IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: November 25, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We are a week away from the big Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega showdown for the World Title and that means we still need to get Moxley to sign the contract. Someone jumped Moxley when we tried this last time so now we need to see what we can do again. Hopefully they can get it right this time. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

John Silver vs. Hangman Page

Page counters a headlock to start but Silver is right back up with a dropkick into the double bicep pose. Silver mocks Page’s lack of arm development so it’s a few chops to put Silver in the corner. A few hard shots put Page down though and Silver kicks him in the chest, only for Page to come back with another chop. Silver gets in a snap German suplex but Page sends him over the top in a heap.

The slingshot dive misses but Page gets back in before Silver can hit his own dive. Now the slingshot dive connects and the sliding lariat gives Page two. A fall away slam into a running shooting star gives Page two more and Silver is in trouble. The Buckshot lariat is countered with a hurricanrana for two and Silver’s brainbuster gets the same. Silver strikes away until Page hits a low superkick into a sitout powerbomb for two more. The Buckshot lariat finishes Silver at 9:45.

Rating: C+. Now that’s how you give someone a rub as Silver got a lot out of this, even as he lost. Silver looked like someone who could be a big deal in the future because he has that fire in his eyes and you either have that or you don’t. Good stuff here, with Page looking sharp, partially due to the lack of booze for a change.

Post match here’s the Dark Order to suggest that the Elite was the cult Page was trying to escape. Page doesn’t have many people to rely on but the Dark Order is here for him.

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

Kenny Omega says the more things change, the more they stay the same. A year ago, he was banged up at Jon Moxley’s hands because he lost. Now they’re about to do this again but this time, Moxley is being called the best in the world. Then Omega won the tournament though and now the people are talking about who the best in the world really is.

All Omega needs is to get the belt though, and that means Moxley should try to beat him without all of the garbage wrestling. Pin him, make him submit or even choke him out, but just beat him. Oh and he heard Moxley’s story about his childhood and can only come to one conclusion: his dad could beat the s*** out of Moxley’s dad.

Darby Allin video, this time writing Taz’s “Survive If I Let You” on top of the already destroyed car and lighting it on fire.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Lee Johnson

Taz joins commentary as Hobbs powers Johnson out to the floor to start. The big running clothesline connects on the floor and Hobbs whips him hard into the barricade. Back in and a World’s Strongest Slam finishes Johnson at 1:40. Short and to the point here.

Post match Taz gets in the ring and congratulates Hobbs, who is sent to the back. Taz says the problem is about the FTW Title. AEW is not acknowledging what the title means. He is sick of how the title is not recognized so he isn’t leaving until someone from management comes out and makes this title mean something. Taz’s mic is cut so he gets Justin Roberts’ mic, and says if you do that again, he’ll go take one of the announcers’ headsets. The mic is cut again so here’s Cody to ask what we’re doing here.

Cody says Taz is done so Taz says Team Taz is going to destroy Cody and Darby Allin next week. Already annoyed, Cody promises to run the FTW Title up the flag pole. Taz asks if he’s going to be future endeavored, so Cody asks why Taz’s son is training with him instead of with his dad. That’s WAY too far for Taz, who busts out the Tazmission to choke Cody out until the Gunn Club comes in to make the save. Taz’s son (Hook?) comes over the barricade and carries the FTW Title. Taz can talk so this worked, but I’m not sure where this is going.

Eddie Kingston isn’t upset about the Death Triangle reforming because he kind of expected it. Things have changed since Bing Bong or whatever his name is has been gone and Pac only won a battle last week. Cue Jon Moxley to stare Kingston down. Kingston smiles and says Moxley knows it wasn’t him but Moxley does know who it was. Moxley has his own things to handle without worrying about Kingston. Moxley leaves and Kingston accuses him of messing up his feng shui.

Top Flight vs. Hybrid 2

Angelico takes Darius down into an armbar to start until it’s a cartwheel to get Darius a breather. The threat of a right hand in the corner doesn’t get Angelico very far as Darius armdrags him into an armbar. Dante comes in to jump onto Angelico’s arm and a running basement dropkick gets two.

Back with Darius getting two on Evans off a shotgun dropkick but taking a bit too long to cover. Dante makes a blind tag but gets suplexed for his efforts. Everything breaks down and Darius hits a big suicide dive, followed by Dante’s running flip dive to take both of them down. Back in and a frog splash gives Dante two but Evans’ assisted 450 gets his own two. Darius hits a dive to take out Evans but Angelico kneebars Dante for the tap at 10:35.

Rating: C. They told a nice story here as Top Flight can do all of the high flying and athletic stuff but the Hybrid 2 have the experience to cut them off. That’s a good enough way to go and if this leads to Top Flight winning a rematch, they’ll be fine. I can’t imagine you have Top Flight have a competitive match with the Young Bucks and then waste them, so this isn’t some crippling loss.

Post match Angelico won’t let go so here are the Young Bucks for the save.

Vickie Guerrero and Nyla Rose want to teach us about nepotism, which is where we need to talk about Brandi Rhodes. Brandi’s business plan involved her getting her arm injured by Jade Cargill so if Brandi needs business advice, call Vickie.

FTR talks about how hard it is to recover from their loss to the Young Bucks, who were better than they were for three seconds. The Tag Team Titles are their life and Tully Blanchard says it is their destiny to coach them. Fear the revelation.

Jake Hager/Chris Jericho vs. SCU

Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian for SCU. Jericho takes Daniels down to start and slaps the bald head, earning himself a trip into the corner so Kazarian can come in. Hager comes in as well so this time it’s Kazarian taking a corner beating of his own. A shoulder to the ribs allows Jericho to choke away, putting Kazarian in even more trouble. Kazarian manages to get over for the tag to Daniels, who is quickly knocked outside. The Inner Circle gets in their beating as we take a break.

Back with Daniels getting in a shot to Jericho but being cut off by Hager. Some shots to the ribs let Jericho come back in, only to walk into a Downward Spiral. The hot tag brings in Kazarian to clean house and everything breaks down. Kazarian has to take out the Inner Circle on the floor, leaving Daniels to hit his middle rope stomp to Daniels’ chest.

A high crossbody hits Jericho but Hager makes the save. Daniels knocks him down as well and the BME connects with Jericho making the save this time around. The referee has to get rid of Kazarian, allowing MJF to get in a cheap shot with the diamond ring. Jericho adds the Judas Effect and Hager gets the pin at 10:57.

Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t the point here but rather showcasing what the newly enhanced Inner Circle can do. MJF with the ring and likely Wardlow as another monster can make the team that much better, but at the same time you can see MJF taking over the team (albeit maybe down the line) from here. I like how they’re setting it up though and the Inner Circle hasn’t looked so powerful in a long time.

Post match the beatdown stays on until Scorpio Sky makes the save with a chair. One guy with a chair can chase off like seven people? Really?

Kip Sabian, Miro and Penelope Ford are ready for a new segment involving a stream of some sort but here are the Best Friends to start a brawl. Orange Cassidy looks on from the back as everyone brawls, with Miro and Sabian getting the better of things as the cameraman is knocked down.

It’s time for the World Title contract signing take two, now with three references to the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame in Omega’s entrance. Omega stands behind the entrance in silhouette but Jon Moxley jumps him from behind (also in silhouette) and takes him into the ring for the beatdown.

The Paradigm Shift leaves Omega laying and Moxley says that Omega’s guys did a horrible job of taking him out last week. Moxley: “Next time you want to put a hit on on someone, give me a call.” Omega has ticked him off and this is serious business. We aren’t talking about jokes on BTE because Omega has to climb a mountain that no one has conquered in eighteen months. Omega better bring it because Moxley is ready for him. The silhouette thing was awesome and Moxley sold it well with the promo.

The Inner Circle isn’t happy with Kazarian punching MJF in the fracas and swear revenge. Jericho promises to take care of Kazarian next week, while threatening with the baseball bat. Of note: Hager and Wardlow stare each other down the whole time.

We recap Anna Jay vs. Hikaru Shida. Anna talks about their first match against each other, when she didn’t have ten matches under her belt first. Now she has an army behind her, Shida has a bad knee, and Tay Conti has been teaching Anna even more. Shida insists her knee is fine but Conti says the title is the last piece for Anna.

Women’s Title: Anna Jay vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is defending and Conti is here with Anna. The Dark Order comes out to watch on the stage as Anna shoves Shida to start. The sleeper doesn’t work to start so Shida hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A running dropkick has Anna in trouble but a running knee to the face is cut off. Anna whips her into the barricade and strikes the Dark Order pose as we take a break. Back with Jay hitting a kick to the head for two and putting on the rear naked choke. Shida flips out and suplexes Anna down, setting up a sliding forearm for a close two. The running knee retains the title at 7:45.

Rating: C. They were in and out fast and Jay still has a long way to go but they had a short stretch there where there was a little bit of drama in there and things got rolling. For someone with as little experience as Anna has, that is quite the accomplishment and I could go for more of it once Anna gets more time under her belt. Shida really needs a big challenger though and I’m not sure who that is.

Post match Shida goes to leave but here’s Abadon to crawl onto the stage and lick the title after Shida drops it.

Matt Hardy talks about how innovative he is and about how hard 2020 has been. He was victorious over Sammy Guevara though, and if he can do that, you can overcome your pedestrian challenges. If he can do that, just ask what Hardy would do: survive, thrive and win. Heel Hardy is….another thing that exists around here.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Team Taz loves how insecure Cody is and promise to take it to Cody and Darby Allin next week.

Rey Fenix/Pac vs. Butcher and Blade

Penta and the Bunny are ringside while Eddie Kingston is on commentary and it’s a brawl before the bell with Butcher and Blade jumping them early. They get in the ring for the bell with Pac and Fenix knocking the two of them outside for the stereo dives. Back in and Butcher suplexes Pac while Blade hits a dropkick to the back of the head for a bonus. Fenix gets the tag and goes after Blade’s arm but can’t get very far.

Instead it’s already back to Pac, who gets forearmed by Blade. Pac hits his own forearm, earning himself a heck of a clothesline. Fenix comes in sans tag for a kick to Butcher’s head, only to….I guess miss the springboard cutter as Butcher just stands there. Pac superkicks him down instead and we take a break.

Back with Pac kicking away at Blade before Butcher comes in to plant Fenix hard. Fenix scores with a springboard cutter though and it’s back to Pac for more kicks. A bridging northern lights suplex gets two on Blade but it’s too early for the shooting star press. Blade is back with the scoop powerslam and it’s back to an angry Butcher.

One heck of a lariat gets two on Pac and a fireman’s carry toss into a gutbuster keeps him down. The doctor bomb gives Blade two and everything breaks down. Kingston runs down and knocks Fenix off the top, allowing Butcher and Blade to hit a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination for the pin on Fenix at 12:57.

Rating: C+. The tag format worked a little bit better for Pac here as he got to showcase himself without having all of the pressure that comes with it. This seems like it is going to be a long form feud between the groups and I could certainly go for more than that. The Lucha Bros would have seemed like the more logical fit here but at the same time, Pac needs to get into the ring more and more so this is what makes the most sense.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Kingston DDTing Pac onto a chair twice in a row. Kingston loads up another but Lance Archer of all people comes in for the save. House is cleaned and Kingston and company leave. Archer shouts a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Good show here and they did a lot of the smaller things to make the show work much better. What matters the most here is that they are setting things up for the future. Omega seems destined to win the title next week but there is always the chance of some form of a swerve. I’m curious to see what we are going to see going forward and when you have that kind of feeling to go with some good wrestling, they had a positive night.

Results

Hangman Page b. John Silver – Buckshot Lariat

Powerhouse Hobbs b. Lee Johnson – World’s Strongest Slam

Hybrid 2 b. Top Flight – Kneebar to Darius

Chris Jericho/Jake Hager b. SCU – Judas Effect to Daniels

Hikaru Shida b. Anna Jay – Running knee

Butcher and Blade b. Rey Fenix/Pac – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Fenix

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

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

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

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Happy Veterans Day.

Opening sequence.

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

Brian Cage vs. Matt Sydal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Butcher and Blade vs. Natural Nightmares

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scorpio Sky vs. Shawn Spears

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tay Conti vs. Red Velvet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Penta El Cero Miedo vs. Rey Fenix

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Brian Cage b. Matt Sydal – Drill Claw

Natural Nightmares b. Butcher and Blade – Cutter to Blade

Shawn Spears b. Scorpio Sky – Loaded left hand

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

Penta El Cero Miedo b. Rey Fenix – Fear Factor

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Commentary runs down the card.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AEW Games is doing something on Tuesday.

Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver

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

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

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

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

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

TNT Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Darby Allin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Young Bucks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Hardy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chris Jericho vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

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

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

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

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

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

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

Revolution is on February 27, promising an alternate reality.

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

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

AEW World Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Jon Moxley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Kenny Omega b. Hangman Page – One Winged Angel

Orange Cassidy b. John Silver – Beach Break

Darby Allin b. Cody Rhodes – Rollup

Hikaru Shida b. Nyla Rose – Running knee

Young Bucks b. FTR – Superkick to Harwood

Matt Hardy b. Sammy Guevara – Conchairto

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Chris Jericho – Rollup with tights

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

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

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

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

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

Orange Cassidy vs. John Silver

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

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

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

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

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

Matt Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara

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

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

TNT Title: Cody(c) vs. Darby Allin

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

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

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

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

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

Chris Jericho vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

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

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

Kenny Omega vs. Hangman Page

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

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

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

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

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

Overall Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Wardlow vs. Sammy Guevara/Ortiz

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming tonight.

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

Trent vs. Miro

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Private Party vs. Young Bucks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nyla Rose vs. Red Velvet

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

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

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

Full Gear rundown.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

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

Cody/Gunn Club vs. Dark Order

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

Miro b. Trent – Game Over

Young Bucks b. Private Party – BTE Trigger to Quen

Nyla Rose b. Red Velvet – Running knee

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

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: October 28, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re getting closer and closer to Full Gear and tonight we will find out the finalists in the #1 contenders tournament, with the match taking place at the pay per view. Other than that we have a town hall meeting with the Inner Circle and Maxwell Jacob Friedman to see if he can join the team. Let’s get to it.

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

Wardlow and MJF are getting ready for Wardlow’s match when Wardlow is asked what it means to possibly win the title. MJF interrupts, saying that if Wardlow wins, the title goes to MJF because Wardlow works for him. Wardlow agrees, but here is Sammy Guevara to throw down the jacket that MJF gave him. Sammy says MJF isn’t joining the team no matter what, so MJF asks where all the hostility is coming from. After being accused of looking like someone who sells Adderall to middle school kids, Sammy promises to keep MJF off the team.

#1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Wardlow vs. Hangman Page

Page starts fast and hammers on Wardlow before getting up a boot to the face. They head outside with Wardlow spearing him through the barricade with ease and hammering away. Back in and Wardlow sends him flying, followed by a gutwrench powerbomb for two. Wardlow misses a top rope splash though and Page gets to start slugging away. A running clothesline sends Wardlow over the top and out to the floor.

Page hits a top rope moonsault to the floor but the Buckshot Lariat is cut off with a hard clothesline to give Wardlow two. The F10 connects but Page rolls out to the floor. Back in and the super F10 is countered into a superplex to put Wardlow down instead. A pair of Buckshot Lariats finish Wardlow at 9:50.

Rating: C+. This was hard hitting and rough in a good way, which is how something like this should have gone. Page survived a lot and slayed the giant, which is how you make him look like a top star. Good fight here and they got everything working well with Wardlow looking good in defeat.

Here’s everything else that is coming tonight.

Jon Moxley talks about how he has defended the World Title everywhere and now he is ready to do it again against Eddie Kingston. Eddie has a huge ego though and it’s time to give him a big wake up call.

Eddie Kingston vs. Matt Sydal

Before the match, Eddie talks about how he is ready for Full Gear and was never eliminated from the battle royal. Eddie: “Hi Lance.” Eddie works on a headlock to start but gets taken down into an armbar. The cobra stretch is blocked so Sydal kicks away, only to get caught in a powerbomb. Back with Sydal hitting a hard shot to the face for two and Kingston is a bit rocked. He’s fine enough to cut off a charge in the corner but Sydal snaps off a jumping hurricanrana. The top rope Meteora gets two but Eddie is back with a knee to the ribs. The spinning backfist drops Sydal and the bulldog choke makes Sydal give up at 8:12.

Rating: C. This was the kind of match that Kingston can use to get things ready for Full Gear and they did things well. Sydal is someone who means a little something, even though he has been almost nothing more than a jobber around AEW. You knew how it was going to end here but it went fine enough, so nice job.

Post match Kingston won’t let go until Sydal says he quits.

Earlier today we had a split screen sitdown interview with the Young Bucks and FTR. The ankle is fine after last week, as it is just a sprain. FTR laughs off the idea that they are trying to get out of the match. They say the interview doesn’t deserve them and walk out. Matt talks about how they’re a couple of young kids who worked hard and built their own ring to train.

That was their college education. Now they want the titles so badly that if they don’t win them at Full Gear, they will never challenge for them again. Another week of the Bucks suddenly being faces again after superkicking innocent people, which wasn’t a heel turn despite being a heel turn.

It’s time for the Town Hall as the political edition of Dynamite continues. Tony Schiavone and Dasha Gonzales are the moderators and our first question comes from Luchasaurus. Since MJF doesn’t have a Masters degree like he does, Luchasaurus would like to know the financial impact that MJF can have on the Inner Circle. MJF happens to have a chart, showing how much better the ratings are when he is around, which is just math.

The next question is from Britt Baker and Rebel, the latter of whom is VERY interested in Jericho’s smile. They would like to know about MJF’s track record of turning on people. Jericho: “I’m not a dip**** like Cody.” Jericho threatens to knock MJF’s teeth down his throat if he turns on them but MJF says if they join forces, it means a lot of green and a lot of gold. Next up is Peter Avalon, who asks if he can join the Inner Circle. Jericho laughs a lot before saying that’s never going to happen.

Then we have Eric B. from Cody, Wyoming, who quotes John F. Kennedy by asking what MJF can do for the Inner Circle. MJF says he can offer friendship, so Bischoff then asks what the Inner Circle can do for MJF as well. He thinks the team can make him better, so Bischoff has one more question. Bischoff and Jericho have worked together before and Bischoff knows Jericho is a primadonna. Jericho freaks out but Bischoff gets to continue, asking why we should believe the two of them won’t kill each other.

MJF talks about everything he has offered to Jericho and the Inner Circle, including gifts and the best segment ever in wrestling. Jericho says MJF hasn’t beaten him but he’ll have the chance at Full Gear. If MJF can beat him, he can be on the team. MJF takes it seriously and promises to do ANYTHING to win. Ortiz tells MJF to shut up because there is no conversation needed because no one wants him in the Inner Circle. Next week it’s going to be Santana/Guevara (strange) vs. MJF/Wardlow and MJF isn’t making it to Full Gear.

This was rather long and took longer than it needed to to get to the point. The parody of the election season wasn’t exactly funny or entertaining either, though once they got past that point, it did what it needed to do. Also, Bischoff isn’t exactly a big, exciting addition to anything at this point.

Video on Team Taz vs. Will Hobbs.

TNT Title: Cody vs. Orange Cassidy

Cody is defending in a lumberjack match. The Mouse Trap is broken up early and Cody wins a battle over a top wristlock. Cassidy gets two off a backslide but Cody hits him in the ribs to send him outside for the Big Hug from the Best Friends. Back in and Cody hits a dragon screw legwhip over the rope but the Best Friends catch him before he falls. Cassidy is right back with a shot to knock Cody off the apron, and this time the Best Friends just drop him.

Trent gets in a cheap shot from the floor and Cassidy hits a high crossbody but Cody counters the spinning DDT. Cody is sent outside again but the lumberjacks can’t do anything before he’s back in. Now the spinning DDT gets two and we take a break with Cassidy being sent outside.

Back with the lumberjacks getting in a fight (duh) until Cody superplexes Cassidy onto the pile. Cody throws him back in and gets two off the Cody Cutter, only to get caught with the Stundog Millionaire. Cassidy’s top rope diving DDT gets two but the lumberjacks get back in, with John Silver hitting a pump kick on Cassidy (which Cody didn’t see). Arn Anderson gets in a left hand as well, allowing Cody to hit Cross Rhodes to retain at 12:05.

Rating: C. The lumberjacks offered a little something here and Silver costing Cassidy the match should set up something in a week or two. You can always get something like this out of a lumberjack match so they did it well enough. Cassidy continues to look fine when he does his thing and when he’s a little more serious (on occasion), it makes the shtick feel more entertaining.

Post match the brawl is on as Darby Allin watches from the rafters like Sting. The Gunn Club of all people clear the ring.

Miro and Kip Sabian run into the Best Friends in the back and try to make peace after they broke Alan a few weeks ago. Their offer of a present: Penelope Ford dressed as Orange Cassidy. They jump the Friends anyway and the beating goes into the locker room with the Best Friends being laid out.

Serena Deeb talks about winning the NWA Women’s Title last night and promises to show why you should respect her.

NWA Women’s Title: Serena Deeb vs. Leyla Hirsch

Deeb is defending and gets taken into the corner to start. Back up and Deeb grabs a waistlock but Hirsch reverses into a front facelock. Hirsch runs her over a few times with a shoulder getting two. Deeb gets two off a neckbreaker over the ropes and JR calls Hirsch a female Ivan Putski. That’s a little harsh, especially when Hirsch pulls her into a cross armbreaker attempt. Deeb stacks her up to escape so Hirsch sends her shoulder first into the buckle for the break. We take a break and come back with Hirsch hitting a knee to the face but getting dropped with a neckbreaker. The Tequila Sunrise makes Hirsch tap at 8:39.

Rating: C. Hirsch was impressive here as she felt different. Above all else, she is rather small and the different build and look make her feel unique. Deeb is a veteran who can wrestle a good match with anyone and she did that here, which was made that much better when Hirsch was up to the challenge.

Hikaru Shida is willing to face Nyla Rose for the Women’s Title at Full Gear. How many title shots does Rose get around here???

Shawn Spears vs. VSK

C4 finishes for Spears at 31 seconds.

Post match, someone in a bull costume yells at Spears so Spears pulls him inside. Spears loads up the glove but it’s Scorpio Sky, who lays Spears out with a TKO.

Full Gear rundown.

Next week rundown.

#1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Kenny Omega vs. Penta El Zero M

Omega’s Mega Title isn’t on the line but his big intro is still on in full. Rey Fenix is here in Peta’s corner as Omega lays the title in front of Penta. The big chop off ensues and Omega knocks the glove away before stomping Penta down. Penta knocks him outside though and hits the dive, only to come up holding his knee as we take a break.

Back with Omega snapping off a hurricanrana to the floor and hitting the running flip dive for a bonus. Penta is back up with a dive to the floor though and they’re both down. They head back inside with Omega hitting the snapdragon and then does it again for a bonus. Omega knees him in the face and hits a powerbomb, followed by the V Trigger for two. A leg lariat to the back of the head sends Penta into the corner and there’s another V Trigger in the corner.

Omega takes him to the top but gets caught with a super Destroyer onto the ramp. The Fear Factor gets two more back inside but the Pentagon Driver is countered. Instead Penta hits a low running enziguri for two and they’re both staggered. Another V Trigger rocks Penta but he counters the One Winged Angel and snaps the arm. Omega slips out of the Pentagon Driver again and has to use the left hand to fight back. Penta springboards into a knee to the face though and the One Winged Angel finishes at 16:23.

Rating: B. Eh I’m not sure. Omega only did four or five V Triggers and they only went sixteen minutes. 37 stars? Maybe 109? They did a rather nice job of building up some drama, even though there was little reason to believe that Omega was in any serious danger. That worked out well, as Penta continues to look like a star every time he is in the ring. Main event level match here, and now we move on to what was expected at Full Gear.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a bit of a step down for the show but it was still rather good. The bigger problem here was most of the show didn’t feel all that big until the main event, which did deliver. The Town Hall hurt things a lot as it was long and didn’t really have any major moments, though they got to the necessary result. What mattered here was the rush build to Full Gear and that went well enough, mainly because it was about all they could do with only one more show before the pay per view. Not as good as their usual stuff, but a completely acceptable show.

Results

Hangman Page b. Wardlow – Buckshot Lariat

Eddie Kingston b. Matt Sydal – Bulldog choke

Cody b. Orange Cassidy – Cross Rhodes

Serena Deeb b. Leyla Hirsch – Tequila Sunrise

Shawn Spears b. VSK – C4

Kenny Omega b. Penta – One Winged Angel

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: October 20, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

We’re back and somehow the show is even bigger, at a sixteen match card. That’s a record even for this show and up there with the biggest Wrestlemania lineups of all time. I’m not sure why that needs to be the case around here but it’s not like there is much else to talk about with this show. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentators welcome.

Shawn Spears vs. Christopher Daniels

Again with the idea of opening with what could be the headliner. Spears works on the wrist to start before switching off to a headlock. Daniels is right back up to flip him to the floor though and we get a breather. Back in and an exchange of leapfrogs goes badly for Spears as Daniels clotheslines him down. A Fargo Strut sets up a t-bone suplex to send Spears outside again, with Daniels hitting a slingshot dive this time.

This one doesn’t go as well as Daniels is whipped hard into the barricade, setting up a neckbreaker on the floor. Back in and Daniels whips him hard into the corner, followed by a DDT to stay on the neck. The C4 is countered though and Daniels grabs a Downward Spiral. The STO plants Spears and another C4 is countered again into a rollup for two. Daniels gets another two off a high crossbody but the Angel’s Wings is blocked. A slingshot is cut off though and now the C4 can finish Daniels at 7:16.

Rating: C. As expected, two people who have done this for a long time and have shown that they can do good things in the ring have a completely watchable match. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done before, but there wasn’t a bad thing about the match and it was well set up throughout. Spears is still totally uninteresting, but it could have been far worse.

Post match Spears hits a second C4, drawing out Scorpio Sky to chase him off. Spears beats up a production guy to blow off some steam.

Brandi Rhodes vs. KiLynn King

I don’t see King breaking her losing streak here. King spins her down into a hammerlock but gets reversed with a headscissors. Back up and Brandi snaps off a headlock takeover as the mat grappling continues. King’s rollup gets two and Brandi’s gets the same, setting up an early standoff.

An armdrag into an armbar has Brandi in trouble again but she sends King into the corner for the running elbow as commentary makes radio jokes. Cue John Silver to campaign to be on Brandi’s cooking show, but Brandi is fine enough to hit a Sling Blade for two. They slug it out from their knees and it’s the Shot Of Brandi (which looked like it needed a camera cut) for the pin on King at 3:22.

Rating: D+. This was all you could have expected as Brandi isn’t going to lose a match like this, even if it’s against someone who seems like they could be a breakout star in King. The wrestling wasn’t anything great, but they did well enough with the counters and reversals. That finish still doesn’t look great, but it’s better than Brandi using the spear.

David Ali vs. Ricky Starks

Ali hammers away to start but gets picked up and dropped hard. The chopping is on as Taz is rather pleased with all of this. Ali manages to get to the corner though and it’s a missile dropkick to stagger Starks. After being confused for a second, Starks goes up again and gets crotched back down. A running boot in the corner connects and the Roshambo finishes Ali at 2:57.

Starks joins commentary, as is his custom.

Scorpio Sky vs. Fuego del Sol

Fuego flips out of a wristlock to start so Sky slows him down with a headlock. A front chancery has Fuego in trouble and a Russian legsweep gives Sky two. Sky hits a backbreaker and bends Fuego over the knee as the announcers talk about Goosebumps. The abdominal stretch goes on but Fuego is out in a hurry for a dropkick. That’s enough to send Sky outside and Fuego adds a slingshot dive. Back in and Sol rolls him up out of the corner for two, followed by an enziguri for the same. Not that it matters as Fuego dives into a very quick Scorpion Deathlock for the tap at 5:41.

Rating: C. Sky continues to be one of the smoothest workers around here and it’s nice to see him doing this kind of thing every time he’s out there. Fuego got to showcase himself here and Sky is someone who can do something with anyone. I liked this well enough, with Sky working on the ribs throughout and then getting the win with a hold that works on the back. Makes enough sense.

Post match Shawn Spears’ music hits but he doesn’t show up.

Aaron Solow vs. Luchasaurus

Luchasaurus shoves him down without much effort and unloads on him in the corner as Starks talks about his time teaming with Solow. Back up and Solow hits a headscissors to the floor but the suicide dive is caught. A tornado DDT on the floor works a bit better but Luchasaurus is right back with a kick to the face inside. Solow knees him in the face, only to get blasted by a running clothesline. The Tail Whip into the chokeslam into the standing moonsault finishes Solow at 3:36.

Rating: C-. Solow got in a lot of offense here and it was probably too much. Luchasaurus is a monster and not the kind of person who should be giving up so much. At the same time, he probably shouldn’t be needing to do so many big moves at the end. The Tail Whip, the chokeslam and the standing moonsault could all be finishers. Use one or two at most, not three.

Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Butcher and Blade

Eddie Kingston is here with Butcher and Blade. It’s Garrison getting chopped in the corner to start but it’s off to Pillman to kick away at Blade. A superkick doesn’t work on Butcher though, as he crushes Pillman with a running crossbody. It’s back to Blade for some choking on the ropes and Butcher drives in some knees to the back.

Pillman gets in a dropkick but Butcher whips him hard into the corner to cut him off again. A quick spinning high crossbody gives Pillman enough space for the hot tag to Garrison though and everything breaks down. Pillman is sent to the floor though and it’s a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to finish Garrison at 6:03.

Rating: C. There is something to be said about Pillman taking a beating like that and then making a comeback. It worked out just fine here and that isn’t the most surprising. Garrison and Pillman as a small, plucky team is fine enough and I won’t be surprised when they’re both signed soon enough.

Penta El Cero M vs. QT Marshall

Dustin Rhodes is here too. Penta takes his time in removing the glove so Marshall hits him in the face. A running headscissors takes Penta down again but a dive is cut off with ease. Back in and Penta throws him right back to the floor for the strikes against the post. They head inside again with Penta charging into an elbow and then getting elbowed down again. Penta kicks him down and hits a double stomp for two but Marshall hits a handspring kick to the face.

A Sling Blade gives Penta two and here’s Eddie Kingston with a microphone to watch. The package piledriver is blocked and they kick each other down. Eddie waves at Marshall and says he has a surprise. Cue Allie in the Bunny gear again but she leaves with Eddie. Marshall is fine enough to get two off a backslide but Penta is back with a Pentagon Driver for two of his own. A Michinoku Driver gives Marshall two more so Penta goes up for a change. That means it’s the middle rope Canadian Destroyer into the Fear Factor to finish Marshall at 8:31.

Rating: C. They avoided the styles clash here and had a nice match, though the point is ending the rather unnecessary Allie/Marshall deal. I’m still not sure what the idea behind that was but maybe we get to find that out later. Either way, Penta winning is nice and it’s not like Marshall is hurt by a loss.

Jungle Boy vs. KTB

KTB charges but gets dropkicked to the corner. Boy snaps off a headscissors out of the corner but KTB sends him into the corner for the rolling shoulder to the ribs (that’s a new one). A dragon screw legwhip sets up a fireman’s carry slam for two and it’s an atomic drop into a quick splash for the same.

Boy pops off a clothesline and hits his own dragon screw legwhip to the floor. That means a suicide dive and a slingshot DDT gives Boy two more. Boy goes to the ropes again but gets caught in a Razor’s Edge flipped down into a knee to the face for two more. KTB misses a moonsault though and it’s a running elbow to the back of the head. Boy’s top rope double knee drop is good for the pin at 5:27.

Rating: C+. KTB got to showcase himself here and that was all you could hope for. Boy is not big enough to be someone to look dominant so having him fight from underneath is the right idea every time. The match worked a lot better than I would have bet on and that’s always a nice surprise.

And that’s the halfway point.

Ivelisse/Diamante vs. Skyler Moore/Kenzie Paige

It’s a brawl to start with Moore and Paige being cleared out in a hurry. Diamante muscles Moore up in a not great looking suplex and there’s an uppercut into the corner. A double suplex gets two on Moore and we hit the chinlock. Diamante charges into a boot though and it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown. Paige and Ivelisse come in to pick up the pace and Paige’s Natural Selection gets two. Diamante is right back with a quick Stunner though and Ivelisse hits the rolling kick to the face for the pin at 4:09.

Rating: D+. Just a quick match here to remind you that Ivelisse and Diamante exist. You might have forgotten after they won that tournament, which wound up meaning a grand total of nothing. Moore and Paige are both find enough, but there is only so much that can be done in a situation like this.

Colt Cabana vs. Bshp King

There’s no Dark Order with Cabana and he seems to be confused. Commentary talks about Cabana’s jackets and make an Orange Cassidy/Pockets reference to make sure that we know they listen to Jim Cornette. Feeling out process to start with both taking turns going after the arm as John Silver and Alex Reynolds come out.

Actually never mind as Cabana sends them back before kicking at King’s legs. Something close to an old Stump Puller has King in more trouble and some elbows to the head make it worse. The Order is here again and the distraction means Cabana can’t hit the Chicago Skyline. The Flying Apple into the Superman Pin is enough to finish King at 4:07.

Rating: C-. Another match that came and went with little of interest. I guess Cabana is having issues with the Dark Order now and this needed to be on the show because…maybe having sixteen matches sounds better than having fifteen? Yeah this is the first candidate for the match being cut so far and that’s not a good place to be.

Adam Priest vs. Alan Angels

Most of the Dark Order is here with Angels. Priest gets knocked into the corner to start and Angels hits a middle rope springboard clothesline. A quick moonsault gives Angels two but Priest is back with a big boot and clothesline of his own. Angels grabs a twisting fisherman’s buster and the Wing Snapper finishes Priest at 3:16.

Rating: C-. Ironically enough this didn’t get enough time and it hurt things a lot. It wasn’t a bad match at all and Angels continues to get to showcase himself well. Priest is another guy in a long list of them around here and while I don’t think this was meant to be a showcase for him, he didn’t quite get to do much here.

Frankie Kazarian tells Jack Evans that respect is earned and now he wants to be at the top of the industry. He has always been the bridesmaid but never the bride so tonight is the start of his wedding march.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Jack Evans

Angelico is here with Evans. Kazarian takes him down by the arm to start but Evans gets a quickly broken chancery. Back up and a shoulder runs Evans over, setting up an armdrag into an armbar. A cartwheel into a headscissors takes Kazarian down but he’s right back with the armdrag into a second armbar. That’s broken up and Evans offers a distraction so Angelico can get in a cheap shot, setting up a northern lights suplex. Evans pops up onto Kazarian’s ribs into a standing moonsault for two more.

A hair takedown gets another two on Kazarian and there’s a hard whip into the corner. Kazarian gets a sunset flip out of the corner for his own two but he has to deal with Angelico. Evans gets clotheslined down for another near fall and there’s two more off a springboard spinning legdrop. Kazarian’s leg is kicked out and a standing sky twister press (geez) gives Evans another two. Kazarian reverses the moonsault into a reverse DDT into a reverse DDT of his own to finish Evans at 7:57.

Rating: C. Kazarian can go with anyone and Evans was doing all of his flips and dives, as he is known to do. It’s another case of having a steady hand like Kazarian in there and that’s the best way to use Evans. It wasn’t a classic or anything but it got a little time and they traded some nice spots so it went well enough.

Post match Angelico jumps Kazarian but Christopher Daniels runs in for the save.

Louie Valle/Baron Black/D3 vs. Dark Order

It’s 3/4/10 for the Order here and the fact that we have now had two different stables with three matches each and have four matches left might suggest that this show is TOO FREAKING LONG. Taz: “Maybe we should call this show AEW Dark Order.” See? Even he gets it. Valle is offered a spot in the Dark Order to start but turns it down, meaning Reynolds beats him up. That’s broken up with Valle getting in a few shots of his own but not being ready to follow up.

Black comes in but gets crotched, meaning it’s off to D3, who is shouldered down by Silver. An arm trap rollup gives D3 two so Silver knocks him down again. Vance comes in and blocks a hurricanrana, followed by a hard fall away slam into the corner. A double flipping faceplant drops D3 again and there’s a delayed suplex from Vance. Silver sends D3 flying across the ring but he slips out of a gorilla press. The hot tag brings in Valle for a running crossbody as Taz talks about how short both of them are. Everything breaks down and Vance spinebusters Black. The double flipping slam finishes Black at 5:48.

Rating: C. In case you didn’t get the idea the first 183 times we’ve seen it, the Dark Order can beat up jobbers in a match that doesn’t last very long and look good together as a trio. I don’t know how many times we need to see them do this or some combination of it to get the point already, but since this is the third Dark Order match on the show, it probably isn’t enough yet. The team has gotten better, but I’m sick of seeing them do the same stuff over and over like this.

Wardlow vs. Vinny Pacifico

Wardlow’s knee in the corner knocks Pacifico out at 40 seconds. This is just like last week when Wardlow’s knee in the corner knocked out another jobber in a short match, but you needed to see it twice to get the point or something.

Post match Wardlow gives him an F10.

Eddie Kingston and company welcome Allie to the fold to complete the team.

Matt Sydal vs. Shawn Dean

Sydal takes him down into a headscissors to start before cranking on the arm. A front facelock keeps Dean in trouble but he’s back up with some armdrags into a dropkick. That earns him a jumping spinwheel kick and a standing twisting Swanton gets two on Dean. Back up and Dean slugs away but gets pulled down into a reverse Rings of Saturn. That’s broken up as well because we’ve already had our short matches of the night. Dean grabs a tiger driver for two but Sydal hits a jumping knee. A kick to the head sets up the cobra stretch to finish Dean at 6:02.

Rating: C-. Another Sydal match as he gets to show what he can do outside of the high flying. It was fine enough and Dean can go better than most of the job squad. I just didn’t need to see another six minute match after fourteen matches throughout the card so far. That’s where this show gets in trouble: everything gets crushed by all of the other stuff and it defeats the purpose of making Sydal look good.

Sonny Kiss vs. Rey Fenix

Joey Janela is here too. Kiss shoves him away to start and they go to a test of strength to show off their counters. A step up hurricanrana takes Fenix down so Fenix rolls into a hurricanrana of his own. Fenix dropkicks him into the corner and then pulls him shoulder first into the corner.

We hit the armbar for a bit until Fenix goes with a sunset flip but cranks on the leg instead (that’s a new one). Something like a Tequila Sunrise has Kiss in more trouble and Fenix kicks the arm to make it worse. Kiss is back with a twisting elbow to the face and the front flip kick to the ribs in the corner. A victory roll gives Kiss two and he drops Fenix on top of his head. Fenix is fine enough to catch him on top though and the Black Fire Driver finishes Kiss at 7:44.

Rating: C. This was Kiss doing his gymnastics and Fenix doing his lucha stuff and it wound up being ok. The arm and leg stuff from Fenix was a nice twist and I’m glad to see him getting a chance in the big tournament. I could see him getting to the second round and after not being able to do much else around here, that’s a pretty good result all things considered.

Overall Rating: D+. What even is there to say? It’s a longer version of the same problems that this show always has. Last week’s show was fourteen matches and they even had four matches that were similar to last week, down to the same people. I honestly have no idea what this show is supposed to be or who it is supposed to appeal to, but if they keep this up, plus Dynamite and the third show, they are going to risk burning out their audience REALLY fast.

The point of Dynamite was the same as the glory days of NXT: the best show you get all week and it leaves you wanting more. This isn’t the same as Dynamite, but it has a lot of the same people and there is rarely anything worth going out of your way to see. It’s still AEW though, and if you keep pumping out this much content, fans are going to get burned out one day and there is no one to blame but yourselves.

Another problem with the show itself is in the matches. It would be one thing if these matches were all a minute or two, but when it’s one five to six minute match after another, that time adds up in a hurry and, again, nothing gets to stand out. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done better elsewhere and I don’t get invested in anything they do. It has a nice idea and if you fix things up it would be a good supplement to Dynamite. At this rate though it’s WAY longer than Dynamite (with commercials factored out) and that’s killing whatever benefits it has. Cut it down by two thirds (geez) and it works, but this was insane.

Results

Shawn Spears b. Christopher Daniels – C4

Brandi Rhodes b. KiLynn King – Shot Of Brandi

Ricky Starks b. David Ali – Roshambo

Scorpio Sky b. Fuego del Sol – Scorpion Deathlock

Luchasaurus b. Aaron Solow – Standing moonsault

Butcher and Blade b. Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Garrison

Penta El Cero M b. QT Marshall – Fear Factor

Jungle Boy b. KTB – Top rope double knee drop

Ivelisse/Diamante b. Kenzie Paige/Skyler Moore – Rolling kick to Paige’s face

Colt Cabana b. Bshp King – Superman Pin

Alan Angels b. Adam Priest – Wing Snapper

Frankie Kazarian b. Jack Evans – Reverse DDT

Dark Order b. D3/Baron Black/Louie Valle – Double flipping slam to Black

Wardlow b. Vinny Pacifico – Knee to the face

Matt Sydal b. Shawn Dean – Cobra stretch

Fenix b. Sonny Kiss – Black Fire Driver

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: October 14, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s a big show this week as we have an Anniversary edition. Since it’s Dynamite, that means it’s a packed show with all of the titles being defended in one night. You don’t see that too often around here as AEW has done a good job of making its titles and their defenses feel special. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Best Friends

FTR, with Tully Blanchard, is defending and it’s Harwood working on Taylor’s arm to start. An armdrag into an armbar has Harwood in trouble and it’s off to Trent for some armbarring of his own. The champs take over on Trent in the corner as Tony talks about this show being around since October 2, 199…..and JR is all over him. A shoulder to the ribs puts Trent on the floor, followed by a seated abdominal stretch back inside.

Trent fights up and hits a clothesline but Harwood comes in to break up any tag attempt. A belly to back superplex drops Trent again but he gets his knees up to block a Vader Bomb. The hot tag brings in Chuck to start cleaning house, including a Falcon Arrow for two on Harwood. Back in and Tully sweeps the leg on a suplex attempt for two as the old trick doesn’t work this time. The champs are sent into each other and Chuck sunset flips Wilder for two more.

The Soul Food/half and half combination gets two and Trent’s running knee is good for another near fall. A pop up powerbomb plants Trent for the same and the champs are getting frustrated. Trent goes up but gets crotched on top, setting up another belly to back superplex but Trent spins around onto him for two more. A tornado DDT plants Wheeler but Harwood is right back up with a regular DDT.

The Mind Breaker is broken up and Strong Zero connects with Wheeler having to make the save. Wheeler gets knocked over the barricade and Trent follows, only to get sent into Kip Sabian’s arcade cabinet. Sabian sends Penelope Ford to the back for some reason and FTR brings the mostly out of it Trent back to the ring. Chuck breaks up the Good Night Express but the ref gets bumped and it’s a belt shot to finish Chuck at 16:31.

Rating: B. You know, when you drop the Big Hug and don’t have the Best Friends doing their weird gimmick of being nine year olds, they can have a good match. I didn’t need the arcade deal but at least it gives the Best Friends a bit more of an out. FTR continues to be able to do a lot of good things in the ring and can make anyone look good, so this worked as well as it could.

Post match the Best Friends hug but here are Miro and Sabian to jump both of them, setting up their next feud.

Miro/Kip Sabian vs. Lee Johnson/Sean Maluta

We’re joined during the middle of Miro’s entrances and the squashing is on in a hurry as Sabian is mourning his arcade cabinet. Johnson gets knocked off the apron and then sent into the barricade. Back in and Sabian hits the top rope splash to crush Maluta and Miro grabs Game Over for the tap at 1:53. Total squash, as Miro’s debut should have been in the first place.

Post match Sabian yells about how the Best Friends destroyed his most prized possession. Miro: “GAME OVER.”

We cut to the back where Lance Archer is destroying Jon Moxley.

We get the brackets for the #1 contenders tournament:

Penta El Cero M

Rey Fenix

Kenny Omega

Joey Janela

Colt Cabana

Hangman Page

Wardlow

Jungle Boy

It starts next week with the finals at Full Gear.

Here are Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Wardlow for an announcement. MJF talks about how he has accomplished more in a year than these people have in their entire lives. He not only got on top but is staying on top. Tonight he has an announcement, so can Chris Jericho please come out here to hear it in person. Instead he gets the full Inner Circle and after the Judas chorus is gone, we’re ready to move on. MJF isn’t happy that Sammy isn’t wearing his Inner Circle jacket so Jericho insists that he put it on. The jacket is way too big but MJF insists that it’s a perfect fit.

Speaking of fit, MJF praises Jericho’s abs and luscious hair, even asking to touch it. Jericho lets him but then tells MJF to cut the sh**. MJF claims that he is getting better ratings than Jericho, so he is the RATINGS RULER. The two of them have been on fire since AEW began and MJF suggests Jericho watches Animal Planet. Jericho: “I…..hate…..Animal Planet!” MJF: “Oddly specific.”

Anyway the point is when you’re watching Animal Planet, you never see two piranhas eating each other because they’re both predators. MJF and Jericho need to adapt to continue chasing their prey. After swallowing his pride about asking for a job and losing his smile, MJF says he might kind of sort of maybe plausibly perhaps join the Inner Circle. Santana says there is no maybe, because they don’t want MJF in the Inner Circle.

Jericho says hold on, but suggests that he and MJF meet one on one….for a steak dinner next week. MJF: “You want to eat steak?” Jericho: “I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life.” MJF: “YOU WANT TO EAT STEAK??? YOU WANT TO EAT STEAK??? YOU’RE ON!” Jericho: “I’ll see you at the restaurant, MAX.” This was a funny exchange and I want to see next week.

Earlier today, Tony Schiavone and Britt Baker were at the spa, where Britt was having something done to her face but still managed to have Reba come in with the chart of rules. She thinks you should be the baddest b**** on the block….and then realizes Schiavone is missing his clothes on the table next to him (under a sheet that is). Tony winds up getting a chest wax before Baker yells at him for not being around after the Young Bucks attacked him. Tony: “I got kicked in the face!” Baker: “I got kicked in the nose!” Baker is in action next week.

TNT Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Cody

Cody, with Brandi and Arn Anderson, is defending and is back to the blond hair. So much for the better look. Cassidy ducks a clothesline to start and then puts his hands in his pockets rather than going with a test of strength. A shove knocks the sunglasses off so Cassidy kicks them to the floor and it’s the first lockup of Cassidy’s AEW career. Cassidy takes him into the corner for a gentle shove before Cody waistlocks him to the mat. The hands into the pockets let Cassidy out and he nips up.

Cody takes him down again and we take a break. Back with Cassidy flipping out of an armbar and doing the weak leg kicks. Cassidy gets knocked down but comes back with the effort based offense to knock Cody outside. Cody is nearly knocked into the Dark Order but John Silver gets caught with the belt, earning a mass ejection. Cassidy gets the title but hands it to Anderson and throws Cody back inside. Cody rolls through a high crossbody but the Cross Rhodes is countered into a rollup for two.

The suplex is countered into a Stundog Millionaire, only to have Cody pop back up with the Cody Cutter. Cassidy strikes away at the chest but gets his knee kicked out to put both of them down. Cassidy’s leg is wrapped around the post and Arn is not pleased. The Disaster Kick calms Arn down a bit but only gets two. A kneeling half crab goes on but Cody lets go in a hurry. Cody runs him over with a clothesline and stops for some pushups before loading up what looked to be a Pedigree.

Cassidy falls down to escape so Cody puts him on top for the reverse superplex and another near fall. The knee got banged up again on the landing so Cody goes to wrap it around the post again, only to get pulled into the post. The top rope DDT gives Cassidy two and a nasty looking Michinoku Driver gets the same. Cody is right back with a shot to the knee into the Figure Four.

Cassidy rolls over to the ropes for the break and it’s the Beach Break onto the apron to knock both guys down to the floor. The knee is banged up again so Cassidy takes his time getting back in for the cover. With a minute left, the Orange Punch is countered into Cross Rhodes but Cassidy reverses into the tornado DDT. The Beach Break gets two more so Cassidy grabs the Mousetrap for two as time expires at 20:00.

Rating: B-. This got better at the end but it wasn’t the most dramatic match until the ending. I like Cassidy being more serious in bigger matches and he is getting better with the major performances. I’m assuming this sets up a rematch at Full Gear, with Darby Allin, already announced as getting a pay per view title shot at the show, which should be good. This worked out well enough, though it was kind of a long wait to get to the hot finish.

Post match Cody looks relieved.

Jon Moxley jumps Lance Archer in the back.

Matt Hardy is here with his wife and children to announce that he is medically cleared. A video pops up on screen to show a bunch of photos of Matt’s career, which are lit on fire. It’s Sammy Guevara, who was the one who attacked Hardy a few weeks back because he wants to end Hardy’s career. Hardy says he knows what his first order of business is now.

The tag division is on the stage and we are going to draw four names out of a tumbler to determine the participants in a #1 contenders match next week. The four teams are Private Party, John Silver/Alex Reynolds, Butcher and Blade and the Young Bucks (with Tony being disgusted). The Bucks come in and start superkicking people before clearing out the tumbler. House is cleaned and the Bucks stare it down with Private Party. That means stereo superkicks to drop Private Party so the Bucks can stare down FTR.

Women’s Title: Big Swole vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida is defending and grabs a headlock to start but gets reversed into a standing chinlock. That’s reversed into a cradle for two on Swole and they knock each other down a few times in a row. Shida heads to the floor and this a running knee to the face, only to get knocked into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Swole not being able to hit a sunset bomb but she can hit a springboard cutter to the ramp. Another cutter gets two back inside but Dirty Dancing is blocked. Shida knees her down again and hits the Falcon Arrow for two. Dirty Dancing connects but Shida grabs the rope for the break. Shida knees her in the head again, setting up the running knee for the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C-. This took some time to get going and it never hit that next level. Shida uses those running knees quite a bit and they can get a little repetitive in a hurry. Then there’s Swole, who isn’t exactly the most polished out there. She has come a pretty long way in the last few months, but she needs a good bit more work.

Here’s what’s coming next week, plus in two weeks: Cassidy vs. Cody for the TNT Title again.

Video on Scorpio Sky vs. Shawn Spears.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Lance Archer

Moxley is defending, Eddie Kingston is on commentary with the Lucha Bros, and it’s No DQ. The Paradigm Shift gives Moxley two at the bell so he tries it again, only to get driven out to the floor. They brawl around ringside with Archer getting the better of things as Kingston promises a classic when Fenix faces Penta in the tournament. Archer sends him outside again for the Cannonball from the apron and we take a break. Back with Archer not being able to hit a chokeslam from the apron through some tables at ringside.

Another chokeslam is broken up so Moxley loses a forearm off instead. Moxley gets in a running shot for the knockdown though and it’s time to throw in a bunch of chairs. A hard chair shot drops Archer again but he slips out of a Death Valley Driver through some chairs. Archer chokeslams him through the chairs for two but Moxley pulls him down into a heel hook. The rope means nothing so Archer pulls himself to the floor for the escape.

Archer grabs a trashcan to block a dive but Moxley is back with a low blow on the apron. The Paradigm Shift from the apron through the tables leaves them both laying. Back in and the Paradigm Shift gives Moxley two more and we hit the Bulldog Choke. That’s broken up so Moxley rolls him up for two, only to get DDTed for two. The Black Out connects but Moxley reverses the cover into a crucifix to retain at 12:35.

Rating: B-. It was a good brawl but I can’t really bring myself to get excited about another Moxley fight. This is what he does these days and it is what he has done for months now. How many times can you get fired up about the same formula of the same match over and over again? Kingston vs. Moxley II sounds great, but Moxley is really starting to wear thin on me.

Post match the beatdown is on but Kingston sends in the Lucha Bros with chairs for the save. Fenix hits him in the back with a chair to little effect so Jake Roberts tells Archer to get out of here. Moxley pulls himself up as Kingston talks about their history together. Kingston says Moxley has carried the company for most of a year and wants the fans to cheer for him. The group hand raise sets up the spinning backfist into the rear naked choke to lay Moxley out. Kingston holds up the title and calls it beautiful while shouting that he’s going to finish Moxley to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling was mostly good (women’s match aside) and the show as a whole was rather good. That being said, for a show built around the anniversary, there wasn’t a ton about the history of the promotion. That’s one way to go, though it wasn’t quite the blow away show they seemed to be building towards. Still though, Dynamite has been at worst the second best wrestling show of the week for its first year (and often the best period) and that’s pretty impressive given its rather limited history. Good show this week, though I was hoping for a bit stronger outing all around.

Results

FTR b. Best Friends – Belt shot to Chuck’s head

Miro/Kip Sabian b. Lee Johnson/Sean Maluta – Game Over to Maluta

Orange Cassidy vs. Cody went to a time limit draw

Hikaru Shida b. Big Swole – Running knee

Jon Moxley b. Lance Archer – Crucifix

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

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

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

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

Commentary welcome.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lucha Bros vs. Cezar Bononi/Lee Johnson

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

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

Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon

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

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

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

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

Sonny Kiss vs. Matt Sydal

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

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

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

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

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

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

Red Velvet vs. Elayna Black

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

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

Ricky Starks vs. Fuego del Sol

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

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

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

Starks joins commentary.

Gunn Club vs. Ryzin/Maxx Stardom

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

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

Darby Allin vs. Nick Comoroto

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

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

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

Post match Allin charges at Starks for the brawl.

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

Colt Cabana vs. Griff Garrison

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

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

KiLynn King vs. Nyla Rose

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

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

Joey Janela vs. D3

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

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

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

Wardlow vs. Elijah Dean

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

Eddie Kingston vs. Baron Black

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

Kingston shouts for Jon Moxley.

Preview for Dynamite FINALLY wraps this up.

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

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

Results

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

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

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

Matt Sydal b. Sonny Kiss – Cobra clutch

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

Red Velvet b. Elayna Black – Just Desserts

Ricky Starks b. Fuego del Sol – Roshambo

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

Darby Allin b. Nick Comoroto – Coffin Drop

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

Nyla Rose b. KiLynn King – Beast Bomb

Joey Janela b. D3 – Brainbuster

Wardlow b. Elijah Dean – Knee to the face

Eddie Kingston b. Baron Black – Front chancery

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dark
Date: October 6, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks

It’s back to this show as they seem to have lightened up on the time a bit. This is probably four or five regular shows in a row to be around the ninety minute mark. That’s still too long, but it’s a lot better than the two hour one that they had a month and a half or so ago. Hopefully the wrestling makes it better. Let’s get to it.

Here are last results if you need a recap.

Announcers’ welcome.

Kenzie Page vs. Brandi Rhodes

Dustin Rhodes is here too. Page shoves her in the face to start and gets taken down with a headlock takeover. The armbar goes on for a bit, followed by the low superkick for two on Page. Back up and Page stomps her down in the corner as Starks mentions that Page has changed her gear color since last time. What an astute observation. Brandi fights out of the chinlock in a hurry and hits something like a Sling Blade. The bulldog gets two and there’s a Dustin uppercut. The Stunner sets up the Shot Of Brandi for the pin on Page at 3:37.

Rating: D+. This was your usual Brandi match: Brandi gets to shine, wins in the end, and doesn’t do much to prove more than she’s a more athletic Stephanie McMahon. It’s not like she can do anything special in the ring and she is far from the worst wrestler, but sweet goodness it’s one of those things that you just have to get used to because she’s always going to be around.

Post match here’s Anna Jay to jump Brandi but Red Velvet makes the save.

Ray Rosas/Eric Watts vs. Jurassic Express

Not THAT Watts. Boy headlocks Rosas to start and armdrags him into an armbar. It’s already off to Luchasaurus to throw him into the corner and hand it straight back to Boy. Rosas gets in a backbreaker for a breather and it’s Watts coming in with a splash in the corner. A fall away slam keeps Boy in trouble and Watts throws him into the corner again.

Boy is fine enough to roll over for the hot tag to Luchasaurus anyway, meaning it’s a chokeslam into the standing moonsault. Watts makes the save and kicks Luchasaurus down, setting up Rosas’ top rope elbow for two with Boy making the save. Watts pulls Luchasaurus to the floor, leaving Boy to get rolled up for two. A sitout chokeslam gives Watts two on Boy but it’s back to Luchasaurus for the Tail Whip. Boy dives onto Watts and slides back in for the Extinction Level Event and the pin on Rosas at 6:34.

Rating: C-. What in the world happened to Luchasaurus? Remember about six months ago when he was having the big hoss showdowns with Jake Hager and other associated giants? Well now he’s almost getting pinned by a jobber on Dark and it doesn’t even feel like a big deal. It’s a case of someone being dragged down instead of rising up and that’s a sad thing to see.

Chris Jericho talks about his history with Luther in Japan and Canada. He was a bit jealous of Luther being a bigger star in Japan but he had never had the chance on the big stage. That’s why he was hired for AEW and no, it wasn’t a favor for a friend. Now though, it is time for a match thirty years in the making. I don’t buy the “it wasn’t a favor” for a second, but it is nice to see Jericho getting to face an old friend in such a major spot.

Anthony Bowens/Lee Johnson vs. Chaos Project

Serpentico dives at Johnson’s knees to start but gets caught in a headlock for his efforts. A dropkick puts Serpentico down again, allowing Taz to talk about the best dropkick in the company. Johnson misses a charge though and gets caught with a basement dropkick. Luther comes in with a slam and suplexes Serpentico onto Johnson for two.

The chinlock doesn’t last long so Luther goes with a snap suplex instead. Serpentico comes back in but misses a charge, allowing the hot tag to Bowens. That means clotheslines a go-go and a dropkick to Luther, followed by something like a torture rack Samoan drop for two on Serpentico. Everything breaks down and Serpentico hits a standing Sliced Bread on Johnson. The spinebuster/top rope Meteora finishes Bowens at 6:36.

Rating: C-. The near falls were good but it’s a little hard to get into the idea of another evil team. They have quite a few of them around here already (if nothing else the multiple Dark Order lineups are enough) and Luther/Serpentico aren’t exactly thrilling. Not a bad match at all though, as Johnson continues to be one of the better jobbers around.

Will Hobbs vs. Ryzin

Will runs him over with a clothesline to start, but Ryzin gets in a ram to the buckle. That just annoys Hobbs, who is back with a delayed vertical suplex. Ryzin kicks him in the face but a clothesline hurts his own arm. Hobbs hits a jumping shoulder and plants him with a powerslam. The Last Will And Testament (spinebuster) finishes Ryzin at 2:28. Ryzin got in a bit too much but Hobbs looked dominant.

Eddie Kingston is sick of Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss acting like clowns. They aren’t doing that to the Lucha Bros tonight, because the Bros aren’t clowns.

John Silver vs. QT Marshall

They go to the mat in a hurry with Marshall grabbing a headscissors and then a headlock. Back up and a right hand puts Silver in the corner and a suplex gives Marshall two. Silver is back up with a running elbow to put Marshall outside and Evil Uno is rather pleased. Back in and Marshall tells him to kick at the chest, so Silver slaps on a Crossface instead. Marshall makes the rope and loads up a superplex, which has Taz thinking it’s going to be a superplex.

The top rope superplex puts them both down so Marshall heads up top for a back elbow to the jaw. An Evil Uno distraction means the Diamond Cutter attempt can be countered, followed by Silver hitting an enziguri. Silver’s Backstabber gets two but Marshall grabs a Lethal Combination. Evil Uno gets on the apron so Dustin Rhodes fights him to the back. The rest of the Dark Order comes in for the distraction, allowing Silver to grab the spinning torture rack slam for the pin at 8:26.

Rating: C. It feels like these teams have been fighting forever now and while Cody vs. Brodie Lee is actually going somewhere, the rest of it feels like it has been going in circles forever. Silver winning a match gives him a big more credibility, but does beating QT Marshall carry that much weight? The match was fine enough, though like most of the matches between the Rhodes Family and the Dark Order, it pretty much came and went.

Griff Garrison/Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Cezar Bononi/David Ali

Ali’s headlock doesn’t keep Pillman in trouble for very long to start so it’s already off to Garrison. A slingshot hilo into a slingshot legdrop has Ali in more trouble but he gets in a knee to the ribs. It’s off to Bononi for a hard shoulder and a blown kiss to Garrison, but he would rather face Pillman. Some kicks and chops just annoy Bononi but a few more to the leg stagger him a bit.

Bononi elbows him in the face and brings in Ali, meaning Pillman can grab a rollup for a fast two. With that not working, Bononi comes back in and drives Pillman hard into the corner. Pillman slips out though and the hot tag brings in Garrison to start cleaning house. A belly to back faceplant drops Ali and it’s a powerbomb/Air Pillman combination for the pin at 5:57.

Rating: C. And that’s what they should have been doing for MONTHS. Pillman and Garrison aren’t likely to go anywhere, but instead of having them lose every single time, they now have a win under their belt and aren’t seen as instant pushovers. This is something that needed to be changed for a long time now and it could do a lot of good for this show in the long run.

Big Swole vs. Skyler Moore

Moore drives her into the corner to start and it’s already time for the shoving. Swole gets knocked down and Moore gets in a few stomps in the corner for one. A snap suplex gets Swole out of trouble and it’s a headbutt into a springboard cutter. Dirty Dancing finishes Moore at 3:04.

Rating: D+. This is definitely in the “well that happened” category as Swole continues to do her thing and only works in small doses. I like Moore a good bit as she looks different enough to stand out and can do some decent stuff when she is given the chance. That being said, AEW seems to like Swole a lot so it is hardly a surprise that she is getting such a push towards the title.

Matt Sydal didn’t have the best debut at All Out and it’s all due to Michael Nakazawa spreading his baby oil around. Tonight, it’s about revenge.

Matt Sydal vs. Michael Nakazawa

Nakazawa puts the oil on the turnbuckle to start but Sydal sees it coming and kicks him down. Sydal grabs a towel, wipes off the turnbuckle and goes up but Nakazawa sprays more oil on the ropes to make him slip again. Nakazawa pulls out the underwear claw and finally manages to get it on, only to have Sydal pull him into a Cobra Clutch with the legs trapped for the submission at 1:47. I don’t remember the last time I saw an idea dumber than Nakazawa, but it must have been decades at this point.

Eddie Kingston vs. M’Badu

Kingston chops away to start but M’Badu is back with a Stinger Splash. A powerslam gives M’Badu two but Kingston nails a knee to the ribs and the spinning backfist. The Kimura makes M’Badu tap at 1:41. Of all the people you have available, you had to have M’BADU lose that fast???? I sat through Michael Nakazawa doing his stupid routine and M’Badu, a guy who could actually be something, loses in less than two minutes? Come on AEW. You’re smarter than this.

Post match Kingston grabs the mic and says leave the hard camera on because he only cares about getting this message to Jon Moxley. What you just saw was a Kimura and the next time he puts that on Jon Moxley, he’s going to shout I QUIT instead of tapping out because he’s going to be in so much pain. Moxley was supposed to take them to the promised land but instead he forgot about them. You’re in this business to be a World Champion so he’s going to hurt Moxley and have a really good time doing it. This was outstanding as Kingston is rocketing up the list of best talkers in wrestling.

Joey Janela and Sonny Kiss are ready to take out the Lucha Bros because they want back in those rankings.

Angelico vs. Shawn Dean

Jack Evans is here with Angelico. Dean’s wristlock doesn’t last long so he goes with a dropkick to make Angelico think about it a bit. Angelico kicks him in the leg for a knockdown and a leglock sends Dean to the rope. Dean starts getting fired up so it’s a kick to the back of the head to take him down again. Back up and Dean blasts him with a forearm into a German suplex. What looked to be a double arm DDT takes too long and Angelico kicks the leg out. An inverted Figure Four makes Dean tap at 4:35.

Rating: C. Angelico has always been a favorite of mine and Dean looks rather solid most of the time he’s in there. They’re doing a nice job of playing up Dean as someone who could imagine stealing a win, but again it would help so much to have him actually win something. What we got here was pretty nice though and I like both guys, so it was hardly the biggest surprise.

Lucha Bros vs. Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela

Eddie Kingston is here with the Bros, who are taken down in a hurry by double suicide dives (from Sonny and Joey if that isn’t clear). Fenix is back up and takes his brother down by mistake but they get back in without much trouble. A double kick (may have been low) gets two on Janela but it’s off to Sonny, who is flipped into a moonsault for two on Fenix. It’s off to Pentagon, who kicks Janela down to set up the wheelbarrow splash. Pentagon starts in on the armbar but gets small packaged for two to slow things down.

Joey flips over Pentagon and the hot tag brings in Joey to clean house, including a running basement dropkick to Pentagon in the corner. A 450 connects with Fenix making the save and it’s an exchange of shots to the face for a bit knockdown. Fenix is up with a rolling cutter to take down the legal Janela and it’s back to back superkicks from Pentagon. The spike Fear Factor is enough to finish Janela at 6:00.

Rating: C-. The match was what you would expect, but there was one thing of note here that made me smile and believe it or not, it was from Sonny Kiss. I’m not a big fan of a lot of the less than serious stuff that Kiss does most of the time, but it wasn’t on display here. I kept waiting for the goofy offense to start but instead I got a running dropkick and a 450 when things were getting serious. That was a very pleasant surprise and it deserves some praise.

Overall Rating: C+. Maybe it was keeping the matches shorter, but I had a better time with this show. As much as Nakazawa’s shtick needs to be thrown into a dumpster fire, Kingston’s promo was master level stuff as you believe every word that he says. It wasn’t a great show, but it flew by and that’s not something I can often say about Dark. Good enough show here, and more Kingston please, in a big way.

Results

Brandi Rhodes b. Kenzie Paige – Shot Of Brandi

Jurassic Express b. Ray Rosas/Eric Watts – Extinction Level Event to Rosas

Chaos Project b. Lee Johnson/Anthony Bowens – Spinebuster/Top rope Meteora combination to Bowens

Will Hobbs b. Ryzin – Last Will And Testament

John Silver b. QT Marshall – Spinning torture rack slam

Brian Pillman Jr./Griff Garrison b. David Ali/Cezar Bononi – Powerbomb/Air Pillman combination to Ali

Big Swole b. Skyler Moore – Dirty Dancing

Matt Sydal b. Michael Nakazawa – Leg trap Cobra Clutch

Eddie Kingston b. M’Badu – Kimura

Angelico b. Shawn Dean – Inverted Figure Four

Lucha Bros b. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss – Spike Fear Factor to Janela

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

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