Collision
Date: November 25, 2023
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

It’s time for the second half of the first week of the Continental Classic and in this case we’re going to see a few more matches that look rather strong on paper. Other than that, Adam Copeland is here with something to say, which will likely be about Christian Cage. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Eddie Kingston, Brody King and Daniel Garcia are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

We get a quick look at the Continental Classic rules:

20 minute time limits
3 points for a win
1 point for a draw

Everyone else is banned from ringside.

Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Daniel Garcia

Castagnoli runs him over fast to start but Garcia is back with a quickly broken guillotine choke. Garcia tries to slug away and is quickly dropped with an uppercut. With that not working, Garcia manages to send him to the apron for a knock into the barricade. This doesn’t seem to please Castagnoli, who swings him into the barricade over and over to take over.

We take a break and come back with Garcia grabbing another guillotine choke, followed by a sleeper. Castagnoli fights out of that as well as an ankle lock before running Garcia over. The Riccola Bomb is countered but Castagnoli reverses the counter in the Sharpshooter. With that broken up, Garcia makes the fired up comeback, only to get dropped with an uppercut. Now the Riccola Bomb can finish for Castagnoli at 10:26.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have much to go off of as it was mainly Castagnoli beating Garcia up and then doing it again until he could get the win. Garcia continues to be someone who seems to be a project but at some point he has to win something. That isn’t likely to be the case here though as Garcia is likely to be a tackling dummy for his entire block. Castagnoli making a big run wouldn’t be a surprise though and they have made their first step in that direction.

Blue League Standings
Claudio Castagnoli – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Brody King – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Andrade El Idolo – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Post match Wheeler Yuta comes in to congratulate Castagnoli.

Eddie Kingston doesn’t want to talk but has to do it to avoid being fined. He’s putting his titles on the line in the tournament because he’s done what he wanted by wrestling in Japan.

Killswitch vs. The Boys

One Boy is chokeslammed onto the apron and the other is clotheslined hard in the back of the head for the pin at 1:22.

Post match Brandon gets chokeslammed through a chair but cue Adam Copeland for the save with a chair of his own. A piece of the chair is broken off so Edge can choke him out in the crossface. The Conchairto…doesn’t leave Killswitch laying so Copeland stomps him head first into the chair. Another Conchairto leaves Killswitch laying.

Post break Copeland goes on a heck of a rant against Christian Cage, who is so insecure about Copeland being here. From now on, Copeland is hunting Cage and is even challenging him for the TNT Title on December 6 in Montreal.

Malakai Black/Buddy Matthews vs. Gravity/Komander

Somehow this is the first time Black and Matthews have teamed on their own in AEW. Matthews and Gravity get things going as Nigel gets annoyed at the other commentators talking about ANYTHING but Adam Copeland threatening Christian Cage. With Matthews not being able to do much, Black comes in to strike away. Komander’s hurricanrana takes Black down but he plants Komander as we take a break.

Back with Komander hitting a jawbreaker but not being able to dive over to Gravity. The tag goes through a few seconds later as Gravity comes in with a high crossbody to both of them. Black knees the heck out of Gravity but Komander is back in to pick up the pace. Cielito Lindo is loaded up but Matthews offers a distraction.

Everything breaks down and the House is sent to the floor, where they pull Gravity’s dive out of the air. Gravity manages to get back to the apron though, leaving Komander to walk the ropes to dive onto the House instead. Back in and a pair of top rope dives hit raised knees and a bunch of knees have the good guys down. Black sits down so Komander can crawl over to him, allowing Matthews to hit the Stomp for the pin at 11:18.

Rating: B-. I liked this well enough as Black and Matthews are kind of a unique team. It was nice to see them get out there and wreck some people, even if it took some time to get there. What matters is getting the House some momentum, and it’s not like Komander and Gravity are going to take long to get back to where they were before.

Darius Martin and Action Andretti…are cut off by an NBA commercial, but they come back to reveal the returning Dante Martin.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Lady Frost

Hart is defending under House Rules and the chosen stipulation is….no countouts. They fight over a lockup to start with Frost taking her into the corner but having what looked to be a slap easily blocked. They take turns dodging each other until Hart drops to the floor for a trip onto the apron. Hart rams her into the apron and it’s time to grab a chair. The referee breaks that up so Hart superkicks her into the chair instead. They go onto the ramp where Hart hits a running clothesline to knock her out of the chair. Back in and Frost kicks her in the head but gets kind of choke shoved. Hartless retains the title at 5:07.

Rating: C. What a weird match this was, as Frost has barely been a thing in AEW and picked a rather bizarre stipulation. It’s not like AEW really does much without countouts anyway so this was almost just a way to explain why they were fighting on the floor. Hart never felt like she was in danger and it didn’t exactly feel like the most important match.

Don Callis, with Powerhouse Hobbs, doesn’t understand how Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega got a Tag Team Title shot. Hobbs implies he can beat Omega and Jericho on his own.

FTR vs. The Righteous

Vincent hammers on Wheeler in the corner to start but Wheeler is up with an elbow to the face. Harwood comes in and gets elbowed down as well, followed by a heck of a clothesline from Dutch. Harwood’s springboard is knocked out of the air but he manages to clothesline Dutch outside. Vincent follows his partner and we take a break.

Back with Harwood fighting out of a chinlock but Dutch cuts him down again. A powerbomb puts Harwood down, only to have Dutch miss a middle rope backsplash. Harwood slides between Vince’s legs and brings Wheeler in to pick up the pace. A series of standing switches lets Vincent tag Dutch, who is knocked outside. Vincent gets tagged back in and the Shatter Machine finishes for Harwood at 9:12.

Rating: B-. There was no Jake Roberts here with the Righteous so the experiment is either over or AEW is not that interested in making it a success. FTR got a nice win here, or at least whatever they can get out of beating the Righteous. I’m not sure what is next for FTR, but it doesn’t feel like they’re going to be near the titles anytime soon. Granted they’ve been there enough lately that they might not need to be.

Post match the House Of Black says there is no one to save FTR, meaning no Wheeler Yuta or CM Punk. Malakai Black says this isn’t a brotherhood and the lights go out, with the House disappearing.

We see the full Action Andretti/Top Flight promos, which more or less says they need Dante to complete the team.

We look at Big Bill and Ricky Starks attacking Chris Jericho, with his bad arm, after Full Gear.

Here are Ricky Starks and Big Bill for a chat. Starks talks about how he was expecting more of a fight from the challengers at Full Gear. For now though, he isn’t surprised that Chris Jericho is back, but now he has a challenger. Starks and Bill say they don’t know each other (Starks: “Bill, what’s my birthday?” Bill: “No idea.” Starks: “See?”) but Starks talks about Bill being a monster.

Bill talks about his health issues and always believing that he would be back at the top. They’re going to beat up Omega and Jericho and we hear about a variety of NBA duos. Bill lists off a bunch of Chicago Bulls but he only Jericho and Omega as the guys who hand Michael Jordan his gum. Starks doesn’t know who those players are, but he likes what Bill is saying. These guys work well together and that exchange about the birthday was funny.

The winners from the Gold League matches on Dynamite are happy and ready to keep going.

Keith Lee vs. Lee Moriarty

They miss a bunch of strikes to start until Keith knocks him down without much effort. There’s the Pounce to send Moriarty down and us to a break. Back with Moriarty striking away before grabbing an armbar. Keith powers his way out and uses the good arm for a hard clothesline. Moriarty hits a middle rope bulldog but a kick to the head is easily blocked. Keith headbutts him out of the air and the Big Bang Catastrophe finishes Moriarty at 7:21.

Rating: C. Keith continues to be someone who is just kind of floating around doing nothing important. I’m not sure why that is, but he is definitely not the same star he was before his health issues came up. For now though, at least he is on TV and winning, but it would be nice to have him do something of note.

Post break Keith Lee says he was going to praise Lee Moriarty but instead he would rather talk about his lack of opportunity. He is coming for someone, but won’t say who. They know who he means though.

Continental Classic Blue League: Brody King vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston’s titles aren’t on the line. A headlock and some shoulders have no effect on King so they chop it out, which is more to Kingston’s liking. King knocks him into the corner for the Cannonball and Kingston needs a breather on the floor. Another chop off goes to King but he drop toeholds a charging King into the steps. King is fine enough to hit a crossbody against the barricade as this is following the NO COUNTOUTS idea from the TBS Title match earlier. Back in and King hits a running backsplash as we take a break.

We come back with King grabbing a superplex, leaving Kingston to collapse on a whip into the corner. Kingston manages a desperation clothesline and now the rapid fire chops in the corner can connect. The spinning backfist out of nowhere gives Kingston two and they chop it out, complete with a lot of cringing.

Kingston’s DDT gets two but King is back with something like a Boss Man Slam. Kingston is back up with a half and half suplex and a Saito suplex gets two. King gets a piledriver for two, which shouldn’t have counted anyway as the foot was underneath the rope. Kingston snaps off a spinning backfist but King lists him up for a sitout powerbomb and the pin at 16:43.

Rating: B. I could see this one getting some mixed reviews, as they beat each other up but it wasn’t exactly the smoothest looking match. This was about two guys beating each other up and they did it rather well. That being said, it’s more than a bit disappointing to see Kingston fight so hard to get to the Ring Of Honor World Title and then have the title reigns disrupted over this tournament. It just feels unnecessary, but here we are anyway.

Blue League Standings
Claudio Castagnoli – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Brody King – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Bryan Danielson – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Andrade El Idolo – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Eddie Kingston – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Daniel Garcia – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Overall Rating: B-. This was the House Of Black show and that stuff worked well enough, but it wasn’t exactly a thrilling edition otherwise. As was the case last week, having Rampage and Collision back to back hurts the last hour out of the three as I’m ready for a break from AEW by that point. The tournament stuff gives the show a bit more structure, but that might lose its charm in a few weeks. Not a bad show at all, but it didn’t feel important, as has been the case most of the time in recent weeks, if not months.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli b. Daniel Garcia – Riccola Bomb
Killswitch b. The Boys – Clothesline to the back of Brandon’s head
Malakai Black/Buddy Matthews b. Gravity/Komander – Stomp to Komander
Julia Hart b. Lady Frost – Hartless
FTR b. The Righteous – Shatter Machine to Vincent
Keith Lee b. Lee Moriarty – Big Bang Catastrophe
Brody King b. Eddie Kingston – Sitout powerbomb

 

 

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

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

AND

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

 

Dynamite
Date: November 22, 2023
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Full Gear and that means it is time to start the Continental Classic. This is a round robin tournament that will run until the end of the year with a new title (plus seemingly two more though it’s a little unclear how it works) going to the winner. Samoa Joe is also coming for MJF and the World Title so let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

The graphics on the sides of the entrances are now Ric Flair WOO Energy with a cartoon Flair. The drinks are also at the announcers’ desk.

Here are the rules for the Continental Classic:

20 minute time limit
3 points for a win
1 point for a draw
Everyone is banned from ringside

Continental Classic Gold League: Swerve Strickland vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal shoulders him down to start but an anklescissors sends Lethal to the floor. They strike it out on the apron, with Lethal going after Swerve’s banged up arm. Swerve is knocked to the floor for a suicide but Swerve is right back on the leg back inside. They strike it out with shots to the leg and arm until Lethal gets in a shoulder breaker as we take a break.

Back with Swerve catching him on top and hitting a Downward Spiral for two. Lethal puts him right back down and drops a top rope elbow for two. The basement dropkick is countered into a stretch muffler to send Lethal bailing to the ropes. That’s fine with Swerve, who hits the House Call into the Swerve Stomp for the pin at 13:51.

Rating: B-. The action was good enough and the working on the leg/arm worked well enough for a story. Swerve pretty much had to win coming off the momentum he had in the Full Gear match against Hangman Page, though it’s a bit much to take to have him be this fine so soon after that kind of a fight. I’m not sure why Swerve had to wrestle here, but they did the right thing in their current situation.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Jay White – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Orange Cassidy, Hook and Katsuyori SShibata are cut off from making an announcement as Wheeler Yuta interrupts. Yuta is sick of Shibata and wants the Pure Title back. Cassidy doesn’t get to make his announcement.

Here are MJF (on a cane) and Adam Cole (on crutches) for a chat. Cole has a seat in a chair as MJF talks about how the Devil is here and no one is on his level. He brags about his win over Jay White but sometimes he can be a bit too humble. None of what he has done without his brochacho though so it’s time for Storytime with Adam Cole. Uh, bay-bay.

Cole say she’s a long way off from being able to get back in the ring but he wants to be here with MJF. He understands, and threatens the person in the Devil mask. Cue said person on the screen….and here is Samoa Joe. After mocking Cole, he wants MJF to honor his deal of a title shot. MJF has thought about this and says something that gets muted. Cole insists that MJF is a man of his word and praises Joe.

Cole tells MJF to be a man of his word so MJF says Joe wouldn’t be the first Ring of Honor legend he has beaten in Chicago. Twice. The challenge is thrown out for right now but Joe says nah. He knows better than to face MJF when he can complain about his injury. Instead, we’ll do it at World’s End in MJF’s hometown of Long Island.

The match is on, though MJF has to calm the crowd down after praising Long Island a bit too much. Joe says MJF doesn’t have to worry about the Devil anymore because MJF is now his property. He wants the best MJF, so for now, he has MJF’s back. That’s a nice little twist on a match we knew was coming.

Hook/Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata vs. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard/Jake Hager

Before the match, Cassidy gets to make him announcement: Danhausen is back! Menard uses the distraction to jump Hook from behind and gets thrown down for his efforts. Everything breaks down and a backbreaker/running knee to the head combination puts Hook down. Hager yells at the referee and we take an early break.

Back with Hook suplexing his way out of trouble and handing it off to Cassidy to pick up the pace. The Stundog Millionaire cuts off Hager and Shibata comes in to forearm away. Shibata chops Hager down in the corner and nails the running dropkick….and Danhausen has Hager’s hat. Everything breaks down and Shibata/Hook grab a stereo sleeper/Redrum for the double submission at 8:08.

Rating: C. This was only so competitive as the match was more about getting Danhausen back in the fold. The fans are going to be happy with just about anything he does and it was a smart move to bring him back. At the same time, the double submission worked well as one of the Ring Of Honor champions is back. And later this week, he’ll be back on Ring Of Honor!

Adam Cole is glad to be back when Roderick Strong and the Kingdom interrupt. Strong asks where Cole was on Friday, which sends Cole into a rant about how they’re not best friends anymore.

Here is Christian Cage, with Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne, for a chat. Cage says things did not go their way at Full Gear but Luchasaurus lost that match. They have both benefited from their relationship with cage and it is time to rechristen them. Luchasaurus takes the knee and is renamed….Killswitch. Wayne takes the knee even faster but Cage tells him to get up because he is special. Since Cage sees himself in Wayne, he is now the Prodigy Nick Wayne.

Cue Wayne’s mom (Cage: “You are a terrible mother.”) but Cage cuts her off and berates her. It’s a good thing Wayne’s father is already dead because he could never be as good of a wrestler as Cage. He tells her to go get to her shift at Denny’s….but Luchasaurus gets between them. Cage tells him to get back on his knees. That doesn’t happen so Cage slaps him….and shoves him into Wayne’s mom. Cage orders Wayne to grab a chair but wants Luchasaurus to hit the Conchairto. Hesitation ensues but here is Adam Copeland for the save. Wayne is left alone for the spear and an Impaler, setting up a Conchairto.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society is annoyed at their loss but Anna Jay tells them to shut up. Angelo Parker says he’s got her back tonight…but is getting a call from Ruby Soho.

Continental Classic Gold League: Rush vs. Jay White

Rush easily powers him into the corner to start and then does it again for a bonus. A takedown lets Rush stomp away and there’s a basement dropkick to the back of the head. They head outside where Rush drops him with a hard chop, followed by some hard whips into the barricade.

Back in and they trade chops in the corner with Rush getting the better of things (as he tends to do). White gets stomped down in the corner, setting up the cocky kick to the face. We take a break and come back with White suplexing him into the corner for two. That’s too much selling for Rush though as he’s back with rolling suplexes into a brainbuster for two.

White manages a brainbuster of his own for two more before mocking the matador’s cape. They slug it out again until a swinging Rock Bottom plants Rush for two more. Rush snaps off a German suplex and suplexes him into the corner, only to have the Bull’s Horns cut off. The Blade Runner is blocked as well but the referee gets distracted. That lets White hit a low blow into the Blade Runner for the pin at 13:56.

Rating: B. This is becoming more of Rush’s traditional match, as he beats the fire out of someone for a good while before getting to whatever they have for a finish. White was mostly squashed here until managing to get in some offense of his own. That being said, White did get the win (cheating aside), which he needed after losing at Full Gear.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (5 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

We look at Ricky Starks and Big Bill retaining the Tag Team Titles, plus Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega earning a title shot, both at Full Gear. The teams got into it at the media scrum and the champs jumped Jericho afterwards, damaging his arm in the process.

Here is Toni Storm for her Women’s Title acceptance speech, though first we get an Oscar winner announcement style introduction. She didn’t have anything prepared but does pull out a list of people to thank. That includes Anthony Khan, all of those at Warner Discovery (including founder Jack Warner, who died in 1978) and all of the little Toni Storms out there.

Skye Blue vs. Anna Jay vs. Ruby Soho

Angelo Parker, Matt Menard and Saraya are here too. They trade rollups to start until Soho and Parker stop to stare at each other a bit. Soho is sent outside, leaving Jay to kick Blue in the face. Back in and Soho suplexes Blue, allowing Parker to trip Blue up. Jay bends Blue around the post and we take a break.

We come back with Jay planting them both with a Tower Of Doom before they all head outside. Soho gets the better of things but stops to look at Parker, allowing Blue to dive onto Soho and Jay back inside. Jay gets sent outside where Menard offers a distraction. Saraya breaks that up, leaving Blue to kick Soho right into Parker’s arms (Soho doesn’t seem to mind). That’s broken up as well and the distraction lets Blue hit a TKO to pin Jay at 9:52.

Rating: C+. The action was good enough but this was all about Parker and Soho and nothing more. They’re having that forbidden romance deal and in a way that’s kind of interesting. I could go or it being someone other than Parker, but Soho needs something to get her somewhere and maybe this is it. Jay losing is a bit frustrating, though if AEW has to start pushing Blue again, doing it in her hometown makes sense.

Wardlow is interrupted by AR Fox and drops him as a result.

Continental Classic Gold League: Mark Briscoe vs. Jon Moxley

They go to the slugout to start with Moxley taking him into the corner for some chops. Briscoe manages to send him outside for a running Blockbuster from the apron. Back in and the Froggy Bow misses, allowing Moxley to knock him into the corner again. We take a break and come back with Moxley working on an STF on the bloody Briscoe (commentary does in fact make fun of the fact that Moxley isn’t bleeding for once).

The comeback is on with Briscoe striking him down, setting up a running shot in the corner for two. Moxley’s armbar sends Briscoe to the ropes so Moxley grabs the Paradigm Shift. Briscoe pops back up and hits a dropkick before collapsing for the double breather. The Death Valley Driver into the Froggy Bow gives Briscoe two but Moxley is back with the Death Rider for the same. Moxley wins a slugout and hits a Stomp into another Death Rider for the pin at 11:23.

Rating: B. It’s against bigger names, but Briscoe continues to lose now that he’s back in AEW. I’m not sure how wise that is as he’s one of the most charismatic people they have but at least it was to one of the company’s top stars. Moxley is going to be a favorite to win the tournament, though I could go for an explanation for why he’s getting the chance to win three titles after losing to Orange Cassidy on Saturday when Cassidy isn’t in the tournament.

Gold League Standings
Swerve Strickland – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay White – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Mark Briscoe – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Rush – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jay Lethal – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Respect is shown to end the show.

Of note: the Ring Of Honor Instagram account has announced that Ronda Rousey will be wrestling on this week’s Ring Of Honor. Unless it was mentioned in a quick throw away line, I did not hear her name or any reference to her on this show. Katsuyori Shibata’s Pure Title match on the same Ring Of Honor was mentioned and Wheeler Yuta said he wanted the title. That was mentioned, but not Rousey, who has been announced by the official Ring Of Honor social media. That’s a very interesting choice.

Overall Rating: B+. Well the focus was on the tournament here and that stuff went very well. I’m not surprised by that part as it is still fresh and new with some very talented wrestlers involved, but it should be interesting to see how that goes a few weeks from now when the new shine has worn off. The rest of the show was rather good, with the six man tag being the weakest point and even that was completely fine. This was a wrestling based show and as usual, AEW knows how to make that work.

Results
Swerve Strickland b. Jay Lethal – Swerve Stomp
Hook/Orange Cassidy/Katsuyori Shibata b. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard/Jake Hager – Double submissions
Jay White b. Rush – Blade Runner
Skye Blue b. Anna Jay and Ruby Soho – TKO to Jay
Jon Moxley b. Mark Briscoe – Death Rider

 

 

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

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

AND

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