Dynamite
Date: April 5, 2023
Location: UBS Arena, Long Island, New York
Commentators: Taz, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re back in Long Island and this should be a heck of a show as the card is stacked. We have more than a few interesting things in the lineup this week, including MJF Day, FTR vs. the Gunns in a career vs. Tag Team Title match and Tony Khan making his latest huge announcement. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ricky Starks vs. Juice Robinson

And never mind as Robinson comes in from behind, with Jay White coming in through the entrance to jump Starks. The beating is on and Starks is left laying. No match.

We look back at Adam Cole returning to the ring last week and Chris Jericho coming out for the quick stare post match.

Jericho talks about Cole being back and getting the win….and here is Keith Lee to interrupt. Lee talks about facing Cole before and not liking Jericho’s disrespect. A challenge is laid out for next week. Lee doing something other than feuding with Swerve Strickland is a nice change of pace.

Trios Titles: House Of Black vs. Orange Cassidy/Best Friends

The House, with Julia Hart, is defending. Trent strikes away at Black to start before handing it off to Chuck for an enziguri to King. Cassidy and Buddy come in to complete the three sets of pairings. The sunglasses are thrown at Matthews and everything breaks down. Cassidy clears the ring but Trent is launched into King, who knocks him out of the air as we take a break.

Back with King accidentally suicide diving onto his partners, allowing Cassidy to be tossed onto all three champions. A triple powerbomb plants Matthews and Cassidy gives Black the lazy kicks. Cassidy Orange Punches King into Trent’s piledriver for two. Chuck rolls Matthews up for two more but gets Stomped by Matthews for the pin to retain at 11:34.

Rating: C+. This was what you would expect from a Trios Title match as the House gets another win. It’s a little strange to have one of the other popular teams fall to the champs again, as they’re running through challengers fairly quickly. There are some more challengers out there, but the big ones are going away in a hurry. For not though, Chuck taking a fall to the champs is a fine way to go and builds the House up a bit more.

Christian Cage is back….and so is Luchasaurus, though they don’t say anything.

Women’s Title: Jamie Hayter vs. Riho

Hayter, with Britt Baker, is defending. Riho snaps off a hurricanrana to start and they go to the pinfall reversal sequence for two each. Hayter is sent outside for a big dive to the floor but Hayter pulls another one out of the air back inside. They fight to the apron with Riho’s suplex being countered into a Rock Bottom as we take a break.

Back with Riho hitting a 619 and snapping off a dragon suplex for two. The hard sliding lariat gives Hayter two of her own but Riho counters a suplex into a DDT. Riho knocks her off the top and hits the running knees in the corner for two as Hayter has to put her foot on the rope. Hayter plants her down for two more and the Hayterade retains the title at 12:12.

Rating: B-. Hayter is back (after visa issues kept her out so the absence isn’t on AEW) and gets a win over someone with some status so the champ gets a nice boost. It’s better than dealing with the Outcasts again, but that’s probably coming sooner rather than later as it’s the biggest deal in the women’s division at the moment. For now though, Hayter looking strong is what matters.

The Outcasts mock Hayter retaining and want the title, even though there are three of them.

Here is the Jericho Appreciation Society to get the Acclaimed’s response. Cue the Acclaimed, with the rap not being the most positive towards the Society. Before we can get the response though, Angelo Parker announces that the four of them will be having an eight man tag on Rampage. Scissoring, without the Society, ensues. So that’s two advertised things they’ve punted on tonight.

We see MJF getting the key to the city of his hometown on Long Island. That’s pretty awesome.

A swing band play MJF, in a white tuxedo jacket, to start the MJF Show. MJF sings (about sunshine and ravioli) and seems rather happy to be here before dancing down to the ring. We have a CONGRATS MJF podium, a stand for the title, and a rather large key to Long Island on its own stand.

MJF introduces the Town Supervisor of Oyster Bay, who talks about how great MJF really is. MJF takes the podium and insults Jungle Boy before talking about how he has ADD. There was a teacher who would get on him over and over and laugh at him for not knowing an answer. On the last day of school, she asked where his brain went every day. That would be to professional wrestling, because he wants to be World Champion. She didn’t see it happening but her math seems to be a bit off.

If you’re a Long Island kid, and he’s only talking to them, just know that if you work hard, you can be anything you want….except MJF, because he’s better than you. MJF heads up the ramp and asks if we want an encore….but Jungle Boy has taken over the cymbals and the fight is on. Security breaks it up so here is Sammy Guevara (for his scheduled match) to hold up the World Title. This was one of the most bizarre things I’ve seen in wrestling in years and it worked….I think?

Komander vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara sends him outside fast and hits the top rope moonsault. Back in and Komander superkicks him out of the air, setting up a rope walk shooting star press. Guevara goes outside so Komander walks the ropes again, only to get kicked out of the air as we take a break. Back with Komander having to bail out of another rope walk shooting star press before flipping onto raised knees. The GTH is countered into a small package but Guevara kicks him into the corner. Cue Darby Allin to watch as Komander walks the ropes again, only to get pulled out of the air with a cutter. The GTH finishes Komander at 8:13.

Rating: B-. Komander is obviously very talented, but walking the ropes so many times in a match kind of takes away the ooh/ahh factor. Guevara gets another win over an impressive opponent (that’s the theme of the night so far) and should be in line for the Double Or Nothing title shot. They still have some work to get there, but you can see the path they’re taking.

Post match Guevara says that’s something a World Champion doesn’t do: wrestle. Guevara talks about how MJF hasn’t beaten him, because it took Shawn Spears and a chair to beat him. We hear about all the people MJF has used to get here, as he has been people’s friends and parts of different groups. Guevara isn’t using this place to get anywhere, because he met his wife here and has won championships. So screw the other pillars, because he’s Sammy Guevara. If that was supposed to make the fans in attendance dislike MJF, it didn’t work.

FTW Title: Hook vs. Ethan Page

Hook is defending and Matt Hardy/Isiah Kassidy are in Page’s corner. Hook suplexes him to start and they head outside, with Page sending him into the steps. Page tries a Twist of Fate but Hook hits his own. Kassidy offers a distraction so Hardy hits Page with the belt, setting up Redrum to retain the title at 1:59.

We go to Nigel McGuinness (debuted at Ring Of Honor Supercard of Honor, announced as All Elite earlier today), who introduces Tony Khan. Five years ago, All In took the wrestling world by storm and now they’re doing it again, with AEW All In on August 27 in London. Adam Cole comes in to announce that the event will be in Wembley Stadium. That’s certainly an announcement, and they’ll have by far the biggest crowd they’ve ever had.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. ???/???/???

Bryan Danielson is here with the Club as the other three aren’t even introduced. The destruction is on, including a spike piledriver on the floor. Back in and Yuta grabs something like a crossface to win at 1:07.

Post match Danielson talks about how he was at home with his family, who he loves very much. He also loves the members of the team and professional wrestling. Danielson only sees a few professionals around here and they just beat up these people. Cue Hangman Page to get beaten down, with Danielson calling him an amateur against some professionals. Danielson whips out a screwdriver and says it’s time to fix things up from all of these amateurs (which he says over and over). Then he gouges the screwdriver into Page’s face and screaming ensues. Danielson continues to be great as a villain.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Gunns

The Gunns are defending and it’s titles vs. careers. Colten runs Wheeler over to start and they head to the floor. Wheeler takes over but an Austin distraction lets Colten hit a dropkick to take over. Some right hands don’t get Wheeler very far and it’s a full nelson slam for two as we take a break.

Back with Harwood coming in off the hot tag to clean house, including a double DDT to Austin. The spike piledriver gives Harwood two and the Shatter Machine gets the same as the referee is pulled out. That’s not a DQ because the referee is smarter than that, so Wheeler is posted to put him down. Harwood and Austin trade rollups for two each until Austin hits him low, right in front of the referee.

The DQ is loaded up but Wheeler begs him to not do it. 3:10 To Yuma connects but Harwood makes the save. A title is slid in behind the referee’s back and Harwood’s diving headbutt hits the belt for two. Harwood spits at both of them but another 3:10 To Yuma is broken up. Wheeler comes in off the top with a super sunset flip for the pin and the titles at 13:58.

Rating: B. This started kind of slowly (which was strange as they didn’t have the amount of time you would expect from a match like this) but they went with the right ending. FTR winning with wrestling after all of the shenanigans fit perfectly and it made for the feel good moment to close the show. The title win was long (long, long) overdue and seeing FTR get the titles back feels right.

Streamers and Mark Briscoe are here to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. They hit the high points here and had some good matches to go with them. This show was about setting things up for the future, plus getting in a cool moment at the end of the night. I had a good time with this one and now they can start getting ready for Double Or Nothing, which is already starting to take shape. Nice feel good show here, which is great after the debacle that was Raw and the downer ending of Wrestlemania.

Results
House Of Black b. Best Friends/Orange Cassidy – Stomp to Chuck
Jamie Hayter b. Riho – Hayterade
Sammy Guevara b. Komander – GTH
Hook b. Ethan Page – Redrum
Blackpool Combat Club b. ???/???/??? – Hammerlock Crossface
FTR b. Gunns – Double pin

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

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Dynamite
Date: March 29, 2023
Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are on the way to Double Or Nothing and that means the card needs to start coming together. You can probably guess a few of the matches that are expected, but there is also a big show next week in New York. There is a good chance that we will be finding out some of the matches on this week. Oh and Kenny Omega vs. Jeff Cobb, if we just have to. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jungle Boy vs. Matt Hardy

Ethan Page is here with Hardy, who stares Jungle Boy down to start before working on the arm. That’s reversed into Jungle Boy’s wristlock and a dropkick puts Hardy on the floor early on. They trade places and Matt hits a dive before the brawl can continue. A Side Effect on the apron plants Jungle Boy and we take an early break.

Back with Jungle Boy fighting back but Page pops up on the apron. Cue Hook to even things up and brawl with Page but he accidentally hits Hardy for trying to break it up. Back in and Jungle Boy backslides Hardy for two before nailing a superkick. A running Downward Spiral sets up the running elbow to the back of the head for the pin at 9:57.

Rating: C+. It’s a good idea to have Jungle Boy in the ring with someone like Hardy, who isn’t going to go too nuts and can keep things a bit more grounded. Jungle Boy is talented at what he does but can use some help in the ring from time to time. Hardy is a shell of the shell of himself but he can still wrestle a basic match, just like he did here.

Post match here is MJF, who says he runs the show around here so the fans can shut up. Not that it matters though as next week, they’re back in the best place in the world in Long Island, New York MJF isn’t happy with how Jungle Boy interrupted things two weeks ago and calls his entire AEW run mid. It’s not MJF’s fault that things are falling apart for Jungle Boy and he brings up their match at Double Or Nothing.

For the first time, MJF felt like he had met the man he would be at war with for the rest of his career. That night, MJF shook his hand but now, here they both are. MJF says that people like Marko Stunted Growth and Christian (MJF: “Great call by the way.”) held him down and Hook will do the same.

They could have run this place together but now Jungle Boy only cares what the fans think. Jungle Boy calls him selfish and self centered, which is enough for MJF to keep running his mouth. MJF finally goes too far by saying Anna Jay wasn’t impressed with Jungle Boy’s, uh, yeah, meaning the fight is on. Jungle Boy beats him down in the corner but MJF bails from the running forearm to the back of the head. It still feels like we are going towards that four way and this might have been adding another pillar to the founda….I have no idea how construction works but you get the idea.

Kenny Omega is getting taped up for his match tonight when Don Callis, who tells Omega to not worry about Hangman Page. Callis is off to apologize.

The Jericho Appreciation Society treats the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to a night on the town, complete with a St. Louis Blues game, ice cream and a rather nice looking dinner. The Acclaimed will make their decision about joining the team next week. When Matt Menard sees the bill for the night, he hopes all of this is worth it. The Acclaimed could have a hotter feud than this in an igloo.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs Blackpool Combat Club

The Club jumps them to start and Moxley brawls with Castle on the floor. The bell rings and Castagnoli Riccola Bombs Brent for the pin at 49 seconds. Well that was unexpected and exactly what it should have been if Castle wasn’t in the ring.

We look back at Kenny Omega vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo. Tonight, Omega is ready to defend the IWGP United States Title against Jeff Cobb.

Don Callis tries to apologize to Hangman Page, saying he just lost his balance last week and knows Page didn’t do anything. Page isn’t sure but the Blackpool Combat Club comes in to deck him. Callis tries to shake Moxley’s hand but gets beaten down as well, leaving him busted open.

Post break Omega is told about what happened to Callis and Page. He’s shaken but has a match.

IWGP United States Title: Kenny Omega vs. Jeff Cobb

Omega is defending. They stare each other down to start until Omega’s shoulder has no effect. Cobb is sent to the floor though and Omega hits the big flip dive. Back in and Cobb goes after Omega’s banged up ribs to take over, with a hard shot sending Omega outside. We take a break and come back with Omega slipping out of a bearhug and trying a backslide.

With that not working, Omega blasts him with a V Trigger into a pair of snap dragons. Cobb pops right back up though and hits a hard clothesline to leave them both down. They go up top with Cobb hitting a delayed superplex and a V Trigger of his own. Omega is able to counter the Tour of the Islands into a ripcord knee and another V Trigger. The One Winged Angel retains the title at 9:57.

Rating: B. I’m not the biggest Omega guy but he is miles better on the good side than the evil one. Omega’s offense is built to be a hero and it has been on display in the last two weeks, both of which have worked well. Let him be more of the AEW superhero than anything else and he should be a lot easier to watch week in and week out. Cobb continues to be a guy who feels like he could be slotted into any main event spot but he’s never around long enough to do so.

Post match the Blackpool Combat Club comes to the apron surround Omega….and Bryan Danielson returns to get in the ring. Danielson chases them off and says no before offering to help Omega up. Omega accepts but, after going after Wheeler Yuta, gets caught with the running knee and the LeBell Lock, with the rest of the Club stomping away. Security and Brandon Cutler come in and are beaten down too.

Video on FTR vs. the Gunns.

The Gunns are ready for FTR and know they’re just as good as FTR could ever been. They don’t respect FTR though and next week it will be top guys, out.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. The Butcher

Blade is challenging and has Blade with him. Cassidy gets jumped before the bell but says he’s fine enough to go. Butcher beats the fire out of him for a bit before taking it outside. A hard whip into the barricade drops Cassidy again and we take a break. Back with Cassidy rolling through a Texas Cloverleaf and going to the eyes to escape a powerbomb.

The Stundog Millionaire connects and the tornado DDT plants Butcher for two. The diving DDT gives Cassidy the same but Blade comes in with a cheap shot to the back (with some kind of object) to give Butcher two. Cue the Best friends to go after Blade, plus a cheap shot to Butcher, with the same object, so the Orange Punch can connect. The Beach Break finishes Butcher at 7:54.

Rating: C+. Cassidy wins again as I believe that is 17 in a row since winning the title. It’s still working, but I’m not sure how long he can go without some of the charm wearing off. Having him out there week after week is going to start taking away some shine, especially if it’s just a bunch of one off opponents.

Jade Cargill and company think Taya Valkyrie is going too far by stealing Jaded. Vengeance is promised on Rampage.

Juice Robinson is ready for Action Andretti on Rampage before he gets to Ricky Starks.

Willow Nightingale vs. Ruby Soho

The rest of the Outcasts are here too. Soho is chased to the floor to start and we get a meeting with the Outcasts. That’s not cool with Nightingale, who pulls her back in and counters No Future. A side slam into the basement crossbody gives Nightingale two. Hold on though as Soho has something in her eye, allowing Saraya to get in some knees to the face. Choking on the ropes ensues and we take a break.

Back with Nightingale hitting a hip attack in the corner and a powerbomb gets two on Soho. That’s enough to make Soho ask for a truce, only to get caught in a Death Valley Driver for two more. Nightingale goes up but gets distracted by Toni Storm, allowing Soho to hit a pair of No Futures….for two (ok they got me). Destination Unknown is countered into a backslide but Nightingale is back up with a hard Pounce. Storm breaks up the doctor bomb though and Soho grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 9:03.

Rating: C+. It’s kind of sad that AEW has someone as naturally charming as Nightingale but you know she is going to lose as soon as her music starts playing. The Outcasts claim another victim as this story continues to not exactly be great. It’s just another female heel group, which has been done to death in wrestling over the last few years. It isn’t like they’re doing anything interesting and that is starting to show fast.

Post match the Outcasts load up the Pillmanizing on Nightingale’s ankle but Riho and Skye Blue run in. That devastating pair is beaten down but here is Jami Hayter for the real save.

Powerhouse Hobbs is ready to hurt more people. The lack of QT Marshall or QTV made this roughly 485% better than anything he has done in recent weeks.

Adam Cole vs. Daniel Garcia

Feeling out process to start with Garcia grabbing a headlock. Cole reverses into one of his own before shouldering Garcia down. A headscissors drops Cole though and a piledriver sends him outside as we take a break. Back with Cole hitting a pump kick and the brainbuster onto the knee gets two.

They trade kicks to the face until Cole gets caught in a German suplex. Some elbows to Cole’s head keep him in trouble but he’s back up with a failed Panama Sunrise. The Dragon Tamer has Cole in more trouble until he makes the rope. An arm trap piledriver (that’s a new one) gives Garcia two but he charges into a boot in the corner. The Panama Sunrise sets up the Boom to finish Garcia at 11:05.

Rating: B-. This was all it needed to be (despite further death of the piledriver) as Cole comes back and gets a win over a wrestler with some status. Garcia was there to help Cole get his feet wet again and it was a good match to help him do just that. Cole is still smooth and my goodness I’m glad to see him as a hero for once. His heel stuff is good but I could go for seeing him do something else, which is actually happening for a change.

Post match Britt Baker comes out to celebrate with Cole as a bunch of streamers fly. Cue Chris Jericho to….help Garcia to the back and glare at Cole without doing anything. Cole and Baker celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Between last week’s huge main event and next week’s big show in New York, this was the show between the shows. As a result, AEW rightfully took its foot off the gas a bit, as you don’t want to run through everything you have. Next week should be a heck of a big show and this helped set that up with nothing bad and some good action throughout. I liked the show and it has me more invested in next week so well done here.

Results
Jungle Boy b. Matt Hard – Running forearm to the back of the head
Blackpool Combat Club b. Dalton Castle/The Boys – Riccola Bomb to Brent
Kenny Omega b. Jeff Cobb – One Winged Angel
Orange Cassidy b. Butcher – Beach Break
Ruby Soho b. Willow Nightingale – Rollup with feet on the ropes
Adam Cole b. Daniel Garcia – Boom

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: March 22, 2023
Location: Cable Dahmer Arena, Independence, Missouri
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We have a dream match this week as Kenny Omega is facing El Hijo Del Vikingo in what should be a heck of a showcase. Other than that, the big question coming out of last week is what is going on with the Elite and Hangman Page, as that is going down again. That should be enough to carry things for a week so let’s get to it.

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

We open with Hangman Page outside an ambulance as the Young Bucks have been attacked before the show. Page gets in the second ambulance as it leaves.  Oh dear.

The ropes are red, white and blue, ala the WWF in the 80s.

Sting/Darby Allin/Orange Cassidy vs. Butcher And The Blade/Kip Sabian

Penelope Ford is here with the villains and this is fallout from a fight at the House Rules show. Cassidy frustrated Blade to start and it’s off to butcher to forearm Sting. With that not working, Sting sends him into the corner for the Stinger Splash. Everything breaks down as Sting tries for the Scorpion and he winds up getting caught in a double suplex.

Sabian goes up top so Sting does the slow motion Orange Cassidy roll to escape. Allin comes in and gets taken down by Sabian and we take a break. Back with Allin escaping and handing it off to Cassidy for the tornado DDT. Sabian takes Cassidy down but gets tapped on the shoulder by Sting, who does his own lazy kicks. Blade and Butcher eventually break up the Scorpion but Allin makes the save. Sting is back up and hits the Scorpion Death Drop to finish Sabian at 11:15.

Rating: C+. Sting matches aren’t going to be anything serious but they are going to let the fans have a good time watching a legend. Putting him in a bunch of tag matches so he doesn’t have to carry the load is a good idea. Let them go out there and have some fun against villains with nothing to lose and get the crowd going for the show.

Post match Allin stares up at the Double Or Nothing banner.

Video on last week’s Four Pillars showdown, with MJF talking about how he has already beaten all three of them.

Video on Kenny Omega vs. Hijo Del Vikingo.

Excalibur has gotten a text from Brandon Cutler accusing the Blackpool Combat Club of attacking the Young Bucks.

Tag Team Titles: The Gunns vs. Top Flight

Top Flight is challenging and the Guns are cleared out to start. We settle down to Dante vs. Austin, with the former backflipping over him, only for a hair pull to put Dante in trouble as we take a break. Back with Dante hitting a swinging half nelson suplex into the Nose Dive. Cue the Kingdom to make the save though, allowing 3:10 to Yuma to retain the titles at 7:05.

Rating: C+. Another match that felt like it could have been a lot better if we could have actually seen most of it take place. The Gunns are on the road to facing FTR and it wouldn’t shock me to see FTR go down again. Top Flight still feels like a team who could be champs later on, and if that is the case, it would be nice to have them not lose like this so often.

Post break the Kingdom gets chased off but here is FTR to interrupt. The Gunns don’t want to see them and yell about how no one wants to see them. FTR offers their AEW career as a team for a title shot but that’s not good enough either. Instead, Dax offers the two of them leaving AEW if they lose. Deal, with the Gunns spitting on them and bailing before violence ensues.

Mark Sterling has issued a cease and desist order against Taya Valkyrie using Jaded. Oh and the open challenge is over so there’s no title shot for Taya.

Stokely Hathaway vs. Hook

Non-title, No DQ and Hathaway is described as having the wisdom of an owl. Hold on though, as Hathaway isn’t medically cleared to compete so he is retiring. Hathaway: “Special thanks to my fans, all 12 of y’all!” He even has a doctor’s note…which is apparently a receipt for Wingstop.

The referee says ring the bell so Hathaway runs into the crowd, only to be tossed right back. A running elbow to the jaw doesn’t phase Hook, who sends Hathaway flying with a suplex on the floor. Hook grabs some weapons from under the ring but Hathaway manages a blast with a fire extinguisher. Hook is fine enough to block a chair shot and blast Hathaway with it over and over. Another suplex onto a piece of barricade in the corner gets two, with Hook pulling him up. Redrum finishes for Hook at 3:07. Exactly what it should have been.

Rating: C+. The match itself was just a joke but watching Hook smash through a loud mouthed manager is a good idea. Hook is someone who could go a long way around here and letting him get another win like this works well. Just get him into another feud so he can have some more training matches and he could get even better than he already is.

In the back, Matt Hardy says Ethan Page is the man to beat Hook.

Here is Adam Cole for a chat. He’s back in the ring in seven days and right now, he feels great. Now he wants to know who he is facing, so cue Daniel Garcia (in a lot of leather) to say it’s time for his own story time. Garcia lists off everyone he has beaten while Cole has been playing video games on Twitch. Garcia almost calls himself a wrestler before asking what makes Cole special. Cole: “When they ring the freaking bell.” He actually praises Garcia but asks about the company Garcia has been keeping. The match is on for next week, with Cole getting in a BOOM to wrap it up.

Kenny Omega is upset about the Bucks being injured and not going to the hospital with them.

Stu Grayson vs. Jon Moxley

The Blackpool Combat Club and Dark Order are here too. Grayson charges to start but gets taken down as we hear about Grayson’s kickboxing career. They head outside with Grayson getting in a few shots, followed by a hurricanrana back inside. A belly to back suplex puts Grayson to the apron, setting up a running charge to send him into the barricade. We take a break and come back with Moxley stomping at the head for two and getting frustrated.

Grayson fights up and starts elbowing away, followed by a springboard spinning Swanton for two. The teams get in an argument on the floor so Grayson moonsaults out onto them for the big knockdown. Moxley dives onto Grayson but gets kicked in the face back inside. A 450 looks to set up the Knightfall but Moxley flips over into the bulldog choke. Grayson manages to fight up and sends him into the corner to escape, setting up a Pele. Moxley catches him on top though and hits a super Death Rider for the pin at 10:02.

Rating: B. This was a lot easier to accept than last week (the lack of a spike piledriver on the floor helped) as Grayson got a heck of a rub out of Moxley. It wasn’t so much that Moxley was in danger but more that he had to do a lot of work to put Grayson away. They were working hard here and it was a much better showcase for Grayson than anything he did last week.

Ricky Starks is ready for Juice Robinson on Rampage.

QTV shows us Powerhouse Hobbs beating Rey Fenix on Rampage. Apparently Aaron Solo has stolen Wardlow’s identity (and house and car)…..and hacked some Observer’s Twitter account. As for Hobbs, he’ll be defending again in another open challenge on Rampage. Hobbs wasn’t even in the segment and that might be a good thing.

Skye Blue vs. Toni Storm

The rest of the Outcasts are here too. Blue starts fast and sends Storm outside for a diving hurricanrana. Some Outcasts cheap shots take Blue down though and we go to a break. Back with Blue hitting a high crossbody and snapping off a headscissors to send Storm into the ropes. Storm is back with a DDT for two but misses the running hip attack. Ruby Soho’s distraction means code Blue doesn’t get a count, meaning Storm can dropkick her into the corner. Now the hip attack into the Storm Zero finishes Blue at 8:13.

Rating: C+. Blue has come a long way but is still needing to get an important win. Other than that, this was more about the Outcasts beating up their rivals as the story continues to meander. If this story is going to mean something, they need to have the Outcasts win some gold, because otherwise they’re just kind of annoying NWO knockoffs.

Post match the beatdown is on but Willow Nightingale and Riho (with a pipe and looking ridiculous while trying to be intimidating) make the save.

Stu Grayson is getting checked out by the medics when Jon Moxley, with the Blackpool Combat Club, attack him again.

Kenny Omega vs. El Hijo Del Vikingo

Vikingo’s AAA Mega Title (which he won after Omega vacated it) isn’t on the line. Vikingo dives onto him before the bell but Omega is back with his own right hands. The bell rings and Omega stays on him, only to get hurricanranaed to the floor. Vikingo hits a big dive, setting up a springboard 450 for two back inside. Omega is back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and sends Vikingo into the barricade. A table is set up at ringside and we take a break.

Back with a strike off on the apron until Omega plants him hard onto said apron. Vikingo fights back up and climbs onto the post for a super dragonrana. Back in and another super hurricanrana drops Omega on his head, setting up a springboard Phoenix splash for two. Another springboard hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb and the V Trigger gives Omega two.

Omega adds another V Trigger but Vikingo is back up with a springboard poisonrana to drop Omega on his head again. With Omega on the table, a step up 630 drives him through it and gives the fans their next loud chant. Back in and a Code Red gives Vikingo two more but Omega avoids a 630. Omega hits another V Trigger and the One Winged Angel finishes Vikingo at 16:53.

Rating: A. Yeah this was a blast and that’s all it was designed to be. This was about telling two people to go out there and go nuts with one highlight reel move after another. There’s no story (not a significant one at least) to it and there didn’t need to be. It was about the crazy spots and letting Vikingo do his insane flips. From that perspective it was a blast and that’s all it needed to be.

Post match the Blackpool Combat Club interrupts Omega to beat him down. Cue Hangman Page in the ambulance (with a board with nails in it, because that comes with every ambulance) for the save. Don Callis goes to check on Page, who pulls away before stopping upon seeing who it is. Callis does quite the fall (without being attacked in any way) and Omega checks on him while looking confused at Page to end the show. Because the Elite must have drama you see.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a heck of a fun show as they seemed to drop a lot of the more serious stuff and just let the matches be entertaining. Nothing on here (save for QTV) was bad and the main event is going to get a lot of attention. Very good show here and probably the most engaging show they’ve done in a lot of Wednesdays. I have no idea if they can keep it up but for now, this was back to the AEW of old.

Results
Sting/Orange Cassidy/Darby Allin b. Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade – Scorpion Death Drop to Sabian
Gunns b. Top Flight – 3:10 To Yuma to Darius
Hook b. Stokely Hathaway – Redrum
Jon Moxley b. Stu Grayson – Super Death Rider
Toni Storm b. Skye Blue – Storm Zero
Kenny Omega b. El Hijo Del Vikingo – One Winged Angel

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Dynamite
Date: March 15, 2023
Location: Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re in Canada this week and that means it is time for…well it doesn’t really mean much but the All-Atlantic Title is now the International Title with Orange Cassidy defending against Jeff Jarrett. Other than that we have MJF’s Re-bar Mitzvah, which should be quite the spectacle. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is MJF, complete with four women (one of who he kisses) and a chyron that says “Jewish AF” for the Re-Bar Mitzvah. He already had one of these back when he was a kid and it was awesome. Now though, he has beaten Bryan Danielson so it is time to do it again on the big stage because HE IS IRON MAN. MJF says hit the music so here are a bunch of people with a chair, meaning it’s time to dance in a circle (which I believe is a religious tradition)…but here is Jungle Boy to interrupt.

Then it’s Sammy Guevara coming out as well. We’re only missing Darby Allin and as soon as Sammy says “oh Max”, here is Darby to complete the Four Pillars. MJF yells at them for ruining this and asks what they want. All three together: “I want a title match!” (that was clever). Jungle Boy talks about facing MJF at Double Or Nothing 2020, after which Jungle Boy was on Dark and Elevation and Rampage, where MJF never has been. It’s time to change things for MJF and that starts by taking the World Title.

MJF says the company revolves around him, because he is an actual star. Guevara cuts him off and says MJF bought his way into this company. Guevara was only going to be the bump guy for Jericho but he got over on his own. He’s going to be World Champion one day because he is the best ever and you know it. MJF says we appreciate Guevara taking his time out of getting into backstage brawls but Allin cuts him off (a theme is developing here) as well.

Back in 2013, Allin was in film school and turned in a film that the teacher said had to be changed because the school wouldn’t accept it. Allin dropped out of school instead and went to wrestling school, where he said he wasn’t changing a thing. Then he was in Tony Khan’s office and said there would never be a bidding war or him. AEW lets him be himself and there won’t be a bidding war of 2024 like MJF, who wants out of here.

MJF isn’t having this and says Guevara is going to be proposing to a new girl in seven months. Guevara: “Didn’t your fiance leave you?” MJF says he’s the only one who doesn’t have a legend helping him out and that is why he is the only one of the Pillars who can hold this place up. He is off to have his cake so thank you, screw you, bye (for the extra Cornette heat). Then MJF goes into the cake. This was long (too long really), but having these four in the ring, likely setting up a huge four way, is a great thing.

Chris Jericho received an honor from the Winnipeg government, with his home street being honorarily named as “Chris Jericho Way”. That’s pretty cool.

Hangman Page/Dark Order vs. Blackpool Combat Club

It’s Evil Uno/Canada’s Stu Grayson for the Order. Castagnoli takes Uno down and it’s Yuta coming in to take him down again. Grayson comes in to clean some house, including landing on Castagnoli’s face. Everything breaks down and Grayson is taken outside, with a triple spike piledriver dropping him hard as we take a break (because two World Champions spiking a goof on his head on the floor is a spot that sends us to a commercial).

Back with Moxley hitting another piledriver for two on Grayson (with no one making the save). Grayson manages a knockdown of his own and it’s the hot tag to Page to clean house. Everything breaks down and Uno hits a Swanton on Yuta. The parade of shots to the face sets up Grayson Cactus Clotheslining Castagnoli to the floor, leaving us with Page vs. Moxley.

Yuta grabs the ring bell to clock Page though, leaving the Order down 3-2. A chop block cuts Uno down but Grayson sends Castagnoli outside for a big running flip dive. Uno’s double underhook DDT sets up Grayson’s 450 for two on Moxley. The Fatality gets two on Moxley with Castagnoli making the save. Yuta pulls Uno off the apron though and Moxley chokes Grayson out at 13:21.

Rating: D+. This was about as ridiculous as you can get, with the TRIPLE SPIKE PILEDRIVER not doing much of anything to Grayson. Couple that with the Dark Order, down 3-2, giving the entire BCC a run for their money and this was just bizarre. I know the Order has fans, but this went beyond being realistic and was more eye roll inducing than anything else. The action was fine enough, but I didn’t buy most of anything I was watching.

Post match the beating stays on, but John Silver and Alex Reynolds make the save, with the Club running despite having the numbers advantage.

Juice Robinson wants Ricky Starks.

Here’s a look back at the opening segment.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Nicole Matthews

Cargill, with Leila Grey, is defending. The pump kick sets up Jaded to retain at 42 seconds.

Post match Jade asks if that’s it and even threatens Canadian Renee Paquette. Cue Taya Valkyrie to make the save and beat up Grey with the Road To Valhalla (Jaded). At least she’s a more realistic challenger.

Ricky Starks wants Juice Robinson face to face.

We get the debut of QTV (a QT Marshall TMZ parody) where they mock Wardlow, implying that Powerhouse Hobbs robbed him. They even have Wardlow’s passport so he can’t be here! Hobbs seems ready to fight Wardlow again. Putting the focus on Marshall isn’t seeming to be a brilliant idea. Remember when Hobbs was doing the Book thing and walking around Oakland and explaining his backstory? That’s out and the TMZ parody is in.

International Title: Jeff Jarrett vs. Orange Cassidy

Cassidy is defending and swaps out for the new title, officially leveling it up. Jarrett (with Satnam Singh, Jay Lethal and Sonjay Dutt) armdrags him down to start and hits that strut as the fans aren’t pleased. Cassidy loads up the hands in pockets but gets taken down by the legs. Back up and Cassidy bangs up his leg, allowing Jarrett to mock the Lazy Kicks. That’s broken up and Cassidy makes the comeback but gets sent outside as we take a break.

We come back with Jarrett grabbing the Sharpshooter to stay on the bad knee. That’s broken up as well but the referee gets bumped so Jarrett grabs the guitar. Cue another referee to take it away, but Cassidy takes it away as well. Satnam Singh grabs the guitar, so Cassidy tapes the referee on the shoulder and grabs his knee. Singh is ejected, leaving Cassidy to grab the tornado DDT. The referee checks on Jarrett and Jay Lethal gets in the Golden Globe shot for a close two. Cue Trent Baretta to take out Lethal and the Orange Punch retains the title at 13:38.

Rating: C+. This is a good example of a match that didn’t try to be anything more than goofy wrestling fun and it succeeded. Jarrett knows exactly how to do the over the top silly style while still having a match and they made it work here. If Cassidy stays around this level, he can hold onto that title for a LONG time, as this kind of thing is perfect for him.

We get an Acclaimed music video about how much they love the fans and their general awesomeness.

Here are the Outcasts for a chat. They talk about how there wouldn’t be a division without them and insult the fans in various ways. We hear bout how many women they have beaten down until Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter run in. The villains beat them down but Riho, Skye Blue and Willow Nightingale run in for the save. This Outcasts stuff still feels rather lame.

The Jericho Appreciation Society isn’t happy with the Acclaimed and tell us to wait until Rampage.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows, with Rey Fenix answering Powerhouse Hobbs’ Open Challenge for the TBS Title.

Trios Titles: House of Black vs. Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Elite

The House is defending and King chops Guevara into the corner to start. Jericho (big pop, including from his father in the crowd) comes in but Omega tags himself in and the place comes to their feet. Everything breaks down quickly though and the champs clear the ring as we take a break.

Back with Jericho backbreakering Black and the Society gets to strike their triple pose. The House fights back and beats down the now legal Nick. An enziguri gets Nick out of trouble and everything breaks down for a bit, with Omega hurricanranaing Matthews into the corner. Jericho comes in to face Omega again and the fans approve, especially as they help clear the ring. The Bucks are back in with the superkicks but King runs them over as we take a break.

Back with Jericho missing the springboard crossbody but Guevara hits a Swanton. King loads up a dive to the floor but gets caught on top, allowing Omega and Jericho to double superplex him down. The Codebreaker gets two on Omega and we cut to the back where the Dark Order is still brawling with the Blackpool Combat Club. Omega cuts off the Lionsault with raised knees but the Meltzer Driver is broken up.

Guevara shooting star presses Matt with King having to make the save. Jericho gets left alone with the House with Dante’s Inferno connecting but Omega makes the save. Jericho gets in a Floyd shot to King and Guevara dives onto a bunch of people but King kicks out anyway. The Judas Effect is cut off by Black Mass and Garcia gets Dante’s Infernoed for the pin at 21:44.

Rating: B. This is a good example of a match where you knew what they were going to do coming into it and that isn’t a bad thing. You knew this was going to have Omega and Jericho as the biggest stars ever, all of the non-tagging insanity and (less guaranteed) the House beating someone not from Winnipeg to retain. With that all known coming in, it was exactly the kind of fast paced, action packed match that it needed to be and it was quite good.

Post match Jake Hager comes out to go after the House but gets beaten down as well. Cue the BCC and the Dark Order to brawl to ringside, with Hangman Page following. Page faces off with the Club but the Elite comes up behind him. The Club drops to the floor and Page is left alone with the Elite. Please…..tell me we don’t have more “remember when we were all friends?” speeches coming. Excalibur: “PAGE IS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE! WHAT A MOMENT!” The staredown ends the show, with Page not noticing the Elite behind him. I know they have their audience but I could really go with never seeing the Elite soap opera again.

Overall Rating: B-. There were some problems here but it felt like they had more of a direction. That’s a step in the right direction and one that I will take, as at least thy seem to be coming together with an idea. Some of these feuds will come together before Double Or Nothing, but there is some potential here for some intriguing feuds going forward. I liked the show well enough and the hot crowd helped a lot.

Results
Blackpool Combat Club b. Dark Order/Hangman Page – Choke to Grayson
Jaded b. Nicole Matthews – Jaded
Orange Cassidy b. Jeff Jarrett – Orange Punch
House Of Black b. Jericho Appreciation Society and Elite – Dante’s Inferno to Garcia

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

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Dynamite
Date: March 8, 2023
Location: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We’re done with Revolution and that means it is time to start getting ready for Double Or Nothing. That show is only two and a half months away so AEW actually needs to put some things together a little bit faster here. Other than that, we have a lot of fallout to get through so let’s get to it.

Here is Revolution if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Jay Lethal

Cassidy is defending and everyone is sent to the back to start. Cassidy takes him down with an armdrag but gets reversed into a rollup for two. Back in and Lethal counters the tornado DDT but can’t get the Figure Four. They go outside with Lethal’s shoulder getting posted before going back inside, where he crotches Cassidy on top. It’s right back to the floor, with Cassidy’s leg being sent into the post and we take a break.

Back with Cassidy winning a slugout and grabbing a suplex. Cassidy’s top rope DDT connects but he bangs up his knee again. The knee is fine enough to hit a tornado DDT for two but Lethal is right back with the Figure Four. Cassidy gets over to the rope for the save and clotheslines Letha from the apron back inside. The Lethal Combination plants Cassidy and Lethal goes back to the knee. Lethal tries the Lethal Injection but his arm, which had been worked on earlier, gives out. A quick Orange Punch retains the title at 14:47.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine match here with Cassidy beating another experienced veteran with some credentials. That is how you go about making his title reign seem more impressive for when someone takes the title from him later on. Cassidy can hang well enough with most people, even in a match where the ending felt so out of nowhere. Good choice for an opener for sure though.

Post match Jeff Jarrett comes in to Stroke Cassidy and hit him in the knee with the guitar. The Best Friends make the save. Cassidy vs. Jarrett should work well.

We look at Wardlow announcing that his car was broken into, with the thief taking his gear, boots and title belt.

Powerhouse Hobbs says that’s a shame for Wardlow but tonight, Hobbs is taking everything Wardlow has left: being called a champion. I like that.

Here is Ricky Starks for a chat. Starks talks about everything he has done recent but he isn’t sure what is next for him. The question is actually where he is going next…..and here is Juice Robinson of the Bullet Club to plant him with his reverse DDT.

Wardlow, in an FTR shirt, says that since he doesn’t have his gear, let’s do this falls count anywhere, anything goes.

Renee Paquette brings out Ruby Soho, who leaves Toni Storm and Saraya on the stage. Soho is immediately asked why she joined up with the two of them and says it’s obvious. She talks about how she kept fighting the AEW originals and was booed every time. They are here to build AEW into a new place and the rookies in the back don’t support her at all. They are starting on a broken foundation, but it has to be done. Now bring out her opponent.

Skye Blue vs. Ruby Soho

Soho jumps her to start and the beating is on, with Soho hitting an enziguri to make it worse. We take a break and come back with Blue hitting a knee against the ropes. Soho isn’t having that though and grabs her by the hair, setting up Destination Unknown to finish Blue at 6:45.

Rating: C. Giving Soho a win straight after her heel turn made sense, even if the match was cut up by the break. Blue is someone who has been built up enough to make the win mean something without sacrificing anyone too big. Now just let Soho put things together before having her lose again and this could go somewhere for a change.

Post match Storm and Saraya come back for the spray painting, but Willow Nightingale comes in for the save. That doesn’t’ work either and the spray painting ensued.

Hangman Page says what happened to Jon Moxley is a warning to everyone else. Don’t try him, or he’ll take you to h***. He says it isn’t personal with Renee Paquette (handling the interview) and is sorry for what she had to see, but it’s over with Mox.

MJF is ready to be back next week and it’s going to be his birthday.

Here is FTR for a chat. The fans are glad to see them but FTR talks about how they have had some troubles lately. They lost their titles and a great friend, but they couldn’t let the Gunns come out here and talk about being the best team in the world. Dax talks about how they finishes the trilogy with the Briscoes in December, only to have the Gunns take it away. They’re coming for the titles for the fans, the Briscoes and themselves. They have to win the belts after that speech.

Jade Cargill doesn’t know what a challenge is. They’ll be in Canada next week so sent one of those wacky Canadians to take her own.

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. AR Fox/Top Flight

Fox slugs away at Jericho to start and knocks him outside, setting up the big dive to the floor. Back in and it’s off to Guevara, who takes Fox down for the Society pose as the villains take over. Dante comes in and takes over on Garcia, sending him outside for a dive. Angelo Parker grabs Dante’s boot though and Jericho punches him out of the air as we take a break.

Back with Dante fighting out of a chinlock and flipping Guevara away, allowing the tag off to Fox. House is quickly cleaned but everything breaks down. Darius comes in for a bridging German suplex for two on Garcia, setting up the parade of dives to the floor. Back in and the Judas Effect finishes Dante at 9:45.

Rating: C+. So is Jericho moving into the Trios division now? It’s one of the few things that he hasn’t gone after yet and he could certainly use a new act to bring down. Fox and Top Flight are still a good act, but when the only thing they have won is a wacky battle royal, it might be time to give them something that actually matters.

Post match the Society says that they are the #1 contenders to the Trios Titles (and on their one year anniversary at that). The lights go out and cue the Elite to say not so fast. Don Callis talks about how they’re in Winnipeg next week and Jericho is only the second best wrestler from the city. Callis: “And if I had a couple of months to train, you would be #3!” Jericho wants to fight but the lights go out again and here is the House of Black to say we’re in for a triple threat trios match for the titles.

Tony Khan announces that Orange Cassidy wants to defend the All-Atlantic Title against Jeff Jarrett next week and the match has been granted. However, in partnership with Warner Brothers Discovery and because of Shazam 2: Fury of the Gods, the title will now be the AEW International Title. WAY better name and cool, though I have no idea how that ties into the movie.

A broken Bryan Danielson talks about how he has fought everywhere to get here. Then he woke up in the LeBell Lock at Revolution and couldn’t feel his arms. He gave up, and now it is time to go home. To Ring of Honor perhaps?

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Dark Order

Moxley and Claudio for the Club here and they jump the Order before the bell. The beating starts fast, with Silver being taken into the corner. A flapjack onto the buckle drops Silver again but he manages to get over to the corner for the tag to Reynolds. Everything breaks down and Reynolds gets knocked to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Reynolds getting away from Castagnoli and getting over to Silver for the tag. Silver pounds on Moxley but has to fight out of a triangle choke. Moxley gets choked instead and Reynolds comes back in. A front facelock choke (Darce choke I believe commentary said?) finishes Reynolds at 10:14.

Rating: C. The match was fine enough but I was sitting here wondering two things. First, why was Moxley wrestling (and dominating) three days after such a violent match? Second, how in the world are two World Champions taking ten minutes to beat these losers? Sometimes it’s ok to squash someone and move n, which is what they needed to do here.

Post match the Blackpool Combat Club beats down the Dark Order again, with Moxley choking away. Evil Uno comes to the ring for the save but gets beaten down as well. Cue Hangman Page for the save but he gets beaten down as well, because we need a six man to keep this going.

The Acclaimed is ready to get back on track but here is the Jericho Appreciation Society (goon edition) to say they love rap music. They offer the Acclaimed a spot on the team and get laughed at.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Wardlow is defending and it’s anything goes, falls count anywhere, with wins coming by pinfall, submission or knockout. The fight is on in the back to start, with Hobbs hitting him with the brass ring (which bounces as he throws it away). A suplex onto the car makes it worse for Wardlow and the bell finally rings. We take a break and come back with the brawl heading into the ring. The F10 gives Wardlow two and they head back outside, with Hobbs sending him into the barricade.

Hobbs takes too long to set up the table though and it’s a Swanton from the top to put Hobbs through said table for two. The powerbomb onto the ramp plants Hobbs, though Wardlow comes up holding his ribs. They go up to the stage (where the TNT Title can be seen on a stand) and it’s QT Marshall of all people to chair Wardlow down. Wardlow gets double powerbombed off the stage and the ten count gives Hobbs the title at 10:48.

Rating: C+. Oh boy there is a lot to unpack here so let’s get the good out of the way first. Above all else, Hobbs winning a title is LONG overdue. He has felt like a star in the making for months now and him walking out as champion is good. Second, it was a good fight and if that had to be done because of Wardlow’s gear being stolen, that’s fine enough as it’s something beyond their control.

Then you have the problems and we’ll start with Wardlow. After the pretty lame first title reign, he you have him lose in three days via shenanigans after he came back to win the title after that big sad speech about his father? Why did this match need to happen so soon? Just because it was the “Face of the Revolution” ladder match?

Finally, there’s the ending and I have no idea what they’re doing. Marshall is little more than a pest most of the time and now he’s managing/associated with someone with Hobbs’ potential? I really don’t get this one as Marshall has been gone or months and Hobbs can talk or himself. This felt like a way to keep Wardlow looking strong and sure, fine, but there HAD to be someone better than Marshall available.

Hobbs poses with the backup belt to end the show. If they had that, why not let Wardlow hold it earlier?

Overall Rating: C. This was a show where the wrestling was good but the weird choices bring it down a bit. Between Marshall, Moxley vs. Page continuing, the Society getting into the trios picture (which granted may be just a one off) and Danielson going away, there were some head scratching moments tonight. It was still an energetic show with good enough wrestling, but this felt like they were taking a step into a weird direction and that has been happening more and more recently. There was good on the show (the wrestling, Soho, FTR and Danielson’s promo) but it felt more odd than interesting at times.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Jay Lethal – Orange Punch
Ruby Soho b. Skye Blue – Destination Unknown
Jericho Appreciation Society b. AR Fox/Top Flight – Judas Effect to Darius
Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli b. Dark Order – Choke to Reynolds
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Wardlow – Powerbomb off the stage

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

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Dynamite
Date: March 1, 2023
Location: Cow Palace, San Francisco, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the go home Dynamite for Revolution and that means we have a stacked show. This time around that includes the Face of the Revolution ladder match plus a Casino tag team battle royal to determine the fourth team in Sunday’s four way Tag Team Title match. That should be more than enough to carry the show so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Big Bill

Bill, with Stokely Hathaway, is challenging. Cassidy gets backed to the floor to start and the chase is on, with Cassidy messing with Bill’s mind. With nothing else working, Cassidy even steals Stokely’s glasses before tumbling away from Bill. Back in and the tornado DDT is countered into a side slam to plant Cassidy for the first time.

A running big boot puts Cassidy on the floor and it’s time to set up the table (which they do move to the end of the ramp for once). Cassidy’s comeback is broken up and the chokeslam puts him through the table as we take a break. Back with Danhausen at ringside and Billy hitting a suplex. The full nelson has Cassidy in trouble but he falls down from the threat of a big boot.

They go outside with Cassidy grabbing Danhausen but Hathaway decks Danhausen with the cast instead. Cassidy takes Bill out with a suicide dive, setting up an Orange Punch to the knee. Back in and the Stundog Millionaire into the tornado DDT rock Bill, followed by back to back Orange Punches. A top rope Orange Punch finishes Bill at 12:26.

Rating: C. This was something resembling a power vs. speed match and while Cassidy winning is fine, it’s still a bit much to accept that someone his size doing a Superman Punch is beating a giant. That aside, Cassidy has absolutely found his niche as the low level champion and it is going to be a big deal when he loses. Bill was good enough as a monster for Cassidy to slay, but this took longer than it needed to in order to get to the point.

After last week’s Dynamite, a bloody Jon Moxley says it tastes like victory and life. Moxley shouts about how he has come back from dealing with Hangman Page, but Page was the one getting all the attention when he was hurt. With the blood falling on the floor, Moxley promises to protect what is his. The Texas Deathmatch is on.

Here is the Elite but the lights go out and the House of Black is here to jump them. The House poses with the Trios Titles. Why was the Elite coming out there? That’s not important right now.

Kommander vs. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Powerhouse Hobbs vs. AR Fox vs. Action Andretti vs. Ortiz vs. Eddie Kingston vs. Sammy Guevara

Ladder match and the winner gets a shot at TNT Champion Samoa Joe (on commentary) next week. It’s a brawl to start with Kommander walking the rope to kick the ladder down, only to get run over by Hobbs. Back up and Guevara gets to clean house but Andretti sends him outside for the dive. Kommander runs the rope to dive onto everyone else at ringside and we take a break.

Back with Guevara going the latter but Andretti climbs up a two ladder structure from the floor to the top of the ladder, setting up a horrible Falcon Arrow onto the ladder to leave Andretti and Guevara hopefully not badly injured. Kommander 450s onto a ladder to Fox before going up, only to have Andretti springboard in for a save.

Cue Daniel Garcia to clean house and then bridge a ladder over some chairs. Guevara Swantons onto Andretti onto the ladder but gets shoved off the ladder. Takeshita goes up but Hobbs runs him over, breaking the ladder in the process. The referee comes in again to hold the ladder so Hobbs can win at 13:43.

Rating: C+. I have no idea what to say on this one but it was an absolute mess. Kingston and Ortiz fought off almost from the start and were gone for most of the match. Other than that, you still had too many people running around and way too many instances of people going for a big spot rather than trying to win. That stuff always drives me crazy in these things and this was even messier than most such matches. This didn’t work very well, though it did have the expected impressive dives. Just slow it down a bit next time.

Post match Hobbs goes after Joe but Wardlow returns to take Joe out. Hobbs stands back and watches, saying he has time.

The Best Friends are hurt and can’t be in the battle royal. Danhausen and the banged up Orange Cassidy are in instead.

Chris Jericho vs. Peter Avalon

Avalon jumps him to start and Jericho is sent outside, setting up the suicide dive. Back in and a pump kick gives Avalon two, followed by a springboard DDT for two. Then he walks into the Codebreaker to give Jericho the pin at 2:27.

Post match Jericho beats up Avalon until Ricky Starks makes the save. Jericho promises to win on Sunday and here is the Jericho Appreciation Society to beat Starks down. This whole thing absolutely could have been moved to Rampage.

Hangman Page is ready to take everything from Jon Moxley on Sunday.

Here is Christian Cage for a chat. He talks about how glad he’ll be to not be back in San Francisco again for another ten years. A few weeks ago he turned on Dynamite and heard Jungle Boy saying he was going to win a singles title this year. Cage: “Over my head body.” Christian promises to win a singles title this year before going into a rant about how people like Jungle Boy treat his business like a video game.

Christian treats this business like an ATM and promises to treat Jungle Boy like the nothing that he is. He wants Jungle Boy in a fight at Revolution but the lights go out. We get a video from Jungle Boy burying something, with clips of him attacking Christian included. I guess the match is on. This was GREAT stuff from Christian, who sold the entire match in about a minute and a half. Jungle Boy’s video was weird, but at least we have the match/fight set and Cage is still doing some of the best talking in AEW.

Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker are sick of Saraya and promise that Hayter will retain the Women’s Title.

FTW Title: Matt Hardy vs. Hook

Hardy, with Stokely Hathaway/Isiah Kassidy/Ethan Page, is challenging and starts fast by sending Hook outside. Page posts Hook to put him in trouble and Hardy follows with a neckbreaker. Hardy sends him into the buckle but Hook suplexes him out of the corner. A sliding lariat gives Hook two but Hardy is right back with a Side Effect. Ethan Page gets in a shot with Stokely’s cast for two. The Twist of Fate is broken up and Redrum makes Hardy tap immediately (seemed like he was trying to get out of the match to screw with Stokely).

Rating: C. Again, there was a lot going on here when doing less would have worked. Hook still needs ring time and having him in there for a 7-8 minute match with Hardy walking him through the whole thing would have been good all around. Instead, we got another chapter in the Hardy/Ethan Page/Stokely Hathaway story that feels like it has been going on forever. Hook getting a match on Dynamite is a good sign though, as his future looks bright.

The House of Black wants the Trios Titles.

Riho vs. Toni Storm

Saraya is here with Storm. They start fast with Riho picking up the pace to take over and put Storm down a few times. Saraya gets in a cheap shot though and Riho is down on the floor. Cue Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter as we take a break. Back with Riho hitting a big dive to the floor, followed by a high crossbody.

Another high crossbody is loaded up but Storm crotches her down to catch her on top. A super Storm Zero (yeah that would be a bad idea) is countered into a blocked sunset bomb so Storm runs her over. Baker offers a distraction though and Riho gets the (messy) rollup pin at 10:04.

Rating: C+. That ending didn’t do anyone any favors and Storm losing weakens someone in the biggest story in the women’s division right now. Again, there was a lot going on here as they cram in a bunch of stuff, especially when this was a match to set up a title match with none of the people involved included. Riho still feels enough like a star, but this was a weird place to have her come back and beat Storm.

Post match Baker and Storm brawl, with Ruby Soho coming out to slap Hayter in the face. Another brawl starts and referees break it up.

Dustin Rhodes and Keith Lee are ready for Mogul Affiliates on Rampage.

Casino Tag Team Battle Royal

For the final spot in the four way Tag Team Title match on Sunday and it’s basically a tag team Royal Rumble with both members having to be eliminated. The Dark Order is in at #1 but the Blackpool Combat Club (the #2 team) jump them from being. The beating is on and we take a break before the bell.

We’re joined in progress with La Faccion Ingobernable coming in at #3. They get to clean house a bit until the Lucha Bros are in at #4. Everyone brawls with no one getting tossed as Aussie Open is in at #5 (with the intervals getting all wacky in a hurry). The Combat Club gets rid of the Dark Order and we take a break. Back with the Jericho Appreciation Society having come in at #6 and Top Flight coming in at #7.

Matt Menard is out as the Kingdom is in at #8. Cue Ari Daivari and company for a distraction and La Faccion is out. Top Flight gets tossed out and Danhausen/Orange Cassidy are in at #9 (probably three minutes after the previous entrance). Cassidy dumps Parker to get rid of the Jericho Appreciation Society and the Lucha Bros went out somewhere in there. Butcher and the Blade are in at #10 as the Kingdom accidentally superkick Maria (their manager) before being knocked out.

Cue the Dark Order to distract the Blackpool Combat Club, allowing Orange Cassidy and Danhausen to toss them out. We’re down to Butcher and Blade vs. Orange Cassidy/Danhausen with Cassidy being sent to the apron. The double teaming can’t get rid of them but Danhausen dumps Butcher and Blade at the same time to win at 18:56.

Rating: D. This was one of the biggest messes I’ve ever seen from AEW and it absolutely did not work. I lost track of who was in and out more than once, with the time intervals being so all over the place that I wasn’t sure if we were getting more teams. They could have done this match in half the time (and with about half of the teams) but instead they overloaded it again and while the end result is a surprise, it came after a terrible match.

Post match Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal run in for the beatdown with the Gunns watching. The Acclaimed run in for the save.

Long video on Bryan Danielson vs. MJF in the Iron Man match at Revolution.

Here is Bryan Danielson, with part of his entrance cut off (we have less than four minutes in the show) to talk about chasing your dreams. Cue MJF to interrupt but Danielson won’t let him get a word in. Danielson says MJF is jealous of his wife and family and says it makes sense for MJF’s fiance to leave him. MJF is ready to fight but Danielson goes on a rant about how he has had to fight his whole life (from poverty to the authority).

Before Danielson came here, he had a job that could have kept him well paid for the rest of his life but he came here to fight. He wants the World Title and he is willing to fight for it. MJF better be ready to fight on Sunday or he is going to get his censored head kicked in. MJF storms off without ever saying a word as we are out of time. Danielson was great here and having him keep MJF from talking for a change was an awesome switch from the norm.

Overall Rating: C. Wow. I’m not sure where to start here, but this didn’t work for the most part. The good talking segments bailed a lot of it out, but between having WAY too much stuff going on (include a ladder match AND a battle royal), not doing much to make me care about the pay per view and having most of the matches not be anything memorable, it didn’t work very well. Not a good show here, and that comes down to one major problem.

There were multiple instances tonight where a match or in-ring segment would end and we would jump right back to the next thing, have a minute long something else and then go to whatever is next in the ring. Nothing had time to breathe or set in and as a result, the show felt like it was racing to get through everything multiple times.

AEW really, really need to learn better pacing, which might include just cutting some stuff. They couldn’t shave three minutes off of the battle royal and/or ladder match to give something else some time later? It was plaguing the show all night and it dragged things way down more than once. Not a terrible show, but they need to avoid something like this again.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Big Bill – Super Orange Punch
Powerhouse Hobbs won the face Of The Revolution Ladder Match
Chris Jericho b. Peter Avalon – Codebreaker
Hook b. Matt Hardy – Redrum
Riho b. Toni Storm – Rollup
Danhausen/Orange Cassidy won the Casino Battle Royal last eliminating Butcher and the Blade

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

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AND

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Dynamite
Date: February 22, 2023
Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We have two weeks to go to before Revolution and that means it is time to start finalizing the card. That is a little tricky when one of the matches is going to be a sixty minute Iron Man match, but AEW does know how to throw in a few surprises. Tony Khan has promised a big surprise for tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

All-Atlantic Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Wheeler Yuta

Only Cassidy is defending after Yuta wants revenge for Cassidy and the Best Friends forgetting about him. They go technical to start and get some near falls each until Yuta bails to the floor. Back in and Cassidy uses Yuta’s own Seatbelt rollup for two, meaning it’s time for another breather outside. Cue Claudio Castagnoli to slap Yuta in the face to wake him up.

That’s enough to make Yuta counter the Orange Punch and send Cassidy outside for some whips into the barricade. A posting ensues and Yuta strikes away back inside, despite Cassidy putting his hands in his pockets. Cassidy hits a dropkick ad sends him into the corner a few times. There’s an enziguri from Yuta, followed by a top rope forearm for two. We take a break and come back with Yuta hitting a brainbuster into an Angle Slam for another near fall.

Cassidy manages some rolling German suplexes for two but Yuta uses Cassidy’s Mousetrap for two more. They spit at each other and knock each other down before heading to the apron. Cassidy gets the better of things and hits the diving DDT to the floor. Back in and they trade the driving elbows to the face until the Orange Punch gives Cassidy two. The Orange Punch retains the title at 16:48.

Rating: B. This turned into a hard hitting fight and that is the kind of thing that you do not see from Cassidy very often. Yuta can wrestle the technical style very well and made his half of things work here. They had a better match than I was expecting and this worked very well for a long, back and forth opener.

Post match Cassidy loads up the hug but Castagnoli tells Yuta to get out, with Yuta listening and leaving with Castagnoli.

Evil Uno is ready for Jon Moxley and wants Hangman Page to stay out of there from bell to bell. The Dark Order has to stand up for itself.

Here is Ricky Starks for a chat. Over the last few months, he has been dealing with Chris Jericho, who doesn’t want a rematch with him. Therefore, he is moving away from Jericho and now he has an open contract for a match at Revolution. Cue Jericho, who says Starks is enjoying that one win he got but it is never going to happen again. Starks isn’t at his level so good luck with the open challenge.

Cue Peter Avalon to try to accept the challenge but Jericho beats him down. Jericho gets in the ring and says this is what happens when you issue an open challenge. Starks says if Jericho signs, he’ll just bring the Appreciation Society, because apparently he needs them to win. That’s too far for Jericho, who agrees to the terms…..but he doesn’t have a pen. Starks: “D***. I do!” And after the big dramatic click, Jericho adds a line about the Society staying in the back and signs for the match. That took some time but it was some nice mind games from Starks.

A bunch of tag teams are ready for the battle royal.

Lee Moriarty/Big Bill vs. Acclaimed

Stokely Hathaway and Billy Gunn are here too. Caster’s rap makes fun of Moriarty and Bill, including Bill’s mother. Caster doesn’t get far with an armbar as a Bill cheap shot lets Moriarty take over. Bowens comes in for the blind tag though and something like a neckbreaker onto Caster’s raised knees gets two.

We take a break and come back with the Gunns out to watch as Bowens gets the hot tag and cleans house on Moriarty. Bill comes back in to kick Gunn and Bowens down though, allowing the Gunns to stomp their dad down. The Acclaimed chases them off and Caster poses Bill. The Arrival into the Mic Drop finishes Moriarty at 7:08.

Rating: C. They kept this short and sweet here as the Acclaimed gets some momentum back on their way to the four way title match. I’m not sure I can imagine them getting the titles back so soon, but at least they are beating teams they should beat. The title change still feels like it came out of nowhere though, and that might not be the best move.

Christian Cage comes out for an interview but Jungle Boy jumps him from behind. Jungle Boy loads up a Conchairto but takes too long, allowing Cage to low blow his way out of trouble. Cage hits him in the head with the chair and then rams said head into the other chair a few times. Jungle Boy is busted open and referees break it up.

Video on Wardlow vs. Samoa Joe.

Saraya vs. Skye Blue

Toni Storm is here with Saraya. Blue starts fast but a Storm distraction lets Saraya pull her off the top. Saraya takes over on the arm and plants Blue down for two. As Tony and Taz discuss the difference between making friends and making money, Saraya can’t superplex her down, allowing Blue to hit a high crossbody. Blue nails a running kick to the face but Storm offers a distraction, allowing Saraya to hit a superkick. The Scorpio Crosslock makes Blue give up at 3:45.

Rating: C. The fact that Saraya is now needing help to beat Blue isn’t a good sign for her future, but things haven’t exactly been going well for her for a good while. This us vs. them story is only so good and Saraya continues to be a letdown since she has been back. It was cool to see her wrestle again, but the charm is wearing off quickly.

Post match the beatdown is on but Jamie Hayter and Britt Baker make the save. Cue Ruby Soho to signal that she wants the title shot. Hayter doesn’t seem opposed.

Here is Bryan Danielson for a chat. Danielson is ready to do everything he can to win the World Title but first he needs to talk about what MJF said last week. MJF hurt Danielson’s mentor William Regal…and here is MJF to interrupt. MJF says these people love Danielson but MJF is the guy who has been shoved away by everyone he has ever loved. Then he met a girl and fell in love with her, to the point where he got down on one knee and said he wanted to start a family with her.

Then she left him, meaning the only thing that that stops him from taking a fist full of pills and calling it a day is this title. Everyone loves Danielson though, and they’ll shout YES at the top of their lungs. Danielson has a family that he takes for granted but do you know why MJF hates him? Danielson has had concussions and seizures but he’s still wrestling. Every time Danielson gets in the ring, he is saying wrestling is more important than his family and his children.

Every time Danielson gets in the ring, he is spitting in MJF’s face because he disrespects everything MJF wants. Danielson is worse than his drug addicted mentor so he’ll get all of the spotlight he wants at Revolution when MJF beats him do badly. MJF talks into the camera to Danielson’s children and promises to hurt their daddy at Revolution, to the point where Danielson can’t play with them again.

For some reason Danielson doesn’t move, but MJF gets in the ring and promises early onset CT…..and Danielson jumps him. Security eventually breaks it up. This was a weird segment, as it didn’t so much make me want to see MJF lose the title, but rather make me want to buy him a hot sandwich and give him a hug.

Jamie Hayter thinks Ruby Soho and Saraya deserve a title shot, so let’s make it a triple threat at Revolution.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal, Top Flight, Best Friends, Lucha Bros, La Faccion Ingobernable, Aussie Open, Ari Daivari/Tony Nese, Jericho Appreciation Society, Butcher and the Blade, Dark Order

The winners move on to Revolution for a Tag Team Title shot and both members must be thrown out for an elimination. It’s a brawl to start with some teams on the floor and others fighting inside. Nese and Penta fight to the apron but here is Mark Briscoe to go after Josh Woods, because that feud is still going. Penta Fear Factors Nese for the elimination and Daivari is tossed out shortly thereafter as we take a break.

Back with no eliminations during the break but Aussie Open is tossed at the same time. Dark Order gets rid of Blade and Darius Martin was tossed somewhere in there. Butcher eliminates Reynolds and Penta kicks Vance out. Vance helps Rush get rid of Penta but Penta kicks Rush out to get rid of La Faccion.

The Society finally gets in and goes after the Best Friends, only to have to deal with Danhausen. They toss him out so he fires off a curse, with the Society being tossed out at the same time. Jarrett and Lethal get rid of Taylor, leaving us with Jarrett, Lethal, butcher, Fenix, Trent and Dante Martin as we take another break.

Back again with a mini six man having broken out and Butcher knock Fenix through the ropes to the floor (not an elimination). Dante gets knocked out but Fenix dumps Butcher as well. Jarrett and Lethal toss Fenix and we’re down to the two of them plus Trent. The double teaming is on but Trent makes the comeback, only to have Satnam Singh make the double save.

Jarrett hits the Stroke and sends Trent….to the apron, where Orange Cassidy makes a save of his own. Sonjay Dutt’s interference doesn’t help as Trent manages to get rid of Lethal. Danhausen chases Dutt to the back but Singh saves Jarrett from another elimination. Another Strike lets Jarrett toss him out for the win at 18:31.

Rating: C+. The ending was a bit much and they had a bunch of stuff going on at once, but Jarrett and Lethal being added to a four way title match isn’t a bad idea. You’re going to need a team to keep things a bit more under control and that is where Jarrett and Lethal can shine. Fun match here, though it did run for a good while.

The House Of Black wants the Trios Titles.

Tony Khan joins us for a big announcement….which will be made by Adam Cole: AEW is getting a reality series called All Access, which debuts next month after Dynamite. On a more personal note: Cole is making his in-ring return the same night as the show’s debut. I get that it’s an announcement and a cool deal for AEW, but hyping this up as a “major announcement” was destined to fail. Put out a press release, mention it on Dynamite, and then talk about it rather than making a big deal that isn’t likely to go over very well. And yes, I understand that it’s likely a mandate from WBD. Just maybe present it a little smarter.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Jeff Jarrett, Jay Lethal and company are excited but here are the Gunns to interrupt. Mocking ensues, but nothing gets physical.

Jon Moxley vs. Evil Uno

Uno jumps him to start and the beating is on fast, with Moxley having to fight his way out of trouble. Moxley gets sent outside for the top rope flip dive and Uno hammers away some more. A whip into the steps cuts Uno off though and Moxley sends him head first into the steps for a bonus. Uno is busted open and Moxley hammers away back inside, only to get caught with a pair of piledrivers. Moxley shrugs them off and chokes Uno out at 6:18.

Rating: C. You mean the former World Champion and one of the biggest stars in AEW history bet a guy who has been treated as little more than a comedy goof since AEW began? I’m really not sure why this was given the main event slot, as just having Moxley out there isn’t likely to give them that much attention. It was a bloody brawl, but there was zero drama to it and Moxley didn’t exactly seem to be worried.

Post match Moxley won’t let go so the Dark Order, the Blackpool Combat Club and Hangman Page run in (Page promised not to be out there from bell to bell so he kept his word). Page loads up what looks to be barbed wire but Moxley bails from the threat of a Buckshot Lariat to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show as everything worked out well enough from a presentation standpoint and the wrestling was fine to good, but man alive AEW is ice cold going into Revolution. The MJF vs. Danielson feud is just weird, Page vs. Moxley has been done over and over, the women’s feud has a ton of moving parts and the Tag Team Title stuff is overcrowded. This wasn’t a bad show by any means, but AEW needs to figure out what they want to focus on and fast.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Wheeler Yuta – Orange Punch
Acclaimed b. Lee Moriarty/Big Bill – Mic Drop to Moriarty
Saraya b. Skye Blue – Scorpion Crosslock
Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal won a tag team battle royal last eliminating the Best Friends
Jon Moxley b. Evil Uno – Rear naked choke

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

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

AND

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

Dynamite
Date: February 15, 2023
Location: Sames Auto Arena, Laredo, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are less than a month away from Revolution and as of last week, we officially have a main event. Bryan Danielson earned his title shot against MJF, which will come in the form of a sixty minute iron man match. With that out of the way, the rest of the card needs to be built up so let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Jerry Jarrett.

Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt/Satnam Singh vs. Orange Cassidy/Billy Gunn/Acclaimed

Bowens runs Lethal over to start and it’s off to Caster for two off a powerslam. Jarrett comes in and drops Caster before handing it off to Singh. Gunn, who almost a foot shorter than Singh, wants to come in but it’s Cassidy coming in instead. Actually it’s Dutt getting Cassidy instead……or actually make that Billy vs. Jeff.

Cue the Gunns to mock the scissoring before telling various people to suck it. Lethal gets in a knee to the back to take Billy down and Lethal grabs a front facelock. Jarrett comes back in as commentary questions Gunn’s parenting skills. Everything breaks down and Singh cleans house until he gets dropped with a Fameasser. Caster loads up Scissor Me Timbers to Dutt and, after various switches and saves (including Cassidy giving Dutt the lazy kicks), Bowens drops the leg for the pin at 9:00.

Rating: C. This was a bit slow for an opener but the Acclaimed get some momentum back. In addition to that, you have Cassidy there to pop the crowd so they had the right pieces in place. Jarrett wrestling the match is no surprise as he is an old pro at heart, but dang it must have been a hard one out there for him.

We look back at MJF attacking a bloodied Bryan Danielson last week.

Danielson is ready for MJF at Revolution.

Rush/Preston Vance vs. Claudio Castagnoli/Jon Moxley

Tornado tag and the fight starts in the crowd before the bell. We take a break and come back with Moxley and Vance getting inside for the opening bell as Rush and Castagnoli are brawling on the floor. Rush gets inside for a basement dropkick on Moxley but Castagnoli comes in to even things up.

Rush is sent outside and Vance is whipped into the buckle to put him down. A double big boot (came close to landing too) send Rush back to the floor and Moxley hits a dive. Everyone heads outside with Rush cracking a chair against a chair against Castagnoli as we take a break.

Back with Moxley getting beaten up with a chain. Castagnoli takes it away and unloads on Rush in the corner before Swinging the bloody Vance. Jose the Assistant comes in for a cheap shot on Moxley so Wheeler Yuta comes out to take care of him. Castagnoli and Rush brawl, leaving Moxley to elbow Vance in the face over and over. The cross armbreaker makes Vance tap at 14:49.

Rating: C. This match felt like violence for the sake of violence and that is not a good thing to see. Moxley bleeding is a running joke now and it lost its impact a long time ago. At the same time, why is it taking two World Champions to beat Rush and Preston Vance? It went too long and wasn’t interesting in the first place, making this a bad combination.

Kip Sabian/Butcher and the Blade jump Hangman Page, who had been watching the match in the back.

Jim Ross had a sitdown interview with Wardlow, who talks about his dad helping raise him, then leaving, but then coming back. Then he left again and the next time Wardlow saw him was when he was in hospice care. The last thing he told his dad was he was going to be a better man and that’s when he grew his hair out. Samoa Joe knew this and cut it off anyway, so now Wardlow must end him. That certainly got intense in a hurry but it gives Wardlow a more personal reason to come after Joe so well done.

Mark Briscoe vs. Josh Woods

Mark Sterling, Tony Nese and Ari Daivari are here too. It’s a brawl to start before Nese and Daivari get involved, only to have the returning Lucha Bros come in for the save. Mark looks confused and gets suplexed from the apron to the floor by Woods as we take a break. Back with Mark sending him outside and using a chair to dive onto Woods. Back in and Woods goes with more grappling to take over, leaving Briscoe having to escape a waistlock. An exchange of kicks to the head, setting up a Death Valley Driver to Woods. The Froggy Bow gives Mark the pin at 8:42.

Rating: C+. Getting Briscoe on the show is a good thing as he is going to need to get used to being a singles wrestler. Giving him wins is the right way to go as well and even if Woods isn’t the biggest star, he is a former champion in Ring Of Honor so there is some value there. Best match of the night too, possibly because it was (mostly) clean throughout.

We get a sitdown interview with Adam Cole, who talks about how his body is healing after the horrible concussions, including being able to look around without being in pain anymore. He’s been looking around at the roster and knows he has to be better than ever and he’ll be ready. Cole as a full on face is a direction that should have been explored before so this should work well.

Here is MJF for a chat. After insulting the Spanish speaking fans, MJF talks about how he is the Devil and until recently, these people were Devil worshippers. We’ll move on to Bryan Danielson, who is called the best in the world, but what matters is the title. MJF will win at Revolution because he is the best in the world and he’s better than Danielson. In case you want proof, MJF brings out one of Danielson’s mentors: Christopher Daniels.

Now Daniels makes one thing clear: MJF paid Daniels a bunch of money to come out here and badmouth Danielson. This time though, he’s going to talk about how great Danielson is, including when Danielson chopped him so hard he thought he would die. Danielson won the King of the Indies tournament, which led to the creation of Ring Of Honor.

Danielson is going to beat MJF, who doesn’t seem happy with any of this. Daniels goes to leave but MJF spins him around, earning a slap to the face. MJF kicks him low and grabs the Salt of the Earth until Danielson makes the save. This Danielson vs. MJF build has been meh at best and this really didn’t help things.

The Gunns brag about winning the Tag Team Titles without having to work on the indies for $10 and a handshake.

Brian Cage vs. Jungle Boy

They go to the floor to start with Cage dropping him on the apron. We take a break (less than a minute in, because that’s something AEW needs to copy from WWE) and come back with Jungle Boy fighting out of trouble. An F5 gives Cage two but Jungle Boy takes him down again. A splash gives Jungle Boy two and a Death Valley Driver gets the same. Cage gets fired up so Jungle Boy superkicks him into a crucifix bomb. The running elbow to the back of the head sets up a rollup to give Jungle Boy the pin at 7:22.

Rating: C. When did Brian Cage become the AEW MVP who had to be out there every week? Jungle Boy getting a win is a good thing as it keeps him strong, which he’ll need until he gets a real feud. The match was nothing great and a lot of it was during the break, but at least the right person won.

Post match Christian Cage returns, with his arm still in a sling, to mace Jungle Boy. The sling comes off to reveal that Christian is fine, setting up the Killswitch on the stage. So now we can finish that off…..several months after it was dropped due to the injury.

Renee Paquette announces that the Gunns will defend their Tag Team Titles at Revolution in a triple threat match. Those opponents will be determined by TWO tag team battle royals, one traditional and one casino, with the winners getting the title shots. The Acclaimed come in to say they’re invoking their rematch clause, so we’ll make it a four way. Sure, why not. It’s not like we haven’t seen battle royals done to death around here.

The Elite, with basketballs, are in the back when Top Flight/AR Fox, also with basketballs, come in for the challenge for Friday’s Rampage: Slam Dunk. It’s on, with Brandon Cutler taking a basketball low blow. During the exchange, the video blipped with a shot of the House Of Black appearing. Is there another viable trio to challenge for the titles at the moment?

Hangman Page vs. Kip Sabian

Penelope Ford is here with Sabian. They start fast with Sabian hitting a Stundog Millionaire and a reverse Cannonball in the corner. A big boot gets Page out of trouble so Sabian bails to the floor. They trade places so a Ford distraction sets up a Sabian baseball slide. An Arabian moonsault drops Page and we take a break. Back with Page whipping Sabian into the barricade and taking him back inside for the Deadeye and the pin at 6:39. Not enough shown to rate but it wasn’t as much of a squash as it should have been.

Post match here is the Blackpool Combat Club to talk to Page, with Moxley saying their issue is over. Page doesn’t think so, and says it should end at Revolution when one man can’t stand. Moxley says Page has no friends so here is the Dark Order, with Evil Uno getting in Moxley’s face. Moxley challenges Page to a Texas Deathmatch and leaves. Page isn’t happy with the Dark Order for getting involved. The crowd didn’t seem to care, and Dark Order feels like a holdover from the old days that Tony Khan forgot to release.

The Jericho Appreciation Society says Ricky Starks isn’t facing Chris Jericho again. Instead, he can face Daniel Garcia on Rampage.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Stokely Hathaway is furious about Hook injuring him and has talked to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. Matt Hardy thinks it could lead to a big match but we get word that Hook has been suspended pending an investigation.

Penelope Ford vs. Britt Baker vs. Ruby Soho

Saraya and Jamie Hayter are here too. Before the match, Saraya and Storm attack a fan at ringside and rip up her sign. The bell rings and Soho isn’t interested in a quick alliance offer, instead clearing the ring without much trouble. Soho doesn’t go after either of them though, allowing Storm to come back in and elbow her in the face.

We take a break and come back with an exchange of shots to the face until Storm loads up the running hip attack to Baker. Storm grabs a German suplex on Soho, with Baker rolling Storm up at the same time to make it worse. Baker hits the fisherman’s neckbreaker on Storm but gets sent into the corner off a Downward Spiral.

Soho gets knocked out of the air to set up the Texas Cloverleaf, with Baker trying to add the Lockjaw. Saraya makes the save and Storm goes after Hayter, leaving Baker to get caught with the hip attack (complete with said hips being spray painted by Saraya). Soho sends Storm into Saraya on the floor though and rolls Baker up for the pin at 9:19.

Rating: C-. So not only was the match a mess with people running in, but it also accomplished/changed absolutely nothing. This whole story has only been so interesting in the first place and having it be a three way feud between the homegrowns, the imports and whatever Soho is isn’t going to make it that much better.

Post match Saraya and Hayter yell at Soho before going to check on their friends. Soho motions that she wants a title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a weird show in that it wasn’t bad but it was just kind of there. Not much seemed important and it felt like something that they threw together at the last minute after forgetting they had a show this week. There are two more Dynamites before Revolution and AEW has a lot of work to do to make the show feel important. This didn’t really come close to doing that, but AEW knows how to make up for lost time in a hurry. Not a terrible show, but it was bad for a Dynamite.

Results
Orange Cassidy/Billy Gunn/Acclaimed b. Jeff Jarrett/Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt/Satnam Singh – Scissor Me Timbers to Dutt
Jon Moxley/Claudio Castagnoli b. Rush/Preston Vance – Cross armbreaker to Vance
Mark Briscoe b. Josh Woods – Froggy Bow
Jungle Boy b. Brian Cage – Rollup
Hangman Page b. Kip Sabian – Deadeye
Ruby Soho b. Britt Baker and Toni Storm – Rollup to Baker

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Dynamite
Date: February 8, 2023
Location: County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s a title themed show this week as we have two title matches plus a pair of eliminator matches. That should be enough to make for a good night as AEW tends to treat its titles seriously. The build towards Revolution continues and we should be getting some more added to the card. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Non-title. MJF’s offer of a handshake is brushed off to start so Takeshita hammers down some right hands in the corner. A knee is blocked and MJF sends him into the corner to take over. We hit the armbar, followed by a hammerlock DDT for two on Takeshita. Back up and Takeshita hits a quick brainbuster for two and a frog splash (remember we’re in Eddie’s hometown) gets the same.

Takeshita traps the legs and hits a Tombstone, followed by a wheelbarrow suplex to send MJF outside. MJF gets in a shot of his own and takes it back inside, with Takeshita being put up top. Takeshita hits a heck of a clothesline to knock MJF back down, but a superkick rocks Takeshita as well. The armbar goes on but Takeshita fights up and sends him to the floor for the big flip dive.

Back in and MJF rolls outside again, only to be sent right back inside. That lets him kick the rope for a low blow to take over but a powerbomb onto the knee just hurts MJF. Takeshita hits a Blue Thunder Bomb for another near fall and the knee to the face gets two, with MJF putting his foot on the ropes. Back up and MJF avoids a springboard Swanton and the Salt of the Earth finishes Takeshita at 13:16.

Rating: B. Solid match here, as the champ gets a win without cheating for the finish (though not without cheating entirely). You need to have MJF get a win or two like this every so often to remind people that there is something behind just being a weasel. Good opener, and the show is off to a hot start.

Post match MJF hits him in the face with the diamond ring. Takeshita is busted open and Bryan Danielson makes the save.

Samoa Joe is ready to end Wardlow.

Bunny vs. Jamie Hayter

Non-title again with Penelope Ford, Britt Baker and Rebel here too. Bunny starts fast and grabs a choke over the ropes. They head outside with Hayter getting suplexed into the steps as we take an early break. Back with Baker holding up a Hayterade sign but Ford breaks it up. Hayter tries some kind of a suplex and drops Bunny on her head, setting up the ripcord lariat for the pin at 6:12. That felt a lot like Bunny got knocked silly as they were only back from a break for about thirty seconds.

Rating: C-. The match wasn’t much before the sudden ending but above all else, Hayter didn’t need to lariat her if there was even the slightest chance Bunny was hurt. She got dropped on her head, so just give her a weak cover for the pin. Either way, Hayter gets to look strong, but hopefully Bunny isn’t too banged up.

Saraya and Toni Storm make fun of homegrown AEW women and spray paint Leva Bates. Today I learned Leva Bates still works here.

MJF thought Takeshita was the next big thing and Bryan Danielson thinks MJF is nothing. We hear about MJF getting a bunch of speeding tickets in his Camaro and then taking his big crush (with what sounded like a nod to Liv Morgan) out for a ride. After the girl got doing…something, they hit a phone pole at 90 miles an hour and got knocked out. The cops were coming but MJF switched their places so he wouldn’t lose his license. He goes into a rant about how there are winners and losers in life and he’ll prove he’s a winner at Revolution. I’m not sure why he just admitted to what has to be a crime, but it was intense.

Garcia-Guevara Gauntlet

Ricky Starks is running the gauntlet and starts with Angelo Parker. After a few shots in the corner, Starks hits the spear for the pin at 1:11. Matt Menard comes in and gets rolled up for the pin at 1:28 total. Daniel Garcia is in third and chokes away in the corner but has to dodge the spear as we take a break. Back with Starks fighting out of a choke but the Roshambo is countered. They fight to the apron and Starks knocks him to the floor. Cue a fan in a mask to knock Starks silly with a Judas Effect. Garcia gets the pin at 8:14.

Rating: C. This was an angle rather than a match for the most part, but I’m still not clear on why this feud is continuing. Starks pinned Jericho clean and is still feuding with him for a chance to do it again a month and a half later. That’s hardly the most logical way to go, but I’m sure Jericho thinks it’s brilliant for whatever reason.

And yeah it’s Chris Jericho, for some reason to Taz’s shock.

Billy Gunn is going to stay in the back for the Tag Team Title match. Scissoring with the Acclaimed ensues.

Bryan Danielson and Konosuke Takeshita get locked in the trainer’s room.

Rush vs. Bryan Danielson

If Danielson wins, he gets MJF in a sixty minute Iron Man match at Revolution. There is no Danielson so here is MJF to say ring the bell and count to ten. Aubrey Edwards starts as we see Danielson and Takeshita breaking down the door and making to the ring (MJF calling Aubrey a bum to make her count more slowly made sense).

MJF joins commentary as Rush beats up Danielson in the corner and goes after the bad arm. They go outside with Danielson being sent shoulder first into the barricade, with Danielson’s head being busted open. The slow beating continues as Rush poses a lot and MJF is rather pleased. Danielson fights back up and they go to the apron, with Danielson striking away. A charge lets Rush belly to belly him hard to the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Danielson not being able to get the LeBell Lock but sending Rush outside for some rams into the barricade. A missile dropkick connects back inside and they strike it out, with Danielson hitting the SI (si, SI) kicks to send Rush into the corner. Rush gets in a shot of his own though and a straitjacket piledriver gets two. The running knee connects for two on Rush and they exchange a lot of headbutts. Danielson is back up with another running knee for the pin at 15:48.

Rating: B-. Well at least the other gauntlet story is done as there wasn’t much of a point to running two at the same time. This sets up Danielson for the World Title match at Revolution, which should be interesting in a few ways. It’s also probably Rush’s best match in AEW, which doesn’t cover too much ground but it’s another name on the list of “he had his best match ever with Danielson”.

Some of the cast of Impractical Jokers are here and don’t like Chris Jericho, but they’ll let him show up on their season premiere.

Trios Titles: Elite vs. AR Fox/Top Flight

The Elite is defending. Matt takes Darius into the corner but gets suplexed down so the challengers can hit some slingshot hilos. The Bucks are right back up for the dropkicks before handing it off to Omega to plant Darius for two. We take a break and come back with Nick knocking the Martins down but Nick’s frog splash hits knees.

Fox comes in with a rolling splash on Nick but takes too long beating up Omega. The Bucks get sent outside though and it’s a big flip dive to take them down. Fox hits the Swanton for two on Omega back inside and the tag brings in Dante to flip over the Bucks. Matt manages a northern lights suplex and cradle on Top Flight at the same time before Fox hits another flip dive.

Back in and the Nose Dive into a 450 gives Fox two, with Omega making a save. We hit the parade of shots to the face until the Indytaker hits Fox for two, with the Martins making the save. Omega loads up a dive but gets rolled up for two. The doctor bomb gets two on Fox, followed by the V Trigger but the One Winged Angel is countered into a rollup for two. We hit the pinfall reversal sequence until Omega can roll Fox up for the pin at 14:30.

Rating: B. It’s an Elite match so what were you expecting to happen? They did their thing, it was a bunch of flips and signature stuff and then they shrugged off a bunch of moves and won. It’s going to take a minor miracle to get those belts off of them and Top Flight, as good as they can be, aren’t the team to be doing that.

Video on Hook.

Stokely Hathaway is tired of hearing about the Firm having trouble and it’s worried about Hook. Cue Hook, who bends Hathaway’s arm back and leaves. Minus the arm.

Tag Team Titles: Gunns vs. Acclaimed

Acclaimed is defending and there is no Billy Gunn. The Acclaimed clear the ring to start and it’s Scissor Me Timbers to send us to a break. Back with Bowens coming back in to clean house but the referee gets bumped off the Quick Draw. Austin brings in a title belt so here is Billy Gunn to shove Bowens out of the way of a belt shot.

Colten hits Billy with the other belt but the Acclaimed is back up. The Arrival into the Mic Drop hits Austin but there is still no referee. Caster goes for the referee but gets sent into the barricade. Colten breaks up the cover and a belt shot to the head gives the Gunns the pin and the titles at 10:31.

Rating: C. Well, that happened. This is one of those things that is going to be talked about for a good while to come and I’m really not sure I get it. The Gunns are about as middle of the road as you can get and they just took the titles from the hottest act in AEW. Maybe this is designed to get the Acclaimed the belts back at Revolution in a rather forced moment, but for now it feels like punching the golden goose in the beak for the sake of shock and awe.

The Acclaimed are stunned to end the show, even as their music plays.

Overall Rating: B-. That ending is going to be the main thing talked about and I’m really not sure how well it is going to go over. The Acclaimed are still crazy over and the Gunns…well…did you know they’re Billy’s kids? Other than that, they got around to the Revolution main event we knew was coming and gave MJF a win. Good enough show, but dang that is a risky main event result.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Konosuke Takeshita – Salt of the Earth
Jamie Hayter b. Bunny – Ripcord lariat
Daniel Garcia b. Ricky Starks – Judas Effect
Bryan Danielson b. Rush – Running knee
Elite b. Top Flight/AR Fox – Rollup to Fox
Gunns b. Acclaimed – Belt to the face

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Dynamite
Date: February 1, 2023
Location: Nutter Center, Dayton, Ohio
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are about a month away from Revolution and that means it is time to start hammering down the card. You can probably guess a good bit of it from here and that is a strong sign for the show. This week will feature a pair of title matches, including Jade Cargill’s latest conquest and Samoa Joe getting his rematch for the TNT Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Hangman Page

Moxley comes through the crowd with Wheeler Yuta and….his own father. That’s a new one. Moxley starts the fight in the crowd and takes it into the audience as we are waiting on the opening bell. Page gets in a whip into a barricade and they keep brawling back to ringside. Moxley wraps the chair around Page’s leg but Page throws said chair at Moxley to take over.

They finally get in the ring and slug it out, with Moxley’s eye busted open. Moxley is fine enough to grab an armbar but Page is back up with a German suplex. They fight to the apron and slug it out again with Page tossing him into the post as we take a break. Back with Page hitting a super Death Valley Driver for two. Moxley knocks him into the corner though and starts the stomps to the head. The Death Rider is blocked so Moxley switches into a cross armbreaker.

With that broken up, Page sends him outside but misses the moonsault. Moxley blasts him with a clothesline but can’t put Page through the ringside table. Page can put him through it though and gets two back inside. Page misses a jumping kick to the face and gets caught with the King Kong Lariat. They forearm it out again until Page hits a small package driver for two more. A Tombstone into the Buckshot Lariat gives Page two so he immediately goes into the bulldog choke. Moxley fights up and cradles Page for the win at 16:31.

Rating: B. These guys beat the heck out of each other and it worked as a trilogy match. I’m a bit surprised that Moxley won, though it was one of those matches that could have gone either way. The ending coming out of nowhere with a wrestling move after all of the intense brawling worked well too, so this was a fine way to go and felt like a showdown.

Post match the Blackpool Combat Club comes in to separate them, with Moxley flipping Page off and getting in a pretty clear F bomb. They have to be separated again and odds are we’re getting a rematch at Revolution.

Video on Samoa Joe vs. Darby Allin.

The Bunny challenges Jamie Hayter for the Women’s Title. We cut to the back (well, elsewhere in the back) where Saraya and Toni Storm are attacking Britt Baker.

Acclaimed vs. Turbo Floyd/Truth Magnum

Non-title. The jobbers (whose tights look like toothpaste) want some scissoring but get Scissor Me Timbers instead. Even Billy comes in for the scissoring before the Arrival into the Mic Drop gives Caster the pin at 50 seconds.

Post match the Gunns come out and say they want the title match. That earns them a bunch of the Acclaimed’s accolades but Billy says he’s sick of this and walks away. Austin says Billy is doing what he always does by turning his back on them. Colton: “Why don’t you do what you used to do and bury your sorrows in the bottom of a pill bottle?” Billy gets back in the ring and makes the title match for next week. Acclaimed doesn’t seem pleased.

Jungle Boy appreciated his time teaming with Hook but he wants a singles title.

Brian Cage vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Prince Nana is here with Cage, who gets clotheslined out side to start. Takeshita hits a big slingshot dive to take cage out again and they slug it out inside. A Blue Thunder Bomb plants Cage for two but he kicks Takeshita outside. The apron superplex lets Cage stop to pose as we take a break.

Back with Takeshita hitting a hurricanrana into a middle rope kick to the face. A German suplex gives Takeshita two but the running knee is blocked. Cage’s F5 is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two more. Cage discus lariats him for two more and the F5 connects as well. Takeshita hits him in the face though and the running knee finishes Cage at 10:06.

Rating: C+. It’s nice to see Takeshita get a win that feels like it matters a bit so well done on moving into the right direction. It isn’t like Cage has much to lose anyway but he still has enough of a look and athleticism to him feel like a threat. They needed to have Takeshita get a win at some point and this was as good of a way as it could have gone.

The Jericho Appreciation Society doesn’t like the idea of being accused of cheating last week. Now though, they have an idea: the Garcia/Guevara Gauntlet, which is Ricky Starks running a gauntlet to get another match with Chris Jericho. I was thinking just having Starks pin Jericho for a big rub was a good way to go but apparently not. Also, don’t we kind of already have a gauntlet with MJF trying to avoid Bryan Danielson?

The Elite is in a basketball gym and tells Top Flight and AR Fox to show up and shoot their shot next week. Matt Hardy/Isiah Kassidy/Ethan Page come in with Stokely Hathaway to challenge them for Rampage. Don Callis worries about the team selling NFT’s but the match is on.

Bryan Danielson vs. Timothy Thatcher

This is Thatcher’s AEW debut. Feeling out process to start with Thatcher taking Danielson (with his injured shoulder) into the corner. Thatcher can’t get anywhere with Danielson against the ropes so Danielson takes him down by the leg. A grab of the bad arm gets Thatcher out of trouble and he takes Danielson down by the arm. Thatcher’s Kimura sends Danielson to the rope and we take a break.

Back with Danielson headbutting his way out of trouble but being sat on the top. Danielson headbutts that off too and fires off the kicks but his O’Connor roll is blocked. Thatcher goes for the Fujiwara armbar but gets kicked in the head for two instead. Danielson grabs a choke, which is driven into the corner for the break but the referee gets bumped as well. Cue MJF but Konosuke Takeshita cuts him off, leaving Thatcher to Fujiwara armbar Danielson again. The rope is reached so Danielson ducks a clothesline and hits the running knee for the pin at 13:38.

Rating: B+. Oh of course this was good and there was no way it was going to be anything else. AEW brought Thatcher in for this kind of a match and it delivered very well. What matters here is Thatcher getting to torment Danielson, who survived anyway and won in the end with the thing he did better than Thatcher. Heck of a match here and I’m not slightly surprised.

In the back, MJF and Takeshita have to be separated. Renee Paquette pops in to make MJF vs. Takeshita for next week.

Mogul Affiliates is ready to hurt Dustin Rhodes because the generation is changing. For now though, they’ll settle for Brian Pillman Jr. on Rampage.

MJF pays Rush off to take out Bryan Danielson next week. Rush is in.

TBS Title: Red Velvet vs. Jade Cargill

Cargill, with Leila Grey, is defending. They seems to miscommunicate a bit on a slugout but Cargill gets sent outside for a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Cargill hits a wheelbarrow suplex for two and we take a break. We come back with Velvet kicking away until the pump kick gives Cargill two. Cue Kiera Hogan to send Grey into the steps and the distraction lets Cargill kick out of the Final Slice. Cargill muscles her up into Jaded to retain at 7:06 for her 50th win.

Rating: D+. STOP DOING THIS SAME MATCH! The Velvet vs. Cargill feud felt like the latest in a long, long string of people who didn’t make Cargill break a sweat and gave us no reason to believe she was going to lose. Just pick someone and have them beat her already so she can move on and do something else. Doing the same stuff over and over isn’t interesting and until she has to learn something new, her career is going to stall.

Post match Cargill picks up her daughter and walks off.

Ruby Soho comes in to see the injured Britt Baker. Soho denies being involved in the attack but Baker says she’s good anyway.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

TNT Title: Darby Allin vs. Samoa Joe

Anything goes and Allin is defending (Joe’s ROH TV Title isn’t on the line), so he comes to the ring in a hoodie covered in thumbtacks. Allin charges at him to start and hits a few tack filled shots, only to have Joe use the towel to clothesline him down. Joe stomps away in the corner and it’s already time for a table. That takes too long though as Allin dives into the table as Joe picks it up, meaning Joe is busted open.

Joe sends him into the steps and over the barricade so the fight can go into the crowd. A Rock Bottom onto the hand rail leaves Allin laying as we take a break. Back with Allin fighting out of a neck crank but charging into the Rock Bottom out of the corner. Allin jawbreaks his way out of trouble and chops away but gets tossed over the top for a nasty crash.

The chairs are loaded up and Joe drops him back first onto them but Allin is fine enough to throw some powder in the eyes and hit a Code Red for two. Allin grabs the tack hoodie and hits the Coffin Drop….for two. With nothing else working, Allin whips out a boxcutter and cuts up the mat (taking his sweet time to do so). Joe uses the time to send Allin through a table and them wrap the tack hoodie around Allin’s face. Allin goes for the eyes to break it up but the Coffin Drop is blocked. The Muscle Buster onto the exposed boards knocks Allin silly to give Joe the title back at 15:25.

Rating: B. Well it was nice for Allin to be the TNT Champion and this workhorse for a full month, but now he gets beaten down in another match. It was an entertaining one (depending on how much pain you can handle Allin taking) and it felt like a main event, with the title change being a big deal. Allin’s body continues to be turned into something no longer resembling a human but that ship has long sailed.

Post match Wardlow is back and goes after Joe, who bails before the powerbomb. Wardlow beats up security instead and loads up a powerbomb….which we don’t see as the show goes off the air. So if Wardlow gets the title back, we’re right back where we were in November for everyone involved.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a pretty awesome show with one very good match after another and only the latest Jade match hurting it in the slightest. Other than that, this moved some stuff forward and has me wondering where some of the stories are going. Now just start finalizing the Revolution card and the shows can be off to the races. Back to the winning formula here and it worked very well.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Hangman Page – Rollup
Acclaimed b. Turbo Floyd/Truth Magnum – Mic Drop to Magnum
Bryan Danielson b. Timothy Thatcher – Running knee
Jade Cargill b. Red Velvet – Jaded
Samoa Joe b. Darby Allin – Muscle Buster onto exposed boards

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

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AND

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