Dynamite
Date: January 27, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re a week away from Beach Break and for the first time in a long time, we are coming off of a somewhat weak show last time around. That being said, Dynamite has an incredible track record so I have all the confidence in the world of them being able to set up something better this time around. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer

Jake Roberts is here with Archer…..who asks him to stay in the back. JR says this could be bowling shoe ugly as Kingston chops away, only to be powered into the corner. A bite works a bit better on Archer and Kingston chops away to limited avail. Archer shows him how to really chop so Kingston chops him even harder. A middle rope shoulder puts Archer on a knee….where he smiles at the down Kingston. Oh this is going to hurt.

Archer is back up with a chokeslam over the top rope and down on the apron (that was good for a heck of a cringe as Kingston landed on his hip). Archer follows him outside and sends Kingston face first into the camera (that’s a new one). Back in and Archer stares into the camera (he has a theme here) but has to block the spinning backfist.

Kingston dropkicks the knee out for two but Archer is right back with a short arm clothesline (ala Jake Roberts of course). The Blackout is escaped so Archer settles for a chokeslam instead. Archer walks the rope into the moonsault….and here are Butcher and the Blade, having attacked Roberts. The distraction lets Bunny slip Kingston some brass knuckles. The spinning backfist knocks Archer cold for the pin at 8:54.

Rating: C+. Like JR said, this wasn’t supposed to be a technical masterpiece. This was designed to be all about two brawlers beating the fire out of each other and that’s what they did here, with Kingston managing to get a big win for a change. I liked this one a good bit because it’s exactly what it should have been, with the short arm clothesline making me smile.

Post match Butcher and Blade take Archer out again before holding him up for the spinning backfist.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Jon Moxley is a little confused by Kenny Omega and the Good Brothers and the Young Bucks teaming up because there are a lot of Tag Team Champions. Then there are the Lucha Bros and the Death Triangle. That’s complicated for Moxley, because he likes his beer cold, his coffee hot and his sex in the morning. He loves a good six man tag though because this is fun and that’s what they’re doing next week.

Sting talks about how Team Taz has thrown out a bunch of false accusations about himself and Darby Allin (next to him). It’s true that Allin is a hoodlum, with Allin saying that when you’re on the streets, it’s all about survival. He sends his skateboard through a window and says he’s just like Sting. That makes Sting break a window with his baseball bat and say he is a hoodlum. They’re ready for the street fight at Revolution. They walk off, with Allin leaving his TNT Title.

Chris Jericho/MJF vs. Varsity Blonds

It says MJF in the chiron so that’s enough of an official change for me. After what seems like an extended Judas from the crowd, we’re ready to go…but MJF has a mic. MJF and Griff Garrison start things off, with MJF wanting to hear how great he is. Garrison hammers him down and pulls him back from the apron, with MJF panicking a bit. MJF is so mad that he grabs a chair but the rest of the Inner Circle holds him back.

It’s off to Jericho, who is taken down and caught with Brian Pillman’s Jr.’s running legdrop to give Garrison two. A cheap shot from the apron puts Garrison down though and we take a break, with Tony screaming at us that the match could end during the break (eh he’s no JR ripping on picture in picture for whatever reason). Back with Garrison getting the hot tag to clean house, including a double spear for two on MJF (Pillman looks near tears for some reason).

The tears are wiped away enough to hit a missile dropkick on Jericho, followed by a superkick for two. Jericho misses a charge and gets sent to the floor but comes right back in with the Judas Effect to Pillman. The Lionsault (with Jericho having the biggest grin, because he likes proving people wrong from last week) finishes at 8:02.

Rating: C+. Pillman and Garrison have gotten built up some momentum over the last few months so it’s fine enough to have them hang in there with Jericho and MJF. It’s good to see the Inner Circle get a win like this to start them on the right foot, and Jericho’s grin off the Lionsault is perfectly him. If nothing else, it’s nice to see that last week was just a slip (it happens to everyone) and he didn’t break his neck.

Pac isn’t impressed with Kenny Omega and his friends walking around like they own the place. Next week, Pac and Rey Fenix are going to show Omega what it means to be brutal. He sold the heck out of this.

Earlier tonight, Shaquille O’Neal called out Cody Rhodes for a match at some point in the future.

Tony Schiavone brings out Cody Rhodes and Arn Anderson for a chat. Cody loves the idea of himself and Brandi against Shaq and Jade Cargill….but Brandi is having a baby. Therefore he is going to defer to Arn, who has chewed him out for a variety of things. For now though, Arn gets to make the decision. Anderson says he is going to contradict himself here and says that Cody has the big head.

Arn brings up the date of June 29, 1985, which doesn’t have any meaning for Cody. On that date, Arn watched Dusty Rhodes face Tully Blanchard in Los Angeles for thirty minutes and then fly across the country to see Cody be born. If Cody chooses to jump onto the Revolution card on March 7, he needs to do it with no regrets. There has been a long time between June 29, 1985 and Revolution.

Shaq dominated his sport for nineteen years and Jade Cargill seems like she dominates any room she is in. In the last two weeks, Arn has seen something and has an idea. Cue Red Velvet, with Arn saying she has the same fire as Cody. Velvet talks about Cargill running her mouth and being full of herself, but everyone knows Cody won’t lay a hand on Jade. Red Velvet will though, and she will stir Cargill’s b**** a** up. Arn: “That’s what I was talking about!”

Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford are excited to be married and invite us to the Beach Break wedding. Miro will be there as the best man and he’s bringing Charles the butler with him.

Hangman Page vs. Ryan Nemeth

Page is accompanied by crippling emotional baggage and Nemeth (complete with trunks that say “Hunk”) is Dolph Ziggler’s brother. An exchange of shoulders goes badly for Nemeth and Page kicks him in the face. Nemeth gets in a few chops in the corner and Page just doesn’t look happy. A shot to the face puts Nemeth down in the corner for the stomping. Page sends him outside for the slingshot dive but gets dropkicked back down inside.

Cue Matt Hardy to watch as Nemeth grabs a handstand hammerlock. Back up and Page runs him over, setting up a spinebuster, much to Hardy’s approval. A Dolph Ziggler jumping DDT gets two on Page but he blasts Nemeth with a discus forearm. There’s a hard lariat and the Buckshot Lariat finishes Nemeth at 5:38.

Rating: C. As usual, an unknown got in a lot of offense on an established star but Nemeth might have a little something with the Hunk/movie star good looks thing (and the family connection helps as well). Page getting a win is a good thing, but hopefully he doesn’t get pulled into whatever Hardy’s latest thing is.

Post match Hardy and Tony Schiavone get in the ring, with Hardy saying Page looks lost. They were on the same team in Stadium Stampede and Page is a good person who deserves to be happy. Page has been dressing by himself in a room next to catering. He is welcome to dress in Hardy’s big dressing room, no strings attached. Tony: “I think you should take him up on that.”

Jungle Boy and Dax Harwood both want to prove they are the better man, especially with everyone else neutralized at ringside.

Dax Harwood vs. Jungle Boy

Luchasaurus is here and handcuffed to Tully Blanchard and Cash Wheeler (Marko Stunt is sent to the back because…..well because he’s Marko Stunt). Harwood grabs a headlock to start but gets knocked down for his efforts. Another headlock works a bit better as Boy is taken to the mat and then knocked down again for good measure. They run the ropes until Boy scores with a dropkick and goes for the legs. That’s broken up and Harwood goes outside, with Luchasaurus not allowing Tully to get in much coaching.

Back in and Harwood uppercuts him into the corner but Boy chops his way to freedom. A kick to the ribs cuts him off but Harwood misses a charge into the post so Boy grabs an armbar. That doesn’t last long either as Harwood punches him in the face for a breather. They head outside with Harwood sending him into the barricade and sending us to a break. Back with Boy fighting out of a chinlock and kicking Harwood in the face.

A top rope belly to back superplex brings Luchasaurus to his feet and gives Harwood two but it injures his shoulder in the process. Boy pops back up and hammers away, only to get his head clotheslined off. A hard slingshot powerbomb gives Harwood two, with Tully being rather pleased.

Boy is back up with some rolling German suplexes until Harwood elbows him hard in the face. That earns Harwood a rebound lariat but Harwood head fakes him into a DDT (ala Arn Anderson) for two. They trade rollups with trunks for two each, followed by victory rolls for the same. Boy’s crucifix gets two, as does Harwood’s counter. Boy pulls him into the Snare Trap (Regal Stretch) and Harwood taps clean at 14:54.

Rating: B+. I don’t remember the last time I got sucked into a match outside of NXT so this was a heck of a treat as they had a great wrestling match. This was Boy’s speed and athleticism against Harwood’s old school style and they meshed so well. This is the kind of thing that I wanted to see out of FTR and it’s great to see Boy hanging in there every step of the way. Awesome match here that blew away some fairly high expectations I had coming in.

Post match, Tully throws powder at Luchasaurus and gets out of the handcuffs. A slingshot suplex puts Boy down and a spike double piledriver (featuring Air Tully) knocks Luchasaurus silly. Luchasaurus is handcuffed to the ropes and FTR cuts the horns off of his mask to make it personal. They go to cut Boy’s hair but Marko Stunt, SCU and Top Flight make the save.

Earlier tonight, Team Taz was outside where Taz talked about being ready to destroy Sting and Darby Allin at Revolution. Hold on though as they find a random merchandise table and beat the workers up for having too much Sting and Darby gear. Taz promises more of this for the two of them.

Britt Baker vs. Shanna

Rebel is here with Baker and Shanna is making her return. Baker works on the wristlock to start but gets reverses into the same thing from Shanna. That’s broken up with Shanna being taken into the corner for a hard forearm. That’s broken up though as Shanna goes for the wristlock, followed by an enziguri. The running dropkick against the ropes misses though as Rebel pulls Baker away, meaning Baker can get in a shot from behind.

The Sling Blade on the floor drops Shanna again and we take a break. Back with Shanna hitting a clothesline for two, followed by Baker’s neckbreaker for two. A Stunner drops Baker again and now the running dropkick against the ropes connects. Rebel realizes trouble is afoot though and offers a distraction so Baker can grab the Lockjaw for the pin at 8:33.

Rating: C+. I know Baker has been doing the same thing for a good while, but that’s a good thing in this case. She’s rather entertaining with what she does and it continues to set up the showdown with Thunder Rosa. Baker is probably the most defined character in all of the division and she plays it to near perfection. Stick with what works instead of changing everything at once, as you can often stick with a good idea instead of trying unnecessary changes.

Post match the beatdown stays on but here’s Thunder Rosa for the save.

MJF comes in to see Sammy Guevara and insists that he didn’t send Wardlow in last week. Sammy doesn’t buy it because he knows what MJF is doing and doesn’t buy his lies. MJF asks if Sammy wants to play it this way but Sammy isn’t playing. Man alive Sammy is a breakout star waiting to happen.

Beach Break rundown.

More on what’s coming later on, with Riho making her return in the #1 contenders tournament at a date to be announced.

The Good Brothers and the Young Bucks are happy with the Bullet Club reunion and are ready to do their thing tonight. Then next week they’re going to do their favorite thing: BEAT UP JON MOXLEY! The Bucks are down with that but don’t want Don Callis involved. Kenny Omega comes in and says they need to talk but here’s Callis, who has a taped up face thanks to the Bucks. Omega has to hold them apart.

Dark Order vs. Young Bucks/Good Brothers

It’s Evil Uno/Stu Grayson/Alex Reynolds/John Silver for the Order. Uno shoulders Anderson to start and gets two off an atomic drop of all things. It’s time to start in on the wristlock and Silver comes in for a bald showdown. Silver wants Gallows and the request is granted after a bit of discussion. Somehow Silver manages to kick him down to a knee but a cheap shot from the apron lets Gallows him him in the face. Matt comes in and gets forearmed by Reynolds but the Bucks start firing off the dropkicks.

Everything breaks down and it’s a dropkick/neckbreaker/belly to back suplex combination to Reynolds. The club poses (JR: “That’s another t-shirt.”) and Anderson trips Reynolds down. JR wants an ejection but Uno trips Matt as well, allowing the hot tag to Grayson. The pace picks way up and it’s a springboard dropkick to put Gallows on the floor. A frog splash gets two on Anderson and we take a break. Back with Grayson hitting a Pele on Nick and diving over for the hot tag to Silver.

That means house can be cleaned again as Silver does the fired up comeback rather well. Silver runs over the club on the floor as well, setting up a brainbuster for two on Nick back inside. Matt comes in and hits the double northern lights suplex on Silver and Reynolds. There’s the double clothesline to take them down as well but Reynolds hits a Stunner into the German suplex on Matt.

The Fatality connects with Anderson having to make the save as everything breaks down again. Nick hits the double springboard flip dive onto most of everyone on the floor and the club hits a bunch of apron powerbombs at the same time. Grayson is left alone in the ring and it’s a quadruple low superkick with Uno making the save. The Magic Killer knocks Uno to the floor and it’s the Meltzer Driver to finish Grayson at 11:45.

Rating: B. This was an entertaining match with the Dark Order hanging in there long enough. I know it has been said but Silver is one of those guys with all of the charisma he could need to be a star. I’m fine with the club winning here as they need to show they can work together, even if a Bucks vs. Brothers match seems like at Revolution. Good main event here though, with the Dark Order working as faces (or close enough to them at least).

Post match the Bucks talk about the Beach Break battle royal with the winners getting a Tag Team Title shot at Revolution. They are in the match as well and if they win, it is champions’ choice for the title shot. The Bucks and the Brothers hit the Too Sweet but here’s Rey Fenix to go after them to avenge Pentagon. This goes as well as you would expect, even though he manages to knock the Bucks to the floor. Cue Jon Moxley to help with the fight and Fenix hits a heck of a dive, even landing on the barricade in the process. Kenny Omega tries to run in with the boot but walks into the Paradigm Shift to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Now that was more like it with a few rather good to great matches carrying the show. There was nothing bad on the show and I’m curious to see where Beach Break goes, even if there isn’t a huge main event. This week’s show was about building for the future but still had some solid stuff of its own. I liked this show a good bit more than last week and hopefully they can do it again at next week’s big show.

Results

Eddie Kingston b. Lance Archer – Spinning backfist with brass knuckles

Chris Jericho/MJF b. Varsity Blonds – Lionsault to Pillman

Hangman Page b. Ryan Nemeth – Buckshot lariat

Jungle Boy b. Dax Harwood – Snare Trap

Britt Baker b. Shanna – Lockjaw

Young Bucks/Good Brothers b. Dark Order – Meltzer Driver to Grayson

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

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Dynamite
Date: January 13, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

Things continue to pick up around here as we have the second week of New Year’s Smash. This time around we are going to be seeing the TNT Title on the line as Brian Cage challenges Darby Allin, meaning a Sting appearance is certainly not out of the question. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Quick look at Death Triangle vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher/Blade.

Pac vs. Eddie Kingston

Pac starts fast by sending Kingston to the floor for the dive. They head back inside with Pac hitting a pump kick, followed by a missile dropkick to put Kingston into the corner. Some knees to the head rock Kingston again but he’s back with a middle rope knee to the back of the head. Allie gets in some eye raking from the floor and Kingston adds a t-bone suplex. Back in and a neckbreaker gets one before Pac’s head is driven into the mat.

Some chops in the corner let Kingston pull on Pac’s ear but he snaps off a German suplex for a breather. Back up and Kingston hits an enziguri into a Saito suplex for two. Pac gets in his own kick to the head that makes Kingston look straight into the camera, setting up the top rope superplex for his own near fall. Another kick drops Kingston and the Black Arrow finishes for Pac at 9:39.

Rating: B-. This was about two guys beating each other up and that’s all it needed to be. They had a good brawl and I could go for watching the two of them talk or fight. I’m not sure how big of a star that Kingston is going to become on his own, but the sky really seems to be the limit for Pac. This is all building towards the big gang brawl though and that should be awesome.

Post match the big brawl is teased but Lance Archer comes in to chase off Kingston and company.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Chuck Taylor vs. Miro

Orange Cassidy and Kip Sabian (with a Trent cutout) are at ringside and if Miro wins, Chuck is his butler until the wedding in three weeks. Miro starts fast and knocks him outside but Chuck gets in a whip into the barricade for a breather. Sabian jumps Cassidy but gets superkicked by Chuck. That’s enough of a distraction for Miro to get in a leg lariat, followed by the jumping superkick. Game Over finishes Chuck at 3:26.

Rating: C-. Not much to see here but they only had a few minutes and the ending was designed to set up the angle going forward instead. Miro wrecking Chuck is the right way to go as he needs a few wins and the butler stuff could be funny. If nothing else, Miro needed the wins after a few months of doing nothing of note so this could be an upgrade.

Matt Hardy speaks for Private Party, who he insists are great. The team isn’t all that thrilled with part of their contracts but Hardy says they should have read them better. He is the only person here who cares about Private Party and the sooner they learn that, the happier they will be. So when he says jump, they say how high. NOW GET OUT OF HERE.

Here’s the Inner Circle and, after the required Judas chorus from the fans, and a break, it’s time to hear about their new year’s resolutions. Jake Hager wants championships, MJF wants to strengthen their bonds and get rid of the fat people and Ortiz wants to learn one of his grandmother’s recipes. Jericho loves all of those ideas and thinks this is the year he and MJF win the Tag Team Titles. That’s not cool with Santana, because he and Ortiz are the Inner Circle’s tag team.

Sammy Guevara sees what is going on here: Jericho is a tag team sl**! Jericho has teamed with Santana, Hager, he and Sammy were Le Sex Gods. Is he going to team with Snoop Dogg next? Jericho: “…..MAYBE!” Jericho thinks we should have Jericho/MJF vs. Santana/Ortiz vs. Sammy/Hager to determine the OFFICIAL tag team of the Inner Circle. Hager: “CHAMPIONSHIPS! YEAH!” Jericho: “Sammy and Hager. That’s funny.” Sammy: “Why is that funny?” The team poses and everything seems cool.

The Dark Order talks about how important the Brodie Lee tribute was for the team. Everything the team does will be in his name, and next week it starts with Hangman Page teaming with the Dark Order. Page, with his glass, staggers in so everyone can show their appreciation. Maybe after the match, he can let them know if he’s going to join! Page agrees and leaves, with the team celebrating his joining in advance. It turns out that Page only took about a step….and we go to a break anyway.

Video on Taz and the construction of Team Taz, setting up the title match against Darby Allin later tonight. Sting joining in to seemingly mentor Allin might even the odds a bit though.

Kenny Omega, Don Callis and the Young Bucks are fired up and have all the titles.

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs. Varsity Blonds/Danny Limelight

Callis handles Omega’s entrance. Actually hold on as he also introduces Omega’s real partners for the evening: the Good Brothers, which doesn’t sit well with the Bucks or Tony Khan in the back.

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers vs. Varsity Blonds/Danny Limelight

It’s a brawl to start with Omega and the Brothers cleaning house. Everything breaks down though and Limelight kicks away at Omega, with the Blonds clotheslining the Brothers outside. The Kitaro Crusher drops Limelight though and it’s Anderson coming in for a hard whip into the corner.

Back from a break with Limelight still in trouble but managing a hurricanrana out of the corner. Omega cuts him off but Limelight gets over for the hot tag to Pillman. Air Pillman hits Anderson and it’s a Blockbuster/spinebuster combination for two. Omega grabs a neckbreaker for two and Anderson hits a big boot for two. Limelight tries to run the corner but gets caught in a spinebuster. The Magic Killer is good for the pin at 9:26.

Rating: C. I’m not sure it needed to be this long for what they were doing, but at least Omega and company didn’t get in that much trouble. Maybe the Bucks vs. Good Brothers deal can set something up in the future, which would be better than paying another tribute to the good old days in New Japan.

It’s time for the Waiting Room with Dr. Britt Baker. After a quick intro dance with Rebel, Britt convinces the fans that they have a gift underneath their chairs. Her guest tonight is Cody Rhodes, who needs to pick his best friend already. Just make one good choice, unlike the one on your neck. This brings in Cody, in a green jacket and with some Gillberg sparklers during the entrance (Britt: “All contractual obligations met. We’ve got the pyro.”).

Britt congratulates Cody on his upcoming baby, who will have an action figure before her. Cody can’t talk before Baker cuts him off with a surprise guest. That would be Jade Cargill, who says no one cares about Brandi being pregnant. She and Shaq are tired of waiting though, because Jade needs an opponent. She shoves Cody so here’s Red Velvet to hit a heck of a slap.

Jade gives her one back and the fight is on, with the fans breaking it up. Velvet is taken outside and we cut to a video of Britt and Rebel attacking Thunder Rosa a few weeks back. Rosa pops up to say Britt her has show because she likes to put her big nose in people’s business. Some Spanish ranting sets up the announcement of Baker vs. Rosa on February 3 at Beach Break. Baker yells a lot because Khan said they didn’t have to wrestle. Cody never said a word other than shouting for help to break up the brawl.

Jurassic Express vs. FTR

Marko Stunt/Jungle Boy for the Express here and Luchasaurus and Tully Blanchard are here too. Marko and Cash start things off but it’s off to Dax to drive him into the corner. A slap from Marko earns him a beating in the corner and Wheeler comes back in for the same. Marko’s moonsault out of the corner is countered and a dropkick seems to mostly miss. Boy comes in and everything breaks down with Boy monkey flipping Stunt into a hurricanrana to Harwood.

Stunt’s suicide dive hits FTR and Boy adds his own dive as we take a break. Back with Wheeler hitting a spinebuster for two on Stunt and then grabbing a Gory Stretch. Stunt wiggles his way out for two off a sunset flip before rolling away from Dax for the tag off to Boy. House is cleaned with some clotheslines into a Backstabber for two on Harwood, followed by a super hurricanrana for the same.

There’s a superkick before Boy throws Stunt onto Harwood for two more. Sliced Bread is countered with a toss and a hard lariat drops Stunt again. A low blow gets Stunt out of trouble though and now a Dudley Dog can connect for another near fall. Tully posts Marko though, earning him a glare from Boy. Wheeler sends Boy into the barricade for his efforts though and it’s the Big Rig (Goodnight Express’ new name) for the pin at 12:25.

Rating: C. It was a little much to believe that it took FTR over twelve minutes and Tully’s help to beat Stunt but at least the ending was exactly as it should have gone. The match was pretty boring stuff for the most part, but at least they didn’t do something crazy like have FTR lose here. Just get them back to something important now.

NWA Women’s Title: Tay Conti vs. Serena Deeb

Deeb is defending and Conti has Anna Jay with her. Feeling out process to start with Deeb taking her down for an early rollup. Conti goes for the leg to set up a heel hook, which is reversed into a chinlock. That’s broken up as well so Conti pump kicks her out to the floor. Back from a break with Conti hitting a full nelson spun into a Stunner for two but getting caught in a Stretch Muffler. Deeb switches to take her up top for a Gory Special using the ropes for extra leverage. Conti can’t get a Gory Bomb so Deeb reverses into a pancake (the Deebtox) to retain at 9:07.

Rating: C+. They were flying through this and that held things back a bit. Deeb continues to be great though and Conti is improving as well so this was hardly a rough watch. It wouldn’t hurt to slow things down a bit though, which would be the case in almost any match around here. I’m still not sure why this company needs two Women’s Titles, but at least this one is much more of a featured attraction than anything else.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

TNT Title: Brian Cage vs. Darby Allin

Allin is defending, Team Taz is at ringside and Taz is on commentary. Allin goes straight at Cage and knocks him outside, setting up the suicide dive. Another one is pulled out of the air into a suplex on the floor though, followed by Cage LAUNCHING Allin from the ring through a ringside table. Cage picks Allin (now bleeding) up in a suplex, walks him up the steps and throws him inside for another crash. A release German suplex sends Allin flying and Cage unloads with right hands to the busted open head.

We take a break and come back with Cage hitting an F5 for two, followed by a trio of powerbombs. Another powerbomb sends Allin over the top and onto the ramp but Allin says bring it. The apron superplex gets one and Cage is livid. Cage loads up the steps at ringside but an F5 from the apron to the floor is escaped. Instead Allin bites the fingers to knock Cage onto the steps, setting up the Coffin Drop onto Cage onto the steps (Taz: “That’s not good.”).

They get back in with Allin hitting the flipping Stunner and using his belt to tie Cage’s legs together. A Code Red gives Allin two and there’s a middle rope stomp. Hook’s distraction lets Ricky Starks crotch Allin but here’s Sting with the baseball bat shot to Starks’ throat. The super crucifix retains Allin’s title at 12:39.

Rating: B. This took time to get going but I got into the underdog comeback story near the end. They might have gone a step too far with Allin surviving everything but I don’t think it ever went too far into being ridiculous. Allin is one of the best underdogs/survivors around and while the Sting/Team Taz stuff was far from a surprise, they did it as by the numbers (which isn’t a bad thing) as possible here. Good main event with a near Brock Lesnar smashing a mortal style story.

Post match everyone stares to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was good and there was enough solid stuff in the middle to hold things up but this wasn’t their strongest show. It felt like they were setting up things for later, which is something you have to do, but it doesn’t make for a great evening. What we got worked well though and it seems they’re building to Beach Break in three weeks.

Results

Pac b. Eddie Kingston – Black Arrow

Miro b. Chuck Taylor – Game Over

Kenny Omega/Good Brothers b. Danny Limelight/Varsity Blonds – Magic Killer to Limelight

FTR b. Jurassic Express – Big Rig to Stunt

Serena Deeb b. Tay Conti – Deebtox

Darby Allin b. Brian Cage – Super crucifix

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Dynamite
Date: December 9, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

Things are getting a little wacky around here and that makes things all the more interesting. Above all else, Kenny Omega is now the World Champion and last night he appeared on Impact Wrestling to say….well I’m not completely clear but it is definitely going somewhere in the future. Other than that, we get to hear from Sting after last week’s debut. Let’s get to it.

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

Hybrid 2 vs. Young Bucks

Non-title. Before the match, the Bucks say they don’t know what is going on with Kenny Omega and they haven’t talked to him in over a week. They start fast with the Bucks sending them outside to start, meaning it’s time for a big flip dive. Back in and we settle down a bit with the Bucks hitting a double basement dropkick on Evans. Angelico comes in to send Matt outside but Nick is right back up to kick Evans off the apron.

Nick is knocked off the apron as well and it’s the assisted 450 for two on Matt. The superkicks take the Hybrid 2 down though and the hot tag brings Nick back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Nick hits the slingshot X Factor to rock Angelico. Nick powerbombs Evans onto the Acclaimed at ringside and it’s a top rope splash/standing moonsault combination for two on Angelico. Evans is back in with a 450 for two on Nick but he gets powerbombed into the enziguri in the corner.

A springboard Doomsday Device onto the ramp drops Evans again and it’s a double superkick to Angelico for two. More Bang For Your Buck is broken up and Evans hits an inverted hurricanrana on Matt. Angelico wrenches Matt’s knee with a spinning leglock with a name that only Excalibur cares about. Even with his brother’s knee getting cranked, Nick goes up top for a Swanton for the save, even with the leglock still being on. The Bucks hit a slingshot spike Tombstone to put Evans down on the floor and it’s a double superkick into the BTE Trigger to finish Angelico at 11:42.

Rating: B. Well that was a lot. There were all kinds of flips and dives here and that’s exactly why you book a match like this one. The selling wasn’t there and the psychology was non-existent, but there is no reason to look for either of those in a match like this. If you’re not looking for those and treat these things like the junk food wrestling that they are, it’s a fine way to spend some time.

Post match the Acclaimed jump the barricade to go after the Bucks but SCU runs in for the save.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman gets to beat Orange Cassidy tonight and upset a lot of not so smart marks. He’s going to bash Cassidy’s head in because he’s better and Cassidy knows it.

Darby Allin does a word association test with members of Team Taz. He sees Powerhouse Hobbs as a snake in the grass, Brian Cage as a puppet, but he’s also someone waiting for an opportunity, which Allin will give him. Then we see Sting’s face and Allin chuckles.

Here’s Cody for a chat….and hang on because here’s Sting. Arn Anderson steps up to Sting to say he wanted to get a closer look and then walks away. Tony Schiavone says something similar and goes to leave but Sting says come give him a hug. Sting thanks Tony for helping him throughout his career and asks for one more IT’S STING for old times’ sake. Tony gives him what he wants (Never say no to a 61 year old man in face paint holding a baseball bat. Remember that.) and Sting says this is awesome.

With Tony gone, Cody says welcome back and thanks Sting for the assist last week. Cody has been waiting to share a ring with him for a very long time….but Sting isn’t here for him, at least not right now. Sting says there is something really familiar about this place and points to Darby Allin in the rafters.

This ring is the jungle and he’s glad to be back on TNT. Cody again says welcome back but Sting says that the only thing for sure about him is that nothing is for sure. He is here full time and plans to be around for a good while. The way Sting chooses to play is his business and he gives Cody a rather firm pat on the back. Sting: “See you around kid.” Sting sounded more energized and invested here than he ever did in WWE, though I’m scared to see how much of that good look goes away if/when he has a match of any kind. For now though, rather nice start.

Team Taz talks about how Cody needed Sting to come save them. Well now Cody’s former star student, Taz’s son Hook, is training with them and they’re ready to beat someone up.

FTR vs. Varsity Blonds

That would be Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison. Pillman gets taken into the corner to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Back up and Pillman brings Wheeler over for the tag to Garrison. A few rooms of the house are cleaned and it’s a spinning legdrop from Garrison to give Pillman two. Pillman misses the middle rope spinning crossbody though and the chinlock goes on as we take a break.

Back with Pillman getting caught in a Demolition Decapitator and being sent outside for a shot from Tully Blanchard. Pillman manages to get in a quick shot though and Air Pillman allows the hot tag to Garrison. House is cleaned but Harwood slips out of a suplex. Pillman comes back in and is caught with a brainbuster and the Goodnight Express gives Wheeler the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C-. Perfectly watchable match with the Blonds mostly getting squashed to put FTR back on the winning side. FTR is a team who could work with anyone around here and hopefully that is the case going forward. The Blonds are fine for the young pretty boy team and you can never have enough of them.

Post match FTR gets in a staredown with the Jurassic Express on the floor.

Hangman Page is in a six man tag next week against Matt Hardy and Private Party but he doesn’t have any partners. John Silver and Alex Reynolds pop up from behind the bar (Page: “How long have you been there?” Silver: “About seven minutes.”) to offer their services. Page eventually relents, but it’s one match only. Works for the cult guys.

Dustin Rhodes vs. 10

Rhodes shoves him around to start and they’re on the floor in a hurry with Dustin sending him face first into the barricade. 10 drops him onto the apron though and they head inside again with 10 hitting a big spinebuster. Dustin is sent outside again but Aaron Solow grabs 10’s arm, earning himself a pump kick to the face. Back in and Dustin gets in a shot of his own, setting up the bulldog for the pin at 5:51.

Rating: D+. Just a match here with 10 getting in most of the offense until a bit of a surprising choice for interference gave Dustin the chance. 10 looked solid here, but other members of the Dark Order have moved pretty far ahead of him in recent weeks. Then again the team is kind of all over the place at the moment so I’m not sure how much this is going to help him.

Post match here’s the Dark Order, with Evil Uno saying Dustin has a long legacy in wrestling and has been around for a very long time. That comes with a lot of pressure, so he should join the Dark Order as Seven. Tony: “He doesn’t want to be that number.” Dustin extends his hand and then slaps Uno in the face. Uno calls the troops off before they get to Dustin and says he’ll be waiting when Dustin sees the light.

Tony Schiavone has a sitdown interview with Shaquille O’Neal and Brandi Rhodes. Brandi doesn’t like hearing all of Shaq’s accolades but Shaq talks about Jade Cargill injuring Brandi’s arm. Shaq didn’t like what Jade did to her arm and Brandi agrees, though she will get in Cargill’s face again if she does the same. Shaq understands that and says he and Cody were just messing around on Twitter.

He has all the respect in the world for the wrestlers and the Rhodes Family, so Brandi gets up and shakes his hand with a smile. She goes to leave without incident, but Shaq says that while Brandi’s arm is in a sling, she should get some pointers from Jade. That’s too far for Brandi, who says she’s sick of this s***, throws a drink in Shaq’s face, and calls him an overgrown a******. They got the point across, but dang Shaq can be hard to understand with that deep voice.

Here’s the Inner Circle for their summit. They have had a week to figure things out but if this doesn’t work, the team is done. That’s not why Jericho put the team together and it was embarrassing. Now MJF and Sammy don’t like each other, Ortiz hates all of them and Santana was so mad that he didn’t even come to work this week. MJF interrupts and says they are all friends and he wanted to join this team because they are great. Sammy snaps and says he’s tired of MJF, with Ortiz saying that MJF is growing on him like a fungus.

They try to calm Sammy down, with Sammy eventually agreeing to shake his hand. However, if ONE MORE THING happens, he’s quitting this team and taking it out on Jericho. They shake hands and Jericho says things are calm…..but Jake Hager doesn’t like Wardlow staring at him. Jericho tries to calm things down and they agree to stop staring. They’re on the same page and know that they need to dominate AEW as only they can. They have a big main event tonight with MJF promising to end Orange Cassidy. The team all puts their middle fingers in and it’s all cool. I’m sure.

FTR and Tully Blanchard say they’re great together, unlike Jurassic Express, who are a bunch of crazy people. They are the 82 Ford Bronco with Mario Andretti driving and they are ready to win the titles back.

Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade vs. Lance Archer/Lucha Bros

The brawl is on outside before the bell with everyone going at it in a hurry. The bell rings with Pentagon getting dropped hard and having to be taken to the back. Fenix gets caught in the corner as the numbers game is already in trouble. Eddie hammers away on Fenix and then sends him chest first into the corner as Jake Roberts is sitting on the stage. Blade gets to choke away with his leg but Fenix manages a shot to Kingston’s face.

The hot tag brings in Archer to slug it out with Butcher before hitting some running shoulders to both Butcher and Blade in the corner. We take a break and come back with Archer hitting a German suplex on Blade, only to grab at his knee. The hot tag brings in Fenix with the springboard and there’s the big dive to take Kingston down. Back in and the powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Fenix at 9:21.

Rating: C. This was a weird one with the Penta deal being a weird way to go *assuming it wasn’t legit that is). Archer continues to be a heck of a monster and it’s easy to see why he is so dominant all the time. What we got here was fine, but it was a weird way to go with the choices they had.

Post match Archer cleans house without much effort again.

Nyla Rose, Jade Cargill and Vickie Guerrero are beating up Red Velvet. Ivelisse and Diamante come in for the save.

Abadon vs. Tesha Price

Price looks scared to death and being thrown across the ring makes it even worse. Abadon hammers away in the corner and hits the Widow’s Peak for the pin at 1:12.

Post match the beating continues until Hikaru Shida makes the save with a heck of a kendo stick shot to the head. Abadon sits up and Shida and Price bail in a hurry.

The Inner Circle is ready to destroy Orange Cassidy.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to interview Kenny Omega….who arrives in a helicopter with Don Callis. After the big entrance, Tony talks about how he has never been more disgusted than he was when Don Callis interfered last week (yeah still not that big of a deal). Callis talks about Tony Khan welcomed him into his home and then Callis screwed him over. Callis: “Welcome to the wrestling business kid.”

This might have been a bigger screwjob than Montreal because the AEW Title raises the stakes. Callis gives us a fast version of last night’s Impact promo: he has known Omega since Omega was ten and the plan has been in place for years. Now Callis, as the invisible hand, has pushed Omega to the World Title after helping put together Omega vs. Chris Jericho in the Tokyo Dome, which brought AEW to fruition. Omega talks about how they had this ultimate plan and waited a year to pull it off.

Then last week it was a fine art performance and it was downright inspirational. Everyone fell for it from commentary to Jerry Lynn. What mattered most though was Jon Moxley fell for it and no one kicks out of the One Winged Angel. You haven’t seen anything yet and Omega does goodbye and good night. The delivery was good…..but the big idea behind it is that they needed a plan to get Omega, who has the biggest reputation of anyone here in the company and helps run the whole place, to become World Champion? That’s kind of hard to buy, though Callis’ promo was good.

Dynamite Diamond Ring: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Orange Cassidy

The Inner Circle and the Best Friends are here too. MJF jumps him to start and breaks the sunglasses to really make things serious. A Stundog Millionaire gets Cassidy out of trouble though and they head to the apron, with Cassidy missing a charge into the post. MJF ties Cassidy’s fingers in the turnbuckle to make it worse and it’s a chinlock back inside. Cassidy gets sent outside again and the Inner Circle gets in the group stomping. Sammy posts Cassidy and we take a break.

Back with MJF mocking the hands in the pockets, only to have Cassidy come back with the tornado DDT. MJF hits the top rope stomp to the arm but has to duck the Orange Punch. A double underhook shoulder breaker sets up a tiger driver for two and they’re both down. Cassidy is back up to dive onto the Inner Circle but MJF gets in the Heat Seeker back inside. Jericho sends MJF the bat for the Eddie Guerrero treatment, but Cassidy doesn’t even catch it, puts his hands in his pockets, and falls down.

MJF grabs the bat and gets caught in a nice twist on the usual deal, meaning the referee throws the bat outside. The Beach Break gets two so MJF is back with the Salt of the Earth, but Cassidy rolls out. The Orange Punch, with the bad hand, gets a delayed two and another one connects, but this time Wardlow puts the foot on the rope. Everyone brawls on the floor so here’s Miro to deck Cassidy and put his hands in his pockets as MJF steals the pin at 13:23.

Rating: B-. There was a lot going on here and it got a bit messy at times, but dang they had me with some of the drama in the near falls. What matters most here is MJF keeping the ring and keeping the Inner Circle going for the time being, as their breakup is something you should stretch out rather than hot shot. Good match, even with all the chaos going on.

Post match Miro, in his Versace sweater, wrecks the production staff, including throwing one off the stage to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was an up and down show and I’m not sure what to think of the whole thing. The wrestling wasn’t as good this week but after last week’s huge show, it’s understandable that they need a little breather. The main event and the opener both worked and it’s not like the there was anything completely horrible throughout the show.

The important parts here were Sting, Shaq and Omega and…..yeah I’m not sure on them. The Sting stuff was good, as Sting looked and sounded like his old self, but how long does that charm last? I can’t bring myself to care about Shaq, especially when it seems to be more about Brandi than anyone else. That leaves Omega, and while the story of why they needed a plan doesn’t really work, it’s still WAY too early to know where this whole thing is going to pass judgment on it yet. Overall it’s a good show, but they have a lot of things to address going forward.

Results

Young Bucks b. Hybrid 2 – BTE Trigger to Angelico

FTR b. Varsity Blonds – Goodnight Express to Pillman

Dustin Rhodes b. 10 – Bulldog

Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade b. Lucha Bros/Lance Archer – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Fenix

Abadon b. Tesha Price – Widow’s Peak

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Orange Cassidy – Pin after Miro interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: December 2, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

Winter is coming and….or wait is Winter here now? Anyway it’s a huge show with a mega main event of Kenny Omega challenging Jon Moxley for the World Title. That would have seemed to be a pay per view main event level match but I can see why they couldn’t wait until late February. Let’s get to it.

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

Battle Royal

Shawn Spears, Scorpio Sky, Luther, Matt Hard, Joey Janela, Kip Sabian, Miro, Orange Cassidy, Serpentico, Isaiah Kassidy, Marq Quen, Hangman Page, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, Sammy Guevara, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Wardlow, Matt Sydal, Jungle Boy, Lee Johnson

The final two standing will face off for the diamond ring next week, so we see a quick promo from MJF, who says the ring belongs to the Inner Circle. Hardy throws Kassidy out from behind as there are several people on the floor but not eliminated. The Dark Order helps Page get rid of Serpentico before knocking Luther out. Spears tosses Sydal but gets eliminated as well, drawing Tully Blanchard out of his seat in the crowd.

The fans give Spears the Goodbye Song as Blanchard gives him the slug to load up the glove. Spears decks Sky with said glove and Sky is tossed in a hurry. Reynolds and Quen are sent to the apron with Silver being tossed into Reynolds for the elimination. Silver is eliminated a few seconds later, with Hardy being very pleased with his work. Hardy sends Page to the apron and Quen knocks Page….right into the Dark Order to catch him. Back in and Hardy gets rid of Page, followed by Cassidy getting rid of Sabian.

That makes Sabian pull Cassidy to the floor and Miro takes him out (not eliminated) for a bonus. With the Inner Circle standing in the corner, Miro gets rid of Johnson and spikes Janela with the swinging Rock Bottom. Hardy goes after Miro and gets sent to the apron, with Miro getting rid of Hardy, Kassidy and Janela in a row. That leaves with with Miro, Jungle Boy, Wardlow, MJF and Guevara, plus anyone still active on the floor.

The Inner Circle goes after Miro, who shrugs them all off. That gives us the Wardlow vs. Miro slugout until Sammy and MJF save Wardlow from the big clothesline. Wardlow hits a clothesline and the trio gets rid of Miro. Boy and Guevara wind up on the apron for a rather spiffy gymnastics routine with a bunch of flips and shots to the head but no eliminations.

MJF shoves them both off the top and out but Orange Cassidy is still in. Wardlow drags him back in and loads up Cassidy but MJF goes to try and eliminate Wardlow instead. That lets Cassidy make the comeback with Orange Punches and Wardlow is tossed, leaving Cassidy and MJF to win at 12:13.

Rating: C+. They kept this moving and there was enough stuff building towards the future to make it that much better. It also helped that they gave the annoying ending a bit of a twist by having Wardlow bring Cassidy back in rather than having him pop back in. Not a classic or anything, but it was effective and I’ll take that.

Post match the Best Friends come in to celebrate as referees have to hold Miro back.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Chris Jericho vs. Frankie Kazarian

The Inner Circle is here with Jericho. Kazarian grabs a headlock to start and then scores with a right hand to stagger Jericho. An Oklahoma roll gets two and we’re right back to the headlock to keep Jericho frustrated early on. Jericho manages to send him to the apron but the triangle dropkick is broken up, allowing Kazarian to hit a springboard clothesline. They fight outside with Jake Hager’s interference earning himself a trip to the barricade. Back in and Jericho scores with a Codebreaker before knocking Kazarian right back to the floor.

We come back from a break with Kazarian hitting some running clotheslines and forearms. Kazarian’s dropkick misses but the Lionsault only hits knees. They head up top with the Flux Capacitor (Spanish Fly) connecting for two on Jericho. Kazarian puts on his own Walls of Jericho with Hager telling Ortiz not to interfere to avoid the DQ. Cue MJF to tease throwing in the towel but Guevara runs in to cut him off. Kazarian grabs a rollup for two but charges into the Judas Effect for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C. Kazarian is someone who can get a good match out of anyone and it’s not like it takes much to do so with Jericho. At the same time, throwing in more of MJF vs. Guevara in the battle to be Jericho’s best friend is a great idea as the story is already gaining legs. Nice job here and I could go for more of Kazarian.

Post break Guevara and MJF are ready to go but Jericho cuts him off. He’s tired of this and says either they get this together next week or the Inner Circle breaks up next week.

The Young Bucks are asked about facing the Hybrid 2 next week but ask Alex Marvez if he remembers when they superkicked him in the face. Another superkick doesn’t ensue but they do say if the Hybrid 2 can win next week, they can have a title shot. The Acclaimed comes in to insult the Bucks’ book with Max Castor rhyming about how it should be in the adult section because of where the Bucks are looking. Cue the Hybrid 2 to jump the Bucks until SCU makes the save.

Britt Baker vs. Leyla Hirsch

Rebel is here with Baker, who insults Thunder Rosa before the match.. Hirsch takes Baker down to start and Baker is certainly not pleased. A headlock takeover makes it worse and Baker’s reversal attempt just earns her a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up and Baker hits a low superkick into a DDT. We take a break and come back with Hirsch hitting a kick to the face and a bicycle kick to send Baker outside.

Hirsch hits a suicide dive onto Rebel, with Baker pulling her in the way. Baker gets in a cheap shot and sends her face first into the apron. Back in and a jumping knee to the face looks to set up a cross armbreaker but Baker reverses into Lockjaw, which is reversed into the armbreaker as Rebel wasn’t ready with the glove. Baker slips out again but gets caught with a knee to the head. Rebel offers a distraction though and it’s a fisherman’s neckbreaker to set up the Lockjaw for the tap at 8:45.

Rating: C+. Hirsch continues to impress every time she’s out there but at the same time you have Baker, who is as good of a female heel as there is today. There’s just something about her that makes you want to see someone knock her head off and that’s not something you can easily see. Throw in her chemistry with Tony Schiavone and it’s one more layer of awesome.

Post match here’s Thunder Rosa for the brawl, with agents and referees having to break it up.

We look at Team Taz vs. Cody Rhodes/Darby Allin, setting up the tag match.

Cody Rhodes/Darby Allin vs. Team Taz

It’s Powerhouse Hobbs/Ricky Starks here with Taz at ringside. The brawl is on to start and we take a very quick break. Back with Allin being sent outside for a big running charge from Hobbs. Allin gets sent hard into the barricade and it’s time to go back inside for some shots to the ribs. Starks hits a few shots of his own and it’s back to Hobbs for a waistlock.

Allin gets in a shot to Starks’ face but Hobbs still isn’t ready to allow the hot tag. Hobbs sends Allin flying with a suplex but Allin flips out of back to back belly to back suplex attempts, allowing the hot tag to Cody. House is cleaned but Cross Rhodes is blocked. Instead it’s the Cody Cutter to Starks with Allin tagging himself in. Cody dives onto Hobbs, leaving Allin to hit the Coffin Drop for the pin at 11:14 (even though Starks’ shoulder was so high up that it almost has to be a plot point).

Rating: C+. Pretty much a formula tag match here but it worked out perfectly well for what they were doing. Team Taz continues to be worth seeing almost every week and they did give them an out with the ending. Good enough match here and I could go for more of it so another well done moment.

Post match Team Taz goes after Arn Anderson but it’s Dustin Rhodes coming in for the save. Brian Cage comes out to give both Rhodes Brothers the F5. The lights go out though and it’s STING making his debut for the save. After a quick staredown with Arn Anderson, Sting looks at Cody in the corner and then glares at Allin. That’s certainly a cool moment and the video/music were excellent. I don’t need to see Sting wrestle, but if you put him in an eight man tag or something like that, it should be fine. Awesome surprise though so nice job.

Hikaru Shida isn’t scared of Abadon because she is just a zombie cosplayer. Something falls off camera and Shida gets shaken up and leaves in a hurry.

Next week: Sting speaks.

Jon Moxley says things felt a little different when he landed in Jacksonville last night. It was finally time for two warriors to go to battle because the contracts have been signed and the promos have been cut. Now all that is left to to is make the crowd go banana (that made me smile).

AEW World Title: Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending and Don Callis joins commentary. Omega gets backed into the corner to start but comes out with a wristlock. Moxley’s headlock takeover gets him out of trouble and it’s Omega hitting some chops in the corner. Moxley doesn’t seem to mind and drives him into the other corner. A hurricanrana puts Moxley down but the Rise of the Terminator takes way too long, allowing Moxley to hit a Boss Man Slam.

They head outside with Moxley being whipped into the barricade but Moxley sends him in as well as we take a break. Back with Moxley favoring his knee and Omega hitting the Kitaro Crusher for two. The leg is bent around the middle rope for a running dropkick but another attempt is cut off by Moxley’s running clothesline. Omega is right back up with a series of chops but YOU CAN’T ESCAPE is escaped, with Moxley snapping off a German suplex.

Another shot to the knee cuts Moxley down again though and we take another break. Back with Omega hitting the big flip dive to take Moxley down on the floor. Omega tries to springboard back in though and dives right into the Paradigm Shift. Instead of covering though, some chairs are brought in so they can sit down and slap it out. Then they switch to right hands until Omega gets knocked out of the chair, only to come back with the V Trigger.

There’s the Snapdragon into a second one to rock Moxley. The V Trigger misses though and Moxley snaps off a German suplex. Omega pops back up with another V Trigger but Moxley blasts him with a clothesline for the double knockdown. There’s another Paradigm Shift for a delayed near fall so Moxley sends him outside. The suicide dive is cut off by another V Trigger, followed by a missile dropkick to the back.

The fourth V Trigger connects to the back in the corner and a Tiger Driver 98 gets two more. Some hard knees to the face look to set up the fifth V Trigger but Moxley blocks, only to have Omega hit another V Trigger. The One Winged Angel is countered but neither can hit the Paradigm Shift. Omega scores with a dropkick and a ripcord V Trigger connects. Moxley slips out of another One Winged Angel but Omega hits a wheelbarrow suplex for two. Omega goes up top but jumps down to the floor before Moxley can shove him down (smart).

Moxley grabs another Paradigm Shift on the floor and that’s enough for the doctor to come over to check on Omega. Referees and Callis go down to check on Omega but Moxley isn’t having any of this. He throws Omega back inside and hammers away so Callis grabs the mic. Moxley knocks him down so Omega grabs the mic to hit Moxley in the head. The champ is busted open so Omega hits four V Triggers in a row and it’s the One Winged Angel to make Omega champion at 28:28.

Rating: B+. They beat the heck out of each other here and that is the kind of match they needed to have. Omega almost had to win the title sooner or later because he is treated as one of if not the top stars in the company so this was something they had to do. That being said, I’m not sure where they are going with the Callis stuff and that was something that probably didn’t need to be there. Still though, what we got was rather great and that’s more than you can ask for here.

Post match Callis and Omega run off with everyone in the back yelling at them for cheating. They run to the car with Callis saying they’ll tell you about it on IMPACT Wrestling next week. Working with Impact sounds like one of the worst ideas I can think of for AEW and really not something they should be doing, but maybe we can get more Tommy Dreamer on Dynamite.

In a very, very quick closing line, Eddie Kingston runs out to say he wants Lance Archer next week to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This show was all about the main event and while I’m almost terrified of the idea of Dynamite and Impact working together, the match itself and the title change felt like a big deal because AEW has done a great job of protecting their titles. You don’t see title changes take place around here very often and it was special as a result. The rest of the show worked out really well too, making this the big time feeling that they have been needing for a bit. Just please don’t let the Impact thing be a long term thing. AEW is better than that.

Results

Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Orange Cassidy won a battle royal last eliminating Wardlow

Chris Jericho b. Frankie Kazarian – Judas Effect

Britt Baker b. Leyla Hirsch – Lockjaw

Cody Rhodes/Darby Allin b. Team Taz – Coffin Drop to Starks

Kenny Omega b. Jon Moxley – One Winged Angel

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: November 18, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re on the way to the December 2 showdown with World Champion Jon Moxley defending against Kenny Omega but we have a few weeks to go before we get there. Tonight we have a contract signing, but we also have the Young Bucks facing Top Flight in a match that seems designed to elevate the newcomers. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Young Bucks vs. Top Flight

Non-title and Top Flight is Darius/Dante Martin. Before the match we get a video on Top Flight talking about growing up and being influenced by the Bucks and the Motor City Machine Guns. They’re young, but if they can beat the Bucks then they know they can make it. Darius trades kicks with Matt to start and it’s off to Dante for a big dropkick. A slingshot hilo hits Matt and the Bucks bail to the floor, allowing Top Flight to tease some dives but moonsault back in.

Back in and the Bucks start hitting their kicks to take over. A slingshot dropkick through the ropes puts Darius down and there’s a dropkick/bulldog combination to drop Dante. The Sharpshooter has Dante in trouble until Darius makes the save. Nick ties Darius in the ropes so Dante can buckle bomb Dante into him for a crash. There’s a Backstabber to pull Darius out of the corner but Dante is back with a headscissors. The hot tag brings in Darius for some clotheslines and a standing Spanish Fly gets two.

Nick grabs a waistlock on Darius, who grabs Dante, who jumps over both of them to show off a bit. A running hurricanrana out of the corner gets two on Matt, who pops right back up with a spear to Dante. Nick kicks Darius in the face in the floor and it’s a powerbomb/Sliced Bread combination for two with Darius making the save. Darius gets sent outside in a help, leaving Dante to get superkicked. The BTE Trigger finishes Dante at 9:01.

Rating: C+. I liked this rather well and it makes sense after some of the good things I’ve heard about Top Flight. They already looked like a better version of Private Party so hopefully they are able to maintain some momentum after a good first big match like this. Nice start here and now they need to keep it going.

Post match the Hybrid 2 runs in to jump Top Flight, setting up their next match. The Bucks make the save and praise Top Flight.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

And now, the Inner Circle is in Las Vegas. First up is a blackjack table, where Sammy Guevara doesn’t quite know the rules. MJF wins at craps but Ortiz isn’t interested in celebrating, mainly because Santana and Sammy lose their money. They like the dancing girls a bit more but then it’s off to the bar, where MJF and Chris Jericho get back into their Can You Top This game of harder drinks. They finally go with 100 proof Everclear alcohol and shout “SON OF A B****” at the same time.

It’s time to take this to the next level, so here’s Konnan to take them into a limo. A lot of smoke comes out of said limo when they open the doors and Konnan sees a dragon. As in a person in a dragon costume but close enough. It’s off to another bar, where Wardlow and Jake Hager take turns showcasing their abilities to beat up various patrons (that was funny). To be continued, as this could be a very long night.

We see the History of Revolution video from Director X, talking about the first year of the company and how far they have come. Now imagine what they are going to do in the second year. This is a cool video with some cool visuals so check it out on full on their YouTube page.

Jon Moxley talks about how it all makes sense now. After everything that has taken him here, he finally understands what got him here: his dad. His father was 6’3, 250lbs and would smack you upside your head if you did wrong. One day his dad picked him up from the police station and told him what they were the good guys. That has always stuck with him, even now that he’s banged up with a pregnant wife at home (there’s some breaking news) and he’s a champion on two continents. He’s still going though and no matter what, he’s the good guy and he’ll do his father proud.

Kip Sabian vs. Orange Cassidy

Miro is on commentary and Penelope Ford is at ringside. Cassidy puts on his elbow pad and loads up the pockets but Sabian goes after the arms. An armbar goes on so Cassidy tries to put one hand in his pocket, which earns him a takedown. Cassidy’s headscissors is blocked as well and it’s back to working on the arm. The hands in the pockets block a drop toehold and Cassidy dropkicks him down into a nip up. There’s a hands in the pockets backdrop to the floor and a suicide dive takes Sabian down again. Ford offers a distraction though and Sabian hits a fireman’s carry gutbuster for two.

Back from a break with Cassidy getting in his own shot and hitting a high crossbody. There’s the spinning DDT for two but Cassidy’s diving DDT is countered. Cassidy sends him into the corner though and now the diving DDT connects for two. Sabian blocks a suplex though and hits a brainbuster, followed by something like a Falcon Arrow for two. The hanging swinging neckbreaker is countered into a small package for two from Cassidy and it’s the Mouse Trap to pin Sabian at 10:57.

Rating: C. I’m still not sure if I like Sabian or not and it’s kind of a frustrating situation. He has a good deal of talent and the stuff with Ford is good, though the gaming stuff isn’t exactly thrilling. He goes from feeling like he’s ready to break through to the next level and then just being around. The match was just there and it’s a better place for Cassidy than near the main event.

Post match here’s Miro to kick Cassidy in the face but the Best Friends run out for the save.

It’s time for the contract signing for Kenny Omega vs. Jon Moxley for December 2. Omega’s entrance is now focused on everything Moxley is NOT, which is a rather amusing twist. Hold on though as we cut to the back where Moxley is out with his nose bleeding (this company REALLY likes that trope). The doctor says to stabilize his neck but Omega says he isn’t buying this again. Last time it was an elbow and now this, so he signed the contract with Moxley still out.

It’s back to Vegas, where the Inner Circle, including Elvis, seems to be drunk. Elvis joins them in a Little Bit Of The Bubbly but MJF wants to talk about being part of a wolfpack. Sammy is ready to cut his hand to become a blood brother but everyone else stops him. It’s a full moon so they all howl….and then wake up in a hotel. Elvis and Jericho are next to each other, MJF is in the bathtub and Sammy is in a fountain. He and MJF yell at each other, with MJF having a bunch of things like SAMMY WUZ HERE written on his face.

Sammy goes over to find what appears to be three wedding photos (with three different women) from the night before, plus Ortiz in a BRIDE shirt. Jericho and Santana go into another room and find Swoggle in a diaper. I haven’t seen the Hangover so you’ll have to fill in the jokes yourselves.

Chris Jericho, with a heck of a headache, joins commentary.

Pac vs. Blade

Eddie Kingston has already replaced Jericho on commentary. Pac kicks Blade down to start and takes it outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and the missile dropkick has Blade in more trouble but a Bunny distraction lets Butcher get in a cheap shot. Blade sends him into the barricade and hits a chop, followed by a hard drop onto the top rope. Pac tries a slingshot DDT, though it’s more a slingshot armbar takedown instead. Bunny grabs Pac’s foot though and Butcher gets in another shot, setting up the Doctor Bomb for two on Pac.

We take a break and come back with Pac getting the better of a slugout. A superkick into a powerslam gives Blade two but Pac is right back with a top rope superplex for the same. Pac goes up top so Bunny offers a distraction, allowing Butcher to come in….and get superkicked down. The shooting star into the Brutalizer makes Blade tap at 11:22.

Rating: C. There were some moments where Pac looked a little shaky here but it’s his first match in over six months so you can only get on him so much. He hit the important stuff and the finisher still looks good. It was a bit longer than it probably should have been, but just getting Pac some ring time is what matters most here and he was hardly a disaster.

Post match Pac grabs the mic to yell at Eddie Kingston but Butcher jumps him from behind and the beatdown is on. Rey Fenix comes in for the failed save but here’s Penta with a chair…..to chase off Kingston (though he didn’t swing). Either way, the Death Triangle seems to be back together.

We go to the back where Jade Cargill has Pillmanized Brandi’s arm with Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero running interference for her.

NWA Women’s Title: Thunder Rosa vs. Serena Deeb

Deeb is defending after taking the title from Rosa about three weeks ago. Rosa takes her to the mat in a hammerlock but gets reversed into an armtrap rollup for two. Back up and Deeb hits some uppercuts but gets armdragged down. A running backsplash gives Rosa two and the running crotch attack to the back of the head has Deeb down again. Rosa takes too much time going to the apron though and gets her leg twisted around the middle rope.

We take a break and come back with Rosa hitting a running dropkick in the corner into a suplex for two. Rosa gets caught on the apron though and Deeb hits a spear on said apron for two. Rosa goes up top for a missile dropkick but here’s Rebel for a distraction, allowing Britt Baker to hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker on Rosa on the ramp.

Deeb hits a heck of a powerbomb for two and they go into a pinfall reversal sequence. That earns Rosa a Rings of Saturn with the legs but the Serenity Lock is countered. Back up and the slug it out until Rosa hits kind of a reverse World’s Strongest Slam (with Deeb over her back and going face first down) for two. Deeb fights up again and hits something like a Neutralizer with the arms pinned back (the Swiss Special) to retain at 13:35.

Rating: B. They beat each other up here with some hard hitting violence, though going for a few more minutes after Baker interfered was a little odd, especially if Deeb was going to get the pin anyway. What we got was good though and Baker beating Rosa on the way to the going after one of the Women’s Titles is a good idea.

Post match Rosa pulls Baker over the barricade and the fight is on until referees break it up.

John Silver hypes up Anna Jay’s Women’s Title match next week because she has come a long way since she was a rookie. Jay says she is going to reintroduce herself next week and take the Women’s Title from Hikaru Shida.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Team Taz vs. Cody Rhodes/Darby Allin

Taz is on commentary and Arn Anderson is at ringside. Allin front facelocks Starks to start but gets slammed down for his efforts. The grappling continues with Starks getting him into a hammerlock on the mat. Allin can’t hit the high angle springboard armdrag but he can get a hammerlock of his own. Starks goes to the ropes so Allin slaps him in the face for a knockdown. Even Taz has to admit that was a good shot as it’s off to Cody vs. Cage.

Cody gets the better of things in a hurry and knocks Cage into the corner, wetting up the top rope moonsault press for two. That’s enough to get Taz to head to ringside and we take a break. Back with Anderson having been ejected due to some interference and Starks pulling Allin off the apron to break up a tag attempt. Cage hits a German suplex and hands it back to Starks to stomp away in the corner. Cody finally gets in a shot of his own and the hot tag brings in Allin to clean house.

Everything breaks down and Cody hits the Disaster Kick to knock Cage down on the apron. Starks spears him down but gets dropkicked into the corner by Allin. Cage is back in for a powerbomb on Allin but a Code Red gives Allin two of his own. Cody hits Starks with Cross Rhodes and Cage blasts Allin with a discus lariat. Something like an Angle Slam puts Cody down, leaving Cage and Allin to fight on the ropes. That lets Cage hit a super Drill Claw (DANG) to finish Allin at 11:15.

Rating: B-. Good main event style tag match here, though I’m not sure how much Allin needs to be taking a fall, even in a tag, so soon after winning the title. I like where it’s leading but I don’t really care for how they are getting there. The match worked on its own though and the super Drill Claw did look great. If this sets up Team Taz getting into the title picture, the good outweighs the bad.

Post match the beating stays on Cody until Will Hobbs makes the save. Hobbs holds up the FTW Title….and knocks Cody out with it to join the team to end the show. I’m not sure they needed to do that but a two wrestler Team Taz did feel a little odd.

Overall Rating: B. This was an interesting one and I’m curious to see where things go. They opened up some doors tonight and there are a few different paths that they could take on their way to the December 2 show. There is a real chance that gets built up as a near pay per view level show and I’ve heard far worse ideas. The wrestling was mostly good tonight and I like where they’re going with some things, making this a rather entertaining and promising two hours.

Results

Young Bucks b. Top Flight – BTE Trigger to Dante

Orange Cassidy b. Kip Sabian – Mouse Trap

Pac b. Blade – Brutalizer

Serena Deeb b. Thunder Rosa – Swiss Special

Team Taz b. Cody Rhodes/Darby Allin – Super Drill Claw to Allin

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: November 11, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s the show after Full Gear and that means we have a long time to go before Revolution at the end of February. There is a lot of ground to cover on the way to that show and that means they have the time to set up more than a few things. I’m not sure what that is going to include and that is a nice feeling to have. Let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Happy Veterans Day.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Team Taz for a chat before Brian Cage’s match. Taz talks about how Cage is going to wrestle but before that he can see Darby Allin sitting up in the rafters. The last time they saw him, he was splattered on the roof of his own car at Full Gear. If Allin comes near the ring, he is getting taken out again. While he is sitting up there, send a message to his friend Cody, who can get taken out too. Cage is about to wrestle someone who is respected around the world in Matt Sydal. See, Sydal is no joke and Cage isn’t either, so let’s go.

Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal

Taz is on commentary and Ricky Starks is at ringside. Sydal starts fast with an enziguri into a kick to the face but gets tossed into the corner for the rapid fire clotheslines. A hiptoss into a backbreaker has Sydal in more trouble and Cage throws him around to make it even worse. There’s another clothesline and Cage does the curls into the fall away slam for two more. Sydal slips out of a powerbomb though and sends Cage to the ramp before going up top (Taz: “Oh no.”).

The top rope Meteora connects and it’s time to head back inside for the various kicks to various parts of Cage. The snap Angle Slam sets up another kick for two more and Sydal needs a breather. Another kick to the head connects but Cage is right back with a huge clothesline. The Drill Claw is countered into a hurricanrana for a hot near fall, which has Taz in near hysterics (which is a nice move as it adds drama). Sydal goes up top but Cage pulls him out of the air (dang) for the Drill Claw and the pin at 7:40. Taz: “VICTORY!!!!”

Rating: C+. That’s one of the better Sydal matches I’ve seen in a long time as he was fighting the monster and did so rather well. It helps that Cage is the kind of athletic freak that you don’t get to see very often. Sydal looked good in defeat and that’s nice to see, as he has only been doing so much around AEW so far.

Post match Ricky Starks grabs the mic and says the TNT Title is next. They’re ranked now and the revolution will be televised.

Here’s Cody Rhodes for a chat. After asking how the fans are, he congratulates Darby Allin (with a wince) and says that he will not be asking for a rematch right now. There are other giants to take care of….and here’s a rather tall and muscular woman to cut him off. Her name is Jade Cargill (not sure if I heard that right) and she is the total package.

She has been sitting on the sidelines studying her competition and has heard Cody talking about himself for months. He calls himself the giant killer but there is nothing giant about him. Jade knows a real giant and statements like Cody’s are an echo loud enough to wake him. The next time Cody wants to talk, keep that s*** to yourself.

Jade goes up the ramp but stops to say congratulations on the name. The giant that he was talking about is the real star, and his name is SHAQ (who commentary mentions was backstage at Full Gear to make a little more sense out of things). Cue Brandi, to ask who told her this was open mic night b****. Brandi shouts in her face about messing with her man and says get out of here until Brandi sends for her, heifer. Jerry Lynn comes out to break it up and commentary thinks it’s going to take more than just him.

Cue Cage to kick Cody low and Starks joins him, but it’s Darby Allin coming in for the save. Darby hits a Coffin Drop to a standing Starks, which is made a lot worse as he has a jacket with thumbtacks sticking out (that’s a new one). With everyone cleaned, out, Will Hobbs comes out to make it a trio. The Shaq thing was a little odd but Brandi snapping and going off on Jade was great.

We look at Kenny Omega beating Hangman Page to become #1 contender.

Jon Moxley talks about how he couldn’t say I Quit on Saturday because he was unable to. On Saturday, he realized that this title represents everyone who can’t pay their bills right now and every kid who gets mocked for being a wrestling fan. Now he has his biggest challenge in front of him. Beating Kenny Omega once is one thing but doing it again is another and it’s going to take someone special. Moxley creates magic though and while someone will beat him someday and it might be Omega, good luck.

Moxley vs. Omega for the title is set for December 2. Well that’s quite the surprise s that sounds more like a pay per view headliner. I can get the idea of not being able to wait three and a half months, but dang that sounds like leaving a lot of money on the table.

Butcher and Blade vs. Natural Nightmares

Bunkhouse match meaning anything goes and you can only win by pinfall or submission in the ring. It’s a brawl to start with Dustin taking Butcher outside for a face first drop onto an open chair. Marshall drops Blade and it’s time to set up a table at ringside. A guitar to the head drops Marshall so Dustin takes Blade back inside to load up Shattered Dreams. Butcher gets back up to run Dustin over though as Marshall is busted open bad. A ladder is brought in (as you tend to find in most bunkhouses) and we take a break.

Back with Butcher and Blade in control until Dustin fights up to take Butcher outside. They fight up to the set and climb onto the stage, where Marshall blasts Butcher with a fire extinguisher. That means a bulldog to take Butcher off the stage and through some well placed plywood. That leaves Marshall and Blade, busted open as well, to slug it out with Marshall nailing him with a trashcan lid.

The huge elbow drop off the ladder gets two and it’s Butcher and Dustin coming back in. Dustin’s sunset flip (not quite a Code Red) gets two on Butcher but Blade hits Dustin in the throat with a chain. A powerbomb/neckbreaker combination through some chairs gets two on Dustin with Marshall making the save. Marshall takes out Butcher with a cutter but Blade blocks one to him. Instead it’s Butcher being knocked into Bunny to put her through the table. A cowbell to Blade sets up the cutter to give Marshall the pin at 13:03.

Rating: B. Well that worked and the blood took it a lot higher than it would have been otherwise. I know the cowboy stuff is a little much at times but this was all about violence and four people wanting to hurt each other. That is the kind of thing that you shouldn’t be doing very often but when you get one that really works, it can be a heck of a showcase and that’s what it was here. Really violent brawl and I got into it in a big way.

Matt Hardy talks about the feud with Sammy Guevara, which is the most personal of his career. He went a long way to beat Guevara so don’t squander what Hardy has given him. Just don’t make us sit through the match again.

It’s time for Chris Jericho to induct MJF and Wardlow into the Inner Circle. Jericho talks about how it is the first time that the Inner Circle is adding in two members, but first we need the rest of the Inner Circle (minus Sammy Guevara). Jericho is confused by the lack of Sammy because he’s out of the hospital but we can worry about that later. Now it’s MJF and Wardlow, with MJF talking about how it has been a long hard road to get here. Tony: “Oh shut up.”

MJF has been in this industry for five years and all he had was a small loan from his father of a million dollars. He has taken a hard road to get here and he has written out some poetry, which he thinks his homies in Proud and Powerful will appreciate. The poem happens to be lyrics from a Drake song (MJF: “I WROTE THAT!”) and Santana and Ortiz aren’t pleased. Jericho says it’s on him if they have an issue but MJF beat him to get into the Inner Circle. MJF and Wardlow are going to make the team stronger than ever and they are already stronger than the Walls of Jericho.

They are a team and they are going to make it work. MJF: “I don’t even know who Drake is!” We’re not just here to celebrate him though, because it’s also Chris Jericho’s birthday, complete with confetti and balloons….which go flying out of the building instead of falling down. Next week though, they’re going to Vegas and it’s all on MJF. Jericho holds up the tickets as MJF sings him Happy Birthday and it’s a group pose. JR: “Well they’re probably bus tickets.” The tension is there and that’s an interesting thing to see for the future.

We look at the Young Bucks beating FTR to become the Tag Team Champions.

A nervous Alex Marvez talks to the Young Bucks and asks what is next for the team. They talk about how big of an accomplishment this is for them and how they are looking for fresh competition. Next week it’s the Bucks vs. Top Flight, who have competed on Dark. New top guys out. I’ve heard good things about Top Flight so hopefully they get a great showcase next week.

Scorpio Sky vs. Shawn Spears

Tully Blanchard is here with Spears. They trade running shoulders to start until it’s an exchange of chops to put Spears into the corner. A big boot takes Spears down and they head outside with Sky hammering away. Sky bites at the ear to send Spears back inside but he rolls right back outside to keep things moving. Back in again and Spears throws him off the top as we take a break.

We come back with Sky hitting a big dive to the floor to drop Spears again and it’s a slingshot cutter back inside. They head to the floor again with Sky trying a dive off the steps, only to jump into a superkick. A backbreaker onto the steps has Sky down again (Tony: “That’s very abrasive steel too.”) and they head back inside one more time.

Sky’s TKO is countered so he goes with a Scorpion Deathlock (Tony: “It’s a Scorpio Deathlock!”). Tully begs Spears to make it to the ropes and then offers a distraction, allowing Spears to grab the slug to load up the glove. Tully throws another slug to Sky for a distraction, allowing Spears to hit the loaded glove for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C. There was a lot going on here and it was a little bit too much for the match to work. They went in and out a lot and it was getting to be a big distracting. It’s also not the kind of thing that is going to make me care about Spears, but it’s not the worst idea in the world to give him a push. Not a bad match either, but it would be nice to see Sky getting a bigger push instead of the less interesting Spears.

Kenny Omega isn’t ready for an interview and is nowhere to be found.

Actually hang on as Omega is outside and on the phone with someone. The call ends and Omega is asked about the upcoming title match. Omega talks about how he has been living with everyone being on him about not being the Cleaner or the Best Bout Machine. Now he is ready to bring back the old Omega, who has never wrestled Moxley before. Now he has had a fight with him, but what happens when they have a match? That’s what’s coming on December 2, so Moxley better be ready. He has a flight to catch so enjoy Dynamite.

Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet

Anna Jay and Brandi, who begrudgingly does the Red Velvet mixing deal, are here too. Jay takes her into the corner to star but gets taken down into a rather complicated rollup for two. Back up and they trade armdrags before Velvet scores with a spinwheel kick for two. Conti kicks her down as well and we take a break.

Back with Velvet hitting a Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog into some running knees to the back in the ropes. They get back up and hit stereo kicks to the face, allowing Anna to slide in a chair. Conti wants nothing to do with that though and Velvet hits a leg lariat for two more. A kick to the face misses, though Velvet slaps her thigh anyway. Thankfully Conti doesn’t sell it and it’s a Gory Special into a spinning knee to the face to finish Velvet at 7:59.

Rating: C-. That miss near the end hurt it a lot but it’s nice to see a midcard women’s story as Conti isn’t interested in joining the Dark Order just yet. What we got worked out well enough, though it seems to be the next step in a much bigger story. It’s also nice to see Velvet getting a chance to showcase herself as she is getting more comfortable out there.

The Inner Circle is celebrating the Vegas trip when Sammy Guevara pops up to say he was told to go to the beach instead of being here. MJF insists he sent another email and has a ticket for Sammy as well. Sammy: “I only got one email.” I’d be more worried about Sammy being around four days after a Conchairto on concrete.

We recap Kip Sabian/Miro/Penelope Ford not being happy with Orange Cassidy’s apology and a brawl nearly breaking out.

Next week: Sabian vs. Cassidy, Team Taz vs. Darby Allin/Cody and Top Flight vs. the Young Bucks, plus the Inner Circle Slays Vegas.

Here’s Eddie Kingston for a chat. Kingston doesn’t need the fans to cheer his name because he already knows it. Yes he quit against Jon Moxley but he’s back here, unlike all of these people who never got in the ring in the first place. For tonight though, we have Penta vs. Rey Fenix and you’re welcome.

Penta El Cero Miedo vs. Rey Fenix

Kingston is on commentary. They kick each other down to start and then trade clotheslines. Fenix flips forward into a victory roll, which is reversed in a hurry as they get back to their feet. A twist into a sunset flip gives Penta two so Fenix hits a running headscissors to send him outside. Back in and Penta gives him a big backdrop to the floor, which seems to bang up Fenix’s knees. They head inside again with Penta lifting him up for a Tombstone but tying the legs up instead.

Penta goes extra evil by ripping part of the mask apart, revealing a good chunk of Fenix’s face. Excalibur: “This would be a disqualification in Mexico!” Kingston: “WE’RE IN JACKSONVILLE!” The chinlock goes on as Excalibur and Kingston keep up their argument. Back with Fenix hitting a running spinning kick to the head in the corner but getting sent out to the ramp. That’s fine with Fenix, who hits a quick kick to the head and now it’s time to rip Penta’s mask. Kingston: “You should DQ Fenix for that!”

Some shots to the face have Penta in trouble but he’s back with a flipping forward DDT (starts in a reverse DDT position and flips forward to drop Fenix on his head). Fenix sends him outside for a very spinning corkscrew dive. Penta is right back with a fear Factor onto the apron and Fenix is mostly done on the floor. Even Kingston thinks that was too much but Fenix is up a few seconds later anyway. Penta drops him on his head again and takes it back inside for another Fear Factor and the pin at 12:33.

Rating: B. Aside from Fenix possibly dying multiple times during the match, this was an awesome showcase between the two of them and you knew it was going to be. Kingston continues to be awesome on commentary, as he has a tendency to do. The ripping at the masks made it feel more personal, but there was no way this wasn’t going to be awesome. Heck of a main event, as you knew it was going to be.

Kingston: “THIS IS AWESOME! CLAP CLAP! Whatever you marks do!” He praises the match for being so great and calls Penta his best friend for showing his brother who is boss. Fenix falls outside….and here’s Pac to say he’s back. Pac is ready to go with Kingston but referees break it up to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling carried this one for the most part as the show felt a little unfocused throughout. What we got worked out well enough though and that’s a nice thing to see, especially on a show that was more about taking a nice deep breath after Full Gear. It was a good show though and that’s nice to see in a spot that always has the potential to be a letdown. Pac being back and the rather brutal tag match were cool enough and it was an easy two hour watch.

Results

Brian Cage b. Matt Sydal – Drill Claw

Natural Nightmares b. Butcher and Blade – Cutter to Blade

Shawn Spears b. Scorpio Sky – Loaded left hand

Tay Conti b. Red Velvet – Gory Special into a knee to the face

Penta El Cero Miedo b. Rey Fenix – Fear Factor

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Full Gear 2020
Date: November 7, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s time to go back on pay per view and that’s quite a good thing around here. This company has been around for about a year and a half with pay per views and has almost as good of a track record as you can get. This show has a stacked card too and hopefully we get something that lives up to its potential. Let’s get to it.

Buy-In: NWA Women’s Title: Allysin Kay vs. Serena Deeb

Deeb is defending and drives Kay into the corner to start. A top wristlock takes Kay down but she’s right back up, only to get dragon screw legwhipped. Serena ties their legs together and bridges them into the air while pulling on Kay’s arms for a move that looks great and makes you try to figure out what is hurting more. That’s broken up and they slap it out with Kay taking her into the corner. Deeb rolls her up for two but walks into a hot shot for the same.

The straitjacket choke goes on but Deeb switches around into a Backstabber. Kay is right back up with a chokebomb for two and a spinebuster is good for the same. A double clothesline gives us a double knockdown though and we get a breather. Back up and Deeb hits a swinging neckbreaker for two but Kay is back up with the AK47 (spinning Big Ending) with Deeb rolling out to the floor. Back in and Deeb twists the knee down again, setting up the Serenity Lock (Tequila Sunrise) for the tap at 10:26.

Rating: C. This was a perfectly fine way to open things up as they had a completely watchable match with the leg being worked on earlier in the match to set up the ending. Deeb is a great addition to the roster and Kay would be a nice signing if they can get her. Nice choice for the opener here and they both looked completely comfortable on this kind of a stage.

The opening video looks at the bigger matches, as opening videos tend to do.

Commentary runs down the card.

Impact Wrestling’s Don Callis joins commentary for the opener.

#1 Contenders Tournament Finals: Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page

Dang I thought this had a chance at headlining. Omega gets a big hype introduction of course, including listing off various tournaments he has won and talking about his experience edge. With dancing girls of course. Page on the other hand is a “Focus Yeehaw Man” and doesn’t shake hands. Feeling out process to start with Page getting dropped by a shoulder but avoiding a dropkick. The sliding clothesline misses so Page goes with some chops instead.

Omega knocks him to the floor to set up the Rise of the Terminator but Page is right back in with a big boot. A superplex gives Page two and they head to the floor with Page chopping away against the barricade. Omega gets whipped into the barricade but he’s right back up with a moonsault off the same barricade. Back in and the Regal Roll sets up a middle rope moonsault for two but Page hits a heck of a clothesline to send him outside.

The slingshot dive misses and it’s a baseball dropkick to keep Page on the floor. Omega hits the big running flip dive and they’re both down for a bit. Back in again and neither can hit the One Winged Angel so Omega goes with the V Trigger to knock him to the ramp. A powerbomb on the ramp is blocked so Page whips him into the ropes for a pop up powerbomb to drop Omega onto the ramp instead.

Another pop up powerbomb gives Page two back inside and they both need a breather. The slow motion forearm off sets up a rolling forearm to rock Omega. He’s right back with a knee to the face and a tiger driver 98 gives Omega two. The V Trigger misses though and Page hits a discus forearm. Omega hits one of his own into the Snapdragon but Page is right back with a shot to the face of his own.

The Deadeye gives Page two so it’s time for the Buckshot Lariat. That’s countered into a crucifix, which is countered into a cradle for a crazy close near fall on Omega. Back up and Omega twists the knee around the ropes and after a missed Buckshot Lariat, Omega hits a pair of V Triggers. The One Winged Angel finishes Page at 16:26.

Rating: B+. Yeah that worked and you knew it was going to. Page is someone who is going to be a big star for a long time to come as he had a heck of a match here, though there wasn’t much doubt about the winner. Omega seems ready to ascend to the next level but I’m more interested in seeing where Page and his collapse under the pressure goes from here.

AEW Games is doing something on Tuesday.

Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver

Kind of a drop off for Cassidy after the co-main event last time around. They stare each other down with Silver talking about how jacked he is and yelling at Cassidy for putting his hands in his pockets. Tony: “If you don’t want him to do it, stop him.” Cassidy takes him down and teases a headlock but gives him a thumbs up instead. The slow motion kicks to the legs set up the dropkick into the nip up but Silver slams him down.

Silver takes Cassidy’s hands out of the pockets and RIPS OUT THE POCKETS. He eats one of them too. Some big tosses send Cassidy flying across the ring as this is mostly one sided. Cassidy tries the tornado DDT but Silver muscles him up with a suplex, followed by the kicks to the chest. Cassidy gets sent out to the apron and it’s time to send Silver head first into the buckle over and over. A high crossbody sets up the tornado DDT for two and they’re both down for a bit.

Silver is back up with a one armed gorilla press drop onto the top rope but Cassidy snaps off a headscissors. The Michinoku Driver gives Cassidy two but the Beach Break is broken up. The Orange Punch misses as well so Cassidy settles for a Stundog Millionaire instead. Silver is back with a pump kick and the Spin Doctor gets two. The discus clothesline misses though and Cassidy is back with the Orange Punch. Cassidy hits the Beach Break for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C+. This was a total showcase for Silver and he stepped up to make it work. He can go in the ring and I’ve heard nothing but good things about his stuff on BTE. Silver got something out of this and that was the idea. Cassidy was fine here too, though he doesn’t have as much momentum as he had just a few months ago. It’s still there, but he needs to do something to get back up to where he was.

We recap Cody Rhodes (yes the Rhodes is back) vs. Darby Allin for Cody’s TNT Title. Cody got squashed to lose the title but came back with a vengeance to regain it. Then Allin stepped up to get the next shot and wants to be the next face of TNT. Cody agrees….but not right now. Darby is different though and has given Cody a run for his money before.

TNT Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin

Cody is defending and has Brandi and the rest of the Nightmare Family with him. Allin comes in the banged up car that says FACE OF TNT, which he bangs up even more with the skateboard. Feeling out process to start as the fans give us a BOTH THESE GUYS chant. Cody takes him to the mat to start and they go to some standing switches off a waistlock. Allin sends him outside but comes back in with a crucifix for two but Cody runs him over without much effort.

A short armscissors goes on before Cody shifts to a regular armbar. Darby fights up but gets pulled down into a Rings of Saturn to stay on the arm. Back up and Cody takes him up top for a super hammerlock slam, only to miss the moonsault. Darby strikes away and hits a running Code Red for two. Allin goes up to but gets caught with a forearm to the back, setting up a super Cross Rhodes for two as the arm is underneath the rope.

Cody goes up again but Darby jumps on his back, only to have Cody drop back down for a big crash. Allin gets planted again as commentary is wondering why Cody isn’t going back to the banged up arm. Instead Cody grabs the weightlifting belt but Allin scoops the legs for two off a rollup. The Last Supper gives Allin two more and the Coffin Drop gets two more. Back up and Cody goes for another Cross Rhodes but Allin reverses into a pinfall reversal sequence with Allin managing to get the surprise pin and the title at 16:50.

Rating: B. They got me with that one as I didn’t think Cody was going to drop the title so soon. That being said, they have been needing to make new stars around here and that’s what they did here with a clean pin to make Allin the champion. Good match too, but the important thing was elevating someone to another level and that’s what they did here, just as they should have.

Post match Arn Anderson is STUNNED. Cody hands Allin the title and raises his hand as Anderson isn’t pleased. Cue Taz to say enough of this already. He’s sick of the emotions because Allin won the title. Taz would say act like you’ve been there before but he never has been.

Cue Brian Cage and Ricky Starks to post Anderson and jump the other two. Cage and Starks both pick up the TNT Title and get in a bit of a tug of war until Taz takes it away. Cage picks Allin up and, after dispatching Cody again, drops him on the floor for a toss through….it looks like a Full Gear sign. They take Allin over to the car and go to crush the arm but Will Hobbs makes the save with a chair. Perfectly logical progression of the story, but I’m not sure they needed to do this immediately after the title change.

The Natural Nightmares don’t think much of Allie infiltrating the team but Dustin Rhodes is ready to take care of the Butcher and Blade on Wednesday. We’re even going to make it a Bunkhouse Match so they can make it even worse. Were they doing a sound check when Cody was getting mauled???

We recap Hikaru Shida vs. Nyla Rose. Shida has won the title and beaten up all of her challengers so we’ll have her face Rose again.

Women’s Title: Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida

Rose, with Vickie Guerrero is challenging. They slug it out to start with Shida ducking some big shots and hammering away. Rose easily blocks a suplex attempt so Shida hits a pair of running dropkicks into the ropes. The running knee gives Shida one but she knocks Rose outside without much effort. Shida loads up her chair but takes a little too long, allowing Rose to blast her with a clothesline. The referee won’t let Rose use a chair so Shida knocks her over the barricade and hammers away.

Vickie gets in a kendo stick shot to Shida’s knee though and the champ is in a lot of trouble. The knee is bent around the ring structure and Rose cuts the leg out again with a chop block. A splash onto the legs gets two and Rose grabs a half crab to stay on the knee. Rose misses a backsplash though and Shida hits a basement clothesline for her own two. Shida manages a slam for two but Rose is back with a claw onto the knee of all things. That doesn’t last long (thankfully) so Rose slams her down for two instead.

Shida gets draped across the top rope and Rose comes off the top with a knee to the knee for two more. It’s Rose heading up again but this time Shida catches her with a pump kick onto the ramp. A middle rope dropkick puts her down again and a regular missile dropkick gets two back inside. Rose blocks the running knee though and it’s a powerbomb (not the Beast Bomb) for two, but she pulls Shida up.

Instead Rose hits her own running knee for one and Shida manages a backdrop. Back up and a super Falcon Arrow gets two on Rose so they head outside, with Rose accidentally running Vickie over. They head inside again and Shida hits a regular Falcon Arrow for two more. Shida hits a pair of running knees to finish Rose at 13:57.

Rating: C. It was hard hitting but it kind of kept going from move to move without the most coherent match. There was something there with Rose getting too cocky to follow up and go with the pin, but it was kind of meandering after that. Granted it needs to be a matter of time before Britt Baker wins the title and if that’s what happens, everything is going to be fine. This was nowhere near a bad match, but it wasn’t all that good.

Post match Vickie screams at Rose and seems to end the partnership. It wasn’t exactly some epic team in the first place.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. FTR. This has been a dream match for a long time now and there is no reason to believe it won’t be great in practice. FTR have the titles but the Bucks are the best team in the world, or so they say. Matt Jackson has a bad knee/ankle coming in thanks to the champs, Tully Blanchard is banned from ringside and if the Bucks lose they can never challenge for the titles again.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are challenging. Wheeler goes straight for Matt’s bad leg but gets kicked to the leg with Matt saying he’s fine. Back in and everything breaks down for a second until we settle down to Nick vs. Harwood. Commentary explains that Tully was banned for cheating (JR: “What do pro wrestling managers do?”) as Nick kicks Harwood down into an armbar. That’s broken up and Harwood takes him into the corner to hammer away but Nick dropkicks his way to freedom. Matt comes back in for stereo hurricanranas into right hands to the head (ala the Rockers), with the champs being sent outside.

The Bucks follow him out with Harwood punching the post by mistake to put him in trouble for a change. Back in and the hand can barely do anything but Wheeler takes Matt down by the leg. The referee checks on Harwood’s hand and bandages it up as the leg work continues. Matt gets away for a bit but Nick and Wheeler are fighting on the apron. The PowerPlex is cut off by raised knees though and Matt grabs a small package for two. Matt goes old school with the Arn Anderson head fake into the DDT and the hot tag brings in Nick to clean house.

The champs get beaten down on the floor but Wheeler rolls through a high crossbody. A Hart Attack gets two on Nick but Matt makes a blind tag to spear Wheeler. The running knee to the face gives Matt two but it’s a Steiner Bulldog for two more despite Wheeler cutting Nick off. Nick is back in with a superkick and a 3D into a Twist of Fate into a Swanton gets two on Wheeler. Matt gets a crazy hot near fall off a crucifix before slugging it out with Harwood.

A right hand rocks Matt but aggrivates the hand again again. FTR goes back to NXT’s days with the Meet In The Middle for two on Matt but the Mind Breaker is countered with a kick to the head (Excalibur: “Broken up with the gamenguri!” Somewhere Bobby Heenan is shouting “HE KICKED THE MAN IN THE HEAD!”) and the Bucks grab stereo Sharpshooters. Those are broken up so Nick goes after Harwood’s hand, setting up the BTE Trigger for two with Wheeler making a very diving save.

Nick dives onto Wheeler so Matt grabs a chair, with Harwood begging him to use it. Matt doesn’t, but the delay lets Wheeler break up the Meltzer Driver. The Mind Bender connects but Matt gets a foot on the rope for the break. FTR takes off Matt’s boot and ties up the leg for the middle rope stomp. The inverted Figure Four goes on but Nick makes the save with a 450 for two more. Wheeler is back in to kick Matt down but misses a springboard 450 (seriously) of his own. Matt uses the bad leg for the superkick for the pin and the titles at 29:50.

Rating: A-. Yeah that worked, mainly because they slowed things down to start with the Bucks not doing as many flips as they could. In other words, they actually built things up and got to the big moment at the end, which is what often works best with these things. Really good stuff here, though they might have done one too many old school moves to avoid being cute. Still though, heck of a match and the kind of match where you can see the praise for the Bucks being earned.

Post match Omega comes out to celebrate as we can see someone (seemed to be Page) lurking in the shadows.

Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy

It’s a cinematic match with Sammy riding up to the Hardy Compound in a golf cart (labeled Spanish God of course). We cut to Matt on the phone saying that if he gives the signal, someone needs to show up here ASAP. Sammy arrives and is greeted by NEO1, who projects Broken Matt. Cue the real Matt in a monster truck (labeled Strait Jacket) to run over the golf cart. Matt calls that orgasmic and says it was a squash job. Sammy jumps Matt with a trashcan as the bell rings, followed by a moonsault off of the truck.

They send each other into some trees and Sammy is whipped into another trashcan. A suplex on the yard gives us a bad thud but Matt gets over to a fountain to pull out a scepter (Excalibur: “It’s the Scepter of Mestophocles! JR: “WELL OF COURSE IT IS!”). Some shots to the ribs have Sammy in trouble and they head over to the ring waiting for them. Cue Santana and Ortiz to jump Matt so he reaches underneath the ring and grabs a walkie talkie, saying come on. We cut to Private Party in a car and they’re on their way for the save.

Cue Private Party, with JR saying they’re dressed like “funky….uh…..superheroes!”. The teams brawl in the ring as Matt busts out some Roman candles and runs off. Matt starts singing A Hunting I Will Go and fires them over the ring while shouting for Sammy. Hold on though as Sammy finds a well placed torch and his own Roman candle to fire right back. We cut over to Private Party and Santana/Ortiz having a mini match before going back to Matt unloading on Sammy with more fireworks.

Sammy winds up in a mud pit so Matt can get in a mud show line for your Jim Cornette reference. Hold on though as here’s a masked man to say he’s Matt’s mentor. It’s Gangrel, so Matt unleashes Hurricane Helms (who he put there in a previous match at the Compound) for the save. Helms asks what took Matt two years so Matt says it’s long form storytelling and he had to go to AEW to actually finish this. Sammy is back up to throw Hurricane in the Lake of Reincarnation and he counters the Twist of Fate into a low superkick.

Cue ace reporter Gregory Helms to question Sammy, earning himself another trip into the water. They get back in the ring with Hurricane joining them again. Sammy goes off into the woods as Gangrel, Hurricane, Private Party Santana and Ortiz fighting in the ring. Sammy and Matt go into the Dome of Deletion and Matt shuts the door, allowing music to start and Sammy to get in a chair shot to the back. The turnbuckle is unhooked as they head into a ring, where a ladder and table are waiting.

Sammy chokes him with the rope and then lays him on the table. It’s time to climb the ladder, setting up a huge Swanton….for two. Matt is back with a Twist of Fate and sends Sammy through a table at ringside. A chair to Sammy’s head is your next call back to months ago and Matt shouts that Sammy made him into what he is. Matt hits the Conchairto on the floor as commentary gets all serious and Sammy is done at 19:38.

Rating: D. I get that some people are going to have a good time with this and I won’t argue anything about it, but dang this didn’t do it for me. It was way too long, they got too goofy (as usual) and then Matt wins. I’m not sure how in the world this was seen as the best idea but I’m really not sure I want to know what their bad ideas were. I really don’t need to see this kind of match again and I certainly don’t need to see Matt winning over someone like Sammy.

Post match Matt lets Private Party in and they put Sammy in a trash can (which was quite the fit) so Private Party can throw him into the back of a truck.

Jake Roberts sings about watching Captain Kangaroo and Lance Archer says he’s going to end everyone. You’re not supposed to throw rocks in glass houses but he’s throwing boulders.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman. MJF has been trying to get into the Inner Circle but Jericho has not been thrilled with the prospect. They had a big song and dance number and then a town hall but now it’s time for a match, where MJF gets in if he wins.

Chris Jericho vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

If MJF wins, he’s in the Inner Circle. MJF, with Wardlow, comes out in the light up jacket and does the old Jericho pose on the stage. Jericho pounds him down to start and gets in a hard forearm, followed by a belly to back. Some shots in the corner are cut off by MJF’s clothesline and it’s time to rip at Jericho’s face. They head outside with Jericho taking over the camera, as he has been known to do. The Judas Effect hits the post though and the arm is in trouble. Excalibur: “Well MJF, despite the fact that he’s an arrogant p****, is an excellent pro wrestler.”

Back in and Jericho hits a backdrop but gets his arm snapped down onto the rope to put him in trouble again. The cocky MJF slowly hammers away in the corner but Jericho pokes him in the eye. The top rope ax handle sets up the Lionsault for no cover as Jericho takes him up top instead. A super hurricanrana plants MJF for two but he grabs the wrist and sends Jericho flying by the arm. Jericho crotches him on top, only to have MJF pull him by the arm into the corner.

They slug it out with Jericho using the left hand, as he would logically be doing here. MJF is right back with the Salt of the Earth but Jericho slips out and puts on the Walls. A crawl gets MJF over to the ropes for the break, with the referee having to tell Jericho he didn’t win. MJF pulls him throat first into the ropes and snaps the arm over the ropes again. A Codebreaker over the ropes sets up the Heatseeker for two and they’re both down.

MJF misses a Lionsault and gets caught with the Codebreaker for two more. The Judas Effect is countered into the Salt of the Earth but Jericho makes the rope this time. Wardlow slips in the Dynamite Diamond but Jericho ducks the big right hand. Jake Hager throws in Floyd the bat so MJF drops down and plays dead. The referee yells at Jericho, allowing MJF to grab a rollup with tights for the pin at 16:24.

Rating: B-. This was a good back and forth match where I wasn’t sure how they were going to end things. They did something clever by having MJF outsmart Jericho, which could go a long way if MJF is ultimately going to have MJF take Jericho’s spot as leader (assuming they go that way). Rather good match and it’s not like Jericho losing is going to hurt him (as has been the case for the last fifteen plus years at least).

Post match the monsters stare at each other so Jericho shakes MJF’s hand, welcoming both he and Wardlow to the team.

Revolution is on February 27, promising an alternate reality.

Orange Cassidy has no thoughts on his win but here are Miro, Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford to demand an apology. Cassidy says he’s sorry but that’s not good enough for Sabian, who slaps him. Cassidy and the Best Friends walk away, leaving the three of them confused.

We recap Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley. They have been friends for fifteen years and now Kingston being eaten alive by jealousy. Kingston talked about how he gave his life to this business and it’s why he never got married or had kids. Moxley talked about the promise he made to Kingston’s mom to watch his back. Tonight it’s I Quit as Kingston has his big chance.

AEW World Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley

Moxley is defending and it’s I Quit. They slug it out to start and they trade the chops until Moxley picks the ankle. That doesn’t last long and it’s time to chop it out again. They head outside with Moxley hitting a suicide dive and throwing a chair at Eddie’s face for a bonus. It’s time to go beyond the barricade with Moxley suplexing him onto the concrete. Moxley goes for the choke but Kingston bites the arm to escape.

It’s back to ringside with Moxley being sent into the barricade. Kingston throws in the chairs but the now bleeding Moxley pulls out a barbed wire baseball bat. A shot to the ribs and back have Kingston in trouble and Moxley kicks the chairs over. The barbed wire is raked over Kingston’s forehead but he’s right back with some belly to back suplexes. Moxley punches away from the mat but Kingston hits him with the chair.

After taking some barbed wire off the bat and wrapping it around his hand, Kingston hammers away at the head for some extra brutality. Kingston grabs a Kimura with Moxley having to bite the leg for the break. The chairs are set up again but this time Moxley gets in a suplex onto them for another double knockdown. Kingston is still up first and pours out a bag of thumbtacks but Moxley gets in a hard clothesline for a breather. It’s Kingston up first to knock Moxley down onto the tacks and then raids the doctor’s bag….to find rubbing alcohol.

A low blow keeps Moxley down and Kingston pours the rubbing alcohol into the wounds on Moxley’s back. Screaming ensues, though it isn’t enough to make Moxley quit. Instead Moxley fights back up gets the bulldog choke, which still isn’t enough to make Kingston quit. With that not working, Moxley gets up and hits the Paradigm Shift. That’s not enough either so Moxley wraps the barbed wire around his arm and puts on the bulldog choke to retain at 19:02.

Rating: B. The opinion on this is going to be the most back and forth you’ll see for a main event you’ll see for a bit as it’s going to depend on your taste. I’m not a fan of this kind of stuff, though for what they were going for, it worked well. It was violent and brutal, but the Abyss in TNA and various other people in other promotions have taken away any impact this might have. Kingston wasn’t exactly a major threat to win and that’s ok in a spot like this. The point wasn’t the ending but rather how they got there and that worked, though this really isn’t my style.

Post match Moxley shouts that it was blood and guts. Cue Kenny Omega for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. The women’s match was longer than it needed to be (while still being find enough) and the Hardy vs. Guevara match was just bad but the rest of this was a smash with nothing resembling bad throughout the night. You have some great stuff here like the opener, the Tag Team Title match and depending on your taste, the main event. AEW is right back where they usually were and All Out seems to have been just a misstep, which is going to happen to everyone. Check this one out as it’s one of the better shows of the year.

Results

Kenny Omega b. Hangman Page – One Winged Angel

Orange Cassidy b. John Silver – Beach Break

Darby Allin b. Cody Rhodes – Rollup

Hikaru Shida b. Nyla Rose – Running knee

Young Bucks b. FTR – Superkick to Harwood

Matt Hardy b. Sammy Guevara – Conchairto

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Chris Jericho – Rollup with tights

Jon Moxley b. Eddie Kingston – Bulldog choke with barbed wire

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

It’s that time again. AEW has not been around all that long but they are already getting some traditional shows together. That is the case again with the second annual Full Gear, which hopefully ends their streak of completely watchable and even good pay per views that were completely beneath their usual shows. That’s kind of a good problem to have and hopefully everything is at their normal level this time around. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: NWA Women’s Title: Serena Deeb(c) vs. Allysin Kay

My head shakes every time I see the NWA on a big time wrestling show as it never stops amazing me. The NWA got a lot of miles out of that rather short Powerrr run but here they are again. Deeb has been a great addition to the AEW women’s division and the NWA name still has the slightest value. It’s not like this is taking up some big spot so hopefully we get a solid match as a bonus.

I’ll take Deeb to retain here as there is no reason to believe that she is going to lose. Deeb has recently signed to AEW and the NWA would be insane to cut off any kind of mainstream connection they have like AEW. It’s going to be a good match as the two of them are both rather talented in the ring and can probably put on a heck of a match if they are given the chance.

Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver

I don’t watch Being The Elite but everything I’ve heard about it says that Silver has started stealing the show as of late. He has been showing some of that on AEW as well and it is nice to see him getting a spot like this. It isn’t like anything is going to change in a significant way because he is getting this spot, and Cassidy still has a lot of status around here so it should work.

Of course Cassidy wins here because he is the star of the two, even though he has fell down a few good steps since the feud with Chris Jericho ended. This is likely to be the comedy match of the night and that’s a fine spot for them after one of the bigger matches. It has some potential and Silver is coming off like a star, so maybe we could be in for something good here.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida(c) vs. Nyla Rose

Is it just me or does Rose get half of the title shots in this promotion? Anyway, this is the same thing that we have seen more than once now, with the great striker Shida defending against the monster. It worked well enough once so hopefully they can make it work again. Shida feels like she has cooled WAY off in recent weeks though and I had mostly forgotten about her more than once.

I know I’ve said something like this before but I can’t imagine Rose loses here. Why in the world would you have her lose all over again, especially with Vickie Guerrero as a good mouthpiece for her? Shida is hardly an exciting champion these days and Rose (or eventually Britt Baker) taking the title from her should be the ultimate goal. For now though, Rose leaves as champion.

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

It’s time for another cinematic match with the Elite Deletion match. I know that Hardy is the originator of this kind of match but I can’t really bring myself to get decided about the thing again. The feud has not exactly been the strongest in company history and other than seeing some of Hardy’s calculated insanity, I’m not sure how much appeal this has.

I’ll take Guevara to win here as there is just no reason to have Hardy win. Hardy is an established star and has been foe about fifteen years now. The match should be complete shenanigans and insanity, but at the end of the day, Guevara can be a force for a long time to come. I don’t think this is going to be the match that puts him on the stage for good, but at least a win over Hardy could mean at least a little something.

TNT Title: Cody(c) vs. Darby Allin

Now we’re getting somewhere as we have a history between the two of them and a shiny title for someone to take with them. Cody is back to the blond hair to make it feel like a member of his Elite and that is working out well enough for everyone. They even hyped up the match a bit this week to give it some heat and that is a good thing. Now though we get to see if Allin can hang here on the big show, which is hard to screw.

This is a tough one actually but I can’t imagine Cody dropping the title for a second time just a few weeks after getting it back. At the same time though, I don’t want or need to see Allin taking another loss after coming up short in most of his big matches. The good thing here is the fact that they have managed to do a really solid job with making Allin feel like a star and he’ll get there one day. It just isn’t today, but it is going to make for an interesting chance.

Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Young Bucks

This is the next dream match and in this case, that might actually be an accurate description for a change. These are two very successful and popular teams, though this time we have a twist with the Bucks doing the old “if we don’t win we can’t challenge again” deal. Normally that would seal the deal in a title match like this but that does not seem to be the case with AEW (so far at least).

I’m going to take….dang….yeah I’ll go with the Bucks here, even with Matt’s knee not being entirely healed up yet. This is a match that has been hyped up for a very long now and I’m curious to see which way they can take it. FTR could feel like transitional champions, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a great match on the way there. Just cool it with some of the Bucks’ flips they’re likely to have a better match (with a few flips of course).

Chris Jericho vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

In a way, I kind of wish they weren’t having this match. Friedman is an amazing talker and a great character, but he is a lot better in those areas than he is in the ring. That isn’t to say he can’t have a great match as he and Jungle Boy were awesome at All Out, but I’m not entirely sold here. Part of the appeal of this has been the teasing of a fight and I don’t know if I really need to see them actually go at it.

That being said, there is no reason whatsoever for Jericho to win here, as Friedman joining the team is the obvious next step. The question though is which way do you go to get there. I’m not sure if you have someone turn on Jericho yet or wait for later, but you can almost write in the idea of the Inner Circle (or at least part of it) turning on him. I don’t think they need to do it yet, but they do need to have Friedman win here, which he will.

Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page

If there wasn’t a World Title match left, this would be headlining the show. It has received a lot more hype than the World Title match and the story is a good bit more detailed. The Page interview on this week’s Dynamite made me a lot more interested in what he was doing than I was before, so hopefully they can live up to the hype while also continuing to mess with Page’s psyche.

Of course I’ll go with Omega, as I just can’t imagine them going with anything but Omega as the next World Title challenger. It is pretty clear that he is going to get the big breakout star push and I’m curious to see how well that works in front of an American audience. There is no need to have Page go over here, meaning he takes another hit and slips further away how he was originally presented (as he should be).

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Eddie Kingston

Then there’s this, which doesn’t exactly feel like a top of the card main event match. The I Quit stipulation helps out a lot though as these two having a heck of a fight is the best thing they can do. Moxley can brawl and Kingston can fight, which doesn’t leave much in the area of technical expertise. They are going to have to do something special to make one of them quit and believe they can pull it off somehow.

Moxley retains here as there is almost no way to imagine Kingston as a World Champion in a major promotion. His promos have been straight fire as of late though and AEW would be insane to not try and do something with him. Assuming Omega wins, there id no reason to have him go after anyone but Moxley needs to retain the title, which is exactly what he will do.

Overall Thoughts

All Out was not the best show in the world but AEW has long since shown that they can do some very entertaining pay per views. The card is absolutely stacked and it was feeling bigger and bigger with each match I looked at here. This has a lot of potential and if everything delivers, we could be in a full time classic. I’m looking forward to this one and that means they’re doing something right.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: November 4, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s the go home show for Full Gear and that means it’s time to hammer things on in the way to the pay per view. I’m not sure what that is going to entail but AEW has done rather well with the build up towards their pay per views and hopefully that means we get something good here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The Inner Circle is in the back with Chris Jericho bragging about Jake Hager winning his MMA fight last week to remain undefeated. Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Wardlow come in with MJF saying he’s ready to say he’s ready to become the newest member of the Inner Circle. Jericho doesn’t buy it because he doesn’t think MJF has the toughness to be on the team. Where are his battle scars? MJF says he’s going to show Jericho how tough he really is.

Jericho joins commentary and, as always looks happy to see the fans singing Judas.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Wardlow vs. Sammy Guevara/Ortiz

Still a weird combination for the Inner Circle. Ortiz’s headlock doesn’t work on Wardlow so Ortiz jumps over him in the corner and hits a dropkick to the ribs. Wardlow plants him with a spinebuster though and it’s MJF stomping him down in the corner. Some biting ensues but Ortiz gets a boot up in the corner. Not that it matters as MJF sends him down into the corner for one and it’s time to start on the arm.

A jawbreaker gets Ortiz out of trouble though and it’s off to Sammy, who kicks Wardlow in the face. The jumping knee to MJF’s face connects and it’s a springboard crossbody onto both MJF and Wardlow. Sammy’s suicide flip dive into a running flip dive takes them out on the floor as Sammy can do the fired up face comeback. Back in and Sammy pops MJF up for a kick to the back (cool) but Wardlow’s distraction lets MJF get in a shot to Ortiz’s arm. Ortiz is whipped into the ropes for a Cactus Clothesline to Wardlow, leaving MJF and Sammy to have the showdown.

Sammy starts with the flips so MJF pokes him in the eye. That earns him a jumping knee to the face and it’s the GTH for two with Wardlow having to make a save. Sammy and Ortiz double team Wardlow and Jericho is VERY pleased. Everyone else heads up top so it’s a Tower of Doom to plant everyone. The F10 drops Ortiz but Sammy dives in for a save. MJF gets sent outside and Sammy hits a springboard flip dive (DANG) to take him out as well. Cue Serpentico to throw a chair at Sammy though and yeah it’s Matt Hardy under the mask. Back in and the Salt of the Earth makes Ortiz tap at 9:29.

Rating: B+. As good as he already is, this was a total star making/breakout performance for Sammy, who stole the show more than once. He was hitting one big spot after another and it was some great high flying on display. Everyone was feeling it here but this was all about Sammy, who seems primed for the face turn sooner than later. Just have him beat Matt on Saturday, as he should.

Post match MJF jumps Jericho until the Inner Circle breaks it up. Jericho is very pleased.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

We go to Kenny Omega’s house for a sitdown interview, complete with his dog. Actually never mind as it’s neither his house nor his dog (Chico). Either way, Omega is ready for the tournament final because that’s what he does. Now he could have gone in to see Tony Khan and gotten a title shot, but wins and losses matter around here. He has won every tournament he has ever been in, so why would you bet against him?

Trent vs. Miro

Hold on though as Miro interrupts the Big Match Intros to say that Trent is rude since his mom didn’t teach him any manners. You don’t mess with Trent’s mom so he hits a quick dropkick but Miro powers out of a tornado DDT attempt. The beatdown is on with Trent being tossed around and clotheslined down as Jericho gets on Excalibur for not having any merchandise. The referee yells at Miro as Chuck Taylor beats up Kip Sabian on the floor and takes him to the back.

Penelope Ford tries to go after them but Orange Cassidy cuts her off. Miro splashes Trent in the corner but Trent is back with a running clothesline. Another tornado DDT is countered into a throw and Miro sends him shoulder first into the post. We take a break and come back with Miro hitting a running kick to the chest as we hear about Miro chasing off the Dark Order during the break. Thankfully they show it again in case you stopped watching during the commercial as Miro slaps on a bearhug.

Trent fights back with some clotheslines but Miro just stares at him. Miro misses a splash in the corner though and Trent hits a hard clothesline for his own two. There’s a half nelson suplex to drop Miro again but the running knee is pulled out of the air. Miro hits the swinging release Rock Bottom for two but Trent grabs a rollup for the same. Trent low bridges him to the floor and hits the big running flip dive for a bonus. The tornado DDT finally connects and Trent’s running knee gets two. A springboard misses though and Miro kicks him in the face, setting up Game Over for the pin at 11:57.

Rating: C. The action was good, but for the life of me I don’t get why Miro hasn’t been more of a monster. He was going 50/50 with Trent here as Miro continues to look more like another guy on the roster than someone special. The match was good enough with the action and power vs. speed, but Miro’s allure is vanishing every single time he’s in the ring.

Post match Miro puts the hold on again, bringing in Sabian and Chuck for the save/attack. Chuck gets knocked down and Miro rants about his mom again, only to have Orange Cassidy hit a dive off the top to take him down.

Earlier today, Jim Ross sat down with Hangman Page (and his drink) to ask about the tournament. Page is pretty chill about the whole thing and is ready to take care of Omega, though first he’s enjoying his cocktail. As for his strategy, he knows holds and moves and knows how to reverse all of them. JR doesn’t buy it and thinks Page has had more than a few bourbons today because he’s nervous.

Page says he’s a bit nervous because everyone gets nervous. He came here as the guy destined to be the first World Champion and now he’s getting close to it again. If he loses, what else does he have except his whiskey? Now Page having issues because of not living up to the hype when AEW started and failing to win the title is an interesting way to go if that’s what they’re doing.

We get the big video on the Young Bucks vs. FTR, with various wrestlers and personalities making their picks. The Bucks insist that they’re never challenging for the titles again. This does help make things feel a little bigger, which is kind of hard to do.

Commentary talks about the match but here’s Team Taz to cut him off. Taz says he’s been at work lately and insists to get the cameraman inside. He sat outside Tony Khan’s office for three hours, trying to get two minutes of his time. Tony, or TK (second time he’s been called that tonight), was too busy talking to people who are going to be on pay per view. Taz brings up the ranking system, which has the 10-1 Brian Cage at #1 but he’s not on Full Gear. Ricky Starks has won ten of his last eleven matches and he’s not even in the top five.

Starks talks about how he has opened and closed Dynamite but he’s not even ranked. One plus one is two though, and that makes sense to them. So why don’t they have a match at Full Gear? Starks begs someone, like Taz, to make it make sense. Taz brings up Cody defending the TNT Title against Darby Allin on Saturday and thinks it’s going to be a great match. Cody walks around here with everything handed to him and Team Taz has done the work. There will be an FTW presence at Full Gear and you can believe that. Makes a lot of sense. Taz was great here and they brought up some very true points.

Private Party with Matt Hardy come out for a match but here’s Sammy Guevara to lay Hardy out with a Twist of Fate on the ramp.

Private Party vs. Young Bucks

Nick Jackson chops Marq Quen to start and hits the big running wristdrag out of the corner to start in on the arm. The limping Matt comes in and sends Kassidy into the corner, setting up the double chop from the Bucks. Quen gets double suplexed onto Kassidy and there’s the double dropkick to put Private Party on the floor. The double slingshot dives have them in trouble again but Matt grabs his ankle.

Back in and Private Party double teams Matt down, setting up a running basement dropkick. The Bucks are sent to opposite side on the floor, setting up double suicide dives. Back in and a bulldog/dropkick combination has Quen down again but the Meltzer Driver is countered into a DDT/Downward Spiral combination. We take a break and come back with Private Party making the comeback, including a slingshot cutter. A big running flip dive takes the bucks down on the floor and a springboard shooting star to the back gets two on Nick.

Matt can’t stand up on the apron so it’s Gin and Juice for two on Nick with Matt making the diving save. Quen has to bail out of the shooting star so Matt hits the spear into Nick’s running knee for two. Another Meltzer Driver is broken up and Quen gets two off a victory roll in a call back to their original match in the Tag Team Title tournament. The superkicks rock Quen though and it’s the BTE Trigger for the pin at 12:56.

Rating: B-. I know the Bucks are exciting but their matches run together as badly as anyone else in AEW. The athletics and high flying are both really good and entertaining but it feels like something I’ve seen a few dozen times now. Good match though, with Private Party looking great and the Bucks being slightly more slowed down than usual thanks to Matt’s injury.

Post match here’s FTR with the chair and they tease Pillmanizing Matt’s leg again until Hangman Page (with drink) makes the save. Kenny Omega runs in a few seconds later but won’t even look at Page. With FTR on the floor, Page picks up the chair but throws it down without even teasing a shot to Omega. Page and Omega have a fist bump as the Bucks yell at FTR. Hold on though as Omega turns his back on Page, who isn’t cool with that.

Tony Schiavone brings out Eddie Kingston and Jon Moxley for the face to face showdown, though if things get physical, the match is off. Eddie literally goes nose to nose with Moxley, saying that the World Title means everything to him. The title is why he never gave his mother a grandchild or a daughter in law so he’s taking it on Saturday.

Moxley says he’d rather have four quarters than 100 pennies because he has been burned time and again. He never thought he would get burned by Kingston though because he was so happy when Kingston got signed. Eddie: “I DON’T CARE!” Moxley was happy for Kingston’s mother Ruthie, whose kitchen table he sat at to always have his back. Moxley broke his promise to keep an eye on Kingston because he believes the loudest person in the room is the weakest and Eddie has been loud. That isn’t Eddie, so what is going on?

After eighteen years, Kingston, who keeps his back to Moxley, is getting the shot he never thought he would get. What bothers Kingston is that he made a promise to his mother that he can’t keep because he’s going to lose. Kingston rants about how this is real and storms off. Moxley says Kingston is going to learn that he isn’t the man he thought he was.

This was GREAT and you could feel the intensity on every word. Also worthy of a note: during part of the silence, Jericho quickly said that Kingston couldn’t touch Moxley no matter what he said or the match is off. This was mentioned earlier in the night, but it helped as a reminder (I had forgotten about it too) and was said quickly, without going too emotional, and without distracting from what was going on. That’s how commentary is supposed to work in a situation like this and it worked.

We get a video from Pac, who is watching….himself watch Dynamite. The other Pacs leave so the real one says that the problem with isolation is that you have no one to play with. He has been alone for seven months and the casualty of this rotten world is that he has been here before. Pac has been lost and abandoned but he has gotten better, stronger and faster.

Dustin Rhodes and QT Marshall are ready for Butcher and Blade next week but here’s the Bunny to say Marshall’s cards are all maxed out. Butcher and Blade jump them from behind for the big beatdown.

Nyla Rose vs. Red Velvet

Brandi Rhodes is in Velvet’s corner and Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. Velvet goes right for her to start and hits a running kick to the face. Some stomping has Rose down in the corner and the elegant choking ensues. Rose is right back up with a heck of a clothesline but Velvet elbows her way out of a Samoan drop. A raised boot in the corner annoys Rose and she catches a top rope seated senton, setting up the Beast Bomb for the….two as Rose picks her up at two. A running knee, ala Hikaru Shida (at ringside), finishes Velvet at 2:54.

Post match Vickie Guerrero laughs at Velvet for losing even with Brandi in her corner. Maybe Brandi should be the Chief Bull S*** Officer. Anyway, Vickie goes over to Shida and promises to see her lose the title and cry on Saturday. Rose and Shida get in a brawl until wrestlers break it up.

We get the big Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page video ala the FTR vs. Bucks video from earlier. They do a nice job of showcasing the teamwork that made Page and Omega work, which turns into You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Til It’s Gone as they lose the titles and split up for good. That was so cheesy that it worked perfectly.

Full Gear rundown.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Darby Allin uses his skateboard to attack a car labeled THE FACE OF TNT. Then he runs over someone in a Cody mask.

Cody/Gunn Club vs. Dark Order

Cody and Jon Silver start things off but it’s quickly off to Austin for a Hennig faceplant for two. Billy comes in so Silver backs away, meaning Colt Cabana can rub his bald head. Cabana knocks Billy into the corner but misses the Flying Apple. Everything breaks down and Austin cleans house, only to get taken down by 10 as we take a break.

Back with Austin still in trouble in the corner, with Cabana even knocking Cody off the apron. Austin gets a knee in though and the hot tag brings in Billy to clean house. The Fameasser gets two on 10 with Silver making the save as everything breaks down. Cody hits a big dive to the floor to take Cabana down and it’s 10 with a cutter for two on Billy. Silver’s dive is cut off by Cody and tossed into the fans, leaving Austin to hit Cross Rhodes on Cabana. The Quick Draw finishes 10 at 8:43.

Rating: C+. Austin looked good here and I’ve liked that finisher for a good while now. Other than that you have a pretty action packed match, assuming you can get by Billy suddenly being AEW’s version of a legend. The match was better than I expected and it’s nice to see someone other than Cody getting the win here.

Post match the Dark Order comes in for the brawl but Orange Cassidy takes Silver out and the Order bails. Cody grabs the mic and says Darby Allin isn’t telling the truth when he talks about TNT not wanting him to be the face of the show. Why wouldn’t they? Darby is something different and under other circumstances, Cody would love to have him be champion. Cody is the one who got Darby here because the other EVP’s weren’t sure on him. It was Cody wrestling Darby to get him signed here and now Allin wants the ace belt but he isn’t the ace. A lot of staring ends the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This was one of the better shows that they have had in a good while and that is the kind of thing that they need on the way to Full Gear. I want to see the show more than I did before so that’s a nice feeling. The show should be a blast as it looks absolutely stacked, though they still have to execute on Saturday. The good thing is I believe AEW can make it work, which is a nice feeling to have. Really great show this week and it’s nice to be able to say that again.

Results

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Wardlow b. Ortiz/Sammy Guevara – Salt of the Earth to Ortiz

Miro b. Trent – Game Over

Young Bucks b. Private Party – BTE Trigger to Quen

Nyla Rose b. Red Velvet – Running knee

Cody/Gunn Club b. Dark Order – Quick Draw to 10

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: October 13, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

It’s the night before the big anniversary show and that means we have a lot to cover in the near future. I’m not sure what we we are going to be seeing tonight, but there are fourteen matches, which is likely going to make this one of the longer shows in its history so far. You know how much I’ll love that. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary welcome.

Evil Uno vs. Blade vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Jungle Boy

One fall to a finish and there are no seconds. It’s a brawl to start with Uno and Blade being knocked outside in a hurry. Kazarian sweeps Boy’s leg out for two but Boy stacks him up for two more. Boy’s legsweep misses and it’s a standoff, allowing Uno to take Boy’s place. Kazarian clotheslines Uno down so here’s Blade, who gets taken down with a springboard wristdrag.

Kazarian’s bridging electric chair gets two on Boy but Uno is back in with a suplex for the same. A neckbreaker with the wrist tape drops Boy for two more, leaving Blade and Uno to chop it out. Everyone is back inside and Boy monkey flips Kazarian, who hits the other two with a double clothesline. Kazarian pulls Boy into the slingshot cutter before fisherman’s suplexing Blade for two.

Uno’s backbreaker gets two more on Boy but Blade powerbombs him out of the corner. Kazarian grabs the slingshot DDT on Blade but Boy is back in with stereo crossbodies to Kazarian to put everyone down. Boy gets caught on top so Kazarian and Blade fight over who gets to give him a superplex. Uno breaks that up, only to get caught in a rollup to give Boy the pin at 8:31.

Rating: C. They telegraphed the ending a bit by talking about Boy being in the #1 contenders tournament but at the same time, a four way is the kind of match which could go in a variety of ways without hurting the most important name. It was a good opener and felt more important, though that isn’t likely to be the case for everything tonight. Boy winning is a good thing though and it’s not like Uno loses anything significant by taking the fall.

Post match Uno jumps Boy and calls out the Dark Order but here are Christopher Daniels and SCU for the save, with Luchasaurus beating up various people.

Lucha Bros vs. Cezar Bononi/Lee Johnson

Penta yells at Bononi to start and gets run over by a shoulder. Fenix comes in for a handspring kick to Johnson’s face and it’s back to Penta, who takes too long yelling. Bononi gets the tag and starts cleaning house, including World’s Strongest Slamming Penta and powerbombing Fenix at the same time. Fenix is back up with a springboard wristdrag to set up a low top rope double stomp from Penta to put Bononi down. The double superkick look to set up the spike Fear Factor but Johnson makes the save. Penta is right back with a Sling Blade and Fenix kicks Bononi down. Now the spike Fear Factor can finish Johnson at 5:04.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t into this one as much as they didn’t get to the drama for the most part. It was fine enough as the Lucha Bros can do their thing, but they need someone better to work off of. Bononi and Johnson are just two guys facing them, and that’s not exactly the best use of the Lucha Bros. Then again that has been the case for months so maybe they need a new direction.

Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon

They’re at it again and Avalon jumps him from behind during the entrances. A tiger bomb plants Cutler on the ramp and Avalon demands that he be declared the winner. The bell rings anyway so it’s a running dropkick to send Cutler outside again, meaning the count is on. Three straight belly to back suplexes set up a half crab but Cutler makes the rope. Back up and Avalon charges into a boot to the face, allowing Avalon to hit a kick to the head.

They head outside where Avalon yells at Leva Bates, allowing Cutler to hit a suicide dive. The springboard elbow gives Cutler two back inside but Avalon is back with the Rock Bottom for the same. Cutler grabs a reverse inverted DDT for his second two so he tries the big dice but Leva talks him out of it. Back in and Avalon hits a running clothesline before picking up a book. The referee gets decked as Cutler picks Avalon up, meaning there is no count off Cutler’s gutbuster. Cutler rips up the book so Avalon grabs the dice, meaning they hit each other at the same time for the double DQ at 7:32.

Rating: C. This worked, but it needs to be the last screwy finish. Throw some kind of a gimmick out there or something, but end it with the next one. Both guys wanting desperately to win their first match is a clever way to go and the double DQ was the most logical after the double countout. This worked out well, but you can probably guarantee a time limit draw in there somewhere.

Sonny Kiss is ready to show he’s a singles star as well.

Sonny Kiss vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal armdrags him down a few times into a front facelock but Sonny is right back with a running dropkick. Back up and Sydal hits a spinwheel kick and we hit the third eye jazz. Sydal takes him down into a stretch, with Taz and Excalibur arguing over what kind of a grip he is using. A fisherman’s buster gives Sydal two but Sonny is back with forearms into a running Downward Spiral. The running splits splash gives Sonny two but the middle rope version misses. Sydal ties the legs up and grabs a cobra clutch to make Sonny tap at 5:40.

Rating: C-. This was just a step above a squash for Sydal, who never quite felt like he was in jeopardy. Part of that is due to where Sonny is on the card, but the other problem is he is much more of a gymnast than anything else and it doesn’t exactly make him seem like a threat. Not a bad match, but not a dramatic one either.

Dark Order vs. Aaron Solow/M’Badu/Angel Fashion

It’s 3/4/10 for the Order here. Silver slams Solow down to start but Solow is back with a dropkick. M’Badu comes in and pounds away on Silver, who fails at a shoulder block. Fashion comes in to kick Reynolds’ leg out and adds a running knee to the face for two. It’s off to Vance for a running cutter, followed by a neckbreaker from Reynolds.

Fashion manages to back flip his way to freedom and makes the tag off to M’Badu to clean house. Solow comes back in but gets cut off by Vance’s slingshot spear. That means Solow is lifted into the air for a running charge from Silver, flipping Solow down for the crash and the pin at 5:47.

Rating: D+. M’Badu was the only thing of value here, as the Dark Order continues to be fine and not much else. Silver has grown on me a bit and is showing some personality though, making him the lone member of the lower half of the team to do so. Another match that could have been trimmed, but AEW LOVES the Dark Order so that wasn’t an option.

Red Velvet vs. Elayna Black

Brandi is on commentary because she’s Brandi and needs to be around a lot. Black on the other hand comes out with a mini coffin, containing an AEW face guard. Black’s waistlock is broken up in a hurry and Velvet armdrags her down. Velvet does it again and adds a dropkick for a bonus. Brandi thinks Velvet should be called Lil Cupcake but gets cut off by Black kicking out the leg. Black mocks the stirring deal but Velvet is back with some running clotheslines. A Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog sets up some running double knees to Black’s back. Just Desserts (a running kick to the side of the head) finishes Black at 3:32.

Rating: C-. Velvet is someone who could be a bit of a player if she is given the chance to grow and a win is the first step. It’s rather nice to see this show FINALLY starting to boost up some of these people who we have seen so many times already. It’s long overdue and helps a lot so if Velvet is someone they can build, good for them.

Ricky Starks vs. Fuego del Sol

Commentary makes fun of Sol, a luchador, being from Alabama. Starks unloads on him in the corner before sending Sol into various corners. There’s a big toss across the ring and Starks elbows him in the face, giving us a THIS IS MY HOUSE. Sol gets sent hard over the top and out onto the ramp, with Starks dragging him over near commentary. Starks jumps on commentary to say this is AEW Starks before taking it back to the ring. Sol’s comeback doesn’t work as it’s the spear into the Roshambo to give Starks the pin at 3:05.

Rating: C-. The match was completely one sided but you can feel the star power with Starks. He gets in there and commands attention, looks great and backs it up in the ring. What else could you ask for from someone who is 26 years old? Starks has been a complete steal and I could go for a lot more of him as he gains experience.

Scorpio Sky and Christopher Daniels are asked if Shawn Spears is in their heads so here’s Spears to ask the same. Sky is ready to fight so Tully Blanchard makes the match for next week.

Starks joins commentary.

Gunn Club vs. Ryzin/Maxx Stardom

They’re trolling us with the Gunn Club right? Ryzin stomps Austin down in the corner to start as Team Taz doesn’t like Ryzin wearing the orange and black. Austin is right back with a Hennig necksnap for two and Billy comes in for a running boot to the face. A spinning slam plants Stardom but it’s back to Ryzin for a backbreaker into a neckbreaker on Austin. Back up and a double clothesline allows the double tag to Billy and Stardom. The Fameasser misses though and Ryzin hits a superkick. Austin is right back in though and the Quick Draw finishes Stardom at 4:47.

Rating: D. This was every Gunn Club match you’ve seen so far and that isn’t likely to change. They’re probably about 9-0 at this point and have never so much as come close to going after the titles. It’s like running on a treadmill but there is nothing to see in the first place. The team just sticks around no matter what and never goes anywhere, only making them the most expendable thing that shows up on this show far too frequently.

Darby Allin vs. Nick Comoroto

Comoroto is a very hairy man in an untied straitjacket (good look to him). Allin gets shoved into the corner to start as Team Taz is now cheering for Comoroto. There’s another hard whip into the corner to put Allin down again and a slam gives Comoroto two. He whips Allin into the corner a third time for two and a backbreaker cuts Allin off for two more.

Allin flips his way to the apron and snaps the arm across the rope. There’s a dropkick to the knee and an armbar over the ropes has Comoroto in more trouble. A Fujiwara armbar sends Comoroto into the ropes so Allin goes to the middle rope to take him down by the arm. The Coffin Drop finishes Comoroto at 5:42.

Rating: C. Allin continues to impress and it makes sense to keep him around so much. The Coffin Drop looks good as a finisher too and I want to see more of him against Team Taz. At the same time, Comoroto looks like he could be a good monster around here, though that won’t be as effective if he loses seven or eight matches around here first. Nice debut showing here though, partially because he looks like a werewolf.

Post match Allin charges at Starks for the brawl.

KiLynn King wants to fight Nyla Rose again. This was an intense promo and I could go for more of King, either wrestling or talking.

Colt Cabana vs. Griff Garrison

Yes we are now at three Dark Order matches on one show. Cabana takes him down in a hurry and it’s time to fight over arm control. Garrison hits a kick to the face but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Cabana to stomp away. A spinebuster looks to set up the Billy Goat’s Curse but Garrison heads straight to the ropes. Back up and Garrison hits a rolling elbow, followed by a running splash in the corner. Cabana gets his boots up though and the Flying Apple connects. The middle rope splash gets two and Cabana is surprised. Cabana trips him down and it’s the Billy Goat’s Curse to make Garrison tap at 4:40.

Rating: D+. Another match which came and went, though Cabana is a lot more polished than most of the people on the roster. He’s been around forever and knows what works on him so it makes sense to have him out there fairly often. They have seemingly dropped the issues with Cabana and Lee, but I’m not sure how much further it could have gone anyway.

KiLynn King vs. Nyla Rose

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. King gets shoved down to start so she goes with the strikes to have Rose in a bit of trouble. Back up and Rose hits the fall away slam but misses a charge into the corner. Rose sends her flying with a release German suplex and the Beast Bomb finishes at 1:54. What a waste of a good promo.

Post match Vickie says she wants a better opponent. They are the Vicious Vixens and demand an answer. It’s either Hikaru Shida for the Women’s Title or Rose doesn’t wrestle.

Joey Janela vs. D3

Sonny Kiss is here with Joey. They go to the mat to start and D3 grabs a rollup for two. Janela is back up with a running shoulder but gets caught in the very spinning anklescissors. That’s broken up with a simple drop to send D3 face first into the mat, marking a rather smart counter.

A neckbreaker gives Janela two but D3 is back with his own neckbreaker. Commentary mostly ignores the match to talk about Italian ice until Janela gets their attention with a spinning Death Valley Driver on the floor. Back in and Joey hits a running clothesline before screaming a bit. Three brainbusters knock D3 silly and Janela finally pins him at 5:04.

Rating: D+. So now Janela gets aggressive to beat a jobber? That’s what we’re going with now? Janela continues to be someone who is just there and that isn’t exactly inspiring stuff. I know he’s a big deal on the indy scene, but it isn’t translating here and one match where he hits a bunch of brainbusters isn’t going to make it work.

Wardlow vs. Elijah Dean

Dean wears bright purple and pink and is from Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Wardlow shoves him down and takes the leg out to put Dean in more trouble. Dean’s shots to the chest earn him a big toss and a hard clothesline makes it even worse. Wardlow powers him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs before putting Dean on the top. Dean is dropped down onto a knee to the face for the knockout at 1:53. So we needed to add in this total Wardlow squash to build him up for a tournament he is already in because he has been built up in matches like this? And it just NEEDED to be tonight?

Eddie Kingston vs. Baron Black

Black has to go straight to the knee to escape an early grappling attempt so Kingston knocks him down. The big chops have Black in more trouble but he hits a discus clothesline in the corner. An exploder suplex drops Kingston again, only to have Eddie come back with the spinning backfist. A front chancery makes Black tap at 2:47.

Kingston shouts for Jon Moxley.

Preview for Dynamite FINALLY wraps this up.

Overall Rating: D. NOPE! This was one of the most infuriating shows I can remember in a long time and it made me long for a good old fashioned three hour Raw. After six matches, I looked at the clock and after my eyes bugged out, it dawned on me that we had another EIGHT to go. They crammed every single thing they could in here and a grand total of nothing stands out because there were fourteen matches, plus promos, with the big stories being a match set up for next week and Cutler vs. Avalon continuing.

This was so stupidly long and there is zero reason for it to be. How many matches could you just not do and have the same result? There were a few things on here which felt somewhat more important than usual but they all get forgotten because we need the Gunn Club and three Dark Order matches and Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela in singles matches and a squash from Nyla Rose, Wardlow and Eddie Kingston. This was so annoying and I don’t remember the last time a show got on my nerves so much. And of course they’ll do it again and the answer will be “just don’t watch it”, because that’s easier than making a show better.

Results

Jungle Boy b. Evil Uno, Frankie Kazarian and Blade – Rollup to Uno

Lucha Bros b. Cezar Bononi/Lee Johnson – Spike Fear Factor to Johnson

Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon went to a double DQ when both used weapons

Matt Sydal b. Sonny Kiss – Cobra clutch

Dark Order b. M’Badu/Aaron Solow/Angel Fashion – Double flipping slam to Solow

Red Velvet b. Elayna Black – Just Desserts

Ricky Starks b. Fuego del Sol – Roshambo

Gunn Club. Ryzin/Maxx Stardom – Quick Draw to Stardom

Darby Allin b. Nick Comoroto – Coffin Drop

Colt Cabana b. Griff Garrison – Billy Goat’s Curse

Nyla Rose b. KiLynn King – Beast Bomb

Joey Janela b. D3 – Brainbuster

Wardlow b. Elijah Dean – Knee to the face

Eddie Kingston b. Baron Black – Front chancery

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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