Dark
Date: December 17, 2019
Location: Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas
Commentators: Vickie Guerrero, Excalibur
Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Dasha Gonzales

We’re still down in Texas and it’s time to get ready for a pretty big episode of Dynamite this week. That’s where a bunch of recaps could come in handy as there was a lot set up last week. The quality and importance of the matches on this show are almost impossible to guess, but that can make for a fun time of finding out. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the Young Bucks wanting to build the company on the back of a strong tag team division but admitting that they haven’t been as good as they should be. Now though, they’re the #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles. They love SCU and the three of them will be at the Bucks’ house for Christmas dinner. They’re coming for the belts though, no matter how awkward it makes Christmas.

The hosts run down the card.

Vickie Guerrero gets an introduction. To be fair, that’s kind of a cool surprise and not the kind you would have bet on (if that makes sense).

Private Party vs. SCU

Non-title. Kassidy and Kazarian start things off with Kazarian grabbing a headlock takeover. Back up and it’s another headlock takeover in case the first one didn’t stick. An exchange of near falls sets up a standoff and the fans are rather pleased. They even slap hands and it’s a double tag to bring in Quen to face Sky. A dropkick puts Quen down but he’s right back up with one of his own, only to have Kazarian come in for a leg lariat.

The springboard legdrop gets two and it’s back to Sky for some strutting….and it’s Kazarian coming back in for a German suplex. Quen sends Kazarian into Sky though and the hot tag brings in Kassidy. A moonsault takes down both champs and a flapjack/bulldog combination gets two on Sky. There’s a stomp to the back of Sky’s head and the Party stops for some dancing.

Kazarian hits a double clothesline out of the corner and then goes over to get the tag from Sky in a smart move. House is cleaned again and it’s an assisted Unprettier for two on Quen. SCULater is broken up so Quen hits the big flip dive to take out Kazarian and Sky at the same time. Kassidy hits one of his own and it’s Quen getting two on Sky back inside. The shooting star press misses Sky so Kassidy forearms Kazarian a few times. Silly String is broken up and SCULater finishes Quen at 12:23.

Rating: B-. Were you expecting this to be anything but good? Private Party continues to look solid but also continues to lose, which is quite the problem for them. At the same time, SCU wasn’t about to lose in a non-title match, especially not a day before a huge title defense. They did some nice stuff here and it was exactly the kind of match you would have expected.

Here’s your weekly women’s division recap including Big Swole defending Emi Sakura, Brandi Rhodes’ Nightmare Collective promo, and the women’s standings:

5. Emi Sakura

4. Nyla Rose

3. Hikaru Shida

2. Kris Stadtlander

1. Britt Baker

Joey Janela joins commentary.

Britt Baker vs. Machiko

This is Machiko’s debut and she has very colorful hair. Baker kicks her down to start and a crucifix gets one. Machiko’s arm is sent into the corner so we hit the crossface chickenwing. A superkick sets up Lockjaw finishes Machiko at 3:23.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure what there is to say here. Baker is someone who gets pushed and then comes up short in the bigger matches. She is going to be in a #1 contenders match with Kris Stadtlander and hopefully she can get the win that has eluded her so far. The potential is there, but unless she goes somewhere with it, that doesn’t matter.

Kris Stadtlander vs. Bea Priestley

The Cheeky Nandos kick misses though and Stadtlander gets two off a suplex. A discus lariat knocks Priestley outside and there’s the suicide dive. Cue the Nightmare Collective in the crowd to tell Stadtlander to “come home” , allowing Priestley to get in a kick to the head for her own two. An Oklahoma roll gives Stadtlander two but she gets dropped with a Saito suplex. Stadtlander is right back with an ax kick for another near fall and the Big Bang Theory finishes Priestley at 9:27.

Rating: C+. They were having a good match and the Nightmare Collective didn’t cause too much of a problem. That being said, their cameo only reminded me of how lame of an idea the whole thing seems when you have the Dark Order and maybe Butcher/Blade/Bunny at the same time. At least get something that isn’t so dark for a change? Stadtlander continues to look good and I could go for her beating Baker to get the title shot.

We run down the Dynamite card.

Stadtlander says Britt Baker is next and makes a bunch of space references. She’ll be Britt’s leader.

Hybrid Two/Pac vs. Best Friends/Orange Cassidy

Chuck headlocks Angelico down to start but it’s quickly broken for a standoff. The Friends start taking turns on Angelico’s arm as Janela makes some thinly veiled references to Jim Cornette. Taylor grabs a half crab on Angelico but Evans makes a quick save. That’s fine with Chuck, who hits Soul Food, only to allow the tag to Pac. A kick to the head sets up a hiptoss to give Evans two and it’s back to Angelico to continue the rapid fire tags.

Chuck rolls over for the hot tag to Trent to clean house, including a big running flip dive onto the Two. Pac breaks up the hug though and the fans are NOT pleased with that one. The fans want Orange but have to settle for Trent getting choked in the corner. Evans kicks Trent in the head for two more, followed by Pac’s Blue Thunder Bomb for two more.

Trent manages a half and half suplex but Angelico makes the save and knocks Chuck off the apron. He doesn’t bother with Orange (Joey: “Because he fears for his life.”), only to walk into a spinning DDT from Trent. The hot tag brings in Cassidy and the place goes NUTS as he takes off his glasses. The hands go into the pockets for a dropkick into a nip up, plus a dodge to make Pac pump kick Evans by mistake.

Cassidy hits the slow motion kicks on Pac before taking the hands out for a tornado DDT. The glasses go back on and Cassidy hits a suicide dive to take out all three of them at once. That means a three way hug back inside and Cassidy’s top rope splash gets two on Angelico. Chuck’s moonsault misses though and it’s an assisted moonsault to set up Pac’s 450 for two. Pac kicks Cassidy to the floor and snap German suplexes Chuck. The Brutalizer finishes Taylor at 13:22.

Rating: C+. This is a great example of a match where your tastes may vary and I can get that. The energy was high enough to make the match work and the place went coconuts for Cassidy, but at the same time I absolutely would not have had Pac in there with all the goofiness. That kind of stuff can have its place in wrestling (and it certainly will around here) but Pac is a potential main event talent. He did win, but it shouldn’t have been that much of a relief that he did.

Tony and Dasha wrap things up.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this one more than most of the recent episodes and a lot of that came from them shaving the time down a bit. This week’s show was about ten minutes shorter and it didn’t feel like they had to fill in as much time as they did in previous shows. This show doesn’t need to recap everything or show all of the big points from Dynamite. Just get in, have some nice matches, show some recaps, and get out. That’s more what we got here, and while I could go for a bit of a shorter show, it was still a better outing.

Results

SCU b. Private Party – SCULater to Quen

Britt Baker b. Machiko – Lockjaw

Kris Stadtlander b. Bea Priestley – Big Bang Theory

Hybrid Two/Pac b. Best Friends/Orange Cassidy – Brutalizer to Taylor

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

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

World of Sport
Date: September 15, 2018
Location: Epic Studios, Norwich, England
Commentators: Stu Bennett, So Cal Val, Alex Shane

I’m not sure what to say about this show anymore as we have three episodes left and a grand total of nothing to be excited about. There’s very little life in this place and that hasn’t changed since the first show. It’s settled down to the point where you can tell who everyone is, but I still have no reason to care about these people. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap/preview.

Ayesha vs. Viper

#1 contenders match. They start with the required power lockup with Viper getting the better of things. Stereo shoulders don’t get anyone anywhere so Viper sends her face first into the buckle over and over. A cobra clutch has Ayesha in trouble and a backsplash gets two. The clutch goes back on (just to mix things up a bit) but Ayesha breaks free and runs her over. A fisherman’s suplex gets two on Viper but seems to tick her off, earning Ayesha a trip into the corner for the Cannonball (becoming way too common these days). The sitout powerslam is good for the pin on Ayesha at 6:49.

Rating: D. I’m not much of a fan of these power vs. power matches and when I still know NOTHING about either of them, it’s a little hard to really care. We’ve seen Kay Lee Ray beat Viper twice now and I have no idea why I should care about seeing it happen a third time. But hey, that’s never stopped them before and it’s not going to in the final few shows.

Post break, Viper promises to win the title.

Will Ospreay/Bea Priestly vs. Stevie Boy/Kay Lee Ray

The entire deal here: they’re couples in real life. Ignore continuity, heel/face alignments and the fact that, again, neither of the couples have actually interacted on TV up to this point. REAL LIFE you see. The men start with Ospreay running the ropes for a hurricanrana but Stevie pops back up for a standoff. The women come in with Ray getting two off a middle rope dropkick and grabbing the choke.

Priestly hits a running knee to the head….in theory at least as they cut away to the crowd before the impact. Wait. So we can have LADDER MATCHES but a knee to the head from one woman to another isn’t allowed? Then why would you book the women on the show in the first place? Anyway Ray is back with another dropkick (allowed to be seen) and it’s back to the men. Ospreay scores with an enziguri but a Falcon Arrow gives Stevie two. A slugout goes to Stevie and everything breaks down.

Rating: C. Well that was a thing that happened. The wrestling was fine but I need a lot more than “they’re dating” to make me want to watch a match. Ospreay is Ospreay but I couldn’t tell you a single thing about any of the other three, aside from Ray being Women’s Champion which means nothing here. This felt like the definition of filler and that’s always annoying.

Iestyn Rees vs. British Bulldog Jr.

Thankfully there’s no Grado with Smith so hopefully that team is already gone. They shove each other to start with Bulldog taking him down without much effort. The test of strength goes to Rees thanks to a kick to the ribs but he can’t get Bulldog all the way down. Back up and they hit some hard running shots to the chest until it’s a double knockdown. The non-delayed suplex gives Bulldog two but Rees sends him shoulder first into the post.

Rees starts working on the arm back inside and we hit an armbar as the fans are entirely behind Bulldog (well duh). A stomp to the arm warrants another cut so Bulldog rolls him over into a cross armbreaker. The armbar goes right back on and a neck snap across the top rope cuts off Bulldog’s comeback.

Rees gets caught on top though and a superplex gives Bulldog two. Some rolling German suplexes give Bulldog the same and a powerbomb with a jackknife cover gets the third straight near fall. Rees spears him for two of his own and can’t believe the kickout. Bulldog hits a quick powerslam for the pin at 11:04, by far the longest match of the series so far.

Rating: C+. Bulldog is better than most people on the roster in the first place so the match being better isn’t the biggest surprise. Iestyn is a decent talent but he needs a slightly better (and easier to pronounce) name to make things work a little better. You can almost pencil in Bulldog and someone else (please not Grado) winning the Tag Team Titles to end the series.

Crater vs. Robbie X

You win by taking off the opponent’s mask. Robbie kicks away to start but a handspring elbow is countered into a release Rock Bottom. A bearhug goes on so Robbie goes for the mask to escape. Crater manages a dropkick (not bad all things considered) and Robbie sells it like death, as he should. Robbie is fine enough to kick him to the floor for a moonsault but Crater runs him over again. A big splash misses though and Robbie hits a springboard cutter, allowing him to pull the mask off for the win at 5:11.

Rating: D. Robbie was fine but what is the point in building up Crater to have him lose in a handicap match and then a mask vs. mask match which is more humiliating than anything else? It still feels like whoever is booking these shows learned wrestling by reading a book instead of hands on experience and that’s not the best idea in the world. Nothing to see here, especially since Crater covered his face.

Post match Crater takes the mask back and puts it on again before leaving in shame.

Bennett has some….breaking news for us. Next week there will be a unique match involving the entire male roster with the winner getting a title shot the following week. Three things here.

1. Justin Sysum still won the #1 contenders match a few weeks back and still hasn’t received his title shot.

2. Bennett said that it’s a match involving the entire male roster for a show at Rampage. Shouldn’t that have been the entire male roster save for Rampage? I know that’s a little picky but with as much of a mess as this place has been, they don’t have much in the way of the benefit of the doubt.

3. The preview for next week shows that it’s pretty much a Royal Rumble. That’s not unique.

Overall Rating: C-. I know I’m not the target audience for this show but I’m really not sure what that audience is supposed to be. Are kids or adults supposed to care about who Ospreay is dating or about Viper getting a Women’s Title match? This show really feels like a rough draft where they threw whatever they thought of first into a series and hoped for the best. It’s certainly not terrible and I’ve seen FAR worse, but it’s a show that needs some more people working on it and a lot of kinks ironed out.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

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

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