All In 2024
Date: August 25, 2024
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinnness, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the biggest show of the year and they’re in London for the second time in a row. That alone should make the show feel important but in this case the card is mostly living up to the hype. The main event will see Bryan Danielson challenging Swerve Strickland for the World Title in a title vs. career match, which has all of the makings. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo vs. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight

Don Callis is on commentary as Billington and Lethal strike it out to start. Sabian and Ogogo come in for a lockup until Sabian hits a dropkick to kick him down. Everything breaks down and we’re left with Singh and Rush for the visual. Rush’s chops to the stomach don’t work so he grabs Singh’s leg, with Singh walking around anyway. Singh isn’t having that and launches Rush over the top and down onto the pile.

Back in and Silver slams Andretti down and chokes on the ropes, allowing Evil Uno (one of the many extras on the floor) throwing the papers ala Brodie Lee. Private Party hit slingshot hilos and Daivari chops him down for two. Andretti handspring elbows his way out of trouble though and it’s back to Sabian to pick up the pace.

Fletcher comes in with a middle rope cutter to Lethal before knocking Singh off the apron. A brainbuster gets two on Reynolds and everything breaks down, meaning it’s time for the dives. Silly String hits Sabian and Gin and Juice makes it worse. Ogogo gets to punch at various people but Darius is back in with a double DDT onto the Order. Dante drops Daivari and hits a frog splash for the pin at 11:36.

Rating: C+. It was an entertaining match but it was such a mess with that many people in there that no one really got to stand out (save for maybe Fletcher). This was the definition of “get a bunch of people on the show”, but it was also the definition of “most of these people don’t mean much and they’re out there in front of a half empty stadium because the show doesn’t start for over an hour”. That’s not exactly a great start and the wide shot of all the empty seats at the start made me feel more sad for them than excited for the show.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Willow Nightingale

The winning team picks the stipulation for Statlander vs. Nightingale next month at All Out. Hathaway is brought to the stage on a sedan, because of course he is. Ishii starts with Hathaway, who isn’t having this and bails out, meaning it’s Nightingale vs. Statlander. Nightingale gets sent into the corner for some shots to the face but comes back with a spinebuster for two.

We pause for some yelling at Hathaway, allowing Statlander to get in some cheap shots to take over. Back up and Nightingale makes the clothesline comeback, only to walk into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Nightingale slips out of a Death Valley Driver and drops a backsplash for two of her own. The double tag brings in the men and for some reason, Hathaway fires off some chops.

This goes as well as you would expect and Ishii runs him over. Statlander comes back in to forearm away at Ishii, allowing Hathaway to actually hit a spinebuster. The fans are rather happy as Ishii pops back up, with Hathaway hammering away in the corner. That doesn’t last long as Nightingale Pounces Statlander, leaving Ishii to hit the sliding lariat for the pin on Hathaway at 8:15.

Rating: C+. This was all about Hathaway and of course he made it work in his limited chances. The bigger story is going to be the stipulation for Nightingale vs. Statlander, which almost has to be either a hardcore match or Nightingale fighting both of them at once. Perfectly fine match here and it would have fit in on any given Rampage.

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs vs. Kingdom/Cage Of Agony

Kevin Von Erich is here with the good guys and it’s a big brawl in the aisle before the bell. We get a quadruple Shattered Dreams to the villains and, with the referee ok with all of that, it’s the opening bell with Guevara and Kaun starting things off. Guevara quickly clears the ring and stares it down with Cage, who gets dropped with a top rope cutter. Kaun pulls Guevara outside for a whip into the barricade and they head back inside with Guevara caught in the wrong corner.

A backbreaker/springboard elbow drop combination gets two but Taven misses a frog splash. Rhodes comes in to take over and the snap powerslam puts Taven down. We hit the parade of knockdowns as Excalibur can barely keep track of everyone. Taven is back up with the Flight Of The Conqueror so Rhodes teases a dive but dances into a pose instead. Cage tries a running flip dive but mostly misses, leaving Guevara to shooting star onto the pile.

Back in and Cage gets the worst of a Tower Of Doom, leaving Rhodes to hit Cross Rhodes for two on Taven with the Gates making the save. Rhodes gets tossed into a powerbomb for two but Guevara hurricanranas his way out of the same thing. Shibata’s running dropkick hits Bennett in the corner and Marshall’s top rope moonsault gets the same. Rhodes hits Taven with the Final Reckoning and Guevara adds the Swanton so Rhodes can get the pin at 11:03.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what Rhodes has on AEW but he has been the most active guy in the company (and in Ring Of Honor, because that’s a thing as well) for the last few weeks. That being said, Texas Takes England wasn’t the most thrilling story, especially when it came after a tag match with even more people. This was another bunch of people doing stuff until someone got the pin. The Texas guys don’t do anything for me because I’ve seen them more than I could possibly want to recently, but at least it didn’t go that long.

Post match the villains jump them but Kevin Von Erich makes the save, meaning it’s a group claw to get rid of the bad guys.

Here are the Outcasts, with Saraya’s entire family, for her big moment. Harley Cameron says Saraya is mad, with Saraya going into a rant about not being on the show despite being the best British woman ever in wrestling. And cue the returning Jamie Hayter (now with red hair) to march her way to Saraya, with Sweet Saraya (Saraya’s mother) getting in a cheap shot. The younger Saraya escapes, allowing Hayter to take out Cameron and stand tall.

The last nine minutes of the pre-show are spent on the entrances to the opener so the main show can start fast.

Trios Titles: Patriarchy vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club vs. House Of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang

The Patriarchy is defending in a ladder match. The bell rings and Cage runs away to start, leaving everyone else to brawl on the floor. That means a table is already set up on the floor but Austin has to cut Matthews down from a climb attempt. A bunch of people go up but get pulled down, with King dropping Pac with a clothesline. Robinson hits a running flip dive off the apron to take out Castagnoli, leaving Matthews to hit a big flip dive over the top.

Pac dives onto all of them but gets caught with What’s Up from the Gunns. King hits the big suicide dive…and here is Cage again. Cage goes up but gets pulled down by King, who takes Cage outside to be surrounded by a mob. That leaves Mother Wayne to go up, with the Gunns cutting her off and talking some sense into her. Killswitch comes in with chokeslams abounding, including one onto a ladder.

Wayne’s World through a table drops King so Luchasaurus goes up, only for Cage to go up at the same time for the sake of getting the glory. That’s broken up as well so it’s Castagnoli getting to wreck the Gunns. There’s the Swing to Robinson but the Gunns make the save, meaning it’s time for the tables. A bunch of people go up and crash through said tables, leaving Robinson to pull Black off the ladder. Wayne goes up and gets knocked hard through another table so let’s bring in the really big ladder, which is grazing against the bottom of the titles.

Pac goes up but gets pulled back down as Mother Wayne passes something off to Cage. That would be a spray of some kind, which goes into Yuta’s eyes to bring him off the ladder. Cage puts a ladder onto him and unloads with a chair but Robinson blocks Mother Wayne’s spray and sprays her instead. Luchasaurus knocks Robinson through a table, leaving Cage and Matthews to go up a pair of ladders. Cage spears him down through a table but might have hurt his own head in the process. Luchasaurus picks Cage up and climbs but Pac goes up as well and kicks Cage down. Pac gets the titles at 19:10.

Rating: B. Well that was a ladder match with a bunch of weapons and even more people involved. It’s something that has been done time after time and while it can be fun, it’s not something I’m going to get excited to see. This would also be the case with a thrown together team winning the titles. I’m sure it’s to get a British champion on there, but there are going to be more than a few on here without doing this title change.

We recap Mariah May challenging Toni Storm for the Women’s Title. May was Storm’s understudy but then won the Owen Hart Tournament to earn the shot and violently attacked Storm. Now Storm is being serious for the first time in a good while and wants revenge.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May

Storm is defending and has Luther with her. They glare at each other and argue to start before slugging it out. May Day and Storm Zero are both broken up so May dropkicks her into the corner. They chop it out until Storm grabs a DDT, with the fans approving. Storm misses a running hip attack in the ropes and gets powerbombed out onto the floor for a nasty landing.

Back in and May hits a running dropkick, followed by Stratusphere for two. Storm fights up from a slap and hammers away, only to get suplexed back down. May even goes outside and dropkicks Luther, which is just not that nice. To make it even worse, May slaps HER OWN MOTHER (in the crowd) but the delay lets Storm hit Storm Zero onto the steps. Storm goes over to hug May’s mother and now May is busted open.

Back in (because the champ’s piledriver onto the steps barely keeps May down for a minute) and Storm throws her around, including a chokebomb for two. May kicks her in the head and hits a bunch of hip attacks but the big one takes too long. Storm is back up and hits her own hip attack, setting up Storm Zero for two.

May goes after the fingers and kicks Storm low before stereo headbutts leave them both down. Back up and May Day gets two so it’s time to grab the title, with Luther pulling it away. Instead May grabs the bloody shoe but Storm takes it away..and can’t bring herself to hit May, who rolls her up for two. May knees her in the face, kisses Storm on the head, and hits Storm Zero for the pin and the title at 15:11.

Rating: B. That was the only result that made sense as Storm’s time as champion had come and gone. It was a hard hitting fight with Storm wanting revenge but coming up short, which is how it should have gone. It wouldn’t shock me to see Storm go a bit more back to normal now, as she can only go so much nuttier. Good stuff here, which overcame a bit of a weak build.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Hook for the FTW Title. Jericho has already beaten Hook but has had to jump through hoops to get another shot at him.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and gets played to the ring by Fozzy. It’s FTW Rules so the Learning Tree gets in and beats Hook down to start. The Codebreaker connects for one but Hook is back up with a German suplex. Jericho drops him again and hits the Lionsault for two, meaning it’s weapons time. That takes too long so Hook grabs another suplex and pulls out a cricket bat. Hook even grabs some cricket balls and hits them at Jericho but Keith comes in with a trashcan lid.

The Walls are broken up so Hook grabs his own version, only to have Bill make the save. They go outside with Keith setting up a barbed wire board on another table. Hook slips out of a chokeslam but Jericho goes after the good eye to blind him again. One heck of a trashcan shot puts Hook down but the Judas Effect is countered into a t-bone suplex, allowing Hook to reveal that his patched eye has healed and he could really see (Remember when Jericho blinded Jon Moxley and Moxley wore an eyepatch but then Moxley revealed he could really see during their match? Just a random thought.).

Redrum goes on with Bill making the save, only to have Jericho accidentally knock him into the barbed wire board. Keith gets up for a cheap shot, which FINALLY draws Taz off commentary to Tazmission Keith down. Redrum makes Jericho tap and gives Hook the title back at 10:11.

Rating: C+. And that should be it for these two. Hook gets his (latest) win over Jericho and Jericho gets to…well probably move on to a bigger feud because he has to be involved in something important every week. For now though, it’s a feel good moment and that’s all it needed to be.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. The Acclaimed and FTR both want the Young Bucks’ titles but since the Bucks almost never defend them, we have both of them getting a shot at once.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. FTR vs. Acclaimed

The Bucks are defending and Caster rushes through his rap, possibly due to nerves. Harwood works on the arm to start but FTR and the Acclaimed get in a shoving match, all while the Bucks approve. The Bucks do come in but are quickly dispatched, leaving Wheeler to get caught in a Scissor Me Timbers attempt. That takes too long though and Nick makes the save, setting up an assisted standing Sliced Bread to Wheeler. Matt grabs a chinlock for a bit before Wheeler fights up and hands it off to Bowens to pick up the pace.

Now Scissor Me Timbers can hit Nick and we pause for some scissoring. Harwood is back in with the German suplexes, including one to both Bucks at once. The PowerPlex only hits raised knees but so does Nick’s 450. The Tony Khan Driver is broken up as well though with Nick being shoved into a moonsault onto the Acclaimed. Matt walks into the Shatter Machine but Nick pulls the referee out.

Back up and Matt hits a tornado DDT to plant Bowens on the floor, leaving Matt and Caster to hit a VIP Trigger to Harwood. Wheeler makes a save but gets sent outside, leaving the Acclaimed to load up Nick. Matt makes the save with a low blow and it’s time for the superkicks. That’s not enough for Matt, who grabs a title, earning himself a Fameasser from Billy Gunn. The Arrival connects but Nick makes the save. Harwood rolls Nick up for two but gets belt shotted for two. The EVP Trigger to Harwood is enough for the pin to retain the titles at 13:21.

Rating: B-. It was a good match but not top level stuff. The Bucks getting their win back in Wembley wasn’t exactly shocking and now we get to find out who they’ll defend against, maybe by Halloween or so. The story coming in wasn’t overly exciting and it dragged things down a bit, though I do appreciate them not going crazy long, which just wasn’t needed.

Post match the Grizzled Young Veterans come in for a staredown with the Young Bucks, who leave instead. Heaven forbid we get that match here of course, because we needed to repeat the previous combinations instead.

Casino Gauntlet Match

This is a 21 person gauntlet match with staggered entrances, but the fall can happen at any time, even if it is only the first two entrants. The winner gets a World Title shot at any time (basically MITB). Orange Cassidy is in at #1 and Kazuchika Okada is in at #2. Okada doesn’t seem worried so Cassidy dropkicks him down into the nip up. NIGEL MCGUINNESS is in at #3 and the fans go coconuts, especially as he and Okada go with the grappling. Nigel takes Okada down and it’s Kyle O’Reilly in at #4.

O’Reilly ties up Okada’s arm but gets caught in an armbar from Nigel at the same time. Cassidy is back in with a Stundog Millionaire and Zack Sabre Jr. is in at #5. We get the Nigel vs. Sabre showdown and the fans are VERY pleased. They go with the grappling before trading rollups for two each until Okada takes Nigel’s place. Sabre gets in a weird neck crank but Okada slips out and hits the top rope elbow. Back up and Sabre goes for the leg but Roderick Strong is in at #6.

Strong’s entrance takes so long that Mark Briscoe is in at #7 by the time he gets to do anything. House is quickly cleaned and it’s Hangman Page in at #8. Clotheslines abound and it’s Jeff Jarrett in at #9. We get the strut before Jarrett gets to hammer on Page in the corner. Page breaks that up and powerbombs Jarrett onto a pile as Ricochet makes his debut at #10. Ricochet starts firing off the kicks and goes to the floor to hammer on Page. Christian Cage limps in at #11 but Ricochet cuts him off.

Okada dropkicks Page, who fights back and loads up the Buckshot Lariat. That’s broken up with a guitar shot, leaving Okada to Rainmaker Jarrett. Cassidy is back up to clean house until he walks into End Of Heartache. Briscoe is in to wreck everyone until he accidentally helps Nigel hit the Tower of London (hanging Stunner) on Sabre. Cage drops Nigel though and it’s Luchasaurus in at #12. He starts firing off the chokeslams, including one to O’Reilly, with Cage stealing the pin at 25:50.

Rating: B. They were rocking here for a bit before a kind of downer ending. Cage being added to the match and stealing it in the end felt like something out of Unforgiven 2008 with a banged up Chris Jericho winning the World Title. That being said, the good stuff here more than outweighed the bad, with Nigel being a crazy great surprise and Ricochet being a cool moment. I liked this, but make it an annual PPV event, as this is the third time we’ve sen it this year.

We recap MJF defending the American Title against Will Ospreay. MJF beat Ospreay in a match that went about an hour via some cheating and now Ospreay wants the title back.

American Title: Will Ospreay vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending and comes out dressed as Uncle Sam, while Ospreay gets an Assassin’s Creed entrance. Just to make it worse, MJF has a big American flag come down from the rafters, which Taz calls “heat”. They slug it out to start with Ospreay getting the better of things to send him outside. That means a Sasuke Special to drop MJF, who is right back with a running boot against the barricade. Back in and Ospreay can’t hit the Oscutter so they trade rollups for two each.

MJF powerbombs him onto the knee and adds a Kangaroo Kick. That means we get a hip swivel but Ospreay is back up with an enziguri for two. A skytwister press gets two and MJF heads outside, where he catches Ospreay’s dive in a Tombstone on the floor. Ospreay is back on his feet 51 seconds later and catches MJF’s Moonsault in a Spanish Fly. Back in and MJF is draped over the top for a shooting star to the back for two more.

Stormbreaker is countered into Cross Rhodes for two, only for Ospreay to come back with the Oscutter for the same. MJF hits a quick piledriver for two more but has to counter Stormbreaker into a discus forearm. He takes too long to follow up though and walks into the Stormbreaker for two. The Hidden Blade is loaded up but MJF rolls out to the apron instead. The Oscutter misses as Ospreay only hits mat in a nasty crash. A Canadian Destroyer on the apron knocks Ospreay even sillier, to the point where he collapses before MJF can try a Hidden Blade.

The Heatseeker is blocked and NOW the Oscutter on the apron connects. The crash takes out a production crew member though and Ospreay goes to check on him, allowing MJF to grab the title. Ospreay superkicks MJF and goes after him again, only to bump the referee. MJF hits him low and loads up another shot but a man in black jumps up to cut him off. It’s Daniel Garcia, with MJF threatening him as he leaves. The running forearm drops MJF and the Tiger Driver 91 gives Ospreay the title back at 25:36.

Rating: B. This got going and turned into a showdown, with Garcia being a fine way to go. It was either going to be him or Adam Cole and while I’m not a Garcia fan, I’d rather they go with him over reheating Cole vs. MJF. The match was the kind of hard hitting special that works well for Ospreay, though MJF better be out of action for the better part of ever after all the hype the Tiger Driver 91 received. I know he won’t be, but that’s how he should be after the story they were telling.

Post match Christopher Daniels presents Ospreay with the International Title as the America’s Title goes away.

We recap Britt Baker challenging Mercedes Mone for the TBS Title. Mone is the dominant champion but Baker is back to get into the title hunt again.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker

Mone, with Kamille, is defending and comes to the ring in a carriage with her corgis. They run the ropes to start until Mone hits a dropkick but Baker is back up to knock her to the floor. Kamille catches her though and Mone poses with the title as a villain should. Back in and it’s too early for the Lockjaw so Baker settles for a superkick. Kamille offers a distraction though and Mone grabs a backbreaker onto the turnbuckle for two.

Another backbreaker keeps Baker in trouble but she fights up. A kick to the back cuts her off and Banks grabs Three Amigos. Baker fights up again and takes Mone up, only to get slammed down from the middle rope for a nasty crash. Back up and Baker tries a stomp but gets countered into a powerbomb. A quick cutter drops Mone but she goes to the back again for some near falls. Mone loads up…something, only to be reversed into the Air Raid Crash for two.

They go up top and Mone tries another slam, which is reversed into a wicked super powerslam to give Baker two more. Mone tries a belt shot but gets caught, allowing Kamille to tease one, only for Baker to drop down, Eddie Guerrero style. Kamille is ejected and the Panama Sunrise hits Mone for two. Lockjaw goes on but Mone bites the fingers and grabs the Mone Maker to retain at retain the title at 17:20.

Rating: C+. This went long and it hurt things a lot, as they could have wrapped it up about five minutes earlier. As usual, Mone is much more about the sizzle and setup than the match itself, though she was doing well here. Just find a finisher that doesn’t look terrible all the time and she’ll be in a much better place. I’m not sure what is next for Baker, but she could use a win in a good feud. Maybe Deonna Purrazzo?

We recap Darby Allin challenging Jack Perry for the TNT Title. Allin doesn’t like how Perry was handed the title and since Perry is the Most Interesting Wrestler Ever, he wants it to be a Coffin Match.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Jack Perry

Allin is challenging in a Coffin Match and goes after Perry with a chair to start. They go to the floor with Perry being sat in the chair for a dive, meaning it’s time for the coffin. Perry cuts off a dive though and it’s already time for a bag of broken glass. The fans sing CRY ME A RIVER so Perry swears at them, only for Allin to drive a skateboard into his back, sending him into the glass.

They go outside with Allin hitting a dive, only to get rammed into the coffin. Now it’s time to go up the ramp and Allin gets thrown off the stage and through a table. Perry throws him into a bodybag and carries him back to the ring….where Allin is thrown into the coffin. A running knee is enough to knock Allin out and retain the title at 10:35.

Rating: C+. Well, there’s your Jack Perry win over someone who is more interesting and better than him. It’s not exactly a shock and Allin is on the way to bigger things with the World Title shot at Grand Slam, but as usual, this felt more about Perry and….yeah it’s still the same guy. The tough guy thing isn’t working for him and they had to get the glass spot in, which might not be the most lucrative call back.

Post match the Young Bucks come out to light the casket on fire…..but STING returns for the save. Perry chairs him in the back for no effect so Perry runs off, leaving Sting to lay the Bucks out. Then Allin is helped out of the coffin to pose, which doesn’t exactly make Perry look like a killer. Granted that might be minor to having a 62 year old retired legend take out the top heel stable on his own.

We recap the AEW World Title match with Swerve Strickland defending against Bryan Danielson. That’s not big enough so Danielson, whose neck is held together by paper clips and a dream, is putting his career on the line.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson

Swerve is defending and gets rapped to the ring. After the Big Match Intros, Danielson chops away to start but gets taken down by the arm, allowing Swerve to glare at Danielson’s family in the crowd. Back up and Danielson goes to the arm but it’s too early for the LeBell Lock attempt. Swerve misses a dive so Danielson is up with a springboard flip dive to take him down on the floor.

Back in and Danielson starts in on the arm, which is fine enough for Swerve to grab a suplex. The confidence starts to pick up as Swerve knocks him into the corner. Swerve heads outside but gets caught in a triangle choke over the ropes. Back up and Swerve tries a Death Valley Driver, with the referee getting knocked down. That lets Prince Nana slide in the title, with the Driver onto the belt knocking Danielson silly and busting him open in the process.

Swerve asks why we have to do this when Danielson’s family is watching, though he’s fine enough to hit a middle rope elbow to the back. They head back outside where Swerve stomps at the bloody Danielson and then yells at Danielson’s family. The Swerve Stomp misses though and Danielson pulls him into an STF.

That’s broken up but Danielson is right back with a clothesline for the double knockdown. The Cattle Mutilation is broken up so Danielson settles for the YES Kicks. A tiger superplex drops Swerve again and we hit the Cattle Mutilation again. This time Swerve powers out and hits a Vertebreaker for the big, scary crash. That’s enough to pause for the medical team to come in and check on Danielson but deem him ok to continue.

The Swerve Stomp gets two so Swerve hits back to back House Calls…for two more. Swerve is stunned as Danielson gets up and strikes away, setting up a triangle choke. After we cut to Danielson’s daughter not watching the match, Danielson suplexes Swerve down and hits the running knee…which Swerve brushes off. Another House call drops Danielson and the JML Driver gets two.

Swerve loads up his own running knee but cue Hangman Page for a distraction. That’s enough for Danielson to hit the running knee for two, with Nana almost diving in for the save. They slug it out until Swerve tries a roll but gets kneed down. Another running knee to the back sets up the LeBell Lock but Swerve powers out, only to get pulled into a Rings of Saturn variant for the tap at 25:45.

Rating: A-. They did a good job here of making me wonder how it was going to end and that’s a nice feeling. When in doubt, going for a feel good Danielson win is as safe of a moment as you can have and it worked here. It felt like the last hurrah of a legendary career and while he probably won’t hold the title for very long, he had one last great one (so far). Strickland can move back into the Page feud, and thankfully the interference didn’t lead directly to the ending. Heck of a main event and it felt important, which is how a match of this magnitude should go.

Danielson’s family gets in the ring to celebrate, with the Blackpool Combat Club (and Pac) joining them to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The matches that needed to deliver did so and they nailed the big happy ending. There were some weaker parts, such as the Coffin Match, Baker vs. Mone and Hook vs. Jericho, plus having SO MANY PEOPLE on the show, but the good stuff was more than enough to make this work. It’s absolutely AEW’s biggest event of the year and they worked out some of the kinks from last time, with a show that not only felt big but was better. Rather solid stuff here, and if they can leave some of the people alone next time, it could be even stronger. Heck of a show, with the big feeling taking it higher.

Results
Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo b. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight – Frog splash to Daivari
Willow Nightingale/Tomohiro Ishii b. Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway – Sliding lariat to Hathaway
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs/Katsuyori Shibata b. Cage Of Agony/Kingdom – Swanton to Taven
Pac/Blackpool Combat Club b. Patriarchy, House Of Black and Bang Bang Gang – Pac pulled down the titles
Mariah May b. Toni Storm – Storm Zero
Hook b. Chris Jericho – Redrum
Young Bucks b. FTR and Acclaimed – EVP Trigger to Harwood
Christian Cage won the Casino Gauntlet – Chokeslam to O’Reilly
Will Ospreay b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Tiger Driver 91
Mercedes Mone b. Britt Baker – Mone Maker
Jack Perry b. Darby Allin – Perry put Allin in the coffin
Bryan Danielson b. Swerve Strickland – LeBell Lock

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This is the biggest AEW show of the year, if nothing due to the outstanding atmosphere. Last year’s edition looked like a Wrestlemania level event and that is a hard trick to pull off. The crowd is going to be a bit smaller this time, but the card is feeling a bit bigger. It’s not exactly perfect, but I’m curious enough to see what we’ll be getting on this size of a stage. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway vs. Willow Nightingale/Tomohiro Ishii

This is part of the long running Statlander vs. Nightingale feud and the winning team gets to name the stipulation for their match next month at All Out. That could make things interesting here as it could go either way. You could have Nightingale pick a match where she can get revenge, or you could have Statlander pick a match where she is a heavy favorite. Either way it likely winds up being some kind of a hardcore match, but how do we get there?

I’ll go with Statlander and Hathaway winning here, as Ishii can torment Hathaway without getting the win. This feels like a way for Hathaway to steal a pin on Nightingale for some humiliation before she comes back and gets revenge on both of them next time. The Hathaway stuff should be funny, but he and Statlander win to stack the beck against Nightingale in the blowoff.

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs/Katsuyori Shibata/Sammy Guevara vs. Kingdom/Cage Of Agony

And here is your “we’re just throwing stuff out there” match, as Dustin Rhodes and the Von Erichs apparently must be on EVERY POSSIBLE SHOW. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m not a fan of how much they’ve been around, just because I’m tired of seeing them over and over. The match will be the Ring Of Honor showcase, which just has to happen because reasons, even if I’m not sure how much interest Ring Of Honor could possibly have.

There is zero reason to believe that the villains will win here as Texas gets to annex England once and for all. The cage Of Agony could not be treated as bigger loses and I can’t imagine the Kingdom gets a win on a stage like this. It feels like another big thank you to Rhodes, because apparently being a double champion in his late 50s while having him appear more than he has in years just isn’t enough. But yeah, the good guys win.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks(c) vs. FTR vs. Acclaimed

This is the closest thing to a rematch that we have from last year, as the Bucks manage to have their second title defense in four months as champions. It doesn’t help that FTR doesn’t have much of a claim to a title match and the Bucks could not be more ice cold if they moved into a freezer. On top of that, the Acclaimed isn’t exactly on fire either, and that leaves one option.

I’ll take the Bucks to win here as they get their win back after putting FTR over last year. It’s not a result that needs to happen, but for some reason AEW seems to think that there is something to the Bucks as some o the top heels in the company. This isn’t something I’m looking forward to, making it rather similar to most of what the Bucks have been doing during their title reign.

Trios Titles: Patriarchy(c) vs. Bang Bang Gang vs. House Of Black vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club

This is a ladder match, marking the third ladder match on pay per view out of five shows this year. As usual, I would wonder what would happen if any other gimmick was used that much, but that’s another problem. The other issue here is THAT’S A LOT OF PEOPLE in one match, especially when Pac and the Club are pretty clearly there because they have nothing else going on.

That being said, I’ll go with the Patriarchy to retain here, as there is little reason for it to go another way. Christian Cage has been great in his role and it would be a shame for them to lose the titles so soon. The Gang and the House have both held the titles recently enough, leaving either the champs to retain or the makeshift team to win. Either is possible, but I’ll hope for some sanity with the Patriarchy holding the belts.

FTW Title: Chris Jericho(c) vs. Hook

Remember when Ricky Starks beat Jericho and then had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get his rematch so he could do it again? That’s exactly what we have again here and somehow it’s even less interesting. I know Jericho has some defenders (mainly himself) but it’s really not working for me so far. There is a really good chance that this wraps up the feud and we move on to Jericho doing something even bigger, because that’s just kind of how Jericho rolls in AEW.

I’ll go with Hook getting the big win here, which he certainly needs more than Jericho. At the same time, I don’t expect Jericho to be downgraded whatsoever after the match while Hook continues to do the same stuff he’s been doing for months. This whole feud has felt like such a waste of time but I guess the idea is Jericho puts Hook over on the big stage in the end. It doesn’t make up for everything, but it’s better than nothing.

TNT Title: Jack Perry(c) vs. Darby Allin

Why does Perry want this to be a Coffin Match? Other than trying to be the cool heel that he SO CLEARLY ALREADY IS (because Perry is obviously the most amazing heel ever), why would he want that stipulation? On top of that, the bigger question is whether or not Perry will make a glass reference, because that is the kind of thing that can’t be let go no matter what happens.

Normally I would go Allin here but he seems to have bigger fish to fry with the World Title match in about a month at Grand Slam. Allin can lose via some shenanigans here, or perhaps by doing something really stupid to cost him the match, but odds are Perry wins. For reasons I still can’t fathom, AEW sees something special in him and odds are here gets a big win here.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Mariah May

This is one of the more personal feuds on the show but unfortunately it reached its peak about a month ago and now they are limping to the finish. Storm has held the title for what feels like forever and May seems ready to move into the spotlight, but other than that big attack, they haven’t really done much that makes me want to see them fight. It should be intense, especially if Storm is playing it more straight, but I’m not sure how much they can do.

This is May’s to win as there is no reason to keep the title on Storm after everything she has already done as champion. May has a good bit of star power and deserves the win, while Storm can move on to….I have no idea actually, but she’ll probably be gone for a bit before she gets there. I can’t imagine May losing here as there is no reason for her to, so we’ll say the title changes hands.

Casino Gauntlet

I’m not sure what to do here as I don’t know most of the people in the match. The one thing I do know is that the rules have apparently been changed to make this more or less Money In The Bank, because THAT is something AEW needs. We only know a handful of the people involved, but there is one name that stands out above the rest and seems to be a likely candidate.

In short, this has to be Hangman Page right? He is the bigger singles star (in AEW) of the Elite/their associates and it wouldn’t shock me to see him winning here to have a chance at stealing the World Title from Swerve Strickland. While there is a chance that he does it to end the show, I’ll assume he saves it for later, meaning he has to win it first, which is what we’ll go with here.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Britt Baker

This has been an interesting feud in the last few weeks, even if the match itself might not have the most drama. Mone is still treated as one of the biggest stars in the company and certainly in the women’s division but Baker is one of the most successful women AEW has ever seen. That makes for a more interesting match and it certainly feels big, which is exactly what this needs to be.

That being said, there is almost no way that Mone is going to lose the title so far. Mone hasn’t exactly hit the ground running so far in AEW and needs a major win. That is exactly what she can do here, perhaps with an assist from Kamille. What matters the most here though is that she gets the win over Baker, who can move on to something else after the loss. Money on the other hand gets to keep telling us how big of a star she is while actually having a win to back it up so….progress?

American Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Will Ospreay

On paper, this should be one of the easiest matches on the card, but the fact that I’m not sure about the result has me wondering. While Ospreay winning the title seems like the obvious way to go, he’s in there against someone who is on another level in MJF. There is a chance that MJF does retain through some shenanigans, but it is almost hard to fathom Ospreay losing another major pay per view match.

I’ll go with the safe pick here and say Ospreay gets the title back here in front of his home country crowd, as it makes a lot more sense. At the end of the day, this one could go either way but one of the ways fits a lot better than the other. Ospreay is near the top of the popularity charts in AEW and a big win could move him up to an even higher level, which would be quite the accomplishment.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Bryan Danielson

Now we have what is starting to feel like a big main event as it’s title vs. career, even if Strickland has gone from a pretty likable face over the summer into a full on villain again seemingly overnight. While it would seem that Danielson winning for the big feel good moment would be the way to go, his neck and overall health is just enough to make me wonder if things are going in another way. That’s a good trick to pull off and AEW has managed to do it.

That being said, I don’t think I can go with the idea of Danielson losing again, so we’ll say he gets the World Title in the big moment. There is almost no chance he keeps it long (I’ve got Nigel McGuinness costing him the title at Grand Slam, setting up Danielson’s retirement match with McGuinness at WrestleDream) but that has never stopped a great moment before. Danielson wins the title here, as he absolutely should.

Overall Thoughts

The more I think about this show, the more I’m talking myself into being excited about it. There are some problems with the card (WAY too many people being one of them), but the idea of Danielson having one more major World Title win is a good way to go. This week’s Dynamite did a lot of good for the show and if they can live up to the hype, we could be in for something strong, but more importantly, special.

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Collision
Date: August 24, 2024
Location: Utilita Arena, Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the European debut for the show and that means we should be in for some good stuff. At the same time, it’s the day before All In and even though most of the card is set, there is still a spot to be filled in the four team ladder match for the Trios Titles. Throw in the final push towards the show and we could be in for a good one here. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Conglomeration vs. Undisputed Kingdom

Tomohiro Ishii is on commentary. Briscoe and Bennett start things off by trading chops before it’s off to O’Reilly for a kick to the face. O’Reilly and Strong strike it out with O’Reilly getting the better of it again, meaning it’s off to Taven so O’Reilly can beat up two people at once. Cassidy comes in for the lazy kicks and a double hurricanrana to the Kingdom, followed by a toss into a tornado DDT to Bennett.

Back up and Bennett’s Hail Mary is blocked but Cassidy gets sent into the corner to put him in trouble for a change. That doesn’t last long as Cassidy escapes a sunset flip and hands it off to Briscoe as everything breaks down. Cassidy dives onto Strong but Taven dives onto both of them. Bennett moves the chair to prevent Briscoe’s dive but puts it back so Strong can slam Briscoe onto it. We take a break and come back with Briscoe in trouble and Strong mocking the hands in the pockets, which draws in an irate (well as irate as he gets) Cassidy.

Not that it matters as Briscoe gets over for the tag off to O’Reilly, who gets to wreck the whole team at once again. Bennett’s leg gets dragon screwed over the ropes and it’s the Froggy Boy into the lazy elbow for two with Taven making the save. Everything breaks down again and Bennett Death Valley Drivers O’Reilly for two.

A Rock Bottom backbreaker gives Strong two on O’Reilly but the Conglomeration all grab stereo holds. Those are broken up at the same time and everyone is down in a heap. Strong backbreaker O’Reilly but gets caught with Cassidy’s top rope DDT. NOW Briscoe can get the chair and there’s the big step up dive onto the pile at ringside. O’Reilly guillotines Taven for the win at 15:23.

Rating: B+. This was a blast with everyone doing a bunch of stuff, but O’Reilly was the absolute star. He wrecked the villains multiple times and felt almost unstoppable, which is quite the performance. I’m not sure how much of a preview this was for the Casino Gauntlet, but I had a really good time with this as they got a lot into and out of the opener. This doesn’t include Ishii, who didn’t say a word as far as I could tell. He did however sneer a lot, as is his custom.

Video on the Trios Title situation, which naturally set up a four team ladder match for the titles, even though the story had been about three teams and one more is being added for the sole purpose of putting more people in the match.

Willow Nightingale vs. Harley Cameron

Ishii is still on commentary as Cameron chokes (and screams) in the corner to start. Nightingale fights out of that and hits a running shoulder in the corner, followed by some rapid fire clotheslines. A Russian legsweep gives Cameron two and an elbow to the face is good for the same. Eat Defeat and a running knee give Cameron two more and she drives some elbows into the neck. Nightingale gets fired up and hits a quick Babe With The Powerbomb for the pin (it’s as sudden as it sounds) for the pin at 4:11.

Rating: C+. Cameron got to do some stuff here but this was about getting Nightingale ready for her tag match tomorrow. There’s nothing wrong with giving her a nice boost like this and the match didn’t overstay its welcome. I could see Cameron eventually evolving into a bigger deal, but she’s not there yet.

Private Party are the official emcees for All In. I have no idea why that is necessary.

Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara issue an open challenge for All In. They’re also bringing the Von Erichs and Katsuyori Shibata. I have no idea why that is necessary.

Jay Lethal vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Both of their usual friends are here too. They fight over arm control to start and Lethal has to go to the ropes for the early clean break. Back up and Shibata goes right back to the arm, only to get taken down for the basement dropkick. Lethal starts going for the leg but the Figure Four is broken up, allowing Shibata to go right back to the arm.

We take a break and come back with Lethal putting on a Figure Four, sending Shibata to the ropes this time. The Lethal Combination drops Shibata again but Hail To The King is countered into a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Back up and Shibata suplexes him for two and it’s time to strike it out. Shibata grabs the claw (as taught to him by the Von Erichs) and pulls him into the cross armbreaker for the win at 9:49.

Rating: B-. This is one of those matches was going to work because of who was involved and that is a nice thing to see. Lethal is someone else who can be put out there with anyone for at least a passable match. If you put someone as good as Shibata in there with him, it wound up being all the better for a nice TV match.

Post match everyone else gets in and Shibata offers Lethal a handshake, which he eventually accepts.

Video on Will Osprey vs. MJF.

We go to Create A Pro Wrestling Academy where Kris Statlander trains Stokely Hathaway, who does surprisingly well.

Stokely Hathaway/Kris Statlander vs. Nina Samuels/Kid Lykos 2

Statlander runs them both over to start and gives Lykos a Babe With The Powerbomb. Hathaway gets dropped onto Lykos for the pin at 58 seconds.

Post match Hathaway calls that a preview for tomorrow at All In.

Ben Mankiewicz narrates a video on Toni Storm vs. Mariah May, explaining May being something of an understudy who was never quite accepted. Then May won the Owen Hart Tournament and attacked Storm, setting up the personal title match.

Hook vs. Big Bill

Chris Jericho and Bryan Keith here with Bill and the fans don’t seem overly thrilled with Hook. Jericho even joins commentary as Bill throws him out on the corner to take over fast. Hook gets beaten down into the corner and Bill goes after the bandaged eye. A big boot sends Hook to the floor and we take a break. Back with the fans going a bit nuts over Bill, who grabs a bearhug.

With that broken up, Bill hammers away and the fans start slapping the barricade so loudly that I thought it was someone’s music in a run-in. Hook fights up and low bridges him to the floor before hammering away in the corner. A northern lights suplex drops Bill but he grabs a Hook by the throat (to a MONSTER reaction). That’s broken up but Hook slaps on Redrum out of the corner for the tap at 10:47.

Rating: C+. The match itself was just kind of there, but this was ALL about the absolutely incredible reaction to Bill. It must be one of those things where a wrestler can be over in a certain place and it would suggest that Bill should move to Wales as soon as possible. That was one of the most ridiculously positive receptions I’ve ever seen and it was a sight to behold.

Video on Jack Perry vs. Darby Allin for the TNT Title.

We look at the Bryan Danielson/Swerve Strickland showdown from Dynamite, with Danielson dropping Strickland to end the show.

Ariya Daivari vs. Jeff Jarrett

Karen Jarrett is here with Jeff. The fans sing for Jeff to get things even more hyped up, meaning the pose off is rather one sided. Daivari knocks him down and does the Fargo Strut before hitting a running shoulder. Back up and a hiptoss lets Daivari strut for the third time but Jarrett sends him hard into the buckle. Jarrett knocks him to the floor and teases a strut of his own (BIG pop) and we take a break.

We come back with the fight on the floor and Jarrett sending him into various hard objects. They do Jarrett’s signature sleeper exchange sequence until Jarrett rams him into the corner to break it up. A Russian legsweep gives Jarrett two and an enziguri sets up the running crotch attack against the ropes. NOW we get the real strut, with the fans coming to their feet in a cool moment. The Figure Four is blocked but Jarrett hits the Stroke for the pin at 9:54.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the previous match as the wrestling was just ok, but the fans carried this to a much more entertaining level. The fans were absolutely insane for Jarrett here and the reaction to the Stroke was great. I’m not a big Jarrett fan but he clearly loved this, as he did his basic stuff but the fans were way into it, mainly due to him being an actual legend. This was a lot of fun.

Video on Hologram.

All In rundown, with the Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara challenge now a ten man tag, because of course it is.

Lio Rush/Top Flight vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club

For the final spot in the four way ladder match for the Trios Titles at All In. Darius grabs a cravate on Yuta to start but gets pulled into a quickly broken bow and arrow. Back up and a dropkick staggers Yuta and it’s off to Pac, who misses a charge at Dante. Pac gets in his own flips as well so it’s off to Rush vs. Castagnoli. Rush tries his own Swing, which is broken up just as quickly and Castagnoli gets triple teamed down into the corner.

We take a break and come back with Yuta in control on Darius and knocking Top Flight off the apron. Darius fights up and hands it back to Dante to pick up the pace, including some kicks to the head. Rush adds a bottom rope Asai moonsault to Pac for two back inside as commentary just kind of stops for a few seconds. Yuta grabs a nasty German suplex on Dante and Rush kicks Castagnoli in the head. Pac is back up with an overhead German suplex to Rush but a series of splashes hit Pac for two. Dante hits a dive but Castagnoli cuts off one from Rush, setting up the Black Arrow to give Pac the pin at 12:58.

Rating: B. This was another action packed match and that’s all it needed to be. While I could go for a regular team being in the ladder match (or the ladder match not having four teams, or ladders for that matter), I do like getting some of these people on the show. At least they got there after very fast paced match as well.

Post match here is Christian Cage, with Mother Wayne, to mock the Welsh fans’ accents. The distraction lets the Patriarchy come in with chairs for the beatdown, only for the Bang Bang Gang to come in and whip out some tables. Then the lights go out and the House Of Black come in, leaving all nine of the challengers to brawl while the Patriarchy leaves. Sweet goodness that is a lot of people for one ladder match.

Overall Rating: B. The opener and main event were both pretty great, with the rest of the matches being forgettable….at least on their own. What mattered here was a white hot crowd, as they were carrying everything up more than a few levels. They drew me way into this show and I was more interesting than I would have been based on what I was getting from what AEW was doing. Not a great show, but one that was a really good time to watch.

Results
Conglomeration b. Undisputed Kingdom – Guillotine choke to Taven
Willow Nightingale b. Harley Cameron – Babe With The Powerbomb
Katsuyori Shibata b. Jay Lethal – Cross armbreaker
Stokely Hathaway/Kris Statlander b. Nina Samuels/Kid Lykos 2 – Splash to Lykos
Hook b. Big Bill – Redrum
Jeff Jarrett b. Ariya Daivari – Stroke
Pac/Blackpool Combat Club b. Lio Rush/Top Flight – Black Arrow to Rush

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Monday Night Raw
Date: November 6, 2000
Location: Compaq Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler

This was a requested show and I can always go from some time in a different era. We are between No Mercy and Survivor Series, meaning that Kurt Angle is the new WWF Champion. In a bigger story though, Steve Austin is back and looking for revenge on Rikishi. Other that, Austin and the Rock already aren’t getting along so let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of Rikishi accusing the Rock of being behind Rikishi attacking Steve Austin, which has Austin even more paranoid than usual. This resulted in Austin costing Rock a WWF Title shot and it’s time for some revenge.

Opening sequence.

Here is a returning Vince McMahon for a chat. Vince talks about how tomorrow is Election Day and you have to wonder who everyone is going to vote for. Who will Steve Austin vote for? Or the Rock? Even Al Snow’s vote matters! Vince wants all of the people here to vote because wrestling fans are always on the outside looking in to the political arena. Pundits don’t care about wrestling fans because they don’t vote.

The two major parties already have all of their voting blocks locked up but those people cancel each other out. How interesting is it that those groups will not elect the next President? The average American, a WWF fan, will make the pick. Vince encourages us to vote for the candidate who lies the least and wants us to vote no matter what.

Cue Steve Austin and dang I miss the look on McMahon’s face when that glass shatters. Vince welcomes him back and extends a hand but Austin just takes the mic instead. Austin says it’s fine and dandy to talk politics, but he’s here to fight. Tonight, he is teaming with the Rock, who gave him a Rock Bottom on Smackdown. If Rock wants to double cross him tonight, Austin will be dishing out knuckle sandwiches.

Other than that, Austin has been thinking about Rikishi being the driver of the car that tried to take Austin out, but Rikishi isn’t that smart. There has to be a mastermind who is trying to make people do what they want. Lawler: “Linda McMahon?” As Vince panics, Austin says he knows it wasn’t him…and here are Kurt Angle and Stephanie McMahon to interrupt. Angle: “Hold it right there bucko!” He doesn’t like Austin talking to Vince like that and thinks Austin should question George W. Bush!

Maybe Bush got drunk and tried to run Austin over. As an American hero, Angle is officially renouncing Texas because of all these drunk people. Stephanie gets in the ring to yell at Austin, saying he will NOT touch Vince or Angle. Austin respects Stephanie being a woman, but she might want to step back. Angle tries a cheap shot and gets Stunnered for his efforts. Long segment here, but Austin and Vince are always worth a look.

Post break Vince tells Angle and Stephanie that he has a special feeling about tonight. Vince has Stephanie get in the limo and they leave, with Angle promising something for HHH.

Undertaker vs. Val Venis

This is Right To Censor Venis but the rest of the team is barred from ringside. Undertaker slugs him into the corner to start and hits the one armed side slam. Venis is back with some kicks to the ribs and a neckbreaker but Undertaker easily wins a slugout. Back up and Venis manages a knockdown and hammers away but takes too long going up. That means a toss off of said top, followed by the big right hand. The chokeslam is escaped so Undertaker boots him in the face for two and they head outside. Venis is sent face first into the steps, followed by the Last Ride for the pin back inside.

Rating: C. It’s strange to see Undertaker in what is basically a glorified squash, as there was no reason to believe Venis had a chance here. This was a weird time for Undertaker though, as he was back as the biker, which opened up a bunch of doors for him. It humanized him a bit, and that was not something we had ever seen before.

HHH comes up to see Commissioner Mick Foley. He wants the Radicalz tonight but Foley says find some partners. Steve Austin comes in and wants Kurt Angle, with HHH telling Austin to not trust anyone.

We look at Kane attacking Chris Jericho, who spilled coffee on him.

Kane talks about how people don’t want to see a freak like him because they want someone like Chris Jericho. The more they cheer for Jericho, the more Kane wants to hurt him. Kane is going to win the Hardcore Title tonight and then challenge Jericho to a title match. That way he can do horrible things to Jericho and it’s all legal.

Road Dogg is on HHH’s team tonight but isn’t sure about….him.

Post break HHH and Dogg come in to see Billy Gunn and Chyna, the former of which is not happy to see them. HHH says he might have made a mistake, but for one night only, they can get together and take out the Radicalz. Works for everyone.

T&A vs. Too Cool

Trish Stratus is here with T&A, who jump them to start fast. Albert misses a charge at Grandmaster in the corner, meaning it’s a tornado DDT to slow Albert down. Back up and Albert hits a hard spinning powerslam to plant Scotty and there’s a catapult to send Scotty throat first into the middle rope. Test comes in for a nasty big boot but goes up for the dive that is only designed to land on a raised boot.

After one heck of a bump off such a simple crash from Test, Scotty gets over to Grandmaster to pick up the pace. A middle rope dropkick (with dancing) hits Test but Trish gets on the apron for a distraction. That’s enough for Test to hit Grandmaster in the back with a boot…for two. Scotty hits the Worm (still crazy over) and Grandmaster adds the Hip Hop Drop, only for Albert to come in with his namesake bomb to give Test the pin.

Rating: B-. Who in the world would have thought THIS would have been a pretty good match? That’s one of the things I love about watching these old shows, as you will see a match that seems to be nothing and it winds up being a fun surprise. At the same time, it’s kind of hilarious to look back and see T&A as anything but a vehicle for Trish, who has a star power to her that you just can’t fake. Yes a lot of the attention was because of her looks, but she had a presence to her and it took her the extra way.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Hollys, including the unnamed woman, make the save. A not exactly smooth springboard crossbody drops Trish and the heroes stand…well not very tall but close enough.

Triple H/Chyna/New Age Outlaws vs. Radicalz

Billy and Eddie start things off with the former hitting his always awesome tilt-a-whirl slam. It’s off to Chyna, who is happy to hit a swinging neckbreaker, sending Eddie straight over to Malenko. Dogg comes in for the dancing punches but Malenko knocks him into the ropes. That’s enough for Benoit to come in for some stomps, both before and after Dogg hits a crossbody.

A front facelock is escaped but the referee doesn’t see the tag, further proving how horrible they are at their jobs. Dogg and Saturn crossbody each other and it’s off to Gunn vs. Malenko, which is quite the remarkable size differential. A Jackhammer plants Malenko and the Fameasser gets two with Benoit making the save. Everything breaks down and HHH Pedigrees Malenko for the win.

Rating: C+. What we got went well enough but you would kind of expect DX vs. the Radicalz to feel a bit bigger. That’s a match that could have been a big deal on a pay per view but here it is as little more than a middle of the show match on Raw. DX had long since moved on, though it still feels like a case of what could have been under much better circumstances.

Post match Kurt Angle runs in to jump HHH as the Radicalz cut everyone else off.

The Rock arrives, as usual over halfway through the show.

Tag Team Titles: Right To Censor vs. Hardy Boyz

The Hardys are defending while Ivory and Lita are here too. It’s a fast start with the women getting in a fight of their own on the floor. They go off to the back, leaving Steven Richards with the villains as the Hardys suplex Buchanan down. Back up and Matt gets slammed down hard onto the mat as commentary talks about the election, with Lawler flat out saying he is voting for George W. Bush.

Goodfather boots Matt down but he knocks Goodfather off the top, setting up the big legdrop. Jeff comes in to clean house as everything breaks down and the referee gets sent outside. Goodfather is sent outside in a nasty landing and Matt dives onto him, leaving Jeff to hit the Swanton on Buchanan. There’s no referee though so cue Edge and Christian to go after the Hardys, allowing Richards to get in a belt shot to Jeff. Naturally the referee comes back in to give the Goodfather the pin and the titles.

Rating: C+. This is a rare instance of someone other than the Hardys, the Dudleyz or Edge and Christian getting the titles, which needs to happen every so often. There is only so much you can get out of having the same three teams trading the titles for months on end so switch it up every so often. Good enough match too, even with the screwy finish.

Kurt Angle jumps the Rock in his locker room and gets pulled out.

Edge and Christian celebrate screwing over the Hardys with a kazoo version of Chris Benoit’s theme. Commissioner Mick Foley comes in to say he senses something not going so well, so Edge and Christian can have a tables match with the Dudley Boyz!

Hardcore Title: Kane vs. Steve Blackman

Kane is challenging and they start brawling on the ramp. Blackman knocks him back and hits a diving kick off the barricade (that looked cool) before going for the weapons. Some trashcan lid shots have Kane in trouble but he suplexes Blackman down in a crash. One heck of a trashcan lid shot rocks Blackman and the side slam puts him down again.

Kane goes up but gets crotched on top, allowing Blackman to grab his wooden sticks. The rapid fire shots put Kane down and a low blow makes it worse. The trashcan shot takes too long as Kane catches him with a running powerslam and it’s time to bring in the steps. Cue Chris Jericho with a chair though, knocking the steps onto Kane so Blackman can steal the pin to retain.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of thing I can go with, as there was a unique story to it but it also wasn’t a squash. Kane is a monster and had Blackman in trouble but Blackman is enough of a hardcore master to hold his own for a good while. Good little surprise here, with Kane’s motivation being a smart way to go.

The Rock is hunting for Kurt Angle but goes to see Steve Austin instead. Rock says he doesn’t have to hide in the shadows as Rikishi’s boss because he would come after Austin face to face. Austin gave Rock the Stunner because he doesn’t trust anyone and he is looking for Rikishi’s accomplice. Rock says Austin can whip anyone he wants, but it won’t happen to him because Rock had nothing to do with it. Austin doesn’t seem entirely convinced. Sweet goodness the chemistry with these two jumps off the screen like almost no one else ever.

Jerry Lawler vs. Raven

Tazz joins commentary, much to Ross’ annoyance. Lawler slugs away to start (shocking I know) and the middle rope fist drop gets two. Raven is back up with his corner clothesline and bulldog for two but Lawler fights back. A dropkick hits Raven…and Tazz runs in for the fast DQ.

Post match the beatdown is on until Al Snow (including a bonus head with a crown) makes the save.

The Right To Censor is in a huddle (with the camera looking up from the floor) and talks about being this much closer to their ultimate goal.

Edge and Christian vs. Dudley Boyz

Tables match. Bubba and Edge fight on the floor to start and Christian sends D-Von outside to join them. Edge gets inside and avoids Bubba’s splash in the corner, setting up some Poetry In Motion. The posing table request takes too long and Bubba breaks it up, meaning Edge can get caught with What’s Up.

The Dudleys take too long to get a table as well, allowing the villains to dropkick it into their heads. Back in and a superplex is loaded up but cue the Hardy Boyz to break it up, allowing Lita to snap off a super hurricanrana. The 3D puts Christian through the table for the win. Lawler: “Can’t anyone have a match without someone else interfering?” Geez you would think he would get the idea by now.

Rating: C+. What you have here is a match that didn’t waste time and did exactly what it needed to. Edge and Christian were in trouble after interfering earlier and the Hardys came out to get their revenge. That’s all this needed to be and the match wasn’t even four minutes. Sometimes you do not need much time to make a story work and that is what this era of Raw understood.

Rikishi, with a nose shield, says tonight is going to be a handicap match because the Rock was the one behind everything. Tonight, the truth comes out.

Debra is at WWF New York and criticizes the food.

Kurt Angle brags about his successful rookie season and HHH us saw it. Soon, Steve Austin will get his. Angle: “Children love me d*** it.”

Someone attacks the Rock with an anvil case but since the camera operators are terrible, we don’t see who did it.

Post break Mick Foley says Rock can’t wrestle. The fact that he can barely stand would suggest this is a good idea.

Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle/Rikishi

Austin jumps Angle on the floor to start but has to stop to slug away on Rikishi. They all get in and Austin keeps bouncing between them, including the Thesz press to Angle. Some low blows have the villains down but Angle shoves off a Stunner attempt into a superkick from Rikishi. The double teaming is on but Rikishi misses a charge in the corner. Angle is back up with a sledgehammer though, meaning cue HHH to pound him down. Austin is up again to stomp on Rikishi….and HHH hits Austin with the sledgehammer for the not so shocking reveal. We’ll say the match is thrown out around here.

Rating: C. As you can guess, this was an angle disguised as a match and, again, they didn’t waste a bunch of time on it. This didn’t need to go on for a long time and it’s such a relief that it didn’t. Austin got in, looked like himself, and then got beaten down to do the big angle. What else did you need?

Post match HHH unloads on Austin to bust him open. Rikishi adds the Banzai Drop and HHH reveals that he is Rikishi’s accomplice to end the show. This is treated as a big shock and I was surprised when it happened live, but looking back, it’s just not that much of an impact. At the end of the day, Rikishi was not fitting as the new big bad, if nothing else because Austin couldn’t do much with him in the ring. That meant that a big villain was needed and, well, who better than the guy who had been the top heel for the better part of a year? It was absolutely the right move, but it might not have been that shocking.

Overall Rating: B-. I had a good time with this show and a lot of that is due to the act that they didn’t waste time. Everything on here was moving and there was nothing where I was wondering how much more time they were going to spend on it. The matches were mostly short, but they did what they needed to do. It made for a very fun two hours and I could go for a lot more of this. Good show here, with a bunch of logical stuff happening in a creative way.

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Dynamite
Date: August 21, 2024
Location: Utilita Arena, Cardiff, Wales
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the final Dynamite before All In and the show has some work to do. While the pay per view card is set, there are still some matches that could use some additional build. AEW still has time to make that happen, but they are going to need to do it well this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone brings out Britt Baker and Mercedes Mone (with Kamille) to sign their contract. Mone says she is the future but Baker is the past before signing. Baker says there was a DMD before there was a CEO and signs as well. Mone doesn’t like the DMD chant and thinks Baker having another career means she isn’t all in.

Baker laughs it off and says that Mone is one of four but she is one of one. She praises Mone for being a trailblazer and hopes Mone finds that person again, because it’s who Baker wants to beat. Baker says she’ll agree to not get violent with Mone to start but then jumps Kamille, who is knocked into Mone to send the villains running. It’s hard to imagine Baker winning, but she looked strong here.

Chris Jericho talks about how he was on his way to Cardiff, England and wonders why Tommy Billington is bidding himself as the Dynamite Kid. Billington isn’t as good as the original Dynamite Kid and doesn’t even belong on Dynamite!

Chris Jericho vs. Tommy Billington

Non-title and the Learning Tree is here with Jericho. Billington grabs a headlock to start but gets sent outside, where the Learning Tree jumps him for a posting. We take a break and come back with stereo crossbodies leaving both of them down for a breather. Billington strikes away for two but gets pulled into the Walls in the middle of the ring. The rope is grabbed so Billington hits the snap suplex before diving onto Bryan Keith. That’s enough of a distraction for Jericho to hit the Codebreaker for the pin at 9:23.

Rating: C+. Billington is still brand new around here but they’re certainly putting him in there with some big names. That could take him a long way if they do it right and at least the start has gone well. Jericho was his usual self here, but he was going to lead a match like this no matter what, just due to the massive experience edge.

Post match Jericho says he would beat Hook up if he was here so cue Hook, who gets chokeslammed by Big Bill.

Women’s Title: Saraya vs. Toni Storm

Storm is defending and Harley Cameron is here with Saraya. Storm’s headlock into a rollup gets an early two and she jumps over Saraya a bit, setting up another rollup for another two. Back up and Saraya sends her outside, where Cameron tosses Storm into the barricade. Saraya adds a cannonball and we take a break. Back with Storm grabbing a DDT an a fisherman’s suplex for two. Storm Zero is countered into the Nightcap to give Saraya two and the Rampaige gets two more. Back up and Storm grabs a quick chokebomb for two before kissing Saraya and hitting Storm Zero for the pin at 8:40.

Rating: C+. I can go for tying up a loose end and that’s what they did here, as Saraya gets and loses her title rematch. Storm has a bigger deal with May anyway, but this gave Saraya a nice moment before she won’t be on the pay per view card. The match was ok enough as well, and it gave Storm some momentum before All In.

Post match Mariah May jumps Storm and leaves her laying.

The Conglomeration is ready for Collision and All In. Mark Briscoe is rather animated, as you might expect.

Here is Will Ospreay for a chat but cue MJF, in an American flag suit, to interrupt. MJF asks the crowd to shush but gets soundly booed, leaving Ospreay to request a resounding weapon. Ospreay talks about everything he has done to get here and all the tiny places he has wrestled in over the years. Sunday is about cleaning up everything MJF has done and promises to finish him at All In.

MJF says he didn’t have to break his body like Ospreay, because all he had to do was tease a kangaroo kick. The reality is that MJF came back early from an injury because the bosses want him to clean up Ospreay’s mess. A lot of people have heard about this wrestling first promotion but then MJF was the World Champion. The joke went on too long and now the owner is asking Ospreay not to make their match about wrestling, because the champion can’t do it.

All In is about restoring the feeling and Ospreay is that feeling. MJF laughs it off because Ospreay is only where he is because the fans like him. The reality is that MJF is the youngest World Champion in AEW history and Ospreay doesn’t have the nerve to use the tiger driver. Ospreay talks about being the best in the world in all kinds of countries and that is what he has to defend at All In in front of his family and country. MJF loses it over the OSPREAY chants but says he talked to Ospreay’s wife and so called kid earlier today.

The reality is that Ospreay is the kid’s stepfather, but after the talk MJF had with Ospreay’s wife, the next kid she has won’t be Ospreay’s either. Ospreay asks Tony Schiavone about the fine if he jumps MJF right now and that would be about $127,000. It’s worth it, so the fight is on with security not being able to break it up. The diamond ring shot drops Ospreay (and busts him open) and a brainbuster leaves him laying. Security breaks up a tiger driver attempt from MJF. That move better connect on Sunday and it better put MJF on the shelf for eleventy billion weeks after the hype it has received.

Hangman Page has been asked to leave the building following an unexplained altercation. He’s in the Casino Gauntlet at All In, but here is Evil Uno to say he’s in too. Page drops him and talks about wanting to ruin Swerve Strickland.

Continental Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kazuchika Okada

Okada is defending and backs him into the ropes to start, meaning it’s a fairly sarcastic break. Castagnoli backs him right back up against the ropes as well before both the Rainmaker and Neutralizer are broken up. Okada strikes away so Castagnoli tells him to bring it, earning himself a running forearm.

We take a break and come back with Castagnoli muscling him over for a suplex before knocking Okada outside. Back in and they forearm it out with Castagnoli getting the better of things. A DDT gets Okada out of trouble and a neckbreaker gives him two. Castagnoli blocks a Tombstone attempt though and they crash out to the floor in a big heap.

We take another break and come back again with Castagnoli muscling him over with a gutwrench suplex and stomping him down for two. Okada’s dropkick sends Castagnoli outside though and the top rope elbow gets…well no cover, but Okada does get to flip the crowd off.

Castagnoli is back with the Giant Swing but Okada cuts off the clothesline with a dropkick. The Air Raid Crash onto the knee leaves both of them down as the fans approve again. They slug it out from their knees and we have a minute left in the time limit. Swiss Death sends Okada mostly outside and the time limit expires at 20:00 as Castagnoli can’t quite get the cover.

Rating: B. This was Okada at middle of the road speed and believe it or not, it still worked. Okada is long past the point where he is expected to be his old self, but I can go for this version of him from time to time. Castagnoli was his usual self and they had a good match, which thankfully didn’t see Castagnoli lose another big one. Strong chance they run it back at All Out.

Post match the Young Bucks come out to ask if the fans want five more minutes…but that isn’t going to happen. They ask Castagnoli to leave and threaten violence before the main event, only to be interrupted by their opponents.

FTR/Darby Allin vs. Young Bucks/Jack Perry

The brawl starts on the floor before the bell until we get Harwood elbowing Perry in the face for two. Allin comes in and hits a dive onto Perry as everything breaks down. The Bucks dive onto FTR and it’s a Doomsday kick to Allin’s chest as we take a break. Back with the powerbomb/corner enziguri getting two on Allin, who dives over for the tag to Harwood anyway.

Harwood rolls the German suplexes and gets two off a brainbuster to Perry. Wheeler comes in and gets superkicked down for two but the EVP Trigger misses. Back up and FTR/Allin grab stereo Sharpshooters, all of which are broken up. The villains tease leaving but get caught, with Allin hitting a Canadian Destroyer. Perry reverse DDT’s Allin but walks into the Shatter Machine. The PowerPlex into the Coffin Drop finishes Nick at 9:57.

Rating: B-. This was a good bit shorter than I was expecting and one of the Bucks getting pinned didn’t feel like that big of a deal. It’s hard for me to fathom them losing the titles on Sunday, but the three way deal makes it more of a possibility. At the same time, I had forgotten that Allin vs. Perry was a coffin match, as it doesn’t really add much to the whole thing. That being said, this was a nice enough way to promote two matches in one segment, which is always nice to see.

Post match here is the Acclaimed to say they’re better than the Bucks and FTR.

Bryan Danielson tells Will Ospreay to DO IT. He means beat MJF, perhaps with the tiger driver 91, in case you thought he was wanting Ospreay to quit wrestling and become a beekeeper.

Nigel McGuinness is in the ring to moderate the final showdown between Swerve Strickland and Bryan Danielson. Swerve is out first and Nigel calls him a huge favorite in the title match. Swerve lists off the people he has hurt and promises to take Danielson apart. Nigel goes to introduce Danielson, but Swerve says he feels disrespected by Danielson wanting to win the title and walk away.

Swerve doesn’t want Danielson to be able to wrestle again, so if Danielson loses and wants to wrestle at some small show in Washington, Swerve will be there to beat him down. If Danielson wants to put on a mask and wrestle in Arena Mexico, Swerve will be there to beat him down. Swerve brings up Danielson’s family and here is Danielson to clear the ring.

Danielson says it’s not just a catchphrase, because he is the best wrestle in the world and has been for the last 20 years. Swerve is going to have to near kill him to beat him on Sunday. The question is whether or not Danielson can win the title and the answer is….well the fans chant YES and Danielson says they know the answer. This was an effective final showdown, though it felt like I saw a very, very similar thing (down to the family talk) between MJF and Ospreay about an hour ago.

Overall Rating: B. This show felt more like a recent WWE go home show for a pay per view and that isn’t a bad formula to follow. They pushed the big stories for Sunday and while I’m still not entirely feeling the show, this was a step in the right direction. Danielson vs. Swerve could go either way and Ospreay vs. MJF feels a bit more personal. All In has the pressure on it but they did a good job at building it up here.

Results
Chris Jericho b. Tommy Billington – Codebreaker
Toni Storm b. Saraya – Storm Zero
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kazuchika Okada went to a time limit draw
FTR/Darby Allin b. Young Bucks/Jack Perry – Coffin Drop to Nick

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Collision
Date: August 17, 2024
Location: Esports Arena Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We are just over a week away from All In and there is a good chance that we are going to see something new added to the show this week. One of the featured matches will see FTR vs. the Acclaimed for a Tag Team Title shot against the Young Bucks, which could have quite the fireworks. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Britt Baker vs. Harley Cameron

Cameron works on the wristlock to start but Baker takes her down without much trouble. Back up and Cameron sends her to the apron and starts in on the leg, including a 619 to the knee for something a bit more unique. A Russian legsweep gets two on Baker, whose comeback is quickly cut off. Cameron’s enziguri staggers Baker but she comes back with a superkick and a Sling Blade, setting up a curb stomp for the fast pin at 5:25.

Rating: C+. This was a fine way to go as the match didn’t take up too much time and didn’t need to. Baker gets a win as she is eight days away from one of the biggest matches of her career and beats the friend of someone who is facing her opponent at All In next week. It was simple and to the point, which is just fine in this case.

Post match here are Mercedes Mone and Kamille for the staredown so Baker whips out the kendo stick. Kamille takes it away without much trouble and breaks it in half. Baker is laid out with a sitout Dominator and Mone poses over her.

All In is coming to Arlington next year.

We look at Dustin Rhodes winning the Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles with the Von Erichs, but now he wants the Tag Team Titles with Sammy Guevara, because they’re all from Texas.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Sammy Guevara/Dustin Rhodes vs. Kingdom

The Kingdom is defending. Rhodes and Bennett start things off with Rhodes chopping away in the corner. A superkick cuts that off in a hurry but Guevara comes in with a high crossbody to drop the villains. The dive takes them out on the floor again and we get a double tranquilo pose back inside. Bennett takes Guevara down on the floor for some choking though and we take a break.

Back with Guevara still in trouble but Rhodes offers a distraction, allowing Guevara to grab a much needed super Spanish Fly. Rhodes gets the tag and cleans house, including the snap powerslams. Shattered Dreams hits Taven in the corner and Cross Rhodes gets two with Bennett making the save. Bennett busts Guevara’s spine and here is Beast Mortos for a distraction, allowing Rodrick Strong to come in with a Sick Kick to Rhodes.

The Von Erichs run in for the save but here is the Cage of Agony, followed by the Conglomeration, to brawl everyone to the back. Taven rolls Rhodes up for two so it’s time for Hail Mary, which Guevara breaks up with a super cutter to Taven. The Final Reckoning into a Swanton finishes Bennett for the titles at 10:37.

Rating: B-. This was more about all of the insanity going on and the big moment but it wound up being a pretty decent match. The fans seemed to like it, though seeing Rhodes get his big nostalgia title win just a few weeks ago takes away a bit of the impact. The Texas love fest hasn’t exactly had me thrilled, but I’m not the audience that it seems to be focused on anyway.

A bunch of people offer their picks for Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland. Having Nigel McGuinness cost Danielson his career could be incredible.

Chris Jericho says hi and s ready to face Tommy Billington in Cardiff, Wales next week on Dynamite. Billington didn’t have the training in the Hart Dungeon, so he’s going to be Dynamite done.

Hologram vs. Angelico

Serpentico is here with Angelico. Hologram starts working on the wrist to start and anklescissors his way out of trouble. A standoff lets Angelico dance a bit so Hologram sends him outside for a heck of a dive as we take a break. Back with Hologram diving between the ropes to avoid some charges, setting up a springboard hurricanrana to send Angelico flying. Hologram has to bail out of a 450 though, allowing Angelico to get two off la majistral. A hurricanrana gives Hologram two and they trade rollups for two each, followed by Hologram’s cradle for the pin at 8:05.

Rating: B. More fun from Hologram here, who is turning into a showcase. It also helps that he wasn’t on a team with a bigger name or coming after another high flier on the same show. It’s still working for him, but it is probably time to move him into either a feud or at least some bigger competition. Rather entertaining stuff here though, which is the entire point.

Video on the tiger driver 91 and of course Excalibur is right there to tell us about how devastating it is. I get what they’re going for with it, but maybe it would be more devastating if it, like, put someone out?

Jack Perry vs. Danny Orion

Non-title. The bell rings and Perry takes off his jacket before unloading in the corner. A rebound lariat and a running knee finishes Orion at 1:15.

Post match Perry whips out a body bag and spray paints Orion’s face white, ala Darby Allin. Orion is put in the bag…with the TNT Title. Perry pulls out a new version of the TNT Title, which is all black. Well it’s Perry so it must be interesting.

We look at the Patriarchy attacking the House Of Black and the Bang Bang Gang.

The House Of Black and the Bang Bang Gang both want the Trios Titles back.

Christopher Daniels makes a four way titles match (Patriarchy, House Of Black, Bang Bang Gang and a wild card team), say it with me, in a ladder match, for All In.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Lio Rush

Rush rolls away from him to start but eventually gets pulled into a gutwrench suplex. That’s broken up as well and Rush grabs a jumping Stunner, which seems to annoy Castagnoli more than anything else. Castagnoli uppercuts him out of the air and bends Rush’s back over his knee, setting up a chinlock as we take a break.

Back with Castagnoli missing a charge into the corner and getting sent out to the apron for a flipping kick to the head. Rush’s suicide dive is pulled out of the air but Rush is fine enough to grab a quick hurricanrana. Back up and Castagnoli LAUNCHES HIM over the barricade for a crash, followed by a running uppercut for two back inside. Rush strikes away and hits the spinning kick to the head, only to charge into Swiss Death for the pin at 8:49.

Rating: B-. Oh dang this was looking fun and could have been a lot more if they had more time. They only got about five minutes on the full screen and that isn’t enough from these two, at least based on what we got. Power vs. speed works every time and it felt like they were on the verge of doing some good stuff before they had to wrap it up so quickly.

Stokely Hathaway and Kris Statlander know that Tomohiro Ishii is tough and crazy, but so is Statlander. The winning team gets to pick the stipulation for Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale at All Out. Hathaway knowing pain is coming is great.

Eddie Kingston, still recovering from his knee injury, says he isn’t seeing the Bryan Danielson that he knows so well. This Danielson is going to lose, because he doesn’t have the fire. Bryan needs to figure that out, because going in to lose isn’t a good way to go out.

Mariah May vs. Londyn Dior

Storm Zero finishes in 37 seconds.

Post match Toni Storm pops up with a video called My Final Gift. She talks about how a sad clown should come to see her and promises that the River Thames will run red with May’s blood at All In. May looks shaken up but hits Dior in the head with the shoe to blow off some steam.

Max Caster does a musicless rap about how the Acclaimed is going to beat FTR.

FTR vs. Acclaimed

For the Tag Team Title shot at All In and Billy Gunn is here with the Acclaimed. Bowens takes Harwood into the corner to start and it’s an early clean break. Back up and a running shoulder sends Bowens into the corner, followed by a small package to give Harwood two. Wheeler comes in to headlock Caster, who is right back with one of his own to even things up a bit.

That’s broken up and it’s back to Bowens, who rolls Caster up for two. Everything breaks down and the Acclaimed backdrop FTR outside for some needed head shaking. Back in and Caster has to fight out of the corner before being sent back outside for a clothesline as we take a break. We come back with Harwood missing a charge into the corner, allowing Bowens to come back in and pick up the case.

The jumping Fameasser is blocked and Wheeler comes back in, only to get rolled up for two. Wheeler knocks Bowens to the floor but there’s no Harwood (wrong corner anyway) so Caster knocks him down, only to look a bit confused as well (weird segment there). Things settle back down to a suplex/high crossbody combination for two on Wheeler. A sunset flip gets two on Caster and Wheeler powerslams Bowens for a roll out to the floor. The Steiner Bulldog gets two on Caster as we take another break.

Back again with Bowens belly to back suplexing Harwood for a double knockdown. Wheeler comes back in to clean house, including a running European uppercut to Caster. The fans chant FIGHT FOREVER, which makes me remember that the video game was a thing. Wheeler’s rollup gets two on Caster and it’s back to Harwood, who gets beaten up by Bowens. Caster and Harwood drop each other again and it’s Bowens going after Harwood’s knee to take over.

The Sharpshooter goes on Bowens and then another goes on Caster, with Bowens making a save for two. Harwood puts Bowens on top as we get the five minute call. Bowens gets crotched and it’s the PowerPlex (more like a PowerDDT) for a delayed two. Harwood and Bowens slug it out from their knees but the Shatter Machine is broken up.

Instead the Acclaimed hit the Shatter Machine on Harwood for two with Wheeler…well possibly making a save. Everyone is down again and the fans are WAY into this. The double slugout from their knees and Caster is sent outside, leaving Bowens to get caught in the Shatter Machine. Caster makes the save from the apron as we have a minute left. Harwood and Caster slug it out and collide with Harwood falling on top for two as time expires at 30:00.

Rating: B. This took its time to get going and while the draw felt like a fairly obvious outcome (one way or another), that’s not a bad thing. The story they’ve been telling was setting up a three way title match and that’s what we’re likely getting, with some rather good action on the way there. Solid match here, thankfully without the Young Bucks interfering and dragging things down.

The brawl stays on after the match and Tony Schiavone announces that it’s a three way title match at All In. Well, yeah.

Overall Rating: B+. The action was rather good throughout, they set up some things for the two upcoming pay per views and had a title change. This was one of the better done editions of Collision in a good while and shows how much better it is when the show is given some extra attention. Moving some of the bigger stuff from Dynamite over to here would be a smart move and this was something of a version of that, making it a pretty good week.

Results
Britt Baker b. Harley Cameron – Curb stomp
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara b. Kingdom – Swanton to Bennett
Hologram b. Angelico – Cradle
Jack Perry b. Danny Orion – Running knee
Claudio Castagnoli b. Lio Rush – Swiss Death
Mariah May b. Londyn Dior – Storm Zero
FTR vs. The Acclaimed went to a time limit draw

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Dynamite
Date: August 7, 2024
Location: LJVM Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re on the way to All In and a lot of the card is already set up. Odds are we are going to be seeing some more of that added to the show this week, as there are still things that need to be set up. We have a big match here with MJF facing Kyle Fletcher in an Eliminator Match, plus Jeff Jarrett vs. Bryan Danielson, anything goes. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Kyle Fletcher

Non-title and Don Callis is on commentary. MJF bails to the floor at the bell and grabs the mic, saying lock up with him like a real wrestler or get out. Back in and MJF kicks him down but gets backslidden for two. Fletcher gets in a slam but it’s way too early for the piledriver. An arm crank into the corner has Fletcher in more trouble and MJF starts cranking away. A shoulderbreaker sets up an armbar as this is mostly one sided so far.

Fletcher gets out and scores with a superkick, allowing him to hammer away in the corner. Another kick sends MJF outside and there’s the suicide dive. A huge moonsault to the floor takes MJF down again but he drop toeholds a charging Fletcher into the barricade. MJF misses a charge of his own though and gets plowed through for a big crash. Fletcher drops a top rope elbow for two back inside but the piledriver is countered into an Alabama Slam.

The hammerlock DDT gives MJF two and they’re both down. MJF starts slapping him in the face and yelling a lot, allowing Fletcher fight up with a big clothesline. Fletcher lawn darts him into the middle buckle but has to escape a super Tombstone. Fletcher’s piledriver gets two and Callis heads to the ring to throw in the screwdriver. That isn’t going to happen though and it’s a low blow into a kangaroo kick into the brainbuster to give MJF the pin at 17:43.

Rating: B. I’m not sure how much of a reason there was to believe that Fletcher was going to win here but he put in quite the effort on the way. MJF is on his way to a huge showdown with Will Ospreay in London and a nice win here was a good way to go. If nothing else, MJF getting to bust out the Kangaroo Kick makes him that much more of a jerk so this went well.

Post match Will Ospreay tries to storm the ring but is delayed by a blocked door, allowing MJF to hit Fletcher with the diamond ring. MJF loads up a tiger driver 91 but Ospreay gets to the ring to clear him out. Fletcher’s blood is all over Ospreay’s shirt for the big visual.

Video on Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Jarrett, with Ricky Steamboat saying he wants to see it.

Mariah May vs. Viva Van

May drops her to start and snaps off a release German suplex. Van gets beaten down in the corner and May fires off right hands…as we take a break? In this match? Back with May stomping away in the corner and adds a kiss to the cheek before May Day…gets no cover. Instead it’s Storm Zero to finish Van at 6:25. Not enough shown to rate but I have no idea why this needed a break.

Post match May unwraps a big picture of herself and Toni Storm, with the words DIE MARIAH DIE on the back. Cue Storm for the brawl and security has to break it up.

Jack Perry watches clips of Blood & Guts and talks about being willing to sacrifice anything.

Darby Allin wants Perry to show up at Wembley. That’s why he didn’t light Perry on fire.

Bryan Keith vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Chris Jericho is on commentary. Keith jumps him to start but Shibata is right back to work on the arm. They head outside with Shibata being sent into the barricade to work on his arm for a change. We take a break and come back with Shibata knocking him into the corner but getting caught in a fireman’s carry backbreaker. Shibata snaps on a cross armbreaker and Keith taps at 7:04.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere as about half of the match was spent on the break. Shibata seems primed to be the next challenger to Jericho and the FTW Title and beating up the lackey is a tried and true way to go. Either that or Hook is on his way back, but Shibata seems to be the more logical way to go.

Post match the Learning Tree runs in for the beatdown but the returning Hook makes the save.

Orange Cassidy is the lone member of the Conglomeration here due to travel issues but he’s going to wrestle anyway.

Hangman Page only wants to destroy Swerve Strickland but people keep getting in his way. He’ll get his revenge.

Swerve Strickland sits down with Jim Ross, who wants to see the World Title match at All In with Swerve defending against Bryan Danielson. Strickland doesn’t feel remorse over some of the worse things he’s done and he won’t feel bad about beating Danielson up. This his his company and he doesn’t care about Danielson’s family. Not only can Swerve beat him, but he he will.

Orange Cassidy/FTR vs. Rush/Beast Mortos/Roderick Strong

The Kingdom is here with the villains. Rush and Harwood start things off but it’s quickly off to Mortos for a drop toehold so Rush can get in a basement dropkick to the side of the head. Back up and Strong is taken into the wrong corner so Harwood can grab a snap suplex. Everything breaks down and the villains are sent to the floor, with FTR putting their hands in their trunks for team unity.

Back from a break with Wheeler being sent into the corner for a string of running splashes. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Wheeler grabs a sunset flip for two. It’s back to Harwood to clean house, including a spinebuster for two on Mortos. Strong pulls Harwood off the top and hits the Sick Kick, allowing Mortos to knock Harwood outside.

We take another break and come back again with Harwood and Rush knocking each other down and the big tag brings in Cassidy to pick up the pace. The very spinning tornado DDT plants Mortos but it’s back to Rush for a dropkick on Harwood. Everything breaks down and the Shatter Machine finishes Rush at 16:49.

Rating: B-. This was a long match and it was entertaining, but I’m almost having a hard time fathoming that FTR was substituting for Mark Briscoe and Kyle O’Reilly. That would be the third time we had seen a similar tag match in a bit over a week and while they’re fun, I could go for something a bit different. FTR being used as the substitutes isn’t a surprise as they see to be the perfect choice for such a spot, as the fans are always going to react to them. Nice stuff here, but three times being so similar is close enough.

Post match here is the Acclaimed….but Caster’s mic doesn’t work. Security comes in and hold them back from FTR on the second or third try.

We look at the Patriarchy getting beaten up on Collision.

Christian Cage and the Patriarchy announce the Bang Bang Gang vs. the House Of Black on Collision for a Trios Titles shot at All In. Maybe they need a father, so Cage will be guest referee.

Video on Hologram.

Kamille vs. Clara Carter/Jazmyne Hao

Mercedes Mone is here with Kamille. House is cleaned, with Kamille stomping away despite having Hao on her back. A torture rack bomb and a Dominator are enough to give Kamille the double pin at 1:52.

Post match Mone and Kamille brag about being so great but Britt Baker isn’t here. Tony Schiavone says Tony Khan has overridden the Elite (make a note of that for when it would be appropriate later) and Baker is not only no longer suspended, but here she is on screen. Baker promises to win the title at All In.

Video on Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland.

Claudio Castagnoli won a triple threat on Collision and gets a shot at Kazuchika Okada.

Bryan Danielson vs. Jeff Jarrett

Anything goes and Ricky Steamboat joins commentary. Jarrett jumps Danielson on the stage with a guitar shot to the back and they go inside for the opening bell. Danielson is clotheslined to the floor and then sent into the barricade as Jarrett is starting fast. They go into the crowd and then into the concourse where Danielson fights back. Jarrett suplexes him through a trashcan though and slugs away, only to get suplexed onto the same trashcan.

We take a break and come back with Jarrett using a chair to wreck Danielson’s knee. Jarrett hammers away in the corner but gets sent outside for Danielson’s suicide dive. Back up and Jarrett goes after the knee again, including some more chair shots. Danielson gets in a chair shot of his own though and the spider superplex sets up a missile dropkick.

For some reason Danielson fires off the YES Kicks but Jarrett pulls him into the Figure Four. Some chairs to the knee break it up so Jarrett switches to the Sharpshooter, which Danielson reverses into the LeBell Lock. That’s broken up as well and they slug it out, with Danielson grabbing the chair and hitting the running knee into it into Jarrett’s head for the pin at 15:33.

Rating: B-. Is there any surprise that this wound up working? Despite his less than great reputation, Jarrett has been around for going on forty years and wrestles a very effective style. This was a fun brawl with both guys getting to show off a bit before we got to the serious stuff at the end.

Post match Steamboat and Jarrett’s friends get in the ring as respect is shown. Cue Swerve Strickland to say we just saw three legends of TBS programming: Jarrett, Steamboat and Swerve. They’ve all been World Champions, unlike Danielson. Everyone else clears out and Swerve gets in the ring to say he won’t hesitate to hit the kill shot on Danielson. Swerve wants a warmup next week as well, so he’ll face….Wheeler Yuta, with Danielson sitting ringside. A staredown ends the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show was in a weird place with little being added to the card but enough solid content to keep the two hours moving. At the same time, the Olympics are likely going to take away a good chunk of the audience so it wouldn’t make sense to waste a bunch of stuff when the viewers weren’t going to be there. Solid show here though, with two more Dynamites to go before it’s off to London, meaning there is time to really hammer it home.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Kyle Fletcher – Brainbuster
Mariah May b. Viva Van – Storm Zero
Katsuyori Shibata b. Bryan Keith – Cross armbreaker
Orange Cassidy/FTR b. Beast Morton/Rush/Roderick Strong – Shatter Machine to Rush
Kamille b. Clara Carter/Jazmyne Hao – Double pin
Bryan Danielson b. Jeff Jarrett – Running knee with a chair

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.

Summerslam 2012
Date: August 19, 2013
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Attendance: 14,205
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

The main story here is Brock Lesnar is back, having returned the night after Wrestlemania to start a feud with John Cena. That feud lasted for a month before Lesnar started going after HHH. It wasn’t until three months later, as in tonight, that they’re having their showdown. Other than that we have Punk defending the title against Big Show and Cena and Sheamus defending against Del Rio. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: US Title: Antonio Cesaro vs. Santino Marella

This is one of those ideas that was brought back after far too many years off. Santino is defending and Cesaro has his HORRID dance music here. He also has Aksana who isn’t horrid at all, other than in the ring of course. Cesaro’s word of the day in five languages: greatness. Santino does the power walk to the ring and is as goofy as ever. Cesaro takes it to the mat but Santino actually spins out for two.

A judo throw puts Cesaro down before Santino power walks out of an Irish whip. Must resist country jokes. Santino avoids a charge in the corner and loads up the Cobra but Cesaro takes his head off from behind. The Cobra goes to the floor and Aksana throws it away. Off to a reverse chinlock with Cesaro pulling on Marella’s ears to keep him away from the Cobra. IT’S A FREAKING SOCK! I know Foley used one too but it didn’t seem to have magical powers.

Santino kicks Cesaro away but still can’t get the sock. The gutwrench suplex gets no cover from the challenger, as he would rather rip the Cobra to shreds. Santino pounds away but misses the headbutt. He counters the Neutralizer and pulls out another Cobra, proving THAT IT’S JUST A FREAKING SOCK! Aksana gets on the apron and the Cobra wants her, allowing Cesaro to hit the Neutralizer for the pin and the title.

Rating: D+. IT’S A FREAKING SOCK! Match was ok but the majority of the five minutes were spent on Santino trying to put a sock on his hand so he can use a neck attack taught to him by John Lovitz. I know he’s a comedy character but there’s a point where it’s stupid rather than funny. Santino half crossed that line years ago.

The opening video talks about the twenty five years of Summerslam, meaning we’ll have to hear about how this is the 25^th anniversary. The video is interrupted by talk of a storm called Brock Lesnar, which to be fair is the main draw of the show.

Jerry and Cole’s intro is cut off by Vickie’s screeching intro of Ziggler.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho

Dolph is Mr. MITB here and Jericho is freshly face after Ziggler accused him of going soft. Jericho has taped up ribs from an attack at Ziggler’s hands. The fans LOVE Chris and things start fast with the Canadian hitting the jumping back elbow to the jaw. Jericho slips out of the corner on a spinning clothesline but Ziggler escapes a suplex and kicks him in the ribs to take over. Dolph stays on the ribs for a quick two but gets backdropped out to the floor.

Chris’ springboard dive misses as Ziggler casually ducks, sending Jericho crashing to the floor. Ziggler hooks on a chinlock with a bodyscissors to stay on the ribs. A knee to the head gets two for Dolph and a neckbreaker, complete with hip swivel and ARROGANT COVER, gets two more.

Jericho gets a quick cradle for two but Ziggler takes him right back down with a clothesline. Dolph misses a Stinger Splash and Chris goes after him, only to be easily taken down by another shot to the ribs. Not that it matters as he pops up top for the ax handle but Ziggler kicks him in the ribs again. The Fameasser gets two but an enziguri puts Dolph down for two as well. Back and forth match so far here.

Dolph jumps over Chris in the corner and puts on the sleeper which looks horrid here. Jericho rams him into the corner to escape and rains down some right hands before snapping off a top rope hurricanrana. The ribs are damaged even more though, delaying the count by several seconds. A jumping DDT gets two on the Canadian and Ziggler is getting frustrated.

They slug it out with Jericho taking him down via the bulldog but the Lionsault hits knees. The Zig Zag gets two but Dolph can’t follow up. Instead he walks into the Codebreaker to send him to the floor. Jericho throws him in but gets tripped up by Vickie, allowing Ziggler to roll him up for two. Dolph misses a charge into the post and the Walls go on for the submission.

Rating: C+. The idea here was that Jericho couldn’t win the big one anymore. The problem here though is they would have a rematch tomorrow night with Jericho’s contract and Dolph’s case on the line. Why they didn’t have that match here is anyone’s guess but at least it was a good opener and the fans popped for the ending. They had some Shelton vs. HBK from 2005 in there with Jericho fighting a younger version of himself but using his maturity and experience to get the win.

Vickie freaks out over the loss.

We recap Brock breaking Shawn Michaels’ arm on Raw.

Heyman and Brock say Lesnar wins tonight.

Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

It’s amazing that this team started less than a year ago. The fans are already chanting YES and Bryan says NO. It’s amazing how a chant this simple carried Bryan so far. This was set up by GM AJ as revenge against Bryan for jilting her or something. Bryan fires off kicks to start but walks into an uppercut to knock him back. Daniel moonsaults over Kane in the corner but gets kicked in the face to put him down. The low dropkick gets two for Kane but the fans are all behind Daniel.

Another big boot gets two but Bryan comes back with the kicks to the legs, only to be thrown over the top and out to the floor. Bryan slides back in and hits the FLYING GOAT to put Kane down. The missile dropkick drops Kane again and there are more kicks, only to have Kane clothesline his way out of trouble. The side slam gets two and the top rope clothesline looks to set up the chokeslam but Bryan bails to the floor.

Bryan slaps him in the face like a knucklehead, sending Kane through the roof. Bryan is tossed into the corner and stomped down by a furious Kane. The referee drags him away, allowing Bryan to try the NO Lock. Kane powers out so Bryan kicks him in the head. Why overcomplicate things? The flying headbutt is caught in the chokeslam but Kane wants the tombstone, allowing Bryan to counter into a small package for the pin.

Rating: C+. Good match here and you could see the anger management stuff coming. Kane had Bryan beat but wanted revenge and let Bryan catch him off guard. These two obviously had chemistry together and the story would be a big boost to Kane’s career. Also the original idea here was Bryan vs. Charlie Sheen somehow. Thankfully that was never mentioned again.

Kane is going nuts in the back. Josh Matthews comes up to him like the schnook he is and is LAUNCHED off camera in a funny bit.

Intercontinental Title: Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz

Miz is defending and Mysterio is dressed like Batman. Rey grabs a quick rollup for two and the champion bails to the floor for a bit. AJ has promised to deal with Kane for attacking Matthews tomorrow on Raw. Miz throws Mysterio through the ropes to the floor but Rey rolls through to avoid pain. The champion sends him ribs first into the barricade to take over as this isn’t doing much for me so far.

Miz pulls on Rey’s face and puts on a chinlock before hitting something resembling Abyss’ Shock Treatment (torture rack backbreaker) for two. A boot to Rey’s head gets two and it’s off to a cravate for a bit. Miz hits the corner clothesline but spends too much time laughing at the crowd, allowing Rey to crotch him on the top.

Rey’s seated senton is rolled through into a slingshot sitout powerbomb for two from Miz. Rey comes back with a tornado DDT for the same result and a top rope hurricanrana sends Miz into the 619 position. The kick to the face connects but Rey misses the top rope splash. The Skull Crushing Finale is countered into a cradle for a hot two count. A second attempt at the Finale works though to retain Miz’s title.

Rating: C-. This took a long time to get going but it had a few nice moments at the end. Both of these guys fell so far in just a year as both guys were fighting for the world title just a year ago. The match wasn’t bad but it didn’t do much for me. It was one of those matches that came and went and I won’t think about it again an hour from now.

Teddy Long and Eve, the bosses of Smackdown, leave AJ’s office and seem to approve of what she’s doing. They leave and Punk goes in to find a smiling AJ. Punk doesn’t like the idea of being in a triple threat for the title tonight and thinks it’s happening as revenge for him rejecting AJ’s proposal. AJ just stares off into space and Punk accuses her of disrespecting him but she doesn’t move an inch.

We recap Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus. These two feuded FOREVER and Del Rio never did much of anything. He complained about Sheamus not being high class so Sheamus stole Del Rio’s car. Fake cops beat up Sheamus and that’s about it. It’s as boring of a feud as it sounds.

Smackdown World Title: Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio

Feeling out process to start with both guys tumbling out to the floor. Back in and Sheamus hits a quick neckbreaker and the rolling senton for two each. Sheamus puts him on the top rope for a belly to back superplex but Alberto gets onto Sheamus’ shoulder to escape. The buckle pad is pulled off in the process. Del Rio can’t hook the armbreaker so he kicks Sheamus out to the floor instead. Sheamus is sent knee first into the steps as the crowd is DEAD.

Back in and Del Rio hits a flying shoulder block for two before hooking the chinlock. A kick to the head gets two on the champion and we hit the chinlock. That goes nowhere so Del Rio mocks Sheamus’ chest pounding before the Brogue Kick, only to have Sheamus ax handle him in the head. Sheamus goes up but a kick to the let puts him down again. A kick to the arm gets two for Alberto and the armbreaker goes on, FINALLY waking the fans up.

Sheamus of course is barely phased by it and rolls onto Del Rio to break the pressure. He picks Alberto up into a kind of powerbomb to break the hold, earning himself a chant from the crowd. White Noise gets two and Sheamus avoids a charge in the corner, setting up the forearms in the ropes. Sheamus pounds down right hands in the corner but gets dropped face first onto the exposed buckle. The enziguri in the corner is good for two so Del Rio yells at Ricardo. Rodriguez throws in a shoe but Sheamus intercepts it to knock Ricardo out cold. The Irish Curse hits for the pin, ignoring Del Rio’s foot being on the rope. REMATCH!

Rating: D+. The match was decent but it never felt like Sheamus was in any real danger. The drop onto the exposed buckle and the enziguri got a near fall, but it didn’t feel like a close near fall; It felt like it was there because this is where we’re supposed to have a dramatic kick out if that makes sense. It’s not bad but this feud didn’t need to continue at all.

We hear about Mike Tyson and Piers Morgan having a Twitter war over the main event. I’ve got nothing.

We get a clip from the pre show where HHH tells the referee that the match isn’t ending on a countout or a DQ.

Tag Titles: Prime Time Players vs. Kofi Kingston/R-Truth

I don’t remember Kofi and Truth being champions AT ALL. Truth and Young get us going as the fans chant Kobe Bryant, referencing the joke that got AW fires. Young is taken down by an armdrag and a legdrop gets two for Truth. Truth has to fight out of the corner but gets caught in the face by a big boot for two. Back up and Truth hits a great side kick to take Titus’ head off and get himself a breather. Off to Kofi to speed things up as the crowd still isn’t all that interested.

Kofi chops O’Neil down but a Young distraction lets the challengers take over. Titus clotheslines Kofi down for two before suplexing Young onto Kofi’s back for two. A snap powerslam gets the same for Darren and it’s back to Titus for an abdominal stretch. That goes nowhere so Titus loads up a spinout Rock Bottom, only to be pulled dowin into a DDT. Hot tag brings in Truth to clean house and everything breaks down. Titus is sent to the floor and caught by a Kofi dive, allowing Truth to hit Little Jimmy on Darren to retain the titles.

Rating: D+. This could have been on any given Raw. The Players are a decent team but Titus is clearly the star with Young just being there. Kofi and Truth are just transitional champions before HELL NO would take the championships a few weeks later. Nothing to see here other than a filler before we get to the main events.

Video on Summerslam Axxess.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Punk won the title at Survivor Series but got angry over Rock vs. Cena being announced as the main event of Wrestlemania 29 a year in advance. Cena cashed in the MITB case at Raw 1000 but Big Show cost Cena the match. AJ made it a three way for the sake of tormenting Punk (now a heel demanding respect) for turning down her proposal.

Punk’s complaints about how the title should be the focus and how he wasn’t getting respect are why his heel turn didn’t go well: those are logical points and heels aren’t supposed to be logical. WWE failing to get this is the source of a lot of their problems. Heels are supposed to be bullies or maniacal in their delusions, not making thought out rational points.

Raw World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Big Show

Show knocks down both smaller guys as Cole talks about Punk not main eventing a show since December despite holding the title the entire time. Good point actually. The LOUD chop hits both Cena and Punk’s chests twice each with Big Show in total control. They finally work together but Show easily suplexes them both down. Cena is crushed in the corner, knocking him out to the floor so it’s Punk vs. Show one on one.

Punk wisely takes out the knee and fires off kicks to the chest as the fans are entirely behind him. The smart moves are canceled out though as Punk tries a GTS with the obvious result. Cena tries an AA but the powers of gravity take him down to the mat, crushing Cena’s head against the mat. Show chops Punk down in the corner and knocks Cena out to the floor. Punk avoids a splash but tries a springboard cross body like a schnook, earning that powerslam he gets.

The Final Cut puts Punk down but Cena breaks up the WMD, earning himself a spear from the giant for two. Show loads up a double Vader Bomb but only hits Cena, allowing Punk to springboard onto Show for the save. Everyone heads to the floor with Big Show chokeslamming Punk against the ropes, sending him back to the floor. Show drops Cena with a side slam but stares at the crowd instead of covering. Maybe someone was holding up a Twinkie?

Cena actually hits a belly to back suplex on Show and loads up the Shuffle, only to have Punk charge in for the save. The champion drops the Macho Elbow for two on Show but gets launched away. Since covering hasn’t worked, Punk puts on a modified Koji Clutch but Show easily powers out. The crowd has DIED for some reason. Cena comes back in and shoulders Show down, bringing them right back to life.

There’s the STF on Show but the big man stands up to break the hold. Punk comes in with a springboard clothesline to take Show down again, followed by three straight knees to the head in the corner. The bulldog is easily countered (of course) but Cena hits the top rope Fameasser to put the giant down.

We get a Koji Clutch/STF combo and Show taps, but we have no clear winner. This brings out AJ (Punk: “DO THE RIGHT THING LIKE SPIKE LEE! LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! THEY CAN TWEET ABOUT IT!”) who eventually says restart the match, allowing Show to hit a double chokeslam for two on each guy. Cena ducks the WMD and hits the AA, but Punk throws him to the floor and steals the pin to retain.

Rating: C. The match was ok with the logical story but it was nothing we hadn’t seen before. The restart was pretty dumb as well as Big Show shouldn’t have had a chance to win the title after tapping out. Cena vs. Punk would continue for months which would make for some great matches, but this wasn’t anything special. Not bad at all though.

Various B level celebrities are here. Maria Menunos in a Bob Backlund shirt works very well.

Trailer for whatever WWE’s latest movie is at the point. The Day. Ok then.

We recap the pre-show match to fill in time.

Kevin Rudolf sings the theme song.

We recap the main event. Basically Lesnar tried to hold the company hostage by renaming Raw to Monday Night Raw Starring Brock Lesnar. HHH stood up to him and got a broken arm as a result. Lesnar F5’d Vince and injured him, making HHH come back as The Cerebral Assassin to face Lesnar. Brock responded by breaking Shawn Michaels’ arm as well. This was one of those feuds that people weren’t all that thrilled to see but it could have been worse. More on that later.

Brock Lesnar vs. HHH

Every time I watch a Brock Lesnar match I remember how scary of a human being he is. We get spotlights for the big match intros in a cool idea. Remember that HHH told the referee to allow a lot of fighting tonight. Lesnar powers HHH into the corner to start and goes for a standing kimura (arm lock that he used to break the arm) with a jumping body scissors. HHH though is a MAN and powers out of it before clotheslining Brock to the floor. Back in and Brock pounds away, only to be clotheslined to the floor again. You know, because Cena can be in a war with Brock at Extreme Rules but HHH can easily stop him.

Brock comes back in and takes the MMA gloves off before taking HHH down to the mat with an amateur move. They head outside with HHH shrugging off Brock’s attacks and pounding away, only to be dropped arm first onto the announce table. Lesnar eventually drags HHH back in for a hammerlock slam. Back to the standing kimura with Brock wrapping the arm around the ropes and ramming it into the corner.

A release German suplex puts HHH down again but he comes back with a neck snap across the ropes. Brock is taken down by a DDT but he goes right back to the kimura and another hammerlock slam. They head to the floor with the arm going into the steps and the rest of HHH going into the announce table. Brock jumps off the table onto the Game before taking him back inside. Of all things, Lesnar busts out a small package for a one count. A hard clothesline puts HHH down but he blocks a suplex into one of his own to get a breather.

Brock misses a charge into the corner but blocks a Pedigree and throws HHH out to the floor. HHH sends him into the announce table stomach first, which is a weak spot due to some real life past illnesses which ended his UFC career for all intents and purposes. More shots to the stomach have Brock in trouble and a knee to the ribs puts him down. Heyman is losing his mind and Brock is in trouble.

The spinebuster puts Brock down and there’s the Pedigree for two. A low blow puts HHH down and Heyman screams that this was HHH’s idea. The F5 is good for two and Brock is stunned. I have no idea why, as you know you can’t get a win off one finisher in WWE. Now the kimura goes on again with a bodyscissors but a rope break means nothing. Instead HHH pretty easily punches his way out of it and hits another Pedigree. Thankfully Brock no sells it and puts on the kimura, breaking the arm again and drawing the submission.

Rating: C+. The match is ok but it has one major flaw: it’s BORING. You don’t bring in Brock Lesnar to have him go toe to toe with HHH. You bring him in to have him destroy small cities and eat villagers. That’s the issue here. We went from Cena surviving against an insane Brock Lesnar to HHH having Brock in trouble in a dull match. Lesnar didn’t seem insane here at all and it made for a much less interesting match. Also, Cena won with a Hail Mary shot, where as HHH can slug it out with Lesnar? That just doesn’t hold up at all. Somehow this would be the high point, as this feud went on another TEN MONTHS.

Naturally HHH gets the big heroic stand up in the ring, but instead of people giving him a standing ovation they tell him that he tapped out. HHH stands there until people finally applaud him. He apologizes to the fans and slowly walks out. I guess this is supposed to be like Austin at Wrestlemania 13 but it’s just failing. The speculation is that HHH is leaving for good. If you bought that, raise your hand to show how gullible you are.

Overall Rating: C-. This is an interesting show as most of the matches are ok but nothing goes beyond that level. Most of this show would be classified as ok at best and uninteresting at worst. It’s just kind of there with nothing memorable other than HHH DEMANDING to give us his moment at the end. Nothing to see here and not worth checking out.

Ratings Comparison

Antonio Cesaro vs. Santino Marella

Original: D+

Redo: D+

Chris Jericho vs. Dolph Ziggler

Original: B-

Redo: C+

Daniel Bryan vs. Kane

Original: C-

Redo: C+

Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz

Original: C

Redo: C-

Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus

Original: D

Redo: D+

R-Truth/Kofi Kingston vs. Prime Time Players

Original: C

Redo: D+

John Cena vs. CM Punk vs. Big Show

Original: C-

Redo: C

Brock Lesnar vs. HHH

Original: B

Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: D+

Redo: C-

It’s still boring.

Here’s the original review if you’re interested:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2012/08/19/summerslam-2012-lesnar-is-a-wrestler-again-just-like-everyone-else/

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.

Collision
Date: July 27, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

We’re continuing the rather long Tony Khan weekend as the road to All In has another Saturday stop. This is also the first half of a double header with the latest Battle Of The Belts, meaning some people might not be available. We also have the fallout from Blood & Guts to deal with so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Orange Cassidy vs. Johnny TV

Taya Valkyrie is here with TV and this is fallout from an event at Comic Con. Cassidy works on the arm to start so TV chills in the corner (upside down, just because he can). They take turns putting on the sunglasses until Cassidy sends him out to the floor. There’s the suicide dive (with hands in pockets and glasses on) but TV is back in with the Russian legsweep and a knee to the face. The standing moonsault misses but Cassidy is sent outside anyway, with TV pulling off the barricade cover.

Taya and TV stop for some kissing, with the delay allowing Cassidy to send him into the buckle. TV is back up with a Flying Chuck to knock him off the apron though and it’s time to work on the arm. The Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble and the tornado DDT gets two. TV counters the Orange Punch into the flipping neckbreaker, only to miss Starship Pain. The second neckbreaker sets up the connecting Starship Pain but Cassidy is right back with the Beach Break. The Orange Punch finishes TV at 10:32.

Rating: C+. This is one of those matches that was going to work because of who was involved. Cassidy is going to get a strong reaction no matter what he is doing while TV is a veteran who can make someone else look good. That’s what we had here and it made for a perfectly nice opener.

Post match Taya jumps Cassidy but Willow Nightingale (Cassidy’s partner in the Comic Con event) makes the save.

We look at the Patriarchy winning the AEW Trios Titles last week. This is different than the Ring Of Honor Six Man Tag Team Titles, because that is a thing that needs to exist.

The Bang Bang Gang swears vengeance on the Patriarchy, including Mother Wayne.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Brian Cage/Lee Moriarty vs. Top Flight

Cage is replacing an injured Shane Taylor. Moriarty and Yuta start things off with the latter armdragging him into a dropkick. Darius comes in to avoid Yuta’s charge, setting up Dante’s springboard high crossbody for two. Castagnoli comes in as well but is quickly knocked outside as well. Back in and Cage tags himself in to full nelson slam Dante as we take a break.

We come back with Cage hitting a wheelbarrow neckbreaker for two on Dante but Yuta makes the save. Castagnoli comes back in to clean house with the running uppercuts in the corner. The Swing has Moriarty in trouble but Darius makes a blind tag to break up the big lariat. Cage is back in to powerbomb the heck out of Darius but gets in the staredown with Castagnoli. They slug it out until Top Flight superkick them to the floor, setting up the dives. Cage blasts Darius with the discus lariat but Yuta tags himself in, dropkicks Moriarty, and hits something like an Angle Slam into the Seatbelt to pin Darius at 10:41.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of match that AEW knows how to do rather well and they did it again here. In theory Yuta needed to get his win back after losing to Moriarty, but it would have been nice to not have Top Flight taking another loss. The team feels like they could be something but it isn’t going to happen if they keep losing over and over.

The Conglomeration is interrupted by Willow Nightingale, who is ready to fight on Battle Of The Belts. Mark Briscoe is ready too, and even has Kyle O’Reilly hold his title (which is thrown into the air multiple times) so he can introduce the newest member: his newborn son. Well that’s just awesome. Orange Cassidy is tired.

Beast Mortos vs. Hologram

Hologram spins around to start and armdrags Mortos down. The sunset flip is broken up though and we’re off to an early standoff. Mortos snaps off a powerslam for two and hits a heck of a Pounce to send us to a break. Back with Hologram snapping off a rather spinning headscissors but getting caught on top in a super Wing Clipper for one. They wind up on the apron with Hologram kicking him the face and hitting something like a running Canadian Destroyer.

A big rope walk flip dive hits Mortos on the floor, setting up a heck of a suicide dive. Back in and a step up poisonrana plants Mortos for two but he runs Hologram over for the same. They go up top with the super gorilla press being reversed into a headscissors to bring Mortos back down. A rope walk crucifix bomb into a crucifix gives Hologram the pin at 12:04.

Rating: B. Yeah this was a much better showcase for Hologram, who got to showcase some awesome stuff and wasn’t the second great high flier on the show this week. I’m still not sure if the gimmick (assuming he really has one) is working yet but at least the high flying aspects are working. Just do more of this and it should work better.

Thunder Rosa vs. Maya World

They circle each other a bit to start until Rosa grabs a quick armdrag. World gets in a shot of her own and Rosa is not happy, meaning it’s a Thesz press into some hammering. A running corner dropkick sets up a double stomp and a seated cobra clutch finishes World at 3:36.

Rating: C. Just a squash here to get Rosa boosted back up a bit after her repeated losses to Deonna Purrazzo. Rosa being moved back up the card is not a bad thing at all as it allows another established name to be around. I’m not sure where she would fit in, but the talent is there to make it work.

Lance Archer has attacked a bunch of people in the back. He wants Will Ospreay on Dynamite.

Conglomeration vs. Premiere Athletes

The Athletes insult the crowd on the way to the ring and it’s O’Reilly starting with Woods. The technical off goes to Woods who drives him into the corner for some right hands from Nese. O’Reilly brings in Briscoe for a clothesline, followed by the chops from Ishii. For some reason Nese tries to chop Ishii and it goes as well as you would expect. Briscoe grabs a suplex and it’s already back to O’Reilly as the rapid fire tags continue. Briscoe hits a big dive and we take an early break.

Back with O’Reilly suplexing Daivari down and handing it back to Ishii to clean house. Everything breaks down and Briscoe suplexes Nese for two. The Jay Driller is broken up and something like a reverse 3D into a frog splash gives Daivari two. Woods’ backbreaker into a lariat drops Briscoe and it’s time for the parade of strikes to the face. Nese’s big flip dive hits Daivari by mistake but Woods snaps off a series of suplexes. Not that it matters as O’Reilly cross armbreakers Daivari for the win at 1020.

Rating: B. This was a good example of a match where the people involved were allowed to go nuts. It says a lot about the Conglomeration that they were able to make the Athletes, who might be the least interesting villains in AEW today, work this well. Very entertaining match here and they pulled me into it.

Chris Jericho says Minoru Suzuki has broke his finger during his match, making it very hard to say HI GUYS. Revenge is sworn against both Suzuki and Katsuyori Shibata.

Lance Archer vs. ???

Two chokeslams and the Blackout finish for Archer at 1:00. Trash talk to Will Ospreay was included.

FTR vs. MxM Collection

That would be Mason and Mansoor, formerly known as the Maximum Male Models in WWE. Harwood grabs a wristlock to start but Mansoor flips out and strikes an early pose. Mansoor flips over him and dances a bit, earning a hard chop and a slingshot shoulder from Wheeler. Mason comes in and hits a hip attack, setting up a bit of a dance of his own. A double legdrop combination gets two on Wheeler but Harwood punches Mansoor in the face. It’s too early for the Shatter Machine though and we take a break.

Back with Harwood fighting his way out of the corner but Mason’s distraction means a small package gets a delayed one. Another hip attack takes Harwood down for two and the bearhug goes on. That’s broken up with a quick bite to the head but something like a Hart Attack gets two on Harwood. Back up and Harwood makes the tag off to Wheeler to pick up the pace. A Gory Bomb gets two on Mansoor and a sunset flip is good for the same. The spike piledriver is broken up but Mason is sent to the floor, setting up the Shatter Machine to pin Mansoor at 11:26.

Rating: B. This was a change of pace from the Collection’s debut as they were doing a more straight match, which shouldn’t be a surprise when they’re in there against FTR. They still got in enough of their comedy to make it work though and it made for an entertaining match. At the same time, I wouldn’t have the Collection lose so early, but they were far from buried or even heavily damaged.

Respect is shown post match.

The Acclaimed is fired up over winning at Blood & Guts and want their Tag Team Titles back.

Pac vs. Lio Rush

They go technical to start with Rush armdragging him into the corner and striking a bit of a pose. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker puts Rush down for a change but he rolls Pac up for a fast two. Back up and Pac strikes away as we take an early break. We come back with Rush fighting out of the corner but his hurricanrana is countered into a sitout powerbomb. The snap German suplex is blocked though and Rush knocks him down again. Pac is sent outside but a bottom rope Asai moonsault is cut off.

Instead Rush settles for a heck of a suicide dive into the barricade, followed by a Falcon Arrow for two. Rush hits a headbutt but has a springboard reversed into a heck of a German suplex. It’s too early for the Black Arrow though as Rush rolls away and kicks him in the head. The springboard cutter gives Rush two but Pac gets his knees up to block the Final Hour. Back up and Rush strikes away until Pac clotheslines him into the Brutalizer for the pin at 13:12.

Rating: B. I’m not normally a fan of Rush but he was doing his high flying and fast moving rather well here. It made for another entertaining match, especially with Pac there to beat him up. Pac finally caught him in the end for the win which is how it should have gone, though Rush did put up a good fight on the way there.

Overall Rating: A-. You don’t get that kind of a collection of matches on a free show very often and this was a heck of a way to spend two hours. It was one entertaining match after another and as usual, just letting the wrestlers do their thing and showcase their talent worked exceptionally. This was one of the better AEW shows in a bit and that is nice to see after some hit and miss results.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Johnny TV – Orange Punch
Blackpool Combat Club b. Brian Cage/Lee Moriarty and Top Flight – Seatbelt to Darius
Hologram b. Beast Mortos – Crucifix
Thunder Rosa b. Maya World – Seated cobra clutch
Conglomeration b. Premiere Athletes – Cross armbreaker to Daivari
Lance Archer b. ??? – Blackout
FTR b. MxM Collection – Shatter Machine to Mansoor
Pac b. Lio Rush – Brutalizer

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

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AND

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

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

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

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

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

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

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

FTW Title: Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Jericho

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

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

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

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

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

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

Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida

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

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

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

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

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

Pac vs. Boulder

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

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

Mariah May vs. Kaitlyn Alexis

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

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

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

The rules:

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

Blood & Guts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND

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