Rampage
Date: November 11, 2022
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

Well there’s no Mike Tyson this week so we’re already on a downgrade. The Full Gear Tournament continues this week and that means we’ll be getting to see what they have planned for the next round. Other than that, Jungle Boy is here for a challenge to Luchasaurus, which he announced on Dynamite instead of just making the challenge there for whatever reason. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus to answer Jungle Boy’s challenge, which he wants to give in person. Cue Jungle Boy, who Christian thinks must be from Boston because he’s such a loser. Christian talks about how the two of them have beaten Jungle Boy multiple times and Jungle Boy says they have cost him everything. He is tired of the interference so at Full Gear, he’ll fight Luchasaurus inside a steel cage.

Christian says but Jungle Boy better be glad that he has his father’s good looks. That’s enough for Jungle Boy to go for the throat, so Luchasaurus beats him down and hits a chokeslam onto an open chair. The match seems to be on. Kind of a weird way to start the show but I’ll take it over rushing right to a bell for a match.

Pac pitches the idea of cheating to the Lucha Bros because they need to keep the Trios Titles by any means necessary. The Bros leave but don’t seem sold on the philosophy.

Full Gear Contenders Tournament First Round: Brian Cage vs. Dante Martin

Cage has Prince Nana with him. Martin slugs away in the corner to start which goes as well as you might have guessed. Some jumping enziguris stagger Cage but he is fine enough to pull a diving Martin out of the air. The curls don’t quite work for Cage so Martin kicks at the leg. A dropkick sends Cage outside, where he catches Martin’s dive and hits a suplex as we take a break.

Back with Cage hitting a tilt-a-whirl slam for two but the F10 is countered into a DDT to put them both down. Martin’s springboard high crossbody drops Cage again and a missed charge sends Cage to the floor. The really big springboard dive hits Cage again, setting up a frog splash for two. A 450 misses though and Cage plants him with a swinging full nelson slam for two of his own. Weapon X is enough to finish Martin at 7:18.

Rating: C+. The match had enough big spots, but you can almost feel Cage trying to get in the moves off his checklist most of the time he’s in the ring. Martin losing is becoming a repetitive theme and while it would be nice to see him get a win over someone like Cage, there was no way he was going anywhere of note in the tournament. It was a fun match though and that’s all you can ask for in a lot of situations.

Stokely Hathaway and Lee Moriarty are interrupted by Hook, seemingly setting up an FTW Title match.

Video on the House Of Black, who seem ready for a rebirth/return.

Full Gear Contenders Tournament First Round: Bandido vs. Rush

Jose the Assistant is here with Rush, who takes Bandido down with a running flip dive before the bell. Rush sends him into the barricade again and grabs a cable cord before throwing Bandido inside for the opening bell. A running corner clothesline sets up the kick to the face, allowing Rush to backflip into the Tranquilo pose. We take a break and come back with Bandido hitting a Low Down for two (and yes, the Eddie Dance). Three Amigos are broken up so Rush goes up for…kind of a flying pump kick, which seemed to have been improvised off something gone wrong (still worked so well done on the save).

Bandido fights up and starts the comeback, only to charge into a leg lariat for the double knockdown. Rush is up first with a piledriver for two so let’s go with a chair. The distraction lets Jose go for the mask but cue John Silver (having issues with Rush as of late) for the save. That’s enough for Bandido to grab a rollup for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: B-. Another good match here, though the ending was a little lame by AEW standards. Bandido going forward is the right call as he has the potential to be quite the star and Rush is already dealing with the Dark Order. They work well together and it was a match that could have gone either way, which had me interested to the end. Solid stuff.

Earlier today, Jake Hager interrupted Claudio Castagnoli and tried to bury the hatchet but Castagnoli didn’t seem interested in jumping to the other side.

Nyla Rose vs. Kayla Sparks

Rose has Vickie Guerrero and Marina Shafir with her and is defending the TBS Title, which isn’t hers. A pump kick and elbow in the corner sets up Jaded to finish Sparks (complete with Jade Cargill’s signature pin) at 38 seconds.

Post match cue Jade Cargill and the Baddies to clear out Rose with the real pump kick. Rose and company still escape with the title.

The Factory is ready for Lee Johnson to win the All-Atlantic Title. Orange Cassidy and his friends don’t seem to think so. Cassidy whips out his own microphone to steal Mark Henry’s catchphrase in a funny bit but Henry cuts him off.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming show.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Lee Johnson

Cassidy is defending. They run the ropes to start until Cassidy shoulders him down for an early one. An armdrag drops Johnson, who misses an armdrag of his own, allowing Cassidy to hit the lazy kicks. A regular dropkick takes Kole Carter off the apron and Cassidy sends him into a variety of buckles. The Best Friends cut off QT Marshall but Nick Comoroto throws Cassidy into the crowd.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy backdropping Johnson onto Comoroto on the floor. Cassidy busts out a springboard corkscrew dive but gets caught with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two back inside. Johnson throws Cassidy outside where Comoroto tries to interfere, only to get speared down by Trent. Chuck adds a big running flip dive, leaving Cassidy to miss the Orange Punch back inside. Some superkicks rock Cassidy but he’s right back with the Beach Break to retain at 7:53.

Rating: C+. It’s still nice to see AEW having figured out the exact right way to use Cassidy. This was a fun main event with low stakes for pretty much everyone involved, but Johnson and Cassidy were fighting over something and that made it feel valuable. They were working and got some other people involved to make it feel important. It’s a hard trick to pull off but it worked here.

Post match Carter goes after Cassidy and gets Orange Punched. The Big Hug….doesn’t end the show as Carter gets hugged as well. Then he gets triple bombed to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The tournament matches helped a good bit here as they felt more important than most of the things that you see on Rampage. The show still feels firmly secondary, but it’s still a very easy hour to watch with the AEW stars. Dynamite is the serious show and this is the fun one, and if you don’t expect it to be the third hour of Dynamite, it’s fun to check out almost every week.

Results
Brian Cage b. Dante Martin – Weapon X
Bandido b. Rush – Rollup
Nyla Rose b. Kayla Sparks – Jaded
Orange Cassidy b. Lee Johnson – Beach Break

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Dynamite
Date: October 26, 2022
Location: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’re well on our way to Full Gear and now it seems that we have a World Title main event. Last week saw MJF announce that he will be cashing in his chip at Full Gear, though the question is who he will be challenging. This week, AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will be defending against Penta El Cero Miedo. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Chris Jericho/Daniel Garcia vs. Wheeler Yuta/Claudio Castagnoli

The rest of the Jericho Appreciation Society is here too. Castagnoli takes Jericho down to start before handing it off to Yuta to armbar Garcia. Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s Garcia being sent into the post on the floor. A Hager distraction lets Jericho get in a cheap shot to Castagnoli though and we take a break.

Back with Castagnoli fighting out of a chinlock but Jericho knocks Yuta off the apron. Castagnoli knocks Jericho away and brings in Yuta as everything breaks down. Jericho Codebreakers Castagnoli out of the air for two but Yuta sends Garcia outside for a big flip dive onto the villains. Back in and Jericho grabs the bat but gets powerbombed. Garcia tries to break up the Swing but Castagnoli puts him in an airplane spin as he swings Jericho at the same time. The Neutralizer finishes Jericho at 11:40.

Rating: B. This was more about getting Castagnoli back in the swing of things as he gets one of the bigger wins he could have. It was also nice to see Garcia vs. Yuta again as having another big match between them would make sense. For now though, Castagnoli gets the pin and we could be in for another Jericho showdown down the line.

Bryan Danielson talks about being frustrated by everything that has been going on as of late, including Wheeler Yuta talking back to him last week. Yuta and Castagnoli come in, with the former saying it’s about time that Danielson got fired up. Yuta isn’t Danielson’s kid and doesn’t like being talked down to, earning himself a shove. Castagnoli and William Regal have to break it up.

We get a video on the Elite, showing them being erased from some of their moments in history. I can only assume this means the team is coming back, meaning I have some head shaking to do.

Chris Jericho isn’t happy with what happened and issues an open challenge for any former Ring Of Honor champion (seemingly any title is eligible) to come face him. I believe at least, as the audio was messed up.

Swerve In Our Glory vs. FTR

For a future Tag Team Title shot so the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn come out to watch while the Gunn Club is at ringside. Harwood and Swerve start things off with Swerve being wrestled down. Wheeler comes in for a headlock before handing it back to Harwood. A shot to the ribs slows him down so Lee can come in and block the Big Rig. Lee runs both of them over and we take a break.

Back with Wheeler kicking Lee in the face and handing it back to Harwood. Swerve seems to slip off the ropes and Harwood counters a middle rope high crossbody. A dragon suplex gives Wheeler two on Swerve but it’s back to Lee to crush Wheeler for two more. Harwood slingshot powerbombs swerve and Lee headbutts Wheeler for another near fall.

Back up and Harwood somehow manages to superplex Lee, with Wheeler turning it into a PowerPlex for two of his own. A rollup out of the corner gives Harwood two but Swerve hits Harwood low. The Gunn Club cuts off Wheeler and it’s the Big Bang Catastrophe to finish Harwood at 15:00.

Rating: B-. Another solid one here but it’s hard to get my head around the idea of FTR getting to fight the Gunn Club rather than for the titles. Acclaimed vs. Swerve/Lee is a feud that is set up but I don’t know if Swerve/Lee need to go over FTR (albeit with some interference) to get there. FTR is starting to not feel as special after mostly spinning their wheels for months, and if that continues, that is quite the shame.

Saraya is in the back when Britt Baker interrupts. Renee Paquette isn’t letting them fight because if they want to talk, they can do it as they are supposed to.

Here is MJF for a chat with Jon Moxley’s wife Renee Paquette. She asks what happens if MJF faces Moxley at Full Gear, sending MJF into a rather funny Moxley impression, complete with aggressive walk and discussion of breaking bones. MJF talks about how Moxley is mid, with all due respect. Renee: “Max you can’t just say “with all due respect” and then say something mean.” Max: “Renee with all due respect, shut your mouth.”

MJF is going to wrestle the main event of Full Gear….mostly clean. MJF: “I am MJF after all.” He will however promise not to use the Dynamite Diamond ring at Full Gear. At Full Gear, he isn’t fighting Regal but rather everyone who says he couldn’t do it. Cue Stokely Hathaway, but MJF slaps the microphone away from him. MJF doesn’t want the Firm’s help at Full Gear, so stay away or get fired. He’s MJF (and he has a lot of catchphrases). The slow push towards MJF’s face turn continues but I’m not sure I can imagine them pulling the trigger so easily.

The Kingdom is ready for Samoa Joe and Wardlow, with Matt Taven wanting the TNT Title. Works for Wardlow.

Sammy Guevara vs. Bryan Danielson

Tay Melo is here with Guevara. Danielson goes right after him to start but gets dropped with a shot to the face. The springboard cutter lets Guevara set up an early failed GTH attempt. Danielson ties up the legs for the surfboard before firing off the kicks to the chest in the corner. Some ripping at the hand set up a butterfly suplex into a cross armbreaker.

Guevara slips outside to avoid the stomps and manages to knee a diving Danielson out of the air. We take a break and come back with Danielson kicking the heck out of Guevara. Danielson sends him to the floor, then takes it back inside for a missile dropkick. Guevara is able to flip out of a belly to back superplex but a standing moonsault is pulled into the LeBell Lock.

Guevara makes the rope so Danielson goes up top, only to get pulled down with a super Spanish Fly. Danielson is back with a shot of his own and the running knee, but Danielson would rather stomp away than cover. The hammer and elbows and a triangle choke finish Guevara at 14:47.

Rating: B-. This was all about getting Danielson back on track after having some bad results. That is the right idea, as Danielson can instantly be reheated by having one of his good matches while making it look easy. If nothing else, this should cool down some of the heat in the Blackpool Combat Club, even though it is starting to get interesting.

Rey Fenix is ready for Penta El Cero Miedo to become the new World Champion. If that’s the case, Fenix should become the next All-Atlantic Champion. Christian Cage and Luchasaurus come in with the latter deserving the next title shot. Orange Cassidy comes in and says let’s do this next week.

Jamie Hayter vs. Riho

Britt Baker and Rebel are here with Hayter. Riho gets powered down to start but manages to send her outside for a heck of a dive. Back in and Hayter grabs a quick suplex and we take a break. We come back with Riho getting to the top for a high crossbody but Hayter rolls through into a suplex for two more.

Riho snaps off a middle rope hurricanrana for another near fall and a Code Red gets the same. A snapdragon suplex gives Riho two more but Hayter is back up with a boot to the face to take over again. Back up and the ripcord lariat knocks Riho silly for the pin at 10:52.

Rating: C+. The more I see of Hayter, the more I’m hoping that AEW does something with her. The women’s division could use someone moving up the ladder and Hayter would be a nice choice to move up. I could see that working well and it would be nice to see them do something with the Baker/Hayter tension already.

Post match Toni Storm comes out for a staredown with the villains.

Eddie Kingston, very sincerely, says he’s great and having a blast with controlling his temper. He has Pentagon in tonight’s main event.

Here’s what’s coming on various upcoming shows.

Darby Allin says Sting hasn’t been here for a bit because Allin said he hasn’t been happy in a bit. He wants to prove himself by himself.

Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt tell Darby Allin to be careful what he wishes for because he might just get it.

AEW World Title: Penta El Cero Miedo vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending and Alex Abrahantes is here with Pentagon. They stare each other down to start and then slug it out. Penta busts out CERO MIEDO and gets a double middle finger in exchange. Moxley is sent outside and taken down again as we take an early break. Back with Penta hitting a Sling Blade but getting caught with a jumping cutter.

Moxley’s piledriver gets two but a Crossface sends Moxley over to the rope. Moxley stomps on the head but gets reversed into the arm snap. They head outside where Moxley’s arm is fine enough to plant Pentagon with a DDT onto the steps. Back in and Moxley hits a pair of Death Riders to retain the title at 12:15.

Rating: B. Penta is one of the most unique stars in all of AEW as he feels like he could be a top star but for some reason it never seems to come close to happening. He has the charisma and star power to him and the idea of him getting a title shot against Moxley had me curious. Instead, he was just another victim for Moxley after getting in his usual stuff. Good match, but not exactly a classic.

Post match the Firm comes in to beat Moxley down with an angry Stokely Hathaway coming out as well. Security runs in and is easily dispatched as we see the Blackpool Combat Club locker room chained shut (nice job of closing a logic hole). MJF finally comes to the stage and looks conflicted over making the save or not. He comes to the ring and shoves the Firm away (doesn’t hit them though) and fires the team.

That earns him a shot to the face from Ethan Page and MJF gets beaten down. The beating heads to the floor, where W. Morrissey chokeslams MJF through a table to end the show. They’re doing everything right to make MJF look like a good guy but I don’t know if I can imagine the trigger actually being pulled on a full fledged face turn.

Overall Rating: B+. I had more fun with this show as it felt like things moved forward a bit more. Full Gear is starting to come together and the show should be a pretty solid event if they keep moving things forward. Throw in two hours of good to rather good matches and this was a strong show. AEW seems to have settled back into their old style and that is a great thing to see. Now please just don’t have the Elite come back in and mess things up.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli/Wheeler Yuta b. Chris Jericho/Daniel Garcia – Neutralizer to Jericho
Swerve In Our Glory b. FTR – Big Bang Catastrophe to Harwood
Bryan Danielson b. Sammy Guevara – Triangle choke
Jamie Hayter b. Riho – Ripcord lariat
Jon Moxley b. Penta El Cero Miedo – Death Rider

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

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Dynamite
Date: October 12, 2022
Location: Coca-Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’re up north this week and out of the United States (at least on land) for the first time. The main events feature a grand total of one American as we have Bryan Danielson challenging Chris Jericho for the Ring Of Honor World Title and Pac defending the All-Atlantic Title against Orange Cassidy. Let’s get to it.

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

We start hings off with the debut of the newest member of the broadcast team: Renee Paquette (Young). That’s a good addition to the team, as long as she stays out of the broadcast booth. She brings out Christian Cage, who insults Toronto and then brings in Luchasaurus.

Jungle Boy vs. Luchasaurus

Christian Cage is on commentary. Jungle Boy goes after him to start but gets powered into the corner. The uppercut off the top sends Luchasaurus to the floor and it’s already time for a table. Jungle Boy is in big trouble as the table is set up outside and we take a break. Back with Luchasaurus missing a charge and going into the post, meaning he staggers up to the apron. The running sunset bomb sends Luchasaurus through the table, which is enough for Christian to come down to the ring.

Jungle Boy works on the arm some more, including wrapping it around the ropes. That’s fine with Luchasaurus, who hits a left handed chokeslam for two. Some shots to the head get Jungle Boy out of trouble and a crucifix bomb gets two more. A Killswitch gives Jungle Boy another near fall but the Snare Trap is broken up. Jungle Boy goes to the top but a Christian distraction lets Luchasaurus get slammed off the top. The Cutthroat Driver finishes Jungle Boy at 14:04.

Rating: C+. It was a hard hitting fight and Jungle Boy losing is questionable, but there is one thing that caught my attention here. What was the point of the table spot? It was in the middle of the match, Luchasaurus barely sold it and it changed almost nothing. If that’s all you’re going to do with it, why even include it? If you need a table spot to pop the crowd, work out a better match.

The Firm and Matt hardy/Private Party get into it in the back. The Hardy vs. Ethan Page match is set for Rampage, with Private Party’s freedom on the line. If Matt wins they’re gone, but if Matt loses, Private Party and Matt are in the Firm. Why would you want Matt Hardy on your team?

Samoa Joe/Wardlow vs. The Factory

It’s a brawl to start until we settle down to Joe walking away from Solo’s dive. Wardlow slams Comoroto down and it’s a Swanton to make it worse. Joe chokes Comoroto out at 2:24.

Post match QT Marshall gets a Powerbomb Symphony but here is the Embassy to surround the ring. Brian Cage mocks FTR for not being here but here is FTR to interrupt. They would like a six man tag on Rampage and bring out Toronto’s own Shawn Spears as their partner.

The Jericho Appreciation Society is ready for Bryan Danielson for what he made them do to Daniel Garcia.

Billy Gunn vs. Swerve Strickland

The Acclaimed is here with Gunn and Castor’s rap makes a variety of Canadian references. Billy takes him down to start and teases the old lowering of the trunks, only to get kicked down to the floor. We take a break and come back with Billy making a comeback but Swerve takes him down and goes up top, where he mocks the scissoring. The Swerve Stomp gets two before Swerve grabs a rollup (with ropes) for the pin at 8:47.

Rating: C. It was a decent match with Swerve getting the win like he should have. Gunn is part of a popular act but even AEW is smart enough to not have him get a win over someone like Swerve at this point. The match was short enough due to the break, but they got the ending right (save for maybe Swerve getting two off them Stomp, which probably should have been the pin).

Post match Mark Sterling comes out to announce that he has trademarked the SCISSOR ME catchphrase so anytime they use it, he gets the money. Oh and he’ll sue if they do the gesture too.

MJF is asked about almost shaking hands with Wheeler Yuta last week but gets interrupted by Stokely Hathaway. That’s not cool with MJF, who calls it strike two. With Stokely gone, MJF says he isn’t sure if he was going to shake Yuta’s hand or not because he learned a long time ago that the nice guys finish last.

No one knows what it is like to be him because he is expected to be the bad guy. He has broken his hand several times punching his reflection but make no mistake about it: he will be World Champion because he is a generational talent, a man with the chip and the man with a plan. This was a money promo, almost as always from MJF.

Here is Jon Moxley for a chat. He has been World Champion for a big chunk of AEW’s history and that means a lot is expect of him. Some people become World Champion and crumble under the pressure, some faster than others (that sounded like a shot at Punk). That brings him to Hangman Page, so here he is for a chat. They get in each other’s face and Moxley doesn’t think Page has it anymore. It’s not the same Page that shoved him off a 20 foot ladder last year.

Page says he’s right because a lot of things has changed, including his old friends disappearing (cut to MJF in the sky box saying “serves them right”. He has been beaten down and he has been choked blue and beaten while he is unconscious. He is also a former World Champion and doesn’t care who is there next week, but Page is going to come for the title. Next week, he’s proving that he’s a man. The fact that Page punched himself to the point of bleeding made that a bit better. Heck of a promo here from Page, even if there is little chance that he’s winning next week.

Video on Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson

Jericho is defending and it’s Lionheart again this week, so Judas is cut off. They strike it off to start and the fans sing Judas anyway. Danielson chops away but Jericho is right back with a hurricanrana, meaning the posing can take us to a break. Back with Jericho dropkicking him to the floor and hitting a slingshot dive to drop Danielson again.

Jericho shrugs that off and comes back with the LeBell Lock. That’s broken up so Jericho tries the Walls, only to get broken up without much trouble. Danielson gets his own Walls but Jericho reverses into a small package for two. With that broken up, Danielson fires off hammer and anvil elbows but Jericho is back up with an AA of all things for two.

Back up and they miss shots to the head but the referee gets bumped. A double clothesline puts them both down and it’s Daniel Garcia coming down. Danielson hits the running knee but Garcia belts him down (to a rather strong positive reaction) to give Jericho the retain pin at 14:31.

Rating: B. The ending was rather WWE and of course it’s more As The Garcia Turns drama but Danielson vs. Jericho in a nearly fifteen minute match is going to be rather good no matter what. Danielson losing another big match is a bit much to take, but he has shown time and time again that he can bounce back like no others. Good match, which shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise.

Jericho and Garcia leave in peace.

The Vicious Vixens are happy with Nyla Rose having stolen the TNT Title. Anna Jay comes in and gets a match with Rose on Rampage.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm

Rebel is here with the villains. Toni kicks Hayter down to start but gets taken into the wrong corner. The arm is sent into the post and we take a break. Back with Shida hitting a top rope Meteora for two on Baker as everything breaks down. Storm hits a tornado DDT and Storm Zero drops Baker. Hayter drives Storm into the cover for the save so Shida suplexes Baker and rolls her up for the pin at 8:15.

Rating: C+. This was another fast paced women’s tag match and Shida seems to be getting at least something of a renewed push. I don’t know how far that is going to take her but at least she is getting to do something. I’m not sure what that means for Storm who is still just kind of there, but at least the match was pretty good.

Butcher and the Blade are ready for Claudio Castagnoli and Jon Moxley on Rampage.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Pac

Pac is defending and kicks Cassidy down to start. Then Pac mocks the lazy kick, earning him a hard dropkick from Cassidy. That’s enough to send Pac outside, where he counters the suicide dive into a brainbuster on the floor. We take a break and come back with Cassidy diving back under the ropes after a Tombstone on the ramp during the break. Back in the Brutalizer goes on, sending Cassidy’s feet into the ropes.

Cassidy hits a running DDT and the Orange Punch gets two. Pac grabs a quick suplex though and the Brutalizer goes on again. This time Cassidy rolls over and makes the rope again so Pac goes outside to grab the title belt. Cue Danhausen to stop him though, meaning IT’S TIME FOR A CURSE! Pac drops him with a right hand and grabs the ring hammer bell. Cassidy knocks it out of his hand and hits the Orange Punch, followed by a second for the pin and the title at 11:08.

Rating: B. This was a good fight, but above all else, it was a well built moment. The All-Atlantic Title doesn’t mean much of anything and is mainly there to represent AEW outside of the United States. That doesn’t make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, but it means a lot for Cassidy to win it. This was his big moment and in that sense, it was a heck of a success.

Overall Rating: B+. Good action, they hyped up next week’s title match, gave us a big moment in the end and had nothing bad all night. This was a rather strong Dynamite and it absolutely flew by, with Renee being a great bonus to kick things off. I’m looking forward to where a lot of this is is going and it felt like a return to the formula that made AEW work in the first place. Nice job and I’d like to see more of this.

Results
Luchasaurus b. Jungle Boy – Cutthroat Driver
Samoa Joe/Wardlow b. The Factory – Koquina Clutch to Comorato
Swerve Strickland b. Billy Gunn – Rollup while grabbing the rope
Chris Jericho b. Bryan Danielson – Belt shot from Daniel Garcia
Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm b. Britt Baker/Jamie Hatyer – Rollup to Baker
Orange Cassidy b. Pac – Orange Punch

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

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All Out 2022
Date: September 4, 2022
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

It’s time for the big night and in this show’s case, that means really big, as we have a whopping fifteen matches on the card. That alone is going to make this a busy night, but the question becomes what happens in the main event. CM Punk is challenging Jon Moxley despite having a bad foot as of last week. This could go in a few ways, and I’m not sure how well it is going to wind up. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: AAA Mixed Tag Team Titles: Sammy Guevara/Tay Melo vs. Ruby Soho/Ortiz

Sammy and Tay are defending and get jumped during their entrance at the Red Carpet. Soho and Ortiz chase them down with a golf cart and beat them into the ring, where we officially start with Sammy and Tay in street clothes. I have no idea what street, but they’re street clothes. Sammy gets kicked in the face to start and is busted open but manages a shot of his own.

Tay comes in and kisses a downed Soho on the cheek before putting Soho on top. The guys come in so Sammy launches Tay at Ortiz for a Canadian Destroyer. A Swanton gives Sammy two but Soho missile dropkicks Melo and lands on Sammy in the process. Cue Anna Jay for a failed save attempt, leaving Soho to hit No Future and Ortiz to hit a clothesline for stereo near falls. Back up and Melo catches Soho on top for a superplex onto the guys on the floor. They head back inside where the TayKO finishes Soho to retain the titles at 6:04.

Rating: C. So now Tay gets jumped before the match, wrestles in street clothes, and still pins Soho? At what point should she just move on to a trade school? The match was the usual collection of rapid fire spots as we have now seen this match three times in ten days. That is more than enough but hopefully everyone can move on from this feud, as it has been rather overdone in short order.

Zero Hour: FTW World Title: Hook vs. Angelo Parker

Hook is defending and Matt Menard is here with Parker. Hook takes him down to start but gets poked in the eye, allowing Parker to send him throat first into the ropes. Parker: “I’M EXPOSING HOOK!” That earns him a shot to the face but Menard grabs the foot for a distraction. Granted it doesn’t matter as Hook throws him down and an exploder suplex. Another suplex drops Parker again and Redrum makes him tap at 3:38.

Rating: C. They kept this short, as tends to be the case for Hook matches. As usual, it’s the idea of getting him in and out before anything can go badly, which is the right way to go for him. I’m sure Hook will get to beat up Menard next before moving on to whatever his next goofy match is, as it isn’t like this title matches whatsoever.

Post match Menard runs in to jump Hook but Action Bronson, who performs Hook’s music, comes in for the save.

Zero Hour: All-Atlantic Title: Kip Sabian vs. Pac

Sabian, with the box on his head, is challenging and yeah I still have no idea what the deal is supposed to be with that thing. Pac starts fast and kicks away at Sabian but it’s too early for the Black Arrow. Sabian gets shoved off the top but is right back with a springboard kick to the head.

That’s enough to knock Pac outside, setting up a springboard moonsault to drop him again. Pac is fine enough to hit a suplex on the floor and they head back in for some kicks to the unboxed head. A pop up knee to the head sets up a dragon suplex for two on Pac but he snaps off a German suplex for the double knockdown. The Black Arrow is loaded up again but Sabian rolls away before it can launch. Pac chokes him down again and stomps away, setting up the Red Arrow for the pin to retain at 10:20.

Rating: C+. I for one totally get why we waited six months to set this up with Sabian sitting in the crowd without being acknowledged in any way. Pac winning and getting this over with is the right way to go because there wasn’t much to the story anyway, and I’d much rather not have to figure out what the point of Sabin was supposed to be. Nice enough match as Pac was there, but Sabian is still his old self.

Post match Pac says he needs a new challenger so here is Orange Cassidy. Pac: “NO!” Cassidy is a joke instead of a wrestler and he can get to the back of the line.

Sabian yells at his box hat.

Zero Hour: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Eddie Kingston

Rematch from a New Japan match earlier this year, with Ishii winning. The chop it out to no avail to start with Ishii getting the better of things until Kingston drops him with a hard clothesline. Back up and Ishii unloads on him in the corner with Kingston being knocked down for a change. Kingston can’t hit a belly to back suplex so Ishii hits a vertical suplex but they’re both banged up.

Ishii misses a charge in the corner so Kingston hits, you guessed it, more chops. A DDT plants Ishii and a sliding forearm gives Kingston two. Ishii gets up and is more serious so he stands there while Kingston chops him. A kick to the back frustrates Kingston for a change so this time they slap it out.

Kingston hurts his shoulder on a suplex attempt and Ishii is back with a German suplex. One heck of a clothesline staggers (but doesn’t drop) Kingston so they hit each other for a double knockdown. Back up and Kingston hits a hard lariat for two before Ishii runs him over for the same. Ishii’s brainbuster is blocked and Kingston hits the spinning backfist for a VERY near fall. Another spinning backfist is shrugged off and Kingston grabs a northern lights bomb for the pin at 13:28.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of a match that might not be everyone’s taste and that was the case for me as well. The chopping part was more than a bit repetitive but eventually they started beating the fire out of each other and that made up for a lot of it. Kingston winning the match made sense, but there is only so much that you can get out of these two hitting each other with such similar stuff over and over.

Casino Ladder Match

Rey Fenix and Wheeler Yuta start things off and Fenix is right there with the first ladder, which he leans over the barricade. That takes too long so Yuta takes him down and goes up. Rush is in at #3 and shoves both of them down to take over. Andrade El Idolo comes in at #4 and this is not going to go well for everyone not named Rush. A ladder is set up in the middle and it’s a super sunset bomb to drop Martin hard onto the bridged ladder.

Claudio Castagnoli is in at #4 and pushes the double ladder, with Andrade on it, over for the big crash out to the floor. Dante Martin is in at #5 and has a ladder fall on him as he hits the ring. Martin kicks away at Castagnoli before getting shoved from one ladder to another. Penta El Cero Miedo is in at #6 and Canadian Destroys Martin on the ramp and another one drives Andrade onto a bridged ladder.

Fenix frog splashes Rush through a table at ringside and….we’ve got a bunch of masked men to wreck everyone else. One of them goes up to pull down the chip and it’s Stokely Hathaway. Apparently that doesn’t count because he’s not a wrestler, so whoever get the chip wins the title shot. Cue the Joker, another masked man, and it’s…well we don’t know as he doesn’t unmask but he wins at 14:12.

Rating: B-. It’s another wild ladder match and there are only so many things that you can see in one of these things. They were doing all of their crashes and dives but what matters most is having the Joker as a wild card. That could be a lot of people and odds are we’ll be finding out in a few weeks at the most. Good stuff here, but these ladder matches completely run together.

We recap the Trios Titles tournament, which should make for a big final.

Trios Titles: Elite vs. Hangman Page/Dark Order

For the inaugural titles and Don Callis is on commentary. Reynolds and Matt Jackson start things off and neither gets anywhere of note. That means a lot of glaring as we recap the issues among Page and the Elite over the years (and there are a lot of them). Matt gets knocked down by Silver and his back seems to be messed up, which is enough for Page to call off the Order. It’s off to Omega vs. Page and the fans are WAY into this.

They lock up and go into the Order corner, where Silver comes in, much to some booing. Omega’s recently repaired shoulder gets cranked on but Page doesn’t like that either. A big boot and fall away slam connect for Page but his springboard is superkicked out of the air. The Bucks start taking turns on Page before Omega tells him that HE CAN’T ESC….ok I guess Page can as he slips out and gets Silver back in.

Everything breaks down and the Order hits a suicide dive/brainbuster combination to Nick on the floor, giving us a rare ALEX REYNOLDS chant. Matt suplexes both of them but hurts his back again, as tends to be the case with him. Omega gets caught in the corner for the running lariats and the German suplex into a jackknife rollup gives Reynolds two. The Bucks are back in with the superkicks to set up the V Trigger to send Silver outside.

Omega hits the big running flip dive to the floor but Silver is back in with a Backstabber. Page moonsaults onto Nick on the floor and the Pendulum Bomb gets two on Matt. The Bucks and the Order trade clotheslines and a four way superkick puts all of them down. That leaves us with Page vs. Omega….and the referee actually says they need to tag in. With that idiocy out of the way, Omega hits a V Trigger into the Jay Driller for two but Page is able to catch him on top.

A super fall away slam into a cover gives Page two of his own and there’s a Buckshot Lariat to the back of Omega’s head. Matt teases grabbing Page’s leg ala when Page won the World Title but the delay lets Nick hit his own Buckshot Lariat to drop Page. The BTE Trigger gets two with Silver making the save but a V Trigger cuts him down. The One Winged Angel is countered into a rollup to give Silver two but a Buckshot Lariat accidentally knocks Silver silly, with Omega stealing the pin at 19:47.

Rating: B+. Heck of a match as you knew it would be, but there is something amusing about the Elite winning again and setting up even more Bucks/Page/Omega melodrama. What we got here was another pretty awesome match though and that is the point of these belts. Just let them get in their car crash, all action stuff and pop the crowd, which I’ll take over it being the focal point of the show. Very good stuff, even if I’m not at all into the never ending Elite story.

We look at Jade Cargill and Athena yelling at each other on Rampage.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Athena

Cargill is defending and is painted green for a She-Hulk look. Athena starts fast and hits the O Face in less than a minute, but the Baddies pull Athena out (a second late as the referee had to slow his count). That earns the Baddies a beating but Jade runs Athena over for two back inside. A big toss sends Athena flying until she’s back up with a springboard spinning crossbody for her own two. The fans get behind Athena as she goes up but Kiera Hogan grabs her leg again. Another springboard is pump kicked out of the air and Jaded retains the title at 4:25.

Rating: C-. So remember every big match that Cargill has had? This was the latest one as Athena gets beaten down and added to the list. I’m not sure who is next for Cargill but she continues to be the most pushed woman in AEW, which does make sense given how oddly charismatic she is, but it is going to be very interesting to see what happens when she loses.

CM Punk arrived earlier and put over Chicago again as the live crowd gets more love.

FTR/Wardlow vs. Jay Lethal/Motor City Machine Guns

Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt are here, with the latter’s shirt mocking Dax Harwood’s daughter. Harwood one ups that by bringing out his daughter for a sweet moment. Lethal and Wardlow start things off but it’s way too early for a powerbomb. Harwood and Sabin come in, with the latter slapping him in the face. Everything teases breaking down before Harwood runs Sabin over again.

Shelley gets knocked off the apron but it’s time to chase Dutt, allowing Sabin to get in a cheap shot back inside. Harwood chops his way out of trouble though and it’s Wardlow coming in to clean house. A double suplex drops the Guns and Harwood comes back in (rather quickly) for a chop off with Lethal.

Harwood fights his way out of the corner and hands it off to Wheeler to pick up the pace. Sabin is sent outside, leaving Shelley to kick Wheeler’s leg out. The villains take turns wrapping Wheeler’s leg around the post, leaving Lethal to grab a Figure Four. With that broken up, Wheeler gets over to Wardlow for the tag, setting up the house cleaning.

Everything breaks down and Singh punches Wardlow in the face for two, leaving Wardlow to be tied in the Tree of Woe for the series of baseball slide dropkicks. Lethal is back up with the double Lethal Injection to FTR. That’s enough time for Wardlow to fight up and start wrecking everyone, including a four movement Powerbomb Symphony on Lethal at 16:36.

Rating: C+. Good enough match here as Wardlow gets some momentum back after a few weeks of nothing. That doesn’t really help FTR, but maybe we can get a regular tag match against the Guns sooner than later. This match never felt important from the moment it was announced and this didn’t help, though of course it was at least pretty good.

Post match Samoa Joe returns and goes after Sonjay Dutt. Cue Harwood’s daughter Finlay so Harwood decks Dutt, allowing Finlay to get the pin for a feel good moment.

We recap Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ricky Starks. They were friends and partners, but then Hobbs got sick of Starks’ singles success. Fighting ensued and here we are, as Starks wants revenge.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ricky Starks

Starks charges straight at him to start and is promptly powered down without much trouble. Hobbs goes into the slow power beating as Starks realizes he might be in over his head. The neck crank goes on as Hobbs is working on the recently injured neck. Starks fights up and strikes away in the corner, setting up a DDT for two. Back up and Starks charges into a spinebuster to give Hobbs the sudden win at 5:13.

Rating: C. This feels like the match that was cut down due to time but the ending made up for it. Hobbs winning is a fine way to go (and Starks would have been as well) because AEW is giving someone young and talented a win. We could be in for something from Hobbs and I could certainly go for that kind of a push, as he seems like he could be a breakout star.

We look back at Acclaimed and Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee arguing on Rampage.

Tag Team Titles: Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee vs. Acclaimed

Acclaimed, with Billy Gunn, is challenging. Bowens takes Swerve down to start as the fans chant OH SCISSOR ME DADDY at Billy. Thankfully they are smart enough to let the fans get it out of their system before handing it off to Lee vs. Caster. For some reason Caster tries to go with power vs. Lee but gets about as far as you would expect. A middle rope hurricanrana works a bit better as Lee is taken down before all four come in at once.

The champs are sent outside, meaning it’s time for the big scissoring, much to Billy’s delight. We settle down to Lee taking over on Caster, despite the fans letting Lee know that HE CAN’T SCISSOR. Caster fights out of the corner and hits a middle rope cutter to put Lee down. It’s back to Bowens to hit a running neckbreaker on Swerve, followed by a discus forearm.

A shot to the leg cuts Bowens down though and Swerve throws him over the top, with the leg being banged up again. Lee adds a splash to the knee but misses a charge, allowing the hot tag off to Caster for the house cleaning. For some reason Caster tries a fireman’s carry on Lee, which works as well as you would expect. Lee Pounces over by mistake and a knee gets two on Lee.

Back up and Lee kicks out Bowens’ bad knee but gets caught up top. Swerve makes the save and hits the Swerve Stomp for a VERY close two on Bowens. A half crab goes on but Caster makes the save with a missile dropkick. Swerve’s running kick to the head gets two on Caster, leaving Bowens to break up Swerve’s springboard. With Bowens holding Swerve over the floor, Caster hits a Mic Drop, only to hurt Bowen’s knee in the process. Back inside and Lee chops away, until Billy gets up for a distraction.

Somehow Caster uses the distraction to hit an FU on Lee and it’s the Arrival to Swerve setting up the Mic Drop for a VERY close two with Lee making the save (and the fans aren’t pleased). A Death Valley Driver onto the apron plants Caster and Bowens gets pulled into a backbreaker back inside. Bowens has to fight off both champs but his knee gives out, causing Swerve to kick Lee by mistake. A rollup gets a VERY close two on Lee but Bowens gets caught on Lee’s shoulders. Swerve adds the Stomp to make it a sitout powerbomb for the pin to retain at 22:18.

Rating: B+. Oh I’m not sure about that result, as the fans were BEGGING for the Acclaimed to win here. I get why they didn’t do it and I get why they want Swerve and Lee to retain, but egads if there was ever a reason to call an audible, that might have been it. Either way, at least they had a big pick up match that got a lot of time, with some of those near falls being too close to believe.

Post match Lee and Billy scissor, much to the fans’ uncertainty.

All of the Women’s Title match participants want the title.

Interim Women’s Title: Jamie Hayter vs. Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Toni Storm

For the vacant title, Rebel is here too and the fans seem to like Hayter. It’s a big brawl to start and we get an exchange of rollups. With that not working, Hayter half crabs Storm to leave her in trouble. Baker and Shida trade some rollups before Baker is back up with a Sling Blade. Hayter suplexes Shida and Storm at the same time before being sent outside. Storm dives onto Hayter but gets Sling Bladed by Baker.

With Baker taken down, Shida and Storm face off back inside with Storm being shouldered down but nipping right back up. Rebel tries to come in and gets double headbutted down, which is good for a flat back fall and a lot of laughter from commentary. Hayter carries Shida up the ramp and Baker follows for a Stomp to Shida. That’s enough to get Shida taken out, leaving us with three for the moment.

Storm is double teamed inside and the fans think Hayter is better, which has JR talking about….a sale in a department store? And now here is Shida, complete with two kendo sticks, because KENDO STICKS ARE COOL. Shida gets to clean house and suplexes Baker into Hayter in the corner. Everyone is back up for an exchange of strikes and the villains get a double rollup for two on Shida.

Now it’s Shida with a Falcon Arrow for two on Hayter, with Storm making the save. Hayter breaks up a German suplex with a Tombstone to Storm (that was cool) but Shida makes a save of her own. Baker is back up with a Stomp to Shida for two but Storm breaks up a Lockjaw attempt. There’s a ripcord lariat from Hayter to Shida, causing baker to pull the referee out at two. Storm hits Storm Zero on Hayter but Baker steals the cover for two more. Back in and Storm gives Baker and Hayter a jumping DDT each, with the latter being enough to make Storm champion at 14:41.

Rating: B-. There were some plot points in there, as Baker costing Hayter is going to come back and bite her in the near future. Storm needed to win here as you can only go so far with the losses before she stops mattering. Good match here with the right result, so I’ll take what I can get.

We recap Christian Cage vs. Jungle Boy. Christian claims that Jungle Boy cost him money by losing the Tag Team Titles so he started insulting the memory of Jungle Boy’s dead father. Jungle Boy is out for revenge.

Jungle Boy vs. Christian Cage

Hold on though as Jungle Boy can’t find Luchasaurus, who comes up from behind and chokeslams Jungle Boy onto the lighting grid. Jungle Boy is taken to ringside and beaten down again, but insists on the bell ringing. A spear gives Christian two and the Killswitch finishes for Christian at 21 seconds.

Death Triangle is ready for the Best Friends on Dynamite, though Pac still doesn’t like Orange Cassidy.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson, which is about who is the better professional wrestler/sports entertainer.

Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson

William Regal is on commentary and it’s Lionheart here as the 17 Faces Of Jericho continues. Danielson is sung to the ring by someone named Elliott Taylor. They go technical to start until Danielson takes him down for the stomping. With that broken up, they stare at each other a bit in the corner and Jericho hits a hard chop. Danielson goes with a hammerlock but lets him go instead of firing off the palm strikes.

Jericho takes him down on the mat for a change, which is reversed into a double knee stomp. A cross armbreaker is blocked and Jericho reverses up for some elbows to the head. Danielson reverses that and ties up the legs before asking if the fans want some entertainment. That means a Rick Rude hip swivel, which has Jericho angry enough that he chops away in the corner.

Jericho sends him to the apron and hits the triangle dropkick to the floor, but the dive is knocked away to give Danielson a breather. Back in and Danielson hits a missile dropkick, setting up the YES Kicks. A super hurricanrana is countered into the Walls though but Danielson slips out and sends Jericho outside.

That means a suicide dive through the ropes in the corner, only to miss the Swan Dive back inside. Jericho takes his time following up though and Danielson tries the LeBell Lock, which is reversed into a catapult. Naturally Danielson skins the cat so Jericho hits a Tombstone into the Lionsault for two. Back up and the Judas Effect misses and Danielson kicks him in the head.

Danielson stomps away at Jericho, setting up the LeBell Lock. It’s rolled into the middle for better position but Jericho reverses into the Walls again. That’s reversed into a triangle choke but Jericho gets him into the ropes for the break. They chop it out from their knees with Jericho getting chopped into the corner. The backflip over into the clothesline is countered with the Codebreaker for two, setting up a Liontamer to make it even worse.

Another rope is grabbed so Jericho goes primal by hammering away at the head. Danielson gets up again though and it’s the running knee for two. Cattle Mutilation goes on but Jericho rolls out again. That works for Danielson, who fires off the hammer and anvil elbows. Cattle Mutilation goes on again but this time Jericho makes the rope with his foot. More kicks stagger Jericho until Danielson is backed away from the rope. Instead it’s a rolling forearm to rock Jericho and more hammering and elbowing ensues. Jericho manages a low blow though and the Judas Effect finishes Danielson at 23:31.

Rating: A-. They were having a classic and a low blow brought it down a bit. Otherwise, this was a heck of a wrestling match, but I’m really not sure on having Danielson lose again. I’m sure this will be more about Daniel Garcia on the end than anything else, but could we get Danielson a big win for a change? He’s a made man for the rest of his career, though I’m still not sure how many more losses he needs.

The House Of Black is ready to end Sting, Darby Allin and Miro.

House Of Black vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Miro

Miro and Black start things off with Miro taking him into the corner. King comes in for the power brawl with Miro until Allin has to tag himself in. Allin counters Matthews’ Murphy’s Law into a cradle for two but a Code Red is countered (Allin: “Oh s***.”) by Black’s kick to the head. King throws Allin into the corner and Black comes in for the chinlock. Allin fights up and goes over to the corner but Julia Hart distracts the referee, meaning no tag.

The tag goes through a few seconds later, allowing the tag brings in Sting. Some Stinger Splashes connect and it’s time for the staredown with Black. The brawl is on and we hit the Scorpion Deathlock, with the rest of the House not being able to break it up. Sting is finally staggered enough to let Black reverse into a kneebar, with Miro having to make a save.

Allin hits a Coffin Drop for two but Matthews gets in a bat shot to send Miro crashing into the steps. Allin is back up with a flipping Stunner and a suicide flip dive, only to come up holding his shoulder. Back in and Sting mists Black, setting up Allin’s Last Supper for the pin at 12:09.

Rating: C+. This didn’t get crazy for Sting but at least he got to get in there and do his thing while Allin got the glory in the end. I’m still not sure what AEW is doing with Black and Miro, but neither of them did much of anything here. What we got was a fun match, but it is coming near the end of a FAR too long show and that hut things a lot.

Chris Jericho asks Daniel Garcia where he was. As a result, Garcia is challenging Wheeler Yuta for the Pure Rules Title without the Jericho Appreciation Society.

We recap the AEW World Title match. CM Punk came back from his injury and lost to Jon Moxley in three minutes. Now he is motivated by his friends and family and wants to win the title back for Chicago.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. CM Punk

Moxley, with William Regal in his corner, is defending. They stall to start until Moxley starts hammering away in the corner. Punk gets in a kick to the head with the bad foot, setting up the running knees in the corner. Some Hammer and Anvil elbows rock Moxley and the GTS gets two. They fight into the crowd with Punk unloading as Moxley seems to be covering up.

Back at ringside and Moxley manages to post him, which busts Punk open. They get back inside where Moxley licks the blood off of his hand before kicking away at Punk again. Back up and Punk hits the running knee in the corner but the knee gives out, allowing Moxley to hit a shinbreaker. We hit the leglock, followed by a half crab, which Moxley switches into an STF and then a Figure Four.

Some middle fingers fire Punk up enough to roll over to freedom and Moxley gets beaten up on the floor. Back in Punk grabs the Anaconda Vice but Moxley slips out and stomps away. The clothesline misses though and Punk hits a dropkick but the top rope elbow is pulled into a bulldog choke.

That’s broken up and Punk hits a kick to the head, only to be taken down for more Hammer and Anvil elbows to knock Punk silly. The bulldog choke goes on again but that’s muscled up as well. The GTS attempt is countered and Moxley hits the Death Rider for two. Moxley isn’t having that and grabs the choke again, only to get GTS’d for the third time and the title at 19:43.

Rating: B. This was more of a fight than anything else, though it does feel like they spent a long time setting up this one moment when they could have cut out a lot of stuff in the middle. Anyway, Punk got to get his big hometown moment (as it had been…four days since the last one) and is champion again, but now he needs something else to do as we start to close out the year. Heck of a match here, but I really don’t think it was worth the effort they put in to make it happen.

Then the lights go out and we hear a voiceover from Tony Khan, talking about how someone is gone over and over and keeps screwing the fans. Show up at All Out and everything is forgiven, with whoever it is being put in the Casino Ladder Match, plus get a big bonus. We see a clip of Punk in the old ROH days talking about the devil. Then we see the devil from earlier….and he’s wearing a scarf. MJF is back and comes into the arena and the fans are VERY happy to see him. MJF motions that he wants the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. It was a show where the high points were very good, but there is enough stuff here that REALLY needs to be cut or just dropped altogether. The biggest problem as always with these shows it he length, but at least we had some very good action in there as well. The big ending should set up Grand Slam where MJF gets the World Title, but other than that, you also have Jericho vs. Danielson in a great one and the far better than expected Tag Team Title match.

This was another awesome AEW pay per view, but if they want to really make them all timers, enough with the Wrestlemania lengths. It doesn’t work there and it doesn’t work here, as I was sitting around wondering how in the world there were so many matches left on the show, despite how good they might be. Anyway, certainly check this out, but have a fast forward button loaded up, or at least take a break in the middle.

Results
Tay Melo/Sammy Guevara b. Ortiz/Ruby Soho – TayKO to Soho
Hook b. Angelo Parker – Redrum
Pac b. Kip Sabian – Black Arrow
Eddie Kingston b. Tomohiro Ishii – Northern lights bomb
The Joker won the Casino Ladder Match
Elite b. Hangman Page/Dark Order – Buckshot Lariat to Silver
Jade Cargill b. Athena – Jaded
FTR/Wardlow b. Jay Lethal/Motor City Machine Guns – Powerbomb Symphony to Lethal
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Ricky Starks – Spinebuster
Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee b. Acclaimed – Sitout powerbomb/Swerve Stomp combination to Bowers
Toni Storm b. Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker and Hikaru Shida – Jumping DDT to Hayter
Christian Cage b. Jungle Boy – Killswitch
Sting/Miro/Darby Allin b. House Of Black – Last Supper to Black
CM Punk b. Jon Moxley – GTS

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For the first time in a good while, we are getting a full scale AEW pay per view rather than AEW and some other promotion mixing together to make a big special. As tends to be the case on AEW pay per views, the card is absolutely loaded, even to the point of being WAY too big. There are fifteen matches between the Zero Hour (better than Buy In) show and the main card, all of which are absolutely necessary. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: FTW Title: Hook(c) vs. Angelo Parker

You know, because we needed to get Hook onto this thing. Or is it that we needed to get the “Sports…..Innderdainers”? Either way, this is the kind of a match that is not likely to take very long because Parker has never been treated as anything serious and Hook runs over everyone. I don’t know what else anyone is really expecting here, but at least Hook should pop the crowd.

Of course I’ll take Hook to win here, as there is no reason for it to go any other way. Hook is one of those unique stars that just works for some reason and it would be nuts to have him lose to one half of a comedy due. I’m sure Matt Menard will get his chance to be destroyed later, but for now, this will be Hook crushing Parker and going off to find some more chips.

Zero Hour: AAA World Mixed Tag Team Titles: Tay Melo/Sammy Guevara vs. Ruby Soho/Oritz

If anyone can explain why this match is on the card, you’re smarter than I am. This is the third time that these teams have fought in ten days and that isn’t exactly my idea of interesting. The first two matches weren’t good but now we’re seeing them again after a second match this week on Rampage. But at least they’re on the shwo and something is on the line, so points for that I guess?

There is almost no reason to believe that the titles are going to change here so we’ll go with Melo and Guevara retaining. If I had to guess, maybe Soho can even get pinned again to keep the titles where they already are. This feels completely out of the norm for AEW and I’d like to believe that it isn’t something they are going to do regularly. Either way, this isn’t something I’m interested in seeing but we’re getting it anyway, because something about a trilogy.

Zero hour: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Eddie Kingston

So these two fight back at a New Japan event in May and this it he rematch, which AEW is hosting so I guess they can fight each other once on equal footing? This is another match that was added on to the card and the story seems to be that Kingston is wanting to prove that he has become a better man since Ishii beat him the first time. I’m not sure how interesting that is but you know AEW will take a New Japan star when they can.

I’ll go with Kingston here, even if it is a match with virtually no build or reason to exist other than to get the two of them on the show. Much like the previous match, it is one of the first matches I would cut from the card, but it should at least be a heck of a fight with two guys hitting each other really hard. Ishii is getting up there in years but he can still do his thing well enough to get by.

Zero Hour: All Atlantic Title: Pac(c) vs. Kip Sabian

After several months of sitting in the front row with a box over his head, commentary just said “yeah that’s Kip Sabian” and now he is getting a title match against Pac. Why that is supposed to be interesting isn’t clear, as it’s still Sabian, who has never been much more than just ok during his time in AEW. It should be nice to see Pac defend the title on AEW TV for once, even under these circumstances.

Despite having no idea what they’re going for with the whole box thing, I’ll go with Pac to run through Sabian without much trouble. Pac is on a higher level and I don’t see the point in messing with the title on someone so far out of Pac’s league. Maybe commentary can explain something about Sabian’s deal, but for now, this is just a weird story that came out of nowhere and leaves me wondering why it’s happening.

Interim Women’s Title: Britt Baker vs. Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida vs. Jamie Hayter

Yes we’re still doing the Interim Champion deal and no I don’t quite get it either. This is the thing they’re doing rather than just vacating the title and moving on and it’s still not exactly a great way to go. This time Thunder Rosa has suffered a back injury and will not be able to defend the title, so this is what we’re getting instead. At least there are some options to win here, which always helps.

I’ll take Storm to win, even if the signs seem to be pointing to Baker. If nothing else, it would be nice for Storm to win and give us something fresh, as Baker and Shida have both been champion for so long. Hayter would be interesting as well and is a dark horse to win the thing, but I’ll go with Storm here, if nothing else to set up the Storm vs. Rosa match when she gets back.

Ricky Starks vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

For the life of me I don’t get why it took so long for these two to have something significant to do but at least they’re finally getting some kind of a match here. Both of them have the potential to be break out stars and that could very well start with this match. This is the result of a tag team split and that is as good of a reason as any for two young stars to be fighting.

I think I’ll take Hobbs here, even if Starks seems more ready to move up to the next level. The good thing here is there is no bad choice for a winner, as long as AEW picks someone and moves forward with them. Hobbs is a monster and Starks is more of a complete package, which opens up several possibilities no matter which choice they make. I’ll flip a coin and go with Hobbs though in what should be a fine match either way.

Jungle Boy vs. Christian Cage

We’ll stick with the grudge match theme here as Jungle Boy finally gets his hands on Cage after a lot of horrible things were said about him. These two have been on a collision course for several weeks now and we should be in for something good when they finally get to face off. There is a major wild card in the background though and that could be the big factor in the whole thing.

I think I’ll go with Cage here, as Luchasaurus has been so notorious in his absence for the last few weeks. If nothing else, it seems a bit too easy that Luchasaurus was Cage’s heavy and then stepped aside while Jungle Boy got to Cage. Maybe that is a red herring, but I have a feeling that Luchasaurus turns on Jungle Boy to let Cage get the win, which would set up even more between these three going forward.

Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Jericho

Hey, did you know that Jericho calls himself a Sports Entertainer and is a bad guy in a company that focuses on wrestling? I wasn’t sure if AEW had hammered the idea in enough just yet. This is a match that has been set up for a few weeks and should be a good one if they do it right. Jericho has a hit or miss track record, but Danielson seems incapable of having a bad match no matter what he does in AEW, meaning I have a lot of hope.

Danielson needs the win more than Jericho so we’ll go with what makes sense here and pick Danielson to go over. Jericho seems to be bringing back the Lionheart as he continues his own version of the 3 Faces Of Foley, but Danielson wrestling him down and then beating him, likely with Daniel Garcia not helping Jericho when he needs it, is the way to go. This needs to be Danielson’s to give him a win over a bigger name and that is what they’ll do here.

TNT Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Athena

Well it’s about time. This is a story that has been built up for the last few months and I cannot bring myself to care after so many months of Athena getting beaten up by Cargill and the Baddies. They have to have the match at some point though and this is as good for a place as any, even if it is something that should have happened at least a few weeks ago when the interest was still there.

Of course Cargill retains here and there is no reason for this to be anything else. Cargill is someone who is going to need a special opponent to finally take her down and as good as Athena is, I can’t picture that being the case. Athena will probably hit the O Face for a near fall, but ultimately it’s going to be Jaded to keep Cargill undefeated, as she should be at the moment.

House Of Black vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Miro

This is another match that feels like it was forgotten until the last few days and now it is taking place on the show. That isn’t the best way to go but there are a lot of names in here who should probably be on the pay per view. Miro vs. the House Of Black alone should be good and Sting/Allin already have issues with the team. Now just let them all go nuts and it should be fun.

This should be fun and I’ll go with Miro making Matthews tap to win. Sting and Allin can do their wacky things and Sting can probably have his showdown with Black, but with all of the reported personal issues for Black, I can’t imagine his team winning here. This is a way to redeem Miro a bit and that is the way they should go, as it’s almost easy to forget he is even in AEW half of the time.

Casino Ladder Match

A few weeks ago, I was wondering when AEW was going to announce another ladder match and here we are. This is the latest future World Title opportunity on the line and so far we have seven names, plus more to come. In other words, this is all about the Joker, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a big name return in that spot, as he is certainly overdue to do so.

In short, I’m going with MJF making his triumphant return, likely setting up the title match in New York City later this month. MJF has been gone for several months now and it is long past time to get him back so he can continue his reign of amazing. If nothing else, seeing him come in at the very end and win the thing without having to put in much, if any, work, would be a heck of a troll job and something I can see him doing.

Wardlow/FTR vs. Jay Lethal/Motor City Machine Guns

And here we have the weirdest match on the card, as I still don’t know why this is the best thing that they can offer. The match has felt thrown together since it was announced and for a very good reason: it is a thrown together match for the sake of getting the people involved on the show (you might be noticing a pattern emerging here). It’s nice to have them here, but Harwood’s speech explaining why the match matters didn’t quite sway me.

Give me FTR and Wardlow to win here, which is the only logical way this can go. At the end of the day, they both REALLY need something to do and this isn’t likely to lead anywhere. While I could go for FTR vs. the Guns later on, Wardlow vs. Lethal has already been done. I’m not sure why this match is taking place, but hopefully it isn’t AEW giving up on the three of them so soon, as that would be incredibly stupid.

Tag Team Titles: Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Acclaimed

Now this one intrigues me and I’m not sure about where it is going to go. On one hand you have the champs, who have not exactly been given a major run yet and have only held the titles for a few weeks. On the other hand though, you have the Acclaimed, who are on fire and the fans absolutely love them, meaning there has to be some temptation to pull the trigger here. That makes this a little complicated and I’m not sure what they are going to do.

I’ll take the champions to retain though, as it just isn’t like AEW to take someone who is getting their big break and just cut them off so soon. The Acclaimed has come a long way but I don’t know how much they need the titles. Caster’s raps alone, or with Bowens’ nutty charisma, are going to keep them over for a very long time so why bother with giving them titles that they don’t really need yet? The champs keep the belts.

Trios Titles: Hangman Page/Dark Order vs. Elite

Yeah I don’t think there is any real shock that this is where we wound up after the whole tournament was announced. Even if Page wasn’t involved in the tournament in the first place, I don’t think there was any shock in the fact that he wound up in the finals anyway. These titles feel more and more like a vanity deal for the Elite anyway, and that is where things get screwy.

I’m actually taking Page and the Dark Order to win here, as it is more of a feel good story for the lovable goons to FINALLY win something than for the Elite to get another title on their resume. Throw in Omega possibly being blamed for the loss, Page redeeming himself, and whatever else the Bucks are going to talk about and the underdogs winning is the much more interesting way to go.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. CM Punk

CHICAGO! Ok there now we can move on. For some reason this feels like it is designed to be a match for the live crowd than everyone else watching. I get the idea of keeping a crowd hot, but this story has been so all over the place and I’m still not sure I get why we’re getting things going this way. At the very least, this is the kind of story that needs to end so everyone can move on to something else, and in theory that is what they’ll be doing.

I’ll take Punk to win here, again going off of the idea of MJF getting his title shot in New York later this month. MJF vs. Moxley doesn’t have the history to it and Punk winning the title back to set up the big loss to MJF is a better way to go. This really doesn’t feel like a main event though and I wouldn’t be hurt if they went with the Trios Titles headlining instead (The heck am I saying?). Oh and one more time: CHICAGO!

Overall Thoughts

Long. That’s the overall thought for this show: it sounds really long. There are so many matches crammed into this card that I’ve been dreading it more and more eveyr week. I’m still not sure why AEW insists on doing this but for some reason this is what we get with their regular pay per views anymore. I’m sure people will be burned out by the end, but why let that get in the way of what they want to do?

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Dynamite
Date: August 31, 2022
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz

We’re four days away from All Out and it would be nice to have a main event announced. I would certainly hope we know who that is this week, but the question now is which way they go. There is a good chance that it is a rematch with CM Punk, but other than that, is there another option outside of maybe Hangman Page? Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Jon Moxley to get things going. Moxley says let’s talk about it: he had 57 minutes left in him last week but CM Punk didn’t. Last week, we found out what Punk was made of and it turned out that Moxley didn’t care. Champions never fold and it just didn’t work out for him. Moxley knows this is Punk’s town but he has no sympathy. That’s last week though and now he has a signed open contract for All Out, which he will leave in the ring. He’s not sure who he’s going to face and he really doesn’t care. Cue Ace Steel, Punk’s mentor, who grabs the contract and takes it to the back.

Chris Jericho is ready for Bryan Danielson on Sunday. Daniel Garcia comes in to say that he is loyal to the Jericho Appreciation Society and wants to see Jericho crush Danielson at All Out. Works for Jericho.

Jake Hager vs. Bryan Danielson

Chris Jericho and William Regal are on commentary. Hager hits him in the face to start but charges into a boot in the corner. The guillotine goes on but Hager powers out without much trouble. They head outside with Danielson’s suicide dive being cut off and Hager hitting a running spinebuster through a table. Back in and Danielson can’t grab a kneebar as Hager elbows him in the face.

We take a break and come back with Danielson firing off the kicks to the chest but getting hammered with more heavy forearms. That’s pulled into the guillotine, which is countered into something like a powerbomb to drop Danielson again. Danielson is fine enough to pull him into the LeBell Lock, which sends Hager over to the rope. Back up and Danielson hits the running knee for the pin at 10:45.

Rating: B-. That’s what Danielson does best, as he got the most out of Hager by playing to his strength and making the match that much better. Hager does not exactly have the best track record in AEW but Danielson made it work. Nice match, as Danielson continues to show what a master he is every week.

Post match the Jericho Appreciation Society runs in for the beatdown but the Blackpool Combat Club makes the save. Jericho tries to come in with a chair but Daniel Garcia takes it away. The distraction lets Danielson hit another running knee.

Here are the Wingmen to complain about not being around much lately. From now on, Dynamite is their show, but here is W. Morrissey (better known as Big Cass) to wreck things. Stokely Hathaway comes out and seems to have a new client. Tony Schiavone stops them in the aisle and asks Hathaway what’s up with all of the business cards. Hathaway says none of his business and grabs Tony for daring to say it is AEW business. Morrissey had a Sid like energy in Impact Wrestling but I don’t know if that is going to work in AEW.

Will Ospreay and Aussie Open are in the back when Don Callis comes in to praise him a lot, saying he knows it’ll be different than the last time Kenny Omega gave him the One Winged Angel.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm

Rebel is here with Baker/Hayter. Shida hammers on Hayter to start so it’s off to Storm, who gets taken down with a jawbreaker. Baker comes in and we take an early break. Back with Shida getting the hot tag to start cleaning house but Baker takes her down with a neckbreaker for two. A basement superkick nails Shida but the Stomp misses. Shida gets in a shot of her own though and goes outside to distract Hayter. Storm comes in with a running hip attack and takes out Hayter again. Shida’s spinning kick to the head finishes Baker at 7:34.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to do much as a good chunk of it was in the commercial. Shida getting the pin boosts her up a bit for the title match but I don’t exactly see her having much of a chance on Sunday. Having her win in a tag match is a good way to go, even if there wasn’t much to see here.

Kip Sabian talks about how brilliant his box on the head plan was and how he took it out on Pac. Now they are meeting on Sunday for the title.

Miro/Sting/Darby Allin are ready for the House Of Black.

Here is CM Punk, looking rather emotional. Punk talks about breaking his foot on June 1 and wrestling a match on it anyway. His doctor said he “pulverized” the bones so he had a bunch of plates and screws put in his foot during a June 8 surgery. After saying the number of screws he had put in his foot is more times than this fat guy in the front row has been screwed in his life, he talks about his loss last week. His foot was completely cleared last week but it’s a new 100%. What he doesn’t know is if that 100% is good enough and he doesn’t want to let his fans down.

Maybe that love just isn’t enough anymore, but here is Ace Steel to interrupt. Steel explains who he is (thank you) and doesn’t know what Punk is doing here. The two of them are family and Punk didn’t let his family down last week. Punk filled an arena up on a rumor last year and now he is going to get up and fight on Sunday.

Steel pulls out the contract for Sunday and says sign it (possibly dropping an F bomb in there). Punk takes off his jacket and says people have been trying to kill him since he was born with a cord around his neck. Moxley isn’t a man who can do it because THIS IS CHICAGO and, as Punk goes into the crowd, he declares WE ARE CHICAGO and signs. So yeah, this whole story has been about the live crowd instead of the people watching at home, which is one of those AEW tropes that needs to go away.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down between Christian Cage and Jungle Boy with the rule of no physicality. Christian says he is here to make money instead of being Jungle Boy’s father. Jungle Boy isn’t looking for a father, and on Sunday, Christian is going to fight Jack Perry. Good closing line there and the name change would not be a bad idea.

Wardlow/FTR vs. Silas Young/Ren Jones/Victor Capri

Wardlow and Jones start things off and we don’t waste much time getting to the dominance. After Harwood takes over on Capri, a two movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes him off at 1:59.

Here is Moxley to say that if that is what Punk wants, that’s what he can have.

10 is injured and out of the Trios Title match so here is Andrade to offer to buy him if he’ll take the mask off. Evil Uno says no, so Andrade hits him with a crutch. Then Jose the Assistant….either tazes 10, who doesn’t move, or just threatens to do it. I think it’s the latter, which would be a lot better.

Rush vs. Rey Fenix vs. Dante Martin vs. Wheeler Yuta

William Regal is on commentary. Rush powerslams Fenix to start and Martin snaps off a Code Red for two. The big series of dives is on, with Rush wiping out Fenix on the landing. We take a break and come back with Fenix spinning Martin into a knee to the face, followed by a spinning powerbomb for two. Rush makes the save but gets sent outside, leaving Martin to drop Fenix with a poisonrana. Fenix pops up to catch Yuta on top, only to get sent outside. Yuta misses a top rope stomp to Martin but pulls him into the Seat Belt for the pin at 7:57.

Rating: B-. I know I say this a lot for a match like this but you know exactly what you’re getting with this style. Everyone not named Rush can wrestle that style just fine and he was there for the power to offer a different way to go. I was thinking Martin would get the pin here but at least they didn’t talk about the idea of building momentum for ten minutes.

The Dark Order needs a partner and Hangman Page is willing. You knew that was coming.

Trios Titles Tournament Semifinals: United Empire vs. Elite

That would be Will Ospreay/Aussie Open vs. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks. Omega and Osprey slug it out to start and everything breaks down. The Bucks’ dives onto Aussie Open on the floor are pulled out of the air, leaving Ospreay to hit a VERY twisting dive to take them out.

We take a break and come back with Aussie Open beating on Matt, who hurricanranas his way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Omega to start cleaning house but the V Trigger is blocked. The Oscutter is blocked as well and Ospreay snaps off a hurricanrana to send Omega outside. Ospreay misses the Space Flying Tiger Drop and gets kicked down, leaving Aussie Open to hit a double delayed vertical superplex for two on Omega.

We take another break and come back with Nick cleaning house but having his 450 hit Ospreay’s raised knees. The snapdragon drops Nick and it’s Omega vs. Ospreay with the forearm slugout. A sitout powerbomb plants Omega HARD, leaving Aussie Open to load up the assisted Oscutter but Matt countered into a cutter of his own. Omega is back up for the triple knees to the head but Ospreay makes a save. A shooting star Meltzer Driver (just go with it) gets two on Matt but Omega’s V Trigger is broken up. The spike Indytaker gets two more and there’s the V Trigger into the One Winged Angel to finish Davis at 18:53.

Rating: A-. This is a great example of a match that isn’t for me but I get why it is taking place. This was tailor made for the AEW audience and the fans are going to eat it up. The flips and dives worked very well and it was incredibly high energy, which is the kind of match you had to expect take place here. I don’t think there was much in the way of question about the winner, but Omega vs. Ospreay is going to be a big match down the line and it should be a blast.

Overall Rating: B+. They got this one right and built up All Out rather well. I’m not wild on how they got to Punk vs. Moxley II and AEW still has issues with rushing through things as fast as they can, but it is certainly not boring and that is a great thing to see. Very fun show this week and it got some stuff done, so it’s quite the success.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Jake Hager – Running knee
Hikaru Shida/Toni Storm b. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter – Spinning kick to Baker
Wardlow/FTR b. Victor Capri/Silas Young/Ren Jones – Powerbomb Symphony to Capri
Wheeler Yuta b. Rush, Rey Fenix and Dante Martin – Seat Belt to Martin
Elite b. United Empire – One Winged Angel to Davis

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Dynamite
Date: August 24, 2022
Location: Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Taz

We’ve got a big one this week as suddenly we have a World Title match between Interim World Champion Jon Moxley and World Champion CM Punk. This comes as we have All Out in about a week and a half and now we need a main event. Odds are we get the main event announced or all but announced by the end of the night. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Chris Jericho to get things going but he gets to the point this time: Daniel Garcia needs to get out here to explain things to him. The fans tell Garcia that he is a wrestler as Jericho says all he wants is an apology. Garcia gets serious and talks about how he had wanted to face Danielson, his hero, for as long as he remembers. People are calling it the best match in Dynamite history (no, they aren’t) and they went thirty minutes (still not quite but closer to reality than best match in Dynamite history). It was the match he always wanted to have and Jericho ruined it.

Jericho wants him to say that he’s a sports entertainer but here is Danielson to interrupt. Danielson was proud of the match too but wants Garcia to be a wrestler. Jericho says Garcia is the best sports entertainer but Garcia says he can’t decide between his mentor and his hero. He gets so emotional that he knocks Jericho down and leaves.

That leaves Jericho to rant about how much he knows more about wrestling than Danielson. That doesn’t compute for Danielson, who asks what Jericho’s mentor, Stu Hart (not exactly), would think of this. The result is a match at All Out, but here is Jake Hager to jump Danielson from behind. Jericho vs. Danielson at All Out isn’t a surprise, but dang I could go for dropping this SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT IS BAD/WRESTLING IS GOOD story. We get it: WWE is awful and AEW rocks. Move on already.

Dax Harwood vs. Jay Lethal

No seconds are here oddly enough. They chop it out to start as JR talks about how old school promoters would love this and Taz explains what makes chops loud. Harwood hammers away in the corner until Lethal slips out and hits a super Russian legsweep as we take a break.

Back with Harwood rolling German suplexes but Lethal is right back with a Figure Four attempt. That’s broken up so Harwood goes for a Sharpshooter, which is broken up as well. Another Figure Four attempt is countered into a small package for two before Lethal kicks him in the leg.

The leg is fine enough to hit a slingshot powerbomb for two and the Sharpshooter goes on. Sonjay Dutt (with pencil) gets on the apron for the break and Lethal grabs a rollup for two. A small package gives Harwood the same and a middle rope spinning crossbody gives him two more. Lethal gets crafty by distracting the referee though and a rollup with trunks is enough to pin Harwood at 12:47.

Rating: B-. Lethal isn’t likely to become the tops tar in AEW or even a champion around here, but you are almost never going to see him do anything close to bad in the ring. That is a fine reason to put him on television and it worked well here, with Harwood going step for step with him before getting cheated in the end. I could go for Harwood winning more of these singles matches, but he is making himself into more and more of a star every time he’s in there.

Post match Sonjay Dutt says we’re still having a six man tag at All Out, but he never said who was in it. Jay Lethal will be teaming with……the Motor City Machine Guns???? Well that’s an upgrade.

Thunder Rosa is in tears and announces that she has to vacate the Women’s Title. Therefore, an Interim (STOP DOING THAT!) Women’s Title will be crowned in a four way match at All Out.

Billy Gunn vs. Colten Gunn

The Acclaimed handles Billy’s entrance, bringing up student loan debt and backstage talent meetings. Billy wastes no time in powering Colten outside and we take an early break. Back with Billy unloading in the corner and stomping away, with the referee having to pull him off. The distraction lets Stokely Hathaway get in a cheap shot with the boom box on the floor. That’s also enough of a distraction so Colten can get in a low blow, setting up the Colt 45 for the pin at 6:16. Most of the match was in the break but that’s the right result.

Post match Hathaway again offers his business cards and this time the Gunns accept. The beatdown is on until Keith Lee and Swerve Strickland make the save.

Death Triangle is ready for Will Ospreay/Aussie Open.

Britt Baker vs. KiLynn King

Baker hammers away in the corner but King reverses and stomps away in said corner. A Downward Spiral into the buckle drops King though and Baker pulls her head into the post. Back in and King hits a German suplex but King gets taken down and Stomped. The Lockjaw finishes for Baker at 3:55.

Rating: C. Just a quick win to give Baker some momentum heading into the All Out title match. Baker isn’t exactly someone who needs such a win but at least they are doing something to build her back up. King continues to look like a good prospect and I could see her going somewhere just due to her unique look and size.

Post match Baker rips on the rest of the challenges for the Women’s Title, including Toni Storm. Jamie Hayter and Rebel jump her from behind but Hikaru Shida makes the save.

Keith lee and Serve Strickland are down to give the Acclaimed a Tag Team Title shot at All Out.

AEW World Title: CM Punk vs. Jon Moxley

Punk’s AEW World Title and Moxley’s Interim World Title are being unified. They fight over a lockup to start and Punk is taken into the corner, where Moxley hammers away. Punk is back with a kick but hurts the previously injured foot and he’s in trouble. The doctor is called over but Moxley hits a King King lariat. Leg cranking ensues, along with hammer and anvil elbows, setting up the Death Rider. Moxley hits it again and wins at 2:59.

I believe a “….whoa” is in order here as that wasn’t exactly what a lot of people were likely expecting. This feels like either Punk was still injured or those backstage issues are bigger than we think, but it is still a good bit too early to know for sure what is going on. What matters here is that Moxley wins and can move on to….I have no idea what actually at All Out, but the Interim Title (at least this one) nonsense is over. People are going to be talking about this one for awhile though and that is a good thing.

Punk is helped to the back.

Christian Cage is rather serious as he accepts Jungle Boy’s challenge for All Out. All he wanted was for two of them to be back together but then Jungle Boy took it to another level. Jungle Boy isn’t in his league but the match is on.

Here is a ticked off Ricky Starks to talk about how Powerhouse Hobbs turned on him. Veterans are telling him that this is show business and you have to get used to this but he thought he was the exception because he had Hobbs behind him. Hobbs was checking on him every day last year when he broke his neck, but then Hobbs got jealous of Starks’ success. Starks remembers Hobbs standing around in the background until they got together, but then Hobbs hit him in the neck. He sees Hobbs as a neck, and where Starks comes from, they step on snakes. The challenge is on for All Out in another match you knew was coming but needed to be officially set.

We look at the title change again.

Jon Moxley is sick of people writing his obituary as soon as Punk arrived. He is the answer to every wrestling problem and his time is right censored now.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

We look at Kenny Omega’s return last week.

Trios Titles Tournament: Death Triangle vs. Will Ospreay/Aussie Open

Don Callis in on commentary. Fenix and Ospreay trade flips to start before everything breaks down. Death Triangle sends them to the floor and hit the stereo flip dives for the big knockdown. Back in and Pac chops away at Ospreay before Fenix kicks him down for two. We take a break and come back with Osprey hitting a Sky Twister onto Pac and Penta, followed by a running boot in the corner to Fenix.

We settle down to a heck of a dropkick to Fenix but he chops away at the Aussies and hits a very springboard double wristdrag for a breather. The hot tag brings in Penta for a double high crossbody and everything breaks down as we take a break. Back with Pac coming in to clean house, but Aussie Open and the Lucha Bros come in for the brawl. Ospreay and Pac hit stereo poisonranas to the teams and it’s time for the big staredown. They slug it out until the Oscutter drops Pac, followed by a hard shot to the face to do it again.

Pac catches him on top though and it’s the big superplex for a double knockdown as we take a break. Back with Ospreay back up and hitting a hurricanrana on Pac but the Stormbreaker is countered into a hurricanrana to give Pac two. Everything breaks down again and Penta hits a step up Canadian Destroyer. Pac goes outside and stops to glare at whoever is in the Kip Sabian box because it clearly isn’t Sabian. It’s….just someone, allowing Sabian to jump Pac from behind. Back in and an assisted Oscutter gives Ospreay the pin on Fenix at 25:18.

Rating: B+. Kip Sabian aside, this is the reason you put a match like this on the card: total and complete insanity with very little resembling a tag match (though there was some in there for a bit of a bonus) and all of the insanity you could ask for in one match. It was a lot of fun and the result surprises me, so well done all around.

Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks come out for the staredown but Callis holds Omega back to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a rather weird show with all kinds of stuff going on, a lot of which had a vibe like it was being cobbled together at the last minute. That’s usually a problem, but they have a huge out this week with the Punk/Moxley situation, which is going to completely dominate the post show chatter. I have no idea what they are going to do with the title at All Out but me being this curious says they seem to be doing something right.

Results
Jay Lethal b. Dax Harwood – Rollup with trunks
Colten Gunn b. Billy Gunn – Colt 45
Jon Moxley b. CM Punk – Death Rider
Britt Baker b. KiLynn King – Lockjaw
Will Ospreay/Aussie Open b. Death Triangle – Elevated Oscutter to Fenix

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 10, 2022
Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Commentators: Taz, Excalibur, Jim Ross

It’s another themed show with Quake By The Lake, though in this case it seems to just be a name instead of anything specific. The card is pretty stacked as we have Jon Moxley defending the World Title against Chris Jericho, plus a coffin match and a tornado tag. That should be enough so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Darby Allin vs. Brody King

Coffin match. Allin pops up out of the darkness to start fast, including some thumbtacked skateboard shots. They fight around the ring with Allin getting punched out of the air and being sent over the table. King breaks the skateboard over his knee, which has Allin diving right back at him. Back in and Allin fights his way out of trouble on top and hits a super Code Red, with King being sent outside again (there is a trail of blood on the floor). This time King whips him HARD into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with King missing Allin with a middle rope splash to the floor but hitting the table clean. Allin loads up a big dive but the lights go out, meaning it’s House Of Black time. Julia Hart trips Allin down and the beating is on, allowing King to hit a running flip dive through a table in the corner.

The coffin is loaded up, but Sting is inside. House is cleaned but Sting throws Malakai Black the bat. Black thinks about it but leaves, allowing Allin to hit a big cannonball suicide dive to drop King on the floor. It’s not enough to get him into the coffin though as King drops Allin onto the steps. Allin manages to get in a few chain shots though and chokes King on the apron. King falls off the apron and falls into the coffin to give Allin the win at 13:24.

Rating: B-. That was a lot of blood from King, who was gushing by the end of the match. The good thing here is that Allin won, which is pretty overdue for him in a big match. Odds are that isn’t it for him with the House of Black as Sting and Malakai still need to have their showdown, but for now, it’s a good win for Allin.

Jon Moxley says that since we have the FTW Title, his title might as well be the FYI Title. Tonight, he is going to push the last survivor of the Hart Dungeon and the Lionheart and see what happens.

Chris Jericho promises to win the title tonight because the Lionheart, complete with the leather vest, is back. Jericho talks about how he is going to stretch Moxley tonight and tonight he is going to win the title again.

We have brackets for the Trios Titles tournament:

Death Triangle
Will Ospreay/Aussie Open

Andrade El Idolo/Dragon Lee/Rush
Young Bucks/???

House Of Black
Dark Order

Trustbusters
Best Friends

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Lucha Bros

Tornado tag with Jose and Alex Abrahantes here too. La Faccion starts fast and Fenix is suplexed hard into the corner. Penta is back up with a Sling Blade though and Fenix hits a suicide dive to send Rush into the barricade. There’s the running flip dive to drop Andrade again, leaving Penta to hit Made In Japan for two on Rush. Back in and Rush breaks up the spike Fear Factor and drops Fenix onto Penta for a double two. La Faccion hits stereo flip dives to the floor and we take a break.

We come back with the Bros hitting their own big flipping dives, setting up Fenix’s Eddie dance and frog splash. That only hits knees (spent too much time dancing) but Penta hits a rolling cutter to drop Rush, leaving all four down. Back up and Andrade ties Penta’s mask to the ropes (JR: “NOT THE DOUBLE KNOT!”), leaving Rush to piledrive Fenix. Penta rips the mask off and makes the save, leaving Andrade to throw the mask into the crowd. As the fans chant THROW IT BACK, Rush hits the Bull’s Horns and El Idolo finishes Fenix at 13:52.

Rating: C+. In a way, I can go with the idea of just throwing up your hands and not even bothering with the tags anymore. These matches exist for nothing more than a bunch of chaos, so just throw away the tagging part and get to what everyone is waiting on. They do the style well, but my goodness, enough with the Bros losing their masks.

The Young Bucks come up to Hangman Page and the Dark Order. The Bucks praise Page for everything he has done over the years and reminisce about their great times together, saying it was the best time of their careers. One more time: they can reunite the team and win the Trios Titles. Page is grateful for their time together but turns them down for the Dark Order, because they have had his back. They’ll get together later though, with the Bucks not being overly pleased but not arguing.

Anthony Henry vs. Luchasaurus

Jungle Boy is on commentary. Henry charges at him, gets beaten up, and walks into the Fossilizer (Sean O’Haire’s Widowmaker for those O’Haire fans out there) for the pin at 37 seconds.

Post match Christian Cage pops up on screen in the back….and Jungle Boy actually goes running after him because he knows where the interviews take place (as logical as it gets around here). Security keeps Jungle Boy from Christian but Luchasaurus comes in to take them out. Christian escapes and Luchasaurus headbutts agent Pat Buck.

Miro isn’t sure what to do about the House of Black but Julia Hart comes up to tell him to embrace their gift. She isn’t the woman allowed to touch his face, but he’ll accept their help.

Powerhouse Hobbs is interrupted by QT Marshall and the Factory. They’ll take care of Ricky Starks, which seems to have Hobbs’ approval.

Here are Jay Lethal, Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt. They brag about taking out Wardlow on Saturday and Lethal wants another shot. Cue Wardlow to say he’s taking them all out right now, with FTR coming out join them. The villains bail but come back in, with Wardlow and FTR clearing the ring.

The Jericho Appreciation Society is ready for Chris Jericho’s win tonight and even have a little bit of the bubbly waiting on them. Daniel Garcia calls himself the Dragon Slayer for taking out Bryan Danielson, which sends Anna Jay off to choke someone who doesn’t seem to like that. That would be Leva Bates (formerly known as Blue Pants).

Aaron Solo vs. Ricky Starks

The Factory is here too but get ejected for trying to interfere. Starks takes Solo down but the Roshambo is countered with a hurricanrana. Starks misses the spear but then hits the spear (almost from the side) for the pin at 2:02.

Post match Nick Comoroto comes in to go after Starks but he gets away from a chair shot. Then Starks runs away into the crowd when the rest of the team comes in.

Stokely Hathaway interrupts the Gunn Club and recruits the younger generation. Billy doesn’t like it, so Stokely calls him old. Danhausen comes in and a match seems to be made for Rampage.

The Trustbusters interrupt the Best Friends because Orange Cassidy won’t answer Ari Daivari’s texts or calls. Cassidy says no, so threats are made.

TNT Title: Madison Rayne vs. Jade Cargill

Cargill is defending and misses a charge into the corner to start. A middle rope dropkick sends Cargill outside. They head outside and Madison has to counter a powerbomb into a hurricanrana. Back in and Jade hits a heck of a spear as we take a break. Back with Rayne grabbing a neckbreaker and hitting a not great enziguri. The Baddie distraction lets Jade kick her down and, after countering a counter, hit Jaded to retain at 7:34.

Rating: C. This could have been worse, but Rayne is going to hit a pretty solid ceiling of just ok most of the time. At the same time, Jade isn’t going to lose in a mostly cold match on Dynamite so there was only so much drama. Rayne is a veteran who can wrestle a competent match, but this seemed more about giving Jade a win over a name, whatever that is worth in Rayne’s case.

Post match Athena, previously disguised as a Baddie, comes in to take Jade out and clear the ring.

Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm, now #1 contender due to Kris Statlander getting hurt, are cool with each other but ready to fight. Storm wants to keep her momentum going.

Here’s what’s coming on a bunch of shows.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho, in his WCW/ECW/NJPW look as the Lionheart, is challenging and William Regal is on commentary. Feeling out process to start as Jericho (with ponytail) armdrags him down a few times. Jericho takes him down to crank on the neck but Moxley is back up with some chops and trash talk. A snapmare drops Moxley and Jericho rips out the earring, with Regal saying fair enough, as he would have done it too.

We take a break and come back with a rather bloody Moxley working on an armbar but Jericho breaks that up. Jericho grabs the Hartbreaker Figure Four around the post, which lasts as long as it can. Back in and Moxley grabs a crossface, which is reversed into the Walls. We take a break and come back with Moxley still in the hold but crawling over to the rope for the break. Jericho tries the triangle dropkick but gets sent outside, allowing Moxley to go up top, only to dive into the Codebreaker for a close two.

With that not working, Jericho takes a turnbuckle pad off for a distraction, allowing Sammy Guevara to throw in a baseball bat (overthrow that is). A heck of a shot gives Jericho two and a ram into the buckle sets up the Judas Effect for a very close two. With nothing else working, Jericho goes for the belt but misses a charge into the exposed buckle. Moxley grabs a choke but Jericho (now bleeding too) reverses that into a Liontamer. That’s reversed into another choke and Jericho finally taps at 22:34.

Rating: B. This was a good enough big match feel, though the blood was a bit excessive after the opening bloodbath from Brody King. Jericho is still a big enough win that this boosts Moxley, as he continues to be able to stop Jericho each time. Rather good TV main event here, though Moxley is going to need someone for All Out.

Post match the beatdown is on but the Jericho Appreciation Society, followed by the Blackpool Combat Club and more of the Society run in for the big dive. Cue the returning CM Punk for the ring clearing save and showdown with Moxley. A middle finger from Moxley and a brushing off leave Punk alone to pose to end the night. It was about time for Punk to be back, as the interim thing was getting a bit ridiculous after two plus months. It’s the only thing that would make sense for All Out too, so this is about as perfect as you can get.

Overall Rating: B-. The opener and main event were both good but the middle dragged pretty badly here. What matters is that they now have a big main event set for All Out, which had been sorely lacking over the last few weeks. They still need some better work in the midcard and All Out needs a bit of a better focus, but the last half hour of this show was the important part and they covered it well.

Results
Darby Allin b. Brody King – Allin knocked King into the coffin
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Lucha Bros – El Idolo to Fenix
Luchasaurus b. Anthony Henry – Fossilizer
Ricky Starks b. Aaron Solo – Spear
Jade Cargill b. Madison Rayne – Jaded
Jon Moxley b. Chris Jericho – Choke

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

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AND

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

Dynamite
Date: August 3, 2022
Location: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We’re rapidly coming up on All Out but first we need to get through this weekend’s Battle Of The Belts, which is apparently a thing that is happening. So far there is one match announced and that means we will probably get the rest of the card announced. Whether that is in rapid fire or with more traditional announcements remains to be seen, but Excalibur is probably warming up his throat. Let’s get to it.

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

Jay Lethal vs. Orange Cassidy

Cassidy rolls him up to start and knocks Lethal up the ramp, setting up the lazy kicks. Lethal crawls away but it’s Satnam Singh waiting at the top of the ramp. Cue the Best Friends, with Trent on Taylor’s shoulders, to be taller than Singh, who leaves for no logical reason. With that HILARIOUS visual gag out of the way, we get back in and Cassidy hits a high crossbody but the tornado DDT is countered into a dragon screw legwhip. Cassidy’s knee is sent into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Cassidy being caught in a Figure Four but he rolls over to the ropes. Hail To The King is loaded up but Cassidy rolls into the corner and chills for a bit, much to Lethal’s annoyance. Cassidy’s knee is ok enough to get up top for a super DDT, followed by the tornado DDT for two. Beach Break gets the same but Lethal kicks the knee out and hits Lethal Injection for the pin at 12:14.

Rating: C+. I’m a bit surprised they had Cassidy lose clean like that, but Lethal seems primed to go after Wardlow and the TNT Title. That might not sit well around here due to Cassidy’s popularity and I can kind of get the idea. Lethal has been in a one sided feud with Samoa Joe before losing at the pay per view and now he’s going after a bigger title. I’m not sure I get that.

Post match Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh come out with more threats to Cassidy’s leg. Dutt wants Wardlow out here so Wardlow makes the save. They aren’t fighting right now, but Dutt issues the challenge to Wardlow for Battle Of The Belts. Wardlow accepts, though Dutt said it was against “my man” and never said Lethal.

We look back at Hook winning the FTW Title last week in a nice moment.

Here is the returning Undisputed Elite for a chat. Adam Cole says his shoulder is still injured and he isn’t cleared to compete but you’re still looking at the most elite group in wrestling history. These are five of the most talented stars of all time and they are a team because they are loyal.

Unfortunately he can’t be in the Trios Titles tournament, and that means the Young Bucks can’t be either. The Bucks don’t buy that, but Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly jump the Bucks from behind. The beatdown is on, including chairs being brought in. Hangman Page (with butterflies on his jeans) runs in with a lead pipe for the save. A Bucks/Page reunion is teased but it doesn’t quite click. I’m so, so, SO excited for more Elite “won’t you please be my friend” melodrama. It had been a nice few months without it but here we go again.

Jon Moxley is ready to destroy Chris Jericho because he likes blood and violence. Tonight, he’s ready for either Jericho or Wheeler Yuta to win because he’ll hurt either of them next week.

Christian Cage was backstage for an interview earlier when Jungle Boy tried to run him down.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm/Thunder Rosa

Rebel is here with the villains. Rosa takes Baker down to start and shrugs off an early Lockjaw attempt. Hayter comes in and gets beaten up by Storm with Rosa coming in to keep up the pummeling. Back up and Hayter manages to knock her into the corner so Baker can come in and take over as we go to a break.

Back with Rosa hitting a Stunner to get herself out of trouble and handing it back to Storm for a high crossbody. Hayter reverses a double suplex into one of her own to put Storm and Rosa down, setting up a Stomp from Baker. Rosa dives in off the top with a nasty looking double stomp to make the save and everyone is down for a bit. Hayter plants Rosa but Storm and Rosa hit stereo German suplexes. Storm hits the running hip attacks in the corner but hits Rosa by mistake. One heck of a clothesline blasts Storm to give Hayter the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C+. This started off slowly and then got a lot better by the end. It’s almost weird seeing Hayter get a pin but boosting up someone different enough like her could be worth a try. Storm vs. Rosa seems to be starting to come together and a title match at All Out wouldn’t be that big of a surprise.

We get a video on Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti getting married but Eddie Kingston interrupts and says no one cares. Kingston has signed to face Guevara at All Out so check your mail and sign the deal.

We look at Powerhouse Hobbs turning on Ricky Starks last week.

Taz is fed up and officially ends Team Taz because he didn’t authorize any of that. Well that’s overly logical.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ren Jones

Running powerslam, clothesline, Jones is done with a kneeling on the chest pin at 51 seconds.

Post match Ricky Starks sprints to the ring and gets planted by Hobbs.

Miro wants time to know what he is going to do about the House Of Black.

Darby Allin warns Brody King that he might get what he asked for.

Jim Ross joins commentary.

Christian Cage vs. Matt Hardy

Christian hammers him in the corner to start and they fight outside, with Matt not being able to drive him through a table. Back in and Matt pulls him out of the corner for a powerbomb and a near fall but they head back to the floor. Christian drives him hard into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Matt slugging his way out of trouble but the Twist of Fate is blocked. Christian’s pendulum kick out of the corner rocks Hardy again and Matt gets knocked down for two. They head outside again with Christian putting him through a table, setting up the Killswitch for the pin at 11:02.

Rating: D+. And all of the positives here are for Christian, who you would never guess is in his late 40s. He’s on a heck of a roll at the moment, while Matt is old, slow, and looks every bit of it. I have no idea why Matt is wrestling whatsoever, but he was looking terrible here and it didn’t need to be on TV, or anywhere for that matter. Give Christian something better to do. Also, there’s your required table bump of the week.

Post match Christian loads up the Conchairto but Luchasaurus’ music starts up. Cue Jungle Boy through the crowd to chase Christian off.

Daniel Garcia declares his win over Bryan Danielson to be the biggest in AEW history.

Pac retained the All-Atlantic Title at a Rev Pro event in England last week.

Ethan Page is in the ring to rant about why he isn’t on TV more and doesn’t have an action figure. He isn’t even on the truck despite being so much more talented. Cue Stokely Hathaway to offer Page a business card and they leave together.

The Jericho Appreciation Society is ready for Chris Jericho to become Le Champion again next week. Then Anna Jay chokes out a production worker.

Gunn Club vs. Acclaimed

Dumpster match. Before the match, the Acclaimed jumps the Club and Max Caster promises to make them retire like Vince McMahon (Anthony Bowens’ face is priceless). The brawl is on with the Club sending Acclaimed into the dumpster early, only to have Acclaimed come out with a cookie sheet for the escape. We take a break and come back with Bowens getting hit with Colt 45 on the stage. Colten goes up on part of the set with Caster popping up behind him. That means a toss into the dumpster, followed by the Mic Drop to put Austin through a table. The Club is dumpstered for the win at 8:04.

Rating: C. I have no idea how to grade something like this, but the Acclaimed’s pre-match stuff was outstanding. The problem with something like this is that it’s tied into one idea from the music video and a play on words based on a Danhausen joke (or wherever the A** Boys thing is from). I’m sure this was some kind of tribute/call back to Billy Gunn in 1998, and that might be your biggest problem.

Post match the Acclaimed tie the dumpster shut and shove it off the stage ala the Outlaws to Mankind/Chainsaw Charlie in 1998.

Here’s what’s coming up on various shows.

Chris Jericho vs. Wheeler Yuta

Non-title and Jericho’s title shot next week is on the line. The Appreciation Society is here so Claudio Castagnoli comes out to even things up. They go out to the floor to start with Yuta taking over and knocking Jericho around the ring. The Society tries to interfere and gets ejected, leaving Yuta to wave goodbye to them. Yuta throws some rights but gets crotched on top as we take a break.

Back with Yuta making a comeback and hitting a top rope clothesline, only to have stereo crossbodies leave them both down. Yuta is up first and rolls some German suplexes for two. Jericho pulls him into the Walls but Yuta makes the rope, meaning Jericho needs to yell at the referee.

That’s enough for Jericho to be thrown outside for three straight suicide dives, only to dive into the Codebreaker for two back inside. Yuta is back up with a Regal Stretch to send Jericho to the ropes. The baseball bat is grabbed and taken away, allowing Jericho to kick Yuta low. The Walls is reversed into the seatbelt rollup for two, which is reversed into the Liontamer to make Yuta tap at 12:30.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here and the right ending, even if it means another champion taking a loss. Jericho moves on to the title match with some momentum and Yuta gets to hang with a legend, but it never hit that next gear. Still though, for an off week main event, this worked out well.

Post match Jericho keeps the Walls on until Jon Moxley runs out for the save. Jericho says Moxley opened Pandora’s Box and we’ll be seeing Lionheart Chris Jericho next week.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t their greatest week, but what matters here is that they have set up both Battle Of The Belts and next week’s big Dynamite. There are some rocky points around here, but this is a world of difference compared to what they have been doing for the last few months. There is a new focus on the show and it’s actually doing something for AEW rather than New Japan or Ring Of Honor, which is what has been missing so badly.

Results
Jay Lethal b. Orange Cassidy – Lethal Injection
Jamie Hayter/Britt Baker b. Toni Storm/Thunder Rosa – Clothesline to Storm
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Ren Jones – Clothesline
Christian Cage b. Matt Hardy – Killswitch
Acclaimed b. Gunn Club by putting Gunn Club in the dumpster
Chris Jericho b. Wheeler Yuta – Liontamer

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: July 27, 2022
Location: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Jim Ross, Taz, Excalibur

It’s another special event this week with Fight For The Fallen. There is another stacked card this week as well, as Jon Moxley is defending the Interim World Title against Rush, plus the return of Bryan Danielson. We are on the way towards All Out and it might be time to start setting things up for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Interim AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Rush

Moxley is defending and gets jumped on the floor to start. They get inside with Rush stomping away in the corner and we’re off to the neck crank. It’s back to the floor with Moxley busted open and William Regal not being pleased on commentary. Jose the Assistant offers a distraction but Rush misses a chair shot. Moxley is right back with a suicide dive into the barricade and some hard chops to take over for the first time.

They get back inside with Moxley standing on Rush’s head in the corner but Rush plants him for a quick two. Back to the floor they go (you may be noticing a pattern emerging here) where Rush chokes him with a camera cord as we take a break. We come back with the two of them chopping it out and trading German suplexes. Moxley’s King Kong lariat drops Rush but he snaps off another German suplex to drop Moxley hard.

Back up and Moxley unloads with stomps to the head but Rush gets in a suplex into the corner. Rush takes him up top and is shoved down, only to have Andrade El Idolo come in to shove him down. The Lucha Bros chase Andrade out, leaving Rush to have the Bull’s Horns cut off with another lariat. A straitjacket piledriver gives Rush two but Moxley is back up with the Death Rider. The bulldog choke finishes for Moxley at 13:52.

Rating: B. Good, hard hitting fight here and the kind of match you would expect from them. This is where Moxley thrives and Rush is enough of a bull to make his end of the match work well. Moxley wasn’t about to lose to someone who has barely been around, but at least they had a good brawl to get there.

Post match here is the Jericho Appreciation Society to say APPRECIATE US before Chris Jericho talks about everything the team is going to do tonight. New member Anna Jay changes her name to Anna JAS and promises to choke out everyone. Jericho rants about how he beat Eddie Kingston last week despite all of the injuries he suffered.

Now he wants a shot at Moxley to avenge his loss from two and a half years ago. They’ll fight at Quake By The Lake, which has Moxley saying he hates Jericho. After saying what Jericho can do with that INTERIM nonsense, Moxley says he wants to face the Jericho he saw for years. Not the Wizard or the Painmaker, but the Lionheart. It isn’t like there is any better option to bridge the gap to All Out so Jericho makes the most sense.

The Trios Titles are officially here and the inaugural champions will be crowned at All Out.

Dante Martin accuses Sammy Guevara of going soft but he has someone in his corner tonight: Skye Blue. Uh, sure.

Video on Ricky Starks being a perfect choice for a champion.

FTW Title: Ricky Starks vs. Danhausen

Danhausen is challenging and mocks Starks’ pose instead of cursing him. Starks mocks the curse and gets kicked in the face. A northern lights suplex gives Danhausen one and he avoids a spear into the corner. The second spear connects though and Danhausen retains at 1:25.

Post match Starks is holding his neck but issues another open challenge for a second title defense.

FTW Title: Ricky Starks vs. Hook

Starks is defending and gets pounded into the corner to start. A t-bone suplex drops Starks but he’s back with a belly to back of his own. Hook flips out of a hiptoss and lands on his feet, only to get speared down. Roshambo is countered into Redrum and Starks taps at 1:33. That was pretty awesome, and Hook beating his trainer to win his dad’s title is about as cool as you can get.

Respect is shown post match.

Post break Starks is in the ring with Powerhouse Hobbs to say he turned that title from a noose into a tie. He is the only one who could do that and he exceeded all expectations, working hard every week. People keep telling him to work hard and he’ll get his chance, but his chance was last month and his chance is right now. It isn’t a string of bad luck but bad timing….and then Hobbs lays him out. Taz isn’t sure what is going on as Hobbs hits the spinebuster.

The Acclaimed raps about the Gunn Club and tell us to watch their music video to see what kind of match they’ll have on Rampage. Friday is trash day.

Sammy Guevara vs. Dante Martin

Tay Conti is here with Sammy while Skye Blue is here with Martin. Guevara hits a shoulder to start but Martin is right back up with a headlock. A backflip over Martin picks up the pace and Guevara hits a dropkick before spinning into a pose. Martin gets in his own spin but is sent outside, only to switch places with Guevara. The big flip dive is dropped so Martin can moonsault into the middle to stare at Guevara.

Hold on as Guevara and Conti walk out, only to be jumped by Martin (well at least Guevara is). Martin hits a HUGE dive off the stage to drop Guevara again and we take a break. Back with Martin’s springboard dive being kneed out of the air but not being able to hit the GTH. Instead Martin grabs a Spanish Fly for two but the Nose Dive misses. Guevara’s springboard cutter connects (with Martin’s leg looking to collapse) and the GTH gives Guevara the pin at 8:46.

Rating: B-. Much like Moxley vs. Rush, you knew what you were getting from these two and they did their high flying stuff until Sammy go the win. Martin continues to look good in just about everything he does, but at some point he has to win a match that matters. Guevara bounces back from the Blood & Guts loss and continues to be annoying, so he should be just fine going forward.

Post match Guevara goes after Martin again but Blue gets in the way. Cue Anna Jay to beat her down, only to have Ruby Soho, Eddie Kingston and Ortiz run in for the save. Martin is taken out and seems hurt.

Daniel Garcia is ready to beat Bryan Danielson and show that he is the best in the world.

Jay Lethal, Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh aren’t happy with Samoa Joe but they’re even less happy with the Best Friends. Cue the Best Friends to issue the challenge for Rampage and Dutt accepts, despite being retired.

Here is Jungle Boy for a chat in the ring, with Luchasaurus coming out with him as a bit of a surprise. Jungle Boy gets right to it by calling Christian Cage a coward. Cage is the most relevant he has ever been and then he turned on Jungle Boy over a battle royal? Shouldn’t a legend like Cage have enough money to not worry about that?

Oh yeah, Christian got divorced so his ex-wife took everything. Cage needed a bodyguard in Luchasaurus but he picked Jungle Boy’s best friend. We hear about Jungle Boy burying his father but we cut to Cage in the back, saying that Jungle Boy can pull up a grave next to his father. Cage knows all of Jungle Boy’s secrets and now he’s going to use them. Sounds ominous.

The Young Bucks want the Trios Titles but need a partner. Brandon Cutler offers his services but they run into Hangman Page. The Bucks seem to be interested in a reunion but the Dark Order comes up to with Page a happy birthday.

Tony Nese/Mark Sterling vs. Swerve Strickland

Keith Lee is barred from ringside. Nese takes Strickland into the corner to start but Swerve spins up into the anklescissors. A backbreaker lets Swerve go outside where Sterling offers a distraction. Some cheap shots from Nese put Swerve in trouble as we take a break. Back with Nese being knocked into the corner, which counts as a tag to Sterling.

Strickland keeps beating up Nese as Sterling won’t get inside, including a knockout kick to Nese. Since Nese is hanging from the bottom rope over the floor, Swerve adds the slingshot Swerve Stomp to knock him silly. Back in and the jumping kick to the head finishes Sterling at 6:42.

Rating: C-. Well ok then. Strickland was never in any kind of danger here but he didn’t need to be. Nese isn’t much of a threat to anyone but at least they protected him with the loss going on Sterling. Nothing to see here, but it should wrap up the feud between them, as it needs to do.

Post match We see Keith Lee down in the back with Josh Woods (who has been scouted by Nese and Sterling) standing over him. Nese uses the distraction to knock Strickland silly.

The House of Black wants to hurt Darby Allin while offering Miro the throne. Brody King challenges Allin to a coffin match.

Excalibur talks about Pac’s successful All-Atlantic Title defense.

Miyu Yamashita beat Thunder Rosa in a title elimination match, earning a Women’s Title match tonight.

Women’s Title: Miyu Yamashita vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa is defending and they fight over wrist control to start. An exchange of rollups gets two each and that’s good for a standoff. Yamashita takes the leg out on the apron but Rosa knocks her down and chops hard against the barricade. A clothesline drops Rosa though and we take a break.

Back with the two of them slugging it out until Rosa hits a running kick to the chest against the ropes. Yamashita kicks her HARD in the head for two, with Rosa looking a bit rocked. A fireman’s carry is countered into a small package which is countered into a small package for two on Rosa (how she lost the first match for the callback). There’s a kick to Yamashita’s head though and a Fire Thunder Driver retains the title at 10:01.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here again, even though it was kind of an unknown going against Rosa. They set this up a few weeks ago in Japan, which is better than you get around here a lot of the time, so this could have been worse. Rosa needed a win like this, but she is still far from the top of the division and it shows badly.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Danielson

Chris Jericho is on commentary and this is Danielson’s first match since May. Danielson starts fast with the kicks to the chest and Garcia is rocked early. A kick to the face doesn’t do much to Danielson, who backdrops Garcia to the floor, setting up the suicide dive. Back in and Danielson takes him down for the hard elbows to the head, much to the fans’ approval. Garcia is back up with a neckbreaker and sends Danielson outside.

The floor mat is peeled back but Danielson hits a running forearm to stagger Garcia again. The kicks to the chest set up a running dropkick. There’s a missile dropkick back inside and some forearms rock Danielson again. Danielson is back up and tries the backflip out of the corner but collapses when running the ropes. That’s fine with Garcia, who sends him into the steps and hits a DDT onto the exposed concrete.

We take a break and come back with Garcia stomping on a bloody Danielson before putting him on top. Danielson reverses into a belly to back superplex, which bangs up the head even more. It takes a bit but Danielson gets up and tries Cattle Mutilation, which doesn’t quite go on. Instead, Garcia hits the hammer and anvil elbows, which just bring Danielson back to his feet.

Danielson gives us a proper hammer and elbow demonstration and a reverse fisherman’s suplex. The running knee is countered into a brainbuster for two and it’s time to slug it out. Danielson sends him outside for the running knee from the apron but hang on as someone reaches from under the apron to grab Danielson’s boot. That’s enough for the piledriver to plant Danielson and the Sharpshooter goes on. Garcia cranks back and Danielson passes out at 17:04.

Rating: B. The ending was a surprise and points for putting Garcia over, which is what has been missing for a bit. This felt more like something bigger for Danielson though, as it might be the start of something leading to his retirement. Having Danielson’s head be all messed up s a scary situation, but also something he has dealt with before. Good job on getting Garcia a rub though, which has been lacking for him so far.

The hand was that of Jake Hager, who runs in to celebrate with Garcia and Jericho to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a show where they fired off one good match after another and that made for a heck of a weekly show. Dynamite can be awesome when they let the wrestlers do their thing at a high level and that’s what we got here. It helps that they had different kind of matches, with the Moxley vs. Rush brawl, Guevara vs. Martin flying all over the place and Garcia and Danielson being more about the striking. Very good show here and it didn’t feel like they had as much stuff crammed in here, which is nice for a change.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Rush – Bulldog choke
Ricky Starks b. Danhausen – Spear
Hook b. Ricky Starks – Redrum
Sammy Guevara b. Dante Martin – GTH
Swerve Strickland b. Tony Nese/Mark Sterling – Running kick to Sterling
Thunder Rosa b. Miyu Yamashita – Fire Thunder Driver
Daniel Garcia b. Bryan Danielson via referee stoppage

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