The House Always Wins
Date: April 9, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Attendance: 1,300
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Eddie Kingston

So this is a show that has been known about for a long time but never shown until now as far as I can remember. The idea here is rather simple, as it’s a rather rare AEW house show but we’re seeing it because it features both the Butcher who passed away earlier this month and Rebel, who is battling ALS. It’s a shame that it took such a bad reason to see it but it’s a rather interesting subject from almost forever ago in AEW. Let’s get to it.

Battle Royal

Stu Grayson, Evil Uno, Alan Angels, 10, Alex Reynolds, Colt Cabana, Butcher, Blade, Colten Gunn, Austin Gunn, Ethan Page, Scorpio Sky, Lance Archer, Ricky Starks, Powerhouse Hobbs

For a TNT Title shot against Darby Allin in the main event. I don’t think we had an opening bell so we’ll hope for the best on the time. Colten tries the Shake Rattle and Roll on Archer and actually stays alive, which even has commentary surprised. Grayson almost loses his trunks as he stays inside and it’s time for the Dark Order to face the Gunn Club. It’s not overly interesting but it does in fact happen.

The Gunns actually take over and Austin gets in that still awesome Quick Draw on Grayson. Colten gets thrown out and Angels makes the mistake of trying a springboard earning an elimination of his own. Austin is tossed and Archer gets rid of Reynolds without much trouble. There goes Grayson and Saints goes after Archer, which goes as well as you would expect with Archer eliminating him as well.

Uno is tossed over the top and Page sends him from the apron to the ramp and he’s out as well. Then Uno pulls Page out and Cabana is tossed as well as the ring is rapidly clearing out. 10 gets rid of Sky and there goes Blade, leaving 10, Archer, Hobbs and Butcher. Hobbs eliminates 10 and Hobbs gives Butcher a spinebuster. Butcher bails to the floor without being eliminated as Archer gets rid of Hobbs. The distracted Archer is almost thrown out by Butcher but Bunny offers a distraction, allowing Butcher to really put him out for the win at 8:40.

Rating: C+. The match wasn’t much to see but it was fascinating to look at all the names who have left AEW and gone on to WWE. Having a battle royal for a title shot later in the show has been done for years in wrestling and there is nothing wrong with following a trend that has worked. Butcher getting the win is not exactly something expected, which makes it more fun than doing the norm in something like this.

Post match Matt Hardy (manager of the Hardy Family Office, including Butcher and Blade) says this guarantees a TNT Title win because Butcher will either win the title and give it to him (in exchange for monetary value) or Hardy will beat up a destroyed Allin to win the title. Butcher does not seem pleased.

Pinnacle vs. Christopher Daniels/Luchasaurus/Jungle Boy/Dante Martin

In case you don’t remember, the Pinnacle is MJF, FTR and Shawn Spears, with Wardlow and Tully Blanchard. Before the match, MJF promises to take out the Inner Circle at Blood & Guts on May 5 before insulting the women in the audience. Harwood brags about the team some more so the fans cheer for Chris Jericho, who Harwood insists isn’t here. Daniels and Wheeler start things off with Daniels quickly taking him down, meaning it’s off to the already laughing MJF.

That means Daniels has to escape a wristlock and score with an armdrag, sending a frustrated MJF out to the floor. Jungle Boy comes in and gets to face Spears, who has some taped up ribs. A rather springboardy armdrag takes Spears down and Jungle Boy gets smart by going to the ribs. Martin comes in and goes after the ribs as well so we’ll try Luchasaurus vs…well hang on as Harwood goes to the floor to grab a microphone and tell the fans to STOP CHANTING FOR LUCHASAURUS.

That’s fine with Luchasaurus, who beats up FTR and MJF (must not like letters) but Harwood gives Martin a brainbuster to take over. As Kingston won’t say what he did at 20 years old, the villains take turns beating on Martin in the corner. Martin goes between the legs though and it’s off to Jungle Boy to pick up the pace.

The German suplexes about until Harwood takes Jungle Boy down. That’s broken up and Daniels comes back in for the STO as everything breaks down. Martin hits a heck of a dive onto Spears and Daniels gets Angel’s Wings, with a save having to be made. MJF is right back with the Salt Of The Earth to make Daniels tap at 14:26.

Rating: B-. This worked, with the Pinnacle being out there to get a win against a makeshift team of villains. The Pinnacle was a good team while they lasted, but there were so many evil teams floating around at this point that it was hard to get them to stand out. The talent was certainly there though, with MJF rapidly climbing the ladder to becoming one of the biggest stars around.

Jade Cargill vs. Reke Tehaka

Tehaka busts out the Haka to start and is quickly knocked down. Cargill talks some trash but gets caught by the arm, only to break up Old School. A belly to back suplex drops Tehaka again and Cargill hits a pump kick but stops for some pushups. Tehaka gets in some shots of her own and a middle rope ax handle connects for two. Cargill has had it though and grabs the yet to be named Jaded for the pin at 3:24.

Rating: C. Cargill was showing some inexperience here, but you could see the raw power and athleticism shining through. AEW would have been nuts to not try something with someone who looked like her and they were smart to keep it short. This definitely wasn’t a squash, but Cargill wasn’t about to lose to anyone anytime soon.

Here is Britt Baker for a chat, but first she would like the fans to cheer for her. She’s not happy with the lack of volume but she’s hopeful that this is the last time they have a show in Jacksonville. Title shots should be based on merchandise sales, TV demographic ratings and the length of the meet and greet lines. Tonight, it’s time for the women ranked higher than her to get a taste of the Doctor.

Cody Rhodes vs. Aaron Solo

Street fight and the chase is on at the bell, with Solo trying to get away, which Kingston refers to as “head games”. Back in and Rhodes hammers away, setting up a rather delayed gordbuster. The Cactus Clothesline puts them on the floor again and it’s time to go into the crowd (which is sparse, partially due to Covid), where Solo takes a drink to the face.

A fan gets to hold Solo so Rhodes can punch him and it’s time for the weapons, with Rhodes needing a few attempts to get the trashcan into the ring. Solo is dropped onto the trashcan but cuts off a suicide dive with a trashcan lid. Back in and some chair shots have Rhodes in more trouble, with Solo wedging the chair into the corner.

Believe it or not, Rhodes actually goes into the chair to leave it dented, which doesn’t seem to do much damage. They hit stereo crossbodies and here is QT Marshall with a kendo stick. Billy Gunn runs in to take care of Marshall so Rhodes kicks Solo low. Some kendo stick shots have Solo in more trouble and it’s time for a dog collar on a chain, with fans chanting for Brodie Lee.

Solo gets rocked again and Rhodes his a pair of Cross Rhodes…but stops the count at two. Instead Rhodes busts out a table, but Solo gets in a few kendo stick shots to cut him off. Solo goes up and takes WAY too long, meaning it’s a reverse superplex through the table to give Rhodes the pin at 15:46.

Rating: C+. This went rather long but the idea was just to get Rhodes out there. That’s all it needed to be as it’s not like Solo was a big star here. This was part of the Rhodes vs. the Factory feud and…well there’s a reason that’s not exactly on his highlight reel. When your big star is QT Marshall, how great do you think your stable is going to be?

Post match Anthony Ogogo comes in to drop Rhodes with a single shot to the ribs.

Ricky Starks and Colt Cabana replace Eddie Kingston on commentary.

Orange Cassidy/Chuck Taylor/Trent vs. Max Caster/Hybrid 2

Caster’s rap is about wanting to get Trent’s mom in the back of a fan. Kris Statlander and Anthony Bowens are here too and it’s Trent knocking Caster down to start. Taylor comes in for a double elbow but gets taken into the corner, which doesn’t last long either. Caster accidentally hits Evans so the Hybrid 2 take Caster out. With that out of the way, it’s time for the big six or so man chain submission, with Cassidy breaking it up.

Hold on though as Evans wants a dance off with Cassidy. Before Cassidy can go, Bowens says no one wants to see this so let’s have Caster and Cassidy in a battle rap. Caster raps about Cassidy being rather stoic so Cassidy kicks him in the legs, with the Hybrid 2 jumping Cassidy and taking him into the corner.

Cassidy gets in an exchange of standing switches with Angelico and escapes to get over to Taylor for the tag. Everything breaks down and Evans gets a flipping jackknife rollup for two, followed by a 450 for the same. Cassidy is back in with the falling splash but the referee actually points out that he isn’t legal. Statlander boops Caster and Cassidy fires off the Orange Punches before Strong Zero can finish Evans at 10:45.

Rating: B-. This was the fun match that it needed to be as the fans loved Cassidy and he was still more goofy than anything resembling serious. Evans was one of those people who could get on anyone’s nerves at any time and he was a good choice for a foil here. The fans were into this and that’s why it was put out there, as AEW knew what they had with these guys.

Post match the winners and Statlander all hug.

Eddie Kingston vs. Cezar Bononi

Kingston is coming in with a bad leg/ankle. Kingston grinds away on a headlock to start but gets kicked in the chest. That lets Bononi choke on the rope a bit and get two off a slam as the fans are right behind Kingston. Bononi’s running powerslam gets two and he grabs the chinlock, which has Kingston in even more trouble.

Kingston fights back and tries the exploder but the ankle is too banged up. Instead Bononi gets in a pumphandle suplex and a sitout powerbomb for two but Kingston says bring it. Back up and Bononi tries a torture rack but gets enziguried for his efforts. The Stretch Plumb gives Kingston the win at 9:20.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much to this one as it was mainly Bononi beating Kingston up until the fast comeback at the end. That being said, Kingston has never one to focus on what he was doing in the ring. He was going to get over just by talking and having personal issues with someone and that is the focus of his ankle issue. Kingston being on the card is fine though, as the fans love him.

Post match Kingston talks about how bad things were a year ago but then he ran his mouth at an independent show. That got him a match on Dynamite and he got beat up by Cody Rhodes. He started watching AEW and was so glad to have something back for the wrestlers. This gives them a place to be themselves so please support the young guys and the stars in this company. As usual, Kingston can play the emotions like few others.

Vickie Guerrero cuts off Justin Roberts’ introduction…but then lets him do it.

The Bunny/Rebel/Britt Baker/Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida/Red Velvet/Tay Conti/Ryo Mizumani

Velvet spins out of a wristlock to start but Baker takes her down into a hammerlock. Back up and Velvet faceplants Baker but mostly misses a standing moonsault. Conti (Melo) comes in to fire off the kicks to Bunny but charges into the corner. Shida comes in to go after Rebel, who fakes a knee injury to kick Shida in the head (even Rebel was surprised she pulled that off).

Rose runs Mizumani over but she’s right back with a spear, sending Cabana and Starks into an argument over spearing ability. Mizumani can’t get in a suplex so let’s have the rest of her partners come in for a quadrupleplex instead. Everything breaks down and we get a Shida vs. Rebel kendo stick vs. crutch match. Back in and Bunny knees Velvet to the mat and rubs Velvet’s face into it, allowing Baker to cheap shot Velvet.

A hair faceplant gives Velvet a breather and it’s back to Shida as everything breaks down into a quadruple submission. Those are all broken up and Rose backsplashes Shida for two. Shida reverses Baker’s suplex attempt into a Falcon Arrow for two and Mizumani uses Shida as a launchpad for a legdrop. Conti and Rebel get the double tag with Conti going after the leg and the DDTay finishes at 13:57.

Rating: C+. The early days of the women’s division were a bit messy for AEW but you could see some of the talent starting to come together. If nothing else, it’s kind of fascinating that Velvet has been around this long. Some of the better names were starting to come together and you could see Baker turning into a star right before your eyes. Throw in Shida as her solid self and the base was there.

Death Triangle/Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal vs. Kenny Omega/Konosuke Takeshita/Michael Nakazawa/Young Bucks

Nick and Fenix start things off with Fenix flipping away early. Pac and Matt come in as well so all four can block a superkick. Pac stays in and gets caught in the wrong corner but flips away from Takeshita. It’s off to Matt, who beats on Nakazawa (in his polo and khakis), allowing the Triangle to come in for a triple dropkick. Nakazawa grabs Mike’s nipples and the Bucks come in, only to get kicked to the floor.

That means the Lucha Bros can get in their own dives but Omega (reigning World Champion) gets to take over on Mike. This includes a backbreaker over the knee and Nakamura gets to come in for some offense of his own. Takeshita (who looks very young here) comes in for a chinlock and the Bucks get to send Mike into FOUR boots in the corner. Omega wants EIGHT boots up in the corner, which of course goes badly for him, allowing Matt to get the tag.

Everything breaks down and the Bros get to wheelbarrow splash Omega for two. Fenix gets caught in the wrong corner for the rapid fire clotheslines though, with Takeshita’s being one too many. Instead Fenix is back with a cutter for two but Pac’s Black Arrow is broken up. We hit the parade of strikes to the face and Takeshita’s Blue Thunder Bomb gets two.

Matt is held in the ropes for a Swanton from Nick and a double Meltzer Driver gets two as Penta makes a save. Omega gets to fire off some snapdragons…but tags in Nakazawa. With Omega not there for the save, it’s a suplex into the spike package piledriver and the Brutalizer makes Nakazawa tap at 17:22.

Rating: B-. This was something of a main event level match, with the World Champion and the Bucks involved, though the Sydals and Nakazawa being involved was a bit odd. Then again, that’s the point of having Nakazawa, with those snappy khakis, there to take the fall. Fenix and Penta were awesome out there and Pac looked like he could have beaten up a concrete wall. The match was big and the good guys won so that’s a logical inclusion here.

Post match Pac says the Death Triangle is coming for Omega and the Bucks. Omega teases a brawl here but then run from a fight.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. The Butcher

Butcher is challenging and has the Hardy Family Office with him. Allin starts fast with a dropkick to the floor and a suicide dive. Matt Hardy offers a distraction though and Butcher takes over on the floor, with a snap suplex getting two. Allin’s comeback is cut off with a boot to the face and a powerbomb gives Butcher two more.

For some reason Allin slaps him in the face and is slapped right back down for his efforts. Some slaps actually work for Allin and he dropkicks Butcher into the corner, earning himself a Texas Cloverleaf. That’s broken up and they head outside with Butcher chopping the post by mistake, allowing Allin to send the bad arm into the barricade. Back in and Butcher knocks him into the corner but Allin fights off the top. A Code Red sets up a quick Coffin Drop to retain the title at 8:15.

Rating: C+. This felt like they were running out of time, even though the title was obviously never in anything close to danger. The good thing is that Allin, the popular star, got out there to close the show and send the fans home happy. It’s another tried and true ending to a house show and it’s hard to complain much here, even if the match was just ok.

Post match the Hardy Family Office jumps in to go after Butcher but Colt Cabana, after decking Ricky Starks, leads the Dark Order in for the save. Matt Hardy promises to win the TNT Title and begin the reign of Big Money Matt, which of course didn’t happen. Allin is ready and seems to challenge for a falls count anywhere match. As a bonus, he gives a fan his skateboard, a kid who gets to come up and get it in a nice touch. More celebrating ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Well it’s a house show, featuring the stars of AEW in some perfectly acceptable matches. Is it some kind of hidden gem? Not really no, but it’s a fun look back at a different era of AEW and a nice tribute to the Butcher in a rare moment of him wrestling on his own. The point of this was to give the fans a good time and AEW made that happen. If you’re an AEW fan, you’ll have a good time with this and there are far worse ways to spend an afternoon/evening.

Results
The Butcher won a battle royal last eliminating Lance Archer
The Pinnacle b. Dante Martin/Jungle Boy/Luchasaurus/Christopher Daniels – Salt Of The Earth to Daniels
Jade Cargill b. Reke Tehaka – Jaded
Orange Cassidy/Trent/Chuck Taylor b. Max Caster/Hybrid 2 – Strong Zero to Evans
Eddie Kingston b. Cezar Bononi – Stretch Plumb
Hikaru Shida/Red Velvet/Tay Conti/Ryo Mizumani b. The Bunny/Rebel/Britt Baker/Nyla Rose – DDTay to Rebel
Death Triangle/Matt Sydal/Mike Sydal b. Kenny Omega/Young Bucks/Michael Nakazawa/Konosuke Takeshita – Brutalizer to Nakazawa
Darby Allin b. The Butcher – Coffin Drop

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

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Collision
Date: September 12, 2026
Location: MassMutual Center, Springfield, Massachusetts
Commentators: Paul Wight, Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

So this is a different kind of show as the whole thing is a tribute to the Butcher, who passed away earlier this month at the far too early age of 48. While Butcher hadn’t wrestled here in a bit, he was certainly a part of the AEW family and deserves such an honor. I’m not sure what this is going to be but it should be emotional, so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

In Memory Of Andy Williams.

There is a wreath and guitar in the ring. Tony Schiavone has the fans stand for a ten bell salute.

Various wrestlers and AEW personalities, including Brody King, Colt Cabana, Justin Roberts, Penelope Ford, Jeff Jarrett and Kip Sabian pay tribute to Butcher.

Commentary pays tribute as well and runs down the card.

Jon Moxley vs. Mike Bailey

Non-title Eliminator Match. They go with the grappling to start and it’s an early standoff. Bailey trips him down into a front facelock so Moxley gets in a takedown of his own to work on the arm. Bailey gets up and snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor, with Moxley already looking frustrated.

Back in and Moxley easily takes him down for a reverse chinlock and it’s time to work on Bailey’s fingers. That earns Moxley a missile dropkick but he sends Bailey flying out to the floor. Bailey is fine enough to start in on the leg, with some kicks setting up a dragon screw legwhip. A corkscrew Asai moonsault drops Moxley and we take a break.

We come back with Moxley getting in a butterfly superplex but Bailey scores with another kick. The standing moonsault knees give Bailey two and he sends Moxley to the apron to do it again. Back in and the Ultimate Weapon misses so Bailey kicks away, only for Moxley to pop up with a cutter. Moxley misses a boot in the corner and gets kicked in the back, with a shooting star giving Bailey two. Bailey gets a kneebar, with Moxley escaping and hitting a Stomp. The Death Rider finishes Bailey at 18:09.

Rating: B. This was your usual Moxley match, as he popped up after everything Bailey threw at him and survived in the end, which is hardly a surprise. At the same time, it was hard to believe that Bailey had much of a chance here as even the time limit almost expiring didn’t really build up much drama. Other than that, Paul Wight praising the continental wrestling with its lack of interference and weapons made me shake my head, as I remember that just being called a wrestling match.

Nick Wayne says youth is what matters and Chris Jericho is worried about him. If Jericho is so sure about himself, come prove it on Dynamite.

Rascalz vs. Aaron Solo/Griff Garrison/Nick Comoroto

Reed throws Garrison down to start and a double slingshot belly to back suplex does it again. Comoroto comes in and gets triple teamed to the floor and Reed cutters Solo. Reed hits a dive and the Hot Fire Flame finishes Solo at 2:01. Total squash.

Daniel Garcia, Willow Nightingale and Pac pay tribute to the Butcher.

Mina Shirakawa vs. Queen Aminata

Mercedes Mone is on commentary. Aminata grabs a quickly broken headlock to start and is taken down, allowing Shirakawa to dance. Back up and Aminata gets in a running shoulder block and we get the required Chocolate Kisses. Shirakawa knocks her down for the slingshot corkscrew dive and the big dive to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Aminata knocking her down and grabbing a snap suplex. Shirakawa grabs a quick Glamorous Driver for two so she puts on the Figure Four, with Aminata having to roll to the rope. A quick small package gives Aminata the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C+. So I guess Aminata is going to be the next victim for Mone and that’s perfectly fine for a quick Collision main event in a few weeks. That’s a weird way to go as Thekla and Willow Nightingale are already likely to come after the title, probably even at All Out. Other than that, Shirakawa loses again, because that’s all she does most of the time.

Post match respect is shown.

Pac says tonight is business as usual for the Death Riders but here are the Dogs to complain about the team stopping them from attacking Will Ospreay. Jon Moxley threatens them because he doesn’t do any favors for anyone. Tonight, the Dogs better go take care of the Bang Bang Gang.

Jay White vs. Adam Priest

They grapple to a standoff to start and White takes him down into a headlock. That’s broken up so Priest strikes away until White drops him again. A Muta Lock sends Priest over to the rope and he’s right back up with a dragon screw legwhip. Priest’s swinging neckbreaker gets two but an attempt at the half crab is reversed into the Blade Runner to give White the pin at 5:19.

Rating: C+. I was expecting this to get more time and it was nice to see White take him down with his finisher instead of going too long. White is someone who can be rather smooth in the ring and look good out there when he is given the chance. Now just let him win some matches that actually matter.

Post match White says the Bang Bang Gang is ready for the Death Riders.

Dogs/Pac vs. Bang Bang Gang

Jay White and Jon Moxley are on commentary. It’s a big brawl to start and the Gang is cleared out with Austin getting caught in the wrong corner for the running clotheslines. The Gang is right back in to do the same to Finlay and Austin loads him up in the fireman’s carry for the squats. We take a break and come back with Robinson fighting out of trouble with a side kick to Pac.

The Gunns come in to clean house with Austin’s full nelson slam getting two on Connors. Austin is in with a double missile dropkick and we get the parade of knockdowns. A German suplex/clothesline combination puts Austin down and Moxley approves. Everyone gets back up and slug it out until Austin hits a big flip dive to the floor. 3:10 To Yuma drops Connors with Finlay diving in for the save (Moxley is thrilled). Pac trips Austin and Connors hits a spear for the pin at 10:51.

Rating: B-. Gah I was getting into this and hoping to see the Gang get a bigger win but why do that when you can have the freaking Dogs get a win? For the life of me I do not get the Dogs and they just keep going with one push after another. They do nothing for me and Kidd is the weakest of them all, so of course he gets the most attention.

Chuck Taylor, Darius Martin, Roderick Strong, Christopher Daniels, Lee Moriarty and Kyle O’Reilly pay tribute to the Butcher.

The Blade has sent in a statement on Butcher’s passing.

Tommaso Ciampa wants a title and is coming to All Out.

Lethal Twist vs. Conglomeration

New Level is on commentary and the Twist’s ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Lethal and Cassidy start things off with Williams taking him up against the rope for a quick finger spin. Cassidy backs him to the floor where Lethal argues with New Level, earning himself a chop from Strong. Everything breaks down, including a barrage of chops, plus a backbreaker/middle rope knee combination to Lethal.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy fighting out of trouble and getting in a Stundog Millionaire. O’Reilly comes in to clean house and Strong throws Cassidy around as a weapon. Strong gets caught in a reverse DDT/high crossbody combination for two and Cassidy gets superkicked. He doesn’t actually fall down though as Strong shoves him back, with a double clothesline dropping the villains. O’Reilly and Cassidy hit a dive apiece, leaving Strong to hit the Sick Kick into the End Of Heartache to pin Lethal at 9:54.

Rating: B-. Yep, you knew how the match was going to go as soon as Ring Of Honor champions were involved. They were there to make the AEW stars look good and somehow this just keeps happening. I have no idea why that’s the case but for some reason Ring Of Honor is just used for jobbing. Just find someone else for this spot. It can’t be that hard with this roster.

Post match Conglomeration and New Level have a staredown.

Lena Kross and Megan Bayne are ticked off and promise to hurt the Brawling Birds.

All Out rundown.

Butcher Battle Royal

Lance Archer, Eddie Kingston, Ortiz, Claudio Castagnoli, Josh Alexander, Daniel Garcia, The Beast Mortos, Jake Doyle, Dante Martin, Darius Martin, AR Fox, Wheeler Yuta

For $100,000 to be donated to the charity of the winner’s choice in Butcher’s name. The brawl starts on the floor and the bell rings with no one actually in the ring. The Martins and Doyle come in to brawl, with Fox coming in to join the festivities. Ortiz gets tossed into a cutter and Mortos is back in to wreck various people.

Fox tries a tornado DDT but gets sent outside for the first elimination. The Death Riders get inside and Kingston and Ortiz are back in to take them out. Well down, not out, as in an elimination. A series of clotheslines against the ropes gets rid of Ortiz but Kingston backdrops Garcia out. The Martins backdrop Mortos out and we take a break.

We come back with the Martins cleaning house again and clotheslining Doyle out. Dante gets knocked out as well and Archer gets rid of Darius. Archer and Castagnoli trade clotheslines until Archer hits a crossbody. Castagnoli escapes the chokeslam and Swings Archer, setting up a clothesline for the elimination. Kingston and Castagnoli chop it out until Kingston gets the Swing as well.

Back up and Kingston is fine enough to spinning backfist Castagnoli out but gets dumped by Alexander. So I think that leaves Alexander and Garcia, with Garcia hitting a bunch of clotheslines but not being able to knock him out. A package piledriver plants Garcia, who holds onto the top rope for the save. Garcia pulls him over the top rope to the apron and gets back inside for a running dropkick and the win at 16:23.

Rating: B-. The quality of the match means absolutely nothing here as this was all about the special feelings. Garcia winning is fine as the actual result is pretty unimportant. It was a bunch of people who were friends with Butcher having a special match. Nothing wrong with that and it was nice to see.

Post match Garcia gets to hold up a Butcher sign and the guitar. The Death Riders have one more big hug.

We get a special tribute video to the Butcher and as usual, this was incredibly well done.

The roster comes to the stage/ramp for one more tribute to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show where the wrestling itself was just kind of background noise. Instead it was about paying tribute to someone who seemed to be pretty awesome and passed away way too young. The show was perfectly fine and the opener was good, but this was all about the Butcher and that is perfectly fine. Good, emotional show here and something that needed to happen.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Mike Bailey – Death Rider
Rascalz b. Aaron Solo/Griff Garrison/Nick Comoroto – Hot Fire Flame to Solo
Queen Aminata b. Mina Shirakawa – Small package
Jay White b. Adam Priest – Blade Runner
Dogs/Pac b. Bang Bang Gang – Spear to Austin
Conglomeration b. Lethal Twist – End Of Heartache to Lethal
Daniel Garcia won the Butcher Battle Royal last eliminating Josh Alexander

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

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Collision
Date: June 20, 2026
Location: Smart Financial Center, Sugar Land, Texas
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Excalibur

We’re eight days away from Forbidden Door and this week we get another match officially set for the show. In this case it’s the semifinals of the Women’s Owen Hart Cup with Athena facing Maya World. Other than than we should have the usual big Collision attraction, meaning the announcements of stuff for Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Young Bucks/Jack Perry vs. Lethal Twists

Christian jumps Nick to start fast and everything breaks down in a hurry. Perry hits a suicide dive onto Johnson but misses a moonsault and gets superkicked by Christian. The Bucks make the save and it’s Christian getting kneed in the corner. Perry gets tied up in the Tree Of Woe though and Christian adds a moonsault as we take a break.

We come back with the Twists going after Perry’s knee but the leg is fine enough to snap off a hurricanrana to the floor. Matt gets the tag to clean house and the Bucks do their top rope double stomp on the rope into the sitout powerbomb. Stereo powerbombs out of the corner set up stereo Scorpion Deathlocks with Perry getting Lethal in the Snare Trap.

Everyone makes the ropes and it’s Perry slugging it out with Lethal. Johnson and Lethal are back with cutters as commentary points out that the referee is just watching and enjoying the match. The Death Valley Driver into Hail To The King gets two on Perry and we hit the parade of everyone kicking everyone. Perry gets in a double poisonrana and the Meltzer Driver finishes Johnson (McGuinness: “Five stars.”) at 14:20.

Rating: B. As usual, starting with the Bucks is a good way to get the crowd going as the AEW fans absolutely love these guys. It makes a lot of sense to go this way and the Lethal Twists are a good choice for their victims. Yes it feels like a match we’ve seen about a million times, but that’s kind of a feature with the Bucks.

Kris Statlander and Mina Shirakawa seem to respect each other but they’re ready to fight tonight. Harley Cameron will be on commentary and tells them to shake, though they shake hands while she shakes her….yeah you get the idea.

Hikaru Shida doesn’t care who she’s going to be facing in Survival Of The Fittest because TBS will stand for THE BEST IS SHIDA!

Survival Of The Fittest: Mina Shirakawa vs. Kris Statlander

Harley Cameron is on commentary. Shirakawa’s headlock has Statlander down early on until she sends Shirakawa hard into the corner. A Stunner over the top rope drops Statlander but she catches Shirakawa with something like a Big Ending onto the apron. We take a break and come back with Shirakawa hitting La Mistica before knocking Statlander outside. Back in and a missile dropkick gives Shirakawa two but Statlander is back with the Falcon Arrow for two of her own. Shirakawa comes back with another La Mistica but Statlander rolls her up for the fast pin at 9:09.

Rating: C+. Statlander winning clean is good to see as she’s kind of been all over the place lately. I’m not sure if she’s going to win the title, but at least she has something to do at the moment. On the other hand you have Shirakawa, who has felt like she’s in the middle of nowhere for months and that doesn’t seem to be changing.

Post match match respect is shown, with Harley Cameron joining in.

We get a commercial for the Bang Bang Gang’s spay and neuter center.

Jack Perry talks about Zack Sabre Jr. welcoming him to Japan in an act of kindness. He would love another act of kindness in the form of a match on Dynamite. After they can hit the bar again, with Perry picking up the tab, because the winner should always pay.

Hurt Syndicate vs. Warren Johnson/Zack Mason

Lashley gets annoyed at a chop and it’s off to Mason, with Lashley shoving both of them down. It’s off to Benjamin for a nasty German suplex, followed by a running knee. Lashley hits the spear on Johnson and Benjamin gets the pin at 1:52.

Post match MVP says that the Hurt Syndicate doesn’t want titles, but they are more than willing to hurt people for money. If anyone is interested, come find them.

Skyflight is ready for Dante Martin to face Mistico. In addition, Matt Sydal is back and Skyflight has his back. I’m really not sure if this team needs another warm body.

Nigel McGuinness introduces Tommaso Ciampa and Chris Jericho for a face to face chat. Jericho praises Ciampa and knows that he’s wanted to face him for a reason. The question is which version of Jericho Ciampa will face, but it won’t matter because all of them will take him out. Ciampa likes the sound of that and he wants to face Jericho on July 8 in Clearwater, Florida at Beach Break.

Jericho is in for some wrestling that night, but tonight they’re fighting. The brawl is on but Ciampa quickly cuts him down with a low blow. Ciampa beats him down and busts him open, with the running knee leaving Jericho laying. This was simple and to the point but I definitely like setting it up for a show other than Forbidden Door. That show is going to have enough and I want to see this match get some focus, which it wouldn’t receive at the pay per view.

Pac vs. Shota Umino for the latter’s IWGP Global Title is set for Forbidden Door.

Dante Martin vs. Mistico

Christopher Daniels is here with Martin. Mistico flips away from a headlock to start but gets elbowed in the chin. Martin sends him outside for a suicide dive but Mistico fights back and hits a suicide dive of his own. Back in and Martin runs the corner for a superplex and two, leaving Mistico’s knee banged up as we take a break.

We come back with Mistico’s knee being fine enough to hit a springboard high crossbody to send Martin outside. There’s the slingshot dive and they go back inside to trade groggy right hands. They kick each other down and we get a double breather. Mistico is up first and his moonsault hits a raised boot, allowing Martin to get two off a rollup. Mistico’s powerslam gets two, as does Martin’s package powerbomb. Martin heads up top, only for Mistico to plant him with a super Spanish Fly for the pin at 11:34.

Rating: B-. Yeah this was fine, as they weren’t pretending that this was anything more than “here’s Mistico in a match”. They weren’t hiding that or trying to make it anything else and that’s a fine way to go. Mistico has such a following and is such a big deal that getting him on the show makes sense, especially on a show so close to Mexico.

Ricochet wants Konosuke Takeshita and the International Title but first he wants to beat up the returning Matt Sydal.

The Dogs don’t think much of Adam Copeland and Christian Cage being around for thirty years. They want the Tag Team Titles at Forbidden Door and they’ll put those b****** down.

Pac vs. Jay Alexander

Jon Moxley is on commentary and doesn’t think this is going to take long. Pac backs the rather muscular Alexander into the corner and then drops him with a running clothesline. Marina Shafir gets in a cheap shot and Pac adds a missile dropkick. The Brutalizer finishes Alexander at 3:11.

Rating: C. This was quick and to the point as Pac gets to run through someone with quite the size and power. Pac has an intensity to him that could make him look good against anyone and that’s a nice asset to have. At the same time, Moxley put him over rather strong on commentary, saying Pac could win any title in the world on any given night, including Moxley’s. There are a lot of things to criticize about Moxley, but he knows how to make people sound strong on commentary.

Thunder Rosa wants to team with someone from CMLL and challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Adam Priest

Schiavone: “We haven’t seen Zack Sabre Jr. in an AEW ring since a year ago at Forbidden Door!” Forbidden Door was in late August last year, so no, it hasn’t been a year ago. Sabre works on the arm to start, including a nasty snap with his legs. Priest is right back with a snap suplex but Sabre is right back to the arm.

The arm is bent over the top rope and Priest is in trouble as we take a break. We come back with a double clothesline leaving both of them down before Priest knocks him down again. Priest starts in on Sabre’s leg but Sabre pulls the bad arm back in and twists it around. A double arm crank makes Priest give up at 10:36.

Rating: C+. This was the “here is Sabre’s warm-up match for his warm up match for Omega at the pay per view match”. As usual, it went on longer than it needed to and did more for Priest than Sabre. While Sabre was more or less toying with him the whole time, Priest looked tough in his comebacks, which doesn’t really do much for Sabre, as is often the case in matches like this.

Megan Bayne and Lena Kross are in for whatever Thunder Rosa wants to do.

A bloody Chris Jericho thanks Tommaso Ciampa, but Ciampa won’t thank him later. Serious Jericho is a nice thing to see.

Owen Hart Cup Semifinals: Maya World vs. Athena

Athena’s ROH Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Athena takes her down in the corner for a pat on the head to start but gets dropped with a running shoulder. A rather rolling crucifix gives World two as we’re told that Thunder Rosa will team with Olimpia to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. If that’s how they’re going to announce it, why bother with the mystery in the promos earlier? Just tell us then so that it’s not an afterthought in the main event.

Anyway they both try dropkicks at the same time and flip up for a staredown. World cartwheels into a basement dropkick and they go to the apron to slug it out. Athena catches a roll and flips her into a faceplant on the floor as we take a break. We come back with World hitting a superplex and stomping Athena in the ribs. World’s moonsault gets two, as does Athena’s sitout powerbomb. Athena stomps her down and gets two more off a rollup, which has Athena frustrated.

The O Face misses and World gets two off a tabletop suplex. They fight outside, with Athena hitting a Rock Bottom onto the barricade. World is mostly done but Athena breaks the count to bring her back in. Athena yells a lot, which just wakes World up. The big comeback doesn’t last long though as Athena hits the O Face for….two, giving us a well deserved stunned kickout face. Some superkicks put World down and Athena loads up the big right hand, only to get rolled up for the out of nowhere pin at 14:10.

Rating: B. Well World pretty much has to win the tournament now or this is a heck of a way to use Athena. As usual, Athena comes up to the AEW roster and loses but I’m sure she’ll get to continue her nearly four year reign as ROH Women’s Champion. As for World…well, it’s certainly a way to make someone look bigger, but it doesn’t mean nearly as much if she just loses to Mone. I like making a bigger star, though good grief just let Athena be a regular in AEW already.

Post match respect is shown but here is Mercedes Mone to interrupt and hug World, who is then jumped by Athena. The Statement Maker goes on and Athena mocks World to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was the “let’s get a lot of stuff together for Forbidden Door as fast as we can show” and….yeah it mostly worked. The action was good enough and the PPV card feels a lot more complete. At the same time, it was a show that felt rather packed and didn’t leave much time for anything to have an impact. That’s something AEW has had issues with for a long time and while it would be nice to see that change, it isn’t likely to happen. Either way, good show here, and it did a lot of the work that AEW needed.

Results
Young Bucks/Jack Perry b. Lethal Twists – Meltzer Driver to Johnson
Kris Statlander b. Mina Shirakawa – Rollup
Hurt Syndicate b. Warren Johnson/Zack Mason – Spear to Johnson
Mistico b. Dante Martin – Super Spanish Fly
Pac b. Jay Alexander – Brutalizer
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Adam Priest – Double arm crank
Maya World b. Athena – Rollup

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

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Collision
Date: January 3, 2026
Location: eSports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the start of another residency as Collision will be here for a few weeks at least. That can make for some interesting crowd reactions but at least this seemed to be a pretty nice venue the first time around. Hopefully that is the case here again as we’re starting with Darby Allin vs. Wheeler Yuta. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

The Timeless Love Bombs, Dante Martin, Shelton Benjamin and Darby Allin are ready to fight.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Clon vs. Angelico

Angelico works on the arm to start and they trade legsweeps, allowing Clon to pose. A running clothesline drops Angelico and a step up moonsault gives Clon two. They trade chops until Clon hits a Pele kick, followed by a torture rack bomb (ala Hologram) for the pin at 3:29.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have time to do much here, but Clon did look good. I’m not sure how long it’s going to be before Hologram gets back, but it should make for a pretty awesome showdown if they do it right. For now though, they did a nice job to start the anticipation, with Clon having a dominant debut.

Post match Clon stomps on Angelico’s partner Serpentico but Komander runs in for the save.

Jon Moxley talks about how you get something special out of the Continental Classic and the title has a very high price tag. He’s getting ready to face Shelton Benjamin on Dynamite and while there is pretty much nothing he does better than Benjamin, it’s going to take a lot more than hurting him.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Timeless Love Bombs vs. Hyan/Maya World

Shirakawa and World start things off with Shirakawa getting in a bit of dancing. World gets taken down and it’s quickly off to Storm vs. Hyan. The Bombs start taking turns beating on Hyan, with Storm dropping Shirakawa onto her for two. A running hip attack sends Hyan outside and Shirakawa hits a big dive to take them both out on the floor.

We take a break and come back with Shirakawa being dropped onto World’s knees for two. That doesn’t seem to do much though as Shirakawa gets over to Storm for the house cleaning. A bulldog into a basement dropkick cuts Storm off though and a Blockbuster/Russian legsweep combination gets two. Shirakawa comes back in with a double missile dropkick and Storm hits the running hip attack. Storm Zero finishes World at 9:07.

Rating: B-. World and Hyan are starting to get a bit more comfortable around here and that’s nice to see. They’re a fine team to add to the division and while they have a long way to go, it’s better than nothing. At the very least, the keep the bigger teams from losing important matches so nice job on bringing in some extra names.

Post match respect is shown but the entrances for the next match cut off the Bombs’ celebration.

Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne vs. Rache Chanel/Londyn Dior

Points for the themed jobber names. Shafir strikes Dior down to start and it’s quickly off to Bayne for the shoulders in the corner. Everything breaks down and Chanel is Fate’s Descented into Mother’s Milk (Shafir: “Give it to me baby.”) for the tap at 1:27.

The Don Callis Family beat up some jobbers in the back and Josh Alexander gives Hechicero a pep talk.

Komander vs. Hechicero

For a TNT Title shot. Hechicero wastes no time in pulling him down into la majistral for two, with Komander getting his own rollup for the same. They trade cradles into a near fall into a standoff but Komander sends him outside. Back in and Hechicero takes him into the corner, where Komander comes out with a rather springboardy hurricanrana. Komander sends him outside again and tries a slingshot hurricanrana, which is countered into a toss powerbomb into the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Komander kicking away but getting rolled into a bow and arrow. That’s switched into an armbar to keep Komander in trouble but he gets to the rope. Hechicero hits the arm and he falls outside, with Komander hitting the big rope walk dive. Back in and a sunset bomb gives Komander two but Hechicero is back with the swinging hammerlock backbreaker. Komander gets in a knockdown of his own and goes up, only for Clon to run in and shove him off the top. Hechicero hits a running knee, followed by a spinning arm trap rollup for the win at 13:36.

Rating: B. Much like the opener (albeit a good bit longer), this was an entertaining match between two people who know how to do this style. Hechicero winning makes for a better match for Mark Briscoe anyway, as he already has the whole ordeal with the Don Callis Family. As usual Komander is good for a solid match even in defeat and this was fun stuff.

Max Caster and Anthony Bowens are on assignments to build them up as a team, including saying nice things about each other and going on a scavenger hunt. It doesn’t work well as they keep getting in arguments, with Caster using a bunch of hand sanitizer.

Here are Eddie Kingston and Ortiz for a chat. After Kingston acknowledges two birthday fans in the crowd (that’s a nice touch), Kingston thanks Ortiz for keeping him from quitting this company over and over. They’re coming for the Grizzled Young Veterans, but Kingston keeps getting mad at Tony Schiavone for not holding the mic up (Kingston: “Flair must have hated you.”).

Big Bill and Bryan Keith laugh off the idea of Kingston having someone to watch his back. For now though, they want to take out JetSpeed, as someone has put a bounty on JetSpeed. Commentary thinks it’s Don Callis.

JetSpeed vs. Big Bill/Bryan Keith

Bailey and Keith start things off with Bailey elbowing him down. Keith cuts off a tag attempt though and everything breaks down, with Keith being sent outside. Some kicks put Bill on the floor but he’s back in with a swinging Boss Man Slam to Bailey. Eye gouging on the floor has Bailey in more trouble and we take a break.

We come back with Bill missing some charges in the corner, allowing the tag off to Bailey. The comeback doesn’t last long though as Bill kicks him in the face, with Knight having to make the save. Stereo dives take the villains down again but Keith strikes away at Bailey for two. Bailey kicks Keith down though and the UFO Splash finishes for Knight at 12:04.

Rating: C+. Nice tag match here, though it’s frustrating to see Knight and Bill brought back just to take another loss. At the same time, at least it was to a team like JetSpeed, who already have some success together. It’s a fine enough match and JetSpeed can do the high flying thing rather well, with Knight being a treat to watch.

The Grizzled Young Veterans are ready to fight Eddie Kingston and Ortiz, including threats to Kingston’s knee.

Video on the Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland vs. the Opps, setting up Wednesday’s lights out match.

Dante Martin vs. Shelton Benjamin

Christopher Daniels and MVP are here too. Benjamin shrugs off a lariat to start so Martin goes with a takedown instead. That’s enough to send Benjamin outside, only to have Benjamin come back in with a hard shoulder. Martin tries to go up top but gets knocked off to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Martin diving into a backbreaker and we see that Martin ignored a chance to walk out during the break, even asking if Benjamin’s mother raised a b****. A suplex sends Martin flying and the superkick finishes him off at 10:44.

Rating: C. This was pretty much an extended squash and that’s what it should have been with Benjamin set for his big match with Moxley next week. Benjamin is someone who has quite the reputation and has been treated seriously in AEW, so it wasn’t much of a step up to the next level. I’m rather pleased that he smashed through Martin like this, as that’s what makes perfect sense in this case.

Post match MVP asks for some applause for Martin and Benjamin shakes his hand, allowing Martin to leave in peace. With Martin gone, MVP talks about how Jon Moxley is a tough man, but Benjamin is different. Benjamin is going to hurt Moxley. This match has me intrigued.

Sammy Guevara is tired of the wrong people getting chances and wants to be World Champion. Bandido comes up and says he can have a shot.

Tony Schiavone reads a statement from Stokley Hathaway, who was injured at Worlds End and is at the Vivian Banks Medical Center, where he has over $400,000 worth of bills. See Tony Schiavone, who has nothing to do after the show but drink, to help pay them off.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Darby Allin vs. Wheeler Yuta

Jon Moxley is on commentary. Allin knocks Yuta to the floor to start, where a Marina Shafir distraction lets Yuta get in a cheap shot. Back in and Allin dropkicks him into the corner but Yuta gets in a backdrop to send Allin face first down. We take a break and come back with Allin hitting a springboard elbow but Shafir interferes again.

This time it’s enough to get an ejection but here is Toni Storm (Moxley: “SHE’S NUTS!”) to cut her off. Daniel Garcia joins us at ringside as Yuta gets a Scorpion Deathlock. That’s escaped so Yuta catapults him into the corner, with Allin coming back with a double stomp. The Coffin Drop connects for two, as Allin pulls him up and grabs the Scorpion for the tap at 11:40.

Rating: B-. The match didn’t feel overly important, though I did get a solid laugh out of Moxley’s reaction to Storm. Allin making relatively quick work of Yuta is fine, as he gets to move on to his requested match with Pac. It works well enough for a Collision main event, which is often the case for Allin.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show where it was more about setting things up for later rather than what happened here. That’s a fine way to go, as the upcoming Dynamite is feeling like a major show. Sometimes you need a show like this to get things ready and it worked well enough. It’s not a show that you should go out of your way to watch, but there is far worse wrestling to spend two hours watching.

Results
Clon b. Angelico – Torture rack bomb
Timeless Love Bombs b. Hyan/Maya World – Storm Zero to World
Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne b. Rache Chanel/Londyn Dior – Mother’s Milk to Chanel
Hechicero b. Komander – Arm trap rollup
Shelton Benjamin b. Dante Martin – Superkick
Darby Allin b. Wheeler Yuta – Scorpion Deathlock

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

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Collision
Date: January 4, 2025
Location: Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Matt Menard, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a new year and that means…well very little right now actually as this is pretty much just another Collision. We do at least have a title match with Daniel Garcia defending the TNT Title against Mark Briscoe as a result of the loss in the Continental Classic. Assuming Garcia survives there, we should be seeing him face Kyle Fletcher down the line. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Mark Briscoe, Daniel Garcia, the Learning Tree and Rated FTR are ready to fight.

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Daniel Garcia

Briscoe is challenging and they start slowly. Briscoe drives him into the corner to start as the fans are feeling a bit split. They trade slides out to the floor before going back inside to trade wrist cranking. Garcia ties up the legs and stomps them onto the mat but has to escape a Jay Driller attempt. Garcia’s dance just annoys Briscoe, who misses a charge out to the floor. Back in and Briscoe sends him flying off a suplex, only to get caught with some rolling neckbreakers for two. Briscoe is fine enough to knock him to the floor for a dropkick through the ropes as we take a break.

Back with a suplex sending both of them crashing over the top for a crash. They get back in where Briscoe hits a fisherman’s buster, followed by a sitout powerbomb for two. Briscoe slugs him into the corner but Garcia ducks a shot and rains down some right hands. A piledriver gives Garcia two and the Dragontamer goes on.

That’s broken up rather quickly as we have three minutes left in the time limit. Briscoe puts him down and hits the Froggy Bow for two. The Jay Driller connects but Garcia gets a foot on the rope. The Cutthroat Driver is loaded up but Garcia reverses into a rollup to retain at 18:15.

Rating: B. Briscoe’s pre-match promo was rather good and as usual he was showing that kind of fire that only he has. Garcia is starting to feel like someone who can hang at this level and giving him a clean win, even off a fluke rollup, is a good way to make that more realistic. Well done back and forth opener here and they both looked strong.

Respect is shown post match.

The Death Riders are unhappy with Jay White and Adam Copeland. Jon Moxley respects Copeland but Copeland shouldn’t go down this road.

We look at Jeff Jarrett saying he is coming for the World Title.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Aaron Solo

Solo jumps him to start but Jarrett is right back up with a pair of Strokes for the win at 1:30. That’s what it should have been.

We look at Ricochet going all violent on Dynamite.

Tag Team Titles: Private Party vs. Lio Rush/Action Andretti

Rush and Andretti are challenging. Kassidy ducks a shot from Rush to start and knocks Andretti off the apron as everything breaks down fast. Private Party clears the ring rather quickly but Quen gets suplexed onto the apron. We settle down to Andretti shouldering Kassidy in the corner and there’s a double suplex to drop him again.

We take a break and come back with Kassidy spinebustering his way out of the corner, allowing the diving tag off to Quen. Everything breaks down, with Quen being planted down on the floor. Kassidy is sat up top for Gin and Juice for two as Top Flight and Leila Grey appear in the front row to throw popcorn.

Quen is back in for a slugout and the quadruple clothesline leaves everyone down. The champs hit some dives and it’s a Twist Of Fate into a shooting star press for two on Rush with Andretti making the save. Back up and Andretti grabs a sunset flip with Rush holding on for more leverage, only for Dante Martin to break it up. Kassidy rolls Andretti up to retain at 13:44.

Rating: B-. Remember when the Tag Team Titles felt important? Private Party is far from a bad team, but they feel like they’re miles beneath the top of the division despite being champions for over two months. They need some bigger challengers, and while Top Flight might not be huge, they would be an upgrade over this.

We look at Darby Allin fighting against the Death Riders and it hasn’t been going well.

Cope doesn’t like Jon Moxley hiding the AEW World Title and saying no one wants to be champion. He wants to be champion and would wear the belt proudly. Chris Jericho comes in and Cope goes over their history together, with Jericho saying he doesn’t remember any of this. They’re in a six man tonight and with Cope gone, Jericho declares “Cope is a dope. Sick burn.” Cope talking about wanting to be champion is fine, but again, calling him Cope is just funny sounding.

Toni Storm vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Taya Valkyrie is here with Purrazzo and they fight over wrist control to start. They both bridge up but Storm is nice enough to shake hands upside down. Purrazzo is sent outside and Valkyrie offers a distraction, allowing Purrazzo to get in a baseball slide. We take a break and come back with Storm’s STF being broken. Taya’s distraction lets Purrazzo strike away but a DDT gives Storm two. Another distraction doesn’t work and Storm small packages Purrazzo for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C. Storm’s rise continues, with commentary flat out asking if she has really lost her memory or if this is just an elaborate ruse. I’ll take that over what we have been getting around here, though as usual I’ll say that I like this Storm better than Timeless. The other one was great, but it has been around for a good while now. Let her have an actual run with this instead.

Hangman Page and Christopher Daniels get in a big argument over Daniels not helping Page. That has Page asking who Daniels has ever helped and what he’s done for wrestling. Daniels attacks him with a bunch of headbutts (drawing blood) and Page is beaten down.

The Acclaimed argued after their loss on Dynamite.

The Beast Mortos vs. Brian Cage vs. Komander vs. Dante Martin

Non-title but the winner gets $100,000. Everyone goes after Mortos to start before Cage is double teamed to the floor. Rather than fight each other, Martin and Komander hit stereo dives to take out the monsters on the floor. Back in and Komander snaps off a headscissors to send Mortos outside, setting up a heck of a dive.

Martin dives onto the other three but here are Lio Rush and Dante Martin to take both of them down. Cage comes back in to clean house and we take a break. Back with Mortos wrecking everyone before Cage has to cut Komander off again. Martin is taken out as well and Cage hits the apron superplex on Mortos (that was nice). Cage takes out Komander and gives Martin Weapon X for the pin at 9:39.

Rating: C+. I wouldn’t want to see this kind of a prize used on a regular basis, but I’ll take it over some vague notion of a title match possibly being in the cards for the winner. Cage thankfully didn’t pin Komander, who probably owes him a rematch for the title. For now though, nice enough use of about ten minutes.

The Rock N Roll Express is here with FTR but the Outrunners come in. The Express owes them gas money from Memphis in 1982 but only get an apology and handshakes instead. Ok points for a funny gag.

Rated FTR vs. The Learning Tree

Cope and Jericho start things off…and let’s go with Bill instead. Er, make that Keith, whose headlock doesn’t work as Cope dropkicks him instead. Cash comes in to work on the arm but it’s quickly back to Bill. The villains take over on Cash back inside and we take an early break.

Back with Cope coming in for the showdown with Jericho and they chop it out. Cope takes over but the Impaler is broken up, allowing Jericho to grab a rollup with feet on the ropes for two. Now the Impaler can connect but the spear is countered into a Codebreaker for two. Keith comes in to work on Cope in the corner, only for Cope to knock his way out of trouble. It’s back to Cash to hammer on Bill, with the PowerPlex into a top rope elbow giving Cope two.

Harwood brainbusters Jericho for two and grabs a Sharpshooter on Keith, only for Jericho to put Cash in the Walls. Schiavone: “What a Collision moment we’re seeing right here!” You uh, might want to get some more interesting standards there Tony. Bill is back in to clean house but Cope sends him outside for a dive. Back in and Harwood goes up, only for Keith to get in a belt shot to give Jericho two. The Shatter Machine into the spear finishes Jericho at 16:47.

Rating: B-. This was the longer former AEW six man tag and it worked well enough. What mattered here was Cope getting the pin, as he is seemingly now feuding with two champions at the same time. That might be a bit much or him but I’ll take it over what we’ve been seeing in the last few months.

Post match Cope grabs the mic and thanks the fans…but the Death Riders pop up on screen. They’ve bound and gagged the Rock N Roll Express and jump the Outrunners or trying to make a save. Rated FTR run to the back and get the Express loose, with the Express confirming that they weren’t hurt. So what was the point in tying them up then?

Overall Rating: C+. This was a two hour show that should have been one hour. You could easily cut out some of the stuff on here and have one heck of an hour long show, but instead it was all stretched out with more stuff being dded to fill in the run time. That really shouldn’t happen with a company as deep as AEW. Some of their stars are in Japan, but with the amount of people they have available, that shouldn’t be such an issue. Not a bad show, but dang it would have been better if it could have been cut in half.

Results
Daniel Garcia b. Mark Briscoe – Rollup
Jeff Jarrett b. Aaron Solo – Stroke
Private Party b. Lio Rush/Action Andretti – Rollup to Andretti
Toni Storm b. Deonna Purrazzo – Small package
Brian Cage b. Dante Martin, Komander and The Beast Mortos – Weapon X to Martin
Rated FTR b. The Learning Tree – Spear to Jericho

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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Full Gear 2024
Date: November 23, 2024
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another of the big four shows here with the Death Riders once again on top of the promotion. That’s the main event, with Orange Cassidy trying to detail Jon Moxley for the World Title. Other than that, most of the titles are on the line and we should have a pretty stacked show. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Anna Jay

Taya Valkyrie is here with Purrazzo. Jay blocks a waistlock to start and kicks her in the face and the corner. Jay’s spinning kick lets her go up but a Valkyrie distraction lets Purrazzo take over. A clothesline sets up a crossarm choke, which is broken up so Jay can hit another superkick.

They slug it out until Jay hits a basement dropkick but Purrazzo knees her down. The Fujiwara armbar is broken up but Jay is kicked to the floor, where Valkyrie hits a spear. Since the referee watches her do it, it’s an ejection, though not a DQ for no apparent reason. Back in and the Fujiwara armbar goes on again, but Jay reverses into a rollup for the pin at 7:33.

Rating: C. Standard Rampage level match here with Jay getting a win after some recent losses. Odds are she’ll get a few more wins, get lose to a title and then lose the big one, as that’s just what happens to her most of the time. Purrazzo and the Vendetta need to actually do something already, because the team is losing what little value it had with every next loss.

Athena, Billie Starkz, Red Velvet and Leyla Hirsch are the four participants in the Ring Of Honor qualifying match for the four way at Wrestle Dynasty (on January 5). Yes Athena, by far the most dominant star in the history of Ring Of Honor’s women’s division, has to qualify. And yes, Ring Of Honor is still seen as is own promotion along with Stardom, AEW and CMLL for the sake of this match.

Zero Hour: The Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Dante Martin vs. Buddy Matthews

Komander and Martin are sent to the floor to start and we get the big power showdown. That’s broken up by the other two before Mortos wristlocks both of them at once. Martin gets sent outside so Matthews puts Komander on top, only for Mortos to take Matthews’ place. Mortos dives onto Martin but Matthews, and then Komander, dives onto all of them.

Back in and Matthews avoids Cielito Lindo but Komander is back with a hurricanrana to Mortos. That doesn’t go very far as Mortos is up to wreck everyone else until Matthews gets in a shot of his own. Matthews’ Jackhammer gets two on Martin with Mortos making the save, leaving Martin to roll Komander up for two.

Matthews drops Martin with a top rope Meteora but gets caught by Komander’s tornado DDT. Mortos crucifix drivers Komander but Martin hits a heck of a springboard clothesline to Mortos, leaving everyone down. Backup and all four slug it out with Mortos getting the better of things. Komander gets in a knockdown though and Martin adds a frog splash, only for Matthews to hit the Stomp and pin Martin at 10:35.

Rating: B. This was the kind of match that AEW has done a hundred or more times and it’s still a lot of fun. Let four people go out there and do a bunch of spots until one of them gets the win. No it doesn’t really boost Matthews up as he’s the biggest star and should be getting the win, but it doesn’t hurt any of the other three and the match was a good time. That’s a smart use of Kickoff Show and the crowd reacted well.

Paul Wight is back for commentary and brings out the Rizzler (a kid who makes quote unquote funny faces on social media) to be guest timekeeper.

Zero Hour: Big Boom AJ vs. QT Marshall

This is the celebrity match, with AJ and his son Justice better known as the Costco Guys. Apparently they’ve known each other for a long time and AJ is a former wrestler who now reviews items at Costco. Then Marshall didn’t like some cookies that AJ liked so…match! They stare each other down to start and Marshall knocks him down for some dancing. A snapmare drops AJ again but he’s back up with a backdrop.

AJ hits a powerslam for two and clotheslines Marshall outside, where Marshall’s security yells a lot. The distraction doesn’t work as Marshall’s running flip dive takes out the security by mistake. Back in and a DDT puts AJ down again and some right hands do it again. AJ manages a quick belly to belly though and makes the comeback, including a spinebuster. A top rope clothesline connects but AJ is gassed.

Marshall’s handspring kick to the face into a jumping cutter gets two, which sends Marshall after the Rizzler (who apparently does nothing but rub his chin). Wight cuts that off and AJ grabs a superplex to put them both down. Marshall’s friend Aaron Solo comes in for the distraction but gets decked, allowing Justice to hit a spear. AJ’s powerbomb is enough to pin Marshall at 11:44.

Rating: C+. All things considered, this could have been FAR worse. I hadn’t heard that AJ was a former wrestler until recently so this was a lot different than what I had been expecting. While he’s clearly out of practice (fair enough), AJ knew enough of what he was doing in there to make this an actual match rather than a bunch of silly stuff. Justice’s part was completely fine and Marshall is a nothing goofy heel in the first place. I have no interest in the Costco Guys’ content, but this was perfectly fine.

And now, the show proper.

Tag Team Titles: Kings Of The Black Throne vs. Outrunners vs. Acclaimed vs. Private Party

Private Party is defending and the Kings are played to the ring live. Caster’s rap mocks the band, but also says everyone loves the Best Wrestler Alive rather than the Acclaimed (who have Billy Gunn). Private Party have a bunch of dancers with glow sticks for their own flavor. Black works on Quen’s arm to start but gets kicked away, with Quen sitting down for the mind games.

The threat of the End has Quen backing away so Black elbows him in the face. Bowens comes in to trade armdrags with Kassidy with Kassidy getting the better of things, allowing the Outrunners to come in and plant Kassidy. Quen breaks that up and Floyd gets to clear the ring. King isn’t having that but Floyd Hulks Up, only to get blasted with a clothesline. The Kings take over and toss Quen into a knee to the face.

A backsplash hits Kassidy but the Outrunners and Acclaimed jump the Kings. The Acclaimed takes over on the Outrunners but Private Party is back in for stereo 450s for two each. The Outrunners are back with the Mega Powers elbow but Total Recall is broken up. King is back in to run people over and the Cannonball/kick to the head combination rocks Bowens in the corner.

The Acclaimed fights up to knock King down but Bowens doesn’t like Caster taking too much attention…so Caster offers Bowens the chance to pin him (ignoring commentary saying you can’t do that) for two. The Arrival plants Kassidy but Magnum breaks up the Mic Drop. Gin & Juice finishes Caster to retain the titles at 13:23.

Rating: B. Much like the other four way, this is something AEW does well and having so many people out there at once keeps the losing teams safe. This doesn’t make Private Party feel like some big, dominant team, but it did give them a nice pay per view win in a match that is more their style. Good opener here, though I can’t imagine Private Party are long term champs.

Private Party leaves through the crowd.

Orange Cassidy is ready to fight back against the Death Riders and says Private Party was the first step. They’ve been around since the beginning and now they’re the Tag Team Champions. It’s time for Cassidy to take the World Title and the power from Moxley.

We recap MJF vs. Roderick Strong. Last year at World’s End, Strong was revealed as one of the Devil’s henchmen. They have both since turned, meaning Strong is one of the two good guys wanting revenge on MJF, who decided that Strong and Adam Cole had to compete to face him here.

Roderick Strong vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

The bell rings and MJF bails to the floor to grab the mic and call the fans white trash. After a reference to Strong’s mother shooting his father, Strong goes outside to start the fight. Strong chops the post by mistake though and MJF starts in on the hand, setting up a powerbomb onto the apron.

Back in and the brainbuster is broken up but MJF knocks him down again. An armbar stays on the arm but Strong fights up and gets in a half nelson backbreaker. A torture rack toss into the corner sets up the jumping knee for two on MJF, who goes right back to the arm for a breather. The Heatseeker is blocked though and Strong hits a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and MJF’s attempt at a Panama Sunrise is cut off so he stomps on the arm for two more.

Strong is back up with a Texas Cloverleaf but MJF gets out rather quickly. That leaves Strong with a kick to MJF’s face and End Of Heartache gets two. A torture rack backbreaker into a fireman’s carry gutbuster have MJF down again but he comes back with a brainbuster for the double knockdown. Strong goes over to him but gets pulled into the Salt Of The Earth for the tap at 13:39.

Rating: B-. And that’s exactly what I was expecting from this match, as it was little more than a thing that had to be done before we get to the MJF vs. Adam Cole match. In other words, it’s just a way to extend the feud another month when it was already time to wrap it up. Odds are they’ll go to see Cole vs. MJF at World’s End one year in the making, making this match feel all the less important. The match was fine, but I have no idea why it needed to be here.

Post match MJF Pillmanizes Strong’s arm so Adam Cole runs in for the save. Kyle O’Reilly, with the Undisputed Kingdom, comes in to yell at Cole.

We recap Mercedes Mone defending the TBS Title against Kris Statlander. Mone is the big star but Statlander is the powerhouse coming after her, including taking out Mone’s monster Kamille.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Kris Statlander

Mone, without Kamille for some reason, is defending. Statlander misses a charge into the corner to start and gets taken down, allowing Mone to hammer away. A gorilla press drop gets Statlander out of trouble but they head to the apron where Mone grabs a hurricanrana. Mone dropkicks her through the ropes and then sends her into the steps to keep Statlander in trouble.

Back to back running Meteora give Mone two and a middle rope version gets the same. A flipping neckbreaker plants Statlander for two more and a sunset bomb sends her into the corner for the fourth running Meteora (in about two minutes) gets two. The crossarm choke is broken up and Statlander flips her out of the corner for a breather. Statlander’s knee is banged up though and they’re both down for a bit.

Rolling Chaos Theory gives Statlander two but she has to power out of the Mone Statement. They flip around into a Backstabber to give Mone a breather and a middle rope Meteora hits Statlander for two. Back up and a hard clothesline gives Statlander two, followed by a spinning Falcon Arrow for the same. Mone reverses Staturday Night Fever into a tornado DDT but the frog splash is countered into an F5.

Statlander’s bad knee is fine enough to miss a 450, with Mone elbowing away at the knee. A frog splash onto the knee gets two and a pair of Backstabbers into the Mone Maker…gets two. Another Mone Maker is countered, as is another Staturday Night Fever attempt. Instead Mone sends her throat first into the middle rope and gets a rollup for the pin at 19:24.

Rating: B-. This was another match that went longer than it should have been with Mone again not exactly living up to her hype. I’m not sure why Statlander needed to lose clean here, unless it was designed to make Mone into more of a star. It didn’t help that there was almost no chance that Statlander was going to win here and then the match was long and never really broke into that really good level.

Post match Statlander is helped out as Mone gets to do her dance.

We recap Jay White vs. Hangman Page in a rematch from last month where White won. Page doesn’t take kindly to that and cost White a match. The rematch is set, with Page threatening quite the insane response.

Jay White vs. Hangman Page

White grabs a headlock before striking away, only to get suplexed over the top. Page slams the knee into the apron and the post before grabbing a DDT onto the leg. A belly to belly gives Page two but White dropkicks the leg for a breather. White grabs a DDT for two but a fall away slam sends him crashing into the corner, banging up the leg again in the process.

Page sends him flying again, only for White to sweep the leg and send it into the post. A top rope superplex gives White two but Page goes after the leg again. Back up and they trade forearms until a bridging German suplex drops White for two more. They go to the apron where a dragon suplex plants Page on the apron and they fight up the ramp. This time Page sends him off the ramp for a crash to the floor.

Page grabs the ankle lock so White crawls back to the apron, with Page throwing him away. White dives back in to beat the count, only for Page to grab the ankle lock again. That’s broken up again and a swinging Rock Bottom gives White two. Another Page ankle lock is reversed into a kneebar, sending Page over to the ropes. A pair of Deadeyes gives Page two but the ankle lock is countered into the Blade Runner to give White the pin at 19:53.

Rating: B+. Page going with the ankle locks (which he couldn’t do well, which isn’t surprising as it’s not something he does) was a bit weird but these two had a heck of a match with both of them going back and forth. I’m more than a bit surprised at White winning, but it’s nice to have someone fresh coming up in the upper midcard scene. Maybe just don’t have Page lose again and again?

Post match Page jumps White again and drops Christopher Daniels for trying to break it up.

We recap Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher. Ospreay is still dealing with the Don Callis Family and is now having to face his former friend Fletcher, who is ready to prove himself as the real star.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

Don Callis is here with Fletcher. They charge at each other to start and slug it out with Ospreay knocking him to the floor. Ospreay follows him to the floor for a fight over a suplex onto the steps before going to the apron. Fletcher gets in a whip into the corner, setting up a brainbuster to plant Ospreay on the floor. Back in and Fletcher kicks away, setting up a hanging DDT for two.

A dragon sleeper keeps Ospreay in trouble but he slips out and hits a running boot in the corner. That means a big flip dive to the floor to drop Fletcher again, setting up the Phenomenal Forearm for two back inside. A torture rack powerbomb gives Ospreay two but the Oscutter is countered into a neckbreaker. Ospreay’s sitout powerbomb gets two and they both need a breather.

Ospreay is back up with a Stundog Millionaire and a Tombstone on the floor knocks Fletcher silly again. In case you’re wondering, Fletcher is on his feet again in a minute, only for Ospreay to hit a Spiral Tap for two. They both escape powerbomb attempts until Ospreay grabs a running Spanish Fly. The Oscutter is broken up but Ospreay settles for a Styles Clash for two more.

The running elbow to the face gives Ospreay two more so they go to the apron. Stormbreaker is countered into a jumping Tombstone from the apron onto the steps. Back in (with Ospreay standing 1:12 later) and a piledriver gives Fletcher two, because of course that’s not the finish. The Tiger Driver 91 is reversed into a rollup for two before Fletcher drops him with a hard shot. A Helluva Kick into a brainbuster onto the corner (seems familiar) finishes Ospreay clean at 24:15.

Rating: B. As much as I can’t fathom the idea of Ospreay losing (again) clean, and as much as I want to scream at the idea of his story with the Don Callis Family continuing (AGAIN), I’m too busy shaking my head at a jumping Tombstone from the apron to the steps, followed by Fletcher’s piledriver finisher, getting two.

That’s a hospital spot (Heck, Samoa Joe was slowly sent through a cheap wall and has been gone for…four months now?), or at least the end of the match, but why let something like dropping him head first onto the steel finish Ospreay? I can accept the idea of giving someone a big rub, but this company needs some top heroes soon and having Ospreay lose over and over is quite the choice right now.

Here is Mina Shirakawa to introduce Mariah May (with quite the black eye) for her Champagne Championship Celebration. May talks about how she has deserved this but she has dominated this division and no woman alive can touch her. Shirakawa doesn’t seem convinced but they do the toast anyway and then dance, with May grabbing the champagne bottle. Shirakawa sees it coming though and spears her off the stage through a table. This really didn’t need to be on pay per view.

We recap Jack Perry defending the TNT Title against Daniel Garcia. Perry is the brooding tough champion and Garcia is kind of sick of it while wanting a title of his own. Match on.

TNT Title: Daniel Garcia vs. Jack Perry

Garcia is challenging and gets a special entrance with a message from his mother telling him to finish what he started. They fight over a lockup into the corner to start and it’s an early standoff. Perry chases him out to the floor before they trade places, with Garcia wanting Perry to get back in. Back in and Perry bails to the floor again and they switch places again, only fr Garcia to send him into the barricade.

Garcia hammers away but gets dropped on his head on the floor, followed by a hanging DDT to make it worse. Back in and a top rope dropkick to the back of the head gives Perry two. The chinlock with a knee in the back goes on but Garcia suplexes his way to freedom. They slug it out until Perry pulls him into the Snare Trap, sending Garcia over to the ropes.

Perry drops him onto the apron and goes over to shove guest commentator Matt Menard. A powerbomb puts Garcia through the timekeeper’s table but he dives back in to beat the count at nine. Garcia fires himself up and hits a clothesline, followed by a butterfly suplex into the corner.

Back up and Perry lawn darts him into the middle buckle and grabs the belt…which he throws at Garcia for a free shot. The referee takes it away so Perry can get in a low blow, setting up the running knee for two. Another running knee is countered into a piledriver to give Garcia two, leaving Perry to pose again. Garcia piledrives him again and grabs the Dragon Slayer for the tap and the title at 18:26.

Rating: B-. As annoying as Perry’s stupid posing has become, the end result was quite the relief as Perry finally loses the title. I’m not sure if Garcia is going to be the next big thing, but he needed to win something sooner than later. Throw in the fact that he took the title from Perry and it’s addition by subtraction if nothing else.

We recap Konosuke Takeshita vs. Ricochet for the International Title. Takeshita cost Ricochet his previous title shots and then won the title himself, so now Ricochet wants another chance.

International Title: Ricochet vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Takeshita is defending and Don Callis is on commentary. Feeling out process to start until Ricochet grabs some armdrags. The armbar doesn’t slow Takeshita down that much so Ricochet goes with a more successful dropkick. Back up and Ricochet misses a charge to fall out to the floor, where Takeshita sends him into the barricade. They get back inside where Takeshita starts in on the back with some hard knees and a spinning side slam for two.

Some forearms to the back keep Ricochet in trouble, to the point where he can’t get in a springboard. Takeshita drops him again for a double arm crank but this time Ricochet fights up for a rolling dropkick. A springboard clothesline drops Takeshita and a jumping enziguri sends him outside for the running corkscrew dive. That’s enough for Callis to get off commentary as Ricochet’s handspring is countered into the Blue Thunder Bomb for two more.

Takeshita hits a forearm but his German suplex is countered into a rollup, followed by a hard clothesline to leave both of them down. Ricochet gets caught up top with a release German superplex (geez) and another clothesline gives Takeshita two of his own. That lets Takeshita go up but he takes too long, allowing Ricochet to snap off a super hurricanrana.

The shooting star press gets two but the Spirit Gun misses Takeshita. Raging Fire and Vertigo are both countered and Takeshita misses the running knee. Ricochet kicks him in the head but takes to long going up, allowing Takeshita to crotch him down. The super Raging Fire retains the title at 19:17.

Rating: B. This is what Ricochet does, as he got in a bunch of offense, only to come up short in the end. The good thing is that the match worked well, with Takeshita working on the back to slow down the high flying. Ricochet fought back as much as he could but ultimately the back slowed him down enough for Takeshita to catch him. Good match, though, it was hard to imagine Ricochet winning.

We recap Swerve Strickland vs. Bobby Lashley. Strickland isn’t interested in joining the Hurt Syndicate so Lashley and company attacked him. Strickland fought back and the match was made.

Bobby Lashley vs. Swerve Strickland

MVP, Shelton Benjamin and Prince Nana are here too. Lashley starts fast by slamming him down and choking away in the corner. The spinning Dominator gets two, with Lashley pulling him up, which isn’t sitting well with commentary. A rather delayed suplex plans Strickland again and Lashley sens him into the post to cut off a comeback bid.

We hit the chinlock, which as usual fires Strickland right back up. Lashley charges into a boot in the corner but a Benjamin distraction lets him run Strickland over again. Strickland fights back again but Benjamin grabs his foot. This time Benjamin gets tossed, only for Lashley to plant Strickland onto the apron.

Lashley gets sent into the steps a few times, followed by a DDT to send him into the apron. A quick Swerve Stomp sends Lashley through the announcers’ table, followed by a regular one for two back inside. Strickland stops to glare at MVP though and gets suplexed by Lashley as a result. The spear through the barricade drops Strickland again, followed by another spear and the Hurt Lock for the win at Strickland is out.

Rating: B-. They beat each other up here but this was more about Lashley being too much for Strickland. That made for a nice story with Lashley looking like the new monster, but it’s another loss for Strickland, who has had a lot of those in big matches lately. In other words, another dominant heel, which is the running theme throughout this promotion.

Post match the Hurt Syndicate beats Strickland and Nana down again.

We recap Jon Moxley defending the AEW World Title against Orange Cassidy. Moxley is the new big evil and trying to remake the company so Cassidy is here to, reluctantly, stand up and come after the title/power.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Orange Cassidy

Moxley, with Marina Shafir, is defending while Cassidy is intentionally on his own. Cassidy starts fast with some Orange Punches to knock Moxley outside for the dive. Cassidy hammers away on the announcers’ table until Moxley gets in a crotching onto the barricade. They fight into the crowd and then back to ringside with the beating continuing. With Cassidy busted open, Moxley sends him right back to the floor, where Shafir gets in a cheap shot.

Back in and Moxley bites at the cut, setting up a Gotch style piledriver for two. They go outside for the third time with Moxley ramming him into the announcers’ table. Back in again and Cassidy tells him to hammer away, setting up the Kimura. Cassidy makes the ropes but gets knocked into the barricade for his efforts. Moxley puts him on top and rakes the back before knocking him out of the air for two.

Cassidy finally knocks him of the top and hits a diving DDT for a much needed hope spot. That’s too much offense though as Moxley takes him down with a cutter. They forearm it out with Cassidy telling him to bring it, earning himself a clothesline. Back up and an Orange Punch gets two so here are the Death Riders. JR: “Throw their a** out. But they haven’t done anything. Well you know they’re going to.”

Cue the Conglomeration to get rid of the Riders, with Willow Nightingale running in to take out Marina Shafir. Cassidy briefcases Moxley in the head for two but in the melee, Wheeler Yuta runs in and knees Cassidy down. The Death Rider (from the Death Rider) retains the title at 19:22.

Rating: C+. And so, after weeks of Cassidy not looking like a threat and Moxley barely ever looking worried, Moxley mostly crushed Cassidy here, with Cassidy’s few hope spots being cut off in short order. The one big spot that Cassidy had was hitting Moxley in the face with a briefcase and Moxley kicked out of that on his own. As usual, Moxley is presented as the biggest, toughest monster in the company and it’s hard to fathom anyone actually being able to beat him.

Post match the beatdown is on and Yuta pours mouthwash on Cassidy’s face. Cue Hangman Page to stare at Moxley but Christian Cage runs in to lay Moxley out. With Page gone, Cage tries to cash in but Jay White comes in to take him out. The Death Riders jump White and leave, with White following them. As the villains get to their truck, a car smashes into it before they can get in. They steal a car and leave, with Darby Allin popping out of the car that hit the truck to end the show. Forgive me for not being overly interested in someone who lost to Moxley at Grand Slam and to Castagnoli this week on Dynamite.

Overall Rating: B-. This promotion needs to lighten up and let the fans have something to believe in for a good while. Of the nine matches on the main card, the villains won six of them (again) including the last three, with Daniel Garcia, Jay White and Private Party being the heroes of the company. Throw in Allin, who has regularly been crushed by the Death Riders, and there isn’t much to be hopeful for around here. Will Ospreay could be the hero, but he is still with the Don Callis Family stuff for whatever reason.

That doesn’t leave much on the good sign, as it feels like we’re just waiting on the Elite to save us. Everything feels so serious and now we wait on what feels like Allin losing, likely at Worlds End, to get us to the new year for more Death Riders. That’s not exactly encouraging as the dark times continue around here. Just find something to give us some hope, as the Death Riders stuff is really bringing things down.

And finally, as usual, DANG this show was exhausting. Counting Zero Hour, it ran about 5.5 hours with no matches on the main card being shorter than 13 minutes. That didn’t so much make me enjoy the show but rather make me want to take a long nap. It’s a long night of the villains going over time after time and I didn’t want to see any more from AEW for a good while. They might want to work on that whole having fun thing again, as it was a nice feeling to have at the time.

Results
Anna Jay b. Deonna Purrazzo – Rollup
Buddy Matthews b. The Beast Mortos, Dante Martin and Komander – Stomp to Martin
Big Boom AJ b. QT Marshall – Powerbomb
Private Party b. Kings Of The Black Throne, The Acclaimed and The Outrunners – Gin & Juice to Caster
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Roderick Strong – Salt Of The Earth
Mercedes Mone b. Kris Statlander – Throat into the middle rope
Jay White b. Hangman Page – Blade Runner
Kyle Fletcher b. Will Ospreay – Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
Daniel Garcia b. Jack Perry – Dragon Slayer
Konosuke Takeshita b. Ricochet – Super Raging Fire
Bobby Lashley b. Swerve Strickland – Hurt Lock

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We’re back to one of the main four pay per views but things are only going so well for AEW right now. The promotion is focused on the Death Riders and various people trying to rise up against them, with Orange Cassidy getting the shot against Jon Moxley this week. Other than that, there are some grudge and title matches filling out the card, though it’s only looking so interesting. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Big Boom AJ vs. QT Marshall

This is the Costco Guys match as AEW gets what I guess passes for a celebrity these days. I have a grand total of no idea who these people are and from their limited appearances, I have no reason to believe I’m going to be interested, but I’m also the definition of not the audience for something like this. That being said, this is also a great example of something that should be harmless.

Of course AJ wins here as there is no reason for him not to. Marshall is little more than a comedy goof and he’ll get beaten up by the kids here so AJ can win. I’m sure AEW will hype up the appearances from the social media celebrities and it’ll have a limited impact, but that is the kind of thing that has been done in wrestling for years. The match will be little more than a detail and that’s all it needs to be.

Zero Hour: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Anna Jay

This was added at the last minute, which is pretty normal around AEW, though in this case the two of them have had some issues lately. Jay turned down Purrazzo and the Vendetta’s offer to help her against Mariah May and now Purrazzo is ready to get some revenge. She’s also the home area star so there should be quite the crowd reaction, which is a bit of an odd choice for a villain.

I’ll go with Purrazzo to win here, as she is not only the hometown star but she also has Taya Valkyrie to help her out. The Vendetta hasn’t really done anything so giving the team a win here should make sense. While it would make sense for Jay to win here, as she’s lost lately and given her up and down win/loss record throughout her entire time in AEW, it should be Purrazzo going over.

Zero Hour: Beast Mortos vs. Komander vs. Dante Martin vs. Buddy Matthews

Ah there it is, as we have the match with no particular need to be on the show added at the last minute. It feels like little more than a Rampage main event and something similar probably has been more than once. If nothing else, it has been at least a week since we’ve seen Komander and that is just far too infrequently for someone who seemingly has to be around so often.

I’ll take Matthews to win here, as he’s the only one of the four who hasn’t been beaten into the ground. Mortos needs a win to boost himself back up a bit but that isn’t something you often see around here. Komander and Martin are pretty firmly stuck in their spots and not going anywhere, so there is pretty much no reason to believe that either of them has a chance. Matthews should win here, though he should have won multiple times before and rarely does so it’s fairly up in the air.

Jay White vs. Hangman Page

This is a match that should be one sided on paper, but the more I think about it, the less sure I am. White has come back and hit the ground running, doing some of his best singles work since coming to AEW. That being said, Page feels like he is taking quite the downgrade in this feud, as he went from headlining a pay per view to trading wins with White. It’s not terrible, but it feels like Page should be doing something better.

I’ll go with Page winning here to end the feud, as he could easily be moved into the main event scene again. While there is a chance that White wins here and Page teams up with Swerve Strickland to fight off the Bang Bang Gang, Page needs the win here more. If nothing else he needs to it move him on to something bigger, and in theory that is what happens here.

Will Ospreay vs. Kyle Fletcher

For the life of me I do not get why Ospreay is still stuck with the Don Callis Family feud, yet here we are in what should be the blowoff to the whole thing. AEW has tried as hard as they can to make Fletcher into a bigger thing and while it has certainly not been a failure, Ospreay still feels like a far bigger star and should win here to allow him to move on to anything else.

For the sake of my sanity, I’ll go with Ospreay winning here, even if the Family interfering to extend the feud would not surprise me in the slightest. Ospreay is someone who should be coming after Jon Moxley and the World Title, but first he has to get through this. It feels like that has been the case for most of his AEW run and it would be nice to see him get out of that cycle for once.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Kris Statlander

This story has been more about Mone treating Kamille like a loser and in theory that could lead to the two splitting in the near future. That could set up Kamille taking the title away from Mone down the line, which would mean that Mone needs to retain it here. That’s not the most thrilling story and certainly isn’t doing Kamille any favors at the moment, but it should make things easier to predict here.

For now, I can’t imagine Mone losing the title as it seems like AEW wants her to have some kind of an epic reign. At some point she is going to lose the title and it might be to Kamille down the line, but for now she is going to beat Statlander to retain. Statlander needs a win of some kind, but for now it looks like she is going to lose as Mone continues to not be anywhere near as special as AEW seems to see her.

TNT Title: Jack Perry(c) vs. Daniel Garcia

For the first time in a good while, I actually have some hope about Perry losing the title. Garcia is another name AEW seems interested in pushing as a big deal and at some point that means he is going to have to win something. I’m not sure if it is going to be the TNT Title, but it would not shock me to see AEW go in that direction. If nothing else, a break from Perry as champion could be quite the benefit.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s where AEW is going to go as I’ll take Perry to retain the title. AEW seems to think he’s some kind of great character and a huge deal, so for some reason that is what we are going to see or the time being. The match should be good and Garcia should win, but ultimately this feels like another case of Perry being the unstoppable force who leaves with the title. Again.

International Title: Konosuke Takeshita(c) vs. Ricochet

And now we have the video game match of the show which has all of the potential to be incredibly fun. These two could absolutely tear the house down and I could go for seeing what they have the chance to do. Takeshita finally won a title and is now getting the chance to show what he can do on top. Ricochet is someone who can have a heck of a match with anyone and there is a chance to do something great here.

I’ll go with Takeshita to retain here, as there is almost no reason to have him lose the title so soon. Ricochet probably shouldn’t be losing another high profile match so quickly into his time in AEW, but losing to Takeshita is hardly a bad thing. At the end o the day, Takeshita is someone that AEW should be getting behind and it would be nice to see him getting a win on the big stage here, especially over a talent like Ricochet.

Tag Team Titles: Private Party(c) vs. House Of Black vs. Outrunners vs. Acclaimed

This has the potential to be the big wild party match with everyone going nuts and getting in all of their usual stuff. That should make for a rather fun showcase, even though the match is rather light on villains. The question here is what the twist might be, as there is little reason to believe that things are going to go off without a hitch. Well and who leaves with the titles of course.

Despite Private Party not exactly feeling like a great team before they won the tiles, I’ll take them to retain here, likely with FTR turning on the Outrunners to cost them the titles. It should make for a good match either way, and the kind of entertaining match that the show needs. I could see the House winning the titles, but this feels like Private Party getting a pay per view win rather than the usual on television.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Roderick Strong

I have no idea why this match is taking place. The Adam Cole vs. MJF feud is long since dead but for some reason we are now going to see MJF vs. Cole’s most of the time friend. Strong’s backstory involving his parents was dropped into this feud at the last minute and it didn’t exactly feel right. I’m not sure how well the match is going to go, but the story definitely needs a boost.

There is no reason for MJF to lose here as he still has the showdown with Cole coming, so I’ll go with MJF getting the win. At the end of the day, MJF has been gone for a long time now and he is going to need a win to boost him up before the likely match at World’s End, as AEW would love to do that whole “it’s been a year since the stunning betrayal” deal. That doesn’t make for a good story, but it’s likely the story we’re getting.

Swerve Strickland vs. Bobby Lashley

I saved one of the best for near the end as this has been the match that interests me the most. Lashley is the new monster but Strickland has been stepping his game up to fight him. This included a heck of a segment this week on Dynamite with Strickland taking Lashley and the rest of the Hurt Syndicate out to stand tall. That made him look like a star, but that might be it.

I just can’t imagine Lashley losing his first big match so we’ll go with the logical choice of him taking Strickland out here. There is a good chance that the feud continues with Strickland getting some help, possibly in the form of Hangman Page, to make things that much more nutty. For now though, Lashley needs to win, with Strickland giving it his all in defeat.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Orange Cassidy

And then there’s this, which just does not feel special. The Death Riders have been dominating the promotion for the last few months and it does not feel like we are anywhere close to that story being over. Cassidy is the first challenger to the title and while he is someone who could be a threat to Moxley, there is a heck of a gap between that and actually winning the title.

There is almost no chance that Cassidy wins here, as Moxley gets to claim another victim and move on to something else, possibly Darby Allin, down the line. The Death Riders are going to be the big focus of the company for a good while to come, and that includes them winning here. Hopefully something big happens in the match, as otherwise it just isn’t feeling that important.

Overall Thoughts

This show isn’t terrible, but it also isn’t jumping off the page. There are a few matches that I want to see, but I’m having a hard time getting interested in where things go after. That has been the case with AEW for a good while and unfortunately I’m not sure I can see it changing. A lot of this show feels like it is designed to set up things for later, and that doesn’t make for the most interesting show from here. Odds are it will be good as most AEW pay per views are, but the whole promotion needs something fresh and soon.

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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Rampage
Date: November 15, 2024
Location: Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re just over a week away from Full Gear and probably about a month and a half away from the end of this show. The last two weeks have been about Lio Rush vs. Komander but odds are that’s over and done with for now. Ricochet is in action this week so we should at least get some impressive high flying. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Hikaru Shida vs. Leila Grey

Shida runs her over with a shoulder to start but Grey knees her in the ribs, That earns Grey a swinging waistlock and a knee lift cuts her down again. Back up and Grey hits a basement dropkick for two and a running knee/bulldog out of the corner gets two. Shida wins a strike off and gets two off a middle rope dropkick. The Katana takes too long but it’s a Falcon Arrow to finish Grey at 4:47.

Rating: C. This is what AEW needs to do more often, as the bigger star dispatched someone who has a bit of a name, but it didn’t take that long. For some reason AEW has some weird obsession with making this kind of a match last longer than it needs to so hopefully this is a change of pace. Shida doesn’t have much going on but a win here and there could help.

Harley Cameron says Mina Shirakawa has nothing Cameron doesn’t has. Cameron then whips out a guitar, sits down, and sings a bit but gets cut off. Threats of feeling her wrath are cut off as well.

Mark Briscoe vs. Ariya Daivari

The fact that I didn’t know who Briscoe was facing but figured it would be a Premiere Athlete isn’t a good sign. Briscoe grabs a headlock to start and strikes Daivari down without much effort. A suplex and some chops have Daivari in more trouble but he knocks Briscoe outside for a needed breather. Briscoe sends him into the barricade a few times but Mark Sterling cuts off the step up flip dive.

Daivari gets in a knockdown and we take a break, coming back with Briscoe fighting out of a chinlock. A sleeper doesn’t work much better so Daivari grabs a DDT for two. Briscoe fights up again and hits a fisherman’s buster, setting up the Death Valley Driver. Daivari breaks up the Froggy Bow and Sterling offers a distraction, only for Rocky Romero to cut Sterling off. Now the flip dive drops the villains and the Froggy Bow gives Briscoe the pin at 11:02.

Rating: C+. And this is a good example of the kind of match I mentioned earlier. Briscoe and Daivari are nowhere near the same level but it took Briscoe eleven minutes and a small assist to beat him. That felt like they were out there to do nothing but fill in time and that’s not good to see. The action was fine, but you know what you’re getting with the Premiere Athletes and that was on full display here, with pretty much nothing out of the ordinary.

Rocky Romero vs. Komander

MVP is watching in the back. Romero takes him down to start but Komander flips away. They grab hands and flip around a bit more until Komander grabs a springboard armdrag. Komander sends him outside for a dive but Romero is back with a faceplant for two. A backbreaker and superplex have Komander in trouble and we take a break. Back with Komander hitting a springboard moonsault, only to have his moonsault hit raised boots. Komander is fine enough to powerslam him into the corner and Cielito Lindo finishes at 9:46.

Rating: C+. The Komander Era of Rampage continues, but having him beat Romero isn’t exactly going to change much. At the same time, we got the required fairly long Komander match with his usual assortment of flips and dives. It’s impressive enough, but when he’s on the show so often, the impact is fairly limited.

Anna Jay is ready to take the risk to get the Women’s Title. Taya Valkyrie comes in to offer the Vendetta’s help but Jay says mind your own business.

La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Alec Price/Richard Holliday

That’s quite the jobbing team. Price flips away from Mortos to start but a dropkick doesn’t work. Mortos runs him over and it’s off to Holiday to hit Rush in the face. That doesn’t work well for Rush, who takes Holiday outside for some rams into the barricade. The Bull’s Horns finishes Holliday at 2:59. You get someone as good as Holliday and you feed him to Rush in about three minutes?

MVP sees a lot of untapped potential in AEW but he sees arrogance in Swerve Strickland. How can Strickland call himself the most dangerous man in AEW when Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley are around? Komander impressed him, but tomorrow on Collision, Benjamin will get to know Komander up close.

Video on Mariah May vs. Anna Jay. This match might have some more heat if May hadn’t beaten her last time.

Ricochet vs. Dante Martin

They trade flipping escapes to start until Ricochet reverses a sunset flip into a rollup for two. Ricochet misses a charge into the corner and Martin nails a jumping knee. Ricochet’s springboard clothesline gets two and we take a break. Back with Ricochet charging into a boot in the corner and Martin hits a dive to the floor.

A springboard splash gives Martin two but the half nelson slam is broken up. Ricochet rolls the suplexes for two as MVP is watching in the back again. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Ricochet two more but Vertigo is blocked. Instead the Spirit Gun (I think) finishes Martin off at 10:13.

Rating: B-. Another high flying match here with two guys doing well in their standard style. Ricochet picks up another win on his way to the International Title shot against Konosuke Takeshita. Martin’s time as a singles star has come and gone for the time being and that’s a shame as he was stating to get something together before being put back into the team/trio with his brother and Action Andretti. They have talent, so do something with it.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Oh this was Rampage for sure. A bunch of people feeling like they were sent out there to fill in time and if anything good came of it, great. Otherwise, it’s a show where very little happens and the bigger matches for Collision and Dynamite are advertised a bit. As always, not a bad show, but totally skippable if you’re running short on time.

Results
Hikaru Shida b. Leila Grey – Falcon Arrow
Mark Briscoe b. Ariya Daivari – Froggy Bow
Komander b. Rocky Romero – Cielito Lindo
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Alec Price/Richard Holliday – Bull’s Horns to Holliday
Ricochet b. Dante Martin – Spirit Gun

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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Forbidden Door 2024
Date: June 30, 2024
Location: UBS Arena, Elmont, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, Taz

It’s back to the pay per view schedule with one of the biggest shows AEW presents every year. This is built around the international guest stars, including several stars from New Japan and CMLL. The main event will see Swerve Strickland defending the World Title against Will Ospreay in a pretty big showdown. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kyle Fletcher vs. Serpentico

Bonus match (on a card that already has 14 matches). Fletcher runs him over to start and poses a bit before going after the mask. The comeback is cut off with another kick to the face, followed by a running kick to the back. The piledriver plants Serpentico but Fletcher would rather put him on the ropes. An El Generico brainbuster in the corner finishes for Fletcher at 3:12.

Rating: C-. Total squash as I guess Fletcher gets some heat back after losing the ROH TV Title in Mexico on Friday. The match was nothing to see as Serpentico gets wrecked again, but it also didn’t make me any more interested in Fletcher. He does well enough in the ring, but there is little about him that stands out in any significant way.

Zero Hour: Private Party vs. House Of Black vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabe Kidd/Roderick Strong

O’Reilly and Black go to the mat to start before trading shots to the ribs. Ishii comes back in to a nice reaction and gets to chop it out with King. Kidd tags himself in and Strong adds a running shot to the face. Quen tags himself in as the rapid fire tags continue, only to be sent outside. Kidd comes back in to chop away (and bark) at O’Reilly, who gets caught in the corner for an exchange of chops from Kidd and Strong.

The team argues over who gets to chop him so it’s off to Ishii for a double clothesline. The House kicks Ishii down before everything breaks down. Quen hits a Trouble In Paradise on Black, who is back with a jumping knee to the face. Kidd brainbusters Ishii but gets chopped by King. Private Party hit stereo running flip dives before Kassidy rolls King up, with tights, for two, only to get Ganso Bombed for the pin at 8:35.

Rating: B-. This was the wild match that you would have been expecting and that’s not a bad thing. There is something to be said about getting a bunch of people in the ring and letting them fly all over the place to go nuts, which is what we got here. Good choice to fire the fans up, as this kind of thing almost always tends to be. The House winning is the right choice too as they’re the bigger of the two regular AEW teams.

Zero Hour: Willow Nightingale/Tam Nakano vs. Momo Watanabe/Kris Statlander

Stokely Hathaway is here with Watanabe and Statlander. Nakano takes Statlander down to start and hits a quick dropkick before it’s off to Nightingale. That means Statlander runs off to Watanabe, who is quickly dropkicked down for two. Watanabe and Nakano slug it out until Nakano hits a heck of a superkick. A Hathaway distraction slows things down though and Statlander gets in a belly to back suplex.

Statlander’s delayed vertical suplex gets two and Watanabe hits a hard shot to the back of the head. Nakano finally manages a quick shot and brings Nightingale back in to beat up Statlander. That lasts for all of ten seconds before the threat of the Pounce means it’s back to Watanabe. A hard spinebuster gives Nightingale two but Statlander offers a distraction, allowing Watanabe to get in a kick to the head.

Nightingale is back up with a dropkick, only for Nakano to miss a high crossbody. Nakano’s German suplex gets two on Statlander and a tiger suplex plants her again. That leaves Nightingale to hit a super Death Valley Driver for two on Watanabe, followed by a heck of a Pounce. Nakano comes back in and grabs a bridging German suplex to pin Watanabe at 10:23.

Rating: B-. Another good one here, though a middle rope Death Valley Driver not being the finish is a bit ridiculous, especially when the finish came a minute later. Either way, this was more about teasing Statlander vs. Nightingale, which does feel like a personal feud and a big rivalry. Throw in the fans loving Nightingale and things are even bigger.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mariah May vs. Saraya

Toni Storm and Harley Cameron are here too. May sends her into the corner to start and hits some running uppercuts, setting up a rather spinning side slam for two. A Stratusphere plants Saraya again and a missile dropkick gets two more. The hip attack takes too long though and they fight up to the top. May gets sent crashing out to the floor, leaving Saraya to do some jumping jacks until she gets back in.

A double knockdown gives them a breather and they slug it out from their knees. May sends her into the corner for the running hip attack but Storm has to cut off Cameron. Saraya’s superkick into the Rampaige gets two but the Scorpion Crosslock is broken up. Instead Saraya rams her face first into the mat over and over but a suplex is countered into a bridging rollup to give May the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C+. That was the only way this should have gone as May winning the whole tournament to set up a title match against Storm at All In is not the worst idea. At the same time, May gets a nice boost here and beats another former champion in Saraya. Good enough match here, though I’m not sure why it needed to be on this show.

Zero Hour: Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Mistico/Lucha Bros

Fenix and Titan start things off with Fenix knocking him down and springboarding around, setting up a double flip into a standoff. The fans greatly approve as it’s off to Penta vs. Tsuji, with the latter blocking Cero Miedo. Penta isn’t having that and sends him into the corner for the running dropkick, only to be stomped face first onto the mat. Back up and they chop it out before trading shots to the face.

The Fear Factor is broken up so Penta kicks him to the floor instead. It’s off to Mistico to face Takahashi and the fans greatly approve again. An early mask tear attempt is blocked so Mistico sends him outside instead. Tsuji and Titan come in to stomp away but Mistico breaks that up and hits a dive onto Takahashi. Back in and the Bros strike away, setting up Mistico’s Swanton for two on Takahashi. Titan and Tsuji send the Bros outside for dives, followed by a running sunset bomb from Takahashi to send Mistico onto the floor.

Back in and Mistico fights off all three of them at once, allowing the tag back to Penta. Everything breaks down and Fenix’s assisted splash off of Penta’s shoulders gets two on Titan. We hit the parade of big knockdowns until Titan tornado DDT’s Fenix into a superkick for the six way knockdown. Mistico hits the big dive to the floor and the spike Fear Factor hits Takahashi, who rolls out to the floor. Back in and La Mistica finishes Titan at 12:05.

Rating: B. I’m not sure why this wasn’t on the main show, or maybe just make this the only Kickoff Show match. It had the action, but having Mistico, a CMLL star, and the Lucha Bros, best known as AAA guys, on the same show is a big deal that you do not see very often. Almost like it would be….forbidden.

The opening video looks at the major matches and how big this night really is.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hechicero

MJF is of course the big hometown boy and gets a hero’s welcome, even doing a bit of crowd surfing. Hechicero takes him to the mat to start for a quickly broken cross armbreaker. Back up and MJF shakes his hand, which allows for a kick to the ribs and a “yeah of course I did” shrug.

MJF flips (yes flips) away into a double eye poke ala Roddy Piper. They head outside with MJF setting him in a chair and hitting a running boot to the face. Back in and Hechicero snaps the arm across the top rope to take over and we hit the armbar. MJF fights up but the Heatseeker is blocked, allowing Hechicero to plant him down for two. A running knee in the corner connects for Hechicero and the fans are NOT happy.

MJF manages a quick clothesline before spinning around into a piledriver for a needed breather. Hechicero is right back up with a springboard spinning dropkick before grabbing the cross armbreaker. That’s broken up as well so MJF tries the Salt Of The Earth, which is reversed into a double arm crank with Hechicero’s legs. The ropes are reached for the break so MJF hammers away in the corner and even bites the mask. A Canadian Destroyer into the brainbuster gives MJF the pin at 9:48.

Rating: B-. The match could have been worse, but it still feels like quite the waste of MJF in a spot where he could have been doing something more important. At the same time, it made Hechicero look great all over again, as he has more than enough talent to be a star anywhere. That kind of thing will always work, though I’m not sure if it was the best idea in this spot.

We get a rather praise-heavy Young Bucks video (with Kenny Omega’s face blurred in a nice touch) which mocks the Acclaimed and Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Elite vs. Acclaimed/Hiroshi Tanahashi

Caster’s rap mocks President Biden at the debate and Okada’s use of the word b****. Okada and Caster start things off but Okada decks Tanahashi off the apron, meaning it’s time for a historic standoff. Instead of doing anything though, it’s off to Matt, who gets taken down with a middle rope crossbody into some air guitar. Bowens comes in to take Matt into the corner, where some running elbows put him in even more trouble. Nick is brought in and it’s a double Scissor Me Timbers for a nasty crash.

Back up and Okada gets in a cheap shot to take over on Caster, with Matt putting on the headphones so Okada can dance. Caster gets caught in a camel clutch so Nick can run the ropes and then kiss his brother on the cheek. The slow beating continues in the corner as we get a few CM PUNK chants. That turns into a HE GOT FIRED chant as Caster knocks Matt off the top and hits a high crossbody.

Okada comes in and gets dropped as well, allowing the tag off to Bowens for the house cleaning. Okada gets dropped with a right hand and a spinning torture rack slam gets two on Matt. Bowens is taken down as well though and it’s a double tag to bring in Okada and Tanahashi. The dragon screw legwhip sets up the Texas Cloverleaf on Okada but the Bucks make the save.

Everything breaks down and the Rainmaker is countered into the Arrival into the Mic Drop. The High Fly Flow is broken up though and the rather delayed version hits raised knees. A superkick puts Tanahashi down again and the Bucks hit stereo slingshot dives to take the Acclaimed down on the floor. Okada hits his top rope elbow but the Rainmaker is countered into a small package for two. Back up and the Rainmaker finishes Tanahashi at 13:02.

Rating: C+. Tanahashi was trying here but those knees are just not holding him up any longer. Other than that, it was about what you would expect with the Bucks and the Acclaimed, which was only going to go so far. We still have the title match to come between the teams and that probably should have been here, but instead we get this feud extended even further.

We recap Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi

McGuinness is already on Danielson, as you knew he would be. Danielson goes after the arm to start before tying up Takagi’s leg. That’s broken up in the ropes so Danielson takes him down again and grabs a surfboard. As usual, that doesn’t last long and it’s Takagi dropping him down hard. A backsplash gives Takagi two as McGuinness compares Danielson to Mozart and Napoleon, both of whom were FAR more successful.

Danielson gets knocked out of the corner but manages to send Takagi outside. The suicide dive doesn’t quite work though and Takagi catches him with a hanging fisherman’s neckbreaker,. Danielson lands on his head, because Danielson, and we pause for the medics to check on him. Thankfully he gets back up and beats the count back in, where Takagi drops a knee to the back of the head. Danielson fights up and they trade shots to the face until Takagi hits a clothesline.

Another kick to the head gives Danielson a breather and he goes up top. Takagi is right there with him, so Danielson grabs a belly to back superplex for the big double knockdown. Danielson’s triangle choke is muscled up into a powerslam and they’re both down again. Back up and Takagi superplexes him into a heck of a sliding lariat for two.

Made In Japan is broken up but Danielson misses a charge into the corner. Now Made In Japan can connect for two more, with McGuinness being left speechless. Danielson can barely get up so Takagi hits a running shot to the side of the head. Another sliding lariat is loaded up but Danielson reverses into a Fujiwara armbar.

That’s switched into the LeBell Lock but Takagi slips out. A reverse fisherman’s suplex puts Takagi down and the running knee gives Danielson two. Danielson stomps away at the head and grabs a triangle choke but Takagi powers up. That doesn’t work though as Danielson pulls him into a Disarm-Her for the referee stoppage at 19:58.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and it’s another awesome Danielson match. At some point he needs to win a few of these things and this was a goo example of how to make it work. Rather awesome match here and Danielson gets to move on towards what could be a rather deep run in the whole thing.

We recap Toni Storm defending the Women’s Title against Mina Shirakawa. The bigger story though is the battle over Mariah May, as both of them want her too.

Women’s Title: Mina Shirakawa vs. Toni Storm

Storm is defending and Mariah May is in a neutral corner. As you might expect, Storm is dressed as the Statue Of Liberty. May refuses to pick before the match so they circle each other instead. Shirakawa stops to dance and gets a hip attack to the face for her efforts. That just earns her more dancing before Shirakawa drops Storm knees first onto the mat. The Figure Four around the post goes on and McGuinness thinks May needs a hug. Back in and a dropkick to the leg keeps Storm in trouble but she’s back with a fisherman’s suplex for two.

There’s the running hip attack to put Shirakawa on the floor but another one only hits the steps. Shirakawa uses the breather to hit a big dive, only to have Storm catch her with a super chokebomb back inside. Storm misses a charge though and Shirakawa grabs the Figure Four to stay on the bad leg. They sit up and slap it out until Storm manages to escape.

Back up and they slug it out with Shirakawa getting the better of things and going up top. Storm is right there for another forearm off until Shirakawa hits a super DDT for two more. Shirakawa’s Glamorous Driver is broken up and Storm snaps off a release German suplex. Another hip attack gives Storm another two but Shirakawa is right back with the Glamorous Driver for her own near fall. Storm gets in a quick rollup for two, followed by Storm Zero to retain at 11:38.

Rating: B. Storm continues to feel it in these big pay per view matches, but May was more or less just window dressing. That’s normally a good thing, but she’s the entire point of the story in the first place. The match was good, though it was hard to believe that Shirakawa was going to be the one to end Storm’s reign.

Post match Storm and May look at each other and Shirakawa wants a handshake. Respect is shown and we get the big hug and we get the three way kiss. So May’s choice of a side was to not pick a side. Got it.

We recap Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy.  Sabre isn’t over Cassidy pinning him last year and Cassidy is having a rough time but is ready to fight again.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

They go technical to start with Cassidy not being able to get very far with some arm cranking. Instead Cassidy bails out to the floor for a breather before rolling back inside, with Sabre holding the ropes open. Back in and they fight over a cross arm choke until Cassidy ties him up on the mat.

That’s broken up as well so they trade rollups for two each. Sabre ties him up in a headscissors but Cassidy makes it over to the ropes rather quickly. Sabre does his own slow kicks but Cassidy takes out the knee to put him down for a change. Cassidy twists on the leg outside and again inside, setting up a top rope DDT for a rather near fall.

Sabre is right back with a kick to the arm and some finger snapping to put Cassidy down. The double arm crank goes on but Cassidy escapes and goes back to the leg. The Texas Cloverleaf is broken up so Cassidy hits the Beach Break for two instead. Back up and the Orange Punch is blocked so Sabre pulls him back into the European Clutch for two. Cassidy tries the Mouse Trap but Sabre reverses into a….well he tied up all four of Cassidy’s limbs at the same time with Cassidy having to give up at 16:20.

Rating: B. I’m still not sure I get why Cassidy was so upset coming into this one but he was holding his own out there well enough, only to get tied up by Sabre. It was a good back and forth match, with Sabre being able to do things in there that no one else can make work. Cassidy needs something new though, and I’m not sure what that is going to be coming off this loss.

Post match Sabre actually gives him the sunglasses back.

We recap the Learning Tree vs. Samoa Joe and company. Joe and company are sick of Chris Jericho and want a fight, with Jericho bringing in Jeff Cobb to replace the injured Bryan Keith.

Learning Tree/Jeff Cobb vs. Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata

Jericho is sure the fans don’t really want him to retire as he starts with Shibata. Before that goes anywhere though, it’s already off to Bill to face Shibata instead (third time tonight we’ve seen the “heel tags out instead of fighting” sequence). Chopping ensues with neither being able to get the better of things so it’s off to Cobb vs. Joe for the hoss showdown.

Cobb takes over by powering Joe into the corner and Jericho comes in to rake the eyes. Cobb comes back in and Joe gets the better of things for a change, allowing the tag off to Hook. Jericho chokes him on the ropes to cut him off and Cobb adds a standing moonsault. Hook manages to fight back and brings Shibata back in, with the good guys taking over on Cobb in the corner.

Jericho comes back in to take over on Shibata as everything breaks down. Shibata gets posted and Hook goes up top for an ax handle to Bill. The referee gets distracted though and Jericho hits Shibata low, setting up the Walls. That’s broken up so Cobb comes back in for the Tour of the Islands, only to have Hook t-bone him. The Codebreaker gives Jericho two on Hook but Hook comes back up with his own Judas Effect for the pin at 13:38.

Rating: C+. Hook gets a nice rub off the ending but this was the least interesting match n the card and the match didn’t make things much better. While the ending would suggest something of a downgrade for Jericho and the Learning Tree, that doesn’t seem to be the most likely outcome. Perfectly fine match, but it could have been on any AEW TV show instead.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. Dante Martin vs. El Phantasmo vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Lio Rush vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Ladder match for the vacant title. Takeshita drops Perry to start and everyone else goes after ladders. With that not working, the fight heads outside instead with Briscoe grabbing various toys. Perry goes up a ladder but Rush makes the fast save. A ladder is thrown outside and almost hits Briscoe, leaving Rush to go up the ladder for a change. Phantasmo goes up but Martin makes the save and climbs as well.

That’s broken up but Martin dives onto Phantasm on the way down. Back up and Takeshita brainbusters Martin onto the side of the ladder, only for Briscoe to come in with the ladder around the neck. Briscoe grabs a chair and hits a step up flip dive onto a ladder onto Takeshita on the floor for the big crash. Perry goes up but Phantasmo walks across a bridged ladder to cut him off on top.

Martin gets taken down and bangs up his leg, leaving Perry to set up a table. Briscoe and Takeshita brawl on the floor until Rush dives onto the latter. That leaves Briscoe to go up a ladder for a splash but he lands on his feet, instead hitting a forearm on Perry on the table, which doesn’t break (similar to how Adam Copeland broke his leg).

Back in and Takeshita powerbombs Rush onto a ladder before pulling Phantasmo into a knee to the face. One heck of a Blue Thunder Bomb puts Phantasmo through the tables but Briscoe cuts off the climb attempt. Briscoe plants Takeshita onto the ladder and goes up, only to have Perry breaks up Briscoe’s climb. Perry beats on Briscoe with the chair and then wins the title at 16:48.

Rating: B-. That was a ladder match alright. Looked like it had about six people, some ladders, a chair and some tables too. There really isn’t much else to say about this, as it featured pretty much exactly what you would expect and had the most likely winner getting the title in the end. That’s pretty much exactly what was expected the second the match was announced and while it was ok enough, it was hardly thrilling.

We recap Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer, which is winner take all for the TBS Title and the New Japan Strong Women’s Title respectfully.

TBS Title/NJPW Strong Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Title for title. We get the referee’s instructions and Vaquer headbutts her to start. They trade rollups for two each until Vaquer grabs a wristlock and hits a very springboardy wristdrag. Mone gets in a quick breather and hits a Meteora for two. Vaquer is right back up with a shot of her own but Mone grabs Two Amigos, with Vaquer countering the third. Vaquer starts in on the leg and ties her legs around Mone’s head for some rams into the mat to wake the crowd up.

Mone fights up again and knocks her into the corner for the running knees and a springboard DDT gets two. The Mone Maker is countered into a DDT from Vaquer and she drops a leg for two more. Another shot from Mone leaves them both down so it’s a double nip up for the forearm exchange. Vaquer grabs a crossface but Mone reverses into a Bank Statement. That’s broken up as well, with the fans mostly cheering for Vaquer now.

Some knees to the ribs put Mone down but Vaquer can’t follow up. The fans give us a F*** THE CELTICS (as in Mone’s hometown team) chant as Mone goes up, only to dive into raised boots. Vaquer dragon screws her into the corner as the fans move on to the Red Sox. Mone’s crossface is countered, as is the Mone Maker, only to Mone pull her into the crossface for the tap at 16:47.

Rating: B-. This is where the Forbidden Door concept stops working for me. The action was fine enough, but it was really hard to get interested in a match between Mone, who has only wrestled here a handful of times, and Vaquer, who has had one short match in the promotion. It didn’t feel like a feud or a rivalry, but rather two people who don’t have a history around here having a match. It was good, but I had no attachment to either of them and it kept me from getting into this one.

Post match Mone celebrates….and Britt Baker returns to a hero’s welcome.

We recap Jon Moxley defending the IWGP World Title against Tetsuya Naito. Moxley took the title from him a few months ago and it’s time for the rematch.

Jim Ross is back for the last two matches.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title: Tetsuya Naito vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending. They slug it out to start with Moxley going after the knee to take Naito into the corner. Some corner clotheslines have Naito in more trouble and they head outside with Moxley dropping him onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Naito spits in his face so Moxley slaps him down for two. A piledriver gives Moxley two more and he puts Naito on top for a rake to the back.

Naito slips between the legs though and shoves Moxley down to the floor for the big crash. They go outside with Naito grabbing a piece of the barricade to beat on Moxley, sending JR into a hilarious frenzy about that not being tranquilo. Back in and Naito has to fight out of a Figure Four, turning it into a small package for two. Moxley’s Death Rider attempt is countered into a springboard tornado DDT for two more and they’re both down.

Moxley gets up and tries a sleeper, only to be reversed into Destino for…no cover, as Naito tries it again but gets reversed into a Death Rider. They slug it out again until Moxley hits a heck of a lariat into the Death Rider for two. With nothing else working, Moxley grabs a chair, which is quickly taken away by the referee. Destino and the Death Rider are both blocked, only for Destino to to give Naito the pin and the title back at 16:41.

Rating: B-. Much like the previous match, this was a feud that has been taking place elsewhere and the match was only taking place here because it had to. Naito getting the title match is a good thing, if nothing else to get it away from AEW, which doesn’t need another title floating around. The match was good and it feels like a big deal when Moxley loses in AEW, but it wasn’t overly interesting.

We recap the AEW World Title with Swerve Strickland defending against Will Ospreay. Strickland is the reigning champion but Ospreay is the hot new star so it might be time for a changing of the guard.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is challenging and his International Title isn’t on the line. They fight over a lockup to start before both of them flip out of hurricanrana attempts. Missed kicks to the head leave us with a standoff and the fans are WAY into this. Swerve kicks away but Ospreay chops him into the corner to cut that off. They head outside with Ospreay striking away, only to get caught with the middle rope elbow to the back of the head back inside. Swerve slows things down and chops away as Prince Nana is a bit worried.

They go outside again and Swerve loads up something on the barricade, only to be hurricanranaed back down. Back in and Swerve manages a short armscissors but Ospreay slips out. Swerve hammers away but Ospreay gets up and they forearm it out. The Hidden Blade and House Call both miss, with Ospreay grabbing a Styles Clash for two. The Oscutter is countered into the Swerve Stomp as we cut to Daniel Garcia watching in a sky box.

They go up top again with Strickland grabbing something like a super Angle Slam for the big crash and a near fall. Swerve takes it to the apron, where the Oscutter misses, sending Ospreay crashing onto the apron. The Swerve Stomp is loaded up but Ospreay rolls away before it can launch, leaving Swerve to hit the Stomp onto a standing Ospreay against (not through) the announcers’ table.

A piledriver onto the barricade (geez) rocks Ospreay again and the JML Driver gets two back inside. Another Swerve Stomp takes too long and Swerve gets crotched, setting up a springboard Oscutter for a very near fall. The Hidden Blade is blocked and the Oscutter is as well, leaving Swerve to go after the arm. That’s broken up and now the Oscutter connects, setting up the Storm Breaker for two. Ospreay scores with a headbutt but the Tiger Driver 91 is countered into a cradle to give Swerve two of his own.

The Hidden Blade connects for Swerve but he misses a Swerve Stomp. The referee gets hit by another Hidden Blade, followed by another to Swerve….and Don Callis is here. Nana won’t let Callis use a screwdriver so Ospreay goes after him, only to let him go. Back in and the House Call into the Swerve Stomp gets two more with a second referee. Swerve snaps the arm and another House Call (that looked great) gets a VERY near fall. Another House Call sets up a JML Driver to retain the title at 27:04.

Rating: A-. This was pretty easily the best match on the show and I might even be underrating a bit. They beat the living daylights out of each other but took their time to get there, with Swerve getting to show just how awesome he can be. Swerve needed a big win like this and even Callis being around didn’t bring it down. Awesome stuff here and a heck of a main event.

Medics check on Ospreay and Swerve shows respect to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The main event pulled it up a lot and there is nothing really bad on the show, but this is absolutely not my show and it never has been. The amount of matches and the parade of guest stars isn’t something that draws me in, as it feels more like Tony Khan getting to run loose in a candy store and do a show he finds fun rather than something for everyone else. As usual, the wrestling is more than good enough to hold up, but you could pretty easily chop off almost all of the pre-show and not lose anything.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Serpentico – Brainbuster onto the turnbuckle
House Of Black b. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly, Gabe Kidd/Roderick Strong and Private Party – Ganso Bomb to Kassidy
Willow Nightingale/Tam Nakano b. Momo Watanabe/Kris Statlander – Bridging German suplex to Watanabe
Mariah May b. Saraya – Bridging German suplex
Lucha Bros/Mistico b. Los Ingobernables de Japon – La Mistica to Titan
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Hechicero – Brainbuster
Elite b. Acclaimed/Hiroshi Tanahashi – Rainmaker to Tanahashi
Bryan Danielson b. Shingo Takagi via referee stoppage
Toni Storm b. Mina Shirakawa – Storm Zero
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Orange Cassidy – Arm and leg crank
Hook/Samoa Joe/Katsuyori Shibata b. Learning Tree/Jeff Cobb – Judas Effect to Jericho
Jack Perry won the TNT Title Ladder Match
Mercedes Mone b. Stephanie Vaquer – Bank Statement
Tetsuya Naito b. Jon Moxley – Destino
Swerve Strickland b. Will Ospreay – JML Driver

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.

It’s that time again as we have the show built around the idea of gust stars from a variety of other promotions. You get to wrestlers from around the world coming in to compete against the stars of AEW, which can make for some rather interesting situations. The buildup to the show is not often the strongest but you can see one heck of a night of action. That should be the case again so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Momo Watanabe vs. Willow Nightingale/Tam Nakano

This, along with the other two Zero Hour matches, were not important enough to be announced on Dynamite but rather a few hours later on Twitter. I’m not sure I get the thinking, but it isn’t exactly making me interested in what we’ll be seeing here. In this case, Statlander vs. Nightingale is the big draw, as they are already set to face off in the Women’s Owen Hart Tournament.

I’ll go with Statlander and Watanabe winning here to give a bit of doubt about Nightingale being able to make it to the finals of the tournament. That should make for a good match here, but Watanabe and Nakano are people who have not been around AEW very much over the years. That doesn’t exactly make for a big time match, but that is kind of the point in having the match on the Zero Hour show.

Zero Hour: Women’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Mariah May vs. Saraya

It’s a little weird to have May on the show when she already has a major role in another, bigger match on the card. For now though, we could be in for a nice match as either of them going forward could be an interesting way to go. Both of them could make for an a solid choice for the next round, though there is some logic that comes into play here which should determine the winner.

At the end of the day, May being involved in the Toni Storm vs. Mina Shirakawa match is a lot more important and there is pretty much no reason for her to go into that spot as a loser. May going over here makes a lot more sense and while there is something to the idea of Saraya going on towards a title shot in London, it isn’t the best option that they have available here.

Zero Hour: Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. Mistico/Lucha Bros

The big draw here is that Mistico and the Bros have never teamed together before. That isn’t the biggest draw in the world but it is certainly a cool enough moment and better than nothing. In other words, this feels like an excuse to get Mistico onto the show and that is not a bad idea. The match itself is only so important here, but that is often the case on Zero Hour.

There is pretty much no reason for Mistico and the Bros to lose here as Mistico can do his stuff and pop the crowd. There are some talented people in Los Ingobernables but it feels like they are here for the sake of making Mistico look that much bigger. It’s not a bad idea either, so hopefully they at least have an entertaining match on the way to the main show proper.

Zero Hour: House Of Black vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Kyle O’Reilly vs. Gabriel Kidd/Roderick Strong vs. Private Party

Yes there is a fourth match on this show, which was added during this week’s Collision. This feels like little more than a way to get a bunch more people onto the card, which is often not the most thrilling way to go. In this case we do have some big names who probably should have been on the show, but that doesn’t exactly make for the most exciting match possible.

I’ll take the House Of Black here, as they’re the biggest of the two regular teams (at least in AEW) and it makes the most sense to give them the win. This is going to be the insane match with everyone going nuts all over the place and trying to get in as much as they can, which isn’t going to be easy given how many people are involved. Odds are it should be fun though and that’s what you want out of a match like this one.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Orange Cassidy

We’ll start the main card here as Sabre wants revenge on Cassidy for beating him at last year’s show in a four way match. The other idea is that Cassidy isn’t good enough to beat Sabre on his own and is going to need some kind of special trick to pull it off. I’m not sure what that is going to be, but then again that’s kinds of the point of watching the match in the first place.

As much as I want to take Sabre here, it feels like a situation where Cassidy is coming in as the huge underdog but manages to pull it off somehow anyway, as tends to be his custom. It might not be the most thrilling way to go but that has never really stopped AEW with Cassidy before. It’s always fun to see whatever Sabre can do to torment someone else so we should be in for a good one here with Cassidy winning.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Hechicero

This is a bit early for a match involving someone as big as MJF but it isn’t like AEW has treated it like anything important. For the second year in a row, MJF’s Forbidden Door match feels like it was thrown on for the sake of giving him something to do and I do not get the thinking behind that move. It’s MJF’s first pay per view match since December and he’s more or less an after thought. That’s quite the odd way to go, but at least it’s an easy pick.

Save for some wacky interference, there is no reason for Hechicero to win here so we’ll take MJF in what should be an easy one. MJF will probably get in some trouble here but then wind up winning anyway, because there is pretty much no reason for Hechicero, who is probably not sticking around, to beat one of the biggest stars in the company. I’m still not sure I get the thinking here, but MJF wins.

Men’s Owen Hart Tournament First Round: Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo Takagi

The roller coaster that is the last full time year of Danielson’s career continues and that means we have another match against a hard hitter. That is kind of his trademark at this point and in this case he actually has a better chance to pull it off. It’s quite the way to go for a first round match in a #1 contenders tournament, but Danielson has a tendency to go a bit nuts anyway.

While Danielson might not have the best win/loss record, there is no reason to believe he goes down here. Takagi is another guy who isn’t likely to be around for the long term, which would likely include another match in the tournament. That leaves Danielson to win a heck of a fight, which isn’t something you get to say very often in AEW but it makes all the sense in the world here.

Learning Tree/Jeff Cobb vs. Samoa Joe/Hook/Katsuyori Shibata

Cobb is substituting for an injured Bryan Keith as Jericho’s latest weird character gets a pay per view match. The good thing about Jericho being in the match is that he can’t talk, which would be about as bad as it could get around here. Joe vs. Cobb is the hoss fight fans would want to see while the rest…well they’re all involved as well, no matter how odd it might be.

I’ll take the Learning Tree and Cobb to win here, as it seems like we’re going to be seeing Jericho do his thing for a long time to come, no matter how much of a mess it might be. That doesn’t go well if he loses his big match as part of the team, so odds are Cobb pins Shibata to get the win, giving Jericho something else to talk about. The match itself should be ok, but egads this has been a rough sit for a good while now.

Elite vs. Acclaimed/Hiroshi Tanahashi

Tanahashi is replacing Billy Gunn for the sake of it’s Forbidden Door and therefore Tanahashi has to be on the show. Much like the Learning Tree match, the good thing here is that if the Bucks are in the match, they can’t be talking (in theory at least) and that should make things a bit less annoying. This feels like a match that should be on Dynamite but here we are instead, though at least the addition of Tanahashi makes it feel more special.

It’s hard to imagine the Bucks losing a big match until Blood And Guts at the earliest so we’ll say the Elite wins here and keeps things going. Odds are we get a rematch of this later on with Gunn in there rather than Tanahashi, but for now at least we should be in for something good enough. The Elite go over though, as they’re a bigger deal than another makeshift team.

TNT Title: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Dante Martin vs. El Phantasmo vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Lio Rush vs. Jack Perry

Here we have a ladder match for the vacant title as Adam Copeland decided that jumping off a cage and landing on his feet was a good idea. The ladder match part makes it all the more eye roll inducing because it’s such a cliché at this point, but it also lets someone potentially steal the title without having to get a pinfall. That opens up some doors, but I think you know where this is going.

As much as I’d love to see someone like Martin, who could actually be made by something like this, get the title, this feels like it’s Perry all day. AEW is obsessed with getting this guy over one way or another and it feels like he’ll do it here as a way to become that much bigger of a deal. The match will be the usual car crash, meaning it’s only going to be so good, but it should be exciting.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm(c) vs. Mina Shirakawa

This is both a title match and part of a love triangle, as both of them are trying to woo Mariah May. That has made for quite the unique story but it is something that has been set up well enough that I’m curious to see where it goes. The match quality itself might be up in the air as Shirakawa doesn’t have a long track record in AEW, but that is far from the most interesting part here.

I’ll go with Storm to win of course, as the title isn’t likely changing hands here, though the question becomes what happens with May. It would not surprise me at all to see her side with Storm before eventually winning the Owen Hart Tournament and getting a shot against Storm at Wembley. For now though, all is right in the world as May signs with Storm and moves forward, though it could be quite the path there.

AEW TBS Title/NJPW Women’s Strong Title: Mercedes Mone(c) vs. Stephanie Vaquer(c)

We’re going title for title here and…I have almost no idea what to expect here as all I’ve seen from Vaquer is most of an eight minute match this week on Collision. Other than that it’s been all hype videos and promos from Mone, which isn’t the best way to go. What matters though is that we have what could be a huge match which could go either way, as the title vs. title stipulation shakes things up.

While there is a chance that Vaquer wins, I can’t imagine Mone loses anywhere near this close to her AEW debut. AEW knows that she is a star and isn’t about to have her lose a big match, or any match for that matter, here. They have also hyped up the idea that she needs to win the NJPW belt, even if that means we are going to be seeing another title running around AEW, because we haven’t had that in a bit.

IWGP World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

This is the other World Title match on the show, which is arguably a bigger match than the main event. Thankfully AEW has managed to avoid treating this as such a big deal, as that would be about as bad of a result as you could get for the AEW World Title. Moxley is already one of the biggest stars in AEW, but that brings up the question of whether or not he gets to retain the title here.

This one could go either way, but I’ll take Naito to win here, as I can’t imagine Moxley being the next big thing in AEW. Naito can get back the title that Moxley took fro him and we could be in for a rather good match on the way there. It also gives the other promotions their big win on the show, which very well could otherwise be dominated by AEW. This one could go either way of course, but I’ll take Naito to get the title back.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland(c) vs. Will Ospreay

Here we have the biggest match on the card and thankfully the best built up story. It’s an idea that has been done before, as you have Ospreay as the new ace of the company and Strickland being the “not so fast” champion. Ospreay has pretty much been able to do no wrong so far in AEW and Strickland can work well with anyone. That opens up the door for something great, but there is one thing in the way.

That thing is the Don Callis Family and unfortunately I’m expecting them to be what costs Ospreay the match here. Ospreay getting the World Title at some point seems to be an inevitability, but I would hope that Strickland gets at least one successful defense in the main event spot. Strickland has done incredibly well in this role and this could be another great one, though odds are the Family gets involved to cost Ospreay. It’s predictable, but that’s about all I can expect to happen.

Overall Thoughts

As you can probably tell from here, this is going to be a very long show. Fourteen matches and a show that could go around six hours makes for one heck of a marathon and I’m worried about things getting bogged down by sheer volume. There is a great show in there somewhere but AEW has a tendency to put in way too much on any pay per view. Hopefully they can find a way around it, but they’ve got a big challenge in front of them.

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.