Dynamite
Date: August 30, 2023
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with All In and tonight is going to be at least half about the fallout. I say only half as it is also the last Dynamite before we head to All Out on Sunday. That means we are in for one heck of a rapid fire build to the show, which does at least have a few matches already set. Let’s get to it.

Here is All In if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of All In.

Jon Moxley vs. Komander

Moxley wastes no time in kicking him down and the swagger is on early. Komander has to knock him off the top but misses a corkscrew moonsault. Moxley grabs Jason Jett’s Crash Landing (there’s an obscure one for you) and we take a break. Back with Komander fighting out of a front facelock and grabbing a fireman’s carry flipped into a gutbuster. The rope walk shooting star only hits knees though and Moxley hits a piledriver for two. The cross armbreaker makes Komander tap at 8:49.

Rating: C. Komander has his moments but there are times where he is almost hard to watch. This was one of his matches where it felt like the rope walk was the only thing he had and that isn’t great to see. Moxley gets a win to boost himself up for the International Title match, but there wasn’t a better opponent for him? Oh and again: stop burying moves like the piledriver by having someone kick out when you’re going to beat them ten seconds later. Hit the piledriver and go to the armbreaker with no cover in the middle. The lack of a cover changes nothing and makes the piledriver look stronger.

As Moxley leaves, he sees a kid holding up an “it’s my birthday” sign and rubs her head. That will never be anything less than awesome.

Orange Cassidy isn’t sure how many times he has defended his title and he doesn’t care because he’ll defend it again.

We look at the Young Bucks in their locker room after losing at All In. FTR came in to ask about them not shaking their hands after the match. The Bucks say they were in the heat of the moment but admit that FTR were better and look ready to shake. Bullet Club Gold interrupt and say the Elite isn’t doing much right now. FTR doesn’t like the interruption and we have an eight man tag at All Out.

We look at Saraya winning the Women’s Title at All In.

Toni Storm is even more distraught as Saraya didn’t follow the script. She throws shoes at Renee Young to blow off some steam.

Here is Chris Jericho to talk about All In. It was in front of 81,000 people (which he says was a shoot) but now wants to talk to Sammy Guevara. Jericho apologizes for shoving him after the match because he saw that Guevara tried to help him win. They shake hands and Jericho says maybe he should have pulled the tights. Or maybe Guevara should have hit him harder with the baseball bat. Guevara thinks maybe Jericho could have hit him harder with the Judas Effect and it would have worked.

Jericho says that sometimes Guevara’s actions don’t go as Jericho planned it, so Guevara points out that he left his pregnant wife to come to London to help him win. Jericho says Guevara was chosen to be on the show and maybe he can wrestle on it next year. Guevara says maybe he can avoid doing what Jericho did and not lose. We hear about Jericho winning the title here and then losing the belt outside of a steakhouse. Jericho cools things down and suggests they reunite Le Sex Gods and go after the Tag Team Titles starting next week. Deal. Dig that Inner Circle vest from Guevara. So they’re Adam Cole and MJF?

Jon Moxley promises to win the International Title at All Out.

New Japan Strong Openweight Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Wheeler Yuta

Kingston is defending and tries some choking to start. That’s broken up as Yuta cranks on the arm. A kneedrop to said arm keeps Kingston down and we take a break. Back with Kingston knocking him off the top, setting up the rapid fire chops in the corner. The Spinning Backfist To The Future is blocked though and Yuta grabs a bridging German suplex for two. Kingston’s Saito suplex gets the same but Yuta hooks something like an Angle Slam for two more. Yuta goes back to the arm but Kingston has had enough of this, meaning a pair of backfists finish Yuta at 8:42.

Rating: C+. See, this is where a title defense from another promotion makes good sense. Kingston facing Yuta is something that would happen with or without the title on the line, as Kingston hates Yuta’s friends. Throwing a title in the mix makes it a little more interesting and is a lot better than some ice cold title defense.

Post match Claudio Castagnoli comes out…..and picks Yuta up to carry him away.

We look at the All In main event with MJF retaining over Adam Cole.

MJF is in the locker room when Adam Cole comes in. MJF cuts him off and says that he’s busy enough with a battle royal to make new #1 contenders to their ROH Tag Team Titles, plus a tournament to crown a new #1 contender for his World Title at Grand Slam. He’ll see Cole in Chicago and they’ll have deep dish and hit a kangaroo kick.

Sammy Guevara is interested in bringing back Le Sex Gods but here is Don Callis to interrupt. Guevara isn’t going to hear it because he already has a family so get lost.

Here is Adam Cole for a chat. Cole talks about how special All In was but yeah, he lost in the main event. He’ll get another shot, but concerning MJF, he already has a bad neck. Worry not though, as they’ll be ready to go in Chicago at All Out. Cue Roderick Strong, with the Kingdom, to say that Cole cares about MJF’s bad neck but not Strong’s.

Mike Bennett talks about his history with Cole and how they helped carry each other for years. Now Cole has forgotten the people who helped get him here. Matt Taven talks about how this is who Cole is. He used the Kingdom to help him take over ROH, then he jumped to the Bullet Club for the merch money.

Then he went to Florida, where all of their friends helped keep the title on him for so long. Cole says MJF is his friend, but Strong says he’s entering the tournament to become the new World Champion, which Cole couldn’t do. Strong doesn’t care how hurt he is, because he’s a wrestling legend. So the Kingdom wins the battle royal right? Who else would make sense?

Penta El Zero Miedo is ready to beat Orange Cassidy tonight.

Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida/Britt Baker vs. Marina Shafir/Emi Sakura/Nyla Rose

Shida takes Sakura down to start and it’s off to baker for a Sling Blade. Baker gets taken into the wrong corner so Sakura can take over, including a lot of hair twisting. We take a break and come back with everything breaks down. Rose hits some chokeslams but gets sent outside, with Statlander hitting a bit dive. Wednesday Night Fever finishes Shafir at 7:08.

Rating: C. Just a quick match and again, I’m not sure what they’re supposed to do when the match has a break in the middle. You’re only going to get so much out of that and the talent involved isn’t enough to overcome that time limit. In other worse, it’s an AEW women’s match and they’re running with an anchor.

Post match, Ruby Soho runs in for the attack on Statlander.

Video on Shane Taylor, who I don’t think has ever wrestled on AEW TV but is getting his ROH TV Title shot at All Out.

Don Callis and Konosuke Takeshita go over all of Kenny Omega’s injuries and plan how to hurt him the most.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a ceremonial ribbon cutting to celebrate their Trios Titles win. We’re in the House Of A** and now we have some new Trios Titles, complete with pink straps that SCISSOR! Billy: “So that means I get to scissor myself now.” They’re going to defend the titles on Collision and scissoring ensues. And that’s that.

Teams are ready for the Rampage tag team battle royal.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

Cassidy is defending. They trade some takedowns to start ad flip/nip up to their feet for a staredown. Cassidy sends him outside, where Penta tosses him against the barricade and we take a break. Back with Penta dropping a leg for two but Cassidy grabs a tornado DDT for the same. The Backstabber out of the corner drops Cassidy and we take a break.

Back again with Cassidy fighting up before they trade Canadian Destroyers, with Cassidy hitting a second. Tony: “What the h*** are we watching?” The Orange Punch gives Cassidy two and the Beach Break gets the same. The Fear Factor on the apron plants Cassidy for two and it’s time to stomp on Cassidy’s arm. Another Fear Factor connects but Cassidy grabs a crucifix to retain at 16:20.

Rating: C+. And so we have another Orange Cassidy title defense where he gets beaten up, survives, and moves on to retain. There was almost no reason to believe that Cassidy was losing here and they did nothing to hide it. Cassidy vs. Moxley has already been built up and they probably should have skipped this match to cut out some of the not so strong drama.

Post match Cassidy gets a chair and talks about how he is so tired and every title defense makes the backpack feel heavier. But he’s ready to fight on Sunday because he is tired of being told he shouldn’t be champion. Cassidy: “I will always be the International Champion because I’m Freshly Squeezed Orange Cassidy and I do not have a catchphrase.” Cue Jon Moxley for the staredown to end the show. That is likely your main event and that catchphrase line was hilarious. Heck of a promo from Cassidy here as he showed some good fire.

Overall Rating: C+. The show was good enough, but AEW feels like it is running on fumes and needs a breather. Counting ROH, this Sunday will mark ten out of twelve days with some kind of Tony Khan produced wrestling show. Running a second pay per view in eight days is feeling like a bad idea as All Out is not exactly looking like a must see show. They didn’t have the time to set it up and I’m almost dreading how Rampage and Collision are going to go. Not a bad show, but my goodness this could turn into a rough patch for AEW.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Komander – Rear naked choke
Eddie Kingston b. Wheeler Yuta – Spinning backfist
Kris Statlander/Hikaru Shida/Britt Baker b. Nyla Rose/Emi Sakura/Marina Shafir – Wednesday Night Fever to Shafir
Orange Cassidy b. Penta El Zero Miedo – Crucifix

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All In 2023
Date: August 27, 2023
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the biggest show in the history of AEW and there will be 80,000 fans there to see it happen. That is the kind of thing that AEW can and should brag about for a long time to come and now it is actually a reality. The main event will see MJF defend the World Title against Adam Cole in a match that has had a heck of a path to get here. Let’s get to it.

The stadium looks incredible and feels like a Wrestlemania crowd.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Adam Cole

The Aussies are defending and jump the challengers during the pre-match posing. Cole and MJF are sent outside and rammed into each other, which gives Davis two on MJF as the bell finally rings. MJF fights out of a chinlock but Fletcher pulls Cole off the apron. Davis drops him again and hits a backsplash for two before handing it off to Fletcher. That lets MJF get in a shot of his own and tease the Kangaroo Kick but Davis isn’t letting that happen.

MJF seems to kick Fletcher low and the rolling tag brings in Cole to clean house. A Backstabber gets two on Fletcher but it’s too early for the Panama Sunrise. It’s not too early for a superkick to Fletcher though and the Aussies are knocked outside. MJF takes too long setting up a dive and Cole is pulled outside for a double beating. Back in and the Aussie Arrow gets two on MJF but the stereo clotheslines hit each other. MJF actually hits the Kangaroo Kick (a one footed dropkick to both champs) and the double clothesline finishes Fletcher for the titles at 6:58.

Rating: C+. They started fast here and didn’t overstay their welcome, as you don’t want MJF and Cole to burn through too much energy before their big main event. There was no reason to keep the titles on the Aussies here as the belts have little value on their own. The fans went nuts for the Kangaroo Kick and the double clothesline though, as they got the fun part before the serious stuff from these two later.

Mercedes Mone (Sasha Banks) is in the crowd. I know she probably is, but can she just not come to AEW?

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Hook vs. Jack Perry

Perry is defending under FTW Rules, meaning anything goes and falls count anywhere. As a bonus, Perry gets a limo ride into the stadium, which does fit him rather well. Hook meets him in the aisle and throws him over/into the limo. Perry takes him onto the top of said limo for a brainbuster though and Hook is down (not out, as you should be after that, but down).

The RVD finger point sets up Rolling Thunder before Perry points at the windshield and says “it’s real glass, cry me a river.” Assuming that’s a reference to the CM Punk incident, grow up. Hook fisherman’s busters him onto the windshield and they head down to the ring for the first time. Perry manages a posting and grabs a hanging DDT off the barricade to make it worse.

A trashcan is thrown inside and Perry loads up Coast To Coast, only to drop down and flip off the fans instead. Hook slugs away but gets German suplexed for two. A superkick connects for Perry but Hook is right back with some rolling German suplexes. Perry knocks him down again and gets in some trashcan shots, only to miss a moonsault. Hook pounds him down and grabs Redrum to get the title back at 8:35.

Rating: C+. They didn’t do much with the rules here but Hook isn’t ready to have some big, long match, especially in front of a crowd like this one. Let him get in there and do his thing before getting the title back and leaving with his head held high. I’m not wild on having Perry lose so soon, but Hook winning the title back gives the fans something to cheer for and that’s a good thing.

And now, the real show.

Real World Title: CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe

Punk is defending. They take their time to start with Punk driving him into the corner and hitting a chop, which doesn’t sit well with Joe. It sits with him so unwell that Joe starts snapping off the jabs and tying him in the ropes (like a see saw, a Terry Funk spot) for the chops. Punk is back up and sends him to the floor, with Joe walking away from the slingshot dive (the fans REALLY like that one).

Joe hits the running boot against the barricade before swinging him through the base of the announcers’ table in a nasty crash. Back in and Joe plows through him with a shoulder and gives that casual look to the camera. Punk is busted open bad (I’m assuming from the table crash) and the corner enziguri makes it even worse. Another big boot sets up the backsplash for two and Joe is looking a bit frustrated.

The MuscleBuster is broken up though and Punk scores with a head kick for the double knockdown. Punk kicks him down again for one as Joe Hulks Up, followed by the powerslam for two. Punk’s running knee in the corner is countered into a powerbomb into the STF into the crossface but Punk rolls him up to escape.

Another kick to the head puts Joe down again, meaning it’s time for the spinning toehold (JR: “God bless Terry Funk.”). With that broken up, Punk charges into the release Rock Bottom out of the corner. A superplex is broken up with a bite to Joe’s head (the fans don’t like that) and it’s the Pepsi Plunge (middle rope Pedigree) to retain the title at 13:57.

Rating: B. You can tell that these two know each other inside and out and it makes their matches, including this one, that much better. They threw in a curve with the Pepsi Plunge instead of the GTS and I’m not sure it got the same kind of a reaction as the traditional route would have received. What matters here though was having a heck of an opener that started the show off hot, and these two were as good of an option as they had, with a rather good match as well.

Punk takes some time to soak in the crowd and even shows some respect to Joe on the way out.

We recap the Golden Elite (Kenny Omega/Hangman Page/Kota Ibushi) vs. Bullet Club Gold/Konosuke Takeshita. This is more about Kenny Omega vs. Don Callis, the latter of whom sent his goons to attack Omega. Now it’s about revenge as the numbers are even.

Golden Elite vs. Bullet Club Gold/Konosuke Takeshita

The Gunns are at ringside and Don Callis is on commentary. Page and Robinson start things off with a headlock not going very far. Omega comes in to chop away at Robinson before Ibushi and White come in to chop it out. Ibushi gets shouldered down but nips up and tells White to bring it. Omega comes in for the running Fameasser before it’s off to Takeshita, who sends Ibushi outside. A hurricanrana sends Takeshita outside and the Rise of the Terminator dive takes out Takeshita and White.

Back in and Omega misses a high crossbody and seems to have hurt his wrist. Ibushi makes the save and forearms it out with Takeshita as everything breaks down. JR: “You can disqualify someone you know!” We settle back down to White working on the leg before Robinson comes in to work on the (other) leg. A suplex sends Omega’s legs into the ropes for two (JR: “That was a weak a** cover.”) but Omega is back up for the slugout.

Omega plants Robinson and rolls over but the Gunns break up the tag attempt. Not that it matters as the hot tag brings Page in a few seconds later. White gets taken down and a slingshot dive hits Robinson on the floor. There’s the suicide dive to White but the Deadeye is broken up back inside. White flips forward and lands in front of Ibushi, who strikes him down and sets up the standing moonsault.

Omega and Ibushi hit moonsaults to the floor (with Ibushi slipping and having to settle for a bottom rope version). Back in and White gets triple teamed, setting up a half and half suplex. The big knee is blocked though and White manages the swinging Rock Bottom for a breather. We get the big Omega vs. Takeshita forearm off but Omega has to snapdragon Robinson.

The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Takeshita two on Omega, who is right back with a piledriver for the same. Omega plants Robinson and Page adds a super flipping fall away slam for two on Takeshita. The Gunns break up the Buckshot Lariat so Page takes out the Gunns instead. Omega is back in to set up the Buckshot to Takeshita but Omega has to escape the Bladerunner. One heck of a V Trigger rocks Robinson but Takeshita rolls Omega up with tights for the pin at 20:36.

Rating: B+. The match was all action (with some JR complaining thrown in) and the point was to give Takeshita the first win over Omega after the two of them have bickered for so long. This will set up the big singles match, maybe at All Out, but for now there is no reason to have Omega win. The others were mostly good, with Ibushi looking better than he did at Blood & Guts, though still a bit slow. Very action packed match here though and the ending was the right way to go.

We recap FTR defending the Tag Team Titles against the Young Bucks. They’re both great teams, they’ve split the first two matches, it’s the rubber match for the titles and bragging rights.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are challenging. Harwood and Nick start things off, with neither being able to get much of an advantage. Wheeler comes in for a quickly broken headlock and Nick grabs a slam. That doesn’t last long as Wheeler takes him down, allowing Harwood to pick Wheeler up for a legdrop. Everything breaks down and it’s a double slugout until a double clothesline (not that kind) leaves everyone down.

The Bucks nip up and clothesline them to the floor, where a boot and spear put FTR down again. Back in and a superkick hits Wheeler, setting up the Swanton into the ropes for two. A middle rope elbow (ala Bret Hart) hits Wheeler but he manages a suplex to Matt for a needed breather. Wheeler fights them off again and dives over for the hot tag to Harwood. Nick is suplexed onto Matt, who has to escape some rolling German suplexes. That doesn’t work for Harwood, who hits another suplex but Matt reverses into the rolling northern lights suplexes.

Another northern lights suplex gives Matt two and the fans seem impressed. Nick comes back in with a knee to Harwood, who counters a springboard into a slingshot sitout powerbomb for two. The Sharpshooter goes on, with Wheeler adding his own to Matt on the apron. Both of those are broken up and we get a needed double breather. Nick superplexes Harwood but a pair of top rope splashes only hit raised knees.

Back up and a spike piledriver gets two on Nick and Harwood’s cradle gets the same. The Shatter Machine is broken up and Nick backslides Harwood for two. The Bucks hit their own spike piledriver for two but the Meltzer Driver is broken up. Instead Matt rolls Harwood up for two as Nick dives onto Wheeler. The BTE Trigger misses and Wheeler is back in to spear Matt to the floor.

FTR hits their own BTE Trigger into the Shatter Machine for two on Matt. Wheeler misses a springboard 450 and gets superkicked down for two. Now the BTE Trigger can connect for two, with Harwood possibly making the save. Harwood knows what’s coming and walks into the Shatter Machine, setting up another BTE Trigger for two more. The Meltzer Driver is broken up again though and it’s a Shatter Machine to retain the titles at 21:39.

Rating: B+. They surprised me here with FTR retaining and I’ll certainly take it. The exchange of finishers went well enough and the Bucks kicking out of the Shatter Machine is a lot more acceptable when they ultimately lost. It would have been a big stretch for the Bucks to win here so well done on giving FTR the big rub on the biggest stage. Very good match here too, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

We recap Stadium Stampede. The Blackpool Combat Club don’t like Eddie Kingston and the Best Friends so they’ve both gotten some backup for a ten man war all around the stadium.

Best Friends/Orange Cassidy/Eddie Kingston/Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Ortiz/Mike Santana

Kingston charges Castagnoli to start fast in the aisle and the fight is on. Everyone pairs off and Chuck hits a big running flip dive. Castagnoli and Kingston fight up towards the entrance as Moxley has a branding iron. The Street Sweeper is broken up by Penta, who swings a rather mean chair. Sling Blades take the two of them down as we go split screen to throw a backstage fight between Kingston and Castagnoli.

Moxley cutters Penta and gives him a Paradigm Shift, but Penta is back with some skewers to pound into Moxley’s head. Penta is right back up with Made In Japan for two before Cassidy adds the lazy kicks. That doesn’t work for Moxley, who takes Cassidy down and gouges him with the skewers. The brawling continues with Kingston (bleeding) and Castagnoli continue brawling in stadium, this time with Castagnoli being sent off some steps.

Trent gets planted for a top rope splash from Santana and there’s a powerbomb onto some chairs to Penta. A piledriver onto the chairs drops Penta again and cue the medics to check on him. Moxley grabs a fork (of course) and stabs Cassidy in the head, which he then bites for good measure. Trent comes back in and gets hit in the face with a barbed wire board as we see Chuck and Wheeler fighting in the back. They join up with Kingston and Castagnoli, with Santana and Ortiz joining in. Chuck makes the save with an umbrella (because England) as a ladder is set up in the ring.

Trent gets dropped onto said ladder as Taylor and Kingston are fighting in a box somewhere. A powerbomb puts Trent onto the ladder as Moxley gets a barbed wire board (because barbed wire). Ortiz stabs Cassidy some more and Trent gets piledriven onto the steps (he’s having a rough night).

The Club takes things up to the ramp but SUE is back in the minivan. Moxley steals a kiss from her, which cannot be the best idea. Trent is somehow still alive and Sue throws in some cookie sheets to start the comeback. Cue Penta, now all in red and evil as Penta Obscuro, to take over. They head back to the ring where Penta Canadian Destroys Santana through a table. Wheeler’s screwdriver gets stuck in the turnbuckle, allowing Chuck to hit Soul Food.

Chuck adds an Awful Waffle but Cassidy gets caught in the Giant Swing (21 revolutions). Cassidy is back up with three straight Orange Punches for two on Castagnoli before he finds some tape to wrap around his hand. Said hand is then put into a bucket of class, which sticks to the tape and this can’t go well. Moxley breaks that up and Castagnoli takes Cassidy down again. Cue Kingston with a barbed wire chair to go face to face with Moxley but Castagnoli rolls him up for two. Kingston cleans house and spears Moxley into the barbed wire board. Cassidy is back up with the Orange Punch to pin Castagnoli at 21:15.

Rating: B. This was the wild, bloody brawl that it needed to be, though they only did so much outside of the main arena (understandable). They were all over the place with one insane spot after another here and while there was a lot going on, it was a bit hard to follow at times. Still though, heck of a fight, though Cassidy pinning Castagnoli better lead somewhere.

We recap the Women’s Title match, with Hikaru Shida defending against Toni Storm, Saraya and Britt Baker. Shida took the title from Storm so this is her rematch, while the other two won qualifying matches to get here.

Women’s Title: Saraya vs. Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is defending and Saraya has her family here, complete with We Will Rock You as an entrance theme. It’s a brawl to start with Shida being sent outside, meaning the Outcasts get to beat up Baker. The running hip attack connects in the corner but Storm and Saraya argue over who should get to cover. Shida comes back in with a double noggin knocker before hammering away at Storm in the corner.

Saraya makes a save and Storm hip attacks Shida to the floor. Saraya’s mother holds Baker on the floor but Storm’s running forearm misses, with said mother having to be held back. Back in and Saraya forearms Storm a few times, with Storm chopping her back to even things up. The bottom turnbuckle pad is ripped off and Storm loads up another hip attack in said corner, only to have Ruby Soho run in for the save.

The Scorpion Crosslock goes on Storm but Baker adds a Stomp to get two. Shida is back in for the torture rack drop (that still doesn’t work) to Saraya. The top rope Meteora gets two, followed by the Katana for the same with Baker making the save. Lockjaw is blocked and Saraya comes in with the spray paint to Storm, setting up the Nightcap for the pin and the title at 8:49.

Rating: B-. There’s your feel good moment for England and thankfully Shida at least got the one big entrance as champion on the major stage. Saraya winning is a great moment for the show, though I’m not sure how long of a reign she is going to have. Baker was just kind of there, while Storm and Saraya having issues could go somewhere. They kept this short and that’s probably for the best, but what we got worked.

We recap the Coffin match, which is Sting/Darby Allin vs. the makeshift team of Christian Cage/Swerve Strickland. It’s kind of a preview for Allin vs. Luchasaurus next week, as the heel team isn’t the most logical pairing.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage/Swerve Strickland

Coffin (casket) match, with Swerve getting rapped to the ring. Sting and Allin have an old British style entrance….before switching to Metallica’s Seek And Destroy (a song Sting used at times in WCW). It’s a brawl to start with Sting getting into a showdown with Christian. Sting finds a cricket bat to clean house and the good guys get the thumbtack jackets. With that broken up, Swerve chokes Sting with the cricket bat as Christian tapes Allin’s hands together behind his back.

Allin can still avoid a charge and hit a moonsault, followed by a dive with hands still tied up. The villains cut him off again but Allin’s hands get free and he slugs away. Sting is back in and takes Swerve outside for an apron splash through a table. Allin puts Christian in a chair and missile dropkicks him back out but it’s too early to close Christian in the coffin. Luchasaurus makes the save but here is Nick Wayne to go after him and they fight to the back.

That lets Allin load up a Coffin Drop onto Swerve onto the coffin. Allin only hits Coffin though and egads that’s a nasty landing. Back in and Sting gets the Scorpion Deathlock on Christian but Swerve makes the save with a chair. That just fires Sting up and he fights back on Swerve. Cage breaks that up with the cricket bat and a Swerve Stomp knocks Sting silly. With Allin knocked down again, Sting is put in the coffin but finds a bat to keep the lid open. Allin is back with a TNT Title shot to Christian as Sting Death Drops Swerve. That’s not enough to finish, so Allin adds the Coffin Drop for the win at 15:31.

Rating: B-. There comes a point where you know what you’re getting with these Sting matches and we reached that point a long time ago. He is going to do his thing and he and Allin will likely win every time, but at least it’s fun on the way there. As usual I could have gone without Swerve losing, but you just kind of have to expect that with him these days.

We recap Will Osprey vs. Chris Jericho, which is more about Jericho vs. Don Callis. They had a heck of a promo battle on Dynamite so this should be good.

Here is Fozzy to perform Judas live. Cool moment and it must mean a lot for the band.

Chris Jericho vs. Will Ospreay

Sammy Guevara and Don Callis are the seconds. Ospreay starts fast by sending him outside for the sky twister to the floor (with Jericho looking to get a knee to the head). Back in and they slug it out until Jericho sends him to the floor for a baseball slide. Ospreay gets dropped hard onto the apron with a German suplex, followed by a regular suplex back inside.

Jericho flips off the crowd, which is probably a good idea given what Ospreay is going to be in a match like this. A super hurricanrana gives Jericho two but Ospreay drapes him over the top. The shooting star to the back gives Ospreay two but another springboard is Backstabbed out of the air.

A Codebreaker gets two on Ospreay, who is right back with the Oscutter for two of his own. Stormbreaker is countered into the Walls but Ospreay slips out and they slug away on the mat. A Spanish Fly gives Ospreay two and a collision makes him get all fired up. Stormbreaker into the Hidden Blade into another Stormbreaker finishes Jericho at 14:56.

Rating: B. Another solid match here as Ospreay gets the win, as he should have. There is likely going to be a lot more between Jericho and Callis, so having Jericho lose to start is the right way to go. Ospreay is on another level at the moment and while Jericho can hang with him, having Jericho win might have been a bit too much. Another PPV worthy match though, as Jericho can still bring it under the right circumstances.

Nigel McGuinness announces tonight’s attendance: 81,035.

We recap the Trios Titles match. The House Of Black beat the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, with the latter retiring. Then the House kept attacking the Acclaimed so the OLD Gunn is back for revenge.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

The Acclaimed/Gunn are challenging and anything goes, with Caster’s rap including a Harry Potter joke. The House one ups them though by bringing out a lantern for a Bray Wyatt tribute. It’s a brawl to start (of course) with Black busting out an early but possibly hurting his leg. More dives connect but Billy’s is cut off. Julia Hart comes in and is told to….well something, followed by Scissor Me Timbers.

King is back in to take Gunn outside but misses a charge into the barricade. Back in and Gunn clotheslines down Black and Matthews before the One And Only (cobra clutch slam for you younger fans out there) gets two. The Arrival looks to set up the Mic Drop but Matthews makes the save. Bowens elbows Matthews in the head over and over but gets sent into the corner.

A Cannonball/stereo running knees to the head get two, with Caster making the save. King busts out the chain, which accidentally hits Black in the head instead. Bowens is back up with the jumping Fameasser, setting up the real thing from Gunn but Hart pulls the referee. Black kicks Gunn in the head for two and can’t believe the kickout. Dante’s Inferno is broken up, leaving King alone with all three challengers. The Fameasser into the Arrival into the Mic Drop gives us new champions at 9:49.

Rating: C+. They had to change the titles here as it would have been quite the punch to the gut if Billy lost again. The Acclaimed have needed something to do since they lost the Tag Team Titles so this was a necessary title change. That being said, this is what, the fourth no rules/crazy tag match of the night? Cut down on those next time.

Post match the House hands over the titles, allowing Bowens to present Gunn with the title for the nice moment.

We recap the World Title match. Adam Cole and MJF went to a time limit draw in a non-title match, then became friends and now ROH Tag Team Champions. Now it’s about the World Title though, with the question of whether one will turn on the other.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Adam Cole

MJF is defending with the full Devil entrance, complete with a throne and worshippers. They’re both wearing shirts and go to the mat with neither being able to get very far. Back up and MJF sends him into the ropes for a strut and a Rick Rude style hip swivel. Cole takes him down as well and hits the catchphrase, but MJF wants a handshake. MJF: “SPORTSMANSHIP!” Then he gets in a cheap shot to Cole and gives that great evil grin of his.

Cole is back with the fireman’s carry onto the knee for two as things have gotten a lot more serious. MJF gets pulled into the corner so Cole can grab a chinlock as Taz and Nigel argue on commentary. Cole knocks him down again and shouts that he’s better than MJF before ripping off MJF’s shirt. MJF gets serious or a change and hammers away in the corner before biting Cole’s head. Cole is sent outside and MJF hits a dive of his own, giving us a great stunned face.

Back in and MJF hits a top rope double stomp on the arm, sending them into a pinfall reversal sequence. MJF counters a leapfrog into a powerbomb backbreaker for two and they’re both down. They head outside with Cole brainbustering him onto the steps for the big knockdown. That’s good for a close nine count but MJF collapses before the Panama Sunrise can launch. A Tombstone onto the announcers’ table gets two on MJF back inside in quite the near fall.

Cole hits a running Canadian Destroyer but MJF pops up for a low superkick to leave them both down. They both shout DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE, clothesline each other, and go to a double pin at 19:00. Hold on though as Cole wants five more minutes, but MJF says they’re going until they have a winner. The referee gets bumped and they grab a chair, with both of them faking being hit by said chair (MJF even wraps it around his neck). The referee isn’t having this so MJF hits a Heatseeker for two.

Cole hits a straitjacket suplex on the apron and MJF crashes out to the floor. That’s not enough for Cole, who hits a Panama Sunrise on the floor to knock him sillier. Back in and Cole loads up another Panama Sunrise but MJF pulls the referee into the way again. MJF loads up the diamond ring but can’t do it. Cue Roderick Strong to kick MJF low (Cole didn’t see it), allowing Cole to look around and hit the Panama Sunrise. The Boom connects for an incredibly delayed near fall so Cole picks up the title….but throws it away. MJF grabs a small package to retain at 28:59.

Rating: A-. The action was very good here but the storytelling was better, with the teases of turning and Strong not being able to get Cole to go full evil. What matters here is having a result that could set up more than a few different results, as a rematch in Chicago next week wouldn’t shock me. Heck of a story here, and I’m looking forward to the next chapter.

Post match MJF tries to tell Cole that they’re still friends but Cole kicks him away. MJF shouts about how Cole was always all about the title and throws it to him, telling Cole to do it already and turning his back. Cole drops the title again, despite Strong getting on the apron to yell at him to do it. MJF and Cole hug, with the Kingdom holding Strong back to end the show.

Oh one more thing: they’re back in Wembley next year for All In 2024.

Overall Rating: A-. The show was certainly a hit and even the worst matches were good enough. This was a show where the atmosphere and look were what mattered, but then the wrestling lived up to the hype as well. It’s pretty much a home run for AEW and while they have to scramble for All Out in a week, they have more than earned a victory lap for this one. Awesome show, and worth checking out up and down.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Adam Cole b. Aussie Open – Double clothesline to Fletcher
Hook b. Jack Perry – Redrum
CM Punk b. Samoa Joe – Pepsi Plunge
Bullet Club Gold/Konosuke Takeshita b. Golden Elite – Rollup with tights to Omega
FTR b. Young Bucks – Shatter Machine to Matt
Orange Cassidy/Best Friends/Eddie Kingston/Penta El Cero Miedo b. Blackpool Combat Club/Ortiz/Mike Santana – Orange Punch to Castagnoli
Saraya b. Hikaru Shida, Britt Baker and Toni Storm – Nightcap to Storm
Darby Allin/Sting b. Christian Cage/Swerve Strickland – Strickland was put in the coffin
Will Ospreay b. Chris Jericho – Stormbreaker
Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. House Of Black – Mic Drop to King
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Adam Cole – Small package

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We have finally arrived in London for the biggest show in AEW history and very likely the biggest event the company will ever run. There are going to be a bunch of big matches as the card is stacked, meaning we should be in for a great night if AEW’s history is anything to believe. In theory the main event will be Adam Cole challenging MJF for the World Title so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Jack Perry(c) vs. Hook

This was made on Collision and as you might expect, it will be under FTW rules, meaning street fight. These two have more or less been feuding over the legacy of ECW, but thankfully the ECW legends have stopped showing up. The interesting thing here is that this could go either way, as Perry losing the title seems a bit soon but it seems like a perfect place to give Hook the title back.

I’ll go with Perry winning here, but the FTW Title needs to go away sooner than later. It’s nice to have Perry winning and holding onto something but at some point he has to get away from the ECW/Taz and Hook stuff. Losing the match here isn’t going to help him at all though so we’ll go with Perry retaining, likely through some shenanigans, but I’m hardly convinced that I’m right.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open(c) vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Adam Cole

There is a lot to unpack here and we’ll start with the fact that the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles are being used as a plot point in the AEW World Title feud. That isn’t a great way to make the titles look important, but then again what does look important in ROH? Anyway, MJF and Cole are still set or the main event of All In, and this match is likely going to play a big role in how that goes.

As I don’t think the MJF vs. Cole feud ends here, I’ll go with new champions. It’s not like the titles have any value otherwise so maybe they can get a temporary boost here. At the very last, I want to see the Kangaroo Kick and a double clothesline for the titles so there could be something to look forward to here. MJF vs. Cole is the biggest story in AEW at the moment and the Aussies can get the titles back later, as they should drop them here.

Golden Elite vs. Konosuke Takeshita/Bullet Club Gold

There is quite the variety of matches on the show and I’m not sure where else to start. This is one of two matches that are built around Don Callis, who has become pretty much the second biggest heel on the roster, depending on how you currently view MJF. The main feud here is going to be Kenny Omega vs. Takeshita, but the more I get of the Club these days, the better things go.

I’ll take Takeshita and the Club to win here, as Hangman Page or Kota Ibushi are both there to take the fall for the team. Omega vs. Callis N Pals feels like a feud that is going to keep going for a VERY long time and right now we are only kind of getting the fight between them. The villains have to win early so the hero can win later, meaning Takeshita and the Club go over here.

Darby Allin/Sting vs. Christian Cage/Swerve Strickland

This is a Coffin Match, which doesn’t quite fit in with the heels, even though Cage had something similar to one earlier this year. The Coffin Match idea seems to favor Allin and Sting, in addition to the fact that they have interacted for more than about half an hour if you count a 21 minute tag match Strickland and Cage teamed in this week on Collision. That doesn’t exactly bode well going forward and makes me think this match might not be the most surprising.

I don’t see any reason to have Cage and Strickland here, as Allin and Sting have all of the advantages here. Outside of Luchasaurus interfering (which is certainly a possibility), there isn’t much of a way to get behind the villains. It should be the usual wacky all over the place match with Sting doing some big dive before winning in the end, which is the most logical way to go here.

Real World Title: CM Punk(c) vs. Samoa Joe

What we have here is a good example of going back to a classic feud that works rather than just trying to recreate the past. They have issues that are going on at the moment and it makes the match feel like another step after a long break rather than reheating something for the sake of a nostalgic reaction. It helps that both of them are awesome talkers and the hype has been pretty good throughout.

I’ll go with Punk here, as he is a bigger star in AEW and it isn’t like the ROH TV Champion getting pinned is going to hurt him very much. There isn’t much of a reason to give Joe two belts and again, I can’t imagine much of a way for the villain to win here without some kind of interference (Ricky Starks and/or Big Bill in this case). What matters here though is having a legendary rivalry renewed (and likely ended) on a huge stage. With Punk winning.

Trios Titles: House Of Black(c) vs. Acclaimed/Billy Gunn

It’s another case where it really could go either way but there is one way that it needs to go. This is the fallout of Gunn retiring/possibly dying based on how the Acclaimed was reacting, but now he’s back for the big fight in his chance for one more run with his friends. That should tell you where this is going, but there is something to be said about the dominance of the champs.

As dominant as the House has been, there is little reason to not put the titles on Gunn and the Acclaimed here, as having them lose would feel very anti-climactic after everything that has gone on. At the same time, the House has already run through most of the believable challengers so changing the titles here makes the most sense. I could see the House retaining, but the good guys getting their moment is the better way to go.

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

Here we have the big showdown that should have happened about a year ago but instead we were left standing around because….something about the Trios Titles being absolutely necessary. FTR has been back to doing what they do better than anyone else in the world over the last few months while the Bucks have wrestled two regular tag matches since February. But it’s a big feud so reheating it this fast isn’t that big of a stretch.

As much as I want to pick FTR to retain here, I have a bad feeling that the Bucks are going to get their big moment here and get to be the first three time champion. Throw in Cash Wheeler’s legal issues in the last few days and it would be hard to picture FTR retaining. FTR should win, and while I would certainly hope that I’m wrong, I think they’ll go with the “special” moment of the Bucks winning the titles. Again. At least it isn’t a ladder match.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Britt Baker vs. Saraya vs. Toni Storm

If there is one thing that AEW does very well, it is give you a match where you could see multiple winners. Here you have Shida, who has not gotten the big moment as champion, Saraya as the home country girl, Storm doing some of the best work in his career, and Baker, who REALLY needs the boost but hasn’t been doing much of anything interesting in months now. Three out of four isn’t bad though and we have some real options to leave with the title.

I’ll go with Shida retaining here, as there is something to be said about her getting the big moment. She had a long title reign the first time around but never got to do anything special like retain the title here. It’s also hardly a stretch to keep the title on here and only Storm feels like someone who is ready to take it off of her, but her whole thing is being upset over NOT being the champion. So yeah, Shida wins here, just hopefully not beating Storm in the process.

Eddie Kingston/Orange Cassidy/Best Friends/Penta El Zero Mideo vs. Blackpool Combat Club/Santana/Ortiz

This is Stadium Stampede, which we’re doing in theory a week before the already set up matches between Moxley/Cassidy and Castagnoli/Kingston. I’m not sure how they’re going to do one of these things with all of the people around but why go sane when you can go insane? The previous versions of this have been quite the spectacles, but their quality has been a bit up and down. Odds are we’re going to get some more totally out there stuff though and that can be fun.

This feels like the way to set up some rematches between the members of the team, which will hopefully include Moxley getting to take the International Title from Cassidy. Therefore, I’ll go with the villains winning as Moxley pins Cassidy to set up their match. The other option of Kingston beating Castagnoli is out there, but it wouldn’t shock me to see them wait for Final Battle in December to finally give Kingston the title. For now though, I’ll take the villains to win.

Will Ospreay vs. Chris Jericho

So here we have one of the most successful British wrestlers of all time and one of the most entertaining stars going today being presented as a heel (he’s with Callis so yes he’s a heel) on the biggest wrestling show in British wrestling history. I’m sure there’s a logic to that move, even if the face/heel dynamic could be all over the place here. That being said, the promo battle to set this up was one of the best I can remember in recent months so they’re certainly onto something.

As was the case earlier with the six man tag, the villains have to win early so they can lose in the end. Jericho losing here is the way to go as he can continue dealing with the fallout of initially wanting to join Callis’ family. Ospreay is probably coming to AEW full time sooner rather than later so it would make sense to give him the big win here. You can all but guarantee Callis’ interference, which isn’t likely to be enough to overcome the cheers Ospreay is going to get as he wins here.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Adam Cole

This is the biggest story in AEW right now and my goodness it needs to keep going after this show. The good thing is that the story has all kinds of ways it can go and that’s not even factoring in the Roderick Strong side. The question becomes who turns on whom here, but the options of both or neither are strong possibilities. Having that many options is a great sign and now we get to figure out where it goes.

With all of the options available, I’ll go with…..Cole wins, but neither turns yet. It opens the doors for a rematch, likely at All Out, but what is going to matter is seeing where it goes from here. Cole has already failed to beat him once and having MJF be revealed as this big criminal mastermind would make Cole look like the biggest loser in the world. I might as well be flipping a coin here, but yeah I’ll take Cole to win and Strong to not get overly involved just yet.

Overall Thoughts

The best thing that I can say about any show is that I have almost no idea who is going to win most of these matches. There are different ways that you could go in almost every match and that makes for a rather interesting care. This show is going to be about the spectacle though and if AEW does it right, the place is going to look incredible. The wrestling has to back it up though, and the good thing is the potential to do so is absolutely there. Now just make it work.

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Monday Night Raw
Date: August 16, 2010
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler

This was a request for reasons not quite clear. It’s night after Summerslam and the big story is John Cena and company vanquished the Nexus, in a match that saw Cena overcome some rather insane odds. Other than that, Sheamus is still Raw World Champion, having retained the title over Randy Orton. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Here is the Nexus to get things going, with commentary saying that the team showed they belong despite losing last night. Wade Barrett (the team’s leader) says they beat SIX of the best that Raw had to offer last night (keep in mind that it was a 7 on 7 tag match) and they are still ready to dominate WWE. They were defeated and that means there will be consequences for Raw.

Cue John Cena, to say that Barrett has the resolve of Winston Churchill and the toughness of Snooki from the Jersey Shore. Cena brings up how Barrett tapped out to cause the team to lose. The reality is that Nexus is expendable and Barrett must be kicking himself in the fish and chips over letting Daniel Bryan go. Then last night Bryan eliminated over half of the Nexus by himself as they proved that Nexus can be defeated.

You have the various members of the team, such as Otunga (an above average male escort), Tarver (looks like a stripper), Heath Slater (the chick from Wendy’s…..so Wendy), Darren Young (a cross between Cena and Buckwheat), Justin Gabriel (he has an “alternative” way of thinking) and Skip Sheffield (who thinks the Meow Mix theme).

All that matters is they are a bunch of humans, with Young tapping out in less than a minute. We get an email from the anonymous Raw General Manager (egads the flashbacks), saying tonight it’s Team WWE vs. Nexus in a bunch of singles matches, with threats made against Nexus interference.

Barrett doesn’t like hearing that he tapped out, but promises that after tonight, Nexus will be stronger than ever. If any of them lose though, their spots might not be safe. Otunga says that’s fine, but if Barrett loses, someone else can step up and take the leadership. We get another email, saying Nexus can pick their matchups tonight. Except for Barrett that is, because he gets to face Chris Jericho. So there’s your show tonight, and they did it in about fifteen minutes. That’s fairly fast for some Raw opening segments.

Chris Jericho vs. Wade Barrett

Jericho kicks him down to start as the rest of Nexus is shown watching in the back. There’s the triangle dropkick to send Barrett outside but he’s able to knock Jericho off the apron for a breather. There’s a big boot to drop Jericho again and we hit the double arm crank. Jericho fights up and hits a middle rope dropkick, followed by the bulldog. A quick Wasteland attempt is countered into the Walls, sending Barrett straight to the rope. Back up and Jericho boots him in the face again, only to get caught with an enziguri. The Codebreaker is loaded up but Barrett reverses into the Wasteland for the clean pin.

Rating: C+. Jericho can be criticized for a lot of things, but he has a reputation as someone who will put just about anyone over. That is a big win for Barrett, especially after last night’s big loss. Barrett being able to hang with someone at Jericho’s level helps him a lot and they had a good match to show what Barrett can do.

This week’s guest hosts are Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day and Justin Long. They have a new moving coming out and seemingly have no idea what to talk about here so they just make weird noises. We hear some NBA insults before the team introduces the Hart Dynasty (Tag Team Champions).

Hold on though as we get another email. As of tonight, the Unified Tag Team Titles will now be known as the WWE Tag Team Titles, so here is Bret Hart with the new (bronze, because of course) titles. Thankfully that means dropping the dumb four belts for two people idea but here is Nexus on the screen. They have picked Hart’s opponent for tonight: Justin Gable, who promises a 450 to Bret. At least those morons were off quick.

We hear about Daniel Bryan replacing the injured Great Khali on Team WWE. No clip for that?

Michael Tarver vs. Daniel Bryan

Bryan goes after the arm to start as Cole goes off about Bryan having no skill or change of becoming a star because he doesn’t eat meat. The rapid fire kicks to the chest in the corner have Tarver in more trouble and a missile dropkick makes it worse. Cue Miz and Alex Riley for a distraction though, allowing Tarver to get the fast rollup pin.

Post match Bryan goes after the Miz but Riley and Tarver take him down. The Skull Crushing Finale onto Miz’s Money In The Bank briefcase leaves Bryan laying.

Post break Miz and Riley talk about how they don’t like Bryan’s popularity, with Miz promising that Riley will be the next breakout star.

Darren Young tells Nexus that he’ll be facing John Cena. Pep talking ensues.

Justin Gabriel vs. Bret Hart

Actually hold on as we get an email saying there is a replacement.

Justin Gabriel vs. Randy Orton

Orton (in his weird bare arms phase) powers him into the corner to start but Gabriel flips over him and starts kicking away. As Lawler tries to figure out what kind of animal Gabriel is poking here (before finally remembering the whole VIPER thing), Orton snaps off the powerslam and the hanging DDT. The RKO is loaded up but cue Sheamus for….not a DQ as Orton brawls with him into the crowd for the countout instead. Well that was a dumb way out of the stipulation.

Post match Orton goes back inside to RKO Gabriel. With that not being enough, Orton grabs a chair and unloads on Sheamus to blow off some steam. That’s not enough so Orton drops Sheamus with the RKO on the floor for a bonus.

Skip Sheffield/David Otunga vs. R-Truth/John Morrison

Morrison works on Otunga’s arm to start before grabbing a Russian legsweep. It’s off to Sheffield to powerslam Truth but Otunga comes back in and gets Downward Spiraled. Cole asks what a Truth/Morrison win would mean for the locker room’s psyche. I’m thinking….not much? Anyway Morrison comes back in to pick up the pace but Sheffield runs him over. One heck of a running clothesline finishes Morrison to keep Nexus undefeated.

Melina/Eve Torres/Gail Kim vs. Jillian/Maryse/Alicia Fox

Gail easily takes Maryse down to start and calls her a gold digger. A crossbody gives Gail two and it’s off to Melina, who is taken into the wrong corner. Fox hits her always nice looking northern lights suplex and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up and Eve comes in with a bunch of dropkicks. Everything breaks down and Eve hits an enziguri out of the corner to drop Jillian. The moonsault is loaded up but Jillian rolls her up out of the corner for the big upset pin.

Edge isn’t surprised that he led Team WWE to victory last night but here is Heath Slater to interrupt. They’re facing each other tonight and Heath tries to get him to back out. That’s not going to work for Edge, who isn’t losing to a Wendy looking Edge wannabe. Heath decks him and leaves.

Edge vs. Heath Slater

Edge knocks him into the corner without too much trouble to start but Heath gets in a cheap shot. They head outside with Edge being sent into the barricade, followed by the armbar back inside. That’s broken up and Edge makes the clothesline comeback for two. Heath gets in his own clothesline for two, with a fan shouting “I HATE YOU HEATH SLATER! I HATE YOU!” Back up and Edge sends him (Heath, not the fan) outside but misses the baseball slide dropkick. The spear against the steps misses….and Heath beats the count back inside for the pin.

Rating: C-. Well that was nothing, but it’s getting more than a little tough to accept that after eliminating all seven members last night, Team WWE can’t beat a single member of the Nexus here. That doesn’t makes the most sense and it’s leading to some rather screwy finishes. This didn’t feel like something Edge would ever fall for and it’s not something I would buy him doing, which doesn’t exactly make for a strong finish.

Post match Edge hits a spear to blow off some steam.

The hosts are in the back with Great Khali and talk about long distances relationships (which is why Khali hasn’t been doing the Kiss Cam). Justin Long sees a picture of Khali’s girlfriend and the other hosts aren’t impressed. They then find out that Khali understands English, but he admits the girlfriend is ugly. Then he leaves with the Bellas. Cole: “WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?”

Video on Summerslam week, including a bunch of charity stuff.

John Cena vs. Darren Young

No entrance for Young and that can’t be a good sign. Hold on though as cue Nexus to watch from the stage and Young gets two off a fast rollup to start. Young grabs a headlock and my goodness you can hear the spots being called despite a fairly rowdy crowd. Cena reverses into a headlock of his own but gets suplexed down, setting up a legdrop for two more. Cole: “Remember Young has to win this match.” Lawler: “I think Cena has to win this match.” Cole: “I agree with you.”

A clothesline and neckbreaker give Young two each and we hit the chinlock with a knee in the back. Back up and Cena….charges into an elbow in the corner as this has been one sided so far. Young drops a leg, Cena says “one more leg”, Young drops another leg. A northern lights suplex gets two more and Young is getting frustrated. With nothing else working, Young tosses him outside and then into the steps for a nine count. Back in and Cena quickly starts the comeback, setting up the Shuffle into the STFU for the tap.

Rating: C+. For someone who almost never got used on his own, Young can wrestle a decent match when he is given the chance. Granted having Cena call spots REALLY LOUDLY might have helped, but it was the best Young ever looked in WWE. At some point someone from Nexus had to lose and Young was the only one left by the end.

Post match the Nexus comes to the ring but let Cena go, instead circling Young. The big beatdown is on, with the Wasteland into the 450 splash destroying Young to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. Normally I like the idea of focusing on one thing throughout the show but this was extreme even by WWE standards. Other than the women’s match and some dumb stuff with the hosts, this was all about one storyline. Throw in Nexus dominating most of the show and this wasn’t exactly interesting, with Nexus dominating most of the show despite losing last night. Not a good show, as the Nexus story was instantly a lot lamer after the Summerslam loss. Focusing on a big story is fine, but you have to mix it up a bit.

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Dynamite
Date: August 23, 2023
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s Fyter Fest, which is also serving as the final Dynamite before Sunday’s All In. That means most of the pay per view is already set, but now the question becomes what more can be done this week. I’m curious to see if anything else is added, including the Blackpool Combat Club’s mystery partners. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

In Memory Of Terry Funk.

Elite vs. Bullet Club Gold

Jay White is here with the Club. It’s a brawl before the bell with Juice Robinson grabbing a chair. The referee takes it away so Robinson decks him as the fight continues. The bucks are taken out and White comes in to help with the beatdown. Konosuke Takeshita comes in to help lay out Omega but here is FTR to help the Bucks clear out the Club. That leaves Omega and Takeshita in the ring, with the threat of a One Winged Angel sending Takeshita running. No match of course.

MJF has a sitdown interview with Renee Paquette, who talks about how tight his trunks are going to be with 80,000 people chanting his name. MJF: “I’m like the British Bulldog if he was Jewish and a good public speaker.” If the fans chant for him, he’ll buy them all a pint! Renee: “Really?” MJF, in a whisper: “No of course not Renee. I’m going to get that mark Tony Khan to pay for it. We can edit that out right?” He is ready to show that he is the best when he wrestles twice at All In, but we move on to his relationship with Adam Cole.

We see a clip of the two of them and MJF says that he’s not trying to work us, but Cole has made him a better person. He understands why people don’t trust him and for once, he’s vulnerable. He’d like us to go with him, and he’s ready to be your scumbag. I still have no idea who is turning in this story (and it might not happen on Sunday) but dang it is going to be huge.

Jon Moxley vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix knocks him outside fast to start and there’s the suicide dive to drop Moxley again. Moxley is back up and rakes the eyes, setting up a stomp onto the floor to really rock him. Moxley sends the rocked Fenix into the barricade and the rocking level increases. Back in and Fenix misses a rope walk kick but hits a running elbow in the corner. One heck of a clothesline drops Fenix for two and we take a break.

We come back with Fenix fighting back but his rolling cutter is countered into a choke. Moxley takes it to the mat but Fenix flips out and hits the rolling cutter for two. Fenix hits a frog splash for two more but Moxley catches him on top. A super Death Rider gets two (of course), followed by the rear naked choke to finish Fenix at 13:45.

Rating: B-. There is something about Fenix’s matches that makes him feel like he is in a fight every time and it works very well. He’s a special talent and I could go for seeing more of him on his own. What I could really not go for is more of a middle rope version of a former World Champion’s finisher getting two and then going straight to the choke finish. Either don’t do the super Death Rider or don’t cover him after. It’s not that hard but for some reason, AEW insists on doing things like this far too often.

Post match the Blackpool Combat Club come in to go after Fenix with a crowbar. Eddie Kingston and Penta come out but cue the returning Santana and Ortiz to cut them off. Fenix gets crowbarred in the head (which the camera misses) and the villains leave. This would seem to be a way to make it 5-5 on Sunday instead as Fenix is stretchered out.

Post break Eddie Kingston won’t talk to Renee Paquette over what her husband just did. He’ll fix it in London.

Earlier today, the former Jericho Appreciation Society and Sammy Guevara argued over Chris Jericho’s loyalties.

It’s time for the contract signing between Chris Jericho (with Sammy Guevara) and Will Ospreay (with Don Callis) for All In. Callis can’t wait for Ospreay to destroy Jericho once and for all, with Ospreay talking about wanting to get money to put his kid through school. Ospreay says his contract is coming up and he is already better than everyone around here and Jericho’s legacy is just rocket fuel for his future.

Ospreay signs and Jericho, after taking his jacket off for some reason, talks about how he knew Ospreay would be great. We get references to the sheets and Dave Meltzer before Jericho talks about how important this match is going to be. Jericho takes credit for Ospreay not being in a wheelchair today so Ospreay gets in his face. The fight is on and they have to be held back to wrap it up.

Ospreay knocked it out of the park here and Jericho was good enough to make this a heck of a segment. The idea of trying to get Ospreay booed in London is idiotic, but dang I want to see the match more than I did coming in. Can we just get rid of Callis though? He’s really not needed in the whole thing.

We now get a sitdown interview with Adam Cole, who looks at a highlight package of his friendship with MJF. We also see some clips of Roderick Strong and the Kingdom having some issues with both of them, which has Cole on his feet yelling at her for causing problems. Cole snapped fast there.

Darby Allin/Nick Wayne vs. Mogul Embassy

Tornado tag. Wayne is sent outside fast to start and Fox hits the flip dive. The Embassy goes after Wayne’s mom in the front row but Allin is back up with a Coffin Drop onto the two of them on the floor. We take a break and come back with Wayne being suplexed on the floor before everyone heads back inside.

A neckbreaker gives Swerve two as Allin makes the save. Allin takes Swerve outside for a ram into various things, only to have a quick shot take him down. Back in and the double teaming plants Wayne, including a spinning fisherman’s suplex for two. Fox misses the 450 though and Wayne rolls him up for the pin at 9:51.

Rating: C+. Well ok then. That’s the kind of thing that I would not have expected coming in but for some reason here we are, with Wayne beating Fox here. That would seem to be the kind of thing you save for All Out (assuming AEW believes Wayne is PPV ready) but here we are instead, with one of All In’s matches suddenly being a lot less interesting.

Post match Allin and Wayne leave so Fox laughs and calls this disappointing. He blames Fox for the loss and has Prince Nana fire him. Cue Brian Cage to lay Fox out but Allin, Wayne and Sting make the save. Allin forgives Fox for everything and Allin asks Swerve who he has to replace Fox. Cue Christian Cage and Luchasaurus, with Christian reminding Wayne that his father, is in fact, dead. Well Christian had never heard of Wayne’s father so he must not have been a very good wrestler. Christian likes the idea of being a mentor to wrestlers with dead fathers so maybe Wayne will listen to him one day.

This might have been the most confusing segment I’ve seen in AEW. Why did Allin think that someone other than Brian Cage was the new partner? Why wasn’t Cage the new partner? Why would Christian accept a spot in this match? Why have Fox in the match in the first place if it’s going to be changed a week or two later? This felt like a way too complicated

We get a sitdown interview with FTR and the Young Bucks. The Bucks think FTR need to win this match more than them, while FTR talk about legacies again. The Bucks cut them off and say they’re the reason FTR is here in the first place. One day, when this is all said and done, the Bucks hope FTR will “give them their flowers”, but FTR seems more interested in fighting.

The Outcasts are ready for a tag match on Rampage.

Ruby Soho vs. Skye Blue

Soho jumps her fast to start and takes things into the corner. Blue fights up and sends her to the floor for a crossbody off the apron. We take a break and come back with Soho fighting out of Skyfall but not being able to hit a Saito suplex. Blue hits a neckbreaker and they go into a pinfall reversal sequence. A quick Skyfall gives Blue two but she can’t hit Code Blue. Instead it’s a No Future into Destination Unknown to finish Blue at 7:28.

Rating: C-. This would be your weekly women’s match with a break in the middle so we missed most of the thing. Soho seems primed to go after the TBS Title and that’s a good spot for her at the moment. That being said, this wasn’t exactly a great match, as Blue continues to be ok at best in the ring. They were doing some stuff that seemed beyond her here and her lack of polish was showing more than once.

Roderick Strong and the Kingdom will be watching.

The House Of Black talk about getting rid of Billy Gunn.

Here is a rather serious Acclaimed to call out the House Of Black. The fight is on but cue the returning Billy Gunn for the save. Gunn talks about how the House has taken everything from him and his family, so now the challenge is on for a match at All In. Billy even promises the REAL Bad A** is coming.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open vs. Hardys

The Aussies are defending and it’s a brawl to start with the champs being sent into the corner. The Hardys send them outside and keep up the beating as we take an early break. Back with Jeff in trouble but Jeff fights up and hits a Whisper in the Wind. The tag brings in Matt to clean house as everything breaks down. Matt superplexes Fletcher into a middle rope splash for two, with Davis making the save. Back up and the Aussie Arrow finishes Jeff at 8:01. Well that was abrupt.

Rating: C. The Hardys are feeling less and less special out there every time and they lost again here, even in a title match. Why did they even get a title match anyway? They lost to the Young Bucks a few weeks ago and here’s a title shot. Anyway, not much to see here, but at least the Aussies got a win before their big match on Sunday.

Post match the Aussies promise to keep the titles but here are MJF and Adam Cole to interrupt. The Aussies beat them down but Cole and MJF fight back, only to have the Kangaroo Kick blocked. Cole’s superkick almost hits MJF, who catches it coming in and glares at Cole with a different look on his face. MJF walks past him and loads up the diamond ring but hugs Cole instead to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show that was NOT about the wrestling and there is nothing wrong with that. AEW is four days away from the biggest show they are probably ever going to run and this Dynamite was about getting things ready. It was a heck of a show when it came to getting ready for All In and that was entirely the point. Heck of a show here in that regard and that’s what it needed to be.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Rey Fenix – Rear naked choke
Darby Allin/Nick Wayne b. Mogul Embassy – Rollup to Fox
Ruby Soho b. Skye Blue – Destination Unknown
Aussie Open b. Hardys – Aussie Arrow to Jeff

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: August 16, 2023
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s another special show with Fight For The Fallen, with proceeds going towards a Hawaii food bank helping with the fallout from the wildfires. There’s not a thing wrong with that and it’s great that AEW is doing something. Other than that, we are eleven days away from All In and we might get some more announcements for the show tonight. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta

Cassidy is defending against his former student. Feeling out process to start and they slug it out with neither getting very far. They trade belly to back suplexes and then kick each other down. Cassidy is sent to the floor and gets taken down with a dive but he reverses a suplex into one of his own. Yuta piledrives him on the ram and Cassidy rolls back towards the ring. Back in and a quick Beach Break gives Cassidy two as we take a break.

We come back with Yuta working on the hand but he has to catch Cassidy on top. The top rope superplex sends Cassidy crashing back down and a top rope splash gives Yuta two more. Cassidy is back up with a Michinoku Driver into a PK but here is the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club to offer a distraction. A fake out lets Cassidy hit his own double arm Paradigm Shift, setting up the Orange Punch. Cassidy can’t cover so Yuta gets the Seatbelt for two, only to have Cassidy roll him up for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C+. This was in fact an Orange Cassidy match, and that has been the case for a long time now. Cassidy is all banged up and injured but manages to do all of his stuff and win in the end. Yuta wasn’t feeling like much of a threat to the title in the first place, but it then went with as “we’ve seen this already” ending it could have had.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Best Friends, and then the Lucha Bros, make the save. The Club grab chairs but Eddie Kingston is back to go after Claudio Castagnoli. That’s enough for the Club to run off, leaving Kingston to issue a challenge for Wembley Stadium in a Stadium Stampede match.

We get a sitdown interview with Jim Ross talking to Kenny Omega. It turns out that Don Callis was friends with Omega’s uncle and helped him get whatever he wanted…and here is Callis for a distraction. Bullet Club Gold and Konosuke Takeshita jump Omega from behind and the big beatdown is on. That should set up another pay per view match, though hopefully JR can get some sleep before then. He looked incredibly rough here.

Omega was taken to a hospital, where Hangman Page was waiting. Page wants to finish this at All In, though here is a security guard to tell Page he can’t drink a beer here. That’s fine with Page, who downs it.

Here is Don Callis, with another painting under a blanket, to get Chris Jericho’s answer. Cue Jericho to give his answer, and while he’s the one who starts factions…..he’ll join the Don Callis family! Callis is stunned and happy so let’s go celebrate. Jericho wants to see the picture though, with Callis getting nervous. The blanket comes off, and it’s a painting of Callis holding Jericho’s decapitated head.

Callis backpedals really fast and tries to talk his way out of it but Jericho says just tell him the truth. It’s true that Callis didn’t expect Jericho to say yes….because of his massive ego. Callis goes on a rant about how Jericho has the biggest ego ever but Jericho says Callis is a nobody who wasn’t in wrestling a few years ago. Callis slaps him and here is Konosuke Takeshita to go after Jericho. Cue Will Ospreay to jump Jericho as well and the big beatdown is on, with Jericho being busted open. The painting is broken over Jericho’s head but here is Sammy Guevara with a baseball bad for the save.

Jack Perry is going to retire the FTW Title next week.

Gates Of Agony vs. Darby Allin/Nick Wayne

The Gates jump them from behind to start fast and the beatdown is on outside. We take an early break and come back with Allin getting the hot tag to roll Kaun up for two as the Mogul Embassy is watching from the ramp. Everything breaks down and Wayne takes Kaun down before diving onto Toa at ringside. Allin adds the Coffin Drop to finish Kaun at 6:26.

Rating: C. So after the Gates start winning some matches, they go right back down here to Allin and Wayne, who aren’t the most experienced team. Allin winning a match is fine enough but it’s another match that runs about six minutes and has a break in the middle. I’m sure it’s a television deal, but my goodness it gets old fast.

Post match Sting pops up on screen to say we’re coming up on the biggest show in AEW history. It seems that he has kidnapped Prince Nana and says it’s showtime as the Embassy goes to the back. Sting screams at Nana and he runs off. This was wacky Sting and that’s a great thing.

Adam Cole and MJF go to Outback Steakhouse to plan for Aussie Open. After eating, MJF knows they’re done because that was the best food he’s ever had so how can they beat an Aussie team? Later, at the arena, Cole has a DVD of Crocodile Dundee 1 and 2. MJF has a better idea: kangaroo fighting style! Cole isn’t convinced, so they put on Australian hats (and accents, ala Steve Irwin) and double clothesline a guy holding an inflatable crocodile.

Then Tony Khan summons them into his office (Thunder Rosa not included) and yells about hitting double clotheslines backstage. Leave it to the ring. The team leaves and MJF says Khan will regret that come contract time. Khan comes out and yells some more, but MJF is suddenly cool with him. Was that TK “responding” to people who say he doesn’t have a backbone after the Punk ordeals? Either way, this whole thing was hilarious. Again. They absolutely have something great with these two and I want to see a lot more.

MJF and Cole arrive in MJF’s car and head inside, leaving Roderick Strong to limp up and kick the tire, hurting himself in the process of course.

Here are MJF and Cole for a chat. They’re ready for All In but first they have to win the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles. MJF: “WITH THE KANGAROO KICK!” Cole talks about how important the World Title match will be, because it’s all about solidifying his legacy here in AEW. Not just by being in it, but by winning it. MJF doesn’t buy it and has a story of his own.

When he first got into the wrestling world, he was told to write down his dream opponents. He wrote down Cody Rhodes and Adam Cole. Then he had been working so hard to get ahead on the independent circuit, when he heard about a special show called All In. He messaged Cody Rhodes and somehow got a spot in the opening match, despite having no business being on.

It was enough to get him a contract with AEW, so without All In, there wouldn’t be an MJF. He has worked his way to the top and now he is going to be facing his best friend in the biggest show ever. Now all that matters is the World Title, because he has given everything to earn it. He’ll win because no one is on his level, so Cole says may the best man win. MJF says he will, because he’s better than Cole, even if Cole disagrees.

Cue Aussie Open to jump them from being before quickly being dispatched. Cole teases a superkick to MJF but then stands up…with MJF having seen him crouched. They hug anyway. This was a really good segment and did a lot to make the title match feel a heck of a lot more important.

Chris Jericho is getting cleaned up before saying this match with Will Ospreay (which is apparently happening) has been ready since 2021 and would have happened without the pandemic. Ospreay doesn’t know what he’s getting into because the Ocho is coming for him. So the British fans are supposed to book the incredibly athletic British wrestler in front of the biggest crowd in British wrestling history. Got it.

Jeff Hardy vs. Jeff Jarrett

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Death Match (tie-in with a video game release) and you can only win by pinfall. Hardy goes through the crowd and into the back to start, where Satnam Jarrett and Satnam Singh (I believe dressed like someone from the movie) jumps him. Ethan Page, Brother Zay and Matt Hardy make the save and pour something on Jarrett (Jeff and Karen). The two of them stagger through a dimly lit hallway as we take a break.

Back with the fight still going on in the back with Jeff Hardy diving onto the Jarretts and company. They fight into the arena (with about ten people involved) and Jeff Hardy Swantons him through a table for two with Jay Lethal making the save. The guitar is taken away from Jarrett and cracked over his head but cue Leatherface with a chainsaw. Singh can’t chokebomb Jeff Hardy but Lethal is back in with a hammer to Jeff Hardy’s head. The chokeslam lets Jarrett get the pin at 9:56.

Rating: D+. I don’t even begin to know where to go on this, but at the end of the day, I can accept that AEW was given a big check to do something with the game and this is the best they could do. Fair enough and the match was certainly memorable, even if it was for the bad reasons. That being said, Jarrett winning here is uh, a bit strange I would say.

And yes, Jarrett does get a special belt for winning.

Women’s Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Britt Baker vs. The Bunny

The winner is in the Women’s Title match at All In. Baker grabs a rollup to start but it’s too early for the Lockjaw. Instead Baker misses a stomp, allowing Bunny to miss Down The Rabbit Hole. Bunny sends her into the Corner and we take a break. Back with Baker hitting a Sling Blade and getting two off a rollup. That’s enough for Baker, who hits the Stomp for the pin at 7:36.

Rating: C-. Baker is getting weaker and weaker week to week and there isn’t much of a way to hide it anymore. It didn’t help that there was almost no reason to believe Bunny had a chance in this, especially after just coming back from an injury. Not a good match here, but at least they went with the only logical option.

All In rundown.

Acclaimed vs. ???/???

Hold on though as the lights go out before the bell and come up to reveal the House Of Black. The big beatdown is on and Caster is left busted open. The House walks off with Billy Gunn’s boots. No match.

The Gunns vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks jump them during the entrance and the fight heads down to the ring for the opening bell. A double dropkick sends the Gunns to the floor for the dives but the Gunns take over on Matt. Back in and a knee lift into a lariat gives Austin two and we take a break. We come back Matt getting hit with a dropkick for two but managing to roll over both of them for the hot tag.

Nick hits the slingshot X Factor and the apron moonsault. An assisted standing Sliced Bread drops Austin but the BTE Trigger is broken up. 3:10 To Yuma connects but Nick dives in with a top rope double stomp for the save. The Gunns try an assisted rollup but the Bucks break it up and use one of their own to pin Colten at 9:25.

Rating: C+. The Bucks did their high flying and get a win to give them some momentum on the way to the FTR match. That’s all you really need for them to do here but at least the Gunns are starting to figure out their thing. They’re a midcard heel team and work well together, which is a valuable role to fill.

Post match Bullet Club Gold runs in to help with the beatdown on the Bucks but FTR make the save. FTR teases taking out the Bucks but don’t do it to end the show (worked better when Cole and MJF did it earlier tonight).

Overall Rating: B-. This was a weird show for AEW as the wrestling was decent to mostly not that good for the most part. Instead, this was FAR more about the storyline stuff and building up the matches for All In and beyond. That is something AEW needed and the parts that worked here were very, very good. There were some weak parts to go with it though, and that dragged some of the positives back down. Overall, All In got a heck of a build here and while not all of it was great, it’s what the show was needing.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Wheeler Yuta – Rollup
Darby Allin/Nick Wayne b. Gates of Agony – Coffin Drop to Kaun
Jeff Jarrett b. Jeff Hardy – Chokeslam from Satnam Singh
Britt Baker b. The Bunny – Stomp
Young Bucks b. The Gunns – Assisted rollup to Colten

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: August 9, 2023
Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are less than three weeks away from All in and the show is starting to come together. The World Title match is now set and there are a few other matches that are all but official. Those matches should make for a nice foundation, but there are more matches that need to be added. Throw in All Out a week later and there is a lot of work to be done. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society, minus Chris Jericho, for a special meeting. Jericho is called to the ring and tries to calm things down. Daniel Garcia cuts him off and rants about how Jericho will never pick them. Garcia has done everything for him but he can’t do this so he’s out. Jake Hager says he’s known Jericho longer than any of them and while he liked his hat, he does NOT appreciate Jericho, so he’s out too. Tay Melo is feeling sick but it’s not because of the baby. She’ll be back in a year to be a champion without Jericho because she quits.

Anna Jay quits because Jericho is selfish and Angelo Parker talks about how he has given everything to Jericho, with nothing left to give. They’re both out, leaving Matt Menard and Sammy Guevara. Menard talks about using his first check to buy a Chris Jericho shirt. Then when his wife was 8 months pregnant and he didn’t have a job, Jericho heard his story and brought him underneath his wing. Menard gets why people he looked up to hate Jericho though and walks out. Guevara says he isn’t quitting, but once Jericho figures this out, maybe he’ll be around. Jericho has nothing to say and that’s the segment.

Post break Don Callis comes up to a distraught Jericho and says he’s sorry if he caused any of that. Jericho has an answer for Callis and they’ll announce it next week. Why not now?

Hardys vs. Young Bucks

Jeff takes over on Matt Jackson’s arm to start and the Hardys drop Nick onto his brother for a crash. Matt Hardy comes in and plants Matt Jackson for two. Nick makes a save and the Bucks get to clean house, including Risky Business to Matt Hardy. We take a break and come back with Matt Hardy fighting out of trouble and bringing Jeff back in for the house cleaning.

The Whisper In The Wind gets two on Nick Jackson but the Bucks superkick Jeff down. Something close to a 3D gets two but Matt Hardy breaks up the Meltzer Driver. The Swanton hits Matt Jackson with Nick making the save. Jeff loads up another Twist of Fate but gets his leg superkicked out, setting up the BTE Trigger to finish Matt Hardy at 11:10.

Rating: C+. First and foremost, this could have been FAR worse. There was a chance that this could have been a disaster but instead it was mostly fine. That being said, they were in a bind here as the match is billed as a dream match but they can’t do anything epic or even long with it because the Hardys are broken down. That left it as kind of stuck under a hard ceiling, but they did as well as they could.

Post match respect is shown before the Bucks call out FTR. Cue FTR and the match is official. Well that was quick.

There will be a tournament to set up a four way Women’s Title match at All In, though Toni Storm has cashed in her rematch clause and is automatically in. Who isn’t in you ask? Champion Hikaru Shida, who is defending in a first round match. This is overthinking something even by AEW standards.

Adam Cole and MJF bonded again, by going to a trampoline park. They also have video games, a ball pit (!) and dodgeball. MJF likes the idea of dodgeball and assaults some children (in slow motion), while yelling various insults such as “I slept with your mom” and “you’re adopted”. Cole comes up to say MJF can’t do this but a young girl says they must be nerds for being adults in a trampoline park. Cole has to hold MJF back, but one more insult lets MJF chuck the ball at her as well. This was so ridiculously over the top that it was hilarious.

We recap the Blackpool Combat Club being all violent recently.

The Blackpool Combat Club is happy to have hurt the Best Friends and Pac.

FTW Title: Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Perry

Perry, in Jerry Lynn style gear, is defending under FTW Rules (pretty much anything goes and falls count anywhere). Perry jumps him to start but gets rolled up for a fast two. Van Dam knocks him out to the floor and the spinning legdrop to the apron CRUSHES Perry, with commentary laughing at how hard it hit.

We take a break and come back with Perry missing Rolling Thunder and getting kicked in the face. There are a bunch of chairs in the ring (one in the corner) and a table set up at ringside as Van Dam monkey flips Perry. The dropkicked chair into the corner hits Perry and Rolling Thunder onto the chair gets a delayed two.

The split legged moonsault misses (mainly because Perry moved before Van Dam flipped) but Perry’s thrown chair hits the referee in the head. Perry catches Van Dam on top but gets sent through the table on the floor. Back in and the Five Star (not bad) hits Perry for no count. Another referee comes in for the count but Perry sends Van Dam into the chair in the corner and gets the pin at 9:22.

Rating: C+. The weapons stuff was a bit annoying but it does fit with the ECW theme. Van Dam was the only real option to make this work, but this needs to be the absolute end of the ECW stuff. It didn’t exactly look great to start with and there is pretty much no one else who is going to be interesting and able to have a decent match from ECW’s past. The match itself was perfectly decent, though they got out exactly when they should have.

The Lucha Bros promise revenge on the Blackpool Combat Club.

Here are Adam Cole and MJF for a chat. MJF has seen something about footage of him saying that everyone in the midwest is dead but that footage was HEAVILY doctored. May God strike him down dead if what he is saying isn’t true, but his favorite place in the country is the midwest! Cole and MJF cringe but MJF survives, leaving Cole to promise to take the World Title at All In. MJF: “So you want a little promo battle eh? OK!”

MJF goes on to say that Cole is so skinny and white that if he had been around in the 80s, Hogan would have snorted him. Cole says that’s NOT what he wanted, because he thinks they want the Tag Team Titles. Er, the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles in this case. Cole talks about how much he’s done in Ring Of Honor over the years and what it means to him, but he has never won the Tag Team Titles. They already have the World Title match, but on the All In Zero Hour, they should win the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles!

MJF: “Normally when someone wants to make me wrestle more than once a year, I want to stab them in the face with a soldering iron.” He’s a sucker for a cheap pop though so he’s in. The challenge is officially on. Cue Roderick Strong to say he should be winning the titles with Cole, but MJF goes on a rant about how Strong needs to go listen to some Taylor Swift and shake it off. Strong says the Kingdom was right and here they are to leave with him. MJF laughs at Strong so Cole snaps, with MJF telling Cole to go check on him. Strong just looks so, so lame in all of this. Even if it is a swerve from Cole, my goodness it’s pathetic.

Video on Collision.

Lucha Bros vs. Blackpool Combat Club

The Bros jump them from behind to start and the big flip dives connect as the bell rings. Fenix’s rolling cutter into Penta’s top rope double stomp gets two and Made In Japan gets two on Castagnoli. Fenix adds a high crossbody but the stereo superkicks only hits the others’ foot. Moxley comes in to clean house as everything breaks down in a hurry. Wheeler Yuta belts Fenix and it’s a gorilla press into Moxley’s cutter for two. We settle down to Castagnoli working on Fenix’s arm and we take a break.

Back with Fenix chopping up but getting dropped with a spike piledriver. Castagnoli picks Fenix up into an electric chair but Fenix drops back to avoid the Doomsday Device. Fenix rolls over for the tag to Penta so house can be cleaned. Fenix’s superkick gets two as everything breaks down. Moxley hits a cutter (third of the match) and everyone is down for a bit.

Castagnoli and Fenix strike it out from their knees and then their feet until Fenix hits his rebound spinning kick to the face. Penta and Moxley come in to chop it out (for a long time) until the Fear Factor hits Moxley. The spike Fear Factor is broken up but Wheeler Yuta tries to interfere, only to get cut off by Alex Abrahantes. Moxley uses the distraction to roll Penta (who got unmasked somewhere in there) up with tights for the pin at 13:02.

Rating: B-. This was the all action match that you might have expected and it felt like one of those beat on each other until someone gets a pin rather than building up a match deals. That’s the Lucha Bros’ specialty and the match did well, but sometimes it’s nice to see a traditional match for once. Oh and again with the mask being ripped off, because that’s almost required in half of the Lucha Bros matches.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Castagnoli putting on Penta’s mask for a bizarre look.

Kenny Omega will be sitting down with Jim Ross next week to talk about what he’ll be doing at All In.

Here is Swerve Strickland, with the Mogul Embassy, for a chat. They went to Seattle to prove a point last week because they are above the law. AR Fox wants Darby Allin out here right now so cue Allin, saying he wants the whole story. Allin lived with Fox and his demons, but now Fox has some new friends. Well Allin has friends of his own, so the lights go out and Sting is back. Everyone but Sting and Swerve leave, allowing Sting to bat Swerve in the ribs. Sting (who appears to have a bit of the Joker face paint) points to the All In sign. That’s an escalation.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Sting/Allin vs. Fox/Swerve (in a coffin match) is officially approved by Tony Khan for All In. So did Tony Khan just have nothing planned for All In and is letting the wrestlers book the show for him?

Women’s Title: Anna Jay vs. Hikaru Shida

Jay, with Angelo Parker and Matt Menard, is challenging but this is also a first round match in the tournament to set up the Women’s Title match at All In. Shida shoves her down to start and they fight up against the ropes. A jumping knee staggers Jay but she manages to kick Shida to the floor. Then she throws Shida back inside for two and we take an early break.

Back with Shida hammering away and knocking Jay outside. The clothesline off the chair is broken up by Parker and Jay sends her face first into the steps. Anna gets the Queenslayer back inside but Shida climbs the rope and crashes back down for the break. A Falcon Arrow gets two, followed by the Katana to retain the title at 8:44, despite Parker trying to interfere and somehow failing.

Rating: C. This whole tournament is rather high up there on the list of Things AEW Has Overthought. We’re having a tournament to set up a four way title match and the champion has to qualify but the person she beat doesn’t. I’m sure there’s some logic in there and I’d rather it not be allowed to get out. The match itself was just ok, as Jay isn’t someone you want to try to have a big showdown. Shida held it together well enough though and they got out of there pretty fast.

Overall Rating: C. This show was all over the place and rather unfocused. They added stuff to All In, but it felt like a show that just had one thing after another put on the card with nothing feeling overly important. It also doesn’t help that the first hour of this show was primarily dedicated to Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam and the Hardys. That’s a heck of a tag match on a late WWF Raw but here it doesn’t quite measure up. The show was far from bad, but it needed a second or third draft to tighten up a lot of things.

Results
Young Bucks b. Hardys – BTE Trigger to Matt
Jack Perry b. Rob Van Dam – Van Dam was sent into a chair
Blackpool Combat Club b. Lucha Bros – Rollup with tights to Penta El Cero Miedo
Hikaru Shida b. Anna Jay – Katana

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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Clash of Champions 2016
Date: September 25, 2016
Location: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
Attendance: 13,467
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

For some reason, this was requested back in the day so we might as well check it off the list. This is the first Raw exclusive pay per view after the Brand Split so the roster is a little limited. In this case, the main event is Kevin Owens defending the Universal Title against Seth Rollins. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Nia Jax vs. Alicia Fox

Jax showed up a few weeks ago and Fox didn’t like it, leading to Fox freaking out. Then Jax beat her up in a match so we’ll do it again. Fox dropkicks her at the bell to start fast and fires off kicks. That earns her some rams into the corner as Jax isn’t having any of that. We’re already in the chinlock for a bit before Jax sends her flying again. Fox slugs away in the corner though and hits a high crossbody. The ax kick gets two but Jax runs Fox over without much effort. The Samoan drop crushes Fox for the pin at 4:54.

Rating: C. This was about what you would expect here, as Jax shrugged off anything Fox threw at her and won pretty decisively. The match wasn’t anything special, with Jax getting a big push as she is new on Raw. Fox is someone who could be destroyed without sacrificing much and keeping it simple and to the point was the right way to go here.

The opening video looks at what it takes to be a champion and how we got to the major matches.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Good Brothers

New Day, meaning Kofi Kingston and Big E. in this case, is defending. Before the match, Kofi talks about how a win here would make them champions for 400 days, but the Good Brothers want to break them up like Brangelina. Anderson and Gallows have never even had a big old bowl of Booty-O’s!

The Brothers finally come out and it’s a clothesline to Big E. on the floor, plus cheap shot to Woods. A Liger Bomb to Kofi for two and the champs are in early trouble. Gallows comes in for a kick to the head and hammers away in the corner. Big E. gets back up but Gallows knocks Kofi right back into the wrong corner. Kofi gets in a shot of his own though and the tag to Anderson takes too long, allowing Big E. to come in for the rapid fire suplexes. The Warrior Splash hits Anderson but he’s able to cut off the spear through the ropes.

Gallows comes in off a blind tag and boots Big E. in the face, setting up the big boot/flapjack combination for two. The tag brings Kofi back in and he is quickly spinebustered for two more. Big E. is dropped again but Kofi breaks up the Magic Killer. Kofi manages Trouble In Paradise and Big E. is back in for the Big Ending but Gallows breaks it up. The referee yells at Gallows, meaning Woods can get in a Francesca shot to Anderson. The Midnight Hour retains the titles at 6:45.

Rating: B-. They crammed a lot into a rather short match here but New Day is always a good choice to open the show. You are going to get the high energy match that the fans will react to and that is a smart way to bring up the energy. The Brothers were viable challengers here and had New Day in a lot of trouble more than once before coming up short. It felt like a hot house show opener and this worked well in pretty much every aspect needed.

We recap TJ Perkins winning the Cruiserweight Classic to become the new Cruiserweight Champion.

TJ Perkins has been working to get here since 1998 and his confidence is going to get him beyond Brian Kendrick.

Cruiserweight Title: Brian Kendrick vs. TJ Perkins

Perkins is defending and I do miss his video game entrance (and Kendrick’s I’m A Man With A Plan song). Not so much the purpose ropes, which was about all the identity the cruiserweight division had. They go with the grappling to start until TJP gets a headscissors. Kendrick switches that into a headlock but gets reversed into a kneebar, sending him straight to the ropes.

The fans are split as Kendrick ties him in the ring skirt and hammers away as commentary tries to get this division and its wrestlers over as much as possible. TJP is right back with a Muta Lock, sending Kendrick to the ropes again. Kendrick manages to send him outside to bang up TJP’s neck but his own knee is hurt as well. Back in and Kendrick gets in a cross arm choke before missing a charge and crashing out to the floor. TJP fights out of another crank and hits a dropkick into a heel kick.

A jumping neckbreaker doesn’t quite work for TJP but a double chickenwing backbreaker two two. With nothing else working, TJP snaps off a top rope hurricanrana to the floor for a double crash. Back in and Kendrick can’t hit the Sliced Bread so TJP goes up, only to miss the 450. Kendrick can’t get the Captain’s Hook but TJP can’t get the kneebar either. Now Sliced Bread gives Kendrick two but this time the Captain’s Hook is reversed into the Detonation Kick. The kneebar retains the title at 10:33.

Rating: B-. This was turning into a heck of a match but there was no way around the fact that it means absolutely nothing. The Cruiserweight Title was introduced in the Cruiserweight Classic and that worked well enough, but after that it became clear why it was gone again. No matter how good the matches might be, and this was a rather good one, you can only get so far with the purple ropes and a title for smaller wrestlers when Daniel Bryan was the hottest thing in the world just a few years ago.

Post match respect is teased but Kendrick drops him and walks off.

Cesaro, in his white tuxedo, is ready to finish the comeback and beat Sheamus to win their best of seven series. This series is about mental toughness and he is ready to show the Cesaro Section the biggest comeback in history.

We recap the first six matches, with Sheamus going up 3-0 but Cesaro has made a comeback to bring us to a winner take all match. The matches have been good, but egads it was hard to sit through this many matches between anyone.

Cesaro vs. Sheamus

The winner gets an unspecified title shot. Cesaro wastes no time in hitting a dropkick but Sheamus is right back with the forearms to the chest. Those are broken up and Sheamus is knocked to the floor, allowing Cesaro to hit the running seated senton off the apron. Back in and Sheamus knocks him off the top for a crash though, setting up a middle rope knee. Some backbreakers stay on Cesaro’s back and we hit the chinlock.

Back up and Sheamus hits a running spinwheel kick in the corner (that looked good) and a top rope clothesline gets two. Sheamus misses a charge into the post though and Cesaro scores with an uppercut to the back. A tornado DDT gets two on Sheamus and the Swiss One Nine (if that’s not the name, it should be) sets up a high crossbody for two more. The Neutralizer is blocked so Cesaro hits a heck of a springboard corkscrew uppercut for another near fall.

It’s too early for the Swing though and Sheamus gets two more off another backbreaker. Two Irish Curses combine for two (so hit a third one then) but the Cloverleaf is countered into a small package to give Cesaro two of his own. Sheamus gets creative with a Razor’s Edge dropped into a backbreaker (OUCH) but the Brogue Kick is countered into the Swing. Cesaro gets the Sharpshooter (while holding his back), sending Sheamus over to the rope.

The apron superplex is countered so Cesaro kicks him in the face instead, setting up one of those suicide dives which lands so badly that the referee runs out to make sure Cesaro isn’t dead. Back in and a quick Brogue Kick gives Sheamus two (as we see the fourth replay of the dive, which looked TERRIFYING).

Cesaro grabs a Neutralizer for two of his own and they’re both down again. Some uppercuts in the corner have Sheamus in more trouble until he cuts off a charge with a raised boot. Sheamus pulls himself up to the top but gets dropkicked down but Sheamus headbutts him right back off the top. A top rope clothesline to the floor hits Cesaro in the back and Sheamus hits White Noise on the floor. Cesaro clotheslines him into the crowd though and it’s a no contest as they’re both out at 16:30.

Rating: B+. This is a great example of a match where time has been kind. I couldn’t stand this feud at the time and the reveal of them getting a Tag Team Title shot didn’t help (though the Bar wound up being great) but this was an awesome fight. They didn’t stop for almost any time during the match and I wanted to see what they were going to come up with next. Awesome stuff here and if they hadn’t done the match to death, I would have liked it a lot more back in the day.

Post match Cesaro wants to keep going but Sheamus staggers out of the arena.

Bayley, still in the Hugger phase, is interrupted by Charlotte, still in….the only phase she has, who says Bayley cheated to get her title shot tonight. Charlotte insists that Bayley isn’t going to win tonight, with Bayley reminding her of that time she pinned Charlotte a few weeks ago. Charlotte: “You can’t even beat Sasha.”

Sami Zayn vs. Chris Jericho

I do miss Sami’s jaunty hat. Believe it or not, this is over Kevin Owens, who Sami doesn’t like but is Jericho’s new best friend. Therefore, this is about Jericho protecting his own honor after Sami said he was Owens’ b****. Jericho yells at the fans to start until Sami drives him into the corner and hammers away. The referee breaks it up and Jericho gets in the cheap shot.

Sami isn’t having that and snaps off some armdrags into a leg lariat, meaning Jericho needs a breather. With Jericho on the floor, Sami follows him out and hits the moonsault off the barricade. Back in and the referee distracts Sami, allowing Jericho to hit the triangle dropkick to take over. A top rope elbow to the face gives Jericho two and he crotches Sami on top to cut off a quick comeback bid. Jericho loads up the bulldog but Sami sends him hard into the corner and sends him outside.

There’s the big no hands running flip dive (that always looks great), followed by a Michinoku Driver for two on Jericho back inside. Sami misses a flying something off the top and Jericho is back with a step up enziguri. Jericho starts kicking him in the head but Sami pulls him down into a rollup for two more. The rope walk tornado DDT sets up the Helluva Kick but Jericho bails to the floor just in time.

The diving tornado DDT takes Jericho down again outside, only to have another Helluva Kick miss back inside. Instead Sami suplexes him into the corner but a third Helluva Kick misses, allowing Jericho to grab the Walls. Sami finally reverses into a rollup for two and the Blue Thunder Bomb connects for the same. Then Jericho hits the Codebreaker for the pin at 15:21.

Rating: B. Were you expecting anything else from Jericho vs. Zayn in a fifteen minute pay per view match? Sami was fighting from underneath for most of the match, which is where he excels like few others. There is something about watching him try to survive against a bigger star and even get close to winning multiple times, only to come up short. Awesome match here, as this show has been pretty great so far.

Bosses Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon come up to Raw World Champion Kevin Owens, saying if anyone can live up to the rest of the show, it’s him. Owens isn’t impressed ad is ready to show them why they should have taken him over Seth Rollins with the #1 Draft pick. Rollins is no longer then man, but rather the mistake. Their mistake.

We recap the Raw Women’s Title match with Charlotte defending against Bayley and Sasha Banks. Charlotte beat Banks to win the title at Summerslam when Banks had a bad back. Then Bayley showed up and beat Charlotte in a non-title match, setting up the title match.

Raw Women’s Title: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley

Charlotte, with Dana Brooke (that didn’t go very far) is defending. Banks chases Charlotte straight to the floor and starts the fight so Bayley kicks both of them in the face. Back in and Bayley rolls Charlotte up for some near falls but Banks isn’t having that. Instead Bayley rolls her up for two but Charlotte pulls Banks down by the hair. We get the big three way standoff until Banks drops Bayley.

Charlotte grabs a neckbreaker to put Banks down but gets crotched on top. Bayley is back up and kicks Charlotte to the floor, setting up a twisting Stunner over the middle rope to take banks down. Brooke gets in a cheap shot on Bayley though, allowing Charlotte to knee Banks into the corner. There’s a hard whip into the corner and Banks’ back is getting a lot more messed up.

Charlotte stops to deck Bayley again but Banks sends Charlotte into the corner to even things up a bit. The Bank Statement is broken up but Bayley is back in with a double high crossbody. Bayley misses a running knee in the corner though and Banks stacks both of them up, setting up the double knees. Back up and Banks breaks up the Figure Eight and Bayley hits the Bayley To Belly for two on Charlotte, leaving everyone down again.

With nothing else working, Banks and Bayley beat up Charlotte…who of course shrugs it off and sends Bayley into the corner again. If that’s not enough, Charlotte drops Banks off the middle rope before doing the same to Bayley. Charlotte hits the moonsault onto both of them for two on Banks, who is right back up with the Bank Statement.

Brooke makes a save of her own and Bayley is shoved off the top for a crash. The Bank Statement has Charlotte in more trouble but Bayley breaks it up this time. Banks does the same thing with Charlotte and Bayley switching places, allowing Charlotte to send Banks hard into the barricade. Back in and Charlotte boots Bayley into Banks, followed by another big boot to retain the title at 15:28.

Rating: B-. Sweet goodness Charlotte was every bit as dominant back then and it was still not the most appealing thing. She kept shrugging off everything Bayley and Banks threw at her, including both at once, and then won the title by beating them both up without much trouble. Good enough match, but it was a lot of Charlotte, as tends to be the case.

The Kickoff Show panel recaps/previews the show.

Remember Nia Jax crushing Alicia Fox on the Kickoff Show? Here are some highlights, in case you were wondering about a near squash.

We recap Roman Reigns challenging Rusev for the US Title. Reigns, being kind of a jerk, interrupted Rusev and Lana’s celebration and shoved her into a cake. They had been supposed to fight at Summerslam but got in a fight before the match so nothing happened.

United States Title: Rusev vs. Roman Reigns

Rusev is defending and Lana handles his introduction. They fight over a lockup to start until Reigns knocks him outside. Back in and Reigns wins a slugout until Rusev spinwheel kicks him in the face for two. Rusev hammers away and whips him into the corner a few times as the fans are way behind Reigns. The clothesline comeback doesn’t last long as Rusev knocks him outside for some rams into the barricade.

Rusev is sent into the steps for two and we hit the chinlock. That stays on for a good bit before Rusev hits a running headbutt and stops for some Bulgarian style glaring. A dropkick of all things drops Reigns again but he rolls away from a top rope headbutt (he learned from the first headbutt you see). The corner clotheslines rock Rusev, who crashes out to the floor and gets sent into the steps for a bonus.

Back in and the Superman Punch is kicked out of the air, setting up a hot shot for two. Reigns cuts off the Machka Kick and hits the Superman Punch for two of his own. Back up and the Lana distraction lets the Machka Kick connect and Rusev loses it on the referee for a bit. The Accolade (camel clutch) is broken up though and Reigns hits the spear, only to have Lana pull the referee.

That’s good for an ejection and Reigns sends Rusev outside as well. The running dropkick hits Rusev but it’s the Machka Kick to give him two back inside. Now the Accolade goes on but Reigns powers up and hits the spear for the pin and the title at 17:10 (it’s as sudden as it sounds).

Rating: B-. This was the Reigns that does not have the best reputation, as while the wrestling was good enough, it wasn’t exactly exciting stuff and he kept shrugging off everything thrown at him. That doesn’t make for the most interesting matches and the ending came out of absolutely nowhere. Not a bad match at all, but there was no point where I was getting interested or excited.

Seth Rollins runs into Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley but he really doesn’t want to hear anything from Stephanie. They bet on the wrong guy, and tell HHH that he bet against the wrong guy.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Finn Balor won the Universal Title at Summerslam but got hurt, meaning the title was decided in a fatal four way. HHH interfered and cost Seth Rollins the title, siding with Kevin Owens instead in quite the screwjob. Now Rollins wants revenge, as HHH (and Stephanie) bet on the wrong guy (as you might have heard all of a few seconds ago). In other words, it was a bunch of Stephanie getting to be all fierce with people while Owens was just kind of there quite a bit of the while.

Raw World Title: Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens

Owens is defending and they fight to the floor to start with Rollins getting the better of things. Back in and Rollins stomps away in the corner, setting up the running knee to the face for two. Stomping and chopping in the corner have Owens in more trouble and the middle rope Blockbuster gets two. The Pedigree is blocked though and Owens snaps off a DDT for two of his own.

Rollins is sent outside and comes up favoring his knee, allowing Owens to stomp away back inside (the fans approve). Owens kicks away at the knee and backdrops a charging Rollins out to the floor. An elbow off the apron crushes Rollins again and the backsplash makes it worse. We hit the chinlock for a bit before Owens whips him hard into the corner to keep Rollins down. Back up and Rollins starts the comeback, including the Downward Spiral into the middle buckle.

A running dropkick sends Owens outside and Rollins uses the chance to set up the announcers’ table. Ever the smart champion, Owens bails back inside before anything can happen, only to get superkicked for two. Rollins misses a charge into the corner though and Owens kicks him in the knee again. The Cannonball gets two but Rollins is back up for an exchange of strikes to leave them both down.

Rollins’ springboard knee is cut off so Owens can hit the pumphandle brainbuster onto the knee for two more. A super gutbuster into the frog splash gives Owens another near fall and they head back to the floor. Owens misses the splash through the announcers’ table and it’s another double down. Back in and Rollins hits a frog splash for two so cue Chris Jericho.

The distraction lets Owens hit the package side slam but Rollins is back with a Pedigree for the same, thanks to Jericho putting the foot on the rope. The referee gets bumped (of course) so there’s no count for Rollins’ Pedigree. Jericho comes in but gets backdropped to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Stephanie McMahon pops up to send in another referee….so Owens can hit the pop up powerbomb to retain at 25:07.

Rating: B-. This was REALLY long and could have easily had ten minutes shaved off. It was one of those matches where it felt like they were just trying to fill in time rather than winning the match most of the time. On top of that, it also felt like it was a HHH style match of “ok, let’s get everything done before we get to the shenanigans”. That’s not a great feeling, and it never came off like Rollins was going to win the title to make it even worse. Good action, but bad setup and execution.

Overall Rating: B. There’s a lot of good stuff on here, but it does run a bit longer than it needs to. It also doesn’t help that while the match quality is high, the show could not feel more second tier if it tried. Reigns winning the title was a moment that felt flat and other than that, there was nothing on here that came off like a game changing moment. It’s definitely a pick and choose show where some of the matches are worth a look, but you might not want to sit through the whole thing.

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: August 2, 2023
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur

It’s the 200th episode and you know that means we should be in for something good. The most important thing here is that it is time to start getting ready for All In, which needs something announced already. Other than that, we have a Women’s Title match as Hikaru Shida challenges Toni Storm. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

The old set is back for a nice touch.

Sammy Guevara/Daniel Garcia vs. Chris Jericho/Konosuke Takeshita

Jericho and Takeshita have Don Callis with them. Guevara and Jericho chop it out until the former scores with a jumping knee. Garcia and Guevara get to strike a pose before Garcia chops it out with Jericho. Takeshita comes in to kick Garcia down so Jericho comes back in for a suplex. Jericho drops Garcia again and we take a break.

Back with Guevara coming in to clean house, including a suicide elbow to Jericho and a running flip dive to Takeshita. They get back in and Takeshita gets the Blue Thunder Bomb on Guevara but can’t get the Walls Of Takeshita (which is apparently a thing). Jericho is back in with the Codebreaker for two as all four get in again. Guevara kicks Takeshita to the floor as Garcia gets the Dragontamer on Jericho. Callis bats Garcia down but Jericho doesn’t approve….but does get the pin at 12:21.

Rating: B-. This was about Callis still trying to recruit Jericho, who might be getting with the program a bit. Other than that, you had Garcia and Guevara being entertaining enough as a team and Takeshita feeling like a star. Odds are this is heading towards Jericho vs. either Takeshita or someone else from Callis’ family down the line, but we might be a good way off from that point just yet.

Tony Khan says we are on the way to the biggest wrestling event of all time (no) and we see a highlight package from some of the best moments in Dynamite history.

Matt Menard tells Chris Jericho has to be at a mandatory meeting of the Jericho Appreciation Society.

Here is Jack Perry to say that he wants Jerry Lynn out here to end this. Lynn comes out to say that he isn’t going to come down there and beat up Perry, because that would be child abuse. On top of that, his neck is so banged up that no doctor would ever clear him. Instead, he’s made a phone call to a friend of his, who wrestled in ECW and still wrestles today. Cue Rob Van Dam to chase Perry off, with Perry hiding behind a young girl. Was there anyone else who could have stood up for ECW and been something of a big deal?

Video on the Women’s Title match with Hikaru Shida challenging Toni Storm.

Trent Beretta vs. Jon Moxley vs. Penta El Cero Miedo

The introduction make it clear that this is anything goes. Trent and Penta hit dives to start but Moxley is back up and grabs the 2×4 with nails. Penta ducks a swing and Backstabs Moxley, only to get a trashcan lid kneed into his face. Moxley piledrives Trent but Penta is right back to take Trent outside. Some tables are set up at ringside and the already bleeding Trent superplexes Moxley through them as we take a break.

Back with Penta hitting a super Canadian Destroyer to drive Trent through a table, followed by Moxley spearing Penta through a table in the corner. Moxley gets the thumbtacks and opens Penta’s shirt, setting up a piledriver into the tacks for two. Trent, for some reasons not in an ambulance, is up with the Crunchy to Moxley into the tacks but Penta makes the save. Moxley Paradigm Shifts Penta but Trent hits the running knee to steal the pin at 12:21.

Rating: C. Yeah fine. You knew you were going to see some kind of violent match on here whether it made sense for the story or not and they even had one of the fan favorites get a pin on a milestone show. The Canadian Destroyer through the table not knocking Trent out of the match was nonsense but that ship has long since sailed. I still can’t stand this kind of stuff, and they really didn’t need the weapons and violence.

Post match Moxley chokes Trent out and the Blackpool Combat Club comes out to help. Cue Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor to cut them off and clear the ring, with Taylor issuing the challenge for a parking lot fight on Rampage.

Rob Van Dam challenges Jack Perry for the FTW Title next week. When Van Dam wins the title, he’ll just retire the thing.

Here is MJF to talk about having ADD, but also a condition that makes it difficult for him to accept rejection. One day when he was a kid, some people threw quarters at him and said “pick it up, Jew boy, pick it up.” It made him believe that he had to stab everyone in the back before he did it to them, but that’s no way to live.

It’s tough for him to trust people, but he’s not scared anymore because of all these people. These people have sympathy for the devil, even if he’s still a scumbag. But dang it he’s ready to be YOUR scumbag. He also has to thank Adam Cole, so here is Cole to see MJF face to face.

Cole says MJF is not alone and knows that there is a good guy down in there. The people here are proud of him, which has MJF thanking him for the kind words. That brings MJF to the promised title match, which Cole doesn’t deserve. That’s because Cole deserves THE match in the main event of the biggest show AEW has ever seen, in the main event of All In. Cole signs the contract (fans: “READ IT!”) without reading it and they hug. MJF has told that story before but it still has impact. Other than that, they’re building towards someone turning and it’s going to be a big moment when it happens.

Roderick Strong breaks a bunch of stuff in the back but here is the Kingdom to say they Cole is forgetting his real friends.

Elite vs. Jeff Jarrett/Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal

Brandon Cutler, Sonjay Dutt and Karen Jarrett are here too. Jeff slams Omega down to start but Matt comes in to take over. That brings in Singh, with Omega and Nick immediately backing away. Singh shrugs off some dropkicks and crossbodies both of the Bucks, meaning the villains get to most the Elite’s pose.

We take a break and come back with Nick getting over to bring Omega back in for the pace to pick up. You Can’t Escape is broken up by Singh, allowing Lethal to get his knees up on the moonsault. The Bucks kick Singh down the though and Omega adds the V Trigger to put him completely down. Dutt has to break up the One Winged Angel and Karen offers a distraction. That earns her a cold spray from Cutler as the Hardys come out to beat up the villains as well. Cue Hangman Page to jump Jarrett with the Buckshot Lariat, meaning (after an Omega guitar solo) the One Winged Angel can finish Lethal at 8:58.

Rating: B-. Much like some of the other stuff on this show, they absolutely had to get the Elite on here somehow and putting them in a fun match like this one was the way to go. They were the centerpiece of the company for a long time and getting them on a show like this, even in a match where they weren’t going to be in serious trouble, was a requirement.

Post match Page announces that the Elite have re-signed with AEW. Omega says you’ll be seeing more of them everywhere, including Collision. We get the old goodnight and goodbye catchphrase to wrap it up. That’s a nice little flashback.

The Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland/AR Fox in this case) is happy with beating up Darby Allin and we see them going to Nick Wayne’s gym (which is in a garage). Wayne and some students get beaten up and Swerve breaks something made of glass over Wayne’s head. Swerve puts down a photo of Wayne and his father, before calling Darby Allin to show the bloody Wayne. It’s that easy to make a phone call, so why didn’t Allin call AR Fox when he got to AEW? The beating continues to wrap up one heck of a segment. This felt like Swerve and Fox getting to show what they can do and it was really effective.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open vs. Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo

The Aussies are defending. Fletcher and Vikingo start things off with the latter avoiding a charge in the corner. Vikingo’s springboard crossbody takes Fletcher down so it’s off to Davis, who gets superkicked outside. We settle back down to Fletcher clotheslining Komander, who is right back up with the chops in the corner. Komander’s springboard is broken up so it’s of to Vikingo instead. The champs are sent outside but they are fine enough to cut off the stereo dives as we take a break.

Back with Vikingo getting caught with a flipping Iconoclasm for two, leaving Fletcher frustrated. Vikingo is put in a fireman’s carry but Komander tags himself in, jumps on Vikingo’s back, and hits a Canadian Destroyer. The challengers walk the ropes at the same time for stereo moonsaults, setting up stereo 450s for two on Davis. Vikingo is taken down though and the rope walk shooting star press misses for Komander. The double clothesline sets up Coriolis to retain the titles at 9:57.

Rating: C+. There was some nice stuff in here with the Aussies using their power offense to hold off the rather flashy high fliers. I’d like to believe that this is just a one off as I really do not need the Ring Of Honor titles on the show again, but at least they had an entertaining match and didn’t go too long. It’s also always nice to see Vikingo, as some of that stuff he does is hard to fathom.

Video on Ricky Starks vs. CM Punk on Collision.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Toni Storm

Shida is challenging and Storm has the rest of the Outcasts with her. Shida starts fast and knocks Storm to the floor, followed by some right hands back inside. They go outside again and this time Storm takes over, only for Shida to head back inside and suplex her into the corner. Storm gets in a shot of her own and adds the running hip attack to knock Shida outside again. The Outcasts get in some stomping and we take a break.

Back with Shida hitting an enziguri into a German suplex but Storm pulls her off the top. The hip attack in the corner and a DDT get two on Shida (which would not be stealing it, despite what Excalibur says). They strike it out until Shida knees her in the face and hits a Falcon Arrow for two. Saraya throws in the kendo stick but Shida takes it away and takes out the other two. Storm uses the distraction to hit the spray paint into the Storm Zero for two more. Shida is right back with a rollup for the pin and the title at 13:16.

Rating: B. And there’s your big moment to make the show feel special. Storm hadn’t exactly been doing anything as champion and wont he title from an injured Jamie Hayter. The story coming into this was that Shida deserved to have a title run in front of people rather than empty chairs and that is exactly what she is going to get. Good match here, with Shida getting a nice moment to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: B. I kept saying that they had to get this and that in, but they managed to cover everything and had a heck of a show as a result. This was a nice look back at Dynamite’s history, while also giving a feel good moment at the end and also setting up something for All In. That’s a heck of a way to spend two hours and I smiled more than I have in a good while with an AEW show.

Results
Chris Jericho/Konosuke Takeshita b. Sammy Guevara/Daniel Garcia – Baseball bat shot to Garcia
Trent b. Jon Moxley and Penta El Cero Miedo – Paradigm Shit to Penta
Elite b. Jeff Jarrett/Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal – One Winged Angel to Lethal
Aussie Open b. Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo – Coriolis to Komander
Hikaru Shida b. Toni Storm – Rollup

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 26, 2023
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re about a month away from All In and nothing has been announced so far. There is still more than enough time to set things up but they might want to start getting things ready. Other than that, it’s the fallout from Blood & Guts and that should make for some interesting situations. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We get a video from Darby Allin talking about AR Fox and how great/influential he is.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. AR Fox

Cassidy is defending and we get a handshake to start. They fight over a wristlock with Fox flipping around to take him down and grabbing a bodyscissors. Back up and Cassidy rolls away with his hands in his pockets but the dropkick is countered into a rollup. Cassidy it sent outside so Fox runs up the corner for a moonsault to take him down again. Back in and the Stundog Millionaire gives Cassidy two but Fox grabs a spinning suplex for the same.

We take a break and come back with stereo neckbreakers taking both of them down for a breather. Fox sends him outside for a big flip dive, followed by a Swanton back inside. Lo Mein Pain is broken up and Cassidy hits a suicide dive. The Beach Break gets two but Fox is back with Lo Mein Pain for two. Fox’s 450 misses and Cassidy grabs the Mouse Trap to retain at 13:47.

Rating: B-. This was a rather flip based match but it was an entertaining one while it lasted. Cassidy continues to run through people and at some point that is going to have to lead somewhere. Granted that has been the case for months now and I don’t know if there is any reason to believe it is changing anytime soon.

Post match Cassidy offers him the sunglasses in respect but Fox breaks them and hits him in the face. Cue Darby Allin to yell at Fox, calling it embarrassing. As Fox seems to realize he went too far, Jon Moxley runs in to beat up Cassidy.

Video on Blood & Guts.

Don Callis is still trying to get Chris Jericho on his side and has gotten Jericho a tag team match with Konosuke Takeshita (Jericho approves) vs. Sammy Guevara/Daniel Garcia (Jericho doesn’t approve). Jericho agrees, so Callis gives Jericho a painting of the two of them under Bad News Allen’s watchful eye.

Claudio Castagnoli says not to mess with the Blackpool Combat Club. He isn’t happy with Pac and here is Jon Moxley to say that’s what happens when you mess with his friends.

Here is Jack Perry for a chat, now in orange and black with an I BEAT HOOK shirt. Perry said he was going to win a championship, but he didn’t mean one like this. It was created in a second class company, but now that he has it, it has become relevant. He insults Taz and the history of ECW, which draws out Jerry Lynn to say there wouldn’t be a Jungle Boy without ECW. The challenge seems to be on but Perry says we’ll do it next week. One of the last thing this company needs is to turn into an ECW tribute show for a few weeks.

Britt Baker is ready for Taya Valkyrie.

Gravity vs. Pac

Pac actually asks Gravity if he remembers him (as Pac was known as The Man That Gravity Forgot in WWE) and gets dropkicked to the floor. After Pac takes a minute, Gravity sends him into the barricade and hits a splash from the apron as we take a break. Back with Gravity hitting a high crossbody for two. Pac isn’t having that and hits a brainbuster, setting up the Rings of Saturn for the win at 8:21.

Rating: C+. For a match that was built around one joke from years ago, I’ve seen worse. Pac didn’t really have a ton of trouble here and he shouldn’t have, so this went pretty well all things considered. I could have gone for some follow up with Pac and the BCC but maybe that comes later. Either way, not bad here.

Adam Cole and MJF mock FTR, with the latter promising to punch Dax Harwood so hard that he’ll spit out CM Punk’s jockstrap. Cole says he wasn’t coming for the title because he and MJF are friends. MJF says that win, lose or draw, after their Tag Team Title match on Collision, Cole is getting a rematch for the World Title. Cole is happy but Roderick Strong runs in to shove MJF. Cole asks MJF to give them a second before telling Strong that he’s acting crazy. It’s ok if Cole has other friends and Strong needs to learn boundaries. This is going somewhere and it could be an interesting ending.

FTR likes Adam Cole but no one likes MJF. Anyone who gets to know MJF walks away from him, including his fiance. Harwood doesn’t like the goofiness and as much as he respects Cole, going after his family and the titles is too far.

Darby Allin vs. Swerve Strickland

Nick Wayne and Prince Nana are here too. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. Swerve knocks him up against the ropes and out to the floor, where Allin hits a Code Red for two back inside. Allin takes it back to the floor for a whip into the steps but Swerve climbs onto said steps for the House Call (and a LOUD one at that). We take a break and come back with Swerve hitting a suplex for two before going after Allin’s arm.

That’s broken up and Allin gets two off the Last Supper before hitting a suicide dive to take Swerve out on the floor. Another dive is cut off by a jumping knee though and the Swerve Stomp gets two. Swerve takes him up top but gets caught with a flipping Stunner. Allin takes too much time going up and it’s a super AA onto the apron. Since that insane move isn’t enough, here’s AR Fox to jump Allin, setting up the JML Driver for the pin at 11:58.

Rating: C+. Well, that spot was ridiculous and way more dangerous than it needed to be but that’s an Allin match for you. The ending was the logical next step after earlier, but after Allin was knocked silly by the AA, it felt like it was overkill. At least Swerve didn’t lose again though, as he has been beaten too often lately.

Post match Fox and Swerve beat down Allin and Wayne. Fox is officially in the Mogul Embassy. Sure why not.

The Jericho Appreciation Society is waiting for Chris Jericho. They go into his locker room, where the Callis painting is hung on the wall. The team doesn’t like where this is going and walk out on him.

We look at Billy Gunn teasing retirement on Collision.

Britt Baker vs. Taya Valkyrie

Baker grabs a headlock to start but gets knocked down with a hard shoulder. The running knees hit Baker in the corner and some hard chops put her down again. Taya loads up a wheelbarrow faceplant but they kind of fall down as we take a break. Back with Baker avoiding a charge into the corner, setting up a forearm for two.

They forearm it out until they trade kicks to the head. Taya’s clothesline gets two but Baker is back up on the middle rope. What appeared to be a Panama Sunrise DDT is countered into a northern lights suplex for two. Back up and the Panama Sunrise gets two but Lockjaw is broken up. Taya tries the Road To Valhalla but Baker spins out and grabs Lockjaw for the tap at 9:42.

Rating: D. Oh this was bad in every sense of the word. I don’t know if they were just on different pages here or what, but it was a rough sit throughout and almost nothing worked. They needed to slow down somewhere in there and figure things out, but instead it just kept going and got worse and worse. While it wasn’t an all time bad match, it was as bad as anything AEW has done in a long time.

Nyla Rose is ready for Hikaru Shida.

Various teams are ready for the tag team battle royal on Rampage. I approve of these rapid fire mini promos. It’s better than not hearing from anyone.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Best Friends vs. Lucha Bros vs. Blackpool Combat Club

The Club’s entrance takes some time so the other teams slug it out. Everyone brawls up towards the entrance, where Taylor hits a flip dive onto the pile on the floor. Back in and Fenix is waiting on Castagnoli, with the latter telling him to chop away. The springboard high angle armdrag takes Castagnoli down but everyone else is back in for the parade of knockdowns until Castagnoli gives Fenix Swiss Death for two.

Fenix superkicks Castagnoli but gets taken down by Trent for some forearms to the face. Trent’s tornado DDT gets two on Castagnoli, who cuts off Trent’s dive with an uppercut. We take a break and come back with Moxley striking away at Chuck, who hits a knee out of the corner. Penta tags himself in and takes over on Chuck, including a Backstabber for two.

Everything breaks down again and we get a pair of three way slugouts. We settle down to the Best Friends vs. the Bros with Fenix ankle locking Chuck. Made In Japan gets two on Trent with the Club diving in for the save. The Riccola Bomb is loaded up but here is Orange Cassidy to go after Moxley. Trent hits the Crunchy on Castagnoli but he’s not legal (sure). Instead, the Fear Factor finishes Trent at 14:25.

Rating: B-. This was all about the insanity and not bothering to do anything but go all over the place for most of the match. The Bros winning was a bit of a surprise but they’re the kinds of team who could be reheated very quickly. I could go for having them do some more, with less of the Best Friends being nice too.

Post match the Club keeps up the fight but Moxley leaves through the crowd. The Bros beat down the Best Friends as we hear about Moxley vs. Trent vs. Penta in a three way anything goes match next week. Cassidy hits the Orange Punch on Castagnoli to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. It was pretty clear that they took their foot off the gas after last week and it makes to do so. They still have enough time to get ready for All In and some of the likely matches for the show are already set. We should be in for some bigger shows in the coming weeks, but this was definitely one of their weaker shows in a good while. They’ll be fine going forward though and it’s nice to have that confidence about a promotion.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. AR Fox – Mouse Trap
Pac b. Gravity – Rings Of Saturn
Swerve Strickland b. Darby Allin – JML Driver
Britt Baker b. Taya Valkyrie – Lockjaw
Lucha Bros b. Best Friends and Blackpool Combat Club – Fear Factor to Beretta

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.