Ring Of Honor
Date: May 25, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Nigel McGuinness

It’s Double Or Nothing week but Ring Of Honor still doesn’t have a major show of its own to build towards. I would assume that we might be seeing something like that being announced in the next few weeks, but for now we’ll have to settle for this show producing acts like Metalik/AR Fox/Blake Christian to be fed to the House Of Black on Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

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

By the way: this show sets new records at 2:56:30 and 19 matches.

JD Drake vs. Mark Briscoe

Anthony Henry is here with Drake. Briscoe sticks his chest out for the chop so Drake does the same, meaning the chops abound. A boot to the chest rocks Drake and Briscoe sends him outside. That means a dive to take out Henry and Drake at the same time but Drake is back in with more chops. A spinebuster gives Drake two more and a Boss Man Slam is good for the same.

Briscoe knocks him off the top though and a missile dropkick puts Drake down. Drake is willing to let Briscoe chop him, but Briscoe grabs a swinging Rock Bottom for two instead. Henry’s distraction breaks up the Jay Driller and Drake hits his moonsault for two more. For some reason Henry tries his own Jay Driller, which is reversed into a Death valley Driver. The Froggy Bow finishes for Briscoe at 9:24.

Rating: C. Drake continues to move well for a big guy but he was outmatched here against Briscoe. That’s part of the problem with Briscoe at the moment as he doesn’t want to be in a team (fair) but he’s a big enough star that he needs to win something. The TV Title was done at Supercard Of Honor and the World Title is mainly stuck on Proving Ground matches, so instead Briscoe just kind of floats, in this case as a guest referee on the main show.

Respect is shown post match and Briscoe says he wants the TV Title. I could go for a rematch, but Briscoe needs to actually win the thing.

Christopher Daniels wants Matt Sydal to get a TV Title and they’ll start the path tonight.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Serpentico

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning that if Serpentico wins or lasts the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Castagnoli shoves him down to start as commentary talks about what kind of dog these two would be. Serpentico grabs his Castagnoli’s hands for a test of strength but gets sent flying off a suplex. A rollup gives Serpentico two and Castagnoli is sent to the floor for a big flip dive. Castagnoli sends him into the steps and hits about ten straight clotheslines back inside. A big clothesline finishes Serpentico at 3:39.

Rating: C-. Pretty much a squash here as there was no reason to believe that perennial jobber Serpentico was going to be a threat to Castagnoli. We’re currently waiting to see who is next for a title shot and the pickings are fairly slim at the moment. Maybe someone steps up soon, but for now, we might be stuck with little more than this from the champ.

Vertvixen vs. Kiera Hogan

Vertvixen grabs a headlock to start, followed by a running dropkick. Hogan fights up with a kick of her own as Athena comes out to watch. A Downward Spiral into a Koji Clutch has Hogan in trouble but she sends Vertvixen face first into the buckle for two. Vertvixen is back with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two but Hogan grabs a Saito suplex for the pin at 4:59.

Rating: C. Hogan wasn’t a serious threat to Jade Cargill in AEW and she isn’t going to be a threat to Athena anytime soon. Athena has been great in her role but she needs a much stronger challenger than she has been getting recently. Skye Blue worked as she has at least done something, but Hogan beating Vertvixen in about five minutes isn’t going to make her a viable challenger.

Post match Athena shoves Hogan, who trips over Vertvixen, just to make her look even more like a goof.

Kyle Fletcher vs. AR Fox

Fletcher takes him down to start without much trouble and then circles the standing Fox a few times. Some hard shots put Fox down and Fletcher gets to stomp away but Fox blocks a suplex attempt. Instead it’s a suplex to drop Fletcher for a change, setting up the rolling cutter for two.

Another jumping cutter is countered into a dragon suplex but Fox kicks him in the face. Fletcher gets kicked to the floor for a big flip dive from the top, followed by a 450 for two back inside. They both go up top where Fletcher snaps off a super Falcon Arrow. The spinning Tombstone finishes for Fletcher at 10:12.

Rating: B-. I’m kind of amazed that it only took one drop on the head to finish Fox but my goodness that’s a nice change of pace from the usual amount of kickouts you see from similar moves. Fletcher is getting a nice singles run while Mark Davis is hurt but it’s hard to imagine it lasting when the team is ready to go again. Fox can have an exciting match against anyone and thankfully that one ridiculous match a few weeks ago was an anomaly.

Willow Nightingale vs. Hyan

Nightingale runs her over and poses a bit before grabbing something like a reverse Koji Clutch. Hyan gets in a few shots in the corner but Nightingale hits a running shoulder. The middle rope dropkick sets up a cannonball, followed by the Babe With The Powerbomb to finish Hyan at 4:14.

Rating: C. Nightingale could drop a box of puppies into a woodchipper and find a way to make it charming. You don’t see that kind of delightfulness very often and it is infectious every time she is out there. There is no such thing as too much Nightingale and I could go for her moving up the ladder rather soon.

The Kingdom vs. Willie Mack/Ninja Mack

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with the Kingdom. Willie hiptosses and armdrags Taven to start but Bennett comes in to take over. Taven is right back in with a middle rope dropkick but Willie clotheslines his way to freedom. Ninja comes in and reverses Taven’s suplex attempt to keep the pace up. A superkick rocks Taven but Bennett grabs a suplex to take over.

Taven’s frog splash gives Bennett two, only to have Ninja slip away and make the tag to Willie for the house cleaning. House is quickly cleaned, including the Samoan drop to Taven. The standing moonsault gives Willie two and Ninja hits a double backflip into a moonsault onto both of them at ringside. Back in and something like a 3D hits Taven but Bennett forearms Willie. The Proton Pack finishes Ninja at 7:44.

Rating: C+. Well, there’s your debut of the hot new team, as the Kingdom rightfully beats them. I’m not sure why Mack and Mack needed to lose in their first match together but at least it was a decent one. The Kingdom continues to be a team who could and probably should be higher up on the card, but here they are for the time being.

Dream Girl Ellie vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez runs her over to start and hammers away on the mat. A big boot drops Ellie again and some hard knees to the face make it worse. The surfboard dragon sleeper finishes Ellie at 2:59.

Willie Mack and Ninja Mack aren’t done.

Ashley D’Amboise vs. Danielle Kamela

They fight over wrist control to start until Kamela takes her into the corner for the stomping. D’Amboise gets tied in the ropes for some kicks to the back, followed by the chinlock. That’s broken up and D’Amboise hits a running flipping neckbreaker for two. Kamela is back with a faceplant, only to have D’Amboise hit a reverse AA for two more. A Rock Bottom finishes Kamela at 5:08.

Rating: C. Kamela definitely felt polished and it isn’t surprising that she had a stint in NXT before (as Vanessa Borne). If she can go at this pace and improve beyond that, she could absolutely be something in the future. Other than that, D’Amboise feels like someone with potential, and keeping her around makes sense.

Rocky Romero vs. Titus Alexander

Alexander elbows him in the face and hits a sliding dropkick, setting up a quick dance. Back up and Romero hits some Forever Lariats, only to walk into another dropkick. Romero is right back with a springboard tornado DDT before a missed charge sends Alexander outside. A standing Sliced Bread gets two on Alexander back inside but he grabs a brainbuster for two of his own. Romero has had it with him and puts on a cross armbreaker for the tap at 4:17.

Rating: C+. Alexander was bringing it here and did get to showcase some nice cocky heel stuff. Romero can wrestle a smooth match with anyone and got in some stuff to make both of them look good here. If this was a tryout for Alexander, he might have done well enough to stick around for a bit so nice work.

The Righteous/Stu Grayson vs. Marcus Kross/Vary Morales/LSG

Morales has to spin/roll away from Grayson to start before it’s off to Kross. Grayson throws him into the corner and brings Dutch in to power Kross around a bit more. Vincent’s basement Downward Spiral has him rather pleased but LSG comes in for a springboard forearm. Cue the Dark Order to worry about Grayson as Dutch’s swinging Boss Man Slam cuts Morales in half. Knightfall finishes Kross at 4:09.

Rating: C. Well at least they’re doing something with Grayson and the Righteous after so many weeks of just having them stare at each other. Granted we’re still not sure what is going on, but I’ll take this over the Dark Order running around without really doing anything. The Righteous are a decent team and could be in the title hunt if given the chance, but they get to work with the Dark Order instead.

The Dark Order and the Righteous yell at each other as Grayson is left in the ring.

Zack Sabre Jr. and Samoa Joe are ready for their tag match, with Sabre wanting to show that his TV Title is the one that matters most.

Shane Taylor vs. Tracy Williams

Shane Taylor has the Workhorsemen (Anthony Henry/JD Drake) with him while Williams has Rhett Titus. Taylor powers him around to start and unloads in the corner, only to get armbarred over the top. Back in and a side slam plants Williams but he’s right back with a middle rope DDT. A frog splash gives Williams two but Taylor gives him a release Rock Bottom. The big splash gets two and the package piledriver finishes Williams at 5:12.

Rating: C. Taylor continues to be a wrecking ball who runs through everyone in front of him (save for Mark Briscoe) and that could be used in a bigger spot later. Williams is still someone who can wrestle with anyone, but if he keeps losing over and over, I’m not sure how much good that is going to do. For now though, this was another perfectly fine match.

Athena vs. Promise Braxton

Non-title Proving Ground match. Athena takes her down and hits a shoulder, meaning it’s time to dance. Back up and Braxton snaps off an armdrag but Athena kicks her in the face. Athena’s release front suplex gets two more but Braxton gets in a shot of her own. That’s enough for Athena, who forearms the heck out of her and grabs a cobra sleeper for the win at 5:58.

Rating: C-. Of all the times where Athena has beaten up someone with no chance of beating her in a Proving Ground match, this was the most recent. It’s fun to see, but we’ve seen this so many times now that it is starting to lose its charm. She doesn’t need to be around every week, and having Kiera Hogan as the next victim isn’t going to make things much better.

Post match Athena stays on her but Kiera Hogan makes the save.

Dralistico vs. Tony Deppen

Deppen dropkicks him to the floor to start and hits the big flip dive through the ropes. Dralistico whips Deppen into various things, setting up a springboard Swanton back inside. A kick to the face lets Dralistico pose on the top rope but he misses a charge, allowing Deppen to hit a springboard flipping dive to the floor. Back in and Deppen lets Dralistico chop away until they trade knees to the face. A poisonrana plants Deppen but Dralistico can’t follow up. Dralistico cuts off a springboard and hits a springboard hurricanrana. That and a Fujiwara armbar finish Deppen at 6:32.

Rating: C+. Deppen is one of the better jobbers to the stars around here and he made Dralistico look good here. At the same time, Dralistico hasn’t exactly done anything on his own in ROH or AEW. He has talent, but there isn’t much about him that makes him stand out. Granted not being around Rush so often should help him a bit, and he looked good here.

Nick Comoroto, in his sweet hat, is ready to face Blake Christian, who looks like everyone else.

Miranda Alize vs. Skye Blue

Blue snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor and the chase is on, with Alize catching her with a DDT back inside. Alize kicks her in the head in the corner and a double underhook DDT gets two. A kick to the back of the head gives Blue one but Alize pulls her into the Miranda Rights. With that broken up, Alize misses a charge in the corner and gets rolled up for the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C. This was a match where they didn’t have the time to do much, which is a shame given who was involved. These two could have a good match if they are given the chance but not even making it to four minutes isn’t going to let that work. Alize has done well in her time around ROH and Blue has shown her talents multiple times. Just give them more time.

Athena yells a lot and seems to want to hurt Kiera Hogan.

Cole Karter/Zack Clayton vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin

Andretti flips over Clayton to start and sends him into the corner before hitting a nice dropkick. Martin comes in and gets his head taken off with a clothesline. It’s already back to Andretti, who kicks Karter down. Back up and Karter is able to shove Andretti off the ropes and out to the floor in a crash. They get back in and Andretti kicks his way out of trouble, allowing the tag back to Martin. House is cleaned until Clayton grabs a powerslam, setting up a frog splash to give Karter two. Back in and Andretti/Martin hit a double pendulum slam to finish Karter at 4:48.

Rating: C+. Another decent match here as Andretti and Martin continue to look like a nice young, high flying team. Granted it doesn’t matter much until Dante gets back, though commentary might have had a good idea of Top Flight and Andretti as a trio. Until then though, I can settle for them doing something like this a few more times.

Blake Christian vs. Nick Comoroto

Comoroto throws a toothpick at him to start so Christian kicks him in the head. The chase is on around the ring and it works so well that they do it again. Christian manages to get back inside and hit a big flip dive to drop Comoroto for the first time. Back up and Comoroto posts him hard to take over, only to miss a charge into the buckle. Christian knocks him to the floor for the dive, followed by a top rope double stomp to the back on the apron. Comoroto hits a fireman’s carry slam for two so Christian….throws a chair across the ring. As Comoroto goes to get it, Christian rolls him up for the pin at 6:31.

Rating: C+. I still see potential in Comoroto, just due to how different he looks and how he has the power and charisma (the hair helps too). Christian continues to be good, but I don’t know if there is really anything he does that makes him stand out. The skill is there, but he’s going to need something more than that to move up to the next level.

Diamante vs. Trish Adora

Adora goes straight to a Kimura to start but has to deal with a headscissors attempt. A neckbreaker drops Adora and a baseball slide sends her to the floor. Back in and Diamante hits a basement dropkick in the corner but Adora punches her into the corner. Diamante neckbreakers her again and puts on an armbar for the tap at 4:47.

Rating: C. Diamante has always shown a lot of fire in her appearances and it was good to see it again. Adora is someone I’ve seen do some impressive things on the independent circuit but she didn’t have the chance to showcase it here. Both of these two are worth some time, but they are a long way from being big deals around here.

Alex Coughlin wants Katsuyori Shibata for the Pure Title next week.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Slim J

The Trustbusters are here with Slim J, who breaks up CERO MIEDO to start. Penta superkicks him to the floor but a suicide dive is cut off with a forearm. Back in and we hit the chinlock but Penta pops up for the Sling Blades. The Fear Factor is countered into a swinging cutter, only to have Penta kick him down in the corner. That means the Alberto double stomp but Slim J hits a wheelbarrow Downward Spiral for two. Penta has had it with him though and punches Slim J out of the air, setting up the Fear Factor for the pin at 4:43.

Rating: B-. I could have gone for more of this as Penta can still do his thing well when his brother isn’t around. He is someone who feels like a big deal and that isn’t something you can teach. On the other hand you have Slim J, who is kind of hard to take seriously but he can go in the ring if he is given the chance.

Zack Sabre Jr./Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal

Sabre and Sydal start things off with Sabre taking him down by the arms. Sydal spins up and kicks him into the corner, meaning it’s off to Joe vs. Daniels for a flashback. That doesn’t last long as Sabre comes back in and is quickly double teamed down. Joe comes back in to kick Daniels in the corner as commentary wonders about who gets a TV Title shot if Daniels gets the pin.

The armbar goes on to keep Daniels in trouble before Joe cranks on a wristlock. Sabre tags himself in and doesn’t seem happy with Joe, so it’s right back to Joe for a neck crank. The snap powerslam gives Joe two but Daniels fights up and gets away. The tag brings in Sydal to clean house, at least until a neckbreaker cuts him off. Sabre grabs a single underhook suplex but Sydal pulls him into a crossface.

Daniels gets the Koji Clutch on Joe at the same time, leaving Joe’s eyes rolling back in his head. Sabre makes the rope and saves Joe, who is able to break the Angel’s Wings. Sabre takes Sydal down and twists his neck, only to walk into Angel’s Wings to send him outside. Back up and Daniels charges into a Rock Bottom out of the corner, setting up a Koquina Clutch to give Joe the win at 15:17.

Rating: B. Match of the night here and the extra time, plus the talent involved, would seem to be why. I’m curious to see what is next for these guys, as Joe vs. Sabre would be a showdown, but Daniels vs. Sydal seems like a possibility as well. Either one would work, and this was a good example of a rather nice TV main event.

Joe and Sabre show respect to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. What do you want me to say here? It was nineteen matches over about three hours. There was some good stuff in there but when you’re nine matches in and not even halfway done, it’s a little hard to stay interested. There were a bunch of women’s matches and the division certainly has talent, but most of the matches were four to five minutes long and no one really stood out in a big way. The same is true with the men’s matches, leaving me wondering why this show was put together this way.

That’s what I really don’t get here: how is a show running this long with this much content supposed to be the best possible option. Who was putting this show together, got to twelve matches, and thought they needed seven more? This was long for the sake of being long and it didn’t work out very well, just due to how much was there and very little getting the chance to stand out in any significant way.

Results
Mark Briscoe b. Anthony Henry – Froggy Bow
Claudio Castagnoli b. Serpentico – Clothesline
Kiera Hogan b. Vertvixen – Saito suplex
Kyle Fletcher b. AR Fox – Spinning Tombstone
Willow Nightingale b. Hyan – Babe With The Powerbomb
The Kingdom b. Ninja Mack/Willie Mack – Proton Pack to Ninja
Mercedes Martinez b. Dream Girl Ellie – Surfboard dragon sleeper
Ashley D’Amboise b. Danielle Kamela – Rock Bottom
Rocky Romero b. Titus Alexander – Cross armbreaker
The Righteous/Stu Grayson b. Vary Morales/Marcus Kross/LSG – Knightfall to Kross
Shane Taylor b. Tracy Williams – Package piledriver
Athena b. Promise Braxton – Cobra sleeper
Dralistico b. Tony Deppen – Fujiwara armbar
Skye Blue b. Miranda Alize – Rollup
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Cole Karter/Zack Clayton – Double slam to Karter
Blake Christian b. Nick Comoroto – Rollup
Diamante b. Trish Adora – Armbar
Penta El Zero Miedo b. Slim J – Fear Factor
Samoa Joe/Zack Sabre Jr. b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Koquina Clutch to Daniels

 

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Dynamite
Date: April 20, 2022
Location: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

Battle Of The Belts has come and gone and now we should be on the way to Double Or Nothing in May. That means it should be time to start getting ready for the bigger pushes as the card hasn’t been set up so far. CM Punk gets to face Dustin Rhodes tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dustin Rhodes vs. CM Punk

They shake hands to start and it’s a feeling out process to get things going. The fans are split as they go technical, with a headlock not getting either of them very far. Punk takes him to the mat and cranks on the leg a bit but Dustin is right back up with a wristlock. Some armdrags into an armbar slow Punk down but he sends Rhodes outside, where the knee is banged up. Back in and Punk stays on the leg with some elbows and kicks as we take a break.

We come back with Rhodes sending him outside and hitting some clotheslines. Nine right hands in the corner set up a double middle finger and the tenth punch, but Rhodes’ knee gives out as he comes back down. Punk misses the running knee in the corner though and Rhodes hits a Code Red for two. Back up and Punk goes to the knee again, setting up a Figure Four.

Some slaps get Rhodes out of trouble though and he turns the hold over to send Punk to the ropes for the break. Punk’s springboard clothesline is punched out of the air and the Cross Rhodes drops Punk again. A piledriver gives Rhodes two and they’re both down again. Back up and Rhodes hits some Flip, Flop and Fly but Punk kicks him in the head. The GTS is loaded up but Punk can’t lift him off the shoulders, instead going with a cradle for the pin at 17:24.

Rating: B. You could hear JR’s interest in a wrestling match here and that is a good thing. This didn’t have anything over the top or gimmicky and that is something that will always work. I don’t think there was any serious drama about Punk losing, but they told a story and had a perfectly enjoyable match as a result. Solid stuff here, which shouldn’t be a surprise. I don’t care about Dustin that much, but you have to respect what he is doing almost 34 years after debuting.

Post match Punk goes to leave as Hangman Page arrives, meaning a staredown ensues.

Wardlow arrived earlier today when Mark Sterling and some security met him at the door. Said security is going to escort him to the closet, the ring, and then back to the closet. Oh and he has to be handcuffed until his match start. Finally, MJF has left a message for him, calling him a pig. Wardlow: “Oink oink b****.”

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Brock Anderson/Dante Martin/Lee Moriarty

William Regal does some singing on commentary as Wheeler stomps away to start. We settle down to Martin getting up onto the top to avoid Danielson’s running knee in the corner. Some dropkicks stagger the Club and Anderson comes in with a clothesline to Moxley. A half and half suplex drops Anderson though and we take a break.

Back with Danielson and Moriarty exchanging chops until a quick suplex gives Moriarty two. The Border City Stretch has Danielson in trouble but he slips out and brings Martin back in to start the house cleaning. The Nose Dive takes a second too long due to a slip and Moxley pulls him into a choke. Moriarty kicks Moxley in the back for…well nothing actually, as Moxley says kick him again. The Club all strike away at the same time (cool visual) until the Paradigm Shift finishes Martin at 8:07.

Rating: C+. The Club dominated here and that is a fine way to go, as it isn’t like their opponents had much to lose. The visual of the Club beating on the other three at the same time was great and it showed you just how good they are at the same time. Other than that, this was your old school Saturday Night/Worldwide main event, with some bigger names beating up some people who are just a step above being squashed.

The Undisputed Elite talk about their recent losses and want to right the ship. Adam Cole likes the idea so next week it’s an open challenge ten man tag. Cole has to go take care of something though and leaves the other four there.

Video on Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt/Satnam Singh. Joe is promising violence.

Tony Khan is here to announce the big announcement. He brings out the New Japan Pro Wrestling President but Adam Cole pops up on screen to announce that Forbidden Door, a New Japan/AEW supershow, will take place in Chicago on June 26. This Friday you’ll get a special preview with Cole vs. Tomohiro Ishii, but for now, Cole’s friend has something to say. Cue Jay White to say that the last time New Japan did something like this, he single handedly sold out Madison Square Garden. This is about the Undisputed Elite and Bullet Club because it’s still their era.

Jade Cargill and some of her Baddies (with popcorn) aren’t impressed by Marina Shafir, as Cargill is ready to be the Problem Solver to the Problem.

Butcher vs. Wardlow

Before the match, MJF and Shawn Spears (also eating popcorn, which he throws to the crowd) are in a sky box to insult the crowd and bring out Wardlow (still cuffed), sans music or pyro. The cuffs come off and they collide in the middle before trading shots to the face. Butcher bites his head and they head outside, where Wardlow won’t let him grab a chair. Instead Wardlow gets his back driven into the apron and they head back inside where Butcher hits his own powerbomb for one. That fires Wardlow up though and a four movement Powerbomb Symphony finishes Butcher at 4:14.

Rating: C+. That’s how it should have gone, as Wardlow hung in there and took everything a monster threw at him before winning in the end. It is another step towards Wardlow getting his hands on MJF as another hurdle is cleared, likely on the way to Double Or Nothing. Pretty good hoss fight here, but this was about having two bulls beat each other up and they did it like they should have.

Post match Wardlow is cuffed again and taken out.

Eddie Kingston wants to face Daniel Garcia with all of their friends out of the building. Everything he is going to do to Garcia is going to happen to Chris Jericho too, so be ready.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jungle Boy

They go technical to start and head to the mat with O’Reilly holding him down by the hands. Back up and a springboard wristdrag takes Jungle Boy down into the corner but he comes back with some strikes to the face. O’Reilly knees him in the face and rolls his butterfly suplexes into a swinging faceplant.

We take a break and come back with Jungle Boy kicking his way out of the corner. Some running forearms are cut off with a kick to the leg but Jungle Boy hits a springboard tornado DDT. A front chancery goes on but O’Reilly hits a suplex, only to get clotheslined down hard. O’Reilly’s charge into the corner is countered into an overhead belly to belly suplex and Jungle Boy unloads with right hands in the corner.

Some stomping in the Tree of Woe has O’Reilly down even more and there’s a sliding basement dropkick. They miss some kicks to the chest until Jungle Boy rolls him up for two. The kickout lets O’Reilly grab an ankle lock but Jungle Boy reverses into the Snare Trap, with O’Reilly having to crawl to the rope. O’Reilly is good enough to catch Jungle Boy on top and it’s a superplex into a brainbuster to plant Jungle Boy again. The top rope knee to the back gives O’Reilly the pin at 12:53.

Rating: B-. This went longer than I expected and the ending was a bit of a surprise. I would have bet on the Undisputed Elite continuing its slide but Jungle Boy got beat clean. It’s not a terrible thing to have a tag team wrestler lose to someone with a lot more singles success, but I’m curious to see where this goes. Good action here though, as they allowed talented wrestlers to take their time and do something.

Post match a somewhat disappointed Christian Cage comes out to walk Jungle Boy to the back.

MJF doesn’t want to hear about Butcher losing because he has another plan. He hands Jake Roberts an envelope full of money as he seems to have rented Lance Archer. Roberts goes into a weird rant about how Wardlow needs to lie like he did when he was a kid, but Archer just wants to beat up Wardlow.

Hook vs. Anthony Henry

The fans like Hook, who starts fast with the release northern lights suplex. A running clothesline to the back of the head sets up some crossface shots but here is Danhausen to curse Hook again. It matters not as Hook Redrums Henry for the tap at 1:19. Simple and to the point again.

Post match Danhausen gets in the ring because he has had it with Hook embarrassing him. If Hook doesn’t want to be cursed by Danhausen, Hook will FIGHT DANHAUSEN! A poke to the chest annoys Hook, who walks past Danhausen without hurting him.

Frankie Kazarian wants to challenge Sammy Guevara but Scorpio Sky comes in. Sky thanks Kazarian for helping him get this far and now he needs one more favor: let Sky face Guevara first. Kazarian says he has always had Sky’s back and he always will, so the deal seems to be made. Sky coming in to surprise Kazarian would have been more impactful if Excalibur hadn’t said we were going to the back to Frankie Kazarian and Scorpio Sky.

Thunder Rosa wants the most experienced and best challengers she can find. Now it is time to go double or nothing.

Here are Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti for a chat. Sammy thanks the fans for their support but not the ones who turned their backs on them in the first. Are they mad because his girlfriend is hotter than theirs? Those fans’ only option is to, said together, BE MAD. Cue the Men of the Year, with Ethan Page going on a rant about how Dan Lambert isn’t allowing the two of them to come to the ring and beat him into a bloody pulp.

Lambert talks about how youth is wasted on the young like Guevara. Now give Sky the rematch he wants or Page and Sky will come to the ring and give Sammy the pounding Conti dreams about. Guevara agrees to the match if they can have the mixed tag match they want (opponents not specified). Sky vs. Guevara is on next week….and it’s a ladder match, because we have gone a few weeks since the last one.

The House of Black says people have flown too close to the sun so next week, the sun dies.

Owen Hart Foundation Qualifying Match: Danielle Kamela vs. Britt Baker

Baker comes out with some Pittsburgh Steelers to make JR happy and Kamela is better known as Vanessa Borne from NXT. Baker takes her to the mat to start and seems rather pleased as we take an early break. Back with Kamela waving the Terrible Towel, which doesn’t sit well with Baker. Kamela gets hammered down and it’s a Stomp into the Lockjaw, complete with a Pittsburgh Steelers glove, to give Baker the win at 6:13.

Rating: C. This was about getting Baker out there in front of the Pittsburgh crowd, who loved every single thing she did. They didn’t bother trying to make her anything resembling a villain as there wouldn’t have been a point. What we got was a squash (which didn’t need the break) and Baker looking like a killer on her way into a likely deep run in the tournament.

Post match Baker grabs the mic and runs down the rest of the women’s division, especially Toni Storm and Jade Cargill. As for the Baddies, sit down because she is the baddest b**** on the block and will be winning this tournament. Baker had the crowd in her hand and she knew it.

Video on Hikaru Shida vs. Serena Deeb, which will be taking place in a street fight next week.

Excalibur shows amazing lung capacity by running down upcoming matches, including FTR exploding in an Owen Hart Foundation qualifying match.

Andrade El Idolo vs. Darby Allin

Coffin match and the AFO is here with Andrade. The numbers game doesn’t take long to stat as Allin gets stomped down but he manages some skateboard shots. Andrade hits him in the back with the skateboard though and they fight into the crowd. Marq Quen rips up a Sting sign….which is held by a disguised Sting, who helps beat up the rest of the AFO. Good thing they came into that part of the crowd and Quen went after him, or Allin would have been kind of screwed.

They go into the balcony where Sting gets chaired in the back, only to pop up and dive off the balcony onto a pile of people. We take a break and come back with Allin getting suplexed on the floor before being knocked into the open casket. That means we get to see the thumbtacks under the lid (because of course) with Allin sacrificing his own arm to avoid being closed in.

Andrade powers him up with a suplex onto the ramp and looks down at a metal grate. That means a toss suplex onto the grate and Andrade takes him back to the ring, where the referee tells them 90 seconds. Allin manages a flipping Stunner to send Andrade throat first onto the top, setting up a suicide elbow to drive them both into the coffin. The tacked lid is slammed onto Andrade but here is Jose to stop the lid from being closed. Jose gets backdropped onto the lid and another slam of said lid onto Andrade is enough to give Allin the win at 12:17.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and some of it probably could have been cut out to let things flow a bit better. That being said, I’ll take Allin winning the feud, hopefully once and for all, as this has gone on long enough. Allin needed a win after not doing much in recent weeks, though I have no idea where he goes from here. Maybe the Owen Hart Tournament, but is that all that interesting for him?

Sting comes out to celebrate and the Hardys appear to do the DELETE pose on the stage to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Solid enough show here and they’re making me wonder where some of these things are going. Teasing Hangman vs. Punk instantly makes things more interesting, though I’m going to need a lot from Hangman to make me buy into the whole thing. Other than that, you had had some good action here, even if this felt more like the show that sets up the bigger shows. You need those every now and then though and it worked well this week.

Results
CM Punk b. Dustin Rhodes – Rollup
Blackpool Combat Club b. Lee Moriarty/Dante Martin/Brock Anderson – Paradigm Shift to Martin
Wardlow b. Butcher – Powerbomb Symphony
Kyle O’Reilly b. Jungle Boy – Top rope knee to the back
Hook b. Anthony Henry – Redrum
Britt Baker b. Danielle Kamela – Lockjaw
Darby Allin b. Andrade El Idolo – Allin shut El Idolo in the coffin

 

 

 

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