Dynamite – December 11, 2024: It Had To Slow Down

Dynamite
Date: December 11, 2024
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness

It’s Winter Is Coming and that means we should be in for a bigger than usual show. This show has had some moments over the years and if they keep the tradition going, this should make for a nice addition to the series. It’s also another week in the Continental Classic so we should have some good action. Let’s get to it.Death Riders vs. Jay White/Orange Cassidy

White and Cassidy jump them before the bell and the fight goes outside, with Cassidy giving a young fan a fist bump (I love that kind of thing as it makes fans for life). Cassidy gets sent into the announcers’ table though and they head inside for the opening bell. The brawl heads back outside as the Patriarchy is shown watching in a sky box. Cassidy fights up and kicks Moxley in the chest, allowing the tag off to White. A pair of DDTs sends the Riders out to the floor and we take an early break.

Back with Moxley holding White in a chinlock as Christian Cage sends the Patriarchy to do something. White gets out of a chinlock but Pac kicks him in the chest to keep him in trouble. A quick knockdown gives White a breather though and it’s Cassidy coming back in to slug away. Cassidy drops Moxley but gets pulled into a rear naked choke. That’s broken up and Cassidy hits a spinning DDT on Moxley. White suplexes Pac and the Beach Break to Moxley gets two more. Wheeler Yuta’s distraction doesn’t work so Cassidy loads up the Orange Punch….but Hangman Page runs in to jump Moxley for the DQ at 13:34.

Rating: B-. Nice match to start the show here, though the ending feels like it’s designed to set up a four way match or a triple threat #1 contenders match. In theory they didn’t want Cassidy or White to get an upper hand on their way to World’s End, but that’s still quite the disappointing ending. You can’t have Yuta in there to take a fall instead of Pac?

Post match Page hammers on Moxley but Cassidy pulls him off. The two of them start fighting with White accidentally taking a shot and getting caught in the brawl. The Death Riders beat all of them down and leave.

We get another old west style vignette for the returning Bandido, this time with him riding in on a horse, with a posse waiting on him. Bandido beats all of them up without much trouble. These things have been rather cool.

Jon Moxley talks about being a marked man and that means living with a knife to your throat. He wouldn’t have it any other way and now there are a bunch of people saying they want the title shot. The challenge is on for the four way title shot at Worlds End. That doesn’t exactly make me want to boo him.

Christian Cage, still in the sky box, doesn’t like this four way because he doesn’t like anyone involved. He promises to jump anyone, including Jon Moxley, who he will send back to rehab. As Cage goes to leave, Hook breaks into the box and chokes Cage out. Age fights out of being thrown out of a balcony. The fight is on and some glass is broken (make your own jokes) until the Patriarchy makes the save.

Continental Classic Gold League: Claudio Castagnoli (6 points) vs. Will Ospreay (3 points)

Ospreay hits him in the face for two ten seconds in and Castagnoli is sent outside for a big running flip dive. A Phenomenal Forearm looks to set up the Oscutter but Castagnoli uppercuts him out of the air. Ospreay kicks him in the face and they’re both down. They go outside with Ospreay dropkicking the steps into Castagnoli’s legs. Castagnoli pulls him out of the air though and swings Ospreay into the steps for a big crash. Ospreay’s arm is stomped in the steps and we take a break.

Back with Ospreay grabbing a springboard hurricanrana and kicking Castagnoli in the face for a double down. Castagnoli goes to the arm to block a suplex attempt but Ospreay gets him up anyway. The standing sky twister press gets two but the Hidden Blade is blocked. The Riccola Bomb is countered into Ospreay’s octopus hold, only for Castagnoli to go back to the arm.

Castagnoli gutwrench suplexes him down and catches Ospreay up top but gets knocked back down. A regular sky twister press misses so Castagnoli kicks him in the face. The slugout sets up the Oscutter but Ospreay’s arm is banged up. A pop up uppercut and a big clothesline give Castagnoli two…but Ospreay rolls him up for the fluke pin at 13:28.

Rating: B. This was a lot of Ospreay fighting from underneath and that is where he often shines. Castagnoli overpowered him for most of the match but got caught in the end. It’s weird to see the Death Riders lose, but how else are we going to get Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher II? That has to happen of course because Ospreay is eternally tied to the Don Callis Family and therefore it has to happen again. Good match here, which shouldn’t surprise you.

Gold League Standings

Will Ospreay – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Ricochet – 3 points (3 matches remaining
Brody King – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Komander – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Post match Castagnoli jumps Ospreay again but Darby Allin makes the save.

Ricochet says he’s here for matches like the one he has tonight against Brody King. Even though King is a monster, he’s not Ricochet. He pulls out MVP’s business card and says he’s holding all of the cards.

MJF is back.

Matt Cardona is ready to face Chris Jericho at Final Battle but he’ll face Bryan Keith at Rampage.

Kyle O’Reilly is ready to face Adam Cole but the Kingdom comes in to say they’re still family. O’Reilly says they should have remembered that before one of them got hurt.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole

For the shot at MJF at World’s End. Feeling out process to start with Cole trying an early rollup for two. The threat of a kick to the face sends him to the floor, where O’Reilly strikes away again to take over. We take a break and come back with O’Reilly striking away but missing a top rope knee drop.

Cole knees him in the face and they’re both down. O’Reilly grabs a brainbuster into an ankle lock, sending Cole over to the ropes. Cole is back up with the Panama Sunrise but he takes too long to follow up and gets his ankle locked. That’s broken up and Cole drops O’Reilly on the floor. Cue MJF for a distraction but Cole superkicks him down and small packages O’Reilly for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C+. The story continues and that pre-match promo makes me wonder if the Kingdom won’t be joining MJF at World’s End to screw over Cole. This feud hasn’t done much for me and I’m not sure how many people have been interested in it either. It’s gone on too long and there is a good chance that it is going to continue into the new year. The match wasn’t exactly great either, which isn’t making the bigger problem any better.

Post match the Kingdom comes out but O’Reilly leaves without shaking hands with Cole.

FTR is ready to help rebuild Asheville, North Carolina with Fight For The Fallen on January 1. They want to be in a big match and they’ve had some issues with the Death Riders, so come talk to them.

Chris Jericho has a New York Minute and accepts the challenge for Matt Cardona vs. Bryan Keith on Rampage. Tomorrow on Ring Of Honor, there will be a contract signing for Jericho vs. Cardona at Final Battle.

We recap the Continental Classic matches from Rampage and Collision.

Earlier today, Darby Allin talked about how he waned to stop the Death Riders after they attacked Bryan Danielson. He is fighting for people who are here because they are getting a chance in AEW. Allin hits himself in the mouth to draw some blood and talks about how he has to win the Continental Classic to prove himself, even if there will be collateral damage along the way.

Continental Classic Gold League: Ricochet (3 points) vs. Brody King (3 points)

Ricochet begs off a bit to start and gets powered out to the floor without much trouble. A spring off the barricade lets Ricochet kick him in the face but King hits a powerbomb onto the apron. Ricochet misses a crossbody into the barricade and we take a break. Back with King winning a strike off but getting knocked out to the floor.

Ricochet hits a springboard 450 for a short one count but King blasts him with a clothesline for two. The Ganso Bomb is broken up and Ricochet knees him in the face a few times. King knocks him into the corner for a Cannonball but Ricochet turns a superplex attempt into a sunset bomb (with the turnbuckle pad being ripped off in the process).

The shooting star press connects…and King grabs him by the throat before the cover. Ricochet has to climb out of a choke and is promptly chopped down onto the apron. Back up and Ricochet manages a DDT onto the exposed buckle and Ricochet kicks him down onto the steel again. The Spirit Gun finishes for Ricochet at 12:51.

Rating: B-. Now this has me curious because Ricochet was definitely acting more heelish for a change. He’s someone who could use a change of pace because he hasn’t evolved much at all in the last several years. Maybe this is the chance that he needs, but at least it seems that they are trying something new with him. Seeing King lose is annoying, but Ricochet could get a nice boost out of a fresh style.

Gold League Standings

Will Ospreay – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Ricochet – 6 points (2 matches remaining
Darby Allin – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Brody King – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Komander – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Lio Rush and Action Andretti interrupt Private Party. Rush an Andretti want a title shot but Top Flight come in to ask how many matches Rush and Andretti have won. Private Party suggests a #1 contenders match and it seems to be on.

Mercedes Mone and Anna Jay have a staredown but we need to talk about Mone defending her New Japan Strong Women’s Title this weekend. Mone shifts over to Jay, who is 26 years old and just getting started. That makes Mone chuckle because when she was 26, she was already a five time champion. Jay cuts her off from leaving and says that all she needs is one mistake from Mone to become champion. Yeah I’m not quite buying her chances.

We recap Mariah May defending the Women’s Title against Mina Shirakawa. They were friends and partners in Japan bu May has attacked her for the sake of bringing out Shirakawa’s best side. Shirakawa wants things to be back to normal and now we have the title match.

Women’s Title: Mariah May vs. Mina Shirakawa

Shirakawa is challenging. They slug it out to start with Shirakawa slapping her in the face to take over and kick away at the leg. A figure four sends May rolling over to the ropes but they roll outside with the hold still on. Thunder Rosa pops up in the crowd with a sign shouting about how May is NOT HER CHAMPION as May sends Shirakawa into the barricade. Shirakawa is back on the leg though and grabs a Figure Four around the post as we take a break.

Back with Shirakawa fighting out of a chinlock and starting an exchange of forearms. A hanging neckbreaker gives Shirakawa two but May kicks her in the face. May Day gets an arrogant cover for two but another May Day is broken up. The Glamorous Driver gives Shirakawa two, only for a quick Storm Zero to retain the title at 11:49

Rating: C+. The match was ok, but it showcases the bigger issue with May’s title reign: the whole thing is built around waiting for Toni Storm to return. She ties into this feud and May is still using Storm’s finisher. You can only get so far with that kind of specter hanging over them and that was the issue here. Not a terrible match, but it felt like something else that had to be done before we get to the big match.

Post match Toni Storm (no longer Timeless) is back. May is stunned (Rosa has a “WTF!” sign) and Storm stares her down to end the show. Well there’s the answer to the big question about May’s reign and it should make for a solid rematch, thankfully with enough of a twist to keep it interesting.

Overall Rating: B-. I wasn’t feeling this one as much as some previous Continental Classic shows. There was more of a focus on getting things ready for World’s End and while that helped, it wasn’t as engaging as some of the tournament focused events. You can see a lot of what is coming at the pay per view and it’s only so interesting, but they still have time to boost that up well enough.

Results
Death Riders b. Orange Cassidy/Jay White via DQ when Hangman Page interfered
Will Ospreay b. Claudio Castagnoli – Rollup
Adam Cole b. Kyle O’Reilly – Small package
Ricochet b. Brody King – Spirit Gun
Mariah May b. Mina Shirakawa – Storm Zero

 

 

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Survivor Series Count-Up – 2003 (2018 Redo): How A Survivor Series Match Should Go

Survivor Series 2003
Date: November 16, 2003
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 13,487
Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole, Tazz

This is another big one and it’s also a one sided show. The Smackdown offerings are about as uninteresting as they could be while the Raw side looks at at least marginally better. This isn’t a great show on paper and I have a bad feeling that it’s going to be even worse as it actually takes place. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about surviving things such as the game, evolution, and the battles in between. That’s all this needed to be, especially with Austin vs. Bischoff being the real main event.

Team Angle vs. Team Lesnar

Kurt Angle, Hardcore Holly, Chris Benoit, John Cena, Bradshaw
Brock Lesnar, Big Show, A-Train, Nathan Jones, Matt Morgan

Cena is out first and raps about burying everyone, meaning Lesnar and Show need a bigger graves. He’s still new at this team thing because he wonders if he can trade his partners in for a one night stand with Sable. Holly wastes no time and attacks Lesnar before the bell, sending him into the steps and trying a full nelson to break his neck. He also shoves a referee, and gets disqualified before the match even starts.

The bell rings and a Clothesline from Bradshaw ends A-Train in less than thirty seconds to tie it up. The chokeslam gets rid of Bradshaw as we’re not even a minute in yet. Good idea actually, as it’s not like Bradshaw and Holly were anything more than warm bodies anyway. Cena comes in but can’t FU Big Show and gets thrown into the corner as the four remaining members start working him over. A Throwback to Lesnar gets two but more importantly it allows the hot tag off to Benoit.

The chokeslam is countered into a Crossface (always looks cool) with Lesnar making a save. It’s off to an abdominal stretch as things slow down again. The standing legdrop gets two on Benoit and it’s time for some double teaming on the floor. Angle and Cena have finally had enough and go over to make a save but Benoit is beaten down even more. Morgan comes in for some lumbering offense but a suplex allows the hot tag to Angle. That means a series of suplexes as everything breaks down. The Angle Slam eliminates Morgan to tie us up at three.

Show clotheslines Jones by mistake though and an ankle lock gets rid of Nathan less than thirty seconds later. An F5 gets rid of Angle with the first count coming as Jones’ elimination is still being announced. We’re down to Benoit/Cena vs. Lesnar/Show and Brock goes shoulder first into the post.

A Crossface has Lesnar in trouble but he reverses into a cradle for two. Benoit won’t be denied though and slaps it on again, this time with Lesnar’s feet reaching the ropes. The third attempt makes Lesnar tap and we’re down to two on one. Benoit drops Show with a top rope shoulder for two so Cena adds a chain shot and the FU for the pin.

Rating: C-. This was too fast for the most part but the real problem comes from the fact that so many people were involved in the first place. This really could have been a six man elimination tag (A-Train as the third villain) and it would have been better, but that’s not how these things traditionally work. Cena and Benoit winning in the end is the right way to go as Cena’s rocket push is being assembled, but at the same time there’s a lot of work left to do. Benoit vs. Cena, which could still happen, would be a benefit for both guys and that’s a good sign for the future. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best present, but at least it wasn’t long.

Vince McMahon comes in to see Shane and talks about how tonight, father and son are facing two brothers. He thinks it’s almost spiritual and asks Shane how he feels about that. Shane only feels sorry for Vince. The boss leaves and runs into Austin, who starts laughing. Then he stops and gets serious before walking away. These two have great chemistry even if it doesn’t make the most sense.

JR explains the exchange.

Women’s Title: Lita vs. Molly Holly

Lita is challenging after winning a #1 contenders match a few weeks back. Feeling out process to start as JR explains that these two have some contrasting styles. Lita gets knocked to the floor so Molly starts in on the back with some ax handles. We hit a dragon sleeper with Jerry liking her intensity. The handspring elbow in the corner keeps Lita in trouble and Molly stomps away.

A running corner clothesline rocks Molly and Lita rains down some right hands for her first real offense. Molly cuts her off with a side slam but Lawler would rather talk about Lita’s thong. A powerbomb out of the corner gives Lita a breather but the moonsault misses. The Molly Go Round gets two so Molly rips off a turnbuckle pad and sends Lita face first to retain.

Rating: D+. This was mainly Molly doing everything while Lita did a thing or two here and there. That’s not the most thrilling style in the world but Molly can be made into a good champion for a big name to take the title from later. Let her be built up for awhile instead of giving Lita the title immediately. It’s ok to wait now and then.

We recap Kane vs. Shane McMahon. Kane went nuts after losing his mask and after struggling to defeat Rob Van Dam, started tormenting Linda McMahon. Shane became the big star out of this because of course he did, including beating himself in a Last Man Standing match. Various attempted murders later set up this ambulance match, which is possibly the second most pushed match on the show.

Shane McMahon vs. Kane

Ambulance match with Shane charging straight at him for a crossbody to the floor. Shane knocks him onto the announcers’ table and hits him in the head with a monitor, setting up the big elbow to drive Kane through. That’s enough at ringside though so they head to the back, including the camera cutting out. That means we hit the pretape and come back with Shane pounding him down with a kendo stick.

Shane puts him in a security shack and jumps into an SUV to run Kane over again. Finding a well placed walkie-talkie, Shane tells someone to SEND IT, which means it’s time for an ambulance backstage. But is that the designated ambulance? That makes a difference you know. Instead of backing the ambulance up to the shack where Kane is down, Shane grabs a stretcher and wheels it twenty feet over, allowing Kane to grab him by the throat and slam Shane into a wall.

The camera goes out again and we pick it up with Kane knocking him back into the arena. Shane gets knocked into the front of the ambulance but manages to hit Kane in the face with the back door. What a sick sounding thud too. Kane is back up and sends Shane into the ambulance but another ram with the door gets Shane out of trouble. A tornado DDT on the floor plants Kane as they’re now near the grave for the Buried Alive match.

Shane puts a trashcan (good thing one was nearby) and a crashpad (same as before) and hits the Coast to Coast off the top of the ambulance to smash Kane’s face. That’s still not enough to wrap things up as Kane pulls Shane into the ambulance with him for more brawling. It’s Kane throwing Shane out though and then ramming him back first into the side. He javelins Shane’s head into the other side (you have to match you see) and a Tombstone on the floor is enough for the win.

Rating: D. This wasn’t as long as I was expecting but again, this doesn’t really do what they were likely shooting for with Kane. It makes two straight matches where Kane has had trouble beating up Shane McMahon. He can destroy Rob Van Dam but Shane gives him trouble? It didn’t work last time and it doesn’t work here. Now that he’s lost all of his heat though, you can pencil him in for a World Title match.

Brock Lesnar says he didn’t lose that match because his team lost it instead. Goldberg comes in for a staredown but Lesnar won’t wish him luck tonight. And so it begins.

Here’s the Coach, in a neck brace, for a chat. He assures his fans that he’s fine after the 3D from the Dudleys on Monday and he’ll be good to go soon. That seems to be it but hang on a second as Coach sees Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in the front row. Cuban is ready to see Austin’s team win and insults referees of all kinds (he’s known for heavy criticisms of NBA referees). This brings out Eric Bischoff to invite Cuban into the ring, where a fight breaks out. Bischoff gets shoved down but here’s Randy Orton for an RKO to complete this waste of time.

Evolution is having a party with HHH in the middle of a good looking bunch of women. Ric Flair comes in to say they can have the champ later, which annoys HHH. Orton comes in, hits on the women, and brags about what he just did. Uh, congratulations?

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Los Guerreros vs. Basham Brothers

The Brothers are defending after Eddie won a handicap match to earn the shot. Eddie and Chavo waste no time in slugging away until Shaniqua offers a distraction to slow things down. That doesn’t seem to matter much to the cousins as Eddie works over Danny to start things off. A dropkick gives Chavo two and there’s a headscissors/armdrag combination from Eddie to put both champs down.

Some double teaming (described by Cole as “classic Bashams”) takes over though and Shaniqua gets in a slam on Eddie for good measure. Back in and Eddie gets stomped in the corner, followed by a double vertical suplex for two. Eddie gets free with a headscissors and hands it back to Chavo, who is double flapjacked in short order. Chavo fights up but Twin Magic takes him down again. Everything breaks down and Chavo slams Shaniqua, followed by a quick spanking. That’s NOT cool with the champs so Doug grabs a rollup with Chavo’s tights to retain.

Rating: D+. Another TV level match here with Los Guerreros coming up short again as we get closer to their inevitable split. The Bashams aren’t a great team (though they have apparently have a classic period) but they’re serviceable for something like this. Get rid of the dominatrix stuff though as it’s not working, isn’t funny and makes Shaniqua look like the important part of the team, which misses the point entirely.

Replays show Chavo kicking Eddie down by mistake, meaning this is far from over.

JR doesn’t think Austin can handle this trusting people stuff and has never seen Austin this angry.

We recap Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff. They’re running the show together but Austin isn’t allowed to attack people at will anymore. On top of that, a lot of people are accusing him of ruining the show through his various antics. That doesn’t sit well with Austin, so it’s time for a winner take all match with the winner getting to run Raw on their own. The idea is Austin has to trust people, which goes against everything he believes in.

Team Austin vs. Team Bischoff

Austin: Shawn Michaels, Dudley Boyz, Booker T., Rob Van Dam
Bischoff: Scott Steiner, Mark Henry, Christian, Chris Jericho, Randy Orton

Coach, Stacy Keibler and the two team captains are at ringside. The fans want tables to start but have to settle with D-Von and Christian instead. D-Von shoulders him down to start but gets slapped in the face, triggering a bunch of right hands to the head. That’s not a nice response. Van Dam comes in for some forearms to the face and a kick to the jaw gets the same. It’s off to Jericho for some more luck, followed by Steiner whipping Van Dam hard into the corner to set up some posing.

Van Dam’s comeback is cut off by a belly to belly superplex but he’s able to get over to Booker for the hot tag. Things speed way up in a hurry and the scissors kick into the Spinarooni makes Bischoff face palm. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Steiner hits Booker low. The Recliner goes on but Stacy offers a distraction, setting up a reverse 3D. A Bookend is enough to get rid of Steiner and make it 5-4.

The World’s Strongest Slam gets rid of Booker a few seconds later to tie it right back up. Bubba comes in to try his luck and is sent hard into the corner. D-Von’s help doesn’t make things much better as the Dudleys are rammed together. Mark misses a charge though and it’s a 3D into the Five Star for the elimination. It’s off to Orton for a hard clothesline on Van Dam but Rob scores with a kick. Another Five Star is loaded up but Jericho makes a save, setting up the RKO to tie things up at three each. Jericho comes in and missile dropkicks D-Von down as JR and King wonder how things will go tomorrow night.

D-Von shoulders Jericho down for no count as Christian has the referee, setting up the sleeper drop for another elimination. This match is already better paced than the opener and here’s Shawn to pick things up all over again. Shawn pounds on Jericho in the corner and catches an invading Christian without much effort. Orton gets in a dropkick but stays down anyway as I guess he didn’t hit all of it. A double tag brings in Christian and Bubba with a backdrop getting two on the Canadian.

Jericho runs Christian over by mistake but a low blow sets up the Unprettier to get rid of Bubba. We’re down to Shawn vs. Christian/Jericho/Orton and Austin is starting to see how much trouble he’s in. Shawn punches away at Christian to start but some good old fashioned double teaming has Shawn in trouble again. Like there’s any other way this should go. Shawn is taken outside and catapulted into the post (you can see him blade on the wide shot) to bust open a GUSHER.

That and a suplex are only good for two back inside and Christian even steals his pose. Jerry: “That was a creepy little pose right there.” The Unprettier is broken up and a quick Sweet Chin Music gets rid of Christian. A frustrated Jericho comes in and gets two off a clothesline before handing it back to Orton. Shawn gets in a belly to back suplex but Jericho comes back in to take over again. As usual, JR is perfect at calling this kind of a story and Shawn getting two off a DDT has Jerry trying as hard as he can to believe in Shawn.

The Lionsault hits knees and Shawn pulls himself up but gets pulled into a Walls attempt. That’s reversed into a quick small package to get rid of Jericho and make it one on one (Lawler: “I BELIEVE I BELIEVE!”). Jericho isn’t gone yet though and caves Shawn’s head in with a chair shot. Why that isn’t a DQ on Orton isn’t clear but Shawn is done as Orton comes back in.

That’s only good for two and you can see the sigh of relief from Austin. Orton’s high crossbody hits the referee and here’s Bischoff to break up Sweet Chin Music. That’s too much for Austin so it’s a Stunner to Orton but he makes the mistake of beating on Bischoff a bit too much. They go up the aisle and here’s Batista to powerbomb Shawn, giving Orton the final pin.

Rating: B+. I love this match and always have. It doesn’t really pick up until Shawn is on his own but that’s what he’s done best throughout his entire career. He knows how to play the underdog better than anyone I’ve ever seen and you really can get behind the Lawler mindset of trying to believe here. As usual, Shawn is great in this role and it’s never too far to believe that he could pull this off (quick superkick, small package for two eliminations). Great stuff, but you might want to skip the first few minutes.

Austin is stunned at the loss because he placed his career in someone else’s hands and was let down. The bloody Shawn can barely stand and Austin congratulates him for giving it everything he had. Austin grabs the mic and talks about starting here in Dallas and going out here as well. Coach comes out to laugh and gets beaten up one more time with security getting the same treatment. Beer is consumed as a final goodbye. You know, assuming you believe that he’s gone for good this time.

We recap Undertaker vs. Vince McMahon. Undertaker wants the title one more time but Vince screwed him over at No Mercy. Therefore Undertaker wanted a Buried Alive match here, because that’s where you go from here. Vince then went into this weird spiritual thing, which really didn’t work or accomplish much.

Tazz’s key for Vince’s victory: AVOID THE HOLE! Good advice.

Vince McMahon vs. Undertaker

Buried Alive and Vince drops to a knee in prayer before the match. Undertaker punches him down to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Vince is already bleeding less than thirty seconds in as this is going to be one sided for a long time. The beating continues until Undertaker crotches him on the post to switch things up a bit. More low blows keep Vince in trouble and it’s time to go to the floor with Undertaker choking with a cord. Completely one sided so far, as you probably guessed.

Cole and Tazz try to explain the idea of Vince being punished for his sins, which I’m guessing are mainly about Stephanie. I mean, almost everything else is. Vince is thrown over the announcers’ table and it’s time to go to the grave. Well just Undertaker at this point and he comes back with a shovel. One heck of a shot to the head rocks Vince again and Cole declares it over. So much for Undertaker’s hot streak.

Vince’s ankle gets crushed by the steps and NOW it’s time to head to the grave. Vince finally throws some dirt in the eyes (his first “offense”) and a low blow keeps Undertaker in trouble. A shovel to the head puts Undertaker in the grave….for a few seconds. He pulls Vince in and goes to the front loader to drop the dirt but gets cut off by lightning. Cue Kane to beat up Undertaker and bury him (again) to give Vince the win.

Rating: D-. So yeah LOLVINCEWINS because of course he does. There was nothing to see here unless you like Undertaker destroying people and then having a surprise ending. The announcers treated this like Undertaker’s last match, because if there’s one thing Undertaker is known for, it’s going away for good. It’s more of a match than an angle, and there’s no way that’s how Undertaker is going out. Bad match but moderately entertaining beatdown.

Cole and Tazz are SHOCKED.

We recap the Raw World Title match. Goldberg won the title last month so HHH put a $100,000 bounty on his head. Batista returned and collected by breaking Goldberg’s ankle so tonight it’s about revenge and the title. There’s not much of a reason for this to main event but would you expect much else? Well save for Vince maybe?

Raw World Title: HHH vs. Goldberg

Goldberg is defending and is coming in with a bad ankle. HHH is looking as out of shape as I’ve seen him in years, probably due to his bad groin injury. Hang on a second though as Goldberg has to quickly dispatch Flair to make it a little more fair. They head outside in short order with Goldberg hammering away but the ankle gives out on a gorilla press attempt.

A chop block takes Goldberg down and we hit the meat of the match. Flair is back up as HHH sends Goldberg outside, meaning a distraction sets up a chair to Goldberg’s ankle. There’s another chop block back inside and the slow leg work continues with Flair getting in a few shots of his own. A knee drop keeps the ankle in trouble and we hit a half crab. At least he knows his low level submissions.

Goldberg grabs the rope and fires off some right hands to little avail. A limping clothesline works a bit better as Flair is beside himself. HHH takes him down again and calls for a Figure Four, only to be kicked into the referee. That means brass knuckles for a very near fall and HHH beats up the referee again. The sledgehammer is brought down but Goldberg kicks him down with the bad ankle.

Flair’s latest attempt at interfering gets him slammed off the top (JR: “It hasn’t worked in thirty years.”) and Goldberg grabs the hammer. A shot to the ribs drops Flair and an invading Batista and Orton are quickly dispatched as well. The Pedigree is blocked and Goldberg picks up the hammer again but throws it down. Instead it’s a spear and Jackhammer to retain the title like a real man.

Rating: D+. Well if you’re a fan of HHH working the ankle, have fun. Goldberg looks strong, but there have been so many other big matches tonight that this isn’t the strongest way to end things. I’ll give them points for giving Goldberg a push, but you’re crazy if you think HHH isn’t getting the title back within the next month. Just a messy brawl, but it could have been much worse. At least HHH didn’t need fifteen minutes of working the leg.

Overall Rating: C-. There’s some good and bad stuff on this show but the bad wins out in the end. Between the weak main event, not great opener and pretty terrible Vince vs. Undertaker match, there’s not enough to put with Shawn’s amazing performance. This was better than I was expecting though and that’s a nice relief. Both shows need something fresh on top and it actually seems to be happening on Smackdown. I’ll take one out of two, especially at this point in time.

 

 

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Dynamite – November 13, 2024: Felix Unger Deserves Better

Dynamite
Date: November 13, 2024
Location: Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re closing in on Full Gear and the big story continues to be the Death Riders taking over everything. That changed a bit last weekend though as Orange Cassidy and friends stood up to the villains, with Cassidy himself scaring Jon Moxley off. The rest of the show could use some time of their own though so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Christian Cage/Hangman Page vs. Bang Bang Gang

Cage has the Patriarchy here with him. White backs Page up against the ropes to start and elbows him in the face but Cage tags himself in. Robinson comes in as well and flips Cage off but Cage manages to send him outside. Nick Wayne gets in a cheap shot on the floor and the slow beating continues. Cue Hook to choke Wayne over the barricade and drag him into the crowd though, allowing Robinson to hit a reverse DDT on the floor. Back in and the tag brings in White for a reverse DDT on Cage, plus a suplex into the corner to Page.

Everything breaks down and Robinson gets crotched on top, followed by a triangle clothesline to White. A super all away slam brings Robinson down for two but White is back in. Cage’s spear is countered into the Blade Runner but White has to duck the Buckshot Lariat. Back to back suplexes put the villains down and the Blade Runner sends Cage into the barricade. Back in and Robinson slugs away at Page, who gets sunset flipped for two. Kip Sabian gets in a contract shot to Robinson though and the Deadeye finishes at 12:33.

Rating: B-. Good opener here with something that felt a little bit different. Throwing something like Page and Cage together is an interesting way to go and the Gang was protected with the interference. I like this kind of thing every so often and it was a nice way to go for a change.

Here’s what’s coming at Full Gear and later tonight.

Mercedes Mone blames Kamille for the car issues last week and tells her to take care of her jacket. Then Kris Statlander shows up for a brawl, with Statlander driving Mone through a wall and onto Kamille. As the destruction of Kamille continues.

Here is Will Ospreay, who gets straight to the point by calling out Kyle Fletcher. Cue Fletcher, who threatens violence and then asks what Ospreay wants to talk about. Ospreay doesn’t buy this and tells Fletcher to drop whatever weapons he has because this is just for a talk. Fletcher throws a screwdriver down before Ospreay talks about their history together.

Fletcher knows everything about him, down to where his kids go to school, so why is all of this happening? That sends Fletcher into a rant about how Ospreay was selfish over the years and turned on a bunch of people, which is why Ospreay would have done the same thing in Fletcher’s spot. Ospreay asks what Fletcher has done, and he doesn’t mean Aussie Open. Fletcher wants a match at Full Gear, which sends Ospreay into a rant about how he’s Mr. PPV around here. He’s fought all kinds of champions on pay per view and stolen the show each time (yet he’s not like, in the title picture at the moment).

The match is set, with Lance Archer and Brian Cage coming in. Ospreay has friends of his own with Mark Davis and Powerhouse Hobbs so the fight is on. Cue Roderick Strong to go after Archer for their scheduled (falls count anywhere) match and we’re ready to go. Other than that, this was another long segment built around things that happened years ago and mostly not in AEW, which happens rather frequently around here.

Roderick Strong vs. Lance Archer

Falls count Anywhere and Archer sends him through some things as we take an early break. Back with Archer missing a charge into the barricade but Brian cage pops up to try a powerbomb. The Undisputed Kingdom makes the save but Archer is back up with a chokeslam to send Matt Taven into security. Strong comes back with a chair to the face and a jumping knee for the pin at 6:42.

Rating: C+. What do you say about something like this? It was a big brawl with a bunch of interference and a good chunk of it was spent in the break. Strong gets another win on the way to the MJF match and Archer loses again, which tends to be the case in any match that matters. Not much to see here, as the falls count anywhere aspect was little more than a way to have a bunch of interference.

Post match Strong promises to come after MJF (as he has not secured his match with his third win) but cue Konosuke Takeshita to jump him from behind. Cue Adam Cole for his scheduled match with Takeshita.

Adam Cole vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Non-title. Cole knocks him out to the floor to start while the theme song is still going, only for Takeshita to come in side and take over as we take a break. Back with Cole hitting the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two but Takeshita hits a Blue Thunder Bomb. Back up and Cole hits him in the face, only to miss the Boom. A brainbuster onto the knee gives Cole two but Takeshita is back with his modified Tombstone into a wheelbarrow suplex.

The big lariat gets two but another is cut off by Cole’s superkick. The Panama Sunrise connects, only for Takeshita to roll outside before the Boom. Takeshita whips out the Dynamite Diamond Ring and the referee turns away for the sake of plot convenience. The big shot to the head gives Takeshita the pin at 9:29.

Rating: C+. Well the ending did surprise me, and thankfully we won’t be getting a triple threat match with Cole, Strong and MJF. If nothing else, I’m not sure why Cole was getting a chance to equal Strong’s three wins but it wound up not mattering. Not a great match, which shouldn’t be a surprise given that it’s Cole, but at least the right person won.

Post match the beatdown is on but Kyle O’Reilly runs in for the save, with Ricochet coming out to fight Takeshita to the back. Cole and Strong shake hands but O’Reilly walks away.

The Hurt Syndicate is ready for Bobby Lashley to make an example out of Swerve Strickland.

Here are the Death Riders beating up JD Drake. Jon Moxley hijacks a cameraman and talks about what he has done to Orange Cassidy’s friends. Chuck Taylor is drinking through a straw and Wheeler Yuta believes in Moxley because Cassidy couldn’t save him. Cassidy is going to learn a lesson and the Death Riders have the power. Cue Cassidy to interrupt, with Rocky Romero and Mark Briscoe joining him.

Cassidy talks about how the World Title gives Moxley power so they’re going to wrestle for the title at Full Gear, where Cassidy will beat him. First though, he has to take out some pawns, like Wheeler Yuta, who he’ll face next week, before he can take down the king. The villains go to leave but Darby Allin dives off the balcony onto them. The Riders try to leave again (leaving Yuta behind) but Allin dives onto the back of their truck. Claudio Castagnoli swings him into a garage door and Yuta dives into the back of the truck to escape. That was a lot in one segment, though Cassidy still feels like his loss is just a formality.

Chris Jericho, with the Learning Tree, talks about Tomohiro Ishii being a young boy thirty years ago and having to wash Jericho’s back in the shower. Jericho accepts Ishii’s challenge and the match is n for two weeks.

Britt Baker vs. Penelope Ford

They fight over wrist control to start until Ford kicks her out to the floor as we take an early break. Back with Ford hitting a handspring elbow in the corner, only to get caught with a discus lariat. Ford Matrixes away from a clothesline and tries a….well commentary calls it a cutter but I’m not sure they made contact. Baker kicks her down and loads up the Lockjaw but takes too much time. Ford pulls her into the Muta Lock, which is reversed into the Lockjaw to finish Ford at 8:55.

Rating: C. Baker feels like she is just going through the motions here and that has been the case for a good while. She just doesn’t feel like she is doing anything overly good these days. At the end of the day, she has just stopped evolving and the rest of the division has, which doesn’t work out well. Ford is trying rather hard and while it’s not exactly getting her anywhere, it’s definitely noticeable.

Post match Serena Deeb comes out for a staredown with Baker.

Mina Shirakawa is back and read for a champagne celebration with Mariah May. Cue Harley Cameron, who says Shirakawa is called the Harley Cameron of Japan. Cameron: “Well welcome to the Harley Cameron of Harley Cameron!” They get into a chest shaking contest until Renee Paquette yells at them to stop.

Lio Rush vs. Swerve Strickland

They take turns flipping away from each other to start before going out to the floor. Rush rakes the eyes and yells a lot but gets sent ribs first into the apron. Rush sends him into the announcers’ table though and we take a break. Back with Swerve kicking him in the head on the apron and adding a suplex for two. Rush is back with a cutter for two of his own, followed by the Final Hour for another near fall. Rush’s rollup with ropes doesn’t work so he hits a rolling kick to the head. Strickland has had enough of this and hits the JML Driver for the pin at 10:06.

Rating: B-. Nice match here, as we get our required Rush appearance. Swerve had to fight through some adversity to win as Rush continues to try and get the Hurt Syndicate’s attention. Swerve having some issues with Rush made sense and it went the way it should have without hurting Swerve in any way.

Post match Swerve calls out Bobby Lashley for the brawl (saying we’re in Stamford, Connecticut). Cue Lashley and MVP and, after a THIS IS BRIDGEPORT chant, MVP says they have the numbers advantage and here is Shelton Benjamin to jump Swerve from behind. Prince Nana has to watch as Swerve is taken out. Lashley beats up Nana for a bonus.

Jamie Hayter is coming after one thing. Then the lights go out and we get a Julia Hart vignette, showing her recovering from being shot with an arrow in another vignette. Brody King calls her and says it’s time to come back. Then she seems to have a mental breakdown and screams a lot. Then she is handed a crossbow and puts on a hat.

Kings Of The Black Throne vs. FTR

For a spot in the Tag Team Title match at Full Gear, meaning Private Party is watching. Wheeler tries to pick up the pace against King to start but gets backdropped down hard. Black comes in to strike away at Harwood, who misses a right hand so Black drops down to the mat. Black kicks Harwood to the floor, where FTR gets in a shot of their own to take over. We take a break and come back with Black fighting his way out of trouble, allowing the tag back to King. Wheeler catches King on top though and a powerbomb/top rope clothesline combination gets two.

Black moonsaults onto Wheeler on the floor as King powerbombs Harwood for two back inside. King gets taken up top again but he gets knees up to block the PowerPlex. Black’s top rope double stomp hits Harwood for two and the Shatter Machine gets the same with Black making the save. A spike piledriver onto the apron plants Black but King is there with a dive. Back in and a pair of lariats into a sleeper finish Harwood at 13:28.

Rating: B. Another hard hitting match here and I like the result. FTR has been done to death in the title picture and it will add at least a little spice when they turn on the Outrunners at the show. The Kings Of The Black Throne needed a win to give them some momentum, even if it’s hard to buy that they are going to win the titles at Full Gear.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I’m not sure what to make of this show. It was absolutely not boring, but the biggest thing is I’m not really overly interested in Full Gear. A lot of the matches feel like things we have to get through on the way to whatever is next and that’s not a great feeling to have. All of the run-ins and people interfering here didn’t really boost my interest as much as it made me want the show to calm down. It certainly felt like they were trying something different, though I’m not sure how well it worked.

Results
Hangman Page/Christian Cage b. Bang Bang Gang – Deadeye to Robinson
Roderick Strong b. Lance Archer – Jumping knee
Konosuke Takeshita b. Adam Cole – Punch with the Dynamite Diamond Ring
Britt Baker b. Penelope Ford – Lockjaw
Swerve Strickland b. Lio Rush – JML Driver
Kings Of The Black Throne b. FTR – Sleeper to Harwood

 

 

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Dynamite – October 2, 2024: There Should Be Cake

Dynamite
Date: October 2, 2024
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s the fifth anniversary of Dynamite and the big story is a new broadcast rights deal was announced earlier today, with the show staying on TBS/TNT as well as being simulcast on Max. That is going to lead to some changes in the future, but for now, we are ten days away from WrestleDream and Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson for the World Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jon Moxley and company talk about how they have plans for Wheeler Yuta, with Moxley promising to take out Bryan Danielson and take the World Title. War and casualties are promised.

Apparently Taz has been attacked and is out for tonight, with Nigel McGuinness taking his place.

International Title: Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay

Ricochet is challenging and in the back, Kyle Fletcher (in a WHITE SOX jersey, which isn’t a great look right now) and Don Callis wish him luck before leaving. Feeling out process to start before they go into their signature stereo backflips exchange into the double pose. Ricochet sends him outside, where Ospreay takes too long going onto the barricade and gets taken down with a snap hurricanrana.

Back in and Ricochet hits a springboard flip splash for two but Ospreay kicks him down. The Phenomenal Forearm gets two on Ricochet but he’s back with a kick to the head. Ospreay’s Spanish Fly gets two more but the Oscutter is broken up. They go to the apron to trade strikes to the head until Ospreay hits a superkick. The Oscutter connects this time and they crash out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Ricochet kicking him down again but missing the 450. The Hidden Blade is countered into a backslide bomb (that was cool) and a piledriver gets two. Ospreay is back with another Hidden Blade attempt but has to roll through, setting up a Styles Clash for two on Ricochet. Now the Oscutter connects for two more but the Hidden Blade is blocked again.

Ricochet’s shooting star press gets two, only for Ospreay to counter vertigo into a poisonrana. Ricochet hits one of his own but Ospreay hits the Hidden Blade….for a double pin with all four shoulders down at 15:55. Hold on though as both of them want five more minutes and Tony Khan approves the match continuing. They trade kicks to the head until Ospreay hits the Hidden Blade….and Konosuke Takeshita runs in and decks Ospreay for the DQ at 18:59.

Rating: B. I’m guessing that’s to set up either a three way or Ospreay vs. Takeshita at WrestleDream, but it’s not exactly an exciting way to wrap up the big opener. I do get the idea of not wanting either of them to lose here, but the ending still felt flat. For now, I can go for a match with two guys doing a bunch of big moves to each other, though a better ending would have been nice.

Takeshita wipes both of them out and poses with the title.

Mercedes Mone, with Kamille, is excited over the fifth anniversary and we get a package on her time on Dynamite. Mone brags about her success and MVP comes in to offer his business card. There appears to be some interest.

The Gunns are ready to see Juice Robinson vs. Hangman Page when Page runs in to take them out with a chair.

Here is the Learning Tree for TV Time with Chris Jericho. Big Bill hypes up how much Jericho has done for him before giving him the introduction. Jericho takes credit for the new TV deal and the Learning Tree demands a THANK YOU CHRIS chant. In addition to five years of Dynamite, it is also 34 years since his debut as a pro wrestler. He went from a small town in Canada to right here in Philad….Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!

Last week he pinned Mark Briscoe and this week he’s challenging Briscoe for the Ring Of Honor World Title at WrestleDream. Briscoe, with the Conglomeration, comes to the ring and everyone stays on the floor because this is between the two of them. Papa Briscoe taught him to not make excuses, so while Big Bill helped Jericho beat Briscoe last week, he isn’t going to make that excuse because it was a tornado tag team match.

Briscoe would love to face Jericho, because the word of the day is consequentially, because he…is cut off by Jericho, who doesn’t think Briscoe can beat him. Jericho: “Maybe your brother Jay could have.” Everyone knows Mark will never be as good as Jay, which earns Jericho a shot to the face. Mark tells Jericho to keep his brother’s name out of his mouth and accepts the challenge. Briscoe sold his part really strong, but Jericho getting another title shot and everything that happens on Ring Of Honor meaning nothing when it comes to the World Title isn’t helping.

Darby Allin is in what looks to be a park and talks about riding a bus in Washington. One day three guys took turns spitting at the back of his head. Allin tried to keep calm but eventually he got in their faces and wasn’t scared of the knife the guy was holding. It was broken up, but that’s what he was thinking about when Jon Moxley said Allin wasn’t ready o be the face of AEW. Now he needs to fight back, so at WrestleDream, it’s an open challenge. That could go in a lot of directions.

Hangman Page vs. Juice Robinson

They brawl on the stage to start with Robinson sending him off the stage, only to get punched out of the air. Page whips him with a belt and they fight into the crowd, with Page being hit with a beer and a bucket of popcorn. The fight actually goes into the ring for the opening bell, with Robinson choking with the bell for a four count. Page fights back up and takes over as we take an early break.

Back with Robinson’s top rope superplex leaving them both down again. Robinson punches him out to the floor but gets sent into the barricade. A spinebuster sends Page into the apron and a running shot sends Page through the barricade. They get back in with Robinson hitting a powerbomb for two and being shocked at the kickout. The Juice Is Loose is blocked though and Page kicks him low. The Buckshot Lariat finishes for Page at 9:56.
­
Rating: B-. This is another good example of “it shouldn’t take this long for the star to win”. Page took nearly ten minutes (not counting the brawl before the bell) to beat a guy who is mainly known as part of a six man team. They could have easily done this, even with the same cheating finish, in less than half the time. Robinson can look good in defeat and get cheated out of a win without having Page take this long to beat him. That’s been an issue for AEW for a long time and it’s continuing here.­

Post match Page goes for the choking with the belt but the returning Jay White runs in for the save. White spears him through a well placed table in the crowd.

Jack Perry arrives and Katsuyori Shibata pops in to challenge him for the TNT Title at WrestleDream. Perry says he’ll think about it and jumps him before accepting. Maybe, I don’t know, show the clip from Collision that set that up so it’s not so out of nowhere?

Bryan Danielson can’t get the phrase “F*** JON MOXLEY” out of his head because this is the AEW World Title, not Moxley’s. That’s why he’s challenged Kazuchika Okada tonight, title for title, because they’re 1-1 and need to break the tie. This is for AEW.

Serena Deeb vs. Britt Baker

Baker is the hometown girl. They go with the grappling to start with Deeb going for the arm but having to escape a Lockjaw attempt. Mariah May is watching as they fight over a headlock/headscissors. Back up and Deeb hits a hard clothesline, followed by a hammerlock lariat as we take an early break.

We come back with Baker hitting some clotheslines of her own, setting up a discus forearm. Baker hits a Sling Blade into a fisherman’s neckbreaker for two, giving us a frustrated look. They trade shots to the face until an Air Raid Crash gives Baker two. Baker catches her up top with a super Air Raid Crash for two, setting up the Lockjaw for the tap at 11:12.

Rating: C. This was similar to the Page vs. Robinson match in that Baker could have put her away a lot faster and gotten the same result. Instead, the match dragged on with Deeb going move for move with Baker. That’s fine on one hand as Deeb is far more polished in the ring, but if the end game is Baker vs. May, it didn’t exactly make Baker look like a star.

Post match Deeb jumps her again until Queen Aminata makes the save.

Hook swears revenge on whomever attacked Taz.

Christian Cage promises to be the next World Champion.

Mariah May doesn’t think much of Willow Nightingale, who storms in to start the fight, which is quickly broken up.

Private Party vs. Iron Savages

It’s a brawl to start with a double dropkick….kind of connecting to put Boulder down. Bronson is sent to the floor and a messy Gin & Juice finishes at 1:13. I don’t think Private Party hit one move clean in that whole match.

Post match Private Party say they want the Tag Team Titles and call out the Young Bucks. Cue the Bucks, who say they’re not wasting their limited dates on this kind of town so it’s not happening. Jack Perry runs in to beat Private Party down but Katsuyori Shibata makes the save. Christopher Daniels comes in to make a six man tag for Rampage. The fact that Private Party has nothing else to talk about in the five years since they beat the Bucks tells you a lot about what is wrong with AEW.

MVP is about to make an announcement but Prince Nana interrupts. Nana threatens to beat up MVP, who says he doesn’t handle complaints. Instead, he introduces the head of the complaint department: Shelton Benjamin, who gets a big reaction and takes Nana’s coffee. I’ve heard worse ideas.

AEW World Title/Continental Title: Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada

This is title for title but the Continental Title is only on the line for the first twenty minutes and this was announced on two days’ notice because AEW. They fight over a lockup to start and Danielson backs him into the ropes for an early break, both for them and us. Back with Okada hitting some clotheslines but Danielson fires off some uppercuts. Danielson goes up and knocks Okada down, setting up a missed Swan Dive.

The cobra clutch has Danielson in more trouble as the neck cranking ensues. Danielson fights to his feet but misses a charge, allowing Okada to dropkick him out to the floor. Back in and Danielson knocks him to the floor for a suicide dive, followed by the YES Kicks. The big one is countered into a rollup for two but Danielson pulls him into a triangle choke with elbows to the head. The LeBell Lock goes on and Danielson cranks back, only for Okada to make the ropes. Danielson hits the running knee to send Okada outside as we hit the 20:00 mark, meaning the match continues, but ONLY Danielson’s title is on the line.

AEW World Title: Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada

Danielson is defending and hits a top rope flip dive to hit Okada on the floor. A running charge is cut off though and Okada hits a Tombstone onto a chair on the floor as we take another break. Back again with Danielson (who was on his feet 1:42 after the Tombstone, with a hanging DDT onto the floor in between) getting dropkicked before they grab hands to trade strikes.

Danielson gets the better of it and loads up the running knee, only to charge into the Rainmaker for the double knockdown. They strike it out again until Danielson takes over, only to get caught with a running knee for two. Danielson hits his own Rainmaker for two and it’s time to fire off the elbows. Okada strikes away but here are Claudio Castagnoli and Pac to glare menacingly. Danielson gets a backslide for the pin out of nowhere at 31:42.

Rating: B. I guess the thinking was Okada wanted to burn the clock in the first twenty minutes to protect his own title and then get to the second half where he had nothing to lose. That makes sense from a planning standpoint but it made for a pretty dry first…is the term match or fall? Either way, it picked up in the second half and you knew this was going to be at least good based on the people involved. I still could have gone for building this up more than two days in advance, but that’s another issue entirely.

Post match Okada Rainmakers Danielson and leaves, with Castagnoli and Pac coming in to pick the pieces. Jon Moxley gets in the ring (with Marina Shafir choking Danielson) and talks about how this isn’t about him because no one will fight for AEW like he will. If this was about Danielson, he would have done this a long time ago.

Wheeler Yuta runs in with a hammer for the save. Moxley dares Yuta to hit him with the hammer but Danielson is up to go after Moxley. The fight is on with Yuta and Danielson clearing the ring. Yuta says if Pac and Castagnoli want Danielson, they’ll have to go through Yuta too. Danielson issues the challenge for the tag match (Yuta might have slipped up with the wording and Danielson had to save it), which is officially on to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked the show, but I’m not sure how well it came off as a major milestone event. There was nothing on here that really felt big or majorly important (remember that the TV deal was announced before the show went on the air). The big matches went well enough, but it was coming after Grand Slam (which felt bigger) and is right before WrestleDream (which will feel bigger) and comes just before Title Tuesday and eventually Battle Of The Belts. AEW might want to cool it on the big shows and just have some regular stuff, but this did still work well enough.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Ricochet via DQ when Konosuke Takeshita interfered
Hangman Page b. Juice Robinson – Buckshot Lariat
Britt Baker b. Serena Deeb – Lockjaw
Private Party b. Iron Savages – Gin & Juice to Boulder
Bryan Danielson b. Kazuchika Okada – Backslide

 

 

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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AEW Dynamite – September 25, 2024: That’s Just Grand (Grand Slam)

Dynamite
Date: September 25, 2024
Location: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

It’s the big show with grand Slam as we are at a tennis stadium in New York and we have a double main event. This show will see Bryan Danielson (probably) face Nigel McGuinness rather than the man who tried to murder him last month. Instead, the attempted murderer is getting a #1 contenders match because he wants the title of the champion he tried to smother. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson

Non-title and after two weeks of “will Danielson be able to wrestle”, he comes out with no real drama. They go technical to start before striking it out and fighting over wrist control. Danielson fires off a kick which might have been low before taking McGuinness to the mat. Danielson wins a fight over the LeBell Lock but McGuinness makes the rope. They head outside with McGuinness sending him into the steps and then ramming the arm into the post.

Back in and the London Dungeon (a seated armbar) stays on the arm but McGuinness takes him into the corner. That’s cut off with the running knee but McGuinness is back with his handstand in the corner. A flip away lets McGuinness hit a standing clothesline for two but Danielson moonsaults over him out of the corner, only for McGuinness to hit the rebound lariat for one.

Back up and a hammerlock lariat gives McGuinness two but Danielson kicks out of the London Dungeon. Instead it’s the Tower Of London (hanging Stunner out of the corner) for two and the London Dungeon goes back on. That’s broken up as well and they’re both down. Back up and McGuinness hits a heck of a clothesline for two, but his arm is down in the LeBell Lock. Danielson cranks back and, after a THANK YOU, McGuinness taps at 20:41.

Rating: B. It was a good fight though it never reached a top level. Granted there was only so much you could expect when McGuinness hasn’t been an active wrestler in well over ten years. I’m glad the match took place as they had set it up for so long on commentary but they made it such a mess with the Moxley stuff that it was a bit of a distraction. Still though, McGuinness looked good in what very well could be his last match so points for getting to do this.

Post match Christian Cage teases cashing in but Kip Sabian steals his pen. Cage runs off but gets stopped by Claudio Castagnoli and Pac.

FTW Title: Roderick Strong vs. Hook

Hook is defending and the Kingdom is here with Strong. They fight outside to start with Strong grabbing a kendo stick, which Hook takes away and uses on all three villains. A Russian legsweep with the stick sends Strong into the barricade but a Kingdom distraction lets Strong send him flying into the post as we take an early break.

Back with Hook throwing him around with suplexes, including a northern lights version out of the corner for two. Strong gets in a shot of his own and wedges a chair in the corner. Hook goes head first and a swinging belly to back faceplant gives Strong two. Strong gets sent through some chairs but he’s right back up with a gutbuster onto the open chair. Then Hook pulls him into Redrum for the win at 9:02.

Rating: C+. This was Hook in a hardcore match and that’s most of what we’ve seen from him for a long time now. Strong walking Hook through a twelve minute match could do a lot of good for Hook but instead it’s more of the same weapons stuff over and over. I get the idea of putting Hook on the show in New York but there was nothing special to see here.

Post match Strong and the Kingdom actually show respect. With the villains gone, Hook talk to Tony Schiavone and thanks the fans who have supported the FTW Title. Hook officially retires the title and hands it to Taz, who sheds a few tears. Thank goodness as there was no reason for the title to exist. Take away some of the clutter.

Tag Team Titles: Kyle Fletcher/Will Ospreay vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending. Matt takes over on Ospreay to start but it’s off to Fletcher to kick Matt down. Ospreay uses Fletcher as a step up for a moonsault, setting up stereo moonsaults to take the champs out on the floor as we take a break. Back with Ospreay coming in with the Phenomenal Forearm to Matt, setting up the double Pele Kick. A standing skytwister press gets two on Matt but Ospreay gets caught in the flipping splash into the sitout powerbomb for two.

The EVP Trigger is countered into a double Oscutter for a rather delayed two before Matt is back up with an X Factor to Ospreay. Fletcher 450 Matt but Nick drops Fletcher for the quadruple down and a big reaction from the crowd. The Bucks are back up first with the TK Driver onto the apron but Fletcher beats the count back in. We take another break and come back again with Ospreay cutting off another TK Driver, setting up stereo Styles Clashes for two.

The Stormbreaker gets two on Matt with Nick making the save so Fletcher gets up and cleans house. A Tombstone is cut off by a superkick but another TK Driver is cut off with an Oscutter. A TK Driver hits Matt for two and Coriolis gets the same, followed by a super brainbuster with Nick making the save.

Fletcher sends Matt outside for a suicide dive int o the steps, so Don Callis gives Fletcher the screwdriver. Fletcher loads it up but Ospreay takes it away and hands it off to the referee. Ospreay yells at Callis and then Fletcher, allowing Matt to get in a belt shot. Another shot from Nick knocks Fletcher into a rollup for two. The EVP Trigger retains the titles at 19:30.

Rating: B+. This was the popcorn match of the night, with the Bucks getting in their usual ridiculous kickouts and getting to do their flips before retaining the titles again. The tag division is in a shambles these days and the Bucks are probably going to get to hold onto the titles for a good while. That’s how the division tends to go, as the Bucks get to keep padding their stats.

The Conglomeration welcomes Rocky Romero to the team and are ready for the Learning Tree on Collision. The word of the day is vociferous, which is what the crowd will be tonight and on Collision.

Here is Prince Nana, who says that Swerve Strickland is fighting hard to come back but isn’t cleared just yet. Cue MVP, who interrupts to say that Swerve is the most phenomenal talent to ever set foot in an AEW ring. MVP lists off the people Swerve has defeated and was rather impressed. Then he saw Swerve lose to Bryan Danielson and Hangman Page, so why are they allowed to walk around smiling? MVP blames Swerve’s management for that and gives Nana his card to give to Swerve, saying he’s ready to talk business.  That’s a big one and MVP is already one of the best talkers in the promotion.

Jack Perry is driving to the stadium for Collision.

Women’s Title: Mariah May vs. Yuka Sakazaki

Sakazaki is challenging and dives onto May during her entrance. A 619 on the apron has May down on the floor and they head inside with the bell ringing and Sakazaki getting two. May sends her outside for a running dropkick, followed by a spinning side slam back inside. Sakazaki manages a choke in the corner, followed by some spinning rollups for two each. The Merry Go Round is broken up though and May hits a nasty German suplex for two of her own. Sakazaki is back with the northern lights bomb but the Magical Girl Splash hits raised knees. The running knee into Storm Zero retains the title at 6:11.

Rating: B-. Sakazaki never felt like a big time challenger to May, though for now there isn’t much of anyone to be that challenger. I know Mina Shirakawa is probably next up for her at Wrestledream, but that’s not exactly a top AEW name. Other than that though, it might just be waiting around for Toni Storm again.

Post match May loads up the belt but Willow Nightingale runs in for the save. Mina Shirakawa comes out and distracts Nightingale so May can get in a belt shot, which doesn’t seem to have been Shirakawa’s intention.

Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley

For the Wrestledream World Title shot and Marina Shafir is here with Moxley. Feeling out process to start until Moxley hits him in the face. Allin is busted open early on and gets whipped hard out to the floor for a nasty crash (going through the middle ropes). Allin rakes the back on the floor though and hits a running dropkick, only to get planted back onto the floor. They get back to the apron where Allin ties the arm into the post (which has a hole on top) until Shafir makes the save.

Allin hits a big Coffin Drop off the top to the floor, setting up the big flipping suicide dive. A chair is set up but Shafir gets in Allin’s way and adds in a cheap shot. Moxley ties the arm around the post and we take a break. Back with Moxley elbowing away but Allin fights back up. Moxley heads to the floor and has a seat in the chair, with Allin dropkicking him out in a big crash. Back up and Moxley knocks him hard to the floor again. Shafir does as Moxley says and rips off the floor mats, revealing a rather hard surface.

Moxley can’t hit the Death Rider on the floor but he can avoid a dive to send Allin into the floor. A suplex drop onto the steps gives Moxley a nine count, where Allin gets a quick rollup for two. The Coffin Drop goes flying into Moxley’s rear naked choke but Allin fights up, foams at the mouth, and makes the rope. Moxley takes him up top but Allin strikes away and bites the head. Shafir gets on the apron for a distraction though and super Death Driver gives Moxley the title shot at 18:45.

Rating: B. This was one of those matches where the result was kind of obvious, as losing the title shot he didn’t have to defend is a rather Allin thing to do. The match itself was the usual AEW brawl, with a bunch of stuff happening and the referee just sort of going with it. It was still a total mess to get here, but Moxley is clearly the bigger deal right now and Allin can have his title shot later.

Post match Bryan Danielson runs in with a neck tie to choke Moxley. Shafir runs in for the save but here are Claudio Castagnoli and Pac to pull Danielson off instead. Private Party and Komander make the save. Moxley is pulled away from the running knee so Danielson threatens a hard head kicking at Wrestledream to end the show. If your backup is Private Party and Komander, just give Moxley the title now.

Overall Rating: B+. The big matches worked well and set up the right match for Wrestledream and thankfully the ending got to the point it should have been at a long time ago. For a free television show, this did feel big, and that’s the best thing that can be said about a show like this. The middle part of the show wasn’t as strong, but the opener and main event were good enough to carry this show rather far.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Nigel McGuinness – LeBell Lock
Hook b. Roderick Strong – Redrum
Young Bucks b. Will Ospreay/Kyle Fletcher – EVP Trigger to Fletcher
Mariah May b. Yuka Sakazaki – Storm Zero
Jon Moxley b. Darby Allin – Super Death Rider

 

 

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Dynamite – September 11, 2024: Oh…No

Dynamite
Date: September 11, 2024
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are rapidly approaching Grand Slam in New York but it is also the All out fallout show. The big stories were the attempted murders of Bryan Danielson and Swerve Strickland at the hands of Jon Moxley and Hangman Page respectively. Neither of them should be here this week but strange things have happened. Let’s get to it.

I was in attendance for this show, sitting in the upper deck with the video screen slightly to my right. The attendance was very bad, with probably around 2,500 people, though the arena holds over 20,000. Seeing the amount of seats tarped off and empty made me say “wow” when I first walked in.

We open with a clip from All Out, with Jon Moxley explaining that he does not like Bryan Danielson’s ego and attacked him because it is Moxley’s nature. That’s a good enough explanation.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring and brings out the Patriarchy for a chat. Christian Cage has been told that he has “infinite aura” and now that he has the contract for a World Title match, he knows it is undeniable. When he saw Killswitch grab him by the throat, he knew that he had the perfect monster under his control. The fans chant LUCHASAURUS as Cage talks about how he’s coming for Bryan Danielson. The beating he’ll give Danielson will make his wife Brie wish she was the one with CTE. Cage makes it clear that he is the UNDISPUTED next World Champion.

Don Callis cashes in his favor with Will Ospreay to team with Kyle Fletcher for tonight’s Casino Tag Team Gauntlet Match. Fletcher talks Ospreay into doing it, saying there is no one he would rather team with t do this. As Mark Davis continues to become less and less important.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. Lio Rush

Perry is defending and comes to the ring in his Scapegoatmobile while Rush just has Action Andretti. Perry jumps him to start and the beatdown is on in the corner but Rush fights up with a dropkick to the floor. Rush tries a moonsault to the floor but gets dropped onto the apron for the crash as we take a break.

Back with Rush fighting out of a chinlock but getting dropped, which is enough for Andretti to come after him. That’s enough for an ejection but Rush fights up and hits a running Spanish Fly for two. Perry lawn darts him into the buckle though and a snapdragon puts Rush down again. Rush is right back with a poisonrana for a breather but Perry breaks up the springboard Stunner. The running knee finishes for Perry at 8:39.

Rating: C+. This was the way to give Perry some momentum back after his loss on Saturday and could have been a lot worse. Perry is far more tolerable when he stays around this level, which unfortunately does not happen very often. I’m not sure why Rush got this show but there were worse options to come after the title.

Perry goes to leave, saying people like him are crucified in this life so they can be glorified in the next.

We look at Hangman Page beating Swerve Strickland at a rather horrible level at All Out.

Page talks about how he has gone this far to beat Strickland and he would have spent an eternity in pain for a chance to hurt Strickland. Now if anyone stood in the way of him and his revenge, he is coming for them too. Page walks over and glares at Top Flight/Action Andretti before seeing the Dark Order, who don’t know him anymore. Then he runs into Jeff Jarrett, who says Page went too far when he put his hands on Jeff’s wife. The fight is on and has to be broken up.

Private Party and Komander come out for a match….and get jumped by the Blackpool Combat Club. Pac talks about how this company is broken and diplomacy has failed.

The Learning Tree arrives in a Bentley with a HI GUYS license plate. They’re going to show what they found in Orange Cassidy’s backpack tonight.

Ricochet vs. Sammy Guevara

They trade strikes to start until Ricochet sends him outside for the big running flip dive. The fight heads to the stage with Ricochet being sent into part of the set, allowing Guevara t moonsault off the tunnel as we take a break (note that they have been on the floor for 1:13 before the break and the ten count has not even started).

Back with Ricochet being sent to the floor (Fan: “Sorry.”) and into the barricade. Ricochet fights up and hits a jumping flip dive off the barricade) that was great) for two back inside. The Benydriller is countered into a Canadian Destroyer and Guevara hits a top rope cutter for two more. Guevara’s GTH misses and Ricochet kicks him in the head, setting up an ax kick stomp (egads) into Vertigo for the pin at 10:54.

Rating: B. This was definitely a better showing from Ricochet, who got to do his usual stuff and beat someone with some stature. It’s good to have Guevara back, but he has definitely lost a lot of his status in his hiatus. The flips were good and that ax kick stomp was awesome, making this a good match with Ricochet looking like a star.

Post match the Beast Mortos runs in to spar Ricochet, with Guevara making the save.

We look back at Kris Statlander beating Willow Nightingale in the Chicago street fight.

Kazuchika Okada mocks his title defense on Saturday when Konosuke Takeshita and Don Callis come in and want the Continental Title shot. Okada seems interested, complete with the b****.

Here is Darby Allin (to the reaction of the night, with people rising to their feet) for a chat. He gets right to the point and calls out Jon Moxley, who comes to the ring with Marina Shafir. Moxley talks about how nothing has changed between them but Allin cuts him off. Allin talks about how he was a homeless dishwasher and everything he owned fit in the trunk of his car. That’s why he wrestles the way he does and he loved what he saw in Moxley, who wouldn’t change for anyone.

They first wrestled in a high school gym and Allin was so nervous. Then he saw what Allin did to Bryan Danielson, which Allin could never do to someone like Sting. So what does Moxley want? It turns out Moxley wants Allin’s World Title shot at Grand Slam, because Danielson is going to be out of commission. Allin: “What are you stupid? You get dropped on your head? You been drinking again?”

After that gasp from the crowd, the fans hear Allin say Moxley has to earn it, with Moxley offering to earn it in New York. Allin accepts the challenge for Grand Slam, presumably with the title shot on the line. That’s quite the bait and switch for Grand Slam, which sold tickets based off the idea of the title match.

Nigel McGuinness interrupts Christopher Daniels and wants to talk to Tony Khan.

Commentary talks about September 11, which is a nice touch that would be nicer if it was going to a break instead of crammed between matches.

Mariah May vs. Queen Aminata

Non-title. They both miss some kicks to start and trade rollups for two each. An exchange of strikes to the face goes to Aminata but May ties her in the ropes and hammers away. We take a break and come back with May hitting a missile dropkick into the corner. Aminata kicks her away again and snaps off some suplexes. The running boot against the ropes gives Aminata two but May is back with a hanging DDT for two of her own. May’s running knee into Storm Zero finishes at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Not bad here with May getting a win, but she’s still missing a little something since she won the title. She’s still a good heel and is good at talking down to people but it’s not quite clicking. At the same time, Aminata seemed a bit shaky here and it wouldn’t surprise me if she was banged up somewhere in there.

Post match May lays on the mat with the belt and says she needs to have her championship celebration, but she wants Mina Shirakawa back too.

The Young Bucks mock the fans who say they want a new team to come after them. That’s why they have booked the tag team gauntlet match for tonight.

Learning Tree vs. Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages

Boulder knocks Jericho into the corner to start so it’s off to Bill for the big forearms. Everything breaks down and Jameson is booted in the face. Keith adds Diamond Dust and Jericho’s arrogant cover gets the pin at 2:27.

Post match Jericho goes on a rant about how he wants his $7000 back from Orange Cassidy, which is why he took the backpack. Inside the backpack is a picture of Cassidy and the former Best Friends. Cassidy pops up on screen and says he has the money. Cue Mark Briscoe driving a big machine full of coins, which he pours into Jericho’s fancy car. Cassidy adds some cash and that should be it. Fans: “KEEP THE CHANGE!” Pouring a bunch of coins into a car seems more mildly inconvenient than anything else.

Here is Nigel McGuinness for a chat. There is not going to be a World Title match at Grand Slam, which must be a breath of air for Bryan Danielson. Like when he let go of choking Justin Roberts with his tie. The World Champion should be in action at Grand Slam, which brings him to the contract he has in his hand. The success that he has should be his and Tony Khan has made the match. At Grand Slam, it’s Danielson vs. McGuinness. So if he can have that match, why can’t he have the Allin match?

Hook wants Roderick Strong for the FTW Title.

Here are the Young Bucks, in AEW office chairs, to watch the main event.

Tag Team Casino Gauntlet

First fall wins and there is no guarantee that all of the teams get in. FTR is in at #1 and Kyle Fletcher/Will Ospreay are in at #2. Ospreay snaps off a hurricanrana to Wheeler to start but a sitout powerbomb gives Harwood two. Fletcher is knocked outside and the PowerPlex gets two. The Righteous are in at #3 and a Boss Man Slam into a Swanton gets two on Wheeler. Fletcher is back in to clean some of the house until the Kingdom is in at #4.

Fletcher gets knocked down to start and a running knee gets two on Ospreay as we take a break. Back with the Acclaimed coming in at #5 (the fans approve) and cleaning house. An AA gets two on Dutch and a pair of Fameassers put Harwood down. The MxM Collection is in at #6 to a big reaction of their own. Everyone brawls until the good guys manage a triple suplex. We take another break and come back with everyone brawling on the floor again with Top Flight coming in at #7.

This time they get to clear the ring until Ospreay kicks Dante in the head. The Shatter Machine hits Bowens but everyone makes the save. The Outrunners are in at #8 and the fans are way into them as well. This time they clean house as well, including the Paisan elbow to Vincent. The Grizzled Young Veterans are in at #8 as Floyd superplexes Mansoor onto the pile at ringside. We hit the parade of secondary finishers inside until Dante’s top rope splash hits raised knees. Ospreay hits the Hidden Blade on Dante to give Fletcher the pin at 22:14.

Rating: C+. This was the weakest of these matches so far as the strength of the matches comes from the surprises and we didn’t have any here. The Outrunners and the Collection got big reactions but it was the makeshift tam winning to continue the “Ospreay is really good at these things” deal. It wasn’t a bad match, but it felt long and was just a bunch of people doing stuff at times.

Overall Rating: C. This was not great by any means and was one of the weaker Dynamites in a good while. There was nothing worth going out of your way to see and the whole Danielson/Nigel/Allin/Moxley stuff is feeling very much like a bait and switch. This show did not feel like fallout from All Out, which was going to be hard to do with so many people missing. It wasn’t a terrible show, but you didn’t need to see it and that’s not a good way to go in this spot.

Results
Jack Perry b. Lio Rush – Running knee
Ricochet b. Sammy Guevara – Vertigo
Mariah May b. Queen Aminata – Storm Zero
Learning Tree b. Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages – Diamond Dust to Jameson
Will Ospreay/Kyle Fletcher won the Tag Team Casino Gauntlet Match

 

 

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All In 2024: Their Big One

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May

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

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

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

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

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

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

FTW Title: Hook vs. Chris Jericho

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Casino Gauntlet Match

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

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

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

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

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

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

American Title: Will Ospreay vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker

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

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

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

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

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

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Jack Perry

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

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

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

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

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

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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Collision – August 10, 2024: How To Handle Referee Business

Collision
Date: August 10, 2024
Location: Esports Arena Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

The Texas residency continues as we are just over two weeks away from All In. That should make for a big show here as there are several stories that are either already set up or need something of a boost with so little time left to go. The action should be enough to carry thing here as usual so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Darby Allin/Hologram vs. Premiere Athletes

Hologram and Woods start things off with the former flipping away to offer some frustration. Nese comes in and gets armdragged down as commentary talks about what is coming tonight. It’s off to Allin for an exchange of running shots in the corner but Mark Sterling offers a distraction. Nese snaps Allin’s neck across the top to take over and it’s back to Woods for a suplex.

An atomic drop into a clothesline drops Allin again and the villains start alternating with the stomps. Allin flips out of a pair of belly to back suplexes though and it’s Hologram coming in to clean house. A superkick into a jumping knee to the back of the head gets two on Woods, who knocks Hologram out of the air. Allin is sat on top for a running uppercut but comes back with a dive to take out Sterling on the floor. Back in and Woods’ German suplex is countered into a crucifix to give Hologram the win at 8:44.

Rating: B-. AEW is doing everything they can to get Hologram over but it’s only kind of working. He can do some impressive looking flips and is rather athletic, but so are a bunch of people in the country. While he’s doing well so far, we still don’t know much about him and I’m still not sure why he’s called hologram in the first place. Work on that stuff and we’ll see what he can do.

Video on tonight’s Texas Bullrope match between Thunder Rosa and Deonna Purrazzo.

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa

Texas Bullrope match and you win by pinfall or submission. Rosa starts firing off the clotheslines to start so Purrazzo bails to the floor, which goes as well as expected. Rosa whips her into the steps a few times and hits a Backstabber back inside. Something off the top is broken up though and they get into a tug of war over the rope on the floor. Purrazzo gets the better of things and whips away as we take a break.

Back with a bloody Rosa throwing Purrazzo off the top and onto a pile of chairs. Purrazzo is back up to tie her in the Tree of Woe for some chair shots to the ribs for two as the fans want them to fix the table (which seems to have fallen out of the corner). The table is fixed (the fans approve) and the now also bleeding Purrazzo hits a Gotch style piledriver for two. Purrazzo puts her on the table but takes too long going up, allowing Rosa to bulldog her through it instead. What looked like a Fire Thunder Driver (called a shoulder breaker by commentary) finishes Purrazzo at 10:31.

Rating: B-. It was violent and bloody, but a match like this that was only going ten minutes didn’t need to have a break in the middle. That took away a good chunk of what we were getting here and that’s a shame as it should be the final blowoff between the two of them. Rosa looked like a star at the end and gets the big victory,

We get a very 80s style Outrunners video.

FTR vs. Outrunners

Magnum headscissors Harwood down to start and it’s off to Wheeler, who gets dropped with a running shoulder. A cheap shot from the apron sets up a Paisan elbow to Wheeler, who is right back up with a drop toehold of his own. Harwood snaps off some backdrops and FTR clear the ring for some posing as we take a break.

Back with Floyd cutting off Wheeler’s hot tag attempt and firing off some elbows in the corner. Wheeler fights out of a chinlock and it’s off to Harwood to clean house. Some German suplexes into a piledriver get two, with Harwood rolling away before Floyd can make the save. The Shatter Machine finishes Floyd at 9:16.

Rating: C+. This was a nice way to boost FTR back up as they seem to be on their way to a Tag Team Title shot, possibly at All In. I’m really not sure why that match needs to happen again, but for now I can go for FTR getting a win over a goofy team. The Outrunners aren’t bad in the ring but there is no reason to ever take them seriously (which isn’t a bad thing).

Kip Sabian wants to stand up to Nick Wayne for his dad when Wayne comes in. They’ll fight on Rampage.

Video on MJF vs. Will Ospreay, including Ospreay being scared to use the tiger driver 91.

Rush vs. Preston Vance

This is Don Callis’ way of making Rush prove he wants to be the best in the world. They yell at each other to start but Vance actually knocks him outside. Rush sends him into the barricade over and over before heading back inside for the strike off. A rebound German suplex puts Vance down but he’s back up with a running clothesline for two. Back up and Rush knocks him into the corner, setting up the Bull’s Horns to finish Vance at 4:04.

Rating: C. I would certainly hope that there is more than this for Rush to prove himself to Callis. All we had here was Rush beating up someone on a lower level in relatively short order. I can go for having more from Rush as he certainly feels like he should be a star, but this wasn’t it.

Post match Rush hits another Bull’s Horns and looks under the ring for something but gets stopped by the referee first.

Jack Perry watches himself getting hit in the head with a chair in Blood & Guts. Then he destroys a bunch of TV. Because he’s tough or awesome or whatever is supposed to make him interesting this time.

Here is Swerve Strickland for an open challenge to an eliminator match. After some threats to Bryan Danielson, we’re ready to go.

Swerve Strickland vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Non-title and Prince Nana is here with Swerve. They start fast with Swerve sending him into the corner but getting tossed out to the apron. That’s fine with Swerve, who knocks him down for a fast two and grabs a headlock. Ishii shrugs of some shots to the face so Swerve suplexes him down and hits the middle rope elbow to the back. Swerve hits the big dive on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Ishii grabbing a belly to back suplex and then doing it again for a bonus. A delayed vertical superplex gives Ishii two but Swerve is back with the rolling Downward Spiral for the same. They trade headbutts until Swerve powerslams him into a suplex for two, meaning frustration is setting in. Swerve kicks him in the face but gets dropped with a clothesline, followed by a harder clothesline for two. A standing double stomp rocks Ishii and the House Call finishes for Swerve at 12:15.

Rating: B. It was a one off match and could have gotten more hype and promotion but I’ll take them beating each other up for a good while. Swerve gets a nice boost on the way towards All In and that’s all it needed to be. Maybe just let us know about this one more in advance because it’s kind of a big deal to have the World Champion in action.

Claudio Castagnoli wants the Continental Title and challenges Kazuchika Okada for the first Dynamite in Cardiff, Wales.

Here are Stokely Hathaway and Kris Statlander for a chat. They see Willow Nightingale/Tomohiro Ishii talking on Rampage….and the mixed tag challenge is set for All In’s Zero Hour. Hathaway laughs off the idea….but Statlander accepts for him. Chin rubbing ensues.

Top Flight and Action Andretti are unhappy with the MxM Collection and the challenge is on for tonight. Mansoor can’t do that though as he has a broken nail, meaning he is not cosmetically cleared. Lio Rush comes in to say Tony Khan has made the match for next week anyway.

Hikaru Shida vs. Aleah James

Shida backs her up against the ropes and then into the corner before neckbreakering her down. A knee to the face and running kick set up a Falcon Arrow to finish for Shida at 1:39. Pretty to the point there.

Bryan Danielson sits down with Jim Ross, with the former talking about how Ross signed him 24 years ago and now here they are at the end of Danielson’s career. Danielson is banged up and is going to need neck surgery before the end of the year but he is mentally strong coming into All In.

Hikaru Shida challenges Mercedes Mone for the TBS Title on Dynamite.

House Of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang

For a Trios Title shot with Christian Cage as guest referee. King powers Robinson into the corner to start and it’s already time for the six way staredown. We settle down to Black armbarring Colten before handing it off to Matthews, who gets two off a rollup. That’s enough for a stalemate and we take an early break.

Back with Matthews being sent into the Gang’s corner and getting kicked down for two. Matthews is sent to the apron, where he fights off all three but Cage doesn’t see the tag to King. The tag brings in Black a few seconds later and house is quickly cleaned as the pace picks way up. King comes in for the big dive to take out the Gunns on the floor and we take another break.

Back again with Robinson slugging away at King and putting him down with a dropkick. A backslash gives Robinson two but 3:10 To Yuma is broken up. Everything breaks down again and it’s an elevated DDT for two on King. We hit the parade of secondary finishers and everyone is down, with Cage counting to….well nine and then he spears Matthews and counts to ten for the double knockout at 16:14.

Rating: B-. They were having a good match and it got better near the end, but this was a step in a bigger story, likely setting up a three way match for the titles at All In. Cage didn’t do much until the ending, which is how a guest refereeing role goes a lot of the time. Perfectly acceptable stuff here, with the last few minutes being an upgrade.

Post match the Patriarchy runs in to beat down both teams. A chokeslam and Killswitch onto the chair leaves the teams laying so the Patriarchy can pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Solid show here, but dang it makes me wonder how good it could be as an hour to an hour and a half instead of two. There is just enough stuff on here that feels like it is there to fill in time, though it still feels far more important than Rampage. We had enough good action here with some things being set up for Dynamite, which often seems to be the main focuses for this show.

Results
Hologram/Darby Allin b. Premiere Athletes – Crucifix to Woods
Thunder Rosa b. Deonna Purrazzo – Fire Thunder Driver
FTR b. Outrunners – Shatter Machine to Floyd
Rush b. Preston Vance – Bull’s Horns
Swerve Strickland b. Tomohiro Ishii – House Call
Hikaru Shida b. Aleah James – Falcon Arrow
Bang Bang Gang vs. House Of Black went to a double knockout

 

 

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Collision – June 15, 2024: Make It Matter

Collision
Date: June 15, 2024
Location: Covelli Center, Youngstown, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re closing in on Forbidden Door but we have a holiday weekend to get through first. As a result, we get Christian Cage celebrating Father’s Day, which could go in a variety of directions. Other than that, CMLL Hechicero is here to face Dalton Castle, which could be rather good. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Christian Cage welcomes us to the one year anniversary of Collision. He put this show on the map the first week it was on the air when he won the TNT Title (not quite) and tonight he’s here to celebrate the most important holiday of the year.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Lio Rush/Rocky Romero/TMDK

Rush and Danielson start things off with Rush flipping around to make Danielson miss. Yuta can’t catch Rush either so it’s off to Romero, who gets pummeled into the corner. Castagnoli comes in and gets caught in a hurricanrana, allowing the tag to Mikey Nicholls (part of TMDK, along with Shane Haste). Danielson pulls him into the LeBell Lock but everything breaks down, including the hold. Instead, Danielson fires off the kicks to the chest but gets knocked to the apron as we take a break.

Back with Romero hitting the Forever Clotheslines on Danielson, who grabs a super atomic drop of all things for the break. Castagnoli comes in and gets to clean house, including going to the floor to keep up the beating. Back in and Nicholls has to break up the Swing to Haste so Moxley grabs a quick cutter. A double clothesline puts Moxley an Nicholls down, with Rush adding a frog splash for two on Moxley. Danielson is back in with the running knee to Nicholls but gets knocked outside again. The Swing sends Romero flying and Moxley Death Riders Rush for the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B-. What else were you expecting from an established team against a makeshift team? I get the idea of facing wrestlers from New Japan before Forbidden Door, but it would be nice if more than one of the eight people involved had a match on the show announced. Not a bad match, but it was more waiting around for the Club to win than anything else.

Post match Moxley grabs the mic and says Forbidden Door will be Tetsuya Naito’s final chance at the title. Moxley is coming to end him once and for all.

Video on MJF vs. Rush.

Here are the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a chat. Caster talks about how he has been fined $5,000 by the Young Bucks, but that isn’t what the fans want. The fans want to see them do their thing and for the Acclaimed to win the Tag Team Titles on Dynamite. Bowens talks about how they’ll do anything to get the titles back but here is Brandon Cutler to cut off the rap. More fining ensues but here is Christopher Daniels to say Tony Khan has reversed the fines. Daniels drops Cutler and the Acclaimed give him Scissor Me Timbers. We needed a full segment for that announcement? With two authority figures?

Deonna Purrazzo vs. Thunder Rosa

No DQ and Purrazzo jumps her from behind during the entrance. Rosa sends things outside and hits a dive off the ropes to the floor. Back up and Purrazzo slams the arm into the steps and it’s time to bring in the weapons. Rosa’s Death Valley Driver gets two but she takes too long getting a table, which is dropkicked into her face.

We take a break and come back with Rosa kicking a chair into Purrazzo’s face and Samoan dropping her onto an unopened table. Purrazzo catches Rosa on top and ties her in the Tree of Woe for a running shoulder. Rosa is right back up to put a trashcan over Purrazzo’s head and then dives off a table to crush her in the corner. Purrazzo fights back and tries the Venus de Milo but can’t quite get it on. Instead she goes outside and grabs a camera from a photographer, which she uses to knock Rosa silly. A double arm crank in the ropes finishes the unconscious Rosa at 10:26.

Rating: C+. If you’re going to have what seems to be some big blowoff match, or at least what should be a major match in their feud, you might not want to have about a third of it taking place during a break. I like the ending with Purrazzo knocking her senseless but then making sure she won submission anyway as it suits her and should give Purrazzo a nice boost. Rosa has been missing something since her return and it didn’t get much better here.

Video on the first year of Collision.

Dalton Castle vs. Hechicero

Castle even has the Outrunners as some of his Boys while Hechicero has the Gates of Agony. Hechicero takes Castle down to start but has to spin out of a quick Bang A Rang attempt. Back up and Castle grabs a suplex before kicking Hechicero square in the mask. Hechicero is right back with a running knee in the corner and a headscissors driver for the pin at 3:50.

Rating: C. What in the world was that? This was the match that had me the most intrigued and then it just ends like that? I was hoping this would get some time and let Castle showcase himself but we just didn’t get anything close here. For the life of me I don’t get how there isn’t a better use for Castle, even if it isn’t as a featured star. He’s good enough for a bigger spot.

Post match the beatdown is on so the Outrunners come in and…are taken down with ease. Daniel Garcia and Matt Menard run in with chairs for the save.

Dante Martin is ready for a TNT Title qualifying match against Lee Moriarty tonight. Lio Rush comes in to wish him luck and says he’ll see them later. Tony Schiavone is confused.

Here is the Patriarchy to introduce Christian Cage. Christian talks about how this is the anniversary of the death of Buddy Wayne (Nick’s dad), which is the best thing that ever happened to Nick. Speaking of Nick, he has a Father’s Day card for Christian, talking about how he hopes to be as good as Christian.

Killswitch has made a painting of Christian, which he thinks is ok, before raving about the card again. As for Killswitch, why can’t he be more like Nick? Killswitch goes to leave, but Christian calls him back. Cage wants the World Title but he’ll start with winning the Trios Titles. It’s his present to his children, just like Tony Khan’s father gave him the money to start AEW. Well from now on, this is Christian’s company. He is the greatest signing in this company’s history and now he is Tony Khan’s father. Well at least that’s something new for him to do.

The Bang Bang Gang know they have a lot of challengers and the Patriarchy can get in line.

TNT Title Qualifying Match: Dante Martin vs. Lee Moriarty

They trade takedown attempts to start and neither get anywhere. Moriarty takes him down by the leg but misses a charge and crashes out to the floor. There’s a dropkick through the ropes to drop Moriarty again and we take a break. Back with Martin hitting a springboard spinning crossbody for two but Moriarty faceplants him down. The Border City Stretch goes on and Moriarty even stomps the hand, only to have Martin make the rope anyway. Martin comes back with a knee out of the corner and a frog splash for the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C+. This was pretty much exactly what you probably expected it to be, meaning that while the action was good, the result wasn’t quite shocking. Martin has been in those ladder matches before as he’s there for the high flying aspect, while Moriarty is little more than part of a losing team. Perfectly fine use of a match, but not much in the way of drama.

Post match Shane Taylor Promotions comes in for the beatdown but Darius Martin and Action Andretti make the failed save attempt as they’re beaten down as well. Lio Rush comes in to make the real save as Dante seems to have suffered an arm injury.

Hikaru Shida is in the Owen Hart Cup.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Anthony Henry

Roderick Strong, with the Kingdom, is on commentary. They go to the mat to start with O’Reilly backdropping hits way out of an armbar. Henry grabs a Russian legsweep and kicks away, but O’Reilly just gets annoyed. Back up and O’Reilly suplexes him into the cross armbreaker for the win at 2:50.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Bang Bang Gang vs. House Of Black

Non-title, with commentary making it clear that the Bang Bang Gang is NOT using the Freebird Rule. Black runs Robinson over to start and then sits up to freak Robinson out a bit. Austin comes in, hits Black in the face, and then hands it off to Colten, who gets to face King. The Gang is quickly cleared from the ring but run back in to cut off the dive. The brawl goes back to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Robinson snapping off a suplex to Black, followed by a leg lariat for two. Robinson grabs the chinlock (“ASK HIM!”) but spends too much time shouting about a CANNONBALL before he misses one. Matthews comes in and gets to clean house, including a Jackhammer to Austin. The top rope Meteora connects but Matthews hurts his knee on the landing.

We take another break and come back with Matthews having been taken to the back. Robinson’s Cannonball gets two on King, who manages a shot of his own and brings Black back in. A German suplex gets two on Austin but Colten’s running shot to the back gets the same. The 3:10 To Yuma hits King but he isn’t legal. Cue Pac to distract Austin, allowing Black to hit the End for the pin at 18:24.

Rating: B-. Oh that knee did not seem like a good thing and now all we can do is wait and see how it is going. Matthews is one of the more entertaining guys in all of AEW and it would be terrible to see him added to their already long injured list. In theory the House is coming after the Trios Titles again, but now we’ll have to see just how bad things are. In other words, the result might not matter, which is a shame as it was a pretty good match.

Post match the Patriarchy pops up on screen, revealing that they have laid out Matthews with a Conchairto to end the show. That’s a really scary sign for Matthews, but I wonder if they had something similar planned with or without the knee injury.

Overall Rating: C+. That’s how Collision works. It’s a show where it feels like the biggest stars aren’t going to bother, leaving a bunch of things that don’t feel overly important. There are things happening, but what was the big development here? Purrazzo winning? Martin qualifying for a match he isn’t going to win? Between this and Rampage, it’s a lot of time being spent on things that don’t feel overly important, especially with Dynamite so crammed full. As usual, Collision was ok, but it’s not something you need to watch straight through.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Lio Rush/Rocky Romero/TMDK – Death Rider to Rush
Deonna Purrazzo b. Thunder Rosa – Double arm crank in the ropes
Hechicero b. Dalton Castle – Headscissors driver
Dante Martin b. Lee Moriarty – Frog splash
Kyle O’Reilly b. Anthony Henry – Cross armbreaker
House Of Black b. Bang Bang Gang – The End to Austin

 

 

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Double Or Nothing 2024 Preview

We’re back on pay per view and the card is looking like it could go in a variety of ways. AEW is promoting this as a triple main event with a rather interesting set of matches on top, though your taste in the recent storytelling efforts may vary. The good thing is AEW tends to focus on the in-ring wrestling with its pay per views and that tends to go rather well. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: Thunder Rosa vs. Deonna Purrazzo

This is a feud that has been built up in recent weeks and now we get to see what happens when they face off. Both of them could use a big win and they are going to be given the chance to make it happen here. Purrazzo has lost rather frequently but Rosa is the bigger star and a former Women’s Champion. That leaves you with a pair of viable options, which makes this more fun.

I’ll go with Rosa to win here, as she is the bigger star and could easily be moved into either Women’s Title picture. Rosa has been driven nuts by Purrazzo in recent weeks and it should be time to see her get revenge. Purrazzo is not exactly in the best place either, and while I would like to see her win, it makes more sense for Rosa to win here, as she has more potential to jump up the ladder.

Buy-In: Billy Gunn/Acclaimed vs. Brian Cage/Gates Of Agony

Here we have a match between two groups who are in rather different places. Gunn and the Acclaimed lost the Trios Titles not that long ago but they could not feel colder if they were actively trying. They have nothing going on and it’s hard to fathom them getting back to the top of the mountain anytime soon. At the same time, Cage and the Gates aren’t doing much better, but that is pretty normal for them.

This almost has to be Cage and the Gates here, as they just recently split from Swerve Strickland and need to get a win to make themselves feel less worthless. Gunn and the Acclaimed probably need the win more, but I don’t think I can picture it happening. At some point the Acclaimed need to find something to do away from Gunn and hanging another loss on them might make them go in the right direction.

Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita

This is non-title but if Takeshita wins, he gets a future IWGP World Title shot. The whole thing is taking place because of international wrestling politics, which makes it quite the mess, but maybe they can tie it into Forbidden Door. For now though, we should be in for a heck of a fight, as Moxley will brawl with anyone and Takeshita is always a treat to watch no matter what he is doing.

Since it’s Takeshita in a high profile match, I’ll go with Moxley winning, making the stipulation an even bigger waste of time. Maybe Don Callis helps Takeshita win, but at the end of the day, AEW likes having Takeshita look great on the way to big matches, put on a heck of a performance, and then come up short. This should be a good one though, and hopefully they get the chance to show just how good Takeshita is. Before he loses.

Trent Beretta vs. Orange Cassidy

This is a rematch from a few weeks ago where Cassidy won the first match against his big rival/ex-friend. That should mean we’re in for a more violent match, but in this case we’re not seeing any kind of special stipulation. Cassidy has an extra reason to go after Beretta following the attack on Chuck Taylor, but right now he isn’t exactly getting a big chance to get revenge.

I’ll go with Beretta winning here, as there is pretty much nothing left for him to do at the moment if he loses. Beretta has been built up as a pretty impressive heel as he went after one of the most popular stars on the roster. That being said, I’m not sure I can imagine Cassidy losing, even if it makes more sense for it to happen. I’ll stick with Beretta here, though him losing wouldn’t surprise me at all.

International Title: Roderick Strong(c) vs. Will Ospreay

This is one of the weirder matches on the show, as you do not often see the champion feeling like such a huge underdog. Ospreay has been presented as an ace since the day he debuted for the company and there is no reason to believe that doesn’t continue. Strong is the best thing about the Undisputed Kingdom, but I’m really not sure how much that means.

Give me Ospreay to win here, as I’ll go with what makes the most sense. I’m not sure I can imagine Ospreay losing so soon, as there is a very good chance that he is going to wind up in a top match at All In later this year. While the title is beneath what Ospreay has been doing lately, maybe he can elevate it up a bit. Ospreay wins here, as he is a few miles ahead of what Strong is doing.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland(c) vs. Malakai Black

Their feud is about the title, a weird obsession with being creepy, and Black stealing Copeland’s wedding ring. In addition to all of that, the match is going to be in a barbed wire steel cage, because we’re going to be seeing something rather violent and insane. Or it winds up being a huge disappointment, which is a tendency with big gimmick matches around AEW.

I’ll take Black winning here, as he needs to do something other than lose over and over. His team has been wrecked over and over by Copeland but giving him the win and the title should help things out quite a bit. It should be a violent match, but maybe Kyle O’Reilly comes in to cost Copeland the title for some reason or something like that. Either way, Black needs the win here more than Copeland, though it should be a violent war no matter what.

Trios Titles: Bang Bang Gang(c) vs. Death Triangle

It’s nice to see actual teams competing for the titles, as there are only so many viable options to come after them. While Death Triangle feels like a relic of the past, they do at least look like a heck of a threat to come after the titles. This has the potential to be a heck of a fight, and if they go completely insane, it will have a chance to steal a lot of the rather large show.

I’m thinking the Gang retains, as there is little reason to suggest that Death Triangle will stick around. The three of them are often leaving in one way or another and it would be a bit of a stretch to put the titles on them. The Gang doesn’t have much else going on, but seeing them carry that many belts around is kind of amusing. The champions retain here, and hopefully they do it in an awesome fight.

FTW Title: Chris Jericho(c) vs. Hook vs. Katsuyori Shibata

This is one of the more controversial stories in AEW at the moment, as Jericho is doing a weird condescending heel deal where he tries to be all nice but the fans are sick of him because it isn’t that good. He is also taking credit for everyone’s success, including Hook and Shibata. That makes for a rather odd match but here we are anyway, with the title on the line.

I’ll go with what makes sense in such a triple threat and say Jericho retains, likely after one of the other two does all the work for the finish but Jericho steals it. That would be the logical way to go for what he has been doing lately, but I’m not sure how well it will be received. Jericho is trying something new at the moment but that really doesn’t mean he is making it work. It should be enough to retain here though.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Serena Deeb

I’m not sure I can explain what Storm is doing at the moment, but she seems to be feuding or dealing with Mina Shirakawa, Mariah May and Deeb all at once. This feud seems to be the most personal of the three, as Deeb has attacked Storm’s knee, with Storm promising revenge. The quality of the match is going to depend on how serious Storm takes this, which could go in a bunch of ways.

As messy as Storm’s situation is, I’m not sure I can imagine her losing here so we’ll say she retains. Storm has a lot going on at the moment and while Deeb can wrestle a good match with anyone, I can’t picture her winning the title. Looking at everything else Storm has been doing, it is clear that she has a lot going on and I don’t think she is going to lose the title before she gets there.

TBS Title: Willow Nightingale(c) vs. Mercedes Mone

Here we have the first of the three main events and while it might not seem like the biggest match, it has definitely been treated incredibly seriously. That being said, your mileage may on how Mone has been doing as she has only been so interesting since showing up. Maybe she can knock it out of the park here, but I’ve only been somewhat interested in what she has been doing since debut.

I’ll likely regret this one but I’ll actually take Nightingale to win here. She’s the one the fans want to see right now and while AEW loves itself some heels, it would feel like a horrible idea to take the title off of Nightingale. I’m sure Mone is going to get the title sooner than later as AEW has poured a lot of money into her, but having her come in and take the title in her first match would not feel right. I’ll take Nightingale in a pick I’m pretty sure is going to be wrong.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Christian Cage

Strickland is the star that the AEW fans chose and yet he might be the third biggest story in the company right now. It’s a shame as he could be in for a great story, but instead we’re getting Cage seeking revenge for Strickland attacking Nick Wayne a year ago. That might be logical, but it doesn’t exactly make for the most thrilling situation. Strickland gave Cage a good beatdown on Dynamite, though we need something a bit better to make it work.

There is almost no reason to believe Cage is winning here, as he seems much more of a person there to give Strickland a nice win. That is a perfectly fine way to go, though Strickland is only going to be able to get so much when he is so far from the top of the company. Hopefully that changes after this, but for now it should be Strickland retaining in a good match.

Elite vs. Team AEW

Whether it goes on last or not, this is absolutely the main event of the show. It’s Anarchy In The Arena, which should be a wild brawl all over the place. The big story here would seem to be the return of Tony Khan, who popped up in a car on Dynamite to bring Darby Allin, and a flamethrower, to the show. That’s certainly a way to go and it has me worried about what we’ll see.

While there is a very good case for this being the end of the evil Young Bucks, I’ll take the Elite to win and continue their dominance. What scares me the most is the idea of Khan joining the team in some weird Vince McMahon/Eric Bischoff deal, but if that doesn’t happen and Khan is back, I’m not sure why it should continue anyway. Either way, the Elite win and I’ll be scared about how it happens.

Overall Thoughts

There is potential here for this to be a really good show. While the storylines have been hit or miss as of late, AEW has an incredibly talented roster who can pull off some near miracles. If they are able to do that here then we should be in for a strong night, but they are going to have to nail quite a few things, especially near the top of the card. That main event could go in a few different ways though and odds are that is what will get the focus after the night is over.

 

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

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AND

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