Dynamite
Date: October 27, 2021
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re closing out October and that means Full Gear is coming up next month. Most of the card is either already booked or pretty obvious (Tony Khan’s notebook is available if you need some pointers) but we still need to fill in some gaps. As for tonight, it’s CM Punk’s in-ring Dynamite debut against Bobby Fish. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

CM Punk vs. Bobby Fish

It’s Fish’s birthday and Punk’s birthday was yesterday for a bit of trivia. JR says Fish is an 18 year veteran so he won’t be blown out of the water. Always good for a Fish. Feeling out process to start with Fish going after the leg and pulling him down into a chinlock. Punk fights up and fires off knees in the corner, setting up the slow motion slams, which he has somehow turned into a thing.

Fish kicks the leg out again though and scores with a slingshot hilo for two. Punk fights up and sends him outside for the suicide dive. Back up and Fish takes the knee out again though and it’s a running elbow to the jaw back inside. The knee gets spun around a few times and Fish knocks him outside, where Punk fires off some forearms. Fish gets the better of the slugout though and they head back in but Fish’s superplex is broken up.

Punk is back with the (one legged) top rope elbow drop and they’re both down. A swinging neckbreaker rocks Fish and the running knee in the corner makes it even worse. The GTS is countered into a twist of the knee though and Fish hits a running basement clothesline. Fish goes for the leg again but Punk pulls him into a jackknife for two. They slowly bridge up and Punk grabs the GTS with the bad knee. That means a delayed cover for the pin at 13:14 (with Fish kicking out at about 3.01 seconds).

Rating: B. Is it a surprise that this was a good match? You have two people who can work the same style well enough and both guys seem like they want to prove themselves. Fish worked on the knee throughout and the just too late kickout showed how Punk barely won. Solid match with a good story, and that shouldn’t be a surprise.

Malakai Black says that his match with Cody Rhodes wasn’t about a pinfall, because he has divided the Nightmare Family.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Bryce Donovan

Wardlow and Shawn Spears are here with MJF. The beating is on in a hurry and the Heatseeker finishes Donovan at 34 seconds.

Post match MJF, who isn’t even sweating, says Boston is exactly as he remembers it, which isn’t a good thing. You just got to see him do what he does best: pin shoulders to the mats and bang rats, but he’ll skip the second half, because he’d rather deal with a blender than a Boston woman. The accents are disgusting, and speaking of disgusting, we have Darby Allin. After the Allin chants, MJF explains breaking Allin’s spirit, along with knocking out the creepy papi Sting.

It’s the same ring he used to knock out Hangman Page, so with Allin out of the picture, it’s time to fulfill his destiny. Cue the Sting entrance…..but MJF is just messing with us. Then the lights go out, but this one isn’t him. We see a black and white video of a man in an MJF mask and then Darby Allin beats up a man at what seems to be a concert. Cue Sting with a baseball bat to take out Wardlow and Spears, but MJF gets out. Allin is in the crowd as the Invisible Man, so it’s time for the big beatdown on Wardlow and Spears instead. Allin says cut the music and the challenge is on for Full Gear.

Tony Schiavone tells Britt Baker that since she walked out on a match with Abadon on the Chris Jericho Cruise, she has to face Abadon in a Trick Or Treat match on Rampage. The treat is that if Abadon wins, she gets a future title shot and the trick is that it’s No DQ. Baker isn’t happy, but she has some tricks of her own.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Ethan Page

Guevara is defending and if he wins, he gets to pick the rest of American Top Team in the big tag match at Full Gear. If he loses though, he loses the title and is out of the Inner Circle. It’s a brawl before the bell and Sammy knees him to the floor, setting up the big flip dive. They head inside for the opening bell with Sammy busting out some more flips into a dropkick to Page. Sammy strikes away and throws Page in the corner for a kick to the back. Page crotches him on top though and Sammy is knocked outside for a crash.

We take a break and come back with Sammy striking away. A springboard cutter into the Spanish Fly gets two on Page, who falls out to the floor. Sammy isn’t about to let him stand out there and hits a shooting star clothesline from the top for the big crash. Back in and Page gets in a shot of his own and heads up top, where he slams Sammy back down (that’s a new one). The super Ego’s Edge is countered into a hurricanrana though and Guevara grabs a jackknife pin to retain at 10:58.

Rating: B-. Guevara is just fun to watch and that is often more than enough to get by. There is something about watching a good high flier flying around rather high and that’s what you get with Guevara. Page is a good opponent as well and they had a nice match with some time, making it a nice title defense.

Post match Page beats Guevara down and Scorpio Sky runs in to help. Cue the Inner Circle (with music and pyro) for the save. After the music plays again, Jericho mocks the Men of the Year and now the ten man tag is going to be a street fight. We’ll pick the American Top Team members next week, but for now, we get some Aerosmith lyrics so Jericho can promise a beating at Full Gear.

Eddie Kingston gets in Bryan Danielson’s face to threaten him for their #1 contenders tournament match. Kingston walks off before Danielson can reply, but Danielson says that’s the Kingston he wants to face. There are so many people who have made it through all of the garbage and keep working hard. Kingston and Jon Moxley are the toughest wrestlers in the world, but on Friday, Danielson is proving that he is the best.

The Lucha Bros accept FTR’s challenge for the Tag Team Title match at Full Gear. Yelling ensues.

TBS Title Tournament First Round: Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb

Rematch from a few weeks ago when Deeb upset Shida, which set up a brawl the next week. Deeb takes her down to start and wraps Shida’s knee around the post. Shida sends her head first into the post though and manages a superplex to bring Deeb back inside for two. We take a break and come back with Shida hammering away to take over. The missile dropkick sets up a delayed vertical suplex for two but Deeb counters a powerbomb. That’s fine with Shida, who snaps off a dragon suplex.

Something like a sitout Dominator gives Shida two and a running knee is good for the same. The Katana is blocked and Deeb is back with a twist of the knee. What looked to be a Figure Four is kicked away to send Deeb outside but she breaks up the springboard off the chair. Since Shida couldn’t possibly do something with a running start but no chair, she uses the steps as a springboard into the missile dropkick instead.

Shida tweaks her own knee though and Deeb puts on something like the Figure Four around the post. Back in and Shida’s knee is fine enough to hit a question mark kick but the running knee is countered into a half crab. An inverted Figure Four sends Shida over to the rope so Deeb grabs the trophy that Shida would have received for her 50th win. Shida kicks it away and picks the trophy up but can’t bring herself to swing. A rake to the eyes lets Deeb roll her up for two but Shida is back with a cradle and the pin at 11:00.

Rating: B. They had me with the drama here as I really wasn’t sure who was going to win. That’s a great sign as Deeb continues to be one of the best wrestlers going today and can work well with just about anyone. I’m not sure if I wouldn’t have gone with Deeb winning here to make her Shida’s Kryptonite, but it’s not like this was a bad call whatsoever.

Post match Deeb snaps and destroys Shida’s knee with the chair, setting up the Serenity Lock.

Since Mike Sydal is injured, Dante Martin will face Matt Sydal instead of the planned tag match. Lio Rush says it just wasn’t the right time so his in-ring debut will be postponed. Rush promises that Matt will learn again at Rampage. Martin continues to look bored.

World Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Jon Moxley vs. 10

Moxley throws him down to start and hits a running forearm to knock him outside. That’s not enough so Moxley bites at his head and sends 10 into the post for a hard crash. Back in and the bloody 10 manages a pump kick, only to get run over again. The Paradigm Shift finishes 10 at 2:02. That’s what it should have been.

Tully Blanchard and FTR have hit the reset button and they are ready to take out the Lucha Bros again.

Here is Cody Rhodes, with Arn Anderson for a chat. Cody talks about how he has heard the booing and ready about it online (even from retired wrestling managers). Last week, he hit Malakai Black with the Cross Rhodes and then a Tiger Driver 98, but he almost did something else (meaning the piledriver). That would have been the easy way to go but he wasn’t going to take that road. Of course you can boo him because it’s easy to boo the guy who signs the checks.

Just remember that he helped build the bank. Cody takes his shoes off and throws them into the crowd so they can know what it’s like to be in them. He has a wife who is way too hot for him, a brother who is better in this ring than he is, and a father whose legacy he could never match, even if he lived to be 300 years old. Cody: “I will not turn.” Cody talks about how much he loves all of these people, everyone in the Nightmare Family, and Arn Anderson, who gets a handshake.

Cue Andrade El Idolo, who says he doesn’t care about the people. Andrade talks about Cody’s stupid choices, including that tattoo. Then Cody got in Andrade’s business and now he can make Cody his little b****. The showdown is on but the lights go out. Cue Malakai Black for the beatdown, including on Arn, but Pac runs in for the save. The villains bail from the threat of the big dive.

Dark Order vs. Super Elite

It’s Stu Grayson/John Silver/Evil Uno/Colt Cabana vs. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks/Adam Cole and yes, the Order is in Halloween costumes. Not to be outdone, the Super Elite are the Ghostbusters (with a personalized theme), complete with a goon as a walking baby and another as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Silver (Bambi) shoves Cole around to start and hits a headbutt. Cowboy Evil Uno comes in but it’s off to Omega, who is wearing a Proton Pack, to hammer on Uno in the corner.

Uno splashes the pack by mistake though and the baby hits a splash. Matt comes in and gets ridden like a horse, setting up a splash from Grayson (Kratos from God of War) and cold spray from Cabana (Brandon Cutler). A quadruple slam plants the Elite and the Order gets in a group pose as we take a break.

Back with Grayson cleaning house and managing to beat up all of the Elite at once. Cabana comes in and gets to clean house with elbows and Flying Apples but Nick finally superkicks him into the corner. That means the tag off to Silver to clean house again, until more superkicks take him down. A group superkick gets two with Uno making the save and getting to beat up the Elite this time.

We hit the parade of strikes to the face until Matt takes out the referee by mistake. Nightfall is broken up and Grayson gets hit low, setting up a triple low blow to take down the rest of the Order. The Proton Packs go on (JR is not having this) and crash into the Order, setting up the TripleBomb (Is that some weird shot at Roman Reigns?) onto the packs.

Cue a horse (who was in the Order’s entrance but left) and the big beatdown is on. The mask comes off and it’s Brandon Cutler, with his mouth taped up. That means Hangman Page is the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (JR: “Let’s have some cowboy shiznit here in Boston!”) and the Dead Eye plants Omega. The Spin Doctor gives Silver the pin on Matt at 13:00.

Rating: B-. I’m really not sure what to think of this. They did a nice job with the surprise from Page and the team did win, but I rolled my eyes fairly hard at another costume/parody deal (though it is the week of Halloween). Omega has not shown the slightest bit or worry coming up on his match with Page and that is taking me out of the whole thing a good bit. It’s nice to see the Dark Order FINALLY win something over these guys, but dang it would be nice to have something played straight for once.

Overall Rating: A-. This is the kind of show that makes Dynamite shine, as they had one awesome match after another. Two things stood out to me here and both of them had me thinking about the glory days of NXT. First of all, commentary does a good job of focusing on things. While they will talk about things coming up or on sale dates for tickets, the majority of their focus is on what is in front of them and that makes things feel so much more important.

Second, they have started having some shorter matches. There was no reason for Moxley vs. 10 to go on long and they didn’t even pretend it would be anything else. They went with logic instead of stretching things out, which was a problem they have had in the past. Both of those helped make the show that much better, and this was a pretty great week.

Results
CM Punk b. Bobby Fish – GTS
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Bryce Donovan – Heatseeker
Sammy Guevara b. Ethan Page – Jackknife cover
Hikaru Shida b. Serena Deeb – Rollup
Jon Moxley b. 10 – Paradigm Shift
Dark Order b. Super Elite – Spin Doctor to Matt Jackson

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: October 23, 2021
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s another tournament focused show as we continue the World Title Eliminator Tournament and begin the TBS Title Tournament. We are also less than a month away from Full Gear and that show is going to need some more attention sooner than later. The card is being set up, but it rarely feels like something that is receiving focus. AEW knows how to pull these things off though so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

World Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Dustin Rhodes

Feeling out process to start with Rhodes seeming to be a bit nervous to go after him. Danielson takes him down by the legs and ties them up in kind of an Indian deathlock. Back up and Rhodes hits the drop down uppercut but gets knocked to the floor, setting up the suicide dive.

Dustin is right back up with a flip dive off the apron and scores with a belly to back suplex for two. Danielson pulls him down by the arm though and it’s a short armscissors, setting up the stomp on the arm. They go up top with a superplex bringing Danielson back down, setting up Dustin’s snap powerslam.

Danielson kicks away in the corner but gets caught with the jumping clothesline. Dustin has to block the LeBell Lock and it’s time for some more kicks. A big one to the chest makes Dustin Hulk Up and it’s a piledriver to plant Danielson for two. Dustin is back up but Danielson slaps on the guillotine to finish at 15:24.

Rating: B. I’m not a big Dustin fan but he was going hard here and the match got a lot better as a result. This was about the old gunslinger taking one more shot but running into the buzzsaw that is Danielson. I don’t know how much reason there was to believe in an upset here, but they absolutely made it interesting on the way there. Very good stuff, with Rhodes pulling his weight and then some.

Kenny Omega and the Elite are ready for the Superkliq to face the Dark Order next week. Omega saw Hangman Page being all tough last week but he knows the man behind the mask. He knows Page’s weaknesses and at Full Gear, it’s going to be COWARD S*** instead of COWBOY S***! The Bucks compliment him on the last line.

FTR brags about winning the AAA Tag Team Titles last week. They have been waiting on the sidelines for over a year now and it is time to complete their return by winning the AEW Tag Team Titles.

Penta El Zero Miedo and Alex Abrahantes swear revenge on FTR for hurting Fenix last week.

FTR says bring it.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for an update on Darby Allin. Before he can say anything though, here is MJF to interrupt. After asking Florida to try and have some class, MJF talks about how Sting needs to tell these people that their little hero is a coward. Sting can paint his face, swing a bat, or even have your leftover stash from the 80s rain down on the, but you can’t fool MJF: Sting isn’t a good guy.

MJF talks about how all of Sting’s fans stick by them and then he leaves them, like he left Lex Luger in a wheelchair. The fight is on and here is the Pinnacle to beat Sting down, despite Sting swinging MJF’s jacket at them. MJF picks up Sting’s head and asks if he has broken Darby Allin’s mind this time. Allin can listen to these people all he wants, but this is what is waiting on him, because MJF is just that much better. The Pinnacle gets ready to leave but MJF hits Sting with the Dynamite Diamond.

Britt Baker isn’t happy with Tay Conti sticking her nose in the title picture. If Conti had worked hard to get to the main event, they could have had a nice title match. Now though, since Conti put her hands on something that didn’t belong to her, Baker is going to kick that a** that Conti loves showing everyone (her words) and keep her title. Baker continues to come off like she believes every word she says and that is why she is one of the best talkers in wrestling today.

TBS Title Tournament First Round: Penelope Ford vs. Ruby Soho

Ford takes her into the corner and starts the stomping but a running boot is blocked. They fight to the apron and slug it out but here is the Bunny for a distraction. That’s enough for Ford to get in a kick to the face and we take a break. Back with Soho striking away for two but missing a charge into the corner. Ford catches her with a jumping cutter for a close two so Soho gives her an STO out of the corner. Another kick to the head rocks Soho though and it’s the fireman’s carry gutbuster for two. Bunny tries to throw in the brass knuckles but the referee sees what’s going on, allowing Soho to grab an O’Connor roll for the pin at 8:30.

Rating: C-. Another not very long match here as Soho doesn’t quite impress. She is a weird case where she has all of the tools on the surface and seems to have a mind for wrestling but for some reason it hasn’t exactly clicked in the ring. Maybe that can be changed with just a few tweaks, but it isn’t working out perfectly.

Post match the Bunny goes after Soho but Red Velvet runs in for the save.

MJF says he sent Darby Allin a message this week but Wardlow interrupts. Wardlow wants to know why MJF shoved him in front of Sting last week. MJF says it was just fight or flight and tries to talk his way out of it. He sees that Wardlow has been working hard and that’s too much pressure. Therefore, he is assigning Shawn Spears (here as well) to be his account-abili-buddy. Wardlow and Spears are confused but MJF has to leave for a meeting. That was a little weird.

Bobby Fish vs. Anthony Greene

Green grabs a rollup for an early two but Fish is right back with the kicks to the knee. A hard suplex sets up a big kick to the head to end Green at 1:48.

Post match Fish kicks Greene down again to turn heel. The beating is on but CM Punk runs in for the save. So Fish vs. Punk? Well if it’s all you have.

Lio Rush still tries to tell Dante Martin that they’re going to be a great team. Martin still isn’t sure but Rush has already gotten them a match against the Sydal Brothers next week. Dante does not look happy.

World Title Eliminator Tournament First Round: Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer

Kingston jumps him in the aisle to start and the brawl is on outside the ring. Archer gets the better of things and pulls a plant over the barricade to slam onto Kingston. A chokeslam off the apron plants said plant onto Kingston and we head inside for the opening bell. Archer chops away but Kingston slips out of the Black Out. The chinlock goes on to put Archer in trouble and we take a break.

Back with Archer choking away in the corner but missing a running shoulder. Instead he gets a boot up to Kingston’s face so Archer tries a moonsault and lands ON THE TOP OF HIS HEAD. Thing stop pretty soon and Archer rolls outside, only to go back in where Kingston rolls him up for the pin at 8:12.

Rating: C. I’m going with right in the middle because I’m a bit shaken up after that landing. It isn’t often that I get scared watching wrestling but seeing a giant like that landing on the top of his head is one way to make it happen. That looked horrible and the best thing to see is that Archer was walking around. Hopefully he is on his way to the hospital though, because that was a scary situation.

Of note: former WWE star Tony Nese was shown in the crowd just after Archer’s crash.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year for a chat. They aren’t impressed by the Inner Circle, because the team has been beaten down time after time. Yeah Jake Hager has an undefeated MMA record but no one has ever seen it. Santana and Ortiz are from the streets, but the Men of the Year treat the streets like a runway. As for Chris Jericho, why is AEW paying him to come to the ring and flirt with Paige Vanzant?

Cue Sammy Guevara to quote Jericho, by asking them to shut the h*** up. Sammy remembers hearing that they had some stipulations so let’s have them. Dan Lambert cuts them off and says that Sammy doesn’t suck on the stick as much as he thought he did. The Inner Circle can have their big team match at Full Gear, but only if Sammy defends the title against Ethan Page next week.

WHEN Sammy loses though, he’s also out of the Inner Circle forever. Sammy says it’s on, but if he wins, he gets to pick the members of American Top Team. That’s a deal, but Scorpio Sky is ready to fight right now. Cue the rest of the Inner Circle to chase the villains off in a hurry.

Jon Moxley knows he is supposed to be talking trash and yelling about how he’s going to take out everyone in the tournament. He’ll be doing that, but right now, all he can think about is his baby daughter. His daughter squeezes his finger (which is a little messed up) for all she’s got and all he can think about is her looking up at him. Winning this tournament will let him do more for her, and it’s time so smash everyone.

The Dark Order is ready for the Superkliq when Hangman Page comes in. Page is sorry for not getting back with them sooner. If they are going back after the Elite, and so close to Halloween, it might be time for some costumes. The Dark Order seems interested, with John Silver mentioning Bambi.

Jungle Boy vs. Brandon Cutler

Jungle sends him outside for an early suicide dive and throws him back in for a backdrop. The Snare Trap finishes Cutler at 1:02.

Post match Jungle Boy says he’s still feeling good and wants another member of the Elite. Since no one comes out, the Snare Trap goes on again so Cole screams for someone to help him. Cue Adam Cole to say we can do this right now but it’s a ruse so the Young Bucks can run in for the beatdown. Jungle gets beaten up the ramp and then throw off the stage through some tables in a huge crash.

Miro wants to know why his God has forsaken him. Now he will hurt everyone in front of him and become the favorite champion again. Therefore he can return to his wife, with blood on his hands, which is on us.

Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes

Black has beaten Rhodes twice before but now Cody is being more serious. Arn Anderson is back with Cody, who charges into the ring and we get the opening bell in a hurry. Cody goes straight for the knee but can’t get the Figure Four. Back up and they strike it out as the fans chant CODY SUCKS. A shot to the knee has Cody in trouble but he knocks Black away for a breather. Cody is right back on the knee and we hit the Figure Four as the fans seem to be paying attention to something else. Black bails to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Black in trouble after Cody hit Cross Rhodes through a table at ringside. Black manages to post Cody and they’re both busted open. The fans want Anderson to GET THE GLOCK as Andrade comes out for a distraction. Anderson cuts off Andrade’s assistant with the spinebuster and here is Pac to take out Andrade. Black mists Anderson but walks into the Cross Rhodes for two (and A LOT of booing).

Back up and Black kicks him down, setting up a bridging German suplex for two. Black Mass connects but Cody falls into the ropes to avoid the cover. Cody is back up and gets backdropped out and onto the apron. Black misses the middle rope moonsault and gets taken down by Cody’s suicide dive. The Cody Cutter drops Black back inside and it’s Cross Rhodes into a double underhook piledriver for the pin at 11:44.

Rating: B-. Is it really a surprise that Cody got his win back here? This whole thing has been a Cody story since the beginning with Black getting in some good shows and moments, but ultimately this was about Cody rediscovering the eye of the tiger. This isn’t the end of Black and this isn’t some horrible moment, but it isn’t something that needed to happen. Black is a potential breakout star and the fans do not seem to like Cody very much. Unless this is leading to something down the road with Cody turning, I’m really not feeling this move.

Overall Rating: B-. This was an interesting one as it certainly didn’t hit the heights that some of their shows did, though there was enough to make it worth watching. What interested me the most here is just how much energy there was to the show and how far it took everything else. The fans were into everything they were seeing here (even if they weren’t happy with Cody at any point) and that is going to make a show so much more fun. AEW might be a lot of things and there are criticisms to be made about it, but they know how to make their fans care about everything they are doing and that is huge.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Dustin Rhodes – Guillotine
Ruby Soho b. Penelope Ford – Rollup
Bobby Fish b. Anthony Greene – Kick to the head
Eddie Kingston b. Lance Archer – Rollup
Jungle Boy b. Brandon Cutler – Snare Trap
Cody Rhodes b. Malakai Black – Tiger Driver 98

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: October 16, 2021
Location: James L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

We’re on a rare Saturday night due to the MLB playoffs and they are going to have a hard time topping what they did last night with Rampage. Tonight we see the brackets for the #1 contenders tournament, as Full Gear is less than a month away. Add in a AAA Tag Team Titles match and we should be good to go. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Guest commentator CM Punk gets his big entrance.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Malakai Black vs. Dante Martin

Lio Rush is here with Black. Some armdrags put Martin down to start but he sends Black outside. It’s too early for a dive though as Black comes back in and elbows him in the face. A powerbomb sets up a half crab to put Martin in trouble but he slips out in a hurry. That earns Martin and STO and shinbreaker, setting up a kneebar. Martin makes the ropes to escape and goes up top, only to have his springboard blocked. A sunset flip gives Martin two and a poisonrana out of the corner staggers Black.

With Black out on the ramp, Martin hits a springboard flip dive (with a bit of a slip) to drop him again. Back in and a double springboard moonsault misses for Martin, setting up a slugout. Black kicks him down and scores with a top rope double stomp, setting up a kick to the head. There’s a hard German suplex to drop Martin hard so he heads up top. That’s broken up with a super hurricanrana but Black is right back with a half crab. Martin escapes again and tries to go up again, only to get caught with Black Mass (Rush is NOT pleased) for the pin at 9:37.

Rating: B. They pulled me into this one as I wasn’t exactly thinking that it was great at the start. That was all changed by the end as these guys were beating the heck out of each other, with one big spot after another. I didn’t buy Martin as possibly winning, but it would have been too much of a stretch to have that take place anyway. Rather good match here as Black continues to prove that WWE was totally wrong about him every single week.

Post match Black goes to leave but stops to nod at Martin in respect.

The Jurassic Express talks about being banged up but the Elite comes in to beat them down. Kenny Omega manages to powerbomb Luchasaurus through the table to show that he can do it.

Here is the Inner Circle, fresh off their loss last night, to quite the reception. Santana isn’t happy about American Top Team, which brings them out with Dan Lambert to brag about their MMA success. Jericho tells us to welcome the “fat faced dip****” and yes the fans chant the name. Jericho accuses Paige Vanzant of having a thing for him, but he wouldn’t touch her with her husband’s genitalia. Punk: “I don’t believe him. I think he would.”

The challenge is on for the ten man tag but Lambert insults the team, including talking about the size of Jake Hager’s head. Lambert is down if the Inner Circle will accept their challenge, but he’ll give them the terms next week. Scorpio Sky says he has pinned Chris Jericho twice, but the fans think he still sucks. Sammy Guevara is ready to fight right now and he’ll see them next week. Vanzant continues to look like a star every time she’s on camera.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Las Super Ranas

The Ranas (the Super Frogs) are two guys in green suits with masks and challenging. Punk: “I don’t know if the Lucha Bros care, but that’s clearly FTR.” We’ll say #1 starts with Fenix, who spins the arm around to start until #1 takes him down and goes for the mask. A victory roll faceplant takes #1 down and everything breaks down, with the Bros going for the masks. Commentary confirms that it’s FTR, mainly due to the lack of flips. The masks come off and FTR clotheslines the Bros down to take over as we go to a break.

Back with Fenix getting dropped ribs first on top but Penta is back in for the brawl. Fenix gets a running start to springboard onto both of them, setting up the Lucha version of What’s Up. Everything breaks down and FTR tries to bring in the belts, only to get kicked down in a hurry. Cue Tully Blanchard (in matching green) for a distraction though, allowing Harwood to belt Fenix out of the air. A brainbuster gives Harwood the pin and the titles at 8:14.

Rating: C+. The frogs deal was weird but points for a surprise title change. FTR getting some gold is certainly a nice thing to see and I could go for another match between these two. The AAA Tag Team Titles have enough meaning for this to be an important win so nice job in a surprise, even if it doesn’t last long. It was also nice for commentary to sound smart, as they weren’t exactly fooled by the disguises.

Lio Rush says Dante Martin failed because he screwed up but Martin can be successful if he just listens. From this point forward, they’re tag partners, though Martin doesn’t seem convinced.

Andrade and FTR celebrate the win. MJF comes in to celebrate with them and gets paid by Andrade, seemingly to rent FTR for the night. MJF’s horrible Spanish is that much better.

Wheeler Yuta vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley jumps him to start, puts Yuta down, and finishes with the Paradigm Shift at 1:11. Well that worked, though Orange Cassidy staring down at Moxley as Yuta is checked on by the medics seems to give us a future.

Serena Deeb beat Hikaru Shida last week but she’s not happy with how the division has been since she went on sabbatical. It was time to drag the division back up but here is Shida to jump her from behind.

Dark Order vs. Superkliq

It’s Evil Uno, Alex Reynolds and John Silver for the team here but the Superkliq jump them before the bell. Silver escapes the TripleBomb (because the Elite is the Shield these days) on the ramp with Reynolds coming in to help out. They get back inside for the opening bell and Cole gets triple dropkicked to the floor. We settle down to Silver having to kick all three of them away but a Don Callis distraction lets Matt kick him down.

Cole cuts off Reynolds’ dive with an enziguri and it’s a double superkick into a brainbuster onto the knee on the floor to drop him again. JR: “You might want to bother counting.” More kicks and shots to the face have Silver in trouble and we take a break. Back with Nick losing a shoe as Silver makes the comeback, allowing the tag to Uno. That means a full on Mr. Socko return, because AEW doesn’t like to put together the most unique stuff. Uno runs wild for a bit until a few more shots cut him (and the crowd) off.

Cole gets Uno in a camel clutch and the Bucks load up the double kiss, but the rest of the Order takes their place for the kiss instead. A double backdrop puts Cole on the floor and the Order gets to pose for a change. Something Evil gets two on Cole as everything breaks down again. The Order is sent outside and get take out by dives, leaving Cole to kick Reynolds down. A rollup gives Reynolds two and he knees Cole in the face for a bonus. The Bucks are back in with superkicks and the Panama Sunrise into the BTE Trigger into the Boom finishes for Cole at 10:48.

Rating: C+. I can forgive the Superkliq for not exactly taking the Dark Order seriously but they ultimately had to put in some effort to win. Cole getting the pin works as well as he continues to pad his resume while the Bucks take a bit of a step back from him. Silver continues to look like a star, though I’m not sure how much of a future he has in this 837 member group.

Post match here is Jungle Boy to go after the Superkliq, who run off because he grabs a chair. Brandon Cutler is left alone to try the cold spray, which is blocked by the chair. The Snare Trap has Cutler in trouble, with Boy adding the spray to Cutler’s eyes. Now see how easy it is to make Jungle Boy look good? Get rid of the freak show and he’s a star. It’s not that hard.

Cody Rhodes appears at his wrestling academy, where his fellow coaches (or maybe students) aren’t happy with him. Arn Anderson puts him through a drill where everyone goes after him one at a time. Cody wants to know what this is supposed to teach him so Anderson pulls out a photo of Dusty Rhodes beating him up back in the day. Arn talks about how Cody never wanted to disappoint kids, but would kids have thought Dusty was bad for busting Arn open that night? Of course not, because Arn had it coming. Malakai Black has it coming too.

Here is MJF to say he is stuck in a place that smells like hookers and gasoline. He doesn’t like not being announced for his match, even though there is no match scheduled. Punk: “You know how I can tell? No Wardlow.” MJF doesn’t think Darby Allin is ready to fight him so maybe he did break Allin mentally. After telling a fat guy to shut up, MJF feigns shock over hearing about Allin being attacked last week. MJF: “TONY SCHIAVONE! DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS???”

MJF is going to give us a match with Allin, so Wardlow brings out a referee to count the ten. The count is on….and here’s Sting to answer. A baseball bat shot to the ribs drops Wardlow and MJF runs into the snow. MJF teases running back in but runs despite Sting dropping the bat, much to commentary’s disgust.

Britt Baker interrupts Anna Jay’s interview and talks about how the Superkliq beat the Dark Order. Anna: “They are not losers!” Baker talks more trash and the fight is on with referees breaking it up in a hurry.

Kiera Hogan vs. Penelope Ford

The Bunny is here with Ford. Hogan grabs a headlock to start as Punk wants to know if there is any relation, though commentary isn’t sure which Hogan he could possibly mean. Tony is right there to bring them back to focus on the TBS Title as Ford misses a running boot in the corner, setting up a takedown to give Hogan two. Ford bulldogs her into the corner to take over again though and we go to a break. Back with Hogan hitting a superplex but not being able to follow up. A sliding kick to the face in the corner rocks Ford for two more but Ford hits a running cutter. The Muta Lock finishes Hogan at 7:53.

Rating: D+. Not the best match here, but neither of these two are exactly known as a ring general. They were both trying but ultimately you’re only going to be able to get so much out of them. Hogan is someone who has potential due to her amazing charisma and it’s clear that AEW sees a lot in Ford. Keeping it short was the right call here, and it’s not like this dragged down the show.

Post match here is Ruby Soho to jump Ford in revenge from last night. The beating is on but the Bunny comes out to….do nothing actually.

Miro isn’t sure what happened that caused him to lose the TNT Title. He thinks his God has turned on him because he was given a body of granite and a neck of sand. Miro will either be a champion or an enemy and it is time to destroy. He hasn’t seen his wife since losing the title and he will not again until he is God’s favorite champion again.

Here is Hangman Page for a chat. Tony Schiavone recaps Page’s feud with Kenny Omega, leaving Page to talk about how the Elite left their home in Ring of Honor in 2019. Their world changed and then he lost his big matches on the way. It felt like he started to lose a bit more, including his confidence. The one thing that it felt like he never lost was the fans chanting COWBOY S***, which means we have to pause for a chant.

That meant taking his shot on day one and learning to let the past live in the past and accept new friends in his life. It meant taking his chance to stick his neck out like his friends did so many times. It means having the guts to go back home for the birth of his son, but last week he finally picked up the phone and took a shot.

Page feels the people still believe in him though, and for the first time in his life, he does too. The promise he can make is that he will give us everything at Full Gear, including COWBOY S***! This was a heck of a promo and it was nice to have Page finally say these things instead of having to figure out the big story for ourselves. It wasn’t hard to figure out, but it’s nice to hear it from the source for a change.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes III and tournament matches.

Bryan Danielson vs. Bobby Fish

Feeling out process to start with Fish’s headlock not working, as Danielson kicks him into the corner. Back up and Fish strikes away, only to get knocked outside. Fish gets posted but is fine enough to cut off the running knee from the apron as we take a break. Back with Fish working on the knee and hitting a sliding lariat for two more.

The half crab goes on but Danielson is back up with a suplex to send Fish flying. Danielson evens things up by wrapping the knee around the post but Fish is back in with a backdrop driver. Fish takes him up top for a super Falcon Arrow and starts tying up the knee. They both get kneebars until Danielson kicks him in the head for the break. A heel hook makes Fish tap at 12:28.

Rating: B. Fish got in a lot here, which is the kind of thing that makes AEW work so well. They know how to make someone look good in defeat, albeit in a match they had no business winning. There is nothing wrong with Fish losing to a much bigger star and Danielson gets a win over someone with some name value. AEW has figured out that formula and that is a great thing to see.

With less than a minute to go in the show, here is the bracket for the #1 contenders tournament:

10
Jon Moxley

Orange Cassidy
Powerhouse Hobbs

Dustin Rhodes
Bryan Danielson

Lance Archer
Eddie Kingston

That’s….interesting. I guess?

Overall Rating: B. Not so great brackets aside, this was another good show from AEW, who don’t seem to know how to had a bad one these days. They throw in at least two exciting matches to keep you hooked and the rest is all gravy. The title change was a nice surprise too, though I’m not completely sure why the frog suits were included. Anyway, another good night here, as AEW is on fire (again).

Results
Malakai Black b. Dante Martin – Black Mass
Las Super Ranas b. Lucha Bros – Brainbuster to Fenix
Jon Moxley b. Wheeler Yuta – Paradigm Shift
Superkliq b. Dark Order – Boom to Reynolds
Penelope Ford b. Kiera Hogan – Muta Lock
Bryan Danielson b. Bobby Fish – Heel hook

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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Rampage
Date: October 15, 2021
Location: James L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Ricky Starks, Taz

This is another special edition of the show as we have a bonus first hour airing on YouTube, which seems to be retaliation for WWE running an extra half hour of Smackdown this week. The bonus hour will feature Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki while the regular show has CM Punk against Matt Sydal. Let’s get to it.

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

Buy-In: Tay Conti vs. Santana Garrett

Anna Jay is here with Conti, who takes Garrett down by the arm to start. Neither of them can hit am armdrag as commentary hypes up the Rampage card, including a commercial free opener. Conti’s leglock has Garrett in more trouble and she kicks Garrett in the face for two. Garrett is sent to the apron but misses a kick to the face, allowing Conti to roll her back inside for two.

There’s a forearm to Conti’s face to stagger her again and a running elbow in the corner makes it worse. Conti fights out of a leglock and a double hair takedown leaves both of them laying. Garrett’s handspring is broken up and Conti kicks her in the face. Some running kicks to the face in the corner rock Garrett again and the DDTay finishes Garrett at 4:47.

Rating: C. They hit/kicked each other hard here and it was a good way to start the show. The fans respond to Conti and Garrett is someone who can make anyone look better than they already are. You can see that Conti is going somewhere sooner than later and a big run towards the TBS Title would not be a surprise.

Video on Dan Lambert/American Top Team/Men of the Year vs. the Inner Circle. This includes various talking heads (and masks, because Excalibur is here too) talking about how Lambert is getting away with everything he says because of the MMA fighters behind him. As a result, we hear about their careers, which sounds more like reading a Wikipedia entry about their careers. Jorge Masvidal joins in and says they’re going to destroy the Inner Circle tonight. They’re ready to prove their dominance again.

Buy-In: Lee Moriarty vs. Bobby Fish

They go to the mat for the grappling to start before going to an early slugout. Moriarty takes him down by the arm but Fish punches his way to freedom. Fish grabs an armbar and drives Moriarty into the corner for some elbows to the face. Moriarty takes him down though and scores with a running kick to the arm. That’s broken up with a drive into the corner into a dragon screw legwhip to put Moriarty down again. Fish kicks him in the knee and gets two off a snap suplex.

Back up and Moriarty goes after the arm to take Fish down again, setting up the double stomp for two. Another comeback doesn’t get Fish very far as Moriarty suplexes him down for another near fall, complete with holding the bad arm. Fish reverses a suplex into a choke and a jumping knee gives him two. An exploder suplex sends Moriarty into the ropes and a big kick to the face finishes for Fish at 7:53.

Rating: B-. Yeah this worked, and it’s great to see Moriarty getting a chance. He really was one of the better indy stars going before he was signed to AEW so they certainly have an eye for talent. On top of that, Bobby Fish getting a chance to shine as a singles star is great as well, even if he might not go very far beyond being a good hand.

Video on Bryan Danielson, who is awesome and impressive, but his toughest test is tonight against Minoru Suzuki.

Buy-In: Bryan Danielson vs. Minoru Suzuki

They fight over arm control to start with Suzuki getting the better of things. The fans say this is wrestling as Danielson can’t get anywhere with an armbar. A snapmare takes Danielson down into a chinlock and he has to go to the ropes to escape a kneebar. Back up and Suzuki (mostly) blocks a dragon screw legwhip and tells Danielson to bring it. The fans do the YES pose and chant SI (ok that’s really clever) as it’s time to trade big shots.

Suzuki stands in the middle of the ring for a kick to the chest and actually gets staggered for a surprise. One heck of a forearm puts Danielson down and he seems to be immediately regretting this decision. Danielson is back up to take Suzuki to the mat for the hammer and anvil elbows. The threat of Cattle Mutilation sends Suzuki bailing to the ropes, where he pulls Danielson into a cross armbreaker.

Suzuki takes him to the floor and strikes away but lets Danielson get back in like a good monster. Danielson’s strikes don’t get him very far as the fans seem split. The armbar goes on, with Danielson getting to the rope as fast as he can. They head outside again with Danielson getting in a shot of his own, setting up the running knee off the apron. Back in and Danielson starts kicking at the chest, which just fires Suzuki up even more.

The SI stomps set up Cattle Mutilation but Suzuki rolls out, leaving Danielson to unload with strikes in the corner. Suzuki kicks him right back down so this time it’s Danielson pulling himself up to a strong reaction. The Fujiwara armbar has Danielson in trouble but he makes the rope again. That’s not cool with Suzuki but Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock. Somehow Suzuki rolls him over into the ropes for the break and they have to pull themselves back up.

Suzuki isn’t even pretending to be scared of Danielson and the big slugout is on. Stereo shots to the face put both of them down to a standing ovation. The delay lets Taz insult any fans who are watching TV at the moment rather than this before they’re back up for another slugout. Suzuki can’t get the sleeper but Danielson can’t get the LeBell Lock again. Back up and the running knee finishes Suzuki at 19:17.

Rating: A-. This was exactly what you would have wanted it to be and it was great stuff. What matters here is having two guys hit each other really hard until one of them couldn’t get up again. That’s all you could have asked for out of the match and Danielson gets a pretty big win over a legend. Suzuki is someone who can take loss after loss and not lose a thing, so this was about as great as it could have been.

Video on CM Punk’s time in AEW so far, because he has that IT factor. Tonight he has Matt Sydal, who is getting this match as a favor from Lio Rush. They know each other well and we see a clip from their first match in 2005, complete with Sydal talking about how Punk followed him to AEW. Everyone knows it’s going to be big, mainly because Punk is going to be involved.

CM Punk vs. Matt Sydal

We open the regular show with an exchange of arm control and an ICE CREAM BARS chant. Punk throws him into the ropes, possibly by the hair, to get out of an armbar and Sydal isn’t pleased. Sydal flips out of a suplex and they’re at another standoff. Punk gets in a slam and the fans chant OTRA VEZ (ONE MORE TIME) but another attempt is countered with a whip into the ropes.

A kick to the face rocks Punk and we hit the chinlock, with Sydal trapping the arms into a cradle for two in a nice move. It’s time to start in on Punk’s knee for kind of a reverse Muta Lock. The GTS and Lightning Spiral are both blocked and Punk gets two off a dropkick. The leg lariat puts Sydal down again but he is back up with a shot to Punk’s face. They head to the apron with Punk hitting a slam to drop Sydal back first for a nasty landing.

Back up and they both go to the top where an exchange of punches send them crashing to the floor. They get back inside, where Sydal hits him in the face for a near fall. Another Lightning Spiral attempt is countered into a neckbreaker to give Punk a breather and they take their time getting up.

Sydal grabs something like a reverse Texas Cloverleaf (like the Billy Goat’s Curse but with a Cloverleaf instead of a Boston crab) before trying to switch to a cobra stretch. That’s reversed into an Anaconda Vice attempt but Sydal is in the ropes in a hurry. A big kick to the head sets up the Lightning Spiral for two and they’re both down off the kickout. Sydal tries a crucifix but Punk counters into the GTS for the pin at 14:48.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match that Punk needs at the moment, as he had to go long to get a good win. It shows that he can still do it against good wrestlers, as Sydal can have a solid match with anyone. It’s easily Sydal’s best match in AEW and Punk broke a serious sweat to get there. Commentary did a nice job throwing in their history with each other to make it even better. Heck of a TV match here.

Respect is shown post match.

The Dark Order is back together and they’re ready for Adam Cole and the Young Bucks.

Bunny vs. Ruby Soho

Ruby goes after the arm to start before getting serious with a knee to the face for one. Bunny avoids a charge in the corner though and hits a dropkick to send Ruby into the buckle for two. Ruby manages to kick her away and goes up, only to get pulled down head first onto the buckle. Bunny’s sliding elbow in the corner rocks Ruby again and we take a break.

Back with Bunny in trouble on the floor thanks to a Downward Spiral. Soho unloads with chops in the corner and pulls her face first into the middle buckle. A running shot to the back of the head gives Ruby two but Bunny is back with a German superplex for two of her own. Down The Rabbit Hole is loaded up but Ruby reverses into a backslide for the pin at 10:43.

Rating: C. Perfectly fine match here with Ruby picking up a win over a high profile enough name. Bunny might not be the best in the ring but she has a presence that makes her feel important. Ruby is still a big deal and looks different enough to stand out, so she should be someone to watch in the TBS Title tournament.

Post match Penelope Ford comes in to help double team Ruby and the brass knuckles knock her silly.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite and next week on Rampage.

We get the split screen interview with Dan Lambert and American Top Team being ready to destroy the Inner Circle. The Inner Circle isn’t scared though and promises that Junior Dos Santos’ grandmother can make him a cake.

Inner Circle vs. Men of the Year/Junior Dos Santos

Dan Lambert and Jorge Masvidal are here with Dos Santos and company, with Lambert wanting a lot more respect. Sammy Guevara starts for the Circle and dropkicks Scorpio Sky down, setting up a quick bow. It’s off to Chris Jericho for a clothesline but Dos Santos comes in, with Jericho trying to punch with him for some reason. This goes very badly for Jericho, who is punched out to the floor in a hurry.

Jake Hager comes in for the showdown with Dos Santos taking him into the corner, only to be powered down as well. Dos Santos knees Hager in the face and the beating is on until Hager knees Sky down. The hot tag brings in Jericho, who goes outside to get into Masvidal’s face. The distraction lets Ethan Page get in a cheap shot from behind to take over as we go to a break. Back with Dos Santos powerslamming Jericho for two and handing it off to Page. An enziguri gets Jericho out of trouble and the hot tag brings Guevara back in.

The double springboard cutter drops Sky and there’s a Spanish Fly to Page. Guevara’s running shooting star press gets two on Sky as everything breaks down. The Lionsault gets two on Skyw ith Page making a save. Everyone else goes to the floor with the fans going nuts off….I think a big Guevara dive that the camera missed. Dos Santos gets Rock Bottomed through a table to put him down with Hager still on top of him. Back inside and Jericho gets Sky in the Walls but Paige Vanzant jumps the barricade for a distraction. Masvidal uses the distraction to hit the running knee on Jericho, giving Sky the pin at 11:27.

Rating: B-. Pretty good brawl here with Dos Santos more than hanging in there despite a lack of experience. This feud seems to have a long way to go and it will get better once the rest of the Inner Circle gets involved. Right now they don’t have much to counter all of the MMA guys, but taking it to the streets might work a little better. For now though, this was a nice win for the villains and the feud should be able to continue at a high level.

Post match the big beatdown is on (including Paige Vanzant taking selfies, because she’s an amazingly natural heel) until Santana and Ortiz run in for the save and clear the rung to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Heck of a night here, even with the extra run time. Having this as a one off two hour special was quite good, though I would hope that they don’t think it should be a regular idea. What we got here was mostly rather good, with Danielson vs. Suzuki being exactly the kind of match this audience would want to see. Punk’s match was good and the main event was a nice match and angle rolled into one. Pretty awesome stuff here and hopefully a good amount of people watched the whole thing.

Results
Tay Conti b. Santana Garrett – DDTay
Bobby Fish b. Lee Moriarty – Kick to the head
Bryan Danielson b. Minoru Suzuki – Running knee
CM Punk b. Matt Sydal – GTS
Ruby Soho b. The Bunny – Backslide
Men of the Year/Junior Dos Santos b. Inner Circle – Running knee to Jericho

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

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

Dynamite
Date: October 6, 2021
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

Believe it or not, there is a big match this week as it’s time for the return of the Casino Ladder Match. That means another Joker entry, which could be a nice surprise. Other than that, we slowly continue on the way to Full Gear, which is going to need some match announcements. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Super Elite vs. Christian Cage/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus/Bryan Danielson

That would be Kenny Omega/Adam Cole/Young Bucks. Jungle springboard armdrags Nick into a dropkick to start and then hands it off to Cage. Some right hands in the corner have Cole in trouble and it’s back to Jungle for a sliding kick to the face. Cole takes over on Jungle though and hands it back to Omega for a springboard elbow to the back. Jungle manages to crotch Nick on top and holds onto Matt’s arm while bouncing on the top to crotch Nick even more.

Danielson comes in to kick and chop away at Matt’s chest, followed by Luchasaurus getting in kicks of his own. Everything breaks down with Jungle missing a slingshot dive to the floor. Brandon Cutler sprays Cage in the eye though and it’s an Indytaker to Cage outside. That’s going to be it for Cage, who has to be taken out, leaving this as a handicap match. Back in and the Bucks give Cole the double kiss but Jungle gets in a shot to Omega for a breather. Danielson comes in for the big slugout with Omega, with the latter being taken into the corner for the kicks to the chest.

There’s the super hurricanrana for two on Omega with a bunch of saves being made. Everything breaks down and it’s a parade of secondary finishers until Danielson gets Omega in the Cattle Mutilation. Nick breaks that up with a Swanton but it’s Luchasaurus firing off kicks. The series of dives tot he floor is capped off by Omega, with Cole teasing a dive but posing instead. Luchasaurus chokeslams him to set up the standing moonsault but Cole hits Luchasaurus low.

The Elite tries a quadruple powerbomb on Luchasaurus but falls down, leaving everyone to stand around until Jungle hits all of them. A double superkick into the Panama Sunrise gets two, with Danielson making the save (read as Matt throws Danielson into the cover for the save). The Affirmative Kicks rock Omega until Danielson is kicked to the floor. The four man BTE Trigger finishes Jungle at 17:58, with JR complaining about all four being in the ring at the same time.

Rating: B. It was action packed and rather exciting, though there were some spots in there that didn’t exactly look great. That is probably because, as tends to be the case, they tried to pack in too many things. This is a match that could have been a bit better if they hadn’t crammed as much in,

Jon Moxley says no one can pin him or make him submit so now it’s time to put ladders in the ring. He’s used to the crazy though, because he has a three month old at home and she’s nuts too. This is his city and that is his belt so he’s winning tonight.

Here’s CM Punk to a huge reaction for a chat. Punk asks if anyone around here is tired yet and can’t believe he has Michael Jordan shoes. He talks about how he moved to Philadelphia in 2002, wrestled part of the week and trained wrestlers the rest of the week because he loved wrestling. Using the money he made in Philadelphia, he bought an iPod and a laptop because he was rich. He wasn’t rich because of the money but because he was in a wrestling culture.

Now he is back and he isn’t tired of how he is feeling. He wanted to give it back, so you can have your pick: he’ll wrestle tonight or he’ll buy everyone cheese steaks (Punk: “Is it cheese steak or cheesecake?”). The fans pick wrestle so if Daniel Garcia has the fortitude, he can meet Punk on Rampage. Punk goes to leave….and gives his Jordans to a fan dressed as Orange Cassidy. JR: “Don’t worry kid. You’ll grow into them.”

Arn Anderson is outside Cody Rhodes’ house and is burning something in a barrel. Cody comes out and talks about how Arn turned his back on him but Arn cuts him off to say that Cody turned on them. Cody can have his multi million dollar houses and his reality TV shows, but he might as well just paint a star on his face. Arn slaps him in the face to prove his point.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Bobby Fish

Fish is challenging in his debut. Some kicks to the chest have Guevara in early trouble but Guevara flips over him and hits his own kick to the face. An enziguri in the corner sets up a springboard, which is broken up as well. Back up and they slug it out with Fish kicking him down as we take a break.

We come back with Guevara hitting a running elbow to the face but Fish kicks him down again. Sammy kicks him off the top but gets crotched down, setting up Fish’s super Falcon Arrow for a delayed two. A suplex into the corner gives Fish two more but Guevara kicks him away and hits the GTH to retain at 9:17.

Rating: C+. Not a classic match here but Fish looked good in his debut and was a smart first title defense for Guevara. I’d rather they bring in someone with some name status who can work well with anyone rather than having a regular star take a loss. Good match here and they didn’t go too long either.

Post match here is American Top Team to surround the ring and beat Sammy down. Fuego del Sold runs in for the save but gets beaten down so here are Chris Jericho and Jake Hager for the real save. Jericho manages to knock Junior Dos Santos (former UFC Heavyweight Champion) to the floor so he and Hager can stand tall.

Dan Lambert says cut the music but has to wait for the fans to finish Judas. Lambert talks about how Jericho has been around for a long time but this isn’t his time. AEW is heading to Miami on October 15, the home of American Top Team and Jorge Mazvidal. So how about a six man tag with the Men of the Year and Junior Dos Santos vs. the Inner Circle? Jericho says he didn’t hear a thing Lambert said….and then Jericho’s mic gives out. Jericho gets another mic and he promises to beat the living s*** out of Lambert and his team. Very nice save there if Lambert couldn’t be heard in the arena.

The Acclaimed raps about their Tag Team Title shot on Rampage.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring for a special announcement. Dynamite is moving to TBS on January 5 and that means we are going to have something special. Tony shows us the new TBS Title, which will be in the Women’s division, starting with a tournament to crown the first champion. As long as the NWA Women’s Title is gone, that should be fine.

Jim Ross sits down with Darby Allin, who talks about how MJF got to him last week. Yes he was there when his uncle drove drunk and got killed and that’s why he paints half of his face. Allin faced death that night but lived to talk about it and MJF isn’t going to break him.

Darby Allin vs. Nick Comoroto

Allin dives on the rest of the Factor to start and strikes away in the corner. We take an early break and come back with….Allin hitting the Coffin Drop for the pin at 4:43. Well that happened.

Post match QT Marshall comes in with a cutter to Sting, who pops up for the Scorpion Death Drop.

The Dark Order is back together, with Evil Uno saying the team can make the decisions. They agree to start voting as a family, with the first vote being about where Alan Angels has to wear a mask again. Anna Jay breaks up another fight and they’re good again.

Here is Dante Martin for a chat. He has proven he can hang with anyone and now he wants to fight anyone willing to get in the ring with him. The lights go out and here is Malakai Black (JR: “He kicks people’s heads off for a living!”) to spray black mist and hit Black Mass. The lights go out again and come back with Martin gone. Black says the House of Black accepts and then leaves.

Here is Ricky Starks to talk about how the FTW Title was defended right here in this very city. He’s more of a champion than the previous champion Brian Cage, who isn’t here tonight. That’s a shame as Starks was going to challenge him to a Philly street fight….and here is Cage to start the brawl. Team Taz pulls Starks to safety.

Various women say they’re winning the TBS Title.

Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb

If Shida wins, she gets a trophy for winning 50 matches. They take turns throwing each other down to start before trading wristlocks. Shida flips away though and it’s a standoff until she kicks Deeb down. The right hands in the corner set up a dropkick in the corner (as in Shida is hammering away on the middle rope and then jumps up for the middle rope dropkick). They head outside with Shida loading up the chair but Deeb throws it underneath the ring. A neckbreaker over the ropes rocks Shida and we take a quick break.

Back with Shida grabbing a front facelock and swinging Deeb around for a painful look. Shida hits a missile dropkick for two but the Octopus is countered. The Deebtox is countered as well and Shida hits a running knee. Shida dives onto the rocked Deeb, who comes back with a running knee of her own. Deeb goes after the leg but misses a chop block, allowing Shida to hit a sitout Dominator for two. A Falcon Arrow gives Shida the same but Deeb is right back with the Deebtox for two of her own. The Serenity Lock finishes Shida at 10:19.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here, as I like the idea of making Shida work for the 50th win. That could take her awhile to accomplish and it could make for something interesting, though I wouldn’t stretch it out that long. It’s great to have Deeb back too, as she really is one of the best around these days.

Post match, Deeb hits Shida in the head with the trophy.

MJF has challenged Darby Allin to a match on Dynamite next week. Allin accepts and looks at a limo, seemingly thinking MJF is inside. Instead a masked man jumps him and another takes the camera. More masked men come in and beat him down, including an F10 onto a bunch of barricades. Another masked man (clearly MJF) gets out of the limo to choke Allin with the skateboard. The Pinnacle (with Schiavone saying that’s who it is) leaves in the limo. Commentary is DISGUSTED by these developments.

Lio Rush talks about how much he likes Dante Martin but he’s also a businessman. Rush thinks Martin needs to rush towards Malakai Black’s challenge and they should talk soon.

Britt Baker likes the idea of the TBS Title tournament (though she was hoping for the Cartoon Network Title) because some of these b****** might leave her alone. Go have your tournament and she’ll be sitting here on top.

Casino Ladder Match

The entrants are coming in intervals and there is another Joker, though you can win at any time, even before all of the entrants are in. First up we have Orange Cassidy at #1 (with the Philadelphia 76ers mascot) and Pac at #2, with Cassidy taking the sunglasses off early. Pac knocks him down to start so Cassidy puts his hands behind his back and crosses his legs. The ladder is brought in but Pac stops to plant him with a brainbuster.

Andrade El Idolo is in at #3 but Pac dropkicks a ladder into him before Andrade can get in. Pac goes up but Andrade jumps up to cut him off, setting up a sunset bomb. Cassidy is back up with the lazy kicks and a headscissors but Matt Hardy is in at #4. The Side Effect drops Cassidy, who is back up to prevent Matt from climbing.

We take a break and come back with Lance Archer in at #5 and splashing Cassidy on a ladder bridged into another one. Archer teases going up but Jon Moxley is in at #6, with Moxley meeting him in the crowd. Moxley pelts a chair at Archer’s head and they fight to ringside, where Archer hits Moxley with the chair as well. Back in and Cassidy Orange Punches Archer to slow him down but Moxley takes Cassidy down.

A running dropkick into the ladder into Archer sends him into the corner and it’s……Hangman Page in at #7 as the Joker. Page goes right at Moxley for the slugout and cleans house until Pac gets in a chair shot. Pac puts Page on a table and goes up the ladder but has to deal with Andrade. A headbutt drops Andrade off the top onto a chair onto a ladder at ringside, allowing Page to go up and slug it out with Pac. The super Deadeye off the ladder drives Pac through a table (that was terrifying) but Page comes up favoring his knee.

Moxley takes Page out with the Paradigm Shift but Cassidy meets him on top of the ladder. Hardy shoves the ladder over to break up the fight and legdrops Cassidy through a table. Archer cleans house again but Page is back up with the Buckshot Lariat (thankfully the knee seems ok). The climb is on until Moxley chairs Page in the back. Moxley goes up with Page but gets knocked down, allowing Page to pull down the poker chip (because it’s a poker chip) to win at 17:08.

Rating: B. They had the high spots and they had the big pop. I’m still not sure if I like the idea of the staggered entrances but it’s certainly different than what everyone else does, which can be a positive. This was the stunt show you were expecting and it’s certainly interesting to see Page get the title shot. I’m not sure how that is going to go, but they couldn’t just leave that unresolved.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a show that felt designed for Philadelphia and that is not a bad thing. They had an action packed card with a bunch of fan favorites and pandering to the crowd, which kept things from possibly getting ugly in a hurry. It was another very fun night and that’s what AEW does best. They need to start building up Full Gear, but at this point that just means announcing what should be a pretty clear card. Another strong night this week, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

Results
Super Elite b. Christian Cage/Bryan Danielson/Luchasaurus/Jungle Boy – BTE Trigger to Jungle Boy
Sammy Guevara b. Bobby Fish – GTH
Darby Allin b. Nick Comoroto – Coffin Drop
Serena Deeb b. Hikaru Shida – Serenity Lock
Hangman Page won the Casino Ladder Match

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Rampage
Date: October 1, 2021
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Taz, Ricky Starks, Excalibur

It’s time for a special night as we have two big matches on the same show. First of all, we’ll be seeing Bryan Danielson facing Nick Jackson in a match that could be rather interesting. Other than that, Jack Evans is putting his hair on the line against Orange Cassidy, as per Matt Hardy’s orders. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson vs. Nick Jackson

They start slowly until the threat of some strikes send Danielson outside. Nick spends too much time getting some cold spray that Danielson is right there with the suicide dive. Back in and Danielson takes him down into the surfboard/Dragon Sleeper. Not that it matters as Danielson is right back up with a flip into a rebound clothesline to take over.

A cross armbreaker sends Nick over to the ropes but Danielson is right back on the arm. Danielson suplexes him down to set up a hammerlock, complete with knees to make the arm worse. Back up and Danielson misses the running dropkick in the corner to put him on the floor. Matt Jackson gets in some cheap shots of his own and we take a break. Back with Danielson not being phased by the YES Kicks before firing off his own in the corner.

The moonsault into the running clothesline sets up the big kick to the head for two on Nick. The LeBell Lock is broken up in a hurry so they head to the apron, with Danielson kicking the post by mistake and getting suplexed hard. Nick hits a big flip dive and it’s a Scorpion Deathlock to put Danielson in trouble back inside. With that broken up, Nick hits a superkick but Danielson is back with a tiger suplex. The hard elbows to the face rock Nick again and Cattle Mutilation gives Danielson the win at 15:32.

Rating: B. This worked much better than I would have expected, as Danielson pulled Jackson in and eventually caught him in a hold. You can see a good difference between the two, as Nick is all about hitting whatever he can while Danielson feels more controlled and going with what he’s looking for each time. It made for a good match though and that is one of the reasons you have Danielson on the show.

Post match the Elite comes in for the beatdown but Jurassic Express and Christian Cage come in for the save. Danielson and Jungle Boy make Kenny Omega and Adam Cole tap.

We get a video from Ricky Starks, who is absolute in the fact that he is not scared of Brian Cage. This is reaching Blood Runs Cold levels of GET ON WITH IT ALREADY!

CM Punk talks about how the only reason he beat Will Hobbs is experience. People are starting to get that he is back and people are going to be gunning for him. That’s what he wants, because he would rather choke on greatness than starve on mediocrity. Going to sleep is always on the menu.

Jade Cargill vs. Nyla Rose vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa kicks Cargill down to start but gets planted by Rose. Cargill makes the save and we get the big power showdown with Rosa being knocked outside. That leaves Rosa to hit a missile dropkick and we take a break. Back with Rosa hitting a running dropkick to Cargill against the ropes, followed by another involving a trashcan. Rose sends Rosa outside and grabs a half crab on Cargill, with Rosa making the save this time. Rosa has to win a fight on the apron and powerbombs Rose off the apron through a table at ringside. Back in and Cargill unloads on Rosa with a chair for the pin at 9:06.

Rating: C. Just a match here and I’m not sure how much it really accomplished. Cargill was able to win a match that went a little longer than usual, but seeing Rosa lose, especially when Rose is right there, isn’t the easiest thing to see. Rosa has been waiting to break through for a long time now and it seems we’ll be waiting even longer. It’s hardly some death sentence, but it’s a bit frustrating.

Malakai Black says the black mist to Cody Rhodes came from the heart. There is more destruction coming for the Nightmare Family.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

We get the face to face interview between Jack Evans/Matt Hardy and Orange Cassidy. Evans is ready to win but Cassidy doesn’t know what a hair vs. hair match is. Once he figures it out, he decides he won’t lose.

Jack Evans vs. Orange Cassidy

Matt Hardy is here with Evans and his distraction lets Evans get in a rollup for two. Cassidy is back with the lazy kicks before spinning Evans around by the hair. Hardy gets in a cheap shot though and Evans adds a spinning kick from the apron. A 450 from the apron crushes Cassidy and we take a break.

Back with Evans countering the tornado DDT into a northern lights suplex. A Michinoku Driver gets two and a standing sky twister press hits Cassidy for the same. Cassidy is right back with the tornado DDT and the top rope DDT gets two more. Cue the Hardy Family Office to even things up but the Dark Order, Chuck Taylor and Wheeler Yuta to cut them off (because Cassidy vs. Evans needed the extras). The Orange Punch finishes Evans at 9:04.

Rating: C. The wrestling wasn’t the point here, but that has never stopped AEW from having WAY too many people come out during a match. Cassidy winning was never in question here and that’s fine, as it is nice to see him in this lower level feud instead of up near the top of the card. This is where he thrives and feels more like a star, so nice job of figuring that out.

Post match Hardy and company leave, so Evans can get his hair cut. Cassidy even sweeps up the hair, which is turned into a mustache for Negative One. The big hug ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This is what I wanted from Rampage: supplementing matches stories that get their main focus on Dynamite and giving other stories more attention than they are going to get on the main show. It made for a very easy to watch hour and that’s how this show should go. Nicely done, and they seem to be figuring out the Rampage formula.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Nick Jackson – Cattle Mutilation
Jade Cargill b. Thunder Rosa and Nyla Rose – Chair shot
Orange Cassidy b. Jack Evans – Orange Punch

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

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Dynamite
Date: September 29, 2021
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

AEW has been on a roll as of late and that means we could be in for something special tonight. I’m not sure what we are going to be seeing here, but it certainly could be a fun night. If nothing else, we’re in Brodie Lee’s hometown and that means we are probably going to be in for some tributes. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We open with some BRODIE chants, which are just awesome.

Here’s CM Punk, who will be on commentary tonight but can’t dive into the crowd because of the athletic commission.

Adam Cole vs. Jungle Boy

Feeling out process to start until Boy hits a heck of a chop into a springboard armdrag. A dropkick puts Cole on the floor and let’s take a breather for a bit. Jungle follows him out and Cole kicks him down, setting up a neckbreaker back inside. The chinlock holds Boy in place for a bit but he is right back up with a shot to the face. Jungle hits a brainbuster into a belly to belly into the corner, followed by the rolling German suplexes for two.

Cole rolls his way out of a torture rack for two and hits the brainbuster onto the knee for two of his own. Jungle snaps off a poisonrana into a running forearm to the back of the head, setting up kind of an Angle Slam into a Death Valley Driver for two. Back up and Cole superkicks him out to the floor, leaving Jungle down for a good bit. The Panama Sunrise on the floor is broken up but Jungle’s suicide dive is cut off by an enziguri.

Cole gets back on the apron so Jungle snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor. Back in and Cole hits another enziguri, setting up the Panama Sunrise…..for two. I’m not sure if someone should be kicking out of that so soon but Cole’s stunned face made it a little better. Jungle pulls him into the Snare Trap but Cole slips out and kicks him outside. Back in and a low blow cuts Jungle down, leaving Cole to hit the Boom for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a back and forth match, which is something that you can always go for around here. It was a lot of dives and flips and kicks to the face, but at least they were putting on an entertaining match. Jungle losing again isn’t my favorite thing, but at least it was to someone like Cole, who is being pushed as a major star.

Post break here is the Elite and after a break, Karl Anderson talks about how great the Elite is, including introducing most of the team. Anderson: “And of course Nak and Cutler.” Cole talks about how he beat Jungle Boy on his own, because Bay Bay is elite and undefeated. The fans chant for Punk, who has not had the nicest things to say about the Elite so far.

Kenny Omega talks about how his social media has been blowing up over his match with Bryan Danielson last week. Last week might have been the greatest match in AEW history and he isn’t surprised. Danielson cashed in on his promise to kick Omega’s head in but he couldn’t make it work when it counted. Since Danielson has no record though, he isn’t getting a rematch and he’ll never see Omega face to face again.

Cue Danielson to refer to the champ as Kenny “NO BALLS” Omega. Punk: “Well that’s a t-shirt.” Danielson issues the challenge to face any member of the Elite on Rampage but gets no takers. Instead, Omega wants to fight right now but Danielson calls out the reinforcements from the back and gets Frankie Kazarian, Christian Cage and Jurassic Express. The Elite bails from the fight of course.

Andrade interrupts the Lucha Bros and says they haven’t defended their AAA Tag Team Titles in a long time. He has some friends if they’re up for a defense, and the Bros seem down.

Matt Sydal/Dante Martin vs. Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson

Cody headlocks Sydal to start and gets nowhere with it. Instead it’s off to Sydal to headlock takeover Johnson, setting up a kick to the back. It’s back to Martin to stare Johnson face to face and we take a break. Back with Cody getting the hot tag to clean house as commentary talks about how the fans aren’t thrilled with Cody these days. Everything breaks down as Johnson and Sydal fight outside.

Martin missile dropkicks Cody for two and a double jump moonsault is good for the same. Johnson tags himself back in and gets kicked in the face by Sydal. That doesn’t seem to matter as Johnson kicks Sydal in the face, only to get rolled up by Martin for two more. Another superkick rocks Martin though and a fisherman’s buster onto the knee finishes for Johnson at 7:45.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and that was a good thing. Sometimes you don’t need a match to keep going forever and that was the case here. Good little match, with Johnson getting to shine a bit and the fans’ displeasure with Cody being highlighted for a change. That’s interesting, and it’s a smart path to take, even if it takes some time.

Post match Cody calls out Malakai Black but Arn Anderson tells him to shut up. Anderson talks about how Black has destroyed everything they love and Cody is missing the point. Black is an assassin who will take out everyone to win a match. Cody is the kind of person who would give up his car if someone tried to steal it but Anderson would shoot them in the head. He isn’t going to coach a loser, so Johnson can leave with him.

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin vs. Bear Country/Anthony Greene

Sting is here with Darby and company and it’s a brawl to start, with Allin and Greene being left alone in the ring. That’s fine with Allin, who gets two off of la majistral. An armdrag sends Greene down and we get a Ricky Steamboat reference. We settle down to Bear Country beating up Moxley but Kingston breaks up the double splash. The spinning backfist sets up a German suplex and the brawl heads to the floor. That leaves Greene alone with Moxley and Kingston, who shrug off a springboard spinning high crossbody attempt. The German suplex/lariat combination finishes Greene at 3:30.

Rating: C-. Mostly a squash here and that’s all it needed to be. Sometimes your best bet is to get people on there on screen and let them do their thing, which is exactly what they did here. It wasn’t a great match or anything, but it can be a good idea to let big stars feel like big stars. Nice job, even if it was hardly a classic.

Post match Sting lays Greene out for a bonus.

Video on Ruby Soho vs. Britt Baker, with Soho promising to take the title.

Dark Order/Orange Cassidy vs. Hardy Family Office

Negative 1 is here with the team because AEW likes making its fans emotional. This is a sixteen man tag to make things a bit complicated and the Dark Order is already fighting among themselves. Alan Angels loses his mask and it’s a suplex/top rope spear combination from Butcher and Blade for two. Private Party comes in to work on on Angels as we get a THANK YOU BRODIE chant.

Everything breaks down though and we take a break. Back with Jack Evans (Flippy McGillicutty according to Punk) coming in to pick up the pace until Evil Uno kicks him in the face. Alex Reynolds gets sent into Uno as the issues continue, so Cassidy comes in for the top rope thumbs up splash. Uno walks out on the match so some more of the Order goes to talk to him.

Evans flips over into a backslide for two on Cassidy as everything breaks down again. Uno keeps walking but cue Negative 1 and Amanda Huber (Brodie’s widow) with 1 throwing the papers and Amanda telling the team to get it together. The Order charges the ring and cleans house, with the parade of secondary finishers. A series of strikes sets up a German suplex and the Fatality is good for the pin at 7:51.

Rating: A. This was all about the emotions and they nailed that on every level. I wasn’t a big Lee fan but I was smiling throughout the entire thing, which is all it needed to be. Outstanding stuff here, with the Dark Order reunion bringing all the feelings. I loved this and they did exactly what they were trying to do.

Post match the Dark Order gets back together and it’s about as cool as you can get.

Lio Rush is All Elite. Rush? Not actually retiring? I’m as stunned as you are.

FTR and Tully Blanchard are ready to show that they’re the best again. Top guys out.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year to talk about how Chris Jericho got kneed in the face by UFC’s Jorge Mazvidal last week. The thing is, Jericho saved this promotion from itself and turned it into the hottest promotion anyone has seen in years. Then Jericho came after them and got beaten down like never before, leaving his earning potential the same as everyone here: zero. Now they have cut the head off of AEW and Tony Khan-man will have more trouble selling snake oil.

Scorpio Sky talks about how he was a star around here at the beginning and then he grabbed the giant Sonic ring, but it wasn’t good enough. No one around here was paying attention, but Dan Lambert was watching. Lambert sees him as a main eventer, just like Ethan Page. That sends Page into a rant about how great he is at everything but he can’t get an action figure or a spot in the opening video. He has the best smile around here and now he rolls with champions, because the Men of the Year are the Top Team.

Hikaru Shida is ready to get her 50th win in AEW, but she has to beat Serena Deeb next week on Dynamite’s second anniversary show.

Penelope Ford/The Bunny vs. Tay Conti/Anna Jay

It’s a brawl to start with the villains being sent into the corner. Tay tries to jump to the apron but falls down and comes up holding her knee. Ford kicks Anna into a neck snap from Bunny before dropping a knee. We take a break and come back with Ford and Conti coming in off the double tag. A double suplex gets two on Ford but she Matrixes away from a clothesline and hits a Stunner on Jay. Ford’s fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two but she misses a moonsault. The TayKO knocks Bunny silly on the floor and the Dangerous Jay kick sets up the Queenslayer to finish Ford at 6:31.

Rating: C. This should be the end of the feud and that’s how it should have gone. Conti and Jay are a good team for the young and plucky faces and that’s what they did here. Ford and Bunny were a good obstacle for them to get by and it wound up being a completely watchable match as well.

Post match Negative 1 comes in to celebrate. Punk: “He’s a smart kid.”

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Nyla Rose vs. Jade Cargill on Rampage.

Here is MJF for a chat. MJF doesn’t think much of upstate New York and wants to talk about the four pillars of AEW. You have Jungle Boy (“Beat him.”), Sammy Guevara (“Beat him.), Darby Allin (“…..yeah whatever.”) and the strongest pillar of them all, which is the man who was in the first match at All In, Maxwell Jacob Friedman himself. He is the past, present and future of AEW and that means he should be the AEW World Champion. Tony: “Earn that in the ring then dude.” MJF teases talking to Bruce Prichard if he doesn’t get a title shot, but here is Allin to interrupt.

MJF: “As much as I love the whole school shooter mime on a skateboard routine”, he’s not happy with the interruption. There is nothing wrong with being a #2 guy, like Mark Messier, Scottie Pippen, or Sting. MJF says he’s the #1 guy, so Allin asks if MJF is done talking and tells him to go if he isn’t happy. See, Allin is AEW for life until death, but he doesn’t understand how MJF can be #1 when Allin is the only one of the two of them to win a title.

MJF appreciates the Batman voice and brings up Allin being straightedge. We hear about Allin getting in a car with his drunk uncle as a kid and they got in an accident. The uncle died, and it’s a travesty because the wrong man died. Allin says MJF isn’t breaking him mentally, which sends MJF leaving. MJF was on fire here, even if he was going really far with some of these things.

Video on Sammy Guevara vs. Miro, which is fallout from Miro beating Fuego del Sol up to take his car. Guevara will buy him a new car if he wins.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara is challenging and they circle each other to start. A knee strike misses for Guevara and Miro takes him down for the stomping. Miro runs him over for two but Guevara is back up with a running crossbody to knock both of them outside. Guevara posts him hard and avoids a charge into the steps but Miro is fine enough to snap off a belly to belly back inside.

We take a break and come back with Guevara jawbreaking his way to freedom from a chinlock but Miro kicks him down again. That earns Miro a Spanish Fly and they’re both down for a bit. There’s a low superkick to rock Miro and a running knee does the same. Miro’s missed charge sends him flying out to the floor so Guevara hits a HUGE flip dive to the floor. Back in and Guevara charges into a swinging release slam for two but Guevara blocks a superplex attempt.

A middle rope cutter can’t keep Miro down and Guevara can’t load up the GTS. The jumping superkick gives Miro two so Guevara rolls outside. That leaves Miro to pull off a turnbuckle pad, which brings out Fuego for a save. Guevara is back in with a jumping knee to send Miro into the exposed buckle. There’s a tornado DDT into the GTH to drop Miro. The 630 gives Guevara the pin and the title at 13:42.

Rating: B. The best way I can describe this match is that it was a ride. I wanted to see if Guevara could pull off the impossible here and win the title and you could feel the release of emotion when he actually pulled it off. It didn’t feel like they rushed the title change either, and it would be fine if Miro gets the title back. If nothing else, they gave Guevara his big win and that’s what matters most here.

A bunch of wrestlers come out to celebrate with Guevara to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I had a great time with this show as they were focusing on the emotions. This was about having a good time in front of a crowd that wanted to be entertained. Throw in some things being announced for the anniversary show and the big title change at the end and this was a heck of a way to spend two hours. Awesome show and things might be getting better soon.

Results
Adam Cole b. Jungle Boy – Boom
Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson b. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal – Fisherman’s buster onto the knee
Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin b. Bear Country/Anthony Greene – German suplex/clothesline combination to Greene
Dark Order/Orange Cassidy b. Hardy Family Office – Fatality to Johi
Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. The Bunny/Penelope Ford – Queenslayer to Ford
Sammy Guevara b. Miro – 630

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

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Dynamite
Date: September 22, 2021
Location: Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We might be in for the biggest Dynamite in history as the show is in New York City in front of about 20,000 people. The card is stacked too and this is giving me vibes of the Raw in MSG debut, which just happened to be twenty four years ago to the day. If it’s close to that good, we’re in for a huge night. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega

Non-title and Don Callis is here with Omega. They take over a minute to lock up, earning the third loudest pop of the night so far. Omega takes him up against the ropes and hits the big chop, allowing himself some praise. A kick to the chest puts Omega down and we get back to even. Another kick sends Omega outside and it’s time to take a breather. Back in and Omega hits another chop as we are at four moves in about as many minutes (for a good start).

They pick up the pace and go into the corner for the exchange of kicks and chops until Danielson backdrops Omega outside. The suicide shove sends Omega into the barricade and it’s back inside to go after the arm. The armbar and a stomp has Omega in more trouble as JR runs down the card (JR: “And Cody Rhodes against Malakai…..not Malakai….Malakai Black!”). Omega is back with some kicks of his own, setting up a running knee to the ribs and a kick to the back.

Danielson uppercuts his way to freedom from the mat and hits the running clothesline. A corner dropkick sets up a super hurricanrana for two but Omega snaps off his own standing hurricanrana. Danielson is sent outside and Omega hits the big running flip dive to take him down again. Back in and they trade rollup for two each until Danielson whips out Cattle Mutilation. That blows the roof off the place, only to have Omega make the ropes in a hurry.

Danielson takes him down with a top rope dropkick on the apron, setting up the AFFIRMATIVE Kicks. The big one is countered into the snapdragon to send Danielson sliding across the ramp for a scary visual. Omega goes all the way up to the stage for the VERY long running V Trigger to send us to a break. Back with Omega hitting a buckle bomb to put Danielson on the apron again. Danielson gets in a rollup for two but Omega blasts him with another knee to the back.

Omega can’t hit the dragon superplex (because it would result in a bad case of death) so Danielson slips out and hits a belly to back superplex, with Omega landing on Danielson’s arm. Said arm is fine enough for a bridging belly to back suplex (kind of a reverse fisherman’s suplex) for two. Omega is back up top with the dragon superplex (geez) for two more. The One Winged Angel is countered into a poisonrana and now the big kick to the head connects.

Omega takes him down again but misses the Phoenix splash. They strike it out until another big kick to the head has Omega in need of a check from the referee. Danielson grabs the arms for the heavy stomps and but can’t quite get the LeBell Lock. Omega makes the rope so Danielson hits a running dropkick in the corner. The V Trigger connects and they trade more heavy shots to the head. An exchange of headbutts and more strikes take us to the time limit draw at 30:00.

Rating: A. You could see the time limit draw coming at about halfway through and that is not a bad thing. This was the right booking for a match like this and these two beat the fire out of each other for half an hour. The idea was that Danielson could go toe to toe with Omega and even had him beaten at the end but couldn’t quite complete the deal. Great match and one of the best TV matches in a long time.

Post match the Elite runs in for the beatdown but Christian Cage and Jungle Boy run in for the save.

Here is CM Punk to say he’s glad he isn’t wrestling tonight because how do you follow that? It has been a long time since he has been in New York City, just like professional wrestling. Some people have been wanting the old CM Punk back because they want the ticked off Punk. That brings him to Team Taz, half of whom are from New York but the fans still don’t like them. Those people don’t want him to be out here with Cult of Personality or to have wrestling fans. That’s why they have come after Punk, but they are sleeping on his legacy. It is his job to tuck them in, and that’s why Powerhouse Hobbs is going to sleep on Rampage.

Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Julia Hart and Wardlow are the seconds here. Pillman takes him down to start and hammers away, setting up a hiptoss. There’s a backdrop as the fired up first gear offense continues. MJF starts his comeback but gets punched straight into the corner. A whip sends Pillman upside down in the corner though and MJF gets to pose a bit. Pillman is back with some rollups for two each and we take a break.

Back with MJF choking in the corner and yelling at the fans as Excalibur tries to figure out a metaphor for how evil MJF really is. A high crossbody connects for Pillman but his arm is too banged up to do much about it. Pillman scores with a superkick and the snap powerslam for two. MJF gets sent outside so he hides behind Hart, whose rescue allows him to clothesline Pillman down. Hart slaps MJF, who grabs her wrist but leaves himself open to a dropkick from Pillman. Back in and Air Pillman is countered into the Salt of the Earth for the tap at 9:27.

Rating: C. Pillman still isn’t ready to win a match like this but it was a good idea to put him in a quick mini feud with a bigger name. That is the kind of thing that can give him some valuable experience points and it isn’t like losing to MJF is some career killer. They just might want to let Pillman get a win over someone a little bigger than Max Caster.

Jake Hager thinks the Men of the Year are really the Boys of the Week because their beating is coming. Chris Jericho doesn’t get why you would want a fight with the Inner Circle in New York but it’s time for the Men of the Year to take their beating.

Malakai Black vs. Cody Rhodes

Cody has Arn Anderson and Brandi Rhodes with him. They start rather slowly for a match built on revenge until Cody tries to pick the ankle. That goes nowhere so Cody punches away, only to have his leg swept out. Black misses a big kick so Cody heads to the floor, leaving Black to moonsault into a seat on the mat. Brandi gets in Black’s face but she has to let him go so Black can grab something like an Octopus.

Cody gets out and sends Black outside for the Disaster Kick to rock him again. Cody’s dive off the top lands close to a knee to the face (or hands a foot in front of it) as we take a break. Back with Cody beating the count off of a big kick to the face. Cody hits a rather wise chop block and is soundly booed. A dragon screw legwhip over the ropes makes the booing even worse and Cody dropkicks the knee in the corner.

Black gets in a kick of his own but the leg gives out to prevent Black Mass. The Cody Cutter overcomes a slip to connect and Cross Rhodes gets two, even with Arn up on the apron. Anderson gets back up so Black sends Cody into him, only to get kicked in the face. Cody goes outside to check on Anderson, who isn’t happy with the decision. Back in and Black busts out some mist to the face, setting up a small package to finish Cody at 10:59.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t the best, but what matters here is Black beat Cody. There was no need to have Cody end the undefeated streak here and Black busting out something evil like the mist is a good idea. Both guys need to move on now, though the ending would suggest the possibility of a third match, which scares me a bit.

Video on Miro vs. Sammy Guevara. Sammy isn’t happy about Miro attacking Fuego del Sol after he already beat him. Yes Miro broke his neck in 2012 but his God healed him. Now his God demands pain and his wife demands pleasure. Sammy promises to buy Fuego a new car after he wins the TNT Title next week.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. FTR

FTR is in NWO inspired gear, making them New Day ripoffs. Darby is teased with some double teaming to start so it’s off to Sting, who powers Wheeler against the ropes to start. A Harwood distraction lets Wheeler get in a cheap shot but Sting shrugs it off in a hurry. The Stinger Splash misses though and FTR be clubberin in the corner. A double shoulder puts Harwood down and Sting gets to do the old falling headbutt low blow.

It’s back to Allin who sends FTR to the floor, but the Coffin Drop to the floor is pulled out of the air. FTR sends him into a hard object and we take a break. Back with Allin slipping away from both of them and getting over for the tag off to Sting. A spinebuster plants Harwood for two and a high crossbody gives Sting the same. Wheeler snaps Sting’s throat across the top though and Harwood rolls him up for two of his own. Harwood loads up the Tombstone but Sting slips out and tries the Deathdrop.

With that broken up, it’s a pair of Stinger Splashes, but Harwood puts a chair in the corner. The Deathdrop plants Wheeler but another Stinger Splash…..doesn’t quite hit the chair as Sting puts on the brakes (Egads AEW actually made Sting smart!). Instead, Harwood goes head first into the chair and, after punching Tully Blanchard down, Sting gets two off a rollup. The Scorpion Deathlock goes on and, after Allin Coffin Drops onto an interfering Wheeler, Harwood taps at 9:28.

Rating: C+. Almost anything Sting does is going to feel special as he can still do his thing rather well. It’s pure nostalgia for the most part but the fact that Sting can still have a completely respectable match helps. Allin gets to look good by association, which should be the case until the possible split between the two (which could make Allin an awesome heel, if they ever choose to go that way….which might be rather stupid).

We take a quick look at Britt Baker and Ruby Soho’s war of words on Rampage.

Here’s a preview of Rhodes To The Top.

Rampage rundown.

Women’s Title: Ruby Soho vs. Britt Baker

Baker, with Rebel and Jamie Hayter, is defending. Tony is a little worried that Baker doesn’t seem overly confident as the fans are split. Soho wins the battle over a lockup and takes Baker down to the mat to ram her head into the mat over and over. A headlock sets off a grapple off until Soho knees her in the face. Soho twists the arm around, sending Baker outside, meaning Soho is right there with the dive onto the goons (with Hayter taking a hard shot). Baker nails a superkick into a neckbreaker on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Soho hitting a running boot to the face but running into a superkick, much to Tony’s delight. Soho fires off some headbutts but gets caught with a Sling Blade. Rebel loads up Baker’s glove, only to have Soho pick the leg to block the Stomp. An enziguri in the corner drops Baker again and Soho hits a top rope backsplash for two more. Baker is right back up with a neckbreaker into the low superkick for her own near fall.

Soho heads to the apron but a superplex onto the goons is countered into a super Air Raid Crash for a very close two. Baker gets violent by stomping Soho face first into the steps, setting up the Stomp for two more. A rollup gives Soho two more and she nails the No Future (Riott Kick). Rebel gets the same but Hayter snaps Soho’s throat across the top. Lockjaw finishes Soho at 13:23.

Rating: B-. They got rolling near the end here and the goon squad finished Soho off. That’s a good way to use the two of them as Baker continues to build towards the inevitable major showdown with Thunder Rosa. Soho losing here is a bit of a surprise, but at least it wasn’t a clean fall to help things out a bit.

Overall Rating: B. The opener was more than enough to carry this show and the rest of it needed to just not be terrible. What we got was a perfectly watchable show with the main event being the second best match on the card. The show felt big and that’s what you needed from this show. Good, though not quite amazing, effort this week.

Results
Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega went to a time limit draw
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Brian Pillman Jr. – Salt of the Earth
Malakai Black b. Cody Rhodes – Small package
Sting/Darby Allin b. FTR – Scorpion Deathlock to Harwood
Britt Baker b. Ruby Soho – Lockjaw

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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Rampage
Date: September 17, 2021
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Taz, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho, Excalibur

It’s another stacked show this week with a pair of title matches. First up we have Butcher and the Blade getting a shot at the Lucha Bros, plus Miro defending the TNT Title against Fuego del Sol. The latter is made a little more interesting when you throw in del Sol’s car being on the line as well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: Butcher And The Blade vs. Lucha Bros

The Bros are defending and Butcher throws Fenix around to start. Penta comes in to take over on Butcher, including the wheelbarrow splash for two. Butcher forearms Penta in the face so Fenix comes in, only to get kneed in the face. It’s already back to Penta for the Sling Blades to the floor, setting up the big dives from the champs.

We take a break and come back with Penta having to crawl over for the tag to Fenix, who strikes away at Butcher and Blade. Butcher breaks up something off the top rope so Fenix German suplexes him instead. A moonsault set up another German suplex for two on Blade, followed by the spike Fear Factor to Butcher.

Blade has to make the save so Penta kicks away at his legs. A powerslam gives Blade two as everything breaks down. Penta gets tied into the corner by the mask, leaving Fenix to get double stomped. With the powerbomb/neckbreaker loaded up, Penta takes his mask off to make the superkick save. Fenix grabs a hurricanrana to retain the titles at 9:43.

Rating: B-. Butcher and the Blade aren’t exactly top level challengers but they did just fine for a one off like this. They haven’t exactly been back for very long but they are undefeated this year (with most of the wins coming on Dark) so putting them here works. I’m not sure they needed much of an explanation for their title shot, though AEW certainly likes keeping things official.

Post match the Hardy Family Office comes in for the beatdown but Santana and Ortiz run in for the save.

Kenny Omega talks about how Bryan Danielson has always been the underdog and he isn’t even ranked over here. Danielson says everyone is underestimating him but he wants to start against the best. The underdog is getting taken apart here, just like everyone else.

Anna Jay vs. The Bunny

Tay Conti and Penelope Ford are the seconds and it’s a brawl in the aisle to start. Anna gets the better of things and takes Bunny inside to run her over. Bunny gets knocked back outside, where she pulls Anna’s shoulder hard into the post. The arm is cranked on some more as we take a break. Back with Bunny cranking on the arm again but Anna kicks the knee out. A running seated Blockbuster gives Anna two but the Queenslayer is broken up. The seconds get in a fight on the floor and Anna grabs a rollup for the pin at 6:59.

Rating: C. This was hard hitting enough to get by, though Anna still has a long way to go in the ring. She does the limited stuff well though and that is better than some people can say. It’s a smart move to let her have the win here as she needs it a lot more than Bunny, though neither of these two seem likely to break through to the title picture in the near future.

Post match the brawl is on again with Conti and Ford getting involved as well. Ford pulls out some brass knuckles to knock Conti and Anna cold.

Post break, Matt Hardy is furious and makes Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford, plus Lucha Bros/Proud and Powerful vs. Private Party/Butcher and the Blade for next week. For this week though, Hardy is sick of looking at an Orange Cassidy lookalike in the front row. The lookalike, who weighs about 300lbs, is pulled into the ring for a beatdown from Hardy and Jack Evans. Hardy pulls out some scissors and it’s time for the big haircut. Cue Orange Cassidy for the save.

Here are Ruby Soho and Britt Baker for a face to face chat. Britt thinks Riott is here for herself, because she needs to find out who she is. Ruby has changed her name and hair color so much because she needs to fit in. Everyone knows who Baker is around here though and we hit the crowd assisted catchphrase.

Ruby says of course everyone knows who Baker is because she tells them every week. Ruby knows who she is too, but now she has the freedom to show it. We pause for a RUBY SOHO chant before she wants to talk about Baker. Britt looks like every other broad she has stood across the ring from, even down to banging some dude in the back. Baker smiles a bit and nods as Ruby says she is trying to figure out if there is anything more.

Actually Baker would like to know the same thing, because Ruby was fired from the last place she worked. Ruby was fired, but it was the best thing that ever happened to her. She can’t believe Baker can see anything with her head so far up Tony Khan, but next week she won’t even be able to see herself as champion. Baker swings the belt and is chased off in a hurry. Good segment here with some great lines from both, but Soho really needs to win to not look like the flavor of the month.

We get the face to face interview with Fuego del Sol and Miro. Fuego is willing to put up his new car against the title, because he knows he can drop Miro on his head with the tornado DDT. Miro may be God’s Favorite Champion so he must have heard of David vs. Goliath. Miro talks about how he loves celebrating with his God above and his wife below, so he’ll retain the title.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Fuego del Sol

Miro is defending. Fuego kicks away to start and sends Miro outside, only to have his dive pulled out of the air. A posting drops Miro though and Fuego does it again for a bonus. Another dive off the barricade is countered with a fall away slam though and we take a break. Back with Fuego fighting out of a bearhug but the tornado DDT doesn’t work. Instead it’s a pair of double stomps into a regular DDT to drop Miro. That’s too far for Miro, who unloads on Fuego in the corner. The jumping superkick gives Miro a new car at 8:55.

Rating: C. They had a tricky job here as there was no drama about who was winning here and they managed to turn it into something interesting. That is hard to pull off but Miro can do almost no wrong at this point. Fuego is a total underdog and tried his best, but it is going to take something special to beat Miro for the title.

Post match Miro takes the keys and puts them in Fuego’s mouth, setting up the Game Over. Sammy Guevara runs in for the save and picks up the title to end the show. Miro vs. Sammy works for me.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a different kind of Rampage as it felt like a missing hour of Dynamite. In this case, that is not a bad thing as they built up some stories before next week’s double shot of huge. It is still a very easy hour of wrestling to watch and the Soho vs. Baker promo was quite good. Another nice show here and that’s the norm so far with Rampage.

Results
Lucha Bros b. Butcher and the Blade – Hurricanrana to Blade
Anna Jay b. The Bunny – Rollup
Miro b. Fuego del Sol – Jumping superkick

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

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Dynamite
Date: September 15, 2021
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

Things have been getting big in a hurry around here and that is going to be the case again this week. This time around we have the in-ring debut of Adam Cole, which should make for quite the moment. Other than that, Grand Slam is on the horizon and that should be an even bigger show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

CM Punk, on commentary tonight, gets a big introduction and dives into the crowd again.

Adam Cole vs. Frankie Kazarian

The fans are behind Cole as Kazarian takes him over a few times. Cole flips out of a headlock and backdrops Kazarian over the top and onto the apron for a nasty crash. Back in and Cole takes some bows but Kazarian hits the slingshot Fameasser over the ropes. That doesn’t seem to do much to Cole, who is back with right hands into the chinlock. That’s broken up as well and Kazarian grabs a leglock while cranking on the arms at the same time.

Cole fights up and hits the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two more. Kazarian is back up as well and grabs a Rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner. The running knees in the corner connect but Cole is right back with a superkick. The Panama Sunrise is countered into an Alabama Slam and the springboard spinning legdrop leaves them both down. They forearm it out from their knees with Kazarian getting the better of things until a brainbuster onto the knee gives Cole two. Kazarian sends him to the apron but misses another Fameasser. The Panama Sunrise into the Last Shot finishes for Cole at 8:04.

Rating: C+. That’s all you could have asked for here as they gave Cole a win over a name after he had to work a bit to get there. I don’t think there was any doubt about the winner here but this was a much better way to debut Cole than having him win a squash match. Good stuff here and Cole was absolutely a star.

Post match, it’s time for Storytime with Adam Cole. He hasn’t been around long but there are three people who have gotten under his nerves. That would be Christian Cage, Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy, so how about next week it’s Cole and the Young Bucks vs. those three at Rampage Grand Slam. I think Cole might have meant Dynamite, but either way, the Superkliq is back.

The Lucha Bros are ready for Butcher and Blade on Rampage.

Fuego del Sol has a new car but he would give it up for the TNT Title. Actually let’s make that a challenge: title vs. car on Rampage.

Here is MJF for a chat. He doesn’t like being in New Jersey because this place is horrible. We hear about how various famous people from New Jersey suck harder than….and we’ll move on. The fans tell him to shut the f*** up but MJF doesn’t care. He is the salt of the earth and a very religious man. Therefore, he is going to have a conversation with the late great Brian Pillman. MJF looks down at the mat and says he and Pillman need to talk.

Next week, he is going to go to the horrible town of Queens and beat up the worst second generation wrestler of all time. The catchphrase is cut off by Brian Pillman Jr.’s music so MJF sends Wardlow to deal with him….and Pillman comes in through the crowd with a chair. Wardlow cuts that off so Pillman slaps him in the face and low bridges him outside. The threat of a chair shot sends MJF and Wardlow running. Good for them for trying to build someone up, because that’s what needs to happen.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with Brian Pillman Jr. and talked about Pillman Sr. calling to say he had a son. Next week, Pillman Jr. has a chance to redeem himself against MJF and that’s what he wants to do to fulfill his father’s legacy. When MJF was being fed with a silver spoon, he was growing up fighting to survive. Next week, MJF is stepping in the ring with a Pillman.

Christian Cage and the Jurassic Express accept the challenge for Rampage (which is also called Grand Slam).

Dante Martin/Matt Sydal vs. FTR

Sydal armdrags Harwood down to start but he drives Martin into the corner without much effort. Martin is sent outside for some hard shots from Wheeler, including quite the posting. Back in and a headbutt rocks Martin and we hit the chinlock. Martin slips out and dives over for the tag to Sydal so the strikes can clear the ring. A double dive takes FTR down on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Sydal flipping out of an abdominal stretch but his crossbody is caught. That’s fine with Martin, who comes in off a blind tag and springboard missile dropkicks everyone down. The pace picks up and Martin hits a running Swanton, setting up a rollup for two. Stereo hurricanranas get two on FTR but Sydal is sent outside. That leaves Martin to walk into the Big Rig for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C+. I can go for seeing FTR getting a nice win because it just does not happen very often. They had to break a sweat to win but then got the win in the end. That’s all you can ask for and I’m hoping to see a little bit more from them in the future. FTR just doesn’t get to wrestle regular tag matches very often and I don’t get why as they’re really good at it.

Commentary talks about the Suzuki Incident, meaning Minoru Suzuki isn’t happy that his music was cut off early last week.

Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki (stable mates in New Japan) aren’t happy with Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston so the tag match is on for next week.

Here is Malakai Black for a chat (with commentary being silent to make it that much better). The House of Black has an enemy and we cut to actress Rosario Dawson in a Nightmare Family shirt. Black goes over to glare at her but here is the returning Cody Rhodes (Dawson’s fellow judge on the Go Big Show) as Dawson jumps on Black’s back. That’s broken up and the guys fight into the crowd until we take a break. Good brawl here and Dawson was a nice addition.

The Bunny isn’t happy with Anna Jay being back because Jay can’t just leave her alone.

The Dark Order is ready for Anna’s Rampage debut but here are Alex Reynolds and 10 to argue with Evil Uno. Anna doesn’t want to hear any of this and says if this is what is going on, none of the Dark Order needs to be here for Rampage. She and Tay Conti leave together.

Here is Dan Lambert, with the Men of the Year and others, to complain about AEW fans being small men and large women. These fans will cheer for a wrestler throwing six superkicks, climbing three floors and diving through a bunch of tables onto a lifeless body. Cue Chris Jericho and Jake Hager, with Lambert complaining about the fans singing Judas.

The fans sing it sans music as Excalibur lists off all of the MMA fighters here with Lambert. Jericho calls Lambert a “fat faced dips***” and sings a song of his own about it. Lambert can’t believe Jericho is out here to defend the fans, but he is the master manipulator around this company. He insults Jericho and the Fozzy fans, who use their allowance to buy their records. Jericho: “You guys get an allowance?”

Jericho sees Lambert and American Top Team but wants to know which one is on top. Hager and Jericho aren’t going to be intimidated because Hager is undefeated and Jericho has been fighting with MMA guys backstage for years. Lambert issues the challenge for next week and Jericho and Hager say it’s on, because there will be no escape from New York.

The Gunn Club talks about why they attacked Paul Wight. They are undefeated around here but now wins and losses don’t matter. Respect will be earned one way or another and if anyone has a problem with that, do something about it. Makes sense. Still the Gunn Club.

Jade Cargill vs. Leyla Hirsch

Leyla, billed from New Jersey, sends her outside to start and then dives onto Mark Sterling. Back in and Leyla hits some knees in the corner, setting up a slingshot dropkick. Cargill has to counter a cross armbreaker into a powerbomb and we take a break. Back with Jade fighting out of a choke but getting German suplexed down for two. Cargill bails to the floor and gets taken down again by a dive. A running knee to the face gives Leyla two but Cargill gets in her own shot to the face. Jaded finishes Leyla at 6:07.

Rating: C. Cargill is still a physical marvel but you’re only going to get so much out of her in the ring at this point. Hirsch put her in trouble for the first time though and there was a point where I thought they might go with the big upset. That’s a good sign for the match and while it wasn’t great, it was Jade’s best match by far.

Andrade El Idolo isn’t happy with Chavo Guerrero interfering with his match last week, which is why he took Chavo out. He can beat anyone he wants whenever he wants.

Taz and Hook interrupt commentary to accuse Punk of trying to take Taz’s jobs. It’s a ruse though and Powerhouse Hobbs jumps Punk from behind. Punk tries to fight back but Hook hooks a dragon sleeper. Hobbs slams Punk onto the announcers’ table for the big crash.

Shawn Spears doesn’t like Darby Allin calling him generic and brings up giving Allin his first AEW loss.

Shawn Spears vs. Darby Allin

Spears has Tully Blanchard and his chair while Allin has Sting. Allin sits in the corner to start so Spears hits a running knee to his face. After that far too logical opening, Spears drops him ribs first onto the top to take things outside. A whip sends Allin into the steps but he avoids a running knee to the face against said steps. Back in and Allin’s dive is cut off by Blanchard getting in the way so Sting offers a well timed glare. Spears gets in a cheap shot though and grabs a bottle of water and a towel, which he uses to rub the paint off of Allin’s face.

We take a break and come back with Allin crawling to the ropes to escape the Scorpion Deathlock. Spears takes him up top but Allin catches him in the Tree of Woe and hammers at the bad knee to put Spears in trouble. They head to the apron with Spears trying the C4 onto the steps but getting countered into the flipping Stunner. The big flip dive sends Spears into the steps instead and it’s the Coffin Drop to give Allin the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C. Every time I see Spears, the more I agree with what Allin said about him: he really is generic and it gets to be a bit difficult to find a reason to care about his matches. Spears is far from bad, but egads I could go for something a little more interesting from him. Allin continues to feel like a star and that’s what AEW has been going for with him since the beginning.

Post match here is FTR for the brawl with Sting and Allin. Blanchard’s chair shot to Sting does nothing but the numbers game has Sting down for the beating. Allin gets the same treatment, leaving Sting to take the spike piledriver. Then Blanchard goes huge by wiping off Sting’s face paint (or at least some of it). I’m sure this is going to mean violence and it should after a good angle.

Bryan Danielson thinks the Elite acts like people who are insecure so he is going after Kenny Omega. He is excited to get in the ring and he would love for Omega to be his first match. He’s here and he is game so let’s go. This was the same promo from Rampage.

Tony Schiavone brings out Bryan Danielson for a chat. Danielson is glad to be here but here are Don Callis and Kenny Omega to interrupt. Callis calls Danielson a hippie millionaire who thinks that he is here to jump into the title match. Callis: “And people call me a carny piece of s***”.

Danielson finally cuts him off and says he is here to talk to Omega. This might be about the title one day but for now, let’s give the people what they want. The match is teased but Callis says no way. Danielson talks about how he came here to face the Best Bout Machine but all he sees is someone hiding behind a bunch of goons. Maybe Omega has lost his testicular fortitude, so is it yes or no? Omega says he’s in and the fans approve. This was a formality but something they had to get out of the way.

Miro promises to bash Fuego del Sol’s brains and his car.

Matt Hardy wants to shave Orange Cassidy’s head.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite and Rampage, including Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega on Dynamite.

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston vs. 2.0

2.0 and Daniel Garcia jump them on the floor before the bell but Moxley takes over inside as we officially get going. 2.0 is sent outside in a hurry and Garcia gets whipped into the barricade. That’s enough of a distraction for Moxley to get beaten down and we take a break. Back with Moxley still in trouble but he fights them off like they/re 2.0 and brings Kingston back in. Everything breaks down and the spinning backfist sets up the DDT. Moxley comes back in for a clothesline/half and half combination for the pin on Lee at 6:38.

Rating: C-. Not much of a main event as this was little more than a glorified workout for Moxley and Kingston. I was wondering what would headline the show and it was kind of a disappointment when I saw what they were doing. I’m sure there will be something after the match ends, but it’s not much of a match for the main event.

Post match here is Minoru Suzuki, who gets the full version of his theme song this time. Cue Lance Archer to pull Kingston to the floor for the brawl into the crowd. Moxley and Suzuki fight at ringside, where Moxley has to save himself from a piledriver through the table. They fight into the crowd as well to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Not so great main event aside, this was a good example of fitting a lot of stuff into two hours. Several stories were covered and they set up all kinds of stuff for next week’s two special shows. This week’s show might not have been great, but it got things ready for the next great show and that is very important in its own right. Good show here, which shouldn’t surprise you.

Results
Adam Cole b. Frankie Kazarian – Last Shot
FTR b. Matt Sydal/Dante Martin – Big Rig to Martin
Jade Cargill b. Leyla Hirsch – Jaded
Darby Allin b. Shawn Spears – Coffin Drop
Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley b. 2.0 – Clothesline/half and half suplex combination to Lee

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.