IMG Credit: AEW Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: December 11, 2019
Location: Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We’re down in Texas for one of the last two shows of the year. This time around the focus is going to be on a Texas Street Fight between the Young Bucks and Santana and Ortiz, which should be a heck of a battle if they’re allowed to be themselves. Other than that it’s time to get ready for next week’s World Title match between champion Chris Jericho and Jungle Boy. Let’s get to it.

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

Jon Moxley vs. Alex Reynolds

Paradigm Shift finishes Reynolds at 8 seconds.

Post match Reynolds’ partner John Silver takes the Paradigm Shift as well. Cue the Inner Circle to surround the ring though, with Chris Jericho getting into the ring to praise Moxley for his success. They have a history together, with Moxley having asked him for advice ten years ago. Then they became adversaries and beat each other up, with Jericho gaining his respect. Now they’re here in AEW and Jericho wants him to join the Inner Circle. Jericho gives him until after the holidays and leaves him with the shirt.

Video on the Young Bucks vs. Santana and Ortiz, with Excalibur talking about how the street fight rules favor the Bucks.

The announcers preview the show.

Butcher and the Blade vs. QT Marshall/Cody

The Bunny is with the Butcher and the Blade. During Cody’s entrance, MJF mocks Cody’s misfortunes over the last few weeks and is looking forward to this one. Cody tags himself in to start and hammers on the Blade to start. The snap powerslam puts him down so it’s off to Butcher. Marshall comes in but the Bunny offers a distraction so Butcher can take over as we go to a break.

Back with Marshall jawbreaking his way out of trouble but getting pulled down again. An enziguri off the ropes gets Marshall a breather though and the Blade misses a charge in the corner, allowing the hot tag to Cody. The Disaster Kick hits the Butcher and a high crossbody gets two.

A double springboard cutter gets two more but the Figure Four is broken up, allowing Bunny to get in a rake to the eyes. Marshall tags himself in and hits a handspring tumble over the top to take both of them down. Back in and Marshall hits Cross Rhodes on the Blade and a twisting Swanton gets two. Butcher takes Cody down though and it’s a Stunner for Marshall. The suplex onto the double knees finishes Marshall at 11:04.

Rating: C. This was angle advancement more than anything else but the act works well for the Butcher and the Blade. That being said, the Bunny is going to be the star of the team no matter what they do as they aren’t the most interesting team on their own. That being said, putting someone like the Bunny out there is going to get attention and that’s what they got here.

Post match Darby Allin comes out to help Cody up and seemingly offer his friendship.

Here are MJF and Wardlow for a chat. First though, MJF says one of the grips was laughing last week when Cody made fun of his Cross Rhodes. Therefore MJF has him get in the ring and kiss the ring. With that out of the way, it’s Cross Rhodes for the grip anyway. That brings MJF back to Cody, who is a great wrestler and incredible on the microphone, but one man is better.

Last week MJF liked Cody’s business proposal, but MJF already has as much money as he needs. What he wants is for Cody to suffer. Last week Cody called him a knockoff Chris Jericho, which may have been because of the scarf. The fans think it’s fake, which is what MJF thinks of when he hears Cody’s name. You have the fake hair and the fake teeth, plus Cody’s fake feelings about the fans.

MJF brings up the lisp and says he knows Cody wants to get his hands on him more than anything else. The people want to see it too so Cody is on….with a catch. We won’t be hearing those stipulations in a hick place like Texas though, which is why we’ll hear them in Jacksonville on January 1. What matters is that MJF is in control because he’s better than Cody and Cody knows it. MJF is just great on these kinds of promos and can command the microphone like few others.

Alex Reynolds is in his hotel room when the Dark Order commercial comes on. The TV talks to him, saying they know he’s sick of losing and there is strength in numbers. John Silver comes in and asks what Reynolds is listening to.

Big Swole vs. Emi Sakura

Hikaru Shida is watching from the crowd, including as Sakura makes sure to keep her mustache on. We get a test of strength to start with Swole getting the better of it. Tony: “I love a Greco Roman knuckle lock.” JR: “Yeah with beans…” Swole spinwheel kicks her down for two and doesn’t take kindly to Sakura touching her hair.

A drop toehold lets Sakura rake the back, with Excalibur saying it’s like a Freddie Mercury cat. Sakura pulls her back into a surfboard and we take a break. Back with Sakura throwing her down and starting the clapping to the tune of We Will Rock You. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker plants Swole but hang on because we need the mic stand.

The abdominal stretch with the mic stand included is….quickly broken up because the referee takes it away. JR isn’t impressed but seems to like it better when Swole takes it away for some James Brown. Sakura spins her into a backbreaker and gets two off a spinning Vader Bomb. The moonsault misses though and Swole kicks her in the face for two. Dirty Dancing (discus forearm) finishes Sakura at 10:38.

Rating: D+. Yeah forgive me for not getting interested in a match that turned into Freddie Mercury vs. James Brown for the sake of unfunny comedy. I don’t know what the appeal is of the Mercury stuff but it’s about as dumb of a thing this company does aside from the Librarians. Swole is growing on me though and they seem interested in pushing her so maybe they can make something.

Pac wants his rubber match with Kenny Omega or he can’t be responsible for his actions.

Kip Sabian/Shawn Spears vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

Penelope Ford is here with Sabian but there’s no Tully Blanchard. We do get an insert promo from Tully though, talking about how you have to find the partner who meshes with him. Maybe Sabian can be that for Spears. Page sends Sabian into the ropes to start and it’s time to run a bit. A kick to the chest puts Sabian down and it’s off to Omega for the chop. Kenny hits a running hip attack in the corner but gets knocked outside, leaving Page to fight both of them off as we take a break.

Back with Omega fighting back against both of them and dropkicking both legs out at once. A running jumping Fameasser/bulldog puts both of them down again but a Ford distraction lets Sabian get in a Backstabber. The springboard missile dropkick gets two and there’s a hurricanrana to keep Omega rocked. The fans want cowboy s*** but settle for Ford’s hurricanrana off the apron as they keep getting in all of the spots from the Dark match between Sabian and Omega.

Ford comes in again and hits a handspring elbow in the corner, setting up Sabian’s fisherman’s suplex for two. Omega slips out of the Deathly Hallows though and it’s the V Trigger to put Sabian down. The lights go out and it’s…..Tully Blanchard tied up on the stage with Joey Janela waiting on Spears.

They fight on the stage with Spears saving Tully (who looked like he was tied up ala a bad gangster movie) and then head to the back. Back inside and Kenny hits the snapdragon on Sabian, setting up the V Trigger to the back of the head. Page tags himself in though and hits the Buckshot lariat for the pin at 11:32. Kenny isn’t sure but then takes the win for being a win.

Rating: C+. The unintentionally funny scene of Tully looking like the damsel in distress on the train tracks aside, this was a nice tag match with page showing some issues of needing a win. Omega vs. Page could be interesting, though Sabian didn’t get any favors here because Ford looks like a far bigger star.

Brandi Rhodes talks about how AEW is nothing without her. Riho is gone for weeks at a time and Britt Baker keeps talking about her boyfriend. Kris Stadtlander’s offer still stands as the family is waiting on the alien to come home. There is someone else, with a shaved head, whose back is to the camera but Brandi won’t let us see their face. This continues to be a thing that does not need to exist.

Luchasaurus vs. Sammy Guevara

Jericho and Jake Hager replace Schiavone and Excalibur on commentary. Sammy is here alone but Luchasaurus has the rest of the Jurassic Express with him. A running dropkick into the corner has Luchasaurus in very limited trouble so it’s a big boot to put Sammy on the floor. Sammy gets dropped onto the apron and we take a break. Back with Sammy kicking away, with Jericho saying Sammy is kicking the tar out of him. Jericho: “Yeah tar! It’s what killed the dinosaurs!” The moonsault misses though and Luchasaurus hits the reverse powerbomb for the pin at 6:32.

Rating: C. This is a step up for Luchasaurus and it’s a very good sign that he is getting these bigger matches. The idea of eventually pushing him to the top of the card certainly sounds interesting and it wouldn’t shock me to see it happen one day. Yes he’s a gimmick, but with that size, power and talking ability, they can find a way around it.

Post match Jericho and Hager go after Luchasaurus so Stunt and Jungle Boy come in for the save. Boy hits a quick hurricanrana on Jericho with Stunt counting the pin.

Revolution is coming to Chicago on February 29.

The announcers talk about next week’s Dynamite when Jericho comes up to shout that IT DIDN’T COUNT.

Young Bucks vs. Santana and Ortiz

Anything goes and this is officially sanctioned with the winners getting a Tag Team Title shot next week. Santana and Ortiz, plus Sammy Guevara, jump the Bucks during the entrance. The beatdown is on with Brandon Cutler’s save earning himself a powerbomb through the stage. The Bucks fight back though and it’s an Indytaker to plant Sammy on the stage as well.

A Swanton off the entrance puts Ortiz through a table for two despite the lack of a bell. Matt launches Nick for a dropkick to Santana but hang on as Matt needs to point at SCU in the front row. They get inside for the first time with Santana getting in some shots with the rolled up sock. Nick is put in a chair and beaten up with various weapons, only to have Nick come back with a Dallas Cowboys helmet to avoid a lot of the pain.

A double spear takes Santana and Ortiz down but Santana gets in a shot to the ribs and steals the helmet. He then SPITS ONT HE HELMET, because he just wasn’t evil enough yet. Santana and Matt are sent through tables at ringside so Ortiz hits the Cannonball to put Nick through another table as we take a break. Back with Nick hitting a 450 onto a trashcan onto Ortiz for two, with Hager making the save.

Nick kicks the referee in the face by mistake as Dustin Rhodes comes out to deal with Hager. More Bang For Your Buck hits Ortiz but there is no referee. Cue Aubrey Edwards to count two but Nick gets knocked off the apron and through another table. The Street Sweeper onto a trashcan gets two with Nick making another save. Another Street Sweeper onto some chairs is broken up and Nick bulldogs Ortiz onto said chairs. The Meltzer Driver onto a chair finishes Ortiz at 14:30.

Rating: B. They got the wild stuff in and the interference made sense in this case. Sometimes you need to have the wild brawl which actually counts and the Bucks vs. SCU is enough of a dream match. A title change wouldn’t surprise me either as AEW has made no secret of the Bucks being the top team in the promotion. Just give them the titles already so they can get on with it already. Good match here though as the teams have chemistry together.

Post match SCU comes in to hold up the titles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. I liked more of this than I didn’t and other than the stupid battle of the musicians deal in the women’s match, it was a mostly solid show. Next week is the big one though and AEW isn’t really hiding that. We could be in for a rather nice evening if we can have the big matches deliver. Nice effort this week, but it was just setting the table for the major show.

Results

Jon Moxley b. Alex Reynolds – Paradigm Shift

Butcher and the Blade b. QT Marshall/Cody – Suplex onto double knees to Marshall

Big Swole b. Emi Sakura – Dirty Dancing

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page b. Kip Sabian/Shawn Spears – Buckshot lariat to Sabian

Luchasaurus b. Sammy Guevara – Reverse powerbomb

Young Bucks b. Santana and Ortiz – Meltzer Driver to Ortiz onto a chair

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: November 20, 2019
Location: Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

This should make for an interesting week as Chris Jericho is set to make a huge announcement. That very well may be something about his cruise, but it could be something coming a little sooner. Other than that we should be in for our usual big show, though you never can tell what that is going to bring. Let’s get to it.

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

The announcers run down the card and preview the show. Thankfully they kept it short, as should be the case with something like this.

Nick Jackson vs. Fenix

This is Jackson’s first singles match in about four years. Nick shoulders him down so Fenix is right back up with a dropkick to the face. A backflip off the apron lets Nick avoid a 619 and they head to the floor to start the luchaing. Neither can hit a DDT on the floor, nor can they hit dropkicks inside so the fans give them a big ovation. Fenix goes up top for a very twisty wristdrag to put Nick back on the floor.

They quickly change places and Nick has to bail out of a springboard flip dive off the top. That lets Fenix hit a cutter on the floor and they’re both down. A big Swanton gives Fenix two back inside but he misses the rope walk kick to the head. Nick strikes away to set up a bulldog and a running knee to the head gets two. A super hurricanrana is good for the same, plus a very big reaction from the crowd. Back up and Fenix nails a superkick, only to have Nick kick him in the face a few times as well.

Fenix nips right back up for a superkick of his own and then falls down. Nick is sent to the apron for a rope walk hurricanrana, followed by another rolling cutter for two back inside. They head to the apron again with Nick hitting a kick to the head into a German suplex to drop Fenix to the floor. Back in and a slingshot Canadian Destroyer gets two and the Sharpshooter has Fenix screaming. That’s broken up and so is the Tombstone so Fenix kicks him into the corner. A running kick to the face sets up the Black Fire Driver to finish Nick at 11:55.

Rating: B+. I’m not big on the Bucks matches but this was the kind of back and forth all action match that these two are made to have. I had a good time with this and it was more proof of the value that the Lucha Bros have. They can’t have a bad match at this point and it works either as singles or tag wrestling. Heck of a match here and all kinds of entertaining, which I always expect from Fenix. Jackson does do a great high speed offense and that was on full display here.

Post match Fenix walks away from the offer of a handshake.

Britt Baker vs. Hikaru Shida

Shida gets the frustration going to start but misses a big kick to the face to give us a standoff. Baker can’t get Lockjaw so she punches Shida in the face and we take a break. Back with Shida using a chair to hit a running knee to the face on the floor. They head back inside with Baker’s nose busted open but still being able to pull Shida off the top to send her arm first into the rope.

A pumphandle facebuster gives Baker two and a hanging DDT is good for the same. Shida is right back with the running knee to the face and mixes things up a bit with a running knee to the face, only to get caught in the first half of Lockjaw. A foot on the rope gets her out of trouble so Baker settles for two off of a fisherman’s neckbreaker. Shida is right back with a Falcon Arrow for two and ANOTHER running knee to the head finishes Baker at 9:55.

Rating: C+. Shida is growing on me in a hurry but she needs to figure out something other than that running knee. It’s her V Trigger and while it isn’t quite as repetitive, it is turning into a big portion of her offense. Throw a kick to the face or even a forearm but find something else. Either way, she is pretty clearly on her way to a title shot as Baker loses again, which seems to be the case for her in bigger matches.

Video on the Dark Order, who seems to want you to join them. This feels like a commercial for the group, which is a lot better than just having them be weird because they look weird. It’s the first thing that makes me even somewhat interested in the team so well done on the change of pace.

Dynamite Dozen Battle Royal

Adam Page, Chuck Taylor, Kip Sabian, Jimmy Havoc, Jungle Boy, Pentagon, Sonny Kiss, Marko Stunt, Joey Janela, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Orange Cassidy, Billy Gunn

The final two entrants face off next week for….a ring? I wonder if this is how they’re getting to a midcard title. Christopher Daniels pops up for a distraction and it’s Pentagon being thrown out early on. Daniels and Sabian go through the ropes to the floor and it’s time for Kiss to dance in front of Gunn (because he’s a certain kind of man). MJF throws Kiss out and Gunn isn’t happy, so everyone jumps on Gunn. He throws them all off and gets rid of Havoc, who comes back in with the staple gun because that’s what we need in a battle royal.

Referees get rid of Havoc and we look at him leaving for a good while. Back from a break with things having slowed down a lot, including having Janela gone due to some Shawn Spears interference. Gunn no sells Sabian’s chops and unloads with right hands. Cassidy is left for the showdown and that means the hands in the pockets. The weak kicks ensue and Gunn has no idea what is going on….so MJF throws Cassidy out for the big heel heat.

MJF backs into Gunn, who says that’s twice now. A SUCK IT into the Fameasser lets Gunn throw him to the apron but MJF holds on. Cue Wardlow for a distraction so Page can get rid of Gunn. It looks like we’re down to Taylor, MJF, Page, Sabian and Boy, though I would bet on someone being down on the floor. Page cleans house until he runs into a raised knee from Chuck. Penelope Ford grabs Taylor’s foot though and it’s a Disaster Kick to get rid of Taylor. Boy hits a big running hurricanrana to get rid of Sabian but it’s MJF sneaking back in to pull Boy out, leaving MJF and Page as the winners at 10:14.

Rating: C. The big conclusion here: MJF is the best heel in wrestling and it isn’t even close. I remember listening to John Hennigan on Steve Austin’s Show and he gave his basic definition of psychology: faces give fans what they want and heels don’t let them have what they want. That was on full display here with MJF not letting the fans have Kiss, Cassidy or Gunn (thanks to his bodyguard at least), and the fans hated him as a result. That’s how you get a heel over and it works to perfection for him.

Post match MJF and Page have to be held apart. They’ll meet for the ring next week.

Chris Jericho and Jake Hager run into the Librarians…and we take a break.

Here are Jericho and Hager for a big announcement. Jericho talks about snapping last week and how unbecoming that is for a champion. He tries to apologize but it’s the Fonzie issue (I would say look it up but if you don’t know the Fonz, I have no use for you) of not being able to get the word “sorry” out of his mouth. Hager says sorry for him, in a rare moment of speaking.

Anyway, next week Jericho is going to get his THANK YOU from everyone next week. He wishes the celebration would be here in Indianapolis but they have enough sports teams anyway. Next week it’s going to be a big Thanksgiving celebration, including gifts, an aquarium and maybe even some clowns. Jericho declares Indianapolis a dump and goes to leave but here’s SCU to cut him off. Scorpio Sky talks about how great Jericho is….but Sky pinned him last week. Fans: “YOU GOT PINNED!”

Sky celebrated all weekend and is even getting to go on a date with his high school crush, Melanie Parsons. Jericho: “I’ve seen Melanie Parsons, and she’s gained a lot of weight since high school!” Sky doesn’t seem to mind but Jericho gets back to the point: he thinks it’s cuter than baby Yoda that Sky thinks he got one over on Le Champion last week. Jericho even offers a singles match next week but Daniels says they need time to train. Like a month or two for a training camp!

That doesn’t work for Jericho, who demands it take place next week. Kazarian says we need to make sure it is NOT for the title because Jericho would get too nuts if it was on the line. Sky agrees he does not deserve a title match….but Jericho wonders what would happen if it was a title match. Jericho: “GUESS WHAT! YOU GOT IT!” And he even forces a handshake, but Sky pulls him in for the big smile. Sky says he’s been waiting fifteen years for a chance like this and promises to turn Le Champion into Le B****.

The fight is on with the Inner Circle running in to take care of SCU. Daniels and Kazarian are handcuffed to the ropes and the beatdown is on, including Brandon Cutler and Michael Nakazawa who try to make a save. Cue the Jurassic Express for the save, thankfully with Marko Stunt being taken down with a single clothesline. Jungle Boy has some better luck but it’s Luchasaurus for the big staredown with Hager. The watch comes off but Hager bails, because Luchasaurus is the monster that AEW has been needing.

Peter Avalon vs. Luchasaurus

Before the match, Avalon says Luchasaurus looks healthy because life has found a way. Don’t worry though because he’s about to turn the fossil into motor oil. Kick to the head and the reverse powerbomb (I’ve always thought that would be a great finisher) finishes Avalon at 30 seconds. They know what they have here and that’s a great sign.

Pride And Powerful vs. Private Party

Can they just be Santana and Ortiz? That’s what their name graphic says so drop the pretty bad team name. Private Party hangs a Matt Travis shirt (wrestler who was recently killed in an accident) over the ropes for a great touch. Even Santana and Ortiz, who have a history with Travis, approve in a touching moment. Santana takes Kassidy into the corner to start and it’s time for some grappling. Some facewashing has Kassidy annoyed and we take an early break.

Back with Santana coming in again and sending Quen into the corner. Quen’s springboard is broken up and it’s a super Russian legsweep into a DDT from Ortiz. The dead lift bridging German suplex gets two and it’s time to work on Quen’s back. Some rolling suplexes into a very delayed suplex….hang on as Santana hands the upside down Quen off to Ortiz for more delaying…and another hand off back to Santana just to show off a bit more.

They trade off a third time until it’s finally a Falcon Arrow to give Ortiz two. A Boston crab stays on the back and we take another break. Back again with Quen reversing Ortiz’s bearhug into a rollup, with Quen flipping forward into the corner for the hot tag to Kassidy. Everything breaks down and Kassidy hits a big moonsault to the floor to take out Santana. A slingshot Code Red (not as impressive after Jackson did a slingshot Canadian Destroyer earlier) gets two with Santana making the save.

Quen takes Santana out but his back gives out to break up Silly String. A kick to the face gets two on Kassidy and it’s a cutter out of the corner for the same. Santana busts out the slap jack but here’s Nick Jackson to take it away. Kassidy is back up with an enziguri to Santana and Gin and Juice is good for the pin at 15:05.

Rating: B-. It’s a good match and Private Party gets a big win that they have been needing, even though Santana and Ortiz losing should have come later. The commercials didn’t help things either as they kept taking me out of the match. I did like the story with Quen’s back and the speed with which they set up that finisher was very impressive. Good match, but they needed to adjust some things.

Post match it’s Sammy Guevara jumping Nick Jackson until Dustin Rhodes comes in for the save. Dustin grabs Sammy’s phone for some filming of his own in a funny addition.

We run down next week’s stacked card.

Kenny Omega is training to face Pac and traces back all of his issues to the loss at All Out. Jon Moxley took care of the scraps but Pac started all of this. Next week he gets a chance to fix things and the road to redemption begins. Double the weight on the bench press. On one side. That whole thing must weigh 100lbs now.

Darby Allin vs. Jon Moxley

Allin has a big, special entrance this time with a video of a Moxley body bag being crowd surfed. Allin is then carried to the stage in said body bag for a creepy visual. Moxley comes in through the crowd so Allin takes him down with a dive. They fight into the crowd, including a Thesz press onto the concrete to Moxley. Allin gets thrown back to ringside and an overhead belly to belly makes things even worse for him.

They head inside for the opening bell and Allin hits a shotgun dropkick in the corner. Allin’s high crossbody bounces off of Moxley though and it’s another shotgun dropkick to put Allin in the corner this time. Moxley even chills on the top rope as we take a break. Back with Moxley letting go of an STF, allowing Moxley to hit a running crossbody to the floor. Moxley’s hand is slammed into the steps but he gets knocked off the top, landing on the ropes in the process.

Moxley knocks him to the floor but stops to pick up the body bag, allowing Allin to hit a running flip dive. Back in and a heck of a clothesline turns Allin inside out and it’s time to put him in the body bag. Allin isn’t having that and hits a Stunner, only to get caught in a swinging Boss Man Slam. The Paradigm Shift is blocked and a missed charge into the corner lets Allin get two. Code Red gives Allin two but the Coffin Drop is countered into a rear naked choke. Allin flips backwards for the near fall and Moxley heads up, bites Allin on the head, and hits a SUPER PARADIGM SHIFT (Allin sold it like death too) for the pin at 11:15.

Rating: B. That ending alone makes this work as Allin got dropped HARD on his head for one of the best looking endings in a long time. Allin has become a star during his time with AEW and that is something they had to do. He is the kind of guy who you can point to and say that AEW is creating stars and the more of those they can do, the better they are going to be. Moxley winning here is good too, as he needs to build up his record quite a bit.

Overall Rating: A-. This was one of the most enjoyable shows they have done so far with nothing coming close to being bad. They had some very strong matches throughout the night and the Jericho vs. Sky promo was quite good. I’m liking some of the names that they are building up too and that should make for a bright future. Maybe it was watching this the next day, but dang I had a good time here and it was one of the best things I’ve seen from AEW yet.

Results

Fenix b. Nick Jackson – Black Fire Driver

Hikaru Shida b. Britt Baker – Running knee to the face

Maxwell Jacob Friedman and Hangman Page won a battle royal last eliminating Jungle Boy

Luchasaurus b. Peter Avalon – Reverse powerbomb

Private Party b. Pride And Powerful – Gin and Juice to Santana

Jon Moxley b. Darby Allin – Super Paradigm Shift

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: November 13, 2019
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

It’s time for the next step around here as we get into the fallout from Full Gear. That could go in a lot of different directions though as they do not have a next major event on the schedule just yet. The big story out of Saturday is MJF turning on Cody and Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley losing their minds. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Full Gear.

The announcers preview the show.

Kenny Omega is banged up.

Jon Moxley vs. Michael Nakazawa

Nakazawa, Omega’s friend, throws the baby oil away to start and hammers away, only to get beaten down. The Paradigm Shift gives Moxley the pin at 1:08.

Post match Moxley asks if that one counts. He did what he promised he would do at Full Gear and Omega will never be the same again. Moxley respects Omega because he doesn’t think anyone else will have the guts to face him. He is on a pilgrimage to scorch AEW and leave himself as the last man standing. If anyone is man enough, come face him, but say goodbye to your loved ones first.

Dark Order vs. Jurassic Express

Marko goes straight at Uno to start but it’s Jungle Boy coming in to headlock Grayson down. That’s escaped so it’s a hurricanrana to take over again. The rapid pace continues with another tag to Stunt and an elevated flip dive to Grayson’s back as well. Stunt gets caught in the corner though and Uno hits a Swanton for two. Grayson hits his own shot to the back and it’s Uno pulling on Stunt’s nose. Back from a break with Stunt hitting a big spinning Downward Spiral to drop Uno.

Grayson pulls Boy off the apron, though he drops Grayson and gets the tag anyway. Everything breaks down and Boy hits a suicide dive, with JR saying it’s the first one of the night. A knee gets two on Uno and everything breaks down. Stunt’s hurricanrana gets two on Grayson with Uno shoving Boy into the cover for the break. Boy’s suicide dive is blocked and it’s some knees to the head to put him down. The Nightfall sets up the Fatality to finish Stunt at 9:30.

Rating: C. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m relieved for the Dark Order. There is no way to have Stunt beat someone and make it be believable. I guess he’s popular enough to keep himself around but at the same time, he makes it impossible to buy anything as being a realistic possibility. The match was fine enough, but you can’t stop looking at Stunt.

Post match the Order praises Stunt and offers him a spot on the team. Boy turns it down for him and gets attacked, with the Order putting the mask on him, only to have Luchasaurus return for the save. A spinning kick to the face takes out three Creepers at once, leaving Grayson and Uno to face him alone. Uno bails so it’s a chokeslam into a standing moonsault to Grayson. Now that is how you make someone look like a star.

Darby Allin vs. Shawn Spears vs. Peter Avalon

Allin’s entrance cuts off Avalon running down country music. Avalon misses a dive at the other two to start and it’s Allin hitting the high angle springboard armdrag to put Spears on the floor. Allin hits a dropkick to put Avalon outside as well but Spears breaks up another dive. A belly to back faceplant gets two on Allin but here’s Joey Janela to get in a fight with Spears. They fight into the crowd, leaving Allin and Avalon on their own. The flipping Stunner into the Coffin Drop finishes Avalon at 3:49.

Rating: D+. No time here but Allin winning was the good way to go as he has turned into a star around here. Even I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him so far and that isn’t what I would have expected when I first saw him. The time hurt things here but in a way, it’s a lot better than having these three fight for ten minutes.

Post match Darby says he accepts Moxley’s challenge.

Nyla Rose vs. Dani Jordan

Rose misses a big boot to start so Jordan hammers away. The chokeslam is escaped and there’s a slap to Rose, which is not going to end well. She runs Jordan over and it’s a Samoan drop into a Beast Bomb for the pin on Jordan at 1:34.

Here’s Allie for a chat but after some sucking up to Nashville, the lights go out. Cue Awesome Kong and Brandi Rhodes so Allie can be destroyed. Allie loses some hair, just like Bea Priestly did last week.

Here’s Chris Jericho for a chat. Jericho brags about retaining the title and proving once again that he is the greatest of all time. Therefore, he deserves a thank you from every member of the roster, the back, front and side offices. Now he’s beaten Cody, who is nothing more than an entitled millennial. There go the lights and here’s….MJF to Cody’s entrance, including pyro, music and mocking of his entrance.

Jericho isn’t sure what to think of this but MJF yells at the fans about how he threw the towel in to save Cody’s career. The fans have been cheering for the real villain every time they see Cody. The real Cody only cares about himself because he saw MJF as a puppet. That’s not enough to convince the fans but Cody was keeping MJF under his thumb. Cody’s thumb isn’t big enough to hold MJF down because he is the new face of AEW and Cody knows it.

As for Jericho, MJF has heard that Jericho wants him in the Inner Circle. Jericho has heard that MJF is interested but they stop to make fun of each others names. MJF thinks Jericho has had a little too much of the bubbly. Jericho talks about how similar they are, to the point where he thinks MJF’s parents got into it watching him beat up Juventud Guerrera twenty five years ago and MJF is the result. MJF: “Who the **** is Juvy???” Jericho: “Google it!”

They tease getting in a fight before agreeing that they don’t like Cody. There’s a hug but here’s Cody to interrupt. He has a nasty patch above his head and can’t hit the powerslam on Jericho, with JR being smart enough to blame it on Cody being banged up from Full Gear. The beatdown is on but Wardlow debuts and lays Cody out with a spinning AA. MJF tells him to do it and Wardlow takes off his tie to hang Cody. I liked a lot of the things in here, but there were a few too many things going on to like in the first place.

Pac vs. Hangman Page

Rematch from Full Gear. Pac wastes no time in kicking him down and Page gets kicked to the floor. The moonsault to the floor keeps Page rocked but he’s fine enough to hit a running dropkick in the corner. That means a suicide dive and a pop up powerbomb for two on Pac. They’re not wasting time here. Page kicks him out of the air for two but Pac hits a pair of missile dropkicks to take over again. They head outside again with Page hitting his own top rope moonsault and we take a break.

Back with Page flipping out of a German suplex and nailing a discus lariat for the double knockdown. Another hard shot puts Pac on the floor but he suckers Page in, only to have Page catch him with a brainbuster on the floor. The Buckshot lariat gets two on Pac because this company has some issues with finishing a match. Pac hits a pair of pump kicks and Page is almost out, because the guy who took a brainbuster on the floor and a finisher is suddenly on the verge of winning by stoppage. The Black Arrow sets up the Brutalizer and Page is out at 12:09.

Rating: B-. The action was good but, as mentioned on Saturday, if you’re not going to finish the match with those big spots, stop doing them. Don’t have Pac get dropped on his head and then take Page’s finisher only to win the match in dominant fashion two minutes later. It doesn’t make me think that one of the guys is tough. It just makes me think that the Buckshot Lariat is a weak finisher that has no effect.

We cut to the back where the Young Bucks are getting in a fight with Santana and Ortiz. Santana dives off of a forklift as Ortiz is knocked into a bathroom door to find….Orange Cassidy. Nothing happens as the door is closed again and Matt superkicks Ortiz. Post break the fight comes into the arena and Santana and Ortiz take over with some slapjack shots to Nick’s knee. They spray paint a target on a table and powerbomb Matt through it for the huge crash. Brandon Cutler comes out for the save and gets beaten down as well. Private Party makes the real save.

Santana and Ortiz vs. Private Party is set for next week. Even JR says that was fast.

Tag Team Titles: SCU vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara

Jericho and Guevara are challenging and have Jake Hager in their corner, though Christopher Daniels is here to balance things out. After the Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go. Kazarian and Jericho go with the grappling to start and Kazarian snaps off an armdrag into an armbar. Sky and Guevara come in with the former hitting a backbreaker and we take a break.

Back with Sammy dropkicking Guevara into the corner but stopping to pose with Jericho. The chinlock keeps Kazarian down but he powers up and rolls over for the hot tag off to Sky. Everything breaks down with Jericho having to save Sammy from a dragon sleeper. Hager pulls Kazarian to the floor and takes him down, leaving Sky to kick Jericho in the head. Jericho is right back with the bulldog but the Lionsault hits knees. He’s fine enough to Codebreak Sky out of the air for two but Sky is back with a small package to retain at 10:45.

Rating: C+. That was quite the ending and they didn’t go anywhere other than straight into making Sky look like a big deal. Having him hand his half of the Tag Team Titles Daniels so he can get in a World Title shot wouldn’t shock me and that wouldn’t be the biggest stretch. Sky is a very talented guy and giving him a big chance is a smart move. I’m glad they didn’t change the titles as well, with SCU needing some more wins to put them on the level of the other tag teams.

Jericho is ticked and throws an old school fit to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There were more good things on the show than bad but there were things that got on my nerves as well. You have the aforementioned issues between Page and Pac (in their rematch from four days ago), the completely unnecessary and out of place Cassidy cameo and the continued existence of Marko Stunt, none of which are the best ideas. On the other hand though you have Sky getting a push, Allin getting to move up to face Moxley, Luchasaurus being back early and Santana and Ortiz looking more and more awesome every week. There is more good than bad, but some of the bad is just annoying sometimes.

Results

Jon Moxley b. Michael Nakazawa – Paradigm Shift

Dark Order b. Jurassic Express – Fatality to Stunt

Darby Allin b. Peter Avalon and Shawn Spears – Coffin Drop to Avalon

Nyla Rose b. Dani Jordan – Beast Bomb

Pac b. Hangman Page – Brutalizer

SCU b. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara – Small package to Jericho

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: November 6, 2019
Location: Bojangles Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone

We’re back in Flair Country this week and it’s the go home show for Full Gear. Therefore, Chris Jericho is wrestling again because he does that quite often. In theory we should get some more matches announced for the show tonight as there are only five matches for the regular pay per view card so far. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show.

Pac vs. Trent

Chuck Taylor and Orange Cassidy are here too. Pac takes him down with a headlock to start and goes outside to glare at Cassidy. Back in and Trent hits a chop in the corner but Pac takes him outside for some hard whips into the barricade. Trent’s head gets bounced off of the ramp and there’s the big flip dive to knock him down again. The missile dropkick gets one back inside and the headline goes on. A bridging German suplex gives Pac two and we hit the chinlock again.

Trent gets sent outside and it’s time for the Pac vs. Cassidy showdown, including the leg kicks. Pac kicks him down though (Tony: “He’s black and blue Cassidy now!”) and Trent is ticked off enough for a half and half suplex. That’s enough to put Pac on the floor for a big flip dive from Trent and there’s a whip into the barricade. A running knee to the back of the head gives Pac two and a tornado DDT is good for the same. Pac busts Trent’s brain on the floor and it’s the Red Arrow….for two? With that out of the way, it’s the Brutalizer to make Trent give up at 11:43.

Rating: C+. This was much longer than it needed to be as Trent shouldn’t be hanging with Pac for that long. That’s been a problem with AEW: it’s ok to have a match like this go a little shorter to make Pac look better. Instead he was standing there so Cassidy could do his thing and going move for move with Trent. There’s nothing wrong with Trent, but he’s not a singles guy and shouldn’t be hanging this long (six or seven minutes would have been fine) with Pac and certainly not kicking out of his finisher.

Here’s Cody for his big announcement. Cody thanks the fans for being behind AEW before moving on to the match with Chris Jericho at Full Gear. He brings up some great bookers (Eddie Graham, Bill Watts, Dusty Rhodes), saying that they were great bell to bell and great at the box office. The controversy about them is that they were also management and that is where they connect to him. He has been honest about that since the beginning and loves the pressure that comes with it.

However, if he does not defeat Jericho at Full Gear, he will never challenge for the title again. Cody is tired of hearing about Jericho thinking he is some privileged kid when Jericho is the son of a famous hockey player. Jericho is a carny succubus because Jericho needs this generation more than it needs him. This isn’t about Cody or his family but rather the fourteen years it took him to get from undesirable to undeniable. At Full Gear, he’s eating Jericho alive. This was a heck of a promo and I want to see Cody win the title, which wasn’t the case before.

Dark Order vs. Private Party

The winners are added to a triple threat title match at Full Gear, along with the Lucha Bros and SCU, the latter of whom is on commentary. Therefore, there are even bronze medals for the winners. The Dark Order takes over on Quen to start but it’s an atomic drop into an enziguri to Grayson. Kassidy screeches rather loudly and gets planted with a Rock Bottom so Uno can come in for some choking on the ropes. The Order poses with the Creepers and we take a break.

Back with Grayson suplexing Quen for two but the Fatality is countered with a dropkick. Another dropkick puts Grayson on the floor and a middle rope moonsault drops Uno. There’s the big flip dive to Order but Uno is back in with a Russian legsweep. Grayson suplexes Quen into Kassidy in the corner and it’s a Cannonball/450 combination for two on Quen. Kassidy gets kneed out of the air but Quen breaks up another Fatality attempt. Silly String puts Uno down and it’s Gin and Juice for the pin on Grayson at 11:46.

Rating: C+. Total spotfest here and you knew that was going to be the case when the match started. The Order has looked better in their last two matches but that doesn’t make them much more interesting. Private Party winning is the better call though and that is what matters most in the end. I could see them winning the titles too and that could be interesting.

Post match SCU comes in to stare down Private Party.

We get an Inner Circle video mocking Cody’s big video from a few weeks back. Basically Jericho is awesome and a legend who likes the bubbly and is going to retain the title. Even Virgil gets a cameo. His friend from church, Patricia Bobski, knew him when he was a kid and knew that he would be AEW World Champion. Jake Hager says nothing at all while Virgil says Jericho’s talent is like the Olive Garden breadsticks: unlimited. All that matters to Jericho is finding the best bubbly, which is hard to do but it’s part of being le champion. Hilarious stuff here and one of the best things AEW has done so far.

We look at the Proud and Powerful jumping the Rock N Roll Express and the Young Bucks last week.

Full Gear rundown.

Jamie Hayter/Emi Sakura vs. Shanna/Riho

Riho and Sakura trade takedowns and escapes to start until Sakura throws her down by the hair. Hayter comes in for a cheap shot from behind to slow Riho down, only to have Riho knee Sakura down. Shanna comes in with a dropkick to Sakura before dropping Riho onto Sakura for two. Sakura is back up with a double underhook backbreaker to Riho and it’s Hayter coming in for the first time.

Back from a break with Riho fighting out of a chinlock and getting in a headscissors, only to have the hot tag attempt broken up. A double stomp crushed Sakura and the tag brings in Shanna to take over. Shanna runs into Hayter in the corner a few times but charges into a chokebreaker. Sakura’s Vader Bomb hits raised knees but Hayter pulls Riho off the apron. Shanna is back up with a dive to the floor and a double underhook piledriver to drop Sakura on her head.

Sakura is comes back as well and hits a rolling cutter on Shanna, followed by a Falcon Arrow from Hayter. Riho tries to come back in but gets knocked right back to the floor. Sakura’s butterfly backbreaker sets up a Vader Bomb with Riho’s top rope double stomp making the save. Riho and Sakura trade near falls until La Majistral finishes Riho at 13:49.

Rating: C+. Nice match here, though the same issues with Riho and Sakura continue. These matches come and go and it still feels like there is a huge gap between the women AEW wants to push and the rest of the division. Riho and Sakura are very technically skilled but I know almost nothing about them other than how long they have been training and that they’re from Japan. You can’t give me anything more than that?

Brandi Rhodes talks about how people have written her off as just another pretty face. However, there is nothing wrong with a combination of her mind and Awesome Kong’s body. As Kong’s face keeps popping up, Brandi talks about how she never wanted to be in charge of a women’s division so the question is who are the bullies now. Well it’s better than the witchcraft stuff last week.

Brandon Cutler vs. Shawn Spears

Cutler starts fast and sends Spears into the ropes for a slingshot legdrop to the head. That’s enough for Spears to snap and send him into the barricade, followed by a running knee to the side of the head. Back in and Spears chops away but gets kicked in the arm and head. Spears shrugs that off and hits the running Death Valley Driver for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C-. Now was that too much to ask for??? Spears gets to beat up one of the designated jobbers and gets a little boost, which he has been needing since he debuted. Maybe this is more his style, but it certainly hasn’t been what he has been doing so far. He’s not bad, but he hasn’t been interesting and around here that is worse.

Post match Blanchard throws in a chair but here’s Joey Janela, who Blanchard and Spears attacked on Dark, for the save.

Video on Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega, who are driving each other to get violent in their match at Full Gear.

Hangman Page/Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara

Jericho and Omega start things off and never mind as let’s make that Sammy instead. Omega takes him down to start but gets caught in an early front facelock. That’s broken up and Omega chops him down so it’s off to Page as Omega hits the running Fameasser from behind. Page’s running shooting star gets two on Sammy and the tabletop suplex gets the same.

Jericho comes in for a middle rope missile dropkick, knocks Omega off the apron and does a rather obvious spot call (made even worse as the camera was on the corner). Page gets in a clothesline and it’s off to Omega to start cleaning house, including a discus double ax handle to Sammy’s chest. The Regal Roll into the middle rope moonsault gets two more and Omega dropkicks Sammy out of the air. A hurricanrana puts Jericho on the floor but Jake Hager breaks up a big flip dive.

Back from a break with Jericho elbowing Omega down, only to have Omega make the hot tag a few seconds later. Page blocks the Walls attempt and Sammy’s dive hits Hager by mistake. Omega’s dive drops both of them and Page moonsaults onto Omega and Sammy at the same time. Cue Pac to kick Page low though and the Judas Effect finishes Page at 13:05.

Rating: B. This was almost a straight formula tag match and it was a good, entertaining way to make Jericho look strong heading into Sunday. Pac vs. Page is advanced as well, which was kind of needed after being set up not too long ago. They’ve done a nice job with Omega vs. Moxley as well and we should be in for a good show on Sunday on all counts.

Post match the Inner Circle is on Page but Cody runs in for the save. The Circle leaves so here’s MJF to hit them with a chair, allowing Cody to hit Cross Rhodes on Jericho. Cue Moxley with a barbed wire baseball bat but Jericho and Hager go after Cody and MJF. Omega finds the barbed wire bat but it’s Santana and Ortiz to jump Omega and Moxley. Therefore it’s the Young Bucks coming in for the save with superkicks and dives.

They fight up the ramp and it’s Moxley and Omega making the save before getting in a fight of their own. Nick gets on top of the entrance and hits the big flip dive to take down everyone, including the cameraman. The fight is on one more time to finally end the show. This was a HECK of a fight and one of the best go home segments for a pay per view I can remember in a long time.

Overall Rating: B+. I wasn’t into some of the wrestling here but they got one big thing accomplished by making me want to see the pay per view. This was a very, very effective go home show that made the pay per view feel a lot more important. Now if they can back that up on Saturday and keep it going in the future, they’re in business. Last week didn’t feel that energized but it seems more like a fluke, which is a very nice sign for the future. Great go home show here and one of the better shows they have done so far. Oh and find that Jericho video if you can because it was hilarious.

Results

Pac b. Trent – Brutalizer

Private Party b. Dark Order – Gin and Juice to Grayson

Emi Sakura/Jamie Hayter b. Riho/Shanna – La Majistral to Riho

Shawn Spears b. Brandon Cutler – Running Death Valley Driver

Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page – Judas Effect to Page

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: October 30, 2019
Location: Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, West Virginia
Commentators: Jim Ross, Excalibur, Tony Schiavone

It’s time to crown some new champions and that means we’re in for a tournament final. Tonight we get the first ever AEW Tag Team Champions as SCU faces the Lucha Bros for the inaugural titles. Other than that we have the contract signing for Full Gear between Chris Jericho and Cody. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Dustin Rhodes and Cody going to the signing with Jericho. Dustin hugs him and Cody gets in a car with Schiavone.

We see a clip of the end of last week’s show and the aftermath, with Adam Page and Kenny Omega hitting the ring to chase off Pac. Page wants Pac at Full Gear.

Post match, Moxley went to the back and Tony Khan needed to see him. They went into a locker room and Khan said the match with Omega is going to be unsanctioned because Moxley is too violent. That isn’t cool with Moxley, who has been working to get a win over Omega and now it won’t count because AEW doesn’t want him beating their golden boy. He accuses Tony of treating him like everyone else so Omega’s blood is on Khan’s hands.

Opening sequence.

The announcers preview the show.

The posts and buckles are Rick and Morty themed.

Sammy Guevara vs. Hangman Page

Page chops away and kicks Guevara in the face to start but Sammy is right back up with a dropkick into a bow. Guevara’s suplex gets two but Page takes him into the corner for a slap to the face. A middle rope crossbody is pulled out of the air for a fall away slam and Page clotheslines him to the floor. That’s fine with Sammy who sends Page into the barricade, allowing Sammy to go up top. Instead though he drops down for a slap to the face, which only fires Page up.

Page no sells a superkick and hits a hard lariat for the double knockdown. They head to the apron with Sammy having to escape the Deadeye. Instead Page hits a Boss Man Slam onto the apron for a big crash. Back in and a pop up powerbomb gets two on Sammy, followed by a moonsault to the floor. Sammy is smart enough to drop to the mat to avoid the Buckshot Lariat. Not that it matters as Page is right back with the right hand and the Lariat for the pin at 8:07.

Rating: B-. Page looks like a star in every sense of the word but he still needs some time and experience to become a top star. He has all the tools that you could ask for though and if he keeps going at this rate, he is going to be a big deal. It’s not like losing to him hurts Sammy either so this was completely fine for what it was.

Post match Page says he’s been losing lately but this felt good. At Full Gear, he’s going to do some cowboy s***. JR: “There’s a shirt.”

Hikaru Shida vs. Shanna

They slug it out to start and head outside early on with Shida setting up a chair for a running knee to the face. A backbreaker gives Shida two and another knee gets another near fall as it’s all Shida so far. Shanna shrugs it off though and gets fired up as we take an early break.

Back with Shanna hitting an Alberto top rope double stomp but Shida grabs a sunset driver to knock Shanna silly. They trade rollups for two each and Shida gets in the running knee for two more. The Falcon Arrow gives Shida two more and another running knee is enough to put Shanna away at 10:44.

Rating: C+. I liked this one with Shida hitting some hard strikes and Shanna getting to show off a little bit. There was a good amount of action packed into this one and Shanna looks like someone else who could be a big deal in the division. Then again that is the case for a lot of women and only Riho has really gotten to showcase herself at a high level.

Video on Brandi Rhodes going nuts last week. She seems to be doing something almost occultish and is still involved with Awesome Kong.

Here are the Rock and Roll Express (reigning NWA World Tag Team Champions) to talk about some old times in the building but here are Santana and Ortiz to take then out. Morton gets hit with a loaded sock and powerbombed off the stage through a table. The Young Bucks come out for the save.

Cody and Schiavone continue their Ric Flair from Starrcade 1993 segment and Tony talks about hanging out with Willie Nelson and Dusty Rhodes. Dusty had Willie come out first, because the star always comes out last. Cody talks about his mom being at Full Gear and how much he wants his dad to be proud of him. Tony is proud of him, which seems to touch Cody.

Best Friends/Orange Cassidy vs. Alex Reynolds/QT Marshall/Jon Silver

Cassidy and the Best Friends are dressed as Rick and Morty and the fans have masks of the characters for a bonus. And yes, Morty does the ring announcing for the Friends/Cassidy. Silver knocks Trent’s wig off and the villains cheat to clean house like villains should. Trent manages a tornado DDT to Silver so the wig can be replaced, but Marshall breaks up the hug attempt. That draw Cassidy, who takes off his costume, into the ring for the weak kicks. A dropkick into a nipup into the triple hug sets up the suicide dive. Strong Zero finishes Reynolds at 3:13.

Rating: D. Yeah I’m thinking no on this one. The Rick and Morty stuff was fine for a one off promotional deal (WWE has done WAY dumber things over the years in the same vein) but I wasn’t liking the match as the Friends and Cassidy’s acts have worn on me pretty badly. That being said, they kept this really short and it isn’t something that is going to hurt the show whatsoever.

Full Gear rundown.

Here’s Chris Jericho for the contract signing on the stage. Tony and Cody come into the building and then the arena. After a quick intro, Cody signs and Jericho teases charging at him. Jericho talks about how Cody is giving this everything he has, but it’s time for Cody to learn a lesson.

Cody needs to learn what it’s like to be a loser and Jericho signs, Jericho stands up for the big staredown and gives him a hard handshake, saying he’ll see Cody at Full Gear. Jericho says Cody can stand there all night, but he might be needed elsewhere. Sammy Guevara pops up on screen and we cut to the back where Jake Hager is beating up Dustin. His head dents the car and Hager slams the car door on his arm, ala Larry Zbyszko and Barry Windham in 1991, when Dustin was Windham’s partner.

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks vs. Kip Sabian/Hybrid Two

Kenny gets a big video gamed themed entrance and is wearing a mask that I don’t recognize. The Bucks on the other hand are in Street Fighter gear. It’s a brawl to start with Sabian hitting a flip dive onto the Bucks so Kenny has to fight off the Two on his own. The Bucks are right back in for the series of kicks to the head, setting up a springboard double stomp to Sabian’s ribs.

The Rise of the Terminators is broken up and Evans kicks Omega in the head to send him outside. That means the Sauske Special to drop Omega and it’s a middle rope hurricanrana for two on Matt. Back from a break with Omega getting the hot tag and cleaning house with Snapdragons. Everything breaks down and it’s the parade of kicks to the head. The big flip dive to the floor is blocked so Sabian tries a springboard only to dive into a triple superkick. The One Winged Angel finishes Evans at 11:27.

Rating: C+. Maybe it’s the pure insanity that the matches include or the lack of any real psychology to the whole thing but there is something that holds these matches back from me. They feel like performances instead of matches and that makes them a little bit difficult to get behind. They’re still enjoyable and I have a good time with them, but they just don’t feel the same.

Post match Santana and Ortiz, now known as Power N Pride, jump the Bucks from the crowd with Omega making the save.

Here’s Peter Avalon to rant about how terrible Charleston is but Jon Moxley comes in through the crowd with the Paradigm Shift. Moxley grabs the mic and mentions his match with Omega being unsanctioned. That means no rules but it also means that the match doesn’t count. Moxley knows AEW is trying to protect their boy and put Moxley in their box so he can’t hurt the star. He’ll beat Omega in a match even if it doesn’t exist and if you think he’s out of control, you haven’t seen anything yet. Omega’s blood is on AEW’s hands and stay the h*** out of his way. That was a fired up promo.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. SCU

For the inaugural titles and they’re just in the ring when we come back from a break. Various teams are watching in the back. It turns into a brawl to start and Pentagon hits the Pentagon Driver for a very early two on Kazarian. The Sling Blade takes Sky down but we settle down to Kazarian slamming Fenix and dropping the spinning legdrop for two, with Kazarian being ready for Pentagon’s save.

Fenix is back up to clean house and Pentagon superkicks Sky on the floor. Sky is sent outside and gets kicked in the face as well, setting up a backbreaker/slingshot legdrop combination to really take him down. Back from a break with Kazarian fighting out of trouble and hitting an Angel’s Wings as an ode to Daniels.

Sky gets the hot tag and everything breaks down (again) with Kazarian somewhat missing a hurricanrana tot he floor. Back in and a pair of tornado DDT drops both Bros for two. SCULater is broken up and Pentagon hits the Pentagon Driver on Kazarian. Fenix’s rolling cutter gets two on Sky, followed by stereo crossbodies to put Fenix and Sky down. Pentagon powerbombs Kazarian through a table at ringside, followed by a splash off of Pentagon’s shoulders for two on Sky. The spike Fear Factor is blocked though and Kazarian cuts Fenix off so Sky can get a small package for the pin at 12:36.

Rating: B. I know it’s a fine rating but that was a rather disappointing result. The wrestling and action was good (though it felt WAY too similar to the six man) but it didn’t have enough time and the ending came out of nowhere. I am a sucker for the fast paced, flying all over the place matches ending with a quick change of gear into a fast pin though and the match was entertaining, but I was expecting a lot more and didn’t get it, mainly due to having everything be so rushed.

Overall Rating: B-. While it’s still a good show, this one came off as a misfire in a lot of areas. The Cody stuff wasn’t great and felt like it was just copying better angles with more talented people. I’m sure the match will be good, but it’s a little hard to get fired up about Cody vs. Jericho. The wrestling was mostly entertaining, but I feel like I’ve seen some variation of that six man a dozen times already. It was an entertaining show and certainly had more positives than negatives. Just something about it threw me off and it felt like a few steps below their previous shows.

Results

Hangman Page b. Sammy Guevara – Buckshot Lariat

Hikaru Shida b. Shanna – Running knee to the face

Orange Cassidy/Best Friends b. Jon Silver/Alex Reynolds/QT Marshall – Strong Zero to Reynolds

Kenny Omega/Young Bucks b. Hybrid Two/Kip Sabian – One Winged Angel to Sabian

SCU b. Lucha Bros – Small package

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: All Elite Wrestling

Dynamite
Date: October 16, 2019
Location: Liacouras Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

We are in for a big night here as the AEW World Title is going to be defended for the first time as Chris Jericho defends against Darby Allin in a street fight. Odds are the winner will face Cody for the title at Full Gear so there is certainly a lot on the line. Other than that, we are likely to get more in the Tag Team Title tournament so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: SCU vs. Best Friends

It’s Christopher Daniels/Kazarian for SCU, meaning they are the two that the Lucha Bros jump from behind and lay out, including a piledriver on the ramp. Scorpio Sky runs out for the save and Daniels is taken out on a stretcher. Sky says he’ll take Daniels’ spot and throws some trainers’ tape around his wrist to get ready. Chuck and Kazarian start things off with the former taking over, allowing Trent to come in and hit a sliding knee to the face.

Sky comes in and gets his street shoe taken off and sent into the crowd, allowing Chuck to bite his toes. It’s back to Kazarian, who gets beaten up on the floor and superplexed for a bonus back inside. Kazarian kicks his way out of the corner as Sky comes in off the hot tag. Everything breaks down and Chuck misses a flip dive, landing on Trent by mistake. Kazarian’s slingshot hurricanrana drops Chuck and Sky hits the big flip dive, landing on his feet of course.

Sky gets back in and someone throws him his shoe back, followed by an assisted tornado DDT for two on Trent. Kazarian comes back in but gets caught with Soul Food. The big hug is broken up so Chuck knees Kazarian down and NOW we get the hug. A Doomsday knee gets two more on Kazarian but he’s fine enough to counter a piledriver on the apron. Back in and a powerbomb into a Backstabber, or at least what is supposed to be a Backstabber but wound up being more of a dropkick to the head, for the pin at 9:58.

Rating: C+. I’m not big on the Best Friends but Sky showed off very well here, as he tends to do. He’s just an athletic guy who knows how to do almost anything in the ring. The stuff with him being thrown in here was a nice story for the match and the fans throwing the show back was just cool. I’m much happier with SCU moving forward as it could bring the Freebird Rule into effect, which can always offer a bonus story.

Santana/Ortiz vs. Jon Silver/Alex Reynolds

Santana kicks Silver in the head to start and it’s Ortiz coming in as the beatdown is on in a hurry. Santana beats up Reynolds on the floor as Ortiz doesn’t seem worried by Silver inside. The Street Sweeper (sitout powerbomb/Blockbuster combination) finishes Silver at 2:02.

Post match Chris Jericho pops up on screen to say that’s why Santana and Ortiz are in the Inner Circle. The two of them want to beat up the Young Bucks so they’ll be facing off at Full Gear.

Video on Cody as he gets ready to challenge Jericho at Full Gear. This includes comments from Diamond Dallas Page, Brandi Rhodes, Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone and Michelle Rhodes, Dusty’s widow. Winning the title means a lot to him and it would validate everything he has done over the years. Page talks about how you need to win your first World Title, as apparently the NWA World Title doesn’t count anymore.

Women’s Title: Riho vs. Britt Baker

Baker is challenging. Feeling out process to start with Riho taking her down by the arm, only to have an armbar blocked. The Lockjaw doesn’t work either so Riho heads to the apron and slugs away, followed by a running dropkick to the head. A double stomp to the ribs keeps Baker down but the top rope double stomp misses.

Baker hits a Sling Blade and a TKO, followed by a low superkick for two more. Riho’s bridging northern lights suplex gets two more and it’s off to a half crab. Britt makes the rope so Riho hits some sliding knees for another two. Baker ripcord forearms her down though and Lockjaw is loaded up, only to have Riho reverse into a cradle to retain at 8:12.

Rating: B-. It’s Riho’s most interesting match yet but it’s still missing for the most part. I get that she’s Kenny Omega’s project but it just seems like they have so many other options to pick from. The match was better, though Riho doesn’t really have a character other than she’s small. That doesn’t have the best track record, but it’s all we’re getting here.

We look back at the Lucha Bros attacking SCU.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Lucha Bros vs. Jurassic Express

It’s Jungle Boy/Marko Stunt here, with the latter replacing the injured Luchasaurus. Pentagon and Stunt start things off and Pentagon tells him CERO MIEDO, because he isn’t scared of someone who looks to be eleven years old. Stunt shoves him away and does the Floss Dance, which isn’t well received. Pentagon takes the glove off and throws it at Jungle Boy, so Pentagon bites the finger.

A toss into a hurricanrana drops Pentagon and everything breaks down in a hurry. Another toss into a DDT puts Fenix on the floor and Stunt hits the big suicide dive. Boy adds an Asai moonsault to Pentagon, who also takes a wheelbarrow suplex into a splash/legdrop combination for two back inside. Stunt hits a 619 into Boy’s German suplex for two but Pentagon finally gets back up with the superkicks.

Fenix comes in, only to get superkicked by Boy. That doesn’t go anywhere as Fenix starts the dives, leaving Stunt to take the Pentagon Driver for a rather close two. Pentagon yells at the referee and we take a break. Back with Stunt kicking Pentagon in the face and bringing in Boy as everything breaks down. A reverse powerslam into moonsault knees to Fenix gets two, followed by a running shooting star press for the same. Pentagon comes back in for the running Canadian Destroyer, followed by a swing around by the hair. Stunt’s arm is snapped and it’s the spike Fear Factor for the pin on Stunt as Fenix dives onto Boy at 11:24.

Rating: C+. Stunt’s limited charm is rapidly wearing off for me and I can’t bring myself to care about him just because he’s small. Throw in the eternally annoying Floss Dance and my tolerance for him falls more and more every week. At least they didn’t go ridiculous by having an upset here, as I don’t think I could have taken another underdog story.

Pac/Jon Moxley vs. Kenny Omega/Hangman Page

During the entrances, Moxley says you don’t write him off after one injury because he is still the top of the food chain. The fans give Omega a HAPPY BIRTHDAY chant before the match and it’s Omega jumping Moxley from behind to start things off. Moxley gets the better of it but Omega is right back with the jumping Fameasser from behind. Pac gets in a cheap shot though and the villains (?) take over.

That doesn’t last long as Omega gets over for the tag to Page, who stars fast with the clotheslines. A top rope version looks to set up the Deadeye but Moxley makes it to the ropes. That’s fine with Page, who goes up but gets shoved down onto the apron thanks to a Pac distraction. Back from a break with Moxley grabbing a Texas Cloverleaf on Page, drawing Omega in for the fast save. A discus lariat drops Moxley and the hot tag brings in Omega for the house cleaning.

The Regal roll into the middle rope moonsault hits Pac and it’s a Snapdragon to both Pac and Moxley. The running flip dive takes Pac down on the floor but Moxley suicide dives both of them. Page moonsaults from the top onto Moxley and Pac so Omega can take Moxley back inside. A buckle bomb into a discus forearm into a Sky High gets two as Pac has to make a save.

Moxley hits a swinging Boss Man Slam to Page but gets his head knocked off by Omega. Pac’s slingshot cutter plants Omega but it’s a nasty suicide dive from Page to drive Pac into the barricade. We get the big showdown into the forearm off from Moxley and Omega and a V Trigger rocks Moxley. He’s fine enough to blast Omega with a clothesline though and they’re both down.

And now, with the wrestling being covered, it’s time for a barbed wire broom for Omega and a barbed wire bat for Moxley. The referee gets sent outside and it’s Moxley hitting Omega in the ribs with the non barbed wire part of the bat. Pac yells at Moxley and gets dropped with the Paradigm Shift. Moxley leaves and it’s a Buckshot Lariat into the V Trigger from Omega. Deadeye (with Pac’s head not coming close to the mat) finishes Pac at 15:04.

Rating: B. The barbed wire stuff was a little silly (though it is something that has been there before) but the rest of this was very entertaining stuff with both teams beating the heck out of each other and a few different stories being tied together into one match. I could go for a pair of singles matches out of this and that’s a distinct possibility for Full Gear.

AEW World Title: Darby Allin vs. Chris Jericho

Street fight with Allin challenging and skateboarding to the ring. Jericho is in Painmaker mode this week but Allin takes him straight down and hammers away. The champ gets sent outside for the suicide dive but Jericho takes over back inside. The confidence starts to come up, even as the fans chant for Allin. Jericho sends him hard into the post and Allin comes up holding his knee as we take a break.

Back with Jericho beating and choking with a kendo stick but the middle rope stick shot is knocked out of the air. That means Allin can unload with his own stick shots but has to get out of a Walls attempt. The referee counts to five, though I’m not sure why that would matter here. Allin uses Jericho’s argument with the referee to hit a high crossbody for two but Jericho knocks him down again.

A chair is brought in but Allin grabs a quick Stunner for two instead. Allin has to get to the ropes to get out of the Walls again so Jericho duct tapes Allin’s wrists together. Just because he can, Allin hits a moonsault press onto Jericho, followed by a suicide flip dive to the floor.

Back in and something like a Whisper in the Wind (again with the hands taped) gets two on Jericho, who clotheslines the heck out of Allin. Jericho has had it and tiger bombs Allin onto the skateboard for two, without much energy on the kickout. Allin dropkicks the chair into Jericho’s face and loads up the Coffin Drop, only to have Jake Hager come in for the save. The Walls retains the title at 15:45.

Rating: B-. This was a bit of a downgrade for Allin, who usually gets to show off a little more than he did here. The taped wrists was a good idea, though the ending felt a bit rushed with Hager just coming out for the win. That isn’t the strongest ending, though it does help keep Allin strong. It’s a good match, though it didn’t break through to the other side.

The Inner Circle comes out to celebrate with a little bit of the bubbly to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I might have liked this show more than any they’ve done so far as it a fast paced show with nothing remotely bad. It’s good that they have something to build towards now and you can probably imagine a good chunk of the Full Gear card. This was a very fast paced and entertaining two hour show with some solid wrestling and angle advancement. It might be their best show yet and hopefully that continues to be the case.

Results

SCU b. Best Friends – Powerbomb/dropkick combination to Trent

Santana/Ortiz b. Jon Silver/Alex Reynolds – Street Sweeper to Silver

Riho b. Britt Baker – Cradle

Lucha Bros b. Jurassic Express – Spike Fear Factor to Stunt

Kenny Omega/Hangman Page b. Pac/Jon Moxley – Deadeye to Pac

Chris Jericho b. Darby Allin – Walls of Jericho

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: AEW

Dynamite
Date: October 9, 2019
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, Excalibur

It’s the second week and that means we are in for something that might be more important than the debut episode. You can have as good of an opener as you want, but if you don’t get the fans to stick around, it isn’t going to matter all that much. The ratings and audience are going to be interesting after this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The announcers welcome us to the show.

Video on Private Party vs. the Young Bucks, the first match in the Tag Team Title tournament.

Tag Team Title Tournament First Round: Young Bucks vs. Private Party

Private Party weigh 27 ounces of vodka cranberry and come from a place you need an invitation to. Isaiah Kassidy and Nick Jackson start things off with neither being able to hit a superkick. Nick spits his gum in Kassidy’s face so Kassidy flips out of an atomic drop attempt. Kassidy gets caught in a backbreaker/flipping neckbreaker combination to put the Bucks in control. A dive misses though and Kassidy hits a Lionsault to take him down.

Marc Quen comes in and starts busting out his own dives to a BIG reaction (as he deserves). A 450 gets a VERY close two on Matt but Nick is back in to start the Superkick Party. Nick sunset bombs Kassidy, with the powerbomb onto the ramp for a nasty landing. Back in and a powerbomb/Sliced Bread #2 combination gets two on Marc, setting up the Sharpshooter to work on the back even more.

With Kassidy down, it’s a top rope double stomp/backbreaker combination for two more on Quen. A spear gets two more on Quen as Kassidy gets pulled back off the apron. Quen gets over for the tag a few seconds later though and Kassidy comes in with a missile dropkick. He comes up holding his back but is fine enough to hit a double hurricanrana. Matt rolls the northern lights suplexes to bang up the back quite a bit before suplexing Quen at the same time for two.

The buckle bomb/kick to the head in the corner sets up another Sharpshooter, with Nick adding a facebuster. The tap seems near but Kassidy rapid fire crawls over for the tag. Quen makes a blind tag though and it’s the hurricanrana into the cutter (Gin and Juice) to rock Matt. The perfect shooting star press gets two on Nick and that should have been the finish. The Meltzer Driver is loaded up but Kassidy breaks up the springboard, allowing Quen to roll Matt up for the pin at 13:47.

Rating: B. They had one too many false finishes in the end though I’m happy with Private Party winning. That could have gone either way though, as you can either give Private Party the rub now or give the rub to whoever beats the Bucks in the finals. As long as the Bucks didn’t win though, as there was no need for that to happen. Good match too, with Private Party looking like an incredibly polished team right out of the box.

Post match Private Party celebrates in the crowd all through the commercial.

Here are Chris Jericho and his whole group of friends for a chat. Jericho takes credit for all of Dynamite’s success last week and gets a thank you chant. That’s not what he wants though and he says that we are now. Yes they’re still together and yes they have a name. Jericho introduces the team, starting with the sexy Spanish god Sammy Guevara. Now Sammy is on his list. Then you have Santana and Ortiz, who are going to be nastier than ever before, which Jericho likes. Jericho: “Viva la raza.” Nice touch on Eddie’s birthday.

Then we have Jake Hager (which Jericho pronounces as Hagar) so we get a WE THE PEOPLE. Jericho: “We the people sucks and it’s dead and buried. It was a bad idea from bad creative and all that’s dead and gone.” Jericho brags about Hager’s undefeated MMA record and he’ll fight any boxer, fighter, wrestler, bare knuckle fighter or whatever. The team is dubbed the Inner Circle and they are taking over.

Jericho goes on to Cody, who is part of a family Jericho never liked. Dusty was a jerk, he’ll beat up Dustin and he’ll beat the s*** out of Cody at Full Gear. That promo is going to get people talking and it’s a good thing to have a big story going on like this. Good stuff here, though they better be able to back up the shots at WWE.

Darby Allin vs. Jimmy Havoc

The winner gets a shot at Jericho for the title next week. During the entrance, Havoc says he likes the pain and the violence. Darby grabs a quick cradle for two and dropkicks Havoc into the corner. A bottom rope suplex doesn’t work as Havoc bites the fingers and Falcon Arrows Allin out to the floor in a big crash.

Havoc starts working on the fingers before choking in the corner to cut off a comeback attempt. A suplex puts Allin on the floor and we take a break. Back with Allin being Death Valley Driven into the corner and stomped in the head to keep him down. The Acid Rainmaker is broken up with a bite to Havoc’s fingers and it’s a knockdown into the Coffin Drop for the pin at 10:02.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as Allin didn’t do much for most of the match, came back and hit his finisher for the win. What bothers me a bit more than that though is AEW talking about how they want to incorporate win/loss records and that puts Allin at 2-2-1. It’s not a big deal, but they might want to work on that if they want records to matter that much.

Bea Priestly/Sakura vs. Britt Baker/Riho

Riho starts with Sakura and charges into a powerslam, only to pop back up with a dropkick. Her back is banged up and Sakura blocks a slam without much effort. A very screaming surfboard works on the back even more and it’s off to Priestly, who gets in a fight with Baker on the floor.

Riho is down in the corner so Sakura goes outside to help with a double suplex. A Riho dive takes them down though and we take a break. Back with Baker in trouble until Riho sneaks in for a double stomp to Sakura. Baker’s swinging neckbreaker gets two on Sakura and it’s off to the Rings of Saturn. Baker adds the Mandible Claw at the same time for the tap at 8:45.

Rating: C. I’m trying to care about the women’s division but Baker is the kind of star who can be a big deal based on every aspect you could want. Priestly feels like a good villain and Sakura is fine enough. Riho….it’s not a complete miss but there are just better options to pick from other than her. Maybe I’m just not enough of a wrestling fan to get it, but it’s not working just yet.

We see a video of the Best Friends hugging.

The Best Friends are in the front row and asked about how they’re doing. They defer to Orange Cassidy, who gives them a thumbs up.

Jon Moxley vs. Shawn Spears

Tully Blanchard is with Spears and Pac is on commentary. Moxley gets right in his face and chops away before dropping Spears with a clothesline. Spears bails to the floor so Moxley knees him in the back and chokes away, with Tully’s interference not working whatsoever. As JR wonders how that isn’t a DQ, Moxley jumps off the apron with a forearm to the face but gets sent into the steps. The fight on the floor continues (they’ve been out there a long time now) with Spears Death Valley Drivering him into the barricade for a double knockdown.

Back from a break with Spears putting on a half crab but Moxley breaks it up in a hurry. Moxley sends him outside again for back to back suicide dives and scores with a running knee for two. The slugout it on but the Paradigm Shift is countered into the fireman’s carry backbreaker. Another fireman’s carry is countered into the Paradigm Shift to give Moxley the pin at 12:44.

Rating: C. I still don’t get it with Spears, though he is better than he was in WWE. He’s just a guy at this point and the chair stuff feels out of place after the Cody feud wrapped up. Tully is a cool addition, but it doesn’t matter if the guy keeps losing. It’s far from too late for him, but he didn’t shot me much here.

Post match here’s Kenny Omega, carrying a barbed wire bat and a barbed wire broom. He throws Moxley the bat but Pac runs down with a chair shot to the back of Omega’s head. Moxley looks at Omega but drops the bat and walks away.

Dustin Rhodes/Hangman Page vs. Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara

Hager is here with Jericho and Guevara. One good sign: I can already recognize Jericho’s music after the first few notes. Impact took years to make that happen and still have a lot of trouble making it work. Dustin goes after Jericho on the floor to start and gets in a posting with a thud. We settle down to Page fall away slamming Sammy and handing it back to Dustin for a hard whip into the corner.

A belly to back toss sets up Page’s running shooting star press with Jericho having to make a save. Guevara gets in a knee though and fireman’s carry drops Page onto the top turnbuckle for two. Back from a break with Jericho posing until Page gets in a hard shot to the face. Sammy is right there to block a tag though and Jericho slaps Page in the face. The Lionsault hits knees though and Page scores with the big lariat, allowing the hot tag to Dustin.

Everything breaks down and Dustin dives onto Jericho and Sammy with Page adding a moonsault to the floor. Hager runs Page over though, leaving Dustin to hit a Code Red for two on Jericho. The powerslam takes Sammy down but the referee checks on him, allowing Hager to save Jericho from Shattered Dreams. Jericho hits the Judas Effect for the pin at 13:57.

Rating: C+. The extra time helped a bit here and they did a good job of making Hager look like the monster. That’s the key here as everyone (save for Sammy) is pretty established and they need to make Hager stand out as a monster. This was the standard idea of taking parts of a stable and letting them fight, which is always going to work just fine.

Post match Hager goes after Page, who pelts a chair at Hager’s head. They fight to the back and the lights go out. It’s Cody laying out Sammy with Cross Rhodes but here are Santana and Ortiz to take Cody out. Maxwell Jacob Friedman runs out as well and teases turning on Cody, only to chair the Inner Circle down. Cue the Young Bucks for the real save and the fans are rather pleased. Jericho escapes but Allin skateboards down and beats Jericho up to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was another good outing, though a step down from last week. That has to be expected though after last week’s big debut, which isn’t going to be the norm. It’s a good idea to slow things down for a week while still making things seem like a big deal. I’m curious to see where things go with some of these stories and that’s a nice feeling. The wrestling itself wasn’t bad at all here and the atmosphere is still what matters most around here. It felt big and if they can do that when it’s not even a big show, they’re in a solid spot two weeks in.

Results

Private Party b. Young Bucks – Victory roll to Matt

Darby Allin b. Jimmy Havoc – Coffin Drop

Britt Baker/Riho b. Bea Priestly/Sakura – Rings of Saturn/Mandible Claw combination to Sakura

Jon Moxley b. Shawn Spears – Paradigm Shift

Chris Jericho/Sammy Guevara b. Dustin Rhodes/Hangman Page – Judas Effect to Rhodes

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

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

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: October 11, 2017
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

It’s time for a new taping cycle as we’re finally able to talk about what happened at Death Before Dishonor. That could mean a multitude of options around here but hopefully we get some actual stories instead of just doing a bunch of one off matches. To be fair though, the last few weeks of TV haven’t been that bad so hopefully the trend continues here. Let’s get to it.

We open with a quick highlight package from Death Before Dishonor.

Opening sequence.

Here are Silas Young and Beer City Bruiser for an opening chat. Young takes his shirt off to show the welts from his street fight with Jay Lethal. Those marks are the proof that he walks the walk to back up his talk. As for now though, he and Bruiser have a goal of winning the Six Man Tag Team Titles but they need a partner.

That brings them to Death Before Dishonor, where they saw another real man. They have a partner now though and his name is Minoru Suzuki and the challenge is officially made tot he Young Bucks and Hangman Page. Cue the champs to say they’re annoyed at Young for interrupting their autograph session. Matt dubs the team the Hung Bucks (just kill me now) and the match is on for the main event.

TV Title: Josh Woods vs. Kenny King

Woods is challenging in his official shot for winning the Top Prospect Tournament. King is the new champion and the hometown boy after defeating Kushida at Death Before Dishonor. I’m not wild on the outsiders winning titles but at least Kushida held it for a long time. Woods takes him to the ground to start for an early two before working on the arm.

That’s reversed into an armbar from the champ but he gets suplexed into the corner as we take a break. Back with Woods having to grab a rope to escape something like a Last Chancery. King kicks him out to the floor and hits a dive and Woods is in trouble. That lasts all of ten seconds as Woods scores with some knees to the head and a string of suplexes, followed by a triangle choke. King is perfectly fine though and stacks Woods up for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C+. Nice match here as Woods is growing on me. The MMA stuff works fine as he mixes in enough wrestling to make it work. You know what you’re going to get with him but he does it just fine, which is all you can ask for. King is a bit flashier than he needs to be at times but he should be great in this role.

Josh shakes his hand post match and King grabs the mic to praise him a bit. Woods leaves and King says he’s a fighting champion who will defend his title on every show. This brings out Shane Taylor, Chuck Taylor, Punishment Martinez and Mark Briscoe, all of whom King is more than willing to face for the title.

Marty Scurll invites us to a Bullet Club celebration next week.

Six Man Tag Team Titles: Hangman Page/Young Bucks vs. Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser/Minoru Suzuki

Page and the Bucks are defending. Suzuki won’t shake his partners’ hands so I don’t see this team lasting long. Bruiser throws Nick into the corner but Matt comes in to throw his brother into a dropkick. Young comes in before too long and it’s a triple basement dropkick to the face so the fans can cheer the Bucks a bit.

Page wants Suzuki for some reason and it’s time for the slugout with the chops making Page cringe. A quick Kimura has Page in more trouble and the Bucks get one each of their own. Everything breaks down and it’s Young and Bruiser putting on Kimuras of their own. The champs all bail to the floor and we take a break. Back with Young slamming Matt down and Suzuki putting on a legbar over the apron.

Some choking in the corner has Matt in more trouble but he finally gets a boot up in the corner. A flipping cutter off the top takes Silas down but Bruiser breaks up the tag attempt. For reasons of general stupidity, Bruiser gets into a chase and lands in a superkick. The hot tag brings in Page to clean house, including a dropsault for two on Young. Everything breaks down and Suzuki’s piledriver is broken up with a double superkick. Bruiser crossbodies the Bucks and Cannonballs onto Page as the fans are WAY into this (with good reason).

Back in and Suzuki’s piledriver sets up the frog splash for two on Page with the Bucks making the save. We take another break and come back with more superkicks dropping Bruiser but Nick gets caught in Suzuki’s sleeper. That gives us a showdown with Page, who actually wins a slugout. Young comes back in for the Regal Roll but the moonsault is broken up by more moonsaults. Page hits a huge moonsault to the floor and it’s a shooting star off the apron into the Indytaker to kill Young dead. Back in and the Rite of Passage ends Bruiser to retain the titles at 14:40.

Rating: B. As usual, when the Bucks don’t do all the superkicks, they’re a lot of fun to watch. Hence why the best part of the match was the stuff between the breaks, where there were only a few of the kicks. Suzuki still doesn’t do much for me but Bruiser and Young are growing on me more and more every time they get in the ring. Good match here that was starting to look great at times.

Post match Bruiser and Young blame Suzuki so the brawl is on until the referees make the save.

Here’s Jay Briscoe to address his turning on Bully Ray at the pay per view. Before he gets very far, here’s Tommy Dreamer to cut him off. Dreamer talks about cutting off Bully Ray’s cast the night before Barely Legal (I always thought the ankle was broken during the show) and a variety of bar fights.

One time Chris Jericho accidentally knocked Bully out during a match (I believe that was TLC III in 2002) and he couldn’t remember that his mom had died a few months earlier. Dreamer knows how dangerous head injuries can be and he spent another night with his friend in a hospital because of what Jay did. Jay doesn’t say anything and Dreamer leaves to end the show. I’m not big on Dreamer but this was effective and opens a few more doors for this story to continue.

Overall Rating: B+. Really good show here with a lot of storyline advancement to go with a pair of solid matches. Maybe it’s just the show being fresh after a long layoff or just a good night but I had a much easier time watching this than on most weeks. It also helps to have some top names around instead of people like Cheeseburger and the other interchangeable small guys who aren’t all that thrilling. Solid show here and a very nice surprise.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Updated History of the Intercontinental Title in E-Book or Paperback. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2017/10/02/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-the-intercontinental-title-updated-version/

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

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

Ring of Honor
Date: September 20, 2017
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, BJ Whitmer

It’s the go home show for Death Before Dishonor and that could mean multiple things. One option is to have almost nothing about the pay per view and focus on almost anything else. On the other hand they might actually pay attention to the show and give us something important. Yeah I’m betting on the first too. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Hangman Page vs. Kenny King

Feeling out process to start with Page grabbing a headlock for little avail. King takes him down into one of his own though and things slow down. An armbar (with very little torque) has Page in more trouble before they head outside with Page being sent into the barricade. King hits a dive off the apron and we take an early break.

Back with Page grabbing a piledriver and sending Kenny into the barricade. Caprice Coleman sits in on commentary to announce that the Briscoe Brothers will be his guests next week. Page hammers away some more until a spinebuster gets King out of trouble. A big spinning kick to the face puts Page down but he avoids a slingshot dive and grabs a suplex on the floor. Back in and King sweeps the leg to set up a very weak Last Chancery. Since that’s easily broken up, King settles for the Royal Flush and the pin at 10:31.

Rating: C. King getting the win before his title shot on Friday is the right call, though it would have been nice if they actually mentioned the title match during this one. I’m a bit surprised they would have Page lose clean though as he’s someone they seem intent on pushing. If nothing else they put the Six Man Tag Team Titles on him to go with the most important and amazing team ever, which is quite the rub.

Marty Scurll vs. Rocky Romero

This is the result of the dreaded Twitter challenge. Romero tries a cross armbreaker less than five seconds in but Scurll is already into the ropes. Back up and Romero ducks a charge to send Marty outside, which of course means a suicide dive. Marty is right in on the arm though, snapping it across the top rope and stomping away. A hard stomp to the elbow keeps Romero in trouble and we take a break.

Back with Rocky getting superkicked to the floor, followed by a second one to keep Marty’s Bullet Club card. Something like a reverse Angle Slam gives Marty two but it’s too early for the chickenwing. Instead they hit some rollups for two each and it’s a stalemate. Rocky’s Sliced Bread #2 is countered into the chickenwing which is countered into a cross armbreaker.

That’s broken up as well and it’s a buckle bomb into the corner to snap Rocky’s head back. Rocky avoids the moonsault though and hits something like a Shining Wizard for two of his own. It’s back to the cross armbreaker but this time Marty gets his feet into the ropes. They run the ropes again until a heck of a clothesline drops Rocky, followed by the Bird of Prey (basically a flip into White Noise) for the pin at 9:39.

Rating: B-. Scrull’s in-ring work is getting better, which is a great sign considering how awesome his character stuff is. There’s only so much you can get out of the average matches so it’s cool that he’s getting to showcase his already established skills around here for a change. Romero was fine as well, but that’s pretty well known in the first place.

Here’s Cody to explain what happens when the undesirable becomes the undeniable. Now that he’s the best in the world, it’s time for this title to undergo a change. A lackey brings out a box as the announcers tell Cody to take the upcoming title defense more seriously. Cody drops to his knees and opens the box to reveal a big ring. The Ring of Honor you see. This would be more effective if he hadn’t shown off the ring in a backstage segment. From now on, the fans will be having to kiss his ring, though we go to a break before it happens.

Death Before Dishonor rundown with some quick promos.

The Motor City Machine Guns are ready to take their place as the top team in Ring of Honor.

Marty Scurll is ready to destroy Chuck Taylor in Taylor’s first singles match.

Briscoes vs. The Kingdom

It’s Vinny Marseglia/TK O’Ryan (no Matt Taven) for the team here and Bully Ray is on commentary. Jay and Vinny start things off but let’s look at the commentators instead of the match. Mark comes in for some forearms in the corner and it’s off to TK to take more of the same. A blind tag allows Vinny to come back in for a bicycle kick and the Briscoes are finally in some trouble. Multiple forms of stomping ensue and it’s off to TK for some biting. TK comes back in and makes sure to draw in Jay so the double teaming can take us to a break.

Back with Jay coming in off the hot tag for some hard clotheslines and a backdrop. The hangman’s neckbreaker gets two on O’Ryan and Mark has to kick a chair out of Marseglia’s hands. The referee won’t let Jay hit the Jay Driller onto the chair so the Brothers settle for a Razor’s Edge/neckbreaker combination (called a reverse 3D) instead.

Mark gets shoved off the top and it’s a reverse Twist of Fate into the Swanton (such plagiarism) for two more. O’Ryan grabs a ball bat and swings it in front of the referee, who doesn’t seem too upset by the whole situation. A Spin Cycle (another Hardys move) gets two on Mark with Jay making the save. Back up and the Jay Driller ends O’Ryan at 11:22.

Rating: B-. This was good, despite the pretty blatant Hardys stuff from the Kingdom. It helps a lot when you have the Briscoes out there as one of the best teams in the world at the moment and the best team this company has ever had. As a bonus this helped build up something for Friday’s six man match, which has the potential for a heck of a heel turn.

Overall Rating: C+. Solid enough show here, though the big problem continues to be the lack of Minoru Suzuki, who apparently can’t even do a promo or a video to help hype up the match. Knowing Ring of Honor they’ll give him the title anyway for the sake of adding prestige or something, because Heaven forbid we let the ROH wrestlers build up their company on their own. Good show this week.

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Death Before Dishonor 2016
Date: August 19, 2016
Location: Sam’s Town Live, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

It’s time for another ROH pay per view and in this case that means more from the stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling. Unfortunately that also means a lot of matches with almost no story and a lot of NJPW vs. ROH matches. The main event has potential though as Adam Cole challenging Jay Lethal for the ROH World Title. Let’s get to it.

The opening video mainly focuses on the World Title match, which makes sense as that’s certainly the biggest match of the show.

The announcers run down the card.

Kamaitachi vs. Donovan Dijak vs. Jay White vs. Lio Rush

Winner gets a TV Title shot at some point in the future. Dijak and Kamaitachi (the heels) start things off but instead of fighting each other they go after the good guys on the apron to turn it into a brawl. Rush comes right back with a flip dive over the top to take out Dijak though, leaving White to dive onto Kamaitachi. The good guys fight in the middle as the announcers take every chance they can to suck up to Rush. Actually hold that though as it’s time to plug the New Japan TV show. We wouldn’t want the fans to think this is an ROH show.

Things settle down to White and Kamaitachi forearming each other in the face before it’s back to Rush for a bunch of suicide dives. Dijak pulls him out of the air but that means Lio Rush isn’t treated like the biggest star ever so he hits his reverse hurricanrana on the floor. Back in and Dijak hits the chokebreaker on Rush, only to get caught in a Rock Bottom from White for two. Kamaitachi dives over the top to take out White and Dijak throws Rush onto all of them. Dijak hits his own dive before having to stop Rush’s running C4. That means it’s a discus boot to the face and Feast Your Eyes puts Rush away at 8:10.

Rating: C+. This was their best option for an opener. I like Dijak and White so this is one of the better options. Rush…..I still don’t get it. I know they’re VERY high on him but I honestly don’t see the massive appeal. Granted that might have something to do with me being a big fan of Punisher Martinez, who actually felt like something different. Rush just feels like an indy guy who keeps getting pushed all over the place.

We recap Katsuyori Shibata vs. Silas Young. Silas is annoyed that he keeps fighting through ROH but all he ever hears about are the New Japan guys. GEE, YOU THINK THAT MIGHT BE A PROBLEM??? Tonight he wants to fight Shibata, who is considered the toughest guy in New Japan so he can prove a point.

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Silas Young

This is Shibata’s American debut and his Never Openweight Title isn’t on the line because they never are in ROH. Silas slaps him in the face to start and the fans tell Silas that he’s made a big mistake. Shibata starts in with the strikes but Young goes after the bad shoulder to take over.

A Boston crab doesn’t get Young anywhere as Shibata goes into his “zone”, or basically Hulks Up. Shibata starts forearming Silas down in the corner and grabs an abdominal stretch. A belly to back backbreaker gets two for Young, followed by a cutter for the same. The springboard moonsault gets two more on Shibata and the fans actually say it was three. Shibata comes right back with a standing choke and a running kick to the chest for the pin at 9:30.

Rating: C. Young’s promo summed up every issue I had with the New Japan guys in a nutshell: Ring of Honor wrestlers do everything they can ever time but “oh never mind, we’ve got New Japan”. It’s like a reverse invasion where the fans are happy that the New Japan guys are here and buy tickets for them instead of ROH talent. Maybe the ROH guys would be worth more if they were actually presented as a big deal or actually won some major matches over the bigger New Japan stars, but that’s just not how it works on here and it’s getting really old in a hurry.

Silas actually shakes hands post match. I wouldn’t have expected that.

Yujiro Takahashi/Guerillas of Destiny vs. Roppangi Vice/Toru Yano

Bullet Club vs. Chaos, which means ALL NEW JAPAN! Caprice Coleman of the Cabinet (the most useless stable I’ve seen in a long time) is here to scout the Guerillas for a match at tomorrow’s TV tapings. Yano, a comedy guy, runs away from Tonga Loa so Beretta comes in and gets shoved right back down. Now we get Yano for real and he hides in the ropes, drawing a LET HIM GO chant.

Romero comes in for some running clotheslines on Tama Tonga. Everything breaks down for a bit and it’s Romero being taken into the wrong corner for a beatdown. Coleman starts screaming at Nigel about having something against the Cabinet, who can’t get on pay per view while these “less talented jive turkeys” can get on the show. Loa gets two off a powerslam as Kelly tries to explain the story here, almost all of which happened in Japan.

Romero finally kicks his way over to the corner and it’s off to Beretta to clean house. It’s off to Yano who can’t take off a turnbuckle pad, allowing Yujiro to hit a running kick to the chest for two. Yano finally gets the pad off and uses it as a weapon (that’s a new one) and of course the referee is fine with it. I guess incompetent refereeing goes across the world.

The Guerillas hit a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo onto the pad (Wouldn’t that weaken the blow?) for two on Yano with Vice making the save. A double knee takes out Loa and there are the stereo dives. Yujiro hits a fisherman’s buster for two on Yano as Coleman complains about Nigel not stopping the match due to the cheating. Yano hits Yujiro low and grabs a small package for the pin at 11:16.

Rating: C-. Well that happened. We had a referee who doesn’t mind cheating, a matchmaker who is called out on treating the ROH roster like a bunch of losers and a face who cheats to win and is cheered for it. Oh and Coleman is still really annoying. As I’ve said before: the booking in this company is all over the place and if you don’t cheer for New Japan, apparently you just don’t get it.

Post match a brawl breaks out and here’s Hangman Page to choke Yano, only to have Jay Briscoe run out for the save.

Jay Briscoe vs. Hangman Page

This actually started in ROH but of course was advanced in Japan, as everything else is. Anything goes so let’s start with a chair duel. Briscoe gets the better of it and sends Page outside in a big crash. A suplex on the ramp makes things worse for Page and it’s time to go back inside where Jay chokes with the noose.

Page fights off the attempted murder and knocks him outside for a powerbomb through an open chair. A VERY hard chair shot to the shoulder/head knocks Jay silly but Page would rather set up a table. Back in and a Death Valley Driver onto a chair gives Jay a break but no cover. Briscoe keeps up the violence by wrapping a chair around Page’s neck for a neckbreaker and only two.

We get the chair wedged in the corner and Jay ties Page to said chair. That’s different. Some running knees drive Page’s head into the chair but he blocks a third charge, which really doesn’t make a ton of sense. Page gets off the table and comes back with a hard running clothesline for two of his own. They’re beating the heck out of each other here and it’s really starting to work.

It’s back to the noose with Briscoe being sent over the top but fighting his way out of the hanging. Page tries a running shooting star off the apron but Briscoe superkicks him in the shoulder (which required a replay to see). The Jay Driller through the table is broken up and Page hits the Rite of Passage (over the back piledriver) through the table for a VERY close two. Adam’s leg is cut all to pieces and Jay is bleeding from the back. Page chokes with the noose and hits another Rite of Passage for the pin at 17:42.

Rating: B+. Now THAT is how you give someone a rub. Page felt like the Buff Bagwell of the Bullet Club and now he’s got the biggest win of his career over someone who has lost like two matches in a year. The Rite of Passage through the table was a great callback to their first match and I was way into the violence and seeing who could hang on. Awesome match here and it worked really, really well.

Dalton Castle sees the Boys playing with Okada Bucks. Castle: “WHAT THE DICKENS???” Dalton says it’s ok because he loves New Japan too, but he’d rather drop someone on their head. He eats one of the Okada Bucks and that’s the extent of the build to this match.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Dalton Castle

Non-title again. Castle has a grand entrance with even more Boys than usual, including some wheeling him through the curtain. The announcers praise Okada during his entrance to make sure they don’t anger their New Japan overlords. Okada works on the wristlock to start as the fans are actually split for a change. An early Rainmaker attempt doesn’t work (and it’s one heck of a CLOTHESLINE) so Dalton gives him the peacock pose.

The Boys actually fan Okada and the distraction lets Castle get in a running knee to the head. Back in and Dalton works on the arm to slow things way down. Castle sends him outside for a suicide dive, followed by a bulldog for two. A t-bone suplex plants Okada and a great looking bridging German suplex gets two more.

Cue the Boys into the ring to apparently side with Okada, only to have Castle hit the Bang A Rang. Okada rolls outside though because he can’t get pinned around here. The Boys start cheering for Castle again but the second Bang A Rang is countered. A Tombstone plants Castle and the Rainmaker gives Okada the pin at 13:54.

Rating: B-. Who would have thought the match would have been Castle getting close but coming up short against Okada and the IT’S STILL A FREAKING CLOTHESLINE? The thing with the Boys was a weird story that kept changing sides before the end, which was about as predictable as anything else on the show. At least the match wasn’t bad.

Okada and Castle post after the match.

We recap Mark Briscoe vs. Bobby Fish. Briscoe is the workhorse of ROH and wants to finally win something on his own but Fish says he’s just not good enough. Somehow this turned into a battle between chicken and fish because…..I have no idea actually.

TV Title: Bobby Fish vs. Mark Briscoe

Mark is challenging. Fish takes him to the mat to start and cranks on the leg before switching to a headlock. The technical stuff continues until Mark forearms him in the jaw to take over. Fish bails to the floor and says it’s his time. I’m not sure why we need to have every TV Champion (at least the ones who work for ROH) turn heel around the time they win the title but at least it’s working here.

Back in and Fish starts the kicks to the chest, only to have it countered by Redneck Kung Fu. The Blockbuster off the apron has Fish in trouble but Briscoe comes up holding his back. Ever the smart one, Bobby starts in on the leg before opting for a kick to the back. At least he’s thinking. Mark blocks a suplex but hurts his back even worse, followed by missing a charge into the corner.

A Sick Kick and fisherman buster get two on Bobby but the Froggy Bow hits knees. It’s off to the kneebar on Mark for a few seconds, only to have him grab the rope and plant Fish with a slam. Now the Froggy Bow gets two and Briscoe is spent. Fish sends him back first into the corner, followed by an exploder suplex into the same corner. A falcon arrow retains the title at 16:08.

Rating: B. They told a good story with the back injury and Fish being able to pick him apart throughout the match, which is all you need to do here. I’m fine with Fish retaining the title, though Fish vs. Dijak could be a little weird. Good match here though as the wrestling continues to work, even when New Japan isn’t around.

The Addiction says they’re so great that two top New Japan teams want a chance at the titles. Every team looks up to them because they’re the kings of the best tag team roster in the world.

Tag Team Titles: Addiction vs. Los Ingobernables de Japan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Michael Elgin

Addiction is defending and Matt Taven is on commentary, again for no apparent reason. Tanahashi and Naito start things off but Daniels tags himself in before there’s any contact. Naito quickly sends him outside and poses on the mat, earning himself a face pop despite being a huge heel in Japan. It’s off to Elgin to run over both champions in succession before suplexing them at the same time.

Tanahashi comes in but the champs take over, only to have Naito tag himself in. Makes sense as you have to be in the ring to win the titles. We get a weird collaboration between Daniels and Evil but everything breaks down with Elgin throwing everyone around with German suplexes. The Addiction gets German suplexed at the same time, followed by a fall away slam/Samoan drop combo to the other challengers.

Daniels suicide dives onto Evil (Taven: “Show me that beautiful bean footage.”), only to have Tanahashi break up Celebrity Rehab. We get the big spot of the match with Elgin hitting a running flip dive over the top to take out everyone at the same time. Eh big men flying are always cool.

Back in and Elgin powerslams Evil off the middle rope, followed by the reverse Alabama Slam splash from Tanahashi for two. Cue Kamaitachi for a distraction so Addiction can get two off a belt shot. Evil plants Tanahashi for the same as I wonder how the ROH boss isn’t fired for letting this happen in a match he’s calling. The Sling Blade plants Evil and sets up the High Fly Flow but Daniels tags himself in and steals the pin to retain at 14:48.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the three way tags or the Addiction in general so this was about as good as it was going to get. Not that it really matters though as there’s a good chance that the Young Bucks take the Tag Team Titles in a few weeks anyway. I’m glad they didn’t give the belts to one of the invading teams here for the sake of “building the titles up” as that almost never goes well for anyone and often screws things up even more. Match was fine but nothing I’m interested in.

We recap Adam Cole vs. Jay Lethal with Cole attacking months ago, waiting for Lethal to retain against Jay Briscoe, and then cutting the champ’s hair to earn a shot here. Lethal has been champion for over a year now and they’ve done a very good job of setting him up as unbeatable.

ROH World Title: Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole

Lethal is defending and they’re both here alone. Apparently Nigel has told the referee to relax the rules here so there must be a winner. Cole pulls out some of Lethal’s shaved hair and the fight is on in a hurry. Lethal hiptosses him down and cartwheels into a basement dropkick. Cole comes back and it’s time to SHOUT A CATCHPHRASE.

They head outside with Lethal taking over again and setting up a table, which is kind of outside his nature. A cutter on the floor knocks Cole silly but he’s still able to roll off the table, sending Jay’s flying elbow through the table instead. Adam very slowly takes his time getting back inside so we can hit the chinlock.

Lethal finally gets up and hits a middle rope leg lariat to start the first of probably multiple comebacks. There’s a springboard dropkick to knock Cole off the apron and Lethal hits three straight suicide dives. That’s WAY too common of a move around here and it doesn’t get any better when he does it a fourth and fifth time. The sixth (this is reaching superkick levels) hits the barricade though and Cole is suddenly fine. To be fair they’re really just flying shoves so this isn’t a huge stretch.

Back in and Cole kicks him in the face to cut off a second comeback, followed by a Shining Wizard for another near fall. A superkick misses (I’m sure he’ll get to throw more) and Lethal takes him down with a clothesline. It’s way too early for the Lethal Injection though and Cole hits him low for two more.

Lethal can’t get a Figure Four but the Lethal Combination breaks up a choke and puts both guys down. The top rope elbow connects for two more and it’s time to trade big strikes. Cole’s Canadian Destroyer is countered but the Lethal Injection is blocked with, of course, a superkick.

The suplex backbreaker gets a VERY close two and the fans are way into this. Cole actually takes the time to talk trash and the Lethal Injection only gets two on Adam. Both guys are spent so Cole flips him off, sending Lethal into a rage. That’s exactly what Cole wants though as he grabs another suplex backbreaker for the pin and the title at 24:00.

Rating: B. They did a very good job with the ending as I was waiting on the Bucks to run in and then Cole just pinned him clean by getting inside Lethal’s head and throwing him off his game. Cole winning was the only real option here as Lethal can’t do anything else with the belt and it’s WAY past the point where the Bullet Club should have gotten the title. If nothing else now they’re not just on the sideline and dominating the show. Besides Cole is rather awesome and made a good champion the first time around.

Since a show can’t end cleanly around here though, here’s Kyle O’Reilly to lay out Cole and hold up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s amazing how much more I liked this show once we had people I actually know and care about. The New Japan matches were mostly fine but for me, wrestling is about the storylines and caring one way or another about what’s going on. Just having matches for the sake of having matches, especially when you know the New Japan guys are going over, gets tiresome in a hurry.

The other major issue though is how the booking continues to go. Make no mistake about it: this company is ALL about New Japan, the Bullet Club, and making sure Ring of Honor wrestlers look like second class performers by comparison. I can’t think of the last time a major New Japan star did a job to an ROH wrestler and it’s becoming a waste of time to watch them wrestle.

Yeah I know it’s cool for the live fans but “Come see Okada and Tanahashi!” stopped being a draw for me a long time ago. Would it really kill them to have an ROH only pay per view for a change? I really can’t imagine the buys would change that significantly. Maybe if they built their own talent up, the New Japan talent wouldn’t be as necessary.

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