Dynamite
Date: January 7, 2026
Location: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re in a new year and we have quite a long way to go before we get to Revolution in March. That’s why tonight is focused on something other than the World Title, as Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland team up to face the Opps in a Lights Out match. Other than that, Jon Moxley is facing Shelton Benjamin so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Jim Ross comes back, which is a great thing to see. Hopefully it’s a great

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

ley in trouble, including a German suplex. A second attempt is countered into a ram into the steps though and Moxley takes over on the arm back inside.

We take a break and come back with Benjamin running the ropes for a butterfly superplex. They forearm it out until Moxley goes to the eye but the bulldog choke is blocked. A big clothesline drops Benjamin but Moxley needs a breather as well. Benjamin snaps off some German suplexes until Moxley gets in a cutter. Moxley hammers away in the corner until something like a standing STF cuts him off.

Benjamin is sent outside for a dive from Moxley and they head back inside, where Moxley charges into Paydirt for two. Back up and Moxley blocks a kick and grabs the Paradigm Shift for two more. We have a minute left as Moxley gets the bulldog choke. That’s broken up and Benjamin hits a running knee, followed by a triangle choke. Moxley is in trouble but drives forward to stack Benjamin up for the pin at 19:54.

Rating: B+. These guys having a good match isn’t a surprise, though I could have gone with something other than Benjamin losing clean in his first big singles match. It makes sense for Moxley to get another tough win under his (Continental) belt, but dang Benjamin losing is a bit frustrating. Hopefully he gets to do something on his own, as he has earned it.

Darby Allin is looking for Pac.

We look at Hiroshi Tanahashi losing to Kazuchika Okada in Tanahashi’s retirement match.

Video on Kenny Omega wanting a shot at MJF.

Jack Perry/??? vs. The Demand

This was supposed to be JetSpeed, but Perry has replacements in the form of….the Young Bucks. It’s a brawl to start with the villains being sent outside for a dive from Nick. Perry adds a moonsault from the top to the floor, followed by a spear to Ricochet. Back in and the Bucks take over on Ricochet, with Matt’s triangle choke over the ropes setting up Perry’s diving DDT.

Kaun grabs Perry’s foot though and Ricochet adds a jumping knee to the back to send him outside. Perry gets Pounced into the timekeeper’s area and we take a break. We come back with Perry clotheslining his way out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Nick. Everything breaks down and the Bucks clean house with superkicks, plus a slingshot Canadian Destroyer to Ricochet.

The top rope double stomp to the back flips Ricochet into a sitout powerbomb for two but Liona is back in with a triple Samoan drop (ok not bad). Ricochet’s springboard 450 gets two on Perry, who flips over him and hits a German suplex. An assisted wheelbarrow cutter drops Perry for two but the Spirit Gun misses. A bunch of superkicks put Liona down and a BTE Trigger into the running knee gives Perry the pin on Ricochet at 13:11.

Rating: B. Are we sure being the National Champion is a good thing? That’s another loss for the champ since he won the belt and I’m really not sure how much sense it makes. At the very least, he still might have to deal with Bandido, who beat him a few weeks ago. Odds are this sets up Perry for another title shot, even though we covered that last week.

Post match the Don Callis Family runs in to lay out the Bucks. The banged up JetSpeed run in for the save but the lights go out…and Andrade El Idolo is back. FTR comes out for a staredown as well. So Doyle debuts under a new name, attacks JetSpeed off camera, and isn’t even the only member of the team introduced in the first hour? Nice job guys.

Here is Willow Nightingale for her championship celebration, with Harley Cameron and Kris Statlander joining her. Nightingale says this is the first step in the double champ tour (as the lights go out and they get a spotlight) and is proud to be back with her title and friends. She’ll face any challenger for any title, but she knows that since this is wrestling, someone is going to interrupt sooner or later.

Nightingale invites Mercedes Mone out here so cue Mone, apparently in mourning. She lists off Mone’s accomplishments in 2025, which made beating her that much better. Nightingale offers cake but Mone wrecks everything, eventually going into and onto the cake. That’s a classic and it still works.

Mark Briscoe has been sitting on the sidelines too long and he’s ready to face Hechicero for the title. His crystal ball is telling him that the title isn’t going anywhere, just like Willow Nightingale’s titles.

The Triangle Of Madness want Kris Statlander and the Babes Of Wrath, even if they know the alliance isn’t lasting long.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Sammy Guevara vs. Bandido

Non-title. Guevara works on the arm to start before a kick to the face sends Bandido to the ropes. The charge misses though and Guevara falls out to the floor. It’s too early for a dive though as Bandido kicks him in the head from the apron. Guevara spits something into Bandido’s eyes though and a tornado DDT on the floor takes us to a break.

We come back with Bandido firing off some chops before they trade running clotheslines in the corner. A spinning high crossbody puts Guevara down and the one armed gorilla press does it again. Guevara is sent outside for the big running flip dive but he’s able to monkey flip Bandido into the ropes back inside. The shooting star to the floor hits Bandido again but the GTH is blocked. The 21 Plex is cut off with a springboard cutter and they trade shots to the face. Guevara’s flipping DDT gets two but Bandido knees him in the face again. The 21 Plex gives Bandido the pin at 11:46.

Rating: B-. Fun match as expected, though I still have no idea why this needed to be a reigning Ring Of Honor champion taking the loss. Bandido has now beaten both champions in the spin of a week and I don’t get why. There are so many other options available but this is what we get because…reasons.

Post match MJF comes in to interrupt and says he knows more about lucha libre than anyone else. He’s even brought out a translator (Jon Cruz) to explain things so there is nothing missed. Cruz gets in Bandido’s face and yells about MJF’s accomplishments before MJF brings up being a six time winner of the Dynamite Diamond Ring.

He wants the ring back from Bandido and they can just skip the World Title match next week, which isn’t in doubt anyway. Bandido says he can speak English and calls MJF a stupid son of a b****. MJF kicks him low and takes the ring back but the big shot hits Cruz. Bandido gets the ring back and hits a pair of 21 Plexes.

Video on Brody King.

Marina Shafir vs. Toni Storm

They go with the grappling to start until Storm gets taken down for a leglock. Some hair mares drop Shafir though and a running hip attack sends her outside. Storm stops to yell at the Death Riders though and gets caught in a triangle choke. We take a break and come back with Shafir knocking her down again, followed by the mock dancing.

A forearm to the back keeps Storm in trouble and another dance sets up a forearm to the face. Storm kicks her down and loads up the hip attack in the corner, only to get kicked down again. A headbutt staggers Shafir again though and Storm grabs a small package, only for the Death Riders to pull the referee for the DQ at 7:57.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time to do anything here, with the break in the middle eating up a bunch of the match. The ending was a smart move too, as you don’t want either of these two taking a fall. This probably isn’t over, likely with Orange Cassidy getting involved on Storm’s side.

Post match Storm gets laid out again, with Mina Shirakawa running in and getting dropped as well. Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong come in for the save, with Cassidy grabbing both women (he’s hardcore).

Pac has already beaten Darby Allin twice but Allin comes in to say he wants to do this one more time. That’s a no, so Allin sprays him with a fire extinguisher and teases breaking Pac’s ankle, which is enough to get him to accept the match.

Swerve Strickland/Hangman Page vs. Opps

Lights Out, so anything goes and the fight starts with the lights rather dim. The Opps take over early with Hobbs grabbing a chair. The big shot misses though and Swerve gets in a kick from the apron, leaving Hook alone. Page moonsaults off the top onto Hobbs and Swerve Death Valley Drivers Hook onto the apron. Thankfully the lights come up so we can actually see, with Page grabbing the chain but getting taken down by Hobbs. Hook catches Swerve with a suplex off the apron and we take a break (two minutes into the overrun).

We come back with Page getting suplexed through a table in the corner for two and Hook wedged a chair in the corner. Hobbs goes into it (of course) and it’s time to staple Hook’s torso. A short powerbomb drops Hook again and Swerve staples his way out of Hobbs’ suplex. It’s time to bust out the cinder blocks, which takes way too long so Hobbs is back with some chair shots. Prince Nana saves Swerve from a Conchairto and Swerve tries a guillotine.

That’s reversed into a World’s Strongest Slam onto the blocks but cue the Opps Dojo to jump Page. The good guys get tied together with the chain but Nana throws his coffee into Hobbs’ eyes. Page and Swerve flip out of the chain and Hobbs hits Hook by mistake. The Buckshot Lariat is cut off with a spinebuster but Swerve gives Hobbs the House Call.

A Swerve Stomp to the floor drops the Dojo and another Stomp into the Deadeye drops Hobbs onto the blocks. That leaves Hook to get dropped with a headbutt, followed by a rolling elbow with a chain. There’s the House Call (JR: “Now get it over with will ya?”) into a Buckshot Lariat into the choke over the ropes for the tap at 19:50.

Rating: B. This was the standard AEW hardcore based match and that went well enough. It came at the end of an even longer than usual show, but there was pretty much no way the Opps were going to be a serious threat. As usual, Hook was there to take the fall and Hobbs looked like a monster. Now maybe, I don’t know, do something with Hobbs already.

Overall Rating: B+. The opener and main event were both good, though dang this show felt every bit of its length, plus the eighteen minute overrun. That’s just something you have to expect from AEW though, so it’s not even worth getting mad about anymore. Next week’s show should be worth a look with Bandido vs. MJF, and then we’ll get to see where things are heading for Revolution. Good show here, but cut the time down a bit.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Shelton Benjamin – Rollup
Young Bucks/Jack Perry b. The Demand – Running knee to Ricochet
Bandido b. Sammy Guevara – 21 Plex
Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir via DQ when the Death Riders interfered
Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland b. Opps – Choke with a chain over the ropes to Hook

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

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

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Clon vs. Angelico

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Timeless Love Bombs vs. Hyan/Maya World

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Komander vs. Hechicero

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

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

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

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

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

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

JetSpeed vs. Big Bill/Bryan Keith

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

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

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

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

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

Dante Martin vs. Shelton Benjamin

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Darby Allin vs. Wheeler Yuta

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dynamite
Date: December 17, 2025
Location: Co-op Live, Manchester, England
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

We’re in England again and that should make for a big night. The last few weeks have gone rather well, with the Continental Classic being more than enough to carry the shows. The matches have been rather good and hopefully we get to see something on the same level this week. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Continental Classic Blue League: Jon Moxley (3 points) vs. Roderick Strong (o points)

No entrances here and Moxley starts in on the arm but has to bail to the ropes to escape an ankle lock. A headlock takeover drops Strong but he’s back up with a dragon screw legwhip. Strong stomps the leg in the corner and backdrops Moxley out to the floor. The brawl in the crowd goes to Strong, who is back with a suicide dive against the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Strong slipping out of a crossface before countering a cradle piledriver. Strong slams him down and goes after the legs again, which sends Moxley bailing to the floor. A backbreaker onto the steps has Moxley in more trouble and a top rope suplex makes it worse.

They forearm it out until Moxley hits a hard lariat. We have five minutes left as Moxley hits a cutter for two. A piledriver gets two more and Moxley grabs a crossface chinlock, sending Strong rolling over to the rope. Strong’s jumping knee gets two and the Stronghold goes on, but Strong switches up his grip. Moxley kicks him away and hits a Paradigm Shift for a delayed two. The Death Rider finishes Strong at 18:11.

Rating: B-. Moxley needed the win to stay alive and there was almost no way he was going to be eliminated so soon. Moxley is still one of the biggest names in AEW and having him make a comeback like this is a fine way to go. Strong is still someone who can have a good match with anyone, and this worked well for a longer opening match.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 7 points (2 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (1 match remaining)
Jon Moxley – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (2 matches remaining)

Eddie Kingston talks about learning from his loss to Samoa Joe and that’s going to be a problem for everyone he faces after that match. An open challenge is implied for Collision.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Don Callis Family vs. Elite

For $1 million. Omega and Takeshita start things off and the fans are already singing for the former. They run the ropes until Omega grabs an armdrag into an armbar. The Bucks come in to clean house, including a triple team shot to the head to a cornered Takeshita. We take a break and come back with Nick rolling away from Hechicero to make the tag off to Omega. Hechicero goes to the eyes to cut him off but Okada and Takeshita almost get into it again.

Omega manages a suplex to Okada and (after slipping) hits You Can’t Escape to Hechicero. Okada comes back in but gets sent outside by the Bucks. That means a triple dive from the Elite, only for Hechicero to hit the hammerlock backbreaker on Matt. We take a break and come back with Matt fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a flipping Stunner off the apron. Okada gets faceplanted back inside and it’s back to Nick to clean house with his usual array.

Risky Business gets two on Takeshita and a Canadian Destroyer drops Hechicero, meaning it’s time for the big Omega vs. Okada showdown. They chop it out for a bit until the other four come back in to break it up. Omega knees Okada down and brings Nick back in to face Takeshita. Everything breaks down and the Meltzer Driver is broken up by Okada.

A running knee gets two on Matt but Takeshita and Okada get in another argument. Hechicero tries to calm it down, only for Nick to fire off some superkicks. Omega is back in with the snapdragons and a triple superkick hits Hechicero. A spike One Winged Angel gives Omega the pin at 22:32.

Rating: B. It was the good match you would have expected from these guys and I’m sure the UK fans were happy to get to see the Elite in the ring. That’s not the worst idea in the world and it’s at least a match with some history. The money stuff doesn’t feel overly important but it’s probably worth more than the Trios Titles at this point.

Post match Okada and Takeshita lay out the Bucks but get into it again. Omega makes the save with a broom.

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Tony Schiavone brings out Hangman Page, Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe (with the Opps) to sign the contract for World’s End. Joe knows Strickland and Page will destruct in the match so he signs. Swerve talks about how he has some mutual respect with Page, but there is a mutual hatred with Joe. He promises to leave a boot print on Joe’s face that was uglier than his fake tattoo in 2007.

Swerve signs and that leaves just Page, who talks about how they all worked together to get the World Title off of Jon Moxley. Any of them could have done it but Page wound up pulling it off. Then Page gave both of them title shots and Joe chose to side with the Opps. Page doesn’t want Joe to be remembered as what he is today. He was ready to defend the title against anyone who helped him, including Joe. Now he isn’t sure who is going to leave World’s End with the title, but it’s going to be someone new. And then the lights go out…and MJF is back.

MJF wastes no time and cashes in his contract, making the match a four way. After throwing Schiavone out, MJF talks about how he’s been working to prove that he’s not a coward. Joe gets in MJF’s face but actually gets cut off. MJF wants to prove to Joe and these people that he really is great and promises to end Joe’s title reign at the same place where Joe ended MJF’s reign.

That brings MJF to Swerve, who he compares to P Diddy. The fans know him as Swerve but MJF has known him for years as Shane. He remembers Swerve going to WWE (the fans don’t like it) and he remembers Swerve twerking for Top Dolla. Then Swerve came here and has done rather well, though not as well as MJF. It’s his house and the rent is due at World’s End. He hits the catchphrase and we’re out, with MJF not saying much out of the ordinary, though it’s nice to have him back.

Mike Bailey and Kevin Knight fire each other up for their upcoming matches.

Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne/Athena/Mercedes Mone vs. Babes Of Wrath/Timeless Love Bombs

Athena drops Cameron to start but gets taken down with Soul Food. Shafir comes in and gets legsweeped down, allowing Shirakawa to come in with a slingshot twisting splash. Shirakawa takes over on Shafir’s leg and DDTs Bayne at the same time. Everything breaks down and we take an early break.

We come back with Cameron managing a spinning DDT on Bayne, allowing the tag off to Storm. The running hip attack hits Shafir in the corner and they slug it out until Storm nails a headbutt. Nightingale comes in to but Bayne’s spine for two but the Babe With The Powerbomb is broken up. A super hurricanrana drops Nightingale and Shirakawa hits a dive to the floor. Mone’s dive is cut off by a Pounce from Nightingale and there’s a flip dive to drop Bayne outside. Back in and a quick O Face finishes Nightingale at 9:25.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have a ton of time with so many people involved but they did what they could. Athena getting the pin is a nice surprise as she has some hit and miss results on AEW. I’m not sure if I would have had one of the new champions take the fall here, but there were only so many options if Storm and Shirakawa can’t lose either.

Continental Classic Gold League: Pac (3 points) vs. Kyle Fletcher (6 points)

Pac grabs an armdrag into an armbar to start and it works so well that he does it again. A running hurricanrana sends Fletcher outside, where he hits a clothesline, allowing posing to ensue. Back in and Pac breaks up a quick chinlock by sending Fletcher outside for a running hurricanrana. Fletcher gets back inside and goes up top, where Pac runs the corner for a belly to belly superplex and we take a break.

We come back with an exchange of forearms until Fletcher grabs the Michinoku Driver for two. Pac kicks him in the face so Fletcher rolls outside, where Pac scores with a big dive. Back in and a tiger suplex gives Pac two, followed by a poisonrana. Fletcher pops up with a kick to the face and a powerbomb for two. Pac escapes the brainbuster though and gets the Brutalizer, only for a foot to make the rope. One heck of a running clothesline gives Pac two but Fletcher kicks him into the corner. The brainbuster gives Fletcher two and they go to the corner, where a super poisonrana plants Fletcher. The Black Arrow gives Pac the pin at 14:57.

Rating: B+. This was the hard hitting, back and forth fight that you would have expected from these two. That made for a pretty awesome match and it’s nice to see Pac getting a win as he seems to put a lot of people over. It made for the best match of the show thus far and makes the tournament that much more interesting.

Gold League Standings

Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Pac – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (1 match remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (2 matches remaining)
Jack Perry – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal

Luchasaurus, Ace Austin, Shelton Benjamin, Max Caster, Anthony Bowens, Josh Alexander, Mark Davis, Brody King, Bandido, Bishop Kaun, Toa Liona, Ricochet

The last two face off for the ring next week. It’s a big brawl on the floor to start until Benjamin and Luchasaurus trade clotheslines. That’s broken up and the former Acclaimed tease working together before splitting off. We do however get a Scissor Me Timbers to Liona but the scissoring reunion is broken up as Ricochet eliminates Caster. Benjamin is back in to knock all of the Demand outside for no eliminations as people keep coming in and out.

Bowens neckbreakers Ricochet but gets eliminated instead as we take a break. We come back with Austin out as well, leaving Davis and King to forearm it out. Benjamin throws Ricochet to Luchasaurus for a chokeslam but Benjamin, Davis and Luchasaurus are all eliminated in a row. King has to fight out of the corner and Death Valley Drivers Ricochet into Kaun in the corner. A bunch of the people head outside until Liona grabs Bandido by the throat. King hits a running charge, eliminating himself and Liona at the same time. Bandido dumps Kaun and Ricochet gets back in, meaning they’re the last two for the win at 11:07.

Rating: C. The action was fine but it’s a bad sign when I have almost no idea who is still in or out of the match because so many people are on the floor. It doesn’t help that it’s for yet another prize rather than one of the far too many titles. This wasn’t much to see, though Ricochet vs. Bandido should be awesome.

Overall Rating: B. Not so great main event aside, this went well with the Continental Classic carrying things as usual. The MJF return was the big story of the show and it went well, though he didn’t quite hit his full on ceiling. Other than that, the show worked well, with the wrestling working well and the fans being hot throughout. Solid show here, as tends to be the case with the Continental Classic editions.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Roderick Strong – Death Rider
Elite b. Don Callis Family – Spike One Winged Angel to Hechicero
Marina Shafir/Mercedes Mone/Athena/Megan Bayne b. Timeless Love Bombs/Babes Of Wrath – O Face to Nightingale
Bandido and Ricochet won the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal

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Collision
Date: December 13, 2025
Location: Utilita Arena, Cardiff, Wales
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re overseas for this one as Collision is on earlier in the day, likely due to Saturday Night’s Main Event. That should make for an interesting situation as we’re also getting more of the Continental Classic. The tournament is off to a good start with an awesome match taking place earlier this week on Dynamite. It would be great if they could keep up their momentum so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We run down the card.

We look at Hangman Page’s comments on Dynamite, saying he wants the World Title.

Swerve Strickland vs. Josh Alexander

Alexander is described as being “red hot” lately. No. Don Callis sits in on commentary as they fight over a lockup to start. Alexander’s kick to the ribs is countered into a backbreaker and a knee drop keeps him down. Prince Nana yells at Callis as Strickland is pulled off the apron and dropped knees first onto the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with an exchange of forearms until Alexander goes after the knee some more.

Strickland is back by loading up a powerbomb but he whips Alexander over into a powerslam (that was slick) for two. Alexander is taken up top for a super Angle Slam and another near fall but he has to reverse a Figure Four attempt. A half crab goes back to Strickland’s knee so he goes to the ropes for the quick break. Alexander misses a top rope knee though and Strickland is up with the rolling Downward Spiral. The House Call…gets two, so it’s the JML Driver to finish Alexander at 13:24.

Rating: B. Well so much for the, ahem, red hot Alexander with his…let’s see…ah yes, one singles win (via countout, when Kota Ibushi broke his leg) since May. Anyway, it’s nice to see Swerve fight through the injury and get a win as he’s back to being one of the top good guys in the company. He has the ability and crowd reception to make that work so go with what works.

Post match Swerve says he’s back for the World Title and wants to take the belt from Samoa Joe.

Video on the Elite vs. the Don Callis Family for the million dollars.

The Timeless Love Bombs are going to be at the Babes Of Wrath’s championship toast.

Kris Statlander/Jamie Hayter vs. Sisters Of Sin

Thekla comes to the stage for a distraction and the Sisters run in from behind for a cheap shot. Blue gets taken down though and the other team takes turns slamming each other onto her. Hart comes in for a rope walk hurricanrana but Hayter crushes her in the corner. A quick Blue distraction lets Hart take Hayter down though and a standing moonsault gets two.

We take a break and come back with Statlander cleaning house, including a Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Blue. The double superkick drops Statlander for two and Hayter has to clothesline Blue for a save. We get the four way slugout but Hayter and Statlander clothesline each other by mistake. Back up and Blue hits Hart by mistake, allowing Hayter to give Blue a German suplex. The Hayterade finishes Hart at 10:14.

Rating: B-. This was a fast paced match with Statlander and Hayter pretty definitively taking care of the Sisters, which should hopefully wrap up their feud. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Hayter get the next shot at the title at World’s End. That would be a nice announcement to make so close to her home and they even set it up a bit with the misfire in the match.

Thekla is watching from a sky box.

Post match Hayter challenges Statlander for World’s End and the match seems to be on.

Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli (6 points) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (6 points)

Non-title. They fight of a lockup to start with Castagnoli backing him up against the ropes for an early standoff. Takeshita backs him against the ropes and shoves him in the chest before getting in a hard knockdown. Back up and Castagnoli drops him face first onto the turnbuckle for the break and it’s time to trade the forearms. Castagnoli knocks him outside with a hard shot and then drops him face first. They go to the ramp where Takeshita hits a DDT, only to charge into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

We take a break and come back with Takeshita snapping off a middle rope hurricanrana to send Castagnoli outside. The big flip dive takes Castagnoli down again and the Blue Thunder Bomb gets two back inside. Castagnoli’s uppercut gets two more and he taunts Takeshita with some boots to the head. They slug it out again until Takeshita’s kneeling tombstone plants him into a wheelbarrow suplex for two.

A Hidden Blade drops Castagnoli again but he’s back with Swiss Death for two with five minutes left. Castagnoli’s springboard uppercut connects and they knock each other down again. Another forearm exchange takes them both to the apron, where Takeshita kicks him in the head. They slug it out on the floor until Castagnoli boots him down. A big forearm drops Castagnoli, who beats the count back inside at nine. Takeshita knees him down but the Raging Fire is countered into the Neutralizer for two…and time expires at 20:00.

Rating: B+. This was about taking two big men and having them beat the fire out of each other for a good while. That’s a fine way to go and it worked well here, as even if the draw felt pretty clear (they weren’t going to have one company’s World Champion beat another), the match was still a heck of a fight. I had a good time with this and it’s nice to see two champions survive like this.

Blue League Standings

Konosuke Takeshita – 7 points (2 matches left)
Claudio Castagnoli – 7 points (1 match left)
Mascara Dorada – 3 points (3 matches left)
Orange Cassidy – 3 points (3 matches left)
Jon Moxley – 3 points (2 matches left)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (3 matches left)

Post match they keep slugging it out until referees have to break it up. The Death Riders and Don Callis Family have to really split them apart.

Kevin Knight and Mike Bailey are ready to fight and want the other to bring it. Deal.

Here are the Babes Of Wrath to talk about their history together. They met early in Cameron’s time in the company but here are the Timeless Love Bombs to interrupt. They’re happy to have given the Babes a fight to remember but here is Mercedes Mone to interrupt. Mina Shirakawa tells her to shut up but Mone doesn’t want to fight tonight. She’ll have friends this week in Manchester for Dynamite. Storm: “We will raise a glass and we will wax your a**!” Mone uh, covers up, and leaves.

Ricochet is entering the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal and going on to win the World Title.

Video on the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royal, with various people entering. Bobby Lashley is injured though and Shelton Benjamin will take his place.

Continental Classic: Kevin Knight (3 points) vs. Mike Bailey (3 points)

I do like the little background/factoids that Renee Young throws in during the entrances. That’s a very nice touch. They take turns dodging big shots to start until Bailey gets backed into the corner. A high angle springboard armdrag sends Knight outside for a triangle moonsault and we take a break.

We come back with Knight hitting a springboard clothesline to the floor. Back in and the Flamingo Driver is blocked and Knight grabs a running DDT for two. Bailey kicks him out to the apron though and hits the moonsault knees to the ribs. They get back inside with Knight hitting a superplex but Bailey ties up the legs in a small package for two more. They trade rollups for two each until Knight hits a hard dropkick.

Another springboard is kicked out of the air though and we’re ten minutes in. Knight sends him into the corner and hits that great Coast To Coast but the UFO Splash hits raised knees. The tornado kick gives Bailey two but the Ultimate Weapon misses. They trade more rollups until Bailey kicks him in the head. The Flamingo Driver finishes Knight at 12:57.

Rating: B. Another solid performance here as Bailey’s tournament run continues. Knight still feels like a great prospect though and has done some rather good stuff in the tournament thus far. It would be nice to see what he can do as a singles star, though odds are the Jet Speed stuff is going to keep going for a good while.

Gold League Standings

Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (2 matches to go)
Mike Bailey – 6 points (2 matches to go)
Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (2 matches to go)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches to go)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (2 matches to go)
Jack Perry – 0 points (3 matches to go)

Kyle Fletcher is ready for Pac and promises to get his momentum back.

Pac says he’s a different breed and Fletcher will soon learn that.

TNT Title: Mark Briscoe vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia, with Wheeler Yuta, is challenging. They go to the mat to start fast with Garcia slapping him in the back of the head a few times. Briscoe is right back up but Garcia slips out of a suplex. One heck of a right hand sends Garcia outside and there’s a dropkick through the ropes. A running knee knocks Briscoe off the apron but he’s right back to knock Garcia off the apron as well. The Bang Bang Elbow is broken up though and Briscoe gets tied into the ring skirt for a beating.

We take a break and come back with Garcia yelling at him, which brings Briscoe back up with a running forearm. Briscoe strikes away and a high collar suplex gets two. Garcia’s suplex is shrugged off but Shafir breaks up the Froggy Bow. The referee didn’t see it so the fans tell him and he…does nothing.

Instead Garcia hits a top rope superplex, which he rolls into two more, with Briscoe bouncing up from the third. A brainbuster drops Garcia for a change and they’re all down. Back up and they strike it out until Briscoe hits a hard clothesline. The Jay Driller is cut off by Shafir and this time it’s enough for an ejection. Wheeler Yuta comes in for a cheap shot but Briscoe is right back up with the Jay Driller to retain at 14:46.

Rating: B. Solid stuff here, even if I’m rather sick of seeing Garcia and Yuta no matter where they are. They’re all over AEW/ROH programming these days and Garcia still isn’t interesting in the slightest. At the same time, Briscoe is finally getting some recognition with a title that feels somewhat important and that is LONG overdue. Hopefully he gets to face someone else soon, as there is quite the crop of potential opponents.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a show, with more good action as the Continental Classic continues to do what it’s designed to do. What mattered the most is that this show felt more important than most Collisions, with the tournament going a long way in making that happen. AEW has had a good week with a second pretty awesome show and that is nice to see.

Results
Swerve Strickland b. Josh Alexander – JML Driver
Kris Statlander/Jamie Hayter b. Sisters Of Sin – Hayterade to Hart
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Konosuke Takeshita went to a time limit draw
Mike Bailey b. Kevin Knight – Flamingo Driver
Mark Briscoe b. Daniel Garcia – Jay Driller

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 10, 2025
Location: Gateway Center Arena At College Park, College Park, Georgia
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Bryan Danielson

It’s Winter Is Coming and we have a few title matches. First of all, the inaugural Women’s Tag Team Titles will be decided as the Babes Of Wrath face the Timeless Love Bombs. Other than that, Samoa Joe is defending the World Title against Eddie Kingston in a match where the talking might be the best part. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Timeless Love Bombs vs. Babes Of Wrath

For the inaugural titles. Shirakawa takes her down to start and does her dance, only for Cameron to shove Shirakawa’s face into her chest. Nightingale comes in to shoulder Storm down, setting up the exchange of forearms. Everything breaks down and Cameron kicks the Bombs out to the floor for a crash. Back in and Cameron gets dropped onto Storm for two and it’s off to Shirakawa.

Cameron belly to back suplexes her as well and hands it off to Nightingale for the rapid forearms. Storm gets Pounced out to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Shirakawa DDTing Nightingale and handing it back to Storm for the Mongolian chops. Shirakawa comes back in to wrench Cameron’s knee and DDT Nightingale at the same time. Nightingale takes Storm down for a leglock of her own while Shirakawa grabs a Figure Four on Cameron.

Both of those are broken up and they strike it out for a double down. Shirakawa’s top rope Sling Blade to Cameron sets up Storm Zero for two but Nightingale makes the save. Nightingale suplexes Storm on the floor but Cameron reverses the Glamorous Driver into That’s Her Finisher. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Shirakawa for the titles at 13:55.

Rating: B. I like the result as Cameron and Nightingale are the popular team and have good chemistry together. It felt like a bit of a surprise result but not an all time shocker, which fits that much better. Cameron has come so, so far in her still relatively short career and it’s great to see her pick up some gold.

Post match the Babes are so proud of each other and the Bombs get up for some respect.

Samoa Joe, with the Opps, is ready to take out Eddie Kingston tonight.

Jon Moxley knows his back is against the wall in the Continental Classic but he’s ready to do anything to win. Daniel Garcia knows that they’re willing to fight harder than anyone else, which is why they’re great.

Continental Classic Gold League: Jack Perry (3 points) vs. Kazuchika Okada (3 points)

Perry is taking Darby Allin’s place due to injury and inherits his standing, including the points, in the tournament. Perry charges at him to start and fires off some shoulders in the corner. They fight around ringside and Perry takes him inside for an elbow. Some right hands in the corner have Okada in more trouble but he shoves Perry off the top for a crash onto a camera man. Perry is sent over the barricade and a hanging DDT drops him onto the floor as we take a break.

We come back with the exchange of forearms until Perry hits a rebound clothesline. Perry flips over him in the corner (didn’t quite stick the landing) and grabs a German suplex for two. Okada knocks him down again though and hits the top rope elbow, followed by the perfect dropkick.

Perry’s poisonrana into a running knee gets two but Okada bites the hand to escape the Snare Trap. Okada loads up a tombstone…and Perry bites his crotch to pull him into the Snare Trap. That’s escaped, with Okada bailing to the floor to deal with the aftermath of the bite. Back in and Okada avoids another running knee, setting up the Rainmaker for the pin at 12:11.

Rating: B. Another hard hitting match here with Okada getting the win, which makes the most sense. Perry being thrown into the tournament as an injury replacement doesn’t mean he’s suddenly on Okada’s level so having Perry as a near guaranteed win for a few opponents is about all you should expect from him. At least it came after a good match.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Jack Perry – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Post match the Don Callis Family comes out and Perry gets up. Don Callis himself offers Perry a spot on the team and a signing bonus, as paid out of the Young Bucks’ money. Callis threatens him with violence but Perry says for the second time tonight, he’s biting off more than he can chew. Perry goes after him but Luchasaurus and the Young Bucks run in for the save. Callis hands the Bucks the money and runs, leaving the money behind as the Bucks superkick various Family members.

The Conglomeration celebrates the Babes Of Wrath’s title win, though Roderick Strong looks miserable.

We look at Mercedes Mone’s losing streak.

Eddie Kingston is nervous watching and realizes it’s the anniversary of Terry Funk winning the World Title. He knows Funk, and his own parents, are watching and he doesn’t want to get emotional. He’ll bring the fight to Samoa Joe.

Here is Mark Briscoe for a chat. Briscoe talks about how there are people who didn’t think he could win the big one and they can kiss his big white a**. It’s one thing to win a title but it’s another to defend the title, which he’ll be doing on Collision. Cue Wheeler Yuta and the Death Riders in the crowd to say Briscoe has more children than teeth. Daniel Garcia (challenging Briscoe on Saturday) to say he’s going to win the title and break Briscoe’s leg. The fight is nearly on but Garcia is held back by the rest of the team.

The Triangle Of Madness jumps various women but Kris Statlander makes the save.

Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland vs. Opps

Tornado tag. Page and Swerve come through the crowd with a chain and staple gun to beat up the Opps Dojo. The regular Opps come up into the crowd for the fight and they head into the concourse before the opening bell. Page puts Hobbs through a table and stops for a beer as Shibata kicks Swerve in the face.

We take a break before the match has officially started and come back with Page bringing a chair in for the opening bell. The referee takes the chair away and Shibata drops Page with a suplex. Shibata’s running dropkick connects in the corner and Hobbs adds a powerslam as Swerve is still down in the crowd. Hobbs goes after Prince Nana but Swerve is back to make a save.

Swerve hits a middle rope elbow to Shibata’s back but he avoids the Buckshot Lariat. A low blow drops Page, only for Shibata’s armbar to be broken up by Swerve’s top rope double stomp. Hobbs runs Shibata over by mistake and the 450 crushes him as well. A double powerbomb sends Hobbs through a table at ringside and the Buckshot Lariat into the House Call finishes Shibata at 7:16.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure why this needed to be a tornado tag but that’s a minor issue. This was all about Swerve and Page teaming together and it gives them a chance to do it again on a bigger stage. Beating the Opps makes sense for them and now we get to move on to whatever is next for both of them, which could be either together or on their own.

Don Callis wants the Young Bucks to find a partner and fight them next week for the million dollars.

FTR doesn’t like the Bang Bang Gang having delusions of grandeur because they’re addicted to the camera. They can have their Tag Team Title match and then after the loss, it’s time to go to the back of the line.

Continental Classic Gold League: Mike Bailey (0 points) vs. Kyle Fletcher (6 points)

They trade knockdowns and rollups for two each to start and Fletcher bails outside, with the fans approving. Back in and Fletcher stomps him down but Bailey snaps up with a heck of a springboard hurricanrana. That sends Fletcher outside so Bailey gives him another hurricanrana but Fletcher is back in with a spinning backbreaker.

Bailey dropkicks him down and hits a springboard corkscrew dive to the floor. That doesn’t work for Fletcher, who hits a heck of a superkick and slams him hard onto barricade. We take a break and come back with Bailey dropping him on the apron and snapping off the moonsault knees. Back in and the Flamingo Driver is broken up and the shooting star press hits raised feet.

Fletcher’s sitout Last Ride gets two but Bailey manages a running Spanish Fly. A quick hurricanrana gives Bailey two and he kicks Fletcher in the head for two more. The tornado kick gives Bailey a rather near fall and the Ultimate Weapon gets two more. Bailey misses the knees to the floor though and an apron powerbomb sets up the brainbuster….for two. They strike it out until Bailey traps the arms and grabs a sunset flip for the pin at 19:10.

Rating: A-. This was an awesomely entertaining match, which is what you need to see in this kind of a tournament. Bailey is someone who is the definition of junk food wrestling, as it might not be good but it can certainly be exciting. At the same time, I’m not sure if I would have Fletcher lose like this, but DANG this was a blast and that’s what they were shooting for here.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Jack Perry – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Hangman Page wants the World Title back and is coming for it at World’s End.

The Young Bucks ask Luchasaurus to be their partner but he’s not interested. Instead they go to Kenny Omega and he’ll do it for free.

AEW World Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Samoa Joe

Joe, with Hook, is defending. They circle each other to start until Hook grabs a foot, which is enough to get an early ejection. Joe takes him down and starts striking away but some knees to the face wake Kingston up. Kingston grabs a running bulldog and we take a break. We come back with Kingston kicking away and asking Joe to do the same. Joe strikes him down and hits the enziguri in the corner, which might break Kingston’s nose.

Kingston gets up to exchange strikes until Joe’s scoop powerslam gets two. Joe knees away so Kingston fires off the chops and grabs an exploder for two of his own. Another knockdown lets Joe grab an STF, only for Kingston to bite the finger. The DDT drops Joe, who rolls to the floor, followed by a cutter back inside. The spinning backfist misses though and Joe Koquina Clutches him for the tap at 12:18.

Rating: B. This was the definition of “as advertised”, as these two beat the fire out of each other. Joe and Kingston are bigger guys who can hit each other rather hard, which is exactly what we got here. Kingston losing isn’t a surprise, though seeing him actually tap is a bit out of left field. Good match here though, with Joe getting Kingston out of the way before moving on to his next big opponent.

Overall Rating: A. Well dang that was great. You had nothing but solid to great matches all night and the title win at the beginning was awesome as well. This show flew by and never came close to dipping, which is about as much as I can ask for in a television show. Outstanding show here and something that felt like it would have fit back in the older days of AEW.

Results
Babes Of Wrath b. Timeless Love Bombs – Babe With The Powerbomb to Shirakawa
Kazuchika Okada b. Jack Perry – Rainmaker
Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland b. Opps – House Call to Shibata
Mike Bailey b. Kyle Fletcher – Sunset flip
Samoa Joe b. Eddie Kingston – Koquina Clutch

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 3, 2025
Location: Fishers Events Center, Fishers, Indiana
Commentators: Excalibur, Bryan Danielson, Tony Schiavone

We’re getting closer to Worlds End and that means it’s time to continue the Continental Classic. While I won’t even bother trying to get my head around the title situation, I can certainly enjoy the matches that come with the tournament. Hopefully it lives up to the hype so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to start and brings out World Champion Samoa Joe and next week’s challenger, Eddie Kingston. Joe tells Schiavone to get out and then insults the crowd, saying he’s not looking nice out here because….well because it’s Indianapolis. With that out of the way, he explains that Hook is where he is because he has had the right training. Joe wanted Hook to see what it was like to be around the low level stars and that’s why he picked Kingston.

Next week, Kingston will fight for everything he has but just like every other time, he won’t cross the finish line. Kingston talks about how Hook learned to never quit and yeah he yells a lot, but he gets stuff done. He accuses Joe of being the kinds of people who got in heads and messed with people. That’s who Joe used to hate but now he’s one of them. It better be old school Joe, or Kingston will eat him alive on the tenth (imagine that: saying the date of a big match!). Kingston was bringing the intensity here and that’s been missing since he came back.

The Opps are ready to fight tonight and they’re going to beat up….the Dark Order. Of course.

Continental Classic Gold League: Pac (3 points) vs. Kazuchika Okada (0 points)

Okada works on the arm to start and they forearm it out with Pac getting the better of things. Pac hits a nice missile dropkick and Okada needs a breather on the floor. Okada gets the better of things outside but Pac kicks him down back inside. We take a break and come back with Pac missing a dropkick, allowing Okada to hit a dropkick of his own. A DDT gives Okada two and the top rope elbow lets Okada flip off the crowd.

The Rainmaker is blocked though and Pac grabs a slingshot cutter. Okada shrugs that off and hits the dropkick but the Rainmaker is cut off again. The German suplex out of the corner drops Okada and a bridging version gives Pac two. Okada is back up with a Tombstone and goes to the top, where Pac superplexes him down. The Brutalizer is loaded up but Okada reverses into a cradle for the pin at 13:30.

Rating: B. They were laying it in out there and that made for a good opener, with Okada getting on the board in the tournament. Pac is someone who can be put out there and feel like a threat no matter who he’s facing. That’s a good combination and it made for a solid match here, which could have gone on even longer.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Mark Briscoe is ready to face Daniel Garcia again for the TNT Title. He doesn’t think as much of Garcia this time, but he knows the talent is there.

Earlier today, Ricochet, with the Gates Of Agony, promised to beat Dalton Castle at Final Battle and he’ll even have another title defense on Collision.

Mark Briscoe is ready for Orange Cassidy vs. Roderick Strong in the Continental Classic, but Strong insists he is NOT in the Conglomeration and promises to break Cassidy’s back.

Darby Allin is injured and cannot travel, let alone wrestle. Well that’s not promising.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kyle Fletcher vs. Kevin Knight

Knight backs him up against the ropes to start and gives Fletcher a pat on the chest. They go to the mat with Fletcher throwing him down and getting in a kick to the face. Back up and Knight snaps off some armdrags and the threat of a dropkick sends Fletcher bailing to the floor. Fletcher manages to kick him out to the floor but Knight hits a springboard lariat (that looked good) as we take a break.

We take a break and come back with Knight hitting a great dropkick for two. Fletcher sends him into the ropes but Knight scores with another springboard clothesline for two more. A running DDT plants Fletcher on the apron but Knight gets crotched on top. Knight is able to tie him in the Tree Of Woe for the Coast To Coast but the UFO Splash hits raised knees. A sitout powerbomb gives Fletcher two more and he cuts Knight off with a superkick. The Helluva Kick into the brainbuster finishes Knight at 13:09.

Rating: B+. Maybe it’s being a sucker for a top rope clothesline but I had a good time with this and Knight came off looking like a serious threat to someone like Fletcher. The good thing is that a loss only does so much damage to Knight and he was always going to be an underdog here anyway. Solid stuff here as Knight is becoming more and more of a star every time.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Post match Don Callis gets in the ring for a chat and here are Josh Alexander and Hechicero, each carrying a bag of money. After a break, Callis calls out the Young Bucks for doing the unforgivable by signing with Kenny Omega. Callis tells the Bucks to come get their money so here they come, only to get beaten down. The Jurassic Express comes in but so do more members of the Family, with the villains taking over. Kenny Omega makes the real save and the Family escapes with the money.

Video on the Babes Of Wrath.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir vs. Timeless Love Bombs

Death match so it’s a brawl to start fast, with the Bombs actually taking over. The Bombs bust out some hard candy canes (Schiavone thinks it might be different than usual candy canes) to take over and Shirakawa is dropped onto Bayne. Shafir is back up with a headscissor driver to send Storm into the apron and Shirakawa is thrown onto Storm as we take a break.

We come back with the villains still in control and unloading with various weapons. Shirakawa dropkicks a chair into Bayne’s face though and Storm Zero sends Bayne from the apron through a table. Mother’s Milk is broken up and Shirakawa knocks Shafir outside, setting up the big dive.

A top rope sling blade onto a chair gives Shirakawa two, with Bayne driving Storm into the cover to break it up. Bayne spears Shirakawa HARD into a table in the corner but Storm Zero sends Bayne’s head into Shafir’s ribs. Cue Santa Claus with a present for Shafir…and it’s Luther, with a middle finger in the present. Storm gets in a shoe to Shafir’s head for the pin at 11:07.

Rating: B-. Good fight here, but certainly nothing that we haven’t seen done a bunch of times before. The stuff with Luther at the end felt stupid as Storm should be able to beat Shafir without help, but I guess they wanted to protect the villains a bit more. Either way, Storm and Shirakawa are a nice choice for the finals and the match certainly wasn’t dull.

The Triangle Of Madness are sick of Kris Statlander and Jamie Hayter. The latter want a tag match…and Hayter wants to talk about the Women’s Title after.

The Dark Order is excited about being in action but tell Hangman Page not to ruin this. Page says he won’t, but he’ll be there as soon as the match is over.

Mercedes Mone doesn’t want to hear about Full Gear and brags about her various successes. She’s ready to beat Red Velvet again and she’ll even be on this week’s Ring Of Honor. How nice of her.

We look at FTR getting challenged by the Bang Bang Gang.

Stokely Hathaway finds it pathetic that the Bang Bang Gang wants the titles for their injured friends. FTR mocks every member and dare the Gang to touch their titles again.

Opps vs. Dark Order

Non-title. The Opps jump them from behind before the bell and keep up the beating as we officially start. Reynolds is dropped onto the apron and we take an early break. We come back with Uno fighting back, including a double DDT. Hobbs is back in though and the World’s Strongest Slam gets two. The spinebuster finishes Uno at 6:10. Not enough shown to rate but it was basically a squash, as it should have been.

Post match Hangman Page comes in and manages to clean house, but security cuts off the Buckshot Lariat to Hobbs.

Don Callis thinks the Family will win the Continental Classic. He tries to explain the Unified Title but he’s not putting the other legs of the title up because it would be stupid.

Hangman Page calls out the Opps for next week and says he won’t be coming alone.

Continental Classic Blue League: Jon Moxley vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Marina Shafir goes for a test of strength as Castagnoli wins a test of strength to start (shocking I know). Moxley goes for the fingers but gets taken down with a backbreaker as we take a break. We come back with Moxley busted open (ah, an old classic) and Castagnoli grabbing the Swing. The Sharpshooter has Moxley in more trouble and Castagnoli switches it into a crossface.

That’s broken up and they slug it out with Moxley knocking him outside. Moxley’s suicide dive sends Castagnoli into the announcers’ table but Castagnoli blasts him with a clothesline back inside. Moxley hits a heck of a clothesline of his own and a Stomp gets two. Castagnoli powers him out to the floor and hits a running double stomp as Moxley is sitting in a chair. Back in and a powerbomb gives Castagnoli two but Moxley grabs a Paradigm Shift. They pull themselves up and Castagnoli hits a running uppercut for the clean pin at 15:05.

Rating: B. The fall of Moxley continues, though sweet goodness they’re taking their time getting there. I do like Castagnoli getting a run in the tournament, though it’s hard to imagine he actually wins the thing or really comes close. At least Moxley is losing for a change and not looking like the most awesome toughest guy ever and it does give Castagnoli a big win of his own.

Blue League Standings

Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (3 matches remaining)
Konosuke Takeshita – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Overall Rating: B+. As usual, the Continental Classic shows offer some of the most consistent in-ring action that AEW can offer. They might not be much in the way of storyline advancement, but they are quite entertaining while they last. I liked the show again, which isn’t a big surprise, and now we get to see where things go for a bunch of people, including the Death Riders, who are having a rough time.

Results
Kazuchika Okada b. Pac – Cradle
Kyle Fletcher b. Kevin Knight – Brainbuster
Timeless Love Bombs b. Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir – Shoe to the head
Opps b. Dark Order – Spinebuster to Uno
Claudio Castagnoli b. Jon Moxley – Running uppercut

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

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Collision
Date: November 27, 2025
Location: The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a special Thanksgiving edition of the show and you can tell it’s a big one because Matt Menard is in action. Other than that huge one, we also have more in the Continental Classic, which fits Collision better than almost anything else could. Hopefully they take advantage of the special time slot and put on a bigger than usual show. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Continental Classic Gold League: Pac vs. Mike Bailey

They chop it out to start with Bailey kicking him down to the floor. A running kick misses though and Pac pulls him outside for a snap suplex. Bailey gets whipped into the barricade and taken back inside, with Pac sending him even harder into the corner. The cravate goes on, followed by a running elbow in the corner for two. A dropkick gets Bailey out of trouble and it’s a running shooting star press for two. Pac gets sent outside for the triangle moonsault and we take a break.

We come back with Pac hitting a toss belly to belly superplex for two but charging into a boot in the corner. They get up and trade kicks to the head before going outside to do it again. Pac grabs a German suplex and Bailey has to jump up to the apron at nine, with Pac missing a charge to the floor. That lets Bailey hit the big moonsault, followed by a poisonrana back inside. The Ultimate Weapon misses and the Brutalizer finishes for Pac at 15:10.

Rating: B-. Well, it was nice to see Bailey get beaten up for a good while as there’s something rather soothing about seeing that every time. Pac is on a bit of a roll at this point and it would be nice to see him make a run in this thing. Then again the first match doesn’t tend to mean much, so now we get to wait and see where it goes, which is kind of the point of the tournament.

Gold League Standings

Kyle Fletcher – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Kevin Knight – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Pac – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Kazuchika Okada – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Mike Bailey – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Darby Allin – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Daniel Garcia, with Jon Moxley, is ready to end Matt Menard and get some gold.

Bandido takes the blame for the loss for the Tag Team Title match at Full Gear. Brody King says the team isn’t over and they want the belts back. For now though, King wants him to retain the World Title at Final Battle.

Apparently Rush is out of the World Title match though so Bandido is defending against Sammy Guevara, The Beast Mortos, Komander, Hechicero and Blake Christian. This is the first mention we’ve had of the title match and it comes on an AEW show eight days before Final Battle.

Daniel Garcia vs. Matt Menard

Jon Moxley is on commentary. Menard yells at Garcia to start and shoves him out of the corner, followed by the right hands. Garcia fights out of trouble on the floor and comes back in to slug away in the corner. Menard is already busted open as we take a break. We come back with Menard fighting out of a Boston crab, which he reverses into one of his own.

That’s broken up as well and they go outside, with Garcia ramming him into the announcers’ table. A running dropkick crushes the steps against Menard’s head, which is naturally only good for a nine. Back in and Menard mocks Garcia’s old dance so Garcia kicks him in the chest. A bulldog choke finishes Menard off at 11:09.

Rating: C. Forgive me for only being so interested in Garcia, one of the least interesting stars in AEW, beating up his former mentor who was mostly a comedy star. This is a story that has been put together over the last several months but that doesn’t make for an interesting story. I guess we needed to see Garcia beat him up for that long, though hopefully this wraps the whole thing up for good.

Post match here is Mark Briscoe to interrupt. He’s thankful to be in Nashville and to be your TNT Champion, but he’s also thankful to Garcia for saying he wanted the TNT Title. Briscoe had been wondering who he should face first and now he knows that he’s going to devour Garcia like he’s going to devour turkey and macaroni and cheese tonight.

Ricochet lists off some names he’s already beaten and you should be glad to have him as your champion.

Here is FTR to brag about winning the Tag Team Titles back. Stokely Hathaway talks about how FTR keeps overcoming obstacle after obstacle…and here is the Bang Bang Gang to interrupt. The Gang talks about how they’ve recently beaten FTR and don’t need to hear about FTR’s greatness again. Over the weekend, the Gang won $200,000 and now they want some gold to go with the green. The Gang slaps the title down and wants a shot, with FTR bailing instead. Makes as much sense as anyone else would.

Here is MxM TV, for some reason dressed as the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man, for the Casting Call.

MxM Collection/Johnny TV vs. Outrunners/Dalton Castle

Castle and the Outrunners get jumped to start fast with Taya Valkyrie being powerbombed onto Castle on the floor. Back in and Magnum gets pummeled in the corner, only to powerbomb his way to freedom. Madden cuts off the comeback attempt but the Collection misses their own Mega Powers elbow. Castle comes in to clean house and it’s Total Recall to Mansoor. The real Mega Powers elbow sets up the Bang A Rang to give Castle the pin on Mansoor at 2:30. Just a quick comedy match.

Post match the Demand comes out to interrupt the celebration. The Outrunners and Castle are beaten down so Ricochet goes over and gets in an argument with a country singer. Said singer (Michael Ray?) jumps the barricade and they’re held apart.

The Don Callis Family is grateful for various things, with Kazuchika Okada being thankful that he doesn’t have to team with Konosuke Takeshita. This was no Survivor Series 1989.

Eddie Kingston vs. Katsuyori Shibata

The brawl is on outside before the bell, with Shibata putting him in a chair for a boot to the face. They get inside for the opening bell and Kingston grabs a butterfly suplex. Shibata snaps off a German suplex and takes over on the arm. Kingston gets beaten down in the corner and we take a break. We come back with Shibata hitting him low but not being able to get a cross armbreaker, with the referee making him break due to the low blow. Well that’s different. Shibata charges into a boot in the corner and gets DDTed for the pin at 7:06. It’s as sudden as it sounds.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what this was about but almost half of the match was in the break and Kingston’s offense at the end was literally those two moves. Kingston hasn’t done much since he got back and this didn’t help him in the slightest. At the same time, Shibata is supposed to be this big tough fighter and gets pinned by a basic DDT in that little time? I don’t get it.

Post match Kingston says he won’t comment on what Hook did. He says he never wanted to just play a character. Instead, he is pro wrestling because he loves these people who love pro wrestling. He’s the guy who wants to inspire someone to get into wrestling one day (Kingston: “By the way, don’t do it.”). Then there’s Samoa Joe, who took the AEW World Title. Kingston only gets peace when he’s in this ring so defend the title against him at Winter Is Coming. When Kingston is on, he’s great at connecting with the crowd and he was feeling it here.

Red Velvet mocks Mercedes Mone for losing at Full Gear and wants a rematch at Final Battle. Do we really have to do this again?

Thekla vs. Tay Melo

Melo hammers away to start fast and throws Thekla down by the arm. Something like a reverse triangle choke (that’s a weird one) has Thekla in early trouble so she has to make the rope. A running knee sends Melo out to the apron and we take a break. We come back with Melo tying her hair up for the big slugout, with Thekla hitting a hard shot to the face. The Death Trap goes on but Melo stacks her up for two. Thekla does her spider thing and gets caught with a running knee. A piledriver gives Melo two more but the TayKO is escaped, allowing Thekla to hit a spear. The stomp gives Thekla the pin at 8:39.

Rating: B-. Another not very long match, especially with the break included, but at least Melo was able to put up a good fight. Melo might not be the most successful star in AEW but she’s often a tough out, which makes her a good choice in a match like this. Thekla continue to feel like a player and that’s a good thing to see, as the division can use some new blood.

Post match the Sisters of Sin come out for the beatdown but Jamie Hayter makes the save. Kris Statlander makes a fairly unnecessary appearance for part of the save as well.

Continental Classic Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Roderick Strong

Takeshita takes over with a test of strength to start, which is broken up rather quickly. Strong’s headlock doesn’t get very far so they go with the grappling. A backbreaker rocks Takeshita but he elbows his way out of an abdominal stretch. They go outside with Strong being sent hard into the barricade and we take a break.

We come back with Strong hitting a dropkick into an Angle Slam. The running forearms in the ropes set up a failed Strong Hold attempt, allowing Takeshita to hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. A super Raging Fire is blocked so Strong backbreakers him onto the turnbuckle for two instead. They strike it out until a fireman’s carry gutbuster rocks Takeshita. The Sick Kick misses so Strong German suplexes him for two. The running knee sets up Raging Fire to give Takeshita the pin at 13:17.

Rating: B. Commentary pointed out that Strong was taking Kyle O’Reilly’s place and that makes sense, as O’Reilly has been on a bit of a roll as of late. Other than that, this was pretty much exactly what you would have expected from these two, as Strong put up a good fight but wasn’t enough to overcome the rather complete Takeshita in the end. Still though, good main event and Takeshita had to work for it.

Blue League Standings

Jon Moxley – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Claudio Castagnoli – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Konosuke Takeshita – 3 points, 4 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 0 points (4 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 0 points (4 matches remaining)

Overall Rating: B-. Perfectly fine show here with some good matches, though it had some weak spots in there as well. The good thing is you can easily focus on the Continental Classic, which is going to eat up a bunch of time on any given show. At the same time, there were some weaker points on this show as well and they dragged the good stuff down. Not bad at all overall, but one where you should just catch a recap rather than watch the full thing.

Results
Pac b. Mike Bailey – Brutalizer
Daniel Garcia b. Matt Menard – Bulldog choke
Outrunners/Dalton Castle b. MxM Collection/Johnny TV – Bang A Rang to Mansoor
Eddie Kingston b. Katsuyori Shibata – DDT
Thekla b. Tay Melo – Stomp
Konosuke Takeshita b. Roderick Strong – Raging Fire

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

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Full Gear 2025
Date: November 22, 2025
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back on pay per view with a rare rematch in the main event. In this case that would be Hangman Page defending the World Title against Samoa Joe, this time inside of a cage. Other than that, we have the return of the Casino Gauntlet match to crown the inaugural National Champion. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Bang Bang Gang vs. Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. Outrunners vs. Max Caster/Anthony Bowens

For $200,000 and Dalton Castle is on commentary. Gunn punches Bowens to start and the big shot to the head drops Bowens in a hurry. Back up and Bowens hits an atomic drop, prompting Caster to do the clapping. Bowens yells at him, saying he has this so Caster tags himself in. Robinson comes in to take over on Caster but Magnum tags himself in to dropkick Caster.

It’s off to Bill for the big boot to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Floyd coming in to clean house, including the Mega Powers elbow on Keith. The Unacclaimed break that up but Scissor Me Timbers is cut off. The Arrival into the Mic Drop has Keith in trouble and Caster wants to scissor. Bowens isn’t sure but Bill interrupts anyway. Bowens strikes him down but Robinson steals the rollup pin on Bowens at 7:27.

Rating: C+. Not a bad all over the place match here and I’ll take that over the Unacclaimed winning and being all annoying with the WE DON’T LIKE EACH OTHER deal. The Gang has been needing a win of some sort and this is as good as anything they’re going to do at the moment. Just let Robinson talk some more and they should be fine.

Kickoff Show: RPG Vice vs. Big Boom AJ/QT Marshall

Paul Wight and Don Callis are on commentary. Vice is beaten up to start and AJ powerslams Romero. Beretta gets punched off the apron and they all brawl to the floor as we take a break. We come back with Marshall fighting out of a chinlock but getting sent outside. The Rizzler checks on Marshall but Romero shoves Big Justice (AJ’s son) down, which draws Wight over to scare them away.

Back in and the tag brings in AJ to clean house, including some powerslams. A gorilla press and full nelson slam give AJ two with Romero making the save. AJ loads up the Powerboom but Callis offers a distraction. Beretta gets in a cast shot and the running knee connects for two. Strong Zero gets two on AJ with Marshall making the save from the top. Romero grabs the cast but Justice comes in with a Diamond Cutter. Beretta goes after Justice and gets punched by Wight, setting up a Powerboom/Blockbuster combination to finish Beretta at 9:14.

Rating: C. The match was fine and while I’m not a fan of the Costco Guys, they seemingly have an audience and there’s no harm in having them in a less than serious Kickoff Show match. It’s not like RPG Vice is doing anything important right now anyway. You can pretty safely call this “harmless” and that’s an acceptable use of time on this show.

Kickoff Show: Hook/Eddie Kingston vs. Workhorsemen

The Workhorsemen jump them on the floor to start and it’s Hook in trouble in the corner to start. Drake chops him up against the ropes but Hook suplexes his way to freedom. It’s off to Kingston (in street clothes) for a DDT and the pin at 1:52. I’m going to assume this was shortened due to time and hopefully not due to Kingston’s knee, which he was favoring at the end.

Kickoff Show: CMLL Trios Titles: Don Callis Family vs. Sky Team

Sky Team (Mistico/Neon/Mascara Dorada) is defending but there is no Kazuchika Okada, who apparently hasn’t arrived yet. Hechicero and Konosuke Takeshita jump the champs from behind to start, with Hechicero crushing Mistico’s arm with a chair. The arm is sent into the steps and then twisted around a chair as Takeshita chinlocks Dorada inside. We get the opening bell and it’s Dorada flipping over Takeshita and handing it off to Neon.

A top rope armdrag takes Hechicero down as we cut to Okada arriving in a rather fancy car. The Kickoff Show ends and we pick things up on the proper pay per view everyone brawling. Mistico has been taken out and now Okada manages to get to the ring. Hechicero tries to get his partners on the same page but Okada flips Takeshita off. The champs block superplex attempts and here’s a taped up Mistico to fight back. A springboard double high crossbody connects and a spinning wristdrag drops Okada.

Back in and Neon does the same to Okada but Takeshita grabs a kind of wheelbarrow Tombstone. Takeshita loads up Raging Fire but Okada breaks it up. The Family gets in a shoving match and a Rainmaker accidentally hits Takeshita. Dorada and Neon are back in to take Hechicero down, setting up stereo moonsaults to the floor. Mistico poisonranas Hechicero and La Mistica retains the titles at 13:44.

Rating: B. The Sky Team continues to be a blast, which shouldn’t be a surprise. The catch here though is that the titles were totally secondary to the stuff with the Family, which has been going on for a long time now. I’m not sure what that’s going to mean, but at least they seem to be setting up the big showdown, likely at World’s End.

We recap Darby Allin vs. Pac. Allin has been going after the Death Riders for what feels like ever and now it’s time to have him face someone other than Jon Moxley. The catch this time is that Pac wants it one on one with no shenanigans.

Pac vs. Darby Allin

After a quick video of a bandaged Allin getting ready to fight, with Allin’s face being fine (not so much with his taped up arm and ribs). Allin takes him down by the arm to start and cranks away, including an armbar. A shotgun dropkick sends Pac outside but he reverses a hurricanrana back inside. Allin grinds away on a headlock instead before switching to a leglock, which has Pac in the ropes.

Pac is back up with a gorilla press onto the floor, which isn’t going to do well on those bad ribs. That’s only good for an eight count so Allin ribs the tape off Allin’s arm and gives him an Indian burn. A hard whip sends Allin through the corner and outside again for a nasty crash. Back in and Pac scores with a missile dropkick but Allin ties him in the ring skirt and hammers away.

A dive drops Pac and Allin puts him in a chair for a missile dropkick. Back in and Pac grabs a snap German suplex, followed by a toss into the corner. Allin fights up with a knockdown of his own but Pac blasts him with a lariat for two. The Brutalizer goes on, with Allin getting his feet into the ropes for the break. Allin sweeps the leg and gets the Scorpion Deathlock but here is Wheeler Yuta for a distraction. That makes Allin let go and a baseball bat to the face finishes for Pac at 16:57.

Rating: B. Allin wanting to do this clean and then cheating in the end is about as on point for the Death Riders as you can get, though I’m almost scared to know how much longer the team is going to be fighting Allin. Odds are Allin will want revenge and that sounds like a reason for quite the violent match. Again.

We recap the women’s four way tag. They’re all in the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament. Pretty much end of recap.

Sisters Of Sin vs. Timeless Love Bombs vs. Babes Of Wrath vs. Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir

The winners get to pick the stipulation for their semifinals match in the tournament. It’s a brawl to start with Storm and Shafir being left alone in the ring. Storm gets sent into the corner for the rapid fire kicks and forearms from Shafir and Bayne. A suplex sends Storm flying into the corner again but she’s able to flip Shirakawa onto Bayne for a quick two.

Back up and Bayne takes over on Shirakawa so Shafir can come back in for some choking. Blue comes in with a quick swinging neckbreaker but the Babes come in to take Blue down. Hart gets a chance to take over on Cameron but stops to shove Shafir. This doesn’t go well for Bayne, who gets in a shot of her own so Shafir can take over on Cameron. A tornado DDT finally gets Cameron out of trouble and the much needed tag brings in Nightingale.

That doesn’t last long either as it’s off to Shirakawa, who takes over on the Sisters. Shafir is right back in with Mother’s Milk but Storm makes a quick save. That’s enough for Storm to come in and clean house but Cameron tags herself in. A high crossbody gives Cameron two on Storm but Bayne German suplexes the Sisters at the same time. Everything breaks down and Shirakawa hits a dive to the floor, leaving Storm to small package Cameron for the pin at 13:10.

Rating: C+. Bayne got to show off a bit, but as usual there is only so much you can do with so many people in one match at one time. It also doesn’t help that this was for a stipulation in a tournament semifinal match. That doesn’t exactly make it feel must see, but with so much of the women’s division in the tournament, it was about all they could do.

We recap FTR vs. Bandido/Brody King for the Tag Team Titles. FTR are the all time team around here but King/Bandido are the hot team.

Tag Team Titles: Bandido/Brody King vs. FTR

FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, is challenging and we get a quick video from Hathaway where he walks in a dimly lit room and looks at footage of the champs. I’m assuming he’s not a fan. Bandido and Wheeler start things off with Wheeler working on the arm but Bandido is back with some armdrags. Harwood and King come in to slug it out with King taking over and hitting a quick backsplash for two.

Bandido comes in and slams King onto Harwood, meaning it’s Macarena time. Hathaway’s distraction doesn’t do much as Bandido dives over him, only to get dropped face first onto the announcers’ table. Back in and Harwood grabs a Gory Stretch but Bandido is out with a kind of double spinebuster (or a double flapjack that didn’t work). It’s still not enough for the tag though as Bandido gets pulled into the corner.

That doesn’t last long either as he kicks his way to freedom and brings in King to wreck both of them. A Death Valley Driver sends FTR into the corner for a cannonball but Harwood low bridges Bandido out to the floor. King is able to block the PowerPlex though, with Bandido coming in with a frog splash back to Harwood. King’s dive onto Hathaway only hits the floor, leaving Bandido to roll Harwood up for two.

The sitout powerbomb into a top rope splash gets two on Bandido, who is right back with a one armed gorilla press to send Wheeler outside. The big dive takes FTR out again and Bandido counters the Shatter Machine back inside. That’s enough to set up the 21 Plex but Harwood pops up for a Shatter Machine, with King having to make the save. Wheeler grabs a title and knocks Bandido silly for two but he’s right back up for a Shatter Machine to Harwood for two.

The monkey flip 450 is broken up, just like the Doomsday Device, as Bandido powerslams Wheeler out of the air for two more. King tries to get back in and is quickly spike piledriven onto the apron. Something like a double reverse AA plants Bandido for two and the spike piledriver gets the same. The Shatter Machine gives FTR the titles back at 20:12.

Rating: B. This was the kind of high speed, action packed match you would expect, but dang some of the lack of selling took me out of it. People were hitting big moves and the other person just kept popping up. That’s a good way to derail things a bit, as it made me roll my eyes more than anything else. FTR getting the titles back is fine as Bandido and King never felt like a long term team. That being said, can we do something with Bandido already? I’d say he’s earned it.

We recap the Casino Battle Royal for the inaugural National Title. Well recap it as much as possible, as we only know a few of the entrants so it’s basically just about Ricochet and the Hurt Syndicate.

National Title: Casino Gauntlet Match

For the inaugural title. The idea is basically a Royal Rumble with unknown entrants, untimed entrances and the first fall wins, meaning it could be over with only two entrants. Bobby Lashley is in at #1 and Shelton Benjamin is in at #2 and they show respect to start. Lashley goes for the leg and can’t get anywhere so they circle a bit until Ricochet is in at #3 after quite the disappointing segment.

Ricochet says we want violence so here are the Gates Of Agony to jump the Syndicate. MVP gets jumped on the floor while Benjamin is dropped onto a chair and Lashley is sent into the steps. The Gates are sent to the back as Ricochet dances and Claudio Castagnoli is in at #4. Ricochet’s dive is cut off by an uppercut and Castagnoli throws him back inside. The Swing sets up the running uppercut in the corner but Ricochet manages a headscissors out to the floor.

Daniel Garcia is in at #5 to choke Ricochet from the apron, allowing the Riders to crush him in the corner. Orange Cassidy is in at #6 and gets picked up by Castagnoli. The spinning DDT is blocked so it’s a Stundog Millionaire for Castagnoli as Wheeler Yuta is in at #7. Cassidy and Yuta’s staredown is cut off by the Death Riders, with Ricochet getting in on the running shots in the corner.

Kevin Knight is in at #8 and takes out Garcia on the floor but gets cut off by Ricochet. The Riders take over again and it’s Roderick Strong in at #9 with a Sick Kick for two on Ricochet. Mark Davis is in at #10 for a spinning piledriver on Ricochet and another one to Cassidy. Mike Bailey is in at #11 with a DDT to Davis but Bailey and Knight aren’t sure who should cover. Knight rolls Bailey up for a fast two so he kicks Knight in the face. Garcia grabs a Dragontamer on Bailey but Matt Menard is in at #12.

Menard and Garcia yell at each other and it’s Davis vs. Castagnoli, which is cut off by the returning Hurt Syndicate. Davis and Castagnoli are sent outside so Ricochet comes back in and immediately realizes his screwup. The Syndicate quickly beats him up but Cassidy is back in with some Orange Punches. Lashley misses a charge into the barricade and Wheeler knees Cassidy for two, with Knight making the save. Knight hits the UFO splash but Ricochet drops him with the Spirit Gun for the pin and the title at 22:55.

Rating: B-. This was a bit weaker than some of the previous editions of the match as it was pretty much just Ricochet vs. the Hurt Syndicate with some other stuff going on. Most of the people involved were little more than warm bodies and there wasn’t much drama about a lot of them winning the title. Ricochet is a good choice though, as he’s been doing some great stuff in recent weeks.

We recap Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly. Moxley has been broken by submitting so he’s facing a submission expert, who has made him tap out before. This time though it’s No Holds Barred, which is a bit less violent after the last time Moxley tapped out inside Blood & Guts.

Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly

No Holds Barred. O’Reilly strikes away at the bell to start and they go to the grappling. That’s broken up and O’Reilly kicks him into the corner, with Moxley sticking out his face for some free shots. A bend of the finger sets up an abdominal stretch on Moxley, which O’Reilly switches into an ankle lock. Moxley bails out to the floor before coming back inside to work on the arm.

That’s enough wrestling, so Moxley whips out a fork to stab O’Reilly in the head. The blood starts flowing and Moxley bites away at his head. Moxley works on the arm and bites a finger before switching to a full nelson. That’s reversed into another ankle lock, which is countered into a stabbing of O’Reilly’s nipple (Schiavone: “You want to describe that one Excalibur?”).

O’Reilly grabs a choke and dragon screw legwhips Moxley over the rope. A catapult sends Moxley into the post and the ankle lock goes on again back inside. The kneebar has Moxley in trouble and O’Reilly stabs him in the head with the fork for a change. O’Reilly grabs a chain and they take turns wrapping it around each others’ neck before fighting for a suplex. Moxley is the one getting suplexed but they’re still connected so neither can go anywhere.

They trade forearms until Moxley shrugs off some kicks and bulldog chokes him. That’s reversed as well until Moxley gets an STF, which is broken up with a stab to the hand. Moxley stomps him onto the chain (the fans do Seth Rollins’ song) and it’s time to Pillmanize the arm. The Death Rider sets up a Kimura, which is reversed into an ankle lock with the chain to make Moxley tap at 19:18.

Rating: C+. They were getting close to some good stuff here with the grappling but then it kept getting derailed by the fork nonsense. The chain was fine and the chair fit in well, but the fork stuff felt like it was from a totally different match. I do like the stuff with Moxley’s tough man image being broken as it fits the long term story for him. Just stop with the ultraviolent garbage and let the match work on its own.

Post match Moxley beats him down again but gives what looks like a look of respect.

We recap Mark Briscoe vs. Kyle Fletcher for the TNT Title. They’ve traded wins but Briscoe wants one more shot at the title. If he loses though, he has to join the Don Callis Family.

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe

Briscoe is challenging, Don Callis is on commentary and it’s No DQ. We get a special video with Briscoe talking about trying to find a new family after his brother passed away. He found that with the Conglomeration and now his future family depends on this match. This was really good and it hit the emotional notes perfectly well to sell the stakes for Briscoe. They forearm it out to start (as tends to be the case in AEW) but Briscoe can’t get an early Jay Driller.

Instead Fletcher sends him outside, where Briscoe gets in a trip off the apron. Some chairs are brought in, with one of them hitting Fletcher in the back. The Bang Bang Elbow is pulled out of the air though and Briscoe gets brainbustered onto the chair. A short ladder is brought in and Briscoe’s missed running flip dive sends him through it for a crash. The bleeding Briscoe is taken inside and whipped into the ladder again.

Briscoe fights out of trouble though and it’s a missile dropkick to send the ladder into Fletcher. That’s enough to get Callis off commentary and Briscoe grabs a table. Fletcher gets off of said table before the dive though and suplexes Briscoe on the floor instead. A bunch of chairs are loaded up on the floor but Briscoe gets up and sends him onto them. That takes too long as well, allowing Fletcher to shove him off the top and through the table for the big crash.

Back in and something like a running Alabama slam sends Briscoe through another table in the corner for two. As Callis tries to figure out if he has to feed Briscoe’s kids if Briscoe joins the Family, Fletcher pours out the thumbtacks (of course). The powerbomb onto the tacks is broken up and Briscoe gives him a fisherman’s buster onto the tacks. Briscoe grabs a barbed wire table, plus a ladder and a regular table (yet somehow, Fletcher can’t be kept down for three seconds at the moment).

They go to the apron, where Briscoe drives him into the group of open chairs. Back in and they both climb the ladder, with Briscoe getting to the top for an elbow to drive Fletcher through the table (onto the tacks) for two. That means that either Fletcher is winning or they missed the point where it should have ended. Fletcher is back up with the screwdriver (yep they missed it) but after stabbing Briscoe, gets it stuck in the turnbuckle. A brainbuster onto the tacks gets two on Fletcher, who manages to turn the screwdriver upside down in the buckle.

The super brainbuster onto the pointed up screwdriver is teased (this is stupid), only to be reversed to avoid a bad case of death. The Cutthroat Driver is broken up with a stab to the head and a running stab sets up the brainbuster to give Fletcher two more. They go up top, with Briscoe managing a toss Razor’s Edge through the barbed wire table. That and the Jay Driller are enough to finish Fletcher at 25:16.

Rating: B-. I know what they were going for here and what makes it all the more frustrating is THEY HAD IT. If this ended with Briscoe’s big elbow from the ladder (and maybe a Jay Driller for the family thing), it would have been great and easily the best thing on the show. Instead, they went another five minutes and had the stabbing stuff, which is, in a word, REALLY FREAKING STUPID. Forgive me for not buying the image of Fletcher teasing impaling Briscoe’s head on a screwdriver. The first twenty or so minutes were great and the last five minutes were dumb, which makes this quite the irritating situation.

We recap the Young Bucks/Josh Alexander vs. Kenny Omega/Jurassic Express for a million dollars. The Bucks have been broke for a bit but are teasing joining the Don Callis Family for the sake of getting their money back.

Young Bucks/Josh Alexander vs. Kenny Omega/Jurassic Express

For a million dollars. Nick works on Perry’s arm to start and they flip around a bit until they both try dropkicks. Matt and Luchasaurus come in with Luchasaurus working on the arm. It’s quickly off to Omega for more of the same, though Omega comes up favoring his recently damaged ankle. The villains take over on Omega, who manages to hurricanrana Nick to the floor.

The ensuing dive slows Omega down though and it’s back to Perry, who gets World’s Strongest Slammed onto the apron. Nick dives onto Luchasaurus and hands it back to Matt for Risky Business on Perry. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Perry hits a nice running diving DDT, allowing the much needed tag off to Luchasaurus. The Bucks superkick him down but he manages a double knockdown of his own and it’s back to Omega.

House is quickly cleaned but Alexander escapes You Can’t Escape. Everything breaks down and it’s a springboard Destroyer to Luchasaurus but Perry hits a running knee to leave everyone down. Omega and Alexander get up to slug it out until Omega grabs a snapdragon. The Bucks come in to take Omega down and we hit the ankle lock, which is broken up via the ropes. Matt gets caught in a spike Tombstone but the Countdown To Extinction is broken up.

Alexander clotheslines Matt by mistake though and now the Countdown To Extinction connects, with Alexander making the save. Perry hits a double Doomsday Device on the Bucks, who completely no sell it (because a springboard double clothesline has no effect) and start firing off the superkicks. Some of those superkicks hit Alexander, who gets planted with the One Winged Angel on the floor. A rollup gives Perry two but it’s the BTE Trigger to finish Perry at 19:06.

Rating: B+. I’m not big on the Bucks but they know how to do an exciting six man tag. I wasn’t expecting the Bucks to win here, as it felt like Alexander was only there to take the loss. The match was rather entertaining, though you can tell Omega is a far shell of what he used to be. That’s no surprise given what he’s been through, but dang it’s getting rough to see him out there.

Post match the Bucks get their money and Callis says they’re in the Family. Alexander and the rest of the Family jump Omega and the Express, with the Bucks almost being dragged away by Callis. The Bucks come back for the big save and make peace with the Express, followed by the big hug with Omega. Oh good grief ENOUGH WITH THE ELITE MELODRAMA ALREADY. Omega has to be helped to the back and even collapses on the ramp. The Family seems to have left with all of the money, so the Bucks are still broke.

We recap Mercedes Mone challenging Kris Statlander for the Women’s Title. Mone beat her before and now wants to do it for her 385th title.

Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Kris Statlander

Only Statlander is defending. Mone goes for the leg to start but gets rolled up for two instead. The Statement Maker is broken up as well so Mone sends her outside in a crash. Statlander is able to roll through a dive though and a nice superplex drops Mone hard. It’s too early for the 450 though as they’re definitely starting fast. Statlander rolls outside and seems to be favoring her elbow, with Mone hitting a running Meteora off the apron.

A big stomp to the arm has Statlander in even more trouble and it’s off to a Fujiwara armbar back inside. Back up and the bad arm is sent into the buckle but she uses the good arm to elbow Mone in the face. Mone uses her feet to bend the arm again and snaps off a tornado DDT for two. Fourteen Amigos have Statlander down and the fans cheering for Mone (the villain, because doing something cool is more important).

The frog splash lands on raised feet and Statlander manages a backdrop, followed by something like a Michinoku Driver for two. The bad arm gets crushed again but Statlander gives her a Blue Thunder Bomb on the floor. Back in and Mone hits a Codebreaker into a Backstabber into a sunset bomb into the corner. The running Meteora is cut off with a clothesline so Mone kicks at the bad arm again.

Statlander’s crossface is reversed into one from Mone, which is broken up as well. A super gutbuster (Dean Malenko style) drops Mone for a delayed two but the arm is too banged up for Staturday Night Fever. Instead it’s a package piledriver for two, with Mone having to grab the rope for the escape. Mone is back with a hurricanrana and running knees against the ropes for two and they fight over a Tombstone. Statlander finally sends her into the corner and muscles her up into the Staturday Night Fever to retain at 23:06.

Rating: B+. This was rather good as well and would have been even better had Mone not seemingly been more about getting cheered than winning. What matters the most is that Statlander won, which is what should have happened. There was no reason for Mone to win here and while she will likely get the title down the line, at least she didn’t get it here, as Statlander picks up probably her biggest win ever. Really nice match here, with the arm injury telling a good story as Statlander didn’t have her usual power advantage.

The Don Callis Family is happy with having the money and Callis says that it’s time for the team to come together for the Continental Classic. Konosuke Takeshita says he’ll be in, as does an angry Kyle Fletcher. Well that was obvious, but in a good way.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe. Page retained the World Title over a good Joe last month so now it’s evil Joe in a cage.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe

Page is defending in a cage and apparently comes to the ring to a song from Red Dead Redemption 2. They tease rams into the cage to start with Page getting the better of things to bust Joe open early. Page takes his boot off to hammer Joe in the head for two but Joe sends him into the cage right back.

Now it’s Page busted open and getting his face raked against the cage, which isn’t a good sign. Page is back up to win a slugout and even tries his own Koquina Clutch. Joe’s release Rock Bottom out of the corner drops Page and he takes a turnbuckle pad off. Another comeback lets Page tease the Deadeye but here is Katsuyori Shibata for the distraction.

Eddie Kingston cuts him off but the referee gets crushed against the cage. The Deadeye connects for no count and here is Powerhouse Hobbs to break through the door. Page sends him into the cage and hits a Buckshot Lariat on Joe for no count. Instead here’s Hook to deck Page with the title and reveal an Opps shirt. Commentary acts like this is some shocking moment, as someone joining a stable he was part of just a few months ago is shocking. The Elite has done that what, half a dozen times? Anyway, Joe hits the MuscleBuster to retain the title at 16:02.

Rating: B. It was a violent, bloody brawl in a cage, which might have had a bit more impact had there not been two blood baths earlier in the night and two far bloodier cage matches just ten days ago. On the other hand, I do kind of like Joe winning the title again, as Page was (again) coming off as a huge afterthought as champion. I don’t get why that’s the case, but Joe is more interesting almost by definition. Good, violent match here, though a heel on top of a stable as champion, AGAIN, isn’t the most thrilling way to go.

Post match the Opps (complete with a group of Opps Dojo goons) celebrate but the lights go out. We see a burning home and Swerve Strickland is back. The Opps bail and Swerve takes out the goons (Like a…..house of fire?), with Page getting up to help to end the show. I’ve heard worse ideas.

Overall Rating: B+. This did exceed my expectations, which weren’t overly high coming into the show. What matters the most is that they changed the World Title, which just wasn’t an interesting situation for a long time. At the same time, we got some rather good matches, with the six man and Women’s Title matches being pretty close to excellent. I really could go with a lot less of the blood and more hardcore violence, but that’s just baked into a lot of modern wrestling. Either way, more than solid show tonight with some very good moments, even at five and a half hours (yes, the Kickoff Show counts, as always).

Results
Bang Bang Gang b. Max Caster/Anthony Bowens, Outrunners and Big Bill/Bryan Keith – Rollup to Bowens
Big Boom AJ/QT Marshall b. RPG Vice – Powerboom/Blockbuster combination to Beretta
Hook/Eddie Kingston b. Workhorsemen – DDT to Henry
Sky Team b. Don Callis Family – La Mistica to Hechicero
Pac b. Darby Allin – Baseball bat to the face
Timeless Love Bombs b. Sisters Of Sin, Marina Shafir/Megan Bayne and Babes Of Wrath – Small package to Cameron
FTR b. Bandido/Brody King – Shatter Machine to Bandido
Ricochet won the Casino Gauntlet Match – Spirit Gun to Knight
Kyle O’Reilly b. Jon Moxley – Ankle lock with a chain
Mark Briscoe b. Kyle Fletcher – Jay Driller
Young Bucks/Josh Alexander b. Kenny Omega/Jurassic Express – BTE Trigger to Perry
Kris Statlander b. Mercedes Mone – Staturday Night Fever
Samoa Joe b. Hangman Page – MuscleBuster

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

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I’m not sure if it’s due to Blood & Guts last week or something with the build itself, but it’s been a bit difficult to get up for this show. Part of it comes down to a lack of a hot main event. I’m assuming the main event is the cage match, but there is only so much you can get when Page already beat Joe last month. Hopefully the action is able to carry things over the finish line so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Big Boom AJ/QT Marshall vs. RPG Vice

So the Costco Guys are back and that means it’s time to act like they’re really interesting all over again. While AJ is far from terrible or even bad, it’s still hard to get interested in whatever the story is with himself and Marshall, which has been going on for way too long now. At least it’s in this spot and it’s not like Vice is going to lose much when they get beaten here.

In case that’s quite the spoiler, go back in time and insert your own warning. Of course there’s no reason to believe that the celebrity team is going to lose here. AJ is one of the bigger names that AEW can get at the moment so he’ll need to win here to keep his star power. It does help quite a bit that this is about as low level on the ladder as you can get, which at least keeps this from taking up more important time.

Kickoff Show: Hook/Eddie Kingston vs. Workhorsemen

In addition to the World Title match, here we have what is basically another rematch, or at least a repeat of the same setup. In this case, we have Kingston and Hook teaming up in an open challenge, only with the Workhorsemen accepting rather than the Frat House. I get the idea of wanting to get Kingston and Hook on the show, but maybe come up with something a bit more interesting?

As uninspired as this feels, there’s pretty much no doubt about the winner here, as this is all about trying to get Kingston and Hook to mean something. I’m not sure which one one is seen as the bigger star at the moment, but neither of them are exactly on fire right now. Maybe they can find something to spark them up a bit, but it’s hard to believe that them winning here will change much.

Kickoff Show: Max Caster/Anthony Bowens vs. Bang Bang Gang vs. Big Bill/Bryan Keith vs. Outrunners

It’s another match for a bunch of money which is code for “we have nothing else for these people to do but here they are anyway”. Caster and Bowens are by far the most important team at the moment, even if they’re not really a team. I could go for seeing the two of them together more often as the singles stuff was only so good, but either have them get back together or not.

That being said, I’ll take the Gang to win, partially due to how fun it could be to see Juice Robinson doing his stuff about the money, as you saw earlier this week. It sounds better than Caster and Bowens’ will they/won’t they deal, though that is the more likely pick. Maybe it’s due to me not caring much about Caster and Bowens, but hopefully the Gang wins here.

Kickoff Show: CMLL Trios Titles: El Sky Team(c) vs. The Don Callis Family

This is a bit of a confusing one as the names involved would make it feel like it belonged on the main card. While the titles might be in jeopardy, this feels like it’s much more about Konosuke Takeshita’s and Kazuchika Okada’s issues, which very well may spill over here. That has been teased for a good while now and it can only be stretched out so much longer. At the same time, getting the titles is something certainly in the realm of possibility.

I’ll take the champions to retain, as the Family doesn’t need to do much more at this point. Let them have some issues, possibly with a big showdown coming up in the Continental Classic. The Sky Team is fun to watch and it should make for a good match here, with the Family having some variety to spice it up a bit. The champs retain, but the focus is going to be on the Family, as tends to be the case.

National Title: Casino Gauntlet Match

We’ll start the main show with this one because it’s hard to say what we’re going to be seeing. While we are likely to have about twenty entrants, we only have five coming into the show. That doesn’t give us much in the way of the knowing where this is going as we’ll have to pick from the limited options that we have, which is hardly the best way to go but it’s the problem with a match like this.

Of the five options that we have (Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, Mike Bailey, Kevin Knight and Ricochet), I’ll take Ricochet as the most likely choice. Given that he’s been getting a good bit of screen time and actually needs to win something, this would be a good way to start. I’m not sure who else is going to be in there and there is always the chance that it’s someone out of nowhere, but Ricochet seems like at least a safe bet.

Darby Allin vs. Pac

This is the next match in Allin’s seemingly never ending war with the Death Riders. The idea here is that this is going to be a regular match with no extra shenanigans. I know that’s quite the concept on a wrestling show, but it would be nice to see after all of the insanity that Allin has been doing lately. If nothing else, it’s not Allin vs. Jon Moxley for a change and the breather should be nice.

There’s no reason to think Allin will lose here so we’ll go with him getting the win. In theory Allin is going to be going over the Death Riders in the end, though I have no idea what kind of big closing match they’re going to have. This doesn’t feel like a pay per view match, but at least it’s something different than what we’ve been seeing from Allin for such a long time now.

Kenny Omega/Jurassic Express vs. Young Bucks/Josh Alexander

This is the other money match (a million dollars in this case), as Tony Khan continues to give the evil and annoying Young Bucks a chance to make a huge sum all at once. At the same time, there was something of a tease of an Elite reunion earlier this week, which sums up just how annoying this whole thing has been. The Bucks doing all of their stuff is one thing but my head might implode if I’m supposed to cheer for them again.

Ultimately, this feels like Omega and the Express’ to win, as the Bucks need to fall even further before they can turn it around. Omega probably does not have many big matches left in him as his body is breaking down so quickly, but at least he’s still in the ring for the time being. Alexander feels like he’s there to take the fall, which has been the case for a long time now. Either way, the good guys win here.

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher(c) vs. Mark Briscoe

Title vs. Briscoe joining the Don Callis Family, which makes me think that it’s going one certain way. The Family continues to do pretty much whatever it wants, which doesn’t make for the most thrilling story. On the other hand you have Briscoe, who rarely wins the big one and has been chasing this title for a VERY long time now. One of those things is going to have to give and that is where we are today.

I’ll take Briscoe to win here, as Fletcher has held the title for a very long time now and there isn’t much to gain by having him keep it any longer. On the other hand you have Briscoe, who needs to win the title again before he starts losing his status. Fletcher is at the point where a loss won’t hurt him very much and he seems likely to move up to the main event scene anyway. Briscoe winning here makes more sense.

Babes Of Wrath vs. Sisters Of Sin vs. Timeless Love Bombs vs. Megan Bayne/Marina Shafir

I can’t get my head around this one, as it’s that dumb of an idea. In this case we have the four semifinalists for the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament (which as of this coming Wednesday will be one of three ongoing title tournaments under the Tony Khan banner). The winner of this match gets to pick the stipulation for their semifinal match, which is likely happening this coming week. Yes, this is the best they could come up with for a pay per view.

As this has such little impact on who wins the titles, give me the Bombs to win, just to see whatever wacky idea Storm gives us in the semifinals. I still can’t fathom that this was the best they could do for this show, though I guess it’s due to Blood & Guts taking up a week. It’s almost like AEW tries to do too much and isn’t great at pacing its stuff out, but that must be nonsense of course.

Women’s Title: Kris Statlander(c) vs. Mercedes Mone

So this is Mone’s chance to win her….I believe it’s 14th title? The idea is that Mone has been TBS Champion for about 37 years now and has all kinds of other titles but failed in her one attempt to win the AEW Women’s Title. I’m still not sure what the appeal of the Belt Collector deal is supposed to be yet here we are, with the whole thing somehow still continuing.

I think I’ll go with Statlander retaining here, as Mone needs to lose something here sooner than later. While I’m sure she’ll get the title at some point and that’s fine, Statlander hasn’t had it very long yet and deserves a better run as champion. Hopefully it doesn’t turn into another case of “let’s all praise Mone”, but that is probably what winds up happening in the end.

Tag Team Titles: Bandido/Brody King(c) vs. FTR

This is another case where we’ve seen FTR as champions so many times now that it’s hard to bring myself to care about the possibility of seeing it again. Bandido and King have done really well with the titles thus far and it would be nice to get to see that continue. At the same time though, there is a real chance that the “real” team wins the belts here as Bandido moves on to whatever else.

Give me the champs retaining here, if nothing else for the sake of I’ve enjoyed seeing them more often. What I don’t need to see is FTR winning and then defending against a reunited Copeland/Cage, which is a rather strong possibility. Maybe it’s just me having false hope, but hopefully King and Bandido get to hang onto the titles here, as they’ve earned the right to keep them for awhile.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jon Moxley

This is No DQ and could be another big step in the already rather lengthy downfall of Moxley. The idea is that Moxley keeps giving up in matches after months of talking about how tough he is and it’s not exactly holding up. In theory this leads to the downfall of the entire Death Riders, which has LONG since run its course. On the other hand though…it’s O’Reilly.

As little sense as it might make, I’ll take O’Reilly to win here, as that’s the story that has been built up. Maybe it comes with some shenanigans, but there is no reason to have Moxley win here after losing so many times in recent weeks. The Death Riders desperately need to come to an end already and this is as good of a way to do so as there is right now. It’s hard to imagine O’Reilly as the guy to make it happen, but for now, the pieces are there.

AEW World Title: Hangman Page(c) vs. Samoa Joe

So this is a case where had it been anything other than the World Title and likely the main event, I would have put this way higher as there just isn’t much doubt over the winner. We’ve already seen this last month with Page retaining over Joe clean, which set up the ensuing heel turn. I’m not sure why I would want to see this again here, but someone has to challenge for the title.

Of course I’ll take Page to win here, as there is no reason to believe that Joe is taking the title. This has felt like quite the filler feud for the title, which isn’t exactly much to see. I’m sure the fight will be good enough as these two know how to make it work, but Page really needs to move on to something else, as the two matches with Joe haven’t exactly felt that important. At least this one is different though.

Overall Thoughts

Dang that’s a lot of matches. I know four of them are officially on a separate show, but it’s one big block of AEW without much in the way of a top match. That’s been an issue for a good while now in AEW, as they really don’t seem to have a major story going on. Maybe that changes soon, but it’s not making for the most interesting pay per view, at least on paper. That’s been the case for the last few shows too, and that really needs to change.

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Dynamite
Date: November 19, 2025
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Bryan Danielson, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s another long form night of AEW, with a two hour Dynamite and an hour long Collision. At the same time, it is the last night before this weekend’s Full Gear. As a result, we have a mixture of prep for the pay per view as well as fallout from last week’s Blood & Guts, which could make for quite the night. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Bobby Lashley vs. Ricochet

For the #1 spot in the Casino Gauntlet at Full Gear and MVP is here with Lashley. The bell rings and Ricochet grabs the mic and says FLY EAGLES FLY. He hates this state and the only good thing to come out of here is his beautiful wife. As for MVP, he’s getting old and might have dementia because he said this was about the International Title rather than the National Title.

It’s the National Title and Ricochet is going to be the inaugural champion. Lashley finally jumps him and throws him over the top, with Ricochet screaming into the mic all the way down in a funny bit. The Gates Of Agony are sent over the announcers’ table but Lashley misses a charge into the corner. Ricochet hits a running shooting star press for two and then hides in the corner, which is enough to avoid the spear. Back up and Lashley hits a spinebuster, followed by the spear for the pin at 5:25.

Rating: C+. More than half of that was on Ricochet’s promo but the whole thing was still rather entertaining. There’s a lot to be said about having someone with as big of a mouth as Ricochet and then getting to see him get shut up. Lashley smashing through people is always worth a look and this went well, even with only so much action.

The Opps are ready to wreck Hangman Page after what he did to Powerhouse Hobbs. Tonight, Page is getting a beating at the hands of Katsuyori Shibata.

Renee Paquette asks the Young Bucks if they’re joining the Don Callis Family. Cue Callis to come in and say that there’s no gotcha journalism tonight. He’ll even do the Bucks’ entrance for them.

Young Bucks/Josh Alexander vs. SkyFlight

Nick and Dante start things off as Don Callis sits in on commentary. Dante gets taken down with a rope walk wristdrag but Nick misses an enziguri. They both miss dropkicks and it’s off to Alexander to whip Darius into the corner. Darius sends him into another corner though and it’s off to Dante for a quick elbow in the corner. Sky comes in and everything breaks down, including the series of dives to the floor. Alexander low bridges Sky to the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Matt accidentally hitting Alexander in the face, allowing Sky to get over for the tag to Darius. House is quickly cleaned, with Alexander getting dropped off a powerbomb/Nose Dive combination, with the Bucks having to make a save. Sky is tossed into a spear, leaving the Bucks to fire off the superkicks. Dante is up with the big flip dive over the top onto the Bucks but Alexander cuts off a dive. Back in and Alexander shoves Dante into the Meltzer Driver, with Alexander adding in the ankle lock for the tap at 10:38.

Rating: B. Good, fast paced match here, even if it’s beyond tiring to see SkyFlight (especially Top Flight) losing so often. The Bucks and Alexander get their momentum before their match for a million dollars at Full Gear. I’m still not sure why that’s supposed to be interesting, but it’s what we get over and over.

Post match Callis gets in the ring and again tries to convince the Bucks to join the Family. They aren’t wild on that so Callis starts making with the threats. He even brings up what happened to Kenny Omega, who comes out with a pipe, only to get dropped by Alexander. Callis wants a BTE Trigger but before they can do it, here is the Jurassic Express (with a shovel and a vacuum cleaner) for the save.

The Babes Of Wrath are ready for the Sisters Of Sin and are rather enthusiastic about it.

We get a tribute to Bob Caudle, a former NWA announcer who passed away earlier this week at the age of 95. That’s a nice touch.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Mike Bailey

For the #2 spot in the Casino Gauntlet match at Full Gear and MVP is here with Benjamin and Kevin Knight is here with Bailey. We do get a handshake to start and Benjamin shrugs off a chop in the corner. They go outside with Benjamin’s arm being sent into the post. An armbar doesn’t work well for Bailey as he gets sent into the barricade, only for Bailey to grab some rollups for two back inside.

Another armbar is reversed into a quickly reversed ankle lock and they’re right back on the floor. Benjamin slams him down out there and we take an early break. We come back with Benjamin grabbing a chinlock, with MVP telling him to stop playing with their food so they can go eat. Bailey fights up and kicks away but still can’t get very far with the cross armbreaker.

Benjamin gets sent outside for a knockdown but manages to beat the count. Back in and a superkick sets up a shooting star press for two on Benjamin, with the moonsault knees getting the same. Benjamin powers his way out of trouble with a rather impressive toss, followed by a nasty superkick for two. A running knee in the corner sets up another superkick to pin Bailey at 12:08.

Rating: B-. That superkick looked great and I’m not sure why it wasn’t the finish here. Anyway, Benjamin vs. Lashley to start the Casino Gauntlet should be fun, though it’s still hard to get interested in another big match for yet another title. At least they’re trying something new, even if it’s just the start of a much bigger match.

Death Riders vs. Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong

Cassidy and Moxley brawl to the floor to start with Strong dropkicking Castagnoli inside. Moxley comes back in to chop block Strong but Cassidy is back in with a high crossbody. Castagnoli rolls through though and takes Cassidy outside for a toss into the barricade. The Riders are sent over the barricade and Cassidy hits a dive to take them both out as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy not being able to get his hands in his pockets as Castagnoli sends him into the corner instead.

Cassidy’s diving DDT gets him out of trouble and the much needed tag brings in Strong to clean house. The alternating running forearms hit Moxley in the ropes but he’s back with a Paradigm Shift. Everything breaks down and Strong hits a top rope superplex on Moxley. Cassidy has to chase after an interfering Wheeler Yuta though, allowing Castagnoli to hit Swiss Death. Moxley’s bulldog choke finishes Cassidy at 12:21.

Rating: B-. This was the rebound win that the Riders, and Moxley in particular, needed after last week’s loss. I’m assuming it’s going to be a brief bump on the road of Moxley’s collapse. I’m not sure of where this is going, but it’s not likely going to end well for him one way or another. Either way, that might be a good thing for him, as it could mean some time away from AEW TV, which could be just what he needs.

Post match Moxley stays on Cassidy so here is Kyle O’Reilly to ankle lock Moxley, who taps again. The Death Riders finally make the save, even with Cassidy and Strong back up in the fight. O’Reilly issues the challenge to Moxley and we’ll make it No Holds Barred.

Brody King and Bandido are ready for FTR at Full Gear.

Kenny Omega, with the Jurassic Express, is ready for Full Gear and no money can save the Bucks and Josh Alexander. As usual, Omega is a lot better when he’s playing it serious.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Timeless Love Bombs vs. Riho/Alex Windsor

Shirakawa backs Riho up against the ropes to start and gives her a running shoulder, followed by a quick Shirakawa dance. They trade legsweeps and it’s a standoff, meaning a double tag to Storm and Windsor. A quick dance off sets up a test of strength, followed by an exchange of armdrags. Windsor takes over by bringing her into the corner for something like Poetry In Motion.

Storm comes out with a backbreaker, allowing Shirakawa to come back in with a slingshot dive. Windsor is right back in to send her throat first into the top rope, setting up Riho’s big dive out to the floor. We take a break and come back with Shirakawa DDTing her way out of trouble so Storm can clean house. A quick DDT gives Storm two, followed by an assisted splash for two on Windsor.

Back up and Windsor knocks Storm off the apron for a cannonball but Riho misses a top rope splash. Shirakawa backfists Riho down and grabs a Figure Four. That’s turned over, leaving Storm and Windsor to headbutt each other and fall on top for the break. Everything breaks down and the Bombs hit stereo running hip attacks in the corner. Storm Zero finishes Windsor at 12:53.

Rating: C+. Well they weren’t going to have one of the few close to regular teams in the tournament losing to a thrown together pairing. Storm and Shirakawa have gone from friends to what feels like the latest Storm performance art thing and that’s not a bad idea. Storm and Shirakawa have great chemistry together so pushing them towards the titles could go a long way.

We get a new Full Gear announcement: there will be a four way between the semifinalists at Full Gear with the winners getting to pick the stipulations for their semifinal match. Sweet goodness that is about as overbooked as you can get.

Mark Briscoe and Kyle Fletcher are in the back, with Briscoe talking about how failure is not an option because it’s No DQ and he’s going to make his family proud. Then the Don Callis Family jumps him, with Fletcher promising to make Briscoe’s sons orphans. Kazuchika Okada says he did this because Konosuke Takeshita couldn’t.

Pac is ready for Darby Allin at Full Gear but wants it as a straight match because with everything taken away, Allin can’t contend with him.

Hangman Page vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Non-title with Samoa Joe on commentary. Page jumps him from behind in the aisle to start fast but Shibata gets in a running boot to knock Page off the apron. The bell rings and Shibata sends the taped up Page into the barricade a few times, only for Page to fight out of trouble. They get inside with Page stomping away, followed by a backbreaker into a clothesline for two. Joe’s distraction lets Shibata get in a shot from behind into a suplex on the floor as we take a break.

We come back with Page hitting a springboard clothesline out to the floor, meaning it’s another stare at Joe. Back in and an STO drops Page, who catches the PK. Instead Shibata takes him into the corner for a running kick to the, ahem, thigh. Page misses a clothesline and gets hit low, allowing Shibata to get the cross armbreaker. That’s broken up so Shibata shifts over to the ankle lock. Page loses his boot on the escape but knocks Shibata down again. The boot is replaced and the Buckshot Lariat finishes for Page at 10:49.

Rating: B-. Nice stuff here, with Page getting by one of Joe’s friends before they face off again at the pay per view. Page fought through the odds again and won, which is a great way to present a top star in the company. They didn’t make this more complicated than it needed to be and it went well enough.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked the show well enough, but the focus being on more titles being introduced and a match coming up for a bunch of money (one of two) isn’t making the most thrilling Full Gear. Unfortunately it doesn’t make for the best build towards a pay per view. That absolutely does not mean that things are going to go badly on Saturday, but it’s not doing the best job of making me want to see the show.

Results
Bobby Lashley b. Ricochet – Spear
Young Bucks/Josh Alexander b. SkyFlight – Ankle lock to Dante
Shelton Benjamin b. Mike Bailey – Superkick
Death Riders b. Roderick Strong/Orange Cassidy – Bulldog choke to Cassidy
Timeless Love Bombs b. Alex Windsor/Riho – Storm Zero to Windsor
Hangman Page b. Katsuyori Shibata – Buckshot Lariat

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