Ring Of Honor
Date: November 16, 2023
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We have five shows left before Final battle and it would be nice to see something added to the card. There is a good chance that we’ll start doing that tonight as we need to crown a new TV Champion. Other than that, Dalton Castle wants a shot at Eddie Kingston’s World Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show.

Peter Avalon vs. Trent Beretta

Kris Statlander and Orange Cassidy are here with Trent. Avalon shoulders him down to start but Trent is back up with a heck of a chop. Trent knocks him to the apron but gets sent hard into the post for his efforts. A missed charge into the barricade makes it even worse for Trent and Avalon grabs the armbar back inside.

Avalon spends too much time going up though and gets suplexed back down for a nasty crash. Trent rolls some German suplexes and hits a running knee for two. Back up and Avalon wins a battle over a Tombstone for two. A sunset flip is loaded up but Trent reverses into the Scrunchie for the pin at 8:05.

Rating: B-. It was a good match and that’s not the biggest surprise given the people involved. Trent is consistently solid in the ring and Avalon can hang in there with a lot of people if given the chance. I could go for more of Trent, but that isn’t likely to happen while he’s still under Cassidy’s shadow.

Dalton Castle is confident going into his World Title shot because he knows he’s better than Eddie Kingston. Castle is lighter on his feet and the only way Kingston can beat him is by knocking him out. For now though, cheese time.

Outrunners vs. Jacoby Watts/Sebastian Wolf

Before the match, Watts actually gets to talk, sounding like a preacher who praises…himself. The Outrunners jump him from behind though and we’re off to a fast start. A double elbow drops Wolf as commentary compares the Outrunners to a variety of classic 80s teams. Floyd misses an elbow and the tag brings Watts in to clean house. Everything breaks down and a powerslam/sliding neckbreaker combination finishes Watts at 2:25. Yes, the Outrunners won a match and yes that is awesome.

Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal are ready for Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo because this is what they live for.

Emi Sakura vs. Kel

Sakura easily takes her down into a surfboard to start but Kel manages a kick to the head. The rapid fire chops in the corner rock Kel and the rather delayed butterfly backbreaker finishes for Sakura at 2:15.

The Outrunners are VERY happy with their win and they’re here to show us what tag wrestling is all about.

Bollywood Boyz vs. The Boys

Brent slips out of Samir’s sunset flip to start and grabs a rollup for two. Sunil comes in to take over on Brandon’s arm and we hit the Bollywood dance. That takes too long so it’s off to Brent to clean house with some dropkicks. Everything breaks down and the Bollywood Blast gets two with Brent making the save. A double belly to back faceplant finishes Sunil at 4:47.

Rating: C+. It was fast paced while it lasted but again it didn’t last that long. These teams are capable of going out there and popping the crowd with some fast paced offense and that is a good thing to have on a show. The Boys continue to be a nice team but they’re so often used in six man tags and squashes that they don’t get to showcase themselves often enough, At the same time, the Boyz have long since shown that they can hang at a high level and I could go with seeing them around more often.

Tony Khan announces that since Samoa Joe vacated the TV Title (on AEW TV, because AEW actually has TV), we’ll have a Survival Of The Fittest match (six way elimination with qualifying matches in the coming weeks) for the title. I will absolutely take that over another ladder match.

The Renegades say they’re a real team, unlike Leyla Hirsch and Rachael Ellering. They may have lost singles matches, but tag matches are their thing. Maria Kanellis-Bennett comes in to ask for a minute of their time. Lexi Nair: “I’m very confused. I’m not sure what that was about.”

Billie Starkz/Athena vs. Brooke Havok/Johnnie Robbie

Robbie kicks Athena in the face to start but gets powerbombed out of the corner for her efforts. Starkz comes in (with Athena telling her to not screw this up) and gets DDTed by Havok. That doesn’t work for Starkz, who hammers away with forearms. Athena’s Despicable Knee finishes Havok at 2:14.

Post match Starkz and Athena wreck them again as Starkz is now more evil.

Ethan Page is interrupted by Mark Sterling and Tony Nese. Sterling rants about how Page cost Nese a match against Serpentico last week but Nese cuts him off. Nese yells at Page and a rematch is set for next week.

Renegades vs. Leyla Hirsch/Rachael Ellering

Charlette and Hirsch lock up to start with neither being able to get very far. Hirsch pulls her down and into the other corner so Ellering can grab a front facelock. With that broken up a middle rope crossbody hits Ellering and it’s Robyn coming in to hammer away. A double suplex hits Ellering, setting up a Muta Lock/slap to the face for two. Ellering fights up and hands it off to Hirsch for the suplexes. Everything breaks down and Ellering rams the Renegades into each other. That’s enough for a sunset flip to pin Charlette at 7:21.

Rating: C. So again, Maria seems interested in someone and they lose. That’s about all you can expect from the story at this point as it seems to keep going with almost nothing working for her. The match itself was decent enough as Hirsch and Ellering made for an ok team, though it’s not like there are many teams for them to face around here.

Post match Leyla’s knee seems to be hurt so here is Maria Kanellis-Bennett to check on her.

Athena is pleased with Billie Starkz’ progress but doesn’t see anyone on the horizon for Final Battle. At the same time, Starkz needs to step up as a Minion In Training or she’ll get stomped out.

Marina Shafir vs. Amira

Shafir takes her down without much trouble to start but Amira knees and strikes away at the head. A crossbody gives Amira two but Shafir kicks her in the face and chokes her out at 2:10.

Final Battle ad.

Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal vs. El Hijo del Vikingo/Komander

Sydal gets two off a fast sunset flip to Vikingo, who is right back up to avoid a kick to the face. Komander flips in to impress Daniels but a running shoulder puts Komander down. A dropkick to Daniels does the same thing and some double dropkicks do it twice as well. Daniels gets caught in a double 619 and Komander’s standing moonsault gets two.

Daniels hot shots his way out of trouble and it’s back to Sydal for the chops in the corner. It’s back to Daniels for the chinlock and a suplex, setting up Sydal’s slingshot knee for two. The STO gives Daniels two more and frustration is setting in. Komander rolls away though and it’s Vikingo coming in to clean house.

A springboard crucifix driver gives Komander two (Ian: “You can’t do that with action figures. He did it as a person.”) as everything breaks down. Daniels hits a powerbomb/Meteora combination for two on Vikingo but Komander is back up to knock Daniels down. Komander dives onto Sydal and Vikingo hits a frog splash for the pin on Daniels at 11:28.

Rating: B-. Much like earlier, this is a match where you knew it was going to be good based on the wrestlers involved. Daniels and Sydal are the talented jobbers of the tag division and building up Vikingo and Komander is not a bad idea. Granted I can’t imagine them being a long form team, but this was a nice, long match to let them do all of their crazy dives, which they do so well.

Respect is shown post match.

Ring Of Honor World Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Dalton Castle

Castle, with the Boys, is challenging. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. Kingston takes him down by the arm so Castle bails to the floor for some fanning. Back in and Castle wrestles him to the mat for some forearms and a clothesline. A knee to the back sets up a choke as Kingston can’t get off the mat. They finally get up and Kingston snapmares him into a double stomp to the chest.

Castle slugs away in the corner and hits a spinning bulldog, followed by a running knee to put Kingston on the floor. There’s another running knee off the apron to the floor but Kingston blasts him with a clothesline back inside. The rapid fire chops in the corner rock Castle, who is right back with a German suplex for two. The Bang-A-Rang is blocked and Kingston hits the spinning backfist for two more. A half and half suplex into another spinning backfist retains the title at 10:38.

Rating: B-. It was another good match, though Castle could have been built up far stronger as a challenger. Angelico got about a month of buildup for his title shot while Castle got a week? That aside, this at last felt like a big match, though I’m not sure who is going to be coming after the title at Final Battle.

Post match Kingston shakes Castle’s hand, saying this was for Brodie.

After some highlights, Kingston is in the back to say he’s really tired. Not just from defending the title, but seeing other World Champions barely ever showing up. You’re supposed to be the tide that raises everything up. He’s a true World Champion and remember that.

Is he kidding? Kingston has been World Champion for two months and has been here three times. That’s a bit better than Roman Reigns (I’m not sure who else he would be talking about) but stop acting like you’re Bruno Sammartino. You’ve been on the show two straight weeks now and have beaten Serpentico and Angelico before having a real challenger. That’s not exactly tearing up the world.

Overall Rating: C+. This was Ring Of Honor in a nutshell: they had good stuff but there was so much added to the card that absolutely could have been cut without losing anything that just made the show feel longer. Was anything going to be lost without squashes from Emi Sakura and Marina Shafir or the Boys vs. the Bollywood Boyz? Or maybe a few minutes less on the Daniels/Sydal tag match? This was a heck of a one hour show show stretched out to over an hour and a half, which might as well be called the Ring Of Honor special at this point.

Results
Trent Beretta b. Peter Avalon – Scrunchie
Outrunners b. Jacoby Watts/Sebastian Wolf – Powerslam/sliding neckbreaker combination to Watts
Emi Sakura b. Kel – Butterfly backbreaker
Boys b. Bollywood Boyz – Double belly to back faceplant to Sunil
Athena/Billie Starkz b. Brooke Havok/Johnnie Robbie – Despicable Knee to Havok
Leyla Hirsch/Rachael Ellering b. Renegades – Sunset flip to Charlette
Marina Shafir b. Amira – Choke
Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo b. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal – Frog splash to Daniels
Eddie Kingston b. Dalton Castle – Spinning backfish

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.

Rampage
Date: November 10, 2023
Location: Oakland Arena, Oakland, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the rather rare live Rampage as AEW is shaking up its schedule a bit. As usual though, the card is kind of all over the place, as we’re getting a rare non-Collision FTR match. Rampage can be so random that it is hard to guess what we’ll be getting and that can make for a fun night. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Ricky Starks vs. Preston Vance

This isn’t quite as interesting as I was expecting after the RUSH graphic came on the big screen. Big Bill joins commentary as they trade chops in the corner to start. Vance knocks him to the floor but Starks rams him into the barricade. That’s enough for Starks to jump in on commentary to praise himself before suplexing Vance on the ramp.

We take a break and come back with Starks’ apron legdrop getting two. Vance hits a middle rope shoulder into a spinebuster but Starks hits a springboard tornado DDT. A Samoan driver plants Starks but he counters the full nelson into a rollup for two. Vance gets up so Bill offers a distraction, setting up the spear to finish for Starks at 7:08.

Rating: C+. This continues the interesting multi-team feud that seems to be breaking out on Collision. The good thing about a feud like that is it opens up a variety of options for matches as AEW can run all kinds of singles and tags out of there. Starks getting a win is good as well and it’s not like Vance has anything to lose.

Post match the beatdown is on but La Faccion Ingobernable makes the save.

Chris Jericho is ready to face Konosuke Takeshita in Japan and thinks Takeshita needs to be ready for one of the best wrestlers in the world. Revenge is promised.

Don Callis, with Prince Nana, is asked about who will be the fourth member of the Don Callis Family in the upcoming street fight. That would apparently be Brian Cage, who is being rented from the Mogul Embassy. Geez Sammy Guevara is still not cleared from his concussion? That’s not a good sign.

Jeff Jarrett and company are ready to see Jay Lethal win the Ring Of Honor World Title whenever he gets his title shot. Ortiz comes in to say he wants them to say what they’ve been saying from his face. Ortiz knows he’s going down, so he’s going down swinging. The fight is on and off rather quickly.

Ruby Soho vs. Red Velvet

Soho is doing this on her own, with Saraya happily heading to the back. Velvet throws her down to start and hits a leg lariat to drop Soho again. Velvet sends Soho into the corner but gets sent into the same corner for her efforts. Soho gets in a shot of her own and we take a break.

Back with Velvet making the clothesline comeback and hitting a standing moonsault for two. Some basement superkicks put Velvet right back down for two and a pair of Saito suplexes knock Velvet silly. Hold on though as someone delivers Soho flowers, allowing Velvet to strike away. A spinning kick to the head gives Velvet the big upset at 9:02.

Rating: C+. Velvet is doing a bit better than she was before the injury though it’s almost hard to fathom her beating Soho. It wasn’t a clean win but the result itself is quite the surprise. I’m curious to see where the secret admirer (assuming that’s what it is) idea goes as that could have quite the variety of options. Now just don’t screw it up.

We look back at the end of Dynamite with the masked men attacking Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed, much to MJF’s chagrin.

Kingdom vs. ???/???

Roderick Strong is here with the Kingdom and dedicates the match to his best friend Adam Cole. The Kingdom jumps them to start and finishes with the Neck Check at 50 seconds.

Post match Strong gets out of the wheelchair for a Backstabber and then gets back in for the ride up the ramp.

Daniel Garcia and pals challenges Andrade El Idolo for Collision. Ruby Soho, with flowers and Saraya, come in so the latter can accuse Angelo Parker of sending them. Storming off ensues.

The Kingdom and Roderick Strong are interrupted by Action Andretti and Darius Martin. A match is teased for some point in the future.

El Hijo del Vikingo/Komander vs. FTR

Harwood and Komander start things off with Komander grabbing a rollup for a fast two. That’s broken up so it’s off to Wheeler vs. Vikingo for a change. Vikingo kicks him into the corner and Wheeler is sent outside, setting up a suicide dive…which goes straight into the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Vikingo hitting a dive off the top to drop Wheeler on the floor again. Komander hits a high crossbody on Harwood and Vikingo’s missile dropkick gets two. Harwood catches Vikingo on top with a superplex but Komander breaks up the….I guess Power as it’s part of the PowerPlex.

Wheeler catches Komander in a Gory Bomb and Harwood Tombstones Vikingo for two. Back to back slingshot powerbomb attempts are countered into hurricanranas for two on Harwood but the third attempt connects. Komander takes both of them down in the corner but walks into the Shatter Machine for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: B. Every time I start to get a little over FTR, they come up with something like this match. This was a completely different kind of match from them and it worked very well for a heck of a main event. The idea of FTR not being able to keep up with the luchadors and having all of them usual stuff getting countered was a cool way to go and I had a good time here. Heck of a match and a nice twist off of the usual.

Respect is shown….and the House of Black pops up on the screen for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was by far the best part of the show but the rest was good enough. I can go with having a randomly awesome main event to go with a few stories getting advanced, though it’s hard to believe that will continue. For now though, pretty nice Rampage and having more FTR around is a good thing.

Results
Ricky Starks b. Preston Vance – Spear
Red Velvet b. Ruby Soho – Spinning kick to the head
Kingdom b. ???/??? – Neck Check
FTR b. Komander/El Hijo del Vikingo – Shatter Machine to Komander

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.

Rampage
Date: November 3, 2023
Location: KFC Yum Center, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Paul Wight

We are just over two weeks away from Full Gear and that probably has very little to do with this show. As is occasionally the case around here, the focal point is going to be an international match as we have a lucha three way, which has quite the potential. Other than that, we are likely to get more build towards Collision. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Komander

Penta wastes no time in Fear Factoring Vikingo but Komander makes the save. Vikingo sends them outside for the big dive but Penta Sling Blades him on the floor. Back in and Vikingo hits a very twisting springboard splash onto Komander. Penta is back up with a big lip dive onto both of them, followed by the big chop to Vikingo. Komander gets chopped as well and we take a break.

Back with Penta striking away at Vikingo in the corner until a missed charge lets Vikingo kick him in the head. Komander is back in to take Vikingo down, setting up a springboard Canadian Destroyer. Penta kicks both of them down but Komander poisonranas him onto the apron. Vikingo dives into a superkick though, leaving Penta to hit a Gory Bomb and piledriver on the apron at the same time.

Back in and Penta hits a wicked spinning powerslam to Vikingo, who is back with a swinging Rock Bottom to plant Penta. Vikingo 630s Penta but Komander breaks it up. Komander’s implosion phoenix splash hits Vikingo but Penta Fear Factors Komander onto Vikingo for the pin at 12:40.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match where you know what you’re getting and that is not a bad thing. The match was all over the place with one bit of insanity after and it was hard to take your eyes off of it. These guys know what they are doing with this style of match and while it might not mean anything beyond this one show, it was a lot of fun and a good way to get the crowd hot again.

Sonjay Dutt and company cannot believe that Ortiz turned down his offer last week. Jay Lethal doesn’t care because he’s ready for Eddie Kingston anyway. With the team gone, Ortiz comes in to say he’ll deal with the team next week.

The Gunns vs. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels

Sydal strikes away on Austin to start and hands it off to Daniels, who avoids a charge in the corner. Colten gets in a cheap shot from the apron though and the Gunns get to take over. A running knee into a clothesline combination puts Daniels down and it’s Cardblade time. Back up and Daniels suplexes his way out of trouble, allowing the tag back to Sydal to clean house. The top rope Meteora gets two on Austin as everything breaks down. Daniels is sent outside, leaving Sydal to walk into 3:10 To Yuma for the pin at 4:30.

Rating: C. Just a quick win here to give the Gunns some momentum heading into their Ring Of Honor Tag Team Title shot. They’re as fine a team as any other to get one and it does tie into the Jay White Title shot. Other than that though, you have Daniels and Sydal as a jobber to the stars team in Ring Of Honor, making me wonder why this is happening on Rampage and not the Ring Of Honor show.

Post match the Gunns promise to take the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles.

Danhausen is back. Actually correction as he comes back in to say never mind as he’ll be back next week.

Ruby Soho talks about how she’s been in a downward spiral as of late but Saraya tells Soho to “stick with me kid” and she’ll be fine. Soho: “Kid? I’m older than you.”

Matt Menard wants to know what was up with Angelo Parker on Dynamite when they couldn’t beat Chris Jericho. Parker says he’s going to check on Daniel Garcia before his main event.

Marina Shafir vs. Skye Blue

Shafir takes her down to start and Blue needs an early breather. Blue gets in a throat snap across the middle rope and unloads on the floor. We take a break and come back with Shafir sweeping the leg. A kick to the back has Blue in more trouble but she kicks her way to freedom. Blue even bites her, much to Shafir’s shock, setting up a pair of superkicks and Code Blue for the pin at 8:10.

Rating: C. As opposed to the Gunns getting a win to advance towards something, this was the latest Blue win as she is on a bunch of shows but rarely gets elevated in any way. I know she has the whole black mist poisoning her thing and seems ready to fight Julia Hart, but it’s a little hard to get interested in her when she has been doing so many of the same things for months now.

Video on Darby Allin vs. Lance Archer.

Video on Daniel Garcia vs. Trent Beretta.

Daniel Garcia vs. Trent Beretta

They go to the mat to start and trade some early near falls until Garcia hits a basement dropkick. Trent breaks up the Garcia dance and sends him outside for the middle rope moonsault. A brainbuster on the floor drops Garcia and we take a break. Back with Trent hitting a superplex for two but Garcia snaps off a belly to back suplex.

Trent comes back with a half and half suplex into a Death Valley Driver for two of his own. They trade German suplexes and slug it out until Trent hits a running knee. A piledriver gives Trent two more and they forearm it out. Garcia grabs a piledriver for two and puts on a crossface for the tap at 13:03.

Rating: C+. The wrestling was good enough and they got more time than any other match on the show, but this couldn’t have felt more like a forgettable midcard match if they tried. This came off like AEW forgot they needed a main event for the show and just threw two talented wrestlers in the ring. It wasn’t about the match quality, but rather about feeling that this match didn’t matter, which isn’t helping Rampage’s reputation.

Post match Garcia calls out MJF for a World Title shot. He almost calls himself a professional wrestler but stops to say he’s a sports entertainer to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The opener was really fun but this show was right back in the pattern of Rampages that mean nothing and feel like they’re airing because they have to. This show was the definition of “well, that exists” and not much more, which isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. I know AEW doesn’t put much effort into this show, but they should be able to make it feel more important than this.

Results
Penta El Zero Miedo b. Komander and El Hijo del Vikingo – Fear Factor to Vikingo
The Gunns b. Matt Sydal/Christopher Daniels – 3:10 To Yuma to Sydal
Skye Blue b. Marina Shafir – Code Blue
Daniel Garcia b. Trent Beretta – Crossface

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: September 21, 2023
Location: Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

Things have gotten a lot more interesting around here as we have a new Ring Of Honor World Champion in the form of Eddie Kingston. The problem with that is it might not have much of an impact on the show as not much happens around here, plus the whole this show was taped before the title change. Let’s get to it.

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

Eddie Kingston opens the show and talks about what a great champion Claudio Castagnoli is. He’s proud and happy but that will change as soon as he gets back to the hotel and realizes he has to defend the title. This is dedicated to Xavier, the second Ring Of Honor World Champion and someone people don’t remember.

Opening sequence.

Pure Rules Title: Nick Wayne vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Wayne, who has never wrestled in ROH or had a Pure Rules match, is challenging. They go to the mat with Shibata working on a bodyscissors before switching over to the arm. It’s too early for the PK so Shibata pulls him into an ankle lock, sending Wayne to the ropes for the first time. They head outside with Wayne being sent into the barricade for a running boot to the face.

Back in and Shibata kicks him in the face a few times but Wayne fights up with a jumping elbow. There’s a shotgun dropkick into the corner so Wayne can forearm away, setting up a basement dropkick. Shibata isn’t having that and unloads in the corner, setting up a suplex for two. The cobra twist goes on but Wayne uses a second rope break, with the third being used seconds later. Wayne gets in a shot of his own but Wayne’s World is countered into the sleeper. The PK retains the title at 9:17.

Rating: C+. Not a bad way to open the show, but as commentary pointed out: it was Wayne’s first ROH match as well as his first Pure Rules match. That makes the idea of him winning the title more than a little hard to buy and Wayne felt like he was in over his head. In other words, it felt like a match for the sake of getting a title match on the show and that’s not a great idea.

Lee Johnson is interrupted by Shane Taylor Promotions and Lee Moriarty is ready for him tonight.

Diamante vs. Catie Brite

Diamante runs her over to start and fires off some elbows to the chin. Brite gets a rollup out of the corner for two but Diamante is back with a Cross Rhodes for the pin at 1:57. Not much to see here.

The Infantry and Willie Mack are ready to win the Six Man Tag Team Titles tonight.

Lee Johnson vs. Lee Moriarty

They fight over a lockup and wristlock to start until Moriarty sends him into the corner for a shot to the face. Back up and Johnson sends him outside but Moriarty stomps away on the way back in. The seated abdominal stretch goes on but Johnson fights up and makes the clothesline comeback. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Johnson two and a superkick into a frog splash gets the same. Back up and Moriarty hits a dropkick into an enziguri for the pin at 7:18.

Rating: C. Well Moriarty wasn’t going to lose so soon after joining Shane Taylor Promotions so this was about getting him in the ring and having him break a sweat. The good thing is that Johnson did get in some offense so this wasn’t a squash. Johnson continues to be a nice hand who needs a few wins to establish himself as a bigger threat, but I’m not sure those are going to come.

And now, Minion Training with Athena training Billie Starks and Lexi Nair in tasks such as running the steps, giving her a standing ovation and booing people don’t like. Nair is dubbed the Minion Bestie, but Starkz still sucks. More funny stuff here.

Trish Adora vs. Mercedes Martinez

Martinez grabs a headlock to start and takes Adora down, only to have Adora escape without much trouble. A spinebuster gives Martinez two and a forearm staggers Adora again. Martinez hits a suplex for two more but Adora gets a suplex of her own. That’s too much for Martinez, who hits a running knee into a Hidden Blade into the Brass City Sleeper to make Adora tap at 4:39.

Rating: C. Almost a squash here as Martinez gets to look like a monster again. She’s someone who could easily be slotted in or a title shot and hopefully that comes sooner rather than later. At the same time you have Adora, who has fallen pretty far through the cracks. She felt like someone ready to move up the ladder yet here she is instead, losing in less than five minutes with so little offense. That’s kind of disappointing but not everyone can can a push.

Women’s Title: Athena vs. Angelina Love

Athena, with Billie Starkz, is defending. They go with some standing switches to start until Love takes her down into an armbar. Athena breaks out and hits a basement Meteora but gets dropped hard on the floor. Back in and Athena’s head gets slammed onto the mat before they trade rollups for two each. Love gets the better of things and pulls her into a chinlock before taking it to the mat again to cut off a comeback attempt.

Athena fights up again without much trouble, setting up a kick to the face. The O Face is broken up (partially due to Starkz’s cheering) and the Botox Injection (pump kick) gives Love two. Back up and Starkz offers a distraction, allowing Athena to grab an over the shoulder backbreaker into a Codebreaker for the retaining pin at 6:21.

Rating: C+. Love is someone with enough of a history to hang in there with Athena but this was still about Athena and Starkz. That all but has to be the big match at Final Battle but my goodness that’s a good ways off. For now though, Athena gets a win over a name rather than devouring another nobody/midcarder.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is ready for Griff Garrison and Cole Karter’s first match as a team. Garrison already doesn’t seem confident.

Leyla Hirsch/Renegades vs. Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan

Hogan hurricanranas Robyn out of the corner and it’s off to Blue for a basement superkick. Charlette comes in to take over on Blue and grab a chinlock before Leyla tags herself in for some German suplexes. Blue manages to come back with another kick and it’s Nightingale coming in to clean house. A double suplex drops the Renegades for two as everything breaks down. Hogan kicks Robyn in the head and grabs a neckbreaker. Everyone else heads outside and it’s Code Blue to finish Charlette at 7:11.

Rating: B-. This was the fun six person tag and that’s what they were trying to do here. Nightingale and Blue are good for a spot like this and Hogan has grown quite a bit. Unfortunately the Renegades have fallen through the floor in recent weeks after a rather promising start. Hirsch is someone else who should be given a chance and could have a spot with that style but instead she’s here filling in a three woman team.

Tony Nese and the Spanish Announce Project are ready for their debut as a team. If they win, Nese will give them free group training. They aren’t impressed.

Ethan Page vs. VSK

They trade headlocks to start until VSK has to go to the eyes to escape. The Ego’s Edge is broken up and VSK fires off some strikes. Page catches him in a kind of cobra clutch belly to back suplex, setting up a slingshot cutter for the pin at 2:11. Not much here but Page is someone worth pushing around here.

Tony Nese/Spanish Announce Project vs. El Hijo del Vikingo/Gravity/Metalik

Well that’s kind of one sided. Mark Sterling introduces Nese for his usual stuff, though he does mock the local college football team. Serpentico and Metalik turn up the speed to start with Metalik grabbing a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Angelico comes in and gets flipped over by Gravity but it’s too early for the dive.

Instead Vikingo springboards in to take over on Nese, including a missile dropkick. Vikingo loads up the big springboard dive but lands HARD on his hip and oh yeah that’s going to be a problem. Metalik and Gravity hit their own big flip dives before Metalik takes Nese back inside for a running knee. Nese dropkicks him down though and slap tags Angelico in, which doesn’t seem to go well.

A legdrop keeps Metalik in trouble as Vikingo is nowhere to be seen. Metalik’s sunset bomb gets him out of trouble and the hot tag brings Gravity back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Metalik powerbombs Serpentico for two with Nese making the save. Nese goes for Gravity’s mask but that’s too far for Serpentico and Angelico, who walk out instead. That leaves Metalik to come in with the rope walk Swanton for the pin on Nese at 8:32.

Rating: B-. Another entertaining match here, Vikingo injury aside. That is the kind of thing that is going to happen at some point as Vikingo’s style is so high risk in the first place. Then you have Nese going too far and annoying his already not so interested partners. Sometimes it’s nice to see a villain get what is coming to them and that is what they did here.

Ethan Page is glad to have a bit of a winning streak around here and talks about how great it was to challenge for the World Title in his hometown. It’s been downhill from there though and now it’s time to rebuild himself around here because this is the place for competition. This is a Page I could see going somewhere and that’s a good thing.

Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. Action Andretti/Darius Martin

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with Garrison and Karter. Martin armdrags Martin to start before it’s off to Garrison to grapple it out with Andretti. Martin comes back in for a top rope double stomp to the back of the head but Maria offers a distraction so Garrison can score with a big boot.

Garrison doesn’t like that interference and doesn’t like her choking on the ropes any more. It’s back to Martin to pick up the pace, including a double handspring elbow. Karter grabs a rollup and puts feet on the ropes, which is broken up by Garrison. Maria and Garrison yell at each other so Andretti dives onto Garrison. Martin’s suplex sets up Andretti’s springboard 450 to finish Karter at 4:52.

Rating: C. I’m really not sure I get this Maria story. She’s an experienced and successful manager who is billed as a mastermind but she picks these two goofs to be her army to protect the Kingdom, who aren’t even on this show. I’m assuming the story is she can make anyone good, but if she’s that talented, why not just give her an established team. LIKE THE KINGDOM?

Post match Garrison shows respect but Karter isn’t having that and makes him leave.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Mogul Embassy vs. Infantry/Willie Mack

The Embassy, with Prince Nana, is defending. Kaun shoulders Dean down to start but Dean snaps off a dropkick so Bravo can come in for a wishbone. Toa comes in to miss a charge in the corner but runs Bravo over with a shoulder. It’s back to Kaun for some rolling suplexes and an early near fall.

Cage hits the clotheslines in the corner but Bravo gets over to Mack to take over. The swinging slam puts Cage down and there’s a running boot in the corner. That doesn’t work for Cage, who suplexes Mack down in quite the power display. Everything breaks down and the Infantry kicks away at Toa, leaving Mack to hit his frog splash for two on Cage. That’s broken up and Open The Gates finishes Mack at 9:26.

Rating: B-. They had another fast paced match here but this was the latest case of a three man team being put together over a few weeks and then losing to the champs. The Embassy has been built up as being almost unbeatable and that makes for some less than dramatic title matches. Granted that might change with the Young Bucks and Hangman Page coming for the belts, but for now it’s just pretty good action without much drama.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a great example of Ring Of Honor in a nutshell. Yes there was good action and the wrestling was good enough to work, but it’s another hour and forty five minute show with a lot of things being lost in the shuffle. There were ten matches on this show and you could have probably cut almost half of them without missing much. Even the title matches, which are nice to have around, were just kind of there for the sake of having them included, as Wayne, Love and the Infantry/Mack didn’t feel like viable challenges. The wrestling carried it again, but this show is just not very fun most of the time.

Results
Katsuyori Shibata b. Nick Wayne – PK
Diamante b. Catie Brite – Cross Rhodes
Lee Moriarty b. Lee Johnson – Enziguri
Mercedes Martinez b. Trish Adora – Brass City Sleeper
Athena b. Angelina Love – Spinning facebuster
Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue/Kiera Hogan b. Renegades/Leyla Hirsch – Code Blue to Charlette
Ethan Page b. VSK – Slingshot cutter
El Hijo del Vikingo/Metalik/Gravity b. Tony Nese/Spanish Announce Project – Rope walk Swanton to Nese
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Cole Karter/Griff Garrison – Springboard 450 to Karter
Mogul Embassy b. Infantry/Willie Mack – Open The Gates to Mack

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.

Rampage
Date: September 1, 2023
Location: Now Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

It’s the go home Rampage before All Out and since this is AEW, it’s time for a tag team battle royal because they love those things around here. In this case we need to crown new #1 contenders for the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles as MJF and Adam Cole need first challengers. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Battle Royal

Aussie Open, Butcher and the Blade, Outrunners, Best Friends, The Righteous, Dark Order, Gates Of Agony, Hardys, Wingmen, Darius Martin/Action Andretti

Both members have to be eliminated and the winners get an ROH Tag Team Title shot at All Out. The Aussies chill on the floor to start and Butcher double clotheslines the Outrunners. Said Outrunners are out in a hurry and we get the hoss fight between Butcher and the Blade and the Gates. Andretti is sent outside (doesn’t seem to be out) and gets sent into the barricade by the Aussies. Kaun (not out either) gets the same treatment and Chuck Taylor tosses Ryan Nemeth.

Peter Avalon gets beaten up by a bunch of people and then tossed to eliminated the Wingmen as well. The Friends get into a Hug/DELETE off with the Hardys and the rest of the battle royal stops to watch. Thankfully they go after all four of them as people go to the floor to keep up the fight outside. The Aussies get inside and toss Kaun but Toa gets Blade out. Fletcher kicks Toa out to eliminate the Gates and we take a break.

Back with Butcher firing of shots to the Righteous but getting kicked in the head but Andretti. The Righteous double team Butcher out as another team is gone. Jeff dives at Vincent for an elimination but Vincent helps get rid of Matt. The Dark Order toss Jeff (that’s an upset) and the Hardys are gone. Dutch gets kicked out to eliminate the Righteous as the ring is clearing out.

We’re down to the Best Friends, the Order, the Aussies and Andretti/Martin. The Aussies knock Andretti off the top for a NASTY crash into the barricade to get rid of him and Reynolds is tossed too (and comes up holding his knee). Taylor is tossed as well, leaving us with Silver, Beretta, and the Aussies. Silver is fine with standing back and letting Beretta go after both of them before adding a superkick to put Beretta down as well.

Beretta breaks up the Aussie Arrow though and low bridges Fletcher out to get us down to three (as Reynolds is still at ringside, holding his knee). Silver is sent to the apron and Reynolds makes a save (knee seems fine), leaving Beretta to pull Reynolds out. That leaves Silver to run in and knock Beretta out for the win at 11:39.

Rating: C. This was kind of a weird match as the Order came out of nowhere to win, with only the Aussies (and maybe the Best Friends) feeling like viable options at the end. The Kingdom feels like the next real opponents for MJF and Cole so not having them in here makes a bit more sense, especially if they weren’t getting the All Out title shot. Not a terrible match, but the final options weren’t the most inspiring choices.

Post break commentary talks about the match but here are the Aussies to get in a fight with Jericho. Sammy Guevara (with baseball bat) comes out for the save.

We get a video on Mike Santana, starting back with his debut along with Ortiz years ago. Shortly after his debut, his father passed away and everything started crashing down in front of him. Two and a half years later, he got into the Blood And Guts match and wrecked his knee, putting him on the shelf for over a year. Now he has a story to tell. No significant reference to Ortiz here so the team might be over again.

Nick Wayne/El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Kip Sabian/Gringo Loco

Penelope Ford is here with Sabian and Loco. Vikingo and Loco go to the mat to start before coming to their senses and popping up for the flips. Vikingo kicks him in the ribs and popping up for an anklescissors. Loco sticks the landing so Vikingo kicks him in the back of the knee and hands it off to Wayne. Sabian is in as well and gets caught with a jumping elbow but Ford offers a quick distraction. That lets Sabian take Wayne outside for an Arabian moonsault as we take a break.

Back with Loco’s springboard moonsault hitting raised knees, allowing Vikingo to come back in and clean house. With Loco in the corner, Vikingo jumps from an opposite post to the rope in between them into a dropkick to the back (geez). Vikingo pulls Loco up top for a springboard poisonrana and Wayne’s World hits Sabian. That leaves Vikingo to hit the 630 on Loco for the pin at 8:25.

Rating: B-. This was a way to get Vikingo out there to do his flips while giving Wayne a win. That worked out just fine, even if it was against one of the most random teams you’re going to find. Wayne knows how to do the gymnastics and the flips, but if that’s all he can do, he’s going to get lost in the shuffle around here very quickly.

QTV is now minus QT Marshall, who is defending the AAA Latin American Title but has let Johnny TV in charge. We see Marshall with the title before they talk various All In related news. Then TV throws his coffee at Harley Cameron by mistake before promising big changes around here. QTV minus QT could be a lot better.

Hangman Page vs. Bryan Keith

Keith is a bounty hunter, though I wasn’t aware there was a bounty on Page’s head. Page starts fast and knocks him into the corner, setting up a running elbow. Keith gets in an elbow of his own but Page blasts him with a clothesline. Back up and Keith hits a suplex but Page drops him again with the fall away slam. Page takes a bit too long to throw out his elbow pad so Keith gets in a shot to the face. Not that it matters as the Buckshot Lariat finishes for Page at 3:41.

Rating: C. Just a step above a squash here but it’s nice to see Page doing something. Even though he was at All In with a pretty prominent match, he doesn’t feel like someone who has been doing much of anything special recently. Beating Keith isn’t going to turn everything around, but it’s better than sitting around doing nothing.

Angelo Parker, Matt Menard and Daniel Garcia are fired up about their Trios Titles shot and Garcia starts dancing at Renee Paquette, who absolutely cannot keep a straight face.

We get a sitdown interview with Roderick Strong who won’t explain what Adam Cole did to start all of this. He’ll tell his own story on his own time on his own day. Then he walks out, with the Kingdom joining him.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Skye Blue/Willow Nightingale vs. Anna Jay/Taya Valkyrie

The hometown Blue is in Chicago flag inspired gear. Anna ducks Nightingale to start but gets kicked in the face and chopped in the chest. That’s enough to bring Taya in, with Nightingale quickly grabbing a suplex. Blue comes in for a double snapmare and a double kick to the head for two. A Backstabber cuts Nightingale off though and we take a break.

Back with Nightingale and Taya trading kicks to the head, allowing the double tag. Blue hits a running knee against the ropes to drop Jay and a kick to the head makes it worse. Taya spears Blue down but gets Pounced by Nightingale. A superkick sends Nightingale to the floor but Anna superkicks Taya by mistake. Code Blue finishes Anna at 8:32.

Rating: C+. This match actually got a bit of time, even if some of it was spent in the break, as usual. Putting Blue out there looking like the Chicago flag is about as good of a way to get the crowd cheering her as there is and it was a fine way to have a main event. Nightingale not losing again makes things even better.

Post match Taya jumps Blue but Nightingale chases her off to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show continues to be watchable at worst and mostly unnecessary viewing more often than not. The Dark Order earning a title shot at the secondary titles is the big drawing card of this show and that’s not exactly enough to make me want to see it most weeks. Collision has made this show a lot less important, but for an hour of wrestling television, there are worse options you could choose.

Results
Dark Order won a tag team battle royal last eliminating the Best Friends
El Hijo del Vikingo/Nick Wayne b. Kip Sabian/Gringo Loco – 630 to Loco
Hangman Page b. Brian Keith – Buckshot Lariat
Willow Nightingale/Skye Blue b. Anna Jay/Taya Valkyrie – Code Blue to Jay

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: 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:

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

AND

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

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:

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

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:

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 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.