Ring Of Honor
Date: August 3, 2023
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back after a not so great fallout show from Death Before Dishonor. The show featured a bunch of the same things that we have seen for months, plus the start of another TV Title #1 contenders tournament but minus the new Tag Team Champions. Maybe things can be better here so let’s get to it.

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

Quick rundown of the show.

TV Title #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Christopher Daniels vs. Shane Taylor

Daniels can’t get a drop toehold to start but he can avoid a charge in the corner. The right hands don’t work for Daniels though as Taylor blasts him with a clothesline. Taylor runs him over with a shoulder and then hits a heck of a right hand. The chinlock goes on but Daniels is back up with a quick neckbreaker. The middle rope hurricanrana sends Taylor flying but he’s back with a release Rock Bottom and the slam for two. A middle rope crossbody of all things crushes Daniels again and the Marcus Garvey Driver finishes him off at 6:40.

Rating: C. Daniels couldn’t get much going here as Taylor was that much bigger. The good thing about someone like Taylor is that while he’s big, he can also move around enough to make himself more dangerous. I could go for a bit more of him, though seeing Daniels lose this decisively is a little weird.

The Iron Savages want the Tag Team Titles from Aussie Open.

Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open vs. Iron Savages

The Savages, with Jacked Jameson, are challenging. Fletcher and Bronson start things off and they do a shouting forearm exchange. A slam plants Bronson and it’s off to Davis, who gets the big power showdown with Boulder. An exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere but Boulder’s second attempt manages to knock him down. Bronson is back in with a backsplash as everything breaks down.

The Aussies send them outside and score with dives for a bonus. A running kick into a backsplash gets two on Bronson, followed by a loud chop in the corner. Bronson manages a high crossbody of all things and Boulder gets to come in and clean house. The running powerslam gives Boulder two but Bronson has to break up a double something. There’s a double spinebuster for two on Davis so Boulder puts Bronson on his shoulders. All that does is set up an inadvertent Doomsday Device, followed by some kicks to the head for two. The Coriolis finishes Boulder at 10:28.

Rating: C+. I still like the Savages a good bit but this was more an instance of them being monsters to be slayed by the new champions. The Aussies are already being featured more than the Lucha Bros around here so maybe some things are getting better. This worked for a first title defense and as usual, the Aussies work so well together.

Post match the Aussies go to the back where they run into Tony Khan, who congratulates them. What kind of a nothing cameo was that?

Stokely Hathaway likes the feedback on the tournament so far and they might make another one. Dalton Castle comes in to say he should be in the tournament, with Hathaway hinting that he took Castle out. Cue Samoa Joe to say he’s tired of Castle and makes a tag match between himself/Hathaway and the Boys in two weeks. Hathaway’s reaction is as expected. I can go for Castle chasing Joe, as at least it’s a story.

Pure Rules Title: Josh Woods vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Shibata is defending and Woods has Mark Sterling with him. They go to the mat to start until Shibata takes the leg out. Shibata wrestles him down until cranking on the kneebar. They roll outside with the hold still on to keep up the damage. Back up and they fight around the outside with a lockup before having to come in to beat the count.

The fight over arm control is on back inside with Woods getting the better of it but making the mistake of trying the PK. Shibata fires up and hits a running corner dropkick into a butterfly suplex for two. The sleeper goes on and Woods has to use the first rope break. They forearm it out until stereo kicks put both of them down. Woods actually gets the better of things and kicks away, only to get sleepered into the PK to retain the title at 11:12.

Rating: B-. These matches are hit and miss most of the time but this was one of the better ones. The idea of this division being more about wrestling is fine, but the problem is there isn’t much difference between this and what you see in most matches. Shibata is rather nifty in the ring, though Woods hasn’t been that interesting in a long time. Good enough match, but Shibata’s title rarely feels like it is in jeopardy.

Respect is shown post match, with Sterling not being happy.

Dalton Castle vs. Zack Clayton

The Boys are here with Castle. Clayton starts fast and stomps him down in the corner, setting up some trash talk. Back up and Castle slugs away but the suplex is blocked. Castle isn’t having this and comes back with forearms to the face. The Bang A Rang finishes Clayton at 3:50.

Rating: C. It wasn’t quite a squash but at least they got to the point here and let Castle look good in his win. Castle seems ready to go after the TV Title (again) sooner than later so hopefully we are on the way to something bigger for him in the coming weeks. Castle has long since been in need of more exposure around here and it would be nice to have this be the start.

Respect is shown post match.

Josh Woods talks about his resume but he is tired of all the losing and something has to change.

The Infantry vs. Nick Comoroto/Jora Johl

Trish Adora is here with the Infantry. Bravo suplexes Johl to start and hammers away in the corner. A few hard shots stagger Bravo though and a suplex puts him down. Back up and Bravo ducks a superkick, which hits Comoroto by mistake. Dean comes in off the hot tag and it’s a Russian legsweep/big boot combination to finish Johl at 4:37.

Rating: C. Much like the Castle match, this wasn’t a squash but it was designed to make someone look good. That worked out well as the Infantry can certainly use a win, though it’s a bit difficult to imaging them rising up the card after being destroyed so often. For now though, a quick win is better than nothing.

Leyla Hirsch vs. Miranda Vionette

The volume gets a lot louder for Hirsch’s entrance for some reason. A gator roll has Miranda in trouble to start but she’s back up with a small package. Cue Maria Kanellis-Bennett to watch from the stage as Hirsch unloads with right hands. A running kick into the Saito suplex sends Miranda into the corner. Miranda’s one move comeback is countered into a cross armbreaker for the tap at 3:19.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t as entertaining or effective of a squash as the previous two matches, but the Maria stuff is a bit more interesting. Hirsch has felt like someone ready to move up and being aligned with Maria is one of the more intriguing options that she could have. Granted it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t go anywhere, but it’s better than nothing.

TV Title #1 Contenders Tournament Semifinals: Tony Nese vs. Gravity

Mark Sterling is with Nese. Gravity interrupts Nese’s group training deal and hits a gorilla press as commentary points out Gravity’s recent loss to Samoa Joe. A Sterling distraction lets Nese knock him outside, where Sterling gets in a cheap shot for a bonus. Gravity fights up, ignores a Sterling distraction, and hits a big dive to the floor to drop Nese. Back in and a splash gives Gravity two but Nese kicks him in the face. Gravity scores with a quick powerbomb though and the top rope splash finishes Nese at 5:34.

Rating: C+. Gravity overcome the odds here and put in a solid performance, though they’re going to have to come up with a pretty special idea to find a way to get me interested in Joe vs. Gravity II. Commentary even pointed it out so it wouldn’t surprise me to see it being some overcoming the odds/redemption story. Other than that, Nese is still an acceptable villain for Gravity to conquer.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Diamante

Diamante is challenging after winning three matches in a row (simple and effective). Athena toys with her to start but gets kicked to the apron and baseball slidden to the floor. That’s fine with Athena, who whips her hard into the barricade to take over. Back in and Athena grabs a surfboard but misses a running boot to the head.

Athena doesn’t seem to mind as she hits a Side Effect onto the apron, followed by a spinning backbreaker for two. The O Face is blocked though and Diamante hits the Chaos Theory for two. Athena knocks her out of the air and grabs a crossface. Diamante slips out, only to get rolled up to retain Athena’s title at 9:19.

Rating: C+. This was another match where it wasn’t quite a squash but it was pretty one sided for a long stretch. Athena is still by far the most dominant champion the women’s division has ever seen but I’m really wondering who is supposed to come after her. Barring someone coming over from AEW (which is likely), she has completely cleaned out the division and there isn’t much of anyone left to come after her.

Post match Athena actually shows some respect.

The Boys vs. Gates Of Agony

Prince Nana is here with the Gates. The fans are rather behind the Boys, even as Kaun stomps Brent down in the corner. Kaun pulls him out of the air and sends him flying so Toa can come in for a splash in the corner. Nana gets in some cheap shots and Kaun adds a backsplash but Brent manages to enziguri his way to freedom. Everything breaks down and Toa hits a Samoan drop, followed by Open The Gates to finish Brandon at 4:17.

Rating: C. I’ve long since lost interest in Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. the Embassy as they are two of the only longstanding six man teams around here. They did a nice job with the layout of the match though as there is little reason to believe that the Boys can have a chance against these two monsters. And hey the Gates are actually winning some regular tag matches!

Diamante isn’t sure what Athena was doing but Athena comes in to say she saw her younger self in Diamante out there. So figure out what’s missing and stay away from her.

Cole Karter vs. LSG

Karter dropkicks him at the bell but LSG is back up with a waistlock. That earns him a throat first shot into the rope and Karter hits another dropkick. A snap suplex drops LSG again as Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here again. LSG makes the comeback but gets kneed out of the air. A Razor’s Edge spun into a DDT finishes LSG at 2:58. Thank goodness we got a Cole Karter feature match.

The Dark Order thanks Stu Bennett after their Death Before Dishonor match.

Robyn Renegade vs. Christina Marie

Charlotte is here with Robyn. Marie actually takes over with a slam for two to start but stops to chase Charlotte, allowing Robyn to get in a cheap shot. Robyn’s basement dropkick gets two so she yells at Marie a lot. One heck of a clothesline gets two on Marie, who is back up with a clothesline of her own. Robyn doesn’t seem to mind as she grabs an abdominal stretch and pulls her down into something like a Koji Clutch for the tap at 3:57.

Rating: C. I still like the Renegades and they can do well on their own, but this is another example of a match that could have been cut to let the show breathe a bit. As usual, there is too much being crammed into this show and while the Renegades are interesting prospects, they could have done this elsewhere. Or maybe against a team, if ROH can scrape one together.

Workhorsemen vs. Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo

Oh you thought you were getting a week without the Workhorsemen didn’t you? Henry grabs Komander’s arm to start but can’t get very far with it. Instead Komander is back up with a dropkick before Drake comes in to shrug off some forearms. Vikingo comes in with a springboard missile dropkick and a frog splash (with Eddie dance) gets two on Drake. A crazy headscissors takes Drake down but since it’s just a headscissors, he’s right back up with the chops.

We settle down to a Russian legsweep/big boot combination getting two on Vikingo but he’s back up with a kick to the head. Komander gets cut off before the tag though and Henry hits a Shining Wizard for two. Vikingo is fine enough to hit a Code Red and now Komander comes back in to pick up the pace. House is cleaned and it’s quickly back to Vikingo, who is pulled out of the air for a swinging butterfly suplex. Vikingo’s step up dropkick connects and the stereo rope walk moonsaults take the Workhorsemen down. Stereo 450 splashes finish Drake at 8:09.

Rating: B-. Good match with the luchadors doing their crazy high flying, but Caprice Coleman summed up the issue. Coleman said he had never seen this before, which made me think “I have, because I saw it on Dynamite”. It’s exciting, but it might be more exciting if it wasn’t something that had happened the day before. I’m not sure why they needed to be on this show to get their win back, but that has long since been a Tony Khan thing.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was better than last week, but it’s still full of the same problems it has always had. I do like the Maria scouting stuff and Athena encouraging Diamante, but those things are in the middle of so many matches that don’t feel like they’re going anywhere. As usual the match quality isn’t the problem, but rather how much of it there is and how long it goes.

Results
Shane Taylor b. Christopher Daniels – Marcus Garvey Driver
Aussie Open b. Iron Savages – Coriolis to Boulder
Katsuyori Shibata b. Josh Woods – Penalty Kick
Dalton Castle b. Zack Clayton – Bang A Rang
The Infantry b. Nick Comoroto/Jora Johl – Russian legsweep/big boot combination to Johl
Leylah Hirsch b. Miranda Vionette – Cross armbreaker
Gravity b. Tony Nese – Top rope splash
Athena b. Diamante – Rollup
Gates Of Agony b. The Boys – Open The Gates to Brandon
Robyn Renegade b. Christina Marie – Abdominal stretch neck crank
Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo b. Workhorsemen – Double 450 to Drake

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 2, 2023
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Taz, Excalibur

It’s the 200th episode and you know that means we should be in for something good. The most important thing here is that it is time to start getting ready for All In, which needs something announced already. Other than that, we have a Women’s Title match as Hikaru Shida challenges Toni Storm. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

The old set is back for a nice touch.

Sammy Guevara/Daniel Garcia vs. Chris Jericho/Konosuke Takeshita

Jericho and Takeshita have Don Callis with them. Guevara and Jericho chop it out until the former scores with a jumping knee. Garcia and Guevara get to strike a pose before Garcia chops it out with Jericho. Takeshita comes in to kick Garcia down so Jericho comes back in for a suplex. Jericho drops Garcia again and we take a break.

Back with Guevara coming in to clean house, including a suicide elbow to Jericho and a running flip dive to Takeshita. They get back in and Takeshita gets the Blue Thunder Bomb on Guevara but can’t get the Walls Of Takeshita (which is apparently a thing). Jericho is back in with the Codebreaker for two as all four get in again. Guevara kicks Takeshita to the floor as Garcia gets the Dragontamer on Jericho. Callis bats Garcia down but Jericho doesn’t approve….but does get the pin at 12:21.

Rating: B-. This was about Callis still trying to recruit Jericho, who might be getting with the program a bit. Other than that, you had Garcia and Guevara being entertaining enough as a team and Takeshita feeling like a star. Odds are this is heading towards Jericho vs. either Takeshita or someone else from Callis’ family down the line, but we might be a good way off from that point just yet.

Tony Khan says we are on the way to the biggest wrestling event of all time (no) and we see a highlight package from some of the best moments in Dynamite history.

Matt Menard tells Chris Jericho has to be at a mandatory meeting of the Jericho Appreciation Society.

Here is Jack Perry to say that he wants Jerry Lynn out here to end this. Lynn comes out to say that he isn’t going to come down there and beat up Perry, because that would be child abuse. On top of that, his neck is so banged up that no doctor would ever clear him. Instead, he’s made a phone call to a friend of his, who wrestled in ECW and still wrestles today. Cue Rob Van Dam to chase Perry off, with Perry hiding behind a young girl. Was there anyone else who could have stood up for ECW and been something of a big deal?

Video on the Women’s Title match with Hikaru Shida challenging Toni Storm.

Trent Beretta vs. Jon Moxley vs. Penta El Cero Miedo

The introduction make it clear that this is anything goes. Trent and Penta hit dives to start but Moxley is back up and grabs the 2×4 with nails. Penta ducks a swing and Backstabs Moxley, only to get a trashcan lid kneed into his face. Moxley piledrives Trent but Penta is right back to take Trent outside. Some tables are set up at ringside and the already bleeding Trent superplexes Moxley through them as we take a break.

Back with Penta hitting a super Canadian Destroyer to drive Trent through a table, followed by Moxley spearing Penta through a table in the corner. Moxley gets the thumbtacks and opens Penta’s shirt, setting up a piledriver into the tacks for two. Trent, for some reasons not in an ambulance, is up with the Crunchy to Moxley into the tacks but Penta makes the save. Moxley Paradigm Shifts Penta but Trent hits the running knee to steal the pin at 12:21.

Rating: C. Yeah fine. You knew you were going to see some kind of violent match on here whether it made sense for the story or not and they even had one of the fan favorites get a pin on a milestone show. The Canadian Destroyer through the table not knocking Trent out of the match was nonsense but that ship has long since sailed. I still can’t stand this kind of stuff, and they really didn’t need the weapons and violence.

Post match Moxley chokes Trent out and the Blackpool Combat Club comes out to help. Cue Orange Cassidy and Chuck Taylor to cut them off and clear the ring, with Taylor issuing the challenge for a parking lot fight on Rampage.

Rob Van Dam challenges Jack Perry for the FTW Title next week. When Van Dam wins the title, he’ll just retire the thing.

Here is MJF to talk about having ADD, but also a condition that makes it difficult for him to accept rejection. One day when he was a kid, some people threw quarters at him and said “pick it up, Jew boy, pick it up.” It made him believe that he had to stab everyone in the back before he did it to them, but that’s no way to live.

It’s tough for him to trust people, but he’s not scared anymore because of all these people. These people have sympathy for the devil, even if he’s still a scumbag. But dang it he’s ready to be YOUR scumbag. He also has to thank Adam Cole, so here is Cole to see MJF face to face.

Cole says MJF is not alone and knows that there is a good guy down in there. The people here are proud of him, which has MJF thanking him for the kind words. That brings MJF to the promised title match, which Cole doesn’t deserve. That’s because Cole deserves THE match in the main event of the biggest show AEW has ever seen, in the main event of All In. Cole signs the contract (fans: “READ IT!”) without reading it and they hug. MJF has told that story before but it still has impact. Other than that, they’re building towards someone turning and it’s going to be a big moment when it happens.

Roderick Strong breaks a bunch of stuff in the back but here is the Kingdom to say they Cole is forgetting his real friends.

Elite vs. Jeff Jarrett/Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal

Brandon Cutler, Sonjay Dutt and Karen Jarrett are here too. Jeff slams Omega down to start but Matt comes in to take over. That brings in Singh, with Omega and Nick immediately backing away. Singh shrugs off some dropkicks and crossbodies both of the Bucks, meaning the villains get to most the Elite’s pose.

We take a break and come back with Nick getting over to bring Omega back in for the pace to pick up. You Can’t Escape is broken up by Singh, allowing Lethal to get his knees up on the moonsault. The Bucks kick Singh down the though and Omega adds the V Trigger to put him completely down. Dutt has to break up the One Winged Angel and Karen offers a distraction. That earns her a cold spray from Cutler as the Hardys come out to beat up the villains as well. Cue Hangman Page to jump Jarrett with the Buckshot Lariat, meaning (after an Omega guitar solo) the One Winged Angel can finish Lethal at 8:58.

Rating: B-. Much like some of the other stuff on this show, they absolutely had to get the Elite on here somehow and putting them in a fun match like this one was the way to go. They were the centerpiece of the company for a long time and getting them on a show like this, even in a match where they weren’t going to be in serious trouble, was a requirement.

Post match Page announces that the Elite have re-signed with AEW. Omega says you’ll be seeing more of them everywhere, including Collision. We get the old goodnight and goodbye catchphrase to wrap it up. That’s a nice little flashback.

The Mogul Embassy (Swerve Strickland/AR Fox in this case) is happy with beating up Darby Allin and we see them going to Nick Wayne’s gym (which is in a garage). Wayne and some students get beaten up and Swerve breaks something made of glass over Wayne’s head. Swerve puts down a photo of Wayne and his father, before calling Darby Allin to show the bloody Wayne. It’s that easy to make a phone call, so why didn’t Allin call AR Fox when he got to AEW? The beating continues to wrap up one heck of a segment. This felt like Swerve and Fox getting to show what they can do and it was really effective.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Aussie Open vs. Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo

The Aussies are defending. Fletcher and Vikingo start things off with the latter avoiding a charge in the corner. Vikingo’s springboard crossbody takes Fletcher down so it’s off to Davis, who gets superkicked outside. We settle back down to Fletcher clotheslining Komander, who is right back up with the chops in the corner. Komander’s springboard is broken up so it’s of to Vikingo instead. The champs are sent outside but they are fine enough to cut off the stereo dives as we take a break.

Back with Vikingo getting caught with a flipping Iconoclasm for two, leaving Fletcher frustrated. Vikingo is put in a fireman’s carry but Komander tags himself in, jumps on Vikingo’s back, and hits a Canadian Destroyer. The challengers walk the ropes at the same time for stereo moonsaults, setting up stereo 450s for two on Davis. Vikingo is taken down though and the rope walk shooting star press misses for Komander. The double clothesline sets up Coriolis to retain the titles at 9:57.

Rating: C+. There was some nice stuff in here with the Aussies using their power offense to hold off the rather flashy high fliers. I’d like to believe that this is just a one off as I really do not need the Ring Of Honor titles on the show again, but at least they had an entertaining match and didn’t go too long. It’s also always nice to see Vikingo, as some of that stuff he does is hard to fathom.

Video on Ricky Starks vs. CM Punk on Collision.

Women’s Title: Hikaru Shida vs. Toni Storm

Shida is challenging and Storm has the rest of the Outcasts with her. Shida starts fast and knocks Storm to the floor, followed by some right hands back inside. They go outside again and this time Storm takes over, only for Shida to head back inside and suplex her into the corner. Storm gets in a shot of her own and adds the running hip attack to knock Shida outside again. The Outcasts get in some stomping and we take a break.

Back with Shida hitting an enziguri into a German suplex but Storm pulls her off the top. The hip attack in the corner and a DDT get two on Shida (which would not be stealing it, despite what Excalibur says). They strike it out until Shida knees her in the face and hits a Falcon Arrow for two. Saraya throws in the kendo stick but Shida takes it away and takes out the other two. Storm uses the distraction to hit the spray paint into the Storm Zero for two more. Shida is right back with a rollup for the pin and the title at 13:16.

Rating: B. And there’s your big moment to make the show feel special. Storm hadn’t exactly been doing anything as champion and wont he title from an injured Jamie Hayter. The story coming into this was that Shida deserved to have a title run in front of people rather than empty chairs and that is exactly what she is going to get. Good match here, with Shida getting a nice moment to wrap up the show.

Overall Rating: B. I kept saying that they had to get this and that in, but they managed to cover everything and had a heck of a show as a result. This was a nice look back at Dynamite’s history, while also giving a feel good moment at the end and also setting up something for All In. That’s a heck of a way to spend two hours and I smiled more than I have in a good while with an AEW show.

Results
Chris Jericho/Konosuke Takeshita b. Sammy Guevara/Daniel Garcia – Baseball bat shot to Garcia
Trent b. Jon Moxley and Penta El Cero Miedo – Paradigm Shit to Penta
Elite b. Jeff Jarrett/Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal – One Winged Angel to Lethal
Aussie Open b. Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo – Coriolis to Komander
Hikaru Shida b. Toni Storm – Rollup

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

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AND

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

Collision
Date: July 29, 2023
Location: XL Center, Hartford, Connecticut
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Nigel McGuinness

It’s another title match as FTR is defending the Tag Team Titles against MJF/Adam Cole. No matter what the outcome, the result is likely to have a big impact on All In/Out. Other than that, CM Punk is here and that should mean something is going down with Ricky Starks. That should be enough to carry the evening so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Darby Allin, MJF/Adam Cole and FTR are ready.

Opening sequence.

Buddy Matthews vs. Andrade El Idolo

Ladder match for Andrade’s mask and Julia Hart is here with Matthews. They slug it out to start until Andrade knocks him outside, where Andrade jumps onto a ladder and moonsaults down onto Matthews. Back in and Andrade hits Two Amigos but takes too long on the third. Not that it matters as Matthews is hiptossed into the ladder in the corner. Andrade gets tossed down as well though and we take a break with Matthews’ shoulder in trouble.

Back with Andrade in trouble and Matthews (shoulder seems to be ok) pulling out the really big ladder. Said ladder is bridged between the apron and the announcers’ table and they fight over a suplex. Andrade tries a spear through the ropes but gets DDTed onto the ladder. The table is loaded up in the corner but Matthews takes too long, meaning it’s time to slug it out on the ladder outside. Andrade goes big with a sunset bomb to drive Matthews onto a bridged ladder for a terrifying crash and it’s time to climb.

Back in and Matthews (who should be like, down at least) pulls Andrade into a knee to the face as Hart pulls out some handcuffs. Andrade fights back though and ties Matthews up, only to have Hart climb on his back as he climbs up. That takes long enough that Matthews makes the save, only to be knocked down again. Hart slaps Andrade on the ladder, so he shoves her off and into Matthews, through the table in the corner. Andrade gets the mask (that he doesn’t wear in the ring) to win at 18:06.

Rating: B. It’s a ladder match. That’s about all there is to say on this one, as there is very little that can make something like this stand out. The huge sunset bomb onto the ladder with Matthews up in thirty seconds was stupid, but at this point you just kind of have to accept something like that in this kind of a match. Good enough, but this felt like a ladder match for the sake of having a ladder match.

Miro is asked about the upcoming battle he has promised when Aaron Solo (I believe at least, as he isn’t identified) jumps him with a chair. Miro fights him off and uses the chair on him without much trouble.

Here is Darby Allin with an open challenge.

Darby Allin vs. Minoru Suzuki

Allin wastes no time in dropkicking Suzuki off the apron during his entrance, setting up the suicide dive (with Allin nearly dying). A dropkick off the apron hits Suzuki and they head inside for an opening bell and two. Suzuki grabs a choke over the ropes and kicks Allin down to the floor. We take a break and come back with Allin standing up to start the chop off. This doesn’t go well for Allin so he picks up the pace and hits a springboard body block. The Coffin Drop is pulled into a rear naked choke but Allin backflips over to pin Suzuki at 8:12.

Rating: B-. Well that came out of nowhere and that’s a bit weird. I’m not sure why you would have a fan favorite like Suzuki out there with no notice but it was a fine enough one off match. Allin picks up a win on the way towards All Out, and for a surprise match it went about as well as could be expected.

Post match Christian Cage, with Luchasaurus, pops up on screen to say that Allin is no longer worthy of being the TNT Champion. Cage promises to send him back to Hot Topic.

Toni Storm is ready for Hikaru Shida, “the pandemic champion”, next week on Dynamite.

Samoa Joe vs. Gravity

Joe’s ROH TV Title isn’t on the line (as Gravity is still in the tournament to crown a new #1 contender). Gravity dodges him to start but gets knocked into the corner. Back up and Gravity manages a shot out of said corner, only to take too long going up. The MuscleBuster finishes for Joe at 2:05. So Gravity just got squashed by a champion who he could still earn a shot at later. I can’t wait to see how far he goes next week on ROH.

Here is CM Punk, with the bag, for a chat. He had a rough travel day but always makes his towns because he won’t disappoint his fans. Punk brings up All In, even referencing that the show has pretty much not been acknowledged. Maybe we’ll figure that out by the end of the night, but now he wants to talk about Ricky Starks. Ricky has beaten him twice, but he is more disappointed than anything else.

Now as for the bag, it isn’t that he’s carrying it, but rather he’s been left holding it. After a WHAT’S IN THE BAG chant, Punk pulls out the AEW World Title, which he has never been pinned or submitted for, which is why his name (and blood) are still on it. Punk whips out some spray paint and paints the X on the title. It has been his symbol since the 90s and it still is here.

Cue Ricky Starks, to say play his music because he wants to make an entrance. Starks’ music plays and Nigel loses it because WHAT A SURPRISE, RICKY STARKS IS HERE. Speaking in the third person, Starks says he’s focused on gold right about now. He bit Punk before Punk can bite him and that title belongs to him because he’s beaten Punk twice. Starks calls himself the face of collision but Punk calls him the face of cheating. Punk thinks Starks wants a title shot and says we can do it a third time….with a special referee.

Starks recommends Julio Dinero or Dave Prazak (or someone from Stamford) but Punk has already made a phone call to someone from his past. They shake hands and the match is made for next week….and Tony Schiavone announces Ricky Steamboat as guest referee. Cool reveal, though I’m wondering why MJF, the official World Champion, who is in the building tonight, didn’t storm the ring to say NOT SO FAST.

Video on MJF/Adam Cole.

Bullet Club Gold vs. Darius Martin/Action Andretti/El Hijo del Vikingo

Juice Robinson/The Gunns here but no Jay White. The Gunns get taken down by Martin and Andretti and we take a break less than thirty seconds in (it’s stupid when WWE does it and it’s stupid here). Back with Vikingo diving for a tag but the Gunns pull his partners away. A full nelson slam gets two as there is now a cardboard cutout of Jay White at ringside. The hot tag to Andretti goes through a few seconds later and a double Tajiri handspring elbow connects with the Gunns. Everything breaks down and the 3:10 To Yuma finishes Martin at 6:53.

Rating: C+. I guess this was the “Bullet Club Gold Gets Momentum Back” match, though the thing with the cardboard cutout was a little weird. What mattered here was having a fun enough match without going too far and it worked well enough. That being said, Robinson and White are a lot more interesting than the Gunns, who really don’t need to be involved in this thing.

Kiera Hogan vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez tags her in the face to start but charges into an elbow in the corner. A brainbuster gets two on Hogan, who comes back with a knee to the face for a breather. Martinez shrugs it off and hits a neckbreaker out of the corner for two more. We take a break and come back with Martinez suplexing her way out of trouble. The Brass City Sleeper (surfboard dragon sleeper) goes on to make Hogan tap at 7:03.

Rating: C. Not much to this one, but Hogan shouldn’t be any kind of a serious threat to Martinez anyway. Martinez hasn’t been around much lately so it’s nice to have her back in action. There aren’t many more polished stars in the women’s division so she could give anyone around a rather nice rub. That being said, this was also the third straight match to have a break in the middle without going ten minutes, and that isn’t helping anything.

Post match Martinez won’t let it go so here is Kris Statlander for the save. Martinez gets the TBS Title and knocks Statlander silly, saying she’s coming for the title. Willow Nightingale makes the real save. I’ve heard far worse ideas than Martinez vs. Statlander.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Tag Team Titles: FTR vs. Adam Cole/Maxwell Jacob Friedman

FTR is defending. Cole and Harwood exchange headlocks to start before it’s off to Wheeler for a headlock of his own. Everything breaks down and the threat of the double clothesline sends FTR to the ropes for a breather. Harwood slams MJF down but gets kicked away, only to have MJF hurt his knee on a leapfrog. They don’t even waste time with the gold bricking this time though as MJF is up with a poke to the eye. Some shoving causes everything to break down and we take a break.

Back with MJF in trouble but escaping a Sharpshooter attempt. That’s not enough for the tag so he crawls through some legs and hits a double DDT. Now it’s back to Cole to pick up the pace, including a rollup and superkick out of the air for two each. MJF comes back in but can’t hit the double clothesline, instead settling for a fight over a Tombstone with Wheeler.

Cole makes the save and MJF gets two off a rollup but the double clothesline is broken up again. A top rope PowerPlex gets two on Cole, followed by a heck of a slingshot powerbomb for two on MJF. Everything breaks down and MJF, after thinking about it, hits Shattered Dreams for two on Harwood. The Boom is broken up but MJF shoves Cole away from the Shatter Machine and blocks it himself. The Heatseeker is loaded up but MJF gets rolled up for the pin at 17:55.

Rating: B. This was a weird one as while the action was good, the focus was on whether or not Cole or MJF would turn on the other. I’m glad they didn’t change the title here as MJF/Cole can easily continue without the belts involved. FTR is on another planet of awesome right now among the tag teams and having them lose for a short term angle between Cole/MJF wouldn’t have been a good move. Solid main event here, but the angle (or lack thereof) was what mattered.

Post match FTR shows respect to Cole before leaving. Cole helps MJF up and turns his back on him, saying do what you have to do. MJF loads up the belt shot but throws the belt down and hugs Cole instead. They raise each others’ hands to end the show. I’m glad they didn’t pull a trigger here as Cole vs. MJF only has to be set for either All In or All Out and that means they still have time to milk a lot more out of this.

Overall Rating: B. This was a definite improvement over last week and felt a lot more energetic. It was a show that felt like it wrapped up some things while keeping some other stories moving and that is always great to see. While I really didn’t need a ladder match on this show, it felt more like the Collision we had been seeing and that is a very good thing.

Results
Andrade El Idolo b. Buddy Matthews – El Idolo pulled down the mask
Darby Allin b. Minoru Suzuki – Rollup
Samoa Joe b. Gravity – MuscleBuster
Bullet Club Gold b. Darius Martin/Action Andretti/El Hijo del Vikingo – 3:10 To Yuma to Martin
Mercedes Martinez b. Kiera Hogan – Brass City Sleeper
FTR b. Adam Cole/MJF – Rollup to MJF

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

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AND

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

Dralistico/Preston Vance vs. Mark Wheeler/Vikram Prashar

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

Dark Order vs. The Righteous

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

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

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

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

Leila Grey vs. Diamante

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Big Bill/Lee Moriarty vs. Karou/Tariq

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

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

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

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

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

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

The United Empire want better opponents around here.

El Desperado vs. Willie Mack

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

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

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

Roppongi Vice vs. Sho/Yujiro Takahashi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Athena vs. KC Spinelli

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

Post match Athena crushes her against the steps.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chuck Taylor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND

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

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

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

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dark Order vs. Elite

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

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

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

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

Video on the men’s Owen Hart tournament.

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

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

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

Ruby Soho vs. Alexia Nicole

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

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

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

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Sammy Guevara/Chris Jericho vs. Sting/Darby Allin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

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

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

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

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

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

Gringo Loco vs. Willie Mack

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

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

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

Respect is shown post match.

Trish Adora vs. Allysin Kay

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

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

Silas Young vs. Kyle Fletcher

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

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

The Embassy vs. Trenton Storm/AJZ/Luke Kurtis

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

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

Dalton Castle vs. Josh Woods

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

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

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

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

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

The Infantry vs. The Kingdom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dark Order vs. Davey Bang/August Matthews

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

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

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

Diamante vs. Leila Grey

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rocky Romero vs. Daniel Garcia

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

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Kiera Hogan

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

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

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

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

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

We get a quick Forbidden Door rundown.

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

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

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

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Rampage
Date: June 2, 2023
Location: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

This is an interesting one as it’s more or less Battle Of The Belts but none of the titles are AEW championships. Instead we’re seeing Ring Of Honor, AAA, New Japan and New Japan Strong, which should certainly make for a big mixture of stuff. Other than that, we could use something being announced for Forbidden Door, which is about three weeks away. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

AAA Mega Title: Dralistico vs. Komander vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

Vikingo is defending and they all miss crossbodies, making it look more like a tackling drill than anything else. Dralistico sends them both outside for the big running flip dive and adds a springboard Swanton to Komander back inside. Komander is sent to the apron for a forearm and a top rope double stomp puts him on the floor. Vikingo is back up with the big springboard flip dive and the fans are rather pleased.

Back in and a springboard Phoenix splash gives Vikingo two on Dralistico. The two of them slug it out as Komander is on the floor until Vikingo hits a spinning kick to the face for a near fall. We take a break and come back with a table set up at ringside as Komander hits a double springboard spinning hurricanrana to Vikingo. Dralistico is armdragged to the floor and there’s the big rope run flip dive to leave Komander as the only one standing.

Back in and a 450 gives Komander two on Dralistico with Vikingo making a save. A springboard spinning poisonrana plants Komander and Vikingo puts him on the table for the big step up springboard 630. Dralistico loads up a powerbomb on Vikingo, who reverses into a hurricanrana for the pin to retain at 10:06.

Rating: B. Take three high fliers and let them do their thing for a little while. It was mainly just a collection of spots but Vikingo’s stuff is always worth a look. That being said, as entertaining as it was, it still feels like something we’ve seen several times before. If nothing else, Komander hasn’t exactly held up well, though Dralistico looked better here than he ever has in AEW.

We recap Karen Jarrett hitting referee Aubrey Edwards with a chair.

Jeff Jarrett and company insist that there will be no suspensions over this whole thing. Mark Briscoe comes in to agree that there won’t be and tells Jay Lethal to shut up. Briscoe is talking to the Jarretts, with Aubrey coming in and the catfight starting.

New Japan Pro Wrestling TV Title: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Action Andretti

Sabre is defending. Feeling out process to start as the grappling goes to Sabre. Andretti climbs the ropes for a wristdrag into a dropkick to put the champ down, setting up a springboard corkscrew splash for two. Back up and Sabre grabs a cross armbreaker in the ropes, followed by twisting the arm around to increase the pain. Andretti tries to chop his way out of the armbar but gets pulled down into a Disarm-Her.

A suplex gets Andretti out of another armbar though and Andretti hits a springboard kick to the face for two. Andretti puts him on top for a super hurricanrana before loading up the torture rack neckbreaker. Sabre counters that with a choke (that’s rather clever) so Andretti plants him with a poisonrana instead. The split legged moonsault gets two on Sabre but he pulls Andretti into a Rings of Saturn (with the legs for a bigger than usual OUCH) for the tap at 10:15.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but wound up being a better match than I would have expected. I don’t think there was exactly much drama about a title change here but Andretti’s athleticism was enough to keep things from getting dull. I could still watch Sabre pull people into painful holds all day and that was on full display here.

NJPW Strong Women’s Championship: Willow Nightingale vs. Emi Sakura

Sakura is challenging and shrugs off Willow’s running shoulder. A suplex works better for Willow and she chops away in some corners. Willow is sent to the apron and a running crossbody to the ribs puts her on the floor. Sakura sends her into the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Willow hitting a middle rope dropkick for two but Sakura rolls her up for the same. Some exchanges of clotheslines goes nowhere but Willow misses one, allowing Sakura to hit a hard clothesline for the double knockdown. Sakura faceplants her but Nightingale is right back with a heck of a Pounce. The Cannonball in the corner gives Willow two, followed by the Babe With The Powerbomb to retain at 9:52.

Rating: B. They beat each other up rather well and Willow’s power game continues to work well. There’s something cool about having someone so adorable being such a monster when she gets serious. Sakura can hang with anyone and is known enough to be a serious threat, but this was about giving Willow a nice showcase, which she needed after finally winning something.

Video on Lee Moriarty vs. Katsuyori Shibata so Mark Henry can say his catchphrase.

Pure Rules Title: Lee Moriarty vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Moriarty, with Big Bill, is challenging. They go to the mat for some grappling to start with Shibata taking over, sending Moriarty over for his first rope break. Moriarty wins a battle of the clotheslines and we take a break. Back with Moriarty caught in a Figure Four and using the second rope break to escape.

Moriarty elbows in the back of the neck but Shibata sends him into the corner. The running dropkick sets up a suplex for two as Moriarty can’t keep any momentum. The chinlock goes on but Moriarty uses his third rope break (which might have been a mistake). Moriarty grabs a Border City Stretch but Shibata slips out. A shot to the face sets up a sleeper into the PK to retain the title at 9:11.

Rating: B-. Shibata didn’t quite squash him but it wasn’t much beyond that. Shibata ran Moriarty over here and shrugged off everything that Moriarty threw at him. The title continues to be little more than lining up a new target for the champion to beat until a new challenger is set up, which works well in small doses. It helps that Shibata is rather good at this style, so outside of some serious cheating, it’s hard to imagine him losing anytime soon.

Post match Daniel Garcia comes out for the staredown with Shibata to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. While I still don’t get the appeal of having everything BUT AEW titles defended, I can go with this as a one off idea. If nothing else, it was a completely different idea and felt like something worth seeing rather than Rampage’s regular offerings. If AEW isn’t going to use Rampage in any meaningful way, throw something like this out there and have some fun instead. The fact that there wasn’t a bad match in sight made it even better. I wouldn’t want to see this every week, but for a one off, I’ll absolutely take this.

Results
El Hijo del Vikingo b. Dralistico and Komander – Hurricanrana to Dralistico
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Action Andretti – Rings Of Saturn
Willow Nightingale b. Emi Sakura – Babe With The Powerbomb
Katsuyori Shibata b. Lee Moriarty – PK

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

The Infantry vs. The Kingdom

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

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

Trish Adora vs. Skye Blue

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

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

Dark Order vs. The Righteous/Stu Grayson

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

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

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

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

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

Promise Braxton vs. Diamante

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

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

Brian Cage vs. Willie Mack

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

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

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

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

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

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

Action Andretti/Darius Martin vs. Workhorsemen

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

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

Post match the Workhorsemen won’t shake hands.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pure Rules Title: Alex Coughlin vs. Katsuyori Shibata

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Kiera Hogan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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TripleMania XXV
Date: August 26, 2017
Location: Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Kevin Gill, Gabe Ramirez

This is of course AAA’s biggest show of the year and heck if I know why someone requested it. Granted it might have been more than a few years ago that someone wanted me to look at it so there is probably something big that stuck out. I have no idea what is going on here but these shows have been hit or miss to say the least. Let’s get to it.

Keep in mind that I don’t follow the promotion so I have no idea what is going on with characters, backstories etc.

A bunch of men, I believe the broadcast team, is introduced.

The ring announcer (one of the four) introduces a bunch of people in costumes. I’m guessing these are sponsor mascots or something? Wrestlers are with them and handing out things to the fans so they’re certainly supposed to be good.

We get some English commentary from Twitch, which confirms that we are still on the preshow here and yes those are sponsor mascots.

La Parka, Faby Apache and Vampiro seem to be judging the first match. Ignore the arena being mostly empty, with almost no noise whatsoever for an almost eerie feeling.

Pre-show: Llave de Gloria: Dragon Solar/Pardux/Solaris/Ashley vs. Hahastary/Bronco Gonzalez/Chicano/Fetiche

This seems to be the finals of some kind of tournament as independent wrestlers are fighting for a contact. It’s a brawl to start with Ashley’s dive being left short on the floor. She’s fine enough to get back in and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on…someone commentary doesn’t feel the need to identify (which makes me think they don’t know who is who here). Instead they give a basic explanation of rudos vs. technicos as everyone gets in a shot to just about everyone else. Even commentary points out that there is one winner to the whole thing so the team aspect is pretty much worthless.

Ashley dropkicks Chicano (thank goodness for names on the back of gear) down but Chicano elbows her in the face. Solaris comes in for a save with a hurricanrana but gets dropkicked out of the air. Everything breaks down the Chicano team takes Ashley down, including a slingshot powerbomb.

Solar gets in some hurricanranas for a breather and it’s Ashley coming back in to pick up the pace. Solaris and Pardux come in with stereo missile dropkicks and Ashley hits a big dive onto most of her opponents. Fetiche is backdropped onto a pile of people on the floor, followed by a corkscrew dive from Solaris. Back in and Solar rolls up Gonzalez for the pin at 6:40.

Rating: C. This was a VERY weird one as they didn’t bother trying to do anything more than have a big exhibition of spots. Ashley stood out a bit more than anyone else but commentary clearly had NO idea what was going on here or who was who. That makes things all the more confusing, and I spent most of the match trying to figure out their names. Granted there wasn’t anything more here than having a bunch of people trying to get noticed, which only worked well enough.

Pre-Show: Llave de Gloria: Angel Mortal Jr./Tiger Boy/Villano III Jr. vs. Angelikal/The Tigger/El Hijo del Vikingo

Same idea as the first match but three on three and thankfully there are a lot more fans in the building for the entrances. For some reason we start with music in the background as Tigger and Villano get things going (commentary seems a lot more familiar with this batch). They flip around to start and neither can get anything more than a fast one, as you might have expected.

Angelikal comes in to hurricanrana Mortal as the pace stays fast. Angelikal clears the ring by himself before being pulled outside, allowing Vikingo to come in. Vikingo climbs the rope for an anklescissors out of the corner to Tiger. Mortal comes in and launches Vikingo into a hurricanrana to tiger on the floor.

Back in and Villano and company start taking over on Tiger’s arm. A double electric chair missile dropkick hits Angelikal and a springboard Codebreaker into a wheelbarrow suplex gets two. Angelikal is right back up with a hurricanrana, leaving Vikingo and Tigger to hit running flip dives to the floor. Back in and Tigger and company hit a 450/moonsault/shooting star press for the triple pin at 7:33.

Rating: C+. Much like the opener, this was a bunch of people trying to get in as much as they could to showcase themselves. Unlike the opener, this one didn’t have as many people around and it made things that much easier to follow. If nothing else, commentary knowing who they were watching helped just as much. Do this alone instead of both matches and it’s a much better pre-show.

The ring announcer (as translated by Ramirez) welcomes us to the show and pitches the official program. The Spanish broadcast team is introduced (the matching ties are nice) and so is the president of the company.

The National Anthem is played, with a live military band.

The announcer hypes up the crowd about the main event.

The opening video (with the camera just pointed at the screen) looks at TripleManias past, set to Dream On by Aerosmith.

We get some banners of various deceased legends, including company founder Antonio Pena (whose wife, the president, is holding his urn, because that’s not at least a little creepy).

Hernandez/La Hiedra/Mamba/Mini Psycho Clown vs. Big Mami/Dinastia/Estrella Divina/Mascara de Bronce

This is an Atomicos match, which I believe means a man, a woman, an exotico (man dressed as a woman) and a mini. Bronce starts with Clown (not that much shorter) and sends him outside for a good looking step up flip dive. Mami comes in but gets dropped by Hernandez, only to come back with a kiss. Everything breaks down fast and Bronce breaks up Hernandez’s slam attempt on Mami (and he was struggling).

Clown sends Bronce outside for a bit flip dive, followed by a springboard corkscrew dive from Dinastia. Hernandez cuts off Bronce’s dive and powerbombs him onto the pile, followed by Hernandez hitting his own huge dive. Mami dives off the middle rope to crush everyone and it’s time to head back inside. Hernandez and Bronce fight to the back and Clown rolls Dinastia up for two. Dinastia’s standing moonsault gets two, with Mamba making the save. Hiedra gets in a chair shot to Mami though and Mamba steals the pin at 6:56.

Rating: C. This was all over the place and in this case, that’s exactly the point. These things are designed to be pure chaos with everyone going all over the place and it went well enough. The dives were impressive and the fans were into a lot of it, making it a rather fun opener. Just maybe don’t have the villains win to kick off the show?

The ring announcer again polls the fans about the main event.

Reina de Reinas Title: Lady Shani vs. Ayako Hamada vs. Rosemary vs. Sexy Star

Star is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Of note, Rosemary is from Global Force Wrestling, because that was a thing at this point. Rosemary suplexes Star to the floor to start but Shani and Hamada take Rosemary down. Back up and Rosemary slugs away but Star is right back for some shots to everyone. Hamada grabs a chair and takes out Star, only to have Shani kick the chair into Hamada’s face.

Now it’s a trashcan being thrown…well in the vicinity of the ring, as Hamada doesn’t clear the top rope in a bit of an embarrassing miss. Rosemary grabs a full nelson with her legs on Shani and Hamada cranks on one of Shani’s legs for a tap….but that doesn’t count because it’s a double submission so we keep going (I’ve always thought that should be an elimination or something, as it’s hard to fathom tapping to two people not having some kind of consequence.).

Shani is put in a chair and has a trashcan put on top of her but topples over due to unconsciousness. Star comes back in and gets WHACKED with a trashcan lid. She’s fine enough to powerbomb Hamada out of the corner for two, with Rosemary having to make the save. Shani is back up with some kicks to Rosemary, who pulls her into something of a Last Chancery. That’s broken up by Star, who gets Stunnered by Rosemary. Star is able to Iconoclasm Rosemary off the top and grabs a cross armbreaker to retain at 9:57. She takes her sweet time letting go too.

Rating: C-. It was pretty much just a bunch of weapons stuff while commentary praised Sexy Star as being this huge deal. As for the match, there was little to no flow or story to it other than Star making a comeback at the end. Rosemary and Hamada are capable of more and I’ve seen Star be ok. Shani was billed as a hardcore specialist and that was only kind of on display here. It wasn’t horrible, but the ending was out of nowhere and it felt like they were told “go do stuff and then finish it now”.

Oh and one more thing: the armbreaker that Star used on Rosemary wound up being a shoot, legitimately injuring Rosemary and more or less banishing Star to the indies for the rest of her career. Pretty much, no one of note was going to put up with her attacking a wrestler for no valid reason and that was it. The title would be vacated a few weeks later as Star was done with AAA. If a wrestler legitimately attacks someone else in the ring without just cause, I’m not sure what kind of a future they would be expecting to have.

With THAT out of the way, Martha Villalobos, a legend and former champion, comes out to present Star with the belt in a moment I’m sure AAA won’t want to have back immediately.

The ring announcer shills the program.

Vampiro and someone who seems to be a sponsor are here to announce the winners of the Llaves a la Gloria. Third place is Ashley, second is El Hijo del Vikingo and the winner is….Angelikal. As a bonus, Vampiro has the rest of the contestants get inside, where they are told they will be the first group of students at the new AAA school.

Tag Team Titles: Andrew Everett/DJZ vs. Monster Clown/Murder Clown vs. Aerostar/Drago vs. Dark Cuervo/Dark Scoria

Cuervo/Scoria are defending and this is one fall to a finish. The Clowns whip out a belt to start the whipping but Aerostar and Drago take over on DJZ. An assisted tornado DDT gets two on Everett but the champs are back in to double clothesline Drago. Back in and the Clowns get to clean the ring save for Aerostar, who gets whipped with the belt. Aerostar fights back and sends the Clowns outside for the suicide dive.

Cuervo and Scoria hit dives of their own, followed by the rather large Murder Clown hitting his own big flip dive. Back in and Murder Clown gets caught on top with a Tower Of Doom. Aerostar is raised up the lighting grid and then asks to go even higher. We get some near falls but keep cutting up to Aerostar as they keep going up. He finally hits the dive to clear out the pile and three wrestlers run in for a beatdown.

Commentary doesn’t know who they are and they’re ejected just as fast (Apparently they’re El Poder del Norte, a heel stable. Thanks review from someone else, because commentary is rather worthless on this show.). The champs fight back but a third Clown (he has purple hair) comes in to help take them out. Cuervo and Scoria fight back, only to have Marty Martinez (from Lucha Underground) run in and help the Clowns as well. A top rope splash gives Murder the double pin on the champs for the titles at 13:28.

Rating: D+. The huge dive was impressive looking and there were some cool spots, but this was another match where it felt like they weren’t really doing much of anything until the ending when everything went nuts. The Clowns felt like the bigger deal but the whole match felt like a bunch of teams thrown out there for the sake of having a Tag Team Title match. Well that and so Aerostar could do a crazy dive because he seems to be a little nuts.

Post match the Clowns keep up the beating and Marty leaves with the purple haired clown.

We get a speech from the President of the company (the widow of founder Antonio Pena), who talks about wrestlers who have passed away during the TripleMania years.

We get a video on the wrestlers who have passed away. Nothing wrong with something like that.

BUY MERCHANDISE!

Torneo TripleMania XXV

So from what I can tell this is a ten trios (30 people) battle royal with lumberjacks. It also seems that there are teams from different eras to give it a bit of a theme. We’re also doing staggered entrances ala the Royal Rumble (90 second intervals), so it’s Team Ex-AAA (Heavy Metal/Pirata Morgan/Villano IV) in at #1 and Relevos Incredibles (Australian Suicide/Faby Apache/Pimpinela Escarlata) in at #2 to start. It’s a brawl to start as the lumberjacks (with straps) get into it on the floor.

Los OGT’s (Averno/Chessman/Super Fly) are in at #3 and a lot of stomping/near eliminations ensue. Granted I’m not completely sure who is almost out as, again, commentary seems to have no idea who is who, but why let that stop you? Los Vipers (Histeria/Maniaco/Psicosis), who even I’ve heard of, are in at #4 and Psicosis has a huge snake around his neck. The Vipers start cleaning house as I don’t believe anyone has been eliminated yet. Los Guapos (Decnis/Scorpio Jr./Zumbido) are in at #5 as this is rather hard to keep track of, a statement commentary makes as well.

A high crossbody completely misses for I believe Histeria and Los Perros del Mal (Halloween/Joe Lider/Mr. Aguila) are in at #6. We get some rapid fire pinfalls (no names mentioned and no word on if those individuals or their teams are out) and the Mexican Powers (Crazy Boy/Lanzelot/Nina Hamburguesa) are in at #7. They get to clean house for a bit, including the nearly 400lb Nino coming off the top with a missed Swanton, until La Parka y sus Amigos (La Parka/Argenis/Bengala) are in at #8.

As they come to the ring, everyone gets on Nino for the pin, followed by Los Vipers getting to clean some house. Los Leyendas (Blue Demon Jr./El Cobrade/El Intocable, the Legends) are in at #9 and get to clean more house. Team GFW (Moose/Bobby Lashley/Jeff Jarrett) are in at #10 to complete the field….or at least they should be, as it’s just Lashley on his own.

Lashley gets to wreck some people on the grounds of he’s Bobby Lashley, but the clock starts counting down again. Commentary is confused (it’s not that hard) and it gets even worse when no one comes out. Moose comes out on his own and just kind of stands around awkwardly, which isn’t his style.

Jarrett finally comes out and…..yeah there’s no way around it: Jarrett was very out of it (quite possibly drunk) at this show, to the point where he can barely get down the steps to the ring. To his credit, he would take time away from the ring shortly after this (and at least one other incident) and reportedly got clean, so good for him for dealing with his problems. As for tonight though, Jarrett takes FOREVER to get to the ring, as he is throwing tortillas to the crowd, which isn’t going well whatsoever. For some reason Moose and Lashley are fighting each other on the floor as Jarrett gets inside. Jarrett punches a bunch of people and kicks Parka low, leaving him the only one standing.

Parka finally gets up and slugs it out with Jarrett as we actually have something resembling a match for a second. A DDT plants Jarrett for the pin (POP) and we pause for Parka’s music, even though the match isn’t over. Commentary isn’t sure what is going on (shocking) as Jarrett is yelling at fans. The rest of the OGT’s clear house and go for Parka’s mask….until Chessman shoves Super Fly (his partner) off the top and out. So we’re down to Chessman, Averno and Parka, but Averno hits Chessman (again, his partner) low for a pin. Then Parka small packages Averno for the final pin (thank goodness) at 26:41.

Rating: F. I spent the better part of half an hour watching this and I have no idea what was going on. The problem is that commentary didn’t seem to either, to the point where there might have been five names mentioned here, with most of them being Team GFW. I’m sure this was about getting Parka a moment and having a bunch of names in there, but it’s a case where if you aren’t already a fan, this isn’t going to make things better. The fact that the only reason I knew most of the names was the show’s Wikipedia didn’t help, but it isn’t like there was commentary or a graphic to tell me who was involved.

On top of that, it was a terrible battle royal, where the rules weren’t clear, some people (Lashley/Moose) just left, I had no idea who was eliminated (or how to eliminate someone for that matter) and nothing was clear in the slightest. You can do something like this with the Gimmick Battle Royal, but that was about four minutes, not almost twenty seven (longest of the show so far). Absolutely horrible here and one of the worst matches I’ve seen in a very long time for more reasons that I can count (ok I can count them but I don’t want to waste any more time on this mess).

Post match La Parka, Bengala and Argenis get a belt, with Parka getting all of the glory.

El Mesias vs. Pagano

Street fight and they start in the aisle (as commentary didn’t seem to think this match was scheduled next) with Mesias knocking him into the ring. Pagano scores with a spinwheel kick, as commentary is surprised he included a wrestling move. A springboard bulldog drops Mesias again but he’s back with a shot to the face. Back up and Pagano knocks him into the corner, only to get sent outside.

Mesias gets in some chair shots as we get at least the third arena wide shot of the match (about five minutes in). The beating goes around the ring, with Mesias sending him into a trashcan. They go up the aisle with Mesias getting a suplex but having a beer thrown into his face. Back to the ring they go, with some barbed wire being brought in because of course it is. Pagano gets the better of a slugout and runs him over, setting up a Russian legsweep.

Mesias is knocked outside so Pagano hits a running flip dive, followed by a hanging piledriver back inside. And now the barbed wire, which Pagano puts in front of his chest on a missed moonsault. Pagano is back with a Regal Roll into a Lionsault, which has commentary questioning the impact of the barbed wire. Mesias is knocked outside for an apron dropkick as things slow down.

They get back inside with Mesias whipping out a barbed wire bat, which is kicked away. The fans are rather displeased as Mesias hits a faceplant onto the bat. Back up and Pagano gets in a bat shot to Mesias’ knee….which is enough to warrant a referee stoppage at 16:40, because I guess just covering Mesias was out of the question?

Rating: D. This was slow, plodding, didn’t get overly violent until near the ending and then had a dumb finish on top of that. If Mesias is hurt then it’s understandable, but it was his leg. Have Pagano cover him for a fast pin instead of just stopping everything cold in a street fight. Other than that, this just wasn’t good and both guys appeared to be moving in slow motion for a lot of it. If you want this to be some violent match then go there rather than do something this lame.

Post match Rey Escorpion, in street clothes, comes in to deck Pagano and then go after Mesias, who is on a stretcher.

AAA World Title/AAA Latin American Title/AAA Cruiserweight Title: Johnny Mundo vs. El Hijo del Fantasma vs. Texano Jr.

Mundo (John Morrison/etc) is defending, comes out to Born In The USA, and this is a ladder match. Fantasma would go on to become known as Santos Escobar while Texano would go on to continue to be known as Texano Jr. The challengers chop it out to start and Mundo gets knocked down for trying to bring in some weapons. Texano grabs a chair to blast Fantasma and starts ripping at the mask, allowing Mundo to add a top rope elbow.

Mundo dropkicks a ladder into Texano and superkicks Fantasma for a bonus. A pair of tables are set up at ringside but everyone realizes that there are belts to grab and go for the ladder. Texano clears the ring, leaving Fantasma to load a table against the barricade. Mundo dropkicks Texano off the top but gets knocked off a ladder (which was nowhere near high enough anyway as the belts are WAY up there). Fantasma hits his great dive into Texano into (but not through) the leaning table.

Texano is back up and sends Fantasma through the table, followed by a Swanton onto Fantasma onto the broken table. With Fantasma VERY busted open, Mundo goes up but gets pulled down by Texano. Mundo bridges a ladder on the middle rope but takes too long posing, allowing Fantasma to dropkick him down. Fantasma drops Texano onto the bridged ladder, seemingly busting him open too.

The ladder is set in the middle as the belts come down a bit. Mundo’s climb takes too long as well and Texano shoves the ladder over, sending Mundo down and onto (not through) a table at ringside. Fantasma dives over a ladder bridged into a standing one to forearm Texano, only to get knocked into the ladder. More tables are set up in the ring, with Fantasma backdropping Texano onto the bridged ladder for a nasty crash.

Cue Kevin Kross (Karrion Kross, Mundo’s lackey) to make the save but Mascara de Bronce comes out to stop Kross, who was climbing for some reason. Now it’s Hernandez (another Mundo lackey, or stooge as commentary puts it) to get knocked outside as well, leaving Bronce to hit a heck of a springboard moonsault to take him down.

Kross chokeslams Bronce onto the apron but Fantasma takes him down. Mundo ladders Fantasma in the face but all three wind up climbing. Fantasma knocks Texano down for a big crash, leaving Mundo to get in a low blow to drop Fantasma as well. All three belts are pulled down and Mundo retains at 22:49.

Rating: B. It wasn’t a classic or anything but for a triple threat ladder match with a bunch of interference, this could have been a lot worse. Mundo feels like a star and has the gold to prove it while the other two felt like they had him multiple times, only to come up short. Maybe it was everything else being so bad/horrible, but I had a good time with this one as Mundo feels like a much bigger deal here than in WWE.

Post match Mundo brags about his win and calls out…Vampiro. Mundo throws down the title and here is Vampiro to interrupt. Vampiro won’t look at him, as Mundo demands that Vampiro put the belt on him. Mundo yells at him, spits at him and shoves him, which is finally enough for Vampiro to grab a chokeslam. With Mundo on the floor, Vampiro threatens violence before leaving as well.

With everyone else gone, Fantasma and Texano trade chair shots to the head and both are left laying. Well that was cringe inducing.

Video on Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Psycho Clown, both of whom have been training rather hard. They don’t seem to like each other.

Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Psycho Clown

Mask vs. Mask and this is billed as the biggest lucha match of the decade. Hold on though as a woman has to sing the National Anthem before we’re ready to go. We’re ready to go and Clown misses a dropkick, allowing Wagner to clothesline away as commentary isn’t sure how many falls this is (it’s one). Wagner chokes away in the corner before they go outside, with the brawl heading into the crowd.

Back in and Psycho hits a spinwheel kick as the fans aren’t sure who they like here. Wagner ties him up on the mat but Psycho is right next to the ropes. We get the expected mask ripping before Wagner hits him in the head with the chair. Psycho is busted open so Wagner enjoys some of it on his hand. There’s another chair shot to knock Clown even sillier, as commentary wonders what happens if you rip off a mask in a mask vs. mask match.

They head outside with Wagner slowly beating on Psycho, who can barely stagger away. Clown gets knocked up and back down the apron but manages to make a comeback with some clotheslines back inside. Clown knocks him outside and hits the dive but the running flip dive only hits mat (instead of Wagner’s son, who is ringside as well). Back in and Clown rips at Wagner’s mask for a change before whacking him in the face with a chair.

A hanging DDT gets Wagner out of trouble for two. Clown gets a quick rollup for two, with commentary pointing out how slow the referee has been to get into position (Jesse Ventura would not approve). Wagner knocks him outside and hits the big flipping dive, setting up a Samoan drop into the fans.

Back in and a top rope superplex gives Wagner two, followed by Clown’s Samoan drop getting the same. Wagner shrugs off a kick to the face though and hits the Wagner (Michinoku) Driver for two more. Another Wagner Driver gets another near fall and the fans are rather interested. Clown grabs a superplex of his own into a Backstabber and a Code Red gives him the pin at 28:40.

Rating: B+. What mattered here is it felt like a struggle as these two did not want to lose everything. It made the match feel that much more important and I don’t think anything else could have come close to headlining. Clown is someone who has felt like a star every time I’ve seen him, but Wagner has always felt like a legend. The ending felt like a very big deal and that is how you want your main event to go. The action was more than good enough, but the atmosphere made it feel that much bigger.

We get the big ceremony of the unmasking, but first Wagner has to announce his real name (Juan Manuel Gonzalez Barron) and hometown (Torreon). He praises Clown and talks about being a legend, before unmasking and thanking Clown. There are kids crying in the crowd as Wagner huddles with his family. As Wagner and company leave, Clown stops him to say it was an honor and praise Wagner. Clown celebrates and we get a highlight package of the main event to end the show.

There really isn’t a translation to this kind of thing in America, but egads it comes off like the biggest deal in the world in a situation like this. Wagner is a legend and now everything about him has changed because of one match. That’s a pretty major deal and they treated it as such with the post match time.

Overall Rating: D+. The last two matches are very good and they bring the show up about as high as it can go. The problem is that everything before that was an absolute disaster with one of the weakest stretches I’ve ever seen as there wasn’t a good match to be seen in the first two or so hours of the show show. I’m not sure what went wrong, but if this show didn’t have the two main events, this could have been an all time disaster. As it is, it’s WAY too long and not good, but at least it could have been worse (barely).

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Rampage
Date: May 5, 2023
Location: CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s a special show this week, as we have both an earlier airtime and the Firm Deletion match from the Hardy Compound. Other than that, we have the push towards Double Or Nothing, which may or may not be addressed this week. I’m almost scared to see what they have planned for the Firm Deletion match so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

QT Marshall/Aaron Solo/Powerhouse Hobbs vs. El Hijo del Vikingo/Lucha Bros

Vikingo flips around to avoid Marshall to start, allowing Marshall to try his own flip and fall on his face. A springboard missile dropkick sends Marshall into the corner, setting up the inverted flip into the hurricanrana out of said corner. The middle rope Phoenix splash gets two on Marshall so it’s off to Fenix vs. Solo. Fenix walks the ropes in the corner for a wristdrag, followed by a roll into a failed kneebar.

Penta comes in with a high crossbody to Hobbs, followed by a superkick. Hobbs runs him over with a clothesline and forearms Fenix out of the air. There’s a shot for Vikingo as well before Hobbs gets to plant Penta again. Marshall posts Penta and we take a break. Back with Penta kicking his way out of trouble and handing it back to Fenix. Vikingo comes back in with a springboard hurricanrana, setting up the triple dives to the floor. Back in and the wheelbarrow splash gets two on Solo, who flips Fenix face first down.

Marshall suplexes Vikingo into a powerbomb but Penta is back with a running Canadian Destroyer off of Vikingo’s back. Everyone is down so commentary talks about the Double Or Nothing main event. The villains are up first but Fenix knees his way out of Solo’s suplex. Vikingo tags himself back in but gets caught n top by Marshall. That’s fine with Vikingo, who hits a super Canadian Destroyer. The big lip dive through the table is broken up by Harley Cameron, leaving Solo to get caught with the spike Fear Factor for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: B. Take six people and let them go nuts. Marshall was doing his thing well and Hobbs still looks like a monster and Solo was fine enough in what she did. For now it was nice to see the Bros and Vikingo wreck some people, especially after rumors of Fenix needing some time away due to injuries.

We see a clip from after Dynamite with MJF losing it backstage after the Double Or Nothing main event became a four way.

Chris Jericho is worried about Adam Cole attacking him, hence him not doing commentary tonight. He is working on various assurances to keep himself safe and we’ll hear more about that on Dynamite.

Jade Cargill vs. Gia Scott

Non-title. Jaded finishes the screaming Scott at 33 seconds.

Mark Briscoe….doesn’t get to talk as Jeff Jarrett and company. The team wants Briscoe to get FTR to give them a Tag Team Titles shot but he has a match. Jay Lethal thinks Briscoe will do the right thing.

Mark Briscoe vs. Preston Vance

Briscoe knocks him to the floor to start and scores with the running Blockbuster off the apron. A posting drops Vance again and Briscoe sits him in a chair, only to miss a middle rope flip dive, sending him into said open chair (OUCH). Vance whips him into the barricade and we take a break. Back with Briscoe having to climb the corner to escape a full nelson. A German suplex drops Briscoe but he pops back up and kicks Vance in the face.

They forearm it out, including a running version each, until Briscoe drops him with a running clothesline. Vance is right back with a shot of his own and goes for a chair, but settles for a slingshot spear. The chair is brought in again but it gets kicked out, allowing Vance to hit him low for two (JR: “He’s got testicles of steel!” Excalibur: “Well he has eight kids.” Schiavone: “That was terrible.”). Briscoe knocks him outside and uses the chair as a springboard to drop Vance again. Back in and the Jay Driller finishes Vance at 11:54.

Rating: B-. Vance might not ever be a star but he is good for a hoss fight like this, as the two of them beat each other up rather well for what they had the chance to do. Briscoe’s weird charisma is able to carry him a long way, but the stuff with Jarrett and company is only working so well. Then again, if that is what he wants to do right now, good for him.

Post match Briscoe’s family get in the ring to celebrate with him.

Dustin Rhodes is looking forward to AEW coming to his hometown of Austin, Texas on May 17. Brian Cage jumps him though and Swerve Strickland comes in for trash talk. Keith Lee makes the save.

Video on Anna Jay vs. Julia Hart, who are fighting on Dynamite.

Here’s what’s coming on Dynamite.

Video on Daniel Garcia vs. Orange Cassidy.

Hardys/Isiah Kassidy/Hook vs. The Firm

This is the Firm Deletion match, meaning cinematic, at the Hardy Compound with Hardy/Kassidy’s freedom from the Firm on the line. The Firm (Big Bill/Lee Moriarty/Ethan Page/Stokely Hathaway) break the mailbox before going through the gates, where they are met by Vanguard1 (the drone). Matt Hardy’s face is projected to say they are going through the space time continuum. Then it’s night and the Hardys and company are shoot fireworks at them.

We actually have commentary as a bunch of referees pop up to try and keep track of things. Kassidy gets chokeslammed against a tree as Matt beats up Page. The Twist of Fate is broken up and Page drops Matt for two. Jeff breaks a tree limb over Bill’s back and chokes him with another one. Hathaway is left alone and we see clips of his walk of shame from a few weeks ago. Then two of Matt’s kids almost run him down with a miniature car. Bill hits Jeff in the head with a limb as Matt and Ethan fight into a well lit barn, complete with a ring, as we take a break.

Back with Matt kicking out and Page yelling about the count. The Twist of Fate drops Page for two as we cut to Hathaway in a lounge, watching the match on a couch. Matt’s family pops in, with Senior Benjamin (the odd gardener) tazing him. We cut back to the Firm covering the Hardys in gasoline. Bill pulls out a lighter but Brother Zay (Kassidy, in different gear), dives onto them (Matt: “Brother Zay, I KNEW YOU’D COME!”).

Back in the barn, Reby Hardy (Matt’s wife) sends Stokely into the ring for a Twist of Fate and Matt’s son Maxel adds a Swanton, but Reby sends him to bed. Zay legdrops Bill off a ladder through a table and we cut back to the barn, where everyone beats up Page. The Twist of Fate into the Swanton finishes Page at we’ll say 14:00 (there was no opening bell).

Rating: B-. I have no idea what to say about something like this as it’s kind of in its own little universe. While they did go nuts with a lot of the stuff, they didn’t go completely over the top like the previous versions. It was more a match in the woods/the barn with a few Deletion match elements thrown in, making it a lot less insane.

On the negative side though, this is still about Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Page, which has been going on since October and never got all that interesting in the first place. It’s kind of hard to buy the Firm, who has never been treated as anything serious, as a threat to the Hardys and an undefeated Hook, though granted it was never quite presented as an even standoff. I didn’t dislike it, but this is still the definition of “not for me”, though there is certainly an audience for the Hardys’ totally out there antics.

Jeff leaves and goes outside to light a huge Hardys symbol on fire in the yard. Jeff thanks God and we’re done.

Overall Rating: B. While your mileage may vary on the main event, this was the most entertaining Rampage in a good bit. The biggest thing here is the fact that while insane and not the biggest story, the main event actually felt special. So often Rampage will start with its biggest thing and then meander around for the next 45 minutes. They went in the opposite direction here and it made for a good show, though that main event may be a complete and total miss for a lot of people.

Results
El Hijo del Vikingo/Lucha Bros b. QT Marshall/Aaron Solo/Powerhouse Hobbs – Spike Fear Factor to Solo
Jade Cargill b. Gia Scott – Jaded
Mark Briscoe b. Preston Vance – Jay Driller
Hardys/Hook/Isiah Kassidy b. The Firm – Swanton to Page

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

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AND

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