Bar Wrestling #28: The Best City I’ve Ever Been To
Date: January 16, 2019
Location: Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Louden Noxious, Kevin Condron

This is Joey Ryan’s now defunct promotion and a company I had been wanting to look at for awhile. Then everything about Ryan came out and the promotion went under, as did Ryan’s career. I had already bought the show before everything happened so I might as well watch it, though I would absolutely not recommend giving Ryan any money in any form. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow the promotion and have no idea about characters, angles, storylines etc. so please bear with me.

No intro or anything as we open in the ring with introductions.

Jungle Boy vs. Ray Rosas

Peter Avalon is here with Rosas. The acoustics aren’t great here so the introduces are a bit difficult to understand. The fans seem to call Rosas “sexy Jesus” though, in case you needed an idea of what you are in for here. Commentary is much better though so at least I won’t be totally lost. They hype up Boy as a newcomer/prospect so this could be interesting. They fight over a lockup to start and go back and forth across the ring a few times, with the fans being rather pleased. That’s broken up so they go back to the lockup, which is broken up as well.

The fans seem to like Boy as commentary thinks the fans are into Boy because they’re swingers too. Boy grabs a running hurricanrana into a springboard armdrag followed by another one as the luchaing is on. Back in and Rosas grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to get a much needed breather. Commentary sings Welcome To The Jungle as Boy is whipped hard into the corner, which shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. A backbreaker gives Rosas two and a slingshot splash to the back gets the same.

Some loud chops in the corner have the fans even more into Rosas, who adds one to the thigh for a bonus. Rosas stops for a beer from the fans and then backdrops Boy to the apron. A superkick cuts off Boy’s comeback attempt but he is right back in with a slingshot spear. Boy grabs a pumphandle Codebreaker for two, meaning it’s time for the commentary to talk about Boy’s luscious hair. Rosas slams him out of the corner for a lax two, allowing Boy to roll him up for the same.

Back up and Rosas grabs a Texas Cloverleaf, sending Boy towards the rope but Rosas pulls him back in. A Styles Clash gives Rosas two and everyone is stunned on the kickout. There’s a low superkick into a fireman’s carry backbreaker for a VERY close two. Rosas takes him up on the corner for a super fireman’s carry, which is countered into a super poisonrana into a low superkick to knock Rosas silly. The tiger driver gives Boy two and they’re both down. Boy goes up but Rosas runs the corner for a top rope superplex. A top rope elbow is enough to finally finish Boy at 10:56.

Rating: B. This was almost all action and you could tell how into the rest of the show the fans are as a result. Boy looks like a star and Rosas looks like the guy who stopped him, but you can almost guarantee that Boy’s time is coming. It was a lot of fun and that seems to be the theme of this place, so there isn’t much to complain about here.

There are no transitions between the matches on here so this keeps moving.

Heather Monroe vs. Taya Valkyrie

Taya would become known as Frankie Monet and is the Impact Knockouts Champion here. She’s also crazy over and doesn’t like Heather trying to pull something off of the handshake. A forearm puts Taya down but she nips right back up, only to have Monroe grabs a springboard wristdrag. Monroe grabs a running hurricanrana for two as commentary calls her a modern day Lelani Kai (your taste may vary).

Taya knocks her down and hits a double stomp to the back, setting up a kick to the face for two. Monroe is ready for a charge in the corner and gets in a shot of her own for a VERY delayed near fall. A bunch of strikes in the corner have Taya in more trouble, but Louden suggests the Contra Code for a kickout. Taya kicks her down and, after a little shaking at the crowd, gets two.

A legdrop between the legs gets two more on Monroe (who complains about “my *****” (I’ll let you figure out what she said)). Taya’s running knees in the corner get two but a collision puts both of them down. Back up and they slug it out until Taya’s Samoan drop gets two. Monroe’s Canadian Destroyer gets the same, with commentary talking about the town in Iowa Monroe might be from.

Taya catches her on top and kicks away at the back, setting up a Backstabber for two. The Road To Valhalla is blocked and Monroe kicks her in the head for the next near fall. A basement dropkicks rocks Taya again and Monroe’s Michinoku Driver has Taya grabbing the rope for the save. Taya gets knocked down into the splits but she sweeps the legs to set up a curb stomp. The STF makes Monroe tap at 10:11.

Rating: C+. There were some moments where the chemistry was off but they hit each other rather hard. The fans were approving (for various reasons) and Taya has all kinds of charisma. It was a good second match and Monroe held her own against a much more well known name like Valkyrie.

Tyler Bateman vs. Luchasaurus

Not to be confused with Tyler Bate. Whoever he is, he isn’t sure what to do with Luchasaurus to start but has to suplex his way out of a chokeslam attempt. Luchasaurus takes him outside but Bateman escapes another chokeslam attempt and kicks him in the face. Back in and Luchasaurus kicks him in the head, setting up another kick to the head. The knees to the ribs into a spinning back chop drops Bateman as we hear about Luchasaurus’ bronto burgers. More shots to the face put Bateman down but he’s back up with a discus forearm to the back of the head.

They trade knees to the face until Luchasaurus kicks him in the head. The chokeslam into the standing moonsault gets two on Bateman and they both need a breather (less than six minutes in). A slow exchange of kicks to the face sets up a spinwheel kick to give Luchasaurus two. The fans chant “F*** THAT GUY” at someone (perhaps in the crowd) and Luchasaurus seems a bit confused. Bateman scores with a hard running lariat, followed by a forearm to a downed Luchasaurus (Death From Above) for the pin at 7:41.

Rating: D+. I really wasn’t feeling this one and Luchasaurus wrestled like any run of the mill guy here instead of a big monster. Bateman is presented as a psycho but he came off as more of a regular heel here. The action wasn’t great either, with a bunch of strikes and double knockdowns and not much else to go with it. This was a pretty bad miss and easily the worst thing on the show so far.

Doomfly vs. Dagas y Diamantes

That would be Delilah Doom/Eli Everfly (a name I’ve heard a good bit about but haven’t seen more than once or twice) vs. Daga/Tessa Blanchard, the latter of whom are VERY popular. Daga shoves Everfly (who barely clears the top rope) down and they run the ropes, setting up a rather fast paced exchange with neither making much contact. The women come in (taking their time to get there) and it’s Doom with, as commentary puts it, “some kind of takedown”.

A running hurricanrana takes Tessa down again and we get the double Black Widows on Daga and Tessa. It’s too early for a double 619 though, sending commentary into a karaoke version of I Believe I Can Fly. Back in and Doom gets dropped, leaving Everfly to get double teamed down (and for commentary to make more Double Dare jokes about Doomfly’s weirdly matching purple and green gear). Tessa dropkicks Daga’s knees out to crotch him on the middle rope and a Codebreaker out of the corner gets two.

It’s back to Daga for a running corner slap and the chinlock goes on. That doesn’t last long as Everfly pops up with the tornado DDT for a much needed breather. Doom comes in off the hot tag and gets to clean house, including a running headscissors to send Daga outside. Stereo 619s hit Tessa in the ribs and a pretty bad looking sliding German suplex drops her again. Everfly hits a big flipping dive onto Daga and the fans seem to approve.

Back in and Tessa plants Doom with a cutter for two but a Blue Thunder Bomb gives Doom the same. The guys come back in with Daga hitting a slingshot dropkick, setting up some rapid fire kicks to the face for two. Everfly grabs a wheelbarrow Stunner and it’s a missile dropkick into a crucifix bomb for the next near fall as Tessa saves. Everfly’s top rope double stomp to the back sets up a…..hanging snapmare (ok then) for two on Tessa. That was a weird move and didn’t exactly look good either.

Doom catches Daga on top with a super (slow motion) victory roll for two as Tessa makes another save. The women slug it out until Daga adds a superkick. A Codebreaker into a Backstabber gets two on Doom with Everfly making ANOTHER save. Everfly grabs a Code Red on Daga and catches Tessa on top with a kick to the head. Tessa kicks him away though and it’s Magnum to Everfly, setting up Daga’s double knees backbreaker for the pin at 12:56.

Rating: B-. Some of the botches and misses held it back a bit but this got some time and used it well, which is what I’ve been waiting for since the opener. Tessa really can hang with just about anyone and Daga was on here, despite being hit and miss a lot of the time. Everfly is so small that it is hard to get much out of him, though Doom was perfectly fine. Good, action packed match here.

Brian Cage vs. PJ Black

This could be interesting. The much bigger Cage shoulders him down to start so Black picks up the speed by cartwheeling away. An exchange of dropkicks goes to Cage and we reset by walking around for a bit. Black gets in a shot to the face and heads up top, only to get pulled onto the turnbuckle to cut that off in a hurry. The half crab goes on to keep Black in trouble for….well about five seconds as he grabs the rope in a hurry.

Black tries to go up again but gets pulled down into a Falcon Arrow for two. We hit the chinlock for a bit but this time, Black sends him into the corner for a running crossbody. A high crossbody sets up a top rope chop to the head and Cage is staggered for a change. Now a springboard moonsault press can give Black two but Cage rips his chest off with a chop. The sitout Alabama Slam gives Cage two and we hit that “GET YOUR S*** IN” chant. Black slips out of an F5 (another thing Cage needed to get in) but his superkick is flicked away.

What seemed to be a botched victory roll sets up a half crab on Cage (snazzy recovery if that wasn’t the plan), who is in the ropes in a hurry. Black gets creative with the AJ Styles springboard moonsault into a reverse DDT, setting up a top rope standing double stomp for two more.

Cage catches him on top but the super hurricanrana is countered into a sunset flip to give Black two. That earns him the big discus lariat though and they’re both down again. Back up and Black easily wins a strike off, setting up the crucifix bomb for two. Cage isn’t having this and hits am F5 into a buckle bomb into a helicopter bomb for the pin at 10:07.

Rating: C+. Power vs. speed is the kind of formula that has worked for the better part of ever in wrestling and they did it again here. There wasn’t much of a story to the match beyond that though as Cage just hit a string of big moves and won in the end. Not exactly thrilling, but I don’t think they were exactly shooting for anything great with this one.

RockNES Monsters/Eric Watts vs. So Cal Uncensored

That would be Johnny Yuma/Kevin Martenson and NOT THAT Eric Watts. They have nearly 40 minutes for this so either there is something after or this is going REAL long. Daniels and Martenson start things off with a slam into a dropkick to put Daniels into the corner. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker plants Martenson and it’s off to Kazarian for a jumping double stomp to the back. Yuma (the Moon Man) comes in and gets slammed a few times, setting up a springboard legdrop to rock him again.

We’ll try Watts (who is very tall) as the fans are WAY behind SCU here. Sky and Watts, former partners, get their big showdown with Sky grabbing a rolling cradle for two. The sunset flip is countered though and Watts powers him into the corner. The chokeslam doesn’t work either and they tease a right hand each for a standoff. A double Wakanda Forever pose lets Watts miss a right hand but Kazarian tags himself in for a spinwheel kick. Sky comes back in but gets distracted so Watts can hit him in the face.

Watts can’t bring himself to try the chokeslam so he watches Sky very slowly fall down instead. Martenson comes back in for a backbreaker as the SCU chants are back up. We hit the chinlock from “SCYuma” as we hear about his various outer space wrestling exploits. A series of running shots in the corner keep Sky in trouble but he manages a jumping neckbreaker for the needed breather (and two, but that’s not as important). The hot tag brings in Daniels for the comeback, including an STO to Yuma.

There’s the Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Martenson breaks up Angel’s Wings. Commentary dubs the RockNES Monsters “space cops”, which would explain….well very little actually but it’s a unique idea. Kazarian comes back in as well and rolls up Martenson while grabbing a bridging northern lights suplex for two on Yuma at the same time. Martenson is sent outside and it’s a Backstabber to Yuma, setting up Kazarian’s Unprettier. That’s broken up by Watts, who gets double clotheslined outside.

Sky busts out the big flip dive, which doesn’t seem to be the best idea when the fans are that close. Back in and the referee gets bumped, sending us into the parade of secondary finishers. Another referee comes in but won’t count Watts’ chokebomb because he isn’t legal. That means a chokeslam to the referee, sending commentary into a FRENZY over this assault. Sky can’t hit a TKO on Watts, who kicks him in the face instead. Watts grabs a chair but Joey Ryan comes in to break it up, always the voice of law and order.

Ryan gets dropped but here is Hangman Page with the Buckshot Lariat to drop Watts. Page and Ryan give Watts a double YouPorn Plex (egads) and they shake hands, which is apparently a big deal. The RockNES Monsters come back in to beat them both down but here are Cody and Brandi Rhodes because this match can’t end. They jump Cody as well but he beats them up, leaving Brandi to spear Yuma. Cody dives over the top to take Martenson down but gets kicked in the face by Watts. Brandi gets terrified in the corner but the Young Bucks come in for the save (Did SCU fall into a hole?).

Somehow Watts doesn’t notice the Bucks’ full entrance, posing and streamer throwing so it’s a surprise (How?) superkick party. The Bucks stop to look at original referee Rick Knox so Watts gets back up to jump all three of them (Commentary: “A true Sith Lord if I’ve ever seen one.”). That earns him another superkick but Cody and SCU are back in, with the Best Meltzer Driver finishing Yuma at 23:57.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches where you have to throw out every bit of logic in the world and go along for the ride. The big AEW invasion was much more for the live fans, which is exactly the point of a show like this. The wrestling itself was pretty good, though the last ten minutes or so were a complete circus. In this case though, that’s how something like this should have gone and it was a pretty fun match.

Post match Sky grabs the mic and says he would bring back SCU, but he didn’t say the Elite was coming with him. And Joey Ryan is here too. SCU has signed with a new company called All Elite Wrestling and no, they never considered splitting up. They are friends and brothers, almost like the Three Musketeers. Fans: “YOU F***** UP!”

That’s a red line for some reason and Matt Jackson busts out a 3 Musketeers candy bar. The rest of SCU says don’t do it (Daniels: “THINK OF YOUR PHYSIQUE!”) but he takes a bite anyway. Fans: “YOU SICK F***!” I’m going to assume that’s a Being The Elite deal and move on to Cody asking if the fans had a good time tonight. Cody says having the wrestlers in charge didn’t work for WCW but it’s going to work for AEW. They are in charge of hiring people, meaning the JOEY chant starts up. Cody: “You guys are going off script a bit.” Fans: “SIGN THAT D***!”

They can’t anyway, because Lucha Underground has him locked up until 2028. Instead, they’ll sign everyone in the building. Nick says they might not be able to afford that, but the fans disagree. Brandi tells Cody he has to fire everyone here, with Daniels saying they now have a ninety day no cheering clause (that was funny). Kazarian puts over southern California and the trio holds up SCU signs (which they can’t quite spell right at first). A lot of high fiving fans and a thank you from Joey wraps up the night.

Overall Rating: B-. I had fun and that’s all you can ask for from a show like this. The wrestling was mostly good and it felt like a pretty nice indy event. The AEW invasion at the end felt like a big moment as the company had only been announced about two weeks earlier. Anything involving Ryan was hard to watch before everything came out so the ending was pretty much the only bad thing. Overall, at about an hour and forty minutes total (with no entrances and jumping from match to match), it’s an easy watch and they know how to give the live fans a good time. Just don’t buy it so Ryan doesn’t get any money.

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: August 18, 2021
Location: Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re still on the way to both All Out and the First Dance, meaning we could be in for an interesting night. AEW knows how to put on a good show out of nowhere and things were a little bit flat last week. There is a good chance that they can come up with something big here, as Kenny Omega is not going to be happy with losing to Christian Cage last week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary previews the card.

Here are Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston but 2.0 and Daniel Garcia jump them in the crowd. 2.0 wants Sting and Darby Allin right now.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. 2.0

Texas Tornado rules and Allin jumps 2.0 from behind with the skateboard. The running charges in the corner rock 2.0 and it’s time for the brawl to head into the crowd. They make it up to what looks like a VIP area with Daniel Garcia getting in on the beating. 2.0 lifts Allin up into a piece of the ceiling and Sting is sent into a wall.

Sting is taken back to ringside but Allin runs down the barricade to break it up. Eddie Kingston comes back in to make the save as a table is thrown in. Kingston and Garcia fight off as Allin is suplexed onto his skateboard. Sting is powerbombed through a table and pops back up, setting up the double Scorpion Death Drop and the double Deathlock makes 2.0 tap at 6:15.

Rating: C-. This is a match where the wrestling wasn’t the point and that’s fine. The lack of any semblance of rules was the fight call for Sting and beating up a couple of goons like this doesn’t hurt anyone. I’m not sure how wise it was to burn through a Sting match on free TV, but at least it was a fun one.

Earlier tonight, Sammy Guevara proposed to his girlfriend in the ring, getting a yes.

Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard are happy for Sammy (Shawn: “Slim pickings in Houston.”) and promise to let the girlfriend be in the Pinnacle. For tonight, she can be on top for once.

Sammy Guevara vs. Shawn Spears

Sammy is the hometown boy but Spears jumps him from behind on the ramp. That’s fine with Sammy, who tosses him down for the big running flip dive. A missed charge sends Sammy knees first into the steps though and Tully Blanchard joins in on a spike piledriver on the floor. Now we get the opening bell so Tully loads up another spike, only to get ejected in a hurry. Back in and Sammy grabs a rollup for two but the chop off sends us to a break.

We come back with both guys on top and a piece of barricade loaded up between the ring and the barricade. Guevara busts out a jumping super cutter for two but Spears hits a super C4 for the same. They head to the apron and Sammy hits a C4 (not a Death Valley Driver Excalibur, you proper name psycho) onto the barricade. The 630 (What spike piledriver onto the floor?) gets two (good grief) and the GTH finally puts Spears away at 9:59.

Rating: C+. It was certainly high energy, but dang there was a lot going on here and not in the best way. There were far too many finishers being burned through, meaning I was left sitting here with a “REALLY?” look on my face a few too many times. This needs to be the end of the feud too, as there is nothing left for these two to do against each other. Good action, horrible use of finishers, which tends to be the case around here a lot of the time.

Post match a bleeding Guevara kisses his fiance.

Don Callis talks to Christian Cage about how he got Christian into wrestling 25 years ago. Now Callis is on top of the wrestling world and Cage is….well he’s here too. Cage calls him some rather unpleasant names.

Here is Dan Lambert to rant about how AEW is on the cancel culture train. The people around here got triggered and AEW sent out Lance Archer out here to hit a 52 year old main the place. Lambert has former UFC Heavyweight Champions Andre Arlovski and Junior Dos Santos and if you’re feeling froggy, come out here and jump.

Lambert keeps going and talking about how AEW fans are all pathetic and have nothing better to do than play Dungeons and Dragons and look up creepy stuff on the dark web. Cue Lance Archer but the Men of the Year jump him from behind. Lambert is a better talker than 90% of the roster. Also, the Men of the Year can beat down Lance Archer?

Chris Jericho talks about all of the Labors he has had to go through to get here. Tonight, he has no Judas Effect and no Judas theme song, but the Friends of Jericho will sing it for him.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express

The Bucks are defending and have Brandon Cutler, Michael Nakazawa, Don Callis and the Good Brothers with them, while Marko Stunt is with the Express. Callis goes to commentary to clear things out a bit. Nick is sent outside and busts out the cold spray so Jungle dives onto him.

Back in and it’s off to Luchasaurus to throw mat around and chop both Bucks down. It’s back to Jungle, who sends Matt to the apron for a running hurricanrana over the top to the floor. We come back from a break with Luchasaurus coming in to clean house. The Tail Whip sets up the Extinction Level Event for a delayed two on Matt. Back up and a double superkick drops Luchasaurus and it’s the Indytaker on Jungle with a backsplash to Luchasaurus at the same time for a near fall.

Cue Kenny Omega to hit Marko Stunt with a chair so here is Christian Cage to take care of Omega. The rest of the Elite gets on the apron but Jungle hits a brainbuster onto the chair for a VERY delayed two on Matt. Thurassic Express gets two on Matt with Nick making another save. Nakazawa offers a distraction so Luchasaurus dives onto everyone outside. The BTE Trigger finishes Jungle at 11:45.

Rating: C+. It was another fun match from the Bucks, even with them surviving everything. That’s a big AEW problem and it’s worse with the Bucks than anyone else. I can go with them not losing the titles on Dynamite, but did they really have to pin Jungle Boy to retain here?

Post match Christian is dragged back to the ring and the huge beatdown is on, with Callis getting in a few shots of his own. The One Winged Angel connects and Callis counts the pin. This was the latest Elite beatdown.

Britt Baker brags about her win on Rampage and introduces Jamie Hayter. Jamie is friends with Baker from way back and was glad to come in and help her out.

Video on Matt Hardy vs. Orange Cassidy.

Here is Paul Wight for a chat about how great it was to be back in the ring last week. QT Marshall and company interrupt and say they would get in here and take him out but Marshall knows something. We see x-rays of Wight’s hip with a bunch of metal in it, meaning he can’t do much. Wight says it doesn’t matter, because he is facing Marshall at All Out. Marshall gives a great shocked face. It’s almost as shocking as AEW still trying to make Marshall a thing.

The Elite celebrates, but Tony Schiavone announces a tournament for a future Tag Team Title shot at All Out……inside a cage.

Taz brings out Ricky Starks, who wants to bring out Brian Cage. We cut to the back where Powerhouse Hobbs is standing over Cage…..who stands up and fights back. That’s too much for Starks so cut the feed.

Death Triangle is ready for All Out but Chavo Guerrero and Andrade come in. Chavo has some terms for the All Out match and hands Pac a phone book sized contract. Point for a funny visual.

Thunder Rosa vs. Penelope Ford

Ford doesn’t seem to be in her regular gear. Rosa wastes no time in sending her into the corner for the rapid fire stomping. They head outside in a hurry with Ford nailing a cutter to take us to a break. Back with Ford missing a running boot in the corner and getting caught with a running clothesline. The slingshot knees rock Ford in the corner again but the Fire Thunder Driver is countered into a rollup for two on Rosa. The Muta Lock has Rosa in trouble but she is back up with the Death Valley Driver for two. Ford goes for the legs again but gets pulled down into something like an STF for the tap at 7:59.

Rating: C. This was a good way to have Rosa come back and get a win as she is likely heading for the big showdown against Britt Baker. Ford is perfectly fine in a midcard role like this as she has just enough credibility to make Rosa break a sweat and that’s about all she needs to do. They understood their roles here and the match worked as a result.

We look back at Malakai Black’s debut.

Arn Anderson is a bit scared of Black and next week, his son Brock gets to face Black.

Here’s what’s coming this/next week.

Miro liked hurting Fuego del Sol last week and now he wants Eddie Kingston.

Jon Moxley is sick of all the teams running around here, either in basketball jerseys or Hangman Page not being able to get over his high school drama. Moxley would run through Christian because he is the guy who carried the World Title on his shoulder during dark days around here. It is time to show what it takes to be the top guy around here and if Daniel Garcia wants a taste of the main event, come get it on Rampage. Just make sure that is what you want before you need the ringside doctor checking on you.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho can’t use the Judas Effect (leaving him with only three finishers). As expected, the fans sing Judas a cappella, complete with some fans holding up signs with lyrics for a pretty cool moment. The fans are all over MJF and it’s an early Walls attempt to send him outside. Jericho follows him out with a dive but MJF takes Jericho down and steals the camera (ala Jericho). That earns him a big right hand and Jericho grabs the camera to flip it off.

Back in and MJF goes after Jericho’s bad arm to take over. We take a break and come back with Jericho slugging away until another shot to the arm takes him down. Jericho gets in a shot to the face to set up the Lionsault for two though, meaning it’s a surprised kickout. Some clotheslines and right hands in the corner set up a super hurricanrana but MJF reverses into the Salt of the Earth.

That is countered into the Walls but MJF goes for the bad arm to escape. They slug it out until Jericho is sent to the apron for the Heatseeker and another near fall. MJF gets creative by kicking him low (the referees get distracted really easily around here) and grabbing his own Walls of Jericho. The rope grab breaks that up so it’s time for the diamond ring. That’s taken away so Jericho gets in the Floyd shot. Instead of covering, Jericho loads up the Judas Effect but can’t do it. MJF hits one of his own though and it’s the Salt of the Earth to (eventually) make Jericho tap at 15:53.

Rating: B. Good match, with the weird stipulation making Jericho look like a complete buffoon. I would assume this set up either a rematch at All Out or Jericho going on tour with Fozzy, as it was a pretty flat way to end the show Labors story. MJF winning is smart, but it was more a “that’s it?” moment than anything else.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t entirely feeling this one as the show felt a step off. While not complete dominance, it was a pretty heel beatdown heavy show as both the Young Bucks and MJF get big wins. All Out is coming up in about two weeks and the little amount of the card that we have is not thrilling me so far. That is a lot of time, but this show was pretty lacking from a story perspective. The good action brings it up and it’s nowhere near a bad show, but I could go for moving things forward a bit. Kind of like say in Chicago on Friday.

Results
Sting/Darby Allin b. 2.0 – Double Scorpion Deathlock
Sammy Guevara b. Shawn Spears – GTH
Young Bucks b. Jurassic Express – BTE Trigger to Jungle Boy
Thunder Rosa b. Penelope Ford – STF
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Chris Jericho – Salt of the Earth

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.

Dynamite
Date: August 4, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

We’re back in Jacksonville for Homecoming as we have the fifth week in a row with some kind of a special themed show. That could include a lot of different things, including Chris Jericho vs. Juventud Guerrera of all people. Why? Well he wrestled in WCW in the 90s so he’s fair game. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Juventud Guerrera vs. Chris Jericho

MJF is on commentary and Jericho has to hit a move off the top to win. The once again masked Juvy chops away to start and grabs a headscissors to send Jericho outside. Air Juvy takes Jericho down again and but he slips out of the Juvy Driver back inside. Jericho takes him outside and chops away, followed by a high crossbody for two back inside. Jericho forearms him down but runs into a superkick (MJF: “I taught him that.”). A low kick to the face sets up the Rings of Saturn to Jericho, who powers up with ease.

Jericho hits a top rope ax handle for two, with frustration setting in. Jericho knocks him down and goes for a cover, which isn’t how this match works. With that not working, Jericho goes up again but Juvy catches him with the right hands to the head. The super hurricanrana is countered into the Walls but Juvy grabs the rope. Another kick to the face gives Juvy two more and the Juvy Driver gets the same. MJR wants Aubrey fired for the slow count as Juvy takes Jericho up top. That’s fine with Jericho, who shoves him down and hits a top rope Judas Effect for the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C. This was a lot better than I was expecting, but it was another legends match which didn’t exactly blow the roof off. It also didn’t exactly feel like a bit followup to the Nick Gage match last week, but they probably should have taken a step back as you can only go so far. Juvy looked like an older version of himself here but that’s exactly how is should have been.

Post match here is Wardlow to wreck both of them, allowing MJF to announce that Labor #4 is Jericho vs. Wardlow. That match needs a special referee, and MJF will be the perfect choice.

The Lucha Bros are here sans Pac. Andrade El Idolo comes up with his entourage, with Chavo Guerrero offering money, cars etc. That’s going to be a no, with the Lucha Bros leaving because Death Triangle is family.

The Dark Order is ready for a chat but Hangman Page shows up, drink in hand. Page takes blame for the loss last week and says he can’t keep blaming himself. For now, it is time to go their separate ways, even though he still loves them. They agree to let him have his space.

Daniel Garcia/2.0 vs. Darby Allin/Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

Sting is with the good guys. Before the match, 2.0 (formerly Ever-Rise in NXT) says it is time to show what they can do. During Moxley’s entrance, JR talks about how great it is going to be in Cincinnati. He quotes Major League (and gets the first word wrong), which is about the Cleveland Indians. Anyway we start fast with Garcia getting some early near falls on Allin. A blind tag brings in Matt Lee to send Allin into the corner but a quick roll into the corner allows the tag to Kingston.

The chop off goes to Kingston and it’s time to stomp Lee down in the corner. A chop block cuts Moxley down though and we take a break. Back with Kingston and Garcia hitting a double clothesline but Garcia cuts off the tag. Moxley has had it and comes in to wreck everyone, allowing Allin to hit the dive to the floor. Back in and Moxley this a clothesline into a neckbreaker to drop Garcia. The Paradigm Shift sets up a Coffin Drop to put Garcia away at 7:20.

Rating: C. This could have been worse and I could see 2.0 being on Dark or Dark Elevation. I’m not sure if they need to do anything more than that as this tag division is completely bloated already, but I can see why they are getting a chance. Garcia was the star of the team and will likely get at least another look, which he should.

Video on Brian Cage vs. Ricky Starks, with Starks knowing that the FTW Title is his ticket to the top. Cage says he’s going to bring the intensity because who’s better than him?

The Elite is still having fun with a basketball, with the Young Bucks asking if there is anyone left to come after their Tag Team Titles. That would be no, because they are going to have to be buried with their belts. Kenny Omega talks about how Hangman Page blew it at the buzzer and now the fans don’t care about him anymore. Brandon Cutler goes up and cuts down the net. Note that Omega was wearing a Cookie Monster shirt. As in CM.

Christian Cage vs. Blade

Bunny is here with Blade, who gets in a fight with Christian on the ramp. Christian hammers him down to the floor but Bunny gets in Christian’s face. That doesn’t quite work as Christian decks Blade again and goes back inside. Bunny grabs the foot again but here is Leylah Hirsch (her opponent tonight) to fight her to the back. Christian grabs the reverse DDT for two but Blade drops him ribs first across the top as we take a break.

Back with Blade stomping on Christian but missing a charge into the post to send Blade outside. Christian hits the big dive but is too banged up to do anything about it. Back in and Christian wins a slugout, allowing him to stand on Blade back for the middle rope choking. There’s the middle rope elbow but Blade is right back with a powerslam. Blade teases going after the turnbuckle but it is a ruse so brass knuckles can be grabbed. Not that it matters as Christian spears him down for the pin at 9:50.

Rating: C+. This was another nice match, even if it didn’t hit that next level. Christian is piling up wins and I’m curious to see where that is going. Cage getting a pay per view title shot is hard to imagine but it is the kind of thing that we might be seeing. It isn’t the worst idea, but it seems like there might be better options.

Dax Harwood goes on a heck of a rant about how Santana and Ortiz watched Cash Wheeler’s arm be busted open so badly that he nearly lost it. This isn’t funny and it isn’t over between them.

Here are Britt Baker and Rebel for a chat, but since chats don’t last long without being interrupted around here, it’s Red Velvet to interrupt. Velvet says Baker doesn’t look good in red but Baker says she beat Velvet in three minutes last time. That was when Velvet was an enhancement talent (Velvet’s words) but now she is 22-4 with 7 straight wins.

Baker says the match is on if it’s Tony Khan approved, which it will be because she’s the golden girl. We’ll do it on the big stage in her hometown of Pittsburgh next Friday. Rebel tries to get in a crutch shot but Velvet knocks her away, only to get jumped by Baker. This is just a one off match and that’s fine, because Baker’s reception next week is going to be other worldly.

Chavo Guerrero has gotten Fuego del Sol to work for Andrade El Idolo, but del Sol isn’t happy with being told to shine shoes. Andrade destroys him.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat but he only gets out a “well” before the Elite interrupts him. Page says he has something to say to them, so the Elite joins him in the ring. Kenny Omega sees this as a plea to rejoin the Elite, but Page says not quite. Omega thinks Page is a try hard just like all of these people. They have been thinking about accepting Page’s faults, but they don’t have failures in their group. Page slaps him in the face but the beatdown is on in a hurry.

Cue the Dark Order but Evil Uno and Stu Grayson holds them back. A Magic Killer and some BTE Triggers have Page rocked but it’s Frankie Kazarian running in to take out some of them. The beatdown is on though, with Michael Nakazawa even throwing in the basketball. Omega belt shots Page to leave him laying.

We look back at Lance Archer destroying Dan Lambert.

TNT Title: Lee Johnson vs. Miro

Johnson, with Dustin Rhodes, is challenging and gets powered around to start. The driving shoulders in the corner have Johnson in more trouble. Johnson jumps over him out of the corner and strikes away, only to get tossed with a belly to belly. Game Over sends Johnson bailing to the floor though and we take a break. Back with Miro holding a bearhug but Johnson slips out and slugs away as well as he can. A dropkick puts Miro outside and Johnson hits back to back suicide dives, followed by a big running flip dive.

Miro tries to catch Johnson but falls over, allowing Johnson to throw him back inside. A high crossbody gets one on Miro and Johnson kicks him in the head again. More superkicks rock Miro but he catches the fifth (yes fifth) superkick. Johnson slips away again though and hits the big superkick, setting up a frog splash for two. Miro escapes the fireman’s carry though and kicks Johnson in the face instead. Game Over retains Miro’s title at 9:28.

Rating: C+. This was a good example of giving it everything you have in a rough spot. It worked out pretty well too, with Johnson doing more than I would have expected here. At the end of the day though, Miro should be holding that title for a long time to come and it seems like he will be. Good enough match here, which was a nice surprise.

Christian Cage thanks Leylah Hirsch for the save (while singing the Golden Girls theme) but he has some friends. Best Friends. Next week on the debut of Rampage though, he is ready to be #1 contender.

Bunny vs. Leylah Hirsch

The winner gets an NWA Women’s Title match. The Hardy Family Office and the Best Friends are all here too. Hirsch tries an armbar and Bunny bails to the floor. Back in and Hirsch works on the arm a bit until Bunny sends her outside. Bunny runs into Kamille (the NWA Women’s Champion) in the front row though and we take a break.

Back with more of the women’s division watching at ringside as Hirsch fights up. Hirsch knocks her into the corner for two but COMPLETELY misses a moonsault. Bunny is right back with a Death Valley Driver for two but Down The Rabbit Hole is broken up. Hirsch gets the cross armbreaker for the tap at 8:15.

Rating: C. I don’t think there was much drama to this one as Bunny isn’t going to get a major title match against Kamille. Hirsch getting a one off title shot will work well and it took a nice performance here to get her there. Just don’t let her try any more moonsaults, because that really didn’t work.

Post match, Hirsch and Kamille have a staredown, with Kamille being more than a foot taller.

Mark Sterling says Jade Cargill hasn’t been wrestling because it has been all about growing their brand. Cargill will be back on Dark Elevation next week and the sky is the limit, because she is that b****.

Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes

Black has a skull mask with horns for his entrance and it works rather well. Cody isn’t sure what to do to start so Black goes after the leg. That’s reversed into a Figure Four attempt until Black rakes the eyes to escape. A legsweep takes Cody down and we hit the half crab to keep him in trouble. The rope is grabbed and Cody is right back with the Cross Rhodes attempt, which is broken up with ease. Cody goes up and is kicked right back down, sending him through a ringside table. Back in and Black Mass knocks Cody silly for the pin with a boot on the chest at 4:43.

Rating: C+. Yeah that worked and it’s how this should have gone. Black Mass is one of the best finishers in wrestling today because it’s a really obvious idea: kick the other guy in the head really hard. Black ran through Cody here and even though this is for the sake of filming the Big Show, he put Black over perfectly here. Nice job.

Post match Black leaves and Cody talks about legacy. He got into the business at fifteen as a referee and he wanted to win the title that they stole from his daddy in the Garden. Time flies and goals change though and it takes Cody a second to get up. The fans are already singing the GOODBYE Song as Cody uses a crutch to get to his feet. Cody talks about how he fired them instead of them firing him (meaning WWE) and then he met Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks.

Now this isn’t just an alternative because they’re competition. They set this table and now it’s time for someone new to eat. He has been around everywhere and has been so lucky. There have been some outside people and maybe there has been some in-fighting with the other Executive Vice Presidents but they are here. For him, this is the AEW Amphitheater and he thanks the fans.

Cody takes off his boot (a sign of retiring)….and Malakai Black breaks the crutch over his back. Black steals the boot and glares a lot to end the show. I’m glad they didn’t tease the full on retirement angle here as AEW fans are smart enough to know why Cody is going to be gone. Also, well done on bringing Black back in, because it would have been annoying to have him get that kind of a win and then just leave while Cody did his thing.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like they were taking their foot off the gas a bit and that’s ok. We’ve had four weeks of major shows and what we got here still worked. They kept advancing the stories forward and with All Out in about a month, it means they can set up the actual matches in the next week or two. What we got here was fine enough, but it was one of the slower paced shows they’ve had in a bit.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Juventud Guerrera – Top rope Judas Effect
Jon Moxley/Darby Allin/Eddie Kingston b. 2.0/Daniel Garcia – Coffin Drop to Garcia
Christian Cage b. Blade – Spear
Miro b. Lee Johnson – Game Over
Leylah Hirsch b. The Bunny – Cross armbreaker
Malakai Black b. Cody Rhodes – Black Mass

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 28, 2021
Location: Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

It’s another huge show with Fight For The Fallen. The card is stacked again, including the IWGP US Title, the ten man elimination match, and the mainstream debut of Nick Gage. The latter is going to get the most attention for the sake of freak show appeal, which may or may not be a disaster. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary runs down the card.

We get a video on what it means to be a cowboy, which seems to mean being loyal to your friends and ready to fight.

Elite vs. Dark Order/Hangman Page

After hearing about how serious this is and seeing how Omega and company looked scared of facing Page, the Elite has a full on Space Jam theme, complete with music, basketballs and Elite Squad jerseys. It does seem to be a sponsored deal though, which makes things a bit better. At least they’re getting paid for turning another big match into a joke of some kind. Anderson and Page start but everything breaks down in a hurry, with a superplex from the top taking down the pile on the floor.

Back in and the Good Brothers get caught in the corner until a Stunner/running clothesline combination gets two on Anderson. A rollup with trunks gets rid of Alex Reynolds at 3:53. The rest of the Dark Order and Page surround Anderson and a quick Fatality evens things up at 4:50. We take a break and come back with Grayson enziguring Gallows with Omega having to make a save. A bunch of people go outside and Grayson tries a skytwister press to take everyone down, though they didn’t exactly catch him. Gallows kicks Grayson over the barricade but gets taken down as both guys are counted out at 11:15.

Back in and Uno’s Downward Spiral gets two on Omega but the Swanton only hits knees. The V Trigger into the One Winged Angel gets rid of Uno at 12:30, leaving us with Page/Silver vs. Omega/Young Bucks. Silver spears Matt and hammers away until Matt pokes him in the eye. A bulldog plants Silver again and a leg lariat drops him as well as we take a break. Back with Silver getting to clean house until Omega is back in to take him down.

Silver is sent outside as the basketball goal is loaded up. The Indytaker, with a missed dunk, plants Silver on the floor and the academic pin gets rid of him at 19:05. Page is left on his own and Omega takes off the jersey to make it serious. They slug it out until a V Trigger into a pair of superkicks rocks Page. There’s the Snapdragon into a triple superkick for two. Page gets draped in the ropes for the 450 but he is back with a double clothesline to the Bucks.

The moonsault onto the floor takes out all of the Elite and Nick is grabbing his knee. Back in and the Buckshot Lariat is broken up, as is the Indytaker. A double Buckshot Lariat gets rid of Matt at 23:58 so Omega grabs the belt. That’s countered into the Deadeye for two but Nick grabs the leg so Omega can get in the belt shot….for two. A pair of V Triggers get two and the One Winged Angel finishes Page at 25:37.

Rating: B. I love the Survivor Series and it was so nice to have something on the line in one of these things for a change. The action was good and there was little reason for the Elite to have trouble against the Dark Order. The end result is not likely to be permanent and that’s fine, as Page can still get the shot and the title at All Out somehow. Good match, and if AEW can make some money off of the Space Jam deal, so be it.

Pac isn’t worried about the Lucha Bros not being here so here are Chavo Guerrero, Andrade and the interpreter to say the Bros are coming in a limo. Chavo explains the idea of a limo and Andrade says (I think) that they better be ready to fight.

Taz introduces Ricky Starks for his FTW Championship Celebration. A band plays Starks to the ring, where he talks about how worthless Brian Cage has been. Cage never even checked on him when he had a broken neck because Cage is a selfish guy. Starks is a star, which Cage didn’t figure out in seventeen years. Cue Cage to beat up the band and chase Starks off.

Hiroshi Tanahashi wants to be the IWGP US Champion and is challenging the winner of tonight’s match. That’s a big cameo.

Santana/Ortiz vs. FTR

This should be great with Konnan and Tully Blanchard at ringside. Ortiz and Wheeler feel each other out to start until it’s off to Santana and Harwood for the slugout. A few Amigos give Santana two and everything breaks down, with a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination dropping Harwood. We take a break and come back with Ortiz getting the tag to clean house, including a powerbomb to Harwood out of the corner.

An O’Connor roll gets two on Harwood but the kickout sends Ortiz onto Wheeler on the floor. Back in and a powerbomb into a frog splash gets two on Harwood. A forearm just angers Santana, who snaps off a German suplex. Everything breaks down and Wheeler springboard tornado DDTs Ortiz. Santana powerbombs Harwood for two and they’re both down.

Back up and Harwood superplexes Ortiz, who reverses the landing into a small package for two. As the cover goes down, you can see Wheeler grabbing his arm and walking towards the back, which does not seem to be a good sign. Harwood is back up with a kick to the ribs and the brainbuster to finish Ortiz at 11:05. That felt really sudden and the injury might be a reason.

Rating: B-. This was the good, hard hitting match that you would expect with the arm injury likely cutting things short. Fair enough if that’s the case and hopefully it is a bad cut instead of a major injury. What we got here was good and I can’t blame them a bit for having a sudden ending if someone got hurt. Just bad luck and hopefully Wheeler is ok.

Post match Harwood goes over to check on Wheeler, who is surrounded by medics and is bleeding from the arm.

Britt Baker knows Nyla Rose is tough but she made Rose tap out last week with a broken wrist. She’s awesome, because she’s Britt Baker DMD.

Tony Schiavone announces that the second Rampage (August 20) will take place in the United Center in Chicago for the First Dance. Fans: “CM PUNK!”

Darby Allin says he’ll be in Chicago. He has heard people talking about being the greatest, and you can prove that in AEW. Come prove that you are the…..best in the world.

IWGP US Title: Hikuleo vs. Lance Archer

Hikuleo is challenging and has his father, Haku, in his corner. Archer hammers away on the taller Hikuleo but gets clotheslined out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Archer in trouble after Haku used the Tongan Death Grip during the break. Archer fights back with the Old School moonsault to rock Hikuleo again. A top rope superplex connects for two, setting up the Blackout to retain at 7:14.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but it was more about the spectacle than anything else. Haku was a fine legend appearance and it was nice to have them show the Tongan Death Grip….eventually. Archer vs. Tanahashi (confirmed to be in Japan rather than here) will be good and this was a nice way to set that up.

Cody Rhodes is in the back for an interview but Malakai Black jumps him from behind. They fight into the arena with Black kicking him in the face. Some other wrestlers come out to check on him but Black kicks Fuego del Sol out as well.

Miro is ready for next week’s open challenge for the TNT Title, but no one is going to be taking the title from him. He is blessed with this title and a double joined wife, so come get it.

Hardy Family Office vs. Christian Cage/Luchasaurus/Jungle Boy

That would be Angelico/Private Party for the Office, the rest of whom is at ringside along with Marko Stunt. Boy and Angelico start things off with Angelico sending him outside. Hardy hits him in the face, so Christian and Stunt chase Hardy to the back. That leaves it 3-2 so Boy brings in Luchasaurus to clean house. Private Party flips out of a double chokeslam but Christian is back…and gets kicked outside. Boy dives onto Angelico and Kassidy, leaving Quen to get chokeslammed. Christian’s frog splash is good for the pin at 4:41.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one, as the Christian vs. Hardy feud isn’t doing anything for me. I’ll take bringing in other people to spice it up a bit though, especially if that doesn’t involve Stunt in the ring. It’s quite the downgrade for Boy after his World Title feud, but Christian is looking better week to week.

Post match, the Blade sneaks in to deck Christian with the brass knuckles.

Julia Hart vs. Thunder Rosa

Big reaction for Rosa in her first match as an official member of the roster. Rosa takes her down with ease to start but Hart pops up to wave at the fans. That earns her another takedown, meaning Hart needs a rope break. A running clothesline knocks Hart down in the corner and the slingshot knees make it worse. Rosa misses a charge but is fine enough to grab a kneebar. Hart makes the rope again so it’s a Fire Thunder Driver to give Rosa the pin at 4:02.

Rating: D+. This was a squash and not the most interesting one. Hart is very, very green but she plays the cheerleader well. Rosa getting to maul someone that innocent and sweet is a good idea and made her look like a monster all over again. Not a competitive match or anything, but it didn’t need to be.

Jon Moxley talks about how everything changed when he lost the IWGP US Title last week. No one seems to be caring about him anymore, but no matter because he wants Hiroshi Tanahashi. Moxley will be waiting on the other side of the Forbidden Door.

Nick Gage vs. Chris Jericho

No rules and Jericho is the Painmaker. MJF, with popcorn, joins commentary. Gage wastes no time in cutting Jericho’s arm open with the pizza cutter and the slugout is on. A spinebuster puts Jericho down and they head outside to slug it out. Back in and Gage hits a superplex, followed by a Falcon Arrow for two. Jericho gets the Walls out of nowhere so Gage grabs the rope….which has no effect so he has to crawl out of the ring to escape instead.

They go outside with Gage grabbing the light tubes but Jericho has Floyd the baseball bat. Jericho bats him down but Gage hits a chokebreaker. The pizza cutter is out again and Jericho’s head is carved up. We take a break and come back with Gage bridging a pane of glass between two chairs. The Vader Bomb takes too long though and Jericho hurricanranas him through the glass for two instead.

The Codebreaker is countered into a spinebuster onto the glass and Jericho screams a lot. Back to back light tube shots have Jericho in trouble and it’s time to stab Jericho in the head with the broken tubes. Gage grabs another one, but Jericho hits him with the mist. Tubes to the head rock Gage and the Judas Effect gives Jericho the pin at 12:45.

Rating: D. Your tastes may vary here (and I’m sure they will) but deathmatches are not my thing. Hey look he’s using light tubes! Well now he’s using MORE light tubes! I’m a bit conflicted here though, because on one hand, the light tubes are stupid. On the other hand, my dad worked in a light bulb factory for 45 years so……this kind of thing paid for me to go to college so I have to feel a bit guilty about part of it. The match was still bad though so it makes up for a bit of the trouble.

Post match MJF says that the next labor is going to involve Jericho hitting a move off the top. We see a clip of Jericho and MJF arguing in 2019, with Juventud Guerrera being referenced. Next week it’s Jericho vs. Guerrera, in Guerrera’s first appearance on TNT in fifteen years. Not exactly, but math isn’t AEW’s deal. They didn’t say it, but I’m guessing Jericho has to hit a 450?

Overall Rating: B. The best thing I can say about this show is it flew by. Dynamite is not a boring show and even the main event felt fast. There is something very positive to be said about seeing that it is 9:15 and wondering where the show has gone. Stories were advanced, the opener was good and we’re done with Gage (in theory). What more can you ask for in two hours? Other than less Gage and a healthy Wheeler of course.

Results
Elite b. Hangman Page/Dark Order last eliminating Page
FTR b. Santana/Ortiz – Brainbuster to Ortiz
Lance Archer b. Hikuleo – Black Out
Christian Cage/Luchasaurus/Jungle Boy b. Hardy Family Office – Frog splash to Quen
Thunder Rosa b. Julia Hart – Fire Thunder Driver
Chris Jericho b. Nick Gage – Judas Effect

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.

Dynamite
Date: July 14, 2021
Location: H-E-B Center, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s another special show this week with Fyter Fest Night 1 as they’re out of Florida for the first time in over a year. The big story this week is the return of Jon Moxley to defend the IWGP United States Title against Karl Anderson, as we have an AEW wrestler defending a New Japan Title against an Impact wrestler. I for one can’t wait on the recreation of Taz vs. Mike Awesome so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

IWGP United States Title: Jon Moxley vs. Karl Anderson

Moxley is defending and here’s Eddie Kingston with a pipe to jump Doc Gallows before the bell. They slug it out to start and then proceed to slug it out some more, this time with Moxley winning a battle of the forearms. Back up and Anderson knocks him to the floor for a ram into the barricade. Moxley comes back with some microphone choking but Anderson kicks him off the apron for a crash. Anderson grabs a spinebuster for two and goes up, with Moxley biting his head to cut that off.

The superplex plants Anderson but Moxley can’t cover. Instead he has to block the Gun Stun and it’s a double clothesline for a double knockdown. Anderson is back up and tries an Owen Hart piledriver but stumbles and nearly drops Moxley on his head for two. A middle rope neckbreaker gives Anderson two and a quick Gun Stun is good for the same. Anderson’s TKO gets two more but Moxley grabs a short arm clothesline. The Paradigm Shift retains the title at 9:40.

Rating: C+. It was hard hitting and back and forth, with Kingston getting rid of Gallows being a nice plus. Moxley is a great choice to open the show as he is one of the most popular wrestlers around here tonight. If nothing else, maybe the Good Brothers will be gone from the rest of the show, or at least we can only hope.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Lance Archer wants the IWGP US Title back. Jon Moxley took the title from him in a Texas Death Match in Japan, so let’s have another one next week in Dallas.

Andrade El Idolo asks where the Death Triangle has gone because he is looking for them.

FTW World Title: Brian Cage vs. Ricky Starks

Starks is challenging in his first match back from a broken neck and the rest of Team Taz is in a neutral corner. Taz is on commentary and offers some insight of how these two were backstage today (Starks was more serious, Cage was more outgoing). Cage can’t quite get some kind of slam to start so he goes with a gorilla press instead. Some whips into the corner put Starks on the top rope and the kicks to the ribs crotch Starks on the top.

Cage misses a charge into the corner though and Starks kicks away at the arm. Said arm is snapped across the middle rope and a middle rope dropkick gives Starks two. We take a break and come back with Starks getting two off a crucifix bomb as Excalibur calls the FTW Title an outlaw championship. Cage heads outside so Starks slides to the floor for a clothesline. Back in and Starks grabs a choke, only to get driven into the corner.

Cage kicks him in the head and nails a pumphandle faceplant for two. Starks’ springboard tornado DDT is blocked and Cage hits a superkick for two more. Starks slips out of the apron superplex and hits a sitout powerbomb for his own near fall. With nothing else working, Starks goes for the title belt but Powerhouse Hobbs won’t let him. That allows Cage to hit the F5 for two so Hook distracts the referee. Hobbs blasts Cage with the title and Starks’ spear connects for the pin and the title at 9:23.

Rating: C. Starks looked a bit rusty here but that’s quite understandable given the injury and time off. Cage losing the title is fine and he can probably go off on his own after the loss. It could be interesting to see Starks as the star of the team for once as he has all of the skills you could need to go somewhere.

We look at Malakai Black debuting last week and kicking Cody Rhodes’ head off.

Here is an annoyed Cody (in a white suit) to the announcers’ table to call out Tommy End/Malakai Black. All Black needed to do was make a phone call and he could have been here. We don’t kick a 62 year old man in the face around here though so please bring him a mic so he can head to the ring. Cody doesn’t win every fight he’s in but he has a better chance when he knows it’s coming. This is Fyter Fest and he feels like fighting.

Black appears on screen to ask if Cody heard the fans cheer when Black kicked him in the face last week. Black talks about a man having a horse who took him everywhere but one day that horse was done. The man took him to a nice field, put a bag over the horse’s head and finished him. Cody calls Black out again so the lights go out and here he is in the ring. Referees break it up in a hurry.

Tully Blanchard talks about attacking Konnan last week when he runs into Santana and Ortiz, who bust out a tire iron. The shot to the head is teased, but they say next time won’t be so nice. Tully promises to get his boys.

Here is Hangman Page, who is feeling weird, for a chat. Page talks about how he wanted to be World Champion from day one, but he failed. He tried to hide from his failure but he still needs that championship. That’s why he is here to challenge….and here are Don Callis and the Elite to cut him off. They insist that Page is not that guy, with Matt Jackson going to the ring to say something to Page’s face.

Matt knows there is only one person to blame for Page’s issues and he is one step away from being the next great wrestling tragedy. The fight is on with the Elite coming in but the Dark Order runs in for the save. Page issues the challenge to Omega but we’ll make that a ten man elimination tag instead. That’s fine with Page, who says if they win, he gets the World Title and the Dark Order gets a Tag Team Title shot against the Bucks. Omega: “YOU DIDN’T EARN IT!!! NONE OF YOU EARNED IT!!!”

Omega thinks Page is making a lot of demands so he’ll make one of his own: if Page’s team loses, there are no title shots and Page is done. He can’t wait for the COWBOY S*** chant to turn into BELT COLLEC-TOR. Page gets in Omega’s face and says yes, which freaks Omega out a bit. They had a lot of people here, but it got the job done.

Chris Jericho recaps the Five Labors of Jericho that MJF has set up for him, but points out that Hercules won in the end. MJF can send Superman or the Black Panther out after him because Jericho will walk across broken glass to get MJF again. Jericho is the god of thunder and the god of war….and here is Shawn Spears to hit him in the throat with a chair. MJF pops in to make the match against Spears next week, where Spears can use a chair but Jericho can’t. Spears gets in a bonus chair shot to the arm.

Matt Hardy vs. Christian Cage

They grab a lockup to start and fall out to the floor with the lockup continuing. Christian slides back in and tells Matt to bring it, only to slide outside and send Hardy face first into the apron. A big dive takes Hardy down again and a reverse DDT gives Christian two back inside. The right hands in the corner keep Matt in trouble until he sends Christian shoulder first into the post to take over for the first time. Choking on the ropes sets up the catapult to send Christian throat first into the rope and we take a break.

Back with Christian countering the Twist of Fate and hitting a spear for two. The frog splash gets the same but the tornado DDT is countered. Instead Matt takes him up top for a superplex into the near fall and extra breathing is required. Back up and Matt grabs the referee to block a Killswitch. The low blow into the Twist of Fate gets two and it’s back to the floor for the Leech (double underhook neck crank) but Christian makes it back in at nine. The Killswitch finishes Hardy out of nowhere at 12:59.

Rating: C. This was your nostalgia match of the week and that is about all it was going to be good for here. Neither of them are what they were in the ring before but at least they did their thing without getting bad. The ending was out of nowhere but the whole thing worked out well enough.

Post match the Hardy Family Office comes in but Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus run in for the save.

Miro talks about a man who had to figure out what he was and then went on to destroy everyone. He holds up the TNT Title (which appeared to have been redesigned) and says this is his reward, which he will defend anywhere.

Tony Schiavone brings in Britt Baker to talk about facing Nyla Rose next week. Baker has been through tables, ladders and chairs and nothing has scared here, just like Rose won’t next week. Rose might be at the top of the food chain but Baker is off the menu. Baker knocks Vickie Guerrero is listening and she has the name to keep her relevant in wrestling. Rose doesn’t have that and needs the title to be mean something. She isn’t getting it back next week, because with the title, Baker is the hottest thing in wrestling. Without it though, she is still Britt Baker DMD. Baker continues to be feeling it on the mic.

Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero promise to take the title next week.

Sammy Guevara vs. Wheeler Yuta

Sammy gets the big hometown pop as Bunny and Blade are watching from ringside. Yuta runs the ropes to start so Sammy flips over him and loads up a dive, only to flip back inside. The posing brings Yuta back in and charges into a powerslam, setting up the running shooting star press to give Sammy two. The shooting star press hits knees and Yuta walks the ropes for a middle rope dropkick. A German suplex drops Guevara and a huge top rope splash gets one. Guevara is back up with a backdrop into an enziguri out of the corner. The double springboard cutter into the GTH finishes Yuta at 3:43.

Rating: C+. This was just a step beneath a squash and it gave Guevara the nice hometown win. That’s all it was supposed to be and Yuta looking good in defeat was a nice bonus. You don’t need much more than that and they had a pretty good spectacle here. Guevara still seems ready to explode and getting a win here was the right call.

Earlier today, QT Marshall poured coffee onto Tony Schiavone’s head.

Penelope Ford vs. Yuka Sakazaki

This is Sakazaki’s first match in AEW in 16 months. They start fast with Ford being sent outside for a middle rope flip dive. Back in and Ford chokes on the ropes as we take a break. We come back with Sakazaki muscling her up for a suplex, setting up a rolling kick to the face. A middle rope elbow to the face gets two but Ford is back with some pump kicks for two. Sakazaki throws Ford on her shoulder for a spinning faceplant, setting up a spinning splash for the pin at 7:30.

Rating: C-. Just a match here as Sakazaki is back. I’m not sure if she was exactly a big deal around here in the first place but the division could use some extra blood at this point. The match itself wasn’t anything of note, but Ford is hardly the one that you bring in for a great in-ring performance.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page

Coffin (casket) match with Allin jumping him to start. Allin pulls off his jacket to reveal a metal plate attached to his back. A springboard body block drops Page and it’s time to go to the casket….with Scorpio Sky inside. Cue Sting to take care of Sky and the two of them fight into the crowd, with Sky getting crotched on a barricade. Back to the actual match, with Page being thrown over the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Page throwing he steps in, along with the unhooked bottom turnbuckle. Page uses the actual hook to pull Allin down by the neck….so Allin hooks his Page’s mouth. Point to Allin. They fight outside into the coffin to slug it out until Allin gets launched out. Back inside and Allin hits his flipping Stunner off the steps but the bleeding Page catches him on top. The super Ego’s Edge onto the steps leaves Allin down but he busts out the skateboard for a shot to the back, sending Page into the coffin for the win at 11:40.

Rating: B. Much like Kingston taking out Doc Gallows, it was nice to have Sting get rid of Sky here. This was a big grudge match and in theory it should wrap everything up between the two of them. There isn’t much left for them to do as it wasn’t exactly a huge feud in the first place. Allin is ready to move on to something else, though I’m not sure what that is going to be.

Post match, Allin hits the Coffin Drop through the coffin and….well pretty close to Page. That man’s poor spine.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show here with a bunch of mostly fine matches. It wasn’t quite last week, but they set up enough going forward and the main event was fun. I’m curious to see where AEW is going with some of these things and that is one of the best things that you can say about a wrestling show. Not their best stuff tonight, but it was more than enough to get by. Also, thankfully they dropped the Fyre Fest deals this time as the idea was played out when it first aired.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Karl Anderson – Paradigm Shift
Ricky Starks b. Brian Cage – Spear
Christian Cage b. Matt Hardy – Killswitch
Sammy Guevara b. Wheeler Yuta – GTH
Yuka Sakazaki b. Penelope Ford – Spinning splash
Darby Allin b. Ethan Page – Allin put Page in the coffin

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.

Dynamite
Date: June 11, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

The Friday night escapades continue as we move towards the return of fans in a little over a month. That means we could be in for a big card tonight but there is always something interesting going on around here. I’m not sure what to expect and that can often be a good thing with AEW. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The Hardy Family Office is in the ring to get things going. Matt Hardy rants about how Christian Cage is jealous over Matt making more money in his career so tonight, Angelico is going to give Christian such a beating that he will never financially recover.

Angelico vs. Christian Cage

They fight over arm control to start so Angelico offers him his leg to keep things interesting. Christian doesn’t fall for that and hits Angelico in the face instead. Some right hands in the corner stagger Angelico even more but he is right back up to pull Christian off the top. Angelico stomps on the arm and sends Christian hard into the corner.

The arm is wrapped around the rope and Angelico adds a PK to the shoulder. Something like a short armscissors goes on with Christian having to get to the ropes. Christian starts the comeback but gets pulled down by the arms again. Angelico goes up but dives into raised boots and it’s a small package to give Christian two. A collision puts both of them down and they get up in opposite corners. Christian is over this and grabs the Killswitch for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: C. Not a bad opener but Christian still hasn’t quite caught fire around here. He’s perfectly solid and in no way looking horrible, but at the same time, he isn’t exactly great so far. The idea of Matt Hardy vs. Christian in 2021 doesn’t do much for me, though Christian doesn’t need to go any higher than that whatsoever.

Post match Jack Evans runs in to lay out Christian, allowing Matt to hit another Twist of Fate.

Here’s the July schedule:

July 7 – Road Rager
July 14 – Fyter Fest Night One
July 21 – Fyter Fest Night Two
July 28 – Fight For The Fallen

They’re really pushing this return.

Tony Schiavone is here for a chat, but first he has an announcement: next week it’s QT Mar-Shall (as it was pronounced in Ring Of Honor)/Aaron Solow vs. Cody Rhodes and…..Brock Anderson, the son of Arn Anderson. Here are Cody, Brock and Arn, with Cody talking about how Brock is going to prove that he wasn’t born on third base. Cue QT Marshall to say he’s tired of all of Cody’s vanity projects (preach it).

Cody has been ducking the up and coming stars but the people who are really behind Cody are the fans. Marshall: “Not the IWC. The real paying fans.” Marshall wants to end this with Cody in a South Beach Strap match when all of the fans are back. Cody is ready to do it right now but Marshall decks Arn and Brock jumps him until referees pull him off.

Pac/Penta El Zero Miedo/Eddie Kingston vs. Young Bucks/Brandon Cutler

Don Callis joins commentary as Pac sends Cutler (in a mask to protect his injured face) into the corner to start and kicks him down. Penta comes in to kick him down and chop the skin off of Cutler’s chest. Kingston comes in for a double stomp and Pac kicks him even more, meaning he wants the Bucks for a change. Matt comes in and gets dropped, allowing Pac to mock the Bucks’ pose. Nick trips over the rope getting inside so Pac knocks him to the floor again. Matt is back up to kick Pac in the face and we take a break.

Back with Pac fighting his way out of the corner so Kingston can come in to clean house. Penta comes in with a high crossbody and kicks Cutler in the mask. Matt gets dropped and Nick kicks Cutler in the face by mistake. The Backstabber drops Nick and the Pentagon Driver gets two with Cutler making the save.

A series of kicks in the corner look to set up the Black Arrow but Cutler’s distraction breaks it up. Kingston cleans house and takes Nick to the floor as Penta dives onto Cutler. Pac hits the 450 into the Brutalizer on Matt but Nick…can’t break it up despite kicking Pac in the head. Kingston and Pac hit dives onto Nick and Cutler, leaving Matt to roll Pac up with trunks for two. Pac gets buckle bombed into a pair of kicks, but Cutler misses a springboard elbow. Kingston hits the spinning backfist to give Pac the pin on Cutler at 13:06.

Rating: C+. It was certainly fast paced, though the ending wasn’t the biggest surprise. You know the Bucks aren’t losing, like ever, including when Pac had the Brutalizer. Cutler was there to take the fall so that worked out fine, though building up Pac/Penta for a title shot is not quite as thrilling when the Bucks already beat them.

Post match the Bucks are on Penta and Pac a mere five seconds after the bell (that’s our Bucks), with the Good Brothers coming in to help with the beatdown. Kazarian comes in for the save and Cutler is left alone, with Kazarian planting him with a clothesline.

We get a Don Callis/Kenny Omega produced video on the Double Or Nothing World Title match, complete with some questionable subtitles.

Here is the Pinnacle for their first comments since Double Or Nothing. Dax Harwood talks about how Stadium Stampede did not go as well as they hoped, but FTR doesn’t want to hear about Santana and Ortiz. Harwood has a family to take care of and is going to take money out of Santana and Ortiz’s pockets. How have they not won the Tag Team Titles in two years?

Shawn Spears says he is the hero instead of Sammy Guevara and they aren’t done. Wardlow thinks that Jake Hager is obsessed with him and needs him around. Is that because Hager brings out the best in him? Next week, they can meet in an octagon, where Wardlow will show that everywhere is his world.

MJF says he’s getting a little tired because he was the best so soon. No one here can relate to that, because they won’t be the best at anything. That brings him to Chris Jericho, with MJF watching every match and listening to every promo. MJF was at the Double Or Nothing Rally in 2019 and spoke on the stage. Then he saw Chris Jericho, his idol. MJF couldn’t believe it because he was going to get the chance to work with Jericho, but that isn’t how it went.

One night it hit him: he had spent all of this time idolizing a false god. Jericho is not even remotely on his level so he has nothing to prove to the fans. The match request is denied, so MJF is moving on to Sammy Guevara. Sammy can’t compete in the talking department because he has the verbal skills of Helen Keller. MJF is better than Sammy and he knows it, but here is Chris Jericho on the screen.

The Pinnacle can walk home, because the Inner Circle is destroying the Pinnacle’s limo. Tires are slashed, windows are broken, spray paint is applied, and I lose count of how many cars or vehicles have been used in this company’s history. Cue Jake Hager with a forklift to crush the limo all over again, including lifting it into the air and dropping it down. Jericho thinks the Pinnacle is going to need an Uber and Sammy is ready to fight anytime. MJF’s promo was good, but a feud should probably be done after WarGames and Stadium Stampede.

Darby Allin wants Sting to stay home for his handicap match with Ethan Page and Shawn Spears. Sting says Allin has nothing to prove because he was the TNT Champion when Sting got here. Allin: “It’s not about that. Just stay home this one time please.” Sting agrees and they bump fists because everything is cool.

Evil Uno talks about what Brodie Lee meant to the Dark Order. He wants to bring the TNT Title back to the Dark Order to honor Lee again.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Evil Uno

Uno is challenging and has some of the Dark Order with him. Miro slams him down in a hurry but Uno chops him out to the floor. That’s fine with Miro, but he punches a post and gets taken down with a flip dive from the apron. Back in and Miro off the ropes and into a Saito suplex as we take a break.

Back with Uno being knocked outside in a heap but the Dark Order’s pep talk gets him back inside. That earns the Order a beating and Miro rips the turnbuckle pad off. Uno gets in some shots to the face, including a running big boot. A Swanton connects and the rest of the Dark Order comes out to cheer Uno on. Miro can’t hit a spinout Rock Bottom and gets kicked into the exposed buckle for two. A hard clothesline drops Uno though and it’s Game Over to retain the title at 9:36.

Rating: C+. This was a match that had no business being good and they made it work anyway. I was getting into the idea of wanting Uno to win the title in Lee’s memory, though Miro should not be losing for a good while to come. Good stuff here, as they turned what should have been just a quick match into enough of a story to pull me in. Nice job.

Video on Andrade El Idolo, who seems rather rich and is billed as the Face of Latinos.

Here are Kenny Omega and Don Callis for a chat. Callis talks about the AEW conspiracy to get the title off of Kenny Omega, so Jungle Boy did a good job at becoming the #1 contender. But to Callis, Jungle Boy is just like the band that sings his theme song: a one hit wonder. Omega talks about how he is supposed to sell the match but he can’t bring himself to say anything bad about Jungle Boy.

When he looks at Boy’s long hair and underwear model body, Omega sees a bit of himself. There is something missing though, and Callis thinks it is the guts. Cue Jungle Boy, with Omega saying he has never heard Boy talk. Omega doesn’t think this will be the battle of wits or the greatest promo of all time.

If he has anything to say, he has five five second to say it because Omega is getting tired of this. Boy says Omega talks to much so Omega swings, only to get punched up against the ropes. Omega gets pulled into the Snare Trap but the Young Bucks run in to clear Boy out. This was good once Boy came in, but Omega talking is not the best thing.

Jade Cargill and Mark Sterling are rather happy that their monetization plan has been a success. Next up: marketing the catchphrase, because Cargill is that b****.

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky aren’t impressed with Darby Allin but they are going to take him out again. They are going to chop him down, step on his body and move up, because it is all up from here for the Men Of The Year. What an odd name for a team.

Lance Archer vs. Chandler Hopkins

Archer jumps him to start but Hopkins actually gets out of the chokeslam. Archer knocks Hopkins out of the air and this the big chokeslam. The Blackout finishes for Archer at 52 seconds.

Archer storms out of the arena immediately after the win.

The Wingmen offer Orange Cassidy a chance to get his wardrobe upgrade, or Cesar Bononi will mess up his face.

Nyla Rose vs. Leyla Hirsch

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. Leyla chases Vickie out to start and gets slammed for her efforts. That doesn’t seem to cause much trouble though as a cross armbreaker has Rose in trouble. A dropkick puts Rose on the floor but the suicide dive is cut off, with Leyla being driven into the apron. Back in and Rose drops a knee for two, setting up a neck crank to send us to a break.

We come back with Leyla hitting a slingshot dropkick in the corner for two, setting up a release German suplex. A running knee rocks Rose again and a rope walk moonsault (with barely a cover) gets two. Leyla can’t suplex her, with Rose draping her over the top instead. The top rope knee drop is broken up though and Leyla goes up, only to get super Beast Bombed back down to give Rose the pin at 8:45.

Rating: C. They made a bit of a go with it here, though I’m not sure how much I could buy Rose being in danger here. What worked was having Leyla show off with some power and technique, which really do make her look legit. Rose is on her way to another title shot (because of course) and a win over someone with some credibility will help her get there.

Britt Baker doesn’t like Nyla Rose making fun of Leyla Hirsch’s height but let’s get back to her. Baker has endorsement deals flying in left and right, which was never the case when Rose was champion. That’s cool with Baker though, because she’ll add Rose to the list of jealous b****** in the back. Rose needs the title because it makes her, but Baker is making the title.

Here is what’s coming next week.

Hangman Page/10 vs. Brian Cage/Powerhouse Hobbs

Page, who has lost all sense of time, gets driven into the corner to start so Cage can drive shoulders into the corner. Some forearms get Page out of trouble for a bit but his sliding lariat is countered. Cage misses a basement dropkick though and Page hits a standing shooting star press for two. 10 comes in but walks into an assisted powerbomb from Hobbs, who starts getting a bit cocky. A running knee to the ribs drops 10 and we take a break.

Back with 10 hitting a pump kick each to Hobbs and Cage, allowing Page to come in for a running boot to Cage. They head outside with Page posting Cage, setting up a moonsault press for two on Hobbs. A crossbody gives Hobbs two on Page but Cage is back in with a 619 to knock 10 silly.

Page is back in with a springboard shot to Cage’s face and 10 busts Hobbs spine. Cage comes back with a running clothesline in the corner and a sloppy high/low gets two on 10. Ricky Starks throws Cage the FTW Title but Cage throws it away, earning a slap from Starks. Cage chases Starks off so Hobbs buts a spinebuster for two on 10. A ripcord cutter drops Hobbs though and the Buckshot Lariat is enough to give Page the pin at 10:18.

Rating: C+. There was a lot going on here, with the continuing split of Team Taz being the biggest story. Cage vs. Starks will be good, though they are going to have to stretch things out a lot due to Starks’ injury. Hobbs vs. Cage will do for the time being though, assuming that is the way they go. At the same time, it is a good sign to see Page being treated as a big deal again, as he should have been for a long time now.

The Dark Order comes out to celebrate with some beers to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was another week where they kind of took the night off, but it wasn’t as bad as last time. Right now they are building towards the June 26 show with the World Title match, though I’m not sure what else is going to be seen as a big deal on that show. This was a completely watchable show with some good action, as they got me to care about matches that weren’t all that interesting in the first place. Nice job here, though it’s another skippable show.

Results
Christian Cage b. Angelico – Killswitch
Pac/Penta El Zero Miedo/Eddie Kingston b. Brandon Cutler/Young Bucks – Spinning backfist to Cutler
Miro b. Evil Uno – Game Archer
Lance Archer b. Chandler Hopkins – Blackout
Nyla Rose b. Leyla Hirsch – Super Beast Bomb
10/Hangman Page b. Brian Cage/Powerhouse Hobbs – Buckshot Lariat to Hobbs

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.

I always get a bit excited for an AEW pay per view because they have earned the reputation of putting on good shows. Aside from their misfire with the exploding ring fiasco at Full Gear, AEW has not had a truly bad pay per view or even that many bad pay per view moments in their history. They are getting another chance to keep that record strong and hopefully they can pull it off. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: NWA Women’s Title: Serena Deeb(c) vs. Riho

There is a bit of history here as Riho beat Deeb in the #1 contenders tournament a few months back. The title has been kind of a weird addition to AEW as it only pops in every so often and there are rarely any interesting stories involved. Riho has not been around so often lately, but she is always presented as one of the bigger stars in the company. Deeb is awesome at what she does though and now gets the chance to showcase herself.

I’ll take Deeb to retain here as it is almost hard to fathom the NWA title changing hands on an AEW show. This feels like a match being added for the sake of adding something in and that is a fine enough excuse for a pre-show. The action will be good and that is about all you can ask for from a match like this. Deeb retains, though I’m not entirely sure where that leaves Riho.

Hangman Page vs. Brian Cage

This one has my interest up a bit and that is because of Page. For months now, the theory has been that Page is the one to take the AEW World Title off of Kenny Omega, but there has been nothing to suggest that is actually going to happen. Page has been toiling with the Dark Order for a good while now and doing little more than comedy stuff. This week’s Dynamite saw him get a lot more serious and that is a good sign for his future.

I think it’s a good sign for him in this match too as he’ll beat Cage. As much of a monster as Cage is, there is no reason for him to win here. Page is possibly being primed to go after the World Title so a win over someone of Cage’s stature should help. Throw in that Cage is having issues with the rest of Team Taz and it is hard to imagine him having much of a chance here.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs. Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston

I usually save the bigger matches for later but let’s have some fun. This is the match that interests me the most on the card as I really could see it going either way. The main catch here is that, assuming another title match goes a certain way, we very well could be looking at all heel champions in AEW. Someone would have to break through that wall and balance things out a bit and that might be Moxley and Kingston.

That being said, I don’t think the titles change hands here. It seems more likely that the Bucks and Omega get to hold their three titles at once because that is what AEW finds interesting. I very well may be wrong on this and the title change would not shock me in the least, but I think the Bucks hold on here, likely through some sort of overthought shenanigans.

Cody Rhodes vs. Anthony Ogogo

Then we have this one and it might be the most discussed match on the entire show. Rhodes is becoming the American Dream for one night only and is fighting one of those evil foreign….uh….British guys. The patriotism aspect has felt rather forced in this story as it seems to come out of the 1980s rather than a modern wrestling company. Ogogo doesn’t have much experience either, but here he is anyway.

I’ll go on a limb here and pick Ogogo, which is where this story should head if they want to make a bigger star for a change. Ogogo has only wrestled a handful of matches and it would be a huge deal to beat Rhodes. I’m not completely sold on the idea that Ogogo wins as Rhodes has a tendency to get some questionable victories, but I’ll take Ogogo here and hold AEW rolls the dice.

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega(c) vs. Pac vs. Orange Cassidy

Omega has been mentioned enough so far that we might as well just knock his match out. This match does not grab my interest very well and I can’t believe that I’m alone in that. It came out of nowhere as suddenly these two were top contenders and the match was set as a result. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to buy Omega as being in danger here but that is what AEW is asking.

Of course I’ll take Omega to retain here as I can’t imagine either Pac or Cassidy getting the title. This match feels like a token title defense for Omega as I can’t fathom him losing the title anytime soon. Cassidy feels way over his head here and while Pac is great, I don’t think he’s going to get the title. Omega retains here in a match that has as much drama as a screwball comedy.

AEW Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Britt Baker

This would be the one title match standing in the way of likely total heel dominance and I’m not sure how much you would bet on the good guys. Of all of the matches on the card, this one might have the least drama to the whole thing and I’m not sure if there is even a point in suggesting otherwise. I think you know where this is going and that is what is best for all of us.

In a moment that is a very long time coming, Baker finally breaks through the glass ceiling and wins the title here. Shida has held the thing for over a year now and is pretty far past the point of being ready to lose. Baker is one of the best things going in AEW and has been for a long time now. It is time that she claims her destiny and holds the title for a long time, so go with the only logical option here.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Ethan Page/Scorpio Sky

AEW has made a big deal out of this being Sting’s first regular match in five years and that is not exactly drawing me in. Sting and Allin make a fine mentor/student pairing, but I really don’t have any interest in seeing Sting wrestle again. It doesn’t help that the villains have been pretty tacked on, to the point where they feel like bad guys of the month for Sting to beat without breaking a sweat.

That being said, I’ll go with Sky and Page to win here as there is no need for Sting and Allin to beat them. If AEW wants Sky and Page to mean anything, it would be fairly ridiculous to have them beat someone who isn’t going to his status no matter what. Allin should not be taking the fall, but his team should be taking the loss so the two new villains can have something to brag about for a bit.

Casino Battle Royal

Man alive this company loves these gambling themes. I never know what to do with a match like this because there are so many options out there. You could probably bet on one of the favorites but with at least one spot being open, it really could go in multiple directions. The announced lineup looks pretty deep, but that TBA spot has my interest up a little higher.

Based on who is currently announced for the match, I’ll take Christian Cage to win. The rest of the field is mainly a bunch of midcarders, with Cage as the only one I could see (outside of maybe Dustin Rhodes) having a real chance. That being said, I do think there is a possibility of Andrade winning here and there is little reason to have someone of his stature debut if he wasn’t winning the match. So Cage if no Andrade, but Andrade if Andrade.

TNT Title: Miro(c) vs. Lance Archer

Sidenote: just make it the TV Title already. Dynamite is moving over to TBS later this year so just go with the logical move. With that out of the way, this should be a heck of a hoss fight and that is all they have advertised it as being. Miro has come a very long way in a short amount of time as getting rid of Kip Sabian and all of the gaming stuff has worked wonders for him, which should not surprise anyone.

Based on that alone, Miro retains here, as Archer seems to be heading for a split with Jake Roberts. At this point that is the right idea too, as Archer can cover anything Roberts can do for him. Miro is looking like he could be the breakout star around here and that is why he was brought in in the first place. Go with what makes sense here and have Miro retain after a heck of a battle.

Stadium Stampede

This almost has to end the show due to the magnitude and the stakes, as the Inner Circle has to split up if the Pinnacle can beat them. The original version was complete insanity and very memorable, which is what I’m expecting this time around too. The Inner Circle is coming in banged up after Dynamite so the writing is starting to look like it is on the wall here.

I’m going with what should make sense and say Pinnacle wins, though I can’t shake the idea of a fast one being pulled. The Inner Circle has had a great run, but there isn’t much left for them to do. Spitting them up does not mean we can’t see MJF vs. Chris Jericho, so maybe that is where we go for All Out. Either way, the match should be good and insane, which is all you could want from this.

Overall Thoughts

This is a heck of a stacked card and has me more interesting in a show than I have been in a long time. The top of the card is loaded and the rest is not bad at all, meaning we could be in for a pretty awesome night. AEW knows how to set things up but more importantly they know how to deliver on them, which is what I’m counting on here. The show looks great and that excited feeling is always nice to have.

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: April 28, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It is the go home show for Blood & Guts but we also have Double Or Nothing coming up in just over a month. That show certainly could use some build, or at least some matches announced, and there is a good chance we get at least one match announced here. You can probably guess a few of them, but the actual announcements would be a good idea. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page vs. Brian Cage

Page, who apparently got jumped by a high schooler, gets jumped by Cage here. The rest of Team Taz comes in for the beatdown and the Dark Order is here for the save. Page is ready for the match anyway so Cage drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. A toss over the top sends Page crashing onto the concrete, followed by a belly to back drop onto the apron.

Back in and Cage does the curls into the standing fall away slam, followed by the standing moonsault onto knees. Cage is fine enough to hit the apron superplex for two and they head back inside. Page manages to post him but Cage is right back with a powerbomb into a buckle bomb into the Drill Claw for the pin at 5:48.

Rating: C. Well that was surprising. It isn’t a clean loss so it isn’t like this crushes Page’s future or anything, but I’m not sure what this means for Page’s chances to go after the World Title at Double Or Nothing. Cage needed a win like this to get him back on track, though it is kind of a strange way to go. That being said, it’s also the kind of a story that can be adjusted in a hurry so we’ll have to see where it goes.

The Elite is all together in the back of a limo to celebrate Kenny Omega’s Impact World Title. They talk about Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston attacking their trailer last week, but Omega says they will be here every week because they are not afraid. The horn goes off and everyone freaks out, but the driver says it was his fault for hitting a wrong button. Omega says Kingston can fight….Michael Nakazawa tonight.

Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal vs. Young Bucks

Non-title and if the Sydals win, they get a future title shot. If they lose though, they don’t get another shot while the Bucks have the titles. Don Callis is here with the Bucks and then on commentary as the Elite is getting more official. Mike spins out of a wristlock to start but Matt does the same of his own. A legsweep takes Matt Jackson down though but a standing moonsault hits raised knees.

Matt Sydal comes in with an armbar and wraps his leg around Matt Jackson’s head to keep him down. Thankfully Mike comes back in but gets dropkicked down by Matt Jackson as we take a break. Back with Mike and Nick hitting a double clothesline but Matt Jackson switches places with Nick and the referee doesn’t seem to notice. Thankfully he does after Matt Jackson nips up, though he doesn’t actually do anything about it, as Mike hits an enziguri.

Matt Sydal comes in with a brainbuster for two on Matt Jackson before having to escape a Meltzer Driver attempt. A standing corkscrew moonsault gets two on Matt Jackson and a double standing hurricanrana takes the Bucks down. Another hurricanrana pulls Nick off the top but Matt Jackson slips out of a super hurricanrana to send Matt Sydal crashing down. With the referee distracted, Mike gets punched low (ala Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat, which thankfully commentary points out as I wasn’t a fan) and a double superkick puts Matt Sydal on the floor. The BTE Trigger finishes Mike at 10:04.

Rating: C+. Name issues aside, they did the right thing here by not having a bunch of unnecessary drama drawn out over too much time. The Sydals are not the most successful team and it is fine to have them put up a bit of a fight and then lose. It is going to take something special to take the titles from the Bucks and there is no reason to set up the title match that isn’t going to go anywhere.

Post match here is SCU to interrupt. Kazarian talks about how they promised to split up when they lost again but that has not happened yet. They are the #1 contenders and now they are the big threats to the titles. So whenever the Bucks have the guts, SCU will be waiting. Simple and to the point here.

Jade Cargill knows that everyone wants to manage her but she is her own boss. And “that b****”.

Orange Cassidy vs. Penta El Cero Miedo

Orange breaks up the Cero Miedo shout but Penta won’t let him put his hands in the pockets. They do the gestures again as I’m wondering why no one is, you know, hitting the other. Penta throws the glove to the translator and does Cero Miedo for the third time. Cassidy takes the sunglasses off and tosses them to Trent, who doesn’t catch them. The hands go into the pockets and Cassidy does the lazy kicks, followed by an armdrag with his hands in said pockets.

A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker takes Cassidy down and Penta bites his fingers. Cassidy reverses that into a crucifix for two and knocks Penta outside….where he catches a suicide dive into a gorilla press. If that isn’t impressive enough, Penta switches to a one hand version and drops Cassidy onto the apron. Back from a break with Penta chopping in the corner and managing to block the tornado DDT. A brainbuster plants Cassidy for two and the Pentagon Driver gets the same.

Penta can’t snap the arm though as Cassidy tries to get his hands in his pockets. Back up and a Canadian Destroyer drops Cassidy again but he counters the Fear Factor into the Beach Break. Penta’s shoulders aren’t down though so no count, meaning Penta can come back with a superkick. Cassidy shoves him away from the top though and hits a top rope DDT, followed by the very tornado DDT for two. Hold on though as Alex the Translator gets on the mic to say something about Trent’s mom. Cassidy pulls him inside and, after a mic shot, hits a quick Orange Punch to finish Penta at 13:05.

Rating: B-. The opening was a bit annoying but then it went into a heck of a match with the two of them beating on each other rather well. I’m not sure I can get my mind around someone like Penta, who should be a huge star, losing to Cassidy, but at least it had some interference. It helps that they cut off the mom joke too, so we’ll call it a success.

Britt Baker brags about being #1 contender.

Tony Schiavone brings out the Pinnacle and the Inner Circle, who come out flanked by motorcycle riding security guards, for the final push towards Blood & Guts. Shawn Spears yells at Sammy Guevara to start, asking if he is ready for this match. Sammy takes the mic away from him, saying he doesn’t believe Spears. Guevara says he remembers Spears failing over and over again and he’ll fail at Blood & Guts.

FTR calls out Santana and Ortiz, saying that Santana has a new daughter at him. Uncle Dax wants her to know that her daddy isn’t coming back home. The fight is almost on but MJF calls them off so he can talk to Chris Jericho. It was Jericho that caused this company to be founded but next week, it is time for MJF’s family to take the Inner Circle’s place. When MJF is looking down at Jericho’s bloody body, he will thank him for the spot.

Jericho talks about everything he was doing when he was MJF’s age, including jerking the curtain in WCW and working in Mexico. These people have his back, including Jake Hager, who kept him from being assassinated in Abu Dhabi. MJF is going to have to kill him to make him quit, so next week the war is on and MJF is going to be looking up from the only spot he deserves. Intense stuff here, but they probably had one promo too many.

Eddie Kingston vs. Michael Nakazawa

Or not as Kenny Omega comes out for a distraction and Nakazawa hits Kingston in the back with a laptop. That doesn’t work and Kingston takes him out, meaning here is Omega to send out Brandon Cutler. Jon Moxley jumps Cutler and it’s time to Pillmanize Omega’s ankle. Cue Don Callis to say don’t do it and they can have whatever they want. That’s a tag match with Kingston/Moxley vs. Omega/Nakazawa next week. The deal is made and there is no match this week.

Taz is proud of Brian Cage for winning earlier tonight. Christian Cage comes in and says Taz talks a lot but can’t back it up. Taz is going to be right there basking in the glory of everything that his boys do. Christian represents everything Taz wishes he could do and now Christian isn’t going to let Taz leach off of him too. So send the tam one man after another and Christian will teach them the same thing: they would be better off without Taz.

Penelope Ford vs. Kris Statlander

Kip Sabian and Orange Cassidy are here too. It’s a slugout to start with Statlander grabbing a gorilla press to drop her hard. Ford rolls outside and pulls Statlander with her, only to miss some slingshot knees. Back in and Ford gets in a shot to the face, setting up the connecting slingshot knees.

We take a break and come back with Statlander hitting a running elbow in the corner, followed by a knee to the head. Statlander hits the Solar Eclipse (kind of putting herself in a Rocker Dropper and backflipping Ford onto her face) for two but Ford is back with a few shots of his own. The guys get in a fight on the floor and it’s the Big Bang Theory to finish Ford at 7:53.

Rating: C-. Not exactly a classic here but it got Statlander back on her own and that’s a good thing. She has one of the most unique looks in the company and it makes sense to want to give her a spot. I’m not sure if she is going to rise up the card anytime soon, but at least she is doing something here, even with the shenanigans at ringside.

10 talks about how important the TNT Title was to Brodie Lee. Tonight, he is winning it back in Lee’s honor.

Factory vs. Nightmare Family

That would be Nick Commarado/QT Marshall/Aaron Solow vs. Dustin Rhodes/Billy Gunn/Lee Johnson. The Factory comes in on a bus, because of course they do. It’s a brawl to start (because of course it is) and the very taped up Billy Gunn gets run over by Commarado. Dustin comes in and we take an early break.

Back with Dustin taking Marshall down and handing it off to Johnson to take over. Everything breaks down with Johnson cleaning house, setting up a bit corkscrew flip dive to take the Factory down on the floor. Hold on though as Nick Ogogo hits Billy and Johnson in the ribs. Back in and Marshall steals the pin on Johnson at 6:36.

Rating: C-. This match did a nice job of making Commarado seem like a beast and that’s about it. The rest of the people involved just aren’t very interesting and Marshall having a stable still feels weird. It makes sense from a creative standpoint, but it’s hard to find interest in a guy who is best known as being Cody’s friend. The action was fine, but seeing another group battle is a little tiring.

Post match Commarado cleans house with the cowbell but the Gunn Club runs in for the save. The brawl is on and Marshall bails from the bus, where you can see Cody Rhodes’ blond hair waiting. Cody breaks out of the door and they head up top, with Cody slapping on the Figure Four as Aubrey Edwards, who is there for some reason, tells him to stop. All well and good, but please stop trying to make me care about Marshall as a thing. It’s not working, no matter how much of a bus he has.

Kip Sabian runs into Miro, who annihilates him, including some choking with a chain and slamming his wrist in a door.

Here’s what’s coming in the next few weeks, including New Japan’s Yugi Nagata challenging Jon Moxley for the New Japan US Title on May 12.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. 10

Allin is defending and has Sting with him to counter the Dark Order. 10 powers him around to start, including spinning a headlock into a backbreaker. Darby’s chop block doesn’t do much as 10 throws him down again and we take a break. Back with 10 hitting a gutbuster but getting pulled into a Fujiwara armbar.

Allin cranks back on the fingers but 10 manages to send him outside. A drive sends Allin into the barricade and it’s time for Sting and the Dark Order to yell at each other. Cue Ethan Page to post Allin, allowing 10 to hit a slingshot wheelbarrow suplex for two. The full nelson goes on but Allin climbs the ropes and flips backward to retain at 12:08.

Rating: C+. Allin continues his roll and 10 did well in the Brodie Lee tribute match, which worked out fine for a main event that wasn’t quite as big as some of the others. Sting still feels a little weird as a manager but at least he served the purpose of evening things out here a bit. You can probably pencil in Page as the next challenger, which would at least give him something to do other than sit and watch.

Post match Allin holds up the Brodie armband in a nice moment but here is Page again. The distraction lets Scorpio Sky chop block Sting and put him in a heel hook while Allin has to watch. Lance Archer makes the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There was a lot, like a whole lot, on here and that was both a good and a bad thing. The good part is they set up a lot more for next week’s big show, which was looking like a one match card coming in here. It is great to see that there is going to be more next time for the sake of the main event not being an hour long, though that brings us to the down side.

This show was exhausting, with one thing after another happening, often in the same segment. AEW needs to work on its pacing, because it feels like a month’s worth of stuff is being crammed into every week. Nothing has a chance to sink in because it’s a match and then and angle or two in the aftermath probably twice a week. Just let things slow down and breathe a bit because this is getting tiring to watch. The show is still entertaining, but at some point people just get a little worn out for no necessary reason.

Overall, the show was fun and kept my attention, with a lot of people getting some focus that they usually wouldn’t. Granted that might be due to the President’s speech to Congress tonight, and is so that is the right move. People are more likely to be watching that so why bother wasting material? They still need to cool it a bit with having so much on the show, but it was still pretty good stuff.

Results

Brian Cage b. Hangman Page – Drill Claw

Young Bucks b. Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal – BTE Trigger to Mike

Orange Cassidy b. Penta El Cero Miedo – Orange Punch

Kris Stalander b. Penelope Ford – Big Bang Theory

Factory b. Nightmare Family – Punch to Johnson’s ribs

Darby Allin b. 10 – Rollup out of the corner

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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Violence X Suffering: Lucid Dreams
Date: April 9, 2021
Location: Cuban Club, Ybor City, Florida
Commentators: Various

We’re back with another midnight show from GCW’s the Collective and that could mean a lot of things. I don’t know anything about this promotion or anything about this show, so as usual I’m coming in blind. That is kind of the point of a show like this, but hopefully they aren’t on until almost 3am again. Let’s get to it.

So the show is delayed due to the prior event running long and did not start until 1am.

Opening sequence.

Nick Gage says this is Violence X Suffering motherf*****.

The ring announcer screams and swears a lot. Oh yeah this is going to be a really long night. This goes on for a good bit as he keeps wanting us to be louder.

Here’s Rich Swann, whose entrance takes a good while because he gets in a lot of dancing. Then a fan calls him a fake Kofi, earning him a “F*** THIS GUY” from Swann. Apparently Tony Deppen isn’t here tonight so Swann is substituting, meaning it’s open challenge time.

Rich Swann vs. KTB

The much larger KTB grabs a waistlock to start but Swann slips out, only to be taken to the mat in an Oklahoma roll. That makes Swann look up at KTB as commentary keeps making music reference. Swann is back up with a dropkick into a hurricanrana for two but KTB is back with a chop in the corner. A running shoulder into a falling headbutt to the ribs gets two on Swann.

Some strikes to the face have KTB rocked but Swann dives into a spinebuster for two. We hit the chinlock but Swann fights up and nails a quick dropkick. The middle rope 450 gets two on KTB but Swann has to pull himself up. KTB catches him off the top for two more so Swann busts out the Lethal Injection for two. The frog splash gets the same so KTB gets up and drops him again, setting up a Lionsault for two of his own. Swann has had it with this and enziguris him down, setting up the middle rope Phoenix splash for the pin at 11:30.

Rating: C+. This was about as they could have done under the circumstances. It wouldn’t surprise me if the promotion found out that Deppen couldn’t be there and they just found whomever they could to fill in. Swann is a talented enough name with enough star power to make something like this work so they did everything they could and the match wound up working.

Respect is shown post match and we pause to sanitize the ropes.

Someone named Masa Slamavich is at ringside and doesn’t seem to be on the schedule.

AJ Gray vs. Daniel Garcia

Pure Rules, meaning three rope breaks, only one closed fist to the face and a much more technical focus. Both of them have seconds as well. They go with the grappling to start with the bigger Gray taking him down without much trouble. Back up and Gray’s shoulder doesn’t do much good so Garcia takes him down into a leglock. Gray reverses that into some kind of a weird Figure Four variation to put Garcia in trouble.

Garcia uses a rope break so Gray is right back with a very big backsplash to crush him again. They get up again and Garcia goes for the leg again, meaning Gray needs his own rope this time around. Garcia slaps on a front facelock and switches into a bodyscissors, meaning Gray needs another rope break. The chinlock goes on but Gray isn’t having this and powers up for a heck of a Death Valley Driver to drop Garcia.

A pair of powerbombs plants Garcia twice in a row but somehow he is back up with a Shining Wizard. Garcia grabs a Crossface and Gray’s escape means he is out of rope breaks. Back up and Gray smashes him with a lariat so Robert Martyr, Garcia’s second, puts Garcia’s hand on the rope. With that broken up, Gray grabs an STF and Garcia is in trouble. Martyr gets creative by pulling the rope back so it smacks Gray in the face (not a DQ because reasons) to stun him fairly well. The Sharpshooter, with Garcia leaning all the way back and pulling on the leg, makes Gray tap at 13:09.

Rating: C. This was a much more technical match and it was only so interesting in the first place. I’ve seen a few Garcia matches this weekend and they aren’t the most thrilling things. He is rather skilled with the technical stuff but he isn’t exactly interesting. It’s another case of someone just kind of being there and that doesn’t keep much attention. Gray is a hard hitter who can grapple and has some good charisma, which is a nice combination.

Post match Garcia doesn’t let go so Gray’s second comes in, earning a Sharpshooter of his own as Garcia isn’t seeming that nice. Martyr yells at Garcia, earning himself a piledriver and a Sharpshooter of his own. Masa Slamavich comes in and tells Garcia to hit her so Garcia tries, only to have to bail from a quick piledriver attempt.

KC Navarro/Marcus Mathers/Andy Brown/Ninja Mack/MV Young vs. TJ Crawford/Gabriel Sky/Ken Broadway/Myron Reed/Dante Leon

Elimination rules. It’s a big brawl to start with Ninja Mack hitting a big corkscrew dive off the top and back to back big flip dives off the middle/top ropes. Leon is back up with a reverse Spanish Fly off the middle rope to plant Mack. Sky and Navarro fight off to the side as no one is in the ring. They start throwing stuff at each other and you can barely see what is going on. Sky climbs onto a wall and flip dives onto everyone.

People keep walking around in the dark and hey we bother going back to the ring where Young powerbombs Sky into a half crab. That’s broken up and Sky hits a running knee to the side of the head. Young spears him out of the air for two as you can hear a fan explaining who the wrestlers are. Sky hits a top rope double stomp to get rid of Young at 7:47. Brown comes in and gets caught with an enziguri but someone crotches Sky on top. An AA into a Backstabber gets rid of Sky at 8:52.

A package piledriver gets rid of Leon at 9:45 so here’s Broadway to strike away at Brown. Broadway muscles him up with a German suplex and a bridging German suplex finishes Brown at 10:39. Navarro comes in and small packages Broadway for the pin at 11:04. Crawford grabs a sitout powerbomb on Navarro and a distraction sets up a brainbuster to pin Navarro at 12:34.

Mathers and Mack come in to kick away at Crawford with Mathers being sent outside in a hurry. Crawford hits a running kick in the corner and backdrops Mack out to the floor. Back in and Mack kicks him in the head but the middle rope Phoenix splash hits raised knees to give Crawford the pin at 15:23. I believe we’re down to Mathers vs. Crawford/Reed so Crawford hits a double underhook faceplant (think a double underhook Dominator) to drop Matters.

They fight to the apron with Mathers hitting a piledriver and Crawford is right back up in about ten seconds. Mathers gives him a low superkick and a flip DDT gets rid of Crawford at 18:40 and we’re down to Mathers vs. Reed. They slug it out and Mathers hits another flip DDT for two. Reed is sent outside but catches a dive and hits his hanging F5 off the apron onto the concrete. Back in and an Air Raid Crash finishes Mathers at 20:59.

Rating: D. The action was fine but commentary was perhaps the worst that I have ever heard. It wasn’t even commentary as much as one guy (the second was fine) did nothing but shout over and over again, probably screaming EAT THAT about 30 times, including after every single big move. This already isn’t my style of wrestling and then everything else about it is driving me crazy. They had a 20+ minute spot fest with the first ten minutes being spent walking around in darkness. The match itself was acceptable but my goodness commentary was a nightmare.

Brian Cage vs. Chris Dickinson

Well the star power just went up. Dickinson looks like he can barely walk due to some kind of a leg injury but he slugs away anyway. Cage is right back with a powerbomb and Dickinson is in trouble early. We go intelligent with the Indian Deathlock to stay on the leg but Dickinson crawls to the floor.

Cage follows him outside and hammers away as he is getting to pick his spots here. Dickinson is busted open and commentary starts making fun of his mom’s accent. Back in and Cage works on the leg again but Dickinson fights up and strikes away. A belly to back suplex sends Cage flying and they fight outside again with Dickinson hitting him in the ribs with a door. Back in and Dickinson manages a missile dropkick into a nip up but Cage is right back with a sitout powerbomb.

Dickinson knocks him down again and hits a running kick to the chest, followed by a delayed vertical suplex for two. Cage is right back with a shot to the knee though and the Figure Four goes on. That’s turned over so Cage blasts him with a clothesline, only to get caught in a dragon screw legwhip. Dickinson grabs his own Figure Four but Cage powers out of that as well. Cage runs him over and grabs another Figure Four for the tap at 14:42.

Rating: C. Who would have bet on some psychology in something like this? Granted when you have Dickinson barely able to walk to start it isn’t that hard to figure out, but this wasn’t what I would have expected. Nice stuff here, though it went longer than it needed to, especially given the injury and this time of night.

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Eli Everfly

This is Lucha Rules meaning….well I guess we’ll find out. Scorpio laughs at the smaller Everfly and dances a bit at the bell. Everfly is driven into the corner but comes out with a wristlock, which sends Everfly down without much effort. The armbar has Everfly in more trouble but he’s back up with a chop and a very springboardy headscissors.

Scorpio isn’t having this and hits a quick wheelbarrow German suplex to send him flying. A big clothesline drops Everfly again but he gets up top. That doesn’t work for Scorpio, as his fall away slam sends Everfly sailing. The half crab goes on but Everfly eventually slips out as commentary continues its worship of Scorpio, now trying to get him on Wrestlemania. Back up and a wheelbarrow Stunner gets two on Scorpio and Everfly kicks him to the floor.

One heck of a top rope moonsault takes Scorpio down again, even if Everfly’s legs hit him in the head. Back in and Everfly hits a top rope cutter for two more and they’re both down again. A running clothesline drops Scorpio again and a sunset flip is good for the same. Scorpio hits something like a Pele into the Tumbleweed for the pin at 11:54.

Rating: C+. The ending was a bit flat but they did a nice job of telling the story of Scorpio not taking him seriously enough and almost getting caught. Everfly can do all of the flips and you are only going to be able to get so far at that size. The story and action were good though and I can always go for some more of Scorpio.

Jordan Oliver vs. Jimmy Lloyd

This is billed as Ace vs. Ace. Oliver slaps him in the face to start and they get into the brawl. Lloyd gets driven into the corner for the chops and a running spinwheel kick makes it worse. Another shot sends Oliver outside but his suicide dive is cut off by a chair to the head. That puts Lloyd down and egads there is a lot of broken glass under there. Egads that’s from Spring Break that I’m watching later isn’t it? Back in and Oliver hits him with some chair shots to the head for two but Lloyd, now bleeding, gets in a few shots of his own.

Oliver sends him face first into a chair in the corner as commentary goes onto a rant about how worthless referees are. The turnbuckle pad comes off but Oliver is sent into it instead, drawing more blood. Lloyd sends him into a chair but Oliver is back with a series of strikes to put both of them down. Commentary can’t remember Oliver’s name, even as they knock each other down again. Oliver hits a German suplex but Lloyd is back with a pumphandle driver for two as one person tries the THIS IS AWESOME chant.

It’s time to bring in a third chair so Oliver uses the distraction to grab a German suplex for two more. A clothesline gives Oliver another near fall and it’s time to adjust the chairs. They get on the chairs until Lloyd piledrives him through the chairs for two. Well of course that’s only two. Oliver is back with a double underhook piledriver for a near fall of his own. With nothing else working, Oliver goes up for his super cutter but Lloyd hits him low for the pin at 14:44.

Rating: D+. This was another one those matches where they do a spot, then sit around, then do a spot, then set up some kind of a weapon spot, then do a spot, then we finally get to the point. Throw in the commentary being able to do very little that swear a lot and say EAT THAT and it was quite the long sit. Oliver is getting better in the ring in MLW, but Lloyd felt like one of those not so great hardcore guys and that made for a messy match.

They brawl to the back.

JTG vs. Dr. Cube

No DQ. Cube is a guy with a cube for a head from Kaiju Big Battel. JTG dives onto Cube and his people to start, with Cube losing his cube (as in the box around his head) early on. A powerslam gives JTG two with one of Cube’s lackeys making the save. Cube slaps away and whips JTG into the corner, where the turnbuckle pad falls off. JTG gets sent outside so the goons can stomp on him so he powerbombs one onto the rest of them.

Back in and Cube hits a top rope knee to the back of the head for two and commentary keeps swearing about how bad the referees are. Cube’s goons come in again and set up a bunch of tables and doors, with a double chokeslam putting JTG through one such door. One of the goons hits a twisting shooting star to give Cube two. Now the goons bring in the light tubes to break over JTG’s back and he is cut BADLY. My eyes jumped up at how much blood was on his back but he comes back to clean house.

A double light tube shot to the back hits Cube but it’s time for the goons to come back in and beat JTG down again. Cube grabs the mic and gets in a shouting match with commentary…..and it’s freaking Big Cass coming in for the save. Cass cleans house and leaves JTG with Cube, who pours out thumbtacks. JTG hits him low and powerbombs him into the tacks, followed by a second for a bonus. A running Razor’s Edge into a powerbomb (close enough) finishes Cube at 14:04.

Rating: F. Nope. As amazing as JTG’s transformation is, this is every stupid hardcore trope that gives indy wrestling a bad reputation (whether it is deserved or not). Throw in the same EAT THAT commentary guy and the other one who wouldn’t shut up about how much he hated everything and this was about as irritating as it could have been. Just get on with the show already, and stop with the horrible commentary, please.

And now, a Lio Rush music video. Or at least part of one.

Low Ki vs. Lio Rush

I’m not big on either of them, but at least we should be in for a heck of an upgrade after the previous match. Feeling out process to start but the pace picks up in a hurry with Rush doing his running dodges. A kick to the face puts Rush on the floor and he needs a breather. Back in and a test of strength goes to Ki, who kicks him into the corner and hammers away. Ki suplexes him down for two but Rush fights back up as commentary says this is the White Ranger (Rush) vs. a bus boy (not Rush).

Rush’s comeback is cut off and Ki grabs a chinlock to keep him down. Back up and Rush slides into the corner to counter a whip as commentary (apparently Joey Janela of all people) starts singing. A handspring elbow drops Ki and a hurricanrana gives Rush two. Rush loses his shirt and a Falcon Arrow gets two on Ki as Janela talks about liking veal.

They go up top with Rush snapping off a super hurricanrana but Ki rolls through into a double stomp. Commentary talks about eggplant as Rush fights out of the Ki Crusher. Rush hits a hard DDT for two but misses Rush Hour. Ki gets up top for the double stomp and the pin at 10:09.

Rating: C. Yeah this was fine. It was late and they were rushing around, but it’s not like it mattered at this point. Granted when commentary is ignoring the match to talk about anything else that comes to mind, there isn’t much that the wrestlers can do no matter what. Completely acceptable wrestling and that’s all it needed to be to be an upgrade.

Overall Rating: D+. There were good parts to this, but the bad outweigh the good so badly that it completely ruins anything positive that could come out of the show. Ignoring the extreme/hardcore nonsense and commentary completely ruining more than one match, it just wasn’t that good in several parts. You really can tell the difference in the talent levels though, as the bigger name wrestlers were on a different planet in almost every possible way. There are worse shows, but the bad stuff is some of the stuff I can’t stand the most on this kind of show.

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.

Dynamite
Date: January 13, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

Things continue to pick up around here as we have the second week of New Year’s Smash. This time around we are going to be seeing the TNT Title on the line as Brian Cage challenges Darby Allin, meaning a Sting appearance is certainly not out of the question. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Quick look at Death Triangle vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher/Blade.

Pac vs. Eddie Kingston

Pac starts fast by sending Kingston to the floor for the dive. They head back inside with Pac hitting a pump kick, followed by a missile dropkick to put Kingston into the corner. Some knees to the head rock Kingston again but he’s back with a middle rope knee to the back of the head. Allie gets in some eye raking from the floor and Kingston adds a t-bone suplex. Back in and a neckbreaker gets one before Pac’s head is driven into the mat.

Some chops in the corner let Kingston pull on Pac’s ear but he snaps off a German suplex for a breather. Back up and Kingston hits an enziguri into a Saito suplex for two. Pac gets in his own kick to the head that makes Kingston look straight into the camera, setting up the top rope superplex for his own near fall. Another kick drops Kingston and the Black Arrow finishes for Pac at 9:39.

Rating: B-. This was about two guys beating each other up and that’s all it needed to be. They had a good brawl and I could go for watching the two of them talk or fight. I’m not sure how big of a star that Kingston is going to become on his own, but the sky really seems to be the limit for Pac. This is all building towards the big gang brawl though and that should be awesome.

Post match the big brawl is teased but Lance Archer comes in to chase off Kingston and company.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Chuck Taylor vs. Miro

Orange Cassidy and Kip Sabian (with a Trent cutout) are at ringside and if Miro wins, Chuck is his butler until the wedding in three weeks. Miro starts fast and knocks him outside but Chuck gets in a whip into the barricade for a breather. Sabian jumps Cassidy but gets superkicked by Chuck. That’s enough of a distraction for Miro to get in a leg lariat, followed by the jumping superkick. Game Over finishes Chuck at 3:26.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but they only had a few minutes and the ending was designed to set up the angle going forward instead. Miro wrecking Chuck is the right way to go as he needs a few wins and the butler stuff could be funny. If nothing else, Miro needed the wins after a few months of doing nothing of note so this could be an upgrade.

Matt Hardy speaks for Private Party, who he insists are great. The team isn’t all that thrilled with part of their contracts but Hardy says they should have read them better. He is the only person here who cares about Private Party and the sooner they learn that, the happier they will be. So when he says jump, they say how high. NOW GET OUT OF HERE.

Here’s the Inner Circle and, after the required Judas chorus from the fans, and a break, it’s time to hear about their new year’s resolutions. Jake Hager wants championships, MJF wants to strengthen their bonds and get rid of the fat people and Ortiz wants to learn one of his grandmother’s recipes. Jericho loves all of those ideas and thinks this is the year he and MJF win the Tag Team Titles. That’s not cool with Santana, because he and Ortiz are the Inner Circle’s tag team.

Sammy Guevara sees what is going on here: Jericho is a tag team sl**! Jericho has teamed with Santana, Hager, he and Sammy were Le Sex Gods. Is he going to team with Snoop Dogg next? Jericho: “…..MAYBE!” Jericho thinks we should have Jericho/MJF vs. Santana/Ortiz vs. Sammy/Hager to determine the OFFICIAL tag team of the Inner Circle. Hager: “CHAMPIONSHIPS! YEAH!” Jericho: “Sammy and Hager. That’s funny.” Sammy: “Why is that funny?” The team poses and everything seems cool.

The Dark Order talks about how important the Brodie Lee tribute was for the team. Everything the team does will be in his name, and next week it starts with Hangman Page teaming with the Dark Order. Page, with his glass, staggers in so everyone can show their appreciation. Maybe after the match, he can let them know if he’s going to join! Page agrees and leaves, with the team celebrating his joining in advance. It turns out that Page only took about a step….and we go to a break anyway.

Video on Taz and the construction of Team Taz, setting up the title match against Darby Allin later tonight. Sting joining in to seemingly mentor Allin might even the odds a bit though.

Kenny Omega, Don Callis and the Young Bucks are fired up and have all the titles.

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs. Varsity Blonds/Danny Limelight

Callis handles Omega’s entrance. Actually hold on as he also introduces Omega’s real partners for the evening: the Good Brothers, which doesn’t sit well with the Bucks or Tony Khan in the back.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Varsity Blonds/Danny Limelight

It’s a brawl to start with Omega and the Brothers cleaning house. Everything breaks down though and Limelight kicks away at Omega, with the Blonds clotheslining the Brothers outside. The Kitaro Crusher drops Limelight though and it’s Anderson coming in for a hard whip into the corner.

Back from a break with Limelight still in trouble but managing a hurricanrana out of the corner. Omega cuts him off but Limelight gets over for the hot tag to Pillman. Air Pillman hits Anderson and it’s a Blockbuster/spinebuster combination for two. Omega grabs a neckbreaker for two and Anderson hits a big boot for two. Limelight tries to run the corner but gets caught in a spinebuster. The Magic Killer is good for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C. I’m not sure it needed to be this long for what they were doing, but at least Omega and company didn’t get in that much trouble. Maybe the Bucks vs. Good Brothers deal can set something up in the future, which would be better than paying another tribute to the good old days in New Japan.

It’s time for the Waiting Room with Dr. Britt Baker. After a quick intro dance with Rebel, Britt convinces the fans that they have a gift underneath their chairs. Her guest tonight is Cody Rhodes, who needs to pick his best friend already. Just make one good choice, unlike the one on your neck. This brings in Cody, in a green jacket and with some Gillberg sparklers during the entrance (Britt: “All contractual obligations met. We’ve got the pyro.”).

Britt congratulates Cody on his upcoming baby, who will have an action figure before her. Cody can’t talk before Baker cuts him off with a surprise guest. That would be Jade Cargill, who says no one cares about Brandi being pregnant. She and Shaq are tired of waiting though, because Jade needs an opponent. She shoves Cody so here’s Red Velvet to hit a heck of a slap.

Jade gives her one back and the fight is on, with the fans breaking it up. Velvet is taken outside and we cut to a video of Britt and Rebel attacking Thunder Rosa a few weeks back. Rosa pops up to say Britt her has show because she likes to put her big nose in people’s business. Some Spanish ranting sets up the announcement of Baker vs. Rosa on February 3 at Beach Break. Baker yells a lot because Khan said they didn’t have to wrestle. Cody never said a word other than shouting for help to break up the brawl.

Jurassic Express vs. FTR

Marko Stunt/Jungle Boy for the Express here and Luchasaurus and Tully Blanchard are here too. Marko and Cash start things off but it’s off to Dax to drive him into the corner. A slap from Marko earns him a beating in the corner and Wheeler comes back in for the same. Marko’s moonsault out of the corner is countered and a dropkick seems to mostly miss. Boy comes in and everything breaks down with Boy monkey flipping Stunt into a hurricanrana to Harwood.

Stunt’s suicide dive hits FTR and Boy adds his own dive as we take a break. Back with Wheeler hitting a spinebuster for two on Stunt and then grabbing a Gory Stretch. Stunt wiggles his way out for two off a sunset flip before rolling away from Dax for the tag off to Boy. House is cleaned with some clotheslines into a Backstabber for two on Harwood, followed by a super hurricanrana for the same.

There’s a superkick before Boy throws Stunt onto Harwood for two more. Sliced Bread is countered with a toss and a hard lariat drops Stunt again. A low blow gets Stunt out of trouble though and now a Dudley Dog can connect for another near fall. Tully posts Marko though, earning him a glare from Boy. Wheeler sends Boy into the barricade for his efforts though and it’s the Big Rig (Goodnight Express’ new name) for the pin at 12:25.

Rating: C. It was a little much to believe that it took FTR over twelve minutes and Tully’s help to beat Stunt but at least the ending was exactly as it should have gone. The match was pretty boring stuff for the most part, but at least they didn’t do something crazy like have FTR lose here. Just get them back to something important now.

NWA Women’s Title: Tay Conti vs. Serena Deeb

Deeb is defending and Conti has Anna Jay with her. Feeling out process to start with Deeb taking her down for an early rollup. Conti goes for the leg to set up a heel hook, which is reversed into a chinlock. That’s broken up as well so Conti pump kicks her out to the floor. Back from a break with Conti hitting a full nelson spun into a Stunner for two but getting caught in a Stretch Muffler. Deeb switches to take her up top for a Gory Special using the ropes for extra leverage. Conti can’t get a Gory Bomb so Deeb reverses into a pancake (the Deebtox) to retain at 9:07.

Rating: C+. They were flying through this and that held things back a bit. Deeb continues to be great though and Conti is improving as well so this was hardly a rough watch. It wouldn’t hurt to slow things down a bit though, which would be the case in almost any match around here. I’m still not sure why this company needs two Women’s Titles, but at least this one is much more of a featured attraction than anything else.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

TNT Title: Brian Cage vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending, Team Taz is at ringside and Taz is on commentary. Allin goes straight at Cage and knocks him outside, setting up the suicide dive. Another one is pulled out of the air into a suplex on the floor though, followed by Cage LAUNCHING Allin from the ring through a ringside table. Cage picks Allin (now bleeding) up in a suplex, walks him up the steps and throws him inside for another crash. A release German suplex sends Allin flying and Cage unloads with right hands to the busted open head.

We take a break and come back with Cage hitting an F5 for two, followed by a trio of powerbombs. Another powerbomb sends Allin over the top and onto the ramp but Allin says bring it. The apron superplex gets one and Cage is livid. Cage loads up the steps at ringside but an F5 from the apron to the floor is escaped. Instead Allin bites the fingers to knock Cage onto the steps, setting up the Coffin Drop onto Cage onto the steps (Taz: “That’s not good.”).

They get back in with Allin hitting the flipping Stunner and using his belt to tie Cage’s legs together. A Code Red gives Allin two and there’s a middle rope stomp. Hook’s distraction lets Ricky Starks crotch Allin but here’s Sting with the baseball bat shot to Starks’ throat. The super crucifix retains Allin’s title at 12:39.

Rating: B. This took time to get going but I got into the underdog comeback story near the end. They might have gone a step too far with Allin surviving everything but I don’t think it ever went too far into being ridiculous. Allin is one of the best underdogs/survivors around and while the Sting/Team Taz stuff was far from a surprise, they did it as by the numbers (which isn’t a bad thing) as possible here. Good main event with a near Brock Lesnar smashing a mortal style story.

Post match everyone stares to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was good and there was enough solid stuff in the middle to hold things up but this wasn’t their strongest show. It felt like they were setting up things for later, which is something you have to do, but it doesn’t make for a great evening. What we got worked well though and it seems they’re building to Beach Break in three weeks.

Results

Pac b. Eddie Kingston – Black Arrow

Miro b. Chuck Taylor – Game Over

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Danny Limelight/Varsity Blonds – Magic Killer to Limelight

FTR b. Jurassic Express – Big Rig to Stunt

Serena Deeb b. Tay Conti – Deebtox

Darby Allin b. Brian Cage – Super crucifix

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

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

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