Rampage
Date: April 27, 2024
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re still in Jacksonville for the second half of tonight’s double shot. In this case, that means we have a live parking lot brawl between Chuck Taylor and Trent Beretta as their friendship is over. Other than that, it’s Rampage, and that could go in all kinds of directions. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Chuck Taylor vs. Trent Beretta

They’re in the parking lot for the brawl inside a circle of cars, with Trent starting fast by sending Taylor into a car. Taylor is busted open but is more than capable of sending Trent onto a hood. They climb onto a truck, with Beretta knocking him through a piece of plywood. We take an early break and come back with a TV being thrown and Taylor suplexing him though a door.

Some shovel shots to the back have Trent in trouble but he manages to slam Taylor onto a table of light tubes. Taylor is right back with a toss powerbomb through a windshield for two more. They’re both gushing blood as they climb onto the top of a car for another slugout. A low blow gets Beretta out of trouble and he piledrives Taylor onto the top of the car. That sets up a triangle choke and Taylor is out at 10:08.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of bloody, violent brawl that you do not get to see very often. It’s also something that you will either like or not like and as a result, your mileage may vary in a big way. The good thing is Beretta gets the win over someone who matters in his career and can move on to what is likely a showdown with Orange Cassidy at Double Or Nothing.

Post match Beretta grabs a wrench as Orange Cassidy and Kris Statlander come in. Beretta says this is Cassidy’s fault and crushes Taylor’s ankle with the wrench.

Don Callis watches approvingly.

Kyle O’Reilly is happy to come to his hometown and do what he does best: wrestle.

Thunder Rosa vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Rosa talks trash to start and they fight over a lockup with neither being able to get very far. A chinlock doesn’t last long for Rosa as Purrazzo fights up and goes after the leg. Rosa ties the limbs up in the ropes for a running dropkick, followed by a Liontamer to amp up the pain. Rosa is right next to the ropes for the break and sends Purrazzo outside for the dive.

Purrazzo kicks her in the face for a knockdown of her own and we take a break. Back with Rosa hitting a running kick to the face, followed by a running dropkick against the ropes. Purrazzo comes back but can’t get the Fujiwara armbar, instead settling for a kick to the face. Rosa fights back and goes up, only to dive into the Fujiwara armbar. That’s broken up with a rollup, which is reversed back into the Fujiwara armbar, which is reversed into another rollup to finally give Rosa the pin at 11:05.

Rating: C+. Rosa gets a nice win to boost herself back up after losing at Dynasty. She could be sticking around the title picture for a good while now and that makes sense as she is still one of the bigger names in the division. At the same time you have Purrazzo, who might be a talented star but you only get so far with her when she keeps losing.

Post match Rosa goes to leave but Purrazzo jumps her for a ram into the barricade. The brawl is on and referees have to break it up.

We look at Will Ospreay earning an International Title shot.

The Undisputed Kingdom want Tony Khan to stay neck strong but then move on to Will Ospreay, who will finally fall before the messiah of the Backbreaker.

Big Bill vs. Trevor Blackwell

Bill kicks him in the face to start and shouts about how he’s doing this to show Chris Jericho. More kicks to the face set up a rather delayed chokeslam to give Bill the win at 1:39.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Katsuyori Shibata/Daniel Garcia

Anthony Ogogo is on commentary. It’s a brawl to start and everyone fights to the floor with the Promotions taking over. Taylor sends Shibata inside and it’s off to Moriarty to stomp away in the corner. Shibata is able to get away for the tag to Garcia, meaning suplexes abound. A quick distraction lets Moriarty pull Garcia down with a hanging apron DDT to the floor as the villains take over. Garcia tries to fight out but gets hit in the face, setting up a splash for two.

We take a break and come back with Taylor missing a middle rope splash but Moriarty cuts off the tag. Garcia finally gets smart and sends them together, allowing the tag back to Shibata. Everything breaks down and the Promotions are sent int the corner for stereo right hands to the head.

Running dropkicks have the villains in even more trouble and Garcia dances as Shibata pounds Taylor down. Moriarty is back in to strike away at Shibata in the corner and yeah that’s not the best idea. Shibata kicks Taylor away so Garcia can grab a sleeper, with Shibata doing the same to Moriarty. Garcia suplexes Taylor and Shibata PK’s Moriarty for the pin at 14:55.

Rating: C+. This felt like a way to get Shibata featured on the show, which might have a bit of a bigger impact if he wasn’t around so often all the time. Putting Garcia out there with him should mean a nice rub, even if beating the Promotions again might not mean as much. For now though, it’s a nice enough main event on a rather weak looking show. Just get them to do something like this on Dynamite and their stock could rise nicely

Overall Rating: B-. The opener being a bigger deal helped, but there was only so much that could be done to hide how little this show meant. While it’s better than some of the recent Rampages, it still comes off as a show that has to be done rather than one AEW wants to do. Not every single important thing has to be on Dynamite and as usual, it leaves Rampage feeling kind of weak. Good, but weak.

Results
Trent Beretta b. Chuck Taylor – Triangle choke
Thunder Rosa b. Deonna Purrazzo – Rollup
Big Billy Trevor Blackwell – Chokeslam
Katsuyori Shibata/Daniel Garcia b. Shane Taylor Promotions

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Collision
Date: April 27, 2024
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re doing another double shot this week with Collision and Rampage going back to back. That makes for a rather interesting night, as last week’s Collision was great while the following Rampage definitely took its foot off the gas. Odds are we’ll be getting an update on what happened to Tony Khan on Dynamite, which is suddenly the top story in AEW. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Swerve Strickland winning the World Title at Dynasty.

Here is Swerve Strickland, with Prince Nana, for a chat. Nana introduces Swerve as the boss of bosses, one h*** of a wrestler and the new World Champion. Swerve runs down what we have been seeing around here over the last week, including Jack Perry and the Young Bucks attacking Tony Khan. Swerve has done a lot of things in wrestling, but that sounds like a b**** move.

The biggest thing in wrestling though is him winning the World Title and he got here while making some sacrifices. Swerve’s oldest daughter said she doesn’t really know him and he can’t make up for lost time, but he can make sure that this is all worth it. He beat Kyle Fletcher on Dynamite so let’s do the open challenge tonight. Cue Claudio Castagnoli in a suit and I think we have a main event. Swerve says he’ll see him tonight in whose house? Castagnoli takes the mic and says it’s going to be his.

We look at the attack on Tony Khan.

Tony Schiavone says Tony Khan has suffered multiple head and neck injuries. Khan cannot travel but he can run AEW remotely from Jacksonville. Nigel McGuinness asks what happens if Khan something happens and Khan isn’t there. Are we really to believe that Khan can’t be expected to call/text in orders? That isn’t what was said, but I would hope they have a better explanation than “he’s not here in person”.

Trios Titles: Bullet Club Gold vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

The Club is defending. White and Dante start things off with Dante striking away until White chops him into the corner. The Gunns come in for a clothesline into a knee lift as the villains start taking turns on Dante. A quick dive cuts Austin off though and it’s Darius coming in to clean house. Darius’ Downward Spiral gets two on Austin but White plants him face first onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Dante and Andretti being pulled off the apron but Colten avoids a splash. Darius rolls over and brings Andretti in to pick up the pace. A split legged moonsault into a Spanish Fly gets two on Colten as everything breaks down. White crotches Andretti on top and the swinging Rock Bottom plants Dante. 3:10 To Yuma plants Darius but Andretti dropkicks White into the corner. Not that it matters as Andretti handsprings into the Blade Runner to retain the titles at 11:13.

Rating: B-. This was a perfectly good first title defense for the champs as Andretti and Top Flight were fine challengers. The division is hardly deep in the first place so it is nice to see a regular team getting a title shot. They don’t need to defend the titles every week but they did need to defend them at least once to get the unified reign off to a nice start.

We look at the Young Bucks winning the Tag Team Titles over FTR in a ladder match at Dynasty, albeit with help from Jack Perry.

The House Of Black is happy with beating Adam Copeland again at Dynasty. One of them will be accepting the Cope Open on Dynamite.

Rey Fenix vs. Beast Mortos

This is Fenix’s first match since October. Fenix fires off kicks to start and bounces off the ropes, right into a powerslam from Mortos. With Fenix sent outside, Mortos takes him down with a corkscrew dive. Back in and Mortos hits a crucifix bomb, followed by a heck of a clothesline for two.

Mortos starts in on the leg and gets in something like a reverse Figure Four, with Fenix having to roll to the ropes. It’s time to go after Fenix’s mask, because that is something we have to see quite often around here. We take a break and come back with Fenix striking away and snapping off a hurricanrana out of the corner. Fenix fires off some more kicks before running and…stepping up onto Mortos’ head, because that’s something someone can do.

Mortos doesn’t like having his head stepped on and knocks Fenix out of the air for a double knockdown. Back up and Fenix knocks him to the floor for the required dive but Mortos grabs a nasty gutbuster for two back inside. Fenix kicks him away again and hits a superkick into a frog splash for two. A rollup gives Fenix the pin at 15:11.

Rating: B-. Well they certainly got some time. This was a long match that let Fenix showcase his athleticism while letting Mortos get in his own power stuff. It made for a good match and a nice return, though there were some points when it felt like it was going long for the sake of going long.

Video on Trent Beretta turning on Orange Cassidy, with Chuck Taylor standing up to Beretta.

Cassidy is scared of what Taylor and Beretta are going to do to each other in the parking lot. Kris Statlander comes in to say Beretta needs them.

Rush vs. Martin Stone

Rush, in his first match since December, snaps off a German suplex to start and knocks Stone outside to choke against the barricade. Some whips with the TV cables make things worse and they head back inside. Rush suplexes him into the corner and the Bull’s Horns completes the squash at 2:15.

Post match Rush hits another Bull’s Horns for a bonus.

We look at Serena Deeb saying she’s coming after the Women’s Title.

Deeb says she is the obvious #1 contender and it is now or never. After all these years of being told she’s great, she needs to be Women’s Champion.

Toni Storm vs. Anna Jay

Non-title and Mariah May (in black for a change) is here with Storm. They lock up to start until Storm grabs a headlock and grinds away. Jay sends her into the corner for a running kick to the face, setting up a hip attack. That just wakes Storm up and she is back with a Thesz press, followed by some hips to the face. Another hip attack knocks May down, allowing Jay to grab a neckbreaker and Nigel to panic as we take a break.

Back with Storm hitting a Backstabber into a DDT into a fisherman’s suplex for two. A Gory Special gives Jay two and we hit the Queenslayer. Nigel: “THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME! THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME!” Storm fights up and knocks her into the corner, setting up the big hip attack and Storm Zero finishes Jay at 9:22.

Rating: C+. Something has clicked for Storm in the ring lately and it has been going much better. She has the character stuff to be incredibly entertaining, but the in-ring part has been going way up lately. That helps a lot and has made things that much better, which is quite good given the amount of challengers coming for the title.

Chuck Taylor, with his dog, tells Orange Cassidy that he has to do this on his own. Works for Cassidy.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Acclaimed

This is the Veterans’ (James Drake/Zack Gibson) debut and Billy Gunn is here with the Acclaimed. Gibson and Caster start things off with the former working on the arm and handing it off to Drake for the same. Bowens comes in and grabs a neckbreaker, setting up a slugout. Gibson isn’t having that and comes in for some double teaming, setting up something close to a Poetry In Motion to knock Caster off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Drake hitting a dive on Caster as Tony manages to figure out what Nigel means by “don’t GAF.” Gibson’s chinlock doesn’t last long and Caster ducks a spinwheel kick allowing the tag off to Bowens. House is quickly cleaned and Caster tags himself back in (rather quickly) for Scissor Me Timbers to Drake.

Gibson gets back in to distract Caster, allowing Drake to hit a running boot to the face. Bowens gets Codebreakered out of the corner, with Drake adding a missile dropkick for two. With nothing else working, Gunn offers a distraction so Bowens can come back with the Arrival, setting up the Mic Drop for the pin on Gibson at 12:10.

Rating: B-. If the Veterans want to stick around, they probably earned themselves a job with this match. They looked like a polished, experienced team and were running circles around the Acclaimed here. I’m not sure what has happened to the Acclaimed, but they seem to have just stopped evolving or advancing in the ring whatsoever. They feel like a colder version of the same act from a year ago and that is a really bad sign. The team needs something to change them up and it needs to happen soon.

Katsuyori Shibata is ready to beat up Shane Taylor Promotions himself tonight and then he’ll beat up Chris Jericho. Daniel Garcia comes in to offer some help and Shibata accepts, saying “save the last dance for me.”

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Strickland is defending. Feeling out process to start until Castagnoli wrestles him to the mat without much trouble. They fight over a test of strength on the mat with neither being able to get very far. Swerve twists up to his feet but Castagnoli is right there with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Castagnoli knocks him to the apron but Swerve comes back with a hurricanrana on the ramp for a nasty crash.

Back in and a high crossbody knocks Castagnoli down again, setting up some rolling neckbreakers for a new idea. Castagnoli isn’t having this and knocks him outside, where a hard running uppercut against the barricade takes us to a break. Back with Swerve hitting a basement superkick to send Castagnoli outside, where another kick to the chest makes it worse. The rolling Downward Spiral gives Swerve two and a forearm puts Castagnoli on the floor again.

Swerve gets sat up on the stage and a running flip dive brings him back off, while dropping Castagnoli at the same time. Back in and a 450 gives Swerve two but Castagnoli hits a running stomp of his own. That just fires Swerve up and he strikes away, at least until Castagnoli runs him over for a double knockdown. Swerve muscles him over with a suplex and there’s the Swerve Stomp for a rather near fall.

The House Call is loaded up but Castagnoli reverses into the Swing, setting up the Sharpshooter to put Swerve in a lot more trouble. The crossface goes on but Swerve gets out, earning himself a heck of a running clothesline for two. Swerve grabs a DDT and goes up for the Stomp…but Castagnoli just blocks him in the air and slams him down. A running stomp drops Castagnoli though and it’s the House Call to retain the title at 21:04.

Rating: B+. Now this was more like it, as Swerve had to work to get through a rather tough opponent. It takes someone special to be able to hang with Castagnoli and Swerve not only did it but even looked better at times. Castagnoli is one of those guys you call if you want to make an opponent look good and he did it in spades here, with a rather excellent match.

Respect is shown post match.

Overall Rating: B+. This had some pretty quality wrestling matches and I had a good time with the show. That’s two weeks in a row with high level Collisions and I could certainly go for more of this. While Dynamite needs to spread the important parts around to the other shows, it’s nice to Have a show that isn’t packed with storylines and lets the wrestlers do their thing. Rather strong stuff here as Collision is getting into a heck of a groove.

Results
Bullet Club Gold b. Top Flight/Action Andretti – Blade Runner to Andretti
Rey Fenix b. Beast Mortos – Rollup
Rush b. Martin Stone – Bull’s Horns
Acclaimed b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Mic Drop to Gibson
Swerve Strickland b. Claudio Castagnoli – House Call

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Collision
Date: April 20, 2024
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last Collision before Dynasty but also the first half of a double shot tonight, as Rampage will air after the show. In this case we have Bryan Danielson in a Bunkhouse Brawl, as the Blackpool Combat Club is facing the Don Callis Family. That should be enough to carry things so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Adam Copeland/Eddie Kingston/Mark Briscoe vs. Action Andretti/Top Flight

Briscoe starts with Andretti, who wants some Redneck Kung Fu. Never ask someone who looks like Briscoe for either Redneck or Kung Fu. They fight over wrist control until Briscoe grabs a headlock on the mat. Back up and Andretti hits a dropkick into a moonsault for two but Briscoe runs him over. Copeland comes in to share a double running shoulder with Briscoe but Andretti kicks him in the knee in a smart move.

It’s off to Darius for a dropkick, with Dante adding a running clothesline in the corner. Dante tries to jump a few too many times though and gets caught with a running powerslam. We get Kingston for the first time, with Dante getting knocked into the corner as we take a break.

Back with Darius coming in to clean house as everything breaks down. Andretti hits a running shooting star press on Kingston, with Copeland making the save. They all get up and have the six way staredown, setting up a triple clothesline to put them all down. Kingston wins a slugout with Andretti but gets kicked down by Dante. Copeland grabs the implant DDT on Dante and it’s a Jay Driller to Darius. The spear and the Froggy Bow finish the destruction at 12:17.

Rating: B-. Nice start to the show as the winners get a boost before their showdown with the House Of Black at Dynasty. It’s not exactly a career making win but I’ll take them at least teaming together before going into that match. You don’t often see three singles champions against an established team but that’s what we’ll be seeing at the pay per view, which is quite the big match.

Post match the House Of Black pop up on screen with various threats to the winners.

Video on Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. CJ Espersa

Don Callis is on commentary and Hobbs takes it to the floor. Some slams onto the apron and a torture rack complete the destruction of Espersa at 1:24.

Post match Callis gets in the ring and announces that Hobbs’ match with Jon Moxley on Dynamite will be for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, as he has called in some favors.

Will Ospreay is ready for Bryan Danielson.

We look at Chris Jericho yelling at Hook and shoving Taz on Dynamite.

Jericho apologizes to Hook and Taz but he’s asked Tony Khan for a match against Hook at Dynasty for the FTW Title.

Gunns vs. Acclaimed

Jay White and Billy Gunn are here too. The Gunns tease walking out but Tony Khan, by way of Tony Schiavone, threatens to cancel the Dynasty match. Acclaimed jump them to start and the fight is on, with the Gunns taking over in the corner as we take a break. Back with Caster caught in a double half crab but he kicks his way to freedom. The diving tag brings Bowens in to clean house, including a jump over the back Fameasser for two on Colten.

Everything breaks down and Colten’s rollup, even with feet on the ropes, only gets two. Austin grabs Bowens’ leg from the floor, allowing Colten to hit a Fameasser for two more. The 3:10 To Yuma doesn’t work so Colten rakes the eyes. Caster is back in to plant Colten but gets crotched as he goes up. Now the 3:10 To Yuma can hit Bowens but Caster hits the Mic Drop on Austin. Back up and Austin grabs a rollup (and the bat as extended by White) for the pin on Caster at 10:01.

Rating: C+. AEW really likes running this match and have the history to prove it. The matches are ok, but the interesting thing is how far the Gunns have come in a few years. You can absolutely see the improvement and that is nice to see for a team with that much potential. Then you have the Acclaimed, who are pretty much exactly what they were a few years ago, if not downgraded.

We look at the Blackpool Combat Club attacking the Don Callis Family on Dynamite.

Bryan Danielson talks about feeling alive but he wonders what Don Callis is up to. Tonight he gets revenge on Konosuke Takeshita and tomorrow he gets Will Ospreay. Cue Ospreay to say he had nothing to do with Takeshita attacking him because he wants Danielson at 100%. Danielson doesn’t seem convinced.

Toni Storm, in color to show what happened to her, is not pleased with Thunder Rosa putting paint on her face. Rosa wants to bring her to h***, but she makes love to demons every night.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Don Callis Family

Bunkhouse Brawl, meaning anything goes, and the Family (Kyle Fletcher/Konosuke Takeshita in this case) jumps the Club from behind to start. The fight starts in the crowd with Danielson striking away at Fletcher and beating him up through the people. The two of them get to ringside while Castagnoli cleans up some garbage in the crowd. Takeshita grabs the ring bell hammer to beat on Castagnoli before they get inside to slug it out.

Castagnoli grabs the Swing and Danielson adds the dropkick but Fletcher throws in a chair (busting Danielson open in the process) for the save. Some powder to the eyes lets Fletcher hit a powerbomb for two on Castagnoli and we take a break. Back with Castagnoli ramming Fletcher into the steps over and over to bust him open as well.

Danielson hits a top rope knee to the back of Takeshita’s head and then a hard kick to the front of his head. Fletcher is back in to kick Castagnoli down and it’s time for a chain (everyone uses a chain these days). The Club fights back and hit the stereo elbows to the face but here is Powerhouse Hobbs to clean house. Jon Moxley runs in to brawl with Hobbs through the crowd, leaving Danielson to super hurricanrana Takeshita onto an open chair. Castagnoli wraps the chain around his arm for an uppercut to Takeshita. Danielson knees Fletcher into the LeBell Lock (with the chain) for the win at 16:04.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that AEW really likes to present and as usual, the result depends on the level of talent involved. With these four in there, it was almost impossible for it not to work and they even tied it in with Hobbs vs. Moxley next week on Dynamite. It was a wild brawl, but dang there are a lot of those in AEW.

Post match Danielson says he’s doing this match because his Heaven is bleeding in this ring in front of these people. He’ll beat Will Ospreay at Dynasty.

Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale and Stokely Hathaway are fired up for Nightingale to win the TBS Title at Dynasty.

Skye Blue vs. Leyla Hirsch

Hirsch rushes her to start and hits a boot to the face, with Blue having to bail out to the floor. Blue gets in a shot outside though and a hanging swinging neckbreaker drops Hirsch hard. They get back in and Hirsch slugs away, only to get dropped with a forearm to the chest. A belly to back and wheelbarrow suplex get Hirsch out of trouble but Blue catches her with a Cheeky Nandos kick. Hirsch fights back up and hits a superplex, only to slip off the ropes. Blue grabs a dragon sleeper for the tap at 5:09.

Rating: C+. Blue has felt somewhere between cold and non-existent in recent weeks so it’s nice to see her getting a win here. It seems she’s passed her peak so far, but giving her a few wins could bring her back. That being said, seeing her make someone like Hirsch tap out is more than a little weird.

Dynasty rundown.

Elite vs. FTR/Pac

Pac and Okada start things off and, after Pac cuts off the Bucks’ interference, he takes Okada into the corner so Wheeler can stomp away. The Bucks pull Okada to the floor and the big brawl is on. Back in and Harwood strikes it out with Okada but Matt tags himself in. That earns him a quick beating so it’s right back to Okada, with Pac starting in on the arm. Everything breaks down again and they all head to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Wheeler getting stomped down in the corner, setting up Matt’s chinlock. Wheeler suplexes his way out but Nick is right there to cut him off again. A splash misses though and it’s a diving tag to bring Pac back in to clean house. The big running flip dive to the floor takes out the Bucks but it’s too early for the Black Arrow. Okada distracts the referee so the Bucks can send Pac into the steps and we take another break.

Back again with the Bucks’ powerbomb/corner enziguri combination not exactly working and the big tag brings Harwood back in. A brainbuster plants Okada and FTR sends the Bucks into each other for a double low blow in the corner. Harwood slugs away at Okada, who cuts him right back off with the dropkick. The Rainmaker is blocked though and Harwood pulls him into the Sharpshooter.

Various superkicks break that up and Matt adds a top rope elbow for two. Everything breaks down again and the PowerPlex hits Matt. They all get up for the slugout and the Bucks give Pac a Shatter Machine for two, followed by the EVP Trigger for the same. Wheeler dives onto Nick and Okada, leaving Pac to hit the Black Arrow for the pin on Matt at 22:15.

Rating: B. Yeah of course this was good and that shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise. There is always something to combining two pay per view matches into one main event and they made it work here, with Pac getting a pin to keep him hot for the title match. Odds are the Bucks win the titles tomorrow, but at least we didn’t have to hear about building momentum towards a ladder match.

Post match the villains ump the winners but Daniel Garcia runs in for the save. Okada gets caught in the Brutalizer with the Bucks pulling him out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was quite the stacked show and it made for a rather strong two hours on the way to Dynasty. It helps that they didn’t really have to do anything new here and most of the show was built around building up things for Dynasty. Either way, this was a rather awesome show and one of the best Collisions in a good while.

Results
Adam Copeland/Eddie Kingston/Mark Briscoe b. Action Andretti/Top Flight – Froggy Bow to Darius
Powerhouse Hobbs b. CJ Espersa – Torture rack
Gunns b. Acclaimed – Rollup to Caster while grabbing a baseball bat
Blackpool Combat Club b. Don Callis Family – LeBell Lock with a chain to Fletcher
Skye Blue b. Leyla Hirsch – Dragon sleeper
FTR/Pac b. Elite – Black Arrow to Matt

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: April 17, 2024
Location: Farmer’s Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

Things took a big turn last week and now we get to see things get back on the right track. One of the biggest ways to do that might be having the return of Jon Moxley, who is now the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. It’s also the last Dynamite before Dynasty and that could mean some last minute additions. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is Jon Moxley to get things going. Moxley talks about how he won one of his first titles right here in Indianapolis and even back then, a lot of people were talking about how he wasn’t what he needed to be. His answer is still the same: watch him do what he does, which is what this IWGP World Heavyweight Title is all about. He’s been chasing the title for five years and no it wasn’t impossible if you know what is beating in his chest.

AEW is about being willing to show the world what you are all about, which brings him to the Don Callis Family. Moxley doesn’t like what is going on with the Family and Bryan Danielson so he’s challenging Powerhouse Hobbs to a match next week. Pain and violence are promised. This started as the latest AEW Rah Rah speech but they did shift away from that pretty quickly. Also, I’m not sure how much we needed a celebration of the new IWGP World Champion on the same week AEW asks you to pay to see an already only so strong AEW World Title match.

Mercedes Mone is not happy with being attacked in the dark last week and the locker room is ON NOTICE (feel free to retire that line anytime soon). She’ll be watching tonight’s mixed tag match.

Adam Copeland/Willow Nightingale vs. House Of Black

Hold on though as Nightingale has been attacked in the back so here is Brody King to jump Copeland from behind. The beating is on before the bell and Copeland is sent into the steps. Copeland gets inside and the bell rings, with the commercial coming in eleven seconds into the (handicap) match.

Back with Copeland fighting out of a superplex and knocking him down, meaning it’s time to strike it out. Copeland hits a running boot in the corner for two, followed by a neckbreaker to put King down again. The spear is cut off but King misses the Cannonball in the corner. Cue Nightingale to go after Hart and hit a Cannonball on King. The distraction lets Hart get in a chain shot, setting up Hartless on the unconscious Nightingale for the win at 8:49.

Rating: C. This was more or less Copeland vs. King until the angle at the end. That doesn’t have me feeling the strongest about Hart’s injury status, but at least she did get in the ring near the end to do something physical. Nightingale needs to win the title so she can have something important on her resume, but I’m not sure I can go for Hart losing the title yet.

Post match Mercedes Mone runs in to chase Hart off. Mone picks up the chair and stares at Nightingale before throwing it down.

Samoa Joe talks about how Swerve Strickland won’t stay down but Joe is ready to beat him again. He’ll have to get the title belt disinfected after Prince Nana touched it but let’s talk about Swerve coming up short every single time. Joe is ready to do his thing as usual and end Swerve once and for all.

The Young Bucks have bumped a package about FTR but promise to beat them on Sunday. Oh and Kazuchika Okada will take care of Pac. Why Tony Khan is just sitting there bewildered isn’t clear.

Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada vs. Daniel Garcia/Pac/Penta El Zero Miedo

Penta kicks at Matt’s leg to start before sending Nick to the floor. There’s a superkick to Matt as everything breaks down. Matt kicks Garcia from the apron and we take an early break. Back with Matt on a headset doing live commentary (which can be heard in the arena) as he gets the tag. He can’t talk his way out of a belly to back suplex from Garcia so it’s Pac coming in to clean house (with Matt’s mic seemingly being turned off).

Pac hits a moonsault to the floor and goes after Okada, only to get cheap shotted from behind. Everything breaks down and Pac gets in a neck snap over the top to take over. Pac gets smart by dragging Penta over for the tag but the Black Arrow is broken up. Garcia is kicked into Okada’s Tombstone and there’s one for Penta as well. The Rainmaker finishes Garcia at 12:18.

Rating: B-. The action was good but Garcia might as well have worn a shirt saying “I’m taking the pin”. Pac is getting a title shot and Penta feels like too big of a star. That didn’t make for the most drama about the result, though Pac vs. Okada should be a heck of a match when they get the chance to do something. Otherwise, now we can move on to the Bucks winning the titles as the fans continue to leave, but at least AEW can stand their ground.

Post match the winners load up a ladder but Pac makes the save with his ring bell hammer.

Here are Chris Jericho and Hook for a chat with Taz moderating. Jericho thanks Taz for getting this out here before saying Hook wasn’t listening to him as much as he should have last week. Some people think he is great and the truth is Jericho IS the learning tree. Anyone who comes into the Jericho Vortex comes out better and now he’s ready to achieve greatness with Hook. What do you say? Hook: “No.” He doesn’t need Jericho’s help, so Jericho tells him to not be stupid.

Taz tries to cut it off but Jericho says he’s giving Hook some proper guidance like Taz should have a long time ago. Jericho goes on a rant about Hook not being ready and decks Taz for trying to intervene again. Hook grabs Jericho by the shirt and tells him to get out of his ring. Jericho does, as I try to figure out how this is supposed to make Hook like good in any way. We’ve established Hook can beat Jericho up but here he just shoves him a bit and tells him to get away? After Jericho hit Hook’s dad, who had to retire due to injuries and hasn’t wrestled a serious match in 20+ years?

We get a sitdown interview with Swerve Strickland, who doesn’t think much of Samoa Joe calling him a choke artist. Swerve has stumbled before and we hear about some of the horrible things that have happened to him this year. No matter what though, he’s still here. Joe can call him whatever he wants but on Dynasty, Joe can call him champ. Swerve is going to say something to Joe’s face tonight.

Mariah May vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Toni Storm is here too. May takes her into the corner to start but Purrazzo legdrags her way to freedom. It’s way too early for the Fujiwara armbar as May slips to the floor and whips Purrazzo into the barricade. Back in and the Stratusphere is broken up so May shoves her outside instead as we take a break.

We come back with Purrazzo slugging away before grabbing the Fujiwara armbar. May makes the rope again so Purrazzo tries a powerbomb which….doesn’t exactly work. Instead May sends her into the corner for a hip attack into a tornado DDT. Storm doesn’t seem happy and it gets a lot worse as Purrazzo rolls May up for the pin at 8:02.

Rating: C-. Purrazzo is boosted back up as May seems to disappoint Storm yet again. I’m not sure what is next for Purrazzo, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see May get yelled at by Storm, leaving Mina Shirakawa to pick up the pieces. The match itself wasn’t the best either though, as it had multiple sloppy moments and Purrazzo doesn’t exactly look great for winning here.

Post match the beatdown is on until Thunder Rosa runs in to save Purrazzo.

Bullet Club Gold challenges the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn for a winner take all match at Dynasty.

Gunn and the Acclaimed are in.

Shane Taylor vs. Orange Cassidy

The rest of Shane Taylor Promotions are here with Taylor but he says he’s got this. The team stays as Cassidy hits a dropkick to start, only to get draped over the top for a Stunner. Taylor drops him again and we take an early break. Back with Cassidy slugging away but Moriarty and Ogogo offer distractions, allowing Taylor to grab him by the throat. Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble but Taylor hits him in the face. Not that it matters as the Orange Punch gives Cassidy the pin at 8:00.

Rating: C. Taylor has been getting quite a bit of television time in recent weeks and beating him still means just enough. That being said, Cassidy vs. Trent Beretta is one of the most interesting stories going in AEW today and a lot of that has to do with how it feels personal. That can go a long way and it has done so thus far in their story.

Post match the beatdown is on so Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal run out for the save…but are cut off by Trent Beretta, because Orange Cassidy cannot have any friends.

Video on Roderick Strong vs. Kyle O’Reilly.

Will Ospreay vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli grabs a rollup for two to start before blocking a hurricanrana with pure power. An uppercut cuts Ospreay off rather quickly but he knocks Castagnoli outside. Castagnoli walks away from the tease of a dive so Ospreay takes over on the floor, only to have a springboard cut off back inside. They forearm it out with Ospreay managing to knock him outside. Another dive is pulled out of the air and Ospreay is planted as we take a break.

Back with Ospreay getting two off a Phenomenal Forearm before they trade Sharpshooters. With Castagnoli’s broken up, he switches over to a crossface, which is reversed into a tiger driver to give Ospreay two. Back up and Castagnoli hits a hard clothesline for two, followed by Ospreay’s rollup for the same.

Ospreay springboards into a Burning Hammer for another near fall so Ospreay switches to a Spanish Fly for two of his own. Castagnoli grabs the Swing but Ospreay rolls his way up for a DDT (that was sweet). Spiral Tap gives Ospreay two more and the Hidden Blade finishes Castagnoli at 14:23.

Rating: B. These guys had a heck of a match and that shouldn’t be a surprise at this point. That’s kind of what Ospreay does and putting him in there against Castagnoli is a guaranteed good match. Ospreay will be ready for Bryan Danielson at Dynasty and this brings it a bit closer to home, but “yeah this was a good match, but wait until you see THIS MATCH” is still only getting me so far.

Post match the Don Callis Family comes in for the beatdown so here is Jon Moxley to go after Powerhouse Hobbs.

We run down the Dynasty card.

Here is Swerve Strickland (a minute after the show was supposed to end) for a chat. People have been asking why he thinks he’s going to beat Samoa Joe but last week Joe showed him everything he needed to see. Now Swerve is out here waiting for Joe to come out here and hear it face to face.

Cue Joe so security comes out, only to have Swerve come off the top and Stomp them to land in front of Joe. The brawl is on, with Prince Nana offering a distraction so Swerve can kick Joe in the face. Joe catches him on top and plants him down before posing with the title to end the show. Swerve’s dive was great, but he almost has to win the title on Sunday.

Overall Rating: B-. The wrestling continues to be good, though I’m having a hard time getting into Dynasty. Between the Young Bucks continuing to take the interest out of everything they touch, the lack of anything more than “Danielson vs. Ospreay will be great” and Jericho getting his hooks into Hook, there is a lot of stuff here that really isn’t making me care. That being said, Cassidy vs. Beretta has potential, Okada vs. Pac should be a war and Swerve vs. Joe had a heck of a nice final push. Good stuff from the wrestlers, less so from the storytelling, making it quite the AEW show.

Results
House Of Black b. Adam Copeland/Willow Nightingale – Hartless to Nightingale
Young Bucks/Kazuchika Okada b. Penta El Zero Miedo/Pac/Daniel Garcia – Rainmaker to Garcia
Deonna Purrazzo b. Mariah May – Sunset flip
Orange Cassidy b. Shane Taylor – Orange Punch
Will Ospreay b. Claudio Castagnoli – Hidden Blade

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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

Collision
Date: April 13, 2024
Location: Truist Arena, Highland Heights, Kentucky
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

It’s time for the big double shot this wee as Collision is leading into the next Battle Of The Belts. That should make for an important night and hopefully it makes for a more interesting show. We’re also eight days away from Dynasty and now we need to get things ready. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We look at Jon Moxley winning the IWGP World Title last night in Chicago.

The Blackpool Combat Club is proud of Moxley’s win but they’re ready for the Don Callis Family tonight.

House Of Black vs. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal/Action Andretti

Darius Martin is off getting his pilot license so Sydal is taking his place. Andretti has to roll out of a wristlock to start and grabs one of his own. With that broken up, it’s off to Sydal, who takes Black down as well. Dante comes in off the top but Black drills him with a clothesline. King wrecks all three of them, including Black kicking Martin into a heck of a wheelbarrow suplex.

The big dive takes out the good guys again and we settle down to Matthews hitting a running kick to Andretti’s face. Andretti manages to kick his way to freedom though and it’s back to Sydal to clean house. We take a break and come back with Sydal grabbing a poisonrana to send Matthews outside.

The hot tag brings in Martin to pick up the pace, including an enziguri for two on Black. Everything breaks down and Andretti hits a big dive on Matthews, only to get moonsaulted by Black. Back in and the good guys hit a bunch of triple superkicks but the House kicks right back to even things up. Andretti’s 450 gets two on King but Sydal is sent into the corner. The Cannonball/running boots combination finishes for King at 14:22.

Rating: B. This took its time to get going but they got going by the end and it was a heck of a back and forth match. You had the House working together as a unit against the other guys who were fighting for all they had. It got going in the last few minutes with the big spots that Andretti and company know how to do rather well. Rather nice stuff here.

We look at Toni Storm and Mina Shirakawa giving Mariah May dueling kisses.

Storm says get used to what you were seeing last week and teases kissing May again but gets distracted by talk of her match with AZM. Storm promises to give AZM a beating so intense that it will be “featured in a fetish periodical.”

Video on Swerve Strickland.

Following his loss on Dynamite, Chris Jericho talked to Taz, who says he’ll try to talk to Hook for Jericho.

Lee Moriarty vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Shane Taylor is re with Moriarty and Anthony Ogogo is on commentary. Moriarty takes him down for a choke but Shibata reverses into a wristlock. Shibata switches to the leg and gets a Figure Four, with Moriarty bailing over to the ropes. They go to the floor where Ogogo gets in a cheap shot to the ribs to give Moriarty two.

We take a break and come back with Shibata getting annoyed at Moriarty for daring to chop him. Shibata strikes away in the corner and hits a running dropkick for two. Moriarty is back up with an abdominal stretch until Shibata suplexes his way to freedom. Shibata kicks him down and hits the running PK for the pin at 10:41.

Rating: C. This was Shibata getting his win back and that’s fine enough, even if it was similar to everything you’ve seen Shibata do in the ring in AEW. Moriarty is probably the last important member of his team and it’s not going to mean much to have him lose to a legend. Maybe not the most interesting match but it was technically sound with Shibata overcoming the odds to win.

Post match Taylor jumps Shibata but Hook comes in for the save.

We look at Athena retaining the ROH Women’s Title over Hikaru Shida at Supercard Of Honor. At the same show, Athena’s minion Billie Starkz won the inaugural ROH Women’s TV Title.

Athena is ready to headline Battle Of The Belts and beat Red Velvet.

Roderick Strong brags about winning on his own and promises to do it again tonight over Rocky Romero.

Daniel Garcia vs. Angelico

Serpentico is here with Garcia. They go with a technical off to start and Garcia takes him down, only to not hit Angelico in the face. Angelico grabs a belly to back suplex but gets pulled into a Figure Four of all things. They trade rolling it over until Garcia starts kicking away at the knee to keep him down. Garcia fires off right hands in the corner and a Saito suplex sets up a kneebar to make Angelico tap at 5:47.

Rating: C+. They had another technical exchange here until Garcia started hitting him in the face over and over. The leg stuff was a good way to go as well as Garcia worked on in until he made Angelico tap with it. That being said, Garcia needs to actually win something at some point or these matches will stop mattering rather quickly.

Pac thanks Kazuchika Okada for accepting his challenge and for hitting him in the head with a big piece of metal. He’s ready for Okada at Dynasty.

Toni Storm vs. AZM

Non-title and Mariah May is here with Storm while Anna Jay is here with AZM. Storm poses a bit to start and shrugs off AZM’s running forearms. AZM gets smart by kicking at the feet and hits a running basement dropkick. Back up and Storm knocks her off the top, setting up a running hip attack to the floor. May and Jay fight to the back, with AZM using the distraction to hit a kick off the apron.

We take a break and come back with the exchange of forearms until AZM kicks her in the head for a double knockdown. A top rope double stomp gets two on Storm, who is right back with a sitout chokebomb for two of her own. Storm snaps off a nasty German suplex and grabs Storm Zero for the pin at 9:40.

Rating: C+. This was another match where it felt like part of a side story on the way to Storm’s title defense at Dynasty. Other than maybe a short mention, her opponent, Thunder Rosa, wasn’t brought up here. Instead it was focused on whatever weird stuff is going on with Storm and May while Storm is fighting someone making their in-ring debut around here. That’s a bit too much going on at once and it didn’t really make more interested in seeing Storm vs. Rosa.

Post match May brings in some champagne (apparently having murdered Jay off screen). Storm licks her face.

Red Velvet is ready to beat Athena.

Mark Briscoe is ready to bring the violence to the House Of Black at Dynasty. Then he seems to bark.

Here is Thunder Rosa, who thanks the fans for having her back throughout her comeback. She doesn’t need help to win the title and she’s talking about Deonna Purrazzo. Rosa graduated college and became an American citizen on her own but something died inside of her when she had to vacate the Women’s Title. Now she has another chance and will carry her friends and family with her. Toni Storm made the mistake of trying to erase the paint on her face so now she is coming for the title and to drag Storm to h***. This might be the best promo of Rosa’s career as she was bringing the fire the whole way.

Deonna Purrazzo is fine with not helping Thunder Rosa but she still wants Toni Storm away from the Women’s Title. If Rosa is dealing with one storm, Purrazzo will deal with the other Storm by breaking Mariah May’s arm next week.

The Young Bucks vs. FTR for the Tag Team Titles at Dynasty is now a ladder match. Well of course it is.

The Don Callis Family says they’re here to hurt Bryan Danielson before he faces Will Ospreay at Dynasty.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Don Callis Family

It’s a brawl to start with the fight heading to the floor at the bell. Danielson hits a running dropkick to Fletcher against the barricade before firing off the kicks. That means it’s a perfect time to thank Tony Khan for making a ladder match at Dynasty, which is interrupted by Danielson kicking Fletcher in the face again. Hobbs and Castagnoli slug it out in the ring as commentary talks about what’s coming next week.

Hobbs gets draped over the top rope for a knee from Danielson, who stomps down on the knees. Castagnoli comes back in and hammers away on Fletcher in the corner. A cheap shot from Hobbs cuts Castagnoli off though and we take a break. Back with Fletcher grabbing a sleeper on Castagnoli but he gutwrenches his way to freedom. It’s back to Danielson to moonsault over Fletcher for the running clothesline. A variety of kicks have the villains down but Hobbs pulls a dive out of the air.

That’s fine with Danielson, who hits a running knee off the apron. That leaves Castagnoli to drop Fletcher onto the barricade and knock Hobbs into the crowd. We take another break and come back with the ring mats being pulled back as the villains take over. Fletcher goes up top but a superplex attempt is broken up. Castagnoli breaks up what looked to be a Doomsday Device, leaving Danielson to hit a belly to back superplex for two.

Hobbs saves Fletcher from the LeBell Lock so Danielson dives over for the tag off to Castagnoli. House is quickly cleaned and there’s the Giant Swing to Hobbs. The Sharpshooter goes on, with Fletcher’s kicks to the chest not being enough to break it up. Instead Castagnoli lets go to hit Fletcher with Swiss Death, only to walk into the spinebuster to give Hobbs two.

Fletcher gets sent outside for a dive from Danielson, leaving Castagnoli to hit a Death Valley Driver for two of his own. Some clotheslines give Castagnoli two more but Fletcher grabs the ankle. The World’s Strongest Slam gives Hobbs two so he grabs a chair. Said chair is taken away so the announcers’ table is cleared off. Danielson isn’t having that and takes out Hobbs, leaving Castagnoli to Neutralize Fletcher for the pin at 25:44.

Rating: B+. To the shock of almost no one, taking four talented stars and giving them a lot of time made for a heck of a match. They know what they’re doing out there and put together a rather exciting match to close things out. At the same time, it would be nice to see the Family not lose every single big match they have. It doesn’t really make a big difference when the one person on the team who wins gets those wins by beating his stablemates. Either way, awesome main event here.

Post match Konosuke Takeshita runs in to help the Family with the beatdown. The fans chant for Moxley (the hometown, or at least close to it, boy) but they have to settle for Castagnoli chasing the villains off instead.

Overall Rating: B. This show illustrated a lot of the issues that AEW has. While the opener and main event, as in the matches with some of the bigger stars, were quite good, the stuff in the middle did not feel very important. A lot of this show felt like “here’s some stuff that we can throw out there to get us to Dynamite”. That’s fine every so often, but it feels like that is the case almost every week with Rampage and a good deal of the time with Collision. It would be nice to feel like something on here makes a big difference on the stories, but that is rarely the case for anything but Dynamite and the pay per views, which needs to be fixed.

Results
House Of Black b. Dante Martin/Matt Sydal/Action Andretti – Cannonball/running boots combination to Sydal
Katsuyori Shibata b. Lee Moriarty – PK
Daniel Garcia b. Angelico – Kneebar
Toni Storm b. AZM – Storm Zero
Blackpool Combat Club b. Don Callis Family – Neutralizer to Fletcher

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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Collision
Date: April 6, 2024
Location: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We are on a delay this week with the show airing at 11:30pm due to the NCAA Final Four and (unofficially) Wrestlemania. That is a good move from AEW as there is little reason to run the show at the normal time against that kind of competition. The big feature this week is FTR vs. Top Flight for the shot against the Young Bucks for the Tag Team Titles at Dynasty. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: FTR vs. Top Flight

Wheeler and Darius trade arm control to start until Wheeler grabs a backslide for two. Dante comes in for a kick to the back and FTR needs a breather on the floor. Back in and FTR take over on Darius, with Wheeler chopping him into the corner. Dante comes back in for a rollup into a middle rope crossbody for two before taking Harwood into the wrong corner.

Something close to Poetry In Motion knocks Harwood outside as commentary talks about Trent Beretta turning on Orange Cassidy. Harwood gets smart by tricking Wheeler outside for a cheap shot from Wheeler as we take a break. Dante reversing a superplex into a crossbody for two and handing it back to Darius.

A crucifix gets two on Harwood and everything breaks down with a dive taking Wheeler out on the floor. Darius’ springboard cutter gets two on Harwood but raised knees cut off a frog splash attempt. Darius is back up with a high crossbody for two so Wheeler sends Dante outside. That leaves Darius to go up and dive into a Shatter Machine for the pin at 15:40.

Rating: B. Good match as FTR continues to be the team that lures their opponents in to catch them in the end. That’s exactly what happened here, with Darius going for one too many high risks moves and got caught in the Shatter Machine. Now it’s on to Dynasty, where the Bucks will likely get their win back so they can get the titles again as more fans change the channel.

Video on Kazuchika Okada.

Pac vs. Encore Moore

Pac starts fast and whips him hard into the corner so the stomping can ensue. Some rolling suplexes have Moore down again and the Brutalizer finishes at 2:24.

Post match Pac challenges Kazuchika Okada.

Bryan Danielson talks about wanting to be the best version of himself and that needs to be the case against Will Ospreay. He is excited to test himself because someone was with Danielson and said Ospreay might be the best wrestler ever. The build makes sense but it’s not quite hooking me in.

Hook/Chris Jericho vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

Jericho and Taylor start things off with Taylor easily punching him into the corner. Jericho as to cover up but manages a shot to the face, followed by a double suplex to put Taylor down. Hook stays in and gets taken into the wrong corner, only to fight right back out. It’s back to Jericho who tries the Walls on Moriarty but has to dropkick Taylor down instead.

We take a break and come back with Jericho knocking Moriarty down for the Lionsault. The tag brings Hook back in to clean house but he can’t suplex Taylor. Moriarty pulls Jericho into the Border City Stretch, which is reversed into the Walls. Hook manages the t-bone on Taylor, leaving Moriarty to tap at 8:55.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t bad and Jericho/Hook worked well enough together but it’s really not that interesting to see them together. It feels like Jericho’s latest project and those have been hit and miss at best. Maybe it will work out, but I could go for a long break from Jericho and now it seems we’ll be seeing him doing this for awhile.

Post match Anthony Ogogo of all people comes in to lay out Jericho and Hook before joining Shane Taylor Promotions. For those of you wondering, the answer to “how long has he been gone” is “his last (non-dark) match for AEW was in August 2022.”

Dustin Rhodes wants to show he can still do it so he wants Samoa Joe for the World Title on Dynamite.

Will Ospreay is ready to face Bryan Danielson at Dynamite. No word on why Renee Paquette changed her clothes since she talked to Danielson.

House Of Black vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal/Bryan Keith

Black headlocks Keith to start before firing off the kicks. King comes in so Sydal wants Keith’s help against him. That’s fine with King, who wrecks them both and knocks Daniels down as we take a break. Back with Sydal coming in to clean house, including a very spinning headscissors to Matthews.

A jumping knee to the face gets two on Matthews but he’s back up with a knee of his own. Dante’s Inferno hits Sydal and Keith gets run over as well. A triple kick to the head in the corner hits Keith but Daniels makes the save. The End drops Daniels and Matthews’ swinging pumphandle slam finishes at 9:26.

Rating: C. Good enough here but it was a long match before the only realistic result. The House is setting up for a big match and needed a warmup like this one, which went well enough. At the end of the day, Daniels being on a team more or less guarantees he’s going to lose, which makes a nearly ten minute match feel that much longer.

Post match here is Adam Copeland from behind to go after the House but he has a staredown with Black. That lets the House beat him down but Mark Briscoe and FTR run in for the save. Cue the Young Bucks to brawl with FTR, leaving the good guys to stand tall.

Rocky Romero wants an eliminator match against Roderick Strong. Cue the Undisputed Kingdom with Strong granting the match.

The Young Bucks are going to present backstage footage from All In on Dynamite. In theory that would be the CM Punk/Jack Perry footage and if so…why?

Chris Jericho wants to fight Shane Taylor Promotions and Hook presents Katsuyori Shibata to even things up. Shibata continues his translator program for promos.

Yuka Sakazaki vs. Trish Adora

This is Adora’s reward for losing to Serena Deeb. Adora grabs a headlock to start and takes Sakazaki down, with Sakazaki nipping right back up. A Boss Man Slam onto the knee puts Sakazaki down again and we take a break. Back with Adora grabbing a not great looking Crossface but Sakazaki is right next to the ropes.

Sakazaki pounds on Adora’s back but can’t manages a suplex. Some forearms put Adora down again and Sakazaki drops her with a suplex. That takes enough out of Sakazaki that Adora is back up with a suplex of her own for two. A spinning hammerlock slam drops Adora again and a top rope splash finishes for Sakazaki at 8:34.

Rating: C. Sakazaki has been gone from AEW for over a year and this didn’t exactly have me wanting to see her around more frequently. It was just a match for the most part with neither showing off anything special. Odds are Sakazaki is just here for a quick appearance and hopefully she picks it up a bit as this didn’t exactly blow any doors off.

Post match Serena Deeb comes out to stare down Sakazaki.

Matt Menard praises Daniel Garcia but says he wants more. Garcia wants to move up the ladder.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. The Butcher

They fight over the power lockup to start before an exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere. A flying shoulder works a bit better for Castagnoli but Butcher is back with a backbreaker. The chinlock doesn’t last long for Butcher as Castagnoli fights up, setting off an exchange of forearms. Castagnoli muscles him up for a Death Valley Driver and fires off the uppercuts in the corner. The Swing sets up the Neutralizer to finish Butcher off at 5:04.

Rating: C+. Rather basic power match here but it’s always fun to see Castagnoli throwing someone around like that. This should set up whatever is next for the Club, as they need a big feud again. If nothing else, maybe Castagnoli gets to do something on his own for a change, as it tends to go fairly well.

Julia Hart is ready for Willow Nightingale and Mercedes Mone later.

Samoa Joe is down to face Dustin Rhodes, but we’ll make it non-title.

Komander vs. Penta El Zero Miedo

Penta kicks away to start but gets rolled up for an early two. Stereo nip ups give us a staredown before Komander snaps off a hurricanrana. Back up and Penta kicks him in the ribs but another hurricanrana sends him outside. Komander’s dive is countered with a gorilla press (not bad) and it’s time to strut as we take a break.

We come back with Komander headscissoring him to the floor, setting up a more successful dive. Penta is right back with with a Canadian Destroyer for two, only to have Komander pull him into something like a half crab. With that broken up, Komander plants him with a Spanish Fly but Penta plants him right back with a springboard Canadian Destroyer onto the apron.

Back in and they slug it out from their knees until Penta grabs Made In Japan for two. Komander blocks a superplex and runs the corner for a twisting top rope splash. Cielito Lindo is loaded up but Penta reverses into a Codebreaker, setting up the Fear Factor for the win at 14:12.

Rating: B-. At the end of the day, you just have to accept that they are just not going to sell that much. It’s about hitting one big, flashy move after another until someone hits their finisher and win. That makes for a fun, junk food kind of match but there is only so much for it otherwise. For now though, Penta gets a nice boost on the way towards his title match on Dynamite and that’s all it needed to be.

Adam Copeland comes out for the staredown with Penta before their TNT Title match on Dynamite.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was in a really rough spot as there is only so much you can do with a show airing around midnight on Wrestlemania Saturday (with the two shows overlapping for a bit). The other problem is that after the opener and maybe the Hook/Jericho match, a grand total of nothing here felt like it mattered in the slightest. That being said, the wrestling was either good or perfectly acceptable, assuming you ignore how unimportant a lot of it felt. That was all they should have done with this show though, as the time slot is making this little more than a punt.

Results

FTR b. Top Flight – Shatter Machine to Darius

Hook/Chris Jericho b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Walls Of Jericho to Moriarty

House Of Black b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal/Bryan Keith – Swinging pumphandle slam to Daniels

Yuka Sakazaki b. Trish Adora – Top rope splash

Claudio Castagnoli b. The Butcher – Neutralizer

Penta El Zero Miedo b. Komander – Fear Factor

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.

Rampage
Date: April 5, 2024
Location: Budweiser Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Ian Riccaboni

We have another odd variety pack this week with Christopher Daniels vs. Malakai Black and a four way elimination match just for the heck of it. That almost makes things sound like Ring Of Honor more than Rampage but this show is almost lacking in its own identity a good chunk of the time. In a way that’s nice to have so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Malakai Black vs. Christopher Daniels

Buddy Matthews is here with Black. They start slowly until Black hits some running shoulders into a headlock takeover but Daniels is back with an armbar. That’s broken up and Daniels gets kicked into the corner where he seems to be a bit unconscious. Daniels is sent outside so Matthews sends him back inside for two.

An elbow to the face gives Black two and some kicks drop Daniels again as we take a break. Back with Daniels going on a run with a Downward Spiral into an STO, followed by a Death Valley Driver for two. Angel’s Wings is blocked and Black kicks him in the head for two more. Daniels grabs a rollup for two more but Black hits the End for the pin at 8:14.

Rating: C+. This was all it needed to be as Daniels put up a fight but got taken out by the monster threat. Daniels is still perfect for doing his thing out there and helping make someone look good in the process. That’s what happened with Black here, who snapped off a kick to the face when he got tired of dealing with Daniels. Perfectly fine match here.

Roderick Strong vs. London Lightning

Non-title and the Kingdom is here with Strong. Before the match, Strong has Lightning introduce himself but isn’t sure why he is named after such a nothing city. The bell rings and we hear about Lightning’s time teaming with Toronto Thunder (Ian: “I almost want to put that into Cagematch.”).

Lightning fights out of a headlock and hits a jumping knee to quite the reaction. The comeback is cut off with a backbreaker to give Strong two and we hit the reverse chinlock. Lightning gets up again and strikes away, setting up a suplex that has Nigel confused. Hold on though as Lightning has to go after Matt Taven but here is Wardlow to take Lightning out. The Cloverleaf finishes for Strong at 5:38.

Rating: C. This was fun and that’s the best word for it. Lightning was never going to be a serious threat but they played into the idea of the fans getting into what they were seeing here. Lightning has put in some good performances on Ring Of Honor and it wouldn’t stun me to see him used as a regular jobber going forward.

Leyla Hirsch has been doing her thing in Ring Of Honor and now she wants Julia Hart.

Serena Deeb vs. Trish Adora

Deeb goes after the leg to start before tying Adora up in a Paradise Lock. The running dropkick breaks it up and Adora isn’t pleased. Adora fights up and sends her hard into the corner as we take a break. Back with Deeb grabbing a neckbreaker over the top rope but Adora gets a boot up in the corner. A dragon screw legwhip across the rope cuts Adora down again but she counters another into a rollup for two. Adora gets two off a full nelson bomb and an exchange of clotheslines goes badly for Deeb. Not that it matters as she goes after the knee again and grabs the Serenity Lock for the tap at 9:56.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly nice match here that doesn’t feel like it means much for either of them. Deeb has felt like someone who could be pushed for a long time but it hasn’t happened in a good while. At the same time, Adora is someone who could be a bigger deal but is firmly in the jobber to the stars role at the moment. Good enough stuff, but it is on Rampage for a reason.

Julia Hart is down to face Leyla Hirsch.

Saraya and company are sick of Ruby Soho, with Zak Knight promising to hurt Angelo Parker. Is there an established reason for why exactly Saraya hates the relationship?

Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Keith vs. Action Andretti vs. Komander

Elimination rules and Matt Menard is on commentary. As this is designed to tie into the NCAA Final Four. Andretti and Komander are left in the ring as we hear about Trish Adora (as in the loser of the match) getting a special match on Collision due to her amazing performance. Keith is back in to break up a cover on Andretti, which has commentary confused.

Garcia hammers on Keith in the corner until he has to punch Andretti out of the air. Keith elbows Garcia in the head for two before cutting Komander off on top to save Garcia. That’s enough for Komander to roll Keith up for the pin at 4:03. We take a break and come back with Andretti hitting a Death Valley Driver to drop Garcia on the apron. Komander hits a dive of his own to take them both out in a big crash. Andretti is fine enough to grab his torture neckbreaker to get rid of Komander at 9:03.

Garcia is back in to take out the knee but Andretti grabs a backbreaker into a neckbreaker. The running shooting star press is countered into an ankle lock but Andretti rolls him to the floor. A one legged dive to the floor hits Garcia again and a top rope clothesline takes him down again inside. The knee gives out on the torture rack attempt though and they slug it out. Andretti manages a Falcon Arrow for two but Garcia pulls him into a kneebar for the tap at 14:30.

Rating: B-. They got going a bit more near the end but it’s another match that could not feel less important. You had Garcia beating three lower card guys in a bunch of combinations that we have probably seen several times. The elimination rules helped a bit but Garcia is right where he was coming into this, much like every other winner on this show.

Overall Rating: C. This felt like a Ring Of Honor show and I do not mean that in a good way. It’s another case where the action itself is fine but my goodness they did not do themselves any favors with the show’s setup. It was more or less a bunch of matches to give midcard stars a win and that makes for a long hour. It’s a total nothing show and if this is all Rampage is going to be, just cancel it already or move it to YouTube where it belongs.

Results
Malakai Black b. Christopher Daniels – The End
Roderick Strong b. London Lightning – Cloverleaf
Serena Deeb b. Trish Adora – Serenity Lock
Daniel Garcia b. Komander, Action Andretti and Bryan Keith last eliminating Andretti

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: March 20, 2024
Location: Coca Cola Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’re north of the border this week and that means a big title match featuring some Canadians. In this case we have Adam Copeland challenging Christian Cage for the TNT Title in an I Quit match. Other than that, Kazuchika Okada is challenging for the Continental Crown, as the titles unified in the Continental Classic are already coming undone.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Mercedes Mone for a chat. She is so glad to be here and last week was so amazing. This is what she wants to do, but her dream was almost taken away from her ten months ago. We see a highlight reel of things she has done in and out of the ring before Mone talks about how she isn’t here to lea a revolution, because she has done that before. Instead, she is here to lead a GLOBAL revolution (that might not have been the best wording).

She wants to face some people and hits the catchphrase to wrap it up, but here are Julia Hart and Skye Blue. Mone fights them off but Willow Nightingale and Kris Statlander run in with chairs for the save. The villains leave via blackout but Nightingale is still holding up the chair behind Mone. That gives us a standoff and egads standing in the ring talking is not Mone’s strong suit.

The Young Bucks mock Alex Marvez for not speaking Japanese to Kazuchika Okada. They won’t be ringside for the Continental Title match tonight but they will be on the headsets producing.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is defending and only one of the three titles are on the line. They start slowly and take their time to lock up until Kingston hits a hard chop. Kingston knocks him out to the floor and the chase is on, with Okada jumping him on the way back in. Okada starts working on the arm and Kingston is down as we see the Bucks sitting next to Tony Khan producing the show. That great dropkick puts Kingston down again and we take a break.

Back with Kingston hitting a suplex and grabbing an STO for a needed breather. Kingston strikes away and hits another suplex but gets caught with the dropkick to put him back down. The elbow misses for Okada though and Kingston hits the spinning backfist for two. Back up and Kingston has to block the discus lariat before knocking Okada down again. A running clothesline scores for Kingston, whose half and half suplex is broken up with a rake to the eyes. An enziguri takes Okada down but another spinning backfist misses. Okada hits a powerslam, followed by the Rainmaker for the pin and the title at 15:50.

Rating: B-. That was a pretty definitive win for Okada and so much for Kingston’s big run. There’s no shame in losing to a star like Okada, but egads they’re really splitting up the titles they unified less than three months ago. Odds are the NJPW Strong Title goes away, leaving the Continental Title and the ROH Title, which makes the unified deal feel all the more worthless in the first place. Also: we are 16 days away from ROH’s Supercard Of Honor and the TV, Tag Team and World Champions have all lost on AEW TV this month alone.

Post match Pac comes out for the staredown and we likely have a Dynasty match.

Swerve Strickland suggests Samoa Joe is scared of him because of the chain. We’re in Toronto tonight and he wants to fight so the open challenge is on.

Willow Nightingale/Kris Statlander are ready for their street fight with Julia Hart and Skye Blue tonight. Mercedes Mone interrupts and says she has Statlander’s back tonight. Willow looks to say something but Mone says she’s done enough. Stokely Hathaway brings up Nightingale breaking Mone’s leg and Statlander isn’t pleased. I would sincerely hope they aren’t trying to turn Willow heel out of all this. Statlander sure, but Willow feels like the definition of someone born to be good.

Chris Jericho vs. Hook

Non-title and Hook suplexes him down at the bell. We pause for the referee to check on Jericho before he fires off some chops. A reverse t-bone suplex drops Jericho for two as it’s pretty much one sided to start. Jericho cuts him off with a shot to the head but a string of German suplexes drop Jericho again.

We take a break and come back with Jericho still being suplexed and Hook strolling around the ring. Jericho finally reverses a suplex and hits some shoulders but Hook suplexes him again. A big boot “hits” for Jericho and he scores with the Lionsault for a delayed two. Back up and Jericho tries a suplex but instead kind of drops Hook on his face. They go up top but Hook grabs Redrum, which has Jericho down in the middle. Jericho slips out and throws some VERY slow punches until Hook reverses into a cradle for the pin at 10:51.

Rating: C-. Well that didn’t go well for Jericho, and I’m not sure where this is leading. Given what happened with Jericho when Powerhouse Hobbs squashed him, I can’t imagine it’s going to go well for Hook, but he was basically Brock Lesnar to Jericho’s John Cena out there. The Redrum should have been the finish, but odds are we’re going to be seeing these two together for a lot longer.

Adam Cole is furious about Wardlow losing last week and says it is Wardlow’s job to keep the gold in the Undisputed Kingdom. Don’t screw it up.

Post break Chris Jericho says he wanted to face Hook, who showed him a lot tonight. Hook is as much of a bad man as people say he is and next week, Jericho will have a proposition for him.

Here is Will Ospreay for a chat. He was a little bit of a naughty boy the last time he was here and now he is here for the betterment of AEW. Ospreay apologizes for what he did to Kenny Omega in Toronto, but in return for his elite wrestling he needs….some of that maple syrup! As for Bryan Danielson, he hopes that you saw him face Katsuyori Shibata on Collision. When Ospreay went over to Japan (“Where you wanted to be a big star.”), he saw Danielson’s shoes, but they weren’t big enough for Ospreay.

What Danielson did in Japan was great, but Ospreay elevated wrestling over there. Ospreay lists off his accomplishments in Japan and now he’s ready to prove he can walk in his shoes. He met Shibata before but now he has cats, dogs and a mortgage to pay. The challenge is mad for next week and since Tony Khan is apparently watching the show from Shibata’s house, the match is made official about ten seconds later.

Video on Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage.

Mariah May/Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo/Thunder Rosa

It’s a brawl to start with May taking Purrazzo down so it’s off to Storm. Rosa comes in to strike away in the corner and a sliding clothesline gets two on Storm. A Luther distraction lets Storm knock Rosa outside though and we take a break. Back with Purrazzo striking away at May but not being able to get the Fujiwara armbar. Instead Purrazzo boots her in the ace but Rosa tags herself in, which Purrazzo doesn’t like. Rosa comes in to plant May but gets German suplexed by Storm. The hip attack connects, only to have Rosa roll Storm up for the pin at 7:10.

Rating: C. Again, a seven minute match does not need to have a commercial in the middle. The ending came out of nowhere but Rosa vs. Storm is a fresh match as we shift away from Purrazzo challenging. May seems to be the long term goal, but Rosa, who never lost the title in the first place, will do just fine for now.

Swerve Strickland vs. The Butcher

Swerve starts fast by knocking him into the corner, setting up the middle rope elbow to the back. A half nelson backbreaker puts Swerve down though and Butcher hits him in the face a few times. Back up and Swerve kicks him down, setting up the House Call. Butcher sits down for a good while, allowing Swerve to hit the Swerve Stomp into something like a short armscissors for the tap at 3:22.

Rating: C. This was perfectly acceptable booking as Butcher is just established enough to make Swerve work but not enough to be a threat to him. Swerve took a few shots but fought back and won clean. It’s exactly what it needed to be and I can always go for something logical and efficient.

Post match Swerve grabs his chain and says he keeps thinking about using it to choke Samoa Joe out. Every week, Joe can send security after him and Swerve will keep beating them up until Joe gives him what he wants. Cue Joe to interrupt, saying contrary to what Swerve believes, Joe beat him at Revolution. Joe says he has learned what to do with someone like Swerve: give him exactly what he wants.

Cue Don Callis of all people to interrupt, saying Konosuke Takeshita and Swerve Strickland have the same amount of wins. Takeshita is undefeated outside of the Don Callis Family so maybe he needs to show Swerve whose house this is. Swerve is in to face Takeshita, and then he’s coming for Joe. Yay more Callis N Pals.

TNT Title: Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage

Cage is defending in an I Quit match. Copeland starts fast and they go out to the floor with the brawl heading into the crowd. Copeland grabs a Boston Bruins jersey to put over Cage before grabbing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey for himself (the fans approve). Cage is knocked around even more as we take a break. Back with Copeland bridging a ladder between the announcers’ table and the barricade. An Edge O Matic onto the ladder has Cage in more trouble and we get a breather.

The ladder is turned upside down inside, where Cage is dropped ribs first onto said ladder. A table is set up against the barricade but Cage breaks up the spear attempt. The busted open Copeland is staggered and Cage hits a dive off the top to send him through the table. Back in and Copeland is catapulted into a ladder but still won’t quit. A quick Grindhouse is broken up and they both try spears at the same time for a double knockdown.

We take a break and come back with Cage being launched off the stage but cue Mother Wayne with a hockey stick to hit Copeland low. Cage sticks away inside and it’s time for a barbed wire chair. The Conchairto is loaded up but Copeland moves just in time. Neither can hit a Killswitch onto the ladder so Copeland hits him with the hockey stick. The Grindhouse, with the stick in Cage’s mouth, gets an incoherent answer so Copeland uses the draw string from his tights.

Cue the Patriarchy for the save but cue Matt Menard and Daniel Garcia for the save. Copeland sets up a ladder and dives onto the Patriarchy before handcuffing them in the corner. Mother Wayne runs away and cage gets speared down, meaning he can be cuffed as well. A low blow isn’t enough for Cage to quit so Copeland kicks him several more times. Spike (the 2×4 with nails) is pulled out for a major low blow….and the video goes off for a second (presumably the end of Dynamite/the start of Rampage), only to come back with Copeland loading up a shot to the head. That’s enough for Cage to quit at 25:43.

Rating: B. There was quite a bit here (to say the least) but it feels like a nice cap on the whole feud. Copeland getting the win in what very well may be the final match between the two in his hometown is a good way to go, with the rapid fire low blows in the corner feeling like the kind of humor these two would love. At the same time, I can’t help but think the lure of a ladder/TLC match will be too much for the two of them/AEW to resist.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show where the opener and main event bookended the show well, but the wrestling in the middle left a good bit to be desired. Mone was still a focal point here and does come off as a star but we still need to see what they have planned for her first feud. Other than that, you had some things teased for the coming weeks plus Dynasty, but this was all about the main event and it worked well enough.

Results
Kazuchika Okada b. Eddie Kingston – Rainmaker
Hook b. Chris Jericho – Rollup
Deonna Purrazzo/Thunder Rosa b. Mariah May/Toni Storm – Rollup to Storm
Swerve Strickland b. The Butcher – Short armscissors
Adam Copeland b. Christian Cage when Cage quit

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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Collision
Date: March 16, 2024
Location: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

The road to Dynasty continues and in this case that means we have quite the big match. This week will see Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata in a match that was literally announced yesterday. It would be nice to have that big of a match announced further in advance but at least it is happening. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Bryan Danielson vs. Katsuyori Shibata

They aren’t wasting time here. Feeling out process to start until Danielson takes him down by the arm as Nigel talks about his history of beating up Danielson. That’s broken up and they go back to the standoff until Danielson goes back to the arm. Shibata isn’t having that and forearms him down with Nigel saying Danielson keeps coming back like a fungus. Some chops have Danielson taking Shibata back to the mat but Shibata sends him outside as we take a break.

Back with Danielson striking away in the corner until Shibata reverses for strikes of his own. There’s the running dropkick in the corner as Nigel wonders if Danielson is missing a chromosome. They trade ankle locks before knocking each other down for a double breather. Back up and they exchange knees to the chest until Shibata grabs a Death Valley Driver for two. Some elbows to the head rock Danielson but he’s right back with the running knee for two of his own.

Danielson gets the LeBell Lock until Shibata puts a foot on the rope. The kicks to the chest rock Shibata but he wants more. The running kick to the chest brings Shibata back to his feet and he fires off the Kawada Kicks. Now Danielson sits down so Shibata can kick him, leading to a seated slap off. Danielson kicks him in the head for the knockdown but the running knee is blocked. The octopus goes on but Danielson slips out and gets two off a rollup. Danielson’s LeBell Lock attempt is countered into a rollup, which Danielson counters into a rollup for the pin at 19:33.

Rating: B. I get the appeal of this kind of thing and it was a hard hitting, physical match, but this was the latest in the tour of “Danielson wrestles someone in a dream match and then we move on”. There are far worse uses of television time, but it’s a match that comes and goes and really just feels like something that happened because Danielson wanted it to. I’m sure he’ll do something else again and it’ll be good, but it would be nice to have it feel like something other than “here’s a cool pairing you’ve never seen before”.

Respect is shown post match.

We look at Mercedes Mone’s debut.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Trish Adora

Hart is defending and the special rule is….the loser is banned from ringside for the House of Black vs. Infantry match later tonight. Adora takes her to the mat and does the splits on Hart’s back while cranking on the arms. They go to the floor, with Adora blocking a whip and elbowing Hart in the face. Hart sends her hard into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Adora fighting out of a chinlock but getting sent into the corner for some running elbows. Adora’s bridging German suplex gets two so Hart superkicks her down. The moonsault retains the title at 7:43.

Rating: C+. Adora continues to look strong in the ring and can do some rather impressive things. At the same time though, this was about giving Hart another win as her rise continues. She is on the way to a showdown with Willow Nightingale for the title and having her win here is a good way to boost her up even further.

Zak Knight and Harley Cameron are happy with Angelo Parker wanting to fight Knight. Poutine insults ensue…and never mind as Knight says they’ll fight on his terms, meaning not tonight.

Daniel Garcia vs. Lee Moriarty

Shane Taylor is here with Moriarty and Matt Menard is on commentary. They go to the mat to start with Garcia slipping out of a headscissors and hitting a running basement dropkick to send him outside. The Taylor distraction lets Moriarty come back with a suicide dive to take over, allowing him to STEAL GARCIA’S DANCE! Moriarty works on the arm back inside but Garcia is back up to pound him into the corner. Garcia starts in on the leg before a Saito suplex gets two. Garcia’s piledriver attempt is cut off so Moriarty hits a double stomp. Not that it matters as Garcia pulls him into a heel hook for the tap at 5:12.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to see a short match like this one where they got to the point and gave Garcia a pretty definitive win. That’s a good thing to see after he lost at Revolution so there seems to be something of a bright spot for him going forward. Moriarty can work well with just about anyone and he did well here by making Garcia look better.

We look at Bullet Club Gold breaking Darby Allin’s foot on Dynamite.

Pac vs. Aaron Solo

Solo wastes no time by knocking him to the floor to start, setting up the running flip dive. Back in and Pac stomps him down in the corner, followed by some boot choking. Pac kicks him in the head and hits a missile dropkick, setting up the Black Arrow into the Brutalizer for the win at 4:36.

Rating: C+. I was worried that Solo was going to get in a bunch of offense here but instead Pac shrugged it off and squashed Solo as he should have. Pac is one of those people who has a bunch of presence and feels like a star every time he’s out there. The problem continues to be that he can’t stay around, which makes getting behind him that much harder.

Post match Pac says he’s looking for trouble. Either Tony Khan can find it for him or he can find it himself.

Bryan Danielson talks about how he and Katsuyori Shibata were both told that they couldn’t wrestle again but they just did it tonight. Danielson is grateful for that, just like he’s grateful for getting to face Will Ospreay at Dynasty. It’s live or die, but Danielson isn’t ready to die. He doesn’t think Ospreay is ready.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Lance Archer

They shove each other around to start and trade shoulders to see both of them staggered. We’re already on the exchange of forearms until Castagnoli takes over with some clotheslines. A running version puts Archer on the floor, only to have Castagnoli miss a clothesline off the apron. Archer’s running flip dive drops Castagnoli and we take a break.

Back with Archer hitting a swinging Rock Bottom for two but Castagnoli grabs a suplex. Archer hits him in the face and goes up, only to have his Old School broken up. The Swing is broken up as well though and Archer knees him on the top. A chokeslam gives Archer two but the Blackout is countered into a Death Valley Driver to give Castagnoli two. Castagnoli gets creative with a cutter off the middle rope for another near fall, followed by a springboard spinning uppercut. The Swing is on but here is the Righteous to jump Castagnoli fir the DQ at 11:08.

Rating: B-. I could have gone with a better finish than something that is likely setting up a six man with the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club but it was fun to see two monsters beating on each other. That’s all you needed from these two and they had a heck of a brawl. Castagnoli’s power continues to be impressive and him getting to throw someone like Archer around worked well.

Post match the beatdown is on so Bryan Danielson runs in for the save. When that doesn’t work, Katsuyori Shibata runs in with a chair for the real save.

Angelo Parker and Ruby Soho aren’t happy that Zak Knight won’t fight Parker tonight. Parker is ready to go find him, but Soho says that’s what Saraya and company want, so she won’t be with him. That’s enough to get Parker to calm down.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Bryan Keith

Keith grinds away on a headlock to start but O’Reilly slips out for another standoff. O’Reilly is knocked outside but gets right back in for an exchange of strikes. A grapple off doesn’t go well for O’Reilly as Keith kicks him in the face, followed by a DDT for two. We take a break and come back with O’Reilly kneeing him in the ribs.

We pause for a second for the referee to check on Keith, followed by a quick kneebar from O’Reilly. That doesn’t work so O’Reilly goes for a triangle choke to slow Keith down. Keith is fine enough to catch him on top, setting up a hard kick for two. An enziguri staggers O’Reilly again but he’s back with a heck of a lariat. The cross armbreaker makes Keith tap at 11:30.

Rating: B-. Keith was a good choice for O’Reilly’s first opponent back as O’Reilly needed to show he could still hang around here without putting him against too big of a name. Odds are this will be followed by something with the Undisputed Kingdom, and I’m not sure where that is going to go. Nice match back for O’Reilly here, as he has a lot of time to make up for from the last few years.

Post match the Undisputed Era come in to celebrate.

Deonna Purrazzo and Thunder Rosa are ready for Toni Storm and Mariah May.

Tag Team Title Tournament Wildcard Match: House Of Black vs. Infantry

Julia Hart is here with the House, who jump the Infantry from behind before the bell. The beating goes outside with the Infantry being beaten down until the House gets inside. The Infantry wants to go so we ring the bell, allowing King to hit a Cannonball for two. Matthews kicks Dean on the floor and we take an early break.

Back with Bravo grabbing a rollup for two on Matthews and diving over for the tag to Dean. King comes in and runs Dean over with a heck of a clothesline, followed by Dante’s Inferno for two with Bravo making the save. King takes Bravo outside for an AA onto the announcers’ table, setting up a piledriver onto the same table. Julia Hart gets up to argue for some reason and here’s Mark Briscoe with a chair shot to Matthews. Briscoe runs off with King giving chase, allowing Dean to get the upset pin at 7:44.

Rating: C+. This was almost more of an angle than a match, as it was mostly a squash until the end when Briscoe interfered. It’s nice to see Briscoe costing the House the win as it ties together and gives us quite the twist to start the tournament. Odds are this leads to something big between Briscoe and the House, though waiting until Dynasty might be a bit much.

Post match here is Malakai Black to glare.

Video on Adam Copeland vs. Christian Cage.

Here is Copeland, still with the box labeled SPIKE. Copeland talks about his history here in Ottawa and, after rolling his eyes a bit at the hatred for Toronto, he sits in a chair in front of the box. He was looking forward to sitting around with Christian Cage when their careers were over but now everything has changed.

Copeland failed at World’s End and took a Conchairto. Now he has talked to someone who helped make him who he is (implying but not saying Mick Foley) and pulls out spike, which is a 2×4 covered in nails (better known as Janice in TNA). He and Spike are going to end Cage and make him say I QUIT in Toronto. Shouting I QUIT before an I quit match might not be the best idea.

Overall Rating: B-. This was quite the show, with nothing that really felt bigger than the rest and a pair of return matches before a big upset in the main event. It was a show with a bunch of things happening and most of it was anywhere from completely decent to solid. Next week’s Dynamite should be a big deal and this show did enough to help set it up, albeit without anything that felt like a main event.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Katsuyori Shibata – Rollup
Julia Hart b. Trish Adora – Moonsault
Daniel Garcia b. Lee Moriarty – Heel hook
Pac b. Aaron Solo – Brutalizer
Claudio Castagnoli b. Lance Archer via DQ when the Righteous interfered
Kyle O’Reilly b. Bryan Keith – Cross armbreaker
Infantry b. House Of Black – Chair shot to Matthews from Mark Briscoe

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: March 6, 2024
Location: Gas South Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the Dynamite after Revolution, which was quite the smashing success. Now though comes the hard part in following up on what they did. Samoa Joe is still the World Champion after the triple threat and now we are on the way towards both Big Business next week and Dynasty next month. Let’s get to it.

Here is Revolution if you need a recap.

Opening sequence. We have a new theme song and set/logo. The song works well enough and the set/logo….well they’re a set/logo.

Tony Schiavone brings out Swerve Strickland, with Prince Nana, for a chat. Swerve talks about how he came up short in his house on Sunday. That isn’t cool with him because he remembered signing with AEW about two years to the day at Revolution 2022 in Orlando, Florida. Strickland was going to give it his all but here he stands with no gold. Maybe he is paying for all of the bad things he has done around here and maybe he isn’t supposed to be a champion here.

Maybe instead he is supposed to be a role player, but then he hears the reactions he is receiving and people have even flown in from his home state of Washington to see him. Whether Samoa Joe is still World Champion or not, Swerve is coming for the title because Swerve’s house. Cue Samoa Joe, complete with using the towel to polish up the belt. Joe thinks Swerve is talking funny after that beating at Revolution, because here we are in Swerve’s house, but that house is in Joe’s world. Swerve is ready to go right now but here is the Undisputed Kingdom to interrupt.

Adam Cole talks about how great the team did at Revolution and in a few months, no one is going to remember Swerve’s name. The only person that matters is Wardlow, who is going to win the title and bring it back where it belongs. Swerve calls out Cole going to the back of the line over and over. If he needs extra clients, he has Britt Baker’s phone number in his pocket. Cole doesn’t like that so how about we do Swerve/Joe vs. The Kingdom next week. Swerve says let’s do it right now and Tony Khan agrees.

Kingdom vs. Samoa Joe/Swerve Strickland

Non-title and Joe hammers Bennett down into the corner to start. Taven’s running splash in the corner misses (with Joe just stepping aside as only he can) and his middle rope dropkick hits Bennett (again with the sidestep). The Kingdom finally manages to kick Joe in the face to put him down and we take a break. Back with Swerve getting the tag to clean house, with Joe not being pleased at anything happening. Swerve hits the Swerve Stomp to Bennett and glares over at Joe, who still looks unhappy. The House Call sets up the JML Driver to finish Bennett at 6:54, with Joe still being furious over the whole thing.

Rating: C. That might have been the most WWE opening I’ve ever seen from outside of WWE. We had people interrupting promos, an impromptu match and the champions losing clean. Odds are this won’t have any impact on the titles (and it certainly shouldn’t as those are WAY beneath Joe and Swerve), but it’s yet another unnecessary blow to Ring Of Honor, which does in fact want you to pay for its show in thirty days (no matches announced thus far either).

Post match Wardlow comes out to glare at Swerve, who gets choked out by Joe.

Chris Jericho interrupts Hook and talks about Taz dropping him on his head in his first ECW match. Jericho sees talent in Hook, who isn’t impressed and walks away.

We look at Hangman Page going nuts at Revolution.

The Young Bucks, in a parody of Tony Khan, have two huge announcements, which they’ll make later tonight.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Brian Cage

Hook is defending under FTR Rules. Cage starts fast by snapping off some suplexes before wedging a chair in the corner. Hook comes back with the fire extinguisher blast and some trashcan lid shots to the face. A dive off the steps is powerslammed out of the air though and Hook crashes down hard on the floor. Cage misses a charge through the barricade and crashes out into the crowd as we take a break.

Back with Cage chairing Hook down but Hook DDTs him onto the chair for a breather. A suplex into the barricade in the corner gives Hook two so Cage grabs an F5 onto the chair for two of his own. It’s time for thumbtacks but Hook suplexes him into said tacks, leaving…not that many in Cage’s back. Redrum goes on so Cage drops him back into the tacks, which doesn’t work and Cage is out at 10:06.

Rating: C-. That was a bit much for this kind of a match and that’s not a good thing in this case. I know they’ve had issues, but going from soe tag matches to this in their first singles match is a little bit much to take. They were also sloppy in some spots with a few big moves missing and the whole thing not exactly making Hook look good.

Post match the Gates Of Agony run in to beat Hook down but Chris Jericho makes the save. Oh joy: Jericho teaming with a young guy.

We’re having a tournament to crown new Tag Team Champions.

Orange Cassidy wans a new title and the Best Friends are ready to get the Tag Team Titles…but Chuck is still hurt. Instead, Cassidy and Trent Beretta should win the tournament, and they happen to have their first round match on Rampage.

Killswitch vs. Matt Menard

Menard is fighting for revenge after Revolution and Christian Cage is on commentary. A bunch of right hands in various corners rock Luchasaurs and some clotheslines put him on one knee. That doesn’t last long as Luchasaurus is up with a chokeslam, followd by the running clothesline to finish Menard at 1:56.

Post match Daniel Garcia runs in for the brawl but Nick Wayne runs in to take him out. The villains go to leave but Adam Copeland is back to jump the Patriarchy. Mother Wayne’s low blow is blocked and Copeland chases Cage into the crowd. We follow the chase through the tech area and into the back, with Cage running into the parking lot where he steals someone’s car to escape. Copeland issues the challenge for an I Quit match for the title in two weeks in Toronto. Since two seconds have passed, Tony Khan has made the match official.

Kyle O’Reilly is happy to be back and he is medically cleared.

We look at Sting’s final match at Revolution.

Here are the Young Bucks, who throw Tony Schiavone out for bringing up their loss. They aren’t happy with Sting’s sons, who are 6’8 and 305lbs because THEY CHEATED! The Bucks are going to get their Tag Team Titles back, but first they have to take care of some things. First of all, Hangman Page put his hands on some officials at Revolution and is suspended indefinitely. The other item is Kenny Omega, who has no showed various dates for no good reason (commentary brings up his health issues) so he’s fired from the Elite.

Cue Eddie Kingston, who says you might as well fine him now because he’s got something to say. They try to cool things down but the fight is on, with a low blow cutting Kingston off….and Kazuchika Okada is here. The staredown is on and Okada lays out Kingston with the Rainaker because Okada is Elite. That’s certainly a way to go for Okada, who does work better as a villain. I’m worried about putting him with the Bucks, but the debut could have been a lot worse.

We look at Will Ospreay winning his debut match over Konosuke Takeshita at Revolution.

Kris Statlander vs. Riho

Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander. Riho gets slammed down to start and tries to pick up the pace, only to get knocked straight back down. Statlander powers her into the corner and slams her down as we take a break. Back with Riho striking away in the corner, despite needing to get ont he bottom rope to be close to Statlander’s size.

Statlander tries a powerbomb but gets hurricanranaed into the 619. Riho’s high crossbody doesn’t work so she grabs a dragon suplex for two. Statlander knocks her down again so Hathaway throws her a chain, which Statlander drops onto the floor. Some hard suplexes rock Riho but she grabs a victory roll for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C+. It’s time for the Riho push again because…well for some reason AEW insists. Statlander was on fire as TBS Champion and now here she is instead, teaming with Willow Nightingale and having her main issue with a manager. The match itself was a good big vs. Small format and Riho’s offense looked nice as usual, but egads it’s hard to try and make myself care about anything she does.

Toni Storm is happy to retain her Women’s Title and presents Mariah May with her first shirt. Yes Storm is getting a cut.

Willow Nightingale is ready to face Riho next week because she wants to be a champion herself. She’s coming for the TBS Title.

Here is Daby Allin to talk about being happy with Sting’s retirement match. He has Jay White next week and then in three weeks, he’s off to climb Mount Everest. He might not come back alive so next week, he’s going to go out fighting for his life. Allin lays down the Tag Team Title belt and congratulates whoever holds them next but here is Bullet Club Gold to interrupt.

Jay White talks about how Allin has been doing some great things but warns him about what is going to hapen if they get in the ring. Instead of a match, how about Allin comes hang with the Bang Ban Scissor Gang. We can even call him Darby Scissorhands! Allin doesn’t want to hear it and says White should climb Everest too. He’ll see White next week. I’m really not sure why that one off match for next week needed this much hype.

Julia Hart issues an open challenge for Rampage.

The House Of Black is ready to burn Mark Briscoe. Do they need to dig one grave or three?

Mark Briscoe talks about walking through flames and dancing with the devil. He’s ready for a street fight, but Jay Lethal comes in to say it’s time he mans up to help Briscoe. Mark says don’t bring Jeff Jarrett, but Lethal says trust him. Commentary implies Jarrett will be there.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

Non-title and Don Callis is on commentary. They trade takedowns to start until a hsoulder doesn’t get Ospreay very far. Back up and Ospreay ducks some shots to the head before snapping off a headscissors. Fletcher hits a heck of a chop to drop Ospreay and we take a break. We come back with Ospreay hitting a dive to the floor but the Oscutter is countered into a hard suplex for two.

They grab hands and chop it out with Ospreay getting the better of things, only to have another Oscutter countered. The powerbomb countered is countered into a DDT to plant Fletcher but he ducks the Hidden Blade. A middle rope Snake Eyes hits Ospreay but he’s back with a cutter on the apron and we take a break (at 9:57). Back with Ospreay planting Fletcher and going up top, where Fletcher crotches him. Ospreay has to flip out of dragon superplex before grabbing a Liger Bomb for two.

Some kicks to the face set up a failed Stormbreaker attempt so Fletcher hits a double underhook slam of his own. Fletcher hits a heck of a sitout powerbomb for two before putting Ospreay on top. That’s broken up for Cheeky Nandos into a super poisonrana, followed by a running back elbow for two. Back up and a Spanish Fly is countered so Fletcher hits a superkick, only to get caught with the Spanish Fly for two. The Oscutter gets two and the Hidden Blade finishes for Ospreay at 19:23.

Rating: B. This was very similar to the Takeshita match from Revolution but there is quite the difference between Taekeshita and Fletcher. Some of the kickouts in here didn’t leave me wanting more like I did on Sunday, but rather wondering why in the world Fletcher was getting to survive this long. Ospreay is a lot of fun, but hopefully they don’t have him doing the same kind of match week in and week out, or the spark is going to be lost quickly.

Post match Bryan Danielson comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sure what to make of this show. It definitely moved things forward into the next pay per view cycle and the new look/set made things feel fresh, but some of the stuff wasn’t exactly great. Having Ring Of Honor be treated like the whipping boy around here a month before their big show is a choice and having more of Riho and the Young Bucks is not the most intriguing. What matters here is it feels like they know where they want to go and that is a very nice thing to see with a month and a half before their next pay per view.

Results
Samoa Joe/Swerve Strickland b. Kingdom – JML Driver to Bennett
Hook b. Brian Cage – Redrum
Killswitch b. Matt Menard – Running clothesline
Riho b. Kris Statlander – Victory roll
Will Ospreay b. Kyle Fletcher – Hidden Blade

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