Impact Wrestling
Date: June 10, 2021
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Josh Matthews, D’Lo Brown

It’s the go home show for Against All Odds and that means it is time to focus on Moose vs. Kenny Omega for the World Title. Other than that though, we could use some build for the rest of the car. The rest of the card could use some attention of its own and odds are we might get that this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Scott D’Amore is in the ring and brings in AEW owner Tony Khan. Tony thanks him for the welcome but here is Don Callis to join them with the smug starting fast. Callis knows that Kenny Omega is the greatest investment in Khan’s portfolio but there has been talk of Sami Callihan being involved in the title match with Moose. Callihan is blackballed all over this country but D’Amore brings up the Good Brothers interfering and causing chaos all over the place too.

Callis doesn’t go for it, instead talking about how Callihan is such a problem for the wrestling business. D’Amore says Moose vs. Omega will headline Against All Odds and Khan says they can have the match at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. That’s cool with Callis, but D’Amore says that the winner can face Callihan at Slammiversary. This is NOT cool with Callis but the music is already playing. They got the point over here pretty clearly so well done.

Commentary goes over what we just heard.

Here is what is coming tonight and at Against All Odds.

The Elite isn’t happy so they talk about putting a bounty on Sami Callihan. Scott D’Amore comes in to say instead of that, we can have the Good Brothers vs. Callihan/any partner in a street fight at Against All Odds (it’s going to be Tommy Dreamer). Callis mentions murder as a solution.

Brian Myers teaches Sam Beale about how to cut a promo. This turns into Beale praising Matt Cardona in a mock promo but Myers yells at him a lot.

Sami Callihan interrupts Scott D’Amore to rant about the tag match. He doesn’t know who he’ll get as a partner…and here’s Tommy Dreamer. I WASN’T BEING SERIOUS PEOPLE!!! Dreamer has been against all odds his entire career and since they both hate Don Callis, he’ll be the partner. And yeah Callihan will probably turn on him because everyone else does. Callihan says deal and promises to beat Dreamer up if he messes things up. D’Amore reminds Dreamer that he is his boss, but Dreamer doesn’t seem too impressed.

Rosemary vs. Havok

If Havok wins, she is added to the Against All Odds Knockouts Title match. Rosemary wastes no time in hitting a pair of spears for two. Some right hands have Havok in more trouble and something like a Last Chancery makes it worse. Havok finally gets up and powers her into the corner, setting up the hip attack. We take a break and come back with Havok grabbing a full nelson. That’s broken up in a hurry and Rosemary nails a spear for two. Back up and Havok misses a big swing, allowing Rosemary to hit a fourth spear for the pin at 4:17.

Rating: D+. Well that happened. This was little more than a squash outside of that full nelson. Rosemary shrugged off what Havok did to her and hit four spears for the pin. The stipulation was a bit unnecessary but it did a nice job of making Rosemary look like a bigger threat to Purrazzo before their title match.

Post match Rosemary and Havok look at each other but Deonna Purrazzo, Kimber Lee and Susan come out to beat both of them down. Purrazzo and Lee grab holds so Susan grabs the mic….and wants Tasha Steelz out here to face Lee RIGHT NOW. Sure.

Tasha Steelz vs. Kimber Lee

Kiera Hogan is here in Steelz’s corner. Steelz starts fast with a dropkick into the corner but a springboard hurricanrana is countered into a buckle bomb. Lee hammers away on the mat and we hit the reverse chinlock. Some choking in the corner keeps Steelz down and Lee tosses her outside in a heap. Back in and Lee grabs a side slam for two as Hogan starts yelling again. Some rolling suplexes into a delayed suplex gets two on Steelz but a Swanton only hits knees. Lee misses a spinwheel kick and gets caught in a spinning Falcon Arrow for the pin at 5:46.

Rating: C-. Lee got to showcase herself a bit here and the match was fine enough considering the circumstances. Fire N Flava are desperately in need of challengers and at least Lee and Susan are a fresh team. I’m not exactly expecting a title change, but it should be a good enough match given who is in there.

Another brawl breaks out post match, with Rosemary and Havok coming in to clean house. Hogan, after being caught by Rosemary: “H*** no!” Hogan, after turning around to see Havok: “D***!” A double chokeslam leaves Hogan laying and a triple threat seems likely.

Steve Maclin talks about everything he has gone through and his back is against the wall again. I’m moderately intrigued by this.

Josh Alexander waited for sixteen years to have a chance like he had last week. Now he’s looking forward to the five way #1 contenders match but here are Ace Austin and Madman Fulton to interrupt. Austin says watch the tag match tonight, but he is the only person Alexander has to watch out for.

Petey Williams/Trey Miguel vs. Chris Bey/Rohit Raju

Williams fights out of a headlock to start and hits a dropkick to the back. The Sharpshooter goes on in a hurry but Raju is in the ropes just as fast. Bey and Trey come in to pick up the pace, but neither can actually hit anything. Miguel kicks him in the ropes so it’s back to Williams for two off a double backbreaker. Bey offers a distraction though and Raju knocks Williams outside. A sitout gordbuster gets two on Williams and it’s back to Bey for a knee in the corner.

Williams can’t fight out of the corner as Raju cuts him off with a belly to back suplex. Bey gets shoved into Raju and the hot tag brings in Miguel to pick up the pace all over again. An Indian Deathlock has Bey down and Miguel adds a northern lights suplex for two on Raju at the same time. A snap German suplex drops Raju again as Williams and Bey fight to the floor. That leaves Miguel to kick away at Raju, who comes back with a jumping knee to the face. Williams is back in with his slingshot Codebreaker though and the Hourglass makes Raju tap at 7:24.

Rating: B-. This is what you’re looking for in the X-Division and it worked here too. They didn’t bother trying to build anything up and the whole match was all about one spot after another. There was a nice section in the middle with Williams having to fight his way out of the corner but this was all about the fast pace and it worked well.

Post match here are Ace Austin and Madman Fulton to wreck Miguel and Williams. Josh Alexander comes in and it’s a huge brawl, with Williams hitting a super Canadian Destroyer to knock Fulton silly (ok that was cool).

Willie Mack is ready to beat up W. Morrissey in a No DQ match tonight. Rich Swann wants Swann to save a piece for him on Sunday. Mack says cool, but he wants to do this on his own tonight, which is cool with Swann.

It’s time for All About Me with Tenille Dashwood, with Rachael Ellering getting to ask the questions this week. Jordynne Grace is here too though because she is Ellering’s partner and they do things together. Kaleb With A K pulls out a shirt, which Grace doesn’t approve of, but it’s for Tenille instead. Rachael is getting a bit sick of this because it’s disrespectful to the two of them. Grace challenges Tenille for Against All Odds and is off to get the match made before she can give an answer.

We look at Crazzy Steve beating Deaner on Before The Impact.

Violent By Design is ready for the Tag Team Title match at Against All Odds. Eric Young tells Deaner to not disappoint him and Deaner looks scared. Tonight, Joe Doering is ready for Eddie Edwards because he wants to take out Impact’s heart.

Joe Doering vs. Eddie Edwards

Violent By Design is here with Doering but Eddie is on his own. Doering shoves him down without much trouble to start and then hits a hard running shoulder. The neck crank goes on early and Doering elbows Eddie in the face for two. Eddie manages to muscle Doering up for a suplex and a low bridge puts the monster on the floor. That’s enough though as Deaner comes in for the DQ at 3:47.

Rating: C-. I could go for watching Eddie every week but Doering is just a boring monster. He plays his role well enough but it’s not like we’ve ever been given anything to make us care about him. The stable needs someone like him though and having him dominate a legend like Eddie made sense. Keeping it short was a good idea, but it wasn’t exactly much to see.

Post match the beating is on but Satoshi Kojima comes in for the brawl with Doering. The good guys clear the ring to stand tall.

Video on Moose vs. Kenny Omega, focusing on Moose wanting the elusive World Title.

The announcers talk about the World Title match.

Against All Odds rundown.

W. Morrissey vs. Willie Mack

No DQ. Morrissey powers him into the corner for a variety of choking to start and a knee to the ribs. Brown calls it a kitchen sink and actually EXPLAINS THE NAME OF THE MOVE, saying it’s like everything has been thrown at you, even the kitchen sink. Fair enough. Mack gets knocked down again and we take an early break. Back with Morrissey choking on the floor but Mack sends him into the steps.

Mack finds a chain for a shot to the leg and ribs, followed by a chair to the back. They head inside with Mack hitting a running splash in the corner, setting up the Cannonball. Morrissey is right back up with a big boot and it’s time to chair Mack in the back a few times. The chain is wrapped around Mack’s eyes and then underneath his nose to make it….worse? Maybe?

Some more chair shots to the back have Mack down again and Morrissey uses said chair to choke him in the corner. A big splash misses though and Mack kicks him in the head. There’s the standing moonsault for two and Mack gets in his own chair shots to the back. The Six Star only hits chair but so does Morrissey’s elbow. Back up and Morrissey kicks the chair into Mack’s face for the pin at 14:09.

Rating: C. This was a good way to make Morrissey look like a monster but it wasn’t exactly getting to a higher level. Instead, we got a bunch of chair shots and some chain stuff, which was only so interesting. Morrissey taking out Mack again does set him up for Rich Swann though, and that’s the idea here. Just fine a more interesting way to do it.

Post match Morrissey goes after Mack again but Swann runs in for the save. Security keeps them apart but Swann manages a chair shot to send him outside. A lot of staring ends as Josh rapid fire plugs Against All Odds to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. The wrestling itself ranged from pretty good to not so great, but they accomplished their goal of setting up Against All Odds. That’s actually a heck of a trick given how it feels like little more than a stepping stone on the way to Slammiversary. We got a nice enough go home show here though, even if you don’t really need to see anything here.

Results

Rosemary b. Havok – Spear

Tasha Steelz b. Kimber Lee – Spinning Falcon Arrow

Trey Miguel/Petey Williams b. Rohit Raju/Chris Bey – Hourglass to Raju

Eddie Edwards b. Joe Doering via DQ when Deaner interfered

W. Morrissey b. Willie Mack – Big boot into a chair

 

 

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WWE got one thing very right this week on Raw.

 

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Dynamite
Date: July 15, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Jim Ross

It’s time for another big show with Fight For The Fallen, which will feature a major main event as AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defends the title against Brian Cage. That’s quite the big way to go and it should be interesting to see if it’s enough to cut off NXT’s streak of viewership wins over AEW. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video mainly looks at Cody vs. Sonny Kiss for the TNT Title.

TNT Title: Cody vs. Sonny Kiss

Cody is defending and has Arn Anderson with him. Kiss on the other hand has some of the Jacksonville Jaguars cheerleaders. Cody charges at him with a kick to the face but stops to do some pushups, much to Arn’s annoyance. The Disaster Kick (which clearly didn’t come close) gets two and Kiss bails outside. Arn yells at Cody for not being serious enough and Kiss gets in a few shots to the back.

They head back inside with Cody grabbing a full nelson as we see Tully Blanchard watching for the second time. Kiss slips out and hits a t-bone suplex. The middle rope hurricanrana takes Cody down and a headscissors sends him into the corner. A 450 gives Kiss two but another headscissors is countered with a shove over the top and onto the ramp. The Alabama Slam on the ramp gets two, with Cody trying the cover too close to the rope.

A terrifying looking Vertebreaker gets two more and Cody hits a top rope superplex for the same. Cody yells at the referee and gets rolled up, only to switch into a Crossface. Kiss makes the rope again and frustration sets in, so Cody unhooks a buckle pad. The distraction lets Kiss send him face first into the exposed buckle for a close two but Cody comes back with Cross Rhodes to retain at 10:44.

Rating: B-. They told a good story here and that’s the right idea in something like this. They weren’t going to change the title here as Cody seems to be inching closer to a heel turn, which might be the best thing that he could do. Kiss tried here but Cody is a bigger star and a more developed character, so there wasn’t much of another way to go.

Post match they hug and Arn seems to calm down a lot.

How to donate to various charities, which are the point of tonight’s show. Nothing wrong with that.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Lucha Bros vs. FTR

The Bros are driven to the ring by Butcher and Blade in FTR’s truck. Pentagon stomps Harwood down but Harwood is ready for the chop and stomps on Pentagon’s hand. It’s off to Fenix who takes Harwood down for a not so great version of the wheelbarrow splash. Wheeler comes in for a slingshot elbow into a backbreaker from Harwood to take over. A quick legdrop from Harwood sets up some clubberin to keep Fenix in trouble.

Fenix slips out of a suplex though and it’s back to Pentagon for the rapid fire kicks. An apron dropkick hits Harwood on the floor and the Bros get to pose. Back with Harwood getting the hot tag to throw some suplexes and hit a sliding uppercut for two on Fenix. Wheeler comes back in but gets kicked down, setting up a springboard legdrop for two. Harwood is back in for a top rope bulldog/reverse powerbomb combination for another near fall, with Pentagon having to make a save.

The top rope superplex connects on Pentagon but he gets his knees up to block Wheeler’s top rope splash. Harwood blocks Fenix’s springboard splash with his own raised knees and everyone is down. They pull themselves up and the slugout is on with Pentagon hitting a Sling Blade on Wheeler. The Pentagon Driver on the apron is broken up and they chop it out until Pentagon hits a kick to the face. Wheeler gets back inside and sends Pentagon outside for a suicide DDT, only to get taken down by Fenix’s dive. Back in and Fenix kicks Harwood in the head so Harwood pulls off the mask, setting up a small package for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: B. I liked this more than most of FTR’s matches so far as they didn’t go as insane here. I wasn’t wild on the ending though as the pull the mask off finish is one of those things that you see too often. The athleticism was on display here as it should be in a Bros match but they added in some actual tag wrestling to mix it up a bit. Good, fun match and more of what I wanted from FTR.

Post match Butcher and Blade taunt FTR over the stolen keys to the truck but here are the Young Bucks to superkick them down. They get the keys back and come to the ring but here’s Kenny Omega with a cooler. The beer is pulled out but FTR pours it on Omega’s head. The Bucks have to hold him back as Harwood pours the ice on himself to cool down. FTR gets in the truck but it doesn’t seem to start.

Here’s the Inner Circle, with orange juice, for a chat. Chris Jericho talks about having a great match last week….and brags about being the king of the ratings and how important that the demographic is compared to overall viewers. He has never lost in the demo and dubs himself King of the Demo. Everyone has been begging for a rematch with Orange Cassidy and that means it’s not going to happen. The fans chant that Jericho is scared but the Demo God is never scared.

Instead, Jericho drinks a toast to Cassidy and pours one out for his career, but here’s Cassidy to interrupt. Jericho insults Cassidy for being an entitled sloth so there is no rematch. He demands that Cassidy get out of the arena so Cassidy gives him a thumbs down….and orange juice rains down from the ceiling onto the Inner Circle. Jericho freaks out over the $7,000 jacket and demands a towel. He does get one, which has Cassidy’s face on it.

Jurassic Express thinks that was hilarious. Luchasaurus thinks there is nothing funny about facing the Elite. Stunt doesn’t have his kickpads but it doesn’t matter.

Jericho, now covered in juice, is on commentary in Taz’s place and doesn’t like the above the ring shot of the juice falling.

Jurassic Express vs. Elite

Omega is still soaked in beer but they did at least replace the mat. Boy works on Nick’s wrist to start and there’s the rope walk armdrag to send Boy down. The slingshot X Factor is countered with a handstand as we see Hangman Page drinking in the back. Omega and Stunt come in with Omega shoving him down without much effort. Omega won’t shake hands so Stunt slugs away and armdrags him down for two. A springboard headscissors puts Omega down and he isn’t sure what to think.

Jericho thinks it’s because Omega is underestimating Stunt, with the proof of Omega keeping his shirt on. Luchasaurus comes in to drop Matt onto his face. The kick to the head gets two as Jericho is suspicious about Luchasaurus being 65 million years old. Jericho: “I WANT TO SEE HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE!” Everything breaks down and Stunt hits a dive, setting up the floss dance, because that stupid thing can’t just go away. Nick kicks him in the head, causing Jericho to deem him his new favorite wrestler.

Everyone at ringside stand together and look at Omega as he does the Terminator pose, then runs the rope and hits the big dive. We take a break and come back with Boy blasting Omega with a clothesline and hitting a springboard tornado DDT on Matt. Luchasaurus gets to clean house as FTR join Page at the bar (Jericho: “NO ORANGE JUICE AVAILABLE BOYS!”).

Omega comes back in to get headbutted by Luchasaurus. The V Trigger staggers Luchasaurus and there’s the snapdragon to all three of the Express (Jericho: “KENNY OMEGA IS MY NEW FAVORITE WRESTLER!”). The Extinction Level Event gets two on Omega with the Bucks making the save. The Tail Whip misses Omega and it’s time for the superkicks.

A triple tiger driver 98 gets two on Luchasaurus, with Jericho asking Excalibur why he knows that name. Stunt (barely) hits a 450 for two on Matt and everyone goes to the ramp for a WAY too choreographed springboard top rope Canadian Destroyer. Say it with me: it gets two. Omega V Triggers Luchasaurus and gets rolled up by Stunt for two. The One Winged Angel finishes Stunt at 15:30.

Rating: B-. I know it’s the AEW style but egads this had WAY too many moments where they might as well have paused the match, pulled out a white board and drawn up their spot before starting up again. Couple that with Stunt getting offense in on someone who is supposed to be the most amazing wrestler in the world and this was borderline ridiculous. I know you have to set up spots but could you please stop making it look that obvious?

Post match Omega keeps hammering on Stunt until the Bucks pull him off. Omega tries to say that it’s not a big deal.

Hikaru Shida says she’s ready for Nyla Rose or anyone else.

Jon Moxley is ready to fight Brian Cage after all those weeks off.

Excalibur thinks that people 18-49 love instant replay so we see the orange juice drop again.

Brandi Rhodes/Allie vs. Kenzi Paige/MJ Jenkins

Brandi kicks Paige in the face to start and Allie adds a superkick. It’s already back to Brandi for a Sling Blade but Paige gets over for the tag to Jenkins. That’s fine with Allie, who hits a reverse DDT for the pin at 1:58.

Here’s Nyla Rose for a chat. She has a manager but isn’t ready to tell us who it is. Instead, she’s going to let the manager tell us herself. Cue Vickie Guerrero to say she is going to guide Rose back to the Women’s Title. Rose is going to steal the dreams of everyone in the women’s division. There are some far worse choices than Guerrero for this spot.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Brian Cage

Cage, with Taz, is challenging. Moxley goes right at him to start and gets knocked down without much effort. The confidence is high to start but Cage has to fight away from a Fujiwara armbar attempt. Cage does curls with Moxley and sends him flying but Moxley knocks him out of the corner. A middle rope dropkick puts Cage down and Jericho is rather pleased with Moxley getting to take his shirt off.

Moxley stays on the arm and gets two off a kick to the chest. The cross armbreaker is broken up with some forearms to the face but Moxley drops him ribs first across the top rope. That’s enough to put Cage on the floor and Moxley hits a suicide dive. Cage sends him into the barricade though and they fight near the stands. Moxley bends the arm around the barricade and gets in a kick to the steel and the barricade is set up against the apron. A belly to back suplex drops Moxley onto said barricade and we take a break.

Back with Cage grabbing a camel clutch before letting it go to take things outside. A suplex onto an open chair destroys Moxley again, but he’s fine enough to grab two near falls back inside. Moxley dropkicks him into the ropes and they trade clotheslines. The Paradigm Shift is countered but the second attempt connects for two. Moxley takes him up for a superplex and a slightly delayed near fall.

In a smart move, Moxley switches straight over to a Kimura but Cage powers out again. The apron superplex puts Moxley down but the Drill Claw is reversed into a cross armbreaker. Cage locks his hands so Moxley kicks him in the face over and over. Moxley bends the fingers back and gets the hold on in full. That’s switched over as Cage gets onto his face but Moxley switches it over again. Taz freaks out as Cage won’t tap and throws in the towel to retain Moxley’s title at 15:44.

Rating: B. This felt like a fight but I’m going to have to let that ending process a bit. Taz throwing in the towel makes sense and leaves the door open for a rematch, but I really don’t know about having Cage lose in any way this soon. There could be far worse ways out of the corner they were in, though it didn’t feel quite right.

Post match Cage hits Moxley with the FTW Title and unloads with right hands….and there go the lights. They come back up and it’s Darby Allin returning with a top rope skateboard shot to Cage. Moxley and Allin clear the ring as Taz and referees have to hold Cage back to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. It wasn’t as good as the previous two weeks but this still worked out well. The wrestling was good (with some hiccups, mainly involving some people beating it over your head that everything you’re seeing is scripted) but I really, really hope that the “well we’re winning the ratings” is a one time thing rather than something they’re going to try to emphasize. Just have your good shows and stop bringing up WWE so often. Anyway, rather good show as the roll continues.

Results

Cody b. Sonny Kiss – Cross Rhodes

FTR b. Lucha Bros – Small package

Elite b. Jurassic Express – One Winged Angel to Stunt

Brandi Rhodes/Allie b. Kenzi Paige/MJ Jenkins – Reverse DDT to Jenkins

Jon Moxley b. Brian Cage via referee stoppage

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

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Double Or Nothing
Date: May 23, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s back to the pay per view calendar, which isn’t somewhere AEW goes all that often. It’s a triple main event with the Stadium Stampede, Jon Moxley defending the World Title against Brodie Lee and Cody vs. Lance Archer for the inaugural TNT Title. They’ve done well on pay per view before so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Best Friends vs. Private Party

For the #1 contendership. Chuck headlocks Kassidy to start and takes him to the mat a few times. That goes so well that it’s off to Trent to chop Quen but everything breaks down. Kassidy and Chuck stare each other down and then hit stereo standing Sliced Breads, causing Trent to lose his headband. He’s fine enough to hit a belly to back on Kassidy but does pause to put the headband back on.

Private Party is back with Silly String to Trent, who comes up holding his knee. Trent, now holding his ribs, is sent outside for a big running flip dive but he catches Quen on top. Chuck comes back in to help him with a superplex for two and things settle back down. The running elbow in the corner staggers Quen, who is still able to get two boots into Trent’s banged up ribs.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Kassidy for a slingshot Downward Spiral. Trent breaks up some kind of double team and suplexes Kassidy down. It’s back to Chuck, who suplexes Kassidy into Quen in the corner. Strong Zero is broken up and it’s a slow motion forearm off with Quen and Chuck.

The G9 (Cryme Tyme’s old Samoan drop/running flip neckbreaker finisher) sends Chuck outside in a very nice moment and Quen’s shooting star gets two on Trent with Chuck making the save. Back up and Trent blasts Quen with a clothesline but Kassidy sends him outside. Gin and Juice is broken up though and it’s Strong Zero to give Trent the pin at 15:16.

Rating: C-. There were some noticeable botches in here and the match felt like it was just a bunch of moves and spots until the finish. As usual, Private Party is really flashy and entertaining but they aren’t very good at putting a match together or having much of a sense of urgency. I’m no Best Friends fan but if they’re going to be on every show, you might as well put them in the title hunt. The G9 was great though and a rather nice thing to see, which I wouldn’t have bet on.

The opening video thanks the healthcare workers for helping in these horrible times, plus pays tribute to Shad Gaspard.

Casino Ladder Match

This is a nine man ladder match for a future World Title shot, represented by a big poker chip because this company LOVES the gambling motif. Two people will start the match and it is another entrant every two minutes, though you can win at any time. Kazarian is in first and Scorpio Sky is in second. They both go for ladders but then throw them out for the sake of slugging it out.

A double clothesline puts them both down and it’s Kip Sabian, with Penelope Ford and Jimmy Havoc (not in the match), in third. Havoc tries a super hurricanrana on Kazarian but gets dropped on a ladder for his efforts. Another ladder is brought in but here’s Sky to make a save. Darby Allin is in fourth and starts cleaning house on everyone involved. Since the previous ones aren’t good enough for him, Allin grabs another ladder and bridges it between the ring and the barricade.

A skateboard to Kazarian’s face lets Allin put him on the ladder, meaning it’s a huge dive off the top of the ladder to drive the skateboard into Kazarian. With Allin down clutching his knees, Orange Cassidy is in fifth and needs the rules explained to him again. Cassidy is finally in the ring after 45 seconds and, after finding out that he can’t reach the chip, he stands on the ladder that is laying on the mat. He doesn’t know how to set up a ladder so here’s Colt Cabana in sixth to take Cassidy out.

Now that our designated comedy segment is over, Sky and Kazarian break up Cabana’s climbing attempt and his fingers get crushed in the ladder. Cassidy is back in for the slow kicks to SCU’s legs, followed by a regular double dropkick to put them outside. The hands in the pockets dive connects and it’s Joey Janela coming in seventh. That means a bunch of dives to take everyone out until Kazarian sends him into the ladder.

Janela comes back in with a chair to take out Kazarian but Sky takes it away and blasts Janela to even things up. No one can get up the ladder so it’s Luchasaurus in eighth. House is cleaned again until it’s a powerbomb to send Sabian into the pile at ringside. Kazarian is still in the ring so Luchasaurus chokeslams him down too. Allin, thankfully able to walk, is back in to hammer on Luchasaurus, including a super Code Red.

The clock counts down and it’s….BRIAN CAGE, as accompanied by Taz, in ninth to complete the field. Cage brings in his own ladder and starts wrecking people, including tossing Sky into the corner. Janela gets thrown down as well and an Eric Young wheelbarrow neckbreaker drops Kazarian. Cassidy jumps on Cage’s back as the climb is on but it takes almost everyone involved in the match to pull him down.

A bunch of people get together and put a huge poker chip on top of Cage as Janela is thrown over the barricade. The ladder is set up and Cassidy elbows Kazarian, setting up a slugout with Sabian on top of the ladder. Cassidy snaps the finger to send Sabian down into a ladder in the corner so here’s Penelope Ford, who gets dropped onto Sabian. Jimmy Havoc comes back in so the Best Friends come out to take care of him. Luchasaurus shoves the ladder over but Cassidy slips out of a chokeslam attempt.

Cue Marko Stunt with a small ladder so a double chokeslam can plant Cassidy. Janela hits a running Death Valley Driver to put Cassidy onto the poker chip (on top of Cage) and it’s Kazarian and Sky on the ladder at once. Luchasaurus breaks that up and Cage gets up for the big monster off. The Tail Whip hits Cage but he’s back with a jumping knee to the face and a buckle bomb into the ladder.

Cage sets up the ladder (off center of the chip) but here’s Allin again with another ladder. That just earns Allin a Drill Claw and Cage sets up the small ladder on the top rope. Allin is placed on top and Cage picks up both of them and tosses them into a standing ladder for a scary crash. That’s enough for Cage to pull down the chip and win at 28:25.

Rating: B. You can only get so much stuff out of something like this as there were so many people involved. The spots were very entertaining though, albeit rather dangerous in some cases. I like Cage as the surprise a lot as he is someone you can instantly market based off his look alone. Entertaining match as expected, but there is only so much that can be done in these circumstances.

We run down the rest of the card. I still don’t get it.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Jungle Boy

This is the one that I wanted to see more than anything else on the card. They take turns flipping each other over to start and, after an exchange of tugging at their own trunks, MJF gets sent outside for a breather. Back in and Jungle Boy grabs a bodyscissors but they wind up interlocking legs and standing on their heads for a slapoff. Hold on though as MJF grabs his knee, only to pop up and deck Jungle Boy to take over.

The chinlock keeps Jungle Boy down but he comes up with a slap to the face. That just earns him an elbow to the jaw and MJF whips him hard into the corner. It’s time to start on the arm but Jungle Boy isn’t taking the trash talk and strikes away in the corner. A rolling double chop to the chest staggers MJF but he sends Jungle Boy outside. The chop off goes to Jungle Boy and there’s the big running flip dive to drop MJF again.

Back in and a middle rope tornado DDT gives Jungle Boy two, partially due to the arm delaying the cover. They chop it out again until MJF gets smart by hitting him in the arm. Jungle Boy snaps off a Canadian Destroyer but MJF hits a quick low superkick. MJF gets puled into a Crossface though, only to have MJF bite his way to freedom.

They go to the apron with Jungle Boy hitting a SCARY reverse hurricanrana to drop MJF on his head. Thankfully MJF is back in with a crotching on top but Jungle Boy hits a super sitout powerbomb for two of his own. MJF hammers on the arm until Jungle Boy gets two off a rollup. That sets off an exchange of rollups until MJF bridges back for the pin at 17:34.

Rating: B. The crash off that reverse hurricanrana was terrifying but what mattered here was the two young guys had a heck of a performance and looked like the stars of the future. That’s what they needed to do here and they made it work. I could go for a lot more of these two, with MJF being the guy who could be the top villain for a LONG time to come if they play their cards right.

We look at the TNT Title tournament, which is something Cody wants because he can’t be World Champion. Jake Roberts has brought in Lance Archer to destroy everyone and take the title, which has caused Brandi Rhodes to be dragged into everything. In other words, it’s personal and for the title.

TNT Title: Cody vs. Lance Archer

For the inaugural title and Mike Tyson is here to present the belt….which looks terrible. It literally looks like a TNT logo over the word CHAMPION. I’m hoping that the title isn’t ready and this is what they have for a fill in. That thing makes the 24/7 Title look like a classic. Jake Roberts is here with Archer and Arn Anderson is in Cody’s corner. We get a special intro with the chance to shake hands (not happening of course) and thankfully Tony confirms that the title isn’t complete so that’s not the final design. That’s such a relief that I won’t even get on them for not having the belt ready for the show.

Archer hits the Black Out in the first fifteen seconds but Cody blocks the Claw by countering with an armbreaker. That’s broken up but the Cody Cutter is knocked out of the air with a shoulder. Archer goes to peel back the ring mat so Cody is back up with a suicide dive. You don’t do that with Archer, as he throws Cody off the barricade for a huge crash. Back in and a heck of a clothesline drops Cody and it’s time to rip at his face.

The rope walk into a moonsault gives Archer two and Tyson thinks this is amusing. Cody is right back up with a delayed vertical suplex but Archer pops back up and rips a turnbuckle pad off. After we quickly cut to a yawning Tyson, Cody bends Archer’s ribs around the post. The ribs are fine enough to lift Cody up and toss him over the post, complete with a cool closeup shot from a turnbuckle camera.

Back in and Archer cranks on the arm but Cody fights out to the floor. The slugout goes to Archer, despite Cody shouting a lot. Back in and Cody’s striking doesn’t work but he pulls Archer down into a YES Lock. Roberts offers a distraction to break things up but Cody is back up with a DDT. JR isn’t impressed because Jake’s DDT beats people, but Anderson plants Cody with the spinebuster to annoy Anderson.

Cody is back up with the Cody Cutter for two and it’s the Flip Flop and Fly into the Final Reckoning. A Stinger Splash (gotta pump up those rumors) gets two but Archer is back with the EBD Claw. He’s too banged up to keep going with it though and Cody is back up. Jake offers a distraction so Arn breaks up the rope walk for some turnabout into fair play.

The reverse superplex plants Archer but Jake points out what Arn did. That means an ejection, only to have Jake thrown out as well. There’s a release German suplex to drop Cody, drawing out Jake with the snake. Tyson chases him off though, leaving Cody to reverse the Black Out into a pair of Cross Rhodes for the pin and the title at 21:15.

Rating: B-. This one never got into that higher gear and they didn’t make any secret out of the fact that Cody was winning. Like they were going to have Tyson hand the title to Archer when Cody was there. That’s fine too, as Cody needed a major win to keep his spot near the top. The match was good, though it wasn’t exactly awesome and Archer already losing isn’t exactly great. I get why they had to do it this way, but they booked themselves into a corner and didn’t have a good way out.

Tyson hands Cody the title and leaves immediately so Cody can celebrate by himself.

The AEW doctor says Britt Baker has a knee fracture, a torn ligament and a torn tendon. Since she’s a role model though, she’ll give you an update on her status on Dynamite.

Penelope Ford vs. Kris Stadtlander

Ford is replacing the injured Baker and the very banged up Kip Sabian is in her corner. Stadtlander headlocks her down to start and shrugs off an armdrag attempt. Some cartwheels just annoy Ford and the threat of a right hand sends her outside. Sabian: “LEAVE HER ALONE YOU ALIEN FREAK!” Back in and Ford grabs a suplex for two and we hit the chinlock.

That’s broken up and Stadtlander forearms her outside, setting up the big dive to drop both Sabian and Ford. Back in and Stadtlander’s dive hits raised boots but she’s fine enough to throw Ford with a German suplex. A running knee in the corner rocks Ford again, only to have her grab a Stunner for a breather. Ford’s super hurricanrana takes her down again but Stadtlander is back up with a Blue Thunder Bomb. The Big Bang Theory finishes Ford at 8:12.

Rating: C. I wasn’t sure which way to go with this one but it was nice to see Stadtlander get a win. Either of these two could easily be a top star in the division as Stadtlander is very unique and Ford is the classic evil blonde that you want to see get taken out. They had a nice enough match too and while Baker would have been better, Ford held up her end rather well.

Here’s Shawn Spears in a suit to say he’s here but Dustin Rhodes must be at home washing his tights. Dustin’s music comes on but he’s not there, meaning Spears can laugh at the fans for falling for the fake. Now ring the bell so it can be a countout.

Shawn Spears vs. Dustin Rhodes

The music hits again but this time it’s Brandi Rhodes coming out so Dustin can sneak up on Spears. The beating is on as the suit is ripped off but Spears gets in a quick clothesline for a breather. Spears wraps the belt around his hand, only to stop to flip Brandi off. That lets Dustin grab him by the tights, which come down in a hurry. JR: “Looks like an audition for a prison movie.” After seeing Tully Blanchard’s face on Spears’ underwear, the Final Reckoning gives Dustin the pin at 4:07.

Rating: D. This was more of an angle than a match and while I still can’t bring myself to care about Dustin all that much, they did a good job of shutting Spears up. That being said, I’m not sure how many more times they can reheat Spears after he keeps losing like this. The good hand term seems accurate, as there is only so much that can be done with him given what he has shown so far.

All Out is on September 5 in a location to be announced.

In memory of Hana Kimura, who passed away early this morning.

We recap Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida for the Women’s Title. Rose is a monster but Shida has been #1 in the rankings for months. The commentators put this over as a big showdown.

Women’s Title: Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida

Rose is defending and anything goes so Rose has the kendo stick with her. After the Big Match Intros, Rose swings away but gets the stick dropkicked away. That doesn’t matter though as Rose takes it back and blast Shida down. A running knee puts Rose in the corner though and there’s the running knee to the face for a bonus.

Rose is back up to send her hard through a poker table (Rose: “Always bet on black.”) and some chair shots keep Shida in trouble. They get back inside where Shida fights out of the Beast Bomb but Rose his a quick suplex. A clothesline puts Shida back on the floor where she hits the running knee to the back of Rose’s head.

They head into the crowd (in front of Vickie Guerrero) with Shida throwing her onto a poker chip. Another running knee rocks Rose and this time it’s Shida getting to hammer away with the stick. A brainbuster onto the stick gets two but Rose is back with a tilt-a-whirl powerslam. Rose drapes her over the top and hits a top rope knee to the back of the head for two.

It’s table time with Rose setting one up in the corner and powerbombing Shida through it for another near fall. The Death Valley Driver sets up more kendo stick shots so Rose goes up, only to have Shida throw the stick at her. A super Falcon Arrow gets two on Rose so Shida hits another running knee for another two. Yet another running knee finishes Rose for the pin and the title at 17:03.

Rating: B. Another solid match here with both of them beating the heck out of each other until one of them couldn’t get back up. Shida has been on fire for a long time now and while I’m a bit surprised Rose lost, Shida was the right choice to take the title. She has been built up for months now and if they were going to pull the trigger on her, this was the right time.

The announcers talk about how sad of a week it has been but AEW is trying to make people feel a little better.

We recap Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee for the World Title. Lee arrived and was revealed as the Dark Order’s Exalted One. That was cool with Moxley because he wants world class competitors, but then Lee and the Order beat Moxley down with Lee stealing the title belt. Therefore tonight is about the title and revenge.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Brodie Lee

Lee is challenging but has the title belt coming in. The rest of the Dark Order is here, plus a bunch of security before the bell rings. Moxley charges straight at him but gets hammered in the corner. With that not working, Moxley sends him outside for a suicide dive but Lee isn’t having much of that.

Back in and a slingshot hilo sets up some rolling butterfly suplexes on Moxley, meaning it’s time to go back outside. Lee hits his own suicide dive and sends Moxley into the barricade, followed by a suplex into one barricade laid up against another barricade. Back in and Moxley hits a heck of a clothesline and a pile driver is good for two. They head outside yet again with both of them hitting a running boot for a double knockdown.

Lee is back up but his powerbomb off the steps is backdropped through a variety of tables. Back in again and they’re already back on the floor before they have time to settle down, this time with Lee sending him into a wooden Moxley poster. Lee boots him in the face and gets two off a sitout powerbomb and they’re both down in the corner. Lee gets up and Moxley tries to do the same but collapses back to the apron.

They fight to the ramp and Moxley hits a quick Paradigm Shift through the ramp, which just does not work as well without the big crowd reaction (though it was still good). Moxley crawls out first, followed by the blood Lee. Another Paradigm Shift gets two so Moxley unloads on the cut. Another Paradigm Shift gets two more so it’s a rear naked choke to finish Lee at 15:37.

Rating: B. They beat the heck out of each other here and that’s what you were looking for in a match like this. Moxley retaining makes sense as it’s too early to put the title on Lee, plus I’m not sure how much he needs to be champion. He’s fine as a monster and had a rather fine match here. Moxley vs. Cage could be interesting, though I’m not sure I can picture it taking place.

AEW action figures debut this summer. Those are pretty cool.

We look back at the rest of the show.

We recap the Inner Circle vs. the Elite, which has been going on for months now. The Inner Circle took out Nick Jackson so Matt Jackson got Matt Hardy to help them out. Now it’s time for a major war in what might be the final match of the feud (though likely won’t be).

Inner Circle vs. Elite/Matt Hardy

This is the Stadium Stampede, a ten man tag inside TIAA Bank Field (home of the Jacksonville Jaguars) with a ring in the middle of the field and anything goes. The Jaguars’ cheerleaders and mascot are here, plus a bunch of fire and individual entrances, with the Inner Circle wearing numbered jerseys. Matt Jackson has heavily taped ribs coming in. There is no Page to start so the referee blows a whistle to get us going, meaning both teams start around the opposite thirty yard lines and charge.

The Elite is smart enough to bring weapons and take over early as the wild brawling begins. Call me crazy but I don’t think this is going to be easy to call. Omega hits Sammy with a trashcan and Santana/Ortiz suplex Nick down. Sammy staggers to his feet…..and here’s Page riding a freaking horse, sending Sammy running into a tunnel and out of the stadium. Nick unloads on Jericho in the ring as Page, still on the horse, chases after Sammy. Back in the ring and Jericho misses the Judas Effect on Nick so here’s Matt Jackson to launch Nick at Jericho.

Santana and Ortiz come in to beat on Omega, who snapdragons Santana in a hurry. Sammy is back and the entire Inner Circle is in the ring, only to have Sammy miss a shooting star press. That means a running buckle bomb into Omega and Nick’s boots in the corner. That’s enough of the wrestling in the ring as the brawl heads outside again with Santana hitting an Asai moonsault onto everyone. Sammy shooting stars onto a bunch of people on the floor so Hardy starts hammering away with a football helmet. Everyone starts splitting up as the ring wasn’t exactly needed.

Nick slams Sammy onto Hager and, with the help of a ladder, Matt Jackson moonsaults onto the two of them for the first big spot. Santana and Omega slug it out in the stands and a few others join them, with everyone involved heading through a tunnel. We cut back to Page, who is still on his horse to look for….I guess Sammy? Either way he gets off the horse upon seeing a sign for a bar and goes off for a drink.

Omega sends Santana and Ortiz through a few barricades and then bridges another barricade over some tables. Ortiz makes the save with some salt to the eyes and it’s a double powerbomb through the barricade for two. Hardy gets thrown into the pool (because a football stadium needs a pool), where Santana and Ortiz try to drown him. Since it’s Hardy though, he comes up as Version 1, meaning we get the Matt Fact of Hardy can hold his breath for 346 seconds.

They put him under the water again and this time….Hardy pops up as Broken Matt again, meaning it’s time to put Santana and Ortiz through a table. Ortiz’s head is put inside a big bell, which Hardy rings to really shake Ortiz up. With Ortiz not able to stand, Hardy duct tapes him into a chair of wheels but Santana makes the save. They fight into the tunnels and Hardy sends Santana into the ice chest. If he doesn’t come out as Tito Santana, I’m going to be very disappointed.

Elsewhere, Hager has found the horse and follows Page into the bar, where he’s having a drink. Hager sits next to Page, who asks if he’s here to fight or drink. Hager has a drink and the fight is on with the brawl going over to a pool table. Page is sent into the bar, so he backflips off of it, only to get Rock Bottomed onto the table. Hager puts him on the bar and runs him down ala a stereotypical western movie for two. Omega finds the two of them and breaks a bottle over Hager’s head to no avail.

Several bottles over the head stagger Hager and it’s a V Trigger into the Buckshot lariat. Page and Omega stop for a drink (Omega has milk in a smart choice) and we cut back to Matt Jackson fighting Sammy on the field. Jericho goes after Nick as Sammy gets rolling northern lights suplexed halfway down the field. Nick is sent into a large Jaguars’ helmet, followed by the Judas Effect to the Jaguars’ mascot.

The rolling suplexes continue as Sammy has been taken from one end zone almost to the other. Jericho hits Nick with Floyd the baseball bat for two…..and he wants to challenge the count, complete with a red flag. Jericho and Aubrey Edwards go into the replay booth and the call on the field stands. Jericho: “YOU’RE A S***** REFEREE!” Matt Jackson gets to the other end zone and is so pleased that he does the Alex Wright Dance, which is a flag for excessive celebration. That means a superkick to the referee and we cut to Jericho losing Floyd.

As JR makes an Andy Griffith reference, Jericho is laid on the table so Nick can run the steps, dive onto a barricade, and splash Jericho though the wood. They run the paint line over Jericho as the sprinklers go off to wake Sammy up. Sammy thinks he won…..and here are Hardy and Omega in the golf cart again.

The chase is on with Sammy diving into the stands so the two of them go after him, with Sammy kicking Omega down. Sammy chokes Omega but it’s NEO1 making the save. Omega is back up with a V Trigger and the one Winged Angel off a tunnel and through a bunch of wood (and onto a crashpad) finishes Sammy at about 34:00.

Rating: A-. As usual, your mileage on these things are going to vary but this was a lot of fun with all of the football references. It was a great case of adapting to the environment and having a blast, though some of the jokes were a bit too silly for the kind of violence that they were shooting for. That being said, I never got bored in the slightest and it didn’t feel long whatsoever. They had a lot of fun here and it was a heck of an entertaining match, which is the kind of thing they wanted to do in this sort of a match.

Hardy and the Elite celebrate, including a Gatorade bath to Omega, to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. There were some weak points in the middle of this show but the start and end are more than enough to carry the rest. This was another very entertaining show and felt like it belonged on the big stage. That’s what they should have been trying to do here and there were some moments to make you want to see where things are going. It feels like a big time pay per view and given that AEW has had about five of them, that’s a good sign for their future. Well done, as their pay per view success continues.

Results

Brian Cage won the Casino Ladder Match

Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Jungle Boy – Rollup

Cody b. Lance Archer – Cross Rhodes

Kris Stadtlander b. Penelope Ford – Big Bang Theory

Dustin Rhodes b. Shawn Spears – Final Reckoning

Hikaru Shida b. Nyla Rose – Running knee

Jon Moxley b. Brodie Lee – Rear naked choke

Elite/Matt Hardy b. Inner Circle – One Winged Angel to Guevara

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

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

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

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

It’s that time of the season again as AEW actually ventures into the pay per view market. This time around it’s going to be a little different though as, like everything else, there won’t be any fans in attendance outside of whatever wrestlers AEW can have sitting in the crowd. It’s not much but it’s better than nothing and that’s what they have to do here. The card looks ok but the build doesn’t have the same fire as usual (fair enough in this case). Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Private Party vs. Best Friends

This is for the #1 contendership, despite Private Party only wrestling on Dark in recent months (their last win in a two on two tag match on Dynamite was before Thanksgiving, as in before the records reset) and Best Friends, who seem to be on every AEW show in the history of ever (the world needs those hugs)…..well not being all that great. There hasn’t been much of a build to this, but given that the champs haven’t defended their titles since the last pay per view, I don’t think it matters all that much.

I’ll take the Best Friends here, as AEW certainly loves them and Private Party has cooled WAY off since their hot start in the Tag Team Title tournament. The tag division is something that has a lot of depth to it but AEW doesn’t really use a lot of what they have. I know there are more important things around, but that division has cooled off a lot in the last few months and that started before the pandemic. Getting this on here is nice, but it doesn’t mean much if you don’t follow up on it.

Dustin Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears

I know this won’t go over well but I really can’t bring myself to care about Rhodes as much as AEW wants me to. Yes he’s had an incredible career resurgence the last few years and looks great, but he’s the same guy who has been a career midcarder for about thirty years. He’s had some very good matches and can talk as well as ever, but I’m not exactly hanging on the edge of seat to see what he is going to do next.

Therefore, Spears is the one that makes sense here and it seems like we’re heading towards Rhodes’ retirement. Then again that has seemed to be the case for a long time now and it wouldn’t shock me to see him win in a YOU STILL GOT IT moment. That might not be the best idea, but that has never stopped a member of the Rhodes family before. Spears should win and I think he will, but I don’t have that much confidence in it.

Penelope Ford vs. Kris Stadtlander

Ford is a replacement for the injured Britt Baker, as AEW had one of the rockiest nights in their history with injuries this week. As a result there isn’t a story here, but there wasn’t much of one between Baker and Stadtlander either so it evens out well enough. I’ve been a fan of both of these two since I saw them for the first time so we could be in for a good one here, assuming they can have much of a match.

I’m going with Ford here, but not by much. Stadtlander has been on a pretty hard slide since serving as the challenger of the month so there isn’t much of a reason to give her a win here. Ford doesn’t need it either as she is the kind of person who can get heat just by putting on the sunglasses and frowning while doing the splits, but I’ll go with her as she has a lot of potential on her own. It’s another coin flip though.

Casino Ladder Match

Dang they love this gambling motif (yes I know the show was scheduled for Las Vegas). This is a nine person ladder match because the more people you have in a ladder match, the better it is. Or something. Fenix has been replaced by Joey Janela, because the best replacement for a skilled high flier is a guy who randomly dives off of stuff with his eyes bugging out. There’s never any way of guessing these things so it’s kind of a blind gamble.

Give me Scorpio Sky for the surprise win as they seem to have some plans for him. I can’t imagine him winning the title, but he can wrestle a good match and talk well enough to make it work for a one off. As for the mystery entrant…..assuming none of the April 15^th people are available because of no compete clauses, I’ll go with…..probably Marko Stunt actually, though Drew Gulak is a possibility. But yeah, Stunt would be the least interesting so I’ll take him and hope that he crashes off of something really high.

TNT Title: Cody vs. Lance Archer

Even though this has been presented as the main event, I’ll take AEW’s word when they called the World Title match the main event. The big draw here is Mike Tyson, (Who has somehow gone from a convicted rapist to this lovable goof who happened to be a bit of a psycho, because the first part of that is just erased from history. I completely get the business decision but it’s kind of an interesting sidenote on pop culture in general.), whose appearance kind of gives away the ending.

Anyway, of course Cody wins here, as you know he’s going to. Do you honestly believe that AEW is going to have Archer pose with Tyson instead of one of the faces of the company? That was kind of a giveaway and it wouldn’t shock me to see this as the big ending of the show. It shouldn’t be, but it also wouldn’t surprise me.

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

This is a match that has been built up for several weeks now as Shida has been #1 in the rankings for months. Why it took so long to get to the title match isn’t clear, but at least we are finally seeing it go down. The women’s division has gotten a lot better in recent weeks and hopefully it continues to improve. I’m just not sure if it would get better with Shida winning.

I’ll go with Rose retaining, as she seems to be someone there for the sake of building up a challenger to take the title off of her later on. Rose hasn’t been around as much lately but there is only so much that you can do in the current situation. Maybe she can be around more often in the future, and that would include retaining the title here.

Jungle Boy vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman

Boy has been one of the best surprises in all of AEW as I was expecting some lame Tarzan character and got someone whose name has almost nothing to do with what he does in the ring. That’s a good thing, as the character could have been something so much worse. What matters here is showcasing the future though, as these are two guys who could be a big deal for AEW for a long time to come.

There is no real reason to pick Boy here so I’ll take Friedman to win after an entertaining match. Friedman is one of the most entertaining people in all of AEW and it would make little sense to have him lose here. Just let him continue rising up the card until he can eventually win the World Title, which would confirm his status as one of the best in the world today. For now though, he wins here.

Inner Circle vs. Elite/Matt Hardy

This is going to be your completely insane match of the night as it’s taking place in the middle of an empty football stadium where anything goes. These people could be all over the place with one crazy idea after another, but I have a bad feeling that we are just going to get something overly ridiculous with one spot after another rather than anything that follows a flow. Then again, they have surprised me before and they might again here.

I’ll go with the Elite winning here, as the Inner Circle has won a lot of the major battles in the rivalry so far. Therefore, it’s time to switch things up a bit and it makes sense to have the Elite get a win back. If nothing else, with the Young Bucks and Hangman Page finally back, it would be a little strange to have them lose here. The match will be a spectacle, but hopefully they focus on the match enough and not just the spectacle.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley(c) vs. Brodie Lee

So Lee is 5-0 in AEW, having defeated QT Marshall, Lee Johnson, Justin Law, Marko Stunt and Christopher Daniels. Given that two of those people have never won a match in AEW and another is a glorified mascot, I don’t think strength of schedule matters much around here. I’m not entirely sure who is going to win here, but it should be a heck of a fight.

Give me Moxley to retain here, but after they beat each other up a good bit. Lee is a lot better now that he has dropped the Vince McMahon stuff but he still isn’t all that entertaining. Couple that with the fact that Archer is pretty much better at every aspect, there isn’t much of a reason to go with Lee as the champ here. Moxley should be destined to face Friedman, but you never know where they might go around here.

Overall Thoughts

AEW knows how to do some great things but they are lacking a bit without their crowds around. I’m not sure how well the show is going to go but I’m interested in enough of the matches and hopefully that means they can pull something off. The pieces are in place to make for a good show and AEW’s pay per view track record is pretty solid so far. If anyone can make you forget about the lack of fans it’s this company and maybe they can do it here.

 

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

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

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

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

Dynamite
Date: March 18, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Taz, Excalibur

Suddenly things are going to be very different around here and that is going to be the case for the next few weeks. Starting tonight, like every other major wrestling show at the moment, AEW is going to be performing in front of no fans due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. An odd show is better than no show though so let’s get to it.

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

Cody is in the middle of the completely empty arena to start and talks about how important it is to be healthy and smart. At the same time, AEW does something important in these kind of times. Tonight, Cody is going to be asking people to put aside their differences to do something special. We are going to see the Elite against the Inner Circle with the winners being the in command next week.

Cody needs the Young Bucks, Hangman Page and Kenny Omega to come out here and be the Elite. Cue Omega and Matt Jackson, with Omega saying he and Cody haven’t seen eye to eye but they will be the Elite tonight. Matt likes the call to action, even though Nick Jackson isn’t here due to last week’s attack. Page comes out, takes a sip of his drink, and walks away again. Omega says everyone needs entertainment and positivity so tonight, they’re giving the best they can give. So hit the lights and pyro so we can start Dynamite.

Video on the Best Friends vs. the Lucha Bros.

MJF and Shawn Spears are in the empty seats to gamble on the matches, but HOW DARE YOU suggest that they’re gambling!

Brandi Rhodes is doing the ring announcing. Her graphic: “Promised she’d never ring announce again.”

Best Friends vs. Lucha Bros

Orange Cassidy is on commentary. Trent takes Fenix into the corner to start and it’s time for a chop off. A double shoulder takes Fenix down and a double suplex gives Trent two. Chuck knocks Fenix down for two more but Fenix pokes Trent in the eyes to take over. The stereo superkicks drop Trent and some more kicks to the leg keep him in trouble. Orange stands up to glare as Trent is sent to the floor, meaning it’s a big dive from Fenix. Trent takes both Bros down on the floor and we take a break.

Back with Trent getting kicked in the face but managing a tornado DDT to get him out of trouble. The hot tag brings in Chuck to clean house as everything breaks down. Cassidy gets on the announcers’ table as JR is nearly disgusted by the King of Sloth Style moniker. The Bros glare at him so Cassidy dives onto the both of them, allowing Chuck to piledrive Pentagon for two. The referee is distracted though and a low blow cuts Trent down, setting up the spike Fear Factor for the pin at 14:04. MJF seems to have won a lot of money.

Rating: B. And instantly, AEW is showing how much better it is to have anyone, even just a few wrestlers, watching the match. It makes things a lot easier to watch and adds atmosphere, while also giving the people some character development. This is already better than just about anything on the WWE shows so far. Well done indeed.

Post match the Best Friends are livid and want a rematch, but in a street fight. Or maybe in a parking lot next week.

Penelope Ford vs. Riho vs. Kris Stadtlander vs. Hikaru Shida

One fall to a finish and Kip Sabian is at ringside. Ford gets double teamed to start before being knocked outside. That means a big dive from Riho onto all three others for the big knockdown. Back in and Riho is laid on the middle rope, with Stadtlander telling Shida to suplex her onto Riho. Stadtlander doesn’t like Shida trying to roll her up for two and the small package makes it even worse.

The two of them fight to the floor, leaving Riho to forearm Ford in the face and baseball slide Sabian for a bonus. Riho uses Ford as a launchpad to dropkick Sabian but Shida is back in to knee her in the face. Stadtlander makes the save but gets reverse hurricanranaed to the floor by Ford. Shida Falcon Arrows Ford for two, followed by the running knee for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C+. This was a fast paced and entertaining match with all action throughout. Shida continues to showcase herself very well and looks like a star most of the time. Good stuff here and the women’s division is starting to come around a little bit, though there is still a long way to go.

Post match Colt Cabana talks about how much he liked the match but doesn’t like Sabian interfering so much. Sabian gets annoyed so Colt hits him in the face, sending Sabian running away.

Earlier today, Jon Moxley was not happy with not being allowed to enter the arena due to not being medically cleared. When has he ever been medically cleared? He promises to be in the Inner Circle’s blind spot and he’ll be at Blood and Guts no matter what. Then he drives off in the expensive blue car.

Butcher & the Blade vs. Jurassic Express

No Bunny or Marko Stunt here, but MJF gives Butcher and Blade some cash before the match. Blade takes Boy into the corner to start and stomps away but a springboard armdrag takes Blade down. It’s off to Luchasaurus to power Blade down and that means we need a breather on the floor with MJF. Boy’s dive is countered into a toss into the barricade to put Express in trouble.

Back in and Boy’s eyes are raked across the top rope, followed by a side slam/legdrop combination. We take a break and come back with Boy still in trouble until he clotheslines his way to freedom. An elbow to the back cuts off the hot tag attempt though and the beating continues. Boy gets sat on top but he dives over Butcher and rolls over for the hot tag to Luchasaurus in a great visual.

Luchasaurus moonsaults to the floor to drop Butcher before launching Boy at Blade (which almost goes WAY too far as Boy has to save himself from falling over the top). Butcher and Luchasaurus slug it out and it’s an assisted swinging Rock Bottom to give Butcher two. Boy is back in so Blade can get Tail Whipped, with Butcher being sent outside. A reverse powerbomb/cutter combination plants Blade and Boy gets a running start….so he can step to the floor to stomp Butcher in what looks like a missed cue as Luchasaurus gets the pin at 12:33.

Rating: C. There were some missed spots in there but it was a nice formula tag match with a rather good hot tag to Luchasaurus. He’s awesome as the guy who gets the hot tag and can come in to wreck everything because he’s so much bigger than almost anyone else in the company. Just like in the opener though, the wrestlers on the floor made this a lot better. Good enough match here, odd spots aside.

Here’s the Dark Order to talk about the Exalted One being on his way. They have prepared the path for him but here’s Christopher Daniels to interrupt. He’s heard everything he needs to hear about the Exalted One because he doesn’t exist. It’s been that way for months now and nothing has changed.

Hold on though as we get a video from the Exalted One himself. There are new rules for the Dark Order though: they do what they want when they want and if he wants something, it will be taken. The hood comes off to reveal Brodie Lee (formerly Luke Harper), who promises to destroy Daniels. Back in the arena, Lee is in the ring and wrecks SCU.

Lance Archer is at ringside but Jake Roberts cuts him off to challenge Cody to a fight.

We go somewhere out in the woods where a ring is set up with Lance Archer beating up a bunch of people as Jake Roberts watches on. Archer beats them up while shouting EVERYBODY DIES and then chokeslams someone onto a car. Archer looked crazy intense here.

Next Dynamite (there is no mention of next week): Luchasaurus vs. Wardlow in a lumberjack match, the Lucha Bros vs. Best Friends in a parking lot fight and Blood and Guts.

Inner Circle vs. Elite

That would be Santana/Ortiz/Jake Hager vs. Cody/Hangman Page (“social distancing since November”)/Matt Jackson with the winning team getting the advantage in Blood & Guts. Chris Jericho is on commentary so Sammy sings Judas in a cool moment. Arn Anderson and the rest of the Inner Circle are at ringside as well. Cody and Santana start things off and it’s a quick snap powerslam to drop Santana. Even Jericho has to admit that it’s a nice powerslam.

Ortiz comes in for a cheap shot as we hear about Santana and Ortiz failing gym and not having first names. It’s off to Matt and the arm work begins but Page tags himself in, much to Matt’s annoyance. Page clotheslines Santana twice and gets two off a bridging pumphandle fall away slam. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Cody gets superkicked on the apron as we take a quick break.

Back with Cody getting suplexed and sent into the barricade as Jericho mocks Anderson’s clothing. They come back in and Hager works on Cody’s arm, followed by a chinlock from Santana. Cody snaps off a Cross Rhodes to Ortiz though and Hager freaks out. Hager gets dropped to the floor but he comes back in and cuts off the tag as we take another break. Back again with Cody avoiding the Vader Bomb and Page getting to come in and clean house.

The dive tot he floor drops Hager and a sliding lariat gets two on Santana. Everything breaks down and Cody dives onto Ortiz and throws him at MJF. Wardlow grabs Cody by the throat so Anderson makes the save with his notepad. Back in and Matt rolls the northern lights suplexes on Santana but can’t do it to Hager. Page joins in and the double version puts Hager down but Hager breaks up the Indytaker to Santana. With Nick surprised, Santana rolls him up for the pin at 20:08.

Rating: B. This was a long and drawn out match and that’s what it needed to be. You can’t have the heels go into WarGames at a disadvantage and Page and Matt being involved in the ending made it better. Good match here and I want to see how Blood & Guts goes if this is what they do with a normal six man.

Post match Jericho brags a lot and bans all fans from all future Dynamites because he’s Chris Jericho. The Inner Circle is at an even bigger advantage because they’re up 5-4. Hager does pushups, and even does one with Sammy Guevara on his back. They have dominated everything and will dominate Blood & Guts as well. Sammy hits on Brandi…..and VANGUARD 1 flies into the arena. Matt says he has made a phone call to a friend who owed him a favor, meaning we hear a piano. Broken Matt Hardy appears in the stands and Jericho looks a good bit worried to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. This was excellent and I’m not sure what else I’m supposed to say. They had no fans and a pretty limited crew and put on a regular wrestling show with some big surprised. This show made WWE’s Performance Center shows look completely worthless and amateurish. Hopefully WWE sees what they’re up against and starts changing ANYTHING to make those shows better (putting wrestlers at ringside would make a world of difference).

I’m incredibly impressed with this and AEW has completely lapped WWE for this kind of show so far. Outstanding stuff all things considered, and very good with no things considered. Check this out if you have the time, because it’s a lot better than most of their regular shows.

Results

Lucha Bros b. Best Friends – Spike Fear Factor to Trent

Hikaru Shida b. Riho, Penelope Ford and Kris Stadtlander – Running knee to Ford

Jurassic Express b. Butcher & the Blade – Reverse powerbomb/cutter combination to Blade

Inner Circle b. Elite – Small package to Jackson

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

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Ring of Honor
Date: May 25, 2016
Host: Kevin Kelly

It’s another special show, this time focusing on the Bullet Club. In other words, yes again we’re looking at something that is going to be centered in Japan and will likely feature something from Honor Rising. I don’t know when Ring of Honor plans to go back to normal but ANYTIME SOON would be appreciated. Let’s get to it.

Since most of these matches are heavily clipped, I won’t be rating them unless most of the match is shown.

Kevin Kelly opens things up and promises to show us some clips from Global Wars, which could actually be something pertaining to the current storylines.

We look at Bullet Club showing up in Ring of Honor and one of their first major matches from War of the Worlds 2014.

IWGP Tag Team Titles: Briscoe Brothers vs. Doc Gallows/Karl Anderson

Anderson and Gallows are defending and we’re joined in progress with Jay and Anderson slugging it out in the ring. Jay kicks Anderson in the face as Mark is backdropped on the floor. Gallows splashes Jay and the Boot of Doom (not named here) gets two. Mark gets back in to break up the Magic Killer and chops away at Doc. Now it’s Jay back up with a discus forearm on Karl, followed by the Froggy Bow for a close two. Jay gets knocked to the floor and Mark dives into a Gun Stun (Diamond Cutter). Now the Magic Killer puts Mark away at 3:14 shown of 10:40.

From Global Wars 2015.

Bullet Club vs. ROH All-Stars

AJ Styles/Doc Gallows/Karl Anderson/Young Bucks

War Machine/Briscoe Brothers/Roderick Strong

Joined in progress (of course) with Ray Rowe diving off the top onto everyone. Strong superplexes Matt and AJ in succession before Nick breaks up another one on Gallows. Instead Strong superplexes Nick onto a big pile on the floor. Back in and Gallows hits his choke bomb on Hanson, followed by Bloody Sunday from AJ. Styles swears and Corino is shocked. Strong breaks up the Styles Clash and Jay superkicks Matt into a jumping knee, followed by the Jay Driller. Mark’s Froggy Bow puts Matt away at 3:49 shown of 17:25.

TIME FOR MORE HONOR RISING!!! You didn’t think they were forgetting about this one did you?

Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Titles: Elite vs. Briscoe Brothers/Toru Yano

Elite, challenging here, is a subset of the Club comprised of the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. Fellow Club member Cody Hall jumps the Briscoes before the bell and Yano is triple teamed, which draws little more than a hard stare from the referee. The Briscoes get back in to clean house with Nick being thrown over the top and onto Hall for a big crash.

Yano leans against the ropes until Hall grabs his legs, allowing the Bucks to hit a double superkick. A triple dive from the Elite keeps the champions in trouble and it’s time to choke Yano in the corner. We take a break and come back with Omega holding Yano in an abdominal stretch. Nick cartwheels into a backflip into a….backrake. Eh that’s no running into a Kevin Owens chinlock.

With nothing else working, Yano pulls the buckle pad off (remember that it’s a big column instead of individual pads) to block superkicks and then nail Matt. The tag brings in Mark as things speed up. The threat of Redneck Kung Fu deters Nick for a bit but Omega superkicks Mark down. Mark gets powerbombed into an enziguri in the corner, followed by the Swanton Bomb while Mark was hanging from the ropes for two. A triple superkick (Are you getting the concept yet?) gets two with Jay making the save.

Yano gets the tag for some low blows, though this time the referee just didn’t see them. Omega hair sprays Hall by mistake and gets low blowed and rolled up for two. The Briscoes come back in and it’s a double Indytaker, followed by More Bang For Your Buck for the pin on Yano at 12:55.

Rating: C+. The match was entertaining enough, assuming you can tolerate all the superkicks. If there’s one thing that the Club (and ROH in general) don’t get, it’s the concept of less is more. These titles don’t really mean anything either as they were introduced in January and we’re already on the sixth reign.

Here’s MORE from Honor Rising with the final match from Anderson and Gallows before they head to WWE.

Bullet Club vs. ReDRagon/Hirooki Goto/Katsuyori Shibata

It’s Bad Luck Fale (a monster), Tama Tonga, Anderson and Gallows for the Club here. The Club attacks to start (of course) until we settle down to Kyle firing off kicks at Karl. Goto comes in and we take a break. Back with Fale pounding on Goto in the corner before it’s back to Karl for a chinlock.

Tonga comes in for a running splash and dropkick with Shibata making the save. He even kicks his partner for some motivation, which actually drives Goto to clothesline Tama. Instead of tagging though, Goto would rather yell at Shibata. Fish is smart enough to tag himself in as everything breaks down. Tonga gets kicked down but still comes back with a fireman’s carry flapjack to plant Fish.

The double tag brings in Shibata to forearm Gallows down in the corner but Doc comes out with a hard uppercut. Everything breaks down again and a reverse 3D gets two on Shibata. Goto saves Shibata from the Magic Killer and escapes the Gun Stun. The Gallows Pole gets two on Shibata but he comes back with a quick choke, followed by a running kick to Doc’s chest for the pin at 10:22.

Rating: C. As usual, this was fine though I have no reason to care about who wins and who loses. It’s a three and a half month old match with people I might have heard of if I watch enough New Japan. Nothing to see here other than some watchable action, which isn’t enough after a show of nothing but that.

We go back to this year’s Global Wars with Colt Cabana holding Jay Lethal in the Billy Goat’s Curse. Cue the Young Bucks to superkick the referee and Taeler Hendrix before getting in the ring to hand Lethal and Cabana shirts. Then the lights go out and come back up with Adam Cole in the ring, of course sporting the shirt. More superkicks (with Mr. Wrestling 3 doing his obnoxious yelling every time) drop Lethal and Cabana and Cole says this is their house. Security runs in and eats a bunch of superkicks, meaning it’s time for some crotch chops (Wrestling 3: “THAT’S HOT!”).

Tama Loa and Tama Tonga (fellow Club members) come out and more security is beaten up with superkick after superkick. We cut forward to a security member being powerbombed through a table, which of course has been spray painted BC. The announcers eat superkicks so the Bucks take their places and do what sound like Jim Ross/Jerry Lawler impressions. Lethal is tied to the ropes as Cole picks up the ROH World Title. That means EVEN MORE SUPERKICKS before Cole runs around with the belt. The cameraman gets superkicked and the Club talks into the camera to end things.

Cole says this is a long time coming because this isn’t about little kids like the Kingdom anymore. Lethal has been saying he has no challengers but everyone knows that Cole is the man around here. He’s coming to take the title because he can.

Overall Rating: D. Uh….yeah. The last little bit was good because it actually addressed something going on in Ring of Honor but the rest felt like more “WE LOVE NEW JAPAN” stuff, which has been going on for months now. I’m sure you’ve heard all my standard issues at this point so I won’t bother doing it again, but they need to get back to regular stuff and soon. This is just making me care even less about ROH and I’m already forgetting most of the stories they’re doing. There was no indication that next week is another special but it’s almost too late to get back there, especially if the Club is going to be the focus now.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book on NXT: The Full Sail Years Volume II at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Ring of Honor
Date: April 27, 2016
Location: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan
Attendance: 1,367
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Mr. Wrestling 3

We’re still in Japan and back in February with more matches from Honor Rising 2016. At this point you almost have to expect Ring of Honor to skip most of the Dallas stuff and just do a new set of TV tapings in May with the New Japan guys again. There won’t be anything major in storyline terms here but hopefully the action will be good. Let’s get to it.

Jay Lethal/Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada/Yoshi-Hashi

Okada is the IWGP World Champion but has since lost the title to Naito, who is kind of a loner, which is why he’s the leader of a stable. Lethal and Okada start things off in what’s actually a pretty cool visual. They trade wristlocks to start as we get the silent treatment (not a bad thing) from the fans. An early Lethal Injection attempt is countered (amazingly enough) but Jay ducks the Rainmaker to get us to a standoff. Naito doesn’t want to tag in and we take a break.

Back with Naito tagging in to jump over the apron and dropkick Naito for two. A quick Codebreaker allows for the tag off to Okada who eats a tornado DDT for his efforts. Lethal adds a roaring elbow but accidentally superkicks Naito (thankfully without a Young Bucks reference), allowing Okada to dropkick him down. The hot (minus the crowd reaction) tag brings in Yoshi for a neckbreaker and Blockbuster for two each. The Book of Truth is brought in to poor results but Naito’s goon Evil (formerly known as Watanabe) shoves Yoshi off the top, setting up the Lethal Injection for the pin at 12:56.

Rating: C+. This was fine and Lethal is really starting to feel like a major player instead of someone in over his head. I’m still not a big fan of the guy but he’s improved by leaps and bounds in the last year or so. Naito was fun to watch but I need to see more of him to get the idea of his whole deal.

Naito reads the Book of Truth and then uses it to pound on Yoshi. Jay shakes his hand post match to imply a future partnership.

Kazarian vs. Kushida

Kushida’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t on the line. It’s a fight over a top wristlock to start as the announcers talk about the referee’s career. Kushida gets in an early Hoverboard Lock but Kazarian bails to the ropes. That’s fine with Kushida as he rides Kazarian on the mat to take us to a break.

Back with Kazarian snapping the throat across the ropes and getting in the slingshot DDT. We hit the choking with Kushida pointing to his throat as he can’t breathe. A Backstabber gets two on Kushida as Kelly says we’ll be seeing more Honor Rising stuff for weeks to come. Kushida gets in a dropkick to send Kazarian out to the floor and there’s a big flip dive to take him out again.

Back in and it’s off to the submission attempts so Kazarian goes American with a rake to the eyes. An electric chair into a rollup gets two as the announcers talk about Japanese baseball. Kazarian loads up the Flux Capacitor (because both of these guys LOVE Back to the Future in a parallel the announcers miss) but Kushida grabs the Hoverboard Lock to slam Kazarian down to the mat. Another Hoverboard Lock makes him tap at 9:37.

Rating: C. I liked this more than I was expecting to but really I just want to go watch Back to the Future. Kushida still doesn’t do much for me and Kazarian hasn’t been the same guy I used to be a fan of back in TNA. I’m also not sure why you wouldn’t make this a title match to add a little spice. The wrestling was fine though.

The Briscoes get into shenanigans on the streets of Tokyo.

Elite vs. ReDRagon/Katsuyori Shibata

Elite is a subset of Bullet Club comprised of Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks because we haven’t seen them enough on the regular shows. The Elite is sent out to the floor and Shibata and Omega fight past the barricade. The Bucks try stereo sunset flips and get caught in matching cross armbreakers. Shibata puts Omega in one as well, only to get powerbombed onto his partners. Omega is left alone in the ring so he dives over the top to take everyone down.

We take another break and come back with the Elite taking turns choking Fish. A tag match breaks out of all the fighting with Nick telling Fish to suck it several times. Bobby suplexes Nick into Matt and makes the tag off to Kyle while Shibata is nowhere to be seen. Chasing the Dragon is broken up and it’s off to Shibata vs. Omega for the big slugout. Shibata gets in a choke and the Bucks can’t break it up.

A double superkick puts him down to one knee and the triple version gets two. Everything breaks down and Omega throws Shibata off a tornado DDT, setting up the superkick party. Everyone kicks everyone until Kyle counters the One Winged Angel into a guillotine choke. Matt sprays something in Kyle’s eyes though and it’s the One Winged Angle to put O’Reilly away at 10:16.

Rating: B-. Best match of the night here as Omega continues to look like a star. Shibata is fine in the Ken Shamrock mold of cyborg submission machine and it’s a good time whenever I get to see the Bucks get beaten up. ReDRagon is still one of the best things about ROH but they’re at the weird point where the Tag Team Titles don’t mean anything to them anymore.

Overall Rating: C. “So you know how we’ve been showing you these matches that don’t mean anything for weeks on end? Well how about paying to see a full pay per view of them?” That’s the WWE style of booking TV to a pay per view and it doesn’t work for either promotion. The limited interest I had in seeing Global Wars and War of the Worlds has been thrown out the window now because I’ve watched these big names for the better part of a month. Where’s the incentive to keep watching and even pay for another show?

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the History of the Intercontinental Title at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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