IMG Credit: AEW Wrestling

Dark
Date: December 24, 2019
Location: American Bank Center, Corpus, Christi, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Colt Cabana
Hosts: Tony Schiavone, Dasha Gonzalez

It’s the final Dark of the year and since there is no Dynamite tomorrow, I’m not sure what to expect from this one. That makes things a little more interesting, though there is a good chance that it is going to be a normal show. Your individual taste on that may vary, but having a show on Christmas Eve might not be the brightest idea in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Tony and Dasha give us the usual welcome, albeit with more Christmas references than you get in most weeks.

Sammy Guevara vs. Brandon Cutler

Sammy is already filming during the entrances so the holiday isn’t messing with his routine. We hit the posing in the corner before Sammy rolls away and dances a bit. A dropkick puts Cutler down and Sammy spins into a pose, followed by the headlock for a bonus. Cutler is right back with a dropkick into the corner and a pose of his own, setting up a suplex to the floor. A big flip dive to the floor drops Guevara, who is right back up with a corkscrew dive.

Cutler is back up as well with a suicide dive and some right hands, only to have Sammy hit a top rope double stomp to the chest onto the apron. Hold on though as Sammy needs to yell at the fans on the mic before getting two. That’s a rather Guevara move to make and it fit him very well. Sammy goes up, points at Cutler, and then drops down for a chinlock instead. Cutler is back with a kick to the head and a Phenomenal Forearm gets two.

Another kick to the head rocks Cutler this time though and a springboard cutter plants him as well. The shooting star press connects but Sammy barely covers, allowing Cutler to roll him up for two in a great false finish. That’s enough for Sammy, who hits something like a reverse GTS for the pin at 7:48.

Rating: C. As much as Cutler is just a warm body in the ring, this was a great showcase for Sammy, who got to showcase himself while also getting a win. He’s such a slimy heel that you want to see get beaten up, which isn’t something you get to see done so well very often. The near fall off the crucifix was a great little moment, but this was the Sammy Guevara show and I had some fun with it.

Tonight, Joey Janela is yelling TIMBER to end Shawn Spears once and for all. He’s the man you won’t forget.

Hybrid 2 vs. Private Party vs. Santana/Ortiz vs. Best Friends

The Hybrid 2 and Santana/Ortiz are backdropped over the corners but they pull the other four outside. Back in and Evans hammers away at Chuck, only to charge into a boot in the corner. Kassidy comes in for the screaming right hands but it’s Santana coming in and allowing a blind tag to Ortiz for a springboard crossbody. Santana hits two Amigos but hands Kassidy off to Ortiz for the delayed third.

Santana and Ortiz aren’t sure what to do but it’s the Best Friends hugging in the ring to break that up. The Friends hit stereo flip dives to take everyone out and it’s Cassidy hitting a dive onto Santana/Ortiz. Back in and Silly String drops Trent but Santana counters another attempt. The referee gets distracted and it’s the loaded sock to Cassidy. The Street Sweeper finishes Kassidy to give Santana the pin at 16:04.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of match where you knew what you were getting and it was still a good time. It worked just fine and they all got to look good for at least a little while. All of the dives and flips were cool and it was a good way to get the crowd going. Now granted if this took place after Dynamite then it missed the purpose but at least the fans got to have some fun.

Here’s Pac, who brings out Michael Nakazawa (with commentary saying that this is taped after Dynamite so no, Pac hasn’t had him captive for six days) to continue the beating. If Kenny Omega doesn’t give him the rubber match, this will continue.

Joey Janela vs. Shawn Spears

Back in and Spears crotches him on top but Janela keeps rolling away as Spears goes up top over and over. The fans chant TEN so Spears does a cartwheel and flips them off. Janela fights back and they head to the floor with Janela using a chair as a launchpad to knock Spears into the crowd. After a quick cameo from a fan dressed as Jesus, Spears comes back with a spinebuster. Tully gets in the ring and we get some shots of Jesus threatening to beat him up. The distraction lets Janela knock Spears down and drop a top rope elbow for the pin at 7:42.

Rating: C-. This was mainly a feel good match that was just a step above comedy, which is fine for what it was supposed to be. Janela vs. Spears has not been a thrilling feud so blowing it off here in a goofy match is the best option they had. There’s nothing wrong with a fun match like this and that’s what they went with here. The fans reacted well to it and that’s as good as you can get.

Post match Janela offers Spears a beer before dropping him with a Stunner. Eh it was filmed on Austin’s birthday so fair enough.

Overall Rating: C+. This is the kind of show I’ve been wanting Dark to be. They didn’t waste time and they didn’t spend forever recapping things that the audience is already going to know. The show was three matches and a quick segment. Keep things tight and moving, because that’s the point of a show like this. I liked what we got here and if they keep going like this, they’ve got a smart use of their time.

Results

Sammy Guevara b. Brandon Cutler – Reverse GTS

Santana/Ortiz b. Hybrid 2, Private Party and Best Friends – Street Sweeper to Kassidy

Joey Janela b. Shawn Spears – Top rope elbow

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

IMG Credit: AEW

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

IMG Credit: AEW Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: November 27, 2019
Location: Sears Center Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross

It’s back where things got started with a return to Chicago. As luck would have it, we are in for a big show here with the World Title being defended as champion Chris Jericho faces Scorpio Sky in an unlikely title defense. That could make for a heck of a match and hopefully the rest of the show backs it up. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Chris Jericho’s Thank You celebration, complete with people in rather large costumes, a marching band, large presents and MIKE JONES (Virgil) as emcee. Jericho, sounding rather distorted, talks about how much he has earned this thank you, but he has a thank you for the fans too. Some of the people in this arena have coupons underneath their seats for FIFTY CENTS off the new Le Champion shirt.

Jericho has also found some grapes from the mountains of Nepal and we now have official Little Bit Of The Bubbly champagne available. With a toast out of the way, Jericho brings out the Inner Circle for the celebration. Sammy Guevara has a present for Jericho: a cardboard cutout of the two of them hugging. Santana and Ortiz have a gift basket, including some Vaporub, a photo of someone whose name I couldn’t understand, some flip flops (Ortiz: “These double as a weapon.”), a little bit of the 40 (in a brown paper bag), and a Puerto Rico bandanna.

Cue Jake Hager with a goat named Chris Jerigoat. Now it’s time for the BIG surprise (it’s in a big box) which is…..Jericho’s dad, Ted Irvine! Ted talks about beating the Chicago Blackhawks all of the time and busts out some custom New York Rangers jerseys for the Inner Circle.

Jericho has a letter from AEW but since he isn’t in the mood to read, Justin Roberts can come do it for him. The statement is a nice proclamation about Jericho as World Champion but Jericho didn’t like Roberts’ tone. The beatdown is on but the marching band, which happens to be SCU, comes in for the save and beat down Virgil. This was a bit long, but the gifts were funny and Jericho can sell anything.

Best Friends vs. Lucha Bros

Orange Cassidy, in a turkey suit, is here with the Best Friends. The Bros jump them in the aisle so Cassidy dives onto the Bros, giving us a WKRP In Cincinnati references from JR (look it up). The Friends fight back in a hurry and we get the hug out of the way early on. A few cheap shots behind the referee’s back let Pentagon superkick Trent down for two. Back from a break with Trent still in trouble and a top rope double stomp, which looked rather low, gets two more.

Trent fights up and gets over for the tag to Chuck, who grabs a half crab of all things. That’s broken up with a quick superkick but Trent is right back with a running flip dive to the floor. Pentagon’s Canadian Destroyer gets two and it’s Fenix hitting his springboard kick to Trent. The rolling cutter is countered into the Crunchie for the pin on Fenix at 7:54.

Rating: C. The Friends looked good here, though I’m not sure how much sense it makes to have the Lucha Bros lose, especially after Pentagon lost the previous night. I can appreciate them building up a team like the Best Friends though, even if they’re not a team I care for all that much. I’m not sure I can picture them against SCU, but someone has to face the champs.

Here are the women’s rankings. Before the next match, we hear guest commentator Marco Martinez thanking JR and Excalibur in a statement I don’t think was supposed to make air.

Emi Sakura/Bea Priestly vs. Kris Stadtlander/Hikaru Shida

JR during Sakura’s entrance: “Freddy Mercury never looked so Oriental.” It’s a brawl to start with Stadtlander sending both of them to the floor. Shida loads up her dive off the chair so Sakura sits in it, only to be knocked out of it in a hurry. The dive hits and we take a break.

Back with Shida in trouble and Sakura grabbing an abdominal stretch, complete with her mic stand to continue the Mercury tribute. Sakura gets sent into Priestly in the corner though and an enziguri knocks Priestly sillier. She’s fine enough to grab a German suplex so Shida hits a running knee and makes the hot tag to Stadtlander. A pumphandle rollup gives Stadtlander two on Sakura but a rolling cutter takes her down.

Priestly hits a top rope double stomp to the back for two but Stadtlander avoids the moonsault. A running knee sets up a superkick to the back of Sakura’s head and an ax kick gives Stadtlander two (in a very near fall). Priestly gets in a cheap shot from behind though and Sakura grabs la majistral to finish Stadtlander at 9:33.

Rating: C. This felt sloppy in a lot of places with the fans not being happy with the ending. Shida is losing me in a hurry with the same knee strikes in every match. It’s still better than the Mercury thing, which is one of the more out there tributes that Sakura does every week. Are we really hoping to cater to the Mercury/wrestling fan crossover audience? Not the worst match, but it wasn’t exactly a tight effort.

Cody vs. Matt Knicks

Post match Cody calls out MJF but a masked man comes out from a hole in the ring. Excalibur: “IT’S THE BLADE!” Another man comes out, with Excalibur calling him the Butcher. Excalibur: “We have not seen them before!” They pull Allie, now going by the Bunny, out of the hole. JR was as confused as I am about who those two are, but Excalibur knows and that’s all that matters.

Pac vs. Kenny Omega

Omega starts fast with a snapdragon and sends him to the floor for the big dive. Pac gets in a kick to the ribs but it’s another snapdragon to put him back down. The suplex off the apron doesn’t work as Omega gets knocked to the floor with Pac nailing a moonsault as we take a break.

Back with Omega striking away in the corner and hitting another suplex. Omega goes up though and gets caught in a super Falcon Arrow for two. The Black Arrow is loaded up as JR congratulates Excalibur for getting in the Bowling Shoe Ugly line. Omega rolls away to make Pac crash and there’s the V Trigger to set up the One Winged Angel. That’s reversed as well so Omega rolls him into a crucifix for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B-. This felt like the structure of a Pac vs. Omega match but it needed another eight to ten minutes to really make it work. What we got was good enough though and Omega won clean to continue his road to redemption. Pac losing again so soon after the loss to Page is a bit questionable, but so is having this many big matches so soon after the show debuted.

We look back at the end of last week’s battle royal.

Dynamite Diamond: Adam Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF, with Wardlow, says he is the only one who deserves the diamond. Page says he isn’t a ring guy but he’d be glad to win this. It’s a brawl to start with Page sending him to the floor and over the barricade as we take an early break. Back with Page hitting a moonsault to the floor, followed by the Buckshot lariat for two with Wardlow putting the foot on the rope. Wardlow gets in a shot of his own and the Cross Rhodes gives MJF the pin and the ring at 6:58.

Rating: D+. What we got was decent but Page losing another match isn’t helping him, though it’s hardly some career killer as it wasn’t even a clean loss. MJF getting the big win here is great though as he is the kind of guy who needs to be pushed as hard as they can. He’s the best heel in the company if not all of wrestling at the moment so giving him a win like this works well.

Post match here’s Diamond Dallas Page to present the ring. Page hands him the ring but isn’t happy with some of MJF’s recent actions. That means a hard slap on the shoulder but Page is willing to be the bigger man and offers a handshake. MJF puts his gum in the hand instead and gets pulled back, only to have Wardlow get in Page’s face. Agents and referees break it up in a hurry as I can’t believe they didn’t reference Page’s Lord Of The Ring from WCW.

Here’s Dustin Rhodes to say he’s out for Jake Hager’s blood. Cue the Inner Circle to go after Dustin though, drawing out the Young Bucks for the save. Triple Shattered Dreams leave the Circle laying.

We get another Join The Dark Order vignette, featuring various people flashing back to what drove them here. Anyone could be Dark Order, and they are all better now that they are part of the group.

AEW World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Scorpio Sky

Jericho is defending and seconds are banned from ringside. They take their time to start with Jericho shouldering him down but getting sent outside for his efforts. Sky hits a running boot to the face and a jumping elbow to the jaw back inside. Jericho is back up to send him to the apron though and the triangle dropkick connects to send us to a break.

Back with Sky still in trouble but hitting something like a Thesz press. A dropkick puts Jericho down and it’s the slingshot cutter for two. Jericho is right back with the Walls though, sending Sky straight to the ropes. Another cutter from Sky sets up a dragon sleeper but here’s Hager for the distraction into the break.

Jericho is back up for his half of a double clothesline and they’re both down again. Cue Kazarian and Daniels to go after Hager and drive him to the back, leaving Sky to hit the TKO for two. Sky gets two more off an enziguri but the Codebreaker pulls him out of the air for two more. A backslide gives Sky his own near fall but Jericho pulls him into the Walls for the tap at 12:13.

Rating: B-. This was a case where the ending wasn’t exactly in doubt but they gave us enough good stuff to make the match work. They weren’t out there a crazy amount of time and there was never a situation where I was thinking “get on with it because Sky isn’t winning”. It wasn’t the best match, but they didn’t do anything terrible or stupid and that means a lot.

Post match Jericho goes after Sky again but Moxley appears in the crowd for the big staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s probably the weakest and least interesting show they’ve done so far and it was still a perfectly watchable and at times good two hours of wrestling. The energy was a bit down though and very little felt like something you needed to see (though the opening segment was highly entertaining). The most promising thing for the future though is that this felt like a one off dip instead of something I’m worried about. It wasn’t a great show but I have no reason to believe that they’re falling apart. That isn’t the case for a lot of companies and it’s a good sign for them.

Results

Best Friends b. Lucha Bros – Crunchie to Pentagon

Bea Priestly/Emi Sakura b. Hikaru Shida/Kris Stadtlander – La Majistral to Stadtlander

Kenny Omega b. Pac – Crucifix

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Adam Page – Cross Rhodes

Chris Jericho b. Scorpio Sky – Walls of Jericho

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: October 30, 2019
Location: Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s time to crown some new champions and that means we’re in for a tournament final. Tonight we get the first ever AEW Tag Team Champions as SCU faces the Lucha Bros for the inaugural titles. Other than that we have the contract signing for Full Gear between Chris Jericho and Cody. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Dustin Rhodes and Cody going to the signing with Jericho. Dustin hugs him and Cody gets in a car with Schiavone.

We see a clip of the end of last week’s show and the aftermath, with Adam Page and Kenny Omega hitting the ring to chase off Pac. Page wants Pac at Full Gear.

Post match, Moxley went to the back and Tony Khan needed to see him. They went into a locker room and Khan said the match with Omega is going to be unsanctioned because Moxley is too violent. That isn’t cool with Moxley, who has been working to get a win over Omega and now it won’t count because AEW doesn’t want him beating their golden boy. He accuses Tony of treating him like everyone else so Omega’s blood is on Khan’s hands.

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show.

The posts and buckles are Rick and Morty themed.

Sammy Guevara vs. Hangman Page

Page chops away and kicks Guevara in the face to start but Sammy is right back up with a dropkick into a bow. Guevara’s suplex gets two but Page takes him into the corner for a slap to the face. A middle rope crossbody is pulled out of the air for a fall away slam and Page clotheslines him to the floor. That’s fine with Sammy who sends Page into the barricade, allowing Sammy to go up top. Instead though he drops down for a slap to the face, which only fires Page up.

Page no sells a superkick and hits a hard lariat for the double knockdown. They head to the apron with Sammy having to escape the Deadeye. Instead Page hits a Boss Man Slam onto the apron for a big crash. Back in and a pop up powerbomb gets two on Sammy, followed by a moonsault to the floor. Sammy is smart enough to drop to the mat to avoid the Buckshot Lariat. Not that it matters as Page is right back with the right hand and the Lariat for the pin at 8:07.

Rating: B-. Page looks like a star in every sense of the word but he still needs some time and experience to become a top star. He has all the tools that you could ask for though and if he keeps going at this rate, he is going to be a big deal. It’s not like losing to him hurts Sammy either so this was completely fine for what it was.

Post match Page says he’s been losing lately but this felt good. At Full Gear, he’s going to do some cowboy s***. JR: “There’s a shirt.”

Hikaru Shida vs. Shanna

They slug it out to start and head outside early on with Shida setting up a chair for a running knee to the face. A backbreaker gives Shida two and another knee gets another near fall as it’s all Shida so far. Shanna shrugs it off though and gets fired up as we take an early break.

Back with Shanna hitting an Alberto top rope double stomp but Shida grabs a sunset driver to knock Shanna silly. They trade rollups for two each and Shida gets in the running knee for two more. The Falcon Arrow gives Shida two more and another running knee is enough to put Shanna away at 10:44.

Rating: C+. I liked this one with Shida hitting some hard strikes and Shanna getting to show off a little bit. There was a good amount of action packed into this one and Shanna looks like someone else who could be a big deal in the division. Then again that is the case for a lot of women and only Riho has really gotten to showcase herself at a high level.

Video on Brandi Rhodes going nuts last week. She seems to be doing something almost occultish and is still involved with Awesome Kong.

Here are the Rock and Roll Express (reigning NWA World Tag Team Champions) to talk about some old times in the building but here are Santana and Ortiz to take then out. Morton gets hit with a loaded sock and powerbombed off the stage through a table. The Young Bucks come out for the save.

Cody and Schiavone continue their Ric Flair from Starrcade 1993 segment and Tony talks about hanging out with Willie Nelson and Dusty Rhodes. Dusty had Willie come out first, because the star always comes out last. Cody talks about his mom being at Full Gear and how much he wants his dad to be proud of him. Tony is proud of him, which seems to touch Cody.

Best Friends/Orange Cassidy vs. Alex Reynolds/QT Marshall/Jon Silver

Cassidy and the Best Friends are dressed as Rick and Morty and the fans have masks of the characters for a bonus. And yes, Morty does the ring announcing for the Friends/Cassidy. Silver knocks Trent’s wig off and the villains cheat to clean house like villains should. Trent manages a tornado DDT to Silver so the wig can be replaced, but Marshall breaks up the hug attempt. That draw Cassidy, who takes off his costume, into the ring for the weak kicks. A dropkick into a nipup into the triple hug sets up the suicide dive. Strong Zero finishes Reynolds at 3:13.

Rating: D. Yeah I’m thinking no on this one. The Rick and Morty stuff was fine for a one off promotional deal (WWE has done WAY dumber things over the years in the same vein) but I wasn’t liking the match as the Friends and Cassidy’s acts have worn on me pretty badly. That being said, they kept this really short and it isn’t something that is going to hurt the show whatsoever.

Full Gear rundown.

Here’s Chris Jericho for the contract signing on the stage. Tony and Cody come into the building and then the arena. After a quick intro, Cody signs and Jericho teases charging at him. Jericho talks about how Cody is giving this everything he has, but it’s time for Cody to learn a lesson.

Cody needs to learn what it’s like to be a loser and Jericho signs, Jericho stands up for the big staredown and gives him a hard handshake, saying he’ll see Cody at Full Gear. Jericho says Cody can stand there all night, but he might be needed elsewhere. Sammy Guevara pops up on screen and we cut to the back where Jake Hager is beating up Dustin. His head dents the car and Hager slams the car door on his arm, ala Larry Zbyszko and Barry Windham in 1991, when Dustin was Windham’s partner.

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs. Kip Sabian/Hybrid Two

Kenny gets a big video gamed themed entrance and is wearing a mask that I don’t recognize. The Bucks on the other hand are in Street Fighter gear. It’s a brawl to start with Sabian hitting a flip dive onto the Bucks so Kenny has to fight off the Two on his own. The Bucks are right back in for the series of kicks to the head, setting up a springboard double stomp to Sabian’s ribs.

The Rise of the Terminators is broken up and Evans kicks Omega in the head to send him outside. That means the Sauske Special to drop Omega and it’s a middle rope hurricanrana for two on Matt. Back from a break with Omega getting the hot tag and cleaning house with Snapdragons. Everything breaks down and it’s the parade of kicks to the head. The big flip dive to the floor is blocked so Sabian tries a springboard only to dive into a triple superkick. The One Winged Angel finishes Evans at 11:27.

Rating: C+. Maybe it’s the pure insanity that the matches include or the lack of any real psychology to the whole thing but there is something that holds these matches back from me. They feel like performances instead of matches and that makes them a little bit difficult to get behind. They’re still enjoyable and I have a good time with them, but they just don’t feel the same.

Post match Santana and Ortiz, now known as Power N Pride, jump the Bucks from the crowd with Omega making the save.

Here’s Peter Avalon to rant about how terrible Charleston is but Jon Moxley comes in through the crowd with the Paradigm Shift. Moxley grabs the mic and mentions his match with Omega being unsanctioned. That means no rules but it also means that the match doesn’t count. Moxley knows AEW is trying to protect their boy and put Moxley in their box so he can’t hurt the star. He’ll beat Omega in a match even if it doesn’t exist and if you think he’s out of control, you haven’t seen anything yet. Omega’s blood is on AEW’s hands and stay the h*** out of his way. That was a fired up promo.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. SCU

For the inaugural titles and they’re just in the ring when we come back from a break. Various teams are watching in the back. It turns into a brawl to start and Pentagon hits the Pentagon Driver for a very early two on Kazarian. The Sling Blade takes Sky down but we settle down to Kazarian slamming Fenix and dropping the spinning legdrop for two, with Kazarian being ready for Pentagon’s save.

Fenix is back up to clean house and Pentagon superkicks Sky on the floor. Sky is sent outside and gets kicked in the face as well, setting up a backbreaker/slingshot legdrop combination to really take him down. Back from a break with Kazarian fighting out of trouble and hitting an Angel’s Wings as an ode to Daniels.

Sky gets the hot tag and everything breaks down (again) with Kazarian somewhat missing a hurricanrana tot he floor. Back in and a pair of tornado DDT drops both Bros for two. SCULater is broken up and Pentagon hits the Pentagon Driver on Kazarian. Fenix’s rolling cutter gets two on Sky, followed by stereo crossbodies to put Fenix and Sky down. Pentagon powerbombs Kazarian through a table at ringside, followed by a splash off of Pentagon’s shoulders for two on Sky. The spike Fear Factor is blocked though and Kazarian cuts Fenix off so Sky can get a small package for the pin at 12:36.

Rating: B. I know it’s a fine rating but that was a rather disappointing result. The wrestling and action was good (though it felt WAY too similar to the six man) but it didn’t have enough time and the ending came out of nowhere. I am a sucker for the fast paced, flying all over the place matches ending with a quick change of gear into a fast pin though and the match was entertaining, but I was expecting a lot more and didn’t get it, mainly due to having everything be so rushed.

Overall Rating: B-. While it’s still a good show, this one came off as a misfire in a lot of areas. The Cody stuff wasn’t great and felt like it was just copying better angles with more talented people. I’m sure the match will be good, but it’s a little hard to get fired up about Cody vs. Jericho. The wrestling was mostly entertaining, but I feel like I’ve seen some variation of that six man a dozen times already. It was an entertaining show and certainly had more positives than negatives. Just something about it threw me off and it felt like a few steps below their previous shows.

Results

Hangman Page b. Sammy Guevara – Buckshot Lariat

Hikaru Shida b. Shanna – Running knee to the face

Orange Cassidy/Best Friends b. Jon Silver/Alex Reynolds/QT Marshall – Strong Zero to Reynolds

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks b. Hybrid Two/Kip Sabian – One Winged Angel to Sabian

SCU b. Lucha Bros – Small package

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

Dynamite
Date: October 23, 2019
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

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

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Lucha Bros vs. Private Party

Quen headlocks Fenix to start but can’t hit a standing moonsault. A dropkick sends Fenix into the ropes but it’s Pentagon hitting an enziguri from the apron, allowing Fenix to snap off a release German suplex. Kassidy makes the save and it’s Fenix being sent to the floor. A pop up hurricanrana sends Pentagon outside as JR doesn’t seem pleased with the style of offense so far. An atomic drop into an enziguri sets up a jump over Kassidy’s back into a double stomp to the head.

Quen hits the crazy high flip dive to take out Fenix on the floor, leaving Kassidy to enziguri Pentagon again. Fenix is right back in with a top rope double stomp to the standing Quen’s back, followed by a pop up double stomp low to Quen in the corner. Kassidy is set on Quen’s shoulders so Fenix can dropkick him down, making Quen hit a reverse hurricanrana to plant Kassidy in a heap.

The Pentagon Driver gets two on Quen so Fenix sends him into the ropes, only to have Quen cartwheel over to the ropes. Kassidy springboards in and picks up the pace (if that’s possible), including an Asai moonsault to Pentagon. A slingshot crucifix bomb gets two on Fenix, setting up the assisted Sliced Bread from Kassidy. Quen takes off the jacket and hits the perfect shooting star for the….two count.

Fenix is back up with a Gory bomb/legdrop combination for two and it’s back to Pentagon for the house cleaning. The spike Fear Factor is broken up and Gin and Juice hits Fenix. He isn’t legal though so it’s another Gin and Juice for Pentagon, who reverses into the Canadian Destroyer. Pentagon breaks Quen’s arm and it’s the spike Fear Factor for the pin at 12:23.

Rating: A-. Yeah what do you want me to say here? This was incredible stuff with both teams looking like they moved as one and the whole thing was just awesome. The Bros are just on a different level right now and get better every single week. I could have gone with either team winning here but dang this was a blast.

Wardlow is still coming.

We look at Christopher Daniels getting taken out, giving him a pinched nerve to put him on the shelf for six to eight week.

Video on the Dark Order.

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Dark Order vs. SCU

The Creepers are here with Dark Order. Grayson and Kazarian exchange armdrags to start so it’s Uno coming in and getting dropkicked down. Grayson is already back in so Kazarian and Sky take turns on his arm again. A Pele kick gets Grayson out of trouble though and Uno sends Sky into the steps. Back with Sky still in trouble and the Inner Circle coming into the arena, tickets in hand.

Sky slips away and brings in Kazarian to clean house, including a neckbreaker for two on Grayson. Everything breaks down and Kazarian gets suplexed into Sky in the corner. Kazarian gets in his slingshot cutter though and it’s a double dragon sleeper to the order….so let’s cut to some young woman in the crowd and come back with the hold broken up.

Grayson flips onto Kazarian as we keep cutting to the Inner Circle in the corner. Uno hits something like the Bitter End bu the Fatality is broken up. Kazarian hits a running DDT onto the apron to drop Uno and it’s SCULater (Gory Bomb spun into a knee from Kazarian) to finish Grayson at 13:48.

Rating: C+. It was good for the most part but my goodness Dark Order has an ability to suck the life out of a show. No one was buying this as having any drama whatsoever and they really could have shortened things up a bit. That and drop it with the camera cuts. WWE does that all the time and it’s annoying there too.

Joey Janela vs. Kenny Omega

Janela grabs the arm to start but gets sent out to the apron. Omega’s running boot knocks him to the floor and there’s the big dive, with Kenny sitting down and yelling up at the Inner Circle (still in their private box). Back in and Janela starts the chops before sending Omega outside for the big crossbody.

We take a break and come back with the Inner Circle shouting a lot and Omega getting German suplexed into the corner. A top rope elbow connects with Omega but he’s fine enough to drop a showboating Janela face first onto the turnbuckle. Janela is right back with a block to the V Trigger and a fisherman’s buster for the double knockdown. A Swanton to the apron only hits apron so it’s the V Trigger into the One Winged Angel to finish Janela at 13:46.

Rating: C+. Well that was quite the drop from their hardcore match, which tends to be the case every time with Janela. I’m not big on Omega most of the time, but I can at least get the appeal of him and he certainly does something big more often than not. Janela….yeah I’m not really getting it. He looks like a guy in tights doing stuff with no real idea of why he’s doing things and that shows badly a lot of the time.

Here’s Cody for an interview but the Inner Circle starts blowing air horns every time he talks. Cody says that this isn’t like the other wrestling company they used to work for and he can come up there and take Jericho out. Jericho makes fun of him and we get a shot of Cody showing the almost entirely empty hard camera side. After that rather bad angle, here are Dustin and MJF (Jericho: “Now I’m supposed to be scared of someone wearing a scarf? Who wears a scarf?”) to even things up a bit.

Diamond Dallas Page of all people is here to even things up and the Inner Circle bails into a locked room. MJF hands Cody the scarf so Cody can break through the glass and the fight is on as they head into the concourse. JR: “They’re gonna destroy Dip N Dots!” Jericho points at the ticket as security breaks things up and takes Cody away. Jericho was awesome here, as he tends to be.

Young Bucks vs. Best Friends

The Bucks superkick Orange Cassidy to start so it’s a brawl early on. The Bucks throw Chuck to the floor and it’s a neckbreaker/backbreaker combination on Trent. They all head outside with Trent spearing Matt and it’s a Doomsday Knee to Nick. A knee to the head keeps Nick in trouble and Trent knocks him outside as we take a break.

Back with Nick rolling out of a 450 and getting caught in a German suplex. Matt takes a Saito suplex and everything breaks down. Taylor’s standing Sliced Bread sets up a sitout powerbomb for two on Matt. The Falcon Arrow (with Excalibur getting in his jokes) gets two more and Trent hits Matt with a super German suplex.

Soul Food into a half and half and Cassidy is back up for the hands in the pockets dive onto the Bucks. Strong Zero hits Matt but Nick Swantons in for the save. The Doomsday Knee hits Nick, so he backflips out of it and lands on his feet, showing that a springboard knee to the head has no effect. More Bang For Your Buck finishes Chuck at 12:08.

Rating: C. This was like watching the opener in slow motion and that’s not a good thing. For the life of me I don’t get the Best Friends and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. They kept this a little shorter too and that’s a better choice. Not every match needs to be some big showcase, especially when the Bucks are set for a huge match at Full Gear.

Post match the Bucks accept Santana and Ortiz’s challenge for Full Gear.

Video on Britt Baker, who is making her homecoming tonight. JR: “She can break your teeth and fix them in the same day!”

Jamie Hayter vs. Britt Baker

Baker starts fast but gets thrown into the corner and knocked off the apron. Baker gets whipped into the barricade and we take a break. Back with a slugout going to Baker but Hayter grabs a sleeper. That’s broken up with a drop back and a clothesline gives Baker two. Hayter comes back with a Michinoku Driver for two but Baker grabs a middle rope brainbuster. Hayter’s release Rock Bottom plants Baker and a clothesline gets two more. Baker hits her in the face though and a cutter (very popular move tonight) sets up the fisherman’s neckbreaker for two more. Lockjaw finishes Hayter at 8:31.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t a big match or even very good but it got the nice moment out of the way. I’ll certainly take that over having someone get the big homecoming in WWE and then losing so Vince can laugh about it or whatever. Baker has some star power but it seems like it’s going to be a while before she gets a real run at the title.

Hayter is in the back for an interview but cuts off the questions….as Brandi throws her down from behind. Brandi glares at the interviewer and storms off without saying anything.

Jon Moxley vs. Pac

Pac jumps him from behind with a chair on the ramp and the beating starts on the floor. They get in for the opening bell and Pac loads up the Red Arrow, sending Moxley bailing outside again. Pac’s running flip dive takes Moxley down and we seem to have a concussion. A running kick to the head cuts Moxley’s comeback off and we take a break.

Back with Moxley blocking a German suplex onto the apron and hitting the headlock driver instead. Moxley nails a suicide dive as we have five minutes of TV time left. The Cloverleaf has Pac in the ropes at four minutes left but Pac is right back with a super Falcon Arrow for a close two.

Moxley gets knocked to the floor and it’s a 450 from the apron for a VERY surprised look from a fan. Back in and the Red Arrow misses as we have a minute left. The Paradigm Shift connects but it’s a delayed cover as TV time runs out at 12:09. JR: “Twenty minutes of intensity and they couldn’t settle it.”

Rating: B-. The ending intrigues me as there are a few directions they could go with it, though the concussion deal (which to be fair they never specifically said) came and went about halfway through the match. The match was entertaining though and these two come off as stars, so it’s a smart move to not have either of them take a fall here.

Post match Moxley hits the Paradigm Shift on the referee for letting the time run out. Moxley rants about the time limit to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I had a really good time with this show and the hot angle with Jericho vs. Cody made up for some of the weaker (yet still good) matches. The opener was excellent and maybe the best match I’ve seen yet from AEW. Just a heck of a fun two hours and they feel like they’re getting into a groove out there, which is pretty impressive so soon. Awesome show this week and next week could be even better.

Results

Lucha Bros b. Private Party – Spike Fear Factor to Quen

SCU b. Dark Order – SCULater to Grayson

Kenny Omega b. Joey Janela – One Winged Angel

Young Bucks b. Best Friends – More Bang For Your Buck

Britt Baker b. Jamie Hayter – Lockjaw

Jon Moxley vs. Pac went to a time limit draw

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: October 16, 2019
Location: Liacouras Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We are in for a big night here as the AEW World Title is going to be defended for the first time as Chris Jericho defends against Darby Allin in a street fight. Odds are the winner will face Cody for the title at Full Gear so there is certainly a lot on the line. Other than that, we are likely to get more in the Tag Team Title tournament so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: SCU vs. Best Friends

It’s Christopher Daniels/Kazarian for SCU, meaning they are the two that the Lucha Bros jump from behind and lay out, including a piledriver on the ramp. Scorpio Sky runs out for the save and Daniels is taken out on a stretcher. Sky says he’ll take Daniels’ spot and throws some trainers’ tape around his wrist to get ready. Chuck and Kazarian start things off with the former taking over, allowing Trent to come in and hit a sliding knee to the face.

Sky comes in and gets his street shoe taken off and sent into the crowd, allowing Chuck to bite his toes. It’s back to Kazarian, who gets beaten up on the floor and superplexed for a bonus back inside. Kazarian kicks his way out of the corner as Sky comes in off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Chuck misses a flip dive, landing on Trent by mistake. Kazarian’s slingshot hurricanrana drops Chuck and Sky hits the big flip dive, landing on his feet of course.

Sky gets back in and someone throws him his shoe back, followed by an assisted tornado DDT for two on Trent. Kazarian comes back in but gets caught with Soul Food. The big hug is broken up so Chuck knees Kazarian down and NOW we get the hug. A Doomsday knee gets two more on Kazarian but he’s fine enough to counter a piledriver on the apron. Back in and a powerbomb into a Backstabber, or at least what is supposed to be a Backstabber but wound up being more of a dropkick to the head, for the pin at 9:58.

Rating: C+. I’m not big on the Best Friends but Sky showed off very well here, as he tends to do. He’s just an athletic guy who knows how to do almost anything in the ring. The stuff with him being thrown in here was a nice story for the match and the fans throwing the show back was just cool. I’m much happier with SCU moving forward as it could bring the Freebird Rule into effect, which can always offer a bonus story.

Santana/Ortiz vs. Jon Silver/Alex Reynolds

Santana kicks Silver in the head to start and it’s Ortiz coming in as the beatdown is on in a hurry. Santana beats up Reynolds on the floor as Ortiz doesn’t seem worried by Silver inside. The Street Sweeper (sitout powerbomb/Blockbuster combination) finishes Silver at 2:02.

Post match Chris Jericho pops up on screen to say that’s why Santana and Ortiz are in the Inner Circle. The two of them want to beat up the Young Bucks so they’ll be facing off at Full Gear.

Video on Cody as he gets ready to challenge Jericho at Full Gear. This includes comments from Diamond Dallas Page, Brandi Rhodes, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and Michelle Rhodes, Dusty’s widow. Winning the title means a lot to him and it would validate everything he has done over the years. Page talks about how you need to win your first World Title, as apparently the NWA World Title doesn’t count anymore.

Women’s Title: Riho vs. Britt Baker

Baker is challenging. Feeling out process to start with Riho taking her down by the arm, only to have an armbar blocked. The Lockjaw doesn’t work either so Riho heads to the apron and slugs away, followed by a running dropkick to the head. A double stomp to the ribs keeps Baker down but the top rope double stomp misses.

Baker hits a Sling Blade and a TKO, followed by a low superkick for two more. Riho’s bridging northern lights suplex gets two more and it’s off to a half crab. Britt makes the rope so Riho hits some sliding knees for another two. Baker ripcord forearms her down though and Lockjaw is loaded up, only to have Riho reverse into a cradle to retain at 8:12.

Rating: B-. It’s Riho’s most interesting match yet but it’s still missing for the most part. I get that she’s Kenny Omega’s project but it just seems like they have so many other options to pick from. The match was better, though Riho doesn’t really have a character other than she’s small. That doesn’t have the best track record, but it’s all we’re getting here.

We look back at the Lucha Bros attacking SCU.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express

It’s Jungle Boy/Marko Stunt here, with the latter replacing the injured Luchasaurus. Pentagon and Stunt start things off and Pentagon tells him CERO MIEDO, because he isn’t scared of someone who looks to be eleven years old. Stunt shoves him away and does the Floss Dance, which isn’t well received. Pentagon takes the glove off and throws it at Jungle Boy, so Pentagon bites the finger.

A toss into a hurricanrana drops Pentagon and everything breaks down in a hurry. Another toss into a DDT puts Fenix on the floor and Stunt hits the big suicide dive. Boy adds an Asai moonsault to Pentagon, who also takes a wheelbarrow suplex into a splash/legdrop combination for two back inside. Stunt hits a 619 into Boy’s German suplex for two but Pentagon finally gets back up with the superkicks.

Fenix comes in, only to get superkicked by Boy. That doesn’t go anywhere as Fenix starts the dives, leaving Stunt to take the Pentagon Driver for a rather close two. Pentagon yells at the referee and we take a break. Back with Stunt kicking Pentagon in the face and bringing in Boy as everything breaks down. A reverse powerslam into moonsault knees to Fenix gets two, followed by a running shooting star press for the same. Pentagon comes back in for the running Canadian Destroyer, followed by a swing around by the hair. Stunt’s arm is snapped and it’s the spike Fear Factor for the pin on Stunt as Fenix dives onto Boy at 11:24.

Rating: C+. Stunt’s limited charm is rapidly wearing off for me and I can’t bring myself to care about him just because he’s small. Throw in the eternally annoying Floss Dance and my tolerance for him falls more and more every week. At least they didn’t go ridiculous by having an upset here, as I don’t think I could have taken another underdog story.

Pac/Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

During the entrances, Moxley says you don’t write him off after one injury because he is still the top of the food chain. The fans give Omega a HAPPY BIRTHDAY chant before the match and it’s Omega jumping Moxley from behind to start things off. Moxley gets the better of it but Omega is right back with the jumping Fameasser from behind. Pac gets in a cheap shot though and the villains (?) take over.

That doesn’t last long as Omega gets over for the tag to Page, who stars fast with the clotheslines. A top rope version looks to set up the Deadeye but Moxley makes it to the ropes. That’s fine with Page, who goes up but gets shoved down onto the apron thanks to a Pac distraction. Back from a break with Moxley grabbing a Texas Cloverleaf on Page, drawing Omega in for the fast save. A discus lariat drops Moxley and the hot tag brings in Omega for the house cleaning.

The Regal roll into the middle rope moonsault hits Pac and it’s a Snapdragon to both Pac and Moxley. The running flip dive takes Pac down on the floor but Moxley suicide dives both of them. Page moonsaults from the top onto Moxley and Pac so Omega can take Moxley back inside. A buckle bomb into a discus forearm into a Sky High gets two as Pac has to make a save.

Moxley hits a swinging Boss Man Slam to Page but gets his head knocked off by Omega. Pac’s slingshot cutter plants Omega but it’s a nasty suicide dive from Page to drive Pac into the barricade. We get the big showdown into the forearm off from Moxley and Omega and a V Trigger rocks Moxley. He’s fine enough to blast Omega with a clothesline though and they’re both down.

And now, with the wrestling being covered, it’s time for a barbed wire broom for Omega and a barbed wire bat for Moxley. The referee gets sent outside and it’s Moxley hitting Omega in the ribs with the non barbed wire part of the bat. Pac yells at Moxley and gets dropped with the Paradigm Shift. Moxley leaves and it’s a Buckshot Lariat into the V Trigger from Omega. Deadeye (with Pac’s head not coming close to the mat) finishes Pac at 15:04.

Rating: B. The barbed wire stuff was a little silly (though it is something that has been there before) but the rest of this was very entertaining stuff with both teams beating the heck out of each other and a few different stories being tied together into one match. I could go for a pair of singles matches out of this and that’s a distinct possibility for Full Gear.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Chris Jericho

Street fight with Allin challenging and skateboarding to the ring. Jericho is in Painmaker mode this week but Allin takes him straight down and hammers away. The champ gets sent outside for the suicide dive but Jericho takes over back inside. The confidence starts to come up, even as the fans chant for Allin. Jericho sends him hard into the post and Allin comes up holding his knee as we take a break.

Back with Jericho beating and choking with a kendo stick but the middle rope stick shot is knocked out of the air. That means Allin can unload with his own stick shots but has to get out of a Walls attempt. The referee counts to five, though I’m not sure why that would matter here. Allin uses Jericho’s argument with the referee to hit a high crossbody for two but Jericho knocks him down again.

A chair is brought in but Allin grabs a quick Stunner for two instead. Allin has to get to the ropes to get out of the Walls again so Jericho duct tapes Allin’s wrists together. Just because he can, Allin hits a moonsault press onto Jericho, followed by a suicide flip dive to the floor.

Back in and something like a Whisper in the Wind (again with the hands taped) gets two on Jericho, who clotheslines the heck out of Allin. Jericho has had it and tiger bombs Allin onto the skateboard for two, without much energy on the kickout. Allin dropkicks the chair into Jericho’s face and loads up the Coffin Drop, only to have Jake Hager come in for the save. The Walls retains the title at 15:45.

Rating: B-. This was a bit of a downgrade for Allin, who usually gets to show off a little more than he did here. The taped wrists was a good idea, though the ending felt a bit rushed with Hager just coming out for the win. That isn’t the strongest ending, though it does help keep Allin strong. It’s a good match, though it didn’t break through to the other side.

The Inner Circle comes out to celebrate with a little bit of the bubbly to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I might have liked this show more than any they’ve done so far as it a fast paced show with nothing remotely bad. It’s good that they have something to build towards now and you can probably imagine a good chunk of the Full Gear card. This was a very fast paced and entertaining two hour show with some solid wrestling and angle advancement. It might be their best show yet and hopefully that continues to be the case.

Results

SCU b. Best Friends – Powerbomb/dropkick combination to Trent

Santana/Ortiz b. Jon Silver/Alex Reynolds – Street Sweeper to Silver

Riho b. Britt Baker – Cradle

Lucha Bros b. Jurassic Express – Spike Fear Factor to Stunt

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page b. Pac/Jon Moxley – Deadeye to Pac

Chris Jericho b. Darby Allin – Walls of Jericho

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

AEW Dark
Date: October 8, 2019
Location: Capitol One Arena, Washington DC
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross

So this is something new (the second new show of the day) as AEW is releasing its dark matches (as “dark matches” enters a new definition) as a stand alone show on YouTube. Normally this is something that wouldn’t make a lot of sense but in this case, AEW needs to get their talent out there in front of an audience and that is what they’re doing here. There shouldn’t be any storylines here and it’s a pure wrestling show, which is nice for a change. Let’s get to it.

Tony Schiavone welcomes us to the show and explains the concept. He really is great at something like this and the voice is exactly the same as it was back in the 90s.

Darby Allin vs. Cima

Darby takes a bit too long looking into the crowd and gets caught with some double knees in the corner. That’s fine with Darby, who is right back with a springboard armdrag to the floor, followed by three straight suicide dives. Back in and the Coffin Drop completely misses, allowing Darby to dropkick him into the corner. Something like a Brock Lock on the mat keeps Darby down but he’s fine enough to crotch Cima on top.

That means a Tree of Woe with headbutts to the knee for a pretty unique set of offense. More shots to the knee have Cima in trouble but he’s right back with a tornado DDT for two. Back up and Cima offers him a chance for some chops, demanding Darby’s best shots. Instead Darby hits him in the face and flips over his back into a Stunner for two.

The Coffin Drop onto the knee bangs them both up a bit more so Cima is right back with the Perfect Driver for two of his own. A top top rope Meteora to the back of Darby’s head gets two more, only to have him get the same off a Code Red. That’s enough to set up the Coffin Drop, which finally connects as it’s supposed to, for the pin at 6:57.

Rating: C. I’m still not sure what to make of Allin, who is such a different kind of performer that it takes some time to get the idea of him down. The Coffin Drop comes off as rather stupid, though it fits into the kind of person Allin seems to be. Cima is someone who can have a fine match with anyone, though I’m not overly wild on either guy.

Tony explains the Tag Team Title tournament.

Lucha Bros/Hybrid Two vs. Private Party/Best Friends

Hybrid Two is Angelico/Jack Evans. Orange Cassidy is here with Private Party and Best Friends to a ROAR. Hang on though as Evans needs to yell about how he and Angelico are the A half of their team but a bunch of superkicks break that up in a hurry. Fenix dives onto the Best Friends and Quen gets sent over the top onto Evans and Angelico as I have a bad feeling about trying to keep track of all this stuff. Evans is already ranting about having to make saves until we settle down to Isaiah punching Angelico in the face and screaming.

A cheap shot from Evans takes Isaiah down so the Lucha Bros come in and try some double teaming, only to have Isaiah score with some enziguris for a breather. Evans and Angelico come in to beat on Isaiah instead as tagging is more of a suggestion here. Isaiah is fine enough to hurricanrana Angelico into Evans in the corner, which allows the tag off to Taylor as extra audio is bleeding through commentary.

Isaiah hits a heck of a flip dive to the floor but the Bros are back in to kick Quen in the head. With Fenix on the floor, Taylor finds his own sunglasses but stops to hug Barretta. That sets up the stereo suicide dives, leaving Cassidy to go up for the hands in pockets dive to the floor. Isn’t that a bit much energy for him? Back in and Fenix saves Pentagon from Strong Zero and a kick to the head sends Taylor into a Backstabber. Fenix hits a big corkscrew dive, leaving Pentagon to finish Taylor at 8:46.

Rating: B. That’s about as high as any of these matches can get and they did exactly what they were suppose do. This was designed to be complete and utter chaos with everyone involved looking rather good in the process. As a bonus, Excalibur was perfect for commentary here as he can rattle off all of those names. JR on the other hand…..well he tried, but he lost the battle of the generations here.

Post match the winners argue over who gets to pose.

Quick look at the women’s division.

Britt Baker/Allie vs. Penelope Ford/Bea Priestly

Priestly shoves Baker on the apron to start so Allie snaps off an armdrag. Hold on though as Priestly wants Baker, which is exactly what she gets. That sends Priestly over to Ford, as you probably expected. Baker gets two off her own armdrag but Ford sends her into the corner for a Great Muta handspring elbow (that’s more JR’s speed). A northern lights suplex gives Ford two but she gets sent into the corner as well, this time allowing the tag to Allie.

The sliding forearm in the corner gives Allie two and it’s time to strike away at Ford. Priestly gets in a cheap shot on the floor though and the villains take over. A stomp onto Allie’s arm keeps her down but Ford misses a second handspring elbow. Baker comes back in to trade forearms with Priestly, followed by the fisherman’s neckbreaker for two. Priestly’s belly to back suplex gets two but Baker kicks her down and hands it back to Allie for a rollup. Everything breaks down and Priestly kicks Baker in the head.

Allie Death Valley Drives Priestly for two before heading to the floor, leaving Allie to DDT Ford for two more with Priestly diving back inside for the save. They head outside again though, leaving Baker to Paige Turn Ford into the Rings of Saturn. With that still on, Baker grabs something like a Mandible Claw (makes sense) at the same time for the tap at 11:11.

Rating: C-. If they want Riho and Nyla Rose to be the stars of the division, they might not want to showcase these four like this. The match was more interesting, easier to get into and just all around more fun. Riho vs. Rose did tell a good story and was better from a technical standpoint, but they’re hardly head and shoulders above these four and that was very apparent here.

We look at Chris Jericho and company taking over at the end of Dynamite.

Here’s a look at the Tag Team Title tournament with Twitter users picking their winners.

Preview for this week’s Dynamite.

Full Gear ad.

Jurassic Express vs. SCU

Jurassic Express now has a rather awesome entrance, complete with steps making a glass of water shake. Daniels has a mic on a stand with him so he can shout SCU. Daniels and Stunt start things off and Stunt can’t do much outside of spinning around into a small package. A stomp onto the back sets up the Floss Dance (ERG), with Daniels countering with his own. Jungle Boy and Kazarian come in to trade near falls off some rollups and cradles until Kazarian knocks him down for the springboard spinning legdrop.

It’s off to Sky to get in a boot to the head but Boy gets over to Luchasaurus and you can feel the fans getting more into things. That’s a bit too good though and it’s back to Stunt, who gets flipped onto Daniels into a splash for two. Boy comes back in for a chinlock but Daniels is right back up with a tilt-a-whirl side slam for two of his own. Stunt’s crossbody bounces off of Sky so Luchasaurus comes back in. Some strikes have no effect for Sky but a DDT puts Luchasaurus down….and he nips right back up.

Stunt and Boy dive onto Daniels and Sky, leaving Kazarian to get chokeslammed and moonsaulted for another near fall. A headscissors faceplant of all things (because Luchasaurus can just do that) sets up Stunt’s running shooting star press as everything stays broken down. Luchasaurus gets sent outside though and it’s Celebrity Rehab on Boy and a powerbomb/Backstabber combination finishes Stunt at 9:17.

Rating: C. They weren’t going for anything more than a fun match here, though they did get in enough stuff to make it feel different than the eight man tag. Stunt taking the pin was the right call if SCU has to win, though it is beyond ridiculous to see him out there with no muscle definition or anything close to being a realistic threat to any of SCU. Even Jungle Boy, who is small, is more believable than Stunt. Let him be a mascot or something, but having him wrestle is a step too far.

Tony wraps us up in a hurry.

Overall Rating: C+. This is a situation where you need to consider the point of this show. It isn’t meant to be anything more than a supplement to Dynamite in a way to get the wrestlers in an AEW ring. You don’t need to see anything here and as long as they keep it that way, this is the most inoffensive thing you could ask for. It doesn’t need to be around permanently as you don’t need so many people featured every week, but for a few months, this is a fine idea.

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/

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IMG Credit: WrestleCon

WrestleCon Supershow
Date: April 4, 2019
Location: New York Hilton Midtown, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Kevin Kelly

This might be my favorite show of the year and I’ve been looking forward to seeing it again. The idea here is you don’t know most of the card coming in, with just Will Ospreay vs. Bandido in the main event being announced. A lot of wrestlers from Dragon Gate were announced but visa situations have kept them off the show. That leaves some openings on the card and I’m curious to see what we get. Let’s get to it.

We get a YOUR EVENT WILL BEGIN SHORTLY graphic for twelve minutes until the ring announcer says we’re waiting on something from the athletic commission and an ambulance to arrive.

Here’s your WrestleCon Ambassador for the evening: Road Warrior Animal (without facepaint), who goes straight for the LOD chant. He can’t do this job by himself so he introduces….RIC FLAIR, which is quite the surprise. Good thing he’s healed from that Batista beating. Excalibur: “If anyone knows how to fill time.” Flair talks about the places he’s been in New York, including an affair with Leona Helmsley. He says this is a fraternity and puts over the Road Warriors as great competitors. One night in Philadelphia they painted Dusty Rhodes’ face and it was a riot on the way to the ring.

WrestleCon is a great place and there was a time when nobody wanted 200 wrestlers in a hotel. Animal: “There weren’t enough tickets to ride Space Mountain.” Flair has another reason to be here and mentions Sunday night being more important than anything he ever accomplished. The tears are flowing and thankfully the fans don’t boo the WWE reference. This is every bit as big as Hogan slamming Andre and he couldn’t be prouder. Thank you for everything and make sure to come see him tomorrow.

Back to the YOUR EVENT WILL BEGIN SHORTLY graphic.

The widow of Mark Hitchcock, an illustrator who world for WrestleCon died on his honeymoon, thanks the crowd for remembering him.

We’re ready to go 27 minutes late.

Eddie Kingston vs. Masato Tanaka

Tanaka is a former ECW World Champion and might look better now than he did twenty years ago. They go technical to start until Eddie takes him into the corner for a hard chop. Tanaka’s famous elbow sends Eddie outside to hold his jaw, as he should be doing. Back in and Tanaka hammers down right hands before a crossbody gets two. A running STO drops Tanaka and it’s back to the chops.

Tanaka’s tornado DDT works on the second attempt but a spinning Rock Bottom drops him again. Eddie loads up a superplex but gets reversed into Diamond Dust (a flipping Stunner out of the corner, a personal favorite). A frog splash gets two on Kingston and it’s time for the required chop off. Tanaka’s elbows and forearms get the better of it and the Roaring Elbow sets up the Sliding D (sliding elbow) finishes Kingston at 7:18.

Rating: C. This was your “I hit you hard and you hit me hard) match of the night, as WrestleCon is often a show built around doing a little bit of everything. Tanaka still looks awesome and I’m not surprised to see that he can still do something like this. Kingston is hit or miss at best, but having him do something like this fits him well.

Post match Kingston says that this was his dream match after seventeen years and thanks Tanaka in Japanese.

The announcers would love to break down the next match but they don’t know what it is.

Here are the Lucha Bros for the match but before their opponents come out, Fenix thanks the fans and says they’re the best tag team in the universe. They’re here because they’re open to face any tag team and pretty soon, they’ll be facing the other brother tag team. He means the Young Bucks, who are scared of the Lucha Bros and won’t be here tonight. Pentagon swears in Spanish a big (Kelly: “NO TRANSLATION REQUIRED!”) and the fans chant it after him. Since they don’t have a team to face, they can just fight each other.

Pentagon Jr. vs. Rey Fenix

Pentagon goes straight for the rollup to start but gets sent outside for the suicide dive. Back in Pentagon hits the Alberto Del Rio double stomp and yells at the referee for only counting two. Fenix kicks him in the face but walks into the Pentagon Driver for two more. The fans chant for the team, as they should given that it’s a good match so far.

Pentagon gets tied in the ropes and it’s a rope walk kick to the face as only Fenix can do. A Canadian Destroyer gives Fenix two more but he takes too much time rolling forward and gets superkicked in the face. Pentagon one ups him with a middle rope Canadian Destroyer but Fenix is right back up to catch him on top and it’s a super Spanish Fly to finish Pentagon at 6:56.

Rating: B. Oh man that’s it? Maybe they’re running short on time or something but this should have been at least another ten minutes if you wanted to do it justice. These two are as hot as anyone could be at the moment and that’s been the case for well over a year now. I hope they get a big chance in AEW (they will) and maybe even WWE one day. This needed to be more but for what it was, it was really good.

Puma King/Samantha Heights/DJZ/Tajiri vs. Sammy Guevara/LAX/Diamante

This could be…..I have no idea actually. I’ve never heard of Samantha but that’s a common occurrence around here. Tajiri always looks weird without a mustache. Puma just laying on the middle rope for all of the entrances is a rather unique visual. DJZ is ready for Guevara’s cheap shot and let’s hit that horn noise. Puma King comes in and kicks Sammy out but it’s off to Santana for a good moonsault.

Since it’s lucha rules, the fans get to see Tajiri with Kelly talking about how easy of a time Tajiri should have with all of the language issues in the match. The kicks have Puma King in trouble and it’s off to Diamante, who gets a handshake and kneel from Tajiri before he starts chopping her. A Stunner gets Diamante out of trouble and it’s off to Heights, who hits a Sliced Bread.

Ortiz comes in and runs Samantha over before shouting SUCK THESE. I’m not going near that one so I’ll go to Ortiz blocking a monkey flip and turning it into a faceplant. DJZ comes back in and flips forward into a clothesline to send Ortiz outside. Santana comes in with a superkick as everything breaks down. It’s back to Sammy for a jumping knee to the DJZ’s face and LAX adds a double flapjack.

Sammy can’t get over for a tag (Kelly: “Joey Ryan will charge you $30 for that!”) and Diamante gets two off a splash. Sammy does his fireman’s carry squats into a running shooting star press gets two on DJZ with Samantha coming in for the save. DJZ comes back with the always stupid stop of throwing partners into each other and making one DDT another.

That’s enough for a hot tag to Puma King to clean house and a big dive to the floor hits Santana. That sets off the parade of dives with the women hitting stereo dives. Tajiri is left alone in the ring but Ortiz cuts off his dive to become the biggest heel in the match. Ortiz tries a hiptoss but gets misted while in the air (cool), setting up the Buzzsaw Kick to give Tajiri the pin at 12:02.

Rating: C+. For a random assortment of eight people into a match with no connection between the teams, I liked it. That’s the kind of thing you get at these shows and it’s one of the most fun parts. Sometimes you just need to go out there and have some wrestling with a bunch of people having a match and that’s what we got here. It’s a WrestleCon tradition and one of their better ones so well done given the people in there.

Arez vs. Flamita vs. Robbie Eagles

Eagles is Bullet Club (and yes it’s still a thing) and billed as the Sniper of the Sky. Arez gets sent outside early on and it’s a flip off between Flamita and Eagles. Flamita kicks Arez in the head but he rolls forward into a dive outside onto Eagles. Back in and Arez drops a top rope elbow on Flamita, meaning it’s time to yell at the referee for counting slowly. A standing Spanish Fly gives Flamita two on Eagles but a superplex is countered.

Instead Arez tries to climb onto Flamita’s back so Eagles dives with a high crossbody, which is countered into a Spanish Fly (or something, as it was far from a clean landing). Arez takes off his jacket so Flamita can chop him even harder because wrestling is weird. Sliced Bread drops Eagles who DDTs Flamita at the same time and they’re all down. Flamita is up first and missile dropkicks both of them down, setting up a moonsault out to the floor to drop Arez again. Back in and Flamita misses a 450, allowing Eagles to hit one of his own on Arez for the pin at 6:54.

Rating: C. Arez didn’t get to show off very much while Flamita looked like the awesome high flier that he is and Eagles came off as a well rounded star. I can see why he got the win here and he looked like someone who belonged on a stage like this. It was a bunch of spots and that’s all it was supposed to be here.

Revolt vs. Hurricane/X-Pac/Jushin Thunder Liger

See what I mean about these random teams that make the show fun? Revolt (Caleb Konley, Jake Manning, Zane Riley) are mainstays around this show and have been a big deal in PWX from Charlotte. X-Pac is in the standard gear, though with NWO logos on the legs. After the place comes unglued for Liger, X-Pac puts him over as a legend on his retirement tour. Liger and Konley start things off with a battle of poses to the crowd. After being backed into the corner, Konley gets pulled down into the surfboard and you know the fans are going to love that.

It’s off to Riley (300+lb) to face X-Pac, meaning it’s a HALL OF FAMER chant. Riley wants a test of strength but is told to suck it instead. The rapid fire legdrops have Riley in trouble but it’s too early for the Bronco Buster. Manning (he likes scouting) and Hurricane come in for a handshake and a 3 COUNT chant, meaning the fans are cultured. The danceoff begins but the good guys join hands and flip Manning off (well not Liger, who just can’t do it).

The Hurricane pose sends Manning down onto the mat and he needs a timeout to check the scouting manual. It’s enough for a cheap shot to Hurricane and Konley comes in, only to have the heroes get together for a triple suplex. Hurricane gets caught in the wrong corner though and the heat is on. Riley’s choke doesn’t get him very far so it’s already back to Manning, who gets caught with the Eye of the Hurricane.

Liger comes in for the palm strikes but a distraction lets Riley run him over. Konley and Liger hit a double clothesline and it’s off to X-Pac to clean house. The spin kicks abound and it’s back to Liger, who tries to suplex Riley for some reason. Everything breaks down and it’s the palm strike to Manning with a Bronco Buster to Riley. Hurricane chokeslams Konley and the brainbuster finishes Manning at 13:37.

Rating: C+. Am I supposed to criticize this somehow? I was never an X-Pac fan but this was a blast and exactly what it should have been, even with a little more time than it probably should have gotten. With Liger retiring, he deserves to get whatever matches he wants to have and it’s a special treat to get to see someone who has been wrestling longer than I’ve been alive and still looked great. Hurricane and X-Pac were rather good as well, making this quite the entertaining match.

Post match Hurricane and X-Pac pay tribute to Liger again, as they should.

Intermission.

So apparently power to the Fite.TV stream went down during the intermission and we missed Dragon Lee vs. Cavernario. Dragon Lee won and if it’s on the replay, I’ll watch it later and edit it in.

Shane Strickland vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Well if you insist. They go at each others’ legs to start and it’s Sabre taking him down for the first of what will likely be many leglocks. Strickland escapes and puts on another hold of his own before tying Strickland up in something like an STF. A cravate keeps Strickland in trouble but he comes back with a dragon screw legwhip but a gutbuster cuts Strickland down again.

Bored of the leg, Sabre switches up to the arm and gets in the required stomp to the raised arm. He even stands on Strickland’s head because Sabre is that big of a jerk. The overly cocky kicks to the head tick Strickland off (as they do to everyone) and it’s time for Sabre to tell him to chop. A big one to the leg takes Sabre down because Strickland was smart enough to know an armbar was coming.

The 619 to the ribs sets up the rolling cutter but Sabre is right back with another crank on the arm to take over. Strickland has had it with the shots to the face and tries another rolling cutter, but this time it’s pulled into the cross armbreaker. A triangle choke has Strickland in trouble until he powerbombs his way to freedom. Strickland grabs him by the nose (come on man) and kicks Sabre in the chest again.

A YES Kick knocks Sabre silly but he’s fine enough for a half and half suplex onto Strickland’s head. The head isn’t that damaged though as he hits a rolling German suplex. The Swerve Stomp is countered into the Rings of Saturn with Sabre’s legs and Sabre grabs a half crab for a bonus and the submission at 16:39.

Rating: B. My goodness Sabre is fun to watch. The guy can do whatever he wants in the ring and makes it look easy because he’s just that talented. Daniel Bryan was drooling over him during the Cruiserweight Classic and Sabre has gotten so much better since thin. Strickland is as smooth of a performer as you’re going to get in wrestling these days and it’s no surprise that he’s going to WWE.

Post match Strickland gets the sendoff because he’s NXT bound.

Here’s So Cal Uncensored before their match. Scorpio Sky does his thing about how he hates the town, which I still don’t quite get. Daniels praises the fans and says they want to be the top trio (which he sings for some reason) so let’s see what happens when it’s California love with a New York state of mind.

So Cal Uncensored vs. Orange Cassidy/Best Friends

Cassidy takes both hands out of his pockets and then puts them back in so Daniels grabs a headlock to knock off the sunglasses. The waistlock is countered as Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets and dances out, allowing him to chill on the mat. Cassidy runs the ropes, dropkicks Daniels down, and nips up, all without taking his hands out of his pockets. Trent comes in (Cassidy still doesn’t move his hands as he gets out, but one does come out on the apron) and chops Kazarian, who is rather confused.

Kazarian continues to be frustrated as Trent just stands there….so let’s switch teams. Trent is now part of SCU and Kazarian puts on the vest. It’s off to Sky to face Kazarian and it’s the New Age Outlaws cover with Sky trying a quick cover off a poke to the chest (the Fingerpoke of Doom was a singles match so it’s a completely different thing you see). That’s broken up and the Best Friends hit stereo fall away slams.

Double Razor’s Edges are countered with double backdrops and it’s Trent caught in the corner for a slingshot dropkick. Chuck gets in a cheap shot from the apron so Daniels knocks him down but the distraction lets Trent get in a low blow. Now it’s Chuck coming in for forearms to the back and it’s Cassidy coming in for a walk across the ring into a near hug, which is called a clothesline.

Cassidy walks around so slowly that the Best Friends both get in a few shots before Cassidy even bothers to cover. It’s back to Trent for an abdominal stretch and Cassidy puts glasses on Chuck, who slowly extends his arm for the cheating. So it’s the slacker Too Cool and Rikishi. Daniels puts the glasses on as well and it’s a slow energy fight with Cassidy. A big chop is teased but Daniels goes with a low blow so it’s off to Kazarian to take over and slap on a Figure Four to Trent.

A Backstabber hits Chuck and it’s an assisted tornado DDT on Trent, leaving Cassidy on his own. Daniels KNOCKS CASSIDY’S GLASSES OFF and it’s on in a hurry with Cassidy slugging away and hitting a double hurricanrana on Kazarian and Sky. A good looking double chokeslam takes them down again and Cassidy puts the glasses back on. That means going up top for a fall (intentional) onto Kazarian for two. The Best Friends come in to clean house again and we hit that hug. SCU has had it with this nonsense (of which they have been a part) and it’s the Best Meltzer Ever for the pin on Cassidy at 18:21.

Rating: C+. This one is going to entirely depend on your taste but my issue was it ran too long. That and you really have Cassidy take the pin here? He’s the most popular non-Liger guy on the show and you have him lose instead of say, Trent? His gimmick is fine for this kind of a show, but he’s not going to be able to do much beyond this because it’s a goofy comedy bit. That being said, this is the perfect show for something like that and it was more than good enough here. Cut off some of the time and it’s better, but it was fine for what it was. It’s just not for everyone and that’s fine.

Everyone hugs but Cassidy won’t take his hands out of his pockets for the post.

Will Ospreay vs. Bandido

Bell, Spanish Fly, Space Flying Tiger Drop, shooting star press for two on Bandido, we hit the thirty second mark. Bandido is back up with Swiss Death of all things, followed by a standing backflip World’s Strongest Slam to send Ospreay to the floor. A huge flip dive takes Ospreay down again and Bandido sticks the landing. That’s only good for two back inside and a delayed vertical suplex, including a squat, is good for the same on Ospreay.

The chops take Bandido right back down but he’s right back with the surfboard as an homage to Liger. That’s broken up so Ospreay hits a handspring into a kick to the head to put Bandido down again. A 619 over the top rope hits Bandido in the mask and it’s a delayed basement dropkick in the corner. Pip Pip Cheerio keeps Bandido in trouble and Ospreay swears a lot.

Bandido must not be a fan of swearing (attaboy) so he comes back with a one handed sitout gorilla press slam (egads man) to cut Ospreay off. Ospreay wants him to bring it and they strike it out until Ospreay snaps off a low angle dragon suplex. Stormbreaker is countered with an armdrag and a pop up powerbomb drops Ospreay again. The Robinson Special puts Bandido down again but he gets caught with a reverse hurricanrana off the middle rope (that’s a new one) for another near fall.

Ospreay fights out of something on top and hits the Cheeky Nandos kick before knocking Bandido over the barricade. You know where this is going and it’s the huge crossbody to the floor to send Bandido into the third row. Back in and a missile dropkick to the back of the head sets up Stormbreaker but Bandido reverses into a hurricanrana for two. The Oscutter is countered into a knee to the face for another two and Bandido can’t believe it. Ospreay is right back up with a Rainmaker into the Oscutter and Stormbreaker finishes Bandido at 16:51.

Rating: B+. This was exactly what it was advertised as being: two of the best high fliers in the world doing insane spots to each other for a long time. Ospreay is on another level for someone his size and Bandido is certainly no slouch in everything he does. Great match here and worthy of a main event, even though you could tell the fans were spent.

Post match Ospreay counts the money the fans throw out (Ospreay: “Four dollars! Two Cokes!” Kelly: “Not in New York City.”) and praises Bandido. Anyone who knows him knows that his mental health problems have been worse than ever recently but wrestling is the best therapy you can have. All he has is raw natural ability and they just created an art form. Ospreay thanks everyone and bows to Bandido.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, this is the show where you put your feet up and have a good time watching wrestling because it’s all about seeing what you’re getting and just having a lot of fun. You get all kinds of people coming out of nowhere and having one great match after another. It’s a blast of a show with some excellent matches and a little bit of everything for everyone. Have a good time with it and enjoy what wrestling can be.

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

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

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

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IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: October 17, 2018
Location: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer, Caprice Coleman

We’re FINALLY after the previous month’s pay per view and that means it’s time to do something fresh. Of course around here that doesn’t mean much as Glory By Honor, as in the next major show, has already taken place. I really can’t even mock them for this anymore as it’s still such a problem. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the ending of Death Before Dishonor, where Jay Lethal successfully defended the World Title against Will Ospreay but the Kingdom came in and beat him down. Matt Taven, now with a haircut, has his own World Title.

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Kingdom to take over the ring. They’re about to do something that should have been done a long time ago. The Kingdom has been silenced for far too long and the referee has to hold the title while the ring announcer reads off Taven’s resume. The last line says Taven is the ROH World Champion, which requires some coercing to be announced. No one comes out, but at least Lethal has a new challenger.

Video on Jeff Cobb showing up and then wrecking TV Champion Punishment Martinez. That could be a heck of a fight.

Chase Owens vs. Kenny King

Owens is Bullet Club and King is the hometown boy. They go to the arm holds to start until neither can kick the other in the face. King goes after the arm again but gets sent to the apron and dropkicked to the floor. Back from a break with Owens hitting a running neckbreaker for a delayed two until King slugs his way back into it.

The spinning leg lariat has Owens on the floor for the spinning corkscrew dive. A high crossbody gives King two and we hit a quickly broken chinlock. Owens loads up a swinging neckbreaker but twists it back into a faceplant for two of his own. The package piledriver is broken up and King bounces off the ropes but his knee buckles. Since Owens is dumb enough to fall for this, King small packages him for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: D+. You would think King would start getting better at putting a match together over time but that’s still not the case. It’s just spot after spot and then the finish with nothing connecting the sections together. The match wasn’t horrible or anything but Owens is just kind of there and King needs someone to help him along.

Coast To Coast is ready to win the Tag Team Titles next week.

Back to Death Before Dishonor, where Colt Cabana joined Bully Ray and Silas Young to beat down Colt Cabana and Flip Gordon.

Flip Gordon vs. Shane Taylor

Hang on though as Flip grabs a mic. Gordon will fight him tonight but first, he needs to call out Bully Ray. At Death Before Dishonor, Ray had to cheat before the tag team tables match but Gordon put him through a table anyway. Ray couldn’t handle that though and had to screw him over. So what does Ray want next? TLC? A Las Vegas street fight?

Here’s Ray to ask if he’s bothering Flip. Ray: “Are you upset that I keep kicking you in the balls?” As Ray talks, Taylor grabs a chair and here’s Silas Young for a low blow. The beatdown is on and no one comes out to help Gordon, despite Ray begging for someone to do so. Ian seems more interested than anyone else.

The Briscoes aren’t worried about Coast to Coast.

Jay Lethal is proud about Ring of Honor selling out Madison Square Garden and he’d love to come in defending the title.

The Kingdom leaves the arena.

We recap the show to fill time.

Next week: Coast to Coast vs. Briscoes, Cobb vs. Martinez for the TV Title and Marty Scurll vs. Chris Sabin.

Addiction vs. Best Friends vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Young Bucks

One fall to a finish and it’s Evil and Sanada for LIJ. Since there’s no bell after the break, I’m not sure if this is joined in progress or everyone just being really rude. It’s a huge brawl to start (I mean….duh) with the Bucks taking over (I repeat my duh) until Chuck sends them together. The lawn dart cutter sends Matt to the floor but LIJ breaks up the big hug. It’s Addiction’s turn to clean house with a clothesline to the back of Evil’s head and a double stomp, followed by a pair of moonsaults to Sanada.

We hit the string of dives with Nick hitting the big springboard version. Barretta loads up one of his own but stops for a hug, followed by the stereo flip dives from the Friends. We head back in…..FOR THE OPENING BELL, three and a half minutes after the fighting started. Ian: “WHAT???” Sanada ties Daniels and Kazarian up to start (for the second time) and it’s a double dropkick for two on Daniels. Evil gets two off a side slam and we hit the chinlock to send us to a break.

Back with Daniels faceplanting Evil but the Friends, now in sunglasses, pull Kazarian off the apron. As Ian points out how dumb that was, Daniels fights back and makes the hot tag to Nick for the house cleaning. The Friends come in as well and get flipped around but it’s too early for More Bang For Your Buck. Kazarian’s slingshot cutter hits Trent but Sanada is ready for him with a hanging swinging neckbreaker.

Trent comes back in with a tornado DDT but Evil uses the referee for a Magic Killer. Angel’s Wings drops Matt and the Awful Waffle gets two so Chuckie actually makes a tag. How nice of him. The Dude Buster hits Matt but Nick Swantons in for the save. Nick superkicks almost everyone until Matt turns it into double superkicks to everyone else. A dive onto a bunch of people sets up the Meltzer Driver for the pin on Trent at 7:50.

Rating: C+. Well what we got was good and being realistic, you might as well add in the pre-match stuff as part of the match itself. This was all about flying all over the place with very little story involved and there’s nothing wrong with that whatsoever. We got a fun match out of the eight guys and there’s nothing wrong with that. Entertaining match with the fans way into it.

Overall Rating: C. It might not be a great show but it’s so nice to have something that ACTUALLY MATTERS. The Taven stuff is going to depend on your opinion of the guy and while I’m still not a fan, he’s definitely better than he was just a few months ago. The main event was entertaining as well and the show was far easier to sit through than some of the dumb stuff they’ve done in recent weeks. Now just end the Bully Ray As The Super Heel story and we’ll be fine.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown 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

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: September 26, 2018
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s the go home show for Death Before Dishonor and now we actually know a thing or two about the card. Last week saw Will Ospreay answer an open challenge from Jay Lethal for the World Title shot on Friday, which should mean a quality main event. Other than that, it’s time to get the rest of the card ready for the pay per view so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week with Silas Young and Bully Ray attacking Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham to set up this week’s tag team main event.

Opening sequence.

The Boys vs. Best Friends

Chuckie and #1 start things off with the latter cleaning house off a dropkick and stereo hurricanranas sending the Friends to the floor. #2 hits a big flip dive of his own but Barretta chops #1 in the back of the neck, followed by Chuckie nailing a helicopter bomb for two as we take a break.

Back with #1 hitting a tornado DDT on Chuckie but having no one to tag. Everything breaks down for a few seconds and #1 slips out of an Outsider’s Edge, allowing #2 to tag himself in. Barretta turns him inside out with a clothesline though and drops him on his head in a scary crash. Things get even worse though with a Dudebuster and Awful Waffle for the stereo pins on the Boys at 7:27.

Rating: C. This was a good choice for a fast opener as both teams nailed what they were going for. The Boys have no reason to be anything more than a gimmick team but they were a perfectly fine smaller team here. We’ll call this one a pleasant surprise, which is always a nice thing to have.

Video on the Addiction vs. the Briscoe Brothers.

Adam Page vs. Kenny King

For some reason King comes out carrying two flotation devices. Feeling out process to start with Page powering out of a wristlock and giving us a standoff. King poses and dances a bit before slapping on a headlock. A shoulder puts Page on the floor and King even stops for a picture with a fan.

That’s just stupid though as Page gets up and hits a running shooting star off the apron. Page throws the flotation devices inside and suplexes King onto one of them as we take a break. Back with King fighting up with a backbreaker into a clothesline. A spinwheel kick keeps Page in trouble and a spinebuster gets two.

Page flips out of a German suplex though and forearms King in the face. King is right back with a kick to the face but the Buckshot Lariat gives Page two of his own. The Rite of Passage is reversed into a rollup with feet on the ropes but the referee catches King. Instead they go into a series of rollup with King grabbing the trunks for the pin at 12:04.

Rating: C-. I liked this one enough though I’d like to see Page get a few more wins on his own. King is only so good as a heel and it seems that we’ve seen everything he’s going to be able to do. Maybe he gets back in the TV Title picture soon but I can’t imagine him going much higher than that.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Dante Caballero vs. Brian Johnson

Jeff Cobb doesn’t waste time this week and comes in to take out Dante for the DQ at 58 seconds.

Johnson gets wrecked too. Cobb says the tournament is over (WOOT!) because he is the top prospect.

Video on Sumie Sakai vs. Tenille Dashwood.

Silas Young/Bully Ray vs. Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham

Ray yells at Young before the opponents even come to the ring. Gresham and Ray start but Bully tags out before doing anything. It’s a feeling out process between Young and Gresham with Jonathan taking him to the corner for a clean break. A hurricanrana into a basement dropkick has Young in trouble and Gresham even slaps Ray in the face. That’s enough for Bully who walks up the ramp before coming back in to have Gresham run around him without much effort.

Another slap earns Gresham a heck of a backdrop though and it’s off to Lethal for the first time. They both miss dropkicks (!) and we take a break. Back with Lethal telling Ray to chop him harder and a slap off breaking out. Ray runs him over but Gresham comes back in and stereo suicide dives have the villains in trouble. Back in and Ray crotches Gresham though and Jonathan is in trouble.

Ray takes too long winding up an elbow though and it’s a dropkick to the knee. The Octopus hold goes on but Ray powers out in short order. Gresham tells him to bring it on so Ray chops him down a few times. A clothesline allows the hot tag to Lethal so house can be cleaned, including a double suplex on Ray. Gresham even plays D-Von on What’s Up and it’s Hail to the King into the shooting star on Young with Ray diving in for a save. Misery hits Gresham for the pin at 17:13.

Rating: C+. Giving Young the pin here was nice but I’m not sure if you can go with having either Gresham or Lethal losing here. In other words, it’s a match that probably should have gone to a countout or a DQ as there’s only so much you can get out of these guys with a pay per view on Friday. As in the pay per view Gresham isn’t actually on.

Addiction promises to win the Tag Team Titles.

Punishment Martinez tells Chris Sabin to stick to tag wrestling.

Sabin says he’s winning.

Silas Young thinks Flip Gordon and Colt Cabana are in over their heads.

Kenny King calls Jushin Thunder Liger old.

Lethal says it’s all about the title.

Bullet Club all talks at once to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a good example of why the Ring of Honor pay per view structure doesn’t work. They only started talking about Death Before Dishonor a few weeks ago and now we’re not likely to hear anything about the show until close to Halloween. The wrestling was fine, but there’s only so much you can do in such a short time, especially when the #1 contender isn’t actually on the show. Easy show to watch, but it didn’t make me want to see the pay per view.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown 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