Death Before Dishonor 2023
Date: July 21, 2023
Location: CURE Insurance Arena, Trenton, New Jersey
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Ring Of Honor is back on pay per view and the card has been tacked together rather quickly. The World, Television and Women’s Title matches were added in the last few days and the Tag Team Title match is a four way featuring two teams who haven’t been around in months. They’re going to need a heck of a show to make up for the build so let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Tracy Williams vs. Josh Woods

Pure Rules and Woods has Mark Sterling and Tony Nese with him. They go with the grappling to start and Woods takes him to the mat for an arm crank. That sends Williams to the ropes for his first break but he makes the mistake of grabbing the rope to avoid an Irish whip, meaning that’s the second break.

Williams goes with a suplex to take over and hits a running shot in the corner for two. A piledriver gets two more, though Woods has to put his foot on the rope for a break. Woods is back up with a gutwrench suplex for two as Williams uses his last rope. They go to the apron with Woods snapping off a German suplex before tying him up in a guillotine in the ropes. With no more breaks, Williams has to tap at 8:40.

Rating: C. The match was fine enough but these matches just aren’t that interesting. It doesn’t help that so many of the same wrestlers are used in them over and over, but the bigger thing is nothing really makes them stand out. Other than the rope break, this was more or less the same match that you could see from almost anyone. Perfectly nice technical match, but Woods doesn’t feel like some breakout star.

Zero Hour: Workhorsemen vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin

The Workhorsemen jump Andretti and Martin to start but the good guys fight back. We settle down to Martin getting beaten down in the corner, with Drake getting to stomp away. Henry grabs a front facelock to slow Martin down but he gets away and brings Andretti in to pick up the pace. House is cleaned but Martin gets taken down, allowing Henry to hit a moonsault. Andretti picks up Henry for a Death Valley Driver, with the referee being nice enough to stop and look at them before the save because they were quite late. Andretti muscles Henry up for the torture rack neckbreaker for the pin at 7:14.

Rating: C. That mistimed save in the middle was terrible but the rest was mostly just a power vs. speed match, which will work every time. I’m not sure why Andretti and Martin aren’t in the Tag Team Title match tonight as they work well together and have at least been around. They got a bit of a showcase here, though the Workhorsemen looked rather good as well.

Zero Hour: Trish Adora vs. Leyla Hirsch

Leyla wins the grapple off to start so Adora goes for the arm to take over with the power. That doesn’t work for Leyla, who slips to the floor for a breather and leaves Adora frustrated. Back in and Leyla goes after the legs to take over but Adora blocks a suplex attempt with straight power.

Leyla switches to the arm and cranks away but Adora manages a bridging German suplex from her knees in a rather awesome power display. Leyla knocks her into the corner for a running dropkick, only to have Adora come back with a backbreaker. The running kick misses for Leyla so they trade rollups for two each. Leyla pulls her into the cross armbreaker to make Adora tap at 8:32.

Rating: C+. This was a nice power vs. technical match and I was getting into seeing how Adora was going to deal with Hirsch. There is something awesome to seeing Hirsch pick someone apart like that and it worked well here. Ring Of Honor has something with either of them and if they get built up a little more, the division could get a very nice boost.

Zero Hour: Shane Taylor vs. AR Fox

Fox tries to grab the wrist to start and is quickly knocked silly by a single shot. Back up and Fox kicks away, including an enziguri into a dropkick to send Taylor outside. The big dive drops Taylor again and Fox adds another one for a bonus. Back in and Taylor unloads in the corner to knock Fox outside, where the beating can continue. Fox gets in a shot of his own and hits a springboard imploding 450 to take Taylor down for a change.

Some more kicks to the head set up a springboard Stunner but Taylor headbutts him in the chest. A release Rock Bottom sets up a splash to give Taylor two. The apron legdrop misses for Taylor though, allowing Fox to hit a running hanging DDT for two more. Back up and Taylor…at least tries to crotch Fox on top but Fox rolls through. Welcome To The Land gives Taylor two as Fox gets his hand on the rope. A middle rope Marcus Garvey Driver is broken up and Fox manages a Death Valley Driver. The 450 finishes Taylor at 10:22.

Rating: B-. Match of the Zero Hour by far as they traded one big shot after another until Fox won. It makes sense as Fox has the International Title shot coming up next week on Dynamite but at least he had to work to get the win here. Taylor is still a great monster and I was getting into this one by the end. Good stuff.

Komander vs. Gravity

Gravity flips out of a wristlock to start and then bridges back into a rollup for two. Back up and Gravity does his slow motion walk (because of gravity issues you see) before being sent outside for a big dive from Komander. One heck of a shooting star press gives Komander two but Gravity sends him outside. A big running dive is teased but Gravity flips onto the top turnbuckle instead, setting up the dive instead (that was cool).

Back in and Komander kicks him down but his moonsault hits raised boots. A sitout powerbomb gives Gravity two but Komander faceplants him down. With Gravity rolling to the floor, Komander hits the big multiple springboard spinning dive but Gravity crotches him back inside. Komander drops him ribs first on the top and hits the rope walk moonsault for two. Gravity gets planted again and tries to drag Komander to the middle of the ring, only to get small packed to give Gravity the pin at 10:02.

Rating: B-. This was on the weaker end for Komander, as he was taking a lot of time to set things up. The positive spin on that is that it played into the finish, with commentary pointing out that Komander was more worried about going for something cool rather than the pin. It’s a solid choice to open the show, as despite not having a ton of importance, it had a lot of energy and that’s a great thing.

TV Title: Dalton Castle vs. Samoa Joe

Castle, with the Boys, is challenging after winning a tournament. Stokely Hathaway joins commentary and Joe goes outside to glare at him to start. Back in and Castle takes a breather this time, meaning we get a lap around the ring. Castle comes inside again and starts striking away before tripping Joe down.

Some splashes to the back keep Joe down despite Castle’s ribs being banged up. Back up and Joe is sick of Castle so it’s a heck of a clothesline to put Joe in control. A chop to the back sets up the neck crank to keep Castle down. There’s a snap suplex for one and Joe sends Castle outside, only to have the Boys throw him back in.

Joe’s powerslam gets two but a Boys distraction lets Castle get in a hurricanrana on the floor. There’s the suicide dive to Joe, followed by a t-bone suplex. Joe is sent outside and tells Stokely to FIX THIS, which earns the Boys an ejection. The distraction lets Joe hit him low and grab the Koquina Clutch to retain at 11:40.

Rating: B-. Another good match but Joe’s title reign has reached the point where it’s probably time to take it from him. He doesn’t defend it often and it isn’t exactly changing much. Castle is such a ball of energy that it could have been interesting to see him get the title, though I can see why they’ve kept it on Joe here. Rather entertaining match, though some of that is Joe having to deal with Castle’s antics.

Tag Team Titles: The Kingdom vs. Aussie Open vs. Best Friends vs. Lucha Bros

The Bros are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Chuck and Taven start things off but quickly hand it off to Bennett and Trent for the chop exchange. Fenix comes in and gets slammed by Fletcher, setting up a double Aussie elbow. We settle down to the Bros and the Aussies exchanging kicks to the head as everything breaks down. The Best Friends are sent outside but rent is back in to superplex Bennett onto the pile.

Back in and Taven hits Aurora Borealis for two on Trent but the Proton Pack is broken up. Trent gets in a tornado DDT and he reluctantly brings in Penta for a high crossbody to the Kingdom. The Fear Factor gets two on Taven but the Aussies kick Penta down. Fenix gets dropped into a cutter from the top and the Aussies kick people in the face. The Whirlybird gets two on Penta but the Kingdom is back in with the Rockstar Supernova for two, with Chuck making the save.

Hail Mary is broken up but the big hug is broken up as well. Soul Food into the dragon suplex drops Bennett but Maria gets on the apron and opens her jacket for a hug from Chuck. Trent gets said hug instead (Caprice: “BROS BEFORE MARIA!”) but Davis pulls him into a piledriver.

The Bros are back in with the spike Fear Factor to Davis for two, with Bennett making the save. Hail Mary and the Proton Pack are both broken up and Storm Zero hits Bennett, with the Bros having to pull the referee at two. Penta takes out Trent and Davis has to make a diving save. The Coriolis hits Trent to give the Aussies the pin and the titles at 17:13.

Rating: B. This was all about the insanity and everyone making diving saves, so it was certainly not boring. At the very least, it ends the Bros’ completely nothing reign and if the Aussies are actually around, they could make quite the champs. The titles really needed to change hands here and while the Kingdom feel like the better option, I’ll take the Aussies over either the Bros or the Friends. Heck of an entertaining match here and they did what they should have done with it.

The Righteous and Stu Grayson threaten the Dark Order with pain, bruises and agony.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Master Wato/Ryusuke Taguchi/Leon Ruffin vs. The Embassy

The Embassy is defending and Cage gets triple teamed to start, which is quickly broken up by Loa. Ruffin is suplexed hard into the corner and the champs take over in a hurry. Cage comes in to get in his own shots as we see Big Bill watching in the back. Kaun hits a running backsplash for two but Ruffin grabs a jawbreaker.

A clothesline drops Ruffin again though and the beating gets to continue. Ruffin manages to reverse a backbreaker onto the top turnbuckle into a DDT and it’s Wato coming in to clean house. Kaun has had it and grabs a suplex but Taguchi is back in with the Funky Weapon. The ankle lock has Kaun in big trouble until Toa makes the save.

Taguchi gives Cage a 619 but Kaun elbows Ruffin’s head off. There’s a low blow to stagger Kaun though and a small package gives Taguchi two. Back in and Ruffin hits a flipping cutter on Cage but Toa gives him a swinging backbreaker for two. The champs all grab Ruffin and throw him into the air for the crash to retain the titles at 11:38.

Rating: C+. And that’s a Six Man Tag Team Title match, as the action was fine but there is nothing resembling a division, meaning there is little reason to get behind the challengers. Ruffin can sell rather well and knows how to play his size. Wato and Taguchi were just there and there was little reason to believe the titles were changing hands. As has been the case for months. Ring Of Honor might want to work on that.

Pure Rules Title: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daniel Garcia

Shibata is defending and takes Garcia to the mat to start for the stomp onto the fingers. A Figure Four has Garcia going straight to the ropes and taking a breather on the floor. That’s fine with Shibata, who sends Garcia into the barricade a few times to put Garcia down again. Garcia gets in a quick shot though and holds up the title for some showboating.

Back in and Garcia works on a nasty hammerlock but Shibata pops up for the standoff. Garcia dances so Shibata sits down and grabs the arms. There’s the slap to Garcia and Shibata takes him into the corner for the running basement dropkick. Garcia is right back with an STF but Shibata reverses into a bow and arrow.

An exchange of suplexed leave them both down and they slug it out from their knees. Garcia charges into a boot to the face and they trade clotheslines for another double knockdown. They slug it out until Garcia gets the Dragon Tamer. Shibata escapes as well and wins a chop off, setting up the sleeper. The PK retains the title at 14:34.

Rating: B. This felt like the time to give Garcia the title but keeping it on Shibata is certainly a logical choice as well. I can’t imagine Shibata holds the title that much longer, as it isn’t like he is anything more than a glorified special attraction. The Pure division isn’t much but I’ll take Shibata retaining over having to see even more Garcia. Good match here, as they were beating each other up while telling the silly vs. serious story.

Post match Shibata shakes his hand but Garcia pulls away.

Aussie Open is proud of their win and promise more.

Dark Order vs. Righteous/Stu Grayson

Fight Without Honor, meaning anything goes. Uno hammers on Grayson to start but Grayson sends him to the apron for a spear through a well placed table. Dutch brings in a barbed wire 2×4 and Reynolds is already busted open. Silver busted out the bag of thumb tacks but is quickly Boss Man Slammed onto them for two. Uno chairs Grayson in the back but Vincent makes the save.

Vincent tears the mask open and Uno is cut, with Vincent hammering at the gash. Reynolds is back in with a chair for the save and the finishing sequence gets two on Dutch. Now it’s Uno getting his own bag containing…..Legos. A triple flipping slam to Grayson is broken up, leaving Dutch to powerbomb Uno onto the Legos.

Vincent tries a Swanton to the floor onto Silver on the table, which doesn’t break at all. Back in and Uno gets powerbombed onto the Legos for two, meaning it’s time to head up to the stage. Dutch is slammed through a table off the stage, leaving Silver to kick away at Vincent inside. Grayson kicks Uno down and sets up a huge ladder but takes WAY too long to climb. Instead, Grayson crashes through a table, minus Uno. The Order triple slams Grayson for the pin at 15:36.

Rating: B-. It was your usual six man weapons match with the big ladder at the end being the high point. This was the big victory for Evil Uno over Stu Grayson, which in theory should set up a singles match to wrap everything up for them for good. It’s still not a very interesting feud as there hasn’t been an overly clear explanation for WHY Grayson walked out, but at least they got to the big team match here.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Pac

Castagnoli is defending and hits a quick Swiss Death for an early two. They head outside with Castagnoli dropping him onto the barricade but the Swing is broken up inside. Back to the floor and up the ramp they go, with Castagnoli Swinging him on the stage. Castagnoli comes up favoring his knee though, allowing Pac to score with a top rope moonsault back at ringside.

A whip sends Castagnoli’s knee into the barricade again, setting up a missile dropkick for two back inside. The top rope superplex gives Pac two but Castagnoli is back up to send Pac crashing through a well placed ringside table. Back in and the seated elbows into the Neutralizer gives Castagnoli two. Pac fights up and starts striking away until Castagnoli blasts him with a clothesline to leave them both own.

With Pac on the apron, the apron superplex is blocked but a super hurricanrana is blocked as well. What looked to be a super Riccola Bomb is countered into a hurricanrana. The lack Arrow misses for Pac but the Riccola Bomb is once again countered, this time into the Brutalizer. Castagnoli has to climb the corner for a super Air Raid Crash to escape so Pac goes for the turnbuckle. Cue Wheeler Yuta to distract Pac, allowing Castagnoli to hit a running Riccola Bomb to retain ta 18:56.

Rating: B. You knew what you were going to get here and it still worked very well. These guys beat the figure out of each other, though suddenly having Wheeler come in to give us the lame distraction finish didn’t help. The good thing is that Pac can slug just as hard as Castagnoli, meaning Pac can hang with him the entire way. Best match on the show here, which was all but guaranteed given who was in there.

Post match the Lucha Bros come in for the beatdown but the Best Friends and Orange Cassidy make the save. Cassidy Orange Punches Castagnoli and stands tall.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ring Of Honor Women’s Title: Athena vs. Willow Nightingale

Athena is defending in the rubber match and immediately bails to the floor. Back in and Willow powers her around before they forearm it out. Athena gets two off a crucifix but Willow’s fisherman’s buster gets the same. A crucifix gives Athena two and she sends Willow outside in a crash. Back in and the double knees connect in the corner, setting up the chinlock.

Willow powers her way up and hammers away, only to get dropped with a quick shot to the face for two. Willow is fine enough to try the Babe With The Powerbomb but Athena reverses into a snapmare driver for two. Willow’s swinging neckbreaker gets two but Athena is right back with Obliteration. She muscles Willow up and into a sitout powerbomb for two (that was impressive) before going up.

That takes too long as well though and Willow grabs a super Death Valley Driver for a rather near fall. They head outside and Athena posts her, setting up the O Face for a VERY near fall back inside. The Babe With The Powerbomb gets the same but Athena is back up with another O Face. The crossface goes on and Athena even grabs a leg. Willow passes out to retain Athena’s title at 20:28.

Rating: B-. Well. Ok then. I’m not sure what this weird obsession Ring Of Honor has lately with the heroes losing in the end but they did it again here. It also makes me wonder why the Owen Hart tournament wasn’t just for the title shot with someone else in Athena’s place, thereby giving us the same result and no Athena loss. They had a hard hitting fight, but that was one more deflating ending on a long list of them in Ring Of Honor’s recent history. Someone is going to have to beat Athena, and it’s going to have to be an AEW import at this point. Anyway, solid main event with a rather surprising result.

Post match respect is actually shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. As is usually the case with these shows, the action was good, but as is becoming the case with these shows, there is a grand total of nothing to really make you feel good. The biggest happy moment here was Evil Uno (a heel in AEW mind you) getting a pin over Stu Grayson. Willow doesn’t win the big one, the Best Friends don’t win the Tag Team Titles and Pac, who isn’t really a face but he could have beaten the villain, loses too. This had a bunch of mostly good matches with some strange decisions, but what do you expect from a slapped together pay per view?

Results
Josh Woods b. Tracy Williams – Guillotine choke
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Workhorsemen – Torture rack neckbreaker to Drake
Leyla Hirsch b. Trish Adora – Cross armbreaker
AR Fox b. Shane Taylor – 450
Gravity b. Komander – Small package
Samoa Joe b. Dalton Castle – Koquina Clutch
Aussie Open b. Best Friends, The Kingdom and Lucha Bros – Coriolis to Beretta
Mogul Embassy b. Leon Ruffin/Master Wato/Ryusuke Taguchi – Triple toss into the air to Ruffin
Katsuyori Shibata b. Daniel Garcia – PK
Dark Order b. Righteous/Stu Grayson – Triple slam to Grayson
Claudio Castagnoli b. Pac – Running sitout Riccola Bomb
Athena b. Willow Nightingale via referee stoppage

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

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Rampage
Date: July 14, 2023
Location: SaskTel Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Tony Schiavone

We have to be about done with this Canadian tour as the thing just keeps going. This week we’ll get to find out the other finalist in the Women’s Owen Hart Foundation tournament, plus whatever else Excalibur went through oh so quickly earlier this week on Dynamite. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Keith Lee/Dustin Rhodes vs. Angelo Parker/Matt Menard

Lee slams both of them around to start and then slams Dustin onto them for a bonus. Dustin grabs an armbar on Menard before hitting the drop down uppercut. Menard manages to send him outside for a ram into the corner as the villains manage to take over. A clothesline gives Menard two as we take a break.

Back with Dustin hitting a backdrop but Lee has been knocked to the floor so there’s no tag. The snap powerslam allows that tag a few seconds later though and it’s Lee coming in to clean house. Lee throws Rhodes at the two of them but gets caught with a double DDT for two. Dustin is back in to clean house and the Supernova finishes Parker at 9:50.

Rating: C. This went on for a bit but Lee has been looking a lot more like his old self in recent weeks. If nothing else, shaving the beard is that much of an improvement. Dustin is right there to look good at just about everything as well and they got to beat up a couple of goons. Nice opener here, even if it’s hard to imagine Lee and Rhodes going anywhere.

It’s QTV time, with Harley Cameron being proud of the success of her rap video. We cut to Johnny TV, who challenges the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to a six man tag.

Taya Valkyrie vs. Izzy McQueen

Taya spears her down to start and hits a curb stomp for the pin at 24 seconds. The first eight seconds were slow and the last eight seconds were a bit better, but the middle eight seconds were as good as you were ever going to get. Right up there with Thesz vs. O’Connor.

Post match here are the Outcasts, with Toni Storm calling Taya a loser. And it’s because she’s a Canadian! Storm says she’s beaten everyone, but Taya says they’ve never fought. The challenge is on for Battle of the Belts, with Storm eventually being pushed into accepting.

Hook is having lunch and accepts Jungle Boy’s challenge for a title match next week. He’s tired of chasing Jungle Boy around.

Trent Beretta vs. Lance Archer

Chuck Taylor and Jake Roberts are here too. Archer chokes on the rope to start but Trent knocks him to the floor for a dive. Back up and Archer nails a clothesline as we take a break. We come back with Trent hitting a running knee and a piledriver for two. Archer crossbodies him down but the chokeslam is countered into a rollup for two. Beretta hits another running knee but Archer knees him on top. The Blackout and a hard lariat finish Beretta at 8:55.

Rating: C+. They were hitting each other rather hard here, but what I liked about this match was Archer was up against some bigger competition for a change. You can only beat so many jobbers before it stops mattering so switching him up to someone like Trent, who is at least a name, is a good idea.

Post match Archer beats up Taylor as well but here is Orange Cassidy comes out for the save. Well, kind of save as Archer chokes him down, with Roberts taking the backpack with the International Title. Cassidy can come get it (in the already announced title match) at Battle Of The Belts.

Video on Jeff Jarrett and company, plus Matt Hardy and Ethan Page, who will be in the Royal Rampage.

Konosuke Takeshita vs. Mentallo

Don Callis is here too and gets in the ring to introduce Mentallo as the childhood friend of Kenny Omega. Callis tells Takeshita to kill him (in Japanese of course) and the beating is on. A running shot in the corner rocks Mentallo but he strikes away at the chest. Takeshita isn’t having that and hammers away but a running knee is countered into a dragon screw legwhip. A suplex drops Mentallo, though Takeshita’s knee is screwed up. It’s fine enough for a leg trap Tombstone and a top rope backsplash finishes Mentallo at 4:06.

Rating: C. It was a little strange to see Mentallo get in that much offense but at least Takeshita ran him over in the end. There was a nice little story added in with the whole Omega’s training partner thing and it boosted it above a regular squash. Takeshita vs. Omega in London wouldn’t stun me, and they’re taking some steps to get there.

The Dark Order is still mad at Hangman Page for abandoning them. Last week was their resurrection and the question is if you are Dark Order or not.

Video on Athena vs. Willow Nightingale.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Women’s Owen Hart Tournament Semifinals: Athena vs. Willow Nightingale

Athena’s Ring Of Honor Women’s Title isn’t on the line. Willow powers her down without much trouble to start, followed by a running forearm in the corner. Back up and Athena catches her in the ropes and DDTs the leg to take over. The beating continues until we take a break, but come back with Willow hitting a Pounce.

The spinebuster gets two but the Babe With The Powerbomb is broken up. Athena hits a gordbuster and an elbow is good for two. A backsplash misses for Willow and Athena his a standing moonsault for two more. Willow snaps off a Death Valley Driver for two more, only to get her knee taken out. Athena misses the spinning knee to the face and gets rolled up for the upset pin at 10:39.

Rating: B-. So that’s Athena’s big loss after the winning streak and likely sets up the rubber match at Death Before Dishonor. If that’s the case, why not have the tournament be for a title shot and take Athena out? Either way, having Nightingale be the big winner or a change is cool to see, though I really could have gone without Athena losing here, as it feels like something of a waste.

Overall Rating: B-. This wasn’t a show you needed to watch as the action was good enough, but it was more about setting things up for later. We got the traditional last minute build towards Battle of the Belts and a surprise result in the main event, but it’s not like anything was must see. Good enough show, but there are better options for your wrestling viewing.

Results
Dustin Rhodes/Keith Lee b. Matt Menard/Angelo Parker – Supernova to Parker
Taya Valkyrie b. Izzy Mcqueen – Curb stomp
Lance Archer b. Trent Beretta – Lariat
Konosuke Takeshita b. Mentallo – Top rope backsplash
Willow Nightingale b. Athena – Rollup

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

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Rampage
Date: July 7, 2023
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

It’s the 100th episode of the show and we have something of a grudge match on our hands. This time around, Hangman Page/the Young Bucks are facing the Dark Order, who still aren’t happy with how Page has treated them. Other than that, we have more tournament shenanigans to get through so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Young Bucks/Hangman Page vs. Dark Order

Reynolds shoulders Nick down to start so it’s off to Page. That means Reynolds needs to bail a bit and then he does it again on the floor. This time Nick kicks him in the head and it’s time for the Elite to start diving. Back in and Matt rolls the northern lights suplexes on Reynolds before adding Silver for the last one. Risky Business gets two on Reynolds and the fans describe this one sided match, which hasn’t lasted four minutes yet, as AWESOME.

Silver gets in a cheap shot from the floor though and Evil Uno comes in to strike away in the corner. Nick tries to flip over to the corner but the Order pulls Page and Matt down and we take a break. Back with Matt knocking Reynolds off the top and diving onto Uno and Silver. Page comes in to clean house, including a clothesline to send Reynolds outside for a slingshot dive.

Everything breaks down and Un is sent tot he apron for a big boot from Page. The Bucks catch Uno, allowing Page to hit the running shooting star from the apron. Back in and Matt hits a slingshot Canadian Destroyer on Reynolds, followed by a top rope elbow for two. Silver is back in for a kick to the head but Nick makes the save, setting up the Meltzer Driver on Matt for two with Uno making the save.

Page and Uno slug it out until the Bucks come back in to clean house with the superkicks. Page can’t bring himself to Buckshot Lariat Uno so the Bucks dive onto the rest of the Order. Cue Konosuke Takeshita for a distraction, allowing Claudio Castagnoli to hit a heck of an uppercut on Page. Uno gets the pin at 13:56.

Rating: B-. Pushing the Dark Order as something serious is certainly a choice, though it’s not like this was some clean win that is going to change their fortunes. The action was good as Silver and Reynolds are still a pretty decent tag team. Castagnoli or Takeshita vs. Page could make for a good showdown and that’s what matters here, especially if it gets Page away from the Dark Order again.

Post match Kenny Omega comes out to clear the ring.

QTV is still relatively clueless, including Harley Cameron thinking she’ll make a cute couple with Anthony Bowens. In a related story, Johnny TV doesn’t like Max Castor’s music.

Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament: Daniel Garcia/Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy/Jeff Jarrett

The rest of Jarrett’s cronies are here too. Garcia waistlocks Matt to start but gets reversed into a headlock. Guevara comes in and gets hiptossed by Jarrett, setting up the strut. That earns Guevara a dropkick to the floor and garcia gets in his own strut. The running flip dive takes out Jay Lethal by mistake though and we take a break. Back with Matt hitting Splash Mountain for two on Garcia and punching Guevara out of the air. Jarrett’s cronies try to offer a distraction (despite Jeff’s partner being in control) so the guitar can be slid in. Matt is sent into Lethal, allowing Guevara to hit the GTH, though Garcia steals the pin at 8:45.

Rating: C+. They got the result right here, as the Society team moves forward over a team who wasn’t going to work together well. Both Garcia and Guevara need to break free of Jericho, but they do work well together without him. Matt not wanting to cheat like Jarrett and his friends made sense, though I’m almost scared of the Hardys getting together to fight Jarrett and his cronies.

Post match the beatdown is on and Brother Zay’s save attempt doesn’t work. Ethan Page makes the real save.

Video on Collision.

Hikaru Shida vs. Marina Shafir

Shafir kicks her down to start but Shida is back with a bunch of kicks. A running knee gets two on Shafir and the Falcon Arrow gets the same. The Katana finishes Shafir off at 3:30.

Rating: C. It’s nice to have Shida out there getting a win, even if it is over Shafir. I’m not sure if it is the constant having to head back to Japan or something else, but you would think Shida would be worth a stronger push. She has all the tools, with the striking being on display in this one.

Kris Statlander is a fighting champion and she’ll face anyone anywhere. She is the defeater of the undefeated (and thinks that would be a good shirt) and Kris Stat is where it’s at. Those are some pretty terrible taglines but giving Statlander camera time is a good thing.

Blind Eliminator Tag Team Tournament First Round: Trent Baretta/Matt Sydal vs. Brian Cage/Big Bill

Cage runs Sydal over without much trouble to start and it’s off to Bill vs. Trent. Some shots to the face stagger Bill and Trent knocks him outside, where Bill chokeslams him onto the apron. A fall away slam sends Trent flying and we take a break. Back with Trent DDTing his way out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Sydal. Cage and Bill get struck down and stereo double stomps to the back keep Bill in trouble. Cage is back up with a double clothesline and all four head outside.

Sydal Meteoras Bill on the floor but Cage and Bill hit stereo slams for two back inside. Bill and Cage clothesline each other by mistake but Cage is back up with a discus lariat to Trent. Sydal ducks another discus lariat but the top rope Meteora is blocked. Trent release German superplexes Cage and adds a piledriver, setting up a top rope Meteora from Sydal for two. Back in and Bill runs the good guys over and it’s a powerbomb/clothesline combination to finish Sydal at 12:24.

Rating: B. This match was a blast with everyone going hard and fast for a long time. Cage and Bill are rather good as a pair of monsters while Sydal and Trent worked well for a first time team. What mattered here was just letting everything go nuts and have a good time, which is all you can ask for out of something like this. Fun stuff.

Overall Rating: B-. You had a pair of fun matches here and the tag tournament is starting to take some shape. It made for an easy show to watch and that is what you need from Rampage. The show almost never feels important compared to Dynamite and Collision so letting it be an easy hour of TV is as important as it gets. Nice stuff here, and I’ll take something like this week to week.

Results
Dark Order b. Hangman Page/Young Bucks – Uppercut to Page
Daniel Garcia/Sammy Guevara b. Matt Hardy/Jeff Jarrett – GTH to Hardy
Hikaru Shida b. Marina Shafir – Katana
Brian Cage/Big Bill b. Matt Sydal/Trent Beretta – Clothesline/powerbomb combination to Sydal

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: June 29, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re done with Forbidden Door but like so many other things AEW does, we’ll be seeing some of the same people here this week. There are likely going to be several New Japan stars on this show and that means we could be in for a high quality week. Not so high quality that Jerry Lynn could actually say something important, but still good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Khan and Stokely Hathaway are here to talk about how there are a bunch of New Japan stars here. We hear about some of the stars, with Tony saying he’ll be at the Gorilla position and Hathaway can find him if needed. Another thing AEW does better than ROH: not having Tony Khan on the show so often. It feels like he’s using this show for practice to be on AEW TV more and no. Please goodness no.

Dralistico/Preston Vance vs. Mark Wheeler/Vikram Prashar

Dralistico knocks Wheeler down to start and strikes away to take over fast. Vance comes in with his spinebuster for two and demands the now legal Prashar to hit him. It’s back to Dralistico for a knee to the face and Vance adds the lariat for the double pin at 2:25. Well that was efficient.

Dark Order vs. The Righteous

Evil Uno is here with the Order while Stu Grayson is here with the Righteous. The Order jumps them to start fast and clears the ring, allowing Grayson to hand Uno a chair. That’s enough for an ejection, with the distraction letting Dutch run Silver over for two. Silver gets caught in the wrong corner and the beating is on until Dutch charges into a boot.

The big tag brings in Reynolds to clean house, including a hard running knee to Vincent in the corner. Everything breaks down and the Righteous is sent into various things on the floor. Back in and Silver brainbusters Vincent but Dutch makes the save. Vincent grabs a small package to finish Reynolds at 5:32.

Rating: C+. The Order did look more aggressive here and that helps, but at the end of the day, it’s another loss in a rather long string of them. The Righteous might not be great, but they’re more interesting than the Order. I could go for more of the Righteous’ mind games, though it’s almost time to move them over to some new opponents.

Post match the beatdown is on until Uno runs back out for the save. Grayson gets in the way of the chair shot though and we get the big staredown, with Grayson leaving before anything gets violent.

Leila Grey vs. Diamante

Mark Sterling is here with Grey. A headlock has Diamante in some early trouble but she slips out and works on the arm instead. Grey bails to the floor and gets sent into the steps for her efforts. Sterling offers a distraction though and Grey gets in a cheap shot to take over. The double arm crank with a knee in Diamante’s back doesn’t last long so we’ll go with a normal chinlock instead. Diamante jawbreaks her way to freedom but it’s too early for a running knee in the corner. A running corner dropkick connects instead but Sterling puts the foot on the rope. Not that it matters as Diamante hits Cross Rhodes for the pin at 6:03.

Rating: C. This was more about Diamante overcoming Sterling’s interference, as it isn’t like beating Grey is overly impressive. I still think there is something to be done with Diamante as she has a unique look and the charisma to make it work. Give her a chance already, as this feud isn’t getting her anywhere.

Claudio Castagnoli says no one wants the World Title because they’re scared of him. Cue Chuck Taylor to say he’ll challenge if Castagnoli is interested. Taylor leaves and Castagnoli says it can be a Proving Ground match, but they’ll scrap the time limit so the beating can be on.

Lucha Bros/El Hijo del Vikingo/Kommander b. Gringo Loco/Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen

Wouldn’t be Ring Of Honor without the Workhorsemen getting in their required appearance. Penta and Loco start things off and the fans are a bit split here. There’s no major contact for a minute and a half so everything breaks down with a series of strikes and flips to the floor. The spike Fear Factor is loaded up for Loco but he slips out and kicks Fenix down. Taylor’s splash gets two so it’s Kommander coming in to get crushed in the corner as well.

A springboard moonsault gives Loco two but Kommander kicks his way over to bring in Vikingo. Everything breaks down and the Bros snap off kicks. Drake breaks up the Fear Factor and it’s off to Fenix vs. Henry in a chop off. Taylor comes in and gets to wreck some people until Kommander and Vikingo do their big dives to the floor. The spike Fear Factor finishes Henry at 8:55.

Rating: B-. It was exactly the fun match that you would expect and they got a bit of time to make it work. This is where the Lucha Bros get to shine, though I’m not sure who is supposed to be their next challengers. Other than that, Vikingo and Kommander flipped, Loco did well when he could, Taylor is a monster and the Workhorsemen are here a lot.

Samoa Joe is ready to defeat Roderick Strong in the Owen Hart Foundation tournament. Stokely Hathaway comes in to say he runs things around here but Joe says he runs Hathaway, which has panic ensuing.

Big Bill/Lee Moriarty vs. Karou/Tariq

Karou slugs at Bill to start and can’t get very far, even with the heavy shots. The swinging Boss Man Slam drops Karou and it’s off to Moriarty to take over on Tariq. A hurricanrana sends Moriarty into the corner but he slips away and brings in Bill for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down and the Border City Stretch makes Tariq tap at 3:22.

Rating: C. Tariq and Karou didn’t exactly look great in there and Bill/Moriarty still don’t feel like anything important. Some of that might have to do with the fact that one of their names is “Big Bill” but it also might be that they aren’t exactly interesting. They could be fine enough as a one off challenger for the Tag Team Titles, though that could still be a ways off.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: The Embassy vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon

The Embassy is defending and has Prince Nana with them. Bushi bounces off of Cage to start so Takagi comes in to strike away. With that not working, Takahashi comes in and sends Cage into the corner for a triple team. The Gates make a save and Cage hits the apron superplex on Takahashi. Toa grabs a neck crank but Takahashi DDTs his way to freedom. Takagi comes in to clean house but gets cut off by Kaun’s Backstabber.

Kaun gets dropped as well though and it’s Bushi coming in off a missile dropkick. Everything breaks down and Kaun blasts Bushi with a clothesline. Cage World’s Strongest Slams Takagi and powerbombs Takahashi at the same time (because that’s something someone can do) but Bushi mists him. Back in and Opening The Gates finishes Bushi at 7:42.

Rating: B-. They packed a ton into this match and it’s nice to see a match where the Embassy breaks a sweat. The six man division more or less doesn’t exist but Ring Of Honor insists on having one anyway, which makes things quite annoying. The Embassy still is only so interesting, but as shown here, they can rise up against better opponents.

The United Empire want better opponents around here.

El Desperado vs. Willie Mack

Feeling out process to start until Mack hits a heck of a dropkick to take over. Desperado can’t strike his way out of the corner and gets knocked down much harder. The fall away slam into the nip up into the standing moonsault gives Mack two but Desperado starts in on the leg to take him out.

A leglock, with what looks like a Tranquilo pose thrown in, has Mack in more trouble but Mack makes the rope. Mack knocks him silly with a right hand but he has to kick Desperado away again. The double underhook faceplant is broken up but the second attempt finishes Mack at 9:05.

Rating: B-. More good stuff here, even as Mack’s losing streak continues. The guy can’t catch a break around here but it still works well as he is able to put on a nice match against anyone. At some point he needs to win, but that wasn’t going to come at the expense of one of the New Japan guest stars. Granted commentary hyping up Desperado’s upcoming match with Jon Moxley didn’t help either.

Roppongi Vice vs. Sho/Yujiro Takahashi

Vice get jumped at the bell but come back with stereo dropkicks to send them into the corner. A kick to the chest and standing moonsault get two on Takahashi as we hear about all of Romero’s partners and students (including Sho but save for Trent) turning on him. Sho gets in a cheap shot on Trent on the floor though and a backdrop gets…well nothing back inside actually.

Some kicks rock Trent but he gets a boot up on Takahashi so the hot tag can bring Romero back in. The Forever Lariats crush Sho and Takahashi but Strong Zero is broken up. Takahashi brings in the cane but gets it taken away, only to have Sho hit a backstabber for two on Trent. Everything breaks down and Vice hits a double jumping knee on Sho. Strong Zero finishes Takahashi at 8:53.

Rating: B-. Another fast paced match here between teams that know how to do that style. Vice getting the win is nice to see as they might actually be around here for a little while. Takahashi and Sho are a good team but they’re going to be back in Japan sooner than later. Let the regular AEW/ROH team get the win instead, which is exactly what they did here.

Post match Sho is back up for the beatdown but Orange Cassidy makes the save.

United Empire vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin/Christopher Daniels

Andretti and TJP start things off and go to the mat with TJP headstanding his way out of a headscissors. A cartwheel gets TJP out of a hurricanrana but Andretti hits a dropkick (harder to block you see). Daniels comes in to take over on Fletcher but it’s Cobb coming in to muscle Daniels up.

Cobb and Fletcher do the passing suplex for two on Daniels, who manages to get over to Andretti anyway. TJP is right there to plant him with a Falcon Arrow and the Mamba Splash gets two. The Empire clears the ring as everything breaks down. Back in and Daniels sends TJP into a kind of double slam from Andretti and Martin for the pin at 8:15 (TJP kicked out at about 3.1 and things seemed a bit confused).

Rating: C+. I didn’t see that ending coming and based on how things looked, I’m not sure how many others did either. The match was what you would expect, but they did something new with having the normal powers lose. I can’t imagine Andretti and company win the titles out of this, but they are likely set up for a title shot if/when no one better comes along.

Jerry Lynn actually gets to talk! This time it’s to the Kingdom, who have been sucking up to him about what a legend he is. Mike Bennett brings up retiring Lynn and as a result, it’s the Kingdom vs. the Infantry/Trish Adora. Maria isn’t happy.

Athena vs. KC Spinelli

Non-title Proving Ground match, so if Spinelli can win or survive the ten minute time limit, she gets a future title shot. Spinelli runs her over with a shoulder to start but Athena does the same and stops to dance. A backslide gives Spinelli two so Athena hammers her down. Athena hits a right hand for the pin at 2:41.

Post match Athena crushes her against the steps.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chuck Taylor

Another non-title Proving Ground match but with no time limit. Taylor wastes no time in hammering away in the corner and Soul Food sends Castagnoli outside. Castagnoli knocks him over the barricade and sends Taylor face first into various things. Cue Roppongi Vice to check on him and the revived Taylor grabs the Koji Clutch back inside. Castagnoli breaks that up so a piledriver gives Taylor two and the Neutralizer is countered into a rollup for the same. Back up and Castagnoli hits the Riccola Bomb for the pin at 5:30.

Rating: C+. They were trying here but Taylor is the weakest link in a lower level group so this wasn’t the biggest challenge. That’s the problem for Castagnoli: despite having an insane amount of opponents to pick from, he hasn’t felt like he has been in any real jeopardy in a long, long time outside of Eddie Kingston. That is going to have to change, but right now there is no one on the horizon, as even Kingston has only been wanting to fight him and not go after the title.

Overall Rating: B-. Maybe it was having some fresh blood around, but I did like this show a bit better than recent efforts. It’s also a hair shorter at just under two hours, which does take away some of that “how much longer is this thing” feeling. The one issue I’d have is the same thing that happens with a lot of Tony Khan produced wrestling: there are three episodes of this show left before Death Before Dishonor and a grand total of nothing has been announced.

There are a few matches ready, likely including Eddie Kingston vs. Claudio Castagnoli (taking place pretty much solely on AEW), but it would be nice to not have most of the card dumped on us with a week or two to go. I’m not sure why this is such a common thing around here/in AEW but you can almost guarantee that is how things are going. For now though, nice show with the New Japan stars adding in some nice flavor.

Results
Dralistico/Preston Vance b. Mark Wheeler/Vikram Prashar – Double pin
Righteous b. Dark Order – Small package to Reynolds
Diamante b. Leila Grey – Cross Rhodes
Lucha Bros/El Hijo del Vikingo/Kommander b. Gringo Loco/Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen – Spike Fear Factor to Henry
Big Bill/Lee Moriarty b. Tariq/Karou – Border City Stretch to Tariq
The Embassy b. Los Ingobernables de Japon – Opening The Gates to Bushi
El Desperado b. Willie Mack – Double underhook faceplant
Roppongi Vice b. Sho/Yujiro Takahashi – Strong Zero to Takahashi
Action Andretti/Christopher Daniels/Darius Martin b. United Empire – Double slam to TJP
Athena b. KC Spinelli – Right hand
Claudio Castagnoli b. Chuck Taylor – Riccola Bomb

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

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Dynamite
Date: June 28, 2023
Location: Firstontario Center, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re done with Forbidden Door and that means it is time to get back to mostly just AEW stars after spending the last few weeks on the New Japan guest stars. That could open up a variety of options as we are about two months away from All In. We’re also just over two weeks away from All Out, which takes place the following week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii

The rest of the Blackpool Combat Club is here with Moxley. Ishii comes right at him and they chop it out. With that not working, they switch to the forearms until Ishii shoulders him down. Back up and Ishii bites Moxley’s face but Moxley hits a shoulder. With Ishii down on the floor, there’s a suicide dive to put him down again. Cue Eddie Kingston to grab a chair and chase off the Club as we take a break.

Back with another exchange of forearms until Moxley punches him down. A Gotch style piledriver sets up the elbows to Ishii’s face so Ishii flips him off. Back up and they trade lariats as Kingston hasn’t stopped staring at Castagnoli. Moxley is up first with the Paradigm Shift for two but Ishii hits a double arm DDT. A lariat sets up the sliding lariat for two on Moxley, who comes right back with the Death Rider for two. Moxley hits a stomp into another Death Rider for the pin at 15:10.

Rating: B-. This was the “we’re going to hit each other until one of us can’t get up any longer” match and it was good enough. Ishii still looks like one of the most intimidating stars in the world and Moxley…well you know you don’t have to ask him to do something like this twice. It was also another step towards Kingston vs. Castagnoli II and that should be a huge title changing moment. That’s a little ways off but at least they did something with it here.

Post match Kingston yells at Moxley, who comes back down the ramp….and then leaves.

Adam Cole arrives and is greeted by Renee Paquette when MJF comes in to be friendly with Cole. The tag tournament is a great chance for Cole to get somewhere because he can’t beat MJF for the World Title. MJF even has matching tag merch: Better Than You Bay-bay shirts! Cole: “Good God man.” And he leaves, with MJF seeming rather happy.

Post break Renee Paquette isn’t happy with what Jon Moxley has been doing but here is Eddie Kingston to interrupt. Kingston and Moxley yell (the former about Castagnoli and the latter asking “who cares about some Chikara BS”) and Paquette yelling at both of them. She tells Kingston to fix this.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay from Forbidden Door.

Orange Cassidy/El Hijo del Vikingo/Keith Lee vs. Jericho Appreciation Society

This is the result of the Society being annoyed at Cassidy and ranting about him at the same time. Cassidy found his partners in the locker room and they don’t seem to have anything better to do. Lee has dyed his hair and beard and looks about 12 years younger. Cassidy hands his sunglasses to a big fan at ringside who loses her mind over it. I’m not big on Cassidy but seeing a wrestler make a fan that happy is my favorite thing in wrestling and I will never get tired of seeing it happen.

With all of that out of the way, Vikingo takes Menard down to start before it’s off to Cassidy vs. Parker. We pause for Parker to pull out his new comb, which Cassidy takes away before sending him outside. Garcia comes in and gets pulled into Vikingo’s double stomp but Vikingo is sent outside. A cheap shot takes Vikingo down and a belly to back suplex does it again back inside. We take a break and come back with Menard powerbombing Vikingo.

That doesn’t last long though as it’s back to Lee to clean house, but Garcia manages to dance on Lee’s back. That’s fine with Lee, who pops up and keeps Garcia on his back as he beats up the other two. Vikingo comes back in and tries a flip dive, which hits Lee by mistake (looked like Lee was supposed to catch him but couldn’t).

That’s fine with Lee, who picks Vikingo up and swings him into various humans. Vikingo hits a huge moonsault to the floor, leaving Cassidy to have the Orange Punch pulled into a failed Dragon Tamer attempt. Garcia piledrives him for two and the Dragon Tamer goes on. Vikingo breaks that up and Menard’s clotheslines only have limited effect on Lee. The Supernova finishes Menard at 13:12.

Rating: C. There were quite a few botches in this and they took away a good bit of the enjoyment here. I’ve seen Vikingo get in there and be perfectly smooth so I think we can write it off as a bad night. It’s nice to see Lee in there doing something different, though until he’s actually in a story that matters, I’m not sure how much it’s going to matter.

The Elite have issued a challenge for a six man tag when the Dark Order interrupts to say they’ll take it. The Order yells at Hangman Page for not talking to them anymore so tonight it’s a fight.

Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara are ready to face Sting and Darby Allin, because Jericho and Sting aren’t done with each other. Oh wait: it’s the Painmaker rather than Jericho.

Dark Order vs. Elite

Reynolds can’t get anywhere with Matt to start so Matt takes him down without much trouble. Silver comes in and gets to air some grievances to Page, who grabs a headlock. Page takes over without much trouble so Uno comes in to yell at him as well. Even with Page in control, he can’t bring himself to really go after the Order.

Matt comes in and we take a break, coming back with Uno cleaning house. Uno goes after Page once too often and gets beaten up, only to have the Order come back their finishing sequence for two on Page. The Bucks come back in to clean house and hit dives, but Page takes too long with the Buckshot Lariat. Instead Silver gets two off a rollup but the Bucks are back in with the BTE Trigger. Now the Buckshot can finish Silver at 13:47.

Rating: C+. Somehow this Dark Order/Page story is still going and I’m really not sure why. It was only so interesting in the first place and it keeps coming back. This time around it might finally be the breaking point but it is still a lot to buy the Dark Order hanging with the Elite. At least there wasn’t another shrugged off spike piledriver on the floor.

Post match the Blackpool Combat Club runs in for the beatdown as the Dark Order watches. Jon Moxley even busts out the screwdriver for some gouging as Page watches the Order leaving. Moxley issues the challenge for Blood and Guts on July 19.

Video on the men’s Owen Hart tournament.

Adam Cole and Roderick Strong meet up in the back when MJF comes up (MJF: “Hey partner, hey generic white guy.”) and says they should leave. Cole actually leaves with him, albeit after wishing Strong luck.

Here is Jungle Boy, who says cut his music. He hates the song and most of the people here, but he’s still banging “the hottest b**** in this place.” So did he turn on Hook or did everyone turn on him? He has been cost two World Champions and has to see Hook with his unrecognized title. Hook is a fraud and when Jungle Boy gets his hands on Hook….and here is Hook to chase him off.

Post break, Jungle Boy runs through the parking lot with Hook chasing him and dives head first into the back of a car (cool visual), leaving Hook to beat up a trashcan.

Ruby Soho vs. Alexia Nicole

This was supposed to be Soho vs. Britt Baker but Baker is out with illness. Soho STOs her down to start and mocks Baker’s DMD taunt. Stomping keeps Nicole down and Lockjaw finishes for Soho at 2:01.

Nicole gets spray painted for a bonus. Soho complains about Baker not being here this week and blames those Canadian germs. The fight can be on next week and Soho is ready to hurt her again. Soho has never been better but Baker is a shell of her former self. Next week, violence is promised.

Johnny TV is ready to help take out Matt Hardy and Brother Zay on Rampage.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Sammy Guevara/Chris Jericho vs. Sting/Darby Allin

Texas Tornado match and Jericho is the Painmaker. Allin dropkicks Sammy go start so Jericho can hit Sting in the arm with the bat. Sting gets his own bat for a duel and has Jericho in the corner, only for Jericho to take it outside for a whip into the barricade. Sammy gets the ladder out before flipping Sammy over the steps and into the crowd.

We take a break and come back with Allin diving off the middle rope to take Guevara down. Tables are set up at ringside and Sting climbs a ladder for the dive onto Guevara….and only one of the breaks, with Sting kind of crashing into the side of the other. Back in and Allin hits Jericho with a skateboard off the top. Allin sends him face first into the ladder in the corner but the standing Coffin Drop hits skateboard.

The Judas Effect hits Allin to send him outside but Sting is back in (thank goodness). The Walls have Sting in trouble until a bat shot breaks it up. A Stinger Splash connects but a Codebreaker gives Jericho two. Sting gets two more off the Death Drop before countering another Codebreaker into the Scorpion Deathlock to make Jericho tap at 12:56.

Rating: C+. That Sting landing was TERRIBLE but at least he got back up and finished everything. I’m not sure where Sting vs. Jericho goes here, as Sting has already beaten him in the ring. There will always be an audience for a singles match but this felt a lot like a blowoff, which does make sense after two matches in four days.

Overall Rating: C+. This was an off show as it didn’t feel like anything overly important happened. A lot of the show was built around the middle of the card stories and those are only so interesting. It certainly wasn’t a bad show, but it did feel like a show that was designed as a breather after the pay per view. Nothing wrong with that and they earned it, but just a bit of a weird Dynamite.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Tomohiro Ishii – Death Rider
Orange Cassidy/Keith Lee/El Hijo del Vikingo b. Jericho Appreciation Society – Supernova to Menard
Elite b. Dark Order – Buckshot Lariat to Silver
Ruby Soho b. Alexia Nicole – Lockjaw
Sting/Darby Allin b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara – Scorpion Deathlock to Guevara

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

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AND

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: June 22, 2023
Location: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re onto the new reality of this show, as there were three matches taped before Collision and then about ten more after. I’m not sure why there needs to be that much done in one night but we do have a big main event this week. Women’s Champion Athena is defending against Kiera Hogan in a Chicago street fight which could be nice and violent. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tony Khan and the Board present Samoa Joe with a new TV Title belt. Jerry Lynn manages to talk here, saying “Tony it is my pleasure to” before the belt is ripped from his hands.

Serpentico/Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade vs. Lucha Bros/El Hijo del Vikingo/Komander

Bunny and Luther are here with the villains. Serpentico and Vikingo start things off, with Vikingo being monkey flipped into the corner. A powerbomb plants Vikingo but he’s right back with a spinning kick to the face. Butcher comes in to send Komander to the floor and Sabian adds a springboard moonsault. The reverse Cannonball connects back inside and a fisherman’s suplex gives Sabian two.

Komander tornado DDTs his way to freedom and the hot tag brings in Penta to clean house. Fenix’s springboard high crossbody helps clear out some villains and a quadruple superkick puts all of them down. The spike Fear Factor is broken up though and Sabian’s double stomp gets two on Penta. Another quadruple superkick sets up a big row your boat spot. The dives take out Butcher/Blade/Sabian, leaving Penta to Fear Factor Serpentico for the pin at 7:17.

Rating: B-. Komander and Vikingo didn’t get to do much here but it was a fun opener with the lowest level villain taking the pin. This is a good way to get the crowd into a show as they will always react to a match like this one. I’m not sure who is going to come after the Tag Team Titles, as the Bros have held them for almost three months and haven’t defended them on a Ring Of Honor show yet. I’m sure that will change at Death Before Dishonor, but that’s a long reign without many defenses.

Gringo Loco vs. Willie Mack

Loco is the hometown boy and works on the wrist to start. Some flips get Loco out of the corner but Mack snaps off a handspring to block a headscissors. A DDT out of the corner plants Loco and Mack kicks him in the face for a bonus. Mack grabs the chinlock with a knee in the back, followed by the Samoan drop and standing moonsault for two.

Loco knocks him off the ropes though and there’s the springboard moonsault to hit Mack. Another dive to the floor sets up a missed moonsault back inside. Mack’s Sky High gets two and they trade kicks to the head for a double knockdown. They go up top at the same time, allowing Loco to snap off a super Spanish Fly for the pin at 7:45.

Rating: B-. Another back and forth match here with Loco getting the win in a nice moment. Loco is someone who catches your eye no matter what he is doing and that might be worth a closer look in the future. Then you have Mack, who feels like he should already be a star but almost never wins anything. I get having a good hand, but Mack being something higher on the card should have been a given a good while ago.

Respect is shown post match.

Trish Adora vs. Allysin Kay

They fight over a lockup to start and Kay bails into the corner. Adora grabs a headscissors n a standing Kay but can’t stay up, allowing Kay to fire off some right hands. Kay gets two off a swinging neckbreaker and sends her hard into the corner. Back up and Adora suplexes her way to freedom, setting up some hip attacks in the corner. The Lariat Tubman is cut off with a kick to the face but the second attempt finishes Kay at 4:51.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere but it’s nice to see Adora getting a win for a change. Adora is unique enough to stand out in the division and Kay has some name recognition to be valuable. I could go for having both of these two around more often, and at least Adora got a bit of a boost.

Silas Young vs. Kyle Fletcher

They fight over wrist control to start until Young cuts off a charge with a kick to the ribs. Fletcher knees him to the floor and hits a suicide dive. Back in and Young takes him into the corner for a running shot and of course that means some trash talking. Fletcher is back with a suplex and a belly to back version gets two. A brainbuster gets two more but Young sends him to the apron and hits a springboard clothesline. Back up and Fletcher hits a superkick, setting up a lifting arm trap reverse DDT to finish Young at 6:24.

Rating: C+. Fletcher has been all over the AEW/ROH shows in recent weeks and it’s almost strange to see him morphing into a fan favorite. That certainly was the situation here, though that might have something to do with Young being a rather unpleasant sort. I’m not sure what Fletcher’s ceiling around here is but he’s certainly off to a nice start.

The Embassy vs. Trenton Storm/AJZ/Luke Kurtis

Non-title and Prince Nana is here with the Embassy. Toa runs Kurtis over and shoulders him in the corner to start. Kurtis sunset flip doesn’t work and a DDT does even less as we’re back in the 80s. Storm comes in to dropkick Cage, who clotheslines him down. Cage hits a release German suplex and it’s AJZ coming in to clean some house. A Stunner over the ropes cuts that off fast though and everything breaks down. Toa plants AJZ with Jimmy Rave’s Greetings From Ghana for the pin at 4:56.

Rating: C. This was mostly a squash as the Embassy continues to dominate the most worthless division in wrestling. I’m sure they’ll defend the titles at Death Before Dishonor and I’m sure it will be a most important match, as the division might be back up to three teams by that point. More of the same here from the Embassy and that’s all it should have been.

Dalton Castle vs. Josh Woods

The Boys and the Varsity Athletes are here too. Castle looks into the camera and says take a look at the greatest thing on your television or mobile device. They go with the grappling to start with Woods grabbing a front facelock. Woods sends him to the apron and pulls him face first into the rope to really take over. Hold on though as Castle and the Boys have a quick run around the ring to wake them up. Back in and Castle grabs a waistlock before a running boot to the face knocks Woods outside.

A Sterling distraction lets Woods grab a backbreaker into a German suplex for two as the villain takes over. Woods grabs his own waistlock but Castle suplexes his way to freedom. The Bang A Rang is blocked and Sterling breaks up another attempt. Woods powerbombs him into a hard knee to the face for two but Castle clotheslines him to the floor. Castle DEMANDS A BOY and a few of them are thrown at the Athletes. Back in and the Bang A Rang finishes Woods at 9:32.

Rating: B. There are certain matches that you know are going to be good based on the talent involved. That was certainly on display here, as both of them are solid amateur wrestlers and know their way around an ROH match as well. Castle still has value despite being years removed from the main event scene so it’s cool to see him pick up a hard fought win like this one.

Last week, the Kingdom buttered Stokely Hathaway up about getting a future Tag Team Title match. Apparently the Infantry has been talking trash about them, which doesn’t sit well with Hathaway.

We cut to the Infantry telling Hathaway the Kingdom are the ones who don’t believe in him. The match is made, but the sunglasses still look ridiculous.

The Infantry vs. The Kingdom

The Infantry are hometown boys also. Dean dropkicks Bennett to start and Bravo comes in for two off a splash. A slingshot cutter drops Taven for two with Maria having to make a save. Taven comes back in and beats on Bravo in the corner, setting up a brainbuster for two. Taven’s DDT gets the same as some early frustration sets in. Bravo manages to send Taven into the corner though and a diving tag brings Dean back in to pick up the pace. Back up and Taven hits a springboard kick to the face and it’s already back to Bravo, with commentary saying he might not be ready.

Bennett gets knocked down for a frog splash from Bravo with Taven having to make a rather last second save. A pump kick/Russian legsweep combination drops Taven but Bennett runs the Infantry over. Maria gets on the apron for a distraction, allowing Bennett to chair Bravo. Cue Trish Adora to take out Maria though, leaving Dean to roll Bennett up for the upset pin at 7:22.

Rating: B-. They kept the action going here and that near fall close to the end was very good. The Infantry winning was a surprise and it’s nice to see a new team getting moved higher up the ladder. I’m a bit surprised by the Kingdom losing, but they only have so much equity loaded up in recent months that the loss isn’t too devastating.

Blake Christian/Matt Sydal vs. Lee Moriarty/Big Bill

Moriarty headlocks Sydal over to start but Sydal is back with a dropkick. The exchange of front facelocks sets up Sydal’s running hurricanrana. A standing corkscrew moonsault gets two on Moriarty and Christian comes in to pick the pace up rather quickly. Sydal hits a running boot in the corner and now it’s Bill coming in to glare at Sydal for a change. A hurricanrana is blocked and Bill even throws in a little dance.

Moriarty comes back in and stomps away in the corner so much that Bill has to break it up. Bill misses a charge in the corner and Sydal dives over for the tag to bring Christian in. The Fosbury Flop hits Moriarty and a 450 gets two, with Bill making a save. Bill’s swinging Boss Man Slam gets two on Christian, with Sydal having to make a save. With Sydal on the floor, Bill chokeslams Christian onto the apron. The East River Crossing finishes Christian at 9:56.

Rating: C+. Another nice tag match here as Bill gets to pin someone for a change. He’s starting to find himself as the big monster and that is something that could serve him well going forward. There is always something to be said about someone who can run people over with straight power and that is what he does rather well. Sydal falls pretty fast after his title shot last week, but he very well could bounce back up.

The Kingdom is livid and promise revenge. They knew Stokely Hathaway and remember going to Cracker Barrel with him, where he would apparently order a kid’s meal. Well now Mike Bennett is going to Jerry Lynn and tell him how much he loved ECW. He didn’t of course, but that’s what he’s going to say!

Dark Order vs. Davey Bang/August Matthews

Silver wrestles Bang down without much trouble and then drops him with a clothesline. Reynolds comes in with a tiger driver for two and it’s Matthews coming in to get forearmed in the face. Everything breaks down and Bang is sent into the barricade, leaving Matthews to get caught with the finishing sequence. The jackknife rollup finishes for Reynolds at 2:27. Rather to the point here, though the Dark Order was doing more violent tendencies for a likely rematch with the Righteous/Stu Grayson.

Post match Grayson and the Righteous pop up on screen and say they want to see more of that Dark Order aggression next week. The Dark Order beats them up some more.

Mark Sterling interrupts Diamante and offers to split the winners purse (51/49 to Sterling of course) rather than have her fight Leila Grey. No.

Diamante vs. Leila Grey

Mark Sterling is here with Grey. Diamante offers to lay down before running Grey over with a clothesline. Grey bails to the floor and there’s a baseball slide to take her down again. Back in and Diamante chops away but gets taken down by a running hair pull. The backsplash misses though and Diamante loads up a reverse DDT. Sterling offers a distraction to break it up though and Grey grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 4:04.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one and it’s quite the choice to have Grey beat Diamante, who was getting a bit of a build up in recent weeks. Then again Sterling isn’t on the show nearly enough and needs another act to feature with more often. The match didn’t have time to go anywhere and featured a lot of forearms in four minutes, so it was only going to be so good.

AR Fox/Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen

Fox has to dodge some Taylor swings to start before it’s quickly off to Martin. Drake pulls him to the floor to start the beating though, setting up a Cannonball in the corner. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Andretti gets to clean house, including a springboard spinning kick to Taylor’s head. A handspring elbow/German suplex combination drops Drake but Taylor is back up with the Marcus Garvey Driver for two. With everyone else on the floor, Henry misses a top rope stomp and gets rolled up by Fox for the pin at 4:19.

Rating: C+. It was fun while it lasted, but it didn’t last that long. This is a good example of a match that really didn’t need to be on the show. The Workhorsemen feel like they’re on the show every week and the winners really didn’t need a rehab win the day after their Dynamite loss. It’s ok to leave this until next week and shave some time off the show, especially when we’ve already had multiple six man tags (plus an eight man) this week.

Mark Sterling and Leila Grey declare her as the #1 baddie when Diamante comes in. A rematch seems imminent.

Rocky Romero vs. Daniel Garcia

Pure Rules and Romero takes him to the mat without much trouble to start, leaving Garcia frustrated. A lockup of all things sends Romero to the ropes for his first break, followed by a cross armbreaker to send Garcia to the ropes to even things up. The Forever Lariats are broken up and Garcia grabs a suplex for two. Romero tries a leglock and Garcia has to burn off another rope break.

Garcia is fine enough to come back with an STF, sending Romero straight to the ropes as well. A kick to the face lets Garcia stop to dance a bit (fans: “YOU CAN’T DANCE!”). They go up top, where Romero snaps off a hurricanrana, with Garcia using his third rope break at two. Garcia is right back with a Boston crab but Romero grabs the rope to get rid of all breaks. A penalty kick is blocked and Romero is back with a tornado DDT. Romero gets the cross armbreaker but Garcia kicks off the ropes into the Dragonslayer in the ropes for the tap at 11:15.

Rating: C+. This was “I can use a rope break too!” as a match and that is only going to get you so far. The Pure Rules stuff can work, but this felt like they were only trying to burn off rope breaks instead of going for a win. Other than that, Garcia and Romero are still only so interesting and they didn’t quite hit their best levels here.

Post match Garcia stays on him but Orange Cassidy comes in for the save.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Kiera Hogan

Athena is defending in a street fight and they have well over twenty minutes here. Athena takes her down to start and grabs a ladder, which is dropkicked right back into her. Hogan’s hurricanrana off the apron sends Athena into another ladder, meaning it’s time to send some weapons inside. As usual, that takes too long and Athena gets in a kendo stick shot to take over.

Hogan is sent into a trashcan in the corner but the referee yelling at Athena lets Hogan fight up. A fisherman’s neckbreaker onto the trashcan drops Athena again but Hogan spends WAY too much time setting up a ladder bridge on the floor. That lets Athena avoid a middle rope splash and she stomps on a Chicago street sign.

A bunch of chairs are stacked up but Hogan sends Athena through a table. Hogan’s splash onto Athena onto a table doesn’t break anything, so Hogan goes to the middle rope to drive her through it instead. Another table is set up inside and Athena cuts her off again, only to get caught on top.

Athena superbombs her through another table so let’s bring in the thumbtacks. Hogan grabs a belly to back suplex to send Athena into the tacks for two. With the brawling not working, Hogan uses her braids to choke Athena, who superplexes her onto the pile of chairs on the floor for the retaining pin at 19:23.

Rating: C+. Yeah there was a bunch of violence and ladders and tables. All of that added up to nowhere near enough to make me believe that Kiera Hogan was going to take the title off of Athena, leaving this as nearly twenty minutes of taking too long to set up spots and waiting for Athena to crush her. Athena is outstanding right now and maybe the best thing about Ring Of Honor. She needs a strong challenger though, and Hogan never came close.

We get a quick Forbidden Door rundown.

Athena is livid about not being respected after the win and wants a new challenger. And that’s it.

Overall Rating: B-. This show started of well and then it just kept going. Then after that, it just kept going even longer, because that’s what Ring Of Honor does. I’m not sure why, as a fan in the arena, I would want two hours of Collision plus two and a half hours of Ring Of Honor on the same night, but it’s hard to imagine that the masses stuck around. As for the show itself, it was the usual situation: good action, but it goes on for so long that the positives lose so much impact because there is so much here. As is the case almost every week: cut this WAY down and it’s a much better show, but it’s not likely to happen.

Results
Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo/Lucha Bros b. Serpentico/Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade – Fear Factor to Serpentico
Gringo Loco b. Willie Mack – Super Spanish Fly
Trish Adora b. Allysin Kay – Lariat Tubman
Kyle Fletcher b. Silas Young – Lifting arm trap reverse DDT
The Embassy b. Trenton Storm/AJZ/Luke Kurtis – Greetings From Ghana to AJZ
Dalton Castle b. Josh Woods – Bang A Rang
The Infantry b. The Kingdom – Rollup to Bennett
Big Bill/Lee Moriarty b. Blake Christian/Matt Sydal – East River Crossing to Christian
Dark Order b. August Matthews/Danny Bang – Jackknife rollup to Matthews
Leila Grey b. Diamante – Rollup with feet on the ropes
AR Fox/Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen – Rollup to Henry
Daniel Garcia b. Rocky Romero – Dragonslayer
Athena b. Kiera Hogan – Superplex onto a pile of chairs

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: June 8, 2023
Location: Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back to Ring Of Honor and that could mean more than a few things. The show has settled more into a pattern (save for that one nearly three hour outlier) and you can all but guarantee a few matches every week. At the same time, there are a few wildcards that pop up every now and then, and thankfully last week felt like some stories moved forward. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Christopher Daniels vs. Kyle Fletcher

Daniels works on the arm to start and then starts kicking away at the leg. Fletcher cuts off a charge with a slam but Daniels is right back with a running neckbreaker. We hit the neck crank the arm trapped as Daniels is staying on the neck for the most part. Fletcher can’t get a suplex but can send him into the corner for a running forearm.

A belly to back suplex gives Fletcher two, only to have Daniels get a boot up in the corner. The middle rope cutter sets up a Koji Clutch to keep Fletcher in trouble, sending him over to the ropes. There’s the double clothesline to put them both down and it’s Daniels back up with some suplexes. Angel’s Wings is blocked and Fletcher comes back with the spinning Tombstone for the pin at 11:23.

Rating: B. I’m not sure why Fletcher needs to be around so often but he’s looking good in the ring. Putting him in the ring with someone like Daniels is a good idea, as Daniels can still hang in there with just about anyone. They had a good match here as Fletcher’s kind of odd singles push continues.

Matt Sydal vs. Zack Clayton

Cole Karter is here with Clayton. Sydal strikes away and snaps off a hurricanrana, followed by a superkick for two. A standing twisting moonsault gets two on Clayton, who takes Sydal down and hammers away. Sydal scores with another knockdown and the top rope Meteora finishes Clayton at 3:07.

Rating: C. They kept this one moving and Sydal more or less squashed him, as he should with the Television Title in his sights. I have no reason to believe that Sydal is going to beat Samoa Joe as no one has in over a year, but at least they’re making it into a story. Sydal is a talented star and he got to look good here, even over a lower level opponent like Clayton.

Post match Sydal says he wants Samoa Joe and the TV Title.

Dralistico vs. Willie Mack

Dralistico won’t shake hands to start but he will knock Mack to the floor for the big running flip dive. Back in and Dralistico hits a running basement dropkick, followed by a low superkick in the corner. Mack gets up and hits a running Shining Wizard to send Dralistico outside this time, setting up the big running flip dive.

Dralistico kicks him down again back inside, setting up the standing exchange of chops. They trade shots for a double knockdown until Mack is back with the Samoan drop into the standing moonsault for two. Mack’s frog splash hits raised knees though and Dralistico knees him down. Mack gets up again but it’s a Jose the Assistant distraction, allowing Dralistico to get in a low blow. The Incinerator knee finishes for Dralistico at 7:42.

Rating: B-. They were rocking until the ending here with the low blow hurting things a bit. Mack continues to lose most of the time, which doesn’t have me expecting him to do much outside of Ring Of Honor. Dralistico getting a win is nice, but it’s still hard to imagine him as being anything more than Rush’s partner.

Here is Tony Khan to announce that Matt Sydal will face Samoa Joe for the TV Title next week. As for this week, we will now have a Board Of Directors (who he makes clear will answer to him): Stokely Hathaway and Jerry Lynn. They’re all going to have a good time! They’re not actually doing anything here, but it’ll be fun when they actually do!

NJPW Strong Women’s Title: Willow Nightingale vs. Rachael Ellering

Nightingale is defending and wastes no time in rolling some suplexes. Ellering comes back with a running forearm as commentary talks about how they would love to have Chris Hero around here. An enziguri gets Nightingale out of trouble and she hits a string of clotheslines. The Pounce sets up the Cannonball for two, with Ellering reversing the cover into a crucifix for the same. Nightingale has had it with her and hits a spinebuster into a camel clutch to retain at 6:46.

Rating: C. Nightingale continues to mix things up and adding in another good power move makes sense. You don’t see many women like her and not only is she incredibly charismatic, but she can have quality matches to back it up. Ellering is someone who can work well with anyone and I could go for having her around more often.

Embassy vs. Cheeseburger/Marcus Kross/Eli Isom

Non-title Proving Ground match, meaning if Cheeseburger and company win or survive the ten minute time limit, they get a title shot. Isom avoids a charging Cage to start and slips out of a Drill Claw as well. A superkick drops Isom though and it’s Toa coming in for some shoulders in the corner. Another missed charge allows the tag to Cheeseburger, who is tossed from Toa to Kaun. Cheeseburger manages to bring in Kross as everything breaks down. The Embassy gets to run everyone over and a toss powerbomb finishes Kross at 5:01.

Rating: C-. You know how the Embassy has run a bunch of trios over and rarely felt like they were in any trouble? This was the most recent of those matches. The Embassy has no serious challengers and they’re just being fed various three man combinations to keep them on the show. Not much to see here, as usual.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Vertvixen

Vixen hits a dropkick to start but walks into a big boot. Martinez grabs a seated abdominal stretch, followed by a Saito suplex. Vixen is back with a rolling Stunner into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Back up and Martinez grabs a swinging suplex out of the corner for two more, followed by a forearm to the back of the head. The Brass City Sleeper finishes Vixen at 4:18.

Rating: C. It’s nice to have Martinez back and she ran over Vertvixen here. It was just a step above a squash as Vixen barely got anything in, but at least they finished it quickly instead of dragging it out. I could see Martinez getting back into the title hunt, as it isn’t like there are many serious challengers around at the moment.

Griff Garrison vs. Lee Moriarty

This is Garrison’s first match since October. Moriarty gets sent into the corner to start and Garrison boots him in the face for a bonus. That earns him an arm snap across the top and Moriarty starts stomping away. The arm is sent into the corner as commentary starts talking about the Jericho Appreciation Society. Garrison hits a clothesline out of the corner and a discus forearm gets two. Moriarty rakes him in the eyes though and grabs a rollup for the pin at 4:06.

Rating: C. So remember when Garrison was a decent looking guy in a low level tag team? Well here he was a decent looking guy in a low level singles match. It’s cool to have him back and I’m glad he’s healthy, but this wasn’t some big, epic comeback. It wasn’t a squash, but it’s a bit difficult to get excited about Moriarty, who has been a jobber to the stars for weeks in AEW, getting a win here.

Robyn Renegade vs. Kiera Hogan

Hogan takes her down to start and hits a springboard legdrop for two. Renegade avoids a charge though and chokes in the corner, followed by the forearms on the mat. We hit the armbar for a bit before they trade chops in the corner. Hogan stomps her down in another corner but here is Charlotte Renegade for the failed Twin Magic. Not that it matters as Hogan hits a superkick for the pin at 4:34.

Rating: C. The parade of “eh, that was fine” matches continues as Hogan has to be built up again for a likely rematch with Athena. I still think there is something with the Renegades, but they’re cannon fodder for Hogan here and that is not exactly the best place to be. Let them try something, because they’re being wasted in spots like this one.

Post match Athena comes in to kendo stick Hogan, who takes it away and unloads on Athena instead.

Dark Order vs. Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen

They start the brawl during the Code Of Honor and it’s Silver kicking away at the much bigger Taylor to get things going. Reynolds comes in to slug away but Henry trips him down on the floor. It’s off to Henry to pound on Reynolds before Drake adds a belly to belly. A Cannonball connects in the corner and Henry comes back in for a chinlock.

Reynolds fights up and gets over to Uno for the tag to pick up the pace. We get the long awaited Taylor vs. Uno showdown as everything breaks down. Drake gets caught in the series of strikes from Reynolds and Silver, setting up the Stunner into the German suplex to finish Drake at 7:21.

Rating: C. I’m still not sure I get what is impressive about the Dark Order but they are around on a pretty regular basis. Beating Taylor and the Workhorsemen at least gives them a boost, but there’s just not much interesting about either group. The stuff with Stu Grayson was at least a story, but other than that, I’m not sure why they’re around so often. Allegedly they get big reactions from the fans, though that didn’t seem to be the case here.

The Righteous and Stu Grayson aren’t impressed by the Dark Order, but want them to be more aggressive. Tune in next week.

Darius Martin/Action Andretti/AR Fox vs. Trustbusters

Fox and Slim J start things off, which Riccaboni calls a “dream match for me”. Riccaboni needs to work on his dream matches. They trade flips to start until Fox gets two off a spinning suplex. Kay comes in and gets caught in the corner for some rapid fire running shots to the chest. Andretti’s shotgun dropkick sets up a missed split legged moonsault and it’s Kiss coming in to hammer away.

Kiss’ gorilla press into a standing moonsault gets two on Andretti and a splits splash is good for the same. Andretti fights up and brings in Martin for a pumphandle facebuster to Kay but an assisted Sliced Bread takes him down. Fox is back with a series of cutters and it’s back to Andretti. Something like a double swinging powerbomb finishes Kay at 6:02.

Rating: C+. They kept the pace up here and Kiss’ gorilla press was rather impressive. Andretti is much better suited in a role like this than as a singles star and he did his thing rather well in this one. The Trustbusters are still about as uninteresting as you can get, but at least they’re being relegated to jobbing status most of the time.

The Kingdom vs. El Cobarde/El Dragon

Maria is here with the Kingdom. Taven knees Cobarde in the ribs but gets dropkicked for his efforts. It’s off to Dragon for a bunch of flips as Bennett comes in to say “hit me like a man.” Not a dragon mind you, but a man. One of those shows busts Bennett open so he knocks Cobarde off the apron to blow off some steam. Everything breaks down fast and the Kingdom gets taken down by running flip dives. Purple Thunder gets two on Dragon but Aurora Borealis misses. Everything breaks down again though and it’s Just The Tip into the Proton Pack to finish Cobarde at 5:28.

Rating: C+. Cobarde and Dragon looked good int heir debuts here and that’s a nice thing to see as there is always room for a high flying lucha team. As usual with their almost weekly win, the Kingdom should be in the title hunt but instead they’re just kind of here, winning a match and staying on their treadmill. I’m still not sure why they’re not given a bigger spot, but I’m sure another midcard AEW team can get the title shot instead.

Here are Tony Khan, Jerry Lynn and Stokely Hathaway, with Khan again announcing that “this is great”. Hathaway apparently wants mass layoffs but also wants Action Andretti vs. the entire Embassy. Khan instead says Andretti/Fox/Martin vs. the Embassy for the Six Man Tag Team Titles. OF COURSE that’s what Hathaway wanted. Khan talks about how great a star Bandido is….but he’s not here tonight! Instead, here’s his brother! Jerry Lynn didn’t say a word during his appearance.

Rey Fenix vs. Gravity

They grapple into a rollup exchange for two each until Gravity runs in slow motion (because gravity you see). Fenix reverses a sunset flip into an ankle lock and Gravity certainly appears to tap but it doesn’t matter. Gravity reverses a suplex into a small package for two before sending Fenix outside for a springboard dive.

Back in and a standing moonsault gives Gravity two, followed by a torture rack Samoan driver for two. Fenix spins him into a faceplant for two of his own but Gravity muscles him up into a powerbomb for the same. Gravity misses a top rope splash and gets kicked down for another near fall. One heck of a crucifix bomb gives Gravity two more but Fenix is back with a cutter. The Black Fire Driver finishes Gravity at 10:40.

Rating: B. Take two guys, let them fly around for about ten minutes and blow the fans’ minds with some insane stuff. Fenix specializes in just such a style and he was on fire here. Gravity had some good stuff as well, but it doesn’t help to have your introduction be “well this star isn’t here but here is his brother instead!”. I will take the “Rey Fenix is better than gravity” joke though.

Overall Rating: C. The opener and main event helped but I was rather bored by a good chunk of the middle. It isn’t that the matches were bad (they were mostly good to acceptable on the bad end) but it was the same thing you see almost every week around here: a bunch of people with nothing going on, winning a match with the vague possibility of moving up the ladder for a possible title shot down the line. Almost nothing in the middle of this show stood out and it was almost mind numbing to watch the same middle of the road stuff throughout.

They desperately need to trim this down, though I’d be stunned if they actually did. As long as these shows are taped at Universal, there is nothing that is going to make them slow down, as they can more or less tape as much as they want and then air it all at once. For the life of me I have no idea how this is supposed to be the best thing they can put out there, but it’s not exactly thrilling, or even interesting, most of the time.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Christopher Daniels – Spinning Tombstone
Matt Sydal b. Zack Clayton – Top rope Meteora
Dralistico b. Willie Mack – Incinerator
Willow Nightingale b. Rachael Ellering – Camel clutch
The Embassy b. Cheeseburger/Marcus Kross/Eli Isom – Toss powerbomb to Kross
Mercedes Martinez b. Vertvixen – Brass City Sleeper
Lee Moriarty b. Griff Garrison – Rollup
Kiera Hogan b. Robyn Renegade – Superkick
Dark Order b. Shane Taylor/Workhorsemen – German suplex to Drake
Action Andretti/Darius Martin/AR Fox b. Trustbusters – Double swinging powerbomb to Kay
The Kingdom b. El Cobarde/El Dragon – Proton Pack to Dragon
Rey Fenix b. Gravity – Black Fire Driver

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

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AND

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

Ring Of Honor
Date: June 1, 2023
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back to what is considered a normal length show this week at just under two hours after last week’s almost three hour Super Sized show. Following last week, Athena is defending the Women’s Title against Kiera Hogan and the New Japan TV Title will be on the line as well. Just like it will be tomorrow night on Rampage. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The Infantry vs. The Kingdom

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with the Kingdom. The Infantry blocks the early double kicks to the ribs and it’s Taven getting caught in the wrong corner to start. Taven is right back with a springboard kick to the face to send Bravo outside and the Kingdom takes over. A brainbuster into Aurora Borealis gets two on Bravo and he’s able to get over for the tag to Dean. Maria offers a distraction though and it’s a quick Proton Pack to finish Dean at 3:45.

Rating: C. The Kingdom continues to be a team ready to move into the title scene but when you’re losing to Action Andretti/Darius Martin, a win over the Infantry isn’t going to mean much. They didn’t do badly here or anything, but beating the Infantry is hardly some big deal. I’m not sure why the Kingdom isn’t harder pushed, if nothing else to let Maria do the promos that have made her into such a great manager.

Trish Adora vs. Skye Blue

Adora goes with the power to start and runs Blue over, setting up a running kick to the face for two. Blue is right back with a spinning kick to the head but Adora backbreakers her out of the corner. The northern lights suplex gets two on Blue and Adora seems to load up an Air Raid Crash, only to stretch Blue instead. With that broken up, Blue hits a running knee and a running kick to the face for two of her own. Adora gets in a suplex and punches her down for two more. Lariat Tubman is loaded up but Blue reverses into Skyfall for the pin at 6:10.

Rating: C+. These two were working hard here and Blue gets another win. Commentary talked about how Adora was recently admitted to the New Japan USA Dojo, where she was taken down to the very basics. I would hope that doesn’t shine through in her television appearances, as Adora has so much charisma and a unique look/style that taking her down to pure basics would be quite the setback. For now though, things worked out well and these two had a nice match.

Dark Order vs. The Righteous/Stu Grayson

Uno punches Vincent down so it’s Grayson coming in….to punch Uno in the face. With Uno all upset, Silver comes in to take over on the again legal Vincent. Everything breaks down and Reynolds is shoved off the apron and into Dutch’s swinging Boss Man Slam on the floor. Back in and the Righteous/Grayson start taking turns on Reynolds, including a heck of a backdrop.

Reynolds armdrags his way to freedom though and the hot tag brings in Uno to clean house. It’s off to Silver, but Vincent sends Uno into him to take over. Silver is fine enough to suplex the rather large Dutch and it’s the Grayson vs. Uno showdown. Vincent breaks it up again and grabs a Russian legsweep. Dutch hits a big running flip dive onto Silver and Reynolds, leaving Uno to unload on Grayson. Uno fires off forearms in the corner, with Grayson telling him to finish it. Vincent makes the save though and it’s Knightfall to drop Uno, with Vincent stealing the pin on Uno at 9:16.

Rating: C+. The most important thing here is it was part of a story between the two sides. The Righteous have been after Grayson for a long time now and seem to have most of him, with the Knightfall being a big step away from the Dark Order. Now granted there are some big question marks still, such as WHY any of this is happening or why Uno wants to fight Grayson, but I’ll take this over one mostly random match after another.

Post match Uno crawls towards Grayson, who walks away but doesn’t seem happy about it.

Samoa Joe and Zack Sabre Jr. have a slightly tense discussion where they praise each other after last week’s match, but don’t seem to agree on which TV Champion is better. Maybe they’ll have to find out.

Promise Braxton vs. Diamante

Diamante backs her into the corner for an elbow to the face and a knee makes it worse. The shotgun dropkick gives Diamante two and she drives some shoulders into the ribs in the corner. Braxton gets in a few shots of her own and some running knees to the back of the head (basically a Meteora from behind) gets two. That’s enough for Diamante, who grabs an arm trap choke for the tap at 3:57.

Rating: C. I’ve heard worse ideas than pushing Diamante, who has some charisma in the ring and can back it up well enough. That choke was a nice finisher and if they give her a few more wins, she could start going somewhere. Braxton has been fine in her two appearances but they haven’t been anything noteworthy.

Brian Cage vs. Willie Mack

Prince Nana is here with Cage, who starts fast by pulling Mack away from the ropes for a crash. A Saito suplex drops Mack for two but he grabs a t-bone suplex for a breather. Mack sends him into the corner for the cannonball and it’s a Samoan drop to make it worse. The standing moonsault gets two and they trade strikes to the head. An exchange of German suplexes leave both of them down but it’s Mack up first. The Stunner into the frog splash gives Mack two but Cage blasts him with a discus lariat for the fast pin at 7:41.

Rating: C+. This was a pair of big, strong guys hitting each other really hard until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That’s all you need on occasion and as luck would have it, that’s about as perfect of a use for Cage as you’re going to find. It was a nice showdown, though I could still go for Mack winning a bigger match every so often.

New Japan TV Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Rocky Romero

Sabre is defending. Feeling out process to start with Romero’s leg cranking not exactly working. Instead Romero grabs a running hurricanrana and snaps the arm across the top. The back to back dives connect but the back to back to back dive is caught in a cravate to put Romero in trouble. Back in and Sabre starts working on the arm but twists on the foot at the same time for a bonus.

With that broken up, Sabre switches to an ankle lock but Romero escapes that as well. The chops in the corner set up a springboard tornado DDT for two on the champ and Romero grabs an armbar over the ropes. Sabre reverses into a choke before slowly kicking Romero in the face. Romero’s jumping knee to the face but Sabre pulls him into a choke. They fight over various bars until Sabre switches to a cobra stretch for the tap to retain at 11:23.

Rating: B. This was the good Romero who was working the submissions and throwing in some strikes to keep Sabre on his toes. At the same time, Sabre was feeling it here with the submissions, and when he is rolling along with those, there is very little better to see in wrestling. Sabre is a machine when he is at his best and they had a rather awesome back and forth match here.

Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Workhorsemen

Martin takes Henry down to start until Henry scores with a kick to the face. Drake comes in to easily run Martin over but Martin is back with a dropkick. Andretti walks the corner with a wristdrag to Henry as the pace picks up. Drake comes back in and easily wins a chop off but Andretti slips over and gets the tag. Everything breaks down and a Downward Spiral/dropkick combination gets two on Andretti with Martin making the save. A missed charge in the corner sends Drake outside and a double fireman’s carry slam finishes Henry at 5:38.

Rating: C+. Another nice match here as Andretti and Martin continue to do well, though it is hard to imagine they are anything long term. Whether it is getting a title shot and likely losing or Dante coming back from his injury, the time window does not seem to be very wide. At the same time, the Workhorsemen are fine midcard heels, though them winning something would help them have some longer term value.

Post match the Workhorsemen won’t shake hands.

Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade vs. Shogun/Bryce Saturn/Jakob Austin Young

Penelope Ford is here with Sabin and company. It’s a brawl to start with the non-stars being thrown outside. The powerbomb/neckbreaker finishes Young at 44 seconds.

Angelico/Serpentico/Jack Cartwheel vs. Komander/Bandido/El Hijo del Vikingo

Luther is here with Angelico and company. Angelico elbows Komander down to start and is quickly headscissored out to the floor. Bandido comes in to forearm it out with Serpentico, setting up some legsweeps into a standoff. Vikingo and Cartwheel come in with Cartwheel being pulled out of the air, only to flip back to his feet.

Cartwheel takes him down and hits a slingshot spinning dive for two and everything breaks down. A big flip dive from Cartwheel takes Komander down and we settle down to Komander getting caught in the wrong corner back inside. Komander fights out though and fires off some elbows, setting up a not so smooth Code Red to Cartwheel.

The diving tag brings in Bandido to clean house and everything breaks down. Bandido and company hit a stereo triple dive, setting up a pop up dropkick for two on Cartwheel back inside. Bandido tosses Serpentico onto Luther and Komander gets to do the big rope walk dive. Vikingo’s 630 finishes Cartwheel at 9:14.

Rating: B-. This was the display of flips and dives that you knew was coming and it was certainly entertaining. Komander’s big running flip dive continues to lose its luster due to how long he spends setting it up, but Vikingo is hard to ignore with all of the insane things he can do. Then you have the rather well rounded Bandido and it made for an entertaining trio, especially with a good punching bag like Serpentico.

Pure Rules Title: Alex Coughlin vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Shibata is defending. They go to the mat for some grappling to start but the threat of a cross armbreaker sends Coughlin to the ropes. A triangle choke sends Coughlin over for his second break so Shibata cranks on both arms at once. Coughlin uses his final rope break in less than four minutes so Shibata starts working on the leg for a change.

Somehow Coughlin, sitting on the mat, manages to grab a suplex and stand up to put Shibata down. A bridging fall away slam gives Coughlin two but Shibata triangle chokes him down again. Back up and Coughlin wins a slugout but Shibata grabs a choke. The PK retains the title at 8:54.

Rating: B-. So that’s a match that happened. Shibata did his usual stuff and looked good doing so while Coughlin’s power game was insane, with that suplex being on another level. They had the teacher vs. student story here but it never felt like they had any animosity. Coughlin going with raw power and intensity vs. Shibata’s skill and experience was a more interesting way to go, but it was only so interesting.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Kiera Hogan

Hogan is challenging and feels a bit more serious here. Athena hits her in the face to start and sends Hogan hard into the corner. A hard kick drops Hogan but she’s back up with a kick of her own. Athena twists her down by the arm to take over, meaning the bad arm can be sent into the barricade.

Back in and a hammerlock suplex keeps Hogan in trouble, setting up an armbar. A swinging backbreaker into double knees to the arm has Hogan in even more trouble and Athena grabs a Fujiwara armbar. Hogan rolls out so Athena puts her on top, only to shove Athena back down. The running hip attack in the corner sets up a tornado DDT for two on Athena but the arm gives out. Athena rolls her up and grabs the trunks for the retaining pin at 7:56.

Rating: C. Hogan got in a bit at the beginning and end but Athena mainly picked her apart without much trouble. Commentary may go overboard with a lot of stuff, but they’re absolutely right about Athena being on another level as of late. It’s not the deepest field, but Athena has long since been the best women’s wrestler in Ring Of Honor history. As commentary also said, get her some stronger competition already.

Post match Hogan goes after Athena again and grabs a chair, only to get dropkicked away. The big brawl is on as commentary says Hogan wasn’t dominated here. Were we watching the same match? Other than a few flurries at the start and finish, this was ALL Athena, with Hogan’s arm giving out after Athena worked it over. I’m sure we’ll get a rematch, but I’m not sure why we need one.

Overall Rating: C+. The show being shorter certainly helped as about two hours is a heck of a lot easier than about three hours. There wasn’t anything bad on here and the Sabre vs. Romero match was a lot of fun. I’m still not sure why we need a lot of these same people on the show so often (the Kingdom, Blue, Diamante, Cage, Martin/Andretti) as their matches aren’t exactly classics and they could be removed to let the show breathe, but why have a reasonable length show when you can have a long one I guess. Either way, nice enough show this week, but they need to have something to build towards and soon.

Results
The Kingdom b. The Infantry – Proton Pack to Dean
Skye Blue b. Trish Adora – Skyfall
Righteous/Stu Grayson b. Dark Order – Knightfall to Evil Uno
Diamante b. Promise Braxton – Arm trap choke
Brian Cage b. Willie Mack – Discus lariat
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Rocky Romero – Cobra stretch
Darius Martin/Action Andretti b. Workhorsemen – Double fireman’s carry slam to Henry
Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade b. Shotgun/Bryce Saturn/Jakob Austin Young – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Young
El Hijo del Vikingo/Komander/Bandido b. Serpentico/Jack Cartwheel/Angelico – 630 to Cartwheel
Katsuyori Shibata b. Alex Coughlin – PK
Athena b. Kiera Hogan – Rollup with trunks

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

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

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

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

JD Drake vs. Mark Briscoe

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

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

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

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

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

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Serpentico

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

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

Vertvixen vs. Kiera Hogan

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

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

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

Kyle Fletcher vs. AR Fox

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

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

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

Willow Nightingale vs. Hyan

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

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

The Kingdom vs. Willie Mack/Ninja Mack

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

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

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

Dream Girl Ellie vs. Mercedes Martinez

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

Willie Mack and Ninja Mack aren’t done.

Ashley D’Amboise vs. Danielle Kamela

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

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

Rocky Romero vs. Titus Alexander

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shane Taylor vs. Tracy Williams

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

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

Athena vs. Promise Braxton

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

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

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

Dralistico vs. Tony Deppen

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

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

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

Miranda Alize vs. Skye Blue

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blake Christian vs. Nick Comoroto

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

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

Diamante vs. Trish Adora

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

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

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

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Slim J

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe and Sabre show respect to end the show.

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

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

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

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

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Rampage
Date: May 13, 2023
Location: Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

The shuffled up schedule continues as we are on at 10pm Saturday this week, again thanks to various playoffs. That has led to some less than thrilling cards in recent weeks but AEW has the ability to pull off a great one if given the chance. Hopefully they do that here so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Acclaimed/Billy Gunn vs. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian

After a rap about how Butcher has the “worst mustache since Vince McMahon”, we start fast with Blade getting caught in the wrong corner and backdropped out of it for a crash. Scissor Me Timbers makes it even worse as this is one sided so far. Butcher comes in to send Bowens hard into the corner as the fans want Gunn. We take a break and come back with Bowens kicking his way out of trouble and handing it back to Gunn. House is cleaned, including a powerslam on Blade. Everything breaks down and the Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes Blade at 8:13.

Rating: C. The Acclaimed continue to be perfectly fine choices to open the show, as the fans are still going to respond to anything they do. You could easily heat them up for a Trios Title match and that is probably where things are going. Other than that, Butcher and Blade are still a solid midcard team and Sabian continues to be a thing for reasons I don’t quite get.

QTV talks about AEW going to England and we cut to Powerhouse Hobbs, once again with his namesake book. He seems confident that he’ll be back.

Toni Storm vs. Allysin Kay

The rest of the Outcasts are with Storm, who gets kicked down to start. Saraya grabs Kay’s boot for a distraction though and Storm takes over. They head outside with Kay being sent into various things to keep her in trouble. Back in and Kay makes the comeback, including a hard clothesline for two. A sunset driver plants Storm but the Outcasts offer a distraction, allowing Storm to get two off a small package. Kay is sent into the corner for the hip attack, followed by Storm Zero for the pin at 4:58.

Rating: C. It was nice to have Kay around as she is someone who can work with anyone you put her in the ring with at any given time. Other than that, it is nice to see Storm getting a win as she hasn’t had a showcase match in a bit. The Outcasts still aren’t great, but Storm is the most successful member around here so featuring her makes sense.

The Gunns aren’t happy about losing their titles or with shoddy refereeing but Ethan Page comes in. Page wants some help with something and the Gunns are in.

Action Andretti vs. Kyle Fletcher

Feeling out process to start with the bigger Fletcher powering Andretti around. Andretti comes back with a dropkick into a spinning moonsault for two. One heck of a running boot to the face sends Andretti outside though and we take a break. Back with Fletcher kicking him in the face for a rather arrogant two. Andretti grabs a super hurricanrana for two but Fletcher kicks him in the back of the head, setting up a spinning Tombstone for the pin at 9:19.

Rating: C. Well, it was much more impressive than Fletcher’s match on Ring Of Honor two days ago, but it’s still hard to buy into the idea of Fletcher being a serious threat to Orange Cassidy and the International Title. I’m still not sure why half of an outside tag team is getting a singles title shot but at least the match should be good. Andretti is about where I was expecting him to be, though he could use another win to give him another boost.

Here are the Hardys and Brother Zay (Isiah Kassidy) to brag about getting rid of the Firm. Now they want the Tag Team Titles but here are the Gunns to interrupt. They bring up Ethan Page, but Matt wants nothing to do with Page. He does have an idea though: a tag match between the teams, and when the Hardys win, Matt owns Page’s contract. Deal, though I can’t imagine that’s what Page had in mind.

The Mogul Embassy and the Dark Order are ready for the main event.

Mogul Embassy vs. Dark Order

Swerve Strickland/Brian Cage vs. John Silver/Alex Reynolds, with Prince Nana and Evil Uno at ringside. Strickland sends Reynolds into the corner to start and snaps off the anklescissors but it’s way too early for the Swerve Stomp. Silver comes in for a pose off with Cage before actually managing to give Cage a World’s Strongest Slam. Swerve isn’t having that though and low bridges Silver to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Silver reversing Cage’s suplex into one of his own, allowing the double tag to Reynolds and Swerve. Reynolds gets to clean house, including a tiger driver into a piledriver for two on Strickland. The Stomp misses again and the Order hits their sequence into the rollup for two, with Cage making the save.

Cage pulls Silver’s dive out of the air and drives him into various things, allowing Swerve to get in a kick to the back of the head. Back in and Cage powerbombs Reynolds, setting up an F5/cutter combination…..for two. Why? On what planet is it acceptable for Alex Reynolds to kick out of a sequence like that? Silver comes in for an enziguri to Cage and Reynolds is back up to kick Swerve in the face. Cage isn’t having that though and it’s the JML Driver/Drill Claw for the stereo pins at 10:29.

Rating: C+. The match was good enough, but they lost me with Reynolds kicking out of what could be an awesome double team finisher. If they were just going to have the pin take place about a minute later, why even bother doing the big spot? Other than that, it was the Dark Order making a bigger team sweat a bit before falling short, which is more or less their last year plus.

Post match the Gates of Agony come in to beat up Evil Uno. Keith Lee and Dustin Rhodes come out with various metal objects to chase off the villains to end the show. Lee and Strickland starting having issues in November and were officially done in December. Why have they not had a singles match yet?

Overall Rating: C. The spring of punting continues, as AEW somehow manages to make Rampage feel even less important week after week. There were things happening here and the wrestling was completely fine, but there is a grand total of nothing that you need to see on this show, either in the ring or from a storytelling position. It’s ok to have something happen in a big story around here, because all of the lower level stories that get time around here are at a lower level for a reason. These shows get old fast, and that has been the case with Rampage for too long now.

Results
Acclaimed/Billy Gunn b. Butcher and the Blade/Kip Sabian – Mic Drop to Blade
Toni Storm b. Allysin Kay – Storm Zero
Kyle Fletcher b. Action Andretti – Spinning Tombstone
Mogul Embassy b. Dark Order – Double pin

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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