Rampage
Date: May 1, 2024
Location: Canada Life Center, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Matt Menard

It’s time for the second half of the double shot and that means we are probably going to drop down a little bit in importance. Odds are we’ll be seeing something from the end of Dynamite as well, as the Elite attacked Kenny Omega to end the show. I’m not sure how well that is going to go but Rampage can be all over the place. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

We open with Kenny Omega down in the ring with FTR checking on him after an attack by the Elite to end Dynamite. Omega is taken out on a stretcher but gets attacked by the Elite again in the back. They shove the stretcher over and then order medics to check on Omega.

Jay White vs. Dante Martin

The Gunns, Darius Martin and Action Andretti are here too. Martin charges at him to start and hammers away with the fight heading outside. Back in and White stomps away in the corner but gets headscissored outside. Martin’s dive drops White again but a springboard is broken up back inside.

We take a break and come back with White grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up and Martin hits a dropkick, setting up a springboard high crossbody for two. White wins a chop off and sends Martin to the apron, where he comes back in with the Nose Dive for a quick two. White has had it though and hits the sleeper suplex into the Blade Runner for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C+. This was designed to be tied into the gauntlet match from last week but it didn’t exactly feel the same when you had Bullet Club Gold beating the Martins and Andretti on Collision. It also doesn’t help that Martin loses almost every singles match he’s in against any worthwhile opponent, which needs to change to make something like this more interesting.

Post match White helps him up and then lays him out with an implant DDT.

Deonna Purrazzo is sick of the lack of respect around here. Now she is starting to feel like herself though and if Thunder Rosa wants to make this personal, that works for her too.

Rush brags about his success and wants respect on his name.

Big Bill believes he has everything he needs to reach the top but he needs Chris Jericho’s guidance. Teach him. Jericho comes in and is happy to have retained the For The World Championship so now he’s ready to let Bill into the Jericho Vortex.

We look at Christian Cage being named #1 contender on Dynamite.

Swerve Strickland is ready to remind Cage who he is. They’ll talk next week and Swerve won’t be alone.

Rocky Romero vs. Kyle O’Reilly

They fight over wrist control to start with O’Reilly taking him down, only to have Romero pop back up for a staredown. Romero kicks him out to the floor for a suicide dive but O’Reilly grabs the cross armbreaker as we take a break. Back with the two of them exchanging kicks until O’Reilly runs him over with a hard clothesline. They go up top so Romero can grab a super Sliced Bread for a double knockdown. Neither can get very far with an arm hold but O’Reilly can get a rollup for the pin at 9:58.

Rating: C+. Another match that gets a bit of time and had good action in that time. The good thing is they didn’t overstay their welcome here, as it was a cold match with the two of them being thrown out there together. O’Reilly gets a win to make up for his Dynasty loss while Romero continues to be the guy you put out there to make someone else look strong.

Saraya and Harley Cameron aren’t happy with Mariah May losing earlier so Cameron will fight Toni Storm herself on Dynamite.

The Undisputed Kingdom does not like Tony Khan’s lack of respect of NECK STRONG. Roderick Strong promises to take out Will Ospreay at Double Or Nothing.

TBS Title: Skye Blue vs. Willow Nightingale

Nightingale is defending and it’s anything goes, falls count anywhere. Nightingale hammers away with a trashcan lid in the aisle to start and they fight into the crowd. Blue is sent into the barricade and they head back to ringside to continue the fast start. It’s already time to bring in the weapons but Nightingale’s flip dive off the apron only hits chair.

We take a break and come back with Nightingale Pouncing Blue down and putting a chair over her in the corner. The Cannonball is cut off with a chair shot to give Blue two and it’s time for the thumbtacks. They both go up and Nightingale grabs the swinging superplex for the crash into the tacks and a near fall. Blue gets in a shot of her own and grabs out a barbed wire board, because of course she did. That takes too long though and the Babe With The Powerbomb through the board retains Nightingale’s title at 10:43.

Rating: C+. It was a violent brawl, but this felt like having a hardcore match for the sake of having a hardcore match. Throw in the fact that Chris Jericho and Katsuyori Shibata had a hardcore match about an hour and a half ago and this didn’t have quite the same impact. That being said, Nightingale getting a win in a match like this on her own is a good thing and something she has been needing to do more often.

Overall Rating: B-. This did feel more important than most Rampages so it’s nice to see them taking advantage of what they had with Dynamite. That being said, only one of the matches felt important and even then it was only so big. As usual, the parts between the bell worked well and the other stuff was hit or miss. Not a show you need to see, but for an hour long show, it went just fine.

Results
Jay White b. Dante Martin – Blade Runner
Kyle O’Reilly b. Rocky Romero – Rollup
Willow Nightingale b. Skye Blue – Babe With The Powerbomb through a barbed wire board

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Collision
Date: April 20, 2024
Location: Peoria Civic Center, Peoria, Illinois
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the last Collision before Dynasty but also the first half of a double shot tonight, as Rampage will air after the show. In this case we have Bryan Danielson in a Bunkhouse Brawl, as the Blackpool Combat Club is facing the Don Callis Family. That should be enough to carry things so let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Adam Copeland/Eddie Kingston/Mark Briscoe vs. Action Andretti/Top Flight

Briscoe starts with Andretti, who wants some Redneck Kung Fu. Never ask someone who looks like Briscoe for either Redneck or Kung Fu. They fight over wrist control until Briscoe grabs a headlock on the mat. Back up and Andretti hits a dropkick into a moonsault for two but Briscoe runs him over. Copeland comes in to share a double running shoulder with Briscoe but Andretti kicks him in the knee in a smart move.

It’s off to Darius for a dropkick, with Dante adding a running clothesline in the corner. Dante tries to jump a few too many times though and gets caught with a running powerslam. We get Kingston for the first time, with Dante getting knocked into the corner as we take a break.

Back with Darius coming in to clean house as everything breaks down. Andretti hits a running shooting star press on Kingston, with Copeland making the save. They all get up and have the six way staredown, setting up a triple clothesline to put them all down. Kingston wins a slugout with Andretti but gets kicked down by Dante. Copeland grabs the implant DDT on Dante and it’s a Jay Driller to Darius. The spear and the Froggy Bow finish the destruction at 12:17.

Rating: B-. Nice start to the show as the winners get a boost before their showdown with the House Of Black at Dynasty. It’s not exactly a career making win but I’ll take them at least teaming together before going into that match. You don’t often see three singles champions against an established team but that’s what we’ll be seeing at the pay per view, which is quite the big match.

Post match the House Of Black pop up on screen with various threats to the winners.

Video on Samoa Joe vs. Swerve Strickland.

Powerhouse Hobbs vs. CJ Espersa

Don Callis is on commentary and Hobbs takes it to the floor. Some slams onto the apron and a torture rack complete the destruction of Espersa at 1:24.

Post match Callis gets in the ring and announces that Hobbs’ match with Jon Moxley on Dynamite will be for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, as he has called in some favors.

Will Ospreay is ready for Bryan Danielson.

We look at Chris Jericho yelling at Hook and shoving Taz on Dynamite.

Jericho apologizes to Hook and Taz but he’s asked Tony Khan for a match against Hook at Dynasty for the FTW Title.

Gunns vs. Acclaimed

Jay White and Billy Gunn are here too. The Gunns tease walking out but Tony Khan, by way of Tony Schiavone, threatens to cancel the Dynasty match. Acclaimed jump them to start and the fight is on, with the Gunns taking over in the corner as we take a break. Back with Caster caught in a double half crab but he kicks his way to freedom. The diving tag brings Bowens in to clean house, including a jump over the back Fameasser for two on Colten.

Everything breaks down and Colten’s rollup, even with feet on the ropes, only gets two. Austin grabs Bowens’ leg from the floor, allowing Colten to hit a Fameasser for two more. The 3:10 To Yuma doesn’t work so Colten rakes the eyes. Caster is back in to plant Colten but gets crotched as he goes up. Now the 3:10 To Yuma can hit Bowens but Caster hits the Mic Drop on Austin. Back up and Austin grabs a rollup (and the bat as extended by White) for the pin on Caster at 10:01.

Rating: C+. AEW really likes running this match and have the history to prove it. The matches are ok, but the interesting thing is how far the Gunns have come in a few years. You can absolutely see the improvement and that is nice to see for a team with that much potential. Then you have the Acclaimed, who are pretty much exactly what they were a few years ago, if not downgraded.

We look at the Blackpool Combat Club attacking the Don Callis Family on Dynamite.

Bryan Danielson talks about feeling alive but he wonders what Don Callis is up to. Tonight he gets revenge on Konosuke Takeshita and tomorrow he gets Will Ospreay. Cue Ospreay to say he had nothing to do with Takeshita attacking him because he wants Danielson at 100%. Danielson doesn’t seem convinced.

Toni Storm, in color to show what happened to her, is not pleased with Thunder Rosa putting paint on her face. Rosa wants to bring her to h***, but she makes love to demons every night.

Blackpool Combat Club vs. Don Callis Family

Bunkhouse Brawl, meaning anything goes, and the Family (Kyle Fletcher/Konosuke Takeshita in this case) jumps the Club from behind to start. The fight starts in the crowd with Danielson striking away at Fletcher and beating him up through the people. The two of them get to ringside while Castagnoli cleans up some garbage in the crowd. Takeshita grabs the ring bell hammer to beat on Castagnoli before they get inside to slug it out.

Castagnoli grabs the Swing and Danielson adds the dropkick but Fletcher throws in a chair (busting Danielson open in the process) for the save. Some powder to the eyes lets Fletcher hit a powerbomb for two on Castagnoli and we take a break. Back with Castagnoli ramming Fletcher into the steps over and over to bust him open as well.

Danielson hits a top rope knee to the back of Takeshita’s head and then a hard kick to the front of his head. Fletcher is back in to kick Castagnoli down and it’s time for a chain (everyone uses a chain these days). The Club fights back and hit the stereo elbows to the face but here is Powerhouse Hobbs to clean house. Jon Moxley runs in to brawl with Hobbs through the crowd, leaving Danielson to super hurricanrana Takeshita onto an open chair. Castagnoli wraps the chain around his arm for an uppercut to Takeshita. Danielson knees Fletcher into the LeBell Lock (with the chain) for the win at 16:04.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match that AEW really likes to present and as usual, the result depends on the level of talent involved. With these four in there, it was almost impossible for it not to work and they even tied it in with Hobbs vs. Moxley next week on Dynamite. It was a wild brawl, but dang there are a lot of those in AEW.

Post match Danielson says he’s doing this match because his Heaven is bleeding in this ring in front of these people. He’ll beat Will Ospreay at Dynasty.

Kris Statlander, Willow Nightingale and Stokely Hathaway are fired up for Nightingale to win the TBS Title at Dynasty.

Skye Blue vs. Leyla Hirsch

Hirsch rushes her to start and hits a boot to the face, with Blue having to bail out to the floor. Blue gets in a shot outside though and a hanging swinging neckbreaker drops Hirsch hard. They get back in and Hirsch slugs away, only to get dropped with a forearm to the chest. A belly to back and wheelbarrow suplex get Hirsch out of trouble but Blue catches her with a Cheeky Nandos kick. Hirsch fights back up and hits a superplex, only to slip off the ropes. Blue grabs a dragon sleeper for the tap at 5:09.

Rating: C+. Blue has felt somewhere between cold and non-existent in recent weeks so it’s nice to see her getting a win here. It seems she’s passed her peak so far, but giving her a few wins could bring her back. That being said, seeing her make someone like Hirsch tap out is more than a little weird.

Dynasty rundown.

Elite vs. FTR/Pac

Pac and Okada start things off and, after Pac cuts off the Bucks’ interference, he takes Okada into the corner so Wheeler can stomp away. The Bucks pull Okada to the floor and the big brawl is on. Back in and Harwood strikes it out with Okada but Matt tags himself in. That earns him a quick beating so it’s right back to Okada, with Pac starting in on the arm. Everything breaks down again and they all head to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Wheeler getting stomped down in the corner, setting up Matt’s chinlock. Wheeler suplexes his way out but Nick is right there to cut him off again. A splash misses though and it’s a diving tag to bring Pac back in to clean house. The big running flip dive to the floor takes out the Bucks but it’s too early for the Black Arrow. Okada distracts the referee so the Bucks can send Pac into the steps and we take another break.

Back again with the Bucks’ powerbomb/corner enziguri combination not exactly working and the big tag brings Harwood back in. A brainbuster plants Okada and FTR sends the Bucks into each other for a double low blow in the corner. Harwood slugs away at Okada, who cuts him right back off with the dropkick. The Rainmaker is blocked though and Harwood pulls him into the Sharpshooter.

Various superkicks break that up and Matt adds a top rope elbow for two. Everything breaks down again and the PowerPlex hits Matt. They all get up for the slugout and the Bucks give Pac a Shatter Machine for two, followed by the EVP Trigger for the same. Wheeler dives onto Nick and Okada, leaving Pac to hit the Black Arrow for the pin on Matt at 22:15.

Rating: B. Yeah of course this was good and that shouldn’t be any kind of a surprise. There is always something to combining two pay per view matches into one main event and they made it work here, with Pac getting a pin to keep him hot for the title match. Odds are the Bucks win the titles tomorrow, but at least we didn’t have to hear about building momentum towards a ladder match.

Post match the villains ump the winners but Daniel Garcia runs in for the save. Okada gets caught in the Brutalizer with the Bucks pulling him out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was quite the stacked show and it made for a rather strong two hours on the way to Dynasty. It helps that they didn’t really have to do anything new here and most of the show was built around building up things for Dynasty. Either way, this was a rather awesome show and one of the best Collisions in a good while.

Results
Adam Copeland/Eddie Kingston/Mark Briscoe b. Action Andretti/Top Flight – Froggy Bow to Darius
Powerhouse Hobbs b. CJ Espersa – Torture rack
Gunns b. Acclaimed – Rollup to Caster while grabbing a baseball bat
Blackpool Combat Club b. Don Callis Family – LeBell Lock with a chain to Fletcher
Skye Blue b. Leyla Hirsch – Dragon sleeper
FTR/Pac b. Elite – Black Arrow to Matt

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: April 3, 2024
Location: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

We are less than a month away from Dynasty and that means it is time to start hammering home the card. First up we are likely set for Swerve Strickland challenging Samoa Joe for the AEW World Title. In addition, Will Ospreay will face Bryan Danielson in a dream match, but first Ospreay has to face Will. Hobbs that is. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Here is Adam Copeland to get things going. He’s here to have some fun and, after some microphone feedback (Copeland: “Live TV baby!”), he talks about all of the run he has had over the years. Copeland watched all kinds of wrestling in his life, including the WWF, the NWA, places in Canada and everywhere else and now he’s here where he sees the best roster he can imagine.

There are all kinds of wrestlers he can face for the first time ever and he has never had more fun in his career. AEW has pushed this industry into a better place and it gives more people a chance to do what they have never done before. This is where the best wrestle and now he’s calming down after getting fired up. Now it is time to move forward and there is a reason so many stars came here. For now, Copeland introduces Will Ospreay and some respect is shown. This was a rather nice rah-rah speech and Copeland knows how to give them as well as anyone.

Will Ospreay vs. Powerhouse Hobbs

Don Callis is on commentary as Hobbs knocks Hobbs out of the air to start. Ospreay gets smart by going after the knee and knocks him to the floor before hitting a dive. Hobbs is sent into the steps but he catches Ospreay on the barricade and plants him onto the steps. There’s the toss over the announcers’ table to drop Ospreay again and we take a break.

Back with Ospreay dropping Hobbs off a handspring kick to the face before going up. Hobbs pulls him down by the throat but a Stundog Millionaire gets Ospreay out of trouble again. Hobbs gets in another knockdown but misses a splash off the top of all things. The Hidden Blade is countered into a World’s Strongest Slam, which is countered into a small package to give Ospreay two.

Hobbs blasts him with a clothesline to take over, setting up a middle rope swinging powerslam (that was cool) for two more. Another powerslam attempt is countered into a DDT and a sky twister press puts Hobbs down again. The Hidden Blade finishes for Ospreay at 14:15.

Rating: B. Ospreay’s run continues and I liked this one more than some of the other things he’s done so far. It felt more like Ospreay was fighting up against the monster Hobbs before slaying the beast in the end. At the same time, it should be about it for his stuff with the Callis Family, which has been done pretty much to death so far. Good stuff here, and the shorter time helped it a bit.

Post match Callis has to break up Ospreay and Hobbs before Ospreay goes to leave. Cue Bryan Danielson for a staredown as we take a break.

Bryan Danielson vs. Lance Archer

Archer starts fast and takes over by knocking Danielson down. Danielson gets sent into the corner but avoids a charge, setting up a dragon screw legwhip. Cranking on and kicking at the leg have Archer in more trouble, followed by a running dropkick to the leg in the corner. They go outside, with Archer running Danielson over and slamming a production worker onto him for an impressive spot.

We take a break and come back with Danielson moonsaulting over him but getting run over with a crossbody. Danielson fights out of the corner and scores with some running dropkicks. Archer slips out of the LeBell Lock and bails outside, where Danielson hits a running knee off the apron.

Back in and Danielson hits a missile dropkick, followed by the YES Kicks. Archer doesn’t care for that and hits a hard chokeslam, only to have the Blackout broken up with elbows to the face. Danielson’s sleeper is broken up so Danielson kicks him in the head three straight times. The running knee finishes Archer at 15:38.

Rating: B-. This was the latest instance of Danielson having a good match around to keep up with Ospreay. If nothing else I do like the idea of having Danielson face someone different than Ospreay as it adds a fresh direction. It’s always fun watching Danielson strike down a monster and Archer has enough credibility to make Danielson seem like a big deal here so well done.

Here is Chris Jericho on the stage to call out Hook so hit that signal. Cue Hook, with Jericho praising him and asking Hook to believe in him. Hook does, to the point where they can team together this week on Collision. Works for Jericho.

Shane Taylor Promotions are ready to face Hook and Jericho on Collision.

Jay White vs. Billy Gunn

Gunn jumps White on the stage during his entrance and the beating begins around ringside. They get inside, the bell rings, and White punches him out to the floor. The fight heads into the crowd as White can’t get anything going to start. White gets knocked back to ringside but avoids a superkick, which hits the steps instead. A clothesline puts White on the floor again though and we take a break.

Back with White unloading in the corner but Gunn runs him over again. We see the Acclaimed down in the back, with the distraction letting White set up the Blade Runner. The One And Only connects instead and Gunn grabs a chair. Cue the Gunns to beg for mercy though, allowing White to hit a low blow for the DQ at 11:39.

Rating: D+. I’m not sure what this was but I think we can safely call it a bad miss. This was barely a match until the last minute and a half and then they went to a DQ (which is becoming more common around here). I’m liking the idea of the titles being unified, but this was really not a good way to help get us there. The fact that I had to pause this a few times out of pure boredom isn’t a good sign and it just got less interesting as it kept going.

Post match the beatdown is on until the Acclaimed make the save. The Gunns save White from going through the announcers’ table.

Willow Nightingale, with Stokely Hathaway and Kris Statlander, is feeling mother fluffin great about getting a TBS Title shot and talks about how she worked hard in this town for years. This is a home away from home for her and if she can be convinced she belongs here, anyone can do it. Now she’s ready to win the TBS Title and she thanks the fans for their love and support. Hathaway is proud of Willow’s win but here is Mercedes Mone to interrupt. She wants the winner of Willow and Hart, because money changes everything. Then Mone dances.

Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: Orange Cassidy/Trent Beretta vs. Young Bucks

Chuck Taylor and Sue are here with Cassidy and Beretta. Matt gets suplexed down to start but he’s back with the rolling northern lights suplex for two. The Bucks are sent to the floor where they trip Beretta down to take over. Matt even jumps on commentary to send us to a break. Back with Cassidy hitting a high crossbody but his double hurricanrana is blocked. Matt’s ram into an exposed turnbuckle is blocked but Cassidy gets knocked down anyway.

The EVP Trigger misses though and Cassidy’s top rope DDT gets two on Matt. Cassidy and Beretta hit their own TK river and it’s Soul Food into the half and half suplex to send Matt flying. Back up and Matt fires off some superkicks but stops to threaten Sue, who slaps him instead. The spike Strong Zero gets two on Matt with Nick making the save. Sue gives Trent the reviving kiss on the cheek….but Matt sends him into the exposed buckle. A rollup with tights pins Beretta at 12:28.

Rating: C+ This got some time but it never quite moved up to the higher level I was expecting. Cassidy and Beretta were a thrown together team but they did well in their limited time in the role. The Bucks have been all but penciled in for the finals since the tournament started so this was almost a formality, Not a bad match, but it seemed more built around Sue near the end and that’s not quite how a chance for a title shot should feel.

Post match the Bucks mock Sue before leaving. Beretta loads up the Big Hug but gives Cassidy a running knee instead. Chuck Taylor isn’t sure what to think as Beretta leaves. I haven’t been a big fan of the Best Friends stuff but this will be a big deal to a large portion of the AEW audience. Also more Beretta is a good thing.

Mariah May vs. Thunder Rosa

Toni Storm is on commentary and the winner gets the Dynasty title shot. Rosa chops away in the corner to start but May takes over and hits the running hip attack. Back up and Rosa hits a spinning faceplant before knocking May hard to the floor. May wins a strike out on the apron but gets hurricanranaed onto the floor. We take a break and come back with May striking away, followed by a Saito suplex. A Stratusphere is blocked so May hits a running knee for two instead. May Day is loaded up but Rosa reverses into a Backstabber, setting up the Tijuana Bomb for the pin at 7:48.

Rating: C+. They didn’t give Rosa much until she won in the end, though that’s what matters more than anything else. Rosa does need her title shot after never being defeated for the title and the ending should have May in some hot water with Storm. They might not have taken the most interesting route to get there but they got the title shot right, which is all that matters.

Penta El Zero Miedo wants a TNT Title shot against Adam Copeland next week on Dynamite.

Penta El Zero Miedo receives a TNT Title shot against Adam Copeland next week on Dynamite.

Here are Swerve Strickland and Samoa Joe for the contract signing for Dynasty. Joe signs without saying anything but then warns Swerve before he can sign as well. He has been watching Swerve’s rise to the top but Swerve has received some bad information, saying that he’s going to win the World Title. Joe threatens violence and gives Swerve a chance to walk, but instead Swerve says he has wanted this moment his entire life.

Swerve has worked to get here and he’ll do anything to win the title. At Dynasty, he’s going to show that he’s every bit of the man Joe is. The fight is on but Joe breaks up a chain shot and chases Swerve off. The beatdown leaves Swerve down in the corner. Joe leaves but a bloody Swerve laughs and crawls over to sign the contract in his own blood. That’s fine with Joe, who comes back in to put Swerve through the table to end the show. Joe being freaked out by Swerve crawling to the contract was good, and it was entirely logical for Joe to come back and beat him up again.

Overall Rating: B-. This show had a bit of a different feel to it as it came off more focused on a few things than on several things at once. At the same time, they helped set things up for the next few weeks, including Dynasty. The action (save for Gunn vs. White) was good and it made for a pretty solid show all around. Nice show, and points for making it feel a bit different.

Results
Will Ospreay b. Powerhouse Hobbs – Hidden Blade
Bryan Danielson b. Lance Archer – Running knee
Billy Gunn b. Jay White via DQ when White hit Gunn low
Young Bucks b. Trent Beretta/Orange Cassidy – Rollup with tights to Beretta,
Thunder Rosa b. Mariah May – Tijuana Bomb

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: January 3, 2024
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the show after Worlds End and Samoa Joe is the new World Champion. In what might be a bigger story though, Adam Cole was revealed as the Devil, with his henchmen (Wardlow/The Kingdom/Roderick Strong) wrecking MJF to end the show. We’re about two months from Revolution and it might be time to start the slow build. Let’s get to it.

Here is Worlds End if you need a recap.

We get a video from after Worlds End where a rather serious Samoa Joe talks about how MJF might be a scumbag but he’s a mean SOB. He’s going to take everything from anyone who tries to take the title from him. This was intense Joe and that is a great thing.

We look at the Devil/Henchmen reveal.

Here are Adam Cole and the henchmen, now with a graphic saying UNDISPUTED, for a chat. Roderick Strong tells us to shut up and listen to his best friend, ADAM. Cole finds it ironic that people were appalled and SHOCKED at him being the Devil. It means people are not only stupid but they also don’t understand right and wrong. Cole turned on MJF, who has talked bad about everyone in that locker room, but people are mad at him?

MJF only cares about himself and he’s never coming back. The second MJF felt like he didn’t need Cole anymore, he would have done the same thing. Cole never needed MJF but MJF needed him, which is why Cole sacrificed everything. No one would have cared about MJF without Cole and you can chant all you want, but MJF is dead. This is the Undisputed Kingdom, and they want gold.

Roderick Strong wants the International Title and Wardlow is after the AEW World Title. Then when the time is right, Wardlow is going to forfeit the title to Cole (Wardlow doesn’t seem opposed). That brings us to Samoa Joe, and it was nice to do business with him. This includes taking out Hangman Page for him, but it would suck to see Wardlow hurt Joe when it’s time to get there. The Devil is here to stay….bay bay.

The team poses but here is Jay White of all people to interrupt. He liked what happened to MJF, but he isn’t happy with being the catalyst to start all this. Cue the Gunns so Wardlow gets Cole to the floor so the fight can be on. Wardlow gets back in though and the Undisputed Kingdom takes over. Cue the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn to chase the Kingdom off but Bullet Club Gold leaves without scissoring.

They needed to have the big speech here and that worked well, but there is something missing because Cole can’t wrestle. Granted it is a good bit less bad because MJF is out of action as well. I could have waited on someone to interrupt the team, as it took something away from the segment, but the big explanation was good enough.

We look at Eddie Kingston winning the Continental Classic.

Daniel Garcia is ready to face Swerve Strickland.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Dante Martin

Cassidy is defending and gets armdragged into the corner, leaving him a bit annoyed to start. A headlock takeover works a bit better for Cassidy but Dante kicks him away and flips over for a standoff. They go outside with Cassidy sending him into the barricade, then putting his hands in his pockets for a run around the ring and a dropkick. Dante manages a suplex though and we take a break.

Back with Martin hitting a nice high crossbody for two before they trade the slow motion strikes. Martin gets taken into the corner for more slow stomps, followed by the spinning DDT for two. The Orange Punch and Beach Break both miss so Martin loads up a powerbomb, only to drop Cassidy face first onto his knee (that was cool). Martin goes up so Cassidy rolls away…leaving Martin to jump REALLY FAR to splash him instead. Martin misses a dropkick though and the Orange Punch retains at 13:29.

Rating: B-. This was straight out of the same playbook that Cassidy has been using for the better part of a year now, though there was pretty much nothing with him being aggressive or coming close to cheating. The good thing is that he seems to have a much bigger challenger coming in Roderick Strong so things should be picking up. Martin looked solid here too, as he can do the flying stuff rather well.

Post match Action Andretti, Darius Martin, Hook and Danhausen come out to check on their friends. Respect is shown but here is the returning Private Party to interrupt. They want the titles and put the tag teams on notice. Is there a reason a two person tag team interrupted a singles champion and a trio so they could talk about winning Tag Team Titles?

Toni Storm is here for Mariah May’s debut but changes her mind because it’s off to Broadway.

The House Of Black is ready to hurt FTR and make their families sad.

Swerve Strickland is ready to ace Daniel Garcia tonight but wants gold in 2024. Like from Samoa Joe.

Mariah May vs. Queen Aminata

May strikes her up against the ropes to start and a running dropkick gets one. Another running dropkick to the back sends Aminata to the floor and us to a break. Back with Aminata striking away and hitting a dropkick, followed by a running forearm in the corner. May Sling Blades her way out of trouble and a Samoan Driver (May Day) finishes Aminata at 6:37.

Rating: C. Well that was lengthy and I’m not exactly sold on May as a big star. She did well in her debut but this felt more like it was almost about making Aminata a big deal than getting May her debut. May does look like a star though and she seemed polished enough in the ring. Not a bad match, but a strangely put together one.

Post match May says she wishes Toni Storm could have been here. And that this wasn’t in New Jersey. Cue Deonna Purrazzo (of the New Jersey Purrazzos) to say this is her home because she is All Elite. May calls her a b**** and gets kicked in the face for her efforts. Good debut, even with Purrazzo sounding rather nervous. Also, I’m not sure how smart it was to have May’s debut and Purrazzo as the surprise back to back, as it took away from May’s start.

Here is the Patriarchy for a chat. Shayna Wayne can’t believe that the people here boo her, so Christian Cage threatens them all with discipline. Cage talks about his title defense at Worlds End and we hear about how he left as champion (with no mention of the title changing hands)….but he specifically doesn’t mention Killswitch.

He talks about how Adam Copeland is out of title shots and brags about having no soul, which is why he beat Copeland. No one needs to come after this title but the fans chant LUCHASAURUS. Cage insists that his name is Killswitch to wrap things up. Shayna continues to be rather awful with a microphone. I’m not sure why they needed Wayne’s real mother there when there has to be someone better at talking who could play either that role or something close enough.

Ruby Soho admits that Harley Cameron was a success, with Cameron insisting she would do ANYTHING to help.

Darby Allin vs. Konosuke Takeshita

Don Callis joins commentary as Takeshita grabs a wheelbarrow suplex to start. Allin flips out and lands on his feet, with even Callis being impressed, only to have a heck of a backdrop put Allin down. Back up and Allin manages to send him outside for a dive, with Takeshita cutting it off with a jumping knee for a NASTY crash. Some rolling German suplexes on the ramp knock Allin even sillier and we take a break.

Back with Allin hitting the flipping Stunner out of the corner and sending Takeshita to the floor for the big running flip dive. Takeshita is sent hard into the barricade and bangs up his knee, allowing Allin to hit the top rope Coffin Drop to take him down on the floor. Back in and a Code Red gives Allin two, only to have Takeshita German suplex him down. A top rope German superplex (and Allin landed straight on the mat) sets up a running knee to give Takeshita the pin at 12:47.

Rating: B. I feel bad about watching these Allin matches as he feels like someone ready to suffer a career ending injury every time he gets in the ring. Since he doesn’t seem to care, it would be nice to have someone tell him to stop and not let him wrestle if he doesn’t listen, but that doesn’t seem likely. On the other hand you have Takeshita, who looked like a monster here. I could really go for him doing pretty much anything but being stuck with Callis and company, as he seems ready to be a breakout star (and has been so for a long time).

Post break Don Callis issues a challenge to Darby Allin and Sting next week, with promises of making the team 25-1.

Trent Beretta vs. El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Brian Cage vs. Bryan Keith

For a Continental Crown shot against Eddie Kingston (on commentary) on Collision. Vikingo takes Trent out to start but Cage runs people over. Vikingo gets suplexed and Trent is ran over on the floor as Cage is in control on the way to the break. Back with Vikingo cleaning house until Cage catches him on top.

Trent drops Cage for two with Vikingo making the save, leaving all four of them down. Cage F5’s Keith and hits a helicopter bomb for two on Trent. This brings Danhausen out of the crowd for a curse, allowing Vikingo to dive outside onto Cage. Keith hits a running headbutt to Trent, who is right back with Strong Zero for the pin at 9:41.

Rating: B-. This was your usual wild free for all, but that’s where it’s a little weird. We just spent six weeks on these straightforward singles matches for the right to be the first champion and then it’s a four way with a bunch of midcarders fighting for a shot. On a side note, what is Trent fighting for? The new title or the Triple Crown? I would hope the latter, because having Kingston defend three separate titles is absolutely not what was being teased in the tournament.

Matt Menard is interrupted by Hangman Page, who wants to fight someone.

Daniel Garcia vs. Swerve Strickland

Matt Menard is on commentary. Feeling out process to start with Swerve taking him down without much trouble. Garcia fights back up and they head to the floor, with Swerve being sent into the barricade. That means it’s time for a dance off between Garcia and Prince Nana, but Swerve breaks it up.

We take a break and come back with Garcia dropkicking Swerve into the corner. A Saito suplex gets two on Swerve and they fight to the floor where Garcia doesn’t quite get all of a Sharpshooter the announcers’ desk. Back in and Swerve manages a suplex to put them both down, followed by a House Call for two. The Swerve Stomp gets two and, after Garcia gets a rollup for the same, Swerve finishes with the JML Driver at 11:41.

Rating: C+. That’s a weird way to end the show, as the big focal point was a dance off with a heel manager. Strickland took a good while to beat Garcia here, which isn’t the biggest stretch, but it’s a weird way to go when he’s talking about coming for the World Title. This didn’t quite feel like a big main event either, and that’s not a great sign to start the road to Revolution.

Post match respect is teased but Nana hits Garcia low. Matt Menard tries to come in but gets beaten down as well. Hangman Page comes out for the brawl with Swerve and they’re separated to end the show. So the ultra violent and bloody Texas Deathmatch was just a stop in the feud?

Overall Rating: B-. This wasn’t the show I was expecting but it also wasn’t a bad one. They covered the Adam Cole explanation well enough, but as tends to be the case in AEW, they tacked on more stuff right after and it took away from some of the impact. Other than that, you could definitely tell that a lot of people were gone for either Wrestle Kingdom or something else and it hurt the show a bit. This felt like a show that they ran when they had a week to burn, which is a weird feeling coming off a pay per view. Not bad whatsoever, but not one of their best.

Results
Orange Cassidy b. Dante Martin – Orange Punch
Mariah May b. Queen Aminata – May Day
Konosuke Takeshita b. Darby Allin – Running knee
Trent Beretta b. Bryan Keith, Brian Cage and El Hijo del Vikingo – Strong Zero to Keith
Swerve Strickland b. Daniel Garcia – JML Driver

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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Full Gear 2023
Date: November 18, 2023
Location: Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Nigel McGuinness

We’re back to one of the main pay per views and that should mean a heck of a show. This time around we’ve got MJF defending the World Title against Jay White, who has the physical title. Other than that, Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page has the potential to be a heck of a violent fight. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Ring Of Honor World Title: Eddie Kingston vs. Jay Lethal

Kingston is defending, Ring Of Honor executive Stokely Hathaway is on commentary, and Lethal’s friends are here, despite Kingston saying he wanted this to be one on one. Kingston sweeps the leg down for two to start and sends Lethal outside but he’s smart enough to not follow him (as Lethal is quickly surrounded).

Lethal pulls him down for a posting and some right hands, setting up a triple strut from Lethal, Jeff Jarrett and Sonjay Dutt. A forearm from Dutt rocks Kingston again as Hathaway is promising some stern talkings after the match. Lethal grabs a chinlock before stomping away at the ribs/arm.

Kingston fights up and gets in the boot scrapes in the corner. A distraction cuts that off but Lethal can’t hit the top rope elbow. The Lethal Injection is countered into a Saito suplex but Kingston has to take out Dutt. Cue Ortiz to guitar Dutt as another Lethal Injection is countered into the half and half. The spinning backfist retains Kingston’s title at 10:53.

Rating: C+. Lethal never felt like a serious threat to win the title but it’s smart to have Kingston face a former World Champion to add another win to his resume. I’m not sure who is going to be challenging Kingston at Final Battle, but they seem to be teasing Ortiz. I know there’s a history there, but that hardly feels like a headlining match on the biggest show of the year.

Zero Hour: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Buddy Matthews

They slug it out to start but Castagnoli can’t get the swing. Instead they go outside where Castagnoli sends him into the barricade, setting up the running uppercut. Matthews gets in a hard shot of his own though and the top rope Meteora gets two back inside. The chinlock keeps Castagnoli down for a bit, only to have him come back with the discus lariat. Some kicks set up another failed swing attempt so Castagnoli uppercuts him for two.

Back up and Matthews tries another Meteora, only to get pulled into the swing. They go up top where Castagnoli fires off headbutts until Matthews slips out and hits a Cheeky Nandos Kick. A Jackhammer gives Matthews two and he grabs a Crossface. That’s broken up as well and Castagnoli grabs a Riccola Bomb into the Scorpion Deathlock for the tap at 10:26.

Rating: B. Sometimes you just need two big, strong guys to hit each other really hard for a little while and that is what we got here. It was an entertaining, hard hitting match and Castagnoli won. I could still go for Matthews getting a better push, but for now I can settle for him getting something of a showcase match here.

Post match Castagnoli offers a handshake but Matthews bails.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Samoa Joe vs. The Gunns

MJF and Joe are defending and of course they’re in Los Angeles Lakers gear. The Gunns take over on MJF to start but Joe cuts off a whip into the corner like a good partner. MJF says he doesn’t need Joe, but they send the Gunns outside for a heck of a suicide dive from Joe. Back in and Joe snaps off the right hands in the corner, setting up an enziguri.

It’s back to MJF, who gets caught in the wrong corner and has to send both Gunns outside. A roll underneath a double clothesline sets up a big boot for two on Austin. Joe loads up the MuscleBuster but MJF tags himself in and tries his own version. That’s broken up so MJF can hit a double DDT, only to have Joe break up the Kangaroo Kick. The Gunns escape stereo MuscleBusters and 3:10 To Yuma hits Joe. MJF breaks up the cover…and Adam Cole is here! The distraction lets Joe Koquina Clutch Colten to retain at 9:23.

Rating: C+. This is about what it was always going to be, as the Gunns might be good but they’re not going to beat the World Champion and his next likely challenger. I could certainly go for getting the titles off of MJF already so they can do something in Ring Of Honor again, but the champs retaining here makes sense in the bigger story with MJF and Joe.

Post match Joe leaves and the Gunns jump MJF again to wreck his knee. The Gunns Pillmanize the leg and MJF has to be stretchered into an ambulance. MJF shouts to Cole to not let him take his title.

The opening video looks at the show’s matches and talks about how people are fighting for prizes and honor

We open with a recap of MJF’s injury.

We run down the card.

Christian Cage/Luchasaurus/Nick Wayne vs. Sting/Darby Allin/Adam Copeland

A children’s choir sings Cage to the ring for a nearly creepy bonus. Ric Flair is here with Sting and company. Edge has his own face painted as well for a nice touch. Allin cranks away on Wayne’s arm to start, setting up the springboard high angle armdrag. Sting comes in to send Wayne outside for a whip into the barricade.

Back in and it’s off to Cage vs. Copeland but of course it’s off to Luchasaurus instead. Copeland tries to slug away before Allin comes in, with Cage getting in a cheap shot. A chokeslam over the top to the apron leaves Allin down, meaning the villains get to take turns beating on him. Wayne stomps away and mocks Flair before hitting a backsplash for two. They go up top, where Allin manages a super Code Red for a needed breather.

That’s not going to be enough though as Cage slides underneath the ring and pulls Copeland off the rope to break up the tag. Cage misses a spear though and it’s Copeland coming in, meaning Luchasaurus and Wayne bail from an attempted tag. Everything breaks down and Allin hits a dive through the ropes, followed by Sting hitting one off the apron.

Back in and a double Scorpion Death Drop puts Luchasaurus down. Luchasaurus fights back up and wrecks the good guys, leaving Cage to get in a fight with Flair on the floor. Cage hits him low but accidentally hits Luchasaurus with the TNT Title, allowing Copeland to chase Cage into the crowd. The spear and Coffin Drop finish Luchasaurus at 15:01.

Rating: B-. Good choice for an opener here as the fans are always going to be into whatever Sting is doing. As usual, Cage is a phenomenal heel and I’m sure his next promo will play into this perfectly. Copeland vs. Cage is probably coming next month or at Revolution, but for now I’ll take a good enough opener as part of Sting’s retirement tour.

Jay White is brought to the stage where we’re told the MJF vs. White match is canceled and White is…..cut off by Adam Cole. There is no way that White is leaving with the title, so he has talked to Tony Khan. If MJF can’t wrestle tonight, Cole will do it in his place. White is fine with that. If Cole talked to Khan already, why was Schiavone out there to award the title to White?

We recap Orange Cassidy defending the International Title against Jon Moxley. Cassidy lost to Moxley in September at All Out but then a string of injuries have put us right back where we started.

International Title: Orange Cassidy vs. Jon Moxley

Cassidy is defending and gets jumped in the corner to start. Moxley sends him into the corner and then out to the floor. Some rams into the announcers’ table have Cassidy in even more trouble and a release suplex makes it worse back inside. Moxley stomps away in the corner before cutting off a charge with a swinging Boss Man Slam. They go up top where Cassidy fires off some headbutts, setting up a superplex for the big crash.

Moxley, now busted open, gets dropped with a diving DDT for two. Cassidy sends him outside and over the announcers’ table, meaning the suicide dive can connect. The suicide elbow connects as well but Moxley is right back with the hammer and anvil elbows. The Bulldog choke is broken up but Cassidy can’t hit the Beach Break.

Instead Cassidy grabs the Redrum until Moxley grabs the buckle to escape, pulling off the pad in the process. A cutter puts Cassidy down and a Gotch style piledriver gives Moxley two. Moxley gets set into the buckle, setting up three straight Orange Punches to….barely keep Moxley down. Three more set up the Beach Break to retain at 12:00.

Rating: B. It’s a good fight and the ending felt like Cassidy was slaying a giant, but this would have been better if Cassidy hadn’t won the title back in the first place. It makes Cassidy feel like a bigger deal, though I’m not sure where they’re supposed to go with him from here. He’s already had the big long term title reign and now he has beaten a former World Champion, so the main event scene would seem to be the only thing left. That might be a stretch, but it seems to be the only remaining outcome.

Post match their friends come in to check on them, with Wheeler Yuta bumping into Hook.

Mark Briscoe is in the Continental Classic. He eats continental breakfasts!

Women’s Title: Toni Storm vs. Hikaru Shida

Storm, with Luther, is challenging and rips up the script to show you how serious this is. Shida slugs away to start and hits a running knee in the corner. Chops in the corner and more in the corner have Storm in trouble as Nigel confuses the rest of commentary with silent movie references. Storm fights back with the windup punch as Mariah May is watching in the back. Shida is back with a running knee but Storm knocks her down again. Luther sticks something in Storm’s trunks and hands her a shoe, which knocks Shida down for two.

Shida strikes away and gets two off a Falcon Arrow, only to hurt her leg coming of the top. An ankle lock of all things has Shida in trouble but a quick grab of the rope gets her out of trouble. Another shoe shot is blocked so Shida grabs the kendo stick and unloads on Luther. Back in and Shida rolls her up for two, only for Storm to grab a German suplex. The hip attack, with a metal tray included in Storm’s tights, finishes Shida at 10:22.

Rating: B-. That ending was more than a little weird as Storm, the big face of the match, has to cheat to win despite Shida not having some big kickout beforehand. Not that it really matters though, as this was ALL about getting the title back on Storm. The Timeless deal is the hottest thing in the women’s division at the moment and it would have been insane to not ride that momentum while it’s going so strong.

Post match Mariah May comes out to give Storm some flowers. Luther takes Storm to the back.

Eddie Kingston is in the Continental Title and says his titles will be on the line in the tournament, which is to crown a Continental Title.

Tag Team Titles: Kings Of The Black Throne vs. FTR vs. La Faccion Ingobernable vs. Ricky Starks/Big Bill

Starks and Bill are defending in a ladder match. It’s a brawl to start with FTR breaking up a Bill vs. King showdown. Harwood brings in a ladder, which is sent into his face for a knockdown. Wheeler and Rush slug it out inside until Wheeler hits a dive onto a bunch of people. Dralistico hits a bigger dive onto the pile, followed by a moonsault from Black and a superplex from Harwood.

Back in and Harwood and Rush have a ladder duel until Harwood can do the Terry Funk spot. Rush kicks Wheeler in the face in the corner and hits the Tranquilo pose. Black throws a ladder into Wheeler’s face but Wheeler gets in a low blow and a piledriver onto a ladder. Starks comes back in and cleans some house, including a rope walk shot to Harwood’s head.

With everyone else down, King goes up so Bill tips the ladder over to send him into another ladder in the corner. Dralistico hits a springboard Codebreaker to Bill and it’s time for a bunch of people to go up a group of ladders. With that broken up, Dralistico hits a poisonrana on King, who is right back with a Ganso Bomb onto a bridged ladder. Wheeler dives onto King onto a ladder so Harwood and Starks go up. With Harwood knocked down, Starks drops Wheeler as well and retains at 20:34.

Rating: B. This is one of those matches that you’ve seen done a bunch and it does still entertain. That was the case again here, with a bunch of high spots that set up a bunch of crashes. It wasn’t a great ladder match as they did stuff that has been done better before, but at least Starks and Bill get to continue their rather entertaining reign.

TBS Title: Julia Hart vs. Kris Statlander vs. Skye Blue

Statlander is defending and slams them both to start. Hart is sent into the corner so we get a Statlander vs. Blue showdown. With that not working, they go outside so Statlander can suplex both of them at once. Back in and Statlander gets knocked down, leaving Blue and Hart to shake hands (with left hands) before fighting as well. Blue hammers away and gets two off a kick to the face. Statlander is back up and all three are knocked down for a breather.

Hart is knocked outside and Statlander faceplants Blue before going up. That lets Hart knock her back down and moonsault Blue for two as Statlander makes a save. Blue reverses Saturday Night Fever and grabs Code Blue for two of her own. Hartless has Blue in trouble until Statlander suplexes both of them down (Excalibur: “One could describe her as a human suplex machine!” Taz: “EASY THERE PARTNER!”). Statlander grabs Saturday Night Fever to Blue but Hart knocks Statlander off and steals the pin for the title at 11:19.

Rating: C+. This was quite the triple threat match and not much more than that. The “one person hits their finish and someone else steals the pin” is as played out as you can get. While I wasn’t wild on how she did it, I’m rather pleased with Hart winning the title. She probably should have gotten it last month, but at least she got the title here, as she should have.

Tony Schiavone brings in the new big signing for AEW….and it’s Will Ospreay. Cue Ospreay to say he’s got to finish up with New Japan and then he’ll be on the road to Revolution, where he’ll be all yours. He’s ready for the best in AEW, especially at Wembley Stadium. This wasn’t exactly a shocking surprise, but it’s probably about as big of a star as they could have realistically brought in.

We recap Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland in a Texas Death match. They’ve been feuding for a few months now and Swerve made it personal by breaking into Page’s house. Page is out for blood and revenge.

Swerve Strickland vs. Hangman Page

Texas Death match, meaning you can only win by submission or knockout (still not how a Texas Death match works but whatever). Prince Nana is here with Swerve and does his dance with a dance team. Page jumps Swerve during his entrance and hits a powerbomb into a Buckshot Lariat as I don’t think the bell ever rang. They go outside with Page whipping him into the barricade over and over. Page grabs some duct tape and ties his hands together for a staple to the bicep.

A chair to the head knocks Swerve silly again and we’ve got blood. Page stables a paper to Swerve’s face and lets Swerve’s blood drip onto his face (the fans aren’t sure about that). A barbed wire chair shot to the head is cut off by a low blow to give Swerve a breather. Swerve gets his hands untied and Page staples him in the chest…to no effect. A hard shot to the face knocks Page down the barbed wire chair is wedged in the corner. Page is sent into said chair but he’s back up for a slugout.

They fight to the apron, where Swerve hits a Death Valley Driver onto a cinder block. Somehow that’s not enough for a knockout so Swerve piledrives him onto the barricade (giving us a shot of Swerve’s face, which is COVERED in blood). Back in and more right hands seem to wake Page up so he hits a pair of fall away slams. Page rakes some barbed wire over Swerve’s face and then wraps it around his chest for another fall away slam.

With Swerve on the floor, Page grabs the barbed wire chair for the moonsault to knock Swerve down again. Back in and the Buckshot Lariat is blocked so Swerve kicks the barbed wire chair into his face. Page is right back with a Tombstone onto the barbed wire chair but Nana breaks up the ten count. Swerve manages a powerbomb onto the chair, setting up the Swerve Stomp onto Page onto the chair. Page is up again so let’s grab a bag of glass….which is stomped onto Page’s back as well.

The JML Driver gets nine so Swerve Cactus Clotheslines him….and pulls out a barbed wire board. Said board is bridged between two chairs in the ring but Page slams him through said board. Then a powerbomb and Dead Eye onto the wire lets Page wrap the wire around Swerve’s neck. The Buckshot Lariat….still doesn’t finish as Nana pulls Swerve to the floor to break the count.

Cue Brian Cage to wreck Page and set up a table, but Page saves himself with some barbed wire shots. Nana tries to come in but gets Dead Eyed through the table at ringside. Swerve is back up with the remains of the cinder block to the head though and then chokes Page out with a chain to FINALLY win at 29:56.

Rating: A-. Well, if you’re going to go violent and death matchish, do it like this. These guys beat the living daylights out of each other and it felt like they had been through a war. It was one of the best fights I’ve seen in a good while, which has been Swerve’s forte over the years. The one drawback here is it went about five to seven minutes long, which hut it a bit. I’m not sure if Page losing was the right call, but at least the numbers caught up with him. What might matter the most here is giving Swerve the big win that he needs, as this was one heck of a fight and worth seeing, assuming you don’t mind quite a bit of blood.

We recap the Young Bucks vs. Kenny Omega/Chris Jericho. The Bucks aren’t happy that Omega is teaming with Jericho and want to fight about it. If Omega and Jericho win, they get the Bucks’ Tag Team Title shot but if the Bucks win, Omega and Jericho can no longer team together.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega vs. Young Bucks

Don Callis is on commentary as Omega runs Nick to start. The springboard spinning armdrag takes Omega down and we get a handshake before it’s off to Matt vs. Jericho. That doesn’t get very far so Omega comes back in but doesn’t seem overly thrilled. Everything breaks down and Jericho triangle dropkicks Nick to the floor. The Bucks are back up to crush Jericho’s arm in the steps and the villains take over back inside.

The arm is wrapped around the post as Nick pulls away, only to have Jericho score with a middle rope dropkick. Omega comes in and tells Matt that he can’t escape, only for Matt to escape. Instead Omega moonsaults onto Nick at ringside, followed by Jericho Lionsaulting onto both of them. The Walls have Matt in trouble and Omega breaks up Nick’s springboard save.

Jericho’s arm gives out though and Matt slips out, allowing him to hit the double northern lights suplex (because Matt Jackson, who had a back injury for years, can shrug off about a minute in a Boston crab and suplex two men at once). Nick German suplexes Omega onto the apron and Nick’s Swanton to a hanging Omega gets two. Back in and the referee checks on Omega, allowing Matt to kick Jericho low. It works so well on Jericho that Omega gets one as well and a Judas Effect gets two on Jericho.

The BTE Trigger hits Jericho for two more but he’s able to send Matt’s kick into Nick. Matt kicks Jericho in the arm but Omega is back up to knock both of them into the ropes. Omega has to decide who to V Trigger and goes with Matt, only to have the One Winged Angel broken up. Matt hits Omega with his own One Winged Angel but Omega is back up with a German suplex for two more. Jericho is back up with a superkick but gets superkicked down. Back up and Omega grabs the One Winged Angel to finish Matt at 20:44.

Rating: B. It was good stuff and a heck of a match which didn’t get to that epic level. It doesn’t help that it’s so similar to Omega/Hangman Page vs. the Bucks from a few years ago but I can go with the slightly watered down version just as well. If nothing else, this gives the Bucks something else to complain about, just in case they only have five things to whine about this week. I do like the idea of Omega and Jericho continuing as a team though as they work well together.

Post match the Bucks turn down a handshake and rant a lot.

AEW World Title: Adam Cole vs. Jay White

So Cole is defending on behalf of MJF but White has the title….and never mind as here is MJF, as they set up an angle to run for about four and a half hours.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Jay White

MJF, with a very banged up leg (and Cole), is defending and the Gunns are here too. White, being intelligent, goes right after the knee to take over. A suplex into the corner gives White two and MJF sends him outside, where the Gunns get caught with a chair. That’s good for an ejection and MJF gets a breather, but White tells Cole to get in. MJF gets fired up and tells White to hit him, which he does, square in the knee.

Back up and MJF hammers him into the corner for a bite to the head, followed by the Kangaroo Kick. For some reason MJF loads up a dive but White kicks out the leg without much trouble. White’s knee gives out when he’s whipped across the ring but he manages to kick White in the corner. White is back up with a swinging Rock Bottom and dumps him out to the floor. MJF manages to fight back again and sends him through the announcers’ table, setting up a top rope elbow to the floor.

Back in and the dragon screw legwhip over the rope puts MJF down again and the bad leg is tied in the Tree of Woe. The leg is fine enough for MJF to pull himself up and superplex White back down. White goes up to bring him back down with a super swinging Rock Bottom for two more. The chops make MJF tell him to bring it so White Downward Spirals him. The Blade Runner is countered into an exchange of rollups for two each and they knock each other down.

White blocks the Heatseeker….so MJF hits a running cutter over the top and out to the floor. Back in and the knee gives out again as MJF can’t even stand. The doctor asks if MJF wants to stop it so MJF hits himself in the knee. White grabs some dragon screw legwhips and we hit the Figure our. Cole teases tossing in the towel but MJF manages to turn it over. White escapes and yells at Cole before trying to grab the ROH Tag Team Title belt.

The pulling sends it into MJF’s head for two and the fans are still into it. The referee gets bumped though and Cole loads up the diamond ring. White goes for the leg though and grabs the ring instead, so MJF goes low to save himself. The Gunns come in and are quickly dispatches, setting up a ring shot to retain the title at 29:56.

Rating: B+. This was a weird match as MJF was the fighting underdog throughout and then cheated to even out a bunch of the cheating White had already done. The story they had went rather well, though it could have been trimmed down a bit at the end of a really long show. At the same time, it doesn’t exactly make White look good to not be able to beat someone on one leg who had already wrestled that night.

MJF and Cole celebrate and limp up the ramp to end the show. No Devil stuff at all.

Overall Rating: A-. Another rather good pay per view from AEW, even with the show feeling rather long at times. As usual, there was nothing close to a bad match with the weakest match being completely fine. The Texas Death match is the best match on the show with the main event being a close second. I’m not sure if this felt like one of the biggest shows AEW has run, but it’s certainly worth a look, assuming you don’t mind some of the matches going a good bit longer than they need to.

Results
Eddie Kingston b. Jay Lethal – Spinning backfist
Claudio Castagnoli b. Buddy Matthews – Scorpion Deathlock
Maxwell Jacob Friedman/Samoa Joe b. The Gunns – Koquina Clutch to Colten
Sting/Darby Allin/Adam Copeland b. Christian Cage/Nick Wayne/Luchasaurus – Coffin Drop to Luchasaurus
Orange Cassidy b. Jon Moxley – Beach Break
Toni Storm b. Hikaru Shida – Running hip attack with metal tray
Ricky Starks/Big Bill b. FTR, La Faccion Ingobernable and Kings Of The Black Throne – Starks pulled down the titles
Julia Hart b. Kris Statlander and Skye Blue – Saturday Night Fever to Blue
Swerve Strickland b. Hangman Page when Page could not answer the ten count
Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega b. Young Bucks – One Winged Angel to Matt
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Jay White – Right hand with diamond ring

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Rampage
Date: November 17, 2023
Location: Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Chris Jericho, Tony Schiavone

It’s the final final show before Full Gear as Rampage is in its normal spot after Collision aired a night early. The main attraction here is Christian Cage defending the TNT Title against Trent Beretta, who earned the shot earlier tonight on Collision. Other than that, we’ll hear from Jay White so let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Chris Jericho comes out for commentary and of course milks some Judas from the crowd.

TNT Title: Trent Beretta vs. Christian Cage

Cage is defending and has Luchasaurus and Nick Wayne with him. They go face to face to start with Trent not being intimidated. They grapple a bit until cage misses a charge and falls out to the floor. Back in and Cage hits him in the face, meaning it’s time to choke away in the corner. Trent is fine enough to send him outside for a slingshot dive but Cage grabs the referee. That allows Wayne to get in a cheap shot and we take an early break.

Back with Cage grabbing a chinlock until Trent fights up for a slingshot spear. Trent snaps off a German suplex and blocks the tornado DDT. A super hurricanrana gives Trent two but Cage sends him outside. Back in and Trent grabs his own tornado DDT for two as Nigel is getting a bit panicky. Trent’s running knee gets two more, followed by Strong Zero (or the Scrunchie or whatever he calls that kneeling belly to back piledriver) for the same. Luchasaurus offers his own distraction though and Cage sends Trent hard into the buckle. The Killswitch retains the title at 10:18.

Rating: B-. Trent continues to be a good hand in the ring and someone who makes for a nice one off challenger here. Cage is in for a big six man tag tomorrow so it’s kind of nice to see him doing something different the night before. Nice opener here, with the numbers game being enough to hold Beretta back.

Chris Jericho rants into the camera about how he and Kenny Omega are going to beat the Young Bucks.

Toni Storm vs. Emi Sakura

Storm has Luther with her and offers Sakura the match’s script to start (oh you know that’s going to get some WWE jabs going). Sakura isn’t having any of that and they start fast with Storm sending her outside. Storm stops to pose on the apron though, allowing Sakura to hit a running crossbody to the ribs.

We take a break and come back with Sakura firing off chops but Storm isn’t having any of that. A running bulldog sets up a rather wound up right hand, only to walk into a tiger driver for two. Sakura’s backbreaker gets the same but she misses (by that I mean she hits Storm but wasn’t supposed to) a moonsault. Storm’s DDT doesn’t really work either so she goes with the hip attack and Storm Zero for the pin at 8:22 instead.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to really go anywhere but my goodness Storm seems to be having the time of her life in there. Seeing her go from the rock star style character to being all depressed to this is quite the transformation over the last few years and she is selling the heck out of it. There is almost no way she doesn’t win the title tomorrow and at this rate, they would be insane to not go with that.

Eddie Kingston is in the back with Jay Lethal and company with Lethal promising to take the Ring Of Honor World Title on the Full Gear Zero House show. Kingston wants to know why Lethal is talking like them. That’s not the Lethal he remembers and everyone leaves before violence ensues. Kingston turns around and Ortiz is waiting on him. That’s not where they’re going for Final Battle, right?

Roderick Strong vs. Action Andretti

The Kingdom is here too. Strong decks him to start but Andretti hits a dropkick right back. Some kicks to the ribs put Andretti back down before Strong rubs him face first into the mat. Andretti’s chops don’t have much effect but a kick to the ribs and a swinging neckbreaker do. A Falcon Arrow gives Andretti two more and we take a break.

Back with Andretti fighting up and hitting some running forearms. Andretti sends him outside and dropkicks the Kingdom, followed by a Spanish Fly….and Strong lands on his head. The referee and doctor come in to check on Strong and the camera goes wide as you can tell the fans know that didn’t go right. Thankfully Strong gets up and seems ok as he fires off some shoulders to the ribs in the corner. The jumping knee and End Of Heartache finish Andretti at 9:36.

Rating: C+. Yowza that was a scary botch as Strong got dropped on his head. What makes it worse is I was expecting it to be some kind of playing into the Neckstrong deal but looking at it again it’s pretty clearly a real mishap. Thankfully Strong is ok though and finished the match but dang that was a rough watch.

We get a sitdown interview with Jay White, who still believes that MJF is the Devil. White promises to win tomorrow night and does NOT like being compared to MJF. He talks about what will happen when he wins the title but here is MJF to jump him for a brawl. Juice Robinson comes in and sends MJF into a room with White following.

White opens the door and gets a TV thrown at him as MJF chases him outside. They go into the arena where MJF takes White down in the ring and gets the belt back….only to have the Gunns jump him. MJF won’t let go of the belt but the numbers’ game gets the better of it. Cue Samoa Joe to chase the Club off and shake MJF’s hand as we seem to have a team.

A Full Gear rundown and a lot of posing (plus Jericho getting in one more shout about the pay per view because he knows how to sell things) wrap us up.

Overall Rating: B-. Nice stuff here, especially with the big segment to finish it off. That was by far the best part of the show (save for the relief when Strong got up). It was a good enough show, though coming off a two hour Collision didn’t help things. For now though, they need to nail Full Gear and there is a good chance they could do just that, especially with the MJF stuff.

Results
Christian Cage b. Trent Beretta – Killswitch
Toni Storm b. Emi Sakura – Storm Zero
Roderick Strong b. Action Andretti – End Of Heartache

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Dynamite
Date: November 15, 2023
Location: Toyota Arena, Ontario, California
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz

It’s the final Dynamite before Full Gear and the pay per view seems to be all set up. Therefore this week is likely going to be the big final push towards the matches that are already set, as it should be. At the same time, we have a huge street fight, which is sponsored by a video game. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We open with a recap of the beatdown on the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn, with Samoa Joe popping in to say MJF is running out of friends.

Jon Moxley/Wheeler Yuta vs. Orange Cassidy/Hook

Moxley and Yuta do their entrance through the crowd so Cassidy and Hook jump them out there to start fast. The fights split off with Yuta and Hook going to the ring to officially start. Hook throws Yuta a few times but Yuta gets in a few shots to take over. With Cassidy down on the floor, Moxley comes in with a release suplex but has to escape Redrum. Cassidy offers a distraction though and Hook grabs a suplex, allowing the tag to Cassidy. Kicking abounds but Moxley pulls him into the corner as we take a break.

Back with Cassidy still in trouble and Moxley mocking the lazy kicks. Cassidy tells him to bring it and hits a dropkick, meaning it’s back to Hook vs. Yuta for the slugout. A double clothesline puts them both down but Moxley pulls Cassidy outside. The brawl is on with Cassidy getting the better of things but Moxley is back in to go after Hook. Cassidy is in as well…and the Orange Punch has no effect on Moxley. Redrum works a bit better for Hook but Yuta gets in a cheap shot. The Death Rider into Yuta’s seatbelt finishes Hook at 11:27.

Rating: B-. Good, hard hitting brawl here with the Orange Punch failing Cassidy for the first time. That should set up the story for the title match on Saturday, though I’m not sure I can imagine Cassidy losing again. For now though, this was a nice opener, and Yuta could get an FTW Title shot as a result.

Post match Moxley promises to take Cassidy’s title on Saturday and Cassidy looks worried.

Here are Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana) for a face to face showdown, but if they touch, they’re suspended for the rest of the year and Saturday’s match is off. Swerve is asked about breaking into Page’s house but Page cuts emcee Schiavone off and calls Swerve dumber than the day he got fired. It’s why Swerve’s fiance left him and his kids won’t talk to him.

If he wasn’t so dumb, he would get that Nana was using him and makes his living off of Swerve’s back. Then that night, Nana uses that money to buy weed from some high school kid. Page threatens to beat Nana up and steal his weed, which gets a rather amusing “NO YOU’RE NOT” from Nana.

Page calls Swerve a child, and like the children he has taught, Page is going to teach Swerve a lesson. He threatens to send Swerve to his house at the bottom of h***. For tonight though, Swerve and Page can’t touch, but there’s no rule about Nana. Page decks Nana, as well as some of the security who come in to break it up. Swerve never actually talked. This was a VERY fired up promo from Page, who continues to be at his best when he’s serious and ticked off.

Roderick Strong and the Kingdom call Adam Cole and insist that MJF is the Devil. Cole thinks Strong might be and hangs up.

Red Velvet vs. Skye Blue

The winner is in the TBS Title match on Saturday. They grapple off to start with neither being able to get very far. Velvet blocks an armdrag and pulls her down for two. Blue is sent outside but cuts off a dive and hits a DDT onto the apron as we take a break. Back with Velvet countering a powerbomb into a hurricanrana to set off a pinfall reversal sequence.

Velvet hits a wheelbarrow bulldog for two but the spinning kick misses. Code Blue misses as well but Skyfall gives Blue two. Velvet counters a running knee into a powerbomb for two and they trade superkicks. Blue gets in another shot though and Code Blue is good for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: C+. That’s the only way this should have gone, as Blue has been in and around the title picture for a few months now while Velvet has only been back for a week after a nine month layoff. While Velvet has looked solid in her return, she shouldn’t be winning here and AEW got that. They did have a nice match though and that is a good sign for the future.

Miro is mad at Daniel Garcia for trying to work for CJ Perry. Destruction is promised.

Mariah May goes to the dressing room of “Not Toni Storm” and goes inside, where everything goes black and white. May is a huge fan but Storm gets annoyed and throws her out. Storm wants a tune up match for Rampage.

Samoa Joe vs. Jon Cruz

Joe knocks him into the corner to start and hits the enziguri. Cruz misses a dive off the top (with Joe walking away of course), setting up the Koquina Clutch for the tap at 1:33.

Post match Joe offers his friendship to MJF again, but reminds MJF that he is inevitable.

We get the announcement of the Continental Classic with Bryan Danielson as the first entrant.

Penta El Zero Miedo/Komander vs. Young Bucks

Nick and Komander start things off with Komander snapping off an armdrag and hitting a quick dropkick. Everything breaks down and they all miss a shot of their own until the Bucks superkick them to the floor. Back in and Penta hits a superkick to Matt in the corner but the Bucks hit the slingshot X Factor to Komander.

We take a break and come back with Komander fighting out of the corner and hitting a springboard hurricanrana to Matt. Penta comes back in for the slingshot dive onto the Bucks, followed by the Sling Blades. Made In Japan hits Matt but he’s back up with the rolling northern lights suplexes.

The Meltzer Driver is broken up and a Fear Factor on the apron knocks Nick silly. Komander hurricanranas Matt for two but Nick is back in…so there’s a rope walk Canadian Destroyer to drop him again. Matt is up for the slugout with Penta until Nick is back in for a distraction. Some low blows cut Penta and Komander off, setting up the BTE Trigger to finish Komander at 11:57.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to see the Bucks embracing the heel turn as there is little reason for them not to be. I’m not sure who would look at them and think they were anything but villains and it’s good to have it happen again. They had another entertaining match here and that’s good to see, especially with the Bucks ready for a big match at Full Gear.

Post break the Bucks say they don’t care about cheating anymore when Kenny Omega comes in. The Bucks aren’t mad at Omega, but rather Chris Jericho. Cue Jericho and the brawl is on.

Gunns vs. Pete Avalon/???

3:10 to Yuma finishes at 33 seconds.

Post match the Gunns say that was 2-2, so imagine what it’s like when they’re 2-1 against MJF.

Video on Wardlow, who is ready to wreck MJF. Wardlow accuses MJF of being the Devil, who pops up at the end.

Don Callis Family/Brian Cage vs. Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi/Paul Wight

Street fight and sponsored by a video game so we have some themed gear/objects (I don’t play the game so I’m not going to pretend to know what any of it is). The brawl is on in the aisle, with Wight brawling with Hobbs and chokeslamming Fletcher off the ramp. That leaves Omega and Ibushi to take over in the ring, setting up the moonsaults out to the floor. We cut to the back where Wight is beating up Hobbs near a car and then back to ringside where the good guys are cleaning house.

Cage manages to send Jericho through a table…but Ibushi rides down the ramp on a bicycle and decks people with a pipe. Cage breaks that up with a nasty clothesline and we cut to Hobbs dropping Wight onto the hood of a car. Takeshita brainbusters Ibushi onto the bicycle and we take a break.

Back with the villains setting up tables at ringside as Fletcher is back in. Omega gets suplexed onto a pallet for two as we get very brief flashes of Jericho and Takeshita fighting in the back. Omega grabs a bottle but gets it knocked away so Cage can hit a clothesline. In the back, Takeshita dives into a fire extinguisher blast from Jericho.

Omega and Ibushi load up the double knee but Hobbs is back in to run then over. Cage apron superplexes Omega through the tables at ringside and we take a break. Back with Fletcher taking over and hitting a jumping Tombstone to Ibushi off the apron through a table onto chairs. If Ibushi is up again during this match….well I won’t be a bit surprised, but he shouldn’t be.

Back in and Jericho and Omega beat up Hobbs before taping him to the ropes. They even tape up his mouth and it’s time to use a variety of weapons on him. Cage is back in to clean house but Omega hits him with a V Trigger. The One Winged Angel finally finishes Cage at 21:01.

Rating: B. This was a wild brawl but the cuts to the back were holding it down, as they were so fast that they were more distracting than anything else. This match was begging for a split screen, which would have solved the problem immediately. Other than that though, they did their street fighting well here and if AEW got a nice check for the sponsorship, good for them.

For those of you keeping track: Ibushi was back on his feet three minutes and thirty nine seconds after being Tombstoned off the apron through a table and onto steel chairs.

Here is MJF for the grand finale. After last week’s attack, it has become clear to him that he is never going to be able to outrun his past. He is sorry to the Acclaimed for getting caught in the crossfire that is his life and he hopes they get better. All he ever wanted to be was World Champion and now that is what he has done.

Now he looks down from the top of the mountain and sees people coming for him. He’s afraid he’ll let the people down like he did to Adam Cole and the Acclaimed, which gives us a HE’S OUR SCUMBAG chant. He’s on top of the mountain, but you’re going to have to send an army to bring him down (MJF’s nostril is flaring as he talks).

MJF promises to ind out who stole his Devil mask….and here is Jay White to interrupt. White knows that MJF knows that his days as champ are numbered. White has two words for MJF: “Get him.” Cue Bullet Club Gold to beat MJF down, including the Blade Runner for a Club counted three…as Samoa Joe is watching in the back to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show here, as they didn’t rock the boat too much on the way to Full Gear. That’s the biggest worry of a show like this and they managed to make it work out. The street fight and the main event interview were the big focal points and they did well enough. The rest of the show wasn’t anything noteworthy, but they got the important parts right and the show could have been much worse.

Results
Jon Moxley/Wheeler Yuta b. Orange Cassidy/Hook – Seatbelt to Hook
Skye Blue b. Red Velvet – Code Blue
Samoa Joe b. Jon Cruz – Koquina Clutch
Young Bucks b. Penta El Zero Miedo/Komander – BTE Trigger to Komander
Gunns b. Peter Avalon/??? – 3:10 To Yuma
Kenny Omega/Paul Wight/Chris Jericho/Kota Ibushi b. Don Callis Family/Brian Cage – One Winged Angel to Cage

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Dynamite
Date: November 8, 2023
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone

We are a week and a half away from Full Gear and that means we should be getting the final push towards the show. This week that includes MJF defending the World Title against Daniel Garcia and an interesting main event of Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe. Other than that, we have a heck of a showdown between Keith Lee and Samoa Joe for the ROH TV Title. Let’s get to it.

Here is Collision if you need a recap.

Tony Schiavone brings in MJF to talk about his lost last week but MJF says it will never happen again. Adam Cole calls him so MJF throws it to a video screen and says MJF should take Samoa Joe up on his offer. MJF isn’t sure why but here is Daniel Garcia (challenging MJF for the title tonight) to laugh a bit. Garcia says tonight, MJF is getting the professional wrestler. With Garcia gone, the Kingdom wheels in Roderick Strong, who offers MJF some tips. MJF walks off, which Strong says is what the devil would do. It’s time to remind people who Strong is.

Opening sequence.

AEW World Title: Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Daniel Garcia

Garcia, with Matt Menard and Angelo Parker, is challenging. MJF hits him in the face to start so Garcia does the same, only to have his friends break up the dance (as tends to be their custom as of late). An armbar has Garcia down and a rollup gives MJF two. We take a break and come back with Garcia hitting a one armed German suplex and dancing a bit.

MJF is right back on the arm before a hammerlock DDT gets two. Garcia kicks the leg out and hits a one armed piledriver for two. They’re doing something there with the arm not working at full strength. The Dragontamer goes on but MJF escapes and grabs the Salt Of The Earth to retain the title at 10:38.

Rating: B-. Not too bad at all here, though Garcia continues to not exactly be the most interesting star in the world. He’s a strong technician, but that doesn’t do much to help his charisma. Thankfully they didn’t let this go on too long, as there was no way to make Garcia feel like a serious threat to the title.

Post match MJF wants to shake hands but Garcia’s friends won’t allow it.

Mark Briscoe is ready for Jay White.

Sting/Darby Allin vs. Outrunners

Allin headlocks Magnum to start but gets take into the corner for a stomping from Floyd. A suplex is broken up and String comes in to clean house. The Scorpion Deathlock finishes Floyd at 2:58. That’s how it should have gone.

We have a sitdown interview (in black and white) between Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm. Shida promises to beat her again as usual but Storm doesn’t seem to buy it. They sign the contract and go face to face.

Penta El Zero Miedo vs. Swerve Strickland

Feeling out process to start until Swerve takes him into the corner for a kick to the leg. Swerve bites the fingers but Penta is back with some chops. A Backstabber sends Swerve outside, where he is able to drop Penta face first onto the steps. Penta strikes away and hits a big running flip dive as we take a break.

Back with Made In Japan and the JML Driver both being blocked, leaving us with a double knockdown. A Death Valley Driver gets Penta two and he drops Swerve hard onto the apron to leave Swerve on the floor. Back in and Swerve reverses a headscissors out of the corner by flipping Penta into the corner. A 450 is blocked and Made In Japan gives Penta two. Swerve is back with his own Death Valley Driver and snaps Penta’s arm. The Swerve Stomp gives Swerve the pin at 13:33.

Rating: B. One of AEW’s greatest strengths is being able to take any two wrestlers out of a huge number available and have them put on a good match. That’s what they did here as these two came pretty close to tearing the house down. If you can get Penta away from doing his CERO MIEDO line over and over again and let him do his thing, he can put in a heck of a performance and that was the case here. At the same time you have Swerve continuing to showcase just how good he really is as his roll continues.

Post match Swerve goes for the mast but Hangman Page runs in to lay Swerve out with a Deadeye off the stage and through some tables. It seems WAY too early for that as it could have come during their Full Gear match instead.

Jay White is ready to beat up Mark Briscoe tonight and hopes MJF is watching.

The Don Callis Family is ready for serious violence next week against Chris Jericho and pals.

Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega are ready to fight next week, but the Young Bucks come in to bring up an idea of the Elite. They think Jericho is just here to get a paycheck, but Jericho thinks he and Omega are a better team. They agree to fight at Full Gear, with Jericho wanting the Bucks’ Tag Team Title shot on the line. That works with the Bucks, but if they win, Jericho and Omega are done as a team and they get back to being the Elite. Omega says he’s beaten the Bucks before so he can do it again.

Ring Of Honor TV Title: Samoa Joe vs. Keith Lee

Joe is defending and grabs a headlock to start. Lee isn’t having that and runs Joe over with a shoulder. Some choking on the rope keeps Joe down but he’s back up with the snap jabs in the corner. Back up and Lee leapfrogs over him and knocks Joe outside to send us to a break. We come back with Joe taking out the leg, including hitting a dragon screw legwhip. Lee manages a pop up powerbomb for a delayed two but Joe is right back up. Joe pulls him into the Koquina Clutch to retain the title at 11:26.

Rating: B-. This was the hoss match it was advertised as being and that made for a good fight. While I could go for more of Lee being a monster who runs people over, there is little shame in losing to someone as dominant as Joe. That being said, this felt like a match that could have been built up a lot better, but that is the case for a lot of things on AEW TV.

Post match Joe says he’s vacating the title to go after the AEW World Title. After a year and a half and Joe retaining the title when it seemed perfect for Joe to lose, he just walks away from it without putting anyone over? And not even on the ROH show. This has been your weekly reminder that RING OF HONOR MEANS NOTHING.

Orange Cassidy, with Hook, is rather serious and says he has to beat Jon Moxley.

Gunns b. Bollywood Boyz

3:10 To Yuma finishes Gurv at 42 seconds.

Post match the Gunns promise to beat up MJF and win the Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles.

Jon Moxley says he’s in for the Full Gear title shot against Orange Cassidy, but he and Wheeler Yuta might crush Cassidy and Hook before they get there.

Wardlow is ready to end MJF.

Julia Hart vs. Red Velvet

This is Velvet’s return after nine months on the injured list. Velvet snaps off some armdrags to start and strikes away in the corner. Hart knocks her out of said corner though and we take a break. Back with Velvet making the clothesline comeback and hitting some running knees. An Iconoclasm out of the corner gives Velvet two but Hart kicks her down. The moonsault finishes for Hart at 8:26.

Rating: C+. Hart gets some momentum back after losing at WrestleDream and still looks like she’s keeping most of her momentum. She seems to have turned a corner in recent months and that moonsault looks good every time. It’s also nice to have Velvet back as you never want to see someone on the shelf, especially for that long.

Post match Hart goes after Velvet but Skye Blue comes out for the staredown. Kris Statlander and Willow Nightingale come in to break it up before things get physical.

Mariah May is ready to debut in AEW and is excited about Toni Storm being here.

Jay White vs. Mark Briscoe

The rest of Bullet Club Gold is at ringside. Mark sends him outside to start and White needs an early breather. Back in and Mark chops away, setting up a suplex to put White down again. Redneck Kung Fu puts White on the floor and there’s the Bang Bang Elbow to make it worse. The Club knocks Mark off the top though and we take a break.

Back with White kicking the knee out but getting cut off with a middle rope dropkick. They strike it out with Mark getting the better of things and hitting a fisherman’s buster for two. A dragon screw legwhip over the ropes hits White again and there’s a Death Valley Driver. The Froggy Bow gets two but White snaps off the swinging Rock Bottom. White goes for the knee but the Blade Runner is countered into an exploder suplex. More chops have Mark down again and the sleeper suplex drops him hard. The Blade Runner finishes for White at 14:00.

Rating: B. Another good one here, though I’m not wild on having Briscoe lose so soon after his comeback. Granted it’s against a big name in White who has a major match coming up, but it’s still a bit of a weird choice. That being said, Mark getting to showcase himself is a good thing as he really is one of the better hands in the ring around here.

Post match MJF comes out with the diamond ring to chase White off but he still can’t get the belt back. For the first time ever, MJF has a reason to fight for everyone in the arena and wants to know if White can pull the trigger.

The lights go out and we cut to the back where the masked men are attacking Billy Gunn and the Acclaimed. Anthony Bowens is sent through some glass as we see the person in the devil mask watching. MJF runs to the back, where Samoa Joe pops up to say MJF is running out of friends.

Overall Rating: B. Better show than last week and it’s nice to see things getting a bit back to normal. They had more of a focus this week as they get ready for Full Gear and things got more interesting with the angle at the end. Throw in some good wrestling up and down the card and it made for a good Dynamite. Now just get to Full Gear with the same efficiency and everything should work very well.

Results
Maxwell Jacob Friedman b. Daniel Garcia – Salt Of The Earth
Sting/Darby Allin b. Outrunners – Scorpion Deathlock to Floyd
Swerve Strickland b. Penta El Zero Miedo – Swerve Strickland
Samoa Joe b. Keith Lee – Koquina Clutch
Gunns b. Bollywood Boyz – 3:10 To Yuma to Gurv
Julia Hart b. Red Velvet – Moonsault
Jay White b. Mark Briscoe – Blade Runner

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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Collision
Date: October 21, 2023
Location: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Tony Schiavone

It’s the first part of a double shot this weekend as we have the usual Collision plus Battle Of The Belts as a follow up. This week’s show has a pair of big matches as the Blackpool Combat Club gets a shot at the Tag Team Titles, plus Andrade El Idolo vs. Bryan Danielson in what should be a heck of a match. Let’s get to it.

Here is Dynamite if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Bryan Danielson vs. Andrade El Idolo

Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get very far. El Idolo can’t get a Gory Stretch as Danielson slips out, earning himself a running shoulder. Neither can get much of an advantage so they shake hands instead. Danielson pulls him into a bow and arrow but Andrade slips out for a failed Figure Four attempt. Andrade takes him into the corner for the exchange of chops but Danielson slips out and fires off the kicks to the chest. Danielson sends him to the floor and hits the running knee off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Andrade fighting back and dropkicking him off the top to the floor. There’s the moonsault to the floor but Danielson headbutts him of the top. The shotgun dropkick hits Andrade but he gets away from the LeBell Lock attempt. Andrade knocks him down again and tries the double moonsault, only to hit raised knees.

The LeBell Lock is countered into the Figure Four but Danielson gets to the rope before the Figure Eight. Back up and they collide but Danielson hits a kick to the head. The running knee misses and they trade rollups for two each until Danielson finally crucifixes him for the pin at 18:57.

Rating: B+. It was an awesome back and forth match, even if it isn’t exactly the dream match they advertised and has pretty much nothing to do with storylines at the moment. That being said, Danielson is as much of a guarantee of a good to great match as there is in the world at the moment. I’m curious to see what happens when he’s not there to fill in twenty minutes of this show every week, but I’ll certainly take it for now.

Post match respect is shown and Andrade leaves, only to have Malakai Black pop in to kick Danielson down. The Blackpool Combat Club makes the save.

Darby Allin isn’t worried about what has happened to Nick Wayne and can’t wait to see the special gift for Sting on Dynamite.

Skye Blue vs. Hollyhood Haley

Haley takes her down to start and hits a running knee to the back. Blue catches her in the corner and hits a powerbomb. Code Blue finishes Haley at 1:58.

The Gunns vs. Outrunners

The Gunns beat up Magnum to start and throw Floyd into the same corner. 3:10 To Yuma finishes Floyd at 2:04.

Post match the lights go out and we see the Devil in the back.

Kris Statlander squats interviewer Lexi Nair to warm up. Orange Cassidy is ready too.

Eddie Kingston vs. Jeff Jarrett

Non-title Memphis Street Fight (weapons provided), Jay Lethal gets a title shot if Jarrett wins, and Memphis legend Dave Brown is on commentary. They go straight to the weapons and since there was once a concession stand brawl near Memphis, they have a bunch of food, including ketchup and mustard. The brawl heads to the stage where Jay Lethal cutters Kingston off the stage and through a table.

We take a break and come back wit Jarrett doing various horrible things to Kingston’s knee. The Figure Four goes on but Kingston turns it over, only to have Lethal miss something off the top. Jarrett brings in the guitar and hits the Stroke for two. Lethal and Satnam Singh come in to beat the fire out of Kingston, with the Lethal Injection giving Jarrett the pin at 13:00.

Rating: C. This is going to be the definition of “your mileage may vary” and it’s not going to surprise me to see the reactions being all over the place. It was a wacky brawl and Kingston getting beaten down because he has no friends is a fine plot device to set up the title match. I could go for less of the concession stand stuff though, as would could have dropped the Memphis from the title and avoided the goofiness entirely.

Miro vs. Action Andretti

CJ Perry is at ringside as Andretti hits some dropkicks to start. Miro tosses him down though and we take a break with Andretti going into the steps. Back with Andretti fighting up and sending him to the floor for a running flip dive. Miro takes him down back inside and tries Game Over, which is flipped out of for the escape. Andretti manages the torture rack but Miro powers out and kicks him in the face, setting up Game Over for the win at 9:04.

Rating: C. Miro is a monster but he’s going nine minutes to beat low level tag guy Action Andretti. That doesn’t seem to be going with the point of Miro being angry at anyone for wanting to work with his wife but I guess they had to fill the TV time somehow. Odds are this is part of a longer story for Miro, though it could have gotten off to a better start.

The former Jericho Appreciation Society is still arguing and storm off. Ruby Soho comes in for the next interview and says she understands families falling apart. Angelo Parker says he’ll be a champion at the end of the night but Soho tells him to get out of her shot. Soho wants a title shot against someone, which doesn’t make a ton of sense given the graphic that shows her getting a title shot on Dynamite popping up during her promo.

Rush and La Faccion Ingobernable are on the way back.

Eddie Kingston goes on a rant about Jay Lethal losing his way and tells him not to bring his goons to their title match. Also something about Lethal’s parents being disappointed in him for referring to someone who isn’t blood as his uncle.

FTR vs. Bad Thad Brown/Darien Bengston

FTR wrecks them to start but the lights go out. Malakai Black is here so the lights go out again (four times tonight) and the House of Black is here to jump FTR for the DQ at 1:02.

Post match the beatdown is on.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Tag Team Titles: Big Bill/Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta/Claudio Castagnoli

Bill/Starks are defending. Yuta takes Starks to the mat to start and the champion is quickly frustrated. Bill comes in instead and it’s actually not Castagnoli coming in (commentary is surprised too). The power sends Yuta to the apron and Bill knocks him into the barricade for a crash.

We take a break and come back with Bill dropping an elbow for two, followed by a Boss Man Slam for the same. Yuta manages to avoid a charge in the corner though and hands it off to Castagnoli. House is quickly cleaned, including Old School of all things for two on Starks. The running uppercut against the barricade connects and we take a break.

Back with Bill big booting Castagnoli for two but having to escape a fireman’s carry. Yuta comes in with a missile dropkick Hart Attack for two on Bill but Starks comes in to cut him off. The Roshambo is blocked but Bill hits something like a powerbomb to give Starks two. Yuta manages to get back to Castagnoli so the pace can pick up, including the Swing into the dropkick. Bill makes the save and the Fastball Special is loaded up but cue the House of Black to break it up. Starks hits the spear and the Roshambo to retain the titles at 21:22.

Rating: B. This got a lot of time and they were able to do something with Yuta getting beaten down for such a long time before Castagnoli could come in to even things up a bit. The House Of Black ending does tie things together throughout the show but it might have felt like a bigger shock if this was their first appearance of night. Starks and Bill continuing their reign is a good sign as well, as you don’t want them to feel like they lucked into the titles with a short run.

Post match the beatdown is on so Bryan Danielson comes in for the failed save attempt. FTR comes in as well but Bill and Starks help beat them down. Cue Jon Moxley for the real save and the big brawl ends the show. Well after one more Swing to Starks to leave the fans happy.

Overall Rating: B. That’s certainly the Collision formula: good stuff to start and end the show without much of value in between. The opener and main event were both rather good TV matches, but I could have gone with something better in the middle. Save for the Blackpool Combat Club stuff, this wasn’t the most important show, but two matches totaling about forty minutes of that quality are more than enough to carry AEW through two hours.

Results
Bryan Danielson b. Andrade El Idolo – Crucifix
Skye Blue b. Hollyhood Haley – Code Blue
Gunns b. Outrunners – 3:10 To Yuma to Floyd
Jeff Jarrett b. Eddie Kingston – Lethal Injection
Miro b. Action Andretti – Game Over
FTR b. Bad Thad Brown/Darien Bengston via DQ when the House Of Black interfered
Ricky Starks/Big Bill b. Blackpool Combat Club – Roshambo to Yuta

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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So here we have WrestleDream, which is a show designed to honor the passing of Antonio Inoki one year ago. Therefore it’s another AEW show with New Japan guest stars, though New Japan is running a big show of its own on the same day so the visiting stars are limited. There is some good stuff on the card though and hopefully that’s enough to carry it. Let’s get to it.

Zero Hour: Nick Wayne vs. Luchasaurus

This is a side story from Darby Allin vs. Christian Cage as both have interfered in the other feud. It’s a speed vs. power match and that is something that can work under almost any circumstances. AEW really seems interested in pushing Wayne every chance they can these days but at some point he is going to need to win something. I’m just not sure he gets to do it here.

I’ll go with Luchasaurus to win here as he’s coming off the TNT Title reign and isn’t likely to lose to someone with so little experience on this level. I’m sure Wayne will get a bunch of stuff in and get to showcase himself again but that doesn’t mean he’s going to win. Hopefully Wayne gets to throw everything he has at Luchasaurus, but he’ll fall short in the end.

Zero Hour: Trios Titles: Acclaimed/Billy Gunn(c) vs. TMDK

This is the first New Japan match on the show and in this case it was built up as “whoever wins the title match on Rampage defends against TMDK tomorrow night”. That’s not exactly a thrilling story but it’s a way to get the titles on the show. Thankfully in this case it’s just on Zero Hour, meaning it won’t extend the show with a match that has very little in the way of drama.

Of course the champions retain here, as a group of guest stars aren’t going to be the ones to end the reign that is bringing the Acclaimed and the Gunns back to prominence. The (arguably) good thing about these titles is you can throw any three challenges out there and have a title match. That’s more or less what they’ve done here, though at least it’s a regular team from New Japan.

Zero Hour: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Josh Barnett

So this was added the night before the show as the result of a Castagnoli open challenge. Barnett has never wrestled for AEW before but does have experience in Japan so here we are. That makes for a tricky preview because there isn’t any kind of a story going into the match, and Barnett being a complete stranger around here makes it even more complicated.

Since Barnett is not likely to stick around, I’ll go with Castagnoli to win as there isn’t much of a reason to do anything else. Castagnoli needs a big win coming off his loss to Eddie Kingston and while this won’t be some kind of a game changer for him, it should be enough to give him a boost. I’m not sure why this match needed to be added, though more Castagnoli is often a good thing.

Zero Hour: Shane Taylor/Lee Moriarty/Diamante/Mercedes Martinez vs. Satoshi Kojima/Keith Lee/Athena/Billie Starkz

This is another match added during the Collision because MORE MEANS GOOD. There are a few people with some history here but a good chunk of it has been in Ring Of Honor. Taylor seems to be one of the new flavors of the month for AEW and it makes sense that they would want to get him out there in front of people as often as possible. Throw in Lee and this could be a lot worse.

Give me Lee and company to win, as Moriarty being thrown half a mile by Lee would be a good way to get the show going. Other than that, there is always the chance of Athena beating Martinez or Diamante. Either way, there are going to be a bunch of people in this match and there is a good chance that a lot of them are not going to be able to get in that much ring time.

TBS Title: Kris Statlander(c) vs. Julia Hart

Statlander has been a mostly dominant champion in her still relatively short title reign, but Hart has caught fire in recent weeks and suddenly feels like she could be a major threat to the title. The good thing here is that you are seeing two mostly fresh women in the title scene, which is what AEW has been needing for a very long time now. In other words, there isn’t a bad option for a winner here.

I think I’ll actually take hart to win the title, as it would be very deflating for her to lose after the big push that she has gotten in the last few weeks. Granted that might have been just to make her feel like a threat, but the House of Black needs to get something back after losing the Trios Titles, so this would be a nice fit to help get them on track. I’m not sure what is next for Statlander, but I’m thinking she should lose here.

Ricky Starks vs. Wheeler Yuta

This was thrown onto the card earlier in the week as Yuta doesn’t like how Starks has been going after Bryan Danielson. Starks has been on a roll as of late without winning much of anything, which leaves him in a weird place. Granted that is kind of why you put someone like Yuta in this spot as he could go a long way with making Starks look like a bigger deal after his losses.

I’ll go with Starks to win here, as there is little reason for Yuta to win. His role in the Blackpool Combat Club is to put up a good fight in defeat and that is what he’ll be doing here. Starks is red hot and for someone who keeps losing so giving him a win here would be the right way to go. They’ll have a good match, but at the end of the day, Starks needs this way more than Yuta.

Young Bucks vs. The Gunns vs. Lucha Bros vs. Orange Cassidy/Hook

For a future AEW Tag Team Title shot, which sounds a bit like a Money In The Bank deal. We’ll start with getting rid of Cassidy and Hook, who are a fun team, but I can’t imagine they actually get put into the title picture so soon. That leaves a few options, and I could picture any of the three getting the shot. It’s nice to have options here, and unfortunately none of them really stand out.

While the Bucks would be the interesting way to go, I’ll take the Gunns getting the win here. FTR vs. the Lucha Bros doesn’t sound like it would be the most engaging match and the Bucks vs. FTR has been done so many times now. Go with FTR vs. the Gunns, which does have a history but hasn’t been hammered into the ground. This is going to be the “everyone flies all over the place” match and it should be entertaining enough. Just don’t do the Money In The Bank deal, please.

AEW Tag Team Titles: FTR(c) vs. Aussie Open

This one is a little more interesting as I could see the titles changing hands. Aussie Open has come a long way and established themselves as one of the better teams in AEW at the moment. That means they can be put into this spot for a shot at the best team around without much trouble. The teams have even traded some promos to hype things up even more and so far, they’ve done their jobs.

With that being said, for the life of me I can’t imagine FTR losing the belts They can have good to great matches with just about any team and it would feel like a waste to take away that option, especially with them frequenting Collision. The Aussies will give them one heck of a run for their money, but FTR comes out on top of this by retaining the titles, and that’s the right choice.

Chris Jericho/Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi vs. Konosuke Takeshita/Sammy Guevara/Will Ospreay

This is the Don Callis Family match, which has seen two feuds combined into one for the sake of taking away some of Callis’ television time. Ignoring that aspect though, we should be in for a heck of a match here, especially if Ibushi is able to wrestle more like his old self than the version we have seen in AEW so far. Everything else should work well and I’m wanting to see how this goes.

After dominating for a good while, this should be the match where Callis and company can drop a match to the conquering heroes. Guevara taking a fall from Omega or even Jericho won’t ruin him as they can get set up for another singles showdown in the future. Either way, this has the potential to steal the show and if they can get to that higher level, it very well may be the best thing on the show.

Ring Of Honor World Title/New Japan Strong Openweight Title: Eddie Kingston(c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

It’s a double title match with Shibata’s ROH Pure Title not on the line, meaning commentary has said that Shibata can become a triple crown champion. At least Shibata is someone who has wrestled in Ring Of Honor more than once, as there is far too much of a tendency for random people to get title shots (like earlier in the show or example). Shibata is also someone Kingston is going to respect so there is a real chance he’ll bring the work here.

As for a winner, much like the Trios Titles, there isn’t much of a reason to believe the title is going to change hands, especially so soon after Kingston won the ROH title in the first place. Kingston needs to rack up some wins to make him feel like a bigger deal and this would be a nice addition. It should be a hard hitting match as well and that should take them far enough, but yeah Kingston retains.

Ring Of Honor Tag Team Titles: Maxwell Jacob Friedman(c) vs. Righteous

So this was supposed to be a tag match with Adam Cole included but he’s basically destroyed his ankle, leaving us with a handicap match instead. That puts them in a tough spot and again I’m not sure where this is going to go. On one hand, MJF doesn’t need to have the titles anymore if Cole is injured, but the titles changing hands would involve the Righteous beating the AEW World Champion.

As little sense as it might make, I’ll go with MJF retaining, as I can’t imagine either Vincent or Dutch pinning him or making him give up. There is always the chance of some kind of screwy finish and that is probably coming later, but it is still hard to fathom that anyone but the Kingdom is taking the titles from Cole and MJF. Or is it just MJF these days? Either way, the Righteous don’t win here.

Hangman Page vs. Swerve Strickland

This is the match that has felt the most interesting throughout the build to the show and the contract signing this week kept that interest high. Both guys need a big win and they have me wanting to see them fight, which is a great sign for one of them. Hopefully the loser isn’t going to be hurt that badly but there is a good chance that this is going to continue beyond this match.

Give me Swerve here, as a Page win would seem to wrap things up between them with a tighter bow. As much as Page could use a win, he’s had success before and is a much more accomplished star in AEW. Let Swerve get his win and move up the card a bit, as a win over a former World Champion is going to do a lot of good no matter what. Page should be fine, but either way, this match should rock.

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

What we have here is the kind of match that sells itself on name value alone. The idea of Danielson vs. Sabre Jr. is going to get hardcore fans interested and there is a very real chance that they could live up to or even exceed their expectations. That might be a very hard task to pull off, but these are the kind of stars who might be able to pull that kind of a miracle off.

As has been a trend here, there isn’t much of a reason for the star who is going to be going away after this show winning, so I’ll take Danielson to win here. Yes he did it in a pay per view main event against a guest star this year and that should cover him for well over a year, but I can’t imagine Sabre winning here. Danielson has things to do in AEW and downgrading him (as much as that can be done) with a loss to a one off guest star doesn’t make sense.

TNT Title: Christian Cage(c) vs. Darby Allin

This is the rumored main event for the show and with Allin as the hometown boy in a 2/3 falls match, that is not the worst idea. These two had a rather nice match a month or so ago on Collision and if they do that again with more time and on a bigger stage, we should be in for a pretty solid main event. That leaves a pair of questions though and I think I have the answer to at least one.

Of course I’ll take Allin winning here, as otherwise it would run a real threat of killing Seattle for AEW. Allin winning is the perfect way to go and it would be a great moment to end things on. Then again, there is also the chance that we get an Edge debut here to do something with Cage, though hopefully that doesn’t include giving him an assist to keep the title. Allin wins here, as he should.

Overall Thoughts

That’s a lot of matches. Once I get to the end of the card, I’ve already forgot a good few of the matches involved as there are too many for the show’s own good. Then again that is the case with almost every AEW show, which makes it all the more frustrating. The action will be rather good as it almost always is, but the way the show is presented is such a self imposed roadblock. It still feels like a B show, but now it feels like a rather bloated B show.

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

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

AND

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