Rampage
Date: September 13, 2024
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

We’re taped as the fallout from All Out continues. Dynamite was in a weird place with everything they had to do as so many people are missing after the pay per view. That could spill over to Rampage as well, but the show certainly marches to the beat of its own drum. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Dark Order vs. Conglomeration

Briscoe chops away at Reynolds to start and it’s off to Cassidy, who gets kicked in the face. A double flipping faceplant sets up a triple kick to the face, allowing the Order to pose on Cassidy. Silver hits Reynolds by mistake though and then he does it again, which ahs the Order fighting among themselves. Everything breaks down and Silver is left alone for a running basement dropkick. The Stundog Millionaire rocks Silver again but Uno is back with Something Evil. Briscoe hits a hard clothesline though and we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly cleaning house and the double kicks having Reynolds in more trouble. Everything breaks down and a DDT sends O’Reilly outside. Cassidy comes back with a double hurricanrana and Briscoe uses the chair for a step up flip dive. The Jay Driller finishes Reynolds at 10:07.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of match you would expect from them and even though the Dark Order is only going to be so much of a threat to anyone, at least it was fun while it lasted. The Conglomeration continues to be one of the most entertaining things in AEW, as not only is Briscoe absolutely hilarious, but they work well together in the ring. It’s as good of an opening match as you’re going to get a lot of the time and it worked well here.

Sammy Guevara and Dustin Rhodes argues with the Kingdom and a Fight Without Honor seems set. We’ll even make it a Bunkhouse Brawl, say it with me, on Collision rather than Ring Of Honor.

Kamille vs. Robyn Renegade

Kamille stomps away in the corner but Renegade slips behind her and hammers away. They head outside with Kamille carrying her around and working on the arm. Back in and Renegade hits something like a crossbody for two but gets caught in an Oklahoma Stampede. The sitout Dominator finishes Renegade at 3:16.

Rating: C. Total destruction here, which is what it should have been. Kamille is a powerhouse and mainly there to work for Mercedes Mone but at the same time she can wrestle a decent enough power match. There was only so much to be seen here, but at least she got to make this work in the short time she had.

Christopher Daniels accepts Jack Perry’s open challenge for a TNT Title shot on Collision.

Roderick Strong vs. Beef

Beef is the rather annoying cousin of Anthony Henry, who can’t stand him. Strong grabs a headlock to start but Beef takes him down in a surprise. Back up and Beef runs him over as we take an early break. We come back with Beef winning a slugout and the fans chanting BEEF on every punch. Beef gets the better of the slugout and hammers away in the corner, only for Strong to come back with a superplex for two. Back up and Beef knocks him into the ropes for a running crossbody to the back but the Kingdom offers a distraction. Beef gets back in and Strong knees him in the face for the pin at 7:53.

Rating: C+. The fans were into Beef but he didn’t get to talk, which makes him a lot more tolerable. I’m not sure I can imagine Beef becoming a big deal anywhere but if the fans can have some fun with him, fine enough. For now though, this was little more than a goofy match to fill in some time.

The Righteous say there is a light in the tag division and they’re all here because they’re not all there. Dutch calls out the House Of Black.

Outcasts vs. The Hex

Saraya and Belle start things off with Saraya stomping away in the corner. Kay gets drawn in and it’s off to Cameron to choke in the corner. Saraya’s cheap shot knees on the apron have Belle in more trouble as this is one sided so far. Back in and Belle finally kicks her away, allowing the tag off to Kay for the house cleaning. That lasts all of five seconds as Cameron kicks her down and the Nightcap finishes for Saraya at 3:47.

Rating: C. Pretty much a squash and that’s all it needed to be as the Outcasts are being built up so Jamie Hayter can destroy them in the near future. Saraya and Cameron are still pretty low on the totem pole but they’re a good way for Hayter to look like a monster on the way back in. It’s not a bad idea and if they keep things quick, it should work well.

Post match Jamie Hayter runs in to chase the villains off.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Action Andretti

Don Callis is here with Takeshita while Lio Rush is with Andretti. Takeshita takes him up against the ropes for a shove to the face but Andretti takes things outside. That just earns Andretti a face first drop onto the apron and Takeshita sends him into a few things. Back in and some hard chops have Andretti in trouble and a superplex makes it worse as we take a break.

Back with Andretti hammering away, including a running back elbow. Andretti sends him outside and hits a rolling splash off the apron, with commentary pointing out that it was kind of a weird move. Back in and Takeshita hits a hard clothesline for two but he has to avoid a standing shooting star press and moonsault. Andretti’s running dropkick is shrugged off but a super hurricanrana works a bit better. Takeshita isn’t having that and hits a running knee but pulls Andretti up at two. Raging Fire finishes for Takeshita at 11:54.

Rating: B-. This was a good showcase for Takeshita, who seems to be on his way to a Continental Title shot against Kazuchika Okada, which could be where he finally gets his big win. Ok so it isn’t likely, but at least Takeshita would be getting some serious competition. For now though, he got to have a nice match against Andretti, who is always good for one of those.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, not a bad show at all but nothing that you need to go out of your way to see. Rampage has found its footing again and while you don’t gain much from seeing it, the show is perfectly watchable and the very light and breezy show that makes for easy viewing. That’s what we got here and the show flew by, which is always nice to see.

Results
Conglomeration b. Dark Order – Jay Driller to Reynolds
Kamille b. Robyn Renegade – Sitout Dominator
Roderick Strong b. Beef – Jumping knee
Outcasts b. The Hex – Nightcap to Kay
Konosuke Takeshita b. Action Andretti – Raging Fire

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Dynamite
Date: September 11, 2024
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are rapidly approaching Grand Slam in New York but it is also the All out fallout show. The big stories were the attempted murders of Bryan Danielson and Swerve Strickland at the hands of Jon Moxley and Hangman Page respectively. Neither of them should be here this week but strange things have happened. Let’s get to it.

I was in attendance for this show, sitting in the upper deck with the video screen slightly to my right. The attendance was very bad, with probably around 2,500 people, though the arena holds over 20,000. Seeing the amount of seats tarped off and empty made me say “wow” when I first walked in.

We open with a clip from All Out, with Jon Moxley explaining that he does not like Bryan Danielson’s ego and attacked him because it is Moxley’s nature. That’s a good enough explanation.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring and brings out the Patriarchy for a chat. Christian Cage has been told that he has “infinite aura” and now that he has the contract for a World Title match, he knows it is undeniable. When he saw Killswitch grab him by the throat, he knew that he had the perfect monster under his control. The fans chant LUCHASAURUS as Cage talks about how he’s coming for Bryan Danielson. The beating he’ll give Danielson will make his wife Brie wish she was the one with CTE. Cage makes it clear that he is the UNDISPUTED next World Champion.

Don Callis cashes in his favor with Will Ospreay to team with Kyle Fletcher for tonight’s Casino Tag Team Gauntlet Match. Fletcher talks Ospreay into doing it, saying there is no one he would rather team with t do this. As Mark Davis continues to become less and less important.

TNT Title: Jack Perry vs. Lio Rush

Perry is defending and comes to the ring in his Scapegoatmobile while Rush just has Action Andretti. Perry jumps him to start and the beatdown is on in the corner but Rush fights up with a dropkick to the floor. Rush tries a moonsault to the floor but gets dropped onto the apron for the crash as we take a break.

Back with Rush fighting out of a chinlock but getting dropped, which is enough for Andretti to come after him. That’s enough for an ejection but Rush fights up and hits a running Spanish Fly for two. Perry lawn darts him into the buckle though and a snapdragon puts Rush down again. Rush is right back with a poisonrana for a breather but Perry breaks up the springboard Stunner. The running knee finishes for Perry at 8:39.

Rating: C+. This was the way to give Perry some momentum back after his loss on Saturday and could have been a lot worse. Perry is far more tolerable when he stays around this level, which unfortunately does not happen very often. I’m not sure why Rush got this show but there were worse options to come after the title.

Perry goes to leave, saying people like him are crucified in this life so they can be glorified in the next.

We look at Hangman Page beating Swerve Strickland at a rather horrible level at All Out.

Page talks about how he has gone this far to beat Strickland and he would have spent an eternity in pain for a chance to hurt Strickland. Now if anyone stood in the way of him and his revenge, he is coming for them too. Page walks over and glares at Top Flight/Action Andretti before seeing the Dark Order, who don’t know him anymore. Then he runs into Jeff Jarrett, who says Page went too far when he put his hands on Jeff’s wife. The fight is on and has to be broken up.

Private Party and Komander come out for a match….and get jumped by the Blackpool Combat Club. Pac talks about how this company is broken and diplomacy has failed.

The Learning Tree arrives in a Bentley with a HI GUYS license plate. They’re going to show what they found in Orange Cassidy’s backpack tonight.

Ricochet vs. Sammy Guevara

They trade strikes to start until Ricochet sends him outside for the big running flip dive. The fight heads to the stage with Ricochet being sent into part of the set, allowing Guevara t moonsault off the tunnel as we take a break (note that they have been on the floor for 1:13 before the break and the ten count has not even started).

Back with Ricochet being sent to the floor (Fan: “Sorry.”) and into the barricade. Ricochet fights up and hits a jumping flip dive off the barricade) that was great) for two back inside. The Benydriller is countered into a Canadian Destroyer and Guevara hits a top rope cutter for two more. Guevara’s GTH misses and Ricochet kicks him in the head, setting up an ax kick stomp (egads) into Vertigo for the pin at 10:54.

Rating: B. This was definitely a better showing from Ricochet, who got to do his usual stuff and beat someone with some stature. It’s good to have Guevara back, but he has definitely lost a lot of his status in his hiatus. The flips were good and that ax kick stomp was awesome, making this a good match with Ricochet looking like a star.

Post match the Beast Mortos runs in to spar Ricochet, with Guevara making the save.

We look back at Kris Statlander beating Willow Nightingale in the Chicago street fight.

Kazuchika Okada mocks his title defense on Saturday when Konosuke Takeshita and Don Callis come in and want the Continental Title shot. Okada seems interested, complete with the b****.

Here is Darby Allin (to the reaction of the night, with people rising to their feet) for a chat. He gets right to the point and calls out Jon Moxley, who comes to the ring with Marina Shafir. Moxley talks about how nothing has changed between them but Allin cuts him off. Allin talks about how he was a homeless dishwasher and everything he owned fit in the trunk of his car. That’s why he wrestles the way he does and he loved what he saw in Moxley, who wouldn’t change for anyone.

They first wrestled in a high school gym and Allin was so nervous. Then he saw what Allin did to Bryan Danielson, which Allin could never do to someone like Sting. So what does Moxley want? It turns out Moxley wants Allin’s World Title shot at Grand Slam, because Danielson is going to be out of commission. Allin: “What are you stupid? You get dropped on your head? You been drinking again?”

After that gasp from the crowd, the fans hear Allin say Moxley has to earn it, with Moxley offering to earn it in New York. Allin accepts the challenge for Grand Slam, presumably with the title shot on the line. That’s quite the bait and switch for Grand Slam, which sold tickets based off the idea of the title match.

Nigel McGuinness interrupts Christopher Daniels and wants to talk to Tony Khan.

Commentary talks about September 11, which is a nice touch that would be nicer if it was going to a break instead of crammed between matches.

Mariah May vs. Queen Aminata

Non-title. They both miss some kicks to start and trade rollups for two each. An exchange of strikes to the face goes to Aminata but May ties her in the ropes and hammers away. We take a break and come back with May hitting a missile dropkick into the corner. Aminata kicks her away again and snaps off some suplexes. The running boot against the ropes gives Aminata two but May is back with a hanging DDT for two of her own. May’s running knee into Storm Zero finishes at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Not bad here with May getting a win, but she’s still missing a little something since she won the title. She’s still a good heel and is good at talking down to people but it’s not quite clicking. At the same time, Aminata seemed a bit shaky here and it wouldn’t surprise me if she was banged up somewhere in there.

Post match May lays on the mat with the belt and says she needs to have her championship celebration, but she wants Mina Shirakawa back too.

The Young Bucks mock the fans who say they want a new team to come after them. That’s why they have booked the tag team gauntlet match for tonight.

Learning Tree vs. Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages

Boulder knocks Jericho into the corner to start so it’s off to Bill for the big forearms. Everything breaks down and Jameson is booted in the face. Keith adds Diamond Dust and Jericho’s arrogant cover gets the pin at 2:27.

Post match Jericho goes on a rant about how he wants his $7000 back from Orange Cassidy, which is why he took the backpack. Inside the backpack is a picture of Cassidy and the former Best Friends. Cassidy pops up on screen and says he has the money. Cue Mark Briscoe driving a big machine full of coins, which he pours into Jericho’s fancy car. Cassidy adds some cash and that should be it. Fans: “KEEP THE CHANGE!” Pouring a bunch of coins into a car seems more mildly inconvenient than anything else.

Here is Nigel McGuinness for a chat. There is not going to be a World Title match at Grand Slam, which must be a breath of air for Bryan Danielson. Like when he let go of choking Justin Roberts with his tie. The World Champion should be in action at Grand Slam, which brings him to the contract he has in his hand. The success that he has should be his and Tony Khan has made the match. At Grand Slam, it’s Danielson vs. McGuinness. So if he can have that match, why can’t he have the Allin match?

Hook wants Roderick Strong for the FTW Title.

Here are the Young Bucks, in AEW office chairs, to watch the main event.

Tag Team Casino Gauntlet

First fall wins and there is no guarantee that all of the teams get in. FTR is in at #1 and Kyle Fletcher/Will Ospreay are in at #2. Ospreay snaps off a hurricanrana to Wheeler to start but a sitout powerbomb gives Harwood two. Fletcher is knocked outside and the PowerPlex gets two. The Righteous are in at #3 and a Boss Man Slam into a Swanton gets two on Wheeler. Fletcher is back in to clean some of the house until the Kingdom is in at #4.

Fletcher gets knocked down to start and a running knee gets two on Ospreay as we take a break. Back with the Acclaimed coming in at #5 (the fans approve) and cleaning house. An AA gets two on Dutch and a pair of Fameassers put Harwood down. The MxM Collection is in at #6 to a big reaction of their own. Everyone brawls until the good guys manage a triple suplex. We take another break and come back with everyone brawling on the floor again with Top Flight coming in at #7.

This time they get to clear the ring until Ospreay kicks Dante in the head. The Shatter Machine hits Bowens but everyone makes the save. The Outrunners are in at #8 and the fans are way into them as well. This time they clean house as well, including the Paisan elbow to Vincent. The Grizzled Young Veterans are in at #8 as Floyd superplexes Mansoor onto the pile at ringside. We hit the parade of secondary finishers inside until Dante’s top rope splash hits raised knees. Ospreay hits the Hidden Blade on Dante to give Fletcher the pin at 22:14.

Rating: C+. This was the weakest of these matches so far as the strength of the matches comes from the surprises and we didn’t have any here. The Outrunners and the Collection got big reactions but it was the makeshift tam winning to continue the “Ospreay is really good at these things” deal. It wasn’t a bad match, but it felt long and was just a bunch of people doing stuff at times.

Overall Rating: C. This was not great by any means and was one of the weaker Dynamites in a good while. There was nothing worth going out of your way to see and the whole Danielson/Nigel/Allin/Moxley stuff is feeling very much like a bait and switch. This show did not feel like fallout from All Out, which was going to be hard to do with so many people missing. It wasn’t a terrible show, but you didn’t need to see it and that’s not a good way to go in this spot.

Results
Jack Perry b. Lio Rush – Running knee
Ricochet b. Sammy Guevara – Vertigo
Mariah May b. Queen Aminata – Storm Zero
Learning Tree b. Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages – Diamond Dust to Jameson
Will Ospreay/Kyle Fletcher won the Tag Team Casino Gauntlet Match

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

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AND

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Ring Of Honor
Date: September 5, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

I’m not sure what to expect from this show, but there is likely going to be a long series of matches from people who pop up around here every so often without having much else to do. It doesn’t make for the most interesting wrestling show and we are still on the same tapings from a few weeks ago, meaning things are no likely to move forward. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Aaron Solo vs. Rocky Romero

This is billed as a feature match. Romero takes him down and poses a bit, with Solo already looking frustrated. Back up and Solo gets in some forearms but Romero hits a running dropkick to the side of the head. Solo unloads with right hands to the head and chokes on the ropes for two, only to get pulled into an abdominal stretch.

Solo reverses into one of his own, which is broken up with a hiptoss. A running hurricanrana sends Solo into the corner and the Forever Lariats into a brainbuster gets two. Solo kicks him in the face and hits a top rope double stomp for two but misses a charge to the floor. Romero hits a dive and grabs a top rope Sliced Bread for the pin at 6:57.

Rating: C+. This was another perfectly acceptable Romero match but it’s still hard to imagine him getting that far ahead. Romero is the definition of a good hand and you won’t see him have many bad matches, but it’s something we’ve seen before. Odds are he gets built up and then loses in a title match. That only has so much of a shelf life and seeing him beat Solo isn’t likely to change things around that much.

Lady Frost wants the Women’s TV Title.

Nick Comoroto vs. Lee Johnson

Jacoby Watts is here with Comoroto. Johnson knocks him to the floor to start, where a Watts distraction lets Comoroto get in a posting to take over. Back in and a whip into the corner has Johnson’s back in trouble and Watts adds a cheap shot. The neck crank goes on until Johnson fights up and scores with an enziguri. A suplex gives Johnson a quick two but he charges into a fireman’s carry backbreaker onto the knee. Watts gets on the apron but Comoroto accidentally runs into him, allowing Johnson to grab a rollup for the pin at 7:11.

Rating: C. Johnson is in the same place as Romero, as he has been built up multiple times before losing in the big match. Beating Comoroto is a nice way to get some momentum back for him, but there is only so much you can do without having him win something of value. Comoroto continues to be stuck with Watts, due to reasons I still can’t fathom.

Post match the beatdown is on but EJ Nduka makes the save.

Anthony Henry and Beef argue over their future as a team.

Rachael Ellering vs. Gigi Rey

Rey spins out of a wristlock to start and grabs one of her own, only to get pulled into an armbar. Back up and Rey’s running shoulder doesn’t get her anywhere but she does roll Ellering up for two. Rey is whipped into the corner but comes out with a middle rope dropkick for two more. A gutwrench suplex drops Rey and Ellering elbows her down. The backsplash gives Ellering two of her own before the Boss Woman Slam finishes Rey at 3:50.

Rating: C+. Ellering needed a win to shake off some of the recent losses. She has the size to stand out in the division, which has a lot of people who are kind of bunched together. Someone like Ellering can have a place in the division but she needs to keep up the momentum. Rey got in quite a bit here and it wouldn’t surprise me to see her getting another look.

Anthony Henry/Beef vs. Jay Lucas/Terry Yaki

Commentary makes a bunch of teriyaki jokes as Beef tags himself in to start. A running shoulder puts Lucas down but he cuts off Beef with a raised boot in the corner. Yaki comes in and gets stomped down in the corner, with Henry adding some running knees. Lucas gets caught with a Low Down and it’s back to Beef, who seems confused by Henry’s lack of approval. Yaki comes back in for a nice German suplex on Henry, who shrugs it off and drops Yaki again. Beef wants the tag though and hits a top rope splash for the pin at 5:20.

Rating: C. Beef and Henry are the latest oddball tag team and you’re only going to get so much out of a guy whose main point of interest is his weird name. Other than that, it was another basic tag match, which at least makes it stand out from the basic singles matches. Not much to see here, though Yaki’s suplex was nice enough.

Spanish Announce Project vs. Iron Savages

Jacked Jameson is here with the Savages and believe it or not, he says the same thing he says every time he’s out there. Bronson teases spinning out of Angelico’s wristlock to start before just punching him in the face instead. Boulder and Serpentico come in, with Serpentico showing off the biceps. With that not working, Serpentico gets on the middle rope for the lockup before hurricanranaing Bronson into Boulder for the crash.

Jameson’s distraction causes Serpentico to be knocked outside and some sitdown splashes to the ribs have him in trouble back inside. The chinlock goes on and brings Serpentico back up so he can hand it back to Angelico. A series of strikes have the Savages in trouble as everything breaks down. The electric chair splash misses and Serpentico hits a suicide dive to Bronson and Jameson. Back in and a leglock makes Boulder tap at 8:48.

Rating: C. Here’s the problem with so many of the stars appearing on this show: these guys have been presented as losers who can’t win a big match no matter what and are often put out there to make others look good. That doesn’t make for an interesting match, as it feels like the lowest level match imaginable. That’s fine in small doses, but we’re about fifty minutes into this show and it’s all we’ve seen so far. It makes for a show that doesn’t feel important and that makes an already long show all the longer.

Lady Frost vs. Red Velvet

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Frost wins or survives the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Frost snaps off some armdrags to start so Velvet grabs the rope to cut her off. Back up and Velvet gets taken down in a test of strength but she comes back with a sunset flip for two. A release fisherman’s suplex drops Velvet again and a Cannonball gets two in the corner.

We hit the chinlock but Velvet reverses into an abdominal stretch. Velvet rolls her head first into the corner and then does it again, albeit back first for a change. Velvet’s standing moonsault misses but Frost’s connects for two. Back up and something like Austin Gunn’s Quick Draw gives Velvet two more, followed by a rollup for the pin on Frost at 7:48.

Rating: B-. Definitely the best match of the night so far and a lot of that is because it actually felt more important. Velvet is the biggest star on the show thus far and that was a nice change of pace. Frost is one of the more unique stars around and stands out, but she needs to stop losing so often.

Taya Valkyrie doesn’t like Mina Shirakawa with all of the shaking. Shirakawa comes in and a match is set for tonight. Then she dances with interviewer Melissa Santos.

Righteous/Lance Archer vs. Lights Camera Faction

Vincent hugs Braxton at the bell, leaving Braxton rather confused. Braxton’s right hands don’ get him very far so Vincent rolls him up into the corner for a crash. Archer comes in and misses a charge but stomps Watson out of the corner anyway. Dutch’s swinging side slam connects as everything breaks down. Orange Sunshine sets up the Blackout for the double pin at 3:40.

Rating: C. Yeah the Righteous and Archer run people over and beat them with ease. They will then be talked about as potential title challengers in a title match that doesn’t come (save for one, back in January, on an AEW show). Then we’ll do it again over and over because that’s how Ring Of Honor works, at least until there’s a pay per view coming up and someone randomly gets a title match.

Diamante vs. Tiara James

A German suplex into a spear into a rolling cutter finishes for Diamante at 48 seconds.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Red Velvet runs in for the save. So she loses the big blowoff match with Leyla Hirsch and gets a title program. Got it.

Lee Johnson is grateful to EJ Nduka, who introduces himself to the fans.

Griff Garrison vs. Angelo Parker

Maria Kanellis is here with Garrison. Parker avoids a charge and drop toeholds him to start before hitting a leg lariat to send Garrison outside. Back in and Garrison whips him hard into the corner for two as Maria is rather pleased. Garrison’s butterfly suplex gets two but Parker is back with a running neckbreaker. The referee gets distracted though and Maria hits Parker with her boot. A torture rack bomb finishes Parker at 4:01.

Rating: C-. The match was nothing special, but why in the world is a singles match between two low level tag team guys taking place an hour and twenty minutes into a show? This is a perfect example of a match that didn’t need to be added to the show as it was already running long and added pretty much nothing. It has plagued Ring Of Honor for its entire run and odds are it isn’t going to change anytime soon.

Premiere Athletes vs. Joe Alonzo/Josiah Jean

Mark Sterling is here with the Athletes and says they want to win and get out of here as fast as possible. Nese drives Alonzo into he corner to start and the Athletes fire off right hands. A chop sends Alonzo to his knees and a double delayed suplex puts him down again. Jean is sent outside, leaving Nese to launch Alonzo into a cutter. The Magic Carpet Splash finishes for Daivari at 2:40.

John Silver vs. Fuego del Sol

Silver has the Dark Order with him. They run the ropes to start until Fuego grabs a running hurricanrana. Silver needs a breather on the floor and yells at Fuego, who has to take out the Order. The distraction lets Silver hammer away in the corner and yell at the fans a bit. A pull of the mask wakes Fuego up a bit but he gets knocked out of the corner again.

The reverse chinlock goes on, only for Fuego to fight up with an enziguri. The basement superkick gets two so Fuego shouts TORNADO DDT, allowing Silver to cut him off with a wheelbarrow suplex. The Order offers a distraction and interference though, allowing Silver to hit a torture rack bomb (second time in three matches) for the pin at 7:07.

Rating: C. What is there to say here? Silver is the most interesting member of the Order, who have fallen so low on the roster that it is almost a running joke. I’m not sure what it means that it took three people to beat Fuego but it was another match in a rather long series of them this week.

Abadon vs. Rache Chanel

Abadon sends her into the corner and hits a running knee but Chanel hits some forearms. A hiptoss attempt just annoys Abadon though and it’s a cutter to drop Chanel. Black Dahlia finishes for Abadon at 1:40.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Josh Woods

Mark Sterling is here with Woods. They both miss big kicks to start before going to the grappling instead. A fight over an armbar has Shibata in the ropes, where Woods gets in a cheap shot to send Shibata outside. Woods suplexes him on the floor and hits some running shots in the corner back inside.

Shibata reverses and hits a running dropkick in the corner before snapping off a suplex. Woods gets in a suplex of his own but Shibata catches him on top. The Anarchist Superplex gives Woods two and a backbreaker into a clothesline drops Shibata again. Not that it matters as Shibata is back up with the sleeper into the claw. The cross armbreaker makes Woods tap at 6:33.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t exactly a classic but I’ll take someone as polished as Shibata at half speed over most of what else we’ve seen here. The technical battle worked, with Woods being able to hang in there long enough. It’s one of the best things on the show so far and that was a nice change of pace.

Mina Shirakawa vs. Taya Valkyrie

Johnny TV is here with Taya. Shirakawa dances to start so Taya just kicks her into the corner for some choking. Back up and Shirakawa kicks the legs out and slams the knee into the mat. A kick to the head out of the corner gets two and a dancing shot to the knee has Taya in more trouble. The Figure Four goes on, with Taya getting straight over to the ropes. Taya ties her up in the corner for a neckbreaker and takes it to the floor, where Johnny kisses the bad knee.

Back in and Taya misses a charge, allowing Shirakawa to go after the knee again. A top rope dive takes out Taya and TV, setting up some strikes to the face back inside. Shirakawa knees her down and hits a top rope splash for two. Taya hits a spear for the same and grabs a half crab, with Shirakawa making the rope. The Road To Valhalla is reversed into the Figure Four and Taya taps at 10:35.

Rating: B-. Perfectly fine match here and it worked as a main event. The interesting thing here was having Shirakawa dominate a good chunk of the match, but it was nice to see her take out the knee throughout and then win with a Figure Four. There’s very little to complain about here, as it told a simple story and Shirakawa felt like a star.

Overall Rating: D+. This was one of the least interesting shows I’ve seen in a long time and as you can tell, most of that is due to how many nothing matches were included here. There were fourteen matches on this show and three (four at most) featured stars who have not been treated as the lowest level stars either here or in AEW. The show wasn’t interesting and made me wonder why in the world I would want to watch this again. Ring of Honor is a running joke and a lot of it is due to how terribly this show is put together week after week. I’m not sure why it’s done this way, but it needs to change in a big way.

Results
Rocky Romero b. Aaron Solo – Top rope Sliced Bread #2
Lee Johnson b. Nick Comoroto – Rollup
Rachael Ellering b. Gigi Rey – Boss Woman Slam
Anthony Henry/Beef b. Jay Lucas/Terry Yaki – Splash to Lucas
Spanish Announce Project b. Iron Savages – Leglock to Boulder
Red Velvet b. Lady Frost – Rollup
Righteous/Lance Archer b. Lights Camera Faction – Double pin
Diamante b. Tiara James – Rolling cutter
Griff Garrison b. Angelo Parker – Torture rack bomb
Premiere Athletes b. Joe Alonzo/Josiah Jean – Magic Carpet Splash to Alonzo
John Silver b. Fuego del Sol – Torture rack bomb
Abadon b. Rache Chanel – Black Dahlia
Katsuyori Shibata b. Josh Woods – Cross armbreaker
Mina Shirakawa b. Taya Valkyrie – Figure Four

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All Out 2024
Date: September 7, 2024
Location: NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the second pay per view in two weeks and we certainly have a big main event tonight. After Hangman Page burned Swerve Strickland’s house down on Dynamite, it’s time to lock them in a cage. Other than that, Jack Perry is challenging Bryan Danielson for the World Title because Jack Perry. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Iron Savages vs. Acclaimed

Bowens chops Bronson in the corner to start and it’s off to Caster, who gets crushed in the corner with a running splash. Caster is whipped hard into the corner again but can’t quite make a Flair Flip work. Instead Boulder hits a middle rope moonsault for two but a top rope elbow misses, allowing the tag to Bowens. Everything breaks down and Billy Gunn drops Jacked Jameson, leaving Caster to plant Bronson. The Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes for Caster at 8:51.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why this match was added as the Savages are about as low on the totem pole as you can get in the tag division. It was a nice little win for the Acclaimed, but this is something that could have easily been left on Rampage rather than here. The Acclaimed didn’t even rap!

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Hologram vs. Premiere Athletes

Guevara flips over Nese to start but gets caught in the wrong corner for the stomping. A quick shot knocks Daivari down though and it’s off to Hologram to take out all three Athletes at the same time. The numbers game catches up with Hologram and Daivari takes over before Woods throws him outside. Mark Sterling gets in some stomping but Hologram manages a tornado DDT and hands it off to Rhodes for his usual comeback. Guevara hits a big flip dive over the top and it’s time for a parade of superkicks back inside. Some Cross Rhodes put the Athletes down and another hits Sterling. The Final Reckoning finishes Woods at 10:00.

Rating: C. Remember last night when Rhodes and Guevara and Hologram won a six man match? Well they did it again here. There was nothing to see here other than Hologram doing the same stuff he usually does. Rhodes is a double champion including a Six Man Champion, but now he’s in another three man team, giving him three stories going on at once, while how many wrestlers have almost nothing to do?

Zero Hour: Bang Bang Gang vs. Dark Order

It’s a brawl to start with the Gunns being sent outside, allowing the Order to do their pose on Robinson’s back. Robinson fights back and knocks them into the corner, setting up the Cannonball. Austin comes in but walks into Something Evil to give Silver two. Austin fights up again and gets kicked in the face, only to get caught in the Quick Draw. Everything breaks down again and Robinson hits his forward DDT to pin Uno at 7:34.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what there is to say about these matches. They don’t have a story and they’re just put out there to get people on the card and fill in time on the pre-show. The Gang gets a bit of a win but how much value is there in beating the Order? It’s another match that could have, and likely should have, been on Rampage, or just a dark match.

Skye Blue comes out for a surprise and asks if we could have had All Out without her. I’m thinking we could, but Mariah May interrupts. She isn’t going to have her championship celebration in Chicago and insults Blue. They get rather catty with each other with some vague references to being promiscuous until May kicks Blue’s crutch out. Queen Aminata makes the save.

Zero Hour: Beast Mortos/Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Undisputed Kingdom vs. Top Flight/Action Andretti

Taylor punches Bennett down before the bell and officially starts with Dante. It’s quickly off to Darius to slug it out with Moriarty before Mortos comes in to wreck a variety of people. Dante comes in and gets taken down into the corner, with Taylor hitting a splash to crush him rather hard. Dante absorbs some right hands from Taylor and knocks him down, allowing the tag back to Darius.

Everything breaks down and Top Flight teases a double dive, only to have Strong break it up. Taven kicks Dante in the head and hits the Flight Of The Conqueror to take out a Taylor, Bennett and Moriarty. Mortos hits his own twisting dive and it’s back inside for the parade of strikes to the face. Andretti DDTs Mortos but gets release Rock Bottomed by Taylor. Mortos adds a powerbomb to Andretti but Strong steals the pin at 10:57.

Rating: C+. This at least felt a bit more interesting than anything else on the pre-show but it didn’t feel like anything better than a Rampage main event. There was no title shot or prize on the line here and that didn’t do the match any favors. Maybe the Kingdom gets a title shot as a result, but those things are kind of few and far between.

The opening video looks at the show’s major matches.

We recap Daniel Garcia vs. MJF. Garcia is back after MJF laid him out and wants revenge, promising to break his neck.

Daniel Garcia vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Garcia runs in from behind and jumps MJF from behind to start fast. The bell rings and MJF shrugs it off and takes over with a shot to Garcia’s neck. Some choking in the ropes and a belly to back suplex have Garcia down and we hit the cravate as the neck work continues. A brainbuster doesn’t work as Garcia knees him in the head and the crash out to the floor in a nasty landing. Back in and Garcia rolls some neckbreakers but has to block a piledriver attempt.

Instead MJF counters a leapfrog into a powerbomb for two before going after a cut on the forehead. The blood is flowing so MJF loads up the super Tombstone, which Garcia escapes to avoid a bad case of pain. Garcia fights up and fires off a bunch of elbows, only to get poked in the eyes. MJF calls for a brainbuster but gets rolled up for two instead. Back up and MJF hits a heck of a right hand to leave them both down.

Garcia fights up again and they trade German suplexes, followed by a big clothesline to put MJF down. MJF is back up with the Boston crab before switching over to a crossface. Garcia reverses into his variation of the Sharpshooter but MJF reverses into the Salt Of The Earth. MJF ties up both arms and a leg but Garcia uses the free let to make the ropes for the break.

Garcia’s jackknife rollup gets two and he strikes away before grabbing a front chancery. The arm starts to drop but Garcia blocks it because he wants to do more damage. The piledriver only gets two so Garcia loads up the super piledriver, only to get hit low. MJF uses Garcia’s jackknife rollup for the pin at 23:22.

Rating: B. This was a bit better than I was expecting with the right result. I get the idea of wanting to push Garcia, but MJF losing another pay per view match wouldn’t have been the right move. Garcia got something out of just being here, but there was no way you can put him over MJF in a spot this big. Not yet anyway.

Post match MJF offers a handshake but gets kicked low. Garcia hits the super piledriver and leaves through the crowd as commentary feels bad for MJF.

We recap the Young Bucks defending the Tag Team Titles against the Blackpool Combat Club, which is another part of the AEW vs. the Bucks feud over the summer.

Tag Team Titles: Blackpool Combat Club vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending. Matt and Yuta start things off with Matt’s wristlock being broken up and Yuta taking him down for a backsplash. Castagnoli comes in for a double shoulder and a double wishbone has the champs in trouble. Back up and Matt knocks Yuta down, setting up the kicks to the back to take over. The running flipping neckbreaker onto the knee sets up a chinlock, followed by a slingshot legdrop for two.

Yuta fights up and gets over to Castagnoli to fire off the uppercuts in the corner. A high crossbody gets two on Matt but he catches Castagnoli in the ropes. Yuta breaks up the hanging 450 and throws Matt’s kick into Nick’s head. Cattle Mutilation goes on but Nick makes the save with a Swanton.

Castagnoli comes back in and gets caught with the EVP Trigger, with Yuta making a save of his own. The Bucks pump up the shoes but Castagnoli blocks another EVP Trigger. Castagnoli Swings Matt for two but the Fastball Special is broken up. Back up and they try it again, only for Yuta’s splash to hit raised knees, allowing Matt to get a small package for the pin at 15:43.

Rating: B. It was good while it lasted, but there was almost no reason to believe that the titles were changing hands here. If nothing else, the Club already have some titles and the Bucks are not going to have their “epic” title reign come to an end in a thrown together tag match. The action worked, but this felt like a token title defense more than anything else.

We recap Will Ospreay defending the International Title against Pac. They’ve known each other for years and Pac won the title shot before Ospreay won the title. Pac is here to win and be all mean, as is his custom.

International Title: Pac vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay is defending and the fans are WAY into this one at the opening bell. We get the big staredown and Pac rolls outside for the early stall. Back in and a headlock takeover puts Ospreay down for a second. That’s broken up and they both flip over the other for a standoff. Pac knocks him outside and hits a big corkscrew dive to take him down again. Ospreay is right back up and hits his own corkscrew dive, followed by a double knockdown back inside.

They slap each other from the mat until Pac chokes in the corner. It’s already back to the floor with Ospreay being whipped into the barricade a few times. A brainbuster gives Pac two back inside and the headlock stays on Ospreay’s banged up neck. Ospreay fights up again and elbows him to the floor, setting up a Sasuke Special. Back in and a handspring spinning kick to the head drops Pac again.

The Cheeky Nandos Kick is broken up though and Pac hits a DDT into a Liger Bomb for two. Ospreay manages a standing Spanish Fly and the Oscutter for a delayed two to leave them both down again. Pac gets back up so Ospreay kicks him back down before they head to the apron. Another Oscutter is countered into a nasty German suplex, followed by a poisonrana to set up the Brutalizer. With that broken up, the Black Arrow hits raised knees to give Ospreay two more.

The Hidden Blade is countered and Pac hits a rebound German suplex for another near fall. Ospreay kicks him down and the fans are standing. Another poisonrana gives Pac another two and the Brutalizer goes on again. Ospreay powers up and hits his own poisonrana to rock Pac and a running elbow gets two. Pac crotches him on top but Ospreay slips out of a super poisonrana and hits another running elbow for another near fall. The Oscutter loads up the Stormbreaker, which is reversed into a hurricanrana to give Pac two. Ospreay has had it and hits the Hidden Blade to retain at 20:20.

Rating: A-. Yeah you knew this was going to be awesome coming in and they more than delivered. It was one big spot after another until Ospreay knocked him silly to retain. That’s all it needed to be and Pac can more than hang with just about anyone going today. Excellent match here, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

We recap Willow Nightingale vs. Kris Statlander. They used to be friends but Statlander turned on her, likely at the influence of Stokely Hathaway. Nightingale got to pick the stipulation so we’re having a street fight.

Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale

Street fight and Stokely Hathaway is here with Statlander. A chair is brought in to start but Nightingale knocks it out of her hands and hits an early cannonball for two. They go to the apron with Statlander slipping out of a Death Valley Driver attempt and hitting her in the back with a chair. A powerbomb sends Nightingale through the announcers’ table and Statlander puts her on a regular table.

The Swanton from the top only hits table, though Statlander’s legs to hit the moving Nightingale. One heck of a Pounce sends Statlander through the barricade and they go up the ramp. Statlander gets in a suplex and orders Hathaway to bring her a trashcan full of weapons. That works for Nightingale, who grabs a light tube and breaks it over Statlander’s head. Not to be outdone, Statlander gets up and spears her off the stage and through some tables.

They go back to the ring to trade strikes and slams before heading right back to the floor. Statlander grabs a bag of tacks so Nightingale bites the cut on her head. The tacks are poured out and Statlander is slammed onto them, landing in the splits. The Death Valley Driver gives Nightingale two and they go up top, where Statlander grabs a super Spanish Fly.

A discus lariat, with a chain wrapped around the arm, gives Statlander two and Nightingale rolls outside. Statlander whips out a chain and ties them together but Nightingale plants her with a spinebuster. They slug it out again and Statlander hits Staturday Night Fever before choking her out with the chain for the win at 15:02.

Rating: B. It was a street fight with the same stuff you often see in these things. You had the table, the chair, the tacks and a light tube thrown in for the big spot. They beat the heck out of each other and it felt like a war between two people who wanted to hurt each other, but you know a lot of what you’re going to get in this and they didn’t change it up much here.

Will Ospreay is happy to have retained the International Title and knows Ricochet is watching. Cue Ricochet, who gets in Ospreay’s face and says he’ll see him soon.

Continental Title: Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Orange Cassidy vs. Mark Briscoe

Okada is defending and the challengers all won qualifying matches last night on Collision. It’s a brawl to start with Briscoe being knocked outside, leaving Cassidy to DDT Okada for two. Back in and Briscoe shoulders Okada down before trading clotheslines with Takeshita in the corner. Briscoe knocks him into the corner but Cassidy comes in to send Takeshita outside. Cassidy and Briscoe connect with stereo dives but Okada is back up with a suplex to Cassidy inside.

The Stundog Millionaire staggers Takeshita but Okada dropkicks Cassidy off the top. Briscoe gets the chair for the big flip dive to the floor and goes back inside to chop it out with Cassidy. Okada and Takeshita come back in to suplex both of them down and the fans are rather happy with the villains slugging it out. Okada hits the dropkick but gets caught with the Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Takeshita takes Cassidy up for a superplex but Briscoe is there with the Froggy Bow for two of his own.

Briscoe counters the Rainmaker and hits a hard clothesline of his own to put Okada down. Takeshita blocks both the spinning DDT and the Stundog Millionaire before running Cassidy over with the knee. Briscoe is back in with the Jay Driller but Okada makes the save. The Froggy Boy hits raised knees so Takeshita’s running knee gets two on Briscoe. Okada is back in to clean house until Cassidy rolls him up for two. The Rainmaker to Cassidy retains the title at 14:59.

Rating: B. This was pretty much all action and that’s what it needed to be. Okada was working well here but Takeshita felt like the star, as he was all over the place and hitting one big move after another. Cassidy taking the fall is fine enough as he tends to react well to adversity. I’m not sure who takes the title from Okada, but he could be holding it for a long time. Now just get Takeshita something of note already as it is long overdue.

We recap Mercedes Mone defending the TBS Title vs. Hikaru Shida. There isn’t much of a story here, especially as Mone has recently beaten Shida.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is challenging. Mone charges at her to start and hammers away but Shida is back up with some running dropkicks. A Brock Lock has Mone in trouble until she gets over to the ropes. Shida’s running knee gets two but Mone is right back with a Meteora for the same. We hit the early chinlock for a bit, followed by the double knees in the corner to put Shida down again. Back up and Shida manages to send her hard into the corner, setting up a middle rope dropkick for two.

The right hands in the corner have Mone in more trouble but she pulls Shida down into the Bank Statement. Shida fights up and they knock each othe down until Shida comes back up with a knee to the head. Mone is fine enough to hit a sunset bomb into the corner for two as things are picking up. The Three Amigos connect but the frog splash hits raised knees. Shida rolls three straight Falcon Arrows for two of her own but the Katana is countered into a dragon screw legwhip.

Shida is back with a German suplex and a running knee for two but her own knee is banged up. That means the Katana doesn’t quite work so she hits it two more times, with Mone rolling out to the floor. They fight over the kendo stick with Mone being pulled into the post but Shida throws the stick down. Instead Shida tries a Meteora but bangs her knee up again, allowing Mone to hit the Mone Maker (which is somehow getting worse) for the pin to retain at 16:29.

Rating: B-. This was getting good near the end but the stuff with the stick felt kind of out of nowhere. The Mone Maker didn’t look like something that would have finished Shida off but Mone insists on sticking with it for whatever reason. Shida couldn’t have felt like much more of a lame duck challenger coming in after Mone beat her last month, so this was only going to have so much drama.

We recap Jack Perry challenging Bryan Danielson for the World Title. Danielson won the title at All In and has said he’s done when he loses. Perry is the first challenger.

AEW World Title: Jack Perry vs. Bryan Danielson

Perry, who rode to the back in his weird car and met with the Young Bucks, is challenging (and his TNT Title isn’t on the line). They fight over a lockup to start with Perry throwing him down and then slipping away from Danielson on the mat. Back up and Danielson charges into an armdrag but Perry goes outside for a breather. Perry gets back in so Danielson starts in on the arm before hitting a powerslam of all things.

The surfboard has Perry in more trouble but he gets outside before Danielson can stomp his head. A dive takes Perry down again instead but he superkicks Danielson out of the air. The fans are all over Perry as he whips Danielson into the barricade. Back in and Perry fires off some hard chops, setting up a neckbreaker for two. Perry goes up but gets caught in a nasty belly to back superplex. Danielson fires off the kicks and spins him into the LeBell Lock until Perry gets a foot on the ropes.

The moonsault over Perry looks to set up the running clothesline but Perry pulls him into what used to be known as the Snare Trap. Perry switches over to Cattle Mutilation, with Danielson slipping out, allowing Perry to hit a German suplex. They head to the apron where Danielson escapes a snapdragon suplex and they strike it out. Danielson suplexes him to the floor and it’s time for the YES Kicks back inside.

Perry pulls him back into the Snare Trap though, with Danielson making the ropes this time. Danielson kicks him in the head but a running dropkick hits the referee by mistake. Cue the Young Bucks to jump Danielson, including the TK Driver. The Blackpool Combat Club runs in to chase the Bucks off, leaving Perry to hit a running knee for two.

Perry stomps away but Danielson gets up and hits a running knee of his own to leave both of them down. They slug it out again until Perry’s slap just fires Danielson up. Danielson strikes him down and hits the running knee for two so Danielson stomps him in the head. Perry gets to his knees and holds his arms out, allowing Danielson to hit another running knee to retain at 27:02.

Rating: B. It was a good match but it was Perry challenging and it’s going to take more to beat Danielson than Perry’s big move of “DO YOU KNOW WHO MY FRIENDS ARE”. In theory this was just because of the short turnaround between All In and All Out, but Perry never felt like a real threat to the title. At least he got to do his pose at the end though, because he’s just that interesting.

Post match Killswitch comes in to lay out Danielson and here is Christian Cage with the Patriarchy. Jon Moxley gets in the way of the cash-in though and the rest of the Blackpool Combat Club (including Pac) has the Patriarchy turning away. Moxley gets in the ring to hug Danielson and the team poses…until Claudio Castagnoli decks Danielson. Moxley whips out a plastic bag to suffocate Danielson as Pac holds Wheeler Yuta (the only one trying to help Danielson) back. Marina Shafir is here to cut off a referee as the fans chant THIS IS MURDER. Moxley lets go and the team leaves as the bag is ripped off and Danielson is given oxygen.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland. Page has become obsessed with Strickland after losing to him over and over. They are set for a cage match, but this week Page burned down Strickland’s childhood home to take this to quite a higher level.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

Unsanctioned lights out and you can only win via pinfall, submission or knockout. Prince Nana is here with Swerve but the dancing is a bit subdued in a nice touch. The brawl is on as the cage lowers and Nana whips out a table. A bunch of other weapons are sent in as the cage is lowered and the bell rings. Swerve hammers away but neither can sent the other into the cage. Page gets knocked down and kicked in the head but Strickland takes too long looking at the weapons and gets caught with a German suplex.

With Strickland down, Page grabs a staple gun, which Strickland takes away and staples Page in the back. Strickland staples a picture of his family to Page’s chest and then his face for a bonus. Page tries to go up, earning himself a chair shot to the face. Something like a Death Valley Driver into the cage has Page in more trouble and Strickland chokes away. They both go up top, with Page dropping down to crotch Strickland on the rope. There’s a ram into the cage to rock Strickland again and Page wraps some barbed wire around the cage wall.

Strickland is sent head first into the wire and is busted open as well. The cut is raked over the wire and Page kicks him in the face. Some chair shots have Strickland down again and the referee tries to step in, only for Strickland to flip over him for a Buckshot Lariat to Page. Strickland chairs Page down in the corner and then launches him head first into the chair for a scary crash.

It’s time to bring out a cinder block (oh dear) and Strickland Vertebreakers him onto said block (or at least pretty close to it) for two. The table is set up and a top rope Swerve Stomp drives Page through it in a huge crash. Page pops right back up and hits a Deadeye for two before whipping out a piece of the burned house. Strickland takes that away too and stabs Page in the head but cries as he looks at it. The distraction lets Page powerbomb him onto the cinder block for two and Page slugs away. That takes too long and Strickland is back up with a toss powerbomb into the cage.

The House Call against the cage and a running knee give Strickland two so he goes to the top of the cage. Well he starts to at least as Page is there to powerbomb him back down. Another Deadeye gets two and Page hits him in the head with a chair. Strickland starts laughing at him but falls down again. Page whips out a syringe and drives it through Strickland’s cheek before hitting a TERRIFYING chair shot to the head (with the camera cutting away) for the knockout at 31:21.

Rating: A-. I’m not sure what to say on this one, but I was feeling Page’s utter hatred of Strickland and wanting to destroy him, which is what he did in the end. Strickland was violent as well, but him laughing at Page in the end didn’t quite feel right after the whole arson thing. Page pretty much had to win here so he can finally beat Strickland, but I’m not sure where things can go from here. For now though, an incredibly violent match, albeit with the syringe being a bit weird.

Post match Page leaves, teases coming back, and then screams a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this was pretty awesome with nothing close to a bad match and the two big matches more than delivering. At the same time, it was kind of an odd show as there was very little in the way of title changes, but quite a bit in the way of moves such as the Club’s turn and Page getting his big win. It was a great show once I got into it and beyond the rather worthless Zero Hour. Now just give us some time before the next pay per view because this two week turnaround was annoying. Other than that, check this show out as it’s worth a look.

Results
Acclaimed b. Iron Savages – Mic Drop to Bronson
Hologram/Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara b. Premiere Athletes – Final Reckoning to Woods
Bang Bang Gang b. Dark Order – Forward DDT to Uno
Undisputed Kingdom b. Shane Taylor Promotions/The Beast Mortos and Action Andretti/Top Flight – Powerbomb to Andretti
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Daniel Garcia – Jackknife rollup
Young Bucks b. Blackpool Combat Club – Small package to Yuta
Will Ospreay b. Pac – Hidden Blade
Kris Statlander b. Willow Nightingale – Choke with a chain
Kazuchika Okada b. Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe and Konosuke Takeshita – Rainmaker to Cassidy
Mercedes Mone b. Hikaru Shida – Mone Maker
Bryan Danielson b. Jack Perry – Running knee
Hangman Page b. Swerve Strickland via knockout

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

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AND

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Rampage
Date: September 6, 2024
Location: NOW Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Matt Menard

It’s the night before All Out as well as the third hour of a block of AEW, with Collision airing just before this. As usual with Rampage, things are not likely to be as big as Collision or Dynamite, but the lack of pressure often makes for a more entertaining show. That might be what we are getting here so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

The first 12 or so minutes of the show are the end of the Collision eight man main event, which ran over and saw the Blackpool Combat Club/Pac defeat the Elite.

The Outrunners and Erica Leigh are celebrating their first ever win in AEW (on Collision) when they get jumped by Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir. This is what Moxley is talking about.

Queen Aminata vs. Missa Kate

Aminata takes her down to start and the camera cuts to…a ceiling in the back. Well that was a wrong button. The headbutt finishes for Aminata at 1:05.

Video on MJF vs. Daniel Garcia.

Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Hologram vs. Dark Order

Hologram takes Uno down to start and it’s off to Reynolds, who Hologram plants with a DDT. The good guys pose together and we take a break. Back with Guevara diving over for the tag to Rhodes so house can be cleaned. The snap powerslams have the Order down but they’re back up with triple right hands. That’s broken up so Guevara and Hologram hit moonsaults to the floor. A Canadian Destroyer into Guevara’s middle rope cutter into Hologram’s 450 finishes Reynolds at 7:31.

Rating: C+. The efforts to get Hologram over continues and while he might not be the biggest breakout star ever, he’s certainly not doing badly. His high flying stuff is quite good, but treating him like some kind of special attraction is something of a stretch. For now though, having him get the pin with some popular stars is not a bad thing, especially over lovable losers like the Order.

The Bang Bang Gang want the Trios Titles but get cut off by the Gates Of Agony. A match seems imminent.

Top Flight/Action Andretti, Shane Taylor Promotions/The Beast Mortos and the Undisputed Kingdom are ready to win the three way trios tag on Zero Hour.

House Of Black vs. MxM Collection

This is a Friday Night Fashion Fight. Matthews and Mansoor start things off with Mansoor slipping out of a waistlock and striking a pose. Matthews poses as well and some judges (because there are judges) give him a low score. Mason comes in and gets his wish of facing King. Actually it’s right back to Mansoor, whose chop gets unanimous ten’s. The House gives themselves some ten’s and take out the Collection as we take a break.

Back with Matthews kneeing Mansoor down, allowing the double tags to bring in King and Mason. Mansoor’s superkick doesn’t do anything to King, who blasts him with a clothesline. King’s cannonball hits Mason for two but Mansoor makes a save, allowing Mason to grab a chokeslam for two. Matthews is back in to fire off knees before low bridging Mason out to the floor. A superplex into Dante’s Inferno finishes Mansoor at 11:43.

Rating: B-. They were going for a mixture of fun and serious here, with the judges being a bit of a weird addition. The Collection continues to be as entertaining of a thing as there is in AEW at the moment and it would be nice to see them getting to do something more important. There are the makings of a good tag division in AEW but that isn’t going to matter as long as the Young Bucks hold the titles.

Will Ospreay is ready for Pac and talks about their history in the British backyard wrestling
and the independents. Ospreay was told that he was good but he wasn’t Pac, and now he can never forget about Pac.

One more All Out rundown ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show definitely takes a hit when it’s coming after two hours of Collision, which is treated as far more important. This week’s show was even more different as it was clipped down due to the Collision match eating up time. It’s certainly not bad and the main event was pretty good, but it’s not a show you need to watch if you saw Collision.

Results
Queen Aminata b. Missa Kate – Headbutt
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Hologram b. Dark Order – 450 to Reynolds
House Of Black b. MxM Collection – Dante’s Inferno to Mansoor

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All In 2024
Date: August 25, 2024
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinnness, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the biggest show of the year and they’re in London for the second time in a row. That alone should make the show feel important but in this case the card is mostly living up to the hype. The main event will see Bryan Danielson challenging Swerve Strickland for the World Title in a title vs. career match, which has all of the makings. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo vs. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight

Don Callis is on commentary as Billington and Lethal strike it out to start. Sabian and Ogogo come in for a lockup until Sabian hits a dropkick to kick him down. Everything breaks down and we’re left with Singh and Rush for the visual. Rush’s chops to the stomach don’t work so he grabs Singh’s leg, with Singh walking around anyway. Singh isn’t having that and launches Rush over the top and down onto the pile.

Back in and Silver slams Andretti down and chokes on the ropes, allowing Evil Uno (one of the many extras on the floor) throwing the papers ala Brodie Lee. Private Party hit slingshot hilos and Daivari chops him down for two. Andretti handspring elbows his way out of trouble though and it’s back to Sabian to pick up the pace.

Fletcher comes in with a middle rope cutter to Lethal before knocking Singh off the apron. A brainbuster gets two on Reynolds and everything breaks down, meaning it’s time for the dives. Silly String hits Sabian and Gin and Juice makes it worse. Ogogo gets to punch at various people but Darius is back in with a double DDT onto the Order. Dante drops Daivari and hits a frog splash for the pin at 11:36.

Rating: C+. It was an entertaining match but it was such a mess with that many people in there that no one really got to stand out (save for maybe Fletcher). This was the definition of “get a bunch of people on the show”, but it was also the definition of “most of these people don’t mean much and they’re out there in front of a half empty stadium because the show doesn’t start for over an hour”. That’s not exactly a great start and the wide shot of all the empty seats at the start made me feel more sad for them than excited for the show.

Zero Hour: Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Willow Nightingale

The winning team picks the stipulation for Statlander vs. Nightingale next month at All Out. Hathaway is brought to the stage on a sedan, because of course he is. Ishii starts with Hathaway, who isn’t having this and bails out, meaning it’s Nightingale vs. Statlander. Nightingale gets sent into the corner for some shots to the face but comes back with a spinebuster for two.

We pause for some yelling at Hathaway, allowing Statlander to get in some cheap shots to take over. Back up and Nightingale makes the clothesline comeback, only to walk into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Nightingale slips out of a Death Valley Driver and drops a backsplash for two of her own. The double tag brings in the men and for some reason, Hathaway fires off some chops.

This goes as well as you would expect and Ishii runs him over. Statlander comes back in to forearm away at Ishii, allowing Hathaway to actually hit a spinebuster. The fans are rather happy as Ishii pops back up, with Hathaway hammering away in the corner. That doesn’t last long as Nightingale Pounces Statlander, leaving Ishii to hit the sliding lariat for the pin on Hathaway at 8:15.

Rating: C+. This was all about Hathaway and of course he made it work in his limited chances. The bigger story is going to be the stipulation for Nightingale vs. Statlander, which almost has to be either a hardcore match or Nightingale fighting both of them at once. Perfectly fine match here and it would have fit in on any given Rampage.

Zero Hour: Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs vs. Kingdom/Cage Of Agony

Kevin Von Erich is here with the good guys and it’s a big brawl in the aisle before the bell. We get a quadruple Shattered Dreams to the villains and, with the referee ok with all of that, it’s the opening bell with Guevara and Kaun starting things off. Guevara quickly clears the ring and stares it down with Cage, who gets dropped with a top rope cutter. Kaun pulls Guevara outside for a whip into the barricade and they head back inside with Guevara caught in the wrong corner.

A backbreaker/springboard elbow drop combination gets two but Taven misses a frog splash. Rhodes comes in to take over and the snap powerslam puts Taven down. We hit the parade of knockdowns as Excalibur can barely keep track of everyone. Taven is back up with the Flight Of The Conqueror so Rhodes teases a dive but dances into a pose instead. Cage tries a running flip dive but mostly misses, leaving Guevara to shooting star onto the pile.

Back in and Cage gets the worst of a Tower Of Doom, leaving Rhodes to hit Cross Rhodes for two on Taven with the Gates making the save. Rhodes gets tossed into a powerbomb for two but Guevara hurricanranas his way out of the same thing. Shibata’s running dropkick hits Bennett in the corner and Marshall’s top rope moonsault gets the same. Rhodes hits Taven with the Final Reckoning and Guevara adds the Swanton so Rhodes can get the pin at 11:03.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what Rhodes has on AEW but he has been the most active guy in the company (and in Ring Of Honor, because that’s a thing as well) for the last few weeks. That being said, Texas Takes England wasn’t the most thrilling story, especially when it came after a tag match with even more people. This was another bunch of people doing stuff until someone got the pin. The Texas guys don’t do anything for me because I’ve seen them more than I could possibly want to recently, but at least it didn’t go that long.

Post match the villains jump them but Kevin Von Erich makes the save, meaning it’s a group claw to get rid of the bad guys.

Here are the Outcasts, with Saraya’s entire family, for her big moment. Harley Cameron says Saraya is mad, with Saraya going into a rant about not being on the show despite being the best British woman ever in wrestling. And cue the returning Jamie Hayter (now with red hair) to march her way to Saraya, with Sweet Saraya (Saraya’s mother) getting in a cheap shot. The younger Saraya escapes, allowing Hayter to take out Cameron and stand tall.

The last nine minutes of the pre-show are spent on the entrances to the opener so the main show can start fast.

Trios Titles: Patriarchy vs. Pac/Blackpool Combat Club vs. House Of Black vs. Bang Bang Gang

The Patriarchy is defending in a ladder match. The bell rings and Cage runs away to start, leaving everyone else to brawl on the floor. That means a table is already set up on the floor but Austin has to cut Matthews down from a climb attempt. A bunch of people go up but get pulled down, with King dropping Pac with a clothesline. Robinson hits a running flip dive off the apron to take out Castagnoli, leaving Matthews to hit a big flip dive over the top.

Pac dives onto all of them but gets caught with What’s Up from the Gunns. King hits the big suicide dive…and here is Cage again. Cage goes up but gets pulled down by King, who takes Cage outside to be surrounded by a mob. That leaves Mother Wayne to go up, with the Gunns cutting her off and talking some sense into her. Killswitch comes in with chokeslams abounding, including one onto a ladder.

Wayne’s World through a table drops King so Luchasaurus goes up, only for Cage to go up at the same time for the sake of getting the glory. That’s broken up as well so it’s Castagnoli getting to wreck the Gunns. There’s the Swing to Robinson but the Gunns make the save, meaning it’s time for the tables. A bunch of people go up and crash through said tables, leaving Robinson to pull Black off the ladder. Wayne goes up and gets knocked hard through another table so let’s bring in the really big ladder, which is grazing against the bottom of the titles.

Pac goes up but gets pulled back down as Mother Wayne passes something off to Cage. That would be a spray of some kind, which goes into Yuta’s eyes to bring him off the ladder. Cage puts a ladder onto him and unloads with a chair but Robinson blocks Mother Wayne’s spray and sprays her instead. Luchasaurus knocks Robinson through a table, leaving Cage and Matthews to go up a pair of ladders. Cage spears him down through a table but might have hurt his own head in the process. Luchasaurus picks Cage up and climbs but Pac goes up as well and kicks Cage down. Pac gets the titles at 19:10.

Rating: B. Well that was a ladder match with a bunch of weapons and even more people involved. It’s something that has been done time after time and while it can be fun, it’s not something I’m going to get excited to see. This would also be the case with a thrown together team winning the titles. I’m sure it’s to get a British champion on there, but there are going to be more than a few on here without doing this title change.

We recap Mariah May challenging Toni Storm for the Women’s Title. May was Storm’s understudy but then won the Owen Hart Tournament to earn the shot and violently attacked Storm. Now Storm is being serious for the first time in a good while and wants revenge.

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Mariah May

Storm is defending and has Luther with her. They glare at each other and argue to start before slugging it out. May Day and Storm Zero are both broken up so May dropkicks her into the corner. They chop it out until Storm grabs a DDT, with the fans approving. Storm misses a running hip attack in the ropes and gets powerbombed out onto the floor for a nasty landing.

Back in and May hits a running dropkick, followed by Stratusphere for two. Storm fights up from a slap and hammers away, only to get suplexed back down. May even goes outside and dropkicks Luther, which is just not that nice. To make it even worse, May slaps HER OWN MOTHER (in the crowd) but the delay lets Storm hit Storm Zero onto the steps. Storm goes over to hug May’s mother and now May is busted open.

Back in (because the champ’s piledriver onto the steps barely keeps May down for a minute) and Storm throws her around, including a chokebomb for two. May kicks her in the head and hits a bunch of hip attacks but the big one takes too long. Storm is back up and hits her own hip attack, setting up Storm Zero for two.

May goes after the fingers and kicks Storm low before stereo headbutts leave them both down. Back up and May Day gets two so it’s time to grab the title, with Luther pulling it away. Instead May grabs the bloody shoe but Storm takes it away..and can’t bring herself to hit May, who rolls her up for two. May knees her in the face, kisses Storm on the head, and hits Storm Zero for the pin and the title at 15:11.

Rating: B. That was the only result that made sense as Storm’s time as champion had come and gone. It was a hard hitting fight with Storm wanting revenge but coming up short, which is how it should have gone. It wouldn’t shock me to see Storm go a bit more back to normal now, as she can only go so much nuttier. Good stuff here, which overcame a bit of a weak build.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Hook for the FTW Title. Jericho has already beaten Hook but has had to jump through hoops to get another shot at him.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho is defending and gets played to the ring by Fozzy. It’s FTW Rules so the Learning Tree gets in and beats Hook down to start. The Codebreaker connects for one but Hook is back up with a German suplex. Jericho drops him again and hits the Lionsault for two, meaning it’s weapons time. That takes too long so Hook grabs another suplex and pulls out a cricket bat. Hook even grabs some cricket balls and hits them at Jericho but Keith comes in with a trashcan lid.

The Walls are broken up so Hook grabs his own version, only to have Bill make the save. They go outside with Keith setting up a barbed wire board on another table. Hook slips out of a chokeslam but Jericho goes after the good eye to blind him again. One heck of a trashcan shot puts Hook down but the Judas Effect is countered into a t-bone suplex, allowing Hook to reveal that his patched eye has healed and he could really see (Remember when Jericho blinded Jon Moxley and Moxley wore an eyepatch but then Moxley revealed he could really see during their match? Just a random thought.).

Redrum goes on with Bill making the save, only to have Jericho accidentally knock him into the barbed wire board. Keith gets up for a cheap shot, which FINALLY draws Taz off commentary to Tazmission Keith down. Redrum makes Jericho tap and gives Hook the title back at 10:11.

Rating: C+. And that should be it for these two. Hook gets his (latest) win over Jericho and Jericho gets to…well probably move on to a bigger feud because he has to be involved in something important every week. For now though, it’s a feel good moment and that’s all it needed to be.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. The Acclaimed and FTR both want the Young Bucks’ titles but since the Bucks almost never defend them, we have both of them getting a shot at once.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. FTR vs. Acclaimed

The Bucks are defending and Caster rushes through his rap, possibly due to nerves. Harwood works on the arm to start but FTR and the Acclaimed get in a shoving match, all while the Bucks approve. The Bucks do come in but are quickly dispatched, leaving Wheeler to get caught in a Scissor Me Timbers attempt. That takes too long though and Nick makes the save, setting up an assisted standing Sliced Bread to Wheeler. Matt grabs a chinlock for a bit before Wheeler fights up and hands it off to Bowens to pick up the pace.

Now Scissor Me Timbers can hit Nick and we pause for some scissoring. Harwood is back in with the German suplexes, including one to both Bucks at once. The PowerPlex only hits raised knees but so does Nick’s 450. The Tony Khan Driver is broken up as well though with Nick being shoved into a moonsault onto the Acclaimed. Matt walks into the Shatter Machine but Nick pulls the referee out.

Back up and Matt hits a tornado DDT to plant Bowens on the floor, leaving Matt and Caster to hit a VIP Trigger to Harwood. Wheeler makes a save but gets sent outside, leaving the Acclaimed to load up Nick. Matt makes the save with a low blow and it’s time for the superkicks. That’s not enough for Matt, who grabs a title, earning himself a Fameasser from Billy Gunn. The Arrival connects but Nick makes the save. Harwood rolls Nick up for two but gets belt shotted for two. The EVP Trigger to Harwood is enough for the pin to retain the titles at 13:21.

Rating: B-. It was a good match but not top level stuff. The Bucks getting their win back in Wembley wasn’t exactly shocking and now we get to find out who they’ll defend against, maybe by Halloween or so. The story coming in wasn’t overly exciting and it dragged things down a bit, though I do appreciate them not going crazy long, which just wasn’t needed.

Post match the Grizzled Young Veterans come in for a staredown with the Young Bucks, who leave instead. Heaven forbid we get that match here of course, because we needed to repeat the previous combinations instead.

Casino Gauntlet Match

This is a 21 person gauntlet match with staggered entrances, but the fall can happen at any time, even if it is only the first two entrants. The winner gets a World Title shot at any time (basically MITB). Orange Cassidy is in at #1 and Kazuchika Okada is in at #2. Okada doesn’t seem worried so Cassidy dropkicks him down into the nip up. NIGEL MCGUINNESS is in at #3 and the fans go coconuts, especially as he and Okada go with the grappling. Nigel takes Okada down and it’s Kyle O’Reilly in at #4.

O’Reilly ties up Okada’s arm but gets caught in an armbar from Nigel at the same time. Cassidy is back in with a Stundog Millionaire and Zack Sabre Jr. is in at #5. We get the Nigel vs. Sabre showdown and the fans are VERY pleased. They go with the grappling before trading rollups for two each until Okada takes Nigel’s place. Sabre gets in a weird neck crank but Okada slips out and hits the top rope elbow. Back up and Sabre goes for the leg but Roderick Strong is in at #6.

Strong’s entrance takes so long that Mark Briscoe is in at #7 by the time he gets to do anything. House is quickly cleaned and it’s Hangman Page in at #8. Clotheslines abound and it’s Jeff Jarrett in at #9. We get the strut before Jarrett gets to hammer on Page in the corner. Page breaks that up and powerbombs Jarrett onto a pile as Ricochet makes his debut at #10. Ricochet starts firing off the kicks and goes to the floor to hammer on Page. Christian Cage limps in at #11 but Ricochet cuts him off.

Okada dropkicks Page, who fights back and loads up the Buckshot Lariat. That’s broken up with a guitar shot, leaving Okada to Rainmaker Jarrett. Cassidy is back up to clean house until he walks into End Of Heartache. Briscoe is in to wreck everyone until he accidentally helps Nigel hit the Tower of London (hanging Stunner) on Sabre. Cage drops Nigel though and it’s Luchasaurus in at #12. He starts firing off the chokeslams, including one to O’Reilly, with Cage stealing the pin at 25:50.

Rating: B. They were rocking here for a bit before a kind of downer ending. Cage being added to the match and stealing it in the end felt like something out of Unforgiven 2008 with a banged up Chris Jericho winning the World Title. That being said, the good stuff here more than outweighed the bad, with Nigel being a crazy great surprise and Ricochet being a cool moment. I liked this, but make it an annual PPV event, as this is the third time we’ve sen it this year.

We recap MJF defending the American Title against Will Ospreay. MJF beat Ospreay in a match that went about an hour via some cheating and now Ospreay wants the title back.

American Title: Will Ospreay vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is defending and comes out dressed as Uncle Sam, while Ospreay gets an Assassin’s Creed entrance. Just to make it worse, MJF has a big American flag come down from the rafters, which Taz calls “heat”. They slug it out to start with Ospreay getting the better of things to send him outside. That means a Sasuke Special to drop MJF, who is right back with a running boot against the barricade. Back in and Ospreay can’t hit the Oscutter so they trade rollups for two each.

MJF powerbombs him onto the knee and adds a Kangaroo Kick. That means we get a hip swivel but Ospreay is back up with an enziguri for two. A skytwister press gets two and MJF heads outside, where he catches Ospreay’s dive in a Tombstone on the floor. Ospreay is back on his feet 51 seconds later and catches MJF’s Moonsault in a Spanish Fly. Back in and MJF is draped over the top for a shooting star to the back for two more.

Stormbreaker is countered into Cross Rhodes for two, only for Ospreay to come back with the Oscutter for the same. MJF hits a quick piledriver for two more but has to counter Stormbreaker into a discus forearm. He takes too long to follow up though and walks into the Stormbreaker for two. The Hidden Blade is loaded up but MJF rolls out to the apron instead. The Oscutter misses as Ospreay only hits mat in a nasty crash. A Canadian Destroyer on the apron knocks Ospreay even sillier, to the point where he collapses before MJF can try a Hidden Blade.

The Heatseeker is blocked and NOW the Oscutter on the apron connects. The crash takes out a production crew member though and Ospreay goes to check on him, allowing MJF to grab the title. Ospreay superkicks MJF and goes after him again, only to bump the referee. MJF hits him low and loads up another shot but a man in black jumps up to cut him off. It’s Daniel Garcia, with MJF threatening him as he leaves. The running forearm drops MJF and the Tiger Driver 91 gives Ospreay the title back at 25:36.

Rating: B. This got going and turned into a showdown, with Garcia being a fine way to go. It was either going to be him or Adam Cole and while I’m not a Garcia fan, I’d rather they go with him over reheating Cole vs. MJF. The match was the kind of hard hitting special that works well for Ospreay, though MJF better be out of action for the better part of ever after all the hype the Tiger Driver 91 received. I know he won’t be, but that’s how he should be after the story they were telling.

Post match Christopher Daniels presents Ospreay with the International Title as the America’s Title goes away.

We recap Britt Baker challenging Mercedes Mone for the TBS Title. Mone is the dominant champion but Baker is back to get into the title hunt again.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Britt Baker

Mone, with Kamille, is defending and comes to the ring in a carriage with her corgis. They run the ropes to start until Mone hits a dropkick but Baker is back up to knock her to the floor. Kamille catches her though and Mone poses with the title as a villain should. Back in and it’s too early for the Lockjaw so Baker settles for a superkick. Kamille offers a distraction though and Mone grabs a backbreaker onto the turnbuckle for two.

Another backbreaker keeps Baker in trouble but she fights up. A kick to the back cuts her off and Banks grabs Three Amigos. Baker fights up again and takes Mone up, only to get slammed down from the middle rope for a nasty crash. Back up and Baker tries a stomp but gets countered into a powerbomb. A quick cutter drops Mone but she goes to the back again for some near falls. Mone loads up…something, only to be reversed into the Air Raid Crash for two.

They go up top and Mone tries another slam, which is reversed into a wicked super powerslam to give Baker two more. Mone tries a belt shot but gets caught, allowing Kamille to tease one, only for Baker to drop down, Eddie Guerrero style. Kamille is ejected and the Panama Sunrise hits Mone for two. Lockjaw goes on but Mone bites the fingers and grabs the Mone Maker to retain at retain the title at 17:20.

Rating: C+. This went long and it hurt things a lot, as they could have wrapped it up about five minutes earlier. As usual, Mone is much more about the sizzle and setup than the match itself, though she was doing well here. Just find a finisher that doesn’t look terrible all the time and she’ll be in a much better place. I’m not sure what is next for Baker, but she could use a win in a good feud. Maybe Deonna Purrazzo?

We recap Darby Allin challenging Jack Perry for the TNT Title. Allin doesn’t like how Perry was handed the title and since Perry is the Most Interesting Wrestler Ever, he wants it to be a Coffin Match.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Jack Perry

Allin is challenging in a Coffin Match and goes after Perry with a chair to start. They go to the floor with Perry being sat in the chair for a dive, meaning it’s time for the coffin. Perry cuts off a dive though and it’s already time for a bag of broken glass. The fans sing CRY ME A RIVER so Perry swears at them, only for Allin to drive a skateboard into his back, sending him into the glass.

They go outside with Allin hitting a dive, only to get rammed into the coffin. Now it’s time to go up the ramp and Allin gets thrown off the stage and through a table. Perry throws him into a bodybag and carries him back to the ring….where Allin is thrown into the coffin. A running knee is enough to knock Allin out and retain the title at 10:35.

Rating: C+. Well, there’s your Jack Perry win over someone who is more interesting and better than him. It’s not exactly a shock and Allin is on the way to bigger things with the World Title shot at Grand Slam, but as usual, this felt more about Perry and….yeah it’s still the same guy. The tough guy thing isn’t working for him and they had to get the glass spot in, which might not be the most lucrative call back.

Post match the Young Bucks come out to light the casket on fire…..but STING returns for the save. Perry chairs him in the back for no effect so Perry runs off, leaving Sting to lay the Bucks out. Then Allin is helped out of the coffin to pose, which doesn’t exactly make Perry look like a killer. Granted that might be minor to having a 62 year old retired legend take out the top heel stable on his own.

We recap the AEW World Title match with Swerve Strickland defending against Bryan Danielson. That’s not big enough so Danielson, whose neck is held together by paper clips and a dream, is putting his career on the line.

AEW World Title: Swerve Strickland vs. Bryan Danielson

Swerve is defending and gets rapped to the ring. After the Big Match Intros, Danielson chops away to start but gets taken down by the arm, allowing Swerve to glare at Danielson’s family in the crowd. Back up and Danielson goes to the arm but it’s too early for the LeBell Lock attempt. Swerve misses a dive so Danielson is up with a springboard flip dive to take him down on the floor.

Back in and Danielson starts in on the arm, which is fine enough for Swerve to grab a suplex. The confidence starts to pick up as Swerve knocks him into the corner. Swerve heads outside but gets caught in a triangle choke over the ropes. Back up and Swerve tries a Death Valley Driver, with the referee getting knocked down. That lets Prince Nana slide in the title, with the Driver onto the belt knocking Danielson silly and busting him open in the process.

Swerve asks why we have to do this when Danielson’s family is watching, though he’s fine enough to hit a middle rope elbow to the back. They head back outside where Swerve stomps at the bloody Danielson and then yells at Danielson’s family. The Swerve Stomp misses though and Danielson pulls him into an STF.

That’s broken up but Danielson is right back with a clothesline for the double knockdown. The Cattle Mutilation is broken up so Danielson settles for the YES Kicks. A tiger superplex drops Swerve again and we hit the Cattle Mutilation again. This time Swerve powers out and hits a Vertebreaker for the big, scary crash. That’s enough to pause for the medical team to come in and check on Danielson but deem him ok to continue.

The Swerve Stomp gets two so Swerve hits back to back House Calls…for two more. Swerve is stunned as Danielson gets up and strikes away, setting up a triangle choke. After we cut to Danielson’s daughter not watching the match, Danielson suplexes Swerve down and hits the running knee…which Swerve brushes off. Another House call drops Danielson and the JML Driver gets two.

Swerve loads up his own running knee but cue Hangman Page for a distraction. That’s enough for Danielson to hit the running knee for two, with Nana almost diving in for the save. They slug it out until Swerve tries a roll but gets kneed down. Another running knee to the back sets up the LeBell Lock but Swerve powers out, only to get pulled into a Rings of Saturn variant for the tap at 25:45.

Rating: A-. They did a good job here of making me wonder how it was going to end and that’s a nice feeling. When in doubt, going for a feel good Danielson win is as safe of a moment as you can have and it worked here. It felt like the last hurrah of a legendary career and while he probably won’t hold the title for very long, he had one last great one (so far). Strickland can move back into the Page feud, and thankfully the interference didn’t lead directly to the ending. Heck of a main event and it felt important, which is how a match of this magnitude should go.

Danielson’s family gets in the ring to celebrate, with the Blackpool Combat Club (and Pac) joining them to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The matches that needed to deliver did so and they nailed the big happy ending. There were some weaker parts, such as the Coffin Match, Baker vs. Mone and Hook vs. Jericho, plus having SO MANY PEOPLE on the show, but the good stuff was more than enough to make this work. It’s absolutely AEW’s biggest event of the year and they worked out some of the kinks from last time, with a show that not only felt big but was better. Rather solid stuff here, and if they can leave some of the people alone next time, it could be even stronger. Heck of a show, with the big feeling taking it higher.

Results
Private Party/Ariya Daivari/Dark Order/Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh/Anthony Ogogo b. Kyle Fletcher/Rocky Romero/Kip Sabian/Tommy Billington/Lio Rush/Action Andretti/Top Flight – Frog splash to Daivari
Willow Nightingale/Tomohiro Ishii b. Kris Statlander/Stokely Hathaway – Sliding lariat to Hathaway
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs/Katsuyori Shibata b. Cage Of Agony/Kingdom – Swanton to Taven
Pac/Blackpool Combat Club b. Patriarchy, House Of Black and Bang Bang Gang – Pac pulled down the titles
Mariah May b. Toni Storm – Storm Zero
Hook b. Chris Jericho – Redrum
Young Bucks b. FTR and Acclaimed – EVP Trigger to Harwood
Christian Cage won the Casino Gauntlet – Chokeslam to O’Reilly
Will Ospreay b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman – Tiger Driver 91
Mercedes Mone b. Britt Baker – Mone Maker
Jack Perry b. Darby Allin – Perry put Allin in the coffin
Bryan Danielson b. Swerve Strickland – LeBell Lock

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Ring Of Honor
Date: August 22, 2024
Location: Esports Arena Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re on the last few weeks of the Texas residency and we have new Tag Team Champions. Since it’s Ring Of Honor, the title change took place on Collision, with Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara beating the Kingdom to win the belts. Other than that, Mark Briscoe is defending the World Title against The Beast Mortos this week so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara winning the Tag Team Titles.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Kingdom/Dark Order vs. Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs

It’s a brawl to start before the bell with all eight fighting on the floor and various people being sent into various objects. We officially start with Ross dropkicking Reynolds and handing it off to Marshall. Reynolds takes him into the corner and it’s off to Silver, who gets dropped with a clothesline. Dustin comes in for the atomic drop (with the funny sell), only to walk into a Death Valley Driver.

Taven hits Just The Tip for two but hang on as the Kingdom and the Dark Order have to argue. We settle down to Bennett grabbing a chinlock before hitting a dropkick to cut Dustin off again. Reynolds adds a springboard elbow for two and it’s out to the floor, where Guevara finally cuts off the double teaming. Back in and Reynolds hits Taven by mistake, allowing Dustin to grab the bulldog. Guevara gets the tag to clean house and a springboard cutter drops Reynolds.

A Swanton sets up Marshall’s moonsault for two two on Silver with the Kingdom making the save. The villains get caught in the corner for quadruple Shattered Dreams, only for Evil Uno to offer a distraction so they can hit some low blows. We hit the parade of strikes to the face until Silver’s German suplex gets two on Marshall, with Ross making the save. A bunch of people go the floor so Taven hits a dive, with Guevara hitting a bigger one. Back in and Marshall’s spinning claw slam finishes Silver at 12:16.

Rating: B-. This was the fun match that had everyone going nuts at the end to make for something entertaining. It still feels like the story is “here are a bunch of good guys from Texas vs. a bunch of villains” and that only gets them so far. I’m not sure where this is going, but at least the match was quite energetic.

Mark Briscoe knows that the Beast Mortos beat him in a tag match a few weeks ago. After that though, Mortos might want to find a time machine to go back in time and NOT win that match because of the beating he’s getting as a result.

Cage Of Agony vs. Serpentico/Fuego del Sol/Atlantis Jr.

Serpentico slugs away at Liona to start and is knocked down just as fast. That means it’s time for Serpentico to be taken into the corner for the double stomping but he rolls away and hands it off to Fuego. A springboard hurricanrana takes Liona down but Kaun is right back up with a heck of a powerbomb. Cage comes in with a running legdrop and the ten rep fall away slam before flipping Fuego onto the ropes.

Kaun’s slingshot hilo gets two and we hit the seated armbar. Fuego finally fights out and gets over for the tag off to Atlantis as everything breaks down. Serpentico’s top rope splash gets two on Cage, who is right back with a powerslam. Atlantis sends the Gates outside but gets kneed in the face by Cage. Serpentico goes up but dives into the Drill Claw to give Page the pin at 10:02.

Rating: C+. This was in fact a six man tag with the biggest singles name (at least around here), Atlantis, being little more than a person filling in a spot. That didn’t make for the most thrilling match, but that is kind of to be expected with the Cage Of Agony. You know what you’re getting with them and it has been covered to death around here.

The MxM Collection is ready to procure another delicious victory but two guys in bear pelts show up. Mansoor warns Mason not to move, because bears sense fear.

Abadon vs. Alejandra Lion

Abadon jumps her to start and hits a basement dropkick, only to miss a charge into the corner. Back up and Abadon glares at her, setting up a Widow’s Peak. Black Dahlia finishes Lion at 1:33.

MxM Collection vs. Pillars of Destiny

The Pillars would be the bear enthusiasts from earlier. Grey powers out of a headlock to start but gets pulled into another one, meaning it’s time to bite Mansoor’s hand. The feet are fine enough to hit a dropkick though and it’s off to Mason for an elbow to the face. Back up and Grey runs Mansoor over with a body block before it’s time for some choking.

The bearhug goes on for a bit, only to have Mansoor fight out and hand it back to Mason. House is quickly cleaned, including a double chokeslam to both Pillars. Hold on though as the Collection walk up the ramp, only to strike a pose and run down for a double spear. Back in and an assisted double underhook implant DDT finishes Grey at 5:50.

Rating: C+. The Collection is the definition of a fun team and they know how to do their thing rather well. It helps that they’re just good enough in the ring to get by, even if it might not be enough to get them to the top of anything. I can go for an entertaining act like them, as they certainly add in a bit of spice around here.

Last week, Lee Moriarty was impressed with his win over Action Andretti. Shane Taylor says he’s injured right now but he’s coming for the World Title.

Angelico vs. Aaron Solo

Under Pure Rules. Solo grabs an armbar to start but gets taken down into a leglock, sending him straight over to the ropes. It works so well that Angelico does it again, meaning Solo has burned through two rope breaks in about two minutes. Back up and a running shoulder gives Solo two so he uses a right hand, which is good for a warning. Angelico’s sleeper sends Solo bailing to the ropes for his third and final break. Back up again and Angelico hits him with a left hand, meaning it’s a warning as well. Another leglock makes Solo tap, despite being in the ropes, at 5:20.

Rating: C. Remember last week when Action Andretti didn’t know the Pure Rules very well and burned through his rope breaks in a hurry, meaning he had to tap out when he was in the ropes? Well these two certainly remember it because this was almost a copy of the entire match. The pure division continues to be the “just kind of there” area of the roster and stuff like this doesn’t exactly make me more interested in seeing where it goes.

Trish Adora vs. Erica Leigh

Adora grabs a double underhook to start before grabbing a chickenwing/half nelson combination. With that broken up, Adora gets two off a rollup as Leigh is rather frustrated. A backbreaker into the nasty German suplex into the Lariat Tubman finishes Leigh at 2:31. Total squash.

The Righteous and Lance Archer are all threatening.

Komander vs. KM

KM squeezes his hand on the handshake to start and Komander doesn’t seem pleased. Komander’s springboard is shouldered out of the air and the much bigger KM knocks him into the corner. The threat of a stretch muffler sends Komander into the ropes but he’s back with a springboard Fameasser. Another kick to the head sets up Cielito Lindo to finish KM at 3:19.

Rating: C. Well that was a perfectly acceptable way to bring Komander back to the show, but it wasn’t exactly an interesting match. Just Komander taking down a big guy in a few minutes and then pinning him, which we’ve seen before. Not a bad match or anything, but on a long show, it probably could have been put elsewhere.

EJ Nduka vs. Deonn Rusman

Nduka powers out of a headlock to start and knocks him down, setting up a headlock of his own. Rusman shoves him away and unloads in the corner, only to miss a Stinger Splash. That’s enough for Nduka, who grabs a toss powerbomb for the pin at 2:57.

Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson vs. Colton Charles/Jay Alexander/Rosario Grillo

Jameson shoves Alexander away before Bronson hits the running splash. A double Rocket Launcher finishes Alexander at 1:44. The less of the Savages and Jameson, the better.

Marina Shafir vs. Tiara James

Shafir offers her a handshake from the mat to start before pulling James down to start fast. James’ forearms manage to knock Shafir into the corner but she throws James down without much effort. The bow and arrow keeps James in trouble and a running Codebreaker into Mother’s Milk finishes for Shafir at 3:24.

Rating: C. Of all the Shafir squashes I’ve seen over the last few months, this was the most recent. There’s not much to say about this one as Shafir did her thing, shrugged off James’ offense, and then did her finishing move to win. Until Shafir moves up, she’s just going to be the latest submission star who wins with a unique finisher.

Angelico, via internal monologue, wants a Pure Rules Title match.

Nick Comoroto/Jacoby Watts vs. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker

The bell rings and Watts does his catchphrase, earning Comoroto a trip out to the floor. Back in and Comoroto whips Parker hard into the corner, only to have Parker send him into Watts. Menard comes in to hammer away, with a double DDT finishing Comoroto at 3:41.

Rating: C. This has become the “hey, they still work here” show, with Menard and Parker having their first match together in quite some time. That’s a fine way to bring back a name or two, but we’re past five this week and it’s not exactly feeling important. Parker and Menard aren’t big names in the first place and this was just a quick win for them over a low level act.

Lio Rush vs. Tony Nese

Mark Sterling is here with Nese, who says people have been asking why the Premiere Athletes are on every show. Oh I know why. It’s just not an interesting answer. Nese jumps him to start and sends Rush outside for the stomping from Sterling. Back in and Rush does his dodging to set up a clothesline, setting up the Fameasser over the middle rope. Nese’s shot slows Rush down and a Sterling distraction lets Nese hit a running forearm for two.

Sterling gets in some cheap shots on the floor and Nese grabs a bodyscissors back inside. Nese hits the neck snap across the top but misses a springboard moonsault, but comes back with a pumphandle piledriver for two. Back up and Nese sends him into the ropes, with Rush diving onto Sterling in a nice spot. Rush gets back in, kicks him down, and this the Final Hour for the pin at 9:14.

Rating: B-. This was the match that Rush needed to win to get his momentum back after he lost a big match on Collision because Tony Khan loves that style of booking. Not that it is going to matter as Rush isn’t likely to be put in a prominent spot (like most of the people who have to get their momentum back) but this match just had to be done. It also had to get almost ten minutes on a show this long, because everything has to happen on every show.

All In rundown.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Mark Briscoe vs. The Beast Mortos

Briscoe is defending and knocks him to the floor to start, setting up the dropkick through the ropes. The Bang Bang Elbow connects as well but it’s way too early for the Jay Driller. Mortos pulls the arms around the ropes but gets confused by the threat of Redneck Kung Fu. Some shoulders in the corner set up a hard chop to rock Mortos, who knocks him off the top with a chop of his own.

They fight on top, where Briscoe knocks him to the floor, setting up a big flip dive. The chair sets up another big flip dive over the top, setting up another flip dive from the top. Back in and a clothesline gives Briscoe two but another Jay Driller attempt is broken up. Instead Briscoe settles for the rolling Death Valley Driver, only to miss the Froggy Bow. Mortos’ twisting Swanton misses and Briscoe drops the Froggy Boy for two. Another clothesline sets up the Jay Driller to retain the title at 10:58.

Rating: B. By far the best match of the show here, with two talented stars working together with the slightest reason to believe that the title might be in danger. Briscoe can make anything work well and Mortos has been quite the impressive star while he has been around. Solid main event here, which felt important, which is more than most of the rest of the show can say.

Overall Rating: C. Yeah I’m back to being sick of this show, as this was over two hours and WAY too much of it felt like Tony Khan maniacally rubbing his hands together and shouting MORE MORE MORE! There were so many matches here that weren’t long, but came off like they were just thrown in for the sake of adding more to the show. On a week where I’m already being asked to watch the usual AEW shows and an additional five hour pay per view, one might think that the idea of LESS IS MORE would come into play here. Tony Khan does not seem to see it that way, and that is a big reason why Ring Of Honor is such a waste.

Results
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara/Von Erichs b. Kingdom/Dark Order – Claw slam to Silver
Cage Of Agony b. Serpentico/Fuego del Sol/Atlantis Jr. – Drill Claw to Serpentico
Abadon b. Alejandra Lion – Black Dahlia
MxM Collection b. Pillars Of Destiny – Assisted double underhook implant DDT to Grey
Angelico b. Aaron Solo – Leglock
Trish Adora b. Erica Leigh – Lariat Tubman
Komander b. KM – Cielito Lindo
EJ Nduka b. Deonn Rusman – Toss powerbomb
Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson b. Colton Charles/Jay Alexander/Rosario Grillo – Double Rocket Launcher to Alexander
Marina Shafir b. Tiara James – Mother’s Milk
Matt Menard/Angelo Parker b. Nick Comoroto/Jacoby Watts – Double DDT to Comoroto
Lio Rush b. Tony Nese – Final Hour
Mark Briscoe b. The Beast Mortos – Jay Driller

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Ring Of Honor
Date: August 8, 2024
Location: Esports Arena Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re still in Texas and the big story coming out of last week is Sammy Guevara showing up to join the other Texans because we all love Texas around here. Odds are we get some fallout from that this week as we build towards pretty much nothing for the foreseeable future. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

Dark Order vs. Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara

Fallout from last week’s show closing angle. Guevara drops Silver down to start and it’s off to Dustin for a clothesline to send Reynolds outside. Everything breaks down and Guevara’s teased dive turns into a break dance into a pose. Dustin does the same and the fans are rather pleased. We settle down to Dustin getting caught in the wrong corner but he manages the powerslam, only to bang up his knee in the process. Dustin and Reynolds head outside, where Evil Uno gets in a cheap shot to give Reynolds a quick two.

Silver’s DDT on the knee gets two and the knee is wrapped around the middle rope. The Order takes turns working on the knee, including a half crab from Silver. That’s broken up and Dustin low bridges Reynolds outside, allowing the tag off to Guevara to pick up the pace. Back to back dives take out the Order but a superkick into a bridging German suplex gives Silver two. Guevara and Reynolds trade knees to the face until a DDT drops Guevara for two. Everything breaks down and Dustin’s knee is fine enough for the Canadian Destroyer. The GTH finishes Silver at 12:01.

Rating: C+. This was a completely by the book tag match and that’s perfectly fine. Dustin and Guevara fill in the Texas quota for the night while the Order has been around for so long that they’re kind of packaged into the whole thing. Hopefully this wraps up the feud though, as there isn’t much left for them (or the Von Erichs) to do here.

We look at the Women’s Title matches at Death Before Dishonor.

Athena is sick of Billie Starkz’s disappointments. Starkz’s MIT degree is revoked and she is officially Minion #400,237 ¾ in training again. Queen Aminata and Red Velvet come in and say it’s a tag match tonight because Athena and Starkz aren’t ducking them anymore. They JUST SHOWED a clip of the four of them in a pair of title matches from two weeks ago! How have Athena and Starkz been ducking them???

Taya Valkyrie vs. Hyan

Johnny TV, looking like he just finished a match, is here with Taya, who isn’t overly interested in the pre-match handshake. Hyan forearms her into the ropes to start and gets caught with a running elbow in the corner for her efforts. Taya knocks her down and cranks away on both arms before hitting a spear. Shania Pain finishes for Taya at 2:38.

Griff Garrison and Maria (minus Cole Karter) are cut off by the Spanish Announce Project. They want one more match for Serpentico’s mask, with Serpentico putting his mask on the line. This has to be it for this feud right? It has to be.

Tag Team Titles: Infantry vs. Kingdom

The Infantry, with Trish Adora, is challenging and it’s a brawl at the bell. The Kingdom tries to bail up the aisle but get pulled back to keep the brawl going at ringside. Bravo throws Taven inside to start properly and a double fist drop gets two. Bennett comes in and gets chinlocked down, followed by an armdrag into an armbar on Taven. A cheap shot from Bennett lets Taven grab a suplex and the villains take over. Bennett’s pop up right hand gets two and a Russian legsweep gives Taven the same.

Bravo fights out of a chinlock but gets dropped for two, with a grab of the rope being necessary. Back up and the diving tag brings in Dean to clean house. A frog splash gets two on Taven with Bennett making the save. The Death Valley Driver into Just The Tip gets two with Bravo making the save. The spike piledriver is broken up but so is Boot Camp. Bennett’s low blow sets up the spike piledriver to finish Dean and retain at 11:46.

Rating: B-. These teams have enough chemistry but that’s the second loss from the Infantry to the Kingdom. Normally I would say that it’s enough to end their feud but it isn’t like the tag division has that much depth. The Kingdom is more likely to lose the titles to an AEW team, as that is where they wind up spending most of their time in the first place.

Rachael Ellering vs. Brooke Havok

Ellering goes after the arm to start and powers her way out of a headlock. That’s enough for a standoff before Ellering runs her over, only to get tripped down so Havok can pose. Back up and Ellering fires off some chops in the corner but Havok takes her down and hits a basement dropkick. A neckbreaker gives Havok two but the Boss Woman Slam finishes for Ellering at 4:47.

Rating: C. Not much to this one here but Ellering matches are always going to b at least decent. That was the case again here, with Ellering needing to get a boost as she is still getting established around here. Havok was smooth enough out there and could be a nice choice for a spot like this going forward.

Respect is shown post match.

Lee Moriarty wants to face Action Andretti again and will put the Pure Rules Title on the line.

Outrunners vs. Stephen Wolf/Barrett Brown

Erica Leigh is here with the Outrunners, who shake hands with each other to start. Magnum chops the heck out of Brown in the corner to start and it’s off to Floyd to stay on the arm. An elbow drop sets up more posing and a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination finishes Wolf at 2:19.

Robbie Eagles vs. Darian Bengston

Eagles cranks away on the arm to start but Bengston takes him down and does some basketball poses. Back up and a spinwheel kick drops Bengston and a rather slow spinning toehold is broken up. Bengston’s forearms are broken up and Eagles kicks him in the leg. A 450 onto the leg sets up…something kind of leglock called the Ron Miller Special for the win at 5:21.

Rating: C+. Eagles is a star over in New Japan and looked good here, though it was little more than a squash with Bengston not being able to get very far. I could go for more of Eagles around here as the show could desperately use some more star power, but this might just be a cameo from an international star. That leglock certainly looked cool if nothing else.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tony Nese

Mark Sterling and Ariya Daivari are here with Nese. For some reason Nese tries to chop away to start and gets knocked into the corner for his efforts. Nese’s forearms don’t get him anywhere so they head outside, where Nese manages to get in a quick dive for a knockdown.

Back in and Ishii fights out of a chinlock but gets caught in the Randy Savage jumping neck snap over the top. Ishii snaps off a belly to back suplex for two, followed by one heck of a clothesline for the same. Sterling is dealt with and the brainbuster is enough to finish for Ishii at 8:23.

Rating: C+. This felt like a way to have Ishii on the show and since the Premiere Athletes are the designated jobbers in AEW and ROH at the moment, the result wasn’t quite in doubt. Ishii can still do well enough, but like many others either here or in AEW, a lot of the special feeling goes away when he’s around so often. At least this one was a singles match instead of another big tag though.

Rachael Ellering is glad to be back after her injuries. Harley Cameron interrupts and seems happy to meet Ellering, who doesn’t seem impressed.

Johnny TV vs. Fuego del Sol

Taya Valkyrie is here with TV, who gets armdragged and dropkicked to start. TV knocks him down but it’s way too early for Starship Pain, allowing TV to hit a hard knee out to the floor. The flipping neckbreaker keeps del Sol down and we hit the chinlock back inside. A spinning knee to the face gives TV two and we’re back to the chinlock.

Del Sol fights out and hits an enziguri, setting up some running dropkicks in the corner. TV is back with a seatbelt for two, followed by a jumping kick to the head op top. Del Sol is fine enough to crotch him on top for a double stomp but TV easily gets in a knockdown of his own. Starship Pain finishes del Sol at 6:22.

Rating: C+. The del Sol push comes to a halt here and that isn’t the biggest surprise. Del Sol coming back was a nice surprise and it was nice to see TV actually get a win for once. At some point his status is going to fall with all of the losses so changing the results up a bit is not a bad idea.

Red Velvet/Queen Aminata vs. Athena/Billie Starkz

Both teams have matching gear, which is impressive for a match that wasn’t set when the show started. Starkz and Aminata start things off with Aminata taking her to the mat in a front facelock. It’s quickly off to Athena, who gets hammered down into the corner. Athena fights out and starts in on Aminata’s arm, setting up a Codebreaker for two. Starkz slams the bad arm into the mat a few times and, with Velvet being drawn in, some double stomping ensues.

Aminata fights up and gets over to Velvet, who tornado DDTs Athena for a fast two. A Codebreaker/German suplex combination sets up a running knee to give Aminata two. Back up and it’s off to Athena, who fires off superkicks to stagger Aminata and Velvet. A fall away slam/Samoan drop (at the same time) sends them flying again and Athena knocks Aminata silly with the big right hand. Velvet takes Athena down and hits the Mix on Starks but Athena makes the save. Aminata won’t let Athena use the microphone but Starkz gets in a belt shot for the pin at 12:11.

Rating: B-. The ending is a nice way to get Starkz back in Athena’s good graces, which she is going to need after losing last moth, which is not something Athena will like. The cheating is certainly an Athena way to go as well and it should set up a potential title rematch. At the same time, I could go for seeing some fresh challengers to either title, though I’m not sure that is going to take place for a good while.

Overall Rating: C+. The action was fine enough, and as usual, after about an hour and forty five minutes of decent/mediocre wrestling, I’m not overly interested in most of what I’m seeing around here. The World Title still might as well not exist most of the time and we’re back to the same Tag Team Title match that we saw over Wrestlemania Weekend.

The Women’s Titles are still in the same stories they’ve been in for a few months now, making this show feel like it is running a treadmill while being lost at the same time. As usual, it’s not a bad show, but an hour and forty five minutes of this stuff wears out its welcome very fast.

Results
Dustin Rhodes/Sammy Guevara b. Dark Order – GTH to Silver
Taya Valkyrie b. Hyan – Shania Pain
Kingdom b. Infantry – Spike piledriver
Rachael Ellering b. Brooke Havok – Boss Woman Slam
Outrunners b. Stephen Wolf/Barrett Brown – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Wolf
Robbie Eagles b. Darian Bengston – Ron Miller Special
Tomohiro Ishii b. Tony Nese – Brainbuster
Johnny TV b. Fuego del Sol – Starship Pain
Athena/Billie Starkz b. Queen Aminata/Red Velvet – Belt shot to Velvet

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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Ring Of Honor
Date: August 1, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re done with Death Before Dishonor and the big story is we have a few new champions. In reality we have five new champions, but three of them were not actually crowned at the pay per view. We have about five months before the next pay per view so odds are we’ll be taking the foot off the gas a bit this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Death Before Dishonor if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Death Before Dishonor, as narrated by new boss Paul Wight.

Opening sequence.

We look back at Dustin Rhodes and the Von Erichs winning the Six Man Tag Team Titles at Battle Of The Belts.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Von Erichs/Dustin Rhodes vs. Jacked Jameson/Iron Savages

Jameson and the Savages are challenging. Marshall and Jameson start things off with Marshall snapping off some pushups. Some right hands in the corner have Jameson in trouble and it’s off to Ross vs. Boulder, with the latter taking over. Marshall can’t slam him but the Von Erichs can double dropkick him down. Marshall’s standing moonsault gets two but Boulder runs Ross over.

Some hard elbows give Bronson two, only to have Ross pop back up with the Sling Blade for the same. Rhodes comes in for the atomic drop into a bulldog but a cheap shot from the apron puts Rhodes down. Some cannonballs down onto the back have Rhodes in more trouble and Jameson shoves a bulldog attempt into the corner for two. Boulder’s running splash gets two more and Bronson grabs the chinlock.

Rhodes fights back up but charges into a spinebuster for two. Bronson decks the Von Erichs so even after Rhodes’ backdrop, there is no one to tag. Not that it matters as Marshall is up for the tag a few seconds later. Marshall dropkicks Boulder and gets in a slam for two. Rhodes hits the Canadian Destroyer to Jameson and the Von Erichs add a double Shattered Dreams. The Claw Slam retains the titles at 12:18.

Rating: C. If there has ever been a match that felt like it was designed to test my patience like no other, this was it. The Savages and Jameson are as useless of a team as I’ve ever seen and the whole “we’re from Texas so you should like us” isn’t working for Rhodes and the Von Erichs. Throw in the titles feeling like they were brought back for the sole purpose of giving these guys something to do and this was not an easy sit.

Mark Briscoe, with his newborn son Jay, brags about retaining his title.

Top Flight vs. Ace Of Space Academy

Top Flight debuts Leila Grey as their Attendant in a funny name. Dante works on LSG’s arm to start before it’s off to GMK, who helps LSG with Rocket By Baby (a double flipping faceplant). Darius suplexes his way out of trouble and hands it back to Dante to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and Darius’ springboard Downward Spiral gets two, setting up the F5 DDT to finish GMK at 4:20.

Rating: C+. Fun match here as LSG is an old hand from Ring Of Honor who can work well in a match like this. I’m always glad to see Top Flight doing something as they have long since seemed like a team ready to move up the ladder. Maybe the addition of Grey is a good sign, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

The Infantry is tired of seeing Top Flight everywhere. Trish Adora says they have a new stewardess. Bravo: “Who?” Trish: “Leila Grey.” Bravo: “THEY GOT LEILA??? I’VE BEEN TRYING TO GET LEILA FOR YEARS!”

Leyla Hirsch dislocated her elbow beating Diamante at Death Before Dishonor.

Robyn Renegade vs. Maya World

Renegade elbows her down to start but World flips up on the kickout. A knee drops World again but she’s back up with a spear for two. Not that it matters as Renegade’s pumphandle into a Downward Spiral is enough for the pin at 1:53.

Anthony Henry is asked about JD Drake’s absence but his cousin Beef comes in and is really excited to be Henry’s partner. Yes, someone named Beef is getting a chance.

Beast Mortos vs. AR Fox

After a minor mistake from Riccaboni as he refers to Death Before Dishonor as “last night”, they trade rollups for two each to start. The offer of a handshake doesn’t work for Mortos, who runs him over with a clothesline. Fox manages to send him outside for a heck of a suicide dive, only to have his big charge cut off with a hard clothesline. Back in and Mortos hits a pop up Samoan drop for two and he starts hammering away at the back.

Fox manages a jumping hanging DDT though and a jumping enziguri sends Mortos into the corner. A cutter gives Fox two and Mortos is sent outside for the big dive. Back in and a 450 gives Fox two but Mortos grabs that weird torture rack backbreaker of his. A powerbomb backbreaker sets up a discus lariat for two on Fox. What looked to be a chokeslam is broken up is countered but Mortos flips him into a tombstone for the pin at 10:40.

Rating: B-. These guys got it going in the middle and had a fast paced match, with Mortos winning over the guy who was there to make him look good. I could go for more of Mortos as he’s a different kind of monster who could go somewhere in the right role. Fox on the other hand is in the right role, as someone who can have an entertaining match with just about anyone.

The MxM Collection is ready to face anyone, even with Mansoor’s breast still hurting from FTR’s chops.

Anthony Henry vs. Wheeler Yuta

Henry’s cousin Beef is in the crowd. They go technical to start with Yuta getting his armbar reversed into a headlock. A slam into a backsplash gets Yuta out of trouble and it’s time to tie up Henry’s legs. With that broken up, Yuta pulls the turnbuckle pad off and crushes Henry’s face against the steel. Henry slips out and starts working on the arm, setting up a cross arm choke.

Yuta flips out and grabs a belly to back suplex, setting up a top rope forearm and DDT for two each. Henry’s cross armbreaker is reversed into an ankle lock, with Yuta switching into a bridging German suplex for two. Back up and Henry’s straitjacket suplex gets two and it’s time for some YES Kicks. They slug it out before locking hands, with Yuta taking him down and stomping hard. The Seatbelt puts Henry away at 10:06.

Rating: B-. Fun match here as Yuta gets his momentum back after losing the title on Friday. I’m sure he’ll be back in the title picture soon enough, as he seems destined to be fighting for that title when he’s 83 years old. On the other hand you have Henry, who gets a new second debuting and then loses, which is a bit of a weird way to go.

Post match Beef and Henry yell at each other. Yuta on the other hand sees a fan holding a sign saying it’s his first show and asking for a high five, which he receives. That will always make me smile.

Lee Moriarty is happy with his title win because he didn’t give up. He’ll face anyone but warns them to protect their neck. Moriarty was showing some fire here.

Premiere Athletes vs. Superstarz

The Superstarz look like stereotypical 80s rockers (alas minus the Midnight). Nese runs #1 over to start and hands it off to Daivari to hammer away in the corner as commentary makes every 80s music reference they can find. Daivari misses a big elbow but Nese is right there to break up the tag attempt. Nese dives onto #2 and Daivari adds the hammerlock lariat into the Magic Carpet Splash for the pin on #1 at 2:42.

Anthony Henry is upset at the loss but Beef cheers him up. Henry really did not need three segments on one show.

Jacoby Watts vs. Fuego del Sol

Watts has Nick Comoroto with him. Before the bell, Watts says if del Sol had listened to him, he wouldn’t have had to leave in the first place. That just earns him a dropkick as we start fast. Watts isn’t happy and a bridging northern lights suplex for two makes it worse. A running clothesline gets Watts out of trouble but del Sol flips out of a belly to back suplex and grabs a jumping neckbreaker. Del Sol’s step up stomp to the back rocks Watts and a tornado DDT finishes Watts at 2:48.

Lexi Nair and Athena celebrated after Death Before Dishonor while Billie Starkz was a little less enthusiastic.

Brian Cage vs. Rocky Romero

Cage sticks his chin out to start so Romero kicks him in the ribs, only to have a headscissors shoved away. Romero avoids a charge to send him outside and there’s a running hurricanrana to take Cage down again. Back in and Cage cuts off a springboard, setting up the apron superplex. They trade chops in the corner with Cage getting the better of things, only to get rolled up for two. Cage plants him again though and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up and they fight to the apron, where Romero grabs a Sliced Bread.

A high crossbody gives Romero two back inside and a springboard tornado DDT gets the same. Another Sliced Bread is countered into an F5 for two and they go to the corner, where Romero grabs a super hurricanrana. The running Sliced Bread gives Romero two but Cage’s helicopter bomb gets the same. They go up again and a super Sliced Bread gives Romero another near fall. Cage catches him on top though and hits…..I think a fall away slam but it was really messy. Either way, it sets up the Drill Claw to finish Romero at 12:07.

Rating: B-. Less than clean ending aside, this was a fun match with Romero using the speed (and a lot of Sliced Breads) to try and stop the monster before eventually falling short. Cage is always good for an entertaining match, even if there is no reason to believe he is going to go anywhere. I’ll take some slightly bigger names for a main event though.

We look at the Kingdom retaining the Tag Team Titles at Death Before Dishonor.

The Kingdom brags about being Tag Team Champions for almost a year (that will be in December) but the Infantry interrupts. They want a title shot and bickering ensues. We’re really going back to the Infantry already? That’s how shallow the tag division is?

Here is Dustin Rhodes to talk about how great it feels to be a champion again. Rhodes has been giving everything he has for 36 years and he thanks the fans for being there, both for himself and everyone else in the back. He’s going to teach the Von Erichs everything he can and he was so happy the other night that he started to cry. Rhodes has talked about being on one last ride but he’s been doing that for five years. He’s feeling very confident right now but he wants more.

Cue Evil Uno to mock Rhodes because being a Six Man Tag Team Champion should be enough. It’s Evil Uno’s time and Rhodes wants more because of his stupid family name. Uno doesn’t care about the Rhodes family because Rhodes just popped up while Uno has been here every week. Cue the Dark Order to jump Rhodes but Sammy Guevara of all people runs in for the save. House is cleaned, as I guess the Von Erichs were off looking for a better leave in conditioner. Rhodes cautiously thanks Guevara to end the show. That’s certainly a big moment to end the show so points for trying to do something bigger.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was trying and had some rather solid action, but it fell back into the old pattern that has plagued Ring Of Honor since its return: it’s so long. This show clocked in at over an hour and forty five minutes and it could have easily been trimmed down by just cutting out some of the stuff. You don’t need to have this many people on a show every week, especially when some of them are around that often. I really could have gone without del Sol and the Premiere Athletes, but for some reason the show needed to be stretched out. There was good stuff here, but as usual, the show needed another edit.

Results
Dustin Rhodes/Von Erichs b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson – Claw Slam to Jameson
Top Flight b. Ace Of Space Academy – Fireman’s carry DDT to GMK
Robyn Renegade b. Maya World – Pumphandle Downward Spiral
Beast Mortos b. AR Fox – Spinning tombstone
Wheeler Yuta b. Anthony Henry – Seatbelt
Premiere Athletes – Magic Carpet Splash to #1
Fuego del Sol b. Jacoby Watts – Tornado DDT
Brian Cage b. Rocky Romero – Drill Claw

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

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AND

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Ring Of Honor
Date: July 25, 2024
Location: Esports Stadium Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re a day away from Death Before Dishonor and a few more matches have been announced since last week’s show. Normally I would suggest that some more might be announced during this show, but that’s not how Ring Of Honor tends to go. Hopefully we at least get a nice preview for tomorrow so let’s get to it.

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

We run down the card.

We look at Mark Briscoe’s recent efforts, including in Blood & Guts.

Last night after Blood & Guts, a bloody Briscoe was jumped by Roderick Strong.

The Kingdom hasn’t heard from Tony Khan so they must have Death Before Dishonor off. Paul Wight of all people comes in to say he has been named to the ROH Board Of Directors so they will be defending against Tomohiro Ishii and Kyle O’Reilly. This would stem from Rampage when the two of them and Orange Cassidy beat the Undisputed Kingdom (Cassidy got the pin). Ishii has not wrestled in Ring Of Honor since 2019 and O’Reilly has not wrestled in Ring Of Honor since 2016.

They have teamed together once as a two man tea, losing a four way match at this year’s Forbidden Door, meaning they have never won a two on two tag match. Now with that out of the way, let’s make sure to watch any tag matches tonight, because they will obviously be VERY important to the title picture.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Blackpool Combat Club

Moriarty and Yuta start things off in a preview of tomorrow’s Pure Rules Title match. They go with the grappling to tart with Yuta working on the arm. Moriarty fights up and is promptly armdragged back into another armbar. It’s off to Castagnoli vs. Ogogo for the power lockup with Ogogo hitting him in the ribs. That doesn’t work for Castagnoli, who knocks Ogogo down and hands it back to Yuta. A big boot drops Yuta in a hurry but he’s back with a dropkick for a breather.

Moriarty comes in and gets armbarred right over to the ropes for the break. Back up and Yuta dives over for the tag to Castagnoli, who gets to clean house. Castagnoli knocks Moriarty for a running uppercut against the barricade and a double stomp gets two back inside. Ogogo comes back in for a running clothesline in the corner but Castagnoli is back with Swiss Death. Yuta sends Moriarty outside for a suicide dive, leaving Castagnoli to Swing Ogogo into a heck of a lariat for the pin at 11:24.

Rating: B-. This was a good, back and forth match which was longer than most matches get around here. That’s a nice thing to see and the star power helped, though I’m not sure how much it did to boost up Moriarty vs. Yuta at the pay per view. Given that the title hasn’t been defended in almost seven months, one might thing it could get more of the focus here.

Post match Yuta and Moriarty have to be separated and Shane Taylor drops Yuta with the big right hand.

Here are Queen Aminata and Red Velvet for a chat. Lexi Nair won’t let Velvet talk and, after asking Aminata about attacking the one legged Athena, won’t let her talk either. Aminata takes the mic and says the b**** got what she deserved. Cue Athena, who hitches a ride on the back of a security guard, before leaning on Nair to say the other two are too uncultured for an interview.

They have even called her and Billie Starkz names, including THE B WORD a second ago. Athena calls them “raggedy a** lot lizards” and here is Starkz (in matching gear to Athena), who starts walking around just fine. The beatdown is on and Athena swears to retain the title. One of them has to lose right?

Spanish Announce Project vs. Gates Of Agony

Serpentico gets pulled into the wrong corner to start but manages to dodge out to the apron. Angelico comes in and pulls Kaun down into a choke, sending Kaun over to the ropes. The Project takes turns working on Kaun’s arm until Kaun just blasts Angelico down to take over. Liona’s backsplash gets two and he steps on Angelico’s head.

Angelico gets stomped down in the corner and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Kaun trips him down, setting up a quick splash to the back to give Liona two. Angelico manages to kick them together though and it’s back to Serpentico as the pace picks up. Not that it matters as Open The Gates finishes Serpentico at 7:04.

Rating: C. This was exactly what you would expect from these four as the Gates continue to be right in the same place they feel like they have been in for the better part of ever. There is no reason to get excited about them and the same is true for the Project. Granted I’ll take this over another match with Cole Karter and Griff Garrison.

EJ Nduka vs. Jon Cruz

Nduka, who is in great shape, powers Cruz into the corner to start and walks him around the ring for a delayed toss suplex. It works so well that he does it again, setting up one heck of a running shoulder. The most casual big boot you’ll ever see sets up a belly to back slam for the pin on Cruz at 2:55. Short match but Nduka looked impressive with the power stuff.

The MxM Collection is ready to debut at Death Before Dishonor.

Johnny TV/Shane Taylor vs. Lio Rush/Atlantis Jr.

TV Title match preview and Taya Valkyrie is here with the villains. TV and Rush start things off but TV drops to the floor for some personal time with Valkyrie. The distraction lets Rush take TV down but Taylor drops Rush as well. Back in and Rush tries to dodge away from Taylor, who pulls a middle rope crossbody out of the air. That’s escaped as well and Atlantis comes in for a headscissors to TV. Rush and Atlantis take turns striking away on Taylor until Valkyrie trips Rush up.

Taylor hits a heck of a spinebuster to take over and it’s TV getting to stomp him down into the corner. TV knocks Rush outside before handing it back to Taylor to stay on the ribs. Rush finally gets in a shot on TV and it’s a double knockdown for a needed breather. The tag brings Atlantis back in for a missile dropkick but Taylor pulls his high crossbody out of the air as well. Rush high crossbodies into both of them for the double knockdown but Atlantis superkicks Rush by mistake. The Marcus Garvey Driver pins Atlantis at 9:53.

Rating: C+. Completely run of the mill tag match here which did little to change the fact that was know almost nothing about Atlantis. He had that one match with Chris Jericho a few months ago, worked in some tag matches, and then hey he’s the TV Champion. It isn’t about a lack of talent, but he’s the definition of a guy who is just thrown out there with nothing to make him stand out, which isn’t going to work most of the time.

Abadon vs. Dulce Tormenta

Abadon wastes no time in stomping away in the corner but gets hit in the face for a quick two. Back up and a cutter drops Tormenta, setting up the Black Dahlia for the pin at 1:58. Close enough to a squash.

Action Andretti/Fuego del Sol/Komander/Top Flight vs. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson/Nick Comoroto/Anthony Henry

Andretti and Jameson start things off with Andretti busting out some clap pushups. Henry comes in and gets taken into the corner, only to kick Dante in the ribs to take over. Komander comes in and has to kick his way out of Boulder’s powerbomb, setting up a springboard missile dropkick to Bronson. It’s off to Fuego for a springboard hurricanrana but Henry takes over without much trouble. Comoroto’s running elbow gets two as commentary asks about the whereabouts of Jacoby Watts.

Bronson sits on Fuego’s chest for two and the villains take turns doing the same. Boulder’s Vader Bomb misses though and an enziguri allows the tag to Dante. A springboard Downward Spiral gets two on Comoroto as everything breaks down. Comoroto misses a charge into the corner and we get the triple dives from Top Flight and Komander. Fuego hits a tornado DDT and a series of top rope splashes sets up Dante’s frog splash to pin Comoroto (because the IRON SAVAGES must be protected) at 9:24.

Rating: B-. This was the “get a bunch of people on the show” match and they did well enough with all of the dives and flips near the end. I’m not sure if Fuego being back for the first time in about a year and a half is as big of a deal as commentary made it out to be but I’ve seen worse ideas. Fun match here, as you knew it would be.

Red Velvet and Queen Aminata are ready to win the titles tomorrow.

Death Before Dishonor rundown.

Dark Order vs. Von Erichs

Oh yeah we’re near Dallas and yes Kevin is here too. Ross and Silver start things off but it’s quickly off to Marshall for a dropkick. Silver’s running dropkick takes Marshall down though and it’s already time for some stomping in the corner. That’s broken up and it’s back to Ross for some big boots, plus a suplex for two. A grab of the leg from the floor slows Ross down though and Silver powerbombs him onto Reynolds’ raised knees.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as it’s back to Reynolds for a cheap shot to Marshall. Choking seems to fire Ross up but he gets pulled down into a front facelock. Ross fights up and hands it off to Marshall for the hot tag. The Claw is broken up but Reynolds stops to yell at Kevin, allowing Marshall to hit a lariat for the pin at 7:52.

Rating: C. They’re still the Von Erichs and they’re still not that interesting. They’re just such a generic, basic tag team and it shows every time they’re out there. I’m sure we’ll see more of them so their dad can make his special appearances and all that, but I was glad this was as short as it was. The team just isn’t very fun to watch and this match didn’t change that feeling.

Post match the Dark Order goes for the beatdown but Dustin Rhodes makes the save in a preview for their Death Before Dishonor match. That would be the match to decide who faces the Undisputed Kingdom at Battle Of The Belts for the ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles. That’s because A, the title match is happening on an AEW show because of course it is, and B, THE SIX MAN TAG TEAM TITLES ARE BACK BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY ARE! Anyway Iron Clawing sends the Order running to end the show. Yeah that’s it. No hype package, no one last promo, nothing else. Just the Von Erichs and Rhodes celebrating.

Overall Rating: C+. As completely good (at worst) that Death Before Dishonor will be, the more astounded I am at how little effort there is going into it. The World Champion can’t even appear on the show to hype it up? The Tag Team Title match is announced backstage with a new team getting the shot? Some matches getting no build whatsoever? But not that it matters anyway, as in a week or two we’ll be back to the same lack of attention that it always gets, because that’s how Ring Of Honor works.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Shane Taylor Promotions – Lariat to Ogogo
Gates Of Agony b. Spanish Announce Project – Open The Gates to Serpentico
EJ Nduka b. Jon Cruz – Belly to back slam
Shane Taylor/Johnny TV b. Atlantis Jr./Lio Rush – Marcus Garvey Driver to Atlantis Jr.
Abadon b. Dulce Tormenta – Black Dahlia
Action Andretti/Fuego del Sol/Komander/Top Flight b. Iron Savages/Jacked Jameson/Nick Comoroto/Anthony Henry – Frog splash to Comoroto
Von Erichs b. Dark Order – Lariat to Reynolds

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.