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

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

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gold League Standings

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

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

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

We look at Mercedes Mone’s losing streak.

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

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

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

Hangman Page/Swerve Strickland vs. Opps

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gold League Standings

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

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

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

AEW World Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Samoa Joe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Collision
Date: December 6, 2025
Location: Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness, Ian Riccaboni

It’s still Continental Classic season and that means we’ll still be seeing some rather quality matches. We’re still pretty early in the tournaments and it can be interesting to see who goes where. In addition, Ricochet is ready to defend the National Title, which could make for something fun. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Continental Classic Blue League: Orange Cassidy (0 points) vs Roderick Strong (0 points)

Strong wins an early grapple off to start but Cassidy grabs the foot to slow him down. Cassidy can’t do much from there but eventually manages a headlock to grind Strong down. A spinning backbreaker can’t get Strong out of trouble as Cassidy stays on the headlock. They head outside with Strong hitting another backbreaker to really take over, followed by another back inside.

We take a break and come back with Cassidy hitting a spinning DDT. Cassidy makes what counts as a fired up comeback and sends Strong outside for the rams into the buckles. A high crossbody is countered into a powerslam to give Strong two and Cassidy is back with a slingshot tornado DDT. Another tornado DDT gives Cassidy two but Strong gives him another backbreaker. Cassidy’s rollup gets two and he manages the Stundog Millionaire. Strong tries another backbreaker but Cassidy slips out and cradles him for the pin at 13:24.

Rating: B. They had a hard fought match here and that’s what you want to see in something like this. Cassidy gets the win to get on the board, which isn’t overly surprising as Strong isn’t someone who gets a big push in this kind of a tournament most of the time. Good opener here, which is always nice to see.

Blue League Standings

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

Post match, Strong storms off.

Darby Allin is officially out of the tournament due to injuries and Jack Perry is taking his place.

Allin talks about how the Death Riders are winning the war because they’re out here doing pushups. He was wrestling Kevin Knight and he couldn’t feel his legs. It was the first time he was ever scared and while he’s never seen eye to eye with Perry, go win the whole thing. He’s not sure about his own future though.

Here is FTR, with Stokely Hathaway, for a chat. Hathaway is happy with his win but he has to address what happened this week on Dynamite. The fans boo him out of the building over and over, but Hathaway makes it clear: they want the Bang Bang Gang right now. Wheeler says that the Gang will always be Billy’s boy and Mr. Toni Storm (Robinson’s “is that a bad thing?” look is great).

Harwood brags about FTR’s all time success and they’re willing to let Robinson touch the belt because he’s a man of his word. Gunn says he’s the son of a Hall Of Famer. Robinson is the son of a carpenter, Wheeler is the son of his first cousin, and Harwood is just a son of a b****. Gunn brings up beating FTR recently and now they want a title match. Apparently the match is officially set for the United Kingdom next week, with the Gang promising to TOUCH the belts.

The Death Riders are ready to destroy Mark Briscoe and take the TNT Title.

Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli (6 points) vs. Mascara Dorada (0 points)

They fight over a lockup to start and neither can get very far. Dorada handles his own in a wrestle off until Castagnoli gives him a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Back up and Dorada flips around a lot until Castagnoli is sent outside. Castagnoli cuts off a dive with an uppercut and Dorada is dropped onto the barricade as we take a break.

We come back with Castagnoli going for the mast but the Swing is escaped rather quickly. Castagnoli gets caught with a quick headscissors and Dorada sends him outside rather quickly. A top rope armdrag sends Castagnoli down again so a rollup can get two back inside. Castagnoli’s tilt-a-whirl cuts Dorada off as we’re halfway through the time limit. A rather spinning headscissors brings Castagnoli down but he’s right back up to try a superplex. That’s broken up as well and Dorada’s shooting star press is good for the pin at 12:00.

Rating: B-. I’m a bit surprised by the result here but it’s good to see Dorada get a win. He’s shown that he can hang in the ring with just about anyone but at some point that has to translate into some wins. It doesn’t matter as much in the tournament, though it’s certainly better than nothing. Castagnoli was never going to run the table in this thing anyway, so getting the loss out of the way is fine.

Blue League Standings

Claudio Castagnoli – 6 points (2 matches remaining)
Konosuke Takeshita – 3 points (4 matches remaining)
Orange Cassidy – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Mascara Dorada – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Jon Moxley – 3 points (3 matches remaining)
Roderick Strong – 0 points (3 matches remaining)

Earlier today, the Timeless Love Bombs and the Babes Of Wrath sat down for champagne. Storm talked about how she and Shirakawa love each other no matter what and she’s beaten both Babes. Cameron says the Babes have wrath but Shirakawa says they’re here for the titles. A toast is had.

Here is Swerve Strickland for a chat. Swerve talks about how he’s freshly back from three months out due to injury. When he was champion, he made it clear that he was going to bring everything and that brings him to Samoa Joe. Swerve beat him the last time they fought and now he has to go through a bunch of people to get to the Opps. It doesn’t matter though as Joe will fall.

That brings him to Hangman Page, and Swerve is willing to have his back for one night at Winter Is Coming. Cue Josh Alexander of all people to say this is Don Callis’ house. Why isn’t Swerve looking for revenge on the people who hurt him? Alexander thinks he should get the title shot so a match is set for Winter Is Coming….and Katsuyori Shibata sneaks in to chop block Swerve’s recently repaired knee.

Mercedes Mone does NOT want to talk about last night’s loss at Final Battle and now it’s time for some revenge.

TBS Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Leila Grey

Grey is challenging and has Christopher Daniels with her. Mone jumps her to start fast and sends Grey outside, with a Meteora off the apron hitting Daniels. Back in and Grey slugs away but gets sent face first into the buckle. Grey’s bulldog out of the corner is blocked and we take a break. We come back with Grey hitting a running knee in the corner but Mone pulls her into the Statement Maker for the tap at 5:49. Not enough shown to rate but they didn’t waste time with Mone getting back to winning.

Post match the hold stays on until Daniels breaks it up, earning himself a low blow.

Eddie Kingston talks about how he’s been doing this for twenty five years and he doesn’t like Samoa Joe taking wrestlers down the wrong path. That all starts with the World Champion and Kingston wants it to change for the good. He’s not just doing this for the title but to show people how to do it the right way, as AEW was supposed to be.

The Triangle Of Madness have jumped a bunch of women. They’ll be in Cardiff.

National Title: Ricochet vs. Ace Austin

Ricochet, with the Gates Of Agony, is defending. Austin’s headlock doesn’t last long to start so he tries it again, which is broken up just as well. Ricochet is sent outside before getting la majistraled for two back inside. That’s enough for Ricochet to grab the bell hammer but the Gates trip Austin down so Ricochet can take over.

We take a break and come back with Ricochet missing a running dropkick in the corner, allowing Austin to drop a leg. After avoiding a Gates distraction, Austin hits a springboard clothesline into a doctor bomb. Ricochet is back with a dropkick into a standing shooting star press for two. The Spirit Gun misses though and Austin grabs a small package for two. A superplex into a running stomp gives Austin two more but he almost runs into the referee. Ricochet hits a quick clothesline into Vertigo to retain at 10:04.

Rating: B-. They only had so much time here given the commercial but Austin was able to showcase himself a bit. At the same time though, it’s still freshly into Ricochet’s title reign and the fans dislike him enough that he should hold onto the belt for a good while. Nice enough match here and a good way to feature both of them.

Post match FTR runs in to beat down Austin with the Bang Bang Gang making the save. The Gang holds up the titles, meaning they have to touch them, as FTR demanded never happen again.

Continental Classic Blue League: Jon Moxley (0 points) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (3 points)

Non-title. Feeling out process to start and they go to the mat with Moxley’s headlock not lasting long. Takeshita reverses into a leglock before they trade shoulders. A running elbow takes Moxley down and he seems to be favoring his recently injured ankle. Said ankle is rammed into the barricade and it’s a dragon screw ankle whip back inside.

We take a break and come back with Takeshita staying on the leg in the corner but Moxley goes after Takeshita’s ankle. A stomp on the apron rocks Takeshita and a double clothesline leaves both of them down. They trade forearms until Moxley’s running clothesline drops Takeshita hard. Moxley’s ankle lock sends Takeshita over to the ropes and he knocks Moxley outside. Takeshita can’t get a running start due to his ankle but a second attempt sets up a big running flip dive.

The Blue Thunder Bomb sends Moxley through the announcers’ table and he has to dive to beat the count. Unfortunately he dives right into a frog splash from Takeshita for another near fall but Moxley is back with a cutter. A double middle finger sets up the Paradigm Shift but Takeshita gets a foot on the rope. Moxley charges into a knee for two and a running knee into Raging Fire gives Takeshita the pin at 17:48.

Rating: A-. Well dang that worked. This started slowly and then turned into a heck of a fight, though I’m almost scared as it felt like they were teasing a Moxley face turn out of this whole thing. I get why that would be the case but the idea of this version of Moxley as a hero is disturbing. Otherwise, Takeshita’s incredible run continues, as he can basically do no wrong at this point.

Blue League Standings

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

Overall Rating: B+. Rather solid show here as the Continental Classic continues to deliver. This was about a bunch of people having solid matches, plus Mone running through Grey. It’s still relatively early in the tournament so this can keep going for a bit, though that main event is going to be hard to top. Solid show here, as it mainly focused on one thing, which is often where Collision works best.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Roderick Strong – Rollup
Mascara Dorada b. Claudio Castagnoli – Shooting star press
Mercedes Mone b. Leila Grey – Statement Maker
Ricochet b. Ace Austin – Vertigo
Konosuke Takeshita b. Jon Moxley – Raging Fire

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

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Final Battle 2025
Date: December 5, 2025
Location: Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman, Jon Moxley

It’s the biggest show of the year and most of the card was actually set up in advance. The main event is a six way Survival Of The Fittest, which should be fun and quite the spectacle. Other than that, the vacant Tag Team Titles are to be decided and various other titles are on the line. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Premiere Athletes vs. Outrunners

Mark Sterling and Stori Denali are here with the Athletes and Sterling says the Outrunners are the long term effects of unfiltered cigarettes. Magnum and Nese start things off with Nese backing him into the corner to little effect. Instead Nese moonsaults over a charging Magnum, who grabs a running headscissors to take Nese down. The other two come in and it’s a double suplex to drop the Athletes again.

Back in and Sterling’s distraction has Magnum in trouble for a change, allowing Sterling to choke away on the rope. Magnum avoids a charge and the needed tag brings in Floyd to clean house. Everything breaks down and Total Recall gets two, with Nese making the save. Nese is back in with a superkick, allowing Daivari to hit one of his own. Magnum drops Daivari but gets distracted by Sterling, allowing Denali to take Magnum down. The Magic Carpet Ride gets two and the Outrunners get fired up, allowing Total Recall to finish Daivari at 9:15.

Rating: C. This could have been on any given edition of the weekly show and that makes for quite the uninteresting addition here. This match wasn’t announced in advance and feels like it was just there to boost up the already high match count. I have no reason to believe the Outrunners are going to be near the Tag Team Titles anytime soon, but at least they got to use this ten minutes instead.

Zero Hour: Zayda Steel vs. Leila Grey

Steel is recently departed from the WWE ID Program and Evolve. Steel tries a quick rollup to start and they trade running elbows against the ropes. Grey avoids a running knee in the corner but comes back with a sling blade for two. A hard clothesline drops Steel as commentary ignores the match to talk about Survival Of The Fittest.

Angel’s Wings is countered into a half crab to put Grey in trouble (on YouTube, the feed went out here and the rest of the match wasn’t aired) but she manages to power out. A bulldog out of the corner drops Steel but she sends Grey outside for a nice dive. Back in and Steel hits a tornado DDT, only for Grey to roll through into the Angel’s Wings to finish at 6:33.

Rating: C. I had to watch this in two parts due to the transmission issues and it didn’t really make things much better. Grey has all kinds of charisma and could be something if she’s given a chance (and some more polishing in the ring). Steel is someone who will get a chance given her look and background, which are more than enough in the Ring Of Honor women’s division.

Zero Hour: Ace Austin vs. Lee Johnson

Feeling out process to start with Austin using the speed to take over. A bridging rollup gets two, with Johnson having to go to the eyes to escape. Austin suplexes him out to the floor but gets sent into the steps for his efforts. Back in and Johnson hammers away at the banged up face before taking him back outside. The moonsault from the barricade into the reverse DDT plants Austin on the floor but he’s fine enough to avoid a clothesline back inside.

A guillotine legdrop hits Johnson and a doctor bomb gets two more. Austin misses the Fold and gets caught with a Blue Thunder Bomb for another near fall. Johnson’s half and half suplex drops Austin again but he escapes a powerbomb. The pop up version of the powerbomb drops Austin for two but he kicks Johnson in the face. The Fold finishes for Austin at 9:26.

Rating: B-. The crowd wasn’t overly interested but this was a case of two talented stars getting to showcase themselves. Austin feels like he could be a star if he’s given the chance and while this is about as low on the totem pole as you can be, at least he won. Now just do something with him and see what he can do.

Zero Hour: Death Riders vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Jon Moxley is on commentary as Yuta takes Drake down by the hair to start. Garcia comes in and goes with some grappling, only to be sent outside by Drake. The fans approve as he gets back in and is knocked down just as fast. Garcia finally manages to knock him down and goes after the arm before Yuta’s German suplex gets two. Drake fights out of trouble and brings in Gibson, who snaps off a suplex into the corner.

The Riders shrug that off and it’s a middle rope forearm Hart Attack to Gibson. Yuta takes Drake out and it’s a splash to Gibson to set up the Dragontamer. The rope is eventually reached and Gibson knocks both of them down, allowing the tag back to Drake. A nearly Coast To Coast missile dropkick gets two on Yuta as Moxley is getting fired up. Drake gets sent outside and a chop block cuts Gibson down. Yuta’s running knee finishes at 10:03.

Rating: C+. And the Riders are around again, despite doing nothing out of their ordinary here. It’s another match that felt like it was there for the sake of tacking on another episode of the weekly show before we get to the biggest show of the year. Just more filler content and hardly anything noteworthy.

And now, the show proper.

The opening video talks about how many things have changed in the last year. I’m really not sure how much I’d focus on the pace of changes in Ring Of Honor.

We recap the Women’s Pure Title tournament. Almost eight months after it was announced, we’re finally at the finals, with the woman who was favored to win the thing from the beginning included.

Women’s Pure Title: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Billie Starkz

For the inaugural title and Purrazzo takes her down into the Fujiwara armbar at the bell. Starkz burns off her first rope break less than twenty seconds in so Purrazzo grabs a headlock. An armbar keeps Starkz in trouble but the Fujiwara armbar is reversed into a rollup for two. They fight outside with Starkz sending her into the steps a few times, as this is stretching the “pure” moniker.

Back in and Starkz works on the arm before grabbing what looks like a Tazmission. That’s broken up and Starkz is sent outside for a baseball slide. Starkz shrugs that off and forearms away but clotheslines the post by mistake. A Russian legsweep sends Starkz back first into the announcers’ table and they go back inside. They trade kicks to the face until Purrazzo hits a discus lariat to leave both of them down.

Back up and they forearm it out with Purrazzo knee lifting her into the Fujiwara armbar. Another rope break gets Starkz out as Moxley sounds like he’s finally understanding Pure Rules (which isn’t a good sign that he didn’t seem to get them for the first ten minutes). They fight to the apron, where Starkz hits an Alabama Slam into a running Swanton to the back.

The Swanton gives Starkz two and a choke sends Purrazzo over for her first rope break. Purrazzo is back up with a German suplex into the Gotch style piledriver for two. The threat of the Venus de Milo has Starkz using her third rope break so Purrazzo cranks on both arms in the ropes. Starkz breaks out and hits a spinning Downward Spiral. The Swanton is loaded up but Purrazzo reverses into the Venus de Milo in the middle of the ring for the tap at 13:52.

Rating: B-. The action was good, but there was pretty much nothing here that mattered with the Pure Rules. It was basically Purrazzo trying to get her big hold and then finally managing to get it on. You could have dropped the Pure Rules from the whole thing and it wouldn’t have particularly mattered. It doesn’t help that the tournament turned into a running joke in Ring Of Honor and there was almost no way to make it live up to the hype. Certainly not a bad match, but at usual, just nothing that felt like you needed to see the thing.

Post match Queen Aminata comes out for the staredown.

We recap Nigel McGuinness vs. Lee Moriarty. They had a Pure Rules Title match last year with Moriarty winning but then McGuinness beat him in a four way match. Somehow this counts as making them 1-1 against each other so now it’s a 30 minute Iron Man match. Non-title of course.

Nigel McGuinness vs. Lee Moriarty

Non-title thirty minute Iron Man match and Shane Taylor is here with Moriarty. McGuinness wears the old Pure Rules Title because….I guess it looks nice? They go technical to start with neither being able to get very far. The threat of a rebound lariat has Moriarty stepping away and it’s an early standoff. Moxley talks about the Heartland Wrestling Association as McGuinness escapes a cravate. McGuinness misses another rebound lariat but grabs some rollups for two each. The Border City Stretch makes McGuinness tap at 3:45 for the first fall.

Moriarty – 1
McGuinness – 0

McGuinness takes over with a wristlock so Moriarty rolls around and picks the ankle, only to get caught in a cravate. An uppercut knocks Moriarty into the corner and McGuinness is getting frustrated. They fight over an abdominal stretch until Moriarty has to go to the ropes. The Tower Of London is broken up and Moriarty goes outside, where McGuinness chops him down with twenty minutes to go. Back in and Moriarty grabs a small package for the pin at 10:56.

Moriarty – 2
McGuinness – 0

McGuinness manages to grab a quick hammerlock DDT before twisting the arm around as a bonus. Moriarty reverses into an ankle twist as the fans start chanting for McGuinness. The London Dungeon is broken up so McGuinness twists him down by the arm. A double arm crank is broken up, leaving McGuinness to use his feet to snap the arm instead.

Moriarty knocks him off the top and hits a high crossbody. McGuinness is right back with the London Dungeon, sending Moriarty right back to the rope. They trade chops in the corner until McGuinness pokes him in the eye (and shrugs in a nice moment). McGuinness goes back to the arm and grabs the London Dungeon to finally make Moriarty tap at 19:08.

Moriarty – 2
McGuinness – 1

You can see McGuinness’ confidence kick in as he knows he can beat Moriarty. McGuinness goes after the arm again but Moriarty rolls him up for the fall at 19:48.

Moriarty – 3
McGuinness – 1

McGuinness goes after the arm again and ties it up using his legs. Moriarty manages to slip out and it’s time to trade uppercuts. Moriarty’s missed charge in the corner lets McGuinness grab a neckbreaker out of said corner for two. A London Dungeon with a backbreaker is broken up so McGuinness switches into a triangle choke.

McGuiness’ LeBell Lock sends Moriarty to the ropes with five minutes to go. Another hammerlock DDT is countered into a rollup for two so McGuinness hits the rebound lariat for tow more. They go outside with Moriarty choking him out for a near countout as McGuinness manages to beat the count. The Border City Stretch goes on but McGuinness reverses into a rollup for the pin at 28:10.

Moriarty – 3
McGuinness – 2

Back up and they collide for a double down as we have a minute left. McGuinness pulls him into another rollup for the pin at 29:30.

Moriarty – 3
McGuinness – 3

McGuinness grabs a rollup for another fall at 29:48.

McGuinness – 4
Moriarty – 3

Taylor punches McGuinness out and Moriarty gets the pin at 29:59.

Moriarty – 4
McGuinness – 4

And then time expires. Hold on though as McGuinness goes to leave but Moriarty wants sudden death. McGuinness is back in and rolls Moriarty up with trunks for two. A sunset flip gets the same and they trade rollups for two each. It works so well that they do it again, with Moriarty grabbing a European clutch for the pin at 34:08.

Moriarty – 5
McGuinness – 4

Rating: B+. I loved that last bit of regulation time as I wasn’t expecting two straight falls in such a short span of time. It made for some nice extra drama and that’s what I wanted to see out of something like this. Moriarty winning is the right move as this needs to wrap everything up. McGuinness has lost to him twice now and that should be it for their rivalry, which is what it should have been. Rather good match though, with a heck of a story involved.

Post match McGuinness gives Moriarty the old title as major respect is shown.

Jon Moxley grabs the mic and talks about the Don Callis Family. Those guys thinking they’re owed something but he was raised and fortified by Ohio tap water. If Konosuke Takeshita wants to make any ground in the tournament, he’s going to have to take it from him.

We recap Mercedes Mone defending the Women’s TV Title against Red Velvet. This is one of Mone’s titles and now Velvet, who was out of action for months of her reign, is getting her rematch.

Women’s TV Title: Red Velvet vs. Mercedes Mone

Mone is defending and gets jumped during the Big Match Intros. They fight over small packages for some near falls each until Velvet misses a standing moonsault. Mone slams her down for two more and it’s off to a double arm crank. Three Amigos have Velvet in more trouble but a frog splash hits raised knees. Velvet slugs away and hits some running knees to the back.

Some stomping and choking, include Velvet doing the splits, have Mone in more trouble but she manages to send Velvet outside. The Meteora off the steps connect with Velvet, followed by the running knees against the ropes back inside. Mone takes her up top and it’s a super victory roll to give Velvet two. A Backstabber and gutbuster give Mone two and it’s time to get frustrated.

What looks like a super Tombstone is countered into a flipping faceplant into the Final Slice gives Velvet two. That means a stunned face off the kickout but the Mone Maker is countered into a faceplant for two more. Velvet kicks her in the head for another near fall but Mone gets the Statement Maker. That’s broken up with a kick off the ropes…and Velvet cradles her for the pin and the title at 13:45.

Rating: B+. Well that was awesome. I’m not sure what to think as I’ve never seen Velvet come anywhere close to what she did here and it was a heck of a match. What matters the most is that Mone put her over clean, which is what has been a rare situation for her in AEW/ROH. Awesome stuff here, and if Velvet can do this going forward, I can more than live with it.

Post match Velvet is thrilled and Mone is devastated.

We recap the Tag Team Title match. La Faccion Ingobernable had to vacate the titles due to Rush being injured so the titles have been held up. Former champion Sammy Guevara is teaming with the Beast Mortos against….a team who has never had a regular tag match before. Because Ring Of Honor.

Tag Team Titles: La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Adam Priest/Tommy Billington

For the vacant titles. Guevara and Billington start things off with Billington working on the arm to keep Guevara down. That’s broken up and Guevara knocks him away, meaning it’s time to yell at the fans. Billington goes to the leg and Guevara is quickly over to the ropes for some safety. Priest comes in to hammer on Mortos in the corner, earning a choke shove. Guevara jumps in on commentary to brag about the team’s success as Billington dropkicks Mortos.

A double backdrop puts Mortos down for two but he’s right back with a neck twist to Priest. Guevara comes in (the fans cannot stand him) for a basement superkick and it’s already back to Mortos (the fans can stand him a bit more). The right hands in the corner have Priest staggered and the villains get to take turns beating on him. Priest is able to come back with a middle rope tornado DDT and the much needed tag brings Billington back in.

The missile dropkick gets two on Mortos, who is right back with a Samoan drop for two more. Something like a Doomsday Device is broken up and Mortos misses a charge into the corner. A running clothesline/German suplex combination drops Mortos for another near fall and priest snaps off a super hurricanrana. Cue Hechicero to shove Priest off the top though and Mortos’ corkscrew moonsault pins Billington for the titles at 13:11.

Rating: B-. There wasn’t much to this one, as the action was fine but there was no reason for Billington and Priest to get the title shot. You have all kinds of teams on the ROH roster and yet here’s a team just being thrown out there for the vacant titles. It’s like they do all of the work and then just do something else at the last minute. I don’t get it, but it’s a good example of the problems with the weekly show. Either way, nice enough match here, but absolutely nothing memorable.

We recap Eddie Kingston vs. Josh Woods. They have no story here, as this is just a way to build Kingston up for his AEW World Title shot next week. That’s it.

Eddie Kingston vs. Josh Woods

Woods goes for the legs to start but Kingston pulls him down into a quick neckbreaker. Back up and a springboard kick to the head drops Kingston, allowing Woods to go after the arm. That’s broken up as well and Kingston starts hammering him down but Woods is back with shots of his own. They trade the strikes until it’s a double down for a fairly early breather.

Woods gets the better of things but walks into a German suplex. Kingston fires off chops in the corner but gets caught in an armbar. That’s broken up as well and Kingston fires off some headbutts in the corner. Even Kingston is a bit staggered but he’s able to superplex Woods down for two. The Rolling Chaos Theory gives Woods two more, with Kingston grabbing the rope. Back up and Kingston grabs a German suplex to drop Woods, allowing Kingston to shout about Samoa Joe. The DDT finishes Woods off at 9:45.

Rating: B-. They beat each other up here but there was only so much to be gotten out of two people who don’t have any issues. This was all about warming Kingston up for the World Title match next week, which means this didn’t need to be on the pay per view. Put this on Collision instead and let the show breathe a bit.

Post match, respect is shown.

We recap the Six Man Tag Team Titles. Shane Taylor Promotions have been champions for a bit and SkyFlight wanted a shot. End of build.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: SkyFlight vs. Shane Taylor Promotions

The Promotions are defending and jump them from behind to start fast. SkyFlight fights back and a jumping back elbow puts Dean down. It’s time to alternate shots on Dean’s arm until Dean gets Dante into the corner for a cheap shot. Taylor comes in to hammer Darius down in the corner before the Infantry gets to slug him against the ropes. Darius fights back but gets sent into the corner again, meaning Taylor can come in to be imposing.

The big splash gives Taylor two and it’s back to Dean, who knocks Dante outside. The running shot in the corner hits Darius and the big running flip dive takes Dante down again. Back up and Dante manages to be on the apron for the tag. House is quickly cleaned but Trish Adora trips Dante from the floor. Leila Grey takes her shoes off for the big brawl and here is Christopher Daniels to Angel’s Wings Anthony Ogogo. Everything breaks down and Taylor knocks Darius silly with the right hand, giving Dean the retaining pin at 11:30.

Rating: C+. Much like the Tag Team Title match, this didn’t have much in the way of a story to the whole thing. It was just a match between two teams, with the Promotions getting a successful title defense. It’s certainly not bad, but there’s only so much you can get out of a match with so little build put in.

We recap Ricochet defending the National Title against Dalton Castle. Ricochet won the inaugural title last month and is making the first defense of an AEW title in ROH. Castle has messed with Ricochet and has had two matches this week to get ready. Granted they were trios matches but you can’t expect it to be that much better.

AEW National Title: Dalton Castle vs. Ricochet

Ricochet is defending. They take their time to start until Ricochet grabs an early rollup for two. Castle takes him down as well and we get a lap around the ring, including the Boys. Back in and Castle takes him down again, setting up the falling splash and a spinning elbow to the face. Ricochet bails out to the floor and hits one of the Boys, meaning Castle needs to check on him.

That’s fine with Ricochet, who is right back with a running flip dive, followed by a Steve Austin middle rope elbow for two. Castle is sent into the corner for a legsweep into a slingshot dropkick. Ricochet goes up so Castle rolls away in a smart move. Ricochet’s handspring is countered into a German suplex and there’s a suplex to drop Ricochet again. The reverse Sling Blade gives Castle two so Ricochet is back up with an enziguri. A Lionsault gives Ricochet two but the Spirit Gun misses.

Ricochet escapes the Bang A Rang and grabs a standing Sliced Bread #2 for two. Some kind of big flip off the top misses for Ricochet and they fight over suplexes onto and back off of the apron. Castle manages to drop him onto the apron and it’s the Bang A Rang back inside for the near fall. Ricochet is sent outside again and this time he throws one of the Boys at Castle. That’s enough of a distraction for the Spirit Gun to retain the title at 14:57.

Rating: B. Once you saw Castle messing with the Demand, you knew the match was going to be good due to the talent involved. That was exactly what happened here and it made for a solid match. While calling Ring Of Honor an outside promotion, at least it’s a first step in the title actually feeling different.

We recap the World Title match. Rush is injured so Bandido is defending against five people in an elimination match. End of build.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Bandido vs. Blake Christian vs. Sammy Guevara vs. The Beast Mortos vs. Hechicero vs. Komander

Bandido is defending in Survival Of The Fittest (elimination rules). There are no tags so we have Guevara and Mortos getting boos/cheers for a bit before everyone fights to the floor. Christian is fine enough to stand back and watch as Komander is sent into the corner by Guevara and Mortos. Hechicero and Mortos want Christian inside so Christian goes after Mortos to limited success.

Back in and Christian takes Guevara down but walks into a gutbuster. Mortos spears Hechicero down to end their brief alliance but Hechicero fights out of the corner. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker drops Guevara, only for Christian to send Hechicero outside for a heck of a dive.

Back in and Christian gets beaten up by Komander and Bandido, with Bandido’s corkscrew high crossbody hitting Christian and Guevara. Bandido isn’t done as he kind of powerbombs Komander onto the villains on the floor. Christian is brought back in and flipped into a backbreaker for two but Guevara breaks up Bandido vs. Komander. Guevara gets X Kneed into the Cielito Lindo for the first elimination at 11:25.

Mortos is back in to clean house but Komander cuts him off with a springboard poisonrana (dang). Bandido grabs a German suplex on Mortos and Hechicero’s hurricanrana driver finishes Mortos at 13:01. Hechicero isn’t done as he cross armbreakers Bandido but Komander makes a kind of questionable save. Bandido and Komander go up top, where Christian’s springboard hurricanrana brings them down, with Komander giving Bandido a super Spanish Fly. Well that was a mess, albeit an awesome one. Christian cutters Komander for the elimination at 15:28 and we’re down to Christian vs. Bandido vs. Hechicero.

Bandido’s leg gets tied up in the ropes with Hechicero cranking away before everyone gets two off a rollup. Christian superkicks Hechicero by mistake, allowing Bandido to hit a running hurricanrana to the floor. Back in and a frog splash gives Bandido two on Christian, whose Lethal Injection gets the same on Bandido. An X Knee staggers Christian and Hechicero is back in with the spinning hammerlock backbreaker for a rather near fall. Hechicero chokes Bandido, who jumps up and sunset flips Christian for the elimination at 20:36.

That leaves us with Bandido vs. Hechicero for the title (again) so Christian jumps Bandido and reinjures his shoulder. We pause for the medics to check on him before Hechicero sends the shoulder into the corner. A backdrop sends Bandido onto the apron and he lands on the steps, with Hechicero’s slingshot dive only hitting said steps. Bandido’s running suicide dive takes Hechicero out again but he’s back up with a rather spinning rollup for two. Hechicero’s electric chair is countered into a poisonrana and a small package retains Bandido’s title at 27:55.

Rating: B+. They did a very nice job here with the fast paced action, which is quite impressive given how thrown together the whole thing felt. I’m not sure on Bandido retaining here, but they’re doing a good job of making him feel like THE star. Hechicero continues to look good and Christian is still someone who could make for a great annoying champion. Solid stuff here, though I’m not sure how great of a choice it was for the World Title match on the biggest show of the year.

A rather psychotic looking Mercedes Mone is upset but Leila Grey comes in to say she might be the next TBS Champion. Mone freaks out and the match is set for Collision this week.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

We recap Athena defending the Women’s Title against Persephone. Athena has been champion for years and Persephone has indeed wrestled in Ring Of Honor before.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Persephone

Athena, with Diamante, is defending and does not seem impressed to start. The tease of a test of strength lets Athena dance a bit so Persephone slaps her in the face. Another shot knocks Athena outside for a meeting with Diamante. Athena tells the fans that this is her show before heading back inside, where Persephone hits her in the face. This time Athena heads outside again, where Persephone gets hit in the face for a change.

A Codebreaker off the steps drops Persephone again but Athena seems to hurt her back. They get back inside, where Athena manages a belly to back suplex for two, though her back is giving her trouble. Diamante gets in a quick cheap shot and Athena hits a faceplant onto the apron. Persephone manages a swinging Irish Curse for two as she has quite the target. A rollup gives Athena two but Persephone is right back to the injured back. They head outside again, where Athena gets slammed HARD onto the announcers’ table, sending her bailing to the ropes.

Stereo clotheslines leave them both down before a big boot drops Athena for two more. Athena manages to catch her in a handstand, with a dropkick sending Persephone outside. Persephone is fine enough to counter a suicide dive into a fall away slam on the floor. Diamante tries to interfere and gets kicked in the face for her efforts. A missile dropkick gives Persephone two and it’s off to something like a modified Sharpshooter.

That’s enough to send Athena to the ropes and she’s back up with a springboard moonsault for two. Athena can’t get an Alabama Slam but she can get a Koji Clutch. Persephone gets out so Athena grabs it again, with Persephone getting a foot on the rope. Athena yells at her a lot, earning herself a northern lights suplex. The Razor’s Edge gives Persephone two the shock is real. Persephone takes too long loading up a moonsault and gets German superplexed back down. The O Face retains the title at 27:09.

Rating: B+. These two beat the living daylights out of each other and Athena’s insane reign continues. I’m not sure who is going to take the title from her (please no on the Billie Starkz stuff, as we’ve been there TWICE) but it’s going to be quite the moment. Persephone felt like a star as well, and it would have been even better if she had done anything of note in ROH just yet.

Athena celebrates with Diamante and Billie Starkz to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s a really good show with some outstanding action, but sweet goodness it’s the third Ring Of Honor show of the week and the whole thing breaks five hours. While I was enjoying the matches, I was sick of hearing the same commentary and seeing the same logos after so much of them this week.

As is so often the case with something from Tony Khan, the wrestling is enough to make the show work, but the illogical (or in ROH, the almost non-existing) booking holds it back. Figure those things out and make the weekly show worth anything and this stuff could be great, because the wrestling is more than good enough to be worth a look.

Results
Outrunners b. Premiere Athletes – Total Recall to Daivari
Leila Grey b. Zayda Steel – Angel’s Wings
Ace Austin b. Lee Johnson – The Fold
Death Riders b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Running knee to Gibson
Deonna Purrazzo b. Billie Starkz – Venus de Milo
Lee Moriarty b. Nigel McGuinness 5-4
Red Velvet b. Mercedes Mone – Cradle
La Faccion Ingobernable b. Adam Priest/Tommy Billington – Corkscrew moonsault to Billington
Eddie Kingston b. Josh Woods – DDT
Shane Taylor Promotions b. SkyFlight – Right hand to Darius
Ricochet b. Dalton Castle – Spirit Gun
Bandido won Survival Of The Fittest last eliminating Hechicero
Athena b. Persephone – O Face

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

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

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gold League Standings

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

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

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

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

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

Continental Classic Gold League: Kyle Fletcher vs. Kevin Knight

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

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

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

Gold League Standings

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

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

Video on the Babes Of Wrath.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Opps vs. Dark Order

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

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

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

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

Continental Classic Blue League: Jon Moxley vs. Claudio Castagnoli

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

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

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

Blue League Standings

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

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

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

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

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

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Continental Classic Gold League: Pac vs. Mike Bailey

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

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

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

Gold League Standings

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

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

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

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

Daniel Garcia vs. Matt Menard

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MxM Collection/Johnny TV vs. Outrunners/Dalton Castle

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

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

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

Eddie Kingston vs. Katsuyori Shibata

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

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

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

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

Thekla vs. Tay Melo

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

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

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

Continental Classic Blue League: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Roderick Strong

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

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

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

Blue League Standings

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

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

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

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

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Dynamite
Date: November 26, 2025
Location: The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Bryan Danielson

We’re done with Full Gear and that means it is time to start the Continental Classic. This has become one of AEW’s signature events and will take place over the next few weeks on the way to World’s End. That’s in addition to Samoa Joe regaining the World Title from Hangman Page, plus the return of Swerve Strickland. Let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We run down the card.

We look at the Don Callis Family’s issues at Full Gear, which was a rough night for the team.

Continental Classic Gold League: Kyle Fletcher vs. Kazuchika Okada

Don Callis is on commentary. Okada’s Unified Title, which is no longer unified because Okada has surrendered the Continental Title for the tournament, isn’t on the line but he can lose the Unified Title if he doesn’t make the finals. Got that? Eh you probably don’t need to as whatever unification they do won’t last anyway.

We get a handshake to start but Fletcher tries to jump him early on. They trade headlock takeovers and go face to face before Okada starts in on the arm. Okada takes him up against the ropes for some chest slapping but Fletcher runs him over without much trouble. An elbow gives Fletcher two but Okada kicks the referee into the ropes to crotch Fletcher, setting up a dropkick out to the floor. Somehow this isn’t a DQ and we take a break.

We come back with Fletcher kicking the referee into the ropes to crotch Okada, setting up a nice superplex. Okada manages to hit the White Noise onto the knee, followed by the top rope elbow. The Rainmaker is countered into a half and half suplex but Okada hits the dropkick. The Tombstone connects but Okada’s Rainmaker is countered into a Michinoku Driver for the double down. They forearm it out from their knees until Fletcher lawn darts him into the corner, setting up a sitout Last Ride for two. The referee almost gets bumped and Okada tries the Rainmaker, which is reversed into a cradle for the pin at 16:48.

Rating: B+. Well, at least Okada took a fall here, and that’s a big deal. Fletcher is pretty clearly one of the stars of the future around here and beating Okada is still an important moment. They had a rather good match here and I was surprised that they actually pulled the trigger with one of them losing.

Gold League Standings

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

Post match we do get a handshake, even with Okada teasing the middle finger.

We recap the Elite’s reunion at Full Gear.

Kenny Omega says this is complicated. He hasn’t been a model friend, but maybe the Young Bucks deserve a second chance. The Bucks leave Omega’s locker room.

After winning the TNT Title, the bloody Mark Briscoe talks about how he wasn’t sure if he wanted to keep wrestling after losing his brother. Then it was loss after loss but the Conglomeration became his road family. The title is for his road family and for his real family.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Sisters Of Sin vs. Babes Of Wrath

Cameron catches Hart’s kick to the ribs to start and Nightingale comes in for a double belly to back suplex. Blue makes the save and Nightingale fires off some corner clotheslines. An assisted splash misses though and it’s Hart coming back in to take over on Cameron. Everything breaks down and Cameron hits Blue with a Sling Blade. Black fights back to take over on Cameron and we take a break.

We come back with Cameron still in trouble but she manages a belly to back suplex to escape. Nightingale comes back in to clean house but a double kick to the chest cuts her down. Cameron gets dropped as well so Hart tries her moonsault…and overshoots it, instead having to jump forward for a kind of splash. With Nightingale on the floor, Cameron fights back and everything breaks down. The Babe With The Powerbomb finishes Hart at 11:38.

Rating: B-. This was a good enough choice, as the Babes feel like a real threat to win the whole thing. The fans like them and they work well enough together so pushing them all the way to the finals is a smart way to go. Other than that, it’s not like the Sisters are hurt that badly by a single loss so this made the most sense.

Here are the Opps (minus Hook) for a chat. Before Samoa Joe can get very far though, Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page, each carrying a chain, arrive in the back. Joe sends Katsuyori Shibata after them and talks about how brilliant he really is. We see a package on how Hook swerved everyone the entire time, which still doesn’t feel like that big of a shock. Cue Hook to brag about how smart he is but Page and Strickland are here to wreck the Opps’ lackeys. The Opps leave and Page and Strickland use their chains for some hangings.

After his loss at Full Gear, Jon Moxley said he was feeling fine after his match and is ready to keep going. The rest of the Death Riders are….I have no idea, as you can never tell who is making them mad.

Continental Classic Blue League: Jon Moxley vs. Mascara Dorada

Moxley takes him down by the arm to start but Dorada flips up without much trouble, much to Moxley’s annoyance. Dorada sends him outside but misses a dive, allowing Moxley to send him into the barricade. Back up and Moxley gets knocked down again, though he’s fine enough to knock a dive off the ramp out of the air.

We take a break and come back with Dorada snapping off a hurricanrana on the floor, followed by a running cutter over the barricade. Back in and a Code Red gives Dorada two and hits electric chair flipping slam gets the same. Moxley fights out of a cross armbreaker but can’t hit a Death Rider. On the other hand, Dorada can hit a superkick and a 450 for two, leaving them both needing a breather. Moxley gets his knees up to block a shooting star press and a choke finishes Dorada at 12:56.

Rating: B-. Good enough match here, though it felt similar to Fletcher’s match earlier, as he gets a win to make up for his loss at Full Gear. That’s fine in theory, but when Moxley is right back and winning clean a few days after the loss, it takes away from what Kyle O’Reilly managed to do on Saturday. Just give us a little breather from Moxley? Maybe?

Blue League Standings

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

Post match Marina Shafir comes into the ring with Moxley but here is Toni Storm to interrupt. Storm praises Moxley but she’s operates in love rather than hatred. As for Shafir, it’s time to start thinking of the right kind of match. She woke up next to Mina Shirakawa this morning and realized she hadn’t gotten Shirakawa anything for Christmas. Therefore, next week it’s an anything goes death match.

Kris Statlander is ready to face someone else and she knows where she’s going. Who’s coming with her?

Continental Classic Gold League: Darby Allin vs. Kevin Knight

Knight backs him into the corner to start but Allin is back with an armdrag into an armbar. Back up and Knight kicks him in the face, setting up a monkey flip to bang up Allin’s knee. They go outside and Knight avoids a charge into the barricade and hits a moonsault to put Allin down again. A belly to back superplex drops Allin again and we take a break.

We come back with Knight sending him outside again but getting dropped onto the ramp. A running dropkick off the ramp sends Knight into the barricade and a rollup gets two back inside. The Scorpion Death Drop is broken up so they both hit clotheslines (and kind of do the inside out flips on the landing for quite the visual).

Knight is back up with a DDT on the ramp and a heck of a diving clothesline over the top rope connects. Back in and a Code Red gives Allin two but Knight ties him in the Tree Of Woe. The Coast To Coast connects and the UFO Splash gives Knight the completely clean pin at 11:57.

Rating: B. I’m surprised by the ending and while it doesn’t mean that Knight is going to win, he certainly picks up the biggest win of his career. It’s something I wasn’t expecting and came after a good match. Yes Allin was banged up and is now on quite the losing streak, but at least Knight got the kind of win he can hang his hat on going forward. Good stuff here.

Gold League Standings

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

Schiavone declares this Knight’s biggest win ever in the tournament. Since it’s his first match ever in the tournament, that’s not clearing much of a bar.

We look at FTR winning the Tag Team Titles at Full Gear.

Eddie Kingston doesn’t want to talk about Hook but he heard Samoa Joe mention his name. He’s not in line for a title shot, but maybe he would be if he beats Katsuyori Shibata on Collision. The match is made.

Continental Classic Blue League: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Orange Cassidy

Cassidy gets some early near falls off some rollups, including one off a reversed powerbomb attempt. Castagnoli’s running uppercut connects in the corner but Cassidy gives him the lazy kicks. They go outside, with Cassidy hitting him with a hard clothesline to take over. A nasty Swing into the barricade drops Cassidy again and we take a break.

We come back with Castagnoli missing a charge into the post and falling out to the floor. Cassidy hits a diving tornado DDT but Castagnoli is able to uppercut him out of the air for two. The elbows to the head have Cassidy in trouble but he manages another DDT. The Orange Punch and Beach Break get two as does a hurricanrana to counter the Neutralized. Castagnoli has had it with this though and nails Swiss Death for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: B. Cassidy fighting against a giant is a good way to go and the match went well, with Castagnoli getting to run him over. Castagnoli is someone who can ignite Beast Mode and plow through people and it always works. That’s what we got here, with Castagnoli getting off to a nice start, while Cassidy can still catch up.

Blue League Standings

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

Post match the Death Riders come in for the beatdown but most of the people in the tournament come in for a big brawl. Dorada moonsaults onto a pile on the floor as Kazuchika Okada looks on. The Death Riders are cleared out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a themed show, with the focus being almost entirely on the in-ring side of things. That’s where AEW tends to shine and it certainly did here, with four matches kicking off the Continental Classic. The title situation is a huge mess and WAY more complicated than it needs to be, but I can more than settle for some rather awesome wrestling up and down the show.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. Kazuchika Okada – Rollup
Babes Of Wrath b. Sisters Of Sin – Babe With The Powerbomb to Hart
Jon Moxley b. Mascara Dorada – Choke
Kevin Knight b. Darby Allin – UFO Splash
Claudio Castagnoli b. Orange Cassidy – Swiss Death

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kickoff Show: Hook/Eddie Kingston vs. Workhorsemen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pac vs. Darby Allin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tag Team Titles: Bandido/Brody King vs. FTR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

National Title: Casino Gauntlet Match

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jon Moxley vs. Kyle O’Reilly

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TNT Title: Kyle Fletcher vs. Mark Briscoe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Mercedes Mone vs. Kris Statlander

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AEW World Title: Hangman Page vs. Samoa Joe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kickoff Show: Hook/Eddie Kingston vs. Workhorsemen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

National Title: Casino Gauntlet Match

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

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

Darby Allin vs. Pac

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Jon Moxley

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

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

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

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

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

Overall Thoughts

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

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

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Dynamite
Date: November 12, 2025
Location: First Horizon Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Bryan Danielson, Tony Schiavone

It’s time to get back to one of the biggest shows of the year with Blood & Guts. This time though that means a pair of matches as the women are getting a chance as well. Other than that, Powerhouse Hobbs is facing Hangman Page in a falls count anywhere match, so this is going to be a violent night. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

For the sake of simplicity, here are the rules for Blood & Guts for both matches:

• One entrant from each team starts for five minutes.
• The team with the advantage gets to send in its second entrant.
• Every “few” minutes another entrant enters.
• Once all entrants are in, the first pin or submission wins.

Team Statlander vs. Team Mone

Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale, Harley Cameron, Jamie Hayter, Mina Shirakawa, Toni Storm
Mercedes Mone, Skye Blue, Julia Hart, Thekla, Megan Bayne, Marina Shafir

Willow Nightingale and Skye Blue start things off and they go straight to the hockey fight style. Nightingale puts her hair up and commentary knows that’s going to be serious. They head over to the space between the ropes and the cage, with Nightingale slingshot alley ooping her into the steel. A Pounce sends Blue into the cage and she’s already busted open. Blue tries to fight out of the corner and it’s Julia Hart in to give the villains control (not quite five minutes but that’s going to happen).

Hart hammers away and starts looking for something in the turnbuckle pad. Nightingale manages to get to the other ring but a flipping elbow rocks her again. Harley Cameron is in to even things up and it’s a Sling Blade to take Hart down. Cameron slips out of a double suplex and Nightingale is there with a double clothesline. A baseball slide dropkick in to a chair hits Hart in the corner and we take a break.

We come back with Thekla coming in to uneven things up and house is quickly cleaned. Thekla whips out a belt to start some whipping and stereo dropkicks have Nightingale and Cameron in trouble. Jamie Hayter comes in to make it 3-3 and cleans house with a trashcan lid. That’s not enough so she grabs a barbed wire kendo stick. The tacks are poured out and Thekla is sent face first into them for a crash that should have been a bigger deal.

Megan Bayne is in at #4 and starts wrecking people, including a double suplex to Cameron and Nightingale. Hayter slugs away until Cameron’s trashcan lid to the back has no effect on Bayne. Kris Statlander evens things up again (wearing the title, which seems inconvenient), including a Vader Bomb. The injured Queen Aminata chases off the also injured Penelope Ford and we get the Statlander vs. Bayne showdown as we take another break.

We come back again with Cameron climbing the structure and Bayne giving chase, only for Bayne to be powerbombed down. Everyone is down and Mercedes Mone (yes the belts are at ringside) is in for the next to last advantage. House is quickly cleaned, including a tornado DDT to send Statlander onto the belt. Since we don’t have enough weapons (and no one in the other ring), Mone goes outside and grabs some belts for her team to use as weapons.

Mina Shirakawa comes in with a barbed wire baseball bat, which she throws at Bayne for a dropkick. Shirakawa goes after Mone until Marina Shafir completes her team. Shafir takes Statlander outside and knocks her into a bed of nails before beating up Hayter inside. Toni Storm completes the field and NOW we can officially have a submission to end the match. Storm hits Shafir in the face, which is shrugged off so Storm can be sent into the cage.

With that not working, Storm dips her taped hands into a bucket of broken glass, because when you can go Ian Rotten, you go Ian Rotten. A double DDT puts Bayne down and we take a break (now that the match can end). We come back with Blue being powerbombed onto a table, which doesn’t break. Statlander drops an elbow onto Blue….and the table only half breaks. That’s enough to set up the parade of knockdowns until Cameron whips out the puppet (oh no). Mone pulls it away….and reveals the brass knuckles under the puppet (nice save), which knock Mone silly.

Hart and Thekla slip through part of the cage and go outside to take the key from the referee, meaning the fight can go to the floor. Statlander and Mone go up, with Statlander Samoan dropping her through the belt table. The villains lock the cage, with a bunch of Statlander’s team outside. Storm pours out the bucket of glass and it’s a double DDT to send Shafir into said glass.

Back up and Shafir breaks a mirror over Storm’s head, leaving Statlander to superplex Bayne between the rings. Shirakawa grabs a figure four with the barbed wire baseball bat on Bayne, only for Shafir to….put glass in her foot and stomp Shirakawa for the save. Why she couldn’t have just, like, stomped her without injuring herself, isn’t clear. That’s enough for the villains to hold Storm while Shafir chokes Shirakawa. Bayne whips Shirakawa with a belt until Storm gives up to save her at 46:09.

Rating: B-. I’m never quite sure what to think of these things. I did like a lot of this and it was violent, but they could have dropped a member or two per team and, of course, shortened it a lot. The ending was fine enough as Storm and Shirakawa have been established as having that kind of relationship, but I’m not sure how good it was for a finish.

It kind of sums up the underlying problem with the match: I’m not quite sure what the major feud was supposed to be. It started with Thekla vs. Hayter, but that’s not exactly a top story. They had a bunch of stuff going on here, and the match felt like it was too much going on at once. As usual, it needs to be trimmed down, which is a regular issue for AEW.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Powerhouse Hobbs, who had a heck of a fight last week.

In the back, the Don Callis Family lays out Jurassic Express. The Young Bucks pop up and say it was a message. Don Callis wants an answer about the Bucks joining next week.

Hangman Page vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Non-title and Falls Count Anywhere. Page has taped up ribs and Hobbs rips off a turnbuckle pad to start. They both tease sending each other into the buckle until Page knocks him into the other ring. Page misses a shot and gets knocked down with a clothesline. Hobbs heads outside but takes too long, allowing Hobbs to hit a shot from the apron. A charge misses Page and only hits the steps but Hobbs is right back up to slam page onto various things.

Hobbs is World’s Strongest Slammed onto the steps Page backdropping Hobbs off the announcers’ table (Hobbs landed on his tailbone and that looked ROUGH). Page clotheslines him over the barricade and they go into the crowd, with Page hitting a moonsault in the people. Hobbs cuts him off with a spinebuster through a table and they go up into the crowd. Page takes his boot off for a running shot to the face, knocking Hobbs off a balcony and through a table (which explodes) to give Page the pin at 14:11.

Rating: B+. I got into this one as it felt like Page was fighting against a monster and had to do whatever he could to survive. I cringed more at the backdrop off the table than anything in the cage match, as that’s the kind of thing that makes it look like more of a painful fight. Page came off like he was in a war here and Hobbs felt like a monster. Hobbs losing again isn’t great to see, but at least he held his own in there.

Post match the Opps run in to go after Page, with the cage lowering. Eddie Kingston and Hook comes out for the save just in time. Page turns the Full Gear match into a cage match. Of course.

Tony Schiavone brings out Ricky Steamboat for a special appearance. He talks about his history in this territory and his history around here with Ric Flair. The story is cut off by FTR (Steamboat: “I KNOW HIM!”), with Stokely Hathaway introducing himself to Steamboat. As Steamboat makes fun of Hathaway’s height, Stokely says he wants his favorite wrestler front row at Full Gear. Hathaway: “You got Macho Man’s phone number?”

FTR brags about making Steamboat look good in his retirement match and Harwood mentions Steamboat being his trainer. The thing is…Steamboat didn’t teach him a thing. Steamboat says he didn’t teach Harwood to have his attitude, but Harwood says Steamboat taught him to save his money.

If he and Ric Flair (who hasn’t been seen) followed that advice, they wouldn’t have to be here tonight. The brawl is teased with FTR telling Steamboat to get out and Steamboat saying he’s going to play it smart here. FTR jump shim so Bandido and Brody King make the save, with Steamboat getting in a few chops to send the villains running. This was WAY too long and dragged badly.

Team Death Riders vs. Team Darby Allin

Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia, Claudio Castagnoli, Pac
Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy, Mark Briscoe, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly

Allin and Yuta start things off and they go straight to the floor, with Allin missing a charge and crashing into the barricade. They get back inside with Allin hitting a quick Coffin Drop from the cage to a standing Yuta. That’s enough to send Yuta to the other ring to reach for Allin’s skateboard. Allin gives him a Code Red and uses the thumbtacks on the back to cut Yuta open. Orange Cassidy is in to give the good guys the advantage and BREAKS HIS OWN SUNGLASSES. He uses the pieces to stab Yuta in the head (I’ve seen worse ideas) and Yuta is bleeding even more.

A jumping skateboard shot to the back has Yuta down again as Daniel Garcia is in to even things up. Garcia chokes Allin and Cassidy at the same time and a double chain shot puts Cassidy down. We take a break and come back with Garcia and Yuta being tied up with the chain as Mark Briscoe joins the fray. Well he’s supposed to at least as he has been attacked in the back.

Roderick Strong goes instead to buy time and drops Yuta onto Garcia. Claudio Castagnoli evens things up and sends Strong into a chair in the corner. Cassidy chokes Castagnoli….who swings Allin at the same time, because that’s something a human can do. The bleeding Strong’s head is rubbed into the cage and one heck of an uppercut drops Allin. Kyle O’Reilly is in as the next to last member of his team but Garcia and Yuta are back up with chair shots.

Yuta gives Allin a piledriver on the chair and we take another break. We come back again with Jon Moxley coming in and stabs O’Reilly in the head with a fork. Strong is stabbed in the head and Allin is stabbed in the back…and Briscoe isn’t here as Moxley stabs Strong with a piece of the mirror from the first match. We get word that the Don Callis Family attacked Briscoe as Allin is piledriven into a pile of glass. That’s enough to send us to another break and we come back again with Pac completing the field (with the villains up 5-4).

Allin Coffin Drops from the roof onto everyone else, leaving the very bloody Strong to get beaten up by Pac. One heck of a running clothesline drops Allin….and here is Briscoe with some boltcutters to break into the cage. Briscoe sends a toolbox into the ring and the good guys find some tools. Moxley shrugs off a wrench shot (of course) as Briscoe sets up a table on the floor. Garcia is put on the table and Briscoe goes up the cage, only for Garcia to move before the big jump.

Yuta joins Briscoe on top so Briscoe and O’Reilly rig up a pulley system to get some chairs up there. Yuta has to low blow his way out of a Jay Driller and we take one more break. We come back with Briscoe hitting the Jay Driller to Yuta onto a chair on top of the cage as Allin chokes Moxley with a hammer. Cue Gabe Kidd to drag Allin up the aisle as Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets.

They are then stapled as Kidd chokes Allin on the stage. Pac pulls All on top of the entrance…and Kidd lights some tables on fire. Pac is sent through the flaming tables and Kidd is taken away by security. Moxley chokes O’Reilly with a chain and gets flipped off so Castagnoli wraps a chair around O’Reilly’s neck. Cassidy rips the staples out of his pockets and Strong is up with some running knees. The Orange Punch hits Moxley and Garcia is sent into a table in the corner, with Garcia bouncing off of it in a nasty crash.

A powerbomb sends Yuta into (not through) another table in another corner before he gets whipped through it. Cassidy counters Swiss Death into an Orange Punch but Strong can’t put Castagnoli through the table (Where did they get these things from?). Another Orange Punch knocks Moxley into an ankle lock, which is reversed into the bulldog choke. That’s reversed into an ankle lock with a grapevine and Moxley taps at 54:07.

Rating: C. Was it a disaster? No. Was it bad? Not really. What it was instead was a FAR too long match that felt like it was just there to fill in time, with stuff like the Allin being sent through a burning table just being a moment in a long series of them. It’s another match that could have had nearly half an hour cut out without losing much. Now that being said, the ending was rather good and tied in with the bigger Moxley story. That part was well done, but it came at the end of a very long match and it didn’t have as much of an impact that it could have had otherwise.

Overall Rating: B-. This is just what Blood & Guts is and that isn’t a surprise anymore. It goes on far longer than it needs to and doesn’t exactly make me care about most of the people involved. I’m certainly not more interested in seeing Full Gear (which is now going to feature a smaller cage match) and that’s not a great feeling. The non-cage match here was very good, but the big focus was on Blood & Guts, which was pretty much exactly what you would have been expecting.

Results
Team Mone b. Team Statlander when Storm submitted
Hangman Page b. Powerhouse Hobbs – Boot to the head
Team Allin b. Team Moxley – Ankle lock to Moxley

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

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Dynamite
Date: November 5, 2025
Location: Bayou Music Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Excalibur, Bryan Danielson, Tony Schiavone

We are a week away from Blood & Guts and therefore this week’s show is going to focus on setting up the two cage matches. In this case that means determining who will have the advantage in the matches, which can be rather important. Other than that, we’ll have some more build towards Full Gear, which isn’t very far away. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring and….there is going to be something called the National Title introduced. Cue the Opps to interrupt, with Samoa Joe not being happy with Schiavone for the deal with Hangman Page at the end of last week’s show. Cue Page for the save, with Eddie Kingston and Hook joining him. They’re already set for a six man tag tonight and Hook thinks it should be a Trios Titles match. Works for a ticked off Joe.

Men’s Blood And Guts Advantage Series: Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli

First of a three match series. Cassidy fires off the suicide dives before the bell and the ten right hands connect against the barricade. Castagnoli manages a ram into the ropes though and gets inside for the opening bell. A tornado DDT cuts Castagnoli off but they go outside with Cassidy being dropped over the barricade. Castagnoli grabs a suplex and walks him up the steps (because that’s something a human can do) to throw him back inside.

Cassidy’s sleeper goes on and Castagnoli can’t even swing him off. It’s finally reversed into the regular swing and Cassidy is in trouble as we take a break. We come back with Cassidy putting his hands in his pockets, which earns him a gutwrench suplex in a smart move from Castagnoli. Cassidy puts his hands in his pockets again and shrugs off a string of punches in the corner.

Castagnoli is sent outside for a diving tornado DDT before planting Castagnoli for two back inside. A sitout powerbomb gives Castagnoli two and he grabs a crossface. That and a basement uppercut give Castagnoli two but the apron superplex is countered into a super Stundog Millionaire (that was great). An Orange Punch rocks Castagnoli but he’s right back with Swiss Death for the pin at 12:21.

Rating: B-. I was worried that Cassidy would survive that kind of a beating and win on a fluke so it was nice to see Castagnoli get a clean win like this for a change. He’s been just a guy in the Death Riders for a long time now and it’s good for him to have something other than just another loss. Cassidy is just kind of floating around at the moment, but he’ll be fine given the way the fans care about him.

Mark Briscoe is in the back with Kyle Fletcher, who hasn’t responded to Briscoe’s challenge for Full Gear. Briscoe lost to him at WrestleDream thanks to a low blow so let’s do it No DQ next time. Don Callis has an idea though: if Briscoe loses, he joins the Family.

The Young Bucks haven’t officially joined the Don Callis Family but Callis offers Kazuchika Okada as a testimony on what it means to join.

Women’s Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Willow Nightingale/Harley Cameron vs. Mercedes Mone/Athena

The villains jump them to start fast as we hear about Queen Aminata being injured and therefore out of Blood & Guts. Mone chokes Cameron on the ropes a bit but Cameron manages a belly to back suplex. Nightingale comes in for a middle rope dropkick as the house cleaning is on. It’s already back to Cameron, who gets dropped onto Mone for two. Everything breaks down and a Meteora drops Nightingale, leaving Athena to drop Mone onto Cameron for two.

We take a break and come back with Mone taking too long on Three Amigos, allowing Cameron to escape. The big tag brings in Nightingale to clean house, with a Cannonball hitting Athena for two. Athena cuts her off with a hard forearm and everything breaks down. A double Codebreaker sets up the Statement Maker on Cameron so Nightingale Pounces Athena into the two of them for the save.

Nightingale clotheslines Mone down but Athena is up with a spinning knee to the head. Athena puts Nightingale into a fireman’s carry and then fall away slams Cameron at the same time (geez). Cue Athena’s minion Billie Starkz to hand Athena a title but Kris Statlander cuts her off. The Babe With The Powerbomb into That’s Her Finisher to pin Athena at 12:44.

Rating: C+. Odds are that sets up Cameron as the next victim for Athena and I’ve heard worse ideas. One such bad idea would be to have Mone get closer to winning a tag team title in addition to all of her singles belts so at least they did the right thing here. The tournament has me wondering who is going to wind up with the titles so they’re certainly off to a nice start.

Tony Schiavone is in the ring to announce a Casino Gauntlet Match for Full Gear for the inaugural National Title. Bobby Lashley and Shelton Benjamin, the first entrants, come out with MVP for a chat. MVP talks about the history of the National Title, which apparently will have lineage with the original NWA version.

Cue the Demand to interrupt, with Ricochet mocking the Syndicate for being old. MVP is ready to fight but Ricochet says he’ll be the next National Champion. I’d hope that they don’t go any further with the lineage/heritage of the National Title, as the NWA, which still sanctions it to this day, might have some issues.

Jurassic Express leaves the Young Bucks $100 to deal with their money issues.

Men’s Blood And Guts Advantage Series: Darby Allin vs. Daniel Garcia

If Garcia wins, the Death Riders clinch the advantage. Allin rolls around to start and grabs a headlock takeover. That’s broken up and Garcia chokes in the corner, only for Allin to put Garcia’s arm into the post (as in the hole on the top). Some biting keeps the arm in trouble before Allin sends him into the barricade. Garcia hits a big boot to the head to cut Allin off though and we take a break.

We come back with an exchange of chokes, with Allin backflipping onto him for two. Garcia takes him up top for a superplex but Allin rolls through into a Scorpion Death Drop. They head outside, with Garcia putting Allin’s arm between the steps and post for a running dropkick. Cue Pac for a cheap shot with a clothesline and Allin has to dive back in to beat the count. The bleeding Allin is put in the Sharpshooter but manages to reverse it into the Scorpion Deathlock for the tap at 13:26.

Rating: B-. There wasn’t much in the way of drama here as not only was it the second match in a best of three series, but Garcia wasn’t likely to beat Allin in any way. At least they didn’t do anything too nuts here, as Allin gets to go through and win a match he should have. Now just get him away from the Death Riders already, because the story needs to be done.

Post match the Death Riders run in for the beatdown, with Orange Cassidy’s save attempt getting cut off as well.

Here is FTR to call out Bandido/Brody King for a chat. The champs don’t show up though and we see their locker room door locked. Back in the arena, Harwood goes over to meet Bandido’s family with some less than great Spanish. Harwood mocks Bandido’s grandmother for being too old and does the keep pulling his microphone away before she can say much. She finally slaps him and Bandido’s brother jumps the barricade for the brawl. We cut to the back where Brody King punches through the wall and grabs Stokely Hathaway so the champs can escape for the save.

Video on Blood & Guts as narrated by….Dean Malenko?

Women’s Blood And Guts Advantage Series: Mina Shirakawa vs. Megan Bayne

Toni Storm is on commentary. Bayne shrugs off some shots to the ribs to start so Shirakawa gives her a running dropkick to the floor. Back in and Shirakawa kicking her in the head out of the corner but Bayne grabs an impressive release German suplex. Shirakawa fights back and hurricanranas Bayne into the corner. Cue Marina Shafir to jump Storm for the brawl, which distracts Shirakawa. The running Liger Bomb finishes for Bayne at 9:36.

Rating: C+. Bayne getting to wreck someone else is a good thing and this was little more than a preview for the big match next week. They’re almost putting everyone of note in the division into Blood & Guts, which is certainly a way to go. It has me interesting in what’s going to happen though and Bayne getting to be a smashing machine is a fun thing every time.

Post match the beatdown is on until Storm makes the save with a chair. Most of the rest of the teams come in for a brawl, with Mercedes Mone stopping short. Kris Statlander comes out to jump her from behind and the heroes stand tall.

Trios Titles: Opps vs. Hangman Page/Eddie Kingston/Hook

The Opps are defending. Joe does the really played out “yeah I’ll start but I’m tagging out before I make contact” deal and hands it off to Shibata. A quick slugout goes to Page and it’s Hook coming in for a suplex. Hobbs comes in for some backbreakers but Hook manages a nice overhead suplex to get a breather.

We take a break and come back with Joe putting Kingston in a nerve hold. That’s broken up and Page comes back in to clean house, including posting Hobbs on the floor. The top rope moonsault press gives Page two and it’s back to Kingston, which brings in the banged up Hook. Hobbs drops Page onto the apron and decks Kingston into a German suplex from Shibata. Page is taken up to the stage for a World’s Strongest Slam through the table, leaving Joe rather pleased. The injured Hook tries to make the save with Redrum, only to get reversed into the torture rack to give Hobbs the submission at 12:03.

Rating: B-. Hook being there to take the fall was fine, as this was about Hobbs and Page having a nice angle before Page defends against Joe at Full Gear. That’s the kind of thing that the Trios Titles can do rather well, as it gives them another reason for them to fight. Now just make the Joe vs. Page rematch a bit more interesting and they’ll be in business.

With about three seconds left in the show, Hobbs vs. Page, falls count anywhere, is announced for next week.

Overall Rating: B-. The majority of this show was built around setting up Blood & Guts and that’s not a bad thing. The show is going to be one heck of a detour on the way to Full Gear, so giving it a week mostly dedicated to preparation is a smart move. Full Gear is going to need some work in the last week after Blood & Guts, but there is a good chance those matches will build towards the pay per view. Good enough show here, with the really important ones coming.

Results
Claudio Castagnoli b. Orange Cassidy – Swiss Death
Willow Nightingale/Harley Cameron b. Athena/Mercedes Mone – That’s Her Finisher to Athena
Darby Allin b. Daniel Garcia – Scorpion Deathlock
Megan Bayne b. Mina Shirakawa – Running Liger Bomb
Opps b. Hangman Page/Eddie Kingston/Hook – Torture rack to Hook

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

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