta spins through the ropes and grabs a German suplex for two. Yuta is sent outside again and into the barricade, setting up a top rope double stomp for two. Henry dares to mention Danielson though and Yuta snaps, hammering away in the corner to knock Henry outside for a change. There’s the big suicide dive and Yuta kicks Beef in the face for a bonus. Back in and a missile dropkick into the elbows to the neck into Cattle Mutilation finish Henry at 9:01.

Rating: C+. This is an interesting one as it’s just ok as a match, but it told a story of Yuta, who is usually dull and rather lackluster when it comes to intensity, snapping over his mentor’s name. It’s certainly something, and while it wasn’t a great match, it made me more interested in seeing where this is going, which is a good sign. If nothing else, I’ll take this over Yuta’s Pure Rules stuff, which has turned into one of the dullest things around here.

Post match Yuta almost goes after the referee but calms himself down and leaves in peace.

Serena Deeb wants Queen Aminata to watch her match later, but she doesn’t think Aminata is ready. Aminata doesn’t have time for this, but Deeb will show her how it’s done.

Anna Jay is back from Japan and talks about how much she has grown in Japan. Now she wants a title. If she can actually maintain some momentum, it would mean more than anything she learned elsewhere.

Private Party/Komander vs. Ren Jones/Lord Crewe/Jon Cruz

I wonder if these are the same guys Private Party and Komander were going to face on Dynamite. Kassidy flips over Jones to start but has to throw Crewe over the top. Komander takes Crewe down with a flip dive and Cielito Lindo hits Cruz. Gin and Juice finishes Jones at 1:06. That worked.

Nigel McGuinness explains that while he doesn’t know if Bryan Danielson can go at Grand Slam, he’ll be ready just in case. Tony Khan booked the match almost as a stop gap, with Darby Allin putting his title shot on the line against Jon Moxley because Danielson might not be able to go.

That’s one heck of a way to go to get around a bait and switch and….yeah I’m not quite buying that Allin was told “Danielson is indisposed” and Tony Khan was TOTALLY FINE with changing a match that might still be able to happen (as well as GIVING THE MAN WHO TRIED TO KILL THE WORLD CHAMPION a #1 CONTENDERS MATCH) all in the span of about ten minutes.

McGuinness shows us a video on his history with Bryan Danielson and knows Danielson is still scared of him. If Danielson shows up, Nigel is going to end his career.

Serena Deeb vs. Yuka Sakazaki

The bell rings and Mariah May comes out to join commentary. Then the bell rings again and May tells Sakazaki, who is returning after a broken leg, to break a leg. Deeb ties Sakazaki up in the Paradise Lock as May says Sakazaki is a child so May can’t beat her up. Sakazaki fights up but gets neckbreakered over the rope as we take a break. Back with Sakazaki hitting a missile dropkick as May says she wants to put Sakazaki over her knee and spank her (with a certain look at Nigel).

Deeb hits a hammerlock lariat for two but Deebtox is countered into a sliding lariat for two. Back up and Deeb powerbombs her into a Brock Lock, with Sakazaki crawling over to the ropes. They trade standing clotheslines with Deeb getting the better of things, only for Sakazaki to hit a scoop brainbuster. The Magical Girl Splash finishes Deeb at 10:39.

Rating: C+. I guess it’s time for Sakazaki to be a thing again, as May apparently knows her from her time in Japan and isn’t a fan. Sakazaki is coming back from an injury that kept her out of action for a long time and…well apparently she’s just jumping right into the title picture, despite never being anything significant around here in the first place. That being said, May was an absolute star here, with a great mixture of anger, humor and flirting, plus some outstanding facial expressions. Do more of this everywhere else.

Post match May goes after Sakazaki, who kicks May in the face and picks up the Women’s Title.

Video on the Outrunners, and yes they are training in less than pristine quality video, because….well would you expect anything else?

Top Flight and company had a nice dinner but Action Andretti is ticked off at their losses this week. Why aren’t they winning bigger matches? Andretti says he wants the House Of Black and leaves.

Bang Bang Gang vs. Cage Of Agony

Toa powers Robinson into the corner, where Robinson gives him a quick spank as he slips out. Kaun comes in to chop away at Colten but it’s Austin coming in to trip Kaun down. It’s off to Cage to drop Austin though and we take a break. Back with Austin diving at his partners, who have been knocked to the floor, only for Colten to come back up for the tag a second later.

Colten snaps off some suplexes until Kaun Pounces the heck out of him. The toss sitout powerbomb gets two with Austin making the save. Toa misses a charge and it’s back to Robinson to pick up the pace. Cage blasts him with a discus lariat and powerbombs Austin but Robinson makes the save. The big left into the 3:10 To Yuma into the forward DDT finishes Cage at 10:30.

Rating: C+. The trios division continues to just not be very interesting. So often it feels like a team is either thrown together and wins the titles (like now) or comes out of nowhere to win them. At the same time, you can all but guarantee that the Cage Of Agony will be around, as they are just kind of there no matter what.

Queen Aminata mocks Serena Deeb’s loss.

Queen Aminata vs. Robyn Renegade

Aminata takes her down with a bodyscissors without much trouble and grabs an early crossface. That’s broken up so Renegade snaps her down again, only to get dropkicked into a DDT for two. Aminata is back with a swinging neckbreaker and the headbutt for the pin at 3:04.

Rating: C. It’s amazing how much easier it is to watch Aminata now that she isn’t being featured time after time. There was a stretch there where she was wrestling 2-3 times on TV every week and it was getting old fast. This was a dominant enough performance and she should have a match with Deeb coming. That might not be the most thrilling, but I do like having a feud over something other than a title for a change.

Post match Deeb runs in and takes Aminata out.

The House Of Black knows a bunch of people are coming for them so bring them on.

FTR vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Harwood and Gibson start things off but it’s a four way stand off in short order. Drake comes in and gets shouldered down before it’s off to a test of strength. Wheeler comes in to chop away but it’s back to Gibson to strike away on Harwood. The Veterans clear the ring but Harwood is back in for two off a sunset flip. A belly to back superplex drops Drake hard and we take a break.

Back with Drake cutting off a tag to Wheeler but getting clotheslined down. Harwood makes it over to Wheeler…but the referee doesn’t see it, only to see it a few seconds later. Some rollups give Wheeler two, at least until Gibson comes in to grab him so Drake can score with an enziguri. Wheeler drops Gibson with a clothesline but the spike piledriver is broken up. What looked like a Doomsday Device is broken up as well and Harwood Sharpshooters Drake for the tap at 11:05.

Rating: B. This was just getting going when it came to an end and…the Veterans just lose. One of the biggest problems with AEW’s tag division is how the same teams have been at the top for so long and the Veterans being some fresh blood could have helped. Instead, they lose their first big match in about eleven minutes to FTR, who have been around for the better part of ever. Such is life in the tag division.

Post match the Veterans jump FTR again but the Outrunners make the save to a big reaction. The big handshake and a lot of posing (Harwood is so impressed that he faints)

Overall Rating: C+. There was good stuff in here and it wasn’t a bad show by any means, but it is the textbook definition of a show that feels like it should have been an hour long but was stretched out to two. There was a fair amount of stuff that felt like it was added in to fill time, which is not the best way to go. That being said, it was a totally watchable show with nothing too bad. I can go with bored for a bit over getting annoyed for large segments, so call this a decent enough show.

Results
Jack Perry b. Christopher Daniels – Running knee
Conglomeration/Hologram b. Premiere Athletes/The Beast Mortos – Crucifix to Nese
Wheeler Yuta b. Anthony Henry – Cattle Mutilation
Private Party/Komander b. Ren Jones/Lord Crewe/Jon Cruz – Gin and Juice to Jones
Yuka Sakazaki b. Serena Deeb – Magical Girl Splash
Bang Bang Gang b. Cage Of Agony – Forward DDT to Cage
Queen Aminata b. Robyn Renegade – Headbutt
FTR b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Sharpshooter to Drake

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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All Out 2024
Date: September 7, 2024
Location: NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the second pay per view in two weeks and we certainly have a big main event tonight. After Hangman Page burned Swerve Strickland’s house down on Dynamite, it’s time to lock them in a cage. Other than that, Jack Perry is challenging Bryan Danielson for the World Title because Jack Perry. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Iron Savages vs. Acclaimed

Bowens chops Bronson in the corner to start and it’s off to Caster, who gets crushed in the corner with a running splash. Caster is whipped hard into the corner again but can’t quite make a Flair Flip work. Instead Boulder hits a middle rope moonsault for two but a top rope elbow misses, allowing the tag to Bowens. Everything breaks down and Billy Gunn drops Jacked Jameson, leaving Caster to plant Bronson. The Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes for Caster at 8:51.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why this match was added as the Savages are about as low on the totem pole as you can get in the tag division. It was a nice little win for the Acclaimed, but this is something that could have easily been left on Rampage rather than here. The Acclaimed didn’t even rap!

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Hologram vs. Premiere Athletes

Guevara flips over Nese to start but gets caught in the wrong corner for the stomping. A quick shot knocks Daivari down though and it’s off to Hologram to take out all three Athletes at the same time. The numbers game catches up with Hologram and Daivari takes over before Woods throws him outside. Mark Sterling gets in some stomping but Hologram manages a tornado DDT and hands it off to Rhodes for his usual comeback. Guevara hits a big flip dive over the top and it’s time for a parade of superkicks back inside. Some Cross Rhodes put the Athletes down and another hits Sterling. The Final Reckoning finishes Woods at 10:00.

Rating: C. Remember last night when Rhodes and Guevara and Hologram won a six man match? Well they did it again here. There was nothing to see here other than Hologram doing the same stuff he usually does. Rhodes is a double champion including a Six Man Champion, but now he’s in another three man team, giving him three stories going on at once, while how many wrestlers have almost nothing to do?

Zero Hour: Bang Bang Gang vs. Dark Order

It’s a brawl to start with the Gunns being sent outside, allowing the Order to do their pose on Robinson’s back. Robinson fights back and knocks them into the corner, setting up the Cannonball. Austin comes in but walks into Something Evil to give Silver two. Austin fights up again and gets kicked in the face, only to get caught in the Quick Draw. Everything breaks down again and Robinson hits his forward DDT to pin Uno at 7:34.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what there is to say about these matches. They don’t have a story and they’re just put out there to get people on the card and fill in time on the pre-show. The Gang gets a bit of a win but how much value is there in beating the Order? It’s another match that could have, and likely should have, been on Rampage, or just a dark match.

Skye Blue comes out for a surprise and asks if we could have had All Out without her. I’m thinking we could, but Mariah May interrupts. She isn’t going to have her championship celebration in Chicago and insults Blue. They get rather catty with each other with some vague references to being promiscuous until May kicks Blue’s crutch out. Queen Aminata makes the save.

Zero Hour: Beast Mortos/Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Undisputed Kingdom vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

Taylor punches Bennett down before the bell and officially starts with Dante. It’s quickly off to Darius to slug it out with Moriarty before Mortos comes in to wreck a variety of people. Dante comes in and gets taken down into the corner, with Taylor hitting a splash to crush him rather hard. Dante absorbs some right hands from Taylor and knocks him down, allowing the tag back to Darius.

Everything breaks down and Top Flight teases a double dive, only to have Strong break it up. Taven kicks Dante in the head and hits the Flight Of The Conqueror to take out a Taylor, Bennett and Moriarty. Mortos hits his own twisting dive and it’s back inside for the parade of strikes to the face. Andretti DDTs Mortos but gets release Rock Bottomed by Taylor. Mortos adds a powerbomb to Andretti but Strong steals the pin at 10:57.

Rating: C+. This at least felt a bit more interesting than anything else on the pre-show but it didn’t feel like anything better than a Rampage main event. There was no title shot or prize on the line here and that didn’t do the match any favors. Maybe the Kingdom gets a title shot as a result, but those things are kind of few and far between.

The opening video looks at the show’s major matches.

We recap Daniel Garcia vs. MJF. Garcia is back after MJF laid him out and wants revenge, promising to break his neck.

Daniel Garcia vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Garcia runs in from behind and jumps MJF from behind to start fast. The bell rings and MJF shrugs it off and takes over with a shot to Garcia’s neck. Some choking in the ropes and a belly to back suplex have Garcia down and we hit the cravate as the neck work continues. A brainbuster doesn’t work as Garcia knees him in the head and the crash out to the floor in a nasty landing. Back in and Garcia rolls some neckbreakers but has to block a piledriver attempt.

Instead MJF counters a leapfrog into a powerbomb for two before going after a cut on the forehead. The blood is flowing so MJF loads up the super Tombstone, which Garcia escapes to avoid a bad case of pain. Garcia fights up and fires off a bunch of elbows, only to get poked in the eyes. MJF calls for a brainbuster but gets rolled up for two instead. Back up and MJF hits a heck of a right hand to leave them both down.

Garcia fights up again and they trade German suplexes, followed by a big clothesline to put MJF down. MJF is back up with the Boston crab before switching over to a crossface. Garcia reverses into his variation of the Sharpshooter but MJF reverses into the Salt Of The Earth. MJF ties up both arms and a leg but Garcia uses the free let to make the ropes for the break.

Garcia’s jackknife rollup gets two and he strikes away before grabbing a front chancery. The arm starts to drop but Garcia blocks it because he wants to do more damage. The piledriver only gets two so Garcia loads up the super piledriver, only to get hit low. MJF uses Garcia’s jackknife rollup for the pin at 23:22.

Rating: B. This was a bit better than I was expecting with the right result. I get the idea of wanting to push Garcia, but MJF losing another pay per view match wouldn’t have been the right move. Garcia got something out of just being here, but there was no way you can put him over MJF in a spot this big. Not yet anyway.

Post match MJF offers a handshake but gets kicked low. Garcia hits the super piledriver and leaves through the crowd as commentary feels bad for MJF.

We recap the Young Bucks defending the Tag Team Titles against the Blackpool Combat Club, which is another part of the AEW vs. the Bucks feud over the summer.

Tag Team Titles: Blackpool Combat Club vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending. Matt and Yuta start things off with Matt’s wristlock being broken up and Yuta taking him down for a backsplash. Castagnoli comes in for a double shoulder and a double wishbone has the champs in trouble. Back up and Matt knocks Yuta down, setting up the kicks to the back to take over. The running flipping neckbreaker onto the knee sets up a chinlock, followed by a slingshot legdrop for two.

Yuta fights up and gets over to Castagnoli to fire off the uppercuts in the corner. A high crossbody gets two on Matt but he catches Castagnoli in the ropes. Yuta breaks up the hanging 450 and throws Matt’s kick into Nick’s head. Cattle Mutilation goes on but Nick makes the save with a Swanton.

Castagnoli comes back in and gets caught with the EVP Trigger, with Yuta making a save of his own. The Bucks pump up the shoes but Castagnoli blocks another EVP Trigger. Castagnoli Swings Matt for two but the Fastball Special is broken up. Back up and they try it again, only for Yuta’s splash to hit raised knees, allowing Matt to get a small package for the pin at 15:43.

Rating: B. It was good while it lasted, but there was almost no reason to believe that the titles were changing hands here. If nothing else, the Club already have some titles and the Bucks are not going to have their “epic” title reign come to an end in a thrown together tag match. The action worked, but this felt like a token title defense more than anything else.

We recap Will Ospreay defending the International Title against Pac. They’ve known each other for years and Pac won the title shot before Ospreay won the title. Pac is here to win and be all mean, as is his custom.

International Title: Pac vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is defending and the fans are WAY into this one at the opening bell. We get the big staredown and Pac rolls outside for the early stall. Back in and a headlock takeover puts Ospreay down for a second. That’s broken up and they both flip over the other for a standoff. Pac knocks him outside and hits a big corkscrew dive to take him down again. Ospreay is right back up and hits his own corkscrew dive, followed by a double knockdown back inside.

They slap each other from the mat until Pac chokes in the corner. It’s already back to the floor with Ospreay being whipped into the barricade a few times. A brainbuster gives Pac two back inside and the headlock stays on Ospreay’s banged up neck. Ospreay fights up again and elbows him to the floor, setting up a Sasuke Special. Back in and a handspring spinning kick to the head drops Pac again.

The Cheeky Nandos Kick is broken up though and Pac hits a DDT into a Liger Bomb for two. Ospreay manages a standing Spanish Fly and the Oscutter for a delayed two to leave them both down again. Pac gets back up so Ospreay kicks him back down before they head to the apron. Another Oscutter is countered into a nasty German suplex, followed by a poisonrana to set up the Brutalizer. With that broken up, the Black Arrow hits raised knees to give Ospreay two more.

The Hidden Blade is countered and Pac hits a rebound German suplex for another near fall. Ospreay kicks him down and the fans are standing. Another poisonrana gives Pac another two and the Brutalizer goes on again. Ospreay powers up and hits his own poisonrana to rock Pac and a running elbow gets two. Pac crotches him on top but Ospreay slips out of a super poisonrana and hits another running elbow for another near fall. The Oscutter loads up the Stormbreaker, which is reversed into a hurricanrana to give Pac two. Ospreay has had it and hits the Hidden Blade to retain at 20:20.

Rating: A-. Yeah you knew this was going to be awesome coming in and they more than delivered. It was one big spot after another until Ospreay knocked him silly to retain. That’s all it needed to be and Pac can more than hang with just about anyone going today. Excellent match here, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

We recap Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander. They used to be friends but Statlander turned on her, likely at the influence of Stokely Hathaway. Nightingale got to pick the stipulation so we’re having a street fight.

Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

Street fight and Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander. A chair is brought in to start but Nightingale knocks it out of her hands and hits an early cannonball for two. They go to the apron with Statlander slipping out of a Death Valley Driver attempt and hitting her in the back with a chair. A powerbomb sends Nightingale through the announcers’ table and Statlander puts her on a regular table.

The Swanton from the top only hits table, though Statlander’s legs to hit the moving Nightingale. One heck of a Pounce sends Statlander through the barricade and they go up the ramp. Statlander gets in a suplex and orders Hathaway to bring her a trashcan full of weapons. That works for Nightingale, who grabs a light tube and breaks it over Statlander’s head. Not to be outdone, Statlander gets up and spears her off the stage and through some tables.

They go back to the ring to trade strikes and slams before heading right back to the floor. Statlander grabs a bag of tacks so Nightingale bites the cut on her head. The tacks are poured out and Statlander is slammed onto them, landing in the splits. The Death Valley Driver gives Nightingale two and they go up top, where Statlander grabs a super Spanish Fly.

A discus lariat, with a chain wrapped around the arm, gives Statlander two and Nightingale rolls outside. Statlander whips out a chain and ties them together but Nightingale plants her with a spinebuster. They slug it out again and Statlander hits Staturday Night Fever before choking her out with the chain for the win at 15:02.

Rating: B. It was a street fight with the same stuff you often see in these things. You had the table, the chair, the tacks and a light tube thrown in for the big spot. They beat the heck out of each other and it felt like a war between two people who wanted to hurt each other, but you know a lot of what you’re going to get in this and they didn’t change it up much here.

Will Ospreay is happy to have retained the International Title and knows Ricochet is watching. Cue Ricochet, who gets in Ospreay’s face and says he’ll see him soon.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Mark Briscoe

Okada is defending and the challengers all won qualifying matches last night on Collision. It’s a brawl to start with Briscoe being knocked outside, leaving Cassidy to DDT Okada for two. Back in and Briscoe shoulders Okada down before trading clotheslines with Takeshita in the corner. Briscoe knocks him into the corner but Cassidy comes in to send Takeshita outside. Cassidy and Briscoe connect with stereo dives but Okada is back up with a suplex to Cassidy inside.

The Stundog Millionaire staggers Takeshita but Okada dropkicks Cassidy off the top. Briscoe gets the chair for the big flip dive to the floor and goes back inside to chop it out with Cassidy. Okada and Takeshita come back in to suplex both of them down and the fans are rather happy with the villains slugging it out. Okada hits the dropkick but gets caught with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Takeshita takes Cassidy up for a superplex but Briscoe is there with the Froggy Bow for two of his own.

Briscoe counters the Rainmaker and hits a hard clothesline of his own to put Okada down. Takeshita blocks both the spinning DDT and the Stundog Millionaire before running Cassidy over with the knee. Briscoe is back in with the Jay Driller but Okada makes the save. The Froggy Boy hits raised knees so Takeshita’s running knee gets two on Briscoe. Okada is back in to clean house until Cassidy rolls him up for two. The Rainmaker to Cassidy retains the title at 14:59.

Rating: B. This was pretty much all action and that’s what it needed to be. Okada was working well here but Takeshita felt like the star, as he was all over the place and hitting one big move after another. Cassidy taking the fall is fine enough as he tends to react well to adversity. I’m not sure who takes the title from Okada, but he could be holding it for a long time. Now just get Takeshita something of note already as it is long overdue.

We recap Mercedes Mone defending the TBS Title vs. Hikaru Shida. There isn’t much of a story here, especially as Mone has recently beaten Shida.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is challenging. Mone charges at her to start and hammers away but Shida is back up with some running dropkicks. A Brock Lock has Mone in trouble until she gets over to the ropes. Shida’s running knee gets two but Mone is right back with a Meteora for the same. We hit the early chinlock for a bit, followed by the double knees in the corner to put Shida down again. Back up and Shida manages to send her hard into the corner, setting up a middle rope dropkick for two.

The right hands in the corner have Mone in more trouble but she pulls Shida down into the Bank Statement. Shida fights up and they knock each othe down until Shida comes back up with a knee to the head. Mone is fine enough to hit a sunset bomb into the corner for two as things are picking up. The Three Amigos connect but the frog splash hits raised knees. Shida rolls three straight Falcon Arrows for two of her own but the Katana is countered into a dragon screw legwhip.

Shida is back with a German suplex and a running knee for two but her own knee is banged up. That means the Katana doesn’t quite work so she hits it two more times, with Mone rolling out to the floor. They fight over the kendo stick with Mone being pulled into the post but Shida throws the stick down. Instead Shida tries a Meteora but bangs her knee up again, allowing Mone to hit the Mone Maker (which is somehow getting worse) for the pin to retain at 16:29.

Rating: B-. This was getting good near the end but the stuff with the stick felt kind of out of nowhere. The Mone Maker didn’t look like something that would have finished Shida off but Mone insists on sticking with it for whatever reason. Shida couldn’t have felt like much more of a lame duck challenger coming in after Mone beat her last month, so this was only going to have so much drama.

We recap Jack Perry challenging Bryan Danielson for the World Title. Danielson won the title at All In and has said he’s done when he loses. Perry is the first challenger.

AEW World Title: Jack Perry vs. Bryan Danielson

Perry, who rode to the back in his weird car and met with the Young Bucks, is challenging (and his TNT Title isn’t on the line). They fight over a lockup to start with Perry throwing him down and then slipping away from Danielson on the mat. Back up and Danielson charges into an armdrag but Perry goes outside for a breather. Perry gets back in so Danielson starts in on the arm before hitting a powerslam of all things.

The surfboard has Perry in more trouble but he gets outside before Danielson can stomp his head. A dive takes Perry down again instead but he superkicks Danielson out of the air. The fans are all over Perry as he whips Danielson into the barricade. Back in and Perry fires off some hard chops, setting up a neckbreaker for two. Perry goes up but gets caught in a nasty belly to back superplex. Danielson fires off the kicks and spins him into the LeBell Lock until Perry gets a foot on the ropes.

The moonsault over Perry looks to set up the running clothesline but Perry pulls him into what used to be known as the Snare Trap. Perry switches over to Cattle Mutilation, with Danielson slipping out, allowing Perry to hit a German suplex. They head to the apron where Danielson escapes a snapdragon suplex and they strike it out. Danielson suplexes him to the floor and it’s time for the YES Kicks back inside.

Perry pulls him back into the Snare Trap though, with Danielson making the ropes this time. Danielson kicks him in the head but a running dropkick hits the referee by mistake. Cue the Young Bucks to jump Danielson, including the TK Driver. The Blackpool Combat Club runs in to chase the Bucks off, leaving Perry to hit a running knee for two.

Perry stomps away but Danielson gets up and hits a running knee of his own to leave both of them down. They slug it out again until Perry’s slap just fires Danielson up. Danielson strikes him down and hits the running knee for two so Danielson stomps him in the head. Perry gets to his knees and holds his arms out, allowing Danielson to hit another running knee to retain at 27:02.

Rating: B. It was a good match but it was Perry challenging and it’s going to take more to beat Danielson than Perry’s big move of “DO YOU KNOW WHO MY FRIENDS ARE”. In theory this was just because of the short turnaround between All In and All Out, but Perry never felt like a real threat to the title. At least he got to do his pose at the end though, because he’s just that interesting.

Post match Killswitch comes in to lay out Danielson and here is Christian Cage with the Patriarchy. Jon Moxley gets in the way of the cash-in though and the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club (including Pac) has the Patriarchy turning away. Moxley gets in the ring to hug Danielson and the team poses…until Claudio Castagnoli decks Danielson. Moxley whips out a plastic bag to suffocate Danielson as Pac holds Wheeler Yuta (the only one trying to help Danielson) back. Marina Shafir is here to cut off a referee as the fans chant THIS IS MURDER. Moxley lets go and the team leaves as the bag is ripped off and Danielson is given oxygen.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland. Page has become obsessed with Strickland after losing to him over and over. They are set for a cage match, but this week Page burned down Strickland’s childhood home to take this to quite a higher level.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

Unsanctioned lights out and you can only win via pinfall, submission or knockout. Prince Nana is here with Swerve but the dancing is a bit subdued in a nice touch. The brawl is on as the cage lowers and Nana whips out a table. A bunch of other weapons are sent in as the cage is lowered and the bell rings. Swerve hammers away but neither can sent the other into the cage. Page gets knocked down and kicked in the head but Strickland takes too long looking at the weapons and gets caught with a German suplex.

With Strickland down, Page grabs a staple gun, which Strickland takes away and staples Page in the back. Strickland staples a picture of his family to Page’s chest and then his face for a bonus. Page tries to go up, earning himself a chair shot to the face. Something like a Death Valley Driver into the cage has Page in more trouble and Strickland chokes away. They both go up top, with Page dropping down to crotch Strickland on the rope. There’s a ram into the cage to rock Strickland again and Page wraps some barbed wire around the cage wall.

Strickland is sent head first into the wire and is busted open as well. The cut is raked over the wire and Page kicks him in the face. Some chair shots have Strickland down again and the referee tries to step in, only for Strickland to flip over him for a Buckshot Lariat to Page. Strickland chairs Page down in the corner and then launches him head first into the chair for a scary crash.

It’s time to bring out a cinder block (oh dear) and Strickland Vertebreakers him onto said block (or at least pretty close to it) for two. The table is set up and a top rope Swerve Stomp drives Page through it in a huge crash. Page pops right back up and hits a Deadeye for two before whipping out a piece of the burned house. Strickland takes that away too and stabs Page in the head but cries as he looks at it. The distraction lets Page powerbomb him onto the cinder block for two and Page slugs away. That takes too long and Strickland is back up with a toss powerbomb into the cage.

The House Call against the cage and a running knee give Strickland two so he goes to the top of the cage. Well he starts to at least as Page is there to powerbomb him back down. Another Deadeye gets two and Page hits him in the head with a chair. Strickland starts laughing at him but falls down again. Page whips out a syringe and drives it through Strickland’s cheek before hitting a TERRIFYING chair shot to the head (with the camera cutting away) for the knockout at 31:21.

Rating: A-. I’m not sure what to say on this one, but I was feeling Page’s utter hatred of Strickland and wanting to destroy him, which is what he did in the end. Strickland was violent as well, but him laughing at Page in the end didn’t quite feel right after the whole arson thing. Page pretty much had to win here so he can finally beat Strickland, but I’m not sure where things can go from here. For now though, an incredibly violent match, albeit with the syringe being a bit weird.

Post match Page leaves, teases coming back, and then screams a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this was pretty awesome with nothing close to a bad match and the two big matches more than delivering. At the same time, it was kind of an odd show as there was very little in the way of title changes, but quite a bit in the way of moves such as the Club’s turn and Page getting his big win. It was a great show once I got into it and beyond the rather worthless Zero Hour. Now just give us some time before the next pay per view because this two week turnaround was annoying. Other than that, check this show out as it’s worth a look.

Results
Acclaimed b. Iron Savages – Mic Drop to Bronson
Hologram/Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara b. Premiere Athletes – Final Reckoning to Woods
Bang Bang Gang b. Dark Order – Forward DDT to Uno
Undisputed Kingdom b. Shane Taylor Promotions/The Beast Mortos and Action Andretti/Top Flight – Powerbomb to Andretti
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Daniel Garcia – Jackknife rollup
Young Bucks b. Blackpool Combat Club – Small package to Yuta
Will Ospreay b. Pac – Hidden Blade
Kris Statlander b. Willow Nightingale – Choke with a chain
Kazuchika Okada b. Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe and Konosuke Takeshita – Rainmaker to Cassidy
Mercedes Mone b. Hikaru Shida – Mone Maker
Bryan Danielson b. Jack Perry – Running knee
Hangman Page b. Swerve Strickland via knockout

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