Ring Of Honor
Date: March 27, 2025
Location: The Theater At Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’ve actually got a major show set as Supercard Of Honor will be taking place in early May. That gives us something to look forward to, but in addition we are likely going to have Chris Jericho defending the World Title against Bandido at Dynasty, title vs. mask. We should get some more build towards that this week so let’s get to it.

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

Athena tells Diamante that she isn’t sure about Diamante joining the Minions because she doesn’t let just anyone in. Billie Starkz comes up to tap Athena on the shoulder, with Athena suggesting that it’s time for someone new in the Minions.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Okumura vs. Dark Panther

Okumura clotheslines him down to start and they’re quickly on the floor. Panther gets whipped into the barricade for two back inside but he’s right back up with a running dropkick. A slightly modified 619 gives Panther two but Okumura grabs an Iconoclasm and a running cutter for a breather. Panther’s Fujiwara armbar is cut off and they trade kicks to the back. Okumura is sent outside for a suicide dive into the barricade, followed by another dive to do it again. Back in and Panther misses a dropkick but grabs a small package for the fast pin at 6:10.

Rating: C+. This was the signature AEW/ROH win to get someone back on track after their big loss. Panther is at least becoming more of a regular character on the show, but we still only know so much about him. That’s more than can be said about Okumura, who is apparently “a guy who has been here before”, end of biography.

Post match Okumura won’t shake hands.

We see a clip of a video on Komander from AEW’s Youtube page.

We look at the MxM Collection stealing the Tag Team Title which has since been recovered.

Sons Of Texas/Willie Mack vs. MxM Collection/Johnny TV

Mack and TV start things off and we actually get a handshake. TV picks up the pace a bit and slips through Mack’s legs but gets dropped with a hard shot to the face. Guevara comes in and hits a dropkick but TV forearms him down without much trouble. It’s off to Mansoor, who gets taken down as well with a springboard moonsault. Rhodes comes in and gets dropped with a clothesline from the apron to cut him down.

Madden’s hip attack drops Rhodes and an old Sidewinder gets two. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Rhodes fights up and grabs the snap powerslam, allowing the tag off to Guevara. A big dive takes out TV on the floor and another drops Mansoor as Guevara gets to clean house. Everything breaks down and Mack Stuns Mansoor, leaving Rhodes to hit the Canadian Destroyer. Shattered Dreams hits Mansoor and Guevara drops Madden with a middle rope cutter. The GTH to TV gives Guevara the pin at 8:34.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly fine match, even if the Collection vs. the Sons should have been wrapped up a good while ago. Mack is kind of a random person to team with them but I do like getting to see him do something of note after being little more than a jobber for so long. Sidenote: the fact that this was Rhodes in a six man tag and his Six Man Tag Team Champion partners were never named isn’t a good sign.

Post match the villains beat down the winners and steal one of the titles AGAIN.

Lady Frost and Taya Valkyrie didn’t win the CMLL Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Athena/Diamante vs. Mazzerati/Jordan Blu

Diamante and Mazzerati start things off as commentary tries to figure out why Diamante wants to be a Minion. Mazzerati quickly hands it off to Blu, who is quickly beaten down as well. It’s back to Mazzerati, so Diamante gives her a German suplex. Blu gets knocked to the floor and Athena comes in with the forearm to finish Mazzerati at 2:50. Total squash.

We look at Chris Jericho challenging Bandido to a title vs. mask match at Dynasty.

Premiere Athletes vs. Dark Order

The Frat House is watching from the crowd as the Athletes get in a cheap shot to start fast. It’s a brawl to start but the Order clears the villains out to get things going for good. Reynolds gets caught with a running clothesline to the floor and the Athletes hammer away on him in the corner. A hard whip into the corner drops Reynolds again but he’s able to grab a backdrop.

Uno gets pulled off the apron though and Reynolds is pulled back so Daivari can start in on his leg. Reynolds fights out of that without much trouble and it’s Uno coming in for a double DDT. Nese comes back in to clean house but gets taken down by Reynolds. The Frat House throws a drink on Reynolds and Preston Vance comes in to give him a spinebuster. Daivari’s Magic Carpet Splash is good for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C. This was a fairly dull six man, with the Frat House stuff not exactly making it that much better. The problem is these teams all feel as low on the ladder as you can get and that doesn’t make for the most thrilling matches. Throw in how many times we’ve probably seen them fight and it somehow gets even worse.

Post match the Athletes and the Frat House pose together.

QT Marshall has annoyed actor Paul Walter Hauser by throwing alcohol on him.

Hauser wants revenge.

Marshall says Hauser is a fan and Marshall tried to make him look good in a recent match. Hauser owes him an apology, but if he wants a match, come ask for one like a man.

Viva Van vs. Queen Aminata

Aminata slips out of a wristlock to start as a few people are cheering for Van. An early cross armbreaker sends Aminata over to the ropes and she’s right back with a running kick to the chest for two. Back up and Van hits a nice spinwheel kick for two before ramming Aminata’s head into the mat. They trade some rather loud chops until Aminata knocks her into the ropes for Off With Her Head and the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C. I’m not sure how many times I can say something to the effect of “cool, now do something” about a match like this. Aminata is another person who gets a mini push every so often and then loses again. It’s hard to get any real momentum going, even if she wins a match like this. Van had some good stuff in there, with that spinwheel kick standing out.

The Premiere Athletes are very happy with their win and they want the Tag Team Titles.

Los Titantes del Aire are happy with how things went in CMLL.

Rugido/Volador Jr./Barbaro Cavernario vs. Atlantis Jr./Titan/Fuego

They start fast and it’s Cavernario vs. Fuego to officially get things going. The rapid fire tags/switches are on, with Atlantis getting to clean house. Titan comes in but gets beaten down with some triple teaming. With Titan being pulled off the top for the crash, Cavernario hits a running basement dropkick before it’s time to go after the mask (as is custom).

Fuego and Atlantis both come in and are both knocked down without much trouble. Cavernario’s powerslam gets two on Fuego and we hit a seated abdominal stretch to slow things down a bit. With that broken up, it’s time to go after Atlantis’ mask before Volador settles for just choking in the corner. Titan comes back in for a springboard double dropkick and Atlantis is back up to fight back.

Everything breaks down again and an exchange of strikes leaves everyone down. Volador and Titan strike it out until Titan hurricanranas him to the floor for a suicide dive. Atlantis and Cavernario get to strike it out this time, with Atlantis’ big boot…causing Cavernario to do the Worm. Cavernario takes way too long setting up some kind of a splash and lands on a raised boot. A Canadian Destroyer into the frog splash gives Atlantis the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B-. Yeah it was fun, but it was fun watching these seemingly random six man tags for the last month and a half or so. They’re just kind of a feature on the shows now and while they’re good, you could swap them in and out for just about any other show with nothing changing. As usual, find something for these people to do. I’m well aware that it’s part of their international deal with CMLL, but that doesn’t mean it makes for interesting viewing week after week.

Overall Rating: C. This almost felt like a rerun, as so many of the things could have been swapped in from previous weeks. You have the CMLL main event, the Collection stealing one of the title belts, and something with Aminata and the Athletes/Order. There isn’t much that is worth seeing here and it wasn’t overly interesting when I’ve seen such similar things for the last few weeks. Supercard Of Honor could help, but dang I’m worried about how random the card might be.

Results
Dark Panther b. Okumura – Small package
Sons Of Texas/Willie Mack b. MxM Collection/Johnny TV – GTH to TV
Athena/Diamante b. Mazzerati/Jordan Blu – Forearm to Mazzerati
Premiere Athletes b. Dark Order – Magic Carpet Splash to Reynolds
Queen Aminata b. Viva Van – Off With Her Head
Atlantis Jr./Titan/Fuego b. Rugido/Volador Jr./Barbaro Cavernario – Frog splash to Cavernario

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

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Dynamite
Date: March 19, 2025
Location: Liberty First Credit Union Arena, Omaha, Nebraska
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re closing in on Dynasty and that means the card needs to start coming together. Believe it or not we have a tournament going on around here, with the winner getting an International Title shot against Kenny Omega at the pay per view. As for tonight though, the World Title is on the line with Cope challenging Jon Moxley in a street fight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

There was a really bad snowstorm in Omaha so the crowd and roster might be a bit limited.

Orange Cassidy vs. Mike Bailey vs. Ricochet vs. Mark Davis

For the International Title shot at Dynasty and Don Callis is on commentary. Cassidy rolls around to start before they hit fast forward to pick up the speed in a hurry. Davis is knocked outside and Ricochet does the same to Cassidy, leaving Bailey to kick away at Ricochet. Bailey and Cassidy tease a showdown but Ricochet breaks it up, earning himself a dive.

Davis pulls Bailey out of the air for a powerbomb onto the apron though and then chases Ricochet off. Back in and Bailey’s chops just annoy Davis, who chops him down with ease. Ricochet even jumps on commentary to call Schiavone stupid as the fans are all over Callis. Davis gets distracted by Bailey and Ricochet covers Cassidy for two. That doesn’t work for Davis, who tosses Davis without much trouble. Bailey is back up to kick away at Davis and the running shooting star press connects. Ricochet tosses Bailey outside before all four get back inside.

Some triple teaming has Davis in trouble but he fights all three of them off as we take a break. Back with Cassidy cleaning house and hitting a Stundog Millionaire on Ricochet (though Cassidy seems to be favoring his arm). Cassidy is fine enough to hurricanrana Bailey out of the corner for two but Bailey Falcon Arrows him down. The shooting star press connects but Davis pulls Bailey out at two.

Ricochet’s shooting star press gets two more on Cassidy and a Death Valley Driver gets the same on Bailey. Cassidy is back up with the Beach Break on Ricochet and the Orange Punch for two on Davis. Back up and Davis hits some running clotheslines before planting all three of the others. Davis pulls Cassidy into a piledriver for two with Bailey making the save. Bailey is back up to kick Davis in the face and grabs a backslide, with Ricochet grabbing a rollup on Davis (with feet on the ropes) for the double pin at 17:58.

Rating: B. It was a bunch of insanity with all four going nuts for most of the match. I’m not wild on setting up a triple threat title match, but it seems like a way to get Bailey into the title shot without having him lose. Davis looked like a monster here in perhaps his best showing yet, which hopefully is something for him. Otherwise, I’m not sure I see the point in keeping him around so prominently.

Post match the triple threat is indeed announced for Dynasty.

Video on the Hurt Syndicate.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Billie Starkz

Starkz is challenging and offers a left handed handshake to start (must be a fan of the Genius), earning a slap to the face. Mone kicks her into the corner and then pulls her out for two, only to get DDTed out of another corner for two. It’s too early for Starkz’s Swanton so Mone bails to the floor, where back to back dives take her out. Back in and the Swanton gets two on Mone, who is right back with a Backstabber as we take a break.

We come back with Mone hitting a gutbuster for two and stopping to stare around a bit. Mone hammers away in the corner and hits a superplex, only to get brainbustered onto the knee. A bridging German suplex gives Starkz two but gets sent face first into the middle buckle. They trade strikes for a double down before trading rollups for two each.

Starkz Alabama Slams her into the corner (OUCH) and then tries something like a One Winged Angel, nearly dropping Mone on her head, with Mone getting her foot on the ropes for two. Starkz misses a flip dive onto the apron and gets pulled into the Bank Statement for the tap at 12:53.

Rating: B-. Well other than Mone nearly dying a few times, this was about what you would expect, with Starkz getting in some offense before falling to Mone. I know I could go for Mone losing the title already, but this wasn’t the place as Starkz hasn’t done much in AEW. Mone is going to need a new challenger for Dynasty now, and that could be more than a few different people.

The Outrunners wish the University of Omaha’s basketball team luck in the NCAA Tournament and showed up at their practice. Nothing wrong with that.

We look back at MVP offering MJF a business card last week.

MJF talks about the various people who might be coming after the World Title and laughs them off. Maybe he needs some friends to help him deal with Jon Moxley’s crew, but he’ll have an answer for MVP next week.

AEW World Title: Cope vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending in a street fight and gets jumped outside by Cope. They fight into an equipment truck (there have to be some Easter eggs in there) and then come into the arena, where Moxley gets in a briefcase shot to the head. The brawl goes into the arena with Cope hitting him in the face with a microphone. A suplex on the floor drops Moxley but he’s back with a neck crank.

Moxley hits him in the back with a kendo stick and then chokes with the same stick before the brawl goes back into the crowd. Moxley spends a lot of time yelling at the crowd and gets hit in the face as we go back to ringside. The Paradigm Shift onto the announcers’ table rocks Cope again and we take a break.

Back with Moxley chairing him down and choking with the chair, meaning we get a middle finger to the crowd. Cope breaks up a Pillmanizing and hits a top rope superplex for a double down. They slug it out until Cope hits a string of clotheslines. It’s time for the spiked 2×4 but Moxley grabs a jumping cutter. Naturally, with the big spiked board and a chair available, Moxley pulls out a table instead. Cope gets in some shots with the spiked board, plus a suplexes onto the board, which gets stuck in Moxley’s back.

Cue Wheeler Yuta to drop Cope but he can’t pull the board out of Moxley. Cope puts Yuta through a table and here are Claudio Castagnoli and Pac to put Cope down. FTR run in for the save and Cope spears Moxley through the table in the corner. Cue Marina Shafir for the save so Willow Nightingale takes her out. Now it’s Nick Wayne running in to take Cope out, allowing Moxley to grab the bulldog choke to take out Cope and retain at 21:22.

Rating: B-. WAY better than the pay per view title match here but it was another Moxley Stands Tall result, which isn’t the best thing to see. They got more interesting with the violence, even though some of the stuff with the spiked board was more silly than anything else. This should be absolutely it for Cope though, as it’s time for Swerve Strickland to get his chance.

Post match the villains leave and Dax Harwood storms off, seemingly angry at Cope. Cash Wheeler seems cool with Cope but goes after Harwood. Cope gets the big moment and leaves with the board.

We look back at Chris Jericho taking Gravity’s mask.

Bandido talks about being used to the danger of wrestling but Jericho made things personal. Johnny TV comes in and challenges Bandido for Collision and the match is on.

Will Ospreay vs. AR Fox

They fight over wrist control to start and Ospreay blocks a cutter with a handstand. Fox sends him to the apron for a running flipping stomp. Ospreay, favoring his hip, is right back up with a Stundog Millionaire before sending Fox outside for a dive. We take a break and come back with Fox kicking him in the corner, setting up Lo Mein Pain for two. Fox misses the 450 though and the Hidden Blade finishes him off at 7:40.

Rating: B-. They got in some flips and dives here, which is where Ospreay tends to shine. It was nice to see him get a relatively easier win as he’s likely on his way to something bigger. That being said, it might not have been the best idea to have Fox lose here the day before he’s in a #1 contenders match on Ring Of Honor, though that would imply anyone paying attention to/caring about Ring Of Honor, which has not seemed to be the case.

Video on Swerve Strickland vs. Jon Moxley at Dynasty.

Hangman Page wants the World Title back and is entering the Owen Hart Tournament.

Video on Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata.

Mercedes Mone was impressed by Billie Starkz but she needed a better trainer to get after the title.

Kris Statlander vs. Megan Bayne

Toni Storm is on commentary and Penelope Ford is here with Bayne. Statlander fires off forearms to start but gets clotheslined out to the floor. Back up and Statlander hits a moonsault off the apron before hammering away back inside. A middle rope back elbow drops Bayne again as Storm thinks Bayne is the goddess of silence. Bayne hits a quick suplex into the corner as Storm thinks the two of them have thighs made for squashing watermelons. Bayne belly to back suplexes her from the apron and back inside as we take a break.

We take a break and come back with Bayne hitting a powerbomb but not being able to get Fate’s Descent. They sit down and slap it out until Statlander kicks her in the head. Ford tries to get in a cheap shot and is ejected as a result. Statlander plants her for two and grabs some German suplexes, only to be sent outside. Bayne hits a dive to the floor, followed by a Falcon Arrow for two back inside. Back up and Statlander sends her outside for a dive off the apron, only to be sent into Storm at ringside. Fate’s Descent drops Statlander on the floor and another one inside gives Bayne the pin at 12:47.

Rating: B. This is the kind of win that Bayne needed as she’s not just a monster but she’s someone who can fly around and hang with someone who has a resume of her own. They aren’t hiding that Bayne is going to be challenging Storm for the title soon, likely at Dynasty, so this win was needed. As usual, Storm was rather funny here, thankfully with a new target.

Post match Storm tapes up her hand and goes inside for the brawl with Bayne. A clothesline puts Bayne on the floor and Storm issues the challenge for Dynasty.

Overall Rating: B+. For a show that seemed to be heavily impacted by the storm, you wouldn’t have known it from what we got here. They set up some things for Dynasty and covered quite a few stories, including some that needed to be wrapped up. It’s a rather good show and back to the recent norm for AEW. Hopefully they can keep it going at Dynasty, which is quite the fast turnaround for them compared to their regular stuff.

Results
Ricochet and Mike Bailey b. Mark Davis and Orange Cassidy – Double pin
Mercedes Mone b. Billie Starkz – Bank Statement
Jon Moxley b. Cope – Bulldog choke
Will Ospreay b. AR Fox – Hidden Blade
Megan Bayne b. Kris Statlander – Fate’s Descent

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

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Dynamite
Date: March 12, 2025
Location: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Revolution and Jon Moxley is still the World Champion, having defeated both Cope and Christian Cage, the latter of whom cashed in his contract for a title shot. Other than that, Kenny Omega is the new International Champion, having finally defeated Konosuke Takeshita. Let’s get to it.

Here is Revolution if you need a recap.

Here is Kenny Omega, fresh off winning the International Title. Omega can’t believe he’s back here after the health issues he was having, and now he has a singles title again. He thanks Konosuke Takeshita for the match and is looking forward to the start of the tournament to crown a new #1 contender to his title. Omega hits the catchphrase and is out in a hurry. As Omega is leaving, the Opps come out for their match and have a bit of a staredown with Omega (as Katsuyori Shibata is in the tournament), but everything is ok.

Opps vs. Vinny Pacifico/Eli Theseus/Gabriel Aeros

Joe hammers on Pacifico to start and it’s to Theseus, who gets clotheslined in the corner by Hook. Shibata comes in to strike away at Aeros in the corner, setting up the sleeper. The PK finishes at 2:16. Another squash.

Ricochet is ready to win the tournament and offers Shibata the chance to quit before their match at Collision.

Long recap of Revolution.

Swerve Strickland is ready to challenge for the World Title at Dynasty. Cope comes in to say that either he’s going to win the title before Dynasty, or if Swerve wins at Dynasty, Cope is coming for it. Works for Swerve.

Jon Moxley is annoyed at himself for not putting Cope away earlier and he admires the toughness. Next week, they’ll have a street fight for the title, which is fine with Moxley because he won’t make the same mistake twice.

Hologram/Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Brian Cage/Dralistico

Harleygram is here with the good guys while the other team has the Beast Mortos. Cage and Hobbs brawl on the floor to start before Dralistco and Hologram trade armdrags. Dralistico teases taking off the mask but hands it off to Cage instead. Hologram slips out of a press slam but Cage pulls a dive out of the air for a suplex (that was impressive). We take a break and come back with Mortos stomping away on Hologram.

Cue Harleygram to swivel a bit, which gets Mortos’ attention. Back in and Hologram takes Dralistico down, allowing Hobbs to come in and clean house. Cage gets to trade the clotheslines with Hobbs before the apron superplex connects. Dralistico hits…something from the top for two but Hobbs is back up with a spinebuster to Cage on the apron. Hologram uses Hobbs’ chest as a launch pad before Hobbs spinebusters Dralistico out of the air for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B-. This was good enough with a nice mixture of some people you don’t often see together. Hologram is more than ready to do something else, as he has won everything he’s done and needs to have some kind of a bigger story. Hobbs getting a pin is good as well, as he still feels like someone who is ready to become one of the breakout stars in AEW very soon.

Post match Mark Davis and Lance Archer come out to yell at Cage.

The Hurt Syndicate is happy with their win and MVP wants them to have some fun in southern California. They’ll be at the gym instead.

We look at Toni Storm defeating Mariah May in the Hollywood Ending match. It was bloody and violent and I can get why it was a bit too much in some eyes, but I had fun with the whole wacky thing.

Here is Toni Storm, saying she has staples in her head and glass in her a**, this tramp is still the champ. The title makes it all worth it though and now it is time to find new challengers. Fighting with her is like going to the zoo, because she will bleed like a pig, lick you like a giraffe and eat you like a lion. No one swings like her so it’s time to get messy and sweaty. Cue Megan Bayne to jump Storm from behind and pose.

International Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: The Beast Mortos vs. ???

The surprise opponent is….the debuting Speedball Mike Bailey. Ever the high flier and striker, Bailey flips away to start and kicks Mortos down, with Mortos bailing out to the floor. A running shoulder takes Bailey down but he’s back with some chops. The big running flip dive drops Mortos again and we take a break.

Back with Bailey hitting a running shooting star press for two but the tornado kick misses. Bailey kicks him to the floor and hits a triangle moonsault, followed by a powerbomb out of the corner for two back inside. Mortos’ pop up Samoan drop gets two and the super gorilla press gets the same. Bailey grabs a hurricanrana for two and some moonsault knees set up a spinning kick to the face to pin Mortos at 10:55.

Rating: B-. I’m not a big Bailey fan but he’s tailor made for AEW. Between the flying and the strikes and the kind of awkward charisma, he is someone who will fit in perfectly well around here. As usual, Mortos is the perfect choice to make someone look good and that is exactly what he did here.

Christian Cage is annoyed at Renee Paquette asking about what happened at Revolution because he is NOT talking to anyone related to Jon Moxley. Cage declares himself still the undisputed next World Champion and he was just relegating his breathing before reversing the hold. Nick Wayne says Cage is lying to himself and the team and owes them an apology. Cage goes for Nick but Mother Wayne gets in the way. Cage threatens to have her back at Waffle House before yelling at Nick, telling him to keep riding his coattails or the next time they have this conversation will be the last.

MJF did not want to talk after Revolution.

Here is MJF for a chat. He’s sore from Revolution and the truth is he had that match won until Hangman Page gave him a cheap shot (commentary remembers it differently). MJF isn’t upset anymore, because he is 10x smarter than Page and all of the fans. This thing with Page isn’t over…and here is MVP to interrupt. They stare each other down and then have a big hug.

MVP met him eight years ago and was impressed because MJF once volunteered to take him on a long drive for the price of getting to pick his brain in the car. MVP is proud of him for all of MJF’s accomplishments, but he isn’t impressed with what happened to MJF on Sunday. Why isn’t MJF out here hurting people? He has lost his edge and people in the back don’t fear them.

They do fear the Hurt Syndicate so maybe MVP can help him again. MVP offers him the business card but MJF declines it, saying he’s not the young kid that he was eight years ago. MJF doesn’t want or need MVP’s help, but MVP brings up that MJF WAS the World Champion. Now MJF takes the card and seems to be thinking about something.

Here is Max Caster for another open challenge.

Max Caster vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Caster thinks Takeshita is here to invite him into the Don Callis Family. Takeshita knocks him silly, picks him up, and hits Raging Fire for the pin at 1:29.

We look back at Chris Jericho attacking and unmasking Gravity at Revolution.

Jericho holds up Gravity’s mask and says gravity has been added to his feud with Bandido. Their family was terrified at Revolution and now it is time that people stop taking advantage of Jericho. This was serious Jericho again and it’s a nice relief after the goofiness has been going on for so long.

Penelope Ford vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale slams her down to start and they take turns sending the other into the corner. A suplex gets two on Ford but she sends Nightingale throat first into the ropes. We take a break and come back with Nightingale making the clothesline comeback. A spinebuster gives Nightingale two and the Gory Special goes on, with Ford biting her way out. They trade kicks to the face and Ford hits a Stunner, only to get Pounced for the pin at 8:39.

Rating: C+. I want to be able to buy into Ford but it isn’t going to matter if she never wins anything important. That has been the case for a long time and this is the latest loss in a long series of them. That being said, it is nice to see Nightingale get a win, which doesn’t happen often enough either. She needs something to do, and I’m not sure what that is going to be at the moment.

Post match Ford chairs Nightingale down so here is Kris Statlander for the save. Then Megan Bayne takes both of them down.

Mercedes Mone’s throat is messed up so Renee Paquette has to do Mone’s catchphrase. Billie Starkz comes in to say she wants a TBS Title shot. Mone laughs it off but gives her the match for next week.

Here is Will Ospreay for a chat. He’s banged up but happy to have gotten out of the cage match with Kyle Fletcher alive. Ospreay is in a bit of trouble with his wife because he lied to her, saying he wouldn’t do anything stupid off the cage. Then he forgot there was a guy in a green shirt filming him and after the match there were fifteen missed calls from the wife.

They finally talked and she was livid…but she made him a nice dinner anyway. Now Ospreay wants some gold around his waist in the form of the World Title. Ospreay looks at the All In Texas banner, so he’s in the Owen Hart Tournament. He’s ready to face Cope, Swerve or Moxley, whomever is waiting for him at All In. Simple and to the point here and the story about his wife was funny.

Jay White would love to face Will Ospreay again but he gets asked about hitting Cope with the briefcase. White to Renee Paquette: “Are you asking or accusing?” White goes on a rant about the Death Riders and says he wants to be the #1 contender.

Hangman Page runs into MJF and says he doesn’t believe MJF was going to light him on fire. MJF says they’re now 1-1 and MJF is going to go on to become a two time World Champion, while Page will fall on his face as he always does. The people will get tired of Page failing to win the big one (ignoring the one he’s already won I guess) while MJF will be World Champion over and over. So he’s admitting he’ll lose a lot?

International Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Hechicero vs. Orange Cassidy

Hechicero blocks the hands from going into the pockets but Cassidy walks the rope and gets his hand into his pocket. Then Hechicero just pulls him down, showing it was quite the waste of time. Cassidy slowly runs the ropes and falls to the mat before nipping up as we take a break.

Back with Hechicero choking over the ropes and then tying the leg up in the same ropes. Cassidy’s leg is fine enough to come back with a high crossbody but gets caught in a swinging hammerlock backbreaker for two. The Stundog Millionaire and the spinning DDT get Cassidy out of trouble but his knee is banged up. Cassidy’s lazy top rope elbow is almost countered into a cross armbreaker before Hechicero grabs the Rings Of Saturn. Cassidy makes the ropes and grabs the Mousetrap for the pin at 10:07.

Rating: B-. This felt like Hechicero was far in advance but got caught at the end for the sake of putting Cassidy in the four way final. Hechicero continues to be someone who can do some rather awesome things in the ring, but at the same time it doesn’t matter as much if he keeps losing in bigger matches. Either way, nice main event here, even if it only has so much in the way of stakes.

Mike Bailey comes out for the staredown with Cassidy to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. They definitely took their foot off the gas a bit here and that’s not a bad thing. Revolution was such a big show that it is time to let things breathe a bit here. They did set some things up for Dynasty, which is coming up rather quickly. It wasn’t a bad show, but it did feel less important than some of what they have been doing lately. That has to be the case at some point though and this was still a good show.

Results
Opps b. Vinny Pacifico/Eli Theseus/Gabriel Aeros – PK to Aeros
Hologram/Powerhouse Hobbs b. Brian Cage/Dralistico – Spinebuster to Dralistico
Mike Bailey b. The Beast Mortos – Crescent Kick
Konosuke Takeshita b. Max Caster – Raging Fire
Willow Nightingale b. Penelope Ford – Pounce
Orange Cassidy b. Hechicero – Mousetrap

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

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Revolution 2025
Date: March 9, 2025
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for another major pay per view and in this case, the card is looking rather stacked. The card is very strong with a bunch of title and grudge matches, which should make for quite the nice show. The main event is likely going to be Cope challenging Jon Moxley for the World Title so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Komander/Hologram vs. Lee Johnson/Blake Christian

It’s not a good sign for EJ Nduka, Johnson’s usual partner, that he isn’t getting this spot. Johnson and Christian jump them before the bell to start fast but Christian accidentally elbows Johnson in the face. Komander hurricanranas Christian to the floor and stereo dives take the villains out. Back in and stereo running strikes get two on Johnson as we settle down a bit. Commentary talks about royalties of Tony Schiavone appearing on Arliss, Komander gets double clotheslined for two and Christian chokes away on the ropes.

Christian’s springboard is dropkicked down and the diving tag brings in Hologram to pick up the pace. Hologram takes Christian up top but gets shoved down, allowing Johnson to hit a dive. Back in and Christian’s middle rope 450 sets up Johnson’s frog splash for two more. They go to the apron and Hologram can’t quite poisonrana Christian (that looked nasty) so it’s a dive onto Komander to leave all four down onto the floor. Back in and a slingshot cutter sets up a Last Chancery with Hologram making the save. Komander’s top rope Canadian Destroyer sets up Hologram’s 450 to pin Christian at 9:54.

Rating: B. This was a good choice for an opener as there is always room for a fast paced match to let the fans get interested to start things off. They didn’t waste time here and just did a bunch of big spots. It doesn’t mean much as far as any kind of storyline as Hologram doesn’t really have any and the other three are mainly in ROH, but this was a fun way to start the night.

Zero Hour: Daniel Garcia/Undisputed Era vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Strong grabs a hammerlock on Bravo to start and it’s quickly off to O’Reilly to go for an armbar. Cole gets in the right hands in the corner as commentary goes into the comedy routines. Garcia comes in with a swinging neckbreaker on Moriarty before a dancing double leg stomp keeps Moriarty down. Taylor has had it with the waiting around and runs people over on the floor as we see the Opps watching.

We settle down to Garcia trying to suplex Taylor but the rest of the Promotions come in for the beatdown. Moriarty stomps away in the corner and let’s look at the Opps again. Taylor adds an apron legdrop but Garcia is back up with the belly to back suplex. That’s enough to bring Cole in to clean house but Garcia tags himself back in, despite Cole loading up the Panama Sunrise. The Dragontamer makes Moriarty tap at 9:37.

Rating: C. On Collision, Moriarty, the Ring Of Honor Pure Champion, was pinned in a singles match. The following night, Moriarty, still champion, tapped out in a match where he had three partners. I know Ring Of Honor doesn’t mean much, but could we stop going out of the way to make it feel worthless and beneath everything else?

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Gravity

Jericho is defending…or he would be if he didn’t hit Gravity with the baseball bat before the bell. The Learning Tree comes in to beat Gravity down and Bandido’s save attempt is cut off as well. No match. Also no mask as Jericho unmasks Gravity and gives him the Judas Effect. Bandido and Gravity’s family comes in to cover him. So yes, the feud will continue.

Zero Hour: Johnny TV/MxM Collection vs. Big Boom AJ/Conglomeration

The Rizzler, cosplaying as Orange Cassidy, and Big Justice are here with the non-villains, while Taya Valkyrie is here to cancel them out. TV dances away from Cassidy to start so Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets for the dropkick. Briscoe comes in for a double shoulder before hammering away in the corner. AJ does the same so it’s off to Madden, allowing Mansoor to cheap shot Cassidy.

The Collection strikes a pose and Mansoor steals the cookies from the Rizzler and Big Justice. Valkyrie cuts Cassidy off the top and kisses TV, who stretched Cassidy’s abdominals. Cassidy gets out and brings in Briscoe, who is quickly chokeslammed off the top. Briscoe is right back with a missile dropkick to TV and it’s AJ coming in to clean house.

Madden’s chokeslam is countered into a powerslam for two but TV is back in to kick AJ down. More kissing ensues but here is Harley Cameron to cut Valkyrie off. The Powerboom puts TV down, only for Mansoor to superkick AJ. Mansoor hammers on AJ in the corner….and Big Justice powerbombs him down for the save. Justice gets saved and a triple Powerboom finishes Madden at 12:56.

Rating: C+. As was the case last time, AJ being a former wrestler makes this far easier to watch. We’re not sitting around for five minutes to wait on him to do three moves and then let everyone else do their thing. If it draws in some extra eyes to the product and nothing of note is lost (I love the Collection but they don’t exactly mean much), it’s a perfectly fine way to go.

Post match the Murder Machines run in for the beatdown but Powerhouse Hobbs makes the save. Two actors from the Righteous Gemstones come in and help with a chokeslam so posing can ensue.

And now, the main show.

Hangman Page vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

The hype package was on the Kickoff Show, showing the two of them arguing until things got more and more violent. This led to MJF attempting to light Page on fire, as you do in wrestling. MJF teases coming out to Page’s music for some pre-match mind games. They slug it out at the bell and Page hits a running boot in the corner. MJF gets smart by pulling the referee in the way and using the distraction to get in an eye rake.

The chinlock doesn’t last long and MJF has to get out of a sleeper. MJF mocks the cowboy side of Page before catching him with a powerbomb backbreaker for two. The trash talk makes Page hammer away but MJF takes him down and says this is HIS company. Page gets in a knockdown of his own and nips up (which the camera mostly misses) before kicking him off the apron. The moonsault to the floor drops MJF again (it feels like forever since Page busted that out) but he catches Page with an upside down superkick into an Alabama Slam for two.

A lifting hammerlock DDT gives MJF two and they’re both down for a bit. Back up and the Deadeye gets two, followed by the Buckshot Lariat for the same, with MJF putting a foot on the ropes. MJF bails out to the floor and avoids a charge to send Page shoulder first into the steps. The Salt Of The Earth goes on before MJF switches over to a reverse cross armbreaker.

That’s broken up as well and they go outside for a fight over a Tombstone, with MJF hitting a jumping version onto an open chair. Page is on his feet to beat the count 1:26 later and MJF starts crying, shouting WHY NOT ME. The Heatseeker is countered into a Deadeye and the Angel’s Wings drops MJF on his head (GEEZ). The Buckshot Lariat finishes for Page at 19:04.

Rating: B. This was good and hard hitting, but what matters the most is that Page is starting to move up the ranks again. It would not surprise me to see him getting closer to the World Title scene and beating MJF is a good step in that direction. Ignoring the jumping Tombstone onto the chair, it felt like a fight between two people who wanted to beat each other up and it made for a good opener to the main show.

We recap Mercedes Mone defending the TBS Title against Momo Watanabe. Back at Wrestle Dynasty, Watanabe won a #1 contenders match and then showed up again a few weeks ago to announce she was challenging Mone. One decent match against Serena Deeb later and here we are.

TBS Title: Momo Watanabe vs. Mercedes Mone

Mone is defending. They fight over arm control to start until Watanabe takes her down. The threat of a kick to the back has Mone cringing and her armdrag is countered into a crossface chickenwing. They trade rollups for two each before Mone counters a Meteora into a Bank Statement.

Back up and a Meteora connects to Watanabe in the ropes but Mone can’t hit a piledriver on the apron. Instead it’s a powerbomb onto the floor to drop Watanabe hard. Back in and Mone grabs an armbar but Watanabe reverses into something like a Deadeye for two. Both of their Three Amigos are blocked, but Watanabe ties her in the Tree of Woe for some kicks to the ribs. A running dropkick rocks Mone again and Watanabe mocks Mone’s dance.

The crossface chickenwing is cut off and Mone hits a quick Backstabber for a breather. Watanabe kicks away out of the corner and hits a middle rope Meteora to the apron for two more. The Mone Maker is blocked so Mone settles for a powerbomb for two of their own. They go up top where Watanabe belly to belly superplexes her for another near fall, followed by some hard kicks to the face for the same. Mone is back with a high crossbody for two, setting up the Mone Maker into the Bank Statement for the tap at 18:18.

Rating: B. These two beat the heck out of each other and it was another rather good match from Mone, which isn’t a surprise. Her ability in the ring has never been the issue and that was on display again here. When you take away everything outside of the ring from Money, it’s easy to see why she is presented as a star. Just find something a bit better to set up the title matches and maybe have Mone be a bit less hard to watch outside of the ring.

Billie Starkz is watching from the crowd.

We recap Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet for the #1 contendership. Ricochet has been driving Strickland crazy and has gotten rather violent, including stealing Prince Nana’s robe. Nana wants the old Strickland back and has basically threatened to leave if Strickland doesn’t win.

Swerve Strickland vs. Ricochet

Strickland has Prince Nana with him and gets live drummed to the ring for a bit of a special entrance. They both miss early shots to start until Strickland hits a shoulder to send Ricochet outside. Back in and the flip around a bit more until Strickland hits a backbreaker to take over again. Ricochet is able to send him face first into the middle buckle, only to be sent outside for a beating against the barricade.

For some reason Nana tries to call Strickland off and gets knocked down for some reason. That’s enough for Nana to leave as Ricochet hits a Lionsault for two. A running cutter drops Strickland again but has to stop yelling at actress Leslie Jones at ringside. Strickland fights out of a chinlock and gets two off a brainbuster.

They go to the top and Strickland is knocked down, setting up a West Coast Pop for two. A hurricanrana takes Strickland outside and they go to the announcers’ table. Strickland grabs a Vertebreaker onto the table, which doesn’t break, setting up a Swerve Stomp for two. Ricochet is right back up with a low blow into a brainbuster, followed by the 630 for two more.

Cue Prince Nana again to steal the robe back but Ricochet cuts him off and steals it back again. Strickland’s dive is cut off with a Death Valley Driver onto the floor for the scary crash. Back in and Vertigo gets two but Nana grabs the robe again. Nana gets in and gets crushed in the corner, leaving Ricochet to grab a rollup for two. A pair of House Calls gives Ricochet two and Big Pressure finishes him off at 18:10.

Rating: B-. This was where the near falls went a bit too far, with both guys getting up from things that should have knocked them out a lot faster. What matters the most here is that Swerve won, as he has needed to move back up the ladder for a few months now. Beating Ricochet and (in theory) getting the robe back is a good way to go. Not a bad match at all, but some of the instances of these two getting up was a lot to take.

Post match Strickland gives Nana the robe back in a nice moment.

We recap Brody King challenging Kazuchika Okada for the Continental Title. Okada beat King’s partner Buddy Murphy so now King is getting a title shot of his own.

Continental Title: Brody King vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is defending and tries a slam to start for some reason. King sends him outside but gets hammered on the way back inside to slow him down again. A forearm puts Okada on the floor again though and King hammers away, only to miss a charge. Back in and Okada slams him down but the top rope elbow is broken up. A top rope superplex drops Okada and a backdrop does it again.

King hits a suicide dive, setting up the big crash against the barricade. Back in and Okada misses a dropkick but scores with a neckbreaker. Now the top rope elbow can connect but the Rainmaker is countered into a Death Valley Driver into the corner. They go back to the floor where Okada hits a dropkick into the barricade. Back in and Okada grabs something made of metal, which is a distraction so a belt shot can hit King for two. Another Rainmaker is blocked but Okada knocks him back and now the Rainmaker can retain the title at 10:57.

Rating: C+. Yeah this didn’t work nearly as well as anything else on the show so far as it was basically a cold match with no reason to believe that King was going to win the title. Okada was trying well enough here but he wasn’t exactly burning up the mat. It wasn’t a match that needed to be on the pay per view and the fans seemed to realize that.

We recap the Hurt Syndicate defending the Tag Team Titles against the Outrunners. The Syndicate are the dominant champions and the Outrunners earned a title shot. This is looking like a one sided title defense on paper, which might be the point.

Tag Team Titles: Hurt Syndicate vs. Outrunners

The Outrunners are challenging. Benjamin suplexes and slams Magnum to start and it’s quickly off to Floyd. The Outrunners actually clear the ring and MVP needs to fire the champions up a bit. Back in and Benjamin takes over on Magnum in the corner, where Lashley fires off some shoulders to the ribs.

Benjamin snaps off a German suplex and a running powerslam gets two. Magnum manages to get in something of a running bulldog and there’s the tag off to Floyd. The Mega Powers Elbow hits Benjamin and it’s time for Floyd to Hulk Up. A rope walk armdrag seems to annoy Benjamin, who kicks Floyd in the head. Lashley is back in with a spear, followed by another to let Benjamin get the retaining pin at 8:01.

Rating: C. Remember the previous match not feeling like it belonged on the pay per view? This was that same case here but cranked up to about a fifteen out of ten. There was no reason to believe that the Outrunners were going to win the titles here and then they just lost clean. That’s how it should have gone, but it should have been on Collision at best.

We recap Toni Storm vs. Mariah May in the Hollywood Ending match. May beat Storm for the title, then Storm faked amnesia and won the title back in Australia last month. Now it’s time for the big blowoff in a violent fashion.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May

Storm is defending and anything goes with falls counting anywhere. The brawl starts on the stage with May getting the better of things and planting her down for an early two. May whips out a taser so Luther takes it away, earning himself a low blow. Storm is back up with a chokebomb off the stage and through a table for two on the floor. They go to ringside where May is dropped onto the barricade for a hanging DDT, only for Storm to miss a running hip attack.

Storm Zero onto the steps knocks Storm silly but May grabs a chain instead of covering. Storm, who is rather busted open, is tied in the Tree Of Woe for May’s running hip attack. A quick German suplex gives Storm a breather…and it’s time for both of them to tape broken glass to their hands. May gets punched out to the floor and the broken glass is poured out. May’s head is busted open but she’s fine enough to get in a super hurricanrana onto the glass.

Back up and May Day onto the glass gets two, as does Storm’s Storm Zero. With nothing else working, Storm goes outside and grabs the shoe, which gets a nice gasp from the fans. Storm whips her with the title but gets caught with a May Day onto the stage for two. That’s shrugged off and Storm hits her with the shoe a bunch of times, setting up the Storm Zero through a table (with the Hollywood sign) to retain the title at 12:54.

Rating: B+. Sweet goodness this was wild and it felt like the kind of blowoff to a violent feud that they needed. Yes it was a bit silly with the shoe and overdone drama, but that was kind of the point of the whole thing. It’s a big time blowoff and the way to end the war, though I could also see how it went a bit too far with the blood. I’m not sure what is next for Storm, but dang it’s going to be hard to top this one.

Post match May is DONE and Storm holds her, with both of them covered in blood.

We recap Konosuke Takeshita defending the International Title against Kenny Omega. Takeshita beat him twice in a week at one point and then Omega missed a year due to diverticulitis. Now it’s time for Omega to see if he still has it and can beat an old rival.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kenny Omega

Takeshita, with Don Callis, is defending. They collide to start and trade some forearms, with Takeshita getting the better of things. The fight goes outside with Omega driving Takeshita back first into the apron. Takeshita fights back and they head back inside for a DDT. Callis gets in a few shots on the floor and we hit the chinlock back inside. Takeshita switches up to the recently repaired abdomen with a knee to the ribs, followed by the shoulders to the ribs in the corner.

A table (of course) is loaded up at ringside but Omega is back with some hard chops. You Can’t Escape is broken up as Omega is shoved off the barricade for a ribs first crash to put him down again. We hit the bodyscissors back inside but Omega fights up and hits a spinning middle rope crossbody. Omega strikes away and now You Can’t Escape connects for two. Callis grabs Omega’s leg to cut that off though and a Cactus Clothesline sends them both outside.

Takeshita’s release German suplex drops Omega again and Callis joins commentary because we’re just that lucky. Omega fights up again and turns the table over, only to get dropped ribs first onto the underside of the table. Another drop onto the side of the table sets up a backsplash back inside as the ribs are crushed even more. Takeshita misses a Swanton to give Omega a breather and he grabs a dragon suplex.

The V Trigger into a powerbomb sets up another V Trigger for two on Takeshita and they’re both down. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two but Omega catches him on top and hits a springboard sunset bomb. Another V Trigger connects but the ribs give out on a One Winged Angel attempt.

Back to back piledrivers give Takeshita two and a pair of running knees give Takeshita two and one each. Omega is back up with a Texas piledriver for two of his own and they’re both down again. Another V Trigger is blocked so Omega goes with a poisonrana instead. Now the V Trigger connects so Callis tries to intervene, only for Omega to grab a crucifix for the pin and the title at 28:32.

Rating: B+. This is how it should have gone with Omega getting to show that he is still able to do it at the highest level. They told a good story here with Omega’s ribs being banged up and slowing him down but he caught Takeshita with a rollup at the moment. It was a heck of a match and a good sign that Omega is still able to be one of the top stars around here.

Omega gets a bunch of pyro as he slowly pulls himself up to leave.

We recap Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher. They were friends in Japan but Don Callis got in Fletcher’s ear, setting off a months long feud. Fletcher beat him, then Ospreay beat him, so now it’s time to do it in a cage to see the two of them face off one on one.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

In a cage with pin/submission only and Don Callis is on commentary. They go straight to the slugout to start with Fletcher getting the better of things. Neither of them can send the other into the cage so Fletcher goes with a hard clothesline. The Stundog Millionaire gives Ospreay a breather but Fletcher sends him into the cage. Ospreay is already busted open and Fletcher licks the blood off the cage, as you do.

Back up and Ospreay sends him into the cage a few times before nailing a standing moonsault for two. Fletcher snaps off a half and half suplex for a needed breather and it’s time to take the turnbuckle pad off. Ospreay gets sent into the buckle for a running kick to the head but is right back with a Cheeky Nandos Kick. They both go up and Fletcher is rammed into the cage a few times, setting up a twisting moonsault for two.

Fletcher is back up with a running boot to the face to send Ospreay into the cage again, setting up a sitout powerbomb for two. Fletcher is busted open as well so a rather pleased Ospreay fires off the Kawada kicks. They trade kicks to the head until Fletcher nails a brainbuster for two. Cue Mark Davis to send in a bag of weapons but Ospreay takes it away and beats on Fletcher with a barbed wire baseball bat.

Fletcher throws up the United Empire hand sign for a distraction, allowing him to hit a low blow. A Hidden Blade into the Stormbreaker gets two as Davis comes in to make the save. Osprey fights up again and knocks Davis outside so the cage door can be locked again. An Oscutter off the cage gives Ospreay two so Fletcher climbs up, where he finds the fabled screwdriver. A stab to the head hits Ospreay, but a second misses, allowing Ospreay to try the Styles Clash (37 seconds after he was STABBED IN THE HEAD with a screwdriver).

That’s broken up as well and Fletcher hits a brainbuster, followed by another onto an open chair for two. Now we get the bag of thumbtacks but Ospreay reverses a suplex (1:23 after the brainbuster onto the steel chair) into a hurricanrana. The Styles Clash onto the tacks gives Ospreay two and they fight to the top of the cage. This time Ospreay stabs Fletcher with the screwdriver and it’s a super Spanish Fly off the cage to drive Fletcher into the tacks. Fletcher is up to yell about how much he hates Ospreay so it’s the Hidden Blade into the Tiger Driver 91 to give Ospreay the pin at 28:59.

Rating: B-. Yeah they lost me here more than a few times and it wasn’t the showdown that it needed to be. Some of the things that they were doing was a bit too much and it should have been cut down by a few minutes. Ospreay winning here is a great sign for him though, and hopefully this wraps up everything he is doing with Callis, because it’s going to be hard to top something like this.

Some of the cast of Queen Of The Ring is here and want you to see the movie.

We recap Cope challenging Jon Moxley for the AEW World Title. Moxley is holding the title hostage and being all evil so Cope is trying to get it away. Cope has been smart enough to take out the Death Riders, though he left Wheeler Yuta standing. That never sounds like a good idea.

AEW World Title: Cope vs. Jon Moxley

Cope is challenging and the fans sing his song in a nice moment. They slug it out to start, both from their feet and then from their knees before going back to their feet. Cope knocks him outside for a dive from the top, setting up the clothesline off the apron. Moxley fights back and sends him into the barricade over and over, setting up a neckbreaker onto the apron for two. Some crossface shots keep Cope in trouble and Moxley knocks him down again…as we see the Opps watching.

Cope gets back up with a quick Impaler for a breather and the clothesline comeback is on. The top rope superplex gives Cope two and the Grindhouse goes on (to SILENCE from the crowd). That’s broken up and Cope spears him through the ropes to the floor, only for Moxley to whip him into the steps. The floor mats are peeled back but the piledriver is cut off. Instead Moxley hits a stomp onto the concrete, followed by a piledriver for two back inside.

The bulldog choke has Cope in more trouble but he eventually makes it over to the rope for the break. The referee has to take the chair away and Cope gets kicked into him, meaning there is no one to count after the Paradigm Shift. Moxley tries a Conchairto but Cope kicks one of the chairs into his face for a breather.

Cue Wheeler Yuta to knee Cope down (of course) so here is Jay White to even things out a bit. White steals the briefcase from Moxley but accidentally knocks Cope out, giving Moxley a rather close two. Back up and the spear gives Cope two so he hits a few more spears….and Christian Cage pulls the referee out. Cage knocks Cope silly with the contract, which he then signs to make this a three way title match.

AEW World Title: Cope vs. Jon Moxley vs. Christian Cage

Moxley is still defending and Cage hits a spear for two on Cope. The Killswitch hits Cope but Moxley is back in to grab the bulldog choke on Cage. That’s enough for Cage to go out and Moxley retains at 26:34.

Rating: C. Oh this didn’t work and the fans were letting them know about it until the cash-in woke them up for a bit. This was about Moxley beating the fire out of Cope and then Cope hitting a bunch of spears to not much success. In other words, Moxley wins again and does so against a fresh Cage because Moxley continues to be the most dominant person ever while everyone else is stupid. Not a good main event, but it wasn’t exactly feeling great in the weeks building up to it either.

Moxley goes to leave the arena but runs into Prince Nana. Swerve Strickland dives out of the crowd to take him down and end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. There were weak points on this show but the stuff that worked did work very well. I had a good time with the show and it felt like the kind of pay per view that built up AEW’s reputation in the first place. Other than maybe the main event, there was pretty much nothing weak with some matches that you might have liked even more. It was a very good show with one solid match after another and that’s what a show like this should be. AEW is on a roll right now and this was another step in that pretty great run.

Results
Komander/Hologram b. Lee Johnson/Blake Christian – 450 to Christian
Daniel Garcia/Undisputed Era b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Dragontamer to Moriarty
Big Boom AJ/Conglomeration b. Johnny TV/MxM Collection – Triple Powerboom to Madden
Hangman Page b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Buckshot Lariat
Mercedes Mone b. Momo Watanabe – Bank Statement
Swerve Strickland b. Ricochet – Big Pressure
Kazuchika Okada b. Brody King – Rainmaker
Hurt Syndicate b. Outrunners – Spear to Magnum
Toni Storm b. Mariah May – Storm Zero through a table
Kenny Omega b. Konosuke Takeshita – Crucifix
Will Ospreay b. Kyle Fletcher – Tiger Driver 91
Jon Moxley b. Christian Cage and Cope – Bulldog choke to Cage

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

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: March 6, 2025
Location: Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Last week’s show featured a bunch of guest stars from CMLL and it made things a good bit more interesting than we’ve seen around here lately. That isn’t something that should be happening every week, but it was nice for a once off. Now we get to see what else ROH has, which is likely going to be something pretty familiar. Let’s get to it.

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

We start with a clip from backstage at Dynamite, with Chris Jericho getting on the Learning Tree for their recent issues. Jericho isn’t sure what he can do to get through to them because they might not get too many more chances.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. La Catalina

Athena is defending. They take turns striking a pose to start until Catalina hits a dropkick into the corner. Another dropkick puts Athena on the floor, where she cuts off a dive with a kick to the head. Catalina gets knocked to the floor but comes back in, where Athena gets to stand on her face. A superkick into the Death Valley Driver sets up a knee to the face for two on Catalina and Athena hits the bow and arrow.

That’s broken up and Catalina hits a quick running knee, followed by a missile dropkick (she likes those) for two. A leglock sends Athena over to the ropes and she’s back with a quick sitout powerbomb for two of her own. Athena’s crossface is broken up and Catalina is back with a spear into a Pedigree for another near fall. A quick hurricanrana takes Catalina down and the O Face retains the title at 9:08.

Rating: B-. This was the same thing we have seen for a long stretch of Athena’s title reign, as someone was built up out of nowhere and then loses to the champ. That’s a good way to go for a bit but Athena has cleaned out the division for such a long time that there is no one available to come after her at the moment. Hopefully it isn’t Billie Starkz again next, but who else is it supposed to be right now?

Post match Athena teases respect before knocking her down.

The MxM Collection mocks the Sons Of Texas for having one of the Tag Team Title belts. Their loss in Australia doesn’t matter because that isn’t a real country. Therefore, tonight, they’ll crash the Sons’ title match. It’s a bad sign when just talking about the champions is so deflating.

Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh vs. McCallion/Slade

Lethal headlocks McCallion to start and hiptosses him into a basement dropkick. Slade comes in off a blind tag but a double belly to back suplex doesn’t work. Instead it’s off to Singh so house is quickly cleaned. Slade is chokeslammed over and over (with Singh on one knee to make it less painful), followed by a double chokeslam for a double pin at 3:37.

Rating: C. I mean, why not? Lethal is a Ring Of Honor legend and Singh is an attraction and I’ll take that over the same people week in and week out around here. The match was a total squash and that’s all it needed to be, but at least it was something different. That’s what ROH has been needing and while this isn’t the big solution, it’s better than nothing.

Billie Starkz vs. Mylo

Starkz backs her into the corner to start and hits a kick to the face. Mylo tries to fight back but gets sent outside in a heap. A whip into the barricade has Mylo in more trouble, setting up the Swanton to give Starkz the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C-. Pretty much total destruction here with Starkz running through Mylo without much trouble. That’s all it needed to be, though it continues to make me wonder if Starkz is going to get a third shot at Athena and the Women’s Title. That isn’t a thrilling way to go, though again I’m not sure who else it is supposed to be.

Jon Cruz/Olumide vs. Sons Of Texas

Non-title and this is Olumide’s (who is rather tall) debut. Guevara and Olumide start things off with Guevara flipping over him and hitting a dropkick. Rhodes comes in for a few shots of his own but Cruz slips out of Guevara’s suplex attempt. The double teaming doesn’t get very far on Guevara as he flips away and brings in Guevara to clean house. The Swanton gives Guevara the pin on Olumide at 3:50.

Rating: C. This has been the latest Sons Of Texas match and it’s still about the same that the previous ones have been. There is nothing about them that stands out and for some reason we are coming up on seven months as champions. That reason is likely All In, as we need the champions to be on the Kickoff Show. It’s not like they’re bad, but they’re dull, which is often worse.

Post match the MxM Collection come in for a beatdown but the Sons fight them off and get their belt back. So that’s it? I mean it isn’t like the Von Erichs, who came back two weeks ago and haven’t even been seen with Rhodes, their championship partner despite not defending the titles since AUGUST, were going to do anything here so I guess the champions beating up the challengers they have already beaten was the way to go.

The Beast Mortos vs. Sonico

Sonico strikes away to start and hits a superkick before Mortos runs him over without much trouble. A snap powerslam gives Mortos two and we hit the chinlock. Thankfully that doesn’t last long as Mortos hits a pop up Samoan drop into the spinning piledriver for the pin at 2:26.

Thunder Rosa vs. Brittnie Brooks

They trade rollups to start before Brooks grabs an armdrag. Rosa is right back up with a clothesline but Brooks counters a suplex attempt. Brooks scores with some kicks but Rosa blocks a bulldog. The running dropkick puts Brooks down and Rosa hits the running dropkick against the ropes. Brooks comes back with some forearms and a running bulldog gets two. That’s not working for Rosa, who is right back with the Tijuana Bomb for the pin at 5:09.

Rating: C+. Brooks got in a lot of offense here and it was a more competitive match than I was expecting. At the same time, this felt like Rosa’s win to get her momentum back after taking the fall on Dynamite. That’s something AEW and ROH really like to do and it’s not the worst idea, but this is only going to get Rosa so far.

Bandido/Gravity vs. The Infantry

Gravity and Dean get things going with Gravity armdragging him down to create some early frustration. Gravity does his moon walk so Bandido can come in to run Bravo over. It’s already back to Gravity, who gets taken down into the corner so his leg can be wrapped around the post.

Back in and Dean starts working on that leg, including a rather logical half crab. That’s broken up and a rolling tag brings in Bandido to clean house. Everything breaks down and the Infantry is sent outside for stereo dives. A double faceplant drops Bravo back inside but Dean is back in for a middle rope clothesline to Bandido. That doesn’t get them very far though as it’s the X Knee to Bravo, followed by Gravity hitting a 21 Plex to pin Dean at 8:43.

Rating: B-. Probably the best match of the show here, as we needed the latest match where the Infantry loses against anyone with some status. Bandido and Gravity are fine as a team if Bandido isn’t going to be in the World Title scene anymore, though I’m not sure how far they’re going to go. Another perfectly fine match here, and somehow perhaps the most interesting part of the show.

Post match the Learning Tree runs in and lays out Bandido and Gravity.

Diamante interrupts Athena and…says she’s the new #1 minion.

TMDK vs. Gates Of Agony

TMDK jumps the Gates before the bell and get in some chair shots, which of course is fine with the referee, who calls for the bell. Kaun gets run over with a shoulder for two and a double faceplant puts him down again. Cabrera charges into Kaun’s boot in the corner but slams him down without much effort. Tito’s suplex gets two and a double chokeslam gets the same but Kaun escapes a Doomsday Device. A top rope superplex drops Tito as Toa is finally back on the apron. Toa gets the tag to clean house, including a string of clotheslines in the corner. Everything breaks down and Open The Gates finishes Cabrera at 6:46.

Rating: C+. This was a nice come from behind win for the Gates and unfortunately that’s about the extent of the positives. Much like the Infantry, the Gates feel like they have been in about the same spot for the better part of ever. There is no reason to believe that anything is going to change for them anytime soon and it isn’t like their matches are anything overly interesting.

Blue Panther/Blue Panther Jr./Dark Panther vs. Valiente/Gran Guerrero/Euforia

Dark and Blue Jr. are the sons of Blue. Valiente and Jr. start things off and they go to the mat for an early standoff. Back up and they chop it out to no avail as Gran comes in to trade takedowns with Dark. Euforia misses a charge into the post and it’s off to Blue for a double running headbutt. The Panthers clean house as everything breaks down, with commentary pointing out the “relaxed rules”.

Jr. is sent hard out to the floor off a baseball slide and it’s Blue getting caught in the wrong corner. Dark comes back in and is sent into the corner for a series of running shots before Blue gets beaten up again. Jr. finally comes in again as everything breaks down, with the Panthers cleaning house. Blue gets in a spinning crossbody out of the corner and a hurricanrana, followed by another one from the apron. Jr. hits a big dive over the top, leaving Dark to powerbomb Valiente for two. Dark hits a suicide dive and stops to point at Komander (in the crowd), leaving Blue to roll Euforia up for the pin at 9:47.

Rating: B-. Ring Of Honor is rapidly turning into the CMLL Hour Featuring The Ring Of Honor Players. That’s similar to what they did with New Japan back in the day and it’s not the best idea. Yeah the matches are fun, but as has been the case with any promotion guest starring over and over: if I wanted to watch them, I’d watch their own show. The match itself was the usual CMLL fun, but it’s becoming a regular part of the show rather than a special attraction and that isn’t a great move.

Overall Rating: C+. Yeah it was fine. That’s about the extent of interest I can bring myself to have in Ring Of Honor anymore as it is the definition of a show that is just kind of there. So many people have matches that don’t feel like they lead anywhere and the show keeps going without showing much forward progress. In short, I’d like to feel like some of these matches mean something, because they aren’t good enough on their own to matter all that much.

Results
Athena b. La Catalina – O Face
Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh b. McCallion/Slade – Double pin
Billie Starkz b. Mylo – Swanton
Sons Of Texas b. Jon Cruz/Olumide – Swanton to Olumide
The Beast Mortos b. Sonico – Spinning piledriver
Thunder Rosa b. Brittnie Brooks – Tijuana Bomb
Bandido/Gravity b. The Infantry – 21 Plex to Dean
Gates Of Agony b. TMDK – Open The Gates to Cabrera
Blue Panther/Blue Panther Jr./Dark Panther b. Valiente/Gran Guerrero/Euforia – Rollup to Euforia

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

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Collision
Date: March 1, 2025
Location: Oakland Arena, Oakland, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re a little over a week away from Revolution and the show could use some more matches. There is a good chance we will get some more of those this week, but first we have a TNT Title match as Adam Cole challenges Daniel Garcia. That should be good enough and odds are there will be some more solid wrestling to go with it. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Daniel Garcia, FTR, the Undisputed Kingdom, Julia Hart, Brody King, Kazuchika Okada, Bandido and Powerhouse Hobbs are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

FTR vs. Undisputed Kingdom

Wheeler and Strong go technical to start and that’s good for a standoff. Back up and Strong gets in a hiptoss so it’s off to O’Reilly. Harwood comes in to work on the arm again and they trade shots for back to back knockdowns. Everything breaks down and they wind up on the floor until Wheeler gets beaten up in the corner. Harwood comes back in for some suplexes and a quick piledriver gets the pin at 5:04…but O’Reilly’s foot is on the rope.

The match keeps going so Harwood sends O’Reilly into the post. Wheeler comes back in and strikes away as we take a break. Back with Wheeler missing a charge into the corner, allowing O’Reilly to dive through the legs for a tag. The Angle Slams take FTR down and stereo strikes to the head get two on Harwood. The ankle lock makes Wheeler tap but he’s not legal, so Harwood makes the save.

That earns Harwood a ram into Wheeler before the ankle lock goes on again. That’s broken up and Wheeler gets in a cheap shot, allowing Harwood to roll O’Reilly up with trunks for two. Neither of them can hit a spike piledriver so Wheeler is in with a top rope clothesline for two. Everyone is down for a bit before FTR is up with the PowerPlex for two more on O’Reilly. The Shatter Machine is broken up and a quick High/Low finishes Wheeler at 16:49.

Rating: B. This got rolling by the end and that made for a good match, even with FTR losing again. At this point they might be getting ready for a heel turn, as there isn’t much else that they can do with all of these losses. I don’t mind pushing the Kingdom as they’re good, but they’re just kind of floating around at the moment as it is.

Post match respect is not shown.

Willow Nightingale is happy with getting to take out Marina Shafir on Dynamite.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Willie Mack

Yuta shoulders him in the corner to start and hits a quick backsplash. The half crab sends Mack over to the ropes so Yuta chokes away instead. A release German suplex drops Mack again but he avoids a dive off the top. The Cannonball connects for Mack, only for Yuta to hit a running knee to finish Mack at 4:42.

Rating: C. It wasn’t a squash but Yuta as a featured star just isn’t much to see. He is only so good in the first place and having him as part of the Death Riders isn’t helping things. Mack is another someone who feels like he could have been something if given the chance but it never came. He’s pretty much useless now, which isn’t his fault in the slightest.

Post match here is Jon Moxley, who has to carry his own briefcase, which goes upside Mack’s head. Moxley says this is none of Oakland’s business before giving Yuta the briefcase and telling him to finish the job. Another briefcase shot leaves Mack laying.

We look at Momo Watanabe taking the TBS Title from Mercedes Mone.

Billie Starkz gives Mone the title back and throws tea on her.

Toni Storm is in a bed with a neck brace and says that she will face Mariah May in a Hollywood Ending match at Revolution. The match will be no countout, no DQ, no rope breaks and falls count anywhere.

Swerve Strickland vs. Clark Connors

Connors is from New Japan and hasn’t been around AEW in a few years. Strickland sends him into the corner and hits the middle rope elbow to the back. Connors gets in his own shot and kicks the rope into Strickland’s throat before unloading in the corner. Strickland’s backbreaker lets him snap Connors’ arm and we take a break.

Back with Connors snapping off a powerslam but Strickland kicks him in the head. A belly to back superplex plants Connors for two and the rolling Downward Spiral sets up a missed Swerve Stomp. Connors hits a spear and tries a DDT but Strickland reverses into the House Call for the win at 10:05.

Rating: B-. Connors didn’t get much of a reaction and that shouldn’t be a surprise. He’s a bigger star in New Japan, but he has basically no history here, at least not recently, which isn’t going to help get him a reaction. While he looked good in defeat here, it’s not the best start to his new AEW run. Let him have a few wins and then feed him to Strickland, who will benefit more as well.

On Dynamite, the Outrunners earned a Tag Team Title match and the Hurt Syndicate will give them said shot at Revolution.

Harley Cameron is on commentary and names her new finishing move My Finishing Move.

Johnny TV bumps into the Costco Guys and doesn’t like how they treated the MxM Collection. TV challenges Big Boom AJ to find two partners for a six man at Revolution.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Nick Ruiz/Vinnie Massaro/Dave Dutra

Dutra gets backed into the corner to start and hit in the face. A running double stomp sets up Moriarty’s suplex DDT for the pin at 1:19. I guess it’s time to act like AEW cares about Taylor and company again for a few weeks.

TNT Title: Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia

Cole is challenging and walks through the Promotions on the way to the ring. The early grappling goes nowhere and they trade rollups for two each. They shake hands until Garcia grabs a neckbreaker for two but Cole is back with a Backstabber. Cole’s own neckbreaker gets two and a snap suplex sets up the chinlock.

Back up and Garcia twists the leg around the rope and hits a running dropkick against the barricade as we take a break. We come back with Cole hitting a brainbuster onto his leg, which is a bit banged up. Another brainbuster onto the leg gets two but the Panama Sunrise is blocked. Garcia superplexes him into a piledriver for two but Cole is back with a Panama Sunrise for two of his own.

The leg gives out on a superkick attempt and Garcia gets the ankle lock. That sends Cole crawling over to the ropes for the break so Garcia piledrives him onto the apron. Naturally Cole is on his feet in about thirty seconds and they slug it out. We get the five minute call…and the Infantry runs in for the double DQ at 15:13.

Rating: B-. Yeah of course they did. The Promotions are a great example of an act that has been run into the ground so many times by AEW that they have lost whatever impact they could have. They’ve been treated as losers and cannon fodder for so long and that adds up in fans’ minds. That was what I was thinking as soon as they ran in, as there is almost no reason to believe that this is going to be their big step in the right direction. The match was a good back and forth match with Cole looking better than he has recently, but dang that ending took the lift out of things.

Post match the beatdown is on and Matt Menard tries to make the save, only to be dropped by Shane Taylor. The villains beat up Cole and Garcia to leave them laying.

Video on the Opps.

The Costco Guys have found Orange Cassidy and Mark Briscoe for the match at Revolution. And the word of the day is BOOM. That’s what they brought these two back for?

Julia Hart vs. Queen Aminata

During Aminata’s entrance, Serena Deeb talks about wanting to face Aminata in a Pure Rules match and has a playbook on Hart. Aminata grinds away on a headlock to start but Hart sends her into the corner for a running elbow. The chinlock is broken up and Aminata knocks her down as we take a break. Back with Hart fighting out of a figure four with the legs and hitting a standing moonsault for two. Hart cranks on both arms but misses the moonsault. A big headbutt sends Hart into the ropes for a running boot to give Aminata the clean pin at 9:05.

Rating: C+. Well ok then. Hart is someone who has been getting presented as a bigger deal in recent weeks and then she loses clean here. Aminata has lost more than a few times but she still seems to have a lot of potential. At some point she has to win something to follow up on that potential, though this is certainly a surprising choice for one of those wins.

Post match Brody King comes out to check on Hart but gets decked by Kazuchika Okada (who he bumped into as Okada arrived at the start of the show).

Kenny Omega talks about losing to Konosuke Takeshita twice in one week. The title that Takeshita holds represents being the best and if he can beat Omega a third time, maybe it’s time for Omega to admit he can’t do it anymore. He no longer has the baggage of being an EVP and all he cares about is the gold. Serious promo from Omega here and it worked.

Learning Tree vs. Powerhouse Hobbs/Bandido

Bill and Hobbs start things off but of course we’ll go with Keith instead. Hobbs isn’t about to be whipped into the ropes so he shoulders Keith down. Hobbs picks Keith up and hands him to Bandido in an impressive power display so it’s off to Bill, who can’t quite hit a chokeslam. The ten paces spot is loaded up but Bill’s cheap shot misses.

We take a break and come back with Bill not being able to hit a powerbomb and missing a splash in the corner. The tag brings in Hobbs to clean house with the clotheslines and a middle rope spinning powerslam gets two, with Bill making the save. Bandido comes back in to strike it out with Keith before they hit stereo dropkicks for a double down. Bill and Hobbs strike it out until Bill’s missed charge sends him outside. Bandido moonsaults onto Bill, leaving Hobbs to bust Keith’s spine for the pin at 11:25.

Rating: B-. This was all about giving Hobbs a nice win in his hometown and it went perfectly well. Hobbs continues to be someone who could be a big deal if given the chance and hopefully he takes the Ring Of Honor World Title from Chris Jericho as soon as possible. Bandido would have been a fine choice to do the same but alas here we are instead. Not a great match here, but it did what it needed to.

Overall Rating: B. It’s kind of a shame that this show was going up against WWE’s Elimination Chamber as it means a lot of people probably aren’t going to see a good show. As has been the case in recent months, the less the Death Riders are around, the better the show went and that was the situation here. They moved some stories forward here and Revolution is looking good, even with the Costco Guys back again. Another solid episode here, which has been the case for a few weeks now.

Results
Undisputed Kingdom b. FTR – High/Low to Wheeler
Wheeler Yuta b. Willie Mack – Running knee
Swerve Strickland b. Clark Connors – House Call
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Nick Ruiz/Vinnie Massaro/Dave Dutra – Suplex DDT to Dutra
Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia went to a double DQ when the Infantry interfered
Queen Aminata b. Julia Hart – Running boot in the ropes
Powerhouse Hobbs/Bandido b. Learning Tree – Spinebuster to Keith

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

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

Dynamite
Date: February 26, 2025
Location: Frontwave Arena, Oceanside, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re about a week and a half away from Revolution and the card is starting to come together. The big story is Cope taking the Death Riders out one by one, including dropping Pac last week. There is a good chance that he will try to do that again this week, which could mean some violence. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

An ambulance arrives in the back of the arena and Cope is in the back, saying it’s time to take out another Death Rider.

The announcers run down the card.

Earlier today, MJF talks about how the fans have chanted “COWBOY S***” at a fake like Hangman Page. MJF is getting the AEW tattoo removed from his leg because it is time to bet on himself.

Page arrives in his truck and comes to the ring in his street clothes.

Hangman Page vs. Aaron Solo

Page kicks him in the face, hits a clothesline, and finishes with the Buckshot Lariat at 48 seconds.

Post match Page grabs a chair and says the three things he hates in this world are running out of biscuits, English ivy and a spray tanned b**** spitting in his face. Therefore, he is going to sit in this ring until MJF is sent out here for the beating he deserves. Cue MJF, with a bloody towel, calling Page an animal.

He’s not going to have this fight right now because he’ll wait for Revolution in Los Angeles. For now though, we’ll find out who MJF has attacked. We see a rather bloody Christopher Daniels in the back as MJF leaves. Page grabs the chair and heads to the back, where he finds Daniels down. The medics check on Daniels as Page goes hunting.

Don Callis and Kyle Fletcher are in a sky box.

Earlier tonight, Chris Jericho talked to Don Callis, who seems interested in having Bryan Keith take out Will Ospreay.

Will Ospreay vs. Bryan Keith

They go with the grappling to start and it’s an early standoff. Ospreay knocks him into the corner and chops Keith down, setting up a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. A springboard misses though and Ospreay is sent outside, where he comes up holding his knee off the landing.

We take a break and come back with Keith working on the back. Ospreay kicks his way to freedom and hits a Phenomenal Forearm for two of his own. An enziguri staggers Ospreay again but he’s back with a Stundog Millionaire for another near fall. Keith hits a tiger driver for two as the fans think this is awesome. Ospreay slips out of another tiger driver and hits a Styles Clash, setting up the Hidden Blade for the pin at 10:52.

Rating: B-. Good showing from Keith here as he got a good deal in on a bigger star with Ospreay. This is the kind of match that gives Ospreay a sweat before he gets the win on the way to the big showdown with Fletcher. Just please don’t move this on to an Ospreay vs. Jericho feud because….oh just no.

Post match Ospreay goes into the crowd for the brawl with Fletcher.

We look at Mariah May attacking Toni Storm on Collision. This week on Collision: an update on Storm.

Video on Momo Watanabe, who will be challenging Mercedes Mone for the TBS Title at Revolution.

Mone isn’t worried about Watanabe and yells at ROH’s Billie Starkz for getting in her way. Watanabe shows up with a baseball bat to scare Mone off. One thing here: Watanabe last wrestled in AEW on the 2024 Forbidden Door Zero Hour show. Starkz last wrestled on AEW TV on the 2023 WrestleDream Zero Hour show. If you watch Stardom and Ring Of Honor, you know who these two are, but otherwise, these two are relatively strangers, one of whom is going to get a title shot because she won a match at Wrestle Dynasty, which was barely talked about on AEW TV. You might want to work on that.

Outrunners vs. Murder Machines

For a future Tag Team Title shot. The Machines jump Floyd to start but Magnum fights up, with the Machines being knocked outside. The Outrunners are pulled outside and we take an early break. Back with Archer hitting some running charges to Magnum in the corner and it’s off to Cage.

Magnum jawbreaks his way to freedom and Floyd comes in to clean house with a rollup getting two on Cage. Everything breaks down and a splash gives Cage two on Floyd. The powerbomb/chokeslam combination is broken up so Archer chokeslams Floyd for two. The Blackout is loaded up but cue the Hurt Syndicate for a distraction, allowing Floyd to roll Archer up for the pin at 8:22.

Rating: C+. Points to AEW for this one as I was expecting the Machines to beat the popular team and that is absolutely not what they did. It’s quite the relief as the Outrunners are still a hot enough act and it would have been annoying to see them lose to the Murder Machines to set up the title shot. It’s nice to see a bit of a curve here and I’m glad I was wrong on what I thought was going to happen.

Video on Cope vs. Jon Moxley, including Cope taking out Pac on Collision. Claudio Castagnoli is wanting to get his hands on Cope to even the score.

Video on Ricochet taking Prince Nana’s robe.

Here is Swerve Strickland, with Nana, for a chat. Strickland talks about how he has done some good things around here and you could see him headlining All In last year. He is still the man around here and he wants some gold around his waist, but first he has to deal with Ricochet.

Cue Ricochet, wearing the robe, to say that he is going to get some gold but he doesn’t want to deal Swerve anymore. Nana has an announcement though: the two of them can face off at Revolution in a #1 contenders match. Works for Ricochet, who leaves, but Nana has to talk to Swerve. Nana wants Swerve to go back to being the mod dangerous man in AEW. Nana has survived a bunch of bullets for Swerve and now he needs Swerve to get the robe back and leaves Swerve alone in the ring.

Hangman Page is leaving and threatens to run MJF down.

Undisputed Kingdom vs. Daniel Garcia/FTR

O’Reilly and Wheeler start things off with the latter working on the arm. That’s reversed into a heel hook and Wheeler bails straight over to the ropes. Cole comes in and trades missed kicks with Garcia, who takes him into the corner. Everything breaks down and a series of strikes on the floor leaves everyone down as we take a break.

Back with Strong and Harwood slugging it out until the Kingdom clears the ring. Harwood pulls O’Reilly into the Sharpshooter until a rope is grabbed. Everyone gets back in and the Kingdom get stereo small packages for two and a triple clothesline leaves everyone down again. This time it’s Strong getting caught in the Sharpshooter, leaving Cole to roll Garcia up for the pin at 11:00.

Rating: B-. Good back and forth match here but this is one of those stories that feels like it’s just kind of there. It’s not bad, but it’s not exactly lighting things on fire. In theory this will get Cole a TNT Title shot and it’s only so interesting. It was a nice six man though, with entertaining back and forth action throughout.

Post match they almost fight again and the TNT Title match is on for Collision.

Cope jumps Claudio Castagnoli in the back but Wheeler Yuta jumps him from behind. The villains load up a Conchairto but Jay White makes the save. Marina Shafir runs in to choke Cope but gets kneed by Yuta by mistake, which White finds hilarious. Castagnoli gets Conchairtoed as Jon Moxley is panicking in the crowd. Another one is loaded up for Shafir so here is Willow Nightingale to actually crack her head with the chair. So that leaves Yuta as the lone Death Rider to defend Moxley and…that feels a bit of a weak finale.

Harley Cameron vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Cameron goes for the leg to start and is quickly shoved away. Back up and a running headscissors takes Purrazzo down for two but she catches Cameron on top. We take a break and come back with Purrazzo shrugging off a jawbreaker. A Russian legsweep gives Purrazzo two and she ties Cameron in the Tree of Woe. Cameron slips out of that and hits an enziguri, setting up a Shining Wizard for two. Purrazzo kicks her in the face but the cross armbreaker is countered into a rollup to give Cameron two more. Back up and Cameron grabs a rolling cutter for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C+. This is how the match should have gone as Cameron is starting to turn her confidence into some wins. It would have been too much for her to beat Mone in Australia, but a win like this is a perfectly fine way to go. Purrazzo can make anyone look better in the ring and it was a nice match here, with Cameron getting back on her feet after the big loss.

Video on Orange Cassidy vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the International Title.

Marina Shafir and Claudio Castagnoli are taken away in an ambulance, with Cope, Willow Nightingale and Jay White waving.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Orange Cassidy

Takeshita, with Don Callis (on commentary) and Mark Davis, is defending. Takeshita breaks the sunglasses to start so Cassidy whips out another pair. Those are taken away and given to Callis but Cassidy misses the Orange Punch. The lazy forearms just annoy Takeshita, who kicks Cassidy down. Back up and Cassidy stomps away in the corner, setting up a slingshot DDT to drop Takeshita. That doesn’t last long as Takeshita is back up with a heck of a shot of his own and we take a break.

Back with Cassidy fighting out of a Blue Thunder Bomb attempt but the Stundog Millionaire is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two (That was GREAT!). The Beach Break is countered so Cassidy hurricanranas him to the floor instead. Cassidy sits on the announcers’ table and tells him to bring it, eventually hitting the Beach Break onto the table.

They both dive in to beat the count, where Cassidy hits the Orange Punch to send Takeshita back outside. Cassidy hits the diving DDT and takes his sunglasses back but Takeshita knocks him out of the air (Schiavone: “He knocked his a** right out!). The Stundog Millionaire staggers Takeshita but he’s right back with a kneeling piledriver. The Raging Fire retains the title at 12:30.

Rating: A-. I wasn’t overly interested coming into this one but DANG they were on a roll near the end. Like any other promotion, AEW hypes its wrestlers up to an insane level but they might somehow be underselling Takeshita. The guy is just that good and some of the things that he does in the ring leave my eyes bugging out on a regular basis. The fans were into this and the match pulled me in as well. Great stuff here and an excellent main event.

Overall Rating: B. The main event is by far the best thing on the show, but nothing on here is really anywhere near bad. They advanced some stories and it goes to show you how much it helps to have the Death Riders facing some adversity. I’m not sure I can see Cope winning the title at Revolution, but egads it’s nice to see something other than the group dominating so often. Good show here, with Takeshita going off in the main event.

Results
Hangman Page b. Aaron Solo – Buckshot Lariat
Will Ospreay b. Bryan Keith – Hidden Blade
Outrunners b. Murder Machines – Rollup to Archer
Undisputed Kingdom b. Daniel Garcia/FTR – Jackknife rollup to Garcia
Harley Cameron b. Deonna Purrazzo – Rolling cutter
Konosuke Takeshita b. Orange Cassidy – Raging Fire

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

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: February 20, 2025
Location: Fort Bend Epicenter, Rosenberg, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back on land this week and it’s another somewhat special episode as we have some guest stars from CMLL. That might not be everyone’s cup of tea but it almost has to be more interesting than what we usually get around here. Other than that, we have a Ring Of Honor World Title match on Collision this weekend so it might be time to hype it up some more. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a Global Wars recap.

Opening sequence.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Fuego del Sol

Yuta jumps him at the bell and starts fast, with a fisherman’s suplex getting two. A dropkick staggers Yuta but he comes back with a running clothesline to drop Fuego in a hurry. Yuta faceplants him and hits a basement dropkick before tying up the leg. Fuego makes the rope and fights up, setting up a basement superkick. Yuta ducks something off the top and hits a running knee for the pin at 3:56.

Rating: C. Pretty much a squash here for Yuta and that still doesn’t make him overly interesting. Fuego is one of those fun people who doesn’t win much but isn’t going to be a thing in AEW so this is about as far as he’s going. I’m not sure what it says for Yuta to count as star power around here but it’s not the best sign.

Post match Yuta grabs a chain and ties Fuego up in a surfboard for a choke.

Rachael Ellering vs. Abadon

Ellering grabs a headlock to start and gets her hand bitten as a result. A basement kick to the face cuts Ellering down but she’s right back with a running elbow to the face. The backsplash misses though and Abadon hits an apron legdrop to take over. Ellering is right back with a suplex and now the backsplash connects for two. Back up and Abadon grabs a running cutter, setting up the Black Dahlia for the pin at 4:08.

Rating: C-. There is something missing from Ellering’s matches and I’m not sure what it is. Granted some of the problem might be that she only exists to put people over and that isn’t going to get her very far. At some point she needs to win something, or the little value that she has is going to go away rather quickly. Abadon continues to look weird, but there is a pretty firm ceiling when you’re only around every few months.

Jacked Jameson is fired up about his potential stable mates, who interrupt and say the Frat House is now a thing. They share a drink and give Jameson a hat.

Frat House/Premiere Athletes/Mark Sterling vs. Top Flight/Outrunners/Von Erichs

The Von Erichs have been gone for six months and the Six Man Tag Team Titles have been sitting cold since then and they come back in a random twelve man tag. Because of course. Darius and Nese start things off with Nese taking him into the corner so Garrison can come in. That means Dante can come in for a jumping stomp to the back as the rapid fire tags continue.

Ross kicks Jameson down and Marshall hits a standing moonsault for two more. Magnum comes in and gets knocked into the wrong corner so it’s off to Sterling to hammer away. The chinlock goes on but Magnum fights up, only for the villains to pull his partners off the apron. Magnum suplexes his way to freedom and the tag brings in Floyd to clean house. Sterling gets slammed down to set up the Mega Powers Elbow. Total Recall finishes Sterling off at 8:53.

Rating: C. The Six Man Titles are coming up on seven months without a defense but we needed to have the Von Erichs in here because it’s TEXAS and therefore we need TEXAS wrestlers in there. Ignore the issue of the Von Erichs really not being that interesting and the Six Man Tag Team Titles feeling less than worthless and it’s a bit hard to care about them. The rest of the people are the usual goons around here, which is why this match was a Dark Order short of hitting every check mark in an ROH match.

The MxM Collection celebrates stealing the Tag Team Title again at Global Wars, despite not winning the belts.

Billie Starkz vs. Hyan

Athena is here with Starkz, who flips out of a wristlock to start. A German suplex drops Hyan again and a kick to the head out of the corner does it again. Hyan avoids the Swanton though and grabs a suplex of her own. Starkz forearms the heck out of her in the corner though and finishes with an electric chair slam at 4:00.

Rating: C+. For the love of all things good and holy, tell me we are not building towards Starkz vs. Athena again. It seems that’s where we’re going, and my goodness I cannot fathom having to see that a third time, especially if Starkz finally beats her. The title has just gone ice cold lately as Athena has been out of major challengers for so long. The action here was at least good, which somehow is the best thing so far tonight.

TV Title: Komander vs. Lee Johnson

Komander is defending and Johnson has EJ Nduka in his corner. They trade standing switches to start before Komander nips out of a headscissors for a standoff. A springboard wristdrag is broken up so Komander sends him outside and moonsaults into a headscissors. Nduka offers a distraction though and Johnson drops Komander to take over. Johnson sends him outside for a bit, followed by a chinlock back inside.

That’s broken up so they head to the apron for a slugout, with Komander grabbing a running hurricanrana driver. A springboard moonsault to a standing Johnson connects back inside but it’s too early for Cielito Lindo. Johnson fights up but gets dropped with a poisonrana for two. They fight over a suplex and go out to the floor, where Johnson plants him hard.

That’s not good enough so Johnson rams him ankle first into the barricade over and over. Back in and Komander unlaces his boot, allowing Johnson to hit a frog splash. Johnson gets knocked off the top so Komander dives onto both of them for the big crash. Back in and Cielito Lindo connects anyway for the pin to retain at 15:22.

Rating: B-. Yeah it was good, but it still feels like a match between people who are here because they don’t belong anywhere else. Komander has been treated like a loser for so long on AEW TV that it’s hard to care about him being the midcard champion in the minor league. On the other hand you have Johnson, who isn’t bad in the ring but keeps losing his big shots. Fix that and he might be worth something.

Video on Red Velvet.

Gates Of Agony vs. Exodus Prime/Josiah G

A Samoan drop and Open The Gates means a double pin for Kaun at 1:15. Total decimation.

The World Title match for Collision gets a graphic. Thanks for bothering.

Barbaro Cavernario/Hechicero/Soberano Jr. vs. Dark Panther/Fuego/Sammy Guevara

Cue the MxM Collection to watch from the stage. It’s a brawl to start with Guevara’s team being knocked down with a triple clothesline. Soberano bites Guevara’s boot before Hechicero pounds away on his head. Guevara gets caught in a triple flipping slam (I believe BDK used to call it Ragnarok) so he rolls outside, allowing Fuego to come in.

Hechicero grabs a Rocking Horse and Soberano gets dropped down with a Fameasser at the same time. Panther comes in and gets faceplanted, allowing the villains (I guess?) to take him into the corner. Some tilt-a-whirl backbreaker get Panther out of trouble and we settle down to Hechicero vs. Guevara. The latter clears the ring and hits a dive, which counts as a tag so it isn’t that nuts.

Instead of switching places, Guevara comes back in and hits a big dive of his own, only for Cavernario to take him down. Now it’s off to Fuego, who seems confused by Cavernario’s Worm. Everything breaks down and Hechicero is sent outside and Soberano dives onto Panther. Fuego takes Soberano out with a dive of his own but Mansoor comes in to hit Guevara with the belt. Hechicero flips Fuego into a very spinny rollup for the pin at 12:11.

Rating: B. One match. Not the entire card and not some invasion angle that no one was asking to see. It was one match where the talented CMLL guys got in, did their stuff to pop the crowd and then got out. That’s WAY more effective than having them around week after week in some feud that feels tacked on. Treat these guys as a special attraction, because they’re good enough to warrant popping in on occasion, which was the case again here in the best thing on the show.

Post match Hechicero touches tips with the Collection but Guevara gives Mansoor the GTH. Madden escapes with the belt to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was a good illustration of why this series rarely works. So many of the matches either feel like they’re stretching out something that lasts for a long time (Athena/Starkz) or is just there to fill in time with little being gained (pick almost anything on the card) while the important stuff (the World Title match) is taking place on another show. There’s nothing interesting to get behind here and it makes for a very dry show most of the time. The wrestling isn’t the worst, but I need a reason to care about these people other than “they have some pretty good matches”.

Results
Wheeler Yuta b. Fuego del Sol – Running knee
Abadon b. Rachael Ellering – Black Dahlia
Top Flight/Outrunners/Von Erichs b. Frat House/Premiere Athletes/Mark Sterling – Total Recall to Sterling
Billie Starkz b. Hyan – Electric chair slam
Komander b. Lee Johnson – Cielito Lindo
Gates Of Agony b. Exodus Prime/Josiah G – Double pin
Hechicero/Barbaro Cavernario/Soberano Jr. b. Fuego/Sammy Guevara/Dark Panther – Spinning rollup to Fuego

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

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Ring Of Honor
Date: February 13, 2025
Location: Norwegian Pearl Cruise Ship, International Waters
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Well this is different. This show was taped on the Chris Jericho Rock N Rager At Sea cruise, meaning the matches are taking place on a ship in international waters. One of my biggest issues with this show has been that nothing about it really stands out as different week to week but that won’t be the case here. Let’s get to it.

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

Chris Jericho welcomes us to the show and presents the idea of what we are going to see tonight. And he speaks some Spanish.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

You can see the water through the portholes and it’s rather cool to see.

Jay Lethal vs. Mason Madden

Mansoor, in limited clothing, is here with Madden, with the stolen Tag Team Title belt. To make things a bit more festive, Lethal is Black Machismo. We get a pose off to start as Mansoor puts on the bedazzled title. They tease a finger point before Madden kicks him in the ribs to take over.

Back up and Lethal presses strong grapple and flicks the controller stick to fire off the alternating punches to the face and ribs. Madden chokebombs him down for two and it’s time to start working on the arm. Lethal is back up with a springboard high crossbody and they trade some shots to the face for some alternating staggers. A big boot sets up the missed elbow and Lethal Injection puts Madden down. Hail To The King finishes for Lethal at 6:06.

Rating: C+. This was already more fun than almost anything ROH has done in months and it made for a nice start to the show. What matters the most here is that things are at least interesting and I’m actually wanting to see what else is going to happen on the show. Lethal as Black Machismo was a fun little surprise and he does a great impression of Savage’s movements. Good enough here, with the right vibe already being set.

Last week, Athena yelled at Billie Starkz for not living up to expectations.

Billie Starkz vs. Harley Cameron

Cameron grabs a headlock to start but gets reversed into an armbar. Back up and Starks gets in a quick spank against the ropes, only for Cameron to do the same. Some right hands in the corner have Starkz in trouble but she’s back with a DDT as commentary talks about the movie Trading Places. Starkz chokes on the ropes and she ducks an enziguri to set up a choke.

That’s broken up and Cameron makes the Clothesline Comeback, followed by some choking in the corner. Now the enziguri can connect for two on Starkz and Cameron’s pumphandle back suplex gets two. Starkz is with a twisting implant DDT spun into a backbreaker for two, only for Cameron to grab a crucifix for the pin at 7:34.

Rating: C. It was another win for Cameron as her confidence is growing, but I’m still not buying her as a threat against Mercedes Mone. She’s putting in the work in the ring and it’s working far better than it did before, but Cameron is going to be better known for everything else for a good while. Starkz losing again isn’t going to set well for Athena, though I don’t think I can take another match between the two of them.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Tommy Billington

Non-title and the sun is setting for a really cool visual. Takeshita misses a charge to start and doesn’t seem thrilled. Back up and they take turns avoiding the other to a nice reaction…so Takeshita pulls out a spoon. Some shots to the head set up a suplex for two as the referee is fine with Takeshita spooning Billington. A snap suplex gets Billington out of trouble and they fight over a Tombstone until Takeshita gets planted. The Swan Dive misses though and Takeshita hits the running knee. The Blue Thunder Bomb finishes Billington at 5:52.

Rating: C+. This was a bit of a disappointment as I was expecting something more out of them. Granted they didn’t have enough time to do much, but it felt like they went from the middle of the match to the end without much in the middle. That made for kind of a weird showcase, as Billington has done better multiple times before.

Outrunners vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Magnum poses at Drake to start before cranking on the arm. A headscissors has Drake in more trouble so it’s off to Gibson to take over in the corner. Some atomic drops set up stereo airplane spins to stagger the Veterans, meaning we have more atomic drops. Drake trips Magnum down though and a running boot to the head gets two. Gibson comes in off a blind tag to elbow Magnum and cut off anything resembling a comeback.

We hit the chinlock but Magnum is up with a suplex for a breather. The diving tag brings in Floyd to clean house and yes we do get a double noggin knocker. The double slam sets up the Mega Powers Elbow but Total Recall is broken up. Drake uses the scarf for some choking but Magnum is back in for Total Recall and the pin at 9:16.

Rating: C. The Outrunners being on something like this is about as easy of an idea as you can have and it worked well here. As has been the pint tonight, the match was more about having fun than advancing anything else and that’s perfectly fine in a case like this. As usual, the Veterans have fallen through the floor and they really aren’t that bad. I don’t get it, but it doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon.

Earlier this week, Serena Deeb challenged Queen Aminata to a Pure Rules match. Works for Aminata.

Serpentico vs. Ricochet

Ricochet wastes no time in knocking him into the corner and hitting a running shoulder. Back up and Serepentico knocks Ricochet outside where it’s time for a breather on the ramp. A cheap shot takes Serpentico down though and drops an elbow to keep him in trouble.

Ricochet grabs a headscissor choke before driving Serpentico’s head into the mat for a hard crash. The People’s Moonsault gives Ricochet two and a running shooting star press gets the same. The Benedryller is loaded up but Serpentico reverses into a Canadian Destroyer. That’s enough for Ricochet, who is back with Vertigo into the Spirit Gun for the pin at 8:00.

Rating: C. This was an extended squash for Ricochet and that isn’t a surprise as he’s a main roster star and Serpentico is, uh, Serpentico. Ricochet gives Serpentico a bit of offense here but it was only ever going to be so interesting. For a match designed to add in some star power, it could have been much worse.

TV Title: Nick Wayne vs. Komander

Komander is defending. They fight over a test of strength to start before Komander sticks the landing on a monkey flip. They trade some flips until Wayne knocks him into the corner to take over. Komander flips around a bit and grabs a headscissors to the floor, where Wayne cuts off a dive.

Wayne plants him on the ramp and then works on the eyes back inside. A kick to the back gives Wayne two but Komander dives onto the ramp to leave Wayne confused. Back in and a dive gives Komander two, only for Wayne to come back with a dragon suplex for the same. A Canadian Destroyer plants Wayne though and sets up Cielito Lindo for the retaining pin at 9:22.

Rating: C+. As usual, there is pretty much no particular rhyme or reason to set up the title matches around here and that doesn’t make for the best continuity. At the same time, Wayne is at least a name in AEW and they were able to have an entertaining enough match. I’ll take the title being on the line over nothing at all and it was a fine enough main event.

Overall Rating: C+. Fun. That was the best thing I can say about this show and it was what Ring Of Honor has been missing for such a long time. Yes it was just a one off show and it wasn’t the most thrilling event with nothing worth going out of your way to see, but it was ANYTHING different after months and months of the same stuff. That was such a relief around here and my goodness was it nice to have this instead of the same show we see every week.

Results
Jay Lethal b. Mason Madden – Hail To The King
Harley Cameron b. Billie Starkz – Crucifix
Konosuke Takeshita b. Tommy Billington – Blue Thunder Bomb
Outrunners b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Total Recall to Drake
Ricochet b. Serpentico – Spirit Gun
Komander b. Nick Wayne – Cielito Lindo

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

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

AND

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: February 6, 2025
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are still fresh into the new year and that means very little around here, as Supercard Of Honor is usually coming up in about two months. That doesn’t seem to be the case this time though and that is going to slow things down a lot. This time around though, Athena is back and that could make things interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

We run down the card.

Blake Christian vs. Adam Priest

Christian flips him off so Priest grabs the finger, only to get pulled into a headlock. Back up and Priest grabs his own headlock but Christian pops out. A springboard clothesline drops Priest and Christian throws him outside for some choking on the barricade. Back in and Christian charges out of the corner but gets caught with a quick DDT for two. A snap powerslam gives Christian a breather and a 450 double stomp sets up the Vanilla Choke Zero (like a Last Chancery) for the tap at 6:03.

Rating: C. Well, they are in fact doing something with Christian and it does feel like he is rising up the ranks a bit. I’ll take some kind of storytelling and progress over nothing and this is going better than a lot of other stories around here. Leaning into the idea of Christian being boring is a way to go, but I’ll take it over some of the things around here.

Cole Carter/Preston Vance vs. Eli Theseus/Gabriel Aeros

Griff Garrison is here with Carter and Vance. Garrison takes Eli down to start but actually gets sent into the corner for a running elbow. Eli does something close to Rene Dupree’s French Tickler but here is Jacked Jameson of all people to interrupt. The villains knock Eli outside before Vance grabs a delayed vertical suplex. A slow motion elbow hits Eli and it’s back to Garrison for a front facelock. Eli actually fights up and hands it off to Gabriel to pick up the pace. Vance isn’t having that though and hits a discus lariat for the pin at 6:27.

Rating: C. Remember how I said I would take Christian over some of the things around here? Anything involving Carter and Garrison would fit the description. I have no idea what their appeal is supposed to be but it hasn’t been effective in a rather long time now. The match was fine enough, with Theseus/Aeros, apparently a regular team, looking decent.

Billie Starkz doesn’t quite get Athena’s entrance right so Athena walks her through it, albeit with some anger.

Lee Johnson vs. Jon Davis

EJ Nduka is here with Johnson. Davis (a former tag star in ROH) goes after Johnson to start but gets slapped in the head for his efforts. Johnson sends him outside and Nduka offers the distraction to set up the big dive. Back in and a moonsault gives Johnson two but a chop just annoys Davis. Johnson misses a dropkick and Davis rolls him into a German suplex. Nduka gets in a cheap shot though and Johnson hits the frog splash for the pin at 5:29.

Rating: C. So is this supposed to be a tag team or just Johnson doing the wrestling while Nduka looks like a monster? Either way, it’s only so interesting as Johnson isn’t much of anything special and we haven’t seen enough of Nduka for her to matter. Davis is someone who used to be something, albeit in a tag team, so he was only going to get so far here.

Athena vs. Carolina Cruz

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Cruz wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Athena dropkicks her into the corner to start fast and a Wasteland puts Cruz down. Some yelling at Starkz lets Cruz get in a right hand and full nelson slam but Athena powerbombs her down. The running forearm finishes for Athena at 2:42.

Post match Athena yells at Starkz and beats up Cruz some more.

We look at Bandido returning (again) on Collision.

Sammy Guevara vs. Mansoor

Mason Madden is here with Mansoor while Dustin Rhodes can’t be bothered to be there with his partner. Mansoor grabs a headlock to start and grinds away on the mat, setting up the pose. Back up and Guevara runs him over again and strikes his own pose, which doesn’t go as well.

Guevara sends him outside for a big running flip dive but Mansoor gets smart by going after the leg. A fisherman’s suplex gives Mansoor two and we hit the half crab. The rope is grabbed and Guevara starts the comeback with some dragon screw legwhips. Mason’s interference doesn’t work and Guevara grabs a Figure Four for the tap at 7:27.

Rating: C+. I still have no idea why I’m supposed to care about the Tag Team Titles, which have now not been defended in over a month. The act that this puts them above the AEW Trios Titles (three months) and the ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles (six months) isn’t a great sign, but that’s quite the ROH problem. For now though, we likely have the next challengers for the titles, even if it doesn’t make a ton of sense. Dustin can’t even be bothered to show up again and…can you blame him?

Post match the MxM Collection beats Guevara down and pose with his Tag Team Title. This would mean a lot more if he hadn’t just basically beaten both of them in less than seven and a half minutes.

Women’s TV Title: Robyn Renegade vs. Red Velvet

Velvet is defending and grabs a headlock to start. That’s broken up and Renegade takes her into the corner for a shot to the face. Velvet gets sent outside for a needed breather but she is able to cut off a baseball slide. Back in and Velvet chokes away, setting up some running knees against the ropes.

Renegade manages a knee to the face and a faceplant for two. A double down gives them both a needed breather before Velvet hammers away with some shots to the ribs. Renegade tries a pumphandle slam but gets reversed into the flipping faceplant to retain the title at 8:11.

Rating: C+ Better than I was expecting here, with Renegade putting up a solid fight. Renegade continues to be a bright spot when she is given the chance, but unfortunately that is not overly often. Velvet is finding herself more in the ring, so at least something seems to be working.

Premiere Athletes vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Dark Order vs. Outrunners

One fall to a finish with the Athletes taking Magnum into the corner to start fast. Reynolds tags himself in and hits a high crossbody for two as the fast start continues. A backbreaker into a DDT gives Uno two and the good guys hit four way right hands in the corner. We settle down to the non-involved Athletes stomping away on Reynolds outside. That’s broken up and Uno gets to hammer away, including a DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER!

Magnum tags himself in and hammers away on Daivari for two but Gibson comes in with a belly to back suplex for two. The villains argue over who gets to go after Magnum, which is enough for him to get in a quick shot. The hot tag brings in Floyd to clean house and the Mega Powers Elbow hits Drake. Uno takes out Mark Sterling and an assisted Sliced Bread gives Drake two. Back up and the Total Recall finishes Drake for the pin at 10:04.

Rating: C+. Well I’m a sucker for a good double noggin knocker, even if it comes in another four way match with no reason to believe that the Outrunners are getting anything out of this. That’s the ROH tag division and it isn’t getting any better. Kind of like the Athletes and the Dark Order who just won’t go away.

Overall Rating: C-. The biggest issue around here continues to be that things just aren’t that interesting. Dustin Rhodes is still treated as a huge deal by way of being a double champion but it’s still Rhodes, which means there is only so much interest. Just another weak show, with little to keep me interested, though the lack of an old match was nice for a change.

Results
Blake Christian b. Adam Priest – Vanilla Choke Zero
Cole Carter/Preston Vance b. Eli Theseus/Gabriel Aeros – Discus lariat to Aeros
Lee Johnson b. Jon Davis – Frog splash
Athena b. Carolina Cruz – Running forearm
Sammy Guevara b. Mansoor – Figure Four
Red Velvet b. Robyn Renegade – Flipping faceplant
Outrunners b. Grizzled Young Veterans, Dark Order and Premiere Athletes – Total Recall to Drake

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

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

AND

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