Mystery Vortex III
Date: June 26, 2015
Location: American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Rick Knox, Chris Hero, Joey Ryan, Ethan Page

This is another PWG show that someone requested I do….a few years back now, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a bad one. From what I understand, the gimmick of this show is that the card isn’t announced until the wrestlers are coming out of the curtain. That should make for a fun match so let’s get to it.

As usual, I don’t really follow PWG so I’m sorry for not knowing any plot or character details coming in.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Johnny Gargano

Yeah this works, though a clean faced Ciampa is a bizarre visual. Feeling out process to start with Gargano working on the wrist until Ciampa makes the rope. Back up and Ciampa tries a quick Air Raid Crash but Gargano slips out, setting up an exchange into a standoff. Fans: “THAT WAS WRESTLING!” Some chops rock Gargano but he’s right back with the rolling kick to the head.

A neckbreaker puts Ciampa on the floor and Gargano follows him for some left hands to the head. With Ciampa sitting in a chair, Gargano hits a big (but not running) chop to pop his eyes a bit. It works so well that Gargano loads it up again but gets hit in the face this time. One heck of a running knee rocks Gargano so Ciampa tries it again, only to get tornado DDTed into…well pretty much into a fan.

Back in and Ciampa hits a hanging Downward Spiral and they both need a breather. A battle over a suplex goes to Gargano (after about five blocks each) but Ciampa knees him right back down again. The chinlock doesn’t last long and Gargano is back with a running basement cutter. The Lawn Dart sets up the Gargano Escape which Ciampa, uh, escapes.

They trade some thigh slapping shots to the face until Ciampa blasts him down with a clothesline for a double knockdown. Ciampa goes up but gets caught as well, setting up another Lawn Dart. That’s enough to send them to the apron, and since this is a modern wrestling match, we need a big spot on that apron. In this case it’s an Air Raid Crash from Ciampa but Gargano is out again.

A super Air Raid Crash is reversed into a super Liger Bomb for the crash (non-Air Raid variety), sending Ciampa outside. The suicide dive sends them into the chairs and they’re right back up and inside. The slingshot spear is kneed out of the air though and it’s Project Ciampa for a VERY close two. Back up again and they chop it out until Gargano pulls him into an STF. Ciampa slips out and lifts Gargano up for a suplex but drops him onto the knee for a nasty landing. Project Ciampa is enough to finish Gargano at 18:37.

Rating: A-. This is the kind of match that you expect from PWG, as they threw two people out there for the better part of twenty minutes and let them tear the house down. These two have always had some great chemistry together and this was no exception. It’s a hidden gem compared to their NXT classics and I had a blast with the whole thing.

World’s Cutest Tag Team vs. Monster Mafia

That would be Joey Ryan/Candice LeRae vs. Josh Alexander/Ethan Page. The Mafia jumps Ryan before the bell but miss a charge at LeRae in the corner. A DDT drops Alexander and Candice ties her hair back, allowing her to slam Page. Back in and Ryan throws LeRae on his shoulders to swing her feet at people’s face. It only kind of works on Page, who is right back to run Ryan over as we get down to a regular tag match.

Alexander grabs a butterfly suplex into a headscissors and it’s Page coming in for a headbutt. Hold on though as Page pauses to tease stripping, allowing Ryan to come back with a right hand. You do not break up Page’s dancing though and it’s a tilt-a-whirl faceplant for two. Alexander is back in with a chinlock but Ryan fights up and avoids a charge. The tag brings in LeRae to clean house, including a double DDT for two on Alexander.

It’s back to Ryan who gets caught in a northern lights suplex, only to have LeRae come in off the top with a double stomp (which isn’t as low as commentary thinks it is). Ryan and Page trade kicks to the face until a suplex sends Page outside. LeRae comes back in with a good looking top rope hurricanrana. Page cuts off LeRae’s hurricanrana so Alexander hits his crossbody to the back dive.

Back in and a faceplant gets two on LeRae as commentary wants to know who is legal. The double superplex is broken up so Ryan hits a super swinging neckbreaker on Alexander, setting up LeRae’s top rope splash for two. The exchange of strikes to the face leaves Page standing but LeRae grabs a Stunner. Not that it stops Page as he shoves LeRae down and drops his trunks, earning a, quote, ballsplex, unquote, from LeRae. Alexander is back up and takes LeRae up, where she is right back with a super poisonrana for the surprise pin at 12:20.

Rating: B-. I’ve head a lot of good things about LeRae and Ryan together and yeah they do work well as a team. LeRae isn’t someone who has ever really broken out as an in-ring star but she can do some good things when she is given the chance. The Mafia would go on to much better success as the North in Impact, which took me a lot longer to remember than it should have. Fun match here, even if it is WEIRD to see Alexander as a pretty nothing tag guy. And with hair!

Post match Alexander seems a bit shaken up but gets a big ovation from the crowd. Apparently was his sendoff to go have neck surgery….and Page lays him out with a swinging Rock Bottom.

Biff Busick vs. Timothy Thatcher

This could be good and it’s Thatcher’s PWG debut. They fight over a lockup to start until Thatcher’s attempt at an ankle pick is thwarted. After a quick standoff, Thatcher takes him to the mat and cranks on an armbar but Busick reverses into a rather aggressive headlock. That’s reversed into a Kimura, sending Busick over to the rope. With the holds not quite working, Thatcher blasts him with an uppercut and grabs a chinlock.

There’s the required finger snap but Busick is back up with one heck of a slap and some uppercuts to make it worse. Thatcher isn’t having that and knocks him hard to the floor, but does stop to check his own ear after that slap. Busick has to try to get out of an armbar but Thatcher bends the arm at a VERY scary angle to keep him in trouble. The big stomp to the arm makes it even worse for Busick, who gets suplexed down again.

Back up and Busick grabs the half and half suplex, meaning it’s time to slug it out from their knees. The slugout continues from their feet until both of them are knocked down again. Busick fires himself up though and grabs a reverse headlock takeover into a bulldog choke for the tap at 11:36.

Rating: B. This is a good example of “what you see is what you get” as these two beat the living fire out of each other until one of them couldn’t keep going. These two are both known for their incredible intensity and that was on display here. Throw in some painful looking holds and people hurting each other and this was a lot of fun.

Here is PWG World Champion Roderick Strong to issue an open challenge. Well he was going to but he hates the fans so much that he isn’t going to wrestle. Cue Mike Bailey to answer the challenge but Strong isn’t interested. Eh we’ll do it anyway.

PWG World Title: Roderick Strong vs. Mike Bailey

Strong is defending and my goodness I can’t get away from Bailey lately. Bailey has a really farmer’s tan and isn’t exactly a big guy. The fans get on Bailey over said tan but him kicking Strong in the head for a fast two cuts that off fast. Bailey unloads with strikes against the ropes and Strong is needing a breather on the floor. That means Bailey can hit a corkscrew Asai moonsault, pulls out a bouquet of flowers (like a magician) and then kick Strong a few more times.

Strong is back with the jumping knee to the face and the End Of Heartache onto the apron (Commentary: “That is how you stop someone’s momentum!”) and Bailey is rocked fast. Some chops send Bailey around ringside before he is thrown back inside for a kick to the back of the head. A gutwrench suplex sets up a camel clutch to send Bailey over to the ropes and Strong isn’t pleased.

Bailey comes back with a knee of his own and a spinning kick to the face drops the champ. A buzzsaw kick to the head gets two on Strong but he’s back with a kick of his own out of the corner. The fans, who were insulted by Strong before the match, are split here as Bailey kicks away again. The standing Sliced Bread and another kick give Bailey two so he kicks Strong down some more.

Strong is able to catch him on top though and it’s a hard running knee in the corner. A torture rack into a backbreaker gives Strong two so he goes right to the Stronghold. Bailey makes the rope though and the champ is frustrated again. More kicks drop Strong so the moonsault knees can connect for two. Back up and the strike it out, setting up Bailey’s running corkscrew shooting star press for two.

Bailey gets caught with a jumping knee up top, meaning a top rope superplex with Strong floating over into a gutbuster. That’s reversed into a hurricanrana and the Ultimate Weapon gets a VERY hot near fall with Strong having to grab the rope. Another slugout lets Strong hit the Sick Kick but the End of Heartache is countered into a small package for a white hot near fall (which the crowd totally bought). Strong is done with this and knees him in the head, setting up End of Heartache into another End of Heartache to retain the title at 18:55.

Rating: A-. It took me some time to get into this one but the crowd reactions alone carried it over the line. Strong’s knees and forearms were loud enough to get your attention and that small package at the end was one of the best near falls I’ve seen in a long time. Bailey takes some getting used to but he was great as a one off challenger here. Great match with the crowd carrying it that extra stretch.

Brian Cage vs. John Silver

Cage has taped up ribs coming in. We get the natural pose down to start before Silver wants a test of strength. That’s fine with Cage, who holds his hand too high, causing Silver to pull it down before locking hands. Silver actually takes over and lifts Cage into the air before flipping him down. After a bit of a celebration, Cage runs him over with a shoulder and snaps off a headscissors.

What looks to be a fall away slam, with curls, doesn’t work as Silver sticks the landing and then fall away slams, with curls, Cage for an impressive feat. Back up and Cage sends him outside for the running flip dive, which doesn’t look quite as impressive on someone Silver’s size. The kind of clothesline you would expect Cage to throw for a near fall gives Cage a near fall and something like a Boss Man Slam gets the same.

Somehow the Drill Claw is countered into a Jackhammer to give Silver two and the fans are right back into things. A powerslam gives Silver two but Cage is back with a spinebuster to cut him off fast. Cage’s tornado DDT is blocked and Silver hits a northern lights suplex for another near fall.

Back up and a hanging neckbreaker out of the corner gives Cage two more but Silver strikes away and hits the Spin Doctor. The F5 plants Silver hard and Cage grabs a Texas Cloverleaf but doesn’t step over, allowing Silver to small package him for two. A Diamond Cutter and crucifix bomb gives Cage two more before a discus lariat finishes Silver at 14:00.

Rating: B. This was a fun showdown as Cage did his usual stuff and Silver was there to have all kinds of fun with his wild charisma. Silver is six inches in height away from being a major star but unfortunately this is about as far as he is going to get. Cage is still someone who looks like he should be a major star but just isn’t for a variety of reasons.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Chris Hero

They shake hands to start and tentatively go into the grappling for a standoff. Hero gets him down by the leg and twists away a bit but Sabre bridges out of a crucifix. That’s broken up and Sabre starts twisting the wrist, setting up some rather nasty cranking (Page: “That’s some Exorcist s***!” Hero flips out and drops a backsplash but Sabre is fine enough to pull him right back into more arm cranking.

With the grappling not working, Hero kicks him in the face but Sabre uses his feet to snap hero’s arm. Back up and Hero uses the good arm to send him face first into the buckle, only to get caught with some running shots to the face. Sabre tries a German suplex but only gets laughed at by Hero for thinking he can lift him up. With that being a miserable failure, Sabre goes back to the arm and hits the big stomp on Hero’s now bleeding fingers.

Hero is fine enough to backdrop Sabre outside and through some chairs, meaning Sabre can get a breather on the floor. Back in and Hero blasts him with the good elbow to put him on the floor again. Back in again and a dropkick Sabre’s arm even things up a bit and they’re outside for the third time in less than two minutes. This time Sabre grabs an octopus but Hero gets smart by climbing back inside for the break. Sabre fires off uppercuts but gets cut off with one heck of a right hand.

A staggered Sabre comes right back with a hard running kick to the chest but Hero kicks Sabre out of the air for two. Hero still can’t follow up so Sabre pulls him into a Kimura, which is reversed into a suplex neckbreaker for another near fall. Hero, looking like an inflated Adam Cole, gets pulled into a cross armbreaker, only to roll over to the ropes for a last second break.

Another kick to the arm has Hero clutching the ropes for mercy but he’s able to grab a hard belly to back suplex for the double knockdown. Back up and Hero loads up some kind of a piledriver but gets reversed into another quickly broken armbar. Hero elbows the heck out of him for two more and then kicks him square in the head.

Sabre gets back up so Hero kicks him, followed by the rolling boot to the face for one. With nothing else working, Sabre Pele kicks the hand (cool) but Hero is right back with an attempt at a cradle piledriver. That’s countered into the Kimura and then a double arm crank with Sabre kicking him in the head for the knockout win at 24:01.

Rating: A-. This was hard hitting, violent, well told and exactly what I wanted to see from these two. The story here made perfect sense as you had Sabre who was going to go after a limb and do everything he could to tear it apart, while Hero went through every style he knew to try to fight Sabre off. I was cringing at some of the things that Sabre was doing to the arm and got way into the match so we’ll certainly call this a success.

Here are Tag Team Champions Trevor Lee and Andrew Everett to find out who they’re facing for the titles they won at Mystery Vortex II. The fans want the Young Bucks but instead Everett and Lee are going to face each other. The singles match starts but here are the Bucks, who were wrestling in Japan just the day before.

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. Trevor Lee/Andrew Everett

The Bucks are challenging and, after some insults from the floor, the champs dive onto them to start things off fast. The brawl starts on the floor but the Bucks are right back up with stereo moonsaults off the apron. They get inside with Matt hitting some running corner clotheslines but a duck allows Lee to bring Everett in. Everything breaks down and the Bucks clear the ring, setting up the required running flip dive. Fans: “THAT WAS TOO SWEET!”

The Bucks hit stereo powerbombs on the apron, drawing a FIGHT OWENS FIGHT chant. Back in and a slingshot splash/fist drop hit Everett again as this is rapidly becoming one sided. Matt has way too much fun telling people to suck it before grabbing the chinlock with an expected result. Lee raises his knees to block a moonsault though and the hot tag brings in Everett for a high crossbody to both Bucks. Matt’s slingshot X Factor is countered into an atomic drop and Lee drops both Bucks again.

Everett teases a moonsault to the floor but it’s Lee hitting one instead. That’s not good enough though as Everett hits moonsault knees to drop Matt again and the fans certainly approve. Since Nick Jackson doesn’t sell very long though, he’s right back up to take down both champions without much effort. Everett’s shooting star press hits raised knees and the Bucks hit an enziguri/cannonball in the corner combination. The hanging Swanton gets two on Everett but Nick’s running kick hits post by mistake, allowing Lee to cutter him on the apron.

The double tag brings in Lee and Matt to slug it out until Lee’s flipping powerslam connects. Not that it matters as the Bucks are up with double superkicks, followed by a low superkick to break up Everett’s standing moonsault. Lee gets superkicked out of the air as well and a package piledriver/superkick combination gets two, with Everett shoving Nick into the pin for the save.

The champs fight up again with a Cave In and standing hurricanrana, setting up Everett’s 630 for two on Matt. The referee gets dropped so Matt can kick Everett low. Cue Roderick Strong to Sick Kick Lee silly, setting up the Meltzer Driver (with commentary saying “Nick doesn’t give a s***” about the bad ankle) for the pin and the titles at 14:12.

Rating: B. This is the kind of tag match that you would expect here, but there was never a time where it felt like Lee and Everett had a chance to retain the titles. Granted it’s a Young Bucks match so you had to know it was coming, as annoying as it might be. This was around the time when the Bucks were the biggest team in the indies and there was no way they weren’t getting these titles from the second they were revealed as the “surprise” partners.

Post match Joey Ryan and Candice LeRae go after Strong but get superkicked down. Johnny Gargano runs in and gets superkicked down. Strong and the Bucks hug to quite the negative reaction. Referee Rick Knox comes in to chair the Bucks down but Strong takes him out and gets another chair.

The lights go out and come back up to reveal company founder Super Dragon…..and Psycho Drivers Knox through the open chairs instead. LeRae gets Psycho Drivered too so Excalibur goes after Super Dragon and is laid out. The Bucks add some superkicks and the beating continues with more Psycho Drivers as we have Mount Rushmore (former heel stable) 2.0. The fans of course love this even as Biff Busick comes in to stare down Super Dragon.

Commentary bills it as a showdown of tough guys, so of course the Bucks drop Busick with superkicks. Chuck Taylor is beaten down as well, which is finally enough carnage to let the new team unveil their shirts. Oh and Dragon small packages Lee for a three count and a bell (I’m sure that means something). Strong officially christens the new team to end the show (which cuts off after Rushmo).

Overall Rating: A. This was the PWG show I have been waiting on as they tore the house down with nothing close to a bad match on the nearly two and a half hour show. They didn’t bother trying to do anything more than an all-star style show with some variety and I had a blast with this. Great show, well worth seeing, and the kind of show that would make me want to see a lot more from this company.

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Rampage
Date: September 16, 2022
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Tony Schiavone

The road to normalcy continues this week but there might not be as much to get hyped about with this show. The problem is that with no tournament matches for this week, there is only so much that can be done to bring in the interest. Rampage has a tendency to not feel the most important but maybe they can pull it off. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Matt Hardy vs. Darby Allin

They shake hands to start and it’s Allin grabbing a headlock takeover. Hardy fights up so Allin crucifix bombs him for two. With Hardy on the floor, Allin’s dive is cut off but he drives Hardy into the steps to knock him silly again. Allin goes Jeff/PCO by trying a Swanton, which only hits apron because people like him never learn.

We take a break and come back with Hardy hitting a Side Effect out of the corner for two. The Twist of Fate is countered and a suplex is as well, with Allin grabbing a Scorpion Death Drop to put them both down. Allin loads up the Coffin Drop but gets powerbombed out for two. Hardy misses a moonsault and gets Code Reded for two, followed by the Last Supper to give Allin the pin at 10:00.

Rating: C. Well at least Hardy didn’t go over. If Hardy can go at a pace like this then he’s fine to keep around, as long as he isn’t given a story to go with it. Allin winning is of course the only way to go here, even if he doesn’t have much going on. They didn’t exactly go extreme here, which was the point, but it could have been worse.

Post match Allin leaves so the lights go out. Cue Brody King and Julia Hart to run Hardy over, with King calling out Allin and Sting. The challenge is on for a No DQ match next week, so King chokes Hardy (playing off Sting’s longtime association with Matt) until the lights go out again and King disappears. This is a feud that was wrapped up and is continuing, which is rarely a good idea.

Eddie Kingston wants Sammy Guevara next week in New York. The match is already made.

Here is Claudio Castagnoli, flanked by Wheeler Yuta, for a chat. Claudio says the title represents what he can do and the Blackpool Combat Club represents the new symbol of excellence. Last week, Yuta lost the Pure Title to Daniel Garcia but you learn the most by losing. Then last week, Castagnoli defended his title against Dax Harwood, who was one of the toughest opponents he ever faced.

Next week is a great week for the Club though as it’s two members of the team fighting for the AEW World Title. Next week, the Club will have two World Champions in its ranks….but Chris Jericho interrupts. Jericho wants to talk about the Jericho Appreciation Society’s great week, including how he should be fighting for the World Title. Castagnoli reminds Jericho for tapping so the fans get on him, with Jericho saying he wishes he was in Albany, Georgia. Jericho brags about his World Title wins and now he wants #8 to be the Ring Of Honor World Title. Castagnoli was hoping for that so it’s on.

Jade Cargill and the Baddies were cut off by Diamante, who challenges her for the title. Note that Excalibur said Diamante was “red hot”, despite that she has lost her last two matches.

Penelope Ford vs. Willow Nightingale

Kip Sabian is here with Ford, who sees to have caught JR’s eye. Ford slugs away to start but gets caught in a headlock for her efforts. Nightingale takes her down for some rollups and we pause for Excalibur to rapid fire the matches for next week. A basement crossbody lets Nightingale get a rather smiley two, only to miss a Pounce. Some middle rope knees crush Nightingale and we take a break.

Back with Nightingale getting fired up and hitting a spinebuster for two. Ford is fine enough to Matrix away from a clothesline and hit a jumping cutter for two of her own. A kick to the face rocks Nightingale and something like a Stroke sets up a Muta Lock for the tap at 8:27 (as Sabian talks to the box helmet).

Rating: C. Ford is being reheated after her long absence but dang it is depressing to see Nightingale lose so often. She has so much charisma and is rather fun to watch every time she’s out there, but I do get why AEW wants to push Ford so much more. Decent enough match too, as Ford gets her footing back.

Hangman Page and the Dark Order are ready for the Golden Ticket Battle Royal at Grand Slam for, say it with me, a future World Title shot. La Faccion Ingobernable comes in to glare and shout.

Danhausen vs. Ethan Page

Stokely Hathaway is here with Page, who isn’t having anything of this being cursed. A big boot and running shoulder sets up the Ego’s Edge for the pin at 1:27.

Ricky Starks tells Powerhouse Hobbs to think about everything that is about to happen to him because Hobbs has his undivided attention. They’ll see each other in New York.

Josh Woods and Mark Sterling are ready to send Samoa Joe on a permanent vacation. Joe doesn’t buy it.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Josh Woods

Joe is defending and drives him into the corner to start for an exchange of grins. Woods cranks on the arm so Joe reverses into a cravate. With that not working, it’s time for the big forearm exchange, because that’s what so many AEW matches become. Joe sends him outside but Tony Nese snaps Joe’s arm across the top as we take a break.

Back with Joe rolling him up for two but not being able to get the Koquina Clutch. Joe puts him down and hits a backsplash for two but his arm is giving out. Nese and Sterling offer distractions so Woods can escape the rollup. A knee to the face rocks Joe and a pin into another knee to the face gets two more. Back up and the Rock Bottom out of the corner cuts Woods off, followed by the MuscleBuster to retain at 10:09.

Rating: C+. This felt like a Ring Of Honor match with Joe doing his usual stuff to win. I can go with more and more Joe so this was one of those fun matches that will work almost every time. It worked for a Rampage main event, even if the ROH TV Title feels like it has no value whatsoever.

Post match the triple teaming is on but Wardlow comes in for the save. Sterling escapes the Powerbomb Symphony and we get a Wardlow/Joe staredown to end the show. Unify some titles and I’m thrilled.

Overall Rating: C. The main thing that this show did was prove how easy it would be to have a regular Ring Of Honor show. This week featured two Ring Of Honor champions, including a title defense in the main event. There’s no reason to have Dark and Dark Elevation, so turn one of them into a Ring Of Honor show and keep all that stuff there. As for the show itself, this was little more than the final table setting show for Grand Slam, which is going to be huge. Not a must see show, but it gets us to the must see shows.

Results
Darby Allin b. Matt Hardy – Last Supper
Penelope Ford b. Willow Nightingale – Muta Lock
Ethan Page b. Danhausen – Ego’s Edge
Samoa Joe b. Josh Woods – MuscleBuster

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

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Dynamite
Date: September 14, 2022
Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We’re a week away from Grand Slam and that means it is time to set up a World Title match. We have two semifinal matches in the title tournament this week and that should make for a good show. Other than that, we might get some more of the start of the build towards Full Gear. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Grand Slam Tournament Of Champions: Jon Moxley vs. Sammy Guevara

No Tay Melo with Guevara but William Regal is on commentary. Guevara bails to the floor to start before coming back in and getting headlock takeovered. Back up and Guevara hammers him down in the corner, including some boot choking. They chop it out with Moxley laying down and feigning sleep before chopping more. Guevara sends him to the floor for the flipping suicide dive, followed by the running corkscrew dive. Moxley is sent into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Guevara blocking a piledriver on the apron and sending Guevara outside instead. Moxley hits the corner clothesline and rakes the back, setting up a butterfly superplex. Guevara manages an enziguri out of the corner and the top rope cutter gets two. The GTH is blocked but the King Kong lariat is countered into the bulldog choke.

With that broken up, Guevara is taken up top, only to have Anna Jay and Tay Melo come out. A Jay distraction lets Melo kick Moxley low, leaving Guevara to go up top, only to miss the Swanton. They slut it out until Guevara hits a jumping knee to stagger Moxley. The GTH is countered into the Death Rider for the pin at 13:25.

Rating: B-. There was no drama here as Moxley wasn’t going to lose to Sammy Guevara in a World Title tournament semifinal. Moxley is one of the favorites to win the whole thing and was the World Champion less than a month ago. Guevara did his usual stuff and had the women interfere, but there was nothing to convince me that Moxley was ever in danger.

Here is MJF for a chat. He says he hasn’t slept since he and Jon Moxley went toe to toe last week. MJF doesn’t like Moxley but isn’t the same person he was when they met the first time. Moxley is someone playing a character and MJF knows it because he read Moxley’s book. Moxley isn’t a normal person because he was raised like these people right here in Albany: poor and uneducated, which is why they love him.

Now Moxley is playing with something a lot more dangerous than his disease. MJF knows that Moxley is still the scared kid from Cincinnati, no matter how much people cheer for him. Sure Moxley went to rehab but MJF is the demon that he can’t overcome. Now though MJF has some backup that is going to help him take the title so here is the first stable on retainer: Stokely Hathaway and the Firm.

MJF leaves and Hathaway is going to tell us the gospel. He and MJF are best friends and Hathaway talked him out of quitting AEW. They prayed a lot and the men in this ring are his support system. Each of them will help MJF when necessary before going their separate ways. Hathaway is a friend who kicks it with Britt Baker and watches reruns of Living Single with the House of Black.

Hathaway talks about each member, saying he loves and appreciates them but thinks they could use some gold. Or to not be in their father’s shadow in the Gunn Club’s case. Either way, Hathaway is going to help get them what they want. This went on WAY longer than it needed to and Hathaway had nothing to talk about, which left it hanging badly. It doesn’t help that he is representing a bunch of goons and it was made even more obvious here.

Jungle Boy wants to fight and has issued an open challenge.

Jay Lethal is down to face Jungle Boy.

Jay Lethal vs. Jungle Boy

Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt are here with Lethal while Jungle Boy’s back is taped up. Lethal takes him into the corner to start and something involving running the corner is blocked. Jungle Boy is right back up and runs the corner for a wristdrag. Back up and Lethal goes for the leg but Jungle Boy sits down on him for two instead. A quick distraction lets Lethal get in a shot to the bad back, setting up a middle rope backbreaker onto the turnbuckle as we take a break.

Back with Jungle Boy winning a slugout but his back gives out on a suplex attempt. Jungle Boy pops back up for a brainbuster and goes to the middle rope, only to get Russian legsweeped down. The Lethal Combination sends Jungle Boy outside for the suicide dive, setting up the top rope elbow for two back inside. Lethal loads up a pump kick but gets pulled into the Snare Trap and Lethal taps at 10:34.

Rating: C+. There is nothing wrong with a good face coming in hurt and having to fight through the pain to win. That’s exactly what they had here and with Lethal in the ring as the good hand, this was going to work well. It wasn’t an epic or a classic, but it was a perfectly watchable wrestling match and that’s a nice thing to have on the show.

Action Bronson and Hook train for the Jericho Appreciation Society.

Ethan Page kicks pizza maker Luigi Primo in the face because no one takes his place seriously. Danhausen pops in and gets a match with Page on Rampage.

Darby Allin rides extreme bicycles.

Matt Hardy doesn’t like Darby Allin.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Matt DiMartino

Spinebuster finishes for Hobbs in 26 seconds.

Post match Hobbs says Ricky Starks is tough but it took him 4:35 to win at All Out. Damage starts tonight, but here is Starks through the crowd to interrupt. Starks charges the ring and clears Hobbs out.

The Lucha Bros are ready for their Tag Team Title shot.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Swerve In Our Glory

The Bros are challenging and Pentagon strikes away on Strickland to start. It’s way too early to snap the arm so Penta settles for a kick to the ribs instead. Fenix comes in with a rolling dropkick, drawing some polite applause from Lee. There’s the assisted wheelbarrow splash for two but Strickland gets in a shot of his own and brings Lee in to shrug off some chops as we take a break.

Back with Fenix slipping out of a Gory Stretch and bringing Penta in to clean house. The Fear Factor is broken up though and a kick to the face allows Strickland to bring Lee back in. Lee wrecks the Bros but Penta manages a Canadian Destroyer on Lee for a very delayed two. That’s enough for Lee, who is back up with a Big Bang Catastrophe for the pin to retain at 8:12.

Rating: B-. Kind of a random Tag Team Title shot here but the Lucha Bros are always going to be near the top of the division. Lee and Swerve work well together as a big man/speed team, even though they’ve kind of become heels by default due to the Acclaimed stuff. Another good match though, and that’s always nice to see.

Post match here is the serious Acclaimed to promise to win the titles next week. They kind of have to.

Pac doesn’t like that loss being called a bump in the road and wants more respect. Orange Cassidy comes in with an Orange Punch and suggests he’s taking one of Pac’s titles.

Athena and Toni Storm don’t like Britt Baker and Serena Deeb.

Athena/Toni Storm vs. Serena Deeb/Britt Baker

Rebel is here with the villains. Deeb and Storm trade takeovers and headscissors on the mat to start until Storm gets her into the corner and chops away. Athena comes in with a slingshot splash for two and an over the shoulder spin into a Codebreaker (that was a lot) drops Deeb again. Baker offers a distraction though and Deeb takes the knee out as we take a break.

Back with Storm getting the hot tag to clean house, including a tornado DDT to Baker on the floor. Baker is fine enough for a Sling Blade back inside so it’s off to Athena vs. Deeb again. Athena has to power out of an armbreaker and brings Storm back in. Deeb grabs a half crab and shrugs off shots from Athena to keep Baker in trouble. Baker adds a basement superkick to Storm for two, with Athena having to backsplash the pile for the save. Athena is sent into the steps so Rebel offers a distraction, allowing Deeb to send Storm into a Baker held chair. Storm is out and Deeb gets the pin at 8:37.

Rating: C. So yeah, just after Storm wins the big one, she is losing to Serena Deeb in a tag match. It wasn’t clean, but Storm is at the point where she doesn’t need to be losing for a long time. She needs the rub to get her back to credibility and even though there was a chair involved, this wasn’t a good way to get there. At least it wasn’t Baker getting the pin though.

Post match Athena comes back in and gets Stomped for her efforts. Jamie Hayter runs in to break up another chair shot but beats Storm down with the chair instead. Hayter yells at Baker, who still says she is sorry.

Mark Sterling is ready for Josh Woods to win the ROH TV Title on Rampage.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Tournament Of Champions Semifinals: Chris Jericho vs. Bryan Danielson

William Regal is on commentary. Danielson starts fast by firing off the kicks in the corner. There’s the running dropkick in the corner as we see Daniel Garcia watching, because of course he’s featured here too. Jericho fights back but gets taken outside with Danielson starting in on the arm.

Back in and the missile dropkick sets up the Swan Dive for two. Jericho manages a release German suplex into the triangle dropkick to the floor. They get back in for a chop off until stereo crossbodies leave them both down. We take a break and come back with Jericho snapping off a super hurricanrana but the Judas Effect is countered into a suplex for two.

Cattle Mutilation doesn’t finish Jericho so Danielson fires off the Hammer and Anvil elbows. Jericho reverses into some of his own, followed by a Codebreaker. Danielson isn’t having that and pops up with the running knee for the double knockdown. Back up and Jericho sends him over the top to the floor, where Danielson comes up grabbing his ankle.

Jericho isn’t going to let the doctor check on Danielson so he wraps the leg around the post. With the leg banged up, Jericho grabs a half crab and pulls Daniels back into the middle for a Figure Four. Somehow Danielson escapes and gets him into the LeBell Lock for the tap and the title match at 19:40.

Rating: B+. It felt like two guys struggling against each other because they both want something. That is how a match like this should go and it was another good one between two of the biggest stars in AEW. Danielson needed the win after a bit of a skid lately, though the positive thing is that he is so over in the first place that a few losses aren’t going to hurt him that much.

Post match Jon Moxley comes out for the staredown with Danielson as William Regal looks anxious. The handshake ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The tournament matches were good and the Firm is kind of interesting, but what made this one stand out a bit more was having good stuff in the middle. There wasn’t a point here where I felt bored (save for maybe the women’s match) and the two good matches book ended the show well. It was a wrestling heavy show and that is a good way to get rid of some of the drama.

Results
Jon Moxley b. Sammy Guevara – Death Rider
Jungle Boy b. Jay Lethal – Snare Trap
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Matt DiMartino – Spinebuster
Swerve In Our Glory b. Lucha Bros – Big Bang Catastrophe to Penta
Britt Baker/Serena Deeb b. Toni Storm/Athena – Storm was sent into a chair
Bryan Danielson b. Chris Jericho – LeBell Lock

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

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Dynamite
Date: August 3, 2022
Location: Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Taz

We’re rapidly coming up on All Out but first we need to get through this weekend’s Battle Of The Belts, which is apparently a thing that is happening. So far there is one match announced and that means we will probably get the rest of the card announced. Whether that is in rapid fire or with more traditional announcements remains to be seen, but Excalibur is probably warming up his throat. Let’s get to it.

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

Jay Lethal vs. Orange Cassidy

Cassidy rolls him up to start and knocks Lethal up the ramp, setting up the lazy kicks. Lethal crawls away but it’s Satnam Singh waiting at the top of the ramp. Cue the Best Friends, with Trent on Taylor’s shoulders, to be taller than Singh, who leaves for no logical reason. With that HILARIOUS visual gag out of the way, we get back in and Cassidy hits a high crossbody but the tornado DDT is countered into a dragon screw legwhip. Cassidy’s knee is sent into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Cassidy being caught in a Figure Four but he rolls over to the ropes. Hail To The King is loaded up but Cassidy rolls into the corner and chills for a bit, much to Lethal’s annoyance. Cassidy’s knee is ok enough to get up top for a super DDT, followed by the tornado DDT for two. Beach Break gets the same but Lethal kicks the knee out and hits Lethal Injection for the pin at 12:14.

Rating: C+. I’m a bit surprised they had Cassidy lose clean like that, but Lethal seems primed to go after Wardlow and the TNT Title. That might not sit well around here due to Cassidy’s popularity and I can kind of get the idea. Lethal has been in a one sided feud with Samoa Joe before losing at the pay per view and now he’s going after a bigger title. I’m not sure I get that.

Post match Sonjay Dutt and Satnam Singh come out with more threats to Cassidy’s leg. Dutt wants Wardlow out here so Wardlow makes the save. They aren’t fighting right now, but Dutt issues the challenge to Wardlow for Battle Of The Belts. Wardlow accepts, though Dutt said it was against “my man” and never said Lethal.

We look back at Hook winning the FTW Title last week in a nice moment.

Here is the returning Undisputed Elite for a chat. Adam Cole says his shoulder is still injured and he isn’t cleared to compete but you’re still looking at the most elite group in wrestling history. These are five of the most talented stars of all time and they are a team because they are loyal.

Unfortunately he can’t be in the Trios Titles tournament, and that means the Young Bucks can’t be either. The Bucks don’t buy that, but Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly jump the Bucks from behind. The beatdown is on, including chairs being brought in. Hangman Page (with butterflies on his jeans) runs in with a lead pipe for the save. A Bucks/Page reunion is teased but it doesn’t quite click. I’m so, so, SO excited for more Elite “won’t you please be my friend” melodrama. It had been a nice few months without it but here we go again.

Jon Moxley is ready to destroy Chris Jericho because he likes blood and violence. Tonight, he’s ready for either Jericho or Wheeler Yuta to win because he’ll hurt either of them next week.

Christian Cage was backstage for an interview earlier when Jungle Boy tried to run him down.

Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm/Thunder Rosa

Rebel is here with the villains. Rosa takes Baker down to start and shrugs off an early Lockjaw attempt. Hayter comes in and gets beaten up by Storm with Rosa coming in to keep up the pummeling. Back up and Hayter manages to knock her into the corner so Baker can come in and take over as we go to a break.

Back with Rosa hitting a Stunner to get herself out of trouble and handing it back to Storm for a high crossbody. Hayter reverses a double suplex into one of her own to put Storm and Rosa down, setting up a Stomp from Baker. Rosa dives in off the top with a nasty looking double stomp to make the save and everyone is down for a bit. Hayter plants Rosa but Storm and Rosa hit stereo German suplexes. Storm hits the running hip attacks in the corner but hits Rosa by mistake. One heck of a clothesline blasts Storm to give Hayter the pin at 12:01.

Rating: C+. This started off slowly and then got a lot better by the end. It’s almost weird seeing Hayter get a pin but boosting up someone different enough like her could be worth a try. Storm vs. Rosa seems to be starting to come together and a title match at All Out wouldn’t be that big of a surprise.

We get a video on Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti getting married but Eddie Kingston interrupts and says no one cares. Kingston has signed to face Guevara at All Out so check your mail and sign the deal.

We look at Powerhouse Hobbs turning on Ricky Starks last week.

Taz is fed up and officially ends Team Taz because he didn’t authorize any of that. Well that’s overly logical.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Ren Jones

Running powerslam, clothesline, Jones is done with a kneeling on the chest pin at 51 seconds.

Post match Ricky Starks sprints to the ring and gets planted by Hobbs.

Miro wants time to know what he is going to do about the House Of Black.

Darby Allin warns Brody King that he might get what he asked for.

Jim Ross joins commentary.

Christian Cage vs. Matt Hardy

Christian hammers him in the corner to start and they fight outside, with Matt not being able to drive him through a table. Back in and Matt pulls him out of the corner for a powerbomb and a near fall but they head back to the floor. Christian drives him hard into the steps and we take a break.

Back with Matt slugging his way out of trouble but the Twist of Fate is blocked. Christian’s pendulum kick out of the corner rocks Hardy again and Matt gets knocked down for two. They head outside again with Christian putting him through a table, setting up the Killswitch for the pin at 11:02.

Rating: D+. And all of the positives here are for Christian, who you would never guess is in his late 40s. He’s on a heck of a roll at the moment, while Matt is old, slow, and looks every bit of it. I have no idea why Matt is wrestling whatsoever, but he was looking terrible here and it didn’t need to be on TV, or anywhere for that matter. Give Christian something better to do. Also, there’s your required table bump of the week.

Post match Christian loads up the Conchairto but Luchasaurus’ music starts up. Cue Jungle Boy through the crowd to chase Christian off.

Daniel Garcia declares his win over Bryan Danielson to be the biggest in AEW history.

Pac retained the All-Atlantic Title at a Rev Pro event in England last week.

Ethan Page is in the ring to rant about why he isn’t on TV more and doesn’t have an action figure. He isn’t even on the truck despite being so much more talented. Cue Stokely Hathaway to offer Page a business card and they leave together.

The Jericho Appreciation Society is ready for Chris Jericho to become Le Champion again next week. Then Anna Jay chokes out a production worker.

Gunn Club vs. Acclaimed

Dumpster match. Before the match, the Acclaimed jumps the Club and Max Caster promises to make them retire like Vince McMahon (Anthony Bowens’ face is priceless). The brawl is on with the Club sending Acclaimed into the dumpster early, only to have Acclaimed come out with a cookie sheet for the escape. We take a break and come back with Bowens getting hit with Colt 45 on the stage. Colten goes up on part of the set with Caster popping up behind him. That means a toss into the dumpster, followed by the Mic Drop to put Austin through a table. The Club is dumpstered for the win at 8:04.

Rating: C. I have no idea how to grade something like this, but the Acclaimed’s pre-match stuff was outstanding. The problem with something like this is that it’s tied into one idea from the music video and a play on words based on a Danhausen joke (or wherever the A** Boys thing is from). I’m sure this was some kind of tribute/call back to Billy Gunn in 1998, and that might be your biggest problem.

Post match the Acclaimed tie the dumpster shut and shove it off the stage ala the Outlaws to Mankind/Chainsaw Charlie in 1998.

Here’s what’s coming up on various shows.

Chris Jericho vs. Wheeler Yuta

Non-title and Jericho’s title shot next week is on the line. The Appreciation Society is here so Claudio Castagnoli comes out to even things up. They go out to the floor to start with Yuta taking over and knocking Jericho around the ring. The Society tries to interfere and gets ejected, leaving Yuta to wave goodbye to them. Yuta throws some rights but gets crotched on top as we take a break.

Back with Yuta making a comeback and hitting a top rope clothesline, only to have stereo crossbodies leave them both down. Yuta is up first and rolls some German suplexes for two. Jericho pulls him into the Walls but Yuta makes the rope, meaning Jericho needs to yell at the referee.

That’s enough for Jericho to be thrown outside for three straight suicide dives, only to dive into the Codebreaker for two back inside. Yuta is back up with a Regal Stretch to send Jericho to the ropes. The baseball bat is grabbed and taken away, allowing Jericho to kick Yuta low. The Walls is reversed into the seatbelt rollup for two, which is reversed into the Liontamer to make Yuta tap at 12:30.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here and the right ending, even if it means another champion taking a loss. Jericho moves on to the title match with some momentum and Yuta gets to hang with a legend, but it never hit that next gear. Still though, for an off week main event, this worked out well.

Post match Jericho keeps the Walls on until Jon Moxley runs out for the save. Jericho says Moxley opened Pandora’s Box and we’ll be seeing Lionheart Chris Jericho next week.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t their greatest week, but what matters here is that they have set up both Battle Of The Belts and next week’s big Dynamite. There are some rocky points around here, but this is a world of difference compared to what they have been doing for the last few months. There is a new focus on the show and it’s actually doing something for AEW rather than New Japan or Ring Of Honor, which is what has been missing so badly.

Results
Jay Lethal b. Orange Cassidy – Lethal Injection
Jamie Hayter/Britt Baker b. Toni Storm/Thunder Rosa – Clothesline to Storm
Powerhouse Hobbs b. Ren Jones – Clothesline
Christian Cage b. Matt Hardy – Killswitch
Acclaimed b. Gunn Club by putting Gunn Club in the dumpster
Chris Jericho b. Wheeler Yuta – Liontamer

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

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Rampage
Date: July 29, 2022
Location: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s another night of Fight For The Fallen, which went very well on Wednesday so maybe they can keep it up here. You never know what that might mean but the more star power this show can have, the better it is going to be. I’m not sure what that is going to be this week, but Rampage can be quite fun. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Best Friends vs. Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal/Sonjay Dutt

Dutt is still in his suit, complete with pencil behind his ear. I know this because we actually get entrances this week instead of rushing straight to the ring. Trent and Lethal start things off with Trent countering la majistral into a cradle for two. That means a standoff and the fans seem pleased. Cassidy comes in (under the bottom rope) and gets Dutt, who takes off his jacket and tie, which he hands to the referee. Jericho: “That’s a $5000 suit he’s wrestling in!” Ross: “You really believe that?” Jericho: “Well it’s wrestling.”

Cassidy puts his sunglasses on the referee and kicks him in the legs, but it’s off to Singh for the chop in the corner. Taylor and Trent come in for some chops of their own, earning a double crossbody from Singh. Cassidy gets stomped down in the corner and we take a break. Back with Cassidy jumping over Lethal and very calmly tagging in Taylor.

House is cleaned, with Jericho referring to Taylor as a modern day Bobby Eaton (which has to be designed to get on Jim Cornette’s nerves). Singh breaks up the big hug but gets knocked outside, allowing the hugging to take place. That earns the Best Friends a double Lethal Injection so it’s back to Cassidy to hit the tornado DDT. Dutt tries his own lazy kicks but Cassidy breaks his pencil. The Orange Punch finishes Dutt at 7:29 as the Best Friends grab Singh’s leg.

Rating: C. Cassidy beating Dutt is a completely fine way to go as Dutt is little more than a joke and not even a wrestler these days. The Best Friends did their thing and they protected Singh and Lethal well enough. This felt like a one off match, leaving me wondering what is next for everyone involved.

Post match the beatdown is on but Wardlow makes the save and poses with the Best Friends.

We look at FTR retaining the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles against the Briscoes at Death Before Dishonor.

Ethan Page vs. Leon Ruffin

Ruffin charges at him to start but gets driven into the corner so the beating can begin. A hard whip into the corner has Ruffin crashing again and a heck of a forearm cuts him off again. The Ego’s Edge (Page: “I hate this place.”) finishes Ruffin at 1:38. Total dominance.

Cole Karter is in the back when the Factory comes in to offer him a spot on the team. Karter doesn’t say no, so QT Marshall tells him to sleep on it. Marshall: “But in your own bed, not with the fishes.” In case you didn’t get it, THAT’S A REFERENCE TO HOW HE LEFT NXT!

Lee Moriarty vs. Matt Sydal

Moriarty mocks Sydal’s peace sign to start and then suplexes him over. A clothesline misses for Moriarty though and there’s a kick to his chest to put him down. We take a break and come back with an exchange of kicks to the head until Moriarty drops him with a clothesline. Sydal gets in a kick to the head of his own and the Lightning Spiral gets two. Cue Stokely Hathaway as Sydal goes up top, with Moriarty catching him. Sydal kicks him away but has to slap Hathaway off, allowing Moriarty to crotch him down. A lifting Downward Spiral gives Moriarty two and the Border City Stretch gives Moriarty the win at 7:57.

Rating: C+. These two can do the technical stuff rather well and that is why they were put in the ring. Hathaway is the interesting factor though as there is a good chance that he is going to get Moriarty and that could get good. Sydal continues to be a good hand who is just kind of there, but that isn’t a bad role to have.

Britt Baker, with Rebel, isn’t worried about Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm next week. Baker thinks Rosa is keeping Storm close because Storm is the biggest threat to the title. See you next week.

Tony Schiavone brings out Ring Of Honor World Champion Claudio Castagnoli, with William Regal, for a chat. Castagnoli soaks in the YOU DESERVE IT chants and then thanks the fans in a variety of languages. This is just the beginning for himself and the Combat Club so here is Ring Of Honor Pure Champion Wheeler Yuta. Before that can go anywhere, Chris Jericho interrupts to say he is tired of hearing about the Club, but Yuta tells him to shut up. Yuta knows that Jericho is going to talk about how sports entertainers beat wrestlers every time, except when he beat Daniel Garcia at Death Before Dishonor.

The challenge for Jericho is on, with Yuta going on about how he knows he can win, so the match is on. Jericho says they can do it on Dynamite, but Yuta says nah because he knows he can win. They yell at each other again until Jericho says shut up. Jericho is so confident that he’ll put up his title match against Jon Moxley at Quake By The Lake. Yuta: “Well that was easier than I thought.” The match is on after a clever segment.

And now, an Acclaimed music video about the Gunn Club, who need to be thrown out on trash day. This involves beating up Gunn Club lookalikes, mocking the Smoking Gunns, and a challenge for a dumpster match. In other words, funny stuff.

Anna Jay cuts off Ruby Soho and doesn’t have to pretend to like her this time. Soho had high hopes for Jay but she’s just another entitled ***** who needs to be beaten up. Jay says Soho doesn’t learn her and she’s learning the dark side.

Here’s what’s coming up on various shows, including Battle Of The Belts, which is a show that’s happening next Saturday. Good to know.

Anna Jay vs. Ruby Soho

Feeling out process to start with Jay having to avoid an early No Future attempt. Some chops against the rope go a bit better for Soho so she tries a headstand in the corner. For some reason she does this right in front of Jay, who kicks her in the bad hand to take over. We take a break and come back with Jay getting the brace off of Soho’s hand, causing Aubrey Edwards to take it away. Soho hits some headbutts for a breather and adds a running kick to the head.

There’s an STO for two but Jay hits a Gory Bomb for the same. Jay threatens to choke out people at ringside but then tries to choke Soho instead. That’s escaped so No Future can connect for two but Soho’s backsplash is countered into a backsplash. Jay reverses that into a choke, which is broken up as well. The frustrated Jay throws her gauntlets down, which is enough of a distraction to grab the cast and put on the Queenslayer for the win at 9:56.

Rating: C+. Jay has gotten significantly more competent in the ring and that was on display here. She looks comfortable out there and much more sure of herself, though having someone as skilled as Soho in there certainly helped. I could go for more of evil Jay and that certainly seems to be what we are in for going forward.

Overall Rating: C+. Pretty nice show here, even without a lot of the big names involved. It’s always a good sign when a company can put together a solid show even without the main stars, if nothing else for the sake of finding some good stories that don’t burn out the top of the card. Throw in an Acclaimed Video and this was a nice hour of wrestling.

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

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Dynamite
Date: July 6, 2022
Location: Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York
Commentators: Taz, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re back to the normal show this week and that could mean more than a few things. In this case it means that we are going to be seeing Jon Moxley defend the Interim World Title against Brody King, which should be a heck of a fight. Other than that, it is time to build towards Ring Of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor later this month. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Wardlow vs. Scorpio Sky

Wardlow is challenging in a street fight. Sky strikes away at the leg to start and gets dropped with a hard shoulder. A low blow cuts off Wardlow but he’s fine enough to toss Sky around a few times. They head outside where an American Top Team distraction lets Sky send Wardlow into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Wardlow knocking him off the top and hitting a Swanton. The Powerbomb Symphony is loaded up but Wardlow clears them out without much effort. The distraction lets Sky get in a belt shot for two and Wardlow is back with the spinebuster. A three movement Powerbomb Symphony gives Wardlow the pin and the title at 8:29.

Rating: C. Not exactly a great match and I’m not sure on the idea of having Sky lose again here, but Wardlow needed to win something already and they pulled that off here. Wardlow shrugged off whatever was thrown at him here and he won the title like a monster should. Good enough match and it did what it needed to do.

Confetti falls and Wardlow gets to celebrate.

Jon Moxley is tired of people trying to make their name off of him and tonight, Brody King is going to do it again. You don’t know what kind of a monster you have with him but Moxley knows what he is facing tonight in King.

Here are Christian Cage and Luchasaurus for a chat. Christian has been asked what is going on for a few weeks now and why Luchasaurus has sided with him. Before he can say anything, here is Matt Hardy to interrupt. Matt says he and Jungle Boy have gotten close in recent weeks and Jungle Boy didn’t deserve what Christian did to him.

Christian: “Matt, you’re starting to make your brother sound like the sober one.” Matt talks about regretting the time he spent manipulating people and maybe the last month has been karma coming to get him. Christian calls Matt out for being delusional and for riding Jeff’s coattails for one more run. The brawl is on with Luchasaurus leaving Matt laying, including a chokeslam through the ringside table. I could have gone without the Jeff references but this was fine enough.

Video on Blood & Guts from last week. The Jericho Appreciation Society promises it is not over.

Jake Hager yells at Claudio Castagnoli for never being a World Champion. Castagnoli talks about respect and promises to earn it next week.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Swerve Strickland/Keith Lee

Bunny is here with the villains. Lee headbutts Butcher down to start so we’ll try Strickland vs. Blade instead. That doesn’t go so well for Strickland to start but he knocks Blade down and hands it back to Lee for a shot of his own. Blade jawbreaks his way to freedom but gets knocked outside. Bunny offers a distraction to cut off the dive though and Butcher gets in a cheap shot to take over as we take a break.

Back with Lee getting to clean house as everything breaks down. A lariat/enziguri combination drops Butcher but Blade pulls Swerve in the way of Lee. Butcher hits Lee with a Stunner and Butcher runs him over, allowing Butcher to toss Lee into Blade’s knee. A running knee gets a VERY close two on Swerve with Lee making a (maybe late) save. Back up and Swerve In Our Glory finishes Blade at 9:38.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the continued tease of Swerve and Lee breaking up, especially when they haven’t been around long in the first place, but at least they won the match in the end. Butcher and Blade almost feel like a relic from the past but they are still good enough as a team to make a match like this work. Just either split Swerve and Lee or let them stay together and stop with the teases if it isn’t happening.

Post match Team Taz comes out to yell at Swerve and Lee, with Ricky Starks losing his mind over what sounds like a challenge. Cue the Young Bucks to cut them off, though they don’t have to apologize for anything because they started this company. The Bucks brag about the tag division, including what we saw at Double Or Nothing, which was 4.5 stars. Granted that’s an off night for the Bucks, but they need to keep things going. The solution to that: a triple threat match next week at Fyter Fest. Fans: “FTR!” Nick: “We’re better than them and you know it.” The match seems to be on.

Malakai Black says his House’s violence is by design and Jon Moxley doesn’t know what he is in for.

Here is Eddie Kingston for a chat. He congratulates Wardlow on winning the title and everyone who won Blood & Guts last week. The only person he doesn’t like is Chris Jericho, who made him a liar last week. Kingston didn’t get to taste his blood…but Jericho cuts him off on the screen. Jericho asks if Kingston wants to get nuts and we see the Jericho Appreciation Society slamming Ruby Soho’s hand in a car (granted it wasn’t in the car and they more or less had to tell her to get it slammed in the door, making it look really bad).

Here is the Dark Order, complete with -1, to say that they aren’t going anywhere. They’re here to stay because Dark Order is forever but here is QT Marshall to interrupt. Marshall doesn’t think much of the team and -1 in particular, so threats are made. Cue Hangman Page to send Marshall into the ring and the big beatdown is on. -1 teases beating Marshall but says he’ll wait until he’s 18. This could have, and probably should have, been a post show segment.

Rush vs. Penta Obscuro

Andrade, Jose, Fenix and Alex Abrahantes are here too. They go right at it to start with Rush getting the better of things by running Obscuro over. The fight heads to the floor, where the Alex Abrahantes and Jose get in a fight of their own and we take a break. Back with Rush hitting a powerslam for two but Penta grabs a Backstabber for the same.

They slug it out until Rush knocks him into the corner and hits a top rope dropkick for two. Penta is back up with a kick to the face and the Fear Factor gets two, with Andrade putting Rush’s foot on the rope. The distraction lets Rush get in a low blow and rip off Penta’s mask (of course) for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C+. Good brawl here, though I am completely over that rip off the mask ending. It has been done so many times with both of the Lucha Bros that it feels like something they have to do instead of something special. These two can work the hard hitting style well and they did here, though Rush is still only so interesting.

Jay Lethal and company are happy with the upcoming ROH TV Title shot at Death Before Dishonor. Lethal isn’t taking Joe lightly, but he is taking Joe’s title. Good line.

Mark Sterling is trying to get the Best Friends to sign a petition to get rid of Swerve Strickland. Orange Cassidy wants his lawyer present and that’s….Danhausen? Sterling wants Tony Nese vs. Cassidy on Rampage so they can make a lot of money. but Cassidy isn’t sure. Danhausen to Cassidy: “How about you vs. his client on Rampage? We’ll make a lot of money.” Cassidy is in. Funny stuff, especially Danhausen shouting various legal terms and no one paying attention to him.

Ruffin It/Fuego del Sol vs. Gunn Club/Acclaimed

The Club cuts off Caster’s rap and tensions are high. Fuego takes Colten down to start but it’s Bear Bronson coming in for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down in a hurry and Caster hits the Mic Drop, but Austin tags himself in and steals the pin at 2:14. This story is oddly growing on me.

Post match the Club and Acclaimed get into it but Billy Gunn comes in the ring…and turns on the Acclaimed, leaving both of them laying. So there’s the Acclaimed’s face turn.

Miro is not happy with Malakai Black.

Thunder Rosa/Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir/Nyla Rose

Rosa takes Shafir into the corner to start and it’s a double suplex for two. A hip attack keeps Shafir in trouble as the dominance is on to start. Rose gets in a cheap shot though and a fireman’s carry slam drops Storm as we take a break. Back with Storm fighting out of the corner and handing it back to Rosa to clean house. The running dropkick against the ropes staggers Rosa but she’s back up with a Rock Bottom. Everything breaks down and the hip attack hits Shafir, setting up a spike fire thunder driver to pin Shafir at 9:07.

Rating: C. Calling Rosa and Storm Thunderstorm is a funny way to go, though at first I thought it was AEW’s latest gimmick match. Anyway, this is a fine way to set up what should be Rosa vs. Storm for the title down the line, though the less Shafir we see on TV the better. It isn’t working with her, but she’s here pretty frequently anyway for whatever reason.

Stokely Hathaway recommends Leila Grey as the newest Baddie. Jade Cargill says he better be right.

Daniel Garcia is ready to take the Ring Of Honor Pure Title from Wheeler Yuta at Death Before Dishonor.

FTR wants the Briscoes at Death Before Dishonor, one more time.

Interim AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Brody King

King is challenging and William Regal is on commentary. They shove each other around to start and get in each others’ faces to yell a lot. King knocks him outside and sends Moxley into various things to take over. Back in and Moxley gets in a few shots to the knee to take over but gets dropped again as we take a break.

Back with King missing a Cannonball in the corner so Moxley puts him on top and rakes the back for some pain. King blasts him with a clothesline and hits a piledriver for two before grabbing the sleeper in the corner. With that broken up due to being in the ropes, Moxley grabs a Paradigm Shift. The hammer and anvil elbows keep King in trouble, setting up the bulldog choke to finish him off (ala how Moxley beat Brodie Lee) at 11:14.

Rating: B-. They had a good fight here, even though it was Moxley defending against Moxley’s Designated Victim #1. There was no reason to believe that King was going to take the title here, but in this case that worked out well. Moxley gets a win over someone who looks impressive and King doesn’t lose anything from a loss to the champ. Completely logical choices.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t their strongest effort as everything seemed a bit off. Maybe it was a post-holiday hangover or something but it just didn’t quite click. They have some time before All Out and you can probably guess the top of the card from here, but focusing on it would be nice. Certainly not a bad show, but Dynamite has a pretty high bar and this was beneath their usual.

Results
Wardlow b. Scorpio Sky – Powerbomb Symphony
Keith Lee/Swerve Strickland b. Butcher and Blade – Swerve In Our Glory to Blade
Rush b. Penta Obscuro – Small package
Gunn Club/Acclaimed b. Fuego del Sol/Ruffin It – Mic Drop to Bear Bronson
Thunder Rosa/Toni Storm b. Marina Shafir/Nyla Rose – Spike fire thunder driver to Shafir
Jon Moxley b. Brody King – Bulldog choke

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Dynamite
Date: June 29, 2022
Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

It’s another major show here as we go from Forbidden Door on Sunday to Blood & Guts tonight. That would be AEW’s version of WarGames, albeit with twelve people this time as the match needs to be bigger, but it does look good on paper. Other than that, I’m not sure what else we have as so much has been put into the New Japan stuff for the last few weeks. Let’s get to it.

Here is Forbidden Door if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Dig that double ring setup.

Ethan Page vs. Orange Cassidy

Before the match, Dan Lambert complains about the Best Friends being here because they aren’t official managers and we have regulations in his state. Oh and Cassidy is skinny and has no muscles whatsoever. Page starts fast and knocks him down but Cassidy nips up and grabs an armdrag to the floor. There’s the suicide dive, followed by the high crossbody for one back inside. Page is back up with some shots of his own and Cassidy gets knocked into the corner as we take an early break.

Back with Cassidy escaping a Razor’s Edge and then countering another into a hurricanrana. A powerslam cuts Cassidy off but he grabs a Stundog Millionaire and hits the tornado DDT for two. The Orange Punch is loaded up but Lambert, with orange juice, offers a distraction. Cassidy hits some very soft punches and takes the juice, setting up the Orange Punch. The juice is spat in Lambert’s eyes and another Orange Punch sets up the slam (third try) for the pin on Page at 10:57.

Rating: C+. The slam bit was fun and gave the fans something to cheer about, as Cassidy continues his slight rise back up the card. Page is someone with enough name value but nothing going on at the moment so the loss doesn’t really hurt him. Not exactly a great match but it was fun enough to work with a bit of a house show feeling.

Here is Christian Cage for a chat. He has heard a lot of things about saying Jungle Boy’s father was dead last week. Christian hasn’t apologized for many things, but he’s sorry that Jungle Boy’s entire family isn’t dead. Christian: “Well, except for your mom.” Who should call him. As for tonight, he has requested a match, but he never said it was for him. Cue Luchasaurus, with a rather intense new entrance.

Luchasaurus vs. Serpentico

The Snare Trap with a nerve hold finishes Serpentico at 49 seconds. That worked.

Post match Luchasaurus hits a chokeslam on the floor to leave Serpentico laying.

Wardlow and Scorpio Sky have a staredown in the back with Sky saying he beat Wardlow last time. Wardlow says bring every member of American Top Team and the title match is made for next week. We’ll make it a street fight.

Max Caster/Gunn Club vs. Danhausen/???/???

Caster’s rap makes various Michigan references but he won’t let the Club say the city names. Danhausen comes out and he does have some partners.

Max Caster/Gunn Club vs. Danhausen/FTR

Wheeler takes Austin down to start and hits a slam for a bonus. A spank to Austin brings Harwood in to chop away in the corner. Danhausen comes in and gets blasted by Colten as we take a break. Back with Harwood having to save Danhausen and everything breaks down. FTR rolls some German suplexes on the Club until Austin grabs most of the Quick Draw on Harwood for a breather. Danhausen comes back in and tries a GTS on Austin, but Anthony Bowens pops up to his feet (out of a wheelchair). The crutch shot hits Austin by mistake though and Danhausen steals the pin at 9:31.

Rating: C. Well you knew that was coming one day. The Acclaimed vs. the Gunn Club has the potential to be a rather fun mini feud and that is what we are probably going to be getting here. Danhausen getting the pin is going to work almost every chance he gets, as it isn’t like he did anything to earn it. At the same time though, did Caster do anything at all here?

Post match the Gunns and Acclaimed yell at each other but Billy sides with his not-sons.

Sonjay Dutt and Jay Lethal still want Samoa Joe to give him a Ring Of Honor TV Title match at Death Before Dishonor.

TBS Title: Jade Cargill vs. Leila Grey

Cargill, with Stokely Hathaway and Kiera Hogan, is defending and throws Grey down with no effort. Leila’s forearms have no effect and it’s Jaded to retain the title at 1:55. Total dominance.

Post match Cargill says she wants better competition. Stokely says this woman got a chance after the open challenge was on last night at 11:40. So Athena and Kris Statlander are just lazy for not being in the ring here. Cue Athena and Kris to go after Jade but Leila makes the save. The villains stand tall but Leila isn’t getting a handshake.

Grand Slam is back in September.

The Young Bucks talks about how all of their friends are hurt and they have no one here. The only thing they have left are the Tag Team Titles but they have no competition. On Friday though, they can keep the Forbidden Door open a bit, with Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi getting a shot at the titles.

Jim Ross comes out for commentary on Blood And Guts.

The cage is lowered.

We recap the Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Eddie Kingston/Blackpool Combat Club. The idea is that Kingston doesn’t trust his partners but he needs to take out Jericho and company.

Jericho Appreciation Society vs. Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz/Blackpool Combat Club

Chris Jericho, Sammy Guevara, Matt Menard, Jake Hager, Daniel Garcia, Angelo Parker
Eddie Kingston, Santana, Ortiz, Wheeler Yuta, Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli

It’s WarGames with the opening period lasting four minutes. Then the Society will get the one man advantage for three minutes before they start alternating entrances. After everyone is in, it’s submission or surrender only. Claudio Castagnoli starts for the Club and throws Sammy Guevara over the ropes into the other ring. The running uppercut rocks Sammy, who tries to climb out and gets in a chase around the side of the cage.

Multiple springboards lets Sammy get away to the other ring before they fight between the rings for a change. Back in and the pop up uppercut is countered into a cutter to drop Castagnoli but we pause for a kiss from Tay Conti. Castagnoli loads up the Swing but Daniel Garcia comes in to make the save as we take an early break. Back with Wheeler Yuta evening things up to give Castagnoli a needed breather. A running uppercut/German suplex combination drops Guevara and the Club sends the two of them into some cages.

Jake Hager comes in to make it 3-2 and cleans some house, setting up the battle of the former Real Americans. The springboard corkscrew elbow drops Hager but Garcia is back up to take Castagnoli down. Yuta is back to make a save of his own but the numbers game takes him down. Jon Moxley is in to even things up again, complete with a chair, to start cleaning house again. What looks to be a fork is driven into Garcia’s head to give us the first blood. A Hart Attack of all things drops Garcia and a gorilla press into a cutter drops Guevara.

The Club set up the stereo hammer and anvil elbows (with Moxley’s elbows to Hager looking particularly terrible). Angelo Parker comes in and knows he’s in trouble so he tries to run away as well as he can. That works for all of ten seconds before the Club catches him and starts the big beatdown. The numbers game gets the Society out of trouble but it’s Ortiz coming in to clean house.

We take another break and come back with Menard coming in with a chair of his own to wreck a bunch of people. During the break, Moxley piledrove someone onto broken glass, because that’s what you do during a break. Things even up a bit and it’s Santana coming in with a table and a barbed wire bat to make things even bigger. The blood starts flowing even more, with Moxley pulling out some skewers to stab Menard in the head. Yuta and Garcia stand between the rings and slap each other a bunch until Jericho comes in with Floyd to clean house.

Jericho takes over until it’s Kingston coming in with the kendo stick to complete the field. Kingston walks through the Society with little trouble until Jericho is all that is left. The beating is on so Kingston pulls out rubbing alcohol, which is broken up for the sake of a lack of extreme pain. Conti slips the rubbing alcohol to Jericho as the table is set up between the rings. Hager goes through the table (JR: “SOMEBODY GET THE TABLES!”) and it’s time for the tacks.

Menard is dropped into the tacks as the mat is being ripped off of the ring. Garcia, COVERED in blood, is somehow hanging from the cage outside of the ring as we take another break. Back again with Jericho dragging Moxley through the tacks and then putting on the Walls. Kingston makes the save and gets to beat on Jericho, who is sent into the cage. Jericho finds a fire extinguisher to spray Kingston as Tay grabs the key from the referee.

Cue Ruby Riott to go after Tay and the brawl is on. The women are gone so Jericho goes up top of the cage, with Kingston following close behind. Regal: “This is the one thing I couldn’t strategize with anyone about. I’ve never even been on the top rope.” Kingston hits the backfist on top but Guevara joins them on top. A low blow cuts Guevara down and Eddie throws him through the well placed announcers’ table at ringside.

We take another break and come back again with Jericho getting Kingston in the Walls on top of the cage as Claudio climbs up as well. The Walls are broken up Claudio Swings Jericho. Menard comes up for the save but it’s the Stretch Plum to Jericho and the Sharpshooter to Menard for the tap and the win at 46:45.

Rating: A-. This might be the best example of “your mileage may vary” that you’ll see for a very long time as Blood & Guts is one of the most unique matches you’ll find. They had the blood and the violence and it didn’t feel too cluttered (the double ring thing gives it SO much more breathing room than NXT), though the ending wasn’t exactly amazing. What mattered here was having the teams beat the heck out of each other with a bunch of blood (Garcia was COVERED) and violence, as Claudio vs. Eddie continues. Heck of a match, though I’m still not sure if we need weapons in a WarGames match. Just seems like overkill.

Post match Kingston is mad at Claudio for being the one to get the tap. Respect is shown, but Kingston keeps running his mouth. The winners (minus Santana, who was apparently hurt during the match) all get on top to celebrate, for a rather good while, to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This is one of the harder shows to rate as it’s pretty much ALL about the main event. Everything else was good enough, but the second half of the show was focused on one match and that worked out pretty well. It’s a bit weird to have it be so sudden after Forbidden Door, but the match had been set up for weeks so it isn’t out of nowhere. Very good show, though as far as what the focus was on, it’s a one match episode.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Ethan Page – Slam
Luchasaurus b. Serpentico – Snare Trap with a nerve hold
Danhausen/FTR b. Max Caster/Gunn Club
Jade Cargill b. Leila Grey – Jaded
Eddie Kingston/Santana/Ortiz/Blackpool Combat Club b. Jericho Appreciation Society – Sharpshooter to Menard

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

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Rampage
Date: June 10, 2022
Location: Cable Dahmer Arena, Independence, Missouri
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

We are just over two weeks away from Forbidden Door but things have been shaken up pretty hard around here lately. A string of injuries has changed some of the direction in AEW but bringing in some of the New Japan wrestlers should help. That includes this week, as Will Ospreay/Aussie Open are teaming up to face FTR/Trent Beretta. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Eddie Kingston vs. Jake Hager

Kingston strikes away to start but Hager knocks him down with a knee to the ribs. Hager sends him outside before it’s back inside to crank on both arms. They’re already back to the floor with Hager pounding away, followed by some forearms in the corner back inside. The armbar goes on back inside but Kingston fights up. That doesn’t go well for Kingston, who gets chopped so hard that he takes down the straps. Kingston kicks him in the head to take over, only to walk into an overhead belly to belly.

We take a break and come back with Kingston getting in a shot of his own for the double knockdown. Kingston knocks him into the corner for the rapid fire chops but Hager hits him in the face. The Hager Bomb gets two but Kingston grabs a suplex of his own. Kingston’s spinning backfist is countered into a suplex, only to have Hager come back with the ankle lock. Hager’s right hands in the corner rock Kingston, who comes right back with a pair of spinning backfists for the pin at 11:24.

Rating: C+. They had a good, hard hitting back and forth match here and what matters most is that Kingston got another big win. Kingston is starting to put together a streak where you can believe he could take down some bigger names and this should help. Hager might not be a top star, but he has been treated as someone hard to beat so there is some value for Kingston in the win.

Kingston has to be helped out.

Britt Baker is so mad at Toni Storm that she calls Tony Schiavone a dumb***. She doesn’t like Storm touching the Owen Hart Title but more than that, she misses the Women’s Title.

Video on Ortiz vs. Chris Jericho in their upcoming hair vs. hair match.

Satnam Singh/Jay Lethal vs. Besties In The World

Lethal and Vega start things off but it’s already off to Singh. That means the chopping and tossing can begin, with Vega not having many options. Fitchett tries to come in but both Besties get crossbodied at the same time. Singh holds both Besties for a double Lethal Injection to give Lethal the pin at 1:39. Total squash so not much to get out of Singh here, though he looked rather slow.

Danhausen was so proud of he and Hook winning at Double Or Nothing that they have bought matching golf carts. Hook arrives in his to give chase.

Red Velvet vs. Kris Statlander

The other Baddies and Stokely Hathaway are here too. Velvet charges at her outside but gets powerslammed HARD on the floor, allowing Statlander to throw her inside for the opening bell. That leaves Velvet asking the Baddies for advice, which seems to be “CHOKE HER”. Not that it works as Statlander walks up the steps and then the corner before throwing Velvet inside. A high crossbody misses though and Velvet starts in on the leg.

We take a break and come back with Statlander hitting some shoulders to the ribs in the corner. Statlander powers up and hits a very spinning Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Something like a Michinoku Driver gets two but Velvet is back with a running knee to the back of the head. A spinning middle rope corner drops Statlander and Just Dessert gets two. Velvet’s spinning kick to the head is blocked though and Friday Night Fever finishes for Statlander at 8:55.

Rating: C. Statlander is being built up well, even if it seems like she is there to be fed to Cargill. Letting her run through the Baddies is a good idea as that is why you have lackeys, though Athena might be the one getting the big title shot. Cargill has needed some actual challenges though and Statlander could be just that.

Post match Kiera Hogan and Jade Cargill lay Statlander out until Anna Jay comes in for the failed save attempt. Athena comes in for the real save attempt but gets held back.

Miro is ready to hurt Ethan Page and win the All Atlantic Title.

Ethan Page says he looks up to and prays to himself so he is ready to wave the Canadian flag as he beats Miro next week.

The United Empire and FTR/Trent Beretta are ready for the main event and don’t like each other very much.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

United Empire vs. FTR/Trent Beretta

That would be Will Ospreay/Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher/Mark Davis) with Aaron Henare for the Empire. Harwood takes Ospreay down to start but gets run over by a shoulder. Wheeler comes in and gets kind of hurricanranaed down, giving us a standoff. Wheeler gets taken into the corner and it’s off to Davis to toss Wheeler into the wrong corner. Trent comes in and hits a few chops as everything breaks down. The Empire is sent outside and Trent hits an Asai moonsault but comes up favoring his ankle.

We take a break and come back with Trent hitting an enziguri but getting knocked down again by Davis. Fletcher misses a running dropkick in the corner though and the hot tag brings in Harwood to clean house. Some clotheslines set up the rolling German suplexes to Fletcher and it’s off to Wheeler for a powerbomb.

Another German suplex into a jackknife rollup gets two but Aussie Open gets back up to beat Wheeler down. A toss into a cutter sets up Ospreay’s springboard 450 for two. The Oscutter gives Ospreay the same but Wheeler gets away and brings Trent back in. Everything breaks down and Ospreay hits a slingshot dive onto FTR. That leaves Davis to go after Trent, who catches Davis in Strong Zero for the pin at 13:57.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but the last few minutes were quite good. The Empire didn’t get to showcase itself very much here and that was more than surprising, but at least they did get to beat on Wheeler for a bit. Odds are all three of them will be around for Forbidden Door so there is something of a long term plan here. Good main event, with the guest stars working well before coming up short.

Overall Rating: B-. They went with the wrestling show here and as usual, it was good stuff. The main event took its time to get going but eventually found its gear and the opener was a hard hitting brawl. Statlander got a win and Singh….uh, Statlander got a win! This continues to be more of a supplemental show and thankfully that means cutting out some of the more illogical parts, which works out well as they seem to know what they want from Rampage.

Results
Eddie Kingston b. Jake Hager – Spinning backfist
Jay Lethal/Satnam Singh b. Besties In The World – Double Lethal Injection
Kris Statlander b. Red Velvet – Friday Night Fever
FTR/Trent Beretta b. United Empire – Strong Zero to Davis

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Rampage
Date: May 13, 2022
Location: UBS Arena, Belmont Park, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho

We’re still in the weird time slot due to some kind of playoffs (basketpuck or hockball I believe) and that means a grand total of nothing on this show. Granted it means very few people are going to watch it, but it isn’t like that is AEW’s fault in this case. This week is going to have some Owen Hart Foundation tournament action so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Death Triangle vs. Butcher/Blade/Marq Quen

Penta does the CERO MIEDO to Blade to start and then kicks him in the ribs. Pac comes in to hold Blade in place for the top rope double stomp What’s Up. Jericho’s voice sounds more than a bit off as Butcher comes in to take over on Pac. That doesn’t last long as Butcher is sent outside, allowing Fenix and Quen to come in. A pop up dropkick puts Fenix down and he gets sent outside for a whip into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Fenix fighting out of a front facelock but Quen and the Butcher are right there to knock Pac and Penta off the apron. Everything breaks down and Quen hits a big flip dive onto Pac and Penta on the floor, leaving Fenix to get clotheslined down for two. A hurricanrana gets Fenix out of trouble as Kyle O’Reilly is shown watching in the crowd. Back in and Penta makes the save, getting to clean house and take over again. Pac’s German suplex gets two on Quen and it’s the spike Fear Factor. The Lucha Bros hit dives on Butcher and Blade, leaving the Black Arrow to finish Quen at 10:20.

Rating: C+. Death Triangle continues to be just kind of there and that isn’t the most exciting thing. I know we’re heading for the showdown with the House Of Black but it has taken so long to get the team back together and set up the match that any interest I had in the first place is long gone. The team is still fun to watch, but my goodness the spark is long gone.

Post match the lights go out, the House of Black pops up, the lights go out again, and the House of Black pops down.

Shawn Spears vs. Bear Boulder

Spears shows him the TEN to start so Boulder grabs him in a gorilla press. That’s broken up so Boulder settles for a powerslam instead. Spears avoids a charge in the corner though and hammers away in the corner until Boulder grabs him by the throat. Boulder gets in his own right hands in the corner but gets reversed into the C4 to give Spears the fast pin at 2:05. This is the Spears version of the villains beating someone before losing to Wardlow.

Post match Spears unloads on him with the chair.

Tony Nese and Mark Sterling (in a neck brace and with a crutch) are NOT happy with their upcoming match against Hookhausen. Sterling doesn’t even have fights! Nese says he has destroyed Danhausen and he’s a premiere athlete. He can win on his own, so Sterling should put $10,000 on them.

Owen Hart Foundation Tournament First Round: Riho vs. Ruby Soho

Soho works on an armbar to start but gets reversed into la majistral for two. A running kick to the chest misses for Soho and Riho slips out of an over the shoulder backbreaker. Riho hits a double stomp to the ribs to rock Soho but she pulls Riho face first into the buckle to break it up.

There’s a headbutt to put Riho in trouble, only to have her tie the legs up and crank back to put Soho in trouble as we take a break. Back with Riho hitting a northern lights suplex for two but hang on as we need to look at things that happened in the break. Soho loads up a Blade Runner, which is reversed into a crucifix bomb for two. Back up and Soho hits a belly to back suplex, setting up a Blade Runner for the pin at 9:06.

Rating: C+. I can certainly go for seeing Soho get a win over one of the bigger names the division has ever seen so this was a nice result. What matters is having some new faces in the division and Soho could certainly use the boost after a pretty rocky start in AEW. I’m not sure how far she goes in this thing, but a win is not completely out of the realm of possibility.

Billy Gunn holds a meeting between the Gunn Club and the Acclaimed, who he thinks could be a great faction. They need hand gestures though, with the Club suggesting crotch chops. Billy shoots that down, but likes the scissoring deal. Now, catchphrases. Gunn Club: “Oh, you didn’t….” Billy: “NO! THAT WILL NEVER GET OVER!” The Acclaimed suggests “Yo, listen” and Billy is down with that. Now he has a match for them on Elevation!

Here are Jade Cargill and the Baddies for a chat. Cargill hits the catchphrase but Tony Schiavone has to announce that since Hikaru Shida is injured, so Red Velvet has to face Kris Statlander in the first round instead. That isn’t a bad thing for Cargill, but Statlander comes out for the staredown anyway.

Scorpio Sky is ready to defend the TNT Title against Kazarian because the champ’s word is his bond and he promised Kazarian the shot. Kazarian is ready too, and Sky having Dan Lambert and Ethan Page stay in the back makes it even better.

Here is what is coming up on various shows.

TNT Title: Scorpio Sky vs. Frankie Kazarian

Sky is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and neither get anywhere. Sky flips out of a wristlock but Kazarian runs him over with a double to give us a standoff. Kazarian takes him down and drops a leg to the arm, setting up a short armscissors. With that broken up, neither of them can grab their finisher so they collide for a double knockdown. A backslide gives Kazarian two and a fisherman’s suplex is good for the same. Sky sends him to the floor though and there’s the big flip dive to take Kazarian down again.

We take a break and come back with Kazarian hitting the slingshot Fameasser for two. A hard lariat drops Sky again but he is up with the TKO attempt. That’s reversed into a small package for two, followed by the springboard spinning legdrop to give Kazarian a rather delayed near fall. Sky heads to the apron so Kazarian slingshots him in for a heck of a cutter for two. The crossface chickenwing goes on but here is Dan Lambert for a distraction, allowing Ethan Page to come in with a belt shot….for two. Sky (who doesn’t seem to have seen the interference) is back up with the TKO to retain at 11;40.

Rating: B-. The ending wasn’t exactly great but it might set up something good for the future between the two of them. Odds are we’re getting either a rematch or a tag match out of that ending, likely at the Los Angeles show coming up in a few weeks. Sky retaining the title is a good thing, but I don’t think there was any real doubt about the result here.

Post match Kazarian tries to tell Sky what happened and Sky yells at Lambert and Page. Sky wants to know what happened, so Page grabs the mic and says yeah he did it. He did it for the team, so what team is Sky on? Then Sky hits Kazarian with the title and the beatdown is on. Lambert calls Sammy Guevara and “W****hausen” (Tay Conti) into the ring and runs as Sammy makes the save (and holds up the title) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show this week, though that ending wasn’t exactly my favorite. They got back to doing some things on this show, as the tournament has gotten off to a pretty fast start. Granted when you have almost six weeks to set things up, there isn’t much of a reason for it not to start well. Nice show here, with nothing close to bad throughout.

Results
Death Triangle b. Butcher/Blade/Marq Quen – Black Arrow to Quen
Shawn Spears b. Bear Boulder – C4
Ruby Soho b. Riho – Blade Runner
Scorpio Sky b. Frankie Kazarian – TKO

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Rampage
Date: March 4, 2022
Location: Addition Financial Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Chris Jericho, Ricky Starks, Taz

It’s a rare live edition this week as it is also the go home show for this weekend’s Revolution pay per view. That could make things a bit more interesting, as we also have a title match. Sammy Guevara will be defending the TNT Title against Darby Allin and Andrade El Idolo, which should be a good one. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

TNT Title: Andrade El Idolo vs. Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara

Guevara is defending. Andrade bails out to the floor to start before being chased back inside. Allin hits a high angle springboard armdrag to take Andrade down but Sammy takes Allin down as well. Sammy loads up a superplex but Andrade turns it into a Tower of Doom, albeit after walking forward while holding both of them up at once (geez).

We take a break and come back with Andrade suplexing Sammy into the corner and a moonsault press connects to give Andrade two. Allin gets back up and helps double team Andrade, meaning it’s a superkick to send Andrade into the corner. Sammy charges at Allin but gets sent into the corner, leaving Andrade to knee Allin in the back.

Andrade gets crotched on top and Allin whips him with a belt, setting up Sammy’s Coast to Coast (over Allin in the process) to nail Andrade hard. Allin and Sammy trade rollups for two each until Andrade comes back in to kick Andrade in the face. A lifting powerbomb gets two on Guevara with Allin diving in to make a save. Guevara gives Andrade the GTH but Allin sends Guevara to the floor. The Coffin Drop connects but Sammy Swantons in for the save and pins Andrade to retain at 12:05.

Rating: B+. Aside from Allin looking a bit dumb by not going for the cover off the GTH, this was an outstanding match with three guys going nuts throughout and hitting one big spot after another. Guevara continues to remind me of the good parts of Jeff Hardy and that is some rather high praise. Allin has long since proven what he can do, and Andrade is always so much more interesting when Matt Hardy is nowhere to be seen. Awesome match here, as they packed in some amazing stuff.

Pac and Penta Obscura are in the ring with Alex Abrahantes as the Dark Priest. They want to face the House of Black on Sunday for revenge, so here is the House of Black to pop up on screen and say they are ready to fight. The House of Black pops up on the apron and seems ready, but Abrahantes says that they may be down one Lucha Bro, but they have someone else. Cue Erick Redbeard (Rowan) and the big brawl is on, with security failing to make the save. Penta breaks a security guard’s arm to prove his point. The match is official for Revolution.

Dan Lambert has gotten Scorpio Sky a TNT Title shot next week on Dynamite in exchange for bringing Paige VanZant to Revolution to sign her AEW contract.

Keith Lee vs. JD Drake

They trade chops to start with Drake getting knocked into the corner. Drake jumps over him out of the corner so Lee blasts him with the Pounce as we take a break. Back with Drake hitting a Cannonball and adding a moonsault for one. Lee runs him over again and muscles him up into the Big Bang Catastrophe for the pin at 6:48.

Rating: C+. The match didn’t get much time, but there is something to be said about watching people of this size throw each other around. Lee getting to show off that power of his is something else and it was a heck of a spectacle. It wasn’t exactly great, but dang it’s fun to watch Lee do scary impressive things.

Post match the rest of the Wingmen come in but get beaten down by Lee in short order. Team Taz comes to the ramp to stare at Lee, with Orange Cassidy showing up to stare at everyone.

After the attack on Dynamite, a bloody CM Punk applauds MJF, saying that this kind of blood makes certain people feel alive. MJF is going to learn that Punk is the master and Punk knows who the **** he is. Punk knows that MJF isn’t ready and he’s going to beat MJF until his mother doesn’t recognize him. On March 6, he is becoming a monster to fight the monsters of the world. He is CM Punk (wink) and he is better than you. This match should rock.

Jade Cargill is ready for Revolution, with Mark Sterling saying there could be no contact between Tay Conti and Cargill until 48 hours before the match. Anna Jay pops up for a distraction and Conti jumps Cargill from behind. Sterling brought that on himself.

Serena Deeb vs. Leila Grey

Grey bails to the floor to start but gets caught with a neckbreaker over the ropes. The front chancery finishes Grey at 55 seconds.

Post match the Serenity Lock goes on but Hikaru Shida returns to club Deeb with a kendo stick for the save.

Eddie Kingston has a promo (because Chris Jericho has to use insider terms, but Eddie says kayfabe may be dead but we don’t have to desecrate its grave) for Chris Jericho, who he’s ready to fight. As for now, they have that Reese’s peanut butter pie at catering so he and Tony Schiavone have somewhere to go.

Ethan Page is ready for the main event, with Christian Cage promising to make Scorpio Sky a transitional champion next week.

Face of the Revolution Ladder Match Qualifying Match: Christian Cage vs. Ethan Page

They start fast with an exchange of shots in the corner until Christian tosses him over the top. The dropkick through the ropes connects with Page and we take a break. Back with Christian throwing him back inside and raining down the right hands in the corner. Page gets in an elbow to the face but Christian’s reverse DDT gets two.

A cutter gives Page two but Christian snaps the back of his neck across the top rope. The top rope headbutt gives Christian two more, only to miss a charge into the corner. Ego’s Edge is countered and Christian hits the spear for two. Back up and Christian is sent shoulder first into the post but he’s still able to counter Ego’s Edge. The Killswitch is good for the pin on Page at 8:55.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much to this one as Page didn’t get in a ton of offense before losing in the end. Cage moving on to the ladder match makes sense for the sake of his history in such matches, but it isn’t like he has done much of anything on his own in the last few months. This felt like “we need someone else so here’s Christian”, which may be efficient but isn’t that exciting.

Post match the Jurassic Express come out to celebrate with Christian but here are ReDRagon and the Young Bucks to steal a title each. Luchasaurus takes them back and Jungle Boy adds a running flip dive to take the four of them out to end the show (with Jericho getting in one last threat to Eddie Kingston).

Overall Rating: B. That opener alone was going to carry the show and sometimes that is all you need. The rest of the show was good enough, though Shida and Redbeard returning were both nice moments. I’m looking forward to Revolution and this was the big push to get us over the edge to the show. Throw in the rather fired up Punk promo and this was a pretty great last hour before the pay per view. I can’t get over that opener though, which was so good that it deserves an extra egads.

Results
Sammy Guevara b. Darby Allin and Andrade El Idolo – Swanton to Andrade
Keith Lee b. JD Drake – Big Bang Catastrophe
Serena Deeb b. Leila Grey – Front chancery
Christian Cage b. Ethan Page – Killswitch

AEW, 2022, Rampage, Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, Andrade El Idolo, Keith Lee, JD Drake, Orange Cassidy, Team Taz, CM Punk, Serena Deeb. Leila Grey, House of Black, Penta Obscura, Alex Abrahantes, Pac, Christian Cage, Ethan Page, Jurassic Express, Eddie Kingston, ReDRagon, Young Bucks, Jade Cargill, Scorpio Sky, Dan Lambert, Jade Cargill, Anna Jay, Tay Conti,

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.