Rampage
Date: February 4, 2022
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Chris Jericho

We’re still in Chicago and it’s a stacked card as Jay Lethal challenges Ricky Starks for the FTW Title. On top of that, Sammy Guevara defends the TNT Title against Isiah Kassidy and Adam Cole faces Evil Uno. Ok so maybe they’re not all huge matches this time around. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Adam Cole vs. Evil Uno

Cole jumps him to start and the choking begins on the ropes. That lets Cole get a bit more cocky but Uno fights up and runs him over. The Swanton hits knees though and some kicks rock Uno. The Boom finishes for Cole at 2:25. That’s what this should have been.

Post match Cole lists off a bunch of names that he has beaten while he is still undefeated. He doesn’t care about last week because it doesn’t exist. What does exist is a new Adam Cole and now he is ruthless. He has won World Titles and always winds up dominating anywhere he goes. There is one thing that is certain: he will become the World Champion.

Jade Cargill is ready to become 27-0 and laughs at the idea that she is green. She’s green like money.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Isiah Kassidy

Sammy, with taped ribs, is defending and Matt Hardy/Marq Quen are here with Kassidy. Feeling out process to start until Kassidy goes after the bad ribs. That doesn’t bother Sammy, who sends him outside for the big flip dive. There’s the nip up as well, just to show off a bit. Sammy goes after Quen though, allowing Hardy to hit a Side Effect onto the apron.

We take a break and come back with Kassidy staying on the ribs. Sammy fights up and tries the GTH but the ribs give out. Instead it’s Kassidy charging into a superkick. Sammy goes up but here is Andrade for a distraction. A Backstabber gives Kassidy two and he sends Sammy outside for a dive. Back in and a Swanton to the back gets two but Sammy fights up and springboard dives onto Quen. A springboard cutter gives Sammy two and the GTH retains the title at 9:12.

Rating: C+. This was exactly as the match should have gone. There was no reason to believe that Guevara was in trouble in a straight match against Kassidy so stacking the odds is the way to go. It made for a nice challenge to Guevara before he can move on to something else. Doing things like this is going to make Guevara seem like a bigger deal and that’s what they made work here.

Post match Andrade gets in the ring behind Sammy but Darby Allin runs in. Allin isn’t interested in the money offered to him so it’s a big staredown instead. With Andrade and company gone, Allin slaps Guevara’s TNT Titles (because Sammy is carrying both of them), which might be a warning.

QT Marshall is sending someone after Hook.

Kris Statlander doesn’t think Layla Hirsch has been acting like an amateur wrestler…and then Hirsch blasts her in the back with a chair.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Thunder Rosa

Rosa hammers away to start and takes Martinez down for some elbows to the back. They head outside with Rosa snapping off a suplex before heading back inside. Martinez runs her over this time and we take a break. Back with Martinez hitting a super Death Valley Driver for two but Rosa plants her right back down. They head outside where Martinez whips out a pipe and hits Rosa in the face for the DQ at 7:41.

Rating: C. This was intense while it lasted, but the ending has me wondering just how hard Rosa is going to smash Martinez in their violent rematch. That’s where Rosa shines and hopefully it finally moves towards the big Rosa vs. Baker showdown. You have to do something like this to get there though and that’s a fine way to go, even if a DQ still feels weird around here.

Video on Serena Deeb.

Mercedes Martinez is happy with what she did but here is Britt Baker to say a DQ isn’t what they agreed on. If that’s what she wanted, she would have had Jamie Hayter do it for her. Baker paid Martinez to take out Rosa and now she better not lose again, or Baker will have her out of here faster than Martinez left her last job. Violence is teased but Hayter gets in between them.

Jay Lethal is ready to take the FTW Title. Ricky Starks doesn’t think so.

FTW Title: Jay Lethal vs. Ricky Starks

Starks is defending and has Powerhouse Hobbs with him. Lethal elbows him down to start and chops away as you might have expected. Starks gets sent outside for the suicide dives but a Hobbs distraction lets him run Lethal over. We take a break and come back with Lethal getting two off a backslide and la majistral is good for the same.

There’s the Lethal Combination for two more but a hurricanrana is countered into a heck of a sitout powerbomb for another near fall. Lethal fights back again so Hobbs gets up for a distraction. Lethal’s dive is countered so here’s Dante Martin to take out Hobbs. Back in and Lethal hits a cutter for no cover (Jericho: “JAY YOU MISSED YOUR SPOT!”). The Lethal Injection is loaded up but Starks counters into the Roshambo (that was SWEET) for the pin to retain at 12:42.

Rating: B-. The ending was excellent as Starks couldn’t have timed that better. Lethal is someone who serves as a perfect challenger in a spot like this as he could win the title but also gives Starks a good run for his money. At the same time, I’m not entirely sure the FTW Title needs to exist around here, as it often comes off as “oh yeah that’s still a thing” more than a valuable prize.

Overall Rating: C+. Another rather good show, though it still feels like they pack in a lot. In this case, that wasn’t the best feeling as it came off as rushed. I could go for them slowing down a bit, as this feels like it would be better as a forty five minute show (which obviously can’t be done on TV). That being said, it’s still FAR from a bad show and I don’t remember the last time they had a bad one, with this being the latest solid effort.

Results
Adam Cole b. Evil Uno – The Boom
Sammy Guevara b. Isiah Kassidy – GTH
Thunder Rosa b. Mercedes Martinez via DQ when Martinez hit her with a pipe
Ricky Starks b. Jay Lethal – Roshambo

 

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Dynamite
Date: November 17, 2021
Location: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

We’re done with Full Gear and Hangman Page is FINALLY the AEW World Champion. To say this is a long time coming is an understatement but now we get to see where things go from here. That could be in a variety of directions but this week is all about the big celebration. We have a long way to go before Revolution next year so let’s get to it.

Here is Full Gear if you need a recap.

We open with a Full Gear recap.

The Elite is in the back and Kenny Omega is rather sad. He hasn’t watched the match with Hangman Page back but he knows he has some things to fix. Omega wants them to hold the fort down while he’s gone and Adam Cole says they’ve got it. Omega just meant the Bucks though and they walk off. This would be the write off for Omega so he can go have shoulder surgery.

The Dark Order is in the ring and here is Hangman Page, in a Virginia Is For Lovers shirt. Fans: “YOU DESERVE IT!” Page: “I’m gonna stop you right there. I didn’t deserve it. I f’ing earned it.” Page says he doesn’t usually come out here and talk but since he’s the World Champion, he’s going to do whatever he wants. He’s still just a man with a boss to answer to and that boss is the fans.

The title means a lot and now his responsibility is Bryan Danielson….and here is Danielson to interrupt. Danielson is here to say one thing: congratulations. He’s excited for the match, but he’s a bit disappointed that it isn’t Kenny Omega standing across the ring from him. Page says it’s not Omega because he beat Omega at Full Gear…and he did it in less than 30 minutes. Danielson isn’t here to start anything but he’s here for some wrestling instead of flapping his gums.

When he won the World Title at Wrestlemania, he wrestled the very next day (Without actually doing a move!). The fans aren’t thrilled and Danielson isn’t surprised that Virginia doesn’t appreciate hard work. Danielson is here in his gear while Page is in cowboy boots and….whatever that vest is. Page says we might not have the match here in Virginia, but we can have a fight. The Dark Order breaks that up and Danielson mocks Page for hiding behind his friends. I can absolutely go for heel Danielson so this is a nice change of pace. It’s more interesting than the idea of good vs. good so well done.

Bryan Danielson vs. Evil Uno

Danielson takes him down in a hurry and grabs a half crab. Some shots to the mask and an Affirmative Kick to the chest have Uno in trouble. More kicks to the back allow Danielson to say HE HAS UNTIL FIVE. Uno tells Danielson to kick him so Danielson obliges, only to get caught with a neckbreaker. Danielson just blasts him with a shot to break up the comeback and then slaps away in the corner. There’s the running knee but Danielson would rather stomp away than cover. The triangle choke knocks Uno out at 6:24.

Rating: C+. This was exactly as it should have been, with Danielson toying with someone who was out of his league. Uno was destroyed throughout here and Danielson knows just how to come off as evil. Good stuff here, as Page is going to be angry at Danielson for hurting his friend to make the title match all the more personal.

Post match Danielson says he is going to take out the Dark Order one by one. Next week they’re in Chicago and that is the hometown of Colt Cabana. If Cabana is interested, come get your head kicked in.

MJF talks about being covered in Darby Allin’s shame. He has destroyed every wrestler who thinks he can do nothing but talk. Yeah his knee is banged up but he got every one of your little mark chants and then won anyway. He has the best right hand in wrestling and now everyone has to admit it.

We look at Eddie Kingston vs. CM Punk, with Kingston walking away from a post match handshake.

Daniel Garcia and 2.0 come up to Kingston to say they’re tired of the losses. Kingston isn’t cool with 2.0 calling Garcia their son and a fight is proposed. With them gone, Kingston goes to catering while complaining about never being able to get in one promo without being interrupted.

Butcher and the Blade vs. Tomohiro Ishii/Orange Cassidy

Matt Hardy, the Bunny and Rocky Romero are here. Ishii and Butcher start things off but it’s quickly off to Cassidy to put his hands in his pockets. That earns him a knock to the floor and we take an early break with Cassidy in trouble. Back with Ishii suplexing Blade for two so Butcher comes in for the big power brawl. Some chops in the corner just wake Ishii up and he walks through some forearms, backing Butcher (who is still firing off strikes) into the corner.

A superplex gives Ishii two with Blade making the save. It’s off to Cassidy for a Stundog Millionaire and a tornado DDT to Blade for the near fall. Butcher and Blade hit a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination for two with Ishii making a save this time. Ishii comes back in and unloads on Butcher in the corner but Matt Hardy and the Bunny offer a distraction. Bunny slips in the brass knuckles but Rocky Romero breaks it up, with Cassidy diving onto Matt and Blade. Cassidy throws Blade back in so a heck of a clothesline and the brainbuster can finish for Ishii at 11:24.

Rating: C. The Cassidy vs. Hardy N Pals feud continues, though I did miss the elbow being involved this time around. They have to be setting up the hair vs. hair match at this point and that could very easily headline the first hour of an upcoming Dynamite. Other than that, it was cool to see Ishii here, as his presence alone is worth a look.

Andrade El Idolo, with FTR, brags about beating Cody Rhodes and Pac clean. Now he’s going to show them his good size. FTR says they’re so annoyed that they’ll wave their fee, get Malakai Black in there, and make it an eight man tag against Rhodes/Pac/the Lucha Bros. Tully Blanchard even threatens Arn Anderson because he has one more fight in him.

We recap Tay Conti vs. Britt Baker at Full Gear, with Conti saying she’s coming out of her next title shot as champion.

Britt Baker can’t wait to see Jamie Hayter destroy Thunder Rosa and make her not a thing.

TBS Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Nyla Rose vs. Hikaru Shida

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. Shida takes her into the corner to start but gets powered over with a suplex. That earns Rose a kick to the head and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and Rose drives some shoulders into the ribs before slowly starting in on the knee. They head outside with Shida sending her into the barricade and then setting up the chair. It turns out that setting up a chair and then yelling at the camera is enough for Rose to make a comeback (good, because Shida looked stupid there), only to cannonball off the apron and through the chair.

Vickie tries to take the kendo stick away and gets blasted with it instead. The delay (the second one) lets Shida get slammed off the top and we take a break. Back with Serena Deeb, who popped up during the break, jumping Shida and sending her back inside. Rose adds the top rope knee to the back for two but Shida pulls her into a triangle choke. That’s broken up with a powerbomb but Shida raises the knees to block a backsplash. Shida misses something off the top though and it’s a stretch muffler to give Rose the win at 10:59.

Rating: C. The ending surprised me a bit here and Rose moving forward makes sense. This also opens up a third match between Deeb and Shida, which should work out fine. I could see Rose making it to the finals of the tournament as the next monster for the winner to slay. That’s a classic formula and it should work fine if they do it here.

Malakai Black is ready for next week’s eight man tag.

Here is MJF, flanked by Wardlow and Shawn Spears, the latter of whom talks about how MJF can beat any hero with a headlock takeover. MJF says he’s the man who will start a bidding war in 2024. He could take your hometown horse and send him straight to the glue factory. The rankings won’t tell you this, but he deserves to be the next World Champion. There is no one in that locker room on his level….and here is CM Punk. The fans (and JR) like this while telling MJF to shut up. MJF extends his hand but Punk walks away without saying a word. Yeah I think this is going to be fine.

Darby Allin says he’ll face MJF again but for now, he wants the biggest and the baddest AEW has to offer. Cue the Gunn Club, with Billy accepting the challenge.

The Superkliq doesn’t like Jurassic Express so on Rampage it’s the two of them against Bobby Fish/Adam Cole.

Acclaimed vs. Dante Martin/Lio Rush

Stereo dives take out the Acclaimed to cut off the rap (about Martin and Rush’s issues with relationships) and Caster in trouble to start. Martin gets sent outside for a ram into the barricade, setting up a middle rope stomp back inside. It’s Martin getting stomped in the corner, setting up Caster’s neckbreaker for two.

We take a break and come back with Rush coming in to clean house, including the spinning kick to Bowens’ head. Caster gets kicked to the floor and an ax kick gives Rush two on Bowens. Rush has to bail out of the frog splash and Bowens strikes away to put him down. Martin springboards in with a missile dropkick though and everyone is down. Back up and Caster clotheslines Rush’s head off and Bowens plants him with a spinning slam. Caster drops a top rope legdrop for two but Martin makes a save. Martin plants Bowens down and a heck of a frog splash gives Rush the pin at 10:24.

Rating: B-. These guys know how to do this kind of thing and they didn’t waste time here. This was about flying around and letting Martin/Rush look good over a team with a reputation. The Acclaimed might not be the flashiest team but they know how to get the fans annoyed at them in a hurry, which is a lot more important most of the time.

Post match here is Team Taz for another sales pitch to Martin. They think Martin could be a heck of an addition to the team, but saying no might be a bad idea.

Christian Cage and Jurassic Express are ready for Adam Cole/Bobby Fish at Rampage because you don’t bring a fish to a fist fight.

Video on Red Velvet vs. Jade Cargill.

Here’s what’s coming on Rampage and Dynamite.

The Lucha Bros are ready for next week’s eight man tag.

TNT Title: Sammy Guevara vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is challenging in his company debut. Guevara (with bad ribs) tries a quick GTH but settles for an exchange of rollups for two each into a standoff. Lethal hits his hiptoss into the basement dropkick for two and starts in on the bad ribs. A jumping knee sends Lethal outside though and there’s the big flip dive. Back in and the shooting star press hits raised knees and Guevara is in trouble.

We take a break and come back with Sammy blocking the Lethal Injection to hit a Spanish Fly. Lethal rolls outside for a breather before they change places so Lethal can try the suicide dive. That’s blocked in a hurry though and Sammy hits a brainbuster on the floor. Sammy loads up the Swanton but only hits a table at ringside for the huge crash.

Back in and Lethal’s Hail To The King elbow is countered into a cradle for two. He’s right back up with a reverse fisherman’s suplex into a faceplant, setting up the Figure Four. Sammy grabs the rope and is back with another knee but the ribs won’t let him hit the GTH. That means another jumping knee to rock Lethal and now the GTH retains the title at 12:55.

Rating: B. Lethal looked awesome in his debut but they’re not taking that title off of Guevara until they want to take away a piece of the audience’s soul. The fans know who Lethal is and what he has accomplished so he already has a leg in the door. Guevara fighting through an injury and winning with his hard hitting finisher was the right way to go here and Lethal is going to be fine going forward.

Tony Nese (in the crowd) is not impressed. The Inner Circle comes out to celebrate and Lethal shakes Sammy’s hand. Lethal gets some respect from the team to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show started off well, hit some lulls in the middle and then bounced back strong for the last thirty minutes or so. The important thing here was setting up a bunch of stuff for the future and that is looking bright. Odds are we’ll see another special Dynamite in December for some of these matches and that should be enough to get us to the Clash of Champions style show in January. Another solid week here, as they come off the pay per view looking good.

Results
Daniel Bryan b. Evil Uno – Triangle choke
Tomohiro Ishii/Orange Cassidy b. Butcher and the Blade – Brainbuster to Blade
Nyla Rose b. Hikaru Shida – Stretch muffler
Dante Martin/Lio Rush b. Acclaimed – Frog splash to Bowens
Sammy Guevara b. Jay Lethal – GTH

 

 

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: June 11, 2021
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

The Friday night escapades continue as we move towards the return of fans in a little over a month. That means we could be in for a big card tonight but there is always something interesting going on around here. I’m not sure what to expect and that can often be a good thing with AEW. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The Hardy Family Office is in the ring to get things going. Matt Hardy rants about how Christian Cage is jealous over Matt making more money in his career so tonight, Angelico is going to give Christian such a beating that he will never financially recover.

Angelico vs. Christian Cage

They fight over arm control to start so Angelico offers him his leg to keep things interesting. Christian doesn’t fall for that and hits Angelico in the face instead. Some right hands in the corner stagger Angelico even more but he is right back up to pull Christian off the top. Angelico stomps on the arm and sends Christian hard into the corner.

The arm is wrapped around the rope and Angelico adds a PK to the shoulder. Something like a short armscissors goes on with Christian having to get to the ropes. Christian starts the comeback but gets pulled down by the arms again. Angelico goes up but dives into raised boots and it’s a small package to give Christian two. A collision puts both of them down and they get up in opposite corners. Christian is over this and grabs the Killswitch for the pin at 9:24.

Rating: C. Not a bad opener but Christian still hasn’t quite caught fire around here. He’s perfectly solid and in no way looking horrible, but at the same time, he isn’t exactly great so far. The idea of Matt Hardy vs. Christian in 2021 doesn’t do much for me, though Christian doesn’t need to go any higher than that whatsoever.

Post match Jack Evans runs in to lay out Christian, allowing Matt to hit another Twist of Fate.

Here’s the July schedule:

July 7 – Road Rager
July 14 – Fyter Fest Night One
July 21 – Fyter Fest Night Two
July 28 – Fight For The Fallen

They’re really pushing this return.

Tony Schiavone is here for a chat, but first he has an announcement: next week it’s QT Mar-Shall (as it was pronounced in Ring Of Honor)/Aaron Solow vs. Cody Rhodes and…..Brock Anderson, the son of Arn Anderson. Here are Cody, Brock and Arn, with Cody talking about how Brock is going to prove that he wasn’t born on third base. Cue QT Marshall to say he’s tired of all of Cody’s vanity projects (preach it).

Cody has been ducking the up and coming stars but the people who are really behind Cody are the fans. Marshall: “Not the IWC. The real paying fans.” Marshall wants to end this with Cody in a South Beach Strap match when all of the fans are back. Cody is ready to do it right now but Marshall decks Arn and Brock jumps him until referees pull him off.

Pac/Penta El Zero Miedo/Eddie Kingston vs. Young Bucks/Brandon Cutler

Don Callis joins commentary as Pac sends Cutler (in a mask to protect his injured face) into the corner to start and kicks him down. Penta comes in to kick him down and chop the skin off of Cutler’s chest. Kingston comes in for a double stomp and Pac kicks him even more, meaning he wants the Bucks for a change. Matt comes in and gets dropped, allowing Pac to mock the Bucks’ pose. Nick trips over the rope getting inside so Pac knocks him to the floor again. Matt is back up to kick Pac in the face and we take a break.

Back with Pac fighting his way out of the corner so Kingston can come in to clean house. Penta comes in with a high crossbody and kicks Cutler in the mask. Matt gets dropped and Nick kicks Cutler in the face by mistake. The Backstabber drops Nick and the Pentagon Driver gets two with Cutler making the save.

A series of kicks in the corner look to set up the Black Arrow but Cutler’s distraction breaks it up. Kingston cleans house and takes Nick to the floor as Penta dives onto Cutler. Pac hits the 450 into the Brutalizer on Matt but Nick…can’t break it up despite kicking Pac in the head. Kingston and Pac hit dives onto Nick and Cutler, leaving Matt to roll Pac up with trunks for two. Pac gets buckle bombed into a pair of kicks, but Cutler misses a springboard elbow. Kingston hits the spinning backfist to give Pac the pin on Cutler at 13:06.

Rating: C+. It was certainly fast paced, though the ending wasn’t the biggest surprise. You know the Bucks aren’t losing, like ever, including when Pac had the Brutalizer. Cutler was there to take the fall so that worked out fine, though building up Pac/Penta for a title shot is not quite as thrilling when the Bucks already beat them.

Post match the Bucks are on Penta and Pac a mere five seconds after the bell (that’s our Bucks), with the Good Brothers coming in to help with the beatdown. Kazarian comes in for the save and Cutler is left alone, with Kazarian planting him with a clothesline.

We get a Don Callis/Kenny Omega produced video on the Double Or Nothing World Title match, complete with some questionable subtitles.

Here is the Pinnacle for their first comments since Double Or Nothing. Dax Harwood talks about how Stadium Stampede did not go as well as they hoped, but FTR doesn’t want to hear about Santana and Ortiz. Harwood has a family to take care of and is going to take money out of Santana and Ortiz’s pockets. How have they not won the Tag Team Titles in two years?

Shawn Spears says he is the hero instead of Sammy Guevara and they aren’t done. Wardlow thinks that Jake Hager is obsessed with him and needs him around. Is that because Hager brings out the best in him? Next week, they can meet in an octagon, where Wardlow will show that everywhere is his world.

MJF says he’s getting a little tired because he was the best so soon. No one here can relate to that, because they won’t be the best at anything. That brings him to Chris Jericho, with MJF watching every match and listening to every promo. MJF was at the Double Or Nothing Rally in 2019 and spoke on the stage. Then he saw Chris Jericho, his idol. MJF couldn’t believe it because he was going to get the chance to work with Jericho, but that isn’t how it went.

One night it hit him: he had spent all of this time idolizing a false god. Jericho is not even remotely on his level so he has nothing to prove to the fans. The match request is denied, so MJF is moving on to Sammy Guevara. Sammy can’t compete in the talking department because he has the verbal skills of Helen Keller. MJF is better than Sammy and he knows it, but here is Chris Jericho on the screen.

The Pinnacle can walk home, because the Inner Circle is destroying the Pinnacle’s limo. Tires are slashed, windows are broken, spray paint is applied, and I lose count of how many cars or vehicles have been used in this company’s history. Cue Jake Hager with a forklift to crush the limo all over again, including lifting it into the air and dropping it down. Jericho thinks the Pinnacle is going to need an Uber and Sammy is ready to fight anytime. MJF’s promo was good, but a feud should probably be done after WarGames and Stadium Stampede.

Darby Allin wants Sting to stay home for his handicap match with Ethan Page and Shawn Spears. Sting says Allin has nothing to prove because he was the TNT Champion when Sting got here. Allin: “It’s not about that. Just stay home this one time please.” Sting agrees and they bump fists because everything is cool.

Evil Uno talks about what Brodie Lee meant to the Dark Order. He wants to bring the TNT Title back to the Dark Order to honor Lee again.

TNT Title: Miro vs. Evil Uno

Uno is challenging and has some of the Dark Order with him. Miro slams him down in a hurry but Uno chops him out to the floor. That’s fine with Miro, but he punches a post and gets taken down with a flip dive from the apron. Back in and Miro off the ropes and into a Saito suplex as we take a break.

Back with Uno being knocked outside in a heap but the Dark Order’s pep talk gets him back inside. That earns the Order a beating and Miro rips the turnbuckle pad off. Uno gets in some shots to the face, including a running big boot. A Swanton connects and the rest of the Dark Order comes out to cheer Uno on. Miro can’t hit a spinout Rock Bottom and gets kicked into the exposed buckle for two. A hard clothesline drops Uno though and it’s Game Over to retain the title at 9:36.

Rating: C+. This was a match that had no business being good and they made it work anyway. I was getting into the idea of wanting Uno to win the title in Lee’s memory, though Miro should not be losing for a good while to come. Good stuff here, as they turned what should have been just a quick match into enough of a story to pull me in. Nice job.

Video on Andrade El Idolo, who seems rather rich and is billed as the Face of Latinos.

Here are Kenny Omega and Don Callis for a chat. Callis talks about the AEW conspiracy to get the title off of Kenny Omega, so Jungle Boy did a good job at becoming the #1 contender. But to Callis, Jungle Boy is just like the band that sings his theme song: a one hit wonder. Omega talks about how he is supposed to sell the match but he can’t bring himself to say anything bad about Jungle Boy.

When he looks at Boy’s long hair and underwear model body, Omega sees a bit of himself. There is something missing though, and Callis thinks it is the guts. Cue Jungle Boy, with Omega saying he has never heard Boy talk. Omega doesn’t think this will be the battle of wits or the greatest promo of all time.

If he has anything to say, he has five five second to say it because Omega is getting tired of this. Boy says Omega talks to much so Omega swings, only to get punched up against the ropes. Omega gets pulled into the Snare Trap but the Young Bucks run in to clear Boy out. This was good once Boy came in, but Omega talking is not the best thing.

Jade Cargill and Mark Sterling are rather happy that their monetization plan has been a success. Next up: marketing the catchphrase, because Cargill is that b****.

Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky aren’t impressed with Darby Allin but they are going to take him out again. They are going to chop him down, step on his body and move up, because it is all up from here for the Men Of The Year. What an odd name for a team.

Lance Archer vs. Chandler Hopkins

Archer jumps him to start but Hopkins actually gets out of the chokeslam. Archer knocks Hopkins out of the air and this the big chokeslam. The Blackout finishes for Archer at 52 seconds.

Archer storms out of the arena immediately after the win.

The Wingmen offer Orange Cassidy a chance to get his wardrobe upgrade, or Cesar Bononi will mess up his face.

Nyla Rose vs. Leyla Hirsch

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. Leyla chases Vickie out to start and gets slammed for her efforts. That doesn’t seem to cause much trouble though as a cross armbreaker has Rose in trouble. A dropkick puts Rose on the floor but the suicide dive is cut off, with Leyla being driven into the apron. Back in and Rose drops a knee for two, setting up a neck crank to send us to a break.

We come back with Leyla hitting a slingshot dropkick in the corner for two, setting up a release German suplex. A running knee rocks Rose again and a rope walk moonsault (with barely a cover) gets two. Leyla can’t suplex her, with Rose draping her over the top instead. The top rope knee drop is broken up though and Leyla goes up, only to get super Beast Bombed back down to give Rose the pin at 8:45.

Rating: C. They made a bit of a go with it here, though I’m not sure how much I could buy Rose being in danger here. What worked was having Leyla show off with some power and technique, which really do make her look legit. Rose is on her way to another title shot (because of course) and a win over someone with some credibility will help her get there.

Britt Baker doesn’t like Nyla Rose making fun of Leyla Hirsch’s height but let’s get back to her. Baker has endorsement deals flying in left and right, which was never the case when Rose was champion. That’s cool with Baker though, because she’ll add Rose to the list of jealous b****** in the back. Rose needs the title because it makes her, but Baker is making the title.

Here is what’s coming next week.

Hangman Page/10 vs. Brian Cage/Powerhouse Hobbs

Page, who has lost all sense of time, gets driven into the corner to start so Cage can drive shoulders into the corner. Some forearms get Page out of trouble for a bit but his sliding lariat is countered. Cage misses a basement dropkick though and Page hits a standing shooting star press for two. 10 comes in but walks into an assisted powerbomb from Hobbs, who starts getting a bit cocky. A running knee to the ribs drops 10 and we take a break.

Back with 10 hitting a pump kick each to Hobbs and Cage, allowing Page to come in for a running boot to Cage. They head outside with Page posting Cage, setting up a moonsault press for two on Hobbs. A crossbody gives Hobbs two on Page but Cage is back in with a 619 to knock 10 silly.

Page is back in with a springboard shot to Cage’s face and 10 busts Hobbs spine. Cage comes back with a running clothesline in the corner and a sloppy high/low gets two on 10. Ricky Starks throws Cage the FTW Title but Cage throws it away, earning a slap from Starks. Cage chases Starks off so Hobbs buts a spinebuster for two on 10. A ripcord cutter drops Hobbs though and the Buckshot Lariat is enough to give Page the pin at 10:18.

Rating: C+. There was a lot going on here, with the continuing split of Team Taz being the biggest story. Cage vs. Starks will be good, though they are going to have to stretch things out a lot due to Starks’ injury. Hobbs vs. Cage will do for the time being though, assuming that is the way they go. At the same time, it is a good sign to see Page being treated as a big deal again, as he should have been for a long time now.

The Dark Order comes out to celebrate with some beers to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was another week where they kind of took the night off, but it wasn’t as bad as last time. Right now they are building towards the June 26 show with the World Title match, though I’m not sure what else is going to be seen as a big deal on that show. This was a completely watchable show with some good action, as they got me to care about matches that weren’t all that interesting in the first place. Nice job here, though it’s another skippable show.

Results
Christian Cage b. Angelico – Killswitch
Pac/Penta El Zero Miedo/Eddie Kingston b. Brandon Cutler/Young Bucks – Spinning backfist to Cutler
Miro b. Evil Uno – Game Archer
Lance Archer b. Chandler Hopkins – Blackout
Nyla Rose b. Leyla Hirsch – Super Beast Bomb
10/Hangman Page b. Brian Cage/Powerhouse Hobbs – Buckshot Lariat to Hobbs

 

 

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Dynamite
Date: December 30, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Chris Jericho

This is going to be a complete detour as the show is going to be all about Brodie Lee, who shockingly passed away on Saturday due to some kind of lung issue. The show is going to be a complete tribute to him with all stories postponed until next week. That’s the only way this could have gone and there is nothing wrong with that. Let’s get to it.

We open with a ten bell salute to Brodie Lee, with his family on the stage, including his son in a Dark Order mask.

Jon Moxley talks about Lee being a good person who he knew for years. This has been a soccer kick to the face but it has shown him that wrestling is a community. He is going to appreciate every day and he’ll never forget Brodie.

Matt Hardy/Private Party vs. Young Bucks/Colt Cabana

For the sake of sanity, I’ll only refer to Matt Jackson as Matt. Colt and the Bucks clean house one at a time to start, including a triple dropkick to put Hardy on the floor. Nick adds the running flip dive to take them all down again. Colt hits an Asai moonsault to do the same. We settle down to Hardy hammering on Matt but everything breaks down all over again with Marq Quen hitting a dive to Hardy on the floor.

Back in and Matt is taken down again, including being sent face first into Isaiah Kassidy’s boot in the corner. the triple teaming continues until Hardy makes the mistake of going after Cabana, allowing Matt to get over for the hot tag. Cabana comes in to clean house with the Flip Flop and Fly, followed by the Flying Apple to Kassidy. Hardy breaks up the tag to Nick and the discus lariat is countered into a crucifix for two on Cabana. A crossbody gets the same but Nick comes in sans tag with a hurricanrana.

Nick gets the actual tag a few seconds later and starts taking over, only to be tripped down by Hardy. Back in and Gin and Juice hits Matt, setting up Kassidy’s Swanton and Quen’s shooting star for two with Cabana and Nick making the save (JR: “Let’s hear it for Boom Boom!”). Hardy grabs a chair but gets taken down, leaving Cabana to have to fight out of Gin and Juice. The Chicago Skyline hits Kassidy and the Indytaker into the Superman pin finishes Quen at 13:29.

Rating: B-. The wrestling is going to be quite the minor point here and that’s how a show like this should be. This was a bunch of high flying and diving, with the Bucks doing everything they should be doing. Cabana can do any style and Hardy looked good enough. Private Party didn’t go too insane either, leaving this to be a rather nice and energetic opener.

Post match it’s the Acclaimed coming in to rap about this show but SCU jumps them from behind and Cabana hits the double Bionic Elbow. Cabana throws up the Dark Order sign for perhaps the first time.

Darby Allin, sans face paint, talks about how Lee was the #1 guy he wanted to wrestle because of everything he did behind the scenes. Lee was a great person to talk to and Allin is sad he never got in the ring with him.

Lance Archer/Stu Grayson/Evil Uno vs. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade

Archer is in Luke Harper gear for a nice touch. Jake Roberts and the Bunny are here as well. Before the match, Kingston says he’s going to show that the Dark Order is nothing without Lee and the brawl is on in a hurry. Archer gets suplexed onto Kingston, who is taken into the corner for some wild eyed shots from Grayson. Bunny grabs Grayson’s leg though, allowing Butcher to clothesline him down.

Blade powerslams Grayson down but Jake grabs his leg to even things up. Grayson is back with a Boss Man Slam (Jericho: “It’s a Brody Slam!”) as we take a break. Back with Kingston and Uno slapping it out until Kingston misses some spinning backfists. A half and half (Brody move) hits Kingston and the hot tag brings in Archer to take over.

Archer starts wrecking people and it’s a rope walk moonsault (cool) to drop Blade. Grayson and Uno come in for an assisted Downward Spiral but Kingston makes the save and hits a DDT (with a glare at Roberts) for two. Kingston saves Blade from the Blackout and Grayson hits a running DDT to the apron to plant Butcher. The Fatality finishes Blade at 10:00.

Rating: B-. Another match where they did what they needed to do and showed off at the same time. I’m still not sure where this version of the Dark Order came from as they were one of the lamest teams around to start and then have a rather nice match like this for a change. Archer’s special gear was perfect too.

Post match Kingston gets beaten down, including a short arm clothesline from Jake.

Dax Harwood, Arn Anderson, Colt Cabana and Bryce Remsburg talk about what a great father and family man Lee was.

Hangman Page/John Silver/Alex Reynolds vs. Santana/Ortiz/Maxwell Jacob Friedman

MJF is in Puerto Rico themed gear and Silver/Reynolds throw papers at Santana/Ortiz (apparently a Brodie thing from Being The Elite). MJF gets sent outside to yell at Brodie’s son, with Jericho saying the kid has been bothering him all day. We settle back down to Santana hitting a neckbreaker on Reynolds, followed by Two Amigos. Ortiz comes in for a double Third Amigo but Reynolds gets over for the tag to Page.

The pace picks way up, including a fall away slam to MJF into a nip up into a dive onto Santana on the floor. Back in and Page gets taken down for two as we go to a break. Back with Silver coming in to clean house and kicking Ortiz off the top. Silver hits a flip dive off the apron onto Santana (JR: “What a white meat babyface this kid is!”). A sitout powerbomb gets two on Ortiz back inside but MJF makes the save.

Silver is sent into the corner but MJF comes back with something like a Code Red, with only his ankles wrapping around MJF’s head to drive it into the mat. The Heat Seeker plants Silver and Ortiz grabs a powerbomb for two with Reynolds making a save of his own. Everything breaks down and Wardlow comes in but ERICK REDBEARD (Rowan) runs in to take him out. MJF goes outside and takes the mask off of Lee’s son, earning himself a kendo stick shot to the head. The fans go nuts and it’s a discus lariat to pin Ortiz 12:38.

Rating: C+. This was the emotional match on the card and you could see everyone being very invested in what they were doing (as everyone has been tonight of course). Silver got so much out of the Dark Order so this is the kind of match that he needs to have on the show. Throw in the incredible Redbeard cameo and the whole thing was near perfect.

Redbeard comes back in to hold up a sign saying “goodbye for now my brother, see you down the road.” Jericho sounds near tears over this one. Well that was about the most emotional thing I’ve seen in years.

Eddie Kingston talks about how much he is going to miss Lee. He talks about Lee’s kids missing their dad, who was a warrior outside of the ring. Lee took care of the two of them and he loved them so much.

Tay Conti/Anna Jay vs. Britt Baker/Penelope Ford

Rebel, Kip Sabian and Miro are all here too. Jay and Baker trade arm cranks to start before it’s off to Conti to kick Penelope down. We hear about Conti’s amateur experience as Sabian offers a distraction, allowing Baker to get in a jumping knee. Conti gets sent to the floor with Baker getting in a stomp and Rebel not quite being able to get in a cheap shot.

We take a break and come back with Conti and Ford kicking each other in the face, allowing the double tag to Baker and Jay. Everything breaks down and Jay stops to point at the 99 on her cheek, allowing Baker to hit a fisherman’s neckbreaker. A Downward Spiral sends Jay into the middle buckle and Ford comes in with a Blockbuster for two. Jay is right back with the Queen Slayer as for the tap from Ford at 9:49 with Conti taking out Baker.

Rating: C. Conti and Jay have come a long way in recent months and it was nice to see them getting a win like this. They didn’t need to do anything fancy here and it’s a good example of doing something more basic at a higher level. Ford taking the fall isn’t going to hurt her as she has the big wedding deal coming up in a few weeks anyway.

Post match Baker says everything was rigged. Conti was rigged, Jay was rigged, the match was rigged. In fact everything was…..a big rig. She winks at the camera but here’s Thunder Rosa to jump her from behind, with referees having to break it up.

Here’s what’s coming over the next two weeks.

Chris Jericho talks about working with Lee 27 times, including in Saudi Arabia. When he was in the hotel room in Saudi Arabia, Jericho saw what he thought was a sticker on the ceiling. Lee came in and said it was the arrow pointing to Mecca, which blew Jericho’s mind because he shouldn’t know that kind of thing.

Jericho helped bring Lee into AEW and it meant a lot that he was able to see Lee be the kind of star that he knew he could be. All the proof you need of how good a person Lee was is the time he came to Jericho’s house and Jericho’s mean dog licked his hand. Jericho promises to take care of Lee’s family. This was great.

Cody Rhodes/Orange Cassidy/10 vs. Team Taz

This was hand picked by Lee’s son and it is billed as his dream match. Cody bounces off of Powerhouse Hobbs to start. With that not working, Cody (reluctantly) brings in 10 to suplex Starks. That’s enough for Starks to head to the floor so it’s back to Hobbs, who wants Cassidy. The hands go into the pockets and a slow motion shoulder doesn’t go well as we take a break.

Back with Cage hitting a rather delayed vertical suplex on Cassidy. It’s off to Starks, who gets caught in a suplex from Cassidy for a change. Cody comes in to pick up the pace and throw his weight belt into the crowd. Starks and Cody hit stereo discus lariats, meaning it’s back to 10 for a Brodie Bomb. A spear cuts 10 down and it’s Cassidy coming back in as everything breaks down.

Hobbs hits a spinebuster on Cassidy but walks into a superkick from Cody. There’s a Downward Spiral from Cage but 10 hits a clothesline to the back of Cage’s head. With everyone down, Arn Anderson and Taz grab chairs, leaving Cassidy to hit the Orange Punch on Starks. Cody adds Cross Rhodes and 10 hits the spinebuster to finish Starks at 11:31.

Rating: C+. This was about elevating 10 and that’s what they did here. He isn’t exactly someone who gets a lot of attention around here and odds are he isn’t going to again, but at least he got a chance here. If nothing else, it was nice to see the Dark Order complete the sweep and it’s not like the results mean much on this show in the first place.

Post match the celebration is on but Team Taz breaks it up in a hurry. Even Hook gets in a suplex on Cassidy (Jericho: “Hook just wants to get his picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone.”). The lights go out and here’s Darby Allin for the save….with Sting following. JR: “I’ve known him since the days of the Blade Runners. Google it kids.”

Post break Cody is in the ring for the final tribute. Cody gives a quote about how you can tell the value of a man based on how he treats someone who has nothing to give him. Over the last few days, we have heard one tribute after another to Lee and it is because he was a beautiful man who left a legacy. That legacy is here tonight, so here is Lee’s family, including his son, Negative One, Brodie Lee Jr.

This brings out Lee’s wife and son, with the son leaving Lee’s boots in the ring. Tony Khan hands Lee Jr. the TNT Title, declaring him the champion for life. Khan thanks the fans and gives us a tribute video to Lee set to the Eagles’ Ol’ 55, complete with quite a bit of old school footage, including some home movies and shots of him with his family. There are even some WWE photos included, with some shots of Big E., John Morrison, Bray Wyatt and more. Find this as it’s one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time.

Overall Rating: A+. The wrestling wasn’t the point of the show and there is nothing wrong with that. Tonight was all about Brodie Lee and that’s all it should have been about, as he was taken away at a ridiculously too young 41 due to something he didn’t cause. The matches were good to rather good, but this was all about saying thank you and goodbye, with the stuff with his family being outstanding. Go find that tribute though as it’s the best thing on the show. This was excellent and they nailed everything about the whole night.

Results

Young Bucks/Colt Cabana b. Matt Hardy/Private Party – Superman pin to Quen

Lance Archer/Stu Grayson/Evil Uno b. Eddie Kingston/Butcher and the Blade – Fatality to Blade

John Silver/Alex Reynolds/Hangman Page b. Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Santana/Ortiz – Discus lariat to Ortiz

Tay Conti/Anna Jay b. Penelope Ford/Britt Baker – Queen Slayer to Ford

10/Cody Rhodes/Orange Cassidy b. Team Taz – Brodie Bomb to Starks

 

 

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

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Dynamite
Date: December 23, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s the holiday season and for once this show isn’t going head to head with NXT thanks to an NBA game. I’m not sure what to expect from this week’s show but the Young Bucks are defending the Tag Team Titles. Other than that it’s time to build towards the next two weeks of New Year’s Smash. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Chris Jericho/Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Top Flight

The fans sing Judas to make sure you know that Chris Jericho is the coolest thing in the world. Jericho and Darius trade shots to the face to start with Jericho getting the better of things without much effort. Darius gets in a shot of his own though and it’s Dante coming in for a double kick to the chest. It’s off to Friedman, who gets dropkicked to the floor, meaning it’s a double slugout to put the Inner Circle in trouble.

Friedman is knocked outside again but Jericho clotheslines Dante down to take over. Back in and Jericho knees Dante in the ribs and hits a belly to back suplex. There’s the double flapjack to Dante and a quick distraction lets MJF choke away. A catapult sends Dante throat first into the bottom rope and Jericho throws his feet on the ropes for two like a villain should. Jericho’s superplex attempt is broken up though and Dante hits a high crossbody for two.

The hot tag brings in Darius for a standing Spanish Fly on MJF and a suicide dive hits Jericho. Back in and a springboard missile dropkick gets two on MJF, followed by a DDT for the same. Jericho is back up with a spinebuster into the Lionsault for two but the Walls is countered into a rollup for the same. Darius grabs a sunset flip on Jericho and sends Dante flying over the top onto MJF with a dive (sweet) for a near fall at the same time. Jericho drops Dante onto the apron and it’s the Heatseeker to give MJF the pin at 11:40.

Rating: C+. Not too bad here as Top Flight is one of the smoothest teams that I’ve seen in a good while. They could use some polish (as could everyone) but for as young as they are, they’re a heck of a team. Jericho and MJF working well together is interesting and I’m curious to see where the whole Inner Circle deal goes.

Post match Jake Hager gets in the ring and says the team has been doing great in recent weeks, save for Wardlow that is. Wardlow has been gone dealing with his own stuff instead of worrying about Inner Circle business. It’s obvious that Wardlow is an asset but he’s also an a******, so next week it’s Hager vs. Wardlow. MJF tries to talk Hager out of it and Jericho is annoyed.

We get a music video from the Acclaimed talking about the Young Bucks, who suck up to Dave (just Dave) for star ratings and quit Twitter because they got upset.

Here’s what else is coming on the show.

Tony Schiavone brings out Sting for a chat in the ring. Sting knows that he has come full circle by coming back to TNT and he is glad to see that the jungle is still intact. Tony asks about Sting looking at Darby Allin but Sting says that’s kind of a complicated question to answer. Instead, Sting talks about watching the matches through the curtain with Dusty Rhodes, who decided to put some bright colors on his face and tights. Then Sting was going to face Ric Flair and get funky like a monkey.

Now Sting sees Cody Rhodes in the ring and it’s hard to fathom. He goes back to Darby but here’s Team Taz to interrupt. Taz says that the speech would bring a tear to a glass eye and Ricky Starks says this is the jungle. Team Taz comes to the ring so Sting grabs the bat, only to have Allin and the skateboard morph in next to him. That’s fine with Taz, who says they’ll wait until January 6 when Brian Cage can win the TNT Title. This showed me two things. 1. A skateboard is a pretty stupid looking weapon. 2. Allin is a rather small man, as Sting is hardly a giant.

MJF comes up to Santana and Ortiz and brings up Santana losing his stepfather recently. MJF knows what it’s like because he just lost his grandfather to cancer and it was the hardest thing he’s done. He’s here for Santana though, and Santana seems to accept the friendly gesture. They shake hands and Ortiz seems to buy it also, with MJF not even saying anything as they leave.

Dark Order/Colt Cabana vs. Jurassic Express

It’s 5/10 for the Order. Jungle Boy rolls up Five to start as Excalibur explains the numbers to JR. Cabana and Luchasaurus come in with Cabana being kicked out to the floor in a hurry. That means it’s time for 10, with Luchasaurus slamming Stung down onto him a few times. Boy comes back in and gets caught in a German suplex for two.

We take a break and come back with Luchasaurus getting to come in and clean house, including the standing moonsault to 5. Marko dives in off of Luchasaurus’ shoulders to take Cabana down but 5 runs him over. The frog splash gets two on Stunt as everything breaks down. Luchasaurus throws Stung over the top onto Cabana and 10, leaving 5 to be flipped into a sitout powerbomb from Boy for the pin at 10:35.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than the usual Jurassic Express match, which may be due to Stunt not being left on his own for too long (the lack of dancing helped too). Let Luchasaurus come in and wreck stuff while Boy does the bulk of the work. The Dark Order, especially this group of them, can lose over and over again so this was hardly some big waste of talent.

Post match Marko talks about how good it is to be back but Tully Blanchard and FTR cut them off, with Tully saying it’s time to let the trained professionals talk. The teams meet on January 6 and this is personal because FTR wants the titles back. Stunt better be careful too, because Tully might have a flashback to the 80s. Stunt to be held back, which makes me dread the idea of Stunt getting anything over on Tully. Good promo from Blanchard here, now that he is finally getting to talk.

Kenny Omega and Don Callis are arriving at the hotel, where Callis isn’t happy with Pac making Omega vs. Rey Fenix. When did wrestlers get to make matches around here? Omega is ready to destroy Fenix in a few weeks and once he’s done, Konnan can take him back to AAA. Fenix is the kind of guy who gets hurt, while Omega gets titles. This promo style is starting to work for them more and more.

Butcher vs. Pac

Butcher looks like he’s wearing Shinsuke Nakamura’s pants that shrunk in the wash. Eddie Kingston is on commentary and Tony has to shush him for talking while trying to promote a match. Pac slugs away to start and gets sent outside, which doesn’t cause him much trouble. Back in and Pac kicks away at Butcher as Eddie and Tony continue to bicker with some surprising chemistry.

Butcher is right back with some hard shots of his own though, even as Kingston tells Tony to stop putting himself over. Pac gets crushed in the corner a few times as Eddie isn’t happy with the referee. They head outside with Pac getting in a few shots and reversing a whip into the barricade. Butcher kicks him in the face and Eddie demands that commentary “put that over”.

We take a break and come back with Pac kicking away but the Blade’s distraction breaks up the Red Arrow. A big clothesline drops Pac again and a running layout powerbomb gets two on Pac. Butcher goes to do something and Eddie shouts to PICK HIM UP for a good while, only to have Lance Archer come out to go after Kingston. The distraction lets Pac hit a kick to the head and the Black Arrow is good for the pin at 11:53.

Rating: C+. That ending hurt this a bit as Butcher was standing around far too long until we got to the point. Archer going after Kingston is interesting, if nothing else due to how little Archer seems to need Lance Archer. Butcher looked good here and it was nice to see him get to showcase himself. Pac still needs to shake off the ring rust though.

Eddie isn’t happy, but does show respect to JR. Kingston: “Schiavone, up yours.”

Jade Cargill finds it interesting that Brandi got pregnant as soon as she showed up. Shaq wants Cody Rhodes and AEW better find her a better opponent, because she’s tired of this s***. I’m getting rather tired of them having to work s*** into every other promo.

Miro wants Tony Schiavone to get fired up but Kip Sabian and Penelope Ford need to announce their wedding date. They load up the video announcement but here are the Best Friends and Orange Cassidy to interrupt. Well at least their video, as we see Trent being loaded into an ambulance last week to get rid of him. Anyway, the wedding is going to be on the beach on February 3 (happy freaking birthday to me) and it is going to be the defining moment of this company’s history. JR: “This is a train wreck.”

Dustin Rhodes vs. Evil Uno

Lee Johnson and Stu Grayson are here too as Uno jumps Dustin to start. They fight on the floor with Uno hammering away, only to chop the post by mistake. Uno knocks him down again though and it’s a Swanton for two as commentary tells us about how great Dustin is. We take a break and come back with Dustin hitting the Flip Flop and Fly, only to charge into a boot. Not that it matters as Dustin is right back with the bulldog for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C. Not too bad here and they were putting in some effort, even with the lack of time when you factor in the break. Uno got to showcase himself a bit here but it’s not like taking a loss to Dustin is that big of a problem. Dustin is in a bit of a weird place as he’s a veteran but doesn’t have much in the ways of storylines. Nice enough match though, as Dustin isn’t going to have many bad ones.

Post match Uno offers another chance for Dustin to join but Dustin kicks him away. Grayson comes in with the Knightfall so here’s QT Marshall for the save. Marshall gets taken down as well so Johnson hits a springboard dropkick to take the Order down.

Shawn Spears sits down with Schiavone and talks about how how no matter what company he is in, the glass ceiling is still there. It’s a management problem, and he really doesn’t like Tony suggesting that Spears himself is the problem.

Hikaru Shida’s interview about being attacked by Abadon is interrupted when she is attacked by Abadon.

Hikaru Shida vs. Alex Gracia

Non-title. Shida starts fast with a Falcon Arrow attempt but Alex is having none of it. After a quick trip tot he floor, Gracia gets two off a small package and nails a running boot in the corner for the same. Shida is annoyed at being hit in the face, setting up a delayed vertical suplex. The running kick to the face connects but hold on as here’s Abadon for a distraction. Shida beats her up in a hurry and heads back inside to counter Gracia’s headscissors into a backbreaker. The Falcon Arrow finishes Gracia at 3:32.

Rating: C-. This was more about the Abadon deal than anything else but I’m rather over the whole evil monster characters. AEW does those rather frequently and while Abadon is good at it, there have been so many characters of a similar nature that it loses its impact. Gracia was acceptable in the short bit of time that she had here.

Post match the brawl is on again with Abadon biting Shida’s neck to draw blood.

Here’s what’s coming over the next few weeks, including the return of Jon Moxley next week.

Tag Team Titles: Acclaimed vs. Young Bucks

The Bucks are defending and Max Castor raps his way to the ring again, this time about their winning streak. Matt works on Castor’s arm to start and shrugs off the comeback attempt. A dropkick into an armdrag has Castor in trouble and Nick comes in to stay on said arm. It’s off to Bowens but the Bucks sent them both to the floor to send Bowens into the barricade.

Nick spears Castor down and it’s time to head back inside. Matt gets taken down this time though and Castor gets in a few shows, only to have Nick get the semi hot tag without much effort. House is cleaned until Nick’s Swanton hits Bowens’ raised knees. We take a break and come back with the Bucks starting to fire off the kicks, including Nick hitting Castor with a kick from the apron.

Back in and Matt hits Locomotion into the Sharpshooter on Bowens. Castor strikes away but can’t break it up, allowing Nick to pull Castor outside for a Sharpshooter on the floor. Both are broken up and it’s Nick being shoved off the top. A suplex/high crossbody gets two on Nick with Matt making the save. An errant superkick takes the referee out and the boom box to the head gets two from another referee (that spot still makes no sense and never has). Matt powerbombs Bowens through a table at ringside and the BTE Trigger finishes Castor at 13:47.

Rating: C-. This really didn’t work as it was little more than an extended workout for the Bucks. It certainly didn’t help the Acclaimed, whose big move was hitting them with a boom box. The rapping entrance helps, but that’s all they had here and it showed badly. The Bucks didn’t give them much here, which made for a pretty long 13+ minutes.

Overall Rating: C+. This wasn’t their strongest effort, but again it feels like they’re setting up for the big shows over the next two weeks and that’s ok. I’d much rather step back a bit for a week to let things breathe than burn through stuff on a show that doesn’t matter. As usual: if this is their weak show, they’re in a pretty good place.

Results

Chris Jericho/Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Top Flight – Heatseeker to Dante

Jurassic Express b. Dark Order/Colt Cabana – Sitout powerbomb to 5

Pac b. Butcher – Black Arrow

Dustin Rhodes b. Evil Uno – Bulldog

Hikaru Shida b. Alex Gracia – Falcon Arrow

Young Bucks b. Acclaimed – BTE Trigger to Castor

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

Dark
Date: October 13, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz

It’s the night before the big anniversary show and that means we have a lot to cover in the near future. I’m not sure what we we are going to be seeing tonight, but there are fourteen matches, which is likely going to make this one of the longer shows in its history so far. You know how much I’ll love that. Let’s get to it.

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

Commentary welcome.

Evil Uno vs. Blade vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Jungle Boy

One fall to a finish and there are no seconds. It’s a brawl to start with Uno and Blade being knocked outside in a hurry. Kazarian sweeps Boy’s leg out for two but Boy stacks him up for two more. Boy’s legsweep misses and it’s a standoff, allowing Uno to take Boy’s place. Kazarian clotheslines Uno down so here’s Blade, who gets taken down with a springboard wristdrag.

Kazarian’s bridging electric chair gets two on Boy but Uno is back in with a suplex for the same. A neckbreaker with the wrist tape drops Boy for two more, leaving Blade and Uno to chop it out. Everyone is back inside and Boy monkey flips Kazarian, who hits the other two with a double clothesline. Kazarian pulls Boy into the slingshot cutter before fisherman’s suplexing Blade for two.

Uno’s backbreaker gets two more on Boy but Blade powerbombs him out of the corner. Kazarian grabs the slingshot DDT on Blade but Boy is back in with stereo crossbodies to Kazarian to put everyone down. Boy gets caught on top so Kazarian and Blade fight over who gets to give him a superplex. Uno breaks that up, only to get caught in a rollup to give Boy the pin at 8:31.

Rating: C. They telegraphed the ending a bit by talking about Boy being in the #1 contenders tournament but at the same time, a four way is the kind of match which could go in a variety of ways without hurting the most important name. It was a good opener and felt more important, though that isn’t likely to be the case for everything tonight. Boy winning is a good thing though and it’s not like Uno loses anything significant by taking the fall.

Post match Uno jumps Boy and calls out the Dark Order but here are Christopher Daniels and SCU for the save, with Luchasaurus beating up various people.

Lucha Bros vs. Cezar Bononi/Lee Johnson

Penta yells at Bononi to start and gets run over by a shoulder. Fenix comes in for a handspring kick to Johnson’s face and it’s back to Penta, who takes too long yelling. Bononi gets the tag and starts cleaning house, including World’s Strongest Slamming Penta and powerbombing Fenix at the same time. Fenix is back up with a springboard wristdrag to set up a low top rope double stomp from Penta to put Bononi down. The double superkick look to set up the spike Fear Factor but Johnson makes the save. Penta is right back with a Sling Blade and Fenix kicks Bononi down. Now the spike Fear Factor can finish Johnson at 5:04.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t into this one as much as they didn’t get to the drama for the most part. It was fine enough as the Lucha Bros can do their thing, but they need someone better to work off of. Bononi and Johnson are just two guys facing them, and that’s not exactly the best use of the Lucha Bros. Then again that has been the case for months so maybe they need a new direction.

Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon

They’re at it again and Avalon jumps him from behind during the entrances. A tiger bomb plants Cutler on the ramp and Avalon demands that he be declared the winner. The bell rings anyway so it’s a running dropkick to send Cutler outside again, meaning the count is on. Three straight belly to back suplexes set up a half crab but Cutler makes the rope. Back up and Avalon charges into a boot to the face, allowing Avalon to hit a kick to the head.

They head outside where Avalon yells at Leva Bates, allowing Cutler to hit a suicide dive. The springboard elbow gives Cutler two back inside but Avalon is back with the Rock Bottom for the same. Cutler grabs a reverse inverted DDT for his second two so he tries the big dice but Leva talks him out of it. Back in and Avalon hits a running clothesline before picking up a book. The referee gets decked as Cutler picks Avalon up, meaning there is no count off Cutler’s gutbuster. Cutler rips up the book so Avalon grabs the dice, meaning they hit each other at the same time for the double DQ at 7:32.

Rating: C. This worked, but it needs to be the last screwy finish. Throw some kind of a gimmick out there or something, but end it with the next one. Both guys wanting desperately to win their first match is a clever way to go and the double DQ was the most logical after the double countout. This worked out well, but you can probably guarantee a time limit draw in there somewhere.

Sonny Kiss is ready to show he’s a singles star as well.

Sonny Kiss vs. Matt Sydal

Sydal armdrags him down a few times into a front facelock but Sonny is right back with a running dropkick. Back up and Sydal hits a spinwheel kick and we hit the third eye jazz. Sydal takes him down into a stretch, with Taz and Excalibur arguing over what kind of a grip he is using. A fisherman’s buster gives Sydal two but Sonny is back with forearms into a running Downward Spiral. The running splits splash gives Sonny two but the middle rope version misses. Sydal ties the legs up and grabs a cobra clutch to make Sonny tap at 5:40.

Rating: C-. This was just a step above a squash for Sydal, who never quite felt like he was in jeopardy. Part of that is due to where Sonny is on the card, but the other problem is he is much more of a gymnast than anything else and it doesn’t exactly make him seem like a threat. Not a bad match, but not a dramatic one either.

Dark Order vs. Aaron Solow/M’Badu/Angel Fashion

It’s 3/4/10 for the Order here. Silver slams Solow down to start but Solow is back with a dropkick. M’Badu comes in and pounds away on Silver, who fails at a shoulder block. Fashion comes in to kick Reynolds’ leg out and adds a running knee to the face for two. It’s off to Vance for a running cutter, followed by a neckbreaker from Reynolds.

Fashion manages to back flip his way to freedom and makes the tag off to M’Badu to clean house. Solow comes back in but gets cut off by Vance’s slingshot spear. That means Solow is lifted into the air for a running charge from Silver, flipping Solow down for the crash and the pin at 5:47.

Rating: D+. M’Badu was the only thing of value here, as the Dark Order continues to be fine and not much else. Silver has grown on me a bit and is showing some personality though, making him the lone member of the lower half of the team to do so. Another match that could have been trimmed, but AEW LOVES the Dark Order so that wasn’t an option.

Red Velvet vs. Elayna Black

Brandi is on commentary because she’s Brandi and needs to be around a lot. Black on the other hand comes out with a mini coffin, containing an AEW face guard. Black’s waistlock is broken up in a hurry and Velvet armdrags her down. Velvet does it again and adds a dropkick for a bonus. Brandi thinks Velvet should be called Lil Cupcake but gets cut off by Black kicking out the leg. Black mocks the stirring deal but Velvet is back with some running clotheslines. A Rey Mysterio sitout bulldog sets up some running double knees to Black’s back. Just Desserts (a running kick to the side of the head) finishes Black at 3:32.

Rating: C-. Velvet is someone who could be a bit of a player if she is given the chance to grow and a win is the first step. It’s rather nice to see this show FINALLY starting to boost up some of these people who we have seen so many times already. It’s long overdue and helps a lot so if Velvet is someone they can build, good for them.

Ricky Starks vs. Fuego del Sol

Commentary makes fun of Sol, a luchador, being from Alabama. Starks unloads on him in the corner before sending Sol into various corners. There’s a big toss across the ring and Starks elbows him in the face, giving us a THIS IS MY HOUSE. Sol gets sent hard over the top and out onto the ramp, with Starks dragging him over near commentary. Starks jumps on commentary to say this is AEW Starks before taking it back to the ring. Sol’s comeback doesn’t work as it’s the spear into the Roshambo to give Starks the pin at 3:05.

Rating: C-. The match was completely one sided but you can feel the star power with Starks. He gets in there and commands attention, looks great and backs it up in the ring. What else could you ask for from someone who is 26 years old? Starks has been a complete steal and I could go for a lot more of him as he gains experience.

Scorpio Sky and Christopher Daniels are asked if Shawn Spears is in their heads so here’s Spears to ask the same. Sky is ready to fight so Tully Blanchard makes the match for next week.

Starks joins commentary.

Gunn Club vs. Ryzin/Maxx Stardom

They’re trolling us with the Gunn Club right? Ryzin stomps Austin down in the corner to start as Team Taz doesn’t like Ryzin wearing the orange and black. Austin is right back with a Hennig necksnap for two and Billy comes in for a running boot to the face. A spinning slam plants Stardom but it’s back to Ryzin for a backbreaker into a neckbreaker on Austin. Back up and a double clothesline allows the double tag to Billy and Stardom. The Fameasser misses though and Ryzin hits a superkick. Austin is right back in though and the Quick Draw finishes Stardom at 4:47.

Rating: D. This was every Gunn Club match you’ve seen so far and that isn’t likely to change. They’re probably about 9-0 at this point and have never so much as come close to going after the titles. It’s like running on a treadmill but there is nothing to see in the first place. The team just sticks around no matter what and never goes anywhere, only making them the most expendable thing that shows up on this show far too frequently.

Darby Allin vs. Nick Comoroto

Comoroto is a very hairy man in an untied straitjacket (good look to him). Allin gets shoved into the corner to start as Team Taz is now cheering for Comoroto. There’s another hard whip into the corner to put Allin down again and a slam gives Comoroto two. He whips Allin into the corner a third time for two and a backbreaker cuts Allin off for two more.

Allin flips his way to the apron and snaps the arm across the rope. There’s a dropkick to the knee and an armbar over the ropes has Comoroto in more trouble. A Fujiwara armbar sends Comoroto into the ropes so Allin goes to the middle rope to take him down by the arm. The Coffin Drop finishes Comoroto at 5:42.

Rating: C. Allin continues to impress and it makes sense to keep him around so much. The Coffin Drop looks good as a finisher too and I want to see more of him against Team Taz. At the same time, Comoroto looks like he could be a good monster around here, though that won’t be as effective if he loses seven or eight matches around here first. Nice debut showing here though, partially because he looks like a werewolf.

Post match Allin charges at Starks for the brawl.

KiLynn King wants to fight Nyla Rose again. This was an intense promo and I could go for more of King, either wrestling or talking.

Colt Cabana vs. Griff Garrison

Yes we are now at three Dark Order matches on one show. Cabana takes him down in a hurry and it’s time to fight over arm control. Garrison hits a kick to the face but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Cabana to stomp away. A spinebuster looks to set up the Billy Goat’s Curse but Garrison heads straight to the ropes. Back up and Garrison hits a rolling elbow, followed by a running splash in the corner. Cabana gets his boots up though and the Flying Apple connects. The middle rope splash gets two and Cabana is surprised. Cabana trips him down and it’s the Billy Goat’s Curse to make Garrison tap at 4:40.

Rating: D+. Another match which came and went, though Cabana is a lot more polished than most of the people on the roster. He’s been around forever and knows what works on him so it makes sense to have him out there fairly often. They have seemingly dropped the issues with Cabana and Lee, but I’m not sure how much further it could have gone anyway.

KiLynn King vs. Nyla Rose

Vickie Guerrero is here with Rose. King gets shoved down to start so she goes with the strikes to have Rose in a bit of trouble. Back up and Rose hits the fall away slam but misses a charge into the corner. Rose sends her flying with a release German suplex and the Beast Bomb finishes at 1:54. What a waste of a good promo.

Post match Vickie says she wants a better opponent. They are the Vicious Vixens and demand an answer. It’s either Hikaru Shida for the Women’s Title or Rose doesn’t wrestle.

Joey Janela vs. D3

Sonny Kiss is here with Joey. They go to the mat to start and D3 grabs a rollup for two. Janela is back up with a running shoulder but gets caught in the very spinning anklescissors. That’s broken up with a simple drop to send D3 face first into the mat, marking a rather smart counter.

A neckbreaker gives Janela two but D3 is back with his own neckbreaker. Commentary mostly ignores the match to talk about Italian ice until Janela gets their attention with a spinning Death Valley Driver on the floor. Back in and Joey hits a running clothesline before screaming a bit. Three brainbusters knock D3 silly and Janela finally pins him at 5:04.

Rating: D+. So now Janela gets aggressive to beat a jobber? That’s what we’re going with now? Janela continues to be someone who is just there and that isn’t exactly inspiring stuff. I know he’s a big deal on the indy scene, but it isn’t translating here and one match where he hits a bunch of brainbusters isn’t going to make it work.

Wardlow vs. Elijah Dean

Dean wears bright purple and pink and is from Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Wardlow shoves him down and takes the leg out to put Dean in more trouble. Dean’s shots to the chest earn him a big toss and a hard clothesline makes it even worse. Wardlow powers him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs before putting Dean on the top. Dean is dropped down onto a knee to the face for the knockout at 1:53. So we needed to add in this total Wardlow squash to build him up for a tournament he is already in because he has been built up in matches like this? And it just NEEDED to be tonight?

Eddie Kingston vs. Baron Black

Black has to go straight to the knee to escape an early grappling attempt so Kingston knocks him down. The big chops have Black in more trouble but he hits a discus clothesline in the corner. An exploder suplex drops Kingston again, only to have Eddie come back with the spinning backfist. A front chancery makes Black tap at 2:47.

Kingston shouts for Jon Moxley.

Preview for Dynamite FINALLY wraps this up.

Overall Rating: D. NOPE! This was one of the most infuriating shows I can remember in a long time and it made me long for a good old fashioned three hour Raw. After six matches, I looked at the clock and after my eyes bugged out, it dawned on me that we had another EIGHT to go. They crammed every single thing they could in here and a grand total of nothing stands out because there were fourteen matches, plus promos, with the big stories being a match set up for next week and Cutler vs. Avalon continuing.

This was so stupidly long and there is zero reason for it to be. How many matches could you just not do and have the same result? There were a few things on here which felt somewhat more important than usual but they all get forgotten because we need the Gunn Club and three Dark Order matches and Sonny Kiss/Joey Janela in singles matches and a squash from Nyla Rose, Wardlow and Eddie Kingston. This was so annoying and I don’t remember the last time a show got on my nerves so much. And of course they’ll do it again and the answer will be “just don’t watch it”, because that’s easier than making a show better.

Results

Jungle Boy b. Evil Uno, Frankie Kazarian and Blade – Rollup to Uno

Lucha Bros b. Cezar Bononi/Lee Johnson – Spike Fear Factor to Johnson

Brandon Cutler vs. Peter Avalon went to a double DQ when both used weapons

Matt Sydal b. Sonny Kiss – Cobra clutch

Dark Order b. M’Badu/Aaron Solow/Angel Fashion – Double flipping slam to Solow

Red Velvet b. Elayna Black – Just Desserts

Ricky Starks b. Fuego del Sol – Roshambo

Gunn Club. Ryzin/Maxx Stardom – Quick Draw to Stardom

Darby Allin b. Nick Comoroto – Coffin Drop

Colt Cabana b. Griff Garrison – Billy Goat’s Curse

Nyla Rose b. KiLynn King – Beast Bomb

Joey Janela b. D3 – Brainbuster

Wardlow b. Elijah Dean – Knee to the face

Eddie Kingston b. Baron Black – Front chancery

 

 

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

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

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

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

Dynamite
Date: September 23, 2020
Location: Daily’s Place, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross

It’s the third AEW show in just over twenty four hours and they are 2/2 so far. I’m not sure what that is going to mean for tonight though, as Lance Archer has tested positive for the Coronavirus. Therefore the six man tag is out and Jon Moxley will be defending the World Title against Eddie Kingston instead. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Road Warrior Animal.

Opening sequence.

Kip Sabian/Miro vs. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss

Sabian introduces Miro as the most handsome man and The Best Man in wrestling. We get an inset promo from Janela, who says Sabian marrying Ford is a bad, bad mistake. They’re not here to talk about real life or video games though because he and Sonny are on the express to victory. Sabian takes Sonny down by the arm to start but some armdrags have Sabian down as well.

The handspring slap connects in the corner and it’s off to Janela to start in on the arm. They take turns working on said arm until Sonny’s standing moonsault gets two. Miro comes in for a save which doesn’t work but he kicks Sonny anyway. The tag brings in Miro for the first time and he slams Joey with a spinning release Rock Bottom. There’s a release gutwrench suplex and it’s already back to Sabian for a kick to the chest.

Sonny gets over for the tag off to Janela but Miro comes in as well. Miro gets low bridged to the floor and comes up limping, allowing Janela to get in a kick from the apron. He’s fine enough to send Janela over the barricade and Miro tries to throw Sabian at him, only to have Sabian knocked out of the air.

Sonny adds a dropkick to take Miro down again and it’s Janela’s superkick for two on Sabian back inside. Miro comes back in to kick Janela in the head (which the camera barely catches) but Sonny blocks a springboard from Sabian. Sonny fights back but gets launched into Sabian’s Codebreaker for two with Janela making the save. The jumping superkick drops Sonny and the camel clutch (now named Game Over because they are running with this Twitch deal) finishes at 9:36.

Rating: C-. This….did not work. It was sloppy, it didn’t showcase Miro until the end (if he was actually hurt then fair enough) and it felt more like a way to make Janela and Kiss look good than establishing Miro. It could have been a lot worse, but this should have been Miro slaughtering someone, not Kiss and Janela showing they can hang with a monster.

Post match Eddie Kingston comes out to say if you haven’t been checking social media today, he’s getting a World Title shot tonight because he was never eliminated from the battle royal. He and Moxley were cut from the same cloth but then Moxley sold his soul to the land of sports entertainers. Before their match, he wants to look into the eyes of the entertainer so get out here Mox. Cue Moxley to get in Kingston’s face but referees break it up in a hurry.

Evil Uno vs. Hangman Page

Kenny Omega is on commentary again. Apparently Omega/Page were offered a tag match against the Dark Order but turned it down. Page, who is apparently sticking with the long pants, is backed into the corner for an early clean break before Uno shoulders him down. Page nips back up and kicks Uno in the chest to set up the big smile. The bridging pumphandle suplex gets two on Uno and a springboard clothesline knocks him off the apron.

Page hits a slingshot dive to take Uno down again and we take a break. Back with the rest of the Dark Order coming down to glare at Page but the team leaves before doing anything. Page drops Uno onto the apron but misses a top rope clothesline. There’s the fall away slam though and Page hits a running shooting star press for two. Uno gets up for a Swanton and a near fall but Page is back with a clothesline. The running shooting star press hits knees but Page shrugs it off and hits the Buckshot Lariat for the pin at 10:19.

Rating: C. Uno has indeed gotten better and even if that isn’t the most difficult improvement to make, it is an improvement and he deserves some credit. This wasn’t terrible by any means and while the ending wasn’t quite surprising, it’s good to see Page getting some more wins.

Earlier today, Tony Schiavone interviewed Matt Jackson, who says the Young Bucks have been acting a little weird as of late. It’s true that they shouldn’t have attacked that announcer or what’s his face the referee. The Bucks have lost a lot over the last few weeks though and some of their relationships have fallen apart.

They will do better though and Tony says FTR is the source of a lot of these problems but Matt wants to move on to the next fight. He asks if Tony has his phone….and smashes it against the wall. Matt whips out some money and throws it at Tony before walking back into the locker room. Tony: “Put this in their book. New chapter maybe.”

TNT Title: Brodie Lee vs. Orange Cassidy

Lee is defending and the Dark Order is at ringside. John Silver beats up Cassidy’s jacket and shirt on the floor, much to his own lack of a response. Anna Jay gets up on the apron for a distraction so Cassidy gives her his sunglasses, which Lee takes away. Cassidy starts with the slow kicks and gets a big boot for his efforts. A dropkick puts Lee on the floor though and Cassidy loads up a dive…which the rest of the Order catches.

Lee dives onto everyone and Cassidy is in trouble early. The referee gets distracted and the Order hammers away, setting up Lee’s slingshot hilo for two. Cassidy counters the swinging DDT into a swinging Boss Man Slam for two more. Back from a break with Lee hitting another suplex but getting sent outside. Cassidy hits the suicide elbow and then does it again.

The rest of the Order tries to interfere but accidentally takes each other out, leaving Cassidy to hit a top rope DDT. Some running penalty kicks have Lee annoyed so Cassidy hits the swinging DDT. The Air Raid Crash gets two on Lee in a pretty warm near fall. Silver gets inside but gets Orange Punched, allowing Lee to hit the powerbomb into the discus lariat to retain at 11:32.

Rating: C+. It was a little better than I was expecting and that’s always a nice thing to say. Cassidy getting in some offense is a good thing as it would have been a lot to have Cassidy win the feud with Jericho and then lose to Lee in a squash. It was an entertaining enough match though and that’s as good as you can ask for with Cassidy.

Post match Cody is back, now with dark hair and in dark gear, to unload on the Order. The Cody Cutter drops 5 and Cody wraps the leg around the post while throwing in an evil smile. The Figure Four makes it even worse as Cody is looking more intense than ever.

Post break Lee grabs the mic and screams about Cody being gone for five weeks while he has been here doing the work. What kind of a man lets others do his work for him or have his wife sent out thirst trap photos while calling him daddy? Lee grabs a dog collar from John Silver and says he’s going to wrap it around Cody’s awful tattoo (ha) and end him for good. Cody has a week to decide. Lee was really intense here and it worked.

Here are Matt Hardy and Private Party, with Matt saying the cheers just made his birthday. Matt talks about being attacked last week, which has him wondering who wanted to do it. Earlier that day, he talked to Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Brodie Lee, and of course he has issues with the Inner Circle. All he knows is that someone was wearing a face covering and someone hit him in the knee with something really hard.

Then Chris Jericho and Jake Hager were right there, with Jericho holding a bat. That makes Jericho the prime suspect and then they used the same bat to beat Private Party. After the match, Jericho tries to injure Isaiah Kassidy, because the more things change, the more they stay the same (which Matt gets out after three tries).

Cue Jericho, with bat, and the Inner Circle to interrupt, complete with a lot of pyro. Jericho denies attacking Matt last week because he would do it to his face. Matt is ready to fight right now even though he isn’t cleared. Marq Quen says he’s cleared to fight but Kassidy takes the mic and says he’s got this. Quen issues the challenge to Jericho for next week, promising to make him his Le Champion b****. Jericho doesn’t look impressed.

Here are FTR and Tully Blanchard in the ring for a chat. Tully talks about how great it is to have some fans here in attendance and he has some new ideas. Usually a World Title match has a one hour time limit but they have something in mind. From now on, title defenses on television are going to have twenty minute time limits so the fans can get a little brush with greatness. The champs get to pick the opponents too, so next week it’s FTR vs. SCU. If SCU can’t win in twenty minutes, FTR gets credit for the win.

They’ll need some new challengers after SCU though, but last week Best Friends were in a glorified backyard match…so here are the Best Friends to interrupt. Trent says last week was a war so let’s do this twenty minute challenge right now. A referee comes down and we’re ready to go but Dax says not so fast because the Best Friends need to become #1 contenders first. Chuck calls them a couple of “weenies” and we get the Big Hug.

Hikaru Shida/Thunder Rosa vs. Diamante/Ivelisse

It’s a big brawl to start with everyone fighting on the floor. Shida and Rosa hit stereo kicks to Diamante’s head and there’s a slam to put her down back inside. Shida suplexes Rosa onto Diamante for two and a running backsplash gets the same. Ivelisse comes in to hit Rosa in the throat and a quick powerbomb gets two. We take a break and come back with Shida getting two on Diamante.

Ivelisse gets the tag and starts to clean house, including a Downward Spiral and a Stunner. Rosa knees Shida by mistake and Ivelisse adds a kick to the head for two. An assisted Sliced Bread gets the same on Shida with Rosa making the save. Rosa and Ivelisse fight to the floor but Rosa comes back in to break up a Code Red. A Death Valley Driver hits Diamante and Shida’s Falcon Arrow gets two on Diamante. Shida hits the running knee to finish Diamante at 6:14.

Rating: C+. It was more of a brawl than a match and you could all but guarantee that the singles champions weren’t losing here. I like the feud between the two of them and you can probably pencil them in for another champion vs. champion match down the line. Some of the near falls were good here and I liked what we got for the most part.

Chris Jericho agrees to face Kassidy next week and dubs himself the Million Viewer Man. The only shots Kassidy is getting next week are from his right and left hands but here is MJF to interrupt. MJF doesn’t like Jericho being disrespected, which Jericho appreciates. Jericho calls him the uncrowned World Champion and MJF imitates Jericho in a funny bit.

They like each other, but they both ask why they called each other a loser. MJF talks about seeing it all over social media but Jericho says he saw it on Dynamite (nice save). MJF was calling his limo driver a loser and Jericho was calling Schiavone a loser so they agree they’re both all right. MJF and Jericho at the same time: “Thanks Dasha.”

Here’s what’s coming next week.

On October 7, Chris Jericho is celebrating thirty years in wrestling.

AEW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. Eddie Kingston

Kingston is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Moxley grabbing a quickly broken headscissors. The exchange of strikes ensues until Kingston takes him down with a clothesline. They head outside with Moxley being thrown over the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back with Kingston cranking on a chinlock before chopping Moxley down hard.

Moxley manages a quick piledriver for two with Kingston using the ropes to escape. Kingston is back with a powerbomb out of the corner for the same but misses the spinning backfist. They slowly slug it out again until Kingston suplexes him down twice for two. Kingston chops away in the corner but Moxley slaps him away. The spinning backfist is blocked again and Moxley slaps on a bulldog choke to retain at 10:53.

Rating: B-. Again this was much more like a fight than a match and that’s what it should have been. Kingston and Moxley are both brawlers at heart so it makes sense to have them do this instead of wrestle a technical masterpiece. It was a thrown together match and considering how little time they had to set it up, this worked out perfectly well.

Post match the Lucha Bros run in for the beatdown but Will Hobbs runs in for the save. A double superkick takes Hobbs down but here’s Darby Allin for…well not much of a save really as Ricky Starks jumps him from behind. The big beatdown is on, including Starks getting in a shot to Allin with the skateboard.

Overall Rating: B-. All in all, a completely fine show but it wasn’t quite as good as some of the stuff they have done in the past. What we got was good though and it was by no means a bad show. The problem is last night’s bonus Dynamite had a show stealer and this just had mostly pretty good stuff. I liked what we got though and they have some bigger stuff coming up in the next few weeks. Completely watchable show, but down a step from recent weeks.

Results

Miro/Kip Sabian b. Joey Janela/Sonny Kiss – Game Over to Kiss

Hangman Page b. Evil Uno – Buckshot Lariat

Brodie Lee b. Orange Cassidy – Discus lariat

Hikaru Shida/Thunder Rosa b. Diamante/Ivelisse – Running knee to Rosa

Jon Moxley b. Eddie Kingston – Bulldog choke

 

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

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

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

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