Ring Of Honor
Date: January 16, 2025
Location: Akins Ford Arena, Athens, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re still kind of in the middle of nowhere with Ring Of Honor at the moment, though next week’s big 100th episode should help a bit. Chris Jericho seems to be feuding with Cope and Jericho has at least been around a little more frequently, though last week’s show needs a lot of improvement. Let’s get to it.

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

QT Marshall talks about how he’s going to move his TV Title match until next week for the special show. Makes sense.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Katsuyori Shibata/Komander/Outrunners vs. Dylan Stewart/Zach Stewart/Rosario Grillo/Colby Carter

Shibata takes over on Grillo’s arm to start and fires off some big chops against the ropes. Zach comes in and pulls Komander out of the air, only to get caught with a hurricanrana. It’s off to Floyd for a bicep pose, followed by a double bicep from both Outrunners. Magnum gets taken into the corner though and the villains take turns stomping away. Carter misses a knee drop but Grillo cuts off the tag attempt. Said tag brings in Floyd to clean house a few seconds later (as tends to be the case) and the Mega Powers elbow connects. A parade of finishers sets up the PK to finish Grillo at 7:49.

Rating: C. There is only so much that you can do with having so many people in a glorified squash match. The good guys were never in any danger and that’s how it should have been. Giving the Outrunners a win is nice, but maybe giving the champion a showcase of his own would make a bit more sense?

Shane Taylor talks about growing up in real fights and how he and his Promotions are ready to fight anyone. I’m ready for them to stop talking.

Tony Nese vs. The Beast Mortos

The rest of the Premiere Athletes are here with Nese. Mortos shoves him down to start but Nese poses a bit and grabs a headlock. Some left hands just annoy Mortos and he runs Nese over without much effort. A high crossbody doesn’t work for Nese either and Mortos knocks him outside for the dive.

The Athletes offer a distraction though and Nese scores with a superkick. Back in and we hit the chinlock, only for Nese to miss the springboard moonsault. Mortos’ backbreaker gets two and he hits a headbutt, but the Athletes grab his leg. That’s enough for the ejection and Mortos’ spinning piledriver is enough for the pin at 10:06.

Rating: C-. Why in the world is someone at Mortos’ level taking so long to beat someone at Nese’s level? Nese has barely ever done anything around here but he’s getting ten minutes against someone who has been as successful as Mortos? That’s more than a stretch and the match was boring on top of that. Just let Mortos smash him and move on.

The MxM Collection wants the Tag Team Titles. They would certainly be more entertaining.

Blake Christian vs. Parker Li

The fans like Li, who is taken down by a headlock takeover to start. Christian shoulders him down and poses before hitting a quick running dropkick. A suicide shoulder drops Li again and there’s a springboard clothesline for more posing. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Christian plants him out of the corner for two. Christian hits a spear and some running knees to the back for the pin at 4:21.

Rating: C. Christian is starting to be a bit of something around here, but it’s going to take a lot to get out of the incredibly stuffed midcard. The fans are starting to get behind the idea of booing him and that’s not a bad thing, but there is only so much to get out of this kind of a match. That being said, Christian is at least standing out a bit and that’s nice to see around here.

We look at Athena successfully retaining the Women’s Title in Japan for a Stardom event.

Red Velvet vs. Angelica Risk

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Risk wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future Women’s TV Title shot. Risk talks a lot of trash to start and shrugs off the shoves to the face. Some hiptosses and a crossbody have Velvet in some trouble and Risk gives her some gyrating hips to the face. Velvet fights back with some chops against the barricade, followed by running knees against the ropes back inside. Risk fights up and gets two off a 619, only for Velvet to hit a hard left hand for the pin at 5:57.

Rating: C-. This was more annoying than anything else and that was due to Risk’s constant talking. She wouldn’t shut up and that wasn’t so much charming as much as it was making me want to see Velvet shut her up. That’s a fine idea in theory, but it doesn’t work so well when you factor in that Velvet is a fresh villain.

From March 2, 2023 (and from a previous review):

Mark Briscoe vs. Slim J

The rest of the Trustbusters are here with Slim J, who kicks away the Code Of Honor before the bell. Redneck Kung Fu sends J outside but a Mark Sterling distraction lets J get in a low blow. Briscoe is fine enough to kick J to the floor, setting up the dropkick through the ropes. It’s too early for the chair assisted dive so Briscoe strikes away back inside.

Another Sterling distraction lets J hit a knee to the face, setting up a reverse DDT for two. Briscoe is busted open as J chokes away in the corner, followed by the chinlock. With that broken up, Briscoe grabs a neckbreaker for two and a powerbomb plants J again. The Froggy Bow misses but Briscoe kicks him in the face and hits the Jay Driller for the pin at 9:00.

Rating: C. So the first thing we see on Ring Of Honor TV is an unpopular AEW faction and the continuation of a lame Briscoe vs. Sterling feud. I know there is no secret to the fact that the promotions are basically the same, but could you at least wait a bit to throw the first AEW regular out there? Having Briscoe out there in the opener made perfect sense though, as he is as much of a symbol of ROH as you can get. It helps that he can have a pretty good match against anyone, but the Sterling feud needs to go far away.

Shane Taylor Promotions/LeeJ vs. Serpentico/Boulder/Dark Order

Moriarty takes Reynolds down without much effort to start and they trade rollups for two each. Johnson and Uno come in with Uno hitting a running shoulder before it’s quickly off to Serpentico to work on the arm. Nduka pulls Serpentico to the floor though and a drop onto the apron lets the villains take over. Taylor’s clothesline and legdrop get two and Johnson adds a suplex for the same.

The chinlock is broken up though and Serpentico hits a quick jumping Downward Spiral. It’s off to Boulder to clean house, including a Samoan drop/fall away slam combination to Johnson and Moriarty. Taylor gets powerslammed for two as everything breaks down. Moriarty and Reynolds strike it out until Reynolds has to reverse a Border City Stretch. Boulder and Taylor collide for a double knockdown, leaving Johnson and Serpentico to hit stereo frog splashes. Serpentico hits a running cutter on Johnson, who isn’t legal. Moriarty Border City Stretches Serpentico for the win at 11:46.

Rating: C+. This was in fact a match that took place and it did in fact have eight people involved. The problem is that Shane Taylor Promotions has not been very interesting in a long time and that was on display here. LeeJ isn’t much better and you know what you’re getting with the other four. I’m not sure how much of a main event this make, but it certainly went on last.

Overall Rating: C. This was miles better than last week’s show, but that’s about as low of a bar as you can ask. I’m not sure if there is much of an interest in next week’s milestone show, but it would be nice to have the show be something other than long. Not much of a show here, though it didn’t have me wondering what could be wrong with the people putting it together so…progress?

Results
Katsuyori Shibata/Komander/Outrunners b. Dylan Stewart/Zach Stewart/Rosaraio Grillo/Colby Carter – PK to Grillo
The Beast Mortos b. Tony Nese – Spinning piledriver
Blake Christian b. Parker Li – Running knees to the back
Red Velvet b. Angelica Risk – Left hand
Shane Taylor Promotions/LeeJ b. Serpentico/Boulder/Dark Order – Border City Stretch to Serpentico

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: January 9, 2025
Location: Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We continue the slow crawl towards Supercard Of Honor in a few months and as you might have expected, pretty much nothing happened at Wrestle Dynasty. Ring Of Honor was relegated to the pre-show where the Sons Of Texas retained the Tag Team Titles, likely on their way to what is supposed to be a special title defense at All In: Texas. Let’s get to it.

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

We run down the lineup.

Trish Adora vs. Harley Cameron

Adora rolls her down to start but Cameron does the same thing to her to keep it even. Back up and a flying headscissors takes Cameron down, followed by a northern lights suplex to make it worse. Adora’s snap German suplex sends Cameron into the corner and a Boss Man Slam backbreaker has her down again. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Adora switches to a double arm crank. Cameron fights up and starts striking away, setting up a Shining Wizard for two. Back up and the Lariat Tubman gives Adora the clean pin at 6:23.

Rating: C-. OH COME ON! Harley Cameron is the most charismatic woman in AEW right now and she’s losing clean to Trish Adora, who has done a grand total of nothing in months. Cameron is set to face the AEW Women’s Champion in two days and yet here we are, because Adora needs a win or something. I’m sure she’ll benefit from this win, which will ABSOLUTELY have title implications. Maybe Adora can get one of the better seats in catering when someone else comes in from Japan to get the next title shot after doing nothing in ROH. This place is baffling and this is a perfect example of why.

Blake Christian vs. Serpentico

Christian jumps him before the bell but gets caught with an early dropkick for two. They head outside with Serpentico being sent into the barricade, allowing Christian to stomp him onto said barricade. Christian stomps his head onto the steps before they trade kicks to the face back inside. A neckbreaker gets two on Christian but he’s right back with some running knees to the head for the pin at 7:36.

Rating: C. This was as lower midcard as you can get around here as ROH is now deciding to push Christian as something. Then again, winning matches around here isn’t the way to get title opportunities and that is what Christian is doing so far. Other than that, perfectly fine match here which isn’t likely to mean much going forward.

Griff Garrison vs. Boulder

Boulder powers him around to start but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Garrison to hit a running clothesline. The straps come down as Boulder gets fired up and there’s the running splash in the corner. More splashes have Garrison in trouble and a side slam gives Boulder two. A tilt-a-whirl powerslam plants Garrison again and the basement crossbody (Boulderdash) finishes him at 5:00.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here as the Iron Savages are now good guys and winning matches. The match was the same short form stuff that we’ve seen around here before and little more than a squash. The show could use a good match to pick up the steam and this wasn’t what it needed.

We’re thirty minutes into an eighty five minute show and the biggest star we’ve seen so far is comedy jobber Harley Cameron. In the words of Lenny Haise, this is an opportune time to pick it up a little.

Billie Starkz vs. Brittany Jade

Starkz rolls her up for two before stomping away. Jade fights up and hits a clothesline in the corner but gets dropped face first onto the turnbuckle. Starkz drops a Swanton for the pin at 3:07.

Rating: C-. Another nothing match with Starkz squashing her without much effort. Other than Jade being Caprice Coleman’s student to tie it into the commentary a bit, this was another match which came and went to fill in time. When you’re over a third of the way through a show, you should have had something more than that by now.

Rachael Ellering vs. Queen Aminata

Aminata takes her down by the arm for some hip swiveling, earning herself a gutwrench suplex. The shout of a splash sends Aminata bailing to the floor, with commentary wondering how smart the shout was. Back in and Ellering takes her down again, setting up the backsplash (with shout) for two. Aminata tries a leglock but gets rolled up for two instead. That doesn’t matter much though as Aminata hits the headbutt for the win at 4:44.

Rating: C. Again, it’s not that these matches are bad, but they’re between people who have nothing going on and they aren’t exactly making things interesting. Neither of the have been anywhere near a title match in months but here they are, getting time on a random show. It feels like a match thrown out there to fill in time and that’s not a great thing to see.

From July 25, 2018 (and from a previous review).

Women of Honor Title: Sumie Sakai vs. Hazuki

Hazuki is challenging and has her Oedo Tai stable mates with her. Sakai starts with the Mongolian chops and gets tossed into the corner with no effort. The announcers make a big deal out of Hazuki being just 20 years old, which is quite the point worth bragging about. A facewash sends Sakai outside and Hazuki hits a middle rope backsplash to a standing champion as we take a break.

Back with Sakai getting rolled up for two but slugging Hazuki in the face to take over. A full nelson slam and another backsplash (this time with Sakai down) give Hazuki two. Sakai is right back with a running dropkick and a missile dropkick to send Hazuki to the floor. That means a big dive onto all three but Hazuki catches her with a Codebreaker off the top for a very close two. The rest of the team fails at interfering and it’s Smash Mouth to retain at 9:55.

Rating: C+. It’s not a good sign when you need to bring in this many people to even have a division, or when a 20 year old showed up your first champion this badly. Sakai has no spark to anything she does and I still have no connection to her, even after the whole tournament. Hazuki came off like a star with a better offense and charisma, but we’re still getting Sakai no matter what logic may dictate.

MxM Collection vs. Dawsons

Mason and Zane fight over a lock up to start with Mason powering him into the corner. Everything breaks down and the Dawsons are cleaned out, meaning it’s time to pose. Mansoor gets in trouble for all of three seconds, meaning it’s a double clothesline to set up the tag off to Mason. The Centerfold finishes Dave at 4:05.

Rating: C. Another squash here but at least they didn’t give it much time. The Collection is another team that came in hot but isn’t doing anything at the moment, while we count down the days to All In: Texas so the Sons Of Texas can have some kind of moment. It would be fun to see the Collection or the Outrunners getting a nice moment with a short title reign, but here we are instead.

Red Velvet vs. Jazmyne Hao

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Hao wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. They start somewhat slowly before Velvet stomps away in the corner to take over. Some forearms and running knees to the back have Hao down and a left hand (or right according to Riccaboni) finishes for Velvet at 2:51.

QT Marshall is ready for his TV Title shot next week.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Gates Of Agony

Kaun and Moriarty start things off with Kaun taking him down, setting up an exchange of leapfrogs. Taylor comes in for the power showdown with Kaun and takes him into the corner. Moriarty works on the arm before Taylor hits a hard knee to the face for two. A splash gets the same but Kaun fights up with a double crossbody for a double knockdown.

Toa and Taylor come in for the big showdown, including an exchange of headbutts. Toa gets the better of things but Moriarty comes in off a blind tag. That earns him Open The Gates for two but Trish Adora offers a distraction. Cue the Infantry to jump Kaun, allowing Moriarty to roll him up for the pin at 8:57.

Rating: C. Again, fine, but spare me the idea of Shane Taylor Promotions getting back into the title picture or whatever the line commentary is going to feed us will be. Another watchable enough match with some nice power stuff, but the people involved have been running on a treadmill for so long that it’s hard to get interested. Same as always around here.

Here is Chris Jericho, with Bryan Keith, for a chat as we have about five minutes left in the show. Jericho complains about the lack of people cheering for him in the last few matches because the people were chanting for the Rock N Roll Express. Cue the Rock N Roll Express, with Jericho saying he hates rock and roll. Ricky Morton made fun of him in 1994 and Jericho has hated him ever since. The Express quickly clears the ring and Morton says they’re glad to be back in Charlotte to end the show. Morton didn’t even talk for ten seconds.

Overall Rating: F+. Nope. Before I get into this, let me make it clear: the wrestlers aren’t at fault here. They were trying and putting in some effort and the matches were hardly awful. This show’s problems aren’t on them and I don’t want it to seem like this is some dumpster fire of bad wrestling.

The problem here is this show committed the ultimate sin in wrestling: it felt like a waste of time. This show featured absolutely nothing important, with a bunch of lower card stars having matches or a bunch of squashes. I did not care about what I was watching because it didn’t feel like Ring Of Honor cared about what they were presenting. This is one of the most useless wrestling shows that I have seen in a LONG time and shows you just how nothing ROH is right now. I’m sure someone will blame this on people being in Japan for Wrestle Dynasty, but three people being gone didn’t make this show feel so unimportant.

Results
Trish Adora b. Harley Cameron – Lariat Tubman
Blake Christian b. Serpentico – Running knees to the head
Boulder b. Griff Garrison – Boulderdash
Billie Starkz b. Brittany Jade – Swanton
Queen Aminata b. Rachael Ellering – Headbutt
MxM Collection b. The Dawsons – Centerfold to Dave
Red Velvet b. Jazmyne Hao – Left hand
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Gates Of Agony – Rollup to Kaun

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: September 26, 2024
Location: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are back to what should be the run of the mill version of this show, as last week’s edition was taped on the road rather than in the same place for several weeks. As a result, the show was little over an hour rather than double that and it made for a much easier watch. Hopefully that continues this week. Let’s get to it.

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

We run down the card.

Action Andretti vs. Tony Deppen

Lio Rush is here with Andretti. They trade headlocks to take over until Andretti shoulders him down. An arm trap rollup gives Deppen two but Andretti takes him down for a springboard corkscrew splash for two. Deppen hits him in the face so Andretti stomps away in the corner. Back up and Deppen fires off some clotheslines but misses a top rope double stomp. Deppen low bridges him to the floor though and hits a big flip dive. Back in and Andretti kicks away, setting up a shotgun dropkick into the corner. The split legged moonsault finishes Deppen at 5:35.

Rating: B-. Nice opener here as Deppen continues to be a good choice for a spot like this one. He can have a perfectly fine match with just about anyone and Andretti gets a nice win at the same time. They didn’t do anything revolutionary here but they started the show fairly hot and gave the fans something to cheer.

The Iron Savages and Jacked Jameson don’t like the Outrunners and are ready to slow them down.

Jacked Jameson/Boulder vs. Dark Order

Boulder drives Reynolds into the corner without much trouble to start and mocks the Dark Order pose, only to miss a splash. Jameson and Silver come in with Silver grabbing a hiptoss. Silver sends Jameson into Bounder’s chest, which earns Silver a trip to the floor and a lot of yelling.

Back in and Boulder drops down onto Silver but he slips out of a slam and sends him into the corner for some running elbows. A Black Widow has Boulder in trouble but Jameson makes a quick save. Jameson’s spinebuster gets two as everything breaks down. The Order’s run of the mill sequence sets up a jackknife rollup to pin Jameson at 5:53.

Rating: C. So the Order is just good again and can suddenly win matches, as their mini feuds against Dustin Rhodes N Pals are already turned around. That leaves us with the Savages, who are on just about every show and lose as often, so for some reason I should want to see them against the Outrunners. I’m not sure I get the logic there.

Abadon vs. Liviyah

Abadon starts with a bite to the arm but misses a charge into the corner. Liviyah’s Russian legsweep is countered into a backbreaker ad the Black Dahlia finishes for Abadon at 1:40. usual short Abadon match.

Red Velvet is ready to face Diamante, who is in her prime 15-16 years into her career. Velvet has done it in 8 though, which has Diamante ready to fight. She’s ready to take the title from Velvet and the match seems on for some point in the future.

Brian Cage vs. Alec Price

Cage runs him over with a shoulder to start and shrugs off a superkick before sending Price flying by the throat. The corner clotheslines and some beals have Price in more trouble and Cage gorilla presses him over the top. Cage throws him back inside but Price manages a quick dropkick. Some running knees in the corner rock Cage, who German suplexes Price into the corner. Three powerbombs into an F10 finishes Price at 4:42.

Rating: C. You can pretty much guarantee what you’re going to get from a Cage match and it was on full display here. Cage did his stuff, hit his big power moves and, after selling a bit, finished him off. That’s not the worst thing to see, but as is the case with so many people around here, there is little reason to believe Cage is going anywhere.

We look back at the Kingdom vs. Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara last week on Collision, because it wasn’t about to be on this show.

Athena/Billie Starkz vs. LMK/Christina Marie

Starkz and Marie start things off with the latter grabbing an armdrag into a slam but Starkz cuts that off in a hurry. Athena comes in and sends her into the barricade, followed by a suplex from Starkz back inside. Marie kicks her away though and it’s LMK coming in to kick Athena in the head. Everything breaks down and Athena hits a Big Ending/side slam to both of them at the same time. Starkz gives Marie a middle rope DDT and Athena grabs a reverse Koji Clutch to make LMK tap at 4:17.

Rating: C. It was nice to have Athena and Starkz get a win like this as they haven’t been having many matches as of late. Athena has officially set the record for the longest title reign in Ring Of Honor history, which makes me wonder how long she needs to hold the thing. There is no record left for her to break so maybe it’s time to finally go somewhere else with the title already.

Post match the beating stays on until Abadon comes in for the save. Athena leaves Billie alone and Abadon beats the daylights out of her.

Johnny TV. vs. Komander

TV strikes away to start but Komander picks up the pace. A shot to the face drops Komander rather quickly but he snaps off a wristdrag for a breather. Komander sends him outside, only to have TV come back with a running knee for two. The chinlock is broken up so TV steps on his head, followed by a series of kicks. TV grabs another chinlock but Komander fights up and fires off some kicks of his own.

That doesn’t work for TV, who pulls him into a bodyscissors to keep things slow. Komander fights up and breaks out of a superplex attempt, setting up a big springboard dive to the floor. Back in and TV hits his flipping neckbreaker but Starship Pain misses. Cielito Lindo is countered into a super Spanish Fly but Komander is back with a springboard poisonrana (doesn’t quite work). Now Cielito Lindo can give Komander the pin at 8:46.

Rating: B-. This was a way to make Komander look good after his big moment at the end of Dynamite, though one win doesn’t exactly make up for months of him being so middle of the road. As usual, TV is capable of making most people look better without losing much of his own status. That is a valuable thing to have and he made it work here.

Pure Wrestling Title: Preston Vance vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty, with Shane Taylor, is defending. Vance powers him down to start and then does it again to prove his point. A running shoulder drops Moriarty again but a right hand is enough to warn Vance a warning. Some corner clotheslines and a German suplex have Moriarty in trouble so Vance takes him outside for some rams into the barricade.

Back in and Moriarty manages a boot to the face, meaning it’s time for some choking in the corner (as the on-screen clock jumps forward about eight minutes for some reason). A suplex gives Moriarty two and the threat of a choke sends Vance to the ropes for the first break. Vance burns through another break a few seconds later but he breaks out of an early Border City Stretch attempt. Moriarty uses the ropes to escape the full nelson slam and goes outside. Back in and a faceplant sets up la majistral to retain the title at 7:03.

Rating: C+. And that’s what we get after two weeks of Vance wins, as he is the latest victim of the lowest level singles title around here. The Pure Title is another one that could be dropped without losing much but in theory it’s the kind of title you can put on the line here to make a show feel more important. In theory at least, as it really doesn’t work out that well.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s amazing how much easier this show is to watch when they cut it down to a manageable length. This show was just over an hour and it made things that much more enjoyable. It felt like they were a lot more focused this week, with a lot less filler and move things being set up for the future. Still not exactly a great or interesting show, but far less annoying than it had been for a stretch there.

Results
Action Andretti b. Tony Deppen – Split legged moonsault
Dark Order b. Jacked Jameson/Boulder – Jackknife rollup to Jameson
Abadon b. Liviyah – Black Dahlia
Brian Cage b. Alec Price – F10
Athena/Billie Starkz b. LMK/Christian Marie – Reverse Koji Clutch to LMK
Komander b. Johnny TV – Cielito Lindo
Lee Moriarty b. Preston Vance – La majistral

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: July 24, 2024
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s time for a special show with Blood & Guts as the Elite faces Team AEW in what is likely going to be a rather long fight. We also have Minoru Suzuki challenging Chris Jericho for the FTW Title in what could be quite the train wreck. We are about a month away from All In and the show could use some more stuff, some of which might be announced this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Will Ospreay is trying to drive to the arena but someone has punctured his tire. He makes Alex Marvez give him the keys to Marvez’s car and speeds off, mentioning that he hasn’t driven in America.

Here is MJF, with cheerleaders, to brag about how easy it was to beat Ospreay last week. Some people would say Ospreay needs to go wait for a title shot, but since his grandmother just died, so he should dig a grave next t her. Just make it a long way off because the woman was large. We’ll move on to the International Title, which is supposed to be the Workhorse Title. The fans like it because international stars fought for it and ans of those wrestlers should be deported.

MJF calls the title garbage and throws it in a trashcan. He unveils a new title, dubbed the America’s Title, and brags about Long Island. Streamers fly and an MJF flag is unrolled, but here is Will Ospreay to chase him off. Ospreay talks about how MJF had to cheat to win rather than admit that Ospreay could beat him. He’s spoke to Tony Khan and the rematch is officially on For All In. MJF isn’t pleased.

The Elite has attacked Christopher Daniels and then does the coin toss for tonight’s advantage, with the Elite winning. They aren’t worried about Hangman Page but also reveal it was a two sided coin. Now, I know Tony Khan isn’t going to do anything about this and I have no idea why.

FTW Title: Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and the fans are behind Suzuki. They chop it out…and keep chopping…and continue chopping….before chopping some more in between the rings. Jericho’s chest is bleeding as we are almost five minutes in and they have literally not done a move other than a chop. Jericho finally falls down and we take a break, coming back with even more chopping (and more blood on Jericho’s chest).

Jericho finally kicks him in the chest (the fans disapprove) and puts him on the apron, where the triangle dropkick has to be pulled up short as Suzuki isn’t ready to knock him out of the air. They fight outside with Suzuki hitting him with a chair and then Pillmanizing the hand. The hand is bent backwards both on the floor and back inside but Jericho hits a quick Codebreaker for one. Some forearms have Suzuki staggered but he blocks the Walls and grabs a sleeper. That’s broken up with a low blow and the Judas Effect retains the title at 13:57.

Rating: C. I get that the chop thing was supposed to be some test of wills or whatever but it was going on for about seven minutes with nothing else but chops. At the same time, Suzuki may be a legend but his matches are getting harder and harder to watch as he isn’t exactly doing anything great. I wasn’t feeling this at all and they easily could have cut five minutes out.

Post match Suzuki chokes Jericho and hits the Gotch Style Piledriver but the Learning Tree runs in to beat him down. Katsuyori Shibata runs in for the save.

Willow Nightingale is the new CMLL Women’s champion but gets jumped by Kris Statlander. Stokely Hathaway pops in to suggest an eliminator match for next week. Not a title match mind you, but at eliminator match.

Earlier today, Bryan Danielson was talking to Renee Paquette, where he said that he had a bad neck but his doctors have said it’s fixable. They just need to make sure it stays that way. Jeff Jarrett comes in to say Danielson was the right man to win the Owen Hart Tournament, but Jarrett thinks Danielson needs to heal up mentally. He doesn’t want Danielson to have an excuse, because if he’s going to go all in, he needs to go all in. Jarrett is at the top of a list of people who believe in him. Danielson seems touched and says he has a lot of work to do. Jarrett was rally good here and you could feel the emotion.

Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida

Feeling out process to start and Baker gets a rollup for an early two. Lockjaw is blocked and they trade rollup for two each. They fight outside with Shida hammering away against the barricade. We take a break and come back with Baker grabbing a neckbreaker into a Sling Blade for the knockdown.

The Lockjaw glove is loaded up but Shida pulls her into a triangle choke. That’s broken up so they trade rollups for two more but Shida teases going for the kendo stick. That takes too long though and Baker grabs a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two. Shida hits the Falcon Arrow but the Katana is countered, setting up the Lockjaw to give Baker the win at 10:18.

Rating: C+. This was Baker’s first match in nearly a year and you could definitely see some ring rust out there. Some of her timing was off and there were parts where it felt like they weren’t on the same page. That being said, baker’s attitude and personality have always been what matter more than her in-ring work and if it is passable enough, which it was here, she’ll be fine.

Post match Mercedes Mone comes out to say she knows Baker wants a TBS Title shot but that isn’t happening. Cue the debuting Kamille (a rather tall monster) to jump Baker from behind. A torture rack leaves Baker laying.

The Patriarchy brags about winning the Trios Titles and Christian Cage promises that Nick Wayne is going to win the Royal Rampage on Rampage….but he gets distracted by Kip Sabian. Wayne says he’ll beat him in the Royal Rampage and no one cares that Sabian’s dad is dead.

Pac vs. Boulder

Pac kicks him into the corner to start but gets knocked down. A moonsault misses for Boulder though and Pac chokes away in the corner. Pac manages a brainbuster for the win at 1:50.

Team AEW is ready for Blood & Guts, even if they’re never going to get along. Mark Briscoe calms things down and rallies the troops.

Mariah May vs. Kaitlyn Alexis

May knocks her into the corner at the bell and hammers away, setting up May Day for…no cover. Instead it’s a running hip attack into Storm Zero for the pin at 1:36.

Post match Toni Storm’s music plays but she doesn’t come out, leaving May pleased. Then Storm pops up in disguise for the fight, with security breaking it up. Storm shouts that May better be prepared to die because she already is.

We get a long video on Blood & Guts, as narrated by Dean Malenko, noted cage match specialist.

The rules:

• Two men start for five minutes.
• After five minutes, the Elite will get a one man advantage for a “regularly scheduled interval” (usually 2-3 minutes).
• After that time, Team AEW will add another man to tie it up. The teams will alternate until all ten are in.
• When everyone is in, first submission wins.

Blood & Guts

Team AEW: Darby Allin, Swerve Strickland, Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, Mark Briscoe
Elite: Jack Perry, Nick Jackson, Matt Jackson, Hangman Page, Kazuchika Okada

Perry is in at #1 for the Elite with Allin coming in at #1 for Team AEW, only for Perry to jump him before he can get inside. The beating starts on the floor, with Allin being sent into the cage and steps. They fight into the crowd and brawl around the arena before coming back to ringside. Allin is sent inside and goes face first into a trashcan in the corner, allowing Perry to pose.

Nick Jackson is in at #2 and brings a chair and a case of some kind. A guillotine legdrop hits Allin and he gets sent into the cage as we take a break. Back with Mark Briscoe coming in at #2 to even things up and slug away. A running step up dive hits Perry and there’s a suplex to put Nick down as well. Briscoe brings in a ladder to beat on Nick and then crushes it onto Nick in the corner. A trashcan to the head has Nick in more trouble but it’s Matt Jackson in at #3 to put the Elite back up.

The case to the head busts Briscoe open and Allin gets DDTed onto said case as well. Allin gets catapulted into a case to the head and a Dominator/top rope double stomp combination puts him down again. Anthony Bowens is in at #3 to even things up and cleans some house. Allin gets clotheslined down but comes back with a Scorpion Death Drop. Back up and Allin hits a top rope double stomp with the skateboard to Nick’s back as Bowens whips out the scissors or some stabbing.

Kazuchika Okada is in at #4 with a street sign to knock the good guys back down. A Tombstone onto the sign sets up a dropkick into a chair into Briscoe’s face as we take another break. Back again with Max Caster coming in at #4 to even things up. Caster whips out a barbed wire board but a suplex to Okada onto sad board is broken up. Instead Bowens is sent onto the board and another such board is placed on top of him, with Nick adding a Swanton to crush Bowens between them. We get the bag of tacks, some of which are put into Caster’s mouth for a superkick.

Hangman Page is….supposed to be in at #5 but he’s not here. The good guys use the delay to fight back, with Bowens tying barbed wire around his leg for Scissor Me Timbers to Nick. Swerve Strickland is in at #5 and NOW Page comes running down with a chair to jump Swerve from behind before he can get in. Swerve gets handcuffed to the cage on the outside as Briscoe is dropkicked into the barbed wire board in the corner.

A hard belt shot to the head has Swerve mostly out of it but Page keeps hitting him/yelling about it. The Bucks grab the mic and ask what Page is doing before threatening to fire him if he doesn’t get in. Page gets in and the cage is locked, with the match officially beginning, meaning first submission wins. The Bucks and Page keep arguing, allowing the rest of the good guys to fight back as we take another break.

Back again with Jeff Jarrett coming out to do something but Brandon Cutler cuts him off. Billy Gunn cuts off Cutler and Jarrett gives him a guitar shot, leaving Jarrett to set Swerve free. Prince Nana cuts the cage open so Swerve can get in to wreck most of the Elite, leaving Page as the last man standing. They slug it out between the rings until the Buckshot Lariat is blocked. Page ties to hit him with a barbed wire board but Allin makes the save. Okada takes Allin down but Swerve is back up with a staple gun.

Nick breaks that up with a low blow and we finally see what is in the case from earlier: a bunch of staple guns! Well that was anticlimactic. Swerve gets stapled by four people at once but shrugs it off to beat up everyone, including stapling Okada’s finger. The Buckshot Lariat hits Okada by mistake and we take another break. Back again with four tables set up on the floor and Matt and Bowens climbing up the cage.

Swerve and Page have apparently crashed off the stage to get rid of both of them, with Bowens crashing off the cage and through the four tables to likely join them. Briscoe hits a bunch of Jay Drillers and some of the Elite are put through tables. Allin climbs the cage and drops off the top to put Perry through a table for a huge crash. Perry gets cuffed to the cage so Briscoe can kendo stick him in the ribs.

Allin goes underneath the ring and pulls out a metal spike as Briscoe uses a SCAPEGOAT chair to smash Perry in the head (unprotected). Allin isn’t done and finds some gasoline to douse Perry. He threatens to light Perry on fire but Mat says Allin can have the TNT Title match at All In if he doesn’t do it. Allin says deal and Matt quits to save Perry at 48:55.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a bad match, but it was every Blood & Guts you’ve seen before: long, more about the weapons and big spots than the hatred (save for Page vs. Swerve). In addition, the ending wasn’t so much about the Elite getting defeated, meaning this is going to keep going for a long time. The match definitely felt important and that is what matters most, but as usual, it felt like about twenty minutes could have been chopped off without missing much. There was enough good stuff here to keep it entertaining, but there was too much going on overall and it felt like we were having the match because it’s July.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event felt big and the Kamille debut was nice, but there was a lot of stuff here that I couldn’t get into at all. Between Jericho and Suzuki doing their thing and the really long main event, this felt like a mostly two match show, with Storm and May boosting things up a bit. They were focused on one match for the most part here and it was good enough to get by. Now we can get on towards All In though, which is the show that really matters, so the real work starts next week.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Minoru Suzuki – Judas Effect
Britt Baker b. Hikaru Shida – Lockjaw
Pac b. Boulder – Brainbuster
Mariah May b. Kaitlyn Alexis – Storm Zero
Team AEW b. Elite when Matt Jackson quit

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: October 14, 2023
Location: Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

Dynamite was a big deal this week and now we get to see what they have planned as a follow up. That could mean a wide range of things as Collision has been a bit all over the place in its short history but things tend to lean positive. The card does look good tonight, including Christian Cage defending the TNT Title against Bryan Danielson, so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Adam Copeland to get things going. Copeland talks about how it’s wet and rainy outside but we can get it hot in here. This week on Dynamite, Christian Cage said some nutty things and Cage must believe them. Cue Cage, with Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne, to interrupt, though he hides behind security. Cage says the security is here for Copeland’s protection and tells him to get out so Cage can get ready for his main event. He also mentions that the Blackpool Combat Club has been removed from the building so his match with Bryan Danielson can be even.

Cue Danielson to say he wants a fair fight too, so Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne are banned from ringside too! Cue Ricky Starks and Big Bill, with the former mocking everyone in the ring for being old. Starks hasn’t forgotten about Danielson but Copeland mocks him for his silk pants.

Copeland calls Starks a vanilla midget version of the Rock and says talk to Danielson. Starks: “That really set me over the edge.” Copeland: “Aw dude.” Cue FTR to say they’re coming for the titles and the champs’ necks. Harwood likes the idea of fighting so Danielson tells Cage we should do it right now. The fight is on with the good guys clearing the ring and beating up security.

MJF was at an event about rejecting antisemitism. Nothing wrong with that.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Willie Mack

Joe is defending and backs him up against the ropes to start. Mack gets knocked into the corner and pounded down with right hands. Back up and Mack scores with a running kick to the face to send Joe outside, setting up the big slingshot dive. We take a break and come back with Mack hitting a Cannonball for two but Joe powerslams him down for the same. Joe cuts him off though and hits the MuscleBuster to retain at 9:17.

Rating: B-. There is something to be said about two big guys beating each other up and that’s more or less what we got here. Mack wasn’t likely to take the title from Joe here as that title reign seems destined to set the all time record, but I can go with this as a one off. Just maybe have Joe on the ROH show once or twice?

CJ Perry is here to help people and make stars so if you need guidance, come find the woman who makes made men. Action Andretti comes in to say he could benefit from her talents. She doesn’t say no and is waiting on a call.

Danhausen is back soon.

Juice Robinson vs. Christopher Daniels

The rest of Bullet Club Gold is here with Robinson, who gets chased to the floor to start and thinks Daniels needs to calm down. Back in and Daniels takes him down by the arm for some cranking, meaning Robinson wants the referee to “yell at him for cheating”. Daniels is sent outside for a beating from the Club and we take a break. Back with Robinson hitting a backsplash for two but Daniels grabs an STO. A Death Valley Driver gives Daniels two but the Club offers a distraction. Robinson hits the left hand into a Cannonball and hits the forward DDT for the pin at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Completely fine match, which is more or less a guarantee for Daniels at this point in his career. Robinson gets a win over someone with some status and that’s a good way to use someone like Daniels. At the same time, Robinson is one of the most entertaining people on the roster as he has that charisma to make you look at him and it was on full display here.

Post match Jay White gives Robinson a ring to knock Daniels out. Robinson says anyone can wear a ring and he bought his for $25. He’s been knocking people out for years and now he’s got a ring! White promises to take the ring and then the title from MJF.

Dustin Rhodes is back to win the ring and then the World Title.

Nick Wayne and his mom will have a sitdown interview on Dynamite. Wayne isn’t happy.

Kyle Fletcher vs. Boulder

Boulder stomps around a lot and Fletcher isn’t sure what to do with him. A running shoulder bounces off of Boulder but Fletcher manages to send him outside. There’s the big dive but Boulder knocks him back inside. Boulder goes up but gets powerbombed down, setting up a dragon sleeper to give Fletcher the win at 2:46.

Billy Gunn and Anthony Bowens talk to Max Caster about his aggressive relationship with MJF. They try to get him to be nicer when talking to Renee Paquette, so he asks about Oral Sessions. Renee: “You’re an idiot!” The former Jericho Appreciation Society comes in and gets a Trios Title shot.

TBS Title: Skye Blue vs. Kris Statlander

Statlander is defending. Feeling out process to start with neither getting very far until Blue hits her in the face. Statlander isn’t pleased so she slams Blue down but she’s back up with a running hurricanrana. We take a break and come back with Blue hitting a jawbreaker and kicking her in the head.

Statlander misses a clothesline and gets caught with a tornado DDT for two. One heck of a powerbomb out of the corner looks to set up a high crossbody but Statlander pulls her out of the air. A powerslam plants Blue and they’re both down for a bit. Blue gets two off a sunset flip and she superkicks Statlander but she’s right back with Saturday Night Fever for the pin at 9:10.

Rating: B. That might be high but I was expecting very little here and they got things rolling in the last few minutes. It was probably Blue’s best match ever as Statlander has turned into a star in the division. She’s having one good match after another and this time it felt like she elevated Blue to a level she’s never had in her before.

Post match Statlander goes to help her up but Willow Nightingale breaks it up. That was kind of weird.

Kyle Fletcher calls out Kenny Omega.

Rush and La Faccion Ingobernable are back and promise violence.

Keith Lee vs. Turbo Floyd

Floyd kicks him in the ribs to start and gets Pounced to start. The Spirit Bomb finishes Floyd at 1:11.

Miro talks about how CJ Perry will be surrounded by everything she loves but he’s going to kill it off in advance. Then he wrecks Action Andretti.

Video on Rocky Romero vs. Mistico next week on Rampage.

TNT Title: Christian Cage vs. Bryan Danielson

Cage is defending. Feeling out process to start with Danielson taking him down without much effort. Back up and Cage grabs a headlock but Danielson knocks him outside and we take a break. We come back with Danielson putting on a surfboard but Cage slips out and they go to the floor. Danielson strikes him against the barricade and we hit a bow and arrow back inside.

With that broken up, Danielson goes up for the headbutt but bangs up his arm instead. Cage starts cranking away but Danielson manages to get him to the apron and tries a German suplex. Back in and a hammerlock slam has Danielson’s arm in more trouble as we take a break.

We come back again with Cage sending him to the floor, where the arm goes into the announcers’ table. Cage takes him up top but Danielson knocks him down and hits the Swan Dive. Some headbutts have busted Cage open and there’s the running clothesline. Danielson knocks him outside for the suicide dive but the arm gets banged up again. Back in and Cage scores with a frog splash for two but his spear is cut off.

Danielson’s big kick to the head gets two and stomps away but Cage hits the spear. The Killswitch gets two, only for Cage to miss a charge into the corner. The running knee gives Danielson two and the LeBell Lock goes on, but Danielson’s bar arm means he can’t get the full thing. Cue Big Bill for a distraction and Ricky Starks comes in with a belt shot to knock Danielson silly, allowing Cage to retain at 25:11.

Rating: B+. Yeah of course it was awesome as Danielson can have a good match against a broken broom and Cage has shown he can hang with anyone, especially in longer matches. I wasn’t wild on the ending, but man alive were they doing some great stuff before then. I wasn’t sure who was leaving with the title here and that’s a pretty sure sign that they’re doing something right.

Post match the beatdown is on so here is FTR for the save, only to get beaten down as well. Adam Copeland makes the real save to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Danielson and Cage stole the night here and Blue s. Statlander was almost shockingly good. That being said, the rest of the show felt like a lot of filler, as I could have gone without Fletcher or another long Bullet Club Gold promo or the ROH TV Title match. As usual, the wrestling isn’t the problem and it fixes a lot of the issues, but there is just so much AEW content these days and it’s starting to get exhausting. Another good show tonight with Danielson and Cage being awesome, but they can only rely on one great match saving the show for so long.

Results
Samoa Joe b. Willie Mack – MuscleBuster
Juice Robinson b. Christopher Daniels – Forward DDT
Kyle Fletcher b. Boulder – Dragon sleeper
Kris Statlander b. Skye Blue – Saturday Night Fever
Keith Lee b. Turbo Floyd – Spirit Bomb
Christian Cage b. Bryan Danielson – Belt shot

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.