Dynamite
Date: September 29, 2021
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

AEW has been on a roll as of late and that means we could be in for something special tonight. I’m not sure what we are going to be seeing here, but it certainly could be a fun night. If nothing else, we’re in Brodie Lee’s hometown and that means we are probably going to be in for some tributes. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We open with some BRODIE chants, which are just awesome.

Here’s CM Punk, who will be on commentary tonight but can’t dive into the crowd because of the athletic commission.

Adam Cole vs. Jungle Boy

Feeling out process to start until Boy hits a heck of a chop into a springboard armdrag. A dropkick puts Cole on the floor and let’s take a breather for a bit. Jungle follows him out and Cole kicks him down, setting up a neckbreaker back inside. The chinlock holds Boy in place for a bit but he is right back up with a shot to the face. Jungle hits a brainbuster into a belly to belly into the corner, followed by the rolling German suplexes for two.

Cole rolls his way out of a torture rack for two and hits the brainbuster onto the knee for two of his own. Jungle snaps off a poisonrana into a running forearm to the back of the head, setting up kind of an Angle Slam into a Death Valley Driver for two. Back up and Cole superkicks him out to the floor, leaving Jungle down for a good bit. The Panama Sunrise on the floor is broken up but Jungle’s suicide dive is cut off by an enziguri.

Cole gets back on the apron so Jungle snaps off a running hurricanrana to the floor. Back in and Cole hits another enziguri, setting up the Panama Sunrise…..for two. I’m not sure if someone should be kicking out of that so soon but Cole’s stunned face made it a little better. Jungle pulls him into the Snare Trap but Cole slips out and kicks him outside. Back in and a low blow cuts Jungle down, leaving Cole to hit the Boom for the pin at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a back and forth match, which is something that you can always go for around here. It was a lot of dives and flips and kicks to the face, but at least they were putting on an entertaining match. Jungle losing again isn’t my favorite thing, but at least it was to someone like Cole, who is being pushed as a major star.

Post break here is the Elite and after a break, Karl Anderson talks about how great the Elite is, including introducing most of the team. Anderson: “And of course Nak and Cutler.” Cole talks about how he beat Jungle Boy on his own, because Bay Bay is elite and undefeated. The fans chant for Punk, who has not had the nicest things to say about the Elite so far.

Kenny Omega talks about how his social media has been blowing up over his match with Bryan Danielson last week. Last week might have been the greatest match in AEW history and he isn’t surprised. Danielson cashed in on his promise to kick Omega’s head in but he couldn’t make it work when it counted. Since Danielson has no record though, he isn’t getting a rematch and he’ll never see Omega face to face again.

Cue Danielson to refer to the champ as Kenny “NO BALLS” Omega. Punk: “Well that’s a t-shirt.” Danielson issues the challenge to face any member of the Elite on Rampage but gets no takers. Instead, Omega wants to fight right now but Danielson calls out the reinforcements from the back and gets Frankie Kazarian, Christian Cage and Jurassic Express. The Elite bails from the fight of course.

Andrade interrupts the Lucha Bros and says they haven’t defended their AAA Tag Team Titles in a long time. He has some friends if they’re up for a defense, and the Bros seem down.

Matt Sydal/Dante Martin vs. Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson

Cody headlocks Sydal to start and gets nowhere with it. Instead it’s off to Sydal to headlock takeover Johnson, setting up a kick to the back. It’s back to Martin to stare Johnson face to face and we take a break. Back with Cody getting the hot tag to clean house as commentary talks about how the fans aren’t thrilled with Cody these days. Everything breaks down as Johnson and Sydal fight outside.

Martin missile dropkicks Cody for two and a double jump moonsault is good for the same. Johnson tags himself back in and gets kicked in the face by Sydal. That doesn’t seem to matter as Johnson kicks Sydal in the face, only to get rolled up by Martin for two more. Another superkick rocks Martin though and a fisherman’s buster onto the knee finishes for Johnson at 7:45.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and that was a good thing. Sometimes you don’t need a match to keep going forever and that was the case here. Good little match, with Johnson getting to shine a bit and the fans’ displeasure with Cody being highlighted for a change. That’s interesting, and it’s a smart path to take, even if it takes some time.

Post match Cody calls out Malakai Black but Arn Anderson tells him to shut up. Anderson talks about how Black has destroyed everything they love and Cody is missing the point. Black is an assassin who will take out everyone to win a match. Cody is the kind of person who would give up his car if someone tried to steal it but Anderson would shoot them in the head. He isn’t going to coach a loser, so Johnson can leave with him.

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin vs. Bear Country/Anthony Greene

Sting is here with Darby and company and it’s a brawl to start, with Allin and Greene being left alone in the ring. That’s fine with Allin, who gets two off of la majistral. An armdrag sends Greene down and we get a Ricky Steamboat reference. We settle down to Bear Country beating up Moxley but Kingston breaks up the double splash. The spinning backfist sets up a German suplex and the brawl heads to the floor. That leaves Greene alone with Moxley and Kingston, who shrug off a springboard spinning high crossbody attempt. The German suplex/lariat combination finishes Greene at 3:30.

Rating: C-. Mostly a squash here and that’s all it needed to be. Sometimes your best bet is to get people on there on screen and let them do their thing, which is exactly what they did here. It wasn’t a great match or anything, but it can be a good idea to let big stars feel like big stars. Nice job, even if it was hardly a classic.

Post match Sting lays Greene out for a bonus.

Video on Ruby Soho vs. Britt Baker, with Soho promising to take the title.

Dark Order/Orange Cassidy vs. Hardy Family Office

Negative 1 is here with the team because AEW likes making its fans emotional. This is a sixteen man tag to make things a bit complicated and the Dark Order is already fighting among themselves. Alan Angels loses his mask and it’s a suplex/top rope spear combination from Butcher and Blade for two. Private Party comes in to work on on Angels as we get a THANK YOU BRODIE chant.

Everything breaks down though and we take a break. Back with Jack Evans (Flippy McGillicutty according to Punk) coming in to pick up the pace until Evil Uno kicks him in the face. Alex Reynolds gets sent into Uno as the issues continue, so Cassidy comes in for the top rope thumbs up splash. Uno walks out on the match so some more of the Order goes to talk to him.

Evans flips over into a backslide for two on Cassidy as everything breaks down again. Uno keeps walking but cue Negative 1 and Amanda Huber (Brodie’s widow) with 1 throwing the papers and Amanda telling the team to get it together. The Order charges the ring and cleans house, with the parade of secondary finishers. A series of strikes sets up a German suplex and the Fatality is good for the pin at 7:51.

Rating: A. This was all about the emotions and they nailed that on every level. I wasn’t a big Lee fan but I was smiling throughout the entire thing, which is all it needed to be. Outstanding stuff here, with the Dark Order reunion bringing all the feelings. I loved this and they did exactly what they were trying to do.

Post match the Dark Order gets back together and it’s about as cool as you can get.

Lio Rush is All Elite. Rush? Not actually retiring? I’m as stunned as you are.

FTR and Tully Blanchard are ready to show that they’re the best again. Top guys out.

Here are Dan Lambert and the Men of the Year to talk about how Chris Jericho got kneed in the face by UFC’s Jorge Mazvidal last week. The thing is, Jericho saved this promotion from itself and turned it into the hottest promotion anyone has seen in years. Then Jericho came after them and got beaten down like never before, leaving his earning potential the same as everyone here: zero. Now they have cut the head off of AEW and Tony Khan-man will have more trouble selling snake oil.

Scorpio Sky talks about how he was a star around here at the beginning and then he grabbed the giant Sonic ring, but it wasn’t good enough. No one around here was paying attention, but Dan Lambert was watching. Lambert sees him as a main eventer, just like Ethan Page. That sends Page into a rant about how great he is at everything but he can’t get an action figure or a spot in the opening video. He has the best smile around here and now he rolls with champions, because the Men of the Year are the Top Team.

Hikaru Shida is ready to get her 50th win in AEW, but she has to beat Serena Deeb next week on Dynamite’s second anniversary show.

Penelope Ford/The Bunny vs. Tay Conti/Anna Jay

It’s a brawl to start with the villains being sent into the corner. Tay tries to jump to the apron but falls down and comes up holding her knee. Ford kicks Anna into a neck snap from Bunny before dropping a knee. We take a break and come back with Ford and Conti coming in off the double tag. A double suplex gets two on Ford but she Matrixes away from a clothesline and hits a Stunner on Jay. Ford’s fireman’s carry gutbuster gets two but she misses a moonsault. The TayKO knocks Bunny silly on the floor and the Dangerous Jay kick sets up the Queenslayer to finish Ford at 6:31.

Rating: C. This should be the end of the feud and that’s how it should have gone. Conti and Jay are a good team for the young and plucky faces and that’s what they did here. Ford and Bunny were a good obstacle for them to get by and it wound up being a completely watchable match as well.

Post match Negative 1 comes in to celebrate. Punk: “He’s a smart kid.”

Video on Thunder Rosa vs. Nyla Rose vs. Jade Cargill on Rampage.

Here is MJF for a chat. MJF doesn’t think much of upstate New York and wants to talk about the four pillars of AEW. You have Jungle Boy (“Beat him.”), Sammy Guevara (“Beat him.), Darby Allin (“…..yeah whatever.”) and the strongest pillar of them all, which is the man who was in the first match at All In, Maxwell Jacob Friedman himself. He is the past, present and future of AEW and that means he should be the AEW World Champion. Tony: “Earn that in the ring then dude.” MJF teases talking to Bruce Prichard if he doesn’t get a title shot, but here is Allin to interrupt.

MJF: “As much as I love the whole school shooter mime on a skateboard routine”, he’s not happy with the interruption. There is nothing wrong with being a #2 guy, like Mark Messier, Scottie Pippen, or Sting. MJF says he’s the #1 guy, so Allin asks if MJF is done talking and tells him to go if he isn’t happy. See, Allin is AEW for life until death, but he doesn’t understand how MJF can be #1 when Allin is the only one of the two of them to win a title.

MJF appreciates the Batman voice and brings up Allin being straightedge. We hear about Allin getting in a car with his drunk uncle as a kid and they got in an accident. The uncle died, and it’s a travesty because the wrong man died. Allin says MJF isn’t breaking him mentally, which sends MJF leaving. MJF was on fire here, even if he was going really far with some of these things.

Video on Sammy Guevara vs. Miro, which is fallout from Miro beating Fuego del Sol up to take his car. Guevara will buy him a new car if he wins.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara is challenging and they circle each other to start. A knee strike misses for Guevara and Miro takes him down for the stomping. Miro runs him over for two but Guevara is back up with a running crossbody to knock both of them outside. Guevara posts him hard and avoids a charge into the steps but Miro is fine enough to snap off a belly to belly back inside.

We take a break and come back with Guevara jawbreaking his way to freedom from a chinlock but Miro kicks him down again. That earns Miro a Spanish Fly and they’re both down for a bit. There’s a low superkick to rock Miro and a running knee does the same. Miro’s missed charge sends him flying out to the floor so Guevara hits a HUGE flip dive to the floor. Back in and Guevara charges into a swinging release slam for two but Guevara blocks a superplex attempt.

A middle rope cutter can’t keep Miro down and Guevara can’t load up the GTS. The jumping superkick gives Miro two so Guevara rolls outside. That leaves Miro to pull off a turnbuckle pad, which brings out Fuego for a save. Guevara is back in with a jumping knee to send Miro into the exposed buckle. There’s a tornado DDT into the GTH to drop Miro. The 630 gives Guevara the pin and the title at 13:42.

Rating: B. The best way I can describe this match is that it was a ride. I wanted to see if Guevara could pull off the impossible here and win the title and you could feel the release of emotion when he actually pulled it off. It didn’t feel like they rushed the title change either, and it would be fine if Miro gets the title back. If nothing else, they gave Guevara his big win and that’s what matters most here.

A bunch of wrestlers come out to celebrate with Guevara to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. I had a great time with this show as they were focusing on the emotions. This was about having a good time in front of a crowd that wanted to be entertained. Throw in some things being announced for the anniversary show and the big title change at the end and this was a heck of a way to spend two hours. Awesome show and things might be getting better soon.

Results
Adam Cole b. Jungle Boy – Boom
Cody Rhodes/Lee Johnson b. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal – Fisherman’s buster onto the knee
Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin b. Bear Country/Anthony Greene – German suplex/clothesline combination to Greene
Dark Order/Orange Cassidy b. Hardy Family Office – Fatality to Johi
Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. The Bunny/Penelope Ford – Queenslayer to Ford
Sammy Guevara b. Miro – 630

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: September 15, 2021
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, CM Punk

Things have been getting big in a hurry around here and that is going to be the case again this week. This time around we have the in-ring debut of Adam Cole, which should make for quite the moment. Other than that, Grand Slam is on the horizon and that should be an even bigger show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

CM Punk, on commentary tonight, gets a big introduction and dives into the crowd again.

Adam Cole vs. Frankie Kazarian

The fans are behind Cole as Kazarian takes him over a few times. Cole flips out of a headlock and backdrops Kazarian over the top and onto the apron for a nasty crash. Back in and Cole takes some bows but Kazarian hits the slingshot Fameasser over the ropes. That doesn’t seem to do much to Cole, who is back with right hands into the chinlock. That’s broken up as well and Kazarian grabs a leglock while cranking on the arms at the same time.

Cole fights up and hits the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two more. Kazarian is back up as well and grabs a Rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner. The running knees in the corner connect but Cole is right back with a superkick. The Panama Sunrise is countered into an Alabama Slam and the springboard spinning legdrop leaves them both down. They forearm it out from their knees with Kazarian getting the better of things until a brainbuster onto the knee gives Cole two. Kazarian sends him to the apron but misses another Fameasser. The Panama Sunrise into the Last Shot finishes for Cole at 8:04.

Rating: C+. That’s all you could have asked for here as they gave Cole a win over a name after he had to work a bit to get there. I don’t think there was any doubt about the winner here but this was a much better way to debut Cole than having him win a squash match. Good stuff here and Cole was absolutely a star.

Post match, it’s time for Storytime with Adam Cole. He hasn’t been around long but there are three people who have gotten under his nerves. That would be Christian Cage, Luchasaurus and Jungle Boy, so how about next week it’s Cole and the Young Bucks vs. those three at Rampage Grand Slam. I think Cole might have meant Dynamite, but either way, the Superkliq is back.

The Lucha Bros are ready for Butcher and Blade on Rampage.

Fuego del Sol has a new car but he would give it up for the TNT Title. Actually let’s make that a challenge: title vs. car on Rampage.

Here is MJF for a chat. He doesn’t like being in New Jersey because this place is horrible. We hear about how various famous people from New Jersey suck harder than….and we’ll move on. The fans tell him to shut the f*** up but MJF doesn’t care. He is the salt of the earth and a very religious man. Therefore, he is going to have a conversation with the late great Brian Pillman. MJF looks down at the mat and says he and Pillman need to talk.

Next week, he is going to go to the horrible town of Queens and beat up the worst second generation wrestler of all time. The catchphrase is cut off by Brian Pillman Jr.’s music so MJF sends Wardlow to deal with him….and Pillman comes in through the crowd with a chair. Wardlow cuts that off so Pillman slaps him in the face and low bridges him outside. The threat of a chair shot sends MJF and Wardlow running. Good for them for trying to build someone up, because that’s what needs to happen.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with Brian Pillman Jr. and talked about Pillman Sr. calling to say he had a son. Next week, Pillman Jr. has a chance to redeem himself against MJF and that’s what he wants to do to fulfill his father’s legacy. When MJF was being fed with a silver spoon, he was growing up fighting to survive. Next week, MJF is stepping in the ring with a Pillman.

Christian Cage and the Jurassic Express accept the challenge for Rampage (which is also called Grand Slam).

Dante Martin/Matt Sydal vs. FTR

Sydal armdrags Harwood down to start but he drives Martin into the corner without much effort. Martin is sent outside for some hard shots from Wheeler, including quite the posting. Back in and a headbutt rocks Martin and we hit the chinlock. Martin slips out and dives over for the tag to Sydal so the strikes can clear the ring. A double dive takes FTR down on the floor as we take a break.

Back with Sydal flipping out of an abdominal stretch but his crossbody is caught. That’s fine with Martin, who comes in off a blind tag and springboard missile dropkicks everyone down. The pace picks up and Martin hits a running Swanton, setting up a rollup for two. Stereo hurricanranas get two on FTR but Sydal is sent outside. That leaves Martin to walk into the Big Rig for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C+. I can go for seeing FTR getting a nice win because it just does not happen very often. They had to break a sweat to win but then got the win in the end. That’s all you can ask for and I’m hoping to see a little bit more from them in the future. FTR just doesn’t get to wrestle regular tag matches very often and I don’t get why as they’re really good at it.

Commentary talks about the Suzuki Incident, meaning Minoru Suzuki isn’t happy that his music was cut off early last week.

Lance Archer and Minoru Suzuki (stable mates in New Japan) aren’t happy with Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston so the tag match is on for next week.

Here is Malakai Black for a chat (with commentary being silent to make it that much better). The House of Black has an enemy and we cut to actress Rosario Dawson in a Nightmare Family shirt. Black goes over to glare at her but here is the returning Cody Rhodes (Dawson’s fellow judge on the Go Big Show) as Dawson jumps on Black’s back. That’s broken up and the guys fight into the crowd until we take a break. Good brawl here and Dawson was a nice addition.

The Bunny isn’t happy with Anna Jay being back because Jay can’t just leave her alone.

The Dark Order is ready for Anna’s Rampage debut but here are Alex Reynolds and 10 to argue with Evil Uno. Anna doesn’t want to hear any of this and says if this is what is going on, none of the Dark Order needs to be here for Rampage. She and Tay Conti leave together.

Here is Dan Lambert, with the Men of the Year and others, to complain about AEW fans being small men and large women. These fans will cheer for a wrestler throwing six superkicks, climbing three floors and diving through a bunch of tables onto a lifeless body. Cue Chris Jericho and Jake Hager, with Lambert complaining about the fans singing Judas.

The fans sing it sans music as Excalibur lists off all of the MMA fighters here with Lambert. Jericho calls Lambert a “fat faced dips***” and sings a song of his own about it. Lambert can’t believe Jericho is out here to defend the fans, but he is the master manipulator around this company. He insults Jericho and the Fozzy fans, who use their allowance to buy their records. Jericho: “You guys get an allowance?”

Jericho sees Lambert and American Top Team but wants to know which one is on top. Hager and Jericho aren’t going to be intimidated because Hager is undefeated and Jericho has been fighting with MMA guys backstage for years. Lambert issues the challenge for next week and Jericho and Hager say it’s on, because there will be no escape from New York.

The Gunn Club talks about why they attacked Paul Wight. They are undefeated around here but now wins and losses don’t matter. Respect will be earned one way or another and if anyone has a problem with that, do something about it. Makes sense. Still the Gunn Club.

Jade Cargill vs. Leyla Hirsch

Leyla, billed from New Jersey, sends her outside to start and then dives onto Mark Sterling. Back in and Leyla hits some knees in the corner, setting up a slingshot dropkick. Cargill has to counter a cross armbreaker into a powerbomb and we take a break. Back with Jade fighting out of a choke but getting German suplexed down for two. Cargill bails to the floor and gets taken down again by a dive. A running knee to the face gives Leyla two but Cargill gets in her own shot to the face. Jaded finishes Leyla at 6:07.

Rating: C. Cargill is still a physical marvel but you’re only going to get so much out of her in the ring at this point. Hirsch put her in trouble for the first time though and there was a point where I thought they might go with the big upset. That’s a good sign for the match and while it wasn’t great, it was Jade’s best match by far.

Andrade El Idolo isn’t happy with Chavo Guerrero interfering with his match last week, which is why he took Chavo out. He can beat anyone he wants whenever he wants.

Taz and Hook interrupt commentary to accuse Punk of trying to take Taz’s jobs. It’s a ruse though and Powerhouse Hobbs jumps Punk from behind. Punk tries to fight back but Hook hooks a dragon sleeper. Hobbs slams Punk onto the announcers’ table for the big crash.

Shawn Spears doesn’t like Darby Allin calling him generic and brings up giving Allin his first AEW loss.

Shawn Spears vs. Darby Allin

Spears has Tully Blanchard and his chair while Allin has Sting. Allin sits in the corner to start so Spears hits a running knee to his face. After that far too logical opening, Spears drops him ribs first onto the top to take things outside. A whip sends Allin into the steps but he avoids a running knee to the face against said steps. Back in and Allin’s dive is cut off by Blanchard getting in the way so Sting offers a well timed glare. Spears gets in a cheap shot though and grabs a bottle of water and a towel, which he uses to rub the paint off of Allin’s face.

We take a break and come back with Allin crawling to the ropes to escape the Scorpion Deathlock. Spears takes him up top but Allin catches him in the Tree of Woe and hammers at the bad knee to put Spears in trouble. They head to the apron with Spears trying the C4 onto the steps but getting countered into the flipping Stunner. The big flip dive sends Spears into the steps instead and it’s the Coffin Drop to give Allin the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C. Every time I see Spears, the more I agree with what Allin said about him: he really is generic and it gets to be a bit difficult to find a reason to care about his matches. Spears is far from bad, but egads I could go for something a little more interesting from him. Allin continues to feel like a star and that’s what AEW has been going for with him since the beginning.

Post match here is FTR for the brawl with Sting and Allin. Blanchard’s chair shot to Sting does nothing but the numbers game has Sting down for the beating. Allin gets the same treatment, leaving Sting to take the spike piledriver. Then Blanchard goes huge by wiping off Sting’s face paint (or at least some of it). I’m sure this is going to mean violence and it should after a good angle.

Bryan Danielson thinks the Elite acts like people who are insecure so he is going after Kenny Omega. He is excited to get in the ring and he would love for Omega to be his first match. He’s here and he is game so let’s go. This was the same promo from Rampage.

Tony Schiavone brings out Bryan Danielson for a chat. Danielson is glad to be here but here are Don Callis and Kenny Omega to interrupt. Callis calls Danielson a hippie millionaire who thinks that he is here to jump into the title match. Callis: “And people call me a carny piece of s***”.

Danielson finally cuts him off and says he is here to talk to Omega. This might be about the title one day but for now, let’s give the people what they want. The match is teased but Callis says no way. Danielson talks about how he came here to face the Best Bout Machine but all he sees is someone hiding behind a bunch of goons. Maybe Omega has lost his testicular fortitude, so is it yes or no? Omega says he’s in and the fans approve. This was a formality but something they had to get out of the way.

Miro promises to bash Fuego del Sol’s brains and his car.

Matt Hardy wants to shave Orange Cassidy’s head.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite and Rampage, including Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega on Dynamite.

Jon Moxley/Eddie Kingston vs. 2.0

2.0 and Daniel Garcia jump them on the floor before the bell but Moxley takes over inside as we officially get going. 2.0 is sent outside in a hurry and Garcia gets whipped into the barricade. That’s enough of a distraction for Moxley to get beaten down and we take a break. Back with Moxley still in trouble but he fights them off like they/re 2.0 and brings Kingston back in. Everything breaks down and the spinning backfist sets up the DDT. Moxley comes back in for a clothesline/half and half combination for the pin on Lee at 6:38.

Rating: C-. Not much of a main event as this was little more than a glorified workout for Moxley and Kingston. I was wondering what would headline the show and it was kind of a disappointment when I saw what they were doing. I’m sure there will be something after the match ends, but it’s not much of a match for the main event.

Post match here is Minoru Suzuki, who gets the full version of his theme song this time. Cue Lance Archer to pull Kingston to the floor for the brawl into the crowd. Moxley and Suzuki fight at ringside, where Moxley has to save himself from a piledriver through the table. They fight into the crowd as well to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Not so great main event aside, this was a good example of fitting a lot of stuff into two hours. Several stories were covered and they set up all kinds of stuff for next week’s two special shows. This week’s show might not have been great, but it got things ready for the next great show and that is very important in its own right. Good show here, which shouldn’t surprise you.

Results
Adam Cole b. Frankie Kazarian – Last Shot
FTR b. Matt Sydal/Dante Martin – Big Rig to Martin
Jade Cargill b. Leyla Hirsch – Jaded
Darby Allin b. Shawn Spears – Coffin Drop
Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley b. 2.0 – Clothesline/half and half suplex combination to Lee

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: September 8, 2021
Location: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re in for a special one this week as it is the All Out fallout show, which will feature a bunch of wrestlers making their Dynamite debuts, or at least making a special appearance. The next major show is Grand Slam in two weeks and that is going to require some building up. Let’s get to it.

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

Note that I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the lower section, directly opposite the entrance ramp.

Opening sequence.

All Out recap video. Dang that was a show.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Malakai Black

Dustin is fighting for his family/multiple stable mates who have been taken out by Black. They start fast with Dustin hammering him into the corner and snapping off a German suplex out of said corner. Dustin takes it to the floor and keeps pounding but Black drops him hard through a table to put him in trouble. The referee goes to check on him so Black takes off a turnbuckle pad. Back in and Black knees him in the ribs before grabbing a chinlock, which looked like it was supposed to be something else. Black switches over to a kneebar but Dustin gets over to the rope without much effort.

Back up and Black kicks the knee out for two but Dustin fights back up with right hands. The scoop powerslam….seems to be mistimed, as Black holds the rope but Dustin snaps over anyway. Another attempt works better, even if Black is back up at two. Dustin hammers away in the corner but Black kicks the knee out again.

With Dustin down, it’s time to go outside and grab Cody Rhodes’ boot. Dustin gets up, blocks the Black Mass, and strikes away. The Canadian Destroyer out of the corner rocks Black for two and we hit the YOU STILL GOT IT chants. Black slips out of a suplex though and kicks the leg out, sending Dustin into the exposed buckle. Black Mass (to the arm) finishes Dustin at 9:56.

Rating: B-. They told a story here, as Dustin was in over his head but kept right on fighting because he is out to defend his family’s honor. That’s the kind of thing that Dustin would do no matter what and he was trying his hardest here. There were a few messy spots here and there, but Black continues his dominance on the road to the big rematch with Cody Rhodes.

The Lucha Bros are happy to FINALLY be the Tag Team Champions and it took a lot of blood to get here. If anyone is willing to suffer, come try and get them.

Eddie Kingston talks about Miro cheating to beat him and knows that despite what Miro said, God doesn’t play favorites.

Miro says he is going to offer Kingston’s broken bones to his wife and his soul to God.

Here is CM Punk to a crazy ovation for a chat. Punk thanks the fans for being there and has been asked if he can still do this. It feels like being on a violent bicycle, but a YOU STILL GOT IT chant cuts it off. Punk says we also have Minoru Suzuki vs. Jon Moxley in a main event that he is going to be watching as a wrestling fan. Hold on though as Punk needs to say that Aunt Linda (who raised Brian Pillman Jr. and in the front row) really is an angel.

As for All Out, we saw the debuts of Ruby Soho, Adam Cole and Bryan Danielson, the latter of whom has the fans’ attention. After All Out, Punk texted his wife April, who asked what was next. Maybe Punk should leave it up to the fans to decide what he does next. The chants are on, and the fans suggest Moxley and Pillman but Taz of all people interrupts from commentary. Punk: “Out of respect, I’ll let you speak but don’t ever interrupt me again.”

Taz is tired of this Punk love fest and doesn’t want to hear Punk about Team Taz ever again. Cue Hook and Powerhouse Hobbs as Taz says Punk has been bringing up the team in interviews and on podcasts. Punk says send Ricky Starks, Hook or Hobbs. All of them can beat Punk if they can and survive if they he lets them (Taz’s ECW catchphrase). Punk goes outside to hug Aunt Linda and highs a lot of fives. This was a heck of a segment and Punk is about as comfortable on the mic as anyone in the world right now.

Santana and Ortiz have beaten FTR and now they want the Tag Team Titles.

Ruby Soho has issued an open challenge and Jamie Hayter has accepted. Cue Britt Baker, Rebel and Hayter to say that Soho will be forgotten after she loses tonight. Soho: “Hello Brittany.” They have known each other for a long time and Soho lists off some of Baker’s nicknames, including the “baddest b**** on the block.” Soho: “This is my block.” Baker says the only nickname that matters is Women’s World Champion.

Soho is the Runaway, so why doesn’t she run away to catering like she has been doing for the last four years? The crowd gasps at that one (it was a loud gasp too) and even Hayter cringes a bit. Hayter has to get in between them and Baker promises Hayter will be giving Soho a dose of whoopa**, courtesy of Dr. Britt Baker, DMD (Tony Schiavone doing the finger wave at the same time is great). This was awesome too, as Baker has more confidence than anyone but Soho didn’t back down at all.

Dante Martin vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Martin makes the mistake of going straight at Hobbs, who isn’t having any of that and runs him over. A springboard crossbody is cut off but Martin flips over Hobbs and kicks him out to the floor. The suicide dive is cut off though (mid-dive) and Hobbs sends him face first into the post to cut him down again. There’s a whip into the barricade and then Hobbs does it again to send us to a break.

Back with Hobbs dropping a knee for two and cranking on Martin’s neck. Martin fights up and gets to the top for a missile dropkick. A running flip splash gets two but Hooker is ready to cut off a big dive to the floor. Martin dives over him anyway and takes Hobbs out but a double springboard misses back inside. Hobbs is right back with a spinebuster for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: C+. Martin is a heck of a high flier and can make himself look good no matter what, but I couldn’t quite get to the next level with this one. The lack of dull action during the break helped, but it felt like it could have been more than what it was. That being said, both guys have all kinds of potential and should be stars around here in the pretty near future.

Dan Lambert is with the Men of the Year (right above where I was sitting) and talks about how Tony Khan is signing every person he can to hide the fact that this company isn’t the hottest thing in the world. These idiots can be played like a fiddle and maybe they can be convinced to sing a terrible song, but there are only two real men in this company. The three of them will speak with loud voices. If anyone can stop them, come do it.

We recap Matt Hardy and the Hardy Family Office vs. Orange Cassidy. Hardy wants to cut Cassidy’s hair.

Cassidy: “Whatever.”

Here is MJF, with Wardlow for an angry chat. MJF talks about how he beat Chris Jericho on Sunday but the match was restarted due to bias against him. There is bias against him because he is better than everyone else and because he hates being in S***cinati. Oh no. Now people are going to accuse him of going after CHEAP HEAT because they’re a bunch of marks.

Cincinnati is the midwest because everything here is MID. Skyline Chili? MID! (Psh. Skyline Chili would sell its Sky and its ili to get close to being “mid”.). The Cincinnati Reds? MID! Every person who lives here? MID! If anyone hates him, come jump the guardrail so he can take them out. MJF points out a woman at ringside and calls her 16 and pregnant so he goes over to yell at her. It turns out she is the daughter of Brian Pillman, which MJF says explains her looks.

Cue Brian Pillman Jr. in his dad’s Bengals jersey to say he heard MJF talking about his family and hometown. Pillman isn’t from New York, but rather a city that breeds bad***** like his dad and Jon Moxley. WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE! MJF brings up Pillman’s drug addicted mother “Methanie”, which is enough for Pillman Jr. to charge the ring but Wardlow cuts him off. There could have been 500 second generation Pillmans, but Pillman Jr. was the only one she didn’t swallow. MJF sends Wardlow to stand in the corner and look pretty, leaving MJF to threaten to abort Pillman….and the fight is on.

Wardlow pulls Pillman off but he slips by and stomps on MJF again, with Wardlow taking a bit of time to make the save. A German suplex drops Pillman so here is Griff Garrison, who is promptly taken out with the Dynamite Diamond. Pillman covers Garrison up as the villains leave. The fans went NUTS for this and MJF had as much heat for a promo as I’ve seen in a very long time.

Jon Moxley says Minoru Suzuki is dying in the jungle tonight.

Jamie Hayter vs. Ruby Soho

Britt Baker and Rebel are here with Hayter. It’s quite the reaction for Soho as the fans seem rather impressed. Hayter drives her into the corner to start and runs Soho over with a shoulder. Back up and Soho cranks on the arm, setting up a knee to the face. Hayter drops her throat first across the top though and we take a break.

We come back with Soho charging for what looks like a monkey flip but getting caught with something like a spinebuster onto the top, which is countered into a DDT. That was sweet, but only gets two, so they try a poisonrana but they kind of fall down instead. The fireman’s carry neckbreaker into a basement lariat gives Hayter two but Soho is back with whatever we’re calling the Riott Kick for the pin at 7:38.

Rating: C. Soho felt like a star but this didn’t exactly click. There were some good spots though (that bounce back into a DDT was awesome) and you know Soho is going to be moving up the ranks in a hurry. She has the title shot with Britt Baker in her back pocket and that’s more than most people have.

Post match Baker and Rebel run in to beat on Soho until Riho runs in for the failed save attempt. Kris Statlander makes the real save and I think you have a six woman tag coming.

Video on Ricky Starks vs. Brian Cage.

FTR/Shawn Spears vs. Dark Order

Earlier today, the Dark Order got in an argument over whether or not they were fine, with Tay Conti and Anna Jay telling the guys to figure this out. It’s Evil Uno/Stu Grayson/John Silver for the Order and egads Silver is popular. The rest of the Order and Tully Blanchard are here as well. Spears shoulders Silver down to start but Silver does the same and hits the double bicep. Grayson comes in to take over on Spears and it’s Uno coming in for a side slam/springboard elbow combination.

As the beating continues, Tony talks about how Tony Khan has heard CM Punk talking about wanting to face Team Taz members. Taz: “WHAT ARE YOU? TONY KHAN’S MESSENGER NOW???” Tony: Yes! I am!” Taz: “…..ok.” Silver drops Spears for two more but a jawbreaker gets spears out of trouble.

Harwood comes in to stomp away for two on Silver and even flips off Uno for trying to make a save. Silver reverses a suplex into one of his own but Wheeler and Spears knock the rest of the Order off the apron. Some knees rock Harwood and a bridging German suplex gets two. Back up and Harwood sends Silver into Uno to knock him off the apron. The slingshot suplex (Tully is pleased) sets up the C4 to finish Silver at 4:51.

Rating: C-. There was a lot here but the point was to continue showcasing the issues between the Dark Order. That is quite the problem to deal with and I’m not sure how long it is going to take before we hit the full on split. Hopefully it involves some of the members fading away or changing themselves in a big way, as there is no need to have most of these people around.

Post match FTR and Spears leave and the Dark Order finally explodes. Tay Conti and Anna Jay come out to glare at them but Conti holds Jay back from going to help. Not shown here, but the women eventually turned around and stormed off.

Video on Ruby Soho winning the Casino Battle Royal, with a lot of women getting to talk about how great they were in the match.

Tully Blanchard talks about how happy he was with his team demolishing the Dark Order. Then you have people like Sting and Darby Allin as people from his past and present, so next week, Blanchard wants Spears vs. Allin for next week. At the same time, Blanchard and Sting are going to go face to face. That gets a big gasp.

Sammy Guevara comes out with his signs, which talk about how great summer has been and gives a plug for his social media.

Griff Garrison is in the trainer’s room getting ice on his eye. Brian Pillman Jr. is here too and wants to get his hands on MJF at Grand Slam. The Acclaimed comes in with some ice and flowers with Max Caster saying he has a match with Pillman for Rampage. That’s cool with Pillman, who throws down the flowers.

Tony Schiavone brings out the Elite (and there are a lot of them) for a chat. Don Callis thanks the fans for making Kenny Omega #1 in the PWI 500 (Callis: “Thank you for your votes! And your money!”) At All Out, the Young Bucks had the greatest tag match in the history of the world but the titles were stolen from them. They have a plan to get the titles back, but they also got their best friend back.

Cue Adam Cole for Storytime, but first of all he gets in Tony’s face. Cole: “Now I know that you are really close with Britt Baker.” The crowd is into this as Cole threatens to kick him in the face if he even looks at her the wrong way and throws Tony out. Cole puts over the company as the best in the world because of the Elite. Anyone who bought a shirt, the pay per view or a ticket did it because of them.

Cole talks about the Bucks and Omega being the best ever and you should all be thanking them because now the Elite is complete BAY BAY! You’ll see it even more when he makes his in-ring debut next week and you will see how elite he really is. Kenny Omega thinks that’s a reason for a celebration, but all of the interruptions at All Out bothered him. Cue Bryan Danielson so Omega asks if he can have the ring.

Omega invites Danielson in and Danielson asks the fans a quick question: do you want to see the two of them fight? That’s a completely non-trademark infringing affirmative so Danielson confirms that he is better than Omega. That means he’s going to kick Omega’s head in and prove that he isn’t on Danielson’s level. Omega lunches and gets pulled into the YES Lock.

The Elite comes in but here are Kazarian, Christian Cage and the Jurassic Express to clear them out, with Luchasaurus throwing Marko Stunt onto the pile (and over Christian, who didn’t seem to know it was coming). Brandon Cutler is left alone in the ring and it’s Danielson’s running knee to knock him silly. Heck of a Dynamite debut here, though I want to see Schiavone vs. Cole more than anything else.

Here’s what’s coming at various shows.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Jon Moxley

Suzuki’s entrance is cut short and they don’t even get to the chorus of his song. That being said, the fans getting to hear Wild Thing for Moxley kind of renders that meaningless. Moxley takes his time getting to the ring and is clearly thrilled to be in his hometown. They waste no time in going with the exchange of forearms and the fans dub it awesome. An exchange of kicks to the face rocks both of them so Moxley knocks him into the ropes as we take a break.

Back with Suzuki kicking him in the face but the running kick to the chest is blocked. They trade bites to the face (this should not surprise you) and then headbutts, including both of them hitting a headbutt at the same time. It’s time for another forearm off until Moxley’s running lariat is blocked. Another attempt is countered a failed choke attempt so Suzuki tries the Gotch Style piledriver.

That’s countered into the Paradigm Shift as Suzuki is bleeding from the eye. A lariat gives Moxley two but another lariat can’t even knock Suzuki down. Instead he hits a running dropkick to take Moxley down as that eye is VERY busted. Moxley drops him with a right hand and grabs the lifting Paradigm Shift (making it a butterfly suplex) for the pin at 8:08.

Rating: B. They beat on each other for a little while but I kept waiting to see this get to the next level. It wasn’t quite the brawl that I was expecting, though Suzuki’s eye being busted open was certainly a sight. Moxley winning a near dream match over a legend in his hometown was a great way to end the show though and it felt special as a result, which was the right idea.

Moxley celebrates in the crowd (in the section next to me) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I’ve seen most of these wrestlers in person before but never at an AEW event. The word you hear about AEW is “fun” and that is exactly what you got here. It was a very entertaining two hours and that’s all you could ask for. The seats were cheap (about $34 each counting fees) and good, the wrestling was solid and there was star power galore. What else can you ask for out of something like this? Save for Rampage and Dark: Elevation of course, but for now we’ll just settle for a solid Dynamite.

Results
Malakai Black b. Dustin Rhodes – Black Mass
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Dante Martin – Spinebuster
Ruby Soho b. Jamie Hayter – Riott Kick
FTR/Shawn Spears b. Dark Order – C4 to Silver
Jon Moxley b. Minoru Suzuki – Lifting Paradigm Shift

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 25, 2021
Location: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

Then everything changed. CM Punk made his, ahem, surprise debut last week on Rampage in what might be the greatest moment AEW has had in its history. Other than that….I mean does anything else really matter? All Out is in a week and a half and most of the card seems to be set but there are still some spots available. Let’s get to it.

Here is Rampage if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We get a quick clip from Punk’s debut on Rampage.

Orange Cassidy vs. Matt Hardy

No seconds here for a change. We open with the DELETE vs. lazy kicks, which I think we’ve seen before. Matt breaks up the lazy superkick though and reaches into his own pockets to pull out money. Cassidy hits the dropkick into the nipup, complete with hands in his pockets. Then he picks up the money and put it into his pocket. Well some of it at least, as he would rather dive onto Matt, who catches him with the Side Effect on the floor.

Cassidy’s ribs are wrapped around the post and it’s back inside (with a bunch of money on the mat) for some belly to back suplexes. Matt stops to pick up a bunch of money and even steals the money back from Cassidy (as he should, since Cassidy is a thief). Cassidy tries to fight back but Beach Break is countered into a nasty Splash Mountain for two. The Twist of Fate is blocked though and Cassidy takes him down.

A high crossbody lands on Hardy’s face and Hardy is busted open. Cassidy goes up, hits the Jeff Hardy pose, and puts his hands in his pockets for the Swanton. Hardy blocks a Twist of Fate and a top rope elbow hits Cassidy’s back again. Then Cassidy grabs his own Twist of Fate for two as Matt’s blood is all over Cassidy. Hardy tries a guillotine choke but Cassidy reverses into a cradle with his hands in the pockets for the pin at 10:08.

Rating: C+. The match was good enough, despite it having a lot of comedy and being two guys I’m not fond of most of the time. Cassidy should be beating Hardy, who doesn’t need to be going over just about anyone at this point. Also, it was very, very refreshing to have a straight match without 437 people getting involved at the same time.

Aleister Black is ready to destroy Arn Anderson’s son, plus the rest of the Nightmare Family. That could take a whole lot of destructing.

Here is Chris Jericho to talk about tapping out to MJF last week. Jericho talks about the Labors of Jericho and how he came up short in the grand finale. It has become a mantra for him: “BEAT MJF! BEAT MJF! BEAT MJF!” Jericho has an idea for a final match between them but MJF won’t come out. His idea is one more match at All Out, where he will put his career on the line.

Cue MJF with a “MJF – 3, Jeriblow – 0” shirt, to say this is getting a little embarrassing. He knows Jericho needed a rub from the fastest rising star in the history of professional wrestling, but the cash cow’s udders are sore. Last week, MJF made him tap out faster than someone listening to a Fozzy CD, but the idea of Jericho never wrestling again is too much to pass up so the match is on. That was about the only way they could go after last week.

The Varsity Blonds say they’re a real family and they’re ready to beat the Lucha Bros.

Tag Team Title #1 Contenders Tournament First Round: Varsity Blonds vs. Lucha Bros

Julia Hart is here with the Blonds and the Elite comes out to watch. Garrison can’t get very far with Fenix so it’s off to Pillman to superkick Penta. A running hurricanrana takes Penta down but he is right back with a Sling Blade. Back from a break with Penta taking down both Blonds and handing it back to Fenix for a bunch of kicks.

The rolling cutter gets two on Pillman and everything breaks down, including Fenix hitting a very fast suicide dive onto the Blonds. Back in and Pillman hits a heck of a powerbomb for two on Fenix. Garrison adds a springboard elbow but Penta makes the save this time. The Bros send Garrison outside and it’s an assisted Fear Factor for the pin at 8:23.

Rating: C+. It was fun while it lasted and the right team won in the end. The Lucha Bros are about as awesome of a team as you’re going to find when they are on a roll and that was the case there. What mattered here was getting the right team moving forward, and the Varsity Blonds will have their day (eventually).

Post match Jurassic Express joins the Lucha Bros in the ring. The Elite tries to come in and are knocked off the apron in a hurry.

Video on Pac vs. Andrade.

All Out rundown, now including Britt Baker defending the Women’s Title against Kris Statlander.

Jamie Hayter vs. Red Velvet

Hayter has Britt Baker and Rebel in her corner. Hayter wastes no time in throwing Velvet into the corner for the choking. Velvet manages to send her to the floor for back to back suicide dives (with Hayter going flat down for a different kind of selling). A hard posting drops Velvet and Baker gets in a few cheap shots as we take a break. Back with Velvet winning a slugout and hitting a running elbow against the ropes. Some running knees connect on the ropes but Baker offers a distraction, allowing Hayter to hit a hard lariat for the pin at 6:53.

Rating: C. Velvet got in some offense here and that should have been the case when she was getting the title shot just two weeks ago. Hayter needs to get a few wins to establish herself as someone to beat and this was a good step. Put her over someone Baker beat so that Hayter looks like she is on a higher level.

Post match the beatdown is on but Kris Statlander makes the save.

The Dark Order doesn’t seem to be on the same page over, uh, Page. Alex Reynolds doesn’t like what Evil Uno has been saying and walks out, with John Silver going with him. Uno tries to apologize but the rest of the team isn’t thrilled either.

Tony Schiavone brings out CM Punk for a chat. Punk is asked what one thing brought him back to wrestling, but Punk can’t hear over all of the people. Punk lists off some of the younger wrestlers who he wants to face, but there is one guy who has gotten his attention first. He’s going to retire the nickname Voice of the Voiceless because there are people who have a voice and there are people who listen.

Punk has been looking at someone like Darby Allin who looks like he is willing to kill himself. There are people asking if Punk can still go and if he still has it to be the best in the world. He looks at Allin and sees someone who would have been Punk’s favorite wrestler at 15 years old. Allin isn’t the biggest or the strongest but he has heart.

Can Punk still do it? Fans: “YES! YES! YES!” Punk: “That’s someone else’s thing and you just have to wait a little longer.” He’ll see Allin in Chicago and loves his wife April. Punk gets a very strong sendoff. This was a straight promo from Punk and it was a good way to set up the Darby match at All Out.

Miro talks about how he will forgive Fuego del Sol but he is going to drag Eddie Kingston under the water because he is the Redeemer. Bring him the Mad King before he burns this place to the ground.

Eddie Kingston/Jon Moxley/Darby Allin vs. Wingmen

Sting and Peter Avalon are here too. Allin chokes the much bigger JD Drake to start and sends him outside. The big dive has to be canceled so Ryan Nemeth swivels his hips at Kingston. A single chop gets rid of him so Cezar Bononi comes in to shrug off Kingston’s chops. Moxley tags himself in and a double shoulder clears the ring.

We take a break and come back with Moxley suplexing Bononi and it’s Kingston coming in to strike away on Drake. Moxley has to save Kingston from a Vader Bomb with a bite to Drake’s face, allowing Allin to hit a super Code Red. Avalon gets beaten up on the floor as Nemeth tries to bring in a chair. That goes horrible, and it’s a flipping Stunner into the Coffin Drop to finish Drake at 7:40.

Rating: C. This was a total weekend show main event and that’s all it needed to be. I was worried about the Wingmen giving three much bigger names too much of a problem but they got out of there just in time. Good enough match here, even if it was just a workout for the openers.

Post match everyone else is brawling on the floor so here is Daniel Garcia to jump Allin from behind.

Tay Conti is ready for the Casino Battle Royal but the Bunny comes in to offer her a spot in the Hardy Family Office. The contract is ripped up with a NO and the fight is on.

FTR wants one more match with Santana and Ortiz.

Here is the Elite to promise to take out Christian Cage. Cue Cage, to show a video of Don Callis hyping up the ten year old Kenny Omega, which is why he fired Christian. Back in the ring, Omega says that makes him like Vince McMahon, Verne Gagne or Eddie Graham, but this isn’t Greg Gagne or Eric Watts. Christian accuses Callis of manipulating Omega, who asks Christian “You think you know me?” Callis takes off his pink suit and the group beatdown is on until Frankie Kazarian runs in for the save with a lead pipe.

Jon Moxley sent a contract to New Japan and got it sent back with one signature. Satoshi Kojima has signed the deal and Moxley is ready to send him out in a blaze of glory. Moxley wants to do some horrible things to Kojima and he’ll see him at All Out.

Gunn Club vs. The Factory

Paul Wight is on commentary. Comoroto gets sent outside to start and it’s off to Solow, who gets taken down by Austin. Marshall gets in a cheap shot though and we take a break. Back with Colton coming in to clean house as everything breaks down. Marshall stops to yell at Wight though and the distraction lets Colton grab the small package win at 5:51. Not enough shown to rate, but it was just a way to mess with Marshall.

Dan Lambert, with the Men of the Year, rants about wrestling fans being soft and how they all want their safe spaces. Those people need to believe in men like these two, and there may be hope for them yet.

Arn Anderson knows that his son Brock is in over his head and he’s probably going to lose to Malaki Black. He’ll be there with his son though.

Brock Anderson vs. Malakai Black

Brock takes him down and hammers away but Black unloads with strikes in the corner. Hold on though as Black yells at Arn, allowing Brock to get in a few shots to the leg. That earns Brock a suplex and Black Mass, making Arn cringe. The delayed pin finishes Brock at 2:29.

Post match Arn comes in to check on Brock but Black has a chair. Arn is ready to fight and blocks a kick to the head. He can’t block a low blow though and then the kick to the head drops Arn. Lee Johnson runs in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t the must see episode as it was much more about having the people involved in the bigger stories talking rather than wrestling. That being said, this is the show that All Out has been needing as everything else has been cleared out and the pay per view could get some focus. It’s not a show you need to watch, but there was some good storyline advancement and nothing bad up and down the show.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Matt Hardy – Rollup
Lucha Bros b. Varsity Blonds – Assisted Fear Factor to Pillman
Jamie Hayter b. Red Velvet – Lariat
Eddie Kingston/Darby Allin/Jon Moxley b. Wingmen – Coffin Drop to Drake
Gunn Club b. The Factory – Small package to Marshall
Malaki Black b. Brock Anderson – Black Mass

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 18, 2021
Location: Fertitta Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re still on the way to both All Out and the First Dance, meaning we could be in for an interesting night. AEW knows how to put on a good show out of nowhere and things were a little bit flat last week. There is a good chance that they can come up with something big here, as Kenny Omega is not going to be happy with losing to Christian Cage last week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Commentary previews the card.

Here are Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston but 2.0 and Daniel Garcia jump them in the crowd. 2.0 wants Sting and Darby Allin right now.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. 2.0

Texas Tornado rules and Allin jumps 2.0 from behind with the skateboard. The running charges in the corner rock 2.0 and it’s time for the brawl to head into the crowd. They make it up to what looks like a VIP area with Daniel Garcia getting in on the beating. 2.0 lifts Allin up into a piece of the ceiling and Sting is sent into a wall.

Sting is taken back to ringside but Allin runs down the barricade to break it up. Eddie Kingston comes back in to make the save as a table is thrown in. Kingston and Garcia fight off as Allin is suplexed onto his skateboard. Sting is powerbombed through a table and pops back up, setting up the double Scorpion Death Drop and the double Deathlock makes 2.0 tap at 6:15.

Rating: C-. This is a match where the wrestling wasn’t the point and that’s fine. The lack of any semblance of rules was the fight call for Sting and beating up a couple of goons like this doesn’t hurt anyone. I’m not sure how wise it was to burn through a Sting match on free TV, but at least it was a fun one.

Earlier tonight, Sammy Guevara proposed to his girlfriend in the ring, getting a yes.

Shawn Spears and Tully Blanchard are happy for Sammy (Shawn: “Slim pickings in Houston.”) and promise to let the girlfriend be in the Pinnacle. For tonight, she can be on top for once.

Sammy Guevara vs. Shawn Spears

Sammy is the hometown boy but Spears jumps him from behind on the ramp. That’s fine with Sammy, who tosses him down for the big running flip dive. A missed charge sends Sammy knees first into the steps though and Tully Blanchard joins in on a spike piledriver on the floor. Now we get the opening bell so Tully loads up another spike, only to get ejected in a hurry. Back in and Sammy grabs a rollup for two but the chop off sends us to a break.

We come back with both guys on top and a piece of barricade loaded up between the ring and the barricade. Guevara busts out a jumping super cutter for two but Spears hits a super C4 for the same. They head to the apron and Sammy hits a C4 (not a Death Valley Driver Excalibur, you proper name psycho) onto the barricade. The 630 (What spike piledriver onto the floor?) gets two (good grief) and the GTH finally puts Spears away at 9:59.

Rating: C+. It was certainly high energy, but dang there was a lot going on here and not in the best way. There were far too many finishers being burned through, meaning I was left sitting here with a “REALLY?” look on my face a few too many times. This needs to be the end of the feud too, as there is nothing left for these two to do against each other. Good action, horrible use of finishers, which tends to be the case around here a lot of the time.

Post match a bleeding Guevara kisses his fiance.

Don Callis talks to Christian Cage about how he got Christian into wrestling 25 years ago. Now Callis is on top of the wrestling world and Cage is….well he’s here too. Cage calls him some rather unpleasant names.

Here is Dan Lambert to rant about how AEW is on the cancel culture train. The people around here got triggered and AEW sent out Lance Archer out here to hit a 52 year old main the place. Lambert has former UFC Heavyweight Champions Andre Arlovski and Junior Dos Santos and if you’re feeling froggy, come out here and jump.

Lambert keeps going and talking about how AEW fans are all pathetic and have nothing better to do than play Dungeons and Dragons and look up creepy stuff on the dark web. Cue Lance Archer but the Men of the Year jump him from behind. Lambert is a better talker than 90% of the roster. Also, the Men of the Year can beat down Lance Archer?

Chris Jericho talks about all of the Labors he has had to go through to get here. Tonight, he has no Judas Effect and no Judas theme song, but the Friends of Jericho will sing it for him.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Jurassic Express

The Bucks are defending and have Brandon Cutler, Michael Nakazawa, Don Callis and the Good Brothers with them, while Marko Stunt is with the Express. Callis goes to commentary to clear things out a bit. Nick is sent outside and busts out the cold spray so Jungle dives onto him.

Back in and it’s off to Luchasaurus to throw mat around and chop both Bucks down. It’s back to Jungle, who sends Matt to the apron for a running hurricanrana over the top to the floor. We come back from a break with Luchasaurus coming in to clean house. The Tail Whip sets up the Extinction Level Event for a delayed two on Matt. Back up and a double superkick drops Luchasaurus and it’s the Indytaker on Jungle with a backsplash to Luchasaurus at the same time for a near fall.

Cue Kenny Omega to hit Marko Stunt with a chair so here is Christian Cage to take care of Omega. The rest of the Elite gets on the apron but Jungle hits a brainbuster onto the chair for a VERY delayed two on Matt. Thurassic Express gets two on Matt with Nick making another save. Nakazawa offers a distraction so Luchasaurus dives onto everyone outside. The BTE Trigger finishes Jungle at 11:45.

Rating: C+. It was another fun match from the Bucks, even with them surviving everything. That’s a big AEW problem and it’s worse with the Bucks than anyone else. I can go with them not losing the titles on Dynamite, but did they really have to pin Jungle Boy to retain here?

Post match Christian is dragged back to the ring and the huge beatdown is on, with Callis getting in a few shots of his own. The One Winged Angel connects and Callis counts the pin. This was the latest Elite beatdown.

Britt Baker brags about her win on Rampage and introduces Jamie Hayter. Jamie is friends with Baker from way back and was glad to come in and help her out.

Video on Matt Hardy vs. Orange Cassidy.

Here is Paul Wight for a chat about how great it was to be back in the ring last week. QT Marshall and company interrupt and say they would get in here and take him out but Marshall knows something. We see x-rays of Wight’s hip with a bunch of metal in it, meaning he can’t do much. Wight says it doesn’t matter, because he is facing Marshall at All Out. Marshall gives a great shocked face. It’s almost as shocking as AEW still trying to make Marshall a thing.

The Elite celebrates, but Tony Schiavone announces a tournament for a future Tag Team Title shot at All Out……inside a cage.

Taz brings out Ricky Starks, who wants to bring out Brian Cage. We cut to the back where Powerhouse Hobbs is standing over Cage…..who stands up and fights back. That’s too much for Starks so cut the feed.

Death Triangle is ready for All Out but Chavo Guerrero and Andrade come in. Chavo has some terms for the All Out match and hands Pac a phone book sized contract. Point for a funny visual.

Thunder Rosa vs. Penelope Ford

Ford doesn’t seem to be in her regular gear. Rosa wastes no time in sending her into the corner for the rapid fire stomping. They head outside in a hurry with Ford nailing a cutter to take us to a break. Back with Ford missing a running boot in the corner and getting caught with a running clothesline. The slingshot knees rock Ford in the corner again but the Fire Thunder Driver is countered into a rollup for two on Rosa. The Muta Lock has Rosa in trouble but she is back up with the Death Valley Driver for two. Ford goes for the legs again but gets pulled down into something like an STF for the tap at 7:59.

Rating: C. This was a good way to have Rosa come back and get a win as she is likely heading for the big showdown against Britt Baker. Ford is perfectly fine in a midcard role like this as she has just enough credibility to make Rosa break a sweat and that’s about all she needs to do. They understood their roles here and the match worked as a result.

We look back at Malakai Black’s debut.

Arn Anderson is a bit scared of Black and next week, his son Brock gets to face Black.

Here’s what’s coming this/next week.

Miro liked hurting Fuego del Sol last week and now he wants Eddie Kingston.

Jon Moxley is sick of all the teams running around here, either in basketball jerseys or Hangman Page not being able to get over his high school drama. Moxley would run through Christian because he is the guy who carried the World Title on his shoulder during dark days around here. It is time to show what it takes to be the top guy around here and if Daniel Garcia wants a taste of the main event, come get it on Rampage. Just make sure that is what you want before you need the ringside doctor checking on you.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho can’t use the Judas Effect (leaving him with only three finishers). As expected, the fans sing Judas a cappella, complete with some fans holding up signs with lyrics for a pretty cool moment. The fans are all over MJF and it’s an early Walls attempt to send him outside. Jericho follows him out with a dive but MJF takes Jericho down and steals the camera (ala Jericho). That earns him a big right hand and Jericho grabs the camera to flip it off.

Back in and MJF goes after Jericho’s bad arm to take over. We take a break and come back with Jericho slugging away until another shot to the arm takes him down. Jericho gets in a shot to the face to set up the Lionsault for two though, meaning it’s a surprised kickout. Some clotheslines and right hands in the corner set up a super hurricanrana but MJF reverses into the Salt of the Earth.

That is countered into the Walls but MJF goes for the bad arm to escape. They slug it out until Jericho is sent to the apron for the Heatseeker and another near fall. MJF gets creative by kicking him low (the referees get distracted really easily around here) and grabbing his own Walls of Jericho. The rope grab breaks that up so it’s time for the diamond ring. That’s taken away so Jericho gets in the Floyd shot. Instead of covering, Jericho loads up the Judas Effect but can’t do it. MJF hits one of his own though and it’s the Salt of the Earth to (eventually) make Jericho tap at 15:53.

Rating: B. Good match, with the weird stipulation making Jericho look like a complete buffoon. I would assume this set up either a rematch at All Out or Jericho going on tour with Fozzy, as it was a pretty flat way to end the show Labors story. MJF winning is smart, but it was more a “that’s it?” moment than anything else.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t entirely feeling this one as the show felt a step off. While not complete dominance, it was a pretty heel beatdown heavy show as both the Young Bucks and MJF get big wins. All Out is coming up in about two weeks and the little amount of the card that we have is not thrilling me so far. That is a lot of time, but this show was pretty lacking from a story perspective. The good action brings it up and it’s nowhere near a bad show, but I could go for moving things forward a bit. Kind of like say in Chicago on Friday.

Results
Sting/Darby Allin b. 2.0 – Double Scorpion Deathlock
Sammy Guevara b. Shawn Spears – GTH
Young Bucks b. Jurassic Express – BTE Trigger to Jungle Boy
Thunder Rosa b. Penelope Ford – STF
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Chris Jericho – Salt of the Earth

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.

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 4, 2018
Location: Aberdeen Pavilion, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Jeremy Borash, Josh Matthews

We’re back to the regular shows after two weeks of Best of 2017 episodes drew higher audiences than the standard ones. This is a big week as well with multiple title matches, including Eli Drake defending the World Title against Alberto El Patron in a match which might be taped from a WrestlePro event. Let’s get to it.

Dan Lambert tells the American Top Team guys that he has this tonight.

We preview tonight’s big tag match and four title matches. This is a stacked show but it really, really needs to draw.

Opening sequence.

X-Division Title: Taiji Ishimori vs. Trevor Lee

Lee is defending and has Caleb Konley in his corner. They fight over arm control to start because that’s the kind of exciting stuff this division is built on. Giving this match the level of attention it has earned, the announcers talk about every other big match taking place tonight. Ishimori dropkicks him out to the floor and moonsaults into a pose. Konley trips him up though and the champ takes over with a running kick on the apron.

Back with Ishimori scoring off a handspring kick to the face but missing the 450. Like a finisher is going to hit on the first attempt. Lee backslides him down but picks Ishimori up into a sitout powerbomb for two instead. Destino (Tetsuya Naito’s finisher) gives Ishimori two and the 450 is enough to get the title off of Lee at 13:16.

Rating: C+. There’s no secret that Ishimori is the best in the division but that’s not exactly saying much. The division barely means anything around here anymore and Ishimori isn’t going to be able to do anything on his own. It also doesn’t help that there’s not much setting the division apart. Ishimori has a good looking 450 but most of the division isn’t exactly known for flying around the ring. Give us something that makes them stand out aside from the label of being in the X-Division.

Alberto and Eli are ready to fight at WrestlePro. I know they need more content but this always feels like it’s cheap.

Dezmond Xavier wants a shot at Ishimori’s title. Makes sense after the Super X Cup and it’s better than nothing else.

LAX isn’t happy.

James Storm says tonight is a little different because he’s standing up for Impact Wrestling. I’m a big Storm fan but his “I’ve been here since the beginning” promo is getting old.

Grand Championship: Ethan Carter III vs. Fallah Bahh vs. Matt Sydal

Carter is defending and this is under the same round and scoring system as a standard one on one match. Yes they’re finding new ways to make this title stupid. Everyone brawls to start until Bahh clotheslines both of them down and slams Matt onto Eli. Bahh rolls onto both of them to break up a cover and chops the heck out of Carter in the corner. Carter gets run over again but he rolls away before a Banzai Drop. The first round ends and of course goes to Bahh.

Round two starts after a break with Bahh getting double teamed and knocked out to the floor. Sydal kicks Carter down for two but Eli gorilla presses him onto Bahh. Josh thinks Carter should try to win the match. Keep it up Josh and you’ll get up to Byron Saxton territory in no time. Carter throws Drake into the corner to end the round.

As you might expect, Carter wins the second round but Bahh runs them both over to start round three. Bahh sits on Carter’s chest for two with Sydal having to make a save. The TK3 plants Sydal and Carter breaks up another Bonzai Drop attempt. Bahh is back up and slows down the shooting star press, which Sydal hits just as time expires at 9:00. Carter wins round three and retains the title.

Rating: B-. As usual, the more fun I have with this match, the less interest I have in the whole concept. You could do the exact same thing with a ten minute time limit, which at least makes more sense than a nine minute time limit. I know I harp on these same issues over and over but sweet goodness they just do not learn with this thing. I’m not sure what they see in the whole concept but I don’t think anyone would be complaining if it was just dropped already.

Video on Johnny Impact. He really needs a fresh feud after all this stuff with Alberto, who hasn’t done much for Johnny’s status around here.

KM arrived and jumped Moose. Somehow, this has been quite the upgrade for him as of late.

Allie can’t believe she’s here but Gail Kim (take a freaking shot) told her she’d be here. Crazy Laurel Van Ness attacks her from behind.

Dan Lambert vs. James Storm

Loser leaves town and no holds barred. Lambert talks a lot of trash and here are the American Top Team guys for the beatdown. Lashley’s spinebuster gets two but Storm manages to Last Call everyone down. He hadn’t taken much damage but sweet goodness that’s quite the comeback. KM comes in with a beer bottle to Storm’s head for two. Lashley holds Lambert back, allowing a double beer bottle shot to put Storm away at 3:36.

Rating: F. And that’s it for Storm, who has been one of the longest standing stars of Impact for years now. It does kind of seem appropriate that he goes out putting someone else over, which is always the case for Storm. I could go for him putting over WRESTLERS on his way out but this American Top Team thing is out of hand at this point. It really would have been nice for Storm to get in any kind of important offense but this is how Impact is going to let someone go, because that’s what matters to them.

Post break, Storm gets an ovation from the locker room. Storm calls his family to say he’s coming home and you can barely hear him over the LAX chants while the other match is being taped at the same time. So he gets squashed and beaten down by non-wrestlers and then you can’t even hear his goodbye speech. As mentioned: such is life in Impact.

Video on the debut of Joseph Park, who started off looking for his brother Abyss. I was actually surprised that he was Abyss as I never would have recognized him. The fact that he looks like Penn Jillette made things more complicated.

We see the last few minutes of Joseph Park vs. Bully Ray from Slammiversary 2012.

Chandler Park vs. Jon Bolen

Park is indy mainstay Ethan Page. Bolen drops Park to start and runs him over with a shoulder for two. Josh plugs the upcoming Orlando tapings which will feature a miniature golf tournament. Well it’s better than a match from 2012. Joseph manages to get some cheers going and Bolen misses a charge in the corner. Chandler celebrates a bit too long though and gets the ropes kicked between his legs. For some reason Jon decides to insult Joseph’s Grandma Jenny and gets knocked into a rollup for the pin at 2:39. Park has a good look but this slip on a banana peel winning isn’t going to work for very long.

So to recap: they aired a video package which showed that they’re basically repeating the same idea with one of the participants being the same just five years later. Am I missing something here?

Sydal wants Carter one on one and says tonight’s defeat felt like a victory. He has a radical idea: a REGULAR MATCH for the title. I could certainly go for that idea, which is why I think they’ll manage to botch the thing.

Video on Alberto vs. Eli. Alberto is still mad about being abandoned by the company and makes threats in Spanish. Drake is a paper champion of course but says that the only paper involved with his title is all the paper money he makes. As usual, Eli is the best promo in this company.

From Rahway, New Jersey this past Saturday at a WrestlePro event.

Impact Wrestling World Title: Eli Drake vs. Alberto El Patron

Eli is defending and it’s a brawl before the bell. Jeremy tries to explain the low attendance on the horrible snowstorm over the weekend, even though this was taped nearly a month ago. Alberto gets an early two off a dropkick to the back and sends him into the barricade a few times. Drake is rammed into the buckles over and over but we’re clipped (on a show with a MATCH FROM NEARLY SIX YEARS AGO) to Drake choking on the ramp.

They take turns sending each other into the barricade with Drake getting the better of it for two inside. We hit the chinlock for a bit until Alberto gets the cross armbreaker over the ropes. Clipped again to the Gravy Train giving Drake two. Drake misses a belt shot and gets faceplanted onto the title for two more. The ref gets bumped though and a belt shot retains the title at 6:19.

Rating: D-. Oh sweet goodness no. In addition to the lack of the time (six minutes for a World Title match is almost inexcusable in the first place), the clipping of the match (maybe they could only air so much of it) and the REALLY lame ending, there’s the fact that it wasn’t even held under their own brand. If the match being under the WrestlePro banner necessitated the clipping, maybe don’t have the thing under another banner and tape the match at your own tapings. Why is this stuff so freaking complicated for just this company? I’ve seen indy promotions that run once every month that are put together WAY better than this.

Here’s a clip from a Team Canada match in case you had gotten enough of this modern stuff.

Drake brags about his win and says the belt shot was a receipt for the DDT onto the title belt a few weeks back.

Tag Team Titles: LAX vs. OVE

OVE is defending and this is titles vs. careers. The champs jump LAX during the entrances and the weapons beatdown is on. If this is anything goes, there was no announcement saying such in the arena. The lights finally come up and we get an opening bell with Santana getting superkicked down for two.

We settle down to Dave choking Santana in the corner before it’s off to Jake to choke on the ropes. Santana fights back up but has no partner, meaning Jake can kick him back down for two. The stomping and choking based offense continues with Santana’s right hands having little effect as we take a break. Back with Santana still on his own but managing a cutter on Dave. Ortiz finally manages to get back to the ring, only to be knocked down to the floor again.

Santana has to slap his way to freedom as Ortiz is up on the apron. A DDT finally gets Santana over to the corner for the hot tag so Ortiz can Death Valley Drive Jake into Dave in the corner. Ortiz heads up top for a superplex but Dave reverses it into the Street Sweeper (stealing the finisher) for two more. Santana breaks up the All Seeing Eye and looks for something off the top onto Dave, only to dive into a cutter from Jake in a sweet looking visual. Jake and Ortiz are left to slug it out with Ortiz getting the better of it, setting up the Street Sweeper for the pin and the titles at 14:42.

Rating: B. The story was solid here as you have LAX winning when all the interference goes away despite OVE getting an early advantage. They did this the way they needed to but hokey smoke it’s time for some fresh challengers. I know there aren’t a lot of teams to go around this company but these four can’t feud together much longer, just for the sake of people getting burned out on the match.

Overall Rating: C+. This one depends on how you look at it. The good wrestling outweighed the bad wrestling but egads why can’t this company get the most basic stuff down? I know I mentioned it multiple times but they aired part of a match from 2012 and clipped the World Title match (which aired in another promotion). This is their big return show with FOUR title matches on one show and a gimmick match and it felt like they stumbled to the ground and then crawled over the finish line.

This company doesn’t seem to understand the basics and those major issues are making it very difficult to make any real progress. They built up Alberto vs. Drake and for whatever reason it’s taking place in a small arena in front of a lot of empty bleachers and we don’t even get to see the whole thing. That makes this company seem low level and makes the casual viewers go to another promotion. You need to knock something out of the park once in awhile but I don’t remember the last time they even hit a stand up triple. This was a watchable show but it should have been so much more, which is the case way too often.

Results

Taiji Ishimori b. Trevor Lee – 450 splash

Ethan Carter III b. Matt Sydal and Fallah Bahh via judges’ decision

Dan Lambert b. James Storm – Double beer bottle to the head

Chandler Park b. Jon Bolen – Rollup

Eli Drake b. Alberto El Patron – Title shot to the head

LAX b. OVE – Street Sweeper to Jake

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: December 7, 2017
Location: Aberdeen Pavilion, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Josh Matthews, Jeremy Borash

It’s almost time for a new year but first we need to wrap up the old one as we continue Johnny Impact vs. Alberto El Patron. Last week Johnny him in a long showdown but World Champion Eli Drake is looming on the outskirts. We’ll also get more in the Knockouts Title tournament so let’s get to it.

We open with various names, including El Patron, Drake, James Storm and Dan Lambert, promising to take care of whomever they’re mad at this week.

Opening sequence.

Caleb Konley vs. Taiji Ishimori

They hit the mat to start with Konley working a headlock until Taiji throws him outside. The tease of a dive has Konley freaked out but he still manages to send Ishimori face first down for two. A backsplash gives Konley the same and he throws Ishimori outside for some shots from Trevor Lee. Back in and a spinning strike to the face looks to set up a TKO, only to have Ishimori counter into a reverse DDT. The 450 puts Konley away at 6:13.

Rating: C. So the guy from Japan who never talks, has almost no personality and no character other than “he’s awesome and from Japan” (and who does impress in the ring most of the time) beat a boring guy in plain black trunks, likely setting up a match against another boring guy in plain black trunks with longer hair. We don’t have time to learn anything about them though because we might not get to hear about how to make Impact great or Alberto’s half Spanish/half English.

Lee comes in for the post match beatdown but Dezmond Xavier makes the save.

Knockouts Title Tournament First Round: Allie vs. Sienna vs. Rosemary

The winner gets Laurel Van Ness for the title. Sienna bails to the floor to start so the other two go outside and chop away. Back in and Sienna chops on Rosemary before hitting a running hip attack in the corner. Allie and Rosemary are whipped into each other, followed by a clothesline to put Rosemary on the floor.

A kick to the chest staggers Sienna but she’s right back up for a superplex with Rosemary having to make a save. Sienna gets caught in a double armbar for a near submission, only to have Rosemary and Allie let go. That means a slugout (demon vs. Easter egg) until Sienna comes back in and eats a hard German suplex. The Red Wedding gives Rosemary the pin on Sienna at 6:14.

Rating: C-. Just three women doing moves to each other until one of them won. Rosemary vs. Laurel should be fun, even if it seems that Laurel is just a placeholder while Taya Valkyrie has visa issues. Rosemary looked the strongest here so there’s little to complain about, even if it wasn’t thrilling stuff.

Sami Callihan and OVE are in the ring to talk about how much they can’t stand Canada and Mexico. It’s two countries full of nonsense and the feud with LAX continues. This has gone beyond wrestling and is now gang warfare. Callihan brags about Ohio being awesome but some Canadians named TDT (two guys who seem to be from Montreal) come out to issue a challenge. TDT gets the better of it until Sami makes the save with a kendo stick. Some chairs are loaded up in the middle but LAX makes the save. OVE bails in short order.

Allie is upset when she runs into Gail Kim, who says Allie didn’t let her down.

Clip of Christopher Daniels vs. Senshi from Lockdown 2006.

KM beats up a bunch of people in a gym to prove himself to American Top Team.

LAX is ready to get the titles back.

Eli Drake and Chris Adonis are ready for Petey Williams and Johnny Impact tonight.

Grand Championship: Ethan Carter III vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal is challenging. They circle each other to start with little contact in the first thirty seconds. Ethan’s headlock goes nowhere so he shoulders him down to take over for the first time. That earns Ethan a kick to the head, followed by a standing moonsault for two. Ethan hammers him down without too much trouble though and sends Sydal outside. Back in and a delayed vertical suplex ends round one, with Carter getting the win.

Round two stats fast with Sydal stomping and chopping away, only to be sent into the corner for some stomps from the champ. We hit the cravate for a good bit until Sydal fights up with more kicks. A suplex of his own gets two and we wrap up round two with Sydal tying it up.

Carter gets in a cheap shot to end the round though and Sydal starts slowly, allowing Ethan to hit a hard sitout powerbomb for two. Sydal’s double knees from the top give him the save, followed by a side roll and another near fall. Sydal bolts up top but the shooting star is broken up. A superplex is broken up so Sydal tries another shooting star, which only hits mat. They hit a double clothesline and that’s the end of the round. After a break, the third round is…..a draw, meaning it’s a tie at 9:00. Guest judge Fallah Bahh gave the third vote.

Rating: C+. I liked the match more and these two have chemistry together but the round system is still getting annoying. I’m not sure why they’re keeping that system around and it’s not like anything is really being made better because of it. Just let it be a match with a ten (yes ten, not nine) minute time limit like fans want. But hey, let’s be different instead of logical.

Long clip of James Storm vs. Bobby Roode from Bound For Glory 2012. That was a great match.

Park Park and Park ad. The intentionally low budget is awesome.

Bobby Lashley/Dan Lambert vs. James Storm/Moose

Lambert is wrestling barefoot and American Top Team is at ringside. Storm and Lashley start things off with an early Sling Blade taking Lashley down. Moose comes in for a backsplash (because everyone has to use a backsplash these days) but a Lambert distraction lets Lashley take him down.

We hit the chinlock for a bit until Moose gets in a spear. That means a hot tag to Storm as Lashley has no one to tag. The American Top Team member in the neck brace comes in so Moose bicycle kicks him down and tosses him onto the pile at ringside. The distraction lets Lashley spear Storm down so Lambert can get the pin at 5:25.

Rating: D. I’m so sick of this stupid feud and the MMA guys being presented as anything more than a novelty. I have no idea why they’re being brought in all the time for the sake of just being warm bodies but I’m sure it’s something about cross promotion or whatever. Bad match too, but that’s the case with these guys more often than not.

Lashley isn’t happy with Lambert but shakes his hand anyway.

Johnny Impact and Petey Williams are ready for the main event. Alberto better keep his nose out of this too.

Ad for the finals of the Knockout tournament, which is nowhere near as epic as they’re making it out to be. It was a pair of triple threats and a singles match, not Wrestlemania IV.

Chris Adonis/Eli Drake vs. Johnny Impact/Petey Williams

Johnny and Chris start things off with Impact being run over but nipping back up. Eli accidentally shoulders Adonis in the corner and we get the drop toehold into the crotch as we take a break. Back with Drake hitting a backbreaker on Williams and bringing Adonis back in for a knee to the spine. The double stomping ensues and Drake gets two off a jumping elbow (with some finger poking included).

Petey finally snaps off a hurricanrana, only to get caught in a belly to back slam to give Adonis two instead. Williams rolls away and makes a hot tag to Johnny though as everything breaks down. A standing shooting star gets two on Adonis and the flip neckbreaker gets the same. Petey comes back in with a slingshot Codebreaker to Drake but gets caught in the Adonis Lock. Johnny makes the save with a Flying Chuck, followed by Starship Pain for the pin on Adonis at 13:23.

Rating: C. Just a main event tag here that continues to show the value of having a lackey like Adonis who can take fall after fall like this and be fine. Drake vs. Impact vs. Alberto isn’t exactly thrilling but at least there’s something there. I hope we don’t have to go with Alberto as champion again though as I don’t think I can handle that level of indifference again.

Post match Alberto runs in and sends Drake into the post. A DDT onto the title ends the show.

Overall Rating: D+. If I had to sum up this promotion in one statement, it would be lack of effort. So many of the stories here feel like the idea is “you people go out there and do this”. End of direction, end of idea, end of motivation. Maybe if we didn’t have to show classic clips or hear from KM and LAX (Why are so many people on this show either an acronym or initials?) or talk about mixed martial arts being so freaking awesome, we could get some of these people some promo time so we can have a chance to care about them. The show wasn’t the worst but it’s still lacking energy and that’s very bad as well.

Results

Taiji Ishimori b. Caleb Konley – 450

Rosemary b. Sienna and Allie – Red Wedding to Sienna

Ethan Carter III vs. Matt Sydal went to a draw

Bobby Lashley/Dan Lambert b. James Storm/Moose – Spear to Storm

Johnny Impact/Petey Williams b. Chris Adonis/Eli Drake – Starship Pain to Adonis

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/11/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-and-thunder-reviews-volume-vi/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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